Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 26 Apr 2004 07:58:51 -0700 In: alt.startrek.creative From: whoa_nellie40@hotmail.com (whoa nellie) Title: Nocturnal Transmissions Author: Whoa Nellie (whoa_nellie40@hotmail.com) Series: TNG Repost: 4/7 Rating: NC-17 Codes: P/Vash Synopsis: The evil alternate Picard from the mirror universe returns for Vash. Can Picard stop his counterpart and save the love of his life? Author's Note: Feel free to archive to any pertinent site. In preparation to play in our Double Entendre universe in the coming year, we're reposting the stories from that universe as a refresher (or introduction to those who haven't read our earlier work). These stories have been polished up a bit, but they are still are earliest pieces from when we began writing nearly a decade ago. Edited-down versions of most of our stories can be found through our author page at fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=85355 As always: Paramount owns all the marbles, we just have a lot more fun playing with them. Feedback is always appreciated - posted or e-mail. Whoa Nellie's Picard/Vash Romance Fan Fiction website is at: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Galaxy/7926/ Whoa Nellie's Sci-Fi Romance Fan Fiction website is at: http://www.geocities.com/whoa_nellies2000/ Continued from Part 3 Vash's eyes flew open to find herself in her own bed, staring at the ceiling of her own bedroom. She quickly brought her hands up to her chest, relaxing when she felt the satin of her blue nightgown instead of a risqué, gemstone-studded brassiere. Vash snuggled against Jean-Luc and laid there listening to his slow, rhythmic breathing. She curled one hand into the hair on his chest, taking comfort in the warmth of her husband's presence as he slept next to her. Thinking back on her dream, she was very troubled by the ending of this one. She could hear the alternate Picard's warning reverberating in her head. 'Once you're with me, kitten,' he had commanded, 'remember this: never deny me.' Vash kept hearing the phrase, 'Once you're with me.' To her the phrase implied that the alternate knew she wasn't really there, but that she would be in the future. Reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose, Vash wondered why a figment of her own imagination would refer to the unreal nature of the dream. Her next thought made her blood run cold. What if these weren't her dreams? What if these dreams were from an outside influence instead of creations of her own mind? There were devices capable of transmitting directly into the brain. The Ferengi thought-maker was a perfect example, although, even the Ferengi themselves considered the machine unethical. Vash allowed herself a brief smile, it would have to be something pretty bad for the Ferengi to consider it unethical. Vash's smile faded as she realized that if these were not her dreams, only one person could be responsible. Imperial Captain Jean-Luc Picard must have survived after escaping to his own universe. Was the alternate contacting her as a precursor to another cross-over? Cross-over was the term Starfleet had used for any contact with that particular universe since Captain Kirk's first encounter with them a century ago. Vash knew from personal experience that a cross-over was considered a red alert situation. She no longer had a choice, she had to tell Jean-Luc. The question was how? As quietly as possible, to avoid waking up her husband, Vash slipped out of the bed. She grabbed the white terrycloth robe at the foot of the bed, which just happened to be Jean-Luc's. Sliding it on, she silently made her way to the living room. Vash turned the lights on and headed over to the replicator for some hot chocolate. Before reaching the replicator, she changed her mind, realizing chocolate just wasn't going to cut it this time. Instead, she walked over to a cabinet behind Jean-Luc's desk. She pulled out a decanter filled with green liquid and a crystal tumbler. Vash set the tumbler on the desk and filled it up half-way with some of the Aldebaran whiskey. After putting the decanter back into the cabinet, she picked up the tumbler off the desk and took a long drink. Immediately, she was gripped in a coughing spasm as the liquid burned its way down her throat. Hearing a warm, masculine chuckle behind her, Vash turned toward the bedroom door, still coughing. "Serves you right for breaking into the old man's liquor cabinet," Picard teased her, still chuckling. His wife usually preferred a more delicate beverage such as French champagne, fine wine, and assorted frozen concoctions. Whiskey was not her typical poison. "How do you drink this stuff?" Vash managed to gasp between coughs as he walked over to her. He looked so wonderful, the masculine power of his body exposed by his short, grey pajamas. Every movement he made emphasized the tightly leashed strength in the corded muscles of his arms and legs. The open V of the neckline allowed for a tempting view of the coarse hair on his muscular chest. Vash wondered for a moment why he hadn't put on his robe, only to realize she was wearing it. "Well, I don't drink it alone at 0300 for starters," he noted as he carefully took the tumbler out of her hand and set it on the desk. Sitting down in his desk chair, he gently pulled her down to sit on his lap. "Do you want to tell me about it?" "May I ask you something?" Vash snuggled up against him. "Of course." "Years ago when that DaiMon used a thought-maker on you, did you experience any of the transmissions as dreams?" "They can be experienced that way; although, I also experienced hallucinations and severe headaches. Why?" Picard was a little confused, that incident happened the first year he commanded the Enterprise D. He watched as Vash got up from his lap and started to pace the room. Echoing the words she used when they first met on Risa, he added, "Would you rather I guess? I can be very persistent." Recognizing his words, Vash stopped pacing and gave her husband a small smile. Her smile faded and she took a deep breath. "I think there might be a problem. A problem that is serious enough to require that I alert the captain of this vessel to it." The anxiety plainly etched on Vash's lovely face pierced through Picard's relaxed poise. Wanting to reassure her, his voice was affectionate and calm, "I wouldn't worry, from what I've heard, the captain is extremely fond of you." "It's not the captain's reaction that worries me," she told him. Sitting down in the large easy chair next to the couch, she curled her legs underneath of her and admitted, "It's my husband's reaction that worries me." Picard blinked in surprise and then gently offered, "How about if the captain and your best friend promise to keep your husband under a tight rein. Would that help?" Vash nodded. Picard made his way over to sit on the couch next to her chair. Taking her small hands in his, he gazed into her face, "Now, what's wrong? " "Captain, I think I may have been inadvertently forewarned about a crossover from the alternate universe," Vash began nervously. "Am I to assume my counterpart is responsible?" he asked, his hands tightening protectively around hers. Vash nodded, "I had never dreamed about him after our last meeting, until four nights ago. I've had a dream about him every night since. These dreams are the most intense and vividly real dreams that I've ever experienced; however, until tonight's dream, I thought they were just dreams and they might actually be just dreams. Oh, I don't know, maybe I'm just overreacting." "All right, slow down. What happened tonight?" "Tonight, he gave a command that began with 'Once you're with me.' It bothered me and I couldn't figure out why until I started wondering why a dream would be talking about itself like that. Of course, maybe I just inserted that into my dream because I was trying to remind myself that it was a dream through the whole thing." Vash shook her head, "I haven't been sleeping well, maybe it's time for that nice room with padded walls you keep threatening me with." "They're probably just dreams," Jean-Luc smiled gently as he reached up to tenderly stroke her cheek. "But, I want to make sure," he continued softly. Picard tapped the comm link on the coffee table. "Captain to bridge." "Data here, sir." "Ah Data, just the individual I needed," Picard noted, pleased. "I want you to review the sensor logs for the past four days and search for anything that could be used as a carrier wave for a transmission." "Can you give me any parameters for the transmission or carrier wave, sir?" "No, Mr. Data, I'm sorry, but I'm not really certain what it is or if there even has been any transmissions. Just look for anything out of the ordinary in the sensor logs, please." "Aye sir, but that could take some time," Data replied, "I would not want to disturb Mrs. Picard. I will have that report for you at the beginning of the day shift." Vash smiled at Data's concern. Before her husband could respond, Vash spoke up, "It's all right, Data, I'm awake." "Go ahead and contact me as soon as you've completed the review," Picard told his officer. "Aye, sir, Data out." "Well," Picard turned back to Vash. "Since we have some time on our hands, why don't you tell me more about these dreams? They are obviously upsetting you a great deal." "I'm not sure where to start," Vash told him as she got up out of the chair to pace the floor again. Picard leaned back in the couch, watching his wife do her best to wear out the carpet. "You said these dreams were intense. Are they frightening nightmares?" "No, they're not nightmares." Vash shook her head. Picard was very relieved by that. He abhorred the idea of a version of himself terrorizing her. "What is so intense about them?" "Well, they are ... they are intensely..." Vash trailed off. Feeling her face flush, she pulled his robe tighter around her. "Is the word you're looking for erotic?" Picard asked, as he thought to himself, 'Oh, that would be so much better.' "That would be the word," Vash replied, wryly. Picard stood up and strode over to stop her mid-pace. He gathered her in his arms and held her in a tender embrace. Pulling back slightly, he smiled down at her, "I am a ship's captain and you are making me seasick. Could we please continue what is looking to be a long talk on the couch?" Vash allowed Jean-Luc to lead her back over to the couch. Curling herself up on the sofa, she asked hesitantly "so you're not upset with me?" "Is that why you didn't want to tell me? You thought that I'd be upset by this." "Well, you weren't exactly the spokesman for Understanders Anonymous the last time." Vash remembered all too well the argument they had last time. "The last time, my counterpart drugged me, stuffed me in a cabinet, took over my ship and took my woman in my own bed. I wasn't exactly having a good day." "Point taken," Vash responded contritely. "Darling, they are dreams, be they yours or be they his, they are still figments of someone's imagination. If they are his and they are a foreshadowing of another cross-over, we'll stop him," Picard raised one hand to stroke her soft cheek. "And if they're mine." "What color do you want me to program the holodeck for when I create your padded room?" "Jean-Luc, I'm serious, and I'm very scared right now." Vash moved over to snuggle into his strong, protective embrace. "I know and I'm sorry, ma chere. If they are your dreams, then maybe if you tell me all about them they'll stop." Picard wasn't sure he wanted to hear all the details of her erotic dreams about another man, but if it would make her feel better he could handle it. Just then a thought struck him. This wasn't another man, the alternate was essentially him just in another place and time. "You want me to tell you all the dirty little details of some very erotic dreams I've been having about another man? Are you sure about that?" "That's the point, ma chere, they're not about another man. You've always thought of him as a version of me. I'm human so yes, there is a small part of me that is jealous; but the rest of me understands that, to you, he is basically me. Actually I should be flattered, even when you dream about other men, they're still me." Vash elbowed him gently, "be careful, you might not fit on the bridge with that ego, Johnny." Picard grinned at her rejoinder and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. "So, exactly how do these dreams begin?" "They've all happened onboard his private yacht. He calls it the Valhalla." "And you accused me of having a big ego?" Picard raised an eyebrow at the irony. Vash ignored the interruption and continued. "The clothing is, well, I don't know how to describe it. He's been dressed in some sort of uniform. It looks like a cross between a starship captain and a desert chieftain out of one of my bodice-rippers. Come to think of it, he's treated me like a member of a desert harem in each of the dreams. I've been dressed in very sensuous or seductive clothing each time, but nothing like what I'm wearing when I go to sleep or even anything I've ever owned." Although privately she was wondering how she could go about getting the replicator to reproduce that bra, it had some interesting possibilities. "Maybe we should find you more constructive literature to read than those romance novels," Picard noted. "Perhaps your copy of the Kama Sutra, you know, the one with all those lovely illustrations." Vash couldn't help that little dig. "That is a classic piece of ancient literature." "It's a smutty book." "Can we get back to the topic at hand please." Picard sorely regretted starting this. "What happens in these dreams?" "You started it," Vash had to get the last word in. Getting back to the dreams, she continued. "It's a seduction, but more than that. It's almost like he's grooming me for something. Instructing me on how to do things or what not to do." "Like a concubine?" Picard asked. "Exactly. He even referred to me that way in one of the dreams. He's very overbearing, almost dominating." "Details, darling, usually means a step-by-step recounting of the event. Why don't we start with the first dream, you said it was four nights ago?" Picard needed a clearer picture of what was going on. "What specifically did he demand of you in that dream?" "His name. I hate calling that abomination by your name, but he insisted that I call him Jean-Luc," Vash paused and shuddered at the memory. "What did he do to make you say it?" Picard felt like he was pulling teeth. "The same way you get me to promise things." "He let you spend his money?" "No, the other thing." "Oh." They both sat there silently for a moment, each with different pictures of what Vash wasn't saying about the dream. Suddenly, Picard realized what else had happened four nights ago. "That first dream was the night you gave me a carpet burn, wasn't it?" Vash shrugged and looked down at her hands, very interested in the condition of her nails. "Getting a little of our own back, were we?" Picard teased her gently. "You didn't exactly look like you minded." "Is that why you were so insistent about what I called you, Madame Picard?" He recalled how important it had been to her to hear him say that. "In the dreams my wedding ring is gone. I guess I needed to hear you call me your wife, just to wipe away the dream." Vash held her left hand next to his, admiring their matching bands. "Darling, how exactly can you tell that it's not me? Technically we're identical, how is it that you can tell us apart?" "Physically I can't, that's the problem. My attraction to you makes me vulnerable to him. You're both physically overwhelming to me." Vash found it difficult to explain the arousal she felt when she was in a room with either one of them. "It's who you are that separates you. You're strong and passionate. He's rough and domineering. You've never tied me to a post and ravished me." Vash tried to soften her revelation with a humorous ending. "I suppose this would be a bad time to tell you that I have considered doing that very thing on more than one occasion. I just never thought you'd let me get away with it." Picard sternly banished the erotic images that thought produced, reminding himself that they were in the middle of a serious discussion. "No guts, no glory, flyboy." Vash couldn't stop herself from following this further. "When, oh my husband, did you ever entertain such lurid thoughts of your sweet, innocent wife?" Picard chuckled softly. "How do I imagine thee, let me count the ways. The first time was on Risa when you told me you were planning to go to Sarthong V, of course that was just so I could spank some sense into you. Then, in Nottingham Castle, when you took my sword away from me in the midst of your rescue. When you took off with Q to explore places you didn't need to be and practically every other adventure you've ever been on. The most recent was four nights ago when you were testing the limits of my endurance." "I do try your patience, don't I?" Vash smiled up at him sweetly. "You certainly keep me in shape," Picard smiled back at her. "But this desert chieftain thing is one I hadn't thought about. I must admit, the whole scenario sounds quite interesting. I've often fantasized about you wearing a little-bitty outfit and obeying my every command. Mostly the fantasies are just about your obeying my every command, but the outfit is a nice touch." He wiggled an eyebrow at her suggestively. "In your dreams, Johnny," Vash challenged tauntingly. "Actually, in your dreams, ma chere." "Touche, Mon Capitaine." "What do you think about it, kitten, do owww-" he broke off abruptly as Vash inadvertently rammed her elbow into his ribs in her haste to sit up. Looking into her pale face, her blue eyes enormous, he thought back to what he had just said. "Let me take a wild guess here," he began, rubbing his side. "He calls you kitten. Well, darling, I was referring to Charcoal." With that he lifted the black cat from the floor up to deposit her in Vash's lap. Giving his ribs one last massage he remarked, "I'll try to remember never to use that endearment for you." He hesitated as a thought occurred to him, not exactly certain how or even if to voice it. "Speaking of endearments, do you-" "No," Vash interrupted quickly. "I've never called him Johnny. It was hard enough when he forced me to call him Jean-Luc." She laid her hand on the spot she had elbowed, "I'm sorry." Picard let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding when he heard her answer to his unasked question. He covered her lips with his fingers, "it was an accident, it's all right. What were you saying before, about tonight's dream being different than the others? Something about a command he gave you, wasn't it?" "Yes, at the end of this dream he told me that once I was with him, to remember . . ." Vash trailed off at the memory of what he had said. "Remember what?" Picard prompted. "Never deny him," her response was barely a whisper. "Bridge to Captain Picard," Data's interruption startled them both. "Yes, Mr. Data." "I believe I may have found something in the way of a possible transmission. It appears to resemble low intensity transmissions similar to brain wave patterns. It is reminiscent of Ferengi thought-makers, however there are some distinct differences. Would you like me to send an analysis to your quarters?" "No, thank you, Mr. Data. Assemble the senior staff in the conference room. We'll be right there." Picard stood and held hand out to Vash, "shall we get dressed?" Vash resettled Charcoal onto the couch and took Jean-Luc's hand. "I guess so, although I'm not sure your senior staff is going to appreciate being assembled at 3:00 in the morning." "It's almost 0400 hours," he corrected her as they walked into the bedroom. "And that's part of the joy of being senior staff." ........................................... End Part 4 -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Tue Apr 27 22:08:04 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n12.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.67]) by penguin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1biEmYel3NZFl40 for ; Tue, 27 Apr 2004 19:00:16 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13504-1083117616-stephenbratliffasc=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yah