AN: Hello, everyone! So, I want to re-iterate one more time: I love this movie. It's a great adventure with some awesome moments and a kick-ass villain. But, like every film, it's not perfect, and I don't expect it to be, but I often think about how movies I love (or hate) could have been different. Writing is a really fun way for me to express that, so, without further ado, here's my version of Star Trek: Into Darkness.
NIBIRU
CLASS M PLANET
It was anything but a peaceful day on Nibiru. This was different from normal, as by Starfleet records, the planet was still in the very early stages of development. The completely white-skinned, black-eyed natives were about on the same level as tribal humans; their population existing as a small group, but steadily increasing. The tribe lived in a large, pyramid-shaped structure woven together out of red wood and vines. The environment surrounding the structure was a dense forest made of this plant life, with three paths going outward into it from the natives' home, while a giant lake was spread underneath it. The lake led back to an enormous volcano, which was currently billowing smoke and pieces of lava. This was the largest threat that Nibiru had ever faced, and if the volcano erupted, all hope of the civilization's evolution would be obliterated in seconds.
Life is rarely so simple.
A figure wrapped head-to-toe in blue robes ran out of the natives' home structure as fast as he could, carrying a small object that was shaped like a scroll, but more elegant in its design and decoration. The figure ran with good reason, as moments after he made it outside, a cry in the native's language was sent up, and the entire tribe was after him. He ran down one of the paths until it became overgrown, transitioning into the red forest, and he found himself weaving around trees as he moved deeper into the dense woods. Behind him, the tribe followed, wrapped in yellow robes and gathering spears into their hands as this stranger ran away with their most precious object.
The blue-robed figured eventually reached the clearing he had been heading towards, only to double back in shock at what he saw. An enormous alien creature turned and roared at him, baring its sharp, long teeth, and standing itself up on its four feet to raise a clawed paw towards the figure. Before it got the chance to land a hit, the robed figure pulled out a phaser from inside his robes and fired it into the creature's chest. A flash of blue light spread across the beast's chest and it stumbled back, before slumping to the ground, unconscious. When the creature fell, another blue-robed figure came into view behind it.
"Damn it, man!" The new figure cried, pulling away the robes around his face to reveal the scowling face of Dr. Leonard McCoy. "That was our ride! You just stunned our ride!"
The first man pulled his own robes away as well, revealing the confused face of Captain James Kirk. "You said you were getting us something small and non-threatening!"
"Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find anything friendly!" McCoy shot back.
The native's yell rang through the forest again, causing the two Starfleet officers to look back into the tangled red vegetation.
"Yeah, that's a common problem." Kirk muttered, before taking off running into the red forest.
McCoy looked beyond him for a second before the natives came into view, and after a terrified look, he followed his friend. The natives kept up with them, still yelling after the two strangers.
"What the hell did you take?" McCoy yelled after Kirk as they ran down a small hill, continuing down the entangled path.
"I have no idea, but they were bowing to it!" Kirk replied, glancing back to see how close their pursuers were as he pulled his communicator out from another fold in his robes. "Kirk to Shuttle One, locals are out of the kill zone, you're clear!" He yelled into it. "Repeat, Spock, get in there, neutralize the volcano, and let's get out of here!"
Kirk and McCoy continued to run, managing to stay ahead of Nibiru's natives for the time being, but the locals had other ideas. Spears started flying through the air, bouncing off of trees or sticking into the ground, all narrowly missing the two.
"They're trying to kill us!" McCoy yelled at his friend in panic, before a spear flew inches over his head. "They're trying to kill us, Jim!"
The shuttle Kirk had been calling was currently flying inside of the volcano, the interference of the ash cloud pitching it through the air while Hikaru Sulu tried to stay in control at the pilot's chair. This was normally an easy job for him, but these weren't normal conditions.
"We have to do this now!" Sulu said, standing up from the pilot's chair and running back into the shuttle's main bay. "I told the captain this ship wasn't meant for this kind of heat!"
The other two people in the shuttle were busy, as Nyota Uhura was finishing the process of placing Spock inside of a heavily armoured, red suit. The suit was designed to withstand extreme heat, and both of them hoped that it would stand up to these conditions, which had never been truly tested.
"Captain." Spock said into the comm, his voice as neutral as usual. "Did the indigenous population see you?"
"No, Mr. Spock, they did not!" Kirk replied.
"The Prime Directive clearly states that there can be no interference with the internal development of the alien civilization." Spock went on, Uhura laughing while she checked the armour.
"I know what it says!" Kirk said. "That's why I'm running through the forest wearing a disguise! Now, drop off your super ice cube, and let's go! Kirk out!" He finished, deciding to focus on running faster.
"You're good." Uhura told Spock, snapping the last piece into place. Spock nodded, kneeling down and opening the cold fusion device to prepare it for detonation.
"If we're going to do this, we have to do it now!" Sulu repeated warningly, taking his place in the pilot's chair once again. "This ash is killing our coils."
"Are you sure you don't want me to go instead?" Uhura asked Spock, as she placed the suit's helmet over his head, and heard it click into place.
Spock gave her a quizzical look through the helmet's open glass faceplate. "That would be highly illogical, as I am already outfitted for-"
"Spock, I was kidding." Uhura interrupted, leaning up and kissing the glass. "You got this." She said reassuringly, smiling up at him.
"Guys, maybe you're not hearing me!" Sulu called, looking back at them. "We have to go, now!"
"I'll see you in ninety seconds." Uhura said to Spock, before turning and running to the cockpit, clearing the shuttle's bay for the approaching drop-off. The door to the cockpit slid closed and locked behind her, while Spock grabbed a cable descending from the ceiling and attached its end to his armour, where it clicked and locked into place.
Uhura looked back at Spock, not wanting to pull the lever that would send him down into that death zone, but at Sulu's repeated urging she pushed the silver bar upwards.
The shuttle's drop bay door opened, sending Spock downward while ash and fire filled the shuttle's cabin. The bay door slammed shut, only allowing room for the cable connected to Spock to stay in connected.
Uhura leaned back in her chair, repeating her hopes that the plan would go accordingly.
Spock plummeted downward into the centre of the volcano, still able to feel the heat through his armour's protective shell. He swung back and forth on the cable as he came down through the ash cloud, the bubbling lava becoming visible.
Up above him, the shuttle continued to spin in the air, but now one of its engines was burning too hot, causing flames to start to spread across the end of the wing. A small red alert appeared on one of the screens in front of Sulu, and he read "Engine Overheating". Beside him, Uhura watched the depth sensor on Spock's armour steadily drop several feet per second.
"We can't hold this position!" Sulu warned, speaking into the comms. "Spock, we've got to pull you back up!"
"Negative!" Spock replied. "This is our only chance to save this species! If this volcano erupts, this planet dies!"
His complaints were cut short as the damaged engine exploded, sending a wave of fire across the underside of the shuttle, and jarring it wildly to the side.
"We need to pull him back up." Sulu said to Uhura. When she hesitated, he yelled. "NOW!"
Uhura pulled a switch above her head downward, and just before Spock touched down on a large piece of rock jutting upward, the cable yanked him back up into the air. But as the shuttle flew with full power upwards out of the volcano, the strain and the fire underneath it caused the cable to snap. Spock grunted as the force hit him, and he fell several feet downwards, smashing into another large outcropping of rack. The armour took the brunt of the landing, but Spock still felt the jarring impact. He rolled across the rock, the cold fusion device disconnecting from his armour and clattering away. Luckily, it stopped before fell into the lava.
"Spock! Are you okay?" Uhura yelled into the comm.
Spock slowly got to his feet, looking around him as the lava's bubbling steadily increased, the sound of it and the wind dulled but still roaring. "I am, surprisingly, alive." He saw the cold fusion device, and began to make his way towards it. "Stand by."
"We have to get him back." Uhura said to Sulu, while the shuttle still ascended. "I'll suit up, I'm going to go down." She undid her safety belt, and started to stand up.
"We have to abandon the shuttle." Sulu cut her off.
"We can't just leave him, Sulu!" Uhura exclaimed.
"We don't have a choice!" Sulu replied. "Uhura, I'm sorry."
"Spock!" Uhura said into the comms. "We're going back to the Enterprise. We'll get you out of there!"
Sulu set the autopilot and ran to the shuttle's main bay, speaking into the comms that Kirk received. "Captain, I'm abandoning the shuttle. You've got to make it to the Enterprise on your own." As he spoke, he pulled off his uniform, leaving him dressed in a blue and yellow wetsuit.
"Wonderful." Kirk's sarcastic reply crackled.
Sulu turned back to the shuttle's cockpit, where Uhura came into view, wearing a similar, but red, wetsuit, and fixing a breathing mask to her shoulder. "Uhura, you ready to swim?" He asked her.
"I'm ready." Uhura nodded.
Kirk and McCoy were still running through the forest, pushing red branches away from their faces as strange, alien plants squelched shut around their path. The natives were still shouting behind them, but the Starfleet officers were staying ahead of them.
"Jim!" McCoy yelled, remembering the route they had taken. "Jim, the beach is that way!"
"I know! The plan's changed, we're not going to the beach!" Jim yelled back. As they ran by a tree, he put the artifact he had stolen on a branch, and a long strip of paper rolled out. It was covered in alien symbols and language, clearly the centre of the native's worship.
"No, no, no!" McCoy yelled, but he received no response.
Behind them, the natives reached the paper, falling to their knees and resumed their bowing, forgetting about their quarry instantly.
"I hate this!" McCoy yelled.
"I know you do!" Kirk replied.
The two of them reached the edge of the forest, which led to a cliff face. The change of plans was unexpected and undesirable, but they still threw themselves over the edge, screaming the whole way down. When they splashed into the water, they quickly shed their blue robes, leaving them in matching wetsuits. Small turbines in their boots propelled them forward as they attached breathing masks over their faces. The turbines sent them speeding through the water towards the enormous silver spaceship that was resting, close to their diving point. Even though it was hiding from the local's sights, the U.S.S. Enterprise's lights lit up the ocean, glowing and flashing, while its engine let out a steady, quiet hum. Kirk and McCoy approached the outer hull, where a small section opened, allowing them to enter the ship via an airlock. The water was extracted from the circular room, letting Kirk and McCoy slowly find their footing. They threw their breathing masks to the floor as the door into the hallway outside opened, revealing an irritated-looking Montgomery Scott.
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous it is to hide a spaceship on the bottom of the ocean?" He asked, the tone in his Scottish accent reinforcing his annoyance. "We've been down here since last night! The saltwater's going to ruin the-"
"Scotty!" Kirk interrupted, shaking some dripping water out of his face. "Where's Spock?"
"Still in the volcano, sir." Scotty answered.
Kirk sighed, and he and McCoy ran out of the airlock, followed by Scotty.
Back inside the volcano, Spock had reached the cold fusion device. He clicked it open, and was very grateful to find that its displays lit up, meaning it was intact. He quickly pulled out the device's remote detonator, clicking a few buttons to initiate the detonation sequence. The device hummed to life, glowing blue.
But a loud groan distracted Spock, and he looked up slowly at the lava. An enormous wave was rising into the sky, and after a few seconds it exploded upwards, sending giant chunks of lava outwards. The force of the explosion sent Spock stumbling back. The lava chunks burned down the sides of the mountain, one of them smashing into the native's home structure, blowing it to pieces. The natives watched this in the woods, yelling and running further away, while the tribe's elder stood still, staring ahead in shock.
Kirk and McCoy ran towards the door to the bridge, which slid open, revealing the brightly lit, circular white room, filled with the familiar, almost comforting electronic noises of the various consoles. But the crew was hardly in a relaxed mood. All members were busy at their stations, monitoring the mission that was still going on, while Sulu had taken his place at the pilot's chair, and Uhura at the comms.
"Captain on the bridge!" Pavel Chekov's young, Russian voice rang out.
Kirk stopped at the console between Chekov and Sulu, McCoy standing next to him. "Lieutenant!" He called over to Uhura, who rose to her feet. "Do we have an open channel to Mr. Spock?"
"The heat's frying his comms, but we still have contact." Uhura answered, appearing to be on the verge of tears.
Kirk nodded, turning away and pressing a switch on the console. "Spock?' He called into it.
"I have activated the device, Captain." Spock's crackling, but still neutral, voice reported. "When the countdown is complete, the reaction should render the volcano inert."
"It's going to render him inert." McCoy muttered, as the crew looked at a display of the volcano on the bridge's main screen, showing that Spock was still trapped at the bottom.
"Do we have use of the transporters?" Kirk asked Chekov.
"Negative, sir." Sulu cut in.
"Not in this magnetic field." Chekov clarified.
Scotty was standing in front of the bridge's main screen, and started when an enormous fish swam by. He started to point it out to the Captain to reinforce his point, but decided it was better to leave it alone.
"I need to beam Spock back to the ship, give me one way to do it." Kirk demanded.
"It's an issue of proximity as well, sir." Chekov replied. "Maybe if we had a more direct line of sight-"
"Hold on, wee man, you're talking about an active volcano!" Scotty cut him off. "Sir, if that thing erupts, I cannot guarantee that we can withstand the heat!"
"I don't know if we can maintain that kind of altitude." Sulu added.
Kirk breathed heavily, trying to think of a solution.
"Our shuttle was concealed by the ash cloud, but the Enterprise is too large." Spock's voice said through the comms. "If utilized in a rescue effort, it would be revealed to the indigenous species."
Uhura rolled her eyes.
"Spock, nobody knows the rules better than you, but there has to be a way!" Kirk replied, now leaning over the console. "There has got to be an exception!"
"None." Spock replied. "Such action violates the Prime Directive."
"Shut up, Spock!" McCoy exclaimed, annoyed. "We're trying to save you, damn it!"
"Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
"Spock, we're talking about your life!" Kirk yelled.
"The rule cannot be broken-" Was all that came through the comms before Spock's voice faded away to static. Uhura held a hand to her mouth, beginning to panic.
"Spock!" Kirk yelled into the console again, before turning to Uhura."Try to get him back online." He ordered her.
Uhura nodded, running to her console. As soon as she sat down, she started pulling every switch, turning every knob, using every trick she knew to try to regain communications with Spock. She was not going to lose him here.
"Ninety seconds to detonation." Chekov reported nervously.
Kirk stood back up, sighing and staring ahead at the screen. The bridge was silent, except for the regular whirring and beeping, as Kirk stared at the red dot indicating the half-human, half-Vulcan. Every plan seemed impossible, and there seemed to be only one option left.
"If Spock was here, and I was there, what would he do?" Kirk asked McCoy.
"He'd let you die." McCoy answered.
Kirk nodded. It was time to make a decision.
Inside the volcano, Spock looked around him, watching as the lava started to bubble higher and higher. Eventually, he realized that there was no way out of this. Logically, he would die here, now. Spock closed his eyes, falling to his knees and holding his arms outwards, waiting for it all to end.
The natives were bowing before their elder, who held their holy scroll in the air. They all prayed in unison, hoping to avoid the death that their mountain was spewing down at them. But suddenly, an enormous sound, unrecognizable to them, filled the air, causing them to pause, and the elder turning to stare in the direction where the noise was originating. The tribe slowly got to their feet and made their way to the cliff face, seeing that the ocean was bubbling strangely. They saw the reason seconds after, as an enormous silver shape lifted slowly out of the water. The natives stared in wonder at this strange sight, none of them having any idea what it really was. Water falling away from the emerging shape splashed against them, but they stood their ground, completely bewildered and entranced. The blue lights and flashing of the engines seemed to be the sounds of a disturbed god.
On the Enterprise's bridge, Kirk and McCoy stared at the counter on the cold fusion device's detonation counted down from ten seconds.
Spock wasn't paying attention as the white light trails of beaming spun around him, increasing gradually, causing him to disappear from where he was kneeling.
The cold fusion device finished its countdown and beeped twice before detonating. It sent a wave of energy outward, stopping plumes of lava from flying up into the air by solidifying them into solid, frozen stone. The smoke kept pouring out of the volcano's mouth, but the danger was past. The Enterprise sped away from the neutralized mountain, the engines leaving twin trails of blue light in the sky.
The white trails of light spun away from Spock's body gradually, and he opened his eyes, looking confused at the sight of the beaming deck. He slowly got to his feet, smoke still emanating off his red armour.
Kirk and McCoy ran into the room, Kirk excitedly yelling "Spock! You all right?"
"Captain, you let them see our ship." Spock said.
McCoy rolled his eyes. "He's fine."
The comms to the room beeped, and Uhura's voice came through. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."
"Yes, Lieutenant?" Kirk asked.
"Is Commander Spock on-board, sir?" Uhura asked, slightly nervous.
"Safely and soundly." Kirk answered.
At her station, Uhura sighed in relief. "Please notify him that his device has successfully detonated." She sat back, pulling off her earpiece and lightly tossing it onto her console, sighing again and rubbing her eyes.
"You hear that?" Kirk asked. "Congratulations, Spock. You saved the world."
"You violated the Prime Directive." Spock stated, still trying to get his point across.
"Oh, come on, Spock." Kirk rolled his eyes. "So they saw us. Big deal."
Back on the surface of Nibiru, the natives were crowded in a circle around the elder, who was tracing a shape into the dirt with his staff. One of them dropped their ceremonial scroll, and they all rose to their feet to praise their new god. The image of that strange, silver spirit who had risen from the ocean and saved them from the volcano's eruption, before disappearing into the sky was now in their minds forever.
As the tribe took up a celebratory chant, the elder finished his rendition of the Enterprise.
The Enterprise had cleared Nibiru's atmosphere and was now readily speeding through space. Eventually, when all was ready, the twin thrusters lit up, the engine's hum grew louder, and the ship snapped forward into warp speed, leaving trails of light that slowly faded away into small blue particles in space.
Off to the next adventure.
EARTH
LONDON
STARDATE 2259.55
Thomas Harewood rolled over and clicked it off his beeping alarm clock, at his usual waking time of five o'clock in the morning. His enormous dog ran into his bedroom, jumping up onto the bed and walking around on top of him and his wife, Rima. Thomas pulled the sheets off of himself and got up to face the day, the dog lying down on top of Rima. She petted the large animal's head, trying to distract herself from what the day might bring.
Both she and her husband had a feeling it wouldn't be good.
Thomas and Rima shared a car ride away from the centre of the city, where their apartment was located, out into the country. The only sound was the low humming of the car's engine as it kept them off of the ground and kept them moving forward. Eventually they arrived at the large, almost castle-like Royal Children's Hospital, bracing themselves as usual when they entered.
They met up with the doctor thy had been looking for rather quickly, dispensing with the pleasantries as doctors and nurses moved around them, along with patients being rolled by. The Harewoods' bad predictions had been correct.
They entered their daughter's room together, slowly walking towards the bed. Lucille Harewood appeared to be sleeping, but her clammy skin and loss of hair gave away a much worse condition. Rima carefully replaced the stuffed animal that was against her daughter's shoulder with one that she had brought, tearfully noting to herself that the last animal hadn't moved.
Rima leaned in to kiss her daughter's forehead, but broke down crying, gripping her hand. Lucille had run out of time and options. Thomas stood at the foot of the bed, staring at his wife and daughter, tears slowly forming in his eyes.
Thomas couldn't stay in there for long, so he excused himself with the excuse for needing some air, walking to one of the balconies outside of the hospital. A million thoughts were running through his head as he walked over the ornate brickwork and stopped at the edge, holding himself up and breathing heavily over. He didn't want to lose control here, but he felt like he might.
"And even if I did, who would judge me?" Thomas thought. "Who could possibly judge a father who was about to lose a daughter? Who had the right to-"
"I can save her."
The deep voice pierced through Thomas's thoughts, and so he turned to its source, a tall, pale man with an angular face and deep blue eyes. The man was staring at him, the breeze lightly moving his long, black hair.
"What did you say?" Thomas asked, confused.
"Your daughter." The strange man replied. "I can save her."
"Who are you?" Thomas asked, still hesitant, but now slightly hopeful.
The man smiled.
SAN FRANCISCO
Music was blaring through Kirk's apartment. Discarded glasses and clothes were scattered around, but still resembling a trail leading to his bed. At the beeping sound of a communicator, Kirk jumped out from between the writhing sheets grabbing around for it.
A girl in pink underwear rose up from the sheets as well. "Jim, just let it go!" She complained.
Another girl sat up as well, matching the other in every way, from their faces to their tails. "You're not actually going to answer that, are you?" She asked.
A shuttle flew by Starfleet Headquarters, while multiple uniformed officers stood around conversing. The enormous buildings spread across the large spread of land, while Spock and Kirk strolled towards the main offices.
"Spock, I'm telling you." Kirk was saying. "This is why he called, I can feel it."
"Your feeling aside, I consider it highly unlikely that we will be selected for the new program." Spock replied.
"Why else would Pike want to see us?" Kirk asked, confused. "I mean, forget about seniority, they gave us the newest ship in the fleet. Who else are they going to send out?"
"I can think of numerous possibilities-" Spock started.
"A five year mission, Spock!" Kirk exclaimed, abandoning his pattern of walking for a sort of excited dance and patting the Vulcan's chest. "That's deep space, that's uncharted territory! Think of how incredible that's going to be!" As they passed by a pair of women, Kirk winked at them. "Hey ladies, Jim Kirk." He smiled.
Spock had no reaction, continuing to walk normally.
"Uneventful." Pike said.
"Admiral?" Kirk asked, confused.
"That's the way you described the survey of Nibiru in your captain's log." Pike clarified, tossing the file down on his desk.
"Oh, yes sir." Kirk replied. "I didn't want to waste your time going over the details of-"
"Yeah, tell me more about this volcano." Pike interrupted. "Our data says it was highly volatile, and if it were to erupt, it would wipe out the planet."
"Well, let's hope it doesn't, sir." Kirk said, avoiding Pike's eyes.
"Something tells me it won't." Pike nodded.
There were a few seconds of silence in the office. Spock looked over at his captain, realizing where the conversation was going.
"Uh, sir, volatile is all relative." Kirk said, quickly trying to come up with an excuse. "Maybe our data was off?"
"Or maybe it didn't erupt because Mr. Spock detonated a cold fusion device inside it." Pike said.
Kirk's eyes flicked to the Admiral in confusion.
"Right after a civilization that's barely invented the wheel happened to see a starship rising out of their ocean." Pike continued, gesturing at Spock. "That is pretty much how you'd describe it, is it not?"
Kirk looked over at Spock, realizing what had happened.
"Admiral, I-" Spock started.
"You filed a report?" Kirk interrupted incredulously. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I incorrectly assumed that you would be truthful in your captain's log." Spock explained.
"I would have been if I didn't have to save your life!" Kirk shot back.
"A fact for which I am immeasurably grateful, and the very reason I felt it necessary to take responsibility for-"
"Take responsibility, yeah." Kirk laughed to himself. "That'd be very noble, Pointy, if you weren't also throwing me under the bus."
"Pointy?" Spock asked, confused. "Is that a derogatory reference to-"
"Gentlemen." Pike interrupted, standing up with the help of his cane. He slowly made his way from behind his desk. "Starfleet's mandate is to explore and to observe, not to interfere."
"Had the mission gone according to plan, Admiral, the indigenous species would never have been aware of our interference." Spock said.
"That's a technicality." Pike responded, stopping his limping walk in front of the Vulcan.
"I am Vulcan, sir, we embrace technicality." Spock replied.
"Are you giving me attitude, Spock?" Pie asked, now sounding irritated.
"I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously, sir. To which are you referring?" Spock asked, with the smallest hint of sarcasm.
"Out." Pike said. When Spock didn't move, he clarified. "You're dismissed, Commander."
Spock paused, looking to Kirk for a response, but Kirk kept looking ahead, avoiding his eyes. Spock turned and left the office, the automatic door sliding closed behind him.
"Do you have any idea what a pain in the ass you are?" Pike asked the young captain.
"I think so, sir." Kirk answered.
"So, tell me what you did wrong." Pike continued. "What's the lesson to be learned here?"
"Never trust a Vulcan." Kirk replied.
"No, see, you can't even answer the question." Pike sighed. "You lied on an official report. You think that the rules don't apply to you because you disagree with them."
"That's why you talked me into signing up in the first place." Kirk said. "That's why you gave me your ship."
"I gave you my ship because I saw greatness in you." Pike replied. "And now, I see that you haven't got an ounce of humility."
"What was I supposed to do?" Kirk asked, turning to face the admiral. "Let Spock die?"
"You're missing the point-" Pike started.
"I don't think I am!" Kirk cut him off. "Sir, what would you have done?"
"I wouldn't have risked my First Officer's life in the first place!" Pike shot back. "You were supposed to survey a planet, not alter its destiny! You violated a dozen Starfleet regulations, and almost got everyone under your command killed."
"Except I didn't!" Kirk exclaimed. "Do you know how many crew members I've lost since I became captain? Not one!"
"That's your problem!" Pike interjected. "You think you're infallible, you think you can't make mistakes. It's a pattern with you! That rules are for other people!"
"Some should be!" Kirk replied.
"And what's worse is you're using blind luck to justify you playing God!" Pike continued.
Kirk stopped complaining, looking to the ground. He knew that Pike was right, he just didn't want to admit it.
"Given the circumstances, this has been brought to Admiral Marcus' attention." Pike went on, his voice quieter. "He convened a special tribunal to which I was not invited. You understand what Starfleet regulations mandate be done at this point."
Kirk looked back up at Pike, his expression slowly changing from concern to shock.
"They've taken the Enterprise away from you." Pike said, almost regretfully. "And they're sending you back to the Academy."
Kirk didn't know what to say, the news had hit him so deep. After a few seconds of staring at Pike and hoping it wasn't true, he found his voice again. "Admiral, listen-" He started.
"No, I'm not going to listen." Pike interrupted, and continued as Kirk tried to make excuses, Pike slowly raising his voice over Kirk's. "Why should I listen? You don't listen to anyone but yourself!"
"Every decision I've made has been to-" Kirk tried to say.
"No! I can't listen!" Pike cut him off. "You don't comply with the rules. You don't take responsibility for anything, and you don't respect the chair."
The look on Kirk's face now was just one of defeat.
"You know why?" Pike asked. "Because you're not ready for it."
LONDON
The multiple skyscrapers of the city stabbed upwards into the sky, seemingly unrecognizable from each other. In one of the building's apartments, the strange man from the Royal Children's Hospital was examining a series of machines littered around the small apartment he was currently occupying. Red liquid was pouring out of a small machine into a small glass vial. When it stopped, the man picked it up, spinning in his chair. He slowly placed the vial into a small case, and then grabbed a ring, placing that inside the case beside it.
THE ROYAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Thomas Harewood was standing over Lucille's bed as he pulled the vial of red liquid out of the case, looking at it sceptically. He held the vial up to the machine that regulated the medicines into his daughter's body, hesitating for a second before pushing the vial into an open slot. The red liquid slowly drained out of the vial, and he watched it seep into one of Lucille's IV glasses, the clear liquid becoming stained red. While he did all of this, his wife slept on the couch on the far side of the room.
Thomas turned to look at the wall-sized screen displaying all of his daughter's vitals. He smiled in relief as all of the red signals turned green, her heartbeat rising to a normal level, and her blood pressure leveling out.
"It worked." Thomas thought. "It actually worked. Forgive me."
His relief was short-lived. He leaned down over Lucille and placed a long kiss on her forehead. He had saved her, but now it was time for him to uphold his end of the deal with the strange man. He wanted to apologize to his wife, and his daughter, but there wasn't time.
Now, he had work to do.
Thomas held the case that the man had given him tightly in his hand as he walked down a busy London street, stopping outside the Kelvin Memorial Archive, which had been named after a the first Federation starship lost to the time-travelling Romulan ship Narada. Thomas looked across the street and saw the strange man standing there, staring at him. Knowing what would happen if he didn't hold up his end of the bargain, Thomas entered the Archive.
He walked down the ornate, museum-like hallway to the elevator at the end. A facial scanning blue light glowed across his face, and the elevator attendant nodded him past. When Thomas entered the elevator, he pressed a button and felt it move downward. He removed his hat and swallowed deeply as the elevator took him further down through multiple basement levels.
The elevator doors opened to reveal an enormous underground factory, filled with people and multiple forms of machinery moving around the large halls. Thomas walked down a long stretch past forklifts and machinery sparking, now holding a glass of water. He arrived at his desk, setting the glass down and clicked multiple keys at his computer, opening a file. He clicked a few more keys, and a new window popped up.
TRANSMISSION SENT
Recipient: Admiral A. Marcus
Thomas stared at the window for a moment, enjoying his final defiant action against the man forcing him to do this, before going on to finish his job. Tears rolled down his cheek as he stared at the glass of water, pulling the ring that the man had given him. He tentatively dropped the ring into the water, where it bubbled and started to fizz and hiss.
There was a click, and the ring exploded outward, erupting into an enormous fireball that expanded around the entire factory and upwards, consuming the whole building and all of its facilities.
The bright London day was filled with the sounds of screams and death, followed soon after by sirens of emergency vehicles arriving too late.
A round ice cube clinked down into a glass, followed closely by scotch. Kirk emptied the glass in one swig, ignoring the generic jazz music and sounds of people enjoying themselves filling the bar and focusing on his thoughts. He sighed, looking to his side. A beautiful girl was wiping down the bar, but she paused to smile at him.
Kirk smiled back, nodding to himself and looking forward again. He thought about the Enterprise for a second, but then decided that he needed a distraction. He turned back and opened his mouth to say something, but Pike sat down in front of him before he even got a sound out.
Kirk groaned, looking away, while a look from Pike sent the girl away with one of his trademark "Admiral looks", and he set his can against the bar, folding his hands together.
"How'd you find me?" Kirk asked.
"It's the farthest away of your many hiding places where you drink and think." Pike replied. "I figured you didn't want to be close to HQ right now."
"You figured right." Kirk nodded.
"You know, the first time I found you was in a dive like this." Pike said. "Remember that? You got your ass handed to you."
"No, I didn't." Kirk shook his head.
"You don't?" Pike asked.
"No, that's just not what happened."
"That was an epic beating."
"No, it wasn't."
"You had napkins hanging out of your nose." Pike said, and Kirk started to laugh. "Did you not?"
Kirk smiled at the memory. "Yeah, that was a good fight."
"A good fight." Pike nodded, before shaking his head at what Kirk had just told him. "I think that's your problem right there."
Kirk shrugged, turning to face the admiral, not really knowing how to respond.
"They gave her back to me." Pike said. "The Enterprise."
There was some silence between the men while Kirk processed the news. Not only had he lost the ship, but now Pike had been given it back. His chances of sitting in the captain's chair again were getting slimmer and slimmer.
"Congratulations." Kirk eventually said. "Watch your back with that First Officer, though." He added, pouring more scotch into his glass.
"Spock's not going to be working with me." Pike replied. "He's been transferred. U.S.S. Bradbury."
Kirk took another drink, also letting that process.
"You're going to be my First Officer." Pike told him.
Kirk looked at him, his processing clearly stopped in its tracks.
"Yeah, Marcus took some convincing." Pike continued. "But every now and then, I can make a good case."
Kirk just stared in amazement for a few seconds. "What did you tell him?" He asked.
"The truth." Pike answered. "That I believe in you. That if anybody deserves a second chance, it's Jim Kirk."
Kirk smiled, looking down at the bar, at a loss for words. "I...I don't know what to say." He said.
Pike smiled back. "That is a first. It's going to okay, son."
Kirk's relieved smile briefly twitched, looking like he was going to cry. He managed to push it back down, but the happiness and elation he was used to feeling before going out in the Enterprise had returned.
Before the conversation could continue, Pike's communicator chirped, and he pulled it out of his pocket, opening it and reading the message. "Emergency session, Daystrom." He and Kirk exchanged a look, both of them recognizing the code. "That's us."
"Yeah." Kirk nodded, sliding his glass back across the bar.
"Suit up." Pike patted Kirk's shoulder, getting up to leave.
Kirk took a moment to smile to himself again. He didn't know any way that this day could be ruined.
Night had fallen by the time Kirk arrived at Starfleet Headquarters. Pike had gone on ahead of him while Kirk changed into his uniform, and just as he entered the building, multiple officers walking around him, Spock appeared from around a corner.
"Captain." The Vulcan greeted him.
"Not anymore, Spock. First Officer." Kirk corrected, as the two of them entered an elevator, Kirk pressing the switch to make it ascend. "I was demoted, and you were re-assigned."
"It is fortunate that the consequences were not more severe." Spock noted.
"You've got to be kidding me." Kirk muttered.
"Captain, it was never my intention-" Spock started.
"Not Captain." Kirk interrupted. "I saved your life, Spock. You wrote a report, I lost my ship."
The elevator door opened and Kirk stormed out, Spock in pursuit.
"Captain, I see now that I should have alerted you to the fact that I submitted the report." Spock admitted.
"No, I'm familiar with your compulsion to follow the rules, but I can't do that!" Kirk replied, as they stopped outside of the boardroom. "Where I come from, if someone saves your life, you don't stab him in the back."
"Vulcans cannot lie." Spock pointed out.
"Then I'm talking to the half-human part of you." Kirk replied, to which he received a slight reaction from his friend. "All right? Do you understand why I went back for you?"
They were interrupted by an older, African-American man coming over to them. "Commander Spock?" The man asked. "Frank Abbott, U.S.S. Bradbury." He introduced himself. "Guess you're with me."
"Yes, Captain." Spock nodded.
Abbott nodded back, walking away to take his seat at the circular table.
Kirk sighed. "Look, the truth is...I'm going to miss you." He admitted.
Spock opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't. Kirk raised his eyebrows in expectation, hoping maybe that Spock would threaten the fabric of reality and repeat a sentiment. But after a few seconds of silence, Spock closed his mouth, saying nothing. Kirk rolled his eyes and sighed, walking away from the Vulcan.
The meeting began shortly afterwards, Admiral Marcus addressing everyone at the table.
"Thank you for convening on such short notice." Marcus began, walking around to the head of the table. "Be seated."
Everyone followed his order, looking at the screen positioned in front of their chairs.
"By now, some of you have heard what happened in London." Marcus went on, as the room's lights dimmed, bathing the assembled Starfleet officers in electronic blue light. "The target was a Starfleet data archive. Now it's a damned hole in the ground and over two hundred men and women are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet officer, who confessed to carrying out this attack, and that he was being forced to do it by this man."
On everyone's screens, the image of an angular-faced man appeared, along with several statistics and background information on the person.
"Commander John Harrison. He's one of our own." Marcus explained. "And he is the man responsible for this act of savagery. For reasons unknown, John Harrison has just declared a one-man war on Starfleet. And under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region, and in the name of those we lost, you will run this bastard down."
Pike looked up at the Admiral with mild concern.
"This is a manhunt, pure and simple, so let's get to work." Marcus continued. "Earth's perimeter sensors have not detected any warp signatures leaving the system, so we know he can't be far. You will park your ships in a blockade formation, and then deploy search vehicles and landing parties to hunt down every lead..."
Marcus's words turned to authorizing deadly force to be used on sight against Harrison faded away from Kirk's ears as he examined images from the crime scene. He examined emergency response officers helping civilians away from the debris and flames, before zooming in and moving the camera around the scene to see that Harrison had been entering a small ship. He stared at the man's image for a few seconds, thinking.
Kirk leaned over to Pike, whispering. "It doesn't add up."
"James, not now." Pike whispered back.
"It doesn't seem odd to you that he'd target an archive?" Kirk asked. "It's like bombing a library."
"Chris?" Marcus's voice rang through the room. "Everything okay there?"
"Yes, sir." Pike answered. "Mr. Kirk is just acclimating to his new position as First Officer."
"You got something to say, Kirk, say it." Marcus replied, recognizing the lie. "Tomorrow's too late."
"I'm fine, sir. My apologies." Kirk replied, all too aware of all eyes being on him.
"Spit it out, son. Don't be shy." Marcus repeated.
Kirk sighed. "Why the archive?" He asked. "All that information is public record. If he really wanted to damage Starfleet, this could just be the beginning."
"The beginning of what, Mr. Kirk?" Marcus asked.
"Sir, in the event of an attack, protocol mandates that senior command gather captains and first officers at Starfleet H.Q., right here...in this room..." Kirk trailed off, hearing a low droning noise.
"Sir, it is curious that Harrison would commandeer a jump-ship without warp capabilities-" Spock paused as the droning grew louder, all officers in the room noticing it as well.
Kirk stood up, facing the outside window, and realizing that the droning was coming from outside the boardroom. As the droning turned into the recognizable hum of a ship engine, and red lights flashed on, causing everyone to shield their eyes. But Kirk already knew what it was.
"Clear the room!" Kirk managed to yell, before the giant window smashed inward and the room was filled with green phaser blasts. Captains and first officers who were shot flew backwards and slammed against the wall, dead before they knew what hit them. Many managed to survive and throw themselves to the ground, but the deadly assault continued, spraying green flashes of death across all sides of the room. The only sounds anyone could hear were the repeated whirring of the enemy ship's guns, glass and debris smashing, and panicked screams of pain, many of which were soon silenced.
"We need an air defense team! Daystrom Conference Room!" Pike yelled into his communicator, having found some cover behind a wall.
Kirk watched in horror as the response team ran in, raising their phaser rifles but being cut down by the enemy ship's fire before they got a shot off. They flew back with screams, knocking over furniture and smashing tables. Kirk pulled himself to his feet, running across the boardroom and somehow managing to dodge the ship's onslaught, while panicking officers still ran back and forth around him. He grabbed an abandoned phaser rifle and exited the boardroom, just as the security team was setting up a small photon torpedo launcher. As Kirk entered the hallway, he moved out of the way of a few more security officers and hid behind a section of wall. He watched the ship fly back and forth across the length of the boardroom, still firing, sending shards of glass and chunks of debris falling downwards. When he was confident that he wouldn't be fired at, Kirk emerged from behind the wall, blowing out the large window in front of him and firing multiple shots at the ship, to no effect.
Inside the boardroom, Admiral Marcus had taken cover behind a pillar, wincing every time a blast burned away a piece around him. Another phaser blast threw Pike to the ground, where he lay, groaning.
Kirk continued to fire at the ship, eventually stopping when he realized that he was dong no damage. But he noticed that the engine running the ship was a turbine, sucking in air. If he could lodge something big enough in there, he could disable it. He dropped the rifle and ran back to the wall behind him, punching it in a panic, trying to open the emergency supply hatch. When it did open, he began to pull out a long section of hose.
The Starfleet senior command was being slaughtered inside the boardroom, green tracking lights finding the targets and then blowing them away. Spock was checking the pulse of a dead captain when he heard a familiar groan of pain. He turned to see Pike trying to crawl to safety, before a green tracking light appeared on his chest and a phaser blast burned into him.
The enemy ship's fire was momentarily stopped when the security team fired a small photon torpedo at the ship, which swerved away from the boardroom to dodge it. This gave Spock enough time to grab Pike and drag his body out of the line of fire, laying him down on a couch usually used for guests. Pike stared up at Spock, afraid and losing breath.
Kirk fell to his knees with the hose, wrapping it tightly around the phaser rifle he had dropped. When it was secure, he walked to the window and threw the rifle as hard as he could. Luckily, it flew exactly where he needed it too, and clattered into the ship's turbine, shattering when it entered it. But the hose stayed intact, and began to rapidly be pulled to its full length out of the wall. Eventually, it went taut, and Kirk looked back to see the whole wall around the supply hatch crack.
Kirk realized what was going to happen just as the wall cracked again, and he threw himself backwards. The entire section of the wall flew outward past him, bouncing up off of the ground and smashing what remained of the window. The force of the hose pulled it towards the ship's turbine, and it smashed into the turbine, causing the engine's mechanism to snap. This interruption blew out the back of the ship's engine, and it stopped firing, starting a spinning descent with its loss of control.
Kirk stared at the ship, his eyes meeting with Harrison's in the cockpit just as the white lights of beaming started to appear around him. Kirk was confused at this sight, and the ship spun again, but when the cockpit came around, Harrison was gone.
The now empty ship smashed into the Starfleet building on a lower level, before all of its lights went out and it plummeted downward, the threat ended with the noise of smashing metal. Kirk just stared at the wreckage, confused by what he had seen.
Back in the conference room, Pike's breath was slowing. Spock didn't know what to do, but he remained dutifully beside the dying man. As his breaths grew shallower, Pike clumsily gripped Spock's arm. Spock looked confused by this gesture, and he looked into Pike's eyes. Tears were welling in the older man's eyes, eyes that were filled with fear, before the light faded out of them, and the haggard breathing faded away.
Spock just looked at the dead man, not knowing what to do next. Kirk ran up behind him, stopping when he saw Pike's body. Kirk fell to his knees, placing his fingers to Pike's neck in search of a pulse. When there was none to be found, all of his hope was broken. Kirk broke down crying, gripping his mentor's uniform as he buried his head in his chest. Before he lost himself too much in his grief, he pulled himself up with the support of Spock's shoulder, while the Vulcan continued to neutrally look at the dead man. But inside his head, his thoughts were much more than neutral.
Kirk slowly walked back to the window, looking down at the debris left by Harrison's ship as emergency vehicles sped towards the headquarters. The sirens were barely a dull echo in his ears as he stared at the destroyed ship.
On a world consumed with wind and darkness, white lights spun around rapidly, and John Harrison appeared, standing up from his kneeling position. He surveyed the ruins that were spread out around him momentarily, before pulling a hood over his head and walking away.
His plan had begun. Now all that remained was to see how retaliation would come.
AN: So yeah, that's the beginning of my version of Star Trek: Into Darkness. I'll admit, there aren't many changes so far, but this has been good writing practice either way. I promise that there were some small changes that will play into the rest of this story, and some much bigger changes to come. There won't be as many severe changes to the overall story as you might expect, but so far, I'm having a lot of fun writing this, and hopefully you had fun reading it. See you next time!