Chapter X

The Middle pt. 9

"The ship has been boarded by pirates! I repeat, the ship has been boarded by pirates!" The voice over the intercom system blared as Jim's communicator went off.

"I heard. On my way." he answered immediately, not waiting for responses from the other person. Jim grabbed his phaser from his desk and turned to face Spock, who was getting ready as well.

"Spock, you're staying here." he said, forcefully.

"I am not. I am carrying out my job as First Officer." was the response. Jim glared.

"No, you're staying here!"

"You cannot keep me off duty for the duration of nine months." Jim sighed.

"I know Spock, and I'm not. Just, not this one, okay." The pleading tone in Jim's voice tugged at Spock's heart. He knew the man was simply worried about him.

"Alright." he acquiesced. Jim smiled and walked over. He kissed Spock and headed for the door.

"I'm going to lock the door. Don't come out, no matter what you hear." Jim warned. Spock merely nodded.

"Be careful, Jim."

~x~x~x~

Jim crept down the corridor. His first destination was the bridge so that he could make sure it was secure. When he arrived, the entryways were all locked tight. He made a mental note to commend the beta shift crew for quick reactions. Jim made his way to the nearest turbolift and went inside. When it was between floors, he pressed the emergency stop. He needed to find out where the pirates were and decided it was best to do that in relative safety.

"Kirk to Scotty." he spoke into his communicator.

"Scotty here." came the whispered voice.

"Scotty, I need to know where the pirates are."

"Well, ya called the right person. They're here in engineering, sir."

"On my way." Jim said, hitting the button in the turbolift for engineering. Unbeknownst to Jim, a small group of the pirates made their way to the floor where crew quarters were located.

~x~x~x~

Spock was sitting on Jim's bed. He was worried about the other. Pirates were nasty people. They found enjoyment in killing as well as stealing. Spock was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone try to open the door. With his superior hearing, he was able to make out what was being said.

"Are you sure this is the Captain's quarters?"

"Yes. Now, open it!"

"I can't. It's locked."

"Move back." Spock was in the process of going to their joining bathroom so that he could get to his phaser that was in his room when a blast from the door caused him to stop and turn around. One of the pirates had shot the locking mechanism, causing the door to swish open. The largest of the pirates stepped in and smirked when he saw Spock. Andorians. Particularly nasty pirates.

"Well, who do we have here?" The other pirates filtered in behind the larger one.

"Looks like a Vulcan." one said.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Spock. The Enterprise's First Officer. This'll be fun." Spock just scowled and spoke up.

"What do you want?" The Andorians all laughed.

"Well, while my crew is wreaking havoc down in engineering, we're here to find some important files. You see, we want to be able to infiltrate Federation ships without being detected. Your captain should have schematics and detailed information on shields and defenses."

"Why are you telling me this?" Spock's stomach was twisting with a combination of fear and dread. He already knew the answer to that.

"Because you're not going to live long enough to tell anybody." with that, he raised his phaser and fired just as Spock was making a move toward the bathroom. He felt a burning pain in his neck as he stumbled into the other room, locking the door. Spock felt blood running swiftly from the wound on his neck. It must have hit an artery. He put his hand against the wound and sat on the floor, trying to slow his heartbeat. If his calculations were right, he would soon lose consciousness before bleeding to death.

~x~x~x~

Jim shot every Andorian pirate he saw. He had yet to come across the leader. He had all of his combat ready crew members with him taking out the enemy. Jim suddenly had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling. Needing to get back to Spock, he called Sulu over.

"I have to go check on Spock. I left him alone in my quarters." He ignored Sulu's surprised expression and continued. "There aren't many of these guys left. You and the others can easily finish them off."

"Yes sir." Jim nodded and rushed off toward the turbolift. When he arrived on the correct floor, he ran into, who appeared to be, the leader of the pirate crew. He was able to take the leader and group by surprise and shot them all. Even more worried, he ran down the corridor and came to a screeching halt outside his door. A sense of dread filled him when he saw the shot lock on his door. He shoved the door open and scanned the destroyed room, looking for Spock. When he didn't find him, he went to the bathroom door, which was open on his side, but locked on Spock's. He slipped on something and looked down. Panic filled him when he saw a puddle of green blood on the floor. Quickly punching in his override code, Jim opened the door and was horrified at what he saw. Spock was laying, prone, on the floor holding his neck. There was blood everywhere and the room smelled of copper. Jim immediately dropped to his knees beside Spock and touched his face. He was colder than normal.

"Spock! Spock, wake up!" Spock's eyes opened a sliver, as if it was difficult for him to open them any further. Jim sat and pulled Spock into his lap. His vision was beginning to blur, but he refused to cry right now. Spock needed him. He put his hand over Spock's on his neck and put more pressure on it. "It's okay, you're going to be alright." he whispered. Just as Spock lost consciousness, he heard Jim speak again. "I love you."