Chapter Two

Peter followed Spock down several labyrinth like passageways, feeling as if the two of them were going in circles. He could feel the hand holding the shattered piece of stalactite start to freeze a bit. Wherever they were going, they'd better get going there fast. This part of the prison seemed to be far colder than the rest.

"I do hope you know where you're going. You seem lost," commented Peter.

"I am not lost," said Spock, stopping short then to consult his ear piece again. It was obvious to Peter that whoever was on the other end of the transmission was giving him the directions.

Peter looked about him. Perhaps he ought to give Spock the benefit of the doubt. As his eyes scanned the passage, he noticed the uniquely decorated skull that sat in the hole of the wall; two black holes staring back at him from where the eyes were suppose to be. He walked over to it, looking it over.

"Well, unless you're trying to throw someone off our trail, you are lost. We've been going in circles." Peter pointed at the skull he was now standing in front of. "If this dude here could talk, he'd tell us so himself."

Spock turned to look Peter's way again, quickly stalking over to his side.

"It's highly disrespectful to assume that you understand another race's culture..."

"How did I do that?" asked Peter baffled. He gestured at the skull in the wall, "All I did was say that if this skull could talk that it would tell you that you were lost."

"Exactly. In saying that, you have disrespected the culture of that race."

"Well sorry," He said, giving a mock bow to the skull.

"Stop with your utter show of barbarism," said Spock, reaching forward to grab Peter by the shoulder and yank him into an upright position. "We have a mission to accomplish for..."

"Your captain. I know. You've only told me like a trillion times. You're just as bad as Groot. At least your vocabulary isn't limited though."

Spock assumed a straight posture as he stood alongside Peter, as if he were a child about to reprimand his son.

"I released you under the assumption that you would help me get the device that my captain asked for..."

"And I would help, but I've only been allowed to play follow the leader!"

Spock turned aside then, moving a hand up to touch his ear piece again.

"I am at the head of the tunnel," said Spock into the ear piece. "There is no way out."

Peter smirked at Spock admitting to the disembodied voice that he was lost instead of to him. He replayed that glory moment of Spock admitting to being lost when something clicked in his mind. Did Spock say "head"? Peter moved to look at the skull more closely, noticing that there was an almost undetectable crack circling the top of the skull. Not paying attention to Spock, he moved to lift the skull cap to reveal a button hidden there. Reaching a hand forward, he pressed down on the button.

"What did I say about not disrespecting another's culture?" asked Spock then as Peter said back at him, "It's the way out!"

Peter could feel the slight vibration underneath his feet, and let his senses take over from there. He charged at Spock, bringing him down to the ground as a few stalactites fell from the ceiling above them. By the time the rumbling had stopped, Peter lifted his head to see that a new passage had been opened before them. Peter sat up with a smug smile of sorts on his face, dusting the grime off him.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Spock as he sat up slowly, moving to stand up.

"Done what? Save your life or touched the skull?"

"Just...stop," said Spock.

"Fine," said Peter with a roll of his eyes, holding up both hands in defense. "Just trying to help."

Picking up the stalactite that he had been carrying around to defend himself, he moved towards the entrance that had just opened before them both.

"From past experience with suddenly appearing tunnels, I'd suggest we make quick work of escaping down it before something bad comes out of it."

Spock touched his ear piece as he brushed past Peter, leaving Peter to stand at the entrance looking offended as he watched Spock retreat down it.

"Someone has manners," Peter muttered as he moved to follow after Spock.

The tunnel that they now seemed to find themselves in was much darker than the circular passage they had just escaped out of. Peter found himself losing sight of Spock in the gloom. This made no sense to Peter. Usually a hidden passage eventually grew lighter, not darker. Unless...

He quickly stepped forward, grabbing Spock by the shoulder and dragging him off to the side.

"What are you doing?" asked Spock. "You're stalling the mission yet agai-"

Spock was cut off as Peter slapped his free hand over Spock's mouth to silence him.

"We're about to be ambushed," whispered Peter. He knew well enough from his own ventures when an ambush was coming.

For once, Spock seemed to listen to him. It probably had something to do with the sound of footsteps that seemed to now be echoing through the air. Peter found himself glad that he had tried to pick up some sort of weapon. It was definitely needed.

Swinging an arm behind him, Peter made contact with the guard that had rushed up behind the two of them in the dark. He could hear the squish as the stalactite dug into the guard's skin. Peter used the force of his arm to cause the guard to fall before preparing himself for the next guard. By this point, Spock had also moved into position to start trying to fend them off.

As the guards fell around Spock and him, Peter noticed that the attackers had some sort of glasses on. He bent down to snatch one off of their faces, placing it on his face. It immediately lit up the tunnel around him.

"Sweet! They have night vision!"

He bent to snatch another pair off a guard, throwing one towards Spock. Spock caught it expertly in his hands and placed it upon his own face. Now that they both could see clearly, they were able to better ward off the guards that came to attack them. Within a matter of minutes, they had all be disposed of in some form.

"Well, that was fun," said Peter, huffing a bit in an attempt to catch his voice once more.

"I worry about your definition of 'fun'," remarked Spock, who was also breathing heavily himself.

Peter rolled his eyes once more as Spock reached up to touch the ear piece.

"I'm told that it's right ahead," said Spock as he began to move further up the tunnel.

"So," said Peter falling into step once more behind Spock. "What does this device you're looking for look like?"

"You'll know it when you see it," remarked Spock.

"You're very helpful, you know that?" asked Peter sarcastically, running into the back of Spock as Spock pulled to a sudden stop.

Wondering why Spock had stopped all of a sudden, he collected himself and pulled back, looking past Spock. Having been used to using the night vision glasses for a small period of time now, it took him a second to realize that the room in front of them was well lit. Reaching up to take the glasses off in order to see better, he noticed that at the opposite end of the room, raised on a silver pedestal of some sort was what appeared to be some sort of phaser.

"What is it with people displaying their treasures out in the open like this? It's just asking to be taken."

Peter was about to step past Spock when Spock stuck his arm out to the side to stop Peter.

"Stop, this could be a trap."

"Never know if we don't try, now will we?"

Peter gave Spock a wily grin before turning back to face the room. He noticed that the gargoyle decorations adorning the walls jutted out just enough, and at just the right angle, to act like a sort of stairs up into the air.

"I heard you mentioning beaming out. How good is that technology of yours?"

"It's the best in the galaxy, but you won't be able to be beamed anywhere if this room is..."

"Stop being such a downer."

"I'm being realistic," said Spock.

Peter ignored Spock, focused now on what he had to do.

"If the room does get triggered upon my entering it, be prepared to have us both beamed out. Understood?"

"What are you planning to do exactly?" asked Spock.

"You'll know when you see it," said Peter with a chuckle before launching himself into the room.

Barreling towards the wall where the gargoyles were, he tried jumping up them. Once he had his footing on the one close to the bottom, it was just a matter of taking large bounds up the remainder. By the time he reached the last gargoyle at the top, Spock seemed to be a mere speck below him. Gazing downwards, Peter could see that the phaser was directly below him. Of course it was a good thirty feet below him at that. Luckily though, he had yet to set any of the traps off.

"Get ready to beam us out," he called to Spock. If Spock failed to do this, Peter was about to be in for a world of pain once he made contact with the rocky ground below him.

Taking a deep breath, he threw himself off his perch towards the ground below. His body picked up speed rapidly, and as he neared the phaser, he could see a light of some sort begin to encircle him. He reached out a hand for the phaser, having grabbed it in his hand mere moments before the cavern disappeared around him. With a thump, he landed hard on his side on a circular platform of some sort. The breath was knocked out of him; his outstretched arm dropping the phaser he had just grabbed. As he laid on his side in momentary pain, he noticed Spock come to stand in front of him.

"You guys never thought of investing in cushions for your pad?" asked Peter, squinting up at Spock.

"What you have done was idiotic. Do you realize that you could have killed yourself?"

"No risk, no reward," said Peter, groaning slightly. He closed his eyes. "Now stop talking for a minute. There are two of you, and I don't know which one to talk to."

Peter heard footsteps echo through the air then. By the time he opened his eyes again, he noticed that someone else was standing beside Spock. This man was dressed in a bright yellow shirt with some kind of ensignia pin pinned to it. Two bright blue eyes stared down at Peter in mild confusion.

"Spock, who is this?"

Peter turned his gaze to see that Spock was looking from Peter to the man.

"Captain, this is the man that helped me to get the device you asked for. Meet Peter Quill."

"Star-Lord, actually," muttered out Peter with a slight smile.

The Captain got a small smile of his own on his face, extending a hand down towards Peter to help him up. Peter took the offered hand and rose to his feet.

"Captain James Kirk," he said in greeting to Peter as he stood. James soon turned his gaze back to Spock as he added, "Spock, take him to medical to have him checked out, and then meet me on the bridge."

"Yes, Captain," said Spock with a slight incline of his head.

Peter watched as James Kirk walked off; the doors swooshing open to allow him to exit before swooshing closed behind him. As soon as Kirk was gone, Peter collapsed back onto the ground.

"Captain has nice hair," said Peter sarcastically from his spot on the ground, having noticed that the wind generated by the swishing of the doors hadn't moved it at all. "I'll have to ask him what he's using for hair care products."

"Stand on your feet, Peter."

"Star-Lord..."

"I'm not calling you that, so it'd be wise if you stopped entertaining such delusional fantasies."

"Well, I'm never going to stop trying so..."

Spock bent down, yanking Peter up so hard by the arm that he kind of staggered as he regained his footing.

"We're heading to the medical bay. No more conversations."

"Aye, aye Captain Grouch," said Peter with a smirk.

Peter noticed, as Spock gruffly led him out by the arm like he was a child about to go to time-out, that the man seated behind the controls of the beaming device was trying to hide a giggle.

"Well," thought Peter as he was led away. "At least someone thinks I'm funny."