AN: Usual disclaimer, the rights to Star Trek etc. belong to someone else. The entire story is complete on my PC, and I'll try to load up a new chapter every few days. Please read and review – constructive feedback will help me finalise the remaining chapters.
Chapter 17
Freedan bid his contact goodbye, reassuring him the sale of the Sunstone was on once again. Feet up on his desk he made a mental note to chat to Samson, there had to be no more secrets. It had not gone unnoticed things were spiralling out of their control, he shoved the unsavoury thought to the side. Finally his cousin could rejoice, he would heed her advice and soon leave Perpetous. At that very moment his shuttle was being prepped for departure later that day. The anticipation of his impending getaway dampened down the nervous knot of energy whirling around in the pit of his stomach. The only loose end was a certain Commander Spock - what to do with the Vulcan? Jelefe, Chief Medical Officer had whined about using huge doses of sedatives to knock him out. Enough to fell a rampaging bull in heat, bitched the doctor. The image had made Freedan smile, he may even have giggled. Alas, killing Spock had crossed his mind, but truth be told Freedan was no longer interested in him. After his last session with Spock, and the time he spent with Shyloh, his dark urges were at bay for now.
'Where is Samson? He barked at a passing worker as he reached out for his dagger. Manipulating it around his fingers, the edge of the metal work caught the light as it twirled ever faster. Mesmerised, it was only when no answer was forthcoming 'well-' he impatiently called out.
'Uh, I, uh, she's not here...she left about two hours ago'. The poor worker quickly scurrying away before Freedan demanded more information.
His free hand hit the code for her secure channel. Several rings and uncouth words later his summons remained unanswered. Where the hell is she? A thread of doubt forewarning him something was not quite right. As confirmation an incoming news feed appeared onscreen Sunstones found, exchange imminent! Attached to the report a brief summary of Samson's 'discovery' and exchange location. Incensed Freedan jumped to his feet, chair toppling over and dagger now embedded firmly several inches into his desk. No mean feat, this was solid rock it protruded from.
'Fucking bitch!'echoed wrathfully around the corridor as he sprinted away from his room.
There was absolutely no way he would lose the Sunstones, but the village was too far away for him to use his usual vehicle. He fervently hoped the guards had finished their preparations.
'Get Kirk and bring him to my shuttle...' his missive shouted at nobody in particular, yet somebody would follow it.
Avoiding the incoming call on her communicator, Samson discreetly slipped it back into her jacket pocket. Whatever Freedan had to say could wait. With her binoculars, she was drawn to the dust cloud billowing behind Irin's cavalcade on the mild morning. Accompanying him were several senior aides to document the handover, including Kulj'ita, she recognised his vehicle. Dropping the binoculars to her chest, she signalled to the three Perpetuan guards surrounding the box to get into position. Though Irin had given her time to find Freedan, she would never underestimate him again. The four of them stood by a food stall in the busy open-air market. The chatter of local Perpetuans going about their daily chores, the community unaware they were about to witness something amazing. Every now and then a furtive glance was cast their way, even amongst their own Samson and co stood out. Her exit plan in place, there were plenty of passageways branching from the main square. At the sign of any trouble she could easily flee into the crowd whilst her men defended her. Irin would not risk innocent bystanders in any cross fire.
Back in the cave, Kirk drew his knees close to his chest as he sat still on the mattress. Taking stock; he listened out for signs of Spock's return. It had been hours.
'Where's my friend?' he agitatedly yelled at the guard. 'Hey, where is my friend', slightly louder, each word punctuated for effect.
Although they had not set any limits on the time it would take for Spock to action his part of the plan, Kirk sensed that something was wrong. Call it intuition, every fibre in his being screamed problem.
'Shut up...' came the disinterested reply. The guard impatiently waited for relief, having spent twelve hours on duty. Incredibly keen to get to the surface, to him it wasn't natural for Perpetuans to spend such an amount of time away from daylight. Only the enticing pay package helped temper his objections. Although aware of the dubious nature of his employers business, provided it did not impact on him or his family he would turn a blind eye to the comings and goings of ancient and valuable relics as they passed by. Head twisting to face the sound of approaching footsteps, he stood to attention. A muffled voice called him away from Kirk's cell, 'About damn time, what took you so long...' his sharp reproach fading as he walked towards his relief.
Moments later, the recognisable sound of a body hitting the ground startled Kirk. He sprung to his feet, instinctively searching for something to use as a weapon, it was futile, there was nothing in his cell that could be used. They had made sure of that. Fight or flight, fight or flight, rocking on his heels he prepared himself to use the surge of adrenaline against whomever came through his door.
Slurring his words, 'Captain...', Spock vigorously shook his head to fight the grip of the sedative, before lethargically peering through the bars. Burning through vast amounts of energy to focus and make his way back, he struggled to remain upright. Slumped against the door, somehow he had found a way to slow down the sedative's effect. But right now all he craved was sleep; it's seductive embrace calling him.
'Jesus Spock, what happened?' wide-eyed Kirk rushed forwards. 'Are you drunk…?' The door to his cell swung outwards and the Vulcan lumbered in. Before rendering the guard unconscious he had probed his mind for the code to Kirk's cell.
'Hardly. I am fighting off the effects of a sedative-', dropping to his knees, his head flopped forward as he felt around for the wall to haul himself back up. In an instance Kirk was by his side.
'Spock, this definitely wasn't part of the plan...' Kirk huffed as he maneuvered his friend into a seated position. On closer inspection Spock was attired like a guard. 'How did you get away?'
Spock's eyelids grew heavier as he weakly gestured to his pocket. The more he fought to remain conscious the harder it became to focus on Kirk's voice. In fact, he had not even heard the last few minutes of Kirk's questioning, and if he had it surely would have been a tale to tell.
Slipping his hand into Spock's pocket, out came a hypospray. Trusting his friend, instinctively Kirk knew what to do. Steadying his hand, he pressed hard against a bare patch of skin just below Spock's jaw. Unexpectedly, Kirk was thrown backwards onto the floor, as the Vulcan rocketed upwards sucking in precious air as his senses were stimulated back to normality.
'Thank you' came Spock's breathy response. The high probability the contents of the hypospray would be a stimulant of some sort, outweighed any other potential outcome.
'No problem', a winded Kirk allowed himself to be pulled upright, 'but how am I getting out of here? Cameras...'. The horrible realisation hit Kirk that Spock's attack on the guard had been seen. 'We need to get out of here, now'.
'Hey! What the hell...?' The incredulous voice of another of Freedan's henchman, having discovered his colleague out cold on the floor. A quick pulse check confirmed he wasn't dead. With Kirk's cell door open, he immediately knew where to go now sprinting at top speed to his destination.
Spock calculated they had 6.7 seconds before being discovered. In that time he worked out trajectory, speed and pressure; intuitively swinging his fist in the appropriate fashion before connecting with Kirk's jaw, rendering him unconscious.
'What are you doing?' came the surprised response of the guard. Looking around the cell, nothing looked amiss, before he settled on Spock.
With Spock's back to the entrance his face was obscured, 'the prisoner overpowered him. Saw it on the camera so came as fast I could'. Spock shifted slightly; his mimicry skills were not exceptionally great. Injecting emotion into his speech, when there would normally be none was taxing.
The Perpetuan cautiously moved further into the room, the needle on the floor heightened his uncertainty.
'Who are you? I don't know you' mistrustful of the person in front of him, 'turn around now!'
Waiting while his 'comrade' slowly pivoted around, bewilderment etched his features when Spock launched into an offensive attack. Being of slighter build and a foot shorter, Spock certainly took him by surprise. For a second the guard woozily stood frozen in place, and using the temporary distraction, Spock charged into the man drawing his knee swiftly upwards into his stomach, whilst desperately attempting to pull him into a headlock. Together they swayed, clattering into the table in Kirk's room. The Perpetuan grunted as he laid down punch after punch to Spock's kidney area. Instinctively, Spock arched away from the blows; swing the guard around by the head before releasing him to slam into the sharp edge of the door. The sound of bending metal echoed around the hall.
'Argh!' his pained screamed deafening in the confined space. Menacingly he flexed before emitting an animalistic growl. Now free from Spock's clutches he stormed into the Vulcan, body checking him to the floor. With his height and weight advantage, the collision tore at Spock's injuries from Freedan's earlier exploration. Grimacing, a low whine passed from his lips as the full weight of the Perpetuan lay down on him. Quick as a flash his attacker sat upright on Spock's chest, knees either side for stability simultaneously pinning down the Vulcan's arms. Spock flayed his legs to no available, unable to get purchase he could not shake off the guard. Swiftly huge hands closed around Spock's neck, squeezing hard. Unable to draw in precious oxygen, darkness crept around the edge of his vision. Once again he vainly tried to buck the heavy weight of his chest. Losing the battle to stay awake, his last image before passing out was of Kirk being hoisted over the shoulder of a passing guard.
Freedan halted his pacing one last time waiting for Kirk to arrive. It was taking too long; agitated he gave the order to leave and the shuttle shot upwards to the exit into daylight. Squinting, it dawned on him he had not been outside for nearly two weeks. His men busied themselves with weapons checks, under orders to blend in with the villagers until his signal came. Two were to be dispatched to higher ground to ensure total visibility. 'We're here' announced the pilot a few minutes later. The shuttle landing 1km from the meeting point, the team would cover the distance in no time. As they fanned out, two of Freedan's men followed directly behind him. The rest circled around the village.
Arriving at the square Freedan faked interest in hanging textiles adorning a cart. From the corner of his eye he spied Samson and Irin exchanging what looked like verbal barbs. The Sunstones having been passed to him, Samson struggled against the cast iron grip of two of Irin's security detail. Just over Irin's shoulder he could make out the sight of Kulj'ita. On the floor surrounding Samson three of her men dead, from his vantage point he could not see the shooter. The villagers sensibly retreating to a safer distance, leaving an open expanse of space. Freedan palmed his headset, 'now...' he ordered, 3, 2, 1 the strategically placed explosive devices detonated, everyone but he and his men dropping to the floor. Charging towards his target, he saw Samson erupt onto her feet disarm one of Irin's men and pump three bullets into each security guard that she did not recognise. The screams of villages muffling the crack of the weapon. Irin scrambled back to his vehicle, hiding behind the doors. His shooter firing shots at anyone perceived to be a danger. Using the chaos, Freedan took his chance and slapped a flashing disk onto the box, quickly keying in the shuttle's location and watched as it dematerialised. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed Samson by the waist and pulled her towards him. Shielding himself against the fire fight taking place.
'We have to go!' He yelled at her 'it's a setup'.
'You think...' Came her snarky reply. 'Wait!' She spun around searching the crowd. Sprinting back she wrapped her forearm against Kulj'ita's throat. Standing apart from his cavalcade she pulled him with her. Weapon clearly visible at his temple.
'What are you doing are you crazy?' Wheezing Kulj'ita thrashed against her.
'We need to go, what better way than you as my prisoner...' Enticing him to relax against her.
'Stop!' Came the booming voice of Irin. Still hidden against the car he peered over assessing the damage. 'You'll not get off Perpetous, either of you'.
Freedan never one to back down from a challenge, 'how will you stop us?' He spat back.
'Any attempt to leave Perpetuan space and the Enterprise will shoot you down. We know about your hideout, at this moment my men and several Starfleet officers are on their way there to get the Captain and the Vulcan...' Forcing himself to sound nonchalant, feeling anything but.
Samson's grip on Kulj'ita lessened, various scenarios playing through her mind. None ending well for her. 'What do you want Irin?' Steadying her voice, hint of willing to draw his attention.
'What I came here for. Plus the prisoners including Kulj'ita'. Irin raised his hand to his ear, a voice crackled over his headset. All of Samson and Freedan's people had been taken care of. Now confident he wouldn't be shoot at, he slowly stood out from the car, hands held up to show he had no weapons. The sight of Freedan looking desperate to leave and Kulj'ita clawing against Samson's arm greeted him. 'Your men have been neutralised...' He stated in a knowing tone.
'No!' Screeched Freedan, pulling his cousin towards a passageway. She shrugged out of his grasp.
'And what of us?' Slightly louder to reflect the greater distance from Irin. Samson knew Irin's shooter was still somewhere; she didn't put it past him to shoot them dead on the spot. She would do the same. So she concluded they were out of view.
Pulling her towards him Freedan hissed in desperation, 'They have nothing, if we leave now and get Kirk they'll not shoot us down'. Having guessed the same thing about the shooter, his eyes darted around the crowd.
'Listen to him' wheezed Kulj'ita. Following her instincts she let Freedan drag her back. Out of sight, all three sprinted to his shuttle. 'Where is your transporter? Move us like the stones' commanded Kulj'ita to Freedan.
'I wasn't expecting company...'. Freedan puffed indignantly.
Reading between the lines, Samson understood Freedan had meant to leave her there. The coldness of her cousin knew no bounds. Just ahead the shuttle awaited, she scrambled aboard, closely followed by the others. Heading straight to the controls with Kulj'ita in the co-pilot seat, Freedan remained upright feet firmly glued to the floor rapidly assessing the situation. They hovered higher and higher before moving off at speed towards the cave network.
'How did you know?' She looked over her shoulder towards him, before focusing back on the vista in front of her. The shuttle jostling due to the turbulence. Kulj'ita gripped the console throwing dirty looks at Freedan. Time and time again, he had warned Samson that Freedan would be the end of them.
'News announcement. Guess Irin was confident everything would work out' he petulantly replied.
Samson didn't react, accepting the statement without further question. Not Kulj'ita, 'I'm sorry, in case it's escaped your attention you're both wanted fugitives. What now? -'
Cutting off the Provost, 'how did Irin know about the cave network?' Freedan's accusation firmly directed at Kulj'ita.
'Back off!' Kulj'ita rose out of his seat refusing to be intimidated. 'Intel from Starfleet, Commander Uhura hacked Samson's computer-' he sneered taking great satisfaction as Freedan openly gawped at the news.
Freedan's head snapped towards Samson. He slammed his hand against one of the compartments, moving further back into the shuttle. Samson pursed her lips together, not trusting herself to remain in control.
'How?' Fixing her gaze on the upcoming mountain range. The caves would soon come into view.
'I don't know, Irin only told us in the car. There was no chance to warn either of you...' He was secretly thankful his involvement still seemed to be undiscovered. 'Irin's not bluffing, people are on their way. They'll be there soon. Slumping back into his seat, the implication of Irin's actions finally sunk in.
'Do they have our communication frequencies?' A thought formulating in Freedan's mind.
Kulj'ita struggled to remember the debrief. Without access to his PADD he couldn't confirm. 'I don't know for sure'
Freedan picked up his PADD, with everything that was happening what was one more risk. Composing a short message. The reply Shyloh is working with Starfleet.
'I should have killed her when I had the chance' rasping to nobody in particular. A little louder 'our frequencies are still secure-' the daylight turned into night as they entered the network. Freedan frowned, the place now felt like a prison as they touched down.
'How can you be sure?' Kulj'ita fired back his agitation no longer held back.
'Because I only gave Shyloh limited access and none of us have been in contact with her, have we' he sneered. 'She's been helping Starfleet, but her knowledge is limited...' Knowing the route that would be taken. Freedan felt slightly more confident, they still had the element of surprise. Tapping his headset, 'bring me Kirk and the Vulcan' stepping out of the craft grinning at Samson and Kulj'ita. 'They may be here soon, but they'll have to walk...we still have time...time to get rid of the Sunstones'.