Chapter Twenty-five
Spock contacted the Bridge and was surprised to hear Hunter's voice, not the Captain's. "I'm sorry, Mr Spock. Caton overpowered Kirk and hauled him off in the turbolift." It was not the best news Spock had heard all day. After telling Hunter to seal off the bridge and await further instructions, he turned his attention to Mr Scott and the others working on the warp core, but he was aware of McCoy, who rarely missed a trick already advancing towards him with a question.
"Something's wrong, isn't it, Spock?" It never ceased to amaze Spock how the doctor managed to read him when his face betrayed no emotion. It was almost as though McCoy had a kind of sixth sense where emotions were concerned – he could pick up the slightest nuance, a useful skill in his chosen profession, but sometimes a source of irritation for Spock. This was one of those times. He needed to think and McCoy's inevitably emotional reaction to Hunter's news would impede him. It was already difficult enough maintaining the meld with Blackstone and keeping his thoughts from drifting into dangerous regions of his mind.
"Caton has taken the Captain." He said. The ship's surgeon glared at him in disbelief, but the expected outburst did not come.
"What now, Spock?" He asked, to Spock's surprise.
"It is likely that Caton will make for the transporter and attempt to beam himself and the captain aboard the Klingon battle cruiser, where he will attempt to use the Captain as leverage." McCoy nodded in understanding,
"Jim's life for the Enterprise." The doctor sighed. If it wasn't one, it was the other of his friends being asked to make the impossible choice. No, not impossible. Both men knew where their duty lay, but with Spock as with Jim, choosing duty would leave a gaping hole that could never be filled.
"Is it too late to stop him?"
"It is likely that Jim is already aboard the Klingon ship."
"Sonofabitch." McCoy muttered. "Spock! We could read the last coordinates on the transporter, go after him." Even as he said it McCoy realised the futility of his proposal.
"To what end, doctor? What could that possibly accomplish but our own capture?" Spock said, his voice full of weariness.
"I'm sorry, Spock. That was a crazy suggestion, a gut reaction, I guess."
"Please engage your brain when thinking, doctor, not your digestive tract." McCoy let it pass, seeing Spock's tiredness, knowing the effort the Vulcan was putting into keeping a grasp on his sanity.
He said only,"There must be something we can do."
Spock sighed, steepling his fingers against his forehead.
"Please allow me to think, doctor." McCoy moved away allowing Spock the space he needed to come up with a way to save their friend.
Some minutes later, Spock asked Kravok. "H'Narth is likely to be in command of the battlecruiser in Kaathos' absence, is he not?" Kravok agreed.
"Dr McCoy. Do what you can to revive Piklamer. I would like to speak with him at the earliest opportunity, but first, I must speak with Mr Scott"
"What are you thinking, Spock?" McCoy asked.
"I wish to make Piklamer an offer." Spock said. McCoy glared at him in disbelief, "You aren't seriously thinking of making that trade, are you? Jim's life. For what, Spock? The Enterprise? The Klingon ship? Jim would never make a decision like that. Have you gone out of your Vulcan mind? "
"Dr McCoy, I do not have time for emotional outbursts." Spock said, before heading for the matter antimatter reaction chamber.
"It's bad news – or good news depending how ye look at it, Mr Spock." Scotty informed the First Officer. Spock cocked an eyebrow.
"T'Hana's method allows for sufficient stability to be achieved for the porathium and bretinium to act together as a substitute for the element found in Piklamer's galaxy. The porosity of the hybrid crystal is maximised allowing an increase in the amount of power generated in the reaction chamber. Unfortunately, our coolant system is not equipped to deal the with the excessive heat energy that would be produced. It would result in a.."
"Warp core breach." Spock finished the Chief Engineer's sentence for him.
"Then the hyperwarp is not compatible with our present level of technology."
Scotty nodded, "I'd like to take a closer look at the mechanism, nevertheless."
"Mr Scott, you have been charged with temporarily dismantling the hyperwarp, not completing its installation." Scotty looked sheepish,
"Aye sir, it just seemed a shame not to get a look at how it works while we're at it. You of all people must appreciate that, Mr Spock." The Chief Engineer was referring to the First Officer's renowned curiosity about all things scientific which had landed him in more than a few sticky situations.
"I too, am curious, Mr Scott. However, the hyperwarp must be disabled for the time being. Please direct your energies to the task at hand." He turned to McCoy.
Spock stared down at Piklamer's lifeless form, "You have not been successful in reviving him?"
"I'm not familiar enough with his physiology to give him a shot." McCoy said, "Could do more harm than good. If I had access to sickbay, I could run a quick diagnostic but," he shrugged. They were sealed in engineering and the ship was still crawling with Klingons. He looked up from where he was crouching over the Moranan and saw Spock deep in thought. McCoy had a sudden intuition and he didn't like it. "Forget it, Spock." He said, harshly. "I know what you're thinking and it's crazy."
"Dr McCoy, you are not telepathic. You cannot possibly know what I am thinking. You have merely made a wild guess based, no doubt on some skewed emotional response to what you think you know of my psychological functioning."
"It's too dangerous, melding with Piklamer in your present state of mind – and what about Blackstone? Have you considered what effect it could have on him?"
"I was considering exactly that when you interrupted the flow of my thoughts." He paused, "Without the terlak, I doubt that Piklamer's powers of telepathy would amount to much."
"But you don't know for sure. Spock I'll certify you unfit for duty if you keep this up." McCoy threatened, but of course, Spock held the trump card,
"Doctor, reviving Piklamer may be our best chance of ensuring the Captain's survival. I am duty bound to do whatever lies in my power to guarantee his safety."
"Jim would never allow it." To himself, McCoy added, And let's not pretend you're motivated purely by a sense of duty.
"May I remind you that I am in command in the Captain's absence? " McCoy glared at the Vulcan but he knew Spock was behind a wall he couldn't hope to penetrate. Blackstone, who had been hovering in the background, now stepped forward. McCoy looked at him, feeling uneasy. Spock planned to meld with Piklamer, but only to revive him. He would never consider invading another's mind by force. Blackstone had already shown himself willing to do so. Would he be capable of influencing Spock when the meld began?
"Thank you, Mr Blackstone, I will require your assistance. We must strengthen the link." Blackstone approached Spock wordlessly and the others looked on as the two Vulcans locked minds once again. Then, Spock approached Piklamer and placed his fingertips on the Moranan's meld points. Immediately, his face contorted with revulsion. Blackstone's expression was unchanged but his eyes were closed, and it was obvious that he was concentrating deeply.
McCoy had witnessed Spock meld with aliens before, the strangest being the Horta, a silicone-based life form on the mining planet Janus VI. He knew that sometimes a meld could become so intense that there was a danger of Spock's becoming so immersed in the other person's mind as to lose his own identity. For Spock's sake, he hoped that Blackstone could temper the effects of any foray into Piklamer's unconscious mind.
In the end, there were no dramatics, no cries of anguish such as McCoy had witnessed with the Horta, only that first expression of revulsion a few minutes of intense concentration and it was over. McCoy sighed with relief. Abruptly, Spock withdrew his fingers, Blackstone opened his eyes and Piklamer spluttered back to life. His eyes burned with hatred when he looked at Spock.
"I said we should have killed you. Caton thought madness a worse fate than death for a Vulcan with such a keen intellect and persuaded me to leave you for your precious captain to find you a vegetable."
Spock's lips were tight, a sure sign to McCoy, observing him closely, that the Vulcan was struggling with contol. Moreover, his fingers were gripped tightly around Piklamer's terlak, which he still held, and raised now to point at the Moranan.
"I am sure I do not have to explain to you the effectiveness of this instrument in the hands of a properly trained telepath." Spock said, coldly, "I have made the necessary adjustments to configure the device to comply with my own brain patterns. I advise you to remain silent until your cooperation is required."
McCoy felt his eyes popping out of their sockets. When had Spock had an opportunity to retune the terlak? The only conclusion he could come to was that Spock was lying, but Vulcans, as Spock so often reminded him, did not lie. McCoy switched his gaze to Blackstone. Most Vulcans. Again, he wondered, could the young Vulcan make Spock act against his will? He had felt uneasy about the meld before, but now that unease deepened. He would be watching Spock even more closely from now on.
Watching him now, he saw that Spock was looking at Blackstone with what appeared to be restrained anger.
"What is it Spock?" he asked, looking from Spock to Blackstone.
"I'm afraid I have upset Mr Spock." Stephen explained, "I was unable to resist digging deeper into Piklamer's mind during the meld. I was aware of Mr Spock's disapproval but I had to know Piklamer's mind. I.. took advantage of Mr Spock's present weakness, but I do not regret it." Blackstone looked at Spock. "Tell him, Mr Spock."
"What did you learn form Piklamer, Spock?" McCoy asked, gently, aware that Spock was deeply troubled, both by Blackstone's betrayal of trust, and what he had discovered from it.
"A great deal." Spock said, tersely. "Piklamer never intended to share the hyperwarp with the Klingons, or with Caton. He had Nor plant an explosive device aboard the battlecruiser."
Kravok and T'Hana had also been watching the First Officer. T'Hana came forward. "You must warn H'Narth, Mr Spock."
"I will speak with H'Narth, but I am not convinced that he will listen."
"He will listen to Kaathos."
"That can be arranged." Spock looked at McCoy.
"This device…" The doctor could barely bring himself to ask, "How long does Jim have, Spock?"
"One hour, ten minutes and thirty-four seconds." The Vulcan replied, with his customary precision.