Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!elnk-atl-nf1!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newsswing.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.net!newsfeed.cwix.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!newsread.com!newsstand.newsread.com!POSTED.monger.newsread.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated Approved: ascem@earthlink.net Organization: Better Living Thru TrekSmut Sender: ascem@earthlink.net Message-ID: From: "djinn_fic" MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEML@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEML-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: NEW: TOS Blood Vengeance 3/3 (PG-13) Saa/Valeris, Sela Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 713 Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:55:29 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: monger.newsread.com 1104155729 209.198.142.218 (Mon, 27 Dec 2004 08:55:29 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 08:55:29 EST Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:86340 X-Received-Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 05:55:35 PST (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) TITLE: Blood Vengeance AUTHOR: Djinn CONTACT: djinn@djinnslair.com http://www.djinnslair.com SERIES: TOS RATING: PG-13 CODES: Saa/Valeris, Sela PART: 3/3 SUMMARY: This is the last story in the Blood Ties trilogy. It letting them play. Thanks to Rabble Rouser and Trekki for the beta! Saavik kept behind Sela--she'd finally yielded to the woman's demands and given her a weapon. But she didn't plan on turning her back to Sela. They moved through the dark alleys and back streets of the town. It was quiet now; work was over, and most people were at the last meal. She and Sela hid in the shadows whenever the Jem'Hadar, or even too many Tilyrians, walked by. Saavik heard a sound that Sela hadn't, yanked her down behind some canisters. She ended up close, her face near Saavik's. "You like this," Sela said so softly it was barely breathed. "You live for this." "No," Saavik said. "Yes." Then Sela pulled her close and kissed her. It wasn't a lover's kiss. Not arousing exactly. Certainly not tender. It was more like a kiss of comrades. A kiss of like recognizing like. As soon as the patrol passed, Saavik slugged Sela in the face, knocking her away from her as she wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand. "You're just like me," Sela said laughing. "And ouch." The look she shot Saavik was impressed. Saavik couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to hit out at something full strength. "Hitting me felt good, didn't it? You're so strong. And you have to hide that here. You have to hide it wherever you go." Sela moved closer, watching Saavik's fists carefully. "On our home world, we'd embrace that strength." Her eyes shone in the low light of the alley, and for a moment, Saavik understood Ulysses's dilemma with the sirens. Sometimes, it took an enemy to understand deep longings. Fortunately, this enemy understood nothing about Vulcan discipline. "I am not a Romulan." "You're not a Vulcan either." Sela stroked Saavik's hair. "You're something in between. Just like me." "And like Rise." "No. Rise has made her peace with what she is. She doesn't have Romulan blood calling to her. She's only human and Vulcan." Sela's fingers moved more firmly, away from Saavik's hair, onto her skin. "She's the weakest part of us." Sela's fingers on her skin felt...nice. Saavik forced herself to pull away. "You're just doing this to hurt Rise." Sela laughed. "Not true. I also kind of like you." Her smile grew. "I find your ferocity compelling. And the parallels in our lives, well, I find those...fascinating." Her emphasis on the last word was definitely mocking. Saavik pulled away. "Let's go find your men." She led the way, no longer caring that Sela might shoot her. Sela's mouth was far more dangerous than her weapons--in so many ways. Saavik wiped her lips again, and she heard Sela laugh. They traveled the rest of the way in silence, the quiet between them broken only by Sela's gasp of dismay when they found her men lying dead in the alley. "I just left them here," Sela said, her voice strangely broken. "They were loyal to me when no one else was, and I just left them here. They stuck by me after Spock...after Rise." She crouched down, touched one, then the other, gently, almost reverently. "I'll never have men this good again." Saavik didn't say anything, wasn't sure what she could say other than "I'm sorry," which seemed trite. Sela checked the setting on her rifle, adjusting it to vaporize. In Romulan, she said, "You will be remembered with honors." Standing up, she backed up a pace or two. "Is the alley clear?" Saavik peeked out. "It's clear." Sela's weapon blasted twice, and the bodies disappeared. Then there was only quiet again--until one, then two, then five more Jem'Hadar rushed around the corner. "Oh, this can't be a good thing," Sela said, bringing her rifle up. But she didn't step out from the shadows to fire, and neither did Saavik. The Jem'Hadar rushed past them, apparently on their way to some other more urgent task. Saaavik let out a breath. "I thought..." "Me too." Sela grinned at her, and for the first time it was open and lacking in any poison. She looked very...human. Saavik found herself smiling back. "Let's go home," Sela said, no mockery in the word "home," no glinting sneer in her voice. Finding her men lying dead in this back alley had hurt her--more than Saavik had expected. As they continued on their way, Saavik heard a low whine. "Did you hear that?" Sela asked. Nodding, Saavik led her to a small indentation in one of the buildings, where a dog had built a small nest for four puppies. It looked like she'd been trying to get to them when she'd been shot. The puppies, sensing people, began to whine louder. Sela exhaled sharply, the sound holding some kind of amusement. "This is too perfect. Really. I couldn't have ordered it up better." Saavik heard her adjusting her weapon setting. Turning, she said, "What are you doing. They're just puppies." Then she realized the weapon was trained on her, not on the dogs. "You were smart earlier, not to turn your back on me." Sela smiled gently at her. "I've set this to stun. I'm not sure I'd have done that if we hadn't had this little adventure. I find I like the idea of a world with both of us in it." "Sela. What are you doing?" "War's over. At least as far as I need to concern myself with it. And it's time for me to go home." Sela's smile turned grim. "And before I go, Rise and I need to finish something." Saavik felt her heart drop. "Sela. No." She held her hand out. "You were right. I am like you. We connected. You don't have to hurt her." "It won't hurt...much." Sela almost looked apologetic. "I am sorry, little cat." Saavik leaped at her, but Sela's fire caught her before she got close enough to grab the other woman. She landed on the floor of the alley, next to the dead dog. "Goodbye, Saavik. It was fun," Sela said, as she fired again. Saavik groaned, then the world went black. ----------------------- "Rise," Jorase's voice echoed through the house, then there was a loud thump. Rising from the desk, Rise ran out into the kitchen, found Jorase crumpled on the floor near the sink. She looked around, saw that the back door was open. She ran out, was surprised to see Sela waiting for her. "Hello, Rise." There was something eerily familiar in Sela's smile as she put her disruptor back in its holster. It was the one from Romulus, the one she'd worn when she'd killed her animals, when she'd hurt Rise. Had she hurt Saavik? Had she killed her? Sela moved closer. "The war's over. And we have unfinished business." "Where's Saavik?" "She's fine. Provided she's not found by a Jem'Hadar patrol. I only stunned her...and Jorase. Although that can be remedied. Shall I walk in there and kill her now? Put her out of any misery quickly?" "Sela. Why?" Rise moved enough so she was blocking her path, so she would have to go through her to get to Jorase. "This is how I wanted it, Rise. Just you and me." "There is no you and me. Not anymore." Sela laughed. "Oh not like that. But haven't you always wondered which of us was really stronger?" She glanced back at town, a nostalgic smile playing at her lips. "No question Saavik's the strongest. That's why I had to get her out of the game, level the playing field." Rise shook her head. "We're not going to fight." "That's right. Because you don't fight. When did that happen? When did the little fireball who killed every single one of Cameron's murderers, stop killing?" "I plan." Sela laughed. Then her laugh died, and she tilted her head, staring at Rise thoughtfully. "It's you. You and Enckar. You're the leaders." Sela threw her head back. "That is such a relief. Here I thought you'd turned into a pacifist--or worse: a coward." "Sela, you helped us." "Yes. I did." She smiled; her expression gave no quarter. "I still want to fight." "Fine." Rise moved closer. "This has been coming since you got here." "Only you thought that Saavik would be the one fighting me." She wasn't wrong; Rise had thought that. It didn't matter. Rise forced her body to remember what it had been like to fight, what it had been like to hunt down Cameron's killers. To fight and kill. Without remorse. They began to circle each other. Sela's expression was one of predatory expectation. The thrill of the hunt that she and Saavik both seemed to feel written in her taut body. "Wouldn't it be easier to just kill me?" Rise asked, trying to play for time as she studied Sela for weaknesses. "Easier, yes. More fun? No." Sela seemed to tire of waiting for Rise to make her move. She launched herself, one leg coming up in a sharp kick that Rise blocked with a move she hadn't known she remembered from her Academy training. Rise followed the block with a sharp punch to Sela's jaw. Sela stumbled back a step, then recovered with a grin. "Nice moves, Rise. Good to know that a Starfleet education never goes to waste." Sela whipped around, turned the movement into a high kick that connected hard with Rise's shoulder, throwing her across the lawn. "My mother never got the chance to show me those Academy moves. But I imagine that a Tal Shiar education is just as handy." She waited for Rise to get up. Shoulder throbbing, Rise pushed herself to her feet. "We don't have to fight, Sela. There's another way." "What happened to the woman I knew? What happened to that rage? Without it, you're nothing, Rise." "That's not true." "Doing good all the time isn't going to keep you alive." Sela's voice was taunting. "What did all those good deeds on Romulus get you? Did any of those people you worked so hard for reach out to help you when I destroyed you? After you left, they went through your house, Rise. Took everything that was there. Ripped the fixtures from the walls. They didn't love you. They didn't feel anything for you." "Well, what can you expect from Romulans?" Rise said, surprised to hear Saavik in her voice. Sela's eyes were hard. "You think that these people here love you? You think they'll be loyal to you, Rise? You think any of them will remember what you've done for them?" Rise let a slow smile grow. Sela didn't understand. Sela would never understand. She'd given the Romulan Empire her life, worked every day to be worthy of it and would never, ever feel a part of it. But she didn't understand that Rise had gotten there. Rise had found home. "I'm not going to fight you." Sela stared at her. "What would Shiansu think of that?" Rise looked down. "Or all those dogs and cats? Do you remember them, Rise? Do you remember how they smelled after we fired on them? Do you remember how they sounded as they died?" "Shut up." Rise moved closer. She looked up at Sela, couldn't see the woman who had once held her in bed, could only see the monster who had taken everything from her. "So you finally feel it, just a little? The anger...the hate. It's all there is, Rise. There is no good. No mercy. Nothing except this raw rage. And vengeance." Sela laughed, the sound harsh and mocking. "Go on. Make me pay. For what you did to your father on my behalf. For the animals. For your damned bird." Sela smirked. "He died bravely. Which is more than I can say for you." "Shut up!" Rise ran the three steps it took to close the distance between them. Anger made her strong, hate made her savage. Blow after blow landed, and she barely noticed Sela's counter punches and kicks. But rage faded, and hate couldn't keep her body from tiring after taking Sela's blows. Rise kicked out, and Sela blocked her. She punched, and Sela took the hit, countered with a strong kick of her own that sent Rise reeling. She recovered, turned and twisted out of the way of Sela's next punch. Landing a strong hit to Sela's chest, she tried to follow it up with another, but Sela fell back, her legs coming up in a hard kick to Rise's gut that took her breath away. She landed on her back, tried to get up, but Sela was already there. Rise rolled away, fought to get up again, but a scissor kick from Sela knocked her back to the ground. She lay panting, watching the other woman as she crouched, barely breathing hard. "Get up, Rise." Rise rolled away again, and saw Sela launch herself toward her. She tried to twist, get her legs up to block Sela, to kick her away, but she was too slow. Sela landed hard on her, punched her once the face, then again. Rise tried to kick, and Sela twisted her so she was face down in the grass. Rise felt the cold metal of the disruptor against the back of her head. "Who wins?" Sela's voice was cold as ice. Rise didn't answer. "Just say it, and it'll all be over. Who wins, Rise?" "You do." Rise let herself relax against the ground. She wouldn't fight this. There was a logical inevitability about this moment. It should have happened that day by the mews, when Sela had killed the animals that Rise loved. Sela should have killed her too; Rise had just been living on borrowed time since then. Borrowed time, but happy time. Rise thought of Saavik, of their time together. Rise may have lost to Sela, but she'd never be like her. She'd never have to ask anyone if she'd won the real contest or not. It had taken her this long, but she'd figured it out. She'd won. She loved Saavik. Saavik loved her. And this was their home--a real home, not just a stopping place on the way to someplace safer. What more was there? "I'm sorry, Saavik," Rise whispered. "I wasn't strong enough." She felt the disruptor pressed harder against her head, and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then the weapon was abruptly pulled back, and Sela moved off her. Rise turned over slowly. Sela's disruptor was pointed at the ground. Frowning in confusion, Rise asked, "What are you doing?" Sela's eyes were calm, no emotion showed in them. "I just wanted to hear you say that." She grinned then, an open expression that was no less threatening than her other more intimidating smiles. "What?" Sela rolled her eyes. "You heard me." "It's so important to you to win?" "It is." Sela turned and walked to the small storage shed. She came out holding a large container. "Here, these are for you." She thrust the box at Rise, who grabbed it shakily. Four puppies looked up at her. She turned to Sela in shock. "I don't understand." "What's not to understand? They were in the alley I left Saavik in, whining in that same annoying way they're doing now. There was a large dog lying dead next to them--I guessed that was the mother. I thought you'd want to help them." Rise reached down and stroked the puppies. Four wet noses pushed against her hand. "They're hungry." Her tone was more accusatory than she meant it to be. "So feed them, Rise. That's what you do, not what I do." "But you saved them." Rise felt off-balance, unsure what to do or say to this Sela who she was understanding less and less with each passing minute. Sela turned away. "I've done exactly two good deeds my entire life. This was one of them." "What was the other?" Sela looked over at Saavik. "You like to say that Saavik brought you back to life, but I remember doing that first. When I found you, you were barely living." Rise remembered the state she'd been in when Sela had found her. Enmeshed in grief for Cameron, not even trying to fight the addiction to the powerful medicine that kept her from feeling too much. Sela had helped her find her feet again. It was hard to remember through all the lies and hate, but for a short time, they'd been happy. "So that's my other good deed. You." Sela laughed. "As far as the balance sheet goes, that's probably not much of a counterpoint to all the bad I've done. And all the bad I'll no doubt do in the future." She stuck her disruptor into its holster. "The way I see it, the only chance I have to balance that out is to let you live. You can do the good deeds for me." "You could do them for yourself." Rise stood up slowly. "You don't have to go back. You could become someone else, live a new life." Sela's eyebrows rose. "Why would I want to do that? I'm going to go back to the Tal Shiar. Rejuvenated and refreshed after a very lively leave of absence." "Leave?" Sela's normal smirk was back in place. "Did you really think the Tal Shiar would be interested in helping this little nothing of a planet? I'm here because I found out you were here." "But your men?" "Sadly killed by the Jem'Hadar." She shot Rise a sly look. "Or were they?" "You killed them?" Sela ignored her. "They'll be listed as casualties of war. Their families will receive the iron sword. They will be honored." Her face grew sad. "I'm afraid the only one who will be able to say what happened here...is me." "Why?" "We weren't finished, you and I. And now we are." She turned her back on Rise, waited for something only she could hear. Saavik stumbled into the yard. Sela waved a jaunty hello. "Sorry about that. Disruptor went off accidentally." Saavik looked over at Rise, clearly expecting the worst. Then she saw the puppies and frowned. "You rescued them?" she said shakily. "Someone had to. Doctor Do-Good here needs to find them homes." Saavik started to move toward Sela; her weapon did not appear to be set on stun. Rise stepped in between them, to her own--and probably everyone else's--surprise. "Saavik, Sela was just leaving." "Yes. It is definitely time for me to leave." Sela laughed. Saavik looked over at Rise, and their eyes locked. Rise could tell that Saavik was seeing all the places she was hurt from the fight with Sela. Confusion was warring with anger, and Saavik looked about ready to blow. Rise tried to send her reassurance. "Could you go get her stuff?" When Saavik didn't move, she said, "Please?" Saavik finally nodded tightly and headed into the house. "I like her. She's got spirit. And she makes me laugh." Sela grinned. "She seems more Romulan than she did the first time I met her. Obviously you're a good influence on her." Rise ignored the jibe as she walked over to Sela. "So you're just going to leave?" "It's worth it to see how much this bothers you. You'll be worrying about me coming back for months. Vengeance is sweet." Sela's face lost its mocking expression as she stared at Rise. "Is it? Sweet?" Sela nodded, but she didn't seem able to meet Rise's eyes. Then she reached up and unhooked something at the back of her neck, drawing a gold chain from under her uniform. "I believe this belongs to you." Rise saw Cameron's garnet and suddenly couldn't breathe. Sela stepped behind her, her hand brushing along Rise's skin as she fastened the necklace for her. Blinking back tears, Rise touched the stone. Sela's breath was hot on Rise's neck as she whispered, "In all my life, I've only loved one person." Then she stepped around and said in her normal voice, "Not you, of course. Someone else. Anyway, it's a cheap chain. Turned my neck black. I don't want it anymore." "Thank you." Their eyes locked. Rise was the first to look away. "I'm sorry." Sela shrugged. "What is that human saying? All's fair in love and war?" "And vengeance?" "I suppose." Sela shrugged. "My report won't mention you. In fact, while I was here, I heard that Sureya was last seen on the Klingon home world." She grinned again, and this time Rise grinned back. "Or maybe it was the Gamma Quadrant. I don't remember now. Why would I worry about one measly woman when there was glorious war to be fought with our enemy?" "Why indeed?" Rise heard Saavik coming and turned. Saavik handed Sela her pack. "You won't be back." The threat in her voice was unmistakable. Sela laughed and looked at Rise. "Definitely more Romulan." She shook her head as if chastising Saavik. "We're allies, remember?" "Only by circumstance." "All alliances are by circumstance. Don't you know that yet?" Sela turned to go, then she looked back. "Unless of course people are together because of love. That's different." A hawk sounded high in the sky. Sela looked up and followed its flight. "You should get back into that, Rise. The birds were special." Rise thought back to their earlier conversation. "Did you hunt them down?" "I thought you didn't want to know?" "I do now," Rise said. "They fly free." Then Sela smiled grimly. "They will live long and prosper as that stupid saying goes." Rise pitied anyone who got in the way of that prosperity. "Thank you." Sela shrugged. "They are Shiarawks. As the symbol of the Tal Shiar, they must fly free. No one will ever fetter us." She was suddenly the picture of Romulan hauteur. "I'd love to drink a toast to our victory over the Dominion, but I have a shuttle to catch. It will hopefully be more comfortable than the cargo ship I stowed in on. I hope we never meet again." She studied them both for a long moment, then winked. Turning on her heel, she strode away. "I missed a lot while I was unconscious, didn't I?" Saavik asked, not taking her eyes off Sela until the other woman rounded the corner out of sight. Then Saavik noticed Cameron's necklace. "She gave it back?" Rise nodded. "Uhhh." Jorase leaned up against the doorframe. "Rise, she's back." "She's gone," Saavik said. Jorase studied both of them. "I think I got the best of it." Hearing the whines of the puppies, she walked over to them, weaving a bit. "What's this?" "Present from Sela." Jorase shook her head. "I'll go see what I can find for them to eat." "Don't bother. I'll go to the store." Rise smiled. It had been a long time since she'd bought food for animals. Jorase nodded. "They still need water." She turned, and made her way back across the lawn to the kitchen. Rise could hear her digging through the pots and pans. Reaching up for the necklace, she rubbed it gently, the way she'd done for so many years. "I know how much you missed that." Saavik pulled Rise to her, held her tightly. "What the hell happened here?" "You don't want to know." She felt Saavik stiffen. "Not that." She kissed her tenderly. "Just hold me." The whining of the puppies finally made them pull away from each other. "Help me with them?" Rise asked. "So you're getting back into the rescue business?" Saavik's grin was softly teasing. "I guess so." Rise looked at where Sela had disappeared. Odd to think the person who had taken it all away, could put it all back. It didn't make a lot of sense. Saavik followed her gaze. "I hate to admit this, but I think I'm going to miss her...a little." "Romulan blood calling to you?" Saavik nodded. "I guess so. Funny when you think about it. We're all half-breeds. And we're all so..." "Lost," Rise supplied the word. Saavik shook her head. "I'm never lost when you're around." She thought about it. "Complicated." "That's a very nice way of saying screwed up." "I thought so." Saavik chuckled softly, then looked skyward as the hawk called again. "You going to try to tame him?" Rise thought of Shiansu and shook her head. "Let him fly free. Some things should stay wild." She picked up two of the puppies. "And some of us need to be tamed." Saavik picked up the other two. "Which one of us?" "Both of us," Rise said with a smile. As they walked to the house, one of the pups made a grab for her necklace and she pulled him away. Sela had said she'd only done two good things in her life, by Rise's count there were four plus one for saving her. Maybe Rise should keep a ledger that she could send when her life was wearing down, so Sela would know how her balance sheet was looking. Of course, Sela didn't really need any additional encouragement to be evil. Rise decided to keep her good deeds to herself. "Whatever you're thinking about, it must be amusing," Saavik said as she tried to keep the puppies from squirming out of her arms. "Just thinking about right and wrong, good and evil." Saavik laughed softly. "Deep things." "Deep things." Rise touched her. "I love you. And I love the home we've made." Saavik smiled tenderly. "You know, if you're going to start up with the animals again, I think we're going to need a bigger place. I know Jorase will want a bigger kitchen. If she doesn't leave us for harboring Sela." Rise smiled. "She'll stay. We're family." "So she has no choice?" Rise stroked her cheek softly. "No, we choose to be family. That's the best kind." She gave Saavik a quick kiss. "I'm going to go get some food for them." As she started to walk away, she heard Saavik say, "Sela loves you." She didn't turn around as she answered, "I know." She heard Saavik sigh and hurried back to add, "It's a dangerous love, though. Not like ours. I'd never feel truly safe with her. Not the way I do with you." Saavik laughed. "I already know that." Rise turned around. "If I weren't here, would you have been interested in her?" Saavik waved her off. "No." "Not even a little?" Rise saw a sheepish grin beginning on Saavik's face. "Maybe your Romulan side liked her?" "All my sides like you. A lot. Now go get these critters some food before they decide that my leg would make a good meal." Rise laughed as she ordered the puppies not to eat Saavik. She hurried out of the house, making her way quickly down the street to the store for food for them. As she passed the spaceport, she hefted the bag to her other side so she could peek in the window. She thought she saw a blonde woman just walking into the boarding area. "Goodbye, Sela," she whispered. "Good journey." Then she hurried to add, "And don't ever come back," before heading home to Saavik and the rest of her family. FIN ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. NewMessage: