Treason ch 20

Chapter Twenty



“Admiral, the Vulcan boy needs to be moved to Natala as quickly as possible.  He may not be safe here.”

“Not safe at Starfleet Command?”

“Another attempt was made on my life.”  

“Are you thinking that it might not be just against you personally, but rather an anti-Vulcan hate crime?”

“Perhaps.  However, what worries me the most is that Dr. McCoy tracked both my attackers down, and both were Starfleet personnel.”

“What?”  Pike asked shocked.  “That doesn’t make any sense, what do they have to say for themselves?”  

“Nothing.  They’re both missing.”

“Damn it.”  Pike growled.  “Spock, what is Starfleet doing about this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Spock, you’re a Starfleet Officer, a Captain at that, and someone is trying to murder you...back when I was in Starfleet that sort of thing tended to throw the Council into a tizzy.”

“A...tizzy?”  Spock repeated.

“All I’m saying is that it more than a little odd that Starfleet hasn’t launched a full investigation and done something to keep you safe from future attacks.  Have they done anything?  Dr. McCoy shouldn’t have to be the one hunting down your attackers, he’s a doctor, not a detective.”

“Where is Admiral Cooly?”  Spock asked suddenly.  

“Off world.  Why?  You think he has something to do with it?”

“I did not say that.”  Spock said quickly.

“You thought it so hard that I could hear it.”

“Really?”  

“No, Spock, not really.”  Pike smiled.  “It was a figure of speech.  Truth is that there are a lot people right now who are regretting the fact that he’s been allowed on the Federation Council.  He says his days of radical anti-alien views are behind him, but I don’t believe it for a second.  What made you think of him just now?”

“The Admiral is who I report to, he is the only one that I have sent my statements to on my attacks.”

“And he’s done nothing.  Spock, not to sound cold, but this might be a good thing.”  Pike said.  “This is a scandal that will run him right off the Federation Council.”

“There may be no scandal at all.  He may be conducting an investigation without making a public announcement about it.  Internal affairs are not usually broadcast to the masses.  If it was known that an investigation was going on it may make the guilty more difficult to find.”

“You’d think he’d at least tell you he was doing something.”  Pike pointed out.  

“He may have.”  Spock admitted.  “There are currently one hundred thirty-seven documents on my desk file that remain unread.”

“That doesn’t sound like you, Spock.”  Pike said with concern.

“I have been inundated with a vast quantity of reports that even at my high reading speed I  have found myself unable to keep up with.  I am at a loss to understand how any Starship Captain deals with the paperwork involved.”

“They don’t read it,”  Pike chuckled  “they just sign it.”  

“That is unacceptable.”

“Hey, I’m just telling you the way it is.  I tried reading it all at first too, then I realized that a quick skim of the title was usually all that was needed.”

Spock looked at Pike and tilted his head slightly with a raised eyebrow.  Pike broke into a bright smile and laughed.  

“Don’t look at me like that.”  Pike smiled.  “You’ll be signing those reports without a second glance before you know it.”

“I suppose the five hundred pages worth of readouts from Engineering that I receive every three hours tend to always be the same.”

“And if they weren’t you can bet your ass that Scotty would be knocking on your door to tell you personally.”

Spock furrowed his brow and glanced over his shoulder at his backside, wondering how or why anyone would use their ass in a bet, and who would take someone up on such an offer.  Pike noted Spock’s confused look and shook his head sadly.  

“I guess what you’re trying to say is that there nothing more than my personal distaste for Admiral Cooly that connects him to your recent attacks.  Is that right?”

“Correct.”  Spock agreed.  

“Alright, but I still don’t like him.”  Pike said firmly.  “Let’s not worry about that right now, let’s worry about our young Vulcan friend.”

Spock nodded and followed Pike down to the medical isolation level.  They entered an observation room that held a one way viewing field.  To the patient on the far side it would look and feel just like any wall, but from where Pike and Spock were the wall was transparent.  Spock walked up to the barrier and look down on the captive held beyond it.  

The boy didn’t even look Vulcan with his shock white hair that fell in messy cut locks.  There was a bed in the room but he was curled up on his side on the floor in the corner of the room.  He looked to be sleeping, but his muscles still twitched.  Spock noticed that the green cuts and scars that he could see were all diagonal and had been done in a set pattern up his arms.  His face held a few marks as well, but they were all old and healed.  Under his left eye was a set of six parallel scars that ran down his cheek forming an almost tribal pattern.  His neck held a large gash that was fresh and looked infected.  

“It’s sickening to look at, isn’t it?”  Pike said quietly.  

Spock couldn’t respond, he didn’t have the words to express how he felt looking at someone so young having been put through so much.  The Vulcan suddenly jerked awake with a cry of panic.  Looking around his surrounding in terror he pressed himself into the corner with his knees hugged tightly to his chest.  It took him a moment to settle down, once he did he just stared blankly at the floor.  

“I may not be able to help him.”  Spock said.  

“All we can ask is that you try.”

Spock nodded and left the observation room to enter the holding cell.  Pike had given him the code to the door and it slid open.  The door closed behind him and he walked over to the corner opposite where the Vulcan was cowering so that there was as much distance between them as possible.  The teenager had weld his eyes shut when he’d heard the door slide open.  

Spock waited silently for the Vulcan to adjust to the idea that someone had entered the room.  He had started shaking and the air in the medium sized room reeked of fear and blood.  Eventually when he wasn’t touched the Vulcan braved opening his eyes.  He gasped sharply at the sight of Spock and scrambled to his feet.  Still pressed in the corner he stared distrustfully at Spock.  

‘I am Spock of Vulcan.’  Spock said quietly in Vulcan.  ‘I wish to help you.’

The boy didn’t appear to be convinced by either statement.  He had the wary look of a trapped animal in his dark eyes as he continued to stare.  Spock recalled that the boy had been listening when he’d informed Pike that it was going to be a week before he’d be able to return to Earth.  The Vulcan would logically assume that either he’d been lied to before, or he was being lied to now.  

‘I understand your mistrust.  However, I assure you that I am Vulcan.’

In an attempt to prove his identity and gain some of the boy’s trust Spock slowly got down on his knees.  Sitting back on his heels Spock put his hands behind his back and closed his eyes.  After taking a deep breath he held his breath.  The point was to be quiet enough to allow the young Vulcan to hear Spock’s heart beat.  Its fast paced rhythm was not something that could be duplicated by a human dressed up as a Vulcan.  

Spock didn’t know if the boy would understand, or even care, but he gave him a moment to examine his visitor passively.  He became hopeful when he heard the Vulcan move away from his corner.  Spock kept his eyes closed as the boy came closer.  He could sense the other kneeling down in front of him and kept completely still.  Spock was a little surprised when he felt the Vulcan put his hand on his ribs over his heart.  Instead of just listening for the heartbeat he seemed to need to physically feel it in order to be convinced.  

‘Sa...Salen.’  

‘Greetings, Salen.’  Spock replied.  ‘May I open my eyes?’

‘Yes.’

Slowly opening his eyes Spock looked at Salen.  Salen removed his hand from Spock’s ribs and folded his hands in his lap.  He kept his eyes downcast in a look of submission.  Although still trembling Salen was doing his best to keep his emotions under control.  Even as tears streaked his scared face he fought to stop them.  Spock found his own eyes burning slightly with the acid sting of unshed tears.  

‘I apologize for my emotionalism.’  Salen whispered.  

‘Apologies are not needed.  Every creature, even a Vulcan, has their breaking point.’

Salen nodded even though he still looked ashamed of his behavior.  Spock watched helplessly as the young Vulcan bit down on his bottom lip to try and keep his emotions from getting further out of hand.  Failing at reining himself in Salen broke down into true tears.  

Although it was not Vulcan nature to try and comfort another through touch Spock decided to try it anyway.  He had seen it work many times on humans when they became overly emotional.  Spock reached out with one hand and lightly placed it on Salen’s shoulder.  Before he knew it Salen threw himself at Spock and wrapped his arms around him.

Holding onto Spock like he was afraid that he was going to be dragged away Salen cried bitterly against his chest.  Unsure of what to do at first Spock remained motionless.  As Salen continued to cry Spock gently enclosed him in a comforting embrace.  However, unlike a human where the emotional release helped ease the pain, the longer Salen continued to cry the worse he became.  His trembling turned to a violent shaking and he began convulsing.

‘Salen,’  Spock whispered  ‘you must regain control of yourself.’  

‘I do not know how.’  Salen whimpered through his tears.

‘Take a deep breath and hold it.  Focus all your thought and all your energy into visualizing your emotion as a candle flame.  Once you have the flickering image solidified in your mind reach out and extinguish it with your fingertips.”

Salen took a shuddering breath and nodded.  He pushed himself away from Spock and sat back on his heels with his palms resting on his knees.  Even though tears still rolled down his face he forced himself to ignore them.  Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and held it.  His shaking slowly stopped and he was completely stationary for a few minutes.  Eventually he reached out and snuffed the imaginary flame.  When he opened his eyes again he was far more at peace.

‘Thank you, Spock, you have eased some of my pain.’

‘It will not last long.  Truly learning to control your emotions after a traumatic event such as you must have suffered will take a great deal of practice.’

‘I understand.  Even know I can feel my fear and panic returning.’

‘Salen, I need to know what happened to you.  I believe your fate may be connected to that of a friend of mine.’

‘I...I can not talk about it.’

‘If you will allow it, I will look for the answers myself.’  

Salen visibly hesitated.  When he began to shake again he closed his eyes once more to repeat the meditation trick Spock had taught him.  Salen calmed himself and when he opened his eyes again he nodded.  Spock reached out and softly touched his fingertips to Salen’s face to initiate a mind meld.  

‘As we share our thoughts, look to my past and learn all I have been taught about emotional control.  It will help you.’  Spock whispered.

Salen nodded once more and Spock completed their connection to slip into Salen’s past.  He learned immediately that Salen was the son of a geologist father and a botanist mother.  It explained how he had survived the destruction of Vulcan, Salen and his parents were on Geti-9 doing research.  When the colony on Natala was established Salen’s father made the decision to move his family to Natala.  

They never completed the journey.  Looking through Salen’s eyes as though they were his own Spock stared down at his father who had been beaten to death by the very men who were supposed to be taking them to Natala.  They were on a small spaceship somewhere in the vastness between Geti-9 and Natala.  He could feel his mother’s hands on his shoulders as she stood behind him, calm despite the fate of her mate.  A large human stepped into his line of sight.  Spock glanced around and found that he was surrounded by six other grinning humans.

“Well, Wilson, which one should we keep?”  One of the men asked.  

“The boy.”  Wilson answered instantly.  

“I don’t know, I kinda like the woman.”

“That’s the problem.  It is too easy to sympathize, even pity a beautiful female, no matter what species.  For Langin’s purposes the boy is best.”

“Can we have some fun with her then?”

“Do what you want with her,”  Wilson shrugged  “just make sure she’s dead, and drained within the next forty-eight hours.”

“You want her first, ‘Captain’?”  The man chuckled.  

“I’m not touching that animal.”   

When the men approached Spock looked back to Salen’s mother apprehensively.  She stared at her son, memorizing his face for the last time.  When she was roughly taken by the upper arm she leaned forward to place her lips against Spock’s ear.

‘I love you, Salen.’  She whispered.  

Just as Salen had had no reply when the events had originally happened Spock had nothing to say now.  Confused by the seemingly illogical violent turn in the events his young mind was struggling to understand.  Salen was barely thirteen and had yet to be taught about the deceit and cruelty other species were capable of.  Five of the men left with his mother, leaving Wilson and one other.

“Not interested in joining them, Jake?”

“Hell no.  I’d just as soon screw a Targilian rat-dog.”  

“Good man.”  Wilson chuckled.  “Not that I can blame them, Vulcan women are beautiful, it’s one of the things I fear the most about their race.”

“I’m more afraid of that.”  Jake pointed at Spock.  “Look at him, he doesn’t even seem to care that we just slaughtered his father and dragged his mother off to a worse fate.”  

“What do you have to say for yourself, Vulcan?”  Wilson demanded.  “Are you so emotionless that even the sight of your father’s watery green blood doesn’t upset you?”

“Tears will not bring him back to life.”  Spock whispered.  “Begging you for mercy will not spare my mother.”

“He’s got a point.”  Jake pointed out.  

“It still isn’t natural to be so cold.”  Wilson spat.  

As Wilson approached Spock he did his best to repress the mixture of fear and loathing that was tearing him apart from inside.  He remained calm on the exterior even as Wilson lashed out and struck him against the temple.  Knocked to the floor he lost consciousness and the memory turned black.  

Spock stayed in Salen’s mind and moved to the boy’s next strongest memory.  Sharing the Vulcan’s mind gave the side effect of the memories becoming temporarily his own, making it difficult to remember that the memories was not his own and they the events were not currently happening.  After experiencing the death of Salen’s parents he wanted to pull away, but he didn’t have the answers he needed yet.  

Confined to a wire cage that barely gave him the room to turn around Spock hugged his knees to his chest and waited in the darkness.  He could hear a lot of shouting and cheering in the background.  The air was hot and humid, filled with the stench of humans.  It had been a few weeks since what was left of his family had been kill and he had spent most of that time confined to the crate.  At one point he had overheard that they had landed on Earth, but he still didn’t know what they wanted him for.  

Spock tensed as he felt someone approaching.  He blinked rapidly against the harsh artificial light as the blanket was torn from the cage.  Wilson glared down at him and smiled bright.  He unlocked the door and opened it.  

“Come on, you.  Out of there...it’s show time.”  

When Spock made no move to follow orders Wilson snarled angrily.  Reaching into the cage he grabbed a fist full of Spock’s hair and dragged him out forcefully.  Wilson forced him through an unusual area that looked like the back of an old theater.  As they walked the crowd noise became louder.  The was one voice above all the others, but he couldn’t understand what he was saying.  

The noise had reached an almost unbearable point when they came to an old dirty red curtain.  After being pulled to a stop Spock felt Wilson’s hands on the back of his shirt.  With a single powerful move Wilson tore the shirt open and let it fall to the floor.  Before Spock could react Wilson shoved him from behind and forced him through the curtain.

Blinded by several bright spotlights Spock stumbled to a stop.  The crowd noise had come to a sudden stop as well.  As his eyes adjusted Spock found himself on a stage with a well dressed man with bright blonde hair in front of a large audience.  Confused and frightened he tried to retreat the way he had come only to bump into Wilson who had joined them in the spotlight.  

“Behold our overlord, Brothers!”  The blonde man announced with a great deal of showmanship.  

There was a horrible hiss from the crowd as though they were a single beast.  Although breathing heavily when Spock saw that there was no escape he stood in place and just waited for the events to unfold.  

“For far too long Vulcans have been masquerading as Earth’s ‘advisors’, but the truth is they are just controlling us.  We could destroy enemies like the Romulans and Klingons, but why don’t we remove them from our Galaxy?  Because the Vulcans insist on peace and we listen to them the way a dog obeys his master.”

The men in the audience shouted angrily and rallied together.  

“And now that they are almost extinct do you really think that they are going to just slink off into oblivion.  Of course not!  When they see that they face true extinction they are going to breed into the human blood line and ruin it forever!  We already know it can be done, Spock the Vulcan half-breed owes half his blood to a human.  Does he look human?  Does he act human?  Or has he simply used it as a way to further his position in our Starfleet?”

As Salen Spock did not take the insult personally.  The already frenzied crowd was now beginning to cry for blood.  Smiling like a man who had everything going his way the blonde turned to Wilson and gave him signal.  Spock hadn’t seen Wilson take off his leather belt, but he heard it whipping through the air a few seconds before it struck him across the back.  The powerfully welded belt ripped his skin open and caused green to drip down his skin.  He had enough advanced warning of the strike to ready himself and as a result he did not cry out or even flinch when he was injured.

“He doesn’t even feel pain.”  The blonde spat.  “Is this really what we want for the future of the human race?  Do we want our children to bleed like this?”

Wilson forced Spock to turn around to show off the green blood that was oozing down his back from his broken skin.  Spock closed his eyes and took a few deep breath to calm himself.  Logic told him that what these men wanted more than anything was to see some kind of reaction out of him and that giving it to them would only make matters worse.

“I’m willing to bet that it doesn’t even have a soul.”  The blonde continued.  “Nothing more than intellect, a breathing computer.”

With his back still to the cat calling audience Spock just waited for the ‘performance’ to be over.  He kept his eye out for a chance to run, but Wilson was watching his every breath in anticipation of him attempting to bolt.  They had purposefully been keeping him on the edge of starvation to weaken him.  Although he doubted that he could best Wilson in a fight even under the best of conditions.  

Eventually the rally came to an end and Spock found himself back in the cage awaiting his fate.  He could think of no logical reason for the humans to keep him alive now that he’d served his purpose, unless they planed to do more of these shows.  The slash mark across his back was throbbing painfully and he spent some time trying to control the sensation.  Being so young Salen hadn’t been fully trained yet and continuous discomfort was more difficult for him to suppress.  

“Well, Langin,”  Wilson's voice pierced through Spock’s meditation  “did I deliver or what?”

“That you did.  There were some very powerful men watching tonight, and they were impressed.”  The blond man agreed as he stepped up and peered into the cage.  “I honestly thought I was throwing my money away when I hired you.  Catching a Vulcan can’t be easy.”

“It wasn’t.”

“And you’re sure the others won’t be looking for him?”

“Vulcan society is in such disarray and so many have been lost that no one will miss him.”

“Since the destruction of Vulcan our group has seen a tenfold increase in members.”  Langin smiled and then looked at Spock again.  “It’s creepy how calm he looks.  It’s like he isn’t even afraid.  This is exactly what makes their kind so dangerous.”

Internally Spock was terrified and still mourning the slaughter of his parents.  However, it  was out of the question to display either one of these emotions nor the growing anger he was developing for his captors.  Langin crouched down and laced his fingers through the bars so that he could dig his fingernails into the wound on Spock’s shoulder.  With little options for escape he allowed the human to open the wound further.  Langin searched his victim’s face for a sign of reaction, when he didn’t find one he released him and rubbed the blood off on his dark pants.

“Why don’t you speak?”  Langin asked Spock directly.

“I have nothing to say.”  Spock answered truthfully.

“You could ask me to spare you your life, you could beg me to let you go.”

“You will not.”

“You’re right.  Your race has a deranged sense of courage, I’ll give you that much.”  Langin nodded.  “Wilson, kill him.”  

“Don’t worry, Langin, I’ll take care of him.”  

Spock closed his eyes and concentrated on not visibly trembling.  Young Salen knew he wasn’t supposed to fear death, however, he was struggling to suppress his panic.  Playing out Salen’s memories Spock reached up and brushed away the tear that escaped and slipped down his cheek.  He sensed Langin leaving, but his presence was quickly replaced by Wilson’s friend, Jake.  

“You’re not really going to kill him, are you Wilson?”  

“Hell no.  There’s green gold in those veins of his.”

“I’ve already sold every drop from the adults.  I think we should start demanding a higher price.”

“Agreed.”  

Feeling he had learned all he could from this moment in time Spock jumped forward to Salen’s next strongest memory.  Locked behind bars in a cell that had been constructed in a dark basement Spock shivered against the cold.  Becoming Salen once again he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d felt warm.  The rat that he had befriended through feeding it scraps crawled up onto his shoulder.  The rat made himself comfortable against his neck and offered him a small amount of warmth and physiological comfort.  

He wasn’t sure how long he had been living in the darkness, but he guessed it had been a few months.  So far all his captors had done was made sure he had just enough to keep him alive.  Sometimes it felt like days would go by before he’d see anyone.  The sounds of heavy footsteps on the stairs told him that Wilson and Jake coming to visit.  Frightened by the approach of the humans the rat jumped off his shoulder and scurried away.  

Spock weld his eyes shut against the invading light as Wilson snapped on the overhead lights.  Getting to his feet Spock pushed his back against the far corner to get as far from his human captors as he could.  The longer he spent in the dark isolation the harder he was finding it to control his emotions, particularly those of fear and loneliness.  Wilson stepped up to the bars and put his arms through them to rest casually on the cross bar.  He stared at Spock with a mischievous grin on his face.  

“Your buyer finally agreed to our price, eh?”  Wilson chuckled at Jake.

“He’s sold off all the stuff I supplied him with and he’s desperate to get his hands on more.”

“Now that Natala is well established and the Vulcans are a little more organized they’re not easy to find or kill.  I bet we’re the only ones with a blood source.”

“So how are we going to do this?”  

“I figured we’d just cut it out of him.”  

Spock tensed as Wilson unlocked the door and stepped inside.  He had not spent all of his time in the dark sitting in the corner feeling sorry for himself.  Far from it, he had done everything he could to strengthen his muscle tone for the day that Wilson dared to step into his prison.  Spock was just about to launch himself at Wilson when an earsplitting sound, high above the register that humans could hear, sliced through the air.  

The agonizing sound dropped him to his knees.  He pressed his palms against his ears in a desperate attempt to protect his sensitive hearing.  Wilson stood over him and chuckled.  He used the opportunity to grab a handful of Spock’s hair and haul him to his feet.  Wilson signaled to Jake to turn off the sound.  Even when it was over Spock was left disoriented and panting heavily.  

“Try anything and my friend here will turn that thing up so high you’ll bleed out of those pointed ears of yours.”  Wilson growled.  

“Please...let me go.”  Spock finally whimpered.  

“After all this, that sound is what makes you beg?”  Wilson gloated.  “I love it.”

“I just want to go home.”

“You have no home.”  

Completely losing control of his temper Spock twisted out of Wilson’s grip and attacked him.  He was able to land one solid hit on Wilson’s face before Jake turned the ultrasonic device on again.  Crying out in pain Spock collapsed to the stone floor with his hands clamped down over his ears.  Wilson kicked him hard in the ribs before Jake turned the sound off again.  

In too much pain to fight Spock peacefully allowed Wilson to drag him out of the cell.  They brought him into the next room that was featureless with the exception of a metal bucket that sat on the floor.  Wilson brought him over to the bucket and forced him down onto his knees.  He grabbed Spock’s wrist in a tight hold and pulled out a knife.  

“Hold still.”

Despite the order Spock tugged at Wilson’s hold on him to try and escape.  Young and half starved he had no chance against the powerful human.  Spock cried out as Wilson slashed three deep cuts into his palm.  He held Spock’s bleeding hand over the bucket and his blood dripped into it.  Wilson allowed the cuts to bleed freely for a few minutes before offering Spock a towel and releasing him.  Trembling Spock wrapped his hand in the towel to help stop the bleeding.  

“That wasn’t so bad, eh?”  Wilson mocked.

“Please do not cut into my hand anymore.”  Spock asked quietly.  “I can show you where all the major veins close to the skin are elsewhere.”

“This seemed easiest.”  Wilson shrugged.  “Why does it matter?”

“Vulcan hands are very sensitive, this is extremely painful, a cut to the arm or chest would not be so taxing.”

“I’ll make a deal with you, you cooperate and I’ll let you decide where we do the cutting.”

“Logical.  I agree.”

“Break our deal even once and I’ll slice your hands up until they’re useless.  Understood?”

“Yes.”  Spock nodded.  “May I ask one more thing of you?”

“Go for it.”

“I am very cold.”

“I think I can find some blankets for you.”

“Thank you.”  

“Listen to that, Jake, he’s actually thanking us.”  Wilson chuckled.  

“Small comforts are better than none.”  Spock explained.  

“Be a good boy and we’ll see what we can do about making you more comfortable.  Now get up.”

Spock nodded and got to his feet.  Holding his injured hand close to his chest he walked peacefully back to his cell.  True to his word Wilson brought him a few thick blankets to curl up in.  A few days later Wilson returned with a marker which he tossed into the cell.  

“Pick a spot.”  Wilson ordered.

Sighing in defeat Spock untangled himself from the blankets and reached over to pick up the marker.  He hesitated at first to mark his own skin for injury, but at least it gave him a small measure of control over his life.  His palm was still in the process of healing so he turned to the underside of that forearm and drew the first of many line across his skin.  

The months passed in basically the same way.  In time Wilson had brought down a space heater so he no longer shivered under the blankets.   The cutting ritual became so common place that it didn’t even bother him anymore.  He drew out all of the cuts in diagonal lines that followed a pattern that allowed for the the greatest amount of time between needing to move on to different areas.  Eventually he came to the point where he was back at the original scars and was having Wilson reopen the old wounds.  

Spock had fallen so heavily into the monotony of Salen’s life that he nearly forgot what it was he was looking for.  Salen seemed to have accepted his fate and felt no emotions towards his captors one way or the other.  It wasn’t until almost two years after his first cut that things began to change.  

Waking up with a fever was something that happened often to Salen, so when he woke drenched in sweat one morning he never suspected anything was wrong.  Looking into the memory however Spock knew that this was no normal fever and that it was going to become far worse before it got any better.  

Spock hesitated to share in the memory of Salen’s first brush with pon farr.  Trapped in the basement Salen had no way to ease the pain of the mental and physical storm that came along with the coming of age ritual.  As the days past he became more crazed, and unknown to his captors, more dangerous.  Spock decided not to relive the memories that followed, however the link between him and Salen had become so strong that he found he had no choice.  

Spock panicked for a moment, he had never connected with another Vulcan long enough to lose control of the process.  He realized that he may need help from either Salen or someone outside what was going to separate them.  Torn away from his own thoughts and pulled back into Salen’s Spock arched his back and screamed as the ravages of pon farr tore at his body and sanity.

“Do you think he’s sick?”  Jake asked.

“I don’t know.”  Wilson shrugged.  

“I must return to Vulcan.”  Spock growled.  

“Good luck with that.”  

The sound of Wilson’s voice grated against Spock’s ears and drove him to the edge of madness.  With blinding speed he leapt to his feet and rushed the bars.  Wilson didn’t move back fast enough and Spock grabbed a hold of shirt and yanked him forcefully into the bars.  Wilson cursed as blood poured from his nose.  Spock reached through and grabbed onto Wilson’s ear with every intention of pulling it off.

The only thing that stopped Wilson from losing his ear was Jake’s quickly thinking.  Spock was forced to let go of his prey as Jake triggered the sonic device that gave of the searingly painful noise.  Wilson was in a blind rage now and threw the cell door open.  Spock wanted nothing more than a fight to the death at the moment and despite the shrill sound he gladly launched himself at Wilson in attack.  

The violence that ensued was chaotic, but short lived.  Despite his bloodlust after over two years of abuse and blood letting Salen was no match for Wilson’s strength.  Losing the fight just as Salen had Spock ended up pined against the bars.  Wilson and Spock were covered in one another’s blood at this point.  Wilson tore what little there was left of Spock’s shirt off his shoulders and tied his wrists behind his back before shoving him out of the cell and towards the stairs.

“Where are you taking him?”  Jake asked nervously.

“Outside.”

“It’s like ten degrees out there.”

“Exactly.”  Wilson growled.  “I’m going to cool this temper of his down.”  

“You’re gonna kill him.”  Jake warned.  “Vulcans go hypothermic quickly.”

Wilson didn’t seem to care.  Once outside the shock of the seeing the dazzling sunlight glinting off the snow was more disorienting to Spock’s senses than the cold air.  Wilson pushed him down on his knees into the snow and ordered Jake to keep him down.  Spock wanted to look around and see his surroundings but his eyes simply could not adjust to the powerful sunlight.  

Already shivering from the winter chill seeping into his bones Spock’s heart came close to stopping when Wilson stepped up behind him with a bucket of water and poured it down his back.  Crying out as the water turned to ice against his skin Spock tried to stand, but hypothermia began to set in and stole what was left of his strength.  Shivering against the bone chilling cold Spock cried out again as the ice on his skin began to burn with the beginning of frostbite.  Wilson waited until his victim nearly lost conciseness before hauling him back inside.  

Salen had taken nearly two months to fully recover from the combination of the ice bath and the effects of pon farr.  Any deals Salen may have made with his captors were over.  They had to fight him for every drop of blood after the incident in the snow.  Salen’s fighting only provoked Wilson further and he became increasingly cruel.  They became more brazen about their customers as well and began letting them come to the basement prison to drink directly from the tormented Vulcan.  

A year later Salen was listless and broken once again.  He no longer struggled against Wilson and the others.  Their enterprise had grown and there were now two others who helped them run their black market trade.  When Wilson and the others entered his cell with a wine bottle and slit a cut across his throat to fill it with Spock in Salen’s place didn’t struggle.  

“What’s with the wine bottle, Wilson?”

“We’ve got a new job from a very interesting client tomorrow night.”

“Oh?  What is it?”

“I’ll tell you along the way.”

“Where are we going?”  Jake asked.

“Iowa.”  Wilson grinned.

“Iowa?  What could possibly be in Iowa that’s worth anything?”

“Captain James Tiberius Kirk.”  

Spock wanted to hear more having finally come to the memory that interested him most.  However both his own and Salen’s energy was nearly exhausted.  The memory faded only to be replaced by several days languishing unfed in the prison that had held Salen for so long.  The next time the young Vulcan’s memories turned away from the mundane was when he’d heard shouting from upstairs.  Salen had not paid much attention during the argument forcing Spock to look deeper into his subconscious, a place he might not be able to return from.  

“Where is he?”  An angry stranger’s voice demanded.  

“I told you I’d take care of him and I did.”  Wilson said calmly.  

“I want proof that he is dead!”

“If he’s not dead yet, he’s wishing he was.”  

“What do you mean?”

“I sent him on a one way trip into Romulan Space.”  Wilson chuckled.

What happened next was hard to guess.  All Spock knew for sure was that Wilson was meeting a slow painful end to his miserable existence.  His employer seemed deeply dissatisfied with the service they had been provided.  There were sounds that suggested the other three had been killed as well.  

When Spock heard footsteps coming down the stairs he was certain that he was going to be put to death next.  He had mixed emotions about the idea.  His heart raced in fear, however his mind seemed to be looking forward to a release from captivity, no matter what form it came in.  A glaring flashlight invading his darkness and kept him from being able to identify the newcomers, but their voices told him that there were at least two.  Spock’s fear of the strangers won over his desire for death and he pressed himself into the corner.

“I didn’t realize the Vulcan they had was so young.”  The stranger he had heard before said.

“I’ve never seen a Vulcan with white hair before.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t born that way.”

“Should we kill him?”

“No.”  The stranger answered softly.  “He’ll be more trouble to the Federation alive.  Let the police find him.  They’ll hand him over to Starfleet and all hell will break loose.”

“What about Kirk?”

“I doubt the Romulans will let him live very long.”

Spock wanted to ask more questions of the people staring through the bars at Salen, however, he could not change the past he could only observe it as Salen had seen it.  Having learned what he needed Spock tried to disconnect from Salen’s mind.  The young Vulcan resisted being left alone.  His isolation had been so complete and his emotions so overwhelming that now that he had someone to share the burden with he didn’t want to let go.  

When Spock felt a strong hand on his shoulder his thoughts instantly went to Wilson, believing that he was once again risen from the dead to torment them.  Curling his lip in pent up rage Spock spun around and attacked before they could be hurt.  He found that there was someone behind him and he pinned him to the bars by the throat with intent to kill.

“Spock!”  A familiar voice barked.  “Stop, that is an order!”

Even as Spock surrounds melted around him and turned to those of the medical room at Starfleet Command he still held a deep desire to kill the man in his grip.  Pike had become worried and had sent in an orderly to physically separate the two Vulcans.  

“Spock,”  Pike said gently  “let him go.”

Spock nodded and backed away from the terrified man he’d nearly killed.  He looked around and found that Salen had retreated into the far corner once again.  Spock took a few deep breaths to separate his own life from that of Salen’s before approaching him.  Spock knelt down in front of Salen.

“Salen, thank you for sharing your memories with me.”

“I found much strength in your memories as well.”

“I hope it will help you to recover.  There is no longer a need for you to be confined to Starfleet Command, I will personally arrange to have Ambassador Tek’tiel come to take you to Natala.”

Salen tensed and his eyes brightened with tears once more.

“Salen?”  Spock asked softly.  “What is wrong?”

“I do not know if I am ready to return to Vulcan society...my emotions...”

“I understand.  Please give me a moment, I will see if I can find a solution.”

Spock walked out into the hallway and motioned for Pike to follow him.  Once out of sight of Salen Spock dragged his hands through his hair and leaned heavily against the wall.  He closed his eyes and tried to focus.  Pike move up next to him and reached up to touch his arm.  Spock jerked in fright, but forced himself to relax.

“Are you alright, Spock?  I thought we’d lost you.”

“I was reliving Salen’s abuse.  He is the source of the Vulcan blood found on the black market.”

“That’s disgusting.”

Spock just nodded while staring at nothing.

“Spock?”

“Do you know a man named Langin?”

“Oh yeah,”  Pike sighed  “he’s the leader of a hate group that’s been around for over a decade, heavily anti-alien, particularly Vulcan.”

“Have him arrested.”

“Don’t think we haven’t tried, but the guy is clean.  We may not agree with all his hate speeches, but he has a right to say what he wants.”

“He paid to have Salen’s parents murdered, and then had Salen beaten on stage to gain favor with a rally group.”

“Now that’s a different story.  I’ll have him dragged in kicking and screaming.”

“Admiral, may I ask a favor of you?”

“Of course.”

“Take care of Salen until he feels he is ready to return to Natala.  He has seen into my mind, he will trust you as I do.”

“He can live with me as long as he wants.”  Pike smiled.  “Although why do I get the feeling there is something more that you’re not telling me?”

“You get that feeling because you know me too well.”

“Are you going to share?”

“I can not.”  Spock shock his head.  “It is best if you do not know.”

“Alright.”  Pike nodded.  “One other thing, Spock...have you heard from Nyota?”

“No.”  Spock admitted.  

“When is she due?”

“Fifteen days.”

“I could pull a few strings and find her.”

“No.  The choice is hers.  Please excuse me, I am long since past due back at the Enterprise.”

Spock knew that every second he wasted was one less that he had to find his friend before the Romulans grew tired of torturing him and had him killed.  He stepped back into Salen’s room to inform the young Vulcan that Pike had agreed to take him in.  Salen actually smiled even though he tried not to.

“Thank you, Spock, for everything.”

“I have learned much from you in return.”  Spock replied truthfully.

“Is the ‘Kirk’ the strangers who freed me were talking about your friend Captain James T. Kirk?”

“Yes.”

“I hope you find him.”

“Thanks to you I know where to look.”

Salen smiled shyly and blushed a pale green.  Spock wondered if Salen was ever going to be capable of fitting into Vulcan society after all he’d been through.  He was not only going to have to master his emotions, but learn to trust in the good intentions of others.  Knowing that Salen was in the best care possible with Pike Spock felt safe leaving him.  

Scotty made many of the same complaints when Spock asked to be transported back to the ship as he had when Spock had demanded to leave.  Once again the Engineer was talked into doing his job and successfully brought Spock back to the transport pad aboard the Enterprise.

“Damn I’m good.”  Scotty beamed.  

Spock said nothing and went to step off the transporter pad.  Finding his shoes bonded to the floor Spock nearly lost his balance.  Looking irritated Spock reached down and pulled his feet out of his shoes.  Stepping off the transport pad barefoot Spock stepped past Scotty wordlessly.  Scotty looked at the shoes that had been transported into the floor.

“Okay, I’m mostly good.”  Scotty admitted.

Without giving himself anytime to second guess what he was about to do Spock hunted down Daniels.  He found the Helmsman on the bridge and asked him to join him in the briefing room.  Few aboard the Enterprise, Daniels included, even knew that Spock had taken a side trip to Earth.  Once in the turbo lift Spock turned to Daniels.

“Daniels, I need you to be Captain of the Enterprise.”

“Wha...what?  What about Commander Sulu?  He’s next in line for...”

“No, not just any Captain...I need you to be me.”