I don't suppose I need to say anything, considering you've all read up to this point, but there is a strong language advisory for this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek! But I do own the Sahrtoreshhi.


"Still no word from the captain, Mr. Scott." Uhura turned around in her chair to face the Chief Engineer. She tapped the arm of her chair. "Should I try again?"

"Go ahead, lassie." Scotty studied the blue planet on the screen with a frown. It was hours past the last check-in deadline, and they'd received no word from any of the away team. Not even a squawk of static. "It's gettin' t' the' point when we should send another team down…"

"Ve vill go!" cried Chekov, ready to spring from his seat. Sulu, sitting next to him at his station, nodded, a grim look on his face.

"I don't think so." Scotty folded his arms. "D'you want th' whole bridge in danger? I'll arrange a security team."

-aaa-

Kirk groaned. It was the best he could do. He felt like he'd been hit in the head with a brick a few times and then kicked in the chest. It ached every time he took a breath. Cautiously, he tried his limbs and was relieved when they seemed to work properly. He sat up. And blinked.

He was in a jail cell of some kind. Metal bars on one side, concrete on the other three. There was a bench on one wall and a bucket in the corner. Charming. He got up slowly and checked himself over. There didn't seem to be any external injuries, but he'd been robbed of his captain's shirt, his phaser, and his boots. Fuck. He walked over to the bars.

"Hello?"

"Jim, you're awake." Bones was in a cell across the way, sitting on the bench. Spock was draped across his lap, obviously insensible. "How do you feel?"

"Forget about me. What about Spock?" Kirk felt a cold hand grip his heart. The Vulcan looked so pale… "T'hy'la?"

"He's just asleep. I gather he didn't eat any of the poison, so they hit him on the head." Seeing the look on Kirk's face he was quick to add, "It's all right. I don't think there's any permanent damage. He's just a little rattled." He hoped. He wished they hadn't taken away his medical tricorder. He wanted to check on the baby.

But as if to prove his point, Spock began to stir, shifting slightly, eyes moving rapidly under his closed lids. In a moment or two, he had opened his eyes and blinked blearily up at the doctor.

"Spock!" cried Jim, gripping the bars of his cell. He hadn't thought to check if they were electrocuted or otherwise reinforced, but luckily nothing bad happened.

"J-jim." The Vulcan sat up, assisted by McCoy. He looked around. "I see… we have been captured. Your feeling was correct, Doctor."

"Lot of good that does us now," mumbled McCoy.

"Where are the others?" asked Spock, seeming to regain his faculties. "The lieutenant and Mr. Traper?" He placed a hand on his belly reflexively, as if checking for damage.

"We're over here," said Deerson from down the hall. Kirk could make out her frightened face in the gloom of the one torch. "We aren't hurt, but all of the samples are gone."

"So are our weapons," growled Traper. He came into view behind her. "This is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into."

Kirk sighed, but he was just as angry as the redshirt. "I hope this is just a misunderstanding. But don't worry. We'll get out of here. Spock, we might have to fight our way out. Can I count on you to use lethal force if necessary?" The question wasn't a matter of trust – they trusted each other implicitly – but Kirk knew that the Vulcan hated violence.

"Of course, Captain."

"I don't think so," said McCoy, placing a hand on Spock's shoulder. "It's my medical opinion that Spock should sit this one out." He ignored a warning look from the science officer.

Kirk stopped pacing, surprise flitting across his features. "I thought you said the blow didn't cause any damage?"

"I said none that was permanent. Who knows what kind of side effects it could have?" He glared at Spock, who had the grace to look abashed. "Anyway, it isn't just that. Once – if – we get back to the ship, you and Spock are going to sit down and have a nice talk regarding him and away missions."

"Doctor!" Spock wrenched away from McCoy's hand, livid for an instant before his face became blank again.

"Spock?" Kirk frowned.

"My, my." A deep voice greeted them from the entrance to the prison. "We're all awake, I see." Fehl-Garash stepped into the circle of torchlight looking menacing. He had pulled his hair up into a complicated topknot and traded his simple tan robe for one that was blood red. On either side of him stood guards, their muscled arms bulging strangely in the flickering light. "It's such a pain to interrogate them when they're unconscious."

"Garash," hissed Kirk. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You'll find out soon enough, little captain." Garash spun the universal translator around his fingers like a baton as he regarded the captives with hooded eyes. He blinked a command to his men and they came forward with spears, roughly dragging Kirk and Spock to stand out in the hallway.

"Who are you really?" Kirk struggled against the man holding his wrists back, but it was no use. He might as well have been battling a Vulcan. Garash took a few steps closer, tilting his head this way and that to see Kirk from many different angles. Then he reached out to run a finger down Spock's jaw. Spock flinched, and Kirk's desperation to be free grew exponentially.

"I think I like this one," murmured the Sahrtoreshhi, placing his index finger lightly against Spock's lips. He drew it back as Spock's teeth came quite a bit closer. "What do you think, Torrrr? He could go for as much as 50,000."

"What do you mean?" growled Kirk, straining at his meaty bonds. Garash didn't give him the time of day.

"I hope he passes the test." The tall alien stepped forward and grabbed Spock's chin, leaning in to kiss him forcefully. Kirk saw a blue tongue slip out and into Spock's mouth and the Vulcan struggled against the invasion.

"You son of a bitch!" shouted the captain, ripping away from his guard. He planted a punch under Garash's chin that sent the man flying before he was wrestled back under control. "You touch him again and I'll kill you."

"Touchy, touchy." Garash spat out a gob of purplish blood before coming closer again. He rubbed his chin. "Maybe you have something to protect, here, hmmm? Maybe there's something here." He cupped Spock's face, all the time sneering at Kirk. "Eh, loverboy?"

Without warning, Garash jabbed Kirk in the side, his knuckles digging in viciously. Kirk sagged, but never took his eyes off the man. Garash nailed him with an elbow to the head and a knee to the groin. Kirk groaned.

"Jim!" cried Bones, running to the door of his cell. Deerson and Traper were also on their feet, one alarmed, the other pissed.

"How do you like that, captain?" breathed Garash. "Don't worry; we'll fix you up before we sell you. With that spirit of yours, you'll go for a lot. Maybe twice as much as Mr. Spock." He leered.

"Do not hurt my captain in such a way," said Spock quietly, his eyes blazing.

"Another rebel, eh?" Garash spun slowly to look at Spock and his sleazy smile dropped away. He slapped Spock across the face. The sound was still ringing as he kicked Spock's legs out from under him. At the sudden weight, Spock's guard let go and Spock rolled to the floor, automatically curling up in the fetal position. Garash aimed another blow at his back.

"Stop!" shouted McCoy, shoving frantically at the locked door of his cell. "You'll kill them!"

"There's always more to replace him," snarled the alien, and he kicked Spock again.

-aaa-

"Mr. Scott! We've finally got a signal on their position," shouted Chekov, seated at the science station. "I'm sending coordinates to the transporter room."

"Good work, lad! Uhura, summon a medical team immediately. We don't know what condition they'll be in when they get here." Scotty gripped the arms of the command chair. He hoped nothing awful had happened. He hoped it was just a communicator malfunction. He hoped.

But he knew better. Things just didn't work that way on the Enterprise.

-aaa-

Spock tried to squeeze even tighter, wrapped around his precious child to shield him from the sharp toe of Garash's boot. He carefully tested the mindmeld link that kept him tied to the fetus and was relieved to find it still strong. Sa-fu…Son. We are together still. He received a tentative feeling back: the beating of a tiny heart. He tried to keep his own heart from going out of control as another spike of pain shot through his shoulder.

-aaa-

Kirk writhed against his stronger captor, a primal roar filling his soul as he watched Spock trembling on the floor. He couldn't hear anything but the blood rushing in his ears. Spock was in danger! His t'hy'la was hurt! He threw off the alien holding him down and scrambled across the floor to protect Spock with his body.

-aaa-

McCoy lunged against the bars again, calling to Traper to do something, anything. The baby was going to die. His palms were slick with sweat and he could barely breathe.

-aaa-

Golden swirls of light enveloped the two lying on the ground. The two in the cell beside his were next. And finally he felt the familiar pull of the transporter beam as it took him apart, piece by sorry piece. The last thing McCoy saw was Fehl-Garash shrieking obscenities as his targets were ripped away. Then he was gone, too.

-aaa-

Sound crashed back in around him as Kirk landed hard on the pad of the transporter, rolling a few feet before he could get his bearings. People were swarming around him, trying to get… Trying to get to Spock. Spock.

"T'hy'la!" cried Kirk, trying unsuccessfully to get to his feet. He settled on crawling toward his prone lover, but there were too many people in his way. People in medical blues. They had taken Spock and put him on a stretcher and were ready to take him away. "No no no… That didn't happen." Kirk reached for his love, but he was shoved aside by an anxious-looking nurse as she guided the stretcher out of the room at a frantic pace. "Spock…"

"Get up, Jim," growled Bones, appearing from nowhere to haul him to his feet. "Keep it together. We're going to sickbay now, but don't run. You're hurt, too."

"I don't care", mumbled the captain, trying to pull away. But he let Bones lead him out the door at a walking pace.

"Listen, Jim. I'm gonna make the report for this one, all right? But you need to contact Starfleet after you see Spock. Are you listening?" He was talking like Kirk was a child. Kirk nodded his head.

"Yeah, Bones. Yeah, sure."

They got into the turbolift after an eternity and took it down to medical. When they arrived, the floor was bustling with personnel. Kirk noted absently that Deerson and Traper were there. She was weeping. Where was Spock?

Bones pulled him by the arm over to a biobed that was secluded from most of the chaos. Under the orange cover lay Spock, stripped and reclothed with a light-blue sickbay gown. His eyes were closed. Kirk ran to the bedside and took Spock's hand in his own. He was comforted to feel a brief buzz when their fingers kissed, but it didn't last for long.

Bones was busy examining the readings around the bed, checking this vital sign, lowering that concentration. Kirk swallowed nervously and looked up at the bio-meter above the bed. Spock's stats looked within normal range, which was a good sign, but… there was something wrong.

"His heart," said Kirk. "Something's bad about his heart." He almost despaired as he moved closer to the monitor, taking in the irregular pulses. "Bones, you have to fix it."

The doctor rushed over and took a look, but he just sighed.

"What?" Instantly, Kirk was on edge. "You can't do anything? Bones!"

"There's nothing wrong, Jim." He took Kirk's shoulders and pressed him gently down into the chair by the side of Spock's biobed. "You're just seeing two heartbeats, that's all."

Kirk stared at him. "T-two? What is it? A parasite?" He squeezed Spock's delicate fingers.

"Nope." Bones sighed again and leaned against the wall.

"No. It's not." Kirk frowned at him. "Then what?" No answer was forthcoming. He stood. "What? Come to think of it, you said before that Gar- that that motherfucker was killing them. Plural."

Bones nodded wearily.

"What, Bones? I want to know what's going on." He took a step closer, leaving Spock's hand resting on the counterpane. "And I want to know right now."


This chapter was kind of intense, wasn't it? ^^; Reviews make me happy!