The Evil That Men Do

Title: The Evil That Men Do
Author: Jazz Man
Rating: PG13/R (Violence)
Notes: This is a responce to the terrorist attack in Spain. Not nice. You are duly warned.


The Evil That Men Do
Jazz Man

Take a holiday, they said.  Go and enjoy yourself, they said, you deserve it.
It's not that I would have minded a holiday, but did it really have to be on
Ylik VII?  The
most boring planet known to man?  It wasn't part of the Federation yet, but they
wanted to join.  You'll be able to relax, they said.  Yeah, right.  The only
good thing was that Spock had promised to come and collect me.  He was going to
try and persuade Jim that I would be more relaxed if we had a few days
together.  I had to get through the week first.

I decided that I had to find something to do.  Oh a whim, I chose to go to the
beach.  I left my hotel in the planet's capital city and headed for the train
station.
Apparently the Ylikians, trying saying that after a few drinks, have the best
public
transport system in the sector.  I was just glad that I wasn't going to have to
use a
damn transporter.

It was early in the morning, right around rush hour, and the train station was
busy.  I pushed my way through to the platform and checked the time.  8:27.  I
had
about ten minutes to wait.  I bought a paper and sat down to read it.

That was when all hell broke loose.

I heard the explosion and immediately ducked to the floor.  A second explosion
followed.  There was perfect silence, but only for a second.  Then the screams
started.

I got to my feet and scanned the area.  The bomb had been big.  The blast area
had even reached where I was.  A piece of brightly coloured cloth caught my eye
and I
bent down to pick it him.  I dropped it the minute I realised just what it was.
It
was a hand.  A child's hand in a woollen glove.

I choked down the bile that was rising and walked towards the blast area.  I
had no supplies, no equipment, no nothing, but I had to do something.

The first few people I saw weren't badly injured.  Most just sat there, too
dazed to even move.  A few, like me, had gone to see what could be done.  I
trusted
that the alarm had already been raised.  I hoped it wouldn't take long for the
emergency services to arrive.

I heard a moan and turned immediately to find the source.  A women was lying
on the floor.  Something had hit her in leg and she was bleeding badly.  I knelt
down
beside her.

"Hey," I said.

She looked up at me and I could see the pain and the fear in her eyes.

"It's okay," I said.  I untangled the scarf she was wearing and tied it round
the top of her leg to stop the bleeding.  There was nothing else I could do for
her.

She said something, but it was so quiet that I couldn't hear.  I bent closer
and she spoke again.  "My little girl," she said.  "I've lost her."

I thought of the glove.  "I'll find her," I said.  "It's okay, I'll find her
for you."

I stood and walked away from the woman.  I couldn't see any children in the
immediate area.  I moved closer to the centre of the station.  The injuries
started to
look even worse.  If the girl was here . . .  I shook my head.  She couldn't be
here.

I turned back to where the woman was.  There.  Curled up in corner.  It had to
be the girl.  I ran towards her.  I knelt down and brushed the hair from her
face.  It
was her.  She looked a lot like her mother.  As far as I could tell, she wasn't
injured, but she was clearly in shock.  I picked her up and carried her back to
her
mother.

The woman cried.  "My baby."

I put the girl down and checked the woman's leg.  The blood flow had lessened.

"It's going to be all right," I said.

I stood and walked back toward the centre of the station.  I knew the most
seriously injured would be near the centre of the blast.  I squared my shoulders
and
kept on walking.

I looked towards the centre and wished I hadn't.

"Sweet Jesus."

This bomb had been very powerful.

It was hard to tell how many there where under all that blood.

The Ylikians have green blood.  I thought of Spock and wished I hadn't.

After the dead came the soon to be dead.  I done enough triage work to know
that there was no point trying to help them.

I saw a man who had been hit in the chest.  Whatever had done it had flown
further and he was loosing blood.  A lot of blood.

I knelt next to him and pressed down on his chest with my hands.  The wound
was too big.  I pulled off my jacket and used it to try and stop the blood.  It
seemed
to be working.  The blood finally stopped.  The man was unconscious.  I wondered
if he
would ever wake up.

I left him and turned to the next.  An old woman.  It was amazing she was
still alive.  Her arm had been blown right off and her back was covered in small
shrapnel.  It anything bigger had hit her, she would have been dead.  I tied off
the arm.  There was nothing else I could do.

Where the hell were the medics?

The next person I went to was another woman.  She was still conscious, but
just barely.  Head wound.  If she lost consciousness, she could very well die.

"Hi," I said, touching her face.

She looked at me.  Her pupils were dilated.

"I need to stay with me, okay?"

She continued to look.

"I'm Len," I said.  "What's your name?"

"Nany," she said.  I think that's what she said.

I looked up for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief.

The cavalry were finally here.

***

I worked with the Ylikian medics for hours.  I was exhausted.  I leant
against a pillar and closed my eyes.  What the hell had just happened?  Why the
hell
had it happened?

I felt a hand on my shoulder and opened my eyes.  There was a young medic
stood over me.  "There's no one left here," she said.  "You should probably go
to the
hospital and have your head checked out."

"My head?"  I put a hand to my head and came away with dried blood.  Red
blood.  I hadn't even noticed.

The woman helped me up.  "Thank you," she said.  "We are all indebted to you
and to the others who helped."

I smiled.  "I'm a doctor," I said.  "What else could I do?"

She smiled back and led me out to a bus that was taking some of the minor
injuries out to the hospital.

The journey was short and I was seen pretty quickly by a harassed looking
junior doctor.

"You'll be all right," he said.  "You just need some rest."

I smiled.  "I could have told you that."

He frowned.  "Do you know what it's been like here for the past few hours?" he
asked angrily

"I do, yes.  Look, let me give you some advice.  Never, ever, lose it with a
patient."  He had the grace to look abashed.  "You should just be glad that I'm
a
doctor.  I can see that you need some help here, so just tell me where you want
me."

His eyes widened.  "Are you serious?"

I nodded.

"All the serious cases are being dealt with, it's just the minor injuries that
need taken care of.  You take this room.  I'll be next door."

***

"Doctor McCoy?"

I opened my eyes.  It was the junior doctor.  I'd learnt by now that his name
was Jinal.  "What is it?" I asked, sitting up.  I'd crashed in the doctors'
common room.

"There's a transmission for you."

"For me?  Who from?"

He shook his head.  "I don't know exactly.  It's routed through your hotel."

"Okay."  I stood up.  "Where can I take it?"

He walked through to an office and played with a computer terminal.  "There
you go, Doctor."

I sat down at the terminal and waited to be connected.

"Spock!"

"Len."  I could see the relief on his face.  "I was afraid.  I thought
something had happened to you."

"I'm fine, Spock.  It's good to see you."  I touched the screen.  "I wish you
were here."

He almost smiled.  "As do I."  He looked at someone off-screen.  "The Captain
has just told me that the Enterprise has changed course.  We will be with you in
day."

I laughed, but I could feel the tears in my eyes.  "Thank you."

"I must go now," he said.  "Until we meet again."

"Good bye, Spock."

The screen went dark.

I leant back in my chair and smiled.  I was going home.

I heard a knock at the door and turned to see Jinal.

"There's been another one."

I felt a dull anger build.  "Where do you want me?" I asked.

"You're too good to waste," he said.  "We need you in surgery."

"Then surgery it is."

***

I got a crash course in Ylikian biology.  They weren't that different from
Humans, apart from the blood.  But then blood is blood, doesn't matter what
colour.

When the deluge finally ended, I managed to ask Jinal who had planted the bombs
and why the hell they'd done it.

"It's a race thing," he said.

"I thought your people were the only race on the planet."

He frowned then seemed to understand.  "Yeah, in the sense you mean.  Not in
the sense I mean it.  The people who are setting the bombs, they call
themselves
Kidans, feel that they're in the minority, that they been mistreated by the
'infidels'."

I rubbed my forehead.  "Religious conflict."

Jinal nodded.  "According to them, they've been mistreated for years.  They say
they're fighting for freedom."

"Are they?"

He shook his head.  "It's true, they were treated badly at one time, though it
was never cut and dried.  And now the fight is so ingrained that they can't give
it
up."

"But bombs in railway stations?  It's just so . . . so arbitrary.  Surely some
of their own people could have been killed?"

"Some of them were."

"It's insane."

"It is."

We sat in silence for a while, before Jinal spoke up, "There's talk of giving
all the medical personnel some kind of medal."

"I don't want a medal."

He smiled.  "You've even been on the news."

I sighed.  "Why?"

"It's politics," he said.  "You're from the Federation.  The referedum on
membership is coming up and the government's trying to score points."

"That's all I need."  I tried in vain to stifle a yawn.

"You should get some sleep.  Go back to your hotel.  We can handle it from
here."

"Yeah, you're right."  I stood stiffly.  "My ship's coming to pick me up
tomorrow."

"You're leaving us?"

I nodded.  "I'm going home.  I'll your leave twisted world to you, Jinal.  Good
luck with it."

"Thanks."

I smiled.  "Look, if you need Federation help, negotiators, or doctors, or
whatever else, well, I'll do best to help you get it."

"Thanks," he said again.  This time it sounded like he meant it.

***

I felt the knife point at my throat and knew that this was trouble.

"Don't make any noise," said a voice in my ear.  "You're going to come with
me.  Understood?"

I was exhausted.  I was no match for anyone, certainly not a man with a knife
at my throat.

"Understood?"

The knife pressed closer and nicked the skin.  I could feel the blood. 

"Understood," I said.

The man led me to a van where he bound and gagged me.  He threw me into the
back of the van and drove off.

I cursed loudly, or at least I tried to.  I should have paid more attention
to my surroundings.  I didn't think I was in any immediate danger, but the
situation
didn't look good.

After what felt like an hour, the van stopped.  The same man pulled me out of
the van and threw me into the trunk of a car.  We drove on.  I tried to loosen
my
bonds, but they were tied so tight that some nasty rope burns were all I got for
my
trouble.

I considered trying to escape the next time we stopped, but I discarded the
thought.  I wouldn't get far before I was recaptured . . . or shot.  I would
have to
go along with it.  I was presuming that it was these Kidans who had taken me.
God
help the Ylikians if they had more than one violent terrorist group on their
planet.

Finally we stopped.

The trunk was opened and the man hauled me out.  It was dark, so I couldn't
tell where we were.  Where ever it was, it was cold.

I was thrown rather unceremoniously into a sort of outhouse.  He removed the
gag.

"Just to let you know, no on will hear if you scream.  At least, no one who
cares will."

I glared him, but he didn't take any notice.

"What do you want from me?"

"It's simple really.  We're sending a message.  Ylik belongs to the Kidan."

He left and I could hear him locking the door.

I sighed and took a look around.  There was a window high on one of the walls,
too high.  The only way out was the door.

I huddled in the corner farthest from the door and thought of Spock.  He would
be on the planet in less than a day.  He would get me out of there.

He had to.

***

When I awoke, the sun had risen.  The temperature had gone up and up.  That
allowed me to guess at where we were: the desert.  Of course, that didn't help,
in
fact, it served to reinforce how bad this situation was.  I knew I could last
long in
the desert.  I was used to the regulated temperatures on the Enterprise.  I was

helpless.  They were in control.  I suppose that was the point.

I was beginning to wonder if they were just going to let me rot, when someone
came in.  I guessed that it was the man from before.  I hadn't got a good look
at him
the night before.

He didn't look much different from Jinal or any of the other Ylikians that I'd
seen.  The only difference was that he had some kind of tattoo on his chin, but
I didn't know if that was to do with religion, or just a fashion statement.  He
looked . . . normal.

I thought of the glove.  Whoever had done that wasn't normal, not by anyone's
definition.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.  It was then that I realised this was a
different man.  The voice was different.  It sounded almost pleasant.

"What kind of a question is that?"

He looked a little surprised.  "A civilised one, Doctor McCoy."

"You're at an advantage," I said.

"Il Fanath.  Leader of the Kidan," he said with a benevolent smile.

"Oh, you mean the people who've been blowing the place up?" I asked
conversationally.

Fanath frowned.  "I see you've heard of us."

"Why am I here?"

"Oh, it has nothing to do with you.  You're just the messenger.  Those who are
against us want the Federation.  We don't.  That would mean even more non-Kidan
on the
planet.  We will hold you here for as long as is necessary to get our message
across."

I continued to glare at him, the dull anger turning hot.  "What is it you want
anyway?"

"Freedom."

"Freedom?" I spat the word back at him.  "What?  You want the infidel out of
your country?"

"Ylik belongs to the Kidan," he said.  "We want the infidel off of our
planet."

"Where the hell do you want them to go?"

"Exactly there."

I frowned at him.  "What's that -"  I broke off as I realised what he meant. 
"You want them dead?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"You're insane.  There's no other word for it.  Dammit, what had those people
done to you?  Huh?  Tell me that.  What had the little girl whose hand you blew
off
done?  Or the man who was just going about his everyday business?  What did they
do to you?  Did they invade your country?  Did they kill your people?  Did they
plant bombs?"

He had watched me through the tirade.  He seemed calm, which was something I
certainly wasn't.

"This is about freedom.  That's why we're fighting."

"No.  You're fighting because you're a coward.  You're not brave enough to put
down your gun and get on with living."

I knew then that I'd made a mistake.  He hit me.

I fell back against the wall.  I could feel the blood in my mouth.  I
struggled to my feet and spat.  The blood was rich and deep and red.  "Go on," I
said,
"Kill me.  Take the easy way out.  What's one more life?"

He looked at me with a look of utter contempt then he turned and left.

***

It was hot.  Too hot.  I guessed that it was around midday.  Without water I
was going to get into real difficulties.  As if I hadn't already managed that.
I knew
that I'd been stupid, but I'd been so angry.  I'd spent too long up to my elbows
in
Ylikian blood.

I thought of Spock and what he would do in my situation.  Of course, he would
never have let himself get into it in the first place.  And if he had, he would
never
have gotten mad at his captors.

The Enterprise was probably in orbit.  They would have found out that I was
missing.  They would be looking for me.  The question was, would they find me in
time?

In time for what?

***

Just before nightfall, someone had brought me food and water.  I took it as a
good sign: they weren't going to kill me just yet.

The next morning I began to wonder if I had misinterpreted their intentions.

I was taken outside to where Fanath was waiting for me.

"Good morning, Doctor."

I didn't say anything.

He smiled.  "You don't have to say anything.  All you have to do is hold onto
something for me."  He held up a small device of some sort.  "This is the
detonator
for our next bomb."  He gestured to one of his men.  "It's a pressure switch.
If you
let it go, the bomb explodes."

"Fascinating, I'm sure."

"Oh, youre going to become intimately acquainted with this device."

One of the men dragged me towards a large metal pole.  He stripped me.  Then
he tied my hands to a bar that ran horizontally across the pole.  At full
stretch my
feet only just touched the ground.

Fanath walked over to me.  He placed the device in my hands.  "Be careful,
Doctor, you don't want to let go."  He stood and laughed for a long time before

finally leaving.

***

I had never imagined what it was like to be in stocks, but I was certain I
now knew exactly how it felt.  Throughout the morning almost all the Kidans in
what I
now recognised as some kind of camp came to see me.  Come and see the strange
alien
hanging naked from a pole.  Some just wanted to look, some wanted to rant about

their god given mission to annihilate all the non-believers.

By the time the sun was directly overhead I wished they would just get on with
it.  My whole body was burnt and I was drenched in sweat.  I would have done
almost
anything for a drop of water.  At one point, a young boy had come to offer me a
drink,
but his mother had knocked him away.  She had poured the water out onto the hot
sand.

I held the detonator tightly.  It was my lifeline.  I couldn't let go.  If I
let go, I would die.  I had had more than enough of death.

I felt someone come to stand near me.  I opened my eyes and saw the man who
had taken me.

He spat in my face.

I didn't have the strength to do anything, so I just hung there.

He hit me.

I didn't have the strength to do anything, so I just hung there.

He hit me again, and again, and again.

I didn't have the strength to do anything, so I just hung there.

He reached up and untied me.

I fell to the ground, the detonator still clutched tightly in my hands.

He kicked me, and again, and again.

I felt the detonator slip from my hands and then suddenly I couldn't feel
anything anymore.

***

Hands.  Cool hands.  Cool hands touching me gently, then picking me up as
though I were a child.

"Spock?" I asked.  Though how could it be him?  His hands would never feel
cool.

"Shh, Len, don't talk.  You're safe."

But it was Spock.  I moaned and clutched at his neck.  He held me tighter.

"Oh, God, Spock.  What have they done to him?"  It was Jim's voice.

Spock didn't answer.

I was vaguely aware of being carried into a shuttlecraft.  Spock tried to
leave, but I grabbed hold of his wrist.

"As you wish, Len.  I will stay with you."

Jim must have taken the controls.  We took off and by the time we landed I was
asleep.

***

When I finally woke, Spock was still by my side.

"Spock?"

"Len.  How do you feel?"

"Thirsty," I said with a smile, or an attempt at one at least.

Spock helped me sit up and then handed me a glass of water.

"Drink that slowly."

I looked up and saw Jinal stood at the door.

"Yes, Doctor."

Jinal smiled.  "I'm sure you know what's wrong with you, but I have to tell you
anyway.  You were severely dehydrated and pretty much all of you was burnt.  And
to top it off, you have several broken ribs along with sundry cuts and bruises.
You weren't a pretty sight."

"I don't imagine I look much better now."  I took a drink.  "How long have I
been here?"

"You came in last night."

The detonator.  "There was another one, wasn't there.  Another bomb."

Jinal and Spock exchanged glances.

I turned on Spock.  "Tell me."

"There was another bomb, yes."

"I did it, didn't I?"

A pained look came into his eyes and I knew I was right.  "That's how we found
you.  The detonator sent out a signal."

"When I let it go."  I shut my eyes.  "How many this time?"

"It wasn't your fault, Doctor.  They would have set it off themselves."

"How many?"

"A hundred dead."

"A hundred?  What have I done?"

Spock took my hand.  "Nothing, Len.  It wasn't your fault.  You couldn't have
stopped them."

"I let go of the detonator."

Spock said nothing.  There was nothing he could say.

***

A few days later, the Enterprise left Ylik VII.  I can't say that I wasn't
glad to leave.  I said goodbye to Jinal and we were on our way.

I was officially on medical leave.  I probably should have been in sickbay,
but M'Benga had taken one look at me and decided to let me stay in my
quarters. 
That's were I was when the news came through.  The Ylikians had voted against
joining
the Federation.

"They won, Spock, the bad guys won."

"I know, Len, I know, but it's over."

I shook my head.  "No.  It's not over.  It won't ever be over.  They'll keep on
fighting and then one day it'll all go wrong, and there won't be a world left to
fight over."

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"Ask me tomorrow, Spock.  I don't believe in anything today."

End

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