Star Trek-TOS-027-Mindshadow

by Kevin Underwood

"That's it for the shields, Captain. We nae

  kinna

  stand another direct hit."

  Kirk knew the answer to his question before he

  asked it. "Can you get us out of here, Scotty?"

  "All we've got is impulse power, sir.

  We can't

  outrun those phasers."

  "In other words," Kirk said grimly, "we're

  sitting

  ducks."

  Spock looked up from his scanner. "I fail

  to see how

  our situation is comparable to that of an aquatic

  waterfowls"

  "Oh, shut up," said McCoy.

  Spock raised a surprised eyebrow and

  returned to

  his scanner.

  Kirk paid them no attention. "Divert all power

  to

  the deflectors, Mr. Scott."

  "The cloakin" device too, sir?"

  "And all the impulse power you've got."

  "Sir." Scott was deeply offended by the thought of

  his engines motionless, powerless.

  "Do it, Scotty. Now."

  "The blasts are occurring at approximately

  one

  minute intervals," Spock offered helpfully.

  "I estimate

  the next one will arrive in twenty seconds."

  "She'll stop it, Jim," McCoy said. "I

  know she'll do

  everything she can to stop it."

  "Let's hope you're right, Bones."

  "Fifteen seconds," said Spock.

  "She's really a Romulan," Kirk said.

  "I'll be damned," McCoy whispered. "That

  explains something... the to evirol."

  "The what?"

  "Eleven seconds," Spock chanted.

  "Levirol. It's a drug that elevates

  blood pressure

  and slows the pulse. Emma was taking it . . .

  no

  wonder our sensors never showed an extra

  Romulan

  on board ship."

  "She wanted me to give you a message."

  Kirk

  lowered his voice so that only McCoy could hear.

  "She says she loves you."

  "Six seconds."

  "Damnit, Spock," McCoy yelled, "if

  we must all

  be blown to kingdom come in the next few seconds,

  I

  do not want your countdown to be the last thing I

  hear."

  Spock regarded the doctor with mild

  surprise.

  "He's right, Spock," Kirk said quietly;

  but internally,

  he continued the countdown. Four seconds...

  Scott came back on the intercom. "I'm

  sorry, Captain...

  I can't raise enough power to get the deflectors

  back up."

  There was no point in bracing for the explosion.

  They would be vaporized by a direct

  hit, or in the case

  of an indirect hit, struck by flying debris as

  the bridge

  shattered, or asphyxiated when the inner hull

  tore. But

  Kirk braced for the shock in spite of himself, and

  prayed that Tanirius had made it to the weapons

  room

  before she changed her mind...

  MINDSHADOW

  Spock rose so suddenly from his scanner that

  Kirk

  almost jumped out of his chair. "Explosion,

  Captain,

  beneath the planet surface. I believe in the area

  of..."

  he squinted back at the viewer, "... the

  weapons

  room. The Romulans have lost attack

  capability."

  McCoy grabbed the captain's wrist, his face

  splitting

  with a grin. "She did it, Jim! She did it!"

  Kirk released his breath slowly and

  smiled weakly

  up at McCoy as he reached toward the intercom.

  "Scotty."

  "Aye, Captain?"

  "Forget those deflector shields. Just give us

  enough

  impulse power to nudge her back into orbit."

  "With pleasure, sir."

  "Standard orbit, Mr. Sulu. Uhura, open

  a hailing

  frequency to the Romulans. I want to speak

  to whoever's

  in charge."

  "Captain," Spock interrupted, "six fighter

  vessels

  beaming up from the hangar area to the surface---"

  "Let them go for now."

  "Captain," said Uhura, "I have the Romulan

  sub-commander."

  Kirk caught his breath silently. "Put her

  on the

  screen, Lieutenant."

  The Romulan male was young for his rank, the

  equivalent of a starship captain. Tears streamed

  down

  his soot-smudged face, more from the sting of the thick

  smoke than from grief or pain. From behind him

  came

  the death-cries of his fellows; he glared at

  Kirk with

  undisguised hatred.

  "Captain," Spock said.

  "Not now, Spock."

  Spock persisted. "An explosion, sir, in the

  hangar

  area. The vessels that remained have been

  destroyed."

  Kirk studied the face on the screen for a moment

  before speaking. "This is Captain James T.

  Kirk of the Enterprise. Are you the commander of the

  base?"

  "Subcommander Tardus. My superiors are

  dead. I

  now command."

  "Subcommander, we know that you have lost your

  cloaking device, your weapons and your vessels.

  I

  suggest you cooperate with us."

  The young Romulan regarded him haughtily.

  "In

  what manner, Captain?"

  "We will assist your surviving personnel

  to evacuate."

  "To become your prisoners," Tardus said with

  utter

  disgust.

  "To be processed and then released to your

  government."

  Tardus struggled unsuccessfully to suppress a

  cough. "To be used as prisoners to bargain with the

  Empire. This is totally unacceptable to us,

  Captain.

  Surely you know that we will never surrender ourselves."

  A painful spasm of coughing overtook him;

  afterwards, he glared at Kirk through dull eyes.

  "This

  is the work of Federation spies, but we shall take them

  with us. You shall learn no more about our installation,

  Captain Kirk."

  "We already know everything about your installation,"

  Kirk said quickly. "No purpose would be

  served by your death--"

  "Captain," Uhura's voice was gentle,

  "he's no

  longer transmitting."

  The flash that lit up the bridge was blinding, forcing

  those present to shield their eyes until the screen

  faded

  to blackness. Slowly, the familiar sight of

  Aritani

  reappeared.

  "The entire operation has been destroyed,"

  Spock

  reported from his viewer, "with the exception of a few

  mining tunnels. Shock waves on the surface

  reaching

  MINDSHADOW

  six-point-three on the Richter scale." He

  looked

  steadily at Kirk. "No survivors beneath the

  surface,

  Captain."

  Kirk's gaze was fierce and directed straight

  ahead at

&nbs
p; the quietly rotating planet. He could not meet

  McCoy's

  eyes; he knew the horror in them matched his

  own.

  The grass no longer grew as high as

  Kirk's hip; in

  most places the soil had been bared by the

  pirates'

  phasers, leaving black, evil-smelling scars.

  The neat

  rows of golden vines had disappeared entirely from

  the

  landscape, burned from existence, but the grass

  persisted. Already it crept back in timid

  blue-green

  clumps to cover the blackened earth.

  Kirk called out.

  There was a rustling sound near the side of the

  mountain, and the sound of small footsteps.

  Natahia

  appeared from behind the charred stump of what was

  once a great tree. Around her stood three

  male

  growers who carried handmade spears.

  "The pirates are gone," Kirk called. "The

  earthquake

  resulted from the destruction of their ships and

  weapons."

  They stopped several feet from Kirk.

  Natahia's

  beautiful blue robe was torn and heavy with mud;

  her

  streaming hair was wild and unkempt. But her

  manner

  was as regal as it had always been.

  She eyed Kirk distru/lly. "Six of my people

  died

  in that earthquake."

  "I'm sorry," Kirk said gently. "But there will

  be no

  more earthquakes, and no more attacks on your people.

  Our enemies were using your planet as a military

  base. Their weapons were hidden beneath the ground.

  They wanted control of Aritani because of its

  minerals

  and so that they could control other nearby planets

  from it as well. When we discovered their base, they

  killed themselves and destroyed the base rather than

  be taken prisoner."

  Natahia closed her eyes. "So we stand at

  last on the

  bones of our enemies. And what does the Federation

  want with us now?"

  "We only want to offer our assistance to help you

  rebuild what the pirates have

  destroyed."

  "We require no assistance in rebuilding our

  huts--"

  "I was speaking of the land, Natahia. To restore

  it to

  what it was."

  Her eyes widened slightly. The growers with her

  whispered among themselves with hopeful excitement,

  but she silenced them with a quick motion of her

  hand. "You have methods for doing so?"

  "Yes. We can make your land fertile again. We

  can

  help you to produce crops quickly so that your people

  can be fed."

  Natahia's voice suddenly sounded very old and

  feeble. "We have been eating the small animals

  and

  birds--it was repugnant, but necessary for

  survival."

  "Our offer is unconditional. However, the offer

  to

  join the Federation remains open."

  Natahia bowed her head for a moment; when she

  raised it again, her eyes had lost some of their

  proudness.

  "I have learned many things since the pirates

  forced us to flee to the caves in the mountains. If

  we

  had not banded together, we would certainly have

  starved. We have learned to be dependent."

  "And is it such a bad thing?" Kirk asked.

  "I cannot say that it is always bad, nor can I

  say that

  it is always good, for it often forces one to compromise

  one's belief. I would call it a necessary evil."

  Kirk looked down at the scarred earth and thought

  of those who lay beneath it. "Sometimes, Natahia,

  we

  MINDSHADOW

  must do things we despise, in order to achieve a

  greater good."

  "I must agree with you, Captain Kirk. I

  speak now

  for all the growers who have survived. We do not

  value technology or the weapons it has

  produced, but

  we do value our way of life, so much so that we

  will

  not permit other invaders to destroy it again. And so

  we shall compromise our beliefs to some

  extent in

  order to preserve them. We welcome the

  assistance of

  the Federation and wish to ally ourselves with it."

  Captain's Log, Stardate 7008.4:

  The Enterprise is leaving Aritani with two

  extra

  passengers: the Aritanian delegation to the

  Federation.

  Following the delivery of all diplomats to

  their appropriate destinations, we will proceed to

  Star Base Two for some long overdue shore

  leave.

  Kirk turned off the recorder and turned to look

  at

  McCoy. The doctor stood watching Aritani

  turn

  slowly on the viewscreen.

  "Slow day at the office, Bones?"

  "Not much to do in sick bay these days," McCoy

  replied, keeping his eyes on the screen.

  "A lovely place, wasn't it?" Kirk said

  softly.

  "What? Oh... yes, I suppose it was."

  Kirk gave up his attempt at

  conversation. McCoy

  had for once come to the bridge for something else...

  she was there, somewhere far below the surface, and

  this was the only way he had to say good-bye.

  When Spock stepped off the turbolift, the

  captain

  and the doctor were too entranced by the viewscreen

  to notice. He walked over to Kirk's side and

  cleared

  his throat delicately.

  Kirk glanced up. "What is it, Spock?"

  "The Aritanian delegation has been properly

  welcomed

  aboard and escorted to their quarters, Captain."

  "Good." Kirk sat up straight in his chair.

  "I have

  the feeling that this time the return trip from Aritani

  will be a little less eventful."

  "I sincerely hope so, Captain." Spock

  turned to

  regard McCoy's faraway stare. "You have been

  un-characteristically

  reticent as of late, Doctor."

  Kirk winced. Surely Spock was

  aware of McCoy's

  feelings for Emma, and was capable of greater

  tact...

  McCoy tore his gaze from the screen at last.

  "I suppose

  I have, Spock," he said with unusual

  seriousness.

  "I think Spock misses his daily argument,"

  Kirk

  said in an attempt to lighten the situation.

  Spock did not acknowledge the captain's

  remark. "I

  can surmise the cause of your depression,

  Doctor, and

  while I am not insensitive to it, I feel that

  condolences

  are somewhat premature."

  McCoy suddenly became alert. "What are you

  talking

  about, Spock?"

  "Six fighter vessels are still unaccounted for,

  Doctor.

  I submit that Tanirius, or Dr. Saenz

  if you wish,

  was on one of them."

  "How would yo
u know?" McCoy struggled angrily

  against hope.

  "It is a perfectly logical assumption,

  Doctor. The

  most likely candidates to evacuate the hangar

  in the

  seconds preceding its destruction would be those who

  knew it was going to explode."

  McCoy sounded bitterly tired. "Or maybe

  just rats

  deserting what they figured was a sinking ship after the

  weapons room was destroyed. Do you think I

  haven't

  thought about it, Spock? But she would have let me

  know she was alive--"

  Spock seemed to think for a moment before he

  MINDSHADOW

  spoke again. "I rather doubt that they were rats, as you

  call them, Doctor, considering the fact that shortly

  before he left for his new assignment, Mr. Varth

  informed me that precisely six Federation

  sympathizers

  were working at the Romulan installation, including

  Tanirius."

  A small spark of hope entered McCoy and

  slowly

  warmed. "Is that true, Spock?"

  Spock gave a slight nod.

  "But why wouldn't she tell me? why would she

  leave me to think that she was dead?"

  "Perhaps it is necessary for her to be presumed

  dead, to protect her from the wrath of the

  Praetor."

  The spark dimmed. "Then even if she is

  alive... she couldn't risk seeing me again."

  "Not as Tanirius," said Spock, "or as

  Emma Saenz,

  but perhaps..."

  McCoy actually smiled weakly at the

  Vulcan. "It'll

  never happen, Spock, but it's nice to think

  about." He

  squared his shoulders. "Guess I'd better get

  back to

  sick bay."

  "I thought you didn't have any work," Kirk

  protested.

  "Did I say that? I can't imagine what I

  must have

  been thinking of." McCoy walked with a slightly

  brisker step to the turbolift and did not look

  back at the

  viewscreen again.

  Kirk waited for the lift to close before turning to

  face his first officer. "Thank you."

  Spock frowned in puzzlement. "For what,

  Captain?"

  "For letting McCoy think she. might still be

  alive.

  We Earthers have a word for it-compassion."

  "Call it what you will," Spock replied

  stiffly, "considering

  the doctor's current mental state, I thought

  he

  should be made aware of the possibility--"

  "Then what you said about Varth and the six

  sympathizers--comt

  was true?"

  Without changing his expression, Spock managed

  to

  convey the fact that he had been highly insulted.

  "I

  would not intentionally attempt to mislead the good

  doctor..."

  Kirk sighed. "And every woman he meets,