The Sarpeidon Chronicles Part 6

Fan fiction only. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 9

They walked on for nearly an hour. Selyk, moving slowly and fighting his obvious pain, kept his eyes on the reconfigured tricorder as he scanned for the cloaked escape pod. Therov's gaze remained locked on Adonia. In a way, she was grateful for the shade provided by the almost grotesquely thick vegetation that twisted around them. Otherwise, he might have seen the uncertain expression on her face.

Or perhaps he wouldn't have noticed, after all. For the moment, at least, he seemed entirely caught up in recounting his escapades as a fugitive.

"Some of my detractors might say that I remained on Gamma Aurelius too long," he said, directing a caustic look at Selyk, who pointedly ignored him. "Yet I have learned to trust my instincts in knowing exactly when to take flight. The same goes for prison. I knew when to leave there, too."

"That was hardly your choice," Selyk observed. "An opportunity presented itself; you took advantage of it. Nothing more."

"Perhaps I did not choose the exact hour of my departure, but the escape resulted from years of planning, both direct and indirect. All my pawns finally moved into position, you might say."

"A unique perspective, to be sure," Selyk muttered.

Therov ignored him. "Of course, I do give you credit, as well, my dear. I thought of you often during my confinement. Whether you care to believe it or not, you inspired me to continue striving for freedom."

"If that is the case, I am sorry to hear it."

He went on as if she hadn't responded. "It wasn't only that I hoped to see you again. It was also that I hoped that one day, I could help you break free of your own imprisonment." He flicked at the sleeve of her uniform as if he'd seen a particularly nasty insect crawling on it. "The fact that you have enslaved yourself devising makes it no less tragic. I know you better than you think, Adonia. An overly structured life is not for you."

Selyk, who had moved on ahead, stopped and called out to them.

"The tricorder is picking up an anomaly just ahead. It may be the pod. I'll have to deactivate the cloaking field for us to access it."

"Just be sure you can turn it back on again. Our precautions won't do us much good if Starfleet can take aim the moment we are airborne."

"I have already taken that into account, Therov." Scowling, he typed something into the tricorder and stood back as an oval shape abruptly shimmered into existence. Torpedo-shaped, its sleek hull was adorned with an intricate red-and-black Romulan warbird that covered almost its entire width–which, it turned out, was far from impressive.

"This pitiful thimble is what your associates have provided for our escape?" Therov hissed. "Look at it! It will barely support two life forms–never three!"

"You should be grateful it is there at all, and that I was able to find it for you! I suggest we make the best of it."

"Therov–" Adonia began, but the Andorian cut her off angrily by grabbing her wrist and twisting it so hard that she gasped.

"I know what you're going to say. That I should leave you here and take my chances while I can. Do not presume to think for me, or you may be quite disappointed by what I decide!"

"And I should say the same to you!" Angrily, she wrenched her hand free and took a step back. "Actually, I–I was going to ask you to leave Selyk and take me instead."

Therov stopped with his mouth still open in mid-tirade.

"You didn't expect me to agree, did you? I might have known all that talk about understanding me so well was only your self-serving prattle. And here I thought you were offering me a real chance to start over. The truth is, I have grown to hate Starfleet almost as much as you do. Surely you have figured out that I joined to atone for my brother's disgrace. My father insisted, as a matter of fact. He sees me as little more than a means to safeguard his own reputation. What I wanted has never mattered at all–except to you."

"Obviously she is as deceitful as her brother," Selyk grumbled. But Therov's lips had begun to turn up at the corners.

"It would make more sense to leave him here," Adonia continued. "The Empire is not likely to be pleased with the outcome of the mission they entrusted him with. Why should you and I share his fate?"

"Therov, enough of this nonsense!" Selyk shouted. "Get into the pod. I will dispose of her, if you cannot bring yourself to do it!"

Therov held up his hand. "Her suggestion has a certain logic behind it. No doubt you will face punishment at the hands of the Romulans. I have a feeling their prison system will make the Federation's look positively Epicurean."

"You weak-minded fool! She has no more changed her mind about the Federation than you and I have. Open your eyes–she is deceiving you to save herself!"

The Andorian's beady eyes narrowed as he looked from Adonia to Selyk and then back again. "You are both trying to confuse me. Rush my decision and neither of you may be alive when I do leave."

"Well, forgive me for hurrying you, Therov, but the circumstances do rather demand it. You are aware that when I deactivated the cloak around the pod, I rendered the three of us visible to Starfleet's sensors, as well. I expect they have determined our location by now, and should be beaming into the vicinity momentarily." This time it was Selyk's turn to smirk as a look of panic spread across Therov's face. "On the bright side, waiting would enable us to settle the question of Adonia's loyalty once and for all. We should have years thereafter to discuss it."

Sure enough, he had hardly finished speaking before Adonia heard the familiar whine of a transporter beam. A six-person security force began to take shape only a few meters away from them. Their weapons were already drawn.

Before the first of several colorful curse words left Therov's tongue, Adonia spun, locked her ankle around his, and grabbed his weapon. The two hit the ground together, tussling for the disruptor. Therov raised an angry fist above his head, but Selyk seized his wrist before he could bring it down on Adonia's face.

"Never mind her! Come!"

Together, they ran for the shuttle. Just as the security team finished materializing, Adonia found herself in sole possession of the disruptor Therov had relinquished. Still on the ground, she took aim just as the pod door slid shut and the vessel itself began to fade from view. Helplessly, she and her subordinates flattened themselves as a tremendous pressure cleaved the forest. A cloud of leaves, dirt, and twigs darkened the air, and the trees around them bent double, some of them snapping cleanly in two.

Shielding her face and communicator with one arm, Adonia summoned the Wellfleet. "A shuttle is leaving the planet's surface–cloaked! Can you get a lock on it?"

"Negative, Lieutenant. We aren't reading anything."

"Damn." Adonia hadn't used so Terran an expression in many years, and certainly not since she had donned a Starfleet uniform, but in this case the situation seemed to call for it. The bitter taste of failure stung her mouth. There was no denying the inevitable. Her first mission was over, and Therov and Selyk were gone.

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Jarrod had scarcely finished transferring the last of his meager belongings from his duffel bag to a drawer when he heard a summons at his cabin door. To his surprise, he opened it and found Leila standing there.

"May I come in?" she asked, but slipped past him without actually waiting for his consent. She paused to eye the glass and bottle he'd left on a small table by the porthole.

"I hadn't expected to find you drinking," she said.

"Why not? It's my father, not I, who object to spirits as a matter of principle. Then again, I can understand why you might occasionally get the two of us confused."

She looked away. "Perhaps I deserved that."

"I'm sorry. That wasn't especially gentlemanly of me, was it?" Jarrod sighed. "But why are you here? I had no idea you were coming aboard."

"It turns out that Elias' head wound requires an extended stay in sickbay. He decided it would be a good idea to have it examined at the Starbase. We're going to need some supplies in order to rebuild the colony anyway. I've taken it upon myself to organize a shopping expedition. Maybe it will be good to visit a real marketplace again. Then again, maybe not. It seems as though I left civilization for a reason, even if I can't remember at the moment precisely what it was."

His brows lifted. "That means we'll be together for almost a week."

"True enough. I hope you won't be too uncomfortable with that."

"Well, even if I were, I have no right to dissuade you. You have as much right as any other Federation citizen to visit a Starbase. Probably more than I do, considering my brief and checkered career with Starfleet."

"I'm glad you aren't angry. I came because I wanted to tell you myself, rather than run into you somewhere and cause an even more awkward scene than this one has turned out to be."

"Thank you for that."

A tense silence stretched between them for what seemed an endless moment. Finally, Leila took a deep breath and spoke again.

"So, have you seen your sister? How is she?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much as you'd expect: heartbroken because she failed at her first important commission. She's more upset with herself than Admiral Taylor will ever be with her. There's nothing quite like perfectionism to make a person truly miserable."

"Well, there's always self-recrimination. Some of us have learned to live with that kind of pain, though."

"No doubt she'll get over it," he said quickly. "Speaking of that, should I stop in at sickbay and visit Elias? I mean, if you think he'd want me to."

"Yes–please do." The smile she gave him quivered a little. "I think he'd like that very much."

"All right."

She saw herself out, wondering if she shouldn't look into stocking her own quarters with a supply of alcoholic beverages. It was going to be a long voyage, she suspected. At the same time, she couldn't help thinking of another ship and another cabin door, one she hadn't dared to breach. This time, things were going to be different–at least, she hoped so.

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Evening had edged into a brilliantly starlit night by the time the second security detail arrived, bringing Spock home at last.

Kai was the first to greet him, offering an appropriately demure salutation.

"Welcome home, Father. I have already informed Grandfather of your acquittal. He was pleased to know that his intervention proved beneficial."

"You may inform him that I am also grateful to have successfully concluded the ordeal."

"That certainly makes two of us."

He looked up to find that Zarabeth in the doorway, watching them with a guarded expression.

"Very well. I shall send Grandfather the message directly and then retire for the night," Kai announced. With a glance at his mother, he hurried up the stairs and left them alone.

"I had hoped you would return sooner," Zarabeth said cautiously. "I suppose the Embassy wouldn't allow it until they could ensure your safety. No one knows better than I that a charge of treason should never be underestimated."

"The Federation may be an enlightened institution, but it is at its heart a bureaucracy. You are correct in that I could not be released until I had assisted in securing an alternative indictment."

"Then it's really finished? They won't be back to drag you away in the middle of the night?"

"Most unlikely. It would take a minimum of twelve hours to issue a new warrant. For all intents and purposes, therefore, we may assume that I am in no longer in danger."

Slowly, her stricken look melted into one of relief. After a few more moments of hesitation, she threw all decorum aside and rushed forward to embrace him.

"I can think of only one time when I was this glad to see you. Spock, on the stand I said you were no longer the center of my world. You know that as long as there is breath in this body, that will never be the case." Spock raised a brow as her fingers curled somewhat urgently around his. "I could go on for hours about how much I've missed you, but I think I'd rather show you. Come upstairs."

Her determined grip left him little choice but to allow himself to be pulled along. They were halfway up the staircase when Lidia suddenly emerged from her room and stood on the landing.

"I thought you'd gone to sleep," Zarabeth said, discreetly sliding her hand from Spock's.

"I waited up to see Father. We are all thankful to have you back. I apologize for any role I may have played in your misfortune."

"No one blames you, Lidia," Zarabeth assured her. "It was purely by chance that we became involved with Selyk and Sumarr. All of us will simply have to be more cautious in the future."

"I'm sure I needn't remind either of you that no accusations were ever made against Sumarr in this matter. If I cannot be faulted for Father's imprisonment, would it not be hypocritical to hold him liable for his son's misconduct?"

Anger flashed in her mother's eyes. "I'm sure neither of us are in the mood to hear you defend him. Please–this is too complicated to sort out now. Let's discuss it in the morning."

"I'm afraid I won't be here in the morning." Lidia's jaw took on a stubborn–and familiar–set. She raised one hand to reveal that she had carried a suitcase into the hall with her. "Now that Father has come home, I am afraid I will be leaving. I'm going to Sumarr. Tonight."

"You most certainly are not! You may be of legal age, but we can still stop you from doing something that foolish–not to mention unseemly. Return to your room at once."

"You do not understand. Sumarr and I were married last week. Originally, we had planned to keep our union a secret unless I were called upon to testify against either him or Father. Now that neither of them is facing further prosecution, we are free to start our own life. This afternoon, we decided it was time to do so."

"What! Really, Lidia! It's clear that you want to protect him, but there's no need to make up such a ridiculous tale."

"I knew you would not easily accept my announcement." Sighing, Lidia bent and reached into her bag. "I have proof. You will find that all the legal documents are in order."

She extracted a padd and handed it to Spock, who briefly examined it and passed it to Zarabeth.

"She is correct. Lidia–why did you not confer with one or both of us before embarking on so rash a course of action?"

"Because I knew you would forbid me."

"You're quite right about that!"

"Sumarr has prepared a suitable habitat for my amphibians in his home. I shall return to collect them tomorrow. Perhaps then we may reach a mutually satisfactory compromise. For now, I have already summoned the tram."

Without looking at either of her stunned parents, Lidia picked up her suitcase and slipped past them on her way down the stairs.

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Later, Zarabeth lay tracing a pattern on the bedsheet with her thumbnail. "Was T'Rhan terribly disappointed that you convinced me to take you back?"

"As a Vulcan, T'Rhan would never allow personal concerns to obstruct her professional objectivity…though I confess that she did warn me against returning to you."

"Your father got his money's worth, then. I'm glad you didn't listen." She sighed and turned to look at him. "I imagined that once we got past this, everything would just go back to the way it was. Now I'm beginning to think that can never happen."

"It is not the general way of things."

Zarabeth rolled onto her back and covered her face in despair. "Oh, what was Lidia thinking? Anyone could see the kind of crass opportunist that man is–why can't she?"

Spock's expression darkened. "If Sumarr believes he has gained respectability by this alliance, he may find that he has miscalculated. I have been exonerated, but my position at the Embassy is no longer what it was. The perception that my loyalties are tenuous will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to dispel."

"Yes…I was afraid of that. When it comes to politics, one mistake can undo a lifetime of good work."

"I am not prepared to resign just yet. The Vulcan Embassy has intervened on my behalf once; no doubt they will do so again."

She grew thoughtful for a while. "At least no one can accuse us of raising children who don't have minds of their own. Soon none of them will need us at all. Jarrod has already made a life for himself. Adonia is farther away than I can even comprehend. And I think Kai could do fine on his own even now.

"It is true that they have wandered far afield. Yet it also seems reasonable to believe that they will return."

"Maybe you're right. After all, you did." Reaching out, she trailed her fingertips across his temple, over the curve of one delicately tapered ear, and past the small patches of grey that now salted his hair–still far fewer than those that had crept into hers, of course. Briefly it occurred to her that if he lived as long as his father and most other Vulcans, one day their time together would seem to him a relatively brief interlude in a parade of centuries. Perhaps this strange, difficult man never would be able to share, or even fully comprehend, her reliance on him.

"Yes," he agreed. To her relief, she heard no suggestion of regret in his voice. "I did."

"If–or when–we do leave this place, you need never worry that you have disappointed me. Whatever happens, I will gladly go anywhere with you."

Contentment settled over her–and, she hoped, him–like the soft blankets that covered them both. Very soon, for the first time in weeks, she drifted into a peaceful sleep.