Title: Chantilly, Five Lashes
Author: Stephen Ratliff
Series: OCC, Starship Oklahoma
Rating: [R] for partial nudity, descriptions of abuse and
rape.
Codes: nc, sm
Part:
Summary: Chantilly Bourbon, daughter of the starship
Oklahoma's Chief Engineer, escapes from secret abuse at her
father's hands.  Safe for the moment, she must deal with the
results of her trauma and a conspiracy that extends into the
Admiralty. 

An story of how another girl became a teenage officer.

Plot: Young Chantilly Bourbon is rescued from her father's
cruelty by the Captain of the Oklahoma.

Characters:

Chantilly Bourbon
     Age 13, human, daughter of the Chief Engineer of the
     Oklahoma.  Only child.  Mother died two years ago. 
Audon Bourbon
     Age 51, human, Chief Engineer of the Oklahoma.  Has been
     in that post for all Chantilly's life, and intends to
     retire in it.
Shawneela Osanna
     Age 43, Betazoid, newly posted Captain of the Oklahoma,
     companionate and caring for her crew.  She's willing to
     go the extra mile to help any of those under her command,
     yet she also has a stern side, and a thirst for justice.
T'Hana ch' Surak
     Age 55, Vulcan, Chief Medical Officer, has a real passion
     for preventive health care.  Married to the Ship's
     Counselor.
Tivan ch' Surak
     Age 55, Vulcan, Ship's Counselor, deeply bonded to his
     wife, Tivan unfortunely has a passing resemblance to
     Commander Bourbon.
Yoakim Plecnic
     Age 35, human, First Officer of the Oklahoma, inherited
     from the Previous Captain, but hasn't been first officer
     much longer than Osanna has been Captain.  A go-get-them
     type personality.
Grieg Gostillna
     Age 30, human, hulking Chief of Security of the Oklahoma. 
A well-built teddy-bear.


Prologue


Captain Shawneela Osanna laid back against the high-backed
chair in her first officer's quarters.  She was enjoying a
quiet meal, cooked by her number one.  It had been a regular
post mission ritual since she had been promoted and assigned
to command the Ambassador Class Starship Oklahoma.  The
Betazoid found them to be a very useful way to unwind, not
that the current missions where that challenging.

"Well, Yoakim, another successful mission completed," Captain
Shawneela Osanna said.  The meal had been really good, as he
had promised.  No one in their right mind ever passed up a
meal, especially when Commander Plecnic told you that his
poteca would be served.  The Captain pushed back her golden
brown hair and took another bite of the nut bread.

"We could hope that they'd all be this easy, Captain," Yoakim
Plecnic said.  He was just tall enough so that if he stood
behind the short captain, she'd fit right under his chin.  His
brown hair was tousled in flat curls, rarely neat.  "To be
honest, I'm a little bored with the diplomatic ferry routine."

"So am I, Yoakim," Osanna said.  She could tell that the
Slavic Officer was eager for a mission that would challenge
us.  "Admiral Necheyev has promised us something different, so
I'm eager as you are to hear what she has to say tomorrow."

"Doctor T'Hana to Captain Osanna."  The voice of the Vulcan
doctor was cool as usual, but there was something slightly
different about its cadence when she'd interupted.  From her
First Officer, Osanna felt a sudden surge of worry.

"Osanna," she replied, tapping her communicator unnecessarily.

"Are you with Commander Plecnic?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," she replied.  Osanna didn't think that was a good sign.

"I need you both down here.  I've already summoned Tivan and
Lieutenant Gostillna."

"On my way, Doctor," Osanna said, standing.  "I'll bring you
some of the poteca.  Osanna out."  She picked up the platter
with the nut bread, and headed out the door, Commander Plecnic
following in her wake.

Chapter One


Chantilly Bourbon lay on her belly in Sickbay.  The thirteen-
year-old was only covered with a sheet over her behind.  Her
back was crossed with red lines, some bleeding.  Her belly was
not flat, making it hard for her to stay like she was, but it
would be worse if she had lain on her back.  Her breasts were
also tender, but not from whipping.  She tried turning on her
side, carefully, and discovered a position she could hold.

From behind her, she heard the door to the ward open.  Doctor
T'Hana had promised her that her father wouldn't come in.  For
a moment she was scared again, scared that he'd returned. 
Then she heard the soft voice of the Captain.  "Doctor, what
has happened to Chantilly?"

The door opened again, and she heard several heavy footfalls. 
"Captain, Commander, Doctor," another familiar voice said, the
one that always announced all the security drills.  Chantilly
wiped the tears from her eyes, and sat up with difficulty,
turning to face the Captain.  Her long black hair cascaded
down her back, causing her to wince, and tears to form at the
corners of her eyes again.

"I want to tell them," Chantilly said, determined.  She'd
barely got the story out to the Doctor when she'd emerged from
the Jefferies tube behind the Doctor's Office.  She was
surprised at the determined tone of her voice.  She didn't
feel it.  She felt her courage had been all used up in her
escape from her father's quarters.

Doctor T'Hana was quickly at her side, adjusting the sheet so
it covered her privates, obscuring the signs of what her
father had done following the whipping. Chantilly hadn't
noticed that it had slipped.  "You don't have to, Chantilly,
but if you can, it will help."  The voice was even, almost
toneless.  In its very lack of emotion it conveyed strong
support.

One by one, Chantilly met the eyes of the gathered command
staff, Captain, First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and
Chief of Security.  "Shouldn't the Counselor be here?"
Lieutenant Gostillna asked. She glanced down at her swollen
belly.

"Counselor Tivan is here," Doctor T'Hana said.  She tapped the
side of her head.  "He is able to monitor the situation
through our bond, and advise.  Chantilly, is there anything I
can do for you?  I can start on your wounds at any time, now
that we've recorded them."

"Could you?" Chantilly said, trembling.  The Doctor got out a
dermal regenerator and started to go to work on Chantilly's
back, sealing up the wounds and healing the skin.  "And can I
have a glass of grapefruit juice?"

"Yoakim, get her a big glass," Captain Osanna said. "And would
you like some of the Commander's poteca?  He made it fresh
this morning."

"Yes please," Chantilly said.  Once she'd had a bite of the
poteca and a swallow of the juice, she took a deep breath,
drawing up her courage.  The Captain had taken a seat on the
bed beside her, and Lieutenant Gostillna stood behind her like
a knight guarding his queen.  Chantilly could almost imagine
him in full plate armor, his hands crossed over the pommel of
his sword.  Commander Plecnic had placed one of the rolling
tables in front of her, and filled it with a pitcher of
grapefruit juice, some of his sliced fresh poteca, and her
favorite mint cookies.  She had no idea how he knew that. 
Plecnic stood on the other side of the table, ready to refill
her glass at a moments notice.

With another deep breath she began, "It all started about a
year and a half ago, about four months after my mother died. 
I was only eleven years old. I'd always been home schooled,
but since mother died, I hadn't really gone out.  I decided
that I wanted to visit my friend, Habiba, but as soon as I
exited the quarters, my father discovered me.  He dragged me
back in, and punished me."

"I'd always wondered what the five strands of knotted rope
that father kept up on the wall were for.  I found out when he
stripped me and had me lean over the end table.  He gave me
five lashes for going out without asking for permission.  It
was the first time I'd been punished physically.  He wouldn't
let me dress afterwards.  I didn't wear anything from that day
until your welcome aboard dinner two months ago, Captain."

"In the morning, I got two more lashes for bleeding over my
sheets. The morning punishments were always easier.  He had to
get to work, and didn't have time to do anything afterwards.
It seemed that everything I did that wasn't up to his
standards merited either lashes or strokes of the rod on my
bottom."

"Once, I thought someone was going to rescue me.  My best
friend Habiba managed to get into see me and saw my back and
sore bottom.  She said she was going to tell her father,
Captain Fahim.  She found a dermal regenerator and started to
heal me so I could leave the quarters.  That's when Captain
Fahim came in."

Chantilly broke down in tears, with remembered guilt.  "He
stripped off her pants and raped her right in front of me,"
she sobbed.  "He said that she shouldn't interfere with the
punishment of others and it was time that she learnt her place
as a girl.  He just kept doing it to her."  Her sobs
overwhelmed her and she couldn't continue through her sobs and
sniffles.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and for once it didn't bring
a feeling of pain.  It had been so long since that was the
case.  Chantilly looked up to discover the Captain was beside
her, offering a handkerchief.  She took it, and blew her nose.

"Continue when you're ready, Chantilly," the Captain said
softly. "I know this is hard for you."  The hand gave
Chantilly the courage to continue, after a cookie and a
swallow of juice.

"Father saw the Captain, and it was like they'd suddenly
become old friends.  We were forced to show each other what
happened when were punished.   Father decided to try Habiba's
punishment on me, and raped me so hard that I couldn't sit
down, even if my bottom hadn't been covered with welts from
the rod. Habiba didn't get any lashes, that night, but Captain
Fahim kept on raping her."

"Having a period now became another offense, one worth five
lashes.  I prayed that mine would stop like Habiba's did. Four
months ago, it did.  For the first time, father stopped using
the rod.  A couple months later, Captain Fahim and Habiba
left, and for a while everything improved.  I got to attend
your welcoming dinner, and even got to go on an picnic off
ship with the other kids on board.  I wasn't allowed to tell
anyone what had happened but things were getting better.  I
wasn't getting whipped, and all I had to do to father was let
him rape me."

"Then I piloted that damaged shuttle back from the picnic, and
father got yelled at for not assigning anyone to take care of
the shuttles.  I was lashed for him being yelled out anytime
he was off duty unless he was raping me.  I had to get out, so
I opened the Jefferies tube that was in father's room and
crawled to the Doctor's Office.  I had to do something."

"Lieutenant, arrest Commander Bourbon immediately, confining
him to the brig," Captain Osanna said to her Chief of
Security.  "We'll figure out the full list of charges later,
but rape will do for now.  Chantilly, you did a very brave
thing.  We'll see to it that your father never harms you
again."

"Thank you, Captain," the girl said, her tears still flowing
down her face.  The Doctor had finished with her back, and for
the first time in a long time was no pain in her body.

"Now, I'm going to have a word with the Doctor, Chantilly, and
then we'll be right back," the Captain said.

"Promise?" Chantilly said, her eyes meeting the Betazoid
Captain's. 

"I promise."  The Captain and the Doctor exited the ward,
along with the Chief of Security.  Chantilly looked at the one
remaining person in the room with her.  Commander Plecnic
smiled, and handed her another mint cookie, when she ate
quickly, downing the remainder of her grapefruit juice
afterward.


Doctor T'Hana was used to her close bond with her husband
Tivan.  They'd been bonded at seven, and had the exceedingly
rare pon'farr at fourteen, brought on by their close bond,
having been companions since first memory, and a childhood
illness at just the right time.  Still, it was rare that they
had to function this closely bonded.  They often worked
together on patients.  She would handle the body, and he the
mind.  Most of the time, their roles were separate, though. 

Chantilly's reaction on seeing Tivan had been one of
hysterics.  She'd suddenly backed up in the corner of T'Hana's
office and screamed for him to leave.  Tivan had retreated,
and then advised T'Hana from around the corner.  It seemed
that her beloved bore some resemblance to Commander Bourbon. 
In her mind she reviewed her last look at the Commander.  He
had the same brown hair and was the same height and build. 
She wasn't sure, but she thought the eyes were the same.

'Beloved, I'd prefer it if you didn't compare me to that
devil.'  The thought from her husband was expected.  They knew
each other's minds better than their own.  She felt his
fingers touching hers, middle and index, in the Vulcan gesture
of commitment.  It was as close as Vulcans every openly
displayed of their love.  In her youth, after the unexpected
heat of pon'farr, she had received some human romance novels
from a friend.  They had been much more direct in their
profession of love.  Drawing on her memory of them, she sent a
picture her husband's way.

'Beloved, pon'farr is next year.'  T'Hana turned her attention
to the Captain, as she sensed her husband's amusement at the
particular image she'd chosen.   She could see the betazoid
taking a couple deep breaths.

"T'Hana, Tivan, I have no idea what I'm going to do with this
save arresting Commander Bourbon," Captain Osanna said. 
T'Hana could see the tension in her body, as she stood just
out side the door to the isolation ward.

"Your options are limited, Captain," Tivan said.  It was clear
that her husband liked the situation even less.  "Crimes on
board a starship are governed by Star Fleet Regulations, and
despite families being on starships for the last two decades,
there are no regulations regarding assault on minors
specifically.  We are limited in our actions to the charges of
rape, assault, and conduct unbecoming.  Civil authorities may
be able to make additional charges, but not until we make
port."

"It's worse than that." Captain Osanna said.  "I don't have
the authority to revoke custody, even when her sole remaining
parent is in the brig.  I can appoint someone to watch over
her, if there aren't any arrangements made and on file..."

"The only arrangements I have on file state that she's to
remain in her quarters when her father isn't available," Tivan
said.  "If her quarters should become unavailable she is to
move into the Captain's Quarters with Habiba Fahim, the former
Captain's daughter.  It seems the last part is a bit out of
date."

"Not for our purposes," Captain Osanna said.  Some of the
tension had left her body.  "Her quarters are now to be
considered a crime scene.  I will be finding her some suitable
clothing, and then when she's ready, we'll take her to my
quarters."

"Captain, may I suggest that you look for clothes particularly
flattering on her," Tivan said, sending image back to me from
the cover of one of those old novels.  "Young human girls,
particularly those in Chantilly's condition like to be told
they are pretty.  She is eighteen weeks along with child." 
He'd taken that little bit from his watching of T'Hana's
examination, but T'Hana didn't mind. 

"That isn't good," Osanna said.  T'Hana detected just a little
bit of a squint as the Captain frowned.  Perhaps an eye
examination would be wise.  She wondered if the Captain liked
carrots.  They'd be good for her.  "I'll talk with Chantilly
for a bit.  Counselor, if you'd put together some appropriate
information on what we can expect with her." T'Hana felt her
husband nod through their bond.  "Doctor, I want a full report
of all injuries she's suffered in the last two years that you
can find.  I suspect they aren't in her medical record.  Do
you think you can have it by 1300 hours?"

"That should be sufficient time," T'Hana said, as the Captain
reentered the room.  Before her husband departed, T'Hana sent
him another image of one of those romance novel covers.

'Beloved, if you keep this up, pon'farr will be early.'  
T'Hana's eyes sparkled with hidden amusement as she returned
to her office.


Lieutenant Grieg Gostillna strode through the halls towards
Main Engineering.  He'd brought two of his security officers
with him for the task, Friedman and Dvorkin.  They were a pair
of female officers who had trained together since their
Academy days, the red head and the blond.  He came around the
corner, practically stomping, and entered Engineering.

Commander Bourbon sat as if astride a horse on a stool at the
head of Main Engineering, a riding crop in his hand.  His dark
hair was peppered around the edges with silver.  As was his
custom, he was pointing out something that needed to be done
with it.  His engineers were responding to his orders crisply,
like the well-trained machine they were.  A couple stood by
the main situation table, correcting problems as they
occurred.  An Andorian was climbing a ladder behind the warp
core, a complex device hanging from one hand as he climbed.  

Commander Bourbon's rather new Senior Assistant Chief Engineer
was approaching with one of the unnumberable reports that the
job entailed.  The Selay Lieutenant's hood was tight, and his
mouth in a big grin of satisfaction.   Behind him, two
engineers were carrying what Lieutenant Gostillna recognized
as a ship's phaser wave length guide relay, the dorsal model. 
Lieutenant Sasscrath had obviously found something wrong with
the relay.

"Commander Audon Bourbon," Gostillna said, in a deep booming
voice.  All eyes in Engineering turned towards him.  "You are
under arrest by the order of the Captain for the charges of
rape, assault, and conduct unbecoming an officer."

Every person in Engineering turned towards Gostillna's voice. 
The two engineers at the situation monitor were gaping. 
Behind the warp core, there was a crash, as a device dropped
from the Andorian's hand and broke on impact on the port
plasma transfer conduit.  It scattered all over the floor on
either side.  Lieutenant Sasscrath's hood flared with what
Gostillna recognized as sudden anger.

"And just who did I assault?" Commander Bourbon sneered. 
Gostillna barely resisted the urge to wipe it off his face.

"Your daughter," Gostillna said.  "We have physical evidence. 
Friedman, Dvorkin, take Mr. Bourbon to the brig.  He's to be
confined there until further notice.  All clearances have been
revoked."

There was muttering throughout Engineering.  Commander Bourbon
was considered among the best of his trade, and had managed to
maintain his post as Chief Engineer since the Oklahoma had
been commissioned nearly twenty years before.  While not
really well liked on a personal level, he had the professional
respect of his Engineers.

Gostillna knew that many engineers had been on the Oklahoma
for more than a couple years.  Those remembered Chantilly
Bourbon, from when she used to come down to Engineering with
her father.  Gostillna remembered how she'd been then, a
lovely little girl, a happy sprite with her big brown eyes and
raven hair.  Gostillna could see some of those Engineers
developing a sick expression.  They were likely putting the
charge and the image of the young girl together.  Gostillna
remembered how he'd first seen that image.  It had nearly been
worse than seeing the actual wounds on Chantilly's body. 
"Lieutenant Sasscrath, the Captain has placed you in charge of
Engineering for now."

"Aye, sir," Lieutenant Sasscrath said.  Gostillna saw the
narrowing of the Seley's eyes.  He wondered if Sasscrath would
like Bourbon rare or well done.  Probably rare, as he did
raise his own small animals for an occasional treat.

"You'll never get that to stick," Bourbon said, as Gostillna
pushed him into Friedman and Dvorkin's custody.  Gostillna
thought that was very unlikely.  He'd already stopped in
Bourbon's quarters and seen the blood soaked knotted rope.

"Oh really?" Gostillna said.  He could tell that his disgust
was infecting his voice, as he pulled Bourbon's hands behind
him.  Friedman handed him the manacles.  They were not usually
used when arresting an officer, but Gostillna wasn't willing
to take a chance with Bourbon.  "Tell that to the court
martial."

"I have friends in high places," Bourbon boasted as Friedman
and Dvorkin led him away.  Gostillna followed, his phaser
drawn and pointed at Bourbon all the way to the brig. 
Gostillna doubted that those friends could or would save
Commander Bourbon from this.


Chapter Two


Chantilly stood in front of the mirror  in her new clothes. 
The full length mirror with it's carved wooden frame looked
out of place in the sterile silver and grey environment of
Sickbay's Isolation Ward.   She and the Captain had spent the
last hour picking out clothes, which covered the bed behind
her, and several of the beds behind those held the discards. 
It had been two years since she'd gotten to pick out clothes. 
She had thought that it wasn't possible for her to look nice
in clothes now that she was pregnant, but the Captain's keen
eye had proved her wrong.

First it had been the underwear, low-cut panties in baby blue
lace with a matching bra.  She might not like her middle name,
but she did have to admit lace looked nice on her.  Then there
was the jumpsuit that she'd insisted that she wanted.  Pants
and blouses could be taken off too easily.  The first one she
liked, the one she was wearing now, was very dark gray, but
across her belly and breasts it blushed a bright red, a
brighter shade than that on the Captain's uniform.  Over it
she wore a dark gray sweater, fastened only with a single
silver button at the top, and cut so it opened over her
swollen belly.

At eighteen weeks along, there was no way she was going to be
able to hide it, she was going to have a baby.  For a moment
she despaired.  Chantilly was not ready to be a mother. 
Before tears could gather in her eyes again, she felt a hand
on her back and looked up.  It was the Captain.

"Don't worry, Chantilly, we'll all be here to help you when
you need it," Captain Osanna said.  The Captain pushed back
Chantilly's dark hair and put a hair barrette that matched her
jumpsuit in it.  "There.  One pretty young girl ready to go
out and charm the galaxy to her side."

"Do you really think I'm pretty?" Chantilly asked, looking at
her reflection in the mirror.  "I mean my dark hair is nothing
special, and I've got this bulging  belly."

"Yes you are, Chantilly," Osanna said in a soothing tone. 
"Dressed up properly, like this, no boy would deny that fact. 
As for your belly, there is a great deal of difference between
a girl that's just over-weight, and a slim girl like you who
is with child.  A young lady having a baby has a healthy glow
to her, and lights up a room when she enters it."

Chantilly looked at her face.  Now that the tears had been
washed away, it did look a lot better.  There was tone to it,
and it blushed slightly as she imagined her entering a room
filled with royalty.  Dashing knights came up to and sought
her favor, seeking to joust for her honor.  In her mind she
wore a silver tiara and sat with the King and Queen as they
watched the knights fight for her hand.

"I am pretty," the words came out as a whisper.  She touched
the mirror.  A smile graced her face for the first time in
years.  The captain was right.  Chantilly turned and embraced
the Captain in a hug.  "Thank you."

"You are quite welcome," the Captain said.  Then as the hug
was broken, the Captain kept her close with a hand on each
shoulder.  "Now, let's get out of here.  I've set up the spare
room in my quarters for you."

"Habiba's room?" Chantilly asked, a little nervously.

"I believe it was," Osanna said.  "Is that a problem?  I've
done a little redecorating to it already."

"Does it still have the bunk bed in it?" Chantilly asked.  The
Captain nodded.  "Can I sleep on the top one?"

"Well, the doctor might have some objection to you climbing up
there," the Captain began, but as Chantilly started to frown,
stopped.  "We won't tell her though." The captain placed her
left arm around Chantilly and drew her close as they exited
the room.


Captain Shawneela Osanna stood at the door, watching as
Chantilly examined her new room.  It bore little resemblance
to the pale silk decor that it had been done in when she had
taken command.  That had been an obviously little girls room
done in an Arabic Harem style.  When Osanna had taken on the
redesign of that room, the last of the ones she had done, she
had continued the old world design that she had in the rest of
the quarters.   This was her command for the next five years,
at least, and she wanted to feel comfortable.  The time
between diplomatic ferry missions had given her plenty of time
to get it just right.  

The bunk beds now boasted an oak veneer, aged as if they were
a decades old installation.    The walls were painted as if
they were parchment, and below a real oak chair rail, covered
with deep red velvet, matching the covers on the beds  Right
under the window was a Louis XIV desk, a gift of an Academy
Classmate.  It was definitely no longer the room of a little
girl anymore.  On the far wall there were three paintings of
the first three Commanding Admirals of Star Fleet in the
formal style of the period. She'd actually intended it as a
guest room for when her two nephews visited.

The Captain had practically been holding her breath as
Chantilly took in her new room.  It was so different and at
first, she could tell that Chantilly wasn't quite sure what to
think about it.  Then just as Chantilly sat down in the chair
before the desk, she could feel the emotion solidify into
happiness and joy.

"So, what do you think?" Osanna said.  She could feel the
emotions, but that was just the surface.  Osanna kept herself
to that surface most of the time.  To do otherwise was to
intrude on other's private thoughts, which was against her
personal ethics.  Most Betazoids ascribed to that code, though
Osanna was probably stricter in her application of it than
most.

"I like it," Chantilly said.  The teen was glowing with
happiness.  "I don't want to change a thing.  It's grown up
and sophisticated.  There is no lace, or pink.  I hate pink."

Osanna had seen Chantilly's last room.  Pink lacy sheets, pink
walls ... it was a definite change for the girl, exactly what
Tivan had suggested.  "We will have to find something for your
baby when she comes, but other than that, I think we can leave
it like this.  We might want to get a dresser and mirror
though."

"To match the desk?" Chantelly said.  Osanna could tell that
the girl loved the desk, as she ran her fingers around the
edge of the ornate desk.

"Certainly!" Osanna replied.  "Now, let's get a good lunch,
and then you can do your catch up work, while I check in with
the Bridge."  She could feel a little disgust from the girl
when the school work was mentioned.  It appeared to not be
directed at the work itself, but at the girl.  Chantelly was
looking downward again.  "Chin up.  You're only two weeks
behind.  Not bad for a girl who hasn't attended class in a
year and a half."

"I was a year ahead," Chantelly mumbled.  "And I never
attended class."

"You'll be there again, I'm sure," Osanna said, leading the
way out of the room.  "So what would you like for lunch?  The
doctor would like you to have a lot of it."

The Captain could feel Chantilly's internal rejoicing that she
was getting to choose what she ate again.  "I want a big
Italian Sub with plenty of mustard, lettuce, and the yellow
tomatoes with the pink streaks in them.  Then a big bowl of
corn chips with sharp cheddar dip, and a big chocolate milk
shake."

"I'm certain we can accommodate that," Osanna said, before
moving to the replicator to punch in the order.  "The portions
you're asking for certainly fit the Doctor's recommendations,
though I'm not sure about the shake."  Her own order most
certainly didn't fit Doctor T'Hana's recommendation, but every
once in a while the Betazoid got a craving for that addictive
late night fast food from just of the Academy Campus.  A
quarter pounder with cheese, hold the ketchup and the mayo,
with a large side of fries and large cola filled that craving
rather well.

"She gave me one last night for dinner," Chantilly said.

"Well, I guess it gets Doctor T'Hana's seal of approval then,"
Osanna said, before sitting down with Chantilly for a nice
lunch.  Chantilly ate every bit of her order, and then stole
some of Osanna's fries.


Commander Yoakim Plecnic liked serving with Captain Osanna. 
His month working with then-Captain Fahim had been very
different than the last two months under Osanna.  Fahim ruled
the ship with an iron fist, and kept everything regimented. 
Everything had been required to ship shape in Bristol fashion. 
The phrase may have been an old English one for a ship in the
condition of it's commissioning, and Fahim was Arab, but it
fit the requirements that he followed.  They were requirements
that Commander Bourbon had espoused to  run Engineering with
as well, only he'd actually used the phrase.

It had surprised him when he'd been promoted from Operations
to First Officer.  He'd thrown himself into the job, working
long hours in pursuit of the Captain's goals.  Then Fahim had
been promoted and Commander Osanna of the Galaxy had become
Captain Osanna of the Oklahoma.  The whole cadence of the ship
had changed the moment she took command.  Fahim had been
distant, commanding.  Osanna was involved and caring.  She
took time to get to know the crew, dining with them, taking
their children on a picnic.  The crew saw her as a matriarch,
one they could trust.

Plecnic was no different, and he was beginning to alter his
own style to follow hers.  He had no idea how Captain Osanna
had discovered that he could cook, or that he baked a very
good poteca. She had, and dinner in his quarters was becoming
a weekly event.  Sometimes it was just her and him, but
sometimes the Doctor and Counselor or the Chief of Security
would be invited.  Their discussions over poteca and tea were
not limited to duty, but not excluding.  He was very
comfortable with that relationship, and felt that in two
months he had gotten to know the Captain very well.

It was no surprise to him that Osanna had offered to share her
quarters with Chantilly Bourbon.  He'd been reminded of an old
poem his mother had once read him today, when he'd passed the
Captain and Chantilly on their way out of sickbay.


If I can keep one heart from breaking

I shall not live in vain.

If I can ease one life the aching

Or heal one pain,

Or lift one fainting robin,

Back into it's nest again

I shall not live in vain.


It described his Captain so well, that poem.  She had what
he'd labeled as a saving people complex.  It was going to make
their missions interesting, as was the Captain's empathic and
telepathic abilities.  Captain Osanna had already taught him a
few technics to aid in communication between them
telepathically.

He leaned back in his chair in the conference lounge, taking a
brief look at the chronometer that the previous Captain had
put on the wall.  His musing had nearly taken him to the time
which Admiral Necheyev was scheduled to talk to him and the
Captain on their next mission.  Behind him, the doors parted. 
He turned and suppressed the urge to stand.  Captain Osanna
didn't like that protocol. 

"Sorry I'm late, Yoakim," Osanna said.  "I had to put
Chantilly to bed."

"The Admiral hasn't contacted us yet, so that's fine," Plecnic
said, with a smile.  "How is Chantilly?"

"Much better, I think," Osanna said.  She was smiling,
obviously happy with the job that she'd done.  "She likes her
new room, and ate very well.  She's going to take a nap and
then do her school work.  T'Hana's checking on her in about an
hour."

"Bridge to Captain Osanna."  The voice was one of the newer
Lieutenants who had been left in command by Plecnic.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant Xentica."  It amazed Plecnic how the
Captain remembered everyone's names.

"Incoming communication from Admiral Necheyev."

"Transfer it into here, Xentica, and Happy Birthday."  He
hadn't remembered that.  Plecnic would have to remember to
wish Xentica a happy birthday as well when he returned to the
Bridge.

"Thank you Captain."

Admiral Necheyev appeared on screen; it appeared that she was
letting her blond hair grow a little bit.  "Good Afternoon,
Admiral," Captain Osanna greeted.

"Captain Osanna, Commander Plecnic, I have your next
assignment for you," Necheyev said.  That was the usual
greeting.  Plecnic thought the Admiral must be very busy given
how quickly she gave out orders.  Still, it was nice that
Necheyev personally contacted all her Captains with their
missions, no matter how far down they were in any way.

"Before you go into it, Admiral, I think I have a matter of
some urgency that may require your help in dealing with,"
Captain Osanna interrupted.  "I'm afraid that the Oklahoma has
a problem."

"What type of problem?" Necheyev asked, her face furrowed into
a frown.

"My Chief Engineer has just been arrested for raping and
assaulting his daughter," Osanna said.  Plecnic could almost
hear the nervousness the Captain had in bringing this up. 
"He's apparently been doing this for the last year and a half,
and Chantilly is pregnant with his child."

"Then it's obvious that you need to get to the nearest Star
Base for the Commander's court-martial and likely a civilian
trial on the child molestation chrages," Necheyev said. 
Plecnic noticed that her frown had turned into an expression
of anger, obviously not directed at him or his Captain, but
clearly she agreed with his personal feelings in the matter. 
Plecnic was sure that Commander Bourbon was deserving of the
full punishment for his crime, if not more.  "I believe that
would be Star base 12."

"That's where we run into another problem," Commander Plecnic
said.  He'd been investigating the problem along with
Lieutenant Gostillna.  "We can't make the child molestation
charge on board because there is no regulation against it. 
Plus, Star Base 12 is commanded by Admiral Fahim, who used to
command this ship.  We have reason to believe that he was
involved in an assault on Chantilly and may be molesting his
own daughter, Habiba, as well.  Once Commander Bourbon is
transferred to Star base 12 under Fahim's authority, Chantilly
has to go with him, and I believe that would put her in
danger."

"That is a problem Commander," Necheyev said, her face was now
thoughtful.  "Do you agree with Commander Plecnic's
assessment, Captain?"

"Yes.  If anything, I believe the Commander's view is
optimistic," Osanna said.

"Then, Commander, I want you to scour all precedent," Necheyev
said, in a commanding tone that hadn't been heard since she
had left the center seat of the Deleware, Plecnic's first
post.  "I know you're very thorough.  I expect you to find a
way to keep that girl on the Oklahoma, and I'll back you all
the way.  Captain Osanna, I will be hitching a ride on the
Mary Rose when this conference on Betazed is over.  I expect
you to be at Star base 12 by then, try to time it as close as
possible."

"I will," Captain Osanna said.  She was much more at ease now
that she was assured of support, from what Plecnic could tell.

"By the way, your mother sends her regards," Necheyev said,
with a smile.

"Give her mine as well," Osanna said.

"I will," Necheyev said.  "Let me know if you need any more
help before I arrive at Starbase 12.  Necheyev out."

The screen went dark, replaced by the Star Fleet Logo, then by
a view of the stars, as if it was just another window.  "Well,
Commander, it looks like we better get to work."

"Indeed."  Commander Plecnic stood, and followed his Captain
out onto the bridge.  He had a lot of work to do, so he
doubted he'd be able to stay there long.  Necheyev was almost
as a demanding task master as Captain Fahim had been.


Chapter Three


Counselor Tivan sat in uniform across from Chantilly Bourbon. 
He'd been surprised that she had suddenly showed up at his
office.  He'd been handling her through his bond with his
wife.  They'd had several productive sessions that way.  It
was a little awkward, but he believed that the female
relationship had been key to her early recovery.  His office
was always open, though, unless someone else was there, and
she had waddled in just a few minutes ago.

Chantilly appeared to be a little shaky as she tried to find a
comfortable seat on the couch.   "Is there anything I can get
for you, Chantilly?  Some grapefruit juice, perhaps?" he
asked.  She wore one of her jumpsuits, this one dark blue,
blushing to an orange on her belly.  Her sweater was gray,
with shell patterns in it.

"No, I run to the bathroom enough," Chantilly said, finally
finding a comfortable position, leaning a little to her right,
and curling her feet under her.  She was barefoot, not an
uncommon choice for a young girl with child.  Tivan's own wife
had spent most of her confinement the same way, the first
time. 

"You are settling in well with the Captain, I trust?" Tivan
said after a moment's silence.  This was an unscheduled visit,
outside his planned treatment of the young girl, so in order
to start, he needed to know what prompted it.

"She's great," Chantilly said.  Her face lit up as she began
to describe her new life.  "She gave me a nice room with
bunkbeds, and this really nice desk.  We got this tall chest
for clothes and picked out this really neat mirror.  It used
to be Habiba's room but it's much nicer now.  The Captain
helps me with my school work when I have questions.  I think
I'm starting to get caught up in history again."

"It sounds like you and the Captain are getting along well,"
Tivan said.  "My wife will want to know if you're following
her orders."

"You can tell her I'm eating what she wants me to, but if she
adds another squash dish to my options she may find it in her
chair," Chantilly said, with an impish smile.

He sent the image of the happy Chantilly to his wife through
their bond.  It looked like she was beginning to recover. 
T'Hana sent back her satisfaction with the image.  However
nice that news was, it wasn't getting to the reason Chantilly
had come yet.  "I have so informed her, but I'm afraid that it
may just result in more.  I still come home to plomeek soup
every Tuesday, though it has been almost forty years since I
informed T'Hana of my dislike of it.  However, I don't think
you'd come hear to complain about her latest find, squash
casserole ala Yuta."

Chantilly immediately sobered.  "No, I came because I keep
flinching every time I see a man.  I even did it when
Commander Plecnic came over to deliver reports to the
Captain."

"So you decided to come to me, the male, who my wife tells me,
bears the most resemblance to your father of anyone on the
ship, to confront the issue," Tivan summarized.  Chantilly
nodded.  "In that case, perhaps we should resume talking about
the squash dishes, or some other topic."

"How will that help me?" Chantilly asked, a puzzled expression
gracing her face.

"Trust me," Tivan said.  "Whenever you find yourself flinching
at a male's presence, try not to back away.  Instead talk to
him, if you can, just like you were with me earlier.  You'll
find that it makes you feel a lot better."  Chantilly's
expression had moved from puzzled to cautious acceptance. 
"Now I believe we were talking about your dislike for squash
casserole ala Yuta?"

"Have you tried it?" Chantilly grimaced.  "I have.  It's
disgusting.  I don't know what the red stuff is in it, but I
drain a whole glass of water every time I eat a bite
containing it."

"I believe they are peppers of some sort," Tivan said.  "I
likewise have tried the dish.  You may be happy to learn that
it gave T'Hana heartburn."  It appeared that Chantilly was, as
her smile had returned.  "It is much better than french onion
soup, though."

"Hey, I like french onion soup, especially when prepared with
a bit of parsley," Chantilly responded.  "If it's just the
right temperature it warms you right up when you're cold."

For almost an hour, Tivan was treated to an animated
discussion of what was on the ship's menu for young girls who
where expecting.  Gradually he could see the little signs of
stress disappearing from Chantilly. By the time she finally
got up to leave, she looked quite relaxed, aside from having
to make a quick run to the bathroom.


Commander Audon Bourbon sat in the brig, in the same uniform
which he had wore three days before when he'd been arrested. 
Security was not inclined to provide him with a change of
clothes, and the meals had been less than satisfactory.  His
dark hair was now a mess, the work of days of running his
hands through it and bad shampoo with no comb.  The guards
were getting used to him.

The brig was the usual dull pale mustard yellow, with just a
simple bench covered with a pad along the back wall.  A
shimmering force field separated him from his single guard, a
somewhat sleepy young Ensign, who sat in a rather comfortable
chair. He started to whistle, just a little off key.  "Pop
Goes the Weasel" was one of his favorite tunes.  

The guard seemed to be irritated by that.  He got louder, and
a little more off key, his eyes looking up at the ceiling, as
they had been all day.  Suddenly, Bourbon clapped his hands,
as he reached the "Pop Goes the Weasel" line.  A wide beam of
light exited from a point in the ceiling and hit his guard. 
The guard slumped to the floor under the phaser stun, as the
force field dropped.

Commander Bourbon grinned widely as he began tapping commands
on the controls outside his cell.  Tap, tap, tap.  With each
stroke he ensured his safety.  A manic laugh escaped him
briefly as the last command was entered, but he brought it
under control again.

He ran his hand through his hair again, making it look worse,
before walking out of the brig and to freedom.  No one was
nearby to see him as he crossed the silver panel-lined
corridor.  His timing between mid-shift had been perfect.

He ducked into a nearby Jefferies tube and began to hum again.
The circuitry lined crawl space was familiar territory to him. 
Ever sound made was known to him, from the sound of the
grating to the warm hum of the EPS relay.  Each turn was made
with purpose, his destination clear in his mind.  As Bourbon
crawled through the tube, his posture reminded him of the last
time he'd seen his daughter.  He imagined her bloodied back
being under him again.  Oh it would be so good.  His humming
became actual song.

"All around the starship's decks, some monkeys chased a
weasel."


Lieutenant Grieg Gostillna stood at his post on the Bridge..
Tactical was rather boring mid-Alpha Shift when the ship was
moving at a deliberate slow pace through Federation Space. 
Captain Osanna was sitting in the center seat.  The past few
days that hadn't been a regular occurrence, like it should
have been.
Gostillna figured that was all related to young Chantilly.  He
knew of no officer or crewman, who having heard what happened
to Chantilly, didn't begrudge the girl anything she needed.

Gostillna remembered when he'd come on board as an Assistant
Chief of Security, the number four in the department when he'd
arrived on the Oklahoma.  Chantilly had been about seven years
old, but not beyond having Gostillna give her a piggy back
ride.  Those had been different times.  

He'd worked his way up to Chief by the time her mother had
died.  Damita Bourbon had been a small lady, towered over by
her husband.  With little Chantilly they were the perfect
family.  It was obvious to all that Commander Bourbon had
adored his wife.  Then Damita had died, throwing herself down
on top of a young boy who had strayed too close to a ticking
bomb, just as it went off.  The boy had been alive and unhurt
when they were beamed aboard.  Damita had not.  Her back was
raw and bleeding in too many places.  She had lost too much
blood by the time she had materialized in Sickbay, and died on
the operating table a few minutes later.

Chantilly had withdrawn to her room and refused to see anyone,
after her mother's death  Gostillna wondered how much of that
had been by her father's design.  Commander Bourbon had
reported to Engineering the next day as if nothing had
happened.  As far as any of his officers could tell, he hadn't
changed a bit.  It disturbed Gostillna that no one had had a
hint of the trouble for over a year and a half.

He attempted to bring up the file on that incident, as nothing
was happening at the moment.  Access denied.  It was his own
personal file, he shouldn't be getting that message.  He tried
to run a level three scan of the corridors, a routine task for
tactical.  Access denied, again.  He tried again.  User does
not exist.

"Captain, I think we have a problem," he said, causing the
Captain to turn towards him.  "Someone has just deleted my
access to all functions."

"Computer Recognize Osanna, Captain Shawneela, authorization
Omega Baker Two Nine Six Tango, and restrict all command
functions to the Bridge," she said.  It was a quick action,
which Gostillna approved of.

"All command functions are restricted to the Bridge," the
Computer replied.

"Computer, locate Commander Audon Bourbon," Commander Plecnic
ordered.

"There is no Commander Audon Bourbon on the Oklahoma," the
Computer replied.

"Gostillna, find him now," Osanna ordered.  "Number One, take
tactical.  I want all our codes reset, and Commander Bourbon's
changes stopped."  The Bridge burst into sudden activity, as
each crew member began his tasks in the case of an escape. 
Gostillna left quickly for the turbolift and the brig.  He had
no idea how Bourbon had escaped, but Gostillna intended to
catch him.


Commander Yoakim Plecnic had not taken tactical for a very
long time.  That didn't mean he didn't know how, and it
especially didn't mean he wasn't up-to-date with the latest
tactics.  He was a very faithful reader of Star Fleet's weekly
tactical bulletins, and kept an open mind as to the source of
any tactics.

His task at tactical at the moment involved little of those
tactics, though.  Everyone was having to provide fresh voice
prints and codes, and he was authorizing them one by one.  It
was a rather boring task.  He was also running a level three
diagnostic, in hopes of finding the majority of Commander
Bourbon's programming changes.  That would take about ten
minutes, and by then the majority of Engineering would have
been reauthorized, so he could do a level one diagnostic when
they reached the star base.  That would take several hours and
take some systems off-line, but he was sure that the Captain
wouldn't want the ship to leave until they were sure that all
Bourbon's work wasn't going to cause problems.

He heard a loud sparking sound, and looked up.  The helmsman
had been thrown from her seat, and it looked like she her
hands had suffered electrical burns.  The Captain had quickly
slid into the spot.  "Engineering, We've just gone to warp
nine, no course change," Osanna announced.  "Our course
remains towards Star Base 12.  Can you get us out of warp?"

"We're trying, Captain," the voice of the Seley Acting Chief
Engineer replied.  "Hardly any of my staff are reauthorized." 
Plecnic thought that the new Chief Engineer was turning out
well, despite how he'd gotten the job.

"Prioritizing Engineering," Plecnic replied.  He redoubled his
efforts to clear the reauthorization queue.  His mind was
elsewhere, trying to find a way to stop this.  Tactical Weekly
had an interesting article this, recently.  Not in the most
recent issue, that featured that young girl Marrissa's tactics
as the most interesting story.  The one before that.  Yes! He
changed his queue priorities.  Plecnic then sent word to the
Science Department that they would be handled last, and opened
the Science Database's read only authorization wider in the
interim.   This really was an Operations job, but he was
formally Chief of that department. 

"Captain Osanna to Chantilly Bourbon," Osanna said.  The
computer replied with a connection not possible note.  
Plecnic felt Osanna's order in his head before she could say
it.

"Dispatching Security to the Captain's Quarters," Plecnic
announced.  He knew that he and the Captain were not alone in
their worry for Chantilly.


Chapter Four


Commander Bourbon had just finished entering his latest set of
commands into the computer.  He was in a small room, not on
ship's plans, next to the Captain's Quarters.  Admiral Fahim
had ordered it installed five years ago.  Bourbon had done the
work himself, installing the bulkheads, and the computer link
that was considered to be part of the Bridge itself.  It
wasn't a room that was much to look at, with gray metal walls
and metal grate flooring.  There was a small replicator, and a
single padded seat in front of the computer screen.

With his message off to Admiral Fahim, Commander Bourbon
laughed heartily as he ran his hand through his messy black
hair.  He turned to the room's primary entrance, a short
Jefferies tube.  It was time to see his daughter again.  Oh to
feel her squirming, to see her cross hashed bleeding back, to
hold her up against his chest.  He wanted to take her as soon
as he could get her naked body beneath him. 

He crawled into the short Jefferies Tube, and opened the door
at its end.  He let out a bellow of anger.  It was covered
with some sort of cloth and board on the quarters side.  Well,
it wouldn't stop him.  Bourbon thrust his fist at it, and it
tore.  It gave enough so that he could fit his hands through
it, and then he tore the red velvet open and surged into what
he knew as Habiba's room.

As he entered, he felt a board hit him, hard, on the back of
his head.  The board broke, and he looked up to discover his
daughter grabbing another painting off the wall.  She was
wearing a jumpsuit.  He surged fully into the room, standing
up and swatting the painting out of Chantilly's hands.

"Get out of those clothes, dear, before I rip them off,"
Bourbon growled.  She was not supposed to wear clothes.  She
was supposed to be naked and ready for her punishment, like
she had promised fifteen years ago.  She threw a metal
paperweight, from the desk.  It hid him hard in his belly,
just above his crotch.  He growled his anger, shaking his head
roughly.

Chantilly tried to escape, running towards the door.  He
struck out his arm and grabbed her.  She knocked him off
balance with her momentum, and they careened towards the bunk
bed. She attempted to pull away from him, as he tried to get
on top of her.  The mattress and sheets of the bed suddenly
were in his face as she nearly escaped his grasp.

He regained his grasp, solidifying his hold on her, by pulling
her left arm behind her back.  Bourbon was on top of his
defiant daughter, and as soon as he ripped her clothes off,
she was going to receive the worst punishment of her thirty-
three years.
  

Lieutenant Grieg Gostillna knew exactly where he needed to go
the moment he left the Bridge.  There was only one place that
Commander Bourbon was guaranteed to go, and that was where his
daughter was.  The time the turbolift took to reach deck seven
seemed to be too long.  He wished that he'd taken the
Jefferies tube, though it would have taken longer.  The forty-
two seconds of idle standing while the turbolift descended
seemed to take forever.  You could only check the power level
on a phaser rifle so many times.

The door opened, and he ran out of the turbolift.  Gostillna
pounded through the corridor, not caring what he ran into,
cutting his turns tightly.  Crew members plastered themselves
to the sides of the corridor as they saw him coming.  Nothing
caused him to pause until he skidded to a stop in front of the
Captain's Quarters.

He rang the chime, but there was no response, so he opened the
door with a standard code and stepped through the threshold
and two steps beyond, his phaser rifle at the ready.  
Gostillna scanned the main room, looking right and left
pointing his phaser rifle as he did so. There was no one in
the cozily lit room, though the reading light was on above the
chair next to the bookcase.  He heard someone swearing behind
the door to Chantilly's room.  He moved up against the wall
next to it.

Gostillna opened it in classic form, letting the door open
fully for a second before going through it, his phaser rifle
ready to fire.  Chantilly was on the floor, in a mass of
blankets.  Her father was on top of her, bottom bared, ripping
down the front of her jumpsuit.  Gostillna fired.

Commander Bourbon was thrown clear of Chantilly, and stunned. 
He thudded against the wall.  Chantilly backed up from him on
the floor.  Her jumpsuit was torn all the way down to her
belly button, revealing her lace bra.  Gostillna kept his
rifle trained on Bourbon as his favorite back up, Friedman and
Dvorkin entered behind him.

"Cuff him and take him away, ladies," Gostillna ordered.  As
they moved to handle the former Chief Engineer, he looked back
down at Chantilly.  "Are you okay, Chantilly?"

The girl sniffled before replying, "I think so, but this
jumpsuit is ruined." She was looking down at the flap that her
father had torn in it.  She had slid up against the bed post,
and her hand shook a little as she lifted the flap. "I liked
this one too."  She just stared at it.

"I think I better see where that Jefferies tube goes . . .
it's not on the plans," Gostillna said.  Friedman and Dvorkin
had manacles on Bourbon now and were attempting to stand him
up.  Gostillna glanced out of the window, as they suddenly
came out of warp.  They had arrived at Star Base 12, and the
view of it filled Chantilly's window.

Bourbon had awoken as he was being stood up, and seeing the
Star Base, he whispered, almost too softly to be heard..  "The
Admiral will save me now, you see." Gostillna stepped out of
the way, and his security team manhandled Bourbon out of the
room. 


Chantilly was shivering as her father was taken away, and it
wasn't because the room was cold.  It wasn't.  She had begun
to feel safe in this room.  She stood carefully.  The mattress
under her left foot shifted and she nearly fell again.  She
stumbled into Lieutenant Gostillna's strong arms.

Suddenly she found herself burying herself in Gostillna's
arms, and tears began to flow down her cheeks.  He slid down
into her chair, as she found her place on his lap, her head
buried against his shoulder.  She found comfort in the hefty
Chief of Security's arms.  His hand gently stroked through her
hair and down her back as she cried herself out.

After about five minutes, Chantilly pulled self away,
sniffling.  She'd left a wet spot on his shoulder.  "Sorry
about that."  She tried to pull up the ripped part of her
jumpsuit.

"Don't worry about it, Chantilly.  I've had a few young ladies
cry on my shoulder after a battle before.  None as pretty as
you, of course."  Chantilly giggled.  She certainly wasn't
very pretty at the moment, with her tear-stained eyes and
ripped outfit.  "It looks like you put up quite a fight here."

Chantilly looked around the room.  There was the ripped velvet
and plate that had covered the entry to the Jefferies tube. 
Two of the Admiral paintings that had been on her wall laid
nearby, busted.  Admiral Forrest was still on the wall, his
eyes looking at Chantilly and his face somehow conveying
approval across the centuries.  The heavy metal Betazed
Fertility Goddess paperweight was right below the painting.  

Then there was the mess of bedding, mattress and all the
covers.  Chantilly hadn't been using the bottom bunk, despite
the Doctor's orders and the trouble it took to climb up there
with her belly swollen like it was.  She hadn't made that bed,
or she was sure she would have spotted the sliver cloth laid
across the middle of the bed's platform.

Chantilly got off Gostillna's lap and walked over to the bed,
kneeling and reaching for the edge of the small cloth.  It was
slightly stuck to the platform, but a quick tug pulled it off
revealing several sheets of paper that Chantilly recognized as
Habiba's favorite pink parchment.  It was written in her
purple ink and addressed to anyone who could help.  

She read it quickly, it was a description of what Habiba's
father had done to her.  What Chantilly's own father had done
to Chantilly, and apparently Habiba as well.  The memories
came back to Chantilly's mind and she felt first sick, the
mad, that her father hadn't stopped with her, and had brought
her best friend into and what she'd seen Chantilly's done to
her.  Chantilly found it scary, even though she had lived
through worse.  It was a plea for help.  Chantilly looked up
at Gostillna.

Gostillna was right by her side, apparently reading over her
shoulder.  His hand was on her shoulder.  "Uncle Grieg, I have
to take this to the Captain."  She hadn't called him that
since before her mother died.

"Yes, we'll take it right to her on the Bridge, but you can at
least put on a new outfit," Gostillna said, as he helped
Chantilly stand. 

"There is no time, Star Base 12 is right out there, and Habiba
is on it," Chantilly said, rushing out her door, holding up
the flap her father had created with one hand, and the letter
in the other.  Gostillna followed her.  He was her knight in
shining armor, his armor clanking as he behind her, protecting
her as she delivered her important message to the Queen.


Chapter Five


Captain Shawneela Osanna had just finished informing Admiral
Necheyev of their early arrival when Chantilly and Lieutenant
Gostillna entered Osanna's ready room.  She was surprised at
their arrival, but could feel the urgency in their emotions. 
Chantilly had several sheets of paper in her hands.

"Captain, you've got to read this, you've got to save Habiba
from suffering this again," Chantilly said, thrusting the
paper into Osanna's hands.  Osanna opened her lock on her
telepathy, and knew its contents before she started reading it
herself.  Still, she read it entirely herself before she took
action.

'Yoakim, we need to make sure that Chantilly stays on board,
have you found a way?'  Osanna asked, telepathically. 'If
Admiral Fahim gets his hands on her, we might not see her
again.'  She hadn't done it often, but she felt she needed to
discuss this privately, and it didn't look like it was wise to
leave the bridge at the moment.

She heard Plecnic's reply easily, as he used the techniques
she'd taught him her first week in command.  'I have, Captain,
but it's a little out of the normal.'

"Yoakim, I'll take out of the normal, at the moment.  Admiral
Fahim could call at any moment, and if we're not ready..." She
trailed off.

'We will be.  We need to make her an acting officer and assign
her somewhere.'

'You're right, this is out of the normal.  In fact it's past
out of the normal and it's a block short of the twilight
zone.'  On board Osanna's last posting, she'd been forced to
sit and watch that old show with her Captain.  This idea would
fit on it.

'There is a recent precedent that was younger than her, and
actually sat in the center seat.'  The image of a young blond
girl in a red command uniform was projected into her mind.

'Necheyev will blow up when she hears about this.' Osanna
thought.  Her choices were getting limited though.

'Necheyev should be familiar with that case.  She preformed
the clean up afterwards.'

'What happened to that ship Captain?  Was he assigned to a
garbage scow afterwards?'

'I believe that Captain Picard still holds command of the
Enterprise.  I don't have any other solution for you Captain?'

'Okay, Yoakim, but you're telling Necheyev where this crazy
idea came from.'  There weren't very many posts available at
the moment where Chantilly could sit that she wouldn't be in
the way.  Not with the level one diagnostic in progress. 
About the only one was the helm, which had just finished
getting a quick repair following what appeared to have been a
deliberate systems overload set by Commander Bourbon.

"Chantilly, did you ever complete that written pilot's test?"
Osanna asked, speaking out loud again.  She had taken
emergency control of that damaged shuttle after the children's
picnic, and Osanna had suggested it, as she was of age to get
a licence.

Chantilly seemed to be shocked by the sudden question. 
Osanna, still with her telepathic senses open, could feel
Chantilly remembering.  She'd apparently taken the test during
that last two weeks with her father.  "Yes, all three hundred
and seven questions.  I've been afraid to ask what my score
was, though."

Osanna quickly brought up the results.  "It seems you only
missed 29 questions. 90.5% is nowhere near failing."  Osanna
knew that at least a couple of her current pilots had missed
more when they'd taken it.  It was the first line of any
pilot's licence, and their detail when you clicked on licenced
pilot.  "Ensign Hauan, report to the ready room."

It didn't take long for the Chinese man to enter the ready
room.  "Ensign Hauan, are your hands okay?" Osanna asked.  He
seemed to be holding them deliberately away from everything.

"They're a little tender sir, but they're fine," the helmsman
said.  She could sense the puzzlement from him.

"And how are the repairs to the helm going?" Osanna asked. 
She could feel Chantilly getting antsy behind her.

"We just need to test it, and run through a few training runs,
and it will be ready," Hauan said.  "Porter's handling the
helm through Ops until then."

"Good, Ensign," Osanna replied.  "I need to sit Chantilly on
the bridge for a while, and she's just passed her written
test.  Do you think you can run her through those training
runs?"

"I think I can do that, Captain," Hauan said, obviously
pleased at getting the assignment.  Assignments to train
another officer were rare for Ensigns, and it looked good on
anyone's record. "It might actually be a better test for the
system."  Osanna could see his point.  Expert pilots often
missed testing for the unexpected input, and someone like
Chantilly was going to hit something wrong.

"Chantilly, before I make this offer, I want to make something
clear," Osanna said, looking right into her eyes.  "This is
not something I'd normally do.  I'm only doing this because I
don't see any other option, and I think you can handle it. 
Understood?"  Chantilly nodded.  The understanding was clear
in her emotions.  "Chantilly, are you willing to serve as an
officer?" Osanna asked.  She looked seriously at the young
girl, feeling Chantilly's emotions swirling again.  Pregnancy
had made them change swiftly, but at the moment they were so
chaotic that Osanna couldn't separate them.  After a moment, a
single emotion emerged above the chaos.  

Osanna could hear the determination, as Chantilly replied, "I
am, Captain."  The girl stood at attention, the flap that had
been ripped down the front of her jumpsuit falling down to
reveal her blue lace bra.

"Ensign Hauan, Chantilly will be your responsibility on the
Bridge today," Osanna said.  "I will be appointing her acting
Ensign for the day, in order to cover her presence and post. 
After today, I'd like you to take on the additional duty of
handling her training as a pilot.  I'll send her out after she
changes.  Dismissed."

As Hauan left, Osanna turned to Chantilly, who appeared and
felt shocked. The girl did appear to be holding up well,
though.  "Commander, replicate an appropriate uniform for
Chantilly," Osanna ordered.  "Computer, record in log, as of
this Stardate, Chantilly Bourbon has been appointed as an
acting-Ensign aboard the Oklahoma and assigned as a CONN
Officer."

"Notation made.  Acting-Ensign Chantilly Bourbon is required
to enter a security authorization voice print pin as soon as
possible," the Computer replied.

Commander Plecnic handed Chantilly a uniform.  "Change here,
Chantilly," he said.  "You can set your voice print pin before
you leave.  The Computer will help you.  I'll see you on the
bridge in a few minutes."  Osanna followed Plecnic and
Gostillna out, leaving Chantilly to change. Osanna hoped she'd
get out of this with her command intact.  She hadn't believe
her Senior Command Course Instructor when she had told her
that there would be days like this. 


Once she was on the bridge, Osanna turned to Gostillna.  She
had to get everything ready for when the Admiral called.  "I
need you to form a security team to rescue Habiba," she said. 
"I'm telling up front that you'll be working outside of your
jurisdiction without authorization from the authorities on the
Star Base, but I don't think we have a choice at the moment. 
If we contact Admiral Necheyev again, Admiral Fahim will know
something is up."

"Agreed," Gostillna replied.  "I'll handle it discretely." 
Osanna heard his thoughts begin to plan what it would take to
find Habiba Fahim.

Next, the Captain turned to Commander Plecnic.  "Yoakim, I
suspect that Admiral Fahim is going to call me in for a visit. 
When that happens, I need you to go personally to the civil
authorities on the Star Base with this letter."  She handed
him the letter.  "Read it, and bring a copy of Chantilly's
testimony from Sickbay for the judge."

Behind her, she could feel Chantilly re-enter the bridge.  The
young girl now wore the full red uniform of a command line
officer, a single golden pip at her throat.  Her emotions were
now that of determination, pride, and confidence.  "You look
good in that, Chantilly."  Chantilly smiled.  "Take the helm,
Chantilly.   Ensign Hauan, see if she remembers everything
from the written test."

"Aye, Captain," Chantilly said, sliding behind the helm.  She
could hear Chantilly and Hauan whispering back and forth while
she contemplated her next move.  There wasn't much that Osanna
could do, so she sat back and observed her bridge for a while. 
She could tell that Hauan was happy with Chantilly's memory of
the layout.  The training mode light was on the helm, and
Chantilly appeared to be entering everything short and
precisely.

Behind her, Gostillna could be heard organizing his team,
making sure that everything was ready the moment that the
Captain had to beam over to the Star Base.  She could trust
him to be prepared.  She also overheard word that Commander
Bourbon was being held in shackles, this time.

Osanna saw Commander Plecnic going over the whole letter on
her right.  His feelings of disgust and anger directed at
Admiral Fahim were almost enough to cause Osanna to flinch
back when she felt them.  He was quite ready to arrange for
Admiral Fahim's hanging, and would probably plan on doing it
himself.

She heard the doors of the turbolift open behind her, and
turned to confirm that it was Counselor Tivan.  He was
carrying a medical tricorder.  "Commander Tivan, what brings
you to the Bridge?" Osanna asked.

"My wife heard of the attack in your quarters and sent me to
make sure that Chantilly was in good physical condition.  She
is unable to stop in, as Lieutenant Amor has gone into labor,"
Tivan said.  He was wearing his blue uniform, showing that his
visit to the Bridge was unexpected.  The Counselor was
actually command qualified, and was currently serving as
Second Officer, due to Commander Bourbon's removal from his
post.  Under normal situations, he would report to the Bridge,
twice weekly, in his red uniform.  Osanna actually hoped she'd
be able to convince him to stay as second officer.  He made a
good balance with her and Plecnic. 

Osanna watched as Tivan made an expert scan of Chantilly,
interrupting her training for a moment.  She heard him tell
her, "It appears that you are doing quite well, despite recent
events.  You do need to have a little more calcium in your
diet apparently."  She couldn't hear Chantilly's reply, but
Tivan seemed to think it amusing, from the emotion she felt as
the Vulcan started to depart.

"Stay a moment, Tivan," Osanna said, before he could reach the
turbolift.  "I have a feeling that I'm going to need your
command services in a moment.  Tivan nodded, and took his seat
on the other side of her from Commander Plecnic.

"Incoming communication from Admiral Fahim," Lieutenant
Gostillna announced, once again working behind his station. 
Osanna could feel his disgusted with the Admiral.

"Do try to conceal your emotions with the Admiral, Greig,"
Osanna said.  "Open a Channel."  Admiral Fahim appeared on
screen.  He was a man of average height with thick black hair. 
Unlike recent fashion, he had a beard, streaked with white. 
The beard was obviously a recent choice, as it was still quite
short.  He wore a red Admiral's dress uniform, one of the
latest designs, with a moderate amount of the gold strips.  

"Welcome to Star Base 12, Captain," the Admiral said.  "I must
say I didn't expect to see my former command so soon.  What
brings you to visit?"  Osanna could feel the anger rising off
of Chantilly as the young girl tried to sit unremarked at the
helm.  She had thought that depth of anger from Chantilly
would be less than what she felt towards her father.

"I'm afraid that I had to have my Chief Engineer arrested for
the assault and rape of his daughter," Osanna said, sounding
like she was barely repressing her anger.  "I immediately set
course to the nearest Star Base so he could also face the
appropriate civil charges for his actions, as well as face a
court-martial."

"This is very serious, and I find it hard to believe that
Audon Bourbon would have acted that way," Fahim replied. 
Osanna could tell that he was lying.  "He's always been such a
good family man, and adored his wife." That was the truth as
he believed it.  "It just goes to show you how little you can
know a fellow officer.  Transfer him and his family on board
immediately and I want to see you in my office to talk about
how we're going to handle this."

"I will make the appropriate arrangements, Admiral," Osanna
said.  "You can expect us in say, an hour?"  Osanna was barely
able to get out the sentences as words like bastard, and
profanities practically jumped out of Chantilly's mind and
into hers.  Yet, somehow Chantilly managed to stay silent
while the Admiral was on screen.

"I'll expect you then, Star Base 12 out." The Admiral's
picture disappeared, and Osanna closed down her telepathic
senses to just empathy again.

"Okay, we have a job to do," Osanna said.  "Yoakim, Grieg, you
have your orders.  Commander Tivan, you have the Bridge."  She
could tell that Chantilly didn't like to see the Captain go. 
"Don't worry Chantilly, nothing is likely to happen in orbit
of the Star Base.  Let's get to work."


The plan had changed a little by the time Captain Osanna had
to beam down to the Star Base.  No plan was static.  At the
moment, it relied heavily on the Captain's talents.  Admiral
Fahim had taken her to his quarters for a talk about how his
old ship was fairing.  Osanna was hoping she'd be able to find
Habiba easily, but the young girl was not in evidence when
Osanna reached the Admiral's quarters.

The main room was what Osanna called Arabic splendor.  There
were plenty of plants, and lots of silk on the furniture, and
draped from the walls.  The sofa she was seated at was quite
soft, and comfortable.  She'd been given a glass of what
Osanna had determined was a prestigious wine label, but
unfortunately, it was from a bad year.  Osanna was sure that
Fahim couldn't tell the difference.   She could,
unfortunately.  Her mother had instilled that among many other
social abilities to her when she was a teen.  It was,
according to mother, something that a daughter of the seventh
house should be able to do.  Osanna had left for Star Fleet
Academy three hours after she turned eighteen.

"So, Captain, how do you like the Oklahoma and its crew,"
Fahim asked, settling back across from her in an overstuffed
chair.   

"You left me with a very good crew.  Aside from the incident
that caused me to come here, I haven't had to make any
personnel changes," Osanna said, beginning to probe around
telepathically.  "I was a little worried at first when I saw
that the ship's counselor was a Vulcan.  That's not a usual
choice, and until I met Tivan, I'd always felt that Vulcans
were a little too dry, if you will, to fill that role.  Where
did you find him and Doctor T'Hana?"

"Doctor T'Hana delivered my daughter when my wife was fatally
injured when we were vacationing on Vulcan," Fahim said. 
Osanna thought she might have caught a glimpse of Habiba's
thoughts for just a second.  "Counselor Tivan helped me get
over the grief.  Have you ever visited Vulcan, Captain?"

"No I haven't, but I heard Vulcan's Forge should not be
missed," Osanna said.  She'd just though she heard the
thoughts of a lullaby.  Yes, there it was.

"One should never miss the Forge." Fahim was saying.  She let
him drone on about the major desert on Vulcan, as she
continued her probing.

'Habiba?' Osanna sent.  She felt puzzlement, as the mind she
was contacting was looking around to see where her name had
been called from.  'This is Captain Osanna of the Oklahoma. 
Chantilly found your letter and brought it to me.'  There was
a sudden burst of joy from the young girl, as her emotions
went from subdued to excited.

'Please, rescue me!' the thought was loud and clear, even if
the link that Osanna was building was the only reason it was
heard.  More and more detailed feelings and thoughts where
coming from Habiba.

'I'm working on that,' Osanna projected.  'Right now I'm
listening to your father describe deserts in the main room of
his quarters.  Do you know where you are relative to that?' 
Osanna thought the description very boring, but the Admiral's
droning while she contacted Habiba was a good thing.

The girl despaired.  'No, he blindfolded me when he brought me
her when we moved to the Star Base.'  The sudden depressed
feelings were almost overwhelming.  'You'll never get me and
Kismet out.'

'Is Kismet your baby?'  Osanna could feel Habiba's
confirmation. 'Don't worry, I've got another way, Habiba.' 
Osanna paused her contact with Habiba to make a few responses
to Admiral Fahim's comment on the flora of the Forge.  It was
a secondary matter to involve the Admiral.  Lieutenant
Gostillna had told her that Fahim could go on for hours if you
brought up a desert he'd visited.  

'Okay, Habiba, move to the front of the room you're in.' 
Triangulation of telepathic contact was something she'd learnt
at the Academy.  There was just a little difference.  'Now to
the back of the room.'  A little more.  'About how much
distance did you move?'

'Five meters,' Habiba returned.  'Why?'  The despair had
dropped a little.

'Okay, I think I know where you are now.' Osanna said.  'I'm
going to alert my First Officer, and we'll see about getting
you out of there, okay?'  Osanna used a connection she'd set
up with Commander Tivan to determine the final vector she
needed.

'Is Chantilly okay?' Habiba asked suddenly.

'Yes, she is.  Her father has been arrested, and I'm sure
yours will be joining him.'  Osanna could feel great
satisfaction at that word, before she pulled out of her
connection to open another one.  Before she did, however, it
looked like Admiral Fahim's monologue on the Forge was
beginning to lag.

"Admiral, you've convinced me," Osanna said.  "My next leave
will definitely be on Vulcan.  Not only does it seem to be a
nice setting, but it has the added advantage of being away
from my mother.  I'm just glad she can't request the use of my
ship.  It's a good thing mother is a botanist, especially one
specializing in water plants."

"Yes, you do have it lucky," Admiral Fahim said.  "My father
was a public servant of some note.  If he could have, he would
have contrived to monopolize the Oklahoma's schedule." 
Admiral Fahim was so easy to get on tangents.  Osanna hadn't
been willing to bring up Commander Bourbon and his case, and
fortunately, Admiral Fahim didn't seem to want to either.  

"Then there was the time he decided that he needed to get to
Risa . . ." It looked like another tangent was safely started. 
Osanna began seeking out her first officer.  

'Yoakim?'  The emotions coming back confirmed the connection. 
'I have the coordinates.'  Osanna sent. 

'I'm ready for them.' Osanna heard Commander Plecnic reply.

'Relative to the line formed between me and the Oklahoma's
bridge, with me as the center point, one oh five mark sixteen,
sixty-two meters.'  She felt Plecnic writing it down, and
could hear his thoughts as he was apparently looking at the
station's plan.

'Okay, that puts it on this level, past there, in Star Fleet
Territory, right on the other side of that reactor, in Cargo
Bay 336, the Admiral's private storage.  Captain, I know where
she is.  I'll let you know when we have her.'  Osanna let her
connection to Plecnic go dormant.

"... Of course that was the ill fated stop when Father died,
but he died doing what he loved, and who could complain that,
eh?" Osanna was really finding the Admiral's company to be
quite disgusting.  The bad wine wasn't helping to dull the
pain either.


Chapter Six
 

Commander Yoakim Plecnic was quite familiar with Star Base 12. 
He had a personal reason to be so, in addition to it being the
major Star Base in the Oklahoma's patrol area.  Plecnic was on
his way to see that reason now.  It was at the end of the Star
Base's day, so he had hopes that he'd be able to kill two
birds with one stone. 

Plecnic double checked the door sign.  "Quarters: Sheriff
Jerney Jereb" He rang the door chime.  It didn't take long for
the door to open, revealing a tall man with wavy brown hair. 
Plecnic noted that Jerney still didn't close his jumpsuit all
the way up.

"Yoakim, what a pleasant surprise, come in.  Judge Vinson just
stopped by for a drink," Sherif Jereb said, guiding Plecnic
in.  "Fred, this is my old childhood buddy, Yoakim Plecnic of
the Oklahoma.  Yoakim, Judge Fred Vinson, our Judge in
Residence."

"Judge Vinson," Plecnic said.  Judge Vinson was one of those
men who by physical appearance blended in with the crowd, with
his graying hair, and average build, but that was only in
pictures.  "I was hoping to see you here, with Jerney." 

"So, you're not here to tell me what my ex-wife is doing with
herself?" Jereb said.  Plecnic could see that Jereb still
hadn't wiped that smile off his face from childhood.  "What is
she doing now?"

"I believe that my sister Spella is working as a dabo girl,"
Plecnic said.  His sister running away with the man who had
promised to make her a famous singer and leaving her husband
had been a big family scandal.  "But you're right I didn't
come here for that.  Are these quarters secure?"  Jereb
nodded.  Plecnic pulled out Habiba's letter and a chip that
contained Chantilly's testimony in Sickbay and the evidence
they'd gathered.  "We had a crime occur to one of the children
on board, and it has to be charged civilly.  And when we were
investigating that, we discovered evidence of another
involving Admiral Fahim, that's likely to be continuing here."

"Then you'll need arrest warrants," Judge Vinson said.  "May I
see your evidence on Admiral Fahim?"  Plecnic handed over
Habiba's letter and watched as the judge sat back to read it. 
Vinson's face somehow managed take a stern poker expression,
and stay that way while reading the whole letter.  The man was
somewhat famous locally for his strong decisions, the managed
to make black and white out of grey.  It was expected that
he'd soon rise higher in the Federation's judiciary, perhaps
all the way to the Supreme Court, if his consistent sense of
justice didn't get him in political trouble along the way.

"Jerney, I need your Starbase Map," Plecnic said, turning back
to his childhood best friend.  "My captain is trying to find
out where Habiba is while she's talking to the Admiral, and
plans on telepathically sending some bearings to me.  You
might want to get the Judge a stiffer drink.  I needed it
after Chantilly's testimony and reading that letter." 

Plecnic watched as Jereb pulled a device from the under a
stack of PADDs.  "Here you go, map of the station, with all
the latest features.  No Sherif should be without a good map
at any time.  What sort of charges are we looking at, and who
is Chantilly?"  He opened it to reveal a full holographic map,
complete with cutaway and virtual controls.

Plecnic noticed that Judge Vinson had turned a page, then he
suddenly heard his Captain's thoughts. 'Relative to the line
formed between me and the Oklahoma's bridge, with me as the
center point, one oh five mark sixteen, sixty-two meters.' 
Plecnic entered the data and began focusing in the map. 

'Okay, that puts it on this level, past there, in Star Fleet
Territory, right on the other side of that reactor, in Cargo
Bay 336, the Admiral's private storage.' Plecnic thought, then
telepathically louder, 'Captain, I know where she is.  I'll
let you know when we have her.'

"Commander Plecnic, do you have any collaborating evidence to
go with this letter?" the judge asked.  Plecnic handed over
the chip with Chantilly's testimony on it.  "Eye witness of
the first assault's testimony.  I'd advise not engaging the
holographic mode.  It was made after Chantilly escaped from
her father, the Chief Engineer mentioned in the letter."

"Read this, Jerney," Judge Vinson said, as he put the chip
into a reader.  "I didn't even know that Admiral Fahim had a
daughter."  Plecnic wasn't surprised at the remark.  Habiba
was a nice girl, but she'd always been on the shy side.  With
her having a baby, Fahim was unlikely to have made any more
efforts for her to socialize, not that he had done much in the
past.

Unlike the judge, Jereb's face grew pale as he read the
letter.  "Yoakim, I thought humanity had left such horrors
centuries in the past," he said, reaching for a beer that was
sitting on an end table.  It shook as he brought it to his
mouth.  He took a long sip of it.  "Do you know where Habiba
is now?"

"The Captain managed to pinpoint her location," Plecnic said,
handing over the map, which now had a chamber highlighted in
red.  Jereb now had a determined expression on his face. 
Plecnic knew it well, from when they where children.  Nothing
would stop Jereb from getting the Admiral.

"Fred, do I have a warrant?" Jereb asked, slamming down his
now empty beer glass.

"Search warrant, arrest warrant, and an order for Habiba to be
placed in the protective custody of Captain Osanna," Judge
Vinson said.  "I hope your Captain doesn't mind the additional
responsibility, Yoakim, but I don't think it is wise for
Habiba to remain on the Starbase while the Admiral is still
here."

"I agree, and I'm sure Captain Osanna can handle it, and won't
mind," Plecnic said.  "Chantilly's room already has a bunk bed
in it."

"If she does, let me know," Judge Vinson said.  "I'll cut new
paperwork for someone else.  Jerney, is there anything else
you need from me?"  Jereb shook his head.  "Then, I'll be in
my chambers, waiting for Admiral Fahim and your Commander
Bourbon, Commander."  Vinson strode out the door, taking the
evidence with him.

"Jerney, you need someone in Star Fleet Security to accompany
you on warrants out of the civilian sector, right?" Plecnic
asked.  Jereb nodded.  "Then let me introduce you to the
Oklahoma's Chief of Security.  He shouldn't be far."  Together
they left the room, Jereb already checking his phaser.


Lieutenant Grieg Gostillna waited for the Sheriff and
Commander Plecnic just outside Reactor Chamber Six.  Behind
him was the warren of corridors and service ways which led to
the Admiral's storage room, where they believed his daughter
Habiba was with her baby boy, Kismet.  Friedman and Dvorkin
were in defensive positions, to his right and left
respectively.  He was hoping that Habiba was in good shape. 
Gostillna's team was not one that had a great deal of medical
skill.  They had basic first aid, and that was all.

"Chief, two men coming this way," Ensign Friedman said.  She
studied her tricorder reading for just a moment.  "One of them
is Commander Plecnic."  It wasn't long before Plecnic himself
appeared, with a man unfamiliar to Gostillna.

"Lieutenant Gostillna, this is Sheriff Jerney Jereb," Plecnic
introduced.  Gostillna could tell that the two had know each
other for quite some time, by just their posture to each
other.  Plecnic seemed a little more relaxed than he was on
the Oklahoma.  "He's keeping all our legal partridges  in the
pantry."  Gostillna could detect just a hint of a beer on
Jereb's breath, but not enough, he judged, to make him
impaired.  "Jerney, this is Grieg Gostillna, and his favorite
back ups Friedman and Dvorkin.  I don't recall the ladies
first names."

"We don't use them on the job, sir," Friedman said.  "Two
Lilas on a team causes confusion."  Gostillna had six officers
in security named Lila.  It had been the top name given to
human girls in 2347.  "There is no one else around, but we
won't be able to beam back anywhere near this reactor, sir. 
There is too much interference to beam back without pattern
enhancers."

"Understood, Ensign," Plecnic said.  "I'll take point.  Then,
Jerney, Gostillna, with Freidman and Dvorkin taking up the
rear, alternatively.  Let's get going.  I don't know how much
longer the Captain can stand Admiral Fahim.  He's apparently
telling her the Disappearing Shuttlecraft Story, now."  The
Disappearing Shuttlecraft Story was legendary among the crew
of the Oklahoma.  No one who served on her avoided hearing
about it.  Most had heard it a dozen or more times.  Gostillna
had stopped counting after the tenth time, and that only
counted a third of the time he'd been on the ship. 

Gostillna kept an eye on Plecnic as he led them through the
passages.  In between ducking conduit, he could tell that
Plecnic was being rather careful and alert, for an command
line officer.  The passageways were low and narrow, compared
to the Oklahoma's, the product of years of additions.  Conduit
ran down each side of the passage, sometimes as much as three
decimeters deep.  Finally they reached a section of normal
star base corridor, just about five meters long.  There was
one door, with a rather complex lock on it.

"Dvorkin," Gostillna ordered.  The blonde came forward
swinging her pack off her back. She scanned the panel before
opening a service access.  Gostillna watched as Dvorkin took
great care in studying the lock.  Dvorkin was good at
lockpicking.  He had no idea where she'd picked it up, but he
had a feeling he was better off not knowing. "What do we
have?"

"Sir, we've got a lock requiring voice code authorization, an
entered code, and an electronic key," Dvorkin said.  "It
controls a nine bolt lock, with magnetic seal and a spring
loaded release."

"So we're going to have to blow it?" Plecnic asked.  Gostillna
saw Dvorkin roll her eyes.  He considered that jumping ahead.
If Dvorkin couldn't open the door, they had the material to
blow it, but since Dvorkin had been assigned to the Oklahoma,
they hadn't had to use it.  Gostillna still remembered that
warped, half bent door she'd gotten open when they were doing
earthquake rescues.

"Not as long as I'm here," Dvorkin responded, pulling out a
dark green bar of some type from her kit.  "It would take
forever to get through the actual lock, but the latch, that's
a different story.  We have a single point of failure here." 
Gostillna watched as Dvorkin inserted the bar, and pried up a
short metal block.  There was a loud clink, followed by a
clunk that was almost hidden in the background noise of the
reactor next door, and the door started to swing in.  Friedman
was already covering the entrance, phaser rifle at the ready. 

Gostillna was the first to enter the room.  It was a dark grey
room, not very well lit.  There was a bed, and a small
bassinet, both of which were bolted to the floor.  The room's
only occupants were a young teen and her baby.

It had been awhile since Gostillna had seen Habiba Fahim.  She
had already been bundled up in the shuttle when the Admiral
had received honors before leaving the Oklahoma for Star Base
12.  It would had to have been more than a half a year ago. 
Then, her black hair was neatly cut to shoulder length, and
her skin had been a nice heathy golden brown.  She'd worn
loose outfits, often donning a half veil.

Now her flat and dull hair went midway down her back, and her
skin had paled greatly.  She wore a loose top across her
breasts, covering them, yet allowing her baby to be slid up
under it to nurse.  Her skirt was short as well, just enough
to provide her with some modesty.    Around her upper arms, as
high as they could go, were silver bangles.  She had a
matching pair on her legs, and her feet were bare.

 "Lieutenant Gostillna," Habiba said, softly, as if she was
afraid to wake the baby in her arms.  "I knew you'd come to
save me."

"Knight, minus shining armor, at your service, Lady Habiba,"
Gostillna said back matching her tone.  "And who would this
little jewel be?"  Gostillna pulled back the blanket
surrounding the baby in Habiba's arms, just a little,
revealing the baby's face and one of his tiny arms.  He had
just a few short strands of black hair.  The baby appeared to
be asleep, but his little hand was flexing open and closed as
he slept.

"This is Kismet, my little boy," Habiba said.  Gostillna
though that you'd have to be completely oblivious to miss the
affection in her voice.  "I just got him to sleep a minute
ago."

"Then we'll try to be quiet enough not to wake him," Gostillna
said.  "Are you ready to leave?  We have to go some distance
before we can beam back to the Oklahoma."

"I am, but I'm not sure I want to risk carrying Kismet,
myself, very far," Habiba said.  "I haven't eaten since
yesterday morning."

"Commander Plecnic?" Gostillna asked, stepping back to the
door.  "Habiba needs someone to carry her baby."

Gostillna was surprised when Plecnic entered the room himself. 
Plecnic bent down a bit, and held out his arms.  "I'm always
taking care of my sisters' babies when I'm on leave," he said. 
"I'll make sure she makes it to the Oklahoma."

"He," Habiba almost giggled as she carefully placed her baby
in Plecnic's arms.  The baby squirmed and his mouth opened in
a yawn, but soon Kismet settled down.  It was probably the low
throb of the reactor next door. "I want out of here."

Gostillna held out his arm, directing Habiba to follow
Commander Plecnic out.  The girl's skirt was almost shockingly
short, and looked like it had been torn across the bottom.  It
had a frayed bottom, with strings extending from its lower
edge.  Habiba took three steps outside the door, and
stiffened.  She fell forward, and didn't break her fall, her
hands still by her side.  She looked as if she'd started to
take a step forward, and just as her balance was starting to
shift to the other foot, her muscles refused to move anymore. 
"Habiba, are you okay?"

"I can't move any of my limbs," the girl said.  "I can feel
them, but I can't move them."  Gostillna could tell that she
was beginning to panic.  He tried to pick her up, but she was
in an awkward position, and none of her limbs would move at
all, even when he tried to move them.

"I think it's the bangles, sir," Friedman offered.  "I believe
they might be motor nerve disablers." Gostillna looked at the
bangles.  They appeared to be tight against Habiba's skin. 
"They probably have physical linkages and only allow her to
move within the range of a signal."

Gostillna pushed Habiba back just a little, and she was able
to move one hand.  "Okay, Habiba, I'm going to take you back
into your room, and we'll get you to hold on to me." he said. 
He gently lifted her, and her muscles loosened, as she was
able to get them under control.  "Okay, now let me lift you
up, and we'll get moving."

Habiba placed her arms around Gostillna's shoulders as he
lifted her up against his chest.  He linked his hands under
her bare bottom, as she linked her legs around his back.  Then
Gostillna took six steps out of the room.  Suddenly, Habiba's
arms and legs were stiff, and locked in place.  "Okay, let's
go.  I want the quickest route back to where we can
transport."

They'd gone only thirty meters when they heard the alarm
sounding.


Chantilly Bourbon was sitting at the helm.  Lieutenant Sasan
at Operations was supposed to be watching her at the moment,
as Ensign Hauan had gone to the head.  Chantilly had figured
she was the one who was supposed to do that, and had already. 
After all, she had an excuse.  

The training routines she had run through hadn't been that
hard, really.  She was fairly confident that she now
understood how to move the ship on thrusters, at least. 
Plotting a course looked to be a little bit harder. 
Chantilly's first attempt had proven to lead directly through
the middle of a star.  She had gotten a lot better in her more
recent attempts.

"That was very good, Chantilly," said a man's voice. 
Chantilly looked up, and found that Counselor Tivan was now
standing at her right shoulder.  "It appears that you've
successfully made orbit around an M-class planet, with no
satellites.  Do you think you can do it with one, or do you
need more practice?"

"More practice," Chantilly said, looking down at the results. 
She had indeed managed to make orbit in her latest simulation. 
It had to be luck.  There was no other way that she could have
made standard orbit.

"Captain," Tivan said.  Chantilly looked up, and spotted the
Captain entering from the forward turbolift.  "Did your talk
with the Admiral go well?"  Chantilly met the Captain's glance
before returning her attention to another simulation. 

"You were right to warn me about the Disappearing Shuttlecraft
Story," the Captain said. The Captain's voice conveyed a tone
of confidence.  Chantilly thought it meant that things were
going well. "He tells the most boring stories.  I was able to
find out where Habiba was, and sent Plecnic and Gostillna to
get her.  They're on their way out now, I believe."

"Transporter Room Six to Bridge."

"Go ahead, Chief," Captain Osanna said.  Her voice had a hint
of worry in it, now.  Chantilly began to worry as well.  It
was amazing how her emotions were shifting.  One minute she'd
be very happy, the next depressed beyond reason.

"Commander Plecnic and his team have returned.  He's on his
way to the Bridge, and Habiba and her baby have been taken to
Sickbay with Lieutenant Gostillna."

There was a definite worrying note to Osanna's voice now.  "Is
Lieutenant Gostillna okay?" Chantilly's attention was drawn
from her exercise to the conversation.  Uncle Grieg was her
protector.  She didn't want any harm to fall towards her
knight in shining armor.

A chuckle came from the Transporter Chief, before he replied. 
"Gostillna's okay, but Habiba apparently can't let go of him." 
Chantilly breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed her plot had
entirely missed the planet this time.  She tried again.

"Understood, Bridge out." Ossana said, as the forward
turbolift opened up.  "Number One, how clean was your escape?"
Chantilly thought she had the gravitational factor worked in
this time, and laid another course into the training program.

"Not very," Plecnic said.  Chantilly's plot worked this time. 
That surprised her.  "You'll need this."  Chantilly started to
work on figuring out why it had worked this time.

"Captain, incoming call from Admiral Fahim," the woman at
tactical announced.  Chantilly froze.  Bile rose in her
throat.

"Shields up, On screen," Osanna said.  Chantilly closed her
training program down, trying to bring her reaction under
control.  She began looking at the surrounding space, figuring
out where everything was.  There were twenty-two ships of
various classes orbiting the station.  Two of them were the
same class as the Oklahoma.   There were five Excelsiors, and
the rest were much smaller, and mostly civilian, with the
exception of one massive ore freighter, on the other side of
the star base.  She tried to not react, to busy herself so she
wouldn't say anything.  She failed with his first sentence.

"Captain Osanna, I'm afraid you have a couple items that
belong here on this base," Admiral Fahim said without
preamble.  Chantilly felt her mouth beginning to scowl, and
then she had to bring her hand to her face, as she felt her
lunch rising again.  She brought herself under control and
looked at him.  He was sitting in the Star Base Operations
Center.  Behind him there was a lot of activity going on,
officers going back and forth.  "First, regulations require
that when a person is transferred off of a ship, all of their
dependents should be transferred as well, unless it is a
temporary posting.  I think you and I both will agree that
Commander Bourbon will not be returning to the Oklahoma, but I
have yet to hear of Chantilly Bourbon's arrival."

Chantilly suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach.  She hoped
that the Captain would allow her to stay on board.  "Chantilly
is currently serving a shift at my helm, Admiral," Captain
Osanna said.  "For her to leave would be desertion, and that I
will not have from my ship's company.  Her place is on board
my ship."  Chantilly let out a deep breath.

"Very well, then we can go onto a more serious matter,"
Admiral Fahim said.  His voice started out even, but rose
slightly in volume as he went on.  Chantilly stared right at
him, willing him to feel how much she hated him.  "I have
reason to believe you have my daughter and her baby on board
your ship.  I demand that you return her at once."

"I'm afraid that I am unwilling to obey your order, sir,"
Captain Osanna said. Chantilly looked away from her console,
towards the Captain.  "Habiba Fahim is not safe in your
custody.  I've read the letter she left in her room, and
Chantilly told me about how she saw you get Habiba pregnant. 
I will not allow Habiba to return to you, and I will protect
her until there are no more Houses on Betazed."  Commander
Tivan was still standing next to her, and gently motioned her
to look at her instruments.

"You are disobeying a direct order from a superior officer,
then," Admiral Fahim said.  His face was a mask.  Chantilly
couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling from it.  There
was a moment's pause.  "Commander Plecnic, I am relieving your
Captain of duty.  Are you willing to follow my orders."

"I have no regrets in informing you that I will not follow
your orders, and will not assume command from Captain Osanna
until such a time as she gives it to me," Commander Plecnic
said.  Chantilly had never heard anyone stand up to the
Admiral before.  The Admiral appeared to be losing his poker
face on screen, as his eyebrows squinched. 

"Commander Tivan, you are the next most senior officer, will
you assume command," the Admiral asked.  Chantilly could see a
little redness in the Admiral's cheeks now.

"Admiral, I fear that command of a starship is still quite
distant in my future," Counselor Tivan said.  He moved from
where he was standing at Captain Osanna's left side.  "I stand
with the Captain, as I believe does the rest of the crew." 
Chantilly suddenly felt like cheering.

"Very well, you all can blow up with your ship!" Admiral Fahim
said.  His image disappeared.  It was replaced by a view of
the Starbase and it's surrounding halo of ships.

"Red Alert, all hands to Battle Stations," Commander Plecnic
ordered.

Chantilly looked down at her console.  She gasped as the light
indicating active helm control came on.  She moved her hands
in position to move the ship on thrusters, and just as she was
about to inform the Captain that the helm had suddenly ended
up in her hands, a torpedo streaked out from the Star Base. 
She saw it tracking towards the ship, but didn't hear any
announcement behind her.  Her fingers jabbed the console, and
with two buttons pressed, the Oklahoma gracefully moved aside,
and the torpedo exploded against the buoy behind her.  

Chantilly road her instruments, watching the star base for any
sign of another attack.  There was a power surge building on
the star base.  She triangulated it, calculated the angle it
had to come from, and then as a glow appeared on the surface
of the station, she hit her controls again, stopping her
earlier motion and sliding in a different direction.  The
phaser's red ray went right through where they would have
been.

"Now I would have to pee," Chantilly muttered.  Another
tropedo had been launched from the station and she hit her
thruster controls, hard, trying to evade it.  Chantilly
failed, but its blast wasn't full power.  Her bladder had to
wait until she had to do something to tell her that.  She kept
her attention on the star base, and the proximity sensor
display.  Nothing more seemed to be coming from the star base,
but she wasn't about to let her attention waver. 

"Captain, Admiral Necheyev aboard the Mary Rose is now in
range," Ensign Dvorkin announced.  "She's ordering Admiral
Fahim to stand down."  Chantilly brought the Oklahoma to full
stop and activated station keeping again as the Mary Rose slid
between her and the Star Base.  She gave an audible sigh of
relief, and she wasn't the only one on the Bridge to do so,
though she couldn't identify who they were.

"Nice job, Lieutenant Sasan," Captain Osanna began.

"Captain, can someone take the helm . . .  I really have to go
now," Chantilly said, turning around to look at the Captain. 
Ensign Hauan had just finally exited the head.  She could see
Osanna making the connection.

"Ensign Hauan, take the helm," Osanna said.  "You're
apparently a very good teacher, Ensign."  Chantilly slid out
from the seat and stood with effort.  Then she practically ran
to the head.  She really had to go now.


Epilogue


Captain Osanna sat in the front row in Judge Vinson's court
room, awaiting his decision on custody for Chantilly and
Habiba.  The court room had an old feel to it, with five
marble columns across the back and deep blue drapes hung
between them.  The judge's bench was a solid dark wood,
heavily polished, yet obviously worn around the edges.  The
Federation District Court logo was one of a century back, it's
bronze dulled, instead of gleaming, as if the housekeeper was
trying to make it blend in to hide the fact that it was not
current and proper.

Chantilly and Habiba were seated on either side of Captain
Osanna.  Osanna looked down at Habiba.  Little Kismet was in
the young teen's arms, and Habiba was cooing at her son. 
Osanna could feel Habiba's love towards her son.  It was
occasionally mixed with resentment when the girl was reminded
of how she'd gotten the baby, but not today.  Today the girl
was getting out of her father's oppression, and Habiba was
schooling her mind away from such feelings, refusing to let
anything ruin what had already begun as a good day.

Admiral Ghazi Fahim had been court martialed for ordering the
Star Base to open fire on the Oklahoma, as well as what the
charges referred to as conduct detrimental to the service.  
It was an overly polite way, in Osanna's opinion, for what
he'd done.  Fahim would be spending a long time at Star
Fleet's Rehabilitation Facility in New Zealand.

Chantilly was squirming on her other side.  The girl's reduced
bladder capacity was having her spend a lot of time running to
the bathroom.  Osanna put that down as another reason for her
not to have any children of her own while she was Captain. 
Osanna smiled as she remembered the other day when the battle
ended and Chantilly had run to the head.  She'd asked, but no
one had come up with a reason why Chantilly shouldn't get a
commendation for her piloting.  She'd avoided an amazing
amount of fire for a girl who had just about four hours of
simulation training.

Osanna remembered feeling Chantilly's nervousness when she'd
taken the stand against her father, a couple days before.  She
could have let her recorded testimony from Sickbay stand. 
There was enough other evidence that Commander Audon Bourbon
was going to jail.  Chantilly had told the prosecution that
she was going to testify against her father.  It had been an
hour and a half of gut wrenching description, as the
prosecutor had her recount what her father had done to her. 
By the end, Chantilly had no more tears left to cry.  Osanna
had held her in her lap for an hour, gently stroking her hair
as the girl recovered.

Commander Bourbon had the book thrown at him.  He'd gotten the
maximums on every single charge.  There had been a deep
satisfaction when that sentence had been read out.  It hadn't
come from just Chantilly.  Every member of the crew of the
Oklahoma in the courtroom that day had echoed the feeling. 
There had been quite a turn out when they'd been shipped off
the star base the night before.  Osanna had stayed away from
it.  The hostile emotions made her sick.

Osanna could tell that it still hadn't sunk into either girl
that their fathers were not going to do anything to them any
more.  Both of them were regular visitors to Counselor Tivan. 
Chantilly had also developed, or perhaps redeveloped an uncle-
niece like attachment to Lieutenant Gostillna.  She'd bestowed
the title of Sir Grieg on Osanna's Chief of Security, and it
was beginning to catch on among the rest of the crew.  Osanna
had even caught herself almost saying it.  It had only grown
worse when they'd found out that Gostillna had always called
his favorite phaser rifle "Betty."  Chantilly thought that he
should have called it "Excaliber." 

"I wish he'd hurry up," Chantilly said.  The girl had stopped
squirming for the moment.  She was wearing what Osanna had
come to believe was her favorite outfit.  The dark grey
jumpsuit with the red belly did make her look rather pretty,
especially with the lighter gray sweater over it.  Habiba had
nicknamed it the robin outfit.

"He'll be along shortly, Chantilly," Osanna said, placing her
arm around Chantilly's back.

"Believe the Captain, Chan, she has insider information,"
Habiba said, a little louder than she should have.  Kismet
squirmed, and made a loud ah, demanding his mother's
attention.  Habiba brought her baby closer and shushed him. 
Kismet quieted as his mother made silly faces at him.

Osanna actually wasn't listening for the Judge's emotions. 
His chambers were out of range of easy contact, anyway. Her
words, however, were soon fulfilled as Judge Vinson entered
the room.  Like most judges, Vinson's emotions were schooled
tightly.  Emotional swings were not something you felt from
judges, nor did you often find their emotions to be unclear. 
At the moment, Vinson was projecting satisfaction and he was
smiling.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Fred Vinson VI," the bailiff
announced as the judge strode to his desk. 

"Be seated," Judge Vinson said, once he was seated behind his
bench.  He waited a moment to allow the noise of everyone
sitting down to die down.  "I have reviewed the evidence of
both Ghazi Fahim and Audon Bourbon's behavior towards their
daughters, and have also reviewed the appropriate
psychological reports provided to me by the Oklahoma's ship's
Counselor.  I have come to a decision on the custody of both
girls.  However, before I announce that decision, I'd like to
thank both Commander Tivan of the Oklahoma and Admiral
Necheyev for providing me with the information I needed,
without prompting.  Such cooperation is notable.  Chantilly,
Habiba, please approach the bench."

Osanna had to help Chantilly stand.  Habiba handed her baby to
Osanna.  Osanna gently held the baby in her arms, as Kismet
yawned, stretching out his arms and opening his mouth wide. 
It took her a moment to get the baby settled in her arms.  By
that time the girls were already standing in front of the
judge.

"Chantilly, Habiba, your fathers have placed heavy burdens on
you," Judge Vinson said.  Osanna could feel his seriousness. 
"Some which, you are no doubt learning, will effect you the
rest of your life.  This court cannot ease all of those
burdens, but it does have the power to make sure that your
fathers do not place additional burdens on you.  It is my
judgement, therefore that Audon Bourbon and Ghazi Fahim,
fathers of Chantilly and Habiba, respectively, have abrogated
all rights as parents, and at your request, and that of
Captain Osanna, I grant permanent custody of you both to
Captain Shawneela Osanna, currently commanding the Starship
Oklahoma."

Osanna could feel the joy that coursed through both of the
girls.  They both rushed back to the Captain, who stood before
they reached her.  They hugged her tightly, careful not to
dislodge Kismet.  After the hug, Habiba took back her son. 
Osanna felt amusement from Judge Vinson.  She turned her girls
gently back to face the judge, with a couple nudges.

Judge Vinson had a big smile on his face.  "Chantilly, Habiba,
it is tradition to ask when permanent custody is changed, if
those involved would like to change their names," the judge
said.  "By what do you wish to go by?"

Habiba's response was quick and firm.  "I want to be Habiba
Osanna."  Osanna smiled at Habiba as the girl looked up at
her.  Osanna nodded.

"And you, Chantilly?"

Chantilly appeared to be thinking it over.  The girl was
thinking deeply, her mind swirling with possibilities.  "Can I
change my middle name too?" she asked.  "I hate it."

"I see nothing wrong with doing that," Judge Vinson returned. 
Osanna could tell that the Judge was enjoying this case.  She
could tell that he preferred this type of ending to this type
of case, as well.

"Then I want to be Chantilly Damita Santana," Chantilly said. 
Osanna could feel a note of sadness for a moment as Chantilly
pronounced her new middle and last name, replacing Lace and
Bourbon.  She knew that it had been Chantilly's mother's first
name and maiden name respectfully.  It was a choice that
Osanna approved of, no matter how bittersweet it might be to
Chantilly.

"Bailiff, make sure all the appropriate paperwork is done,"
Judge Vinson ordered, picking up his gavel.  Then with a bang,
he said.  "Court Adjourned."  The judge stood from behind his
bench, as Kismet, who had been startled by the bang of the
gavel, started to cry. 

Habiba tried to get Kismet to stop crying as the crew of the
Oklahoma crowded around them.  She held him up against her
protectively, as Osanna placed a hand on each of her
daughters' shoulders.  She could feel the warmth and welcoming
pervading her crew.  She felt Habiba relax as Commander
Plecnic came up next to her and caught Kismet's attention. 
Her first officer had a big smile as Kismet attempted to
capture his big finger with his tiny hand.  Maybe he was
getting over his guilty feeling about having not seen Admiral
Fahim for what he was.

Chantilly was giggling as Lieutenant Gostillna offered her a
piggy back ride to ths ship.  If it wasn't for the
disapproving glance of Doctor T'Hana, Osanna was sure that
Chantilly would have taken him up on it.  Commander Tivan was
at his wife's side, as always, this time dressed in the red of
command.  Osanna was sure now that he'd take the post of
Second Officer along with his Ship's Counselor's assignment. 
It would take just a little more convincing, but the red dress
uniform let her know that he was seriously considering it.

With a firm arm around each of her daughter's shoulders, and
the warmth her crew around her, Captain Shawneela Osanna
exited the court room.  It had been a rocky week for the crew
of the Oklahoma, but their self-appointed mission had ended
well.  They'd earned the confidence of Admiral Necheyev, and
had a challenging mission ahead of them.  Now, though, it was
time to celebrate.  Osanna hoped Commander Plecnic had made
enough of his poteca.