The world around him seemed as if it had slowed; the echoing creeks and groans of his ship falling apart the only sound louder then his own adrenaline driven heart beat. His hands and feet moved accordingly, steady as they could be in this state of crisis, as he scaled the inner workings of the ship's power core, the determination of saving his crew -his family- from the fate he had delivered upon them the only thing keeping him going. Letting anything else inside his mind at this moment, he knew, would damn him and bring upon the realization of the danger he had put himself in for the hundreds of people aboard the Enterprise; the innocents that would die because of the orders he gave. And since James Tiberius Kirk would not have that, here he was, in the Enterprise's heart, climbing the sides of the structure to realign it's core.
Of course, this course of action came with a great sacrifice which was, ultimetly, death. Scotty had tried to stop him, tried to talk him out of it but Jim just ignored it. He ignored all of it; The statistics of survival, the slow death he would earn from playing in a chamber of radition, and dismissed the concern his head engineer showed for his life.
His mind was made and once it was set nothing could make him stray from it. He knew once he laid eyes on the hatch leading into the core that it was the only logical way to rescue his ship and the people aboard it. Scotty, on the other hand, disagreed.
"There's got to be an'ther way, Capt'n!"
"No, no there's not Scotty.. Open the hatch!"
"I can't let you do that, sir! It's suicide! ..You'll die before you even reach the top!"
Scotty still persisted which, ultimately, brought upon the punch to the face. Jim knew what had to be done and, clearly, Scotty was going to be in the way. So, he hit him, plain and simple, knocking his Head Engineer out cold before securing him to the seat just feet away from the core's opening.
And now, here he was, nearly at the top of his prime directive, skin crawling and head spinning.
His hand fumbled against the ledge of the core, searching lazily for something to grab hold of to pull himself up. His fingers glided over the metal machine, finger tips tingling every step of the way. A shaky breath of relief escaped as his hand grabbed hold of the handle, hauling himself up and kicking his leg up onto the ledge before forcing the rest of himself up, his breathing now heavy and strained."Liar.." Jim huffed out as he pushed himself back onto his feet, looking over the crooked core. It was misaligned alright, but nothing a little brute force couldn't fix. Jim glanced upwards for leverage before reaching and grabbing hold of the makeshift handles. Adjusting his grip a bit he brought his feet up onto the container and pushed back, his body swaying back and coming forward with force. He repeated this action several times before the core crudly clicked back into place, a force of energy kicking him backwards into the metal wall behind him.
The Enterprise was filled with flashing red lights and alarms, causing controlled chaos and panic throughout the ship. Engineers fought to repair the inner workings of the ship while others moved around with purpose, fighting frantically to get their ship back up into the dark void where they belonged.
Spock had the conn, him and the rest of the crew within the room unaware of their Captian's sacrifice.
Several things held the Commander's attention at this moment in time, but the increasing acceleration downward was the most prominent. He too was trying to save both the ship and her crew, much like their Captain but in a more logical way. Unfortunately, after calculating all outcomes, the best one was to have all crew abandon ship. With a press of a button Spock's voice was broadcast through the entire ship. "All crew are to abandon ship." More words followed after that; An explanation of what was to proceed.
"I'm not going anywhere, Sir." Sulu spoke, turning to face their acting Captain. "None of us are." Uraha chimed in with a faint smile, catching his gaze before moving back to her station. The others in the room seemed to agree, turning back to their work with determination.
Spock could only raise his brow at this outcome. He hadn't expected this outcome, but then they were Captain Kirk's crew and weren't easily diverted once their minds were set. "If you are certain."
The room fell silent as fingers frantically moved across keyboards and touch screens, the crew fighting to get the Enterprise back up into the sky. They held little knowledge of the happenings in engineering, the only information being power had been cut off from the core and that Chevok, Mr. Scott and Captain Kirk were on their way and working on a fix. None of them knew what fate had befallen their Captain.
Nothing was working. The ship was falling through the Earth's atmosphere now, surrounded by orange flame and dark smoke. She continued to shake and spin violently in the air, sending people within the ship in any number of directions if they weren't secured in, but thankfully most of the crew had gotten into escape pods and were rid of the fallen Federation vessel. Even still, with death starring them right in the face, the Alpha crew remained, fingers moving determinedly over their station's screens, fear and panic creeping into their expressions. Spock had watched it happen with all of his crew and was about to re-visit his earlier order when the engines kicked in, the ship beginning to fight back against the force and momentum around it.
"Engines back online!" The whole deck let out the breaths they all were unaware they were holding at Sulu's voice, the pressure in the room replaced by focused relief. Sudden chatter broke out, ensigns calling out percentages and confirmations to one another. They were going to live.
"Everything stable, Sir." Sulu chances a quick glance over his shoulder at the acting Captain, Spock giving a confirming nod. They were off.
All seemed to be going well, the ship was back in orbit and the crew, what was left, were hard at work. Finally, things were going in their favor. Until Montgomery Scott's strong scottish accent came through the communicator, his tone low and laced with sorrow. "Engineering to Bridge.."
"Yes, ?" Spock answered, not at all liking his tone.
"You'll want to get down here... quickly."
He froze, his mind finally recalling what the threesome had set out to do. It was then that he flew out of the Captain's chair and glided towards the turbolift, ignoring the stares he was receiving. The bad feeling he had had earlier was only making itself more prominent, which only made the feeling stronger. It burned in his chest, the agonizing idea that something horrible had happened to his Captain, his friend. These ideas are what made him burst into a full out sprint as the turbolift came to a stop and opened it's doors.
When he finally arrived at engineering he was met by Scotty, his expression troubled as he turned to face the Vulcan. He was silent, observing only as Spock walked past him to the glass door cautiously, hoping what he was expecting to see wasn't at all was he was going to; a highly radiated chamber with a dying James Kirk behind the glass.
One hesitant step after another, Spock came to a stop in front of the door, squatting in front of it as he watched his Captain tumble out of the entrance into the core. He turns to look at Scotty. "Open it!"
"The decontamination process is not complete, you'll flood the whole compartment. The door's locked, sir."
Jim didn't have long, not with the amount of radiation in the core. So, Spock turned back to his friend, ignoring Scotty's exsistance and focusing on the crystal blue eyes looking up at him.
"How's our ship?" The words are breathy, almost a whisper.
"Out of danger." He pauses, watching as Jim's eyes flutter open and close, fighting to stay focused. "You saved the crew.."
"You used what they wanted against them.." He breaths, nodding his head some before continuing, complimenting Spock's plan to destroy Khan's ship. "That's a nice move."
"It is.. what you would've done."
"And this.. this is what you would've done. It was only logical."
Lost for words, Spock kept silent only to watch as Jim's eyes became wet with tears.
"I'm scared Spock... help me not be.." Jim looked at him expectantly, hoping for reassurance when he knew very well there was none to be given. He was going to die, plain and simple, but atleast he had a friend nearby. That's all he wanted, heck, all he needed. "How do you choose not to feel?"
Spock, despite his Vulcan heritage was breaking. Jim could see it as the sides of his mouth began to quiver and eyes became wet. "I do not know.." His voice was a whisper. "..Right now I am failing."
A small smile formed on Jim's face, though nothing even close to his usual smirks and grins, it still shown through. "I want you to know why I couldn't let you die.. why I went back for you.."
Spock knew very well why. The feeling itself was present at this moment. He couldn't let Jim die just as Jim couldn't let him die. So, he finishs Kirk's words, a tear falling down his cheek. "..Because you are my friend."
Their gaze meets momentarily, Jim nodding once again to his friend's realization. He was glad Spock had understood him and his reasons for going back for him. They had grown close despite the odd fight and the foul words and indirect insults they had thrown at each other. 'I am - and always will be- your friend.' The words played in his head as he continued to look at the Vulcan in front of him before throwing his arm up and placing his hand on the glass. Almost instantly, Spock matched his movements, placing his own hand against the outside of the glass, his fingers separated in twos against his own; a Vulcan salute. The words were unsaid, but heard none-the-less. Kirk fought against his lack of motor function and inched his fingers into the mirror of Spock's salute, matching them.
Spock looked up from observing his Captain's fingers just in time to see the last of Jim's strength being put into a smile, his piercing blue eyes starring upward aimlessly. He was losing him. Jim was dying right in front of him and he couldn't do anything. More tears welled at the corners of his eyes. He hated this. Hated Kahn. Jim was the first person he had actually connected with other than his parents. He was the first to put in effort to get to know him, understand him. Yes, Uhura had tried but she never pushed like Jim had, never wanted to know bad enough. Another tear ran down his cheek, his gaze unwavering as he watched Jim's hand fall from the glass and the life in his eyes die away.
Scotty, still in the room but further away, had laid witness to all of it. He had tears in his eyes and was fighting back the urge to open the bloody chamber and drag him out. He was a friend and the person that made his life do a complete 360. Scotty was grateful for that, hell, he'd still be on that starbase on Delta Vega if it wasn't for Jim. But, much like Spock, he was useless. It was over.
Uhura, having been worried, had made her way into engineering unaware of what to expect but when she arrived she stumbled upon something she whole heartily hadn't wanted to play out. Tears welled in her eyes as she placed her hands over her mouth in disbelief, shock and distress.
His breathing's heavy now, the hate and angry welling up inside as he stares one at his Dead Captain. He wouldn't let Khan get away with this. He'd kill the man responsible, rob him of every last breath he held. "KHAAAN!" He yelled, springing up and taking off down the hall towards the transporter room. He'd finish this for his Captain.
