"We will pay no more than 1,400 credits for the Vulcan," the Dafar said arrogantly to Babuk, the Romulan who had kidnapped Spock from the Vulcan desert.
"And like always, you will sell him back to me whether or not I want him back, right," he spat at the regal Zarmalian.
Babuk had been doing business for many years with the Dafar of the Zarmal planet. And it was never pleasant. Slaves were purchased by the royal household for odd purposes, ranging from helping in the royal kitchens to performing acrobatics for the Dafar's entertainment. Babuk could never understand why the slaves were sold back to him a few months later. Even stranger was the fact that many of the returned slaves came back with gruesome injuries and scars on their bodies. This made it impossible for him to sell them again and many had to simply be put down.
"Look Dafar, I don't care that you practically own your planet. This is Quinark. And there are any number of kings and rulers and commanders from around the galaxy, who would like to purchase this Vulcan. You will pay be 2,500 credits for him or I cannot give him to you," Babuk said heatedly.
The Dafar thought for a moment.
"What do you need him for? You can buy a cheaper slave. Leave the Vulcan for someone who will appreciate his worth," Babuk said, hoping this would help the
Dafar made a decision in his favor.
"You don't understand Babuk. My son turns 12 in two days. I need a whipping boy, to educate him and to punish him," the Zarmalian said in a strained whisper.
"A whipping boy? Your planet buys slaves specifically to whip them, Is that what happened to all the others you purchased from me?" Babuk yelled.
"Keep your voice down please. And no, those slaves were simply not strong enough for some of the more aggressive routine punishments that were handed out to them for everyday transgressions. Only the royal heir is allowed an actual whipping boy," the larger man finished regally.
"Whatever. 2,000 credits. Not even half a credit less," Babuk said, determined to get a good price for the Vulcan.
"I am willing to pay that much," the Dafar said. "Prepare the Vulcan, we must depart immediately."
XXXXX
Spock was in an uneasy slumber, when Babuk and the Dafar opened the door to his holding shack.
"Wake up Vulcan, You need to leave," Babuk said gently, shaking Spock's right shoulder.
Slowly, without making a sound, Spock opened his eyes.
He saw a man with a pale pink skin tone, standing behind the Romulan. The man was nearly a head and a half taller than the slaver, and had ridges in his otherwise smooth, hairless skull.
"I do not wish to go with this man," Spock said, with barely a hint of fear in his young voice.
"You don't have a choice, young Vulcan. You have been purchased. Serve the Dafar well. Maybe life wouldn't be so bad under him," Babuk said, surprising even himself with his gentleness.
"I will wait outside, Babuk. Dress the Vulcan in royal clothing. I cannot take him in his rags and tatters," the Dafar said and left, closing the door behind him.
Babuk gently helped Spock to his feet. With a pair of pincers, he cut away Spock's torn student robes. And inspected his smooth, unmarked flesh, only marred by the superficial bruises laid there by Stonn.
"Do these hurt?" He asked Spock, touching a nasty looking bruise just above his heart.
Spock nodded, unwilling to say anything for fear that his voice would come out as a croak.
Babub sighed. He didn't like selling children but he didn't really have an option. At least not a viable one, as far as he was concerned. And this young Vulcan's fear and torment were so palpable in the air. He could only wish that the child would last long enough to reach manhood and be of other use to the Dafar, than just as a whipping boy.
XXXXX
Spock was led into a luxury starship. His hands were still shackled in front of him. His wrists ached and burned and he was starting to lose sensation in his crooked and twisted fingers. This worried him, but he was terrified of saying anything to the Dafar.
He slowly shuffled in, behind the Zarmalian man. He turned his head a last time, only to see Babuk lift up his hand in traditional Vulcan greeting.
"Live long and Prosper, Babuk," Spock said under his breath, certain that he would probably never see anyone or anything familiar again.
"I will not cry," he told himself, even as a lump formed in his throat. "I will not cry. I am Vulcan. Vulcans do not cry," he repeated in his mind.
"Your shackles need to be changed. From now on, you will not wear these lowly chains. You will be bound with wire ropes made out of Tarnum.
Spock would have snorted if he were capable of mirthless humor. To him, it made no difference, if they bound him with the most expensive metal in the galaxy or the cheap psi-numbing chains used by slavers like Babuk.
However, the minute the shackles were removed, Spock's head exploded in pain. His mother's frantic worry and psi-messages tore through his mind.
"Spock, can you hear me, son? Spock, are you not getting my messages?" Her ongoing worry was cutting through Spock's consciousness at an alarming speed.
"Mother, stop," he screamed inside.
And all went quiet for a moment.
"My baby, can you tell mother where you are. We are coming to take you?" She said to Spock gently, fighting to keep the worry and the urgency out of her voice.
"This is a planet called Quinark. A Romulan called Babuk found me outside shi'kahr and brought me here. I am being taken away on a luxury starship but I do not know where," Spock finished, striving for a calm he did not feel.
His hands were being bound again. This time, the minute wires of the tarnum bit into his skin in numerous places, and a hundred different points of agony seemed to come alive in his sore wrists.
"Mother, please find me. It hurts," he whispered, scared that he would come across as weak. "But don't tell father that I am scared."
Amanda's heart broke at her son's admission of fear and at his insistence that Sarek not be told. As the older Vulcan's wife, she was aware that Sarek loved his son very much. But the strained relationship between father and son, had robbed Spock of the trust that most other children had with both their parents.
"Can you give me any other images Spock, so that I may try and ascertain where you are being taken?" she coaxed gently.
Spock looked at the Dafar, straining to project the Zarmalian's face into his mind so that his mother would see it.
She gasped.
"What happened mother?" Spock asked.
"Nothing son. You be careful and do not anger the man in front of you. We are coming to take you. I am with you always," Amanda said and stopped speaking. She kept her connection open with Spock but sternly told herself to stop communicating.
If Spock was going to survive being on a Zarmalian ship, he would need all his focus, and that would never happen if he was conversing with someone in his mind.
XXXXX
Just as Amanda finished communicating with Spock, Sarek returned. The pained lines around his eyes told Amanda that he did not have welcome news.
"The council will not help us. They do not want to expend resources in searching for a child that ran away willingly, even if he has now been taken by slavers," he said in a rare emotional display of anguish.
"Sarek, he has been purchased by Zarmalian royalty," Amanda told her husband without beating around the bush.
Sarek looked at his wife for a long moment, and then buried his head in his hands. For a few minutes, the couple remained quiet, trying to draw comfort from each other's presence.
And then Sarek's Vulcan mask slipped back into place.
"Then I must go to Zarmal and retrieve our child before further harm comes to him," he said in a hard, icy voice. "I must leave post-haste."
"I will come with you, husband. Our child is hurt, he will need me," said Amanda, pleading with her husband to let her come along.
The debate going on in Sarek's mind was clearly visible to Amanda. He was scared that she would get hurt. And while he was determined to bring Spock back, he wasn't prepared to let Amanda come to harm in the process. But he had not married any ordinary human woman. Amanda's heart was like that of mountain lioness. And even Sarek, of the house of Surak, could not fight with a force of nature.
"Very well Amanda. We must leave now. I must alert my guard that I shall need them to be fully armed, in case I am unable to extract Spock through diplomatic channels."
