Author's Note: Hello! I'm so sorry for not posting last week, I was preparing my gift for my anniversary that needed my full attention. Celebrating 10 years lol needed to do something BIG! Anyway, I present to you...the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek! All rights belong to JJ Abrams (movie references) and Gene Roddenberry (TOS references). Any grammatical errors or mistakes you find I hope you can forgive me! Happy reading everyone!
Whoever…or whatever our captors were, the second that our Kelvin pods jettisoned out into space in an attempt to escape the failing Enterprise they had immediately taken our crew hostage. Bringing our pods to what I could best describe as a tiny civilization, their base I assumed. It reminded me of a mining facility as I saw large tower-like conduits, the ships they were flying had docked in these shelving in the towers, and as soon as our pods touched down on solid ground our enemies had forced us out of the safety of our pods.
With weapons pointed directly at our heads it gave us an incentive to comply with their orders as they forced us to line up single file and follow where they wanted us to go. As I walked behind my crew, following the line I was in, I took note of any familiar faces that I passed.
I saw Carol farther up ahead, who was already being ushered into one of the buildings that they were escorting one of the lines into. Sulu was walking just behind me, possibly a few people separating the two of us, but I could not see Nyota. Nor could I see Jim, Scotty, Chekov, Spock, Leonard or Khan and that worried me greatly.
Best case scenario? They were one of the few that our captors were unable to retrieve which meant that there was a possibility that they were on the surface of this planet and would be looking for us as we speak. Worst case scenario? Well…I didn't want to think that that was even a possibility that they were gone. I wanted to keep on hoping that our friends were out there looking for us, and that hope kept that fire in the center of my chest going. The fight to keep going, trying, that determination to find a way to get us out of this mess, or at least keep everyone here alive until Jim could find us.
While I was in the line that was being escorted into this single, large metal type room, I did see that there was a different line that was leading further into the depths of this planet. Maybe there was another level that we couldn't see, but I had to wonder: why were we being separated instead of all of us being thrown into this one room?
After the last of our line had been thrown inside, and the doors closed shut behind them I went about to check on what remained of our crew. Immediately going over to those who had collapsed on the ground in either exhaustion or from their wounds that I could not see.
"Ally!" I heard Carol's voice call out in relief as I saw her amongst the crowd of color rushing over to me, and when she was close enough she had thrown her arms around me as I heard her sniffle a few times in the crook of my neck. "Oh my god! I didn't think you made it off the ship!"
"I wasn't sure who made it and who didn't after we were being taken…" I patted her back as the two of us slid down to the ground, our legs feeling like jello after the whole ordeal back on the Enterprise. "I'm happy to see you alive and well…or as well as we can be in this situation we found ourselves in."
"Did Jim make it off? What about the others? Nyota?" Carol was in a slight hysteric, her face stained with lines of dried tears as her blue eyes sparkled from the fresh tears that threatened to fall, she must've been in a panic as I saw the tip of her nose was slightly red.
"Jim and myself were one of the last to escape into our Kelvin pods, I'm sure he followed protocol and took his the second he knew everyone was completely off the saucer." I assured Carol as I looked away sadly. "I don't know what happened to the others…"
"Commander!" I was so happy to hear Sulu's voice! The man had come over to our group, smiling as he crouched to sit among us. "Ally, I recognized your voice, I wanted to make sure that it was you."
"Sulu," I reached out to hug the man who returned the gesture in full, his grip around me tightened and I simply allowed him this moment of reassurance that I'm sure we all needed at this time. It seemed we were all roughed up from the previous altercation along with what happened the second we landed on the planet's surface. "when you were brought here, did they say anything to you? Were you able to get any information?"
"Nothing," Sulu shook his head. "they just spoke to their own men. Nothing I could understand or decipher. What was that up there, Commander? What are we going to do, Ally?"
"There's nothing we can do, not right now at least. We're all tired, injured, and unarmed…we wouldn't stand a chance if we were to act in the condition we're all in. We'd just be endangering our own…we need to get a better understanding of our situation." I mumbled before getting back onto my feet, loudly clapping my hands to get the attention of what remained of our crew. "Anyone with basic medical knowledge, who is capable of moving, if you see anyone who needs medical attention please see to them immediately or bring them to my attention. Under these circumstances I understand that we'd need the necessary equipment to stabilize the more severe conditions, but just do what you can with what you can find." I looked around the room, holding eye contact with those who were looking to me as I could see the light of hope in their eyes had slightly dimmed. Some still in shock after the sudden attack on our ship. "I understand that many of you are confused, and mourning those you've worked closest with, but we cannot lose hope of getting out of this alive. If we lose that, give up, we'd tarnish the memories of our friends that we've lost. Our Captain, our friends could very well be out there and knowing the stubbornness of our captain…he'll come for us. If they wouldn't give up, then neither should we. We are the crew of the USS Enterprise, led by James T. Kirk, a man who cares deeply for his crew. We've faced deadly and impossible scenarios before, scenarios where we thought would be our last adventure, and we have come out on top. We must keep on fighting." Sulu came to stand beside me, nodding his head as he solidified my speech. "Continue to believe in our friends and our captain. We'll make it back home…I know we will."
At the end of my long, and hopefully helpful speech, some of the crew jumped into action and started looking over our fellow crewmen. While they worked, I surveyed the building we were in and what I saw gave me a cause for worry, we had all been shepherded into one gigantic metal room. A million thoughts went through my head and the worst one that crossed my mind was that this room and the cages surrouding us reminded me of a slaughterhouse…and I didn't want to think of why exactly we were in here.
I shook my head to dismiss those thoughts before I went about moving around the large room, there was a lot of work that needed to be done. As I passed by my crew I saw familiar faces that looked to me for some sort of hope, and all I could offer was nod and a smile as I tried my best to calm their nerves. Talking to some that needed personal reassurance. We were all in the dark, no one able to provide an answer or a reason, but what we needed to do was to stay calm.
There were some unfortunate and upsetting cases that we couldn't save, the damage was too severe with the primitive equipment that we were working with, we could only sit and stay beside them in their final hour. And when they took their last breath I made a silent promise that we would bring their bodies back with us, it was the least we could do. I was working overtime to keep order with my crew, sweat dripping down my forehead as I tended to a few of the more severe cases in hopes of saving them, or at least prolonging their life just enough so that they could hold out until we could get them to a proper medical station.
With Jim and Spock absent, the duty fell on me to watch over our crew.
"Get your hands off me! I can walk in by myself." I heard an irritable female voice call out, a voice I knew very well and the second I lifted my head to where the voice had come from I saw Nyota getting shoved into the room we were in before the door slammed closed in front of her face, locking shut in the process.
"Nyota!" I motioned for my assistant to carefully continue and monitor my work before whistling for Sulu's attention, motioning for the man to follow close behind. The two of us quickly made our way over to where Nyota was standing who looking around in complete shock at the view that greeted her. "Nyota, where were you? Did they find you last?"
"No, I came here with their leader, at least I assumed he's their leader." Nyota explained as Sulu and myself shared a quick glance, both of us confused as to why Nyota was even with their leader to begin with. "The Captain was trying to separate the saucer, and when he was taking a while I went down to help. While Jim and the leader were fighting over some sort of box I had attempted to sacrifice myself so that the others could escape by separating the saucer with Jim still on it. But a ship had come and taken the part we were on and brought us down to the planet." Nyota looked at me with worry. "He's searching for the Captain, Ally. If Jim comes here, he'll be walking into a trap."
"He'll be coming here for us, but if we can escape, get a signal out…" I mumbled, thinking out loud, before looking at Sulu. "We need to know if there's an opportunity, a window, where a small party can stealthily get out of here. Find a computer, they must have one, to try and get in touch with someone…anyone out there. Even the Federation if we can. If our friends made it off the ship, avoided being captured then they would be searching for some type of signal. A contact on any and all frequencies on the communicator for signs of life."
"I'm on it Commander." Sulu nodded his head, jumping to do just as I asked before I realized one more thing I wanted the man to do.
"And make sure to figure out the guards rotation." I called back to Sulu. "We're prisoners, they'd want to make sure we don't escape, but there should be a gap where they change out for another to take over."
"Yes, Commander." Sulu rushed off before I turned back to Nyota.
"Those doors will be a problem…" I muttered as I studied the locking mechanism. "What do we have to work with?"
"No scanners, no communicators, no technology of any kind…only the uniform on our backs." Nyota hummed as we tried to come up with a way to release these locks. "We could try a diversion? We can get a guard to open a lock and we overpower him with brute force?"
"No," I shook my head. "we'd be putting any of the remaining crew in danger. Back on the ship they killed without question, with no remorse. If we attempt that plan they could simply kill us all."
"Ew!" Nyota and myself perked at the sudden exclamation that came from the sea of our crew. "Keenser be careful, your snot almost got on my arm."
"It's burning through the splint!"
"Keenser…I know you want to help…but I think you should stay over there at that end of the building."
A lightbulb went off in my head, Leonard had mentioned that Scotty was afraid of Keenser sneezing on the reactor and causing a core breach, and I think Nyota had the exact same thought.
"…Keenser!" Nyota and myself called out as we ran over to the sick Roylan, already coming up with a plan that we could only hope worked.
From what we could see in our room the light had vanished outside so we could only assume that night had fallen. The perfect opportunity to sneak out and carry out our plan.
"All right Keenser, you're up." I motioned for the little Roylan to step forward to the lock by the door.
Keenser stepped forward, took one glance at the circular lock and sneezed right on cue. A glob of green goo splattered on the lock and on contact smoke started to rise as we watched the metal begin to melt away. Once the mucus reached the inner wirings inside I heard the locking mechanism fry and power down.
"That is one heck of a cold." A male officer, who was standing by and on lookout duty while we carried out our plan, commented.
"Nice job, Keenser." Nyota silently cheered as the little man nodded his head while simultaneously wiping away any remaining mucus dripping from his nose.
"All right, we got about 15 minutes until the next guard rotation. Come on." Sulu said as the officer on standby and himself bent down to open the hatch that kept us all imprisoned. Lifting it just enough for myself and Nyota to crawl our way out with Sulu following not far behind.
I gave a quick look around the corner to make sure that no guards were headed our way before I motioned back to Nyota and Sulu. "All cleared, let's go."
"You should've stayed behind, Commander." Sulu argued as we took cover behind one of the walls on the opposite end.
"And what if something happens to you two? What if the guards who catch you suddenly decide they don't want to be merciful?" I shook my head. "I'm making sure you two make it back alive. This way."
I led the two to another room, a room that was filled with what looked to be more of our type of technology then what I had seen outside.
"This is a Magellan Probe." Sulu whispered as we came across a console all lit up like the night sky. "The Federation was using these to find a way through the nebula."
"Then what's He using it for?" I asked curiously, the questions we had just kept piling up with no answer in sight as Sulu motioned toward the wires that were hanging close to the ceiling above our heads that led into another part of the building.
"Nyota." I whispered to gain the the woman's attention who was still staring at the console, the two of us walking as fast as we could without making a sound just to catch up to Sulu.
We had followed and stuck close to the shadows, making sure to avoid another guard who was doing their rounds before following the wires to what looked to be a bunch of monitors hooked up out in the open.
"What do you see?" Sulu asked as I stationed myself on the opposite side of where we came from, acting as a lookout for any guard that could stumble upon us.
"He's been piggybacking the subspace links between the probes." Nyota whispered as she began typing away on their console.
"Can we use it to send a distress signal?" "I can try." Sulu and Nyota conversed as I went over to another monitor, this one catching my eyes due to the familiar schematics that was flashing on its screen. "It's sent."
"Sulu…" I called toward the man in alarm due to what I was seeing on the screen. "He's accessed the Yorktown database."
"Come again?" Sulu asked as he came over to my side as I showed him what I was seeing.
"Starfleet data files, ship logs…including the Enterprise." Sulu listed off as I felt a sense of dread, and shame. Why had I not caught on to this bug in our system that was listening in on our personal business. What had he taken from the many missions we had gone on, along with what was logged into the Starfleet files.
"He's been watching us this whole time." Nyota mumbled before the three of us heard approaching footsteps headed in our direction and just as we were about to turn to make a run back to our prison we were being kept in, another guard had blocked our escape path…in the dark we saw their weapon power up as the three of us stuck close together. We were caught and there was no way to escape.
The guards didn't say a word, they simply shoved their weapon into our backs and led us away. Taken deep underground, under the surface of the planet to a place where it seemed no lights could reach. The three guards were situated around us, two in the back to prevent us from attempting to escape and one in the front to lead the way. There were wires connecting the structures together and when I glanced over the edge in hopes to find another escape route I couldn't help but think how far this place went for I could barely see the bottom.
In one of the pillars we were being led to I saw there were more wirings inside, this was a machine from the looks of it, but what did it do? I couldn't say. The three of us were simply led inside and in the darkness I could vaguely make out an outline of a body hidden amongst the wires.
"You think you know what sacrifice really means?" A low, guttural growl came from the shadow along with the clanking of chains briefly hitting each other came from the shadows. "Federation has taught you that conflict should not exist. Ha!" The person spat out as he gave a slight scoff like chuckle at the dream our Federation had envisioned. When the shadow had turned I was able to see a bit more clearly that it was a man hidden in the darkness and the entwining wires, his eyes staring right at us almost piercing into our very souls as he got up from where he was crouched and continued to speak. I presumed the escorts had led us to their leader. "But without struggle, you would never know who you truly are."
"You have no idea who we are." Sulu stated form beside me as the leader stepped forward. "But you'll soon find out."
"You mean the distress signal you thought you sent?" The leader stepped closer, making his way to stand beside Nyota. "The coordinates were altered. Your rescue ships will be stranded in the nebula and your base left vulnerable."
"You're going to attack Yorktown." Sulu whispered, and I could hear the slight fear in his voice as I assumed he thought back to his husband and daughter who were still at the base waiting for us to return.
"Millions of souls from every Federation world holding hands." The leader got into Nyota's face, and I couldn't help but instinctively react as I gently reached out to pull my friend back and away from the man. The leaders eyes turned toward me, giving a slight scoff as he didn't stop his taunting. "It's a perfect target."
"There will be people there, still protecting those innocent lives that will stand in your way." I glared at the leader. "Not all ships will go to that signal."
"You speak of your family, Commander DeLuca," The leader, who would've been tracking and listening to everything that goes on in Yorktown and our ship, simply shook his head. "they are no threat, deep down…those innocent lives are just a potential list of casualties that are meant to happen, and that is where that line of defense will fall. Something that you, at some point, had a similar way of thinking as well. Isn't that right, little DeLuca."
"You're wrong." Nyota's voice wavered, sticking up for my character or the dream of the Federation, it was still a nice gesture to hear. "There is strength in unity."
"The strength of others, Lieutenant, is what has kept me alive." The machine around us turned on and I was appalled by what I was seeing. I understood now where the sound of chains clinking together came from. Hanging upside down by the wires were our crewmen, their mouths were gagged as the leader reached up to grab a hold of the back of their heads.
"No!" Nyota yelled out in protest as she made to step forward only for Sulu and myself to hold her back.
Their muffled screams of agony, of pain, their bodies jostled as electricity coursed through their bodies causing the machine to flicker as bursts of energy flowed to the man in the center. I watched as his facial features began to change and alter. The fins on the side of his head would disappear and reappear as he flickered from one image to another, and the two crewmen he was holding onto…their bodies started to darken and shrink in mass. It almost looked like they were aging at a rapid pace. Whatever this machine did, it was sucking the life out of them and going into the leader, and I could do nothing to stop him. Their muffled screams…I know would haunt me for a very long time.
And when the process was complete, our crewmen were nothing but skin and bone, the life had drained from their eyes as empty lifeless orbs stared back at me. How many more lives had this man taken without me knowing. And then I realized the rest of our crew that were escorted down here, they weren't being kept alive like we were, and I knew I had failed before I even began to protect our crew.
"Take those two away," The man, now sounding rejuvenated, orders our escorts. "I wish to speak to this one, alone."
Nyota and Sulu took one glance at me, worry flashing in each of their eyes for my wellbeing at being left alone with the man in front of me and I simply smiled in hopes to assure them that I will be joining them soon.
"Who are you." I finally spoke out, my smile long gone the second my friends vanished from my site, as I turned back to the leader.
"Who am I? That is a question you should be asking yourself, Commander." The leader scoffed.
"I know who I am, I am Commander Allyson DeLuca, Second Officer of the USS Enterprise." I glared as my eyes followed where the man walked. "And you have just killed two of my crewmen in front of my eyes, along with however much you brought down into this hellhole. A mistake that is driving me to bring you to justice. You have killed people I've worked closely with over the years, however more you're hiding down here I'm ordering you to give them back." The man scoffed at my bravado before shaking his head.
"What drives you, Commander." The man asked as he had his men untangle my crewmen out of those wires, disposing them carelessly over the side of the walkway which only angered me more. "Is it blind ambition that gives you the courage to threaten me? When I can do to you what I have done to countless others." The leader came close, and I heard him take a large intake of air behind me. "You are afraid, Commander. I can smell it fall off you in waves."
"I fear you, yes, but it gives me the courage and motivation to stay strong for them. Anger that pushes me to stand up to you." I stated. "It makes me stand tall and strong for the many people that are depending on us to get through this alive. Pushing me to protect them from you."
"Then you have failed to protect those that have fallen, fallen while holding onto that hope that their Captain, that their commanding officers, were going to save them." The leader stated.
"...if you are trying to get a rise out of me, it's not working." I glared, turning my head behind me to follow his every movement. Preparing for an attack should he decide to act on his little threat.
"Because you've grown from the little DeLuca that was kept under your family's thumb." The leader said. "But who are you, really, Commander DeLuca. You see, we…you and I are people who were forced to be something we aren't. The frustration and the anger to…to convert and become someone you're not. But you see, Commander," The leader came up close to my face, his eyes straight into my own. "I…I know who…what I am, and I have come to terms with it. True to myself. Have you, Commander?"
"Are we done here?" I asked, keeping my eyes connected with his, unblinking and unwilling to back down as I stared back at him in boredom. "If we are, I would like to go back to my crew."
The leader grit his teeth before nodding behind me and I was forcefully escorted back the way I came, not paying attention to my surroundings as we made our way back to the surface. But the reality started to set in that the crew members that I had seen, that was separated from us when we first got here, those that came down to the depths of this planet weren't going to return back with us. That hit me the hardest on my walk back.
I sent a silent apology, an apology for not being able to save them and a promise that they would never be forgotten.
When I was reunited with my crew I was surrounded the second I was shoved inside, concerned faces greeting me.
"What happened!" Carol started to fuss as she circled around me, checking over my whole body for any noticeable injuries. "He didn't hurt you did he?"
"No…" I shook my head as I looked around at what was left of our crew. "We should all get some sleep, after the day we've had…we deserve it."
I stuck close to Nyota and Carol, the three of us taking comfort in each other's presence, a welcomed familiarity in the strange unknown. Slowly, the crew started to settle and give in to their exhaustion.
I had volunteered to keep watch along with Sulu in case any guards would come to take us away. No one will ever go through what we saw down in the planet. We would put up a fight, and continue to put up a fight till we breathed our last breath just for us to get back home and reunite with our loved ones.
"Commander DeLuca." Syl, an Ensign that was assigned to our ship just before we started our five year mission into space, came up to me with a sense of urgency.
"Ensign Syl." I acknowledged her as I saw her nervously shuffle from side to side, her hands fiddling in front of her as she took a hesitant glance to the left and then the right before she lowered her voice to barely above a whisper.
"I wish to speak to you ma'am. You and Lieutenant Sulu." Ensign Syl whispered as her eyes continued to dart around the walls that confined us.
"Sulu." I harshly called out to get his attention, waving for him to return back to my side for he had gone off to check on our crew. I took Ensign Syl to a corner of the room so that we may speak in private.
And it was there that Ensign Syl informed us of what had transpired back on the Enterprise between her and Captain Kirk along with the reason why their leader is searching meticulously for the Captain.
Throughout the night Sulu and myself were standing in the far corner of the container we were in. We had passed the time reminiscing on the many missions we had gone on, our friends, what food we were craving at this current time. Sulu wanted ice cream. We were just trying to keep our minds busy to stave off mister sandman, the only time we slept was for an hour nap, but that was all. After seeing our crew tortured and killed that night more so I didn't want to go to sleep…even that hour nap I couldn't take due to the haunting image that was ingrained into my memory.
At dawn, just as the sky grew lighter and before the sun breached the sky, the crew started to stir awake. Some had gone out to the extended area that was still caged off in hopes to get some fresh air, to relax as much as they could even with weapons pointed in our direction and guards stationed at all entrances. I was getting restless just sitting around, my leg bouncing as I was among the few that went out for some fresh air to clear my mind. And while I stuck close to the wall of our container I kept glancing at all the areas that I considered vulnerable spots, but even those openings were heavily guarded. Any escape routes I considered, ones I thought, would work was instantly squashed due to the number of possible casualties. If the probability of everyone escaping didn't lean in our favor then I wasn't going to take that chance. We already lost so many that I didn't want to lose any more of our crew.
The quiet morning however was rudely interrupted as I heard the gate of our cage slam open, my crew was being shoved to the side as I saw the leader I had spoken to last night barrel his way into our circle. The commotion had caused many of the crewmen who were huddled inside the metal building to come out to see what was causing the noise and the reason why.
"You will tell me where it is!" The man had ordered as he came to stand in the middle of this circle we had created around him, making an attempt to stay clear of the enraged man as he turned to look to us expectantly…waiting for us to talk. Aside from Sulu and myself, many of our crew were glancing at each other, wondering what exactly he was talking about before I saw his hand reach out for Sulu. "Now!"
My body had moved without me thinking about it, I didn't consider the consequences. All rational thoughts and lessons that were taught to me, the constant repetition to remind myself to remain calm in situations such as these, I had thrown completely out the window, forgotten the second I saw him begin to threaten more of my crew's lives. My right hand lashed out to grab his wrist that was inches from latching onto the back of Sulu's neck. I reared my left arm back, palm facing forward with the intention of pushing against his elbow in the opposite direction of how it was supposed to bend. However, the man had thought ahead, he had seen what I was about to do the second my body had shuffled behind him. With his left hand he had reached over and locked it around my left wrist just before it touched his elbow, holding us together as the both of us struggled to get our arms free.
I ground my feet into the ground and glared up into the man's yellow eyes as I held on with all my might, digging my nails into his brace and what little skin was showing through while attempting to free my hand. He had the same idea as well though he was having less trouble in his attempt than I was, I just kept urging myself to hold on because if I didn't? He would go after my crew.
"You leave my crew alone." I growled as a warning and from the corner of my eyes his men stepped close to the two of us, their weapons held at the same level as my head, powered up and prepared to fire if I continued to act against them.
"Commander, your selflessness, your senseless need to jump when your family is threatened…will be your downfall." The man scoffed, an eerie smile starting from the corner of his lips as he suddenly pivoted to the side, swinging his body around, and due to having been pushing against him my body had followed along with him the second he moved. When I found my footing I tried my best to keep my body stable, but he was more experienced than myself…not to mention stronger. While I was concentrating on staying standing, my grip had momentarily loosened and the second I did he had yanked his right arm out my hold. He pulled his fist back and delivered a hard punch to my abdomen rendering me breathless as I doubled over in pain, heaving at the sudden impact I wasn't prepared for. As I attempted to compose myself I saw him move once more, my first reaction was to block, and I held up my freed hand up to my face to prepare for his next attack…an attack that never came. My left wrist was yanked, bent and pulled uncomfortably behind my back as his right hand took a hold of the back of my neck. He had forced his weight onto my back to prevent me from getting back to my feet while yanking my head up to the sky, the sudden motion causing a slight yelp to escape my lips before I bit down to deny him the satisfaction that what he was doing was causing me intense pain. "I wonder, will they do the same for you."
From the back of my neck, an intense burn started to flare up. It started out as a stinging sensation, just enough that I was able to keep myself from screaming out in pain, but it was getting increasingly stronger by the second. I started to seize up, paralyzed from my neck down as I felt jolts of electricity course through my body. The position I was forced into didn't help to ease the pain, it only intensified as my joints were forced to stay in their position when all I wanted to do was straighten out. I squeezed my eyes shut, adamant on not giving him the reaction he so desperately wished, or one that could sway my crew to reveal what he was looking for. The pain doubled, tripled, as the seconds ticked by and the pulses that traveled through my body were flowing in waves and getting stronger. I bit down on my lip harder, tasted copper after I had broken skin…before I heard Syl's pleading voice pierce through the crackle of electricity causing the pain to momentarily subside.
"Let the Commander go and I will give you what you want!" Syl pleaded, her eyes never leaving mine as I attempted to shake my head.
"Don't…" I began to say before feeling the back of my neck being yanked as another jolt of pain shot through my body as a warning.
"Syl, don't!" I briefly heard Sulu order as I helplessly watched as the cranial appendages on the back of Syl's head started to unfold revealing to our enemy what they had been searching tirelessly for.
One of the lackeys went over to retrieve the artifact just as I was dropped to the ground, completely forgotten, and finally able to breathe as I was helped back to my feet by Sulu. All of us stood and waited for what the leader would do next as he stood and admired the tiny object in his hand.
"Lieutenant, unity is not your strength." The man turned back to where we stood. "It is your weakness." The man was about to walk away before stopping right in front of me, his yellow eyes turning to me as I stood in front of my crew, not daring to back down as I continued to glare at the man. "Do you know what this device is…Commander?"
"It was an artifact given to us by the Fibonan High Council, it was supposed to act as an offering of truce between the Fibonans and the Teenaxis. The Fibonan Republic had said that it was a piece of an ancient weapon that they had acquired long ago." I responded to which our captor simply shook his head.
"This is Abronath." The man started to circle what was left of my crew, or at least those that had decided to stick around after witnessing the incident that happened out in the open. "It was used by the Ancient Ones as a weapon. But when they could not control its deadly power, they split it into two and ejected the halves into space, hoping it would be lost forever." As I followed the man, not taking the chance of leaving him alone so that he could hurt anyone else, I heard the sound of shutters closing behind me before feeling the floor start to move. Nyota, Syl and myself were trapped inside some kind of lift with this deranged man with his artifact obsession. "But I am grateful. I have spent lifetimes searching for it, only to have you find it for me. The poetry of fate." I felt the lift come to a sudden stop as a single doorway opened and without saying anything else the man turned to step off the platform. The three of us looked to each other before rushing to catch up to the man, not wanting to be left behind inside an area we did not know.
"The world I was born into is very different from yours, Lieutenant. Commander." The man continued to speak as we were led into a more lit area of their base. In this room there was a pillar located in the very center that started to rise from the ground. I stared at it for a few seconds before following the man close behind. "We knew pain. We knew terror. Struggle made us strong. Not peace. Not unity. These are myths the Federation would have you believe."
"Those are strong words. You might even believe them, but there's something else going on with you." Nyota spat as she stood in front of the man, staring…assessing the man who simply stared back, only taking his eyes off Nyota when I walked up to them. "Something underneath."
"Commander! Uhura!" Syl's panicked voice caught my ears at the same time that the doors behind me suddenly shut close.
"What are you doing!" I growled as I turned back around and attempted to pry the glass door apart, if I couldn't push it open completely then I at least wanted it open enough for Syl to squeeze through.
"What are you doing to her?" Nyota asked, commanded, as I was suddenly yanked away by the man that had previously stood close to the leader, my arms being held firmly to my side as I watched helplessly as Syl started to shake in fear inside the room we were previously in. The lights inside the room started to flash, the machinery in the center of the room started to activate as I continued to struggle against the man who was restraining me. "You already got what you wanted! Let her go!"
"Syl!" I called out in distress as I watched the woman move closer to the pillar in the center of the room. "Syl, get out of there! There has to be a way out of that room!"
I glared at the leader the second he began to move, placing the completed circular object he had acquired from us into the slot of the door. The artifact glowed red and just as he turned the inner circle clockwise I saw a black mist enter into the room Syl was in.
"No, please!" I begged as I ground my teeth together in frustration as I watched the swirl crackle from the electricity coursing through the particles that circled around Syl. "Let her go!" I stared in shock as I watched Syl's body slowly being eaten away as she started to gasp in pain, the fear in her eyes more prominent as she desperately made a run toward where we stood…and I watched as in mere seconds her body was dissolved by the black substance that came from the leader's weapon.
The leader, this killer, turned the device back the other way to summon back the black particles before I was finally released. I stood in shocked silence close to the door, staring at where Syl once was while Nyota still had her hands touching the glass door. After a few seconds I reached out, grabbing Nyota's hand as I pulled her gaze away from the glass, the sudden motion caused Nyota to turn and cling tightly to me, the two of us using each other as a shield after what we had just witnessed.
"Manas, it's time." I heard the leader order before I turned my eyes to see the man who had restrained me reach out to take back the artifact.
"Your name." I growled, catching the leader's attention and when he didn't respond I spoke up even louder. "I want your name."
"For what…Commander." The leader asked as he returned my glare.
"I'd like to know the name of the person before I put them six feet under." I growled as I felt Nyota's grip on my arm tighten to prevent me from acting on my promise. "You've threatened my family, killed many of my crew. I do not take things like that lightly, you better believe that I will follow through with my threat. If not me, then you can be sure our Captain will make you pay. You made a grave mistake attacking us."
The leader simply scoffed at my threat, turning his back to me as he led the way, this Manas person urging Nyota and myself to follow without giving us a choice.
"The Federation has pushed the frontier for centuries. But no longer." The man spoke as we started to trudge through the rocky terrain of his base. Manas, or whoever this person that the leader kept speaking to…I had assumed possibly his second in command, continued to push us forward toward the pillar that held his tiny ships. "This is where it begins. This is where the frontier pushes back."
While he continued to speak, jabber on about his plans, I was thinking of how I could push back. How fast I needed to act to gain control of the situation. Manas had a weapon, that much I could tell…I needed to disarm him and turn it on the leader, and I needed to do it while getting Nyota out of harm's way. I was enraged, furious! So much damage was done, so much harm and threats against my family's life, and I wanted to pay him back in full! To match the destruction he had caused to lives he deemed worthless.
But just when I was about to follow through with my plan in the distance I heard the rumbling of an engine, and it was getting louder the closer it got. We all had heard the disruption and when I turned to look I was relieved when I saw a familiar head of blonde hair riding atop what looked to be an old modeled motorcycle getting closer to where we stood.
'Jim!' I smiled in relief before it was cut short when I saw a ball of light shoot out from beside me headed straight for Jim. I had gone from elation to worry when it looked like he wasn't planning on dodging the shot that was fired.
On contact, Jim's body faded, the shot fired from the leader disrupted whatever technology Jim was using and the image of my captain fizzed out. In the corner of my eyes I saw another image of Jim emerge from behind one of the hills as he returned fire causing all of us to duck at the oncoming fire.
While the leader and this Manas character was distracted I grabbed for Nyota's hand and started to pull her away, the two of us made a run for it back to where our crew was located. Sticking close to the ground and dodging any of the return fire from the rest of the leader's men and several copies of Jim riding around the base distracting our enemy.
The cavalry has arrived in the nick of time.
I really hope that I did this chapter well...I was hoping to show Allyson as a leader and confidently stepping up to the plate of a leader while Jim and Spock are gone compared to how she was in the beginning of the story. To show the character development and her growth throughout the story thanks to her friends and Mates.
If you are enjoying yourself and my story: review, follow, and favorite! But it's not mandatory =) just knowing that you gave my story a chance, and decided to read my creation makes me incredibly happy! I hope everyone is continuing to stay safe out there wherever you may be in the world!
-SO