It was perhaps odd that Stephen Andrew Grayson more closely resembled his Aunt Amanda than her own son did. He had the same blue gray eyes that sparkled with the same life and humor, the same wavy sandy blond hair. He seemed to also have the Grayson appreciation for the exotic– in art, clothes, and in his case unfortunately, women. He had been easy prey for this lovely, self-assured – and he had thought Rigelian woman – who was now his captor. She had not mistreated him so far. In fact, his captivity atop this odd natural phenomenon in the middle of the Vulcan desert had been almost amiable. He had an emergency shelter kept cool with solar power, all the food he desired, a comfortable cot, even a private bathroom and shower. She didn't even bother to lock the door.
She didn't have too. To leave here, even if he could somehow get down the steep sides of the Ruskaraya ni'reh, was death. The merciless desert stretched in every direction. He knew he was on Vulcan. He knew that his Aunt Amanda would not rest until he was freed. He knew he had to remain patient and wait.
He just didn't know why he was here, or what the Rihannsu woman wanted with him in the first place.
She had visited him earlier, inquiring to his health and his needs. His response that he very much needed his freedom had only been answered with a short bark of laughter. She had regarded him the way one looks at a new and useful tool. Stephen had always recognized that she was a complex and dominant woman, even when he had believed her to be Rigelian. Whatever she wanted from him, it had something to so with a warrior's need to control.
She had approached him and he recoiled instinctively. It had brought a flash of triumph to her eyes, to watch him submit, but she waved a hand imperiously,
"I have not gone to all this trouble to keep you alive simply to harm you now," she said. Her eyes swept him possessively, "You are a two-edged sword, Stephen Grayson. That is much too valuable for me."
He had no idea what she meant and several attempts to get her to reveal her purpose failed before she finally left. He watched the door close and almost went after her, but the searing afternoon heat of the Vulcan desert discouraged him.
In frustration, he flopped down on the bed, threw an arm over his eyes and tried to remain calm.
'Aunt Amanda,' he thought, 'Whatever you and Uncle Sarek are doing, do it faster…. And be careful.'