Title: After the Rescue

Part: NEW 68/73

Author: Karmen Ghia, karmen_ghia@yahoo.com

Series: TOS

Romance Code: S/Mc and then some.

Rating: NC-17

Appendices: http://members.tripod.com/karmen_ghia/atrappendices.html

See part one for disclaimers, etc.

"Wake up, Terran."

Chekov woke with a start and found himself staring up at the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen ... holding out a cup of tea to him. 'I've died and gone to heaven,' he thought. 'A Vulcan heaven.'

Tien waved his hands before the ensign's glazed eyes. Polmira came to stand beside his cousin.

'Impossible,' thought the Russian. 'There can't be two most beautiful creatures ever.'

"Is he awake?" Polmira asked in the Patois.

"I think so." Tien took the shirt and pants from his cousin and tossed them on Chekov's chest. "Look, Terran, wake up! Uncle Hobie sent us to bring you down for breakfast so look sharp."

"Oh, yes," Chekov said, snapping out of his daze. "I'll be down very soon. Where should I go ...?"

"Ask anyone, we're all in the kitchen," Polmira said, rising and leaving the room with Tien.

Chekov drank some fragrant tea, took a shower and put on the white shirt and fawn colored pants that fit like they were made for him. (They were not but fortunately he and Farro were nearly the same size.) He slipped on and tied up the shoes, borrowed from Lyra, and went down into the house.

It was not necessary for Chekov to ask directions, he merely followed the sounds of happy commotion that led him directly into the huge Sa kitchen.

"There you are, Chekov," Hobie called across the room. "How'd you sleep?"

"Well, thank you," Chekov answered.

"That's normal in a house full of empaths," Hobie said, cheerfully. "Help yourself to what's on the buffet." He waved at the mountain of food on the sideboard.

Chekov, like everyone else in the room, was very hungry and so dug right in. He found a seat at the big table next to an elderly Vulcan. He looked down the table and found Spock and McCoy having breakfast as well.

"What languages have you, Terran?" the old man asked in Standard, distracting him from the first officer and the CMO.

"Only Standard, Russian and Andorian, sir," the ensign answered politely.

"Hmmm. Don't know any Andorian, myself," SoLri continued. "Where did you learn it?"

Chekov was about to say at Star Fleet Academy but he was interrupted by Hobie hauling a young vulcanoid male up to eye level by the yoke of the youth's Vulcan robe.

Polmira, standing nearby, froze. He'd just introduced his parent to Prince Strig. He was as surprised as anyone by Hobie's reaction.

Strig, wisely, let his body go limp and calmly met Hobie's fierce, black gaze a few inches away.

"It is true, Hobie," Sbat drawled blandly from behind Polmira, "that my son is small now, but we expect a growth spurt in a year or so at which time you need no longer pick him up to examine him."

Hobie merely grunted and dropped Strig. "I should hope so, Sbat. He is rather puny right now, maybe he should have something to eat." He turned back to the pancakes that were burning on the grill behind him.

Polmira knew his parent very well and led Strig over to the sideboard and out of harm's way. Conversations resumed naturally.

"I hear your people are serious about letting Strig and Polmira pair up, Sbat." Hobie handed a plate of singed pancakes to Bot to put on the buffet.

"We are serious, Hobie. What is your opinion?"

"I need to see more of your boy before I can say."

"That is understandable."

"And now, I'm starving, let's eat." Hobie led Sbat to the buffet and they talked about themselves for a while instead of their children.

"They can smell the food all over the house!" Farro rolled in, Kzost and Voren directly behind him. "Hey!" he pointed at Chekov. "Those look better on you than they ever did on me!"

"Ah," Chekov said. "Thank you."

"Ho, Rom!" Hobie called at Voren. "Come sit over here and bring your Klingon."

"Then bring us some food, Hobie," Voren said leading Kzost to a seat in the inglenook, which he'd enjoyed sitting in as a child.

"Uncle, I'm on orders to take a tray to SaBrzia," Farro said, nibbling on some sauteed tubers and fried pommes.

"I'll take it," Jir said as he came in with Stonet. He pushed the former Kolinahr into a seat at the table next to Sbat and put some food on a plate at the sideboard. "He's already screamed for me three times this morning." He set the heaping plate in front of Stonet and turned to take the tray from Hobie. "Make up a little one for Laninin. You know he and the old man are inseparable now."

"An odder pair I could not have imagined," Hobie observed.

"Nor I, but as long as they're content," Maja observed as he swept in. "Bhotebe," he said sternly to the little communist, "take that food with you and go help Hraja tidy my studio for the day's work. You are not on vacation here. And take Hraja some food while you're at it." He watched his apprentice scamper off with a tray. "The order of this Commune has gone to hell," he intoned to MajaKhat, just entering.

"Umm," was the only answer he got from his fellow Master.

"Oh, there you are Kzost!" Maja said and managed to kick Voren a few times getting into the Klingon's lap.

"Maja, get off of me," Kzost growled, pushing Maja into the seat next to him, away from Voren. "You're too big and it's too early for such nonsense."

"Perhaps." Maja rose and went to the sideboard where he wrapped some vegetables in a crepe, "See ya," and sashayed back to his tidy studio. He and his sculptors had plans to work on their statue of Skolta that day.

"I'm planning a trip to my ships and crews today," Hobie said to Chekov. "Join me?"

"If I can." Chekov looked down the table at Spock, who nodded his approval. "I would like to see your ships."

"Come with us, Spock," Hobie said. "You too, McCoy. It'll be cool enough so you Terrans won't suffer too much. Have Kirk join us as well," Hobie added casually.

"If he can. There are things he must attend to on the Enterprise," Spock said.

"Oh, yeah? You, on the other hand, seem to be on extended holiday." Hobie rose and began to clear some dishes before Spock could answer. Polmira and Lyra immediately rose and did it for him.

"And after your ships, Hobie, go take a look at the atelier I rented for you in the Port," Ling said entering and filling a plate for herself.

"The what?"

"The workshop." Ling nodded and left the room.

"Oh. Good. Thanks."

"If you'll excuse us, we'll go visit the Commune." Sbat rose and left the room. He took Strig with him. Polmira and Lyra followed them out.

"Is Ling avoiding me?" Kzost asked Hobie.

"Yes, you and Voren," Hobie answered. "But don't take it personally, she avoids anything that reminds her strongly of Magidrian."

"Can't say I blame her." The Klingon went back to his breakfast.

Jir's children, Hobiea, Rezdi and Catanya, roared in and flung themselves on their parent. "My ears are ringin'," Hobiea announced to the room in general.

"Mine as well," Stonet observed quietly.

Maja and Ling stepped back in the room unobtrusively, looking curious. Something in their second sight had kicked in and drew them back into the kitchen.

Hobie turned to Stonet. "So, Stonet, how does it feel to be free again?"

"I was not aware I was constrained, Hobie."

"Oh. Yeah. Right. I'll just go say bye to SaBrzia." Hobie, disconcerted as usual rose but then hesitated.

"Don't bother, Nolo, he's wholly engrossed in the thank you cards that've come already," Jir drawled. "SiJidi is reading them to him. Smvit seems to have disappeared with T'Pau last night."

"Go, T'Pau," Maja drawled pleasantly.

"Oh, scandal!" Ling winked at Spock, who ignored her.

"T'Pau looked pretty good last night," Hobie observed.

"After an hour of that Gjrigas, everybody looked good," Master Khat observed.

Hobie caught Chekov's eye and looked deeply into it. "Indeed. Some better than others."

Chekov looked away, blushing.

"This is interesting, Terran," Farro exclaimed. "This thing your face does." He looked intently at Chekov, who blushed even harder.

"Farro," Master Khat growled, rising. "I think I hear Master Dhec calling you to work. Go. Now."

He did, closely followed by Master Khat.

"Why don't you take Chekov with you, please?" Hobie said to Spock and McCoy, who were leaving to pay a visit to the Commune. They did.

Jir looked at Stonet, who was calmly sipping his tea.

"Stonet," Jir said firmly, deciding this was as good a time as any. "I have something for you." He pulled Hobiea onto his lap.

"What is it, Jir?" the Vulcan asked after a moment.

Jir gestured to Hobiea.

"Your son?" Stonet asked.

"Our son," Jir answered.

Having heard what they needed to hear, Ling and Maja left the room.

"He is the right age," Stonet murmured, studying the child.

Hobiea twisted around to whisper, "Who is that?" to Jir.

"Your father." Jir looked with love at the major interruption of his career.

Hobiea made a face and got down to go get something to eat. He then went out to play with his brothers and cousins in the Commune.

"I'm underwhelmed by Hobiea's reaction, Jir," Hobie commented.

"He's a VulCheq, what do you want? Tears, hysterics? Really, Hobie." Jir rolled his eyes. "What?" He asked Stonet, who'd said something under his breath.

"I said I am pleased, Jir."

"Me, too." Jir bashed his forehead into the Vulcan's shoulder, the standard Talljet gesture of affection.

"So that's all of you," Kzost said quietly.

"All of us what?" Jir asked.

"All of you flipped for Vulcans."

"True." Hobie said.

"Have you never wondered why?" Voren asked.

"Of course," Jir said. Hobie merely nodded. "I even have a theory on it," Jir continued. "I think we flip for them because their psychic current is strong and just complimentary enough to us so we flip. Especially in Pon farr, which is where Hobiea got his start. But even not in full blown Pon farr, I think sex with us eventually triggers a subtler form of Pon farr and that's what flips us. Stress or age, look how long it took Stez and Ling to get on the production line."

"What a charming image that is, Jir," Hobie said.

"Well, what about you and Sarek?"

"Probably his age and a little stress," Hobie allowed. "We were almost caught by Tossar. Weren't for the brave actions of a quick thinking bell boy, I'd not be here to tell the tale."

"Hmmm, yes. Instant death. Very stressful." Jir rose and looked at Stonet. "Hemzjit." And they left the room.

The breakfast having broken up, Tien and Kalzat came down to help Hobie start pulling together the huge picnic lunch they'd take on their outing to see the pirate ships docked just outside of Shirkar.

* * *

"Oh, shocking, Ling," Maja said to his little sister. "How'd Stonet father Hobiea in Gol?"

"In the usual fashion I believe."

"Don't be so serene, baby. Tell me what you know."

"Well," Ling sighed, looking at Maja. She'd never been able to keep anything from him when pressed. "You know how close Jir and Stonet were before he went to Gol..."

"Yessss," Maja prompted.

"I think they formed some kind of bond, not unlike you and Spock..."

"Yesss," Maja hated dragging things out of Ling but this promised to be worth it.

"So, when Jir felt Stonet start to Pon farr, as you felt Spock..."

Maja nodded encouragingly.

"He came here and transported directly to where Stonet was in Plak Tow, in Gol. Apparently, the Kolinahr have a special place for their members to die in Plak Tow."

"Savages," Maja observed.

"Well, anyway, Jir rescued him..."

"A miraculous sexual healing, eh?"

"Don't joke, Maja."

"Okay, okay. And then...."

"And then Jir went back to the Tasilinian Emperor, who actually thinks Hobiea is his son."

"I wonder if that will ever be useful," Maja mused.

"I rather think not Nolo," Ling said sternly. "Stonet looked pleased, if you recall."

"I thought he looked shocked, shocked, shocked."

"You're imagining things."

"So, you and Jir shielded all this from me and Hobie all these years, yes?"

"There was no reason for you to know."

"What else don't we know?"

"I got sick on an Oogliafienian pastry about four years ago," Ling offered and got a scowl for it. "I might like to know certain things, Maja. Such as what was happening on Klingon during the periods you were shielding."

"I was being tortured. There. Now you know."

"I could have helped you."

"I preferred to leave you out of my suffering, little one." Maja stroked his younger sibling's cheek.

"I would also have liked to know that Tossar raped Hobie. He never said a word, did he?"

"I assume you mean Hobie because Tossar never mentioned it either," Maja smiled. "No, Hobie never said a word. I knew, but only because I dragged poor Kzost to Ashagedra to rescue him. I could feel Hobie was in trouble but I couldn't tell what. It was the first time we were that far apart. Only by the time we got there, Hobie no longer needed to be rescued. He had Tossar under his complete control." Maja paused to wave at Svurek by his door. "Those lessons in mental control we learned here have served us well, Ling, haven't they?"

"Very well."

"To control ourselves and to control others."

"Well, we're only supposed to use the first part of that, Nolo."

"Had we stayed here," Maja said, turning into his studio. "We would never have needed the other part."

* * *

Jir led Stonet to a quiet place and they made love for the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon.

* * *

"What do you think, Spock?" Hobie asked as he power dived one of the air cars Captain Ebiv had sent to bring them to the ships.

"Most impressive," Spock replied. No one asked him if he was referring to the eighty huge warships on the plain or Hobie's piloting.

Chekov and McCoy, seated in the back, were very silent. Only Lyra and Bot, seated between the Terrans, seemed to be enjoying the ride.

And an interesting ride it had been. Captain Ebiv sent along five air cars from Hobie's ships. They were something of a cross between a hovercoupe and a fighter craft as they were designed for extremely fast and agile short distance space travel. This meant that they really cooked in the atmosphere, which was a nice byproduct of Hobie's original design. Of course, all Hobie's designs were amazing. Hobie let Qwuushi, Mizat, Malira, and Kalzat pilot the other four. This might not have been wise because they immediately went into competition to see who could skim the closest to this building or that cliff. The situation was exacerbated when Hobie decided to have a look at Shirkar from the air and this involved getting as close to the new buildings as possible. Terrifying, although Spock was enjoying it as much as he enjoyed anything. It had been a long time since he'd seen Shirkar from the air, too. At any rate, they had almost tired of this pursuit when the Air Police asked them to leave, now, or be cited.

(Neria-Tza had begged off this outing because he wanted to make contact with the little Terran that had been scoping him in Port's marketplace a few days prior. He thought he might be on to something good, after all, this was the Terran that sat next to the fabulous Chekov on the bridge of the Enterprise.)

Hobie swung low over this part of his fleet. Another two thirds of it were trapped behind the continuing conflict in the Zones of non-aligned space. He assumed they were lost, either destroyed or gone renegade and set up on their own. Why would they stay loyal this long without him or one of his brothers to lead them? He wouldn't; why should they? He veered off this depressing train of thought and circled around again. Eighty ships was still a good number to go back and fight with. They were the best ships in the galaxy and had even better crews. He brought his ship down into a gentle landing and hustled everyone out. Nearby, the other ships were landing with the same grace, more or less.

Captain Movra walked up to greet Hobie. He was introduced to the Terrans. He tousled the boys' hair; he'd bounced these two and Polmira as well on his knees when they were babies. Movra had been one of Tossar's younger commanders when Hobie appeared, one of the more intelligent as well - he'd see the future was Hobie Talljet and his brothers long ago. He had made himself indispensable to Hobie after Tossar's death. Movra had an inborn desire to build - not unusual in NzrealiCheqs, a very industrious species - and preferred Hobie's policy of cultivation of new planets as opposed to Tossar's old policy of subjugating them. Force was useful but only when all else failed and then judiciously applied. So Movra was very happy in Hobie's command. Suited him down to the ground, really.

They walked among the ships. Hobie was greeted here and there but hardly fawned upon.

"How many ships are ready to leave here now, Movra?" Hobie asked in the Patois.

"Forty-five tonight, fifty by tomorrow night." Movra said, watching the Terrans wander off.

"How soon for sixty?"

"Three days."

"We will need them for the Certigians. But not in three days, more like a few weeks, I think."

"I understand you're stuck here for a few months." Movra said. "Who will you send?"

"Probably Maja."

"He would be my choice. One feels that the gods are with us when Master Ghet takes us into battle."

"Ah." Hobie said. "I shall pray that be true."

"By the way, Hobie," Movra said. "Dolo-fra brought one of the Terrans here last night. Someone named Scott; from the Enterprise, I believe. Seems very interested in the ships."

"Male or female?"

"Male."

"Odd, I thought Dolo only liked women."

"I'm not sure it's a sexual thing, Hobie. This Terran knows far too much about starships to just be someone Dolo picked up to fuck."

"Interesting," Hobie murmured, he was distracted by Kirk transporting down near them. "Welcome, Captain Kirk," Hobie hailed him in Standard.

"Thank you for the invitation, Captain Talljet," Kirk said urbanely and was introduced to Movra, who then, seeing the glint in Hobie's eye, excused himself.

"You're always welcome here, Kirk," Hobie said, gallantly.

"Ah, thank you," Kirk said, looking around him. "Are Spock and McCoy here?"

"Oh, somewhere. Let's go look for them," Hobie said leading him in exactly the opposite direction. "I'm very sorry I didn't have a chance to speak to you last night."

"There were quite a few beings there last night, Captain Talljet," Kirk said. 'And you were wholly engrossed with my navigator, as I recall,' he thought.

"Do call me Hobie," the pirate smiled roguishly.

"I shall." Kirk looked at the ships around him. "Very impressive, Hobie, what do you plan to do with all these ships?"

"Me? Nothing for the next ninety days, at least. Why do you ask?"

"It seems odd to have so much firepower on a pacific planet like Vulcan."

"Aye, it do, don't it?" Hobie mused. "But, you know, they didn't come here willingly. It was the best of a bad lot of choices."

"How so?"

"We were getting our asses kicked out in the Zones," Hobie said briskly. "Lots of planets in the Fed but this is the only one we all got visas for."

"That in itself is amazing," Kirk said coolly. "How that got past Federation Immigration is quite impressive."

"I guess," Hobie said vaguely, strolling in the shadows of his ships. "It was Ling and Jir's project, so it must be legal. Jir is the greatest lawyer of his generation, you know."

"So I've heard."

Scan. Hobie turned slightly to scan again.

It was subtle but Kirk caught it and raised what shields he had as Spock had taught him.

"Sorry," Hobie said, lowering his eyes in a damn fine imitation of contrition. "You...interest me and this conversation seems to be going nowhere." He switched his vision from color and line to energy fields to examine Kirk's shields and decided not to push through them. It wasn't worth spooking the Terran. Yet.

"Why," Kirk asked slowly, keeping his puny shields up, "do I interest you?"

"Because," Hobie drawled, "I suspect there's a great deal of intelligence behind those beautiful green eyes, Terran." The pirate looked deeply into Kirk's rather annoyed but beautiful green eyes and very clearly read 'back off' there. So he did. 'Retreat, hell, I'll just fight in this other direction for a while.' Hobie, seeing a wave shimmer in the energy field behind Kirk, looked up to see Spock and McCoy approaching. "Ah, there's your ..." Hobie trailed off, disconcerted to see the bond not between Spock and McCoy as he had expected to see it, but between Spock and Kirk. "Um ... first mate." He switched back to color and line so he could concentrate on the ensuing conversation.

"There you are, Jim," McCoy beamed. "We were wondering if you could get away and join us."

"Yes," Kirk looked a challenge at Hobie, who was still contemplating this weird development. "A delightful invitation."

Hobie nodded and looked down at Bot, who'd just joined them.

"We're hungry," the child announced.

Hobie nodded some more. "Lead on, Bot. Come, let's have lunch. I believe one of your officers, Scoot? Scott? something, is here."

"I was wondering where he was," Kirk said as they moved into a marquee.

"Yes, apparently he and my chief engineer, Dolo-fra, have much in common."

Over a very nice lunch, Hobie scanned enough of Montgomery Scott to decide he was harmless and allow him to stay in the field of ships.

* * *

end of part 68

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Appendices: http://members.tripod.com/karmen_ghia/atrappendices.html