"I did not forget your mother." Chekov clarified yet again, patiently.

"You did, and it hurt her feelings." Sulu replied.

"No, honestly! How could I forget her?" Chekov insisted. "I get her present. It vas supposed to be delivered."

"Uh-huh." Sulu was doubtful.

"How could I forget your mother on Mother's Day? She's almost as close as my own mother." Chekov was agitated now.

"She certainly didn't feel close when she didn't even get a card from you." Sulu continued. "You nearly made her cry."

"I swear it, Sulu. I did get her present. I don't know vhat happen to it!" Chekov was clearly distraught. "I vill have to call her and beg her forgiveness."

Sulu chuckled. "No, it's okay, the package just got delayed in the mail. It arrived two days late."

Chekov scowled at his friend. "You set me up." He complained. "You make me feel bad, and nothing is wrong. Some friend you are!"

Sulu laughed, and the two went back to minding their posts. Kirk let them pick; the sound of the two sniping and joking about one thing or another had become simply another part of the atmosphere on the bridge, and so far it had not interfered with the ability of either to do his job.

Lieutenant O'Reilly showed up to relieve Chekov, who muttered again about his poor choice of a friend as they switched off.

Sulu just laughed. "You still up for a match later?" He asked. Kirk wondered if Sulu had roped Chekov into a fencing match. He hoped the boy was up to it.

"Sure." Chekov nodded, looking back. Something on the Navigation console caught his eye. "Incoming!" He called out, shoving Reilly into the seat and grabbing onto the back of it himself just in time to keep from being thrown across the bridge.

"We're being fired on, Captain." Sulu said calmly, stating the obvious with a note of confusion. And Kirk was himself confused. Who was firing on them? And why?

"Raise shields to maximum." Kirk snapped. "Spock?"

"Shields at maximum." Reilly confirmed as Spock began his report.

"The vessel is Orion in make, Captain, though the weapons have been modified. I would estimate that our shields will hold under this barrage only-"

"Look out!" Reilly cut Spock off as the Navigation console exploded, sending sparks everywhere, and the lights flickered.

Sulu and Reilly recovered quickly, and managed to put out the fire. How much damage had been done, however, was yet to be seen. And they didn't have time for repairs. The vessel was still firing upon them!

"Helm is inoperative, Captain." Sulu reported. They were dead if they couldn't get out of here. Chekov muttered something under his breath and darted under the console. He was up and working inside it in less than a minute.

"Anything?" He asked. Sulu checked the console as the Orion vessel began firing again.

"No. Wait, yes!" Sulu exclaimed. "She's sluggish, though."

"Sluggish." Chekov repeated disbelievingly. "Of course she's sluggish!"

Another blast rocked the ship, and Chekov somehow managed to wrap his legs around Sulu's seat and stay in place.

"Don't kick me, please." Chekov called up as he worked.

"We have power, sir." Sulu informed Kirk.

"Excellent. Try to put some distance between them and us, Mister Sulu."

"Aye, Captain." Sulu said as the ship shook again. Communications blew, and Chekov let out a yell and started uttering a steady stream of what Kirk assumed was Russian. "You okay?" Sulu asked. Chekov didn't answer, but continued grumbling. Sulu frowned. "Hey, Pasha, you alright down there?" He sounded worried.

Chekov was silent for a second. "Da, I am fine." He said finally. "Don't demand too much, or she'll blow again."

"How bad is it?" Sulu asked. He was quickly putting the distance between the Enterprise and the other ship.

"Nothing I can't hold together." Chekov replied from below. "I just do not vant my eyebrows burnt off if the thing explodes again. And I have no desire to be electrocuted again. Once vas enough."

As if he weren't trying to evade the coming blasts from the enemy vessel, Sulu laughed. "I told you it wasn't a good idea."

"You said it as if I vould not be able to figure it out, not as if I vould end up with electricity jolting through my body." Chekov argued.

"It wasn't that bad. You're alive, aren't you?" Sulu retorted, barely evading another shot. "She's keeping up with us, Pasha. How much harder can I push it?"

Chekov sighed. "Let me get my fingers out of the way, and-" Another blast rocked the ship. Sulu managed to jerk the Enterprise out of the way and around behind the other vessel.

"Do we have phasers?" Kirk asked.

Chekov growled and shifted slightly. "Ve do now." He replied.

"Fire phasers, Lieutenant!" Kirk ordered. Reilly complied.

The resulting explosion did more damage than the ship's attacks had. Several explosions rocked the bridge as the lights went out. Chekov let out a shriek and jerked, letting loose another stream of Russian before falling silent.

"Pasha?" Sulu was out of his chair and on the floor beside his friend in less than a second. "Pasha. Are you-what happen-Pavel."

"Ow." Kirk heard the younger man say. "That hurt. Wery much."

"Don't move." Sulu sounded worried now.

"I don't think I can." Chekov replied, quietly.

Reilly leaned over to see what was up. "Holy-Captain, you might want to get McCoy up here, fast."

"What happened?" Kirk asked. The fear in Sulu's eyes as he looked up at the Captain sent chills down Kirk's spine. He hit the comm. button "Bridge to sickbay. Bones, get up here."

Sulu's attention was on his friend. "Pasha, you still there?"

Chekov let loose a small chuckle. "Where else vould I be?"

"Stay with me. How're you feeling?" Sulu asked gently.

Chekov didn't answer.

"Pasha? Pasha!"

Chekov groaned. "I am thinking. I am not sure how feel."

"Sheesh." Sulu let out an explosive breath. "So think out loud or something, will you?"

"Sure." Chekov agreed amiably. "I think maybe my whole body hurts. I think. I think maybe I can't really tell. Maybe I can't feel it. I think something bad must have happened if you are so upset." He paused for less than a second. "Are we dead?"

Sulu managed a smile. "No, we're not dead."

"Good. I would not want to spend eternity vith you. I think I have a headache. And I'm dizzy." Chekov continued. "And I think it vas not wery nice of you to make me think your mom was upset vith me."

"You're the one who told your Dad the Christmas present I got him was from you." Sulu retorted. He was trying to keep Chekov talking, Kirk realized. Whatever had happened, it was bad.

"He didn't believe me, now did he?" Chekov retorted. "Am I bleeding?"

"Can't you tell?" Sulu asked.

"I just vanted to make sure." Chekov replied defensively. "How much?"

"Not as much as it's going to be when they pull that piece of metal out of your chest." Sulu retorted. "You're lucky. You should be dead."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Chekov replied slowly. His voice had been getting steadily quieter as he and Sulu talked.

Kirk hit the comm. again. "Bones, where are you?" He demanded.

"I'm coming as fast as I can, Jim." McCoy retorted sharply. "I've got people dying down here."

"We've got people dying up here too!" It was Sulu who snapped out the retort, before Kirk could even begin to reply.

"Take it easy, Hikaru." Chekov said softly. "I'm not dead. Yet." Sulu sighed. "Hikaru?" Chekov said weakly.

"Yes?"

"I want you to have my stuff." Chekov said solemnly. "Nyota? Is she here?"

"She's here, Pasha." Sulu assured him.

"Vhere? Nyota?" Uhura shot Kirk a hepless glance as she moved over to kneel beside Sulu.

"I'm here, Pavel." She said.

"Tell," Chekov paused for breath. "Tell…my papa…that all that I own goes to Hikaru. And tell…tell him…" He paused again, taking a deep breath. "Tell him...that Hikaru did not kill me for it."

Uhura rolled her eyes, and Sulu groaned. "Ha." He said sarcastically. "If you weren't injured-"

"I could still take you." Chekov retorted. "Maybe."

"Sure you could." Sulu replied. Kirk wrenched his attention away from the two and forced himself to focus on the other areas in need of his attention. Spock was working on repairing the science station; Uhura had returned to work on hers. Reilly was helping where he could; he didn't want to mess with his station while Chekov was still under there. Sulu and Chekov continued their banter as if it weren't a life or death situation they were in.

"I can't feel my arm. Is it still there?" Chekov asked.

"Yeah." Sulu confirmed. "Does your face hurt?" He asked after a moment.

"My face? No. Vhy?" Chekov's response was slow, confused.

"Because it's killing me." Sulu replied.

"Hee hee." Chekov replied unenthusiastically. "You crack me silly."

"You're mangling your English again." Sulu said softly.

"You don't speak Russian."

"I speak some."

"Not much."

"I speak enough."

"Da," Chekov agreed, "enough to tell my father he has face of goat."

"You said it meant I was honored to make his acquaintance." Sulu retorted.

McCoy burst in on the scene then, and nearly shoved Sulu out of his way in his hurry. The brief flash of anger in the helmsman's eyes made Kirk doubt if he wanted to get on Sulu's bad side.

"Good heavens, son!" McCoy said to Chekov. "You should be dead, you know that?"

"So I hear." Chekov managed. "Sorry I disappoint you."

"I need to get him to sickbay." McCoy said. "There's not much I can do for him here."

Kirk nodded. McCoy called to sickbay for help, and they quickly relocated Chekov to sickbay. Sulu watched him go before sliding under Chekov's abandoned spot and throwing himself into repairing the console.

"Mister Sulu." Kirk said.

"I'm fine, sir."

"I didn't ask how you were, Sulu." Kirk said, and Sulu paused. "You've been through quite a bit of stress. If you need someone to relieve you-"

"Thank you, Captain, but I'd rather stay here. I'm fine." Sulu cut Kirk off, and went back to work.

Uhura had come up behind Kirk. "McCoy won't let him in sickbay yet, Captain. He'll just sit and worry if he doesn't have something to distract him." She said quietly.

Kirk nodded. She was right. Sulu would worry about his friend until he was certain he was okay. At least here he could do something to relieve the frustration of not being able to be there.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. Thank you to Deinde and Jedi Ani Unduli for your suggestions. Again, if any of my readers have any ideas for future chapters that they would like to see, I would be more than happy to hear them. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Star Trek does not belong to me.