Jim blinked her eyes open and found herself wrapped around Bones, Spock must have just slipped out of bed since his spot was still warm. She looked at the usually grumpy doctor. He was so different when he was sleeping, his features were more relaxed and he looked more is age than he did while awake. It was all that frowning and scowling he does. Jim ran her fingers along his jaw and over those sexy lips of his.
"What are you doin', darlin'?" his voice was rough with sleep.
"Just looking at you," she smiled. "Missed you."
He looked at her, "Missed you more. You have no idea how worried I was, Jim. I thought… I almost thought we lost you. I could feel you and it hurt so damn much it's not even funny."
She pressed a kiss to his chest, "You're just used to me pushing through stuff that bothers me. I was too… raw to bury it. Between Spock getting shot for me and I figured out it was my mom… I was barely holding it together when I got to Georgia and then Sulu got shot. I'm just glad Winona didn't hurt Chris when she escaped custody… I don't know what I would've done."
He pressed a kiss to her lips, "You would've killed her and we would've let you. Kevin pulled you off of Leah, I was gonna let you keep goin'."
"No, you would've stopped me before I killed her," Jim laughed. "You were pissed but you aren't a killer. Me, on the other hand… It seems to be the only thing I can do right… getting people killed."
"That's not even remotely true and there are at least four hundred and fifty-seven people who agree with me. That's not counting Pike, Sarek or my family, including Jo."
Jim let out a breath, "Your kid was only in danger because of me."
He rolled over and pinned Jim to the bed, "Listen to me, James Kirk, and you listen good. This was not your fault."
"It feels like it and I can't help how I feel, Bones." She locked eyes with him, the look in his eyes shifted before he kissed her, hard. Jim wasn't even a little surprised. Her legs wrapped around Bones of their own volition. She wanted to laugh because she knew that Spock set her up, she could feel his amusement but she didn't have a chance to focus on it, not with Bones' hands on her body.
He broke the kiss and looked at her before a smile crossed his lips. "Maybe I can change how you feel at the moment."
"Are you gonna make me beg, Bones?"
Bones chuckled, "I don't have enough control for that today. We can play later though." He pulled her into another kiss before he slid into her. Jim moaned, long and low. Bones didn't waste a second, he moved with deep, hard, fast strokes. "Fuck…" He pressed hot kisses along her throat. "Get over here, ashal-veh."
Jim felt Spock when he entered the room. Bones sat up on his knees, taking her with him. She looked at Spock over Bones' shoulder, "I love it when he gets like this."
Spock nodded, "As do I."
Bones flexed his hips, "What I tell ya'll about talking about me in Vulcan?"
Jim groaned, "Bones…"
"Yes?" he had a smirk on his face, he was doing this on purpose. Spock kissed her over Bones' shoulder before kissing Bones too.
"Are you gonna let me be in the middle this time?" Bones nodded as they watched Spock undress. Bones pulled out of her and released her into Spock's arms.
"You gonna tell us if it becomes too much, darlin'."
Jim straddled Spock and smiled, "You set me up."
"I felt your need for time alone," Spock told her.
She chuckled, "That reminds me, why can we feel each other?" He raised an eyebrow as she continued, "Why can I feel Bones? And you can feel us all the time, even when we're not around? He can feel me too."
"It is the strength of our bond."
Jim smirked, "So we're what… married?"
He kissed her, "No, our bond is stronger than that. We are T'hy'la." Jim stared at him.
Leo stopped what he was doing, "What… what is that?"
"Closest translation is friend/brother/lover. Basically means soul mates. Explains why our bond is so strong, why Spock can feel us without touching us and why we can feel each other," Jim told her non-Vulcan boyfriend.
Spock nodded as he caressed Leonard's jaw, "It means, we were meant to be. All three of us." He cradled Jim's head in his hands and kissed her as he slid into her, she shuddered.
"Should we talk about this?"she asked.
Bones chuckled, "We can talk or we can show you and that is much more fun." Jim relaxed as his hands glided over her body. She felt him at her other entrance, "Relax, darlin'."
It took a little work but Jim felt like she was gonna die with them both inside her. She was so lost in them. Every inch of her body hummed as they moved together, she was shuddering and gasping as every nerve ending in her body came alive, she wanted to crawl out of her skin. There was no work up, no long, slow build to her orgasm, it hit her like a starship moving at warp speed. "Leo, Spock."
"We got ya, darlin'. Always," Bones whispered. Spock pulled her lips to his as her second orgasm loomed on the edge of the first. They continued to move together. Bones' hand slid up her back to her shoulder, she smiled when Spock kissed Bones' fingers. She could feel them both tremble around her, she looked into Spock's eyes as his grip on her hips tightened. Bones chuckled as he pulled her back against him, he never stopped moving. Bones nibbled at her ear, "Look at him, Jim. All that calm and control with everyone else… look how he falls apart for us. Watch what we do to him." She knew Spock was close. He slid his hands up her body as his eyes fluttered closed. "He's so close, darlin'." Jim's body tightened around them both but she couldn't take her eyes off of Spock as he held her hips, surged upward and groaned deep in his throat. There was nothing like watching Spock come undone.
He touched her face, pulling her into his mind. A second later, she felt Bones' mind too. "We are all bound together." Spock was showing them their bond. The way it wove them together, joined them to each other. Something settled in Jim's chest, home. This was home.
"Come for us, Jim," Bones rasped the words in her ear and she couldn't control herself, she cried out as the world exploded around her. Jim couldn't hold herself up anymore and found herself against Spock's chest as Bones shuddered behind her. She felt him rest his head on her back. They were sweaty, sticky and hot but she didn't want to move. She felt loved and safe right in this spot and she never wanted to let go.
Jim had tears running down her face. Spock looked at her, "Are you alright, taluhk?"
She nodded against him as he pushed her hair away from her face, "Never better, ashalik. Bonesy, you okay?"
She felt him chuckle, "Yea, darlin'. I'm better than okay. Spock?"
He took a breath under her, "I am in exceptional condition."
"Can we go back to sleep for a while?" she asked with a yawn.
Bones kissed her back, "I think that can be arranged, darlin'."
"Someone's in a bad mood."
Jim glared at him, "You wanna know what the brass did to our ship while my mother was trying to kill us? They put in a new computer that, if it works right, could replace me and more than half the crew."
Leonard chuckled for half a second, the look that Scotty gave him told the doctor that Jim wasn't even close to kidding. "Scotty?"
"I didn't have a say, Pike tried to help but they went over his head," the engineer was almost as upset as their captain.
Spock touched Jim's shoulder, "You are irreplaceable, Jim."
"Tell that to Doctor Daystrom and Admiral Wesley," she huffed. Space without Jim? Leo wasn't even gonna think about it because there was no way in hell he'd stay if she wasn't here and he could guarantee that Spock would leave with them. They walked into the transporter room to meet the aforementioned Doctor Daystrom, he would be overseeing the M-5 multitronic unit during it's test run.
"Captain Kirk, it's an honor."
She looked at the man, "Doctor, welcome to the Enterprise." Jim didn't need this, especially after everything that happened with Winona. She dutifully introduced Leo, Spock and Scotty to the man who had created the tactical computer that could end her command.
"This isn't gonna end well, is it?" he whispered to Spock.
"No, it will not." Even Spock thought this was a bad idea.
"It's a whole new approach, Captain. M-five thinks just like you and I do."
Jim looked at Daystrom, "Except it doesn't. It doesn't have memories or experience to go on like we do. It doesn't… feel. Which is a component needed to be effective out here."
Daystrom smiled, "Of all people, you should understand, Captain. Men, like your father, no longer need die in space or on some alien world. Men can live and go on to achieve greater things than fact-finding and dying for galactic space, which is neither ours to give or to take!"
Jim shook her head, "Considering that my mother tried to kill me in Starfleet Medical HQ a few weeks ago, two of my officers were shot and my CMO's daughter was kidnapped, I'd prefer dying in space like my father if it's all the same to you." Daystrom didn't know what to say.
"Worse shore leave in the history of shore leave," Leo chuckled.
Spock nodded, "The Captain raises a valid point, Doctor. There is no guarantee of safety anywhere. The M-five would merely eliminate people from one dangerous profession to another."
Under the control of the M-5 the Enterprise, approached the planet Alpha Carinae II, achieved standard orbit and made recommendations for the landing party. Jim groaned when she and Leonard were deemed 'non-essential personnel.' After everything that Spock, Leonard and their friends have done to show Jim that she was worth it was being undone by this machine. He could feel her, she disagreed but was there was nothing she could do. Helpless was not a feeling that Jim handles well.
"Captain, Scotty is comm'ing for you," Nyota notified her. Jim nodded and engaged the communication system installed in the command chair.
"Yea, Scotty."
They could all hear the engineer, "We have a wee bit of a problem." Jim looked at Spock as Mister Scott informed her that the power to decks five and six has been shut off by the computer. "The environmental controls, as well." She took a breath and looked at Daystrom.
"Is there a reason for that, Doctor?" Jim asked.
"The M-five simply turned off the power to those decks since they were unoccupied crew quarters and there was no one there that needed it." Jim didn't like that answer. Especially since medical was on deck five. Leonard arrived on the bridge a three point six minutes later.
"I already know, Bones. The computer did it. Doctor Daystrom was just explaining how unoccupied the deck is," she said, aggravation clear in her voice.
"I don't give a rat's ass about what that damn thing thinks. We can't function without medical facilities, Jim," Leonard said.
Spock stood, "I must concur with Doctor McCoy."
"Turn the power back on, Scotty," she ordered. "Kirk, out. Bones…"
He nodded, "I'll check on my team. I hope to hell that the emergency systems activated."
Daystrom looked at her, "M-five was doing what it thought was best." She didn't respond as they were approached by two ships.
"Zhe Excalibur and the Lexington, Keptin."
Jim nodded, "Thanks, Chekov." The three ships engaged in an unscheduled battle simulation. The M-5 was in control of the Enterprise and responded swiftly to simulated attacks, 'firing' back at the 'enemy' ships and maneuvering more quickly than it would have were a human in command.
"Gotta admit, it's handy. Logical progression at it's finest. Only a fool would stand in the way of progress," Jim muttered/ Spock looked at her, he reached through their bond, Jim had feelings of sadness and hopelessness slowing taking hold of her mind.
He stepped next to the command chair, "Jim."
She looked up at him, "Yea, Spock?"
"Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them. This starship also runs on loyalty to one person. Nothing can replace it, or her."
Jim smiled, "That your fancy way of saying you'd miss me if this thing takes my job?"
Spock shook his head, "No. I would leave with you. And I highly doubt that I am the only member of the crew who would." Jim looked around the bridge as many officers nodded at his statement. There were things in this universe that could easily change or be replaced, Jim Kirk was not one of those things. It was illogical but true.
She smiled, "Thanks, Spock."
He nodded, "You are welcome, Jim."
"What the hell is going on?" he asked as he walked onto the bridge.
Jim looked at Leonard, "Short answer, we're on an intercept course with a ship. I don't know what ship yet and I have no idea why. Daystrom is trying to figure out what's wrong."
"What's wrong is that got a damn computer trying to be you," he snorted. "What makes you a good captain is the fact that you have instincts. This thing doesn't."
"Spock gave me the whole 'you're irreplaceable' speech already. I thankful to have so many of you on my side. I was having a moment earlier," Jim smiled. Leo looked at her, she had a good poker face but he could feel her and she wasn't as well as she seemed. He glanced at Spock, who nodded.
"Captain, the photon torpedoes have locked onto the Woden," Sulu told her. They all glanced at the helmsman.
Jim stood, "Disengage."
Sulu shook his head, "I can't. The ship isn't responding to my commands."
"Ship status?" Jim asked Chekov. The kid looked at his screen, than at Jim.
"It iz an automated freighter, Keptin," Chekov told her before the M-5 fired at the Woden, destroying it before returning to the Enterprise's original course.
"Uhura, comm Scotty. We gotta get that damn thing off this ship," Jim ordered.
"'I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that'," Leonard mumbled.
Jim looked at him, "You aren't seriously quoting 2001: A Space Odyssey right now?"
He shrugged, "Seemed appropriate, with the homicidal computer on the ship. You'd think we'd learn after a couple hundred years."
"Sulu, take the con," Jim chuckled. "Spock, with me." Leo followed the pair to the turbolift. "Engineering." Jim shook her head, "I really want to fix this before we encounter a ship with people on it."
Engineering was a mess, plain and simple. For everything that the M-5 shut down, Scotty had people working to turn it back on. Leo looked around as Gaila flew past them and Riley slid down a ladder. "Here to help, Jim?"
"Yea. Where's Scotty?" she asked.
Kevin pointed past them, "Over there."
They walked over to the man. Scotty was more pissed than any of them has ever seen him. While Jim was sad about the possibility of being replaced, their Chief Engineering Officer was ready to kill someone and Daystrom seemed to be on the top of his list. "That thing is shooting at our own ships. He cannae defend that. It's gonna kill somebody."
"I'm just gonna turn the power off," Jim said. Simple, at least, they thought it would be until some kind of force field tossed her into Spock. One of Scotty's officers, Harper moved to cut the power.
"Wait!" Riley yelled as he pulled the ensign out of the way just as the M-5 tried to vaporize him.
"Where is this thing taking us?" Jim asked.
Spock looked at her as they stood, "I do not know. It must have a survival protocol."
Leo rolled his eyes, "That's great. If the brass doesn't kill us, the ship will."
An alarm blared and Scotty looked at them, "Everyone clear the deck, now! Move!"
Leonard looked at Jim, "What's that?"
"It tapped into the matter/antimatter reactors," she sighed. "There's no way to shut down the power now."
Of course, M-5 didn't let their tampering do anything, it rerouted the controls that Scotty and Spock tried to change. The other ships from the war games approached them, Jim knew that it was gonna kill everyone on the other ships.
"How many people were on that ship?" Bones asked as he knelt next to the command chair. Jim looked at the viewscreen and what was left of the Excalibur before she looked at him.
"Over four hundred," she whispered. Jim watched, helpless, "There's your murder charge, Daystrom. The Excalibur is gone, there are three more ships. Help us stop this."
The scientist looked at her, "Perhaps… maybe I can talk to M-five."
"You created it, you have to stop this," Jim said. "They will destroy it and everyone on this ship if you don't." Daystrom began talking to the machine but his attempt to reason with his M-5 was not having any affect.
"He's on the edge of a breakdown, Jim," Bones told her, she just gave him a nod.
"It must be destroyed," Jim finally concluded.
Daystrom turned on her, "No." Spock gave Daystrom the Vulcan Nerve Pinch before he could hurt her. He looked at the security officers.
"Take him to sickbay," Spock ordered.
She looked at Bones, "You got him?"
"Yea. I got him," her favorite doctor said before he left with Daystrom. Uhura intercepted the Lexington contacting the brass, they requested and were granted permission to destroy the Enterprise. Jim took a breath,
"M-five, this is Captain Kirk. Do you acknowledge?" The computer responded to her. "You will be under attack in a minute for destroying the Excalibur."
"It attacked this unit. This unit must survive."
She took a breath, "Why?" M-5 used Daystrom's explanation, so that man could be protected, so that they didn't die in space. "You've killed men, you murdered them, scan the ship. Are there life signs?"
"There are no life signs."
Jim looked at Spock, "What happens when you murder?"
The M-5 unit released control, "This unit must die."
Jim let go of the breath she was holding as the shields dropped, "Spock, Scotty, pull the plug on the M-5." The two officers left the bridge.
Sulu looked at her, "The other ships stopped their advance, Captain."
She smiled, "Uhura, see if we can raise the Admiral."
"Aye, Captain."
"Why am I not surprised that you're in here?"
He chuckled, "You know me. Daystrom is okay, in case you were wondering." Jim shrugged as she sat next to him on her couch.
"Don't care. He tried to replace me and almost got us all killed."
Leo pulled her legs onto his lap, "About that… your emotions were all over the place today."
She shrugged, "Yea, well."
He smiled, "That's all you got?"
"Yep," she nodded. "I just wanna forget that today ever happened."
"You aren't the only one. You think if that thing worked they really would replace you?"
"What do you think? There are a lot of people who already have a problem with me in command, I bet they think that a computer is better than me."
Leonard shook his head as he ran his hands over her legs, "Never, darlin'. I doubt anyone or anything could have talked a computer into suicide."
Jim laughed, "When you put it that way."