Author's note: I re-worked this chapter, only slightly, towards the end. I didn't like the way it read, so hopefully this is a bit better!
"Good morning, Captain Kirk, Commander Spock," Lieutenant Hana Bishop from the Republic of Cambron greeted them cheerfully as he and Spock entered the banquet room.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Bishop," Kirk replied, his eyes scrolling through the room searching for her charge. "And where might Princess Krianna be this morning?"
Bishop discretely pointed to the Princess having a heated discussion with the last speaker from the prior evening. The man's face was becoming redder and redder the longer their discussion continued, and the Princess' security detail stuck tightly to her side.
"Looks like she's not winning any friends," Kirk commented dryly.
"No," Bishop agreed, "although she would not want Dr. Nyev as a friend. He is a cold, callused bigot that would invoke marshal law on our world before he would agree to hold peaceful elections in which all races could participate."
"Wow, Lieutenant. Now tell me how you really feel?" Kirk queried.
Bishop met his gaze with a defiant lift of her chin. "Cambron has an excellent leader in King Hassou. If the rebels would desist with this tireless campaign of terrorism our world would be a much more peaceful place. That is why it is so important for Princess Krianna to be returned safely home. With his daughter by his side and with the support of her followers, King Hassou will have the support he needs to end this rebellion once and for all."
Kirk raised his hands in a placating gesture, noting the fire in Bishop's eyes when she spoke of her home world. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I didn't mean to upset you."
He moved in a bit closer, extending his hand to touch her arm gently and leaning in to speak in a low voice only she could hear. "I understand the situation on Cambron. That's why we are here. As brash as these rebels are, they have yet to attack a Federation-sponsored event."
Fire and anger were instantly replaced by gratitude in the young lieutenant's eyes. "Thank you, Captain. And I apologize for speaking out of turn. It was unnecessary, unproductive, and unprofessional."
Kirk nodded his head gently. "No apologies necessary, Lieutenant. The passion and action of people like us is what gets things accomplished." He winked at her, silently endorsing her beliefs, her passion, and her methods in one shot as he gallantly walked away.
"Captain, I am confused as to why you inquired about Lieutenant Bishop's opinion when you did not desire to hear it?"
Kirk rolled his eyes. "It was a joke, Spock."
"I do not think she found it humorous."
"I would agree with you there," he replied, his eyes finding Lieutenant Bishop at the front of the room as part of the Princess' security detail.
He studied her, thoughtful for a moment. She was beautiful by Earth standards, although the difference between Cambronese and humans were virtually indistinguishable. Cambronese had long bodies, making them slightly taller than an average human, and they had unique patterns of iridescent circles on their foreheads and on the backs of their hands and necks that were barely noticeable unless in the proper light. Otherwise, as Dr. McCoy had so bluntly stated, "in the dark you'd never know they're not human."
The lieutenant had long golden blonde hair, not uncommon for a Cambron, but her eyes were what troubled him. They were a deep shade of jade green, which he had yet to see in another Cambron. The effect on him had been immediate from the first moment they met, and when they blazed as they had moments before he wondered if she had any idea how striking she was.
He was extremely proud of himself for resisting the temptation to act like the young, immature Jim Kirk of two years ago. No flirting or thinly veiled references, no screwing around whenever he had the chance. Instead, he buried those fleeting feelings down deep and was the consummate Captain. There was no time for that anyway, given the parameters of their 5-year mission.
Spock and Kirk found their table and seated themselves just as the first speaker began. Kirk sought her position out again, wondering to himself why it was so important that he knew where she was during the conference. Rationally, he supposed it was because she and the Princess and the rest of the Cambron security detail were technically under the protective umbrella of his command and the Federation, but deep down he knew he just felt better knowing where she and the Princess were at all times.
He and Spock had kept tabs on the Princess and her detail throughout the entirety of their visit. Despite the boredom and monotony of the daily speaking sessions, Kirk couldn't help but feel that this would be an optimal location for a myriad of attacks, for an assorted variety of reasons. There were far too many high-powered players to rule that out. The Captain had discussed it at length with his First Officer during the first few days of the summit, and Spock agreed that his logic had some merit. As such, they had both been on high alert ever since.
Kirk had also decided days ago that nothing diplomatic would be accomplished at this particular summit. He had held out hope for the first few days, praying that somehow the various sides and interest groups could somehow come to terms with their differences. However, those hopes were dashed as every speaker continued to shout blame and bring problems, rather than offer constructive solutions.
He checked his watch. 10:45.
They'd been here for over two hours already. A little over an hour more and they'd be home free. But as the time for the summit to draw to a close grew more and more near, Kirk couldn't help but be apprehensive. His gut had officially kicked into overdrive and was churning.
Spock, carefully watching his Captain, had noticed his increasing anxiousness all morning. Finally, after returning from a short break before the last speaker, he addressed it.
"Captain," he started in a low voice. "I cannot help but notice your increased apprehensiveness as the summit nears its conclusion."
Kirk shook his head as he scanned the room, now nearly full of representatives again after the break. "Spock, I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Based on what?"
"Based on the fact that there is someone out there who wants to kill every single person in this room. Tensions are on high alert all over this sector of space, and nothing has happened here. Nothing! After almost two weeks? With all of these people together in one place? You'd think a bar fight or something would break out. It's just been way too quiet."
"I cannot say that your logic is sound, as I have no basis for the use of digestive tract analysis of diplomatic situations..."
Kirk scoffed at this. "Spock, even the most reserved guy will get worked up when he has to sit next to his enemy for almost two weeks and put on a happy face and pretend to get along. I mean, look at these guys," he indicated, pointing to a small contingent of young diplomats to his right who were shooting daggers at the current speaker. "It's like a powder keg in here."
Spock paused for a moment, observing the angry faces on the men to his right. "The tension in this room is increasing at a palpable level. Combined with the historical success rate of your gut in particular, I think we would be wise to remain on high alert."
Another bright smile from his Captain. "Why thank you, Spock. I had no idea you cared so much."
Spock's quizzical look was abruptly cut off when the last speaker began yelling defensively from the podium. Kirk had not met the man personally, and only knew he was a Cambron because of the style of tunic he wore; dark green, with braided gold accents around the sleeves and hemlines. Kirk tried to tune in over the growing cacophony in the audience to hear what the speaker was saying, but as the speaker shouted louder, more and more people in the crowd began to stand and shake their fists, angrily waving and yelling. This effort appeared to be spearheaded by the red-faced men to their right, now visibly moving out of their seats towards the speaker.
"Spock..." Kirk began, slowly standing from behind their table.
"Yes, Captain. I believe you were correct in your assessment of the situation."
"Right," Kirk agreed, already moving out of his seat. "Let's help the Princess' security detail get her out of here now."
The two men began to walk up the left side of the banquet hall, while Kirk tried unsuccessfully to hail Lieutenant Bishop on her comm. Shouts and fist waving was quickly escalating into shoving and punches, and Kirk was almost to the Princess when the first shots rang out.
Stunned, Kirk looked forward to see the Cambron ambassador fall to his knees, a large red stain on the front of his tunic growing larger every second before he finally fell to the floor. At once the banquet hall erupted into complete chaos, weapons fire and fists flying everywhere.
"Spock!" Kirk yelled, but his officer was well out of earshot given the chaos, and they were instantly separated and crushed against the flow of people evacuating the hall. As he fought to keep his momentum propelling him forward, he could see Lieutenant Bishop fixed at the Princess' side desperately trying to get access to a safe exit. A small group of Cambron security soldiers were inching closer to the women, but Kirk's momentary relief at the coming assistance quickly turned to horror as they blocked the exit and aimed their weapons at the Princess.
Without a second thought Kirk reached for his weapon and started firing, the pressing crowd dispersing somewhat around the Starfleet Captain who now had an active phaser. One soldier was hit immediately, but the remaining five maintained their trajectory. Lieutenant Bishop threw the heavy banquet table over on its side to provide some semblance of cover, but the soldiers' weapons repeatedly blast into the hard surface of the table, at one point splintering it next to where her head had just been. The cover would not hold up against this barrage for long, but Bishop helped their predicament by catching one of the soldiers in the chest with a blast from her weapon.
Kirk quickly hit two more soldiers with phaser blasts, and followed Bishop's approach to using the conference furniture as cover from fire. Spock shot one more guard as he ducked behind the table next to him.
"I thought those guards were part of her security detail!" Kirk yelled, relieved to see his First Officer next to him again.
"They were. It appears their loyalties have changed."
"Yeah, no kidding!" he yelled again. Cautiously he peeked out from the side of the table to see the final remaining soldier intent on his target, and quickly realized there was no good angle for either he or Spock to get a good shot.
"Dammit," he swore again, realizing he was left with no other choice than to physically charge the soldier and hope for the best. Without thinking he launched himself around the table, but at the last minute the soldier must have sensed Kirk's presence. He turned, striking out with his weapon and hitting Kirk squarely in the stomach. The Captain rallied quickly, punching the soldier twice in the face and putting his knee into the man's stomach, but another blow from his weapon, this time to Kirk's face, put him on the ground.
Spock had taken advantage of the opportunity while the soldier was distracted with Kirk to finally reach the women. He was still attempting to get them to safety when Kirk hit the ground. When the soldier's weapon moved to fire upon him, Spock only needed one well-aimed shot to both protect his Captain and open up a clear path to an exit.
Kirk staggered to his feet, his bloody nose and rapidly swelling eye grimacing a silent thanks as he joined with Spock. "We gotta go, NOW," he insisted, grabbing the Princess' arm rather roughly and jerking his head towards the remaining Cambron soldiers and angry-looking men rapidly approaching from the far side of the hall.
"This way, quickly!" Bishop hissed, kicking the exit door open as the men hustled the Princess through. The Princess put her cloak hood up, eyes wide with fear as the four of them fled the chaos of the banquet hall and ran quickly down the nearest alleyway, away from the sounds of weapons fire, anger, and fear.
"Princess, Commander Spock and I will deliver you home safely. You have my word," Kirk spoke softly as they continued to jog.
Relief flashed through her eyes, while a whispered, "Thank you, Captain," passed from her lips.