McCoy swallowed the lump in his throat and hated himself for the contempt he’d felt. “I wish I could, Jim. I wish I could.” He petted Kirk comfortingly on one shoulder, hoping he wasn’t touching a bruised spot. “You get some rest now, you hear? I’ll see that you’re not disturbed.”

No sooner had McCoy left the cubicle when he heard the deep voice of their new science officer asking for him in the outer office. With a scowl, he prepared for a confrontation with the intruder. He didn’t care for Vulcans at the best of times, and this particular Vulcan always got his back up, for some reason.

Spock appeared at the ward entrance, scanned the room as coolly as an android until he spotted McCoy, and then headed towards him. McCoy kept the scowl on his face, hoping to discourage him. No such luck. Spock walked right up to him, gave him the briefest of nods and said in that maddeningly calm way of his, “Good morning, Doctor. I wish to see Commander Kirk.”

“Jim’s asleep,” McCoy informed him curtly. “He ain’t seeing nobody.”

“He will see me,” Spock replied, not at all discouraged. “In which of these cubicles have you installed him?”

“Are you deaf? I said Jim ain’t seeing nobody!” McCoy’s voice rose sharply with exasperation.

“I wish to see him, Doctor,” Spock persisted. “If he is asleep, then I shall remain by his bedside until he awakens. I promise not to disturb him. But I must speak to him when he awakens.”

“Look, I’m the doctor here, and if I say Jim’s in no condition to see anybody then you’ve got no right to just barge in and--”

“Bones?” Kirk’s sleepy-sounding voice came from the cubicle behind him. “Who are you talking to? Is that Spock?”

McCoy turned around and yelled back, “Visitors are restricted while you’re recovering! Go back to sleep!” Turning back to Spock, he started to say, “Now will you please get out and let my patient re--Hey! What’re you doing?” the doctor yelled as he found himself airborne. Spock calmly picked him up and put him on top of a nearby medical supply cabinet. It was at least five feet tall, so he knew that it would take McCoy some time to get down without hurting himself or knocking over the cabinet full of valuable drugs. Leaving the doctor perched atop the cabinet, swearing a blue streak at all Vulcans in general and one Vulcan in particular, Spock entered the cubicle.

He found Kirk in bed, lying on his side with his head on his arm. Seeing Spock, he started to pull the covers up to hide his face. Then he decided the hell with it and lowered the covers, letting Spock get a good look at him.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” Kirk told him quietly. “But since you insisted on barging in, you’ll just have to accept the way I look.”

“I don’t care how you look,” Spock informed him. “I just had to see you, to make certain that you survived last night’s ordeal.”

Kirk stared at him, his eyes wide with anguish. “You know what really happened last night?” he said in a choked voice.

Spock nodded. “I was passing the captain’s cabin after working late in the lab. I intended to give him a copy of my report on the special project. But his guards reacted peculiarly to my request for admittance. They informed me that Captain Pike was busy disciplining someone and recommended that I return in the morning. As I was turning away, I heard a noise.” A hint of sadness came into the dark eyes. “The guards pretended not to know what was going on inside, but I knew. I recognized your voice, Jim.”

“Was I that loud?”

“Loud enough for a Vulcan to hear you through a closed door.” He leaned closer to the bed and whispered, “I wanted to help you. When I realized that it was you inside being disciplined--being brutalized by that man, I wanted to help you, with all my heart.”

Tears came to Kirk’s eyes. “I wish you could have helped me,” he whispered in reply. “But he would only have had you thrown in the brig for spoiling his fun.”

“He takes pleasure in hurting you? Jim, that is abominable!” Spock’s hushed voice conveyed his horror more eloquently than a shout. “Why do you endure it?”

“I have no choice.” Kirk fought back the tears as he whispered his confession to his friend. “He’s my captain and my lover. I chose to follow him into battle ten years ago, and I chose to share his bed as well. So whatever comes of those decisions is my fault.”

“It is not your fault!” Spock sat down by the bed so he could be at Kirk’s level as he whispered furiously at him. “You chose to be his lover, not his slave! He has dishonored your bond by so mistreating you!”

“Whatever he does to me, I deserve it,” Kirk said stubbornly. “I know I haven’t been the best of first officers. I should have been more supportive, more understanding of the pressures he’s under as captain…” his sad voice began to recite the monotonous litany of excuses he’d come up with to rationalize his lover’s behavior.

“Stop blaming yourself, Jim!” Spock told him harshly. “It is not your fault! He is brainwashing you! He wants you to believe you incite the violence against yourself, so that he won’t have to accept responsibility for his own actions.”

Kirk stared at him unbelievingly, before his eyes narrowed into angry slits. “What the hell do you know about it? Have you ever been in love?”

“No, I have never known a warrior’s love,” Spock admitted. “But I can tell you that no honorable warrior would ever treat his bondmate the way that Christopher Pike treats you. Among my people, such a bond is sacred, as close as marriage. When two warriors chose each other, they vow to protect and defend one another’s lives and honor. To raise one’s hand against one’s bondmate is as shameful as failing to guard his back in battle, or abandoning him to the mercy of the enemy. A Vulcan who shares a warrior’s bond would sooner cut his own throat than do anything that would harm his bondmate.”

Kirk blinked his eyes, then cast them down to hide the tears. “It used to be that way between me and Chris,” he muttered. “In the beginning, he would do anything for me. And I would do anything for him. Now he’s like a completely different man. I don’t know his mind anymore; I can’t predict what he’ll do from one day to the next. He’s not the same man I used to know.” He hid his face in his arm as he whispered in shame, “He’s not the same man I used to love.”

“Do you still love him, even after all he has done to you?” Spock waited anxiously for his reply.

“I don’t know.” Kirk’s voice was muffled by his arm. “When he does this to me, I hate him. I hate him so much, I could kill him with my bare hands.”

“Why don’t you?” Spock asked calmly.

Kirk looked up at him, his tawny hair falling into his amber eyes, still bright with tears, the traces of which could be seen on his bruised face. “Because when he isn’t hitting me, he loves me like no one’s ever loved me before. He’s as generous with his spoils as he is with his love. He made me his first officer over two others who had more seniority, but only after I had proven myself in the field. I think I loved him the first time I saw him, when I was just a lowly ensign newly assigned to my first ship. I thought he was the perfect model of a Starfleet officer. It took him a year to notice me among all the other promising young officers, but when he did--when he singled me out and offered me his love, I didn’t even bother to ask what was in it for me. Anybody else would have held out until he promised a promotion. That’s how it’s usually done, when the captain takes an interest in you. But I did it for love. I did it for love, Spock,” he repeated, his voice breaking as his eyes closed, squeezing out tears of shame to freshen the moist trails running down his face. “And this is how he pays me back!”

Spock nodded grimly, wishing he could wipe those tears away. He wished he could gather Jim into his arms and take all his pain away. But the Vulcan warrior’s code of honor forbade him from making overtures to another man’s bondmate while that man still lived. However, if the one he desired left his bondmate voluntarily, or the bond was severed by death…Spock could see he had quite a job before him, undoing all the emotional damage Christopher Pike had done to his lover’s mind. Pike would no doubt make some gesture of contrition before long, to convince Jim that he was, indeed, still loved. But by the time his body was healed, the pattern of abuse would begin again.

Not this time, Spock promised himself. I shall not let him hurt you again. You are mine, Jim Kirk. I have chosen you, and mine you shall be. If you are to be mine, you cannot be his. So he must be eliminated. He felt no guilt at the thought of murdering someone to take his bondmate. By Vulcan standards, Pike deserved death for dishonoring his warrior’s bond by being cruel to his bondmate. If only he could convince Jim of that…

The beautiful human was staring up into the Vulcan’s bearded face, wondering what thoughts were lurking behind those hooded eyes. Is he disgusted with me for not being as stoic as a Vulcan? Does he think I’m a fool to go on loving Chris? Well, I don’t care what he thinks! Why should I care, he’s just a friend. Deep down inside, a part of him whispered: Is he? The part that always seemed to tingle with warmth whenever he saw the Vulcan, the part that made him seek Spock out the first time he saw him and find an excuse to remain in his presence so he could go on looking at him, listening to the sound of his mellow, deep voice. Had he examined this feeling more closely, he would have recognized it as the same one he felt when he was falling in love with Chris. But the same misguided loyalty that kept making excuses for his lover’s brutality refused to let him see that he was subconsciously seeking a replacement for Chris. “Spock, what are you thinking?” he finally asked.

Spock studied the beautiful, bruised face before him and said casually, “I was thinking that perhaps I could help to ease your pain. Have you ever heard of the Vulcan mindmeld?”

“Yes, I’ve seen Vulcans using it to, ah, share thoughts with each other.” Kirk blushed a little as he recalled under what circumstances he’d seen it. He’d accidentally stumbled upon a Vulcan couple on the observation deck, a man and a woman holding each other close, caressing each other’s faces, or so it appeared. Each one had a hand pressed to the other’s cheek; their eyes were closed as they shared each other’s thoughts. They didn’t even notice Kirk, who stood and watched them silently, wondering if this was some sort of Vulcan courtship ritual, until it finally dawned on him that they were communing mentally. There was no need for words between them; anyone could see that here were two hearts that beat as one. It touched him, and made him feel a little ashamed as well, as if he had intruded upon a human couple kissing. He had slipped away to give them their privacy, wondering how it felt to be so completely a part of your lover that your mind and his were one.

“Yes, it is used primarily for communication. It is also used for healing. If you will permit me to touch you, I will attempt to alleviate your physical pain by finding each wounded area of your body and numbing the pain nerves. I will also be able to speed up the healing process by stimulating your cells to regenerate faster. This is known as a healing meld. Ordinarily it is used on the battlefield, when there is no healer available. It draws on the psychic energy of the one doing the healing, which is very draining. But because we are friends, I am willing to share some of my strength with you--if you will let me,” Spock concluded humbly.

“Sure, why not?” Kirk saw no harm in letting Spock meld with him. He was curious to know just how it felt to commune mentally with someone. He never suspected that Spock might be trying to influence him mentally, to break his bond with the unworthy one he was tied to. “What do I have to do?”

“Just relax and clear your mind. Lie back if you wish.” Spock’s calm tone of voice hid the excitement he felt at the thought of finally touching his beloved friend.

Kirk lay back against the pillow and shut his eyes. He concentrated on clearing his mind of all disturbing thoughts. When his mind was a comfortable blank, he murmured, “Okay, I’m ready.”

Spock had used the interval to prepare himself as well. As soon as he had Kirk’s consent, he gently laid his right hand on Kirk’s left cheek, the least bruised side of his face. Closing his eyes, he began to chant, “Your mind to my mind, my thoughts to your thoughts. Our minds are merging, becoming one, our thoughts the same…”

Kirk found himself floating in a warm, quiet darkness, detached from his physical body, yet still able to sense it around him, as if he were an unborn baby inside a womb. He sensed another presence in the darkness with him, a familiar one. Spock? he thought.

Yes, Jim, it is I, Spock’s mind voice reassured him. I am now going to scan your body for internal and external injuries. Kirk then felt a sensation of being gently stroked by warm hands, exploring every surface of his body, as waves of psychic energy washed over him, penetrating the skin to the nerve and muscle tissue, even to the bone beneath.

One by one, Spock located every area on his body that had been injured by Pike’s fists and used his psychic energy to numb the pain nerves in and around the injury. He also speeded up the healing process, so that the bruises would fade faster. Kirk felt a tingling sensation, like the pins and needles feeling in a limb that had fallen asleep from lack of circulation, as his skin cells and white corpuscles were stimulated by the burst of outside energy to work faster. His back and shoulders fairly glowed with this unaccustomed warmth, while his face felt as if he were lying in the sunlight soaking up rays on a beach somewhere.

When all his external injuries were taken care of, Spock probed a little deeper. Kirk let out an involuntary whimper as he felt his violated rectum being touched by warm, gentle fingers. As gentle as the touch was, it still hurt him to be handled down there.

It’s all right, Jim, let me heal you. Let me ease your pain, the Vulcan’s mind voice crooned to him as the warm, gentle fingers continued their probing, numbing the pain nerves while speeding up the process of healing McCoy had only started; repairing ruptured blood vessels, sealing off tears in the delicate tissues, mending the trauma caused by a sudden, violent intrusion into such an intimate place without any lubricant. McCoy’s sub-dermal regenerator had only repaired the outer layer of injured tissue, while Spock’s healing meld went much deeper, repairing even the minutest tears.

Gradually, Kirk began to feel as if he were being held gently and securely in strong arms against a firm, muscled body, caressed by loving hands. Spock, what is this? Are you still healing me?

No, Jim, your body has already healed itself. I am only trying to give you pleasure, to make up for the pain you have suffered. The stroking sensation was strongest over his erogenous zones; Kirk felt as if his nipples were being gently licked and sucked, while his buttocks were stroked and his privates were fondled.

Don’t do that! Kirk told him. He was starting to feel aroused, and was ashamed of himself for responding to any man but Chris, even if it was only in his head.

Does this not please you? Spock asked. I only want to make you feel better. This is part of the healing process when one has been violated as you were, so that you may learn not to fear love.

But I already have a lover, Spock, Kirk tried to reason with his friend, make him see that this was equivalent to infidelity on his part.

He does not deserve you! Spock told him angrily. He dishonors your warrior’s bond with violence against your person! Why do you cleave to him? You no longer owe him any loyalty. It was he who struck the first blow, so it must be you who breaks the bond.

You love the memory of what you once had. That love is over now, Jim. It died the first time he struck you in anger. You cling to the memory of that love because you fear having to go without it. But you need not live without love. Cast off your unworthy bondmate and you shall have another, better lover. Spock’s mind voice became soft and seductive as he continued his psychic probing of Kirk’s erogenous zones, stimulating the pleasure center of his brain as he projected a mental image of them lying together naked, kissing, caressing, holding each other close as they prepared to make love.

No, Spock! Please don’t do this! Kirk concentrated until he was able to visualize pushing Spock away from him. It’s not fair to Chris! And it’s not fair to me, either, tempting me like this when you know I’m not free to love you!

The mental image of Spock raised itself on one elbow to look down on him, dark eyes burning into his, desire plainly evident on his face. If you were free, would you accept the love I offer you? Would you form a new bond with me and let me show you the true meaning of a warrior’s love? Let me teach you that love between two men does not have to include violence? That you need not sacrifice your pride in the name of love?

Kirk lay beside this image of Spock feeling both frightened and aroused by the choice he was being offered. To love and be loved by a man who considered him an equal, deserving of respect? Or to stay with Chris and be treated like a whore one moment, a child the next? He remembered the love they used to share before things went bad, before Chris started drinking so much, criticizing everything he did, looking for excuses to hurt him. It had been so wonderful then, having Chris to love and care for him. He’d felt so safe, so happy, so secure in his arms. Nothing could touch him while he was with Chris. Nobody could harm him. He longed to feel that way again. Spock was offering to make him feel that way again, show him all the tenderness he’d missed, give him back his pride so that he’d feel like a man again. But how could he just turn his back on Chris after ten years?

And how can you continue to forgive what is unforgivable, the continuous violation of your body, physical and sexual? Spock argued, trying to make him see that he was justified in leaving his abusive mate. He doesn’t deserve you, Jim! Come to me and I will protect you from all who seek to harm you, as a true warrior should. But first we must kill him.

The idea of actually killing Chris, of freeing himself from his violence at last, bloomed in his mind like some poisonous flower whose seed had been planted the first time Chris had hit him. This dark flower looked as sweet to him as Spock’s forbidden love. But still he hesitated to accept the idea. I know I should have killed him long ago for doing this to me, but deep down in my heart, I still love him.

No, no, I can’t! He’s my captain and my lover, I owe him my obedience and loyalty!

You lost your lover when he became your master. By now you are more slave than lover. Free yourself, Jim! Kill the tyrant who subjugates your body and soul, then you and I can be together always… Spock kept stimulating his pleasure center while continuing to project the mental image of them lying together, side by side. The image was so real; Kirk imagined he could feel Spock’s chest hairs beneath his fingers as he pressed his hands against his chest, trying to keep him away. Spock’s image pressed back against his hands, while his eyes pleaded with him silently, trying to overcome his resistance with persuasion.

If Captain Pike is slain, then as his second in command you will become captain, Spock now reminded him, appealing to the hidden ambition he’d glimpsed inside the darkness of Kirk’s mind. You are more worthy to be captain of the ENTERPRISE than he is. And when you are captain, I shall be your first officer and never leave your side. Together we can be invincible. The image of Spock pressed a little bit closer as he felt Kirk’s hold on him weaken. The uncertainty in the hazel eyes of Kirk’s image encouraged him to continue. Think of it, Jim! You as captain of the ENTERPRISE, spreading the fear of the Empire throughout the galaxy. With me by your side, providing you with scientific information, as well as the comfort and security of a warrior’s bond. No one shall ever abuse you again while I am there to protect you. You will be mine and I will be yours. So will the ENTERPRISE. Think what you could accomplish! Your own command, Jim. No more than what you deserve, after all that you have suffered at Pike’s hands…

Spock felt the last of Kirk’s resistance crumpling as he showed him how to achieve his ambition. His desire for the human was as strong as Kirk’s desire for a command of his own. Spock had never been ambitious to command, only to discover the mysteries of life through science. He let Kirk see that he would be no threat to him, that he had no intention of vying with him for command of the ENTERPRISE. Once he was captain, he would reign supreme, with a devoted Vulcan first officer to insure that he would remain on top, inviolate, untouchable. Except by Spock in the privacy of their shared quarters…

Kirk’s image quit pressing against the chest of Spock’s image and started caressing it as he felt desire beginning to rise within him, along with the ambition Pike had been trying to suppress with his beatings. Kirk knew that he would never be able to share in the command of the ENTERPRISE as an equal, nor win a command of his own by transferring to another ship. Pike would neither share power with him nor allow him to find it somewhere else. Pike wanted everything for himself; the ENTERPRISE, his lover’s body, even his lover’s pride. Why shouldn’t he, Jim Kirk, get what he wanted for a change?

You shall, Spock assured him seductively. You shall have everything that you desire, Jim. Your own command, the respect of your fellow officers, and a true warrior’s love. His mental image grasped the smaller human hands in his own, holding them gently, lovingly, as he kissed him.

I am not Christopher Pike. I shall never force you the way he does. This I swear, on my honor as a warrior. Spock seemed to be kissing him while speaking to him at the same time. Kirk was so dizzy with pleasure by now, he kept forgetting that this was only an illusion, a mental projection. It felt so real, so hot and so sweet, he never wanted it to end.

Will you be mine, Jim? If I help you to rid yourself of the unworthy one you are now bonded to, will you form a new bond with me? I will show you what a warrior’s love really means. Spock’s kisses became more ardent, more insistent, as his inhumanly hot body hovered tantalizingly above him, promising even more physical delights. Give yourself to me and I will be yours forevermore, always at your side. You will be part of me and I will be part of you. Forever inside you, like this-- Suddenly Spock lowered himself so that he was lying full-length on top of him, pressing so close Kirk could feel his aroused manhood against his belly. Its’ impressive size, its’ thickness and hardness, made Kirk long to feel it inside him too. Just as suddenly, Spock lifted himself off him again. And like that, he added. You shall have everything you ever dreamed off, all that you desire to keep you satisfied. Spock kept hovering over him, not letting a single inch of his body make contact with Kirk’s, not even kissing him now as he stared down at him challengingly. Will you be mine, Jim? When Pike is out of the way, will you give yourself to me? Will you?

Yes! Kirk told him eagerly. Yes, I promise to give myself to you once Chris is gone! Help me free myself from him and I’ll be yours that same day! I’ll make you my first officer and we’ll be together always! Always… Kirk gave a gasp that turned into a moan of pleasure as Spock finally settled on top of him, holding him close in strong arms.

Then I promise to help you slay Pike and make you captain in his place, in return for your love. Spock kissed him tenderly to seal the vow. Kirk’s eager response made him long to force a bond on him now, take him while the human was still pliant and incapable of resisting. But that would make him no better than Pike. Mental rape was as despicable as the physical kind. Even now, he was dangerously close to violating the Vulcan warrior’s code of honor by mentally seducing one who was still tied to another. But he could feel no mental tie between Kirk and Pike inside the human’s mind, as he would have felt if he’d been trying to break a Vulcan bonding. Could it be that humans did not bond mentally with each other as Vulcans did? He knew that humans were capable of bonding with Vulcans; his mother’s bond with his father was a strong one. No matter; as long as Kirk was willing and able to bond with him. But not now. He started to withdraw from Kirk’s mind.

Kirk felt him leaving and said desperately, Don’t go! Please, stay a little longer!

Jim, if we remain in this meld much longer, the fantasy we are experiencing together could become reality, Spock explained to him gently. I cannot, in honor, lie with you while you are still Christopher Pike’s lover. He has wronged you terribly and that wrong must be redressed by one of us before we can be together.

Kirk felt like weeping at the prospect of having to wait for Spock’s love. But I need you now! Won’t you love me for a little while, please?

Not yet, Jim. Be patient. Soon we will be together forever. Spock gave him one last kiss before gradually letting the image fade. Kirk soon found himself floating in warm, comforting darkness again, alone yet not alone, sensing Spock’s presence near, but unable to feel him physically. Be patient, Jim, he heard Spock’s mind voice repeating lovingly. When this is over, when it is all behind us, then we shall be together forever.

Yes, yes! We’ll always be together, you and I! No one will ever part us! Kirk held onto his promised lover’s presence for as long as he could, before feeling it gently slip away.

As the meld dissolved, Kirk slowly became aware of his body again. He could feel it around him, enclosing him like a cage of flesh, keeping his mind a prisoner. He felt a tear escape his left eye as he mourned for the loss of closeness, of oneness, that he’d felt while mindmelding with Spock. Then he felt warm fingers brushing the tear away and opened his eyes to see that Spock was still with him.

“Spock!” he said joyfully, reaching up to grasp the warm hand on his face.

“Jim,” Spock murmured comfortingly. “Be at peace, T’hy’la. Rest here until the doctor releases you. Then we shall work upon releasing you from Pike.”
 

“The sooner, the better!” Kirk agreed.

“BROTHERS IN BLOOD”

By SLASHERFEM

PART TWO

The next morning upon the bridge of the I.S.S. ENTERPRISE, Captain Pike and the bridge crew got a shock when the first officer reported for duty. Kirk got off the turbolift and went straight towards the command chair with no hesitancy or stiffness in his walk to indicate any sign of internal injury. All eyes were on him as he approached the captain’s chair.

“Good morning, sir,” Kirk said pleasantly. “First Officer Kirk reporting for duty as ordered.”

Pike, who was busy reading his latest orders from Starfleet, looked up from the compslate straight at his lover, prepared to act as if nothing had happened last night, as usual. “Good morning, Mr. Kirk,” he said, before his mouth fell open in astonishment. He sat there staring at Kirk’s unmarked face as Kirk smiled sweetly at him.

What the hell is this? Pike wondered furiously. I beat the hell out of him and he shows up a day later looking like nothing happened? He kept staring at Kirk’s face, looking for some sign of makeup or cosmetic surgery that would explain his appearance.

Lieutenant Uhura was smiling with relief to see her friend looking so well. Chekov was grinding his teeth, furious that his rival’s looks hadn’t suffered by his latest altercation with his lover. How would Pike ever notice him if Kirk kept on looking so good? Beside Chekov, Sulu was frowning as he wondered what Kirk’s secret was. The rest of the bridge crew was wondering the same thing, as they stood with their fingers poised over their consoles or styluses over their compslates. All were used to seeing Kirk looking like he’d survived an assassination atempt. Was Pike starting to ease up on him? Or was Kirk following Kyle’s example and not bothering to resist anymore? In either case, he wouldn’t last much longer as the captain’s favorite. Those who admired Kirk were glad for him, while those who envied him were already plotting to replace him.

Only the new Vulcan science officer didn’t bother to look up as the first officer came onto the bridge. He sat at his station ostensibly studying a lab report while watching Kirk and Pike out of the corner of his eye. It gave him a great deal of satisfaction to see how baffled Pike was at the sight of Kirk’s rapid recover. It shall give me even more satisfaction to see you in his place, my love. Soon, very soon…

“Is there something wrong, sir?” Kirk asked innocently as Pike continued to stare at his face.

“What? Oh, no, nothing!” Pike assured him hurriedly. “I’m just glad to see that you’ve, ah, recovered so quickly from your, um, accident.”

Kirk’s smile became sardonic. “Oh, yes, sir, I’m completely recovered from that little mishap. And I can assure you that it will never happen again.” He stared right into Pike’s eyes as he spoke, allowing him to see the naked threat in his own eyes.

For a moment, Pike was shaken. He was used to veiled threats of retaliation from his abused lover. They usually came to nothing, after Pike had left him alone long enough and given him an expensive gift to make amends. But remembering what Kirk had said to him last night before the violence started made him wonder if he really meant it this time. If so, he’d better nip this in the bud. “Very well, Mr. Kirk. Carry on,” he told him gruffly, giving Kirk a look of his own that warned him he intended to get to the bottom of this mystery soon.

“Thank you, sir.” Kirk moved over to the Science station, greeting Spock as if they were no more than the friends they’d always been. “Good morning, Mr. Spock. Did you manage to get that material you promised me?”

“Yes, Mr. Kirk, I believe you will find it satisfactory for your purpose.” Spock gave him a compslate, allowing their hands to touch momentarily. The brief contact permitted him to commune with Kirk mentally through the tenuous link that had been created between them while they were mind melding. Very good, Jim. Keep acting as if I mean nothing more to you than a friend. As soon as you have spoken to Uhura, come visit me in the Science Department.

Kirk pretended to be reading the compslate while his lover-to-be communed with him. He then handed it back saying, “Thank you, Mr. Spock. I’ll drop by the Science Department later to pick it up.” He managed to give Spock a longing look that nobody else saw before turning away.

His next stop was Communications, where Uhura greeted him with a smile and whispered, “Jim, what happened to you?”

He returned her smile and said aloud, “I’m fine, Lieutenant, how are you?” Leaning over her shoulder, he pretended to study her console while he whispered in her ear. “Meet me for lunch and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“You’d better!” she warned him, then laughed softly as he blew in her ear. This really bugged Sulu, which was why they did it. As Kirk straightened up, he saw Sulu scowling at them. Kirk just smiled at him knowingly, pausing to flick one of Uhura’s earrings playfully before he walked away.

Pike saw the whole interplay between his young officers and felt relieved that Kirk was still using Uhura to shield their relationship. Good, he’ll get sympathy from his girlfriend. Maybe she’ll persuade him not to do anything rash. She’d better, if she still hopes to be the captain’s woman once of these days. He has to survive me to become captain. He didn’t care what Kirk did with women, so long as no man ever came between them. If he ever found out Kirk had another man, he’d kill them both. Turning towards the Science station, he addressed his rival unknowingly. “Mister Spock, you may continue that special project I assigned you. I think it’s going to be very invaluable in the days to come.”

“Thank you, sir,” Spock replied, thinking: You will never live to see its’ completion. And it serves you right. His perfectly trained features never even hinted at what he and Kirk had in mind for this man. By right I should challenge you to a duel, with the winner claiming Jim as his bondmate. But he has warned me how you are prepared to deal with any rivals. So you must die more subtly, more cruelly, by the hand of him whom you have wronged. I only wish that I may have a hand in your actual death as well. I would kill you slowly, so that Jim could savor it and taunt you as you die. He spent the rest of the morning very pleasantly, imagining ways to kill Pike as slowly and painfully as possible.

****************

Later that day in the Officers’ Mess, Kirk and Uhura sat in a corner together. In between bites of lunch they could be seen whispering and holding hands, acting like any other young human couple on a lunch date. The few Vulcans present ignored them, thinking it quite vulgar for anybody to be so blatantly demonstrative during courtship. The humans were equally divided between those who wondered when Uhura was going to get tired of her boyfriend also being the captain’s boyfriend, and those who thought, like Pike, that she was still hoping to become the captain’s woman one of these days.

“Jim, what did Doctor McCoy do to you?” Uhura said softly as she looked into her friend’s unmarked face. “When I saw you in Sickbay yesterday morning, you looked like death warmed over. Now you don’t have a mark on you. It’s like a miracle!”

“I could hardly believe it myself,” Kirk admitted. “And McCoy had nothing to do with it. Now he has even more reason to hate Vulcans!” he chuckled.

“Vulcans?” Uhura leaned a little closer, letting her eyelids droop as if she were hoping for a kiss. “Don’t tell me a Vulcan did this to you? I’ve heard that they were experts at psychic healing, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of one being willing to use it on a human. Did you save a Vulcan’s life?”

Kirk smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the lips. “No,” he whispered, “but he may have saved mine. You know Spock, my Vulcan friend?”

“The new science officer? Yes, you told me how close you two were becoming. Some of the other Vulcans are scandalized. They think it’s most improper for a person of his breeding to associate so openly with a mere human.” Her voice was edged with scorn, showing what she thought of such bigotry. “Did he go into a healing meld with you? He must think very highly of you, then. I understand a healing meld takes a lot out of a Vulcan, which is why they only do it for close friends and family. Someone they can trust not to take advantage of them in their weakened state.”

Kirk wrapped an arm around her and pretended to nibble on her ear as she giggled. “Yes, we went into a healing meld together,” Kirk whispered in her ear. “Not only did he heal me, he showed me how he really felt about me.” He hesitated, then decided to trust her. “He loves me, Nyota. He knows what Chris is doing to me and wants to free me from him. He’s going to help me become captain.”

Uhura stared at him in silent shock, her dark eyes as big as a frightened gazelle’s. “Jim!” she finally whispered fearfully. “What are you saying? If the captain finds out about you and Spock being lovers, let alone conspirators, you’ll both die!” Her hands trembled in his grasp.

“Don’t worry,” Kirk said softly as he squeezed her little brown hands reassuringly. “We’re not lovers yet. He’s an honorable man, by Vulcan standards, and his honor won’t let him make love to me while Chris still lives. The only way we can be together is if one of us kills Chris. Either I have to kill him myself, or Spock has to challenge him to a duel, with me as the prize.”

“Even Chris Pike isn’t crazy enough to accept a challenge from a Vulcan!” Uhura hissed. “Those people are more than twice as strong as humans! Spock could break him in half!”

“Only if Chris fought fair. What makes you think he will?” Kirk looked into her eyes with feigned ardor while murmuring, “Remember what happened to that Andorian captain who challenged him for scavenger’s rights to that wrecked treasure vessel?”

Uhura shuddered, remembering the outcome of that duel between the human and the Andorian on the deck of the wrecked vessel itself. It had been shown on the viewing screens of the ENTERPRISE and the Andorian ship, with both crews betting heavily on their own captains. The Andorian captain had lost big; what was left of him literally had to be scraped off the deck, as Andorian blood dries quickly once exposed to air, especially when the Andorian it’s leaking out of is lying in a pool of it. “I remember. God, it was awful! Chris fought like an animal!”

“And that was just for loot. Can you imagine how he’d fight if I was the prize?” Kirk snuggled up to her, pretending to nibble on her ear while whispering into it. “He’s told me plenty of times what he’d do to me if he ever caught me with another man. That’s when he isn’t telling me no other man would ever want damaged goods like me.”

“You wouldn’t be so damaged if he’d only stop beating you up,” Uhura said resentfully. “Honestly, Jim, I wish Spock would challenge him for you. You deserve to have someone fight for you the way you fought for me.”

Kirk squeezed her affectionately. “You’re worth fighting for, little lady. Especially against that slant-eyed bastard who’s been trying to get into your pants since you came on board.”

Uhura giggled. I’ll never forget the way you pulled him off me and just flung him across the deck! He looked so funny with his head stuck in the disposal chute!”

Kirk smiled nostalgically. “Yeah, too bad the rest of him couldn’t fit through the chute. Lord knows I tried to get him down there.”

Uhura had to press her face against his shoulder to smother her laughter. He held her close until she got all the giggles out of her system, attracting quite a few envious looks from men who wondered what she saw in him. As soon as she was able to sit up and look him in the eye, he reduced her to helpless laughter again by saying, “I’ll never forget Sulu’s face when I told him ‘Uhura’s my girlfriend now, and if you ever bother her again, I’ll kick your little chop suey ass into the middle of next week!’”

She laughed as she took his face between her soft little hands and regarded him affectionately. “Oh, Jim, you’re such a dear! If only you were straight!” she sighed with regret.

“None of us is perfect. But if you really want to be my friend, you can help me and Spock when we move against Pike.”

“Just tell me how and when,” she whispered.

Kirk pretended to whisper sweet nothings in her ear while he described her part in the plan that he and Spock had worked out.

****************

No one in the Science Department lab that day noticed any change in Spock’s demeanor as he performed his experiments. His hands didn’t shake as he measured and poured chemicals, his eyes never left the temperature control gauges, and his attention never wandered from the computer screen as he entered the results and compared them to his previous day’s findings. But inside, he was as nervous as any lover awaiting the imminent arrival of his beloved. He’d been bonded in childhood to a suitable bride, but that was solely to provide for his physical needs. He’d never known a warrior’s love, though he had dreamed of sharing one someday with the man of his choice. Until he met Jim Kirk, no man had ever tempted him. Now he was ready to risk everything for the sake of his Chosen One.

When Kirk entered the Science lab, Spock recognized the sound of the human’s tread approaching his work site. He forced himself to finish the last line of his report before glancing up at Kirk, who waited patiently by the console. “Ah, Mr. Kirk,” Spock said as if he had just noticed him. “Excellent timing. I have just finished my report and can now give you the material you requested earlier. If you will follow me?” He rose from his chair.

“After you, Mr. Spock.” Kirk fell in behind him as Spock led him to the supply closet in back of his work area.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Spock grabbed him and gave him a long, hard kiss. A startled Kirk resisted for a moment, then relaxed into the embrace, returning the kiss eagerly. Spock lifted the slightly shorter human off his feet as he held him tight, while Kirk wrapped his arms around the Vulcan’s neck. When their lips finally parted, Spock put him gently back down, but continued holding him. Kirk did the same, resting his blond head against a sturdy, blue-clad shoulder.

“I’ve missed you,” he told Spock softly.

“And I you,” Spock admitted. “But let us not lose track of time, T’hy’la. There will soon be time enough for us to spend together.” He released Kirk and put his right foot up on a packing crate. Reaching inside his boot, he pulled out a small dagger inside a gold-embroidered sheath. “This is what you will use to dispatch him.” He pulled the dagger from the sheath to show him.

“It’s a beauty.” Kirk admired the workmanship of the dagger. It was a delicate-looking thing about as long as his hand, with a thin double-edged blade of razor-sharp steel. The hilt ended in a blue enamel knob that could be easily grasped between the fingers.

“It is meant for killing swiftly and silently. That is why it was made small, to be easily concealed.”

“But how am I going to get it past the captain’s bodyguards? The doorway has a built-in metal detector to prevent anybody from carrying concealed weapons into the captain’s presence.”

Spock reached up to retrieve something from behind a can of powdered chemical on a shelf. “I thought as much. So while I was in Sickbay yesterday, I appropriated this.” He showed Kirk a length of surgical bandage. “I soaked it overnight in a solution that will shield the metallic part of the blade from the metal detector’s magnetic resonator. Once it is well wrapped in this, you will be able to get it past the metal detector without triggering the alarm. Now, are you right-handed or left-handed?”

“Right-handed.”

“Hold out your left arm, then.” Kirk did so. Spock pushed up his gold uniform sleeve to the elbow and laid the little dagger in its’ sheath against the inside of Kirk’s forearm, with the blue knob of the handle right below his palm. “Now hold your arm steady.” Spock proceeded to wrap the treated bandage around the dagger, until it was completely concealed. He stood back to examine his handiwork. “Is it comfortable?”

“Yes, I can hardly feel it. But I know it’s there.”

“See if you can pull it out of the sheath easily.”

Kirk dug two fingers into the opening at his wrist, grasped the blue knob of the little dagger and pulled it out. It gleamed wickedly in the dim light of the storage room.

Spock nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Now put it back in.”

Kirk obliged, carefully sticking the dagger’s thin blade into the small opening just visible beneath the bandages at his wrist. The blade slid home easily. Kirk smiled his gratitude at his friend. “You sure it won’t fall out?”

“Not if I wrapped it tight enough. Try it.”

Kirk shook his arm vigorously, but failed to dislodge the blade from inside the bandages. “Good! Now I’ve got a fighting chance against that bastard.”

“Has Lieutenant Uhura agreed to play her part?”

“Yes, she’s willing. I promised her the pick of my gems from Daedalus. But I think she would have done it for nothing.”

“Indeed?” There was a hint of jealousy in Spock’s voice. “Is she so fond of you?”

“Yes, we’re very good friends. And that’s all we are,” Kirk assured him. “I saved her honor and her life, so that gives us a tie of blood brotherhood.”

“You humans appear to take blood brotherhood as seriously as a true sibling relationship.”

“We have to. Anybody who’s willing to risk his life for you in this cutthroat fleet is a friend that you can trust. We’re not psychic, like you Vulcans, so we have to depend on ties of friendship forged in blood.”

“On Vulcan, such a pact as we have made also binds two persons together with ties of friendship forged in blood.”

“So I guess that makes us blood brothers too, huh?” Kirk held out his unbandaged hand to him.

“Yes, brothers in blood, sworn to avenge your honor.” Spock took his hand, looking into the hazel eyes of his Chosen One with total devotion. “I wish you did not have to do this alone,” Spock told him, his dark eyes betraying his anxiety. “I would rather challenge Christopher Pike to a duel for the right to be your bondmate. But you say he cannot be trusted to fight fairly?”

“No, not against a Vulcan. Or any other non-human, for that matter. I told you about the duel with the Andorian. I don’t want that to happen to you,” Kirk told him earnestly.

“And I do not want anything to happen to you. I have waited long to find you, T’hy’la. I have known many men who I would trust with my back in battle, but never have I known one that I would trust with my heart. Until now.” Spock gently laid his free hand on the side of Kirk’s face, pressing his sensitive fingertips against the meldpoints in the cheek leading to the psi centers of the brain. Kirk welcomed him into his mind, rejoicing in the feel of the familiar presence inside him. Spock caressed him mentally, stimulating his brain’s pleasure center so that every nerve ending tingled the way it would after an orgasm. Kirk shut his eyes and sighed, reveling in the pleasurable sensations that filled him.

Oh, Spock! he heard Kirk’s mindvoice groan happily. This feels so good! I can’t wait to get you in bed to see what the sex will be like!

I, too, am impatient for our physical union. It will be a pleasure to receive instruction from you on the art of loving a man.

No, I regret that I have led a very uneventful life, as far as carnal knowledge is concerned. I am relying on you to fill that deficit in my knowledge, Spock told him playfully.

They kissed hungrily as Spock slowly dissolved the meld, letting Kirk feel his regret at their separation and his longing for their love to be consummated. Kirk felt so weak, he had to lean against the Vulcan’s tall, hard body for support. Spock caressed him briefly, enjoying the feel of Kirk’s compact, muscular body under his hands. Finally they parted, in silence, but with their eyes speaking volumes to each other. Unlocking the door, Spock stood aside as it whooshed open and allowed Kirk to precede him out.

****************

The summons came at 2000 that evening. Pike’s yeoman came to Kirk’s cabin and gave him the captain’s compliments, and would Commander Kirk please join him for dinner? Kirk told him to tell the captain that he would be pleased to join him as soon as possible. Right after the young man left, Kirk hit the comm link on his computer.

“Nyota, it’s time,” he said to Lieutenant Uhura.

“All right, Jim. I’m on my way,” she assured him.

“Thanks.” He broke that connection and opened another one. “Spock, he’s sent for me.”

“Then go now, Jim. Don’t keep him waiting.”

“Don’t worry, this is one dinner date that I definitely don’t want to miss.” Kirk smiled fiercely as he stroked the little dagger beneath the bandage wrapped around his left arm. “If I’m not at your quarters in half an hour, you’ll know I need help.”

“I shall be there for you, T’hy’la. Always.” There was an undertone of passion in the Vulcan’s calm voice, which gave Kirk a thrill. He left his cabin filled with the determination only a man in love can feel.

When he got there, he found the same two guards who had been on duty the night he was beaten. Neither of them showed any surprise at seeing him return to the lion’s den of his own volition. “The captain’s expecting me,” Kirk told them, feeling his heartbeat accelerate as he thought of the metal detector in the doorway, wondering if Spock’s precautions would work.

“Yes, sir, go on in.” The door whooshed open. Kirk strolled between them holding his breath, expecting to hear the strident wail of the metal detector at any moment. But it didn’t go off. Sending up a silent prayer of thanks for Spock’s ingenuity, Kirk braced himself mentally for the confrontation with Pike.

Once again the cabin was dimly lit. This time there was a table for two set up in the middle of the room, with a white linen tablecloth, covered dishes, fine china and golden goblets on it. Kirk knew by the smell that one of his favorite dishes awaited him. No doubt there would also be some expensive trinket or other, to make him forget about the recent cruelty he’d suffered. Sorry, Chris, it’s not gonna work tonight, Kirk thought grimly.

Captain Pike came out of the bathroom, looking handsome and sexy in his sleeveless gold uniform shirt with all the metals. The dim lighting helped; it concealed how much he’d aged in the last ten years. “Jimmy! How are you?” Pike said happily.

“I’m fine now. No thanks to you,” Kirk told him bluntly.

“Don’t tell me you’re still mad at me? I’m sorry things got out of hand here the other night. I just had a little too much to drink. You know how I get when I’m drunk. And I always drink too much when I’m missing you.” He sounded so convincing; Kirk was tempted to believe that he really meant it this time. “I’m really sorry, Jimmy. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Sure you will,” Kirk said, looking at him wearily. This man is so phony, how could I ever have fallen for him? Now that I know what a real warrior’s love is, just the thought of sleeping with him makes me sick.

“I mean it, Jimmy!” Pike told him earnestly. “Everything will be fine from now on, you’ll see. Come on, sit down,” he urged him, waving him towards the table. “Have some wine. It’s Venusian Nectar, the one you like.”

“I’m sure it is.” Kirk made no move toward the table; he just stood there looking at Pike, wearily and with a touch of contempt.

“I have something for you, Jimmy.” Pike walked toward him, reaching into his sash. Kirk clenched his teeth and his fists at the prospect of receiving yet another monetarily priceless, yet worthless gift. The captain held out his hand with a black velvet ring box in it. “This is it, Jimmy. The big one,” he told him with a grin. “Go on, open it.”

“No, thank you, Chris.” Kirk didn’t touch the little black box. He had a feeling he knew what was inside. After what he and Spock had shared earlier, the very idea of Chris Pike proposing to him was nauseating.

“Come on, Jimmy! Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? For our relationship to be public? For everybody to know what you mean to me?” Pike opened the box to show him the heavy gold ring surmounted by a huge diamond, with a flaw in the center that made it look like a star was trapped inside. “Wear this and everybody will know that you’re not just the captain’s favorite. You’ll be my mate. And I’ll be yours. We’ll be together forever and ever, just like you always wanted.”

Kirk pushed the ring away impatiently. “I don’t want anything from you! I don’t even want you anymore!”

Pike stared at him in astonishment. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s over between us, Chris! Through, finished, finito! I don’t love you and I don’t want to be with you anymore! Can I be any plainer than that?”

Pike looked so stunned, Kirk almost felt sorry for him. “You don’t mean that, Jimmy,” Pike told him in a hoarse whisper. “You can’t possibly mean that.”

“Yes, I do! It’s all over between us, Chris. I’m sick of you, sick of all the violence and the lies. I hate myself for loving you enough to believe your lies. I hate you for what you’ve become. Let’s just end it all right here, right now, and get out of this relationship with whatever little bit of dignity we have left.” Kirk stopped to catch his breath and watched Pike’s face become pale, then red, as shock turned into anger.

“You can’t mean that, Jimmy,” he repeated with a definite note of menace in his voice. “If I thought for one moment that you meant it, you’d never leave this cabin alive.”

“But I do mean it, Chris. I don’t love you anymore. And I’m not afraid of you.” Kirk surprised himself as he said this. For ten years his whole life had centered around loving Chris, then fearing him as the love turned into hate.

“You’d better be!” Pike grabbed him by the left forearm and pulled him closer, staring into his face angrily, his eyes blue pinpoints of fury. “You’d better remember one other thing, mister! You’re mine and you always will be! And you’ll wear this ring to prove it, if I have to break your goddamn arm to get it on!” He tried to force the ring onto the third finger of Kirk’s left hand. As he did so, he became aware of the bandages wrapped around Kirk’s wrist. He relaxed his hold, but didn’t let go as he pushed Kirk’s sleeve up and stared at the bandages. “What happened to your arm?” he demanded. “I know I didn’t do this to you. How did you get this, Jimmy?”

Kirk held his breath as he desperately tried to think of a good lie.

****************

The moment Kirk entered the captain’s cabin, Uhura popped out of her hiding place further down the corridor. She approached the captain’s bodyguards, holding a round tray with a thermal coffee pot and two cups on it. “Hello, boys,” she purred at them. “Are you lonesome tonight? How about letting me keep you company?”

Both men came to attention at the sight of her. “Well, hello, Nyota,” said the older man. “What’ve you got there?”

“Just a little something to help you stay awake. I know how boring guard duty gets. Especially when the captain is busy.” Her husky contralto voice made the word “busy” sound incredibly erotic. She smiled suggestively as she leaned forward, letting them get a good look at her breasts in the low-cut, tight fitting, sleeveless red uniform top. “I made this coffee myself, for me and Jim to have with dinner. Then he threw me over to have dinner with the captain.” She pouted prettily. “Now he’s in there having a good time and I’m out here, lonely and bored. I can’t drink all this coffee by myself, so you boys are just going to have to help me.”

“Well, if you insist.” He poured himself a cup of hot black coffee and toasted her with it. “Here’s to you, pretty lady.”

“Why, thank you.” She smiled at him with eyelids at half-mast, like a cat in heat enticing a tom. Turning towards the other man, she offered him the tray. “Don’t you want some of my coffee too?” she said sweetly, making it plain she had more than coffee in mind. Her smile became even more catlike when she saw how excited he was getting.

The second guard gulped. “Oh, sure!” He poured himself a cup of coffee, took a sip and commented, “Say, this is pretty good. Hot and black, yet sweet.”

“That’s how Jim likes his coffee,” Uhura informed him. “And his women,” she added suggestively.

“So how come he’s dining with the captain instead of you?”

“Oh, he’s just making nice with the captain to keep him from transferring me. Apparently Captain Pike thinks that Jim and I are getting too close,” she lied glibly. She knew very well that Pike considered her no threat. That was the only reason he tolerated her friendship with his lover. “And Jim likes having me around to kiss him and make it better.”

“Why does he put up with the captain knocking him around when he can have you to snuggle him?” the first man now asked.

“Two very good reasons,” she said as she swung towards him, sticking her chest out so he could see her assets. “One, he wants to be captain someday and he knows Pike won’t last forever. And two, he likes having the best of both worlds.”

“It doesn’t sound very fair to you, having to share your man with another man.” He took another sip of coffee and smiled suggestively at her. “If I had a woman who could make coffee like this, I’d be happy to sleep in her bed all the time.”

“If I was your woman, you wouldn’t sleep a wink all night. And it wouldn’t be because of the coffee.” She laughed throatily as she saw him respond to the lewd comment with an equally lewd grin. “What time do you get off duty, handsome? You and your friend can keep me company while Jim’s making nice with the captain.”

“B-But won’t Commander Kirk be, ah, upset,” the younger man stammered, “if he finds out you, uh--”

She leaned towards him and whispered playfully in his ear. “What Jim doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, you need something to look forward to when you get off tonight. Like getting off tonight.”

The young man blushed, while his comrade laughed. Uhura continued trading suggestive comments with them as she poured more coffee. She even leaned against the older guard when he put his arm around her bare midriff, caressing her soft, dark flesh. She hated every minute of it, but she had to keep them occupied while the coffee took effect. The reason it tasted so sweet was because she had added half a bottle of coffee liquor to the pot, to hide the taste of the sleeping pills she’d also laced it with. If Jim made it out of the captain’s cabin alive, the guards would have to be drugged so that he could make a getaway, and give him scapegoats to take the blame when the captain’s body was found.

Just get out of there alive, Jim, please! she worried even as she laughed and flirted with the guards. Don’t let him beat you to the ground the way he always does. The stuff I put in this coffee should keep these guys out till midnight. By that time you should be well away. Oh, please let him get away safe! She refilled their cups for a third time while one of them copped a feel of her buttocks. She resisted the urge to kick him in the scrotum and smiled enticingly at him, wondering how Jim was doing with Pike.

****************

At that moment, Kirk’s enraged lover was demanding to know how he had hurt his left arm. So Kirk took a deep breath and, with a convincing show of reluctance, lied in his teeth.

“I got it down in Engineering, after I overheard some smartass making a comment about you. I challenged him, we fought, he lost. I’m afraid Scotty’s going to be shorthanded till we get a new engineering assistant.”

Pike’s hold on him relaxed as his anger dissolved. “You fought for me!” he said, regarding the younger man fondly. “How can you say it’s over when you’re still willing to fight for me?”

“I may not love you anymore, but you’re still my captain. I owe you my loyalty, at least,” Kirk said grudgingly.

“You owe me more than that, mister!” Pike said harshly. “What about all the times I saved your ass? Guarded your back in battle, and on board this ship too? There are plenty of guys on board who would love to take your place.”

“Yours, too,” Kirk reminded him. “I’ve saved your ass as often as you’ve saved mine, so we’re even. I don’t owe you anything, Chris.”

“You just said you owed me your loyalty,” Pike chided him, more gently then he had before. “Is that all you feel for me after all these years? Is it so easy for you to forget how I love you?”

“Chris, please-” Kirk looked away as he recognized the expression of dawning passion on Pike’s face. “Don’t make this harder on me than it already is. You don’t know how hard it was for me to see you tonight, to force myself to come here and tell you what I knew you wouldn’t want to hear…” He let a throb come into his voice to make it sound more convincingly grief-stricken.

“My poor baby.” Pike drew him into his arms and held him close. “You know you don’t really want to leave me. You couldn’t live without me.”

Oh yes, I could! Kirk thought furiously. You conceited ass, I had a life before I met you and I’ll have one after you’re gone! And I’ll share it with Spock! He struggled half-heartedly to escape Pike’s embrace. “Let me go, Chris. It’s over, can’t you accept that?”

“No.” Pike held him tighter, lifting his chin with one hand so he could look into his eyes. “I’ll never accept it. I love you, James Kirk, and I always will. You’re mine forever. I’ll never stop loving you as long as I live.”

Kirk sighed and allowed himself to relax into the embrace, so that Pike would think he was weakening. Pike grinned triumphantly as he hugged him, thinking he had succeeded in conning his lover yet again. It was a good thing for Kirk that his face was pressed against the captain’s neck. Otherwise the sly expression on the younger man’s face would have given him away.

****************

Outside the captain’s cabin, an argument broke out between the two guards over who would get to kiss Uhura first. She laughed as she stood off to one side, watching them fight over her. She could see the drugged coffee taking effect on them; their speech was slurred, their movements were jerky, and their postures were becoming more and more apelike.

Just like all men, she thought contemptuously. A little liquor, a little sex, and they turn into animals. Even the good ones just take longer about it. But at least they make sure you come first.

Eventually she got into a clinch with one, then the other, savoring each kiss, taking her time over it, letting them hold her closer than she would normally allow any man to do the first time he kissed her. She thought of her blood brother inside the captain’s cabin and wondered if he felt the same way she did, about going through the motions of passion with a man he didn’t care about.

Oh, Jim, we could have been so good together, you and I! But you were too much in love with Chris at first, and then you were too scared of what he’d do to me if we did become involved. As tough as you are, there’s a dangerous soft spot in your heart for anybody you care about. Chris knows about it too; he’s been twisting the knife in your heart for the longest time.

Her anger and contempt for Christopher Pike, and the way he treated her friend, made her kiss more roughly than usual. That got the guards even more excited. She had to tear herself away before it got out of hand. “Now, now, boys,” she scolded them playfully. “I think I’ve been here long enough. It’s time I retired, before you forget your duty.”

“Ah, come on, stick around!” they coaxed her. “The captain’ll never know. He’s gonna be busy all night with your boyfriend.”

Oh, no he isn’t! she thought smugly. “Sorry, boys, I have to be on duty by 0800 tomorrow. Whichever one of you is still awake by the end of your shift can come and kiss me good night.” She picked up the coffee tray and walked away swinging her hips, ignoring the pitiful groans and suggestive comments that followed her.

So long, suckers. By this time tomorrow you’ll either be in the brig or on trial for dereliction of duty. If they even bother with a trial. She stepped into the turbo lift feeling relieved that her part of the plot was over. Now if only Jim managed to get out alive…

****************

By now Kirk was being thoroughly kissed by an aroused Pike, who was actually