When he regained consciousness, Kirk found himself looking into a pair of worried blue eyes.
"Bones!" He attempted to sit up, but a hand on his chest pushed him back down.
"Take it easy, Jim. You've taken quite a bad knock."
Kirk felt something wet running down the side of his face, and reached up a hand to ascertain the cause. His fingers came away red, and he realised detachedly that he was bleeding, although he didn't feel any pain. "Bones – are you okay?"
The doctor gave a short laugh. "Oh, I'm fine. Could've been much worse." He held up his left hand, which was swathed in white bandages. "You, however, are not okay. I'm taking you down to Sickbay right now."
Kirk managed to raise his head slightly, and looked around. They were on the Bridge. He was on the floor next to the Captain's chair, slightly behind the helm console. "The crew…"
"They're fine, Jim, don't worry. It was only you and Sulu who sustained any serious injuries." Kirk looked around. "Sulu… what happened to Sulu?"
"I'm okay, Captain." Sulu was sitting on the bridge steps nearby, a medic pressing a hypo to his shoulder. He forced a smile, for Kirk's benefit. "Broke my arm, but it should heal in no time."
Kirk tried to sit up again. "Bones, help me up."
"Jim, I don't think–"
"Now, Doctor. The safety of the ship is my responsibility."
And as your doctor and friend, your safety is my responsibility. McCoy, however, wisely didn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he did as he was told, his expression one of concern.
Kirk felt another set of hands support him into a standing position, and turned his head. "Scotty! What happened?"
"Well, Captain, as far as I can work it out, we hit some kind of an energy field."
Kirk looked at the viewscreen in astonishment. "An energy field… explains the bump…" In front of him, stars twinkled. There was no trace of the Solymus Belt, the magnetic storm, or the strange grey hoops that they had flown through. "But where's the Solymus Belt? We couldn't have passed through it already."
"That's exactly what we're trying to work out, sir." Scott looked just as confused as Kirk felt.
"Ship's status – ow, Bones!" McCoy had just injected Kirk's exposed neck with a hypo.
"That should stop the bleeding for now."
Kirk glared at his friend. "Thanks for warning me." He turned to his navigator, who seemed unharmed. "Ship's status, Mr Chekov?"
"All systems normal, Captain. Shields are still holding, and we have lost warp capability due to power drain, however Mr Scott says that it should be back online soon."
Abruptly, a wave of dizziness hit Kirk, and he swayed, falling into McCoy. "Jim, if you don't come with me right now I am going to sedate you." McCoy tightened his hold on him.
Kirk's vision blurred, and a white light began to creep into the edges of his vision. It was all he could do to stay upright. "You know, Bones, that might not be necessary…"
McCoy's countenance was creased with worry. "Right, that's it. I'm calling for a stretcher. Scotty, help me sit him down."
Kirk shut his eyes, willing to comply with his Chief Medical Officer for once. As he sat back down on the floor, he could suddenly no longer feel McCoy or Scott's hands on him. The floor, too, felt strange. Rubbery, in fact – not like the Enterprise at all.
Kirk opened his eyes. He was not on the Enterprise. He was in the middle of a large room, with grey metal walls that stretched up into a glowing expanse, and a pale pink floor that was spongy to touch. His eyes opened wider, and he jerked in shock. There had been no feeling of a transporter – one minute he was sitting on the floor of the Bridge, the next he was… here. Wherever 'here' was. Standing up, he looked around, and tried to make sense of what had happened. Thankfully, the dizziness had abated, as had the blurry vision, however his head throbbed unmercifully. He began to walk towards one of the walls, intent on finding the exit. After ten seconds, he stopped.
He was no closer to the wall.
What the…
Kirk rubbed his eyes. Surely it was just a symptom of the concussion. He began walking again, this time looking at his feet. He was definitely walking, definitely covering ground. But when he looked again at the wall, it was no closer. More than a little shaken, Kirk spun around. The opposite four walls were the same distance away. He began to run towards another wall, cursing at the pain in his head.
He suddenly became very aware that there was no exit that he could see.
But what about his crew? Perhaps they had been transported to similar rooms. "My name is Captain James T. Kirk, of the U.S.S. Enterprise," he shouted at the glowing ceiling. "Why are you holding me here? What have you done with my crew?"
The glow above him seemed to increase. An intense feeling of emotion hit Kirk, enough to drive him to his knees. It was an awful, empty feeling – of being alone, the only living thing to have existed since time began, and the only living thing to exist until time itself ceased to. Kirk began to shake. With an incredible effort, he picked himself up and sprinted towards the wall – only to have it remain the same distance away…
Ooh, I'm excited. Where could Kirk possibly be - and why?
