The Prince
Chapter 16
Sand shifted beneath his feet. He was awash in a sea of delirium and darkness, aware only of the fact that he was seeking something, anything, to stop the burning in his body. The need was great, he could no longer control it…he wanted…he needed…He hunted... His prey lay within those stone walls…And he would be victor.
Sarek was meditating, trying to reconcile his own emotional state following Amanda's onslaught and his own feelings of failure, when the fever – not his own – overtook him. It was so powerful he physically recoiled, his mind shrank back from the wildness of it…He knew immediately. "Spock"…something had gone terribly wrong…
Amanda returned to the family quarters, to be greeted by a somber-faced Sarek moving quickly towards her. She had never seen her husband so agitated outside his Time. His tension radiated through her, causing her concern. He paused at the balcony, looking down into the dark expanse that was the great hall beneath them.
"Sarek, what is it?" she asked, standing behind him.
He turned to her. "Spock," he said. A spike of panic flared in her mind. Through their bond, she felt him force himself to continue over her emotional reaction. "He is coming, if he is not already here. He is deep within the Plaktow. His mind touched mine during my meditation. He is still in need. And he is searching, for…her..." Sarek's usually calm voice now betrayed worry, more so for the danger he knew Spock posed to himself and to the girl in the other wing.
If he was this far deep, it could only mean one thing – he had not completed his Time with T'Pring. Which meant Spock could die.
Amanda immediately summoned Stossel, Stamin and Golan.
"Move quickly and guard Miss Uhura's door. Spock is coming, and he is still in his Time. Guard her, protect her. And protect Spock." The guards acknowledged the orders, and then moved silently through the corridors of the fortress.
Amanda moved to her husband, gently touching the sleeves of his robe. He turned to her, no longer shielding his emotions. His mask was gone, revealing his distress and grief to her. "Amanda, I have failed."
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in. Now they must grieve. Together. There was nothing to do except wait, and hope the inevitable didn't happen.
II
He was so close. His goal near…He scented the air, like a lematya scenting its prey. Creeping through the warm sand…he observed. He had never known such power, his sight: stronger; his hearing: sharper; his sense of smell: potent. He could clearly identify his targets…he waited. Scanning…scanning…ah! There! Entrance… His lithe frame blended with the shadows…Closer…closer….soon he would be satisfied…soon it would be over…
Pike had been restless since the reception. He had tried to comfort his young protégé, but he had no words to offer. He eventually retired to his own room, and lay awake in the oversized bed, wracking his mind over the events of the day, only to grow irritated. He began scouring the libraries of Vulcan, for something – anything that could fill in the gaps of this puzzle he found himself in. In his search for answers, he stumbled upon what appeared to be a family tree – much like ones humans constructed for their ancestors.
Scanning the document his eyes zeroed in on Specific names: Surak… T'Pau… Sarek… T'Amanda, Spock…
He blinked, his mind trying to wrap itself around the aged document as one piece of the puzzle snapped into place.
He switched to Vulcan governance structure, noting, the High Council…the ruling body…such a powerful clan. ...He bypassed information he already knew. A side-note on the second-to-last-page caught his attention and he magnified the document on the PADD…ah, there!
It was almost unnoticeable, a small notation really. He skimmed the ancient words. Pid-trensu t' thol'es Surak. Pike's mind worked to translate and he mouthed each word and its standard accompaniment to himself. Pid-trensu: high master, t' means of, tho'es: nobility….high master of the nobility…Surak…Surak is the high master of the nobility!
"SHIT!" He said aloud, eyes wide. That explained a lot. Now the second matter of business…what the hell had happened to his first officer?
III
The fortress had been built for a warrior people. As a defending structure, replete with hideaways and passages long lost to its current inhabitants. Except one. He used that knowledge now, climbing higher and higher…he had found and frequently used these tunnels as a boy. Now they served as the instrument to his success…she was close… He could smell her…he paused briefly, inhaling in the scent he'd been tracking amid the dampness of the walls…she was there…his ears perked, listening…soft breathing…slow, even…His blood was on fire, and he stumbled forward like an injured animal…soon it would be over…yes…there! He slipped into the darkened room, observing the small figure in front of him…he drew his fingers around her face…peace…peace…
She could feel him in her dreams.
~~ As she embraced him, she felt the heat of his skin on hers, his stare, intent, passionate as he enveloped her , drawing them closer, and closer….His lips on her neck, his hands caressing her legs, moving around her thighs, seeking her permission for approval…yes, yes…she felt his kiss...so soft…so tender…so.. .the kiss…his body shifted on top of her…she gasped… the pressure increase, and she began to struggle…it was no longer passionate…he was crushing her…Spock…she whimpered now…trying to break free as hands grasped around her wrists…Spock…she was calling out to him, but he couldn't hear her…she was panicking…she was drowning… she was… ~~
SPOCK!!! Nyota's eyes flew open and it was all she could do to scream before white-hot flashes of light exploded behind them. Fear and pain coursed through her body. Her last sight – brown eyes, now glassy and black, empty, staring down at her. She surrendered to the darkness.
IV
The scream echoed through the fortress jarring Pike awake.
The scream echoed through the fortress, sending guards running.
The scream echoed through the fortress causing Sarek to leap down into the blackness of the hall below and run towards the far side of the fortress
The scream caused Amanda to run down the steps frantically. "No…please, God… no!"
V
They were locked out. Seven figures pounded on the door, willing it to open…The sounds of a feral howl escaped past the ancient barrier. "Spock! Open the door! Open the door!" The voices were of Amanda and Pike, each filled with dread …there was one last howl, before silence descended.
The Vulcans conversed among themselves, then Golan and Sarek moved towards the window down the hall…Golan thrust his hand forward, sending glass shattering to the rocks below.
"What are you doing?" Amanda screamed, reaching for her husband as the two slipped onto the rocky ledge.
"We must gain entry or the girl will die. As will your son," Golan answered.
Pike, Amanda, Stamin and Stossel waited in grim silence.
The sound of more breaking glass filled the night; followed by crashes and snarls…suddenly the fortress shook with sounds…an injured cry pitched into the night air as a body slammed with a loud bang against the locked doors causing the superstructure to quake…slowly…the doors fell open…
Pike braced himself for what he would soon find. The guards had drawn the ahn'vahr. It was Amanda who raced forward first.
"Amanda, no!" Sarek rushed to snatch his wife back as Spock stalked towards Golan.
Pike gazed in horror at the green blood stained walls. He watched the elder guard battle his completely naked first officer, who was soaked in what looked like his own blood and…something else. …Spock lunged forward, and Golan elegantly stepped aside letting the younger Vulcan ram right into the stone wall. Spock shook his head, tossing off the shock, and quickly countered, striking Golan in the chest with a series of lashes intended to kill one's target. He succeeded in only two before the other two guards were on him, pinning him down. Spock thrashed viciously, growling into the night air.
Sarek returned to the fray, walking quickly towards his son. "Get off of him!" He commanded loudly as he approached.
The guards quickly moved aside, as Sarek knelt down, over the still-snarling figure beneath him.
"Spock," he said simply. The glassy haze in his child's eyes slowly began to dissipate, and they looked up at him, blinking without recognition. Sarek felt a surge of love deep within him for the man-child before him. This was his own flesh; and it was hurting…He said his name again. "Spock."
This time, the voice had an effect. Sarek watched flashes of light radiate through Spock's eyes which were so much like his mother's.
The guards stood near warily, waiting for any signs of renewed danger.
Spock backed up, half scooting, half-crawling into the nearest corner, blood still spilling from the many cuts he sustained in his fight against Golan.
He uncharacteristically pulled his knees to his chest, curling around himself, and lowered his head. He looked like an injured animal waiting to die.
Amanda and Pike entered the room, both running straight to the bed stained from the tortuous events that had occurred mere minutes before.
It was Pike's dazed voice which spoke, as Amanda gathered the near-lifeless form now exposed on the bed. "We need medical. Now."
VI
The attendants, guards, along with Amanda and Pike rushed Nyota off to the medical center, leaving Sarek and Spock alone together in the fortress. Two hours had passed, and Spock had not moved, had remained frozen in his corner, his body still uncovered.
Sarek looked out the broken window onto the desert, lost in his own thoughts, his own shock, at the absolute destruction wrought upon the one he called child. Although a man by human years, Spock was still only barely out of adolescence in Vulcan terms, and to Sarek, he would always be his child. A child who desperately needed a father…
He took off his robe and wrapped it around his son's curled, naked frame. The boy finally moved, staring up at him with sad, human eyes.
Sarek couldn't bring himself to look away, although the emotional pain radiating through him was great. He stared at the eyes, now streaked with water, and grew alarmed. Vulcan's did not emit water unless near death…he almost panicked but remembered that Spock, as he was half-human, could cry. Sarek had not seen tears on his son face since he was a baby. The sight unnerved him, but he stayed still.
When his child spoke, it was in a soft, raspy whisper, barely audible, and wracked with grief, and guilt. "I have killed her."
Sarek drew a breath. He had not received word as to the young woman's condition, so he could neither confirm nor deny that fact. He knew too well the possibility, as his own experiences from years ago came back to him with full…when he had done a similar deed…
"Spock…" Sarek felt his own voice catch. For the second time that night, he had no words to say.
"You almost killed mother years ago," Spock said, his voice now less soft and angrier. "I was young, but I was there. I heard her scream…I heard her scream. I heard Nyota scream…she screamed…she screamed…" Sarek grew alarmed as his son was now fully emotional, expressing much. Spock began to repeat himself, rocking back and forth, tears still flowing from his eyes. He drew into himself again, retreating into the solace of his mind once more.
It was the beginnings of something; Sarek didn't know what…but as he watched Spock rock, and bleed, and cry, rock, bleed, cry…he knew his son was well on his way to death.
Author's Notes:
I now have a Beta. Thanks to the many of you who suffered through some of this story's technical errors in the earlier chapters. Much credit should be given to Far Strider who is serving as editor.
I believe there was a question as to whether this fic was 2009 or TOS. To answer that question, it is 2009. I do pay much homage to TOS though, as some of you have picked up on, but it is set in the new universe. The next part of this saga will put us in line with the events of the movie.
We are almost done with the first part so hang on. Only two chapters and a prologue left to go.