To Save the World, Part 1: Act II

Captain Garrovick was a solid commanding officer, one who didn't seem prone to panic. Even when the Farragut had been hijacked by the Augment protesters, he had barely done more than crack a smile upon rescue before barking orders at his crew.

Jim knew how Garrovick compartmentalized because Jim did the same.

So, the fact that Jim could hear the edge of panic in his voice the moment he and Diana stepped onto the bridge did not bode well.

As they stepped out of the briefing room and directly onto the bridge - a minor layout change that Jim desperately wished they had adopted for the Enterprise - his eyes were drawn immediately to the viewscreen ahead of them. Beside him, Diana also came to a halt, confronted by their enemy before them.

Just as Garrovick had stated, the Romulan warbird was in orbit around the Lunar colony of New Berlin. It hadn't remained cloaked.

"I don't get it, sir," One of the ensigns at helm said, clearly confused. "Why are they showing themselves?"

Unfortunately, Jim already knew why. He had seen the technique before in far too many battles. Didn't matter the century, didn't matter the war.

"Because they want you to watch them, Ensign, and not what else might be happening around them." Jim took the liberty of answering for the Farragut's captain.

Thankfully, Garrovick took it in stride. He turned in his chair to face the two Enterprise crewmembers. "They decloaked this far out. How much you want to bet they've already dropped off their package?"

Diana shook her head, as if quietly chastising them. It was only when he noticed the way her hand was on her lasso that he realized she must have seen something else. "The warbird… I think it's rigged to self-destruct, just like Linvah's ship. You need to get it away from the colony, or all of those people will die."

That was all Jim needed. "Captain, we need to get down to the surface."

Garrovick opened his mouth to protest, but one of the operations officers suddenly interrupted.

"Sir, there's been an explosion reported near the Golden Gate Research Facility. Starfleet personnel were evacuated, but they're reporting buildings levelled." The young officer's voice shook, and it took everything in Jim not to try to captain for the man in the chair. He hated that he couldn't be on his bridge at the moment. But, he knew Spock was probably assessing the situation much the same.

"Put it onscreen, lieutenant." Garrovick barked.

Immediately, the viewscreen flickered away from the warbird, instead providing an aerial view of the North American continent. Magnification kicked in to provide nearly street-level view, but it wasn't exactly high quality footage.

The block was levelled. That had not been hyperbole on the report of the lieutenant. Jim's stomach suddenly had the weight of a cold rock in it and he felt his hand clench into a fist at his side. Had he miscalculated? Was the bomb a literal concussive bomb, not a bioweapon?

Had everyone gotten out?

"I'm detecting one life sign from the epicenter of the explosion." The same ops officer said again.

On the screen, there was a streak of something metallic and grey, but the sensors couldn't keep up.

"Vanessa…" Diana breathed beside him. His heart sank as he realized that she was probably right… If she had been there all that time, blocks away from Starfleet Command…

That was where they needed to be. That was Diana's fight. Their fight. Jim stepped forward, leaning over the railing. "Can you transport us to Earth and lead the warbird away?"

The captain turned towards him, mulling over what he was suggesting before nodding. "Sounds like a plan. We'll hit 'em high…" Garrovick said with a humorless smile.

"We'll hit 'em low." He finished. Jim did nothing more than take Diana by the elbow and steer her back to the transporter room. Just before the doors closed, he turned back and shouted to Garrovick: "Tell the Admiral we know how Cale survived!"

This would end. Now.


Diana could still smell the smoke and exhaust, the faint hint of metallic toxic gases and the dust of buildings crumbling in the face of German mortars. Just as London's garbage smell and grey skies had been her first impression of a city, so was the pollutive destruction her first impression of war. True war.

As Jim and Diana beamed down to the surface, the transporter beams swirling around them both before dissipating, she found herself starkly reminded of the No Man's Land. They were in the middle of an intersection, concrete shattered and jaggedly pointing towards the sky. The large transparent aluminum displays had been toppled.

Carnage had come to Earth in its purest form: wanton, mindless destruction.

Diana had to stop it.

Unfortunately, her sword had been dulled with Romulan bones and bulkhead. Her shield had been bolt-scored by disruptor fire.

Diana had already been through one battle. She was absolutely sure the next one would be even less kind.

Yet, there were still blessings among the dust and ozone. Buildings had fallen, but there was not a soul in sight. If there had been Starfleet personnel, they had prioritized the evacuation of the area. But, if anyone had been in the structures levelled by what Diana was sure was Vanessa…

"No lifesigns, but not enough organic tissue to suggest bodies…" Jim had flipped open a tricorder in one hand while he still held his phaser in the other.

They had not spoken since leaving the bridge, except for a brief hail from Jim to make sure the Enterprise helped steer the warbird away from the moon. Yet, again, they were in sync. They had the same priorities, they were thinking as a unit.

"So, then the facility knew to evacuate." Diana didn't bother to hide her relief, yet she hoisted her shield a bit higher on her arm as she scanned the area around them. Jim could use his tools, she would trust her eyes and her heart. "This is most likely coordinated," She hypothesized as the two of them slowly slipped into a position a bit more back to back while they slowly rotated around. "Cale has dispatched the bomb, then released Vanessa to either distract me, the people, or both."

"Then, we need to find the bomb and Vanessa. Disable both of them, and then rub it in Cale's face." Jim was making it sound as if they were reading off a list of chores. The fact that he looked to the great crisis before them as nothing more than a minor inconvenience reminded her that hope was their greatest ally. Jim had it in abundance.

She was about to remark on the subject, a slight moment of levity before they began their search in earnest. The opportunity vanished within moments. She could hear something…

A whirring… a mechanical clicking and whirring.

The sound of an activated Borg drone.

Diana turned to her right. Jim pivoted beside her, beginning to ready his phaser. Quickly, she reached out to keep his arm down. "No. Let me see if I can reason with her. No need to attack her unless she is the aggressor."

The Starro modifications had only grown worse since the video Diana had seen. The plating on her chest reminded her of Vic's, only instead of bright chrome, it was a dark, industrial grey. She didn't know if that was because of the fireball that had consumed part of the facility when she escaped, or if that was how the Starro had adapted to Borg nanotechnology. Her throat was now completely coated, and the cybernetic plating that had snaked down into her mouth before now consumed the bottom half of her jaw.

Vanessa levelled a stony, calculating gaze at Diana. Her one green eye still seemed alert and almost human. But, the ocular implant with a uniquely purple hue - not the green from before - revealed that she was not in control.

Yet… perhaps there was something of her in there.

"Vanessa…" Diana began, lowering her shield and stepping closer. "Sister, please, listen to me." The woman tilted her head, as if considering her queen's words. "You do not need to do this. You do not need to hurt anyone. I know how confusing this is, to not be in control of your own faculties." Diana took another tentative step closer. "But, I will help you. I promise. Vanessa, please - "

Vanessa's head snapped back up and her modified Borg arm lifted to aim for Diana. She opened her mouth, revealing that in the metal, Starro's flesh had dug into the roof of her mouth.

"We are not Vanessa. This designation is unknown to us." When she spoke, the Borg modulation in her voice had only grown more harsh and grating.

Diana's stomach twisted, her heart sank. The Starro had full control of what organic faculties were left… the Borg controlled the other half. And she could only assume that Veronica Cale somehow held the reins to both. "Then what is your designation? Remember, Sister. You are an Amazon. I am your queen." Diana slowly hooked the shield to her backstrap.

Behind her, she heard Jim shift, the phaser back up, trained on the threat. "Diana, not sure that's a good idea - "

"Tell me who you are, Sister. I do not wish to fight you." Diana said firmly, standing straight, arms to her sides as non-threateningly as possible. Perhaps, perhaps, if she just believed, Vanessa would find her way back…

"We are Argentum Cygnus." The black Borg metal suddenly seemed to ripple along her body, then began to shift color. From the dark grey, she was plated in new, gleaming white metal like the bulkheads of the Enterprise, but laced in silver Starro veins.

"Oh shit…" Jim breathed.

Diana was inclined to agree.

"We are Silver Swan." Vanessa said. The weapon where her wrist should have been began to charge. "Your designation is Wonder Woman. Our imperative…" The woman twitched, as if programming had suddenly taken hold of her mind. "Is to terminate you."

The weapon fired, a green disruptor bolt unlike anything she had seen before heading their way.

Time slowed to a crawl as Diana sidestepped away from the disruptor bolt just in time for it to whizz past her. The world came back into startling speed and clarity as the bolt hit a transformer that had not been quite destroyed in the original explosion. Plasma sparks gushed up in a small geyser of excess material and power before it finally shut down.

Jim's phaser pulsed as he sent volley after volley the so-called Silver Swan's way. In return, the Swan launched another series of disruptor bolts at Jim, sensing him as a new threat.

Diana spun around with the grace of the very wind Eutus himself, the east wind that summoned thunderstorms. Her hands moved, bracelets absorbing and deflecting every disruptor bolt meant for Jim's chest.

With the silent tandem rhythm they had shared in the courtyard of Veld, Diana and Jim did their best to defend and strike back.

The Swan had not moved from her position but instead kept firing. Jim returned in kind, and Diana grabbed for her shield so she could finally plant herself like a tree before him and deflect more sustained fire.

Jim used the opportunity to duck behind her, firing over her shoulder back at the woman. "Diana, I hate to say it, but I don't think your friend's at home anymore."

Even over the cacophony of disruptor fire pinging very loudly into her shield near her head, she could hear Jim's words quite clearly. And she had to agree.

"I know," She said with a grunt as the Silver Swan walked closer and closer. The steps were methodical, still like the Borg that Diana had seen in her mind. They felt nothing, so they felt urgency for nothing. "And clearly Cale wishes for me to meet my end at Vanessa's hands. The Starro has fully integrated with her body."

"Think you can get it out of her?" Jim asked, the optimism pleasantly welcome, but unfortunately misplaced.

Diana remembered how it had taken control of Kal-El. But, more importantly, she remembered what had happened to the last two people that the Starro had held under its thrall for far too long. There was a point of no return. She had crossed it. Or rather, Cale had pushed her over it.

"No." Diana simply replied, forcing herself up to a full standing position. As she continued to speak, she knew what needed to be done. "But, I will sing great ballads to her, and she shall dine with Antiope and Hippolyta in the fields of Elysium before I see Cale use her this way." There were more lives at stake. She would not see the Earth fall.

Diana pushed off of the ground, using a godly burst of speed to press the attack. She could not simply defend against the Silver Swan. She had to incapacitate her.

With a great cry of effort and Amazon battle rage, Diana of Themyscira tackled her lost subject, the daughter of Euboea, she who gave her life in battle. She managed to get an arm around her waist and throw her off her feet, using the momentum to knock them into one of the larger collapsed structures. Before the Swan could launch a counter attack, Diana's fists moved.

She leveled punch after punch, blows that had been known to rattle Kal-El's own bones, against Vanessa's body. She tried to focus on her head and chest, hoping that she could disable a Borg implant or, at the least, incapacitate her.

It was not going to be so easy.

The Silver Swan kneed Diana with strength she had not felt since Kryptonians were on the planet. She saw stars for just a moment as her chest suddenly seemed devoid of air. Before she could retaliate, another blow - a solid kick this time - sent Diana careening through the air.

She had just enough time to recognize she was going to hit a hover car before she slammed right into it. Behind her, the metal crunched and moved around her, absorbing as much of the impact as it could. The vehicle slid several meters down the street before it finally came to a halt.

"Diana!" Momentarily dazed, she furrowed her brow and tried to sit up. Jim was shouting her name, same as he had in the trenches, almost making her wonder if she had gone back to those days.

She looked up at the sky, trying to focus on the coming sunset. She could see a few stars peeking out amongst the purple haze now.

Then she saw a shuttle streak through the sky, a vessel large enough to house ten, twenty people. Innocent people. And while they may never have seen Diana's face… they needed her help.

She was in San Francisco. She was in Man's World. And she would protect it.

Diana pulled herself out of the car, then leapt into the air until she could find a vantage point to hover in. Jim was below her, staring up in clear incredulity. Even though he had been a passenger in one of her flights, it seemed he still wasn't used to it.

The Silver Swan was clearly about to use that distraction to her advantage. Diana could see her marching towards Jim, arm cannon outstretched.

"Vanessa!" Diana bellowed, hands clenched into fists as she remained in the air, hoping she could both play to whatever might have been left to respond to that name and to distract from Jim. If she was the primary target, she would keep the Swan focused on that. "If you wish to terminate me, then you have underestimated your capabilities. I am the Champion of Themsycira and your Queen. And you will not commit any more bloodshed. In Cale's name or anyone else's!"

The Silver Swan turned to look at Diana, lowering her arm for the moment. "Our objective is absolute. We will terminate the Wonder Woman."

"I'd love to see you try, seeing as how she can literally fly circles around you." Jim said as he sidestepped over to another car for cover.

The Silver Swan looked to Diana, then looked to herself. It was as if she was analyzing her own physical body, looking from side to side before her head twitched again.

"We will… adapt." The Swan simply replied.

But, there was nothing simple in what came next.

Diana found herself sinking a bit lower in the air as Vanessa began to… change. Again.

After a moment of clicking, four panels suddenly built themselves out of her chrome-plated back. They grew almost organically until they were easily the length of each of her arms with an impressive width and span.

They looked like the arms of the Starro.

And then she activated them. They began to flap, then pulsed with some sort of repulsor engine that had been built into them.

They were not arms. They were wings.

The Silver Swan had taken flight.


Spock was not prone to bouts of hubris or pride. But, on the rare occasion that he did so, he would often take pride that little ever gave him cause for true concern when it came to Jim's propensity to disobey Starfleet. Even during the more unusual opportunity for Spock to play a part in the subterfuge, he had felt reasonably certain that they could achieve the desired goal.

With Lieutenant Chekov now aboard the Enterprise to assist Chief Engineer Scott and Ensign Jaylah in locating the holographic weapon, success seemed certain, if not in clear view. With the two Federation vessels approaching Earth at impulse power by way of Saturn, it was only logical that they would find the solution.

Of course, logic had been somewhat… difficult to return to. Spock had found that after his experience on the warbird, regaining full control of his emotional impulses would prove challenging. The Romulan commander had not hidden her interest in him. In order to gain the intelligence that would be most useful, he had "played" along.

It had meant straying towards the more human side he possessed, and that side was normally reserved for Nyota. The unusual experience of essentially stretching the mental process of the mind meld through the lasso had allowed him to ground himself in the familiarity of his partner, but while he had been honest with her in those few moments, they had not discussed them further.

Spock turned to face her at her station, prepared to ask for a moment of her time, when he caught her expression suddenly grow dark with worry. His eyebrow quirked in curiosity and his own carefully hidden concern.

"Commander," Uhura turned to face him, her hand pressed to her earpiece. "We're being hailed by the Farragut."

"Onscreen," Spock ordered, pivoting to face the viewscreen and rising to greet the captain that appeared onscreen.

Captain Garrovick's voice conveyed a sense of urgency that belied panic. "Commander, there's a warbird in orbit around Luna."

Spock's brow furrowed and he clasped his hands behind his back as he stood more attention. "Have they attacked?" He cast a questioning glance at Lieutenant Sulu, who silently nodded and pointed to the warbird visible on their sensor array.

"No." Garrovick shook his head fervently. "Based on the behavior of the last warbird, Ambassador Prince thinks they may be in a self-destruct cycle. We need to lure them away from the moon."

"Where are Captain Kirk and the Ambassador?" Their absence from the bridge did not bode well for their very serious accusations. With Chekov's very limited briefing, Spock was not entirely sure what had transpired.

"Your Captain and Ambassador Prince are beaming down to Earth to investigate an explosion. They believe - and I'm inclined to agree - that Admiral Veronica Cale is responsible for all of this. Admiral Kent's trying to reach the admiralty board, but we have to get that warbird out of the danger zone."

Spock nodded, immediately considering the multiple scenarios by which they could accomplish the task. "Understood, Captain." He turned towards the ops station. "Red alert, all hands to battle stations. Power phasers and target non-essential systems on the warbird." He glanced back at the viewscreen. "Lieutenant Uhura will relay any necessary instructions, but I recommend we attempt to 'wrangle' the vessel. If they refuse to move, I believe we may need to resort to a tractor beam."

"Agreed. Just tell me what you need. Farragut out." The image of the other vessel's bridge disappeared. As the Enterprise came about to face the moon, the Romulan warbird came into clear view.

It seemed to be completely dead in space.

"Status report on that ship, crewman." Spock requested of the ops technician standing beside him.

Crewman Acosta replied with a steady hand and voice - a marked improvement since Sulu's last report on his performance in orbit around Delphi. "Propulsion isn't powered, weapons aren't powered, no shields."

"Lifesigns?"

Acosta's fingers flew across the console for a moment. When he replied, he was slightly ashen. "... None, sir."

The vessel was derelict. It could not have made its way all the way to Sector 001 without a crew. Which meant…

"Lieutenant Uhura, contact New Berlin Lunar Colony," Spock ordered, mind racing as he attempted to deduce the Romulan strategy before they could complete their mission. "Have them retrieve all sensor data relating to transporter signals in Earth orbit in the last twenty-four hours." He turned to face her. "There are Tal Shiar on Earth, most likely to secure the bomb's success. We must determine their location."

Making his way back to the chair as Uhura set to her task, Spock flipped the control for an internal hail to Engineering. "Mister Scott, I require all available power to forward shields and the tractor beam."

Chief Scott's emotional response was so routine, it did not phase Spock. "Aye, sir, but what in the hell are ye plannin' to do? Tractor a bomb off the planet?"

"No, Mister Scott." Spock simply replied, then made his way to his customary science station so he could take control of the tractor controls. "A D7-class vessel."

The necessary calculations to successfully lock onto a former Klingon vessel with no powered systems would be too complex for even the most capable crewman. They did not know the hull polarization levels, as they had not been privy to the same records Spock had. Without looking up from his console, he powered up the tractor beam.

"Lieutenant Sulu," He ordered, still focused on the mathematical equations before him. "Turn the ship about to heading 223-mark-49."

"Aye, sir," Sulu replied. Given the trepidation in his tone, it was clear that he had recognized the heading would put them on a head-on course.

Calculations were complete. "I am activating the tractor beam… now…"

He turned to face the viewport, as did Nyota beside him. The beam flickered into life before them, wrapping around the vessel. After a glance back at his console, Spock stood and motioned for the crewman he had relieved to return to the station.

"Lieutenant Uhura, tell Captain Garrovick to use the polarization algorithm I have just used and to repulse with their own tractor beam." Spock made his way back to the captain's chair. "And I suggest he hurry."


Jim would have been proud, had he known that the explosion in the sky above them, too big to be a satellite, too small to be a star, had been his first officer's successful work.

Unfortunately, his mind was on other things.

Mainly, the Borg drone-turned-mad-science experiment…. That could fly.

And considering it had happened after Jim had goaded the seemingly grounded woman on… he felt like he was partially to blame.

"Ah, great…" He hissed as he flipped the dial on his phaser from blue to red. If the Silver Swan - as she wanted to style herself - could fly, then all bets were off. There was no way where that would end up positively for anyone involved.

As Jim caught sight of the clearly shocked expression on Diana's face, he could only think to mutter, "Sorry, angel, that one's on me…"

As the Swan lifted herself into the air, he took aim for the newfound wings. Maybe he could end things before they escalated.

He fired several shots off, enjoying the satisfying peal of energy as the small phaser bolts went right for their target.

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to connect. Jim stood straighter, mortified, as he watched his phaser bolts connect with some sort of strange personal force field. It flickered purple like her ocular implant, then dissipated. It was as if he had never fired at all.

Well, physically.

The Silver Swan absolutely realized that he had fired.

"You are irrelevant." The Swan intoned, aiming her arm cannon at him again. "You will not longer distract us from our imperative."

Jim braced himself, expecting the disruptor bolt to come his way. He didn't have enough time to do more than hope the car would be enough cover, or that Diana could somehow make it his way.

But, the Silver Swan had begun to learn. And instead of firing at Jim, she quickly rose her arm and fired on the very large transparent aluminum display hanging off of one of the wrecked buildings just behind him.

Jim began to dive for cover, but knew that the oval structure was several meters long and wide. Even if he could get around the car, he would most assuredly get cut to ribbons by shattered glass or aluminum shards.

The air crackled around him as Diana suddenly seemed to beat him to his point of cover. Her feet alighted just as she had time to grab him by the uniform and throw him to the ground.

And then she was holding up the entire display, standing above him and reminding him, not for the first time, that she would always be his guardian angel. That didn't mean it would be easy.

The aluminum structure would have been heavy enough, but the building kept coming down around them. Diana grunted with the effort as she held the display up with tons of concrete and plexisteel dropping on them. Her foot shifted, then dented the concrete beneath her as she kept her position.

More concrete fell. Diana began to sink to her knees. The concrete began to roll off the display all around them, building up a small barrier between them and the Swan. But, Diana was having trouble keeping it up.

Jim had seen her flip tanks, hold back Romulan warbirds. She could do anything. This was nothing.

His damn communicator chirped in his pocket. Jim scrambled for it, heart jumping to his throat as he was very suddenly reminded that the bomb was still out there, and he wasn't sure if that explosion had been the warbird or his own ship.

"Kirk here!" He barked as another half-ton block of concrete slid off the display. A disruptor bolt from outside the makeshift barrier sent another piece of debris flying.

"Ceyptin!"

Kirk instantly laughed, unable to contain his relief at the very optimistic and familiar voice. "Mister Chekov, I take it you made it to the Enterprise! Please tell me you have good news!"

"Da, sir! Ze warbird self-destructed after we pulled zem away from ze Lunar station. I am here vis Mister Scott and Jaylah. We sink zere is a way to isolate ze bomb's holographic signal."

Kirk nodded some, but his mirth was slightly dampened by Diana buckling again, her arms bending a bit more. "Great, then you know where it is?"

"Eh, not exactly. Zere needs to be someone on ze surface to track ze device."

Another voice cut in, one he knew all too well. Jaylah. "I will be down there shortly, James T! I know these types of traps, but the more the better. And whatever you are doing on the planet, it is making it harder to read my signals."

Jim rolled onto his stomach as he saw another disruptor bolt go flying. "We're working on it! Just get out here! Take everyone you need, I don't care if the whole senior staff is combing every inch of the place, just find the bomb! Kirk out!" He clapped the communicator shut as the Silver Swan's arm suddenly slammed through a gap in the concrete. She started to pry at the makeshift barrier.

Jim turned back to Diana, who was still clearly struggling.

"Come on, angel," He said, encouraging her as he got to his hands and knees. He knew she could do it. She just had to be out of practice. But, she would be facing down another god-like creature today. She had to do it.

Jim scrambled out of the way just as another disruptor bolt hit the car just where he'd been sitting moments ago.

He wasn't sure what precisely did the trick, but the near-miss seemed to work. Diana managed to brace herself and finally get back to her feet. With a great cry of effort, she threw the display and remaining concrete down the street. It crashed with a thunderous rumble.

"I'd offer to fire at her, but that seems to be a bust." Jim said, turning to face the Silver Swan as another block of concrete was ripped from the barricade.

Diana shifted to face him. He noticed just moments before she turned, and he moved to meet her gaze.

"I will handle the Silver Swan." Diana's voice shook just a bit. He could tell it hurt her, but that she was willing to fight. "Go. Help them find the bomb. Cale won't detonate it herself, but she won't leave it up to chance. You need to find it, and any of her accomplices."

She was passing the baton to him.

They both knew he was no good in this fight.

Without thinking, even though he knew it was the worst time to do so, that there was literally death on the other side of that barricade, he stepped closer and slipped his hands to her face.

She drew him closer, lips meeting his tenderly even in the face of danger. It wasn't a goodbye.

It was good luck.

When he finally pulled back to breathe, he held her close, jaw set. "Do whatever you have to do. I know you will."

Diana nodded, brushing her hand down his cheek. "I know you will, too."

Jim pulled back as the last of the concrete barrier was knocked away.

Diana pulled her sword and shield, huffing angrily as she turned to the Silver Swan. It was clear from her expression that the last thing she wanted to do was fight her… but they both knew it had to be done.

Jim had to find the bomb. He had to stop this madness before Cale could get any further.

They would do this. Together.

No matter the cost.