This is nothing that I haven't done before. Kirk thought to himself, sweat beads already starting to drip down his face. You can do this.
He took a deep breath and looked up at his opponent. Hunfo was a small, quavering humanoid with deep purple skin and pleading black eyes. The small being shook with nerves in the other corner of the ring, nervously holding their child-like hands into loosely curled fists. Kirk recognized the alien to be one of the Youlu race, but on second glance, he realized that it was just a child.
Kirk's blood ran cold. One of the giants had brought in a child to doing his fighting. The Youlu were a warrior race, but Kirk couldn't justify anyone letting a child fight in a tournament that only leads to death. The child was the last seed, so they obviously hadn't fared well in the competition.
"Fight!" Toolah-Fal's voice boomed over the speakers and the Youlu child gulped as Kirk fell into his fighting stance. Kirk sucked in a deep breath as he watched Hunfo's small hands ball into fists and uncurl themselves.
The small child took nervous steps towards Kirk, who remained unmoved.
If I want to live, I have to kill this kid. Kirk realized, his blood running cold, and the nervous sweat dribbling down his face. Bones and Spock. They need you to do this. Kirk thought to himself, his gut churning. Bile rose in his throat as he watched the child dance in his stance in front of him.
"Wait!" Toolah-Fal's voice echoed menacingly through the arena. The small child dropped their stance and stood up straight, looking around nervously. Kirk did the same, letting out a sigh of relief. "Now, now. This isn't fair." Toolah-Fal chuckled. "This brings me to the next rule. The lower seed will receive a small advantage to even the fight." The chain door squealed open and a glimmering knife clattered to the floor of the cage near the child. Hunfo swiped it from the floor and brandished it in his strong hand, putting himself back into fighting stance. The door slammed shut once again.
"Fight!" Toolah-Fal called and the child lashed at Kirk with all of their strength. Kirk quickly dodged the slash and the kid stumbled towards the edge of the cage. Kirk didn't have the heart to turn around and end the match right there and then.
Hunfo struggled to retain his balance and turned around again to face Kirk. Kirk faced the child, his arms braced in a defensive position.
"Hunfo, you don't have to do this." Kirk said reluctantly as the kid slashed at him and he quickly dodged. "We can find another way!" Kirk's breathing was short as he watched the fury in the child's eyes.
"You killed my family." The child snapped at him in another language. "You and your Starfleet. You killed them all." The child leaped into the air and brought the knife down towards Kirk's chest. Kirk grabbed the child's hands and pushed the knife away from him at lightning speed, letting the child drive the knife into the floor as they toppled on top of Kirk.
"That wasn't me," Kirk said soothingly in the Hunfo's native language. "If it was, would I have taken time to learn your language?" The child looked at him with shock for a split second, then let his features return to fury. "Not all of Starfleet is bad," Kirk continued as the child attempted to pry the knife from the floorboards and struggled to keep on top of Kirk.
"I don't care." The child snapped back at him, finally pulling the knife from the floor and thrusting it again towards Kirk's chest. Kirk grabbed the child's hands and let the knife dangle inches from his chest.
"Listen to me," Kirk pleaded and the child's anger fizzled into confusion. "If you kill me, you have to win the rest of the contest. My friends, they need someone to take care of them and get them out of here. Please," Kirk choked on the words as the child tried to shake off the confusion and lowered the knife towards his chest. "Spock and McCoy. Save them, that's all I ask. Do what you have to do." Kirk swallowed hard and felt a tear form in his eyes. "Please." He pleaded and released his grip from the child's hands. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill the child.
Kirk squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the strike to the heart. After everything that he had been through, he was ready to go. He'd done more in his years than he could've ever hoped for. He'd found McCoy and Spock. He'd found his crew. He'd found his home on the Enterprise. It broke his heart knowing that he had to leave it all behind, but he couldn't live with himself if he had killed this child.
After a couple of seconds, Kirk felt a droplet fall onto his forehead. His eyes snapped open to see tainted blue blood drip from Hunfo's small, delicate lips. The realization his Kirk like a bus. He shot up and caught Hunfo before the child went limp, holding the knife to his chest.
"I'm sorry," Hunfo cried softly as Kirk cradled him in his arms. "My family, they're gone. Your family is still here. You have to fight for them." Hunfo looked into Kirk's eyes and pleaded, clutching the glittering knife against his skin. "I'm sorry." Hunfo gasped and the life drained from his small eyes.
"No," Kirk said in disbelief, still holding the small child in his arms. "No!" He cried out and the arena burst into cheers. Kirk shook the child in his arms, a tear running down his cheek. His body shook as he held the limp body against his quivering chest.
"Captain Kirk wins!" Toolah-Fal's voice boomed and the cage door swung open, but Kirk didn't even seem to hear it. The blood was pulsing through his head, each heartbeat made it seem like his head was going to burst.
The door guardian Romulan grabbed Kirk by the shoulder and pulled Hunfo from his arms. Kirk struggled to hold on to the child, but the Romulan ripped him away and dragged him to the exit.
"Congratulations, Captain." The Romulan spit in Kirk's face as he threw him from the ring. "I hope that you're satisfied."
/
"Jim?" McCoy asked as he saw the door creak open. He threw the blanket off of himself and stood up awkwardly, bracing his weight on his good leg. "You there, Jim?" McCoy watched warily as the door moved only another inch.
McCoy stumbled forward, every muscle in his being on high alert. If that idiot's hurt, I'll kill him myself. McCoy grumbled to himself and pulled the door open. Kirk stood on the other side, the bags under his eyes as dark as the night sky. Kirk stumbled forward and fell into McCoy's arms, nearly knocking both men over.
"For the love of god, man." McCoy huffed as he struggled to keep them both upright. "What happened to you?" McCoy asked as he half-dragged Kirk to the couch.
"'s nothin' Bones." Kirk's voice was slurred nearly beyond the point of being English.
"Are you drunk?" McCoy asked in disbelief, the smell of alcohol drenching the younger man. He threw Kirk onto the couch.
"A lil." Kirk blinked heavily and nearly slumped off the couch. McCoy stared at Kirk, his heart heavy as he remembered the events from the match.
"Listen, Jim. If you want to talk about what happened today, I'm here for you." McCoy sat down slowly next to Kirk, pushing him back onto the couch.
"'s alright." Kirk mumbled and let his head rest on the arm of the couch. "Can you bring me the whiskey?" He asked groggily.
"No." McCoy said sternly and Kirk looked at him like a kicked puppy. "Now, don't give me that." McCoy rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time that he had to handle Jim at rock bottom, and he was well prepared to deal with him. "You know it won't help."
"Then I won't feel it." Kirk muttered and McCoy sighed.
"You didn't do anything wrong," McCoy cooed. "It was those sick bastards that threw the kid in the ring to begin with."
"But now he's dead because of me!" Kirk shot up off the couch, nearly knocking McCoy on his butt. "I'm the reason! Everywhere I go, someone dies! I'm a disease!" Kirk cried out, tears flowing freely from his bloodshot eyes.
"Jim, it's not your fault." McCoy gently moved Kirk to sit back down. "People get hurt. That's the way things are," McCoy's heart broke for the captain. He was waiting for the toll of the battle with the Klingons to roll back around, and this was the straw that broke his back.
"It can't be." Kirk sobbed and fell back into the couch. "It shouldn't be." He was crying uncontrollably, his body wracking itself with spasms.
"Jim," McCoy pulled him into a tight embrace, trying to steady the poor man's body. "Breath, Jim." McCoy hugged him tightly until he heard the sobbing slow and felt Kirk regain control of his body. "That's more like it."
"I'm sorry, Bones." Kirk choked as he tried to speak.
"Don't apologize, kid. This isn't your fault." McCoy rubbed Kirk's back gingerly and Kirk buried his head into McCoy's shoulder.
"But it is," Kirk cried quietly into McCoy's shoulder.
"It's not. Just let it all out, Jim." McCoy cooed. He couldn't help but feel bad for Kirk. All of that responsibility was thrust on him with no say from him, and everything seemed to snowball for the poor guy. McCoy knew that there was nothing that he could say to make things better, but he also knew that Kirk would always find a way to bounce back. But, he had to break before he could repair.
"Why do people have to die, Bones?" Kirk asked, and McCoy's heart shattered. He looked at Kirk and only saw a broken and beaten child, thrown from his home, lost, scared, and confused.
"It's a part of life, Jim." McCoy hesitantly replied. "You couldn't have done anything to stop it. It was his time to go." McCoy continued softly, rubbing his palm soothingly against Kirk's back.
"Why isn't it ever my time? I'm tired too, Bones." Kirk said, almost inaudibly. McCoy's blood ran cold.
"I know you are, Jimmy. But you've got to stay here. You have to keep fighting. Remember me? And Spock? We need you, Jim." McCoy said, his own voice cracking as he held back tears.
"Okay." Kirk said, weariness finally slapping him in the face. His body suddenly slumped in McCoy's arms. "Only for you guys." Kirk yawned and his eyes fell shut. McCoy released him from his embrace and gently set his head to rest on the arm of the couch.
"I know, Jim." McCoy sighed and pulled the blanket over Kirk's body. "I know."
Sorry that this chapter took me so long to complete! It was pretty heavy to write... Anyway, like always, constructive criticism and feedback is always encouraged. There's so much more of this story yet to come!
-buckminsterbarnes