XxX

Laughter trickled from our small group as we made our way through the streets.

"Aye, I think we need to do a pub crawl!" Scottie hiccuped. He swung his arm around Chekov, showing how easily they always made up, and continued to stumble along. The Russian nodded fervently while Bones moved to support Pavel's other side so Scottie didn't topple him into the street.

I rolled my eyes and moved to the Scot's side, not wanting him to fall either, "Ooof." I groaned as Scottie fell against my shorter frame, "Come on Scottie, you two should get some rest. We can go tomorrow."

He stuck out his lower lip, "Can't I enjoy my shore leave?"

I tried to blow my bangs from my eyes as I put all my might into keeping Scottie from face planting, "You can do whatever you want, but when I am the one keeping you from falling on your face, you can't."

"But Mum…"

I stumbled a bit, cursing under my breath, "Scottie—"

"You're going to hurt yourself, Herms. Where is Spock?" Bones huffed as Chekov wrapped his arms around him, mumbling something about being a kill joy. Bones just patted his back and pretended to agree with his incoherent whining.

I stole a glance over my shoulder to Spock, who was walking leisurely behind us, his hands together behind his back and his eyes looking out over the skyline, lost deep in thought. My nose wrinkled; he was right there but it felt like he was worlds away, in a place I wasn't allowed to be. A hidden pain was trapped deep within his eyes, something he wasn't ready to share.

I'm here if you need me, you know that, I thought. As if he had heard my thoughts, he looked up. Of course it was just in time to see Scottie stumble and me struggling desperately to keep us upright.

"Hermione?" Spock called from behind us. In an instant he was by my side and taking over with Scottie, "You should not be lifting so much weight."

"Oi! I'm not—" Scottie began, his brain too fuzzy to continue the thought.

"Daydreaming again, Spock?" Bones quipped, his eyes narrowed protectively as he saw me rubbing my shoulder, "You alright?"

"Never better." My forced smile didn't convince Bones and I just looked at him, asking him to drop it. Spock watched me with caring eyes and I could just feel how upset he was, it rolled off him like waves, "Really, I'm alright." I whispered, touching his arm to ease him. He nodded and we all continued on our way, doing our best to keep Scottie quiet as he tried to sing one of his Scottish pub songs.

"Hermione! Hermione!" A small, sweet voice rung out over the crowd. I turned around in search of the source just in time to have a small blur with long black hair throw herself into my arms.

I hugged Sulu's daughter close, picking her up and swaying her from side to side, "Demora! It is so good to see you!" I kissed her head, holding her close.

For a fleeting moment my eyes met Spock's and I could read a fracture of the hurt in his golden flecked eyes, I gave him a sad, understanding smile; knowing exactly what he was thinking.

I set her down and knelt before her, framing her beautiful face with my hands, "Where is your Da?"

She put her small hands over mine, her face practically shining with joy, "Oh, he is coming. We saw you and I ran on a head."

Nodding, I stood up and took her hand just as I saw Sulu appear around the corner, "I got her!" I called to the very panicked looking dad.

Instantly he relaxed as he made his way through the bustling crowd to us, "Demora, you know better." He chastised lightly, resting his hand on her shoulder. She mumbled a quiet apology before Sulu turned to our group, "Has Kirk called you yet?" He asked.

"No." Bones shook his head, "What happened?"

"There is a ship stranded, just outside of Yorktown, and the Admiral asked us to undertake the rescue mission." Sulu summarized, his eyes filling with sorrow as he looked down to Demora, who looked equally upset by the news.

I squeezed the small girl's hand, "Oh, we will be back before you know it." I smiled, trying to put the pair at ease, "Where is Jim?"

"He said he was heading to the Enterprise, he's only been able to reach half the crew and wants to send out a ship wide call." Sulu answered, moving to pick Demora up, "Ben is waiting for us at the hotel, I'm going to drop her off before heading there myself."

I nodded, calculating what else needed to be done before we left. Jim was going to need all hands on deck if he wanted to leave tonight.

I sighed, looking to Pavel, who was fast asleep on my friend's shoulder, and Scottie, who was telling Spock how much he loved him. They were in no condition to work.

"My bag is back at the hotel, I'm sure I have something that will get them back on their feet." Bones answered my unspoken thought. He shifted the dozing Russian and wrinkling his nose as the smell of stale alcohol filled it. He rolled his eyes, "And now he's drooling."

I nodded, ignoring his complaint, "I will head towards the ship, help out where I can. Do you think you will be able to handle them?" I asked, looking to Spock and Bones.

"I'll walk back with you guys." Sulu offered. I looked back to my husband and best friend, who accepted the offer with a nod.

"Alright, I will head to the ship then." I said.

We all shared a look, knowing we were all thinking the same; something was off about this mission. We didn't know what was wrong, yet, but we knew that there was no time to waste.

"I will see you guys in a bit." I said, my thoughts scattered as I started to plan out my next few moves.

Spock's hand caught my arm, drawing me to a stop, "Be careful." He warned.

"Aren't I always?" I smiled, moving to my tiptoes so I could kiss his cheek, "I will see you soon."

He nodded and let me go. I could feel his uncertain eyes and I called back, "I will be fine!" I pointed to the stick which I still kept in my hair and turned back around, walking backwards, "I always am."

Spock replied with a short nod and I continued on my way, trying to convince myself that what I had said was true.

"It's a simple rescue mission, nothing more. We have done this hundreds—no, thousands of times. Everything will be fine." I told myself, paying close attention to the streets as I weaved my way through the crowd. My eyes caught sight of the terminal and my footsteps quickened, "Nothing is wrong." The words kept repeating in my head as I pulled out my badge and scanned it before forcing my way through the opening doors.

My foot tapped impatiently as the elevator slowly made its way up. The doors couldn't have opened fast enough, "Jim?" I called, pushing through them just as I had the terminal ones.

My captain looked up, a relieved look on his face, "Herms! Thank God, where is Spock?"

"Helping Bones, anything I can do?" I offered, moving to my station and readying my equipment.

He followed after me, rubbing his head, "Yes, I am still trying to get in contact with most of the crew. If you could send out a message to them telling them to return to the Enterprise ASAP for a rescue mission, that would be great, I would like to leave before 2300."

"Aye, aye." I teased, trying to lighten the tense air. I spun my chair around as he headed towards the elevator, "Jim—"

He nodded as the doors began to close, "I know, I feel it too."

"As long as it's not just me." I replied, thankful I had someone to share the off feeling with as I readied the message.

XxX

Within the hour, most of the crew had returned to the ship. Pavel sat alongside Sulu, his neck covered in patches. He shook his head every once in a while as he worked, trying to focus.

I rose a brow and turned to Bones for an explanation, "It is diluting the alcohol in his system, he will be completely sober by the time we are ready to leave."

"You are drugging him with coffee, aren't you?" I crossed my arms and let my head fall back against the chair to look up to my friend.

"Yep." He clapped my shoulder and started towards the helm to check on his patient.

"You know I know how to make a potion that cures hangovers." I smirked.

Bones rolled his head to the side, "Yes, but we didn't have time for you to make the 20 gallons of it we would have needed." I burst out laughing and Bones found himself chuckling along.

"No, I insist." A familiar voice called from the elevator, catching our attention. I turned in time to see Spock exiting with Jim following dutifully behind.

My brow rose; Jim never let someone enter the bridge before him. He lived on people calling out that the captain was on the bridge.

This was shaping up to be a very odd day indeed.

"Keep that up, Herms, and it will freeze like that." Jim winked, moving to the Captain's chair, "I know you are married to a Vulcan but I doubt you want to look like one."

I wrinkled my nose, tossing my head side to side playfully, before sticking my tongue out. He just grinned and turned to the helm. My eyes wandered the bridge and came to rest on an unfamiliar face. A tall woman, with the appearance of one from an oceanic race, stood beside Jim, talking in a language that sounded similar to Russian.

"That is Captain Kalara. Her ship is the one stranded on Altamid, a planet in the uncharted nebula." Spock explained as he came to stand beside me, his hands coupled behind his back as he looked at the intriguing captain.

My eyes narrowed, my instinct making me suspicious of the new comer, I don't trust you. As if I had said my thought aloud, her head turned sharply towards my station. At first I thought to turn around, knowing I had been caught, but I held my own and kept my head up, refusing to back down.

Kalara inclined her head in greeting and turned back to Jim.

"Herms, open up a ship wide channel." Jim ordered. I nodded and hurried to follow orders, "Enterprise, this is your Captain. I am sorry we had to cut our leave short, but if all goes according to plan we will be back tomorrow night. We are on a rescue mission through the uncharted nebula to a planet called Altamid. We will be all alone out there with no way to contact the Federation. All we have is each other. Now, I know I have already asked so much of you but I need to ask one more thing; give this your all. We cannot succeed without every one of you; you are what makes the Enterprise the amazing ship that she is. You are what will make this mission successful. Never forget that. Kirk out."

He switched off the channel, his shoulders slumped. I caught his eye and smiled, giving him a confident nod.

He returned the gesture, "Alright, let's head out. Mr. Sulu, warp 4."

I closed the channel and swiveled my chair around. My eyes narrowed; I couldn't pinpoint it but I could feel the uneasiness that filled the bridge and I was certain it stemmed from the presence of the new captain.

"Oh my god." Bones sighed, his eyes widening as he saw the nebula.

"Buckle up." I warned him, moving to follow my own advice. Sulu, skilled as ever, carefully took us into the field. The trip grew rough; the sky darkened and the magnetic field caused our instruments to shutter ever so slightly. I imaged the starship mirroring that of a grand sea ship caught in a storm.

"How ya doing?" I smirked, wondering if Bones was going to lose his dinner or not.

Bones' knuckles were white as he held fast to the armrest, "Never better."

"How did you even get into Starfleet?" I mused.

"The same way a stowaway did." He winked. I smiled, knowing I had succeeded in distracting him. With one last lunge, we were free of the nebula and back in open space.

Bones breathed a sigh of relief, "Never would I have thought I'd be so happy to be in normal space." I couldn't help but chuckle as I turned back to my channels.

"Vhat is that?" Pavel asked, his voice echoing around the small space. All of us turned to look out the window as a black cloud approached.

"Zoom in." Jim called, jumping up from his chair and moving towards the window. The instruments did as they were bid by their controllers and the picture became clearer.

Uhura, who was seated in the station next to me, narrowed her eyes, "It looks like a swarm of bees."

I nodded absentmindedly, my gut readying for the command I knew was coming.

A humming sounded and I wrinkled my nose. It sounded familiar but I couldn't place it, "Are they jamming us?" Uhura turned to me, her veteran ear joining mine, "It doesn't sound right, it's too high." I answered for myself.

"It might be a different frequency." She replied, our past rivalry cast aside in a desperate need to fulfill our duty to the Enterprise.

"Red alert!" Came Jim's command, "Lock everything down and fire everything we got!" He moved back to his chair as everyone rushed to complete the command.

"Captain, we are not prepared for an attack of this magnitude." Spock replied over the siren as he assisted in the shield maintenance.

"Compact in three, two…" Sulu called and we all braced. The ship was thrown from its course and the main lights flickered out, leaving only the flashing red signal on and blaring.

"Ve hawe breeches in sections thirty-one through thirty-fiwe, tventy-three, nine and six." Pavel called out, "Casualties and many vounded."

"Spock, Bones." Jim called, nodding towards the elevators. Bones reluctantly stood and followed after the Vulcan, who was readying his phaser.

"Be safe." I called, forcing a smile. The pair nodded in reply and I turned back to my board, knowing I had a job to do.

"We are getting distress calls on all levels. The ships have pierced the sides and look to open." I reported, looking through the different signals to summarize what might happen, "We are going to be boarded by the attackers."

"Herms, send out a call to arms." Jim dictated, "I want a pair posted at each breech with a second and third wave above, ready for whatever attack might come."

I rushed to do as I was told, knowing my earlier uneasiness had been confirmed and trying to keep my thoughts focused. I had always thrived under pressure and now would be no different. Still, I couldn't help watching the goings on of sector 9 and the life monitors of our Senior Doctor and First Officer as I worked fervently to get everyone else to safety.

"They are coming in for a second attack." Sulu called as the ship continued to be tossed about.

"Sulu, warp us out of here." Kirk ordered, "Head to the nebula, we might be able to lose them in the cloud coverage."

Sulu hurried to ready the helm but as he went to ignite the warp core nothing happened.

"Why aren't we moving, Mr. Sulu?" Kirk called, his eyes assessing the bridge to make sure everything was working smoothly.

"The warp core will not ignite."

Just then, Scottie came over the intercom and alerted us to the grave news; the small attack ships had taken out the engines.

Nothing was more devastating in that moment then when we saw the only pieces that could save us from this mess drift past the window, no longer attached to our ship.

"C-Captain." Came Spock's voice, ruined by static, over the intercom. The signal was strained and breaking up.

"Spock, what is it?" Jim asked.

Shooting sounded and my fingers hurried to try and clear the signal, "Spock?" I asked, trying to keep my uneasy voice steady.

"I believe I have discovered who is attacking us and they appear to be after something called an Abronath which—" The line went dead, leaving static in its wake. My eyes flickered to the life monitors, growing wide when I saw the now black screen. My heart raced as I frantically turned back to my station, trying to revive the connection.

"Spock? Spock!" Jim called, jumping from his chair and moving to my station as I worked, "What happened?" He demanded.

"His signal cut out, the connection to his communicator must have been broken." I answered, trying to not give into the panic I felt, "Either they took out our power so we can't communicate with other levels or…" I looked up to Jim, not wanting to finish the thought.

Jim rushed to grab a phaser, "Sulu, you have the com. You and you, with me." He pointed to two of the guards and started for the elevator, casting a look my way, "You coming or not?"

"Uhura, take over for me." I called, rushing from the chair and following after him. I just snuck past the doors as they closed, sending us down to sector 9. The lights flickered ominously, alerting us to the gravity of the situation.

I rested my head against the wall, Please let them be alive.

Jim looked to me expectantly, his brows raised suggestively, before he turned his attention forward, "I didn't grab you a phaser."

My eyes smirked and pulled my wand from my hair, letting the short curls fall loosely around my face, "I didn't expect you to."

"Phasers ready." He ordered the guards as the elevator slowed. Jim readied himself and gave me a nod, "Ready?"

I set my feet, ready to face whatever was to come, "Ready."

XxX