Unexpected-Chapter 13

Unexpected

by Orion9

Disclaimer: Still there in Chapter One

A/N: This is for plumtuckered, who came through when I needed some crucial answers. I’d almost decided to give up on the rest of the story when I got your reply. Thank you so very much! :) Hugs also to my beta for being the best!

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Chapter Thirteen – Desperation

Forest
Zenandria
0255 hours

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you know it.”

Trip sat with his back to the wall, eyes closed, as his body trembled sporadically. Head bowed and knees drawn up, he took short painful breaths, fighting the darkness that threatened to draw him under yet again. The three men had followed their leader out of hut but not before one of them had made him that unpleasant promise, accompanying it with a kick to his already tender ribs. For a long while after they were gone, he had lay still on the ground, watching the world wash chaotically in and out of focus.

Finally, struggling against the burning sensation in his chest, he had painfully dragged himself to his current position in the empty room, by instinct choosing the darkest corner of the hut, and as near to the door as he could get. Sitting up with some difficulty, he leaned against the wall, the exertion of the simple task taking up most of his remaining strength. After a moment, he opened his eyes. A sense of hopelessness engulfed him as he lifted his head to look around – the door was locked and they had patched up the hole he made in the wall. He doubted he had the strength or the time to make another.

Stop fighting. You’ve lost. They’ll never find you in time. Never…

The viciousness of the words that came unbidden to his mind lashed out at him. He flinched, unable to help himself, even though he knew that it was only all in his mind. Suppressing the urge to scream, he brought his hands to his face, eyes shut tightly and teeth clenched hard. No! Stop it! Quit thinkin’ like that!

It was a while before the sharp edge of despair that had suddenly come upon him eventually passed – before he could make himself open his eyes again. Taking another agonising breath, he looked blankly down at his hands, which were still bound tightly together.

With an anguished cry of frustration, he struggled feverishly to break free of the bonds but soon gave up when all he managed to do was to rub his wrists raw, wincing as the rope, now tinted red with blood, bit excruciatingly into his flesh. Choking back a sob, he made himself take deep breaths as he slowly got himself under control once more, calling upon his years of training as an officer of Starfleet. Relatively calmer after a while, he opened his right hand and stared at the tiny item on his palm before clenching his fist slowly.

The injured man leaned back against the rough wall and eyed the door apprehensively, wondering when the men would be coming back. His face hardened as he contemplated his precarious situation. Taking another deep steady breath, he tried to calm his pounding heart as he waited, knowing that he had to be on his guard. This might not be a fight that he’d be able to win but he’d be damned if he made it easy for them.

The Royal Zenandrian Palace
Zenandria
0325 hours

“Mother!”

“Xanindra!” Mylir cried as she bent down and enveloped her daughter in a fierce hug. “Thank the gods you’re safe!”

The palace attendants watched the happy reunion, many openly crying, as the young princess was passed around from one delighted family member to another. After hugging his daughter, the king walked up to the young man standing a little apart from everyone and shook his hand, clapping his shoulder appreciatively.

“I’m so glad you were one of the volunteers out looking for her,” J’ok exclaimed happily. “You have our eternal gratitude.”

“It is my honour to be able to serve you, Sire.”

J’ok looked back at Xanindra, his eyes suspiciously moist, as she talked animatedly to her mother and sister, each laughing and crying at the same time. He was extremely thankful for her safe return and that she looked none the worse for her experience. However, he was a little concerned when he noticed that she clung fast to her mother’s hand and wouldn’t let go, much to the distress of the palace doctors, who were trying their best to coax the child to go with them for the necessary medical examination. It was only after Xadria bent down and whispered something into her younger sister’s ear that the young princess finally agreed to go with the medical team.

He heaved a sigh of relief as his youngest child disappeared down the corridor with the doctors; her mother and sister following close behind. Once they were out of sight, the monarch cleared his throat and turned back to the man who had rescued her.

“Xanindra mentioned that you encountered one of the kidnappers,” he asked in low whisper. “Who was he?”

Ri’krd shook his head.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty. It was too dark to see. I knocked him out from behind.”

J’ok nodded thoughtfully.

“Did you happen to see Commander Tucker anywhere?”

Ri’krd looked down at the floor.

“No, I’m afraid not, Sire,” he grimaced. “Xanindra wanted me to go look for him but I was more concerned for her safety. I’m sorry.”

“No, no!” J’ok said hurriedly, patting the young man on the shoulder. “Don’t be. You did the right thing. K’lar and the rest of the rescue team should be in place by now. They’ll find him.”

Forest
Zenandria
0345 hours

Despite his best efforts, he must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing he knew, someone was poking him painfully on one shoulder.

“Hey, you! Wake up!”

Trip struggled to open his eyes and squinted up at the speaker, temporarily overwhelmed by the panic that clawed at him. Swallowing painfully, he shrank back instinctively against the wall, even as he forced himself to remain calm at the sight of the two men who stood looking down at him, each with a cruel glint in their eyes. He didn’t recognise the one on the left but his huge friend was the one who had made him that promise not too long ago. They were probably the ones who looked for and found Xanindra while the other two spent all that quality time with him.

The one on the right elbowed the other and remarked with a harsh laugh, “Good, he’s finally awake.”

“Yeah,” his friend agreed, lips drawn back in a sneer. “Looks like we’re going to have our fun after all, Gl’ot.”

“Not just yet,” a third man said harshly as he walked into the room.

Trip’s eyes flew to his face, recognising the man as the one who had held him down during his interrogation session. He watched guardedly as the newcomer stopped in front of both men, arms crossed, obviously in charge.

“He said to wait for his signal,” the man bit out. “We wait.”

“But, Hra’ak …” Gl’ot started but his protest died away at the icy glower from his superior.

“No!” Har’ak looked at both men with a warning in his eyes. “He has to get into place first. No one does anything until I say so, is that understood?”

It wasn’t until both men had sullenly indicated their agreement that Har’ak was satisfied. With one last hostile glance at the prisoner, he turned on his heels and left the room. The door closed without a sound behind the big Zenandrian and Trip breathed an inward sigh of relief. At least he would only have to contend with two men instead of three.

He kept a wary eye on the both of them as they conversed together in low voices in the middle of the room, not liking how they were looking at him. In all likelihood, he might not be getting out of this in one piece. On the other hand, he wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Ignoring the intense stabbing pain that every movement seemed to generate, he slowly got onto one knee and waited for the right moment to present itself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hra’ak stood outside, staring moodily at the closed door. He didn’t like what they had to do one single bit. They should have just left the human in the Conservatory where they found him. Sometimes, he wondered about his friend and his unhealthy fixation with the royal princess. His communication device beeped once, interrupting his thoughts, and he closed his eyes with a sigh. It was time. Putting his hand on the door, he pushed it open.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At his corner of the hut, Trip fought desperately to keep the feeling of terror at bay, one that had constantly loomed over throughout the whole experience and now threatened to swallow him whole. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was both mentally as well as physically worn out from his ordeal. The dizziness and nausea aside, he was also shivering uncontrollably by now; this new development most likely brought on by the beginnings of shock. The fact that he had to bite his bottom lip to keep from groaning aloud each time he moved further depressed him and he looked down, blinking back sudden tears of pain.

The sight of his hands, which were already frozen and numb from the lack of circulation from being tied tightly together for so long, only served to remind him of how thoroughly defenseless he was. He sighed and closed his eyes, forcing himself to concentrate on all the people who were important to him, who mattered – his friends on Enterprise as well as his family and friends back on Earth, drawing whatever strength he could from those thoughts.

Feeling less panicky after several deep breaths, he quickly ran the idea through his mind again, his eyes on the unlocked door. It was a risky move, with only the slimmest chance of success, but at the moment, he was desperate enough to try anything, knowing full well that unless the Enterprise crew found him soon, it was going to be his only chance of survival.

The moment came sooner than he liked it to be but he was ready for it. As the door started to swing open, he gritted his teeth against the pain and scrambled to his feet, moving as fast as he could towards it. Unprepared for such an action, Gl’ot and his friend could only stare in open-mouthed amazement as they watched Tucker slammed hard onto his side of door. It bounced violently back onto the man on the other side – who fell to the ground with a grunt, more than a little dazed by the impact.

Pushing the door aside, the engineer tried to take advantage of the moment to slip past the fallen man. But his injuries slowed him down and he watched, hope dying in his eyes, as Hra’ak recovered with surprising speed and stood up, his bulk blocking the opening once more. Taking a few unsteady steps backward, Trip immediately turned his attention the two men in the room with him, trying to keep the both of them in front of him as they advanced with clenched fists.

Standing still beside the door, Hra’ak turned his eyes away even as his fellow Zenandrians closed in on the injured man. Judging from the state Tucker was in; the whole thing should be over very soon. He took a deep breath and stared purposefully at the ground, away from what he knew would be the inevitable conclusion in this one-sided fray. His lips thinned as he mentally cursed their leader for this whole mess.

This is it, Trip thought, his heart pounding madly in his chest as the men drew nearer, blatant anger in their faces. They were walking silently and steadily towards him, their positions hemming him in. The Starfleet officer reared back, muscles screaming in protest, just as Gl’ot made the first move and took a swing at him. Moving and reacting purely on instinct by now, Trip swung his bound fists in a wide arc and stuck his attacker hard on the chin.

Gl’ot fell back, slightly stunned, even as his friend roared in anger and charged the engineer from the side. Before Trip could move out of the way, a hard fist smashed into the small of his back, causing him to cry out in agony. Unable to break his fall with his arms still tightly bound together, he fell hard to the ground, tasting blood once more. Too winded to get back on his feet, he tried to roll away but the first kick promptly immobilised him, and he lay there gasping for breath.

Other blows quickly followed. After the first few, Trip was too numb with pain to feel the subsequent ones. He lay curled up in a foetal position, protecting his head with his arms the best he could, as the men continued their brutal assault.

TBC

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One person has made comments

Delighted to be able to read chapter 13,cant wait for the next installment, please dont be toooo long, great writing and suspence, felt so sorry for poor Trip.