A/N: You guys are in luck, I was up early this morning for NASA's LCROSS impact! So happy Friday. Thank you to my lovely beta Lina-Baggins for her editing skills and excellent suggestions! And thank you to Musingsage, blueblackangel, Capt. Cow, JCassie241, and gowvan for the reviews, as well as to all of my other readers! :)

Seventh Circle

Chapter 7

"To answer your second question, Captain, whoever said I wanted anything from you?"

A lead weight drops into the pit of Kirk's stomach.

Oh shit. She doesn't care about the Enterprise or Federation secrets. She wants him, James T. Kirk. But why? Why him? Why not Spock or Bones or Chekov? Or any of the other Starfleet captains roaming the galaxy? Somehow, Kirk doesn't think answers will be forthcoming.

Lilith's golden gaze is fixed on his face, relishing his moment of realization and subsequent confusion. Kirk looks back at her warily. He finds the hungry look in her eyes disturbing, but he is unwilling to give her the satisfaction of knowing she is getting to him by looking away. He won't delude himself into thinking that the situation is as simple as she makes it out to be. But she might have just given him crucial information to exploit. She wants him alive and relatively unharmed. His life clearly has value to her and Kirk is determined to exploit it.

The captain's face hardens with resolve as he makes his decision. It doesn't matter why she wants him or what she's planning on doing with him. He can make that warp when he comes to it. What is important is that Kirk finally has a bargaining chip. Unfortunately, this particular chip is very dear to him. Perhaps it is not so precious to the woman who has them at her mercy. But maybe, just maybe, he can exchange one life for three.

"Look, you want me, you can have me," Kirk says evenly. "But let my men go."

His offer hangs in the air between them for a moment as she studies him with slightly narrowed eyes. Her expression strangely reminds Kirk of his first officer. She has that same calculating look that Spock gets when he's playing chess, as if weighing multiple options and forecasting their outcomes into the future one by one. He finds it odd. Why is it so important to her to maximize the effect of her response?

Yet after all that thought, Lilith decides on a non-answer. "As you pointed out before, Captain, I already have you here. Why would I make a trade?"

Kirk cocks his head slightly. Her response seems strangely guarded for such a demonstratedly decisive woman. "What I meant was that I'll cooperate with…whatever. If you free my men."

To his horror, Lilith's calculating expression evaporates and is rapidly replaced with a predatory smile. "I know what you meant," she replies coyly. "But whatever made you think I would wish for your…cooperation?"

A chill runs down the captain's spine. "Well, it'd make whatever you're doing easier, wouldn't it?" he forces out from between stiff lips. "If I were a willing…participant." Even as he says it, he tries not to think about what being a willing participant could possibly entail.

She smiles at him. "My dear Captain, it is not that simple."

"Sure it is," Kirk says stubbornly. He takes a deep breath to quell his nerves, hoping that she will interpret the slight interruption as a dramatic pause. "I stay. My men leave. Everyone gets what they want."

She chuckles, as if amused by the bumbling actions of a favorite pet. "The fact that we are having this conversation reveals that you have no idea what I want."

Jim instantly regrets using the word "pet." She's twisted enough she might just have that in mind… Thankfully, he does not have long to reflect on that particularly awful possibility. The auburn-haired woman is moving again, slowly circling behind Jim's chair. His eyes follow her briefly. As Lilith moves out of his field of vision, a glint of metal atop the dark wood of the desk suddenly catches his eye.

A Starfleet communicator.

Kirk's heart skips a beat. If he can just get his hands on that communicator…

His mind immediately leaps to diversion tactics. Keep talking. Buy time. "Why are they still here, anyway? I thought you were only interested in me."

Newfound hope suddenly floods him. He could contact the Enterprise. He could get help. Kirk's mind races as he stares at the instrument of their salvation, simultaneously trying to estimate the distance and devise a plan to reach it. The desk is only a few meters from his chair. A motivated man could easily reach it quickly enough…and Kirk is motivated.

Kirk flinches as Lilith's glistening fingernails brush against the sensitive skin of his neck, the hair-raising sensation breaking his concentration. He'd almost forgotten she was behind him.

"I am," she replies softly, her mouth centimeters from his ear. Thinking about the communicator, Kirk manages to not cringe.

The transporter could lock onto the comm signal and beam him and his three surviving men out of this nightmare. That left the ropes. How can he wriggle out of the ropes with that blasted woman standing over his shoulder? He tugs at his bonds again as subtly as possible. Yes, his left hand is barely beginning to slide free...

"Then you don't need my men," Kirk observes bluntly. Hopefully that conundrum will keep her busy for a moment.

His heart leaps as he catches motion out of the corner of one eye. Lilith's fingertips trace along the curve of his other shoulder as she reappears in front of him again. His body and the chair now shield his hands from view. If he can slip the ropes, can he reach the cover of the desk before being cut down by the phaser fire? Unfortunately it's a very large if, but Kirk's willing to risk it.

Lilith's answer hits him like a physical blow. "On the contrary, Captain, they are essential."

Kirk tears his eyes from the communicator and looks up incredulously at the auburn-haired woman. Once again, she's utterly shattered his patchy conception as to why he—they—are here. "What? Why?"

"We all have our roles to play," Lilith replies enigmatically, her melodic voice practically dripping smugness. She knows she's getting to him, and enjoying it to the hilt.

"Roles? These are people's lives!" Kirk explodes, too disgusted to bother to keeping up a collected front any longer.

Lilith's golden eyes observe his outburst with the same detached interest as before. "As insightful as this conversation is, Captain, I'm afraid I must cut it short. It would appear we've yet to make much of an impression so far."

The short-lived hopes kindled by the communicator abruptly deflate at the obvious dismissal. "My men, when they're done with these…roles…will you let them go?" Kirk asks desperately, in a last ditch effort to stall her departure.

Lilith's lips quirk into a cruel smile. "You should not become so attached to your companions, James Kirk. I believe one of your own human writers put it best: Hell is other people."

She glances at something over Kirk's shoulder. The two guards have returned. "Put him back where he belongs. The usual treatment should be adequate for now, though I doubt it will have any effect," she orders, running a finger across Kirk's bruised cheek again. "And do try not to damage that handsome face."

She runs a last, lingering look over the captain's face before turning and sauntering towards the opposite end of the room. Carelessly, she brushes up against the desk. Kirk tenses as the communicator clatters to the floor, praying that the fall did not damage it. Lilith pauses for a moment at the harsh sound, and Kirk could swear she's mocking him. Seething, he glares daggers at her disappearing back as the guards drag him from the room.

Their destination is a small, foul-smelling chamber with grim gray walls and an equally grim gray floor. Kirk can just make out a small table, from which lethal-looking metal instruments glimmer faintly. Despite his brave front, fear is bubbling into his stomach. It doesn't take a genius to guess what's coming next. He swallows hard.

"So, just business as usual?" Kirk taunts, forcing bravado he does not feel into his voice. Maybe he can irritate them into making a mistake. "Wow, who is that piece of work back there?"

The smaller of the two guards crosses the room and begins fiddling with something Kirk cannot see. Meanwhile, the other guard grabs his bound hands roughly and slices through the ropes. He can't help rubbing at the chafed skin for a moment before continuing his abuse.

"She killed your friend and you're still doing what she says? Did you see that? Did you see how she killed him? Damn, talk about whipped. She's easy on the eyes, all right, but seriously, you could do so much better—"

He's finally crossed the line. The guard grabs him by the collar of his gold uniform and slams him into the wall hard enough to make him see stars. A pair of metal restraints is clapped onto the dizzy captain's wrists before he can even protest, now binding his hands in front of his body.

"You will not speak of Her Highness in this way."

The one holding Kirk shoves him hard. Unable to catch his balance with his hands bound, he goes sprawling in the middle of the room. Kirk tastes blood in his mouth but resists the urge to spit it out immediately. Instead he stays down for a moment as if stunned, hoping to bait one of them into coming closer. Sure enough, the larger of the two guards approaches curiously.

Kirk rolls onto his back and strikes from the floor, the hard heel of his booted foot slamming into the side of the alien's knee. There is a sickening crunch and a howl of pain as the big alien hits the ground. The captain grins at him. He snarls something to the smaller Janusian, who shrugs and hauls Kirk up from the floor.

The uninjured guard drags him to the wall, where he hooks the chain between Kirk's handcuffs up over his head courtesy of a peg in the wall. He lets the captain struggle futilely for a moment before grabbing a handful of Kirk's blond hair and wrenching his head to the side. His blue eyes widen in surprise as the alien presses a hypospray into his exposed neck. This can't be good.

Kirk's vision slides out of focus as the drug takes effect. His limbs turn to lead and then to water, sending him plunging towards the floor. The shackles bite into his wrists as all of his weight is suddenly thrown onto his bound arms. He tries to stand, but his legs will not obey the commands from his brain. Cold sweat breaks out over his body as he realizes he cannot move. The injured Janusian stands over him, an ugly smirk twisting his brutish features. In his hand is a simple device that Kirk instantly recognizes as an agonizer.

Agonizers appear in the original series episodes "Mirror, Mirror" and "Day of the Dove". Please review!