Chapter Eighteen
"Ground floor is clear."
"Clear, but certainly not clean. It's a goddamn blood bath."
"Yeah, it's times like this that I'm glad it's not my job to clean this type of shit up. However, it is our job to make sure the whole house is secure so let's check out the basement."
"Alright, cover my back."
Salen weld his eyes shut and pressed himself harder into the concrete corner. He could barely hear the conversation that was happening in the hall at the top of the stairs. It had been five days since he'd heard what he assumed was Wilson and his friend's brutal murders. Even though he was starving and slowly dying of dehydration Salen was still too fearful to call out to the unknown voices for help.
Unable to escape or even hide effectively in his cell Salen cowered in the corner, trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible. The door at the top of the stairs opened and two figures cautiously stepped onto the stairs. The man in lead tried to find a light, but failed. His female partner brought out a flashlight and swept it around the room. Salen bit his tongue to keep from crying out as the painfully bright light pierced the darkness that he'd grown used to.
"Damn it reeks down here." The man complained.
"Man up, David."
"Yes, Ma'am, Sarah." He chuckled.
"Eyes sharp, there's no telling what's down here."
"My guess is more dead bodies."
Paralyzed with fear Salen remained as still as a stone sitting in the corner of the twelve by twelve space he'd called 'home' for the past three years. After the first four days of being abandoned in the basement after Wilson's death Salen had finally accepted the fact that he was going to die here. For reasons he didn't fully understand he was now horrified by the idea that he might be denied that death. It didn't take long for the pair of invaders to move to inspect the unusual prison.
"What the fu..." David whispered in shock as he stared through the bars at Salen.
"Ohmygod," Sarah breathed with equal horror.
"What is he?"
"Don't be an idiot, David." The woman hit her partner's shoulder. "He's a Vulcan."
"He doesn't really look Vulcan...are you sure?"
"Positive, look at the green blood caked to his skin. Now shut up, you're frightening him. Go get something to cut this door."
"Right."
"Hey there." Sarah spoke directly to Salen.
Feeling like his throat had turned to sandpaper Salen just stared at her.
"My name is Sarah." The officer crouched down to be closer to Salen's level. "We're here to help you. Okay? What's your name?"
Shaking violently Salen simply countinued to stare at the human. Wilson had become increasingly violent with him over the past few months and he was in no condition to trust another human right now. Sarah gave him a look of pity and shook her head sadly. David returned with a cutting beam and easily sliced through the lock on the metal door.
With the threat of the officers invading his space Salen lost control of his fear and started screaming at the top of his lungs. The hours that followed where chaotic and his memories of the events were scattered, partly due to the fact that he spent a good deal of the time unconscious.
In the end he found he had only managed to exchange his dirty prison for a clean one. After attacking one of the medical staff and proving amazingly resistant to their attempts to sedate him Salen had been left in a plain room alone. Leaning against the wall in the back corner he stared blankly at the padded floor.
The sound of the door sliding open was too faint for Salen's damaged hearing to pick up on. Pike came into the room, staying near the door that had just closed behind him. From his place in his wheelchair he looked the miserable Vulcan over for a moment. Salen was completely unaware that the Admiral was even there.
"Hello, young man." Pike greeted softly.
Startled by Pike's voice Salen jumped to his feet and bolted in the direction he was facing which caused him to slam into the wall. Knocked back to the floor Salen scrambled into the corner once again. When he took the time to look at his visitor he furrowed his brow at the unusual sight. The wheelchair bound man was looking at him with not sympathy, but actual empathy.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Pike apologized. "I'm not used to being able to sneak up on Vulcans, they usually hear me coming."
Unsure of how to respond Salen said nothing at all. The man didn't look like he meant him any harm, but Salen feared that it could be a trick. Standing in the corner Salen just stared at him, waiting for him to make a move. Pike's only move was to fold his hands in his lap.
"My name is Admiral Pike."
Salen took a closer look at Pike and the insignia that he still wore despite being out of uniform. The symbol sparked something in Salen's memory that helped him relax slightly.
"Star...Starfleet?"
"That's right, I'm with Starfleet." Pike smiled warmly. "I'm not here to hurt you, please let the doctors look at your injuries."
Distrustful once again Salen shook his head.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Spock."
"Is that your name?"
Salen shook his head vacantly.
"Do you mean that you wish to speak to Commander Spock?"
Afraid to make demands Salen simply did not answer. Pike nodded to himself and watched Salen for a moment. Feeling the Admiral looking at him Salen looked up at him with a few stray tears streaking down his face. Pike wheeled his chair a few inches forward causing Salen to once again press himself against the wall. Seeing the young Vulcan's fear he backed away again.
"I am going to make sure that you get to talk to Spock, he is not on Earth at the moment, but he will return to help you."
"Tha...thank you."
"Not a problem, if I were you I wouldn't trust humans right now either. I do not expect you to give me your trust simply because I ask for it, however, I hope in time that I can earn it."
Salen woke from the memory of first meeting his adoptive father. At the time he had told himself that there was nothing Pike could ever do to earn his trust. It hadn't taken long for all of that to change. Taking stock in his currently situation Salen realized that he had painful headache. Moaning softly against the pain Salen gasped as he realized that he could hear himself.
Opening eyes Salen looked up at the darkened ceiling of his hospital room. Feeling behind his left ear his fingertips came in contact with a tiny disk that felt embedded in his skin. What he couldn't see was that it was a small jewel like addition that was glowing a soft green. Leaving the device alone he started to take inventory of everything that he could hear. The biobed beeped and hummed as it kept tabs on his vitals. There was a nurse walking through the halls, the heels of her shoes clicking against the title floor. An unfamiliar noise touched his now sensitive ears that took him a moment to identify.
"Joanna..."
"Salen?" Joanna replied sleepily.
"I can hear your heartbeat." Salen replied amazed. "It's beautiful."
"You can hear?" Joanna pushed herself up on her elbow. "Salen that's wonderful."
"Yes, I did not enjoy the silence. Where is my father?"
"Sleeping." Beckett's voice broke in.
Salen tensed at being startled by the man who was sitting in a chair in the far corner of the room. It was clear that Joanna hadn't known that Beckett was in the room either. Salen sat up and put his arms around Joanna protectively. Beckett chuckled and got to his feet. Walking over he put his hands in his pockets.
"You don't trust me anymore, do you, Salen?"
"I am uncertain that I ever truly trusted you, Sir."
"Fair enough." Beckett nodded. He pulled one hand out of his pocket and brought out a small device. "Recognize this?"
"Where did you get that?" Salen asked in distress as he stared fearfully at the ultrasonic device.
"A broken one was found near Langin, I had my boys fix it. It took us a while to figure out what it does..." Beckett trailed off as he went to press the button.
"No!" Salen cried out.
"Salen? What is that?" Joanna asked.
"Nothing to be afraid of." Beckett answered and pressed the contact.
Salen gasped sharply and weld his eyes shut in anticipation of the painful sound. It took him a moment to realize that although there was a high pitched sound, it wasn't lancing through his mind or causing any kind of pain. He opened his eyes slowly and stared at Beckett.
"Salen? What's going on? What happened?" Joanna asked nervously.
"Can you hear that sound?"
"Sound?"
"We can't hear it, Salen." Beckett informed. "It is still above human hearing."
"You did not fix that device properly. It is the reason I lost my hearing, that sound is supposed to be painful to Vulcans."
"We fixed the device perfectly, Salen. It's your new hearing that we changed. Your new 'ear drums' have a dampener setting."
"What?"
"No one will ever be able to hurt you with sound ever again." Beckett smiled and tossed the device to Salen. "My gift to you."
"What happens to us now?"
"You'll both be returned to the Academy in the morning."
"That is it?"
"I came to help you, and I did. Good luck, Salen, I know you'll do Starfleet proud."
Salen looked down at the device in his hands and turned it on and off a few times. Each time he could hear its shrill call, but it was clear that Joanna was completely unaware of the noise. Turning the now harmless device off Salen looked up at Beckett and found that the man was just about to leave.
"Beckett?"
"Yes, Salen?"
"Thank you...for everything."
"Anytime."
"Will I see you again?"
"That is entirely up to you, Salen."
