Chapter 7

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2200 hours. He pulled the jacket tighter around Selas and checked to ensure that the communicator was safely tucked away in his pocket. Shifting the pack on his shoulder and adjusting his own overcoat Spock then turned to his other children. "Your brother and I will await your signal in the shuttle bay. If you are unable to complete your tasks or you are caught we will still have time to abort. However, once Selas and I depart the ship this mission cannot be terminated. Are you ready to proceed?"

Both nodded. "Very well. T'Alora, here are the subroutines to override the tractor beam. Se'tak, do not forget to meet your sister in the transporter room when you are through."

"I know." And with that Se'tak left, headed for the Officer's Rec. T'Alora also vacated the room, the look in her eye begging him to end this nightmare for them all.

Had Spock been told two weeks ago that he would commit mutiny—and involve his own children in the act—he would have stated unequivocally that such an event would never occur. And yet here he was about to embark on one of the least-logical schemes of his life and he was feeling more alive then he had in the last eight days. The prospect of being reunited with his k'diwa was all the motivation he needed.

"For the sake of expediency it would be best if you allowed me to carry you to the shuttle bay. We must also remember to keep conversation to a minimum as we wish to avoid the notice of the rest of the crew." Selas silently lifted up his arms and allowed himself to be raised and settled on his hip. Soon they too quit their quarters.

Officer's Rec, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2216 hours. Se'tak paced, resisting the urge to tug his shirt straight again. He was the only one in the family capable of such prevarication and emotional manipulation but that didn't mean he liked what he was about to do; in fact he felt extremely guilty.

Right on cue his uncle came thundering around the corner. "Are you ok, Son? What happened?"

"I'm alright, I just…" he paused and drew a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Everything's just catching up with me and I guess I just needed someone to talk to."

Uncle Leonard fell into step beside him and entered the room, looking relieved to find it empty. "Well I'm glad you called; that's what I'm here for…" his words trailed off as he slumped to the floor; Se'tak caught him before his head hit the ground.

"Forgive me, Uncle Leonard." Dragging him to a waiting chair he set the stage so it looked like he was asleep; once that was accomplished Se'tak hurried back to his post. Chief Giotto would be arriving at any moment.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2271.131, 2218 hours. He held up his hand and Sa-mekh stopped, sweeping them both into what he suspected was the nearest darkened corner. It was taking three times longer for them to reach the shuttle bay than usual what with all the sneaking around. Still using hand signals Selas indicated that there were three people further off down the corridor headed their way. Sa-mekh understood and waited until the two men and one woman passed before stealing away again.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2221 hours. She had slipped in and out of Engineering unseen and entered the subroutine, admiring Sa-mekh's design. Had she had the time T'Alora could have come up with something effective but only half as elegant. The feedback loop masked the re-programming until it was as if it all but disappeared. It would be difficult for even those on the Bridge to detect why the transporter beam was on the fritz let alone decrypt the subroutine swiftly.

As she neared the transporter room T'Alora focused on the next task at hand, for now was the real test. Feigning a limp she ambled over, surprising the ensign on duty as she opened the door. "I am in need of assistance."

Ensign Brock immediately rushed over. They had sparred a handful of times in the gym; he was a worthy opponent and she was aware of his attraction toward her, an attraction which now played to her advantage. "What happened?"

She lifted her pant leg in a mock-show of exposing a little ankle; she was not expecting him to fall to his knees and put his hands on her leg. Sucking in a breath at the unanticipated contact T'Alora discovered that his admiration of her…form…went far beyond her defensive abilities. "Funny," he remarked upon testing the area, "It doesn't feel swollen…"

T'Alora dropped him with a well placed pinch before he could say anything more. She was so startled by his…appreciation…that she stared at his prone form for well over a minute before recovering and quickly hiding him in a storage closet.

Officer's Rec, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2233 hours. "Thanks for coming, Uncle Scotty." Se'tak was completely at ease as he led his uncle toward the room. One last person and his part would be done and he'd join up with T.

"Aye, laddie, t'is no problem. Yer mother was a good friend." They crossed the threshold and he watched Uncle Scotty's eyes grow wide. Storming into the room he quickly checked the Captain's pulse. "Quick, comm for help! They've been gassed."

"No," he said coolly, reaching up on the man unawares, "They have not."

Dragging the limp engineer over to the window seat Se'tak surveyed the damage and exited the room for the final time.

Transporter Room, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2241 hours. She heard the door swing open and had just enough time to duck under the console before being spotted.

"T!" Se'tak whispered loudly. "T?" She popped up behind the controls. "Oh good. Everything go ok on your end?"

She nodded. "Everything is in place. Were you able to complete your task?"

"Uh huh."

"Did you remember to remove the door stop before you left the premises?"

T'Alora watched in growing dread at his shocked expression. "What door stop?"

Eyes flying open she began calculating the fastest routes back to the Officer's Rec against the likelihood that Se'tak would be able to remain safe and unseen in the transporter room. She made one step toward the door before he burst into a fit of giggles and produced the plastic triangle from his pocket. "I'm honestly hurt by your lack of trust in me!"

She frowned as she pulled out the communicator, paging Sa-mekh with the all-clear as her heart rate settled to a more normal rhythm. "The dearth of trust is not unwarranted, sa-kai*."

Ten minutes later the shuttlecraft was underway. All they could do now was wait.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.132, 0054 hours. "Mind tellin' us what you're up to, Jim? Maybe we could—oh, I don't know—lend a hand?"

He didn't stop moving and Bones kindly stepped aside as he shoved another box out of the way. It must've taken the family all afternoon to build up this kind of store; then again they had Vulcan strength on their side. "You guys remember what this room looked like about fifteen years ago?"

Nobody answered until Sulu finally stepped up and grabbed a box. "It was about half this size, wasn't it?"

Jim nodded. "It was exactly half this size. We increased it by taking out a supply room during our second major overhaul. At the time they just knocked down the wall and laid out some carpet and I'm betting they didn't do much more then that…" here he got down on his hands and knees and gestured for someone to hand him his pocket knife.

"Aye, I think I know what yer after, Cap'n," Scotty replied as they all watched him slice into the rug. Cutting out a good chunk he ripped it and the padding back and found the dusty hatch.

"Aha!"

Everyone else cheered while Bones just rolled his eyes. "Only you, Jim. Only you."

He smirked. "That's why they keep me in gold shirts. Alright people, let's see if we can pry this open…"

Unohdettu, 2277.131, 2358 hours. "Sa-mekh." Spock felt his sight gradually return to him as Selas withdrew from the meld. They were on their hands and knees at the hole in the wall beneath the zig-zag glyph. "We have scanned the entire room and this is the only anomaly. Perhaps we should…" his tiny fingers angled closer to the round crevice.

He snatched them back just in time. "No, Selas."

The hole itself was unremarkable upon first glance, especially given it's location well below eye level; however, upon further examination Spock discovered that it was an even 8 cm, perfectly smooth and devoid of any visible tool marks. The gernadomite would have made such precision impossible. If the Gamma tribe did exist this was their likely point of entry—how it worked, though, he could not say. He would have to inspect it more once Selas was safely back aboard the ship.

Standing up he reached for his son's jacket pocket, pulling out the emergency communicator and pressing it into Selas' hand. "Do you recall the way out?" He led him toward the door.

"Yes; two steps straight, three to the left, seven to the right, three to the right…"

He stopped Selas with a hand on his shoulder. "You have remembered well. I will give you five minutes before I continue my investigation into retrieving your mother. Initiate the emergency beacon once you have exited the caves and your sister will beam you aboard. From there you must all remember to brace yourselves; if my supposition is correct then the gernadomite will block my bond with you as it has blocked our bond with your mother."

"Ha, Sa-mekh." Selas took one step away then stopped, turned around, and threw his arms around his waist. Love and fear and hope were broadcast so strongly they did not need their skin to touch to feel it. Spock got down on his knees and hugged him right back.

"Be safe, sa-fu*."

"And you as well." Taking a deep breath to steady himself Selas once more retreated from the cave. Only when Spock was certain his son was clear did he take out the probes and the IEDs in the pack T'Alora had helped him make.

Transporter Room, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.132, 0004 hours. "That is Selas' comm.," she announced. Rising from her seat on the floor beside her brother she took up her position behind the panel. Given the storm brewing on the surface she had a little difficulty calculating the proper telemetry to beam him back aboard but he still arrived intact seconds later.

"We believe we have located a possible entrance," he informed them as Se'tak helped him off the pad. "Sa-mekh warned that we must all brace ourselves."

Nodding grimly she double-checked the lock on the doors before re-joining her brothers on the floor, an arm around each of them. Knowing that their bond with Sa-mekh would likely snap soon would not lessen the pain they would feel. They were each as ready as they could possibly be.

Officer's Rec, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 0109 hours. He and Scotty had to kick out a wall panel and wriggle out of the tube some 15 meters away from the Officer's Rec before they were finally free. The Engineer took off down the corridor to rescue the others while he raced to the nearest computer station.

"Computer, locate Commander Spock," he ordered gruffly.

"Commander Spock is not on board this vessel."

DAMMIT! Jim slammed his hand into the wall. Was he trying to get himself kicked out of 'Fleet or was he trying to get himself killed? He needed answers and he needed them yesterday and now the kids were the key. "Computer," he asked more urgently, "Locate T'Alora."

"T'Alora is located on Deck 17, room E338."

"That's the main transporter room," Bones declared as he jogged on over. Jim shot him a curious look. "What? I've been there enough times saving your sorry ass to know!"

With a roll of the eyes he let it go. Now that they were free the rest of the group were just as eager as him to speak to the 'mutineers'. "Alright, everyone with me. We're headed to Deck 17." They took off at a jog for the turbo lift. "And someone see about getting me a communicator!"

Unohdettu, 2277.132, 0021 hours. The hole in the gernadomite was long, exactly 2.89 meters by his measurements, and the images from the probe led Spock to discover that it did open into a different cave; however, whether it was another in the series of caverns or whether it was the entryway he sought he could not discern. Unable to find a key or other mechanism he set about carefully planting the IEDs. It took two separately controlled charges using all the explosive devices to create a hole large enough for him to pass through. Without hesitating Spock stepped inside.

The smoke was thick and the air was acrid. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he noticed a ramp leading down and away from the caverns with more paintings on the walls at the top. They appeared to be warnings of some kind though Spock did not take the time to study them. Heedless of their message he plunged into the bowels of Unohdettu in the hopes of reclaiming his k'diwa from this forgotten race.

He was barely eleven yards in when the pain began.

Unlike his earlier predictions his bonds with his children did not snap; no, the pain was more intense then he thought possible after the loss of Nyota but it was not sudden. Like a steak knife slowly sawing it's way through a strand of thick rope the links with T'Alora, Se'tak and Selas began to fall away. Spock suspected this was a result of the hole he had had to blow open in the gernadomite wall, an outcome he had not anticipated prior to undertaking his dangerous plan. Each step was agony as the children were slowly cut away from his consciousness for he not only bore his own pain but could feel their's as well. It went against his every instinct to harm them in this manner.

Worse still was that there was no renewed connection with Nyota. Her place in his mind was still a black, gaping wound.

Forcing himself onward Spock lost all track of time, overwhelmed as he was with sensation. Each step became harder then the one before as every bond he had ever forged was hacked away. Finally his knees gave out and with a violent shudder he crumpled and fell to the ground. Mentally isolated for the first time in his life the grief was almost more than Spock could bear. He was alone in his head—no wife, no children, no father, no crewmates he had come to know as friends and call his family lo these last nineteen years.

How had Selek survived like this? He could barely breathe yet all he wanted to do was rage and scream until he was hoarse; still, he bit his tongue until it bled. If there were people down here holding Nyota captive it would not do to alert them to his presence.

After sucking in the musky air Spock rose and hobbled along, clutching the wall for support. He soldiered on bravely for some time until his legs gave out completely and he was reduced to crawling; despite knowing that his family and friends were in fact alive his body and mind still grieved.

Spock crawled until he could not crawl another centimeter.

Panting hard, he lay back against the wall, legs splayed out before him in an undignified fashion. Every nerve in him burned while the icy cold grip of despair stole over him.

It was in that moment that he felt the first nudge against his consciousness—a kindred spirit plunged in grief in equal measure to his own that was reaching out.

The sparkling silver thread crashed through the remnants of his feeble shields and coiled around his wild emotions, feeding and amplifying them hungrily. There was a familiarity with the tendril of thought that, in his distress, Spock did not immediately place; only when it settled in and took root in his psyche did he recognize Nyota's woe.

He honed in on her link, warmth stealing over his clammy skin as he grasped at the ragged dirt walls and hauled himself back up. She was alive! One small step, then two, and every one thereafter brought him closer to her. He fed off her connection, his feet soon skimming the floor as the bond strengthened. Nyota was still too steeped in her own grief to recognize his nearness but no matter; Spock knew he would be reunited with her soon enough.

* sa-kai = Vulkhansu for brother

* sa-fu = Vulkhansu for son