Diplomatic Encounters, Chapter 3
The temple was beautiful: much larger than the team had been expecting, and perched on a rise with lush forest growing all around. The underbrush crackled delightfully under their feet as they made their way to the entrance and the night air was crisp but not uncomfortably cold. Unfamiliar constellations shone above them, and the noises of strange night birds sounded through the trees.
"The temple is best experienced individually," Elin's whisper echoed off smooth rock walls. "That way, your experience will be personal and that much more meaningful." Spock nodded thoughtfully as he moved forward first and McCoy, watching his movements, could practically hear the word "fascinating" echoing in his brain.
Kirk was admiring some carvings in the temple when a blast rocked through the building and he was thrown to the ground.
"What – " Kirk grunted as his head hit the floor. Muffled shouts emerged everywhere as a wall collapsed and smoke billowed in, quickly obscuring his view. To Kirk, time seemed to slow as he made out Spock and McCoy, rushing towards him with their phasers drawn. Arlin was sprawled off to his right, unconscious or worse, and Mathiasz was yelling something about rebels as his own security detail bundled him away.
"Stay close," Kirk snapped as he scrambled to his feet, and Spock and McCoy followed him as he made his way along the wall that was still standing. He made it to the rubble, fearing that someone had gotten caught beneath it, and sure enough, he felt an angry knot in his stomach as he saw a red-sleeved arm – Oh God, not Uhura – peeking out from beneath a pile of broken stone.
"Captain!" Kirk whirled as he heard her voice. Uhura was stumbling towards him, clutching her left arm over a rip in her uniform sleeve. Okay. So that meant he'd lost either Harvey or McAllister. He clenched his phaser tighter and tried not to wonder what the hell this meant for the treaty negotiations tomorrow.
"Uhura. Have you seen Sulu or the Ensigns?" His voice felt hard on his tongue; there was sweat on his forehead and dust and grime was already settling. The knot in his stomach was demanding to know which of his crew had been killed, who had done it, and why.
"Sir, Sulu and Harvey were with Elin and Sharin; I saw them leaving right after the explosion. I told them to go, that we could get out ourselves but they had to get to safety," Uhura gasped for breath and Kirk placed a hand on her uninjured shoulder.
"Good work, Lieutenant. I want you to go find them; you're injured." She seemed about to protest, but he cut in, "Don't start with me, Uhura. That's McAllister under there, and I need to find out who did this. No one hurts my crew without answering to me." His blue eyes were stormy and dark, and Uhura only needed one look at them before nodding and hurrying away.
"What the hell, Jim!" McCoy burst out suddenly. "What is this?" Kirk had turned and was busy trying to dig through the rubble to get to McAllister, but it soon became clear that neither he, nor all three of them together, would be able to get her out. He turned to face McCoy and Spock.
"Whatever it is, it's not good." And then Kirk felt a prick in his chest. He looked down to see the tail end of a silver dart sticking out of his gold uniform and frowned unhappily. This also seemed not good.
"Jim!" Bones dashed forward and ripped the thing out of Kirk's chest, but two more appeared in his shoulder, just as another barrage his Spock in the thigh. "Get them out! They're tranq darts!"
"That would seem evident, Doctor," Spock murmured as he bent to pull out the darts in his thigh.
"Shut up, you, and get to cover!" McCoy was dragging a confused-looking Jim around the pile of rubble in search of a safe place to regroup.
"Bones!" Kirk suddenly exclaimed. "I've been hit!" The doctor sighed as he realized whatever drug it was, was affecting Jim far quicker than Spock, who currently crouched beside them and was peeking around the stones trying to get a look at their attackers.
"I know, Jim. Just try to keep it together, will you? We're kind of in a situation, in case you didn't notice."
Kirk sighed melodramatically. "You have a terrible bedside manner Bones, you know that? I could be dyin' here and you're hidin' behind some rocks." Bones glared at him. "Right. Situation. Gotcha. I can do this." His eyes were beginning to glaze over, but Kirk remained the cocky Captain as he gripped his phaser, peered around the rock like Spock had, and fired a few warning shots.
"This is Captain James Kirk of the Enterprise! I demand you hold your fire and explain what is going on here!" He turned to Bones and in a whisper asked, "Tha' was pretty good righ'?" Bones frowned at him, wondering how long he'd last before the drug claimed him. He didn't have any of his supplies on him, so was completely unable to help the man. Spock was also watching the Captain, appearing unaffected by the darts that had struck him but knowing it was now only a matter of time.
There was no answer, and Bones worried that their attackers were just going to wait it out for his two companions to collapse. He didn't like the possibilities that followed that line of thought. For one, they didn't even know who it was that had attacked them. Both Mathiasz and the Telonians had seemed to get out of the temple pretty quick after the explosion.
"Captain, if we do not act fast we will both be rendered unconscious, and we are not yet aware of our attackers' intentions," Spock spoke up from his position opposite Kirk.
"Damn it!" Jim cursed in frustration. He blinked a few times and ran a hand over his face, then turned back to the edge of the boulder. "This is Captain Kirk of the Enterprise! I demand – "
"You demand nothing, Captain Kirk," came the now-familiar Telonian voice, but this time it was harsher, louder, and angry. It was also definitely male. "You will lower your weapons and step forward immediately."
"I don' think so!" shouted Kirk before thinking. "We're pretty comfortable back here." He accented that with a few more shots in the voice's direction, and was rewarded with a pained shout, quickly cut off. He grinned at Bones. "Got one!"
"Unfortunately, Captain, I believe there are a great deal more," interjected Spock. "Might I suggest that we – " but he cut himself off, shooting a hand out to steady himself against the boulder. "Captain, the drug is beginning to take effect. I am afraid I am rapidly losing control of my motor functions."
Bones drew his gaze back to Kirk, suddenly realizing that if Spock was beginning to lose it, then Jim should have been out cold a while ago. It was the sheer force of the man's will keeping him conscious this long. Suddenly Jim turned wide blue eyes on his friend.
"Bones!" he said almost imploringly. "The bastards killed McAllister, and I can't even fight 'em off properly! Can't you help?" A pang struck Bones as he saw how desperate Jim looked. More than anything else, he knew Jim couldn't bear being rendered helpless. He also knew how much Jim hated being drugged in any way, and it made him shiver with sudden fury that he wasn't able to help when he should have been. He gripped his phaser and pushed Kirk out of the way, leaning around the boulder and delivering long string of shots.
An answering shot rang in from a completely different direction, the primitive bullet-like projectile ripping into Bones' shoulder as he let out a surprised cry of pain. Some of the attackers had been sneaking around and now had a better angle on the three men. They had also apparently abandoned the tranquilizer strategy.
"Captain Kirk, you will surrender, or our next shot will strike his head," came the cold voice once more. Bones gripped his bleeding arm and glanced apologetically at Kirk, who was shaking his head in confusion as though he couldn't understand quite how this had happened.
"Fine," he croaked, barely loud enough for them to hear. "Fine." As drugged as he was, he still understood there was no way in hell he would knowingly allow his crew to be harmed. In one smooth motion he stood with his arms raised, wavering only slightly, and tossed his phaser at the waiting Telonians. Then his eyes promptly rolled back in his head and he collapsed; Spock's reflexes in catching him were all that kept his head from colliding with the stone floor for the second time that evening. The Vulcan's eyebrows were furrowed together as though debating internally with himself, but the drug soon claimed him as well, and he slumped back against the boulder. Bones rolled his eyes through his pain. How Spock managed to be graceful even in unconsciousness was beyond him.
The doctor stood and looked around him warily, as the Telonians advanced with victorious smirks on their faces.
"Damn it all to hell."
