Fic: A King and a Pawn [Star Trek]
Universe: This is the Star Trek XI version of Sorrows of Empire!Mirrorverse. Yes, that's right: it's an AU of an AU of an AU of Star Trek: TOS. I don't even.
Pairing/Characters: Spock-centric, with a bit of Spock/Uhura.
Rating: R for violence.
Warnings: There is rather graphic violent description.
Summary: How does one destroy Romulus?
There is no pain that can compare to that within him. The agony booth is irrelevant. Its effects are temporary. The destruction of Vulcan is permanent.
Commander Spock is keenly aware that this fact represents his failure as a Vulcan. Unfortunately, or, perhaps fortunately, his ability to disguise this pain represents his success as a Starfleet officer. Day after day, he stands on the bridge, commands, analyzes, his dispassion a curious and oft-unwelcome compliment to Captain Kirk's brash, unrestrained nature. None of them know the turmoil within.
They cannot know.
They cannot know.
No one can know.
~*~
He goes to visit the singularity spawned in the heart of the Narada, months after the events of that fateful day, of the fleet's destruction. It is a shock to see it; somehow, in the emotional currents of his mind, he had imagined the ship torn to pieces, destroyed. But, of course, as the singularity stabilized, it became a true black hole. The effects of time dilation…
Spock watched, from the bridge of the temporary Starbase put in place to study the black hole. He sees the Narada frozen in time, bulkheads cracked and bursting, the delicate plumes of frozen and burning atmosphere scattered in vacuum. An instant later; an eternity later.
The rage overwhelms him.
That night, he does not meditate, for the first time in years. Not properly. He reduces his body to a calm state, remains seated, feels the tickle of candle smoke in his nose. And he imagines.
He imagines tearing Nero apart with his bare hands.
He imagines blood vessels bursting, bones breaking, tendons ripping with nothing less than brutal force.
When he opens his eyes, he is calm.
This is the beginning.
~*~
He considers the problem logically.
If he is able to ascend to a point where he destroys Romulus, then this timeline would have been averted. Vulcan would not have been destroyed. The world that Spock knows, the world that has borne his rage, will never have existed.
He takes his mind step-by-step through the logical process as a distraction from Nyota Uhura, who has decided that Spock, not Kirk, is the one she wishes to seduce.
His hands move over her body, and the sounds deep in her throat sound nothing more than fake to him.
After, he is gentle with her.
He ignores the flash of genuine feeling in her eyes.
~*~
How does one destroy Romulus?
The Romulan fleet is of comparable size to the Empire's. The Empire could win an outright war, but its territories would be vulnerable to Klingons, Cardassians, vultures picking up the pieces.
Spock carries out his duties as would an automaton. He forms his plans inside his mind, and he shares them with none.
~*~
He notices, after a time, that the rakish charm of Kirk's smile makes him want to believe.
He wishes…
No.
~*~
He strangles Nero.
Stabs him through the heart.
Rips into his throat until the green blood wells under his fingers.
Shoots him with the red matter himself, and watches as the singularity destroys them both.
~*~
Spock can find no solution to the problem of Romulus's destruction. Every possible scenario, whether beginning with Klingons or Romulans, whether projecting from assassination, attack or declaration, ends with the disintegration of the Empire.
~*~
"You look thoughtful," remarks Scott. His voice is careful. He would not want to provoke Commander Spock's ire.
Spock leans forward, his fingers carefully steepled. He considers Scott.
"Mr. Scott," he says. "Do you recall the Academy test, the Kobayashi Maru?"
Scott shrugs. "Sure." He coughs. Spock smells alcohol on his breath. "Of course I do, sir."
"If you were ordered to…" Rescue? No. "Capture the crew of the Kobayashi Maru. To recover them alive at all costs. How would you accomplish that task?"
Scott's forehead furrows. He's silent for a long time, which Spock takes as a good sign. An immediate answer would have indicated inadequate consideration of the problem at hand.
"There's no way," says Scott. "Without destroying the ship, that is."
"Correct." A perfect metaphor for his current endeavor. No way to destroy Romulus without destroying the Empire.
Scott shrugs. "Maybe you need a different ship," he suggests. "One with a few modifications."
An engineer's solution, to be sure. Spock leans back, the taste in his mouth bitter. It was impossible to strengthen the Empire sufficiently. Then again, Scott's perspective represented somewhat out-of-the-box thinking. Perhaps Spock could benefit from that.
"Thank you, Mr. Scott," he says, courteously, and makes his exit.
~*~
"I want to mind meld with you."
"No."
Spock does not have to consider Uhura's request. He knows well enough to refuse it before it gets any farther.
She is disappointed. "Spock, we could be allies. Imagine what we could do together…"
He imagines her recoiling in disgust at the roiling emotions beneath the calm surface. She would see the truth: he would kill her in an instant, if it served his purposes.
This is her failing. She has always believed there is something more noble under the surface. She is wrong.
~*~
In desperation, he turns to logic. To projections of the Empire's future. Was there any way to modify Scott's suggestion, to strengthen it, to create a situation where Romulus could be crushed?
What he finds shocks him.
~*~
In the evening, he plays chess with with Kirk, as usual.
He allows Kirk to destroy his strategy.
And, in the end, he destroys Kirk's.
Finally, there are only two pieces left on the board. A king, and a pawn.
~*~
This is his conclusion:
The Empire's strategy of conquest, subjugation and fear is unsustainable. Within the next two hundred years, the Empire will fall, regardless of what happens.
The solution, then, slips into place.
He must use the strength of the Empire to war against the Klingons. Once both the Klingons and the Empire are weakened, the Romulans would sweep in and enslave both races.
From within: that is how he will destroy the Romulans.
~*~
When he learns of the existence of the Tantalus device, he kills Kirk (in an act of logic and emotion, unified to a profoundly satisfying conclusion) and takes it for himself.
The device can kill anyone. There is no defense. It simply dissolves their body, leaving no evidence, no trace, no one to oppose Spock.
From there, his rise to power is inevitable.
~*~
Sulu was, of course, a loyalist. He had to be dispatched with Kirk.
~*~
Uhura rebels first.
Perhaps it is to his discredit that he never trusted her.
She dies in front of Scott and McCoy.
~*~
McCoy, next.
~*~
He eliminates the use of agony booths on his ships.
He alters first contact procedure.
He places an emphasis on negotiation, rather than warfare.
Spock's reforms are not borne out of an ideal for peace. They are borne of a strategy. If he kills his way to the top of the fleet, he will find himself with too many enemies. If he gains the loyalty of those in the fleet by showing them a different way, they will fight for him to the death.
~*~
In his mind, now, he keeps Nero alive. Tortures him, elaborately and slowly. No distant agony booths, here; this sort of torture leaves the inside of Spock's mind drenched in blood.
He sees it, now, whenever he looks in the mirror.
~*~
At first, Chekov and Scott are terrified of him. But, as he slowly allows them more freedom than they ever had under Kirk, they grow to respect him. And then to believe in him.
It is so simple.
He wonders if his own emotions blind him so. But if they do, he cannot tell.
~*~
Seven years after the Narada incident, he declares himself Grand Admiral of the fleet.
~*~
Two weeks later, he kills the Empress and takes her place.
~*~
Five years later, he is taken in chains to the Romulan royal palace.
When he is locked in an iron-and-stone cell -- so primitive -- he allows himself to smile.
Pairing/Characters: Spock-centric, with a bit of Spock/Uhura.
Rating: R for violence.
Warnings: There is rather graphic violent description.
Summary: How does one destroy Romulus?
There is no pain that can compare to that within him. The agony booth is irrelevant. Its effects are temporary. The destruction of Vulcan is permanent.
Commander Spock is keenly aware that this fact represents his failure as a Vulcan. Unfortunately, or, perhaps fortunately, his ability to disguise this pain represents his success as a Starfleet officer. Day after day, he stands on the bridge, commands, analyzes, his dispassion a curious and oft-unwelcome compliment to Captain Kirk's brash, unrestrained nature. None of them know the turmoil within.
They cannot know.
They cannot know.
No one can know.
~*~
He goes to visit the singularity spawned in the heart of the Narada, months after the events of that fateful day, of the fleet's destruction. It is a shock to see it; somehow, in the emotional currents of his mind, he had imagined the ship torn to pieces, destroyed. But, of course, as the singularity stabilized, it became a true black hole. The effects of time dilation…
Spock watched, from the bridge of the temporary Starbase put in place to study the black hole. He sees the Narada frozen in time, bulkheads cracked and bursting, the delicate plumes of frozen and burning atmosphere scattered in vacuum. An instant later; an eternity later.
The rage overwhelms him.
That night, he does not meditate, for the first time in years. Not properly. He reduces his body to a calm state, remains seated, feels the tickle of candle smoke in his nose. And he imagines.
He imagines tearing Nero apart with his bare hands.
He imagines blood vessels bursting, bones breaking, tendons ripping with nothing less than brutal force.
When he opens his eyes, he is calm.
This is the beginning.
~*~
He considers the problem logically.
If he is able to ascend to a point where he destroys Romulus, then this timeline would have been averted. Vulcan would not have been destroyed. The world that Spock knows, the world that has borne his rage, will never have existed.
He takes his mind step-by-step through the logical process as a distraction from Nyota Uhura, who has decided that Spock, not Kirk, is the one she wishes to seduce.
His hands move over her body, and the sounds deep in her throat sound nothing more than fake to him.
After, he is gentle with her.
He ignores the flash of genuine feeling in her eyes.
~*~
How does one destroy Romulus?
The Romulan fleet is of comparable size to the Empire's. The Empire could win an outright war, but its territories would be vulnerable to Klingons, Cardassians, vultures picking up the pieces.
Spock carries out his duties as would an automaton. He forms his plans inside his mind, and he shares them with none.
~*~
He notices, after a time, that the rakish charm of Kirk's smile makes him want to believe.
He wishes…
No.
~*~
He strangles Nero.
Stabs him through the heart.
Rips into his throat until the green blood wells under his fingers.
Shoots him with the red matter himself, and watches as the singularity destroys them both.
~*~
Spock can find no solution to the problem of Romulus's destruction. Every possible scenario, whether beginning with Klingons or Romulans, whether projecting from assassination, attack or declaration, ends with the disintegration of the Empire.
~*~
"You look thoughtful," remarks Scott. His voice is careful. He would not want to provoke Commander Spock's ire.
Spock leans forward, his fingers carefully steepled. He considers Scott.
"Mr. Scott," he says. "Do you recall the Academy test, the Kobayashi Maru?"
Scott shrugs. "Sure." He coughs. Spock smells alcohol on his breath. "Of course I do, sir."
"If you were ordered to…" Rescue? No. "Capture the crew of the Kobayashi Maru. To recover them alive at all costs. How would you accomplish that task?"
Scott's forehead furrows. He's silent for a long time, which Spock takes as a good sign. An immediate answer would have indicated inadequate consideration of the problem at hand.
"There's no way," says Scott. "Without destroying the ship, that is."
"Correct." A perfect metaphor for his current endeavor. No way to destroy Romulus without destroying the Empire.
Scott shrugs. "Maybe you need a different ship," he suggests. "One with a few modifications."
An engineer's solution, to be sure. Spock leans back, the taste in his mouth bitter. It was impossible to strengthen the Empire sufficiently. Then again, Scott's perspective represented somewhat out-of-the-box thinking. Perhaps Spock could benefit from that.
"Thank you, Mr. Scott," he says, courteously, and makes his exit.
~*~
"I want to mind meld with you."
"No."
Spock does not have to consider Uhura's request. He knows well enough to refuse it before it gets any farther.
She is disappointed. "Spock, we could be allies. Imagine what we could do together…"
He imagines her recoiling in disgust at the roiling emotions beneath the calm surface. She would see the truth: he would kill her in an instant, if it served his purposes.
This is her failing. She has always believed there is something more noble under the surface. She is wrong.
~*~
In desperation, he turns to logic. To projections of the Empire's future. Was there any way to modify Scott's suggestion, to strengthen it, to create a situation where Romulus could be crushed?
What he finds shocks him.
~*~
In the evening, he plays chess with with Kirk, as usual.
He allows Kirk to destroy his strategy.
And, in the end, he destroys Kirk's.
Finally, there are only two pieces left on the board. A king, and a pawn.
~*~
This is his conclusion:
The Empire's strategy of conquest, subjugation and fear is unsustainable. Within the next two hundred years, the Empire will fall, regardless of what happens.
The solution, then, slips into place.
He must use the strength of the Empire to war against the Klingons. Once both the Klingons and the Empire are weakened, the Romulans would sweep in and enslave both races.
From within: that is how he will destroy the Romulans.
~*~
When he learns of the existence of the Tantalus device, he kills Kirk (in an act of logic and emotion, unified to a profoundly satisfying conclusion) and takes it for himself.
The device can kill anyone. There is no defense. It simply dissolves their body, leaving no evidence, no trace, no one to oppose Spock.
From there, his rise to power is inevitable.
~*~
Sulu was, of course, a loyalist. He had to be dispatched with Kirk.
~*~
Uhura rebels first.
Perhaps it is to his discredit that he never trusted her.
She dies in front of Scott and McCoy.
~*~
McCoy, next.
~*~
He eliminates the use of agony booths on his ships.
He alters first contact procedure.
He places an emphasis on negotiation, rather than warfare.
Spock's reforms are not borne out of an ideal for peace. They are borne of a strategy. If he kills his way to the top of the fleet, he will find himself with too many enemies. If he gains the loyalty of those in the fleet by showing them a different way, they will fight for him to the death.
~*~
In his mind, now, he keeps Nero alive. Tortures him, elaborately and slowly. No distant agony booths, here; this sort of torture leaves the inside of Spock's mind drenched in blood.
He sees it, now, whenever he looks in the mirror.
~*~
At first, Chekov and Scott are terrified of him. But, as he slowly allows them more freedom than they ever had under Kirk, they grow to respect him. And then to believe in him.
It is so simple.
He wonders if his own emotions blind him so. But if they do, he cannot tell.
~*~
Seven years after the Narada incident, he declares himself Grand Admiral of the fleet.
~*~
Two weeks later, he kills the Empress and takes her place.
~*~
Five years later, he is taken in chains to the Romulan royal palace.
When he is locked in an iron-and-stone cell -- so primitive -- he allows himself to smile.