*Author's Note:
Of course you know that the Star Trek characters don't belong to me... Sad, but they don't. I just write stories... The chapters of this story may come up slowly, so be patient. This is my first Star Trek Fan Fiction, so I hope you enjoy!
BETTING WITH ROMULANS
By: Marcie Rich
He strolled down the corridor, making his way to the bridge. Then Kirk hurried faster as he heard Uhura's familiar voice say, "All hands report to stations. We will begin testing project Alpha four Beta. I repeat all hands to stations. We will begin testing project Alpha four Beta."
He ran down the corridor, and to the turbo lift. Suddenly his communicator beeped. "Kirk here," he responded.
"Captain, you are needed on the bridge." said Uhura
"I'm on my way, Uhura. How much time do I have?"
"We won't start without you, sir."
"Thanks Uhura."
"No problem, sir."
Kirk ran into the turbo lift, and waited as it took him to the bridge. He wondered why ensigns had to be so incompetent. He would have been on the bridge an hour ago if it weren't for a pile of paperwork that an ensign had misplaced. Today they were testing a brand new shield device that was supposed to make the shields stronger. You never know what might happen in these tests, and Kirk was glad that he wasn't still searching the corridors for the missing documents. Being rammed into a bulkhead wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Kirk stepped off the turbo lift and onto the bridge eyeing his fellow officers. They were staring right at him wondering why he was late, probably.
"Status Mr. Spock." Kirk said.
"We are ready to begin testing, sir." Replied Spock.
"Uhura, get Commander Dorian for me."
"Aye, sir. He is coming through now."
Kirk watched as the familiar face of Commander Dorian appeared on the view screen. Dorian was a sturdy, well built man, with the lightest blonde hair Kirk had ever seen. They had been in the academy together. Dorian chose to work for the Science Station Alpha 12 rather than serve on a ship. Too bad, Dorian would have made a fine Science officer.
"Ah, Commander Dorian. I assume you are ready to begin testing?"
"Oh yes, Captain. I have been waiting for this opportunity for months. Is the device correctly installed into your computers?"
Always like him, Kirk thought. He always was a business first, nonsense later type of person. Kirk turned and looked at Scotty. Scotty nodded his head, and smiled. "Yes, Commander, we're ready," Kirk replied.
"Alright, engage the shield," said Dorian
"Shield engaged sir," replied Scotty.
"Here we go," said Dorian, "We will begin firing." Dorian smiled as the Captain started for his seat. "No need to sit down, Jim. You won't get thrown around at all. In fact, you won't even feel a thing."
"I hope these shields of yours work, they could be very useful." Kirk eyed Dorian suspiciously.
"Useful indeed. Okay, I'll give my men the word."
The image of Luke Dorian blinked out on the screen. Soon the missiles began firing. The ship didn't even rock. After a minute's worth of firing, Dorian returned to the view screen.
"Well, Captain, what do you think of my shields now?"
"Impressive. I assume you have testing with more powerful photon torpedoes scheduled?"
"Definitely, Jim. Tomorrow at 0700 hours we'll start up again. Right now, my men and I are going to celebrate our first success. Why don't you, Doctor McCoy, Mr. Spock, Mr. Scott and whoever else you see fit, come and join us."
Kirk turned around, "Well gentlemen?" He turned to Scotty.
"Aye, sir, I'd love to, but I need to prepare the ship for tomorrow's testing," answered Scotty.
"Bones?"
"I'd be happy to join you, Jim. I need to straighten things up in sickbay first."
"Spock?"
"I'd be honored to join you, Captain."
"Excellent. Luke, you can expect Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and myself later on tonight, for dinner?"
"Yes, Jim, we'll looking forward to seeing you." Commander Dorian said, smiling. His image faded out on the screen.
Kirk and Commander Dorian had been engaged in a long conversation about old times, when the commander excused himself to see what was taking their dinner so long. He had only been gone minutes, but Kirk was growing impatient. He wondered what Dorian had prepared. He knew that it would be good, because Dorian had always enjoyed cooking. He didn't have too wait long, before the commander came out, arms full with food. They were having chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and rolls. He was definitely impressed.
"Luke, you out did yourself this time." Kirk took a bite of the chicken fried steak. "This is excellent."
"It reminds me of what mother used to make," commented McCoy, as he too ate his meal. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"Oh, I picked it up here and there. It's nothing really." Commander Dorian began to blush. Kirk had forgotten he was so shy. Probably why he didn't want to serve on a ship thought Kirk.
"Nothing really, Commander how can this be nothing really? It is very good." Kirk said.
"Oh, you are too kind," Dorian replied, still a bright pink color.
"How long have you been working on these new shields, Luke?" asked Kirk.
"Ten years at least. What do you say, Zed? Ten years about right?"
Zed, the second in command at the station, was from a part of old Earth folks liked to call Texas. Kirk remembered the storybooks he read as a kid about cowboys and Indians, and compared them to Zed. The cowboy type described him well enough. He was tall, well rounded, and looked pretty strong. Kirk could almost picture him holding a revolver and wearing a cowboy hat.
Zed thought a moment, and then said, " Yes, I believe it was 11 or so." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "No, it was more like 12 years, Luke. We began right after Holly got married, remember?"
Dorian looked confused for a minute, and then a twinkle came to his eye. "Oh yes, Holly," he said. "Pretty girl, she was, loved that man of hers, she did. What was his name?"
"It was Bill, Luke," replied Zed.
"Ah, yes. I remember." Luke replied. An odd smile played upon his lips, but he shook it away. "It has been that long, huh?
"I'm glad to see you are finally ready to accomplish this. Twelve years is a long time to work on anything," said Kirk.
The conversation turned back to the old Academy days, as each shared thoughts, and experiences. Kirk couldn't forget that smile, however that he saw on Dorian's face. He couldn't recall ever knowing anyone named Holly. He put that thought out of his mind and concentrated on the conversation. It was a rare thing to see some of his pals from the Academy. He hadn't seen Luke in over twenty years.
Kirk stood in the doorway of the turbo lift. He had a strange feeling that something would go wrong with these new shields. He tried to shake it, but it wouldn't go away. Finally, he decided to ignore it and keep going. If he didn't hurry, he would be late again. Kirk sighed, and tried to form a smile, at least the paperwork had been found. He sighed, and stepped into the turbo lift.
"Bridge," he told it.
When he arrived on the bridge, he noticed an empty chair. Scotty was missing. Kirk assumed that Mr. Scott was down in engineering clearing up a few things. He hoped that Scotty would be back in time. Kirk saw Spock look his way. Spock obviously understood what his captain was thinking, and walked over to him.
"Good morning, Captain. Did you sleep well?" Spock asked.
"Oh yes, Spock," replied Kirk. "Where is Mr. Scott?"
"He is down in Engineering making a few last minute checks to the engines."
"That sounds like the Scotty that I know." Kirk walked over to his command chair and sat down. "How long until we begin testing, Spock?"
"Three minutes, eighteen point five seconds."
"Thank you, Mr. Spock." Kirk swiveled in his chair to face Uhura. "Uhura, hail Commander Dorian for me." He turned back to face the view screen, and flipped a switch on his chair. "Bridge to Engineering."
"Mr. Scott here."
"Scotty, we need you on the bridge, pronto," Kirk said, beginning to feel impatient.
"Yes, Captain, I'll be right up, I have one last thing…"
"Make it quick, Scotty, we only have a few minutes."
"Yes, sir. Scott out."
Uhura turned to face the Captain and said, " Sir, I have Commander Dorian for you."
"On screen," replied Kirk.
The image of Commander Dorian materialized onto the view screen. "Ah, Captain. Are we ready for today's round of testing?" it asked.
"Almost, Luke. We have to wait for Mr. Scott."
As if on cue, Kirk heard the familiar whoosh of the turbo lift. He got up and approached the turbo lift to greet a somewhat flustered Commander Scott.
"What is it, Scotty?"
"It's that darn new shield mechanism, it is messing up my warp engines!" Scotty exclaimed.
"Oh really?" questioned Commander Dorian. "I don't see why it should. Send me the data, and I'll take a look." Mr. Scott went to the engineering station, and punched a few buttons. Then he sat at the station, going over the figures and muttering to himself.
"I don't see a thing wrong with them, Mr. Scott. Would you tell me exactly what you think is going wrong?" Commander Dorian said.
"The power output of the warp engines was fluctuating, sir. I saw it with my very own eyes." Mr. Scott looked confused as he replied.
Something must have been there, or Mr. Scott wouldn't have gotten so worked up, thought Kirk. "What do you say, Luke? Is it a problem?" Kirk asked.
"I don't even see a thing, Jim. I suggest we continue with the testing, and worry about it later," he answered.
"What do you say Spock?" asked Kirk. These tests had already made him nervous, and the last thing he needed was something to foul up. It seemed to him that testing shouldn't be done on such an important starship at the Enterprise. Why did they have to run tests on his ship? Weren't there other ships they could tamper with?
"I recommend that you continue," replied Spock.
"Then continue, we will. You may proceed commander, " said Kirk.
Kirk began to sit down in his chair, but Dorian stopped him. "Ah, Jim, no faith in me?" the commander said. "I bet that if you stood over there, you'd still be standing by the time we stopped firing. Wouldn't that be a concept? Being able to maneuver about the bridge while being fired at. It could come in handy. Then again, I figure you will sit just the same. You always did play things safe."
Dorian's words stung. They hung in the air, mocking Kirk, playing with his better judgement.
"I will accept that challenge of yours. In fact, I will stand over here." Silently, Kirk hoped that whatever had scared Scotty, turned out to be nothing.
"Captain," Spock said. "I would advise against that."
"No need to worry, Spock. Nothing is going to happen to me."
"Alright, Jim, let's get cracking." The Commander's smiling image blinked out on the screen.
The first few attempts were just as Dorian said they would be, smooth not even a bump. The last photon torpedo came, and its impact could be felt all over the ship. Jim Kirk without a thing to hold onto, and nothing to support him went flying into the bulkhead, landing on his left shoulder with a crunch. Luke had been wrong this time.
Of course you know that the Star Trek characters don't belong to me... Sad, but they don't. I just write stories... The chapters of this story may come up slowly, so be patient. This is my first Star Trek Fan Fiction, so I hope you enjoy!
BETTING WITH ROMULANS
By: Marcie Rich
He strolled down the corridor, making his way to the bridge. Then Kirk hurried faster as he heard Uhura's familiar voice say, "All hands report to stations. We will begin testing project Alpha four Beta. I repeat all hands to stations. We will begin testing project Alpha four Beta."
He ran down the corridor, and to the turbo lift. Suddenly his communicator beeped. "Kirk here," he responded.
"Captain, you are needed on the bridge." said Uhura
"I'm on my way, Uhura. How much time do I have?"
"We won't start without you, sir."
"Thanks Uhura."
"No problem, sir."
Kirk ran into the turbo lift, and waited as it took him to the bridge. He wondered why ensigns had to be so incompetent. He would have been on the bridge an hour ago if it weren't for a pile of paperwork that an ensign had misplaced. Today they were testing a brand new shield device that was supposed to make the shields stronger. You never know what might happen in these tests, and Kirk was glad that he wasn't still searching the corridors for the missing documents. Being rammed into a bulkhead wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Kirk stepped off the turbo lift and onto the bridge eyeing his fellow officers. They were staring right at him wondering why he was late, probably.
"Status Mr. Spock." Kirk said.
"We are ready to begin testing, sir." Replied Spock.
"Uhura, get Commander Dorian for me."
"Aye, sir. He is coming through now."
Kirk watched as the familiar face of Commander Dorian appeared on the view screen. Dorian was a sturdy, well built man, with the lightest blonde hair Kirk had ever seen. They had been in the academy together. Dorian chose to work for the Science Station Alpha 12 rather than serve on a ship. Too bad, Dorian would have made a fine Science officer.
"Ah, Commander Dorian. I assume you are ready to begin testing?"
"Oh yes, Captain. I have been waiting for this opportunity for months. Is the device correctly installed into your computers?"
Always like him, Kirk thought. He always was a business first, nonsense later type of person. Kirk turned and looked at Scotty. Scotty nodded his head, and smiled. "Yes, Commander, we're ready," Kirk replied.
"Alright, engage the shield," said Dorian
"Shield engaged sir," replied Scotty.
"Here we go," said Dorian, "We will begin firing." Dorian smiled as the Captain started for his seat. "No need to sit down, Jim. You won't get thrown around at all. In fact, you won't even feel a thing."
"I hope these shields of yours work, they could be very useful." Kirk eyed Dorian suspiciously.
"Useful indeed. Okay, I'll give my men the word."
The image of Luke Dorian blinked out on the screen. Soon the missiles began firing. The ship didn't even rock. After a minute's worth of firing, Dorian returned to the view screen.
"Well, Captain, what do you think of my shields now?"
"Impressive. I assume you have testing with more powerful photon torpedoes scheduled?"
"Definitely, Jim. Tomorrow at 0700 hours we'll start up again. Right now, my men and I are going to celebrate our first success. Why don't you, Doctor McCoy, Mr. Spock, Mr. Scott and whoever else you see fit, come and join us."
Kirk turned around, "Well gentlemen?" He turned to Scotty.
"Aye, sir, I'd love to, but I need to prepare the ship for tomorrow's testing," answered Scotty.
"Bones?"
"I'd be happy to join you, Jim. I need to straighten things up in sickbay first."
"Spock?"
"I'd be honored to join you, Captain."
"Excellent. Luke, you can expect Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and myself later on tonight, for dinner?"
"Yes, Jim, we'll looking forward to seeing you." Commander Dorian said, smiling. His image faded out on the screen.
Kirk and Commander Dorian had been engaged in a long conversation about old times, when the commander excused himself to see what was taking their dinner so long. He had only been gone minutes, but Kirk was growing impatient. He wondered what Dorian had prepared. He knew that it would be good, because Dorian had always enjoyed cooking. He didn't have too wait long, before the commander came out, arms full with food. They were having chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and rolls. He was definitely impressed.
"Luke, you out did yourself this time." Kirk took a bite of the chicken fried steak. "This is excellent."
"It reminds me of what mother used to make," commented McCoy, as he too ate his meal. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"Oh, I picked it up here and there. It's nothing really." Commander Dorian began to blush. Kirk had forgotten he was so shy. Probably why he didn't want to serve on a ship thought Kirk.
"Nothing really, Commander how can this be nothing really? It is very good." Kirk said.
"Oh, you are too kind," Dorian replied, still a bright pink color.
"How long have you been working on these new shields, Luke?" asked Kirk.
"Ten years at least. What do you say, Zed? Ten years about right?"
Zed, the second in command at the station, was from a part of old Earth folks liked to call Texas. Kirk remembered the storybooks he read as a kid about cowboys and Indians, and compared them to Zed. The cowboy type described him well enough. He was tall, well rounded, and looked pretty strong. Kirk could almost picture him holding a revolver and wearing a cowboy hat.
Zed thought a moment, and then said, " Yes, I believe it was 11 or so." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "No, it was more like 12 years, Luke. We began right after Holly got married, remember?"
Dorian looked confused for a minute, and then a twinkle came to his eye. "Oh yes, Holly," he said. "Pretty girl, she was, loved that man of hers, she did. What was his name?"
"It was Bill, Luke," replied Zed.
"Ah, yes. I remember." Luke replied. An odd smile played upon his lips, but he shook it away. "It has been that long, huh?
"I'm glad to see you are finally ready to accomplish this. Twelve years is a long time to work on anything," said Kirk.
The conversation turned back to the old Academy days, as each shared thoughts, and experiences. Kirk couldn't forget that smile, however that he saw on Dorian's face. He couldn't recall ever knowing anyone named Holly. He put that thought out of his mind and concentrated on the conversation. It was a rare thing to see some of his pals from the Academy. He hadn't seen Luke in over twenty years.
Kirk stood in the doorway of the turbo lift. He had a strange feeling that something would go wrong with these new shields. He tried to shake it, but it wouldn't go away. Finally, he decided to ignore it and keep going. If he didn't hurry, he would be late again. Kirk sighed, and tried to form a smile, at least the paperwork had been found. He sighed, and stepped into the turbo lift.
"Bridge," he told it.
When he arrived on the bridge, he noticed an empty chair. Scotty was missing. Kirk assumed that Mr. Scott was down in engineering clearing up a few things. He hoped that Scotty would be back in time. Kirk saw Spock look his way. Spock obviously understood what his captain was thinking, and walked over to him.
"Good morning, Captain. Did you sleep well?" Spock asked.
"Oh yes, Spock," replied Kirk. "Where is Mr. Scott?"
"He is down in Engineering making a few last minute checks to the engines."
"That sounds like the Scotty that I know." Kirk walked over to his command chair and sat down. "How long until we begin testing, Spock?"
"Three minutes, eighteen point five seconds."
"Thank you, Mr. Spock." Kirk swiveled in his chair to face Uhura. "Uhura, hail Commander Dorian for me." He turned back to face the view screen, and flipped a switch on his chair. "Bridge to Engineering."
"Mr. Scott here."
"Scotty, we need you on the bridge, pronto," Kirk said, beginning to feel impatient.
"Yes, Captain, I'll be right up, I have one last thing…"
"Make it quick, Scotty, we only have a few minutes."
"Yes, sir. Scott out."
Uhura turned to face the Captain and said, " Sir, I have Commander Dorian for you."
"On screen," replied Kirk.
The image of Commander Dorian materialized onto the view screen. "Ah, Captain. Are we ready for today's round of testing?" it asked.
"Almost, Luke. We have to wait for Mr. Scott."
As if on cue, Kirk heard the familiar whoosh of the turbo lift. He got up and approached the turbo lift to greet a somewhat flustered Commander Scott.
"What is it, Scotty?"
"It's that darn new shield mechanism, it is messing up my warp engines!" Scotty exclaimed.
"Oh really?" questioned Commander Dorian. "I don't see why it should. Send me the data, and I'll take a look." Mr. Scott went to the engineering station, and punched a few buttons. Then he sat at the station, going over the figures and muttering to himself.
"I don't see a thing wrong with them, Mr. Scott. Would you tell me exactly what you think is going wrong?" Commander Dorian said.
"The power output of the warp engines was fluctuating, sir. I saw it with my very own eyes." Mr. Scott looked confused as he replied.
Something must have been there, or Mr. Scott wouldn't have gotten so worked up, thought Kirk. "What do you say, Luke? Is it a problem?" Kirk asked.
"I don't even see a thing, Jim. I suggest we continue with the testing, and worry about it later," he answered.
"What do you say Spock?" asked Kirk. These tests had already made him nervous, and the last thing he needed was something to foul up. It seemed to him that testing shouldn't be done on such an important starship at the Enterprise. Why did they have to run tests on his ship? Weren't there other ships they could tamper with?
"I recommend that you continue," replied Spock.
"Then continue, we will. You may proceed commander, " said Kirk.
Kirk began to sit down in his chair, but Dorian stopped him. "Ah, Jim, no faith in me?" the commander said. "I bet that if you stood over there, you'd still be standing by the time we stopped firing. Wouldn't that be a concept? Being able to maneuver about the bridge while being fired at. It could come in handy. Then again, I figure you will sit just the same. You always did play things safe."
Dorian's words stung. They hung in the air, mocking Kirk, playing with his better judgement.
"I will accept that challenge of yours. In fact, I will stand over here." Silently, Kirk hoped that whatever had scared Scotty, turned out to be nothing.
"Captain," Spock said. "I would advise against that."
"No need to worry, Spock. Nothing is going to happen to me."
"Alright, Jim, let's get cracking." The Commander's smiling image blinked out on the screen.
The first few attempts were just as Dorian said they would be, smooth not even a bump. The last photon torpedo came, and its impact could be felt all over the ship. Jim Kirk without a thing to hold onto, and nothing to support him went flying into the bulkhead, landing on his left shoulder with a crunch. Luke had been wrong this time.