Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. I also don't own Elvis, or his "little less conversation, little more action," song. (See chapter title.) Nor would I want to own Elvis! Needless to say, I don't listen to Elvis if I can help it.
Back at Rose Castle, Becky was slipping on her cloak as she headed for the door. "Becky, where are you going?" her mother cried incredulously.
"Captain Kirk of the Enterprise is going to help us, and I'm going down to the gatehouse to send him the coordinates to the castle," Becky said boldly, though she knew the trip would be perilous.
"Becky, you can't!" Marta implored frantically. "If you don't get hit with falling debris, those trolls will capture you for sure!"
Rebecca's eyes flashed defiantly, and it would be a brave troll indeed that would have opposed her at that moment. "Be that as it may, Captain Kirk must have his coordinates. He will save us, and Roseburg, if he can."
Who is this 'Captain Kirk', anyway?" Marta asked crossly.
"He's the captain of the starship Enterprise, and a very clever man."
"Oh, him, the one on the phone," Marta groaned.
"Please, everyone, trust me! He can help us, I know he can! I hate to use an old cliché', but can any of you think of a better idea?"
Becky's family members shrugged uncomfortably. They knew she was right, and that it was the only way at that point. Then Timothy stood up abruptly and grabbed his cloak and sword. "If you're going, I am too, Becky," he said solemnly.
"You're only seventeen years old! I'm sorry, Timothy, but I can't let you come," Becky said firmly.
"I've got to!" he begged.
"Timothy, you can't."
"Paul would want me to go. I'm the only other son, and he always tells me to protect the family when he's gone," Timothy argued.
Looking discerningly at her younger brother, Rebecca could see the fear in his eyes plainly, but determination as well. Timothy held Paul in great respect, she knew, and he would fulfill any promises Paul had asked him to make. The boy also desperately wanted to emulate his brother's heroic attitudes, and helping her overcome an obstacle like this would mean a great deal to him. Becky looked thoughtfully at Timothy's slender, adolescent frame and boyishly curly hair. She hated to think of him in danger, but he was obviously convinced he must go with her. "All right, you're in too," she said reluctantly.
"Thanks, Becky! Ready to go save the day?" he said eagerly.
"Let's go!"
Brother and sister glided silently through the darkened hallways of Rose Castle, working their way downstairs to the gatehouse. The loud pounding and savage troll yells were quite fearsome in the shadowy corridors, and both siblings grabbed the other's hand tightly for reassurance more than once. As the reached the front hallway of the castle, Becky whispered, "We're getting close now."
"Yeah, all we have to do is make it across a courtyard being bombarded by trebuchet fire now," Timothy said sarcastically.
"Silence, remember, Johnny Sunshine?" Becky hissed.
Timothy rolled his eyes, and the pair watched the courtyard carefully until there seemed to be a bit of a break in the shower of debris. "Now!" Rebecca said quickly, and the two sprinted across the courtyard, making a beeline for the gatehouse door. Becky nearly was hit by an unanticipated boulder just as they were nearing the entrance, but Timothy pulled her inside to safety with a desperate yank of her arm. "Thanks," Becky said breathlessly as they crouched anxiously behind the door.
"No problem," Timothy replied, and they walked quickly towards the communication desk.
Taking a brisk look at the controls on the desk, Timothy gave Becky a puzzled glance and asked, "How does this thing work anyway?"
Becky took a deep breath. "You know, I'm not exactly sure. I know it sends out non-vocal messages, but I don't think anyone has even used it in awhile. I hope we can get it to work."
"Yeah." Timothy carefully examined the desk, until he found a faded label in one corner. "Hey Becky," he called, "I think I found the instructions."
Becky crowded in behind him, and the two crouched over the label. Timothy read slowly, "It says here…that we push the blue button second from the right, enter the numbers and…push the large, I think it says, square button on the top to send. Does that sound right, Becky?"
"Seems to be working," Rebecca responded as she carried out instructions. She pushed the square button and sighed. "Well, if we did it right, I guess I just sent it!" Then she whirled around at a thunderous howl. They had been able to hear loud crashing and shouting the whole time in the gatehouse, but this noise seemed even closer than before. "Timothy, did you hear that?"
Before her brother could answer, the outer door of the gatehouse splintered, then disintegrated as the trolls broke through it. They flooded into the small structure, creating piles of rubble in their wake. Timothy drew his sword, and started to charge them, but he was hopelessly outnumbered, and a troll cuffed him hard on the head almost immediately. The boy groaned with pain and slithered to the ground, unconscious.
Becky cried out with horror and ran toward her brother, but as she reached Timothy's side, a large, meaty form lunged for her and lifted her off the ground. She tried frantically to extricate herself, and found herself slipping out of his grasp, but another troll saw his comrade's situation and a heavy fist descended on Becky's head. Her head swam, and everything went black.
"Ensign Baker, set and lay in a course for Planet Naturalis," Kirk ordered the young man at the navigation post.
"Captain?" Baker asked doubtfully.
"You got something to say, Mister?" Kirk said in a self-important tone.
"No, sir."
"Didn't think so." Captain Kirk tramped over to his chair, looking irritable. Mr. Spock raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and walked smoothly up to him, just as Kirk knew he would.
"Captain, why are we going to Naturalis?" he asked sternly.
Jim rubbed his forehead, and sighed through clenched teeth. "Spock, I don't really expect you to understand this, but the woman I love is in danger, and I have to help her. To an irrational human like me, that woman's well being is very important. That's why we're going."
"Jim, this is a breach of the Prime Directive."
"I know, Spock. It's just, what's a career going to mean to me, if something happens to Becky? If I let her go, I'll just go back to being my old self again, seeming like my life is full of gorgeous companionship, when I'm actually very lonely. Now that I've found that woman to fill the void, I can't just give up. I need her."
Spock raised his eyebrows again. Clearly, he had his doubts. Jim imagined he was about to divulge his logical objections, but he never found out for sure, because Dr. McCoy stormed into the room at that very moment.
"Jim, what's this I hear about going to Naturalis?" he shouted wildly, screeching to a halt in front of Kirk's chair. "My gad, man! When I told you to talk to her about getting back together, I didn't mean you should turn the bloody ship around!"
McCoy stopped to catch his breath, and Captain Kirk took the opportunity to interrupt, "When I called her, her castle was being attacked by renegade trolls, and it sounded like the place was about to tumble down any minute! You can't expect me to just sit around and let that happen, now that we're back together!"
"Well, I suppose not. No, you're going to send the whole darn starship on its merry way to the home of your lady love, and then send down a cavalry charge of ensigns to fight a battle that isn't even theirs! Oh, that's a brilliant idea, Jim!"
"Now wait a just a second!" Kirk yelled, looking affronted. "I never said anything about sending down ship's personnel to fight the trolls. No, this is a private matter, and it will be dealt with as one. I'm beaming down to the castle, by myself, to try and save Becky and her brother. I'm willing to take the consequences of my actions, but I'm not dragging the whole ship into this."
Looking somewhat embarrassed, Bones muttered quietly, "Well, I guess that's not so bad. Well, I wish you luck, Jim. I can't say I think you'll have any, but I wish you it all the same."
"I appreciate that, Bones," Jim said rather acidly. He was still resentful of both his friend's lack of support, and he had been secretly hoping McCoy and Spock would offer to go along. He obviously could not order them to, but he sure would have appreciated their assistance. "Well, I obviously have somewhere to beam down to, until later, gentlemen." And with that, Kirk stalked off the bridge.
Spock watched him leave, then sat down at his post. A few seconds later, he stood up and took a step towards the bridge door with a thoughtful expression. Dr. McCoy sighed wryly and followed him. "You're going with him, aren't you, Spock?"
"I believe so, doctor. Are you?"
"Of course I am! Let's get going!"
Not surprisingly, Captain Kirk was quite pleased when his fellow officers joined him, and they transported down to the planet on much better terms with each other. They materialized in the same spot Rebecca had several hours earlier, but the eerie silence of before had been replaced by the noisy sounds of battle. "Sounds like a war zone around here," Bones groused. "I wonder where everyone is."
"My tricorder is picking up Naturalian life form readings emanating some levels above us."
"Lead the way, Mr. Spock," Kirk ordered.
The dimmed lighting and occasional rubble in the hallways did not make it easy for Kirk and his men to find the tower, and the doctor stubbing his toe hard on a rock did not help matters. McCoy griped peevishly about his toe and their general situation the rest of the way up, much to Kirk and Spock's chagrin, but they eventually located the tower. At that point, even Bones was forced to be more cheerful.
Kirk knocked on the tower door, and although he thought he heard a startled gasp, he received no answer. The three proceeded to force open the door, and with their combined strength, the door's ancient lock gave way easily. As they tumbled into the room, Princess Marta cried out in alarm, "Who are you?"
Brushing the dust from his hair, Jim answered, "I'm Captain Kirk, and these are my fellow officers, Spock and McCoy. We're here to help."
Receiving only a blank look from Marta and her family, he continued, "I called for Rebecca on the phone…"
"Rebecca, of course. It's all right, everyone," Marta reassured. "it's him."
Kirk wondered what exactly Marta meant by "him." Nothing unpleasant, he hoped, but it was not really his chief concern, so he did not think too hard on it. "Where's Rebecca? Could I talk to her?" he asked, beginning to worry at her absence.
The family members took on a pained look, and Kirk's stomach clenched tightly. "Well, that might be a little difficult, as she was in the gatehouse last we knew." Marta said.
"What's the matter with the gatehouse?" Kirk asked sharply.
The king stepped forward, and explained unhappily, "Becky and my son Timothy were in the gatehouse, sending you the castle's coordinates, and while they were in there, the trolls gained entry to the gatehouse. We can only assume the trolls have captured them."
Spock said gravely, "This complicates the situation."
"Sure does. What will we do now, Jim?" Bones asked.
Captain Kirk addressed their questions by turning to the king and inquiring, "You have horses to ride, I assume?"
King Phillip nodded, and Kirk went on calmly, "I would like three of these for my friends and I to ride. And if you would provide me with directions to the troll's base, I believe we will pay them a visit."
"Captain, am I to assume we are invading the trolls?"
"You may indeed assume that, Mr. Spock. We're going to show those beasts who they're dealing with."
The action's building up now! Will Captain Kirk be able to save Princess Rebecca and her brothers? Will they be able to defeat the trolls? Will Dr. McCoy get over his stubbed toe? What will happen next? …..Sorry, I kind of morphed into an oldies film announcer for a minute. Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story!