*****

"Lowliness is young ambition's ladder."

- Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar," Act 2, Scene 1

*****

T'Pol heard the hiss of a door opening, followed by a sound like a burst of static as the forcefield of her futuristic Defiant detention cell was turned off. Although the rough cloth tied across her eyes prevented her from seeing, she could sense someone in her presence -- obviously one of the MACOs who had seized control of the Defiant. She lacked details, but something had gone very wrong with the Rebel plan to destroy the ship. She believed both Phlox and Soval were dead, and expected to meet her own end very soon.

"Sure is pretty -- for a Vulcan -- don't you think?"

A second soldier followed the first into the prison cell. "The Empress says to leave her alone."

"I wouldn't hurt her. Just have a little fun." The cloth was pulled roughly from her face, and T'Pol blinked in the sudden brightness. Corporal Marco Romero was leaning over her. He had the typical MACO uniform and no longer wore the red shirt of the future. Defiant had taken on a full complement of crew and supplies -- including standard issue uniforms.

T'Pol averted her eyes, but Romero took her chin and turned her toward him. "That's right, Sweetie. We could have a good time together."

"Enough!" complained the MACO behind him. It was Captain-of-the-Guard Travis Mayweather.

During her short confinement, T'Pol had been able to piece together a crude framework of information regarding recent events. Hoshi Sato had assassinated Jonathan Archer, and Mayweather, Archer's personal guard, was now Sato's guard -- more than just her guard, in fact, if rumors were to be believed.

"Empress Hoshi wants to question T'Pol tonight in her quarters. We have to prepare her."

"Empress Hoshi!" Romero's voice was sarcastic. "You really believe that shit?"

Mayweather took his phase-rifle and butted Romero in the gut, making him keel over. "You better believe it, or she'll have you pushed out an air-lock. Now stop fucking around and get her down to Sickbay to be depilated."

*****

Depilated. Sato liked the objects of her attention smooth -- all over. A more scientific method for removing hair could have easily been developed, but instead, a large vat full of a depilating liquid had been assembled in Sickbay. T'Pol was stripped naked. Her hands were tied in front of her, her feet bound, and she was thrown into the vat. She thrashed and struggled as henchmen's hands held her below the surface.

She choked on the vile liquid. It stung her eyes. Finally, in a daze, she was pulled from the tank, gagging and coughing. She lay limply on the floor, the solution draining from her skin and pooling around her, as lookers-on giggled.

Next, she was hit with a blast of water from a hose. The water pounded her head as she tried to cover her face. Rough hands rolled her over and pried her legs apart, the jet of water scouring her groin. Once more, she was left gasping for air.

Doctor Elizabeth "Lizzie Borden" Cutler squatted beside her and ran her hand over T'Pol's smooth head. "Bald as a cue ball," she said, to more titters around the room. She stuck her hand between T'Pol's thighs and ran her palm over her hairless pussy. "And smooth as a baby's butt."

T'Pol was pulled to her feet once more, and Romero ushered her out of Sickbay at the point of his rifle. Still naked, T'Pol reached for a robe as she left the room, but Romero shoved her on without it. "Clothes are for humans," he mocked. "I wouldn't dress a Vulcan bitch any more than I would a Wanoni tracehound."

Thus, T'Pol was forced to walk back to the Brig naked. Others in the corridors gawked and whistled, and more than one hand -- with Romero's encouragement -- reached out and slapped her ass. T'Pol could do nothing but maintain her stoic silence.

Once back at the Brig, she obediently stepped into her assigned cell. Expecting to hear the hum of the forcefield behind her, she was surprised instead to hear Romero follow her in.

"Look at you, all nice and washed," he leered. "I think you might just be clean enough to fuck."

T'Pol looked at him nervously. "Captain Mayweather said I was not to be touched." She'd barely gotten the words out when Romero struck her across the cheek with the butt of his rifle. She was knocked against the wall and slumped to the floor, a bloody green gash on her cheek.

"Mayweather's not here, and you'll do what I tell you, you fucking whore!" Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Romero undid his pants and pulled out his stiffening cock. He stroked it a few times to get it harder as he advanced on T'Pol. With no hair to take hold of, he roughly grabbed one of T'Pol's ears and pulled her forward, from her sitting position to a kneeling one before him. "Suck it!"

Closing her eyes, T'Pol took the shaft into her mouth. Romero's cock grew longer and harder as she sucked. He took her by both ears and began fucking her mouth roughly. She thought he was drawing close to climax, but was still surprised when his entire body grew suddenly stiff and he shot a single stream of cum into her mouth.

With an "Ergh!" forced out between gritted teeth, Romero stumbled a step backward. T'Pol opened her eyes in time to see Mayweather pull his dagger out of Romero's back. It was a skillful strike, between two lower left ribs, angled upward into the heart. Romero stumbled another step and collapsed on the floor, a bewildered look on his face. He died with his eyes open.

"He was warned," remarked Mayweather matter-of-factly as he wiped his blade off on Romero's pants leg.

With a silent look at Mayweather, T'Pol spit Romero's cum across the dead MACO's lifeless eyes.

Mayweather smiled. "I think I just might like you after all, Vulcan."

*****

Several hours later, T'Pol was delivered to Hoshi Sato's quarters, where she was left alone. She was still naked, and had begun wondering when she would be allowed clothing again. Her arms were above her head and she was spread-eagled on a bed, her wrists and ankles secured to each corner.

T'Pol stared in shock at a high shelf on the opposite wall. Staring back down at her was the severed head of Jonathan Archer. Black speckles of dried blood dotted his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. The eyes were sunken, and the skin had dried to a sallow parchment complexion.

Time passed, and T'Pol drifted in and out of fitful sleep while awaiting whatever was to come. Her fingers and toes grew numb from poor circulation. Finally, the door opened, and Hoshi entered. Despite her newly claimed title, she was still dressed the same as when she was a simple "Captain's woman," bare midriff and all.

It was the first time T'Pol had seen her since the failed Rebel attack.

Brushing a stray wisp of hair out of her face, Sato surveyed her prisoner and smiled. "Well, well, well... My rebellious little Vulcan. Whatever shall we do with you?" She ran her fingertips lightly over T'Pol's thigh, her hip, dipping between her legs to palm her smooth pubic area. "Doctor Cutler always does such nice work," she commented. Her hand continued making its way up T'Pol's body -- across her belly, coming to rest on one of her breasts. Hoshi squeezed it possessively.

With her opposite hand, she felt T'Pol's smooth scalp. "They fixed you up nicely." Suddenly, she seized T'Pol's head between both her hands, running her thumbs over the bare skin above T'Pol's eyes. "Those fuckers!" shouted Hoshi. "I told them -- leave the eyebrows!" Composing herself, Hoshi smiled at her own outrage. "Oh well. We'll manage."

"I understand you have claimed the title of Empress for yourself." Despite her incredibly subordinate position, T'Pol tried to address Sato with authority.

"That's correct. And one of my very first decisions was to spare you your life -- despite that treasonous display of yours and Soval's, not to mention that Denobulan worm." Hoshi sat down and pulled off her boots.

"Indeed. And why was that -- simply the chance to torture me?" T'Pol's fiery eyes turned toward Archer's cold ones.

Sato smiled. "You like my little souvenir?" She crossed the room to look on her trophy admiringly. "I carved him up myself. I gave his cock and balls to Chef -- they were ground up in yesterday's hash." Her sudden giggle turned into genuine laughter as she turned to T'Pol. "Anyway, I thought it appropriate that something of my mentor remain with me to share my glories." She turned back and addressed the head. "Right, Darling?"

Hoshi pulled her top off and briefly massaged her own breasts. "Anyway, since both he and Forrest saw fit to keep you around..." She leaned close to T'Pol, her bare tits brushing against the Vulcan's, nuzzling her neck. "...I thought I'd try to find out what they saw in you."

Hoshi stripped off her pants, leaving herself standing in only a pair of the briefest white panties. Two thin strings held two small triangles of cloth against the former consort's private areas -- pieces of fabric so small and gossamer that the front was firmly wedged between two pussy lips, while the back did not quite hide all of Hoshi's ass, the top of which jutted prominently above the cloth.

"You must have been a good lay," said Hoshi, "for two captains to each keep you around."

"I might say the same about you... They kept me for my brain, not my cunt."

Hoshi slapped T'Pol across her crudely stitched cheek, drawing fresh rivulets of green from the wound. "Mind your tongue, Slave. Or I'll cut it out."

"I'm not a slave," answered T'Pol defiantly. She considered her own death imminent and was not about to cower at this point.

"Maybe you weren't before, but things have changed." Sato turned and began rummaging about in a dresser drawer.

T'Pol heard the faint clink of metal instruments. "What are you doing?"

Hoshi continued rummaging. "Oh, never you mind. You just lay there, and I'll take care of everything." She turned around with a short pointed instrument and a handful of smaller items. "You belong to me now, and I like jewelry to brighten my things up."

As Hoshi approached her, T'Pol instinctively squirmed against her restraints.

"Now just keep still, and we'll start with something simple." Hoshi took hold of T'Pol's ear, and with a firm thrust, she pushed a thick needle through the flesh of the Vulcan's lobe. T'Pol winced against the pain but did not make a sound. With less than professional care, Hoshi pushed a silver ring through the bloody hole.

"That's nice."

The long slender taper of T'Pol's ear was too much to ignore. Hoshi next fastened a ring just below its tip. Continuing her work, Hoshi attached a mixture of rings and studs to each of T'Pol's ears.

When she finished there, Sato wordlessly moved down and began toying with T'Pol's nipples. She tugged and twisted them until each one stood tall and stiff in darkest green. With a sigh, Hoshi took one into her mouth, sucking it, tonguing its tip with enough passion to actually make T'Pol sigh as well.

As she sucked, Hoshi reached down to finger T'Pol's smooth pussy, slipping two digits inside -- a wet squishy sound telling her T'Pol was enjoying it despite herself. T'Pol began to roll and twist about in excitement, but could only do so as far as her restraints allowed.

Sitting back, Hoshi picked up the sharp bloody needle. T'Pol was suddenly reminded that she was a prisoner, not a lover, and cursed her own weakness at enjoying Hoshi's touch.

Sato pulled and twisted a nipple once more, ensuring it was as large and firm as possible. Then, taking it firmly between thumb and finger, pushed the needle through its base. This time, a groan escaped T'Pol, and she yanked aggressively against her tethers.

"If you squirm," chastised Hoshi, "I might hurt you... more. Now hold still." Fastening a gold ring to one nipple, Hoshi repeated the procedure on the other. She sat back to admire her handiwork, and gazed upon T'Pol's body -- nude, bound, bloodied, her chest rising and falling as she breathed through the pain.

"You're really quite pretty, T'Pol. I've always thought that." Sato moved between T'Pol's thighs. "It would be a shame if we couldn't become friends. Believe me, I can please a man when I have to, but I much prefer the company of women."

Her face mere centimeters from T'Pol's sex, Sato slipped two fingers back inside. She feigned disappointment. "You were so wet just a moment ago. What happened? Here, let me help." She began thrusting her fingers back and forth, while also leaning down to lick at T'Pol's clitoris and labia.

T'Pol was not swept away this time as before, and feared what would follow next. Sure enough, as Sato began focusing exclusively on fingering T'Pol's clit, she reached for the needle once more. T'Pol's resolve weakened ever so slightly and, cursing the words as she spoke them, she whispered, "Please, don't."

"Oh, but you know I will. And yet, you ask me not too. Where's that Vulcan control I've come to know... and despise?" All seductive pretenses aside, Hoshi pierced T'Pol's clit with a violent stab, prompting a single, muffled sob from her victim. Fastening another ring, Hoshi toyed with the jade blood that oozed about her fingers. "So green... so pretty..."

Sato climbed up and straddled T'Pol's belly, her own slight panties disappearing between her pussy lips as she did so. "I'm almost done. Only one more to go." She held up a final ring, displayed on an outstretched pinky. "Open your mouth T'Pol."

T'Pol stared back at her, her mouth firmly shut.

"You know I can make you open it. And I will if I have to."

It was true, and T'Pol knew it. Slowly, she opened her mouth.

"Stick out your tongue."

T'Pol did so, and Hoshi seized its tip with a pair of pliers. Pulling it out as far as she could with one hand, Sato speared it with the other, then filled the new hole with a silver stud.

Once released, T'Pol lay back, swallowing the blood that pooled in her mouth.

Sato climbed off of her and crossed to the dresser again. Turning around with a handful of string, she remarked, "Along with jewelry, I also enjoy knitting."

Starting at T'Pol's clit, Hoshi strung one end through the ring. She ran the string through one nipple ring and up to T'Pol's mouth. "Open up," ordered Hoshi, in a sing-song tone like a mother to a child. Reluctantly, T'Pol obeyed, and the string was looped around T'Pol's tongue stud. Hoshi ran it back down through the opposite nipple ring, to the clit, where the two ends were tied together to form a loop.

T'Pol lay there, wide-eyed in anxiety, panting through her open mouth which she could no longer easily close.

Sitting next to her, Hoshi twisted a bit of slack string around her finger. Sliding through the rings, the string tightened, and the rings pulled at the delicate flesh. Another twist, and the string grew tighter still. Another twist, and T'Pol winced.

"Ah, so I have your attention."

"What do you want?" It was difficult for T'Pol to speak, with the stud and string in her mouth.

"Maybe you were right. Maybe I just want to torture you." Hoshi twisted the string tighter, and T'Pol winced again. She tried to bend her body to relieve the tension, but she was limited by her restraints.

"I'm building a new Empire," continued Sato. "And you're the last of the Rebel cadre." She took a nipple ring with her other hand and pulled.

T'Pol cried out, inadvertently pulling against the string with her tongue. She cried out again and gritted her teeth, trying to steady herself. "I'm not against you!" she said finally.

Hoshi smiled maliciously. "Don't try to talk your way out of this. It was your plan to blow up this ship."

"Yes, yes -- with Archer aboard! To prevent his takeover. I'm loyal to the Empire."

This made Sato pause. She rolled the idea around in her head. "I'm in charge of the Empire now."

T'Pol rolled her head sideways and looked into Hoshi's eyes. "Then I am yours to command."

Hoshi smiled. "As fun as killing you might be, keeping you around might be worthwhile after all." Suddenly, she grabbed the string in her fist and gave it a yank. T'Pol convulsed and cried out in pain. "If you are lying to me...!"

"I'm not! I'm not!" T'Pol reflected briefly on the fact that Vulcan integrity used to mean something. She looked into Hoshi's eyes again. "I swear!"

*****

Mayweather led T'Pol back to the Brig. This time, she had a loose fitting pair of fatigues that'd been scrounged up at the last moment. Stepping into her cell, she turned to address Travis before he slipped away. "Your relationship with the Empress certainly comes as a surprise."

"Why is that?"

"Oh, you know." T'Pol waved her hand dismissively. "She was always known as a Captain's woman. And you being just a guard... Well, it gives the rest of us hope, doesn't it?"

"That's enough, Vulcan. I said I liked you, but don't push it."

The forcefield hummed into place. T'Pol stepped up to it, not daring to touch it as she called after Mayweather. "And I like you, Travis! Which is why it bothers me that you're treated this way. You put Hoshi on the throne."

"That's Empress Hoshi to you!"

"Why not 'Emperor Travis'?"

Without answering, Mayweather turned and skulked out of the room.

*****

The next day, Mayweather returned to the Brig. Opening the door, he tossed a bundle of clothing at T'Pol. It was her uniform. "Put this on, and report to the Empress' quarters."

Moments later, T'Pol was fully dressed. Her pierced nipples ached against the short, snug-fitting top, the metal rings clearly visible beneath the cloth. Likewise, her tight, low-riding pants rubbed annoyingly against her pierced clit.

She left the Brig alone and headed to Sato's quarters -- she was apparently no longer under guard. Two sentries outside Sato's door came to attention and stepped aside at T'Pol's approach. "The Empress is expecting you."

T'Pol stepped inside. It was actually a room next to the Captain's quarters. It'd been turned into an anteroom, and a secondary entrance cut through the wall led to the new Empress' quarters. A cute female yeoman next to the entrance smiled at T'Pol's arrival. She disappeared into the next room, then reappeared. "Please enter."

In the next room, T'Pol found Sato pouring two glasses of wine. The Empress was wearing a transparent cream-colored top and beige miniskirt. "There you are," she said, turning and handing T'Pol a glass. "Oh, I like that," she said, playfully feeling up T'Pol's pierced nipple. "Sore?"

"A little."

"Let me help." Placing her glass aside, Hoshi undid the front of T'Pol's top. This time, she cradled T'Pol's tits, handling them much more gently than the night before. She led T'Pol to the bed where she'd been shackled the previous evening. Each of them sat on the edge as Hoshi sucked one nipple into her mouth, gently tonguing the ring.

Hoshi's hands slipped inside the back of T'Pol's pants, caressing her ass. As Hoshi pulled them down over her hips, T'Pol lay back and let them be pulled off. She spread her legs, and Hoshi lay between them, toying with her pussy lips and sucking her pierced clit.

T'Pol did not mind the fact that her ulterior motive of winning over Sato's confidence necessitated some cunnilingus. She allowed herself to relax and enjoy it.

Hoshi slid up T'Pol's body and straddled the Vulcan's face, revealing the fact that she was not wearing any panties beneath her miniskirt. "Be a good slave now," teased Hoshi, "and put that Vulcan tongue of yours to good use." T'Pol saw no reason not to comply. Opening her mouth, she took her first taste of Hoshi's moist lips.

"Oh," moaned Hoshi. "That studded tongue of yours is incredible." She put her hands on top of T'Pol's scalp. "And the bald look really works for you." The Empress enjoyed T'Pol's oral skills for a time, before turning around into a sixty-nine position. As she did so, T'Pol groped her tits through the shear top. Suddenly, T'Pol stopped. "I'm sorry... With your permission?"

"By all means, by all means," said Hoshi, removing her top herself. She then leaned down to feast on Vulcan pussy.

T'Pol returned to sucking Hoshi's pussy as she began massaging her tits as well. The miniskirt began getting in the way, so T'Pol removed that also. They were both completely naked now, and writhing in each other's arms.

Hoshi was quickly swept further and further along in ecstasy. "Fuck me, T'Pol! Fuck me!" T'Pol began thrusting two fingers in and out of Hoshi's cunt. "More! Harder!" the Empress screamed. T'Pol added a third finger, then a fourth, forcefully pistoning them in and out. "Oh, God! Yes, yes..."

A torrent of juice trailed down T'Pol's arm as Hoshi was overcome by climax. Weakened, she settled her own nude body atop the Vulcan's naked form, and they rested.

*****

Sometime later, Hoshi got up and began to dress.

Taking her cue from the Empress, T'Pol began dressing as well. "Shall I return to the Brig?"

"I'll have Travis assign you quarters."

"And what is my position now?"

Hoshi caressed T'Pol's ear. "How about Imperial Concubine?" T'Pol's look told her she was not amused. "You can have your Science Officer position back."

"Archer was going to make me First Officer."

"Archer's dead. Reed's First Officer. And you should quit while you're ahead... while you're alive."

"So, is Reed second-in-command of just the ship... or of the Empire as well?"

"Don't be absurd. I don't even like him in command of the ship, but I needed his support to consolidate power quickly. As far as the Empire goes, there is still the Imperial Senate to contend with, but I'm working on them as well."

"And what is Mayweather to you?"

"Enough! I will not be interrogated by a... Vulcan! Leave now, while you are still in my good graces."

"Your good graces are not enough to run an empire! Who is in charge of Starfleet? Does Starfleet support you, or did you-"

"Starfleet is gone -- their headquarters destroyed along with the entire San Francisco peninsula. I burned them all when they refused to capitulate. I cut a swathe through the entire fleet. I showed them just what this ship can do."

"All you did was destroy the resources you need to run this Empire."

"I told you before to mind your tongue. An intelligent slave is dangerous to keep around. Don't force my hand."

"Call me a slave if you must, but I will not live the rest of my days as a lackey. Heed my words, or cut me down for saying them, but I will not be silent. You are the leader of a new empire, yet you are a prisoner aboard your own ship. It is the sole source of your power -- you can't even leave it for fear Reed will seize control. It is not enough for your subjects to fear this ship. They must fear you! If not, your Empire will be a hollow one -- nothing more than a reflection in a mirror, easily shattered."

*****

Sato dismissed T'Pol in a fit of anger, but T'Pol could tell she was also considering her words. Mayweather escorted T'Pol away from the Empress and showed her to new quarters there aboard the Defiant.

T'Pol resumed her strategy with the MACO officer. "Hoshi -- I mean, the Empress -- is quite a fiery woman, don't you think?" Mayweather remained silent. "I'm relying on your discretion of course, as one concubine to another."

Travis was floored. "I'm not a concubine!"

"I'm sorry. I thought the two of you shared a bed."

"We do!" Travis did not know how to respond. "We're... partners..."

"I'm sorry if I made light of your position. It's just that, well, Hoshi -- I mean, the Empress -- didn't speak of you as a partner. In fact, she didn't mention you at all. Hmm, that's odd." T'Pol feigned deep thought. "With Reed as First Officer, just how secure are you with your current position?"

Mayweather's rage finally boiled over. "Don't be concerning yourself with my position, Vulcan! Concern yourself only with matters that are your business." With that, he stormed out of the room.

If T'Pol were human, she would have smiled at that point. The truth was, she did not yet have a long-range plan for dealing with the new Empress. But dealing with her would require being close to her, so that had been T'Pol's first task.

Having gotten herself in good stead with Sato, she now would begin seeking out weaknesses -- and Mayweather was a potentially large one. T'Pol would have to work to turn it to her advantage.

T'Pol was a Vulcan, turned science officer, turned rebel, turned concubine. But at this moment, T'Pol was a gardener. And she was now busy sowing the seeds of discontent.

(End of Part One of Three -- Part Two)