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Title: To the End (La Comédie)
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): water park 'verse
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.
Chapter Notes: Agent Belle’s real name is Ferdinand Sebastian. I’m sorry, I love bad puns. Agent Ramen’s last name is Topp. I AM A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING.
Sertraline is the medical name for the SSRI-type anti-depressant Zoloft.
The jumpsuits look like this. Once again, you are welcome for the mental images I have given to you. Sometimes I think I should write the next movie, because clearly I have the best ideas. Oh well. If someone in Hollywood puts a water park on the Enterprise, I’m getting a lawyer.
“Pute,” is French for “whore,” but they use it more like English speakers use “fuck.” It can literally be any part of speech, and packs more of a punch than “merde,” which is simply the word “shit.” Six years of French and these are the things I took away from it, well that and George Sand was amazing and is my renegade folk hero. Madame Meeker would be so proud.
I appear to have started shipping Pike/Rand because of this story. I just...I don’t even know, man. These things just keep happening to me and they snowball and I inflict them on you all because I feel lonely.
Extra special thanks for this chapter to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
faoi_cheilt. Otherwise the rescue would have been like unrealistic and two words. Thanks bb!
Once again, this chapter has been split into two parts due to length. There is a link at the bottom to the second half.
Jim Kirk sat in the back of the shuttlecraft as his wrists were bound with a sour look on his face.
“Gotta say, it’s pretty low for you to do this right before my wedding,” he spat.
Julien smiled. “Doing it at the wedding is too obvious. I knew the moment I escaped Starfleet would tighten the security for your ceremony. I took a gamble they would assume I would need more time to wage an assault. It seemed I was correct.”
“You should let Spock go, he’s sick, and he has nothing to do with this,” Jim countered and the terrorist began to laugh.
“He is sick? Really? How new to this do you think I am?”
“I’m not lying so you’ll let him go, look at him.”
Indeed, Spock’s cheeks were quite green. “The captain is correct. I am currently suffering from a serious Vulcan ailment. Without the proper treatment I could become intractable or even violent.”
The terrorist leader looked at Spock carefully for a few moments. He was quick to smile once again. “I’ll risk it.”
Jim frowned. That was pretty much the only thing he had. Now what could he do? “You did a good job, throwing me off the trail. Thought you were after Bones with that bullshit thing you said.”
Julien smiled. “I had to do something to keep you guessing. You really are more brilliant than even the holos would say. You are a most worth adversary, James. It has been...fun.”
“Keep me guessing? About what?” The shuttle began to move then and Jim tested his bonds. His wrists were bound with metal zip ties; there was no way for him to break out of them. Dammit. He looked behind Spock’s back to his wrists, which were also bound in zip ties. It was obviously too much for him to break, although he kept trying.
They really had thought of everything.
Julien thought for a moment before answering. “You are already defeated, so there is no point in being secretive.” He placed his phaser next to him within easy reach. “Our capture was no accident.”
Jim’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I believe the expression is I took a dive. The capture, the wounding of my ship, my time in your cell...it was all a gambit, part of a scheme. Your suspicions were right all along.”
Understandably, Jim was stunned. “You attacked my ship on purpose just so I’d capture you?”
“Yes, so that I in turn could capture you.” He folded his hands neatly into his lap. “The original plan was to track you during your shore leaves. That was quickly amended when I found out about your wedding. A good friend gave me the information regarding my transport to Foucault, and from there I passed the information along to another good friend.”
“How did you find out about the wedding,” Spock asked.
“Ah yes, that first friend of mine? She showed me your engagement photograph. Very touching, the love you have for each other simply radiates off it.”
A feeling of dread washed over Jim. “This friend of yours is a member of my crew?”
“Was,” Julien corrected. “I am afraid she was highly dissatisfied with her position, both on your vessel and in Starfleet. She was not challenged, so I offered her something better.”
“You mean you conned her.”
“Always thinking the worst,” he chided. “I would not promise if I did not intend to deliver. I am nothing if not a man of my word.”
It was all damning, although granted it was a very clever plan and not one that he could have foreseen.
“I do not understand what you hope to gain by our abduction.”
“What I always hope to gain; that my message will be sent loud and clear.” The shuttle began to make its descent. Jim noted they were in the air for a little under an hour and thirty minutes, which put them somewhere in either Oregon or southern California. Julien picked up his gun and gestured toward the door.
“After you, gentlemen,” he said.
Jim and Spock stood up, and Jim couldn’t help but notice his first officer swaying a little. That was the last thing they needed. One of the armed men behind him shoved his phaser into his back. “Move,” he said.
“I’m going, I’m going,” Jim grumbled. “It’s not my first time at this rodeo, dude.”
They were quickly herded off the ship toward a large, seemingly abandoned warehouse-style building. The forest and temperature put them definitely in Oregon. Jim hoped that Christine’s watch was still emitting its signal; maybe they could be tracked with it.
“Thought you were based out of France,” Jim couldn’t help but quip.
“Saint-Étienne is home and where I spend my leisure time,” Julien said by way of explanation. “Here is where I work.”
“Wouldn’t think a man with a cause such as yourself would have much in the way of ‘leisure time’.”
Julien shrugged. “Even God took a day off, James.”
“I really hate that you call me that, my own mother doesn’t use my full name.”
“Do not worry,” Julien answered in a soothing tone. “At noon tomorrow what appellation I use will be the furthest thing from your mind.”
-----
“How the hell did this happen,” Admiral Pike snapped at Christine Chapel with a furious look on his face.
“Sheer numbers,” Chris replied. “They had us each ten to one. It was a complete ambush, sir.” She sighed and with a shake of her head said, “We didn’t stand a chance.”
“How did they know where the bachelor party even was? How?”
“I don’t know, sir. The only thing I can come up with is that they had someone on the inside.”
“Hey lay off her,” Bones snapped from where he stood not too far away. “If it wasn’t for her, Jim and Spock’d be dead. So would I.”
Pike looked at him with a withering stare for a moment before turning his attention back to his operative. “Your answers aren’t good enough, Sistene, considering just how hard they wiped the floor with you. Especially since we lost both Belle and Ramen.”
“Sir?” Nyota Uhura asked from where she stood next to Bones. “Could you perhaps take a break from reprimanding her to explain exactly what just happened? Apart from the obvious, I mean.”
Pike looked at her for a moment, before looking at Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov. He sighed. Normally protocol dictated that he not explain anything except to those who strictly needed to know.
He hated to admit it, but considering the circumstances these five people were now in that category.
“At approximately 13:13, Julien de Maupassant and his followers escaped Starfleet custody on their way to Foucault. Given the nature of the escape, and how far they were from their primary base of operations, we assumed that they would not attempt anything until tomorrow during the wedding, as all of de Maupassant’s attacks have been extremely high-profile and flashy.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously, we were wrong.” He glared back at Chapel. “Several operatives were charged with the captain and the doctor’s safety until we could add the heightened security detail to the wedding proper in the morning.”
“Operatives,” Sulu asked, his eyes trained on his girlfriend. “What kind of operatives?”
Pike looked at her and she frantically shook her head no.
“She’s a spy, lad,” Scotty piped up helpfully. “Codename’s Sistene.”
The glare that Christine gave Scotty could have been felt all the way in the delta quadrant.
“What? You said your code states that in emergencies you can reveal what you are to the relevant personnel,” he continued. “If ever there was a time it was relevant to us, it’s now, lass.”
“Technically she’s not just a spy, she’s general black ops including wet works,” Pike clarified, “but the sentiment holds.”
Hikaru stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, and Chekov looked appropriately frightened.
“Am lucky I was not killed,” he mumbled to himself.
Bones furrowed his brows. “Is that why you disappear in the store room with a dermal regen a few times a month?”
Chris started and looked at him for the first time since the attack ended. “You know about that?”
“It’s my sick bay, Christine. I see all,” he answered.
Pike frowned. “So on top of letting them get the captain and the first officer tonight, you’ve been getting sloppy with your cover. That’s fantastic.”
She whirled her head back to Pike with an angry expression. Before she could retort, Bones began to speak again.
“And you,” he addressed the admiral, “it’s been bothering me since this afternoon, but we were all told the P.R. gig was created for you after you got hurt. Why are your hands all over this?”
“Being in charge of P.R. is my cover,” Pike explained. “My real role is coordinating the covert ops. Back in the days of the C.I.A., I’d have been called a handler.”
There was a long silence as the five of them contemplated this new information. So not only did Starfleet have black ops, Pike was in charge of it. It was a lot to let sink in on top of everything else.
Wearing a black jumpsuit, Janice Rand came in with a PADD tucked under one arm. She wordlessly handed the PADD over to Pike, who immediately started reviewing the information displayed on the screen.
“This is accurate,” he finally asked his assistant. She nodded twice.
“Yes, sir,” she said in response.
He looked at Chapel. “You gave Kirk your communicator?”
“Yes, sir. He took it just before he left with de Maupassant.”
Christopher handed the PADD back to Janice. “Nice to see you finally did something right, Sistene. Your tracking device is still in operation. We’ve got a lock on their location. That’s assuming, of course, he hasn’t had them killed.”
Uhura closed her eyes and let out a low breath. Bones swallowed thickly as he absently picked at the hem of a shirt cuff. The relief was palpable.
Christine shook her head a few times. “There’s no drama in just killing them where no one can see. He’s going to hold out on that to maximize the damage.”
Janice nodded her agreement. “It does fit his M.O. better than simply murdering them.”
After shooting her a look of gratitude, she turned her attention back to Pike. “Sir, let me go after them. I’ve been gathering Intel on this organization for months, you don’t have anyone else planet side that can do it in the timeframe we’ve got. I’m your only shot.”
“Oh like hell you’re going in by yourself,” Bones snapped. Nyota nodded at his words.
“I’m sorry, I don’t recall asking for you to bug into my op,” Chapel said with a raised eyebrow. “Neither of you has any training for this. You’ll both be bigger liabilities than help.”
“I was first in my marksmanship class,” he retorted. “Nyota was the same. We know what we’re doing.”
“Being a good shot isn’t enough! Neither of you know the first thing about this set of protocols, all you’ll do is get in my way!”
“Enough!” Everyone’s attention was focused back onto Pike. “Take them.”
“Sir?” She had to have misheard him.
“Sulu, Scott, and Chekov too,” he added. “You’re right, we don’t have the time to scramble more people to stage a rescue. You’ve got them all here, and they all have skills you can use. You work with what you’ve got.” He sighed. “Work out the finer details and then I’ll get you all a shuttlecraft and whatever else you need.” He turned to Janice. “Pull up the files on the Aehallh stronghold and begin briefing them. We’re cutting it close as is. I need to make some calls.”
“Aye, sir,” Janice said, and she pulled up the relevant files on the PADD as he stepped away. “We can safely assume the Aehallh are taking Captain Kirk and Commander Spock to their stronghold located outside of Portland, Oregon.”
“That their flight path, Jan,” Sulu asked as he looked at the screen. Janice nodded.
“As stated, their trajectory suggests no other destination,” she continued. “We only learned the location of their headquarters this week; until now, we’d been operating under the assumption that they were based in France as that was where all of their money was coming from. We can also assume that their stay of execution,” Bones and Uhura both winced, “is a short one. de Maupassant acts quickly, but never rashly. We have to operate under the assumption that he staged his capture just to get to this point.”
“Think he got captured on purpose,” Chekov asked with a curious expression.
“It’d make sense, Jim’s been saying all along that they went down too easy,” Bones answered.
“Kirk was smart to be suspicious; unfortunately, none of us got it right for when his counterattack would occur. We’ve had several people doing recon on this H.Q. and we have preliminary information on it. That’s the good news.”
“What’s the bad,” Scotty asked.
“Highly secure. You’ve got ten exterior cameras surrounding all viable entrances and exits. The system itself is run on two redundant closed loop circuits in titanium casing. There is no way to hack it without setting it off. The roof has four cameras in addition to the ones previously mentioned, plus pressure sensors. There’s nothing around the warehouse but some trees, so there’s no line of sight to get in through the few windows, which are also attached to the security system.” She tapped her finger against the image of the warehouse. “Basically, it’s everything but air tight.”
“What do you mean there is no way to hack it,” Chekov and Scotty asked in unison. Both of them looked moderately offended at the mere suggestion.
“Like I said, two redundant closed circuits. You do anything to it other than enter the security code, and if you’re lucky it triggers the system. If you mess up, it fries you.”
“What if there was a distraction, people drawing fire while other people did the hacking,” Chris asked with a thoughtful expression.
Tossing her hair out of her eyes, Janice nodded. “It’s feasible since the alarms would be going off at that point anyway. These people have been highly trained, though, they’ll know if it’s not real.”
“It would seem real if we went in there staging a rescue, especially if Uhura and I are part of the team,” Bones supplied. “They’d have no reason to doubt its authenticity.”
“He’s right,” Chapel said. “They’d definitely assume it’s real in that case. We could it make it look like they’re doing it on their own with no back-up.” She looked at him and Uhura. “Granted it’s extremely risky.”
“It’s worth it,” Nyota replied. Bones nodded his agreement.
“So that draws away maybe a third of their people,” Sulu spoke up. “The question is, how to draw the rest?”
“Another distraction,” Christine said, “although they may be suspicious, but if it involves Kirk and Spock they won’t question it too hard.”
Hikaru looked at the display more carefully. “Do we know where they’re likely holding them?”
Janice looked over the screen for a moment. “Most likely in this back room here,” she said with a point of her finger.
He looked at it again for a moment. “Suck the air out.”
Everyone turned to stare at him, even Pike who had finished his calls.
“You want us to do what, Kiki,” Janice asked incredulously. Chapel paused and glared at her over the nickname.
“Suck the air out,” he repeated. “Chekov and Scotty can build a vacuum-device. The system will already be tripped by the first team. We then attach it to the outside wall while Nyota and McCoy draw their attention. We suck the air out, Kirk and Spock think they’re dying and call for help. If this guy wants to put on a show with them, he won’t let them die. He’ll send people in after them, and there’s our second distraction. That paves the way for a team to go in and take de Maupassant and whoever else out.”
Chapel was impressed. “That’s a solid plan.”
“It is,” Pike found himself conceding.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with asphyxiating Jim or Spock,” Bones spoke up.
“It’ll only last a few minutes,” Sulu explained. “Most likely, de Maupassant and his goons will open the door and fix them up before they even black out. Especially Spock.”
“Kirk has my wristcom, we could warn them just before it happens. In the din of the alarms, no one will be tracking any communications going in or out of the base. We won’t get them into any trouble if we time it right.”
Pike was rubbing his chin with his hand. “Either way, you won’t have a big window to go in there, and grab them.”
“Small windows are something of an Enterprise specialty,” Scotty pointed out in a cheerful tone. “We can do it.”
The admiral looked at the crew members; once upon a time, he had hand selected most of these six people to serve under his command. Things hadn’t worked out that way, but he felt reassured in his choices even after all this time. He nodded to each of them in turn.
“Now the only question is...how do we suck the air out?”
Scotty and Chekov looked at each other for a moment before they began babbling excitedly together.
“It may take some caulk...”
“...Simple vacuum should suffice...”
“...Maybe some duct tape, you can’t have enough duct tape...”
“...Tap into warehouse generator to give it power...”
“...Only work for a couple of minutes, maybe five, but that should be all we need...” Scotty looked at Pike with a grin. “There a Home Depot anywhere on the way?”
Janice looked at Christopher for a moment as he tried to decide if the engineer was kidding or not.
“He’s not,” she whispered without being asked. He nodded in reply.
“We’ll get you what you need, Scott.” He gestured for them to follow him. “Let’s get you all suited up first.”
-----
“Is this really necessary,” Jim said with a sigh as two Aehallh members patted him down. “Whoa there, sugar lips, only my fiancé gets to touch that.”
The terrorist in question shot Jim a baleful look as he continued patting down his legs.
Meanwhile, Spock was growing angrier with every touch. He was even snarling. “I insist you cease touching me at once,” he said as he breathed heavily. Jim eyed him with concern.
“You are not in any position to be giving orders,” de Maupassant said with a smug grin. “We have to be certain you are not carrying any tracking devices.”
“Found a watch,” the goon going through Jim’s pockets proclaimed. “Weird, it looks like a woman’s.”
“Destroy it,” Julien said without hesitating. “Cheating on your doctor? A gift from an ardent admirer?”
“Must have been slipped to me by a stripper,” Jim lied. He also winced inwardly at the thought of what Chapel would do to him when she found out he called her a stripper. “I’ve never seen it before.”
“Then you won’t mind,” he answered. “Have you found any other devices on them? Any emergency transporter switches or communication devices?”
“No, Julien,” one of the girls searching Spock said. “They’re clean.”
“Excellent. Take the watch and we will destroy it outside.” He stepped out into the hallway. “Once the door is sealed, you’ll have thirty-six hours worth of air provided neither of you is a heavy breather. Granted you will be executed before that time has passed, but I did not wish you to think you would be suffocated.”
His followers had joined him and began to close the door. They smirked at Jim and Spock.
“Enjoy your evening, gentlemen, I shall see you in the morning.”
With that, the door closed, leaving them alone. Spock sat down in a corner and placed his head in between his knees. Jim cautiously walked over to him. He went to place a comforting arm on his shoulder when Spock jerked away.
“Do not touch me, I cannot be responsible for what I do,” he snapped.
Jim backed off a little bit but was still hovering over him. “How bad are you?”
Spock looked up at him; his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was flushed. “I fear the meditation is not aiding me the way it should.”
Shit.
Jim sat down next to him. “That hypo Bones gave you back in the club, that didn’t help?”
“It merely ended the headache,” the Vulcan said. “The sertraline can do nothing for the pon farr itself. It appears that my half-human physiology is accelerating the symptoms. While I should have four more days before being completely overtaken by its effects, that clearly is not how things are occurring.” He panted a little. “Every moment that I sit here, the more unstable I become.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“The only alternatives open to me at this time are mating or the kal-if-fee,” Spock answered in something of a defeated tone. “I am fairly confident you will volunteer for neither of those.”
“Yeah uh...you’re really important to me, Spock, but getting killed by you is kind of a no-go for me. And mating with you...well, I’d also get killed if I did that, but by Bones.” Deciding to take a risk, he half-smiled. “Besides, we had this conversation on Atlus. We don’t think of each other that way, remember?”
Spock nodded his agreement. “It would perhaps be wise for you to stand on the other side of the cell then.” He shook his head. “Also I feel I must point out that Doctor McCoy would not have a chance to end your life, as Nyota would end both of ours before he had the chance.”
Having moved to the wall directly across from him, Jim nodded. “You’re probably right. She is downright scary when she’s pissed.”
“Indeed. I fear I have been inciting her wrath frequently of late.”
“Your whole refusal to have sex with her thing?”
Spock hesitated before nodding. “She feels I am not allowing her to aid me during my time.”
Jim wrapped his arms around his legs. “I could see that. She can help with this and you told her no. I’d probably feel the same way.”
“It is nothing personal,” Spock continued. “I just do not wish to see her befall a similar incident that my mother did.”
The captain nodded. “Well, I understand both sides is all I can say. But you know, in the interest of not murdering someone in cold blood, perhaps you should take her up on it when we get out of here.”
“You are assuming that we will.”
Wow, Spock sounded bitter. “Pretty sure we will. That watch was Chapel’s wristcomm to Pike. Sure they’ve destroyed it by now, but we’ve been here long enough that they’ve got a lock on where we are. I’m willing to bet we’ve only got like three hours at the outside before they send a team to rescue us, and if I know them our friends will be on that team.” He looked off into the distance. “Though going from how things look, I don’t know how easy it’ll be. This place is locked down tighter than the Presidio.”
Spock nodded his agreement. “The security system appears to be two closed redundant servers. I am not certain Mister Scott or Mister Chekov can hack into it.”
“Maybe not either of them alone, but together they can do it probably,” he replied. “I’m more concerned with the cameras I noticed as we were dragged in here. There’s no way they can really sneak in.”
“Perhaps they will employ some form of distraction,” Spock said as he took long, slow breaths. “As much as I wish to continue discussing this with you I feel I must attempt to meditate in order to at least partially stave off the pon farr.”
Jim nodded. “I’ll just stay over here and not talk then.”
Spock nodded his thanks and shifted his position, sitting with his back straight. He breathed deeply for a few moments before closing his eyes. Sweat continued to bead on his forehead as he eventually managed to enter a meditative state.
Jim sighed and tilted his head back into the wall.
This was not good.
This was the opposite of good.
In a perfect world he and Bones would be together right now, either still at the party or having their own private one in one of their hotel rooms. They would snuggle for a little while after, and then kiss each other goodbye before going to bed. Then they would wake up tomorrow, shower, get dressed, and get married.
It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.
Instead, because of his stupid reputation he was sitting in a cell in God-knows-where Oregon with a sick Vulcan. He had no way to know for certain that Bones or Pike or, hell, anyone knew where he was. All he had was hope.
Trying not to make a noise, Jim clenched his fists angrily.
He was proud of what he did to save the Earth from the Nerada. He had always been proud of it, and he was proud of everything he had done since.
But was it worth it?
He couldn’t even get married without being set upon by terrorists, let alone have a normal existence. Everyone knew who he was, it was part of how he got Madelyne to be their wedding planner so easily. Yeah, sometimes he used the fame to his advantage like when he wanted to take Bones someplace special on shore leave and they said they were booked up.
None of that mattered if it meant he couldn’t marry Bones, if he was going to die before he even got the chance.
He buried his face in his hands for a while.
He kept going back to that brief conversation he and Bones had after the rehearsal dinner, about how Bones just accepted that this was part of being with him.
That made him almost unspeakably angry.
Why the hell should Bones have to accept it? Why shouldn’t he ask him to change? It wasn’t fair to him, to always be left worrying if this was the one he wouldn’t come back from. He let go of his face and wrapped his arms around his knees.
As long as he stayed in Starfleet, things like this were going to keep happening.
He shook his head.
The problem was that Starfleet was where he belonged. He was built for it, everyone knew that; even the teachers that didn’t like him at the Academy grudgingly admitted it. There was nothing else he could do with his life that would make him nearly as happy.
Except...how could he ever really be happy if he kept doing this to Bones?
Jim bit back a sigh. He wanted to curse, but he didn’t dare disrupt Spock.
Well, he had nothing else to do. There was no reason why he couldn’t take advantage. An answer for him was bound to be found with time, which he had plenty of.
He looked at Spock; his breathing was even and his skin was less-flushed. He was definitely in a trance.
He allowed the sigh that time.
“Don’t take too long,” he said to himself, echoing the last words he spoke to Bones. “We’re on a deadline.”
-----
“Are these suits really necessary,” Bones asked no one in particular. “I feel kind-of exposed.”
Pike wasn’t kidding when he told all of them to suit up; everyone was given standard issue Kevlar black bodysuits with reinforced boots, fingerless gloves, and the special wrist communicators. Chekov kept pulling at his collar, and Uhura kept adjusting her gloves with a weird expression.
Chapel rolled her eyes. “You insist on coming along for my op and then you complain about the dress code. Really?”
“You wear this shit all the time,” he snapped back and Sulu, who was piloting the shuttle, winced at the words all the time.
“Yes, yes I do, and there is a reason for it! It’s called being covert, you should look it up!”
“Guys,” Nyota said from where she sat. “Not right now.”
Chekov unbuckled his harness and went to the back. “Going to help Scotty,” he said by way of explanation.
Nyota looked at Chris and Leonard. “Are you guys really going to fight the entire time we do this?”
“No,” Chris huffed at the same time Bones went, “Obviously.” She made a loud exasperated sound and made her way up to the pilot’s bay to sit with her boyfriend.
Nyota looked at Bones with a sour expression. “This isn’t easy on her.”
“Because it’s so easy on me to have my fiancé abducted right from under my nose, plus I get told ‘oh hey he’s probably going to be killed.’ Then on top of it, I find out my head nurse is actually a spy and has been lying to me the entire time I’ve worked with her.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m on a shuttle and we all know how well I deal with that. No, you’re right, this is a goddamn picnic.”
“Being an asshole doesn’t solve anything, either,” she said. “Do you think I’m not freaking out about Spock, especially given his...condition?” It was her turn to cross her arms. “We’re all doing the very best we can with what we’ve got. You snapping at her over every thing she does when she’s the only one of us with any experience in this type of mission is counterproductive at best and dangerous at worst.”
Bones slumped against the seat with a frown. “I know, it’s just...it’s how I handle things.” He shook his head a few times. “I did this to Jim once, not too long after we got together.”
“How’d he deal with it?”
He smiled. “He let me go off on him for about ten minutes, and then he calmly asked if I was done. Once he was finished reassuring me, he told me if I ever treated him like that again he would punch me square in the mouth.”
Nyota blinked several times.
Bones, however was smiling at the memory. “Haven’t done it to him since.” The reality of their situation hit him again and the smile quickly faded. “I don’t know what I’ll do if...”
“Stop,” she pleaded, as much as for her sake as for his. “Just...we’ll make it. We’ll make it with time to spare, and we’ll get them out.”
He winced. “I’m sorry, Nyota, I just...”
“I understand,” she admitted. “The last thing Spock and I did was fight at your party. I just have to keep hoping I’ll get a chance to make things right with him. Otherwise, I can’t do this.”
Bones slumped again as he nodded. Usually when he got like this Jim was the only person who could talk him down, but she was right. Worrying about what ifs and snapping at everyone wasn’t going to solve anything. He pulled at the edge of a sleeve.
“Let’s go over the plan again, just to make sure we’ve got it down,” he offered. “I don’t want either of us second guessing anything.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said. “More productive than worrying or staring off into space.” Nyota leaned forward in her seat. “So, what happens after we touch down?”
“You and I disembark the shuttle, taking our rifles, and make our way through the woods using the night-vision goggles.”
“We need to be careful not to alert them to our presence too quickly.”
“Right, which is why we’re going around the complex to the North, as there are less woods there.”
“When we get within view of the warehouse, we start storming the castle, again being careful as likely the guards will vastly outnumber us.”
“We shoot them up, making as much noise as possible and drawing as many of them to us as we can.”
“We then get ‘overwhelmed’ and make it look as if we’re falling back. We call out the signal phrase that we need backup.”
“The guards surround us, and hopefully de Maupassant comes out to interrogate us, but Scotty and Chekov have made their way to the rear and have begun sucking the air out.”
Nyota nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s go over it again.”
Christine listened to them going over the plan from where she sat next to Hikaru. He had yet to acknowledge her presence, opting instead to focus on flying the craft.
“So Sistene, huh?”
She couldn’t help but jump a little. “Yeah. I didn’t choose it.”
“I certainly hope not,” he said with a smile that was slightly off. “That’s the worst pun I’ve ever heard. Although they do get some small points for the fact that it also rhymes with your first name.”
“I’d pass that along, but the names are chosen by a computer.”
They rode for a little while in silence. It was uncomfortable and different from the silences they usually had between them.
“Do you understand now,” she asked.
Hikaru shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious I don’t have the clearance to know what you get up to, yeah.”
She turned in her seat to face him as she tucked her legs up under her. “I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”
“I’d like to believe that.”
“I wanted to tell you, Hikaru, I really did.”
“I’d also like to believe that,” he said and the expression on his face was one of honesty. “It doesn’t change the fact that you did it, though.”
“Because I had to,” she pleaded. “I have my orders, and they supersede everything else.”
“Scotty knew.”
Chris sighed. “Yes, Scotty knew, because he was in command during that fiasco on Castro. The only way I could have gotten you all out was by telling him where I got my Intel from. As he said earlier, in certain circumstances I’m permitted to tell the commanding officer about me. Everyone else is off-limits, though.”
It was his turn to sigh. “Including significant others.”
“Especially significant others,” she clarified. “It’s not unheard of for them to be targeted and killed to get at agents.”
Hikaru took one hand off the controls to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment. Neither of them spoke for a long time. He shook his head a few times before finally looking at her. “If we keep seeing each other, nothing’s going to change right? You’re going to keep disappearing and lying to me, hell you might not come back at all.”
“As much as I would like to,” and she really would, “I can’t go against my orders. It’s not just for my safety, it’s for yours too. So, yes, I’ll keep disappearing and not telling you what’s going on.” She bit her lip for a moment. “It’s not like you always can tell me about what happens when you go on the missions with Kirk and Spock.”
“That’s different because I don’t lie to you Chris, I just tell you I can’t say.”
“And I was supposed to do that with how often I need to leave? You practically accused me of cheating earlier, I can’t imagine you wouldn’t have done that had I just told you I couldn’t say.”
He brought his hand back down to the console and steered them quietly through the woods. They were getting closer, she could tell by the terrain. “I don’t know, Chris. I have to think about this.”
Christine looked down at the floor for a moment. “I understand,” she said sadly. They rode the rest of the way in silence.
In the back, Scotty was putting the finishing touches on the vacuum device. It had taken a portable generator, a shopvac, some soldering, and a bit of the aforementioned caulk and duct tape, but he had done it. Pavel stood and watched him for a moment before kneeling down on the opposite side of the vacuum.
“Not prettiest,” he said and Scotty looked up at him, “but will do job well.”
“It better,” the engineer said with a frown. “We only get one shot, and since they turned off the communicator we can’t even warn Kirk and Spock about what we’re doing.” He offered a crooked smile. “Let’s hope they don’t panic too much when the air gets thin.”
Pavel nodded back. He stared at Scotty, who flushed a little.
“You were staring at me at the club,” he said.
“Was I,” Scotty said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. “Sorry.”
“I do not understand what happened,” he continued, making Scotty wince. “Everything was great and suddenly you do not want to spend time with me.”
The engineer sighed. He really wasn’t prepared to have this conversation. More the point, he didn’t really know how to explain without hurting him, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do.
A voice in his head pointed out that running away from him had already hurt him badly, but it was better he not make it worse.
“I can’t talk about this now,” he answered. “We’ve got too much else going on, too many other things that need us to be clear-headed and focused.”
Pavel’s expression turned stony. “Now you don’t wish to answer my questions.”
“I’ll answer them, just...not now, all right? We need to be able to work together on this and we can’t if we talk about this first. I’m not saying no, Pavel, I’m saying later.”
He didn’t look particularly impressed by what Scotty was saying, but he did drop it. He began to examine the machine again. “Hope I did math correctly.”
“You did, I checked it,” Scotty reassured him. “I mean, I didn’t do that because I doubted you or anything, it’s just a habit I’ve picked up.”
“I know. You are thorough. I choose to take the compliment,” he smiled at him and Scotty felt himself get flustered.
Maybe he was being silly about Pavel. Maybe Pavel could really want him. Maybe they could be happy together.
He smiled back at him, which made Pavel’s grin noticeably brighter and his eyes sparkle.
Scotty thought long and hard about all the things Pavel did for him, like reminding him to eat or visiting on his off time just to spend time with him. He genuinely sought out his company. It started because everyone else was angry with him after the thing with Sulu, but over time he did it because he wanted to.
Pavel had feelings for him, too.
If he was being honest, they had been in a pseudo-relationship with each other for weeks. No wonder he was so upset by him blowing him off; he thought Scotty was dumping him in the worst possible way.
This was all terrible. Scotty felt like an awful human being. He also felt stupid for the first time in his adult life. Just like he hadn’t seen what his feelings for Pavel had evolved into, he failed to notice that Pavel’s feelings were the same.
God he needed to apologize, grovel, and beg, not necessarily in that order.
The shuttle began to descend and before too long they were landing. Chapel came back to them.
“We’re here,” she announced. “Leonard and Nyota are assuming their positions. Be ready to do the same.” She turned and made her way back to the middle section of the ship.
The two men nodded at her retreating figure. It was time to get ready, and there was no turning back.
Somehow, as he looked at Pavel again over the vacuum, he knew things would turn out okay.
Chapter 4b | Chapter 5b
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): water park 'verse
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.
Chapter Notes: Agent Belle’s real name is Ferdinand Sebastian. I’m sorry, I love bad puns. Agent Ramen’s last name is Topp. I AM A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING.
Sertraline is the medical name for the SSRI-type anti-depressant Zoloft.
The jumpsuits look like this. Once again, you are welcome for the mental images I have given to you. Sometimes I think I should write the next movie, because clearly I have the best ideas. Oh well. If someone in Hollywood puts a water park on the Enterprise, I’m getting a lawyer.
“Pute,” is French for “whore,” but they use it more like English speakers use “fuck.” It can literally be any part of speech, and packs more of a punch than “merde,” which is simply the word “shit.” Six years of French and these are the things I took away from it, well that and George Sand was amazing and is my renegade folk hero. Madame Meeker would be so proud.
I appear to have started shipping Pike/Rand because of this story. I just...I don’t even know, man. These things just keep happening to me and they snowball and I inflict them on you all because I feel lonely.
Extra special thanks for this chapter to
faoi_cheilt. Otherwise the rescue would have been like unrealistic and two words. Thanks bb!Once again, this chapter has been split into two parts due to length. There is a link at the bottom to the second half.
Jim Kirk sat in the back of the shuttlecraft as his wrists were bound with a sour look on his face.
“Gotta say, it’s pretty low for you to do this right before my wedding,” he spat.
Julien smiled. “Doing it at the wedding is too obvious. I knew the moment I escaped Starfleet would tighten the security for your ceremony. I took a gamble they would assume I would need more time to wage an assault. It seemed I was correct.”
“You should let Spock go, he’s sick, and he has nothing to do with this,” Jim countered and the terrorist began to laugh.
“He is sick? Really? How new to this do you think I am?”
“I’m not lying so you’ll let him go, look at him.”
Indeed, Spock’s cheeks were quite green. “The captain is correct. I am currently suffering from a serious Vulcan ailment. Without the proper treatment I could become intractable or even violent.”
The terrorist leader looked at Spock carefully for a few moments. He was quick to smile once again. “I’ll risk it.”
Jim frowned. That was pretty much the only thing he had. Now what could he do? “You did a good job, throwing me off the trail. Thought you were after Bones with that bullshit thing you said.”
Julien smiled. “I had to do something to keep you guessing. You really are more brilliant than even the holos would say. You are a most worth adversary, James. It has been...fun.”
“Keep me guessing? About what?” The shuttle began to move then and Jim tested his bonds. His wrists were bound with metal zip ties; there was no way for him to break out of them. Dammit. He looked behind Spock’s back to his wrists, which were also bound in zip ties. It was obviously too much for him to break, although he kept trying.
They really had thought of everything.
Julien thought for a moment before answering. “You are already defeated, so there is no point in being secretive.” He placed his phaser next to him within easy reach. “Our capture was no accident.”
Jim’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I believe the expression is I took a dive. The capture, the wounding of my ship, my time in your cell...it was all a gambit, part of a scheme. Your suspicions were right all along.”
Understandably, Jim was stunned. “You attacked my ship on purpose just so I’d capture you?”
“Yes, so that I in turn could capture you.” He folded his hands neatly into his lap. “The original plan was to track you during your shore leaves. That was quickly amended when I found out about your wedding. A good friend gave me the information regarding my transport to Foucault, and from there I passed the information along to another good friend.”
“How did you find out about the wedding,” Spock asked.
“Ah yes, that first friend of mine? She showed me your engagement photograph. Very touching, the love you have for each other simply radiates off it.”
A feeling of dread washed over Jim. “This friend of yours is a member of my crew?”
“Was,” Julien corrected. “I am afraid she was highly dissatisfied with her position, both on your vessel and in Starfleet. She was not challenged, so I offered her something better.”
“You mean you conned her.”
“Always thinking the worst,” he chided. “I would not promise if I did not intend to deliver. I am nothing if not a man of my word.”
It was all damning, although granted it was a very clever plan and not one that he could have foreseen.
“I do not understand what you hope to gain by our abduction.”
“What I always hope to gain; that my message will be sent loud and clear.” The shuttle began to make its descent. Jim noted they were in the air for a little under an hour and thirty minutes, which put them somewhere in either Oregon or southern California. Julien picked up his gun and gestured toward the door.
“After you, gentlemen,” he said.
Jim and Spock stood up, and Jim couldn’t help but notice his first officer swaying a little. That was the last thing they needed. One of the armed men behind him shoved his phaser into his back. “Move,” he said.
“I’m going, I’m going,” Jim grumbled. “It’s not my first time at this rodeo, dude.”
They were quickly herded off the ship toward a large, seemingly abandoned warehouse-style building. The forest and temperature put them definitely in Oregon. Jim hoped that Christine’s watch was still emitting its signal; maybe they could be tracked with it.
“Thought you were based out of France,” Jim couldn’t help but quip.
“Saint-Étienne is home and where I spend my leisure time,” Julien said by way of explanation. “Here is where I work.”
“Wouldn’t think a man with a cause such as yourself would have much in the way of ‘leisure time’.”
Julien shrugged. “Even God took a day off, James.”
“I really hate that you call me that, my own mother doesn’t use my full name.”
“Do not worry,” Julien answered in a soothing tone. “At noon tomorrow what appellation I use will be the furthest thing from your mind.”
“How the hell did this happen,” Admiral Pike snapped at Christine Chapel with a furious look on his face.
“Sheer numbers,” Chris replied. “They had us each ten to one. It was a complete ambush, sir.” She sighed and with a shake of her head said, “We didn’t stand a chance.”
“How did they know where the bachelor party even was? How?”
“I don’t know, sir. The only thing I can come up with is that they had someone on the inside.”
“Hey lay off her,” Bones snapped from where he stood not too far away. “If it wasn’t for her, Jim and Spock’d be dead. So would I.”
Pike looked at him with a withering stare for a moment before turning his attention back to his operative. “Your answers aren’t good enough, Sistene, considering just how hard they wiped the floor with you. Especially since we lost both Belle and Ramen.”
“Sir?” Nyota Uhura asked from where she stood next to Bones. “Could you perhaps take a break from reprimanding her to explain exactly what just happened? Apart from the obvious, I mean.”
Pike looked at her for a moment, before looking at Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov. He sighed. Normally protocol dictated that he not explain anything except to those who strictly needed to know.
He hated to admit it, but considering the circumstances these five people were now in that category.
“At approximately 13:13, Julien de Maupassant and his followers escaped Starfleet custody on their way to Foucault. Given the nature of the escape, and how far they were from their primary base of operations, we assumed that they would not attempt anything until tomorrow during the wedding, as all of de Maupassant’s attacks have been extremely high-profile and flashy.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously, we were wrong.” He glared back at Chapel. “Several operatives were charged with the captain and the doctor’s safety until we could add the heightened security detail to the wedding proper in the morning.”
“Operatives,” Sulu asked, his eyes trained on his girlfriend. “What kind of operatives?”
Pike looked at her and she frantically shook her head no.
“She’s a spy, lad,” Scotty piped up helpfully. “Codename’s Sistene.”
The glare that Christine gave Scotty could have been felt all the way in the delta quadrant.
“What? You said your code states that in emergencies you can reveal what you are to the relevant personnel,” he continued. “If ever there was a time it was relevant to us, it’s now, lass.”
“Technically she’s not just a spy, she’s general black ops including wet works,” Pike clarified, “but the sentiment holds.”
Hikaru stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, and Chekov looked appropriately frightened.
“Am lucky I was not killed,” he mumbled to himself.
Bones furrowed his brows. “Is that why you disappear in the store room with a dermal regen a few times a month?”
Chris started and looked at him for the first time since the attack ended. “You know about that?”
“It’s my sick bay, Christine. I see all,” he answered.
Pike frowned. “So on top of letting them get the captain and the first officer tonight, you’ve been getting sloppy with your cover. That’s fantastic.”
She whirled her head back to Pike with an angry expression. Before she could retort, Bones began to speak again.
“And you,” he addressed the admiral, “it’s been bothering me since this afternoon, but we were all told the P.R. gig was created for you after you got hurt. Why are your hands all over this?”
“Being in charge of P.R. is my cover,” Pike explained. “My real role is coordinating the covert ops. Back in the days of the C.I.A., I’d have been called a handler.”
There was a long silence as the five of them contemplated this new information. So not only did Starfleet have black ops, Pike was in charge of it. It was a lot to let sink in on top of everything else.
Wearing a black jumpsuit, Janice Rand came in with a PADD tucked under one arm. She wordlessly handed the PADD over to Pike, who immediately started reviewing the information displayed on the screen.
“This is accurate,” he finally asked his assistant. She nodded twice.
“Yes, sir,” she said in response.
He looked at Chapel. “You gave Kirk your communicator?”
“Yes, sir. He took it just before he left with de Maupassant.”
Christopher handed the PADD back to Janice. “Nice to see you finally did something right, Sistene. Your tracking device is still in operation. We’ve got a lock on their location. That’s assuming, of course, he hasn’t had them killed.”
Uhura closed her eyes and let out a low breath. Bones swallowed thickly as he absently picked at the hem of a shirt cuff. The relief was palpable.
Christine shook her head a few times. “There’s no drama in just killing them where no one can see. He’s going to hold out on that to maximize the damage.”
Janice nodded her agreement. “It does fit his M.O. better than simply murdering them.”
After shooting her a look of gratitude, she turned her attention back to Pike. “Sir, let me go after them. I’ve been gathering Intel on this organization for months, you don’t have anyone else planet side that can do it in the timeframe we’ve got. I’m your only shot.”
“Oh like hell you’re going in by yourself,” Bones snapped. Nyota nodded at his words.
“I’m sorry, I don’t recall asking for you to bug into my op,” Chapel said with a raised eyebrow. “Neither of you has any training for this. You’ll both be bigger liabilities than help.”
“I was first in my marksmanship class,” he retorted. “Nyota was the same. We know what we’re doing.”
“Being a good shot isn’t enough! Neither of you know the first thing about this set of protocols, all you’ll do is get in my way!”
“Enough!” Everyone’s attention was focused back onto Pike. “Take them.”
“Sir?” She had to have misheard him.
“Sulu, Scott, and Chekov too,” he added. “You’re right, we don’t have the time to scramble more people to stage a rescue. You’ve got them all here, and they all have skills you can use. You work with what you’ve got.” He sighed. “Work out the finer details and then I’ll get you all a shuttlecraft and whatever else you need.” He turned to Janice. “Pull up the files on the Aehallh stronghold and begin briefing them. We’re cutting it close as is. I need to make some calls.”
“Aye, sir,” Janice said, and she pulled up the relevant files on the PADD as he stepped away. “We can safely assume the Aehallh are taking Captain Kirk and Commander Spock to their stronghold located outside of Portland, Oregon.”
“That their flight path, Jan,” Sulu asked as he looked at the screen. Janice nodded.
“As stated, their trajectory suggests no other destination,” she continued. “We only learned the location of their headquarters this week; until now, we’d been operating under the assumption that they were based in France as that was where all of their money was coming from. We can also assume that their stay of execution,” Bones and Uhura both winced, “is a short one. de Maupassant acts quickly, but never rashly. We have to operate under the assumption that he staged his capture just to get to this point.”
“Think he got captured on purpose,” Chekov asked with a curious expression.
“It’d make sense, Jim’s been saying all along that they went down too easy,” Bones answered.
“Kirk was smart to be suspicious; unfortunately, none of us got it right for when his counterattack would occur. We’ve had several people doing recon on this H.Q. and we have preliminary information on it. That’s the good news.”
“What’s the bad,” Scotty asked.
“Highly secure. You’ve got ten exterior cameras surrounding all viable entrances and exits. The system itself is run on two redundant closed loop circuits in titanium casing. There is no way to hack it without setting it off. The roof has four cameras in addition to the ones previously mentioned, plus pressure sensors. There’s nothing around the warehouse but some trees, so there’s no line of sight to get in through the few windows, which are also attached to the security system.” She tapped her finger against the image of the warehouse. “Basically, it’s everything but air tight.”
“What do you mean there is no way to hack it,” Chekov and Scotty asked in unison. Both of them looked moderately offended at the mere suggestion.
“Like I said, two redundant closed circuits. You do anything to it other than enter the security code, and if you’re lucky it triggers the system. If you mess up, it fries you.”
“What if there was a distraction, people drawing fire while other people did the hacking,” Chris asked with a thoughtful expression.
Tossing her hair out of her eyes, Janice nodded. “It’s feasible since the alarms would be going off at that point anyway. These people have been highly trained, though, they’ll know if it’s not real.”
“It would seem real if we went in there staging a rescue, especially if Uhura and I are part of the team,” Bones supplied. “They’d have no reason to doubt its authenticity.”
“He’s right,” Chapel said. “They’d definitely assume it’s real in that case. We could it make it look like they’re doing it on their own with no back-up.” She looked at him and Uhura. “Granted it’s extremely risky.”
“It’s worth it,” Nyota replied. Bones nodded his agreement.
“So that draws away maybe a third of their people,” Sulu spoke up. “The question is, how to draw the rest?”
“Another distraction,” Christine said, “although they may be suspicious, but if it involves Kirk and Spock they won’t question it too hard.”
Hikaru looked at the display more carefully. “Do we know where they’re likely holding them?”
Janice looked over the screen for a moment. “Most likely in this back room here,” she said with a point of her finger.
He looked at it again for a moment. “Suck the air out.”
Everyone turned to stare at him, even Pike who had finished his calls.
“You want us to do what, Kiki,” Janice asked incredulously. Chapel paused and glared at her over the nickname.
“Suck the air out,” he repeated. “Chekov and Scotty can build a vacuum-device. The system will already be tripped by the first team. We then attach it to the outside wall while Nyota and McCoy draw their attention. We suck the air out, Kirk and Spock think they’re dying and call for help. If this guy wants to put on a show with them, he won’t let them die. He’ll send people in after them, and there’s our second distraction. That paves the way for a team to go in and take de Maupassant and whoever else out.”
Chapel was impressed. “That’s a solid plan.”
“It is,” Pike found himself conceding.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with asphyxiating Jim or Spock,” Bones spoke up.
“It’ll only last a few minutes,” Sulu explained. “Most likely, de Maupassant and his goons will open the door and fix them up before they even black out. Especially Spock.”
“Kirk has my wristcom, we could warn them just before it happens. In the din of the alarms, no one will be tracking any communications going in or out of the base. We won’t get them into any trouble if we time it right.”
Pike was rubbing his chin with his hand. “Either way, you won’t have a big window to go in there, and grab them.”
“Small windows are something of an Enterprise specialty,” Scotty pointed out in a cheerful tone. “We can do it.”
The admiral looked at the crew members; once upon a time, he had hand selected most of these six people to serve under his command. Things hadn’t worked out that way, but he felt reassured in his choices even after all this time. He nodded to each of them in turn.
“Now the only question is...how do we suck the air out?”
Scotty and Chekov looked at each other for a moment before they began babbling excitedly together.
“It may take some caulk...”
“...Simple vacuum should suffice...”
“...Maybe some duct tape, you can’t have enough duct tape...”
“...Tap into warehouse generator to give it power...”
“...Only work for a couple of minutes, maybe five, but that should be all we need...” Scotty looked at Pike with a grin. “There a Home Depot anywhere on the way?”
Janice looked at Christopher for a moment as he tried to decide if the engineer was kidding or not.
“He’s not,” she whispered without being asked. He nodded in reply.
“We’ll get you what you need, Scott.” He gestured for them to follow him. “Let’s get you all suited up first.”
“Is this really necessary,” Jim said with a sigh as two Aehallh members patted him down. “Whoa there, sugar lips, only my fiancé gets to touch that.”
The terrorist in question shot Jim a baleful look as he continued patting down his legs.
Meanwhile, Spock was growing angrier with every touch. He was even snarling. “I insist you cease touching me at once,” he said as he breathed heavily. Jim eyed him with concern.
“You are not in any position to be giving orders,” de Maupassant said with a smug grin. “We have to be certain you are not carrying any tracking devices.”
“Found a watch,” the goon going through Jim’s pockets proclaimed. “Weird, it looks like a woman’s.”
“Destroy it,” Julien said without hesitating. “Cheating on your doctor? A gift from an ardent admirer?”
“Must have been slipped to me by a stripper,” Jim lied. He also winced inwardly at the thought of what Chapel would do to him when she found out he called her a stripper. “I’ve never seen it before.”
“Then you won’t mind,” he answered. “Have you found any other devices on them? Any emergency transporter switches or communication devices?”
“No, Julien,” one of the girls searching Spock said. “They’re clean.”
“Excellent. Take the watch and we will destroy it outside.” He stepped out into the hallway. “Once the door is sealed, you’ll have thirty-six hours worth of air provided neither of you is a heavy breather. Granted you will be executed before that time has passed, but I did not wish you to think you would be suffocated.”
His followers had joined him and began to close the door. They smirked at Jim and Spock.
“Enjoy your evening, gentlemen, I shall see you in the morning.”
With that, the door closed, leaving them alone. Spock sat down in a corner and placed his head in between his knees. Jim cautiously walked over to him. He went to place a comforting arm on his shoulder when Spock jerked away.
“Do not touch me, I cannot be responsible for what I do,” he snapped.
Jim backed off a little bit but was still hovering over him. “How bad are you?”
Spock looked up at him; his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was flushed. “I fear the meditation is not aiding me the way it should.”
Shit.
Jim sat down next to him. “That hypo Bones gave you back in the club, that didn’t help?”
“It merely ended the headache,” the Vulcan said. “The sertraline can do nothing for the pon farr itself. It appears that my half-human physiology is accelerating the symptoms. While I should have four more days before being completely overtaken by its effects, that clearly is not how things are occurring.” He panted a little. “Every moment that I sit here, the more unstable I become.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“The only alternatives open to me at this time are mating or the kal-if-fee,” Spock answered in something of a defeated tone. “I am fairly confident you will volunteer for neither of those.”
“Yeah uh...you’re really important to me, Spock, but getting killed by you is kind of a no-go for me. And mating with you...well, I’d also get killed if I did that, but by Bones.” Deciding to take a risk, he half-smiled. “Besides, we had this conversation on Atlus. We don’t think of each other that way, remember?”
Spock nodded his agreement. “It would perhaps be wise for you to stand on the other side of the cell then.” He shook his head. “Also I feel I must point out that Doctor McCoy would not have a chance to end your life, as Nyota would end both of ours before he had the chance.”
Having moved to the wall directly across from him, Jim nodded. “You’re probably right. She is downright scary when she’s pissed.”
“Indeed. I fear I have been inciting her wrath frequently of late.”
“Your whole refusal to have sex with her thing?”
Spock hesitated before nodding. “She feels I am not allowing her to aid me during my time.”
Jim wrapped his arms around his legs. “I could see that. She can help with this and you told her no. I’d probably feel the same way.”
“It is nothing personal,” Spock continued. “I just do not wish to see her befall a similar incident that my mother did.”
The captain nodded. “Well, I understand both sides is all I can say. But you know, in the interest of not murdering someone in cold blood, perhaps you should take her up on it when we get out of here.”
“You are assuming that we will.”
Wow, Spock sounded bitter. “Pretty sure we will. That watch was Chapel’s wristcomm to Pike. Sure they’ve destroyed it by now, but we’ve been here long enough that they’ve got a lock on where we are. I’m willing to bet we’ve only got like three hours at the outside before they send a team to rescue us, and if I know them our friends will be on that team.” He looked off into the distance. “Though going from how things look, I don’t know how easy it’ll be. This place is locked down tighter than the Presidio.”
Spock nodded his agreement. “The security system appears to be two closed redundant servers. I am not certain Mister Scott or Mister Chekov can hack into it.”
“Maybe not either of them alone, but together they can do it probably,” he replied. “I’m more concerned with the cameras I noticed as we were dragged in here. There’s no way they can really sneak in.”
“Perhaps they will employ some form of distraction,” Spock said as he took long, slow breaths. “As much as I wish to continue discussing this with you I feel I must attempt to meditate in order to at least partially stave off the pon farr.”
Jim nodded. “I’ll just stay over here and not talk then.”
Spock nodded his thanks and shifted his position, sitting with his back straight. He breathed deeply for a few moments before closing his eyes. Sweat continued to bead on his forehead as he eventually managed to enter a meditative state.
Jim sighed and tilted his head back into the wall.
This was not good.
This was the opposite of good.
In a perfect world he and Bones would be together right now, either still at the party or having their own private one in one of their hotel rooms. They would snuggle for a little while after, and then kiss each other goodbye before going to bed. Then they would wake up tomorrow, shower, get dressed, and get married.
It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.
Instead, because of his stupid reputation he was sitting in a cell in God-knows-where Oregon with a sick Vulcan. He had no way to know for certain that Bones or Pike or, hell, anyone knew where he was. All he had was hope.
Trying not to make a noise, Jim clenched his fists angrily.
He was proud of what he did to save the Earth from the Nerada. He had always been proud of it, and he was proud of everything he had done since.
But was it worth it?
He couldn’t even get married without being set upon by terrorists, let alone have a normal existence. Everyone knew who he was, it was part of how he got Madelyne to be their wedding planner so easily. Yeah, sometimes he used the fame to his advantage like when he wanted to take Bones someplace special on shore leave and they said they were booked up.
None of that mattered if it meant he couldn’t marry Bones, if he was going to die before he even got the chance.
He buried his face in his hands for a while.
He kept going back to that brief conversation he and Bones had after the rehearsal dinner, about how Bones just accepted that this was part of being with him.
That made him almost unspeakably angry.
Why the hell should Bones have to accept it? Why shouldn’t he ask him to change? It wasn’t fair to him, to always be left worrying if this was the one he wouldn’t come back from. He let go of his face and wrapped his arms around his knees.
As long as he stayed in Starfleet, things like this were going to keep happening.
He shook his head.
The problem was that Starfleet was where he belonged. He was built for it, everyone knew that; even the teachers that didn’t like him at the Academy grudgingly admitted it. There was nothing else he could do with his life that would make him nearly as happy.
Except...how could he ever really be happy if he kept doing this to Bones?
Jim bit back a sigh. He wanted to curse, but he didn’t dare disrupt Spock.
Well, he had nothing else to do. There was no reason why he couldn’t take advantage. An answer for him was bound to be found with time, which he had plenty of.
He looked at Spock; his breathing was even and his skin was less-flushed. He was definitely in a trance.
He allowed the sigh that time.
“Don’t take too long,” he said to himself, echoing the last words he spoke to Bones. “We’re on a deadline.”
“Are these suits really necessary,” Bones asked no one in particular. “I feel kind-of exposed.”
Pike wasn’t kidding when he told all of them to suit up; everyone was given standard issue Kevlar black bodysuits with reinforced boots, fingerless gloves, and the special wrist communicators. Chekov kept pulling at his collar, and Uhura kept adjusting her gloves with a weird expression.
Chapel rolled her eyes. “You insist on coming along for my op and then you complain about the dress code. Really?”
“You wear this shit all the time,” he snapped back and Sulu, who was piloting the shuttle, winced at the words all the time.
“Yes, yes I do, and there is a reason for it! It’s called being covert, you should look it up!”
“Guys,” Nyota said from where she sat. “Not right now.”
Chekov unbuckled his harness and went to the back. “Going to help Scotty,” he said by way of explanation.
Nyota looked at Chris and Leonard. “Are you guys really going to fight the entire time we do this?”
“No,” Chris huffed at the same time Bones went, “Obviously.” She made a loud exasperated sound and made her way up to the pilot’s bay to sit with her boyfriend.
Nyota looked at Bones with a sour expression. “This isn’t easy on her.”
“Because it’s so easy on me to have my fiancé abducted right from under my nose, plus I get told ‘oh hey he’s probably going to be killed.’ Then on top of it, I find out my head nurse is actually a spy and has been lying to me the entire time I’ve worked with her.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m on a shuttle and we all know how well I deal with that. No, you’re right, this is a goddamn picnic.”
“Being an asshole doesn’t solve anything, either,” she said. “Do you think I’m not freaking out about Spock, especially given his...condition?” It was her turn to cross her arms. “We’re all doing the very best we can with what we’ve got. You snapping at her over every thing she does when she’s the only one of us with any experience in this type of mission is counterproductive at best and dangerous at worst.”
Bones slumped against the seat with a frown. “I know, it’s just...it’s how I handle things.” He shook his head a few times. “I did this to Jim once, not too long after we got together.”
“How’d he deal with it?”
He smiled. “He let me go off on him for about ten minutes, and then he calmly asked if I was done. Once he was finished reassuring me, he told me if I ever treated him like that again he would punch me square in the mouth.”
Nyota blinked several times.
Bones, however was smiling at the memory. “Haven’t done it to him since.” The reality of their situation hit him again and the smile quickly faded. “I don’t know what I’ll do if...”
“Stop,” she pleaded, as much as for her sake as for his. “Just...we’ll make it. We’ll make it with time to spare, and we’ll get them out.”
He winced. “I’m sorry, Nyota, I just...”
“I understand,” she admitted. “The last thing Spock and I did was fight at your party. I just have to keep hoping I’ll get a chance to make things right with him. Otherwise, I can’t do this.”
Bones slumped again as he nodded. Usually when he got like this Jim was the only person who could talk him down, but she was right. Worrying about what ifs and snapping at everyone wasn’t going to solve anything. He pulled at the edge of a sleeve.
“Let’s go over the plan again, just to make sure we’ve got it down,” he offered. “I don’t want either of us second guessing anything.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said. “More productive than worrying or staring off into space.” Nyota leaned forward in her seat. “So, what happens after we touch down?”
“You and I disembark the shuttle, taking our rifles, and make our way through the woods using the night-vision goggles.”
“We need to be careful not to alert them to our presence too quickly.”
“Right, which is why we’re going around the complex to the North, as there are less woods there.”
“When we get within view of the warehouse, we start storming the castle, again being careful as likely the guards will vastly outnumber us.”
“We shoot them up, making as much noise as possible and drawing as many of them to us as we can.”
“We then get ‘overwhelmed’ and make it look as if we’re falling back. We call out the signal phrase that we need backup.”
“The guards surround us, and hopefully de Maupassant comes out to interrogate us, but Scotty and Chekov have made their way to the rear and have begun sucking the air out.”
Nyota nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s go over it again.”
Christine listened to them going over the plan from where she sat next to Hikaru. He had yet to acknowledge her presence, opting instead to focus on flying the craft.
“So Sistene, huh?”
She couldn’t help but jump a little. “Yeah. I didn’t choose it.”
“I certainly hope not,” he said with a smile that was slightly off. “That’s the worst pun I’ve ever heard. Although they do get some small points for the fact that it also rhymes with your first name.”
“I’d pass that along, but the names are chosen by a computer.”
They rode for a little while in silence. It was uncomfortable and different from the silences they usually had between them.
“Do you understand now,” she asked.
Hikaru shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious I don’t have the clearance to know what you get up to, yeah.”
She turned in her seat to face him as she tucked her legs up under her. “I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”
“I’d like to believe that.”
“I wanted to tell you, Hikaru, I really did.”
“I’d also like to believe that,” he said and the expression on his face was one of honesty. “It doesn’t change the fact that you did it, though.”
“Because I had to,” she pleaded. “I have my orders, and they supersede everything else.”
“Scotty knew.”
Chris sighed. “Yes, Scotty knew, because he was in command during that fiasco on Castro. The only way I could have gotten you all out was by telling him where I got my Intel from. As he said earlier, in certain circumstances I’m permitted to tell the commanding officer about me. Everyone else is off-limits, though.”
It was his turn to sigh. “Including significant others.”
“Especially significant others,” she clarified. “It’s not unheard of for them to be targeted and killed to get at agents.”
Hikaru took one hand off the controls to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment. Neither of them spoke for a long time. He shook his head a few times before finally looking at her. “If we keep seeing each other, nothing’s going to change right? You’re going to keep disappearing and lying to me, hell you might not come back at all.”
“As much as I would like to,” and she really would, “I can’t go against my orders. It’s not just for my safety, it’s for yours too. So, yes, I’ll keep disappearing and not telling you what’s going on.” She bit her lip for a moment. “It’s not like you always can tell me about what happens when you go on the missions with Kirk and Spock.”
“That’s different because I don’t lie to you Chris, I just tell you I can’t say.”
“And I was supposed to do that with how often I need to leave? You practically accused me of cheating earlier, I can’t imagine you wouldn’t have done that had I just told you I couldn’t say.”
He brought his hand back down to the console and steered them quietly through the woods. They were getting closer, she could tell by the terrain. “I don’t know, Chris. I have to think about this.”
Christine looked down at the floor for a moment. “I understand,” she said sadly. They rode the rest of the way in silence.
In the back, Scotty was putting the finishing touches on the vacuum device. It had taken a portable generator, a shopvac, some soldering, and a bit of the aforementioned caulk and duct tape, but he had done it. Pavel stood and watched him for a moment before kneeling down on the opposite side of the vacuum.
“Not prettiest,” he said and Scotty looked up at him, “but will do job well.”
“It better,” the engineer said with a frown. “We only get one shot, and since they turned off the communicator we can’t even warn Kirk and Spock about what we’re doing.” He offered a crooked smile. “Let’s hope they don’t panic too much when the air gets thin.”
Pavel nodded back. He stared at Scotty, who flushed a little.
“You were staring at me at the club,” he said.
“Was I,” Scotty said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. “Sorry.”
“I do not understand what happened,” he continued, making Scotty wince. “Everything was great and suddenly you do not want to spend time with me.”
The engineer sighed. He really wasn’t prepared to have this conversation. More the point, he didn’t really know how to explain without hurting him, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do.
A voice in his head pointed out that running away from him had already hurt him badly, but it was better he not make it worse.
“I can’t talk about this now,” he answered. “We’ve got too much else going on, too many other things that need us to be clear-headed and focused.”
Pavel’s expression turned stony. “Now you don’t wish to answer my questions.”
“I’ll answer them, just...not now, all right? We need to be able to work together on this and we can’t if we talk about this first. I’m not saying no, Pavel, I’m saying later.”
He didn’t look particularly impressed by what Scotty was saying, but he did drop it. He began to examine the machine again. “Hope I did math correctly.”
“You did, I checked it,” Scotty reassured him. “I mean, I didn’t do that because I doubted you or anything, it’s just a habit I’ve picked up.”
“I know. You are thorough. I choose to take the compliment,” he smiled at him and Scotty felt himself get flustered.
Maybe he was being silly about Pavel. Maybe Pavel could really want him. Maybe they could be happy together.
He smiled back at him, which made Pavel’s grin noticeably brighter and his eyes sparkle.
Scotty thought long and hard about all the things Pavel did for him, like reminding him to eat or visiting on his off time just to spend time with him. He genuinely sought out his company. It started because everyone else was angry with him after the thing with Sulu, but over time he did it because he wanted to.
Pavel had feelings for him, too.
If he was being honest, they had been in a pseudo-relationship with each other for weeks. No wonder he was so upset by him blowing him off; he thought Scotty was dumping him in the worst possible way.
This was all terrible. Scotty felt like an awful human being. He also felt stupid for the first time in his adult life. Just like he hadn’t seen what his feelings for Pavel had evolved into, he failed to notice that Pavel’s feelings were the same.
God he needed to apologize, grovel, and beg, not necessarily in that order.
The shuttle began to descend and before too long they were landing. Chapel came back to them.
“We’re here,” she announced. “Leonard and Nyota are assuming their positions. Be ready to do the same.” She turned and made her way back to the middle section of the ship.
The two men nodded at her retreating figure. It was time to get ready, and there was no turning back.
Somehow, as he looked at Pavel again over the vacuum, he knew things would turn out okay.
Chapter 4b | Chapter 5b
