Chapter 37: Radioactive Vulcan Minerals

A/N: We're so close. I can feel it. I'm still trying to sort out exactly what's going on with chapter 39 and 40, I've written a lot of stuff for both chapters, but I can't quite figure out how to bridge the two, and then I went and got myself wrapped up in the housesitting job from hell, so that was fun. But sapphireanguill and I are back home and we survived the week and it's time for another chapter and I still have to edit 38 properly, but I'll get there! My life's a mess and I love everyone who has been hanging in there with me to read the conclusion to this sprawling fic. I hope it's been worth it so far!

This chapter is entirely Chekov's point of view because that seemed to flow better from a narrative standpoint! Fun times had by all!

Disclaimer: If I owned this, there would have been significantly more Jaylah, and yes, I call her that in all things, including Atomic Blonde, which is a decent movie that became a great one when Jaylah showed up.

Pavel Chekov tapped away at the console, trying to track the coordinates from the call he'd traced from Kalara. There was interference and he couldn't be completely certain where they'd come from. He thought he'd narrowed it down well enough to find the base camp, especially if Jaylah consented to help them.

His fingers froze over the keys as a new signal was picked up by his communicator. It was Starfleet, and that meant other survivors who were not being held by Krall! He ran from the bridge, trying to figure out where the tour had taken them. Then he saw that the hatch above his head was open, and he climbed the ladder as fast as he could. Arriving on the roof of the downed starship, he noticed with some interest that Jaylah was adjusting was appeared to be a system of crude image reflectors, camouflaging the ship from unwelcome eyes. He would have enjoyed studying the tech, but not now, not when there was at least one survivor out there, they could be injured, in danger… It could be Hikaru…

"Keptin! I intercepted a veak communications transmission, sir! Starfleet frequency!" Chekov exclaimed.

Kirk's head snapped up, and he was moving as fast he could towards the hatch, with Scotty and Jaylah close behind.

"Can you lock on to the signal?" Kirk demanded once they were down on the bridge.

"Yes, but how do ve get to dem?" Chekov asked. His fears about injured or trapped crewmates instantly redoubled.

Scotty looked hesitant. "I have an idea, sir, but… I am goin' ta need your permission."

Kirk lifted an eyebrow. "Why would you need my permission?"

"Because if I mess it up… I dinnae want it to be just my fault," Scotty replied.

Kirk just stared at his chief engineer. So did Jaylah, clearly skeptical that anything with such a disclaimer could possibly work.

Scotty led the way to the ship's transporter, an ancient thing that was obviously only designed to transport cargo. With Chekov homing in on the signal, Scotty modified the transporter to hopefully transport living beings safely. And when they locked onto the Enterprise crewmember signal and beamed them aboard, Chekov's jaw dropped when he realized it was Spock, who was clutching his side, his uniform shirt stained dark green with his blood.

"Shit, Spock!" Kirk gasped, flying forward to pull Spock off the transporter.

"Dere is second signal," Chekov reminded Scotty, and they quickly worked together to beam up the second person, who turned out to be a very peeved Dr. McCoy. Chekov spared himself just a moment of frustration that he still didn't know Hikaru's fate, but then he hurried to help Jaylah retrieve the medical supplies. Naturally, McCoy had to growl that they were ancient and primitive, but he also got straight to work trying to stop Spock from bleeding out in front of them.

As McCoy worked, Kirk fretted, and Scotty and Jaylah hovered nearby to offer what assistance they could, Chekov sank down into the seat behind the console. He watched the faint pulsing light of the dot that suggested where Krall's base of operations might be, wondering if Hikaru was there, if he was injured too…

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. Hikaru had wanted to have a conversation about their relationship, and Chekov was starting to regret not humoring him. Hikaru seemed happy in their relationship, but Chekov had his suspicions that if they started talking too seriously about commitment, Hikaru's old fears would rise up and he'd start pulling away. And Chekov would rather live with what they had for the rest of his life rather than risk Hikaru panicking and transferring to another ship and vanishing from his life. Chekov was confident enough in himself by now to know that he would be able to pull himself together and live a happy and productive life without Hikaru, but that didn't mean he wanted to. And so he dodged the conversations with decreasing subtlety, though part of him knew that he would eventually have to talk to Hikaru, even if only to explain that he didn't expect a ring and 2.5 children to know that Hikaru loved him…

"We should wait until we're absolutely sure," Scotty was saying when Chekov finally tuned back in.

"No!" Kirk snapped. "We have to get the crew back now. Chekov has the coordinates that can lead us to Krall's base, so we go!"

Scotty's spine straightened. "With respect, sir, how de we know tha' Krall was a' the base when she called 'im?"

"Or that the crew are even still alive?" McCoy drawled.

It was a valid point, but that didn't come close to erasing the ferociously protective look that had crossed Kirk's face. Seeing Spock injured by the enemy soldiers had only reminded Kirk that his crew needed him, and nothing was going to stand in his way, not even logic.

"Mr. Chekov," Spock said quietly. He was on his feet, looking only a little shaky, and was mostly steady as he leaned over a console. "Can you reconfigure the search parameters in order to compensate for this formula?"

Chekov crossed over to Spock, peering at the formula that had been precisely typed. "Hm, aye, Kommander, but…. Vhat is dis formula?" he asked.

Spock had an oddly far-away look in his eye as he answered. "It is Vokaya, Mr. Chekov. A mineral unique to Vulcan that emits a low-level radiation."

Chekov nodded thoughtfully, deciding not to ask why there would be radioactive Vulcan minerals in Krall's base camp. "I vill haff to filter out all ozzer energy emissions…"

"Spock, what the hell is a Vulcan mineral doing all the way out here?" McCoy grumbled.

Chekov attempted to tune out their conversation, but he couldn't prevent himself from hearing that Nyota still wore a necklace that Spock had given her, despite their relationship being long-over. And Kirk was making a face reminiscent of sucking lemons, and… McCoy was also pretty irate, and wasn't that interesting? Chekov wondered for just a moment if Nyota realized that the necklace could be used to track her, then concluded that it would be better for Spock's health if he never asked her.

"I am detecting a wery trace amount of Wokaya," he announced wonderingly as he stared down at the console.

Spock looked quite satisfied by that pronouncement. "Does the location match the coordinates you acquired from Kalara, Mr. Chekov?"

"Eet is a match, sir," Chekov confirmed.

"Then this presence suggests that Lieutenant Uhura and thereby the rest of the crew are being held in Krall's base of operations," Spock concluded, echoing Chekov's thoughts.

"Can you beam them out?" Kirk demanded immediately.

Chekov frowned, it was a problem he'd been working on ever since he'd first begun to narrow down the location of Krall's base camp. "Nyet, sir, dere is some sort of geological interference dat is blocking ze transporting signal."

Kirk almost smirked. "Then I guess we'll have to break them out the old-fashioned way."

McCoy looked ready to rip into Kirk for being a reckless man-child (as he did at least once a week), but Jaylah startled everyone with her outburst.

"No! You cannot go to this place! Everyone who goes there, he kills!" she exclaimed, her voice strained and upset.

"You've been there? You've seen it?" Kirk demanded, which Chekov felt was rather beside the point.

Scotty looked surprised. "Why didn't ye say somethin', lassie?"

Jaylah turned to Scotty, her expression stricken. "Because I know you will ask me to take you there. If your friends are there, then they will die, just like my family. And I will not go back to that death place," she added vehemently.

"But if you've escaped, then ye can show us th' way in! And th' way out!" Scotty exclaimed, trying to soothe the distraught alien.

Jaylah was shaking her head furiously, her snow-white ponytail whipping back and forth in emphasis. "No! This is not the deal we made, Montgomery Scotty! If you choose to do this, you are on your own!" And with that, she spun on her heel and stormed out.

Scotty instantly moved to follow her, but Kirk fixed him with a glare. "Let her go."

Scotty hesitated under the force of Kirk's captainly glare, but then he shook his head. "She's lost people too, captain," he said softly. And he quickly followed after Jaylah. Kirk scowled, crossing his arms stubbornly. Chekov kept his eyes firmly fixed on the console, and Spock just watched the whole scene placidly. McCoy fixed Kirk was a particularly nasty glare, however, and finally Kirk wordlessly threw up his hands and marched after Scotty and Jaylah.

Spock leaned heavily against the console, his face somewhat ashen. McCoy crossed his arms, pointedly not looking at anyone.

"Doktor?" Chekov said hesitantly. McCoy looked up. "Vas dere… Did you see any sign of… anyone else?" he asked.

McCoy uncrossed, then recrossed his arms. "We saw a lot out there, kid. But no one from the Enterprise. No wreckage, no signs of life… nothing."

Chekov nodded, ducking his head as he got back to work studying the rough map of the terrain generated by the scanners.

"Kid, no news is good news, right?" McCoy said quietly. "They were taking our ships, not destroying them. There must be a reason."

"Dat is vhat I am afraid of," Chekov said, too softly for McCoy to hear. Spock heard though, if the sudden tension in his shoulders was any indication.

Chekov was saved from further conversation when Kirk walked back in, followed by Scotty and a more subdued Jaylah. She didn't acknowledge the rest of them, just quickly started rigging up a rough model of the camp with whatever materials were lying around on the bridge.

"The digging machine is in a tunnel going into the crater. That is how I got out," Jaylah said, her voice rougher than it had been before.

"And that will be our way in," Kirk declared. "The away team will wait at the other side of the tunnel, fall into Krall's base, get inside the building, and break out the crew."

Chekov chewed on his lower lip before pointing out the flaw in the plan. "Keptin, ve cannot lock onto anyone inside ze crater in order to beam dem up."

"Well," Scotty said thoughtfully, "I could rig up pulse beacons as pattern enhancers, that'll get the signal out of the crater."

"Aye," Chekov agreed thoughtfully, already mentally constructing them in a way that would make the beacons small and portable, while still being powerful enough to transmit the signal effectively.

"How many people can the Franklin transport at one time?" Kirk asked.

Scotty squinted. "With a wee bit o' modification, twenty. Max. But I'm not sure how long it would hold out."

Chekov fixed Scotty with a stare. Just an hour ago, Scotty hadn't been comfortable transporting a single living being. Scotty caught the stare, then shrugged. Now that they knew it was possible, Scotty must have ideas… And he did know more about transporters than anyone Chekov had ever met.

"Bones, Mr. Chekov, Jaylah, you're on the away team," Kirk decided. "Mr. Scott, modify the transporter. Do everything you can to get this ship operational."

Chekov's throat went dry at the thought of being on the away team. He was never on these rescue missions, there were usually plenty of eager, gung-ho people who were ahead of him in line… like Hikaru…

"Captain," Spock said shortly, interrupting Chekov's train of thought, "Mr. Chekov's technical acumen makes him more valuable aboard the Franklin with Mr. Scott. It is thereby logical for me to replace him."

Kirk gave Spock an exasperated look. "How is that logical, Spock? You just got back on your feet."

The pair continued to bicker, and Chekov trailed after Scotty and Jaylah to help them get ready for the rescue mission. The sooner they had the beacons built and the transporter running properly, the sooner the away team could commence their rescue mission. Chekov cast his eyes up towards the ceiling, hoping that the majority of the crew was still alive… that Hikaru was still alive.

It wasn't right, he decided, that he had left things the way they were between them. Yes, Chekov was frightened that Hikaru would get cold feet and try to pull back from their relationship if things got too serious. But Chekov was both patient and persistent, he had managed to keep Hikaru's interest in the few months before he'd turned eighteen, and he had made Hikaru feel safe enough to confide in him about his traumatic childhood. They had already been through several challenges, and Chekov knew that he loved Hikaru enough to fight to keep him.

Chekov also knew that he'd gotten comfortable with their relationship. After working so hard to get their relationship off the ground, Chekov had forgotten one of his own cardinal rules. He'd learned from watching his parents, relationships took work. Hard work couldn't always save them, but any relationship worth having was also worth working for. But their relationship had become easy, and Chekov had let himself get too comfortable, and he'd shied away from what he was sure was a looming conflict. And now Hikaru was, at best, a prisoner of their attacker, and Chekov knew he would never forgive himself if he couldn't explain to Hikaru exactly why he'd been avoiding that particular conversation.

As Chekov mused, he also helped Scotty and Jaylah. The female alien had already proved to be a skilled amateur engineer, but Chekov still found reasons to be impressed by her talents. Scotty did too, judging by the way his accent thickened every time he looked at another new gadget that Jaylah had put together. For her part, Jaylah didn't seem at all snobbish about her talent, it was something she had honed because her survival depended on it, and her desperation to get off the planet that had been nothing but a nightmare for her was blatant.

Finally they were ready for the rescue mission, and Chekov fidgeted unhappily as he sat next to Scotty at the teleporter controls. They had just sent their away team off, and Chekov was monitoring the signals desperately, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to tell Hikaru's signal apart from the other crewmembers.

"It'll be alright, laddie," Scotty assured him, false bravado obvious.

Chekov nodded, because the alternative meant acknowledging that the crew could be dead, maimed, or worse. He drummed his fingers against the console, listening to the faint background noises from the communicators. Although he would not be able to hear properly unless someone was actively hailing them, he could still hear phasers firing, faint shouts, and the distant roar of Kirk's motorcycle.

It took too long, in Chekov's opinion, before the enhancer lit up properly. "I haff got dem, Meester Scott!" he exclaimed, relieved that their plan really was going to work.

"Good work, Mr. Chekov! Now, increase the signal! We've got ta grab 'em twenty a' a time!" Scotty exclaimed, fingers flying over the transporter controls.

"Aye," Chekov acknowledged. Then he nodded, satisfied he'd captured the signals of twenty Enterprise crewmembers.

"Le's hope this doesn't get messy. Energize!" Scotty exclaimed.

The first group of crewmembers appeared safely on the transporter. Chekov exhaled, relief leeching off him as he realized that all of them were intact and relatively unharmed. He didn't see Hikaru or Nyota among them, but he wasn't surprised. They would, of course, be waiting until the rest of the crew was safe.

Twenty at a time, he and Scotty brought the crew safely onto the Franklin. They said little, nodding or waving in acknowledgement as the crew efficiently cleared the transporter to make room for the next wave. The only time that one of them stepped away from the controls was when Keenser arrived with more of the crew.

When Scotty saw his second in engineering, he was on his feet in a heartbeat. A delighted laugh tore its way from Scotty's throat as he threw himself forward, looking ready to embrace the small alien. At the last second, he seemed to change his mind. Clearing his throat and assuming an expression of dignity befitting a Starfleet officer, Scotty solemnly extended his hand. "Good ta see ya, wee man." Keenser just as solemnly took Scotty's hand, shook it once, then stepped back several paces, but didn't leave the transporter area. Likely, he was waiting for Scotty to finish so that the Chief Engineer could show his friend around the engines of their newest ship. Chekov hid a grin, pleased to see a truly happy reunion after the disaster this latest trip had been.

Finally they were hailed by McCoy, informing them that this was the last round of crewmembers, aside from Kirk and Jaylah, still tangling with Krall's forces. Chekov's hands started to shake, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Energize!" Scotty exclaimed, and Chekov followed his commands, still keeping half an eye on Kirk's signal, ready to beam him up at Scotty's command. But the rest of his attention was focused on the transporter as the golden swirls of light announced the return of the rest of the crew.

Most of the crew streamed out just as efficiently as their fellows. Spock was leaning heavily on McCoy, clearly exhausted from the effort expended to save the crew. Nyota had also turned towards Spock, speaking rapidly to him. The Vulcan seemed quite alert though, and Chekov allowed himself to focus on Hikaru.

His boyfriend was alive, something that Chekov had never really doubted, but had desperately needed to confirm. His uniform was dirty, and he looked exhausted, like a few years had been taken off his life while under Krall's thumb. But he was alive, and that was all Chekov needed at that moment.

Chekov looked desperately at Scotty, who nodded his head once. Chekov tore past the engineer and ran towards the transporter. He wanted to shout Hikaru's name, tell him how glad he was to see him, but the words stuck in his throat. Instead, he threw his arms around the other man, burying his face in Hikaru's shoulder.

Hikaru's arms wrapped around Chekov's smaller frame automatically. For a brief moment, Chekov let himself forget about everything else, and just let himself hold on to his boyfriend, and bask in the knowledge that they were both alive and safe.

Then Hikaru pulled back, leaning back enough to look Chekov in the eyes. "Pav, we need to get Kirk. We need… Yorktown. They're going to attack Yorktown."

A/N: Exciting, yes? I'll post chapter 38 (which is, of course, entirely in Sulu's point of view) in a couple of weeks, and maybe I'll actually be done with this fic by then! No promises though.