Scotty thought the plan was suicidal, but he also had to concede they had a bigger chance of dying if they did nothing. Their actions had to be timed milimetrically if they were to succeed, not that timing was exactly the biggest concern on their minds when they were going up against a group of muscle bound pirates who could probably break bones with their bare hands, but it wouldn't hurt to know where the women were, and in the absence of any scanners, they had to rely on their ears to give them their locations. The saboteur seemed to be about fifteen paces away from them while the looter was at about six, both were moving west but split up as the saboteur turned north towards the engine room. The blonde remained as robotic as ever as she watched them, scanning across the room like a security camera, her phaser at the ready by her hip.
Sulu tried to time his movement so he'd be at the corner of her eye and not make much noise. The few milliseconds that bought him ensured he could grab her wrist in mid-swing as she went for her phaser. He managed to grab the weapon with some difficulty and tossed it aside while Scotty and Chekov got up and ran toward the door and started waiting for when one of the girls inevitably came back to check on the noise.
Much as he wouldn't care to admit it, Sulu was on the ropes. The blonde managed to land a hit on him which felt like a cannoball straight to the stomach. "A couple more like these", he thought "and i'll be spitting out blood". He'd have to end this quickly. She was going for a punch and he knew it, it was all about letting his reflexes take over and using her weight advantage against her.
Before her fist could complete its powerful arc, Sulu dodged the crushing blow and quickly placed his shoulder beneath her arm, shifting his weight to toss her to the ground with a loud thud. A quick and precise strike to the woman's windpipe left her out of commission on the floor. He allowed himself a little bit of pride at that "Still got it," he thought, even though he had to admit he was pretty winded.
Scotty and Chekov were still waiting by the door when the looter came running back. They managed to catch her, but still felt like they were trying to tame a wild bull with their bare hands as they were getting nearly tossed around the room. Scotty managed to land a right hook on her face as Chekov held on for dear life, trying to hinder her movement as best as he could. After a while, she broke loose and managed to toss the russian aside, and Scotty got a kick to the chest that knocked the wind out of him. She started making her way towards Uhura, but Chekov managed to grab onto her leg. Scotty used whatever energy he had left to give the andorian a running punch to the jaw that finally managed to knock her to the ground. One more punch to the face from Chekov and she was also knocked out.
They barely had time to breathe before the saboteur came running back as well. Scotty, Chekov and Sulu were all exhausted by this point, and the brunette may as well have been an entire fleet of Klingon warriors for how much of a chance they had of beating her.
Thankfully, then, a phaser blast hit her and she was immediately knocked out.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it did look like you fellas needed help," said Uhura, holding the now-unconscious guard's phaser. "Miss Uhura, if we make it out of this, you can have a glass of me finest Brandy," Scotty said, as all of them smiled for just having made it this far. They stood around trying to catch their breath for a few seconds before resuming their stations.
Were this any other crew, a debate would've broken out about what to do next. Some would say the correct choice would be to leave and find help, while others would argue that making any movement might alert their captors and put their kidnapped comrades at risk. Of course, all of this went through the minds of the four of them, but the difference was: whether they were actually on the ship or not, they were still the crew of the Enterprise. They were at one point the gold standard, the absolute best the Federation had to offer, they had faced more together in a five year mission than most officers face in a lifetime. The conclusion to that argument was already reached before anyone could even utter a word, and it was a unanimous decision, too.
They would wait for their companions to make their move. And that was that.
"Personal log of James T. Kirk, continued. Lieutenant Saavik has been taken by mister Poole and subjected to his brainwashing. After some discussion, doctor McCoy has suggested that the repetition of a key phrase - or name - may be enough to snap the victim out of their conditioning. For the sake of both us and our friends back on the Klingon vessel, I hope he's right."
Bones had been trying to convince Kirk on his theory of Poole's relation to the Enterprise's favorite con artist Harry Mudd for the past several minutes, to no avail.
"I'm sorry, but it just doesn't seem reasonable."
"Why not, Jim? A man like that? I'm surprised I don't bump into one of the doubtless hundreds of Harry Juniors every time I go out for a walk!"
He really hated how plausible it sounded, especially when you considered their luck recently. Still, it did seem a bit far-fetched. "If he really were Harry's son, we would know it by now. That boy has been nothing if not talkative, so I see no reason he'd hold out on that particular bombshell."
"Maybe he's waiting for the perfect moment," Bones said, starting to sound more than a bit paranoid. "He's waiting until we're bound, gagged, and with Bat'leths to our throats to just drop that one and twist the knife a little bit more!"
"Can we please focus on escaping this damn ship before that happens, then?"
"That's what I'm trying to do! Look, if Mudd is the boy's father, and he's on some sort of revenge mission, then there's a higher than zero chance Harry's name is the key phrase! Go ahead, try saying it to that monument watching the both of us, see how she reacts."
Kirk got up wordlessly and made his way to the force field, more just to appease Bones than anything. He said the name Harry Mudd and nothing happened. "Well, of course it didn't work! Try saying his full name," McCoy insisted. Kirk then said it: Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Still nothing. Jim was just about to utter an "I told you so" that had been stuck in his throat for a while when he remembered that Poole had an odd habit when giving orders.
He snapped his fingers, once again said Harcourt Fenton Mudd and within a couple of seconds the previously imperturbable Klingon started blinking rapidly and holding her head, looking almost like someone who just got rudely woken up from a deep sleep. Kirk didn't even have to look at McCoy to know he had a gigantic grin on his face. "Shame on me for doubting you, doctor."
When her confusion finally settled down, the guard looked around, confused, until her eyes landed on the two officers. Her expression quickly went from confusion to anger, which Kirk thought were the only two emotions the klingons were capable of. "You! You're Kirk! You've made many enemies within the empire, baktag!" she said, turning off the force field and storming into their cell. Kirk couldn't even get a word out before he was being suspended by his neck. McCoy was trying in vain to get her to let go, but he was outmatched. Jim knew he had to say something to make her stand down, and fast.
"Don't you remember what happened to you?! That boy defeated you, then made you into his puppet! Will you just let that slide?! Where is your honor?!" Kirk said, feeling himself getting light headed. He could see it in her eyes she was starting to remember, and she slowly but surely put him down as the realization set in. She looked equal parts embarrassed and furious. After a few seconds catching their breaths, Kirk finally asked her if she understood she could not make it out on her own, to which the klingon simply nodded.
"I am Sirka, daughter of Nurkon. I hereby swear by my honor that I will not attack either of you until that boy has been thoroughly destroyed." That was good enough for Kirk and McCoy, considering what they knew of klingons. The three of them then started discussing details, such as the schematics for the ship or the locations of Jefferies Tubes that could be used to sneak around, since they were obviously outnumbered. Kirk couldn't help but remember Saavik and what she went through, but at least now he had a way of breaking the programming.
"So going north will lead us to the bridge, whereas east leads to the engine room, correct?" Kirk asked.
"Yes, and southwest will lead us right to the room where he is performing brainwashing on your companion. However, I don't see why we couldn't simply make our way there normally, seeing as there's no guards on patrol."
"I'm not thinking about hitting him directly. From what I understood, when he gives someone an order, the victim has to follow it, regardless of whether he's still conscious or even alive. Taking Poole out would mean very little in the grand scheme of things. No, first we have to take away his numerical advantage…"
"Then corner him like the Andorian wolf does its prey," Sirka said, with a glint in her eyes. "I have to say, James Kirk, your reputation is earned. Even if you are a coward."
He blinked. "Come again?"
"The death of commander Kruge, of course! He was one of the more respected members of the Klingon high council, and yet you murdered him like a dog!"
This kind of thing had happened for a while now. Sirka had not attacked him or McCoy, but it was clear she did not respect either of them. That had to change if she was expected to follow orders. "Your beloved commander Kruge," he started "Was little more than a cold-blooded killer, if you ask me. He held my son hostage on the genesis planet, and was directly responsible for his death. To kill him in as dishonorable a manner as he killed my son was only my right as a grieving father," he didn't believe his own justification, of course, but knew she would.
"I… was not aware of that," she said nothing more, but never insulted him again.
With that out of the way, they started hashing out the details of their plan. One positive was that the pirate seemed to have so much trust in the power of his mind control, that he never really bothered with adding a robust security system to the ship. His many alterations to the vessel had been focused on speed and firepower, Sirka said. The main goal was to get to the bridge to get in the way of coordination, then free Saavik. The problem was that the bridge was easily the most heavily guarded area of the ship, with Kirk remembering at least four women from the vision he shared with the Vulcan. "All it takes is for one of these women to land a lucky shot and we're finished!" Bones said. Besides that, they didn't know what other tricks Poole had, so it'd be best to leave him for last, when they had everything in their favor.
"I suggest a ruse. After you two escape I will inform that boy that you actually went to the engine room in an attempt to sabotage the ship. He will most likely call at least one other guard from the bridge and chase after you. The extra time should be enough to allow you to enact your takeover," Sirka said with her arms crossed. Seemed good enough. Better than the heart attack plan Kirk had before, at least.
They discussed a few more details, but this was their best shot at escaping, so they had to move quickly.
The two officers opened the Jefferies tubes and got to crawling on their hands and knees. Sirka waited a few minutes, trying not to let herself be overwhelmed by her feelings of humiliation and anger over being defeated by a boy like that. She knew that any emotions would denounce what happened and Poole would waste no time having her knocked out or killed. Lies and subterfuge were not seen with kind eyes by the Klingon empire. However, victory was. And victory was what she would get, she promised that to herself, and to those who weren't lucky enough to get captured. She hoped they would be alright, but the simple doubt was enough to make her anger almost explode. It didn't help that the boy was wearing Sorvok's armor.
Kirk and Bones had been crawling for what felt like five hours but was actually thirty minutes by the time they got to the bridge. They could hear faint noises outside of the brainwashed women at work. McCoy couldn't help but find it eerie how quiet these women were. It was unnatural. Before long, they heard shouting. Seemed Sirka had warned Poole what had happened and he wasn't very pleased by the news. He barked orders at two women and told the rest to accompany him. Kirk couldn't help but smile to himself. He had been so desperate to find a flaw in Poole's armor and there it was, gladly presenting itself to him. All he had to do was follow the plan.
After a few seconds they finally got out of the Jefferies tube. They each snuck behind one of the guards and, after a countdown from Kirk, they repeated the process: snap; Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Like with Sirka, both women stumbled a bit before regaining full consciousness. However, unlike her, it seemed both of them were a bit more reasonable, and the two officers didn't have to do much explaining to get them on their side. He asked about the Bird of Prey and the guards said that they should've heard back from the women stationed there by now. Poole didn't really notice, given how angry he was, but Kirk knew what that meant.
He got in contact with the vessel and got greeted by the tired yet firm faces of his friends.
"It's good to see you, Jim," Sulu said, smiling.
"Likewise, mister Sulu. I trust you managed to deal with mister Poole's guards?"
"Yes, sir. With a little help from Miss Uhura," Kirk noticed Uhura smiling warmly at the comment.
Jim explained in as few words as he could what was going on with the brainwashing and also how to break it.
"Harry Mudd? What's he got to do with this?" Scotty asked.
"Doctor McCoy has a few… colorful theories, but the fact is his name, preceded by a snap, is the way to break through the conditioning. I'd suggest doing it as soon as possible to the women there. We plan to do the same to the women here and corner him. If you don't hear from us again after the next hour, leave."
Sulu was going to protest, but he knew as well as anyone it was pointless, even if he didn't like it.
The comm link was terminated and Kirk and Bones got ready to finally rescue Saavik and the rest of these women. The guards came with them. Poole would catch on to what was happening if he returned to the bridge, but Kirk was hoping they could end this whole mess before that happened. The walk over to Poole's torture room was quiet, and yet Kirk had this feeling of dread come over him as his mind flashed back to the horrific scenes he had witnessed through Saavik's eyes.
When they opened the door, the girl was lying on the stretcher, her arms and legs still bound, looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face. Kirk got closer, snapped his fingers, and uttered Harry's name. Like with the others, she looked like she had just woken up from a dream. "Thank you, Jim," she said, looking at his eyes. He just nodded and untied her. As Saavik got up, she asked for a phaser.
"Of course, the plan is-"
Before Kirk could finish the thought, Saavik turned around in a split second and fired at the torture device on the ceiling, shattering it instantly.
"I'm sorry, Jim. Please, continue."
Simon often had to remind himself that anger was inevitably a path to stupidity, but this time his emotions got the better of him. When Sirka had come by and told him of Kirk and McCoy's escape, displaying only mild signs of struggle, a calmer and wiser version of him would've immediately seen through the ruse, but unfortunately for him, he was now anxious about dealing with the Klingons, and getting a reward that easily outclassed the loot he had gotten from any other raid up to this point. Everything had to go smoothly here, and the fact that it wasn't got him on edge more than he'd like.
Storming onto the bridge, he screamed orders at the guards for them to follow him, cursing himself silently for not installing a better security system on the ship. "It's fair, I only have an army of mind controlled warriors at my disposal, it's not like that can stop two old men who probably get winded going up a flight of stairs." They made it to the engine room where Sirka had told him the officers escaped to.
"Come now, old man, hasn't this gone on long enough? How about you just accept your fate already? There's at least some dignity to be found in resignation"
In the complete silence of the engine room, his mind finally started to calm down and the idea something was wrong emerged from his subconscious. Still, he didn't quite know what it was and didn't have time to stop and consider. He wanted to have this resolved as soon as possible. The Klingons were already difficult to deal with, and having two escaped prisoners would almost guarantee they would not take him seriously, and if they didn't take him seriously, maybe they would think they could simply get their prize by force. Poole gathered up all the venom in him before uttering the following words.
"Is this what happened when your little boy died, huh? Were you hiding away like you are now, you sanctimonious, hypocritical, pig? Were you huddled in a corner, crying in fear while he was vaporized by a phaser? Have you even talked to his mother after he died or are you too scared of her, too?"
Still nothing. He looked around once more and as his eyes landed on Sirka he noticed something. An expression. Any facial expression would be odd, but this one was something more. He noticed contempt on her face, and a realization formed on his mind, something he should have noticed a long time ago: he never ordered Sirka to notify him of the prisoners' escape. The women were meant to follow his commands to the letter, they had no lenience to make their own choices, he had made sure of that. So he understood what that look meant: she was looking at him and thinking what a stupid child he was, how his blustering at nothing signalled his ignorance and obliviousness.
Poole's blood at this point could probably melt steel. He marched over to the Klingon woman, snapped his fingers and said: "Bark like a dog."
She blinked. He knocked on her forehead with the back of his hand.
"Helloooo? Anyone there? Don't know if you heard me, dear, but I just ordered you to get down on your pretty little knees and bark. Like. A. Dog."
The pirate lifted his hand to snap his fingers again, but couldn't do it since Sirka grabbed it and squeezed it like she was trying to turn coal into a diamond, snapping bones and causing Poole to fall to the ground. Finally she was able to explode with the anger she had been holding since waking up.
"THAT ARMOR YOU'RE WEARING! TAKE IT OFF! IT BELONGS TO MY BROTHER, A REAL WARRIOR! A MISERABLE PETAQ LIKE YOU HAS NO BUSINESS WEARING IT!"
The Klingon woman cast a very imposing shadow over Poole as he writhed in pain on the floor, eyes bulging out, his hand a gruesome, distorted, mess. With his other hand, he snapped his fingers frantically.
"SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER!"
Before Sirka could crush his head like she wanted, the phasers hit her on the back and sides, and she was out cold before long. Poole simply laid there, trying to figure out what the hell had exactly happened. When he managed to push his heart back down his throat, he got up again and ordered the remaining women to follow him out the door.
Of course, if he knew what was waiting for him behind that door, he might have decided to just stay put.
Kirk, McCoy, Saavik, and all the other women on the ship were just outside, all with phasers pointed squarely at him. "My friend… I have a feeling your day's been ruined," Kirk said.
An evil grin formed on Poole's face. He looked at Bones, raised his good hand, snapped his fingers and got the words out with noticeable strain.
"Kill them all"
The phasers were all turned against McCoy almost instantly. "Of course," Kirk thought to himself. The two had been alone for hours while Bones performed surgery on Poole, he had ample opportunity to brainwash him like he did Saavik before. The good doctor, for his part, looked about as uncomfortable as one would expect out of someone with several phasers pointed at him.
"What are you all looking at!?"
And they all felt pretty stupid for falling for that one final prank.
"Almost got you, didn't I?" Poole started laughing again. Kirk actually followed along and started chuckling to himself, too.
Then he punched Poole right in the jaw, making that very same tooth fly out once again and knocking him out cold.
Finally, huh? I know I said previously that I wouldn't set a deadline, but even I was getting impatient. This, as you can tell, is the chapter with the most action, which is still something I struggle a bit with writing. After this, I'll just publish a short chapter serving as an epilogue and tying up loose ends. Should be out before october.
With that out of the way, Rest In Peace Nichelle Nichols. She seemed like an absolutely lovely woman, and she will always be remembered for her work bringing a classic sci-fi character like Uhura to life.
Lastly, I once again want to thank everyone for the support!
