Title: PERMISSION TO DEPART

Author: BeerGoggles ( beergoggles0@yahoo.com )

Series: TNG

Code: Dr Pulaski / Ensign Sonya Gomez

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I kneel before the Paramount/CBS/Viacom god-entities and ask for forgiveness in playing with their copy-written toys. But Gomez and Katherine weren't getting a lot of use, they were just gathering dust in the discard bin, and I did put them back undamaged. (sorry, forgot to wipe off the smudges). I promise, when the Pulaski/Gomez action figures are marketed, I will be in line to buy them.

Warning: verging on NC

Summary: At the end of season two, two female characters just disappeared. It always fascinated me what happened to them. Thanks for the forum to discuss one prospect.

Katherine Pulaski is not my favorite doctor, but she is one of Trek's characters subjected to the "Judy Winslow" syndrome. Pivotal to the series and suddenly just disappears, as if she never existed. Sonya Gomez is the prime example of Trek not being able to write 'normal' female characters. Troi and her psychic powers-too weird. Dr. Crusher-a power figure. Average guys like O'Brien pop up all over the place, but few recurring 'normal' females.

Archiving: As long as it's to a legitimate, honest-to-the-deity 'non-profit' fan fiction site, just ask. Otherwise, hands off.

Feedback: this is just a one-time whim. Part of a larger television obsession. Drop a note if you can think of other 'lost' characters.

Note: Part of the Femme Fuh-Q Fest - http://www.oocities.org/femme_fuhq_fest/

PERMISSION TO DEPART

by Beergoggles

As she watched the Enterprise warp away from the space station, Ensign Sonya Gomez was less
disappointed in her reassignment than she had thought possible yesterday morning. Maybe it was a result of what Doctor Pulaski called a hangover. Then again, it might have been having new perspective to Star Fleet life.

*****

Sonya stood in front of the Chief Medical Officer's private quarters, trying to compose herself. This was her last official duty on board the Enterprise. She had to do this up to the Commander's expectations.

'Pulaski watch' is what Geordi had called it. Make sure the Chief Medical Officer was prepared to disembark for transfer to a special-materials transport shuttle. Assist her in preparing her personal possessions for shipment. The shuttle-craft was cramped, hazardous and slow, meant for non-transportable hazardous material. Minimum space, resources and comfort. This meant that the irreplaceable private possessions would have to be shipped by other means, and Pulaski would have to spend several weeks in a small cabin, one step up from a hibernation chamber.

There seemed to be a sense of hostility from the command officers to the doctor. There were several suitable Earth-bound ships within range, but the word from the bridge was not to slow down to launch a shuttle to ferry her across. Just because the doctor was reluctant to use the transport, the command officers seemed to be punishing her. Before her own scheduled performance review, Sonya wouldn't have believed that the command staff could be so petty. Now, she was sure that the doctor had pissed off the Captain or commanders in some harmless way. Sonya was not being given any special treatment in her own transfer. Her next assignment was a supply ship. Sonya would have to wait on a old mining service orbital station for the ship to wander into transport range. On the other hand, the doctor's ship was waiting for her, ordered by Picard to wait for their unplanned passenger.

In any case, Sonya had been assigned the job of overseeing Pulaski's packing. A small satchel for the shuttle. Everything else would be transported to a passing ship. In this case, the freight would get to Earth before the doctor.

Sonya hailed at the doctor's personal quarters. "Ma'am, I'm here to assist you..." She didn't have
time to complete her sentence before the door opened.

"So, they've sent Polly-Anna to watch over the wicked witch's exile," Sonya heard from within the dark cabin as she stepped in. "The queen is returning! Long live the queen! So the witch must be disposed of! And Beauty thrown into the wilderness!"

There were a few candles burning to help her adjust her eyes to the shadows. Sonya kept repeating to herself. *Remember, this is Star Fleet. Grow up.* Riker's final advice at the reassignment. Sonya muttered quietly as she blinked back some tears. *Eyes adjusting to the dark* she insisted. *I am not Polly-Anna* "Welcome to my wake, sweetie!" the doctor slurred as Sonya saw a shape rise in the muted light. "I think that this is more of a party than the dear crew of the Enterprise has deemed to honor your memorable stay on the ship... certainly, more than what they've done for me" the voice trailed off.

"Ma'am, I'm here..." Sonya started to say when she finally caught sight of the doctor. The Ensign gasped.

The doctor was covered in a sheer garment. Everything was visible. It was just a shock to see a senior officer so naked. Riker would have used this as another sign of immaturity; nudity is natural to many cultures. Sonya was just not familiar with it without preparation. "Dear, I've been leaving ships before you were born... be thankful that I'm inviting you in to share my little party..." the doctor said stepping among boxes and containers. "I'm quite able to prepare for leaving. Normally, it would be a bigger party, but I don't think many people would accept the invitation. Be thankful that I allowed you in. If you were a redshirt like I expected them to send, you'd be standing guard balancing on one foot in the hallway..." the doctor snapped. Sonya stood her ground, chastised but at attention. "What you need is a drink..." the doctor said, calming down and staggering to a small travel cabinet. "You're young... and sweet... a black Russian..." the older woman mumbled as she poured some liquids together into a shaker. Sonya tried not to stare at her nearly naked superior. "I'm sorry that I didn't warn you..." the doctor whispered, "I knew you were going to get dumped on a week ago..." The doctor's sagging breasts bounced as she shook the container. "I had to forward your medical records... never a good sign, but the cowards wouldn't let me tell you... when did they get around to the execution?" she kept saying as she poured the fluid into a glass.

Sonya grabbed the chilled container from the doctor's hand. She was so angry now that she needed something to drink. She rapidly drank whatever it was that the doctor offered. It was nice and warming. "Yesterday morning," she gasped as she felt the fluid reach her belly. Suddenly she felt a burning. She spilled the remainder of the glass on her uniform.

"Honey, I'd be careful. I'm liquidating my*snake- bite* kit here," the doctor said with some concern. "You're not drinking snythohol. This is real alcohol."

Sonya was shocked. It wasn't exactly illegal to deal with alcohol, but it had been pounded into her from first academy days that possession and use of alcohol was no acceptable except in dealings with primitive cultures and then only with preventative medications. If it was required, it had to be stored in Ten-Forward, even for visiting aliens. The closest she had contact with it was when Geordi had snuck up some of what the Bringloidi had brewed on board during their resettlement trip. That had burned Sonya's nostrils just smelling it. This was pleasant, more satisfying than the standard Ten-Forward drinks. Sonya turned to the replicator. She wanted to get a replacement suit, feeling the spilled drink starting to soak into her uniform.

"Don't bother, ensign," the doctor said as she shuffled through some boxes. "I'm settling up some old bets. Young Wesley has appropriated the last of my replicator rights for some project or other of his. Never raise when you're trying to fill an inside straight." Pulaski stood up and tossed a small garment to Sonya. "Put that on until your uniform dries."

Sonya looked at the short sheer item the doctor had tossed her. It wasn't much, but it was better than sitting around in a wet uniform. She glanced over at the doctor.

"You can change here, ensign. I *am* a doctor," Pulaski giggled.

Sonya needed to distract the older woman as she started removing her clothes under the doctor's amused stare. She extended the empty glass. "More please..."

"Ah! Finally! An adventurous soul..." the doctor said as she turned and started mixing another drink. "As a great pill-pusher said, sometimes you'll tell things to your bartender that you wouldn't say to your doctor."

Sonya started to find out the benefit of the illicit beverages coming out of the little cabinet. They had to get rid of the evidence of any illegal material. The doctor was the most wicked woman on the ship.

Part of the transporter problem was a real fear; but also it was an ability to get various contraband on board without official records. The others might long for the illicit temptations that Star Fleet Medical had restrictions. Katherine showed Sonya a bar of authentic Swiss milk-chocolate, caffine-and-sugar laden. Counselor Troi would have killed for that. The garments that Sonya and the doctor were wearing was silk, real Terran silk. It had been on the Star Fleet prohibited goods list for decades. It was okay for primitives to kill creatures for apparel, but with the multi-species nature of the ships, humans were directed not to carry anything made from lesser Terran life forms, 'to prevent misunderstanding'. No matter how delightful it felt, if it was the 'natural, authentic' form and not some synthetic replication,
silk was a notable breach of regulations. She didn't mind being relatively naked in front of the doctor.

The doctor had several small shipping boxes containing various prohibited items. Klingon medicines, spices and flowers. Romulan wooden fetish idols. The alleged Vulcan 'whoopie' book, printed on a mineral that worked as a 'laughing gas' to the Vulcans . All innocent, harmless items but prohibited for various reasons by some bureacrat. All would have to be disintegrated if found in a transport's buffer record.

Punishment was meaningless to non-Star Fleet individuals, but these transgressions could end a career. Pulaski had decided to get rid of them all. She suspected that the command officers knew about her little collection and wanted to use these valuables as evidence against her. Sonya felt comfortable with Katherine's sharing these secrets. It wasn't like the Ensign was going to report the doctor's secrets. This was as open and friendly as anyone had been to her in her days on this ship.

The problem started when the doctor turned to one question that Sonya didn't want to talk about. "So honey... did you get laid in your time aboard?" Doctor Pulaski conspiratorially whispered. It caught Sonya off guard. "Why do you think I carry all this baggage?" the doctor said as she got up. "Synthohol doesn't lower inhibitions. The silk... honey, when your tight little body starts to sag, you'll find out about the importance of good packaging," the doctor said as she refreshed her drink. "Well, the Vulcan book was just a joke... I thought... But, let's say, I've manage to Pon-Far a couple Vulcans before their planets were in alignment...

"I volunteered for the Enterprise for a lark... Usually, you get a ship in harm's way...you get horny crew members, wanting to live life..." Katherine continued as she sat next to the Ensign. Sonya almost sighed as she felt the excitement of the contact of silk to skin as the doctor's leg accidently slid against hers. "Should have known this was a bad ship from the first day... Picard had a hissy fit when I was cruising Ten-Forward, checking out the talent. Remember this for future reference... Big ship-best sex... Worst sex is on a small ship or base... Too many relationships... Boredom starts you down the path to holo-abuse..."

"I think that Commander Riker is showing signs," Sonya whispered. "Geordi had me working for hours on breaking down some subroutines, looking for a female sub-program called Minuet..."

"It would shock me if Geordi wasn't doing that on his own..." the doctor giggled. "Has a hot item like you under his thumb, and he'd rather work on adjusting some damn antimatter flow..."

Sonya felt a flush spreading on her face. She had tried to flirt with Geordi, and he hadn't shown any interest. But then this was her first assignment and she had assumed there was a 'hands-off' anti-fraternization rule with recent graduates.

"No, I came on this ship to get laid!" the doctor continued. "Kismet was all wrong, I guess. Data, well, I thought I'd get a sentient vibrator. I saw some confidential reports from a sexual event regarding him. The woman was quite enthused by his performance. Who knew that he'd be so easily pussy-whipped. One fuck and he's in love! Can't move on.

"Same with Worf. I really thought I'd get some of that legendary hot Klingon sex. Even worked out to be prepared. Submitted to some god awful rituals and 'bonding' crap. Then found out he's mated to some ball-buster. I wanted to get fucked, not screwed with..."

Sonya got up to pour some more of the concoction that the doctor had mixed for her. There was none. She turned in disappointment.

"For future reference, you are cute when you pout," the doctor chuckled, "try..." pointing with her foot, "that bottle..."

"Irish creme?"

"Yeah, another girlie drink... you'll learn to drink something harder to get a man like Riker..." the doctor said with a winsome tone.

"Commander Riker?" Sonya said as she slid back down close to Katherine.

"No, a *real* man... his father... Th Hubby that got away... I was all ready for some 'stress release' during that visit, but all he wanted to do was talk about Will. Not that I'd kick the son out bed... But the boy has a major bug up his ass... Even when I removed a real one, he was too freaked by my 'bedside manner'... I was just trying to make him feel better..." she said before taking another sip. "Save a man's life, he at least owes you the courtesy of a polite refusal, not to make up some excuse of being life-bonded to a real cock-teasing bitch... She's fucking everyone she can and he turns down his father's best piece to be loyal to that tramp? Worf and Data, I can excuse, but not that bastard! Right now, I wish I had Troi's luck..." Katherine turned toward a viewport. "Hello! Any invisible aliens out the who want to bang me?"

Sonya tried to hush the doctor.

"Hell!" the doctor almost shouted. "The best two shots at getting laid in a year were positively
perverted... damn Darwin..."

"Hmm..." Sonya murmured. She could remember the hunks from the genetics labs. She knew they were off limit, but...

"Don't even go there, honey!" warned Katherine. "Not only will their immune system kill you, fucking one of them will definitely get you penal colony time... those hunks were all under aged..."

"Okay, who else?" a chastised Ensign asked.

"The Mariposans," confided the doctor.

"Those clones? I thought..." Sonya reeled.

"First, yes.... I wouldn't be upset for the bring... bring... the tramps to rule over them... if it were for Star Fleet ethics, I wouldn't have treated those primitives for a couple simple but possibly fatal venereal diseases... but I didn't want them to screw me... if I wanted a useless virgin, I would have seduced Wesley..."

Suddenly, Sonya noticed a change in the doctor.

Sonya had been feeling comfortable, like she was at a sleep-over with her childhood friends. But the doctor was cautious in opening one of the cabinets and withdrawing a box. "This is a real secret... I had this prepared for a friend and if a certain party finds out it exists, it is the end of my career," the doctor whispered as she sat down close to the Ensign.

Sonya nodded her agreement.

"I was going to offer a 'sexual primer' for the Mariposans and use this..." Pulaski said as she opened the box. It contained a phallus, a dildo, of very small purporting from what Sonya had understood of their use. Only six inches long, it was much smaller than the sexual-culture instructional films at the academy used for demonstration purposes. "I was going to get some of the females and put on demonstrations. But Jean-Luc decided to leave, before I could give my cultural assistance instruction course... before I could get back at those bastards for stealing from me."

Sonya was fixated on the phallus. It looked so real.

"It's a copy of Picard's," whispered Katherine. "We have a 'mutual' friend." Sonya looked up at the doctor. "Yes, she and I were lovers..." Katherine continued, "in fact, she had a preference for me over a certain young Lieutenant Picard. Not that she ever told him that she was leaving him for me; just that she was moving on to another person. I would have thought that the Captain would have been over that by now, but I think my dismissal is as much from his little girlfriend's failure at headquarters..."

Sonya hadn't heard about any Crusher scandal since she left the ship, but it was the wrong time to interrupt Pulaski. "As much as I was able to get a woman that he had his eye on. The man has real relationship problems. You know... the Kirk complex... He expects every woman he sleeps with to bond to him for the rest of their lives... well, if I had my way, each one of them would get a little 'Luc' for their own use and he could continue to run around the galaxy..."

"How..." Sonya looked into Katherine's eyes.

"A little joke from a Captain's trip... I got the chance to make a detailed examination and he was acting all bitchy of my involvement... I know I went over the line, but my mistake was trusting Guinan. A bartender is supposed to keep secrets; she blabbed everything. I think she's got a thing for some of the crew and saw me as competition." Sonya marveled at the size. For some reason, she had picture it as... "Bigger?" interrupted Katherine. "You remind me of my first wife... every time we invited a man into bed, she was disappointed..."

"Wife?" Sonya was shocked. "I thought you were married three times."

"Five times. Three husbands, two wives," the doctor said as she pushed herself up. She stumbled to the liquor. "Star Fleet only acknowledges the three husbands. Another professional rule. In Star Fleet manual, according to doctrine, we're supposed to be open to relationships of any gender orientation. But if you want to get beyond Commander, don't let them know you find anyone attractive if they're of the same apparent gender as you... if Missy Crusher ever has a chance to find a soul-partner that even seems to be female, you can bet that she'll dump the individual real fast... she'd kill to make admiral..."

Sonya knew she was staring at Pulaski. The doctor plopped onto the couch with a bottle. "Honey, you've got to get over the Enterprise's values. You'll meet people, you'll have relationships. The Enterprise isn't forever. Have short term relationships. Hell, Husband Number Two was just there long enough to me to learn that Andorrans don't have any real stamina. They get you all worked up and then have to hibernate for a day. If you want to be 'Miss Star Fleet,' get ready to give it up..." Katherine said as she tasted her drink. "Gin! Damn! No vermouth!"

"You never..." Sonya whispered, "used this?"

"Why! Ensign! Is that an offer?" the doctor asked in a muted shocked voice. "I've gotten us drunk, and now you want to take advantage of me?"

"No, I..." Sonya stammered.

"Ensign, while we are both assigned to this ship and I still have authority over you, I order you to fuck me with this..." Pulaski said in a commanding voice. "Besides, this thing should get some use before getting atomized... Lord knows I tried to get the owner to give me a tumble..." she continued as she reached over to some bag. "If I only was a Q..." she started to sing quietly.

Sonya tried to get up, but her legs couldn't support her. She tried to push the doctor away as she
felt Katherine apply something moist close to her mons.

"Surgical adhesive," mumbled Katherine. "It should work for..." Sonya was shocked to see the doctor pull the phallus out of the box and apply it to her dampened groin. "Sorry it's not a mutual pleasuring unit," Katherine mumbled. "I didn't think that ..."

"You bitch," Sonya mumbled, pushing the doctor back. "You stuck this on me!" Sonya started to pummel the Doctor.

"That's it! Let the anger out, you worthless engineer," the doctor hissed.

Sonya felt the doctor's legs wrap around her waist, pulling her close. Sonya clawed at the older woman, cursing the doctor. She felt the doctor's hips lifting to meet the dildo. "I don't want to fuck you," the Ensign muttered.

"I'm not the Doctor... I'm the Enterprise... I just got done stealing one year of your life, you ungrateful bitch!" insisted Katherine, grabbing Sonya's hands. "I'm the twenty hour days so that Geordi can report a one percent improvement in a meaningless subsystem..."

"No, I don't want to..." Sonya protested as she felt the phallus slid into the doctor.

"I'm the crew that thinks of you as a mindless innocent rather than a polite crew-member..." panted Katherine.

"Please, no..." Sonya said as she felt the woman's hips humping up to welcome the dildo.

"Riker was right! You're just too simple to perform the necessary task," Katherine muttered.

Sonya didn't know what came over her. She could only recall a stream of obscenities as she madly fucked the doctor. Every time she slowed the pace, the doctor would mutter something upsetting. Sonya would increase the pounding. That Riker thought she was too sweet and quirky to be part of the crew. To think of Geordi...

"Come on, Cocoa! Give it to me!" Sonya heard Katherine grunt from the force of the thrust. Sonya was sorry that this thing wasn't longer. Citing Sonya's talking to the replicators. That simple icebreaker had become a legend on how foolish and simple she was. How else was a junior officer going to approach a senior officer? "Captain, permission for you to jump my bones." At least, Sonya hadn't placed the ship at risk trying to impress some aliens. She continued to pound the fake penis into the doctor.

It wasn't intercourse, it wasn't love, it wasn't sex. It was frustration. It didn't end until Sonya was too exhausted to continue. The doctor seemed satisfied as she rolled the ensign off her. Sonya was shocked by the fluid being poured on her crotch. "Gin! Just some wonderful gin!" Sonya heard the doctor mutter. Then there was a small pop. Sonya looked down. The doctor was holding the now-detached dildo in her hand. "Solvent... to release the glue. Did you serious think this was permanent?"

Sonya closed her eyes in relief. Then she felt a tongue lap at her privates. She was too tired to protest. She could just lay back and enjoy the doctor's healing abilities. She finally passed out. Later, as they lay together, Katherine explained she was just dealing with her anger. Sonya felt there was no apology. The doctor just wanted to not have to go to holodeck to use the sanctioned 'punishment' routines, to purge this aggression. Recorded holodeck sex was okay on small, extended mission research ships or at recreation stations; aboard a Galaxy-class ship, the ship's councillor would get a confidential report to 'correct' abnormal behavior. Katherine seemed hurt. The possessions weren't much to lose. It was how the crew handled her. She would have left, but since she hadn't fit in, they wanted to punish her. She wanted them, anyone, to fuck her. The doctor continue rambling as she prepared another drink.

Sonya still felt used. It wasn't cathartic, as she heard Katherine try to explain. There was a hardening. Before this, she hadn't thought of sex as a weapon. It wasn't as if she was saving herself. But she had been so naive about her relationships. Being 'nice' had gotten Geordi into situations that had threatened the ship, but he was part of the 'crew'. Sonya was quirky.

She was being punished by going onto a slow ship to nowhere. She had to learn to fuck people. She stared at the doctor. She owed Katherine a lesson.

Before the shuttle's scheduled departure, Sonya helped the doctor dispose of all the goods, a disintegrative phaser blast for each. Bar one. Sonya secretly retained 'little-Luc' with her uniform. The doctor was too involved in significant items, recalling a memory or person she had shared the item with. There was a professionalism in her destruction. Each item was disassembled twice. "Burn it! Burn the ashes!" Katherine kept muttering.

Their departure was as disappointing as the doctor had predicted. A page from the communicator, notifying the doctor of pending arrival at the station. The replicator still hadn't come online. Sonya thought to use the sonic shower to clean up and freshen the soiled uniform, but her authorization had already been removed from ship services. She pulled the smelly clothes over her sweaty body. A security redshirt greeted them at the shuttle bay, scanning them 'as ordered'. The doctor smiled at Sonya. "Guess they wanted me to smuggle something out." There were no senior officers in attendance. A couple of doctors and some medical staff were there to say goodbye to the chief medical officer, but she was still too drunk to notice. They quickly left as she curled up in a flight seat without acknowledging them.

Katherine had consumed as much of the alcohol as she could. Sonya had stopped after her assault on the doctor. Before coming to the shuttle deck, Pulaski had injected something to neutralize most of the drunken effect, but now the ensign asked about a cure for the new headache she started to have. All the doctor offered was a mumbled "hair of the dog" remark. Sonya would have to deal with it later. Sonya wasn't shocked that no member of engineering had bothered to attend. Her bags were already aboard the station's shuttle.

Their departure was delayed during checkout; the Enterprise flight officer couldn't authorize the flight departure until several unidentified running lights were operating on the shuttle. Sonya had to get out to check the damned lights while the civilian pilot argued with the dispatcher. She hadn't notice how shabby the station shuttle was in comparison to the ship's little fleet. As she was replacing the last offending lamp, Captain Picard abruptly made an appearance in the bay.

He seemed shocked to see that the craft hadn't taken off. She almost giggled as he attempted to recover and regain his dignity. He walked over to her. She continued with her work. "Well, I see that the Pulaski influence has reached down to corrupt another young officer," he muttered. "A junior officer should come to attention when a Captain enters the deck." He sniffed the air. "Also, a young officer should be mindful of the regulations, despite how tempting alcohol..."

"As I understood my final instructions, I was to keep the officer occupied and to get her off this ship," Sonya snapped as she secured the light. "I am attempting to expedite that process, sir," she continued sarcastically. "Or do you want me to pour more cocoa on you? I'd be more than willing to lick it off, Captain." she continued as she packed up the tools. She was prepared to turn to confront him when she heard him walking away.

"GET THAT JUNK OFF MY SHIP!" he was shouting at the control room. "AND *ENSIGN*, GET A SHOWER!" The doors seemed to slam behind him.

There was a little pageantry in their departure. The ship's computer logged the flight with the
announcement "CMO departing" as the ship cleared the dock. Sonya swore it sounded relieved.

The pilot flew them to the station and a uniformed security guard escorted the staggering medical officer to her waiting ship. Sonya noted that the Enterprise stayed in orbit until the doctor's ship unimpressively warped out. There was no reason to wait. They could have left when the station shuttle had left the bay, but it was like they were making sure that the doctor was gone for good.

*****

Sonya had plans. Her engineering assignment was minimal until her new ship arrived in several days. With enough replicator time and access to the station's information systems, she was going to track down the Captain's female acquaintances and make sure that all were going to receive their own Picard, courtesy of Doctor Pulaski.

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