Chapter Two
Spock was sitting on the edge of the Captain's chair, either because he was speaking in detail to Chekov or because he never felt comfortable enough to claim the whole chair as his. Chekov was explaining the difficulty he was having navigating through an asteroid belt some two days away.
'Have you decided on a viable secondary option?' Spock asked.
'Yes, Keptain.' The rank was said easily after three months, if not a little reluctantly. 'I have already programmed a subroutine that will bypass the star system altogether.'
Behind them, Uhura held a hand to her earpiece; looping the transmission to be sure she decoded it correctly.
'Captain…' she said quietly, her voice weak.
'How much strain will that place on the engines?'
'That is the worry, if our dilithium reserves drop below the specified level…'
'Captain.' She repeated.
'I understand, Ensign, thank you.' Spock straightened and frowned. 'Let me see your current course through the belt.'
'Aye, Captain.'
Uhura stood, her voice finally firm and loud.
'Spock.'
He turned to her, trying to decipher the emotion in her voice.
Uhura held out her earpiece, her hand trembling slightly.
'It's a transmission from the Endeavour.' She said.
Spock stood swiftly and was at her side within moments, gently taking the earpiece from her and listening for himself. The entire bridge noticed the shift in mood and watched their interaction. Only Chekov dared to hope.
Uhura stood close to Spock, their sides pressing together. 'Is it true?' she asked, her voice so small only he could hear it. 'After all this time, did they really…?'
His hand came to rest on her hip, a comforting pressure that wasn't freely given. Spock indulged in her presence for a moment before he snapped ramrod straight and turned to the rest of the bridge.
'Mr Chekov, are you able to plot a course based on a transmission's origins?' He asked smoothly.
Chekov looked confused for a moment. 'Aye, I can do that.'
'Ladies and gentlemen, Lieutenant Uhura picked up a communication from the U.S.S. Endeavour.' Spock announced. 'They have located Captain Kirk.'
The last two words sounded so right together, absent for so long. For the past three months, those words were never heard, unless on a report, with missing, presumed dead following them.
Chekov's course plotting set new records that day.
Uhura ran down to the Medical Bay, desperately trying to get there personally before the message reached it eventually.
Sprawled in his office chair, looking slightly more dishevelled than usual, McCoy slumped a head in one hand and scrolled through a PADD with the other. Uhura swept into his office without even pausing at the door.
Startled, he looked up at her, the constant frown creasing his forehead.
'They found him.' She said breathlessly. That was all she needed to say.
Through some bizarre lining up of shifts, Scotty was the only one available to assist the shuttle in touching down in the bowels of the ship. The details from Lieutenant Birkman had been sketchy at best, and he'd requested minimal personnel present for the landing.
Scotty single-handedly lowered the shields, opened the blast doors to allow the shuttle entrance and sealing the ship back up so he could run to the landing bay.
Very enthusiastically, Scotty waved them down to the vacant platform. He noticed how beaten up the small shuttle was, deep scratches and gouges running along its sides and half a branch caught in its landing mechanisms.
Briefly, Scotty mused that nothing left that planet without going a little wild.
He was about to activate the outside controls for the rear compartment when the pilot slid out of the cockpit.
'Wait!' Lieutenant Commander Birkman ordered. Scotty froze on the spot, his hand inches away from the controls.
'Lieutenant…' Scotty said warily. It had been three months since he last saw Captain Kirk, and while he didn't feel the loss as much as others on this ship, there wasn't quite someone who understood the brash Scotsman as Jim did.
Birkson tossed a phaser at Scotty, another already in his hands. He caught it, staring at it dumbly for a moment. It was set on stun.
'What is this for?' Scotty demanded.
'He regained consciousness during the flight over.' Birkson said gruffly.
Almost on cue, a dull thud came from inside the shuttle. The metal of its hull vibrated as a heavy weight was thrown repeatedly against it.
Scotty jerked violently, staring at the shuttle in horror. 'What the hell was that?'
'That is your beloved captain.' Birkson practically spat the word. 'Get ready.' He reached over and tapped at the controls. The rear compartment's doors slid open.
James T. Kirk attacked instantly. He roared and hissed, brandishing a crudely made knife as he threw himself down the ramp towards Scotty.
'Captain Kirk!' Scotty yelled, diving out of the way.
Birkson didn't hesitate as Jim rounded on him and tightened his grip on the handle of the knife. Brikson fired his phaser, the energy pulse landing on Jim's shoulder.
Jim's legs buckled underneath him and Scotty moved towards him to catch him under the arms before lowering him to the ground slowly.
'What did you do?' Scotty thundered, the small man trying to command as much authority as he could.
'You're welcome.' Birkson answered dryly.
Scotty looked at him, disgusted. His eyes dropped to the crumpled form of his captain.
Jim was barely recognizable. The ratty hair and beard aged the man well past his twenty-six years. His bare chest was littered with scars, some ancient and some fresh, small cuts and scratches were spread across his arms and shoulders, no doubt from running through the thick bush of the planet he had come from.
The phaser hadn't stunned him completely; Jim twitched and curled up into himself, his face breaking out in a sweat.
'Kirk.' Scotty muttered, dropping down and placing a hand on the Captain's bare shoulder.
Jim whimpered. His whole body shook and he rolled to the side, away from the touch.
Birkson fine tuned the phaser, lowering its potency and fired again, the energy striking Jim's chest and he went limp.
Birkson grabbed Jim's wrist, hauling him up and slinging the arm across his shoulders. Scotty moved to help, propping the other side of him up on his shoulder. Jim's bare and toughened feet dragged against the floor.
'He didn't recognize me.' Scotty said quietly, staring at the unconscious captain as his head lolled with each step. 'How the hell does that happen in three months?'
Nothing left that planet without going a little wild.
Yay for more crew reactions! Don't worry, we'll be seeing a lot, a lot more Feral!Jim in the future, there's no need to worry.
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