Dangers of Distractions

Thirty-Six

After an hour of volleying shots back and forth, the Tylivian ship didn't seem like it had taken a hit, but the Enterprise definitely had visible damage. Whatever the Tylivians were doing to the Enterprise engines were also causing the shields to not function at full power.

Jim's face had been screwed up in anger the whole time. What was he going to do?

"Mr. Scott, what's your status?" Jim yelled into the comm.

"Still nothing, sir. I'm trying everything I can."

"Well, if you've got anything up your sleeve, now would be the time to use it," Jim said. "Bones, what's going on in the med bay?"

"Nothing serious yet. Minor injuries. The crew down here is handling it so far," Bones replied back.

"Our shields are down to forty percent, Captain," Mr. Sulu told Jim. "We won't be able to hold them off much longer."

"Does anyone have any ideas?" Jim said, turning his head slightly. "I'm open to suggestions."

He didn't know what to do. If he surrendered, he'd be giving up. Jim didn't want to give up. But if he didn't make a decision now, they were going to be blown to smithereens. Neither of his options particularly interested him.

There was still silence on the bridge.

"Anyone else have a horrible headache?" Jim asked.

"Captain, we're being hailed again by the Tylivian ship," Uhura announced.

Then the thought hit him. No matter what he did, there the baby that Uhura was pregnant with wasn't going to make it. His best friend wasn't ever going to get to be a father. The knot in his chest tightened and he rubbed that place absentmindedly.

"Um, put it up on the screen," Jim said.

Uhura nodded and turned back to her communications desk. She went about the task of getting the captain of the enemy ship up on the view screen.

"Captain Kirk, I have to admit, I admire your willingness to hang on in light of the fact that your destruction is imminent," the captain of the Tylivians told him.

"Gee, thanks," Jim said sarcastically.

"So, are you ready to face the inevitable?" the Tylivian asked. "Surrender your crew to me now and, as an incentive, I will let you live."

"Do you really think I'd be able to live with myself if I let you take my crew and my ship? You'd be crazier than I thought you were," Jim said. "I will not be doing it. You'll have to kill me first."

"As you wish, Captain," the Tylivian said before disconnecting their conversation.

"Shields are back up to sixty percent," Chekov reported.

"We have anything left, Mr. Scott?" Jim asked.

"We've got a couple options left," Scotty called back. "It'll be ready for you."

Jim stood up and looked at the crew on the bridge.

"It's been a pleasure serving with each and every one of you. I don't want this to be the end, but…"

"Jim," Amanda interrupted. "I might have an idea."

"Then by all means," Jim said. "You've got the floor."

"Well, if it's as simple as we all think, then why don't give them an alternative. We don't necessarily have to be the sources of carbon dioxide. All earth mammals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. If what they really want us for is our ability to create carbon dioxide, then we find them something else," Amanda said. "Did that make sense?"

Jim was up and out of his chair. He threw his arms around Amanda in celebration while he turned to Spock.

"Is that a real possibility? Would it really be that simple?" he asked them.

Spock nodded. "Amanda is correct. If, and I mean if, the Tylivians simply seek us for our ability to respirate, then an alternative will be a viable solution. Although, destroying them is beginning to sound like a much more suitable option."

Everyone looked at Spock with wide eyes. This was one of the oddest and most surprising responses that he'd ever said. Destroying a civilization was never an option.

But before anyone could say anything else, the ship was rocked by yet another blast. Amanda was knocked to the ground and Jim fell forwards into his own chair.

He turned around and immediately helped Amanda to her feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, looking down into her eyes.

Amanda was actually in a lot of pain from her fall, but there wasn't time for that. She shook her head. "I'm fine."

Spock was checking on Uhura.

"Nyota, are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm all right, Spock. Don't worry about me," Uhura told him.

He looked at her seriously. "I think it would be best if you excused yourself from the bridge, in light of the current circumstances."

"Do you really think I'm going to leave you with all this going on?" she asked. "You're out of your mind."

"Folks, we really don't have the time for this," Jim said. "And I think you should leave the bridge. As much as we need you, your safety is more important to me. And I think Amanda should go, too. Go to a pod, take it. And make for New Vulcan."

"Excuse me?" Amanda said angrily. "I just helped figure out a plan to save the damn ship and you're asking me to leave?"

"No," Jim said. "I'm telling you to leave. You and Uhura can make it to New Vulcan. Uhura being pregnant means that we need to protect her and I know I can trust you to do that."

"I'm not leaving this ship!" Uhura said loudly.

Amanda shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere either."

Jim looked to Spock and neither of them knew what their next move was. They'd made the attempt to protect their loved ones and being so strong-willed, they weren't having it.

"Why would you ask me to leave?" she asked him.

"Because I love you, that's why! That's what people do," he replied. "You're my fiancé, I want to keep you safe!" he yelled at her.

"What?" Amanda asked. "What did you just say?"

"You're my fiancé and I love you, all right?" he replied. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Jim, you remember?" she asked. "You remember me?"

"Of course I remember you. I've known you my entire life," Jim said. "I don't understand what you're asking me."

A blast rocked the ship again and brought them back to the reality of the situation.

"Captain, we need to do something immediately," Spock said, an urgent tone to his voice as he braced himself against one of the support columns.

"Right, right," Jim said, almost desperately. "What do we have on this ship that we could give them? What animals?"

"We don't have any animals on board, Captain," Mr. Sulu said. "I just checked the cargo."

"Nothing?" Jim asked. "You're telling me that we don't have a single animal that we could put on this planet?"

Another blast hit the ship and Bones' voice came over the comm.

"What have we got going on out there?" Bones asked. "We're filling up down here, Jim."

Jim's eyes grew wide with realization.

"Bones, you still have that Tribble down there?"

"Well, I made the mistake of feeding it, so I have several of them, but yes, there still here. I don't think…"

"Get them to the transporter room as soon as you can; I'll meet you there," Jim said. "Spock, hail them. Tell them that we have an alternative."

"And what if this isn't what they really want? What if we're figured wrong?" Amanda asked.

"Well, then, like I said before: it's been a pleasure to serve with you all," Jim said as he stepped into the turbo-lift. "And Manda, I love you. Remember that. Mr. Spock, you have the conn," he said before the doors closed on him.

"Does anyone have any idea what the hell just happened?" Amanda asked, looking around at the rest of the people on the bridge.

"Nyota, please hail the Tylivian ship," Spock said.

"Ah, Mr. Spock," the Tylivian said. "Where is your captain?" he asked, a self-satisfied grin on his face.

"You want us so your planet will remain stable. You need us so your atmosphere will continue to support your people," Spock said. "What if we could offer you an alternative?"

"What makes you think we simply want you and the rest of the crew for our atmosphere?" the Tylivian captain replied. "What is a hefty assumption, Mr. Spock."

"I understand that," Spock said. "But we both know that it is the correct assumption," he said. "It is the only logical assumption."

"I am surprised that it took this crew such a long time to figure that out."

Spock didn't even flinch. "Firing on this ship and destroying this whole crew won't do you any good. Once we're dead, we won't be any good to you."

"But it'll make me happy," the Tylivian said, continuing to smile.

"If we found you a viable alternative, a simple solution to your problem, would you let us go? Whatever it is that you're doing to our engines, release us?"

The Tylivian contemplated the thought for a moment.

"Why should I trust you? Humans have been ignoring our pleas for assistance for decades, which is why we had to resort to these methods."

"I am not human," Spock replied. "I am part Vulcan. And Vulcans cannot lie. We are also members of Star Fleet and our mission is to explore new worlds and to assist civilizations, like yours. Star Fleet would never support the destruction of an entire civilization, unless you destroy this ship. Then you would have issues."

The Tylivian was silent again, contemplating what Spock had just told him.

"What is your solution?" he said.

"Captain Kirk is on his way. We have an animal, a Tribble. It will reproduce asexually, once it eats food. And the more of these animals, the more carbon dioxide; you will not have to worry about the atmosphere for a long time," Spock said. "It isn't a permanent solution, but it would save your planet."

"And ultimately it would save your lives," the Tylivian replied. "I still have doubt in my mind that to trust you."

"Well, let's put it this way: if you destroy this ship or take the crew of this ship as your prisoners, other Star Fleet ships will come and they will take action against you. It will not end well for the entire planet. Make your decision," Spock said.

"Captain, Kirk is here," another Tylivian told the captain.

"Bring him to me," he said before disconnecting the conversation.

"Oh, that's probably not good," Amanda said.

…

Forty-five minutes of nothing led Amanda to panic completely. She was down in the transporter room trying to find any signs that Jim was still alive.

"Find him!" she was shouting at the men in the room. "Get him back!" she said.

"We're working on it, Commander," one of the men said.

"Well, if you don't work a little harder, I'll be sending you after him," she told him.

A second later, the ship lurched. But it wasn't because it had been hit with another blast. It was the familiar hum of the ship's engines coming to life.

"We've got use of our engines again, Commander," Spock called over the comm. speaker.

"Well, we haven't heard back from Jim yet," Amanda said back.

"If we haven't made contact with him in five minutes, we will have to leave," Spock said. "It's not ideal to stay here in the open."

"We aren't going anywhere without Jim."

"We don't know if Captain Kirk is still alive, Commander. For the safety of the ship and its crew, we should go," Spock told her. He didn't like saying it, but it was best for everyone involved.

"Come on, Jim," Amanda whispered. "Come on."

She watched as the time ticked by. Her five minutes was up and she could feel the ship preparing to take off.

"Shit, Jim," she started to cry.

She started to walk out of the room when the transporter lit up.

"Welcome back, Captain Kirk," one of the men said.

Amanda whipped around and found herself face to face with none other than a perfectly healthy James T. Kirk.

"What's wrong?" he asked her as he noticed the tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" she repeated. She hit him in the chest.

"I'm fine, Manda," he smiled. "Your idea worked. And after a bit of convincing and explaining Tribbles, we're free to go."

"I can't keep doing this, Jim," she said. "I can't keep worrying about you."

"I don't know how to tell you this, but it's probably going to be really hard to not worry about me when we're married," he said.

"You can't…" she started, but was cut off by Jim kissing her passionately.

When they broke apart, he simply looked down into her eyes. "I know nothing has gone as planned with us, but we're together now. And I intend to make you my wife before I lose you again. Sound good?"

Amanda nodded. "Sounds very good. I love you."

"I love you, too."

…

The End.

Okay, so the fic that was four and a half years in the making. Hopefully the ending lived up to the rest of the story. Let me know what you thought! Thanks!