Captain Jim Kirk sat in his command chair on the U.S.S Enterprise, staring aimlessly into the view screen. The ship was en route to shore leave on Delta IV, a well-known pleasure planet.
Jim rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was definitely ready for leave. Hell, it had been a stressful few months. First, there had been the whole Khan thing, which he still wasn't really ready to think about too hard, and then, after only a few days leave while docked in orbit around Earth, the ship was heading out again. And after that it seemed they had just run into one kind of mischief after another. A couple of near run-ins with Klingons, a ship-wide epidemic of some kind of alien cold, a small explosion in the engine room near the dilithium crystal storage which somehow caused a whole butt load of paperwork – the list went on and on. Nothing particularly serious or interesting or adventurous, just - annoying.
Jim began swiveling his chair slightly back and forth in a bored, impatient gesture. Yes, definitely ready for leave. He needed a break from work. And, to be honest, from his crew. Especially his bridge crew. That's what came of being stuck in the same place with the same people for too long, he reflected. They were beginning to drive him crazy. As if they hadn't been already. If this lasted any longer, he decided, he would definitely be biting their heads off.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft beep from Uhura's communication station. He looked over at her as she listened for a moment, nodded to herself, and cut the channel. "That was the last set of orders from Starfleet Command," she told him. "We're cleared for ship wide leave."
"Ve'll be there in just over 24 hours, sir," Chekov piped up from navigation.
"Great," Jim said in acknowledgment. He yawned and stretched back in his chair. As he lazily surveyed his bridge crew, he randomly began to notice little things about them – how Chekov was sitting slightly slumped at his console, Sulu was fidgeting his foot, Uhura wore a slightly impatient expression. Even Spock looked a little worn out. Actually, Jim reflected, come to think of it, he probably wasn't the only one who was tired and needed a break from work. All of them could use a little space, so to speak.
Jim sank even deeper into his chair, and also into thought. He didn't know how long he sat there, thinking of everything but nothing in particular. All he knew was that when the ship gave a sudden lurch, he jumped, having almost fallen asleep.
He hit the control on the arm of his chair as the ship rapidly slowed. "Scotty, what was that?"
"I dinna know," came the chief engineer's worried voice. "Nothing seems to have happened to the engines - it's almost like we ran aground in something, sir."
The ship jolted to a halt. "Sir," said Spock. "I am detecting an energy formation from – what appears to be directly below the ship." He sounded confused. "What I do not understand is how it did not appear on our sensors before."
"Can't we just get away from it?" Jim asked.
"I am attempting to ascertain that," Spock said. He moved his hand toward his console, but just then the ship started moving – downwards.
Jim's stomach dropped as the ship began its turbulent descent. He jumped to his feet, grabbing the arm of his chair. "Spock, what's going on?" he demanded.
"We appear to be being – sucked into the formation," Spock said, rapidly pressing buttons. "At this rate we will be completely engulfed in four point eight seconds –"
Jim hit the control for ship wide communication. "Yellow alert! All hands, prepare for possible impact!" He cut the channel and sat back down, bracing himself against the arms of his chair.
The ship gave one final downward lurch, before shuddering still. One glance out the view screen at the luminescent nebula-like cloud that looked like nothing he'd ever seen before, coupled with a swiftly-fleeting thought of shore leave, and Jim let out an exasperated groan.
"Aw, sh-"