Chapter Twenty One

Sure enough, both Jim and Scotty were able to convince Jaylah to go with them. So, Jaylah had set up a makeshift map using pieces of equipment and any other material to explain the plan and what the base was like.

"The digging machines uncovered a tunnel that goes under the crater. That is how I get out," Jaylah explained, her arms crossed as Emily stood between Leonard and Julia while Jim eyed the map warily.

"So, that'll be our way in," Jim said thoughtfully, "An away team will beam up on the other side of the tunnel, follow into Krall's base, get inside the building and break out the crew."

While that sounded like an ideal plan, there was still one problem. After seeing the readings that Chekov had been able to pick up, she knew that they would need to rig a device that could send a signal through the craters. That meant sending another away party into an unknown location.

"Uh, Keptain, ve cannot locate anyone inside the crater in order to beam them out," Chekov reminded him.

As Emily suspected, the geological structure had been blocking their signal somehow. She had a feeling that was also how Krall had been able to hide there for so long. How he was able to send someone out through the nebula was a whole different story.

"What if we rigged up pulse beacons as pattern enhancers?" Scotty asked, looking at Emily pointedly, "That'd get the signal out of the crater."

"I'm up for the challenge," Emily nodded in agreement.

Julia rose an eyebrow as she wondered where this was going. She of all people knew that Emily couldn't put herself in physical danger. Given the condition she was in, Leonard would have sooner held her down than allowed her to put her life in harm's way. She would have to make herself feel useful elsewhere. Going into a fight was the last thing she wanted if it meant endangering herself and their unborn child.

"All right," Jim gave them a confirming nod. "How many people can the Franklin transport at a time?" he asked.

"Uh, with a wee bit of modification, twenty max, but I'm not sure how long it will hold out," Scotty informed him.

"It'll hold out, Scotty," Emily reassured him, knowing that if anything, the transport room could be their saving grace.

Getting the crew back to safety was of up most importance.

"Bones, Mr. Chekov, Thompson, you're with me on the away team. Mr. Scott, Emily, modify that transporter and then do everything you can to get this ship operational," Jim told everyone.

It took everything Emily had not to argue at that point. She knew how risky this would be. Getting involved, especially in her condition, wasn't a good idea. Though, it didn't help when she saw the relief in Leonard's eyes. He clearly was more than happy with the idea of her sticking around and helping Scotty out. With a roll of her eyes, she finally gave in and nodded in agreement to those terms. Arguing now wasn't the best option. They all needed to work together now more than ever if they wanted to pull through with this plan.

"Captain, Mr. Chekov's technical acumen makes him more valuable aboard the Franklin with Mr. Scott and Liaison McCoy. It is therefore logical that I would replace him."

Emily only grimaced at that, knowing Spock was only just recovering from his injury after Leonard had performed intensive surgery on him. If he put himself in harm's way again, it could only make his injury that much worse. Even Leonard looked at Spock in disbelief at the thought of going out into the field again.

"Why is that logical, Spock? You just got back to your feet," Jim retorted.

"Lieutenant Uhura is in that facility, Jim," Spock reminded him. "If the roles were reversed, what would you have done for your wife, Doctor?"

That was all Emily needed to understand how important this was for Spock. Uhura meant more to him than he would ever let on. And, seeing the look in Leonard's eyes was enough of a reminder how much they had to lose. She felt Leonard squeeze her shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll keep an eye on him," he nodded to Jim.

"Understood."

"But his soldiers are everywhere. We won't pass unseen," Jaylah put in.

"What we need is a diversion," Spock said.

Emily didn't miss the look Jim gave them all. She knew that look better than Jim realized.

"I think I've got an idea."

…

This is crazy, this is crazy, Julia kept telling herself as she followed Kirk to the transport room, along with Bones, Spock and Jaylah. When Kirk had asked for her to join him on the away mission, she thought he might have lost his mind. After all, she wasn't that good at fighting back. Not to mention, she hardly had any experience when it came to away missions. That was why she spent most of her time down in Engineering, where she worked with Scotty and Keenser.

The moment Kirk had started the motorbike was when all fear suddenly came rushing back.

"You ever do anything like this?" Kirk asked after noticing how terrified she looked.

"No, definitely not," she gasped after clinging onto him for dear life.

That smirk was enough for her to wish she was anywhere but here. Why on God's green earth did she agree to this crazy idea?

"Relax, Thompson. You're worse than Em was her first ride."

Julia was about to make a retort when she thought better of it. Somehow, she wasn't surprised that Kirk convinced Emily to ride along with him on a motorbike. Heck, she probably did that just to piss off Bones. She was not looking forward to this, not one bit.

…

The waiting was probably the worst part. Emily, Chekov and Scotty had been working around the clock making sure the ship was fully functioning, or functioning best as it could. The three of them working together could be almost as scary as watching Emily and Jim scheme together.

"Lassie, you need to take a rest," Scotty informed her after noticing she'd been working nonstop since the away team left.

"I can't," she sighed, wishing there was a better way to explain that working was the best distraction she could ask for. Another habit she had picked up from Leonard. When something was on his mind, he usually distracted himself with whatever work he could find. Which usually meant spending long hours in the medbay. "I hate not being able to do anything useful."

"Ah, I see," Scotty eyed her thoughtfully as they took a break. "Lassie, I've seen you do nothing but work while aboard the Enterprise. You saved not only the entire crew, but the ship herself."

"A lot of good that did us this time," she muttered once they reached the transport room. "I just wish I could have seen this coming." Scotty looked at her skeptically, and she only shrugged. "Both the attack and the pregnancy," she added.

"Something tells me you'll do fine, Lassie," Scotty reassured her as they received the first signal.

Emily couldn't hide the smile that followed when they got straight to work. Transporting up to twenty people at a time was an amazing feat. It wasn't long before more and more people started beaming aboard the ship. There were a lot of injuries involved, and it was clear that the medbay would have their hands full.

"Emily, Mr. Scott, it's good to see you again," Sulu was the first to reach them.

"You too, Hikaru," Emily gave him a nod.

Once the rest of the crew was taken care of, getting Jim, Jaylah and Julia back aboard was the real challenge. Jaylah must have dropped her beacon, because they couldn't track her signal. The good news was, Jim didn't plan on leaving anyone behind. The bad news was, he, Jaylah and Julia all nearly crashed onto the transporter pad with groans of pain.

"Okay, let's never do that again," Jim groaned as he tried getting back up.

"I agree, James T.," Jaylah replied, looking equally bruised.

"Yeah, not one of the best things I've done so far," Julia chimed in, though, despite looking as if she'd gotten a few bruises and scratches, she looked surprisingly well. Uhura, Sulu and Chekov all rushed into the transport room the moment they beamed back aboard.

"Captain, this thing he has—"

"Yorktown. He's going to destroy Yorktown," Sulu cut Uhura off before she could explain the situation.

Emily felt her blood run cold as she realized what both Sulu and Uhura were implying. The artifact that Krall had taken wasn't just an artifact. It was a weapon. Suddenly, it made sense why the Teenaxians hadn't wanted anything to do with the artifact. Though they hadn't known at the time what it was used for, the Fibonians had more than likely been trying to get rid of the artifact in the attempt of preventing whoever sought after it from getting their hands on it.

"You take my house, and you make it fly," Jaylah commanded.

"That sounds easy enough," Julia muttered as she staggered over to Emily.

"You should report to medbay," Jim added to Emily as they headed for the bridge.

"Jim, Leonard has enough to worry about as it is," she reminded him, knowing Leonard would likely give her hell once this was over. "All I would do if I was down there is make things worse."

She didn't miss the looks of confusion that followed from Uhura and Sulu. Even they weren't aware of the truth. She held back a sigh of frustration as she realized that they were all going to find out the truth sooner or later. Keeping her pregnancy a secret hadn't been the easiest thing to do, and it wouldn't be long before everyone else jumped to the same conclusion.

"Em, I know Bones. He worries about everyone, especially when his pregnant wife is involved," Jim retorted, earning looks of disbelief moments later.

She knew at that point Jim was just trying to get the word out. Which annoyed her to no end. She could just as easily take care of herself, if needed. Though, something told her Leonard wouldn't thank her anytime soon for putting herself through any of this.

"And I know my place is on the bridge," she shot back, ignoring the eye-roll that followed. "Jim, I'm sticking around for as long as I can."

"She'll be fine," Uhura nodded as she and Sulu left the transport room.

Jim only shook his head in disbelief.

"Scotty, can we get this thing flying?" he asked as Scotty stood up, looking slightly amused with how stubborn Emily could be.

When it came to stubbornness issues, Emily and Leonard were pretty much at the same level. She knew that was never going to change. And it was also one of the many reasons they got into some of the arguments they had over the years.

"Started, yes. Flying, sir, that's a different thing. These old vessels, they were built in space. They were never supposed to take off from atmosphere," Scotty explained.

"Make it happen."

"They're called Starships for a reason, sir," Scotty tried reminding Jim as they reached the bridge.

Emily only shook her head in amusement, knowing there was no point in arguing with that factor. The truth was, they could get the ship flying again, it would just take a lot of effort on both Sulu's part and Engineering.

"You're telling me this now?" Jim asked while sounding amused with the whole notion.

"Because I didn't want to disappoint you, you know, in case you didn't come back."

"Wasn't that thoughtful of you, Scotty."

Emily smirked as Scotty looked between herself and Jim, before sighing in exasperation.

"Captain." Spock's warning call made everyone look out the viewing window.

What they saw next made Emily's heart nearly skip a beat in horror. There were thousands upon thousands of swarm ships circling the sky. Emily realized that Krall was more than likely preparing for his attack on Yorktown, just as Sulu had said. She hardly noticed that Leonard was still there until glancing at him warily. She knew he'd give her hell for sticking around the bridge, but, this truly was where she belonged, even in the worst circumstances.

"He's launching," Jim said as he moved closed to the chair.

"The attack on Yorktown may just be the beginning," Spock informed him, "Armed with his bio-weapon, he could rid it of all life and use the base's advanced technology to attack an untold number of Federation planets."

"Then we're just gonna have to get this thing flying."

"You cannea just jump-start it, sir," Scotty protested once again.

"Actually, that's exactly what can be done," Emily remarked, thinking it through.

It was possible to jump-start the ship, especially if one just looked in the right place. Scotty looked like he was going to protest some more when he thought better of it. Especially after seeing the coy look Jim was giving him.

…

"Okay, all systems online, just like you said they'd be," Scotty informed the bridge.

"See, Scotty? You need to have more faith in antiques," Emily told him.

She had to hide a knowing smirk as she glanced at Jim, who was grinning like an idiot. Consider it an inside joke between the two of them. After growing up in a world where the modern technology she once loved was now considered antiques, she understood more than anyone that a little TLC could do wonders.

"Oh, shut your trap," Scotty muttered.

Both Jim and Emily had taken their seats on the bridge. The unspoken bond between them continued holding true up to this moment as they prepared for the ship to take flight. Where any sane Captain would have likely forced her into the medbay, Jim didn't bother arguing with her. Mostly because he knew just how stubborn she really was.

"Primary support engines standing by," Chekov reported.

Jim leaned in a bit, eyebrow raised skeptically as he looked pointedly at Sulu.

"Mr. Sulu," he began, and Emily could only guess where this was headed as the helmsman looked back warily. "You can, you know, fly this thing, right?"

Emily just gave him her best 'are you serious?' look. Sulu was one of the best pilots out there, as far as she was concerned. And it was clear that Jim's question had offended him, though Sulu didn't let it show.

"You kidding me, sir?" he deadpanned, answering the question with a question instead of stating the obvious.

"Ready as she'll ever be, sir," Scotty's voice sounded over the com before Jim could respond.

"That's what I like to hear. All right." Jim gave Emily a knowing look as she sagged into her seat. If things had gone the other way, she would be down in the medbay with the rest of the crew, where Leonard and any other capable doctor was looking after them. "Bones, where are we with the crew?"

"I could use a functioning medbay, and Emily should be here, but otherwise, we're secure down here," came Leonard's curt response.

Emily couldn't hide the triumphant smirk that followed. Even Leonard knew it was pointless trying to argue with her.

"Mr. Sulu, we have to achieve terminal velocity in order for the stabilizers to provide lift. Are you sure this drop is high enough?" Chekov asked nervously to the man sitting beside him.

Well, Mr. Chekov's concerns were more than valid. As Emily put some thought into it, she realized he had a good point. Reaching terminal velocity required a sheer drop. When they had reached the top of the USS Franklin, it wasn't clear just how far the drop went. Sulu only looked back at Chekov, but, the look he gave wasn't all that reassuring.

"We'll find out." The look on Chekov's face said it all.

Once Emily had sat back in her seat, the harness strapped itself on, and her hands gripped the arms. This was going to get bumpy. Certainly no condition for someone who was expecting. Maybe, Jim and Leonard had good points when she should have stayed in medbay.

Sulu punched in the velocity system on as the very last of the swarm flew into the atmosphere and off of Altamid. That very swarm was headed straight for Yorktown, and the Enterprise crew was the only means of defense Yorktown had. If they could reach Yorktown, that was.

"Call it, Mr. Sulu," Jim gave the order.

"Aye-aye, Captain. Mr. Chekov, be ready to hit the forward stabilizers full on my mark. One quarter impulse," Sulu instructed.

"Aye."

As the ship powered up, the holograms Jaylah had designed began to power down, revealing the ship to any prying eyes. Emily tried to keep her breathing steady. She knew that the odds of getting attacked by Krall's ships now were slim. Most of them had left his compound to reach the base for their attack. Which meant they needed to get there sooner rather than later.

"One half impulse, Mr. Chekov," Sulu told the young navigator.

"Easy, Mr. Sulu. Let's try not to break her in half," Jim reminded Sulu.

All anyone could do was hold their breaths and wait until Sulu had the timing perfectly down. Emily's hands were gripping the arms of her chair. That was when the ship suddenly started descending. The ship was falling at a faster rate than Emily could imagine, and her teeth were grinding together as she leaned against the restraints. This was what it meant to gain terminal velocity. Falling off the face of a cliff until gaining enough altitude for the thrusters to power up.

"Any time, Mr. Sulu!" Jim yelled, his voice strained above the panic that was slowly setting in.

The distance to impact box light switched onto red as terminal velocity reached ninety two percent.

"Now, Mr. Chekov!" Sulu shouted, and Chekov obeyed without another word.

And then it felt as if her stomach was dropping, the weight excruciating against her body. Once her back started pressing against the chair, she felt her heart racing with dread. The ship started crashing into the canyon, with both Emily and Uhura struggling not to cry out from the impact. Everyone on the bridge, well, except for Spock, had yelped before seeing the sky on the viewing screen.

"Em, you okay?" Jim turned to Emily as she struggled to keep her breathing controlled.

Something told her once this was over, adventures like these were not going to be an option.

"Never better," she replied without missing a beat.

It wasn't long before the ship had navigated through the nebula with precision and speed. Well, as much speed as an old ship like the Franklin could provide. Emily was finally able to control her breathing as the harnesses came off.

"I'm getting distress signals from every frequency coming from Yorktown," Uhura reported.

"Krall's already started his attack," Sulu guessed.

"Mr. Scott, what kind of weapons do we have?" Jim asked through the com.

"Uh, we have pulsed phase canons and spatial torpedoes," Scotty informed him.

In other words, they were defenseless. Emily sucked in a breath as she realized even with the Franklin barely operational, they were still Yorktown's only hope of stopping the swarm, and Krall. They still had a duty to serve.

"Great, lock and load," Jim ordered, not looking the least bit surprised by Scotty's response.

"It does not matter. You cannot defeat the bees," Jaylah called through the coms.

"Jim, what if we lured them away?" Emily suggested, knowing that while the ship itself couldn't take more than a few hits, leading the swarm away could buy Yorktown enough time to evacuate.

"Mr. Sulu, is there any chance we can reach Yorktown at warp speed?" Jim asked after giving a nod of agreement.

"We are horse and buggy compared to those things. We're barely holding it together as it is, Captain," Sulu informed him.

"Captain, the flight pattern of the bees is determined by individual decisions. Krall's swarm formulations are too complex not to rely on some form of unified cyberpathic coordination. I surmise that if we—"

"Spock, skip to the end," Jim cut off while Emily rubbed her temple.

One headache at a time, please.

"What he's saying is that if we disorient the swarm, we can kick his ass," Uhura stood up and explained in a way that everyone else would understand.

"Precisely."

"Scotty, can you beam me to one of those ships?" Jim asked through the com.

"Have you gone completely mad?" Scotty nearly shouted.

"Possibly," Emily quipped, smirking at the glare Jim sent her.

"Yes or no?"

"Yes! No! Maybe!" Scotty sounded both flustered and frustrated. Not a good combination.

"Captain, my familiarity of the interior ships, however brief, makes me the most qualified for this away mission," Spock put in.

"Spock, you're still hurt," Uhura reminded him.

"She's right, Spock," Jim nodded in agreement.

"I acknowledge and respect your concerns. Perhaps you would feel more confident if I were accompanied by someone with familiarity to both the ship and my injury."

Emily and Jim couldn't hide the smirks that followed.

"Oh, he's going to love this," Emily remarked.

AN: I feel like this chapter was rushed, but, there isn't much else I can do about that. I'm actually considering a rewrite of Wherever I Go, ironically enough. Whether that gets done or not, I'll be sure to let readers know. It's most likely going to take a while for me to go through everything and fix all the grammatical mistakes, along with any spelling errors I made throughout the story, as well as this one. Anywho, big thanks to Dalonega Noquisi for reviewing! Remember, reviews help motivate me when it comes to updating faster :)

Dalonega Noquisi - Well, he is a doctor, after all :P And yeah, it was a bit hostile, but I feel like that's how a McCoy family reunion would be XD I'm glad you liked it, though.