23

Inhuman

Trina Mann halted mid-step as she raised her hand and balled it into a fist. She glanced at Spock who nodded in return, confirming there was something, or someone, close by.

Gilliz suddenly stopped. He blanched, swung his phaser riffle over his shoulder and let in hang in the strap, as he crouched down.

Mann frowned. His actions told her that whatever he had found wasn't dangerous. "What is it?" she asked over the slight distance, her voice subdued so as not to attract any unwanted attention.

"Sean Marie, ma'am," Gilliz replied darkly. "He's dead."

Spock and Mann hastily made their way over, the human feeling bile rising in her throat.

"Those deep cuts can only have been made by a Bat'leth," Spock stated.

Mann glanced around, desperate to find the other biologist. "Where's Patric Coldman?" she asked worriedly.

Mulhaney waved them over and rose a finger in front of his mouth.

Spock studied his scanner and arched a curious eyebrow as he got a very faint blip almost merging with Mulhaney's.

OOOOOO

Una took a step back as the Copernicus suddenly materialized on the stone slab. She stole a glance at her wristwatch and grew even more confused.

"Didn't the captain just leave?" Rhine asked.

"It is possible that the time passes differently through the gateway," Lesley explained with a grin, excited about the alien technology before them. "I hope the Copernicus has managed to take scans and measurements throughout the journey."

"Well, the archaeology department will be busy over a year with this discovery," Parker said with a similar jovial grin on his face. "This is not something you'll find every day. It will require resources from linguistics, a lot of technical support from engineering-," he trailed off, trying to find the right words, "-it's marvelous," he finished.

Una swallowed as she watched the door to the shuttle open and went to greet her friend and captain. "Chris?"

Pike looked at her and then nodded over her shoulder to Lesley. "Lieutenant, the Enterprise is entering orbit as we speak. They tried to make contact but all I am getting is static."

"It's the geoformations around us. I thought I'd taken care of that," Lesley replied as he neared. "I'll see what I can do."

Pike nodded in appreciation as he stepped up to Number One, still clad in the golden space suit.

OOOOOO

Amin hesitated, looked up from her console, studied the planet on the view screen before her and frowned. "Commander," she called. "We're missing several people, including the captain."

Nicola narrowed his eyes as he strained his ears to hear anything over the channels. He punched in several commands and then shook his head. After adjusting the frequency, he let out a faint triumphant "Aha" and nodded at Louvier. "I have Lieutenant Mann on the line."

"Put her through," he ordered.

"Enterprise, this is Lieutenant Mann, come in."

"This is Commander Louvier, go ahead lieutenant," he acknowledged.

"Sir. Do you have the Columbus in sight?" she didn't wait for confirmation. "McNamara is badly injured; he needs immediate medical attention. Can you beam him to sickbay?"

"Already on it," Amin replied as she relayed the information to the transporter room.

"Consider it done," Louvier informed Mann over the line.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Good, can you lock on to Coldman's signal and do the same?"

"You might want to tell me what happened down there," the commander suggested.

"Spock here," came the reply. "The Klingons have, for reasons unknown, landed their stolen ship on Trehelios. They smashed the controls of the Columbus and killed Ensign Rodrigues as he unknowingly came across them. With him, in the shuttle, lies a dead Klingon warrior."

"I'll have a technical engineer, a pilot and a few security officers beam down immediately to get the shuttle back to hanger deck as soon as possible," Louvier assured him. "We are having trouble pinpointing the Klingon lifesigns and some of our own."

"There should only be two remaining warriors," Spock reasoned. "They apparently surprised our biologists. I am sorry to say that Marie is dead while Coldman is gravely injured. As for the whereabouts of Captain Pike, Number One and a few others – they are in a canyon which is causing troublesome interference with our systems. If you are unable to find the Klingons it can only mean one thing; they are in the canyon as well."

Matthieu Louvier stiffened in the captain's chair and pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure. "Nicola, try hailing them," he commanded sternly.

"I can't get through," he replied regrettably. "The connection is unstable. The distance is too far, the waves seem to be bouncing around the canyon itself."

"May I suggest that Mann and I'll double back," Spock said. "Mulhaney and Gilliz will stay here until reinforcements arrive and then proceed to assemble the rest of the science teams."

"A sound suggestion, Lieutenant Spock. Enterprise out."

OOOOOO

"What did you find?" Una asked.

"Another dead world," Pike replied and then hesitated, not sure what to reveal and what to leave out. "He'tef warned me never to go back."

His XO arched a curious eyebrow, reminding him of Spock. "Wouldn't that be most illogical, captain? If the world really is dead," she reasoned.

"Perhaps it was not as dead as it appeared," Chris suggested seriously.

Una narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Something in her friend's voice made her shudder. "Did you find Ichkamar?" she finally asked.

Chris shook his head. "No, but I found a beautiful planetary nebula," he said. "It cast the entire barren and frozen landscape in a specter of light."

"I knew I should have gone with you," she drawled bitterly and then sighed. "Well, at least we know what happened to that planet."

Pike nodded and pursed his lips. "I wish we could have taken the Enterprise through the gateway and seen what's beyond the rim of the galaxy. Unfortunately, she's too big to fit."

"Oh, stop pouting," Una said. "There's plenty to discover in this corner of the galaxy as it is."

"Sir?" Parker spoke up curiously. "Are we sealing the gateway?"

He shook his head. "What right do we have to do that?" he asked. "No, we are leaving it as we found it; deeply hidden behind several layers of soil and lava. Whoever is ready to work to find it, deserves to uncover it."

"Captain!" Rhine shouted.

Chris turned toward her just in time to see her go down, hit by some unknown laser gun. The he saw

Parker aiming to fire back with his phaser but he was far too late and no match for the Klingon warrior. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Una slip away, trying to reach behind the lines of their attacker. He sprinted toward a large rock and took cover, cursing himself for not grabbing his phaser as he'd got out of the shuttle earlier.

The captain crouched behind a boulder and dared a peek around the corner. Unfortunately, the threat didn't come from his left or right but from above. Katoth latched onto him in rage, having been lying in wait on a small plateau above the rock formation.

Pike gasped as the air was forced out of his lungs and he felt something give away deep inside him. A soaring pain threatened to overcome him as he rolled onto his side to fight off the larger Klingon who lay on top of him. The heavy man snarled as he showed him his toothy grin, eyes shining with excitement. Klingons fought with a conviction that made them dangerous but, this time, as adrenaline surged through his body, Christopher Pike would not, could not, give in.

The Klingon Katoth growled as he jabbed at the frail human and was pleasantly surprised when Pike fiercely fended off his attack with both elegance and swiftness. He reached out for the captain's throat but before he could get a grip, the captain rolled away. Katoth responded with a snarl and gripped his leg instead. Pike gasped as the Klingon twisted the limb unmercifully. He bit his lower lip so as not to cry out. He would not give the Klingon the satisfaction of hearing his weakness and he certainly wouldn't beg for mercy.

Pike suddenly struck out, surprising the Klingon, hitting him in the face with his elbow and got up on his hands and knees. Enticed by this fighting spirit, Katoth lounged for the human, attacking from behind. He landed on the captain's back and sneaked his arm around his neck, getting ready to snap it.

"You surprise me, captain," he said. "Starfleet's finest shouldn't end up in such a compromising situation. There should be servants giving their life to save yours."

Something within him snapped at the comment and he redoubled his efforts to get away. In the blink of an eye Pike had loosened the grip the Klingon had and slammed a knee in his stomach, headbutting him in the face. Stars seemed to waver before his eyes for a moment and he tasted blood in his mouth but when his blue eyes locked on to the Klingon's, they were cold as ice, devoid of everything; even mercy.

"I would gladly give my life for them-," he replied through clenched teeth as he pulled a knife from his ankle, "-but not yet."

The Klingon avoided the blade by only millimeters to spare. He snarled excitedly as he drew the Bat'leth from his back. "I wanted to kill you with my bare hands," he wheezed.

Pike desperately wanted to know where his people were. He didn't know how long he could continue to fend off his attacker. He schooled his emotions, forcing fear to give way to tactics.

OOOOOO

Una was thrown to the ground, attacked from the side with such a force that she left a dent in the ground. She heard a wheezing sound and then, as she prepared herself for the onslaught, Spock body slammed the larger Klingon to the ground, using Vulcan martial art tactics.

Gathering herself, Number One crawled on her knees and elbows over the dark pebbles of lava and molten rock, trying to reach her phaser.

The Klingon roared as he got up again, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, before he charged at the Vulcan Starfleet officer.

Una's small hand grasped the weapon. The yellow garment of her uniform tunic was soiled and torn, her face streaked with sooth and her hand quivered as she slowly aimed the small phaser gun and pulled the trigger.

The Klingon let out a roar as the beam hit between the shoulder blades, scorching through flesh and tendons, drilling a hole through the chest.

Spock took a step back as the Klingon collapsed in a heap before him with a gurgling sound coming from his blood-filled mouth. The Vulcan frowned in surprise as the Klingon, before dying, broke into a toothy grin while his eyes rolled back in his head.

Una unsteadily rose to her feet and sighed with relief as Spock tore his eyes from the Klingon to nod at her. "Thank you, commander," he said.

"I am sorry," she stated, her voice was cold and bitter.

It was drilled into every cadet attending Starfleet that one should never take a life unless it was unavoidable to do so. It was considered immoral and unethical in the name of civilization to engage the enemy in a battle where the outcome could only result in one thing; death.

"As Admiral Cornwell once said," Spock cited. "Sometimes, when times call for it. There are only two choices - terrible choices - to kill or be killed."

She nodded. "We have several injured, two dead, a bruised and battered technical engineer and a whole lot more questions than answers."

The Vulcan nodded in acknowledgement.

Una froze as she realized Chris wasn't around. "Where is the captain?"

OOOOOO

"What are you?" Katoth marveled, his voice no more than a whisper, as he struggled to get up. "Who are you?"

Chris slid the Bat'leth further up the Klingon's blood-streaked throat. "I am Christopher Pike," he replied harshly, out of breath. "Captain of the USS Enterprise."

Katoth managed a smile, his eyes filling with mirth, as the smile morphed into a madman's grin. His life was slowly fading, he could feel death was coming, but this time he wasn't afraid he wouldn't reach Sto'vo'kor. "No," he whispered as he fought to keep his eyes open. "I watched him die."

As the Klingon drew his last breath something deep inside Pike died as well. Life and death decisions didn't sit well with him. He'd been acting purely in self-defense and allowed for the lethal soldier, deeply hidden beneath a polished diplomatic surface, to break through and do what must be done. He had never enjoyed killing anything and he would never learn to enjoy it either. It wasn't in his good-hearted nature to take a life unless he could prevent it.

He was so caught up in his inner turmoil; fighting the demons on his shoulder and keeping the pain in his chest distant, that he didn't hear his friends approaching until they were almost at his side.

"Chris!" Una whispered as her breath caught in her throat.

He was sitting on the ground, leaning against the body of a dead Klingon warrior whose unseeing eyes seemed to stare right through her. Pike's golden space suit was dusty, dirtied and torn. Bright red patches on the clothing told her the fight had been vicious and ugly but it was the sadness and regret reflected in his usually sparkling blue eyes that really broke her heart.

"Captain. Are you all right?" Spock asked.

There was something in the Vulcan's voice that reminded Pike of worry and concern but he shook it off as imagination.

"Don't move, Chris," Una said softly as she crouched next to him and gently squeezed his shoulder. "You are hurt. Let us take care of the rest. I'll make sure everything is seen to."

OOOOOO

Mesh'ba retraced his steps and hid behind a rock, having watched his warrior take his last breath. He was now a lone scout for the Klingon Empire; far away from his people. The mothership was gone, his comrades were gone and the thought of conquering something had been laid to rest.

A thought suddenly struck him. Perhaps there had been another reason as to why L'Rell didn't challenge this Starfleet captain? Pike was dangerous. He had seen it with his own eyes. He had seen the calm and diplomatic man turn into a deadly soldier; a skilled one at that. However, Mesh'ba had seen something else, he had seen the captain fall to the ground, mortally wounded by his Bat'leth, seven days ago. No human nor Klingon would ever rise from a strike like that. He needed to get home again, to Qo'noS, so that he could tell what had happened here today. It was the first time he had ever felt the slightest respect for a human.

OOOOOO

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