Authoress' Note: Thanks so much for everyone who injected a bit of encouragement into their last review. :) I really needed that, and it was very much appreciated. I've been working on some later chapters, and they're some of my favourites that I've written so far, so I can't wait to share them with you. Till then, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and keep those reviews coming!
Apocalypse and Rebirth
"Good morning, Spock," Kirk says jovially as he exits his room for the night looking more refreshed than he had in days. "How did you sleep?"
"I did not sleep, Captain. Vulcans do not need as much rest as Humans."
"Ah," came Kirk's reply as they fall in step next to each other making their way toward the main cavern's entrance where they will be seen off by Latimer and his people. "What did you do then?"
"I pondered something, Captain, that I found most intriguing. It is about Humans."
"Yes . . ."
"It is most interesting to me that these people find mere hallucinations that cannot hurt them so terrifying. In fact, their fear has debilitated them so much that they will not venture to the surface anymore. It is most illogical."
"Most illogical to fear seeing hallucinations of a lost lover or a mother's death?" Kirk says quietly so that passersby will not hear him.
Spock glances at his captain, one eyebrow raised. "Indeed, you have a point. I understand what you are alluding to, Captain."
The two stop at the entrance to the cavern and wait patiently, in silence, for Latimer to arrive. He does so not too long after, wearing a flowing robe that does not quite befit their surroundings. A small crowd has gathered behind him craning their necks this way and that to better see their saviours.
"Good luck to you, Captain," Latimer says, giving Kirk a small bow, "And to you Mr. Spock. If the computer is not destroyed by nightfall we shall expect you back here without further ado."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Kirk says, shaking the old man's hand, "We hope we won't have to intrude on it much longer."
Latimer shakes his head back and forth like an old grey elephant shaking away a fly. "No, it's not a bother at all. We are the ones who should be thankful."
With that, he waves the pair out, and the entire crowd follows along behind them for some time until they reach approximately the same place in which they were found the day before. From then on, they move forward alone and in silence. Emerging into the light again feels, to Kirk, like being born again. He blinks rapidly in the sunlight, shielding his eyes from the brightness. Spock, however, seems unfazed.
When Kirk's eyes have adjusted, he looks as his companion and is startled to find his eyes clouded over.
"Spock, your eyes. What's up with them?"
Spock blinks once, and they resume their normal colouring. "Sorry Captain," he says, "I should have warned you about the inner eyelid that Vulcans possess. It is most helpful in weather conditions such as this one. I did not mean to alarm you."
"No, no, I wasn't alarmed," Jim Kirk says, still staring at his first officer's eyes uneasily, "You just caught me off guard."
The two pass the building they had slept in two nights before and make their way toward what they believe to be the heart of the city. After some time a very old and worn looking building, built in a style harkening back to ancient Rome, appears before them amongst the steel tombs of skyscrapers. Kirk glances at Spock, and he follows his Captain toward the building.
There is no need for them to speak what is already obvious about this building. It is very old, much older than the buildings around it; therefore it must logically house the computer that Latimer spoke of. They enter through the front doors, which creak with age. The corridors are dark, but the two companions proceed forward through the next set of double doors without any hesitancy.
Upon entering the doors, they find themselves in a smaller hall with what might have been a reception desk in the center. In many ways the halls shape and appearance are nearly the same as the main cavern in the underground city. Half a dozen corridors branch off from the main hall, leading off into darkness. Spock takes out his tricorder to see if he can identify a power source within the building.
His tricorder remains inoperable however, and he places it back at his side with a low sigh. Kirk rubs his hands together, pacing the room, and looking at each corridor in turn. Then he turns to the oval desk. Bending down, he blows the dust away from the drawer handles and slides one open carefully. Stacks of crumbling paper sit inside. He attempts to pick one piece up off the top of the stack, but an entire chunk breaks cleanly away. With just the slightest touch of Kirk's fingers against the parchment, it crumbles into dust.
"Spock, help me. There must be some kind of guide to this place in here. Emergency exit plans . . . that kind of thing. They used to be really big on that kind of stuff back then."
Spock kneels down on the other side of the desk and opens the drawers there, which are again filled to the brim with stacks of papers, none of which seem to have been organized at all. They take out the stacks one by one, but do not bother reading them because the letters have faded too much over the years to be legible.
Spock finishes with his drawer faster than the Captain and moves onto the next without another word. When all the drawers have been emptied and all the papers identified as not being building blueprints or emergency exit plans, Kirk sits back on his feet poised in thought. He moves the desk chair out of the way then and feels around underneath the desk. His hand hits something that feels like paper, and he is surprised that it does not crumble away as soon as he touches it. In fact, he's not sure it feels like paper at all. It has the shape of paper, but it feels too smooth and glossy to actually be the real thing.
Carefully, he peels it from underneath the desk and finds, again to his surprise that it comes away easily. When he brings it out into the light he nods, understanding the thing he holds in his hands.
"That looks to be made of plastic, Captain," Spock says, running a hand along the rectangular shaped map in Kirk's hands.
The Captain nods. "It's called lamination, Spock," he says, "It was once very popular on Earth. They used it to preserve documents from water damage. I can see why they decided to save this one. It's exactly what we're looking for, a map of this building."
He turns and points at two corridors to the far left and right. "Those lead to what look like labs or work rooms." He turns and points to the two corridors behind them. "Those two lead seem to lead to the same place. There is a large room beyond them labeled 'Controls'."
Leading the way, with the map in hand, Kirk makes his way down the darkened corridor, trailing his free hand along the wall so as not to bump into it. They do not have to go very far in the darkness before a pinprick of light looms from ahead. Kirk quickens his pace, and the two stumble out into a room that is lit by natural light streaming through windows placed at the top of the walls.
There is only one object in the room however. It is box like and large with knobs and lights of every colour. A desk chair sits in front of it, vacated for centuries, but still the computer continues to whir and beep in the silence of the room. Kirk takes a step forward cautiously, and the sounds stop.
Kirk glances at Spock, whose eyebrow is raised, clears his throat, and speaks, "I am Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise, and I have here with me my Science Officer Mr. Spock."
The whirring noise from moments earlier begins again. "I am computer A-725, created by Doctor Matthew Rivier on Stardate 74008.9."
"Fascinating," Spock says, circling around to look at the computer's control panel, "This is a mid 21st century era computer. I do not understand how it could still work after all these years."
"What is your directive?" Kirk asks his brow furrowed in equal puzzlement.
"A-725's prime directive as instated by Doctor Matthew Rivier on Stardate 74008.9 is to provide happiness and pleasure to the inhabitants of Caldos IV by enacting their dreams and desires."
Spock pauses, his hands hovering above the control panel, before moving back. He clasps his hands behind his back waiting for Kirk's direction.
"Captain, I could easily override the programme Dr. Rivier has set. It would only take a moment."
"Yes, of course," Kirk says, unsure of whether the computer can understand them when it is not directly addressed, "By all means, I'd like to go home soon."
Spock sets to work, his fingers flying over the panel. For some matter of minutes Kirk watches him in complete silence. Spock straightens then, staring at the control panel intensely, his brows knit together.
"There is some sort of block on the system," Spock says finally, "I cannot override the programme. This is a most illogical inconvenience."
"Computer," Kirk says, feeling slightly useless and out of place talking to a computer, however it does whir in response. "You have violated your directive."
"I have made my people happy. They are satisfied with my performance."
Kirk mouths "my people" at Spock, who nods. "No, you have scared them away. Have you not noticed they are not living in the city anymore? They are afraid of you and the things you show them. You are not making them happy. You have violated your directive."
The computer seems to whir angrily and then everything stops just as quickly as it began. Kirk stares, wide eyed, and Spock moves toward the control panel again.
"It's dead, Jim," he says.
Suddenly, the ground shakes beneath them just as it had on Vulcan, and the building around them trembles as though in an earthquake. Kirk motions for Spock to follow and the two run back through the corridors as the city around them trembles and quakes. They throw themselves out into the blinding sunlight and are pitched forward as though a rug has been pulled out from under their feet.
Around them the city has taken on the look of an apocalypse as the buildings cave in on one another, falling in all directions. Dust and debris clog the air. Kirk cannot see. He waves his arms blindly in all directions calling out Spock's name. All around him are the crashing and renting of steel, and he is afraid that at any moment a building will fall upon him.
Suddenly, someone grabs his arm, and he stumbles forward recognizing Spock's firm grip in an instant. They come to the edge of the stairs at the old style underground station, and Spock leads him as quickly as they can go down the steps. When they arrive at the bottom they continue moving until the entrance is out of sight. Kirk staggers to a halt and coughs hard, dust tickling the back of his throat and stinging his eyes. He swipes his hand across his dry lips and tries to smile, but it is painful.
"Well, I wasn't expecting that to happen," he says, trying to make light of the situation. There is no response. "Spock?"
"I am here, Captain."
Jim Kirk moves closer to the Vulcan's voice, which sounds weak and vulnerable in the darkness. When his eyes have adjusted he is able to see Spock crouched against the rough stonewall his hand pressed against his side. His face is a mask against the pain that he obviously feels. Kirk kneels next to his friend and pulls his hand away his eyes widening at the sight of the dark green blood staining his shirt and hands.
"What happened?" Kirk asks, his voice hoarse.
"Debris, Captain. Glass or steel, I do not know which. There is little time to explain. I will wait here while you meet with Latimer. Check our communications. We should be able to beam up soon."
"I can't just leave you here, Spock!" Kirk says, flipping open his communicator. "I'm beaming you up right now. Bones will have my head if he finds out I dragged around a seriously injured person down here."
Spock bows his head to hide a grimace of pain. "Very well, Captain."
Kirk stands up bringing the communicator close to his mouth. "This is the Captain. Scotty, are you there?"
"Cap'n! We were beginning to worry! What's happened?"
Kirk thinks for a moment that the Scotsman's voice has never been so lovely to his ears before now. "We've had a bit of trouble, but everything is going to be fine now. Mr. Spock needs to be beamed up. He's been injured. Have Dr. McCoy meet him in the transporter room. Kirk out."
When he turns around again, Spock is already disappearing from view. Kirk starts off toward the cavern beyond. The walk seems much longer without the young Vulcan by his side, and he is grateful to finally arrive. Latimer is there to greet him, his face clouded with worry.
"Where is your companion? What has happened? We have been experiencing what seem to be earthquakes!" he cries.
"I can't explain everything right now, but the computer has been destroyed. Unfortunately, the city has been destroyed as well. You will have to start anew. Starfleet will be very happy to send help if you feel that you need it."
Latimer's worried visage slips away, and he smiles broadly. "Oh, thank you, Captain!" he cries, and already he begins to gather his people around making plans for their journey to the surface.
Hours later, when the entire underground city's populace has been extricated from their old home Kirk decides that it is time for him to leave and check up on his first officer. Already the people, thousands of them, have begun a mass clean up of the city's rubble. Intending to use what was left to build their new city. Latimer oversees it all with great excitement and enthusiasm. It doesn't always happen that one self gets to oversee the rebuilding of an entire world. Although, Kirk thinks to himself, he and Spock have had enough of that already.