I do not own Star Trek, any of the canon characters, nor do I make any profit from my writings. I write this disclaimer to guard myself from legal action. Otherwise, there might be Hell to pay later.
Hellguard VI
The weapons officer aboard the Jidan had to be a darn fine marksman. He got off one phaser shot before the Enterprise went to warp. Fortunately the deflector shields held, though they were now somewhat compromised. The worst of the impact was in Main Engineering. A portion of the catwalk came down, narrowly missing Scotty, Spock, and Nhegmi. Keenser had been up there, but Spock caught him as he fell. Both survived the incident with only minor cuts and bruises.
There was no longer any point in maintaining their subspace communication silence, so Uhura informed Starfleet Command of their situation on a scrambled channel. The response was comforting. Admiral Pike would be coming to their aid with three starships and several smaller vessels. Their long-range scanners begun tracking the Enterprise the moment the cloaking device and warp signature simulator went off-line.
Bones could have predicted that it would happen this way. Even though her baby wasn't due for another ten days, T'Genna's water broke right before the ship achieved maximum warp. This was her second child, so the labor would most likely go quickly. The power situation was not as stable as he preferred and there were little children everywhere, despite the staff's best efforts to keep them corralled. Bones started to grumble about the situation, but T'Vedna cut him off.
"We are here in a clean place, among helpers and friends. I have delivered many a child by myself, in poor lighting and surrounded by filth and enemies."
Bones had met his match.
The engineers at Cochrane Propulsion Systems had designed the ship's warp engines. They were very proud to have achieved Warp 8 in the test trials, but were certain that the ship could go no faster than Warp 7 under actual running conditions. However, they had never factored Montgomery Scott into their equations. With the help of Spock, Nhegmi, and Keenser, the Chief Engineer gave his Captain Warp 8 and a little wee to spare.
Commander Muvar also had a fine ship, recently upgraded, and a very gifted engineering staff. The Jidan could not quite match the Enterprise's speed, but its commander was unconcerned by small matters such as life support. If the Federation vessel managed to escape, the Praetor might demand the lives of the crew that had failed him. Muvar followed the Enterprise, knowing Kirk could not keep up his pace indefinitely.
They were thirteen minutes from Federation Space when the engines started to slow. The repaired power coupling was failing and could not be mended again. They would have to use the materials at hand to manufacture a new one. Suddenly they were seventeen minutes away from the border and the Jidan was closing the gap. There was nothing else to cut back on, no other way to conserve power except to on life support. The crew and passengers were already wearing multiple layers of clothing and blankets. Their speed dropped more and now they were twenty-five minutes away from safety. Muvar's navigator did not anticipate this, so the Jidan shot past them, nearly into Federation space by the time a correction could be made.
Kirk and the bridge crew steeled themselves, expecting the Jidan to turn about and engage them in battle. However, the Romulan Commander had more pressing concerns, as he found himself surrounded and outgunned. Pike and the reinforcements had been lying in wait.
Muvar's sensors had detected the other Federation vessels, but the smug Commander was certain that he would destroy the Enterprise before it reached the Neutral Zone. He would beam aboard pieces of the wreckage and head for home victorious.
While T'Vedna melded with the young woman to assist her with pain control, Bones and Christine delivered T'Genna's baby boy. He was slightly premature, but otherwise healthy. Christine wrapped him warmly and placed him in his mother's arms, the safest place available at the moment. T'Genna named her son Separ, after a famous Vulcan musician and maker of ka'athyra. T'Genna hoped to study music one day.
As he and Spock held the improvised coupling in place for Scotty to install it, Nhegmi breathed a silent prayer to the Hoorian gods of assistance and fortune. If they survived this mission, Nhegmi swore that this time he would finally keep his vow to shave his head and marry the girl his mother had chosen for him.
The last of the welds were made, so Spock and Nhegmi removed their hands. Keenser slowly increased the power flowing through the device and the ship gradually increased in speed. Twelve minutes later, the Enterprise crossed into Federation space, passing an irate Muvar still aboard his surrounded ship.
Aboard the USS Constellation, Captain Decker gave his old rival Admiral Pike the conn. Pike had the Communications Officer hail Commander Muvar aboard the Jidan.
"Greetings, Commander. I'm Admiral Christopher Pike. I'd like to thank you for making our little battle exercise such a success. We don't usually have such realistic targets. However, the war games are over now and it's time for everybody to pick up their toys and go home."
While Pike was giving his little speech, the two ships immediately aft of the Jidan left the circular formation of Federation vessels. All the others remained in place, their phasers locked on target. The message was clear. If the Romulan ship were to enter into Federation space, it would be considered an act of war. The Jidan would be fired upon and destroyed. Muvar would take the escape Pike offered him.
"You are correct, Admiral. The exercise has been concluded for today. I look forward to a re-match it the future, but for now I bid you farewell."
Muvar gave the order to his helmsman, who reversed their heading through the opening in the formation. When they were clear, the Jidan turned about and set course for Romulus at maximum warp.
Kirk ordered their speed reduced to Warp One and life support levels returned to normal. It would take a while to return the ship to its normal temperature, but replicator use was now authorized, allowing the passengers and crew hot food and beverages.
Hamed Mofasu started his crew making gallons of soup and dozens of biscuits. For once, nobody complained about the heat in the kitchen.
Pike hailed the Enterprise and told him that the Constellation, Ride, and Armstrong would be make a rendezvous with the Enterprise in three hours in orbit around O'Shea's Asteroid. Kirk and his senior officers were invited to dine with the Admiral and Captain Decker. Jim had been in the shower, so it was an "audio only" transmission.
Jim gratefully accepted on behalf of all of them. It didn't occur to Jim to mention that he'd be attending the party still wearing his "Vulcan" look.
Spock allowed McCoy to treat his cuts and bruises, as he wished to look as respectable as possible before the dinner with Admiral Pike. Then he hurried to his quarters to join Nyota. They showered for the first time in days and donned their dress uniforms. With little time to spare, they met the rest of their party in the transporter room.
Though it was difficult to believe, the crew had actually become accustomed to the sight of their captain, navigator, and a few others sporting pointed ears. There had been many stares the first day, but now no one gave it a second thought. The transporter technician didn't even blink when he beamed them over to the Constellation.
However, his counterpart nearly had heart failure when they materialized aboard the host vessel.
"Drop your weapons!"
"We are unarmed" said a confused
"Hands up over your heads, please, and no talking." He and his assistant drew their phasers. Then the technician hit the comm unit button.
"Security alert in Transporter Room 3! I repeat, Security Alert in Transporter Room 3! We have Romulan intruders!"
"Well, isn't this just damn peachy! They invite us to a party and then throw us in the brig just because I didn't have the time and resources to bob your ears! Unbelievable!"
"Calm down, Bones. I should have explained this to Pike, but frankly I've gotten used to these things."
Jim pointed at his ears for emphasis.
"I was in the shower when he called, so he didn't see me."
"Yeah, okay. However, what about you, Mr. Hobgoblin? You're always so thorough. Why didn't you ask Jim if he'd informed Pike of our situation?"
"It did not occur to me to do so, Doctor. I assumed the Captain had informed the Admiral of the surgical modifications."
"Yeah, well you know what you do when you assume, right?'
"Actually, I do not."
"You make an ass of of you and me."
"Ah, a visual play on words."
They had only been in the brig for about ten minutes, but for Bones, it seemed an eternity. He paced back and forth, already getting on Jim's nerves.
"I understand why they detained you, Jim, Sulu, and Giotto, but what about the rest of us?"
"It was logical to assume that you were either traitors or had become compromised."
"There you go, assuming again. How do we get out of here, Mr. Genius Science Officer?"
"We wait, Doctor. Someone will come to debrief us and we will tell them our names, ranks, and service numbers. Then they will collect DNA samples and compare them against the Starfleet Database. It should be no more than a few hours."
Spock had no more said this when Admiral Pike and Captain Decker appeared to check out the "Romulan" invaders, held in the brig by an invisible force field.
Pike recognized them at once and burst into laughter.
"Well, that explains how you got the job done so fast. Matt, I know we'll have to verify their identities, but trust me when I tell you these really are the Enterprise's senior officers."
TBC