Fandom Star Trek (AOS), specifically Star Trek into Darkness
Character(s)/Pairing(s) Christine Chapel, Pavel Chekov, Giotto, John Harrison, Jim Kirk, Admiral Marcus, Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy, Gary Mitchell, Jean-Luc Picard, Janice Rand, Montgomery Scott, Spock, Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura; past Carol/Jim
Genre Alternate Universe/Crossover/Drama/Scifi
Rating PG-13
Word Count 6,157 of 17,348
Disclaimer Star Trek c. Paramount, CBS, Roddenberry
Summary The Enterprise pursues a mysterious "man in black," who can seemingly appear and disappear at will, as an ESPer coup comes to fruition. Meanwhile, an undercover temporal agent balances the historical record and reality so other agents can fix the chaos caused by Nero.
Warning(s) character death, death in general, mention of immolation, violence, spoilers for trailers, promotional material, promos, and interviews as of March 10, 2013. This is conjecture based on many things released before the UK/International trailer.
Chapter Warning(s) death, violence, mentions of immolation, spoilers up through March 10, 2013
Notes This started with the crack theory that Cumberbatch was playing a temporal agent. My brother asked what if that temporal agent was Jean-Luc Picard under a false name, and then the rest went from there. I used many characters from TOS to flesh out the story as well as some original characters to fill minor roles when necessary. This fanfic assumes the Enterprise would have some sort of security monitoring system. This fanfic also assumes that the TOS system of force fields that deliver static shocks is how the brig operates.
Chapter One, in which Captain Kirk deals with security discrepancies and a non-plasma fire on the Enterprise while transporting a group of scientists. Meanwhile, Starfleet urges the Enterprise to find and bring in a suspicious man.
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The Man in Black
Chapter One
It ached, this destruction. It filled his nose and burned his eyes, but he endured. He stepped forward from the ruins of the Starfleet base in London and looked directly at one of the surveillance cameras. He was on a mission and called himself John Harrison now. Harrison heard approaching sirens. He stepped out of view of the camera, back into the remnants of people and buildings. He then disappeared.
-
This region of the planet looked like Dr. Seuss dreamt about it. There were large red reed-like trees with puffball tops. The rivers were a sea green, the oceans deep, dark blue, and the ground a golden, sandy yellow. "Keep up, Bones," Kirk called over his shoulder as he parted their way through the numerous tall, thin trees.
"Keep up my ass," McCoy grunted. He was very close behind Kirk, but tried not to get so close he might actually step on Kirk's heels. Just beyond McCoy were several very angry indigenous humanoids. The people welcomed them openly when they beamed to the planet's surface earlier that morning. By lunchtime, there was a communications break down and the indigenous people thought Kirk and McCoy wanted one of them to eat. Now that two of the three suns were setting, it was well past time to get out or find out how the region punished a mistaken desire for cannibalism.
"Scotty!" Kirk called out. "Are you ready?"
Scotty flipped switches and twisted dials. "Aye, Captain," he said. "We're ready for you now." Due to magnetic interference, the team entered the planet in darkness last night via a shuttlecraft. Scott and Uhura remained in charge of the shuttlecraft currently hidden in one of the planet's oceans. After Kirk and McCoy left the shuttlecraft, the transporter stopped working properly. It had not worked properly all day, but Scott knew it would work now.
"Two to beam up. Do it fast. We're on the run," Kirk said. He almost slipped in the sand. The texture was becoming finer. He could hear rushing water up ahead. McCoy almost tripped over Kirk, but simply grabbed Kirk up by the shirt and dragged him along.
"They're catching up and we can hear the waterfall," McCoy added, "so whenever you're ready, Scotty."
A swirling glow enveloped the captain and the doctor. After a moment where it almost appeared they might not energize, they disappeared from the planet's surface. McCoy let go of Kirk and managed to stop running before he ran off the transporter. Kirk jogged off and gripped the transporter console. "Thanks, Scotty."
"Captain," Uhura said, "Commander Spock is on the comlink." It was 2264 and the crew was on its fourth year of its first five-year mission. The hiccups were mostly gone, though the history between crewmembers did not completely vanish.
"Put him on," Kirk said. He moved in view of the com screen in the small shuttle. McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty gathered around as well. "Spock," Kirk greeted. "The ship still in one piece I hope?" He smiled a bit. It was a joke. Of course, Spock would have the ship in one piece.
"Yes," Spock answered. "Admiral Marcus has been in contact with the ship," Spock spoke with deliberate care. "I cannot divulge the details here, but our orders are for you to return to the ship and assist in tracking down one of those 'men in black.'"
Kirk raised an eyebrow. "Really?" The men in black was a reference to people dressed in black clothing that appeared in specific locations across the galaxy since the defeat of Nero. The first rumors of a man in black were about the time the fleet was repaired and the Enterprise began its five-year mission. The first confirmed sighting was a few months ago near an outpost by Nero's entrance to the time stream. No one knew what the group wanted or what it did. "I'll talk to you when we get back aboard." With nothing more for Spock to report, the communication channel closed. Kirk turned to his team on the shuttle. "Okay, you heard him. They need us for something more exciting than first contact cannibalism." Kirk brought up a map of the planet. "If we piloted the shuttle to about here," he indicated the middle of the ocean they currently resided, "we could take off and rendezvous with the Enterprise without being seen, right?"
Uhura studied the map. "There's another settlement here and here." She indicated places on the map. "If they fish, they could be closer to that part of the ocean."
Kirk moved his finger. "What about here?"
Scotty tilted his head. "Doable. Still depends on how far they hunt. If we really don't want to be seen, we should just wait for darkness that would take two hours."
Kirk considered. "Or…right there." He picked a far point that would hide them from the indigenous people in theory by a rock formation that jutted out of the ocean. "It's desert over here and craggy there, so as long as we avoid any obstacles, we should be able to exit." It would be a gamble but it was in an area that was remote enough. Without any objections, Kirk turned to help set about getting the shuttle to the location. He looked at McCoy, who was still quite pale. "You okay there, Bones?"
"You know I hate transporters," McCoy quipped. "Let's try not to get eaten by some kind of sea monster, all right?" He fell in step with Kirk as the group headed back to the seats near the cockpit.
-
The briefing room still looked like some kind of dental office with a round table stuck in the middle. It was white and sterile. At one point Sulu added plants that would be hypoallergenic to known species. Then Rand found some art to stick up on it to represent parts of the federation. Kirk thought all they needed were some models of teeth in varying states of decay. While there had been many medical and dental advancements, teeth still needed checkups and sometimes alignment strips to fix problems.
Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, and Uhura gathered towards the front curve of the table. Chekov had the con while the senior officers were in conference.
"Whenever you're ready, Spock," Kirk said.
Spock took a moment to make sure he had everyone's attention. "I received a communication from Admiral Marcus at 1600 hours. At 1000 GMT, a series of bombs went off at the Starfleet installation in London, England, destroying every building on the campus." Spock paused briefly. "The Admiral said just before the explosion, Starfleet security relayed reports to local police of a campus-wide malfunction. None of the doors or windows of any building would open from the inside or the outside. The local police arrived just as the bombs detonated. When Admiral Marcus contacted us, London was still sorting through the dead and injured. They have no details on the type of bomb or the means of detonation."
There was a long silence. All of them knew at least one person stationed at the London base. It handed recruitment, diplomacy, and other matters related to Starfleet in that region of Earth.
"You mentioned the men in black?" Kirk prompted.
"That is correct," Spock said. He brought up an image on the computer screen of a tall human with fair skin and dark hair. "His identity is currently unknown. He was seen in London in the two days leading up to the explosion. His last sighting was on a remote outpost near Klingon space." Spock's eyes shifted so he could make proper eye contact with Jim. "Outpost KVX-759." Outpost KVX-759 was the closet point of Federation space to the site Nero began his attacks. "The last sighting was 1503 this afternoon."
"That's the third sighting in that area," Jim said.
"Wait," McCoy said. "You have to pass through a checkpoint to get to that place. Didn't they see him?" The checkpoint had an outbreak of Andorian shingles two years ago despite vaccinations. It was in all of the Starfleet medical journals. "Not to mention he couldn't have gotten their in five hours if we're supposed to believe the timestamp on this photo."
"Those are all valid concerns, which the Admiral shares," Spock answered. "It was similar concerns that that prompted Admiral Marcus to order the Enterprise to report to Outpost KVX-759 to investigate this man in black. The man in black might be gone when we arrive, but Admiral Marcus stated that what evidence we can gather and report back will be valuable."
Everyone took a moment to digest the information. Kirk ran a finger along his thumb. Scott's brow furrowed and Uhura studied the picture on the screen. Sulu watched Spock intently.
"If we locate the man in black," Spock continued, "we are to bring him to Starfleet alive as per Admiral Marcus' orders."
Kirk nodded. "We'll set in a course for KVX-759. I want all of you to look over what we know about these guys. We'll reach the outpost in 15 hours. That's enough time to study and get some sleep." He wanted them sharp for the mission. "Dismissed."
-
Outpost KVX-759 was a standard outpost installation satellite. It was a safe distance from the black hole created when Vulcan collapsed. The Enterprise docked and the away team gathered in the transporter room. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Scott, and McCoy appeared on the outpost's transporter terminal. A woman in a red uniform stood behind the controls.
"Welcome to our outpost," she said, "I'm Lt. Reed."
"Captain Kirk," Kirk replied and quickly introduced his team as they exited the transporter block. "Starfleet said you had an intruder recently."
"Yes," Reed confirmed. "We had another sighting this morning on one of the Engineering decks. We're under orders to wait for your team." She led the way to the Engineering deck in question. "We put the deck into lockdown after the last sighting."
"Sounds like we're going to coax a possum out from under the veranda," McCoy commented.
"He has a weapon, but he's not discharged it," Red explained. "If you need back up, there are three other Starfleet personnel here besides myself." Reed put her code into the security panel outside the Engineering deck when prompted.
"What we need is someone manning the doors from out here," Kirk said. "Spock," he said and turned to his team, "I'll need you, Scott, and Uhura to take the left." It would take them by the majority of Engineering panels. "Bones and I will take the right." Kirk got out his phaser, which prompted the others to as well. "Set phasers to stun," he instructed. Once they all had made certain their phasers were set to the same frequency, the group entered the Engineering deck.
The Engineering deck was outdated compared to the Enterprise. The outpost was twenty years old and abandoned for three years before Nero died and the men in black began to appear. The Engineering technology was at least ten years in the past, though the computers had a recent overhaul. The groups split off and took their separate paths.
Scotty made a beeline for one of the Engineering consoles. He began working his way into the computer system. "Let's see how true the reporters were," he murmured. "You two go on ahead, I've got this."
Uhura's eyes were already above them. Spock surveyed the area around them. "I do not know if it is wise to leave you alone," Spock said. "Nyota, stay here and make sure no one sneaks up on Lt. Commander Scott. I will continue."
"Be careful," Uhura said. She watched Spock leave and continued to monitor the area around the computer panel.
"There're no traces of transporter activity or shuttle activity between London and the first sighting here, disregarding the fact there's nothing that could move that fast anyway," Scott told Uhura. "There're no signs of tampering with the computer records or signs of transport signals in the building sweeps…" He frowned. "But the computer is counting ten humanoids in the outpost. Four humanoids up until thirty minutes before the first visual. Five humanoids until we arrived. Now ten." He began typing code into the computer.
"Can you locate the extra person?" Uhura asked.
"Not with these settings," Scotty said, "but if I were to upgrade it a wee bit…" He concentrated on his input data. "Just let me know if we've got company."
Kirk could see nothing that appeared amiss. His eyes moved from the ground to the ceiling, along the service catwalks, and the various equipment. He had his phaser ready in case of threat, but there was nothing.
"I'm not sure I want to know how he arrived," McCoy said. "Can you imagine something worse than transporters?"
"Well, he didn't just walk through the walls," Kirk said. "Scotty will know what's going on when we meet back up with him." Kirk had all the confidence in Scott's abilities.
Kirk and McCoy rounded what looked like several storage towers together at the same time Spock appeared around the other side. "Captain," Spock said, "Doctor."
"Anything?" Kirk asked.
"On this level no," Spock said. "I cannot see any threat above either, but there are places to hide. I would recommend investigating the catwalks as well."
Laser blasts echoed around the room. The source sounded like it could be near the Engineering computer stations. Spock, Kirk, and McCoy returned the way Spock came, keeping a look out for the source. Harrison, dressed completely in black, stood on the catwalk overlooking Scotty's sparking terminal. He held a large laser weapon on a strap that wrapped around his torso. From where Uhura and Scott were on the floor, it appeared Uhura had pushed Scott out of the way of the blast with enough time.
Kirk returned fire once he could find a shot. Harrison evaded, but did not hide himself amongst the equipment near the catwalk. Harrison shot again, hitting McCoy in the thigh, eliciting a string of profanities from the doctor. There was blood. The weapon was not set to injure, possibly to kill depending on the aim.
"Captain…" Scott's voice trailed, uncertain of the right question to ask.
"You know our orders," Kirk said, "keep them set where they are." He moved in such a manner he could keep his body between Uhura and Harrison while she quickly moved closer to McCoy to check on him.
Spock moved to stand at Kirk's side, blocking the majority of Kirk's body from Harrison's aim. "Captain," he said quietly, "while we have no orders to kill him, it is not wise to put yourself in a position in which he could kill you."
"I've got this," Kirk said. "Don't worry." He raised his voice so he could call out to Harrison on the catwalk. "I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. I'm under orders to bring you back to Starfleet. I'm not here to kill you."
"I am John Harrison," Harrison said. He lined his weapon up with Kirk. "This won't be the last time we meet." He fired. Kirk moved to dodge the shot at the same time Spock pushed him out of the way. The laser passed through Spock's forearm, but did not sever it.
Kirk looked away from Harrison, watching the green blood ooze from Spock's arm. When Kirk looked back at the catwalk, Harrison was no longer in sight. "Uhura, get Spock and McCoy back to the ship. Scotty, come with me." Kirk climbed up onto the catwalk with Scott. They could hear the others beaming out of the room. Scott and Kirk explored the catwalks, but there was no sign of Harrison.
Kirk and Scott exited the Engineering deck when the computers and their own eyes confirmed Harrison's disappearance. Scotty downloaded the computer's readouts of the chemical elements before, during, and after the confrontation. Then, Scott and Kirk exited through the door they entered. Reed was still at the door, waiting for any kind of communication or signal. She stepped back to let Scott and Kirk exit.
"He was there," Kirk said, "but he's gone now. Some of my team had to return to the ship early." He looked at Scott before directing his attention back at Reed. "I think it'd be a good idea if Lt. Commander Scott here helped upgrade your security systems."
"It'll take under an hour," Scott said, "but when I'm done, you'll be able to locate any intruders from any security interface." Reed agreed to the upgrade and Kirk explored the rest of the outpost.
When Kirk and Scott returned to the Enterprise, Harrison had not reappeared at the outpost nor were there any reports of new sightings in other locations. Security swept the Enterprise but the ship was not missing anyone nor had the ship gained anyone unexpected. Kirk made his way to Sick Bay to check on his crew.
"Captain," Nurse Chapel greeted Kirk as she headed over to McCoy and Spock. It was rare that McCoy would need bandages, but the wound to Spock's arm would need the barrier during the healing process.
McCoy took the bandage from Chapel and wrapped it around Spock's arm. "The skin and muscle should regrow in a few hours, the bone by the start of Delta shift," McCoy told Spock. "Keep this on for an hour. The skin should be back by then. Be careful with it while the bone regrows."
"Thank you, Doctor," Spock said. He eased himself off the table.
"Still in one piece?" McCoy asked Kirk.
"Yeah," Kirk said in a quiet voice to keep it between himself and his officers. Chapel discreetly left the room to make certain others did not enter unless there was an emergency. "We searched the outpost, updated their security software, but Harrison was gone. Scotty's got the readouts for the Engineering deck, but he said his preliminary searches didn't show any kind of transport fluctuations in that part of the ship except for you two and Uhura." He looked at both McCoy and Spock. "Any thoughts how to get in and out quickly without a transporter?"
McCoy led the group to his office so the facility could function if need be. The three officers remained standing despite the chairs in the small tucked away room.
"The question is," Spock ventured after a great deal of thought, "if it is possible to manipulate time and space around a person as a wormhole manipulates time and space around something like a starship."
McCoy looked almost disgusted by the thought of hurtling through space without any kind of shielding.
Kirk looked intrigued. "He wouldn't have to physically leave any enclosed area if he knew the correct coordinates. Do we know anyone with that kind of technology?"
"There were the StarGates created by the Ancients," Spock said. "All those on Earth were destroyed in the third world war. If that is the technology that Harrison uses, it would be portable technology, possibly technology of aliens we do not yet know."
"So he what? Puts on a helmet, puts in some coordinates and then he's long gone?" McCoy asked. "Wouldn't we see the wormhole?"
"We still have access to security footage," Kirk said. "There are parts of the deck that are unseen, but maybe if we know what to look for, we can find it."
-
Harrison appeared just outside of San Francisco, along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. He could see Alameda across the water. A man approached him dressed similarly, though his jacket was much shorter than Harrison's long coat. They did not have long to speak.
"Did it go as planned?" the man asked. Harrison knew him as Marshall currently. He was Harrison's superior.
"Yes," Harrison reported. "I lured Captain Kirk and the Enterprise to KVX-759. We had a confrontation on the Engineering Deck. They believe I perpetrated the London bombings."
"Then it's in order," Marshall agreed. "We're closing in on the target. We have to keep things to the book. We cannot trust that because we've injected ourselves into these proceedings that they will go accordingly."
"I am aware," Harrison said. "When I joined, it was stressed to me not to interfere and yet, I find myself entrusted with interference. I wonder sometimes if this is too heavy a hand."
"We only know what the records show," Marshall said. "You knew this when you agreed to be John Harrison."
Harrison held Marshall's gaze. He nodded. "Yes." He looked out across the water. "It looks so different, but also like it hasn't changed at all."
Marshall surveyed the bay and nodded. "This is both the time and not the time for sightseeing. Remember who you are and where you are. We can implement phase two once the first move is made."
"Yes, sir," Harrison said. He watched Marshall walk away. Harrison chose to linger just a while longer at the bay before leaving in the opposite direction.
-
Kirk's first roommate in Starfleet was Gary Mitchell. Mitchell was a few years younger, but they entered Starfleet Academy in the same year. When the fleet set off for the ill-fated rendezvous with Nero, Mitchell did not go, stuck in San Francisco suffering from a complication with a vaccine for a Romulan fever. Kirk and Mitchell got along well enough and when Kirk had to choose crew going into his first five-year mission, Mitchell had been on his list of candidates from the beginning.
Kirk saw Mitchell farther up the hallway returning from his shift. Mitchell perked up when he saw Kirk and then he smirked, "Something on your mind?"
"Going to try to read my mind?" Kirk asked.
"I can't 'read' minds unless they're special," Mitchell said, his tone teasing. He fell into step with Kirk. "But I can read body language and you're looking like you're a veteran captain today. You're going to go gray before you're forty."
"I'm not a newbie anymore. I've been at this for four years, Gary," Kirk said. He paused at an intersection that would lead to the transporter if they turned right and towards crew quarters if they continued in the direction they were walking.
"Going to meet someone?" Mitchell asked, stopping with Kirk.
"Yeah," Kirk said. "We're transporting a team of scientists and their families from a colony to a research facility out by Deneb IV. If we're good, we might get to have shore leave on Deneb IV." When it appeared Mitchell was not going to leave, Kirk allowed Mitchell to follow and continued to the transporter room.
"I heard they're telepaths down there on Deneb IV," Mitchell said.
"I heard that rumor," Kirk said. "Hoping you can test it out? See if you can find people who won't fall for your magic tricks?"
"I do more than just magic tricks," Mitchell said. He quieted when they entered the transporter room. Kirk nodded to the red shirt operating the transporter controls.
Six blue shirts appeared on the platform, followed by three spouses, and three children. The two boys were very young and the girl had to be early elementary school age. Kirk's eyes scanned their faces. Mitchell discreetly nudged him when Kirk spotted one of the blonde women near the back of the group.
Dr. Carol Marcus saw him at the same moment. Her face became unreadable. From just before the Nero incident up to the week before Kirk shipped out, they had an on again off again relationship. They were two very stubborn, intense people. It got to the point she met his mother and he met her father, but when Kirk shipped out, they both knew the relationship was over and should remain over for good this time.
"Captain Kirk," an older man said and stepped off the platform, "thank you for accommodating our expedition. I am Dr. Renault," he said. "This is my grand-nephew Maurice," he said of the brunette toddler, "I caution you, he has Shalaft's Syndrome. His mother thought time in space would help him with his therapy." Dr. Renault went about introducing the entire team as though someone who went through Command at Starfleet would not know Science Division. There was Dr. Susan Laurie, her wife, and their seven-year-old daughter. There was Dr. Imahara and her husband. There were the Glocks, both holding a doctorate in applied sciences. There was also psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Last, but not least, was Dr. Marcus and her young son David who peered at Kirk and Mitchell through blonde curls.
"He's two," Dr. Marcus said, her eyes holding Kirk's gaze. She could see his brain doing the math. She did not elaborate if David was almost three or only just two. David was too shy to say anything. Dr. Marcus picked him up so they would not slow the team down when shown to their quarters.
"Welcome to the Enterprise," Kirk said to the science team, almost a little too slowly. His eyes left Dr. Marcus and looked at the group as a whole. He introduced them to himself, Mitchell, and the red shirt behind the transporter controls. "Your quarters are the deck above our science deck. Lt. Commander Mitchell will show you before he goes off shift. If you need anything, there is a computer console in each room and you can ask questions at any time. I'm at your services."
The scientists thanked Kirk and followed Mitchell out of the transporter room. Kirk watched them go. David peered at Kirk curiously over his mother's shoulder, holding Kirk's gaze until the group was out of sight. Kirk ran a hand down his face once the group was gone. Then he remembered that the red shirt was in the room and he quickly exited to head to the bridge.
-
It was Delta shift, the equivalent of a graveyard shift if there were proper days and nights. Most of the population of the Enterprise was asleep or preparing for Alpha shift. Spock was in the command chair, unbothered by the slowness of the shift. His mind contemplated how to trap Harrison and what Harrison's goal as a man in black might be.
"Commander," Chekov said as his fingers skimmed along the screen, his eyes triple checking the contents, "the security sweep is abnormal."
Spock moved off the command chair and walked over to peer over Chekov's shoulder. The only other person in the command center with them was an ensign keeping track of external sensors and inter-space communication. There were others on the ship helping Chekov coordinate the internal workings of the ship at various stations throughout the Enterprise.
Chekov leaned back in his chair so Spock could see the readouts better. "I received this from Keenser, sir. He cannot get a proper reading on anyone in Recreation Room C-12, sir."
Spock observed the readings. There were five energy signatures in Recreation Room C-12. However, the readings carried no identification. The security system could not access the video channel. They could access an infrared channel, but the images were fuzzy and distorted. Spock reached over Chekov and brought up a security feed from within the ship. The security feed did not correspond to the infrared scan. Just as Spock returned to the scan, they watched the five bodies disperse in separate directions.
"Follow that energy reading," Spock said indicating the person leaving towards the south west corner of the screen, "and tell me when you have identified the individual." He stepped over to the communication center. "Ensign, send a communication to Captain Kirk. Code Delta Sigma 735." The ensign obeyed.
Kirk appeared within ten minutes. He adjusted the hem of his shirt so it would lie flat along his torso. "Quiet emergency? Did you miss me that much?" He ran a hand through his hair to make sure it looked right and not just rolled out of bed.
"Yes, we are looking at questionable actions," Spock answered. "Keenser noticed energy readings that had no identities attached. When Ensign Chekov brought up the security feed, the computer did not count any individuals in that room. We also could not access the video channel for that conference room."
"Did you scan the system for errors?" Kirk asked. He walked over to the empty helm station and brought up the security feeds and readings in questions. The video channel showed no one currently in Conference Room C-12.
"I found a script that might have caused the feed to display incorrectly," Chekov said. "Would you like me to remove it?"
Kirk's eyes scanned Chekov's screen. "Not yet. I want to know who's involved. I want evidence. For now, we let them think that we didn't notice. It's Delta shift. Things shouldn't slip by, but sometimes they can. I want you to keep an eye on this, Chekov, and report to me privately if this behavior continues and if you can attribute it to anyone. We don't know what this is yet."
-
Dr. Marcus and Dehner stood on one of the observation decks. It was Beta shift and the experiments they brought aboard did not need their attention currently. Dehner stepped closer to the window and spoke, "These are wonderful windows. Except the best parts of space are always too far away to see most of the time. It's a metaphor for all of Starfleet, don't you think? All these wonderful promises but so much emptiness."
"But in space, the 'promises' exist beyond the emptiness," Dr. Marcus said. She folded her arms. It was a lot of dark beyond the window. It put her on edge.
"We have until we reach the colony," Dehner said. "Are you going to start questioning it?"
"I don't see how this will help anyone," Dr. Marcus said. "I know I'm not as good at it as you are, but it's like how they used to punish people for being something other people didn't understand."
"Except we're the ones who aren't understood in this analogy," Dehner said. "You don't have to be as good as me or Mitchell to understand what this is like. Think what you could achieve, Carol, if they would let us really use our skills."
"Liz…" Dr. Marcus sighed. "What about David? His father isn't exactly known for bending spoons."
Before Dehner could answer, they women heard one of the turbolifts whirr. Dehner and Dr. Marcus quieted and glanced back at the doors. Kirk appeared. Dehner touched Dr. Marcus's arm reassuringly and then she took her leave with a respectful, "Captain," on her way into the turbolift Kirk exited.
Kirk approached Dr. Marcus, watching her body language out of the corner of his eye. For the most part, he looked out at the emptiness before them. Finally, he looked directly at her, glad she had not left. "Carol…."
"He's two, Jim," Dr. Marcus said. "Don't jump to conclusions."
"I know, but there's the two where he's almost three," there was a weight to his words that tapered as he continued speaking, "or he could just be two. I can do the math," Kirk said. "I'm not angry you didn't tell me," a lie but he had the diplomatic training of any in Command. "Just don't lie to me now."
Dr. Marcus observed Kirk for a long moment. Her lips pressed into a very firm line. "That last night, I knew what I was getting into, we both did. Every single time we both knew," she reached out and touched his face to direct his attention and keep her gaze, "and, we agreed to live our lives separately. So, here I am, honoring that agreement."
"But, if he is my son, I would –" before Kirk could finish his thought, the red alert echoed around them. Kirk went over to a nearby communication station. "Talk to me, Spock."
"We have reports of a carbon-based fire on Science Deck A. The sprinkler system appears to be functioning on only a portion of the deck," Spock said. "Lt. Commander Giotto," the chief of security, "is already en route. We can no longer establish communication with Science Deck A."
"Alright. I'm close. I'll rendezvous with Giotto and see if anyone needs help. Kirk out." Kirk stepped away from the communication station. Dr. Marcus fell into step with him. "Where are you going?" Kirk asked.
"I'm going to help," Dr. Marcus said. "Science Deck A is where we've been working."
Kirk did not have time to argue and he knew he would not win. Since it was a type of fire, the turbolifts would not service Science Deck A. Kirk put in his access code and opened a door to a set of service ladders. "Two levels down and we'll be on the right floor." There was no visible smoke, but they both could smell burnt plants and chemicals. Kirk started down the ladder and Dr. Marcus followed. When they reached the second landing, they each retrieved a small device from their pockets that would allow them to breathe despite the smoke. Kirk glanced at Dr. Marcus to make sure they were both ready and then opened up the service door so they could enter Science Deck A.
Everything was wet and the sprinkler system still rained. No one was in this room or the next three. The communication systems were waterproof, but their power supply was not working. Service lights guided Kirk and Dr. Marcus. When they arrived at the fourth room, they met Giotto and one of his men. The two red shirts were at a door, trying to pry it open with their strength.
"Lt. Commander," Kirk said. His eyes scanned the scene before them. His eyebrows furrowed. There were windows between all of the rooms on the deck. All of the windows belonging to the jammed room were sooty. He could see that the smoke was still moving inside the room, but Kirk saw no evidence of existing flames.
"The door won't open," Giotto reported. "Excuse my lack of respect, but there are people in there, Captain and the manual override jammed."
Kirk and Dr. Marcus began to help the men. With their help, the group finally opened the door. Smoke trapped inside spewed forth into the cleaner room. Giotto and his men entered first. The door at the opposite end of the room and all the windows were all jammed shut. The room smelled akin to burnt pork.
"Captain," Giotto motioned Kirk over to him. Kirk looked past the remnants of the burnt out lab table and closed his eyes briefly. There were three charred bodies. He could not tell the genders of any of them. "Okay," Kirk said, trying not to breathe too deeply, "This is a need to know situation. Hernandez, take Dr. Marcus with you. Tell Dr. McCoy what we've found."
One of the red shirts led Dr. Marcus from the room. She looked back over her shoulder. She was pale and upset, but did not argue. Dr. Marcus understood why she had to leave. She was not a member of the crew. She could even be a suspect.
Once Dr. Marcus left, Kirk began to give orders to the security team. "We need the sprinkler system turned off once we're certain this won't catch fire again. We're losing evidence from outside this room. I want a full investigation and I need it done before the end of Delta shift. Medical will take care of the bodies. I need you to find physical evidence. I need you to be able to tell me not only how this fire started, but why the sprinkler system failed, why the communication systems are down, and why the escape routes were jammed shut.
"We're going to quarantine this section of ship until things dry out and the investigation ends," Kirk added. "No one mentions the bodies or the extent of the damage of the fire to anyone except Commander Spock, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Commander Giotto, or myself. I'm going to issue each of you a communicator until the com stations are running again. Keep me informed of any emergencies or problems that come up. Any questions?"
For now the red shirt team had none. Kirk got out a data pad and sent the communicator request on ahead of the red shirt going to retrieve them. McCoy appeared along with Chapel and another nurse. Kirk drew McCoy aside while the nurses waited for security to finish documenting the bodies.
"Dear God," McCoy said. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure yet," Kirk said so only McCoy could hear. "I need to know who they were, Bones. I also want to keep what we saw on a need to know basis. It's staying between you, Spock, Giotto, and me."
"Understood," McCoy said. He looked around at the mess. "It never ceases to amaze me what humans will do to each other even now."
To be continued….