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M'Ress knew something was wrong instantly. The auto-link with the transporter room was vital to the recovery of Spock and Saavik. The Catian turned quickly towards Garrovick. "Sir, transport has severed the auto-link. I can't re-establish it from this end and there's no response from Berkley or Rand."
Garrovick tabbed the intercom call circuit on the command chair, "Transporter room, respond please." When no answer came, he called out, "Kelowitz, get down there! Find out what's going on and report back immediately!"
The security officer was in the turbolift in four steps, "On my way, sir!"
"Shall I report to Admiral Sulu, sir?" M'Ress as poised at the ready.
Waving her off, he explained, "Not yet, he's visiting Koord. Let's wait until we have something to report. Besides, the Admiral and Mister Chekov had a pretty rough time on Romulus; they may try to rest a bit."
Kirk had found McCoy in sickbay. The doctor was studying the viewer on his duty desk when Kirk cleared his throat to announce his presence.
McCoy looked up and greeted his old friend, slightly annoyed. "You were supposed to be here long ago. Where have you been, Jim?"
Speaking softly, he responded, "Sorry, Bones."
Surprised by the half-hearted response, McCoy studied his friend closely. He had expected a feisty rebuttal, at the very least. "What's wrong?"
"Somebody forgot to mention that while I was in stasis, I lost a number of years."
Indicating a seat, Leonard McCoy put out his psychiatrist's shingle without any notice or fanfare. "Sit down. I think you and I should talk for a while."
Settling into the chair, Kirk managed only a feeble comeback. "What about the examination?"
"Tavar's resting, so we'll wait. Meanwhile, you look like you could use a bit of Saurian brandy."
Waving off the gesture, Kirk's voice softened even more, "What's happened in my absence?"
Leaning back in his chair McCoy sighed, "You want the long version or the short?"
"Let's start with a shorter one, for now."
"Fair enough, Jim." The doctor started slowly and stopped periodically to allow his friend to absorb the information. "To begin with, Starfleet didn't make an official announcement of your demise until after they had conducted a thorough investigation; drove the news nets crazy. When they finally did make the news public, there were a lot of upset people." The doctor stabbed himself with the thumb of his right hand, "Me included."
Kirk smiled slightly.
"Over the next few months, several governments, planets and agencies held elaborate memorial services and Captain Kirk days. They named streets, schools, libraries, public buildings, even colonies and towns after you. Starfleet announced the commissioning of a new destroyer, the U.S.S. James T. Kirk and the Academy named their newest classroom building after you."
"You're joking!" Kirk's reaction bordered on shock.
"Not a bit, Jim, and those are just some of the things that happened. Admiral of the Fleet Carlson gave an unprecedented two hour and fifteen minute speech in your honor at the Academy graduation ceremonies the year you 'died;' got a ten minute standing ovation.
"Of course, other things happened; Spock and Sarek finalized the Klingon peace accord. I came out of retirement for a second time and everyone else has done well. Oh, yes, Riley quit Starfleet and became a senior executive vice president at Cochrane Industries and so on. Antonia got tired of waiting for you, again, and married your chief rival, Thomas Kincaid."
"And Carol Marcus?" Kirk sounded and looked hopeful.
McCoy leaned forward and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "That's the one thing I didn't want to have to tell you. Carol died about two years after you were officially reported dead."
A devastated Kirk reluctantly asked, "What from? What happened?"
Drawing up his courage, McCoy explained. "Jim, your reported death was too much for her. First, she lost David, then all of her staff on Regula One. That was followed by the failure of the Genesis project and years of her work. The scientific community became less than friendly to her due to the use of protomatter. She couldn't get any more research grants and so it went. Let's just say, she was not very happy. The final blow was losing you. The two of you hadn't reconciled, but you were still important to her. Maybe more than you realized."
The man's face was a blank, so McCoy stopped for a moment, then resumed, slowly. "Initially, it was just a case of Rigelian flu. She had ignored the early symptoms and let her condition get pretty bad before one of her coworkers finally called for help. The attending physician called me when Carol was diagnosed, due to my experience with all types of diseases, but it was a lost cause. I got there at the last stages. Believe me, I tried. It was simply a case of a lack of will to live on her part."
Shaking his head in disbelief, his eyes began to well-up with tears. "You mean she wanted to die?"
"She felt she had no reason to live; it's not exactly the same thing, but the results..."
James Kirk buried his face in his hands.
McCoy fully expected his friend to let go emotionally when the ship's klaxon sounded.
Garrovick's voice boomed over the intercom, "Red alert! All hands report to your stations! Security condition one, intruder alert! Repeat, intruder alert, this is no drill!"
Kirk's head snapped up quickly, his facial expression changed to one of immediate strength from a new sense of purpose. Before he could move, thought, the intercom whistled loudly. "Sickbay, we have casualties in the main transporter room. We need a med team; on the double!"
"Acknowledged bridge, on the way!" McCoy stood up as Chapel came flying around the corner with a tricorder in one hand and med kit in the other. "C'mon, you two," she said. "Slowing down in your old age?"
McCoy and Kirk followed Christine out of sickbay at a dead run.
Due to their proximity, the medical team and Kirk were the first to arrive in the transporter room. Kelowitz was trying to make Rameriz comfortable, a task that was nearly futile, judging by the wounds that were visible.
Doctor McCoy suddenly appeared, much to the relief of Kelowitz. Chapel began taking preliminary readings over Berkley and Rand, relating her findings to McCoy. "Berkley has a severe concussion, two cracked ribs and collar bone. His head injury has priority though, looks pretty bad. How's Rameriz, Doctor?"
Shaking his head in dismay, McCoy noted, "Not good at all. Third degree burns and damage to several internal organs, how's Rand?"
"Not too bad. Looks like she received a phaser set on stun at close range, but a low setting. She should be up and around in a few hours."
At that moment, a med-tech team arrived with an anti-grav stretcher in tow.
Leonard McCoy directed the team to Rameriz and helped them in getting the injured man on the stretcher with minimum stress to the victim. Kelowitz also assisted then resumed his own work of gathering information on the injured officers and the general condition of the room.
Just as Rameriz was being taken out of the room, Chekov appeared and stared. He was deeply moved by the sight of the injuries. He turned to McCoy, "How long before ve can qvestion anybody?"
McCoy never took his eyes off Rameriz, as he tended to the serious burns. "Janice should be coming around soon, but the other two will be out considerably longer. Now, let me tend to my patients!"
Obediently, Chekov stepped aside while the med techs transported Rameriz to sickbay. As they left, two more teams arrived for Berkley and Rand. Chapel remained with the injured pair until they were transported, then followed with the med teams and remaining equipment. She glared at Chekov and Kelowitz on the way out. "You two better figure out how this happened and quick, so it doesn't happen again!"
Moving to the transporter console, Chekov began running security scans, he was just as angered by the incident as Chapel was. Kelowitz approached quietly reviewed his findings with Chekov. The security chief commented, "Nice vork, let's see vhat else ve can find."
"Pavel?" Kirk had been standing quietly, lost in his thoughts, but now saw a need to act. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Are you kidding? You're looking at one third of the security division."
The intercom whistled, "Bridge to transporter room. Pavel, have you got things sorted out yet?"
Chekov rolled his eyes, "My staff is vorking on it now, Admiral." Evidently, Sulu's rest period was as brief as his own and he thought better of the comment and added the preliminary findings. "So far ve don't haf a lot. Whoever did this showed no consistency. One near death and two stuns, vone heavy and vone light. The flight recorder is blank, someone disabled it and the transporter computers haf been altered. Whoever did this was very vell trained."
Kirk moved over to the console, "Sulu, have you started a search?"
The voice on the intercom suppressed a laugh, "With a minimum crew? All I could do was secure the major divisions and post a security watch."
"How long would a search take with the ship's internal scans set for Romulan life signs?" Kirk asked.
"Not as long as a standard search," offered Chekov. "And ve von't lose a lot of manpower in the process."
Sulu sounded enthusiastic, "I'll have Bailey start on it right away. Keep working on your end, just in case there is anything else we can use."
"Acknowledged, Kirk out!" Staring at Chekov and Kelowitz, Kirk thought out loud. "None of this makes sense. If the Romulans really wanted us, why not just use a mass attack?"
Kelowitz agreed, "Yes, sir, but more importantly, how did they get past the shields?"
Pavel considered the question, "How about a little computer investigation of our own."
"What did you have in mind?" Kirk asked.
"If the flight recorder and the transporter logs are not vorking, vhy not try the ship's internal sensors records. At least ve'd have an idea of how many ve're looking for?"
"I thought those records were kept only when the ship was on a security alert," Kirk was confused.
"You're a couple of years behind the times, sir," Chekov explained.
"So I understand," countered Kirk.
Sulu was really starting to get worried. Only a short time before comm point and now they had intruders. Rameriz was near death and two more injured. No telling who else might be hurt before they could pick up Spock and Saavik. There wasn't even a guarantee that the two were still alive.
He took stock of the mission so far and did not like what he found. There were too many dead; not a great way to end a command career. At least there was a bright spot, certainly nothing else could go wrong now.
With that thought, the turbolift doors opened and General Koord walked out. 'Oh, no,' thought Sulu, 'I forgot about the Klingons.' So things could get worse after all.
Koord walked directly to Sulu, "Admiral, is there any way I can be of assistance?"
Hikaru put a smile on his face. At least the old general hadn't come to dress him out. "Thank you sir, perhaps you and your men could help. We've initiated a detailed search, we need everyone, particularly those well versed in security matters."
He smiled, "Thanks for complement, but I think my people are already assisting."
Looking surprised, Sulu thanked Koord and asked him to remain on the bridge as an advisor.
McCoy hovered over Rameriz, muttering to no one in particular and complaining about everything in general. Tavar had joined him, just as Rameriz was being put into O.R. #1. McCoy welcomed the help, as Chapel was busy with Berkley and, to a lesser degree, Rand. The Romulan surgeon was a Godsend. Their biggest concern was Miguel's internal organs, but the risk from shock was equally troubling. Fortunately, both McCoy and Tavar were well versed in burn treatments. The two worked feverishly until satisfied they did their best with his burns and internal injuries, but it was only a first step.
They took a short break in the sickbay lounge and consulted with Chapel after she finished with her two patients. "Christine!" Tavar greeted the lady as if it were a relief to see someone other than McCoy.
She smiled and explained her cheery demeanor. "It looks like Rand will be okay. All the vitals are fine. I thought about bring her out of the stun with medication, but her body can probably use the rest, so I'll leave her alone for now.
"As for Berkley, he's a bit black and blue, but other than being stiff and sore for a few days, he should be fine. By the way, our other patient Sebor is doing much better and should be out of sickbay in another day or so."
"Great, Chapel," McCoy said, "But we've got a problem with Rameriz, care to lend a hand?"
Taking a vacant chair opposite McCoy and next to Tavar, she asked, "What's the problem?"
"This says it all." McCoy slid a medical tricorder in front of her.
Tavar and McCoy sat quietly while Chapel scanned the unit. As she read, she became visibly shaken. "Oh, Leonard, this is just terrible. Is he stable?"
"For now anyway, but the degenerative effect of a disrupter doesn't give us much time to plan our strategy."
"And we don't want to get into heavy surgery with the body trying to fight the effects of burns," added Tavar. "His biggest problem right now is shock."
"Understandable, so what are our options?" Chapel was at a loss for a viable solution.
Taking in a deep breath, McCoy spoke the unspeakable, "Either we operate within the hour, in which case we will probably kill him or we don't operate, in which case he will probably die."
Shaking her head, Chapel asked the obvious, "Why not stasis?"
"Not an option," said Tavar. "He's already been in stasis too long as it is. Short term stasis is fine, but long term effects are quite different. In the case of Rameriz, it's even more critical. From what were able to determine, a few of the basic systems of Miguel's body got lazy during his stasis time. Among those were his immune, endocrine, and lymph glands."
Christine's face registered an understanding. "Putting him in stasis will only hurt his chances."
"Just about eliminate them," McCoy said flatly.
The trio of surgeons sat quietly, not really wanting to face their choices.
Finally, McCoy stood up and stretched. "Well, care to join us Doctor Chapel?"
She smiled softly, "Sure I won't get in the way?"
"If you do, we'll have security remove you," Tavar commented.
"I just love Romulan humor," said McCoy with a smirk.
Tavar looked at McCoy with a puzzled expression, "Who was trying to be humerous?"
Sitting on the transporter pad with the tricorder in his hand, Kirk kept reviewing the information. Meanwhile Pavel and Michael tried to find a tangible lead in the computers. A couple of things did not sit right with Kirk. "Kelowitz, can you help me for a minute?"
Chekov nodded his approval, "I can finish the search by myself."
Kelowitz walked over to where Kirk was standing. "What can I do for you, sir?"
Smiling at the officer's enthusiasm, Kirk asked, "Could you assume the position where you found Rameriz."
"Sure, Admiral, just a moment," The commander then put himself on the floor and shifted a bit, then satisfied, he looked up at Kirk. "I think this is it."
Kirk was puzzled. "Pavel, look at this. Does this strike you as peculiar?"
Looking up from the control board, Chekov asked, "In vhat vay, sir?"
"Let's say you were standing near the console, talking to Rand and Berkley. Would it be possible to be shot in the chest and wind up in this position? Also, could he be hit by an intruder who was beaming in?"
Mulling the scenario over in his head, Chekov thought out loud, "Maybe he reacted to the sound of the transporter, turned and ran over there and got hit?"
Kelowitz jumped up, "Perhaps he was going for help."
"No, I don't think so. Miguel is a good officer. Either he would have used the console's intercom, which was closer, or he would have attempted to reach the intruders before they could finish materializing. At the very least, he would have gone for cover, behind the console."
Chekov began to follow Kirk's train of thought. "The most likely point of origin vould be from the door!"
"Of course," Kelowitz snapped his fingers, "If you wanted to beam aboard a starship, you would transport into an unoccupied space, not one you know would have someone on duty."
"So, you're already on board, why come to the transporter room?" asked Chekov.
"Why indeed, unless you were leaving," Kirk answered.
Confused, Chekov asked, "Vhy vould you leave?"
Michael answered the question reluctantly, "You've already done something to the ship and you want to get out."
"Vhy use someone else's transporter and risk discovery?" Chekov's statement made sense, but seemed to leave another mystery.
"What if you were already on board and wanted to go somewhere else?" asked Kirk.
"Who would want to leave? The crew was hand-picked and no one would want to jeopardize the chance to rescue Spock and Saavik," Kelowitz was deep in thought.
A light went off in Chekov's mind, "Except the Klingons!"
Kirk spun around and shot a question at Kelowitz, "How long from the time you were alerted until you arrived here?"
"Two minutes, at best!"
"How long would it take to reprogram the flight recorder and install a computer virus?" Kirk asked.
"Even if an expert like Mister Spock vas doing the vork, I would estimate about ten minutes, eight at best." Chekov almost choked on his answer. He knew what it meant. Now he wished he had put a twenty-four hour watch on the Klingons.
"A bit more time than someone in a hurry would like to take, right? But not if you had been on board and had all the time you needed." Chekov changed his position and tapped the intercom call. "Transporter to bridge, haf you talked to General Koord since the alert?"
Sulu looked at Koord, "He's right here, Pavel. Why do you ask?"
Kirk gave Chekov a high sign and spoke, "General, are your people with you?"
Koord grunted then spoke, "I thought they were assisting in the alert."
Choosing his words very carefully, Kirk continued, "General, they might be involved in our current situation."
"In what way, Kirk?"
Taking off the gloves, Kirk took the direct approach. "I believe they transported off the ship after altering the computers and flight recorders. I take it they were not acting on orders."
The general was visibly shaken by Kirk's words, "Definitely not!"
"The intruders were armed with disrupters, as vere your personal staff and it vas a disrupter which was used against the transporter staff and Commander Rameriz," Chekov explained.
"Rameriz was injured?" Koord was now seething. "If my people were responsible, I will kill them myself! They have dishonored me and the entire Empire!" He stopped for a moment and then spoke to the entire bridge. "I pledge my life to this ship and its crew. I will do everything to bring my people to answer for their actions!"
The bridge went silent. Everyone knew that, with his statement, Koord had pledged himself to the Enterprise. In so doing, he had just broken his bonds to the Empire; quite a scene.
Kirk played diplomat, "General, your pledge does you honor, but it may not be necessary, if you can help with their thinking. Why would they leave and where would they go?"
The Klingon swallowed hard, "They wanted to act against the K'chor'da."
Sulu filled in the details. "We spotted the Klingon ship working with the Romulans. Dar was... upset and wanted us to destroy it."
"Is that right, General?" Kirk's voice was more sympathetic than accusatory.
Koord nodded in agreement and answered quietly. "Yes, I thought that Kef was under control. I had no idea that he was influenced so greatly by Dar."
Hikaru felt sorry for the Klingon general. He had been such a tremendous help in making the mission possible. Now, it was his people that might just get everyone killed. "If Dar and Kef wanted us to fight, what would their course of action be?"
"It appears that they had been planning something for some time. They had time to plant a computer virus and alter the transporter records," Chekov offered.
The general began thinking out loud. "They would not do anything to reduce the ship's fighting ability. So your shields, screens, weapons, targeting systems and engines would be untouched. To draw you into a battle, I can think of only one thing that would do that."
Sulu jumped out of his seat and stood face to face with the Klingon, "The silent stalker!"
"Drop the cloak and we are forced to act," Chekov's voice was full of realization.
"It's the most logical course of action. Sulu, let us take care of engineering, you'll have your hands full soon." Kirk sounded enthusiastic.
"Agreed, I could use Pavel on the weapon's console though, can you spare him?"
Giving a nod to Chekov, Kirk explained, "Sure, Kelowitz and I can handle things down here."
"Aye, Admiral! Consider Kelowitz your new adjutant and aide."
"That suit you?" Kirk studied Michael's face closely.
Kelowitz smiled broadly, "Yes, sir!"
"Okay, bridge, Kirk out."
"We'll still need someone to man the transporters, comm point is coming up soon," Kirk looked to Chekov for a suggestion, "You have anyone in mind?"
Chekov looked surprised, "Kyle vould shoot you if he heard you that asked that question!"
Kirk laughed for the first time since speaking to McCoy. "All right, we'll pretend it never happened. You take care of it, okay?" Then he turned to Kelowitz, "Let's get to engineering!"
Before he called Kyle, Chekov found himself breathing a small sigh of relief. As bad as it was, there was evidence that the Romulan on board, Tavar, had nothing to do with their problems. The situation could have been far worse!
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© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
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