Chapter 20

It took half an hour to break into Bradeg's system.

"That did it, Spock. We're in." Pause. "Oh, my! This was worse than I suspected. He's got quite an arsenal stored here. Here's the layout of the whole place. This'd be faster if you could see it too."

"I apologize for my disability, Captain. Perhaps you will wish to replace me as First Officer."

"Banish the thought, Spock. But could you see it with my eyes in a mind-meld?"

"Yes, I could."

"Let's not waste time then. Get over here."

So Spock stood behind Young and placed his hands on Young's head. The rest of their conversation was all mental.

"Incredible!" muttered McCoy. "That's the kind of thing Jim would have suggested. And Spock would have listed three reasons why it was dangerous before doing it anyway. With Young, he doesn't even argue. Why not?"

Fifteen minutes later, they had everything they needed. Young downloaded files onto a cartridge. Spock withdrew, and Young began giving orders.

"Chuck, you're with Spock. Your first task: contact the Enterprise; secondly, round up and secure all the guards. Doctor, you will accompany me. We're going to free the Ambassador and his party. Spock, we'll meet you on Level 5. We have to disarm the arsenal. Let's go."

The communications room was easy to find; its operator had been stunned on their previous pass through the area. Spock hesitated at the comm board.

"You want to use my eyes like you did the Captain's?" Chuck volunteered.

"It would be faster, if you are willing."

"Go ahead. Do you need my hands too?"

"No. It is not necessary."

Spock established the link, and had the board figured out in a few minutes. He broke the link before calling the Enterprise.

"Spock to Enterprise."

"Scott, here. I'm verra glad ta hear from ye, Spock."

"Code white. Please return to orbit, Mr. Scott. Enemy forces have been subdued. I would value your assistance in disarming the munitions. What is your ETA?"

"Fifteen minutes, sir. Have ye coordinates?"

Spock fed in the coordinates, informed Scotty of the guards to be held as prisoners, and signed off.

xxxx

Young led McCoy through a maze of passages to a group of cells far removed from where they had been held. Young dispatched the two guards with ease, and no help from McCoy. Unlocking the cells, Young located the Ambassador, and advised him of the situation. There were six of them in three cells, all suffering from lack of provisions. They had received water once a day, but very little else for several weeks. They were too weak to move, so McCoy stayed with them while Young went to Level 5.

By the time Chuck and Spock arrived on Level 5, Young had already secured the area. Three guards were out cold on the floor, and a fourth was more permanently silenced. Chuck's opinion of Young rose another notch. Young was examining the security system, looking for overrides and boobytraps, when Scotty materialized next to Chuck. He brought three communicators with him.

"Excellent, Mr. Scott, thank you. Chuck, take charge of beaming up the prisoners. Dr. McCoy is with the Ambassador and his party. They need medical care. Getting from here to there is a bit of a challenge, however."

"I'll go," offered Spock. "With Mr. Scott here, you don't need me."

"Yes, we do, but I am concerned about the Ambassador, so take Dr. McCoy a communicator, but come right back. This is going to take awhile."

xxxx

The next day, Spock went to Young's office for a private conversation.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Yes, Spock, sit down. Since we are en route to Starbase 9 with the Ambassador's party and prisoners secured, I deem this to be a sufficiently non-hostile environment in which to pursue the subject you brought up yesterday. Do you concur?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Well then, since there are no secrets in a mindmeld, you must know who and what I am, and what my assignment is on this ship. Why haven't you exposed me to your friends? And you knew before Captain Kirk left. Why didn't you tell him? And don't give me that nonsense about confidentiality. If you'd thought it necessary, you would have told him and apologized later."

"There have been numerous occasions when confidentiality has prohibited my telling what I know. Captain Kirk understands that, and has trusted my conclusions without knowing the facts. In this case, however, telling him would not have changed his actions anyway."

"Why not?"

"You are here at the request of Starfleet, to settle the Christian question. The fact that you are a professional spy is irrelevant. Your mission to uncover the Christian conspiracy, to infiltrate our inner circle to ferret out our secrets, is exactly what we want you to do. Had I told Captain Kirk, he would have laughed and cheered you on. He likes you. This version of reality makes much more sense than the falsified service record."

"You still talk about him in the present tense."

"Captain Kirk is still alive. I will know when he is not."

"I do not understand that. But why haven't you told your friends? Surely you are more loyal to them than to me."

"That is irrelevant. I have not told them because it would ruin the experiment. Starfleet wants to know if we will let you become one of us. They have stacked the deck against it, by attempting to convince us of your incompetence, as well as your anti-Christian attitude. So, infiltrate as deeply as you can; we welcome you with open arms. But I will not tell them what you are doing, because I do not want to spoil the results."

"You know what I'm doing, and you don't object?"

"We have no secrets; there is no conspiracy. The more deeply you infiltrate, the more sure you will be of the truth. But I cannot guarantee that you yourself will not be changed."

"Like the healing of my eyes? How can one ignore a thing like that?"

"The power of God is real, yes, but that is not what I meant. Real change takes place in the context of relationship. If you will become one of us, you will be changed by your relationships with us."

"You've given me much to ponder. Thank you, Spock. I'll admit though, that the one thing I still want more of is your ability to deal with pain."

"I will gladly continue to teach you as we have opportunity." He paused. "There is something you could do for me as well."

"What's that?"

"Hand-to-hand combat training. I need much practice to function without eyes. Your skill is considerable, and I need someone who is not afraid of my disability."

"And you think I'm not?"

"I greatly enjoyed our game of cat and mouse."

"So did I. But then we were both blind."

"Jim Kirk did this for me, but our time was limited. I am asking this of you as a friend. Will you help me?" Spock virtually never pleaded for anything, but this came close. It was a real need, and could enhance their growing friendship.

"Yes, Spock, I will."

xxxx

They met that evening in the gym, and most evenings thereafter, for an hour or two. Word traveled and most of the crew watched at least some of it. Chuck listened to the comments, both in the gym and the Rec Deck. All were impressed with Young's skill. Many were appalled at how he pushed Spock. But those who knew Spock, were sure Young was doing exactly what Spock wanted him to.

The fifth night in a row, Chuck watched Young beat Spock repeatedly. He spent more time on his back than standing. As soon as he rose, Young downed him again. He was fast and silent. Finally Young called a halt. Spock bowed to him, as to a teacher.

"Still at it, I see." McCoy came up behind Chuck. "Meet Spock at his stubbornest."

"Is Young really better than Spock? I mean, other than the eyes. If Spock could see, would Young still win?"

"I don't know. Possibly. The biggest problem is that Young is so quiet, Spock can't hear him. Will Spock give up? Not as long as Young is willing to keep beating him up."

A week later, Chuck found out Young was just as stubborn. Sullivan had assigned him to Spock that day. After the usual session in the gym, Spock invited Chuck to his quarters. He arrived to find that Young was already there. It transpired that they met thus after each workout.

They had a device Spock told him they had borrowed from Sickbay. It was used for 'command conditioning', which Chuck understood was a euphemism for legal torture. Spock proceeded to push Young every bit as much as Young had been pushing Spock. He was teaching Young to deal with pain, and Spock kept him on the edge of losing it for over an hour. They finally quit and Spock put the device away. Young sat up and smiled at Chuck.

"You probably think we're both crazy."

"No, I don't. If it's a contest, who's winning?"

"It is not a contest," Spock replied. "We are each helping the other in an area of weakness. You are doing well, Captain; you have made significant progress already."

"Thank you, Spock. My wives do not understand, especially Nona. I'm glad that you do. Is there anything you want me to change about your workout?"

"That is not for me to say. You are the teacher."

"The teacher requires the student's opinion," Young stubbornly insisted.

"The student wishes the teacher to continue to apply all his skill, disregarding the student's disability or lack of visible progress."

"That's what I thought, but I'm not sure you'll tell me when you've had enough."

"I will have had enough when I can consistently win, and not before then. Even then, I would value continued practice. There is no one else aboard with your skill level."

"Can I interrupt?" Chuck asked.

"Certainly."

"Spock, if you could see, would Young still win?"

"Possibly not, at least not every time."

"So if you're equally matched, except for the eyes, why do you defer to him as teacher?"

"Because he has the ability to move silently. When I can effectively counter that ability, I will ask him to teach me. But I must first earn the right to that knowledge."

"How do you expect to be able to counter it?"

"I must be able to sense his presence."

"While he's throwing you all over the gym floor?" Chuck quipped sarcastically.

"Yes. I know it can be done. I will learn."

"Spock, you are stubborn."

He did not deny it.

xxxx

Young continued to infiltrate. He spent time with each one of them. He talked technical manuals with Scotty, and classic literature with Chekov. He let McCoy study his hybrid body to his heart's content. He played simulation games with Sulu, and beat him more than once. He surprised everybody by singing with Uhura. He invited the six of them to dine with him and his wives, no observers present. He could detect no change in their behavior. They all seemed to genuinely like him, and were undisturbed by his wives. Their comfortable manner with each other now no longer ceased whenever he entered a room. But they still spoke to him with respect and deference, as fitting the Captain. One day he was having lunch with Spock and broached this subject.

"Spock, I overhear a great deal of teasing on the Bridge. They even tease you, often unmercifully. You do not seem to object to their laughing at you. Why not?"

"They would do it to you too, if they thought you wanted them to."

"You want them to? Why would I want to be laughed at?"

"It is a privilege."

"It's part of belonging to the group, isn't it? If I want to be one of you, I have to want this too?"

"How deeply do you wish to be changed?"

A few days later, Young laughed with the others when they teased Spock. He began laughing at most of the jokes. A few he didn't understand. The next week, he dared to tease Spock. He cringed as he said it, but forced himself to make a cutting remark about Spock liking to lie on his back on the gym floor. The Bridge crew chuckled in amusement, so apparently the joke was acceptable. Young readied himself for an immediate counter-attack. It did not materialize. The next day, he cornered Spock and asked him about it.

"Spock, are you offended by what I said yesterday?"

"No, Captain. Did you think I was?"

"Why did you not counter-attack then?"

"Captain, it is not a battlefield, with attack and counter. It is fun. You are trying too hard. Relax. Enjoy it. But I warn you. Be very sure you want this. If it is not fun for you, they will know it. Do not expect them to risk it twice."

Young continued to work at it diligently. He got so he felt comfortable teasing Spock. Then he began teasing the others as well. The first time they teased him back took him completely by surprise. It was Sulu who risked it. It took him a moment to process it.

"Did you say what I think you said?"

"Yes, sir," Sulu replied boldly.

"Say it again."

"I said, if Spock could see that you were green with envy, he wouldn't spend so much time on his back."

The idea was so ludicrous, Young burst out laughing. The rest joined him. Sulu just grinned.

"Tell me, Mr. Sulu, was that comment designed to poke fun at me, or at Mr. Spock?"

"Both, sir."

"Thank you."

Once the ice was broken, it was open season on Captain Young. They ganged up on him and had a field day for the rest of the shift. He laughed hysterically for most of two hours. He had had no idea how much fun this was. And Spock was right: they had changed him. A month previously, he would not have considered their insulting remarks funny. He was shocked at how profoundly moved he was that they dared to do this, to include him to this extent.