A/N: Once again I would like to say a great big thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed this story! It means a lot that people actually like it (or are at least interested enough to want to know what happens in the end), so thank you!
I tried to have this chapter finished and posted within a week of the last chapter, sadly life decided things weren't going to happen that way and I'm sorry about the delay!
This is completely unbeta'd so any and all mistakes are my own.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek as much as I might wish that I did.
Approximately 1.05 minutes after the Captain had been taken away, the remaining Heinlein ambassador attempted to convince the away team to return to the Enterprise.
Spock wasn't having any of it.
Despite the Captain's belief that he was currently dealing with the situation in the most efficient way possible, whether that belief was simply projected for the benefit of the crew or something the Captain was certain of himself, that act of faith was highly illogical. Participating in any sort of unnecessary unknown ceremony that required the separation of a captain from his crew should immediately be disregarded and further options explored. Denying partaking in any action without the crew was the only logical thing to do.
Unfortunately Captain Kirk continued to show that he had little to no concern for his own well-being leaving his First Officer to do the worrying, an emotion many falsely believed he was not capable of.
"We insist you return to your ship, Commander." The ambassador insisted once more, the polite smile he had been forcing faltered for a fraction of a second.
"Again, I will have to decline." After the second attempt to persuade the Vulcan to leave, Spock had concluded with a certainty of at least 98.54% that something of importance was being hidden from him. "Should the Captain need assistance, I must be close in order to offer my aid."
A flash of emotions crossed the Ambassador's eyes all too quickly for Spock to decode. Despite his minor slip-ups the Heinlein was well schooled in the ability of hiding his emotions, a fact that both impressed and irritated Spock.
"I can assure you that returning to your ship would be the best course of action."
Spock's eyebrow arched slightly. A threat? It sounded like one, worded carefully to conceal the true meaning. The Heinlein's wanted the away team gone, that much was painfully clear. The Captain was in danger, no longer a question but a fact and a problem that needed to be immediately resolved. He spared a glance over to the two security personal. They skilled but greatly outnumbered by the Heinlein's that guarded the Prime Minister. The statistical probability of success on a rescue mission for the Captain is less than two percent.
"Very well. I must insist that you tell the Captain he is to contact us immediately after this…matter is dealt with." Spock kept his tone even, carefully watching the face of the ambassador as he spoke.
No clear indication of annoyance or anger was given away instead a pleasant smile-forced-was offered.
"Of course, let me escort you back to your ship."
Keeping his hands firmly clasped behind his back, the Vulcan nodded to the two crew members beside him and they began the walk back to the Enterprise.
Kirk awoke to pain with a groan
It wasn't some new life altering experience but that didn't make it any more pleasant. The dull throbbing of the back of his head quickly reminded him why he had lost consciousness in the first place, still didn't answer the question of what, or who, had hit him and why. Leave it to him to make enemies that wanted him dead in single night. The cold stone against his back confirmed that he was shirtless before he even opened his eyes.
It could be worse, I could be missing more clothing…time for a limb check.
Legs? Strapped down at the ankles, both still attached to his body.
Arms? Not surprisingly, they were strapped tightly in place above his head.
At least he still had them along with all ten fingers and all ten toes. Once more he reminded himself that it could be worse.
Risking a look around the room Kirk confirmed that he was alone, not that he had any idea where he was but knowing he was alone was still nice. Solitude gave him a chance to come up with some sort of plan. At any rate he knew what the room looked like. It was large, wall to wall stone like an old jail cell back on earth and he was on some sort of stone table smack dab in the center of it all. Kirk tugged lightly at the restraints only succeeding in making them tighter. They weren't rope but they weren't metal…he didn't know what they were and he couldn't exactly get a good look at them. Pulling free wouldn't work, he didn't need to know what the restraints were to tell that.
This isn't your first bind, and it's not even close to the worst. He gave himself an internal pep talk, slowly rotating his wrist to see if the movement caused any reaction from…whatever the elusive 'they' had used to time him down. His crew would come looking for him, if they hadn't already started the search. All he needed to do was stay alive until they found him. He could do it, after all he was James T. Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise.
He had no idea how long he had been unconscious. The small amount of light that filtered through the window didn't help him guess the time either, he didn't know the planet well enough for that. It could have been hours since he was taken or it could have happened just minutes ago, even though he doubted it had been minutes ago with the terrible headache that was still lingering. Son of a bitch had hit him hard!
The approaching tapping off footsteps made Kirk relax against his binds. No point in getting caught struggling to free himself. Right now he needed to stay alive, not give them more reasons to hate him.
"Do I get to ask what I did wrong?" Kirk looked up at the figures that had entered the room, giving them his best devil-may-care grin that only wavered momentarily at the sight of the Prime Minister and one of his Ambassadors. "You're not going to let me plead the 5th are you? The least you could do is tell a guy what he's in for."
"Betraying trust and insulting honor, Captain." The sneer was impossible to miss at the end of the Ambassador's answer.
"You could have told me what I was agreeing to."
"You accepted the offer without question. The action has been committed as has the request to terminate the union."
"You sound like my first officer. I'd think two would get along…after he got past the whole kidnapping me thing." Kirk baited, trying one stall after another to give his crew more time.
"By returning and rejecting the union you have insulted the family and brought into question their honor." It wasn't hard to miss the anger in the Ambassadors voice.
"Then let me explain it to them." It was worth the suggestion. Maybe, just maybe, he'd have some stroke of luck. The offer was met by silence, the sound of the two men setting out objects serving as his response. Kirk resisted the urge to lift his head and see what they were doing. For now he needed to keep them, or at least the Ambassador, talking. The smallest bit of information could end up being the key to his escape. "Is that a no?"
"An explanation means nothing." The Ambassador snapped; Kirk's incessant talking trying at his patience. "The honor of the family can only be restored one way."
"I'm all ears." Jim hoped the explanation was long. Tugging against his restraints again, he lifted his head to finally steal a glance at the two Heinlein's that had moved closer to the table than Kirk would have liked, blocking his view of whatever they had been setting up.
"Tradition. Through your blood we will prove the enduring strength of our family and reclaim the honor you have taken from us." Anger gleamed in the Ambassador's eyes as he spoke, looking down at the Captain like he was an insect that needed to be crushed.
Kirk didn't have a chance to respond, his words died on his lips as the blade cut into his flesh and left a searing trail of agony along his chest as it moved, leaving behind a line of crimson. Sucking in a breath to avoid gasping in pain, Kirk's entire body tensed as his brain screamed at him to move away from the source of his pain. The binds were quickly cutting off circulation to his fingers as they tightened around his wrists in protest to his struggles, he didn't notice. Every inch of skin the blade touch, no matter how deep or shallow the cut, throbbed with a pain that was so much more than what he expected. Blades had cut him before, this wasn't the first time some psychopath with a knife had come after him and, as long as he made it out of here, it wasn't going to be the last.
Except something about this time was different.
Each wave of pain completely overtook his senses. Kirk might have screamed when the blade dug deeper into his flesh, honestly he had no idea. The only thought his mind could processes was pain.
Over and over again the word repeated in his mind as the cold metal bit through his skin.
One, two, three, four, five times the blade lift from his skin and began a new path. And now it was digging down deeper, carving into him.
A strangled cry escaped from Jim's lips. This time he heard it, recognized it as his own. His bewilderment over the noise that he had made was cut short as the agony took over.
Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of end to this? Shouldn't he be losing consciousness soon?
Cut.
Pain.
Tear.
Pain.
Rip.
Painpainpainpainpain
"Damnit, Jim!" Bones knew his friend wasn't there to hear him but somewhere out there the Captain would know exactly the CMO had just said. "Of course, of freaking course he would get himself into this kind of mess! Why did we leave him alone during that party in the first place? Whose bright idea was that? It's Kirk!" With and angry sigh and an exaggerated heave of his chest, Leonard ended his rant.
"Dr. McCoy, are finished? The fact that we did not efficiently watch the Captain during the celebration is correct, however dwelling on what was done wrong will not return the Captain to safety." On the outside it appeared that Spock had listened to the rant calmly, waiting for the opportunity to speak without interruption to arise. Internally he was far from calm, a sense of urgency nagging him to do something immediately.
During the time between his return to the ship and Dr. McCoy's outburst they had discovered that the Captain's com had been destroyed, putting an end to the chance that he would activate his locator so that the crew could find him.
Giving Spock a murderous glare, Leonard mumbled "Green-blooded hobgoblin" under his breath at a volume he incorrectly assumed Spock would be unable to hear.
"Lt. Uhura, is there anything Kiele told you that might give us an idea towards the Captain's location?" Spock turned to the woman standing beside him.
"No. I could only understand the words she said with Navgavi roots and even then it's not a language I know well."
It wasn't the answer that Spock wanted to hear but it was the one he had expected.
"Very well, we will have to scan the city for human life, an action that undoubtedly will be noticed. It is a risk we must take. Alert Mr. Scott, once we have a location he will need to beam us as close as possible to the Captain." Spock gave his orders, watching as the crew fell into action.
"I'm coming with you. The Captain's going to need medical attention, I know it. The damn fool, I don't even know what he's gotten himself into." McCoy continued to fume out loud.
They had tried to find information on Heinlein marriages and the ending of a union but had come up empty handed once again. Although it wasn't their first time going into a rescue mission blind, Spock would have rather had more information so he could make a more logical plan of action.
"Understood Doctor, that would be a most logical course of action." Spock agreed with a nod, waiting for one of McCoy's customary sarcastic remarks about how Spock agreeing with him made him feel uncomfortable. It didn't come, yet another indication of how worried he was.
"Commander, the sensors have located a source of human life. We've found the Captain." Sulu turned around in his seat, rising from his chair.
"Send the coordinates to Mr. Scott, alert the away team that they are to meet us in the transporter room immediately. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn." Spock gave his orders, indicating for McCoy to follow to the lift, an action that he quickly realized was unnecessary as McCoy was already heading towards it in, as the old saying would describe, a bee-line.
"Let's get Kirk back so I can kill the idiot myself."
A/N: I haven't been having the best of week so I hope this chapter is still okay, some parts were harder to write than others. I would love to get more feedback on characterization! I haven't written many Star Trek fanfics (this is only my second and my first one was a one-shot) and I want to know how you guys think I'm doing with keeping our beloved crew in character.