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A/N: It has been a while since I posted. This chapter was not hard to write, but it was hard to finalize. It was hard deciding on a version of events, so I wrote multiple ones. I hope this doesn't disappoint. This story is not archived here, so if you want to read previous chapters, message me or comment with your email and I'll send you links to other sites where you can read it. In February we left off with Uhura still captured by Sybok trying to out run a bunch of Orion slavers on an cold uninhabited moon. Spock, Shuran and Kirk are in hot pursuit, but Spock is finding it harder and harder to keep it together. Thanks to my patient beta, Julia R! 




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.



Pride and Logic Chapter 25

Nyota paused in her hike up the rise, leaning one gloved hand against a tree trunk for balance as she flexed her cold stiffened toes. She winced at the sharp needlepoints of pain that shot up her leg. The warming packets she slipped into her boots before leaving the ship had long gone cold. Nyota feared that frostbite was not far behind, though she feared much more than losing a few toes to the cold.

"Move," Sybok ordered with a jab of his phaser to her side.

Nyota glared at him. "I don't know why you keep pointing that thing at me. I can barely walk much less run away. Besides, where would I run?"

"I've learned well not to underestimate you," Sybok replied. "Now move! I don't like repeating..."

Sybok suddenly stiffened and turned wildly in a circle.

"Something's coming."

"I don't hear any..." Nyota stopped when she heard it too. Something or someone was moving towards them, its footfalls heavy in the snow.

Suddenly, a towering fur covered creature crashed through the trees. It pulled itself to a stop, its great clawed paws stomping upon the ground as it sniffed the air.

Nyota and Sybok stood frozen as the creature turned its large head to and fro scenting the air, its small beady eyes blinking feebly in the late afternoon light. Nyota realized that the creature was near blind, perhaps relying on movement and scent to track its prey. Nyota was torn between fleeing and staying put in hopes that the creature would go on its way.

Her hopes were shattered when the creature turned its head in their direction, its four large nostrils widening as it took a deep breath.

"Qwe-baqsh," Nyota cursed.

The creature opened its mouth and let out a deafening howl, revealing three rows of sharp yellow teeth. Nyota turned and ran.

Uhura heard Sybok swear as he shot off two phaser blasts at the creature as he ran beside her. His efforts only served to further enrage the creature, whose roar grew in volume. The weariness that had turned her legs to lead was a distant memory as Nyota ran for her life. Low hanging branches whipped at her face as she ran weaving around tree trunks and leaping over rocks.

Nyota dared to look behind her and found the creature a mere five meters behind and closing fast. Nyota picked up speed, willing her legs to propel her through the snow and further into the forest. Her foot caught on a tree root and she fell heavily to the ground, the wind knocked out of her lungs. Nyota quickly scrambled to her feet and suddenly found herself lifted high into the air. The creature had sunk its claws into her backpack. Nyota screamed as the tips of the claws pierced through her coat and into the flesh of her back.

Nyota barely heard the volley of phaser fire that rang out all around her over the sound of her own screams. The creature roared as phaser blasts assaulted it from all sides. It flung Nyota from its grasp as it turned to meet its assailants. Nyota flew through the air, her limbs limp as a rag doll. Air rushed from her lungs as she landed hard on the snow.

Nyota lay in the snow gasping for breath. Each lungful of air brought with it a round of searing pain. She tried not to panic as rivulets of blood began to form in the snow around her. She shut her eyes. Pain meant that she was not yet in shock. Nyota did a quick mobility check. She could flex her toes, stiff as they were from the cold. She could move her fingers, arms and head. She could bend her knees. With considerable effort, she willed her body to turn over so that she could assess the situation around her. She immediately regretted the move as pressure was now placed on her wounded back. She could not help but cry out again, her vision swimming with tears.

Through her distress, she did not notice that all had gone quiet around her until a warm hand caught her by the chin. Nyota tried to scramble away from the touch by instinct. A deep guttural voice whispered oddly comforting words in Kolari.

"Calm yourself, woman, lest you cause yourself further injury."

Nyota focused on the broad green face of the Orion who held her chin.

"Please," Nyota whispered in Kolari, "Don't hurt me."

"I will not do you any harm. Thalack would be displeased if we damaged his prize."

The Orion released her chin and began to fish around in a small pack strapped to his thick waist. He brought out a long silver tube and pressed it to her neck. She felt a short sharp pain.

"No..." Nyota slurred as her limbs became too heavy to move.


Spock maneuvered his hoverbike through the forest as quickly as he dared, swerving around tree trunks as he tracked Sybok and Nyota's progress.

"Spock," Shuran's voice rang out through his helmet speakers. "Cadet Kirk and I are on our way to rendezvous. Do you have an update on Cadet Uhura's whereabouts?"

"My scans have picked up one human, one Vulcan and eight Orion bio-signatures clustered together at 145 degrees north and 68 degrees west. I am continuing my pursuit."

"Spock," Shuran replied, "Kirk and I will be at your location in three minutes. It is prudent to wait for us."

"There is no time for delay."

Shuran grunted in reply before continuing in Andorian.

"I know that you have strong feelings for Cadet Uhura that have clouded your logic, but you must listen to me. If you rush in there without back up, you'll be killed. You will be of no use to her dead."

Spock replied in Vulcan. "My heart is flame. My eyes are flame. My mind is flame. I must recover she who is mine."*

Shuran's confused reply was cut off when Spock deactivated his communicator. A small logical part of his brain knew Shuran's warnings to be wise, but his growing fever drowned his sense of reason.

Spock slowed his bike as he entered a small clearing. Burn marks on trees and rocks surrounding the clearing suggested phaser fire had been exchanged. Spock dismounted and removed his helmet with shaking hands. He breathed in deeply and shuddered at the intensity of a familiar scent, Nyota, followed by the sickly sweet odor of burning flesh and the tang of iron based blood. Nyota was injured. Spock dropped his helmet and walked further into the clearing looking for any sign of Uhura. He found the remnants of a rucksack, its contents strewn about the field: a thermal blanket, food rations, warming packets, water canisters, and a crushed emergency beacon. Droplets of dark red blood were sprinkled amongst the debris. Uhura's blood. The carcass of a large fur covered creature lay slumped against a fallen tree. Phaser burns dotted its white fur and blue black blood seeped from its slackened jaw.

Spock's eyes fell to the beast's large front paws. The curved yellow claws were coated in dark red blood. One great paw clutched shreds of black fabric. Spock retrieved a strip of fabric, brought it to his nose with shaking hands, and inhaled. Nyota. He sank to his knees and wailed.

Kirk leapt off his bike as they came to the last coordinates of Spock's hoverbike. Shuran had already dismounted and was sprinting towards Spock. Kirk followed, his eyes surveying the clearing as he ran. He took note of the phaser burns on the tree trunks, the splatters of blood on the snow and the downed beast. Spock kneeled next to the beast, his head held in his hands as he moaned mournfully. Shuran stood a few feet away from him, his hands held out towards Spock placatingly. He had removed his helmet and was speaking in low tones to the distraught Vulcan.

"Spock, my friend. Listen to reason. Uhura is not dead. Had the beast killed or mortally wounded her, would not her body be here in the clearing? There would be much more blood on the creature's claws and on the ground..."

"What's going on out there?" Bones' sharp voice cut through Kirk's helmet.

"I'm not sure," Kirk replied. "Something weird. I think something happened to Uhura."

"What do you mean? What happened to Ny?"

"There's blood in the snow, Bones. But not a lot. I'm sure she's alive, but she's hurt."

Bones muttered a curse. "You guys had better catch up with her fast. Ya'll only got an hour or two left of daylight and then you're all gonna be popsicles. You think its cold now. When the sun sets the temperature drops by at least 60 degrees. If Ny is losing blood, she could very well die from hypothermia before then."

"We're trying our best, Bones. But Spock is freaking out right now and slowing us down."

"Hell, I am surprised he's still able to walk. His vitals are off the charts."

"Are you saying he's sick?"

"I've been monitoring his vitals since ya'll left the ship. He was acting a little erratically then so I snuck in a quick scan. I'm not an expert in Vulcan physiology, but his hormone levels and heart rate have been all over the place the last few hours. I'd call him back to the ship, but I know he won't listen."

"I'll see what I can do to get us moving." Kirk walked over to Shuran who was still trying to reason with Spock, his brow knit with worry.

Spock remained crouched in the snow gripping a piece of blood soaked fabric. Kirk gasped at the expression of enraged grief that twisted his features. Kirk wanted to look away, convinced that it was somehow wrong to see the ever composed Commander break down.

"Au-pistau-veh, kosu te-vor."

"What's he saying, Shuran?"

"They have killed her," Shuran translated, swallowing thickly. "She is dead...she who was mine."

Kirk's mouth dropped open. "She who is mine? Uhura and Spock are together?"

Shuran turned towards him. "No. Commander Spock would never break regulations or endanger Uhura's career. But she was...is important to him."

Kirk looked between Spock and Shuran for a few moments, his mind attempting to process this new and unexpected information. He supposed that it explained a lot-the commander's odd behavior and why he took it upon himself to rescue Uhura rather than relying on Starfleet. Kirk had assumed that the vigilante nature of the mission had been borne out of some sense of Vulcan privacy and an unwillingness to air his family's dirty laundry in public. Perhaps that was why Ambassador Sarek had been unusually accommodating in securing the ship and clearances needed for this mission. However, for Spock, this was deeply personal. Kirk blew out a huge puff of air, stealing himself as he decided upon a course of action.

"The things I do for love," he murmured before stomping over to Spock.

"Listen, you pointy eared green blooded bastard. Uhura is not dead. But if your pansy ass keeps sitting here weeping in the snow, she'll be dead before sunset."

Spock stilled his rocking movements and leveled Kirk with a deadly glare. "You will not speak of her."

"I'll speak of her, alright," Kirk continued, his voice dropping conspiratorially as he stepped into Spock's personal space. "I never could understand why Uhura wouldn't take me up on my offer to show her a good time. To think she was holding out for the likes of you. She must like her men cowardly and weak. Oh, excuse me; you're not a man are you?"

"Kroyah!" Spock shouted as he lurched to his feet, his face green with rage.

Shuran stepped towards them, his antennae waving anxiously. "Cadet, I don't think this is a wise course of action."

Kirk continued as if Shuran had not spoken. "A real man wouldn't let some punk just take off with his woman and get away with it. A real Vulcan wouldn't lay down and cry while his mate was in danger. Does Uhura know what she's getting, Spock? A carcass full of memory banks who should be squatting on a mushroom instead of passing himself off as a man?"**

Kirk jabbed him in the chest with one glove clad finger. "But what can you expect from a simpering devil eared freak whose father was a computer and whose mother was an encyclopedia?"**

Spock's lips curled back in a snarl before he backhanded Kirk across the face. Kirk was sent sprawling in the snow, his helmet cracking from the blow and his ears ringing. Kirk started to rethink his brilliant plan when his helmet was suddenly ripped from his head and he met the wild eyed stare of Spock. Spock grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Kirk began to splutter and kick as pressure began to be applied to his windpipe. Kirk flailed in Spock's grip, his fingers grasping futily at Spock's hands.

"Spock!" Shuran shouted. "Release him! Would you not rather be choking he who took Nyota?"

Spock stared at Kirk, his eyes blinking lazily as his grip on Kirk's throat eased.

"Brother," Shuran pleaded. "Nyota needs you, now. You must go to her without delay. Look deep to your logic and you will see that I am right."

Spock hesitated, his dark gaze wavering from Kirk's flushed features to his friend.

"We must get to her soon."

Spock dropped Kirk and staggered a few feet away. Kirk rolled in the snow, coughing and gasping in turns. He watched through watering eyes as Spock bent over double taking deep calming breaths.

"Cadet, are you alright?" Shuran stood over him, concern making his forehead ridges even more prominent.

Kirk nodded as Shuran lifted him from the snow with little effort despite his reed thin frame.

"Good, good," Shuran said as he gave Kirk two strong slaps on the back.

"Gentlemen, we must move on," Spock called to them as he strode purposefully towards his hoverbike. His tone had regained much of its usual detachedness as if he had not nearly strangled Kirk moments before. Kirk smirked before donning his helmet and following them to the hoverbikes.


Uhura woke from her drug induced sleep, her body wracked with shivers. She was propped against a rock, her hands free but her feet tied together. Her torn parka had been removed and replaced with a thermal blanket fortified with a warming agent that did little to ward off the deepening cold. Uhura struggled to sit up, her movements impaired by thick bandages wound tightly around her torso. At least they had tended to her wounds. Little good it would do her if she froze to death.

The sky was banded in deep hues of purple and orange as the sun began to set. A large fire blazed a few meters away from her. Sybok sat between two guards, his feet similarly bound and his hands tied behind him. A gash on his head slowly oozed green blood. He was positioned much closer to the fire, no doubt considered the more valuable prize. The Orions had decided to make camp rather than attempt to return to their ship. Uhura found it curious that they would risk exposure to the elements rather than a beam out.

Two guards stood a few feet from her, their heads bent close to one another as they conversed. Their voices were harsh, but low, their lips curled back in distaste. One of the Orions looked over his shoulder frequently, keeping an eye on their commander. Uhura quickly dropped her gaze as he turned towards her. Something had occurred and these two foot soldiers were not pleased.

Uhura listened to their low conversation, her eyes trained on the ground as she feigned disinterest. Something happened to their colleagues aboard ship. They were unable to make contact with their leader or any of their party and would have to camp until sunrise. They were nervous because of the dropping temperature and the unknown wildlife. What if something more formidable than the snow beast lurked in the woods?

Uhura stopped listening. Unable to concentrate on their conversation as her eyes began to droop. Nyota shook her head weakly in an effort to shake off the lethargy. If she fell asleep, she was as good as dead. But, she was so tired. Tired of running and tired of fighting. Uhura supposed that dying here was better than dying in slavery at some Orion brothel. She had listened well to Gaila's stories about her life before she had been liberated. Nyota welcomed death over that fate.

Her eyes began to water as she thought about Gaila, her mother and father that she would never see again. Her precious little cousins. Len and her friends at the academy. Even James Kirk. Her tears fell in earnest as she thought about her hopes for the Enterprise and to see the stars. Of the first and last time she touched Spock's mind and her awe that such a creature would love her so fiercely. She wept at the realization that she would die without ever telling him how her feelings had changed. Nyota wanted to surrender to the comforting black. It was warm there. Before her eyes finally slipped shut, she imagined Spock screaming her name.


The next hour was a blur for Spock. He recalled their frenzied pursuit of Sybok and the Orions. Weaving around tree trunks and over hills until they were within twenty meters of their prey. The sun was low in the sky, the deepening dusk shielding their arrival. They abandoned their hoverbikes, valuing stealth over speed, as they ambushed the Orion camp. Phaser fire rang through the air. Shouts and curses disturbed the quiet.

Amidst the chaos, Spock saw her. Uhura lay slumped against a rock, her head lolling against her chest, seemingly forgotten by her captors. Spock moved towards her, heedless of the fighting around him. A large Orion stepped into his path, a barbed dagger clutched in one of his gloved hands. With a snarl he swung the dagger towards Spock's face. Spock dodged the blade with ease before shooting the Orion in the chest with a phaser blast. He made to continue on his way when he noticed that Uhura was no longer slumped against the boulder. He stopped and searched frantically around the camp when he spied Sybok running into the forest, Uhura draped over one shoulder.

Spock ran after him, dodging phaser blasts and leaping over rocks. He shouted after him, ordering him to stop, but Sybok only increased his speed. When Spock caught up with him minutes later, the sun had fully set and darkness blanketed them. Sybok stood with his back to a slow moving river, its waters mostly frozen. He held an unconscious Nyota tight against his body, his fingers pressed firmly against her temple and cheek.

"I wouldn't venture any closer, pi'sa'kai," Sybok called out, his amber eyes glinting dangerously in the dim moonlight. "That is unless you want your precious Nyota's mind wiped clean. It would be very simple to make her forget you. Forget how to speak, or walk, or even breathe."

"Release her!" Spock shouted, his breath misting in the cold air.

Sybok smiled cruelly. "You know, the human female mind is so malleable, so easily impregnated by someone with a true talent. It only took a few brief touches to plant seeds of mistrust in Nyota's mind. Granted, it wasn't very hard to turn her against you. You were not very gallant towards your Nyota upon your first meeting."

"Do not speak her name," Spock ground out before taking a step towards him.

"Careful," Sybok smirked. "You're killing her."

Nyota twitched, her face contorting in pain. She let out a weak moan that drove Spock to his knees. He dropped his phaser into the snow.

Sybok laughed outright. "Isn't this fun? If only Sarek could see his precious half-breed son driven to his knees over a human woman!"

"Release she who is mine or I will kill you." Spock warned in Vulcan.

Sybok's eyes grew wide. "Is it your time, pi'sa'kai? How perfect. Now you too can experience the pain of plak tow without your mate."

"I am not your brother," Spock growled through clenched teeth, his body shaking with rage. "It was your choice to set your bondmate aside."

"You and father stole her from me!" Sybok screamed. "My mate! My birthright! My rightful place as a prince of Vulcan."

"You tossed that aside when you chose the path of illogic over the Vulcan way."

"The Vulcan way," Sybok sneered. "Was it logical to set aside my mother, a Vulcan princess descended from kings and queens, for a human whore with no name?"

"You resented my mother for her humanity, for her weakness, yet it is you who has again chosen to hide behind a human woman," Spock spat as he got to his feet. "You are a coward born of a coward who abandoned her betrothed and her son. The clan is better without your polluted blood. Fight me like a true Vulcan unless you are afraid that this half-breed will break you."

Sybok's sneer turned into a grimace as his skin flushed green with rage. "I will kill you slowly, brother, so that you may witness your woman's death."

Sybok dropped Nyota as he lunged for Spock. The two grappled in the snow, tearing at each other's clothes and flesh with teeth and nails, pummeling each other with clenched fists. Spock's blood roared in his ears. He forgot about Nyota, lying crumpled in the snow. He forgot about Kirk and Shuran. His nostrils were full of the scent of his enemy's blood. His tongue coated in the warm coppery liquid. He no longer fought his brother or a being with a name. He fought to kill, to kill or to die. His entire being burned with the fever.

Soon Sybok's superior strength afforded him the upper hand. He managed to pin Spock to the ground, his knees and thighs trapping his body and his bare hands wrapped around Spock's neck. Sybok tightened his hold upon his neck, choking him and assaulting his mind. Spock would have screamed at the pain of his brother's invasion if he could draw breath. Spock tried to buck and twist out of his grip to no avail, his fingers clawing uselessly at Sybok's hands.

Sybok grinned down at his brother as he felt his slowing heartbeat.

"I lied brother. I won't allow you to watch your pretty cadet expire. But I promise you that I will make her death a painful one."

Sybok continued to taunt him, taking little notice of Spock's hands frantically scrambling in the snow around him. Just as his vision began to darken around the edges, his right hand gripped a rock. Spock summoned the last of his strength to bash the rock against Sybok's left temple. The blow knocked Sybok from atop him, releasing his neck from Sybok's crushing hold.

Spock spared a moment to draw in a breath before pouncing upon a disoriented Sybok. Spock roared as he pummeled his brother's head repeatedly with the rock. The sound of his brother's skull crushing beneath his hands only seemed to spur him on. Shuran's shout of dismay broke him from his trance. Spock's hands stilled. They were covered in his brother's rapidly cooling green blood. Spock allowed the rock to slip from his hand into the snow beside his brother's ruin of a head. The blood fever suddenly broke, leaving Spock with the harsh reality of what he had done. Spock stumbled back from his brother's corpse, dread pooling in his stomach. He had killed his brother.

Spock tore his gaze from his brother's bloody corpse at the sound of Cadet Kirk's frantic calls to the ship. Nyota lay limply in Kirk's arms. Despair pushed against the dread. Nyota. Had he caused her death as well? Spock rose to his feet and took a step towards her when he was enveloped in golden light.

 

 

 






Chapter End Notes:

 

Notes:
*Spock's reply to Shuran is taken from the script of the Star Trek TOS episode "Amok Time"when Spock experiences pon farr. He says it when describing his symptoms to T'Pau.

**Some of Kirk's insults are taken from the script of the TOS season three episode "This Side of Paradise"where Kirk similarly employs some lame insults to provoke Spock to anger in order to release his mind from the control of alien spores.

pon farr= The Vulcan drive to mate that occurs every seven years. During pon farr, adult Vulcans undergo a neurochemical imbalance, that takes on a form of madness (culminating in the plak tow). A Vulcan could die within eight days if their pon farr isn't satiated. Pon farr can be cured by mating, a battle to the death or possibly intesnse meditation. In the TOS episode "Amok Time", Spock undergoes pon farr which is alleviated by "killing" Kirk in a battle.

kroyah= stop immediately
plak tow= blood fever, final stage of pon farr.
pi'sa'kai= little brother
Kolari= a language spoken by Orions

 







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.