Hello, hello, hello! It's been, what, MONTHS since I last updated! I really do have to apologize; I underestimated what school would do to my creative ideas, and I honestly had the hardest time writing ANYTHING. This chapter took much, MUCH longer than I anticipated, and I'll tell you now, I've been working on this ever since my last update, I kid you not. Hopefully, now with school done, I'll be able to get this sucker done; I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do, and I do know how I'm ending it, but right now it all depends on how the Muse cooperates; hopefully she's getting her buzz back now that school isn't sucking my brain dry.

Thanks to everyone who added this, favorited this, and/or commented; your support is wonderful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is to you guys, and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon.

Note, though... things are going to be getting extremely dark, and even though I won't be going into any heavy details, know that right now there will be mentions of torture and there will be death. And the emotional turmoil is going to be pretty bad too, so... heads up.

I've read over this, made changes to what mistakes I found, but it's still probably mistake ridden; please forgive me, it's been a difficult couple of weeks.

Disclaimer: don't own, just borrow, please don't sue.

Darkness

"So, there was a small glitch in the readings for the dilithium core las' night; we need ta see if there's anythin' actually wrong or if the computer's foulin' up agin," says Scotty, handing the PADD to me and Jesse Lewis.

"Another glitch?" asks the ensign incredulously. I raise my eyebrows at Scotty as well; I thought starships were better built than this. If it is another glitch, that makes it the third this week.

"I'm not any happier 'n any of you, but it's our job‒"

Scotty's voice abruptly stops as the air around us swims. I feel the familiar sensation of my stomach seeming to shrink and expand at the same time, but I barely have time to even register it before I find myself somewhere unfamiliar. And wholly unpleasant; fear prickles the back of my neck as I stare wide eyed at my surroundings. Wherever we are, it's dark, damp, and looks more than menacing.

"Oh good, you're all here in one piece," says an oily voice. We spin around, and I set eyes on the only being that could have done this.

"Tell me, do you find your quarters to your satisfaction?" says the Dorisian, grinning nastily at us.

"Who the hell are you?" snarls Scotty, stepping to the front.

"I am called... Tai Parr; perhaps you've heard of me."

For moment, I feel like I'm going to faint; I never thought I'd actually meet my husband's kidnapper face to face. Jesse grabs me to prevent me from collapsing, but we've already attracted the attention of the alien.

"Please, don't hold back. We need to see who's weak," Tai Parr says smoothly.

"Go to hell," somebody spits out, and there's a virulent uptake of the phrase. Tai Parr simply smiles, something that's probably the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.

"You humans and your 'hell'. It doesn't scare me," he says, faking a yawn, "I suppose you're wondering why you've been brought here. No? Well, see, we've kind of been put on the bad end of a business proposition, so you've all been transported here as a sort of... insurance policy."

"Ya sick bastard," Scotty manages to say, shaking with fury.

"Oh, quite, my dear friend. Now, if you'll please sit back and enjoy the show..." He walks over the wall, pressing his finger against a brightly lit screen. "You can move into the next step of the plan. Remember to just wound, not kill. That will get us nowhere." There's a muffled affirmation from the speaker, then Tai Parr makes his way back to us.

"Get comfortable. You're going to be here a while," he sneers at us. With that, we're left to our own devices in this dark and, as I'm quickly finding out, damp space. A sudden wave of panic and nausea overtakes me, and I fight to keep from getting sick. Jesse and Scotty take me to the nearest wall to help me sit down, but it's not helping; I feel very, very wrong.

"Hey, look at me, Helen. We can't have ya blackin' out on us," says Scotty forcefully, but from what little light there is, I know he's worried.

"I'll‒I'll be okay, check the others," I say weakly, but I'm lying. The nausea's gone, but the feeling that something's not right is persisting and just getting worse. Scotty gives me his look that tells me he knows I'm putting on a brave face. "Please... I'm not the only one here with problems," I persist, and he finally stands up and takes charge.

"Right, sound off! Who's all here?" he barks with the authority of an army general. I listen in, and I'm a little disturbed by who's all here: the majority are engineering personnel. Scotty swears under his breath.

"Damn... they got nearly all of engineerin'," he murmurs, and it doesn't help my feelings about the situation. Say what you will about a starship and which crew members are the most valuable, but you can't deny that if the engineering staff has been removed, the ship is as good as dead in the water. Tai Parr obviously did not beam us all out for the heck of it. But it opens up a whole new can of worms: how did he know where we were? How was he able to scan and then beam us out without the Enterprise registering it? And what is he going to do now?

"Right," says Scotty again, breaking into my thoughts, "Now, Ah want everyone to just stay calm and think‒"

"Think about what? We've been taken prisoner! Sir," exclaims someone from the back.

"I realize that, but we cannae just give up," Scotty snaps back.

"Captain, I really don't know how you cope with such argumentative staff, they've been here for what, almost ten minutes and they're already at each other's throats," says Tai Parr, seeming to appear from nowhere. He's talking into a comm device in his hand as he stops in front of us, looking at us like we're meat to be eaten. "Oh, you don't know yet? Well... I've acquired some new pets in the absence of Dr. McCoy."

I'm momentarily blinded as the wall directly in front of us blazes to life and reveals itself to actually be a view screen. Blinking, my eyes adjust and widen as I see the crew, staring at us with something close to fear and shock. Jim tries to regain his composure, but even by just looking at the screen, he's visibly shaken.

"Tai Parr, this is low, even for you," he finally says, his tone attempting to sound icy and furious; he's failing miserably.

"No, my dear friend, this is only the beginning. Clearly, if I'm going to make an impact on you or your precious federation, I've got to up the ante," replies Tai Parr smoothly, "I mean, after the unfortunate incident with Dr. McCoy, we thought we'd better take out a bigger insurance policy."

"Jim, I can't find Helen or Scotty‒" I freeze as I see Len come onto the bridge, his shirt ripped and burnt in places; it's only then that I realize that the Bridge crew is not nearly as pristine as they would be. They were attacked. Concern, rapidly turning to panic, consumes me; what's happened to James?

Len suddenly realizes who's on the screen, and his expression turns from white shock to a deep and dangerous shade of red. "You."

Tai Parr smiles. "Me."

"You put these people back here right now, you sick bastard, or I will get aboard your ship‒"

"And do what? I'd like to see you actually try, Leonard McCoy." The Dorisian snaps his fingers, and the force field separating us from him is dropped. He stalks over, surveying our group like we're candy. When his gaze finally settles on me, I start shaking, trying to back away, but his hand encircles my wrist and I'm dragged to the front. I'm aware of the others yelling and swearing at Tai Parr, but as they're not swarming over him, I assume the force field has been put back up. It's my last coherent thought, because at that moment, something cold and very sharp presses against my neck, and the only thing I know is terror. "As you can see, I will carry out my threat, starting with this woman."

Len is shaking visibly; he looks ready to pass out. Jim pales noticeably, but tries to remain calm. "Why do you think we care about her?" he asks. The knife presses tighter against my skin; I can feel blood sliding down my neck now.

"Very well, if that's what you feel‒"

"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF HER!" Len suddenly explodes, making for the view screen with cold murder written clear on his features. Several staff members have to restrain him, but it hardly does any good.

The knife lifts away from my skin and Tai Parr holds me out in front of him, studying me. I'm still quaking with fear, but it's not the same as before; I can see I now no longer have a quick death ahead of me. He's going to break me to break Len.

"Why Dr. McCoy... I didn't think you were capable of holding such feelings for such an injured waif. Thank you for pointing this out," says Tai Parr eventually. I hear Len swearing, and as I'm shoved back into the prison hold, I catch a glimpse of his face. He's staring at me with something akin to tortured pain, desperation that rips at my soul. This time, I can't stop the tears that rush forth.

"Captain, you have seen what we have. I suggest you meet our request very soon if you want to get most of your crew back in one piece."

"Wait, what do you mean‒"

Tai Parr closes the link and we're plunged into darkness once more. He looks at us, at least, I believe he is, and his voice rings out one more time. "Give them an hour before we have the first victim. Kill one every hour until they meet our demands."

"But sir, what if they won't cooperate?" says a voice from somewhere. It's only then that I realize he has a comm link open.

Tai Parr pauses, staring at us. "Oh, they will. Believe me, they will. Oh, and after dinner, bring me McCoy's woman; there are some things that need to be... put to rest." His head turns towards me, and I shrink back, trying vainly to hide from his gaze. He finally leaves, silent as ever, and we're left alone once again. The silence lengthens; I can hear various people whispering, breathing, and even the odd whimper.

"Sir... what's going to happen to us?" queries a small voice. I'm reminded of Chekov for a moment, but the voice belongs to that of Alice Yan. My heart goes out to the ensign; she's barely nineteen.

"We... The Cap'n will be here before ya know it, lass. He won't let us down," Scotty replies, sounding as if he and Jim share a telepathic link. He goes on to give the rest of the crew a big spiel about how things have been worse before, but Jim and the Enterprise has always come out on top. "The best thing we can do is not panic," he concludes, looking around. There's a few agreeing cheers, but some of the older staff hold back; they know as much as I do that despite Scotty's positivity, both him and some of us know our chances of getting rescued right away are not high.

ON THE ENTERPRISE

JIM'S POV...

"Jim, why aren't we doing anything?" snarls Bones behind me. I ignore him as best I can, but seeing my crew where they were and knowing who has them making me more than a little worried.

"Bones, we need to plan‒"

"Damn planning! They've got Helen, and they will torture them, Jim, they will," Bones persists, pulling me to stop. There's something in his eyes that makes my blood cold. I'm hit by the sudden thought that, no matter what happens, he will kill before the end of this.

"Bones, we can't just go in guns blazing, you know that. We're missing over half of engineering, the ship's in pieces, we've got casualties from the attack‒"

"Jim, we don't go after them now, they will be dead in less than a week, probably less than a day. We go now, or I'm committing mutiny." We both fall silent, Bones breathing hard.

"Okay, okay," I say finally, "We'll go after them. But we're gonna need your help, you've been around the Dorisians more than we have. We can't take them on without your knowledge."

Bones nods fervently. "You got it. I'll tell you all I know."

"Good. Let's get this rescue on the way."

HELEN'S POV

The minutes have passed by in a way I haven't been familiar with since the attack over three years ago. The darkness is almost the same; the pain though, is different. For the past little while, I've been cramping, badly. The feeling of wrongness that I'd been experiencing earlier has gotten much worse, and now I'm fairly certain of what's happening.

I've never felt so empty.

The lights come up all of a sudden, and I shrink back into my corner instinctively; my first concern is still my baby. There's a shifting of feet and bodies as people turn to see what's happening, but some are like me and just try to ignore it.

"It's been one hour, humans. It's time for the first pay up." A shiver runs down my spine at Tai Parr's words. I finally scrape up the strength to look and see what he's brought. Oh god...

Tai Parr stands with his feet slightly spread, a sick smile on his lips, and what has to be the most wicked dagger I've ever seen in his hands. "Lower the force field, grab whoever gets in your way first," he says, and the slight hum drops completely. Two Dorisians rush forward, teeth bared in a predatory manner. Somebody halls me to my feet and pulls me to the very back of the cell; it's Scotty.

"What are you‒"

"Lass, Ah know you're all for fightin' for everyone, but this is not the time to play hero," he snaps at me, glaring at me. His eyes frighten me.

A sudden yelp draws our attention back to the front, and my heart goes cold: they've grabbed Alice.

"No, let her go!" I cry out, and I'm not alone; many of the others have joined in uproar, but nobody can move once again; the force field is back up. The view screen has been activated, and I can see Jim and Len, along many more people than usual, on the Bridge. Tai Parr walks forward.

"The clock has chimed, Captain Kirk. Do you have the answer we need?"

A muscle twitches in Jim's cheek. "We're working as fast as we can, Tai Parr."

Tai Parr shakes his head with mock sadness. "I'm disappointed, Jim. Now this poor girl is going to pay the price for your inability to act quickly." Before anyone can react, he drives the dagger straight through Alice. Her sharp gasp of pain and shock is quickly cut off by a watery gurgle as blood starts to dribble down the side of her mouth. Tai Parr drops her body to the ground, stepping over her to stand closer to the screen. "That was one. You have... fifty nine minutes till the next." He closes the connection. He turns to us, his eyes searching for someone. I immediately lower myself to the point where I know he can no longer see me.

"Listen to me now," says Tai Parr, "I can't see McCoy's lady friend right now. Now, missy, you can surrender yourself over to me in a half hour willingly, or I will kill two of your friends at that time. Your choice." The silence drags out for a minute, then the lights turn off. I slide down the back wall slowly, my heart thumping painfully against my ribs while my life seems to drain out of me. What do I do? What should I do?

"Helen, we won't let him take you‒" Scotty starts to say, but someone cuts him off.

"That‒that dinosaur or whatever he is, is going to kill us to get to her. I like Helen as much as the next person, but are we really willing to let them kill us for her? That's asking too much," they exclaim, and there are a few murmurs of agreement from the others. My heart sinks, but what he said is true; it's not fair what's happening to them on my sake. And as much as it's tearing me apart inside, I know what I have to do.

"Now, you listen here, you lousy mudkip‒"

"Monty, he's right. I can't keep hiding; if I go, maybe we can keep the death down to a minimum," I rasp, the words falling out before I fully comprehend them. Even as I do, a voice in my head screams at me that I'm a complete idiot, this won't solve anything... but living on the Enterprise has shown me a code of honour I didn't have before. And even if some people don't have it in the same way most do, I do try to live by it.

"Lass, you've seen what he's done‒" Scotty starts to say, trying to dissuade me from going, but I hold up my hand, standing up slowly; my lower back is aching steadily now.

"Yeah, I did... and if I do go and talk with Tai Parr, maybe I can buy us all some time, Monty. We can't just sit here like rocks. If I can maybe get through to him, maybe‒maybe things will be okay," I say; my words sound fake even as I say them. I can see I'm not fooling Scotty, and probably no one else, but they stay silent.

"Can Ah get a moment with Helen, by meself, please?" he says finally; the others move off slowly, some avoiding my face while others look at me with guarded expressions. When they've moved as far as they can to give Scotty and me a good bubble of space, he closes the distance between us, chewing his lip.

"What the hell are you playing at, Helen? You saw what they did ta your man, they won't hesitate to do the same or worse to you," he hisses, fury permeating the air around us.

"It's better than them killing the others‒"

"Is it? Yeah, maybe for an hour or two, but if we don' get help within the next twelve, we're gonna be done regardless; ya won't solve anythin' by turnin' yourself in. I know that much for a fact."

I swallow, trying to make sure that when I do open my mouth, I don't start yelling at him. "So, you propose that I sit here and watch those crazy dinosaurs kill us off one by one? I'm not some princess in the tower, Monty, I'm a goddamn engineer."

"Helen... please. Jus' think for a minute. You have a family, you've got the doctor, your boy... You're willing to throw them away?"

Scotty's words finally strike a nerve, and my throat starts to close up. "I'm doing this so maybe they can live in a world where these Dorisians are threatening everyone's life," I murmur shakily. We fall silent for a moment before Scotty nods slowly. He looks at me, and the hollow resignation in his eyes is so uncharacteristic that I swallow any and all words still lurking in my throat.

"Fine, lass, but this habit of sacrificing yourself for others is only going to get you killed one day." Placing his hand on my shoulder, he disappears into the crowd, not talking to anyone. Somewhere in my heart, I know he's telling the truth.

"Well, you're healing up nicely," said Leonard, washing his hands as I pulled my tunic back over my head. "You sleeping better now?"

I didn't reply right away, trying to think of some way to create a convincing lie. "Um, yeah..."

The doctor turned around to face me, his expression none too pleased. "Helen, if you start acting like Jim, I'll start treating you like Jim. And believe me, you don't want that."

I sighed, swinging my legs a little forlornly, not wanting to remember the dream. "Okay, fine, I haven't been sleeping well. I still‒I still have memories of what happened."

Leonard slowed washing his hands, not looking at me. "Do you... do you want to talk about it?"

"What are you, my counsellor?"

"Actually, I had to take several psychology and sociology courses, and even though I'm not certified, I have a good ear. I am a doctor, after all."

The way I understood it was 'talk or I'm going to go Freud on your ass'. He must have seen my look of annoyance, because his expression softened.

"It's better than bottling it up, believe me. I know I haven't really pressed you to talk about what happened, but I can see what not talking is doing to you, even if you don't yet. And if you want, this can be off the record, for now," he said, looking at me and not blinking those beautiful eyes of his. All I thought was damn him and his stupid persuasions. He was completely right, of course. I knew I needed to talk about it, but I was the kind of person who didn't talk until it was too late; maybe Leonard could break me of that.

"We were hiking... there were some really good fruit bushes about five minutes from home, and it was my family's turn to go and collect them. It was a beautiful day... My brother, Sam, and I, we went up a bit more, while Mom and Dad stayed down below. Sammy and I... well, we were like Jim and you, you know. Close, real close, complete opposites though. Sam, Sammy, he was the serious one, always trying to keep me out of trouble, trying to act smarter then he really was... That was the funny part, because I was the older kid. Mom and Dad always said I was supposed to be the serious one, the mentor to Sam. Said I should have been born second." I was babbling, and I knew it. Leonard hadn't moved, hadn't said anything, but he was looking at me with an expression of sympathy.

"You okay?" he asked quietly. I laughed, my eyes suddenly burning.

"Yeah, perfect. So anyways, Sam and I, we were picking these berries, although I was eating more of them than I was picking. Bad habit of mine. He told me to stop eating, and I was just going to retaliate, when it really quiet, all the animals, the insects, it just went dead. Now, we'd been living in the colony our entire lives, and we knew that when things got real quiet, real fast, something really bad is coming. The worst thing that lives in our area is the Rackla. It's this great big thing, all teeth and claws, and it acts like a rabid animal, even though there's nothing wrong with it.

"We‒we didn't know it was there until it jumped us. Got a hold of Sam first, and I‒I couldn't let that happen. I jumped on that thing's back, kicked it, scratched it, bit it, anything to get it away from my brother‒" This time, I did break off for good, as I started sobbing almost to the point of hysterics. I could still see everything, the Rackla throwing me off and going straight to savaging me. Then Sam appeared, bleeding heavily, but he still somehow was trying to get the thing off of me. I know I yelled at him to get away, but then the Rackla's tail swung around and hit me in the head. The next thing I knew, I was being taken into some place I had never seen before by a doctor I didn't know.

I didn't realize Leonard was standing right in front of me until I felt a hand on my shoulder. Through tear blurred eyes, I looked up to meet his gaze. He looks a little shaken, something I didn't expect from him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I am truly sorry."

"Yo, doc, I'm here for the lady‒" We both jumped as Jim came in, bright eyed and grinning. His expression did a complete one eighty the minute he saw the look on both our faces.

"What the hell did you do to her?" he snarled, glaring at Leonard with something close to fury. Leonard left me immediately, dragging Jim into some remote corner so I couldn't hear them. I concentrated on wiping my eyes, but they were only now starting to ebb off; I didn't want to know what I looked like at this very moment, but for some reason it didn't matter either. For the first time since I'd come here, I felt a tiny bit better.

"Hey Hells, you want to head out? Scotty said he had some journals you might like to read?" said Jim, interrupting my train of thought. I looked up into those blue eyes, and all I could see was being a friend in a time of need, not someone who wanted to fool around. I nodded slowly and got up, taking the hand Jim offered me. He and Leonard exchanged a glance, and something passed between them; it wasn't until a few weeks later that I was told what they knew, and it didn't go over well the first time.

"So, miss, you going to come willingly, or do we have to snap the necks of some more of your friends?" comes the now dreaded voice. Like Moses parting the seas, everyone moved to the sides till I had a clear view of Tai Parr. The alien's face spreads as a grin swipes over his mouth. As soon as I see that smile, I know I'm never going to make it off this ship alive. I move forward automatically, barely registering what I'm doing. The force field drops and I step over. I hear it go back up as soon as I'm across, and it's the only thing I hear; everything and everyone else is silent.

"Well, I am surprised. Pleased, but surprised," purrs Tai Parr.

"Cut the bullshit. You have me now, you got what you wanted," I spit back, letting all my fury seep into my voice. I can almost see the pleasure in his eyes.

"Yes... but not everything. Shall we go?" He waves the way, and I go, entering the dark hall we'd seen him disappear down already a few times.

The ship is very dark. Lights punctuate the blackness every once in a while, but other than that, I see nothing. It's damp though, and the air smells slightly rotten; this is not place where life is cherished. And as soon as we enter the room, our destination, my theory is only proved.

Images from the Spanish Inquisition fill my head, death camps from the Second World War, and witch burnings joining the mix. This room is meant to cause pain, to create wounds that go deeper than skin and muscle. Pure instinctual fear floods my being, and I turn to run. I don't get far as a scaly arm snakes around my neck, bruising my trachea and dragging me back into this torture chamber.

"Welcome, my dear, to hell."

Cliff hanger for you guys; I do apologize, but this chapter is already a long sucker. Actually, the next few probably will be. I don't know yet; I've got plans and I'll be working on the next one tomorrow. The next chapter will start off with Jim's POV, probably be that way for the most part; it's ambush time! And Starfleet is joining in BIG time.

Thanks for reading, and comment if possible; makes my day!

Love and hugs!