Spock had been as close to being excited as he would allow himself to show when he had told James Kirk of looking forward to working with Daniel Parsons on his science project on the science station given to him by the Federation for four years. Kirk knew it was unusual for Parsons to ask for any outsiders to come to help him but then his friend and First Officer was an exceptional being and scientist in his own right. It would only be for six days while the Enterprises was in the area on what was known, by starship captains, as a milk-run, just a routine check with outposts that were well back from any immediate danger.
"It is an honour to be able to watch Professor Parsons at work, Jim. He has made many discoveries with regard to how beings adapt to long term space life and to utilizing other life forms in the colonization of uninhabited planets. He has an most unique approach and is very thorough. He records every one of his experiments to go over and over should there be any doubt in his own mind or that of others."
"Just remember where home is, Spock." Kirk had smiled as he watched his friend step up onto the transport platform awaiting Parsons to lower the deflector shield that surrounded his station.
"I will see you in six days, Captain."
Six days. Now time meant nothing. Nothing did. James Kirk sat alone with the urn of ashes they had beamed up a few hours ago. He sat just looking at it unwilling to believe that it was all that was left of his best friend. McCoy had offered to give him something but Kirk just shook his head. "I've been over that sample fifty-nine times, Jim. It is, was Spock's DNA."
Twice the buzzer had sounded before Kirk answered it.
"Captain, we are getting a strange message from the station. A repeated question."
"Lieutenant Uhura, can't you?"
"Sir, you need to come to the Bridge." quickly she had cut communications and Kirk knew that she knew him well enough to know that that action alone would get him to the Bridge.
Stepping out of the turbolift he walked over to her, "You want to explain what that was all about?"
"You need to hear the message."
"Let's hear it. Put it on audio."
"Can Vul hear? Can Vul hear?"
Kirk looked at his Communications Officer, there had been something in her voice that indicated she knew who it was but he did not recognize the voice, there was also suppressed growing excitement that only having worked with her for so long allowed him to detect.
He wearily shook his head. They knew that the station was secured and therefore the message was clearly meant for somebody on it. The one voice he wanted to hear from that station was gone. Taken by a blast. Gone. Without saying a word he turned back to look at the viewscreen. At the station. Damn.
It was only going to have been for six days. He could have refused to let Spock go. It was within his right to have refused but there were so few things that excited his Science Officer and best friend. Two days after leaving Spock at the station he had been woken in the night by Spock calling out his name in agony, pain, and fear. No, it had been more than just fear, terror. He had calmed himself by reflecting that he was simply missing his Vulcan friend and it would have been a bad dream. There was very little that could go wrong on a scientific research station. Then there had been that moment when he was on the Bridge when he had almost fallen as Spock's voice screamed out to him. The day after that had come the message from the station that Spock and two technicians had been killed in an explosion. The rest of the trip to Hallot and the return to the science station had been one he could not fully recall. There had been one other time when he had woken, sure that he had heard Spock crying out for his help, but knew it was impossible. Parsons had sent them the footage leading up to the explosion and it had been Spock.
On return to the science station Parsons had beamed up what he had said were all they could fully identify as being Spock's remains. Laboratory tests on the Enterprise confirmed that that small container in Kirk's quarters held Spock's remains.
"I am sure he will be greatly missed by your and your crew, Captain Kirk. Most unique. What I learn from him has proven invaluable and adds greatly to future work. A most interesting study. So much to learn. Now, if you will prepare and beam down what I asked for I will beam up your officer's few possessions."
An officer Kirk had seen around the ship had been helping Uhura with some modifications to the Communications computer and had looked at him and then at Uhura, "Odd if not strange." then had left without another word.
The transporter room let him know that the things Parsons wanted were ready to beam down, Kirk gave the order, then waited till he heard, "Transport completed. I will wait till you notify me to beam up what they are sending. I, I do have some minor repairs to do if you could convey that to their people."
Then nothing till that message that clearly was from the station.
"Yes, oh yes, he hears. He hears." Uhura quickly said then cut communications, turned and looked briefly at Kirk then at Sulu, "Sulu, can you get a lock on that communicator?"
"Uhura?" It was unusual for his Communications Officer to ever reply as she had just done.
"Lock onto that communicator, Sulu." she looked at Kirk, "Answer the question in the affirmative using the words he used, Sir."
James Kirk looked at her, and froze as his mind said, "Vul can hear.". He saw her nod. Vulcan here. Suddenly the bridge was alive with activity as the others realized what it meant but Kirk was still too numb to accept it. They had seen the explosion. They had the remains. Parsons had told them.
A rapid message came across the audio, "Five here and nine there. Five here and nine there. Trick play. Trick play. Yours."
Almost immediately Uhura replied, , "Five here and nine there. Trick play. Careful."
"All ways, always."
"Sulu you have the Conn. Uhura, come with me. Have McCoy meet us in the transporter room."
In the turbolift Kirk looked at his Communications Officer, "Want to tell me who that is and what is going on?"
"It is Tyler, he's on that station, and he has Spock."
"But Spock,"
Now Uhura looked at him and he saw it, she had not accepted Spock's death, "What we were sent were ashes with some having Spock's DNA in a special vial for out conformation. The urn was sealed and those ashes with Spock's DNA were with it but we did not take them from it so we cannot say they are Spock's."
"The scanner,"
"The scanner verified ashes with some of Spock's DNA in that sample were were given but how do we know they came from the urn? And it was not entirely his."
"There was a blast." it hurt to think of it but Kirk knew he had to make her accept.
"Yes, but we did not see it, only heard it and saw footage given of immediately before and the area afterwards." Gently Uhura reached out and touched the arm of her friend and captain, "Tyler heard something we did not and he got onto the station and has Spock with him. Think how odd it was for the urn to be sealed because of contamination and for Parsons to have that sample set aside that showed no contaminates. He clearly wanted Spock for something, he wanted to keep him, and he knew you would not open the urn, he knew of your relationship with Spock."
"Okay," he felt a flicker of hope raise in him, took Uhura's hand in his and squeezed it. He had twice heard Spock calling to him after the blast. "Supposing he has Spock with him, how does he intend to get off the station?"
"All I know is that he will find a way, Sir. If there is any way to get him off, Tyler will find it."
"You do realize he is in serious trouble for going onto the station. He had no authorization from me and definitely none from Parsons."
For a moment Uhura just looked at him and smiled, "Knowing Tyler I guess he thought that Spock is worth getting into serious trouble."
"What's this all about, Jim?" McCoy met them just outside the transporter room.
"We'll soon find out. If what Uhura suspects is right, Spock is alive and about to be beamed aboard from the station."
"I better take her to,"
"Five standard minutes is up."
Quickly Uhura rushed to the intercom, "Sulu, do you have a lock on a second communicator?"
"Yes, near where there was an explosion. The shields are down. All the stations shielding is down. Feeding both co-ordinates now."
"Send them in order. The first one now and the other in four standard minutes."
"Transporting now."
Kirk felt a hand grip his shoulder as a form materialized in the alcove and they realized it was Spock. Clearly dazed and wrapped in a robe but alive. "Jim," his voice was a sigh as he fell into Kirk's arms fighting to stay conscious.
At that moment the captain of the Enterprise did not care who was there as he hugged his closest friend to him and whispered, "Oh God, Spock, I thought you were dead. I never thought I'd see you again. If I'd known he was,"
"I admit I thought I would never see you again either, Jim. I thought I would never see you again, that I would forever be used by Parsons." Kirk felt his friend hug him back then look around. "Where is?"
Kyle had briefly glanced at the Vulcan First Officer then back at the instrument panel and clock, "I have Officer Tyler co-ordinates locked in. Beaming him aboard in three point eight five standard minutes."
McCoy waved his medical tricorder over Spock as he still allow his friend to hold him in a reassuring embrace, a sure sign of the trauma he had survived. "We best get you to Sick Bay, Spock. I need to check out those readings and,"
James Kirk felt the arms around him tighten and looked at McCoy, "I think we'll wait till Tyler is beamed aboard then you can check them both over." the head that was resting on his shoulder nodded slightly and Kirk knew he had guessed what his friend had to see. One thing that was a constant with his Vulcan friend was his loyalty to fellow officers.
"Beaming up from the second set of co-ordinates."
