Star Trek-TOS-027-Mindshadow

by Kevin Underwood

  that he was a Romulan. Vulcans do not, as a

  rule,

  engage in murder. And the fact that my father and I

  survived at all was due to something other

  than luck.

  We were rescued by a friend."

  "Someone else was there? Where is he? He could

  clear you."

  Spock studied a point in the far distance. "She

  was

  killed in the incident--vaporized. She and the

  attacker."

  "Oh. I'm sorry."

  Spock was silent for a short time before continuing.

  "The message I have for you, Captain, is one that

  I

  have wanted to remember for some time, but was

  unable to."

  "Which is?"

  ,After I left you, Dr. McCoy and Mr.

  Scott with the

  Aritanian representative, I followed my

  tricorder signal

  out to the edge of the plateau, near the mountain. It

  seems, Captain, that the mountains are quite rich in

  uritanium--"

  "We already know that, Spock."

  "Of course. That, however, is not my message.

  As I

  was scanning the mountains, two surface fighters

  materialized almost directly in front of me.

  They were so

  close that I could clearly see the pilots

  inside, even in

  the darkness. They were Romulans."

  "But where could they have beamed down from?"

  Kirk asked. "There weren't any ships in the

  area--if

  they had beamed down from a cloaked vessel, they

  would have had to let down their cloak to beam the

  fighters down, and we would have detected them."

  "Captain," said Spock, "you are assuming that

  they

  beamed down. At the same time the ships

  materialized,

  my tricorder detected a slight power surge

  merely a kilometer beneath the planet surface.

  Although the cloaking device currently in use by the

  Federation does not permit the simultaneous use of

  transporters, there have been reports that the

  Romulans

  are working on a design which currently affords a

  rather imperfect degree of protection during

  transporter

  use. If the Enterprise scanned the surface,

  it

  would probably interpret the mild power surge as

  a

  minor seismic disturbance."

  "What are you getting at, Spock?" asked

  McCoy.

  "I submit, Doctor, that the ships were not beaming

  down--rather, they were beaming up."

  "That would explain it!" Kirk was exultant.

  "Spock, we erected the protective shield,

  but the

  pirates apparently penetrated it."

  "There was no need for them to penetrate the

  shield. They were already beneath it, able to come and

  go as they pleased to the surface."

  "So it wasn't an accident," McCoy said

  grimly.

  "They pushed you off the edge for what you saw."

  "Not at all, Doctor. I jumped."

  "You what?"

  "It was a choice between rolling off the edge of the

  plateau or facing the pirates' burning

  phasers."

  208

  MINDSHADOW

  "You made the right decision." Kirk shuddered,

  remembering the smell of singed flesh.

  McCoy changed the subject. "I must say,

  Spock,

  that your recovery is quite impressive. I'm going

  to

  recommend neodopazine to all my

  cortex-damaged

  Vulcan patients from now on."

  "Doctor," Spock asked hesitantly, "just

  how familiar

  are you with the effects of neodopazine on

  Vulcans?"

  McCoy shrugged. "Hardly at all. It's very

  new, so

  I've never used it myself. Dr. Saenz has,

  though, and

  she recommended it very highly."

  "Is there a reader in this room?" Spock craned

  his

  neck.

  "Over here. What do you want to know?"

  "A friend suggested I look at a recent

  article by

  Silak. I wonder if you could key it up for

  me."

  "Sure." McCoy entered the name, got the

  cross

  index, and retrieved the article. "It's

  recent, all right,

  published less than two weeks ago . . ."

  His face

  registered surprise, and then he smiled.

  "Well, how

  about that--coma study by Silak, Wreen... and

  Saenz."

  "Emma?" Kirk asked.

  "One and the same. She wasn't kidding about having

  worked with the drug. I thought she said it hadn't

  been tested on Vulcans, though..." McCoy

  furrowed

  his brow as he scanned the article.

  "Read the conclusion," Spock suggested.

  McCoy moved his finger down the reader to the

  conclusion of the article and stiffened.

  "What is it, Bones?"

  He read aloud, unable to believe what he saw

  on the

  terminal before him. "Our study

  indicates that the use

  of neodopazine on Vulcans is definitely

  contraindicated..."

  He skipped over a sentence, "... notable

  side

  effects include paranoia, loss of concentration,

  impairment

  of memory, mental confusion, irritability, and

  depression . . . The effects of neodopazine

  can be

  more devastating than the traumatic brain damage

  it is

  used to treat." His voice broke off as he

  looked at the

  captain.

  "But why?" Kirk could not understand. "Why

  would she knowingly use it to treat Spock?"

  Spock's tone was gentle but resolute.

  "Gentlemen,

  several attempts have been made to stop me from

  divulging the information I have just given you. To list

  a few: the so-called suicide attempt while

  I was on the Enterprise, the sabotage of the fuel

  indicator on the Galileo, Dr. Saenz's

  use of neodopazine to prolong my

  amnesia and to trigger psychological disturbances

  which conveniently provided an explanation for my

  last so-called suicide attempt and attempted

  murder of

  my father, who I should like to point out is one of the

  most outspoken proponents of protection for

  Aritani.

  It would have been a convenient way for the Romulans

  to be rid of both of us."

  "He's not the only diplomat the Romulans have

  tried to kill," Kirk said darkly.

  McCoy was still in shock, but anger began to creep

  into his voice. "Are you trying to tell me that

  Emma is

  the one who's been trying to kill you?"

  "She is definitely a suspect, Doctor."

  "You're wrong," McCoy lashed out. "You

  don't

  know Emma--she's not capable of murder. And

  she's

  a very loyal person who would never sell out to the

  Romulans."

  Spock was unmoved by McCoy's vehement

  denial;

  he folded his arms
calmly. "It's not

  always possible to

  predict people or circumstances. Perhaps there might

  be some situation in which Dr. Saenz would find it

  MINDSHADOW

  logical to join forces with the Romulans. However,

  I

  do not expect you to take my word alone. I

  suggest

  you consult Dr. Saenz on the matter."

  "That's exactly what I intend to do," McCoy

  said

  hotly, "because I don't believe you."

  "Doctor, you read the article yourself. Aren't you

  the least bit curious to hear her explanation?"

  "Yes, but I'm sure it's not that she's a

  Romulan

  spy."

  "She couldn't be," Kirk said slowly. "She

  works

  for Admiral Komack."

  McCoy and Spock regarded him with disbelief.

  "It's true," Kirk insisted. "I heard it from

  Komack

  himself."

  Spock sighed. "Then I suggest,

  Captain, that you

  notify the Admiral of the possibility that he

  has a

  double agent working for him. In the meantime, I also

  suggest you try to locate Dr. Saenz before she

  has a

  chance to escape."

  "You don't really think she'd try to---"

  Kirk began.

  "Captain, if she is working for the Romulans,

  then

  she knows that my memory is close to returning and

  that I quit taking the neodopazine a week

  ago. I am

  sure she did everything in her power to discourage

  both of you from coming here, for she cannot risk my

  discovering the effects of the medication she prescribed

  and divulging that information to you."

  "She said she was leaving," McCoy mumbled

  inaudibly.

  "What?" Kirk asked.

  "She said I wouldn't see her when I got

  back,

  because she was being reassigned." McCoy looked

  at

  the captain helplessly, his anger replaced

  by numbness.

  "But I still can't--"

  "Captain," Spock interrupted, "in that

  case, haste

  is essential. It may already be too late

  to find her."

  "Let me go," McCoy said swiftly. "I

  could stop

  her."

  Spock lifted a skeptical brow.

  "Doctor, if it is true

  that the lady is a Romulan spy, I doubt that

  even your

  powers of persuasions"

  "Go ahead," Kirk told him. "I'll call

  Security."

  "If you call Security now," Spock pointed

  out, "she

  will certainly know that she is being pursued, assuming

  she is monitoring ship-to-surface

  communication."

  Kirk's expression was somber. "Take a

  phaser with

  you, Bones. That's an order."

  "Yes, yes, of course, Captain," McCoy

  lied. "And

  I'll give Scotty a good excuse for beaming

  up, in case

  she's listening."

  "All I want you to do, Doctor, is

  to distract her for a

  few minutes, so I can notify Security without

  her being

  aware of it. After you beam up, I'll give you

  ten

  minutes to find her before I call them."

  "Right, Captain." McCoy anxiously

  signaled the

  guard to let him out.

  When he had gone, Spock looked at his

  captain with

  eyes Kirk tried to avoid. "Captain, I

  hope that you

  have not made a mistake in sending Dr. McCoy

  to find

  her."

  "Don't you trust McCoy to turn her in?"

  "I trust the good doctor, but I dare

  not presume

  what his relationship with Dr. Saenz

  "He loves her."

  "I thought as much. Even so, I trust Dr.

  McCoy. Dr.

  Saenz, however, is another matter. She has

  killed,

  Captain, and I do not trust her even in this

  circumstance

  not to kill again."

  Emma was waiting by the transporter console when

  McCoy stepped from the platform. My God, he

  MINDSHADOW

  thought, it's true; she was listening when I asked

  to

  beam aboard.

  But she looked at him, puzzled, and frowned.

  "What are you doing here?"

  McCoy sighed with silent relief. "I was

  hoping to

  catch you--before you left, that is. I need to talk

  to

  you..." He shot a glance at Lyle, who stood

  behind

  the transporter control, awkwardly pretending not

  to

  listen.

  She shook her head. "This is a mistake,

  Leonard.

  There's nothing you can say that will convince me to

  stay. Please, I'll miss my shuttle--"

  "Emma, please."

  The desperation in his words must have convinced

  her, for she turned to Lyle. "This won't take

  long."

  McCoy led her down the hall to a nearby

  conference

  room and they went inside.

  "All right, Leonard, what's this all about?"

  "Emma, there's something I have to ask you . . .

  there's something I must know before you leave." He

  took her gently by the shoulders.

  "We've been through this before, Leonard--"

  "I'm not talking about marriage. This is something

  else entirely. Please, answer me

  honestly."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Do you expect me to do

  otherwise?"

  McCoy took a deep breath and

  searched her eyes;

  they were as clear and genuine as they had always

  been.. Right now they regarded him with honest

  puzzlement.

  "In this case, maybe. But I want you to know

  that if you answer me truthfully, regardless of

  what the

  answer is, I won't try to stop you from leaving.

  That's

  a promise."

  "Fair enough," she said. "What's the question?"

  "The neodopazine. Emma, why?"

  "I can't tell you that, Leonard. Ask me

  anything

  else." She began to pull away, but he

  tightened his grip

  on her.

  "I'm the chief medical officer on board this

  ship.

  You work for me, remember? I'm asking you a question.

  Why can't you tell me?"

  "I don't answer to you in this instance. I don't

  have

  to explain my actions to you." She pulled harder

  to

  break free.

  A sudden rage kindled within him, and he squeezed

  her arms so tightly that she cried out in

  surprise. "You

  were sent here to kill Spock, weren't you? And you

  had to get on good terms with the chief medical

  officer,

  so that you could manipulate him to do what you

  wanted with Spock. That's it, isn't it?" He

  shook her. "Isn't it?"

  She pushed free with a gasp. When McCoy

  approached

  her again, he saw the small phaser directed

  at his chest.

  He
r eyes flashed with the heat of her own anger.

  "I

  don't have to tell you anything, Leonard. I'm not

  responsible to you or to anyone else on board this

  ship. Who I am or what I am is not

  important. I have a

  job to do, and no one, not even you, will interfere with

  it."

  "You used me," McCoy whispered miserably.

  "I don't have to tell you anything, but I will tell

  this: I love whom I please, not whom I am

  ordered to.

  Understand?"

  "No," said McCoy.

  For a moment, he thought she looked at him with

  something very much like affection.

  "Fool," she murmured. "I have risked myself for

  your friend because you loved him. Now everything

  may be lost. What more do you want from me?"

  McCoy did not have a chance to answer; she aimed

  the phaser at him and fired.

  Chapter Eleven

  EMMA SAENZ SMILED sweetly at

  Ensign Lyle. "Sorry

  to keep you waiting, Mr. Lyle. A last

  minute medical

  problem..."

  Somewhat abashed, Lyle returned the smile.

  He

  was not the sort to stick his nose into other people's

  business, making it a point to ignore any

  rumors

  circulated about senior officers, but it would have

  been

  impossible not to have heard the gossip about the

  heated affair between the chief medical officer and the

  new specialist.

  He was convinced now that it was more than just

  gossip. "No problem at all, Doctor."

  She stepped onto the transporter pad and

  positioned

  a small suitcase by her feet. "Ready to beam

  down,

  Mr. Lyle."

  What followed next took place so quickly that

  Lyle

  was never quite sure what happened.

  The door opened and Second Lieutenant

  Reems of

  Security stood in the doorway, phaser

  drawn. When

  he saw Dr. Saenz on the platform, he

  aimed his

  weapon at her and started to speak.

  He did not have time to say anything. Emma, still

  calm and smiling, produced a phaser of her own

  and

  fired it at Reems. It surprised Lyle;

  he shouted at her

  and she turned smoothly toward him and fired again.

  Emma ran over to the transporter console and

  pushed the slumped form of Lyle aside so that she

  could reach the automatic control. He slid to the

  floor

  with a heavy thud.

  "Stop. That's as far as you're going."

  Emma stopped and looked over her shoulder.

  Ingrit

  Tomson stood over Reems in the doorway,

  her phaser

  pointed at Emma's back. "Drop it."

  Emma laid her phaser carefully on the

  console.

  Tomson motioned toward the door. "Now move."