Grakar and the other Klingons were waiting when they detected an Aurora class ship dropping out of warp. "That must be them," Grakar said. "We must intercept that ship!"

"On my way, Sir," Dapodi replied.

Jim knew when the ship he was on stopped. He was trying to think of something he could do when Neela and Sparks came after him. He would not simply let them take him to vent him into space. Soon, his captors came into the room. "Well, Admiral, it's finally time," Neela said. "I only wish I could see the look on your face when you die like my mother did…but oh wait, I probably can since your face will be frozen that way forever!"

Just then, an alarm began sounding in the ship. "What's that?" Neela asked.

Jim was hoping it was Klingons. "You're in Klingon space!" he said. "They don't like strange ships!"

Neela and Sparks ran to the front of the ship, and there were definitely Klingon ships, three to be exact, and they were being hailed. Neela turned the com on.

Grakar stared at the being on the viewscreen, and he knew this was an Aenar, and the one they were looking for because she had blue eyes. "Why are you in Klingon space?" he asked, trying to sound like they were not expecting her.

"We will not be here long," Neela asked.

"You should not be here at all! You will prepare to be boarded."

"No! We will not! We only have some private business to attend to and then we will be gone!"

"You seem to think you have a choice. This is our space, and you have no business here."

Neela turned the screen off. "Let's get into the escape pod," she said. "I'll let him freeze inside the ship!"

She and Sparks ran to the back of the ship after she dropped the shields, and they got into an escape pod. She had a signaler that she could use to open the boarding ramp, and she pressed the button. "Goodbye, Admiral Kirk!" she said.

Jim heard that, and he waited to see what would happen, and then he heard another alarm blaring, and heard what sounded like an explosion. He sucked in a big breath and held it as he heard wind start to howl. He thought she must be intending to freeze him inside the ship and he could not get out of the restraints.

"She has opened the boarding ramp!" Dapodi exclaimed.

The Klingons could see the escape pod heading down toward the moon they had just vacated, and then they saw Solan's ship drop out of warp. "Hail them!" Grakar said.

Solan was soon on the viewscreen. "She has opened the boarding ramp on the ship!" Dapodi said. "We can only assume that Kirk is aboard!"

Spock and the others heard that. "Get us aboard that ship!" he said.

"I'm locking onto you right now!" Solan said. He moved the lever that transported Spock, Bones, and Helek over to the other ship.

When they got inside the ship, they would have been sucked out as well if they had not been wearing magnetic boots. Spock hurried to the back of the ship to close the boarding ramp while Bones and Helek tried to find Jim, and did find him lying restrained on what looked like a table. He was already practically frozen, but he was not unconscious.

Spock reached the back of the ship and hit the button that would close the boarding ramp. He watched as it lifted slowly and finally closed with a loud swoosh of air. He locked the boarding ramp and then headed up to where Bones and Helek were, along with Jim, who was shivering now. "We have to get him out of here," Bones said. "We can't get him off this table!"

Spock and Helek looked at the mechanism that was holding Jim to the table. "Let's pull together," Spock said.

They both got hold of the metal bar that held Jim to the table and pulled at the same time, but it would not budge. "There must be a way to get it open," Bones said. "She had to want to take him out of there."

They looked but could not find anything that looked like it would open it. Spock grabbed his communicator. "Solan, can you transport the admiral from this ship?" he asked.

Solan was silent a moment. "Something's interfering," he said.

"We may need some of your tools. We cannot get the admiral out of this device."

"Alright. I'll get some of them over there."

Solan went to the back of his ship and grabbed some tools and put them into a bag. "I'm taking them," Carol declared. "You stay here and operate this ship."

"Fine," Solan replied. "I'll transport you now."

Carol was soon appearing on the other ship. Spock was waiting for her and she followed him to where Jim was. Carol touched Jim's hair and it felt stiff with cold and frost. "Jim?"

Jim was still shivering but he looked up at her. Spock began working on the mechanism that was holding the bar, and he finally got it loose. They got Jim up, and called Solan to beam them back to his ship.

When they got aboard, Solan had warmed the ship up. They wrapped Jim in thermal blankets and Bones gave him oxygen. He finally stopped looking frosted and blue, but he was still shivering. He sat in the seat behind Solan's pilot's seat so they could talk to Grakar.

"I am glad they could get to you in time, Admiral," Grakar said. "I am sorry that we could not stop her, but she is being detained even as we speak. The other warbirds went down to the moon where she thought to hide. She will not escape this time."

"Just be careful," Jim said. "She has those telepathic powers."

"She cannot have influence over a Klingon. We are strong minded and strong willed."

Lolak stepped into the picture then. "It is good to see you alive, young Admiral," he said.

Jim smiled. "You're gonna have to tell me how old you are some day," he replied.

"I think it will not be today. Congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you." Jim's smile faded. "I want that Jonathan Sparks," he said. "He's going to answer for what he did in a Federation Court."

"We will give him to you when we have him," Grakar replied. "You may come to Kronos and stay until you are recovered if you wish."

"I appreciate that, but we have to get back home."

"What should we do with Neela? We can prosecute her here if you wish."

Jim considered that. "Where would she go?"

"To a penal colony for the rest of her life for attempted murder. She will not escape."

"Sounds good to me, but what about her mental abilities?"

"Perhaps you should speak with her own people and find out how they would penalize one of this sort."

"That's probably a good idea. You guys just hold her on Kronos until we find out. Don't let her manipulate anyone. She can project dreams into your head while you sleep. We'll get in touch with Andor and find out what to do."

"We will wait for your instructions."

"Kirk out."

After an hour, they had finally gotten in touch with Andor, and the authorities on Andor agreed to take Neela into custody themselves, and would punish her for her crimes. Of course, they had the means to suppress telepathic abilities, and they assured Jim that she would not be able to escape. "You can pick her up on Kronos," Jim said. "We'll give you a full report of what she has done if that's what you require."

"It would make our task easier," the chancellor said. "We will involve the Aenar in this trial as well, but she will not bother you again."

"I'm glad to hear that. It's been a very rough week for us."

"We will arrive at Kronos in two days. I take it the Klingons will be expecting us?"

"Yes. I'll inform them that you'll be coming for her and they'll turn her over to you."

"Very well."

Jim yawned after he ended that transmission. He let Grakar know what the Andorian Chancellor had said, and Grakar told them that Jonathan Sparks was aboard their ship and ready for transport. "Good," Jim said. "We're ready to receive him too."

Korax and Spock had phasers ready when Jonathan Sparks appeared on the ship. Jim stood between them with a glare on his face, and Sparks definitely had some fear on his. "Now, we'll get to that insubordination," Jim said. "Oh, and striking an officer, kidnapping, aiding and abedding a would-be murderer, and anything else I can think of. Right now, you're going to our Brig. And since you don't have your little telepathic friend, you're going to be staying there."

Korax kept Sparks covered while Spock put stun cuffs on him, and then they took him to the storage compartments. They chained him to the floor in the corner of the compartment after making sure he had no weapons or anything. "Get comfortable, because you will be here until we arrive back on Earth," Spock said. "And I would not advise you to try anything. The Admiral is quite displeased with your actions."

They put the cover back over the compartment and then went back to the front of the ship where Jim had sat down in the seat behind the co-pilot's seat. "I wish to stay on Kronos, Admiral," Korax said. "I thank you for allowing me to stay aboard your ship, but I would like to spend time with my family and friends on Kronos now."

"Sure," Jim replied.

"I will remember that I also have friends on Earth."

"You sure do." Jim looked at Solan. "Let's transport him down to Kronos and then be on our way."

"Yes sir," Solan replied. He got closer to the planet and then they transported Korax down after getting coordinates. Solan was laying in a course for Earth, and they were soon at warp.

Jim leaned back in the seat and was asleep. "No, you're not sleeping here," Solan said. "He needs to be on a bed. Let's get him up."

Jim did not want to get up, but Solan and Spock got him up anyway and took him back to another part of the ship. Solan opened the door and there was a bed in that room. They put Jim on the bed, and he did not even move as they covered him up. As they were leaving the room, Carol met them at the door. "Step right in, Madam," Solan said.

Carol went on into the room. She intended to sleep right along with Jim the whole way. Solan closed the door. "Helek, don't let anyone disturb them," he said.

"I do not believe anyone would, but I will make sure," Helek replied.

"Good. I think I could use a few Z's myself. I'll be in the cockpit."

Solan passed by Bones who was also conked out on a cot. "Take it easy," Solan said, and went on to the front of the ship. He leaned back in the pilot's seat. He hoped he woke up to stop the ship when they got to Earth, but he was sure he would because the ship would alarm.

The others on the ship suddenly realized how long they had been up as well, and it was a very quiet ride back to Earth. Solan did not sleep the whole way, but he certainly did not disturb anyone else who did. He dropped the ship out of warp and was glad to see the Earth in his viewscreen. He could see the Enterprise still docked at its space dock in the distance. He missed that ship because he had felt like he was someone important aboard that ship, and now…he would be alone again once everyone scattered. He was not sure where he wanted to go. He had no official rank in Starfleet, and he had basically been a guest aboard the Enterprise because Jim had taken him in. He had learned a great deal, but now he did not know where he belonged in the galaxy.

They were soon down on Earth again, and Solan sat there a moment, but then Spock came to the front of the ship. "We are ready to disembark," he said.

"Right, I'm coming," Solan replied.

Jim definitely felt more rested now, and felt like he was actually awake, and so did Bones. Carol felt rested for the first time in…well, she did not know how long. But it had been good to just sleep and have no disturbances.

Jim spent the whole day explaining everything that had happened to Admiral Winston, and after two days, he testified at Jonathan Sparks' court marshall, and he made sure he did not forget any details. Bones even testified about the injuries that Jim had when they found him. Sparks was sentenced to a penal colony for a very long sentence. Jim stood in front of him. "Maybe next time you'll make better decisions," he said.

Sparks just frowned and did not say anything, but Jim could see the hate in his eyes. It was no matter, however. He had more important things to do than to worry over anymore legal stuff.

Jim hurried back to his apartment and changed into jeans and a sweater, and then went to meet Carol and Alex at a restaurant. Before he went inside, he met Spock and Uhura. "Admiral, I wanted to let you know that Uhura and I are leaving today," Spock said.

"Well, I'm gonna miss you guys," Jim replied.

"I will miss you as well, Jim."

Jim could not help but smile as he remembered the first time he told Spock he would miss him. "Take care, Spock."

Spock raised his right hand in the traditional Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."

Jim nodded. He looked at Uhura. "Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble," he said.

Uhura smiled and hugged Jim. "It has been a pleasure serving with you, Admiral," she said.

"You too…Nyota."

Uhura could not help but laugh. She and Spock turned and walked back to their transport as Jim watched. He supposed he should not feel so sad. He could talk to them any time, but talking over a transmission was not like talking face to face with someone.

Jim went into the restaurant where Carol was waiting for him. He smiled as he saw her and Alex. He sat down at the table with them, and then Bones and Andrea walked in.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Bones said.

"What for?" Jim asked.

"We're about to leave."

Jim tried not to frown, but he stood up. He did not know how to say goodbye to Leonard McCoy…his best friend. They had been together since they met. "Don't get all mushy," Bones said, but he thought he might himself. "It's inevitable that people have to part some time."

"I know," Jim replied. "I've never hugged you, Bones, but today, I'm going to."

Bones did not care and grabbed Jim in a warm hug. "I don't know what to say," Jim said. "I hope you'll be happy."

"You stay happy, Jim, and stay out of trouble. I'll be a long way away now, and I can't just run over here and paste you back together."

Jim shook his head. "I'll try. You try not to be so pessimistic."

"Forget it."

They were silent a moment. "I'm not saying goodbye," Bones said. "I'm just leaving. I'll see you later."

"Right," Jim replied. "Later." He looked at Andrea. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Sir," Andrea said. "I have to say goodbye to Alex." She went over to him and hugged him. "You be a good boy, and I'll be seeing you." She kissed him on the forehead and then went back over to Bones.

Bones waved to Carol and then they left the restaurant. Jim sat down and looked at Carol. "Are you alright?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jim said. "I guess it's just hard to believe that it's really over."

"It is, but we have a life here, and we're going to enjoy it."

Jim nodded. "I know."

As Bones was boarding his transport that would take him and Andrea to Pacifica, he heard someone yell, "Doctor McCoy!"

Bones looked around and saw Solan coming that way. He ran up to him almost gasping for air because he had been running. "What's wrong?" Bones asked.

"I could take you and Andrea to Pacifica if you want," Solan said. "I don't have anything else to do and I wouldn't mind seeing it again, if you wouldn't mind going on my ship."

Bones considered that a moment. "We already have a transport," he replied. "If we didn't, we would be glad for you to take us."

"Okay. Well, I hope everything goes well for you over there."

"Hey, what are you going to do?"

"Me? Oh, well, there's always jobs for transport, and since I served aboard the Enterprise, I can probably serve on another ship, if not that one."

"Right. Why don't you talk to Jim?"

"Maybe I will."

"Do it."

Solan stood and watched Bones and Andrea board the transport, and then he headed out of the spaceport. He supposed he could talk to Jim and see if he could help him. He had never thought he would be in this position again, with nowhere to go but his ship. He did not like being alone anymore. He was used to being on the Enterprise with all those people around and working with Scotty. He had not even seen Scotty since they got back to Earth. Sulu had left Earth as well to go and stay on Yorktown for a while.

As Solan was about to exit the spaceport, he heard someone say his name. He looked around to see a familiar-looking woman coming that way, although she did not look quite like she did the last time he saw her. "Hi, Solan," she said.

"Priscilla?" Solan replied without hiding his surprise.

"Yes, it's me. I'm not quite as feline as I was before."

"I see. What are you doing on Earth?"

"I knew this is where the Enterprise was coming, and I can't go back to Nervala Four, so I wanted to be somewhere with people I know. I saw Doctor McCoy boarding the transport."

"You didn't say anything to him?"

"I did not get the chance."

"I'm sure you can call him after he gets to Pacifica."

"I would like that."

"So, have you ever been to Earth before?"

"No. I hope that you will help me know where to go."

Solan smiled. "I'd be happy to," he said. He thought maybe he did not feel so lonely now as they walked out of the spaceport. "Did you hear that Captain Kirk is an Admiral now?"

"No, I did not," Priscilla answered. "What does that mean?"

"It means he can yell at more people."

Priscilla giggled at that, and her laugh still sounded just a little feline. "They could not get rid of all the changes," she said.

"That's alright. It gives you character."

"You have quite a lot of character, Solan. I should like to hear more about you."

"I've got plenty of time."