Chapter Forty-three

"I will kill you! Stay away from me!"

"I don't like this new found disobedience of yours."

Locked in the past Salen pressed his back against the rough cement wall of his prison as Wilson unlocked the bars. Ever since his brush with pon farr he was no longer willing to cower before Wilson. As the years past he was losing his sanity and along with it his fear of punishment. Salen had become determined not to be cut again, but so far Wilson continued to over power him. When he started to fight back they cut back to only feeding him once a day, if he was lucky, and the starvation was keeping him weak.

Wilson entered the cell with a short length of rope held casually in his hand. Salen's decision to no longer cooperate had forced the men to tie him in order to steal his blood. With his arms pinned behind his back they had started slashing open his chest and stomach rather than the places he'd been choosing on his arms and legs. Salen stared at the rope and bared his teeth at Wilson like the animal backed into a corner that he was.

"Turn around." Wilson ordered.

"N...no." Salen tried and failed to hide his fear.

"Do it now or I'll have Jake turn on your favorite music."

Salen looked up in panic at Wilson's partner, Jake, who was waiting on the other side of the bars. Jake held up the tiny sonic device that produced a sound that never failed to cut through Salen right to the bone. Gritting his teeth together Salen peacefully turned around and placed his hands behind his back.

When Wilson went to tie Salen's wrists together he instinctively jerked his hands away. Salen suddenly found the rope around his neck. Salen threw his hands up to his throat as Wilson pulled the binding tight. Salen was able to get one final gasp before Wilson jerked the rope hard enough to cut off his air. He bucked wildly, but could not free himself from Wilson's deadly hold.

Panic washed over Salen as his lungs started to burn from the violent suffocation. Desperate to free himself he tried throwing himself back into Wilson. The move bought Salen a gulp of air, but Wilson was not thrown off balance for long. He kicked the back of Salen's knee and with an explosion of pain Salen fell to his knees. Still trying to win the tug of war with the rope that was cutting into his throat Salen fought to get back to his feet.

Wilson slammed his knee between Salen's shoulder blades to keep him down. He kept his knee digging into Salen's back and used the leverage to tighten the noose. Tears slipped down Salen's face as his body started to become more demanding about its need for oxygen. His heart pounded hard against his ribs in a dangerously escalating rhythm. Salen tried to cry out for mercy, but the rope was silencing his voice.

"Wilson...you're gonna kill him." Jake warned.

"Maybe I will." Wilson growled in Salen's ear.

Salen started to lose the ability to claw at the rope around his neck as the acid burning in his lungs spread into his muscles. It felt like it had been years since his last breath. His body started to go slack and a green tinted foam escaped his parted lips as he began to lose consciousness. Closing his eyes Salen prayed that death would find him and finally release him from torment and captivity.

Spock woke from Salen's nightmare with a painful gasp. Sitting bolt upright Spock panted for breath. The cool air of the Enterprise lanced into his lungs. Separating dreams from reality Spock calmed himself. Taking a deep slow breath he laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

It had been years since Spock had suffered from a nightmare brought on by the memories of Salen's that he had gained during their extended mind meld. Spock's thoughts drifted back to the scene that the nightmare had originated from. Wilson had released Salen moments before he'd passed out and kicked him in the ribs hard enough to crack two of them. It had taken the fight out of Salen for a few weeks before he had started fighting back once again.

"You had nothing to live for in that cage, and yet you still fought to survive..."

Unable to get back to sleep Spock got out of bed and pulled on his uniform. He took a few moments to center himself and regain control over his emotions before heading for the bridge. It did not seem right to be back on the Enterprise and back to the mundane task of charting the nebula, however there was nothing else to be done.

Spock worried about Pike hunting down whoever this 'Beckett' was, but there was nothing he could do to stop him. He hoped that it had just been the grief talking and that time would help heal the wound of losing his son. Feeling a wash of guilt mixed with sorrow Spock shook his head to clear it.

"There is work to be done." Spock muttered to himself. "It is not logical to dwell on what cannot be changed."

Despite his words Spock's mind continued to drift back to the grieving Admiral. Arriving at the bridge Spock found Kirk sitting in the Captain's chair looking tired. They were back in the inky nebula, but it was late at night and no tests were being run. The bridge was unmanned other than the Captain himself which Spock found highly unusual.

"Captain?"

"Hey, Spock." Kirk greeted with a sigh.

"Where is the rest of the bridge shift?"

"I kind of wanted some time alone."

"Then I will leave you."

"No, Spock, it's okay. Join me."

Spock nodded and stepped up to stand besides Kirk. With his hands held behind his back Spock stared out at the vast nebula. For a while neither man said anything. Eventually Kirk looked up at Spock and studied him for a moment before returning his gaze to the nebula.

"It seems so unimportant, doesn't it?"

"Captain?"

"Charting this damn nebula, I'm finding it hard to care."

"It is our current mission."

"I know that, Spock." Kirk grumbled. "I just...I just can't believe that Starfleet let Salen die and now they just expect us to get back to business as usual."

"I do not believe that Salen was allowed to die, his health would have declined faster than they could understand why."

"I still feel rotten about lying to the Admiral about it."

"I told him the truth." Spock said quietly.

"What?"

"Admiral Pike asked me directly what happened to his son and I had to answer."

"Now I feel even worse." Kirk moaned. "It's not fair."

"Little about Salen's life was fair."

"Do you still blame yourself?"

"I do."

"Spock..."

Kirk was cut off as one of the sensors started beeping wildly. Spock knit his arched brow together and moved towards the sensor. Before he reached his destination the ship was rocked violently. Thrown to the floor Spock got to his feet in time for the bridge to roll and buck beneath his feet for a second time.

"What the...!" Kirk cried. "Did we hit something?"

"Unknown, Captain."

"All hands to stations!" Kirk barked over the intercom. "Red alert!"

The ship was slammed by another explosion that had the distinct sound of a phaser blast. Kirk jumped up and went to the helm. Pulling the ship up into a looping arc he tried to evade whatever was firing at them. Spock made it to the sensors and raised an eyebrow at the readings.

"Captain, we are indeed under attack."

"Damage report."

"No damage. The ship that is attacking us does not have the fire power to breech our shields. It is a small ship, it is moving fast off our port."

"I want eyes on it!" Kirk ordered.

"On view now."

"I don't recognize the design...certainly not Romulan or Klingon. Does the Federation even have any enemies in this area?"

"None other than common outlaws."

"Local scum run from Starships, Spock, they don't attack them."

"I agree."

Sulu and Chekov arrived looking surprised followed by three security officers. On the screen a sleek ship about a tenth the size of the Enterprise was turning to make another attacking run. Sulu took over the helm and managed to evade the next bout of phaser fire.

"Chekov, return fire. Don't destroy her, just disable her."

"Aye, Keeptain."

"Captain," Spock broke in "this ship is not a threat in the traditional sense, with this caliber weapon it can not penetrate our shields no matter how many times it fires on us."

"Then what the hell is it doing?"

"I am uncertain."

"Well if they want a fight I'm going to give them one. Chekov, why aren't you firing?"

"It is deeficult to get a fix on her in da magnetic field of the nebula."

The forward shields flashed a brilliant white as the mystery ship fired on them again.

"Just fire from the hip."

"Aye, Keeptain."

Chekov fired several rounds of phaser fire at the small ship, but it proved to be far too maneuverable to hit without targeting guidance. The enemy ship danced around them and circled like a mocking bird attacking a hawk. After firing two more shots the ship began to dart away.

"Should I follow, Captain?" Sulu asked.

"Not yet, something tells me that's what they want." Kirk speculated. "Spock, where are they going?"

"I believe you are correct about them wanting us to follow, however, I can not track them with the sensors in the nebula, there is too much interference. If the ship was any larger we would be able to see it through the interference, however this ship is far too small. We can only track them within a thousand kilometers, they just moved out of range."

"This doesn't make any sense. Why wou..."

Kirk was cut off as the sensors started beeping their warning again.

"Spock?"

"They have looped back around and are about to attack from behind."

As Spock made the announcement there was another blast to the aft of the ship. Kirk slammed his palm down on the contact that activated the short range communication to hail the attacking vessel.

"Unidentified craft, you are firing on a peaceful Federation Starship! Cease fire at once and identify yourself."

In response the ship fired on them several more time. Kirk's mind was working overtime as he tried to figure out what this particular enemy was attempting to gain. If they continued to engage like this it would only be a matter of time before the Enterprise scored a hit on them. Sulu and Chekov worked as a team once more to try and bring down the small ship.

"Captain, whoever is flying that ship is damn good." Sulu said.

"I can see that. What I don't see is what they are trying to accomplish." Kirk replied. "They must be attempting to engage us in a game of chase. They can't penetrate our she..."

The Enterprise suddenly jolted far more violently before. Several warning lights sprung to life on the panels and Engineering was suddenly chattering over the intercom in alarmed voices about a shield breach. The damage was minimal and no injuries were reported, but the hull had still taken a direct hit. Kirk glared at their tiny attacker.

"Spock, I thought you said they couldn't get through our shields."

"Not with the weapon they fired first, the last blast was something far more powerful. It makes no logical sense that they did not attack with that weapon first when they still had the advantage of surprise."

"I don't care about logic right now, Spock, that ship is officially a threat. Sulu catch that ship, Chekov do whatever it takes to hit it."

"Aye, Sir." The pair chimed in unison.

"They are moving away again." Spock announced.

"Follow them, Sulu, keep you eyes out for a trap."

The small ship dove deeper into the heart of the nebula and the Enterprise took chase. Firing phasers after the craft it managed to gracefully evade the incoming blasts. Chekov managed to nick her flank once, but it was a glancing blow and the ship remained intact and on the run. The spiral dives and sharp turns that the ship made as she fled were the mark of a trained expert at the helm.

"I feel like I've chased this pilot before." Kirk muttered. "They hid in a nebula last time as well...but they never fired on us."

"Captain, the interference on the sensors is increasing exponentially, without a visual we will lose all contact."

"Captain!" Sulu cried out in surprise as the ship they were tracking disappeared.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I believe they jumped into warp." Spock speculated. "A very risky move in the heart of a nebula, it is likely that they did not go far."

"Just enough to get out of visual range." Kirk growled. "Damn it, the Enterprise shines like a beacon in this muck. They've got eyes on us and we're blind. Sulu, double back, if she wants to destroy us she'll have to take us on in open space."

"Aye, Captain."

As Sulu was brining the Enterprise about the telltale sound of transport beam sang out on the bridge. Kirk barked a warning at the security officers as three men dressed in black materialized on the bridge. With the disorientation of transport the men were at a disadvantage. One of the security officers managed to tag one of them in the chest with a phaser, but the weapon had no effect on him.

The fire fight that ensued was short lived. The men who had boarded were efficient and seemed immune to any return fire. The security officers were taken down quickly, as were Sulu and Chekov. Not about to let his ship go without a fight Kirk launched himself at the nearest enemy. The man had shock blue hair and clearly had not expected Kirk to charge him. Kirk got one good swing at the man, connecting hard enough to knock him back, before he caught a stunning phaser blast to the chest.

"Captain!" Spock cried.

Trying to get to his fallen friend Spock jumped over the console that divided the upper and lower sections of the bridge. The muscular man who had brought down Kirk stood over him, clearly using him as bait to lure Spock closer. Spock glanced around and noted that he was currently out numbered three to one. Normally it would not be an issue, however the man over Kirk pulled out a second phaser and switched to kill. Spock stopped a few feet away and glared at the man who was holding one phaser level with his chest and the other aimed at Kirk's heart.

Everyone froze for a moment, each waiting to see if the other had any more moves planed. Spock's intuition told him that the man threatening the Captain's life was bluffing, but it was still to risky to continue. Remaining calm Spock straightened his posture and peacefully held his hands behind his back as he stared icily at the intruder. The man risked taking a quick glance around and Spock noticed that one of his ears was cut so that it looked pointed.

"You have attacked a Federation ship." Spock pointed out matter of factly. "You have also assaulted a Commanding Officer of Starfleet."

"He's fine, just stunned. Stay where you are and he will remain unharmed." He assured. "Please don't make me fire on you, I do not have time to wait for you to wake."

"I will not assist you in taking over the Enterprise."

"I know. Cobalt, Tyger, secure everyone," the obvious leader of the group barked "make sure no one requires medical assistance."

"I think I require medical assistance." The blue haired man chuckled as he touched under his black eye gingerly, a cut on his cheek leaked a small amount of blood. "I hope this scars, I'd love to be able to tell the ladies I got it from the one and only Captain James T. Kirk."

"Cobalt, get back on task!"

"Yes, Sir."

Spock knit his brow together slightly as the other two intruders went to each man to inspect them for injury. Sulu had fallen in an awkward position against the helm and in the process had cut a gash above his eye. The men worked together to gently lift him up and lay him flat on the floor. They brought out a small medical kit and quickly stopped the bleeding. Even though the injury had not been life threatening they still tended it with meticulous care. Confused Spock turned his attention back to the man with the single Vulcan ear and lifted a quizzical eyebrow. The man flashed him an apologetic smile.

"It is an honor to meet you, Commander Spock."

"Who are you?" Spock demanded.

"My name is Razor...I am an elite member of Starfleet, and I'm here to kidnap you."

"Fascinating..."