Chapter Twelve – After Hours
James T. Kirk pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure as he stealthily made his way over the uneven ground and took cover behind a large boulder. It was getting dark outside, the sun was rapidly setting, shielding the captain from view. However, Kirk had no illusions about the men he was chasing. They ran an advanced operation with high stakes and meticulous planning. The latter was the only explanation as to why Starfleet had missed the ships while patrolling in the closest Federation sector or had boarded a vessel only to find it empty.
Adrenaline was pumping through his tired body as he spared a quick glance at the scanner that hung around his neck. He found no life signs nearby, well except for one. "Spock," he whispered carefully into the microphone of his com unit.
"Spock here, captain," came the instant reply. "The main entrance seem to be deserted. Ra'talan believes a delivery has already been shipped. We parted ways a little over ten minutes ago. I am on my way to you now."
Kirk glanced down at the scanner again but didn't see anything on the display. He frowned worriedly. Spock should have been visible by now. Kirk let his eyes roam over the semi-dark surroundings and stiffened as he thought he heard something behind him and carefully reached for the hand phaser tucked into his waistband.
A tall figure all dressed in black suddenly appeared next to him. An eyebrow arched and a slightly amused look passed over the man's face as Kirk cursed under his breath. "Do you want to get shot, Spock," Kirk mumbled unamused as he let out a relieved breath and let go of the tilt of his weapon.
"On the contrary, captain," the Vulcan reasoned. "You're a highly skilled Starfleet officer and as such you evaluate the situation before you take any action. It's not logical to fire a phaser unless you want to be discovered."
Kirk rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I do shoot first and ask questions later," he replied with a smirk. "That is, when my gut feeling tells me to do so."
Spock merely shrugged. "I've downloaded the schematics of the mine into the pad. However, I must point out that Ra'talan wasn't too keen on letting us go without back up," he explained.
"But they're on the way?" Kirk asked.
Spock nodded. "He's got one man still on the inside but he's low in the ranks and therefore a lot of information is lost during transit," he surreptitiously let his eyes roam over the immediate area and then checked his scanner again. "I am curious, captain, as to what you think there is to gain by walking into, should I say, a hornet's nest?"
"You're starting to sound like Bones," Jim cautioned with a cautious smile. "I want information and I need proof that can't be denied by the Syndicate. I know Ra'talan and his people have done a great job but there is something more to this than just a simple dilithium theft and I intend to find out what it is."
The two friends met each other's gaze for a moment, both deathly serious, then they got up and began to move toward the side entrance Kirk had been staking out. No words where necessary between them, they worked as one, both of them trusting the other inexplicitly.
They ran out in the open and then quickly covered the distance to the mine. Inside they carefully made their way into the mountain. Kirk had only taken a few steps before he heard a growling sound a slight distance away. Frowning he turned to Spock, who instantly scanned the area and then nodded up ahead.
"I urge caution, captain," he said in a low voice. "We have no way of knowing if they can see us or not. However, since we can read their life signs they must be able to do the same."
"Let's just hope they assume we're allies and let it go," Kirk whispered but deep down he didn't believe it to be that simple.
OOOOOO
Amanda Grayson stopped dead in her tracks, her body stiffening as she came face to face with a man that looked like nothing she had seen before. "What are you doing here?" she asked fighting to keep her voice steady and not quivering.
The man took a step toward her and she instinctively backed away into the shadows.
He smiled, liking the way the woman tried to make it harder for him. He always appreciated a challenge. "You cannot hide, human," he gloated.
Amanda cast a quick glance toward the flap of the tent silently judging the chances of getting out without being seen.
"Darkness can be seen through," he said suddenly with glee. "The technique has been refined for centuries."
Amanda took a deep breath. She saw the man in the faint light coming straight at her. He looked out of place somehow. His rigid forehead was high and on it was what appeared to be several low ridges that continued into the unruly hairline. He seemed wild yet he spoke like a man with demeanor.
"What are you?" she whispered.
"Your nightmare Mrs. Grayson," he replied viciously as he reached out to grab her arm and yank her out of the shadows.
She gulped as they came face to face. Up close he looked rough and cold, his dark eyes pinning her with a malicious stare, then he blotted his sharp teeth in a triumphant smile.
"Leave me," she begged. "I'm of no importance to the Federation."
"That's where you are wrong," he corrected her. "You have built a bridge between the Vulcans and the Humans. A trust between people that are of benefit for the Federation. The Federation cannot expand more. It must end here. Coridan is a strategic place, Mrs. Grayson. A dark and dangerous place where shadows live."
She struggled in his grip, but he only seemed to enjoy it as he began to walk across the room, dragging her with him. She contemplated on resistance but as they exited the tent and she saw the bodies of the highly skilled Vulcan elite force before her feet she reconsidered. Amanda had seen them practice, honing in on their skills until they reached near perfection. It stunned her to silence to see they'd been taken out. Whoever the man was he was dangerous. Fear for her husband's life almost crippled her and she would have stumbled and fallen if his grip hadn't been so hard.
"What have you done?" she whispered dreadfully.
"What had to be done," he said simply as he led her further away from the conference building and the provisionary tents located around the immediate area.
"Where is Sarek?" she finally managed as they passed two dead Starfleet Security Officers, lying face down in the gravel.
The man turned to her in amusement at her predicament and worry. "Emotional, aren't you?" he hissed. "You'll soon see him again."
Amanda whimpered as a grenade suddenly lit up the sky behind her and she struggled in his grip to turn around. Her breath caught in her throat as smoke poured out of the foyer diplomat hotel. Shouts could be heard nearby and then phase pistols but what chilled her to the bone was the blood curled battle cry coming from a tent a few ticks up the research avenue, that and the clinging of something that resembled a sword.
OOOOOO
"Now what," Kirk mused as they came to stand at a crossroad.
Spock narrowed his eyes and then thoughtfully pointed at the left. "This way, Jim," he said.
The Vulcan took the lead, but the captain was not far behind. Well hidden from Spock's view, Kirk closed his eyes briefly and swallowed, almost coughing, at the dust whirling around them, covering his nostrils.
The tunnel before them widened and a whooshing sound could be heard at a distance.
"Spock," Kirk whispered alarmed. "It's a hover carrier."
Hover carriers had long replaced the trail bound trains that helped ferrying the goods in a mine. Most of them was automated when it came to mining minerals that had radioactive traits, such as dilithium, and with human safety in programmed they were fairly harmless. However, if the hover carrier detected humans in an automated tunnel it would set of warning klaxons in the command center and that was the least Kirk wanted.
"There is a side tunnel 10.5 meters from forward and to our left," Spock reported.
They set off running and threw themselves into it as the Hover carrier appeared before them. The carrier rushed past them in the main tunnel as Kirk let out a relieved breath and glanced at Spock.
The Vulcan listened for it for a while and then nodded toward the captain. "It didn't slow down, not even for a second. It seems we're all clear," he reported.
The two of them ventured further into the tunnel system and then came to an abrupt halt as the tunnel before them lead to a dead end.
Spock arched a curious eyebrow. "Fascinating," he remarked. "This is not according to the map."
"This way," Kirk suggested as he pointed to an opening to their right.
A klaxon suddenly went off, sounding an alarm that could awaken the dead. Kirk covered his ears momentarily but kept going. The tunnel suddenly ebbed out in a large cave from which there was several new tunnels to choose.
The sound of gruff voices filled the cave and Kirk ducked into one of the narrower tunnels without thinking. Spock followed suit and they lay flat on the floor, patiently waiting for the foe to come out in the open and pass.
Kirk stiffened as he recognized the language and crawled further into the tunnel, away from the sound. Spock brought out the scanner once again. "There are three of them," he whispered as he slid closer to his captain and friend.
The rough voices drew nearer and Kirk dared a peak, what he saw made the hairs at the back of his neck rise.
"Interesting," Spock mused, his voice barely audible.
Kirk stared at the Klingons further away. They looked like they had mutated back in time over a century ago when their forehead ridges were pronounced and proud. They were big and aggressive, their bodies looking like they'd been chiseled out of stone. Then in the blink of an eye the Klingons turned toward them, letting off a battle cry. A Bath'let gleaming in the faint glow of the overhead lamps.
"Go, Spock!" Kirk commanded as he began to retreat further into the narrow tunnel. He knew that for him there was no escape.
OOOOOO
The silence that followed seemed even more deafening than the vicious attack upon the large vessel. The bridge had turned eerie silent, the klaxon no longer blared, no one shouted, no one talked.
Laying draped on the floor next to his helmsman Rodgers eyes snapped open as the viewscreen came to life before him, replacing the black void with an image of Babel. Something sparked behind him and he jumped then grimaced as he twisted around to see what it was.
"Captain!" Thom called he appeared next to him. "Somebody get the doc up here!"
Dumbfounded Rodger's stared at his XO's worried expression and then followed Thom's gaze toward his right side only to stare in amazement at the blood that oozed from a puncturing wound. "It doesn't hurt," he managed in shock.
"You're going to be all right, sir," Thom assured him and quickly rose from his position as a medic arrived to take his place next to the captain.
Casus Thom grimaced and swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in his throat as he made his way over to the scanner. He slammed the button on the intercom and called engineering. "I need power up here!" he yelled, not waiting for an answer and switched to a ship wide frequency. "Damage reports on all decks!"
Behind the commander the communications officer slowly got to his feet. Waiting for the power to fully return Thom gently held out his hand for the man to take. He hauled him up and helped him into the chair.
The ensign mumbled a low thanks and reached up with his hand to wipe the blood from his lower lip.
The console to Thom's right beeped and he turned around once again. The sound of the intercom buzzing reached his ears and he pushed the button.
"I can get you emergency power," Carlton wheezed over the open channel. "It's like a battlefield down here. That last phaser shot made it through the shields and into tube two. It slit the hull like a can opener. I'm missing several people. We're trying to seal the comprised areas as best we can but it's not looking good."
"What about the engines?" Rodger's piped up from the floor as two orderlies gently helped him settle on a stretcher.
"There's enough juice to keep her from spiraling out of orbit and hopefully make it to space dock within a few days," Carlton answered. I do hope the Enterprise didn't fare as bad as we did."
"Are you okay?" Thom asked kindly over the channel.
"I'm a tough SOB, Casus, you should know by now," Carlton answered lightly. "I'll be all right. I better be because I'll have my hands full for several days down here."
Thom smirked as the line went quiet and called up the scanner array. The smaller vessel had disappeared. Curious as to where it went he called up several magnifications and checked for an ion trail, but it was nothing out there. Confused and a little alarmed, he tried to find the Enterprise, but she was also missing. Frustration began to creep over him as he zoned in on the planet and then he froze. The pictures relayed through the screen showed the diplomatic zone on Babel in chaos.
OOOOOO
To be continued
A/N: So sorry for the delay in posting. I do hope you're still enjoying the story even though I've managed to add a lot of characters you're not familiar with ;) I'd love to hear from you!
