Spock was unsure as to how he had ended up in the small cell he was in. One of the last things he remembered was running away from something, with Kirk and McCoy running just behind him. The Captain and the Doctor, however, where no where to be found at the moment. His phaser, communicator, and tricorder were missing, but he wasn't surprised. Spock looked up as he heard a door at the end of the hall open, and the footsteps of several people. He stood up as they approached, and his eyebrow shot up as a very small man looked into his cell. The man smiled.

"You're awake!" he said happily.

"Indeed;" Spock replied. "Might I inquire as to where we are right now, sir?"

The little man jumped back in surprise, and the guards almost fell over in surprise as well. "You talk!" he squeaked.

"Naturally."

Regaining his composure, the little man looked up at Spock. "In your case, we are on Earth;" he said. "Roughly fifty miles outside the city of San Francisco. Not that you would know where that is…"

"San Francisco is located on the West Coast of North America;" Spock replied, causing the little man to jump in surprise again. "I have been to San Francisco several times." 'But how did I get here this time? We were on Gailon VI, several light-years from Earth. Clearly there is more going on here...'

"Sir, could you tell me the current date?" Spock asked. He had an idea as to what had happened to him, and to what was going on.

The little man blinked. "Why? What would it matter to you?"

"I wish to know the date; that is all, sir."

"I believe it's the 15th;" the little man replied. "June 15."

"And the year, sir?"

"1875."

'I've traveled back in time and space!' Spock thought. 'This is not good. I must find Jim and Dr. McCoy quickly.'

"Sir, where are my friends located?"

"Your friends? What friends?" the little man asked. "We only found you. And please, stop calling me sir, I get that enough from these two." He pointed at the guards. "I am Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Loveless;" Spock said. He wasn't going to bother with his name quite yet. "You mean to say that I was the only one you came across? There were not two other men with me?"

"No, just you;" Loveless replied. "Tell me, do your friends look like you?"

"No, they are human;" Spock said, not mentioning that he himself was half human. "Dr. Loveless, it is imperative that I find my friends. If you would kindly return the objects you confiscated from me and let me leave…"

"Oh, I don't think so, my strange-alien friend!" Loveless said, wagging his finger. "You are staying locked up until I can figure out what you are exactly. As for your little toys, I'll keep those too. One doesn't do anything, and while the other is absolutely amazing in that it can tell me everything about anything, this one is by far my favorite." Loveless pulled out Spock's phaser.

'Future technology in the hands of a person from the past;' Spock thought. 'Not good, not good at all. This could have disastrous effects on the timeline, not to mention the space-time continuum.' Spock put his hand out. "Dr. Loveless, give that to me."

"No! It's mine now!" Loveless cried. "Just think, with this little gun, I could take the entire state of California! Then the United States, and then the World! No one would be able to stop me! So much destructive power, right in the palm of my hand!" He began to laugh menacingly, which caused Spock slight distress. He decided to try something he had once seen in an old Earth movie. Perhaps it would work here. Spock drew himself up to full height, towering over the little doctor.

"Dr. Loveless, you do not know what powers you are dealing with;" he said, trying to sound as "menacing" as possible. Vulcans may not get scared, but humans did; and Spock had experience in doing so, since he often managed to scare young Cadets and Ensigns (never on purpose, though). Loveless stopped laughing. "If you do not give me that… gun, along with my other belongings, and release me immediately, you will face a power far greater than just that gun;" Spock continued. 'Two phaers aren't much more powerful than one;' Spock reminded himself. 'But a phaser in the hands of Captain Kirk is more powerful.'

Loveless paused for a few seconds. "Boss, maybe we should listen to the pointy-eared freak;" one of the guards said. Spock suppressed a sigh. Apparently he would always be known to some as the "pointy-eared freak".

"Yah, Boss, I think he's serious!" the second added.

"Oh shut up! Shut up! Shut up both of you!" Loveless shouted, jumping up and down. He turned back to face Spock. "Let your friends come! After all, you told me they are human, and humans can be killed. And as far as I'm concerned, you are mortal as well, alien."

"My name is Spock, not alien;" said Spock. He could endure name calling, but only to an extent, and from certain people. "And it is not just my human friends you must worry about." 'Unfortunately, my people won't develop the warp drive for another fifty years or so.'

"Fine then, Spock, if that is your name, no you may not have your toys back, and no you may not leave!" Loveless snapped. "I have uses for you yet!"

"I will not comply with what ever you may be planning;" Spock replied. "Nor will you be able to force me. I am different than you humans, not just physically."

"We shall see, Mr. Spock, we shall see;" Loveless said. "I have broken the strongest of human wills; let us see how strong yours is before you are begging for mercy."

Spock said nothing as Loveless began to laugh again. 'Clearly you have not met one James T. Kirk;' Spock said to himself. 'And Vulcans do not beg.' Loveless left the two guards to watch Spock. Spock sighed, and sat down on his cot. At least this situation offered him the chance to meditate.

W~W~W~W

Despite being shocked, poked, and almost shot, Kirk was still exploring the train car; acting like a little kid in a candy store. Gordon would bark warnings out every few minutes, while McCoy and West just watched the consequences if Kirk didn't listen. Finally, West put down his book and looked at McCoy who was reading on the other couch.

"What did you say this kid was again?" he asked, nodding towards Kirk who was now inspecting a map of the current United States.

"Just think of him as a navy Captain;" McCoy replied, turning the page of his book. For some reason, he preferred physical books when reading for pleasure. PADDs were for reports and work related stuff.

West's eyes went wide. "They made that kid a ship Captain?"

McCoy nodded. "If you knew what he did, you would make him a Captain too;" he said. "Jim's a brilliant person… sometimes."

"I heard that!" Kirk said, still inspecting the map.

"Oi, don't touch that!" Gordon snapped, but it was too late. The map panel slid down, revealing a number of guns. Kirk's mouth just dropped open in surprise. He reached for one of the guns.

"Jim, I swear, the next time I hear Gordon say 'don't touch that', I will sedate you faster than you can say 'What does it do?';" McCoy cried, trying not to chuck his book at his Captain. Even though McCoy was one of the few people on board the Enterprise who could order Kirk around, Kirk was still his Captain, and could easily take his revenge once they were back in the future and on the ship. That is, if Kirk even dared take revenge.

Kirk, knowing McCoy was fully capable of following through with his threat, lowered his hand and turned to the others, who were all glaring at him.

"Fine;" he huffed, and sat down to stare out the window. West looked at McCoy, and smiled.

"Nice job, Doc;" he said.

"Thanks;" McCoy replied. West had stopped calling him 'Reb' a few hours ago, only because McCoy had used the same threat he had just used on Kirk, and gave a minor demonstration that left West unconscious for about half an hour. 'James West and Artemus Gordon;' McCoy thought. 'I've heard the names before, but from where? It was a long time ago, that's for sure.'

The quiet of the train car was disrupted as the train suddenly slowed; causing Kirk to slide off is chair and West to almost fall off his couch.

"Why are we slowing down?" McCoy asked as Gordon got up.

"I'll find out;" Gordon replied, opening a panel next to the fireplace and pulling out a speaker. "What's going on up there?"

He pressed his ear to the piece, and listened to the response. "They say we're being told to stop;" he said. "We best see why."

West, McCoy, and Kirk stood up. "No, you two are staying in here;" West said.

"Why?" Kirk asked.

"One, because I said so;" West snapped, though he knew he technically didn't out rank Kirk. The child Captain was really starting to annoy him. "Two, because you're not supposed to be here. And three, you can't go out looking like that." Kirk had changed back into his uniform after West demanded having his shirt back. McCoy, though he fit in Gordon's clothes, had chosen to just stay in his uniform.

"Jim, they're waiting for us;" Gordon said, opening the door as the train stopped. Two men on horseback were waiting outside.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" West said, stepping out onto the platform. He noticed Kirk and McCoy peeking out of one of the windows.

"The tracks are impassible up ahead;" one of the men said, shaking his head. "It's the strangest thing; we're not sure how it happened. Never seen anything like it…"

"What's wrong with the tracks?" Gordon asked.

"Best as I can describe it, they've melted;" the second man answered. "The people around here have already set about replacing the section, but it will take a few days."

"Melted?" West said. "What do you mean melted? Tracks can't melt." He could hear whispers coming from the inside of the train.

"Well, sir, these ones have;" the first man said. "They're all flat and mangled. I've worked on the rail for fifteen years before settlin' down here, and I never seen anything like this."

"You can check it out for yourselves, the section in question is about two miles down;" the second man added. "There's a siding about half a mile you can pull off on, the town's a mile from there. There's already two trains pulled into the platform."

Gordon nodded. "And I have a feeling it's going to get a lot more crowded until the rails are fixed;" he said. "We'll check out your tracks, I'm sure Colonel Richardson will love the explanation as to why we're late." West rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the heads up, gentlemen;" he said. "Artie, go tell Orrin and the boys to pull off on the next siding."

"Right;" said Gordon, and he headed back inside. The two men waved as the train pulled away. West waved back; so did Kirk and McCoy.

"Did you notice the two guys inside that train car?" the first asked his friend.

"Sure did;" the second said. "Wonder why they didn't come out."

W~W~W~W

"You have to let one of us go with you!" Kirk said as West and Gordon got ready to go.

"No, we don't;" West replied, strapping on his gun belt. "We've only got two horses. You two will be fine here for now. Until Artie and I figure out what's going on, neither of you are to leave this train. Got it?"

"You yourself said that nothing could melt a set of train rails;" Kirk said. "Our phasers have that capability! Those tracks could help us find Spock."

"Jim, I can't believe I'm saying this, but think logically here;" said McCoy. "Why would Spock melt a section of rail? It doesn't make sense; it's illogical."

West wasn't sure what logic had to do with it, but Kirk sighed. "You're right, Bones. Spock wouldn't do that."

"Look, if you two behave, we'll take you out to dinner tonight, okay?" Gordon said, shooting West a look so he wouldn't question it. "And if we find anything that might be about your friend, we'll tell you."

"Okay;" McCoy said. Kirk was silent, but finally nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him;" McCoy whispered to Gordon.

Gordon smiled. "He's a lot like my Jim;" he said. "Hyper-active, hard to keep in one place."

McCoy snorted. "You have no idea."

He and Kirk watched as West and Gordon rode out towards the "melted" train tracks.

"I know what you're thinking, Jim, and don't think you can do it;" McCoy said coldly. Kirk noticed the hypo that was in the Doctor's hands.

"No problem, Bones, I was reading a good book earlier anyways;" he said walking over to the couch. Kirk rubbed the back of his neck, remembering the multiple times McCoy's hypos had found their mark.

"A good book…" McCoy muttered. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head and he snapped his fingers. "Jim! That's it! A good book!"

"Bones, what are you talking about?" Kirk asked.

"James West and Artemus Gordon, I've heard their names before;" McCoy explained excitedly. "Years ago I read the memoirs of an early American Secret Service agent named Artemus Gordon, who had a partner named James West! Jim, those two are them! They were real people!"

"So?"

"So, we can trust them, Jim! We managed to find the two people in this time period that might actually be able to help us." 'I hope.'

"I don't believe it. I see it; but I don't believe it."

West and Gordon stood next to a hundred yard stretch of melted train tracks. The steel rails looked like melted wax, and some parts were twisted and bent. The rail ties were burnt, and a few were still smoldering. What ever had melted the rails was hot and fast.

"We're lucky that Old Henry over there saw the tracks before any trains came along;" the sheriff said. "I don't want to know what might have happened if a train tried to pass here."

"I'd say;" West mumbled, still in slight shock. "Mind if we look around?"

"You've already shown me your papers, so go ahead;" the sheriff said. "Just don't get in the way of anything." A group of workers was already starting the process of fixing the rail; pulling out the burnt railroad ties.

"Are there any prints?" Gordon asked, looking over one of the removed ties.

"There are a few over there." The sheriff pointed to a section of rail that hadn't been touched yet. "Far as I could tell, there were a few horses, and three, four, maybe five men."

West bent down to inspect the prints in the dirt. "I'd say these are pretty fresh;" he said. "No more than six hours. Maybe four men, and judging from the prints, one was on the small side."

The sheriff whistled. "You're good;" he said. West smiled his thanks.

Gordon frowned. "What I don't understand is why someone would sabotage these tracks;" he said. "This area doesn't get much traffic, most trains go south to get to San Francisco."

"And we only came this way because it was faster;" West added. Something was wrong, and not just the melted tracks. Suddenly, an idea began to form in West's mind.

"Artie, who else knew we were headed to San Francisco along this route?"

"I don't know Jim;" Gordon said. "Probably a few people, but nobody outside the Service. Why?"

"Small footprints equal a small person, Artie."

Gordon's eyes went wide. "Jim, you really think it might be Loveless? We haven't heard from him in months!"

"Exactly; we're over due for a visit from the good Doctor. And the fact that we were traveling along an infrequently used route and this happened." West pointed to the tracks. "I doubt that it's a coincidence."

"It could be someone else, Jim;" Artie said. "Maybe they were just testing out what ever did this, knowing that it was unlikely to interfere with train traffic to make sure it worked, before using it on a main line."

"And let people know about it? They would have tested it before, used it on a main line, and made demands;" West said. "Maybe not in that order, of course."

"I think you're just paranoid about Loveless, Jim;" Gordon said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Maybe it is him, but we don't have definitive proof yet."

"Maybe;" West sighed. "The question is how do Kirk and McCoy and their friend Spock fit into this."

"Why would they fit into this?" Gordon asked.

"Before we left, Kirk said their phaser things could melt train rails;" West said, walking over to his waiting horse. "McCoy said their friend Spock would never do such a thing, that is was illogical. But obviously someone did; and I have a feeling they used a phaser."

"What does logic have to do with it?" Gordon wondered aloud.

West shrugged. "Maybe this 'Spock' character is very logical. Let's get back to the train, I want to ask our guests a few questions, and you owe them a dinner."