DEGUELLO - Chapter 13
by Trish Bennett
Spock had left Lieutenant Commander Scott in command of the Enterprise when he transported down to the planet's surface. He left the Engineer with specific instructions to fight only if he was assured of winning, to flee if he was not, and to use the self-destruct mechanism in the event that neither of those options were feasible.
Doctor McCoy had been furious with Spock's decision that he remain aboard the Enterprise, but Spock had stood firmly by that decision. If he was successful, McCoy could tend to the injured Captain in his own Sickbay. If he was not, no measure of medical skill would be able to help him.
Spock had beamed down to the planet surface without incident, and his tricorder readings led him directly to the source of the power emanations. He proceeded with extreme caution, his phaser drawn, into the gaping tunnel. As the Captain would say, so far so good.
Spock edged his way gingerly down the steep decline, following the tricorder readings that would lead him to the Captain. There was no indication of a Klingon presence anywhere in the vicinity. Perhaps they had simply left Kirk here to die. Not an atypical Klingon tactic, but he dared not let his guard down for a moment.
He was becoming more concerned with each step he took. If the Captain was as weak as he suspected, it was going to require an amazing determination to get him to the surface where they could safely transport back to the Enterprise. Fortunately, determination was one thing Spock knew he possessed in sufficient measure.
He did not have much farther to go. The readings indicated one human life form, approximately fifty yards away, directly ahead. It was a chamber positioned at the far end of the rocky precipice. Spock quickened his pace.
Even Spock, though, could not have been prepared for the sight that awaited him. His eyes scanned the cavern quickly, acknowledging the dead animal, the Lieutenant...and the Captain.
He stopped dead in his tracks for a moment of sheer disbelief before racing to the Captain's side. The human looked deathly pale, severely injured. His eyes were closed, and Spock had to look at him closely to be certain he was even breathing.
Kirk's condition could be considered grave, at best. Spock surveyed the damage quickly. Apart from numerous cuts and bruises, the Captain was bleeding from two open wounds, although not profusely. His breathing was erratic, to say the least. And the line of his rib cage beneath the gold uniform shirt was noticeably marred, indicating several broken ribs.
Spock leaned over him. "Jim," he said softly, urgently. The human stirred but did not open his eyes. "Jim!"
At last the eyelids fluttered, and Kirk looked at him, attempting to focus his eyes. His mouth formed the word Spock but no sound accompanied it. A smile nearly lit his face, but his expression changed from relief to confusion to apprehension in the flash of an instant.
He finally found a feeble voice. "Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd...?"
Spock raised an eyebrow. "Hamlet," he said. "Act I, Scene IV."
Kirk's breath quickened, and he stared at him in mounting confusion.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head groggily as if to clear it. "You're dead..."
"I'm afraid I must differ with you, Captain, but we've no time to argue to point. I must get you back to the Enterprise."
Spock moved to readjust his tricorder, inadvertently brushing the Captain's arm with the back of his hand. Kirk inhaled sharply at the touch.
At first, Spock thought the reaction was one of pain, but when he looked into the Captain's face, he realized he was mistaken. Kirk stared at Spock's hand in confusion a moment before he finally raised his eyes to meet the Vulcan's steady gaze.
"Spock!" he said, a smile finally appearing through the disbelief. "It is you."
"Yes, Captain," Spock said quickly, "but we must proceed with haste."
He scanned Kirk with the tricorder and quickly determined that first aid could wait until they were safely aboard the Enterprise. If they could even get to the Enterprise...
"This is going to be quite difficult, Captain," Spock confessed. "Do you think you can stand?"
Kirk stared at him blankly, then finally shook his head. "I can't feel my legs."
Quite difficult would appear to be an understatement.
"I can't see him, Spock," Kirk announced suddenly, and Spock tensed for unwelcome company. "I can hear him, but I can't see him."
Spock waited, but no one appeared. They were completely alone. And if the Captain had heard something, then surely his acute Vulcan hearing would have detected it as well. Spock's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Who?"
Kirk's eyes scanned the chamber as he said slightly louder, "Sam?" It was more a call to an unseen presence than an actual reply.
Spock's mind was racing. Sam was the name of Kirk's brother. His dead brother. Could that be to whom he was speaking in the throes of delirium? Or was it something else?
He sat back on his heels, suddenly struck by the memory of something he had read long ago. It was something about the human mental process that he had never quite understood before. Now the concept hit him with shocking clarity.
He had read that, at times, humans relived their entire lives in the fraction of an instant, some even claiming to hear voices calling to them. It was the death process. The Captain was dying.
Kirk's eyes were disturbingly clear, his face still unnervingly peaceful as he looked back at Spock.
"He keeps running farther and farther ahead," he said earnestly. "I can't keep up with him."
Spock did not claim to understand human psychology, but he decided to employ a very basic tactic.
"Do not follow him, Captain," he said firmly, but his voice was very near a whisper.
"I'm supposed to stay with him..."
It wasn't working. Perhaps he should have brought Doctor McCoy along after all. Spock knew he had to keep him talking.
"Are you in pain, Captain?"
Kirk seemed to consider the question. "You know, Spock...it's not that bad anymore. I just feel kind of...numb."
Spock pushed himself to his feet. "We must get to the surface, Captain. I shall require your assistance."
Kirk gazed at him a moment, shivered slightly, then turned his head back to gaze at the ceiling above him.
"It's so cold..."
Spock felt his stomach muscles tighten as he stared at the human at his feet. He was losing him. Spock could think of nothing else to do.
"Captain Kirk," he snapped crisply.
Kirk jumped, startled, and his eyes searched the Vulcan's stern face. His breath quickened.
"Name..." Spock commanded in his best authoritative tone. "Rank...serial number."
"James...T. Kirk," he whispered. "Captain. SC-937-0176-CEC."
"Again!" Spock's voice was still demanding and firm.
"James T. Kirk. Captain. SC-937-0176-CEC."
He continued to repeat the phrase over and over without further order, and the apprehension in his voice quickly dissipated. In fact, the repetition seemed to console him somehow. At least he had something on which to concentrate, and it seemed to stablize him somewhat, at least for the moment.
Momentarily satisfied, Spock turned his attention to their escape. It was clear that the Captain would be of little assistance. Under ordinary circumstances, Spock would simply have carried him over his shoulder, but the broken ribs made that far too risky. He could not cradle-carry him because he would need at least one available hand to help navigate the slick ledges in the outer chambers.
Spock saw no other option. He lifted Kirk off the floor easily to hold him upright against him, his left arm encircling the Captain's waist. Kirk was dead weight against his shoulder. His breathing grew more shallow, but he struggled to continue muttering his name and rank.
"...SC-937-0176-CEC..."
"Hold on to me, Jim," Spock commanded in a voice that seemed to penetrate the Captain's concentration. Kirk's arm tightened around the Vulcan, and he clutched the shoulder of Spock's shirt in his other hand as if his life depended on it. And perhaps it did. His recitation, however, did not miss a beat."
Spock felt for his phaser, then turned for the cavern entrance. The sight of Kor standing in the open doorway brought him quickly to a halt. The Klingon's disrupter was leveled at the Captain's back. Spock briefly wondered how he had not heard the Commander's approach.
Kor grinned smoothly. "What a truly pleasant surprise."
by Trish Bennett
Spock had left Lieutenant Commander Scott in command of the Enterprise when he transported down to the planet's surface. He left the Engineer with specific instructions to fight only if he was assured of winning, to flee if he was not, and to use the self-destruct mechanism in the event that neither of those options were feasible.
Doctor McCoy had been furious with Spock's decision that he remain aboard the Enterprise, but Spock had stood firmly by that decision. If he was successful, McCoy could tend to the injured Captain in his own Sickbay. If he was not, no measure of medical skill would be able to help him.
Spock had beamed down to the planet surface without incident, and his tricorder readings led him directly to the source of the power emanations. He proceeded with extreme caution, his phaser drawn, into the gaping tunnel. As the Captain would say, so far so good.
Spock edged his way gingerly down the steep decline, following the tricorder readings that would lead him to the Captain. There was no indication of a Klingon presence anywhere in the vicinity. Perhaps they had simply left Kirk here to die. Not an atypical Klingon tactic, but he dared not let his guard down for a moment.
He was becoming more concerned with each step he took. If the Captain was as weak as he suspected, it was going to require an amazing determination to get him to the surface where they could safely transport back to the Enterprise. Fortunately, determination was one thing Spock knew he possessed in sufficient measure.
He did not have much farther to go. The readings indicated one human life form, approximately fifty yards away, directly ahead. It was a chamber positioned at the far end of the rocky precipice. Spock quickened his pace.
Even Spock, though, could not have been prepared for the sight that awaited him. His eyes scanned the cavern quickly, acknowledging the dead animal, the Lieutenant...and the Captain.
He stopped dead in his tracks for a moment of sheer disbelief before racing to the Captain's side. The human looked deathly pale, severely injured. His eyes were closed, and Spock had to look at him closely to be certain he was even breathing.
Kirk's condition could be considered grave, at best. Spock surveyed the damage quickly. Apart from numerous cuts and bruises, the Captain was bleeding from two open wounds, although not profusely. His breathing was erratic, to say the least. And the line of his rib cage beneath the gold uniform shirt was noticeably marred, indicating several broken ribs.
Spock leaned over him. "Jim," he said softly, urgently. The human stirred but did not open his eyes. "Jim!"
At last the eyelids fluttered, and Kirk looked at him, attempting to focus his eyes. His mouth formed the word Spock but no sound accompanied it. A smile nearly lit his face, but his expression changed from relief to confusion to apprehension in the flash of an instant.
He finally found a feeble voice. "Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd...?"
Spock raised an eyebrow. "Hamlet," he said. "Act I, Scene IV."
Kirk's breath quickened, and he stared at him in mounting confusion.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head groggily as if to clear it. "You're dead..."
"I'm afraid I must differ with you, Captain, but we've no time to argue to point. I must get you back to the Enterprise."
Spock moved to readjust his tricorder, inadvertently brushing the Captain's arm with the back of his hand. Kirk inhaled sharply at the touch.
At first, Spock thought the reaction was one of pain, but when he looked into the Captain's face, he realized he was mistaken. Kirk stared at Spock's hand in confusion a moment before he finally raised his eyes to meet the Vulcan's steady gaze.
"Spock!" he said, a smile finally appearing through the disbelief. "It is you."
"Yes, Captain," Spock said quickly, "but we must proceed with haste."
He scanned Kirk with the tricorder and quickly determined that first aid could wait until they were safely aboard the Enterprise. If they could even get to the Enterprise...
"This is going to be quite difficult, Captain," Spock confessed. "Do you think you can stand?"
Kirk stared at him blankly, then finally shook his head. "I can't feel my legs."
Quite difficult would appear to be an understatement.
"I can't see him, Spock," Kirk announced suddenly, and Spock tensed for unwelcome company. "I can hear him, but I can't see him."
Spock waited, but no one appeared. They were completely alone. And if the Captain had heard something, then surely his acute Vulcan hearing would have detected it as well. Spock's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Who?"
Kirk's eyes scanned the chamber as he said slightly louder, "Sam?" It was more a call to an unseen presence than an actual reply.
Spock's mind was racing. Sam was the name of Kirk's brother. His dead brother. Could that be to whom he was speaking in the throes of delirium? Or was it something else?
He sat back on his heels, suddenly struck by the memory of something he had read long ago. It was something about the human mental process that he had never quite understood before. Now the concept hit him with shocking clarity.
He had read that, at times, humans relived their entire lives in the fraction of an instant, some even claiming to hear voices calling to them. It was the death process. The Captain was dying.
Kirk's eyes were disturbingly clear, his face still unnervingly peaceful as he looked back at Spock.
"He keeps running farther and farther ahead," he said earnestly. "I can't keep up with him."
Spock did not claim to understand human psychology, but he decided to employ a very basic tactic.
"Do not follow him, Captain," he said firmly, but his voice was very near a whisper.
"I'm supposed to stay with him..."
It wasn't working. Perhaps he should have brought Doctor McCoy along after all. Spock knew he had to keep him talking.
"Are you in pain, Captain?"
Kirk seemed to consider the question. "You know, Spock...it's not that bad anymore. I just feel kind of...numb."
Spock pushed himself to his feet. "We must get to the surface, Captain. I shall require your assistance."
Kirk gazed at him a moment, shivered slightly, then turned his head back to gaze at the ceiling above him.
"It's so cold..."
Spock felt his stomach muscles tighten as he stared at the human at his feet. He was losing him. Spock could think of nothing else to do.
"Captain Kirk," he snapped crisply.
Kirk jumped, startled, and his eyes searched the Vulcan's stern face. His breath quickened.
"Name..." Spock commanded in his best authoritative tone. "Rank...serial number."
"James...T. Kirk," he whispered. "Captain. SC-937-0176-CEC."
"Again!" Spock's voice was still demanding and firm.
"James T. Kirk. Captain. SC-937-0176-CEC."
He continued to repeat the phrase over and over without further order, and the apprehension in his voice quickly dissipated. In fact, the repetition seemed to console him somehow. At least he had something on which to concentrate, and it seemed to stablize him somewhat, at least for the moment.
Momentarily satisfied, Spock turned his attention to their escape. It was clear that the Captain would be of little assistance. Under ordinary circumstances, Spock would simply have carried him over his shoulder, but the broken ribs made that far too risky. He could not cradle-carry him because he would need at least one available hand to help navigate the slick ledges in the outer chambers.
Spock saw no other option. He lifted Kirk off the floor easily to hold him upright against him, his left arm encircling the Captain's waist. Kirk was dead weight against his shoulder. His breathing grew more shallow, but he struggled to continue muttering his name and rank.
"...SC-937-0176-CEC..."
"Hold on to me, Jim," Spock commanded in a voice that seemed to penetrate the Captain's concentration. Kirk's arm tightened around the Vulcan, and he clutched the shoulder of Spock's shirt in his other hand as if his life depended on it. And perhaps it did. His recitation, however, did not miss a beat."
Spock felt for his phaser, then turned for the cavern entrance. The sight of Kor standing in the open doorway brought him quickly to a halt. The Klingon's disrupter was leveled at the Captain's back. Spock briefly wondered how he had not heard the Commander's approach.
Kor grinned smoothly. "What a truly pleasant surprise."