"Come Florence, we must go."
"No!"
A young girl struggled fruitlessly against the man who was currently dragging her into the sleeper ship S.S Botany Bay.
"Gah!" The man set the girl down and slapped her cheek.
She froze.
"Listen to me," he quickly whispered, "there is nothing left for us here. They have deemed us war criminals; we will die! What don't you understand?"
Her eyes began to water. "If I'm going to sleep, I want to sleep for good. I'm just so tired Khan. The things that I've seen...that I've done.. I just want to forget. I'm tired of living this life. Please, just let me die."
Khan's face hardened. He couldn't believe he came from this pathetic excuse of an augment. However, he knows she'll be of use for the future to come. He quickly put on his previous facade before she noticed. "My dear girl," he lightly stroked her braided hair, "don't ever say such things. We have ALL committed sins, yes, but it was for the greater good! These humans just could not comprehend that." Khan tilted her chin up so they were both staring into each others eyes. "I promise you Florence, the next time we wake life will be different. No longer will you have to sleep, no longer will your life belong to someone else. Now come, we're out of time."
Florence hesitated for a moment before nodding. She let him take her hand in his as he slightly tugged her to the ship. Khan and the others, they're the only other family she had since..that day. Khan gave her hope and for that she'll trust him.
CLASS M PLANET
NIBIRU
A cloaked figure maniacally runs into a forest of red as the planet's inhabitants angrily charge after him.
Speeding through, the figure only stops when a giant alien beast rears right in front of him. He quickly takes out his hidden phaser and shoots. Left standing is another being in disguise.
He reveals himself to be Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the seemingly forever grumpy CMO of the Starship Enterprise . "Damn it, man! That was our ride! You just stunned our ride!"
The former is no other than the brash captain of said ship, James "Jim" Kirk. "Oh great."
Behind them, the screams of the natives begin to grow even louder. "Run!" Jim yells as he shoots past his best friend.
"What the hell did you take?!"
"I have no idea, but they were bowing to it!" Jim flips open his communicator, "Kirk to Shuttle One. Locals are out of the kill zone. You are clear. Repeat. Spock, get in there, neutralize the volcano and let's get out of here!"
l**l
At the nearby volcano, a shuttle craft dives into it's black plume of smoke.
"We have to do this now," says Hikaru Sulu as he heads to punch some codes into the computer, "I told the captain the shuttle wasn't built for this kind of heat!"
Spock, Kirk's First Officer, is currently being suited up for his drop into the volcano. "Captain, did the indigenous life forms see you?" he monotonically asks through the comm.
"No, Mr. Spock, they did not," he responds.
"The Prime Directive clearly states there can be no interference with the internal development of alien civilizations." Nearby, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura can only smirk. Typical Spock.
"I know what it says! Which is why I'm running through a jungle wearing a disguise! Now drop off your super ice cube and let's go! Kirk out!"
"You're good," says Uhura as she finished placing the final pieces onto Spock's suit.
"If we're gonna do this, we've got to do it now! This ash is killing our coils," Sulu remarks urgently as the Vulcan hybrid starts up the cooling device.
The dark skinned woman steps up next to her pointy-eared fascination, "you sure don't want me to go instead?"
Spock looked as confused as a Vulcan could. "That would be highly illogical as I am already outfitted-"
"Spock, I was kidding," she sweetly kisses his helmet, "you got this."
"Guys! We have to go! Now!"
l**l
Back on land, the two men continue to speed through the forest as the natives grow closer.
"They're trying to kill us," pants McCoy as a spear barely misses him, "they're trying to kill us, Jim!"
l**l
"I'll see you in ninety seconds."
Uhura closes the protective screen and watches as Spock attaches his safety cord.
"Do it, do it!" urges Sulu.
With one last glance, she pulls the lever that sends Spock into the fiery depths of the volcano.
His descent is anything but steady. Just as he makes it half way down, an automatic voice rings throughout the shuttle.
Prerequisite change, 2-7-3..
"I can't hold this position. Spock, I've got to pull you back up," remarks the Japanese man through the shuttle-wide comm.
"Negative. This is our only chance to save this species. If this volcano erupts, the planet dies."
Right then the left turbine erupts. "Pull him back up," he orders the woman next to him. "Now!"
Due to the intense heat, the safety cord snaps as the craft ascends sending Spock on a free fall towards the bottom.
He lands with a thud on a patch of rocky terrain.
"Spock, are you okay?" comms Uhura.
"I am, surprisingly, alive. Stand by."
"We have to get him back," she tells Sulu as she puts the craft on autopilot, "I'll suit up. I'm gonna go down."
He makes it a point not to look her in the eyes. "We have to abandon the shuttle."
"We can't just leave him, Sulu!"
"We don't have a choice! Uhura I'm sorry."
"Spock, we're going back to the Enterprise. We'll get you out of there," she quickly messages.
Sulu comms Kirk, "Captain, I'm ditching the shuttle. You've got to make it to the Enterprise on your own."
"Wonderful."
"Uhura, you ready to swim?" he asks.
"I'm ready."
l**l
"Jim! Jim! The beach is that way!" McCoy shouts pointing away from where they were heading.
"I know," the blonde says as he places the stolen scroll onto some branches, "we're not going to the beach!"
"Oh no, no, no! I hate this!"
Jim dares a glance back. "I know you do!"
Both continue running a few paces more til they reach the edge of the cliff and jump off into the open sea below. Upon hitting the water, they activate their air jets that send them to an opening on the Enterprise. As soon as the water is shot out of the small compartment, a shorter man wearing red slides open the door. "Do ya have any idea how ridiculous it is to hide a starship on the bottom of the ocean? We've been down here since last night! The salt water's gonna ruin the-"
"Scotty, where's Spock?" Kirk cuts off his Chief Engineer.
He looks down dejectedly, "Still in the volcano Sir."
l**l
Spock dutifully activates the cooling bomb. Even with the roaring lava around him, he still manages to keep a cool exterior. Looking up, a big explosion occurs that sends the molten heat out of it's home and onto the surrounding area. The natives look on in stunned horror.
l**l
"Keptin on da bridge!" announces whizkid Pavel Chekov.
"Lieutenant," Jim asks the worried Uhura, "do we have an open channel on Mr. Spock?"
"The heat's frying his comms, but we still have contact." The look on her face shows him how serious the situation is.
"Spock?" Kirk calls out.
"I have activated the device, Captain. When the countdown is complete, the reaction should render the volcano inert."
"Yea, and that's gonna render him inert!" the good doctor grumbles.
James steps closer to the control consoles. "Do we have use of the transporters?"
"Negative, sir," responds his Senior Helmsman.
"Not vit these magnetic fields," says the young Navigator almost immediately.
"I need to beam Spock back to the ship. Give me one way to do it."
"Maybe if ve had a direct line of sight. If ve got closer-"
"Hold on, wee man," Montgomery Scott interjects, "you're talking about an active volcano! Sir, I cannot guarantee we can withstand that kind of heat!"
"I don't know that we can maintain that kind of altitude," Sulu adds on.
"Our shuttle was concealed by the ash cloud, but the Enterprise is too large. If utilized in a rescue effort, it would be revealed to the indigenous species."
Uhura can't believe what she's hearing.
This can't be happening. "Spock, nobody knows the rules better than you, but there has got to be an exception."
"None. Such actions violate the Prime Directive."
McCoy has had enough with this bullshit, "shut up, Spock! We're trying to save you, damn it!"
"Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
Kirk is also beginning to lose patience. "Spock, we're talking about your life!"
"T-he r-uu-le c-annot b-e b-r-oo-ken-" his line is disconnected.
"Spock!" James turns to Nyota, "try to get him back online."
"Ninety seconds to detonations," Pavel says heavyhearted.
"If Spock were here and I were there, what would he do," solemnly contemplates Kirk.
"He'd let you die."
l**l
The bold captain, known for breaking the rules every now and then, believes in the idea that there are no "no-win" situations. And right now was a prime example of that. Even though strict protocol prohibits you being seen by un-advanced civilizations, there was no way in hell he was going to let his friend die when there was a way to get him out alive.
Thus is the reasoning behind propelling the massive starship from out of the ocean and into open sky were hundreds of beings gazed stunned at the enormous object. I mean, it can't have that great of an impact, can it?
With only seconds left, the Enterprise grazed the volcano as she materialized the rigid Vulcan on board. All occupants held anxious panic.
White beams surrounded the pale, renounced male as he awaited death with open arms. But behold his confused surprise when he found himself on the beaming pad.
Captain Kirk, with Bones at his tail, ran into the transporter room feeling quite relieved. "Spock! You all right?"
"Captain, you let them see our ship."
"Oh, he's fine," McCoy waves him off, secretly relieved the green hobgoblin didn't get himself killed.
"Bridge to Captain Kirk."
"Yes Lieutenant."
"Is Commander Spock on board, Sir?"
"Safely and soundly."
"Please notify him that his device has successfully detonated." With that, Nyota angrily throws off her head piece onto her console. I swear to God..
"You hear that? Congratulations, Spock. You just saved the world."
"You violated the Prime Directive."
"Oh, come on, Spock. They saw us. Big deal."
l**l
Unbeknownst to them, back on Nibiru, those who saw the starship circled around it's image that was drawn into the red sand. They abandoned their old religious relic and instead worshiped this new one.