Since the shields preventing the lava from rising are down, every move he makes has to be a cautions one. He exits out of the room – up the flight of stairs – on to a dirt path. He runs as far, and fast, away from the river of lava that is beginning to rise. As far as he knows, the mustafarians are the caregivers of this planet. Though, he could see droids hovering over the river. These droids are similar to the ones in Elderyn, Kirk thought to himself as he halts in his steps to take a good view of his surroundings. This is the second time he has step foot in this planet. The first time was with his crew during the five-year expedition. It was around the time they learned of the planet, Elderyn. Though in his previous visit, the plant, Mustafar, was not active. Nor were there known droids at the time. This is strange.
The lava exploded upward. Well, there went any chance of him surveying the locals. And chunks of lava began to shower around him. He ran.
Once he is far enough away, he slows down, but still maintaining a quick pace. The terrain began to go uphill. He continues his steps higher up the hills. This way he can get a better view of the area. At the top he sees a long bridge going straight across to the other side where he sees a cave opening. Maybe he can actually get an idea of what is happening here, he tells himself in hopes of coming across any of the mustafarians. He sees lava spurt high over the edges of the bridge, almost like a rainbow – a blend of orange, yellow, and red colors. He cannot hesitate, not even for a moment, if he is to avoid the falling embers landing on the bridge. Kirk ran across once he saw the opportunity to do so.
He takes a look back. Lava is shooting more than the first time. Barely made it.
He enters the cave before him – having to duck to get in as the entrance isn't very large. The further he went the lower and narrower the walls came to be. Any lower, he would have to crawl his way there. With the lava at this back, there was enough dim light to see with, but the deeper he went, the dimmer it became. It was pitched dark before he saw a flicker of a light.
Finally, he is at the end of the tunnel. He slips out the exit – almost a crack in the wall too tight for more than one person to walk through. He dusts himself off as he takes a look, the walls around him are large enough for him to stand. At the far end there is a chest and on either side of it a torch. He walks over to the chest. If this isn't mysteries enough, where are the guards? Where is anyone? He looks down. More importantly, where has he seen this chest before? He kneels down in front of it, then pulls on the latch. It unlocks. Kirk stares at the chest for a few seconds. The familiarity of this box is picking at him, not being able to pinpoint where he has seen it. He lifts the lid of the box and a burst of gold light blinds him for a brief second. Once the blurriness goes away, he takes a look of what is inside.
What he sees isn't what he expected, though, he isn't sure what he was expecting to find. He stares at it, then picks it up. It is a dagger with a yellow and gold design. As he takes a closer look, he sees a hilt attached to the dagger. He examines it some more and sees a button just below the hilt. Kirk presses the button and instantly a gold beam is lit. He is stunned by the beauty of this weapon. It is similar to the one the Masters' have. The obvious difference is not only the color, but the dagger attached to it.
He turns off the beam. Without a second thought, he hooks the weapon to his belt and runs to the direction he came from. Suddenly, his surroundings begin to shake and bricks of stone begin to fall. He makes it through the crack-opening in time, pushing through the narrow walls as fast as he can. Once outside, he turns around to see the cave collapse on its self. It is rigged which explains the lack of security.
He faces forward. Two small meteors made of flame come his way barely missing him. The meteor rocks hit the bridge to his left bouncing off into the lava river below. Kirk takes out his blaster and points towards the direction of where the small meteors came from. Across the way, he makes out two figures. It is hard to see since the only source of light is the lava. With it spurting about, it is like looking through thick rain. Can it be Mustafarian? It would explain the bad throws.
"Hello, I come in peace." And the award for the most cliché greeting ever goes to… "I spotted an alert while traveling and came to see the problem. I am Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise of the Starfleet Command. So, I mean no trouble." Two more rocks came flying, one almost hitting his head. "Hey! Not the face!" He puts his blaster away then lifts his hands in the air. "Look, I came to assess. That is all." Maybe they don't speak English he thought to himself. Where is a linguistics when you need one?
One of the figures came towards him in a fast pace. It almost looks like it was running at him. He put his right hand down near his blaster. The figure stops on the other side of the bridge. Why did it- Oh, the lava.
Suddenly the lava stops spurting, the figure continues its pace. In front of him is no longer a figure, but a mustafarian. It stops, maintaining its distance. It points at Kirk's belt. He looks down and sees the dagger. Oh.
He continues to stare at it. They must have notice the cave collapse. They must be protecting this weapon. But why? Kirk brings his other hand down, it hovering over the weapon. This dagger doesn't seem like their type.
He looks at the mustafarian. The way it is dress in its long robe suggest it is not a guard. Still pointing at Kirk's belt, it stares right at him. It then extends its palm, facing up.
He doesn't understand why he hasn't given the dagger. He doesn't know anything of this weapon nor where it came from, but he can't let it go. Must keep it.
He plants his feet. "Sorry, but I can't do that." Then charges at the robe mustafarian. Kirk shoulder buts it, knocking it down. The lava begins to abrupt. He continues his charge. He sees the other mustafarian and knocks him while a meteor is coming at him. This time it doesn't miss. The flame of the rock burns his side shoulder. He runs ignoring the pain.
There are more coming his way. Sharp lava rocks are being chucked at him this time, each missing or taking a hit on his back.
Kirk is knocked over with a black rod. He quickly gets on his feet and dodges another swing. He takes out his blaster, but it is knocked out of his hand by another lava rock. This time he is staring at an ironed masked guard. It can't be. This guard in front of him is the same guard from one of his dreams. This moment, right now, he has seen it happen. It swings at Kirk, again. He ducks, but gets knocked by another blow directly from his stomach. Kirk heaves out, falling to his knees.
As the rod comes down at him, something inside Kirk merges. He can't explain it, but it's as if the dagger on his belt is calling to him. He grabs it and activates the gold beam. It slices the rod in half. Kirk gets on his feet pointing the weapon at the guard. Instead of running, Kirk continues to maintain his stance. Lava rocks, once again, are coming at him. With a swift movement of the beamed dagger, he incinerates the rocks in halves.
"I can't give you this weapon." Or he won't. Why so much trouble for one weapon? Is all this worth it? How do I know this isn't one of those dreams, again? Am I truly awake? No, this feels different. In his brief contemplation with himself, the guard takes the opportunity to strike Kirk with a punch. Quickly, Kirk reacts with the weapon in hand. Next he hears a loud cry. Looking down, he notices a severed armored hand, then looks at the guard holding his arm. Did he just do that?
The longer he holds the weapon; more power he feels. This power is not like anything he has ever experienced. Well, no quite. Khan's blood. After his near death, he was induced with Khan's super blood to safe him. For a while he had this surged-energy inside him, similar to the effects he is feeling now, but not at powerful as this weapon.
There is a sudden shake of the ground. The guard charges at Kirk, knocking him and the weapon – deactivating the beam. He his pinned by the guard, some blows coming at his face. With his eyes, he searches for the weapon. He sees it, above him. He reaches for it, his fingers grazing it. Blow after blow, he feels his conscious slipping. Showers of lava are upon them, the suit of the guard shielding him. The ground shaking heavier and faster. This is the part of his dream where he wakes up. If he is dreaming, he should be waking up any minute. He reaches for the dagger, again. Nothing. So, this is it. Deeper and deeper his mind is slipping. NO!
Finally, with one last reach, he grabs the dagger, reactivating the beam at the hilt. As the guard leans back to take his last punch at him, Kirk brings the weapon towards the guard, stabbing him through his armor, then slowly lifting it to its head. The guard is sliced in half from the chest up. It falls to the side, no longer pinning Kirk.
He gets up stunned at what he has done. Kirk has never intentionally killed anyone, even if he was in a position to do so. It was always a stun here and a knock to unconsciousness there. What has he done?
The ones throwing the lava rocks are now approaching. With no time to dwell on his actions, he turns the weapon off and attaches the hilt to his belt. He runs. He runs faster than he as ever run before. Despite the pain and the eruption of the planet around him, he pushes through.
Once he is in front of his ship, he falls on his hands and knees due to the incredible pain throughout his body. It is going to be a long trip back. He can't imagine all the explaining he would have to do. How can he explain what he just did? One thing is certain, Bones will have a fit with all the injuries he has attained. As for the dagger, there is no chance in explaining that.