McCoy's shout and the thud of a body hitting the floor distracted Kirk, then he sensed movement behind him a fluid gliding. The thing - a robot surely - flowed from the saucer and seemed to made of the same durable alloy.
It had a conical top and a wide skirt dotted with blue half spheres, its three appendages consisted of some kind of optical lens, a sucker arm and a short hollow tube that Kirk guessed was a weapon.
Exterminate; well he knew what that meant and reacting quickly fired his phaser. The machine was cocooned by a fierce red glow but unharmed. He thumbed the top setting and fired again with the same effect, a strong glow but no damage to the chassis of this robot.
Kirk then did the only thing he could to save himself and his crew; he threw his gun aside, "We surrender," he cried to prevent a blood bath.
The single cold lens regarded him who are you a harsh grating monotone ugly and hostile, nothing about this thing cried conciliation.
"Captain James T Kirk, this is my ship."
No shrieked the harsh voice it is ours now.
"Nobody move," Kirk warned his colleagues as bones checked Spock out by touch.
It was Prior, the security guard, who acted rashly, perhaps trying to prove himself to his captain. He ran at the alien machine. There was a blinding white flash, eye piercing and Prior became an X-Ray image his skull, ribs and spine totally visible before with a terrible scream he fell at Kirk's feet. Eyes bubbling white magma, smoke leaking from blackened teeth.
"Spock needs to be in sickbay Jim," Bones came over to look at Prior but it was obvious even to Kirk that there was nothing to be done. He'd never seen a man killed in such a way, the power of these aliens was immense.
A second robot (identical to the first) slid from the saucer and without a word glided over to a control console forcing Scotty to back away from it pale cheeked. The sucker arm attached itself to a screen and some kind of interface was achieved, data gushing across other screens at high speed.
They're studying my ship Kirk though angrily accessing vital records, "What is you want," he asked, "My first officer is sick and requires treatment."
No response, no interest; it was like Spock didn't exist so Jim tried again, "He may be of use to you, to your plans," whatever they were and these robots weren't giving much away, did they serve a highly organic intelligence?
Treat him then the voice barked, but take no action against us the warning sent chills through Kirk or we will exterminate selected prisoners.
McCoy's face was a study in disgust but he bit his tongue, he took Spock's legs and Jim the armpits, neither man spoke what was there to say in front of these monsters?
The six coloured arrows above the medical monitoring bed fluctuated wildly some were high whilst others lay near the base of the screen. For a human these readings would have been fatal, but Vulcans were different as Dr McCoy often had room to speculate.
"Physically he's fine Jim," said the medic. "The problem is mental. I think this coma is self-induced but I can't for the devil work out why he's done it."
A defence mechanism thought Kirk, he's protecting himself but from what? His mind jumped back to how Spock had behaved prior to his collapse, he'd been under duress and then there was the odd word he'd used in the cargo bay, it had been so unlike the first-officer.
"Exterminate," he remarked a cold, uncompromising word a clear threat to kill, "Yet we're still alive."
"Prior isn't," Bones responded sourly and Kirk felt a burn of shame at losing a young crewman on his first tour of duty, 22 was no age to die.
"Can you bring Spock out of it Bones?"
McCoy shuddered he'd tried that once before with mixed results and this time the coma was deeper.
"There is a drug," he said referring to a new experimental medication developed in cooperation with the Vulcan medical council.
"Then use it," said Kirk prepared to take the responsibility. He needed Spock's cool, rational brain and detached perspective.
Turning to a tall, blond woman McCoy nodded and Nurse Christine Chapel brought the spray gun over with an anxious expression. Seeing her shaking hand Bones took the gun, he would deal with this Christine was too emotional at times.
"There could be a delay," he warned his captain. "Possibly some muscle spasms, I'd better attach the restraint field."
Kirk disliked seeing this used especially on a friend but nodded his accent. However before McCoy could do anything the lights in the medical bay flickered and went out one by one, the display over the bed did the same plunging the men into semi-darkness. What the blazes was going on, power cuts were not supposed to happen aboard the Enterprise.
Waving the doctor back Kirk went to a wall-mounted communicator and called the bridge, there was still power for this he was happy to find. Lieutenant Uhura answered him. Normally cool and unflappable she too seemed rattled.
"I can't understand it captain, the power bleed was ship wide but we're not under attack and the computers can't find any faults."
Around Kirk the lights began to come back on much to his relief, "Keep checking." He said edgily, there had to be an explanation and why did he think it had something to do with the alien accessing central records?
"Is the force field still operational around cargo bay three?"
Uhura said it was and that was something at least. Yet what she said next sickened Kirk to the core. Contact had been lost with the security team there, nobody was answering and there were three reliable men on duty.
"Keep trying," he said. "Send a security detail to the bay, I'll meet them there myself."
An eyebrow raised in surprise McCoy looked over, but was wise enough not to object he knew it would do no good not with this captain. From a cupboard Jim took a hand-held phaser, "Continue trying to revive Spock." He said.
"I will," the doctor replied. "But the trauma he's hiding from may still be present we might not be doing him any favours."
Painfully aware of this Kirk nodded but he needed all of his senior bridge staff and he needed Spock, this felt serious. Around him the lights flickered again, this time they didn't go out but nor did they return to full strength. My ship he thought something is attacking my ship.
By the time Kirk arrived outside the cargo bay Jones and Reed where waiting for him, him stiff and attentive she poised and cool hiding her nerves well.
"The door isn't responding sir," said Jones. Nodding Kirk opened a small panel in the wall beside the door and began to turn a small wheel. He told Jones and Reed to prepare themselves they took up ready positions each side of the entrance, weapons raised.
Slowly the cargo bay door began to grind its way painfully open inch by inch as though fighting some suppressive force. What could be doing this Kirk wondered? He soon found out, as a shape loomed into his vision, conical and metallic with a wide metal skirt lined with black bulbs. The tube on the upper portion of the machine flicked from side to side taking in all three humans, it glowed soft amber and Kirk saw intelligence in this colour, intelligence and malice.
The security guards tensed ready to fire. They were never given the chance.
A savage ultra white ray of burning fury spat from the hollow tube on the robot's midsection it divided in midair and the two sub-beams hit Jones and Reed simultaneously causing their bodies to glow greyish white and in the corona their bones and internal organs were exposed. Kirk saw the organs melt, the bones crumble and the next instant the two youngsters collapsed lifelessly to the deck.
Kirk threw himself out of the way until his back struck the corridor wall, as the robot glided effortlessly out of the bay making a soft humming noise he knew he had mere seconds to save his own life; it would kill him as ruthlessly as Jones and Reed. The corridor junction was ten meters distant – too far he'd never make it, that blazing white beam would cut him down.
Jim knew it would be futile to fire his own phaser; he'd seen how useless they were
Rapidly the robot turned bringing its own weapon into play, Kirk was dead unless…
He raised the phaser and fired again, the ceiling split open with a loud crack and huge chunks of it fell in a torrent of dust, shale and masonry to crash around the robot. Again its shell wasn't damaged, the field around it deflecting the debris but it was blinded, disorientated and this gave Kirk the chance he needed it saved his life.
Sprinting to the nearest door he flew through it one second before a fiery whiteness blotted out the corridor and a word, that word shrieked loudly chilling the blood in his veins. Electronic and synthesized it bore an angry, inhuman resonance.
Exterminate!
Then the door hissed shut and Kirk was running. He was in another small cargo bay lined with crates and boxes most of which bore the federation logo, a few were quite large but none were as strange or out of place as the tall, blue oblong box in the far corner with a lamp on the top. Wait a minute a lamp on the top and the lamp was glowing, pulsating. Indeed the whole box seemed to be giving off this strange vibration.
What next he thought; more killer robots?
Kirk barely had time to register the words POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX when the bay door exploded inwards the murderous robot followed by two others glided into view. Three of them all immune to his weapon and he had nowhere else to run to, this was it then he was finished.
Next Episode…..Regeneration