McCoy was watching the door , something he'd started doing the day before. He was starting to worry. It had been two days since the Vulcan had been taken out. He didn't know what was happening to him. According to the information they had gathered this planet wa called Thauria and the Thaurians , its native people, were just about advanced enough to join the Federation, but that was almost thirty years ago. Nurse Andrews , the nurse they'd spoken to before , was helping McCoy give the other prisoners check-ups as best they could.

Chekov was asleep, mostly from worry and exhaustion. He'd said he wanted to be awake when Spock came back. He'd been up for two nights ,refusing to sleep. McCoy ordered him to go to sleep three hours previous and had threatened him with a court-martial if he didn't. McCoy finished the last at the examine, and stared at the door one more time.

The pain was almost unbearable, and Spock thought that he was going to pass out. He wanted to die then live like this, but the others needed his help. For some unknown reason the one thing that kept him going were thoughts of the others , but mostly Christine. At first, the Vulcan had no idea what his captors wanted. Then slowly he figured it out.

It appeared that the government of these planet wasn't native. Apparently , all of the government officials on the planet were from off planet. It seemed that they had taken over the planet in order to use it as a base for their plan to take over the Federation. They were trying to wheedle info out of all the Starfleet officers and anyone they may have spoken to.

Spock was keeping his mouth shut ,but the pain was unbearable. It was so hard not to cry out in pain. It took his whole will to keep from doing what they wanted. 3000 volts of electricity would shoot through his body every time he refused to answer , there was a five-headed whip that had been used, leather straps that were heated to left burns, there was a machine that sent electric shocks through him, they used knives and other things.

There was a machine that hadn't been used yet , something called the De-ager. Spock didn't want to speculate what that one did ;the name said everything. He'd been strapped to it and was bracing himself for the shock, when he felt the prick of a needle on his neck. The injection caused him to drop his guard for an instant. In that instant the machine started up. This was worse then any of the other tortures he'd endured thus far rolled together.

"Turn it all the way up," the head warden ordered.

"B-but ,sir…it might kill him!"

"Then so be it."

The pain intensified , and the Vulcan was moments from letting go , and letting himself just fade into death , if that's what it took to make the pain stop. But he kept his grip on life strong. Christine….forgive me…. he thought as darkness clouded his mind.

Kirk paced around his office , lost in thought. No one dared disturb him , not in the mood he was in. He was livid over the fact that not only could they not find the shuttlecraft and its passengers ,but Starfleet had told them that because of the thirty-year long ion storm there was no way of finding them. Though he hated to admit it, they were probably right. No one could have survived that storm. He sat at his desk and thought back to that morning's memorial service . It was for the three officers the Enterprise lost ,as well the lost crew of the Ebola.

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Kirk had been sitting Indian style ,his back leaning against the wall. He struggled to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. It was so hard though. He felt like there were parts of him missing. Spock and McCoy had been like brothers to him , and to suddenly lose both of them at the same time was just overwhelming. He felt very lost and very confused . His whole body hurt and he didn't know why. He felt a hand on his knee and he looked up. Lady Amanda ,Spock's mother ,was looking him in the face.

"Captain , I know how very close you are to my son. He is alive, I know it and I know you know it. Find him , if only for the sake of poor Chris," she said ,sternly.

Kirk looked over at Christine, who was being comforted by Uhura. She and Spock had finally gotten together. The courtship had been short and they'd been married only a few months. Chris had just found out the day before that she was pregnant. She had lost her husband and would have to raise the child herself. The poor girl was barley twenty-five and already she was a widow.

McCoy was now on his third day of worrying. He was more worried now then ever when he found out about the De-ager and feared for his friend's life. Why did he have to be so god-damn noble? he asked himself for the hundredth time. He should have done something , instead of staring at him like an idiot. He paced the length of the cell , trying not to wake anyone in the early morning of the third day of the Vulcan's torture.

The door clanged open ,waking the room. The Vulcan was shoved into the room , and collapsed onto the floor as his two comrades rushed to his side. He was weak and shaky . He couldn't even stand on his own two feet. The officers left without a word. Spock laid his head on the cold stone ground, placing his hands on the back of his head , and gave a small moan.

" Are you alright?" McCoy asked, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

"No. Everything hurts," the Vulcan said in a hoarse voice.

They helped Spock to his feet and helped him to his cot , where he laid down and promptly fell asleep. The elderly Thaurian named Grenna Dane felt his forehead.

"Oh my. The poor dear's burning up. Alexia," she said turning to Nurse Andrews," Get me a wet cloth please. We have to get his fever down."

Nurse Andrews did as she was told , soaking a large piece of cloth in a bowl of water, one of two that were in the room. Grenna Dane folded it and laid it across the Vulcan's forehead. He moaned in his sleep , shifting slightly. McCoy checked the wounds he'd received and bandaged them with the med supplies they had. Chekov looked like he was ready to crack someone's head. Night fell and after wetting the cloth again and replacing it, Chekov and McCoy laid down on either side of the Vulcan.