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Pavel Chekov turned over the weapons console to Kelowitz as soon as Sulu had left the bridge. First, a quick trip to sickbay to get rid of his Romulan face, then he stopped off at the mess room and had a serving of borshch and borodinsky bread.
Satisfied that the ship was secure, and satisfied with a full stomach, Chekov jumped into the sonic shower and then to bed for a power nap. It was to be a very short sleep, and an even longer night.
James Kirk was walking briskly to General Koord's quarters when he almost ran head on into Sulu. "Hikaru, I thought you were still on the bridge. Coming off duty now?"
The ship's captain looked tired and shrugged. "Duty calls elsewhere. I've got a date with Koord."
"Me, too!" Kirk said with a sly grin. "Want to join me or will I be in the way of 'official business?'"
Sulu spoke in a near whisper, "Actually, I could use some moral support. It seems that a Klingon ship has joined the Romulans. I'm here to inform Koord."
"Ouch! Afraid he might shoot the messenger?"
"Something like that," Sulu admitted.
Chuckling just a bit, Kirk explained, "Nonsense, he's all bark and no bite. Anyway, it's my duty, senior officer, right?"
Before visiting Koord, Sulu had McCoy perform a change in appearance, then changed back into his duty uniform and now pointed at his sleeve. "I think you missed something. Still, you probably have seniority; time in grade and all that. I had a similar conversation with Scotty the other day."
Kirk was surprised, "I was only an Admiral for two and a half weeks before my capture. Do you get time in grade while in stasis? Looks like everyone got a promotion. I missed a lot while I was gone." He paused a moment as a thought struck him and he asked, "Just how long was I on Romulus?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"Why, Sulu, is something wrong?"
"I thought Doctor McCoy was going to -- I mean, he's supposed to... debrief you."
"McCoy? He's been after me for a physical... but, conduct a debriefing?" Kirk's expression changed into the look of a friend in need. "Hikaru, tell me now, I have to know."
Sulu balked, "Maybe you should see Doc."
"Hikaru, I can hear it from one friend as well as another."
Smiling at the compliment, Sulu gave in. "Sir, you've been -- " he hesitated at the use of the word dead "-- missing for almost eight years."
Acting as if he had been hit by a phaser on heavy stun, Kirk commented quietly, "Eight years?"
Instantly regretting telling his friend, Sulu spoke quietly, "Maybe you should see Doctor McCoy after all." When Kirk failed to respond Sulu continued, "I can handle Koord, don't worry."
Kirk seemed to be in a different world. "Very well."
Watching as James Kirk walked away slowly towards the turbolift, Sulu was upset. Never before had he hated being in command. Too often it required him to be the bearer of bad tidings. Right now, he'd rather have faced the entire Klingon fleet in battle, than hurt his friend. Slowly, he straightened up and adopting his official captain's demeanor, he turned his gaze away from the closing turbolift doors and pressed Koord's call button.
If the old general wanted to, Sulu would arm wrestle him or even have a duel with sabers.
Kef had worked non-stop on his latest project. Most of the intricate details had been worked out in his lab. Then, when all was ready, he wiped the computers clean. No trace of his work would remain, but the programs would already be set into motion. There was no way to stop it now. The Klingon officer smiled to himself. Surely no other Klingon could have done as well.
Checking his chrono, Kef noticed that time was short. He would go to meet Dar, then these Feds would see what it meant to be warriors. He looked around the lab one more time, just to be sure. Then nodding to himself, with satisfaction that all was well, he headed for the transporter room. Now it was in Dar's hands and he would not fail either.
Miguel Rameriz finished up with his physical just after the 'B' shift came on duty. McCoy had given him an A- on his medical scale of well-being, but that was a preliminary finding. The doctor's only advice was to take it easy and get plenty of rest. It was a truly ironic prescription considering his recent situation.
Since Tavar's evaluation had been incomplete, Rameriz would be forced to return for a follow-up exam. McCoy and Tavar would then conduct another series of tests and play 'twenty questions' with his psyche.
McCoy informed him of the eight year gap in his life, but he had handled it well. After all, he had few ties and no family other than Starfleet. Before he filled McCoy's rest prescription, Miguel wanted to meet another member of Starfleet's family.
After two failures to locate Janice Rand, he was informed that the transporter chief had returned to duty for a brief time. Armed with that information, he made his way to the main transporter room to pick up the conversation that was started when he first arrived on board.
In just a few minutes he found Rand going over the auto relay setup with a young academy graduate named Rich Berkley.
The ruggedly handsome Spaniard put on his brightest smile and approached Rand and her companion. "Don't you ever take time off, senorita?"
Janice had been so involved with Berkley, that the comment caught her of guard and even startled her. She smiled in a way that said she was very happy to see the man. "Sir, I'm glad to see you again. Are you well?"
"Doctor McCoy says I'll live for a long time and I'm very healthy. Care to test his theory?"
Berkley suppressed a smile and Rand blushed visibly; he had turned the tables on her. Caught off guard again, she was at a loss for words, actually. "I , er --"
"-- would be happy to join me," Rameriz finished.
"Well, give me another minute or two and we can discuss the possibility." Rand was flattered by the attention, but slightly embarrassed by Berkley's presence.
Wandering over to the control console, Rameriz became intrigued with some of the newer technology. He was also impressed with Rand's ability to use and explain the complicated systems.
Janice was just about finished, "Rich, the last signals came from this location." She pointed to the spot with the use of coordinates and a tick on the scanner. "Uhura was not sure why she failed to hear it, so it's very important you stay alert every minute."
The young officer was very serious and all business. "Of course, Ma'am, will you be returning for the next comm point?"
"Yes," Janice answered quickly. "I want both of us here, just in case, right?"
"Understood."
Smiling, Rameriz moved closer to Rand. "Now can we discuss my plans?"
That's when it happened. Suddenly and swiftly, without the possibility of a successful counterstroke; first, Dar, then Kef, entered the transporter room. Weapons drawn and pointed at the threesome gathered at the console. The Klingons' looks said they meant business.
Berkley was the first to respond. He reached out for the intercom, but before he could succeed, Dar hit him with a heavy stun energy bolt. The force of the blast knocked Rich off his feet and slammed him hard against a metal bulkhead.
Rameriz turned to act instinctively but before he could move, Kef fired his weapon. It was not set on stun and Miguel dropped to the floor in silence.
Rand screamed but it could not be heard through the compartment walls or doors. She started to move but the two Klingons warned her not to try anything. Her anger was uncontrollable. "Just what the hell are you doing?! I thought you were helping us, why are you trying to kill us?"
Dar shrugged, "A slight miscalculation. There was only supposed to be one on duty, so only one weapon was set to stun."
"You animals! What do you want here?" Rand was still in a rage and barely contained.
Kef was amused at Rand's display. "I didn't think human females were capable of such a warrior's attitude."
Moving slowly towards the control console, Kef was careful not to block Dar's field of fire.
Janice spoke through clinched teeth. "You want to see a warrior's attitude? Put a weapon in my hand, I'll show you!"
Both Klingons laughed at her and Kef spoke. "I don't think so. Besides, you humans are only interested in peace. A weapon is wasted in human hands and we are here to change that."
Now Kef moved around the console, stepping over Rameriz and Berkley carefully; not out of respect, but in order not to lose his footing or balance.
"Even Koord has become soft," added Dar. "So we have decided to act on our own!"
The young Klingon now stood next to Rand and she watched as the young Klingon's fingers raced over the controls with a skill level that matched her own.
Now Dar moved towards the control console as well, making an adjustment to his weapon. He nodded towards Berkley, "I forgot how fragile you humans are." He finished on a smile that was pure evil.
Janice realized his intent. Since there was nothing to lose, she made a last desperate attempt to strike back. Interrupting the actual transport process was out of her reach, as was the intercom and power controls, so she lashed out with her left hand and struck the comm link control. That severed the connection to the bridge immediately.
Laughing at what he considered a pitiful attempt to stop their action Dar stunned her at the same moment the link was broken. Janice hit the floor in a deep sleep, but with the satisfaction of knowing she had succeeded in her effort, the bridge had been alerted!
Kef motioned Dar to the transporter pad. After making one last adjustment, the engineer ran to the pad to stand next to his coconspirator and awaited the inevitable process to begin. As the two figures faded out of view, the transporter room became eerily quiet.
Ensign Stephanie Yellan looked over the various controls and monitoring systems, one more time. This would make the... well, she wasn't sure how many times it had been, but it wasn't really a problem. She was glad to be part of the rescue mission.
All indicators were fine, systems were operating within normal parameters and even the strange looking Klingon cloaking unit seemed to be--
She stopped short on her walking tour and stared at the alien device. Tied to the ship's main engines for power and to the shields for optimal performance and function, it was an unusual link and controlled by the ship's engineering computers. However, it also had its own self-contained control system and right now it wasn't... behaving as usual.
The civilian contractor, Hannah Parker, was watching the ensign assigned to her for the morning shift. She noticed the puzzled look on the young officer's face and moved to investigate. It was mostly due to curiosity, but Parker also wished to foster a good relationship with the Enterprise crew and Starfleet in general. Besides, as many years as she had been an engineer and ship builder, there was very little she didn't know and might be able to help the younger engineer.
"Something wrong, Ensign?"
Parker's sudden appearance startled Yellan, but she seemed glad to have help. "Yes, ma'am. I'm getting a... feeling that something is not quite right here." The look on the young lady's face was more than enough to prompt a closer look at the source of her concern.
Using her civilian test unit, Hannah checked the power tap and shield tie-in. Both were... not exactly perfect and seemed to be... degrading. The readings could be wrong, but better safe than sorry. Turning to the ensign, Parker spoke in a very serious manner. "Nice work; better get Scott and Riley on the double. We need to check this out right away."
Without waiting for an explanation, Yellan hurried off to locate the experienced officers as requested.
Meanwhile, Parker began taking more detailed readings and checked all of her findings. If what she thought was really happening, the Enterprise was in serious trouble!
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© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
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