Chapter 8

Their final diplomatic stop went off without a hitch and the Enterprise set a course back to Earth, with a few scheduled supply drop offs on the way. Alpha shift were in their sleep cycle but Jim Kirk wasn't sleeping. Something just felt off to him. It began earlier in their shift, they received a Comm from Starfleet informing them their current course would be unavailable, for unspecified reasons.

He sat in his quarters, in the dark, reading on his PADD when the lights brightened around him. He looked up to see Bones rubbing his eyes. "Trouble sleepin'?" Jim sighed and nodded, putting down his PADD. Bones sat on the arm of the couch behind where Jim was sitting, placing a hand on his shoulder. "'S the matter?"

"Just somethin' feels off about the Comm we got from Starfleet. Probably nothing but just worried you know?" Bones smiled and rubbed Jim's shoulders.

"Maybe because we're nearly done out here? You're made for Space Jim, if Starfleet can't see that well it's their loss."

"Thanks Bones," Jim smiled and leaned back into Bones who wrapped his arms around him.

"Come back to bed," Bones said softly, Jim nodded with a sigh and followed him back to bed.

After finishing school and their shift Sulu, Demora and Chekov were in a rec room with Kirk, Scotty and Uhura. Kirk was teaching Demora how to play 3D chess and totally not letting her win. In his defence Chekov was helping her. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than watch me lose at chess to a 7-year-old?" He asked Uhura and Scotty.

"Nope." Uhura told him and Scotty added:

"Not a thing Cap'n."

Kirk grumbled and looked at the board, Demora could checkmate him next move. He could prevent it, but he enjoyed seeing her happy when she won, so he made a bad move and she looked past him to where Chekov was no doubt signing to her what piece to move and where. "Checkmate."

"Again? You're getting good at this kiddo. Up top" He held his hand over the board for her to high-five. "I gotta go check on something but maybe Scotty can challenge you to a game?" He looked to Scotty.

"Absolutely." Scotty agreed, they switched seats and Kirk went to a monitor to check in with the bridge but found he couldn't get through. He tried again when they heard the engines grind to a painful sounding halt, (thankfully they weren't traveling at light speed) and the lights dimmed and flickered leaving them into darkness. Demora slipped from her seat and ran over to Sulu, who held her protectively as a face came into focus on all screens in the room. Sulu stood, keeping Demora tight at his side as he tried to see the face, it looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place it. All he could tell was it was Romulan. The face started talking, but it wasn't English.

"Uhura can you translate?"

"Captain Kirk, listen good. You killed my brother and for that I will have my revenge. You and your pilot," they turned to look at Sulu, "You both are responsible. Heed this warning, and prepare to lose the ones you love." The message shut off, no one dared to speak. Kirk and Sulu's eyes met, they knew what this was over.

At the start of their mission, a few months in, they had been tasked with investigating plant life on the surface with the Science and Botany crews. Sulu had volunteered to Pilot the shuttle knowing they'd allow him in on the research. He and Kirk had been separated from the main group and found a Romulan who had crashed there.

He surrendered to them and asked for help from the Federation to get off the planet. Kirk and Sulu although nervous agreed, and searched him for good measure. He had no weapons and had told them nothing but the truth so they took him back in the direction of the meeting point but it had grown dark and they became lost in the forest, unable to reach the Enterprise due to interference with the comms.

They spent five days wandering in the wilderness, unable to reach the Enterprise, but were able to see it in orbit around the planet and got to know the Romulan quite well. He had been exiled and had intended to reach out to the Federation himself, but had crashed on the planet before he was able.

But they had been attacked in the night, a nocturnal predator had taken a fancy to them and the Romulan had died protecting his friends, taking the creature out with him. Kirk and Sulu made it out of the forest a few hours later and were picked up by the sensors on the Enterprise. They reported what had happened in their logs and were saddened to have lost an ally to the Federation.

As they were leaving a Romulan ship had entered the space around the planet, Uhura had monitored the hails the ship sent to the crashed one on the ground. They would have gotten nothing back.

The Romulan ship must have seen the Enterprise before it entered Warp and jumped to conclusions. Kirk attempted to explain this but the Romulan on screen was having none of it and said his crew were coming aboard to find what he and the 'pilot' most loved.

"Scotty, if you get to Engineering could you override their frequencies blocking communications?"

"Aye, I reckon I could. But I'll need help."

"I can go with him." Chekov volunteered.

"OK," Kirk nodded, Chekov spent plenty of time in Engineering, he knew what he was doing. "OK, we need to get to the Bridge if the lights are out, we can guess the engines are out, meaning only the artificial gravity is on, the ship is gonna drift and it's gonna flip. We need those engines back so we can stabilize the ship." Kirk explained, but he was cut off by 'shushing' coming from by the door.

He turned to see Demora shushing him and the others, she began signing at her father who mouthed to him, 'She can hear non-Starfleet boots in the hallway, too heavy, to be crew.' Kirk nodded understanding. He and the others watched Demora carefully as she closed her eyes to focus on listening in the corridor. Once she gave the all clear they returned to making plans.

"Bones was with Spock in the Science Labs," Kirk spoke quietly. "I'm not worried about him, he can handle himself, Sulu what do you wanna do?" He asked his eyes darting back to Demora for a brief second.

Sulu turned to Pavel, "take her with you, once you're there, hide her. She can help you navigate the ship, she can listen for their patrols, warn you when they're coming." Pavel looked to Kirk, then Scotty then back to his partner. "She's safer with you. They'll likely be guarding the bridge. Keep her safe?"

"I'll keep her safe," he vowed.

"Right, we still need to get out of here." Kirk said turning his attention to the door, Scotty joined him, examining the panel.

"The door release is too loud, it would give us away," Scotty noted, "but that there," he said nodding to a large vent, "should be quieter. Any movement out there?" He asked Demora who was crouching by the vent to listen. She shook her head. "Better sooner than later." He said to Jim who nodded.

Sulu called his daughter over while Scotty silently unscrewed the vent grate. "You're going with Mr Scott and Pavel OK? They need your ears and you'll be safer with them."

"What do they want me for?"

"I'm not sure but promise me something, if they get you, you kick and you scream and you bite and fight and run. You raise hell and make them regret ever taking you. Understand?" Demora looked frightened, "sweetheart?"

"I understand," she nodded and he pulled her into his arms

"Atta girl. We're going to be OK, alright?"

Demora nodded against him. Kirk signalled they were ready but needed her to listen for a minute to be sure. Demora gave the all clear, slipping out of her sneakers as they tended to squeak against the floors which could give them away. The two groups split in opposite directions, Kirk, Sulu and Uhura towards the Bridge and Scotty, Chekov and Demora to Engineering, Demora having taken off her sneakers as they tended to squeak against the floors.

As they travelled through the corridors they could feel the ship begin tilting to the point they were walking along the walls, Chekov guiding Demora so she didn't slip into the light fixtures when they came to a corridor coming off of the one they were walking, giving a sharp drop descent into the Engineering department. The far side of the corridor had railings which they could scale down, the side they were on had two way mirrors seeing into the observation rooms.

"We have to get over there," Scotty said, measuring up to the at least 8ft gap and then down at Demora before back to Chekov.

"You go first then I'll jump with Demora," Chekov said sounding very determined.

"You sure?" Chekov nodded, pulling Demora aside so Scotty could take a run-up. Chekov covered Demora's eyes for good measure, not a bad decision since Scotty barely made it, pulling himself up onto the ledge with a huff, giving Chekov a thumbs up. Chekov looked at Demora and then the gap and then back at her to find her looking up at him. "Ready?" She looked over her shoulder at the gap before nodding, though she still looked unsure. He turned his back to her and knelt, "climb on." She did, securing her legs tightly around his middle her arms around his shoulders. "Hold tight," he said preparing for a run up. She nodded against his shoulder.

He bounced on the balls of his feet before taking off at a run towards the gap and leaping over it as far as he could. His hands grasped the ledge and he held on tightly, calling for Scotty to pull Demora up so he could pull himself over. Demora stood holding onto Scotty's shirt as Chekov caught his breath. "Are you OK?" He turned to her, she nodded. He looked over the edge, at the bottom of the corridor the entrance to Engineering was closed, meaning they could land on something solid rather than dropping straight in. Scotty went first again, scaling down the handrails, dropping onto the door frame. Chekov told Demora to climb onto his back again for him to scale down. Demora dropped the last few feet for Scotty to catch her so Chekov could land safely. Pinning themselves to the walls Scotty used his access code to open the door. Suddenly the ship jerked, tipping suddenly back the right way up, or mostly anyway.

"What was that?" Chekov asked as Demora held onto his shirt.

"They must be flying by to turn the ship," Scotty said.

Once they were more or less the right way up they entered the Engineering department and located the control panel they needed to bring the engines and thrusters back online.

While fighting the literal uphill battle to the Bridge Kirk, Sulu and Uhura ducked into the Science labs after hearing Romulans in the corridor ahead. Bones and Spock were in there with some Ensigns and two other Science officers. "Bones you gotta get outta here," Kirk told him, "they're looking for you."

"I know, Jim I'll be fine, but what're you planning to do?"

"I'm going to get to the Bridge and surrender, but I have to be on the Bridge or they'll shoot on sight, they're pretty pissed."

"Jim that's suicide," Bones exclaimed.

"Maybe but it isn't just you they're hunting." Leonard shot him a confused look, "Sulu was there with me, they're after Demora, I can't let them hurt her or any other member of my crew, even if surrender is what it's going to take. I'm sorry Bones, I have to."

Leonard's eyes slid shut because he knew Jim was right. He knew Jim would never let any harm come to anyone on his ship, especially one of the kids on board. "What can I do?" He asked, hands on Jim's arms.

"Just stay safe," Jim replied, letting his head fall forwards against his shoulder for a few brief seconds as Bones nodded, discretely pressing his lips to Jim's hair.

Jim, Hikaru and Uhura reached the turbo lift to the bridge to find it clear. "We gotta get the doors open, they're gonna be shut tight without power," he told them. They listened for any near-by patrols before forcing open the doors. Once sealed inside they relaxed a little, despite what they were about to do. They were three floors below the Bridge and would have to climb the remaining floors. They helped Uhura climb up and open the lift hatch, pushing her up through it. She pulled Sulu up and they both helped Kirk. They climbed the inside of the shaft balancing on a ledge outside the Bridge. Kirk and Uhura pulled it open from opposite sides, letting them inside to find a frantic Beta crew.

Jim took command and told them what was happening in Engineering, or what he hoped was happening. "Uhura try and establish a comm link within the ship they can't intercept; we need to find out what's happening with Scotty."

"On it," she said taking over her station.

"Sulu how're the systems doing?" He asked going to the console he usually shared with Chekov.

"Mostly online, still just the power."

"Captain we're being hailed by the Romulans."

"Put it on the screen." He instructed. "Oh shit," he cursed when present with the image of Bones, bruised ad roughed up being restrained by a Romulan.

'Let go of me,' a small voice screamed off screen followed by a Romulan cry out in pain followed by a cry of pain from what Sulu realised was Demora. 'Oww.'

"Demora?" Sulu turned pale.

"Captain Kirk, glad to see I now have your attention." The Romulan's face appeared and he could see other members of his crew behind him.

"Wait don't hurt them," Kirk called out.

"Jim don't do anything stupid," Bones warned off-screen.

"It's me you want, take me and let them go."

"Jim-"

"No Bones, I'm the Captain and I surrender myself in exchange for the safe return of my crew you've taken."

"I accept your surrender Captain Kirk, come in a shuttle." Kirk shut his eyes and nodded solemnly. "You have two hours." The screen shut off and Uhura let them tentatively know that she had gotten through to Scotty. Chekov and Demora had gone to look at a separate panel and not come back, he went to look for them and had been knocked out cold, but he had managed to get the power online finally.