Chapter 57

Narada

Spock

Thy'la, go. I will disable the drill. You must go in search of Nero. Spock sent his thoughts along their bond as he felt Jim's panic. He could sense Jim's instinctive resistance to the idea of separating. Spock was not completely comfortable with it either but time was of the essence and they could not afford to waste it. Logically, it made sense, Jim was able to fly quickly and search the ship while Spock could disable the drill. Spock felt Jim reluctantly acquiesce mentally as he approached the massive internal turbine, which powered the drill. Spock set to work as he put his training to work as he began to disable the drill. The emergency alarms sounded and the main network was disabled. Spock knew that it would slow the process but it would not stop him. He was for once thankful that he had insisted that Jim show him exactly how he had hacked complex computer code. Spock allowed himself to smile as he gained access to the controls.

James

Jim forced himself to fly quickly through the corridors of the ship. The alarms blared grating on his nerves as the sounds reminded him of the alarms on Tarsus IV. Jim breathed deeply and tried to calm his racing heart. He could do this. He had trained for this type of scenario and so had Spock. He needed to stay focused and move quickly. He opened his mind and dropped his shields looking for signs of psychic energy hoping to find either the crew or Nero himself. It wasn't long before Jim felt something. Nero. Jim grimaced as he felt the hate that Nero was projecting along with a sickening sense of satisfaction at Vulcan's demise. It made Jim ill and want to throw his shields up to escape the toxic thoughts. He followed the energy like a beacon and was led to a massive chamber. As he entered, he was greeted by the sound of Captain Pike's screams as Nero psychically attacked him in search of the Earth's defense codes.

"Stop!" Jim shouted pulling Nero's attention away from Pike and forcing him to halt his attack before the captain was killed. Nero looked at him in confusion and came closer temporarily abandoning the captain in favor of Jim.

"What are you? How did you get here? What is your purpose?" Nero asked telepathically. Jim shuddered as he was hit by a vicious psychic attack. Jim threw up his shields and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt Spock's mental touch as he lent his energy to strengthen Jim's shields through the bond.

"Surrender before it is too late." Jim warned psychically. "The drill will be turned against you and your ship will suffer the same fate as Vulcan." Nero sneered.

"I would rather die than except help from the likes of you." Nero hissed in Romulan. Jim was able to sense the meaning of the words even with his shields in place.

"Then you have sentenced yourself to death." Jim flew quickly and snatched Captain Pike before Nero could attack. He flew with all his might and called out mentally for Spock. The drill was now disabled and Spock had inserted a virus similar to the one, which Jim had used on the Kobayashi Maru. The drill would release the antimatter and cause the destruction of the Narada. The timer had already started to count down there was not much time he needed to get Jim, Captain Pike and himself off this ship before it was destroyed.

Meanwhile on the Enterprise

Sarek

Sarek remained in the healing trance and struggled to regain consciousness. He could sense the danger that was around him, but he was still caught in loop of his own fractured memories unable to pull himself out of his mind. He would have gone completely mad with grief, but for the familiar mental touch of his grandson, who had at the very least been able to channels and direct him towards pleasant and calming thoughts before retreating. As if in answer, another memory appeared before him.

Flashback

Vulcan, Star date 2234

Sarek

Sarek knew the sehlat, I-Chaya would never judge him for his human blood. Sarek watched as the massive animal played with their son mindful of Spock's small frame. Sarek frowned as Spock smiled and giggled has he road atop the animal obviously enjoying the company. "Nemaiyo, Ashaya." Amanda murmured. Sarek only hoped that in gifting the pet to his son he had not caused more harm than good.

Sarek was finally pulled brutally from his mind as the sting in his neck became apparent. He gasped as he regained consciousness abruptly. He was greeted by the face of Leonard McCoy, the CMO onboard the Enterprise.

"Sorry to force you from the trance." McCoy apologized as he pulled the hypo away from Sarek's neck. "We're in a catch 22 and need your help. Are you really Spock's father?" McCoy asked. Sarek nodded numbly unsure of how he could be of any help. As is sensing his confusion, McCoy explained. "Outgoing communications are still down. We have no way of contacting Jim or Spock. The attacks have stopped and we want to haul ass outta here before we're all killed, but we need to get Jim, Spock and Pike back on the Enterprise before we go to warp. What I'm getting at is; Vulcan's are normally touch telepaths, but have been known to communicate telepathically without the aid of touch through a bond, Specifically a mating or familial bond. Can you contact Spock?" McCoy demanded.

Sarek shuddered. "I can make an attempt, but cannot guarantee success. I am not in optimum condition and what you ask is a difficult task." Sarek explained. McCoy nodded sharply.

"That's all we ask. Please try." The physician requested as he hit the comm. link in the med bay connecting him to the bridge. "He's agreed, Nyota. Let's see what he can do."

"Copy that." Nyota replied. "Scotty, how extensive is the damage? Can we still beam if necessary?" She asked.

"Aye, but we are running on auxiliary power; we'll only have one shot." Scotty confirmed. McCoy breathed a sigh of relief at that news; at least they still had a chance.

"Sulu prepare for warp once we have the tractor beam set." Nyota ordered.

"Thinking positive, I see." McCoy called over the Comm. as he listened to the conversation on the bridge. "Someone has too." Nyota replied. McCoy merely huffed.

"Are you ready?" McCoy asked with a glance at Sarek. Sarek nodded somewhat reluctantly, but closed his eyes as he slipped deep into his damaged mind in search of his familial bond link with Spock.