AN: Thanks so much for taking the time to read! This is my first attempt at writing fiction of any sort, and I'm very excited to be testing the waters in the fabulous world of Star Trek. This story follows the Abramsverse, so there will be occasional references to the events of Into Darkness. Just so you know what you're getting into, there will be 45 chapters in this story. Let's get this mission started!
**Story Progress: 0%
Stardate 2261.272
Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise was many things - impulsive, brilliant, charming, and even a bit reckless. But one thing he was not was patient. And at the current moment, what little patience he did have was being sorely tested by a Vulcan who now held the lives of several thousand people in the balance.
"Spock," Kirk said, trying to hide the rising irritation he felt, "Give me some good news."
The half-Vulcan first officer did not look up from his station on the bridge, but continued to study the rapidly flashing screen in front of him. "I am attempting to integrate Mr. Scott's sensor readings with the archived schematics for the reactor." Spock's fingers flew over the glowing console. "I predict the analysis will be complete in approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds."
"Captain, based on our readings, the reactor will lose structural integrity in less than three minutes," Lt. Hikaru Sulu called from his position at the helm of the ship. His voice was calm, but his words conveyed what everyone on the bridge already knew – they were quickly running out of time.
"Lieutenant, lock on to Scotty and Carol's signals. I want them beamed out of there if we can't fix this." Kirk ordered Sulu, his voice tight.
"Aye, sir. Ready to transport," Sulu confirmed, punching in the requested coordinates on the planet's surface below. His fingers remained poised above the console, awaiting only his captain's order to beam his two comrades back to the Enterprise.
Kirk looked back to the view screen. The Enterprise had responded to a distress call from Regus IV, a Class L planet located in the Azati Prime system. A group of Andorian separatists had established a small colony on the previously uninhabited planet several years ago and were experiencing difficulties with the anti-matter reactor providing power to the settlement. By the time the Enterprise reached orbit around the planet and Kirk had made contact with the colony's leadership, the situation had turned critical. The reactor had suffered a breach and was only minutes away from complete system failure, which would wipe out the colony and most of its roughly 3,000 inhabitants.
Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott and Science Officer Carol Marcus had quickly beamed down to the surface to assist in emergency repairs. However, their efforts had been stymied by the primitive programming language used in the outdated reactor's routing system. The Enterprise's computer database was able to locate a schematic of the reactor, but the coding language was ancient and needed to be translated into more modern scientific terms for it to be of any use to Scotty and Dr. Marcus on the surface.
Just then, Scotty's voice was heard over the bridge's comm. "Enterprise, I've done all I can do here. I need that code sequencing!" he implored, referring to the calculations Spock was currently manipulating.
"We're working on it, Scotty," Kirk said, his hands balled into fists at his side.
"Captain, if we don't get that code, the reactor's containment system will fail in less than two minutes," Carol added anxiously over the comm. Her normally soft voice had an edge to it, which was more than justified in the present circumstances.
Just then, Lieutenant Uhura called out from her station, "Captain, the colony is awaiting our direction to begin evacuation procedures." Her face displayed the same anxious concern that Kirk felt coursing through his body.
"Mr. Spock?" Kirk questioned, his voice thick with tension.
"Calculating," Spock responded evenly, betraying no emotion.
"45 seconds, Captain," Ensign Pavel Chekov, the ship's navigator, announced from his seat. The level of tension on the bridge increased palpably. Kirk prepared to give the order to pull his two crew members on the planet's surface out of harm's way, the words already half-formed in his throat.
Suddenly, the tension was broken as Spock called out, "Analysis complete. Transmitting to the surface now." His task complete, Spock turned in his chair to face the forward viewscreen which was fixed on an aerial view of the sprawling colony below.
"Scotty, tell me you've got it," Kirk practically yelled.
"Transmission received. Stand by, Enterprise," was Scotty's terse reply.
The next few seconds were agonizing ones, as the crew waited helplessly for the officers on the ground to work their magic. Every pair of ears on the bridge strained to hear the next transmission and every pair of eyes remained riveted to the viewscreen in front of them, fearing the sight of the deadly explosion that threatened to ripple out from the complex's core at any minute.
Chekov was the first to speak. "Captain, radiation levels are dropping," he announced. "90 per cent. 75 percent. 48 percent. 30 per cent." The young man broke into a smile. "Radiation levels are within normal parameters. They did it!"
A small cheer went up from the bridge, as a dozen heartbeats started to return to normal. Across the various stations on the bridge, a multitude of flashing lights and indicators confirmed Chekov's analysis that the colony, along with Mr. Scott and Dr. Marcus, were indeed out of danger.
"Enterprise, we have successfully contained the reactor malfunction. Operating systems returning to normal," Carol's voice called out from the comm.
Kirk breathed a sigh of relief and felt some of the tension that he had been holding on to for the past few minutes leave his body. He flopped back into his Captain's chair with less grace than he would have liked. "Scotty, you and Dr. Marcus finish up those repairs and get back to the Enterprise right away, got it?"
"Aye, Captain. With pleasure," Scotty sounded as relieved as the rest of the bridge crew felt.
Kirk turned to Spock, only to be greeted by his calm, unflappable countenance. There were times when he envied the Vulcan's masterful control of his emotions, and there were other times when he hated him for it. Kirk wasn't sure which feeling currently held sway in his mind at the moment.
"Mr. Spock, I don't suppose next time you could cut that any closer?" Kirk asked sarcastically.
Spock looked at the Captain and tilted his head slightly. "If you desire, Captain, in the future I will make a concerted effort to utilize every available second before averting total disaster," he said, with no hint of irony in his voice.
Kirk wondered if Spock was developing a sense of humor or if he was just getting used to his first officer's unique brand of communication. Either way, Kirk mentally added today's incident to the long list of reasons he was glad Spock was his second-in-command – even if, from time to time, Spock did have a habit of raining on Kirk's parade, so to speak.
Seated next to the Vulcan in question, Uhura suddenly turned in her chair to face Kirk. "Captain, we are receiving an incoming transmission from Starfleet Headquarters. It's from Admiral Davison."
Never a minute's rest around here, Kirk thought. "On screen, Lieutenant," he ordered.
Uhura paused. "Sir, the Admiral is requesting to speak with you in private," she said, looking somewhat concerned. Both Chekov and Sulu turned around in unison from their seats to look questioningly at the Captain.
Kirk was surprised but quickly arranged his features in a studied look of composure. "Lieutenant, please patch the message through to the briefing room." He rose from his chair and headed toward the turbolift. "Mr. Spock, you have the conn."
"Aye, Sir." Spock confirmed, moving to take Kirk's place in the Captain's chair.
Kirk left the bridge and rode the turbolift down one deck. He exited the lift and turned to his left. A metallic door automatically slid open as he approached, granting him access to a small room that held a long table surrounded by a dozen chairs. Kirk sat himself at the head of the table and manipulated a few controls to activate the viewscreen embedded in the far wall of the room.
"Admiral Davison," Kirk greeted his superior officer. "What can I do for you today?"
The woman staring back at Kirk from the viewscreen appeared to be in her late 50s with coarse salt and pepper hair pulled back perhaps somewhat too severely from her face. The lines etched in her dark skin spoke to the years of service she had accumulated at Starfleet. The smile the Admiral now wore did not quite reach her eyes.
"Captain Kirk, it's good to see you and the Enterprise safe and sound after the incident on Kasius," Davison said, more than a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
Just six days earlier, Enterprise sensors had detected a strange energy surge originating on the smallest of the three moons of Kasius, an uninhabited planetoid located on the outskirts of the Rylandian system. Kirk ordered the Enterprise to divert from her present course and take up orbit around Kasius to investigate the source of the energy fluctuations. However, within just minutes of the ship's arrival, the energy readings quickly spiked off the charts, sending the ship's sensor bank into disarray.
As the bridge crew watched on the forward viewscreen, giant angry-looking red cracks began to materialize in the sphere's crust. The cracks spread quickly across the surface of the minor moon, and before Kirk could order the ship to retreat to a safer distance, the moon suddenly exploded in a brilliant flash of light, to the total shock of everyone watching on board.
The destruction of the small body was instantaneous and complete, and the Enterprise was pummeled in the resulting shower of rock and ice shards. Fortunately, the moon was small enough that it didn't cause any serious damage to the ship outside of some jagged-looking, but ultimately superficial, scars scratched along the length of the main deflector dish.
Kirk knew he was lucky his vessel had not sustained any crippling injuries during the incident. While Jim Kirk rarely second guessed his command decisions, he had mentally kicked himself for bringing the Enterprise in so close to the moon before it could be determined if the energy source was potentially unstable or dangerous. His report to Starfleet Command had attempted to minimize this fact, but looking at the face of the Admiral now before him, he suspected that his misstep had not gone totally unnoticed.
"Thank you for your concern, Admiral," Kirk said, trying to keep his irritation in check. "You'll be glad to know that we've managed to collect several tons of debris from the moon's collapse, both organic and inorganic. All of our science teams are currently working to identify the cause of the moon's destruction." Kirk would have gladly spent several more days on location to allow his team to examine the site of the incident, but the distress call from Regus IV quickly put an end to that effort.
The woman frowned. "Captain Kirk, that won't be necessary. We've just ordered the U.S.S. California to reroute to Kasius to complete investigation of the event. Your further assistance will not be required on this matter," she said firmly.
"But the Enterprise is much closer," Kirk said, confused. "And our sensors have already recorded a significant volume of data that could be very helpful in…."
The Admiral cut him off, her voice rising slightly. "Mr. Kirk, you have your orders. You will transmit your sensor logs to Captain Rodriguez on the California and she will take it from here. The Admiralty feels the Enterprise is better served on a more…. routine exploratory assignment in a more stable star system. I should think you and your crew have had enough close calls by now that perhaps a little less excitement is called for."
Her words hit Kirk like a phaser blast. She doesn't trust me, he thought. Starfleet doesn't trust me. They think I'm putting the Enterprise in danger so they're sending us off somewhere they think I can't do any damage.
"Captain," Admiral Davison continued, breaking into Kirk's thoughts, "You are also ordered to unload any debris collected subsequent to the moon's implosion. Is that understood?"
Kirk wasn't sure if he heard correctly. "Unload? As in, dump it into space?"
"Yes, Captain, that is the general idea. According to your report, there should be more than enough fragmentary pieces caught in Kasius' orbit for the California to complete her analysis. There's no need for the Enterprise to retain any unnecessary cargo," Davison told him.
Now Jim Kirk was annoyed. This was the first really interesting thing the Enterprise had come across in nearly a year and a half in space and now he was being pulled off the mission and told to jettison a treasure trove of scientific material so he could go stare into empty space in some remote sector of the galaxy. It was so unfair…
Across the light years, Admiral Davison met Kirk's gaze. "Is this a problem, Captain?" she asked, archly.
"No ma'am." Kirk replied dutifully, even as he was mentally giving her the middle finger.
"Captain, we trust you will make every effort to keep the Enterprise out of trouble for the remainder of her voyage. We would prefer that our flagship, and her crew, return to Earth unharmed." The woman paused and fixed Kirk with a stony look. "And to be frank, the Admiralty is unconvinced that such a mission is possible with… current personnel resources."
"To that end," Davison continued, and Kirk's insides dropped just a little bit. "I am initiating a crewmember transfer, effective immediately. I am assigning Commander Vanessa Bennett to the Enterprise as Chief Operations Officer. Upon her arrival, she will serve as the ship's Second Officer."
Kirk blinked. "Ma'am?" Was the Enterprise getting a babysitter?
Davison's face was impassive. "The Admiralty feels that a new command position will greatly benefit the Enterprise during the remainder of her mission." She looked down and read from a PADD she was holding in her right hand. "Commander Bennett is a trained scientist and served onboard the U.S.S. Luna and on Vulcan for a year before transferring back to Earth. She taught Astrophysics here at Starfleet Academy for several years before leaving to pursue her medical degree. She has at least a passing familiarity with three or four languages and most recently served aboard the Ulysses, which had an unfortunate run-in with the Klingons, as I'm sure you've heard."
"Sounds like she could replace us all," Kirk attempted to joke. He could feel a headache starting above his left eye.
Davison was not amused. "That's the point, Mr. Kirk. The Operations Chief will be responsible for shadowing operations and procedures in all major ship-wide areas, identifying any glaring inefficiencies and implementing corrective measures. We can't have the flagship of the fleet risking its destruction from any other exploding planets now, can we?" For some reason, her thin smile made Kirk shudder.
Kirk paused, his mind searching for the right words. "Is there any particular reason for Commander Bennett's transfer at this particular point? I mean, why now in the middle of our exploratory mission?"
"The Admiralty expects this new command position will more effectively integrate the ship's many disparate functions and reduce overall operating inefficiencies. To accomplish this, an officer with training in several cross-functional areas is required. I believe you'll find Commander Bennett a fully qualified and resourceful addition to your crew." Davison's answer sounded a bit rehearsed to Kirk.
"Yes, I'm sure we will," Kirk said, hoping rather than believing it to be the case.
"In two weeks' time, the Enterprise is ordered to report to Deep Space Station Sigma. A long-range transport will meet you there to facilitate the Commander's transfer on board." Davison continued.
Kirk sighed internally. Sigma Station was some distance from their current position and would likely require several additional days of travel time to make the required rendezvous.
"Acknowledged, Admiral," Kirk replied, already mentally calculating the possible repercussions if he chose to ignore the order. Not that he would, but the thought cheered him somewhat.
"After that, we expect that the Enterprise will resume her prior course toward the Talarian system for the next leg of her exploratory mission," Davison informed him.
"Understood," Kirk responded. He knew Spock would be disappointed, or at least as disappointed as a Vulcan could be, that he would not be able to continue his analysis of the moon's unexplained demise. Hell, Kirk himself was probably disappointed enough for the both of them.
"Excellent. Further instructions will follow. And, Captain?" The woman arched an eyebrow, reminding Kirk instantly of his First Officer. "Try to keep the Enterprise in one piece this time. Davison out." The woman's visage disappeared from the viewscreen.
Kirk ended the transmission and sighed again. He felt just a tiny bit of the day's earlier tension return to his body. The idea of abandoning the investigation of the deceased Kasian moon didn't sit well with him. The Enterprise really was in the best position to figure out what had happened to the now-fragmented body. But he had his orders.
Kirk's fingers paused over the communications link he was about to initiate to the ship's cargo bay. Inside that room's cavernous dimensions sat the debris collected from the destroyed moon. Even now, his crew was hard at work sifting through the detritus, looking for answers to the mysterious celestial event. It would be such a damn shame to dump all that scientific evidence, he thought.
In his years in the Captain's chair, Jim Kirk had learned to rely on his gut. Even if he couldn't rationalize why he did some of the things he did, he trusted that small voice in his head that spoke to him in decisive moments. And right now, that voice was telling him not to jettison that cargo, orders be damned.
He leaned back in his chair, his decision made. Starfleet didn't need to know about this. No harm could possibly come from letting Spock, Marcus, and the rest of the science team poke around for a little while longer. They could always get rid of the collected debris after their analysis was complete. After all, the Admiral had ordered him to jettison the cargo, but she hadn't said when he had to do it. There would be plenty of time to follow orders – later.
Kirk was just about to congratulate himself on his mental gymnastics when the second part of the Admiral's message floated back into his mind. He would be getting a new Operations Chief, sent to critique every aspect of his ship's daily activities - just what he needed.
Why was Starfleet assigning a new senior officer to the Enterprise mid-mission and taking the trouble to transport her all the way out here to the outer reaches of space? He had gotten along just fine without a Chief Operations Officer for the better part of the past year and a half – why try to fix something that wasn't broken? And why did he have a feeling that this was somehow a punishment for him and for his crew?
Kirk didn't like it when the top brass, light years away and comfortable in their earthbound offices, stuck their noses into the business of running his starship. He knew how his crew operated, what their strengths and weaknesses were, and most importantly, he knew that he could count on every last one of them to do their duty even when their lives were at risk, which seemed to happen on a fairly regular basis.
He pushed away this last thought and called up Commander Bennett's personnel file on his view screen. Well, there was nothing he could do about the situation right now. Kirk figured he could make it all work out somehow. He usually did, one way or another. He just hoped the new senior officer would be able to easily blend in with his senior command team without any excessive hand-holding. Because if there was anything that Captain James T. Kirk wasn't, it was patient.