The sad thing about being held hostage is that the whole thing actually does become somewhat boring after enough time, something that Chekov, Uhura, Sulu, and Scotty were being reminded of as their thoughts drifted. Chekov thought the women looked eerie just standing still like that all that time, it's like they were just machines. Scotty had made his peace with the fact they weren't as valuable as the others taken into the ship, so he figured the only reason the pirates hadn't killed them yet is they were planning on making it look like an accident, probably damage one of the engines to cause a chain reaction to blow up the ship. It was smart, especially since most people would assume a Starfleet crew wouldn't know much about conducting repairs on a Klingon vessel.
Uhura was wondering what was taking them so long. If they really were space pirates, why just stand around so long and risk getting caught? Why not just go through the ship and take any valuables? As for Sulu, his eyes were on the guards. His mind was identifying just about every move they could try against him, and coming up with ways to counter them. Sulu clenched his fist when he realized it but it was true: Even if he did everything right, made every right choice, he still would be able to maybe take out two of them before the third one managed to hit him, and with adversaries like these, one hit was all it took to make him crumble. The others could probably overwhelm and take out the third guard, but again, that assumed he made every right move and took out the other two. It was too risky, he concluded.
A few more minutes went by before one of the guards received a message through the communicator, then turned on the view screen to show the leader of the criminals holding them hostage: Wentworth Yorkshire Poole. He had a smug half-smile on his face, his tooth having been reattached by Doctor McCoy, who was standing behind him, looking annoyed as ever. Scotty allowed himself to feel a bit better, at least they weren't torturing the poor man. "But to be fair, hearing that little weasel blabber on could probably be considered torture," he thought.
"Ahh, yes. Mister Sulu, mister Scott, miss Uhura, and mister Chekov. Collectively known as 'the rest' or 'the other ones' whenever one lists off the old crew of the Federation flagship."
They tried not to care too much about the school yard insults, but it was kind of hard after being captured by someone who was probably still in diapers when they were graduating from the academy. The criminal continued: "Well, I, for one, share your frustration. This is why I'll make sure all of you die heroic deaths. You'll all die for a greater cause, friends! That being ensuring I finally get to make that vacation tour across the best cabarets in the quadrant, of course."
He snapped his fingers and told an andorian named Lissia to search through the crew quarters for any valuables. The saboteur would be the brunette and their guard would be the blonde woman. "In any case, I have to escort our enchanting doctor McCoy back to his cell and take the opportunity to see if i can give Tiberius that heart attack he's had coming for years now. Ciao!" after the screen faded to black, Sulu gave his crewmates a look and all of them understood it. They had to do something about this before they all became space dust. Scotty wasn't exactly willing to bet his best Brandy on their chances of survival, but he figured it was best to go down swinging. "Besides, giving up's something old men do," he thought to himself.
"Personal log of James T. Kirk, continued. I woke up in a prison cell inside mister Poole's vessel, the Space Angler, feeling like… well, like I'd been punched in the face by a Klingon. Lieutenant Saavik and Doctor McCoy were taken along with me while the rest of the crew remained aboard the Bird of Prey, though Miss Saavik was unable to say for sure whether any of them had been harmed since then. Bones is currently tending to our captor, reattaching his missing tooth. Surrendering to the Klingon empire is not an option, so we'll have to find some way out of this mess."
The two officers had been in that cell for about half an hour, trying to come up with some plan of escape, but had nothing to show for it. Kirk went near the force field keeping them locked in and noticed that the very same Klingon woman who had knocked him out before was now standing guard near their cell, as stone-faced as ever. "I guess he's working with a skeleton crew as well, that's something", he said to Saavik, and she simply nodded, still deep in thought.
Several minutes passed before an idea born out of equal parts boredom and desperation came about: Faking a heart attack and using the distraction to knock out the guard. It was right out of old movies, but it was the closest thing to a plan he could come up with. Jim walked up to Saavik and told her his plan and, while she wasn't exactly sold on it, eventually she relented, considering they had no phasers, tricorders or any other tools they could use to escape. If nothing else, they could at least steal a phaser from the guard.
Just as they were finishing their conversation, however, they heard footsteps and a recognizable snort-laughter approaching their cell.
It was Bones and Poole, followed by two bodyguards and now wearing a costume that made him look more like a pirate than ever before. He had fashioned the deep blue fabric from a romulan officer's uniform into a bandana, and wore a klingon chest piece and boots. His arms were bare, save for various trinkets and bracelets he had on his wrists. The whole costume looked garish but the element that drew Kirk and Saavik's attention the most was the boy's belt buckle, which was fashioned out of a Starfleet badge. Kirk could feel his blood boiling again just at the thought of what had happened to that crew. The badge, offensive as it may have been, was not the most important part of the costume, as they would soon find out.
With a snap of the fingers, the pirate told the klingon woman to drop the force field, while his bodyguards pointed their phasers at the human and vulcan. After Bones was in the cell, Poole pulled his upper lip and revealed his recently reattached tooth to Kirk, almost mocking him. "Have to say, Tiberius, you sure know how to pick 'em. The old doctor here is a real miracle worker"
He again snapped his fingers, but this time spoke to Saavik. "Tell me what he told you," he said. At that point, the Vulcan woman became stiff and started telling Poole everything she and Kirk had discussed, barely taking a moment to breathe and staring at nothing. After it was over, she simply stood perfectly still. Poole, who looked entirely satisfied with himself, opened his arms in an over-the-top motion.
"Like that, Tiberius? Since you were taking so long to wake up i decided to have a little chat with our beloved vulcan flower, Saavik"
He snapped his fingers again and Saavik seemed to get out of her trance. She looked around the room until her eyes landed on Kirk's, who looked distraught.
"Answers a few questions," Jim thought "And creates several problems as well".
"I had nothing when the Romulans captured me," the pirate started. "Nothing except my… Parlor tricks, I guess you'd call them. I was to be detained for questioning after an officer told me of a highly secret, highly illegal sale of weapons taking place in Federation space. The 'traitor' had already been dealt with in classic Romulan fashion, of course, but they were still itching to figure out how I got the information in the first place, what bribery could've possibly been enough to corrupt one of their agents".
He started pacing around while his bodyguards kept their phasers aimed squarely at the prisoners. A grin formed on his face as he remembered the details of his conquest.
"Most of the time was just information gathering, honestly. My interrogation sections quickly saw a role reversal as my dear Romulan friends provided me with details of the ship's schematics, and most importantly, structural weaknesses. In about three days, I was having a lovely conversation with the captain and his first officer, who kindly handed me control of the ship. Of course, some of the more… materialistic members of the crew had a hard time giving up this vessel, but you'll be surprised at how effective a self-destruct countdown can be". He got closer to his prisoners and suddenly the grin was replaced by a scowl, and his voice became cold and cruel. "I infected them like a virus, old man. Defeated them, humiliated them. And all thanks to this"
The coldness left as quickly as it came, replaced by the circus announcer routine. He put his right wrist close to his face and showed off the bracelet he wore, which featured a small button in its center. He pushed the button, which began flashing several colors. It wasn't particularly noticeable if you weren't looking at it, but if you were, as Kirk was in the process of finding out, it was almost impossible to pry your gaze away from it.
"About five minutes is all it takes. Repeat a few key phrases enough, make sure nothing breaks your victim's concentration, be a charming enough scoundrel and soon enough you'll have a new toy to play with," said the criminal, so excited to be showing off he may as well have been singing. He turned off the device as Kirk was hit with the realization of how easily he was almost hypnotized by this boy. If these were other times, if they were in another ship, this whole situation wouldn't be any problem, but at that very specific, very unfortunate moment, he was a serious threat.
"This, of course, brings us to our beloved Saavik. I don't know about you girls, but I think having some Vulcan blood is just what this crew needs!" Poole then signaled for his bodyguards to enter the cell and take the young officer. Kirk and Bones stood in their way, but McCoy was quickly pushed aside as Jim and Saavik were left, quite literally, up against a wall.
That's when Saavik kissed Kirk.
A full-blown kiss, too. She was breathing heavily as her hands found his and their fingers intertwined. Kirk might've even enjoyed the experience, if he wasn't pretty sure he'd die in the following hours. Jim knew it was an act, but still, he had to admit Saavik was definitely unlike any Vulcan he'd met before. While Poole and Bones were certainly… caught off guard by the show, the mind-controlled guards just kept going and dragged the passionate vulcan off the cell.
As she was being taken away, Saavik reached out to Kirk. "I love you James Kirk. Please rescue me from these criminals. Once we are reunited, I promise you I will show you pleasure the likes of which you have never dreamed of," Thankfully, Poole was kind enough to put her arm down after she said that, otherwise things might've gotten awkward. It was also something of a miracle that the pirate had the strength to snap his fingers, considering all his blood was now on his face. Nevertheless, the bandoliers left their prisoners, and the klingon guard reactivated the force field. Kirk's mind was racing. Why had Saavik done that? Was it some sort of scheme? Had she perhaps given him a code or hidden message of some kind? Maybe-
"You never miss a chance, do you?" Bones said, breaking Jim's concentration.
"What?"
"The girl! I leave for five minutes and the two of you start making wedding plans!?"
"Well, that's comforting," Kirk said. "If you actually bought that, then that kid probably believed it, too. Now stop talking for a second while i-"
Before he could finish that thought, images started flashing in his mind. He saw a hallway, a few figures walking ahead. It took a few seconds but Jim was able to figure out he was now seeing through Saavik's eyes. He calmed Bones down with a gesture and tried to focus on what he was seeing. "So that's what that was about, huh?" he thought "Yes, sir. The Damar V'onn is meant to be used only by couples in moments of intimacy, however, I deemed its properties useful in giving you some information about our captor and his ship. I apologize, however, it was the only course of action I could think of", she said "You did well," Kirk thought, making a promise to himself that if he ever got the chance to sit down for a conversation with Spock again he would have him explain literally every single Vulcan mind trick there was. He also tried ignoring how amused Saavik was at that thought. "Defnitely not like other Vulcans," he said to himself.
As the girl was being escorted through the corridors, the two of them discussed several details. For one: Kirk's previous assessment about Poole working with a skeleton crew proved true. He could only notice about four women in the bridge, plus the two bodyguards Poole had, the guard at the cell door and the three women left at the Bird of Prey, that left them with ten of these mind-controlled soldiers to deal with. "Not impossible to handle, but still ten more than I would've wanted", thought Kirk. Saavik pointed out that the bracelet Poole had shown off before must've been only the prototype of the machine he would use on her, seeing as she broke free of his mind control after only one order, whereas the others seemed to be in a state of continuous servitude.
"It would be logical to assume," she started, "that whatever procedure our captor plans to use on me will take longer than the five minutes he had previously divulged. I would say ten to thirty minutes would be the window of time necessary. Considering we do not know how or even if the mind control may be broken, I would suggest attempting any rescue before then."
Kirk agreed as he noticed doors opening in front of Saavik. Seemed she had reached her destination. The room was surprisingly simple, apparently also acting as the ship's sick bay. A stretcher lay in its center with a small globe with several small light bulbs hung a few feet above it. There was a window to a small side room with a control panel. The bodyguards strapped Saavik to the stretcher and Kirk could notice her starting to tense up. He tried calming her down, but it was clear she was more disturbed by the prospect of losing her free will than she let on.
Poole and the guards went into the side room and after a few minutes the lights were turned off and the globe started flashing bright colors. It was clear now that the machine operated under the same principle as the bracelet, only on a much larger scale. The room became a nightmarish kaleidoscope which left no space for respite. Kirk had wondered why Saavik's head wasn't strapped in place like her arms and legs were, but seeing the process in action, he realized there was no point. No matter where you looked, you would see nothing except a seering ocean of bright colors, and even if Saavik closed her eyes, she could still notice the lights through her eyelids. Kirk was doing all he could to give her some sort of ground to stand on, but he knew it was a losing battle.
As usual, things only got worse when Poole started talking. His voice sounded distorted and outlandish through the speakers. He kept repeating phrases like "your mind belongs to me" or something like that. Kirk couldn't make the words out over the sheer confusion overtaking Saavik's mind at the moment. Before he could do anything else, the young vulcan at last gave in, releasing a painful scream that broke the psychic bond they had established.
Jim found himself back on the cell, sweat forming at his forehead. Bones asked him what happened and he explained.
"Well, one thing's for sure: if I ever get the chance to talk to that damn green-blooded elf again I'll have him explain every single last magic trick the Vulcans can do."
"On that, we agree."
"Shame about the girl, too."
"Yes, but she's strong. We just have to focus on getting out of here so we can help her and the rest of the crew."
Like before, Kirk started trying to come up with a plan, only this time he had more information to work with. The first objective was clear, get out of the cell, preferably in a way Poole wouldn't notice. The only problem, of course, was the two hundred pounds of muscle at the door ready to punch his lights out again. They had to come up with a way to get rid of the guard.
"Well, after the whole incident on the Tantalus penal colony all those years back, not to mention Khan's little 'pets', I actually studied a bit about different forms of mind control," Bones started, attempting to remember the papers he'd read "There's obviously not a lot of literature on the subject, but it's a known fact that there's no such thing as perfect mind control. There has to be something that breaks the trance, whether it be the repetition of a key phrase, surgical procedures, or even exposure to certain types of radiation"
And so they once again stopped to think. Obviously the way to break Poole's control was to utter some key phrase.
"I remember he had a strange reaction upon hearing the word 'mud' back on the ship," Kirk said. Bones just shrugged, neither knowing what to make of it.
McCoy noticed Jim was stressed out, as anyone would be, but still, it seemed like fate had it out for the whole crew of the Enterprise. "We can't even be tried for treason in peace, for God's sake," he thought.
"Hey," the doctor started, trying to cheer up his friend "You know who the kid reminds me of, with the circus performer routine and everything? Harry Mudd!"
The two started laughing. Poole really did have something of old Harcourt Mudd in him.
He even looked a bit like him, if you squinted hard enough.
"In fact, he's just about old enough to... To..." Kirk left that sentence unfinished as the laughter died down and was replaced by an idea too strange to be true.
Anyone not familiar with Harry Mudd and the Enterprise's encounters with him would think the scene very strange. Two senior Starfleet officers sitting on the floor and looking at nothing, stupefied.
"Doesn't have to be a phrase, per se," Bones said "Could be someone's name. Like a friend. Or a father."
I'm alive! First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's reading the story. I honestly didn't expect this to get more than five views, so i'm really surprised and thankful. Secondly, I'm sad to say that I can't make any promises about when the next chapter will release. Chapter three will be the last (maybe followed by an epilogue, I still haven't decided) but I'm very busy with work/study, so I don't feel confortable setting a deadline, although I'll do my best to get it out as soon as possible.
Oh, and if anyone cares, I'm imagining the Kirstie Alley version of Saavik while writing this.
Thanks once again to everyone reading!
