jumped back nervously, as though she had meant
to
slip into her room undetected.
"T'Pala," Spock repeated. "My parents
have been
most concerned about you. They did not know
whether to be alarmed by your disappearance. Will
you be joining us for the evening meal?"
Her eyes, though defiant, could not
meet his. "No. I
am preparing to leave Vulcan."
Spock considered this silently for a moment.
"Where will you go?"
"Terra, I suppose. I haven't decided
yet. But there
is nothing for me here."
"Did you speak to the admission committee about
their decision--"
"There is no point," she said vehemently,
cutting
him off. "The Vulcan path is not for me. The
Vulcans
feel no loyalty toward me, therefore, it is
illogical for
me to feel loyalty toward them."
"T'Pala--"
She held up her hand to silence him. "I will be
gone
before you rise tomorrow. You will not see me again."
Spock sighed; there was clearly no point in
pursuing
the discussion. She had made her decision, just as
he
had once made a decision many, many
years ago, to
leave--comand even Amanda had been unable to dissuade
him. "I, too, will be leaving Vulcan
shortly," Spock
said.
T'Pala's expression changed abruptly; she
looked at
him with concern. "Are you certain you are well
enough?"
Spock nodded. "My father informs me that the
Enterprise will arrive with the delegates to the
Aritanian
conference in approximately
thirty-four-point-seven
standard hours."
T'Pala's eyes had become unreadable. "So
the medication
is working?"
Spock paused. "Actually, I am no longer
taking
She could not restrain herself and interrupted him.
"Spock, do you think that is wise? Have you
consulted
with the doctors about this?"
He continued calmly. "--nevertheless, I
seem to be
improving. The medication was apparently quite
useless."
She persisted. "Not all medications work immediately.
Sometimes it takes time for a medication to
accumulate to a therapeutic level; and if that
is the
case, the positive effects may soon begin
to wear off.
Promise me you will consult the physicians."
She seemed so genuinely distressed that Spock
saw
no reason to refuse. "Very well. Perhaps it would
be
wise to consult Dr. McCoy. You are certain
you will
not join us for the evening meal?" Perhaps Sarek
would find some way to make her reconsider her
decision.
T'Pala shook her head and backed toward the
door
to her room.
"In that case," Spock said in Vulcan,
"live long,
and prosper, T'Pala."
"Good-bye," she whispered in English.
He dreamed again that night of purple, and of the
deepest shades of red, blue and orange. The
colors
shimmered, melted together, and then slowly sorted
themselves into their proper places. Spock could see
the purple mountains, the deep blue sky, the
scarlet
sun, which was setting and fading the sky to gray.
HeMIN
DSHADOW
looked about, absorbed by the planet's beauty and the
heady fragrance of blooming flowers...
"Smell that," Jim Kirk said. Spock was
glad to see
him again, and called the captain's name, but Jim
did
not turn around, did not seem to hear him at all.
He
stood on the plateau and breathed in the scent of the
wildflowers.
Spock looked and saw Montgomery Scott,
and
Leonard McCoy; the four of them were together,
walking in a very beautiful garden--very
beautiful,
and very dangerous. Spock decided to warn them, but
the words that came out were not the ones he intended.
"Are you having trouble with your eyes, Mr.
Scott?" He wanted to tell them to leave,
to return to
the ship, but once again, he could not control his
speech; the old frustration washed over him.
Scott did not appreciate what Spock said;
it was a
beautiful place, he argued, beautiful, and
Spock had to
agree. A beautiful place, Aritani.
Aritani.
The word filled him with joy--comat last, he could
speak
of Aritani, and know where it was that he had been.
His joy turned quickly to terror as he realized that
his friends had disappeared, and that he was alone in
the near-total darkness. He had nothing to fear,
he
reminded himself. His eyes would adjust quickly to the
darkness, his hearing would warn him... The sun had
disappeared and taken with it the brilliant colors,
leaving behind only black and gray. The
tricorder led
him across the plateau to its edge, to the side of the
charcoal-colored mountain; his night vision guided
him safely, his footing was sure.
He would not fall.
Spock crouched by the side of the mountain, and in
the glow of the transporter beam, he saw and knew
that he had been seen. He also knew he had a
choice to
make: a sure, quick death, or an uncertain
fate three hundred feet below.
He jumped.
Spock woke with the sudden start of one who
dreams he is falling. Shaking, he rose from his
bed.
He remembered now what he had wanted to tell
the
captain, and was determined to contact the Enterprise
before they tried again to kill him. He went to the
subspace radio provided in the room for offworld
guests; the Enterprise should be close enough by now
for almost immediate reception.
Spock had no trouble remembering the proper
frequency.
"Enterprise, come in. This is Commander
Spock on the planet Vulcan. Enterprise,
do you read?"
There was no time to listen for a response--a sound
came from the living room, the sound of a struggle,
and of his father's voice, muffled, calling his name--a
plea for help, or perhaps a warning Spock
followed the sound into the main room and
saw the glint of hard polished metal in the
darkness,
and two bodies of apparently evenly matched
strength
struggling; one was hidden in the loose folds of a
desert softsuit.
The other was his father.
Spock rushed to his aid, but not before the
assassin's
dagger slashed out. Sarek slumped back
ward into
Spock's arms, and as Spock's hands closed
on his
father's chest, he felt something hot, and wet.
He left Sarek on the floor as the assassin
lunged at
him with the dagger. Spock recognized the weapon;
it
had adorned the wall of his old room,
the room that
was T'Pala's now. He leaned back to avoid
the swipe
of the blade, and at the same time grasped the
assailant's
wrist. The assailant fought Spock's hold with
192 MINDSHADOW
Vulcan strength, pulling back until he
freed himself,
but he was forced to drop the dagger.
Both lunged for it; the assassin reached it first and
managed to nick Spock's wrist with it before he
could
leap back. Spock cursed himself for his
clumsiness--the
assassin had taken perfect advantage of the
situation,
for the small nick had perforated a vein, which
was bleeding profusely. Spock would now have to
disarm his opponent quickly before the loss of blood
affected his coordination.
He sprang at the intruder, tangling his legs
to try to
force him down, but to no avail. The intruder forced
Spock back, back until he
stumbled over the unconscious
form of Sarek, and fell.
Dizzy, his strength fading, Spock struggled
against
his attacker as he held Spock's wrist
firmly and with
medical precision began to cut. Spock looked
on with
helpless fury--disonce again, they would try to make
it
look like a ritual suicide. His vision began
to dim and
he ceased struggling; it was a useless waste of his
ebbing energy.
Suddenly, the attacker was engulfed by radiant
light
that intensified until his entire form glowed with
energy
and dissolved into the darkness. The dagger
clattered helplessly to the floor.
In his place stood T'Pala. She clutched a
phaser in
her right hand, her cheeks streaming with tears, but
her face calm, composed--Vulcan.
She knelt down beside Spock and spoke
in a voice
that was measured, steady. "I have summoned aid."
Spock tried to turn his head to determine
Sarek's
condition, but movement was impossible. He heard
his own labored breathing as though it were very far
away.
T'Pala, too, seemed to be moving farther and
farther
away; he strained to hear what she was saying.
"Forgive me. They said I would never be accepted
here. They promised me a glorious career in the
service
of the Praetor, whether I worked for them here in
the Vulcan Diplomatic Corps or
elsewhere. I would
not commit their violence for them, but I told them
when you stopped taking the neodopazine, and I
told
them about your dreams. Don't take it any more--you
will understand when you read the article by Silak.
"Then they asked me to neutralize the security
scanner and the alarm, and I agreed. But when I
saw
the assassin wield his dagger..."
She bowed her head. "I knew I could never
follow
their path. I was foolish. Now I have made a
complete
commitment to the path I was meant to follow."
T'Pala fingered the phaser and cradled it next
to her
bosom. Spock struggled to speak, but could not.
T'Pala spoke to him in Vulcan. "I have
brought
further shame to my mother's family, and to my father's
as well. Logically, there is only one course
to
take.
"Live long, and prosper, Spock."
For a millisecond, Spock's eyes were
dazzled by the
form of T'Pala, blazing more brilliantly than
the Vulcan
sun.
And then there was darkness.
Chapter Ten
Captain's Log, Stardate 7007.3:
Commendations to Mr. Scott, who worked
around the clock to repair the warp drive as
quickly as possible. As it is, the damage will cost
us less than twenty-four hours' delay. We
anticipate
arriving at our destination in approximately-was
The intercom whistled and Kirk turned off the
recorder.
"Kirk here."
"Tomson here, sir."
"Good news this time, I hope?"
Tomson flushed at the slight hint of sarcasm
she
thought she detected in the captain's tone--she was
hardly pleased herself at the total lack of
evidence
Security had turned up in their investigation.
"I'm not
sure if it's good or bad, sir. But it's
something you'd
definitely better take a look at."
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
She hesitated. "I think it'd be better if
we discussed
it in Security, sir."
"On my way." Kirk snapped off the
intercom. "Mr.
Varth, you have the con."
Tomson held up the small black object for
Kirk to
see.
"What is it?" Kirk asked. Its smooth,
polished
surface gave no clue as to its function; in
fact, it looked
capable of doing precisely nothing.
"We don't exactly know yet, Captain. It
seems to be
some type of subspace radio device, although it
isn't
receiving a signal and we can't figure out how to
transmit on it. Whatever it is, it's
definitely not Star
Fleet issue."
"Ah," said Kirk. "I think I know where you
found
this, Tomson."
Her brows knitted together in puzzlement. "You do,
sir?"
"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you'd just
forget about
finding it." He was going to have to remind Emma to
be more careful.
"If you want me to, Captain." Tomson was
confused.
"Then I suppose you'll want me to cancel the
surveillance on Varth--"
"Varth?" He looked at her, thunderstruck.
"Wait a
minute, where did you find this thing?"
"Varth's quarters, sir. We were conducting a very
thorough search of the ship, sir, and we found it
among
the personal effects in his closet--"
"You've been searching crewmembers' cabins without
my permission, Lieutenant?"
She colored scarlet. "It's the closest thing
to a lead
we've found, sir. I'll discontinue the
search."
"By all means, Tomson. In the meantime--"
Kirk
MINDSHADOW
said gruffly, "--i'll take this." He picked
up the
device.
"Sir, that's the only evidence we've uncovered
>
--"
Tomson began in dismay.
Kirk ignored her. "And have a couple of people
escort Mr. Varth to the brig for questioning. You'll
find
him in command of this ship."
Emma Saenz was in sick bay, running scans
on a
crewman. Kirk took her by the arm and led her,
protesting, into the laboratory. She was incensed.
"You'd better have a damn good excuse,
Captain,
for interrupting me when I'm with a patient--"
"Later," said Kirk. He held the device in
front of
Emma's nose. She reached for it, but he pulled
it
away.
"Where'd you get that?"
"First tell me what it does."
"It probably deflects subspace radio
waves. It could
also be a transmitter."
"What good is deflecting radio waves?"
"A lot of good, if you want to keep someone from
receiving a message that could blow your cover. Now
tell me where you found it."
"Varth's quarters," Kirk replied softly.
She did not seem very surprised. "Yes . . .
it
makes sense. Radu opposes protection for
Aritani. It
might back the murders of the Cygnusian and the
Saurian."
"Come on, Doctor. The Raduns are
dyed-in-the-wool
Federation. Varth's family has served in Star
Fleet for generations."
She was skeptical. "It makes no difference,
Captain.
There are a lot of people in this business who
would think nothing of betraying all that. Now, if
you'll excuse me, I have to tend a patient."
By the time Kirk finally made it back to the
bridge,
Uhura was breathless. "Sir, I've been trying
to locate
you--"
"I was questioning Varth in the brig." Kirk tried
to
ignore the look of questioning disbelief on Sulu's
face.
"What is it, Uhura?"
"It's Mr. Spock, sir. He just contacted the
ship---"
Kirk fought to contain his excitement. "Are we
close enough to Vulcan for visual contact,
Lieutenant?"
"Yes, sir, but Mr. Spock is no longer
transmitting."
"He's not? Was there a message?"
"No message. It was very strange--he had just
established contact when the transmission
stopped.
"Interference?" Kirk immediately thought of the
device found in Varth's cabin.
"No, sir. The channel's still open, as though he
simply walked away from the transmitter."
"Have you tried hailing him again?"
"Several times, Captain. No response."
Her dark
eyes shone with concern.
Kirk acknowledged that concern and shared it
with the lightest touch of his hand on her shoulder.
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