Title: - Stargazing

Author: - Caia Caecilia

Rating: - Adult

Fandom: - Star Trek: TOS

Warnings: - Will contain some adult material, slash and non-con.

Disclaimer: - I own nothing, especially not the Star Trek universe, and do this for fun so please don't sue. The poem excerpt is from "The Song of Honour" by Ralph Hodgson.

Stargazing – Prologue

"…I stood and stared; the sky was lit,

The sky was stars all over it,

I stood, I knew not why,

Without a wish, without a will,

I stood upon that silent hill

And stared into the sky until

My eyes were blind with stars and still

I stared into the sky."

Enshrouded in darkness the gardens were still and quiet. The heat of the day lingered making it pleasantly warm, and as he sat on the wooden bench that stood beside the ornamental lake he let himself relax, just a little. He released some of the tension in his shoulders and the ever-present knot in his stomach loosened slightly. It always soothed him to be out here in the silent darkness, alone.

Tipping his head back slowly he gazed up at the clear night sky above. The stars scattered across the depths of the darkness seemed to draw him in and he lost himself in their beauty. His eyes searched out the patterns that had been defined amongst them many thousands of years ago, constellations around which legends and myths had been woven. Kian the snake, low on the horizon who had supposedly laid the world as an egg in the Beginning Time at the creation of the universe; Breok the warrior, a band of stars forming his drawn bow and the brightest star in the sky the tip of the arrow he was ready to let loose; Ebrel the maiden a glowing, gaseous nebula representing the glorious head of hair that had led to her murder by her jealous sister. He felt a pang of sadness within him when his mind turned to other constellations far more familiar then these, but now so far away. He remembered long summer nights as a child spent gazing up at the well-known night sky of his home world, and how he'd dreamed of leaving his world far behind and travelling out amongst those magical pin-pricks of light. He'd worked so hard to make that dream come true and he could remember the feeling of freedom and wonder as he'd journeyed out into the universe travelling between the stars, covering vast distances at tremendous speeds, action and adventure beckoning to him. What a fool he'd been. What had his wandering amongst the stars gotten him – nothing but pain and heartache. Staring into the depths of the heavens above him he wished he could be up amongst the stars again though, and that if he were then maybe he'd be able to find a path through them that would take him home again.

"I thought I'd find you here Jofre." A low, deep voice said from behind him, and he was relieved it was dark so that the other man who now stood behind him couldn't see him flinch. "Always stargazing as soon as my back is turned, hmm."

He dropped his gaze from the sky and stared out across the dark, still waters of the lake as a long fingered hand came to rest in a proprietorial manner on his shoulder. The long fingers digging into him just a little bit too hard for a moment before relaxing.

"I…I thought you'd be in the city for another couple of days." He replied in a quiet voice.

The hand on his shoulder moved slightly and a thumb began stroking small circles over the soft skin at the junction between his neck and his shoulder. The cold touch brought out goose flesh where it moved over his skin and he had to use all his strength to suppress a shudder.

"I concluded my business rather quicker then I'd anticipated, and although the city offered many delights none of them would be as sweet as you, so I hurried home. Imagine my surprise when I found you missing." The stroking thumb paused and once again the fingers dug painfully into his shoulder.

"I'm… s…sorry." He stammered. "I was hot and had a headache…I wanted to clear my head. If I'd known you were coming home I would've been waiting for you."

One final vicious squeeze and then the hand was removed. "Well never mind. I'm sure you'll find a way to take my mind off my disappointment, don't you?"

"Yes…yes of course." Relief flooded him since it seemed he would escape being punished this time.

"Now Jofre, back to the house." The other man commanded even as he turned away and began walking along the garden pathway.

Scrambling up he hurried to follow along all the while keeping a respectful distance between himself and the other man. They quickly reached the immaculate lawned area of the garden and walked up some steps to a graveled area in front of the large house where they lived. The tall man in front swept into the house through a pair of large open glass doors not even pausing to see if he was being followed, so sure was he of his orders being obeyed.

He knew he should hurry into the house since he was already in enough trouble, but the pull of the stars was momentarily just too strong for him to resist. Pausing he looked back over his shoulder and stared once more up into the night-sky. For a moment the yearning to be up there amongst the stars again was so strong, and the loss he felt at having had his life stolen away from him was so brutal, that he nearly staggered under the weight of it, and he could hear his old self crying out in horror at what his life had become. Then from the house a sharp, angry voice called out,

"Jofre!"

Tearing himself back to the here-and-now he savagely pushed his old persona back down deep inside himself locking it away. His stargazing and dreaming was over. He wasn't Ensign Pavel Chekov anymore he reminded himself, instead he was Jofre, a slave.

"Coming Master!" He called out as he entered the house.

TBC (15/2/07)

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