STAR TREK: NEMESIS- Chronicles- By the Lightless Flame
Story Concept Created by John Logan, Rick Berman, and Brent Spiner
All Star Trek characters and related concepts are property of Paramount. All concepts created solely by the Lightless Flame are the property of the Lightless Flame. Violators will be prosecuted by Federal Law.
CHAPTER THREE – Figure Eight
Shinzon slowly got down in the shadows, and he felt the presence of the few heavily fragrant Vrhizak Clan males present in the outside area. They hadn't seen him enter the grounds, and he heard the high-pitched desperate cries of a creature he'd heard when he was a boy being abducted by the Romulans. That creature was a female.
Shinzon froze when he realized that it indeed was a woman, and he pressed himself against the huge flat side of a rock. It hid him well, and peering over the edge, he could see a Reman standing in front of a small human. Shinzon narrowed his eyes and saw the features of the human.
Almost immediately he felt his eyes becoming entranced. The human was definitely a woman by her delicate facial features, and he cringed when he saw the brusque length of her hair. Almost Romulan in length. The uniform she wore deceived him at first, but not enough for him to turn back and forget the rescue. At the sound of her screams, Shinzon immediately thought of Svana and her own screams of terror as the Romulans ripped her from her beloved Tran, using disruptors as the weapon of murder.
Shinzon shook himself from the memory, and he felt his eyes narrowing as the brutality grew before him. He hadn't moved an inch to try to save his scientist parents when they had been killed, but this time he had a chance. He could right a wrong that never seemed to stop happening before his eyes.
Aradia closed her eyes when she saw the Reman's claws rising into the air above her. The darkness swarmed and she heard her voice moaning in protests as she took the brutality from the Reman claws. She leaned back against the wall, exposed and bloody, still shaking her head at the Remans demands almost in second nature. Like when she was a mistress, she faded from her body and imagined that it wasn't her being beaten. She was far away in the darkness and its merciful grip. The voice she heard wasn't her own, but some other woman's voice who couldn't escape. But she could. She was safe inside her mind...far from Remus. Far from the night. Far from everything she knew to be true- from the male uniform they forced upon her to the abuse she suffered at their hands. The Reman's musky smell overwhelmed her senses and kept her from blacking out. Aradia suddenly felt his cool claws remove themselves from her neck, and she slowly let her eyes open. The glimmer of the Reman's heavily- armored suit with platinum-like material hurt her eyes in the shadows, and she shivered violently. The Reman came within inches of her face, "You worthless bitch..." Aradia tried to inhale a deep breath, but was stopped by the constrictive uniform that pressed her breasts to a minimum and reduced her curves to nothing. Aradia leaned her head back as a swoon of a headache swept over her, and the hot breeze from the large central fire burned the back of her bare neck. She choked, "Leave me alone. I'm not your slave."
The Reman scoffed, "It's been a year and a half. Really you don't still believe you matter to anyone up there?"
Aradia spat out, "I'll never stop believing!"
The Reman smacked her hard in her face with a flat palm, and Aradia's head twisted. Her small-framed body followed, and she landed on her side, a new bruise already welted on her face. She turned and a shadow of light revealed the wound above her brow that never fully healed and scarred her appearance. The Reman snarled as Aradia struggled to rise, keeping in the rage and pain.
"Clean it!" the Reman threw his heavy neck armor to the ground and began to stalk off.
Aradia managed to get to the palms of her hands, where she glared at the vanishing Reman. "NO!" The Reman turned and smiled sadistically, another Reman suddenly appearing from the dark corridor outside, who Aradia recognized as Syzhok. She hissed, her body cringing and shrinking by instinct. Syzhok was just as armored as his Reman companion was, and he approached haughtily. The ridges on his forehead had deepened, showing his impending adulthood and elevated rank in the clan.
Syzhok peered down at her, "Not cooperating today, are we?"
Aradia snarled back at him, equally vicious in tone, "I want to speak with Vrhizak!" Syzhok laughed maniacally, "Oh...he knows your in perfect hands here with us." The other Reman snarled, and Syzhok leaned down. With his claws he grabbed the short hair on Aradia's scalp, pulling her to her knees. Aradia held back the screams of pain evident on her face, and she looked into Syzhok's eyes defiantly. Syzhok hissed in her face, "Or perhaps we should teach you another lesson...What do you say, Thim'Zek?" The other Reman stood taller, putting two bony claws on his hips, "I always wondered what it would be like to fuck 'er."
Shinzon snarled to himself, baring his teeth in anger. He watched the horror on the woman named Aradia's face, and he flexed. Like a cat waiting to spring, he cocked his powerful double-bladed knife he'd received from Vkruk and gave undivided attention to the situation. A part of him felt rage towards the young Remans who threatened Aradia. He had never seen Reman hatred and brutality such as this, especially against one so vulnerable. The other part felt overwhelming awe and compassion for the woman. Her body, though wrapped tightly and bruised, enticed him. He had never been with another human, much less a female, and the chance to be next to the woman made him feel crazed like a trapped animal. To just touch her, feel her equally scarred skin...
Syzhok nodded, "Yes...a lesson we haven't taught her enough apparently." Aradia felt the panic rising in her throat. "No!" "Louder!" Syzhok got closer and he ran the tips of his fangs along the curve of her neck, pulling her hair back more. Aradia flailed her arms and Thim'Zek circled around her back. He pushed himself into her back, holding her still. Aradia stopped struggling, preserving her strength. Syzhok dropped her hair and stepped back, lowering his glance. Slowly he pulled out a traditional Reman knife, and he lifted it. The darkness around them seemed to breathe with the uncertainty Aradia felt overwhelming her soul. Syzhok dropped the blade of the knife to Aradia's flesh. Suddenly, as Aradia watched the blade's sharp edge entranced, a white human hand flew out from the shadows and caught Syzhok in mid-swing just as Syzhok had a year and a half ago with the Romulan guards. The human arm struggled to keep it steady and both Aradia and Thim'Zek were shocked. Aradia, at first, thought she was hallucinating, but when she saw the dark silhouette, a hope swelled into her chest. She would live for one more hour. "What the hell!" Syzhok glared behind him.
"Leave her alone!" A rough growl erupted brutally from the shadows. Aradia saw an advantage from the shock around her, and she threw herself to her feet. Thim'Zek fell back in surprise and fumbled as he tried to grab her neck. Aradia twisted from his grasp and Syzhok swirled around, twisting the human grip off his arm. As Syzhok glared into the complete darkness behind him, Shinzon suddenly ripped from the shadows at full speed, his body barreling into larger Reman. Shinzon felt powerful in his black combat-like suit that shimmered in the darkness, carefully crafted to allow flexibility and camouflage in the darkness. As he rammed the Reman, he harshly jabbed the knife into Syzhok's diaphragm through the seam of the armored uniform. Moments later he felt Reman blood pouring onto his hands, a sin he once thought he'd never feel. Aradia's mouth dropped open, in disbelief at the rough human that suddenly appeared in the fray. Her eyes knew it was a human physically, but his uniform and demeanor made her feel the same fear towards him that she felt towards the other Remans. He was a Reman Human. "Oh my God..."
Syzhok choked, "Grab HER!!" Shinzon speechlessly ripped his bloodied knife out and a thin trail of flesh and bile streamed from it. The serrated edges tore the Reman's innards, and Syzhok fought through the pain on an adrenaline rush. Shinzon stepped back, a twisted smile on his face. Shinzon let his voice drop, "A flesh wound, Syzhok?" "I know who you are. Shinzon...you're the human of Vkruk! You human traitor!" Syzhok roared in rage. Aradia heard the name Shinzon, and she almost froze. The memories of her making into a male on the night she was discovered flooded into her memory, and she gasped when she remembered the story of the prophecy, the ship, and the insurrection of the Reman people. Her thoughts were interrupted as Thim'Zek threw himself into Aradia. Aradia swirled around as he tried to barrel-roll her, and he roared in pain and anger as he collapsed to the ground without cushioning. Aradia blocked Syzhok's view of what was happening to Thim'Zek, and she leaned over him, bringing a knee into his face. Blood spurted from the Reman's shallow bony nose. Shinzon glanced at her for a split-second, slightly amused at the small human blur beating up the Reman.
Syzhok glared at Shinzon and bared his knife with his dying hands. Shinzon easily dodged his careless slashes, and within moments, Syzhok fell forward on his own blade. Shinzon heard a sick crack of bone, and Syzhok's large body twisted for a moment in shock. Then he was still, unconscious and permanently disabled. Shinzon's face snickered quietly at Syzhok, but he was distracted when he heard Aradia's loud scream. Surprised, he looked off in the distance at Aradia and Thim'Zek, the situation changed from moments before. Thim'Zek was on his belly as was Aradia, and he clawed forward to grab her ankles as she tried to creep away from him with her elbows. Aradia trailed a profuse stream of blood from a large shoulder wound and Thim'Zek's own blood mixed with hers on the ground. Thim'Zek's grip on Aradia's ankles hardened and the Reman twisted, hungry for her pain. "Come here you little bitch..."
Aradia shut her eyes in agony when suddenly the double edged blade of Shinzon landed with a loud splat in Thim'Zek's left wrist. Shinzon moved to the side shadows and stabbed at just the right moment to avoid Aradia's small ankles.
Thim'Zek glared up and barked, "Syzhok!"
Shinzon's cool glance sneered at him as he pressed harder on his mordant knife, pinning Thim'Zek's left wrist to the ground like a nail. His eyes met Thim'Zek's calmly. "You're too late. I've already disposed of him." Aradia looked behind her, hearing the commotion as Thim'Zek's brutal twisting stops. Her face was tear-stained and flushed with adrenaline, the welts bleeding and her shoulder pounding in pain. Just as she looked, Shinzon ripped up the knife and stabbed it into the side of Thim'Zek's neck, which would have ironically been impossible if he hadn't thrown it at Aradia to clean minutes before. It only took seconds for Thim'Zek to choke and fall flat on the ground, twitching as the blood poured freely from his spliced jugular.
Silence. Aradia froze, her eyes meeting Shinzon's as he took back his blade and examined the blood on it. Aradia watched him slowly rise to his feet, unharmed and unaffected by the violence. Shinzon turned to look at her from the side, his large eyes curious but stern. He scanned her body, and Aradia moved to her feet as best as she could, shaking and nearly slipping on her own blood. She didn't make it to standing, so she sat on her knees in awe and fear. Shinzon was the palest human she had ever remembered seeing. His veins were more colored than his skin. His hair was rough and was in need of a shave, and Aradia was surprised when the medium-framed man stepped a little closer. His eyes peered at her with intense hazel color, and Aradia wondered if he could see her like she saw him in the darkness. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, trying to calm herself. He was a human, she had nothing to fear. But for some reason she couldn't push herself past his appearance. Shinzon's soft voice in the utter silence made her jump. "And to think...it has been 13 years. 13 years since I've seen one of you."
Aradia could barely breathe, "You're a human..."
Shinzon looked at her in the shadows, cowering and trembling like a frightened lone Romulan surrounded by Remans. His eyes traced her curves, more visible up close, and he wanted to tear the Vrhizak uniform from her delicate body by instinct, releasing her curves and succulent flesh underneath. He wanted to free her, a human like him at the very core even if their current states denied it. He let his head cock to the side with a small ironic smile, "As are you."
Aradia opened her mouth to speak but could only moan loudly when a ripping pain surged up her arm and shoulder. She grabbed it quickly, falling back to her rear and landing against the nearest wall. Shinzon frowned and stared at the wound, slowly coming closer. Already the flesh around the initial slash had turned a black color, and he sighed in concern. All he needed was the only human female he'd ever seen to die before him before he even got a chance to speak with her. He reached out with the tips of his white fingers to caress it. "Stay still. I am here to help you. You don't need to fear me."
Aradia looked at him, half-enthralled, "It's not fear I'm feeling right now...more like..." The wound suddenly bled out harder, and Aradia looked down at it in horror. She looked back at Shinzon, her voice soft in fear. The swoon of blood made her nauseous and dizzy with black dots beginning to swirl in her vision. "I...I think my arm is disintegrating."
Shinzon pulled back at the warmth of her blood. "Vrhizak's weapons are coated. You must get it procured or it will disintegrate. Here...come with me."
Shinzon stood slowly and held out his hand. Aradia looked at him in disbelief, shaking her head. A part of her was grateful he was there, but the other part was defensive. He could easily kill her or keep her like the other Remans did. She felt her consciousness fading more and more as the moist pool of blood spread on her, and she didn't want to end up like before when she lost it. Aradia spat out with a deep breath, "Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?! Why did you save me...?" Shinzon smiled, smirking thoughtfully. He wiped the blade on the flared bottom of his sleek pant-leg, and he turned back to her. He cocked his head at her coyly. "I'm Shinzon of Remus. And I want to get to know you better. We are both humans, after all." Aradia struggled to keep her head up, "I've heard about that name...somewhere before." Shinzon lowered his gaze, "Your name is Aradia?" Aradia blinked in disbelief, still holding her pulsing arm. Shinzon stood quietly, motionless and softening his face. She melted back, her fear turning to curiosity in the swoon of nausea and faintness that overcame her. Her tone was still sharp, but she could barely keep her eyes from rolling back into her head. She felt the back of her head strike the hard rock behind her and heard her voice weaken, "It is. Why did you save me? Are you a spy of Vrhizak...?" "Actually...now that I've killed two of his Reman guards you can say I'm more an enemy. Wouldn't you agree?" "What do you want? I thought I'd never see a human again in my life..." Immediately Shinzon felt his skin tingling at her words. He stepped forward slowly, sliding his knife back into its barrel at his side. He stepped from the shadows, more in view. Aradia watched him, leaning back in pain. Shinzon leaned down, and Aradia winced when he brought the palm of his hand to brush the side of her face. Shinzon just wanted to make sure she was real, in physical beauty and in human emotion. Every culmination and every training session never prepared him for anything like this. He breathed slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Well, that may not be necessarily true. For either of us," Shinzon closed his eyes momentarily, an emotional weight suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He couldn't explain what it was, but he suddenly felt lighter, more in control. Aradia tried to come back, "What...what do you want?" Shinzon put his elbow on his knee, "I'm here to take you to my home. It is a three months journey but you have my protection and the protection of my Reman soldiers..."
Aradia opened her eyes, protesting meekly, "No...no more bastard Remans. No..."
Shinzon looked behind his shoulder, suddenly hearing a footfall with his sharp hearing. "I'm afraid you have no choice."
"To die here or go with you?" Shinzon glanced up into the shadows behind them, and he swallowed. Slowly he began rising from his perching position. "I can hear about five Remans on their way to investigate why their two friends haven't returned. And that, my dear Aradia...gives you about ten seconds to decide to come with me or be killed." "Shit. God...my arm," Aradia moaned more loudly, and she shook her head at his extended arm. Frowning, Shinzon insisted with his open palm even more, and Aradia slumped over, losing her consciousness. Shinzon wrapped his forearm around hers, and he lifted her effortlessly to her feet, coaxing her to stay awake. The lightness and petite size of her body surprised him. Stirred, Aradia steadied herself against him and Shinzon pressed himself against the wall outside the Reman building besides their spot, holding her up. The Remans came around opposite the corner in the front of the building, their shadows creeping further away. Shinzon crept to the front, looking out into the barely lit Reman campground. He shook Aradia, who lifted her head and wearily looked into the darkness. Shinzon grabbed her wrist hard and darted. Aradia followed his lead with great difficulty. Shinzon slowed down when he found a large cover behind a well-like fixture six meters away from the campground, and Aradia fell besides him. She leaned over and her head fell onto his shoulder practically in weakness. Shinzon looked at her, his eyes scanning her intensely in curiosity and confusion. He placed his hands in the curve of her hips, lifting her against him for better leverage. "Why can't you walk?" Shinzon whispered in her ear. He marveled that such weakness and size could have survived the abuse of Vrhizak, but somehow he felt the power of her sheer determination to follow him and her seductive female body made up for whatever she lacked in brute physical strength. Aradia moaned inaudibly and collapsed against him. She tried to breathe more deeply, but it choked in her throat and got lost in the consuming darkness overcoming her sight. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and Shinzon pressed his hand to the blood on her arm. Aradia jerked to life, the pain ripping into the darkness to temporarily bring her back. She opened her eyes and looked up wildly at Shinzon, her head against his chest. In the distance, a few Reman guards hollered loudly and peered into the surroundings, suspicious. Shinzon heard and spied them, his head peering over the edge of the large well. A small smile came to his face and Aradia frowned deeply. "There's something about Remans, Aradia. They are extremely intelligent, but they also have a fatal weakness." "And what...what is that?" Aradia lifted her head.
Shinzon looked down, an ironic grin on his face. "Rashness. You see, they are going to discover the bodies, Aradia, and right away they will begin shouting, roaring...basically blowing what cover they have for hunting down the murderers."
Aradia moaned loudly. "Can you just help me and we can get the hell out of here?" Shinzon looked down at her, slightly annoyed, and he grabbed her hand. He pulled her to her feet and nearly dragged her along on his shoulder and strong arm, spurring her on in the shadows.
The camp was small, consisting of three tents and two small open shelters. Two medium-sized public fires burned, one warming a pail of water and another for warmth and relaxation in the cool night. Three Reman guards stationed themselves around the perimeter of the grounds while the few that were left relaxed and waited for Shinzon's return. Minz'Tel was assigned in charge of security for the duration of the trip by Shinzon, and he was intent on not failing him and regaining Vrhizak's trust. He stood on outlook on a small elevated rock, his bony face hardened against the harsh breeze that kicked up the dust and threw it into his eyes. His eyes caught an odd shadowy figure a hundred meters away, moving closer. Glancing at the horizon and the stars, he figured the time since Shinzon left and turned to the three Remans at his back, lightly clothed with a few light weapons. Minz'Tel's voice was hushed, "He comes! And he has the human!" A younger guard frowned, "I thought he WAS human..." Minz'Tel scowled, "Silence!"
Shinzon approached the raised outcropping, Aradia in his arms lightly moaning at every moment he made. Shinzon watched her intensely, noticing every detail of her body that felt like a mystery to him. He felt the sharp ends of Aradia's bones against his skin, and her strong but starved muscles tightly strained in malnourishment. Shinzon cringed when he noticed her bruises that were visible close up, marring her beauty tragically. Her ankles were sprained from Thim'Zek's last act of brutality against her, and welts of blue and black spread through her legs. Her loss of blood between the time she was conscious and unconscious was more dramatic than he'd expected it to be. The wound had grown even more, more blood seeping slowly until Shinzon's front side of his uniform was a deeper black color because of her blood. He could almost smell the copper blood that poured on his hands and drenched his uniform.
Minz'Tel suddenly came out from the shadows, Shinzon not noticing him until it was too late for him to hide the alarm he felt. Minz'Tel frowned and motioned to Aradia, "Welcome back, brother. I see you have her."
"I have her all right. She's injured badly." Shinzon climbed up the last elevation, and Aradia's eyes suddenly opened slightly at Minz'Tel's voice. Her eyes portrayed the betrayal she felt, and she lolled her head back, letting go of Shinzon's support and nearly falling from his arms. Shinzon felt her falling and he caught her with his large forearms, pulling her back up.
Shinzon scowled, "Now is not the time for doubts!"
Aradia's voice was a moan, "I'd either get killed by Vrhizak...or YOU."
Shinzon didn't look at her, but continued walking past the Reman guards, who froze and stood up to observe the human female. Looks of surprised crossed their faces, and Shinzon nodded at them and tried to ward them off with a glare. "Now why would I save someone I would want to kill? I'm not a selfish man, Aradia. I would have let Vrhizak's Remans kill you if I didn't care."
Minz'Tel followed Shinzon closely, peering over his shoulder to look at Aradia's face. "Aradia...such a human name."
Aradia's voice suddenly became stronger, "Don't...Don't talk to me!"
Aradia opened her eyes the whole way and glared the Remans down through her pale grim face. All of them became confused and put off by her offense, Minz'Tel grunting in slight amusement. Shinzon sighed and hurried past them, seeking a good spot for them to be alone. He crept to his personal area separated from the rest of the Remans by a long cotton-like sheet, nodded to the two guards outside its flap, and entered carefully with Aradia still in his arms. He gently set her down near a small private fire hidden behind the tent cloth that he kept for his own use, and he leaned forward to smell her in the midst of the ash-smell. He drew his face close to her, trying to rouse her. "Aradia, we have a small camp. Food. Meat. We will give you new clothes and let you wash yourself. We mean you no harm. You are our help just as much as we are yours." Aradia's body was pliable in his grasp as he set her down, and it relaxed in the natural curves of the ground below. Her eyes fluttered, "I have nothing to offer any of these Remans." Shinzon sighed and sat up, her moan resounding in pain. He reached behind her to run his index finger through her short hair, careful not to cause her reason for mistrust. He closed his eyes and breathed the unique scent of her, savoring the moment. Seductively, he brought his head parallel to hers and let his breath softly blow against the side of her cheek. Aradia felt his warm breath tickling her sensitive cheek, and she snapped her eyes open. She looked at him curious and a bit anxious, but much less afraid of him than the Remans. She peered most of all into his eyes, and she wondered what he thought of her. His hazel eyes stared at her more intensely and less judging than any man's she'd ever met. His eyes seemed to consume her body and face without any sort of criticism or stereotype, touching only on the very details of her as notes and nothing more. Shinzon let his voice drop, smoothing his usually harsh tone, "You may be useless to them, but you have so much to offer me." Aradia pondered his words and stared at Shinzon through the pain. A small sigh passed from her lips, and she wasn't sure what she felt towards him. Shinzon smiled widely and moved from her silently, vanishing into the shadows untouched by the central fire's warm light. Quickly he exited his private quarters and Aradia heard a low rumble of Remans outside, vocalizing what sounded like laughter to her.
Minz'Tel greeted Shinzon, who entered the Reman's tent abruptly with a stern look on his face. Minz'Tel noticed Shinzon's tenseness and he brought his hands out, "Brother! It has been a very successful night. We must move quickly though. Is she able to walk?"
Shinzon didn't answer right away, but instead walked over to Minz'Tel's personal belongings and grabbed one of his large casual shirts. Shinzon glanced up at him when Minz'Tel let a small smirk escape his lips. "She is not as strong as I anticipated. I need to treat her."
With a small nod, Minz'Tel moved to the side and offered Shinzon gauze from a small flap in the tent's fabric. Shinzon accepted it and took a deep breath. He remembered his own experience with Vrhizak's weapons sorely, "I have been poisoned by Vrhizak's clansmen before."
Minz'Tel looked up and stopped momentarily, remembering the medical incidences in Shinzon's short life. He studied the human curiously, whose head was down as he arranged a makeshift medical kit. Minz'Tel took a slow breath, "You remember things you shouldn't."
Shinzon felt his brow deepening, the hard eyes of the Reman staring through him as if he was a thin shield of glass ready to break. "There are things a man cannot forget."
Minz'Tel let his eyes trace the hard curves of Shinzon's body still dressed in the confining black combat suit stained with blood. The man was aged well beyond his youthful 18 years, and every year seemed to put ten more across Shinzon's blatant face. It seemed just yesterday he was the screaming benevolent tan human named Jean-Luc, holding his arms to his ears as every heartbeat mercilessly pounded louder and louder with the onslaught of countless torturous days. The scars across the human's body... Minz'Tel knew every one of them. After all, he had been the medical consultant for Vkruk for more than 12 years of Shinzon's life. He had been the one to find the Terran man who had taken mercy on all of them and on Shinzon especially. But now it wasn't the hardened Reman-like features the human bore or the tired look in his eyes that gave Minz'Tel unique Reman fear. It was the way Shinzon's face portrayed every emotional scar at once, as if the human dealt with each one all at the same time. The void he saw within the human cooled Minz'Tel's courage towards Shinzon more than any physical harm he had seen the human sustain and deal out. It was emptiness inside Shinzon's eyes that made Minz'Tel lower his head and turn away. "I will prepare some water and clothing..."
Shinzon stopped and looked up. "Thank you. I will...prepare her for transport."
"What will we tell the Romulans when they see her?"
Shinzon let a sinister smile cross his lips as he looked up from the kit, "Well, we won't be letting them see her now, will we?"
Minz'Tel breathed hard through his bony nostrils, pondering to himself. "They will notice her, surely."
"We can keep her inside the ancient caverns. The Foyer is large enough for her and she may even be useful. I think she is very intelligent..."
Minz'Tel turned. Despite the Reman influence on the human, idealism still shone from his hazel eyes and it made Minz'Tel's spirit hurt. "We will see, Shinzon."
Shinzon picked up the gauze and sensed Minz'Tel's sarcasm. With a smirk, he tucked the kit under his arm, "Yes, we certainly will, won't we?"
The fires burned intensely in the unusually active Reman campground, and all around Vrhizak's perimeter Reman guards armed with daggers stalked quietly as to not disturb the Romulan guards that slept a kilometer away. The tiny tents glowed alive with fire, and the sulfuric steam vents exploded more furiously than the night before.
On an elevated stone platform in the center of the camp where the main fire usually was, two dead Reman corpses laid, their weapons and armor set aside almost lovingly.
Vrhizak ripped from his larger tent and almost immediately his eyes lay on the bodies. A small gasp escaped from his thin lips, but the surprise soon changed to rage as he scanned the bodies and looked at the farthest one's face.
"Syzhok..." the word fell from his mouth barely above a growling whisper.
The Remans who had assembled the bodies froze when they overheard Vrhizak's roar that rose from the painful shock that coursed in his ancient veins. The younger Reman froze and looked behind him from his tent, and he felt a lump forming in his throat when he saw Vrhizak's bent form, mouth elongated and full of fangs. The roar rose high into the bleeding sky and every Reman in the camp lowered in universal instinctual cringe.
"GUR'THIK!"
The young Reman whimpered under his breath and threw himself forward into his tent, trying to stall the impending meeting he knew he would have with Vrhizak. Inside the dark tent, he could see two other of his fellow Remans, all crouching ominously. Vrhizak's hard footfall was coming closer and Gur'Thik hid the anxiety he felt.
"He's going to find you here," the larger Reman of the two before him smirked quietly.
Gur'Thik's eyes narrowed in concentration, and he tried to ward off the tingling his mind felt as Vrhizak scanned the camp. Gur'Thik swallowed hard, "Enough of this shit. Have any of you seen Is'zhark?"
"Vrhizak already found him," the Reman nodded to the exit. "Dragged him to his tent. Haven't seen him since the night began."
Suddenly the flap of the tent exploded open, and Vrhizak's face was bright in the darkness as he glared into the tent. Immediately his eyes met Gur'Thik's, and within seconds, Vrhizak single-handedly reached in, grabbed his soldier's forearm and tore him from the tent. Vrhizak's sharp talons dug into Gur'Thik's flesh and he growled under his breath, a thin slim of foam spurting from his lips.
Gur'Thik had no time to react, and had he, he wouldn't have done anything. Vrhizak was the master and sole leader of the camp. He was the Father, the clan master, the one who shared secrets they all hoped to have one day for their own survival. With the death of Vrhizak or even the abandonment of him, the clan would be lost. And so Gur'Thik just closed his eyes and submitted to the beating he knew he was going to receive.
"Look at this. Look at this!" Vrhizak dragged Gur'Thik from the spot, the hard ground scratched by the Reman's heavy body. Gur'Thik rolled his eyes back as he felt his arm nearly twisting from its socket, and he tried to stand as Vrhizak threw him before the corpses of Syzhok and Thim'Zek.
"Vrrr...Vrhizak! Brother..."
Vrhizak's nostrils flared, and his eyes glowered enflamed. "I want to know exactly where the holy fuck you were and why my son is dead!"
Gur'Thik rolled onto his back, lifting his palms above him. "Brother, we are all family here...I implore your patience."
Vrhizak raised his claws and threatened to slam them down on the smaller Reman. Gur'Thik rose to his knees, his palms still extended in peace. Several Reman guards approached Vrhizak from behind and got into ready position, wearily staring at their leader in case the situation escalated.
"Let me come to your home...I will explain to you what we've found."
Vrhizak snarled, "Is'zhark already tried that...I am unimpressed by your mediocre performance."
A Reman from behind Vrhizak came forward and slowly spoke up, "Friend...Brother. I implore as well. For him and the peace of the Clan."
Vrhizak glared behind him and threw his arm to his side. In the darkness the small throng of Remans could see the blue orbs of his beady eyes piercing into the opaque light, and they all backed off a few feet. The Reman who defended him Gur'Thik could recognize as Virsvam.
Vrhizak barked, "Very well. In my tent, NOW!"
Gur'Thik entered the tent with Vrhizak cautiously, who stepped behind him and shoved him to the ground.
Vrhizak's tent was larger than the others, approximately three by four meters, and a ratted blanket covered the first half of the dirt floor. The walls were tarp and held down by large metal reinforcement rods normally used for making Romulan weapons, and Gur'Thik peered at the large fire that seemed unholy in such a small space.
From the left side Gur'Thik spied movement and he glanced over. Is'zhark sat with his hands behind his back, and his legs spread in front of him. His bony face was bruised and bared several new wounds, which Gur'Thik knew was from Vrhizak's talons. Is'zhark looked at Gur'Thik blandly, nodding momentarily to acknowledge him.
Vrhizak stormed past Gur'Thik's body on the ground and crossing his long talons behind his back, he peered at the fire. Almost immediately his demeanor changed from fury to quiet contemplation as the flames threw their comforting arms of shadows around him.
Gur'Thik slowly crept to his elbows and began sitting up. He lowered his voice and looked away from Vrhizak's eyes. "Brother, she escaped. There was nothing we could have done...there were no warnings. Syzhok hadn't even told us he was going to check on Aradia."
Suddenly Vrhizak took a deep breath and he growled loudly, "Those wounds are not from Aradia. Whoever fought Syzhok was a Reman."
Gur'Thik's mind raced. He couldn't be a suspect. "We did all we could! We found Syzhok and Thim'Zek too late."
Vrhizak became disgusted. "Oh...Syzhok," he paused and turned, pointing his talon, "You fool! You should have heard the frenzy!"
Is'zhark suddenly belted out, "There was no noise!"
Gur'Thik snarled under his breath, "We tell the truth. No one heard it, father."
Vrhizak turned and roared, "Silence!"
Is'zhark was unrelenting, "Brother, we too mourn the loss of our two best guards. But with all due respect, whatever slaughtered our guards has only taken two. And no more."
Vrhizak was silent, and his face grew more irate. He paced for a moment, glaring at the two Remans in front of him. In anger, he lifted his hand and this time brought it down into Gur'Thik's face, sending the younger Reman flying to the ground with a hard thud. Gur'Thik felt his consciousness fading and he heard the crack of his skull against the hard floor.
Is'zhark snarled loudly and brought himself forward, "Father!"
Vrhizak lifted his claws again, this time threatening Is'zhark. "Fools! Do you realize the implications? We don't know WHAT or WHO got either of them then! And you both were the lead guards in CHARGE at the time of their deaths..."
Is'zhark shook his head and felt a swoon overcoming him as he crawled to his knees. "The weapon used was Reman. The wounds were serrated and whoever fought, fought like a Reman."
Vrhizak bent down and screeched. "Which Reman?! Tell me! Tell me who I need to kill!"
Gur'Thik slowly opened his eyes when he heard Vrhizak's ear-splitting screech. He moaned and became silent when he didn't hear Is'zhark responding.
Is'zhark sighed deeply, "We do not know."
Vrhizak roared again in anger. Is'zhark bowed his head and reached a claw out to Gur'Thik. Gur'Thik slowly sat up and together they balanced on each other as they rose to their feet. Is'zhark held Gur'Thik steady and sighed deeply.
Vrhizak began with a heated fury, "We will scan the entire vicinity. Which Reman in this forsaken camp is most likely to mutineer? I want spies. I want ambassadors to camps around this one! MY clan will NOT be killed off one by one."
Is'zhark swallowed, trying to redeem them both, "Brother, what if it was a Romulan with a Reman weapon?"
Vrhizak hissed, "Romulans don't fight and certainly don't kill the way this man did."
"So that leaves out Aradia as the sole proprietor of this attack?" Gur'Thik rubbed his face, two raw wounds beginning to bleed.
"You moron, of course. This is why Syzhok was the leader of you, and not you over him," Vrhizak growled and looked back at the fire.
Is'zhark cleared his throat, "I will assemble the most trusted of our Reman brothers for spies, my father."
Gur'Thik finally stood alone and steadied himself, glaring at his fellow Reman. He scowled at Vrhizak's words, but the sternness in Is'zhark's face kept him from going off on his master. Instead he followed suit and tried to lighten Vrhizak's violent temperament, "Brother, I disagree. We should look into Romulans or Aradia. Did she have any friends who could have helped her do this?" "She has no friends here! She is a whore. Nothing more and Romulans can not fight the way Remans can!" Is'zhark took over, "No, my brother. I will speak to the officers and see if anyone saw anything." Vrhizak pursed his thin lips and kicked the dirt around the flame violently. The dust suffocated the flame and sent the tent into a complete darkness that echoed the blackness overwhelming the already hardened soul of the Reman clan leader. A certain death reached out from Syzhok's drained cadaver and Gur'Thik swore he saw a glimmer of it in Vrhizak's azure eyes as he turned and portentously glared them out of the tent.
Story Concept Created by John Logan, Rick Berman, and Brent Spiner
All Star Trek characters and related concepts are property of Paramount. All concepts created solely by the Lightless Flame are the property of the Lightless Flame. Violators will be prosecuted by Federal Law.
CHAPTER THREE – Figure Eight
Shinzon slowly got down in the shadows, and he felt the presence of the few heavily fragrant Vrhizak Clan males present in the outside area. They hadn't seen him enter the grounds, and he heard the high-pitched desperate cries of a creature he'd heard when he was a boy being abducted by the Romulans. That creature was a female.
Shinzon froze when he realized that it indeed was a woman, and he pressed himself against the huge flat side of a rock. It hid him well, and peering over the edge, he could see a Reman standing in front of a small human. Shinzon narrowed his eyes and saw the features of the human.
Almost immediately he felt his eyes becoming entranced. The human was definitely a woman by her delicate facial features, and he cringed when he saw the brusque length of her hair. Almost Romulan in length. The uniform she wore deceived him at first, but not enough for him to turn back and forget the rescue. At the sound of her screams, Shinzon immediately thought of Svana and her own screams of terror as the Romulans ripped her from her beloved Tran, using disruptors as the weapon of murder.
Shinzon shook himself from the memory, and he felt his eyes narrowing as the brutality grew before him. He hadn't moved an inch to try to save his scientist parents when they had been killed, but this time he had a chance. He could right a wrong that never seemed to stop happening before his eyes.
Aradia closed her eyes when she saw the Reman's claws rising into the air above her. The darkness swarmed and she heard her voice moaning in protests as she took the brutality from the Reman claws. She leaned back against the wall, exposed and bloody, still shaking her head at the Remans demands almost in second nature. Like when she was a mistress, she faded from her body and imagined that it wasn't her being beaten. She was far away in the darkness and its merciful grip. The voice she heard wasn't her own, but some other woman's voice who couldn't escape. But she could. She was safe inside her mind...far from Remus. Far from the night. Far from everything she knew to be true- from the male uniform they forced upon her to the abuse she suffered at their hands. The Reman's musky smell overwhelmed her senses and kept her from blacking out. Aradia suddenly felt his cool claws remove themselves from her neck, and she slowly let her eyes open. The glimmer of the Reman's heavily- armored suit with platinum-like material hurt her eyes in the shadows, and she shivered violently. The Reman came within inches of her face, "You worthless bitch..." Aradia tried to inhale a deep breath, but was stopped by the constrictive uniform that pressed her breasts to a minimum and reduced her curves to nothing. Aradia leaned her head back as a swoon of a headache swept over her, and the hot breeze from the large central fire burned the back of her bare neck. She choked, "Leave me alone. I'm not your slave."
The Reman scoffed, "It's been a year and a half. Really you don't still believe you matter to anyone up there?"
Aradia spat out, "I'll never stop believing!"
The Reman smacked her hard in her face with a flat palm, and Aradia's head twisted. Her small-framed body followed, and she landed on her side, a new bruise already welted on her face. She turned and a shadow of light revealed the wound above her brow that never fully healed and scarred her appearance. The Reman snarled as Aradia struggled to rise, keeping in the rage and pain.
"Clean it!" the Reman threw his heavy neck armor to the ground and began to stalk off.
Aradia managed to get to the palms of her hands, where she glared at the vanishing Reman. "NO!" The Reman turned and smiled sadistically, another Reman suddenly appearing from the dark corridor outside, who Aradia recognized as Syzhok. She hissed, her body cringing and shrinking by instinct. Syzhok was just as armored as his Reman companion was, and he approached haughtily. The ridges on his forehead had deepened, showing his impending adulthood and elevated rank in the clan.
Syzhok peered down at her, "Not cooperating today, are we?"
Aradia snarled back at him, equally vicious in tone, "I want to speak with Vrhizak!" Syzhok laughed maniacally, "Oh...he knows your in perfect hands here with us." The other Reman snarled, and Syzhok leaned down. With his claws he grabbed the short hair on Aradia's scalp, pulling her to her knees. Aradia held back the screams of pain evident on her face, and she looked into Syzhok's eyes defiantly. Syzhok hissed in her face, "Or perhaps we should teach you another lesson...What do you say, Thim'Zek?" The other Reman stood taller, putting two bony claws on his hips, "I always wondered what it would be like to fuck 'er."
Shinzon snarled to himself, baring his teeth in anger. He watched the horror on the woman named Aradia's face, and he flexed. Like a cat waiting to spring, he cocked his powerful double-bladed knife he'd received from Vkruk and gave undivided attention to the situation. A part of him felt rage towards the young Remans who threatened Aradia. He had never seen Reman hatred and brutality such as this, especially against one so vulnerable. The other part felt overwhelming awe and compassion for the woman. Her body, though wrapped tightly and bruised, enticed him. He had never been with another human, much less a female, and the chance to be next to the woman made him feel crazed like a trapped animal. To just touch her, feel her equally scarred skin...
Syzhok nodded, "Yes...a lesson we haven't taught her enough apparently." Aradia felt the panic rising in her throat. "No!" "Louder!" Syzhok got closer and he ran the tips of his fangs along the curve of her neck, pulling her hair back more. Aradia flailed her arms and Thim'Zek circled around her back. He pushed himself into her back, holding her still. Aradia stopped struggling, preserving her strength. Syzhok dropped her hair and stepped back, lowering his glance. Slowly he pulled out a traditional Reman knife, and he lifted it. The darkness around them seemed to breathe with the uncertainty Aradia felt overwhelming her soul. Syzhok dropped the blade of the knife to Aradia's flesh. Suddenly, as Aradia watched the blade's sharp edge entranced, a white human hand flew out from the shadows and caught Syzhok in mid-swing just as Syzhok had a year and a half ago with the Romulan guards. The human arm struggled to keep it steady and both Aradia and Thim'Zek were shocked. Aradia, at first, thought she was hallucinating, but when she saw the dark silhouette, a hope swelled into her chest. She would live for one more hour. "What the hell!" Syzhok glared behind him.
"Leave her alone!" A rough growl erupted brutally from the shadows. Aradia saw an advantage from the shock around her, and she threw herself to her feet. Thim'Zek fell back in surprise and fumbled as he tried to grab her neck. Aradia twisted from his grasp and Syzhok swirled around, twisting the human grip off his arm. As Syzhok glared into the complete darkness behind him, Shinzon suddenly ripped from the shadows at full speed, his body barreling into larger Reman. Shinzon felt powerful in his black combat-like suit that shimmered in the darkness, carefully crafted to allow flexibility and camouflage in the darkness. As he rammed the Reman, he harshly jabbed the knife into Syzhok's diaphragm through the seam of the armored uniform. Moments later he felt Reman blood pouring onto his hands, a sin he once thought he'd never feel. Aradia's mouth dropped open, in disbelief at the rough human that suddenly appeared in the fray. Her eyes knew it was a human physically, but his uniform and demeanor made her feel the same fear towards him that she felt towards the other Remans. He was a Reman Human. "Oh my God..."
Syzhok choked, "Grab HER!!" Shinzon speechlessly ripped his bloodied knife out and a thin trail of flesh and bile streamed from it. The serrated edges tore the Reman's innards, and Syzhok fought through the pain on an adrenaline rush. Shinzon stepped back, a twisted smile on his face. Shinzon let his voice drop, "A flesh wound, Syzhok?" "I know who you are. Shinzon...you're the human of Vkruk! You human traitor!" Syzhok roared in rage. Aradia heard the name Shinzon, and she almost froze. The memories of her making into a male on the night she was discovered flooded into her memory, and she gasped when she remembered the story of the prophecy, the ship, and the insurrection of the Reman people. Her thoughts were interrupted as Thim'Zek threw himself into Aradia. Aradia swirled around as he tried to barrel-roll her, and he roared in pain and anger as he collapsed to the ground without cushioning. Aradia blocked Syzhok's view of what was happening to Thim'Zek, and she leaned over him, bringing a knee into his face. Blood spurted from the Reman's shallow bony nose. Shinzon glanced at her for a split-second, slightly amused at the small human blur beating up the Reman.
Syzhok glared at Shinzon and bared his knife with his dying hands. Shinzon easily dodged his careless slashes, and within moments, Syzhok fell forward on his own blade. Shinzon heard a sick crack of bone, and Syzhok's large body twisted for a moment in shock. Then he was still, unconscious and permanently disabled. Shinzon's face snickered quietly at Syzhok, but he was distracted when he heard Aradia's loud scream. Surprised, he looked off in the distance at Aradia and Thim'Zek, the situation changed from moments before. Thim'Zek was on his belly as was Aradia, and he clawed forward to grab her ankles as she tried to creep away from him with her elbows. Aradia trailed a profuse stream of blood from a large shoulder wound and Thim'Zek's own blood mixed with hers on the ground. Thim'Zek's grip on Aradia's ankles hardened and the Reman twisted, hungry for her pain. "Come here you little bitch..."
Aradia shut her eyes in agony when suddenly the double edged blade of Shinzon landed with a loud splat in Thim'Zek's left wrist. Shinzon moved to the side shadows and stabbed at just the right moment to avoid Aradia's small ankles.
Thim'Zek glared up and barked, "Syzhok!"
Shinzon's cool glance sneered at him as he pressed harder on his mordant knife, pinning Thim'Zek's left wrist to the ground like a nail. His eyes met Thim'Zek's calmly. "You're too late. I've already disposed of him." Aradia looked behind her, hearing the commotion as Thim'Zek's brutal twisting stops. Her face was tear-stained and flushed with adrenaline, the welts bleeding and her shoulder pounding in pain. Just as she looked, Shinzon ripped up the knife and stabbed it into the side of Thim'Zek's neck, which would have ironically been impossible if he hadn't thrown it at Aradia to clean minutes before. It only took seconds for Thim'Zek to choke and fall flat on the ground, twitching as the blood poured freely from his spliced jugular.
Silence. Aradia froze, her eyes meeting Shinzon's as he took back his blade and examined the blood on it. Aradia watched him slowly rise to his feet, unharmed and unaffected by the violence. Shinzon turned to look at her from the side, his large eyes curious but stern. He scanned her body, and Aradia moved to her feet as best as she could, shaking and nearly slipping on her own blood. She didn't make it to standing, so she sat on her knees in awe and fear. Shinzon was the palest human she had ever remembered seeing. His veins were more colored than his skin. His hair was rough and was in need of a shave, and Aradia was surprised when the medium-framed man stepped a little closer. His eyes peered at her with intense hazel color, and Aradia wondered if he could see her like she saw him in the darkness. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, trying to calm herself. He was a human, she had nothing to fear. But for some reason she couldn't push herself past his appearance. Shinzon's soft voice in the utter silence made her jump. "And to think...it has been 13 years. 13 years since I've seen one of you."
Aradia could barely breathe, "You're a human..."
Shinzon looked at her in the shadows, cowering and trembling like a frightened lone Romulan surrounded by Remans. His eyes traced her curves, more visible up close, and he wanted to tear the Vrhizak uniform from her delicate body by instinct, releasing her curves and succulent flesh underneath. He wanted to free her, a human like him at the very core even if their current states denied it. He let his head cock to the side with a small ironic smile, "As are you."
Aradia opened her mouth to speak but could only moan loudly when a ripping pain surged up her arm and shoulder. She grabbed it quickly, falling back to her rear and landing against the nearest wall. Shinzon frowned and stared at the wound, slowly coming closer. Already the flesh around the initial slash had turned a black color, and he sighed in concern. All he needed was the only human female he'd ever seen to die before him before he even got a chance to speak with her. He reached out with the tips of his white fingers to caress it. "Stay still. I am here to help you. You don't need to fear me."
Aradia looked at him, half-enthralled, "It's not fear I'm feeling right now...more like..." The wound suddenly bled out harder, and Aradia looked down at it in horror. She looked back at Shinzon, her voice soft in fear. The swoon of blood made her nauseous and dizzy with black dots beginning to swirl in her vision. "I...I think my arm is disintegrating."
Shinzon pulled back at the warmth of her blood. "Vrhizak's weapons are coated. You must get it procured or it will disintegrate. Here...come with me."
Shinzon stood slowly and held out his hand. Aradia looked at him in disbelief, shaking her head. A part of her was grateful he was there, but the other part was defensive. He could easily kill her or keep her like the other Remans did. She felt her consciousness fading more and more as the moist pool of blood spread on her, and she didn't want to end up like before when she lost it. Aradia spat out with a deep breath, "Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?! Why did you save me...?" Shinzon smiled, smirking thoughtfully. He wiped the blade on the flared bottom of his sleek pant-leg, and he turned back to her. He cocked his head at her coyly. "I'm Shinzon of Remus. And I want to get to know you better. We are both humans, after all." Aradia struggled to keep her head up, "I've heard about that name...somewhere before." Shinzon lowered his gaze, "Your name is Aradia?" Aradia blinked in disbelief, still holding her pulsing arm. Shinzon stood quietly, motionless and softening his face. She melted back, her fear turning to curiosity in the swoon of nausea and faintness that overcame her. Her tone was still sharp, but she could barely keep her eyes from rolling back into her head. She felt the back of her head strike the hard rock behind her and heard her voice weaken, "It is. Why did you save me? Are you a spy of Vrhizak...?" "Actually...now that I've killed two of his Reman guards you can say I'm more an enemy. Wouldn't you agree?" "What do you want? I thought I'd never see a human again in my life..." Immediately Shinzon felt his skin tingling at her words. He stepped forward slowly, sliding his knife back into its barrel at his side. He stepped from the shadows, more in view. Aradia watched him, leaning back in pain. Shinzon leaned down, and Aradia winced when he brought the palm of his hand to brush the side of her face. Shinzon just wanted to make sure she was real, in physical beauty and in human emotion. Every culmination and every training session never prepared him for anything like this. He breathed slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Well, that may not be necessarily true. For either of us," Shinzon closed his eyes momentarily, an emotional weight suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He couldn't explain what it was, but he suddenly felt lighter, more in control. Aradia tried to come back, "What...what do you want?" Shinzon put his elbow on his knee, "I'm here to take you to my home. It is a three months journey but you have my protection and the protection of my Reman soldiers..."
Aradia opened her eyes, protesting meekly, "No...no more bastard Remans. No..."
Shinzon looked behind his shoulder, suddenly hearing a footfall with his sharp hearing. "I'm afraid you have no choice."
"To die here or go with you?" Shinzon glanced up into the shadows behind them, and he swallowed. Slowly he began rising from his perching position. "I can hear about five Remans on their way to investigate why their two friends haven't returned. And that, my dear Aradia...gives you about ten seconds to decide to come with me or be killed." "Shit. God...my arm," Aradia moaned more loudly, and she shook her head at his extended arm. Frowning, Shinzon insisted with his open palm even more, and Aradia slumped over, losing her consciousness. Shinzon wrapped his forearm around hers, and he lifted her effortlessly to her feet, coaxing her to stay awake. The lightness and petite size of her body surprised him. Stirred, Aradia steadied herself against him and Shinzon pressed himself against the wall outside the Reman building besides their spot, holding her up. The Remans came around opposite the corner in the front of the building, their shadows creeping further away. Shinzon crept to the front, looking out into the barely lit Reman campground. He shook Aradia, who lifted her head and wearily looked into the darkness. Shinzon grabbed her wrist hard and darted. Aradia followed his lead with great difficulty. Shinzon slowed down when he found a large cover behind a well-like fixture six meters away from the campground, and Aradia fell besides him. She leaned over and her head fell onto his shoulder practically in weakness. Shinzon looked at her, his eyes scanning her intensely in curiosity and confusion. He placed his hands in the curve of her hips, lifting her against him for better leverage. "Why can't you walk?" Shinzon whispered in her ear. He marveled that such weakness and size could have survived the abuse of Vrhizak, but somehow he felt the power of her sheer determination to follow him and her seductive female body made up for whatever she lacked in brute physical strength. Aradia moaned inaudibly and collapsed against him. She tried to breathe more deeply, but it choked in her throat and got lost in the consuming darkness overcoming her sight. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and Shinzon pressed his hand to the blood on her arm. Aradia jerked to life, the pain ripping into the darkness to temporarily bring her back. She opened her eyes and looked up wildly at Shinzon, her head against his chest. In the distance, a few Reman guards hollered loudly and peered into the surroundings, suspicious. Shinzon heard and spied them, his head peering over the edge of the large well. A small smile came to his face and Aradia frowned deeply. "There's something about Remans, Aradia. They are extremely intelligent, but they also have a fatal weakness." "And what...what is that?" Aradia lifted her head.
Shinzon looked down, an ironic grin on his face. "Rashness. You see, they are going to discover the bodies, Aradia, and right away they will begin shouting, roaring...basically blowing what cover they have for hunting down the murderers."
Aradia moaned loudly. "Can you just help me and we can get the hell out of here?" Shinzon looked down at her, slightly annoyed, and he grabbed her hand. He pulled her to her feet and nearly dragged her along on his shoulder and strong arm, spurring her on in the shadows.
The camp was small, consisting of three tents and two small open shelters. Two medium-sized public fires burned, one warming a pail of water and another for warmth and relaxation in the cool night. Three Reman guards stationed themselves around the perimeter of the grounds while the few that were left relaxed and waited for Shinzon's return. Minz'Tel was assigned in charge of security for the duration of the trip by Shinzon, and he was intent on not failing him and regaining Vrhizak's trust. He stood on outlook on a small elevated rock, his bony face hardened against the harsh breeze that kicked up the dust and threw it into his eyes. His eyes caught an odd shadowy figure a hundred meters away, moving closer. Glancing at the horizon and the stars, he figured the time since Shinzon left and turned to the three Remans at his back, lightly clothed with a few light weapons. Minz'Tel's voice was hushed, "He comes! And he has the human!" A younger guard frowned, "I thought he WAS human..." Minz'Tel scowled, "Silence!"
Shinzon approached the raised outcropping, Aradia in his arms lightly moaning at every moment he made. Shinzon watched her intensely, noticing every detail of her body that felt like a mystery to him. He felt the sharp ends of Aradia's bones against his skin, and her strong but starved muscles tightly strained in malnourishment. Shinzon cringed when he noticed her bruises that were visible close up, marring her beauty tragically. Her ankles were sprained from Thim'Zek's last act of brutality against her, and welts of blue and black spread through her legs. Her loss of blood between the time she was conscious and unconscious was more dramatic than he'd expected it to be. The wound had grown even more, more blood seeping slowly until Shinzon's front side of his uniform was a deeper black color because of her blood. He could almost smell the copper blood that poured on his hands and drenched his uniform.
Minz'Tel suddenly came out from the shadows, Shinzon not noticing him until it was too late for him to hide the alarm he felt. Minz'Tel frowned and motioned to Aradia, "Welcome back, brother. I see you have her."
"I have her all right. She's injured badly." Shinzon climbed up the last elevation, and Aradia's eyes suddenly opened slightly at Minz'Tel's voice. Her eyes portrayed the betrayal she felt, and she lolled her head back, letting go of Shinzon's support and nearly falling from his arms. Shinzon felt her falling and he caught her with his large forearms, pulling her back up.
Shinzon scowled, "Now is not the time for doubts!"
Aradia's voice was a moan, "I'd either get killed by Vrhizak...or YOU."
Shinzon didn't look at her, but continued walking past the Reman guards, who froze and stood up to observe the human female. Looks of surprised crossed their faces, and Shinzon nodded at them and tried to ward them off with a glare. "Now why would I save someone I would want to kill? I'm not a selfish man, Aradia. I would have let Vrhizak's Remans kill you if I didn't care."
Minz'Tel followed Shinzon closely, peering over his shoulder to look at Aradia's face. "Aradia...such a human name."
Aradia's voice suddenly became stronger, "Don't...Don't talk to me!"
Aradia opened her eyes the whole way and glared the Remans down through her pale grim face. All of them became confused and put off by her offense, Minz'Tel grunting in slight amusement. Shinzon sighed and hurried past them, seeking a good spot for them to be alone. He crept to his personal area separated from the rest of the Remans by a long cotton-like sheet, nodded to the two guards outside its flap, and entered carefully with Aradia still in his arms. He gently set her down near a small private fire hidden behind the tent cloth that he kept for his own use, and he leaned forward to smell her in the midst of the ash-smell. He drew his face close to her, trying to rouse her. "Aradia, we have a small camp. Food. Meat. We will give you new clothes and let you wash yourself. We mean you no harm. You are our help just as much as we are yours." Aradia's body was pliable in his grasp as he set her down, and it relaxed in the natural curves of the ground below. Her eyes fluttered, "I have nothing to offer any of these Remans." Shinzon sighed and sat up, her moan resounding in pain. He reached behind her to run his index finger through her short hair, careful not to cause her reason for mistrust. He closed his eyes and breathed the unique scent of her, savoring the moment. Seductively, he brought his head parallel to hers and let his breath softly blow against the side of her cheek. Aradia felt his warm breath tickling her sensitive cheek, and she snapped her eyes open. She looked at him curious and a bit anxious, but much less afraid of him than the Remans. She peered most of all into his eyes, and she wondered what he thought of her. His hazel eyes stared at her more intensely and less judging than any man's she'd ever met. His eyes seemed to consume her body and face without any sort of criticism or stereotype, touching only on the very details of her as notes and nothing more. Shinzon let his voice drop, smoothing his usually harsh tone, "You may be useless to them, but you have so much to offer me." Aradia pondered his words and stared at Shinzon through the pain. A small sigh passed from her lips, and she wasn't sure what she felt towards him. Shinzon smiled widely and moved from her silently, vanishing into the shadows untouched by the central fire's warm light. Quickly he exited his private quarters and Aradia heard a low rumble of Remans outside, vocalizing what sounded like laughter to her.
Minz'Tel greeted Shinzon, who entered the Reman's tent abruptly with a stern look on his face. Minz'Tel noticed Shinzon's tenseness and he brought his hands out, "Brother! It has been a very successful night. We must move quickly though. Is she able to walk?"
Shinzon didn't answer right away, but instead walked over to Minz'Tel's personal belongings and grabbed one of his large casual shirts. Shinzon glanced up at him when Minz'Tel let a small smirk escape his lips. "She is not as strong as I anticipated. I need to treat her."
With a small nod, Minz'Tel moved to the side and offered Shinzon gauze from a small flap in the tent's fabric. Shinzon accepted it and took a deep breath. He remembered his own experience with Vrhizak's weapons sorely, "I have been poisoned by Vrhizak's clansmen before."
Minz'Tel looked up and stopped momentarily, remembering the medical incidences in Shinzon's short life. He studied the human curiously, whose head was down as he arranged a makeshift medical kit. Minz'Tel took a slow breath, "You remember things you shouldn't."
Shinzon felt his brow deepening, the hard eyes of the Reman staring through him as if he was a thin shield of glass ready to break. "There are things a man cannot forget."
Minz'Tel let his eyes trace the hard curves of Shinzon's body still dressed in the confining black combat suit stained with blood. The man was aged well beyond his youthful 18 years, and every year seemed to put ten more across Shinzon's blatant face. It seemed just yesterday he was the screaming benevolent tan human named Jean-Luc, holding his arms to his ears as every heartbeat mercilessly pounded louder and louder with the onslaught of countless torturous days. The scars across the human's body... Minz'Tel knew every one of them. After all, he had been the medical consultant for Vkruk for more than 12 years of Shinzon's life. He had been the one to find the Terran man who had taken mercy on all of them and on Shinzon especially. But now it wasn't the hardened Reman-like features the human bore or the tired look in his eyes that gave Minz'Tel unique Reman fear. It was the way Shinzon's face portrayed every emotional scar at once, as if the human dealt with each one all at the same time. The void he saw within the human cooled Minz'Tel's courage towards Shinzon more than any physical harm he had seen the human sustain and deal out. It was emptiness inside Shinzon's eyes that made Minz'Tel lower his head and turn away. "I will prepare some water and clothing..."
Shinzon stopped and looked up. "Thank you. I will...prepare her for transport."
"What will we tell the Romulans when they see her?"
Shinzon let a sinister smile cross his lips as he looked up from the kit, "Well, we won't be letting them see her now, will we?"
Minz'Tel breathed hard through his bony nostrils, pondering to himself. "They will notice her, surely."
"We can keep her inside the ancient caverns. The Foyer is large enough for her and she may even be useful. I think she is very intelligent..."
Minz'Tel turned. Despite the Reman influence on the human, idealism still shone from his hazel eyes and it made Minz'Tel's spirit hurt. "We will see, Shinzon."
Shinzon picked up the gauze and sensed Minz'Tel's sarcasm. With a smirk, he tucked the kit under his arm, "Yes, we certainly will, won't we?"
The fires burned intensely in the unusually active Reman campground, and all around Vrhizak's perimeter Reman guards armed with daggers stalked quietly as to not disturb the Romulan guards that slept a kilometer away. The tiny tents glowed alive with fire, and the sulfuric steam vents exploded more furiously than the night before.
On an elevated stone platform in the center of the camp where the main fire usually was, two dead Reman corpses laid, their weapons and armor set aside almost lovingly.
Vrhizak ripped from his larger tent and almost immediately his eyes lay on the bodies. A small gasp escaped from his thin lips, but the surprise soon changed to rage as he scanned the bodies and looked at the farthest one's face.
"Syzhok..." the word fell from his mouth barely above a growling whisper.
The Remans who had assembled the bodies froze when they overheard Vrhizak's roar that rose from the painful shock that coursed in his ancient veins. The younger Reman froze and looked behind him from his tent, and he felt a lump forming in his throat when he saw Vrhizak's bent form, mouth elongated and full of fangs. The roar rose high into the bleeding sky and every Reman in the camp lowered in universal instinctual cringe.
"GUR'THIK!"
The young Reman whimpered under his breath and threw himself forward into his tent, trying to stall the impending meeting he knew he would have with Vrhizak. Inside the dark tent, he could see two other of his fellow Remans, all crouching ominously. Vrhizak's hard footfall was coming closer and Gur'Thik hid the anxiety he felt.
"He's going to find you here," the larger Reman of the two before him smirked quietly.
Gur'Thik's eyes narrowed in concentration, and he tried to ward off the tingling his mind felt as Vrhizak scanned the camp. Gur'Thik swallowed hard, "Enough of this shit. Have any of you seen Is'zhark?"
"Vrhizak already found him," the Reman nodded to the exit. "Dragged him to his tent. Haven't seen him since the night began."
Suddenly the flap of the tent exploded open, and Vrhizak's face was bright in the darkness as he glared into the tent. Immediately his eyes met Gur'Thik's, and within seconds, Vrhizak single-handedly reached in, grabbed his soldier's forearm and tore him from the tent. Vrhizak's sharp talons dug into Gur'Thik's flesh and he growled under his breath, a thin slim of foam spurting from his lips.
Gur'Thik had no time to react, and had he, he wouldn't have done anything. Vrhizak was the master and sole leader of the camp. He was the Father, the clan master, the one who shared secrets they all hoped to have one day for their own survival. With the death of Vrhizak or even the abandonment of him, the clan would be lost. And so Gur'Thik just closed his eyes and submitted to the beating he knew he was going to receive.
"Look at this. Look at this!" Vrhizak dragged Gur'Thik from the spot, the hard ground scratched by the Reman's heavy body. Gur'Thik rolled his eyes back as he felt his arm nearly twisting from its socket, and he tried to stand as Vrhizak threw him before the corpses of Syzhok and Thim'Zek.
"Vrrr...Vrhizak! Brother..."
Vrhizak's nostrils flared, and his eyes glowered enflamed. "I want to know exactly where the holy fuck you were and why my son is dead!"
Gur'Thik rolled onto his back, lifting his palms above him. "Brother, we are all family here...I implore your patience."
Vrhizak raised his claws and threatened to slam them down on the smaller Reman. Gur'Thik rose to his knees, his palms still extended in peace. Several Reman guards approached Vrhizak from behind and got into ready position, wearily staring at their leader in case the situation escalated.
"Let me come to your home...I will explain to you what we've found."
Vrhizak snarled, "Is'zhark already tried that...I am unimpressed by your mediocre performance."
A Reman from behind Vrhizak came forward and slowly spoke up, "Friend...Brother. I implore as well. For him and the peace of the Clan."
Vrhizak glared behind him and threw his arm to his side. In the darkness the small throng of Remans could see the blue orbs of his beady eyes piercing into the opaque light, and they all backed off a few feet. The Reman who defended him Gur'Thik could recognize as Virsvam.
Vrhizak barked, "Very well. In my tent, NOW!"
Gur'Thik entered the tent with Vrhizak cautiously, who stepped behind him and shoved him to the ground.
Vrhizak's tent was larger than the others, approximately three by four meters, and a ratted blanket covered the first half of the dirt floor. The walls were tarp and held down by large metal reinforcement rods normally used for making Romulan weapons, and Gur'Thik peered at the large fire that seemed unholy in such a small space.
From the left side Gur'Thik spied movement and he glanced over. Is'zhark sat with his hands behind his back, and his legs spread in front of him. His bony face was bruised and bared several new wounds, which Gur'Thik knew was from Vrhizak's talons. Is'zhark looked at Gur'Thik blandly, nodding momentarily to acknowledge him.
Vrhizak stormed past Gur'Thik's body on the ground and crossing his long talons behind his back, he peered at the fire. Almost immediately his demeanor changed from fury to quiet contemplation as the flames threw their comforting arms of shadows around him.
Gur'Thik slowly crept to his elbows and began sitting up. He lowered his voice and looked away from Vrhizak's eyes. "Brother, she escaped. There was nothing we could have done...there were no warnings. Syzhok hadn't even told us he was going to check on Aradia."
Suddenly Vrhizak took a deep breath and he growled loudly, "Those wounds are not from Aradia. Whoever fought Syzhok was a Reman."
Gur'Thik's mind raced. He couldn't be a suspect. "We did all we could! We found Syzhok and Thim'Zek too late."
Vrhizak became disgusted. "Oh...Syzhok," he paused and turned, pointing his talon, "You fool! You should have heard the frenzy!"
Is'zhark suddenly belted out, "There was no noise!"
Gur'Thik snarled under his breath, "We tell the truth. No one heard it, father."
Vrhizak turned and roared, "Silence!"
Is'zhark was unrelenting, "Brother, we too mourn the loss of our two best guards. But with all due respect, whatever slaughtered our guards has only taken two. And no more."
Vrhizak was silent, and his face grew more irate. He paced for a moment, glaring at the two Remans in front of him. In anger, he lifted his hand and this time brought it down into Gur'Thik's face, sending the younger Reman flying to the ground with a hard thud. Gur'Thik felt his consciousness fading and he heard the crack of his skull against the hard floor.
Is'zhark snarled loudly and brought himself forward, "Father!"
Vrhizak lifted his claws again, this time threatening Is'zhark. "Fools! Do you realize the implications? We don't know WHAT or WHO got either of them then! And you both were the lead guards in CHARGE at the time of their deaths..."
Is'zhark shook his head and felt a swoon overcoming him as he crawled to his knees. "The weapon used was Reman. The wounds were serrated and whoever fought, fought like a Reman."
Vrhizak bent down and screeched. "Which Reman?! Tell me! Tell me who I need to kill!"
Gur'Thik slowly opened his eyes when he heard Vrhizak's ear-splitting screech. He moaned and became silent when he didn't hear Is'zhark responding.
Is'zhark sighed deeply, "We do not know."
Vrhizak roared again in anger. Is'zhark bowed his head and reached a claw out to Gur'Thik. Gur'Thik slowly sat up and together they balanced on each other as they rose to their feet. Is'zhark held Gur'Thik steady and sighed deeply.
Vrhizak began with a heated fury, "We will scan the entire vicinity. Which Reman in this forsaken camp is most likely to mutineer? I want spies. I want ambassadors to camps around this one! MY clan will NOT be killed off one by one."
Is'zhark swallowed, trying to redeem them both, "Brother, what if it was a Romulan with a Reman weapon?"
Vrhizak hissed, "Romulans don't fight and certainly don't kill the way this man did."
"So that leaves out Aradia as the sole proprietor of this attack?" Gur'Thik rubbed his face, two raw wounds beginning to bleed.
"You moron, of course. This is why Syzhok was the leader of you, and not you over him," Vrhizak growled and looked back at the fire.
Is'zhark cleared his throat, "I will assemble the most trusted of our Reman brothers for spies, my father."
Gur'Thik finally stood alone and steadied himself, glaring at his fellow Reman. He scowled at Vrhizak's words, but the sternness in Is'zhark's face kept him from going off on his master. Instead he followed suit and tried to lighten Vrhizak's violent temperament, "Brother, I disagree. We should look into Romulans or Aradia. Did she have any friends who could have helped her do this?" "She has no friends here! She is a whore. Nothing more and Romulans can not fight the way Remans can!" Is'zhark took over, "No, my brother. I will speak to the officers and see if anyone saw anything." Vrhizak pursed his thin lips and kicked the dirt around the flame violently. The dust suffocated the flame and sent the tent into a complete darkness that echoed the blackness overwhelming the already hardened soul of the Reman clan leader. A certain death reached out from Syzhok's drained cadaver and Gur'Thik swore he saw a glimmer of it in Vrhizak's azure eyes as he turned and portentously glared them out of the tent.