TPOL: C18-C19
Chapter Eighteen: Spies and Illusions
James stared at Nero.
"How?" he asked.
"A little bird told me," Nero replied, holding out his gloved left arm.
With a spine-tingling shriek, a huge black-feathered bird with beady eyes landed on his outstretched arm.
"Mornië(1), why don't you say hello to our guests," Nero directed his cherished crebain(2).
Mornië shrieked again, causing Leonard to whimper. Nero chuckled at the sound.
"I suppose you've never met one of the Moriquendi(3) before, Healer?" the dark elf asked Leonard.
Leonard was too terrified to even speak, but before Nero could taunt him, there was a rapid pounding on the door to the throne room.
"Go see who it is, Ayel," Nero ordered.
Ayel wordlessly obeyed, returning moments later accompanied by another dark elf. Nero frowned at this.
"I have urgent news, my lord," the newcomer informed Nero.
"Oh?" Nero asked.
The newcomer nodded.
"According to our contact in Minas Tirith, the Enterprise is heading for Minas Morgul."
James and Leonard shared a glance with each other. Nero swore in a language Leonard was unfamiliar with, before ordering Ayel to "raise the shields", whatever that meant.
"What about the prisoners, my lord?" Ayel asked, indicating the hobbits as he spoke.
"Tie them up in my ready room, Ayel," Nero replied, "we can use them as bargining chips."
~*~
After Ayel tied them up in Nero's ready room--Leonard decided that "ready room" was what evil beings liked to call their studies--, Leonard asked James what they were going to do now.
James shrugged.
"I don't know yet, Bones," he admitted.
"Wonderful," groaned Leonard, "you plan to have us captured, but when we are captured, you haven't a clue as to what we should do next."
"I wasn't expecting to be treated like this, Bones," James defended himself.
"What, did you expect Nero to draw up a nice warm bubble bath?" Leonard demanded.
James scowled at Leonard.
"Of course not," he replied.
Mornië fluttered into the room.
"Oh lovely, he's spying on us again," Leonard grumbled.
The crebain perched on the metal rod that Ayel had tied the hobbits to.
"Shoo!" called James, trying to wave the black bird away as best as he could with his hands tied to a piece of metal.
Mornië was not impressed in the slightest by James' attempts, and ignored him.
"Ow!" yelped Leonard as the bird pecked at his wrists.
"Go away, you bloody bird!" James cried, but Mornië continued to ignore him.
"James, leave the bird alone," Leonard ordered, as he realized what Mornië was really up to.
"But it's trying to eat you, Bones," James objected.
"No, she's not," Leonard replied, "Mornië's pecking at the ropes."
"That must be some trick of Nero's, Bones," James warned, "be careful."
"It's not a trick," a voice called.
James and Leonard couldn't see the speaker, she appeared to not even be in the room.
"Who's that?" James called.
"I am Varda(4)," the voice said.
"My lady," murmured the hobbits respectfully.
A ghostly hand touched Leonard's wrists, removing the ropes that Mornië had been pecking at. Leonard gasped as his wrists came into his line of sight--there was not even a scratch on them!
"Leonard McCoy, you don't have much time," Varda informed him, "you must stop Nero."
"I can't," Leonard objected.
"I will be with you, Leonard, even if you can't see me," Varda promised, "now go!"
Leonard ran from the room at her urging, Mornië leading the way.
1. Elvish, "Darkness".
2. Elvish, "crow".
3. Elvish, "Elves of Darkness" (literally "Speakers of Darkness"), from mor = 'dark', quendi = 'elves' (literally 'speakers').The elves who never saw the light of the two Trees (ie, stayed in Middle-earth when the Valar invited the Elves to come to the Blessed Realm).
4. One of the Valar, the wife of Manwë; Highly respected by the Elves because she made the stars. Hobbits also seem to revere her as well.
Chapter Nineteen: The Final Battle is Upon Us
"We have arrived at Minas Morgul, sir," Hikaru announced.
Spock nodded his acknowledgment from where he sat in the captain's chair.
"Sair, sensors report a shield has been raised over the entire city," Pavel called from his station.
"Can you detect the presence of the Captain and the Healer?" Spock asked the curly-haired hobbit.
"Yes, sair," Pavel reported, "they are in ze tower."
"Can you get a transporter lock on them?" the half-elf asked.
Pavel shook his head.
"No, sair," he replied, "ze shield is interferring with ze transporter sensors."
~*~
"Are you going to free me as well, my lady?" James asked.
Varda nodded.
"Of course, James," she replied, "but not until the moment is right."
"The moment is right?" James echo'd, "I'm sure you are already aware of this, but Leonard's running into a battle he has no hope of winning."
"He is the Chosen One for a reason, James," Varda pointed out.
"Yes, my lady," James agreed, "but he's a healer, not a fighter."
Varda smiled at the young hobbit.
"I know," she said, "and this fight will require a healer to win."
~*~
Leonard was not sure how long it took him to reach his destination, but it felt like an eternity. Mornië cawed softly, indicating a doorway to the hobbit's left. Leonard could not read the ancient script that identified the room, but once he stepped inside, he knew where he was--he was in a sickbay.
"Why did you bring me here?" the healer asked the crebain.
Mornië cawed at Leonard, but he could not understand her. Leonard sighed.
"I'm sorry, Mornië, but I don't speak Bird," he informed her, "I'm a healer, not a linguist."
~*~
"We need to find a way to get to the Captain and Healer McCoy," Spock informed the beings assembled in the main conference room of the Enterprise.
"With those shields up, we can't beam anybody in or out of Minas Morgul," an oil-slick dwarf observed.
"You can't figure a way around the shields, Scotty?" Uhura asked the dwarf, Montgomery Scott.
Scotty shook his head.
"Nae, Uhura," he replied, "you can't defy the laws of physics on a mere whim."
"Well, we could, but only if we wanted to lose ze Keptin," Pavel added.
Spock cocked an eyebrow at the curly-haired hobbit's remark.
"Please explain, Chekov," he requested.
"We've come up with a work-around to safely beam up ze Healer, sair," Pavel replied, "but ze Keptin is being held in a different part of ze tower, a part which is much more heavily protected."
Uhura frowned.
"Why is Nero keeping them separated?" she wondered aloud.
"Maybe he knows about the Prophecy?" Hikaru suggested.
"If Nero knew about the Prophecy, he would have placed Leonard under high security, not the Captain," Christine observed.
"Unless he thinks Leonard is the Captain?" Hikaru suggested.
"Or he is using the Captain as bait to lure Leonard into a trap," Uhura remarked, "we just don't know what is really going on down there."
"Uhura is correct," Spock agreed, "we need to learn more about the situation before we can act."
"But how?" Pavel asked, "those shields are virtually impossible to get pass."
"Why not just walk through the shields?" Christine wondered aloud.
"Scotty?" Uhura asked.
"That might just work," the dwarf replied, "I'll have to double-check our data on the shields' frequencies."
~*~
Mornië cawed again, before flying off to a nearby desk, where a scroll of blank parchment lay, waiting for someone to come along and write down their thoughts on it. Next to the parchment was an ink well and a quill pen. Mornië opened the ink well. Dipping her beak into the ink, the crebain carefully pecked out a message.
The answer to all your problems is here, in this room, Healer. Use what you know of hobbit physiology, and fight Nero like the Healer you are.
"'Physiology' is a big word for a bird, even if you are crebain," Leonard mused aloud.
Mornië cawed at Leonard.
"Mornië, I don't know how to do what you're asking me to do," the healer insisted, "you're going to have to speak more plainly."
Mornië gave Leonard a dark look before scribbling a second message beneath the first one.
Surely you at least know something of herbs, Healer McCoy.
"Some, yes," Leonard acknowledged, "but I doubt they would have any of the herbs I know of here in Minas Morgul."
You'd be surprised, Healer.
"Well, then, surprise me, dammit," Leonard demanded.
Sedation.
"What kind of response is that?" the healer demanded--did birds get spontaneous concussions?
Estesea, Healer McCoy. They have it in stock here.
Leonard whistled.
"Yeah, that does surprise me," he admitted, "Christine told me that estesea(1) is only used in the Shire."
So what is it doing here?
"You know as much as I do, Mornië," Leonard observed.
1. Elvish, "Rest-leaf". A herbal plant whose leaves are used in the Shire to sedate a patient for surgery, the roots of this plant are also used to treat internal bleeding.
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James stared at Nero.
"How?" he asked.
"A little bird told me," Nero replied, holding out his gloved left arm.
With a spine-tingling shriek, a huge black-feathered bird with beady eyes landed on his outstretched arm.
"Mornië(1), why don't you say hello to our guests," Nero directed his cherished crebain(2).
Mornië shrieked again, causing Leonard to whimper. Nero chuckled at the sound.
"I suppose you've never met one of the Moriquendi(3) before, Healer?" the dark elf asked Leonard.
Leonard was too terrified to even speak, but before Nero could taunt him, there was a rapid pounding on the door to the throne room.
"Go see who it is, Ayel," Nero ordered.
Ayel wordlessly obeyed, returning moments later accompanied by another dark elf. Nero frowned at this.
"I have urgent news, my lord," the newcomer informed Nero.
"Oh?" Nero asked.
The newcomer nodded.
"According to our contact in Minas Tirith, the Enterprise is heading for Minas Morgul."
James and Leonard shared a glance with each other. Nero swore in a language Leonard was unfamiliar with, before ordering Ayel to "raise the shields", whatever that meant.
"What about the prisoners, my lord?" Ayel asked, indicating the hobbits as he spoke.
"Tie them up in my ready room, Ayel," Nero replied, "we can use them as bargining chips."
~*~
After Ayel tied them up in Nero's ready room--Leonard decided that "ready room" was what evil beings liked to call their studies--, Leonard asked James what they were going to do now.
James shrugged.
"I don't know yet, Bones," he admitted.
"Wonderful," groaned Leonard, "you plan to have us captured, but when we are captured, you haven't a clue as to what we should do next."
"I wasn't expecting to be treated like this, Bones," James defended himself.
"What, did you expect Nero to draw up a nice warm bubble bath?" Leonard demanded.
James scowled at Leonard.
"Of course not," he replied.
Mornië fluttered into the room.
"Oh lovely, he's spying on us again," Leonard grumbled.
The crebain perched on the metal rod that Ayel had tied the hobbits to.
"Shoo!" called James, trying to wave the black bird away as best as he could with his hands tied to a piece of metal.
Mornië was not impressed in the slightest by James' attempts, and ignored him.
"Ow!" yelped Leonard as the bird pecked at his wrists.
"Go away, you bloody bird!" James cried, but Mornië continued to ignore him.
"James, leave the bird alone," Leonard ordered, as he realized what Mornië was really up to.
"But it's trying to eat you, Bones," James objected.
"No, she's not," Leonard replied, "Mornië's pecking at the ropes."
"That must be some trick of Nero's, Bones," James warned, "be careful."
"It's not a trick," a voice called.
James and Leonard couldn't see the speaker, she appeared to not even be in the room.
"Who's that?" James called.
"I am Varda(4)," the voice said.
"My lady," murmured the hobbits respectfully.
A ghostly hand touched Leonard's wrists, removing the ropes that Mornië had been pecking at. Leonard gasped as his wrists came into his line of sight--there was not even a scratch on them!
"Leonard McCoy, you don't have much time," Varda informed him, "you must stop Nero."
"I can't," Leonard objected.
"I will be with you, Leonard, even if you can't see me," Varda promised, "now go!"
Leonard ran from the room at her urging, Mornië leading the way.
1. Elvish, "Darkness".
2. Elvish, "crow".
3. Elvish, "Elves of Darkness" (literally "Speakers of Darkness"), from mor = 'dark', quendi = 'elves' (literally 'speakers').The elves who never saw the light of the two Trees (ie, stayed in Middle-earth when the Valar invited the Elves to come to the Blessed Realm).
4. One of the Valar, the wife of Manwë; Highly respected by the Elves because she made the stars. Hobbits also seem to revere her as well.
Chapter Nineteen: The Final Battle is Upon Us
"We have arrived at Minas Morgul, sir," Hikaru announced.
Spock nodded his acknowledgment from where he sat in the captain's chair.
"Sair, sensors report a shield has been raised over the entire city," Pavel called from his station.
"Can you detect the presence of the Captain and the Healer?" Spock asked the curly-haired hobbit.
"Yes, sair," Pavel reported, "they are in ze tower."
"Can you get a transporter lock on them?" the half-elf asked.
Pavel shook his head.
"No, sair," he replied, "ze shield is interferring with ze transporter sensors."
~*~
"Are you going to free me as well, my lady?" James asked.
Varda nodded.
"Of course, James," she replied, "but not until the moment is right."
"The moment is right?" James echo'd, "I'm sure you are already aware of this, but Leonard's running into a battle he has no hope of winning."
"He is the Chosen One for a reason, James," Varda pointed out.
"Yes, my lady," James agreed, "but he's a healer, not a fighter."
Varda smiled at the young hobbit.
"I know," she said, "and this fight will require a healer to win."
~*~
Leonard was not sure how long it took him to reach his destination, but it felt like an eternity. Mornië cawed softly, indicating a doorway to the hobbit's left. Leonard could not read the ancient script that identified the room, but once he stepped inside, he knew where he was--he was in a sickbay.
"Why did you bring me here?" the healer asked the crebain.
Mornië cawed at Leonard, but he could not understand her. Leonard sighed.
"I'm sorry, Mornië, but I don't speak Bird," he informed her, "I'm a healer, not a linguist."
~*~
"We need to find a way to get to the Captain and Healer McCoy," Spock informed the beings assembled in the main conference room of the Enterprise.
"With those shields up, we can't beam anybody in or out of Minas Morgul," an oil-slick dwarf observed.
"You can't figure a way around the shields, Scotty?" Uhura asked the dwarf, Montgomery Scott.
Scotty shook his head.
"Nae, Uhura," he replied, "you can't defy the laws of physics on a mere whim."
"Well, we could, but only if we wanted to lose ze Keptin," Pavel added.
Spock cocked an eyebrow at the curly-haired hobbit's remark.
"Please explain, Chekov," he requested.
"We've come up with a work-around to safely beam up ze Healer, sair," Pavel replied, "but ze Keptin is being held in a different part of ze tower, a part which is much more heavily protected."
Uhura frowned.
"Why is Nero keeping them separated?" she wondered aloud.
"Maybe he knows about the Prophecy?" Hikaru suggested.
"If Nero knew about the Prophecy, he would have placed Leonard under high security, not the Captain," Christine observed.
"Unless he thinks Leonard is the Captain?" Hikaru suggested.
"Or he is using the Captain as bait to lure Leonard into a trap," Uhura remarked, "we just don't know what is really going on down there."
"Uhura is correct," Spock agreed, "we need to learn more about the situation before we can act."
"But how?" Pavel asked, "those shields are virtually impossible to get pass."
"Why not just walk through the shields?" Christine wondered aloud.
"Scotty?" Uhura asked.
"That might just work," the dwarf replied, "I'll have to double-check our data on the shields' frequencies."
~*~
Mornië cawed again, before flying off to a nearby desk, where a scroll of blank parchment lay, waiting for someone to come along and write down their thoughts on it. Next to the parchment was an ink well and a quill pen. Mornië opened the ink well. Dipping her beak into the ink, the crebain carefully pecked out a message.
The answer to all your problems is here, in this room, Healer. Use what you know of hobbit physiology, and fight Nero like the Healer you are.
"'Physiology' is a big word for a bird, even if you are crebain," Leonard mused aloud.
Mornië cawed at Leonard.
"Mornië, I don't know how to do what you're asking me to do," the healer insisted, "you're going to have to speak more plainly."
Mornië gave Leonard a dark look before scribbling a second message beneath the first one.
Surely you at least know something of herbs, Healer McCoy.
"Some, yes," Leonard acknowledged, "but I doubt they would have any of the herbs I know of here in Minas Morgul."
You'd be surprised, Healer.
"Well, then, surprise me, dammit," Leonard demanded.
Sedation.
"What kind of response is that?" the healer demanded--did birds get spontaneous concussions?
Estesea, Healer McCoy. They have it in stock here.
Leonard whistled.
"Yeah, that does surprise me," he admitted, "Christine told me that estesea(1) is only used in the Shire."
So what is it doing here?
"You know as much as I do, Mornië," Leonard observed.
1. Elvish, "Rest-leaf". A herbal plant whose leaves are used in the Shire to sedate a patient for surgery, the roots of this plant are also used to treat internal bleeding.
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