DEGUELLO - Chapter 15
by Trish Bennett

All eyes focused on Spock as he stepped onto the bridge of the Enterprise. Scott rose quickly to relinquish the command chair.

"Status report, Mr. Scott," Spock said, moving to stand beside the empty chair.

"We're still on Yellow Alert, Mr. Spock," he replied. "And we are now safely outside the Neutral Zone. Sensors show no unusual activity in the sector." He seemed to hesitate briefly before continuing. "Er...Admiral Fitzpatrick has been hailing us, Sir."

"Hailing?" Spock repeated. "Have you attempted to respond?"

"Um..." Scott mumbled, his eyes quickly darting to Sulu, then Uhura, then back to Spock. "No, Sir."

The Vulcan stared at him a long moment, his expression unchanging. At last he arched an eyebrow and moved to seat himself in the command chair.

"Is the Admiral still signaling, Lieutenant?" he asked Uhura over his shoulder.

"Yes, Sir."

Spock squared his shoulders and said almost casually, "On screen, Lieutenant."

She exchanged a relieved glance with Scott before complying with his request. Almost immediately, the Admiral's reddened face filled the viewscreen.

"This is the Enterprise," Spock said. "Commander Spock here, Admiral."

Fitzpatrick exhaled loudly, appearing enormously relieved. "Thank God! I was afraid something had happened to you, Commander. We have reports that the entire Klingon fleet has been mysteriously immobilized. Can you confirm?"

"That is my understanding, Admiral."

"What is your status, Mr. Spock?"

Spock glanced quickly toward the Engineer. Scott offered him a shrug and shook his head slightly.

"The Enterprise appears to be unaffected, Sir," Spock replied. "Captain Kirk is back aboard the Enterprise. The rest of the landing party was lost."

The Admiral's face was grim. "What is Kirk's condition?"

"Unknown at present, Admiral. Doctor McCoy is with him."

"Your opinion, Spock," the Admiral insisted. "Is he going to make it?"

Spock calmly considered his reply. "I...do not know, Sir."

The bridge crew seemed to shift uncomfortably in their seats at the response.

"I see." Fitzpatrick was silent a moment. "Mr. Spock, I want you to divert to Starbase Eleven immediately. Your crew can take shore leave here. I must admit, Commander, I'll..."

His voice trailed off as his eyes were drawn to the Vulcan's uniform. Spock glanced down and realized that his blue shirt was streaked red with the Captain's blood.

"You went in after him, didn't you?"

Spock did not hesitate with his reply. "Affirmative."

The white-haired Admiral was clearly furious. "I believe you and I need to have a talk, Mr. Spock," he said firmly. "You will proceed directly to Starbase Eleven without delay, and you will not vary from that course. Do you think you can follow these instructions, Commander, or should I be having this conversation with Mr. Scott?"

Chekov moved quickly at his navigational controls. With his head bowed, he announced under his breath, "Course plotted and laid in, Sir."

"Course already plotted, Admiral," Spock responded. "We shall proceed at warp factor four."

"See that you do, Commander. I'll be waiting. Fitzpatrick out."

Spock continued to stare into the darkened viewscreen for several moments before saying, "Warp factor four, Mr. Sulu."

"Warp four. Aye, Sir."

Montgomery Scott, who had been observing the conversation in silence, sighed heavily and leaned himself back against the rail to the upper deck.

"Now the haggis is really in the fire for sure, Mr. Spock."

Spock turned his steady gaze on the Scotsman. "If by that you mean the Admiral is displeased, I would have to agree." He rose smoothly from the command chair. "However, since we can do nothing to rectify that situation at present, I will return the bridge to your capable hands. If you require anything, I shall be in my quarters."

Scott offered him an amused grin, shaking his head in what appeared to be amusement. "Mr. Spock, you have got to be the smoothest man I have ever known."

Spock's customary eyebrow was at the ready, rising quickly into his hairline. "I shall take that as a compliment, Mr. Scott," he said, heading for the turbolift. "The bridge is yours."

Spock ignored the amusement in the Engineer's face as the doors closed swiftly behind him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Spock's stride betrayed no hint of unrest as he moved through the corridors of the Enterprise. He had retired to the sanctuary of his quarters to change his uniform and attempted to meditate for a time. His concentration was somewhat lacking, however, and he soon found himself approaching the doors to Sickbay.

Spock found the Doctor in his office, seated at his desk, his face buried in his hands.

"Am I disturbing you, Doctor?" Spock asked from the open doorway.

"I don't think anything could disturb me anymore, Spock," he said at last. Then, as if reading the Vulcan's confusion, he added, "No, you're not. Come on in."

Spock hesitated only briefly before moving to accept the chair McCoy had offered. "What is the Captain's condition?"

"I don't know," McCoy replied, rubbing his eyes. "I thought maybe you could tell me."

"I no longer sense anything from him, Doctor."

McCoy offered him a grim smile. "I was joking, Spock." He sighed again. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. What the hell happened out there?"

Spock opened his mouth to speak, but McCoy cut him off quickly with a wave of his hand.

"On second thought, I don't think I want to know."

Spock waited patiently. The Doctor would get around to answering his question eventually.

"He's stable right now," McCoy said finally. "He's lost a lot of blood. He had massive internal injuries...three broken ribs...severe dehydration...he's on the verge of pneumonia..." The Doctor's voice trailed off. "Shall I go on?"

"He mentioned paralysis in his legs," Spock offered.

McCoy stared at him, as if considering the possibility. "Well, that doesn't really surprise me," he said at last. "There was a lot of swelling around the contusions in his lower back. If the swelling is putting pressure on his spinal cord, that could cause paralysis. I'll check it out, but frankly, I think that's the least of his worries at the moment."

Spock nodded. "May I see him?"

McCoy shrugged. "For all the good it will do. He's been unconscious damn near since he got here." He suddenly seemed rather curious. "Which reminds me...kind of a dramatic entrance, wasn't it?"

Spock's eyebrow rose ever so slightly. "Perhaps...but effective. The Organian, Ayelbourne, was responsible for our deliverance."

"That's not all. The bodies of two members of the landing party were delivered to my autopsy room. I assume there were no remains of the third."

"A logical assumption," Spock agreed.

McCoy allowed another smile to cross his lips. "Tidy, aren't they?"

Spock had to concur. "Indeed. Most efficient."

He rose ever gracefully from the chair and headed toward the door into the inner Sickbay alcove. McCoy stopped him just as the doors slid open.

"Spock..." he said. "I seem to have gotten into the habit of saying this to you lately, but I don't see the harm in saying it again. Thank you."

Spock turned to face him. "You're welcome, I believe, is the correct response, Doctor, but I fear your gratitude is misdirected. It is the Organian who deserves your thanks."

McCoy merely chuckled. "Well, at least something's back to normal."

Spock treated him with the most smug look of Vulcan bewilderment he could manage before turning again to stride through the doors to Sickbay.