"Scotty, get them up here!" The yellow alert signal flashed
insistently.
"I'm tryin', Captain. The storm..." Lieutenant Montgomery Scott manipulated the controls as only he could.
Kirk looked toward the transporter as two shimmering figures began to materialize, and then were gone.
"What happened, Scott?"
"It's the storm. It's already interferin' with the transporter. We canna lock onto them, and if I try again, we'll lose 'em for sure!"
Kirk struck the console with his fist. There was nothing they could do now but wait out the storm. Who knew what kind of situation they could be in down there...?
----------------
"Mr. Spock! The storm...The transporter couldn't lock onto our signal. That means..."
"That means we're stranded, for the time being, Lieutenant." Spock took a step away and gauged their surroundings. To the south, west and north of the small clearing in which they stood, nothing but dense forest growth could be seen, mingled with the small structures of the colony. In his estimation, the proximity of the plants made the buildings unsafe to stay in for any length of time. To the east the clearing extended with less growth to a small hill some 1,000 meters away. The sky, dotted with clouds, was a deep blue, getting deeper as evening approached.
Spock heard a faint rustling from the shadows behind them and turned to see tendrils creeping slowly toward them from the undergrowth.
"Lieutenant, I believe we had better find a more secure place to spend the night. It seems as though these plant creatures become more active during the nocturnal hours." He nodded in the direction of the vines.
"Agreed, Mr. Spock!"
With phasers drawn, moving as carefully and swiftly as possible, they began to make their way toward the hill. As they reached the base of the incline, the plants rustled menacingly in the growth on either side of them. The sky was growing quickly darker and ahead the foliage appeared to be more dense. Phyllida winced inwardly, and tried to stifle the growing sense of fear that seemed to grip her. She glanced at Spock. In the twilight the harsh lines of his alien features reflected his single-minded purpose as they proceeded cautiously up the hill, Gaines taking point. About halfway up the hill, she stopped.
"Mr. Spock! It looks as if the plants thin out a little further on; see?" She gestured with her phaser. As she spoke, a small movement on the periphery of Spock's vision caught his attention.
"Phyllida!" Her body slammed against his as the sound of phaser fire ripped through the still night air. She twisted in Spock's grasp to see the smoking tendril that had been only inches from her foot. She looked up at him silently, trembling from the shock. He released her and when he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse.
"Let's go."
The top of the hill was a broad level clearing perhaps 4 meters in diameter where, Phyllida noted thankfully, the only plant growth was grass.
"Spock to Enterprise, come in Enterprise." His effort was futile – the only sound in the still evening was static.
------------
"Enterprise to Mr. Spock; Mr. Spock come in please." It seemed to Uhura that she had repeated that phrase a hundred times in the past hour. "Captain, there is still no response; only static interference from the storm."
Kirk gave no indication of having heard her. "Chekov, do you have that estimate for me yet?
"The nearest I can calculate, Keptin, the storm should pass within 15 hours, judging from the size of it."
"Are the sensors able to cut through the interference at all?"
"Negative, Sir. I've been trying and can't get any signals through this."
"Keep trying, Mr. Chekov. And, Uhura, continue to attempt communication every half hour." He rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'll be in my quarters if anything comes up." Fifteen hours, he thought, a lot can happen in 15 hours.
--------------
The light from two moons shone softly on the grassy hill where two figures were seated next to a small fire.
"What are they, Naktira?" asked Al'nke. "The others are destroyed; yet, these are much like the others."
"I think, Al'nke, that these are helpers of the others. I think, Al'nke, that they are evil, also. See, how they are bound to the earth as the ancient evil ones were? We must consult the Kamnke. He will tell us what we must do."
------------------
Spock looked abruptly toward the night sky. Nothing. What had he heard? He was sure there had been something.
"Spock? What is it?" Phyllida touched him lightly on the arm. He looked down at her, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Nothing...I thought I heard something...it was nothing."
"Are you sure?" Phyllida looked toward the sky. "How can we be sure of anything here?"
----------------
Lieutenant Gaines woke in the early morning light to the sound of Spock trying to raise the Enterprise. Still static. How long had it been? About 8 hours since the onset of the ion storm and it had not let up. It must be a tremendously large storm, she thought. She rolled over on the hard ground, every muscle aching.
"Still no answer, Mr. Spock?"
"No answer, Lieutenant. However," He paused to take stock of their surroundings now that he could see them in daylight, and looked back the way they had come, down the hill toward the forest. "We have a more immediate problem. Although I have no desire to go back into the vicinity of those plants, it looks as though the forest is going to be our only source of food. As such, we must be willing to return to it; cautiously, of course."
"Of course." Phyllida paused thoughtfully. "Mr. Spock, here's a question for you. If the colony checked out six months ago with no problems, just where did all these vines come from? They couldn't have occurred naturally in so short a period of time. Surely something had to have brought them here."
Spock nodded agreement. "That thought has occurred to me also. We will endeavor to discover the answer while we are here."
It turned out that after a night of feasting the plants lay fairly dormant in the early hours, so Phyllida and Spock had no trouble making their way to the forest and back, having successfully gathered some native fruit. After a quick breakfast, Spock sat down with his tricorder, analyzing the data taken the previous day, while Lieutenant Gaines' gaze wandered toward the morning sky. They sat in silence for a few minutes before the Lieutenant began to rise slowly to her feet.
"Spock...?" she said quietly, a note of warning in her voice.
Spock looked up from his work. There, coming toward them in the sky, were what appeared to be two large birds. As they grew nearer, Spock saw that they were not quite birds after all. They each appeared to be about 5 feet tall (or long) with the body and wings of a very large bird and the face of a man. The feet and hands were like talons, which seemed capable of ripping a man to shreds. Together, Spock and Phyllida watched the birdmen approach.
"It would appear that there is some form of intelligent life on this planet after all," Spock commented dryly. "We seem to be uncomfortably close to discovering how the colonists disappeared."
Phyllida edged closer to him as the birdmen grew nearer and finally landed on the hill, speaking with each other in clicks and chirps that she and Spock could not understand. One of them took a step forward and addressed them in heavily accented English.
"I am called Naktira, of the Somari, the People of the Wind. We welcome you as strangers to our land. Please come and share our homes and our food. Look -- the T'laki vines grow nearer. By nightfall you will not be safe. We will take you to a safe place."
Spock and Gaines looked at the vines, then the creatures, and finally each other.
"Not much of a choice, is it Mr. Spock?" Phyllida said quietly.
He answered in the same hushed tones. "It may be our only opportunity to find out what happened to the others. Not to mention the chance to study what must be a truly unique culture." He turned to Naktira. "We accept your most kind invitation. However, we do not have the capability for flight such as you; how will we accompany you?"
"Our small appearance is misleading," Naktira replied. "We possess more than adequate strength to bear you and your companion to our village." The creatures stepped forward then, grasping Spock and Lieutenant Gaines gently in their vice-like talons. Phyllida made a small involuntary gasp and a quick wave of helplessness and fear rushed over her. Then, with a few short beats of strong wings, they were airborne. They traveled thus for miles before one of the birdmen again spoke.
"There, below us is our city."
Phyllida and Spock looked down. They were circling over what appeared to be simply a barren, rocky mountain. On closer examination, however, small, cave-like openings could be seen scattered at the top of a cliff that was easily 100 feet high. It was toward one of these caves they were now flying.
The winged creatures slid silently from the afternoon light into the musky twilight of the cave mouth, releasing their human burdens as they entered. Ahead could be heard the clicks and twitters of unseen inhabitants speaking to one another in their native tongue. As their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, Spock and Gaines could see that many smaller side corridors and chambers met the large corridor through which they were being led. Through some of these they caught occasional glimpses of more bird people. As their "hosts" led them through a seemingly endless maze of tunnels and corridors, Phyllida began to wonder how they would ever find their way out again, when and if that moment ever came. Then finally, rounding what must have been the hundredth turn, the party came to an abrupt halt.
"This is your room while you are with us," one of the creatures gestured toward a small opening in the wall roughly one meter in diameter. "We hope everything is satisfactory. Please remain here and rest and eat. The Kamnke will wish to see you very soon; when we return we will take you to him."
Spock entered the room with Gaines close behind. It was a large chamber, dimly lit by an animal oil lamp that filled the air with a smoky stench. There were no furnishings to speak of, except a few coarsely woven mats scattered about the floor, one of which was pilled with fruit and smoked meats.
"A fascinating culture," Spock remarked, taking in their surroundings. "I should like to have the opportunity to study their evolutionary development."
"Never mind that now, Mr. Spock," Gaines said, "Who do you suppose this 'Kamnke' is, and what does he want with us?"
Spock held up his hand in a gesture of silence and looked out the doorway. Ducking back, he quickly withdrew the lieutenant to the far side of the room. When his spoke his voice was scarcely a whisper. "Guards – on either side of the door, a short distance down the corridor."
Phyllida walked over to the mat with the food, picked up a piece of fruit and bit into it. "At least the food is good," she commented casually. Spock followed her and chose some for himself. She continued speaking, this time in hushed tones. "We're going to have to get out of here. You still have not been able to raise the ship?"
"The last time I tried, a few minutes ago," Spock whispered, "there was still no answer. Whether due to the storm or some mineral content in this mountain, I have no way of knowing. As for getting out of here, if we leave before we see this 'Kamnke," we will never really know what happened to the colony."
"I can take a pretty good guess, Mr. Spock. And if we stay to find out, I have a feeling we'll never get out of here."
"That," Spock said dryly, "is a moot point." He nodded toward the door at the two Somari just entering.
"The Kamnke will see you now," one of them announced. His tone and bearing made any thought of resistance seem foolhardy at best.
With a lightness she did not feel, Phyllida remarked, "Well, Mr. Spock, it looks as though our questions are soon to be answered."
"Indeed," he replied. "I am sure it will prove an interesting experience."
---------------
"Captain, I am getting no response from Mr. Spock on any frequency," Uhura reported. "Maybe our signal is not getting through, or maybe..." she hesitated.
"Maybe he's not in a position to receive it," Kirk finished for her. What could have happened down there while they were cut off by the storm? He wondered if Spock and any one of his crew were yet alive. It seemed doubtful, and yet, somehow he knew Spock was still living. He would find him.
"Mr. Chekov, Mr. Sulu, I want a continuous scan of the surface for any human or Vulcan life forms, beginning with the beam-down point and spiraling outward."
"Aye, Sir," Chekov and Sulu complied, exchanging knowing glances.
---------------
The corridor that led to the heart of the mountain was dark and damp, and as the party wound its way deeper into the fortress, they were joined at every turn by more of the bird creatures. It was difficult now to tell exactly how many there were.
So far, Spock thought, the Somari had not really seemed hostile, only curious. Why then did he have the persistent feeling of apprehension? It certainly was not entirely logical, and he definitely was not given to intuition or "hunches," as were many humans (most notably, Jim Kirk), nevertheless it was there. He pushed it with stubborn Vulcan resolve to the back of his mind where it took its place, not quite obediently.
"This place gives me the creeps," Phyllida's comment echoed endlessly off the dank walls of the passage. She shuddered in the cool air.
Spock suddenly thought wryly of Dr. McCoy and how characteristic such a remark would be to him. He wondered, offhandedly, whether or not he would ever see McCoy or any of the rest of his shipmates again; however, any misgivings he may have had were far outweighed by his immense curiosity about this intriguing race of creatures.
They covered a few more yards with only the shuffling sound of countless Somari breaking the stillness. Then, without warning, the passageway opened into a large cavern where Lieutenant Gaines and Spock were quickly divested of their phasers. Dozens of bracketed torches lined the walls of the cavern, flooding it with a golden glow. Almost in the center of the beautifully decorated floor stood what might have been considered a throne, although functionally it appeared more as a perch. Upon it sat a very old Somari.
Spock and Phyllida were shoved roughly to the floor.
"Kneel before the Kamnke!" a voice commanded. Spock looked up toward the "throne" where a taloned hand beckoned to him.
"Come forward." The voice had the hoarse, cracked sound of dry leaves underfoot. Spock rose and moved forward until he was within two meters of the "throne." Behind him he heard a gasp and a shuffling sound as Phyllida was instantly surrounded by a group of the bird creatures.
"What are you called, flightless one? I have seen none such as you," the one they called the Kamnke questioned.
"I am called Spock," he said simply.
"Spock..." The Kamnke's eye roamed Spock's features carefully. "You are different from the others; perhaps you can give us the answers we seek." At the Kamnke's slight gesture, Spock was at once encircled by Somari. As though unaffected by this sudden move, he stood gazing on the Kamnke, his hands folded behind his back.
"What is it you wish to know?"
The wizened Somari leaned forward, his intense, golden eyes returning Spock's cool gaze. "Why...are you here?"
Spock did not waver. "We are here to investigate the disappearance of others of our kind who were here before us." The room filled with chirps and twitters and the circles around Spock and Gaines grew tighter.
"Silence!" came the command from the throne. A deep hush fell over the room, broken only by an impatient rustling of feathers. "So," the Kamnke directed at Spock, "You were sent by the Ancient Ones." Spock simply looked at him impassively. The Kamnke continued, "We feared others would follow; I have felt the release of power. Yet," his voice dropped to a whisper, "We had hoped there would be no more."
"Sir," Spock interjected, "I have no knowledge of these 'Ancient Ones,' as you call them, and I assure you that our people have no intention of harming yours. We..."
"Say what you will! It is all lies!" the thing on the throne hissed vehemently. "Our legends foretold that ones such as you would come and seek to destroy us, but that we would overcome mightily. That prophecy is now fulfilled!" He raised his taloned hand in a grand gesture. "Take her!"
Suddenly the circle of Somari that surrounded Lieutenant Gaines became a screaming mass of birds of prey. Spock threw himself at the creatures that encircled him but he was rebuffed effortlessly by strength that far surpassed his own. He was restrained, compelled to look on helplessly as a terrified Phyllida succumbed to the onslaught of the taloned creatures. She sagged unconscious to the blood-spattered floor, her face bone white with shock. Spock whirled on the Kamnke, Vulcan disciplines strained almost to the breaking point.
"You have no right," he breathed.
"We have every right, Spock," the ancient creature replied evenly. "We must protect ourselves from the evil you bring."
Spock just managed to keep from shouting. "We bring no evil. Our intentions are, and always have been, peaceful."
The Kamnke shook his head and clicked somewhat disgustedly. "We know all your words are lies, since you are the incarnation of the Ancient Ones. They also were bound to the earth and nearly brought our race to destruction. We will not allow that to happen again, and no others will follow you." He paused, appraising Spock coldly with his small bronze eyes. "In the manner circumscribed by law, the following sentence is pronounced: You shall die at dawn, thrown from the stronghold of our city, to the death of the Ancient Ones." He paused again, looking over the assembly. "It is decreed!" He cried.
"IT IS DECREED!" they echoed in chorus, and immediately Spock was overrun by the mob of screeching Somari.
"I'm tryin', Captain. The storm..." Lieutenant Montgomery Scott manipulated the controls as only he could.
Kirk looked toward the transporter as two shimmering figures began to materialize, and then were gone.
"What happened, Scott?"
"It's the storm. It's already interferin' with the transporter. We canna lock onto them, and if I try again, we'll lose 'em for sure!"
Kirk struck the console with his fist. There was nothing they could do now but wait out the storm. Who knew what kind of situation they could be in down there...?
----------------
"Mr. Spock! The storm...The transporter couldn't lock onto our signal. That means..."
"That means we're stranded, for the time being, Lieutenant." Spock took a step away and gauged their surroundings. To the south, west and north of the small clearing in which they stood, nothing but dense forest growth could be seen, mingled with the small structures of the colony. In his estimation, the proximity of the plants made the buildings unsafe to stay in for any length of time. To the east the clearing extended with less growth to a small hill some 1,000 meters away. The sky, dotted with clouds, was a deep blue, getting deeper as evening approached.
Spock heard a faint rustling from the shadows behind them and turned to see tendrils creeping slowly toward them from the undergrowth.
"Lieutenant, I believe we had better find a more secure place to spend the night. It seems as though these plant creatures become more active during the nocturnal hours." He nodded in the direction of the vines.
"Agreed, Mr. Spock!"
With phasers drawn, moving as carefully and swiftly as possible, they began to make their way toward the hill. As they reached the base of the incline, the plants rustled menacingly in the growth on either side of them. The sky was growing quickly darker and ahead the foliage appeared to be more dense. Phyllida winced inwardly, and tried to stifle the growing sense of fear that seemed to grip her. She glanced at Spock. In the twilight the harsh lines of his alien features reflected his single-minded purpose as they proceeded cautiously up the hill, Gaines taking point. About halfway up the hill, she stopped.
"Mr. Spock! It looks as if the plants thin out a little further on; see?" She gestured with her phaser. As she spoke, a small movement on the periphery of Spock's vision caught his attention.
"Phyllida!" Her body slammed against his as the sound of phaser fire ripped through the still night air. She twisted in Spock's grasp to see the smoking tendril that had been only inches from her foot. She looked up at him silently, trembling from the shock. He released her and when he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse.
"Let's go."
The top of the hill was a broad level clearing perhaps 4 meters in diameter where, Phyllida noted thankfully, the only plant growth was grass.
"Spock to Enterprise, come in Enterprise." His effort was futile – the only sound in the still evening was static.
------------
"Enterprise to Mr. Spock; Mr. Spock come in please." It seemed to Uhura that she had repeated that phrase a hundred times in the past hour. "Captain, there is still no response; only static interference from the storm."
Kirk gave no indication of having heard her. "Chekov, do you have that estimate for me yet?
"The nearest I can calculate, Keptin, the storm should pass within 15 hours, judging from the size of it."
"Are the sensors able to cut through the interference at all?"
"Negative, Sir. I've been trying and can't get any signals through this."
"Keep trying, Mr. Chekov. And, Uhura, continue to attempt communication every half hour." He rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'll be in my quarters if anything comes up." Fifteen hours, he thought, a lot can happen in 15 hours.
--------------
The light from two moons shone softly on the grassy hill where two figures were seated next to a small fire.
"What are they, Naktira?" asked Al'nke. "The others are destroyed; yet, these are much like the others."
"I think, Al'nke, that these are helpers of the others. I think, Al'nke, that they are evil, also. See, how they are bound to the earth as the ancient evil ones were? We must consult the Kamnke. He will tell us what we must do."
------------------
Spock looked abruptly toward the night sky. Nothing. What had he heard? He was sure there had been something.
"Spock? What is it?" Phyllida touched him lightly on the arm. He looked down at her, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Nothing...I thought I heard something...it was nothing."
"Are you sure?" Phyllida looked toward the sky. "How can we be sure of anything here?"
----------------
Lieutenant Gaines woke in the early morning light to the sound of Spock trying to raise the Enterprise. Still static. How long had it been? About 8 hours since the onset of the ion storm and it had not let up. It must be a tremendously large storm, she thought. She rolled over on the hard ground, every muscle aching.
"Still no answer, Mr. Spock?"
"No answer, Lieutenant. However," He paused to take stock of their surroundings now that he could see them in daylight, and looked back the way they had come, down the hill toward the forest. "We have a more immediate problem. Although I have no desire to go back into the vicinity of those plants, it looks as though the forest is going to be our only source of food. As such, we must be willing to return to it; cautiously, of course."
"Of course." Phyllida paused thoughtfully. "Mr. Spock, here's a question for you. If the colony checked out six months ago with no problems, just where did all these vines come from? They couldn't have occurred naturally in so short a period of time. Surely something had to have brought them here."
Spock nodded agreement. "That thought has occurred to me also. We will endeavor to discover the answer while we are here."
It turned out that after a night of feasting the plants lay fairly dormant in the early hours, so Phyllida and Spock had no trouble making their way to the forest and back, having successfully gathered some native fruit. After a quick breakfast, Spock sat down with his tricorder, analyzing the data taken the previous day, while Lieutenant Gaines' gaze wandered toward the morning sky. They sat in silence for a few minutes before the Lieutenant began to rise slowly to her feet.
"Spock...?" she said quietly, a note of warning in her voice.
Spock looked up from his work. There, coming toward them in the sky, were what appeared to be two large birds. As they grew nearer, Spock saw that they were not quite birds after all. They each appeared to be about 5 feet tall (or long) with the body and wings of a very large bird and the face of a man. The feet and hands were like talons, which seemed capable of ripping a man to shreds. Together, Spock and Phyllida watched the birdmen approach.
"It would appear that there is some form of intelligent life on this planet after all," Spock commented dryly. "We seem to be uncomfortably close to discovering how the colonists disappeared."
Phyllida edged closer to him as the birdmen grew nearer and finally landed on the hill, speaking with each other in clicks and chirps that she and Spock could not understand. One of them took a step forward and addressed them in heavily accented English.
"I am called Naktira, of the Somari, the People of the Wind. We welcome you as strangers to our land. Please come and share our homes and our food. Look -- the T'laki vines grow nearer. By nightfall you will not be safe. We will take you to a safe place."
Spock and Gaines looked at the vines, then the creatures, and finally each other.
"Not much of a choice, is it Mr. Spock?" Phyllida said quietly.
He answered in the same hushed tones. "It may be our only opportunity to find out what happened to the others. Not to mention the chance to study what must be a truly unique culture." He turned to Naktira. "We accept your most kind invitation. However, we do not have the capability for flight such as you; how will we accompany you?"
"Our small appearance is misleading," Naktira replied. "We possess more than adequate strength to bear you and your companion to our village." The creatures stepped forward then, grasping Spock and Lieutenant Gaines gently in their vice-like talons. Phyllida made a small involuntary gasp and a quick wave of helplessness and fear rushed over her. Then, with a few short beats of strong wings, they were airborne. They traveled thus for miles before one of the birdmen again spoke.
"There, below us is our city."
Phyllida and Spock looked down. They were circling over what appeared to be simply a barren, rocky mountain. On closer examination, however, small, cave-like openings could be seen scattered at the top of a cliff that was easily 100 feet high. It was toward one of these caves they were now flying.
The winged creatures slid silently from the afternoon light into the musky twilight of the cave mouth, releasing their human burdens as they entered. Ahead could be heard the clicks and twitters of unseen inhabitants speaking to one another in their native tongue. As their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, Spock and Gaines could see that many smaller side corridors and chambers met the large corridor through which they were being led. Through some of these they caught occasional glimpses of more bird people. As their "hosts" led them through a seemingly endless maze of tunnels and corridors, Phyllida began to wonder how they would ever find their way out again, when and if that moment ever came. Then finally, rounding what must have been the hundredth turn, the party came to an abrupt halt.
"This is your room while you are with us," one of the creatures gestured toward a small opening in the wall roughly one meter in diameter. "We hope everything is satisfactory. Please remain here and rest and eat. The Kamnke will wish to see you very soon; when we return we will take you to him."
Spock entered the room with Gaines close behind. It was a large chamber, dimly lit by an animal oil lamp that filled the air with a smoky stench. There were no furnishings to speak of, except a few coarsely woven mats scattered about the floor, one of which was pilled with fruit and smoked meats.
"A fascinating culture," Spock remarked, taking in their surroundings. "I should like to have the opportunity to study their evolutionary development."
"Never mind that now, Mr. Spock," Gaines said, "Who do you suppose this 'Kamnke' is, and what does he want with us?"
Spock held up his hand in a gesture of silence and looked out the doorway. Ducking back, he quickly withdrew the lieutenant to the far side of the room. When his spoke his voice was scarcely a whisper. "Guards – on either side of the door, a short distance down the corridor."
Phyllida walked over to the mat with the food, picked up a piece of fruit and bit into it. "At least the food is good," she commented casually. Spock followed her and chose some for himself. She continued speaking, this time in hushed tones. "We're going to have to get out of here. You still have not been able to raise the ship?"
"The last time I tried, a few minutes ago," Spock whispered, "there was still no answer. Whether due to the storm or some mineral content in this mountain, I have no way of knowing. As for getting out of here, if we leave before we see this 'Kamnke," we will never really know what happened to the colony."
"I can take a pretty good guess, Mr. Spock. And if we stay to find out, I have a feeling we'll never get out of here."
"That," Spock said dryly, "is a moot point." He nodded toward the door at the two Somari just entering.
"The Kamnke will see you now," one of them announced. His tone and bearing made any thought of resistance seem foolhardy at best.
With a lightness she did not feel, Phyllida remarked, "Well, Mr. Spock, it looks as though our questions are soon to be answered."
"Indeed," he replied. "I am sure it will prove an interesting experience."
---------------
"Captain, I am getting no response from Mr. Spock on any frequency," Uhura reported. "Maybe our signal is not getting through, or maybe..." she hesitated.
"Maybe he's not in a position to receive it," Kirk finished for her. What could have happened down there while they were cut off by the storm? He wondered if Spock and any one of his crew were yet alive. It seemed doubtful, and yet, somehow he knew Spock was still living. He would find him.
"Mr. Chekov, Mr. Sulu, I want a continuous scan of the surface for any human or Vulcan life forms, beginning with the beam-down point and spiraling outward."
"Aye, Sir," Chekov and Sulu complied, exchanging knowing glances.
---------------
The corridor that led to the heart of the mountain was dark and damp, and as the party wound its way deeper into the fortress, they were joined at every turn by more of the bird creatures. It was difficult now to tell exactly how many there were.
So far, Spock thought, the Somari had not really seemed hostile, only curious. Why then did he have the persistent feeling of apprehension? It certainly was not entirely logical, and he definitely was not given to intuition or "hunches," as were many humans (most notably, Jim Kirk), nevertheless it was there. He pushed it with stubborn Vulcan resolve to the back of his mind where it took its place, not quite obediently.
"This place gives me the creeps," Phyllida's comment echoed endlessly off the dank walls of the passage. She shuddered in the cool air.
Spock suddenly thought wryly of Dr. McCoy and how characteristic such a remark would be to him. He wondered, offhandedly, whether or not he would ever see McCoy or any of the rest of his shipmates again; however, any misgivings he may have had were far outweighed by his immense curiosity about this intriguing race of creatures.
They covered a few more yards with only the shuffling sound of countless Somari breaking the stillness. Then, without warning, the passageway opened into a large cavern where Lieutenant Gaines and Spock were quickly divested of their phasers. Dozens of bracketed torches lined the walls of the cavern, flooding it with a golden glow. Almost in the center of the beautifully decorated floor stood what might have been considered a throne, although functionally it appeared more as a perch. Upon it sat a very old Somari.
Spock and Phyllida were shoved roughly to the floor.
"Kneel before the Kamnke!" a voice commanded. Spock looked up toward the "throne" where a taloned hand beckoned to him.
"Come forward." The voice had the hoarse, cracked sound of dry leaves underfoot. Spock rose and moved forward until he was within two meters of the "throne." Behind him he heard a gasp and a shuffling sound as Phyllida was instantly surrounded by a group of the bird creatures.
"What are you called, flightless one? I have seen none such as you," the one they called the Kamnke questioned.
"I am called Spock," he said simply.
"Spock..." The Kamnke's eye roamed Spock's features carefully. "You are different from the others; perhaps you can give us the answers we seek." At the Kamnke's slight gesture, Spock was at once encircled by Somari. As though unaffected by this sudden move, he stood gazing on the Kamnke, his hands folded behind his back.
"What is it you wish to know?"
The wizened Somari leaned forward, his intense, golden eyes returning Spock's cool gaze. "Why...are you here?"
Spock did not waver. "We are here to investigate the disappearance of others of our kind who were here before us." The room filled with chirps and twitters and the circles around Spock and Gaines grew tighter.
"Silence!" came the command from the throne. A deep hush fell over the room, broken only by an impatient rustling of feathers. "So," the Kamnke directed at Spock, "You were sent by the Ancient Ones." Spock simply looked at him impassively. The Kamnke continued, "We feared others would follow; I have felt the release of power. Yet," his voice dropped to a whisper, "We had hoped there would be no more."
"Sir," Spock interjected, "I have no knowledge of these 'Ancient Ones,' as you call them, and I assure you that our people have no intention of harming yours. We..."
"Say what you will! It is all lies!" the thing on the throne hissed vehemently. "Our legends foretold that ones such as you would come and seek to destroy us, but that we would overcome mightily. That prophecy is now fulfilled!" He raised his taloned hand in a grand gesture. "Take her!"
Suddenly the circle of Somari that surrounded Lieutenant Gaines became a screaming mass of birds of prey. Spock threw himself at the creatures that encircled him but he was rebuffed effortlessly by strength that far surpassed his own. He was restrained, compelled to look on helplessly as a terrified Phyllida succumbed to the onslaught of the taloned creatures. She sagged unconscious to the blood-spattered floor, her face bone white with shock. Spock whirled on the Kamnke, Vulcan disciplines strained almost to the breaking point.
"You have no right," he breathed.
"We have every right, Spock," the ancient creature replied evenly. "We must protect ourselves from the evil you bring."
Spock just managed to keep from shouting. "We bring no evil. Our intentions are, and always have been, peaceful."
The Kamnke shook his head and clicked somewhat disgustedly. "We know all your words are lies, since you are the incarnation of the Ancient Ones. They also were bound to the earth and nearly brought our race to destruction. We will not allow that to happen again, and no others will follow you." He paused, appraising Spock coldly with his small bronze eyes. "In the manner circumscribed by law, the following sentence is pronounced: You shall die at dawn, thrown from the stronghold of our city, to the death of the Ancient Ones." He paused again, looking over the assembly. "It is decreed!" He cried.
"IT IS DECREED!" they echoed in chorus, and immediately Spock was overrun by the mob of screeching Somari.