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0
'Z
Wet'zel's holodeck combat program, while equally as intriguing as Father's, is far more sultry. The terrain shows Wet'zel's vision of the ideal battle ground. The ground is made of red clay and boulders and dense bushes provide ample coverage for a sneak attack.
We'tzel and I are both clad in loose-fitting black pants and sleeveless shirts. I am already breaking into a sweat before we begin our first round and wonder whether Wet'zel has adjusted the environmental controls.
"Don't worry about playing too rough," he says. "The safeties are functioning properly." Studying his earnest eyes, I wonder how rough he intends to get. He instructs the computer to simulate two bat'leths for us. "Do you remember the proper way to grasp your weapon?" he asks, raising his bat'leth to chest level.
I mimic his movement, my hands brushing against my breasts as I point the blades outward. Remembering a time when Father instructed me similarly, I feel extraordinarily different about following this young man I hardly know. Can I trust him? "My father taught me well," I warn him.
"Good." He brings his weapon to an angle and I parry it with mine, the clinging of metal against metal, sending shivers down my arms. "Excellent reflexes. Let's see what you're really made of." We continue moving in dance-like motions, each countering the other's mock attack, faster and faster. My heart beats harder against my throat, but I continue relentlessly, holding off his attack. He is a skilled player though and eventually corners me atop one of the boulders, his blades only centimeters from my throat.
"You remember what your father taught you well," he says. His hair has become matted to his cheeks and I watch as sweat trickles down his thick ridges. I feel his breath brushing against my face and can hardly find my own breath. "Have you now lost your tongue?"
I laugh nervously and grabbing his bat'leth by the handle, push him away. Not sure what has come over me, I then, sans weapon, charge at him and gnash at his neck. Embarrassed, I run behind a bush and lean against a boulder. I try to catch my breath and clear my head before Wet'zel comes around to confront me for my forwardness. What was I thinking? My head is spinning. Think Shannara, I tell myself. How do I get myself out of this mess?
Seconds tick by before he finally does join me, sitting just above me on the boulder. I glance up at him to see he is grinning down at me. "I'm sorry for my behavior," I say. "I don't know what came over me. Maybe we allowed this exercise to go on too long."
"Or not long enough," he chides. "I must confess, I cheated by turning the environmental temperatures up four degrees Celsius. I find it exciting to watch a woman when her adrenaline is pumping."
"I'm not a woman yet." No longer a child, but not quite an adult, I admit silently.
As his eyes wander down to my breasts, I self-consciously fold my arms across my chest. "You are to me." He leans in toward me. "You bite me and then you play hard to get." He chuckles deeply in his throat. "I love a great challenge...it stimulates me."
My first instinct tells me to run away and cry attempted rape, but instead I take a moment to evaluate the emotions coming from this young Klingon warrior. He is merely acting out in the ways his culture has taught him. He does not wish to hurt me.
Confirming my empathic reading, he stands and walks away from me. "We shall meet again, I hope. I have many more lessons I could teach you." He exits the holodeck without looking back at me.
For a minute, I remain at the boulder and grapple to suffuse the battle waging in my mind. I close my eyes and smile, fantasizing about my next encounter with Wet'zel. He may one day be a strong, fierce warrior, leader of a proud House.
It's not so bad being Klingon.
*****
Wet'zel invites me out again twice in the next week and I am amazed at my willingness to do things I've never had any interest in before just to be with him. He takes me sky diving and to my surprise and delight, I find it exhilarating to jump from a cliff and soar through the air. Next, he invites me s'tarahk riding. In Kahless' day, Klingon warriors traveled primarily on the backs of s'tarahkmey. While I enjoy diving and riding, I discover that the activity does not matter as much as simply being with Wet'zel.
After we've been riding for half an hour, Wet'zel slows down his s'tarahk to allow me the chance to catch up with him. I sense he has something serious on his mind. "The House of Mogh is a fine House," he tells me. He glances at me as if expecting me to argue.
"I'm afraid I'm not as devout a Klingon as my father, but I'm not ashamed of who I am. Not anymore." I think back to a time when I wished I were only human and try to remember exactly when I changed my mind.
"Your House and mine have been allies for generations. I am proud to consider every member of your family friends of the House of Kavu. It would be an honor if the two Houses could one day merge. Join me, Shannara Rozhenko. Become my wife."
"Your wife! We've only known each other barely more than a week!"
"I have no objection to a long engagement. As long as you're by my side, I will know great security."
"I don't even know that I'm staying on Q'ronos. How can you expect commitment from a girl you hardly know? I do care for you, Wet'zel but you are trying to move way too fast for me."
"Then at least give me a chance to prove myself worthy of you."
"Oh, I haven't left Q'ronos yet," I say with a smirk and gently coax my s'tarahk to move faster. To my delight, Wet'zel playfully chases after me. Maybe he does care.
"Look ahead of us," he says, spanning the landscape with his arm. "All this land belongs to my father and he has promised a third of it to me on the day I marry. Think about it. We could build a house over there." He points to an area on our right where a small creek runs through the property. "We could raise a large family and bring them up proud. The land is perfect for tran'nuc farming. They can be replicated these days, but somehow that doesn't capture the sweet juices of the real fruit. One day, people will speak of the House of Wet'zel and with you by my side, I can run a glorious House."
I stare at Wet'zel as his face lights up with excitement. How many young, ambitious Klingons have had the same dream before him? A new House isn't formed every day. Still, it is a nice fantasy to share with him.
"A house, that's what I've always wanted, too," I tell him, not bothering to explain that I don't care what type of house I have. We look at one another and laugh, both of us realizing that we've taken a very serious turn.
"I will wait for you Shannara Rozhenko, granddaughter of Mogh." He loosens the reign on his animal and directs it to turnabout. "The s'tarahkney are tired. Let's return them to their stalls, shall we?"
After the animals are safely tucked away, Wet'zel takes me in his grandfather's shuttlecraft back to Alexander's. The shuttle ride in contrast doesn't seem as exciting as it once did.
*****
When Wet'zel and I arrive at Alexander's home, Keh-Keh and Zoe greet us excitedly. "Mommy's going to have a baby!" Keh-Keh says.
Rosa hobbles down the stairway, Alexander clutching her to offer support. "Shannara, good you made it back. I need you to watch the girls while I take Rosa into the hospital."
"No problem. Wet'zel can help me babysit." I glance at my companion, knowing he is thinking of protesting. "He hopes to have many children someday and needs the practice."
He growls lightly, but offers no further protest.
"Thank you, Shannara," Rosa says, grasping me lightly on the shoulder as she and Alexander pass by. "Natalie is still down for her nap. Please, feed her when she awakens."
"We will call you as soon as the baby's born," my brother promises.
After their parents leave, Keh-Keh and Zoe rival for my attention, their words blending together in a cacaphony almost painful to my ears. "Slow down, slow down," I chastise them. "One at a time."
"Wait," Wet'zel says, "the absolute worst prospect for a Klingon is to spend hours biding his time. There must be some form of entertainment that can pacify these young ones as well as ourselves."
I turn toward my companion, smiling. I admire his willingness to behave domestically for our sake. Maybe there is hope he will abandon his blood lust.
"We can play pa'chu," Keh-Keh suggests, jumping half a meter.
"I do not believe your game will appeal to a grown man," I explain. "Why don't we ask the computer to replicate a new game?"
Five minutes later, we are sitting at the dining table, learning to play by new rules and trying to forget that we are all anxiously awaiting news from my brother.
In the pursuing hours, Natalie wakes up, we feed the children, and behave as a family while we wait for news. We send all three children to bed for the night and still have heard no word from Alexander.
"You don't suppose something's wrong?" I ask Wet'zel. "Rosa told me that she's had three easy births and that this one will be no different, despite the complications that sometime arise between human/Klingon births. I have to wonder if fate has been tempted one time too many."
"The lady does worry too much, unbecoming of a warrior. You must have faith in the miracle of life." The console chimes. "See, that is probably good news."
We rush to the console and I answer my brother's hail. "Alexander!" I exclaim. "Is everything all right?"
"Wonderful!" he says with a broad smile. "Rosa and I have a new baby daughter, Elisia. She's big and strong....and beautiful!"
"Another girl," I say with an edge of disappointment. "Are you destined not to have a son?"
"It doesn't matter. I am proud of my family. You can have the boys, if you want." He leans forward as though to offer me a hug across our consoles. "You want to see her?"
"I nod eagerly. "Oh yes."
Alexander taps a couple of buttons on his console and Rosa and the new baby come into view. Rosa's dark hair is matted to her forehead by sweat and she looks exhausted, but her excitement is unwavering. "Hello Shannara! Meet your niece, Elisia. Isn't she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? aside from my other children, of course." Elisia looks a little lighter skinned then her sisters with less-pronounced ridges. I wonder if they will not become more prominent as she ages.
"Yes. Yes, she is."
For the first time, I seriously consider what it would be like to be a mother. Do I want to start a life with Wet'zel and have his children? I glance at my companion and see that he is ogling the baby. I sense a sincere desire within him to have a family to share his House with me. Realizing I am staring at him, Wet'zel glances toward me and growls lightly, so only I can hear.
Uncomfortably, I turn back to mother and baby. "So when will you be coming home?"
"Tomorrow, around midday. The doctor just wants to keep us here overnight for observation. Everything's going beautifully. Tell the girls I love them and hugs and kisses from mommy."
"Of course," I respond and flick the viewscreen off.
A moment later, Wet'zel grabs me from behind and nuzzles against my neck. "Are you my woman?" he asks. Tilting my head back and leaning my torso against his, I answer only with my body, too afraid to commit verbally. There is plenty of time for us to develop a relationship. Wet'zel will have to be patient.
*****
For the next several days, Wet'zel is doting on me, entertaining me in every Klingon fashion imaginable and every evening before we part, he asks the same of me: "Are you my woman?"
"Be patient Wet'zel," I tell him. "Maybe tomorrow you will have your answer."
On the fifth night, Rosa stops me in the upstairs hall. "Be careful," she tells me. "Some men are very caring and loyal while hunting what they want. Once they have it, you are simply another piece of property."
"Wet'zel would never... " Before I can finish my argument, Elisia begins crying and Rosa slips back into her bedroom to care for the newborn. I take the opportunity to quickly slip into my own room and security lock the door. I was going to tell her that Wet'zel would never use me, but am I so sure? If he does, I'll zap the power of the Q on him!
*****
"Alexander! Rosa!" I exclaim as I enter their house the following afternoon.
Wet'zel comes up from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling against my ear. "I don't think anyone is home," he says, not hiding his excitement. It wouldn't matter. I can sense his arousal like a rek'tara cracking out of its shell and his groin is pressing hard against me.
"I don't know where they are or how long they'll be gone," I say gently turning my lips toward his. He kisses me, dipping his tongue inside my mouth. I feel a warm rush cascade throughout my body. I want to experience sexual pleasure, but am not sure Wet'zel is the right one to take as my mate. Oh, I've never felt so ambivalent!
"Are you my woman?"
"Yes," I breathe out heavily. "Yes, I'll be your woman."
"There's a lock on your door."
Do I tell him how scared I am? That, if I give in, he will be my first? I've never been so confused in all my life! I feel such a strong longing for him, but is it pure lust? Or am I falling in love?
I feel his breath against my ear, my neck and it sends a shiver coursing through me. My resolve has weakened and I lead my wanton warrior upstairs to my room. I fumble with the door lock as he loosens my blouse to attack the flesh underneath.
"Computer, play Klingon Opera, selection 283sr," I instruct. The rumbling tenner of Mo'Hak Di permeates the room.
"Good idea," Wet'zel pants into my ear. "Heighten the mood."
"No," I respond. "Drowns out the noise."
Wet'zel bares his teeth and nips at my neck. "Do you know what it means to be Klingon?" a growl rises from deep within his throat. "To unfetter the beast pounding in your gut, stretching the very fiber of your being." Grabbing me by my wrists and digging his fingernails into my flesh, he wrangles me onto the bed. I struggle against his pressing weight only to excite him more. Although I'd read many an adult Klingon novel, none of them have prepared me for this brutal reality. I am beyond the point of turning back. He rips at my clothing and I respond in kind, biting at his neck and chest and working my way down to his engorged member. I shiver at the thought of having it inside me. Grabbing me by the thighs, he pulls my legs around his hips and thrusts deep into me. I yelp at the shock of the sudden pain. As a Q, I can block the sensation, but I refuse to give in to that impulse and a moment later as he is pumping in and out of me, I am overwhelmed by the pleasure. He explodes within me, crying with gratification. His sweat clings to me as he slowly pulls away, slipping out of me.
I stare into his deeply-ridged face and wonder at the quickness of the act. Was foreplay meant to take longer than making love? I am confused with no reference from which to judge my new lover.
"There can be more, my woman," he tells me.
Do I want more? Do I want to go through all that again tomorrow or the next day for only a moment of pleasure?"
"Make me hard again," he commands.
I suddenly realize that he means for us to perform our dance again now. He presses his palm against the back of my head and pushes my mouth toward his loin. I take it in, flirting my tongue around its tip. The acrid taste fills my mouth as he grows to full erection. Wet'zel moans with the pleasure as he gyrates between my lips. When he does let me release my grip and mounts me from behind, his quick strokes send ripples throughout my body until I reach a blinding explosion and collapse on the bed. As I roll over to face him, I realize I'm trembling and laugh nervously. Is this the way of the warrior? Do I want to be mated to this creature for the rest of my life?
"We are mated," Wet'zel says as though there will be no arguing. "You are my woman."
"Am I?" I breathe. "Forever? That is such a long time. Am I really what you want?"
"You are more to me than you will ever realize." Pulling me toward him, he darts his tongue in an out of my mouth several times. I close my eyes, enjoying the sensation. After he stops, he says, Your family will be home soon, so I will go for now, but ah...." He pinches my chin. "You will be hearing from me. Seeing me, again...." He gets up from the bed and fetching his clothes, leaves my bedroom.
I vacillate between chasing after him and remaining on my bed. A warrior would not tolerate a woman hovering over him. Maybe he wouldn't want anymore if I became a pest. Is that how I wish to be treated? Suddenly, I feel very dirty and begin weeping as a great sense of loss overwhelms me.
"Stop it!" Q commands as he pops in beside me.
Reflexively, I grab for my clothes. How embarrassing for Q to see me like this. It is nearly as bad as if Father had caught me in the act. As I slip my shirt over me head, I say, "Q, please tell me you weren't watching!"
"Moi? Gape at such barbarism? I would rather watch flies festering on the corpse of a targ."
I try not to conjure up the image. Instead, not losing sight of my anger. "If you weren't watching, then how do you know what I was doing?"
He raises his eyebrows, eyeing my body as I'm slipping back into my panties. "You have that certain smell about you."
Now I really feel dirty...and degraded. "Maybe I should shower." I slide off my bed and wearing only t-shirt and panties, walk across the room to the bathroom. I remove my clothes again. As I step into the sonic shower, Q pops into the tiny room.
"You know you can do better than this lowly existence, Shannara. Why subject yourself to games of flesh when so much more within the multiverse could be yours for the taking?"
I watch the hot steam bounce off my body as I listen to Q. He's right about one thing. I'm not happy with my life as it stands. I turn my head to look at Q. "I have to leave here."
"Wonderful! Where shall we travel first?"
"No. I'm not going anywhere with you, Q. And I'm not leaving without saying goodbye to my brother. I owe that much to Alexander."
"You are a stubborn girl. A perfect Q! But you will join me in time, you'll see." He leans toward me. "I am irresistible." With that, he flashes out.
I want to shout a witty reply to the empty space Q has vacated. How does he manage to chip away my resolve? To make me want what I know is bad for me? Letting out a deep growl, I walk naked to my closet and retrieve fresh clothes. Alexander and Rosa will be back shortly for dinner and I must undertake the task of telling them of my plans to leave Q'ronos.
It suddenly dawns on me that I have nowhere to go.
*****
As I help Rosa set the dinner table and we all sit down to eat, I try to gather the nerve to tell them, I will be leaving Q'ronos in a couple of days. Why can I easily find the power to battle my enemies and not the courage to speak to my brother?
"Alexander," I no more than say when the annunciator sounds.
"Who could that be?" Alexander asks as he gets up from the table.
"Please, not another House war," Rosa prays under her breath.
No, something worse I realize as I pick up Wet'zel's emotions before Alexander has made it to the door. I sense determination in my mate. He is prepared to fight for me.
I could Q-flash out and avoid the confrontation, but that would be a cowardly way out. I must uphold the nature of the Continuum for as long as I possess the power. Whether I choose to acknowledge my membership or not. I never want to be said to be unworthy of any race I belong to.
Alexander invites Wet'zel to join us for dinner and my mate takes a seat next to me. I feel a heat rising from between my legs as I remember our time together only a couple hours ago.
"I have come to ask for your sister's hand in marriage," Wet'zel announces. "I will build a fine House for her and our children, I can promise you that."
"Wet'zel," Alexander says, barely remaining calm. I sense it will not be as easy to negotiate a family matter for him as warring factions. "My sister is only sixteen years old. She is hardly mature enough for marriage or family."
"She is woman enough for me." Wet'zel eyes me lasciviously and I fear he is about to speak of our bedroom encounter. I close my eyes, certain I will Q-flash if he does. "As her brother, I'm sure you see her as a little girl, but let me assure you..."
"Wet'zel!" I interrupt. "I do not wish to marry you. I have decided to leave Q'ronos instead."
"You've decided this since this afternoon?! You would abandon your family and a good honorable life with me?"
Alexander stands abruptly. "Perhaps, you should leave, Wet'zel. We have some personal family matters to discuss and *you* are not part of this family."
Wet'zel stands to challenge my brother, but Alexander is older, taller and stouter. Wet'zel thinks better of his intent and backs away. He glances at me pleadingly before begrudgingly walking to the door. "Your House will not stand for long. The House of Wet'zel will rise above you!"
Suddenly, I realize Rosa had been correct a few days ago in assuming Wet'zel was playing a game. I cannot dwell on this long though, as Alexander directs my attention a moment after Wet'zel departs. "Please, reconsider, Shannara. You really need to stay with family."
"I've been with family all my life. If I were still five years old, I'd be inclined to agree with you, but I've already been traveling on my own for some time. I don't want to go back to life on a starship. I spent the first twelve years of my life on the Enterprise, feeling confined. Then six months on Betazed where I was directly responsible for Grandma nearly dying. Then my fiasco with Data. I really screwed up my relationship with him! If only he and Q could accept my need for the other, but I suppose that is asking too much of anyone."
"What would be so wrong with you staying here?"
"I don't fit in here any better. I don't behave like a Klingon and moreover, I don't want to. Wet'zel's wanton display toward me made me realize just how far from a true Klingon warrior I really am."
"Where would you go?"
"Someplace a lot quieter than Q'ronos. When I arrive, I promise I will send you a message to let you know."
"Aunt Nara, are you going bye bye?" Zoe asks. She can't quite pronounce my full name and her nickname for me has become endearing.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, but it won't be the last you'll see of me." I look at my brother. "Any of you."
