It had been a long first year out in space, much had happened, and Jim had lost some important people in his life, but he was learning the hard way that it was all part of being a Captain. The hardest loss had been his first officer, and good friend, Gary Mitchell. Of course losing such a high ranking officer, Jim had needed to replace him quite quickly. In fact he'd reviewed many of the high ranking positions on the Enterprise, and made a few changes that he felt were necessary, promoting officers he felt were deserving or showed great promise.
The position of first officer was of course the toughest. Who else did he trust by his side, to advise him, to be a voice of reason? Who else would challenge him to make the correct choice over the easy one? Experience was required – not of being first officer previously, but of serving on starships, and reacting appropriately under pressure – and they had to be willing to accept the extra hours, workload and responsibility. Quite importantly, the two of them also needed to get along well since they'd be working together closely for long periods of time.
One name came to mind right away that fit that criteria. Putting his personal feelings aside, Spock was the best choice for the role. He ticked every single box, and when Jim had offered him the position the Vulcan only had one condition; that he be allowed to remain as Chief Science Officer also.
Jim had been concerned that the workload would stretch Spock too thin, but he recalled the absurd amount of activities the Vulcan had going on back in their academy days – plus finding time to fuck Jim silly – and so as long as Spock believed he could managed, Jim allowed it.
In no time at all, any concerns the Captain had were gone. Spock was the perfect first officer, he didn't want to dishonour his friend's memory by saying that Spock was better at the job than Mitchell, but…
In turn they had become closer too. Jim hadn't been able to find much reason to engage with Spock over the past year, despite his desire to rekindle at least some kind of regular conversation between them. However, spending the majority of your days and or nights with a person tended to bring you closer, so did life threatening missions.
Soon enough, Jim began to feel like they were becoming comfortable with each other again, even though the Vulcan wouldn't admit to such things. He was a bit different to the Spock Jim had known all those years ago – Jim couldn't say that he hadn't changed a little either - but overall it was the same man, the one he'd fallen for.
Jim had caught himself more than once having tilted sideways in his Captain's chair, and zoned out staring at the Vulcan while he was working at his station on the bridge. Memories would come flooding back to him. His fingers travelling up Spock's nape and into shiny black hair, or tracing a pointed ear, whether it be with digit or tongue, watching the pale flesh turn the most beautiful shade of green. It was a colour he hadn't seen since, would not wish to see on another, it could never compare to seeing this Vulcan naked, sheening with sweat, having been ridden into the mattress, body lightly flushed, mouth parted slightly.
Often, Jim found it necessary to readjust his position once he'd come back to reality, quickly glancing around to see if anyone had noticed his private moment. If they had, no one ever mentioned it.
After working together for some time, Jim had asked Spock to join him for recreational activities, wishing to regain the level of friendship they'd once had. While chess, eating meals together, and sparring had been on the list, a necessary mind meld during a mission had not been.
They'd been responding to a distress signal from Alticron III, not a planet that was involved in the Federation strictly speaking, but there had been positive communications previously. However upon beaming down to the planet's surface, Jim had immediately had a bad feeling about the situation.
The planet was said to be lush with vegetation, and abundant in natural resources, including wildlife. Jim had seen the records himself, though with the same eyes, he now witnessed a barren ghost town. Everything was in dreary shades of browns, yellows and greys, from the old decaying tree stumps, to the run down buildings that rose in front of them. One of which bore great structural cracks, while another was quite literally falling apart as they stood there, bits of rubble rolling down the slanted architecture.
They'd been promised a warm greeting, however they seemed to be alone in the clearing, of course they'd also been promised an explanation upon arrival too, and it seemed to be just as scarce as everything else.
"Phasers on stun, keep your wits about you men," Jim instructed to his first officer, and the two red shirts that had beamed down with them.
Just as they were about to move toward the structures to suss out the situation, a figure came to them - from one of the buildings perhaps, Jim couldn't say.
"Please follow me," was the first thing they said in a deep baritone. The being was humanoid in appearance, though they had two sets of ears on each side of their head, and there was only three fingers accompanying the thumb on each of the hands sticking out from the ends of a thin robe that had seen better days.
"Hang on," Jim motioned for his people to stay where they were, "I'd like to know why we're here first."
"All will be revealed," they announced, turning back the way they came.
"What's your name?" Jim asked, taking a different approach.
Their head swivelled back to Jim, "I am Alastan," they answered before once again insisting, "follow me."
Jim's gut knew it was a bad idea, but the only other choice was to beam back up to the Enterprise, and what if these people were truly in trouble? Reluctantly Jim agreed to go with Alastan, "Alright, we'll come with you, but I expect to know what is going on here sooner rather than later."
"You will, Captain, I promise," then Alastan was walking again, and this time the four Starfleet officers followed.
They were led between more tall buildings, most looked similar, like they'd been sitting, left to erode away for some time, perhaps they'd been attacked. An attack seemed more likely when they passed a group of structures that looked as though a bomb had gone off between them, creating a monstrous appearance in the buildings' shadows.
There seemed to be nothing significant about the round, triple storey building that they finally stopped in front of, but when Alastan laid his palm and right set of ears upon the dirty brickwork, a door seemed to open up from nowhere in the side of the building.
Jim caught Spock's gaze, and the Vulcan raised an eyebrow at him; they were both intrigued. Alastan gestured for the crew of the Enterprise to enter first, which Jim didn't like, but he didn't think arguing the point was going to make a difference, so as Captain he went first, arm tensed, ready to grab his phaser at a moment's notice.
The corridor was narrow enough that they had to walk single file, and not well lit either, though it was longer than Jim expected. At the end of the corridor, Jim had no doubt that his gut had been correct the entire time. Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot he could do with at least fifteen gun-like weapons pointed at him as he arrived in a large room, computers surrounding the walls, a huge desk in the middle. He raised his hands in surrender, noting that it reminded him of a war room.
"It appears we have been deceived, Captain," Spock commented unhelpfully, having come through after him. He mimicked Jim's hand gesture, as did the other two men – Alastan having drawn a weapon on them also.
"It would seem so, Mr Spock, but the question is why," he raised his voice enough to speak to the room, "What is the meaning of this? We are here answering a distress call that came from your planet, we were welcomed down to the surface…"
A familiar figure stepped forward from the back of the room, they did not have a weapon, though they appeared confident as they spoke, "Indeed, I apologise for the deception Captain, but we are desperate and must ensure not only the help of you and your starship, but of the entire Federation."
It was Astal, the one that they had spoken with before beaming down to the surface of Alticron III, Jim recognised them immediately, "There is no need for all of this," he gestured at the people wielding weapons, "if you explain your situation, I'm sure that we can find a way to help you."
Astal eyed Jim wearily, "We are not a part of your Federation, why would you help us willingly, and without anything in return?"
"Because that's what the Federation is about," Jim reasoned, "we all want to work together, to unify every planet, to freely give and take, so that no one would be left without, to help each other."
There was a quiet murmur through the room, Jim could see their mouths moving, but hardly any sound came out, it appeared as though they were talking to each other however.
With a definitive nod the room went quiet once more, and Astal spoke to Jim again, "I'm sorry Captain, but it is not a risk that we can take. You see this planet used to be beautiful, but civil war broke out over it's resources, and as a result we used the resources even faster to facilitate the war, until eventually everything was used up. We cannot lose, we must make the other side surrender, and for that we need more resources. I'm sure you understand how important this is, and why we need the support of the Federation behind us. Only once we win can we ensure that the planet returns to it's once picturesque state."
Spock leaned in close to the back of Jim's neck, his warm breath causing a shiver to run down Jim's spine and settle in his gut, "I believe they intend to hold us for ransom, Captain," he whispered.
Before Jim could answer, Astal responded instead, "It is true Captain, we cannot trust that you will help out of the good of your hearts, and so we must hold you here. We will contact your ship, tell them our demands, and they will relay the message to the Federation."
"How did they hear that?" Jim whispered back to Spock, leaning back enough that their shoulders brushed, a memory of flesh against flesh flashed behind his eyelids, but he couldn't think about that now. He couldn't acknowledge the way his body reacted to Spock regardless of the situation, later when they were all safe back on the ship he would allow it, but not now.
Spock opened his mouth to reply, but again Astal spoke instead, "You think that our ears are just for show, Captain? We can hear better than you, far better."
"Yes, I see," Jim frowned, that would certainly be a problem, one for a little later though, in the meantime he turned the conversation back to the important issue, "and what makes you think that the Federation would aid your war for just a handful of people?"
"We have heard stories of the Starship Enterprise and it's Captain, you are valuable to them," Astal informed him, and really Jim couldn't argue Astal's logic, although he thought that perhaps they had heard stories about Captain Pike, not himself. He didn't think that the Federation would come for him though, certainly not to meet these demands.
"And what happens if they refuse?" Jim dared to ask, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer.
"We will take whatever supplies you have on your starship and put you all to work on our war efforts, then try again," Astal confessed, seeming to have such a casual disregard for their lives.
"I was worried that would be the case," Jim mumbled to himself, "and you won't change your mind?"
"I'm afraid not Captain."
"We do not have any options at this time Captain, it would be wisest to just do as they say," Spock stated, not bothering to whisper anymore since they would be heard regardless, though he stayed close, and Jim was grateful for his presence.
"Your second in command is an intelligent being, I would listen if I were you," Astal encouraged, becoming more unlikable with every sentence.
Jim hastily weighed up his options; there was no way to get out of there without them all dying, the only way to stay alive was to become a hostage it seemed. While he didn't enjoy the prospect, it was preferable to dying.
It seemed odd to surrender while already surrendering, but Astal wanted the verbal confirmation, and once he had it Jim and Spock were split off from their security detail and led through a doorway and down a corridor that was wider than the one that they had originally come through, but just as dull and empty. At the end of the corridor was another doorway that led into a small room with only a single table and some chairs, however through the next connecting doorway were three built in cells, all of which were empty.
The Starfleet officers were forced to give up their phasers and communicators, and then driven into a metal barred cell, each bar at least two inches thick, and set barely a hand width apart, meaning that it would be unlikely for Spock to bend them, even with his Vulcan strength.
The cell itself felt almost medieval, having no form of seating besides the cold concrete floor, and merely a bucket if – god forbid – either of them needed it. There was no window, and the walls were also metal, probably reinforced too. Their chance of escape seemed quite dim.
"What have you done with the other two members of my crew?" Jim inquired with a sense of dread as the guard locked the door with their ear and hand print combination.
"They will be sent back to your ship with our message for the Federation, it is you two who are the more valuable ones anyway," the guard informed him before leaving with the three others that had accompanied them to their cell.
Jim sighed, head tilted back slightly, relieved that they were safe for the time being at least, and that he only had to work on a plan for getting the two of them out now. He paced for a few minutes, inspecting the cell, eyes peeled for a weak spot, or something that could be useful to them. Unfortunately, the only thing he learned was that they could see into the other room from the edge of their cell, and that their prison was well made.
Meanwhile Spock had sat himself against the wall on the far side of the cell, hands clasped in front of him, eyes closed. He appeared to be mediating. Jim hoped that he was meditating on a way to get them out of there, because so far he'd come up with nothing.
Eventually Jim settled on the floor next to his first officer, mind still running through options and scenarios. When he let out a frustrated groan Spock's eyes opened and he turned, head and body to face Jim.
"Sorry," Jim apologised sheepishly, "I didn't mean to interrupt your mediation."
Spock's deep brown gaze was determined as he stared into Jim's eyes though, "Captain, do you trust me?"
"Implicitly…" Jim breathed, realising that Spock's irises matched the colour of his morning coffee – surely that was a coincidence, right? He didn't know what Spock was going to do, but he trusted his first officer wholeheartedly to get them out of there, it certainly wouldn't be the first time that Spock had come to their rescue.
"Then if you would please relax, and attempt to empty your mind," Spock requested, his fingertips coming up to rest at different points along the side of Jim's face, "this will not hurt, but I think you will find it beneficial if you do not resist…" before Jim had a chance to question exactly what he was preparing for, Spock whispered, "My mind to yours…"
It was as if someone had opened a door, and fresh air came gusting in, except in his mind. It was one of the stranger things Jim had ever experienced, somehow he could feel another presence in his mind, and immediately he knew that it was Spock. He wasn't sure how he knew, but it reminded him of the first time he had stepped onto the Enterprise and he'd felt like he was home. God, he hoped that Spock couldn't hear all of his thoughts, that would be embarrassing.
"Focus," came the whisper of Spock's voice in his mind, "focus on me."
He was focusing on Spock, that was the problem, but he did as the Vulcan insisted and concentrated on the presence he could feel, "Spock? What, how?" he asked, hoping Spock would hear him since they seemed to be communicating through thought alone. Because that was a thing that they could do now apparently…
He was heard though, "I will explain when we are back on the Enterprise, but for now, we should make a plan to escape, before they discover our method of communication," Spock's voice was clear in his mind now, as if he were speaking normally to Jim.
Still trying to get used to the fact that someone else was speaking in his mind, while finding that he actually didn't dislike it, nor found it terrifying, as he thought it should have been – he really did trust Spock – Jim shoved all of that in the backseat and got on with the task at hand, "Good idea, what did you have in mind, Mr Spock?"
Jim was a little unprepared for the demonstrative images that flashed through his mind's eye, but he quickly figured out how to interpret them. Spock's voice over also helped, "I will cause a disruption, when the guard comes I will incapacitate them and use them to open the cell door. I estimate we will have mere seconds to regain our equipment, once we do it will be considerably easier to take out the remaining guards and contact the Enterprise for immediate transport."
"It's the best chance we've got," Jim agreed, already preparing himself, "let's hope that this works."
"The plan has a seventy three percent chance of success," Spock informed him dutifully, then asked, "Are you ready, Captain? I will disconnect our minds…"
"We've seen through worse odds, Mr Spock," Jim reminded him, "Yes, I'm ready," he confirmed, except that he wasn't. The second Spock's consciousness was gone from his, the door closed between them, and it felt as though all that refreshing air had been sucked back out with it, leaving him winded for a long moment.
It was strange to be alone again, though they'd only joined for a few minutes, Jim felt the loss like Spock had taken a piece of him when they separated. It made no sense to be so affected in that way, but he didn't have the time to analyse it in that moment, so he put it in that ever growing box marked 'later' and focused on the plan.
"Are you alright, Captain?" Spock queried, hands out ready to help Jim up if he needed assistance.
Jim made it half way up, then wobbled slightly, but Spock was right there to steady him, one hand on his clothed forearm, and the other catching the skin of Jim's wrist as his gold sleeve rode up. They both gasped quietly, but if Spock felt a spark run through his body like Jim had, he didn't mention it, neither of them did in fact.
Instead Jim answered Spock's question, only a minor tremor in his voice, barely even detectable really, "Yes, I'm fine, thank you, Mr Spock. Just…readjusting."
Spock nodded, accepting the Captain at his word and let go of him, resting his arms back at his sides. His attention flicked to the doorway, and then back to Jim, silently asking. Jim gave him the thumbs up, and then everything happened at once.
Spock was moaning loudly, presumably in pain, and Jim called out, "Help! We need help in here!"
Fortunately, only one guard came in, looking indifferent until they noticed Spock doubled over, clutching his stomach against the bars. The guard rushed forward, and Spock was ready the moment they were close enough, giving them the Vulcan nerve pinch through the bars of the cell. The guard's body went taut, and then they dropped, but again, Spock was ready for it, supporting the unconscious body, he waited for Jim's assistance.
Spock had placed himself in the optimal position, so that all Jim had to do was grab the hand and face of the guard and press it to the terminal that unlocked the cell doors. Footsteps could be heard just as Jim managed to get the hand and ears on the pad, letting the lock click open. The unconscious guard was dropped immediately, and Spock was little more than a blur as he made a dash for their phasers. Grabbing one just in time to stun another guard as they came running through the doorway.
Jim heard something about 'prisoners' from the other room as he left the cell too, and Spock threw him a phaser and communicator. They took out a guard each when the remaining two raced in, Jim's heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline rushing through his veins.
Jim flipped open the communicator, keeping one eye on the doorway, "Kirk to Enterprise, two to beam up immediately," he said hastily, hearing footsteps approaching fast.
Luckily the transporter beam caught them before anyone else did, and Jim felt his stomach unclench, and the knots in his chest loosen as the transporter room of the Enterprise materialised before him, "Oh, thank god," he breathed.
"Captain!?"
"Later, Scotty, did the rest of the landing party beam up?" he asked, wanting to make sure that he hadn't been lied to.
"Aye, Sir," Mr Scott nodded, accepting that he would be filled in later.
Jim nodded to his Chief Engineer, "Good. I need to get to the bridge, we are getting the hell out of here," Jim announced, already half way out of the door, Spock hot on his heels.
They entered the bridge much in the same fashion, everyone swivelling in their seats in surprise, "Mr Sulu, take us out of orbit straightaway."
"On it, Captain!" Sulu turned back to the helm, hands moving over the console, the Enterprise responding in accord and taking them away from Alticron III, far away.
Jim plonked himself down in the Captain's chair, finally allowing himself to relax as he got further and further from being a hostage in a cell. It was Lieutenant Uhura who asked, "We received word that you and Mr Spock were held captive, Captain, how did you escape?"
Spock, who had situated himself next to Jim, turned his head, and their gazes met, Spock's just as heavy as his. Jim's thoughts flew back to those few minutes in the cell when he and Spock had joined in an entirely new kind of way. He was a little surprised to find that he desired to do it again, that he felt somehow alone, even on the bridge among his closest crewmates, yet when he looked into Spock's eyes, he found everything he was missing.
Eventually Spock tore his focus away, and posted himself back at his station as if nothing had happened. Only then did Jim remember that Uhura had asked a question. After restabilising himself in reality, he regaled the crew with the story of their escape, leaving out the part where he and Spock did some kind of Vulcan mind magic. He got the feeling that it was a private thing, something special, and he neither wanted to out Spock, nor let anyone else in on their moment. He did have questions of his own however.
Some time later, after Jim had filed his reports to Starfleet, and notified them of the issues pertaining to Alticron III – including asking Starfleet to consider helping in the peaceful rehabilitation of the planet – Jim got up, stretched, and wandered over to Spock's station.
"Take a walk with me, Mr Spock, I believe that Doctor McCoy will want to give us a once over before the day is done, best to get it out of the way…" it wasn't a lie, but Jim also had an ulterior motive.
"Of course, Captain," Spock responded, pressing a few buttons on his console, and then rising from his chair, straightening his uniform and waiting for Jim to lead the way.
"Sulu, you have the conn," Jim called out to the helmsman as he and his first officer made their way to the turbo lift.
Once they were on the move, Jim instructed the lift to stop. Spock, who was standing hands behind back, raised an eyebrow at him in question, but otherwise didn't move or speak.
Jim suddenly felt sheepish, but he needed answers, and the turbo lift was conveniently private, "I have some questions, if you would be willing to indulge me, Mr Spock?"
"Of course, Captain," Spock allowed, face perfectly neutral as usual.
"Great," Jim nodded slightly, eyes going to the floor, uncertain now that he had started the conversation. He made himself meet Spock's eyes again and found his voice, "So, uh, what I want to ask is… what exactly happened in that cell? How did we have a…mental dialogue?"
"Vulcans are touch telepaths, Captain. I am able to perform what is referred to as a 'mind meld' allowing me to join my consciousness with another being's whether they share the same ability or not. This is what I did in the cell as a means to communicate without detection," Spock explained factually.
The surprise was evident on Jim's face, no matter how hard he tried to control it. He also knew that he had no right to feel a little hurt that he was only learning about this now, but given their history, Jim couldn't help but to wonder, "How come you never told me about this before?"
Spock tilted his head ever so slightly, "It has never come up before, be assured though that I would never violate your thoughts on purpose. In this circumstance it seemed prudent to discuss escape without being overheard, and I found no other option but to mind meld with you. I had no desire to cause any distress in doing such, and apologise if that was the case, but I did not wish to give our guards any surplus information by verbalising what I was about to do," he answered.
All those times they'd been naked together, so much skin touching skin, surely Spock had picked up on his thoughts on more than one occasion. What had Spock seen in his mind? Surely it hadn't been anything serious. Though, he remembered several instances when his attention had been solely on his feelings for Spock while they'd been laying together post coitus, the sweat cooling, limbs still tangled together, voices low and tender. Jim felt the slight heat in his cheeks and hoped Spock wouldn't notice as he fumbled his next words.
"I-I see. Well it is certainly…an asset to have in dire situations. In any case it explains your aversion to people touching you," the significance of touch to a Vulcan dawned on Jim as he said it, and the hurt was suddenly replaced with warmer, fuzzier feelings. Perhaps it had been more than just blowing off steam for Spock too…
"Indeed, I maintain mental shielding at all times to avoid any unwanted connections," the Vulcan confirmed, then continued, only after catching Jim's gaze, "however, if I am overly distracted…or stimulated, then my shields would be weaker than normal."
Jim thought he saw something dark, and heated pass through Spock's eyes, but the next moment it was gone, and Jim couldn't be sure that he didn't imagine it, "Of course, makes sense," he replied, but he sounded preoccupied even to himself. Was Spock remembering things too? Was he thinking about how Jim felt pressed against his firm body, so willing, so wanting? Did his senses still recall the musky scent of sweat mingled with sex, and the heady taste of-?
Spock interrupted his thoughts with an unexpected compliment that brought them back to the original topic, "Additionally, Captain, I must say that I was surprised at how sufficiently you navigated and adjusted to the meld, it was quite impressive for someone of a psi-null species."
A smug grin crept onto Jim's face, "Well, I'm a quick learner, Mr Spock."
Spock's lips twitched, and Jim was familiar enough with the micro-expression to know that Spock was amused, "Evidence suggests that you are correct. Was there anything else you wished to know?"
The smile was set on his face now, and didn't disappear even when the moment was over, "Uh, no, I think you covered it. Thank you for sharing this with me," he hoped Spock knew just how much it meant to him, how much Spock meant to him.
"Thank you for neglecting to mention it in your story earlier, and your report to Starfleet," Spock acknowledged with an inclination of his head.
"Of course," Jim was glad that they had an understanding at least.
"We should free up the turbo lift, and visit the good Doctor…unless that was just a ruse under which to speak with me alone?" his eyebrow lifted slightly at the end.
Jim sighed, a little bit dramatically, "I wish…" and then allowed the turbo lift to take them down to medbay.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
Hey guys! I'm gifting you this chapter early as I'm gonna be busy the next two days and don't want you to have to wait.
This is also my first time writing a full proper mission, and I was a little anxious about it, so let me know what you thought...does it feel like a TOS mission to you guys?
Happy weekend! Much love xox