If there was one thing James T. Kirk was not, it was a coward. He walked around the corridor which seemed to circle the fortress which had a rounded, cylindrical shape, and was probably more than fifty stories high. It seemed to be mostly hollow, especially in the middle, but it was dimly lit except in the arena. He supposed they wanted everyone to see everything that went on in there. He could not believe Spock was in a fighting ring with a Klingon.
Jim soon came to the corridor that was being guarded. He could see that the guard was getting curious about what was going on in the arena. The guard was now in the middle of the corridor looking into the arena. Jim wished he would go on over to the window. He waited to see if the guard's curiosity would get the best of him, and finally, it did. Jim stayed against the wall of the corridor, and he was glad it was dimly lit and he was glad he was wearing a dark jacket. He slipped past the guard and hurried down the other corridor, trying not to make much noise, but he had his weapon ready. He did not know what he would find, but whatever it was, he was sure it would have significance to them…
Spock stood in the ring facing his opponent. He had been told that they would fight to the death. He saw no point in refusing to fight because if he did so, he would obviously die. He had been given his choice of three weapons, and he chose a sword, a Klingon bat'leth, and a Vulcan lirpa. He had experience with the lirpa and he could maneuver with it. He hoped he could manage to keep his enemy away from him, because the Klingon wielded his favorite weapons, and one of them was a very long, curved blade.
Spock took the lirpa as his first weapon, and the Klingon's first weapon was what looked like a very long bo. "There is no reason for this display of violence," Spock said.
"Do not worry," the Klingon replied. "I shall make it short."
"You may find that I am not so easily defeated."
"Puny Vulcan. You are no match for me."
"Your overconfidence is your weakness."
"I am confident because I am better."
"We will see, since I have no choice but to participate in this ridiculous pastime."
The Klingon charged, and Spock met him with more resistance than he thought possible as their weapons slammed together. Spock felt the shock of the collision travel up his arms. It had been some time since he had been in hand to hand combat such as this. He continued to take a defensive position, and also to take a jab at the Klingon with each open chance. Spock finally managed to connect with the Klingon's head which caused him to fall to the floor. He knew the Klingon would only be more furious but he would meet it with his own calmness. Fury only caused one to make mistakes.
Jim could hear the noise of the crowd in the arena as he continued down the corridor. He hoped Spock was giving that Klingon a run for his money. He wondered what would happen if Spock actually won that competition. However, he did not have time to dwell on that because when he rounded the next corner, there were two Hirogen guards, and they raised their weapons.
Jim gasped and darted down another corridor. He was in a full run now, and the Hirogens were hot on his trail. He was running fast as he was looking for a way out of this. He could hear the heavy footfalls behind him, and he sure did not want them to catch him. He thought they might break all his bones and then tear him into pieces. He knew it would not be a pleasant experience. When he got far enough ahead, he turned and fired at them, but his shots did not have much effect on that armor. He thought they might have caused some pock marks but that was all, other than it slowed them down just a little.
Jim ran down the next corridor and he came to a prison cell and was shocked to see Uhura and Sulu in there, along with two others. "Captain!" Uhura exclaimed.
Jim looked back down the corridor. "No time to talk!" he said and continued running. He had noticed that the Hirogens did not fire back at him. He thought that was because they wanted to get their hands on their prey. He came to another branch in the corridor and he heard a humming sound as he hurried down this one. He hoped that was the generator. He knew if he could deactivate that thing, they could get back to the Enterprise.
As Jim came to what seemed to be the end of the corridor, he came out into a large area that had a monstrosity in the center that could only be the generator. It was definitely what was making that humming sound. There was a clear dome-shaped top on the machine. He had no time to think of what to do yet because his pursuers were relentless. He ran around on the other side of the generator, and realized he had made a mistake because there was no other way out of this room except the way he came in, and his pursuers split up. He would have to go through one or the other to get out…but he wanted to put this thing out of commission first.
Jim took aim and fired at the generator as they were coming closer to him. The shot did not seem to have any effect so he fired again, and the bright lightning-like sparks that emitted from the generator into the halo at the top seemed to flicker more. He only got one more shot off before one of the Hirogens reached him.
Jim ducked and rolled to the side as the Hirogen tried to grab him. Sure, the Hirogens were big, but they were also kinda slow. Jim was no such thing. He scrambled to his feet, but the Hirogen grabbed his ankle and jerked him completely off his feet and almost caused him to land on his head. Jim kicked at him with his free leg but it was like kicking rock.
Suddenly, the generator sputtered and sparked, which grabbed the attention of the Hirogen enough for Jim to get his leg free. He got up but as he was about to run, the other Hirogen was coming around the generator and now he was between them.
"Wait!" someone yelled.
Jim was startled as he looked to see who had yelled, but the Hirogen grabbed him around the neck with his vice grip. Jim often wondered why everyone grabbed him by the neck, but here he was again, wondering if he would be choked to death. "That is the captain of the Enterprise!" the newcomer said. "They have tricked you into believing the Vulcan is the captain when it is in fact this one! You must not let the generator shut down! They will be transported if the generator loses power!"
Jim was starting to see spots and then the Hirogen threw him to the floor. He lay there a moment trying to get his breath back, but then he felt a heavy knee in his back and the Hirogen pressed his head to the floor. "So, you are the captain," he said menacingly. "We will deal with you later."
He jerked Jim up off the floor as though he weighed nothing and held him in a head lock. "Is the generator functioning?" he asked.
"It is but it is starting to glitch," the other replied.
"Find the problem and fix it. I'll deal with him and inform Kog that he has been fooled."
It did no good for Jim to resist because the Hirogen carried him along as though he were nothing. He had to figure out a way to get away from this guy or his crew would be dead or severely injured. "You have me," he said. "Let the rest of my crew go!"
"Keep quiet, puny worm."
Jim could not remember ever having been called that. He thought they would take him to the prison cell where the others were, but instead, he was taken to a room that looked like a torture chamber. The Hirogen picked him up and slammed him down onto a table. He tried to resist but his captor put shackles on his wrists and ankles and then tightened them up until his arms were stretched out above his head and his legs were stretched out to full length. He could not move even an inch.
Meanwhile, Bones was going down the same corridor. He had heard a commotion and he knew it had to have something to do with Jim. He found his way to the generator room as well, and he could see that they were trying to repair it, and get it going again. Bones took out his own weapon and aimed at the glowing top of the generator. He fired three shots and the generator sputtered even worse, but he had no time to wait and see if he had been successful. He turned and ran as one of the Hirogens yelled and started after him.
Bones ran down the other corridor and came around to the one with the prison cell. He had no way of getting the others out but he knew if he could evade those predators long enough, that generator might lose power and then they could all be beamed back to the Enterprise. He had no idea where Jim was, but he hoped he was still alive. He had watched some of the match between Spock and the Klingon in the ring and Spock was standing his ground, and had even caused his opponent a little pain. Bones had grimaced and almost groaned at times when the Klingon made contact with Spock, but the Vulcan did not give up easily.
Bones made a fast decision and aimed at the lock on the prison cell door. He fired and sparks flew but Sulu was able to shove the door open with some help from one of the other security officers. "Run!" Bones yelled.
They all ran as one of the Hirogens came around the corner. "Where's the captain?" Sulu asked.
"I don't know! I was hoping I'd run up on him!"
Suddenly, they heard a loud pop that almost sounded like a balloon bursting, and then an even louder whining noise and most of the lights in the place went out except for emergency lights. They could hear a lot of noise coming from the arena as everyone was alarmed at the sudden darkness. Jim was also plunged into darkness in his uncomfortable position. However, his restraints were not controlled by something powered…it was a wooden wheel.
"The interference has subsided!" Scotty exclaimed.
"Can you lock onto our crew?" Chekov asked.
"I'm trying. I'm picking up the signal from the shuttle, but I can't detect the signal from the captain or the others. They must be inside the fortress."
"If we were closer, do you think you could find them?"
"I think the walls are just too thick, Laddy. They have to come outside. It's like trying to breathe through mud but the Enterprise is trying to beam through thick metal and concrete."
"Okay, Mister Scott, but just keep trying."
"Don't worry."
Spock exited the arena as the power to the cage was also cut along with everything else. He used the Klingon weapon to get out the cage door and then he was running down the corridor which contained the prison cell. On his way, he met up with the others. "You're going the wrong way!" Bones exclaimed.
"Where is Jim?" Spock asked as he could see everyone in this company but him.
"We don't know!"
"We most likely have to get outside for them to beam us back to the ship!" Sulu said.
"Doctor, come with me," Spock said. "The rest of you get outside!"
"Where are you going?" Uhura asked.
"We're not leaving here without the captain."
"Be careful!"
"I will."
Spock and Bones ran back down the corridor, and as the place was in chaos, the Hirogen who had been giving chase had since gotten occupied with other matters. Beings of all sorts were running in every direction. "I think they are more concerned with what will happen now that the generator is down," Spock said.
"That doesn't help us find Jim," Bones replied. "Where would they take him?"
"I have an idea! The first place I was taken to was what looked like a torture chamber."
"A torture chamber?! You think they're torturing Jim?"
"It is likely, Doctor…or they are holding him until they can escape with him."
"Why? What do they want him for?"
"The Hirogens do not like enemies who can outsmart them. Jim has caused certain chaos and now their safety net has been broken. I am certain that the Klingons will act on this."
"You think the Klingons are going to attack this place?"
"Two species who are bent on domination…what do you think?"
Bones could see the reality in that. They soon came to another area and a room that was completely dark. "JIM!" Spock called out.
"Spock!" Jim replied sounding strained. "Get me out of this thing!"
Spock wished he had a light of some sort at the moment. He supposed they did not think anyone in this room needed emergency lights. He followed the sound of Jim's voice and found him.
"I'm shackled to this thing!" Jim said.
Spock felt the chains that were holding Jim's arms. Then suddenly, there was a bright light shined into the room. It was a Hirogen. Spock looked at Bones. "Get him off this thing," he said.
Bones did not have time to give a retort as Spock headed for their enemy. Bones could see what was holding Jim now with the light from the instrument the Hirogen had brought in. He flipped a lever and the chains suddenly loosened as the wheel rolled.
Jim groaned with relief as his arms and legs were released. However, he was still shackled. Spock and the Hirogen were locked in battle and slammed into the table that Jim was on, knocking it over. Jim hit the floor and the two combatants did as well.
Jim was right behind the Hirogen who had practically landed on top of him. Jim threw the chain that held one of his arms around the Hirogen's neck and pulled with both hands. There was one weakness in the armor of the Hirogens and that was their face and neck. He gagged as Jim pulled with all his might. However, the Hirogen was not bread to give up easily. He reached back over his shoulders and grabbed Jim by the throat. Jim was alarmed as he gagged but he did not let go. Spock leaned over the Hirogen aiming a blaster right at his face. "Let him go!" he demanded.
Jim wished something would happen because he was starting to see spots before his eyes and he thought his grip on the chain was weakening. The Hirogen was also not one to give in to threats, and he squeezed Jim's throat harder. Spock looked at him with resolve and fired right into his face. Jim fell backward gasping for air and wiping whatever had splattered from that Hirogen off his face.
Bones and Spock looked at the chains that were holding Jim. "How do we get these off?" Bones asked.
"I do not see a way to get the shackles off but I can break the chains with a blaster bolt," Spock said. "Extend your arms over your head, Jim."
Jim did that, and Spock made the chains as short as possible, and then did the same to the chains holding his feet. They got Jim up to his feet and he was still a little overwhelmed with the situation, but he pointed. "Let's go!" he said.
They ran down the corridor that led to a way out of the fortress…
Sulu and the others had arrived at the exit now, and got outside. Within a few seconds, they were beamed to the ship. Sulu hurried to the Bridge. "Spock and the doctor are trying to find the captain!" he informed everyone. "We have to wait for their signal. Spock knows they have to be outside."
"Sir, there are ships dropping out of warp!" Chekov exclaimed. "They are Klingon warbirds!"
Sulu was deeply disturbed by this news. "The Klingons wasted no time! Try to stay out of their battle, but we have to stay close enough to beam the captain and the others out."
Spock, Bones, and Jim were heading for the exit along with many other panicked people when they heard a loud explosion. "We gotta get out of here!" Jim yelled. He knew that had to be the Klingons. "We don't want to tangle with those Klingons again!"
"I only know of one exit, Captain!" Spock said.
Jim could not believe there was only one way out of a place this big unless it was just built that way to make it easier to keep someone captive. As explosions began rocking the structure, everyone slowed their pace toward the exit. Jim and the others found it hard to get through the crowd. Then, Suddenly, five Klingons came through the exit/entrance, and they were in combat dress as usual. Most of the beings ran in terror.
Jim knew only one thing, that he, Spock, and Bones were going through that exit, and those Klingons were not going to stop them. "Give me that blaster!" he said.
Spock yielded the weapon and Jim fired at the Klingons. They glared at Jim, knowing who he was since one of them was Porat. He fired at them again, but it would be a hand to hand combat, and the Klingon had a bat'leth. It was a deadly weapon to say the least. Jim fired the weapon again and this time, it wounded the Klingon even in his armor. He took his opportunity and ran over to the Klingon and took his own weapon and relieved him of his desire for dominance.
The Klingons were somewhat surprised at this turn of events and it gave Jim and the others a chance to get by them and out the exit. They had no desire to clash with them any further. Jim hoped Scotty was paying attention, but they had not been outside long before they started seeing those familiar lights that meant they were being transported.
Jim had never been so relieved to see the transporter room. They all headed for the Bridge, as the ship was being rocked with weapons fire. "Captain! The warbirds are attacking us!" Sulu informed him, glad to see the captain on the Bridge again.
"Fire back, and set us a course out of here at the same time!" Jim ordered. "We're not part of this battle and we're not staying for the outcome!"
"What about the others on the planet who are not part of it?" Spock asked.
"We don't know one from the other and we can't solve this problem ourselves!"
Jim sat down in the captain's chair savoring its comfort for a moment. The ship was rocked with another blast but then they blasted into warp. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Jim leaned his forehead on his hand still feeling out of breath after that long exertion.
"Jim, you need to be in sickbay," Bones declared.
Jim just sat there a moment but he could not argue with him. At the moment, he did not want to move. He thought all his muscles were about to remind him of all the struggling he had been doing, plus his joints were reminding him that he had been stretched recently too. "Can't I just stay here?" he asked.
"Come on. You and Spock too."
"I am fully functional, Doctor," Spock informed him. "I may have minor injuries but none that would merit a visit to the sickbay. However, I would like to change into my uniform."
"Hey, it's a nice change for you, Spock," Bones said. "It kinda clashes with your hair."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Bones got Jim to go to the sickbay where they removed the shackles that were still on his wrists and ankles and then he treated his injuries. Jim sat up on the bed. "Bones, do you see anything weird about my neck?" Jim asked.
Bones scowled at that question. "What?"
"My neck? Does it look like something you just want to grab?"
"Jim, I think you were hit a little too hard in the head. Lie down."
"No. Every time I get in a quarrel or a fight, someone chokes me. I'm just wondering if…"
"I think they just want to shut you up," Bones said. "Now, lie down before I choke you myself. All I see on your neck are a bunch of bruises."
Jim frowned at that sarcasm but he lay down. "I'm alright. I didn't really get injured this time."
"I'll be the judge of that. You didn't do your shoulder any good with all this activity."
"I didn't have a choice."
"You're always jumping right in without knowing the circumstances."
"I was kinda pulled into these circumstances. Remember?"
"Yeah. And you need some sleep."
"I'll sleep later, Bones."
Bones considered sedating him and making him think he was doing something else, but he figured he should not…but he might ask Spock about it.
When Jim got out of the sickbay, he went and got back into his uniform. Now, he wanted a talk with Spock, and met him as he was about to board the turbo lift. "Spock, just the Vulcan I was looking for," Jim said.
"Yes, Captain."
Jim stared at him a moment. "Don't ever use a Vulcan pinch on me again," he said.
"Captain, I was simply trying to…"
"I know what you were doing. That's not your job. You were supposed to lead the others and get them to safety no matter what situation I was in."
"You were not at your full strength, Jim. You could not have faced the Klingon."
"You didn't know what was going to happen. Besides, that Vulcan pinch makes my head hurt."
"I did not see an alternative."
"Yeah, there was an alternative. You didn't have to knock me out. I don't like that. You could have pretended to be the captain without knocking me out."
"But some of them knew you."
Jim could see there was no arguing with Spock, as usual, but he thought he actually understood the Vulcan's logic this time. "Anyway…thanks."
"You are quite welcome. There still remains the problem with that planet. It seems to be out of control."
"I agree. Have you gotten in touch with Starfleet yet?"
"I was waiting for you to do that since you are the captain."
"Oh, now I'm the captain and you're waiting for me."
Jim shook his head. "Never mind." He went on to the Bridge. "Uhura, send a message to Starfleet headquarters and tell them this prison planet is no longer controlled by any guards, but that the prisoners have made it into a war world, all of them trying to take it over, and that Hirogens have taken the opportunity to make it a hunt for themselves, and are forcing…beings to fight for entertainment so they can make money."
"Yes sir," Uhura replied.
Jim sat down in the captain's chair, thankful that he no longer had shackles on his hands and feet. "Mister Sulu, take us away from here, and let's go somewhere that there are no inhabited planets for a while."
"Aye, aye, Sir," Sulu replied.
"Scotty, is the warp drive ready to go?"
"Absolutely, Sir," Scotty said.
"Punch it."
The stars soon disappeared and they were in that swirling bluish tunnel called warp. Jim relaxed in his chair and thought he might just sleep a while. He leaned back in the chair realizing just how tired he was now. Was it against regulations for him to sleep in this chair? He was not sure. He had to wonder what Starfleet would do about that planet, but somehow he did not care.