They received many interested stares as they made their way through the Torlask city centre, the aliens not bothering to hide their curiosity, turning and blinking at them silently as the band of 'traders' passed. Jim clenched his jaw tightly in an effort to distract himself from the sheer loathing he was feeling as those black, dead looking eyes tracked their progress. Uhura, thankfully, had taken it upon herself to lead and was offering polite greetings to many of the Torlan as they watched. Jim was proud of her initiative; he could not have managed to follow her example with his current emotional state. Spock walked silently beside him, his head bowed as though deep in thought. Kirk knew, however, that he too was experiencing some rather unpleasant memories and was attempting meditation to counteract them.
Sometimes Jim wished he was a Vulcan.
They ducked through an alley, turning out of the main streets and into some cool shade. There were less of the inhabitants here, too, and Jim breathed a sigh of relief that was echoed by Spock.
"According to my directions," Uhura mused, glancing quickly between buildings, "The leader of this city lives just through here. The word translates differently to 'mayor'; perhaps more like 'city-king' as far as I can tell. Anyway, my friend told me he was who we should seek out."
She set off again, and they followed, turning a corner to find a large, white stone building before them. Its doors were of beautiful burnished gold, large and intricately carved, and two huge guards stood at either side of them. Jim swallowed.
"Leave it to me," Uhura said confidently, and Spock turned to raise an eyebrow at Jim. Jim grinned back nervously and shrugged, happy to follow the lead of the only person who could actually speak to the Torlan.
The guards loomed in front of the small group; Uhura only half as tall as them. She spoke to them carefully, already less haltingly and more confidently than the last time. They blinked wetly at her, responding with seeming understanding. The others waited.
Finally, they nodded, waving them through as they pushed open the heavy doors as easily as one would lift an apple. Uhura, Jim, Sulu and Spock all bowed deeply as they passed, Kirk making sure to not make eye contact.
The doors swung shut behind them with a loud scrape and a bang. The room they were in was huge; arched, vaulted ceilings above them made of shimmering white stone, huge, gorgeous stained-glass windows around them. It looked like the grandest of Earth's churches, everything white and gold and painted in the streaming light of the windows.
In the centre of the room was a large, polished gold throne, and in the throne sat the largest Torlan Kirk had seen so far. His mouth ran dry suddenly.
They approached the throne, and Uhura motioned for them to bow. Sulu and Spock both managed to look graceful doing this, as though it was completely natural, but Jim still felt awkward.
"Greetings," the Torlan leader boomed- in Standard. He stood, extending his arm to them. "Stand up, so I may see the faces of my guests."
His voice sounded warm, kindly even, and Jim was able to actually make eye contact, finding himself smiling at the leader despite himself.
"I am Gu'tark," he introduced himself, "and I rule this city. What brings you here?"
"I am Captain James Kirk, of the USS Enterprise," Jim said, his voice thankfully strong and steady. "We are here to speak with you about a rogue faction of your people- one that has been causing trouble in many parts of the galaxy, from what I have been told."
Gu'tark nodded, scratching at his shiny black cheek. His dark eyes blinked rapidly for a moment. "I presume you are here representing the Federation?"
"Not representing," Kirk said carefully. "We have their permission to be here; however any diplomatic negotiations you wish to make with the Federation must be passed to them via us, we have no authority to make decisions. We're just here to find out about the troublemakers."
"You must be referring to the Kar-tukk clan," Gu'tark sighed. "They are a large, barely organised group who deeply oppose our discussions regarding joining the Federation. They make it their business to kidnap, torture, and kill any Federation crews, ships, or allies they come across. They hope that we will continue to avoid joining with you to ….avoid further bloodshed. However they do not seem to know when to stop."
"Indeed," Jim said, biting his tongue to void further comment. Spock spoke up. "We have somewhat first-hand experience of their … dedication to this cause," he said dryly. Gu'tark grimaced ,showing a row of sharp white teeth. "I apologise for that," he replied. "I am deeply sorry that you were introduced to our people via those savages."
Sulu stepped forward. " We would be grateful if you would give us permission to approach the leader of the group; we wish to try and reach a peaceful solution."
"If you could manage that," Gu'tark said with a humourless chuckle, "Then we would join your Federation of Planets without further discussion." His laugh gurgled like water swirling down a drain; musical and lilting. Kirk found himself liking this leader very much, but he was worried by how unlikely Gu'tark seemed to find this solution.
The large Torlan sat down on his throne again, and Jim took this as their cue to leave. They bowed deeply once more and retreated, not speaking until the heavy doors were once again closed behind them.
"Well," Jim said, breathing out slowly. "That went well."
"Indeed," Spock agreed.
"So what's the plan, Captain?" Sulu asked. "We go and speak to these …what was it, Kar-tukks? I somehow get the feeling that they aren't going to welcome us with open arms."
"I very much doubt we're going to get out of a fight with them," Jim shrugged. "But it is our duty- despite everything they have done to us- to attempt peaceful negotiations."
Uhura made a noise that sounded a lot like "hmph," but made no other comment. The two security officers with them glanced at each other nervously.
"Shall we continue?" Spock asked pointedly, and Uhura consulted her notes once more. "Okay. This direction, I think."
The city grew noticeably less pleasant around them as they journeyed onwards into a labyrinthine mess of side streets and alleys. The smell, that horrid, fetid stench from Jim's nightmares, began to creep in; subtly at first, but growing stronger and more rank with each few metres until everyone was gagging and choking, tying scarves around their faces to ward off the smell. Jim and Spock looked at each other with deep, terrible sadness, and squeezed each other's hand briefly.
The buildings became shabbier, the bricks crumbling and graffiti on many walls. Filth littered the streets. Huge, jagged fences blocked off many streets and alleys, bearing the crudely painted words "Kar-tukk Clan; prepare to die," according to Uhura. It looked like it was painted in blood- Torlan blood, sticky and black.
"This looks pleasant," Sulu said quietly as they edged past another fence, this one with the impaled, decaying body of a Torlan youth on it. "They've brought out the decorations for us."
"Mr. Sulu," Kirk hissed. "Have some respect." In truth, he knew it was simply a coping mechanism; one he had often fallen back on himself.
A sprawling shack occupied one entire end of a large courtyard, fences and barbed wire surrounding it. There looked to be around six or seven guards patrolling, armed with wickedly curved scimitars and spears. They were tattooed all over, scarred and – for want of a better word – savage.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to talk us in there," Uhura said tightly.
"I wouldn't ask you to," Kirk replied, huffing out a frustrated breath. They crouched behind a turned over cart to think for a moment. "Okay. Ideas? Thoughts? Anything?"
They all stared back at him silently.
AN: Sorry for the delay. RL took over for a while. This is nearly done now. Thanks.