STAR TREK:PHASE ONE

Welcome to the Dance!

USS ENTERPRISE

Alpha Centauri system

The life of a starship commander wasn't only cheers from the crowds, and adoring women. Well, it was like that some of the time, but usually, while on a mission, it was the life of a loner.

While the ship's science crews were studying the planets of the Alpha Centauri star system, there were five planets in fact, Kirk found himself getting caught up on the true aspects of a captain's life; paper work.

The bed inside his quarters had four laptops strewn about it. A bare-chested Kirk was lying on one side of the bed while the computers were on the other side. One of the computers was dedicated to the engineering section's data, one was displaying current tactical read outs, one of them was his private computer, with a letter from Gary Mitchell currently displayed, and the other was routine administrative stuff that a captain had to be made aware of.

The SPOCK unit's wristband interface was on the bed as well, right where he had left it. Kirk was taking a few moments off from his work and was engaged into a chess match with Spock. Special gaming lenses were fitted on his eyes, almost like the old contact lenses, and displayed the game board even when the eyes were closed.

James watched intently as a white knight, with sword and all, rode its horse towards a common soldier, and then hacked the soldier's head off with the sword. The words CHECK MATE were displayed. Kirk had won the chess game, again. It was his third victory in a row, against Spock, and Kirk really wasn't that good at Chess.

"Spock, are you letting me win?" Kirk asked.

No Captain, I am not.

"Jim," Kirk said, "Call me Jim."

It would be inappropriate for me to call you James while you are in command of a starship that I serve on.

"Well," Kirk said as the chessboard was reset, "you asked me to help you act more, well, normal? That's one sure way, Spock. Calling someone by their first name will go a long way, believe me."

I shall endeavor to keep that in mind.

"Now, stop changing the subject," Kirk said as he took the lenses off to take a break for the game. "What are the chances that I could defeat you three straight times at chess."

The odds are two hundred-seven thousand, four hundred fifty two point seven against your accomplishing that feat.

"Exactly my point," Kirk said. "You're playing as if there is something bothering you, distracting you from your game." Kirk started to read some of the data on the Admin laptop.

That would be a humanoid conundrum; I am not human.

"And yet, I have defeated you three straight times," Kirk came back with.

There was a pause.

Captain, can you describe for me the sensation of running?

Kirk pondered the question for a moment. "Well," Kirk said as he looked at some of the duty roster changes, "As you feel your heart beating inside of you, you can feel your body pass through time and space. You can see things before you eventually pass behind you. It's an activity most humans refrain from, unfortunately, but running is very healthy and very interesting to experience. Why do you ask?"

Someday, soon, my memory will be down loaded into an Android construct. The first thing I wish to do, once the transfer is completed, is to run.

"Will you be able to really experience the movement?" Kirk asked.

It is hard to say. I can show you seventeen different formulas that prove moving from one point to another could, theoretically, be impossible. And yet, with all that, the very proof motion is possible is my very being here.

Kirk smiled. Having this kind of discussion with the Spock unit was interesting. But as the mission had progressed, since leaving Earth, Kirk became aware that the Spock unit was asking a very eclectic list of questions, such as the one it had just asked about; running.

"You know," Kirk said, "you keep asking me these questions. Does your memory catalog them, and the answers, for the amusement of Doctor Daystrom, for when we get back?"

No Captain…

"Jim," Kirk cut in, "Call me Jim."

No, Jim, I do not keep a catalog of such questions. I have learned how to shunt some of my data, and conversations, into memory alcoves independent of Doctor Daystrom's retrieval systems.

"I see," Kirk said. "Is that wise to do? What if he was to find out you were hiding data from him?"

My memory core would be wiped, and I would, essentially, start all over.

"Well," Kirk said, "let us keep this conversation to ourselves. I don't want your memory erased, Spock. In fact, with Gary gone, and McCoy so busy with the new medical interns, you're about the closest thing I have on this ship to a friend."

Kirk thought about Spock's answer. And the more Kirk thought about it the more he was sure that the Spock unit purposely lost the games so as to have Kirk start the conversation in the first place. The Spock unit was functioning in a most peculiar way, Kirk concluded, with a smile.

Jim, you may want to go to the bridge.

Suddenly the red alert klaxon sounded. Kirk pressed the com button on his desk.

"Bridge," Kirk said, "what's happening up there?"

The voice of Commander Chakotay, who was Gary's temporary replacement as co-XO (S.P.O.C.K. being the other, answered, "Sir, we are detecting three unidentified objects heading in our direction."

"I'm on my way," Kirk replied.

Kirk grabbed a shirt and put it on. Then, before he left his quarters, he reached down and picked up the Spock wristband interface. Kirk had started to wear it nearly two weeks earlier and now felt strange without it on. He strapped it on, and then headed for the bridge.

Three strange objects were approaching the USS Enterprise, and were being displayed on the main viewing screen as Captain Kirk entered the bridge. First officer Chakotay, a native-American, vacated the command chair.

"Status report," Kirk said as he walked over to his chair, eyeing the screen as he did.

The three ships were, primarily, oval in shape with very jagged exteriors. The tactical read out on the side of screen pegged the ships at being nearly a forth of the size of the Enterprise.

"They are still on an intercept course," Chakotay reported, "and will be here in five minutes."

At that moment the turbo-doors swooshed open and Doctor McCoy entered the bridge.

"Bones," Kirk said, "what are you doing here?"

McCoy shook his head, "Why in the hell do you keep calling me Bones?"

"Didn't you ever see that show Bones when you were a kid?" Uhura asked from her post.

"Thank God, no," McCoy said.

"Well," Kirk added, "I don't call you Bones because of that. I call you Bones because Colonel Pike told me it was the nickname they had for you when he was your platoon leader back in the day."

"Oh," McCoy said, "I know where the name comes from. I just don't care for it."

"Well," Kirk said, "I'll try not to use it again; but if I do?" Kirk added with a grin. "I hope you still love me."

"Oh shut-up," McCoy said. "Now, please tell me you're not about to shoot those three ships out of the sky."

"No," Kirk said as he sat in his chair. Chakotay headed to the ops station on the outer-rim of the Bridge. "You know me," Kirk said. "But," he added, "I won't hesitate to go there if they do."

That is a logical statement, Captain Kirk. Even the good doctor must admit to that… the Spock unit said.

McCoy looked to the Spock unit, upon hearing its statement.

"Now you look here, you tin-plated microwave oven. You're just a hyperactive calculator in my eyes. You have no sway in our human interactions." McCoy bristled.

Kirk, wanting to avoid a nuclear war of words between McCoy and Spock, which seemed to be an eventual outcome each time they conversed, pivoted his chair and looked over to Uhura.

"Can you make contact with them?" Kirk asked.

"I can try," Uhura said.

Chakotay looked over to Kirk.

"Captain," Chakotay said, "according to the readings, the lead ship is scanning the Enterprise with what looks like a targeting system of some kind."

"Spock?" Kirk asked the device mounted to the left side of his chair, as well as the interface on his left arm.

I am scanning the data, and Mister Chakotay is quite right about the scans. Though, I do not detect any sort of hostile intent.

"Then why are they scanning our most sensitive areas?" Sulu asked from the helm.

"I would too," Scotty answered for Kirk, from his auxiliary engineering post on the Bridge. "In fact, isn't that what Ensign Wesley Crusher is doing as we speak?"

They all looked to the young officer who was manning the navigation/weapons station on the upper ring.

"Yes," Crusher admitted. "I just thought it was standard procedure."

"Jim," McCoy chimed in, "they may have mistaken our scan as hostile."

Kirk nodded in agreement. "Cut off the scan," Kirk said to Crusher. "I know this is our first time encountering alien craft, but from now on I want all stations to go through me before initializing any scans, or communications. This way, if things go wrong, I can face the music. In essence, that is what I am being paid to do."

They all nodded in agreement.

"Sorry sir," Crusher said. "I was just doing what I thought was right."

"I know, and you did it correct." Kirk added. "Now," Kirk said, turning his attention back to Uhura, "What about the Universal Translator, is it working?"

It had been decided by many futurist that some kind of computer technology would be employed by other space going cultures. With that reasoning, it was thought that mathematical matrixes could be used to formulate translation protocols.

"They are receiving our transmissions," Uhura stated.

"Well," McCoy said, "all we have to do is wait until their computer and our computer, put their minds together."

Computers, I must point out, do not have minds, Doctor McCoy. If you are so inclined could you please look inside of the standard operation manual of my system, on page two-thousand three hundred and twenty two, paragraph fourteen, you will note that my sub-routines, while augmented with…

Before McCoy could respond with some harsh words, which he was about to, Uhura cut him off.

"We are receiving a visual communication!" Uhura said.

The excitement was expected, Kirk thought to himself. The first communication with an intelligent life form not of Earth was about to happen. Once again, the USS Enterprise was rewriting the history books.

The view of the approaching ships faded and revealed the image of an alien being. The lighting on the alien ship was barely visible.

The being had two eyes, each on one side of its three sided head. Fish, and other animal species on Earth, had the duo-set eyes on adjacent sides of their heads. The being was just staring back at them, its eyes blinking every so often, but not at the same time.

"This is the United Space Agency vessel Enterprise. I am Captain James T. Kirk, and I am in command of this vessel. We have come in peace, and I apologize if our scans were taken as an aggressive action. It was not our intent."

The image was suddenly removed, and screen reverted back to the image of the approaching ships. Then, before anyone could say anything, the lead vessel fired a bolt of energy which struck the Enterprise.

The lights on the bridge dimmed, and sparks exploded from a few of the stations. The ship's artificial gravity shifted for a moment, before coming back on line.

Kirk looked to McCoy. McCoy nodded, knowing exactly what Kirk's angered eyes were conveying; they were under attack. And, for the first time in human existence, they were in a fight with beings from another world.

The history books were indeed not only being rewritten by the Enterprise, but were being blown to pieces as well!

Next time…ROMULANS!