|
Forfeit: Part One
All stories on this web site are purely FICTIONAL. The people depicted within these stories only exist in someone's IMAGINATION. Any resemblence between anyone depicted in these stories and any real person, living or dead, is an incredible COINCIDENCE too bizarre to be believed. If you think that you or someone you know is depicted in one of these stories it's only because you're a twisted perverted little fucker who sees conspiracies and plots where none exist. You probably suspect that your own MOTHER had sex with ALIENS and COWS and stuff. Well, she didn't. It's all in your head. Now take your tranquilizers and RELAX.
Forfeit: or The Captain's Game
By Ruth Moore
© 1995
The big room was quiet except for little whispers around the edges. It
was also dark; the only light coming from a lamp suspended over the
green felt covered table. At the table sat six StarFleet captains; four
women and two men. There was a large pile of gold and silver poker
chips in the center of the table; only one man and two of the women
still held cards.
By 'Fleet tradition, there was a poker tournament every time five or
more StarFleet vessels docked anywhere outside the Yards or the
Founding Worlds. Also by tradition, captains did not represent their
ships as part of the regular teams. Rather, they played the first hand
of the tournament and only then could the teams get to work. No points
were awarded to the Captain's Game and the chips on the table went to
the winner not hir ship's team. There was no prize save the chips, the
prestige and The Forfeit.
In the six years that Jean-Luc Picard had been captain of the
_Enterprise_, the ship had been represented in fifteen tournaments. With
Will Riker leading the team, they had won an unprecedented twelve of
those tournaments. In the same time Picard had only won six of the
Captain's Games. The problem was the game itself; Picard was an
indifferent poker player at best, and rarely had the chance to play. He
had considered (usually after one of his defeats) joining the Tuesday
night game on the _Enterprise_, but he had decided that his presence
would put a damper on the proceedings. Now as he sat at the table
waiting for Captain Tsu of the _Hastings_ to place her bet, he wondered
if he should have joined those games anyway. So far, he was still in the
game, but both Tsu and Captain Janeway of the _Voyager_ were damn
good players.
It didn't help that Janeway was extremely distracting. Picard knew of
her reputation; she was one of the ones to watch; destined to go places
everyone said. He knew of her ship; the first of the new _Intrepid_
class ships and so state-of the-art as to make the _Enterprise_ look
clumsy. What he hadn't known until this evening was that she was
beautiful. Her face was too strong to be considered pretty, but it was
that very strength that had first caught Picard's attention. The fact
that her cranberry and black uniform clung to her, emphasizing every
curve of her slim figure hadn't hurt either. Then he had noticed her
eyes, a gray/blue that probably changed with her moods, and he had
found himself wondering what her hair would look like released from the
constraints of that severe bun.
"Fifty," Tsu said quietly, placing a neat stack of chips in the center
of the table.
Picard jumped slightly, returning to the here and now. *God Lord,* he
thought. *This is really too much. The woman is a fellow captain and I'm
sitting here wondering what she looks like naked. I'm as bad as Will.*
"Your fifty and fifty more," Kathryn Janeway said quickly, shoving her
chips out. She wished she looked as confident as her remaining
opponents. She was pretty sure that Carolyn Tsu was bluffing. Janeway
had played too much poker with her when Tsu was the first officer of
the _Al'Batani_ not to recognize Tsu's signals. Then again, that had
been some time ago and maybe Tsu had changed her style; that stone face
could mean she was sure of her cards.
As for Picard...well he was Picard; The Legend, right up there with
Garth, Kirk, Santos and all the other famous ones. Janeway was sure
that something as minor as a poker game would hardly ruffle his
feathers. She'd met him once before, when he was the captain of the
_Stargazer_ and she was a wide-eyed junior grade lieutenant. As he
sat there considering his options, she compared him with the man she
had met almost twenty years ago. He looked better now, she decided.
Then he had had unremarkable sandy hair that was already thinning
and his nose had looked too large for his face. Now, with the hair gone
and with some character lines on his face, he looked not only
distinguished, but...rather sexy. Janeway was surprised; she usually
preferred men closer to her own age. Of course he had wonderful eyes
and that famous voice was really quite amazing; it sounded almost too
big for the man it belonged to.
"I'll call." That voice broke into her musings and both she and Picard
looked at Tsu.
"Too rich for my bluff," she said, turning her cards over. Janeway
grinned; she had been right. She looked at the cards in front of Picard;
if he wasn't bluffing, that full house would beat her flush. She decided
to go for it, and pushed all of her remaining chips to the center of the
table. The crowd surrounding the table leaned in closer in anticipation.
Picard's eyes met hers and she felt something unexpected, a flutter in
her stomach that had nothing to do with the game. She let no sign of it
show on her face as without a word, he pushed all his chips into the
pot.
Janeway flipped her card onto her hand and Picard's face finally
showed some expression, rueful chagrin as he turned over his card, a
five of clubs that did not belong with the hearts and diamonds in front
of him. "Take it," he said. "Congratulations Captain." Behind him his
big bearded first officer groaned as behind Janeway, Lt. Cmdr. Cavit let
out a loud cheer. The sound broke the silence and people began
applauding. Picard stood, leaned over the table and held out his hand.
"Nicely played, Captain Janeway."
Janeway returned the firm handshake, smiling and saying, "Good bluff,
Picard. You had me going." Picard found himself liking her smile; this
really was an amazingly good-looking woman. He held the handshake a
little longer than was necessary and then Tsu said, "I should never
have taught you to play poker, Kat. You're too good at it."
Janeway let go of Picard's hand and turned to her friend. As the other
captains crowded forward to offer their congratulations, she saw Picard
back off to talk to his first officer.
"Look at the bright side, Will," Picard said, losing sight of Janeway
behind the converging captains. "Every time I've lost one of these
games, the _Enterprise_ team has won the tournament."
Riker tried to look unconcerned. "_Voyager_ has a good reputation, but
they're a fairly new ship. I just hope they don't play poker as well as
their captain does."
"Well, you'll just have to do your best, Number One. The ship will be
counting on you now. Excuse me, I believe it's time to get this over
with."
"Hopefully it won't be as bad as last time," Riker said, forgetting
himself.
Picard turned an icy glare on his first officer, then he relaxed, poor
Will looked mortified as he realized what he had said. Picard contented
himself with a simple, "Indeed, Number One," before turning back to
Janeway.
Janeway watched as the crowd of officers around her made way for
Picard. God, he looked so controlled as he walked toward her. After all
he didn't know her at all, he had no idea what to expect from her in
the matter of the forfeit. She realized that she had no idea what to ask
for. The sight of his proud, almost arrogant face tempted her to
humiliate him, to see if she could embarrass him in some way. The
temptation surprised her, that sort of thing was not her style at all
and she was rather ashamed at the thought. Still it was a weird feeling
to have the most senior captain in the whole of StarFleet stand in front
of her braced to attention.
"Sir," he said, not loudly, but the crowd immediately hushed around
them as everyone waited to see what would happen. "As your final
opponent, I owe you a forfeit."
Janeway had a sudden thought. "Captain, I understand that you ride?"
Now that was interesting, a slight flush became visible on his fair-
skinned face.
Picard couldn't help it; his mind brought up the image of Sara McNeil.
It wasn't all that surprising really; after all here he was, standing at
attention before a beautiful woman. He felt vaguely humiliated by the
situation and Janeway's mention of riding didn't help.
Janeway moved forward to give them the illusion of privacy. Placing a
hand on his arm, she said quietly, "I heard that Silviera has some
lovely trails. I haven't ridden in a while; perhaps you could make the
arrangements for oh..tommorow?"
Picard suddenly smiled at her and her eyes widened; the smile
transformed his stern face, making him appear warm and approachable.
*Oh my, this man is...* She felt that feeling in her stomach again,
stronger this time. Meeting his eyes she smiled back.
Picard looked into those lovely eyes and put his hand on hers. He
realized that here was a forfeit he wouldn't mind paying. "I would be
glad to, Captain," he replied, enjoying the feel of her hand under his.
"How early would you like to start? I can arrange to bring a lunch if
you like."
Janeway was enjoying this subtle public flirting. "A lunch would be
wonderful. How about 11:00 hours?" she asked, letting her smile grow
wider.
"That would be perfect," he replied, hoping that he was reading her
signals correctly. Remembering the circumstances, he added, "sir."
She removed her hand from his arm and said, "I'll see you then." She
nodded to him and turned to talk to her first officer.
"Victory from the jaws of defeat, sir." Picard turned to see Riker
grinning at him.
"Oh go play poker, Number One," he said, smiling to take the sting from
his words. As Riker turned away, still grinning, Picard added, "Good
Luck ,Will."
Picard stayed for the first few hands, talking to Captain Helvig of the
_San Francisco_. Although he enjoyed the chance to catch up with
Helvig (who had served aboard the _Stargazer_), his eyes kept crossing
the room looking for Captain Janeway. *Kathryn*, he remembered, *her
name is Kathryn with a y.* She was at a table a short distance away
talking to Captain Tsu. Her gaze kept intercepting his and she began to
flirt from a distance. He wasn't sure how to respond and so at first did
nothing. She smiled and began to toy with a strand of hair that had
fallen from her bun. She was chasing, Picard realized, and from her
smile, she was enjoying the chase. *Well, it is her game,* he thought.
He raised his glass at her and smiled. She brought the strand of hair to
her lips, somehow making the gesture look artless and uncalculated.
Janeway was thoroughly enjoying herself. It was rather unlike her to be
this obvious but winning the game had a lot to do with her impossibly
good mood. She grabbed a piece of fruit, a peach, from a nearby tray of
food and began to nibble on it slowly. She saw Picard abruptly shift his
weight and she laughed inwardly. This sort of teasing was much more
fun than publicly embarrassing him.
"So, are you going to drag him off to the _Voyager_ tonight and have
your wicked way with him?" Tsu smiled at her and handed her a glass
of wine.
"Who?" Janeway asked innocently, taking a sip of the wine. She licked
her lips as Tsu laughed.
"Captain Helvig, of course, that is who you're flirting with, isn't it?"
Janeway burst out laughing. "Ouch! If I went after Mikael, Greg would
rip my eyes out." They glanced over at one of the card games where
Greg Montross, Helvig's Chief Engineer (and spouse) was laughing at a
joke that Will Riker had just made. Janeway turned back to Tsu. "You
collect gossip, Carolyn, what do you know about Picard? Am I reading
him right?"
"I thought you didn't care about 'Fleet gossip. I seem to recall a very
serious Science Officer telling me that gossip was "a waste of time"."
"Damn your memory," Janeway said, shaking her head. "God, I was so
determined to be the perfect officer. It's amazing that you and the
captain put up with me." She looked across the room; Picard was now
talking quietly to Captain T'Sura of the _Arthur C Clarke_. The Vulcan's
back was to Janeway and so Janeway ran her tongue across the edge of
her wineglass. Picard did a good job of looking interested in whatever
the Vulcan captain was saying, but Janeway knew that he had seen her.
"He's not involved in any permanent relationship," Tsu began, "he likes
women more than he likes men (although there are men in his past);
there's some really old gossip that says he was pretty wild before he
got his first command. He has a casual thing going with Sara McNeil, but
it's the typical StarFleet thing, their careers come first. Nothing much
else, except that it's said that he's very, very good in bed"
"McNeil? I thought McNeil was involved with...oh what's her name, you
know, Kyrin or Karla or somebody, she's the CMO at StarBase 59."
Oh! You mean Kaveran Anderson. As far as I know that's still going on,
but you know McNeil; she hates to limit her options."
"No kidding," Janeway rolled her eyes. "Are the things they say about
her true?"
"That would take all night, but yeah, most of them are. I thought you
wanted to know about Picard."
"Well since I'm not looking to get involved, you've pretty much covered
it." She glanced back in Picard's direction. He was leaning against the
wall looking right at her. Janeway raised her eyebrows and mimicked his
earlier gesture, raising her glass. He nodded and then turned and made
his way out. Janeway looked at Tsu. "My quarry seems to have flown. I
think I'll let him go for the night." She smiled at her friend. "He
won't get away so easily tomorrow."
"Good for you!" Tsu said, and she raised her glass. "Here's to good
hunting, from everything I've heard about him, you're in for a
lovely...ride."
******
Jean-Luc Picard was finding sleep illusive. While he had thoroughly
enjoyed Janeway's teasing, the end result was a serious case of
frustration. He was looking forward to morning with a good deal of
anticipation. *If I could just get to sleep,* he thought. Every time he
closed his eyes, he saw her nibbling on that peach. He tried to banish
the image, after all, he would be spending a whole afternoon with her.
The image persisted, as did his arousal. He finally gave up fighting it,
and slid a hand down his stomach. Stroking his rapidly hardening penis,
he thought of Janeway and that peach. She had a lovely mouth, and as
he remembered her tongue on the edge of her wineglass, his hand took
up the familiar rhythm. He wondered what she would taste like, what
her skin would feel like; he wanted to see her hair down, wondered
what that lovely face looked like when she climaxed. His breathing
quickened as he thought of her, his hand moving faster. He hung on
the edge of an orgasm and then, thinking of her tongue as it ran
across her lips, he climaxed. As he lay there, his breathing subsiding
to its normal rhythm, he smiled, at least now he'd be able to sleep. He
didn't want to be too tired and disappoint her...Kathryn.
*****************
Kathryn Janeway stumbled from the shower to the bed and fell on it in
exhaustion. Oh, what on Earth had possessed her to stay on the 'Base
playing poker so long? After Picard had slipped out, she had considered
calling it a night. But then Helvig and FitzHugh of the _Renaissance _
had sat down at their table and someone had pulled out a deck of
cards. Still flushed with her victory, she had been easily convinced to
play "just a few hands." As she crawled under her blankets she smiled,
she'd won most of those hands. Between her winnings and the thought
of her scheduled afternoon with Picard,...Jean-Luc...she thought, things
were purring along smoothly. She smiled as she remembered that little
terrified Lieutenant (jg) who had been struck speechless in the
presence of a stern faced captain. Now, after beating him in a Captain's
Game, she was going to spend a lovely day with him that would
hopefully move in interesting directions.
It had been a long time since she'd been with anyone, commanding a
starship didn't offer too many opportunities to indulge one's self.
There had been that ambassador a year ago...God was that the last time
she'd made love? Her cousin in San Francisco had told her that there was
this man...named Mark (was that it?) that she just *had* to meet.
Kathryn smiled to herself; Jamie was always trying to fix her up with
somebody. Kathryn didn't want an attachment or an involvement; she
valued her independence too much. Thinking of Picard, she smiled. He
would understand, that was why she had flirted with him; he would know
that an encounter at a StarBase would be fun, and more important,
temporary. *Oh don't kid yourself Kat,* she thought. *You flirted with
the man because he's just too damned sexy.* That control, it had been
wonderful to try to nudge that control. Teasing was all right with
Janeway, as long as she fully intended to follow through. *And oh, do I
intend to follow through.* She looked at the chronometer, it was late,
thank God she could sleep in in the morning.
|
|
