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“I’m only going to tell you this once. Get the hell out of my chair.”
Spock closed his eyes for a second, the only indication of the immense relief he felt at hearing his captain's voice. Ever since Captain Angel had revealed themself, he’d been mentally berating himself for being emotionally manipulated by them. Although La’an was the officer most at fault for their deception (a fact that he would relish rubbing in her face as soon as he saw her again), Spock couldn’t help but feel he should have seen the signs, since he spent the most time with Angel.
He watched with no small satisfaction as Angel’s crew futilely worked to restore control of the Enterprise.
“The logical move would be to surrender.”
“I think there’s more to life than logic,” they shot back. “And so, I suspect, do you.”
Spock gritted his teeth together, tired of being psychoanalyzed by a duplicitous pirate.
“For what it’s worth, I did enjoy meeting you Mr. Spock. Xaverius always talked about you.”
Angel tilted her head and smirked at him. They glanced over at the viewscreen and pursed their lips. “You know, I was going to give you a parting speech urging you to reconsider viewing yourself in binary terms and then disappear enigmatically, only to return when you least expect me.”
Spock furrowed his eyebrows together. “What?”
Angel raised a finger, motioning him to let them finish. “However, I don’t think I’m quite done with you yet.”
Faster than Spock could react, Angel grabbed their phaser, turned the dial and fired it directly at his chest.
“Night night, Spock!”
In the instant before he was hit, Spock wondered if his brother would still love Angel as much as they claimed he did once he found out they killed him.
To Spock’s surprise, this time, he was still conscious when he hit the floor. Angel must have turned the dial the wrong way. Or, perhaps, they hadn’t meant to kill him at all. Through the high-pitched ringing in his ears, Spock could hear Nurse Chapel screaming his name. He could feel her kneeling down next to him, her soft hands settling over his wrist and his side checking for his heartbeat.
Spock tried to open his eyes, tried to reassure her that he was still alive to stop the barrage of her panic and fear from flooding into his body, but he couldn’t move.
Suddenly, she was yanked away and her touch was replaced by colder, calloused hands. The mind behind these ones was shielding well enough to prevent emotional transference, even with his shattered shields.
Spock felt the familiar buzz of his atoms breaking apart and reforming, although it was rougher than usual, as if he was being transported through an ion storm. Then, his energy spent from the transportation, he lost consciousness.
_____
When Spock woke up, he was lying on the ground of a small shuttle. His entire body ached in a way consistent with being stunned multiple times in one day. He hated that he had enough experience to quantify that kind of pain. In an attempt to sit up, he realized that his hands were cuffed behind his back. He yanked himself forward, but the restraints wouldn’t break even with the use of all his strength.
“Good, you’re awake!”
Spock started at the sudden noise and came face to face with Angel. His stomach dropped.
They ruffled his hair and laughed when he flinched away.
“Oh, relax, you’re perfectly fine.”
Spock’s heart rate rose despite his best efforts to control it. He’d been kidnapped before, but outside of once in his childhood, he’d always known relatively where he was or had an ally nearby. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this.
He once again pulled against the chain, but there was no give at all. He was trapped.
“You’re not going to be able to get out of those, Spock, not without my help. They were built specifically to withstand Vulcan strength. I’m sure you can guess why I have them lying around.” Angel winked at him, as if they were in on a joke together. Spock glared back, feeling stirrings of an emotion he wasn’t very familiar with: hate.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I want to get to know you better.” Angel gracefully sat down across from him, wisely just out of his reach.
“I find that difficult to believe,” Spock bit out.
They pouted. “That’s a little rude. I thought we’d bonded earlier, when I was telling you all about my tragic life story and you were eating it all up.”
Spock resisted the urge to look away in shame. They were right. He was in this predicament because of his own foolish choice to believe their lies. It wasn’t La’an’s fault that Angel hacked Dr. Aspen’s file convincingly enough to pass security checks. Spock should have insisted that the Captain obtain proof of the colonists’ existence before venturing out beyond Federation space. Instead, he’d let himself be swayed by Angel’s big, innocent eyes and quiet intelligence, like an idiot.
“Why am I here?” Spock repeated, ignoring their taunts.
Angel rolled their eyes. “You’re no fun.” They fiddled around with their necklace before they replied, “My goals haven’t changed. I want Xaverius back by any means necessary.”
“What happened to the Enterprise and her crew?”
“What is this, an interrogation?” Angel giggled at the irony. Spock glowered at them. He moved his hands again, straining against the chain. If he could weaken the chains, just a little, he could break them and take control of the shuttle. Although he was a little woozy after being stunned multiple times, he was still significantly stronger than Angel and could definitely subdue them if he just had the chance.
“Woah, there. I already told you that’s not going to do anything. I thought Vulcans were supposed to be logical? Although I guess you probably would be more emotional than most, considering your genetics.”
“I fail to see why you have continually brought up my parentage in almost all of our conversations. It indicates an unhealthy fascination with me, one that I’m sure my brother would not approve of.”
Angel’s eyes widened and then they burst out laughing. “Mr. Spock! What a scandalous thing to say.” They patted his cheek, ignoring his obvious discomfort. “I won’t lie, you are very cute, but I prefer a man with a beard.
“But you’re right. You are fascinating to me because I see a lot of myself in you. When I was younger, I too, constantly tried to put myself into boxes I thought society would approve of. It took me some time to realize that what others thought of me was irrelevant compared to my own comfort with my identity. It’s interesting to watch you go through a similar conflict, trying to figure out who you are.”
“As much as I appreciate the life advice,” Spock said, his tone making it clear that he couldn’t care less for it, “I’m currently preoccupied with more important questions. What happened to the Enterprise and her crew? Where exactly are you taking me?”
Angel sighed loudly. “Vulcans. All business all the time. How about you answer one of my questions? When did you realize that Sybok was the prisoner I wanted?”
“I’ll answer your questions after you answer mine.”
Angel’s lip curled. “I’ve been nice so far, Spock, because I like you. But you’re really, really starting to get on my nerves! They grabbed his hair, forcing his head up to look at them. “You’re not giving me the respect I deserve and it’s pissing me off. And hun, I promise you, you don't want to see my bad side.”
Spock privately thought that respect had to be earned and Angel hadn’t done anything to earn his, but he knew it would be dangerous to say that, no matter how satisfying it would be in the moment. Angel had shown that they were capable of utter ruthlessness. Spock doubted that his death would even be a twinge on their conscience.
Angel stated that they wanted respect. That meant different things to different people. For Captain Pike, it meant relaying all relevant information and trusting that he’d use it to keep his crew safe. For Christine, it meant active listening. What would respect mean to a pirate Captain?
Spock switched tactics. He shifted backward, ignoring their sharp nails digging into his skull. He stopped fighting and leaned against the post he was chained to, trying to display acquiescence in his body language, despite how vulnerable it made him feel.
When he spoke again, it was in a softer and less combative tone. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be difficult or disrespectful. I’m merely worried about the fate of my friends.”
Angel let go of the tight grip they had on his hair and smoothed it down. Spock resisted the urge to move away. “That’s better. I knew you were smart enough to behave.” Spock worked hard to mask the disdain he was feeling.
A sharp beep from the console distracted them both.
Angel glanced at it, smiled, and turned back to Spock. “We’re nearly there.”
“It would be nice to know where that was.”
They rolled their eyes. “I already told you, we’re going to get Xaverius, or as I know you’ve finally realized, Sybok. And your little friends are probably fine, provided the nurse was smart enough to beam your bridge crew back on board before my crew ripped them apart.”
Spock chose his next few words carefully. “I watched T’Pring go to warp. How is it possible that you could have followed her?”
Angel smirked. “There’s technology outside of the Federation that would blow your mind. You don’t have to be a bunch of hippies to be good at R&D.”
Spock thought it was a bit ironic of Angel to call another group of people hippies when they were supposedly in love with Sybok.
“Anyways, it doesn’t really matter how I caught up with her. You’re going to see your brother soon! Are you excited?”
Spock made a non-committal hum.
“You know, he misses you. He talks about you all the time.”
“He hasn’t seen me in well over a decade.”
“Sibling relationships transcend time. I mean, I did kill my sister, so I’m probably not the best judge of them, but it seems like he really does care for you.”
Spock wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he remained silent.
“Ugh, I give up. Talking to you is like talking to a wall.” Angel stood up. “I’m going to go prepare for transport, you just hang tight.”
“It seems that I have no other choice.”
“Cheer up, Spock! It’s not every day you get to participate in a family reunion. And I, for one, can’t wait to meet my future sister-in-law in person.”
Spock felt a surge of protectiveness and guilt over T’Pring. He knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but this wasn’t what she’d signed up for when she was betrothed to him.
“You are aware that we are no longer together,” Spock said, hoping to take Angel’s focus off of her.
Angel snorted. “Please, that ruse could not have been more obvious.”
“She is not a part of this.”
“Stop worrying, I’m not going to kill her, as long as she doesn’t get in my way. You know how much I value love.”
That did not reassure Spock in the slightest.
As Angel dropped out of warp and leisurely steered toward the prisoner transport ship, Spock mentally prepared himself for battle. No matter what happened, he wasn’t going to let any more innocent people get hurt. Although he hoped that Captain Pike and his crew would somehow appear and manage to save the day, he did not believe in miracles. At this moment in time, the only person who could save him was himself.
Angel had deceived him twice. They would not succeed again, even if it cost him his life.