Authors Notes: As before, Star Trek, DC Comics (No, this isn't a crossover, but the idea has popped in my head), and anything else not owned by me belong to their respective owners.

I'm back! Well, actually, this story has been brewing in my mind since I was finishing up Star Trek: Justice. These next few sets of stories, assuming I can continue them without giving up at some point, will be shorter stories based more on the crew and problems they encounter on their voyages. While Justice was more like an action packed movie (Those of you paying attention will have noticed I ripped scenes straight from Star Trek 09), this story and the next few will be more like episodes. It's an experiment to see if I can now develop the characters I created last time around and continue their stories. We'll see how well it goes.

To those of you who read my last story, thank you for taking your time to read my work. I never imagined I'd get anybody reading this, but I regularly see around 5 people a day who have viewed my work, and some percentage of them make it all the way to the end. It's nice to know I can come up with something interesting enough that people want more. Please, keep the views coming, and stay tuned for more chapters! I have most of chapter 2 already done, and I know how this story will go. Please, save any comments about my take on religion and science until the end. I get the feeling what I'm typing may offend some people, but then again, the original Star Trek did that too, didn't it?

Without further ado...

Star Trek: Justice

Prime Directive

Chapter 1

Moving Up

The small Lotoran ship jumped out of warp, stopping just over a large moon.

"Scan the area; make sure there are no Federation vessels in sight!"The captain of the ship yelled. The bridge was small, as would be expected of such a small ship. The Lotora, a light-skinned species of smooth fore-headed people, were known for their expertise in smuggling. They were lead by a single leader, who would never stayed in one place for too long.

"No ships in sight, captain."

"And the moon? I see an atmosphere."

"…my scans cannot penetrate it."

"Why did you not report this when we were en route?"

"It didn't appear to be impenetrable when we were in warp…"

The leader stood up, looking at his view screen, at the orange moon underneath them.

"….Get us out of here. Now!"

"What!?" His subordinate said. "But this deal is too important, we can't just-"

"Follow my orders or I'll vaporize you!"

At that moment, the ship started to shake. Three phasers had shot out of the atmosphere, hitting the small ship. Consoles started to act up as the lights dimmed.

The Lotoran captain fell into his seat, looking at his view screen. "What just happened?!"

"…Sir, our shields are down, and our engines have been disabled. It…it came from the moon!"

"Helmsman Mi'key, bring us about."

"Aye aye, captain, firing thrusters and impulse engines."

The Lotoran Captain was wide eyed as it appeared out of the moon. He could see the ship, specifically the saucer section of the ship rising from beneath the edge of the atmosphere, like a warrior slowly rising from underneath the water. The rest of the ship slowly came into view, completely overshadowing the small Lotoran ship. The Lotoran Captain started to sweat, and he could see the name of the ship on the underside of the saucer section.

NCC-91888-D

U.S.S Justice

"Captain, we're being hailed by that ship!"

His view screen flickered the life. The clean, sleek look of an Odyssey class bridge came into view, littered with Starfleet personnel. The one directly in front of them stood up from his chair. A young, confident looking Vulcan officer.

"This is Captain So'Gam of the Federation starship Justice." He announced, holding his hands behind his back. "You are transporting contraband and operating an illegal trade route in Federation space. Prepare to be boarded. We will not hesitate to stun you if you resist."

"Why bring such a large ship to capture one simple Lotoran freighter, Vulcan?" The Lotoran Captain asked, almost mockingly. "That doesn't seem very…logical. Of course, you may be trying to find our leader. You're too late; he already left on a much stronger cruiser. He jumped to warp before you revealed yourselves. You'll never catch him…"

"The Justice's scanners are much stronger than yours." So'Gam said. "That is how we were able to aim our phasers at your ship. We did not detect such a cruiser leaving this sector of space. Either your ships are much more advanced than ours, or, the more likely scenario, you are lying…because you are the Lotoran leader."

"And how would you know that, Vulcan?"

"Because I've been on your ship this whole time, Leader."

The Lotoran captain turned around to see one of his bridge officers standing up, aiming a phaser at him. Suddenly, her look changed, phasing out to reveal her true form. A female human Starfleet officer with short, brown hair reaching to her shoulders, her uniform a bit ruffled from the physical work her disguised identity had to do to fit in. Ensign Velma.

"Come on, you need to get with the times. Every Federation ship scans for holographic disguises." The female officer said with a grin. The other Lotoran's took out their weapons, and tried to fire. Their triggers were all that could be heard.

"Seriously, you let me in your weapon's storage." She said. "This was too easy."

"Velma, we spoke about taunting." So'Gam said over the view screen.

"Sorry, sir. I just really like this part of the job."

The doors slid open as Velma walked into So'Gam's now too familiar ready room. It hadn't changed much in the year since she started her field commission aboard Justice, but he did add the deactivated Romulan data node to the décor. Still, she was never here that often, and having been called here when she teleported back to the ship made her slightly nervous. Had she taunted too much?

So'Gam turned his chair around and stood up.

"Velma, I have sent the report on the Lotoran smugglers to Starfleet Headquarters, along with a recommendation...for your promotion to Lieutenant."

Velma hadn't expected that at all. She was wide-eyed as So'Gam walked around his desk to stand in front of her. Velma quickly stood up at attention.

"Thank you sir! I…I don't know what to say."

"No need to say anything." So'Gam said. "It was the logical choice. You could have relaxed after the incident at Deep Space Nine, but instead, you worked harder than before. You graduated quickly from the Academy, and took on just about every task you were presented with. I gave you this very dangerous mission to infiltrate the Lotoran smuggling ring, and you took the assignment with stride. You have performed above and beyond the call of duty."

"This certainly isn't doing anything to my ego…" Velma said quietly. "But…thank you for the chance, admiral."

"An expression of gratitude is not required." So'Gam said. "I am taking the logical action. Dismissed."

Mi'key walked to Jil'eesa's quarters. The Andorian was slightly perplexed, wondering what the female Vulcan wanted with him this late at night. Despite the three of them, Mi'key, Jil'eesa, and Velma, having worked together on a number of assignments since Deep Space Nine, he and Jil'eesa were never too familiar with each other on a personal level. Velma and Jil'eesa had already known each other for a long time, and, even considering Jil'eesa's emotional distance, it was obvious that they were extremely close. Mi'key didn't want to intrude on such a strong friendship.

He hit the "doorbell" on the computer next to her door.

"Come." Jil'eesa could be heard saying from inside.

Mi'key walked inside, noting how stereotypically clean and tidy her room was. His, on the other hand, was a mess that he hoped the admiral would never, ever see. He didn't have much time to contemplate on the contents of her quarters, though. Directly in view was a bed, and Mi'key nearly gasped.

Jil'eesa was sitting on the edge of it, directly in front of him, wearing nothing but white panties and a thin, white tank top.

"…No. This is a dream, isn't it." Mi'key bluntly said. "This is not happening, I am not…"

"But it is already too late, ensign." Jil'eesa said, getting up so her full body was in view. A few thoughts rushed through Mikey's mind. How did he never notice how…attractive the Vulcan was? Her clean, soft looking dark skin, her long, black hair, her lips…her long legs…

"What do you m-mean?" Mi'key asked, taking a step back.

"You are aware this is a dream, and you are aware of what is causing this." Jil'eesa said, her voice becoming softer and softer. "Dreams simply reflect emotions you are experiencing in reality."

"But this can't happen, you're a fellow crewman…er, woman, crewwoman…"

Jil'eesa wrapped her arms around Mi'key's neck. "It matters not. I may not understand emotions, but I know full well that you are run by them, just like humans."

"Velma…she wouldn't like this at all, I just know it." Mi'key said.

She leaned in, her lips barely touching his. "Velma's emotions are irrelevant…what is relevant is…what do you desire?"

Mi'key suddenly sat up, looking around before he placed a hand on his forehead, his antennae drooping a bit. Andorians were capable of being much more aware of their dreams then other species. Scientists on his home world believed this was a link to the Aenar and their telepathic abilities.

"Well…that's going to make things awkward…"

So'Gam leaned back in his chair, the view screen in his ready room shining brightly as the rest of the lights in the room was turned off. It was the middle of the night, but he had received a secret communiqué from Starfleet.

"You are absolutely certain?" So'Gam asked.

"Absolutely, admiral. I'm sorry." The Andorian Captain Shon replied. "The Regorlians have Bruce. I would send a team to rescue him, but we've been called to take care of a bigger problem. The Tholians are attacking New Romulan ships. The Enterprise is on its way there as we speak."

"We are much closer to Regorlia then you are, in any case. We will have to conduct this rescue operation ourselves. And…we will need to conduct First Contact…"

Bruce looked up at the interrogation room he was in. Chained up against the wall, he had no way of escaping. His equipment was back at the observatory. His phaser had been smashed to pieces. His communicator was being studied, though he knew the Regorlians didn't have the technology to reverse engineer it. Not yet. They would have even less success with his holo-emitter, though that meant now he couldn't hide the fact that he was an alien here.

He studied the room around him. Similar to a lot of other rooms he had been in on this assignment. Religious icons were hung on the wall. Dozens of them, of all different shapes and sizes. He knew most of them, but more seemed to pop up the longer he stayed. It was because he didn't recognize a particular religious symbol that he was eventually captured.

A Regorlian walked into the room. He wore something akin to a trench coat, one like he'd find on his home planet, Earth. He turned to one of the symbols, and offered up a silent prayer, closing his eyes and bowing his head. They did this almost all the time, before they did something important.

The Regorlian, an older man who looked to be in his fifties, or at least Bruce calculated that in his mind, opened his eyes and walked over to him.

"Now then, before we begin the conversion process to bring you into the mercy of Regor and his infinite wisdom, you're going to tell us everything we want to know about this…Federation…"