AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a work of fantasy/fiction. While some of the characters resemble those in a double-episode of Star Trek Enterprise, most of them are purely fictional. THIS SERIES IS AN EXTENSION OF MY 'ENTERPRISE-THE OTHER SIDE' SERIES, set in the time following the coup by Hoshi Sato when she took over leadership of the Terran Empire as its Empress.
Hoshi's Empire - Chapter 1
Empress Hoshi and her Court
Hoshi gathered her senior staff in the mess hall to outline her plans for their command. Included on the crew were Tucker, Reed, Mayweather, Phlox, Captain Burke (replacing Major Hayes who was dispositioned during the coup), and the two female members of her Court, T'Pol and Mynka Shana'an. While the Vulcan had been her opponent in Archer's sex competition, she was a brilliant scientist and a formidable warrior - two characteristics Hoshi needed on this team. The Andorian girl had shown up, weapon in hand, to defend Hoshi against a brief rebellion by Major Hayes, and had in fact been the one who fired the fatal shot on Hayes. Like both Hoshi and T'Pol, Mynka was a very sexy woman and knew how to make the men listen.
For starters, Sato established a very strict set of guidelines for the interaction between the two sexes. No longer were the men to demand favors when the mood struck them. Only the three women at the top had that privilege. Sato, Shana'an, and T'Pol each had a male consort, and those men were expected to provide pleasure on demand to their respective women. Sato and Mayweather were a pair, T'Pol and Tucker were a pair, and Mynka had chosen Captain Burke as her consort. The remaining officers could choose from any of the other females; but unless the female wanted to please him, it was a no go. The situation among the non-commissioned crewmen was somewhat looser, and group sex was a common occurence with them. There were a few non-com females who had some of the officer privileges. Janet Kelly and Amanda Cole were two such women, and they frequented the quarters of male officers on the bridge staff.
"EMPRESS ON DECK" T'Pol called, bringing the room to attention.
Hoshi Sato, dressed in her usual impressive black and gold lame', stood before them. "My subjects, I give my thanks to all of you for enabling this historic event." she began, allowing a brief round of applause. "We have the power with this vessel to command respect throughout this galaxy and all other galaxies." she said, to another round of applause. "My intention is not to rule with brutality and violence; but to maintain order and the dominance the Terran Empire." She looked around the room, reminding her that a siginificant minority of this crew were non-Terrans. "I fully accept that Terrans are not the only members of this crew, and that non-Terrans represent a significant portion of the population of this Empire. It is not my intention to hold non-Terrans in a poor light, nor to show prejudice toward them in any way." she said with conviction. "We live in a very tenuous time, and need to maintain our vigilence against those in other systems and empires who would harm us or steal our power."
She went on to explain the contents of the information packets she had provided to them. The rules were well presented and carefully spelled out. The packets were personalized, so that each recipient knew exactly where they stood in the Empress' pecking order. Most of the higher-ranking members of the staff were relocated to better quarters, with the facilities and engineering teams building large suites for the female trio at the top, while other senior staff members moved up to the senior officers deck. The male consorts moved in with their respective women; but had a 'bedroom' separate from that of the lady. The residence quarters were separated by deck, with the top level including an observation lounge under the main bridge. Archer would have called it frivolous. Hoshi called it home.
"In conclusion I want you all to feel free to pass your suggestions and comments to my staff. They will send them to me if they believe there is merit. I very much want us to feel like a kingdom here on the Defiant. We are the supreme command structure for the new Terran Empire. Welcome, my subjects!" she said, bowing as waves of applause rolled through the room. All heads bowed as she left the stage, flanked by her consort and two security escorts. The disappeared into one of the new 'private tunnels' leading to a private turbolift up to the 'Suite Deck'.
T'Pol took the podium, pounding a gavel for quiet. Once she had their attention she picked up a document from the packets they had received. "In your packet you will find a document declaring your allegiance to Empress Sato and to the Terran Empire." she began. "These documents will be collected from each of you before you can leave this meeting. You must sign in both places indicated on the form and provide your security pass to the guard to prove your identity when you turn it in." she told them. "Other than that you may stay and enjoy the refreshments or leave to resume your duties - as you wish. Thank you for coming, and long live Empress Sato!" she shouted, bringing cheers and applause and an echoing of her last phrase. She then leaned close to the Chief of Security, whispering something in his ear before she headed for the 'ST' (security tunnel) flanked by Tucker and two escorts. She nodded to Mynka on her way by, knowing the petite little Andorian would keep things under control.
After the big meeting, Hoshi called a top-level meeting with her two ladies and their three consorts to discuss protocol amongst them. Travis had mentioned very briefly that he was a little disappointed that he had lost his 'edge' on the bridge. The Empress wanted to bring that issue up for discussion, as well as any similar topics the team might have. While she demanded respect and obedience, she didn't want these men in particular to be unhappy. At the appointed time, the other four gathered in the foyer of Sato's suite to await her invitation.
"Thanks for coming." Hoshi said, dressed more casually after the long day 'on display'. "I just wanted to talk with everyone about something Travis brought to my attention yesterday. Travis, I don't want to put words in your mouth, so will you kindly tell us about your concerns?" she suggested, giving him the floor.
"Yes, well I trained for years to fly starships and I'm good at it. With the changes that have occured here I feel somewhat left out of those duties when it comes to ships operations and the bridge. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy my duties as Consort to the Empress more than I can say; but I'm asking that perhaps we can find a compromise that gives me the opportunity to not only stay sharp at the helm; but develop my skills in the framework of this new technology." he told them. "Any ideas?" he asked.
Trip chimed in. "I have similar concerns with the engineering work. I can count the hours I've spent in Engineering during the past two weeks on one hand." he added.
Several long moments of silence followed before T'Pol brought her voice to the discussion. "I think these are valid comments gentlemen." she began, reaching over to squeeze Trip's leg. "We should respect your technical skills as well as those you display in private. I am open to any ideas we can bring here to better balance the lives of these fine men. Hoshi, Mynka, what can we do for our men?" She asked, catching Travis' eye and giving him a wink.
Mynka was first to respond. "I can certainly understand Travis' concern, as I share some of his skillset and haven't had a chance to fly this bird in a month." she said. "What I would suggest, ladies, is that we assign them a shift - or a partial shift - during which they execute their technical duties on a scheduled basis. This will mean there must be a backup to take over should their consort duties be required." she suggested, looking around the room.
"I will consider that proposal; but it needs more definition." Hoshi replied.
"What do you mean by definition?" Burke chimed in.
