Spock and Kirk had finally ended their five year mission in space and were enjoying their two week leave. They were celebrities here on earth and everywhere that they seemed to go, life was never to be the same.
Kirk looked down from his large window onto the beautiful San Francisco Bay. The water was a pure blue and the sky cloudless. The academy was below with the students busstling and he wondered what Spock and Mccoy , all of the Enterprise crew would be doing next. Many had been reassigned and the ship badly in need of repairs and updates.
His pager went off and he was requested to meet in the admiral's office. 'Off to work again' he thought to himself with a smile. As he rounded the corner he saw his friend Spock coming down the hall. "I see that you too have been requested at the admiral's office?" he querried.
Jim smiled at his friend knowing that the admiral had both of them in mind and perhaps the rest of his crew would be together for the most part. They had been together for five years now and few of the crew wished to be seperated.
"Good morning. Have a seat." Admiral Barry told them with a smile.
Both Kirk and Spock were surprised to see the Romulan ambassador standing next to the admiral and wondered what was going on.
"Kirk Spock there have been many changes here at Starfleet and one of them is our relationship with the Romulans. We have decided to try a joint effort voyage for a period of three months. Because Spock is part Vulcan and the Romulan and Vulcans share a similar ancestry, we felt that the two of you would be a good choice. It is our wish that you join a Romulan ship together."
Kirk looked over at his friend and saw just a hint of wonder in his face. He still kept that staunch expression and little emotion but he had learned to read his face in the last five years. Spock was perplexed.
Spock was the first to speak "This indeed is a new world. It is an honor to be chosen for such an assignment. Where would we be going during this time?" he was trying to sound purely logical hoping that no emotions were coming through at that moment. Being around humans for the past five years had been very trying on his half human body.
"You will be assigned to sector five and Romulan sector 33. You will freely go between both sections on a peaceful journey. It is through your contact with both civilizations that a better understanding will start between us and the Romulans." the admiral told them.
"Two of our best people will be meeting with you tomorrow morning and we would be honored if you would meet with them." the ambassador implored.
Both Kirk and Spock knew that they had no choice, this was the order of the day and perhaps the time would not be a total waste of time. The relationship between Starfleet and the Romulan Empire was strained at the best.
The next morning Spock and the Captain met with the Romulan Captain and his first officer. The Captain's name was Jernak and his first officer to Kirk's surprise was a beautiful lady named Leena. Although Romulan's resembled the Vulcan's they had continued to embrace emotions. Although the meeting was somewhat tense the meeting went well.
Two days later Kirk and Spock arrived at the Romulan ship that they were to call home for the next ninety days. The ship's design had been studied thoroughly while they were in training for Starfleet, and Kirk and Spock had prided themselves on keeping up on the new changes as they had gone through their five year journey.
Kirk found himself in a sterile room with little or no ammenities. Although, the Enterprise had not had a fancy room for the Captain there had been some things for him to keep himself entertained, unlike this cabin. 'Oh the heat I must keep this at least ten degrees cooler than the ship. ninety-five degrees' he grumbled.
Spock found himself in a smaller room but with everything that he would need to meet the requirements of the journey. The computer and video were modern and easilly accessible. Also, the temperature was ninety-five degrees on this ship, a much more comfortable temperature for him.
Both Spock and Kirk headed up to the bridge, it was only fifteen minutes before the ship was due to leave dock. The bridge was a busy place, with everyone doing their job and getting ready for the voyage. Kirk sighed and relaxed for a moment ' this reminds me of the bridge of the Enterprise as we are leaving.
The ship was only about one half the size of the Enterprise and had only a crew of one hundred. The shape was somewhat different, but both ships shared similar engines and drives.
Leena was over at the weapons panel checking everything when they came in. Captain Jernak hadn't arrived on the bridge as of yet. Spock went over to the first officer and immediately began taking mental notes of the different designs of the Romulan system.
As Captain Kirk looked around he noticed that there was a seat next to the Captain's chair. He looked around and decided to take a seat. There was a quiet, a dead quiet suddenly and Jim Kirk knew that he had made mistake, this seat probably belonged to the first officer. He started to get up when Leena came over to him and with a quick smile told him "Take care in this seat for this is the seat for the second in command."
"Excuse me, I didn't mean to take your seat." Kirk said with a smile. He started get up and give her the seat when she stopped him.
"You are now the second in command on this ship. You have the same rank as our Captain and shall be treated as such." Leena bowed and went back to her weapon board.
Captain Jernak arrived on the bridge and saluted Kirk. "We are about to begin a journey that will change our futures for the better. What happens on this trip will define our destinies for many years to come."
"With trust and honor towards each other anything can be accomplished." Kirk told him with the most honorable expression that he could muster and with that the journey began.
It would be ten days before they reached their sector five, so both Kirk and Spock took the time to explore the ship, and meet many of the crew. Although there were a few stares and a few of the members seemed nervious around them for the most part they felt welcome.
Spock had gone into the game room looking for Kirk and found Leena there. "Hello Captain Spock, would you care for a game of chess?" she asked.
Spock took a seat and began the game. He was good at this game and rarely lost , but he was losing to her. She was smart and quick about her moves. He was surprised at how he found himself somewhat attracted to her. 'no it is just that I find myself impressed with her.' he thought to himself.
Just then Kirk came into the room looking for something to eat. He was not certain of the type of food he would find good to eat. Romulans did eat meat unlike Vulcans but what kind did they eat?
His friend and confident Spock came over and helped him make a selection. When he sat down to eat he was pleasantly surprised at the sweet taste of the Romulan meat and the salad that he was offiered.
The next few days were very busy with Kirk and Spock learning all about the ship and the Romulan life. It seemed that as they learned one thing they found that they needed to learn ten more. Time would go by fast in these ninety days.
The forth day Kirk was offered the Captain's chair. Both Leena and Spock stayed on the bridge incase there was any problems and Kirk breathed a sigh of relief. It was not ten minutes into his time on the bridge that Leena picked up on a possible follower.
They called for the Romulan captain and his response was quick. "Do you have any idea who this ship would be? Are there no authorized ships in this area?" he asked.
As they scanned the approaching ship, they were surprised to find it was an earth ship. Quick and unidentified. It was an older ship from the design, who was this ship? Without warning the Romulan ship found itself spiraling into a hole , a worm hole, the most dangerous thing that a ship could encounter out in space.
"Shields up. Steady steady steer into it. Careful." the Captain shouted.
Everything seemed out of sorts and people's faces and bodies were distorted. Kirk could see the fear but the crew was holding their own. As they approached the end of the worm hole Kirk knew that they were to be ok. The ship was now way off course and much to their dismay they found that the other ship had been dragged into the same worm hole . "Hard right." the Captain yelled as they narrowly missed the other ship.
"Where and when are we?" Captain Jernak shouted.
The navigator looked down at his console and looked up with a worried look. "We are in sector seven, however, the year doesn't seem to be correct. One moment please." he looked down at his console and did some more figuring and announced that the date was 1970 earth time. They had landed back near earth and were in danger of being discovered. They must get away from Earth's atmosphere.
"Kaleen try to reach the other ship." he ordered.
"This is the Romulan ship Antas. We are trying to raise the ship that just went through the worm hole. Please acknowledge."
"This is the starship Enterprise Lt Uhura here. We have been taken into the same worm hole as you and find ourselves with signifcant damage. Do you read us?"
Captain Kirk and Spock looked at each other in amazement. Neither one of them remembered this happening to them before. 'This doesn't make any sense, I should remember this happening to the Enterprise if this is our past.' Kirk thought to himself.
Spock had been busy at his computer studying the ship that was there with them in this strange time. Scanning the ship he had been surprised to find how advanced the ship was and also that on board there was a human and a vulcan. By the status of the ship he would estimate that this Romulan ship was a minimum of five years newer than the Enterprise, smaller but faster.
"Captain, I do believe that they too have been forced into the past and that they are from our future. The ship that they are in is advanced beyond our means by at least three to five years." Spock told him.
"They seem to be addressing us as friends not enemies also. Do we have the means to get back to our time?" Kirk asked.
"We will need some time for repairs the damage has been great." Spock looked at his console and knew that the Enterprise wasn't going anywhere at this time. He wondered how the Romulan ship had survived such a ride through the worm hole.
"Scotty, what is going on down there?" Kirk called.
"It is a disaster sir. We will need three days before we can even move her. I suggest that we go behind the moon to do repairs. We need to get away from the Earth, they probably have already spotted us and might send up one of their fighters." Scotty answered.
Kirk knew that this would be thier best bet. The moon would hide them from the earth for at least a short time. But when did the United States go to the moon? He hoped that noone from Earth would be going up to the moon in the next few days.
Spock looked at his friend and knew that the situation was critical. The ship could make it to the moon, but then what? They would be two ships stuck in the wrong time, and with the Enterprise of all the ships.
It was decided that both ships should go to the moon and make repairs. The flight back would be rocky at best and both ships needed to be in good condition to survive the trip. Leena looked up at her new vulcan friend and wondered what was going on in his wonderfully brilliant mind. He was the first man in many years who had nearly beaten him in a game of chess and now she would get to see him in action.
Both ships went to the darker side of the moon to start repairs. Neither ship had been there long when it became obvious that they would need to go to Earth for repairs. They would need several different types of materials before they could even begin to prepare the ships for the dangerous trip back to their own times.
Captain Jernak unlike Captain Kirk found the problem of having two Captain Kirks and two Captain Spocks in both times very amusing. How would they explain this situation? He knew that the best people for going down to earth would be the humans. 'How about sending both Kirks?'
It was time that Kirk come aboard the Romulan ship. He was nervious but the Enterprise transporter had been damaged in the time travel and the Romulan's ship was in much better shape. It was agreed that Jim Kirk and chief engineer would go down to Earth to pick up what materials they would need to make the journey back to their own time.
When they reached the other ship the Captain and Scotty were met by Captain Jernak and his first officer Leena. "We would feel better if someone from this ship came with you. It would be an honor to go with you." Leena told them.
"You would not fit in . This is long before anyone on Earth has ever seen or heard of a Romulan." Kirk told her.
"I am a science officer and will be of great help with the antiquated ways of your Earth. I have studied the clothes of this day and I can simply wear a headband over my ears." she insisted.
With that they were off to Earth. It was decided that the best place to go would be to a more centralized city and so they chose Detroit Michigan. This would be the best choice as that in the year 1970 it was the hub of all automobile manufacturing and the knowledge of all engines would be at it peak.
It was Earth all right, but so dirty and noisy. The buildings were nearly all made of cement with dirty windows and smog everywhere. Kirk and his party looked around at the different store fronts and found themselves a small engine repair shop.
"Good afternoon. I am here to see about purchasing some different metals for a project that I am working on." Kirk told the store manager with a smile.
"What kind of metals do you need?" he asked.
Scotty looked around the old shop and at all the antique motors. They would be most difficult to change into something that he could use but they would do. He ordered all of the parts that this shop could provide and left.
"We are going to need a few items that aren't available to the general public. We are going to need to go into a more controlled environment. This could be a little tricky." Kirk told them.
"Where do you propose we go?' Scotty asked with a smile.
"I think that we are going to need to get access to the electric circuits." Kirk offered.
"That will be easy. The security from this time will be an ace to crash into." Leena offered. "This is my specialty."
When they arrived at the electic company climbing over the wall was a job and a half. Kirk climbed over and then Scotty and Leena. She had the code to get into the building and everything looked good. They needed several circuits and a few other items before they could leave.
Meanwhile things were not going well on the Romulan ship. The ship was loosing power as every minute went by and they had been forced to land on the moon. To Captain Jernak and Captain Kirk's horror there was an Earth ship on it's way to the moon in three days. They must leave this place as soon as possible.
Leena came around the corner and was met by an unexpected security guard. He had a gun and it was pointed directly at her. The last thing that she wanted to do was hurt this man and perhaps change history so she stood there like a statue. Meanwhile Kirk had seen her dilema and from the corner managed to shoot her laser on stun. They grabbed what they needed and immediately called to be beamed up.
For a moment it appeared that the beaming was going to be unsuccessful, but with some skilled work by the Romulans all three arrived safely on board. Fortunately for all on board the Romulan engineer was every bit as capable as Scotty. It turned out that they worked well together and within three days the ship was ready to go back in time.
While on the old Enterprise Kirk was telling Scotty that three days wasn't good enough, the United States from Earth would be arriving at the moon during that time. They must not see the ships either one of them. This might change the course of Earth history.
Dhera the engineer on the Romulan ship was busy building pieces that would hopefully work well enough to get them home. 'What if he did change time? What if Kirk and Spock from the past did not get home? They were the enemy afterall. Some ambassadors had decided that peace was the way. Was it?' he thought to himself. 'This would be the chance for the Romulan Empire they could go back to Kirk's time and change everything. With their superior vessel and intelligence earth of the past would have no future.'
Meanwhile on the Enterprise Scotty was having problems of his own. The antiquated materials that they had gotten while on Earth were not well equiped to handle a ship as large as theirs and would take alot of work. Captain Kirk was in one of his moods where he had to do better than the best. He looked up to see Spock standing there. "Never have I been so glad to have the help of our science officer." he offered.
With the two men working together it looked as if they could get all of the work done in time. If nothing went wrong they would be out of this time before the three days were over. The captain was right they needed to get out of there asap.
Spock looked down at Dhera the engineer and was wondering why he seemed to be in slow motion. He seemed to be deep in thought and didn't notice the vulcan enter the engineering room. As he drew closer Spock saw what he was up to. He was trying to sabotage the Enterprise from his counsel. This would not work and as Dhera reached to hit a button that would surely destroy the other ship Spock grabbed his arm.
The fight that ensued was incredible. Both men were very strong and one of the other Romulans had hit the danger button. Leena came in and stepped in between them stopping the fight right then and there.
Although the fight had been stopped the damage to the Enterprise was great and it was now doubtful that both ships could make it back through time. Scotty and Spock worked on the Enterprise worked endlessly without much hope while Spock and Leena worked on the Romulan ship that still was not ready. They needed Dhera and his expertice.
Captain Kirk took a long look at himself in the mirror knowing that the man in front of him would need to correct the problems that had ensued. 'He was there on a peace mission' he rationalized to himself.
As Captain Kirk arrived at the Romulan brig he was met with suspicion from one of the guards. "It is important that I speak to this man. You may stay outside and if you feel that anything inapproriate is happening inside you can come in and stop us." he said with a smile.
The guard thought to himself for a few moments and unlocked the door. Inside he found the engineer resting on a cot. When he saw the captain he stood up and bowed. Kirk studied the man and cleared his throat. "You and I are from different worlds, but we must learn to live together. After all, we have just begun a three month journey and we need to learn to get along or it will be a long lonesome one. What you did was not done in the best of taste but we now need your help getting this ship and the Enterprise back to our own times."
Dherea seemed to think what Kirk had said , realizing that he had taken this assignment so that there could be a chance for his people, he spoke "For what I did I am sorry, it will not happen again and you have my word as an engineer representing the Romulan fleet."
Kirk reached out his hand for a good handshake and asked the guard to let them out. He knew that Romulans were like their Vulcan counterparts and honor was one of the most virtues to their culture. If he had not been willing to work alongside of him he would have slit his throat in a heartbeat.
Meanwhile Kirk on the Enterprise wasn't sure about the releasing of the Romulan engineer who had tried to destroy his ship and wanted to send his first officer Spock over to the other ship. He had requested this twice and been told that it wasn't necessary. 'What are they hiding?' he thought. Meanwhile the Earth ship was getting closer and closer to them as they could hear the radio traffic.
After much negotiating Kirk agreed to send his engineer over to the Romulan ship to check on progress. It was not his first choice as Scotty was needed here desperately, but he agreed to the details.
Scotty was a wee bit nervious going over to the Romulan ship by himself, but this was his job and new adventures was one of the dangers of going from world to world and time to time.
As soon as he materialized Scotty was surprised to see Mr. Spock standing there. There was something different about him. 'Did he look older?' Scotty thought.
"Mr. Scott. I believe you will find many things of interest on this vessel. I will bring you down to engineering myself." Spock said.
Scotty was amazed at the engineering department. Although, much smaller than the room on the Enterprise it was very efficient and had so many new inventions that he found it hard to understand everything. He was glad to have Spock with him.
"How many years in the future do you come from?" Scotty asked.
Spock looked at the engineer wondering what to say when Captain Kirk stepped in. "Mr Scott what a pleasure seeing you once again." he said with a smile and a warm handshake.
Scotty looked at the captain and smiled. This was the man who he had worked alongside of for the past year. He was dependable smart and the luckiest man he had every met. They had gotten out of a lot of jams together and he was now sure that with two Jim Kirks and two Mr. Spocks everything would work out well.
"It is not necessary for you to know the true year of our time. We are the future and must get back to our time as you yours. After all Scotty if we don't get you back we won't get back either. We could use your help." Kirk offered with a worried smile.
Scotty went to work and working along the Romulan , although worrying, proved to be exceptional. He was smart and very knowledgeable.
Kirk was pleased to hear that Scotty was finishing the work and that the ship would be ready for travel within the hour. The Earth ship was due to come into view within that time. He wondered whether or not a ship from that time would be able to spot the two other ships.
Working alongside of the older Kirk and Spock had been interesting. The two men had changed little and their devotion to the work was amazing. It went without saying that he must never mention the two men that he had met on the Romulan ship to anyone. This again could change history.
Kirk was standing on the bridge of the Enterprise when he spoke to the Captain of the Romulan ship. Yes they had worked together well and it was now time to part. It was both of their hopes that someday they could be friends.
As the two ships flew into their time the United States spaceship looked up to see two huge ships fly at a very fast rate of speed and disappear. "Houston you will not believe what we saw." and another log was noted of an unidentified flying object.
