Ship's log, USS Inquisitive, Stardate 1456.7, Acting Captain Ada Haversine reporting.
Commander Federer's behavior has grown so erratic that I was compelled to have him forcibly removed from the Bridge. Like the Captain, his symptoms began this morning with perspiration and arrhythmia, and paranoia and violent aggression quickly followed. Within four hours of initial symptoms, already confined to sickbay, he, too, fell into a coma. Meanwhile, the Captain, Ensign Meyers, Ensign Haversine, Lieutenant Chang, and Doctor Singh continue to deteriorate in their unconscious states, and Chang and Ma-Ensign Haversine are on full life support.
We know only that their organ systems are ceasing to function, one by one. Our research and testing has yielded no significant information on the nature of their ailment; tricorders and biometric scans show nothing out of the ordinary except for the seemingly spontaneous organ failure. Acting chief medical officer, Doctor Cromwell, still believes that the behavior is caused by a well-camouflaged virus, but I now believe that it is their minds that are falling apart. I do not know what could cause such mass psychosis and the eerily specific order in which their bodies shut down, nor do I understand how the condition spread to these unconnected people, but I have teams of four crew members monitoring operations on all vital equipment. Lieutenant Chang nearly compromised the antimatter chamber in his psychotic state before we restrained him, and Meyers damaged our auxiliary power.
We have sent a distress signal to Starfleet, but until help arrives our first priority must be to remain hidden from the galaxy at large. No one, not even our rescuers, can know our mission.
"Captain, there's an incoming message, heavily encrypted, from Starfleet Command. They say it's urgent."
Kirk glanced around at Lieutenant Uhura, whose brow furrowed in concern as she
listened.
"Let's hear it."
"Sir, the USS Inquisitive, a scientific survey ship conducting research on the binary star system near the Neutral Zone reports a that members of their crew have contracted an unknown condition. We're to prepare a quarantine area large enough to accommodate one hundred potentially infected people and transport them there. Then…" Uhura trailed off and her lovely dark eyes widened as she heard the last part of the message. "Then the ship is to be destroyed completely, sir."
Spock raised his eyes from his diagnostics and raised a brow. "Does the Inquisitive have a purpose other than research?"
"No, sir. It has only rudimentary weapons systems and the crew is made up mostly of physicists and chemists. But it might be carrying the disease."
"Surely that would make it a valuable source of information in identifying the issue. To destroy it before running scans would be illogical."
"Captain, they were absolutely adamant that we are to destroy the ship the moment the last crew member is beamed out."
Kirk, who had remained uncharacteristically silent until now, met his First Officer's eyes briefly before speaking.
"We'll address the question of the ship when we come to it. Uhura, send the Inquisitive's coordinates to the helm and tell Dr. McCoy to begin preparations for our guests. Mr. Sulu, set a course, warp factor nine. Mr. Spock, with me." The Vulcan rose fluidly and silently followed his captain into the lift.
Personal log, Stardate 1456.9, Lieutenant Commander Ada Haversine, Acting Captain
Charlie always said that the Captain's chair is the loneliest summit in the universe. I thought it was a line, unnecessary and melodramatic, since he told me that while I was tangled in his sheets and already crazy for him. Now he's dying quietly in a cot while I sit here with a phaser in my hands, trying to work up the courage to do what I must. It isn't even my decision. That should make it easier. It should.
I'm finally at the top, I've gotten the leadership I've always wanted, but I've never felt this powerless. I am flying blind, leading mute, and making decisions while my conscience is hovering between life and death in sick bay.
"Mr. Spock, is there some reason you decided to sow suspicion right in the middle of the Bridge?" Kirk began speaking the second the lift doors closed around them. Spock carefully considered his response. Human deception was a habit profoundly alien to him, and he was beginning to realize that many of their antics were not a result of irrationality, but of dishonesty.
"I apologize, Captain. In my haste to point out the rashness of Starfleet's command, I did not consider its full implications."
"You're too honest for this business by half, Mr. Spock. When you command a vessel, you become familiar with the scent of a lie. I envy you for lacking that ability." Kirk looked straight ahead, frowning. "You're right; the chances that the Inquisitive is on a purely scientific mission are slim."
"Espionage, sir? They were found only one astronomical unit from the Neutral Zone."
"That would be my bet. But I don't bet on spies."
"And the ship? Captain, if these people really are sick, to destroy the ship would be reckless."
"Are you advising me to directly disobey Starfleet's order?"
"No, captain, merely to take some liberties with the timing of its execution. The ship need not be destroyed immediately. We have not been given any orders concerning search parties."
"That's a dangerous game, Spock."
"Yes, sir."
"I like it."
I'm not sure if I can do it. I think it's in my head. I see it behind my eyelids.
It took the Enterprise only three hours from the time Starfleet's message arrived to reach the Inquisitive. On the screen, the ship hung silent in the air, tiny and defenseless. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy stood on the Bridge, each caught in their own thoughts. Kirk's mind raced through the possibilities, his hunger to discover the truth battling the knowledge that to engage the shadowy depths of the Federation might bring disaster upon his ship. Spock reviewed the profiles of the command staff of the Inquisitive; all fiercely brilliant scientists. Could such minds really serve dishonest schemes? McCoy simply braced himself for the worst. He had seen plague ships before. He waited for the moaning, the shrieking, the weeping with a steeled heart.
"Hail on all frequencies. lieutenant." The Bridge waited in tense silence as the communications officer flipped her switches.
"I have a response, sir. Establishing visual."
The screen flickered, then the view changed to display a woman in a Captain's seat. The Bridge appeared well-populated and intact, and the woman serene.
"Captain Kirk. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you."