Chapter 19
They materialized in a wide corridor, surrounded by a dozen guards. They were immediately hit with some kind of a stun beam, which paralyzed them, but left them conscious. The first thing their captors did was to remove the intradermal transponders that would have allowed Scotty to beam them aboard. The second thing they did was to relieve them of phasers, communicators, and any other equipment they happened to be carrying. Then they were unceremoniously dumped in a prison cell and left alone.
Chuck lay on the floor next to McCoy. Spock and Young had been placed on the two bunks. Whatever had hit them had not been a standard phaser stun charge. Chuck wondered what McCoy's opinion of it was, and what affect it had had on Young. Interestingly, while he knew they were in trouble, Chuck wasn't particularly alarmed. He mildly wondered why not. Did the stun beam affect his emotions as well?
The ability to speak returned before the ability to move. Chuck wouldn't have been aware of it, except McCoy started talking.
"This is a fine kettle of fish! Spock, I don't know why I let you talk me into this."
"Doctor, I made no effort to persuade you to join us." Spock's tone was mild, neither rebuking McCoy nor alarmed at their situation. "How is your patient? Captain?"
No response.
"He must be unconscious again. I won't know for sure how he is until the rest of this paralysis wears off. Too bad they took my med-scanner and medical supplies. There's not much I can do for him, but I'm warning you, Spock, you keep taking his pain every fifteen minutes, and you'll be non-functional too."
"I am aware of the difficulties, Doctor. Chuck, are you conscious?"
"Yes, I'm fine. That is, except for the paralysis. What was that they hit us with?"
"I am unfamiliar with the design, but it appears to operate on completely different principles from the standard phaser charge."
"Translation: he has no idea," put in McCoy. "Spock, I hope you have some idea how we're going to get out of this mess."
"Doctor, what makes you think we're going to?"
"Because I know you, Spock."
"Then you know that I am a Vulcan. Vulcans accept their circumstances without ranting and raving. I suggest you do the same."
McCoy snorted, but subsided into silence. An hour elapsed, during which Chuck slowly regained the use of his muscles. Finally, he sat up and looked at McCoy, who was still flat on his back. McCoy looked intently at him but said nothing. Chuck then looked over at Spock, who lay unmoving and silent. For all Chuck could tell, he could be as unconscious as Young. Chuck thought back on what Spock had said, and decided it had been a subtle command for silence. He could explain McCoy's behavior no other way. So he lay down again, and waited for something to happen.
Another fifteen minutes went by, during which no one moved or spoke. Abruptly the cell door opened and two guards entered, with weapons at the ready. A third man followed but stayed by the door. One guard prodded Chuck to get up. Not sure of Spock's intentions, Chuck complied slowly. The guard then prodded McCoy, who said he couldn't get up. The third man said to leave him, and they ushered Chuck out the door and relocked it.
McCoy's protest was whispered. "Spock!-"
"Regrettable," was Spock's only reply.
McCoy lost his cool. "Spock! Is that all you can say?!" His voice was raised clearly above a whisper.
"Doctor-" Spock cautioned.
"I don't care who's listening! How can you lie there and do nothing! Heaven knows what they're going to do to Chuck!"
"What do you expect me to do?"
"I don't know, but we have to do something!"
Spock did not reply.
"Sometimes your Vulcan performance makes me so mad!"
"Doctor, it is not a performance. It is who I am."
"Right."
xxxx
Chuck was taken to an interrogation room. He was familiar with all the tactics. None of them worked. He simply turned on the poker-faced stare, and refused to say anything. The only information he gleaned from them was that they had no idea who he was or what he was doing there. They understood from his uniform that he was a security officer of the rank of lieutenant commander. But they knew nothing of his status as an observer.
When they gave up the interrogation, Chuck expected them to execute him. Instead, they returned him to the cell with the others. He gave McCoy an encouraging smile, and lay down, grateful to be alive.
"You all right?" whispered McCoy.
"Sure. Why are we whispering? Is Spock sleeping?"
"No, I am not," Spock spoke at a normal volume. "And whispering would not hinder most monitoring devices." Spock sat up, and McCoy did likewise. "I am pleased that you have returned. I regretted placing you in harm's way."
"I didn't expect to be alive. Standard procedure following interrogation of an apparently insignificant prisoner is execution."
"Indeed, which leads me to hope that our situation may not be entirely hopeless."
At this moment, the cell door opened and the guards removed Spock. McCoy looked Chuck up and down with a medical practitioner's eye.
"You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine. Standard interrogation is painful, but not fatal. I'll recover, don't worry. And they didn't learn anything from me. How's Captain Young?"
"Without my scanner, I can't be sure, but he's alive, if still unconscious."
xxxx
They took Spock to the interrogation room and strapped him into the chair.
"This is unnecessary. I am Vulcan. Whether or not I tell you what you wish to know is completely unrelated to the persuasive tactics suggested by this equipment."
"Sorry. I have my orders."
"Orders from whom?"
"I ask the questions, not you."
But they did not in fact ask him any questions. Instead, the next four hours contained a variety of pain stimuli, some of it quite unique. Spock reacted with equanimity to all of it. His captors didn't seem to care. He tried to engage them in conversation, but they would not. His impression from their manner was that someone else was watching. That was confirmed when a voice spoke from a speaker.
"Bring him to my office."
His captors wasted no time in complying, but did not linger in the room to which they took him. Left alone with the one in charge, Spock immediately sensed an evil malice about the man. There would be no negotiating with this one.
"You are Spock, the Vulcan. Your ship wishes to speak with you."
Scotty's voice emanated from a speaker. "Enterprise to Spock. Come in please. ... Oh, there you are. What's your status, Spock?"
"Code purple."
Scotty sighed. "Aye, sir. Scott out."
"What does 'code purple' mean?!"
Spock did not reply.
"I abhor unnecessary killing. It is such a waste of resources. Fortunately, you have provided me with two expendable hostages. I will use them if I must."
After the briefest of pauses, Spock replied. "Code purple means obey previous orders; not at liberty to speak freely."
"And those orders were-?"
"If he had not heard from me by a certain time, which has more than elapsed, he was to abandon the landing party, and report to the nearest starbase for instructions."
"Abandon the landing party?"
"Yes, sir. The Federation does not bargain for the release of hostages."
The man barked an inquiry into the intercom, and was told that the ship had indeed left orbit. He turned his anger on Spock, and stepping forward, slapped him across the face. Spock did not respond. He slapped him again. Spock remained unmoved.
"You will call them back!"
"No." Spock's reply was mild in tone, but firm in resolve.
Suddenly the man's attitude became sly and crafty. "Oh, yes, I think you will."
He turned and barked more orders into the intercom. The guards came and took Spock back to the interrogation room. Rather than strap him into the chair however, they backed him against a wall and attached his wrists to manacles hanging there for the purpose. Leaving him, they returned a few minutes later dragging a heavy object. The leader's voice came from the speaker.
"Get him in the chair, and give him the full treatment. I don't care if he's unconscious; just do it."
Spock gathered they had brought Young.
"This is a useless waste of time. The Captain cannot feel the pain you inflict."
"Will you call your ship?"
"No."
They kept it up for almost thirty minutes before deciding Spock was right.
xxxx
Chuck and McCoy were sitting on the bunks, talking quietly, speculating on their ignorance, when the guards returned. They were both taken to the interrogation room.
"Spock! What's going on?" was McCoy's question. They led him to a pair of manacles opposite Spock.
"The Captain has not regained consciousness. They require a victim who feels."
And I'm it, thought Chuck, as he smiled grimly at McCoy. They strapped him in, and began to wire him to the equipment. A voice came over the speaker.
"Will you call your ship?"
"No," was Spock's firm reply.
So that's what this is about, thought Chuck.
"Spock, even if they kill me, don't give them what they want."
"Are you going to just stand there and let them do this?!" McCoy protested.
"How do you suggest I prevent it?"
"But Spock-"
Spock did not reply, and McCoy lapsed into silence. Chuck's attention was suddenly riveted on his own body. The pain was intense, nothing like the previous interrogation. That had been a game in comparison. This was worse than the eyes, worse even than talking to Twenty-nine. It went on for about five minutes; then they turned it off. The voice again asked if Spock would call the ship.
Chuck answered for him. "No!"
They slammed him with pain. He gasped. Tried to talk through it.
"Spock... promise... me..."
"Chuck, you have my word on it."
"Thank..."
He gave up trying to talk and just endured it. Every few minutes they turned it off and asked the question again. Spock's reply never wavered. Chuck lasted over two hours. He never screamed, though his breathing was very ragged. His body went rigid with tension every time they turned it on, and from there degenerated into jerking, twitching, and shaking.
Chuck woke up to realize he was hanging by the wrists. He got his feet under him and stood up. Realizing he must have passed out, he opened his eyes to find they now had McCoy in the chair.
"Spock, I'm not Jim, or even Chuck. I can't do this."
"Lord, I ask for Your peace and Your strength for Leonard right now."
"Thanks, Spock."
A supernatural calm came over the room. Chuck felt it as a warmth, relaxing him. McCoy never made a sound, or moved a muscle. If he felt the pain at all, Chuck could not tell by sight or sound. The voice over the speaker was angry.
"I don't know what you did, but it won't do you any good!"
"Nothing you do to any of us will make me change my mind. You are wasting your time." Spock calmly but firmly refused to be intimidated.
They kept it up for an hour before admitting defeat. They put the four of them back in their cell to await the next day. No food or drink had been provided. Chuck rested on the floor, having refused the bunk. McCoy fussed, but Chuck assured him he was fine, just tired. Spock sat on the floor and placed his hand on Young's face. Chuck fell asleep.
*Captain, I have a report on our status.*
*Yes, Spock. Where are we?*
*The situation is as I suspected it might be. We are prisoners. I have sent the ship away, as we discussed. Is this man Ambassador DuChev?*
Spock showed him a mental picture of the leader of those who held them captive.
*No, he is not. However, I know who he is. It explains much. He is a personal enemy, as well as an enemy of my people.*
*Do you know his present purpose? He seems determined to get access to the Enterprise.*
*He undoubtedly needs transport, but he picked the Enterprise because I am her Captain. A personal victory over me has been a goal for a long time. Spock-* He hesitated. *Spock, there are things about me that you do not know.*
*Captain, I regret not having informed you before, but there are no secrets in a mind-meld.*
*You already know?! But- you've said nothing!*
*That which I learn in a mind-meld is held in the strictest confidence. I do not speak of it even to the one I have melded with.*
*But if you know everything - then - did you tell Kirk? Does Sullivan know?*
*I have told no one, nor would I have mentioned it now, except- my apologies, Captain. I did not mean to distract you with non-essentials. I would be glad to discuss it fully when we have the leisure of less hostile circumstances.*
*Very well, Spock. For now, we'll leave it at the fact that Bradeg is a formidable foe. His goals involve conquest. Defeating me is an added bonus, but by no means his primary aim. He must not be allowed to succeed.*
*My impression thus far is that he is operating with a handful of men, who are afraid of him. I gather he is not indigenous to this planet. Presumably he has gained control over this people, at least sufficient to have captured us. He will not get the Enterprise, but if we do not take action against him, another ship could be lured into the same trap.*
*What are your thoughts on a plan of attack?*
*Your continued unconsciousness is a difficulty. We need a miracle. May I pray for you?*
Young hesitated, then spoke with resolve. *Yes. To conquer Bradeg, I'll take whatever works.*
*Lord, I ask You to bring healing to the Captain's eyes. In order to achieve victory over this evil force, we need him conscious, able to see with pain-free, functioning eyes. Thank you Lord, for Your healing power.*
*Spock! The blanket of pain is gone! The eyes feel whole!*
*Yes, Captain. That is what I asked for. The Lord has healed you. That being the case, we need to discuss strategy.*
They discussed plans for over two hours. Then Spock conferred briefly with McCoy and Chuck by mind-meld. Finally he sat down in a corner by the door and pretended to sleep.
Some four hours went by. McCoy slept; Chuck dozed. Young and Spock were both wide awake, though they appeared not to be. Suddenly the door opened. Spock let the first guard past him, tripped the second with a sweeping kick, rose quickly and overpowered the third with a nerve pinch. Chuck moved into action and took out the first guard, and then the second. McCoy sat up; Young remained motionless.
Chuck took charge. They rigged a stretcher for Young, collected the guards' weapons, and left the cell, locking the guards in. Assuming the cell was monitored, they wished Bradeg to believe they were trying to escape. Also, that Young was still unconscious. With Chuck in the lead, they checked every door they came to. The stun gun took out six more guards before exhausting its charge. He tossed it down and grabbed another.
With Spock's low-voiced directions, they approached Bradeg's office. Leaving McCoy with Young in the corridor, Chuck stormed the office door, and Spock slipped in behind him. Chuck's spectacular entrance included a forward roll, landing prone on the floor, spraying the room with repeated stun charges til the gun was exhausted. Bradeg sat behind his desk and laughed at him.
"That thing won't work in here, you fool!"
He pulled out his own gun, a nasty-looking projectile affair.
"Spock, stop right there. You don't want to find out what this gun delivers."
Spock continued inching his way around the opposite side of the room from where Chuck was.
"Spock! He means it!" Chuck warned.
Spock did not stop. His goal was to focus Bradeg's attention away from the door. Better that Bradeg fire the gun at him than at Chuck.
"Spock, don't push me. I don't want to kill you just yet."
Spock kept inching closer. Bradeg fired. Spock dropped to the floor. Chuck saw a streak of white rush Bradeg, but he heard no sound. Young's attack was completely silent. He kicked the gun out of Bradeg's hand, and there ensued a spectacular fight. Chuck was impressed with the combat skill of each. For several long minutes, he couldn't tell who was winning.
Chuck retrieved the projectile weapon, but made no attempt to use it. The fight moved too fast. McCoy made his way to Spock, but Chuck couldn't tell how he was. He began to wonder if he should try to help Young, but decided against it. He would just be in the way.
Finally the dust settled with Young on top. Bradeg lay on the floor with a broken neck. Chuck stood up; Young nodded at him, then turned to check on Spock. McCoy and Spock both stood up.
"He missed. I am uninjured," was Spock's report.
"I kicked his hand as he fired. He is dead. I must check his files, however."
"I had the same thought, but you will be faster than I. Chuck, be so good as to check the corridor for stray guards."
When Chuck returned a few minutes later with a negative report, McCoy was staring open-mouthed at Young. Still wearing the bandages, Young had opened a slit for each eye, and was busily going through Bradeg's desk. Surely Spock had told McCoy about the healed eyes. What was so shocking then? Young had finished on the desk and was starting in on the computer terminal. Chuck saw nothing unusual except that Young seemed more confident and self-assured. Young drew Spock into a technical discussion of Bradeg's security measures. Chuck turned to McCoy, hoping for some answers. After a moment, McCoy noticed him and gestured with his head. They retreated to the far corner and sat on the floor.
"Chuck, you're pretty perceptive. What do you see when you look at Young? Am I imagining things?"
"You knew his eyes were healed, didn't you?"
"Yes, I don't mean that."
"You saw something while I was out in the corridor."
"I guess it's as much Spock as it is Young himself. Spock is deferring to Young, not just because he's the Captain. He really thinks Young can do this job better, and it's not because he has eyes and Spock doesn't. I'd like to know what Spock knows about Young that he's not telling."
"So would I, but right now, I better check the corridor again."