Chapter 8 - Lambs and OthersThe young man called Jimmy had been named after Captain James T. Kirk. His family didn't know Kirk, but they knew of him, and the Captain had been a hero of his for a long time. Then, one day, some friends of his overheard him saying how disturbed he was by Kirk's reported liaisons with non-Terran humanoid females. Others in his group pointed to the intermarriage rate among species in the Federation. Others, though, talked with young Jimmy and told him it was all right to be disturbed by what they called miscegenation. They told him Kirk was a prime advocate of this travesty. He was told about a secret history, one "they" didn't want him to know about.
Before a week was out, he was told of a mighty force that would come and ensure humanity's pre-eminence among the stars. Before a month was out, he was a member of the Order of the Ancient Destroyer. Just a day ago, he received his first orders. The Andorian girl, Andia, and Taveena, her Tellarite best friend, were to be done away with, as a start to the New Order of Lord Ghidorah. The reason: Born on Earth and immersed in its culture, the girls were a nightmare to the bigots. They did the worst thing of all - they made aliens on Earth seem acceptable, even unremarkable.
So pleased was Jimmy about getting an assignment that the girls were dead before he remembered that Andia had been his first. Nervously, he walked into his parents' home, and heard the shower in his room running. In it was Andia, looking absolutely hot. Her family were all free spirits and not strict religionists, so Andia, far from covering herself, smiled at Jimmy and did a few turns, giggling once. She was good-looking, but Jimmy only saw how her ponytail looked with those antennae. He walked over to her, and made a nervous request, suddenly very glad he only killed her in a dream.
"Andia? I know I've been a jerk, but, well, you look SO good. Could we - ya know? I'll try to do better this time."
She smiled.
"Jimmy! I like you, and you did okay, ya know? But, like, it's all a big Noper on sharing my shower."
His face began to contort in pain.
"Why not? I thought you said you liked me?"
Her antennae bounced a few times, driving him nuts.
"We, like, can't be to-geth-er cause you just blew me and Taveena totally to atoms! I mean, c'mon, Jimmy! I had a great bod, and now it's all over the freakin' stratosphere! You do that to me and my best bud, and then you want some? No Kirkin way! Wake up, little man!"
And then he did just that. Immediately he picked up the murder weapon, and stared into it's barrel. He said some last words.
"I killed a girl who liked me enough to do it with me, all in the name of a three-headed dragon. I must be nuts!"
As Jimmy pulled the trigger, he was not alone. Conscience attacks were ending lives and breaking minds all over the former United Federation Of Planets. As people woke up and realized that their friends, family, and neighbors didn't just get up and walk away, it became too much to bear. But not for all. The members of the Order who remained were the extreme hardcore, and on planet after planet, they held a meeting, again each thinking that their species alone would be spared. Not all of them seized control of the government, as on Earth. But they all held sway disproportionate to their numbers, which had just dwindled. Not that they cared. On each world, each cell-leader gave a speech that transliterated exactly the same way.
"There are sheep, and there are wolves. We are the strong, the wolves. They are lambs to the slaughter, interbred as they are. We who speak here are pure, and will inherit the heavens and the firmament both. Now, he comes, and we must make the pledge. Be ready, ready for he who will rid us of the damnable others!"
Their hate reached a crescendo, from Earth thru Tellar thru Andor and even Vulcan, all the way to Sybok's ship, seated right next to Ghidorah's neck in Klingon space. The Romulans in the Order fell with their planet, and Kruge's cohorts on Qo'noS had been found and dealt with. But still, they moved as one, and spoke their wicked pledge.
"Our Souls For Lord Ghidorah!"
They had spoken as one, and they began shrieking as one. The bodies of those who hated evaporated into nothing. They had offered Ghidorah their souls - and he had accepted the offer. The stuff of their energies and essences formed a shrieking green beam headed for Qo'noS. As the beam reached there, it targeted Sybok, who was a funnel for all this energy, til his life-force, too, was taken. The Order of the Ancient Destroyer had been wiped away by Ghidorah himself, and he gorged himself on all they were. The bigots had made a fundamental error. It was about lambs and others, but not lambs and wolves - the weak and the strong. No, this was about lambs and rams - the saved, and the eternally damned. To feed his planet-cracking beams, the damned cried out in Ghidorah's gullet.
In the distance, the Klingon Fleet, over 100 heavy cruisers strong, saw that thing which even a warrior might well fear. Ghidorah, stationary for four days, at last began to move. Koloth answered a call from Colonel Worf.
"Captain, I have located Ambassador Spock. We cannot seem to contact the Federation, but expect to rendezvous with the Starship Reliant very soon. How stand things on Qo'noS?"
Kang and Kor joined Koloth on Worf's viewer. They looked proudly upon their protégé. Kor spoke for them all.
"Honor to you, Worf! Help the colonies to rebuild, after all is done. Make sure that Kirk is aware of the monster. Our 'Beloved Nemesis' is good at dealing with this kind of pest - when he's not in bed. We will await you, student, on the grim grey mountain Sto-Vo-Kor."
Checking on the meditating Spock, Worf realized what his Captains were telling him, about what was to come. He smiled at them, baring his teeth as he did.
"When I come, I shall bring the Three Heads Of King Death with me, and we shall sup upon boiled dragon. Honor to you, my teachers. Honor to Kahless, and to our world, come what may!"
As the transmission broke, Worf needed no extra senses to know that the Battle Of Qo'noS had begun, and that every Klingon there would fight to the last. He remotely programmed Kruge's shuttle to return and record his world's last stand, then continued seeking the Reliant.
"There will be a Record."
Bound for reasons of safety in that same shuttle was Ambassador Spock. His late half-brother Sybok had awakened a brutal memory within him, to stop his dogged pursuit. Spock had briefly lost control as a result of this, and, now, in meditation, sought to gain this memory back once and for all-no matter what the cost. Spock would regain what he had forgotten, but that cost would be high indeed.
"What did you do to me, Brother?"
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2261
Although he and Sarek were not speaking, Spock could hardly refuse his father's formal request to launch an unofficial 2nd Vulcanian expedition, to try and determine the fate of the lost Vulcan colony. There were 33 Vulcan scientists with him, all experts in Astrophysics, Exobiology, and all other disciplines necessary to their complete and logical analysis.
There was another Vulcan, as well, brilliant in the sciences, but unstable and officially not part of any house. He, too, was a son of Sarek, though. He was Sybok. He had caught wind of his half-brother's expedition, and volunteered his services. He told Spock that he knew of a remote sector of space that might hold a clue as to Vulcania's fate. But they had remained in the sector for 3 days, and no odd phenomenon had turned up. Spock began to question Sybok.
"What odd occurrence should we be looking for, Sybok? Thus far, we have found nothing anomalous, let alone anything that points to Vulcania's fate."
"Patience, little brother. Boy, that Captain Pike must ride you pretty hard, because, right now, you're even stiffer than Sarek made you."
Spock shook his head.
"Why would Captain Pike seek to use me a form of transportation?"
Sybok put his head down.
"Human blood is wasted on the wrong people. In any event, we should be seeing what we have too, soon."
To everyone's shock, the ship rocked under weapons fire. Its limited shields were already down, and the warp/impulse controls slagged. Spock found Sybok's energy weapon next to the sabotage. He turned to his brother, who then knocked Spock out with a solid blow to the face.
Armored figures beamed on board, with energy rifles in hand. No Vulcan resisted, and all were taken, except for Spock and Sybok, to the attacking ship. The armored attackers' leader walked up to Sybok, and removed her helmet. Sybok was shocked at her pointed ears.
"You're - you're Vulcan! But I was to meet with a Romulan official."
Commander Linviaj smiled.
"We are Romulans, Sybok. The Rihannsu fled Vulcan to avoid being corrupted by Surak's maniacal teachings. But, when we left, the Order traveled with us. Are you ally to Lord Ghidorah?"
"In all things, since he comes to break the rule of Surak and his zealots."
"Excellent. Then on the place we call Hellguard, the Ceremony Of Violations can begin. Ghidorah! But wait... who is that with you? His looks are exotic."
"We discussed this. He is my half-brother, Spock. He is not part of this. You wouldn't want him, anyway. He's half-human, you know."
But Linviaj's face only lit up more.
"Human? How intriguing. No, he goes with the others, since I know of no such deal. But he is mine."
Sybok had no choice and raised few objections in any event. He was a part of this, and now, so was his brother. The Ceremony Of Violations was barbarism enshrined. It was literally meant to make the Quadrant so corrupt, that Ghidorah would be attracted by it's stench.
The Vulcans were all stripped and tied to rocks, the sharpness cutting their backs. Two died from this alone. Fifteen shut down and died from the mere prospect of being raped. Five more did not survive their assault. Five men and five women remained, as well as Spock. Female Romulan soldiers used special techniques to make sure their male victims did not enjoy their abuse in the slightest. When these Romulan females were at last found to be viably pregnant, their victims were killed and their bodies discarded, with the exception of some very grim souvenirs that brought many laughs among the crude and uncultured.
When the Vulcan females were found to be pregnant, their arms, legs, and heads were lopped off, and life support attached to the stumps. Once dignified beings, they were now bloated incubators. In the distance, Spock heard infants howl as the months passed. The Romulan Commander Linviaj had taken him repeatedly, and now sported a distended abdomen. She proudly showed that she was pregnant with Spock's child.
"Why do you not kill me, if I have served your purpose?"
Her response was mock-tender.
"Oh, Spock! Your terror serves my purpose far better than your death. This place needs real corruption. Rebirth may not occur otherwise."
One day, she playfully slipped a loincloth over Spock.
"Since when is my modesty a concern of yours?"
"Well, it isn't a concern, not to me. But to this one...."
Linviaj then held up an infant girl, and placed her upon Spock's chest. He was still bound. Sensing their connection and the vastly different spirit within this parent, the infant hugged Spock, holding on for dear life. She was smelly, dirty, and frequently grabbed at his ears and skin. Spock decided that had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. Indeed, the child felt true contentment for the first time in her short life. Then the vicious thug who birthed her snatched her away, as Spock cried out and Sybok watched, but did not interfere.
"Give her back to me! Sybok, that girl is your own niece. Grab her back!"
Linviaj felt triumphant, and expressed it.
"Violations, Spock. How could Lord Ghidorah fail to come to a place where such a tender bond could be severed?"
"Will you kill her? Answer me!"
"No, Spock. I will not kill her, nor raise her. She will remain here, with the others in this zoo. Your little girl will become like a wild animal. The thing from the House Of Sarek."
The baby cried out, and Spock tried to calm her.
"I know, Little One. I don't like it much here, either."
Spock formed his thoughts and sent a message into the baby's Brain - just one word, a name... her name. A name that he would be able to find her by, when the time was right. He saw Sybok look down at him.
"Brother, please understand that all this was necessary. It's part of the plan of the one true God, the God Of Sha Ka Ree."
"No, Sybok. I do not understand. But you must understand me. For what you have done, here - I will kill you."
Rage and pain dulling his logical mind, Spock ripped free of his restraints, pushed Sybok down, and hijacked a transport. Found by the Enterprise, Spock was analyzed by Doctor Boyce and found to have been tortured. Spock, in order to maintain his sanity, repressed Hellguard, and said that the expedition had been lost to the unknown force that destroyed Vulcania. Though Ghidorah was nowhere near Hellguard, this statement was not a lie. So painful was all this, that Spock even consciously forgot the one piece of beauty he was forced to leave behind.
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2269
Having successfully stolen a Cloaking Device from the Romulans, Spock escorted his Romulan prisoner to a max-security penal colony. The "Enterprise Incident" had been a success. Behind the shuttle's brig-screen, the prisoner taunted Spock.
"Have you enjoyed your revenge, Spock? Enjoyed getting even with she who broke you? But I still hold the upper hand. I've seen her, Spock. Our little girl is a ravenous beast, and she kills to get her way. You could have been The Rock to break his Teeth, Spock. But not any more. Aren't you going to say anything to me?"
"Since you speak only in non sequiturs, I have nothing to say that would be of import."
Linviaj frowned.
"Repress all you want. You have my cloaking device, and you have me. But I know the truth. Our daughter still lives on Hellguard. The precious thing I dropped on your chest has spent her life away from you, except for that one tender moment."
Suddenly, the feeling Spock had when the infant held him came back. So did the rage he felt toward his rapist. Spock turned to her, and noted that the shuttle door was behind the brig-field.
"It is a trifle warm in here."
With that, Spock opened the door and Commander Linviaj was sucked out into the vacuum, stunned and pleading for her life. Spock had murdered his rapist. But one thing still remained.
Upon hearing that Vulcan children were being held on Hellguard, a James Kirk still stung by the apparent death of Peter Kirk once again crossed the Neutral Zone.
On the planet's surface, a screaming thing came at Spock with a knife, then just as suddenly collapsed into his arms. He whispered to the wild girl as she slept.
"I have returned for you, little one."
But Spock told no one who the girl was to him, and that he had murdered the girl's brutish mother. He reported that she had been re-taken by Romulan operatives, and no one questioned matters, including Spock himself. Several levels of shame again led to the repression of the Hellguard memories.
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Spock awoke, disturbed but finally at peace. He called to Colonel Worf.
"Colonel, I think you'll find these restraints are no longer needed. I have my answers, discomfiting though they be?"
Worf undid them, but waited for renewed attack. None came.
"So you have your answers. Tell me, if it is not personal, do you now know your daughter's name?"
Spock nodded.
"I do indeed. My daughter's name is Saavik. I will tell her father's name, as soon as I can."
Worf looked at long-range sensors.
"Ambassador, I believe I have sighted the Reliant!"