Consuming Fire

By: Maranni123

Disclaimer: Hello again faithful watchers and lovely passer-bys. Although it's illogical to start new projects when you're already working on another project, I just couldn't resist writing this. It pounded at my brain for weeks until finally, last night, I wrote it in a half-asleep, manic writing session. It was crazy. So once again, let us begin. Warnings: Possessive!Spock, cursing, K/S goodness, and mature scenes later on. Un-betaed in an attempt to spread my wings, so please point out any and all mistakes. I do not own Star Trek. If I did, then the fight scene between Spock and Kirk in the 2009 movie would've ended very differently. ;D

"Talking."

'Thinking'

"Vulcan talking."

'Bond talking.'

Enjoy!

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The cell was dark, damp, and a complete cliché. Sitting against the wall, his eyes closed in an attempt to calm his already frayed nerves, McCoy twitched as his heard a series of jangles and curses.

"Sulu," he sighed, and the clatters and curses paused. "This is the last time I'm going to say this: the chains are unbreakable." McCoy opened his eyes and glanced over to his right to give Sulu a glare. "If the hobgoblin can't break them, then I'm gonna safely assume that you can't break the either!"

Sulu frowned and pulled on his chain again. McCoy rolled his eyes. Sulu was just lucky that the chains were as short as they were or else McCoy would've smacked him across the head.

"Oh, lay off him Leonard."

Both McCoy and Sulu looked over to their left and watched Uhura struggle with her own chains. "I mean," the Communications Officer mumbled as she fell back against the cell wall. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. At least Sulu's trying to escape."

McCoy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "Well, in case you haven't notice yet, we're strapped to these walls by chains connected to our wrists," McCoy shook his wrists, causing his chains to clink together. "Which are extremely strong. So forgive me for trying to use my brain to figure out how to get us out of here instead of just rattling my chains!"

Sulu made a soft scoffing sound and sat back down against to wall as well, a small pout on his face. "You don't have to be so mean," he grumbled.

A soft chuckle reached McCoy's ears and he looked ahead to the other side of the room to see Jim laughing, his own chains rattling. McCoy glared at him. "Oh, shut up Jim!"

Jim bit his lip and gave McCoy a wink. "Oh come on Bones," he said cheerfully. "Lighten up! Things could be worse."

"Oh really?" McCoy growled. "Things could be worse?" He waved his hands around him, his wrist chains clinking softly. "We're in a cell, chained to walls with no idea where we are, who brought us here or how we even got here in the first place! And you're telling me things could be worse?"

Jim nodded. "Yep," he said enthusiastically. "Things could be worse. We could all be dead."

Sulu gave his chains a pull. "Plus," the helmsman offered. "We're not suspended up in the air." Sulu tapped his foot against the floor. "We can still sit down. That's something, right?"

Jim beamed at the man. "Exactly," Jim exclaimed. "See Bones? Sulu's looking on the bright side." Then, Jim's expression grew more serious and he pulled on his chains. "But don't worry," he assured the four figures in front of him. "I'll find a way to get us out of here."

Sulu made a quiet moan in his throat and Uhura banged her head against the wall softly. McCoy simply shook his head. "Wonderful," he said sarcastically.

A tense silence filled the cell. Although they were joking, everyone knew that their situation was serious. It had happened so suddenly, they were all still trying to get their bearings. The day had begun like any other day. A routine mission to deliver supplies to a recently colonized planet. It was a simple mission, a milk run.

Jim pulled against his chains again, his teeth clamped together. 'That's probably why we're in this mess,' Jim thought. 'It was a simple mission and we were relaxed. Too relaxed.' It had happened on the way back from the planet. The crew had been calm, entertaining themselves in their own ways. Sulu and Chekov had been engaged in a very extreme game of rock, paper, scissors, Uhura had been humming to herself, bored, and McCoy had visited to bicker at Jim and jab at his relationship with Spock. Though the majority of the crew had just recently found out about their Captain and Commander being together, the main crew had known about it all along. They had even been present at the two's bonding ceremony on New Vulcan. Everything had been perfectly relaxed.

The young captain finally stopped struggling against his chains and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. 'And then suddenly, we're beamed from our ship and into a cell,' Jim thought bitterly. 'With no communicators and no means of escape.' Honestly, if this wasn't proof that the very Universe was after the Enterprise crew, Jim didn't know what was.

'Jim…'

Jim looked up from where he'd been staring and locked his gaze onto his First Officer, who was chained up next to Uhura and the other side of the room. The half-Vulcan wasn't sitting, like the rest of the crew. Instead, he was still standing, his hands firmly folded together behind his back despite his chains and his spine straight. On the outside, Spock seemed perfectly fine, his unemotional mask flawlessly in place. However, thanks to their bond, Jim knew better. Spock was staring at him, only him, ignoring McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu, his chocolate brown eyes intense and hazy.

'Jim…' Spock spoke again through their bond, his urgency and anxiety flowing towards his bond mate. Jim bit his lip and mustered up as much love and reassurance as he possibly could and sent it Spock's way, watching with a smile as Spock relaxed to some extent.

'We'll be fine Spock,' Jim said softly, calmly. 'We'll get out of here soon. Just try to relax.' Slowly, Spock nodded, and then let his head drop down, his black hair falling gently over his eyes. Jim gritted his teeth together and pulled on his chains again. He had to get Spock out of here and fast.

McCoy looked up and gave Jim a look. "Jim," he grumbled. "It's no use. These chains are too strong." Silence once again. Well, that was odd. McCoy frowned and craned his neck to glance over to Spock. Normally, Spock would've been on him for his negative thinking when it came to Jim. Said First Officer was still in his earlier position, head down, eyes closed, attempting to relax his tense muscles.

"Hey Spock," the doctor called out suddenly, his voice laced with suspicion. Both Uhura and Sulu glanced up at McCoy while Jim continued to gnaw off his lower lip.

Spock was still for a moment before he finally raised his head up to meet McCoy's gaze. "Yes Doctor?" he asked softly, his voice rough. McCoy's suspicions grew.

"You've been awful quiet," McCoy drawled out, his eyes narrowing. "In fact, you haven't said more than a handful of words since we've been in this mess."

Jim twitched suddenly against his chains as he felt Spock's discomfort and McCoy's head snapped over to him. Instantly, Jim ducked his head down in order to escape McCoy's gaze.

McCoy glared at the man. "Jim," he growled. "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

But Jim never got to answer, because at that very moment, the beings who had captured them had decided to make their presence known. With a loud clang, the door to the cell flew open and three beings walked into the room calmly, their heads raised with pride and dignity. They were mainly humanoid looking, with a head, two arms, and two legs. However, they were clearly alien. With dark red skin, large almond shaped eyes that were a pale gray color, and with absolutely no hair visible, the creatures were clearly not of Earth.

Jim quickly glanced over to Spock with a frown and the half-Vulcan shook his head slowly. 'They are not familiar to me,' Spock said slowly, his thoughts rough and tense.

And apparently, they weren't known to Starfleet either. Immediately, Jim fell into Pissed-Off-Captain mode and he glared at the three figures, standing up to make a further example of his authority. "Who are you?" he demanded, voice filled with power.

If the situation wasn't dire and stressed, Uhura would have rolled her eyes. They didn't even know if the beings spoke Standard. Of the three figures, it was the middle one who answered. The being was slender, feminine looking and smaller than the other two, but when it spoke, it was clearly male. He looked over to Jim, his expression unreadable.

"Who we are," he said softly, causing all five crew members to flinch in surprise. "Is none of your concern, human."

Jim growled and jerked against his restraints. "I'd beg to differ," he spat out. "What have you done to my ship?"

Again, the smaller being answered. "Your ship is perfectly safe," he said in that same soft voice. "No one has been harmed or taken, save for you and the others here."

Although it was obvious that Jim didn't trust the figure in front of him, McCoy could still see that the young captain had relaxed somewhat at the mention of his crew's safety. Spock himself felt Jim's relief and basked in it, hoping that it would calm his nerves.

Jim eyed the smaller alien and his two bigger lackeys. "Well, seeing that you can speak Standard. Kidnapping Starfleet crew members is an extremely lofty crime," he said slowly. "And the punishment for that crime is a tad extreme as well. And I wouldn't want you to get in trouble, so how about you let us go and return us to our ship." It wasn't a question or a suggestion. It was a demand.

The alien's eyes narrowed at the obvious threat and Spock felt his body tense again. "Your petty Starfleet does not control us, nor do we fear it," the alien nearly spat out, his voice no longer soft and soothing. "We are above Starfleet, as we are also above you."

McCoy scoffed softly. He couldn't help it, really! "Ego much?" he mumbled and Sulu couldn't help it either, he chuckled just as softly. Uhura just rolled her eyes.

As the young captain and the alien stared each other down, Jim could feel Spock's heated mind start to overwhelm his own. This alien was pissing Spock off and at the moment, that was a very, very bad thing. Jim took in a breath and sent Spock a cool wave of as much peace as he could offer, trying to ease his bond mate down.

As Jim focused, the slender alien's eyes widen and he broke out into a smile, revealing sharp and pointed teeth. Instantly, Spock locked his eyes onto the alien and stared at him, his chocolate eyes burning. The alien glanced over to Spock, watching how the half-Vulcan was staring at him, and his smile widened.

"It appears," he said softly, his voice sending an unpleasant chill up the crew's spine. "That our scanners were correct."

Jim clenched his teeth together to prevent Spock's anger from effecting him too much as he spat out, "Your scanners?"

The alien nodded, his eyes still locked onto Spock's. "Indeed," he whispered, causing another unpleasant chill to run down Jim's spine. "It seems that we will be able to finish our research after all."

Behind the slender alien, his two lackeys finally decided to show some emotion and they smiled as well. Sulu shifted uncomfortably at the sight. Everyone tensed as the slender alien continued to smile and finally, Jim couldn't stand it.

"What do you mean 'research'," he demanded. A murderous look entered his eyes and his strained again his chains. "If you so much as even look at my crew the wrong way, I swear your lackeys over there will be the ones to pick up your pieces!" That whole thing about not letting Spock's anger overwhelm him? Not working out so much.

The slender alien didn't reply. Instead, he turned to one of his lackeys and made a few fast clicking noises which was most likely their own language. The larger of the two, a mammoth compared to the alien speaking to him, looked over to Spock, and then to Jim. The crew shivered again as the large alien's grin grew. Then, slowly, the large alien started for Jim. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath as the being made his way towards Jim, the smaller alien moving back to join his other lackey. Sulu and Uhura were staring at the scene with wide eyes while McCoy glared daggers at the alien's direction. Spock, however, was nearly shaking with rage.

With every step the alien took towards his bond mate, Spock's tremors seemed to increase violently, until his chains were rattling along with him. Jim narrowed his eyes and stared at the alien, backing away until his chains prevented him from going back any further as the alien stopped in front of him, barely a foot away from the captain. Although he wasn't showing, Spock could feel Jim's fear and a low growl began to sound from his chest, causing Uhura to look his way. What she saw surprised her.

Spock was glaring at the alien in front of Jim, rage painted clearly on his usually composed face. Uhura had never seen Spock so upset. His eyes were burning, his breaths were short and choppy, and his teeth were bared menacingly. His hands gripping his chains, his knuckles white, Spock looked like a wild animal ready to kill his prey. The man was seething, enraged, and absolutely pissed off.

"Spock?" Uhura asked softly.

Jim let out a sudden gasp and Uhura turned to see the alien lifting a hand to Jim's face. Spock's growl grew louder, more threatening, and the alien turned to give the half-Vulcan a smile before he grabbed Jim's face roughly, causing Jim to cry out in surprise. Feeling Spock's rage, Jim felt a wave of absolute terror wash over him as those fingers grabbed at him. 'It's wrong,' Jim thought frantically as the fingers caught him. 'This is wrong! He's not Spock!'

"Kroikah!"

A loud and vicious snarl echoed through the cell and all eyes went to Spock. Spock growled at the alien, low and deep, and bared his teeth even further while he pulled at his chains, causing them to moan from his strength.

"Kroikah," he snarled again. "E'shua!"

Instantly, the large alien released Jim's face and backed away from the him, Jim falling back against the wall with shaky legs. McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura were staring at Spock with wide, shocked eyes as the Vulcan continued to snarl and growl. Jim released a shaky sigh and looked over to his bond mate. Those fingers were gone, but he was still shaken. He needed Spock, his bond mate.

"Spock," he said softly.

Almost immediately, much to everyone's surprise, Spock stopped growling and turned to Jim. In the blink of an eye, Spock went from hostile and insane, to soft and comforting as the half-Vulcan gazed over to his shaken bond mate.

"Jim," the half-Vulcan purred soothingly. "T'hy'la, sochya. Taluhk nash-veh k'dular." Jim closed his eyes and let Spock's words and waves of affection wash over him through their bond.

Breaking his eyes away from Spock, McCoy looked over to the three aliens with wide eyes. The aliens were still smiling. The slender alien smiled over to Spock, although the half-Vulcan was too busy soothing his bond mate to notice.

"Our scanners informed us that there was a Vulcan aboard your vessel that was about to proceed into Pon Farr," the alien said softly, and McCoy sucked in a breath. The alien's smile grew. "We have yet to study the phenomenon of Pon Farr. This is a glorious find indeed."

(xXxXxXx)

A/N: Like I said, un-betaed, so all mistakes are mine. So, did you guys like it? Do you want me to go on with it? Tell me in your reviews! :D And yes, I will post Ch. 17 of PBTL soon. Oh, and my Vulcan is awful, so if anyone wants to help out with that, I'd be forever in your debt. XD Good night everyone!