Star Trek - TOS - The Tears Of The Singers

by Melinda Snodgrass

  report on the hunters Kirk had immediately signaled the Federation

  requesting that the Taygetians; be reclassified as an intelligent life

  form. He then settled back to wait while the message made its way to Earth

  and a reply was returned.

  Spock remained on the Enterprise, checking the scanners for malfunctions.

  He finally had to concur that Lieutenant Mendez was correct. The bizarre

  readings were the result of some phenomenon on Thygeta, and not mechanical

  failure. Perplexed, he joined Kirk in the rec room for a game of chess.

  Kirk leaned back in his chair and watched Spock's slender fingers lift a

  piece, momentarily caress the figure, then swiftly place it in its new

  location. He realized, as he listened to Spock's report, that he had missed

  his first officer. It wasn't often that their duties separated them, and he

  had found the absence of that taff, quiet figure strangely disconcerting.

  He remembered Edith Keeler's description of their relationship when Spock

  had asked her where she thought he belonged. She had replied, at his side,

  like you've always been there and always will be.

  Yes, Kirk thought. That pretty comprehensively covers it. He realized that

  Spock had concluded his report, and was quietly waiting for some response.

  He cleared his throat, and straightened somewhat in his chair.

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  "So we're no closer to breaking the Thygetians' language than we were when

  we started?"

  "I must regretfully agree with your estimation of the situation. We have

  learned a great deal about the creatures physiologically, but we are no

  closer to understanding the reasons behind their strange social structure

  or the reason for this great song."

  "Then maybe bringing Maslin was a useless gesture."

  "No, I cannot agree. I still believe that the music is the key, and Maslin

  is the person best suited to discover its meaning." Spock momentarily

  frowned. "In fact, there was an odd occurrence when the first Thygetian

  died. Everyone was naturally shocked by the terrible death cry, but Maslmi

  was physically and mentally shaken. Almost as if the music had pulled him

  into some sort of rapport with the 1hygetians. His reaction was very

  similar to what I've seen when a telepath is violently pulled out of

  contact."

  "Esper powers aren't common among my people."

  "I am aware of this, but Maslin may be one of those rare cases. My primary

  reason for mentioning this occurrence is that it might indicate the

  presence of esper powers on the part of the Thygetians. If such is the case

  perhaps I should try the Vulcan mind meld."

  "I know such melds are difficult for you, Spock, and I always hate for you

  to try it on an unknown race. You never know what's going to happen. Let's

  continue the more traditional forms of research until it becomes certain

  they're not going to work."

  "As you wish, Captain."

  The wall communicator whistled. "Captain Kirk, there's a message for you

  from Federation Central."

  "I'll take it in my quarters. Coming, Mr. Spock?"

  "I'm very sorry, Captain, but under article 5, section 301 of the Code a

  race cannot be reclassified without a full investiga-

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  tion by a xenological team. The Enterprise does not carry such a complement,

  and your request is therefore denied."

  The fat-faced man on the screen nodded placidly and the screen went dark.

  "And that's it? After ten hours of waiting that's all we get?" Kirk said

  incredulously. "I told them in my message that there had never been an

  adequate study made of the planet. Why then do we have to have a full

  investigation to rectify an earlier mistake? How can the man be so stupid?"

  he demanded, bringing his hand down with a slap on the top of the

  communicator.

  "Then our hands are tied?"

  "You know me better than that, Spock. Perhaps a little conversation with

  Mr. Garyson--'

  "Captain," T'zeela's voice interrupted him. "A call for you from Commander

  Kor."

  "Put it through, Lieutenant."

  "Kirk, you have some extremely unpleasant members of your race squatting on

  that planet," Kor said without preamble.

  "Yes, I know, Commander. Mr. Spock and I were just discussing what to do

  about them."

  "Well, while you've been talking my wife went off to try and do something.

  Fbrtunately my men called me, and I was able to extract her from what could

  have been a very unpleasant situation. Kali is very upset by the killing of

  the Thygetians, and she feels it could be dangerous to all of us."

  "Does she have some evidence to support this theory?"

  Kor looked rueful. "I've tried to pin her down, but she just keeps saying

  it's a feeling.

  "Where are you now?"

  "On the planet. I thought it was time I had a firsthand look at these

  troublesome creatures."

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  "Mr. Spock and I are coming right down. Meet us at our camp, and let's see

  what, if anything, we've got."

  "We'll be there."

  Maslin was seated at the synthesizer, surrounded by every member of the

  landing party. There was an agitated hum of conversation, and periodically

  someone would give a shout of delight and point at something on the

  synthesizees screen.

  "I think we missed something, Spock," Kirk said as the transporter

  materialization ceased.

  .4yes,9f Spock said shortly. -

  "What's all the fuss?" Kirk called as he jogged over to join the group.-

  "Mr. Maslin's done it!" Yeoman Chou replied, her chinadoll face pink with

  excitement.

  "Well, not by a long stretch," Maslin said, swinging around on the bench

  and holding up a hand to forestall the question he could see forming on

  Kirk's lips. "All I've done is start to see how this musical language fits

  together. I'm still not able to speak it or understand what's said to me."

  "Im not certain I understand," Spock said. "If you have ascertained the

  grammar surely meaning must follow?"

  "Ordinarily I'd agree with you, but there are still these troublesome gaps

  in the song.."

  "I thought you'd adjusted the machine to take into the account the problem

  of the sonics?" Kirk asked. He noticed Kor and Kah hovering at the

  outskirts of the group, liste 1 9 with interest.

  "I did, and the problem isn't the sonics. These gaps are totally unnatural.

  It's as if I simply cut out sections from a symphony orchestra. You know

  there's a bassoon solo that's supposed to come in at this point, but

  instead you get nothing because there's no bassoon to play the passage."

  "What are you saying?" Kor asked, pushing through the humans.

  "That the problem is the hunters. It's like somebody went

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  through one of my orchestras with phaser fire, taking out a flute here, two

  violins, a trumpet. The result is a sound that seems pretty coherent until

  you start listening closely."

  "Then I was right," Kali said, giving Kor a challenging look.
"The hunters

  should have been stopped."

  "Yes, you were right in theory but wrong in the execution. You do not go

  hunting for Cxentares cats with a slingshot." He smiled to lessen the sting

  of his reprimand, and brushed his thumb along the line of her jaw.

  She was mollified, but only slightly. She threw back her head, and gave her

  husband a challenging look. "The women have known all along that the

  hunters were dangerous, and now that we have finally convinced you men,

  what are you going to do about it? If you are going to continue to dither

  and hesitate, and discuss the legality of this and the properness of that,

  then we women will act. Right, Uhura?"

  "Right," the Bantu woman said with an amused glance at Kirk and Spock.

  Kirk grinned, and said in an undertone to Kor, "I don't envy you."

  "I enjoy a challenge," the Klingon responded blandly. Kali glared at him,

  and his smile broadened at her tiger-cub expression.

  "Well, Commander, since we are clearly about to lose all respect and'

  therefore our ability to command unless we take action-shall we take

  action?"

  'An excellent suggestion, Captain."

  "Mr. Ragsdale, you and Mr. Lindenbaum will acoompany me to secure the

  hunters."

  'Yes, sir."

  "Would you care to join us, Commander?"

  "Yes, but I would feel somewhat less outnumbered, and it would seem more of

  a bipartisan effort, if I could have one of my men join us.'9

  "Fine." Kor stepped aside, and opened his communicator. "How about you, Mr.

  Spock?"

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  "I would prefer to stay here, and study Mr. Maslin's work. I am fascinated

  to see how he made this breakthrough."

  -intuitive leap," Maslin said wickedly, knowing it would irritate Spock..

  A few moments later there were the soundless Hashes of a Klingon

  transporter, and an extraordinarily handsome Klingon, but one unknown to

  the humans, appeared in the camp.

  -Kandi, captain of the Emperor's Pride," Kor said briefly. He then

  introduced the humans. Kandi nodded to the men, and gave the women a

  devilish grin. He lifted Uhura's hand, and bestowed a light kiss onto the

  wrist.

  "I had no notion that human women could be so beauti-

  ful.11

  "And I had no notion that Klingon men knew how to ffirt," she said,

  twisting her hand free and retreating to Maslin's side. The Klingon pursued

  her, and leaned nonchalantly on the synthesizer, to Maslin's immense

  irritation.

  "Tell me," he said conversationally, "you don't happen to have any recent

  Earth fiction tapes that you would be willing to part with?"

  "Kandi," Kor said significantly, "we would like to settle this sometime

  before next week. You can importune people for trashy novels some other

  time."

  The younger man sighed. "Perhaps later," he said to Uhura, and jogged after

  the other four men who had already started down the beach.

  "This is pleasant," Maslin said, slipping an arm around Uhura and Chou's

  waists, and pulling them down on the bench with him. He then reached out

  and took Kali's hand. "Let the he-men go off and duke it out with the

  badasses. I'll stay here and entertain the ladies."

  "My hero," Uhura murmured with ironic affection, and brushed back his

  forelock.

  Ragsdale led the way to the hunters' camp. He chugged along like a human

  tank, his heavy legs pumping up and down

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  in his eagerness to reach the hunters and settle a few scores with Garyson.

  Kirk, too, was eager to reach the camp, but for different reasons. The long

  hours of patient scientific research aboard the Enterprise had been not at

  all to his liking. His nature craved involvement and action, but on this

  mission he felt as if he could have gotten lost and nobody would have

  noticed. This problem with the hunters was something he could handle, and he

  was grateful for the opportunity.

  He looked back over his shoulder, and noticed that Kor and Kandi were

  holding back somewhat from the humans, and that they were deep in a

  tow-voiced conversation. Not for the first time he wished he could speak

  Klingonese. The younger Klingon was speaking urgently to Kor who, although

  he looked thoughtful, kept shaking his head. Kirk now regretted Spock's

  absence. With the Vulcan's tricorder they could have recorded the

  conversation, and perhaps gained an insight into what was going on aboard

  the Klingon vessels. Kirk was still convinced that Kor was in some sort of

  difficulty with his own crew.

  He was given no more time to ponder the problem, for Ragsdale stopped, and

  indicated an outcropping of rock. "Ile hunters set up camp just past that

  formation. I've scouted around the area a few times, and they didn't have

  much of an eye for a defensive position. They ought to be easy to take."

  "Mr. Ragsdale, this isn't a commando raid. Mr. Garyson may be open to

  persuasion," Kirk said, but the security guard spotted the twinkle in the

  captain's hazel eyes, and grinned in response.

  "If you believe that, sit, I have a sweet piece of land for sale on TUmbolt

  V, the pleasure spot of the gahmy."

  "Thank you, mister, I'll pass on that offer." Kirk turned and looked at

  Kor. "Well, shall we go find out how unpleasant Mr. Garyson and his crew

  intend to be?"

  "I will be right behind you, Kirk. They gave insult to my wife, and for

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  for I thought you might object to such treatment of Federation citizens. Now

  that I know you don't mind it will be a pleasure to teach them manners."

  "Don't get too carried away," Kirk warned as they resumed their progress.

  "I dont want anyone hurt if it's at all possible, so all weapons are to be

  placed on stun."

  They were lucky enough to find all five of the gem hunters present in camp.

  The men were gathered around a heating unit drinking coffee, and tossing

  crystal tears to one another for inspection. They looked up as the party

  from the Enterprise appeared on the outskirts of the camp. Kirk gave a

  signal, and everyone quickly fanned out. An ugly frown creased Garyson's

  face when he recognized Kor.

  "What the hell is this?" he demanded, rising to his feet.

  Kirk thought he had never seen such an unprepossessing group of people in

  his entire life. Everyone looked as if he hadn't changed clothes in several

  years, and one man had dirty blond hair that hung in greasy, ropy strands

  about his face. "Just a friendly visit to try and convince you that the

  hunting has to stop," Kirk said agreeably. He stepped forward to face the

  burly leader of the hunters.

  "And who the hell are you?"

  "Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise."

  Garyson rocked back on his heels, and stared contemptuously down his nose

  at the captain. "So, another little government toady. Well, I'll tell you

  what I told your pointy-eared first officer Until you produce a directive

  from the Federation stating that these creatures are intelligen
t I'm gonna

  keep on doin' just what I've been doin', because I've got a piece of paper

  that says I can. 'I He glanced about at his companions, who murmured

  agreement and looked approving.

  Kirk lost his genial smile, and stared coldly up at the other man. "And

  I've got the firepower of a starship, and the people aboard her, that say

  you can't. Care to up that ante?"

  "You've got no legal right, Kirk." 141

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  "Maybe not, but representatives of Star Fleet have a right to make

  on-the-spot decisions regarding the treatment of alien creatures even if

  such decision is contrary to a Federation ruling. You are free to enter a

  complaint, but it won't be settled until we return either to Earth or a

  star base, and in the meantime-what I say goes."

  "Now, that sort of depends, doesn't it, Kirk?" Garyson drawled, stepping

  back a few feet. "On whether we decide to listen. Mehmed" he suddenly

  shouted, and several things happened simultaneously. The four other hunters

  bolted in all directions, and Lindenbaurn gave a moan and collapsed to the

  ground clutching at a knife that protruded from his upper thigh.

  The lean, swarthy man who had thrown the knife went crashing to the ground

  near the edge of the camp as Kor's stun blast from his disruptor caught him

  neatly between the shoulderblades. Ragsdale let out a bellow of rage, and

  went charging like a maddened bull after the man with the dirty dreadlocks.

  Kirk knelt next to Lindenbaum, and checked the leg. "I'm okay, sir," the

  security guard forced from between white Up. "It's minor. Go on and catch

  the others."

  Kirk looked around, and saw Garyson just vanishing behind a large rock. He

  leaped up and started in pursuit, only to be arrested by a flash of purest

  blue among the crystal grains of sand. Unable to stop himself, he knelt,

  and lifted the tear. It shone like living blue fire in his hand, its many

  facets seeming to capture and throw back a shifting view of eternity. He

  felt lost in the mystery of the stone. Closing his hand over the gem, he

  placed it carefully in a pocket.

  Leaping to his feet he again set off in pursuit of Garyson. He was furious