Chapter Four

Captain's Log, 2258.73. We've arrived at the planet Coyote 478-D, nicknamed by Scotty Delta Vega. The latter name however does no better at reminding me of the time when good Captain Spock marooned me on the planet's namesake in the Vulcan System. Our hopes at the present Delta Vega however is to use their remote equipment to repair our warp drive, so that we may re-enter the main space of Federation Territory. However, a more pressing and disturbing matter is resting on my mind. Commander Spock's condition has only worsened in the past five days. If we're successful, we will succeed in repairing our warp drive, and in addition, much as I was once marooned on a Delta Vega, I will have to repay my first officer the same respect.

Kirk sat on the bridge, watching the red and white barren and icy planet of Delta Vega. The memory of the Vulcan equivalent was not one that he was keen on remembering. Yet he had a ship to worry about. He activated the intraship comm.

"This is Kirk to Engineering. Mr. Scott, we're entering orbit above Delta Vega. Prepare your away teams and begin working on repairs."

"Aye Captain. We should have the ship back up and running in oh... 24 hours or so."

"Take your time Scotty. I don't want to blow up mid-warp."

"Haha... Don't worry Captain. I've lived on the Vulcan Delta Vega for ages. I don't want to be stranded here any more than you do."

"Alright Scotty. Keep me apprised." Kirk now addressed McCoy over comm. "Bones, are you ready with the plan.

"I am ready, yes, but I still think we should just–"

"Bones, I've already made my position clear. Meet me outside sickbay."

"Yes Sir."

Kirk got out of his chair, and then walked to the turbolift. But he was stopped by Uhura.

"You really aren't going to maroon him there are you," Uhura asked.

"Lieutenant, my decision is not up for debate."

"But still Captain, can't–"

"Lieutenant! If we were back in that bar three years ago, I would not mind you talking back to me. Granted I got beat up for talking to you in the first place, but that's not the matter. I'm you're captain now. I will not allow subordination, even with Academy rivals. And I don't care if Spock is your boyfriend," Kirk's voice betrayed an amount of jealousy as he mentioned this but continued, "I will not allow those personal feelings to get in the way of the safety of this ship. Now if it means I need to maroon Spock, who I might remind you is also my friend, I will do it. End of discussion."

The authority of his voice overpowered Uhura's hope of using their Academy 'friendship' to sway Kirk's decision. Kirk entered the turbolift, and headed down to sickbay, outside of which he met Dr. McCoy.

"Do you have the serum ready," Kirk asked McCoy.

"Yeah Jim, I do. Are you sure this is the right measure."

"Or it's killing him. And I am not killing a man who lost his planet and his mother. Just not right."

"And marooning the green-blooded elf is. Aye Captain."

They entered the sickbay. Spock however, was not asleep.

"You will not be able to execute your plan Kirk," Spock said.

"Spock, you understand that I have no choice but to try."

"You should have killed me when you had the chance."

All this time McCoy had attempted to sneak around to Spock. However, in attempting to inject his hypospray, Spock caught his hand, and forced McCoy to drop the hypo.

"Like I said," Spock declared, "You have no chance."

But it was that one moment of hesitation that Kirk needed. Before Spock had noticed, Kirk had drawn his hand phaser and, through use of the kill setting, managed to stun Spock. They had known from a previous attempt to stun him that the stun setting would not be effective against this new powerful Spock. But the kill setting was enough to make the demi-god slump over unconscious.

They hauled him to the transporter pad, and beamed him down to Delta Vega, just outside the outpost's one remote holding cell. They put him in there, and set up a level seven force field around the entire chamber, and not just the entrance.

"Hopefully," Kirk remarked, "That will hold him until we at least leave this planet. I want two security guards here at all times, phasers set to kill. Stun just doesn't stun him."

"Aye sir," said the guard with him.

The time afterwards passed both slowly and quickly. Slowly for those who stood guard over Spock or idle on Enterprise, quickly for those fixing the aforementioned gal. To quote their first meting, Scotty told Kirk that he was finally able to "get [his] hands on her ample nacelles." (pardon the engineering parlance).

It was six hours into their repairs when Spock regained consciousness. The first thing he did was to attempt to walk out of the force field, which immediately notified the standing guards of his waking presence.

"Stand still Mr. Spock. I have orders to use force if–"

But the guard never finished his sentence. Spock killed him with a singular thought, and so the guard never spoke again. Spock did the same to the other man standing there before he could contact Kirk. And now, Spock used his powers to influence the one person who may let him out of that cage. But not before he heard the thoughts of Engineer Scotty.

"Captain," Spock said into his communicator, "we're just about done down here."

"Really Spock," Kirk replied, "I thought you said it'd take at least tewnty-four hours."

"Aye, and it would have sir, if these parts didn't fit so well. I'm beaming up now, and I'll leave Kelso down for a few more minutes before I return."

Spock was running out of time. He called her down, Uhura... influencing her mind to leave her quarters and beam down. Uhura complied, partly out of love, partly out of influence, but she complied. She went to the nearest transporter room, finding it unoccupied as all able hands were helping fix the ship. She beamed down, but not un-noticed. The ship's natural alert system warned the others of the unauthorized beam down.

No sooner had she reached the surface than Spock had his next move in action. Knowing Kelso could stop her, he decided to also kill Kelso before he beamed back up. It was necessary, these minions were no longer of matter to a man like Spock, a god. Morals do not apply to gods.

Uhura came by not to much later. She freed Spock: Love had won over her better judgement. He had won at last, and he and Uhura headed towards the icy mountains of the planet Delta Vega.

On the Enterprise, Kirk had received the report. And no sooner had he received it before he was out of the bridge and on his way to the transporter room. He took with him a slightly old fashioned, yet more primitive and powerful phaser rifle with him, their hand phasers would have no effect.

"Sir you can't honestly be serious about going down here," said Scotty as Kirk entered the transporter room. Kirk ignored him.

"Beam me down to Spock's position," was his order.

"But sir!"

And now in the flash of a second, Kirk knew how Spock felt... how Spock had felt when Spock needed to beam down to Vulcan to save his parents. How he himself objected to Spock, and how Spock ignored Kirk. In a flash of a second, he noticed how the tables had drastically reversed themselves on Kirk this mission. In a flash of a second, he knew, he understood, and he said, dryly:

"ENERGIZE!"

He saw the swirls go around him. He felt himself dissolve off the transporter pad on Enterprise, and felt himself reappear on top of a ridge, off of which he could see below him Spock, and with him... Nyota Uhura.

Back on the Enterprise, Dahner entered the transporter room. She looked at Scotty. Her eyes glowed.