ASSORTED TNG DRABBLES
MESSAGE
IN A SHIP IN A BOTTLE (double drabble)
A
captain cannot
appear
vulnerable to his crew, so Picard goes the only place he can. He's gone
there thrice a week since the countess died in a tragic and carefully
programmed accident--or since the Borg incident--depending upon how one
counts. Moriarty gets off on power, so Picard lets him think that it's
his idea--that Picard is being forced, that it's painful and
humiliating.
Well,
two out of
three ain't bad.
Sometimes
Picard
cries while being strapped and sodomized. Sometimes he waits until
after; either way is just as good.
Mechanically,
Picard tells
himself it's only a hologram; that nothing unreal should make him feel
these things, should be able to strip him down to the quivering,
beating, pathetic raw soul of a naked child that it does. He's raised
the program intensity level four times, to ensure that it still will.
Unlike
the unreal
Borg nightmares, which accelerate uninvited.
He
comes here,
you see,
because here when it's over or when it's too heavy or when he is just
goddamned tired of the grief he can simply say "Freeze program" and
"arch" and it all goes away.
Unlike
the Borg
nightmares, which he assumes never will.
MEMEORIES THAT NEVER WERE
"I offer you the chance to touch what Sarek shared with me."
The
good of the
many justified
much, and the fate of two races hung on Spock's self-appointed mission.
While Picard turned his thoughts to Sarek, Spock infiltrated elsewhere.
In
the days to
come, Picard
would not understand the memories that seemed like dreams or the dreams
that seemed like memories. He would not understand the nightly sticky
sheets or the daily obsessive thoughts--feelings--for a man he had
barely know.
He
did know that
he would lie to Starfleet, break orders--anything--to keep Spock living
free.
HOOCHY-Q-CHY
"Q!"
"Don't
fuss,
Jean-Luc. I told
you to be ready at 2100 sharp, and that one dresses for dinner with the
Lord High Reagent of Jernaria IX. And not those stuffy
uniforms
of yours--something with some panache."
"Don't
you notice
something--missing?"
"Ah,
yes, the
cravat. There you go. Mon Amour, you are the
epitome of distinction itself."
"I
meant--lower
down."
"Oh,
no. You won't be
needing pants tonight. Didn't I tell you who the current Lord
High Reagent of Jernaria IX is? Or what it is that he's
planing
to eat?"
"Oh,
Q!
Oh-- Oh, mon Dieu!"
ISOSCELES
Julian
exited the bathroom. "We still doing lunch?"
"Sure."
Miles
didn't turn.
"Are
you going to
tell Keiko?"
Miles
shrugged.
"I'd
like to know
if I should
avoid her … or arm myself." Julian tried a
laugh.
"Never know; she might understand."
"That
would make
one of us." The words fell out bitterly.
"Miles
…" Julian touched his shoulder.
"It's
all so
screwed up. I love her so much, but at this point, I'm not
even sure that matters."
Julian
leaned
down for a kiss.
"Love matters. It might be all that does. Talk to
her."
Julian smoothed his uniform and left.
TEA
AND EMPATHY
"If
anyone needs me, I'll be in holodeck four."
Bleep. "Holodeck
four is occupied by Doctor Crusher."
"Fuck!"
Riker swore and locked himself into the nearest bathroom.
***
"Kamala,
how can you let yourself be given to men? It's no better than
prostitution," Beverly sighed into her
eyes.
"What
am I really giving?" the
simulation answered. "Only a facade. I could never love a man like I do
you.
Bonded or not, they'll never have the part of me that you have."
Beverly
reached for the illusion, but prostitution with a hologram suddenly
seemed even worse.
"Computer,
end program and delete."
UNMISTAKABLY
DAX
Despite
the
circumstances, Julian had to laugh.
"What
can you
possibly find
funny?" asked Erzi as they examined Jadzia's effects. After
selecting what he wanted, Worf had given most to Erzi.
She was Dax now.
"This
video: it's
mislabeled--in an…amusing way." The label on
the chip
read, "Jadzia and Kira: Our Fist date." The addendum "and
only!" was squeezed in in red.
Erzi's
eyes
unfocused "No, I
remember that; the label's right." She put the video someplace
safe as Julian tried and failed to recover his aplomb.
She was Dax, but she sure wasn't Jadzia. She would call Kira--soon.
SOME
THINGS NEVER
GO OUT
OF STYLE
"It's
a shame
that uniforms changed," said Kira. "That's stunning on
you." The old-style unidress clung to Jadzia in all the right
places and the tease of the red miniskirt was driving Kira
wild. She reached out to cop a feel and her hand
decided to
linger. "Soft too." Kira's breathing thickened as
she
nibbled Jadzia's neck and fondled her ass.
Jadzia
shrugged away. "Bad news: this goes back to
supply. I just stopped in to take it off--sorry."
Kira
found the
shoulder seal and slipped the fabric down. She cupped one
breast and sniggered, "Don't be. I'm not."
WATCH
WHERE YOU'RE AIMING!
"And
that's how I
ended up
here, Captain. Now will you please help me? Obviously, I
can't
reach the control console, and the computer won't take a verbal
life-support override except from command."
Picard
regarded
him wryly. "Computer, cut ventilation return pump in holodeck one."
Geordi
sighed in
audible
relief and removed himself from the little hole in the wall.
Painfully, he tucked himself back in.
"But
I don't
understand, Mister LaForge. Surely with your visor, you could
see where you were--aiming."
Geordi
flushed. "Holoimages are okay, I guess, but for sensation,
there's nothing like the real thing, baby!"
JUST A REGULAR GUY
Tasha
climbed off
and whooped. "That was great!"
Data
lay flat on
his back. "What happens next?"
Tasha
fondled his
ear. "A
little cuddling, a little pillow talk--you could tell me you love me."
Playfully she nipped at his neck.
Data
cocked his
head. "That would be a lie. I have no feelings for you at all."
Tasha
dropped her
hands. "Fuck."
Data
paused and
processed.
"When I volunteered, I was anticipating copulation only. Perhaps you
would prefer a human partner for this?"
Tasha
rolled
over. "It doesn't matter. You are fully functional; that's exactly what
they all say."
PHASE OF LIFE
Jadzia
started to the door signal. There was only one person--in
this
phase, at least--whom she cared to see; she knew it would be him.
Benjamin entered. "Welcome home, old man. You okay?"
"Fine. It didn't harm me--at least the way you mean."
"Don't presume to guess what I mean."
She fell into broad arms that leapt to catch her. "Benjamin,
I loved him so."
He clutched her tight. "To all things, there is a phase. Deral will be
back."
Yes, but even with the famed longevity of Trills, she would not be
there to see him.
x