Post by Scribe on Mar 30, 2010 6:35:45 GMT -5
She was a bit of tumble. Nothing more.
The memory of Earth's destruction was fresh in everyone's minds. He knew it had been on hers. Like everyone, she lost family. He sympathized but he had long since buried his own parents. He felt a smattering of grief for his mother. He didn't give enough of a shit to show up for his dad's funeral. Good riddance to the old bastard. Thomas Merrick had been pounded on enough times by the old bloke to not give a fuck when Johnno Merrick pissed off the mortal plane.
However, Lisa Scarpelli, she did give a shit when her olds were lost. It ate at her, made her seek comfort wherever she could find it. She was a shapely engineering officer with nice tits and a mane of magnificent blond hair. The first time they fucked, it was behind some crates in a quiet corner of the engineering deck. He'd buried his face between her legs and made her cum so many times she was chanting his name like they were in church. He was a Gunny Sgt then, in charge of a whole bunch of Sharks on the SS Rutherford, a pre-warp 5 starship that had been hastily outfitted to escape Earth as a rescue ship.
For the next few months, they fucked whenever there was time to take a breather. The ship was crammed full of refugees, civilians who were tired and frightened. Those in the service both MACO and Starfleet was on call almost 24/7. Not only were they responsible for protecting what was left of the human race but they were also there to ensure that the ship they were on board, stayed in one piece long enough to get to the world chosen for their new home. During that time, the sex had seemed a good refuge and while they barely spoke two words to each other the rest of the time, their trysts were the only thing keeping her sane he was sure.
When the Xindi struck at Sector 41 near Argolis, the Rutherford had been just another ship in the rag tag convoy that had been trailing their remaining starships. Barely able to keep up, the ships weren't equipped for a journey of this distance and the hasty refits to turn them into arks had left little time for weapons installation. They couldn't have been riper for a Xindi attack if they tried. A phalanx of reptilian darts popped out of warp and immediately began strafing the smaller ships. Ripping apart the hull with ease, many of the ships didn't have the aerial batteries to stop them.
The cargo bay which had been converted into civilian quarters had taken a direct hit when the shields failed. The Xindi wasted no time boarding the ship. In the frenzy that followed, the civilians were hastily evacuated out of the area, Tom had led a squad of sharks to deal with the Rep bastards, keeping the them busy while the repair crews moved in. He didn't even know that Lisa was one of these.
The fighting was fierce with Tom losing more than a few people. The Reps were taking full advantage of their lowered shields to flood the decks with as many of their troops as they could. Meanwhile, the Rep fighters continued to bombard the Rutherford. How many he killed that day was lost on him, lost on everyone who was involved in the battle. Tom led them as best he could, knowing in some instances, they'd die defending a corridor, or holding a hatch way. Every Shark accepted those risks and Tom had been a career soldier long enough now to be able to make those calls.
By the time they'd put down all the reptilians, Tom felt as if he had been fighting for hours. Covered, in blood and sweat, he and what was left of his men headed towards the hangar deck to check on the engineering crew attempting to repair the damage. They hadn't quite made it to the hatch when an explosion rocked the ship, a pretty violent one. At first Tom thought it was another hit from a Reptilian ship but then the tremors throughout the ship felt wrong. This didn't come from the outside.
This was an explosion inside the ship.
Breaking into a full run, armour and all, he led the race to the hatch and immediately saw the tendrils of green smoke swirling through the room, via a small window in the door panel. A plasma conduit had been weakened and caused the entire array to rupture, hurling a fire ball of green smoke into the space. Even as he put his hand to activate the panel to open, he could feel the heat inside.
"Get this fucking door open!" He yelled to one of his squad as he tried to gauge how many people were inside the cargo hold, trapped still.
"It won't budge!" Someone shouted and Tom prepared to raise his gun to blast the lock when the entire room was bathed in green flames
The screams started immediately after. High pitch wails of agony, male and female that burned into the souls of everyone who listened and could do nothing. Others couldn't look but Tom had to, he had to make a judgment call. The plasma fire was wall to wall and there was no way he could open the door, not without allowing it to spread to the rest of the deck. All he could do was end it for those poor bastards incinerating alive inside when he saw her.
Lisa.
Her blond hair was alight. She looked like a candle, her skin was practically peeling of her bones, strip by strip. The lips he had kissed so often were gone, he could see the pink of her gums becoming cooked meat. She was beyond recognising him, beyond knowing anything but the agony that was devouring her ruthlessly. Tom could only stare for a fraction of a second before he turned away, unable to do anything about it, wanting to scream and curse at the God he thought he no longer believed in. Smashing his fist against the glass sealing off manual override, Tom's bloody fingers secured themselves around the handle and pulled.
The outer hatch opened so suddenly, there was only a sudden sound of metal clanging against metal to indicate what he had done. Looking through the small window again, he saw the bodies tumbling out into space, their flailing limbs ceasing once the cloak of green fire was extinguished in the cold vacuum of space. He thought he might have seen the shape that was Lisa going to her final fate but by then he had stopped looking. Turning away from the door, he had staggered across the corridor, sliding to the floor against the wall, his face in his hands, trying to forget what it was like to see her burn.
Tom never knew he could need a drink so badly.
******'
Mid 2154
SS Bonaventure
A year after the fact and he didn't sleep for more than a few hours before she would come back to haunt him on board the Bonaventure. The Rutherford finally succumbed to the battering it had taken during the journey and now he was transferred to a new ship an equally new group of soldiers. What, fucking Gabriel Loman Hayes, called a ship deserving of a new lieutenant's stripes.
Christ it made him sick.
He could still remember seeing lip-less face as her flesh burned and her hair flowed her around her in a dance of green fire. A bottle of scotch in his hands, he wandered the decks drinking, using the alcohol to keep her burning flesh at bay. Sometimes it was only the stench of spirits that seemed to help him forget the imaginary smell of burning flesh. He came to rest outside a door he couldn't unseal, lowering to the base of the floor as he continued to drink himself into oblivion.
*****
Three weeks into the 'field' and the squad of enlisted newbies on board the Bonaventure were already blooded.. Those that weren't blooded right into death, or so Derick Rickman had overheard a battle scarred captain commenting last night in the chow line. He and his squad were just off watch, hungry as four nineteen or twenty year old males and a 19 year old female could be. Which meant starving, all their appetites brought a twinkle to the grizzled old chef's eyes.
The young Marsi might have actually been impressed with the assessment of his and his friend's life expectancy, how 'cool' it sounded but Derick wasn't, for a reason that made him who he was, why he came out of boot already a lance corporal and already in charge of this small squad. While Avery had certainly been impressed, Derick couldn't help but think he'd been blooded years ago.
The irony of it was that his 'blooding' was by his own blood. Thom Rickman. Derick had joined the MACO's to get away from his father, to get Jules away from the bastard. With his twin safely on Vulcan now, Derick had gone through boot, had come aboard the Bonaventure to begin his new life. One that almost disappeared in the 80 proof breath coming off his new Lieutenant. Tom Merrick. Shit, his name was even Tom.... standing there, with the man in his face, Derick had almost saw his life turning back into itself. Almost.
Tom Merrick saw something Thom Rickman hadn't. With the oozing scent of scotch and the names, Derick had fully expected a berating for the fight they'd discussed. A full on 'you're never going to be any good', your brother's a fucking genius, why aren't you' rant that flung drops of spit across his face. Drops he'd learned not to wipe off at the ripe old age of seven. At least not until the jackass had finished. That hadn't come. Much to Derick's surprise. What had come was how he could be good, he had the right stuff and then a mission that had cemented his difficult-to-earn loyalty to the Lieutenant.
Which was why a good two hours ago, he had sent out Avery and Carmichael to cover parts of the ship while he covered another section, all of them searching for the Lieutenant who hadn't shown up for chow an hour ago and was due for duty in another hour. Not that Derick had been ordered on this hunt, he'd taken it upon himself to find the Lieutenant because he was worth it. Thom Rickman hadn't been, in Derick's jaded eyes but Tom Merrick was. So without using the shipboard communicator and risking the Lieutenant's location going down in the logs, they'd set out.
And Derick had found him. Standing at the other end of a short passageway in the cargo area, he watched the LT for a moment. On the deck and drunk by the smell of things. He was reminded unpleasantly of finding his father like this, habit (or instinct by now) reflexively kicking in for a second before he shoved it away and hurried forward, long legs closing the distance between them quickly.
"Lieutenant Merrick?" he questioned.
In truth, Tom Merrick wasn't that drunk. He had been drinking since he turned fifteen and like this for the past year. He knew how to hold his liquor, even after a bottle of scotch. What Tom had difficulty most, was reigning his attitude, which was in times like this, sitting squarely in the 'don't fuck with me' camp. When he heard his name called, riding the tail of fucking rank, he stiffened in dislike until he realised who it was that had called him that. Lifting his eyes to the stratosphere, with this kid you had to, Tom recognised immediately the young bloke whose ass he'd saved not too long ago.
A good kid for most part, balls and swagger, someone Tom liked because he looked so fucking familiar.
"How you be, Lance Jack." Tom greeted, reverting to old slang for Corporal he was sure the kid wouldn't get. "Thought you be doing the number with some groundsheet at this time of night."
And people said they could never understand the full-on Marsi speak Derick tended towards. It wasn't English, they'd say. To that, Derick could only say no, it wasn't and they never claimed it to be, not like Merrick's people, who claimed to be English and yet chopped up the language like a one armed butcher.
"I seriously hope a groundsheet is a woman," he retorted. "And I was working on that, a nice femme with some long-ass jams." No, Marsi was only part English. The rest was some kind of mutation of French and Creole. Being so fresh from the Mars Colony, Derick's accent was still strong, too. "Lance Corporal Cheri Breaux."
"Yeah she's triple points, that one," Tom agreed, handing the bottle to the younger man, liking it that he didn't have to explain what he said to the kid all the time. Rickman's Marsi accent was just as thick as his own and so the two managed to converse on the same wave length, if not the exact frequency. "Groundsheet is a bird, or rather a bird in uniform. So why aren't you somewhere making her pray your name?"
Eying the bottle, Derick only hesitated slightly before taking it and downing a good swig. "Because she's hoarse from last night." Something too dirty to be a real chuckle escaped him as he handed the bottle back. "Someone said you hadn't made chow and you got duty in..." He eyed his watch and frowned. "An hour. Figgered I'd find ya, dry ya out so you won't get in trouble with the stoneshitter."
Just like that, he had no problem with Tom drinking. No problem with drinking at all because it tended to dull the raspy voice in his head that sounded too much like Thom Rickman. Merrick, he suspected, heard the same one.
A flash of mild surprise crossed over Tom's eyes as he heard the kid's words.Was that why he was really here? To ensure that he wouldn't get in to trouble with the Bonnie's head snorker? It was kind of touching and Tom managed a little chuckle. "Thanks but I'm good. Take a lot more than one bottle of turps to make me miss duty." Still kid had a point, he ought to get some grub into him and clean up. "Just thought I'd have a wander around the boat, couldn't sleep."
Which was bullshit really. He could sleep but trouble was when he slept, he dreamed and that was no good. Blinking slowly, he thought of burning hair and immediately the smell of it assailed his senses. Almost like Pavlov's dog, he took a swig, hoping the burn of alcohol would chase away the memory.
"Uh huh." Reaching over, Derick pulled the bottle out of Tom's hand and took another drink. The Lieutenant probably hadn't meant for that shadow on his face to be seen, by anyone, let alone him. Maybe someone else would have dismissed it was Merrick just being himself. Not Derick. He saw a darkness in the man's eyes that was born more out of a sadness that, left to fester, grew into a special kind of self-hatred and no voice, good or bad, could drown it out. Only alcohol could and even then, the relief was temporary. Sounded damn fucking familiar.
"I suppose I better get off my arse and go kill some of this turps with grub," Tom sighed, meeting his gaze. "We're still in holding around Sappora?" He asked Derick, doubting that they would have change their orbit since he bunked a few hours ago.
The seventh planet of Sappora, called merely Sappora VII was home to some five hundred humans who established the colony of New Sydney some fifty years ago to take advantage of the mining opportunities on the world. Sappora IV was rich in pergium, a radioactive material whose energy output was such that it was often considered the most cost effective way to power cities, instead of dilithium which was not only expensive on the galactic market, but difficult to mine. Pergium was rare but it when located on a planet, it was usually in large quantities. Aside form purchasing some quantity of pergium, the Bonaventure was there to retrieve the humans from that world because they needed to build population numbers of Gaia. With six thousand humans left, every last person contributing to the gene pool was a survival imperative.
"Ya." Derick nodded. "Fucking reps ain't made it here yet," he said, looking at Tom. "I guess that's something, right?"
"Yeah," Tom nodded. "These colonists don't know that the fucking Xindi will obliterate the entire planet just to get five hundred humans."
"I heard some of 'em ain't believing," Derick replied thoughtfully. "They think we're making it up." He made a disgusted sound and shook his head. "Fucking ostriches. Just 'cuz you hide your head in the sand don't mean the gator in the water disappeared. Just means he's got a clear shot," he said, frowning.
"Well we're taking them whether or not they like it," Tom stood up, taking another swig and seeing only a mouthful left. "You want another shot?" He asked.
"Fuck yeah," Derick returned enthusiastically, snagging the bottle. Taking a long drink, he hissed slightly as the alcohol burned it's way down his throat. "You know, they make better shit than this. You gonna be a'right?" Eying the older man critically, Derick supposed that he wasn't totally in his cups yet.
"I'm not that polished mate," Tom smirked and added, "but yeah I'm going to be right. Going to get myself cleaned up..."
He stopped talking when he saw the Chief of Security approaching down the hall. You couldn't miss the bird really. She was tall, slender, had eyes as black as coals and dark hair that said feral in bed. In other words, Tom Merrick's type.
"Fuck," he muttered in Derick's direction. "Guess I'm in trouble now." Although Tom couldn't imagine why. It was an hour before he needed to report to duty and Fleeters had an understanding to give Sharks a wide berth. So what the hell did Lt. Commander Inza Slavina want with him?
Old skills never fade. Derick managed to get the bottle of sight as the woman approached. He'd learned early how to do that, so his old man wouldn't get in trouble for drinking in public. "Maybe she wants your number," he smirked at his lieutenant.
"I doubt it," Tom replied, having run in with her ladyship before. The woman was bitch in every language possible, the kind of Starfleet officer Tom would love to take a swipe at. She had made it plain from the day they wandered into each other's orbit that she didn't think much of ground pounders and that they had no place on a Starfleet ship.
"Lt. Commander," Tom greeted, trying to keep his voice as straight as possible. "What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"
She paused barely a foot away from Tom and Derick, leaning forward enough to catch a whiff. "You're drunk."
"I'm off duty and I'm not driving a skimmer," Tom replied shortly.
"You're on duty in an hour, you're saying you're going to be sober by then?" She challenged, green eyes flaring as she cast Derick a look as if he was also as guilty as Tom.
"As a judge," Tom declared, daring to prove otherwise.
Oh yeah, she was a fucking hot femme. Derick, a month shy of twenty (read: stupid, horny and invincible), let his eyes wander for a moment before he returned her glare with a slow smile.
Tom kept his smirk down to a minimum as he saw the kid's eyes take the woman in like he was ready to bag her against the wall. The thing of it was, the bitch knew it too and the look she flashed both of them at the thought was one of pure contempt. Score one for the Lance Jack, Tom thought to himself. The boy was growing on him. "So you here to fondle me balls luv or do you want something?"
Her eyes flared in fury, prepared to take his head off with a word but she restrained it. "I have to go the planet on a mission. Captain Marino suggested that I take you and another Shark as escort."
"Prolly just for show," Derick smiled at her again. "I've seen you spar, ma'am. You can take care of yourself," he complimented, with that look that people claimed was completely clueless, and others said it was so clueless that it could only mean something diabolical was being hatched. Plus, femmes liked that kind of crap.
"Don't try and sweet talk me Corporal," she bit back. "I'll eat you alive." she hissed.
"He'd probably like that Commander," Tom retorted, unable to help himself. "Looks let's cut the bullshit here. Captain Marino didn't suggest that you take me and another Shark, he ordered you. There's no way you'd let any of us near your mission so let me go get a shower, shoot up with some Vitamin B and meet you in your little kingdom in 30 minutes so we can get this over and done with."
Tom had no fear of insubordination because Starfleet was still trying to decide what to do about Sharks on board their nice clean starships. Right now, the only one who could give him shit was an Iron Bastard stationed on the Enterprise.
Inza forced the rage down her throat because this arrogant prick actually had it right. Lt. Tom Merrick as much as she hated to admit it, knew how to get the job done and right now, where she was going, she needed that back up. "Fine," she hissed. "Thirty minutes."
With that, she turned on her heels and stormed out of the corridor, a contrail of seething fury following her.
When she had gone, Tom turned back to Derick. "I think that went well."
"I think she likes us," Derick replied, eyes on the woman's backside as he let out a sigh. "THAT is some fine femme, sir."
"You do like the difficult ones," Tom laughed. "Yeah nice arse but something about her is off." He remarked, studying her shapely rear end receding into the sunset. "So you feel like going planet side or would you rather get rid of that stiffy with a groundsheet?"
"Oh no fair... that's a damn hard decision to make," Derick replied, casting Tom a look of a masculine contempt. "But..." he let out a sigh. "Seeing as Cheri is hoarse and Nannie Donovan turned me down again..." He made a face. Something was wrong with that girl. "I'll take the mission."
"Good," Tom declared with a smirk, "I figure I need someone to keep me from trying to slip my dick into that," he gestured at the path the Commander had taken. "I got a feeling she's got teeth down there too."
"Maybe that's what she meant by 'eat you alive'." A smirk appeared as Derick checked his watch. "I would die happy...thirty minutes? Where do you want me to meet you?"
"Outside her ladyship's security station," Tom answered, growing serious now. "Whatever she plans on doing down on Sapphora, its gotta to be pretty hairy for Captain Marino to suggest she take a Shark escort."
"A'right. Civvies or uniform?" He asked only because the last mission he and Tom had gone by themselves had required civilian clothes.
"Civvies I think," Tom answered, not knowing for sure but guessing, that if they were going planet side, the idea would be to blend in, not stick out like dog's balls. "Right, I'm going to get going and get cleaned up. Don't be late for our date Lance Jack."
"I'm never late for red-heads," Derick retorted as he brought out the bottle from it's hiding spot. "You want me to leave this here?"
"I'll take it," Tom declared, taking it out of the man's hands and then pausing a moment to add, "thanks."
Just like his old man... but so different. His father never said thanks for all the times Derick found him and brought his drunk ass home, for all the things he did so people wouldn't find out. Derick frowned and nodded. "Half an hour," he nodded, heading off.
*****
Thirty minutes later and Tom showered, grabbed a quick bite to eat and found himself standing outside the security office of Lt. Commander Inza Slavina. From the moment he met her, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen but the trouble with her was there was something beneath the skin of her that made him uncomfortable to be around her for too long. A face so beautiful, people rarely looked beneath to see what made her tick. There was something in her eyes that put him on guard, something that made his spine stiffen straight whenever they came into each other's orbit. It felt like he was a Shark happy and content in his ocean while coming at him without any knowledge of the total destruction, she was a fucking tsunami waiting to smash his comfortable world.
Nevertheless, he did see strength in her. There was steel in those brown eyes. The curvy pout of her lips also showed a jaw set hard, who had seen too much these last two years and had let it sink into her skin to become a part of her soul. Tom just wished he knew what it was about the whole thing that made her so undefinable, so incapable of being read. It unsettled him.
Dressed like he might be any other civilian, with jeans, a plain grey t-shirt and his favourite heavy jacket, Tom waited for the young bloke to show up. The young bloke who also unsettled him for entirely different reasons because Derick Rickman was also something of a puzzle..
Perhaps it was the outrage he had felt when Hayes had bitched him out about the kid's fights that made Tom go to bat for the boy, or maybe, reading Derick Rickman's file had told Tom that he had fought all his life to get where he was, fighting demons the Lieutenant knew all too well. Managing to get through all that shit on Mars, to not only save himself but a brother whose spirit was already broken. By the time Tom had left Alpha Centauri for good, he had more or less given up on his mother, hating her a little for choosing to bring him into this world knowing what was waiting for him. Rickman hadn't though, he stuck to his guns, made sure his brother was secured on Vulcan. That kind of strength you just didn't piss away.
When he gave the speech, he wanted only for Rickman to understand his potential, to know that he needed to channel that rage constructively because Tom saw strength that could make one hell of a soldier, given the chance. Tom had been in the service since he was eighteen years old and knew all the things that Derick was doing because he had done them too. Back then, there had been no one who gave a shit whether or not he pulled himself together and Tom had suffered all those hang ups, all that fury alone, to make a go of it in the Sharks by himself. With the benefit of age and wisdom (such as it was), Tom thought that by giving Derick that first talking to, he'd set the kid right. What he didn't expect in all that was Derick to stick around.
The kid had come looking for him to make sure he made it to shift.
He had covered for him with the bottle in front of Lt. Commander Bitch.
He did all that and said shit about the drinking. Not one bloody word even though he had every reason in the world to do so.
It surprised the hell out of Tom more than the hardened soldier more than he cared to admit. Perhaps, the kid was being grateful for setting him straight but Tom had the oddest feeling that he'd just been adopted.
***
Contrary to Avery's joking accusation, Derick wasn't ass kissing and he'd said as much when he'd hit the showers and changed into jeans, a long sleeved shirt and a jacket. He trusted the Lieutenant. Avery didn't get it and Derick surmised although the dumb hick was his best friend, he probably never would. His parents had stayed together, raising their kids all white picket fence and had managed to escape the fancy section of Utopia. They hadn't liked it when their only son had joined the MACOs.
He hadn't told anyone about the mission, save for a quick answer to Avery that had initiated the teasing. Now, as he approached the security office, looking like one of Charlie's boys, he ignored the hostile glances from a handful of security officers and approached Merrick. The lieutenant looked a damn sight better than before although Derick understood why he'd taken the bottle. Probably drank it in the shower, too. "Hey," Derick said, looking down at the lieutenant.
"How you be," Tom greeted when he saw the young man coming down the hall, amidst the stink eye being hurled his way by the rest of security.Suffer you bitches, Tom thought, giving them a look of clear contempt. "Ready to go fight the dragon lady, Lance?"
"Ready to do more 'n fight her, sir." Derick grinned at him and jerked his thumb over a shoulder. "Although those jackasses looked kinda pissed, yeah?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "They're jealous."
"Cos they are," Tom looked at the annoyed sods who didn't know jack about conducting themselves in a place like Sapphora VII which was about as rough as you could get. Starfleet types would stick out like a hot bird's ass. No way they'd get anywhere with Starfleet Security in tow. As it was, Tom was trying to work out how undercover Inza was going to be. She wasn't exactly a woman who faded into the background. "Wouldn't you be if you knew unworthy fuckers like us might get to slip our fingers into her ladyship's knickers to get her all hot and bothered?" He grinned at Derick before turning to activate the door panel which let out a chirp in response.
"Come in," Inza's voice beckoned them to enter.
Flipping a finger at the security mob loitering about, Tom gave them a smarmy, shit eating smile before gesturing at Derick to follow him. Stepping through the parted doors, he stopped short and exclaimed. "Fuck me."
This would probably kill the kid.
The woman standing before him was not Lt. Commander Inza Slavin, at least not the one he knew. The woman standing in front of her desk looked nothing like the gorgeous security officer. If anything, she looked even better. If such a thing was possible. Her skin had been tinted green and her dark hair was now jet black. It was worn down in long wavy tresses, brushing against the curve of her shoulder in light curls. Dressed in the same garb as Orion slave girls, her costume was mostly strips of flimsy fabric that was either pressed up against her or free flowing around her waist.
Derick let out a curse in Marsi, something similar to Tom's reaction when he saw her. "Whoa... Commander..." Christ, he was nearly stuttering.
Tom's own shock had given way to amusement as he forced the smirk on his face to suppressed the laugh that wanted to come at Derick stammering like a virgin getting head for the first time.
"Is that outfit for business or pleasure Commander?" He quipped.
Inza glared at him as she picked up a cloak that was lying across her desk. Slipping it over her shoulders, she covered up well defined assets before the corporal passed out or something. Men, she snorted inwardly. They were all the same. Sharks even more so.
"Very funny Merrick," she said hotly, pretending that she hadn't notice the wave of lust that had filled both men's eyes which in a small way was rather flattering but not useful under the present circumstances. "Obviously I'm going under cover as an Orion slave girl and you're about the only one on board who looks sleazy enough to own one."
"Why thank you," Tom returned sweetly, not at all offended. "I was hoping you noticed. So what's the mission?"
Glad that he had moved onto a subject that did not require her shooting his arrogant ass, Inza launched into the briefing for the mission they were undertaking on Sapphora.
"A number of the colonists have gone missing in New Sydney," she explained. "We believe that they've been taken by the Orion Syndicate and sold to the fleshpots of Verex III. Verex is close to Xindi space and if the Xindi get wind of it and choose to purchase them, under interrogation they may give up the existence of Gaia. The last thing we want is for the planet killer to show up in Gaian space."
Definitely the last thing they wanted. Despite being all kinds of distracted, Derick's mind went back to business as soon as she explained their mission. "So this is rescue then? Or just undercover to find out where they are?" Verex wasn't too different from the area of Utopia where he'd grown up. This was right up his alley.
"To locate where they are," Tom finished before Commander Slavina could respond in case she had any other ideas. These Starfleet types had no fucking idea about how the world worked. They saw the big picture and often forgot, the big picture was often made up of the smaller ones. "Commander, I'm all for getting our people back but crossing the Syndicate is something we ought to think about very carefully. They're powerful, they have ships and they're bloody vindictive. We cross them and they'd be happy to serve 6000 people to the Xindi if the price is right."
"Are you suggesting we just leave them?" Inza demanded, her eyes flaring up in incredulity at the mere suggestion. "I thought Sharks were brave."
Tom's spine stiffened but refused to be baited. He was too used to dealing with bloody Loman to get riled up by a Fleeter. "We'll get the job done, provided it doesn't increase the body count exponentially. I'm just saying if we do this, we better be prepared for a world of trouble."
Derick glanced at Tom. "How many have gone missing? And are we talking all femmes...ah.. women?" He corrected himself with an apologetic look at Slavina a as a thought occurred. "We can buy them back." Charlie had done that on occasion, bought up a human slave to set them free.
"We can try," Inza nodded, "but at the moment, we just need to know where they are on Verex III."
"Yeah," Tom nodded in understanding. "That's the trick isn't it? Working out which groups got them. Right then," he replied. "I guess we're going down to the surface and do a little bit of old fashioned trading."
"Trading flesh," Derick commented, eyes dark and thoughtful. The commander was right. Starfleet was too clean for this and he and the lieutenant looked the part on a normal day. "Commander, not trying to be fresh but this and.. and..." He eyed her again, hand indicating the get up. "It might get difficult for you, out ranking us and what we'll have to do to be slave traders." He glanced at Tom for support. "You going to be a'right with that?"
Smart kid, Tom thought.
"Corporal, I wouldn't be dressed like this otherwise," she retorted briskly. "I am aware of how unpleasant you two will have to be. Honestly, its not like I expected anything different from Sharks."
"Really?" Tom thought walking up to her as she turned away from him to get something from her desk. Without warning, he slapped his hand on her arse.
"What the hell!" She spun around, ready to take a swing.
"Like the kid said," Tom looked at her without a trace of fear at her outrage. "Are you going to be alright with this? Because Orion birds? They like a little bit of slap and tickle if you get my meaning."
"Exactly." Jesus TapDancin CHRIST, Lieutenant Merrick had BALLS. It was official. Derick was never.. EVER going to fuck with the man. NEVER. "And even the Orion girls have a chain of command," he continued, watching her. "If you're comin' along, you're his head girl, which means you like it where you are," he told her, one hand going up. "I don't mean any disrespect, Commander but that's the way of it."
Barely able to conceal her fury, Inza nodded. "I understand." She did, in her head but her natural reaction was to beat the living daylights of Lt. Merrick who was wearing the most arrogant, self aggrandizing expression on his face. At least the Corporal was taking this seriously but the Lieutenant...oooh, bastard. She cursed under her breath.
"Here," she shoved a data pad at Tom. "This is a credit padd. There's at least 20'000 credits in gold press latinum on it. If we need more, we can get it."
Tom took the padd as she stormed away, going to what appeared to be a weapons locker. He met Derick's gaze and winked playfully, an expression that said to the younger man, 'this is going to be so much fun.'
Rolling his eyes, Derick barely got his smirk under control as he looked over Tom's shoulder at the data on the padd. "How fast?" he asked, glancing up at her. "How fast can we get more? These deals move on the minute, Commander. They have to. Anything longer can be tracked, especially waitin' on transfers." Granted, Charlie had been on the 'right' side of the slave trade business but Derick had learned it none the less.
Even though his expression was one of customary scowl, there was a hint of pride in Tom as the Lance Jack went after the Commander with hard questions. He had acquitted himself well in the previous mission Tom had taken him and suspected he'd be just as useful in this one. Good to know that as much a fuck up as Tom Merrick could be, he could make some good decisions. Allowing the kid the freedom to run for the moment, he watched as the Commander returned with some weapons that were very much not Starfleet issue.
Inza stared at the young man for a moment, taken back by the questions and surprised by how much focus he was putting into it. "Fast," she answered promptly, her low opinion of him escalating a notch. "Fortunately, credits we have a lot of, people is the problem. I've got discretionary powers to up to a million credits at two minutes notice. Is that satisfactory?" She asked him.
An eyebrow cranked up slightly before Derick nodded. "Yes, that should do.. it just depends on what the going rate is for human femmes," he told her, with a glance at Tom. "It's not right but that's how it works. It's a trade, slaves are a commodity like anything else and they're subject to the same judgments as Slomerian Boar Hounds or chocolate. A brunette won't bring as much money as a red-head.. " Fuck. He stared at her for a moment, having forgotten she had incredible auburn hair. "I mean.. you know.. because it's not common."
It took everything Tom Merrick had to not chuckle. Inza's expression was priceless as her jaw dropped open in shock at what Derick had just stated. "Don't worry Commander, you're safe and I'm sure in your case we'd probably have to knock off the price for the whole personality thing." Walking next to her, he added, "besides," he ran his gaze up and down her form, "I'll make sure folks know you're not for sale."
Her chest swelled in disgust. "You're a pig."
"That's what all the ladies say," Tom replied, looking at the weapons she was carrying. "Just before they ask to come home with me."
Something like a snort was heard from Derick but his head was bent over, inspecting the guns the commander was holding. "That's a Varon disrupter..." he exclaimed after a moment, a nearly giddy grin going to Tom. "Cool."
"Bloody nice," Tom replied with similar appreciation of the weapon. "How did we come by this?" He asked her, spying also a TR 116 among the cache.
"Nausicaans," Inza replied, resisting the urge to use one against Tom Merrick for the slap on her rear end earlier. Of course she knew the point he was trying to illustrate, didn't mean she wasn't still smarting from the lesson. "We ran into them a couple of months ago, before you came on board and traded one of our replicators for these. I thought they might be useful in missions like these."
"Good call Commander," Tom answered. "So how are we getting to the surface? We transporting? It would be better if we had a ship." He pointed out.
"We've got an old Andorian shuttle we can use for the purpose. Some of the refugees came aboard on her." She explained.
"Sounds good... can you fly her?" Derick asked as he eyed Tom. Turning back to the Commander, he continued. "Look, if he's supposed to own you, then I'm his body guard. All the traders have 'em," he said.
"Yeah," Tom nodded, having taken basic piloting a few years back. "I'm rated to fly a shuttle but if you want a dog fight, we are well and truly fucked." He smiled sweetly, drawing another inward groan for the commander who was simply not accustomed to hearing Sharks talk.
"Well then," she handed the weapons to the two men, giving Derick the disruptor and Merrick the TR 116. "We better get going. Obviously you'll want the bigger gun." She said to Tom, eyes narrowing with innuendo.
"Nice," Tom rolled his eyes. "You give blow jobs with that mouth?"
"You'll never know," she snorted and walked towards the door, a trail of heat following her.
"She loves me," Tom smirked.
"Like a Solariuan toad loves it's owner," Derick deadpanned as he secured the disrupter and followed after her.
******
New Sydney didn't look anything like the city of its namesake.
That city had been built facing the ocean, with sunshine and pristine white beaches for great surfing. New Sydney on the other hand was the epitome of a mining town, heavily mechanized, pollution spewing into the atmosphere, making the sky seem like a mottle grey and the sun could barely make in through the thick cumulus clouds that spat rain down in an almost perpetual downpour. Tom sat at the controls of the shuttle, a decent sized craft with a sort of ward room and facilities. She was able to go to warp but no faster than Warp 3 which made inter stellar travel problematic. Still it served their purposes as they closed in on the town's space port.
"Looks like a right shit hole," Tom declared.
"Charmingly put," Inza tossed him a look. "But these mining towns aren't known for being glamorous places."
"No shit," he retorted exchanging a look with Derick.
"Looks like Mars, actually," Derick exchanged a grin with Tom and looked over at Inza. "No grass, no animals save domestics and rats...home, sweet home."
"We were a bit luckier on Alpha Centauri," Tom remarked, having been to Mars enough to know exactly what Derick meant. "There was atmosphere so we didn't have to spend a lot of time converting the place to something liveable. Folks that came over were mostly farmers and they got to work planting a whole lot of trees."
"Well New Sydney isn't that old," Inza remarked as she sat behind the two men. "It was started by colonists trying to mine pergium and once it became clear just how much of the stuff was here, the other races moved in. Farians, Orions, Nausicaans, Bolians. A real melting pot."
"Unfortunately, it being so far away from the reach of any major government was what made it so attractive to the Orion Syndicate," Tom added. "Local law enforcement is minimal and what there is, has most likely been bought."
"Yeah, it's more mercs than anything," Derick commented as he viewed the scans for the place and glanced back again at the Commander. "So, that's not like.. permanent or long-lasting, is it?"
"What is?" She looked at him blankly and then realised he meant the dye. "No as enchanting it might be to go through life as an Orion slave girl, I think not."
"Certainly make you popular luv," Tom grinned.
"You know my name is Inza," she bristled. "Do you call every woman you meet luv?" She challenged.
"New Sydney this is the shuttle....Inza," he tossed at her with wink. "We've requesting landing clearance at New Sydney space port."
"It's a Brit thing," Derick explained as he glanced back at her. "And I was just wondering, not that I thought you'd do something permanent. The Orion girls are nice but I don't know." He shrugged. "The green is a little off putting to tell the truth."
Inza actually laughed at that. "Well I wasn't all that eager to get into this costume but it seemed the best way to hide in plain sight. People look at Orion slave girls for only one thing, they rarely suspect them of being anything else."
"That's true," Tom added as they brought the shuttle in for a landing after clearance was given. New Sydney's space port reminded Tom of some of the larger ports he had seen in his time. Ships of different types were whizzing back and forth through the main doors. Some were small scout ships or shuttles, others were larger passenger cruisers that hovered over the station and delivered its passengers by smaller transports. As he flew the shuttle through the large doors, he had to give them credit for building an enormous landing bay. Flight crews move back on forth past huge ships that sat comfortably in position, guided by traffic controllers who navigated them past each other without collision.
"Very impressive," Inza had to admit, her gaze studying the kinetic energy of the place through the cockpit window. .
"I wouldn't want to be port control in this place. I bet they shit dilithium," Derick commented, glancing out the cockpit windshield. "There. The D gates," he pointed out to Tom.
It didn't take Tom very long to set down inside their berth in Sector D. Thanks to the credit padd, they were able to pay docking fees and all the customary clearances to be able to walk off the craft without gaining any undue attention. Particularly since they were here under the strictest cover. Humans were a rare sight anywhere these days, thanks to the bloody Xindi. People tended to look at them with a mixture of pity and disdain. The later because it was well known that every human left in the galaxy was wearing a Xindi bullseye on their backs.
"Alright then Commander," Tom turned to her after they had collected their gear and camouflaged their weapons in readiness to leave the shuttle, "its time for you to make your debut. I'll try to go easy on you." He couldn't help but tease.
Insufferable bastard, Inza thought to herself, eyes narrowing as she saw his bemused expression. He was trying to get under her skin and as much as Inza hated to admit it, he was succeeding. These Sharks were such peasants, she thought to herself. "I assure you Lieutenant," she said haughtily with her chin raised up high, "I can handle anything you dish out."
"Good," Tom smirked, winking at Derick in playful mischief, a clear indicator that nothing good was coming as the proceeded out of the ramp. No sooner than they were visible to the rest of the deck, Tom sidled up to Inza and slid his arm securely around her waist, pulling her close to him. "Remember," he instructed, keeping a perfectly straight face even though his eyes were dancing, "Orion birds can't keep their hands of their men."
Stiffening but for a moment, Inza forced away the cutting remark she wanted to make and immediately slid her arms around his shoulders, hanging onto him like some brainless bimbo he might find at that bar the Sharks hung out at on Gaia. Pushing her body closed to him as he moved, she looked at Derick but not at the lieutenant. "Is this convincing enough?"
Before Derick could answer, Tom retorted, "I'll let you know when anything pops up."
Inza shook her head in disgust. "You are a pig."
Forcing back a smirk, Derick cleared his throat. "Very convincing," he replied, wondering if the lieutenant was going to make it to the bar, let alone this mission.
***
The Jolly Jack was a bar that looked right off the Utopia Colony and Derick couldn't help but wonder if the owner was a Marsi. From the music that buffeted them in the entrance to the incense that drifted lazily on the air, Derick couldn't help but grin as he sauntered into the place, a few steps behind the officers.
People were everywhere inside, perched on stools, in the booths, showing the place wasn't lacking for business and probably never did. Behind the bar, a masterpiece of construction and lit from underneath the glass, several bartenders, including an Andorian and another kind of alien he didn't recognize were working their trade. The wall behind them was filled with what had to be hundreds of bottles, all different colours. Some were even smoking from within. As was his adopted role, Derick reached forward to tap Tom on the shoulder and indicated a booth being vacated. "There."
The manner in which the kid conducted himself told Tom right away, Derick had done this before and recalled something in the corporal's record that denoted employment in the tougher parts of Utopia colony. Considering his size and his ease with the role, Tom guessed bodyguard was a part that Derick Rickman knew very well. Keeping his arm fixed around Inza as they moved across the floor, he saw eyes following their progress across the establishment, prior to settling into the booth that Derick had selected.
Good positioning, Tom thought as he saw it facing the door and gave its occupants a good view of whomever was in the room. Places like this, you didn't have to go ask around for business, it usually came to you. The question was, who in this menagerie of races would approach them?
"How you doing?" He asked Inza quietly.
"I'm just dandy," she retorted, pulling him a little tighter, as if proving she was more than comfortable at their intimate positioning.
Sliding into the booth, Tom gestured Derick to sit as any boss would do to his second while Inza kept her close quarters canoodling. "So far so good," he commented to Derick.
Derick only nodded in response as he claimed his seat. "We should order drinks," he said, glancing at Inza. "It will look suspicious," he told her.
"I suppose I ought to play the role of fawning female," Inza sighed, thinking that this was as thankless any role she'd ever been forced to adopt for this job. Starfleet Security indeed. "I'll go." Sliding off the booth and away from Merrick, she looked to the two. "What will you have?"
"Double Altarian whiskey," Tom said automatically. "Straight up."
Inza's disdain was plain but she said nothing before regarding Derick. "You?"
"Same," he replied. "Thanks."
"Ye look like fine businessmen." The voice was scratchy and almost soft, but Nevo's brain was all in one piece as he surveyed the green beauty the two men had brought in with them with open interest. "And if this is a samplin' of your wares," he said, tongue caressing his lower lip. "Then you need to be doing business with me. Nevo's the name." A chubby, spotted finger wound into one of Inza's curls. "She's a fine one."
"That she is," Tom said with a hint of menace in his voice. "And I'd like her to remain that way by making sure that not every bastards gets a feel of her, do you understand?" Tom said gesturing the finger that placed uninvited on his 'property'.
Inza did not know whether to be grateful or annoyed but she giggled. "Its okay baby," she played her best imitation of dumb blonde. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."
"I'm sure he didn't," Tom replied, "but a man's slave girl is sacred and he don't like it being handled by just anyone. You get that don't you...mate?"
Nevo smiled, his teeth just as spotty as his flesh as he eyed Tom. "Why of course I do.. I was just so taken with her charms, I forgot meself." His hand of course moved from Inza's hair as he eyed the trio, gaze coming to rest on Derick before he looked at Tom. "I didn't know humans came in the size of Klingons. Where'd you find him and does he have a brother? I could use a good guard."
Across the table, Derick choked back a snort.
While Inza looked at him strangely, Tom had some idea of the inside joke that Derick found so amusing. "Fraid not, he's one of a kind. He's got refrigerator in his family. What sort of business are you into Rizz, lad?"
Smiling at him, Nevo only chuckled. "I don't discuss business standing up or dry," he replied. "Can I buy you a drink? And that one a keg?" Another fat finger indicated Derick.
"Double Altarian whiskey," Tom repeated the order he gave Inza. "Just a pint for him," Tom retorted in regards to Derick. "A keg's going to make him no good to me. The lady," Tom stroked Inza's thigh. "Gets anything she wants."
A hint of fire flashed through Inza's gaze before she answered, "you spoil me."
Watching Inza, Derick met her eyes with a subtle nod of approval as Nevo laughed. "Give 'im a pint and I bet he pisses a keg!" he chuckled heartily, before putting two fingers in his mouth and whistling loudly.
Tom laughed out loud, "like a bloody horse mate!" He joined in, watching the room and Nevo at the same time. No one seemed to care that Nevo was over here so the bloke was a regular it seemed.
"Yeah, Nevo?" A slender young woman answered the hail, her clothing making Inza's look prudish. Her eyes fell on Derick and there was no mistaking the hunger she raked over his broad shoulders. "Hello, handsome. I'm Delilah."
The kid certainly drew them in like flies that was certain. Then again, Tom knew there wasn't a bird in same age group on the Bonaventure that Rickman hadn't taken a poke at yet. Why the hell not? That was what 20 was all about and when you were a shark, it was a god given right.
"Your name's going to be mud if you don't fetch us some drinks!" Nevo snapped as he slid into the booth next to Derick. "Double Altarian there, pint of beer here, my usual and whatever the lady wants."
"Jovian Sunspot please," Inza replied, giving Delilah a look of territorial dislike since Orion women were supposed to be that way.
"One sunspot, coming right .. up..." Delilah popped the last word out with a wink at Derick before she turned with a flounce and headed off to the bar.
Grumbling under his breath, Nevo eyed Derick and elbowed him. "Watch it with that one, lad," he said, getting the young man's attention off Delilah's ass and back on the subject at hand. "She's got a string of regulars. Now..." His gaze went to Tom, beady eyes sharp as ever. "I believe you asked my business, Mister....?
"Ian," Merrick replied, "Thomas Ian. Yeah, I heard form the grapevine that Sapphora is the place to buy the kind of merchandise where there are no questions asked. Am I wrong?"
"The only questions asked is how much," Nevo chortled as he leaned on the table. "What kind of merchandise are you looking for, Mr. Ian? Wares such as these?" he asked, indicating Inza. "Or you looking for something more your... species?" he asked, voice low.
"There aren't that many of my species left as you know," Tom replied, keeping his voice just as low. "My man here is young but banging alien quim is not what he wants for the long term. Of course, in that regard, the selection is quite limited these days. I hear that you can buy almost anything here, I would be willing to pay for merchandise of good quality for the service he's provided me."
The double speak in which Merrick spoke with made Inza's stomach crawl but it was exactly what they needed to converse with someone like Rizzo.
Derick kept his eyes on the crowd but a smirk appeared. Depended on the alien quim.
Nevo eyed Tom, obvious wheels churning in his head. "Yes... I know of the human plight," he said, leaning back, fat fingers lacing across his belly. "Can't blame the boy for wanting his own kind but you're right. Weren't right what the scalies did your home world." He eyed Tom, ear flaps fluttering slightly.
Inza hid how much that hurt too but Merrick and Rickman didn't seem that affected, largely because they weren't from Earth but rather Alpha Centauri and Mars respectively.
"The bastards will get their own one of these days," Tom declared, hiding any trace of emotion in regards to the destruction of Earth. "But for the immediate moment, we'll have to make do with what we got. So I hear that Verex III has a good selection of ... merchandise. You know anyone who can get us into that game? Money is no object." Tom smiled.
"Do I?" Nevo chuckled again and leaned across the table. "You're looking at him, mate," he said, nothing jovial in his tone now. "I got them," he said, chin indicating Inza. "And I got enough to fill a proper whorehouse. Some of them even got spawn, so you know they're worthy."
Spawn? Kids? Derick's eyes landed on Inza and then Merrick coldly.
"Course, I keep the cubs with their mothers. Human mothers are some fierce ones," Nevo continued, shaking his head. "Lost a good guard to one."
Tom shot Derick a look to keep his calm but like the younger man, the notion of children in the hands of slavers made him stomach turn with disgust. "I may like to look at some of the spawns. Some of my men, like them real young." It made him sick to the stomach just saying it.
Nevo nodded. "I have heard of this human fetish," he said, not all that phased. "Be at the Rigori district, warehouse 12 in two hours, Mr. Ian. I will bring some samples," he said, getting to his feet. "I expect a sampling of the funds," he said, glancing at Derick. "I'll bring some good ones, perfect for your man to break."
"Two hours it is," Tom replied coolly, mercurial in his facial expressions, even if every word coming out of the Bolian's mouth demanded reply by means of a phaser shoved down the bastards throat. "Don't worry, my men knows how to handle the difficult ones. Bring a sample of the spawn too, any gender will do. Once again, some of my men, aren't particular."
He was good, Inza thought to herself. She doubted anyone in security could have put an act as good without letting it show. The mention of children alone would have set them off, to say nothing about describing them as 'spawn'.
"Then, Mr. Ian, it's been a pleasure." Nevo bowed slightly before heading off. As he disappeared into the throng of people, Derick flexed his hands, knuckles popping. "Kids..." he said, nostrils flaring. If the big man had an Achilles heel, children were it. Two hours.. god, Derick hoped they could get them all.
******