Jack awakens, lying on a biobed in a sickbay. He looks around, and sees Lorza asleep in a chair at his bedside. Jack reaches over, and puts a hand on his wife's shoulder. She opens her eyes, and takes his hand.
"Jack…" Lorza says. She gets out of her chair, and approaches the bed. Jack slowly sits up, and Lorza promptly embraces him.
"Lorza… are you okay?" Jack asks.
"No, I'm not. They… took the girls." Lorza answers.
"Damn. How long have I been out?" Jack asks, taking notice that his wife is now uniform as opposed to the civilian clothing she had previously been wearing.
"Six hours. You're at Starfleet Medical." Lorza answers.
"Six hours? Those bastards have left the sector by now!" Jack says. He starts to slowly get off the bed. Lorza puts a hand on his chest.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lorza asks.
"Starfleet Command." Jack answers.
"I can't allow that, captain. You haven't fully recovered from your injuries yet." A vulcan woman in a medical uniform says as she approaches.
"I called T'leth. She's taken charge of your surgery and recovery." Lorza says.
"Surgery?" Jack asks.
"You suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a collapsed lung, and six broken ribs. I have healed most of the damage, but you will need further recovery time. You are off duty for at least twelve hours." T'leth answers.
"I have a job to do, doctor." Jack says.
"Not for at least twelve hours, captain. That is an order from your Chief Medical Officer." T'leth says.
"Please, Jack. Listen to T'leth. She knows what she's doing." Lorza says.
"You're right. About the girls, do we have any idea where they are?" Jack asks.
"Zarayn and his people escaped in a stolen runabout. Starfleet sent two ships after them, but… they lost them. Now, we have no idea where they are." Lorza answers.
"I believe I can help vith that." An older male voice says from the sickbay's entrance. Jack and Lorza look toward the door, and see an elderly, bald man in a red and black uniform bearing the insignia of a fleet admiral.
"Admiral Chekov." Jack says. He starts to stand up.
"At ease, keptin. Ve vouldn't vant to upset your doctor, vould ve?" Chekov asks.
"I think that happens no matter what I do." Jack answers.
"As you are aware, I am a vulcan. I am incapable of such displays of emotion." T'leth says.
"We've served together for six years, T'leth. I know better." Jack says. The vulcan doctor raises an eyebrow.
"So you say. You are free to leave sickbay. You may even return to the ship if you wish, but you are to remain off duty for at least twelve hours. I would also prefer it if you avoid walking. I have taken the liberty of requisitioning a hover chair for you." T'leth says.
"Fine." Jack says. He stands up slowly, with Lorza assisting him. He is then helped to the hover chair.
"So, where to?" Lorza asks.
"The ship." Jack answers.
"Actually, Keptin, if ve may, I need to speak vith you in private." Chekov says.
"Of course, admiral." Jack says.
"Please, come to my office. Commander Lorza, you may come as vell. This concerns you too." Chekov says.
"Aye, sir." Lorza says.
A few minutes later, Jack and Lorza are in Admiral Chekov's office. The elderly admiral is seated behind his desk, while Jack is in his hover chair facing him. Lorza is standing behind Jack, with her hands on his shoulders.
"As you are avare, ve have no idea vhere the terrorists currently are, but ve are doing our best to find out. I vill share vith you vhat ve know." Chekov says.
"Any help is appreciated, admiral." Jack says.
"As you know, Starfleet Command sent two wessels in pursuit, but ve lost them in a nebula… near the Neutral Zone." Chekov says.
"The Neutral Zone? Do you think… that they might have gone through the nebula… to the Romulan side of the zone?" Jack asks.
"It is possible. Starfleet Intelligence believes that these extremists have an unknown benefactor of some kind." Chekov answers.
"The Tal Shiar. They hire Zarayn and his people to do some spying for them. In return, the Romulans help them carry out the kidnapping of two children, on Earth, in broad daylight. Yeah, I could see the Tal Shiar pulling a stunt like this. Do we have any idea how these people got a hold of a runabout?" Jack asks.
"The wessel was stolen from a Starfleet Surplus Depot several weeks ago. It vas no longer in active service." Chekov says.
"So, if it's from a junkyard, they probably ditched it in that nebula and met up with another ship." Jack says.
"That is our theory as vell." Chekov says.
"I'd like permission to go after them, admiral." Jack says.
"I thought you might." Chekov says.
"They have our children, sir! We can't just let them get away with that!" Lorza says. Jack takes her hand and squeezes it.
"Easy, Lolo." Jack says. After a few seconds, Lorza calms down.
"Sorry, admiral." Lorza says.
"I understand your frustration, commander. You can rest assured that I have no intention of allowing anyone to get avay vith anything." Chekov says.
"The Dynasty's supposed to be in drydock for another four days. If we could get another ship temporarily…" Jack says.
"Actually, I've already checked. The Dynasty can be ready to go in about eight hours if we bypass the nonessential systems." Lorza says.
"Look at you, thinking ahead." Jack says.
"I want the girls back, Jack, and I want us to be the ones to get them." Lorza says.
"I want the same thing, but… it's not up to us. If we were doing this by the book, you and I would both be expected to stay out of it." Jack says. Lorza sighs in frustration.
"In my experience, the book is not always right. Sometimes, you just… have to go vith your gut. I have already spoken to the C-in-C on this matter, and ve are both in agreement on how to proceed from here." Chekov says.
"You went straight to the C-in-C? No Clancy? Bet she was happy about that." Jack says.
"Admiral Clancy vas at the meeting, but I did not consult her beforehand. The security of the Federation has been wiolated, and ve must act now! The lives of two innocent children are at stake, and there is no time for debate or quoting regulations!" Chekov says.
"Sounds like you're not too wild about Clancy either." Lorza says.
"You could say that. I understand the two of you have your differences vith her as vell." Chekov says.
"Let's just say we're not getting her anything for Christmas this year." Jack says.
"I know vhat you mean." Chekov says.
"Admiral, what has the C-in-C decided to do?" Lorza asks.
"The Dynasty… is being placed on temporary assignment vith Starfleet Special Forces. You are cleared to launch as soon as your ship is ready. Go, find your children." Chekov answers.
"Thank you, sir." Lorza says. Chekov shakes her hand, then does the same to Jack.
"Good luck to you both." Chekov says.
"Thank you, admiral." Jack says.
Several minutes later, Jack and Lorza beam to their ship, the Galaxy-class USS Dynasty. The ship is currently docked in Earth orbit, undergoing systems upgrades.
Aboard the Dynasty, Jack is now in his ready room with Lorza. They are now joined by Commander Jen Dalton, a dark haired woman of thirty, who serves as the Dynasty's first officer. Jack is now in uniform, seated behind his desk, while Lorza and Jen are seated in chairs facing him.
"So, how did it go with Admiral Chekov?" Jen asks.
"Pretty good actually. The Dynasty's been temporarily reassigned to Special Forces." Jack answers.
"Which means we answer to Admiral Chekov for now." Jen says.
"That's right. We've been authorized to do whatever is necessary to get the girls back." Jack says.
"Good. What are we still sitting around here for?" Jen asks. Lorza chuckles.
"The ship's not quite ready to go yet, and… I have orders for you." Jack answers.
"Orders… for me?" Jen asks.
"I haven't been cleared to return to duty yet, so you have the bridge… for at least the next twelve hours." Jack says.
"At least the next twelve hours? Sounds like T'leth is being a little overzealous again. You seem fine to me." Jen says.
"I could take command now and not have any problems, but… doctor's orders." Jack says.
"I know what you mean." Jen says.
"Starfleet Command says we can launch as soon as the ship's ready. Lorza's already checked with the department heads and made up a list of what needs to be done." Jack says. Lorza offers a PADD to Jen. Jen takes the PADD and looks at it for a moment.
"You've been busy." Jen says.
"I want to get this ship moving so we can get the girls back." Lorza says.
"Well, don't you worry. I'll have Raven get on this. She can handle ops until you get back." Jen says.
"Get back? I'm not going anywhere." Lorza says.
"I thought you might want some time…" Jen says.
"No. No time off. I'll keep working. I need to. It helps." Lorza says.
"Okay." Jen says.
"I'll see you on the bridge when my shift starts." Lorza says.
"Alright. Look… I know this has been a rough time for both of you, but we are going to get through this. We're going to get the twins back, and we're all going to be just fine." Jen says.
"Thanks, Jen." Jack says.
"Hang in there, you two. We've got this." Jen says.
I knew I wanted a veteran character to have a small role as a 'good' admiral in this. I figured... how about Chekov? He's still active duty in the fanfilm Renegades (set in the late 2380s), so I decided to use him.
Oh, the Admiral Clancy mentioned here is the same one from Star Trek: Picard. She'll show up eventually in a small role, and be her usual charming self.
Note: I'm expecting the next chapter to be ready within a couple of weeks. After that, this story is going to go on break for at least a month, as I am starting work on Apocalypse again, as well as another story I've been working on for quite a while. Thanks.