Chapter 1:

Dr. Leonard McCoy sat in his office working on his computer. He had just been ordered by Starfleet Command a couple days ago that a huge stack of paperwork needed to be done with records on every crew men's latest physical and the results that came from each of them. As much work as it was, he could understand Starfleet Command's reasonings.

As he continued working at his desk, he suddenly heard crying that was coming beside him. He turned in his spin chair and smiled. He got up from his desk, walked over to the foldable crib sitting beside it, and reached over to grab his four month old daughter, Julia.

Julia Eleanor McCoy had been born to Dr. McCoy after going through a medical procedure on the planet Vulcan. He had grown very depressed about not having his own child. He did have one daughter, Joanna, who lived back on Earth. She did, however, live with her mother and stepfather, so Dr. McCoy's roll was not all that impacting he felt sometimes.

Dr. McCoy smiled at the little baby in his arms. She looked up at her daddy and smiled. She started to make some cooing noises to him. She was wearing a white long sleeved dress with a pink insignia in the corner with a rattle symbol and a pink bow at the bottom of her collar. It was, what Captain James Kirk called, her Starfleet uniform. As for him, he was in his usual black pants and boots and wearing his medical shirt he always wore in Sickbay.

He smiled and starting talking to her as he rocked her gently, when two of his three best friends, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, walked into Sickbay. The third one was Chief Engineering Officer and third in command, Mr. Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott. Scotty was married to his wife, Sabrina, who worked in Engineering and Security as a lieutenant. Scotty had fallen in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her. They had been deeply fond of one another since.

Captain Kirk could not help but smile at the sight he saw. Spock, as usual, remained impassive.

"Bones, I thought you had paperwork to be doing." Captain Kirk teased.

Dr. McCoy looked up at Captain Kirk and smirked.

"I'm allowed to take breaks, Jim. It's in Starfleet's conduct of rules." Dr. McCoy replied smiling.

Captain Kirk walked over closer to Dr. McCoy and looked down at Julia. He smiled and started talking to her in a baby voice.

"What are you doing, Miss McCoy? Is Daddy spoiling you again?"

Julia cooed and leaned her face a bit into Dr. McCoy's chest. The old doctor could not help but smile and continued rocking Julia side to side. After remembering that he had his friends in the room, Dr. McCoy looked up and realized that Scotty was not there with them.

"Where's Scotty?" Dr. McCoy asked worried.

"Mr. Scott is in Engineering instructing the new engineers on how things work and operate machinery in the field." Spock answered.

"A simple 'In Engineering' would have been fine, Spock." Dr. McCoy remarked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

Spock raised an eyebrow.

"You asked a question, Doctor, and I gave you an answer to the best of my abilities."

"Alright, you two. Knock it off, before another war starts." Captain Kirk teased. Sometimes he found the fights between Spock and Dr. McCoy annoying. Other times, he found them endearing and funny.

Dr. McCoy simply smiled at Captain Kirk and shook his head.

Soon enough, the doors to Sickbay opened again and the last of their friends, Scotty, walked in. He was smiling and in a good mood as usual.

"Scotty, how are you feeling today?" Dr. McCoy asked grinning.

"I'm feeling fine, Doctor. And yerself?" Scotty asked.

"I'm just fine. How's Sabrina?"

"Oh, she's wonderful, Doctor. Gets more beautiful everyday."

Dr. McCoy smiled. He had never seen Scotty so in love with someone before. He was usually in love with his engines.

Captain Kirk smiled then cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, the reason I am here is because I have important business to discuss with all of you," Captain Kirk said, more serious now.

"What is it, Jim?" Dr. McCoy questioned.

Captain Kirk gestured for Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Scotty to follow him out of Sickbay. The three of them complied with their commanding officer and followed him to the briefing room, where they all took seats and began listening to Captain Kirk.

"Gentlemen, I have just been alerted by Starfleet Command that the Romulans are at it again. They want to start another dispute between us and the Romulan Empire. Their reasoning has yet to be discovered."

"Aw, can't they give it a break for a while, Captain? They just attacked us a little over four months ago." Scotty remarked.

"Yes, they did, which causes lots of suspicion in me."

"On what grounds, Captain?" Spock asked.

"Why would the Romulans attack us and four months later attack us again? Usually they wait for quite a time span before they plan a next attack. Usually they don't give us any notice at all...so why now, Spock?" Captain Kirk questioned.

"Unknown, Captain."

"Jim," Dr. McCoy started. "You mean to say that you think the Romulans are plotting something against us?"

"Not think, Bones. I know they're up to something...but what is the question." Captain Kirk replied.

"Perhaps they are interested in a type of dealership." Spock suggested.

"A dealership; of what kind, Mr. Spock?" Scotty asked interested.

"A trade of some sort, Mr. Scott." Spock replied.

"What kinda trade would the Romulans want with us, Spock?" Captain Kirk asked.

"Unknown, Captain. It is a mere speculation of what the Romulans may wish to do with us," Spock said.

"Well, I for one don't wanna be involved. I just got back from leave, I have a four month old daughter here to take care of, and not to mention all of that paperwork Starfleet Command has just ordered me to finish and assemble to send to them," Dr. McCoy said. He held onto Julia a bit tighter, afraid she might leave if he let go for even a second.

"What do we do about it, Captain?" Scotty asked, slightly worried.

"First off, we take every single necessary precaution in order to protect ourselves from the Romulans. I refuse to have the ship damaged again like it was last time," Captain Kirk said determined.

Scotty nodded.

"Aye, Captain. That was not good. Our phaser banks were completely wiped out for weeks!" Scotty replied.

"That could have been one of the causing factors for the heater in Engineering to burst into flames and caused the fire." Spock speculated.

A few weeks after Julia had been born, a terrible fire broke out in Engineering and burned the entire thing apart. For a while, it was believed that Scotty's wife, Sabrina, had been killed in the fire. It sent Scotty into a deep state a grief and almost left him mentally insane for the rest of his life.

"Yah think so, Mr. Spock?" Scotty gasped.

"Alright, gentlemen. Let's get ready for a confrontation," Captain Kirk said.

The four top in command rose from their spots and headed out into the halls and started walking with one another.

"Yah sure we can handle these guys, Captain?" Scotty asked.

"Oh, of course, Scotty. We've handled these guys before, surely we can handle them again." Captain Kirk replied.

"Let's just hope one of them ain't Syriin, Captain."

Syriin was a Romulan commander that had made many confrontations with the ship before. He irritated the hell out of Captain Kirk and the rest of the crew on the Enterprise. He was probably the most irritating and dangerous of all of the Romulans in the entire Romulan Empire.

"I don't have a good feeling about this, Jim," Dr. McCoy said, slightly worried.

"What reason do you have to feel bad about this situation, Doctor?" Spock questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, Spock...but whatever it is, I certainly don't like it," Dr. McCoy said softly.