"Captain on ze Bridge" came Chekov's smiled greeting from his console.
Kirk grinned back about to respond when the drawling voice of Leonard McCoy piped up from the science station he was leaning against. Kirk noted how Spock looked a little perturbed that the doctor was using his station as a rest stop. "Well look what the cat dragged in, nice of you to grace us with your presence. It's not like I have better things to do than to sit here waiting…"
Spock's voice disrupted McCoy before he could continue chewing the Captain out. "Doctor I am unaware of any felinoid life forms on the vessel at the current time". McCoy looked incredulously at Spock, "It's a turn of phrase you…"
Kirk decided to stop the impending argument "Gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, what have we got?"
Spock turned to his console losing the smug aura at baiting the doctor and brought up information from the system.
"Since Starfleet lost contact with the Denevan outpost I have checked for information on the rest of the system and there have been disturbing reports."
Kirk watched the data flashing up on screen, it was moving too fast for him to read but Spock seemed to be making sense of it, Spock stopped it on one page. "There have been reports of mass insanity and radical changes in behaviour from various settlements and colonies in this system. On checking further I have found that the overall pattern of mass insanity destroying these civilisations follows an almost straight line through this section of the galaxy." He brought up an overview of the system. "Over here the Beta Portilin system, I have found information indicating that this could be where the phenomena began. Two hundred years ago, Levinius Five was swept by a similar mass insanity, then Theta Cygni Twelve. The last was Ingraham B, two years ago."
Kirk moved forward placing his hand on the back of Spock's chair but careful not to touch him as he lent closer to look at the screen "And next in line is Deneva?" He looked at McCoy "Bones, Do you have any theories?"
McCoy pressed a few buttons to bring up information on the screen next to Spock's "I found a few requests for medical assistance which were cancelled almost immediately after they were sent. No detailed medical records or reports, if there is medical or scientific cause for what happened on those planets, they didn't let anyone know about it."
Kirk gestured to the faint line linking all the areas mapped on Spock's screen "But it follows a definite pattern, a systematic progression from planet to planet."
Kirk straightened, "Uhura" She turned to look at him expectantly "Any response from the research base on Deneva?"
She shook her head turning back to the console and pressing a few of the controls "No sir, I've tried every frequency including the personal GSK-783 sub-space ones. None of them have acknowledged my contact signals."
Chekov called over from the helm "Captain, I have a ship on my sensors looking at trajectory it has come from Deneva, it is heading directly into the Denevan sun."
Kirk moved to sit in his chair "Sulu, plot an intercept course. Warp eight. Lieutenant Uhura, try to contact that ship."
They responded swiftly to comply with the Captains orders.
Spock checked the readings on his console, "Captain, the ship is a one-man shuttle craft registered to the Denevan research station. I am reading no system malfunctions on-board. Its course seems to have been manually set directly into the sun."
Kirk pressed the comms on the arm of his chair, "Scotty, are you monitoring this?"
Montgomery Scott looked at the data coming from the bridge on to his console in engineering "Aye Sir."
"Can you get a tractor beam lock on it?" Scott looked at the readouts on screen "We're out of range sir"
Uhura spoke up from her console "Captain, I've made contact"
"On screen" She shook her head "There's too much interference I can only get audio"
Kirk moved to her station "Denevan shuttle, this is the USS Enterprise. Can you reverse your course?" There was no response "Denevan shuttle, Acknowledge." He sent Uhura a questioning look, she checked the readouts on her screen "They are receiving, they're just not responding"
Scott's voice came through the internal comms system "Captain, we're getting too close to the sun, the radiations will start to play havoc with the core if we get much closer"
Kirk sighed "Got it, Keep going for now. Denevan shuttle, reverse your course. Do you hear me? Reverse your course. Acknowledge."
Spock who had been monitoring the ships status from his own console broke in "Captain, the outer hull temperature is now at four hundred and eighty degrees and rising."
Sulu checked his viewer "Captain, we're not going to catch it at our current speed"
Spock looked at Kirk from his station "Captain. Hull temperature is now one thousand degrees and rising. The sun's gravimetric pull is increasing."
A sudden burst of static filled the bridge then a panting voice tainted with relief responded "I did it. It's finally gone. I'm free. I'm…" There was a small flare from the side of the Denevan sun on screen showing the shuttle had reached its intended course.
Chekov checked his sensors, slightly stunned "He's gone Captain, he burned up"
Kirk sighed pushing away the despair at being unable to save that man even though there was nothing else he could have done. "Reverse course. Take us out to a safe distance"
Sulu quickly altered their course "Aye, sir."
Spock checked his terminal "All clear, Captain. The hull temperature is now approaching tolerable levels."
Kirk looked back at Sulu "Reduce to warp one. Take us to Deneva." Sulu nodded a 'Sir' to show he had acknowledged and plotted in the new course.
Kirk pushed himself out of his seat and made his way back over to the science station. "That ship deliberately headed into the sun"
McCoy folded his arms "It's possible that this 'mass insanity' or whatever it is has reached this planet."
Uhura suddenly interrupted "Captain, I'm getting a response from the research station; I'm cleaning up the signal as best I can"
A female voice filled the bridge sounding panicked "Please hurry. Help us. I don't have much time. They'll know. Please! Please help us"
Kirk turned to Uhura "Can you get video?"
Uhura let out a frustrated breath "I'm trying but there's some kind of interference…got it." She looked puzzled "We've got a full connection but it's nothing I did"
The view screen showed a woman sitting in a darkened room, she tilted her head her brown hair escaping the ponytail it had been tied in, her blue Starfleet uniform rumpled, it looked like she had gotten dressed a few days ago and had done nothing to her appearance since. Her unearthly blue gaze roved over them from the screen and Chekov couldn't help the shudder that ran through him. She didn't speak.
Kirk walked over to his chair "This is Captain James T. Kirk from the…"
The woman interrupted in a flat tone "USS Enterprise NCC-1701, we are aware of you"
Kirk's brow furrowed her voice didn't sound right "We received your message"
Her head tilted as if she was listening to only something she could hear "Enterprise, you will help us. Beam down immediately"
"With whom am I speaking?"
She fixed her gaze on him "That is of no consequence, you will help us" The screen went back to showing the planet on screen.
Kirk turned around "Lieutenant?"
Uhura's fingers flew over her controls "They've cut the signal from their end, I can't re-establish."
"Spock?"
Spock brought up sensor readings onto his console "I am seeing humanoid life sign readings on the surface Captain, though I am getting interference from an unidentified source."
Kirk nodded "Right I wanna know what's going down there" He motioned to Spock and McCoy "I want you two to come with me"
Spock stood "Captain you do not need to beam down with us, regulations state…" McCoy scoffed the moment the word regulations had been said. Kirk smiled disarmingly "Oh no, I'm not sending you down there without supervision. You two can't be trusted to stay out of trouble without me" He paused taking in their disbelieving expressions. "C'mon what's the worst that could happen?"
He turned sharply ready to head towards the lift but stood on his untied lace and nearly planted himself face first into the deck. Hands swiftly grabbed each arm steadying him and though Spock let go as soon as Kirk had regained his balance he still hovered near. McCoy was still gripping his upper arm tightly, "Bones" nope that definitely didn't sound like a whine.
"You're a god-damn child you know that, do you need someone to tie your shoes for you?" McCoy let go pushing him slightly "Hey" Kirk held his hands up in surrender, he straightened his shirt and mustering as much dignity as he could headed towards the lift. "Uhura, tell Scotty to meet us in the transporter room. Sulu you have the bridge"
"Aye, sir" came the distinctly amused voices as Spock and McCoy followed him into the lift.
He glanced between them Bones was definitely smirking at him and Spock…yep he had the tic at the side of his jaw that said he was suppressing a smile.
Oh, yeah this day wasn't going to suck at all.
