Spock monitored Uhura's updates while he performing his calculations, so he knew when the team beamed back outside the ship. McCoy and Chekov returned to their stations on the bridge, Chekov still wearing a hospital gown but Kirk did not enter, requesting a transport several minutes later. Spock was frustrated and requested Uhura show him the scene outside the ship but Kirk strode onto the bridge, Dr Taylor one step behind him before the screen changed. "Spock. Where the hell's the power you promised me?" Spock responded "Just one damn minute Admiral." Kirk wasn't going to get all her attention.

"I'm ready Spock, let's go find George and Gracie," came Mr Scott's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Mr Sulu?" Kirk asked.

"I'm trying to remember how this thing worked. Got used to the Huey," remarked Sulu, joking Spock hoped.

Captain Kirk turned to challenge Dr Taylor "You tricked me."

She gave a coy smile, arms crossed over her jacket and head lowered "You need me." She had gotten her way and knew it.

Kirk jerked his thumb towards the empty seat near Uhura and Spock marshalled his arguments. "Take a seat," Kirk said and she obeyed.

"Now, Mr Sulu," Kirk gave the order and the Bird-Of-Prey lifted off. Spock's occasional glances at Dr Taylor showed her wide eyed and staring aerial view of San Francisco passing beneath them in the front viewer. He concentrated on his calculations, the chatter of the crew routine, but noted anyway.

"Cloaking dewice is stable. All systems normal," reported Chekov.

"Stabilise energy reserve. Report helm," Kirk ordered.

"Maintaining impulse climb, wing five by zero. Helm steady," replied Sulu

"Advise reaching ten thousand. Steer 310," ordered Kirk.

"310, aye," came the response.

"Uhura, scan for the whales. Four-Oh-One megahertz."

"Scanning, sir, she replied and Spock sneaked another look in Dr Taylor's direction.

"Ten thousand MSL, Admiral,"

"Wing, cruise configuration. Full impulse power."

"Aye, sir. 310 to the Bering Sea ETA twelve minutes.

"Scotty, are the whales tanks secure?" said Kirk into the comm system.

"Aye sir, but I've never beamed up four hundred tonnes before," came Mr Scott's reply.

"Four hundred tonnes?" asked Kirk.

"Well, it's not just the whales, it's the water," explained Mr Scott.

"Yes, of course," Kirk spun the Captain's chair and stalked across the bridge towards Uhura, capturing Dr Taylor's attention on the way. "The whales, any contact?"

"Negative, sir."

McCoy left his seat and propped his hip against the console, leaning towards Spock. 'You present the appearance of a man with a problem."

"Your perception is correct doctor. In order to return us to the exact moment we left the 23rd century, I have used our journey back through time as a referent, calculating the co-efficient of elapsed time in relation to the acceleration curve."

"Naturally," McCoy remarked. "So what's your problem?"

"Acceleration is no longer a constant" Spock explained.

"Well then you're just going to have to take your best shot."

"Best shot?" asked Spock, perplexed.

"Guess, Spock," McCoy suggested.

Spock dropped his head, shaking it. The doctor did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. "Guessing is not in my nature, doctor."

"Well, nobody's perfect," McCoy replied, seeming amused by something. The entire conversation was confusing. There was no alternative; Spock would have to estimate part of his calculations.

On the other side of the room, Uhura's monitoring was successful and a regular pulse overrode the beep of the instruments. "That's it," said an excited Dr Taylor.

"Affirmative," confirmed Uhura. "Contact with the whales."

"Bearing?," asked Kirk.

"Bearing 327 range 600 nautical," reported Uhura, excitement creeping into her voice.

"Put it on the screen," Kirk said, turning to watch.

"How can you do that" asked Dr Taylor in amazement, prompting Spock to wonder why that particular piece of technology triggered her question. The transporter, a human invention, was more often the cause of similar questions but had passed without comment.

"Onscreen", reported Uhura, an unnecessary remark, the screen showed the sensor readings of the ocean surface at the source of the signal. A Humpback whale breached near its mate, Gracie, Spock knew. Relief flooded the crew they were closing in on their goal.

"Admiral, I have a signal closing in on the whales, bearing 328 degrees," interrupted Uhura.

"Let's see it," said Kirk, alert again. The shape of a ship appeared on the screen. Spock's knowledge of whaling vessels was minimal but he was unsurprised when Dr Taylor's answer to McCoy's 'What kind of ship is that?" was "It's a whaling ship, doctor." It was the logical answer.

"Are we too late?" Dr Taylor asked the question everyone wanted the answer to but no one could answer.

Kirk took the chair again. "Full power descent, Mr Sulu."

"Aye, sir, full power descent." The ship tipped and gravity pushed Spock forward, the inertial dampeners compensating for the thrust of the ship but not the angle they were flying at. Sulu still wasn't used to flying in atmosphere. At least he had kept the helicopter upright when he flew. Klingon ships artificial gravity generators bore no resemblance to the Federations and Mr Scott, not thinking they'd need them on their Earth bound flight, hadn't touched them. Dr Taylor closed her eyes and Uhura removed her earpiece as they raced the whaling ship. Spock's stomach threatened to empty itself.

"Ten seconds, sir," reported Sulu, adjusting the power and calculating.

The ship passed over the whaler and ocean and sky swirled across the main screen as they banked to hover over the whales. "How long, Scotty," demanded Kirk.

"Twenty seconds to focus, Admiral. The wee beasties are moving," replied Scotty and Dr Taylor inhaled sharply.

George, surfaced, the blow making a perfect target for the whalers to fire their harpoon. The harpoon launched, arcing across the view screen. The sound sensors of the outside recorded the metallic clang as it hit the hull of the ship, positioned by Mr Sulu between the whales and the harpoon trajectory.

"Alright Scotty, it's up to you," hinted Kirk.

"Ten seconds, Admiral," was the reply over the comm.

"Five"

"Four"

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

They waited, breathless, the metal of the ship creaking and groaning with the added stress of the whales.

"Admiral, there be whales here," came Mr Scott's excited pronouncement, earning him the delight of the crew, most evident in Lieutenant Uhura and Dr Taylor.

"Well done Mr Scott. How soon can we be ready for warp speed?' asked Kirk.

"Full power now sir," was the reply.

"If you will, Mr Sulu."

"Aye, sir. Warp speed."

"Mr Sulu, you have the conn," Kirk left the command chair "I'm going to take our guest down and have a look at our whales." Kirk grabbed Dr Taylor's forearm encouraging her out of her seat, before reconsidering.

"Oh, Mr Spock, had you accounted for the variable mass of whales and water in your re-entry program?"

"Mr Scott cannot give me exact figures, Admiral, so I will make a guess." Spock did not wish to admit he had to resort to guessing in front of Dr Taylor but he could not fail to answer the Admiral's question.

"A guess? You, Spock? That's extraordinary." A delighted Admiral Kirk left the room, arm in arm with Dr Taylor.

"I don't think he understands" Spock said in confidence to Dr McCoy.

"No, Spock, he means that he feels safer about your guesses than most other people's facts." A smile played around McCoy's mouth.

"Then you are saying… it is a compliment?" Then Dr Taylor would interpret it the same way, since she was human.

"Indeed it is," McCoy confirmed.

"Ah," said Spock. "Then I will try to make the best guess I can."

The ship tilted and clouds filled the view screen. The hum of the engines increased to an alarming level and the ships shuddered. It was Mr Scott's responsibility, so Spock kept to his calculations, refining his estimate of the weight based on the acceleration characteristics of the Bird-Of-Prey. A task made harder by the increasing movement of the ship once it left orbit. The display screen jerked beneath his hands as he entered the final data points. He had already programmed the breaking thrusters and adjustments to the course once the time travel journey was over. The ship would have to navigate by instrument to land in the ocean under the probe. Or where the probe was when they left. He had tried to take them back in time to the moment they left, rather than let time pass at the same rate in 2286 and 1986. That complicated the calculations by a large margin but it would be preferable to letting 28.39 hours pass while the probe was damaging Earth. Returning before they left was impossible, of course. The probe would damage the Bird-Of Prey's computer systems as soon as they came within range. If random circumstance favoured them, there would be time for the autopilot to correct their course, allowing them to glide into a survivable landing.

Admiral Kirk's shoulder slammed into the doorway, he held on with both hands to remain upright and staggered to the Captain's chair.

Mr Scott's voice "7.5…7.9…Mr Sulu, that's all I can give you," fought for audibility with the scream of the mechanical stress tearing at the ship.

"Shields at maximum," called Chekov.

"Can we make breakaway speed?" Admiral Kirk asked him.

"Hardly, Admiral, I cannot even guarantee we'll escape the sun's gravity. I shall attempt to compensate by altering our trajectory," Spock assured him.

"Warp 8," said Sulu. "8.1. Maximum speed, sir."

"Admiral, I need thruster control." Spock stated.

"Acceleration thrusters at Spock's command," Kirk ordered.

"Ready, Steady, Go." A faint memory told Spock the appropriate command. He aimed the ship towards the sun, heading to the salvation of the planet or fiery death, depending on the accuracy of his calculations. Black rose up and consumed him.

The darkened insides of the Bird-Of-Prey greeted his opening eyes. The tense, alert bodies of the crew were now slumped against the seats of their workstations. He checked the readout in front of him. Life support showed the whales and all human occupants were alive. He ordered a full diagnostic check and waited for the results. They were on the course for San Francisco Bay.

"Did breaking thrusters fire?" came Kirk's strained question, indicating his return to consciousness.

"They did, Admiral," Spock confirmed, looking at the screen, which showed Earth with a disrupted power grid, the cylindrical form of the Whale Probe still above the Pacific Ocean.

"Then where the hell are we?" Kirk demanded.

The lights dimmed and the rhythmic pulsing of the probes transmission sounded, freezing the readout in front of Spock.

"The probe," Kirk stated the obvious again. The ship shook and the screen in front of Spock's went blank, reappearing with the Start Up screen. The lights came on again but the view screen displayed only static.

'Condition report, Spock," demanded Kirk.

"No data Admiral, computers are non-functional," Spock responded, tapping at a responsive screen which went blank with no warning.

"The mains are down sir, aux power is not responding," reported Chekov. The speed of the ship increased, the Earth pulling the ship closer. Within atmosphere but a non-survivable fall at this height, Spock calculated. The inertial dampeners had automatic power but kept flickering on and off. He tried routing extra power their way whenever it looked like he had computer control. The ship swayed from side to side, no doubt inducing nausea in the humans. Spock adjusted his bio-controls and kept inputting the same commands into the computer.

"Switch to manual control Mr Sulu," Kirk ordered.

"I have no control sir." The lights dimmed again and red emergency lighting flooded the bridge, the computer displays flashing their last results or error messages.

"My god, Jim, where are we?" demanded McCoy, peevish as usual.

"Out of control and blind as a bat," Jim answered his worry evident. They were so close. To fail at this late hour would be…unfortunate. The ship slammed to the side as the wing control mechanism obeyed an errant command and their flight levelled out. Proximity alarms flashed on the screen in front of Spock and the ship rolled in response.

"Ground the ship. Keep the nose up if you can," Jim ordered and Sulu jabbed at the aileron controls. Perhaps they would move in one of the brief times the controls became functional. In atmosphere, the ship shuddered and changed position. Winds buffeted the ship, lightning flashed, a loud bang and the seams popped, water streamed in through the gaps, cracking a pipe which began leaking gas into the atmosphere. Not fast enough to kill them before the fall did. A hard slam and a bounce announced their brief landing. Sparks flew from electrical controls and red warning lights ran the length of the room. The crew was thrown from side to side as the ship impacted again. Not on solid ground, the ship listed to one side, sinking lower.

"We're in the water, blow the hatch," yelled Kirk and Spock obeyed. Kirk peered out the hatch and saw something familiar.

"This is the right place, Spock, now all we have to do is get the whales out of here before we sink. Abandon ship." He tried the comm system, "Scotty, can you hear me? Scotty? Dammit" Chekov and Sulu raced to the open hatch while Kirk forced the bridge door open using the manual controls.

"Move. Move. See to the safety of all hands, " he ordered Spock.

"I will," Spock confirmed.

He wondered how Dr Taylor was faring. She was not dead, he knew, but he could sense her fear. All the others were outside the ship by the time she arrived, pulling Mr Scott behind her. Wet and scared, she obeyed his order to climb the stairs and he followed her up.

Rain lashed at his face and the air was damp and cold, filling his lungs with water with every breath. He, Dr Taylor and Dr McCoy huddled together for warmth scanning the water and Chekov, Uhura and McCoy formed a similar group. The ship sank lower in the water until the wings touched bottom. A dull explosion which none of the humans seemed to hear above the howling wind and bubbles of air indicated a breach of the cargo bay. He extended his consciousness and felt Gracie beneath him. Odds were in Admiral Kirk's favour. Kirk surfaced and Spock crouched, reaching into the water and grabbing him by the arm, keeping his head above water for several breaths while he steadied himself. The wind pelted sharp drops of rain at their faces.

"Do you see them," asked Uhura, her voice broken and husky. Dr Taylor reached for Kirk's hand, helping Spock to lift him out of the water until something else caught her attention. "Ah," she cried in response to Gracie surfacing and slapping her fin close to the half sunken ship. She still held Kirk by the hand, which stretched across Spock, pinning him to the ship. Spock turned, hanging by his left hand and twisting. Kirk's hand slipped from Dr Taylor's, and he grabbed at Spock's elbow.

"There," pointed Kirk, having located George, who slapped his tail on the ocean surface.

"Why don't they answer? Why don't they sing?" Kirk lamented but from deep beneath the water came the distinctive song of the Humpback, alternating with responses from the probe. They stilled, listening and there was silence. The lighting on the Golden Gate Bridge blinked into existence and in the distance the lights of San Francisco were dimly visible. The built up emotions of the crew released itself in gales of delighted laughter, their joy capturing Spock. He was wet and freezing but they had saved the world. The torrential downpour ceased after twenty one point 3 minutes and the skies cleared to blue, allowing them to watch George and Gracie breach and play in the ocean, free and safe.

The joy infectious, Kirk pulled Dr Taylor into the water and the others followed suit, jumping in with glee. Spock climbed further up the stairs but Jim pulled himself onto the ledge, wrestling Spock into the water. It was not much colder; the loss of wind offset the colder temperature of the water.

Author's note: It's amazing what you notice when you analyse something. Why is the ship at that odd angle when the ship is flying? I can't see a reason for it other than Sulu flies like that all the time and no one notices because of the inertial dampeners. I am just going to pretend every time I see him fiddle with the controls when not actively manoeuvring that he is making the ship fly upside down or sideways and no one notices because the cameras are fixed, so whatever way the ship is flying, that is up.

Sorry, must have hit copy twice when removing it from the full document.