accidental anomaly: Thank you! It's great to hear that I've achieved what I set out to do—let Spock have his emotional side, yet still be Vulcan.
Concubine99: Me too… I never know where my Muse will take me!
re-harakhti: Thanks! The universe isn't perfect—characters have to go through hardships to develop, I've always believed that. I'm glad you like it.
ladymage21: Oh, I love him too! There's no way that was going to happen! :)
Desdemona: Thanks :)
Mars-Eclipse: Thanks so much! I'm glad I'm doing him justice!
NayNymic: I appreciate the movie insight. I've only seen it twice, so I'm glad you know the details!
Ella Agathon: Haha! If I did that, I deserve assassination.
Lina-Baggins: Aww, thanks! Any details you can correct me on? I was so worried about that chapter (and this one).
Brieze: I love the mind meld. LOVE it.
Ai-Sarang: I don't think you have to worry! :)
LostSchizophrenic: Your suggestion would make for a very good chapter 8.
Alex Remington: The katra is the essence of the Vulcan mind. Basically, a Vulcan can transfer his or her personality into another person when death is upon them.
Ptrst: Thank you! I didn't know if that would work or not. It kind of felt like a long list. I'm glad it worked for you.
sexy-jess: Damn them indeed! Thanks for following the story! :)
xx
The next morning, Kirk woke to an arresting sight. Spock lay on the cot, perfectly still, pale as Earth's moon. He wasn't breathing.
"Spock," he said, shocked into action. "Spock!" He took him by the shoulder and shook him. "Wake up. C'mon…"
No response.
Fury and desperation rose in the form of hot tears. "Spock, goddamnit, wake up!"
Just as he bent to administer CPR, Spock's eyes opened.
"What in the hell was that?" Kirk choked out.
"Vulcans are able to utilize our conscious control of brain functionality to concentrate all of our energy onto repairing injuries," he explained calmly. "I remained awake after you fell asleep last night with the hope that I might be able to heal the damage to my body."
"And?"
"I would estimate that the performance of my internal organs has improved approximately ninety-one percent."
Kirk grinned. Same old Spock. "Look, I assume they'll be coming to get us soon enough. And I don't want another round of torture. I want you to keep your katra. Between the two of us, we ought to be able to figure something out. He paused. "And it had better end with us blowing this ship to pieces."
"That outcome is highly unlikely, Captain, as our escape pod is not outfitted with enough weaponry to incapacitate a Romulan bird-of-prey." He thought for a moment. "However, there is one option."
"What?"
"We could sabotage the cooling system and overload the warp core."
Kirk considered this. "You sure you can do it?"
"I am quite certain that given my familiarity with Romulan language and—"
"Alright, I got it." Kirk smiled. "Let's do it."
xx
Two Romulan guards approached the cell. Spock remained on the cot while Kirk stood up to greet them.
"It's funny," Kirk said, as they unlocked the door, "how they only send two guards."
The tallest Romulan looked at him.
"Well, I think we deserve a little more respect, don't you? I mean, what if we decided to make trouble? You really think two of you could handle us?"
"Shut up." He grabbed Kirk and ushered him out of the cell.
The second Romulan glared at Spock. "Get up, Vulcan."
Spock lifted his eyes. "No."
The Romulan marched into the cell. In one swift move, Spock was on his feet; he dropped his captor with a quick nerve pinch.
Before the Romulan holding Kirk had time to process what had happened, Kirk had elbowed him hard in the stomach and Spock had incapacitated him.
"You're scary sometimes," Kirk told him, grabbing the Romulan's phaser.
Spock allowed himself a small smile.
"C'mon. Let's go."
xx
"There they are!"
"Shit!" Kirk yelled; they took cover behind a large pipe. "And we were so close."
Spock poked his head above the pipe, fired two shots, and ducked back down. "There are nine of them, all armed with phaser pistols."
"I got 'em."
Spock stared. "Are you certain you can—"
"I'm sure, just go!"
Kirk provided cover fire as Spock ran back to the warp core. He took out two Romulans with well-aimed shots and ducked again as they shot back. Knowing the element of surprise would work to his advantage, he kept low and crept about five paces to the right, then jumped up, shooting three more Romulans who were advancing on him and Spock.
Five down, four to go.
Two shots whizzed past his head, breaking open the pipe behind him. Coolant flooded the ground. A warning siren began to blare.
Kirk jumped up and fired again, barely grazing the tough-looking Romulan barreling towards him. The next thing he knew, he'd been tackled to the ground. Kirk delivered a sharp uppercut to the Romulan's face and leaned around to shoot down another one.
"Spock!" Kirk hollered. "Watch out!"
But the siren was too loud for him to hear.
Phaser still in hand, Kirk tried with all his might to point it at the Romulan still above him as he suffered several harsh punches to the stomach. As he saw the other two running toward Spock, he mustered every ounce of strength he had and jabbed the weapon into his side.
"Asshole," Kirk spat as he fired.
Spock, concentrating on the computer terminal in front of him, didn't notice the two Romulans running in his direction.
"Spock!" Kirk shot and missed, running after them. "Spock!" He splashed through the coolant, firing at will; one shot finally clipped flesh. One left.
"Vulcan," spat the Romulan, raising his phaser. Spock glanced up. And just as he was about to fire, Kirk shot him straight through the back, and he fell flat on his face into the rising tide of blue liquid.
"The coolant leak will speed up the overload process," Spock said. "We must evacuate promptly."
xx
By the time they reached their escape pod in the airlock, the explosions had already begun. Spock slid into the pod and started the launch sequence while Kirk blasted away at the few Romulans who had followed them.
"Let's go!" he cried, jumping in.
Fire consumed the entrance as the craft launched into space. Right before Kirk initiated warp, he got the satisfaction of seeing the bird-of-prey explode.
I said I'd kill every last one of you, Kirk thought angrily. And when it comes to my first officer, I keep my promises.