Fic: Consort, Chapter 16

He had warmed her hands and feet in basins of tepid water, wrapped all fingers and toes and the tips of her ears in sterile dressings as a precaution against blistering, administered hyposprays of painkillers and anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and even a tetanus booster just in case.  And even as he completed his mental inventory, scouring his brain for any remaining short-term treatment procedures he might have missed and reaffirming that he had exhausted all options, he felt as he held her, groggily huddled in a thin blanket on the couch in Sarek's parlor, that he hadn't done enough.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about either of your abductors?"  The Ambassador's voice was gentle but insistent, and Uhura blinked several times as she struggled to prop herself up on McCoy's shoulder.

"The guy that took us...he was like a hired gun.  The Klingon paid him."

Spock raised an eyebrow in Sarek's direction.  "A Vulcan employed as a bounty hunter?"

Both Sarek and the Ambassador shook their heads regretfully.  "It is indeed unfortunate that our people have resorted to such measures for their survival," said Sarek softly.  "It is beyond distasteful that one would profit from the imprisonment of another."

"Not merely imprisonment, Father. Murder as well."  Spock's voice was tight as he glanced in Uhura's direction.

"Murder?  Impossible.  Such an act would still be repugnant to any Vulcan regardless of our present circumstance."  

"With apologies, sir."  Uhura grimaced as she pushed herself further upright with her bandaged hands.  "He left us with a man who tortured Jim and who tied me up, beamed me to the coldest part of the planet, and left me there to die.  And the Klingon told him he might use his services again.  He had to know what he was doing when he left us behind."

"So the Klingon's job was specifically to recover you, and perhaps other perpetrators of offenses against the Empire as well, in a covert manner."  The Ambassador steepled his hands in front of them, and McCoy noticed that the mild tremor of the previous evening had vanished.  "This indicates that they intend to exact revenge for the attack on Kronos without directly confronting the Federation."  He leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees, his hands still thoughtful.  "Miss Uhura.  You mentioned that the Klingon indicated they were leaving as soon as possible.  Did he make any mention of what their destination might be?"

Uhura shook her head.  "Not at all.  He just told the Vulcan..."

She halted in mid-sentence, McCoy's arm tightening around her in concern as they waited for her to continue, but her frown just deepened in the lengthening silence.  When she spoke again it was with a sudden harshness in her features, a look of such vehement certainty that a part of him, as he looked down at her face, saw in her a stranger.

"He's not a Vulcan."

The Ambassador nodded, seemingly unsurprised.  "Indeed."

"That's right.  I heard it when he spoke Vulcan; he's not a native speaker.  He had a pronounced accent.  Like a..."  

The eyes of the the two Spocks met in perfect concordance; the younger spoke first.  "Like a Romulan."

"We might be able to find him!"  McCoy turned to the Ambassador, unreasonable hope lilting in his voice.  "How likely is it that he's still on New Vulcan?"  

"Doctor, it has been hours since Jim was taken.  Having accomplished his purpose, he may well have left the planet at once."

Sarek's fingers manipulated his PADD for a few moments.  "Perhaps not.  There is no record of any authorized vessel leaving New Vulcan within the past six hours."

"Authorized vessel.  What about unauthorized ones?"

"Perimeter Security has not detected any unauthorized vessels in the vicinity since the system was put in place following the founding of the colony."

"So either he was able to sneak in and maybe sneak back out completely undetected, or he's still here."  The hope became excitement as he turned to the elder Spock.  "I tell you what, I'm putting my money on Door Number Two.  Ambassador, can the sensors on your ship pick out a Romulan life form from all the Vulcans in the colony?"

Spock shook his head.  "Unlikely, since our common ancestry has rendered our physiologies rather similar.  However, I can suggest a place where we might locate our target."  He stood and turned to Sarek.  "Father.  Your participation would be most helpful, as your face is the only one our quarry will be unfamiliar with."  He then extended his hand toward the couple on the couch.  "Miss Uhura, if you are able to travel, it would be advantageous for you to accompany us as well in order to positively identify the Romulan."

McCoy found himself with an armful of blanket as she rose from the couch to stand unsteadily on her bandaged feet.  "Hell yes.  Let's go."


***


"Ambassador Sarek.  I am truly honored.  Enter and inform me how I may assist you."  The man behind the counter inclined his head so far forward that he seemed in danger of toppling at Sarek's entrance.  

"I thank you for your kind words.  I request your guidance."

"Whatever service would be of use to you, Ambassador, I will of course endeavor to provide."

"Overdoing the bowing and scraping a bit, isn't he?" muttered McCoy as he peered over Uhura's shoulder at the tricorder she held clumsily in her hands.    

"The more, the better," she whispered back.  "Our guy will know it's genuine, so maybe he'll be impressed enough with Sarek that we can catch him off guard."  She peered at the tricorder's display in the dwindling daylight.  "Sarek needs to turn around so I can get a look at what else is in there"

They were crouched by the front entrance of what he laughingly called a "Mom and Pop" when they first approached it, the hybrid offspring of a cafe, a farmer's market, and a poorly stocked liquor store.  "Despite the evidence that our society is abandoning, at least temporarily, some of our old customs, Vulcans still do not partake heavily of alcohol," the Ambassador had explained on the way over.  "The Khru-Svai is the only establishment within the colony that sells spirits for consumption, and if the one we seek is a typical Romulan, he will enjoy passing the evening hours sampling their inventory."

"Yeah, because nothing caps off a day of kidnapping like a Jack and a beer back." 

"Exactly," agreed the Ambassador smoothly, and McCoy had grinned in amusement at his apparent recognition of the phrase.  He spoke in Uhura's ear now.  "You know, if our Spock ends up being like the Ambassador when he's older, he and I will be doing some serious time at this juke joint."

She nodded toward the rear of the building where Spock and the Ambassador were similarly positioned by the back entrance.  "Jim did get him to start drinking beer.  Wait...okay, he's moving."

The image on her tricorder shifted as Sarek rose from his own slight bow and turned toward a rack of bottles on the counter.  "My cousin and his extended family are arriving for a visit, and I am not prepared to entertain such a large party.  They will require a variety of food and drink for their comfort.  I recall that your establishment was particularly helpful in arranging such provisions for a diplomatic event I hosted two seasons ago, and I would appreciate your recommendations once again, for the gratification of my kin."

"Please."  The proprietor gestured toward the adjacent wall where more bottles lay stacked in woven crates.  "Let us discuss your family's tastes and I will be better able to suggest some appropriate beverages for their enjoyment."

The tricorder image rotated dizzyingly as Sarek turned, revealing the bins of produce and prepared foods in the center of the store and the row of small round tables to the rear.  

"Okay, let's see those tables..."

As if he could hear her, Sarek rotated slowly to allow the tiny camera affixed to the decorative script of his robe to capture the images of the seated customers.  Several were dining in pairs, a few were alone, but none of them looked familiar.  She shook her head.

"I don't see him.  I don't think he's..."

The view on the tricorder screen steadied on the table closest to the rear exit, where a single male customer sat facing the entrance, a glass of translucent blue liquid in his hand.

"That's him," she breathed.  "That's the rat bastard."  

McCoy spoke into his communicator.  "Spock, he's in there, at the table by your location."  He put his hand on her shoulder.  "As your physician, I strongly recommend that you return to the hovercar and put your dogs up.  But I figure you'd rather go in there."

She smiled tightly at him, the stranger again evident in her eyes as she clutched his hand, pulling on him to stand, and looped the tricorder over her shoulder.  "Does the pope shit in the woods?"

They entered the Khru-Svai to find the younger Spock with his hand on the Romulan's neck, his fingers approximately one quarter of an inch away, by McCoy's estimation, from completing tal'shaya, the elder Spock's hand clamped firmly around the wrist of the hand that held a Romulan sidearm.  Sarek moved forward to retrieve the weapon, concealing it within the sleeve of his robe before turning toward the proprietor with an apologetic bow.

"My regrets.  I will postpone my purchase for another time."

They moved through the rear entrance to the small courtyard behind.  Spock pushed their captive up against the wall.

"We require information," intoned the Ambassador.  "We are prepared to pay you more than did your previous client for that information."  He glanced briefly at his neck, still in the firm grasp of Spock's hand.  "We are also prepared, of course, to spare your life."

The Romulan looked at Uhura for a moment, then back at the Ambassador.  "I was hired by a Klingon named Kurtah to locate this female.  He provided me with images of her and several companions in an attack against Empire troops.  Those images showed her face as well as an indistinct likeness of a Vulcan.  I therefore determined that I might locate her within this colony.  Having done so, I delivered this female and her man to Kurtah's ship, which until recently was in orbit around this planet.  I expect they have since departed.  I did not inquire as to their destination."

"You can speculate."

He blinked a few times before continuing.  "I have similarly supplied other Klingon patrons before.  If not killed outright, their captives were transported either to the Empire home world or to their prison planet."

The Ambassador tilted his head inquiringly.  "You speak of Rura Penthe?"

"Yes."

"We will also require the use of your craft, with your assistance.  We will pay an additional sum for that service."

"Agreed."

McCoy frowned in puzzlement.  "Ambassador, why do we need his ship?  Can't we make do with Sarek's?"

Spock shook his head.  "The Klingon ship entered orbit undetected and left in the same manner.  That can only mean that it is cloaked.  Sarek's ship is not equipped to detect the antiproton trail it will have left as it departed, but the Romulan's vessel will be."  He nodded at Spock to release the Romulan.  "We need this technology in order to ascertain whether the Klingons' destination is Kronos or Rura Penthe.  In addition, we need a ship with higher warp capability if we are to locate Jim in a timely manner.  It will take weeks to reach either destination in Sarek's ship, and we cannot wait for Starfleet to respond to a requisition for a suitable vessel."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'cloaked?'  And what's all this about antiprotons?"

The Ambassador pressed his lips together.  "I will speak no more of this, as I'm sure our Romulan friend will appreciate.  Suffice it to say that the Federation will shortly become aware of this technology, and therefore, in time, so will you."  He turned to the Romulan and proffered a small envelope.  "This is five percent of what I offer you for your services.  You will receive another 25 percent upon successfully bringing us to the appropriate destination and the remainder upon safely delivering us back to New Vulcan."

The Romulan scanned the credit chip contained in the envelope, his eyebrows rising slightly.  "It is adequate."  He pocketed the chip.  "Collect whatever provisions and supplies you require.  I will leave orbit in one hour."

"Well, we'd better get crackin'."  McCoy stooped to lift Uhura off her feet.  "We'll be faster if I don't have to help you hobble."

He saw the stranger vanish as she linked her arms behind his head and pulled it down to hers for a quick kiss.  "Let's go get him."

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