Star Trek-TOS-027-Mindshadow

by Kevin Underwood

  Andorian, who had been the last one to see the

  Cygnusian

  alive. Kirk had managed to exact a small

  measure

  of revenge: he confined the Tellarites, under

  Zev's

  very loud protest, to their quarters. Maybe that would

  keep them out of trouble for a while--but he doubted

  it.

  Kirk had just lain down on his bunk and closed his

  eyes when the intercom whistled; he swore loudly

  as

  he hit the control.

  At least it was Uhura on the bridge, and not

  Tomson

  telling him another diplomat had bit the dust.

  She smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry

  to bother, Captain, but I assumed you would still be up

  after all

  the excitement .... his

  Kirk grunted. "What's the problem,

  Lieutenant?"

  "Since the murder of the ambassador, sir,

  I've been

  monitoring all channels--alert standby

  procedure. I

  just happened to listen in on a very low frequency

  band, and... well, it's hard to explain, but I

  picked up

  something that could either be a shadow or a carefully

  hidden signal. I'm not really sure, but it's

  definitely

  some kind of disturbance. Maybe I'm being

  overcautious..."

  "I hardly think that's possible, Lieutenant,

  considering

  our cargo." Kirk remembered the last time he'd

  had a ship full of diplomats and wound up being

  tailed

  by an Orion spy ship. "What's the source?"

  "This ship, sir." She did not hide her

  surprise. "Dr.

  McCoy's quarters."

  MINDSHADOW

  At first Kirk thought he had heard her wrong.

  "Did

  you say McCoy's quarters?"

  "Yes, sir. No mistake."

  "I'll check it out, Uhura. Thank you for

  notifying

  me."

  "Thank you, sir."

  Kirk adjusted the sonic pick to the correct

  frequency

  and stepped back as the door to McCoy's

  cabin opened.

  Inside, the only light in the cabin came from the

  small lamp on the desk, where Emma sat

  looking up at

  him in silent amazement. Kirk was not surprised

  to

  find her there, but he had not expected to see what

  she

  held cupped in her hand.

  Sickened, he pointed his phaser at her.

  "I'll take

  that."

  She handed the transmitter to him without a word.

  "Bones?" Kirk called hoarsely.

  No answer came from the darkened bedroom.

  He pushed the phaser at her, forcing back the

  panic

  that rose in his chest. "By God, if

  you've done anything

  to himMore"

  "I gave him something to put him to sleep. You

  won't be able to wake him up," Emma said. Her

  voice

  betrayed no guilt, no hostility, no anger;

  it was flat and

  calm. "What were your people doing monitoring this

  frequency?"

  Kirk's voice shook with rage; he fought

  to steady it,

  to be as cool as she. "What the hell were you doing

  with this on my ship?"

  "I need it for my work," she said urgently, and

  stood up. Kirk waved the phaser at her.

  "Sit down."

  Emma sat down. "Captain, before you call

  Security-was

  "Be quiet." He could not bear to listen to her

  speak,

  not with that honest, unafraid expression--she was

  going to say something sincere, and Kirk did not

  trust

  himself to disbelieve her. He found it hard enough to

  believe what he had just seen.

  "Go ahead and fire, but I'm not going to shut up.

  Please call Admiral Komack first, and

  tell him what's

  happened. Please. Before you call Security."

  Keeping his phaser leveled at her, Kirk went

  to the

  intercom.

  "I'm on your side," Emma said.

  Perhaps because he wanted to believe, he did not

  call Security. "Uhura, I'm sending a

  message to Admiral

  Komack from McCoy's quarters. It will be top

  priority. When the reply comes through, I want you

  to

  relay it here the instant it comes in."

  "Thank you," Emma said.

  Kirk settled into the chair across from her and

  pointed the phaser at her chest. "At this distance,

  we

  should get a reply before McCoy wakes up.

  I've got

  plenty of time to wait."

  SAENZ, EMMA MARIA. SECURITY

  CLEARANCE CONFIDENTIAL. POSSESSION

  OF TRANSMIT-TER CLEARED

  ON MY AUTHORITY. ADMIRAL KOMACK,

  OU.

  Kirk put down the phaser and closed his eyes with

  grateful relief. Emma was slumped forward in

  the

  chair with her head on the desk; he reached forward

  and put a hand on her shoulder. When she raised

  her

  head to look at him, he smiled at her.

  "Komack?" she yawned.

  Kirk nodded. "Sorry. I didn't know."

  She sat up straight in the chair and stretched her

  MINDSHADOW

  arms above her head. "Thank you for not calling

  Security. No one must know, not even

  Leonard." She

  looked at him with somber eyes. "My life

  depends on

  it."

  "No one will know." Kirk rose to leave, but

  something

  made him hesitate.

  "Emma... about what happened between us..."

  She raised an eyebrow in an

  expression of curiosity

  that strikingly resembled Spock's. "Nothing

  happened

  between us, Captain."

  "Uh, huh," he said slowly. "Of course.

  Nothing

  happened." He moved toward the door and stopped.

  "And as far as I'm concerned, nothing ever will."

  "If that's the way you want it."

  "That's the way I want it." He felt

  slightly exasperated

  with her; she was not helping him out of this very

  gracefully; she almost seemed to be having fun with

  him, the way Spock sometimes used to pretend not

  to

  understand Terran figurative speech.

  Until she leaned forward and quite seriously said,

  "I

  don't want to do anything that would hurt either one of

  you. I care very much about you both."

  When Kirk saw the look in her eyes, he

  left hurriedly

  before he kissed her again.

  "What the hell--" Kirk was nearly thrown from the

  command console as the ship lurched forward.

  "Captain!" Sulu called urgently, "we've

  lost warp

  drive."

  "Manual override, Mr. Sulu"

  "Not responding, sir."

  "Captain to was

  The agitation in Uhura's voice made Kirk

  swivel

  around to face her.

  "Engineering reports an explosion, sir . . .

  in the

  main engine room."<
br />
  "Get me Scott."

  "Captain--" Kirk could hear coughing and confusion

  in the background "--th is Scott." The engineer

  was struggling to speak.

  "What's going on down there, Scotty? Any

  casualties?"

  "No, sir, but somebody's blasted the warp

  drive.

  We can't see right now for the smoke to judge the

  extent of the damage, but I think manual

  override was

  also affected. No danger of coolant leakage,

  and the

  anti-matter pods are undamaged. Nothing

  permanent-but

  whoever set that blast knew right where to

  put it to slow us down." He broke off,

  overcome by a

  spasm of coughing.

  Kirk waited for him to finish. "Estimated

  repair

  time?"

  "All the damage reports aren't in yet, but

  my guess

  is at least a solar day's work."

  "Get your men to sick bay, Mr. Scott.

  Sounds like

  you're all suffering from smoke inhalation. And that

  includes you."

  "Aye, sir."

  "As soon as McCoy gives you a clean bill

  of health,

  I want a full report on the damage."

  He had scarcely made up his mind to call

  Security

  next when Tomson came on the intercom.

  "Lieutenant Tomson, I was just calling you.

  As

  soon as the smoke is cleared out of Engineering,

  I

  want you to get some people down there to investigate.

  Scott says the explosion was no accident."

  "An explosion in Engineering, too, sir?"

  "What do you mean, too, Lieutenant?" Kirk

  sat

  forward with an angry, sick certainty in the pit

  of his

  stomach.

  The explosion in Taureng's room had sent the

  Sau-

  MINDSHADOW

  rian hurtling outside into the corridor, where he

  impacted

  with the bulkhead. His aide, who was closer to

  the site of the blast, was killed instantly. The

  ambassador

  had been taken to surgery, condition critical.

  Kirk snapped off the intercom, for the second time

  faced with the unpleasant task of informing a

  government

  that their delegation had been the target of a

  murderer aboard his ship.

  "Someone on this ship," he said to no one

  in particular

  on the bridge, "does not want us to get

  to Vulcan."

  Captain's Log, Stardate 7006.9:

  Lieutenant Tomson informs me that the blasts

  set in Engineering and in Ambassador

  Taureng's

  quarters were set by someone who is not only an

  explosives expert (since no clue, not even

  a trace

  of the material used, was ever found) but who is

  intimately familiar with the ship's layout.

  Security has done a thorough check and found

  that none of the personnel on board have any

  training in the use of explosives. Tomson

  therefore

  suggests only one possible conclusion.

  One of my crewmembers is working for the

  other side.

  Emma Saenz and Kirk faced each other on the

  padded floor of the gym.

  - "How's the shoulder?"

  Kirk shrugged to show the extent of the improvement.

  "Hasn't bothered me at all today. Although I

  must say," he added lightly, "it

  certainly caused

  enough trouble at first."

  Emma cast a knowing smile at him as they bowed

  ceremonially.

  Instead of the slow-paced dance around her to size

  her up, Kirk lunged immediately, grasping at his

  opponent.

  Emma moved directly into the attack, into his

  arms,

  with enough force to throw him off balance.

  It was exactly what he'd hoped. He pulled

  her down

  to the floor with him, and rolled swiftly so that she

  was

  pinned beneath him. Emma fought, and almost succeeded

  in breaking away, but this time brute strength

  triumphed over cleverness. It was one of the few

  times

  she had to concede.

  "You learn fast," she gasped up at him.

  "I have an excellent teacher. You're not the only

  one good at fooling people."

  She' learned fast, too. His initial

  surprise attack had

  taught her to anticipate similar tricks from

  him; the

  rest of the match was a draw.

  They were on their way to the sauna when Kirk

  stopped. There might be others in the sauna, and he

  wanted only Emma to hear what he had to say.

  He

  turned to her, and she looked up at him

  expectantly;

  she was still glowing from the workout, and the flush

  of color in her cheeks and lips had made her

  truly

  beautiful. So fragile, and so strong...

  Kirk instinctively stiffened and assumed a more

  formal air. "Doctor, I need your help."

  "Of course," she said softly. "Name it."

  He swallowed. "I must find the person who

  planted

  the explosives on my ship. I assume it would

  also be

  the same person who killed the Romulan and the

  Cygnusian ambassador."

  She took an indignant step back as though he

  had

  insulted her. "Aren't you capable of

  making any deductions,

  Captain?" Her hands flew to her hips. "Did

  you think Komack sent me here just to take care of

  Spock?"

  MINDSHADOW

  "No..."

  "Anything that happens to those delegates is more

  my failure than yours. Rest assured, I'm

  working on

  it."

  If there were any words that could make him feel

  better about the current situation, Emma had just

  said

  them. He sighed and relaxed his posture. "Any

  leads

  yet?"

  "I'd rather not discuss it. For this part of my job,

  I

  take orders only from Komack."

  He flinched internally at that, but aloud said, "I

  understand. But certainly you can understand that I

  wanted to find out what was going on."

  "Certainly you realize that you have a spy on

  board," she said. Then as an afterthought she added in

  a voice so low he could scarcely hear,

  "All right, tWO."

  He nodded, sick at the thought.

  "When I find out who it is, you'll know," she

  said,

  and went to change before he could ask her any more

  questions.

  Lavender deepening to purple deepening to darkest

  violet, fading to gray and then black--moving up

  and

  down, undulating, rolling, rolling into hills,

  into mountains.

  Gray, black mountains, and he was rolling down

  them, gathering speed, faster and faster until he

  spun

  like a top and the dizziness made him cry out for it

  to

  stop ....

  Spock sat u
p with a start. The dream came often

  now, repeating itself, but each time changing ever so

  slightly. Soon, he told himself, soon the

  image of the

  mountains would no longer be shrouded in mystery.

  He glanced up at the chronometer on the ceiling

  and

  rose to dress himself for the evening meal. His

  body

  was no longer as thin and fragile as it had been;

  for the

  past week, he had indulged Amanda's desire

  to fatten

  him up. He had even begun taking afternoon naps.

  He

  needed the strength now, for he had a purpose: to

  return as quickly as possible to the Enterprise.

  Spock was confident that he was once again fit for

  duty. His memory had completely returned,

  with the

  exception of the incident on Aritani, and as the

  dreams

  grew more vivid, he knew that memory would soon

  return as well. Even the mind rules were now

  his;

  indeed, that very morning he had received his last

  instruction from the Tela'at.

  "I marvel at the change, Spock," Stalik

  had told

  him. "In all my years, I have never seen

  anyone

  master the rules more quickly. This is the

  final lesson.

  And this time, it is because you no longer have need of

  my instruction."

  Spock had bowed low to him. "I have indeed been

  fortunate to have the Tela'at as a teacher. Your

  willingness

  to return after my indiscreet behavior speaks

  highly of your character. I will not forget this time

  what I have learned." He raised his hand in the

  Vulcan

  greeting. "Live long and prosper, Tela'at

  Stalik."

  Stalik returned the salute with fingers that

  trembled

  with age. "I have done both, Spock. May you

  also do

  likewise."

  Spock helped his teacher to the door and watched as

  the Tela'at disappeared down the dusty path.

  Stalik

  had reached an age attained by few Vulcans;

  surely he

  would soon die, and the wealth of knowledge he had

  accumulated during his lifetime would be lost,

  except

  for that which he had imparted to his students. Spock

  had not been merely polite when he had said he was

  fortunate to have Stalik as a teacher.

  He was still thinking of Stalik as he finished

  dressing

  and walked from his room into the hallway. A flash

  of

  black and white startled him.

  MINDSHADOW

  "T'Pala." He spoke her name almost without

  meaning

  to; he had not seen her since their meeting in the

  garden.

  With the exception of her pale face, T'Pala was

  completely enshrouded by her black cloak. She