Charlene's Diary

Chapter 9

Beta Reader: Jsilver2000

Chekov's Mission Impossible: Part 1

Summary: Chekov couldn't convince Sulu to have a bachelor party, but he is determined to give him one, despite tempting the wrath of Masters.

If you wonder how Pavel will put his plan into motion, well, our young Russian friend has hormone problems; he's into women. He wondered how to get some exotic women on the ship unnoticed; the wheels of his brain were turning. And he decided to have them come aboard disguised as yeomen, hoping no one would notice the difference. Pavel even had the assistance of two other ensigns to help with his plan. They wanted to party with the girls; they thought it was a great plan. The Enterprise was on its way to Starbase 9 anyway, and there were bars and clubs there. Pavel was hoping his little plan for a bachelor party would work so he could surprise his long-time friend. Now here is how our little Russian planned to do it:

"You theenk you can do eet for me, Treestan?"

"I'm not sure"

"You're the records officer; just add three leetle names to the roster as yeomen."

"All this for Sulu?"

"Yeah; that's vhat friends are for-plus you're eenwited too!"

"It's a deal-as long I get a girl to dance with."

"Deal!"

Pavel laughed, excited that his plan had fallen into place. He had found out that from Starbase 9, the Enterprise was en route to another starbase in the Beta quadrant. He could drop the women off there. And no one would know the difference.

"Hikaru veell be so surprised," Pavel thought, smiling devilishly.

Later on, in the ship's lounge 'Karu, Charlene, and Eve were sharing some downtime; 'Karu had an arm draped around Charlene's shoulders.

"I love being off duty," Charlene said, sighing.

Eve just laughed at her: "I would too if I had a handsome man waiting for ME!"

"Okay-I'm feeling a little uncomfortable right now," Sulu said nervously, glancing back and forth between the women.

Charlene exhaled: "Engineering has really been making me earn my credits, but I finally got those new specs lined up."

"I'm glad about that. I have barely seen you. Mr. Scott kept you away from me," Sulu commented. But he was really wondering what was going on with Janice; she had been keeping a low profile. He hadn't seen or heard from her in days, which was okay with him. He didn't want Char to get into any form of conflict over their relationship; the ship had enough drama as it was.

Charlene leaned into 'Karu and asked, "Wanna dance?"

"Sure; why not?" Sulu said with a winning smile.

He escorted her to the dance floor while Eve watched them. After a few minutes, Eve spotted Janice entering the lounge wearing a knee-length blue dress. She looked around as if she was looking for someone. Then Char and Sulu came back to the table.

"That was great! I hope we have dancing at our wedding!"

'Karu asked, "Maybe something like Uhura and Spock's?"

"No, like we just did-I want us and everyone else to have their own groove."

The three of them laughed at the thought, but their mirth subsided when a newcomer came up to the table. They glanced up to see the face of Janice Rand.

"May speak to you-both of you, please?"

Eve started to leave her seat.

"Please don't leave, Eve, I won't be long."

Janice sat down and twisted her hands around each other; she took a deep breath and looked at 'Karu and Charlene.

"Charlene, I owe you an apology for trying to disrupt your relationship with Sulu. I hope you will forgive me if I caused any friction between the two of you. There is no excuse for my behavior and the gossip I caused on the ship. You didn't deserve that, so I hope you will forgive my actions."

Charlene's mouth dropped open in shock; she arched a brow:

"Do you mean that?!"

"Yes, I do. Sulu was once a dear friend of mine. I know I abused our friendship." Janice turned to Sulu: "I hope you forgive me too, Sulu. I'm truly sorry."

'Karu and Charlene looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Sulu reached out and put his hands over hers:

"Thank you; that means a lot coming from you. I heard you've been promoted and will be leaving the Enterprise for another post. I wish you success in your next station."

"Me as well. I hope things will be better wherever you go," Charlene added.

"Thank you both. Have a wonderful evening." Janice glanced at Eve: "You too, Eve."

All Eve could do was shake her head as Janice got up and left the lounge.

Eve looked at 'Karu and Charlene: "Wow, that was interesting. I wonder what led to this change in her behavior?"

"I don't know, but I am happy about it," Charlene replied.

"I did ask Nyota to talk to her," 'Karu said.

Charlene looked at him curiously: "You did?"

"Yes. I didn't want you stressed out about Janice. We were friends. You threatened to kill her, you know. And I couldn't have my girl in the brig."

Eve started laughing: "Yeah, you're right, 'Karu. We'd all be sitting outside the brig singing her songs or something."

"I wasn't that bad!"

'Karu and Eve looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Yes, you were!"

The three of them continued to enjoy their evening.

The Enterprise reached Starbase 9, and a number of crewmen left the ship for their next assignment. Nyota and McCoy said goodbye to Janice.

"Thanks, Nyota, for supporting me. I didn't mean to let things get out of hand."

"Things happen, and we learn and grow from them; I'm happy for you, Janice. Congratulations on your promotion."

"Yes, congratulations! I wish you success in your new assignment, Janice. You will be missed again!" McCoy said sincerely.

The Enterprise was next scheduled to deliver supplies and personnel to Starbase 12. But three mysterious women appeared aboard the ship and were secretly stashed on the lower decks. Chekov had managed to get liquor and other party supplies and stash them around the ship. Some things went unnoticed, but others...

"Mr. Spock, here is the latest update on the supplies that came aboard, Sir," Nyota said, handing the Padd to him.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. You may continue with your work."

Uhura swiveled her chair back to her station while Spock walked across the bridge and continued monitoring the crew. He glanced at the Padd and noticed a personal shipment, but it was the large size of the shipment that caught his eye. His eyebrow shot up and he decided to take a trip to the quartermaster's office to check on it.

Meanwhile:

"Ssshhh, ladies! Thees ees a surprise, remember?"

"How long are we supposed to stay locked up here?" purred one of the women, who was caressing Pavel's hair.

"Not long, but you must not be seen, at least not for now," Pavel pleaded.

"Why do we have to wear all these clothes? They itch!" snapped another woman trying to pull at the sleeve and waist of a yeoman's uniform. "How do females wear this thing-it's awful!"

"Where and when is the party?" another woman demanded. "I want to see more men besides you!"

Pavel gave her a stern look: "I'm the most handsome man on this sheep!"

The three women looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Ladies, just remember your contract, and you'll be all set at the next starbase. But the plan ees for you to stay here until I come to get you-eet's simple," Pavel explained.

"Oh-kay, Oh-kay, we gotcha!" the third woman snapped.

"Look, beautiful ladies, I have the best suite on the ship; no one uses eet. All the accommodations are right here. Do you remember vhat to say eef someone finds you?"

The second woman recited: "We tell them that we are three yeomen in training and we are being transferred to Starbase 12."

"That great! Now I have to go to vork. I'll check on you when I'm off duty."

The first woman hung on Pavel's neck and purred: "Don't be long, darling!"

Pavel took a deep breath and looked into her brown eyes. "She is so tempting!" he thought, leaving with a smile on his face.

The next day, 'Karu was visiting Charlene's quarters when she decided to bring up her concerns about moving up the wedding.

Charlene gave 'Karu a curious look: "'Karu, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Char-ask away."

"Do you want a bachelor party?"

'Karu gave her a questioning look: "What brought this on? Do you want a bachelorette party?"

"If I have one, it wouldn't be fair if you didn't-but I know how bachelor parties can go overboard, and I'm still worried."

Charlene sat on his lap and hugged him.

"Are you reconsidering?" 'Karu asked.

"I mean, yeah, because I gave Nyota one, and it was just us three, and it's like tradition, ya know?"

'Karu gave her a deeper look: "What's really going on, Char? Don't hold back."

"I was thinking we should get married sooner. I know we agreed to wait until we get back to Earth, so our families can be there. But, 'Karu, I was thinking... I don't want... to go another day without making our relationship official."

'Karu leaned his forehead against hers; he had been thinking the same thing. Space changes things and situations. They were on the same ship, quartered a few decks apart, when they could be in the same room living their lives together. He took a deep breath:

"I agree. I think we should start living our lives together. I know my family won't be happy; they were expecting a large traditional wedding where you wear a designer kimono."

"We could have two weddings and still keep them happy," Char said, kissing his cheek with joy.

"Let's set the date and inform the Captain. Char, I want it simple-nothing crazy!"

Charlene shoved him, laughing: "Really? Every girl's dream and you want to cut it short?!"

"You want a ship-wide wedding?"

"Yeah, why not? They can view it on the monitors."

'Karu lifted her from his lap and led her to the computer, where they checked their schedules and Enterprise's itinerary.

"I will also put in a request for a larger quarters as well. By the time it's approved, we will be married," 'Karu said as he worked on the computer.

Charlene smiled, feeling excited that things were moving along. She leaned in and kissed him.

"This is great because my dress is all ready to go; Eve is almost finished. And now I can tell Nyota the good news!"

'Karu was excited too and a bit worried that his family wouldn't take it well: "I think it's best to tell our families after, so they can yell and curse at us while we're in space. They'll calm down by the time we get back to Earth."

Charlene laughed: "I know, but we made this decision together, and we will have to promise them something big when we come home."

'Karu was laughing too: "I know; it would also be better to get it over with soon so I can get Chekov off my back about my bachelor party. He's so hung up on it!"

Charlene looked at her man and asked, "Do you want one, 'Karu? I mean it's tradition, and most men want one last hurrah."

"Trust me when I tell you I shouldn't have one."

'Karu was remembering his single days when he would party really wildly, with lots of women and even more drinking. He didn't want to put Charlene through it, especially the wild women. In the past, he had not been particular about who they were and generally didn't remember what happened the next day. 'Karu was a bit worried that if Char knew how low he had gone in his previous lifestyle, she would leave him. What made things worse was that 'Karu had introduced Pavel into that crazy lifestyle and now the Russian had come to crave it. "It's best to keep that in the past," 'Karu thought.

"I think I'll lay low until the wedding; I'd rather do something with Mr. Spock. You've changed me, Charlene, and I want to be that new man for you."

"'Karu, that's so sweet-because of your sacrifice, I won't have one either."

They sat, holding each other in their arms and thinking about their future in Starfleet and beyond, and how to make that future work.