Crucible: Kirk by David R. George III Read Free Book Online Page A

bordered double doors, while those on the far side led into a sleeping alcove.
    But while Kirk’s location had changed, the presence of the other Kirk had not. He no longer rode Tom Telegraph, but instead sat on the bed in the alcove, still wearing his jacketless Starfleet uniform. Kirk decided to step out from behind the column and attempt to speak with his alternate self in an effort to determine the full nature of his—of their —circumstances. Before he could, though, he saw another person across the room. A woman with long blonde hair emerged from the alcove, wearing a gleaming gold outfit that covered only select portions of her anatomy.
    Drusilla, Kirk recalled. She had been a slave on the fourth world of planetary system 892, where an industrialized version of the Roman Empire existed in a stunning instance of Hodgkins’s Law of Parallel Planet Development. Kirk and the Enterprise crew had tracked the debris of the long-missing survey vessel Beagle back to that world. There, Kirk had led Spock and McCoy on a landing party to the surface, where they had discovered that the ship’s captain, R. M. Merrick, had transported down his entire crew of forty-seven, where many of them had died in forced gladiatorial combat. In further violation of the Prime Directive, Merrick had also become a significant part of the planet’s pre-warp society, taking the position of first citizen.
    While the other Kirk lay back on the bed, Drusilla crossed the room to one set of doors and exited the room. The moment she had gone, the other Kirk bolted up and began searching his surroundings. Kirk remembered that once Drusilla had left, he’d hunted through the room for anything that might be of use to him. He, Spock, and McCoy had been taken captive by the Romans and sentenced to die by their leader.
    As Kirk watched, though, he noticed that the alternate Kirk appeared very focused in his search, as though he sought not simply anything that could help him, but something specific. After a short time, he seemed to find what he’d been looking for: a writing implement and a paper tablet. This had not happened during Kirk’s actual visit to planet 892-IV.
    The other Kirk began writing at once, and Kirk speculated that he outlined directions for Merrick. Looking back on the entire incident now, Kirk recalled that the traitorous captain had stolen back from the Romans one of the Enterprise landing party’s communicators, indicating his change of heart about what he had done. Later, in fact, he had helped Kirk, Spock, and McCoy escape the despotic civilization, though at the cost of his own life. Kirk regretted that he hadn’t been able to bring Merrick back to the Federation to stand trial, not just for violating the Prime Directive, but also for his betrayal of the Beagle crew and his hand in their deaths. If Kirk could relive those events, knowing how they had ultimately transpired, he thought he would do what he supposed the other Kirk did now, namely detail a plan for Merrick that would see him leave this world with the landing party.
    When the other Kirk finished writing, he tore a small piece of paper from the tablet. After replacing the writing implement and tablet back where he’d found them, he folded the note into a small square, then tucked it into the fleshy crook at the base of his thumb. He then returned to the sleeping alcove and lay back on the bed.
    Minutes passed, and Kirk tried to recollect how long he had pretended to sleep. While he hadn’t written a note to Merrick, he had searched the room and looked for a means of escape. He remembered now that he had eventually heard somebody approaching, which had driven him back into bed, where he had feigned slumber.
    Now, Kirk heard a set of doors open, and he carefully peered from behind the column to see two armed guards step into the room and take up positions there. A moment later, the Roman leader entered. Heavyset and garbed in a