In The Darkness

[1stbestdestiny]

At first, he wasn't sure he was even awake. When he opened his eyes, a pitch black veil was all he could see. It was the sound of his own labored breathing and the pain in his chest that convinced him of his own consciousness. Panic threatened to rise. Had something happened to his eyes? How did he get here? Where was here? He forced the feeling down as best he could. It wouldn't benefit him in any way.

Dropping his head, he struggled to recall his last waking memory, to hopefully give some context to his present predicament. He remembered leaving his temporary quarters and exiting out into the hall. From there, the events flooded back. He'd heard a commotion. Someone yelling, fear giving volume to their cries. He'd rushed through the corridor and around a corner. Three men. All dressed differently. One in the uniform of the Babel conference security team. In their midst? Amanda, wife of the Vulcan Ambassador and mother of his First Officer. Clearly being held or dragged against her will. He'd thrown himself into the fray without pausing to question. Her safety and possibly her life had been at risk. Of that much, he'd been sure.

How he'd finally been incapacitated was not amongst his memories.

A sudden thought struck him. What of Amanda?

"Mrs. Sarek. Mrs. Sarek?" he called out in the darkness, hoping a response would be forthcoming.

Comments

[thyla-amanda.livejournal.com]

When Kirk said that, she let out a soft sigh, hating the idea of being used to try to make Sarek do something against his principles. "That's what I'm afraid of, captain. I suppose it would have been foolish to believe the conspiracy was stopped when you stopped the assassin on the ship."

[1stbestdestiny.livejournal.com]

He leaned his weight against the uneven wall, his gaze dropping to the floor. "It's been my experience that if someone wants something badly enough, they'll find a way to do it. The Orions have a lot to lose if Coridan is admitted to the Federation."

[thyla-amanda.livejournal.com]

Frowning at the sound of the captain's voice, she starts moving carefully forward. She can barely make out his outline in the dark now. "Then we can't let them use either of us against the Federation," she said as she reached him. "Captain, are you all right?"

[1stbestdestiny.livejournal.com]

Immediately his head rose and his posture straightened. He was glad his expression would be hidden from her. "I'm fine," he lied again, struggling to keep his breathing even. "Let's find out what the rest of the perimeter feel like."

If they didn't find a way out, his health wouldn't be an issue.

[thyla-amanda.livejournal.com]

She wanted to believe that he was telling the truth, but part of her still worried. Those men had been vicious. However, she nodded at his request and moved across to run her hand along the wall, slowly following it.

"It feels like we're in a rounded chamber."

[1stbestdestiny.livejournal.com]

He began to expand his search higher in hopes of finding the overhead. His reach was severely hampered though by the pain in his chest. Despite being several inches shorter than he, he realizes she might have a better chance.

"Can you touch the ceiling at all?"

[thyla-amanda.livejournal.com]

She frowned into the darkness at his request and carefully stretched up onto her tiptoes as she ran her hand up the wall. She had to extend her fingers as far as she could before her fingers brushed the ceiling.

"Just barely," she told him, "but I can feel it."

[1stbestdestiny.livejournal.com]

"There has to be a way in and out," he said with conviction. Transporting them into a sealed space wouldn't have made sense. As bargaining pawns, they wouldn't be any use to anyone if they died due to lack of air.

[thyla-amanda.livejournal.com]

She nodded in agreement. Getting them in meant that they had to get them out. They just had to find the way.

"I don't think they dropped us in. Otherwise, why keep us in the dark as it would be impossible for us to climb up to get out. So that means there must be another way that they don't want us to see."

Crouching down, she started to feel along the wall, searching with her hands for something that might indicate an opening or other kind of escape route.