Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, claimed ownership right to any part of the Star Trek franchise. This is a non-profit work of fiction.
A/N: So yeah…I've been wanting to write some good ole Star Trek fanfiction for a while now, and along with this work, I've got a real beauty of a piece jut begging to be unleashed. Even though the new Star Trek movie is what inspired me to get off my lazy butt and write this, this could only be TOS because that is my one true love. I suppose The Sorrows of Empire is Mirrorverse cannon (and I highly suggest reading it if you haven't – a great novel about Spock), which would make this incorrect, but I find that I cannot live in any universe where Jim Kirk doesn't come out on top.
I hope you enjoy my first foray into the Star Trek fandom
Drift Softly Into the Night
As the transporter beam stabilized and fizzled away into nothingness around them, Scotty quickly scanned the transporter room to make sure the, admittedly brilliant, scheme of that beardless Spock had worked. What he saw reassured him. Finally he was back where he belonged.
Kirk flexed his arms and gave the three of them – that is, Scotty, McCoy and Uhura – a contemptuous look that nevertheless failed to hide his immense relief before turning to Spock and commenting, "I trust my counterpart hasn't done too much damage while on my ship, Mr. Spock." The infinitesimal pause before Spock replied, "No, Captain," would have gone unnoticed by a layman like that idiot Kyle, but Scotty knew that, not only had he noticed it, Kirk and the other two had as well. Scotty glanced at McCoy and was vaguely relieved to see his usual smirk firmly in place. The doctor had noticed.
Kirk nodded once in Spock's direction, for all the world appearing as though all was right and good in his world, and barked, "Sawbones, you're going to look us over and make sure we didn't catch anything in that other place," he directed a pointed glare at McCoy, "and don't even think about coming near me with a hypospray unless I know exactly what's in it. Don't think I don't remember what happened last time you 'cured' me." Scotty smirked when McCoy held up his hands in surrender and drawled, "Why, Jim, the thought never even crossed my mind."
It became disgustingly apparent that the other Kirk had been very busy utterly destroying their Kirk's deserved reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness when several Ensigns dared smirk at Kirk as they were making their way to Sickbay. Scotty was pleased when Kirk grabbed the latest offender and promptly snapped her neck in full view of a very crowded hallway. "Well there you go, Sawbones…you've been complaining about not having enough cadavers to play with, and now you've got a fresh one." McCoy hoisted the corpse over his shoulder, and they continued.
Kirk kept his cool when they arrived in Sickbay. His icy glare sent Nurse Chapel and the other scurrying out of Sickbay, no doubt headed straight toward anyone who'd listen when they said that their Captain Kirk was back. The fair-haired man paced back and forth while he waited for McCoy to kick a partially decomposed corpse off a bed and dump the newly dead Ensign on it.
"Quit lollygagging, you sick fuck; you can play with her later," there was a faint pout on McCoy's face when he returned to the group, but he wisely kept any smartass comments to himself. Kirk ran his fingers through his hair and growled, "That other me has fucked everything up. It's obvious Spock is going to try to overthrow me, and if I have to die it's not going to be because some half-breed got an attack of conscience," it was obvious that Kirk was severely agitated and would soon result to vulgar insults to properly express his ire. Scotty wondered what type of homophobic insult would be hurled in McCoy and his direction. Of everyone, Kirk generally knew just how to hit where it hurt, and the Engineer could feel his lover debating whether or not he should voice the question they were all dying to ask their Captain.
Luckily, Uhura possessed much less patience than either of them did because she blurted, "But how are you going to stop him from killing you when you can't even corrupt any of his guards to your side?" The force behind the backhanded slap was enough to break Uhura's neck, and McCoy waited just long enough for her lifeless corpse to crumple to the ground before pronouncing, "Well that's another one dead, Jim. Can I keep her?" Scotty surprised both men by laughing aloud and saying, "Let him keep her, Captain. A pretty lass like that will keep him out of our bed long enough for me to get a decent night's sleep for once." He had the satisfaction of seeing Kirk blush faintly and McCoy scowling to cover his embarrassment.
"Laugh it up, Scotsman. We'll see who's laughing when your next physical comes due," McCoy muttered darkly before saying, "You know, Uhura was right, Jim. How are you going to stop him?" Kirk cocked his eyebrows, the last vestiges of the blush fading away as he focused on survival.
"I know she was right, Sawbones, that's why I killed her. Couldn't stand her know-it-all tone of voice," Kirk started pacing again, his hands caressing each other as he thought. "Marlena was in there…I saw her run out the room just as we started materializing. She will have told the other me about the Tantalus field, and I would be a fool to assume that my goody two-shoes self didn't share that secret with Spock," he abruptly halted and fixed Scotty and McCoy with a look of fiendish glee.
"Bones, you're going to kill Marlena, and no playing with the body this time. I want it gone as soon as she's dead." McCoy gave a swift nod, replying, "Yes, sir," instinctively knowing that the time to tease Kirk was over. Kirk gave McCoy' shoulders a painful squeeze and said, "Well get to it, Doctor."
When McCoy was gone, a medbag full of a variety of vile poisons slung over his shoulder, Kirk leveled the full force of his intense stare, seeming to size him up, before giving a small nod. "Mr. Scott, is there any way I can persuade you to join me?" Scotty let himself think about it before saying, "Aye, sir. You give me unlimited access to all of the Engineering section, including the weapons systems, and not only will you have the most loyal officer in the Empire but the best ship in the galaxy. Oh and leave me and McCoy's relationship to ourselves, sir." Kirk snorted. "That's all you want?" Scotty nodded. Kirk shrugged.
"Done. Now listen carefully, Scotty, and we all might make it out of this alive…"
About a week and a couple of hours after their return from that other Enterprise with the strange non-bearded Spock, Scotty was awoken by the sound of agonized screaming coming from Sickbay. He smiled and yawned sleepily; almost annoyed that Doctor McCoy hadn't woken him when he decided to go play with his newest test subject. He knew how much Scotty enjoyed watching the half-Vulcan squirm. Ah, it was just as well…Scotty definitely wasn't in the mood to leave the warmth of the bed.
Faintly, he could hear Kirk laughing at something farther into Sickbay and supposed the Captain was getting ready to start his shift but had dropped by to see how his latest would-be assassin was holding up under McCoy's tender mercies. "Alright, Sawbones, don't have too much fun. I want enough of him alive to send back to his mother…if the whore will even dare to claim him." Kirk's cheerful whistling eventually faded away.
Sighing in content, Scotty stretched languidly in the comfortable bed McCoy kept in his office and listened as the doctor's slow drawl floated into the office. "Now, Mr. Spock there ain't no reason to struggle so. You gambled against our Captain and lost, an' now you gotta pay the price of your mutiny. I know what I'm doin'." The hiss of a hypospray reached his ears, Spock's badly concealed whimper close on its heels. McCoy's voice, the accent deepening in his excitement, followed shortly after.
"Ya know, Mr. Spock, Scotty an' I thought long an' hard bout joinin' you in yer little suicide mission. Don' look so surprised. Yer way easier to read than folks say you are. After all, you ain't no full blooded Vulcan."
Scotty drifted back to sleep, soothed by McCoy's delighted laugh when the First Officer let out an involuntary scream of agony.
-End-