Kirk was not having a good day. "Where is my goddamn ship?" he yelled, at no-one in particular, and threw his communicator across the room. Again.
They were in a side room off Dr Nordskøv's greenhouse-laboratory; a pleasant, brick-walled shed-like space, with shelves of gardening tools and endless dusty boxes. There were a couple of beaten-up couches near the door, and a fraying rug. Spock was seated primly upright on one of the couches, perfect hair and perfect calm at odds with the clutter. Bones was leaning against the doorframe. Kirk was pacing.
It had been more than two hours since he had tried to contact the Enterprise and been met with static. It had been an hour and fifty minutes since they'd stopped joking about Sulu's incompetence. It had been an hour and ten minutes since they'd sent Dr Nordskøv's housekeeper to 'inquire for news' – after forty minutes of arguing in three languages – and it had been thirty minutes and counting since Kirk had managed to stand still.
McCoy quietly retrieved Kirk's communicator from the corner, dusted it off, and stuck it in his own pocket. "Jim, we've gotta start thinking about going to Starfleet."
"I disagree," Spock said. It was the first time he'd spoken since Nordskøv had ushered them in here and politely shut the door (about an hour and eight minutes ago, when Kirk had started getting impatient). Kirk stopped pacing for a second from surprise.
"Oh, now the Vulcan isn't interested in the regulations?" snapped Bones. "Care to explain – "
"Gladly. What we need now is information. If Starfleet does have any, they are unlikely to share it with us: most likely we will be immediately placed under arrest, and even if we were not – "
"I'd do a couple of hours in confinement to find out where my damn ship is," said Kirk, kicking the corner of a shelf as he passed.
"Yeah, how about a court-martial?" drawled Bones sourly.
"Even if we were not," repeated Spock, "How do we know that Starfleet itself is not the cause of the Enterprise's disappearance?"
Kirk glanced at him in passing. "You think the Enterprise got caught?"
"Possibly."
"But – "
"But why did nobody contact us. Yes. I believe you and Dr McCoy have been over every variant of this scenario. No, I am suggesting that if anyone in Starfleet knows what happened to the Enterprise, it will be a covert and possibly sinister operation."
Bones pushed himself upright. "Good God, man, you're not suggesting a, a conspiracy inside Starfleet? You're insane."
Spock shrugged and spread his hand. "I did not say I thought it likely. The more probable option is that Starfleet does nothave any information, in which case contacting them would fulfil no reasonable purpose except ruining our respective careers."
"Well, can't argue with that." Kirk kicked the shelf again. It hurt his toe.
"Damn conspiracy theorist," muttered Bones.
The door to the main greenhouse creaked open. Dr Nordskøv appeared, looking rather sheepish and holding a tray. They edged inside along with a swirl of the beautiful smell of the orchids and kicked the door shut behind them.
"I'm sorry about all of this," they said. "I'm sorry your ship is missing. I wish there was more I could do."
"Actually, Dr Nordskøv, there is something you could do for us," said Kirk, as Nordskøv balanced the tray on the edge of the couch. They handed a cup of tea to Bones, who nodded, and one to Spock, who looked confused.
"Please, what is it?" Nordskøv gave Kirk a mug. He took it, staring into the depths of the tea for a moment while he considered just how blunt he ought to be. Who cares.
"I want to know just what you know about Prince Themba. Why did he come here, of all places? And why did he insist on coming in secret – as he put it, to protect you? Protect you from who?"
"Whom," said Spock, very quietly.
Nordskøv fiddled with the tray, taking a few aimless steps back, forward, away from Kirk. "I … I'm not sure that … that's not my story to tell."
"Doctor, today I don't know a hell of a lot. I don't know what's happened to my ship and everyone on her; I don't know how I'm going to get her back; and I certainly don't know what Starfleet's going to say about it all. I just want the answers to onemystery. If I can have just a little bit less uncertainty – "
"I'm sorry captain, I can't." Nordskøv met Kirk's stare. "You deserve an explanation, but I'm afraid it would, it would create more problems than it solved. I'm sorry. It's best you get your ship back, head back to your scheduled route, and forget this whole affair."
"Well, that would be nice and all but we're a bit stuck on the first point," said Kirk. He politely didn't bring up the mess they'd left behind on Takar. He could see that Bones wanted to, though, from the faces he was making into his tea.
"Ah, about that." Nordskøv clasped the tray in both hands, like a shield. "Puja returned a few minutes ago – there's not much news. She borrowed a station at the local radar office – before you ask, yes, discreetly; it's her nephew who works there – maybe her nephew's brother-in-law – anyway, there's nothing up there."
"We knowthat," said Bones, but Nordskøv held up a hand.
"There was, however, a – a blip in local space, about three hours ago now, it would be. A lot of mass appearing unexpectedly and briefly on the scanner, just for a cycle or two."
"A ship-sized amount of mass?" said Kirk.
"Mm, more like two or three ships," said Nordskøv. "But only for, well, seconds. Maybe minutes. I don't know, does that mean anything to you? I'm not a space-faring fellow."
The three officers looked at each other. "It couldbe …" began McCoy, tapping his fingers against his mug. "It could be, almost, a ship dropping out of warp for just a moment? Enough to be picked up on lidar, but not to show any movement into or out of the space? Is that – is that even possible?"
Spock looked thoughtful. "In theory, doctor, yes."
"Then what – it took the Enterprise with it?" Kirk threw up his hands in frustration. "Then we're no closer to finding her!"
"On the contrary, captain." Spock put his tea carefully on the floor and folded his hands in his lap. "Depending on the specifics of the data gathered by this radar station, we could extrapolate the direction of motion of the ship, or ships. And it is possible we could identify the same craft if it ever came across our scanners again."
Nordskøv smiled and nodded, their hands moving on the tea-tray. "Puja brought home a download of the scans – I'll bring them up to you."
Spock caught the captain's gaze, the corners of his eyes crinkling just the tiniest bit. "Furthermore, we can now virtually rule out, ah, my conspiracy theory. In all likelihood, Starfleet is still in the dark."
"Oh good, let's call command," said Bones, running his hand over his eyes in relief.
"No!" Nordskøv dropped the tray. "No, please. You must not."
Kirk gave them a long look. "Because it would – create more problems?"
"Yes. Trust me – anyone who knows about this is in danger."
"Oh great." Bones drained his mug and made a face. "I'm so pleased that his royal highness decided to drag us into this." Nordskøv gave him a pained look. "Uh, where are the prince and princess, anyway?"
"Downstairs. We've … had some things to talk about."
"The dangerous things," said Kirk dryly.
"Yes. Mostly." A smile tugged at Nordskøv's mouth. "It's been awhile since I talked to Prince Themba. I've wanted to meet Princess Neo for some time."
"That's nice and all, but it doesn't get us anywhere," drawled Bones.
"Yup." Kirk rubbed the bridge of his nose, and reached for his communicator. It wasn't at his belt. "Bones, give me the – give me the thing. The comm." Bones tossed it to him. Spock looked up, his eyebrows going up – in hope, Kirk would have said if he hadn't known the Vulcan so well; it was probably surprise. "I'm not calling in, don't worry, Dr Nordskøv."
Bones threw up his hands. "Dammit, Jim, you can't keep taking strangers' words on these things – sorry, doctor – why on earth do you think we can trust them?"
Nordskøv shrugged.
"This newfound blind faith is likely to be your undoing," agreed Spock.
"Look," said Kirk. "There is something deeply suspicious going on in this corner of the galaxy. At least the three planets of the Takarian Imperium are at stake; possibly more. Whatever this business is it's come to Earth. It might, thank you Spock, have links to Starfleet. As damn frustrated as I am at you, Dr Nordskøv, and your Takarian friends, I'm pretty f***ing sure that you don't have the whole story, and we're gonna need your help to get to whoever or whatever is screwing with us. And on top of all of this, someone has taken my damn ship!" He flipped open the communicator and glared around the room. Nordskøv looked taken aback; McCoy, resigned. And if Kirk didn't know better he'd say Spock looked impressed. A half-grin twitched at Kirk's mouth. He continued more calmly, "So we're going to cash in whatever favours I have left and solve this thing. All clear?"
"Yes, sir," said Bones.
-0-0-0-0-0-
It took a day and a half. All through that time, Kirk kept the hope that the Enterprise would show up, that Uhura or Sulu or Chekov or Scotty or someonewould manage to make contact and everything would be okay. Instead they stayed shut up at Nordskøv's house, drinking tea and trying not to kick the walls down. Nordskøv and the Takarians mostly stayed in the doctor's workroom, doing who knew what. Tests, Kirk assumed, to see if Nordskøv's work on SGS was worth anything. Medical things. Bones had offered to be an extra pair of hands, and been politely turned down.
But finally, thirty-nine hours into the one-hour mission, Kirk and Spock were standing in the maglev tube station in Rajshahi East.
"See her anywhere?"
"Captain, she is coming on the 0710 train, which has not yet arrived."
"Yeah, yeah, Spock."
It was just the two of them, wearing some of Nordskøv's spare clothes. Kirk had nabbed the only pair of pants, along with a linen jacket that smelt about a hundred years old. He thought Spock looked rather neat in his sarong and wrap-around shirt. The oversized sunhat that the Vulcan was wearing pulled low over his face and ears, that was a bit less flattering, but he wasn't going to argue with Spock's caution any more.
"I confess, I was surprised at Dr Marcus's willingness to help us. After the events of several years ago, I imagine she has had some difficulty establishing her trustworthiness within Starfleet. This affair …"
"Lucky for us, Carol was on leave," grinned Kirk. "And even Starfleet officers can do what they want on their own time."
"That is not strictly true, captain."
"Yeah, yeah. Oh, here's the train."
The station was muggy and crowded, its shabby chrome surfaces styled in fashions that had been in decades ago, and looking like they hadn't been cleaned since then. Old posters and graffiti made up most of the decoration. The platforms were packed – humans and others, dressed in every kind of clothing and speaking more languages than Kirk could count, and all of them trying to get past each other. As the maglev scraped into its stop, with an almighty hiss that filled the air, people began to move towards it, and Kirk and Spock were swept along.
"See her anywhere?" Kirk yelled over the noise.
"No, there are – there she is, captain."
Kirk grabbed Spock's arm and elbowed his way down the train. "Don't call me captain when we're trying to be undercover, Spock."
"No. My apologies, Jim; force of habit."
Carol Marcus looked like she'd been on holiday, in a floral print sundress and aviators. Her pale blonde hair stood out even half-way down the platform, as she stood like a rock in the crowds, looking around. She'd changed her hair since Kirk had seen her last; into a pixie cut that, Kirk thought, looked great on her.
"Carol," he said quietly, as they staggered out of the crowds beside her. She spun around, relaxing when she saw them.
"Jim," she said, sliding her aviators down her nose and flashing him one of her high-voltage smiles. "It was such a surprise to hear from you. In trouble as usual, I gather? And First Officer Spock. I almost didn't recognize you under that hat."
"That is the idea, Dr Marcus."
"Come on, Carol, we'd better get moving. This your bag?" He stooped to pick up the duffle by her feet. She took it and slung it over her shoulder, and the three of them began to push through the crowd towards the doors.
"So, what's this big favor you want, Jim? Other than dragging me all the way from Bermuda, that is." Her London accent was a welcome mix of familiarity and exoticness. Kirk felt reassured already.
"We'll explain later," said Kirk. He was trying to keep watch on everyone at the station at the same time, and was feeling as jumpy as Bones having a good time. "Once we're at the house."
Carol laughed at him, but it was a wary laugh. "You really are in trouble again, aren't you?" She tugged her bag back up her shoulder and suddenly stopped, staring down the platform with the hint of a frown. "You see that guy?"
"Oh God, you're as bad as Spock," groaned Kirk, walking faster. "Which guy?"
"Down there, by the broken turnstiles – brown cloak and hood – they were on the train with me. I got a – odd feeling."
"The tall narrow one?" Kirk squinted, but he couldn't make out any features beyond 'scruffy' and 'vaguely pointy'.
"Why would somebody be following Dr Marcus …" said Spock under his breath.
"The real question is who wears a cloak in this heat. C'mon; Carol, you keep an eye on them and make sure they don't follow us."
The three of them headed as fast as decorum allowed for the sunshine outside, Dr Marcus glancing every now and then back down the platform. Her fingers tightened on the strap of her bag.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"You are actually insane."
"We know, Carol. Do you have any ideas?"
The slanted morning sun made Dr Nordskøv's greenhouse-attic-thing a kaleidoscope of light and orchids. There was a gentle humming of the traffic a few streets away and the tiny butterflies flitted from plant to plant, thick green leaves hanging still in the enveloping heat … all of this at odds with Dr Marcus's gesticulating, aviators-blazing outrage.
She'd dumped her bag by the door to the side room and was standing over it, planted, an implicit refusal to go any further. The rest of them were arrayed around the greenhouse in various states of dismay.
"Any ideas? For helping you break the law? Oh, no wait, I've got a great one – how about I report in like you bastards should have done before I lose my job!"
"Please don't do that, Dr Marcus," said Nordskøv in a small voice from the corner.
"Believe me, Carol, we've gone through this argument a hundred times over," said Kirk. He leant against one of the orchid tables and looked at her with a sigh. "But you of all people should know that Starfleet isn't always infallible."
"What, no glib crack about how only Jim Kirk can save the day?" she said coldly.
"Ouch," muttered Bones, propped against the wall with his arms crossed.
Carol ran a hand over her eyes underneath her sunglasses. "I'm sorry. That was harsh."
"No, that was directed at the captain. You were spot on, doctor."
"Bones!"
"If I may interject," said Prince Themba, stepping forwards and tucking his hands in his pockets. He had a presence that made them stop glaring daggers at each other – something more than the fact that he was a head taller than everyone else in the room. "Dr Marcus, your friends are good people. I've known them for barely a few days and even I can see that. Now, I don't know what your history is – just that when Captain Kirk said he needed help, you were the first person who came to mind. These people trust you; please trust them – just for a little while."
Carol folded her arms slowly. "Fine. A little while. Sorry, who are you again?"
Kirk let out an audible breath. "Alright, great. Carol, thank you. We need you to get us a ship."
She shot him a Look over her aviators.
"So we can go after the Enterprise," said Kirk. "We've got a probable direction, and something like a radio signature. We'll figure it out from there."
"Ah, the captain frequently has last-minute ideas," said Spock in an undertone to Dr Nordskøv. "I would advise you not to worry; they succeed with surprising regularity."
"And if that doesn't work, we can always come back to Earth and stage secret attacks on Starfleet headquarters until they give us information." Kirk grinned. It had a manic edge to it.
"These ideas are usually, um, unusual," murmured Spock. "Nothing to worry about."
Nordskøv put their face in their hands.
"Well, I can't get you a ship," said Carol. She took her aviators off at last, flicked them folded, and tucked them in a pocket of her skirt. "But I think I know someone who can. You do collect friends, Jim, I'll give you that – we'll see whether you can keep them."
-0-0-0-0-0-
That evening, in a field outside Rajshahi – and it had been damn difficult to find a deserted flattish area this close to a major population centre – the seven of them stood at the edge of a line of palms watching a space shuttle come in for landing. The air was still thick with the heat of the day, and even out here was acrid with the stench of the city, but underneath tasted of the richness of dirt and forest.
"You know you don't have to come with, Carol," said Kirk. He had to shout to be heard over the roaring down the field. The trees behind them and the jungle around the field were shaking in the gale. "You might be more useful back at HQ – looking around for information, y'know?"
"I've still got a week of leave left," replied Carol, her gaze fixed on the glowing lights of the craft, all chrome and black; a gleam in her eyes that was more than just a reflection.
A few feet behind them Nordskøv and the prince were having the same conversation in Tsont-tarra.
"It will be dangerous, Lalla. You owe me nothing."
"It's time for me to get out of the city, Your Highness." Nordskøv flashed a tiny grin. "And I want to see the conclusion of this work. It's my research I owe, not you."
"Alright, old friend."
It was quite dark – the sun set quickly here – and in the velvet blues and greens of the descending evening, the silhouettes of the jungle stark against the last glow in the sky, the spaceship looked very bright – very obvious. Kirk still managed to stumble over several irregularities in the ground as they hurried towards it.
"Careful with my boxes, captain!" called Nordskøv, their long white hair flying about their face with the downdraft.
"Yeah, why don't you carry them yourself, y'bastard," muttered Bones, who had been saddled with five of them. Nordskøv had insisted on bringing along the critical parts of his work; samples and vials and cuttings all packed into a plethora of medical-looking cases.
They all staggered through the dying blast from the engines up to a gangway that lowered with a hiss, spewing pale yellow light across the field. Prince Themba towed Princess Neo along by the hand. Kirk watched Spock try to claw his hair back into some semblance of order and smiled.
A familiar figure appeared at the top of the gangway and waved enthusiastically.
"James T!" yelled Jaylah.
"Good to see you, Jaylah." Kirk dumped his boxes inside the door and gave her a one-armed hug. It had been a while since they'd caught up with her, what with the Enterprise's missions and Jaylah's advancement through the Academy. She was wearing a cadet undress uniform, the jacket half-buttoned – it looked eerily similar to the field uniform they'd all been wearing when they'd met her on Altamid, and Kirk had a dizzy moment of warped deja-vu.
"Dr Marcus," she said, with a nod and a shy smile as Carol came aboard. Carol smiled and touched Jaylah's elbow, then ushered the Takarians inside, down the cool white corridor. Dr Nordskøv followed, casting a look back over the darkening jungle. Kirk couldn't say whether they were grateful or regretful or sad, or something else entirely. Bones and Spock brought up the rear and Jaylah hit the control pad. The gangway slid back up with an extended beeping, and suddenly it was quiet inside the ship, like a blow to the ears after all the noise.
"It's good to see you!" grinned Jaylah, as Bones set his boxes on the floor and Nordskøv hovered, glaring. "But – no Montgomery Scotty?"
"No, Scotty's on the Enterprise."
Jaylah nodded, looking grim. "And the Enterprise has been taken." She clapped Kirk on the shoulder. "I am glad Dr Marcus called me, James T. Together we will get your ship back. Come on."
"See, Bones, that's what a real friend's supposed to say," laughed Kirk, as Bones began to gather up Nordskøv's boxes again.
The doctor glared at him. "You do know this is technically a crime, Jaylah? You could get kicked outta the Academy for this."
Jaylah grinned again, walking backwards down the corridor. "That is what friends are for, no? To help their friends do crimes?" She turned away and immediately spun back again. "Ah, James T! I should call you captain now, I think? Now that we both work for Starfleet?"
"While we all still do work for Starfleet," murmured Spock.
"She's my new favourite," Kirk said. "Just so you guys know."
-0-0-0-0-0-