Kirk took the few steps to reach the turbo lift doors. His first officer, who had just finished speaking with a passing lieutenant, joined him after Kirk waved him over.

"I think we'd better move on to the next sector of space, leave this one completely. The next one registers more chances of life, anyway," said Kirk honestly as the Vulcan took the wall beside him. Spock nodded.

"I would agree with that logic."

"Sulu to Kirk."

The chirping of the communicator filled the small lift, it's noise dense and damning. Kirk exchanged glances with Spock, knowing there was hardly a reason for the bridge to be trying to reach the captain unless it was urgent. The unsettling events of the last several hours had been tailing him with every step he took, and they sunk into the pit of his gut as he reached for the device.

"Go ahead."

There was silence, and after a few agonizing moments, the helmsman finally answered.

"Sir…" his voice sounded hesitant, apprehensive. Kirk narrowed his eyes, hearing how Sulu was having trouble finding the right words. "The warp drive…the entire control board, it's…not working."

Spock's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Kirk's heart felt as though it had rammed into his ribs and stopped altogether. The words 'the control board is not working' had never before been uttered. After taking a few conceding breaths, he stuffed down his rising panic.

"Not working, Sulu?"

"We're still in orbit, sir…I attempted to put the ship in warp factor three as you asked, but…nothing happened, sir! Not even an error, an alarm, a message…nothing! Everything is completely frozen up, Captain." The astonishment in his voice was transparent to both Captain and First Officer.

Kirk took a few steps backwards to lean against the wall, his mind eerily calm as acceptance rode throughout him. James Kirk was a highly intelligent man, and he knew this was no coincidence. His stomach churned as he registered that leaving would not be as simple he had wished it would be.

"Captain."

Kirk looked up from his stupor as Spock moved from his position by the wall to standing directly in front of him. Although calm, Kirk felt ribbons of fear tying around his mind. A few beads of perspiration collected on his forehead. The Vulcan before him seemed, as usual, unaffected as he regarded the captain with strong and pacific eyes.

"It's them," Jim said quietly. Spock nodded, his gaze communicating alongside his words.

"Yes."

Without words, together, they prepared themselves to protect their ship from whatever may lay directly ahead of them. As a unit, the two of them had the potential to be invincible. As long as they could both hold strong, they could lead the Enterprise through a winding maze of razors and exit unscathed. The turbo lift's doors opened, and Kirk made a move to exit, but Spock gently put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I suspect they will contacting us, Jim, or making a kind of action against us. Please, remember that they have exhibited capabilities we before thought impossible. If the time comes, be wary when you speak with them; you are invaluable to this ship." Kirk could heard Sulu's voice from around the corner, the muted sound of alarms reaching the turbo lift alcove. He released a puff of air and gave Spock a small smile.

"In other words, 'be careful and don't say anything stupid.'" Even through the oncoming fog of adrenaline that followed invariable situations like these, Kirk found himself smiling at the Vulcan. It was something that seemed to happen often. Spock lifted a single eyebrow, then nodded.

"That phrasing would be appropriate, yes."

The two of them stepped out from the turbo lift and walked around the corner into the chaos that was the bridge.

"Deck 5 is having malfunctions with gravitational functions, Captain."

"The engineering deck reports issues with the —"

"Sir, communications are down."

Voices from the officers collided while alarms blared, the anxiety of every person in the room meshing together. Kirk tried to focus on what everyone was trying to communicate to him, but the constant BWAA BWAA BWAA of the alarms were piercing his focus.

"Alright, alright, alright, everybody return to your stations immediately and settle down. Someone turn those damned things off. Keep your heads on and listen to me." He commanded with authority. The crew was losing their minds in the confusion and fear, but Kirk stood with a clear head and an even clearer agenda; get the ship out of there. Spock took a few large steps to the engineering panel and fiddled with the controls until the sirens silenced. As the volume of the bridge settled into silence at Kirk's presence, he barely registered Doctor McCoy bursting through the door.

"What in blazes is going on, Jim?!" he spat.

"Give me a moment, Bones," Kirk replied. He inhaled deeply, released his breath, and looked around the room.

"Alright," he began. "I think we're all probably thinking the same thing, aren't we? First the unmistakable spotting of that ship, then the disappearance of our records, and now it's the loss of our controls. There is intelligent life outside of the Enterprise, and they know we are here. First and foremost, we need to be grounded. We've faced a lot together, all of you, me, and this ship. We can get through this one too, together. Understood?" He roamed his eyes over the bridge once more, meeting the faces of his most trusted crew — his colleagues, his friends. Despite whatever unknown lied ahead of them, Kirk knew that there was no other place he would rather be than on that starship bridge.

"Follow my every word," he stressed.

"Uhura," he turned to face her, "open all channel frequencies, even the industrial wavelengths. Maybe we can —"

And then a voice.

"Homosapiens."

Kirk spun around in alarm, finding himself opposite a stranger. It was an alien species, completely unknown by the Federation. It's body and limbs were almost humanoid, except it was exceptionally tall and startlingly thin. It's color was the sort of black that smothered the vision, a blackness that seemed to swallow any light that came near it. Rough, uneven, malicious scales linked together to create flesh. The eyes were sunken and haunting, a thin rim of white orbiting otherwise black pupils, giving it's gaze the same jarring appearance as the rest of it's evocative presence.

"Human beings…and…a Vulcan?" The voice crackled, unsuspecting of what it came to find. The words that came from it's mouth were so deep, the vibrations shook the very air around them. Lieutenant Uhura suddenly felt as though it's aura could match the devil's.

It's dark head looked to Spock. Spock was mystified, his body stilled in apprehension but his eyes wide with wonder, his mind racing with anticipation of the unknown. The adrenaline he felt during these times of duress was always unexpected and even more unwelcome.

"I'm Captain James Kirk. Who are you?" avowed Kirk, wanting the get the attention away from his first officer.

The alien's image suddenly faulted, appearing and disappearing for a few seconds, resembling static on an old Earth television. It turned it's head slowly to Kirk. A hologram? Kirk felt that if he could recognize the falsity of this being, he was already one step ahead of it. He straightened his shoulders, ready to face the trouble it thought it would take upon his ship.

"James." It's voice crackled like molted lava. "You will help me."

Kirk raised his eyebrows, as if to provoke it's demanding statement. He nodded a few times and patted his chest, giving off a stance of ease. He would not bow to the fear this alien so clearly yearned for.

"Sure," he acknowledged. "Sure, I can try to help you. We're explorers. We wish to push forward in science and unity, to reach out to all beings and bring the galaxy to a place of peace and prosperity. It's my job and my want to help those who need it. What is it that you need help with?"

"Myself and those like me were left for dead on this planet. We wish to leave."

"You want a ride?"

"No." It's voice dripped with disdain. The longer Kirk looked at the being, the colder his body felt, and the more unstable his image of courage became.

"We are different, James," it continued. "We can do thing that a species like yours could never understand. We understand things you aren't even aware exist."

The thickness of it's assumed superiority blanketed over the Captain, and he felt his patience begin to ebb. He clenched his jaw together.

"Why do you need my help?" he repeated with emphasis, his eyes beginning to challenge the glare the alien gave him. It cracked with static.

"Our way of life is though a crystal," it said. "A crystal indigenous to a specific moon to a specific planet in a specific star cluster, two human solar days from here." The disgust in the word 'human' settled into the air. "You came to us for a reason, James. You will retrieve those crystals."

Kirk scoffed softly as he sized up the now obvious hologram. Perhaps it thought it was being sly, tricking the inferior humans with it's holographic presence, but Kirk had recognized it almost immediately. He balled his hands into fists, knowing a hologram could do nothing more than fault like an overused electric board. His nose twitched with concealed anger at it's games.

"Are you asking or demanding?"

"I am not asking," it said with ice.

McCoy, standing at the rail behind Kirk, could practically hear his heart pounding against his chest and idly wondered if he was going to have a heart attack. He was a southern doctor with a gifted sense, and he sensed this would not end well. He tried to take in who was in the room, how many of them knew basic medicine, and what he would do if it all went to hell. He prayed to any God that would listen that Kirk could talk them out of this.

"You say you have a higher awareness of the universe," ventured Kirk, "yet you treat me and my crew like some kind of primeval slave. Seems like a mind with limited intelligence, wouldn't you agree?"

"Are you telling me you're refusing?"

"I'll tell you this. There's this old Earth saying, been around for centuries. And it's, 'we don't negotiate with terrorists'. I think that speaks for itself." Kirk was numb with endorphins. He knew he was conversing with an image of what was real on the planet's surface, but he was still playing Russian roulette with a monster. He could hear his breathing in it's sudden silence.

Spock's eyes were glued to the alien, his curiosity rampaging alongside his awareness of the situation. But then, he looked in Kirk's direction, admiring his captaincy. It was the thing Spock imagined Kirk could never vary from; the necessities to be a phenomenal starship captain were sewn into the very fabric that created James Kirk. The words that came from him somehow convinced Spock that whatever may follow, this man would bring the Enterprise past the border of safety.

Then, suddenly, a prickling wave of ice ran from Spock's head to his heels, and the breath that was once in his lungs was lost. He heard the pop of the control panels near his feet burst from their once secure positions, and the intricate wiring that was contained within them snaked out and wrapped around Spock's legs, tethering around like rope. The monster had it's hand outreached, it's arm perpendicular to Spock's standing position, and the dead space between it and he became a platform for electrical matter fabricating from it's fingertips. The lightning that withdrew from the long, black fingers hissed and crackled and popped, rapidly moving towards Spock's fixed position within seconds, turning from white to black to an electric blue. The lights throughout the bridge flickered violently, the room going dark until flashes of a jarring bluish hue illuminated the depthless black creature and Spock as the fiery bolts found the wires now around Spock's waist. He cried out in surprise and pain at the contact, the jolting touch unlike any pain he'd before experienced. The redefined matter of fire and bolts wound deeper into the wires, wrapping around his torso, his arms pinned to his side. The pressure from the restraints tightened, the wires sending pulses of agony into his skin. He bit his tongue and clenched his eyes shut, determined to keep from shouting, to refrain from letting the alien know it was succeeding in it's assault.

It had happened in just moments. Kirk felt his heart stop, his body freeze. It began as the sighting of a ghost of a spaceship, and it had escalated to a merciless extraterrestrial having his greatest friend imprisoned in a death trap.

The pain was piercing. Wires from the panels in the ceiling knocked through and swept down to solidify the hold on his forearms as he was half lifted into a weightless levitation. Waves of pain washed over him, drowning out the sounds of his lungs trying to breath.

"Stop, stop!" cried Kirk. "You'll kill him!"

"He is a Vulcan, isn't he, James?" it crackled with baritone. "His body can hold up to this. Know that this is hardly what I can do to him, or to you and your entire ship."

With horror, Kirk watched a wire snake out from the tangle and slither up Spock's throat. The charged matter emanating from the alien's hands flowed from it's fingertips to the endeavoring wire, strengthening it as it wrapped around the Vulcan's jaw and mouth. Refusing to accept his fate, Spock fought, his body writhing against his restraints, but the torture magnified and his vision went black. Spock found himself crying out in torment, but his shouts were muffled by the smothering cables. The sound cut through Kirk's heart.

"What do you want?!" he yelled, his entire body coursed with terror and fury. Any doubts he had about this alien's abilities vanished, and his one desire, his only need, was to see it release Spock from whatever hell it was feeding into his body. He drowned in his helplessness.

It lifted his hand higher, the digits of it's hand twisting grotesquely, matching the rancor it's entire existence emitted. It clenched it's fingers together in an enraged fist.

"I want those crystals," it sneered with impassioned malice, it's words sinking into the cosmos. Whatever power the alien possessed increased, and blue spots began to form in the Vulcan's darkened eye sight. With rising dread, McCoy saw the fight in the Vulcan begin to fade, his once determined thrashing becoming a desperate attempt to fend off the incoming blackness.

"Alright! Alright, I'll get your damned stones, get off him! Let him go!"

With a lasting moment, the revolutionized matter burst and the wires released Spock's body. He dropped like an anvil, his body hitting the ground. Several bridge officers cried out his name, but their voices were drowned by the alien's. The lights flashed a few times before flickering back to their capacity.

"I have programmed your navigations," the voice growled. "Your task is simple, James Kirk. Retrieve the crystals, bring them back to me. Go directly to where you are told to go, do not explore the moon, do not explore the star cluster, do not disobey what I am telling you to do. Do this, and you will be free to leave with your lives."

The second Spock was down, McCoy had hopped over the rails and ran to his side, completely impervious to the alien that was still at the head of the bridge. He kneeled next to him, the Vulcan laying completely limp on his side, and wrapped two fingers around his wrist. As he counted the erratic heart beat, he watched the monster point savagely to the unconscious Spock. He couldn't stop himself as he glared at it with infuriated eyes, angry that it regarded him with it's obscene hands.

"And remember, James, the second you deviate from your course, your half breed friend with be dead." It spat the word 'dead' with such venom, Kirk forgot the breath.

"I suggest you don't take your time on this, Captain. And should you choose to test my power, if you choose to be responsible for his death and continue escaping after he's perished, the same thing with happen to the whole of your ship. Never fool yourself into thinking you can liberate yourselves from this just because I remain on this planet. You will go, you will come back."

McCoy's stomach was in his throat with fury. When he first saw the flash of wire erupting, and Spock's body fell through the air, he was convinced the first officer was dead. It was discontented relief that he felt at the feeble pulse. His skin was so incredibly pale, a shade of grey settling over his body, that the doctor hardly recognized him.

"Deal." Kirk swallowed, his hands shaking in fists at his side.

The figure straightened it's harrowing back, and it bent it's head down in a glare, it's eyes bearing into Kirk's to remind him of his new duty. The hologram filtered out until the space was as empty as it was minutes before.

He waited for a few moments, ensuring the threat was truly gone, and Kirk leapt across to Spock and McCoy. Chekov stayed at his station, but he'd stood and was looking over in deep concern. Uhura had her mouth covered, praying the Vulcan she so respected wasn't as dead as he seemed.

"Bones…" started Kirk.

"He's alive," his statement was met with a collective sigh of relief, "but he's weak. Really weak. I've never seen a Vulcan like this before. "

"What do I do?" whispered Kirk, his hand resting on Spock's shoulder, wondering what had happened to the stability he felt not so long ago. McCoy shook his head.

"I don't know, Jim." He said honestly. "I don't know what the hell we've gotten ourselves into. But I know that Spock seems like he's on the brink of crossing over, and I need to get him to Medical right now."

McCoy wrapped a Vulcan arm around his shoulder, and in answer, Kirk did the same. They carefully lifted him until he hung between the two of them, so completely still that Kirk had to fight the image of him being buried.

"The controls, Sulu?" He looked over his shoulder to the helmsman. Sulu blinked and looked down, the controls lighting up with revamped power. After informing his captain of the update, he placed his hands on the lever, knowing the words that were about to come.

"Warp factor 6, Sulu, to…wherever the computer tells us to go." As he and McCoy walked towards the lift, Uhura softly informed him that all communications were functional. She watched the three of them turn the corner; the somewhat shaking figure of her drained captain, the red faced and heavy breathing figure of the doctor, and the unmoving, almost dead body of Commander Spock.

The swish of the turbo lift was the only sound in the silenced bridge.