Dance Unrehearsed

"Ensign, report!" Ruth snapped as soon as the door to the transporter room opened. The Vulcan was pale, but seemed unharmed. McCoy started a med scan anyway.

"Romulans, ma'am," Sumer said. "Captain Spock and I had returned to the council chamber at the appointed time, the Paxions entered, then a Romulan female and two males entered as well, and I called for beam-up."

"Then where's Spock?" the Antari demanded.

"I cannot provide an answer to that question, Miss Valley," was the calm reply.

"Scotty?" Ruth asked, her large, purple eyes widening in fear.

"The signal from his communicator is bein' blocked," the engineer reported.

"Can't you hear him, Ruthie?" McCoy asked worriedly.

"All I'm getting is static," she returned. She turned to the communications terminal. "Gollub, do a sensor sweep. There's a Romulan ship somewhere in orbit and I want it found, now!"

Lacey immediately went to the scanner controls, initiating a security sweep of the planet below.

"The capital city is now under a sensor jam," she reported with a disgusted snarl.

Ruth massaged her temples furiously. Spock, Spock, where are you!?

There was no response to her urgent telepathic call.

"Hasim, here, ma'am," came from the comm. "There are no spatial distortions consistent with a cloaked vessel. I've confirmed with Miss Gollub and Lieutenant Kushenko. However, the sensors show that there was a ship here within the last forty-eight hours."

"Damn those little..." Ruth began.

"...provincial, sensitive Romulan-friendly bigots?" McCoy growled.

"Mulhouse, monitor all frequencies," the First Officer ordered. "Kushenko, ready this ship for battle. Hasim, Chekov, get down here, full security kits. We're paying another visit to the Paxions." She turned to the Arachnid Security Chief. "Lacey, you're with us."

"Aye, ma'am," came from both the comm and the Arachnid. As the red alert claxon began, Scotty frowned.

"Lass, I canna transport you into the capital city, not with that jamming field blockin' the sensors."

"Then we hike it from outside the city," Ruth returned grimly.

"Ruthie, we won't be able to beam you up if you..." McCoy began.

"They've got my husband, Bones," she interrupted, her eyes flashing fiercely. "What do you suggest I do?"

"Teleport?"

"And throw up and pass out as soon as I get there? And I can't take a team with me like that."

McCoy sighed, acknowledging the truth of her statement.

"Captain, if I may?" Sumer broke in. "It might be better to take a Chutzpah. That way, you and your team will not be dependent on the transporters."

"I concur, Commander," Lacey put in.

"Aye, the lad's got the right of it," Scotty added.

Ruth closed her eyes, nodding. "Get the Magellan prepped, Scotty. You have the con. Send a report to Starfleet Command immediately. And if you can contact the little bastards, tell them they aren't under Federation protection yet, and if they don't release my husband, I will treat them as Romulan allies."

"Aye, lassie," Scott acknowledged.

The transporter room door opened and Chekov and Mouli Hasim came in, their weapons' belts fastened at their waists, with two more fully loaded. Lacey took one, Ruth the other.

"We'll be taking the Magellan to the planet's surface," The Antari said. "Once on Paxilon, the captain's life is our only priority." She buckled the belt around her. "Phasers are to be set on highest stun. We find Spock and get the hell out. Understood?"

Her team nodded and they all headed for the shuttle bay.

"Good luck, Ruthie," McCoy called, and got a soft, telepathic, thanks.

Once the Magellan was underway, Lacey began outlining the security protocol: they would land just outside the council chamber, Hasim would be responsible for guarding the shuttle while she, Valley and Chekov went to speak to the council and, if necessary, begin a search for the captain. Ruth called back to the Enterprise, telling Mulhouse to patch her through to Daffy Gollub's station.

"Daf, check the language databases for something that sounds like 'vee-AHTH'leen.'"

"Vaseline?" her assistant replied. "Velveteen? Veathilon?"

"I said check the databanks, not your attempts at wit."

"I was checking the databanks," Gollub replied testily. "You said 'sounds like.'" She paused, muttering to herself as more possibilities apparently came onto her screen. "Where'd you get that, anyway?"

"It was the last thing Spock thought before I lost contact with him," Ruth answered.

"Then it's Vulcan?" Daffy wanted to know.

"I don't know. It sounds kind of Vulcan, doesn't it?"

"In this situation, 'kinda Vulcan' could be Romulan," the chemist noted. There was another pause, then a deep sigh. "Nothing, nothing, nothing... wait. There's a classified listing... which I can't get at. It takes a Command Grade clearance." She wrinkled her nose. "Wanna come back here and release it for me?"

"Daf, do you trust me?" Ruth said instead.

"As far as I can..."

"I'm serious."

Green eyes blinked from the view screen. "Of course, fruychik."

The Antari took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna try something. Your head might buzz for a while, but there shouldn't be any other side effects. Just relax and let your mouth say whatever it wants." Ruth paused, then gave a small grin. "Not like that's anything unusual for you."

"I'm gonna let you 'try something' and that's how you reassure me?" Gollub returned. "Good thing you're not a doctor. You've got the bedside manner of a Denebian slime devil."

"Okay, remember when we did that awful musical?"

Daffy made a face. "Which one?"

"The one where Del had to project into Roy's head to make him sing."

"Mmmm, that voice," Daffy purred. "Makes you wanna..."

"Well, I'm gonna try and see if I can get my voice to come out of your mouth to release the security classification."

Daffy's eyes opened wide, then she shrugged. "Hell, it's worth a shot," she said. "Okay, go for it."

Ruth concentrated, remembering how Del's mind had felt when he'd focused his own voice into Sulu's brain. It was a little like using a remote control with her thoughts, but she managed to get Daffy to say, "Release classification, authorization Valley, code 361."

From the comm screen, she heard the computer's voice reply, "Authorization accepted."

"Well, hot damn!" Daffy said in her own voice. "Will you do that sometime when I can freak the fuck out of Pavel?"

"What's it say?" Ruth demanded instead of answering.

Daffy frowned. "It's a list of known Romulan names: Deron, Holsa, Joron, Kenton, Krel, Lahs, Merat, Nazeeri, Oriya, Ramok, Rual, Seliya, Tarvak, Tal, Ve'ahn, Ve'ath'lin Ve'el, Ven'ali'in, Wen..."

"Wait, that was it!" Ruth interrupted. "Ve'ath'lin. It's a name?"

Daffy punched some buttons on her terminal. "Says here... 'given name of the commander of the Romulan Bird of Prey Baracas, reported by Commander Spock, standard year 2245.'"

"A Romulan commander? A female Romulan Commander?" The Antari's eyes flashed violet. "And Sumer said a female Romulan... damn it!"

"You think it was her?" Daffy asked.

"Check the records of the old Enterprise," Ruth said. "I need to know the mission details."

"Right away, boss-lady," the chemist returned.

Ruth waited, drumming her fingers on the shuttle console, aware of but ignoring the glances she was getting from her crew, certain that her husband was in dangerous Romulan hands.

The Paxions arrived in their by-now usual V formation and Spock stepped forward.

Spock? sounded abruptly in his mind.

All is well, Ruth, he replied.

Daffy just picked up a strange energy...

The door to the council chamber opened. Three Romulans walked in and Spock heard Ensign Sumer immediately ask for emergency beam-up. His own thoughts, however, were consumed with recognition, surprise, and the faint stirrings of guilt.

"Ve'ath'lin?" he said, both aloud and in his mind, then came the uncomfortable constriction of his brain, that of several minds overwhelming his own telepathic abilities. He had only experienced it once before, and then not from Romulans. The Guardian of Forever had been used by Sorrm, a once-friend and now mad Vulcan, to alter the past, negating Surak's Way of Peace. Those alternate Vulcans had been able to use their telepathies in harmony, as modern Vulcans could not. But he knew Romulans also had the ability. The covert mission into Romulan space more than two years ago had given him that information. It was a common practice among the Romulan Secret Police, the Telenate. All three Romulans wore the black uniforms of that order.

Spock took a careful breath, relaxing his mind to prevent the constriction from becoming painful. He did note the transporter beam that engulfed Ensign Sumer and relaxed further. The Enterprise would know what had happened.

The Romulan female looked as surprised as he was, but her attractive features took on a sultry smile. "Commander Spock," she said, then corrected herself. "Captain Spock. When the Paxions told us they had lured a Federation ship here, I never expected you to be her commander."

She took several seductive steps forward. Though her hair was longer and done up in a typically Romulan style, and her face had aged slightly, there was no doubt that this was the Romulan Commander from whose ship Captain Kirk had once stolen a cloaking device. "Has age slowed you, Spock?" she continued. "Your subordinate managed to escape before we could put the dampening field in place."

"I confess my reactions might have been affected by the sight of you," Spock offered. "I had not thought you would be in any position of authority in the Romulan High Command after our last meeting."

Her dark eyes flashed dangerously. "It has taken me many years to recover from your treachery," she admitted, then her smile returned. "Application to the Telenate aided in that immensely."

Spock immediately began a series of calculations in his head, hoping to mask out what he knew of the Order and, more importantly, how he had come to know it.

"Oh, that's unnecessary, Spock," Ve'ath'lin murmured. "You'll be returning to Romulus Prime with me. We'll have all the time we need to find out exactly what you know."

"Captain Spock," the Paxion Prime Minister said, "our negotiations for protectorate status under the Federation are hereby formally terminated." A sly smile crossed his lips. "As you can see, we really have no need of it."

The details of the mission Ruth wanted were relayed to the shuttle's computer just before Hasim began the orbital descent. She scowled as she reviewed it. Starfleet Command had ordered Captain Kirk to retrieve the Romulan cloaking device by any means necessary. Kirk had played crazy and ordered the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone where they were, of course immediately intercepted. Spock had then informed the Romulans that Kirk had lost his faculties, and Kirk had "attacked" him, forcing his First Officer to use a fake so-called "Vulcan Death Grip" on Kirk. The Romulans believed Kirk to be dead and Spock assumed command. McCoy had retrieved Kirk's 'body', then revived him and medically altered his appearance to that of a Romulan. While Spock distracted the Romulan Commander with hinted-at promises of taking the Enterprise to Romulus, Kirk snuck aboard the Baracas and stole the cloaking device. Spock revealed the deception and in a brilliant delaying tactic, demanded the Romulan Right of Statement. The cloaking device was fitted onto the Enterprise and Scotty was able to transport Spock safely aboard - with an unintended passenger; the Romulan Commander herself. During the de-briefing, Spock had dispassionately given the details of his 'distraction' - he had allowed the Romulan commander to seduce him.

And she's got him! Ruth fumed, staring at the visage from the Security tape that was showing on her computer screen. A small part of her mind studied the woman critically. The face was strong yet still beautiful - though she had incongruously small ears for a Romulan. Immediately Ruth decided on an obvious, scathing nick-name. Kitten-Ears has my husband with more than enough reason for revenge. Damn, damn, DAMN!

She felt the slight bump as the shuttle touched down on the surface of Paxilon 4.

"All right let's get this rescue moving," she said to her crew. "Hasim keep in contact with the Enterprise, and warn us of any more Romulans show up."

"Aye, ma'am," the helmsman acknowledged.

"Lacey, Chekov, if anyone tries to stop us, we stun first and ask questions later."

"Commander, will we not need information from..." Chekov began.

"I don't need them awake to get answers, Pavel," the Antari replied grimly.

Lacey touched two fingers to her temple, grinning at the navigator, clearly indicating that their First Officer would use her telepathic gifts.

"Good luck, Commander," Hasim said as he took a position just outside the shuttle's hatch.

Lacey took the point position, Ruth to her right, Chekov to her left. The capital city was within half a kilometer and they were in a hurry. They moved at a swift pace, directly to the council chamber, ignoring the shouts and protests of the Paxions they passed.

"Will they not raise the alarm?" Chekov asked.

"I think if they do, the Commander intends to shoot her way through any guards," Lacey answered.

"Will she be able to determine where they have taken the Captain?" Chekov continued.

"No," Ruth replied. "His mind is still blocked from me. But there isn't a Romulan ship in orbit and it hasn't been that long. They can't have gotten far."

"The signal Miss Gollub detected could have been a transporter," Lacey reminded.

"And I'm betting the Paxions know where the Romulans base of operations is," Ruth returned.

When the reached the council chamber, the council was arrayed before the door and the Prime Minister held up a hand.

"You are in violation of our sovereign world, First Officer," he said. "You will leave now, or face arrest and prosecution."

"And you'll tell me where my husband is," the Antari snapped, "or you won't have much of a sovereign world left to lay claim to."

"The Federation does not approve of such violence," the Minister of Foreign Relations put in smugly.

"Really? After you've kidnapped one of their captains and handed him over to our enemies?" Ruth snorted. "I think they'll understand."

"You will not be able to issue any commands from the city, First Officer," the Prime Minister assured, his voice dripping condescension.

"I couldn't transport to the city either," she shot back. "Yet here I am."

The Paxions shifted uncomfortably.

"Tell me where he is," Ruth demanded. "Now."

"You cannot expect us to know where the Romulans might have..." the Prime Minister began.

Lacey raised her phaser, pointing it directly at his chest. His lips thinned.

"I will not," he rephrased.

Lacey fired.

The rest of the council rushed forward, but as they kept their formation, it was easy for the three Federation officers to stun them all. The Paxions in the street around the chamber fled.

"Provincial, sensitive, Romulan-friendly, bigoted cowards," Lacey said succinctly.

Ruth knelt next to the Prime Minister, touching his forehead. "Back off a little, will you, Pavel?" she asked. As he obeyed she concentrated, and, after a few moments, rose.

"They're on the other side of the damn planet," she snarled.

"That is good news, da?" Chekov ventured. "There is no jamming there."

"We'll check it out," Lacey answered. "We don't know what security measures the Romulans may have."

"Let's get back to the Magellan," Ruth said. Spock, I'm coming!

The Romulans had transported him to what was apparently a small base somewhere on Paxilon 4. This was, of course, an assumption, based on the known range of Romulan transporters and the fact that Spock was clearly not on a Romulan vessel. His captors had given him no other information; indeed, there seemed to be some disagreement within their ranks regarding their mission.

Ve'ath'lin was, in fact, arguing with the Romulan who was in command of the base, a tall, unattractive man named Laras. Spock sat silently in the chair that had been indicated for him, keeping his expression neutral. They spoke in Romulan, and he had no intention of letting them know he understood every word.

"The mission has changed, Commander Laras," Ve'ath'lin insisted.

"Your course of action is foolhardy," Laras maintained. "The Federation will not go to war over a piece of hardware, as we did not. But the capture of one of their officers..."

"The High Command did not see fit to declare war over their capture of one of our officers," she reminded sharply.

"That was not a capture, my lady," the commander almost sneered. "Your second at the time confirmed that you voluntarily accompanied the Vulcan back to his ship."

Ve'ath'lin's delicate ears were greening. "That was in an attempt to regain our stolen property!"

"And the Federation government immediately made plans to surrender you on neutral territory," Laras continued, "a clear indication that they considered your presence on their ship a mistake, not an intentional apprehension. What you propose is a far different matter."

"This Vulcan knows much that would be of great value to the Telanate, Laras," Ve'ath'lin reminded.

"No doubt, but my orders were to secure the Federation cloak," the commander returned. "The method was left to my discretion."

"And you haven't the wit to capture an entire ship," the female scoffed.

"Nor, if the records are accurate, had you," Laras rebutted.

"The circumstances were entirely different."

"Be that as it may, a Federation shuttle from one of their new ships has the technology we require, and obtaining one of them is a much less risky and complicated affair. We will seize that vessel when it arrives, and the crew - all of them - will be left here when the Minitos returns."

"No," Ve'ath'lin stated. "The Vulcan returns with us."

"I will not endanger my mission for your notions of vengeance."

"The Telenate requires..."

"No, ma'am, it does not. This is a personal..."

"You oppose me at your peril, Commander Laras."

"There are others of the Order here. You oppose them."

The Commander walked away and Spock could feel the gathering of mental energy - which was abruptly shut down as the two other members of the Telenate approached Ve'ath'lin. There was a quick exchange of clearly telepathic communication - which sounded like a buzzing in Spock's mind - and Ve'ath'lin gave a short, angry nod. When she moved toward him, her expression was fierce.

"You will not escape me again, Spock," she assured. "And don't pretend with me. I know you understand our language."

"It does have similarities with Vulcan," Spock agreed, admitting nothing else. "However, I confess your motives seem illogical. The Commander is correct in his assessment of likely Federation reaction."

"I don't care about likely Federation reaction," she informed him.

"Perhaps you should."

She knelt next to the chair so that she was on eye-level with him. "Perhaps you are unaware of the strength of Romulan females," she said, her voice a soft murmur, "or of our position in Romulan hierarchy."

Spock again hid his very real, very personal knowledge of those facts behind a wall of mental calculations. Instead, he merely declared, "I am Bonded, Ve'ath'lin."

The dismay that flashed in her gaze was fleeting, but genuine. "No Vulcan woman could hope to match my..." she began.

"My wife is Antari," Spock interrupted. "And keheil."

Ve'ath'lin's lips thinned into a hard line. "Then it is best we make certain she is unable to contact you," she said, and rose. "Jol, Foran, we need to increase the barrier!" she called.

The two other member of the Telenate came immediately to her summons, and Spock winced as the constriction of his mind became even greater.

We will see about this alleged Bond, Spock, he heard Ve'ath'lin's voice in his head, and knew from the feel of it that it was a private communication, not heard by the others of the Order. Though he knew the pain it would cause him, he gathered all his strength and called desperately to his wife. All he could manage was her name before he collapsed in agony.

Ruth!

Ruth gasped as Spock's plea screamed into her brain. She answered immediately, but her head was abruptly filled with the same static that had marred her previous attempts to contact her husband.

"Commander, are you all right?" Hasim asked, his dark brown eyes leaving the controls of the shuttle.

"We've got to hurry," she answered tightly. "Spock's in danger."

"I've got the base on our scanners now," Lacey said, then frowned. "It's not shielded in any way." She looked up. "That's not right. This has got to be a trap."

"The Romulans want us to find them," Chekov added.

"How many life form readings are we getting?" Ruth asked the Security Chief.

"Nine," she answered.

"Chekov, call Scotty. Tell him to beam the lot of them to the cargo hold and then put up a security field."

"Commander," the Russian hesitated. "That would be considered an act of war."

The Antari turned a fierce gaze on him. "Like kidnapping Spock wasn't?"

"She has a point, Commander," Hasim put in with an aggressive grin.

"Then perhaps we should take this through official channels first..." Chekov began.

"Didn't you hear me?" Ruth interrupted. "Spock's in danger! Now! Not three or four weeks from now when the bureaucrats get done discussing the situation to death!"

"They would not dare to harm..." the navigator insisted.

"Get your head out of your ass, Pavel! The Romulans are blocking my Bond with him! Only highly trained telepaths could do that. You DO remember what highly trained Romulan telepaths are generally called, don't you?"

The Russian blanched, though his knowledge came from his pre- and post-mission briefings more than from actual memory of his undercover assignment to Romulan space. "Telenate," he responded, as if the Antari had asked a non-rhetorical question.

"The Telenate is here?" Lacey said. "Shit! Commander, we have to get the captain out of there!"

"Don't I know it," Ruth returned grimly. "Make the call to Scotty. Now.

"Lass, I'm tryin'," Scott reported, "but I canna get a fix on them. Something is interferin' with the sensor lock."

"And there shouldn't be any," Daffy Gollub added over the comm link. "The area reads perfectly clear."

"D'ye suppose it's the telepaths?" the Chief Engineer returned.

Hasim muttered something in Arabic as Ruth fumed.

"We'll have to go in physically," Lacey said. "At least we know it's a trap. That should give us some kind of advantage."

"Can you use a wide-area stun?" Ruth asked.

"It's worth a try," Scott agreed. "I'll pinpoint it so the shuttle'll not be affected."

There was a few moment's delay, then the Scotsman said, "We're not seein' any change in the readings, Ruth."

"Me neither," Lacey confirmed.

"What kind of shield can do that when we can't detect it?" Daffy asked.

"A Valjiir cloak could," Hasim growled.

"Which the Romulans don't have," Ruth added.

"Or do they?" Lacey muttered. "Could they have picked the knowledge from the Captain's mind?"

"Not and built one this fast," Ruth returned. "And I think it would take more time than they've had to get through Spock's mental shields. To do that kind of interrogation and block the Bond at the same time isn't easy, even for the damned Telenate." She paced in the small shuttle, her face set in a tight frown.

"Okay, people, here's what we have to do. We don't know what's keeping them immune to the Enterprise's wide-area stun, but I'm betting it won't stop a phaser on full. If it's something the Telenate is doing, taking them out should be enough." She turned to Lacy and Hasim. "It will be your responsibility to get to the members of the Telenate. Chekov and I will provide back-up, hopefully with only stunning, but we can't hesitate to switch settings if we need to."

"Commander..." the Russian hesitated. "Is that not murder?"

"How will we identify the Telenate?" Lacey wanted to know.

"Reports say they wear black uniforms, not the standard Romulan military gear," Ruth responded, ignoring Chekov's inquiry.

"So we blast anyone in black," Hasim nodded. "Got it."

"Miss Valley..." Chekov began again.

"It's a trap, they know we're coming, so there's no point in trying to be sneaky," Ruth continued.

"Miss Valley..."

"Hasim, land us as close to the base as possible - hell, land us inside the base if you can."

"Miss Valley..."

"I don't want to hear it, Chekov!" Ruth snarled. "Lacey and Hasim go first and we'll follow after a count of five. Got it?"

"I - I am not certain I can accept..." the Russian hesitated.

Daffy's voice cut through the sudden, intense silence. "Oy geveult, Pavel..."

"Are you refusing a direct order, Commander Chekov?" Ruth said, her tone steel and ice.

The Russian cleared his throat. "Commander Valley, Captain Spock would not..."

"And he can yell at me all he wants after we get him back," Ruth broke in. "He can put me on report, discipline me, fucking court martial me if he wants - when we get him back! Do you understand me, mister?"

Chekov was flushing from head to toe. "Yes, ma'am," he stammered. "I understand, ma'am."

"Landing in two minutes, Commander," Hasim said.

"Check weapons, Lacey," the Antari snapped.

"Aye, ma'am," the Arachnid responded.

"Commander!" Scotty's voice broke in. "We've got a Romulan ship de-cloaking up here!"

"Take care of it, Scotty," Ruth ordered. "Whatever you do, don't let them use their transporters!"

"Aye, ma'am!" the engineer replied fiercely. "Good luck t' ya!"

"Good luck to both of us," Ruth murmured and readied herself for quick, decisive action.

One plus one is two. Two plus two is four. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep. In a hole in the ground lived a Hobbit. T'was brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. Ten millimeters to a centimeter, ten centimeters to a decimeter. The Ramans do everything in threes. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Kah ros k'ln, t'an torrsct lk'n spr'tn, aro' r'llng gor...

Stop!

The crushing pressure within Spock's mind eased at Ve'ath'lin's silent command. He felt an immediate rush of gratitude, and harshly rejected the emotion. It was, he knew, more than simply a manipulative ploy. He had been forced into unconsciousness several times by the strength of the interrogation. Ve'ath'lin was merely attempting to prevent that reoccurrence. The respite had allowed him to regain some mental strength, and she was aware of it.

"Your resistance is admirable, Spock," she said aloud, "but, as you well know, ultimately futile. You cannot withstand our questions for long. Is it not logical to admit that defeat before your mind is permanently damaged?"

"Military imperatives are not always logical," the Vulcan managed. His throat was tight, his voice hoarse.

"Our ship will be here soon. When you are taken aboard, there will be other methods of interrogation at our disposal..."

"And others who outtrank you and will curb your excesses," Spock interrupted grimly.

"Why are you so stubborn!" the Romulan cried. She took a few angry steps away from him, then turned back, coming to kneel beside his chair. "Spock, everything I once promised you can still be yours," she said. Her dark eyes entreated him, her tone soft and urging. "I can still be yours."

"I am acquainted with Romulan custom," he returned. "It is I who would be yours."

"And is that thought so unpleasant?" she purred.

"I am Bonded."

"Not to a Romulan!" Ve'ath'lin snapped. "Not even to one of your own kinsman! Do you really believe the High Command will accept its validity?"

"Vulcan does," was the intractable reply. "Will even the Telenate attempt to refute that?"

Her lips tensed into a thin, hard line. "Then I will have to burn it out of you before..."

"Ve'ath'lin," Foron, one of the other members of the Order broke in. "The Minitos is in orbit. They are engaging the Federation vessel."

Ve'ath'lin swore in Romulan. "Then we are out of time," she said. She gestured to her two comrades, and Spock took a deep breath as the mental battering began again.

One plus one is two. Two plus two is four...

The Enterprise shook as another energy blast impacted the shields.

"Kushenko, target the transporter mechanism!" Scotty ordered the Defense and Weapons chief.

"The sensors cannot get a fix, sir!" she cried, her fingers flying over her targeting board.

"Their shields are rotating frequencies," Daffy Gollub reported. "I'm inputting parameters to match."

"Keep up evasive maneuvers," Scott ordered Dawson Walking Bear.

"Aye, sir," the helmsman responded.

On the view screen, a line of phaser fire strafed the side of the Romulan ship as another energy beam rocked the Enterprise.

"Shields down to forty-eight percent," Daffy said. "At least we're keeping them busy."

Scott thumbed the comm switch. "Renaldi, can ye get a fix on the base yet?"

The voice of his assistant, Angela Renaldi, sounded frustrated. "No, sir," she said, following her response with a string of Italian obscenities.

"Keep workin' th problem, lass," Scotty encouraged.

The ship shuddered again.

"Kushenko, give us some breathin' room!" he barked. "Hit her wherever ya can!"

"Aye, sir," the Russian replied, and phaser fire again streaked across the hull of the Romulan warbird.

"We're not doing much damage," Daffy reported from Sciences, then turned, grinning. "But their shields are worse off than ours."

"Keep it up!" Scott ordered. In front of him, Walking Bear and the navigator, David Kelly, coordinated ship's movements, keeping the Enterprise away from the worst of the energy blasts. He turned to Alan Mulhouse, behind and to his right. "The minute you hear from Ruth, I want her coordinates sent down to the transporter," he said. "We can come back for the Magellan later."

"Aye, sir," Mulhouse said, his practiced ear deciphering reports from all over the ship.

"Come on, lassie," Scotty murmured. "Find your husband,"

"Commander, a Federation shuttle is landing," the Romulan Science Officer reported.

"Move out now," Laras ordered his five other officers. "Incapacitate the officers aboard it and get it up to the Minitos double speed!" He turned to Ve'ath'lin. "Secure the Vulcan so that he cannot aid his compatriots and prepare to beam up immediately."

"I will not leave him!" Ve'ath'lin countered. "He has much information that would benefit the Praetor."

"That is not our mission," Laras argued. "If we fail in our primary..."

"Fool!" the Telenate officer spat. "Do you think Spock does not possess all the information we need about their cloak? Is it not much less risky just to bring him aboard the Minitos than try and bring a shuttle up when the Federation ship is firing on us?"

"And if he refuses to cooperate?"

"You doubt the Telenate, Laras?"

The Commander blanched, then gathered himself. "Not at all," he asserted. "But such extraction takes time. To have a working version of their cloak now will..."

The sound of phaser fire came from just outside the entrance to the base compound.

"Commander, one of their officers is Antari!" Jol, the younger member of the Telenate Order announced suddenly.

"Shut her down!" Ve'ath'lin ordered.

"I have not the power alone!" Jol returned.

Foron, aid us! Ve'ath'lin called, and sent her mind scanning for an Antari mental signature.

With the sudden freedom from the Telenate prison, Spock gathered all his strength, sending an urgent message to his wife.

Wife, three Telenate officers within the compound. They want the shuttle. Return it to the Enterprise immediately!

Ruth fired at the Romulan officers who burst from the modest building that was less than thirty meters from the shuttle. Hasim and Lacey sprinted ahead of her, letting her and Chekov deal with anyone not in black, as she had ordered. Her relief at hearing Spock's mental voice was swallowed in the blast of pain that abruptly seared into her skull.

She screamed, dropping her phaser as her knees buckled. Chekov was immediately at her side.

"Commander, what...?" he began.

The constriction in her head eased and she blinked back the tears that had been forced from her eyes.

"Cover... Lacey... Hasim..." she managed. "When they're inside... get back to the shuttle... get it back to the ship."

The Russian frowned in concern, then nodded brusquely and rose, firing as he took two steps from her, then three, four, five...

Ruth cried out as the agony again intensified.

"Pavel, come back!" she shrieked.

"But you said..." he began as he retraced his steps.

A bolt of energy fire sizzled into the air where he had been standing. Ruth's vision again cleared, and she saw Lacey scrambling on six of her limbs, Hasim right behind her, both racing past the Romulan officers, intent on their orders. Two of the Romulans were already down. She knew she had hit one, and realized Chekov must have hit the other.

"Fire from here, Pav," she gasped.

Chekov was already aiming and a third Romulan went down.

"Have to - get back - to the ship..." Ruth stammered. She tried to get to her feet, and the navigator pushed her back down as another bolt raced past her head.

"What about the captain?" he asked.

"Spock said - want the shuttle."

He was able to contact you?"

She grit her teeth as the mental attack became stronger, even with Pavel's psi-nullification so close. The way her head was beginning to spin, she knew standing would be next to impossible. "I have to crawl," she growled. "Can't stand."

Chekov reached down, grasping her arm. "I can help..." he began.

"Keep firing!" she broke in. "Just stay close..."

He muttered a string of Russian, but backed with her as she made her laborious way to the Magellan. His satisfied grunt told her he had brought down a fourth Romulan. Only one more left, and just a few more yards to go...

Then there was a cry from above her, and Chekov fell, landing awkwardly on her legs. The pressure in her head became crushing, rivers of searing torment, white-hot shackles around her brain. The long bones in her arms and legs added their own burning as she tried in vain to fight off the minds that were overwhelming her own...

There was a cry in her mind, and the pain lessened. She dragged herself from under Pavel's body, gasping for breath. She reached blindly for the phaser she knew he had dropped and began firing it at random while an insanely giggling voice somewhere in the back of her head said, let go, Luke. Use the Force.

"Womprat," she answered it, but held her breath and fired again.

Another cry sounded in her mind and the intense pressure eased even further. She hastily wiped her eyes on her sleeve, trying to find the Romulan she knew had to be coming in for the kill.

Lacey spotted the Telenate officers first and fired with deadly accuracy. A young Romulan in black vaporized before her.

"Lacey, jump!" Hasim's voice shouted, and the Arachnid leapt, her racial peculiarities letting her easily reach the ceiling of the building, where she immediately clung with four of her legs. She saw Captain Spock bound to a chair with some kind of glowing strands, and two Romulan officers besides the other two Telenate members. The officers were taking aim at Hasim, and she let out a screech and fired at one of them, knowing that her weapon was set to kill and not caring. At the same time Hasim took out a second Telenate, leaving only the female. She heard the desperate command the Romulan officer shouted into what was apparently the communications relay and dropped from the ceiling, intending to cover the Captain with a limb-cage, but the hum of a transporter took him, the Telenate officer and the Romulan commander before she landed.

Ruth let out a scream of frustration as the Romulan who was running toward her suddenly disappeared in a transporter's beam. The constriction left her mind, but it felt heavy and bruised, still buzzing with aftershock. Then the tingling of the Enterprise's transporter took hold of her and she and Chekov rematerialized aboard the ship, along with Lacey and Hasim, who was swearing furiously in Arabic.

"Spock?" she gasped, glancing wildly around her.

"I beamed up every communicator signal as soon as the interference cleared," Angela Renaldi said, after calling for Medical. "Either the Captain wasn't near his or..."

"They've still got him," Ruth seethed.

The transporter room door hissed open and she winced at the sound as McCoy, along with Myron Pinsky and a Med team rushed in. Daffy Gollub was right behind them, and when she saw Chekov, she pushed forward, dropping beside him.

"Pasha!" she screamed, and Pinsky gently took a hold of her shoulders.

"Let the doctor examine him, meydele," he said, pulling her aside.

After a quick scan, McCoy snapped, "Get him to Sickbay," and moved to let the orderlies do just that. Then he turned to Ruth.

"What happened, Ruthie?"

"The damned Telenate!" she snarled. "They fucked up my head and I couldn't do a fucking thing about it!" She turned to Renaldi. "Angie, have Scotty send someone down to get the shuttle. That's what the bastards were after."

The lovely Italian woman blinked at her. "Then why did they...?"

"I don't know," Ruth answered. "That was all Spock had time to tell me."

Romulan guards surrounded Spock as soon as the materialization on board the Minitos was complete, their weapons drawn and aimed. Laras, Ve'ath'lin and the remaining officers from the base moved off the transport discs, Ve'ath'lin grasping Spock's arm to drag him with her.

"Send someone down to that shuttle, NOW!" Laras ordered. One of the guards stepped up, taking the spot Laras had just vacated. As the man posted at the transporter began inputting the proper coordinates, an explosion rocked the warbird. An electrical storm ran through the transporter mechanism, the officer attending the controls thrown back and away from it.

"Rem, we've lost the transporters," came the voice of Laras' second from the intercom. "Have you got the Commander?"

"I'm here, Beran," Laras growled, "but the mission is in jeopardy Can you get a tractor on the Federation shuttle?"

"Not under these conditions," was the grim reply. "Too much phaser fire. The lock would be disrupted before we could raise it."

Laras swore vehemently, then turned to Ve'ath'lin. "You and Na'rena had better be able to control the Vulcan until we reach home!" He gestured for the guards to take the prisoner.

Ve'ath'lin frowned. Na'rena was the Telenate officer assigned to the Minitos, and as much as she could use the aid after losing Foron and Jol, the thought of another female in such contact with Spock filled her with jealousy.

You are broadcasting your emotions, Ve'ath'lin, the Vulcan's voice commented in her mind. Your jealousy is not only unseemly and misguided, it is pointless. I am Bonded, and you have seen the strength of my wife's mind.

That may be, she answered him fiercely, but it is ultimately just as pointless. You will never see her again. She altered the focus of her thoughts. Na'rena, we have a prisoner. I require your assistance.

She heard the acknowledgement from the younger woman, and followed the armed men to the ship's holding area.