He had been isolated before. Medically and even, from time to time, on various planets but not like this. Never like this. Just on the other side of that door life aboard the ship went on as usual. The crew would all be doing their duties. The ship. The crew. Not his ship. Not his crew. He was on this ship and his ship was flying parallel with it as they headed to Starbase Four where he would stand trial for breaking the Prime Directive.

Since Captain Gavin Alliness had placed him under arrest after Hyterra Two he had been in these quarters. He was brought three meals a day, had access to an ablution area, there were provisions for up to eight cups of coffee a day, and his one contact was Captain Alliness. All he knew about the Enterprise was that Spock was in command and the Enterprise had accompanied them back to Starbase Four. He was not allowed to talk with any of his crew.

All he could do was to relive that moment over and over. It was sometimes in slow motion and other times almost as fast as it had happened. They had beamed down to try to make first contact. Standard procedure. The location had shown no sign of local inhabitants. Captain Alliness had beamed over with one of his Security Officers to beam down with him and one of his Security Officers as Alliness would be in more regular contact with Hyterra Two. At first it seemed routine. There was no sign of life. They had taken perhaps sex steps from the beam down site when ten locals had come out of hiding and one had what appeared to be an old fashioned crossbow aimed at them and a second had fired an arrow that narrowly missed him but struck his Security Officer in the thigh. It had been an instinctive reaction. He had drawn and fired his phaser on stun.

He had given the command to beam down. He had been the one to produce and fire a weapon. He had used his communicator to get them beamed up. All were instances where the locals were shown technologies not known before. They had beamed back onto the Enterprise, Spock was given command of the Enterprise, was acting Captain, and then he had been beamed over to Alliness's ship and brought to these quarters that had been stripped of all communications systems.

All those years of training, all those other first contacts. They had scanned the area. There had been no sign of natives. The area should have been clear. How he hated not being able to talk with Spock, hated not being able to talk through the whole thing with him as there had to be something he was missing.

Just for a moment he smiled, he had no doubt that McCoy and Spock would be having many heated arguments. He also wondered how they would be dealing without him there: they would be concerned in their own way and he only hoped they could work together to help each other. There was no doubt that McCoy was the best doctor in the fleet and not another officer could match Spock's multitude of abilities. McCoy had the ability to thoroughly understand how another felt and Spock seemed to fully comprehend how another might react under given circumstances even if he did not understand why. Them working together to solve a problem was something to behold, like fire on water. He just hoped that connection they had would not fracture, that they would manage to somehow get through this together.

Uhura, Scootty, Sulu, and Chekov would be there to referee, to keep his ship together and his two best friends from killing each other. One of the things that had been drummed into him at the Academy was the way crew relied on one another and when he became a Captain he had been so often been told not to get close to his bridge crew, to remember they were his crew and part of his ship, and to know that if they were not killed under his captaincy then they, of he, would be transferred, that it was always best for a captain not for form friendships with the crew. "By all means be sociable with them but keep that professional distance at all times." It had been what he had heard so many times.

He had seen other captains who were that way and he had, when first given the Enterprise, thought about it. It was the reception he had received from those six as individuals and a collective that made him feel part of a family again. Now he just hoped that family would get along without him. He had broken the Prime Directive. He had exposed a primitive culture to superior technology for his own purposes. He would be court martialed. His career was over. He had lost his ship, his family. Family. No, more than that. He had lost those two other parts that made him whole.

He should have requested beam up as soon as the natives showed up. He would still have breached the Prime Directive but not broken it as he had using his phaser. He should have waited.

He had paced the quarters he was given. They were no different from the one he had had on the ship on his return journey. Not the standard prison cell. The sleeping alcove was fourteen paces from the door, the ablution area seventeen paces and the desk and chair only seven.

All the way to Starbase Four those thoughts kept repeating, replaying, in his mind. Even when they arrived at Star Base Four he had not been allowed to contract any of his crew. As none of them had been directly involved and they were barred from attending the initial hearing and were given leave.

It was, he knew, for the best as he could only imagine how Bones and Spock would react to what was to come. He was told on the second day at the base that there would be a three week wait for two senior officers to arrive from Command who had stated they wanted to be there. He had also been told that Spock had taken the Enterprise out on a shakedown and test flight after Chief Engineer Scott had made some modifications.

Over the last two weeks Captain Alliness and the two Security Officers had given their reports and Kirk had given his. He had read and reread them. Nothing. They were exactly as had happened. Alliness's one and his Security Officer's report were alike. The report from the injured Enterprise Security Officer was slightly different in that his ended with the impact of the arrow into his thigh.

It had been a civilization using crossbows and he had used a phaser. He had had them beamed out when the civilization would have possibly not seen such a thing before. The Prime Directive.

There had been just that moment in the transporter room, after the injured officer had been taken away and before he was transported to Alliness's ship, when he had seen Bones and Spock. There had been no words but the looks he got from them said so much to him. Allines had simply said, "Captain Kirk is under arrest for breaking the Prime Directive. Mister Spock, you will return to Star Base Four as acting captain of the Enterprise. I will attest to the possibility that Captain Kirk may have over-reacted but he did break the Prime Directive. Transport us to my ship."

Now he wondered if he had read the looks right. While Spock had handled the controls Bones had quickly looked from him to Spock and back to him and nodded. It was reassuring to know Bones would keep watch on Spock and when Spock had looked up at him there was no mistaking the sideward glance he gave McCoy which let him know Spock would keep an eye on Bones

Just as the beam took him he wondered about that question he saw about Spock's eyes. It had been the look he got whenever Spock had some hypothesis he wanted to check out. In almost an instant he knew it would be that the Vulcan did not believe what he had done yet he had done it. In that almost instinctive reaction he had broken the Prime Directive.

He knew that the Enterprise would be back in less than a week so that the senior crew could attend his trial. At that time Spock would definitely be offered captaincy of the Enterprise and Kirk wondered how he would respond. In all the years he had known Spock he had seen what an exceptional captain he would be and yet he had never sought promotion to be the commanding officer. He had no doubt that the others would, in their own ways, try to make him accept the offer when it was given, they would want to stay the cohesive unit they had become.

Three week wait for the hearing cum trial. A full court martial would be held back at Star Fleet Command.. Twenty-one days of reliving that split second and what it meant. How sure he had been he had seen an old-fashioned rifle and not the crossbow. Allines's First Officer, Stefan Koprah, had been down only a few hours before them to verify that there were no advanced weapons; he had gone down as he was one of Star Fleet's top situation assessors. Alliness had agreed to it as it was just a five minute down time and the man's report would be more accurate than what they had seen. He had reported caves but no sign of inhabitants.

Yes, the natives could have been hiding deep in the caves. They had not had time to really study too much of their surroundings before the attack. They could have been in the caves but the scans would have detected life forms. No. There had been times in the past when they had discovered on other planets, something in the minerals of the planet that the scanners could not penetrate. But Koprah did his inspection and said there was nothing in the caves and he was known for reporting if even one blade of grass or one slightly out-of-place pebble looked suspicious and aborting a landing party. If there had been any sign of the natives he would have seen it.

For almost fifteen days Kirk had spent reliving that moment and wondering how his friends were coping, how things were on his ship. He had been told that he would be able to have supervised visits with his former crew if they returned prior to the court-martial but that there had been no word from them after they had left.

It had been shortly after Kirk had beamed off the ship that McCoy looked at the silent Vulcan beside him, "Well, Spock, looks like you are in command. What do we do now? You do know that Jim had to have had a reason, don't you? We can't just do nothing."

For a moment the Vulcan was silent then looked at McCoy, "Doctor McCoy, I am aware I am now in temporary command of the Enterprise. I am also aware that Jim Kirk would have had a reason for his actions despite his often impulsive tendencies. What we are going to do is take the Enterprise out on a shakedown trip to ensure Mister Scott's modifications not only have merit but add to the efficiency of the Enterprise. We will return in time for the trial."

"It leads to a court-martial, Spock. A court-martial is a helluva lot worse than a trial."

"I am aware of that, Doctor. I imagine that you got some fresh medical supplies while we have been at Star Base Four.

"Of course I have. What does that have to do with,"

"I suggest you return to SickBay and prepare for our shakedown trip."

For a moment McCoy just looked at the Vulcan and rocked on his heels, gradually calming down as he looked at the man he knew so well and realized that the Vulcan was planning something. "Right." was all he said before he nodded and left the silent man who had returned his gaze to the empty platform. So many times McCoy had felt sorry for Jim and the weight of command but as he took one last look at Spock he realized he felt even sorrier for the Vulcan, to care as much as he did and not being able to openly show it, to be able to think on so many levels at one time.

Once McCoy had left Spock stood still for ten point nine minutes. He had seen that look on Jim's face that showed uncertainty. Although Captain Alliness had to have been certain about what had happened to make the charges he knew James Kirk as well as he knew himself and he was certain that the matter warranted investigation and a shakedown trip was just what was needed to get them there, allow him time to investigate the actual site himself, and return with fifteen hours to spare. He would not allow the others to become involved in the decision to return as there was the possibility of whoever was behind this would also attack their careers.

Mister Scott was down in Engineering looking at what he had proposed to do and only just finished as the thought of the ship without Jim Kirk as captain did not feel right. It had surprised him with Spock walked in and looked around, "I see that you have finished your modifications. We will be leaving on a shakedown trip in two hours and fourteen minutes. I trust it will do what you believe it will." and left. The Scotsman shook his head. As rough as it was on the rest of the crew he knew it would be rougher on that man to deal with as he was a man of few words but deep thoughts. He would do all he could to help him adjust to what was to come. He nodded, aye, and he knew others would help as well.

There had been silence when Spock walked into the bridge and looked around. "We will be departing for a shakedown trip to test Mister Scott's modifications in one hour and forty-nine minutes. We will return to Star Base Four and receive our orders when the legal matter is sorted. There will be no discussion about the legal matter, only the performance of the ship. I have locked in the course and allowed for a series of orbits at our intermediary destination. This trip is to fully test the changes made to the efficiency of the ship by Mister Scott's modifications."

Looks were exchanged around the bridge as they could tell how what had happened to the Captain had affected the Vulcan. They knew that it was best to just remain quiet as his actions and his tone of voice were how they had seen him deal with so many other difficult situations. All they had been told was that while on the planet Captain Kirk had broken the Prime Directive and Captain Alliness had, by regulations, had to arrest him and give command of the Enterprise to Spock. Nothing was said as to how he had broken the Prime Directive but it was obvious that none of them, and clearly not the Vulcan First Officer, believed it. Each gave a slight nod. They would follow whatever orders were given even if they had doubts about them.

The nods were noticed by the Vulcan and oddly reassured him. They would give him the same loyalty that they gave to James Kirk. He looked at Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura and then said, "As I have some scientific matters to examine I will require you Mister Sulu, and you Mister Chekov, and you Lieutenant Uhura and Mister Scott to arrange your own roster as to who has the chair but I will require that manned by one of you at all times by one of you four to ensure a full and proper evaluation is done on the benefits of Mister Scott's modifications. I will leave now for a period of meditation in my quarters and will then be in the labs or at my station if needed."

For fourteen days the Enterprise had been put through exhaustive testing and shown that the alterations and modifications made by Mister Scott had improved the efficiency of the ship by, as Spock had told them a not insignificant two point nine one percentile. There had been discussion about the course, about all the manoeuvres that the ship had done, some of which Mister Scott had not planned for but had said he knew his bairns could deal with them.

The bridge crew were aware that not only was Spock giving them each a turn at being the acting captain but that he was clearly mentally engaged with something not to do with the shakedown, they knew it would be to do with what had happened. They could not know that the previous night, as the indicators revealed the planet they were to orbit, Spock had stood alone at the observation window staring into space and that he had closed his eyes, stilled himself, and said, "Jim, I will find the truth."

Early on the fifteenth day Spock had called the five senior officers to the Transporter Room. When they were all there he had looked at each of them as though, Uhura felt, he was trying to remember them. "We are orbiting Hyterra Two and will be for the next two hours and eighteen minutes. There is a possibility that there may be some evidence as to what exactly transpired when the Captain and his party beamed down. I cannot accept that James Kirk would break the Prime Directive and I intend to find out the truth."

"But, Sir, even Keptin Alliness said our orders,"