Crossing the Line
By
Helena Fallon
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction and no infringement of copyright is intended. I have borrowed a few characters to play with some that I have created in my overactive imagination.
Captain James Kirk stood alone on the main observation deck and stared out at the new vista of stars. He felt cast adrift from the rest of Star Fleet by his present mission but he was grateful for the loyalty of the skeleton crew who had signed up for this dull assignment. He had crossed Admiral Nogura again, a common occurrence over the past five years. Kirk had not listened to the warnings of his fellow captains, who were more conscious of the power that Nogura had been amassing during Kirk's absence from Star Fleet Central. Kirk didn't like how Star Fleet Command was silently nibbling away at the powers that a Starship captain had at their disposal. Now Starship captains were reluctant to use their initiative in a situation when previously they had confidently intervened, and negotiated, and then reported their actions in the Captain's Log.
Captain Kirk had quickly noticed how his debriefing at Star Fleet Central had increasingly centred upon questioning the actions he had recorded in his Log. Afterwards, some other captains had quietly taken Kirk aside and warned him that the acceptable procedure now, with the increased influence of the pro-Nogura Command Council, was to consult Star Fleet Command for permission on any move they might take that was not a routine procedure. This was an impossible situation for Kirk because of the delay in communications due to the vast distances of space. Waiting 36 hours and more was quite the norm if a captain wanted a reply from Star Fleet Command and that could put a ship, and its crew, in unnecessary danger. Kirk had heard many dark mutterings about the 'pen-pushers' back at Command and getting away from the growing poisonous atmosphere of Star Fleet Central had been a relief. It had been Spock who had given their present situation a positive spin, "Well, Jim, this trip will give us time to think about our futures within the Fleet."
Kirk let his eyes roam across the twinkling space; this was Spock's heritage, not his. They were travelling through an area that was normally patrolled by Vulcan ships because this was once part of the Vulcan Alliance of Planets; an association of trading planets that co-existed in peace and unity against space pirates for centuries. This was all before Earth was contacted and learnt about other races that were well ahead of human technology. Technically this was now Star Fleet space but The Federation of Planets usually left this to the Vulcan Space Service. The Vulcan Space Service principally dealt with space piracy and assisting any cargo ships serving the old Vulcan Alliance area together with their continued scientific studies of space anomalies. However, this was also the route to the furthest point of the old Alliance that also had one of the most remote scientific outposts in the whole of the Federation. Once every three years, a ship was sent out towards this distant outpost but only to meet, half way, the resident Admiral's ship to transfer any mail or people who had paid their passage to or from the outpost. This had been taking place for 60 terran years now, ever since Admiral Rouq'al had been appointed to Outpost 49.
Admiral Rouq'al was a Vulcan but the terrans in the Fleet knew very little about this man. The outposts within the old Alliance were under Vulcan jurisdiction but within the Federation Council it was commonly believed that this outpost was a convenient place to send Vulcan dissidents. Consequently, Kirk knew that he too had upset officialdom and been banished to this dead end part of the Federation and explained why only a handful of the Enterprise's former compliment had signed up for this mission.
Spock had been offered his own command but he had turned it down to remain First Officer on the Enterprise. McCoy had turned up to say that Kirk would still need a CMO even if they only had a ship's compliment of the minimum; a 'skeleton crew of 50' because it was a milk run. Nothing was demanded of them in this friendly space where their only orders were to rendezvous with Admiral Rouq'al's ship, the 'Pulse of Serenity', after calling at Kaliska to transfer any cargo or collect any passengers. After the rendezvous with the 'Pulse of Serenity' their orders were to return to Earth. The round trip would take 4 years at top warp speed and Kirk hoped that by then Command would have changed it's mind and give him a more taxing mission deserving of his abilities. The Captain of the much depleted Enterprise was lost in thought concerning the crew he now commanded…
It still amazed him that Spock, McCoy and even Scotty had all stayed. Scotty justified his decision by saying that the Enterprise engines were his bairns and only he truly understood them. Chekov had been offered several more interesting placements but he turned them down. He had told his Captain that it was because he hoped that he and Mr Spock would have more opportunity to talk theoretical astro-physics. Meanwhile, the gentle Sydel had quietly looked up at him and said that the Enterprise was like a home to her and besides she had never travelled to this part of old Vulcan space. Sydel had explained that she considered this trip as part of her education concerning her own planet's history of exploration. These then were his senior officers, while the rest of the 46 were made up of mostly middle-aged experienced fleet personnel. Over half of these junior ranks were serving with their marital partners and had come for a restful 'milk run', especially the dozen who were coming up to retirement and this would be their last assignment. But these people had their own interesting stories of fleet life and all had served in stressful situations in the past, so Kirk did not feel he could begrudge them an easy 4 year mission with him. Instead of a three eight hour shift system, Kirk resorted to a two-shift because the majority of the ship was closed down and there was no need to rotate the personnel in a normal manner. These shifts were not demanding; the majority merely consisted of monitoring environmental readings but if there was any problem with any of the ship's systems, then the sophisticated warning system would alert the crew to the problem.
The daily routine was different but Kirk found that it did have its advantages. You needed only one person on the Bridge because you were on auto-pilot and long-range sensors alerted the Captain to other ships in the area. The only ships out here were themselves cargo vessels with small crews and making the most of auto-pilots themselves. There were two chefs who between them produced very tasty fare and every one used the one dining room and just one leisure lounge. It all lead to a friendlier atmosphere and new friendships were quickly forged amongst the 50.
The consequence of this easy life was that there was time for private research and the updating of personal expertise. Chekov was often in deep conversation with Spock and the First Officer was also often in Engineering exchanging ideas with Scott. Kirk found he was getting bored. He had read the latest books and watched the recent drama packages from various Federation cultures that had been added to the ship's 'culture' library before they had left Earth. Kirk had even started to listen to the latest music trends despite having a distinct lack of music appreciation according to many of his girlfriends. However, it did give him something to talk about with the new crew besides their space experiences. Consequently, the Enterprise now sang to a different life song.
McCoy was the only doctor and he had lost his Nurse Chapel to the Reliant but had gained the services of two experienced nurses, who had signed up with their husbands. Karen Willis was a grey haired and sapphire blue eyed tiny woman of immense fun; her husband, Tony, was an engineer of a similar age who quickly gained Scotty's respect. McCoy privately thought that this had something to do with his knowledge of whiskey and the doctor wonder if they had fixed up a still yet. The other nurse was Daisy Norden and was of African descent; she was as tall as Karen was small. Frank Norden was a chef who was passionate about growing some fresh food in the botanical areas. Kirk consented because he agreed with Norden's argument that fresh had that certain quality that you could taste. Sydel also didn't mind monitoring the botanical areas as part of her science duties and she was always interested in food production and adventurous about trying something different.
The other chef was Edmundo Ricci, like his name he was of Italian descent and proud of his heritage and long line of chefs. He had squirreled away much of his salary, over his almost 30 years of service, and planned to open his own restaurant on one of the new 'Earth' colonies at the end of this assignment. Edmundo had been married twice and said that he'd not risk a third ceremony because he felt jinxed on account that both of his wives had died in accidents. Edmundo's partner, Alice, was younger than him and was a very hard working 'domestic technician'. Alice Millet made sure that the living and work areas were clean. She was assisted by Fiona Elvers, who had previously worked as 'kitchen staff', for 10 years, on board the USS Cochrane. Both of these women cheerfully got on with their tasks that were made easier by many of the lightweight robotic machines at their disposal. Fiona also was a qualified hairdresser and both sexes would use her expertise to keep their hair tidy.
McCoy also shared his sick bay area with the dentist, Toby Rosenberg, who also doubled up as a medical technician. Rosenberg was single and in his late thirties, he was pale and had a head of black curls that were only just within regulation length. His services were not often called upon but he enjoyed astronomy so he was mostly to be found on Observation deck 4 where there was some sophisticated astronomy equipment. Rosenberg and Chekov quickly became friends and were often seen deep in conversation over a meal discussing how to gather data about a distant star event.
"I thought I'd find you here," the Doctor's voice broke into Kirk's rambling thoughts.
"It's my favourite place, always has been," Kirk replied without turning to face his friend.
"We are four months out and in a couple of days we reach Kaliska. I'm not too sure about shore leave on a Vulcan colony. Spock says that I will probably find it more comfortable than his home planet, because the temperature is much cooler, like a spring day in San Francisco," said McCoy brightly to make conversation.
Kirk turned round with a face that showed his amusement, "Spring day in San Francisco? I can see Spock has already relaxed into this milk run…"
"Yes, it's good to see him in relaxed mode. He seems to be writing down some new ideas he's been thinking over for some time but kept getting interrupted by his mundane duties," replied McCoy with twinkling blue eyes.
"Mundane duties?" repeated Kirk, "Or is this your interpretation of the events Bones?"
"Jim, he's deep into some theoretical work and for him he's happy."
"Mmm...Chekov, Scotty and Sydel all seem to be content with what they are doing besides their essential duties, that are not very demanding, and the rest of the crew appear easy going," remarked Kirk.
"I must say, this seems a very happy ship despite our mission. This crew are older but they're experienced and they don't have the need to prove themselves like on normal missions," remarked McCoy.
"You don't consider this normal then?" Kirk suddenly countered.
"Now what's got into you? Look, I think Spock had the right idea about this mission; take the time to think seriously about what we all want to do with our lives. It's obvious that for a lot of this crew this is a nice winding down to their Fleet career, good for them and they probably deserve a gentle run, but don't get into a rut already, Jim."
Kirk shook his head; he was bored with the lack of contact even with normal shipping. "It's just so quiet, Bones. There's nothing for me to do."
"Ah, you are bored. It's a fine punishment then for annoying Nogura and his cronies. I think you ought to spend your time thinking about where you are going after this because you don't fit into Star Fleet any more. Even I don't feel comfortable with the Star Fleet we found on Earth. Spock has already realised it for himself and I think this need to re-establish his credentials in science, outside of Star Fleet, is behind his present work. If it opens up a place for him at the Vulcan Science Academy on his own merit, and not his family's influence, then perhaps he will be content to return home," replied McCoy thoughtfully.
"What makes you think Spock wants to return to Vulcan?" Kirk challenged again. Kirk needed to pit his active brain against an intelligent mind because he felt he might stagnate on this mission because of the lack of situations that would require his adventurous spirit.
Bones shrugged, "I may be wrong about the Vulcan bit but he's got to find a wife in the next few years or he's dead. That's the main reason I suppose I thought he'd return home…But there again, perhaps he'll try one of the Vulcan colonies," suggested the doctor.
"Perhaps he already has but there's always Sydel, they seem to be friends. I'm sure that she would help out if he went into Pon Farr while on this mission," reasoned Kirk who had been relieved when her temporary appointment to the Enterprise had been made a permanent placement during the last mission. She was a good and loyal officer and well liked for her fairness.
"That's one big assumption, Jim!" Bones interjected with some plain common sense, "Sydel has not shown anything other than seeing Spock as a colleague. They appear to be friends but the Pon Farr might not be the ideal situation to maintain the working relationship they have at the moment. Sydel would most likely oblige, as the logical thing to do to save a valued Vulcan's life, but the aftermath I suspect would be very painful for both and they would go their separate ways."
"Yeah…you're probably right but it worries me that he has no bondmate. I know that he did make some active enquiries about eligible females before the end of our 5 year mission," began Kirk and then abruptly stopped. Perhaps he shouldn't be speaking about matters that Spock would prefer to be left unsaid.
McCoy nodded, "I know, I challenged him about it. He told me that his psi quotient had been sent to the data bases of various Vulcan colonies because there were no suitable females on Vulcan itself."
"Did that include Kaliska?" Kirk asked pleased that Spock had discussed this matter with Bones.
"I don't know, but he said that he intended to visit the planet because he'd never been, although he knew a couple of scientists there," replied the doctor and saw that Kirk suddenly looked more relaxed.
"Couldn't find much about the place in the computer banks," Kirk said cheerfully.
"No, I got the feeling that being the furthest of the Vulcan colonies that it has the reputation of still being a bit rough and ready but not eager to ask for help from Mummy," said McCoy.
"Or Mummy is happy to have one of its rebellious children well away so as not to embarrass the visitors," added Kirk wickedly.
Then the captain suddenly changed the subject, "Must be almost time for dinner,I wonder what Frank has conjured up for today?"
"You know I'm sure this ship runs on 'meal times'," remarked Bones but he happily followed his captain to the elevator. They were very fortunate to have two very good chefs this time round and that kept every one happy despite the boring routines.
Later that evening, Kirk watched Sydel and Spock engaged in battle over a three-dimensional chessboard. They were both finely balanced as opponents and the contest had attracted other chess players, but suddenly Sydel's communicator sounded. One of the senior technicians was concerned about some reading for the water supply so Sydel decided to go personally to the life sciences department. Spock said they would continue another time and activated the 'in play' light at the base of the board. He got up and collected a cup of green china tea before joining the captain at his table.
"Good game," Kirk remarked admiring the state of play.
"Sydel has a fine mind and will fight for every square," the Vulcan acknowledged with laughing dark eyes.
Kirk grinned; he had lost to Sydel on several occasions and still had not learnt to anticipate her moves like he could with Spock.
"Bones said that you plan to visit Kaliska while we're there?"
"Yes, I am acquainted with two scientists who live there and I have an open invitation to call upon them should I come to their planet. I have never been to Kaliska but it is well known for the mining of beriallium and the beautiful artefacts they make with it," explained the Vulcan.
"Is that its main export?" asked Kirk who was eager to discover more.
"Yes, and it is highly desirable amongst Vulcans. It's the way it changes colour with the change in light throughout the day. My father bought several pieces of beriallium jewellery for my mother and they have a statue of a nytholoni deer made from it. It is quite a beautiful piece of art. The colony attracts many artists to work in the material but also to carve in the gugud wood…It's very strong and makes good furniture."
"But it doesn't export its furniture?" Kirk asked because he had found out so little information about this place.
"Very little compared with the beriallium work," replied the Vulcan.
"But you say you know two of its scientists?" asked Kirk digging for more information.
"Yes, they studied for some years at the Science Academy but returned home to help establish their own departments at the small Academy for Higher Scientific Studies. They have, out of necessity, an excellent 'mining studies' department and a strong astro-physics department. Naurin is an astronomer and Inviss a geologist. I will contact both of them tomorrow as we have passengers to pick up and cargo to deliver, so we will have at least a day there."
"Yes, of course, but I'm intrigued about these passengers. I thought Outpost 49 was considered the back of beyond so who would want to go there?"
"Perhaps it's not as intriguing as it first appears, Jim. The outpost was originally purely a scientific centre set up to study the phenomenon of the space beyond it. There are some curious anomalies that have intrigued scientists for centuries. I believe that Admiral Rouq'al was originally a Science Officer but he argued with the upper echelons of the Vulcan Space Service and got sent there. However, he seems to have shown no desire to return, nor do they seem to have ordered him back. Now that fact I do find intriguing, especially as I can find no scientific papers logged with the Vulcan Science Academy about the work of this outpost in over a century. Rouq'al however did publish research papers into astro-physics before he was made an Admiral…It's all a little odd. I hope the Admiral meets the ship personally because I would like to meet him, even if it is just to find out the real reason for him being sent to the far reaches of our known universe."
"What were the scientists originally studying there …you mentioned anomalies?" asked Kirk latching onto Spock's curiosity about Outpost 49.
"They were undefined in the few reports logged on Vulcan but then that could, of course, be deliberate. However, perhaps the scientists on Kaliska know a little more about their distant neighbour or the passengers we are going to transport," replied the Vulcan but then saw that three of the crew were gathering together to perform music. There was a trio of a violin, cello and harp. Kirk knew that Spock was not going to discuss the matter further that night so he settled back into his seat to enjoy the music making of Max Bailey from Engineering, Josephine Hills from Life Sciences, and Yuri Romanov from Computing.
End of Chapter 1
