Chapter Two: Unveiled
Various teams of Enterprise personnel took readings on the device, interrogated the Hlish on the device's function, and otherwise tried to get Spock back for over two days. Worry consumed Jim.
They set up a base camp of sorts on the planet's surface, diplomatic mission forgotten with dispensation from Starfleet after the Hlish attacked the Starfleet delegation and Spock disappeared into the gaping maw of that machine. Cupcake established a perimeter around the cargo container which held the device, and the Hlish were cooperating, in that they were not saying anything helpful, really. On the bright side they were not scrambling their army to throw the Enterprise crew off-planet. Jim struggled to see the bright side.
"Lieutenant Uhura, let's review what we know about the hlishr k'nv from M'Hlishan and her attendants." Jim looked up from the pile of PADDs that had accumulated around him on tables under the tent they had set up.
"Let's see - they see hlishr k'nv as a rite of passage for their strongest warriors; they admit the technology of the device is not theirs; they refuse to answer questions about how they obtained it; the Hlish who 'operates' the tech from the outside only has access to a simple-looking switch. He has been forthcoming in his description of his job. He turns the device on, and then waits for it to turn itself off." Uhura looked grim. "He says that it has never malfunctioned before, but he does not believe anyone has ever tampered with the controls."
"And they haven't exactly been spewing out information about what the damn device does in the first place, have they?" Jim sounded as tired as he felt.
"Actually, today, there was something strange. M'Hlishan referred to the device as a kovtra-mish-vel." Uhura recognised Jim's startled look. "It was not pronounced properly, but the words are Vulcan for rift machine. Why would the Hlish know Vulcan?"
"And if your translation is correct, a rift - but to where? We have scanned the planet for anyone with Vulcan lifesigns, but if the machine ported him to another facility similar to the one it was installed in, we could scan forever and never find it." Jim rubbed his eyes, glaring out at the desert, his voice scratchy. "This feels just like Nibiru all over again."
Nyota put a soft hand on his shoulder, "We both know Spock does what he feels is right. Sometimes without caring about his own welfare."
"Uhura, if Spock has gone and martyred himself for us - we could have gotten out of that compartment - he didn't have to - he didn't have to -" Jim felt his eyes prickle, and looks resolutely at the ground.
"While we were together, Spock and I shared many things, but one thing that he never kept secret, really, was his love and pride for his ship and crew. Jim, if he's gone," and Uhura has to pause, voice cracking, "it's because he felt there was no other way."
There's silence for a time, then Jim's comm came to life. "McCoy to Captain Kirk."
"Kirk here." Jim could tell McCoy was aggravated about something.
"When's the last time you slept? Nevermind, I'm looking at logs, you haven't been back to the ship since your post-incident med eval. Get back here, and get some shut-eye, kid. Don't make me turn this into a medical order."
Jim sent a sheepish look to Uhura, then stood and strode clear of the tent. "One to beam up, Scotty."
He could have sworn he had been only been asleep for a minute when alarm klaxons wake him. Red alert. In seconds, he was up and fumbling for his uniform and comm. "Kirk to Bridge, what's the situation?"
"Twenty-seven ships just decloaked in orbit of Hlish. They seem, as yet, to be ignoring us." Sulu sounds concerned.
"I'll be there in seconds."
He ran through the halls, getting to the lift in record time. The bridge was tense as he entered it. On the viewscreen, a sleek-looking ship of comparable size to the Enterprise drifted past them, with the dull, brown orb of the Hlish planet below.
Sulu slid out of the command chair and back to the helm as Kirk approached.
"Is there a lead ship?"
"There is a largest ship, Keptin," Chekov pushed some buttons, and the view screen changed to show a model of the planet with dots arrayed around it. "Here are all the ships that are in orbit of Hlish."
"And this," More button were pushed, as the screen zoomed in on a line-drawing of an elegant-looking spacecraft. "Ze ship is roughly three times the size of Enterprise."
"Hail them."
Chekov's diagram flipped to a bridge scene that had stations for crew around the perimeter and a central command chair. The overall design was light and somehow airy, with a high ceiling and arched doorways.
The crew seemed to indeed be alien, with eyes all black and noses turned entirely up. The crew wore heather grey uniforms with bands of color around the neck and collar pips that seemed to designate rank of some sort. In the center, a slim, darker-skinned individual addressed the Enterprise.
"I am Captain Dhar of the USS Sochya. The Blue Fleet of the Xiran Union bears no ill will towards your ship. We have business with the Hlish."
"Captain!" The interruption came from the communication officer on duty. Fay? "There's an emergency message from the away team. They report that there is an armed Xiran force now present at the away team site."
Jim had never broken eye contact with the Xiran captain. "It looks like you have business with us as well, if you are interrupting an active Starfleet investigation into a missing officer."
"We do not know to what you refer. We are merely recovering illegally trafficked technology." Dhar had steel in his eyes. "Do not interfere with our recovery effort."
No way Jim was letting them take that device away, not when it was their only chance at getting Spock back. "Do not interfere with our recovery effort!"
The Xirans terminated the communication. Jim fumed, surging out of his chair, nearly yelling, "Send a security team to meet me at the transporter bay now!"
He beamed down to the surface to find the away team huddled together like scared sheep, and he immediately understood why.
There were about thirty Xiran soldiers wearing full armor and face-obscuring helmets on the prowl a short distance from the container or standing at attention in a loose formation just to the side of the container. They had visible weapons. Real big ones.
Jim thought about the advanced tech, about the armada in the sky, and about the now-paltry-seeming phasers that his men have packed. He thought about Spock.
"Who's in charge here?" he hollered. Predictably, no one responded.
Four Xirans who had been circling the container were now approaching it, and each approached a side as they pulled small devices out of belt compartments. As they tightly circled the container, they threw the devices at it, and these stuck to the compartment's surface.
"Wait, now hold on, what's going on, what are you doing?" Jim had walked close to the container in his concern, and this provoked a response. The Xiran soldiers leveled their guns at him.
"Step back from the perimeter we have established!" yelled a tinny voice from within one armored suit.
"One of our people was lost to the device inside this container! Please, you can help us find him!" Jim hated begging, but he figured there was a time and a place for everything.
"Step back, now!" The Xiran is not impressed by Jim's pleas.
There was a shimmer in the air beside the Xiran formation, and it resolved into a glossier, shiner looking Xiran in similar armor to the others.
"Admiral, the situation is under control, you should not have disembarked from the ship!" Tinny voice sounded upset, but Jim was more focused on the fact that he addressed the new player as 'admiral.'
"Admiral," Jim implored, "the Hlish caused this technology to open a rift which enveloped one of my crew. We need your help to get him back."
The admiral barked an order at the other soldiers, causing them to go into a parade rest, as he walked over to Jim. "The rift devices are used to mine ores and other substances from planets at other locations in the space/time continuum. Using them is very dangerous, as the planet on the other side may not be hospitable."
"As for your missing crewmember… The only acceptable way to return from a trip through a rift is to return to the origin point and slip back through the still-open rift to your own space-time."
Jim collapsed to his knees, mind racing in horrible directions. "Are there any… unacceptable ways to return?"
The admiral crouched. "Up until this point, no man has ever returned to their point of origin when the rift had closed, Jim."
Jim startled out of his stupor. "I didn't tell you my name was Jim."
The admiral turned partially away as he unclasped and removed his helmet, revealing one pointed ear. "I could never forget you, James Tiberius Kirk."
Jim's jaw dropped as Spock turned back to him, brown eyes dark despite the desert sun. Jim embraced him without thought.
Much confusion ensued thereafter. The Xiran contingent went for their guns again and Spock had to calm them down, peeling Jim off him and holding him at arm's length. Spock awkwardly squeezed Jim's shoulder slightly as he moved past Jim, into the container.
"Spock..." Jim muttered, but Spock's figure had disappeared into the comparative darkness of the container. Several Xirans followed, helmets turning towards Jim as they pass.
Jim wandered dazedly back to where Uhuru is among the Enterprise away team.
"That admiral, he claimed to be Spock - I mean, I think that Xiran admiral is Spock. I mean, Uhura, what is going on?" Jim thought about rifts in space/time, and wondered. "It's only been three days! How could Spock be an admiral in three days?"
"Captain, I don't know how Spock could be leading an alien force." Uhuru frowned. "But that did look like Spock."
"We need more information." Eyebrows drawn together and lips thin, resolve painted his face as he flipped open his comm. "Kirk to Enterprise. Send Dr. McCoy to the investigation site."
Jim felt like they had been waiting for an eternity. Bones' questions were tolerable at first, but now...
"So he said what, again?" Bones was scanning an unperturbed Xiran soldier from about ten feet away.
"He said he could never forget me!" Jim wanted to shake him.
Uhura's smooth ponytail swished as she shook her head at them. "Let's review our plan again."
"We need to scan the Admiral to see if he matches our Spock's data."
"And how am I to do that, exactly? Unless he's as docile as these lampposts I won't be able to get a clear enough scan."
"It won't be a problem." Jim heard a welcome sound: footsteps from within the container.
Jim stepped into the path of the Xiran group that emerged into the bright light. Spock still had his helmet off; grey strands in his hair stood out this close. Jim was momentarily transfixed.
Jim finally snapped out of it. Time to try his tactic. "Spock, we've been trying to locate you since the Hlish trapped us with the device three days ago. We are all worried about you and concerned for your well-being." He heard Bones' medical scanner whir in the background.
Spock looked past Jim to Bones. "I can see that your concern manifests itself most curiously. Your scans will not reveal anything abnormal." He half-turned to his people, receiving a sphere from one of the Xiran troops.
"Okay, Commander, if that's the case, let's go back to the ship now. We have a mission, remember?"
Spock visibly tensed, eyes narrowing on the data-displaying sphere in his hands. "My mission expired long ago, Captain."
Jim wasn't through, anger tinging his words. "This is dereliction of duty, Mr. Spock!"
Spock's grip went white-knuckled on the the sphere in his hand. "I have other duties now, to which I must attend." He glared at Jim with pain in his eyes for a brief moment.
Uhura called out from behind Jim as she walked forward, "Spock, what has happened to you?"
Ignoring her entirely, Spock did something to the sphere in his hand, and it glowed. "Landing party to beam up, all clear on container 133-mark-45." Spock and his Xiran comrades disappeared into shimmering patterns of lights, with the container following in its own great shimmer.
"Dammit!" Jim kicked the ground, sending the packed earth flying.
"Do the readings match?" Uhura asked, voice tremulous.
Jim looked at Bones, not even sure what he wanted to hear.
"He walks like Spock, talks like Spock, and to this medical scanner, is Spock. Spock had some pretty distinct readings, being a hybrid." Bones looked up from the scanner, frowning. "There are some scars and healed breaks in bones that Spock didn't have, though."
"He answered to Spock. And he knew what I was talking about. That's gotta mean something." The desperation in Jim's voice was apparent.
"Well, it doesn't mean enough to get his green ass back on Enterprise where it belongs." Bones frowned. "And what did he mean by saying his mission was over? We've still got three years on the clock!"
"We'll get to the bottom of it. Somehow." Jim was determined. It was Spock, dammit. He was convinced. And he wasn't disappearing without Jim getting to the bottom of what had happened.
He would bring him home to the Enterprise, one way or another.
Bones wanted to show his readings to M'Benga, so they were back on the ship shortly thereafter.
Jim hit the bridge to find many questioning looks and curious stares. Sulu relinquished the command post wordlessly. "Lieutenant Fay, open a ship-wide broadcast channel." He addressed the crew. "I have just returned from an encounter with the Xirans. They have taken the rift device into their possession."
Around the bridge, there were downcast eyes and glances towards the science station.
"There has been another, more pressing development: Commander Spock is among the Xiran force. He is not to be treated as an officer of Starfleet. Do not share with him mission details or other sensitive information. Kirk out."
Jim's heart hurt at that declaration, but he knew it was necessary.
"Keptin, Mr. Spock has deserted Starfleet?" Chekov's voice took on a worried note.
"It looks that way, Lieutenant." Jim slouched in his chair.
"Unbeliewable!"
Sulu agrees with Chekov. "What if it's mind control, like on Tantalus?"
"He may well be under the influence of some device or drug, making him act strangely. But right now, he's not our Spock, so proceed with caution in your interactions with him." Jim sat up in his chair as he heard the turbolift doors open to reveal Carol Marcus.
"Requesting permission to enter the Bridge, Captain." Her breath was short, and her blonde hair slightly askew.
"Permission granted. Report, Lieutenant."
"I've just come from the science labs, where we are busy processing scans of the Xiran ships around us. There is no doubt that they are the originators of the tech that Command sent us out here to find." She approaches the science station, rapidly typing on it, and a display comes up on the Enterprise view screen. It showed lines and lines of an alien language in two panes.
"The left side here shows a fragment of the program extracted from one of the samples of the unknown alien culture's tech. The other side shows a text-based broadcast from one of the ships in orbit now. Communications believes it is a statement of the ship's designation, class, and status. I will highlight the common phrases between the two."
Marcus pressed a few keys, and almost the whole wall of text lights up. "As you can see, they share many similar phrases."
"While that's great work, Lieutenant, do you have any other evidence?"
"With their shields up, we cannot get any deeper information on their starship technology. Dr. McCoy's scan of the Xiran body armor has been most helpful. There are similarities between the armor, the rift device, and the samples from Starfleet." She hit a multitude of buttons and the screen shifted to show microscopic diagrams of pieces of the technology.
"Here, you can see similar materials and positioning of components on circuit boards. More interesting, however, is that the scale of these components. The traces vary in width, but the narrowest on all is .127 micrometers. This is smaller than the current smallest design in the Federation by a factor of 100."
"That's pretty small. Anything else to report, Lieutenant Marcus?" Jim knew he was being short with her, but he was still rattled from his planet-side encounter with Spock.
"No, sir." Marcus somewhat sheepishly returned the viewscreen to the standard view of the planet they orbited.
"Any other information regarding the Xirans? What have I missed?" Jim glanced at Uhura, who was looking puzzled. "Lieutenant Uhura, report."
"I need to double check these translations, Captain. But my department has tentatively translated some of the passive broadcasts the Xiran ships are making. One broadcast simply seems to be a declaration of peaceful intent. The other broadcasts vary slightly by ship and time, but parts of them remain consistent." Uhura handed a PADD to the Captain. "The similar parts are the broadcasting ship's class and name. The names were surprisingly easy to translate."
"USS San Francisco... USS Bahsu… USS Amanda… USS Sochya." Jim stopped reading the names aloud. "So Spock named these ships? They're all either Vulcan phrases or references to his life."
"That's all the information I have at this point, sir." Uhura lifts her communications device to her ear, returning to her station. "The remaining away team reports more Xirans on the surface."
"Open a communications channel with whomever's leading the endeavor down there right now. Is it Cupcake?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Hendorff is leading the security detail."
"Put me through." Jim waited a beat as Uhura connected the incoming communication to the Bridge's voice communications system. "Cupcake, what's going on down there?"
"A Xiran force just came through here looking for the Hlish leadership, Captain. No armored suits this time, though. They even asked us a few questions, but we told them they'd have to request information through our captain."
"Have they located M'Hlishan and her attendants?" Jim's feet itched to run down to the transporter room again, but he knew he might not be needed.
"Yes, they have, but they seem to be engaged in civilized discussion, nothing more."
"Is Spock down there?"
"No sign of the Command… uh, Spock."
"Maintain visual awareness of the Xiran presence, but do not incite any conflict. Kirk out." He wearily rubbed his forehead. "I will be in my ready room, working on a mission report."
Jim departed the Bridge, walking into his ready room. He dutifully sat at his desk and began to work at his report, relating all the details that have gone on with the mission on Hlish thus far. When he got to the part about Spock, he found himself unable to continue.
Thing was, these days he and Spock usually filled out their reports together. Spock would come through the shared bathroom for a game of chess and then afterwards they would talk ship's business and companionably fill in some reports. Jim would sprawl out on his bed littered with PADDs while Spock sat primly at the desk. They mostly did their work separately, but sometimes Spock would ask his opinion, or Jim would double check the facts with Spock. Their conversations would stray to topics more casual; anything from the purpose of Terran "movies" to the benefit of a vegetarian diet was fair game.
Now, he found he missed the easy banter and constant, steady presence of Spock. It's only been a few days, he reminded himself. Jim sighed, and went back to his report.
Not long later, his comm chimed. "Kirk here."
"We are being hailed by the USS Sochya."
"I'll be on the bridge momentarily." Kirk looked down at his PADD, which displays Spock's personnel file. He finished attaching it to the report, marked the message 'urgent,' and sent it to Starfleet Command.
Jim's grim countenance caused near-silence to fall across the Bridge upon his entry. "Put them through," he ordered.
The Sochya's bridge seemed to bustle with activity, with two individuals to a station in some cases. Jim noticed that there were more races of aliens present than he had previously cataloged, as a round-proboscis, blue skinned specimen pointed something out to a compatriot with a cat-like tail.
Most interesting was Spock, in the center, wearing a grey uniform and white collar band.
Spock stood with his hands locked behind his back. "Captain Kirk, I am Admiral S'chn T'gai Spock of the Xiran Union. Our business with the Hlish has reached a conclusion. However, we wish to conduct business with the United Federation of Planets."
"What business does the Xiran Union have with the Federation, Spock?" Jim stood behind the command chair, unconsciously mirroring Spock's stance.
"Please refer to me as Admiral or Admiral Spock."
Jim took two strides away from the viewscreen, then turned back around, affecting a smile. "Admiral Spock, what's your business with the Federation?"
"The Xiran Union would like to negotiate a treaty with the United Federation of Planets to encourage peaceful trade and mutually agreed upon borders. We understand that you will need time to communicate with Starfleet Command before you can answer this request."
"Well, you are acquainted with the regs, aren't you, Admiral?" Bitterness colored Jim's voice.
"I will be in touch in twelve hours." Spock looked to the side, and Jim could tell the communication was about to end.
"Wait, uh, Admiral," the title was heavy on Jim's tongue, "could we negotiate something before the official guidelines come in?"
"What are you proposing?"
"The playing field would feel a lot more even if you didn't have an armada breathing down our necks. Could all your ships but the Sochya, I don't know, leave the sector? As a show of faith?"
"As the Blue Fleet was here primarily to intimidate the Hlish, their task is complete. I have no objections to ordering them out of the sector. Captain Dhar, relay the order across the fleet that they are to reform, wait for new orders, and disperse to their new headings from 070-mark-3 on your order."
Captain Dhar spoke into a glowing sphere like the one Spock handled on the planet's surface. His orders sounded distorted and indistinct to Jim, but apparently Spock understood.
"Give the order." Spock's voice has a quiet assurance to it.
Captain Dhar nods and gave one last statement into the orb in his hand, then the glow turned off.
"Keptin, ze Xiran ships are breaking orbit." Chekov "Except ze Sochya. Ze other ships have established a loose formation and are accelerating out of ze system. They have gone to warp."
"Thank you, Admiral Spock. I'll definitely include how helpful you've been in my report to my superiors."
Spock raised his eyebrow at Jim. "I am gratified."
"Kirk out."
Jim spent the rest of shift filling in details on an update to his recently-filed report. If he was a little harsh in his description of Spock, he only realized later.
Jim typed in the sequence for a hamburger resolutely in the mess hall, ignoring the sigh from Bones over his shoulder. He grabbed his burger as it appeared in the slot, stepping to the side.
"Why not a salad? I may need to reeducate you on the finer points of nutrition." Bones keyed in his meal, green sprouts with rice and a small portion of fish.
"I'll eat your rabbit-food when I have no choice, Bones." They walked over to their table, where Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura were finishing eating. They are embroiled in a heated discussion.
"He's an admiral to the Xirans. Why would he want to come back and just be a commander?" Sulu argues, looking pointedly at Uhura.
"I dated him for two years; we talked about our ambitions. Spock didn't want to be an admiral. He didn't even want to be captain, really." Jim tried to disappear. He did not want to weigh in, despite being interested in the conversation.
"But power changes people. And Spock certainly has it, now. Those Xirans would have asked 'how high' if he said 'jump.'" Sulu pushes his plate away. "I just think he's staying with the Xirans because he's attained something he hadn't here."
"Spock doesn't work like that." Uhura picked up her plate "Trust me."
Chekov slurped up the last of his soup. "Ze commander could be under the influence of telepaths!" Sulu grinned and Uhura rolled her eyes slightly. The group stood up, nodding goodbyes to the Captain and CMO. "Zhey could be influencing his brain waves, making him their puppet…" Chekov's rant became indistinct as they walked farther away.
"The whole crew is abuzz with rumors about Spock, Jim. It's not just them." Bones watches Jim warily.
"He was an important figure on the ship. It's not surprising they are talking about his apparent decision to desert Starfleet for a post in an alien military force." There's nothing to betray Jim's roiling emotions in his voice, but Bones knew him too well.
"Are you giving in to speculation too, Jim? We just don't know what's happened to Spock to bring him to this point. Damn, if the hobgoblin heard me defending him those eyebrows of his would launch into orbit." Bones chuckled lightly, smiling wryly at Jim.
"There's no way to know what Spock's story is, other than to ask him. And hopefully these negotiations will give us that opportunity."
"You think Command's going to give the order to negotiate?" Bones sounded incredulous.
Jim finished his bite of burger, then said, "With the data provided by Lieutenant Marcus and the science department on the reduced chip-size possible with Xiran technology, Command will no doubt see the possibilities and ramifications of integrating it into Federation ships and other technology."
"So it'll be all about the Xiran tech, not the prospect of living happily side-by-side like good space neighbors," Bones groused.
"Well, there is that too. I'm sure that's what will make the press release." Jim aimed a tight-lipped smile at Bones.
"Aren't you just full-on optimist today." Bones irritably pushes the remains of his meal around on his plate.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so cynical. I just… miss him, you know?" Jim casts his gaze to the side, refusing to meet Bones' scrutiny.
There's a beat of silence, then Bones replied. "I know, kid."
That night, Jim slept the sleep of the truly weary; he could swear he never even changed positions from when he lay down to when he got up. His alarm woke him from a familiar dream, an image from it seared in his memory - strong, masculine arms pinned him against the bulkhead, as he ran his fingers through the aggressor's short, silky hair and leaned up for a kiss. He thought about being pinned to the bulkhead, and wondered where that fantasy had come from.
He wasn't worried about the dream, but he wondered about liking being manhandled so much. He was usually dominant in bed. It was part of the James T. Kirk Captain experience.
He pushed those thoughts aside, getting ready for Alpha shift.
He took a quick sonic shower, then stood in front of the sink to shave. Opening the cabinet where he stored his toiletries, his gaze fell upon Spock's pulse razor. Tentatively, Jim picked it up, looking at the wear that was starting to show on the handle. Jim turned it on, the sound familiar, comforting. He turned to the mirror and shaved his stubble clean.