IDIC-PLANET

CHAPTER 4

The Captain, Dr. McCoy and Lieutenant Offer materialised in to what seemed to be the waiting dome of K'L'troks office. There they were asked by a humanoid woman of unrecognisable origins, to wait for K'L'trok who was detained by a trading delegation from the artisan-colony of the planet named Havel, after a 20th century Earth play-wright who had successfully led a peaceful revolution to free his country from the iron grip of dictatorship. These Havelians, all descendants from that small Earth- country, relied heavily on trade for all their necessary nano-technological provisions. It bothered Captain Kirk, who always had held an admiration for the actual president Havel, to realise that these people were now obviously trading themselves to satisfy their basic needs. Suddenly a thought hit him - "But Havelians were pure humans. Surely then the K'S'vaits had no need for further Humans! Or have the Havelians deviated so far from their original ideologies that they would engage in SLAVE- trading!" He would have to find out. Jim put his hand on his stomach. The whole situation was giving him a large dose of indigestion. An ulcer was just waiting to happen.

Restlessly Jim wondered round the dome, oblivious to McCoys pursuing concerned gaze. Jim's own eyes were drawn over to where Lieutenant Offer was leaning against the table-like structure. The lieutenant seemed totally relaxed. He was observing the multitude of beings, visible through the dome walls. A look of wonderment, inspired by a child-like curiosity played across his face. A thin but satisfied smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. One hand played thoughtlessly with the non-regulation kippa pinned on top of his curly hair.

"Mr. Offer, you seem to find this situation interesting and it does not seem to bother you at all - I find THAT interesting. Especially with respect to the fact that you profess yourself to practice your religious belief," Jim said suddenly and indicated the kippa. McCoy now strolled over to join them.

Lieutenant Offer grinned. He unpinned the non-regulation piece of clothing and stuffed it irreverently into a pocket.

"Sorry, Captain," and when Jim started to say that he didn't mind people's religious accessories as long as they did not interfere with their duty, Lieutenant Offer hastened to explain.

"Captain, when I came aboard the Enterprise, I never wore the Kippa, except during prayer-gatherings. But when I met LaPierre, I took to wearing it....just to annoy her," he finished sheepishly.

"That still doesn't explain to me your near approval of this culture."

"Captain, although I was brought up in MY religion and culture, that doesn't mean that I think it is the ONLY way to follow. I was taught to rejoice in Diversity as well. We even have a blessing which is recited upon encountering diversity; 'Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech haolam. mishane ha'brijot.' Which means; 'Blessed are you, the lord our God, King of the Universe, who varies the forms of his creatures.' And personally I see tolerance for other beings and ideas as immensely important. That is my credo. I would not hesitate to mate outside my belief or culture, and respect my partner's differences. I would expect she would respect mine. Then our children could be taught both ways which I hope would enrich them and enlarge their perspective about this Galaxy," finished a now somewhat embarrassed Offer.

"Bravo!" the unexpected exclamation came from the entrance to the dome. K'L'trok stood there in a dazzling robe created by a multitude of shades of radiant colours. He slowly came towards them, a self-assured and content look on his face.

"Is this one of the Humans you bring us, Captain? I like your choice - this is a prime candidate." He added inspecting Lieutenant Offer from top to bottom.

"K'L'trok, we need to talk," said Jim Kirk, trying to hold on to his temper. Just the thought of considering someone like lieutenant Offer as a tradable commodity, made him see red.

K'L'trok sighed and shook his head from one shoulder to the other and back again several times. "Very well, gentle-captain, please come this way," and led them to the same room they had their first meeting in.

---

Nobody took any notice of the human female, as she made her way towards the group of young K'S'vaits, who were chatting idly. These K'S'vaits happened to be a group of students from the college of Genotechnical-philosophy and Xenobioecology.

They had just finished a class on the Master's Law, and were debating the advantages and disadvantages of said Law. From some of the threads of conversation, that the universal translator started to decode, the young woman got the impression that not all these K'S'vaits agreed with the Law.

LaPierre was overjoyed. Obviously it was her destiny that she should be able to come here at this time and show these poor beings the True and Only Way. The way of Unity, the Reality, The way of One.

As the quality of the translation improved, she tried to engage some of the more promising students in conversation, slowly introducing ideas inherent in her belief. They seemed to consider these ideas, discuss them, even accept them, but then they would end the discussion by a fool-proof argument against them. This debate between the students and the unsuspecting woman went on until it dawned on her that these beings were considering all her arguments purely as a form of intellectual exercise. She was so engrossed in her discussions that she did not notice one K'S'vait observing her with great interest. He now made his way towards her.

"Pardon, but you are a stranger here, are you not?"

She spun round and faced a tall being with handsome Romulan-like facial features.

"Come with me," he said taking her by the arm.

She twisted free of his hold: "Why should I?"

"Because you seem to have similar ideas to mine and my friends. Because you are from the Federation ship, currently in orbit round this prison. You could help us enormously. But we cannot talk here." he finished while propelling her to a ground-vehicle.

---

There were few people on the bridge. Spock was at his science station analysing complete spectral scans of the planet rotating leisurely below. It was indeed a planet rich in numerous raw materials in demand by many space-faring cultures for their potentially high energy output, dilithium being only one of them.

"Sickbay to bridge," Christine Chapel's disembodied voice broke the calm of the bridge.

Spock took a few long strides to the Captain's chair, pressed the desired switch: "Spock here."

"Mr. Spock, we must get Dr. McCoy back. Sulu seems to be deteriorating. His vital signs are fluctuating alarmingly." The urgency in her voice stressed the exigency of the situation.

"Acknowledged, Spock out. Uhura contact the Captain and Dr. McCoy."

"Yes Sir."

Spock waited calmly as Uhura's fingers danced over the comm. board. A minute passed, then another.

"Sir, I can't raise them. There is too much interference from the other ships and also from the planet itself to be able to penetrate to where they are." Uhura turned apologetically towards Spock.

" I was afraid of that. My recent analysis indicated that the Main Dome is made of a high energy single crystal of Urascium. Keep trying, Lieutenant."

Spock did not like the way this situation was developing. Logically he should stay on the bridge, while the Captain was unavailable and out of contact. Logically he should not submit himself, as the senior officer, to a potentially disrupting experience such as the mind meld. But Mr. Sulu's chance of living may depend on the only contact he had with the outside world: Spock. It was extraordinary, in fact, that Mr. Sulu had not reached this withdrawal state earlier. Total sensory deprivation was known to drive people mad in a very short time, and had been used on many worlds as a form of torture. Should he disregard his duties and try to help Mr. Sulu? After all, the well-being of the crew was also his responsibility. In this it did differ from the last time he was faced with this kind of decision, when only his blood could save his father's life. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. But in this instance there was, at present, only the pressing need of Mr. Sulu.

"Anything, Lieutenant?"

"No, Sir, I'm trying to cross-circuit and redirect the nano-waves with the pico-hertz frequency, to penetrate the anisotropic vibrational molecular energies of the dome. That should enable me to make contact soon."

"Very well, Lieutenant. I will be in Sickbay. Notify Mr. Scott of the situation."

"Yes Sir, and...Sir..?"

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"Nothing, Sir."

---

Sulu's room was filled with alarms bleeping for attention, and flashing lights warning that his condition was rapidly becoming worse.

Christine Chapel was attempting to stabilise her patient with injections of digoxinglycoside to stimulate the heart and anapertofin to increase brain-wave activity. Chekov hovered nervously round Sulu's bed.

"Condition?" enquired Mr.Spock upon entering.

"Deteriorating fast. Did you contact Dr. McCoy?" asked an anxious Chapel.

"Lieutenant Uhura is doing that. Nurse, allow me some privacy - I shall use the mind meld on Mr. Sulu."

"Mr. Spock, are you sure? It could be very dangerous in his current state."

"His current state is the very reason for attempting the mind-meld. Please, leave us alone, if medically possible." Chapel nodded. Chekov looked somewhat reluctant. "Now Mr. Chekov." Spock said quietly but with such force of command that the ensign obeyed immediately.

Before Chapel left she had redirected the life support indicator alarms and diagnostic computer readings to McCoy's office, where she could keep an eye on them. A blessed silence descended on the room.

Spock sat on Sulu's bed and composed himself. Long fingers touched Sulu's face, positioning themselves with precision over the cranial nerve centres. He entered carefully. Then reached down deeper into Sulu's mind. He met no resistance. In fact, he met nothing at all. He reached deeper, allowing his own shields to slip so that he could search for Sulu's self. At last he felt Sulu's tenuous consciousness, weak - about to give up life, to depart, to embrace the mysteries of death.

"SULU! - Open to me, Hikaru. Let me in...closer now." Spock felt feeble resistance. Again he reached, deeper and deeper, through the enveloping darkness. He touched Sulu's consciousness, took hold of it and held it. He let Sulu know that he wasn't alone, he debated, argued with the thin-thread that was left of Sulu. Telling him that the Captain, Chekov, Uhura needed him. He allowed Sulu to breach his own privacy, showing him part of his mind. Suddenly Sulu's mind came alive. Unwittingly it violated the innermost-self of Spock, intruding unbearably. Spock blocked, but his considerable Vulcan discipline allowed him to do it gently. He withdrew slowly and carefully from the deep meld, alleviating Sulu's feeling of non-existence.

The readings on the life-support and diagnostic systems had stabilised. Chapel gave a deep sigh of relief and allowed herself a small smile.

Dr. McCoy burst into Sickbay just in time to see a grey- faced Vulcan staggering, trying to get up from Sulu's bed and managing at last to stand.

"What the hell is going on? What are you up to, Spock?" he exploded, concern making him angry.

"Up to, Doctor?" Spock managed, in a hoarse voice, much to his consternation. "I shall leave you now with your patient."

"You are not going anywhere in your state, Spock, except to lie down on the bed next to Sulu's." McCoy barred his way.

"Doctor, I do not have the time to argue at present," Spock said in a stronger voice.

"Spock.....," McCoy warned dangerously.

"Thank you for your professional concern, but now I must return to the bridge," Spock said dispassionately, then neatly side-stepped the doctor and slipped out before the good doctor could gather his breath for an appropriate reply.

"Damn that green-blooded, pointy-eared Vulcan!" he exclaimed instead, concern for both Sulu and Spock gnawing at him. He turned towards nurse Chapel, who was once again attending to the Lieutenant's needs.

"In the name of Great Galaxies, what happened here, Christine?" he snapped.

---

Captain Kirk strode onto the bridge angry. Angry because the meeting with K'L'trok was fruitless. Angry because he felt unable to do anything about the situation. Angry because he was worried about Sulu, about the best helmsman he had ever had, and a loyal friend. He recalled the many times that Hikaru's fast responses had saved them from becoming energy waves spread out in space. He remembered the time that Sulu's preoccupation with playing tank-games had saved them from attack by 7 Klingon ships, who badly wanted to prevent the Enterprise from testing out K't'lk's inversion drive⁽²⁾. Still deep in thought, he called on Mr. Spock to report the status of the ship, as the preliminary to a discussion about the present problem. When no immediate acknowledgement came, he realised that his first officer was absent. He was about to turn to Uhura for an explanation, when Mr Spock walked onto the bridge, looking decidedly unwell for a Vulcan. In his pent up anger, frustration and an added worry upon seeing the Vulcan in this state, Jim snapped furiously:

"What the devil have you been doing off the bridge at a time like this!?!"

Spock flinched inwardly. The full force of his Captain's mixed emotions penetrated his weakened mind-shields physically assaulting his senses. He mustered all his energy to reply stiffly while making his way back to his station:

"The logic of the situation dictated a mind-meld with Mr. Sulu, to circumvent his death. Sir."

The anger that had gripped the Captain, upon not finding Spock on the bridge, was now replaced immediately by guilt. Venting anger and frustration on his most trustworthy officer, just because he wasn't there when Jim wanted to talk to him, was bad indeed. He should have known that Spock would have had a very good reason to abandon his duties on the bridge. Captain Kirk punched his communication toggle, contacted sickbay and quietly got the whole story out of Chapel and McCoy.

"Thanks, keep me informed, Bones," he ended.

He looked towards where Spock, still grey and withdrawn, had resumed his analysis of the Planet's ionosphere. Jim rose and approached Spock.

"Are you feeling alright, Mr. Spock?" he asked quietly

"I am well, Captain."

'And they say Vulcans never lie,' Jim thought and said:

"Thank you for what you did for Mr. Sulu."

"One does not thank logic, Captain."

"Spock, I am sorry if I offended you, but...," Jim tried to find the right words.

"There is no offence, where none is taken," Spock quoted.

"Spock!" Jim looked at his friend in consternation. This was Spock at his most unapproachable - more Vulcan than Vulcan. And it was his fault, Jim thought, self-guilt washing over him.

Spock felt Kirk's emotions, again, much more acutely than normally. He looked at his Captain, and saw the worry in the Captain's eyes. His own features softened slightly.

"Jim, I am fine. I just need to have some time to recover from the mind-meld." He said it so quietly that even Jim, standing next to him had to strain to hear.

Jim nodded once, then in a loud voice said:

"Uhura, notify Doctor McCoy that there will be a meeting in my quarters in 15 minutes to discuss the situation. Lieutenant Offer, your presence will be required as well. I am going to be in my cabin. Spock, please join me."

---

Nobody noticed the absence of ensign LaPierre. A navigator was not obliged to stay on the bridge the whole time, while a ship was in orbit. The navigator was only required to be on-call.

Footnotes and explanations

Next chapter.