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Scotty was frustrated as the changeover was not going well. The alien contraption defied all conventional electronic logic laws and Kef had evidently built in a few safe guards against tampering. Fortunately, the new engineers were great. The young men and women that DeSalle had recommended from the Academy exceeded Scotty's expectations.
His thoughts were jarred by several impacts on the ship's hull. He knew that the shields would have to be lowered to facilitate the use of the transporters and he was concerned about the ship's safety.
The damage done to an unshielded ship could be horrendous and he couldn't help but worry about his newest Enterprise. No doubt the work teams were doing their jobs, so he tried to concentrate solely on the task before him.
The Scotsman was now at the point where the silent stalker was ready, but there was still one more detail. "O'Conner, check th' simulator, quick!"
The young lady's fingers danced over the controls of the tricorder then smiled at the readout. "Mister Scott, I read the unit is ready at eighty-seven percent and rising!"
"It'll hae ta do, lassie," declared the chief engineer. "Let's activate it!"
O'Conner slapped the control and the unit began humming with its newfound power. In just seconds, the Enterprise was once again masked from view.
Beaming, Montgomery tabbed the intercom, "Bridge, cloaking unit back on line... I'll be working with th' damage control teams, Scott out!" Starfleet's finest engineer turned to face the team gathered around him. "That was fine work. Now let's see what we can do ta put this proud lady back into tip-top shape!"
The group followed the chief engineer like chicks following a mother hen. The sight would have been humorous except for the fact that their purpose was to repair an awful lot of damage.
While working on the cloaking system, Scotty had mentally counted almost a dozen hits on his ship. But at least the engines were okay. He could concentrate on other things for the time being. If he had to work twenty-four hour shifts, the Enterprise would be one hundred percent before they reached home port!
On the bridge, everyone was concentrating on staying alive. With shields restored and the cloaking device back, that task would be greatly simplified. Thanks to some brilliant work by Stiles and Leslie, a breakaway course had been initiated and the ship was on the way home!
Sulu quickly checked the various consoles. Things had settled down quite rapidly and almost everyone was smiling except Koord and Kirk. In fact, Kirk looked really bad as if he was moving at one-third normal speed and his coloring had gone pale.
Just as Hikaru was about to call sickbay the turbolift doors opened and McCoy stepped out, huffing and puffing. The surgeon caught his breath and blurted out his purpose. "I need to borrow --" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Kirk in the command chair. "What is he doing?!"
Hikaru looked guilty, but wasn't sure why. "The Admiral was 'compelled' to take command."
McCoy ignored Sulu's comment and moved closer to study his old friend. What he saw scared him. "Admiral Kirk, I hereby relieve you from the active duty list and order you to --"
Again, his words were cut short, this time by Kirk falling from the command chair. McCoy caught him, with Koord's help, and eased him to the floor. McCoy, Koord and Sulu knelt beside the man. The rest of the bridge crew remained at their post but turned to look, worried about their friend and former captain.
Uhura called for sickbay to send immediate assistance while McCoy gave his friend a quick examination.
Deeply concerned, Sulu asked, "Will he be okay, Doc?"
The ship's surgeon did not respond right away as he was now taking readings. Damn good thing he had brought his medical bag and instruments. His original intention was to use them to compel Kirk to go to sickbay, now they might just save his life.
Using the hypo, the doctor gave his old fiend two quick shots. The first was a large dose of triox, the second was an equally large dose of the adrenaline synthetic, hyronalin. It was then the doctor let out a long sigh and turned to face Sulu. "I'm not sure, Hikaru, he's suffering from the after effects of the long stasis captivity, exhaustion, stress and a host of other problems. Up to this point, he's been temporarily pumped up by the excitement and his own willpower, but now... Tavar was trying to warn me about this. I came here to take him back to sickbay for testing. I shouldn't have let him go off, renewing old friendships --"
Before he could finish his lament, a team of med-techs showed up with an anti-grav stretcher with Tavar right behind them. Evidently the turbolifts had their power restored or the med team knew a short cut that McCoy did not.
Sulu now took the center seat. "As of now, I'm resuming command of this ship. So note in the duty log. Uhura, send the coded signal to Starfleet."
Uhura tried to smile but she was clearly worried about James Kirk. "With pleasure, sir," The signal would notify Command that they were on the way home with captives. What dampened the message was the fact that they had lost several of the captives during the rescue attempt and the two that had returned to the ship were now both casualties. That bothered the ship's communication officer a great deal. What would it matter if they returned home, safe and had nothing to show for their effort? That particular thought was accented as she watched Kirk being removed from the bridge.
When the turbolift doors opened, M'Ress stepped out and took the comm board for Uhura.
As the medical group left the bridge, McCoy called out to Sulu. "We'll keep you informed on his condition."
"Thanks, Doc!" Sulu smiled weakly then turned his attention back to the task of getting home.
It was perfect timing as far as Uhura was concerned. She tapped out the signal then accompanied Kirk to sickbay and would remain close by for some time. Not that her presence was essential to his treatment or recovery. She would feel better and that was good enough for her right now.
Since Kyle had 'given the word,' the ship was heading toward the Neutral Zone at warp six. They had taken several more hits before making their escape, but thanks to the incredible helm and navigation skills of their crewpersons, they managed to elude further damage.
Minor hull breaches had been sealed by Scotty's special work teams or confined by forcefields. From all over the ship, reports of various forms of damage came in. All of Montgomery's work, nearly two years of construction, was being undone. His 'bairn' was hurt,
but not crippled. Not by a long shot. All in all, the damage seemed manageable and within acceptable levels. This came as a great surprise to everyone, considering the circumstances and the pounding they took. It was a real testament to the new ship's durability and the effectiveness of the new defense systems.
"Bailey, are we being followed?" Sulu was almost sure what the answer would be.
The science officer was almost apologetic. "'Fraid so, Admiral; check tactical plot."
"Tactical plot on main viewer," Sulu said.
Leslie tapped the appropriate controls and the large screen changed over smoothly to the distinctive image of the tactical image. The view was frightening. Nearly every Romulan ship, loyalist or revisionist, was in hot pursuit.
"How are they tracking us?" Asked Stiles.
"Maybe they aren't," offered Chekov. "Maybe they're chust taking the most logical course back to the neutral zone."
"Very well, helm; let's see if we can shake off our pursuers." Sulu settled deeply into the command chair, almost wishing he could change places with Leslie for a game of 'fox and hounds.'
"Aye, sir!" The helmsman was glad to be given some change of pace. Other than getting Enterprise out of the Romulan orbit and through the various ships in orbit, he'd had little 'creative' work to do since leaving Earth.
"Go to warp seven, course, two-three-oh, mark nine." Sulu's extensive experience with the helm gave him an incredible insight for just such a situation. "In five minutes, make warp seven point five and alter course to one-nine-five, mark two. Mister Bailey, see how our friends react to that. Viewer normal, Mister Leslie, reverse angle and full mag."
While Leslie changed the viewer, Stiles busied himself with the course changes. All three men acknowledged the orders with an, "Aye, sir."
Drumming absently on his armrest, Sulu waited for an appropriate time before asking, "How about it, David?"
"They seem to be hanging with us, sir. Some of the slower ships are dropping behind, but they're all matching our course changes, so far."
M'Ress purred gently, then spoke, "Admiral, I'm getting a series of signals from the Romulans. Not all if it makes sense, but it seems they know where we are. Also, the Romulan Senate assembled in a special emergency session after our 'appearance' and has offered a reward for our capture or destruction. The officer that gets us is the next preator!"
"Talk about incentive!" Chekov stood and approached Sulu. "Do ve try to make a stand?"
"No!" Answered a familiar voice. Ambassador Spock stood absolutely still with his familiar poker face in place. "That would violate the terms agreed to by Admiral Walking Bear and the Diplomatic Corps as well." Then, after a breath, he continued. "Besides, the odds of surviving such an undertaking would be astronomical, at best. After going to such trouble to rescue the captives, it would be illogical to risk losing them again, would it not?"
Chekov looked embarrassed. He had not seen the arrival of Spock and tried to explain his line of thinking. "I was going to suggest a hit and run effort in an attempt to mask a course change or other such tactic; anything to give us a better chance of evading all those ships."
"Understood, Captain; regardless, it is not acceptable under the original terms of the agreement."
"Agreed," Sulu said. "It is nice to have you back aboard, sir. I trust you will share some details of your experience on Romulus at a later time." He looked beyond Spock, "Where is Commander Saavik?"
"Sickbay, Admiral; she sustained a head injury and I felt it would be wise to have the good doctor check her condition. In addition, she is having her Romulan prosthetics removed." Spock surveyed the bridge quickly, "I was under the impression that Admiral Kirk was here."
Swallowing hard, Sulu related the disturbing news. "Doctor McCoy just took him to sickbay. He was evidently suffering some delayed after effects of long term stasis and other complications."
Even Spock's extensive training and discipline could not mask the concern for his closest friend. "Understood, should you require my services, I will be in sickbay." He turned to leave and added, "Thank you for waiting to recover Commander Saavik and myself, Admiral."
"Glad to be of service, Ambassador." Sulu found himself smiling, mostly from relief. At least Spock didn't chew him out for disobeying orders. Anyway, it was not the time to inform him of the brief battle which had already transpired with the Romulans. There would be plenty of time for a full report later.
On Spock's way out, Koord confronted the Vulcan, "Good to have you back, 'Gunner.' "
Bowing slightly, Spock returned the greeting. "It is good to see you, General." He turned and entered the turbolift.
As Spock stepped in, Kevin Riley stepped out with a tricorder in hand. "Hikaru... I mean, Admiral, sir, I've got a complete list of all damages and the repairs being carried out. Also, there's a list of priorities for power restoration. Scotty already restored power to the turbolifts and sickbay." Riley handed the tricorder to Sulu for review.
Sulu scanned the reports with a half-interested look.
Riley picked up on the dark mood which was hanging over the bridge. "What's wrong? We're on our way home, hostages recovered, Spock and Saavik safe, what more could you ask for?"
Looking at Riley's grin and sparkle in his eyes, Sulu pointed to the main viewer with the index finger of his left hand.
Kevin followed the indicated direction and almost choked at the sight. "Holy smoke! Are they tracking us?"
"Yes," said Chekov sullenly, "And ve're not going to turn and fight, Ambassador Spock's orders... and I agree."
Eying the viewer again, Kevin commented, "Wow, that is a problem."
Hikaru started to find humor in his old friend's reaction. "I'm open for a useful suggestion, if you have one, Lieutenant."
Blushing, the Irishman apologized. "Sorry, Su --" He caught himself and corrected his protocol. "Sorry, sir, how are they tracking us?"
Shrugging, Sulu began thinking out loud, using his old friend as a sounding board. "Beats me, the silent stalker is working just fine, but either they can see through it or we're leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow." He turned his attention to the science station. "Mister Bailey, give me an idea of what we are up against, will you?"
"Yes, sir, actually, it would be easier to tell you what's not after us. Most of the Romulan fleet is keeping pace with us and a few ships are gaining slowly at warp seven point eight. Most of the slower ships have fallen behind but they're still in pursuit. Closest group is about half million kilometers behind us. Of course, I'm hoping they don't have any cloaked ships. If there are, they might be closer. By the way, one of the ships in pursuit is the K'Chor'da, which brings the total to 122 ships."
Koord walked over to the science station, "Are you sure about the K'Chor'da?"
Bailey looked up at the Klingon, "No doubt about it, sir." He adjusted the viewer so the old Klingon could see for himself.
After looking, Koord shook his head in dismay. "It's bad enough that Romulans pursue us, but to use one of our ships and our people, that's unacceptable!"
Sulu smiled at the general's use of the words 'our ship.' Not long ago, the crew of the old Enterprise might have been in battle with Koord. "General, got any ideas about our predicament?" He was only half-serious, but what the hell, maybe the old fox had a few aces up his sleeves.
Staring at the main viewer displaying the Romulan ships, Koord spoke in a firm voice. "I think Kirk's idea is still the best, creating a screen or diversion. But we need a bigger one this time. May I suggest the K'Chor'da? If you can detonate her engines, then you'll have a diversion!"
Sulu was almost half tempted. "I'm sorry, sir, but the ambassador has forbidden us to fire on ships."
"But it's a Klingon ship!" Kord protested, "I will authorize the attack!"
"Sorry, General, I hope you understand." Sulu wasn't even sure if he understood himself.
Kevin was still standing next to Sulu and had a strange look on his face. "Admiral, what if we use our own engines?"
Everyone got quiet on that one.
"Haf you been into Scotty's five hundred year old Scotch, Kevin?" Chekov was dead serious, but the result of the question was immediate laughter, even from Koord and Sulu.
"I'm serious!" Riley continued, "We don't need our shuttle complement, do we? If we send out a few with engines rigged to detonate, we could create a pretty good diversion."
The duty engineer on the bridge, Beth Palmer, literally jumped out of her seat. "Why not all of the shuttles? They're no good to us. We could really give the Romulans a surprise."
DeSalle spoke after remaining quiet for too long. His current assignment was the Academy, but his first love was engineering. "Kevin's idea is sound. We can set the engines for a matter-antimatter explosion, then detonate the shuttles right in the Romulan's path. Not only would the detonation scramble their sensors, but the resulting zone of radiation would force them to take an out of the way route to continue their pursuit of us."
Chekov was still standing next to Sulu. "Sounds great, how about it, Admiral?"
Sulu had to admit, their survival was paramount at this point. "Okay, Kevin, how many people will you need?"
"Scotty has most of the experienced engineers doing repairs. But, if I can use some of the 'B' shift personnel and your first officer, plus a few others, I can do it in less than an hour!" Kevin's unlimited energy had built up to a peak and his voice reflected his excitement.
"Okay, Kevin, take whoever you need and be sure to inform Mister Scott. He may be able to spare a few hands to help you. In any case, he should know what we're up to."
Kevin patted Sulu on the back and proceeded to gather his team.
The admiral was almost relieved as Kevin left. He wasn't sure if the feeling came from Kevin's departure or a possible solution to their ongoing problem with the Romulans. He heaved a sigh and addressed the navigator and helmsmen. "What do you say we lead the Romulans on a merry chase while Kevin works his magic? New course, two-six-oh, mark ten; speed, warp eight."
Stiles and Leslie snapped into action, "Aye, sir!"
In sickbay, McCoy and Tavar were working feverishly on Kirk. Most of his vital signs were weak and even with the doses of hyronalin and triox, his breathing was labored and his heartbeat was weak.
Tavar was going over his theories and observations as he and McCoy worked. "Leonard, I think cardiopulmonary should take a priority if we can stabilize his heart, he should be okay. I found the same problem with Rameriz, remember? Since we don't have any complications with injuries, the internal healing mechanisms should be able to help us."
McCoy was still blaming himself. "I should have seen this coming, Tavar. If I had not let him enjoy the 'coming home' process, this would not be happening. I thought seeing his old friends would give him a boost from the bad news..."
Glaring at his colleague, Tavar spoke frankly. "Nonsense, Doctor. This was inevitable. The danger involved in his escape and the excitement of his return kept the adrenaline going. It's probably the reason he survived on Romulus. Remember, I didn't think the captives would even survive a beam-up outside of stasis. In just the last few hours we've learned so much from Rameriz, even if it came the hard way. I think Kirk has an excellent chance."
McCoy looked up as Spock entered the outer room of the O.R. and stood next to Uhura. Returning to his work on Jim, the surgeon spoke quietly. "Nice to see you again, Spock; Saavik will be just fine. Chapel finished with the Romulan make-up and is keeping her for observation, only."
Spock activated the intercom next to him and responded to McCoy's words. "Thank you, Doctor. Do you have any similar news concerning the Admiral?"
Shaking his head, McCoy explained, "Not yet, we're still trying to determine the extent of all the problems. Thanks for all you did to bring him back to us. I'm a little busy right now, but I will call you as soon as I know anything, all right?"
The Vulcan diplomat knew he was distracting the surgeon at a bad time and took the hint graciously, "Understood, Doctor." He tabbed off the intercom and left the outer room of the O.R.
The next time McCoy looked up, Spock was gone and Chapel stood in his place, next to Uhura. Their faces were masks of dual emotions showing hope and fear. 'Probably an appropriate combination,' thought McCoy.
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© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
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