***
Chapter 8
Dreaming
***
That night the Vulcan awoke to the sound of frightened sobbing. Slipping a robe over his bare body he padded through the door and towards the cot where Mika lay.
The girl was crying out in her sleep, her legs twitching under the blankets. Her face was pale and drawn, without the peace that dreaming often brings.
"Mika," Spock said firmly. "Wake up."
She took no notice of his presence.
He gently shook her shoulders, calling her name, but she did not respond. Instead, she began to cry louder, and to thrash her limbs wildly.
Lucid dreaming. The doctor said it is a common predicament. He also said that some have injured themselves during this level of unconsciousness.
Mika began to moan pitifully, as if she were being tortured. Her face was twisted into a mask of horror.
Spock tried again to wake her, with no success. He was about to call for the doctor when he realized an obvious solution.
There is no need to wake Dr. McCoy. I will mind-meld with the girl and help her to regain consciousness.
Pleased with himself at discovering such a logical answer, he knelt beside the bed and placed graceful fingers on the girl's face.
The edges between their minds blurred, merged, and faded, and Spock was sucked into the whirling vortex of Mika's dream.
***
He was standing in a field of blue flowers. The suns were shining brightly from above, bathing the field in warmth and light.
No, wait - not flowers - eyes, blue eyes staring at him. He screamed and the field folded in on itself.
Dr. McCoy's smiling face appeared, but as he watched it morphed into that of an infant's. Her infant's.
Another image. A man was staring down at him, smiling like a crocodile, reaching out to them.
"You know you owe your life to me, girl. Why not show a little gratitude?"
Then the Cardassian, in one of his drunken rages, screaming.
"Stupid cripple! Mixed-blood good-for-nothing! Your father should have thrown you in the river the day you were born, like the bitch pup you are!"
His face changed into that of a wizened old humanoid woman with white unseeing eyes.
"You know you can't run, ha'yar-kur ko-kan, little green-eyed one. You are a child of Fortune. The dice always rolls snake eyes for Fortune's children! You'll be back, no matter how far you run. Heh heh heh ..." the old woman cackled.
She held something in her hands, a loop of leather with a buckle of steel. It was the slave collar they had worn.
"No!" someone shouted. It was Mika. Wind whipped her face, blowing her hair about and stealing the voice from her mouth. Spock was standing beside her. Before them stretched an endless wasteland.
"Your childhood," the crone said, gesturing to the wide expanse of desert. She smiled at Mika, displaying several missing teeth.
"Come back, little daughter. You know that Fortune is the only place you belong. Come back! I can make you the princess of thieves, the queen of the whores..." the woman held the leather circle out. The metal clasp glinted in the light.
"All you must do is put it on. Return to me!"
"NO!" Tears were streaming down Mika's face, but she wore a fierce look beneath them.
"This is always what happens. She hands me the collar, but when I touch it I turn to bone! Please, help me stop her!"
Spock stepped towards the old woman, shielding his eyes from the dust.
She began to shout at him.
"You stay away! Don't you touch me, Vulcan! You don't belong here. Get back!"
Spock could walk no further. It was as if an invisible wall was against him and the cruel old woman.
"You must destroy it yourself. I cannot do it for you!" he shouted over the wind.
The girl reached out. She touched the crone, who began to scream, her figure distorting.
"No! You mustn't! I can help you, I can save you...!"
The collar dropped with a rattle onto the dusty ground. She picked it up and tore it asunder with her bare hands. The two halves shrunk and disappeared.
"I did it!" Mika yelled.
"But how do we get home?"
Spock grabbed her hand. "We will take the express train," he said absurdly. The blue-eyed flowers began to laugh.
*** They woke to find themselves seated on the cot.
Mika took two deep breaths, blinked several times, then collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
The Vulcan, still connected by the meld, was shocked to find tears streaming down his face as well. He struggled to control himself, but Mika's emotional turmoil was crashing across the borders of his mind. He could feel her heart beating against his bare chest, a testimony to her fright.
After several minutes Mika's sobs turned to sniffles. She sat up and wiped her face on her sleeve.
"I'm sorry," she hiccuped, drying her tears, "I've gotten your robe all wet!"
This statement was so ludicrous that she began to laugh. Spock smiled imperceptibly, then frowned.
"I believe I understand now what I did not earlier," he said.
"What do you mean?" Mika asked, her giggles subsiding.
"Yesterday I saw you and the doctor embracing in his study. Having shared a mind-meld with you, I now understand the meaning of the incident."
"Oh, Mr. Spock, you didn't think...!" She broke off, bit her lip thoughtfully.
"I was mistaken. Please forgive me," he said gravely.
"Of course!" she answered easily. "And, Mr. Spock, what you did...thank you."
He could feel the sincerity of the statement resonating in her mind, and something else as well, something far stronger and slightly concealed. He withdrew quickly, then stood.
"Sleep well, Mika."
She nodded her affirmative, and watched as he returned to his room.
The girl lay back on her cot with the very strange sensation that neither of them would remember the incident in the morning.
Chapter 8
Dreaming
***
That night the Vulcan awoke to the sound of frightened sobbing. Slipping a robe over his bare body he padded through the door and towards the cot where Mika lay.
The girl was crying out in her sleep, her legs twitching under the blankets. Her face was pale and drawn, without the peace that dreaming often brings.
"Mika," Spock said firmly. "Wake up."
She took no notice of his presence.
He gently shook her shoulders, calling her name, but she did not respond. Instead, she began to cry louder, and to thrash her limbs wildly.
Lucid dreaming. The doctor said it is a common predicament. He also said that some have injured themselves during this level of unconsciousness.
Mika began to moan pitifully, as if she were being tortured. Her face was twisted into a mask of horror.
Spock tried again to wake her, with no success. He was about to call for the doctor when he realized an obvious solution.
There is no need to wake Dr. McCoy. I will mind-meld with the girl and help her to regain consciousness.
Pleased with himself at discovering such a logical answer, he knelt beside the bed and placed graceful fingers on the girl's face.
The edges between their minds blurred, merged, and faded, and Spock was sucked into the whirling vortex of Mika's dream.
***
He was standing in a field of blue flowers. The suns were shining brightly from above, bathing the field in warmth and light.
No, wait - not flowers - eyes, blue eyes staring at him. He screamed and the field folded in on itself.
Dr. McCoy's smiling face appeared, but as he watched it morphed into that of an infant's. Her infant's.
Another image. A man was staring down at him, smiling like a crocodile, reaching out to them.
"You know you owe your life to me, girl. Why not show a little gratitude?"
Then the Cardassian, in one of his drunken rages, screaming.
"Stupid cripple! Mixed-blood good-for-nothing! Your father should have thrown you in the river the day you were born, like the bitch pup you are!"
His face changed into that of a wizened old humanoid woman with white unseeing eyes.
"You know you can't run, ha'yar-kur ko-kan, little green-eyed one. You are a child of Fortune. The dice always rolls snake eyes for Fortune's children! You'll be back, no matter how far you run. Heh heh heh ..." the old woman cackled.
She held something in her hands, a loop of leather with a buckle of steel. It was the slave collar they had worn.
"No!" someone shouted. It was Mika. Wind whipped her face, blowing her hair about and stealing the voice from her mouth. Spock was standing beside her. Before them stretched an endless wasteland.
"Your childhood," the crone said, gesturing to the wide expanse of desert. She smiled at Mika, displaying several missing teeth.
"Come back, little daughter. You know that Fortune is the only place you belong. Come back! I can make you the princess of thieves, the queen of the whores..." the woman held the leather circle out. The metal clasp glinted in the light.
"All you must do is put it on. Return to me!"
"NO!" Tears were streaming down Mika's face, but she wore a fierce look beneath them.
"This is always what happens. She hands me the collar, but when I touch it I turn to bone! Please, help me stop her!"
Spock stepped towards the old woman, shielding his eyes from the dust.
She began to shout at him.
"You stay away! Don't you touch me, Vulcan! You don't belong here. Get back!"
Spock could walk no further. It was as if an invisible wall was against him and the cruel old woman.
"You must destroy it yourself. I cannot do it for you!" he shouted over the wind.
The girl reached out. She touched the crone, who began to scream, her figure distorting.
"No! You mustn't! I can help you, I can save you...!"
The collar dropped with a rattle onto the dusty ground. She picked it up and tore it asunder with her bare hands. The two halves shrunk and disappeared.
"I did it!" Mika yelled.
"But how do we get home?"
Spock grabbed her hand. "We will take the express train," he said absurdly. The blue-eyed flowers began to laugh.
*** They woke to find themselves seated on the cot.
Mika took two deep breaths, blinked several times, then collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
The Vulcan, still connected by the meld, was shocked to find tears streaming down his face as well. He struggled to control himself, but Mika's emotional turmoil was crashing across the borders of his mind. He could feel her heart beating against his bare chest, a testimony to her fright.
After several minutes Mika's sobs turned to sniffles. She sat up and wiped her face on her sleeve.
"I'm sorry," she hiccuped, drying her tears, "I've gotten your robe all wet!"
This statement was so ludicrous that she began to laugh. Spock smiled imperceptibly, then frowned.
"I believe I understand now what I did not earlier," he said.
"What do you mean?" Mika asked, her giggles subsiding.
"Yesterday I saw you and the doctor embracing in his study. Having shared a mind-meld with you, I now understand the meaning of the incident."
"Oh, Mr. Spock, you didn't think...!" She broke off, bit her lip thoughtfully.
"I was mistaken. Please forgive me," he said gravely.
"Of course!" she answered easily. "And, Mr. Spock, what you did...thank you."
He could feel the sincerity of the statement resonating in her mind, and something else as well, something far stronger and slightly concealed. He withdrew quickly, then stood.
"Sleep well, Mika."
She nodded her affirmative, and watched as he returned to his room.
The girl lay back on her cot with the very strange sensation that neither of them would remember the incident in the morning.