Shadows of Silence
Chapter 3
"I'll take over now, Lieutenant," Kirk said to Uhura as his turn to guard the craft approached. He looked up at the stars and sighed. If only the automatic beacon were more efficient....
"Thank you, Captain," she said, replacing her phaser at her side. "I feel more than anxious to get some sleep-it's been a long day."
"Yes," Kirk answered, not looking at her.
At once she took a step closer. "Captain," she said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. "I want to explain what happened today-by the waterfall, I mean."
Kirk's mind raced with questions, such as "what could she possibly see in that pompous..." but he knew they were not his to ask, so he settled for merely nodding, though he felt his chest tighten a little.
"There's no need. It's forgotten."
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I didn't mean that. I do care about him-he's a lonely and terrified man, reaching out. We were friends before...well, before everything happened, or at least we were on our way toward becoming friends. It isn't my place to judge whether he's guilty or innocent. I know his words are sincere, and I can't shake what I do feel for him. But I promise you that my duty comes first-you know that, sir."
"I never doubted it." He smiled slightly at her, and she reciprocated.
"Thank you, Captain. Good night..."
"Good night, Lieutenant. We won't be here much longer-the Excelsior is due at the base any day now, as I recall, and they should pick up our beacon. Spock can handle the Enterprise until we get home."
It had been a warning, an expression of concern on his part, and both of them knew it.
"I'll remember that." She nodded quickly, then repeated her goodnight, and left. Kirk watched after her until she reached the sleeping area safely, then rubbed his temples and leaned against a nearby rock to keep watch.
A few yards away, Veland lay in silence. His bright eyes were fixed on the midnight sky, hot sweat streaming down his temples. Every muscle in his body was strained with the effort to keep still.
Uhura's breathing told Veland when she was asleep ... and then he turned his own eyes to the sky, and waited, little by little edging into the nearby underbrush so as not to arouse the Captain's suspicions. At first, when Uhura had been keeping watch, he'd been able to control himself by watching her so intently that everything else faded into the back of his consciousness.
Now, though, she had crawled into one of the emergency sleeping rolls from the shuttlecraft and lay down on the ground just a little beyond his left arm's reach. Her steady breathing as she drifted into sleep stirred his lust with an intensity that filled him with shame. Every moment, he found it more difficult to resist the urge to roll over and pounce on her.
Nervously he looked back at Kirk, and was relieved to see that the captain was not looking at him. Noiselessly he slid from his makeshift bedding and eased his body into the thicket. Once he was out of sight, he let out a moan of agony as the long-suppressed changes came quickly and painfully. Dimly, he felt his muscles expanding, straining against bone and skin; hair and beard growing to abominable lengths, teeth growing longer and forming sudden points; eyes bulging, burning, his sight dimming along with his mind. Reason itself soon gave way to wild bursts of color and glaring light.
Veland lay on the ground, shaking, his chest swelling with a special breed of passion: hatred, incredible, searing hatred for the man standing only meters away, phaser in hand, who was hurrying over to investigate the noise.
The thing leaped to its feet, snarling, growling, swinging to its feet and neatly sealing off the distance between Kirk and itself.
Kirk turned just as one powerful, furry hand smashed across his horror-stricken face, knocking him onto the dusty ground and sending the phaser flying off into the tangle of leaves and branches nearby. With a roar, the creature started toward him, waving its enormous arms. Pulling himself forward by digging his fingers into the ground, Kirk rolled into the brush and desperately felt around for the phaser. Suddenly the creature's arm came down again, smashing blindly into the darkness, and fortuitously connected with his head. An entirely new set of constellations danced in front of his eyes as he fought to retain consciousness. Moving clumsily, he slithered deeper into the bushes while the creature continued to shred the foliage behind him.
When she heard a commotion erupt around her, Uhura sat bolt upright and pushed herself free of the sleeping bag. Instinctively she grabbed her own phaser and took cover behind the wrecked shuttle. Her first thought was that wild animals had attacked the campsite, perhaps in search of the rations they'd taken from the shuttle, but it quickly became apparent that something much stranger was going on.
Astonished, she watched as a towering ape-like monster mercilessly pummeled Kirk to the ground and tried to follow him into the thicket where he dove for cover. Nervously she glanced at Veland's empty sleeping bag, half expecting to find a mangled body twisted in the padding. Fortunately, it seemed that he had taken the opportunity to run off in the night.
Just then, the creature abandoned its pursuit of Kirk and turned on her. Its lumbering body threw a huge shadow across her as it came loping toward her. She raised her phaser and aimed squarely at the broadest part of the approaching silhouette. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, she noticed two things. First, the creature's attitude had shifted abruptly. It seemed in no mood to attack her, but was approaching more slowly, its head tilted, almost in the manner of some large and ungainly pet.
Second, the shreds of a tailored white shirt still hung loosely around its bulky shoulders. The tattered black pants it wore were also unmistakable.
Her hesitation was only momentary, but in the end it was enough. With a burst of speed and brute strength, the creature batted the phaser from her hand, grabbed her by the wrist, and hoisted her over both shoulders with her stomach resting against the muscle-knotted neck. Then, before she even had time to cry out to the captain, they were off and running into the night.
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When they finally stopped, the creature was out of breath and his arms were trembling from the effort of holding her up. She could hear the hiss of the waterfall in the distance, so at least they were still in familiar territory. If she did manage to sneak away, she could probably find her way back to the shuttle, and to Kirk. She only hoped he wasn't desperately in need of medical attention she wasn't there to give him.
A bit unceremoniously, the creature knelt and dumped her onto the ground. Rolling to her knees, Uhura started to edge away, then stopped when the monster growled and took a step toward her. It tensed immediately, as if to spring at her, but she held up a forbidding hand.
"No!" she blurted, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. "Stay still–I'm not going to make a run for it. You see?" She turned both hands over, palms outward, to display her lack of weapons. "I lost the phaser–you threw it in the bushes, remember?"
Pausing, the creature tilted its head again, causing a flap of the torn shirt to flutter. Uhura fought the sick feeling that welled up inside her. Surely the monster hadn't dragged Veland off, murdered him somewhere in the night, then tried to struggle into some of his clothes?
Shuddering, she forced herself to lean closer, trying to see if the fabric held any traces of blood. The effort ended in a gasp as two powerful, stern hands grabbed her by the wrists and hoisted her to her feet. She struggled, fearful, but this time the animal's grip was different. The creature held on fast, but his grasp rapidly became looser, gentler. At the same time, he looked down at her with what seemed remarkably like the softening effect of growing understanding.
That was when she understood. Her eyes locked with his, and she jerked back in a panic.
"It's you-oh, no, how can that be? I understand now...Let me go, please–I won't run away, I swear. Please! Tocz!"
With a look of profound shame, the thing released her. Uhura stumbled backward, unable to take her eyes off him.
"Why didn't you tell someone? It wasn't the Ambassador who committed the murder–it was...you. No wonder you welcome your own death–you can't control it, can you? You're at the mercy of your dark side. When you feel angry, or threatenedListen, Tocz, there's nothing to be upset about now. I'm here–I can help you. Please-make this thing go away. Can you do that....for me?"
The creature stared a moment, whimpering softly. Then, bit by bit, it became more like the Ambassador that lived behind it, somewhere. It took an embarrassed step backward, and she nodded encouragement, smiling slightly. It began to breathe deeply as its muscles seemed to shrink, its face becoming more human. Uhura watched, both fascinated and terrified.
Soon, all that remained in front of her was a somewhat bulkier and hairier version of Veland in a tattered outfit and a mortified expression. Crossing his arms over his knees, he hid his face in sorrow.
"I wouldn't have hurt you," he said in a choked voice. "Though it may not have been apparent to you, I can control his actions to some extent."
"But how is this possible?" Uhura asked, flabbergasted. "I thought I knew you–and then to witness something like this!"
He nodded wearily. "I can only imagine how you must feel. Probably close to the way I felt when–well, the first time it happened."
Relief flooded through Uhura when she heard Kirk's shouts coming from the woods.
"Uhura! Answer if you're there! Are you all right! Lieutenant!"
"Over here, Captain. I'm fine."
Too late, she realized her mistake. Veland was on his feet again, half-crouching, his own voice trailing off in a growl.