Author's Note: In Chapter 52, the Romulan Commander/Spy's plot has been set in motion. Will her evil scheme succeed?
As always, your comments are appreciated.
Uhura asked Spock about the pregnancy with trepidation, "How do feel about it? I mean . . . since it wasn't planned or anything . . . I wasn't sure what you would think."
Swept up into his arms . . .
His warm lips removed any doubts with kisses . . .
Sweet kisses . . .
Which covered her face . . .
Covered her face . . .
With his love for her . . .
Love for her . . .
That touched the depths of her soul . . .
She laughed . . .
She laughed with joy . . .
A joy intertwined with his love . . .
When her feet finally felt the ground beneath her, again . . .
He had turned her so her back once again pressed against his body . . .
But this time she felt herself melt inside of him . . .
Feeling herself part of him . . .
Bearing his child . . .
She softly sang her new mantra . . .
"Our child . . ."
"Our child . . ."
His fingers . . .
Anxiously found the pull tab of her jacket . . .
And quickly opened her garment . . .
His right hand then took its time to take pleasure in the touch of her body . . .
To move ever so slowly . . .
His hand moved ever so slowly along the contours of her torso . . .
Then down further . . .
Until he found it . . .
Until he found the child's home . . .
And, he held his hand there . . .
Right there . . .
Covering her womb . . .
Her head . . .
Her head fell back against his chest . . .
In sweet, sweet surrender . . .
Surrendering to his . . .
Touch . . .
And then . . .
He . . .
Closed his eyes . . .
Quieted his breath . . .
Stopped the beating of his heart . . .
Until could feel it . . .
He could feel it . . .
The barely perceptible life force emanating from a microscopic embryo from inside her . . .
"Yes . . ."
He sighed as he joined the song of new life . . .
"Our child . . ."
"Our child . . ."
And . . .
Although only moments passed . . .
They spun a web of time . . .
Time that enveloped the three of them . . .
Allowing three . . .
To be as one . . .
At 11:13 AM, Uhura awakened, but she was not in the Vulcan's arms. She could feel she was laying flat against a medium soft, but firm surface. Her eyes heavy from being in a drug induced state, she had to will her lids to open. When she did, the room appeared dimly lighted. As she waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust, she became aware she was no longer in her uniform. She could feel she was now enveloped in material of a soft, cottony texture. Finally able to focus her eyes, she realized she was in a hospital gown with a blue floral pattern.
A recovery room . . . she thought. Why would I be in a recovery room?
Then suddenly, the memory flooded her mind.
They said they were going to take my baby! They said . . .
Uhura tried to pull herself up, but restraints held her limbs down. She then attempted to focus all of her strength toward pulling against the restraint on one of her arms. She could feel the edge of the strap begin to cut into her skin, but she did not care.
Got to get away . . . She told herself. Got to save my baby.
But then . . .
She felt something . . .
Between her legs . . .
A dull pulsating pain . . .
That grew . . .
Becoming more intense . . .
And she knew . . .
She knew what they had done . . .
She knew . . .
Her child was no longer with her . . .
Uhura heard a door open and a woman came beside her. The East African recognized her as one of the imposter medics who had abducted her. However, now she was dressed in clothing unfamiliar to Uhura, but seemingly ready for a trip.
"Hello, Ms. Uhura. I just wanted to check on you before I departed."
Uhura found her throat feeling parched, but she still managed to ask, "What did you do with my baby?"
"You'll be pleased to know the transplant was a success. The surrogate has accepted the embryo with no signs of rejection."
"Why would I be pleased with that? I didn't ask for this!"
"According to the agreement, you were paid quite handsomely to act as the receptacle for conception and then later changed your mind about carrying the child through the entire prenatal period. That's when our services were contracted."
"Can't you see this is some kind of insane error?" Uhura took a few moments to calm herself so she could speak more rationally to the woman. "If I had changed my mind about carrying the child, then why would I now be so resistant? Why would it have been necessary to force me to have the procedure and then place me in restraints?"
"We were told you had demanded more money for services and did not want to release the embryo until payment was made." The woman brought up her iTablet. "By decree of the Intergalactic Court, the parents were given the right to secure the embryo by any means necessary."
Uhura looked at the document displayed on the iTablet, shocked to see her name listed as the defendant. "This document has to be a forgery." She contended. "Who were the plaintiffs?"
The woman scrolled down the document to provide Uhura with the answer. "It's a Vulcan couple."
Uhura read the names to herself . . .
And time suddenly seemed to stand still . . .
Spock . . .T'Lau . . .
Spock . . .T'Lau . . .
Spock and T'Lau . . .
The woman removed the iTablet from Uhura's sight and commented, "The truth appears to have silenced you."
Uhura did not respond.
The woman continued, "I would like you to know, unlike our competitors, the Pedosians do believe the child should have some remembrance of all those who have been involved in the child's development. To that end, we removed the ornament from around your neck. The symbol has special meaning to you, does it not?"
Uhura suddenly became aware her chain with the Gye Nyame symbol1 was missing from her person. "Yes." She said from within her stupor. "It once had meaning to me."
"Upon his birth, the surrogate will present the necklace to him in your honor."
"Him?"
"Yes, our tests reveal the child will be male. Also, Vulcan genes seem to be dominate despite human influences."
"How happy for the proud parents." Uhura said bitterly.
"Yes, the mother was quite pleased when we informed her."
"What of the father?"
"We were told the father was not, yet, available. However, we will provide a full report to both parents later today when they meet the surrogate."
Uhura did not reply.
"Ms. Uhura, are you in pain?" She asked.
"Remove the restraints." The Cadet tersely demanded.
"I don't think that would be wise. I was told someone will come for you shortly after we leave."
"You have taken everything from me." Uhura said angrily. "Why continue to treat me like this?"
For a moment, the woman seemed to empathize with the East African. She adjusted the restraint on one of her arms so it came about the upper part of the limb, instead of the forearm. She then placed a bottle of pills from her medic bag on top of a nearby table. Finally, she retrieved a cup of water for Uhura.
"I adjusted the restraint, so you can reach the pain medication if needed." The woman told her. "Good luck, Ms. Uhura. Perhaps, one day, you will want to have a baby of your own."
As the woman left the room, her final words hit Uhura like a dagger. She cursed herself as hot, bitter tears fell down her cheeks. Turning her head, her eyes fixed upon the full bottle of pills the woman had left.
And, as despair began to take hold of the East African's soul, she wondered . . .
How many would it take?
How many pills would it take . . .
To end the pain . . .
Once and for all?
At 9:49 AM, when Sevak saw Cadet Uhura enter the Mobile Medical Unit, he thought it to be a wise decision. Although she attempted to put up a good front, he could tell she was not feeling well. While he had no previous experience with anyone in her condition, he assumed ailment was due to her pregnancy.
As he waited for her to reemerge, Sevak checked his communicator in vain for any messages regarding a break in T'Lau's plot. Like Spock, he felt there was little chance for the nefarious scheme to be a hoax. As time drew near for the Enterprise to takeoff on its ceremonial inaugural voyage, the Vulcan spy knew they would soon be forced into a reactive mode when she finally set the plot into motion.
Sevak saw one of the medics close the door to the unit, as if it were in preparation to depart. He wondered, Has her condition worsened to the point she is in need of greater medical attention? The Vulcan started walking toward the unit to investigate, but then it unexpectedly pulled away. He then watched as it took a route toward the campus gates.
51 minutes, 13 seconds . . .
It took Sevat 51 minutes, 13 seconds for him to convince Admiral Pok to order Academy security to give him the tracking code to Uhura's communicator, so he could locate her.
Pok contended, "I only allowed you on the Academy grounds, because Mr. Spock claimed you were working toward unraveling the conspiracy. Time should not be wasted chasing some Cadet who is probably involved in some frivolous prank."
Sevat answered coolly, "Admiral Pok, it may already be too late to stop the imposter's scheme from coming to fruition. However, as I have already tried to explain to you, this Cadet may hold the key to mitigating its effects."
"Perhaps, the Vulcan Secret Service just wants a reason to gain more intelligence concerning our operations."
"Admiral, I can neither confirm or deny the existence of the VSS." Sevat replied. "However, if your refusal to grant my request results in the destruction of the Starship Enterprise, I can assure you that your inaction will not remain undisclosed for long."
49 minutes, 2 seconds . . .
It took Sevat 49 minutes, 2 seconds to obtain the tracking code from Academy security, commandeer a vehicle, and arrive outside the location of Uhura's communicator . . . an abandoned medical clinic; seemingly ready for demolition. After several tries, he found an unlocked door and stealthily moved down the hallway following the communicator signal with his tricorder.
At 11:41 AM, when the signal intensified outside a room, Sevat listened first to ascertain if he heard any movement. He then slowly opened the door to find a female Cadet's uniform hung up on hooks. The Vulcan reached into one of her pockets and removed her communicator. He started to return it, when a text message on her screen suddenly caught his eye.
At 11:51 AM, within seconds after Captain Pike visually confirmed Spock had been transported off the bridge, a computer-voiced alert obtained his full attention.
"Auto-destruct sequence initiated. T-minus five minutes and counting."
For a moment, the bridge crew and guests looked to Captain Pike wondering if the announcement could be a malfunction. Pike looked to his data screen on the arm of his chair and quickly confirmed the validity of the warning. He attempted to override the command, but the computer would not abort the sequence. Pike then immediately signaled for the evacuation of the ship and ordered the end of the general transmission of bridge activities.
Throughout the ship, members of the crew headed for shuttlecraft and life pods in a swift, but orderly fashion as they had done so in countless drills on other ships. Designated bridge crew also went into action to first get visitors onto the turbolift. However, Sarek and senior crew members realized such maneuvers would be futile if they could not increase the self-destruct default time to allow at least some of the life pods to escape the destructive force of the exploding ship.
"T-minus four minutes." The computer announced.
"Permission to remain on board, Captain." Sarek requested.
Pike knew the elder Vulcan would know his son's disappearance was somehow linked to their current crisis. The Captain did not hesitate to accept the Ambassador's offer. During his First Officer's absence, Sarek could prove quite useful. The Captain overrode authorization of Spock's station so Sarek could use it. He then glanced across the bridge and saw his son attempting to go unnoticed near the now vacant environmental control station.
"Matafeo." Pike commanded. "Escort my son to the shuttlecraft bay."
Jack looked to his father with pleading eyes, but Pike would have none of it. As he headed for the turbolift with Matafeo, the boy realized his father had more important matters to worry about than to spend time explaining why he needed to vacate the ship. When the turbolift doors closed behind him, he did not see how Pike glanced back to make sure his son had left.
"T-minus three minutes."
"Mr. Khosa." Pike called to his Communications Officer. "Get me the Chief Engineer."
Khosa answered, "Morrison is ready for you, sir."
"Morrison, I need to stop the sequence."
"Sir, I don't even know how it began. I've been running systems diagnostics since we left space dock and saw no indication of any significant issues. Certainly nothing that would trigger a malfunction in the auto-destruct sequence."
"Send your latest report to the bridge."
"Yes, sir." Morrison answered.
"T-minus 2 minutes."
"Captain, you should question the order." Savek advised him.
"Question the order?" Pike asked. "But, I nor my senior officers gave the order."
"Exactly, that is why you must question the order."
Pike sat in his chair and spoke in a stern, clear voice. "Computer."
"Yes, Captain." The computer answered.
"You must abort the self-destruct order."
"The order cannot be aborted once given."
"Protocol was not followed. The ship's Captain and two of its senior officers did not give the command."
"The auto-destruct sequence was initiated." The computer responded.
"Protocol was not followed."
"T-minus one minute."
Pike commanded. "You must conduct a complete scan of your systems to locate the error. Abort the auto-destruct system now."
"A complete systems check requires 19 minutes, 27 seconds. If no error is found, the self-destruct order will be carried out."
"Computer, proceed as ordered." Pike turned to Sevat. "Thank you, Ambassador. At least, that buys us a little time."
Khosa asked, "But sir, I don't understand. Why wouldn't the computer respond to your attempts to abort the auto-destruct order?"
Pike answered. "The computer has obviously been compromised."
"Surely, when it performs its checks, it will know such an order was never given."
"We can't count on that, Mr. Khosa. We've got to find a way to identify and stop whatever process caused the sequence to begin. That is the only sure way the computer will recognize the previous systems error and abort the self-destruct order."
At 12:04 PM, five Romulan Security Officers escorted Spock to their Commander's cabin. Once alone inside, the Vulcan quickened his steps to her bedroom where he found his clothes already laid out for him. As he dressed, Spock noted an antique dagger collection to the right of him and to the left . . . the beginnings of a nursery.
Rage . . .
Rage began to overtake him . . .
Nyota . . .
He called her name, not knowing if she were dead or alive . . .
Nyota . . .
He called her name, again, although he reasoned she was not on the ship . . .
Nyota . . .
Clymene would not want Nyota to enter her space . . .
Nyota . . .
He calmed himself . . .
Nyota . . .
He needed all of his mental faculties if he were to combat the treacherous imposter . . .
Mentally ready, Spock now dressed himself with his back to the nursery. The Vulcan was not sure of the whereabouts of the surrogate who now carried his child. Yet, he knew his first duty was to find a way to stop the destruction of the Enterprise, even if it meant detonating an explosive imbedded in his arm to destroy the Romulan ship. He pulled on his boots and turned toward the door. However, before he left the cabin, he took with him a souvenir.
At 12:06 PM, with all the leverage she could muster from her position, Uhura hurled the bottle of pain relievers across the room.
And she prayed . . .
Oh, God . . .
I confess, I wanted to end my life . . .
This seemed all too much for me to bear . . .
Why did they take my baby from me?
And Spock . . .
Spock . . .
Uhura could feel herself choking on his name. She fought back her tears and continued.
Why did he . . .
Why did Spock betray me?
Uhura now allowed her tears to flow freely, no longer denying the deep pain that cut throughout her being. When she felt she could cry no more, she raised her voice, again.
It is written . . .
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake.2
Oh, God . . .
It is you, whom I trust . . .
I ask you to deliver me from this bondage . . .
Don't let me die this way . . .
Please, God . . .
Deliver me . . .
At 12:09 PM, Spock entered the ship's bridge with his escort. He could see the Romulan Commander was now truly in her element. She gave terse orders that were followed without hesitation by her subordinates. Confident and exuberant, Clymene licked her lips in anticipation of her victory.
All of the bridge crew wore phaser weapons, while they went about their tasks. On the viewscreen one could see the Enterprise, with life pods and shuttlecraft being launched from its bays. All watching knew the dispatching of these spacecraft at this time was but a futile exercise, as the annihilating force of the ship would undoubtedly swallow them up if the Enterprise were to explode. None of the victims would even have the opportunity to view their murderer, who stood no less than six feet away from Spock within the protective hull of a cloaked vessel.
Upon becoming aware of his presence, the Commander turned her attention to the Vulcan. Spock felt her eyes lustily scan his body, dressed in a black ribbed sweater, sienna slacks, and dark brown harness boots. "Do you not think I chose well for you?" She asked.
Spock wondered, How could such a cold, uncompassionate being exist? How could she speak of fashion, while putting hundreds of lives in jeopardy? The Vulcan felt ineffectual in preventing the catastrophe that appeared destined to be the Enterprise's fate. If that came to pass, he told himself, Clymene and her crew will not be long in celebration.
28 minutes, 39 seconds . . .
It took Sevat 28 minutes, 39 seconds to get permission from Admiral Pok for his communicator transmissions to be relayed to the Enterprise on a scrambled frequency.
"Captain Pike, this is Sevat. I came across a message that I thought might be of use to you."
Pike replied, "Sevat, ordinarily I would want to hear all the particulars about how you obtained it. However, right now we're under the gun."
"T-minus 7 minutes and counting." The computer announced.
The Captain continued, "If you have some information that will shed light on our problem, then be as quick and direct as possible."
"It's a text message which reads, BTW problem solved. Try all at once. I have deciphered abbreviations to mean, By the way, problem solved, try all at once."
"Yes . . . yes." Captain Pike interjected. "Sevat, could you get to the point?"
Sevat asked, "Captain, has your ship experienced a number of component breakdowns?"
Listening in from engineering, Morrison commented, "There were no problems with any of the major systems."
"However," Sarek interceded, "According to a ship's diagnostics report, there has been numerous non-vital component malfunctions occurring simultaneously only 7.5 seconds before the initiation of the auto-destruct sequence."
Sevat remarked, "This is, indeed, genius."
"Quite unexpected."Sarek concurred after a moment's thought.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Morrison exclaimed.
"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" Captain Pike demanded.
Sarek told him, "The mastermind behind this scheme did not write a computer program to set off this cataclysmic event, since significant tampering with this vital ship component would have been easily discovered. Thus, the trigger needed to be something much more innocuous."
Captain Pike remarked, "Do you mean to tell me, someone was able to build a code based on the simultaneous failure of non-essential ship components that would signal our computer to initiate an auto-destruct sequence?"
"Very well put, Captain." Savek commented.
"Then, how do we stop it?" Pike asked.
"T-minus six minutes and counting."
"If the computer is in the process of reevaluating the initial self-destruct command," Morrison opined, "then perhaps it's a matter of simply replacing enough of the failed parts so it will no longer recognize that command."
With no other option, Pike ordered, "All right, then let's get to it."
At 12:11 PM . . .
Uhura felt her body bathed in a warm flush . . .
That gently spread throughout her body . . .
And . . .
A calm, tranquil feeling overtook her senses . . .
She was at peace . . .
At peace . . .
At peace . . .
And . . .
As she lay there . . .
Thoughts of him . . .
Thoughts of the Vulcan . . .
Thoughts of Spock . . .
Came to her mind . . .
And . . .
From her lips, came the word . . .
Husband . . .
Again, she repeated . . .
Husband . . .
Husband . . .
A sound could now be heard in the hallway outside her room.
What's that?
She listened . . .
Footsteps?
She listened more intently . . .
He has come for me . . .
And, she called out despite the parched feeling of her throat . . .
Spock!
Spock!
Husband . . .
I am here!
At 12:12 PM, the Romulan Commander asked Spock, "What did you think of our quarters?"
The Vulcan remarked, "I thought the dagger collection was most fitting to your personality."
"Thank you." She replied, seemingly unaware of his slight. "What did you think of the nursery?"
Spock did not reply.
"My love, if it does not please you, you can have it redecorated as you see fit."
"You have, yet, to answer my inquiry about the surrogate. What is her location?" The Vulcan asked.
Just as Clymene began to reply, the Communications Officer called to her. "Commander, our sensors are picking up activity among the crew left on the ship. This follows a coded conversation that I was not able to decipher."
She questioned, "Can you determine the exact nature of their actions?"
"There appeared to be some discussion about . . . " The officer paused as if not fully understanding what he heard. "They are talking about replacing ship parts. However, none of the components mentioned are vital to any of the vessel's critical systems."
Spock noted a momentary look of surprise on Clymene's face. "How much time is there remaining before the auto-destruct cycle is completed?"
Another officer replied, "T-minus 2 minutes, 23 seconds, Commander."
Spock nodded as the scheme became evident. He realized she had used the malfunction of non-essential ship components to trigger a non-intrusive code she must have imbedded in the computer system. Even he had to admit the plan was brilliant. Her handiwork would be destroyed in the explosion. As a Romulan operative, she could cause a tremendous military and moral blow to the Federation with little hard evidence linking the destruction to the true culprit.
Spock knew the Captain and the remaining crew would have to work quickly to save the Enterprise and their lives. However, the Vulcan realized Clymene had invested far too much in the scheme to allow the ship to escape undamaged. While time continued to pass, he maneuvered himself to counter any actions the Commander might make. Also, if the transmitter embedded in his right shoulder blade was still operational, Spock recognized there may be a possibility he could be transported back to the Enterprise once the situation onboard was under control.
Spock reached down into his boot and covertly extracted a dagger he had taken from the Commander's cabin. He then inconspicuously slit the skin on his arm, just enough to remove the explosive device. The Vulcan kept his eyes on Clymene and her crew as they attempted to monitor Enterprise activities. He wiped off the bloody, quarter size device on his pant leg and slipped it discreetly onto the helmsman console.
"T-minus 1 minute, 30 seconds, Commander." An officer informed her.
"Weapons Officer." Clymene called to the crewman. "Lock onto target Starship Enterprise. Be prepared to fire two photon torpedoes upon my command."
"But Commander," he replied, "to do so would require us to de-cloak and expose our identity. This would be in direct opposition to the directives of our Fleet's Supreme Commander."
With a close range phaser burst to his head, the Weapons Officer fell dead to the floor. Holding the phaser in her hand, she asked the rest of her bridge crew unemotionally, "Does anyone else care to join him in the Afterworld?" When no one responded, she ordered her security staff, "Remove him!" Then, as she placed her phaser back into its holster, she called to another officer. "Epicetus, take over at the weapons station."
"Yes, Commander." He dutifully replied.
"T-minus 30 seconds."
Clymene ordered, "Weapons Officer. Lock onto target Starship Enterprise. Be prepared to fire two photon torpedoes upon my command."
Epicetus quickly programmed the order into his console. "Torpedoes locked in and ready to be launched on your command." He reported.
Another officer began the final countdown, as all other eyes looked to the viewscreen to witness the expected explosion of the Enterprise.
"T-minus 10 seconds and counting . . . 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3- 2 – 1 – 0."
The Romulans waited with bated breath to view the blast . . .
Seconds passed . . .
Until the seconds formed a minute . . .
Still . . .
The Enterprise remained intact.
"Commander," The Communication Officer reported, "There appears to be sounds of cheering, emanating from the bridge. The crew appears to have been successful in aborting the auto-destruct command . . . And now, if I heard this correctly, the Captain has given an order . . . to scan for a signal from . . . Mr. Spock."
"Weapons Officer!" Clymene shouted in desperation, but . . .
Just as she began to form the next command with her lips . . .
The dagger Spock hurled across the bridge struck her with brutal force . . .
The blade not resting until it was imbedded in her heart . . .
Within the seconds it took others to wonder what had stopped her tongue . . .
Spock grabbed a phaser from the belt of an unsuspecting crewman . . .
"Spock!" She strained to say, "You betray me for your whore."
"You are mistaken, Commander." Spock told her as he kept them at bay with the phaser. "I am a Starfleet Officer, sworn to protect the Federation. If your Afterworld includes a hell, you will soon find a place there."
One of the security officer attempts to shoot Spock, but his quicker reflexes sent the Romulan to his death.
"One more item that will be of interest to you, Commander." Spock told her in a voice that bespoke his pain, "The woman you have defiled with your tongue . . . the woman you may have . . . murdered . . . That woman is my wife . . . my Ashayam. And, I am Nyota's husband."
Enraged, Clymene gathered up all of her spite to deliver her poison. "I will not be alone in hell, Spock . . . for I will take your child with me . . . murdered by your unkind blade. " And, then with her remaining energy, she screamed to the Weapons Officer, "Fire!"
Author's Note: Chapter 53 dramatizes the aftermath of "The Enterprise Incident."
Your comments are always appreciated.
1 It is an Andinkra symbol meaning the supremacy of God.
2 Hebrews 13:5