Chapter Two - Things that are the Same and Things that are not

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The data pad sat on the edge of the side table, the screen lit up the darkened room. The stars glistening outside the window. The man gave a hearty sigh as he rolled over to see what had disturbed his slumber. Tilting the offensive device from his prone position he read the alert, and promptly jumped out of bed. Throwing on his trousers and grabbing his med kit before he threw himself out the door and ran down the hall.

As the Chief Medical Officer, Leonard McCoy was privileged to have his own private quarters. However, he was located on the opposite side of the deck from the Captain and the First Officer. Normally this was a good thing, he was closer to sickbay, and it gave a certain protection from losing all senior staff in one fail swoop. Now however, he wished he was a little closer. His PADD continued to beep, and McCoy had forgot he had taken it with him.

Arriving at his destination he punched in his code as fast as possible, just as Pike rounded the corner. "What happened?" The captain barked at his CMO.

Leonard ignored the question, he didn't know, and his main priority was trying to find out. The door swished open, and both men found a desperate sight before them. Their young charge was laid out on the floor, shaking uncontrollably. His vibrant blue eyes were rolled to the back of his head. His ankle bracelet flashed and beeped, alerting any nearby to the danger the young man was in. A seizure. McCoy cursed loudly, dropping to his knees next to the man, already pulling out a hypo.

The tell-tale hiss was louder than normal as the men waited with baited breath to see if the boy they had saved would survive.

No sooner than the hiss had finished that James T. Kirk stopped shaking, and his body relaxed with a defeated sigh.

"Ok I'll ask again, what the hell happened?" Christopher Pike was not used to being ignored, he looked between Jim and McCoy.

"I haven't got a clue." McCoy was already digging through his data pad, looking for the reason his young friend would be on the floor. It was then that he noticed. Jim hadn't had an injection in almost seventy-two hours.

"Dammit Jim!" The southern doctor cursed, as he filled the hypo once more and injected the still prone figure. "He hasn't had an injection in over 72 hours." McCoy shook his head, with a grim scowl.

"What?" Pike asked with a deceptive calm that spoke to his anger, "Why the hell not?"

"How am I supposed to know?! I'm not a babysitter, dammit, I'm a doctor!" McCoy responded, as he threw up his hands and got to his feet. He took a few deep breaths, before looking his Captain in the eye, matching his anger.

"Yes a doctor who is in charge of MY crews welfare. Specialist Kirk is part of the crew Doctor." Pike rebuked the man, challenging him to disagree. "Making sure he gets his medication is your responsibility Doctor McCoy."

McCoy couldn't fault the man on that logic, it was his responsibility and he was already angry enough with himself. He had an alert to notify him before this were to happen, before Kirk was critical.

"It's not his fault." A groggy voice sounded from their feet, they both whipped around to see Jim Kirk trying to sit up, before groaning and resuming his previous position. "I did it on purpose."

McCoy and Pike both knelt next to him, concerned and still prickly from their previous confrontation. "I hacked my file…. temporarily." He added at the end.

"Why son? Why would you do that." Pike was the first to respond, his features softening.

"I needed to know." Kirk gave a nonchalant shrug, as if this hadn't been a big deal.

"What the hell are you talking about, man?!" McCoy squawked back, continuing his scowl.

"I needed to know how long I could last. What it felt like." Kirk couldn't really understand what they were so upset about. He needed to be ready incase something happened one day, where he couldn't get his dose and he was left alone. "For when I'm on my own again."

Both men exchanged a look, "That will never happen." Pike said gently placing his hand on Jim' shoulder. Kirk didn't believe him, but he let the man think he did, just to put their minds at rest.

"Come on let's get you up." McCoy sighed as his gripped the blond man's arm and slowly tried to lift him up into a sitting position. Pike did the same on the other side, and slowly they were able to get Jim to his feet. Although his head swam, and he brought a hand to his head trying to stop the swimming. They led him to the bed, where he lied down and promptly fell to sleep.

The two men shared yet another look, both silently vowing to never let this happen again. Promising to look out for Jim, renewing a promise they had already made six months ago.

Over the last six months the Enterprise had been the tip of the spear in the effort to combat the Klingons. Her advance technology and capable crew were the obvious reason behind their success, they were the best of the best. However, underneath the public view the USS Enterprise and her crew had a secret weapon that only the highest level of Starfleet Command was aware of. James Tiberius Kirk was an enigma wrapped in an enigma. No one knew what to make of him, or what to do with him.

Some like Christopher Pike, thought that Kirk was an asset to be used in the field, and a man that deserved what limited freedom they could offer.

Others like Alexander Marcus had other ideas. They believed that Kirk should be forced to reveal all the information he knew and then turned into their ultimate weapon.

Whichever side you landed on, there was no denying that Kirk was a dangerous genius who knew more about the Klingons and their empire than any other person in the federation.

He had grown up in the empire as the favorite plaything for the Chancellor of the High Council of the Klingon Empire.

After his rescue six months ago, Jim had used this information to help the crew of the Enterprise stay one step ahead of the empire. Until now.

It had been one week since Jim's collapse, and both the Captain and the CMO had been keeping a close eye on the man. McCoy had taken it upon himself to oversee each injection personally, ensure that the first officer received his shot. Kirk had been removed from the landing party roster and had been confined to the Enterprise until further notice. Which led to his current predicament. Christopher Pike had been called to the planet below on a diplomatic mission. The Enterprise in all her glory, had been asked to transport an important member of the Velician Royal Family to earth for an important war council meeting. This left Specialist Kirk at the helm.

"Sir." Commander Spock stood stoically behind the first officer of the Starfleet flag ship. The entire crew was still a little uncertain as to how the man qualified for such a position, however the Vulcan wasn't one to question orders. The man turned his head to look at the Chief Science Officer taking his eyes away from the document awaiting his approval.

"What can I do for you Mr. Spock?" Jim smiled over his shoulder, with a curious glint in his eyes.

"There appears to be an anomaly in the sensor array. A spatial flux that last for approximately 23.46 seconds on the last 14 sweeps." Spock handed Kirk the data PADD with the calculations for review.

"Hm." Kirk's fingers flicked expertly over the screen, as he lost his smile and his brows creased concerned. "Mr. Sulu, come about 30 degrees. Mr. Spock, I want a more detailed scan of the area, I need to know what we are dealing with."

"Aye Sir." Sulu was quick to acknowledge, already acting on the order.

"Sir." Spock gave a slight bow and returned to his station, typing furiously at the keys."

Jim had an idea of what they were facing, but he didn't want to alert the crew just yet. "Lt. Uhura," he called over his shoulder, "Get me Captain Pike, now." Jim had a calm air about him, and there was no doubt that he was in control, but the whole crew knew something was up. It wasn't often that James T. Kirk felt the need to be serious.

"Yes sir." Uhura chirped up, adjusting her ear piece. "Enterprise to Captain Pike." The Captain was quick to respond, "Enterprise, this is Pike. Go ahead."

"Captain, this is Kirk." Jim had vacated the captain's chair in favor of speaking over Uhura's shoulder. "We might have a situation up here sir. We have picked up a special anomaly."

"Oh? What kind of anomaly?" Pike's voice was serious and to the point.

"We are trying to determine that now sir. But I have a gut feeling." Kirk gave a sideways glance at Uhura before looking over his shoulder to see if Spock had finished with his more through scan. "I believe it's a Klingon ship sir. A warbird if I'm correct."

"What?! This far into Federation Space? We are almost two weeks from the frontlines Kirk." Pike couldn't believe his ears. He had just left a meeting with the Arch Princess that the Enterprise would be transporting, this was not a good way to start their mission.

"I'm not sure sir." Kirk gritted his teeth, he couldn't understand the motive behind this. "Investigate, Mr. Kirk. I will be returning with the Princess in 30 minutes. Keep her in one-piece Kirk, Pike out."

It wasn't 15 minutes since the communication with Pike that Spock found something.

"Sir!" Spock called taking a step away from his station moments before Sulu turned from the con, "SIR! Three Klingon Warbirds have appeared on sensors! They are locking onto us!"

"Shit!" Kirk exclaimed, "Red Alert! Everyone to their stations." He hollered, "Let's see 'em on screen, Ensign Chekov." Taking a seat in the Captain's chair, Kirk looked out at the three Warbirds that hover on screen. "Shield's up, Mr. Spock." His voice was calm and collected, he was in charge here.

Then everything stopped. "Sir?" Uhura turned around quickly, Kirk looked over his shoulder at her. "What is it Lieutenant?"

"They… Sir, the Klingon's… They're….. They're hailing us." She stuttered along, not entirely sure that she was reading the station properly. "Hailing us?" Kirk was just as confused as she was. "Yes sir." She responded with more conviction.

The Klingon's had the jump on them, and they out numbered them. Why would they take the chance, why would they even bother? "Put them through, on screen Uhura." Returning his piercing blue eyes back to the screen, he waited for the transmission.

The caller that came through was an awful looking Klingon, his ridges were deep and his teeth sharper than a tac. He had a devious smirk on his face. Slightly behind him stood a female, her features were just as gruesome. Upon seeing her lust, Kirk nearly puked.

"James Tiberius Kirk." She spoke in standard, taking a few steps to stand in front of the ship's captain. "We meet again." Jim had paled considerable but tried his best to remain in control of the situation. He knew he couldn't leave his Captain on the surface of the planet, but he was outnumbered and out gunned.

"You are deep in Federation Space," He clenched his jaw trying to prevent himself from puking. "T'torson."

The bridge crew looked around at each other, Kirk knew this lady?

"So are you." Her grin faded, and she glared at the Acting Captain.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to let you leave T'torson Cirmogh." Kirk watched carefully for her reaction and wasn't disappointed. Her laugh rang through, sending shivers down the bridge crew.

"Let me? Who are you to let me do anything Kirk?" Her eyes glittered once more with amusement. "No James." Her voice careened, "You will come with us. We will even let your dear crew go, if you come nicely." Her English was impeccable, as the right hand to the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire it was to be expected. Jim looked around at the crew, they in turned looked back him. Each held a worried gaze, even Mr. Spock seemed to be concerned.

Kirk took a minute to think about what to do. He weighed all the options, until finally landing on one. Opening his mouth to reply he was interrupted.

"We will not be able to comply with your demands, see as we don't negotiate with war criminals." Captain Pike calmly walked onto the bridge, the swoosh of the turbo lifts the only indication that he hadn't just appeared from thin air.

"Captain!" Kirk jumped from his seat surprised, his thudding heart calming.

"Cirmogh was it? I suggest you power down your weapons and lower your shield. Prepare to be boarded." Pike gave Kirk a smirk, taking his seat. "This is your final warning, if you do not comply you, your ship, and your crew will all be destroyed." He continued quickly typing away at the button on his armrest, ending the transmission manually.

"Sir, we are still outnumbered." Commander Spock was quick to supply Pike with the obvious fact as soon as the Klingon's had disappeared from the screen.

"No Mr. Spock we are not." Pike looked over at Kirk, as the younger man read the station he had returned to.

"The Velician's planetary defense system has locked on to the Birds." Kirk reported.

"Sir! We are receiving a communique from Starfleet, USS Valiant and Yorktown are on route to our location." Uhura spoke firmly, relief flooding her voice.

"Good it's about time the cavalry get here. Number one?" Pike turned to the man on his left, "Yes 'sir?"

"Good work." Christopher Pike watched his second, "Thank you sir." He simply nodded his head, he was breathing a little quickly and his hand were clammy. This woman had gotten to him.

"Sir! They haven't powered down weapons." Chekov reported, "All three birds have locked on!"

"Arm phasers and load the photon torpedo's." Pike called out quickly, this was going to be a bumpy ride.

"They are firing Captain." Kirk called out bracing from his standing position.

"All hands brace for impact!" Pike firmly gripped his seat, as his crew did the same. Moments later the whole ship was rocked, the klaxon's whirling loudly proclaiming an issue with a system. The Enterprise rocked heavily, and people were thrown throughout the ship. Silence followed, stretching as the crew tried to recover.

ALRIGHT! Let me know what you think. I'm not going to apologize for the wait cuz this is a hobby….. so I finally found a little bit of muse for this story. I may be updating my other story in the next few days. Or it might be this one. I haven't decided yet. Anyway!

There will be more on Kirk's seizure in the next chapter, as well as the results of the Klingon attack!

R&R!