"Have you got the price agreed upon?"

"Have you got the proof?"

"From when it arrived for the sale to this morning." The man held out one hand for payment and held the disc in his other hand.

"Where are they now?"

"They are still there. From what I have heard they are to be there all week. I have asked to take possession. He knows he cannot take it with him and it is such a magnificent thing to behold as you will see. Such a fine piece. It is so unusual to get one as they are most protective of their registration discs but it only adds to the supply."

James Kirk had seldom felt the need for a shower as he did after dealing with the thick-set man walking away with the agreed upon payment of three bottles of Tylophian aged wine.

He walked slowly to the hotel that he and McCoy had booked into and went to the room and to the media player. He was thankful McCoy had returned to the ship as he did not want his friend to see what he suspected was on the disc.

At first he wondered if he had been sold what he did not want as all the start of the disc showed was the scenes before the auction, the people arriving, the unloading of the slaves, the sales tables of things slave masters might need to deal with their latest purchases, the cluster of prospective buyers lurking around where the exotics were first shown. It was clear that there was a large interest in the exotics as most were covered as they were taken into the examination area It showed some exotics resisting being taken into the area and others, most likely, Kirk realized, drugged, calmly following where they were led. He saw smaller groups gather around individual beings and often saw a slave being lead to the sales by one or more people and sold to another who would then sell it.

What caught his eye was two men leading a being in a hooded robe as it was clear that slave had some fight as the more thick-set man in a distinctive outfit clearly had a leash to a collar and the other a rope to bound wrists. A third man approached them, reached in and obviously manually inspected the being. Whatever the man did the slave reacted and they all laughed. Without hesitation the solo man handed a box to the man holding the leash who, after he had looked in the box, handed the man the leash and the other man handed him the rope. There was something said and the man placed the box on the ground and reached out to the poor being and Kirk saw the three laugh as the man was clearly fondling and arousing the slave before he slapped its face and, after picking up te box and starting to walk away, turned and struck the slave on the buttocks hard enough to make it stagger then he and the other man walked away laughing.

He pushed the fast forward to the exotics and felt sick about what he was seeing. He knew it owed it to Spock to find out what had happened to him. The casual way the man talked about breeding the exotics, about what each exotic was best at made Kirk wonder why they were not blasting the planet out of existence. He started not looking and only hearing sound bites knowing he would know when they were talking about Spock.

He opened his eyes and hit stop at hearing "a hybrid Vulcan male" and backspaced till he saw the smile on the auctioneer's face as he said, "And here we have a most and exquisite creature, a hybrid Vulcan male in his prime," Kirk drew in his breath as Spock was lead onto the stage naked. "Notice the fine lines, the muscular quality, and, of course, his asset." Laughing the man had stood behind Spock and stroked his penis till it was erect and hard and Kirk could see the shame in his friend's eyes. "And if I may now have a volunteer to come and show us how well he responds to being touched. Imagine from his reactions what it will be like to be the first to mount and claim him as his master. Surely the fact that he has never been claimed is an added luxury to this fine framed slave." A solidly built man stood up and went behind Spock. Kirk saw behind the Vulcan mask shock and horror flash across his friends face as the large hands methodically and thoroughly rubbed him from his head to his feet, taking time to stroke his ears and his penis. "Come, all who want, and feel free to inspect this fine slave." Perhaps fifty people were there and many were poking and prodding Spock, looking in his mouth, pulling on his ears, joking about what they would do with him as though he were nothing.

"ENOUGH! Back away from my property!" Kirk watched a man stride through the crowd making no apology for his abruptness and up to the man selling Spock, "What did you pay for my property?"

"How do I know it is yours?" the man holding the leash flashed at him, "What can it tell me to know it is yours?"

The man looked levelly at Spock, "Ask it about my special marking."

The man holding the leash slapped Spock three times then had him look at the man,

"Who is this and what is his marking."

Jim Kirk saw his friend strain to look at the man, could see he was trying to remember. It was clear to Kirk that Spock had been drugged and yet was trying to remember somebody he may have seen somewhere at some time. Even watching him on the recording Kirk could tell that Spock had some recollection of the man. Kirk knew that he had not met the man as he was sure that he would have remembered such a commanding presence and he knew he knew no slave owner. That man's very presence was commanding and he was clearly was confident and obviously unintimidated by the others there. It was also very clear that the man was used to dealing with buying, selling, dealing with, and owning slaves. Kirk saw it was clear he wanted Spock and was using the old ruse of a stolen piece of property to get him. As he looked at the man he knew that he knew nobody who owned slaves, nobody who looked or acted even remotely like this man, and he knew that Spock would not have associated with those who dealt in any way with any form of slavery. .

"His, his name is Angus."

"How is he marked?"

"Jagged scar left lower ribs to right of penis."

"Do you,"

Before the slaver had finished the question the man had, as though it were the most natural thing to do, lowered his pants and raised his shirt enough to expose a jagged scar from just below his ribs on the left to the right side of his penis. The man holding the leash to Spock looked stunned then reached out and savagely pinched at the middle of the scar, obviously to convince himself it was real. Kirk saw the slightest of twitch of the man's shoulders as it was pinched a second time.

"It is recent?"

"About six standard months ago."

"How does this know of it?"

"He attended to it."

"A slave with many talents is valuable but truly it is yours. Only a pleasure slave, a real pleasure slave so, so very familiar with its master, would know of such a thing." Still, acting as though he dressed in front of others all the time, the man pulled up his pants and held out his hand for the leash. "Your manner truly bespeaks of a master who knows how to deal with spirited slaves like Vulcans can be."

"What did you pay for my property as I will not see you lose money on it. It was stolen four standard days ago." The man took the leash from the other man who had not released it freely.

"I only recently purchased it. I had no idea it was stolen. All I was told was it had not been mounted as it was new to the life." Kirk did not see the amount of credits that passed hands but obviously the slaver was well pleased. The slaver looked at Spock, "Such a one to mount the first time would be such an honor as it will still have some spirit. He will give much pleasure even when claimed a thousand times. Such fine lines and muscular formation. To be able to stroke such a," he reached out and started to rub his hand from Spock's chest over his abdomen and Kirk felt fury building in him and saw the shame again in the eyes of his friend.

Swiftly the man who now claimed Spock reached out and gripped the slaver's fingers and bent them back, "Nobody touches my property! Nobody!" Without a backwards look the man led Spock away. The throng of people parted and let him walk through leading Spock like some prized animal. One man, a man is a dress suit took a step forward saying, You have a prize exotic stud there." and had reached out to touch Spock when Angus had suddenly turned and gripped the man's arm and then slowly, almost deliberately, turned him completely around, ripping off the sleeve from his jacket revealing the word BEING tattooed on the man's forearm. Then, for some obscure reason he moved Spock so that the man also turned again, then said, "Try that again and I will rip off your arm and not just the sleeve."

Kirk shook his head in annoyance, not clear enough to see the face of the man who had approached them. If he had seen the face, had more of a way of tracking the man, there was nothing that would have stopped him going down. The man was dressed slightly better than others but clothes can be so easily changed that aspect would not help.

The thought that Spock knew the new man who had claimed his as his property kept coming back to Kirk yet he was sure he knew no slave owners. Spock had to have known the man to know of the scar. The scar. In the depth of his mind Kirk felt a memory stir: he now felt he had seen the man before but could not place him.

The next scene was in a bedroom and Spock was on the bed with only a sheet over him, clearly still mildly drugged. The man who bought him walked up to the bed, got in and Kirk felt like retching as he saw the man obviously raping his best friend. It was not love, it was not sex, it was plain cruel rape. Momentarily Kirk turned off the machine and got up.

Four days ago. They had been sent here with the dignitaries and told to wait the whole five days of the conference. How annoyed he had been at having the Enterprise again used as little more than a interplanetary taxi. Now he was furious. To lose Spock on an unknown planet would have been one thing but this, this knowing what had befallen his friend and knowing he could do nothing was more than he could deal with. He calmed himself with the breathing exercises Spock had taught him. At least they would soon be rid of those guests.

Once slightly calmed Kirk sat back down and switched the machine back on only to see the rape continue. The rest of the disk showed the same thing at different times, the casual raping of his friend by some deviant who enjoyed it. He turned off the display but could not get the image of Spock being repeatedly raped out of his mind.

Only Mister Scott's interruption to remind him of the delay in transporting the guests back to the ship made him calm down and not smash the disc. Years of training and knowing how Spock would hate to disrupt negotiations made him pull himself together. He had to escort Admiral Winters and his aide back to the Enterprise and then take them to Starbase Fourteen. It had been a long week and he knew he would be glad to be rid of the Admiral the Ambassador, and his aide and get back to normal.

No, not the old normal but somehow he had to go on in a new normal and he would face that once he had the time.

As they waited for the Ambassador and Admiral the Ambassador's aide looked at Kirk, "Did you find your missing officer, Kirk?"

"No."

The man shook his head, "That is a pity but this is a hands-off planet, Kirk, even if you should find who you are looking for if they are the property of another they cannot leave the planet. Many who go missing from their ships while down here become stock, many for breeding. They somehow misplace their identification disc and cannot leave as there is no official proof as to who they are. As you recall we were all given one when we beamed down. So many species, human among them, enjoy the pleasure of owning another for many reasons. Apparently exotics, which Mister Spock would be classified as, fetch the best price especially if they are new and young." The aide had obviously known he wanted to tear the city apart looking for Spock. "I know Admiral Winters has been here often but never taken time to enjoy a stay here with some company. You must accept that your former officer is now the property of another and cannot leave the planet. Those that become property do have their uses in many ways and have helped build the planet. Just know he will be of assistance to the people."

As they were walking out of the government office a man came up to the aide and said, "I look forward to your next visit if what you gave me the other day is representative of what you can supply."

"I will not have time to bring you anything new for another one hundred and seventy-nine standard days."

"I will wait till then. Only now do I realize I was a fool to sell it for the price I got. I have since been told it was worth significantly more.."

"Such things usually are, my friend. Quality these days is rare."

After the man had gone the aide looked at Kirk and laughed, "You give them something that is from off-world and new to them and they think you are amazing. It is astonishing that they want to join the Federation as they have nothing of real value apart from the great rest and recreational facilities that, with membership, would have to be slightly modified and monitored. The Ambassador made it quite clear that they could still have places of pleasure but all that worked in the industry would have to be registered with regular inspections. They could have indentured workers but no new slaves. No doubt in the next year there will be a rush to get exotic slaves for the entertainment business as once that accord is signed only the slaves who have been here for a year and are an established part of the society will remain as slaves with the rest repatriated to their home planets. It would be a tragedy if Mister Spock were one of those unfortunates."

An uneasy feeling he had for some time about the aide niggled at him. From when they had come aboard the man had shown his vast knowledge about the region and the laws related to acceptance into the Federation. It seemed he also knew more about the planet than he had said. He knew that aides were meant to have a comprehensive knowledge but there was just something about the man that niggled at him

Back onboard the Enterprise he felt the love and support of the others, also stunned by Spock's disappearance and the insistence they leave on time as they were allowed no more searching.

Three hours out the Ambassador, Admiral Winters and his aide walked onto the bridge as they watched that wretched planet vanish from view, "Captain Kirk," the Ambassador addressed Kirk and he stood, "I am sure I speak for all of both the Federation and StarFleet when I say that the loss of an officer of Mister Spock's standing is most regrettable. It is unfortunate that it happened at all but at this time in particular as it was used in our negotiations as an example of why their use of slaves had to stop. They agreed that they would have, as they termed it, enough varied producers and breeders to provide the needed indentured workers for all their industries. They will still be a major rest and recreation place but will also concentrate on its growing agricultural and horticultural aspects as it is an ideal planet for such much needed supplies. Once again I am sorry to hear of what befell Mister Spock and can only imagine how you and the crew must be feeling." Kirk had nodded as he did not know what to say. The Ambassador and nodded back in silent understanding. Admiral Winters nodded at him as well before he and the Ambassador left the bridge.

Three point seven hours out Uhura turned to Kirk, ignoring the Admiral's aide, "Sir, I am picking up a distress signal from a small craft"

"Let's hear it.

"Enterprise, Enterprise this is," there was a pause, "Scar. Am in need of assistance."

"Enterprise, Enterprise this is Scar. Am in need of assistance

"Enterprise, Enterprise this is Scar. Am in need of assistance. Respond."

"Up oh," Sulu shook his head and looked at Kirk, "I think you will find we left a crewman behind, Sir."

The aide looked at Kirk, "Does this happen often?"

"No." Kirk was furious. His crew knew better. When this Scar character got aboard,

Scar. Scar. There were no Officers with the name Scar. What was so, He found he had held his breath. Spock said the man had a scar.

Kirk walked over to the Communications Officer and picked up an earpiece, "Uhura get me McCoy."

"What is it Jim?"

"Have you recently operated on an officer in the lower body?"

"Don't you remember Angus Wishart about six months back? You were almost going to spend you life singing soprano on Ganna Fid Three or the Halls of Valhalla after that drunk charged at you with a knife and Wishart blocked him. Left him with a scar from the bottom of his ribs on the left all the way to the right side of his penis, very ragged and infected for about eighteen days. It will be obvious to anybody who gets that personal with him as for some reason he had a reaction to Dermaskin and a lengthy scar is visible. You were damned lucky that day."

"Thanks. Kirk out." For a moment two images clashed in his mind. Angus Wishart looked and acted nothing like that, that creature Scar. There was no way, absolutely no way it could be the same person. They were two very different: Wishart was a friendly, relaxed, and non-violent person while this Scar creature had shown himself to be cold and brutal self-centered thing. He could have Wishart paged but that shuttle needed assistance and he had something to say and do to that, that thing asking for assistance, "Scotty, put a tractor beam on that craft and bring it to shuttle bay two. Have McCoy meet me there."

"Well, Kirk, did you find out who it is?"

"Yes. Go see the Admiral. I will contact both of you later."

"Well rather than disturbing the Admiral with this matter I will want to see this officer and find out his reasons for going to the planet when the planet is a restricted planet to all but senior officers. He better have a damned good reason."

From his tone Kirk knew the man was as annoyed as he was but for possibly very different reasons. "Fine, I will notify you later when he can be questioned," Kirk has said as he left the bridge, adding mentally, "if I leave anything you can question."

At the door to the shuttle bay he looked at McCoy and the others. "Do not come in until I tell you to."

"But,"

"That's an order. This is personal."