Thank you for the nice reviews. Here's the next chapter, a lot sooner than I expect to have it up...ENJOY!
"Commander!"
The helmsman shouted, suddenly very startled by something on his display.
"Commander!! The Klingons are charging their phasers, sir, but not toward us....They are turning their ship towards the planet, sir! They are aiming straight for Solo!!!"
"What?!"
Scott reared up from his seat and glared at the helm console, enraged,
"Those ANIMALS! I hope they're not intendin' to fire at an inhabited planet! Hail them, Ensign! I need to talk with that beast!"
The Communications Officer shook her head, mussing her thin brown hair, and let out a squeak of frustration.
"They refuse to acknowledge, sir. They won't-"
"Thirty seconds till their banks are charged,"
Giasco interupted, casting a frantic glance at the engineer acting captain. Scott's brow puckered. He knew that prolonged phaser blows could send a planet, even one as large and as dense as Solo, cracking into a pile of free flying meterorites. He considered a moment the strange sheild that covered the planet already, but it seemed to much of a risk to gamble so many lives on. Frightening, when one thought of the millions of inhabitants that lived on the Solotan surface. For a breif moment, Scott wondered what Captain Kirk would do . But it hit him soon enough, a desicion he truly wished could be made by anyone but him, at this moment.
Licking his lips, and sitting back down in the absent captain's chair, Scott spoke,
"Get as fast as ye can, Mr. Giasco. We're gonna put ourselves between that phaser and that planet!"
Four hundred lives was a more kinder sacrafice than a hundred million, Scott thought drearily as the ship lurched towards death at her highest speeds.
"Are we getting any closer?"
Kirk's voice was a whisper, but tight with impatience. The group had been walking for at least a half hour, including the frequent rests they took so that Chekov could regain his sense of direction, and more importantly, catch his breath.
"I am absolutely certain, sair,"
he replied immediately. The captain glanced at his surroundings, unsure by what Chekov was using to guide them through these tunnels. Everything looked the same, the carved ice floor, the rough cavern walls, delicately decorated with icicles, the neverending grey ceiling that echoed every word spoken. Perhaps, Kirk thought with some irony, Chekov was working with pure gut instinct. After all, he had been the best navigator the Enterprise ever had.
"Captain, I hear something."
Uhura hoarsely called across the corridor. Kirk strained, holding his breath. Murmurs, he heard the soft, chirping of Solotan words. Then a seemingly famliar voice, a shout louder than the rest of them, talking in indistiguishable Standard. Captain Kirk offered a quick but genuine smile to the members of the group,
"We must be getting close now. Good work, Mister Chekov."
The Russian ducked his head at the compliment, a slight blush of pride on his face, and James Kirk thought he recognized the twenty two year old ensign who'd boarded his ship less than a decade ago.
"Come on," Kirk commanded,with a growing undertone of hope warming his voice.
Dr. Leonard H. McCoy turned to his Vulcan companion a small flush of anger and perhaps, hope, splashing his features a dark pink.
"Don't you see, Spock? If the Klingons did this to them..."
"Then the Federation is not responsible for the injury of Solotan citizens. I see your point, Doctor. The Federation is not to blame, therefore..."
"Neither is Jim and the others!!!"
McCoy's face broke into a craggy grin.
The smile faded as soon as it came, when the good doctor realized the patient beneath them was squirming and whimpering weeping words in his native language.
"Damn,"
McCoy whispered, the strength suddenly lacking from his boisterous voice,
"Disruptor beams are one of the most painful injuries out there. And here I am, with little knowledge on how to treat them..."
Spock cleared his throat, acutely aware of the doctor's dark emotions,
"I am sure that any treatment you offer them, doctor, will be a successful one."
Leonard's eyes stayed dull and ungleaming, but his mouth found a smaller version of his earlier smile.
"Why, Spock, that's the closest thing to a compliment you've ever given me."
Spock's eyebrow raised, an expression of Vulcan distaste,
"That wasn't the impression I was attempting to convey, doctor."
McCoy's glanced at Spock a moment then chortled, with a voice full of illogical amusement.
"Of COURSE not, Mister Spock. Why EVER would I accuse you of such a...human...act."
"I am uncertain, doctor."
More relaxed now, Doctor McCoy dug through his medical bag, looking for a hypospray, thankful for Spock's intuition, as human as it may seem.
"INCOMING!"
Scott grabbed the armrests and held them tightly. "All power to sheilds! Do it now!"
"Brace yourselves," the helmsman called across the bridge.
A loud crack exploded in their ears and the ship shook as if frightened, jarring everyone upward then towards the floor with such a force, Scott's teeth clacked painfully together.
"Saints preserve us," he muttered, the turned on the comlink to announce what he'd had no time to do before the attack.
"This is actin' Capt'in Scott to the crew. I ask ye to all head to battle stations, the Enterprise is under attack. I have decided that it's necessary to protect Planet Solo at all costs to us."
He closed the frequency and turned in his chair when the Communications Officer cleared her throat gently.
"Damage reports, sir...from engineering. And Sickbay wants to know what's going on."
"Fill 'em in, Ensign. You, Giasco, take the power from the forward sheilds to the phaser banks and charge. "
"Aye, aye, sir."
Saints preserve us, Commander Scott thought again. It must have been a captain's prayer.
"Commander!"
The helmsman shouted, suddenly very startled by something on his display.
"Commander!! The Klingons are charging their phasers, sir, but not toward us....They are turning their ship towards the planet, sir! They are aiming straight for Solo!!!"
"What?!"
Scott reared up from his seat and glared at the helm console, enraged,
"Those ANIMALS! I hope they're not intendin' to fire at an inhabited planet! Hail them, Ensign! I need to talk with that beast!"
The Communications Officer shook her head, mussing her thin brown hair, and let out a squeak of frustration.
"They refuse to acknowledge, sir. They won't-"
"Thirty seconds till their banks are charged,"
Giasco interupted, casting a frantic glance at the engineer acting captain. Scott's brow puckered. He knew that prolonged phaser blows could send a planet, even one as large and as dense as Solo, cracking into a pile of free flying meterorites. He considered a moment the strange sheild that covered the planet already, but it seemed to much of a risk to gamble so many lives on. Frightening, when one thought of the millions of inhabitants that lived on the Solotan surface. For a breif moment, Scott wondered what Captain Kirk would do . But it hit him soon enough, a desicion he truly wished could be made by anyone but him, at this moment.
Licking his lips, and sitting back down in the absent captain's chair, Scott spoke,
"Get as fast as ye can, Mr. Giasco. We're gonna put ourselves between that phaser and that planet!"
Four hundred lives was a more kinder sacrafice than a hundred million, Scott thought drearily as the ship lurched towards death at her highest speeds.
"Are we getting any closer?"
Kirk's voice was a whisper, but tight with impatience. The group had been walking for at least a half hour, including the frequent rests they took so that Chekov could regain his sense of direction, and more importantly, catch his breath.
"I am absolutely certain, sair,"
he replied immediately. The captain glanced at his surroundings, unsure by what Chekov was using to guide them through these tunnels. Everything looked the same, the carved ice floor, the rough cavern walls, delicately decorated with icicles, the neverending grey ceiling that echoed every word spoken. Perhaps, Kirk thought with some irony, Chekov was working with pure gut instinct. After all, he had been the best navigator the Enterprise ever had.
"Captain, I hear something."
Uhura hoarsely called across the corridor. Kirk strained, holding his breath. Murmurs, he heard the soft, chirping of Solotan words. Then a seemingly famliar voice, a shout louder than the rest of them, talking in indistiguishable Standard. Captain Kirk offered a quick but genuine smile to the members of the group,
"We must be getting close now. Good work, Mister Chekov."
The Russian ducked his head at the compliment, a slight blush of pride on his face, and James Kirk thought he recognized the twenty two year old ensign who'd boarded his ship less than a decade ago.
"Come on," Kirk commanded,with a growing undertone of hope warming his voice.
Dr. Leonard H. McCoy turned to his Vulcan companion a small flush of anger and perhaps, hope, splashing his features a dark pink.
"Don't you see, Spock? If the Klingons did this to them..."
"Then the Federation is not responsible for the injury of Solotan citizens. I see your point, Doctor. The Federation is not to blame, therefore..."
"Neither is Jim and the others!!!"
McCoy's face broke into a craggy grin.
The smile faded as soon as it came, when the good doctor realized the patient beneath them was squirming and whimpering weeping words in his native language.
"Damn,"
McCoy whispered, the strength suddenly lacking from his boisterous voice,
"Disruptor beams are one of the most painful injuries out there. And here I am, with little knowledge on how to treat them..."
Spock cleared his throat, acutely aware of the doctor's dark emotions,
"I am sure that any treatment you offer them, doctor, will be a successful one."
Leonard's eyes stayed dull and ungleaming, but his mouth found a smaller version of his earlier smile.
"Why, Spock, that's the closest thing to a compliment you've ever given me."
Spock's eyebrow raised, an expression of Vulcan distaste,
"That wasn't the impression I was attempting to convey, doctor."
McCoy's glanced at Spock a moment then chortled, with a voice full of illogical amusement.
"Of COURSE not, Mister Spock. Why EVER would I accuse you of such a...human...act."
"I am uncertain, doctor."
More relaxed now, Doctor McCoy dug through his medical bag, looking for a hypospray, thankful for Spock's intuition, as human as it may seem.
"INCOMING!"
Scott grabbed the armrests and held them tightly. "All power to sheilds! Do it now!"
"Brace yourselves," the helmsman called across the bridge.
A loud crack exploded in their ears and the ship shook as if frightened, jarring everyone upward then towards the floor with such a force, Scott's teeth clacked painfully together.
"Saints preserve us," he muttered, the turned on the comlink to announce what he'd had no time to do before the attack.
"This is actin' Capt'in Scott to the crew. I ask ye to all head to battle stations, the Enterprise is under attack. I have decided that it's necessary to protect Planet Solo at all costs to us."
He closed the frequency and turned in his chair when the Communications Officer cleared her throat gently.
"Damage reports, sir...from engineering. And Sickbay wants to know what's going on."
"Fill 'em in, Ensign. You, Giasco, take the power from the forward sheilds to the phaser banks and charge. "
"Aye, aye, sir."
Saints preserve us, Commander Scott thought again. It must have been a captain's prayer.