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

glittery green tunic, Proconsul Claudius Marcus moved and acted with the confidence of an egocentric dictator. A coat of arms emblazoned the front of his left shoulder. Once in the room, he gazed around, then crossed to the sleeping alcove, where he lifted a boot onto the bench at the foot of the bed. “Captain,” he said.
    The other Kirk started and looked up, as though just roused from sleep. He quickly sat up on the edge of the bed, but he said nothing.
    â€œI’m sorry I was detained,” said Claudius Marcus. “Shall we have our little talk now?” He swung his foot to the floor and walked toward the table at the center of the room, and the other Kirk followed. “So far on this planet we’ve kept you rather busy. I don’t wonder you slept through the afternoon.” Kirk recalled the proconsul’s curious attempt at discretion, considering that the Roman leader had known that Kirk could’ve dozed for only a few minutes, after Drusilla had left.
    Claudius Marcus sat down and poured red wine into a goblet. He offered it to the other Kirk, who shook his head. “Uh, by the way, one of the communicators we took from you is missing,” the proconsul said. “Was it my pretty Drusilla by any chance?” As he spoke, First Citizen Merikus—the erstwhile Captain Merrick—entered and approached the table. “See if he has it,” the proconsul ordered. While the slight-of-stature Merrick patted the other Kirk down, performing a cursory search for the device, Claudius Marcus added about Drusilla, “Not that I would have punished her.” With a laugh, he said, “I would blame you. You’re a Roman, Kirk, or you should’ve been.” He then asked Merrick, “It’s not on his person?”
    â€œNo, Proconsul,” Merrick said.
    With an expansive wave of his arms, Claudius Marcus said to the other Kirk, “I am sorry I was detained. I trust there was nothing further you required.”
    Behind the column, Kirk remembered how Drusilla had wanted to pass the time with him, claiming that she had been told to act as his slave. The sensitivity the proconsul tried to project seemed overdone and even juvenile.
    As Kirk had all those years ago, the other Kirk said, “Nothing, except perhaps an explanation.”
    â€œBecause you’re a man, I owe you that,” the proconsul said. “You must die shortly, and because you are a man.” He peered up at the first citizen and said, “Would you leave us, Merrick? The thoughts of one man to another cannot possibly interest you.” Although Claudius Marcus had evidently received help from Merrick during the former Federation captain’s six years on the planet, the proconsul’s words clearly indicated his contempt for him.
    As Merrick turned to go, the other Kirk shifted his weight and seemed to accidentally brush against him. The Enterprise captain appeared to reach up automatically to steady himself, his hands briefly touching the first citizen. Though from his vantage behind the column, Kirk could not see it, he had no doubt that his alter ego had just passed his note to Merrick.
    As the old Beagle captain departed, the other Kirk looked after him. “Because you are a man, I gave you some last hours as a man,” Claudius Marcus said, obviously explaining the rationale for Drusilla’s presence during Kirk’s detention here.
    â€œI appreciate that,” the other Kirk said.
    â€œUnfortunately, we must demonstrate defiance is intolerable,” the proconsul said.
    â€œOf course,” the other Kirk said.
    â€œBut I’ve learned to respect you,” Claudius Marcus told him. “I promise you, you will die easily, quickly.”
    â€œI thank you,” the other Kirk said. “And my friends?” Kirk recalled that Spock and McCoy had been taken back to a jail cell after surviving a turn in the gladiatorial arena.
    â€œWhen their time