"Get that tractor beam locked on to that shuttle now!"

Jim sat rigidly in his command chair as he stared at the viewscreen. Earlier in the day he had sanctioned an away team to study the habitat of a nearby planet for life signs and any edible types of vegetation. Bones had been to busy so he had asked Hannity to go with them just in case something happened.

What was supposed to be a peaceful research mission turned into a disaster. The shuttle had been creeping steadily with Sulu's expert piloting when it suddenly dropped 30,000 feet in five seconds, successfully scaring the passengers on the inside. Luckily, Hannity had taken some flying courses in the Academy and helped Sulu land the shuttle carefully.

When they emerged from the shuttle, everything seemed fine. The propulsion system was out and needed to be fixed. While the engineers on board saw to that, Hannity and Sulu began looking around. Without looking where he was going, Sulu had stepped on a poisonous plant. Being the quick thinker that she was, Hannity had jabbed a hypospray in his neck to keep the toxin from spreading.

"Enterprise, this is Grayson. Prepare for emergency transport." She had called seconds after seeing to the pilot.

Jim had no choice but to condemn his surface crew. "Negative, Grayson. We have no transporter abilities at the moment."

"Kirk, without proper medical attention that I can't give here, Sulu will die within the hour."

The entire crew had gone eerily silent as Jim looked at Bones. The doctor looked pained but there was nothing he could do at the moment. "We're working on it."

"Well, hurry the hell up. He has…" The transmission had been cut short but they did hear a whine that could only signify a phaser being shot.

Jim reacted immediately. "Get me a tractor on that ship!"

That had been twenty minutes ago. After consulting with Bones, he now knew Sulu had less than ten minutes to live without proper medical attention. By now who knew what had happened to the rest of the crew.

'Engineering to bridge.'

Jim sighed as he heard the familiar Scottish brogue. "Thank God, Scotty."

'Captain, the shuttle has been destroyed."

The captain faltered as once again the command crew grew silent. This couldn't be happening. "And the crew?"

'I got the transporter working. We're locked onto their signals.'

"Beam them aboard. Kirk out." He shot to his feet as a bottle rocket would when the wick hit the gunpowder. "Medical, prepare to receive wounded."

"Captain?" Uhura said uncertainly. He turned to her, but it was obvious he was itching to get to the transporter room. "The planet's people warn that the next time we come unexpectedly, there will be worse consequences for our people."

With a sense of sudden foreboding, Jim took off for the transporter room. His heart hammering in his chest, he shoved people out of the way, not even bothering to say sorry like he normally would. He'd do that later. Right now, his crew was at risk.

"What's going on, Scotty?" he asked breathlessly as soon as he entered the room. Bones was already there directing his medical staff as people were beamed aboard.

"I'm having to beam them up one at a time, Captain." Said the lieutenant. "It's going rather slow."

"Is there any possible way we can go faster?"

"There's too much distortion in the atmosphere. I'ma doing my best."

"Keep at it." Jim stopped the latest beam up. "What happened?"

"We were repairing the shuttle when we were ambushed. Lieutenant Sulu was already hurt. We were outnumbered three to one with no phaser power." The lieutenant replied. "We did the best we could."

"I understand. Good job, lieutenant. Report to…." His orders were cut off suddenly.

"NO!" Spock shoved past him and on to the transporter pad. His arms closed around Hannity as he lifted her from where she had landed. Blood pooled around his feet as it dripped steadily from the bleeding doctor. "Move!

Bones was beside him instantly, running a tricorder over her to assess the damage. "She's been shot." He stated hotly.

"Spock, get off the pad and give her to Bones. He'll…."

"No." Spock cut Jim off once again, but this time more fiercely. "I will take her."

"Spock, she'll be much better off with Bones. I promise you that."

"No."

"Spock."

"She's my sister!"

Silence filled the transporter room. Jim and Bones shared a look of shock. Spock was showing an emotional response, which expressed how much he cared for his sister. Jim finally looked. Hannity's blood was a mixture of both green and red. Her hair was loose and fell over Spock's arms, accentuating her pointed ears. They finally understood the reasoning for her to hide her parentage. Being Sarek's daughter would mean she was treated differently and she didn't want that. Jim understood.

Taking a deep breath, he moved across the transporter room slowly. He was five paces away when he placed his hand on the Vulcan's shoulder. Spock looked at him, hostility in his dark eyes. The captain ignored the look.

"She's bleeding out, Spock. If you don't get her to Medical Bay, she's going to die, just like your mother." He said softly. What he said next was completely ruthless but he had to. "And this time, it will be your fault."

The first officer came awake then. He moved to the doors quickly, Bones moving with him. The two left the transporter room in strained silence. There was certainly going to be a fight later. Whether it be over what Jim had said or something else, it was going to be bad.

Jim rubbed at his eyes, trying to ease the tension that had suddenly cropped up. He waved away the clean up crew that was on standby. He kneeled to pick up a medical tricorder when something flashed in the light. At first he thought it was something Hannity had dropped, but at closer inspection, he saw it had a pointed tip and was crystal.

"Ensign Morris," he called to the woman who had gone on the mission. She stood before him at attention. He noticed that her face was scratched up. "What happened to Dr. Grayson?"

"We were being attacked when she called to Mr. Scott. He finally got the transporter working after she told him our coordinates. Lieutenant Rogers took Lieutenant Sulu up on the first transport while we laid cover fire. Dr. Grayson urged us on as she kept us protected. I was one of the last to transport. She was shot by a phaser rifle but kept going. As I was being brought aboard, I watched the creatures throw a glass spear at her. It shattered but pierced Dr. Grayson in the side." She replied tiredly but dutifully.

The news suddenly spiked his worry tenfold. "Which side, ensign?"

She looked confused. "Sir?

"Which side did they pierce?"

"The right side."

"Kirk to medical." It was a clear dismissal that she took.

There was s silent moment that made him anxious. 'Chapel here.'

"Chapel, tell Bones to check Dr. Grayson's right side. She's half-Vulcan. Her heart should be there."

Silence followed. Jim bit his lip. This entire thing was bad and had a probability of getting worse.

'McCoy to Kirk.'

Jim let out a frustrated groan. "What's wrong, Bones?"

'Dr. Grayson was stabbed but luckily her heart is in the place a normal human's should be. Spock says she takes after their human mother, but has their Vulcan father's physical aspects.'

The crew in the transporter room, Jim, Uhura, and Scotty, let out a held in sigh. "That's good, Bones, but what's the problem?"

'She needs a blood transfusion of both human and Vulcan blood. Spock's willing for the Vulcan half but we don't have enough O negative for the human side.'

"How long will she survive without it?"

'She'll survive just fine, but she'll be weak with anemia.' Bones was silent a minute. 'She's my best doctor, Jim.'

Jim heard the underlying message loud and clear. "Kirk to Chekov."

'Chekov here.' The Russian whiz kid announced.

"Issue a mandatory blood drive to be taken in stints starting tonight. Ensigns will go first and the rest of the rankings will follow."

'Understood.'

Seconds later, they heard the ensign giving the announcement. Jim looked to Uhura and nodded. "How much blood will that give you, Bones?'

'Enough to restore our reserves. I'll have to test all the blood which shouldn't take too long. Thanks, Jim'

"Any time. Kirk out." He looked around the transporter room at the mess. "You can clean up now." The blood was getting to him.

"Captain, can I talk to you a minute?" Uhura asked as they walked towards the bridge.

"Make it quick." It came out harsh and out of character for Jim but she knew it was just caused by the stress.

"I think I attributed to Mr. Spock's meltdown. Two days ago I accused him of being unfaithful, not knowing Dr. Grayson was his sister."'

"None of us did, Uhura. They were very good at keeping it from everyone, including me. We need to discuss this later. With them." The turbolift stopped and they stepped onto the bridge. "Uhura, open a channel. I want to have a little chat with the people."

"Aye, Captain." She didn't argue as she went to her console. "Channel open, sir."

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. You have knowingly and brutally attacked my crew without warning. I demand to know why." He waited a moment as he tried to control his anger. "This is James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Ent…."

'We hear you, Captain." The view screen flashed on, revealing the inhabitants of the planet. 'I am sorry to hear about your crew but you were trespassing. Your crew were fair game.'

"You nearly killed a Vulcan."

There was a pause. "There were no Vulcans on the surface."

"The long haired woman you shot and stabbed was Vulcan. She is the daughter of Ambassador Sarek and you nearly killed her." Jim's personal feelings were barely held in check if there was anything in his body language.

'We apologize for the blatant disregard of you crew but you did not ask permission to transport to our planet. As for your Vulcan crew members, may they recuperate." The screen went black, revealing only stars.

"Bastard." Jim pressed the button on his chair. "All ensigns report to sickbay now. Let's get the blood shortage fixed."