Chapter 1: Early Signs

Throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, there are hundreds of thousands of ships crossing the stars day in and day out, sailing through the black silently. From cargo vessels to private yachts, passenger cruisers to warships, each mass of metal protecting its crew as they travel from world to world. For some, these ships a little more than tools, a means to traverse the great expanse between solar systems, a way to carry supplies or passengers. A weapon to wage war with or an opportunity to find profit.

But for those who remain on one vessel for long periods, those who start to see their ship not as a vehicle, but a home, it's not uncommon for them to give the ship 'human' qualities, for lack of a better term. From simply referring to the ship as female to saying it's 'in a mood' when mechanical issues arise or systems run slow, they start to view their ship almost like a pet or a distant friend. It is, for the most part, harmless. As the crew grows more familiar with their vessel, learns its quirks, sentiment takes root.

However, there are times were the systems of a ship acts in ways that are… unexplainable. Malfunctioning consols, glitching displays, or even engine failures that, upon investigation, have no reasonable explanation. It's during instances like these, where scientific explanations cannot be found, that superstitions start. It's said that every technician or engineer who's ever lived has at least once uttered the words "It's like the ship has a mind of its own." And the more such things happen, the more the words seem true.

But this is, of course, impossible.

Right?

It all started on the bridge.

The Enterprise had been sent to investigate a spatial anomaly that had appeared on the edge of the Archanis Sector. The swirling mass of blue gases filled with twinkling yellow and violet light had been a beautiful sight to see.

The trio of Klingon scout ships hovering on its opposite side was not.

The Klingon's claimed that the Enterprise had no right to research the anomaly given that it was found in Klingon space. Kirk pointed out that the Enterprise had every right to be there given that Archanis had been given to the Federation the previous year, a fact the Klingon's did not take kindly to being reminded of.

Twenty minutes of Kirk and the Klingon captain-in-charge arguing later, Kirk was losing his patience. Every word he said was denied, his suggestion that they research the anomaly together was laughed at, and given Uhura's look of disgust, he was pretty sure the Klingon had given him rather crude insult before he'd closed communications.

Kirk stared at the blank viewscreen in bafflement. He slowly turned towards communications. "Uhura, do I want to know what he just said?"

Uhura cleared her throat, her expression somehow a mixture of amused and insulted. "He implied something about your parentage and… livestock, sir."

Kirk took a moment to process this, then practically fell back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Anyone else get the feeling these guys are just here looking for a fight?"

"It is a distinct possibility, Captain," Spock replied, his face blank save for a subtly raised eyebrow. "While the Klingons and Federation came to an agreement over the giving of the Archanis system to house the Yorktown, it is possible that there are those in the Klingon Empire unhappy with relinquishing their territory."

"So they're going to use this anomaly as an excuse to take it out on us." Kirk let out a slow breath. "Spock, what do the scanners say about the anomaly?"

Spock tapped at the screen before him. "There is heavy interference from the anomaly itself, Captain. All we can read is that it is generating a field of intense gravity."

"Are we in any danger?"

"At our current position, we seem to be outside its sphere of influence, but I would not recommend getting any closer."

"Noted. What kind of armament do those ships have, Mister Sulu?"

Sulu started pulling information up from the ship's archives. "The standard Klingon disruptors and torpedoes, sir. Their range is shorter than ours, but they're disruptors are stronger than- Captian!" Sulu's sudden shout drew the attention of the bridge, the helmsman's eyes focused on his readings. "The Klingon's are moving." They watched as the three ships maneuvered to face the Enterprise, forming a V as they surged forward. A few seconds later, Sulu shouted again, more urgent. "They're powering weapons!"

In an instant, Kirk's demeanor changed. "Red Alert, shield's up!" As red lights flickered to life throughout the bridge, Kirk gave the viewscreen his full attention. "Chekov, target their weapons before they get in range."

Chekov's console gave a beep of confirmation as he typed in the command.

"Fire."

"Aye, sir." Chekov executed the command-

And the console bleeped at him.

Chekov blinked "'Vhat?" He muttered in confusion. He hit the command again, only for the console to give the same negative bleep. Red text flashed across the screen, claiming a failure to execute. He tried again and again, but nothing happened. "Keptin, phasers are not responding!"

"What!?" Kirk lept from his chair and rushed to Sulu's side, leaning over the man's shoulder. When he saw the negative readout, he called aloud. "Kirk to Engineering! Scotty, what's wrong with our phasers?"

Seconds later, Scotty's confused voice responded. "What do ya mean Captian? The phasers are working fine!"

Kirk and Chekov shared a baffled look. "Mr. Scott, we've got three Klingon ships bearing down on us, and Chekov's console isn't letting him fire phasers. Look harder!"

An audible gulp was heard over the comms. "Aye, Captain! I'll-"

"Captian, they're within weapons range!"

Kirk looked at the viewscreen, seeing the green glow of the lead Klingon's disrupters fire. "All hands," He shouted, planting his feet as he held onto Checkov's console. "Brace for impact!"

The disruptor fire streaked across the black aimed right for Enterprise's port nacelle. Kirk grit his teeth, ready to feel the ship jolt from the impact as they hit the shields.

But almost as soon as they had left the scout ship, the blasts seemed to strike something. The green glow expanded into a massive explosion that engulfed the Klingon ship.

"What?" Kirk murmured.

Suddenly a jet of green fire shot out from the explosion, traveling along a winding unseen path until it reached the anomaly.

Blue fire filled the viewscreen, and the Enterprise jolted like it had been collided with. Through the flames, Kirk could see the stars spin as the ship was thrown end over end. The captain held on for dear life as he was nearly thrown across the bridge, the crew yelling in surprise as they tried to stay in place.

"Sulu, get us out of here!" He yelled out.

"Trying to, sir!" Sulu called back, typing one-handed as he held on with the other. "We're caught in the shockwave."

"Mr. Scott, more power to the engines!"

There were ten seconds of sickening silence, save for the ship groaning around them as it tumbled.

"Scotty!?"

Suddenly, the Enterprise gave a jolt, and the spinning of the stars started to slow. It took about a minute for the ship to right itself. Kirk looked around the bridge, the crew looking shaken but unhurt. "Damage report!"

"Sheilds are down to 43%," Spock responded, looking at his console. "Surface damage to the outer hull, no breaches. Minor injuries throughout the ship, no casualties."

"Look et that."

Chekov's awed tone drew the crew's attention back to the viewscreen. Rushing off into the horizon was a line of blue, growing smaller as it got further away. Smaller explosions of blue were erupting all over the area, lasting less than a second before vanishing. It reminded Kirk of the fireworks shows he'd seen back on Earth. "Spock?"

Spock tapped at his console for a moment, his brow furrowed. "The anomaly has disappeared, and our sensors are now functioning normally. The shockwave is expanding in a ring from the point of the explosion. At the rate it is weakening, it should dissipate before reaching any nearby systems. The smaller explosions are too weak to cause any damage."

Kirk nodded. "Send out a general warning anyway for any passing ships to steer clear. Sulu, any sign of the Klingons?"

"... I have them, sir." Sulu paused. "Well, one of them. Two of the ships seem to have been destroyed in the blast. The other…"

Kirk looked up at a flash onscreen. The last remaining Klingon scoutship, battered and buckled, seemed to stretch briefly before warping out of the debris field that had been its fellow ships.

"Guess there's no point offering our assistance," Kirk quipped. He scanned the viewscreen, watching as the small puffs of blue were becoming more and more infrequent. "Spock, what just happened?"

Spock tapped at his console. His brow rose slightly, looking up to meet Kirk's eyes. "There are trace amounts of several elements still in the area, including isobutane and methane, with the highest concentration at the anomaly's previous location."

Kirk's brow rose, staring out at the now empty space. "The gravity," He murmured, trying to piece things together. "Maybe… it pulled in those elements from the surrounding systems and turned it into a giant gas pocket. We couldn't see it, but it was all around us. The Klingon's disruptors must have ignited it."

"I have to agree, Captain," Spock admitted, stepping next to him to watch the last of the explosions, eyes trailing across the narrowing band of blue.

"We were wery lucky, Keptin," Chekov said with a relieved laugh.

Surprised, Kirk and Spock looked at each other, then turned as one to face the navigator. "How do you figure, Chekov?" Kirk asked.

Chekov's grin vanished at being under the Captian and First Officer's sudden scrutiny. "Well… had we fired our phasers when we tried, we could have ignited the gas instead of the Klingons, and we would have been the center of that explosion instead." He shrunk under their looks, chuckling nervously. "Lucky… right?"

Kirk and Spock shared another look, Spock raising an eyebrow. "Yes, Mr. Chekov," Spock said. "Very lucky."

"Cancel Red Alert," Kirk called out, setting back into his chair as Spock went back to his station. As the lighting went back to normal, he looked to Sulu. "Set a course for the Yorktown, and let them know we'll be needing repairs. Warp 2."

"Aye, sir," Sulu confirmed. Seconds later, the stars streaked by as the Enterprise went to warp.

"Mr. Scott," Kirk called out. "Any idea what happened to our phasers?"

"No, sir. Well, maybe?" Scotty's voice sounded strained and annoyed. "The phaser array looks ship-shape mechanically as far as we can tell, so I checked the systems. I can confirm that Chekov sent the firing command from the bridge, but there's no record of the array receiving it."

Kirk hummed. "Try to figure it out, Mr. Scott. It worked out in our favor this time, but we need to know those phasers are going to work when we need them."

"Aye, sir. I'll start running a diagnostic right away."

"Good. Oh, and Scotty: good job pulling us out of that spin."

"...sir?"

Kirk frowned at Scotty's uncertain tone. "The engines, Scotty. I asked for more power to pull out of that tumble and you came through."

"...Captian…" Scotty's tone shifted into something almost worried, making Kirk tense. "Whatever was going on knocked out our communications down here. We never heard you give an order about the engines."

Slowly, the bridge crew's heads turned away from their stations. Sulu and Checkov shared a look, Uhura turning around to look at Spock before they all turned towards the Captian.

Kirk in turn slowly turned to look at his First Officer. Spock stared back, his brow raised and confusion bleeding through his Vulcan stoicism.

Eyes still locked with Spock's, Kirk said, "Mr. Scott? Double time on that diagnostic."

"...aye, Captain."

A/n: So, I dedicated time today to finish the later chapter of a story I've had writer's block on for months... and I wrote this instead. All in one sitting. Never touched the other story all day long.

Yes, something is very wrong with me. I am aware.

Screw it, whatever. New story for a fandom I've never written for with a completely bonkers premise of the Enterprise is sapient and the crew is starting to figure it out. Assuming I can sit my butt down to write some more on it, I think it could be fun. So... let me know if you want to see more of it.

See ya later!