Rigel VII

As the captain paced around his cage looking for a crack in the stone surface, his surroundings shifted from his cell to a planetary surface. Pike shook his head to clear it. A fortress rose a hundred yards distant. A beautiful woman in a flowing gown stood near him. His Starfleet uniform was replaced by a studded leather breastplate, thick leather leggings, and metal-covered boots.

"Come on, we must hide. Come, come. Hurry. It's deserted. There'll be weapons and perhaps food," she urged.

"This is Rigel Seven," Pike said with recognition.

"Please, we must hide," she said plaintively.

"I was in a cage, a cell, in some kind of a zoo. I must still be there," the captain said to himself.

"Come on."

"They've reached into my mind and taken the memory of somewhere I've been," he said. Pike heard a growl from some distance to the side.

"The killer!" she cried. She ran toward the fortress gate.

"It's starting just as it happened two weeks ago. Except for you," he said to the woman. He followed her.

Inside the fortress, debris and melee weapons were scattered around the courtyard. He heard a roar from the gate.

"Longer hair, different dress, but it is you, the one the survivors called Vina. Or rather the image of Vina. But why you again? Why didn't they create a different girl?" Pike mused.

A big armored humanoid with shield and ax entered the courtyard. It brandished his weapon and shouted wordlessly.

"Quick. If you attack while it's not looking," the woman said.

"But it's only a dream."

"You have to kill him as you did here before," she said.

"You can tell my jailers I won't go along with it. I'm not an animal performing for its supper."

"It doesn't matter what you call this, you'll feel it. That's what matters. You'll feel every moment of whatever happens to you. Please, don't you know what he'll do to us?" she pled.

Pike picked up and spear and shield and stepped toward the huge foe. "Why would an illusion be frightened?"

"Because that's the way you imagined me," Vina said.

Pike had to defend himself as the warrior attacked him.

"Who are you? You act as if this were really you," Pike said to the girl.

"Careful," she cautioned as the giant attacked while Pike was questioning the girl. Pike interposed his body between the giant and Vina as she retreated upstairs to the fortress. The killer broke Pike's spear. Vina threw a broken bucket at the monstrous humanoid. Pike found some broken masonry to throw at him. The giant pushed Pike off the low wall, and he fell into the courtyard uninjured.

The killer grabbed Vina, who screamed. Pike found a javelin close at hand and threw it into the enemy's back. The injured giant jumped down to the courtyard toward Pike, but Pike thrust a spear into him as he fell. The creature died on his spear point.

Pike stood up pushing the body off him, and Vina ran to him and hugged him in relief.

"You saved me," she said.