Disclaimer: The rights to Star Trek belong to Gene Roddenberry, and NuTrek belongs to J.J. Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman.
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed K/S day last Wednesday. If you haven't read it already, check out my short celebratory piece of fluff, For The Love Of A Bondmate, found on my profile page.
And yay for me getting this updated in a week! I deserve something for that, don'tcha think?
.~.
Ch. 9: Explanations
.~.
Captain's Quarters, Nighttime
Spock was already waiting in bed for Jim when he entered through their bathroom after bidding their daughter goodnight.
"How was your swim with Saavik?" The Vulcan asked as Jim stripped off his clothes, leaving a faint scent of chlorine lingering in the air detectable to his keen olfactory senses.
"Well, as you can tell from my lack of wetness, we didn't actually swim." Kirk grinned wryly at his bondmate. "She kinda has a fear of water."
"Ah, she is more Vulcan that you realize." Spock sounded a tad smug. "So what occupied your time for so long if it was not swimming?"
"We still had a good time hanging out by the edge of the pool." Yawning, the captain decided to forgo his bedtime routine and instead slipped into bed with his ashaya. "She told me about the puzzle you were doing today. Why did you put it away when she asked to try it?"
"If I could not solve it, what was the point in her trying? I would not want to set her up to fail."
"Aww, that's so sweet," Kirk cooed, nuzzling his less-than-amused mate. "You really care about her, don't you, Spock?"
"Of course I do," the Vulcan replied, exasperated. "You of all people should know my feelings in regards to our daughter."
"Yeah, but I'm not the one you have to convince. Maybe you should try telling her how you feel."
"I have encouraged her to do her best on multiple occasions and have complimented her on her intellectual prowess."
Jim rolled his eyes – Spock just wasn't getting the point.
"Sorry, love, I misspoke." Jim threaded his fingers through his husband's shiny black hair. "You should try showing her that you care. Kids need to be allowed to make mistakes sometimes – it's how they learn. If you would show her the respect enough to give her the chance to try, I doubt she'd care if she beats the puzzle or not. All she wanted was a crack at it."
Spock's eyebrow twitched.
"You speak as if you were there."
"I just remember how much I wanted to prove myself as a kid, how hard it was to get adults to respect me, even those in my family."
"Ah." Guilt flooded the Vulcan. "I had forgotten what it was like to feel that way," Spock said softly.
"I thought you didn't forget anything," his human teased.
"I have suppressed many of my childhood memories for so long I have forgotten what it feels like to be a child."
Spock remembered recently forbidding Saavik several times from attempting something because she was not old enough. While in some cases, like melding, it was for her own safety, most of the time he was just being overly cautious. When he'd been a child, he'd hated it when adults informed him that he was too young for something. No doubt Saavik felt that way as well. What a fool I have been, he realized.
Kirk, who'd picked up on his bondmate's distress, placed a light kiss on his forehead. When Spock turned to look up at him, Jim's scintillating gaze nearly took his breath away. When Jim looked at him like that, like he was more precious than a planet rich in dilithium, the Vulcan was always stunned beyond measure. It was fascinating, this power his adun had to right Spock's world.
"Jim, you are absolutely correct in your deduction," Spock said gravely. "She is lucky that she has you to understand her in a way that I cannot."
"You know, about that, I was thinking maybe we should try to spend more time with her together," Kirk suggested as he rested his head against his mate's. "I can act as sort of an interpreter for you two."
"Our schedules do not allow for it."
"Then we ask personnel to rearrange the schedules to fit our needs as a family. Obviously, it wouldn't work all the time, but right now, when we're still waiting on repairs, we could ask for a favor."
Spock considered the notion.
"Did you have something in mind in which the three of us can partake?"
"I dunno." Kirk shrugged. "We never really did many family activities back home, unless you count mourning my dad's passing every year. That was a big family tradition."
Spock ignored Jim's morbid self-pitying comment. He'd hoped that his mate was past that, but apparently some wounds never quite healed. After all, the same was true of him and his late mother.
"Perhaps we could ask her if she has a preference in activity?" The Vulcan suggested.
"Spock, that's brilliant!"
Kirk's arms tightened gently around his bonded. Then he was silent for a moment, considering something. "So all those times that my brother asked me what I wanted to do when we hung out together, he just couldn't think of anything himself?"
"More than likely," Spock concluded.
"And here I thought he was being unselfish," the captain mused.
"Humans often have a hidden agenda," Spock observed. "Speaking of which, I received your package delivered to the lab."
A coy smile appeared on Jim's face.
"Did you now?" Kirk ran his tongue over his lips in a way that he knew would drive his mate wild. "What did you think of it?"
"I believe that it is illogical to substitute one package for another." Spock raised a knowing eyebrow.
"So funny," Jim deadpanned. "No, I mean about the-"
"The robe is lovely, Jim." Spock cut in. "I do not own one in that particular shade of green. Were you planning on giving it to me for my birthday?"
Jim knew from past experience that it was best not to lie to his Vulcan. Spock always had a way of seeing through even his most carefully constructed lies.
"Yes, but I thought, why wait? I'd love to see it on you now."
"And remove it from my person as well." The Vulcan finished Jim's unspoken thought. "While I appreciate the gesture, I will not participate in sexual congress with you until Dr. McCoy has deemed you healthy to do so."
"Oh, alright," Jim said with a sigh.
Spock couldn't believe his stubborn mate had given up that easily, therefore he was not surprised to hear his t'hy'la ask,
"Can you at least model the robe for me? There's nothing physically wrong with you, at least."
But Spock merely replied, "I am feeling rather fatigued at this time."
/I know that's an exaggeration. You could totally give me a little strip-tease if you wanted to./ His mate scolded him using mind-speech.
/Yes, but I would not wish to excite you and aggravate your condition./
/Too late, I'm already aggravated./
/No, you are merely perturbed./ Spock corrected. /Aggravation was what you felt towards that Romulan Commander for trying to seduce me./
/She was a real bitch!/ Jim protested. /No one gets to finger-makeout with my Vulcan./
As amusing as the situation was, Spock decided to take pity on his t'hy'la. He brushed his fingers over Jim's in a kiss, prompting Jim to return the favor. He allowed the indulgence to continue a bit longer than he had originally intended. But before things could get out of hand, Spock pulled his hand back, turned over, and faced the wall in preparation of his sleep cycle.
"You know, just because I let you off easy tonight doesn't mean I've agreed to this platonic arrangement for the rest of the week." Kirk's voice rang out into the darkness.
"Goodnight, t'hy'la."
Kirk gently nudged him with his mind.
/Night, Spock./
.~
The next morning
Saavik could hardly wait until their 'free study' period before lunch. She was practically bursting with excitement – they were so close to solving the mystery of Norvek's secret. All throughout her morning classes, her teachers noticed that she was distracted. But it wasn't her fault if the seconds tended to crawl by more slowly than usual. Finally, Chekov, then Sulu, then Uhura took her leave of them. Seeing that Norvek was furiously scribbling something on his PADD, Saavik subtly motioned for her two classmates in crime to follow her out the door.
"But why must we go to the rec room?" Clopek asked as the trio headed down the brightly-lit corridor. "We would be in plain sight. I know of many other places on the ship that would leave us undisturbed."
"Yeah, but it doesn't matter how good the hiding place is. If anyone tries to find us, the computer will automatically tell them," Saavik reminded him. "I afraid I don't know how to shield us from the computer's sensors. I'm good, but not that good. In the rec room there are several virtual reality game booths in which we may hide and discuss the contents of the book. If one of the adults found us, we could hide the book in the booth and come back for it later. Also, it wouldn't look suspicious if we in the rec room during our free period – we are kids after all."
"Your logic is sound," said Kira.
"Thank you." A smug Saavik grinned.
"You are beginning to sound like a Vulcan," Clopek noted, gaping at Kira in awe as he came to a stop in the middle of the hallway.
"If you are making such an effort to learn standard slang, I thought I could try to speak in a more Vulcan manner." The human girl smiled widely at him, showing off a gap between her teeth, as she had just lost one. "It is not that difficult – my adopted mother and father speak like that when they use Standard."
It was then that Saavik intervened – as much as she valued her friends, their love fest could take all day – and reminded them of their objective. Following their fearless leader, they headed toward the nearest turbolift.
The transport took them to E Deck which housed Rec Room 2. The few crew members who were enjoying the facilities paid little attention to the children as they crowded into a virtual reality game booth. Saavik pulled the book out of her satchel and plopped it down in front of the three of them. Turning to the Table of Contents, she skimmed the chapter titles, looking for anything that might be helpful to them.
"Here it is!" Saavik exclaimed.
"Are you certain?" Kira asked, as she could not see from her vantage point.
The irony of the chapter's name was not lost on Saavik as she proclaimed,
"The chapter's called 'Not For Outworlders.' But when she flipped through it, she discovered how thin the chapter was. "It's only ten pages long – that's not much to go on." Her hope began to dwindle that this was the answer. Nevertheless, she began to read.
"Lemme see." Kira elbowed Clopek out of the way so she could get a good look as well.
"Just read it aloud if you find something of noting," the boy sighed.
They waited as Saavik skimmed the first two pages, then flipped to a third.
"Here we go," Saavik exclaimed, her eyes gleaming in triumph as she stared down at what was most likely the answer to all of their questions. "The Mating Cycle of Pon Farr and Possible Complications. Sound like what we're looking for?"
Her other two friends exchanged a wide-eyed glance and nodded. Not hearing any objection, the young hybrid began to read out loud.
"Every seven years, an adult Vulcan male will experience the plak-tow, or fever where he is stripped off all logic and his single objective is to mate. During this time, he must mate with his betrothed lest he go mad and ultimately die if his need is not satisfied."
Saavik gulped and shut the book with a bang. She winced as she received a glare from Clopek, who was doing his best to comfort a shaking Kira.
"I had no idea it was going to be something like that, Kira," she said, feeling guilty for ruining Kira's innocence. "No wonder Norvek has questions."
"That sounds horrible." Kira choked out. "Clopek, w-will that happen to you?"
"I do not know. According to this book it will." The boy's voice was soft, but the worry reflected in his dark eyes. "Saavik, we need more information."
"I'm on it." She turned back to the page that she'd been reading.
"If a bonded pair are able to quench the fires of pon farr together, there are no lasting symptoms or chance of death."
Kira let out a sigh of relief as Clopek clutched her hand.
"However, if one mate cannot return to the appointed place, their betrothed must find other means of satisfying the ancient mating urge," Saavik continued. "Intense meditation has proved to be effective, but is only to be considered in dire circumstances. In the case of a Vulcan who has lost his intended, he is allowed to challenge another to take a mate in marriage. This ceremony is called the kali-fee. The fight between challengers is to the death and to the winner goes the female. It must be noted that it is not enough for simple physical gratification to quell the fires of pon farr. Only the sharing of bodies and minds has the power to break the fever's hold on the male."
"I have never heard of any of this," Clopek commented when Saavik paused. "Why would our elders keep this from us?"
"How old is this book, Saavik?" Kira wondered. "Maybe the fight to the death thingy is outdated."
"According to the date on the table of contents," Saavik answered as she flipped to the front of the book, "it was manufactured about three hundred years ago."
"It sounds like the law on my home planet, where women told to marry someone their father had arranged for them. Damn," Kira swore softly.
"Did you actually just swear?" Saavik gaped at her human friend.
"I believe she did," said Clopek, staring at her with a mix of consternation and admiration.
"I'm sorry, I just hate it when women are treated like objects." The girl looked down at the floor. "But I couldn't talk about how I felt. Every time I asked a question, my parents either shushed me or changed the subject. It was awful."
"Hey, we're allowed to talk about it," Saavik reminded her. "No one is going to make you stay quiet about this, least of all me."
"Thanks, Saavik." Kira said, determined not to cry in front of her friends.
"I do not know if this law is in effect on the colony or not," Clopek said added. "But if it is, I will do my best to make sure you are not given away to someone you don't love!" He caught Kira's glance and held it.
"Clopek, a contraction?" Saavik giggled. "And is that emotion I hear in your voice? My, you two are acting rebellious today."
Both of her friends blushed.
"What else does the book say?" Kira asked.
Saavik skimmed through it. "Not much else of interest. Just that this secret is never to be shared with outworlders, lest it ruin the Vulcan reputation of logic and control." Vulcans are just too secretive for their own good, she thought with a scowl.
"Now that we have this information, what do we do?" Clopek asked.
"I for one really want to know why Norvek already knows about this if it's some big secret," said Saavik, her brow furrowed in concentration as if she was weighing in on a big decision. Then she turned to her friends and announced,
"I think it's high time we gave Mr. Norvek a visit."
.~.
They found him inside his quarters, reading up on quantum mechanics.
"Who gave you permission to enter?" he sneered at Saavik as she approached the couch her was sitting on.
"The door was unlocked," she pointed out.
"Oh." Norvek noted the two others that came in behind her. "Next time I will not forget to lock it. What is the purpose of your visit?"
Saavik glanced at her two friends, who nodded.
"Look, we just wanted to say that we found out why you were so upset the other day in class, and that it was unfair that Mr. Spock didn't answer your question."
"Vulcans do not get-"
Saavik interrupted him.
"It was pon farr."
At the mention of those two words, Norvek's back went rigid. A determined glint appeared in his eyes and he balled his fists, as if preparing to defend himself.
"What do you know about it?" He asked, his voice cold.
"Only what we found in this book." She tossed it to him.
"Not anything about any specific Vulcans?"
"No." Saavik cocked her head to one side, giving him a strange look. The boy was acting paranoid, but why?
Norvek began to relax in part to her answer, and scanned the text to see if they were indeed telling the truth. The three friends exchanged looks, as they had all caught his odd remark. What was this boy trying to hide that was so important?
"So, were we right?" Saavik pressed him after a minute or so.
"Congratulations - you have discovered pon farr," he said dryly, handing the book back. "But you went to all this trouble for nothing. Spock will not discuss the subject."
"Maybe not of his own accord, but I'll bet he will if Kirk makes him." Saavik said triumphantly. "Kirk's a master manipulator, and there's no one he can manipulate better than his own mate. However, I'm somewhat skilled in the art of manipulation myself. Watch and learn, Norvee."
"My name is Norvek," he corrected. But all she said was,
"Everyone needs a cool nickname." Then she hit the com button.
"Saavik to Captain Kirk."
Her dad answered promptly as usual.
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"I would like to request a meeting with you and Commander Spock during lunch."
"Are you sure it can't wait until later?" Kirk sounded tired. "Mr. Spock and I have a very busy day ahead-"
"It cannot wait," she cut in. "It is a matter of grave importance that concerns my classmates as well as myself." There was a pointed pause.
"Very well. I'll have Rand clear my midday schedule and alert Mr. Spock to meet you in the mess hall." She continued to dictate the terms of their meeting.
"Actually, I would prefer to meet in the privacy of our classroom."
Kirk quickly deduced that it was never a good thing when your child told you they wanted to meet in private. Especially when he had an idea of what said private talk was going to be about. Somehow, Saavik must've found out about pon farr. The idea made him a little nauseous, having The Talk with an eight year old. Of course this wasn't a talk about reproduction – young Vulcans already knew about that – this was the Crazy Rough Vulcan Sex Talk. Two totally different things in Kirk's mind.
"Fine. Kirk out."
The captain had had several people who had already asked for his time during lunch that day, but they would have to wait. His daughter came first, as long as she really needed to talk to him. (And Kirk had a sinking feeling that she did.) Well, he might as well get this over with.
/Spock, you busy?/
His Vulcan's answer was affectionate.
/Never for you, t'hy'la./
Kirk mentally winced.
/Yeah, well… I got something to tell you and I don't think you're gonna like it…/
.~.
Lunchtime
When Kirk and Spock arrived in Saavik's classroom, they were greeted with four somber young faces staring at them from across a table. Jim felt like he'd been brought in front of a tribunal, only the admirals had gotten themselves caught in a shrinking ray. He exchanged a look with his bondmate. They weren't sure if they were in the wrong for keeping information from the children or if the children should be in trouble for disobeying their instructions. Perhaps both sides were in the wrong…
"We know about pon farr." Direct as always, Saavik calmly kept their gaze.
"How?" Jim asked. "I made sure the computer was locked to questions pertaining to Vulcan."
His daughter held up the book that had, until very recently, resided in his and Spock's quarters. That answered that question.
"Aww, I forgot about that." Kirk swore under his breath. He was impressed by her ingenuity but mad at himself that he'd forgotten to hide the book.
"It was, I believe, fair game." Saavik looked very pleased with herself, too pleased.
Kirk decided then that she had to be punished for that indiscretion at least.
"I'll deal with you later, missy." Kirk glared at her, which wiped the smug grin right off her face. Good. It was getting really annoying. How had adults ever dealt with him when he'd been a kid? She was driving him crazy with this superior attitude of hers, and he'd had plenty of practice with that sort of thing when he'd courted Spock.
Jim supposed this was some sort of 'what-goes-around-comes-around' thing that the universe had designed in order to torment him. His mother would more than likely find it funny, but Jim did not. Not. One. Bit.
"That explains you three, but what about you?" The captain indicated the now-blushing Norvek. He of course knew about the unfortunate circumstances concerning the boy's conception, but he wanted to see what Norvek would say for himself. Unfortunately, Spock didn't give him the chance.
"I believe Norvek and I shall discuss the matter in private." The boy gazed at Spock, his expression laced with gratitude.
"Alright." Kirk relented. "You take him, I'll take the rest." Spock nodded towards the door, and Norvek practically bolted from the room.
"Are we in trouble?" Kira timidly asked after they left.
"You're not; she is," said Jim, indicating his daughter. "I know she just convinced you two to go along with whatever she said."
"That is essentially correct," Clopek admitted.
"Hey!" Saavik glared at him. "Thanks a lot for backing me up."
"Still, you shouldn't have gone along with her," Kirk scolded his daughter's classmates, before Saavik could start an argument. "I hope you learn your lesson next time," he said, knowing full well that they would just do it again anyway. He was glad that Saavik had made such loyal friends. Still, he was the authority figure – he had to keep up appearances. Clopek and Kira had the decency to look abashed.
"So…" Kirk cleared his throat to get their attention. "Now's your chance to ask. What do you want to know about the, ahem, pon farr?"
"What's it like?" Saavik's innocent face didn't fool Kirk for a bit.
"I assume it the experience is difference for each bonded pair," the captain said sweetly. "Any valid questions?"
"Can you opt out of mating and skip the cycle all together?" Clopek looked anxious. "I know Vulcan's population has been decimated, but I would prefer not to undergo the event."
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that," Kirk said gently, trying to soften the blow. "Do you see why Vulcans believe their children shouldn't be told until they are older? That they don't want you to worry about something that can't be avoided?"
"But I do not wish to be involved in a disgusting process where my logic has vanished," Clopek insisted. "I would not wish to injure someone if my emotions were unchecked."
"That's why your bondmate will be there to help you," Jim explained. "The mental contact that they provide is essential, it will help anchor you and keep you sane, er enough."
The children exchanged worried looks at that. Then Kira's hand shot into the air.
Jim called on her.
"Yes, Kira."
"Is it only every seven years that you can mate? What about in between that time?"
Kirk rolled his eyes. Why was it humans always asked that question? Now he had to either tell the truth or come up with some sort of omission. It was going to be a loooong lunch break.
.~.
Eventually, the trio ran out of questions. Kirk decided to seize the moment before someone could think of something else to ask.
"Daughter of mine, I need to talk to you outside for a minute."
Without protesting, she followed him out the door.
"How bad is my punishment?" She looked at him warily, but Jim could tell that she did not regret her actions. Oh she regretted getting caught, but not that she now knew the truth. Still, Jim hadn't wanted to keep the information from her in the first place, so they were sort of even in his mind.
"I didn't call you out here to discuss your punishment. That's what I wanted them to think," her father said, gesturing to the room which held her friends. "We'll talk about that later."
"Okay. What is it, then?" What Saavik was expecting, it certainly wasn't this.
"This is just a suggestion, but one I hope you seriously consider." Kirk bent down to her level, and took her hands in his. A familiar warmth assaulted her. This was Jim, her dad, someone she could trust. She would do anything for him. "I want you to be nicer to Norvek. Include him at your lunch table, invite him to play with you, that sort of thing."
"But I've already tried that! He doesn't want anything to do with us!" She protested. "He thinks he's better than us and frankly I'm sick of it."
"He only acts that way because he was mistreated on Zeta III," her father informed her. "Society dictated that he was never allowed to be friends with the other children, and they didn't like him."
"Why?"
"I can't tell you that."
Saavik scrutinized him closely.
"Are you mind-speaking with Mr. Spock?"
Caught in the act, he thought, as Saavik's suspicions proved to be correct.
"Yes." Even now, Spock was feeding him certain information from his ongoing discussion with the outcast Vulcan boy.
"It has something to do with pon farr, doesn't it," she deduced.
Kirk sighed.
"I wouldn't ask him about that if I were you."
"I wasn't going to." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid."
"I know you're not."
They had an impromptu staring contest and Kirk won.
"Humans aren't supposed to be able to go that long without blinking," she protested.
"Spock's taught me much about self-control over the years," Kirk said with a straight face.
"Fine," she relented. "I'll try to include Norvek one more time. But if he is hostile to us in any way –"
"Spock assures me that he will be on his best behavior," her father insisted.
"Now this I will have to see," Saavik muttered.
Lost in thought, she followed Kirk back into the classroom. There was much more to Norvek's story, this much she knew. Perhaps if she was patient, he may one day open up to her and she could hear it. Like that would ever happen, she thought to herself.
.~.
About ten minutes later, Spock returned to the classroom with Norvek in tow. As the commander and captain conversed, Saavik decided to waste no time in heeding Jim's suggestion. As Norvek was walking toward his seat, she reached for his blue uniform-clad arm and patted it to get his attention.
"Hey, wanna eat lunch with us today?" She asked.
He flinched and spun around to face her, leaving Saavik to conclude that she'd blown it. So she was understandably surprised when he replied,
"That would be agreeable."
"Really?" Saavik was flabbergasted. "Then why'd you flinch?"
Norvek regarded closely, deciding to speak the truth instead of omitting it for once. Her friendly tone and invitation that had convinced him he should confide in her.
"It was the first time someone has deliberately touched me since my mother passed away."
"Oops?" Saavik gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. I forgot you don't like that kind of casual contact."
"Your touch was not unwelcome," he admitted.
"Oh." Saavik blinked in surprise. "Well, er, good." She decided to push her luck. "Then you'll be more amenable to working on our dialogue for Miss Uhura's class?"
"I shall endeavor to exercise my flexibility where you are concerned."
"Thanks." Saavik looked like she wanted to say more, but did not get the opportunity as red lights began to flash and klaxons began to blare.
"Kids, get to the saucer section, now!" Kirk ordered. Clopek and Kira immediately began to sprint down the corridor in the direction of safety but Saavik did not. Norvek waited to see what she would do.
"I'm not scared!" Saavik argued. "I'd rather stay with you-"
"It is illogical to refuse a direct order from your captain," said Spock, and she could hear the edge in his voice. Her face burning in humiliation, she turned and ran the other way towards safety. Norvek followed close behind.
/You know-/ Jim began as they sprinted towards the nearest turbolift.
/Yes, t'hy'la, I am aware that I could have handled that differently./ Spock mentally sighed. /Most likely I have undone much of the progress we have made in our relationship./
/Nah. It wasn't that bad. Still, she's our kid, not some belligerent ensign. You need to be careful how you phrase stuff./
/She should not have questioned your authority./ The Vulcan insisted.
/No, but she just found out about all this pon farr stuff, she's probably frightened enough by that as it is. Then the red alert takes her by surprise, and she can't be with us during a potentially dangerous situation. I'd refuse to leave the people who gave a damn about me, wouldn't you?/
/I was not aware that such an attachment to us would warrant this sort of behavior./ Spock admitted. /I was expecting that she would react like a Vulcan child, and do what was asked of them. I failed to take the emotional aspect of the situation under consideration./
/Yeah… we've got to work on your parenting skills./ But Kirk's reassurance through the bond told Spock that his mate wasn't angry, just bemused.
.~.
When they reached the bridge, Chekov – who was covering the science station during Spock's absence - immediately gave his report.
"Keptin, zere's been a power drain on all systems! Ze extra power is being rerouted to Holodeck 2. If it continues at zis rate, we will be forced to switch to emergency back-up systems. And even with zose, we shall be without power in forty-fiwe point sewen minutes." Chekov said all of this very fast.
"Computer, who is occupying Holodeck 2?" Kirk asked, sitting down in his rightful chair.
The cool, mysterious feminine voice answered,
"McCoy, Leonard H, Chief Medical Officer of the starship Ent-"
"I got it," Kirk interrupted. He knew that McCoy wouldn't be draining the ship of its power of his own volition, so there had to be a malfunction. "What program is running?"
"The McCoys vs. the Hatfields," answered the computer. "Program is designed by McCoy, Leonard H, Chief Medical Off-"
Irritated, Kirk cut the voice off.
"What is the condition of the holodeck?"
"The safeguards have been turned off," came the reply. "All other aspects are functional."
"Oh shit," Kirk cursed softly. "We gotta get down there right now." Then he punched the com button on his chair. "Kirk to Lt. Giotto. We need a security team to report to Holodeck 2."
At the same time, Spock had contacted Scotty and asked him to meet them at the entrance to the defective holodeck in case his expertise was needed to shut down the program. The Scot promised he'd be there soon, as long as the power failure still allowed him to leave Engineering.
"Sulu, you have the con," Kirk announced, leaping up from his chair.
"But sir," Sulu protested, "perhaps I could-"
Kirk interrupted, firmly declining his offer.
"If we need your help, we know how to contact you. Do whatever you can to stop that power drain from where you are. That will help Bones the most."
"Yes, sir." Sulu agreed.
With that, Jim and Spock returned to the turbolift, perfectly in step.
When they arrived at the entrance to the holodeck, the security team was waiting for them. Several of the guards stepped away from the outward computer controls to give Spock access, in hopes that the Vulcan could find something that they had missed.
"Captain, we can't override the lock or communicate with Dr. McCoy from out here. The computer isn't taking our orders to shut down the program either." The man formerly-known-as-Cupcake gave Kirk an apologetic look.
/Spock, you've got to get those communications back up!/ Jim projected at Spock's turned back. /Without them, we have no way to determine Bones's status./
/I am aware of this and shall do my best./ Came his calm reply.
/I know you will. I'm just – I hate not being in control of the situation, not having all the facts./ Kirk's emotional turmoil over the unknown status of his friend was met with a cool dose of logic.
/Jim, he will be alright. It is not logical to worry until we have all the facts./ Spock soothed.
Kirk tried to take comfort in that. He also realized that Giotto was still expecting a reply.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Kirk said. In an afterthought, the captain muttered, "Dammit, Bones, why did you have to go on that genealogical kick of yours?"
"Sir?" The security chief gave him a quizzical look.
Kirk decided to enlighten the baffled Giotto, as the look didn't suit the burly guy well.
"How much do you know about 19th century American family feuds?"
Giotto shrugged
"Not much, sir."
Kirk decided to share his hunch.
"If this is the same program he was telling me about earlier, Bones could be in serious trouble…"
End Ch. 9
A/N: Oooh, another cliffie! I swear, I set out to write a filler chapter, and it ends up being as long as the rest of them. Oh well, what can you do?
Who has a prediction about the next chapter?