The Sirens of Thayra

Chapter 8

There was little indication of the time as their cell had no window. However about two hours after their woman visitor had left, the lights dimmed and went dark save for one tiny bulb. McCoy had already been on his cot, humming. The dimness left everything various shades of gray, but Spock's eyes adjusted quickly.

“Whelp! Lights out, eh?” said McCoy, still in a euphoric daze. “G'night Spock!” He rolled over and Spock heard him mumble “Maybe that lovely girl will bring us breakfast.”

Spock highly doubted it, but there was little use arguing with the doctor in his current state of mind. The Vulcan spent half the night meditating in an attempt to clear his mind of the intoxicating pheromones the woman had produced to control them. It did not take Spock long to clear him mind of the obedient infatuation he had experienced, but too extra time to reinforce the mental shields to help him resist any further attacks. When he was satisfied his mind was well guarded, he laid down to get a few ours of sleep.

Indeed in the morning the were brought breakfast, but they were not greeted by the same woman as had interrogated them the night before. Instead two male guards opened the door and set a hunk of bread wrapped in a light gauze and some water in a flimsy plastic cup for them to share. McCoy seemed much more himself after a sound night's sleep, although quiet. Spock suspected that the doctor knew as well as he did what effects the woman had on them the night before. He could almost see the doctor trying to work out an antidote to the effects in his mind and he chewed the stale bread.

The guards returned within the hour, brandishing their spears and a small remote that could only be assumed was connected to the collars placed on them. They were shackled at their wrists and brought down and elevator to a small garage where they were given to another guard and led into the back of a ground car. Again, no windows were in their compartment and the two sat in silence while they waited to see where they ended up next.

When the car stopped, Spock intentionally made eye contact with McCoy, nodding toward the door at the sound of the guard stepping around to retrieve them. The doctor gave a slight nod and the door opened. The guard pulled McCoy out first, who watched carefully for a cue. As soon as Spock had stepped out of the car the guard checked to see that McCoy was behaving. Spock took the opportunity to raise his shackled hands and bring them across the guard's face. McCoy joined him quickly by body slamming him into the back of the car. He collapsed to the ground, stunned.

“Keys,” said Spock, spotting two men rushing toward them from the nearby building. His eyes flickered upward, seeing where they had brought them. The central spire loomed above them, the car parked at a modest service entrance. He suspected it was only a matter of time before reinforcements arrived. McCoy found the keys, releasing the electronic lock, quickly tossing them to Spock. McCoy rushed forward to intercept one of the guards with a sound punch to the jaw.

Spock had unlocked his shackles just in time to parry a blow from the second guard. Their new adversaries were much more adept fighters. Soon McCoy's opponent had him in a stranglehold. Spock knocked his man to the ground and moved to assist McCoy. A few well-placed fingers on the man's neck and a firm pinch put the man into unconsciousness.

The man Spock had thrown to the ground was beginning to recover. The two officers were ready for him. McCoy charged the guard as he got to his feet, grappling him. It was then that the service door burst open and a woman stepped out brandishing one of the collar controllers. She twisted a knob and pushed a button causing the collars to electrocute them both, arcs of energy sparking around their necks. The two were brought to their knees in agony. Spock pulled at his neck despite the pain in his hands. Screaming he tried to break the hinges on the collar, He could feel them starting to give but the woman simple turned up the power and it was too much for him. His eyes blurred and he fell to the ground.

He was barely conscious as he felt hands reach down, picking him up under the arms. “What happened,” he heard a woman ask.

“They tried to escape,” said another female voice.

“Tsk. I hate it when they become insolent. Why would the challenger want them back? Aitra told me that this newcomer wasn't all that strong. How does she expect to control them?”

“Well that's her problem, isn't it? Besides, she'll have to win to even get the chance to break these two.”

They were dragged into the spire, shackled again. Spock slowly started to regain clarity and the ability to walk on his own again. By the time he was able to focus his vision he could see that he and McCoy were being guarded and dragged by six men armed with spears and lead along by two women in white armor. He expected them to be taken upward to another floor but instead they were led outside again into a large walled lawn at the back of the spire. In the center of the lawn was a structure reminiscent of the Parthenon on earth. The columns were widely spaced out but were packed with women. They looked on curiously as they were brought into the center of the temple, whispering to each other.

At the opposite end of the structure were three podiums, the center taller than the other two. They were brought to stand in front of them and surrounded by guards. Then it seemed they were waiting for something, though what, Spock could only guess.

“What I wouldn't give for a double cappuccino right now,” Tria said as the attendant Katre had sent pulled at her hair, braiding it tightly against her head.

Sulu stood next to where she was seated, playing every bit the servant for the natives in the room. “I thought caffeine didn't affect Vulcans.”

“Hence: double.”

Sulu gave a weak smile and found himself stifling a yawn. Katre had kept Tria up late into the night with fight trainers to help prepare her for what was to come. Sulu had helped her after they had left by giving her a few fencing instructions. The Matrons knew that Hathra would not be challenged without declaring her right to battle and as the one accused, the warrior woman had the right to choose the weapons used. The options were various, from knives, swords, and spears, to some stranger contraptions used only on the battle field to take out multiple foes. Katre had bet that Hathra would choose the spear, as it was her specialty.

After the few hours of sleep, Tria was not sure how good her reflexes would be all too sharp. Admitedly, at this point she was hoping for a miracle. “Do you think the extra bit of training from last night will benefit our cause today?” She gave Sulu a meaningful look so that he knew she was not referring to fencing.

“I did, madam. I think that you will be pleased with the results, though I cannot guarantee that the benefits will come at the right time.”

The attendants stepped back, done with her hair. She picked up a strangely light piece of black armor out of the box she had brought in with her. Tria stood up, letting her strap the thing around her chest. “Why is that?” She grunted as the woman tightened the straps around her ribcage.

“I do not believe the … training will find an opportunity to work properly without causing the problem to become worse before it gets better.” Sulu spoke slowly, finding the right words to make his analogy as far from suspicious as possible.

Tria bit her lip. Everything certainly had gone wrong and with Kirk telling Hathra anything she wanted to know it was bad enough the amount of damage their visit had done in regards to Starfleet's Prime Directive. As much as the academic in her did not want to harm this culture's natural development, her conscience felt it was far more important to get the away team off the planet safely. She found herself at an even greater dilemma, since she was not even enlisted in Starfleet acting in this way felt just as wrong as wishing someone would just beam them all straight out of there regardless of who saw them.

The attendant finished strapping the small bits of protection on her arms and legs, then excused herself to let her Maton know Tria was ready.

As soon as she was out of the room Tria gave Sulu a worried look. “What if this is all wrong? If this doesn't work....if getting to McCoy and Spock can't help get us out of here...the ship...”

“I don't think you have a choice at this point,” he said. “Look I didn't speak with anyone but they're aware of the situation and I'm guessing they're just going to wait for the right moment to get us back up here. Unfortunately it's not as easy as just finding our signals and beaming us out of here. There are millions of people in this city and they don't know where we all are.”

She sighed, “I know...”

Katre came into the room, a satisfied smile on her face. “How perfect. I haven't seen a challenge of this nature since I was a child. I should encourage my subjects to be more conflicting. This will be entertaining.” The Matron's amusement did not help with Tria's nerves one bit. “Off we go, then. They're waiting.”