Chapter 6

Checkmate

"Were you able to see Jim before we left?" McCoy whispered to Spock, keeping one eye out on Captain Wolff the entire time.

The entire Bridge was fairly quiet. No one had the heart to laugh or chatter when there was a stranger on their Captain's chair and a no-name Redshirt in Chekov's. Wolff didn't seem to mind the quietness and continued to work alongside an Ensign that the Command crew had never seen before.

It wasn't unusual for a new Captain to bring in new people when he took command, but the majority of the crew was still Jim's men. Their loyalties still lay with their true Captain even though the news of his murder charge had spread throughout the universe. Many didn't believe it. Some did, but that was only because they had seen what Jim was truly capable of. Even then, if they believed that Jim killed Dreyes, it was only because it was justified.

The point was, whoever was left from the original Enterprise crew, wasn't happy with the new recruits, especially because they all seemed to be abnormally large – hulked out with tons of muscles. Like hired hands, but no one said anything against it out of fear of losing their jobs.

Spock turned and glanced at Wolff briefly before shaking his head to McCoy's question. "No. He is considered highly dangerous and no one, not even the Admirals, are allowed visitation."

The two cautiously watched Wolff smile brightly at the buffed up Ensign and chatted with him.

McCoy kept his tone at a low mumble. "What do you think about the new hires?"

"Perhaps this is a conversation for another time, Doctor," Spock said carefully.

Bewildered, McCoy slammed his mouth shut, and just in time too.

A hand touched his shoulder and it took all of McCoy's willpower to not flinch at it. "What are you two talking about?" Wolff asked boisterously.

"There's a vaccine that I need to administer to Commander Spock here," McCoy lied smoothly, "But right now, it's incompatible to his system and I was making some tweaks to the serum. I was just checking with him to make sure that it'll work before I use it."

"Good, good." Wolff paused. "I have a question for you guys, and I'd like a serious answer. Do you think the crew is taking well to me? It seems a bit quiet. There're too many whispers that cut short when I walk by. Does the crew not like me?" There was a pout on his face, and it made McCoy want to slap the man silly for having such a ridiculous expression.

"The crew is unaccustomed to not having Captain Kirk onboard," Spock replied. "Captain Kirk has a particular rapport with the crew. Their silence may be due to the absence of Captain Kirk and have nothing to do with your general likeness amongst the crew."

Wolff didn't correct Spock on his present tense when speaking about Jim, nor did he note that Spock purposefully didn't say if Wolff was liked or not.

"I hope that they warm up to me soon. I don't expect to stay here very long. I do believe that Captain Kirk is innocent and he will be returning to the Enterprise soon." Wolff gave them both a reassuring smile. "We're going to arrive at Zenobia in a couple of hours. I hope you two and the rest of the Command crew join me when we beam down."

"Is that an order, sir?" McCoy asked, saying the title in a begrudging tone.

"Of course not!" Wolff looked almost taken aback. "But I do believe that Captain Kirk and Admiral Pike did advise you to join me on shore. Will you join me?"

"Yes, sir," Spock replied before McCoy could protest more and be thrown into the brig for disrespecting their immediate superior. "It is written in our duties to accompany the Captain on his missions."

"Good, I look forward to it. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, returning to the Captain's – no, Jim's seat.

"You're excused…" McCoy swore under his breath. He nudged Spock. "See you in a bit. Remember our plan."

"I have a near-eidetic memory, Doctor. It is highly unlikely for me to forget something, especially one that concerns Jim," Spock replied, his voice low and quiet.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "You can stuff it, ya damn hobgoblin," was his parting remark before he exited the Bridge via the turbolift.

With the doctor gone, Spock turned to glance at Sulu and Uhura, each sharing a meaningful look, as he recalled the moments just before they boarded the Enterprise.

Pike had approached them, hidden slightly in the shadows. Spock was the one to see the older man first and subtly nudged McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura towards him.

"Jim?" was the first thing out of McCoy's mouth.

"Still locked up, but he gave me instructions. We're breaking him out," Pike replied quietly.

"Who's 'we'?" asked Sulu.

"Chekov and I. Jim brought him in a couple of days ago."

"Wait, that's why Chekov went missing? Because Kirk kidnapped him?! You told us that Chekov got called onto duty!"

"I lied, obviously. Everything had to be on the down low."

"And it's beside the point, Sulu. Stay on topic," snapped McCoy, turning to Pike. "You said Jim had a plan? He saw this coming?"

"Yeah. Paid me a late night visit and gave me a set of instructions for every possible scenario that you could think of. Well, that Jim could think of."

Which meant that Jim had definitely foreseen this all.

Spock frowned. "Why did Jim ask to be broken out of prison? Does he realize that he will become the most wanted man through the universe?"

"He's aware, but someone's trying to frame him, which means they can't risk him getting freed because there won't be enough evidence to convict him. They'll try to get rid of him before that happens and probably make it look like a suicide. He's not safe locked up."

"Will he be safer freed?" questioned Uhura.

Pike shook his head. "I don't know, but it's a risk we have to take. As for you guys, keep an eye out. Dreyes was killed, which means that everything is up in the air now. We don't know anything, except that Dreyes is dead and Jim's in jail. We can't even determine whether or not Dreyes was part of this scheme, but he did set this mission up. You have to be careful."

"Understood," responded Spock. "Seeing how Wolff was chosen by Dreyes to take over the Captaincy of the Enterprise, Mr. Sulu and I will continue to monitor his actions as his second-in-command on the Bridge. Nyota, you will track all communications that involve Wolff."

"You'll also have to look into Dreyes' death," Pike said. "Jim's going to be running for his life, and despite his many skills, he may not have as much time to clear his own name."

Sulu looked confused. "He'll have Chekov to help him though."

Scotty rolled his eyes. "Ya really think tha' Jim'll let 'im stay an' be labeled as a fugitive too? No, Chekov'll be sent back ta us, whether he wants ta or not."

"Exactly," Pike nodded. "We can't count on Chekov to help out Jim for too long. As soon as Jim's clear, he'll send Chekov back to the Enterprise. I'll look into everything on my end." He paused. "I do want to be clear about something."

Pike's expressions were determined. "We can prove Jim's innocence and reinstate him as Captain of the Enterprise, but it'll all mean nothing if he doesn't have a home to go back to. Remember, Jim ran to keep you all safe because that's how much you mean to him. He's never had that before and I know he'll break if anything happens to any one of you. So keep in mind: your safety and wellbeing is priority one. Jim will always fight to find a way back as long as you keep to that. Do you understand me?"

Uhura gave Pike a small, warm smile. "The same goes to you, Pike. You're family too."

"Yeah, don't go poking your nose too deep, ya hear, Pike?" grouched McCoy. "Unlike these hapless idiots, you don't have me and my hyposprays close by."

Pike couldn't help it and chuckled a bit. "I can't tell if I should feel fortunate or not about your hyposprays, McCoy. Jim's got some pretty gruesome stories about those."

"He deserved it all," McCoy huffed.

"I'm sure," Pike smiled. "Love makes people do silly things, doesn't it?"

They all thought about the hardships that Jim was going through just to give some semblance of safety and protection to them. There was no guarantee, but Jim had to take the chance anyway, despite throwing away the life that he had known and his entire future for them.

Love did make people do silly things.

Jim was the epitome of that, but then and again, so were they.

Pike had left with a parting, "Be safe," before disappearing back into the shadows in a manner that was eerily similar to that of Jim's. Sometimes, they forgot that Pike used to be one of Starfleet's top-notch Captains in his time - he was far more skilled than what most people gave him credit for.

Spock felt a presence ease up to him. He didn't have to look to recognize the light steps of Uhura. She made sure that no one was in earshot, but even still, when she spoke, she talked so quietly that only a Vulcan could hear her.

"Leonard still grumbling?" she asked.

"Yes," Spock responded, his tone just as quiet.

"Knowing him, he probably won't stop until Kirk's back."

"I agree. We must uncover the evidence that will acquit Jim as soon as humanly possible."

Uhura smiled easily - something that was bit rare since Kirk had run off. "He's getting on your nerves more than usual, isn't he?"

Spock didn't reply, which was an answer unto itself.

"He's just worried. I mean, we all are, but it's always been Kirk and Leonard, joined at the hip. We can't understand the depth of how the two feel about being separated. We just have to let him grouch until we can get Kirk back."

She eyed several of the new recruits who sat quietly at their stations. Since they had been on board, they had hardly spoken to anyone except Wolff. It almost seemed as though the crew of the Enterprise was completely segregated from that of those who were hired on by Dreyes. It made sense in a way - the crew of the Enterprise was loyal to Kirk and Kirk alone. Having a new Captain onboard just felt wrong.

At the same time, Wolff didn't try to integrate his people with theirs. Wolff made it very clear from the start that he wasn't there to replace Kirk, saying that his position was only temporary until Jim's innocence got sorted out. Though the crew didn't like Wolff on principle, it didn't seem like he was a bad guy. His body language was always open and welcoming and unlike Jim, he didn't look like he was ever hiding anything. Jim was charming and charismatic - full of compassion and he genuinely cared for everyone and everything - but there was a darkness surrounding him that was brought on by his horrific past. Wolff painted a picture of a man who had worked hard to be where he was, but generally never met any true hardships along the way. He was untainted, in a way.

It was hard to see him as the big bad wolf that was trying to huff and puff their home down, at least in Uhura's eyes. As a linguist, she had been taught to see things from an individual's perspective. It helped her better understand the subtle cultural nuances as she learned each language.

But everyone else was still reeling from losing Kirk. They didn't even try to see past what they had depicted Wolff as in their minds. Still, the circumstances in which Wolff came to power were extremely questionable and wrought with suspicion. Uhura may be open-minded, but she was far from a naïve fool.

"What do you think of Wolff, Spock?" Uhura questioned. "What's your logical analysis of him?"

Spock raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you ask that, Nyota?"

"It's just that what I know of him and what I read off him is different. Is it the same for you?"

"Have you asked the rest of the crew?"

"I've only asked Sulu and Scotty. Both don't like him just because he's not Kirk, but not because of who he is. And I'm not even going to bother asking Leonard. I know how he feels. So I'm curious: how do you feel, coming from a Vulcan standpoint?"

Spock contemplated it, hesitating for only a second. "Putting the issue regarding Jim aside, I agree that his personality is not one that I find disagreeable or distasteful. However, my instincts are telling me to not trust him."

Now it was Uhura's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Your instincts? You sound like Kirk."

"I have always trusted my instincts," Spock said, a little bit miffed, "I simply do not express it as often as Jim does."

"So are those instincts biased?"

"I am a Vulcan. My reasoning is founded on logic, not emotions."

"Then why don't you trust him? Everything about him screams openness."

"That is why I do not trust him. Everyone has something to hide. He seems to be overcompensating in order to cover for something. We have seen Jim do the same when he attempts to keep something from us, such as his time off-planet when he was thirteen."

It was true – when they had just met Jim, he was the cheeriest and happiest man that they had ever met. He was always chatting, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. His garrulous nature gave the illusion that he was up-front and candid. Even now, Uhura and the rest were shocked and baffled each time they learned more about the dark nature of Jim's past and all the hell that he had been through.

Uhura was beginning to see what Spock was speaking of. She patted him on the upper arm. "Kirk's rubbing off on you." She smiled coyly as she left. "It's a good look on you, Spock."

Spock was about to argue against her, saying how it wasn't humanly possible to have "a look rub off" on him, but she was gone and back at her station before he even had a chance to. He turned, glancing back at Wolff, surreptitiously studying Dreyes' protégé.

Wolff was animatedly chatting with the Ensign who had replaced Chekov. No matter how Spock read him, Nyota was correct – everything about him screamed openness and honesty.

And it just made Spock doubt him even more.

For the hundredth and fifth time since Spock had returned to the Enterprise without her true Captain, Spock found himself wondering once more: what would Jim do?

Upon arrival at Zenobia, Wolff called in the Command crew to his ready room for a short briefing. Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura, and Scotty sat around the oblong table with Wolff standing at the head with his arms clasped behind his back. The only people who didn't look bored or expressionless was Uhura and Spock – McCoy, Sulu, and Scotty had matching hardened and slightly angry looks that went well with their crossed arms as they glared at Wolff.

"Thank you for coming," Wolff said.

"What do you want, Wolff?" McCoy snapped, ignoring Uhura's warning look. "We're all very busy people."

Wolff was completely unfazed by McCoy's rude remark and continued speaking. "We'll be landing in Zenobia very soon, and I just wanted to make sure you all were kept up to speed with the reason why we're heading there. I know Admiral Dreyes told Captain Kirk that you were being sent there for safe-keeping, but there is deeper plot afoot."

He started to pace back and forth. "In the last few months, we've been getting murmurs of a possible uprising was underway. Since I have connections to Zenobia – my uncle is on the High Council – I was tasked to ensure that all is alright on planet."

"What sort of trouble did Admiral Dreyes and yourself foresee?" asked Spock. "And what is the source of it?"

"There's a group of people who have become disenchanted with the Federation. More accurately, they've become afraid of Captain Kirk and fear that he'll destroy the peace that Starfleet keeps."

"Why?" questioned Uhura, completely confused. "Kirk's the one who saved the Federation."

"Several times," Sulu added.

"You of all people should know about Kirk's reputation. One drop of his name and it'll send fear through even the most hardened man. That fear makes them dangerous – it means that they'll do whatever they can to eliminate the threat, which is why I suspect Dreyes is dead and Kirk is locked up."

Spock looked at Wolff curiously. "You know of the plot against Captain Kirk?"

"Of course I do. Dreyes filled me in."

"Then do you know the bastards that are behind all this?" McCoy grouched out.

"No, only that they call themselves 'the Alliance'. Now, we do know that they are headquartered at Zenobia and they've already become to move. Cries for help have been leaked, transmitting to Dreyes. The entire world is afraid of another Governor Kodos, and this situation can easily become something like Tarsus IV, except with a different root cause. So our mission is to beam down and quash the rebellion before it gets to that point. We don't know how far the situation has gotten, but we have to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the citizens of the Federation."

"Does Jim know 'bout any of this?" asked Scotty, speaking up for the first time since the beginning of this meeting.

"No, we told him a different story."

Scotty sat up straighter, frowning. "Why?"

"We wanted Kirk to focus on himself and keeping himself safe. We need him, more than he knows."

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door, followed by a very anxious voice. "Captain Wolff! Captain Wolff!"

"What is it?" Wolff called out, "Come in!"

A sweaty, panicking-looking Ensign came tumbling in. "Captain! We just got word: it looks like war is about to break out on the surface!"

Immediately, Wolff was in action, sweeping across the room quickly and efficiently. Spock and the rest followed.

"Gear up the Security team and anyone else who's trained for combat! We need to beam down, now! No casualties, do you understand me?" barked Wolff, belting on a weapon and arming himself.

Spock and the rest of the Command crew was immediately on the move – all, even Chekov, Scotty, and Uhura had undergone extra training in order to be cleared for combat, just so they could protect and defend their friends and family. What they didn't realize as they were gearing themselves up was that only a few of Wolff's men got ready with the rest of them. The others slinked away, disappearing into the depths of the ship. With all the adrenaline that was running through the Command crew, it wasn't too difficult to slip away unnoticed.

Within a matter of minutes, Spock, Sulu, Uhura, Scotty, McCoy, and Wolff along with the majority of the Security team were on the transporter pad. Wolff and his men stood outside of the circle, slightly off to the side.

"Energize," barked Wolff.

White lights swirled. Spock blinked once and the pristine white walls of the Enterprise melted away, replaced by a large, grassy clearing before a medieval-like stone castle. It was small, however. Nothing too grandiose. It stood on a small hill, barely towering over its surroundings. There wasn't even a moat. Its greatest defense was a drawstring bridge to its entrance, but judging by the rust on the iron chains, it hadn't been raised in a very long time. The general vicinity was surrounded by a thick forest of trees and shrubbery, and oddly enough, people.

They had beamed down in the middle of a large circle composed of fifty or so humans, both men and women, dressed in plain clothes. Each was carrying a pitchfork or some sort of homemade bat as weaponry, but despite the fact that they were armed, it was clear that they were civilians, not soldiers. None of them wore any armor and tracks ran down their cheeks, as if they had been crying and the tears washed away a bit of dirt that was on their face. More importantly, they were all trembling and clearly afraid.

But that didn't change the fact that they were pointing weapons at soldiers of Starfleet.

Spock and the rest of the landing party of the Enterprise slowly reached around to place their hands slightly above their phasers.

"Ma'am," Spock said calmly to a middle-aged woman in a simple dress. "Put down your arms. We mean you no harm."

She shook her head tearfully, raising her pitchfork higher. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But they have our children. We can't…" She broke off, fear cutting off her words.

"What do you mean they have your children?" Uhura asked.

"She means that you should all put down your arms," said Wolff loudly.

Everyone swung around to stare at Wolff. Their "Captain" was standing a slight distance away, behind the lines of civilians, with his small number of men beside him. All but Wolff had their phasers out; half were directed at the crew and the other half at the men and women who were acting as their shields.

"Wolff, what the hell are you doing?" McCoy yelled out.

Wolff chuckled. "I've heard about you, Doctor. You really do live up to the reputation as Kirk's bark."

Spock took a menacing step forward.

"Don't you even think about it, Commander," Wolff snapped out, now raising his own weapon to point it directly at the Vulcan. "You may be Kirk's bite, but even you won't do anything with a gun to your head."

"Vulcans do not succumb to fear," Spock replied lowly. "I am not afraid of a gun to my head. I would suggest you lower your weapon before I forcibly remove it for you."

Wolff shrugged. "That may be true, but what if I point the gun at someone else?" Without hesitation, he changed his target and fired before anyone could even blink an eye.

An elderly man – probably in his sixties – fell crumpled to the ground, dead before he even touch the grass. The rest of the citizens flinched – a few gasped and broke out into tears – but none dared to move.

"You bastard!" screamed Uhura. Her phaser was immediately pointed at him.

"Don't move, Lieutenant," warned Wolff. "Think it through. Yes, you all can probably overpower us and take us down, but not before we kill a few innocent lives here. And their blood will be on your hands. The Enterprise has the reputation of actually caring about people. I wouldn't want dear old Captain Kirk to be disappointed in you all for letting innocent people die in cold blood. Now, what say you all lay down your arms and come peacefully, or I'll tell my men to kill every single civilian on this goddamn planet."

Hesitation was still clear in the body language of the Security team, but they knew to not test Wolff. He had already killed once – with no ounce of remorse. He meant business, and if they dared to even breathe the wrong way, they just knew that he was going to carry out his threat.

If they could just reach the Enterprise and let them know what was going on, then they could easily turn the tables on Wolff and his men.

But, as if Wolff could read their minds, Wolff immediately started speaking again. "Don't even think about reaching for your communicators to call for help. It wouldn't work anyway. I am a genius in my own merit. I wrote a viral program into Enterprise's system. No communications in or out. In fact, there's no way on or off without my consent. And if anyone tries anything? Well, my men who are still onboard will make sure that they won't cause any more trouble, if you catch my drift."

It was then when every single line connected. Everything – from the very beginning of when they learned that someone was after Jim to the point where Jim disappeared on them and was arrested.

"You planned this. You planned this whole thing!" shouted McCoy.

Wolff clapped slowly, the sarcasm obvious. "Well done, Doctor. Yes, I planned this. I'm the one who killed Dreyes and framed Kirk. I'm also the one who pushed for the orders to bring the Enterprise to Zenobia."

"To what end?" Spock asked, his tone far from his usual calmness.

"To take Kirk down," snarled Wolff. "To bring him to his knees."

Sulu was immediately on defense. "What did he ever do to you?"

All of sudden, Wolff lost his composure and all his anger boiled to the surface. "He took away everything!" And then he clearly spent some effort to draw himself back in. He plastered a fake smile on his face again – the one that they had all grown accustomed to over the last few days. It made them wonder, how long had Wolff kept that mask on? How long had his malevolent plot been in play?

"But that's a story for another time. All you need to know is that I win, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Wolff grinned broadly and turned to pat one of his men on the shoulder. "Disarm all of them and throw them into the dungeon. Let them rot there."

"You won't get away with this, Wolff!" shouted McCoy as Wolff started to walk into the castle.

At that, Wolff turned around again to face them. "I do believe that I will, Doctor. Your precious Captain is locked up and should be dead soon. And you? Well, I'll take my sweet time executing you all one by one while telling Starfleet that you all had a terrible, terrible accident that I tried so desperately to prevent. I'll be a hero. The rest of you? Your name will rot in hell along with your Captain."

Wolff showed his true face, smirking with a wolfish smile. "This is checkmate, Doctor. For you and Kirk."

"I cannot believe this happened to us," sighed Sulu. "Again."

"We're definitely getting way too used to being locked up," Uhura agreed.

They were all kept in their own cells: Uhura, Sulu, and Scotty were adjacent to each other while Spock and McCoy were placed across from them in a similar fashion. Each prison was composed of thick, cast-iron that even Spock couldn't break, but the walls were also reinforced with an electric current, so if they tried to do anything and escape, they would be shocked unconscious first. Spock was the first to realize this – he had woken up two hours later with his muscles aching and a pounding headache.

It had been about a day since their capture and subsequent imprisonment, and there were still more questions than answers, despite knowing that Wolff was behind it all.

The hatred and anger for Wolff was still fresh in their minds.

"I still don't understand what they mean that they have their children," Uhura said from where she was sitting in the middle of her cell. (That damn bastard rigged their cells so that they couldn't even lean against the bars.)

"I assume it means that Wolff has taken the civilians' children hostage to coerce them into doing what they want," Spock replied. "However, I do not see them here with us, so I am uncertain of my hypothesis."

Scotty shrugged. "It makes sense."

"Jim's not going to like that," muttered McCoy.

"What do you mean?" asked Sulu.

"You've seen Jim on missions that involve kids. In his mind, and rightfully so, hurting a kid is one of the worst offenses that anyone is capable of. Especially after all the shit Jim went through on Tarsus."

"Do you think Wolff knows about Tarsus?" questioned Uhura. "Is that why he took the kids?"

"Maybe, maybe not." McCoy crossed his arms, thinking. "From a parent's standpoint, we'd do anything for our kids. And I mean anything to ensure their safety, including starting a revolt because some crazy bastard told them to. But based on Wolff's behavior, I want to say that he enjoys the added benefit of riling Jim up more."

"What does he even 'ave against Jim anyway?" Scotty wondered. "His hatred an' anger seems a bit much, don't you think?"

"He said that he lost everything to Jim," Spock said slowly. "Perhaps he is speaking of his ambitions. Jim's promotion to Captain did mean that many others who were next in line were passed over. Wolff may be one of those."

"That's true," Uhura agreed, "But Scotty's right. It seems a bit much. Sure, there's anger to that, but his desire to become Captain shouldn't raise so much anger."

"Maybe he's just a psychopath," Sulu added. "Do we really need to read that much into him? He's a bastard who's trying to kill us and Kirk."

"He's not even just trying to kill us," McCoy replied. "He's trying to destroy everything that we've ever built. Bring down our name, bring down the Enterprise and her Captain – the flagship and hero of the Federation – it could damage Starfleet heavily."

Uhura frowned. "But he already had Kirk locked up. Why did he have to bring us to Zenobia?"

There was a moment of silence and then McCoy groaned.

"What is it, Leonard?"

"It was never about pinning Dreyes' death on Jim. It wasn't even about getting Jim convicted for Dreyes death. It was about what Jim was going to do after being captured. There was never enough evidence to give a guilty sentence to Jim – sooner or later, he would have been expunged of all crimes. But if he ran? Nothing says guilt faster than that. Jim's not an idiot. He would've realized what was going to happen the moment Dreyes turned up dead, which is why he got Pike and Chekov to help him escape and get to us. We're not collateral damage or a way to get back at Jim for whatever it is that Wolff thinks he did."

Spock caught on quickly to McCoy's train of thought, and he too, felt like groaning. "We're bait."

McCoy nodded. "And you can bet your ass that Jim's on his way here now."

"But wait," Sulu protested, "Jim was always planning to escape. Pike said that he had to get out or he'd be killed in prison."

"Yeah, but he was going to hide out until his innocence was proven. Now, he's on his way here, which means that he's going to pick a fight with Wolff to rescue us. In Starfleet's eyes, it'll be like Jim is declaring war on the Federation. And for a man already thought to be guilty for killing an Admiral to go up against a Starfleet officer who has a sparkling clean record, he's not going to be tried for murder anymore. He's going to be tried for treason."

"And we all know how that ends," Uhura said. "There won't even be a trial. They'll erase Kirk from history."

"Which is what I suspect Wolff is going for," Spock confirmed.

"Then there's only one thing tha' we can do now," Scotty spoke up.

Uhura turned to her left to glance curiously at the Engineer. "What's that, Scotty?"

"We gotta escape and take down Wolff before Jim can."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're not exactly Jim here. It's almost impossible without his brand of crazy."

"No, it's 'almost' impossible. We're all geniuses of our own merit."

"And Kirk's been teaching us his skills," Sulu popped in. "We may not be Kirk, but if we put our heads together, I'm sure we can come up with something."

"Regardless if we are capable of replicating Jim's skills or not, we must escape," Spock said determinedly. "For Jim."

It was now a race to see who can save the other faster, and they could only hope that they were the ones to win. Otherwise, Jim was done for, and there would be nothing that they could do.

If they didn't escape before Jim rescued them, Jim Kirk's fate would be sealed, and that would be the end to all of them.

And then it truly would be checkmate. For everyone.

To be continued...

I realize that this a fairly short chapter and I'm really sorry for the slow update, but I had to work and study and then school started up all over again. I've been uber stressed out - it's only week three and I've already had three quizzes, two more quizzes this week, and two exams next week. So updates to this story and Ingenious Idiot are going to be much slower now (yeah...I know I was slow to begin with), but I promise! I won't abandon either story. I will work on them. Just when I have the time. I hope you guys will all be understanding and I hope that you continue to support and read my stories!

Thanks for reading and please review!

Cheers,

Yuna