A/N: Okay, So I know that there is a MAJOR discrepancy between TOS and AOS about the distance/travel time from Earth to say Vulcan. To make this make more sense, because I don't really think that the AOS movie one writers really caught onto it, or they just didn't care, I'm going to make it somehow make freaking sense.
There are a lot of theories online and the best solution I can come up with is some sort of passageway (probably going to be multiple) between Earth and other systems.
So, with that in mind, please don't hate on me too much. (if you have better ideas, or just plain correct knowledge in what the heck actually made the trip from Earth to Vulcan at maximum warp go from like 4 days to 30 minutes or so, please comment/review about it!)
"Of course we'd be roommates." Uhura scoffed as soon as Jennifer entered her assigned quarters. "Figures."
Jennifer just ignored the remark and went straight to flop down on her bunk. "Hey, Uhura, just out of curiosity, do you know what Faiga is?"
Uhura looked up at her. "It's supposedly the planet that some of the group of diplomats is from wanting to join the Federation." Uhura paused for a moment. "It's also a Samoan word that means system. Why?" She answered immediately.
"Because. I've never heard of the planet before. And there's a bunch of stuff about this whole thing that just hasn't been making sense." Jennifer sat up to look at Uhura. "Are you sure it's a Samoan word?"
Uhura scoffed as if offended. "Look Kirk, I know you may know a lot of different languages, but I do know more than you. And trust me when I say, I know pretty much every Earth language. It's like I was born with a superpower or something, and a bunch of time spent alone as a kid with nothing to do helps too. But I know that it's Samoan. What I want to know is why we're being lied to."
"I wasn't trying to offend you. Don't look at me like that! Really, I wasn't. I just wanted to make sure you were sure. And yeah, I'd kinda like to know why too. I don't think we were picked randomly to take part in this cruise." Jennifer stated cryptically.
"No shit, Kirk. We're all the in the top of our class. Of course they'd pick the best students for such an esteemed mission." Uhura remarked. "Although why'd they pick both you and Mitchell is beyond me. We may not be friends, like I told him earlier, but I do respect you. You're easily the top student in the command track. So why do you think we're all here?"
Jennifer stood up and paced in front of her bunk for a few moments, putting the pieces of a puzzle together. "We're being tested." She said, still pacing.
"On what?" Uhura asked, obviously confused.
"I don't know." Jennifer answered honestly. Because she didn't know. She was still working to put the pieces of the puzzle together when the intercom in their room chirped twice, signaling a ship-wide broadcast.
"This is the captain speaking. The USS Aldrin will be departing Earth's orbit to commence the start of our mission in five minutes. We are due to arrive at Vulcan in approximately eight hours. The landing party will then beam down and commence their tour. Thompson out."
"Well, something's going on. Either way, I think it best we get some sleep before our shifts." Uhura said before laying down in her bunk. "Lights six percent."
Jennifer kept pacing until something clicked. She decided not to tell Uhura, for fear of waking her up, or if she was wrong. Jennifer didn't think she was wrong, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure either. She decided before she would do anything, she'd get some rest. Uhura was right, whatever was actually going on wouldn't be helped if they were exhausted. They needed to be rested for their shifts.
Seven hours later Jennifer was lying awake in her bunk. She'd only slept for about four hours, long enough for the ship to go through the passageway at warp three. She'd stayed lying in bed because she didn't know what else to do. She didn't want to wake Uhura up, so she hadn't bothered changing yet. And she didn't need a shower. So she was going over all the information she had in her mind about their mission and what wasn't adding up.
They were being tested. She knew that. The mission was weird in its own right. Coupled with the fact that the planet Faiga was probably not real, or if it was no one had caught onto the fact the supposed diplomats were using an Earth language, Samoan, to hide their true identities. If that were the case, what did the word 'system' signify? It was the one thing Jennifer couldn't figure out. The ATT cadets were involved in this somehow, but Jennifer had already gathered it was to assist the captain and whoever else would be evaluating her and the others in some form. That was the easy part. What Jennifer didn't know, was if the captain, Basilone, and Marks knew about Faiga. Basilone had pretty much, if not directly, confirmed to her that he at least thought that Faiga wasn't a real planet, but did that mean he had informed the captain of his suspicions? Or were the Faiga diplomats part of their test?
Whether Faiga was real or not honestly didn't matter. If it was real, then their diplomats were real, and the mission, odd as it was, probably was real too. If it wasn't real, well, there were two options there. Either Starfleet was well aware that Faiga wasn't real, and so this was a test for the diplomats. To find out who they really were and what they wanted. Or, it was a test purely for Jennifer and the other three cadets. Regardless, Jennifer had duties to perform, and could only act on evidence. To her, the planet Faiga and their diplomats' existence didn't matter if they were real or fake. She would perform her duties as required until such a time that an event or series of events dictated she start operating otherwise.
Seven hours into their flight plan, just on the outskirts of Vulcan space, a red alert was initiated.
"Computer, lights, one hundred percent." Jennifer ordered the computer.
Uhura jumped out of bed at the blaring sounds of the Klaxons. Jennifer was already standing and at the doors programming something into the locks.
"Red alert. All hands to battle stations. Non-essential crew stay in assigned quarters." The intercom repeated three times before shutting off. The klaxons were still blaring and the lights flashing red in steady intervals.
"What's going on?" Uhura asked, getting dressed into her uniform.
"I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm not staying in here. We're right outside of Vulcan space based on the timeframe given before we departed Earth's orbit. We haven't been attacked, at least not shot at. I would've felt that. And an intruder alert hasn't been broadcasted, but that doesn't mean anything." Jennifer replied not looking up from the lock panel.
"You can't be serious, Kirk. We're not essential personnel. We're supposed to stay in our quarters." Uhura objected, finally dressed.
"Sure." Jennifer whipped around, finished with the lock. "Stay in our quarters. Like good little cadets. When we both know that this mission was fucking off to begin with. You said it yourself, Faiga is a Samoan word. Earth language. Either we're being tested by Starfleet, or there are already intruders aboard. Either way, we have a duty to inform the captain and we can't very well do that from here over intercom without the possibility of being overheard. Best case, we're the only ones being tested and if we fuck it up we just don't pass whatever the hell it is we're being tested on. Worst case, those diplomats are actually fucking terrorists and if we say anything over ship comms we compromise everyone because you can be sure they're listening. So, either way, we have to get out of here, find the captain, and figure out what the hell is going on."
Uhura looked at Jennifer strangely for a moment, opened her mouth as if she wanted to argue, but decided against it. "Fine, let's say you're right, and we're not simply being attacked by pirates or something. Do you have a plan?"
"Yeah. We get the fuck out of here and find Evan. He knew there was something off too. He'll know where to meet." Jennifer replied. She went to her closet and grabbed a uniform out. Opting for just blacks, she left the command gold shirt hanging and started to change. "I suggest you change into pants. Just in case."
Uhura looked at her, as if she was crazy, before deciding that Jennifer just might have a point. If they were going to be doing anything physical, well, Uhura didn't really feel like doing it in a dress. She took a look at Kirk, noticed she hadn't put on the gold shirt and decided she would stay in just blacks too. She may not have liked Kirk, but she did respect her intellect.
Suited up and ready to go Jennifer stepped into the door's proximity and it hissed open. Uhura was right behind her. "Follow me and stay quiet."
Jennifer led her through the ship's hallways, and just when Uhura thought she was going to take a turbo lift she entered the space right before it. The space leading to the Jeffries tubes.
When they were well into the Jeffries tubes Uhura finally spoke. "Jeffries tubes? Really?" She whispered.
"What, you want to take the lifts and be discovered? Or the lift stop and be stuck? Besides, Evan knows where to meet up. Should be right around the corner."
"How does he know? When did you guys plan this?"
"While you were asleep. I messaged him. I hacked into his PADD and encrypted a link. He knows. Trust me." Jennifer replied. The two women rounded the corner and coming just short of running into the two other cadets and another officer.
"Jenn!" Evan whispered.
"Who's that?" Jennifer asked gesturing to the other officer. She'd already recognized Mitchell who was standing next to Evan.
"Lieutenant Savage." Said Lieutenant turned around to face Jennifer and Uhura. "Kirk, meet Savage. Savage, this is Jennifer Kirk. Told you she'd be here."
"Kirk." The lieutenant nodded. "Uhura, I presume?" Uhura nodded back. Lt. Savage turned back to face Kirk. "Michaels said you had pre-arranged a rendezvous point within the ship in the event of suspicious circumstances."
"No offense, LT, but what the hell are you doing here? That pre-arranged point was for Evan. I don't know you." Jennifer responded sternly.
"As Michaels, Mitchell, and I share living accommodations I saw no alternative but to accompany them when Michaels made it clear that he would be leaving the quarters, along with Mitchell." Savage answered semi-formally. Jennifer had only heard on person speak like this, and she knew Savage wasn't a Vulcan, so she was a bit taken back by his speech patterns. Apparently so was Uhura, who had tilted her head slightly in response to his statement.
"Okay. Fine. Tell me this. Do you find a red alert suspicious at all? At the edge of Vulcan space no less?" Jennifer asked aggressively. She didn't have time to get a proper read of the man, to ease into it. She had to do it quickly. She needed to know whether or not she could trust him.
"Yes." He answered.
"Second question. Were we or were we not brought aboard to be tested?" Jennifer asked, not bothering to acknowledge the confusion from Mitchell or Uhura. She did notice, however, that Uhura had moved in front of her slightly, making her way to Mitchell.
"Yes. You were." Savage answered.
"Thought so. Third question. This isn't our test, is it?" Jennifer asked.
"No. It isn't."
"Faiga isn't a real planet and their supposed diplomats aren't real diplomats, are they? That's why we were stopping at Vulcan first."
"Correct." Savage answered. Jennifer decided that she could trust him, at least a little. If this wasn't their test, then that meant something was seriously wrong.
"So just who the hell are those guys and why the fuck did Starfleet authorize cadets to go on a rushed together training cruise when unknown persons were aboard the ship and they didn't even have enough intel about the situation? Why the fuck are we really here?" Jennifer stepped forward towards Savage.
"Because we were unsure. You had to be tested. This was the best opportunity."
"Right. As if I believe that. Whatever. We need to get to the captain. Obviously he was aware that these so called diplomats aren't really who they say they are, but he wouldn't have ordered a red alert for that. We weren't attacked by another ship and there was no intruder alert broadcasted. It wasn't the captain that issued the red alert, it was the Fake diplomats." Jennifer informed him. Savage nodded in agreement. Jennifer looked to Evan and nodded at him.
"Right, well, shall we?" Jennifer gestured to Savage, knowing he'd know where the captain was and would want to lead the group there himself. She was fine with it. It meant that she could watch him.
"How the hell did you figure that out, Kirk?" Uhura whispered to Jenn. The two women had taken up the middle behind Savage with Evan and Mitchell behind them taking up the rear.
Jennifer shrugged when the group came to a halt. "It just fit."
Savage turned around and pointed up, signaling that they were going to need to climb. Just as they started their ascent towards what Jennifer realized would be the captain's personal quarters the ship's intercom chirped twice. Ship-wide broad cast.
"Attention crew of the Aldrin. Your ship has been commandeered by the Purity of Earth Organization. You are all locked down and cannot escape your current departments or crew quarters. Your captain is trapped. I have taken command. The bridge is under my control, and we will start our purification on Vulcan. Aelpati out."
"Well, fuck." Savage exhaled. Jennifer laughed quietly at his departure from formal language to crude utterances.
"Yeah, about sums it up. We need to get to auxiliary control." Jennifer said. "I've heard of the Purity of Earth group. Their based on that old extremist group Terra Prime from the 2100s, when Admiral Archer was Captain of the Enterprise. Except they're worse. They not only want all aliens off of Earth, but to expunge all alien life period. Starting with Vulcan would set a precedent for them. Why Starfleet decided to take these guys on board the Aldrin and head directly for Vulcan I get. Vulcans are strong, their planet pretty unfriendly to those not used to it or trained for it, and Purity of Earth definitely isn't going to be either of those. What I don't get, is why now? Why the charades. Either way, we need to take back control of the ship."
"We do." Savage agreed grimly. "I'll take on of you with me to find the captain. Kirk, you have a pretty high rating in programming, do you think you can reroute control manually from auxiliary control once you're there?"
"Think? Ha! I know I can. That's child's play!" Jennifer responded in good humor.
"How many diplomats did the captain say there were on board? Three for the Faiga group?" Uhura asked.
"That's right, but we have to assume they have people inside working with them. They wouldn't have been able to take control so easily with only three of them, especially if they were already suspected to be other than what they presented themselves as." Jennifer replied. "You know, it's kinda funny when you think about it. Pretending to be aliens to wipe out aliens."
"Ironic, yes. But then again, this is the closest Starfleet has come to identifying any major players within the organization." Evan stated. "The fact that they willingly went along with their story and allowed them on the ship suggests they knew exactly who they were dealing with."
"Fair. I knew it didn't add up. Especially when Commander Basilone wouldn't give me a straight answer, but basically told me so anyway." Jennifer added. "Anyway, we've got to get going. Savage, you should take Michaels with you. I'll need Uhura and Mitchell once we get to auxiliary control."
"I agree. You know the way, I presume?"
"You presume correctly, friend. Good luck. Kick their asses for me, will you?" Jennifer laughed. She wanted Evan to go with him for two reasons. First, she still didn't trust Savage quite that much. Evan she trusted implicitly. Second, she really would need Mitchell, him being a pilot and all that. Uhura was the odd one out, but she could man the communications station herself and send a message to Starfleet to let them know what was going on.
It took Jennifer and the other two 10 minutes to get to auxiliary control by way of the Jeffries tubes. There was one guard outside the main entrance. He'd have to be taken out.
Jennifer looked to Mitchell and Uhura and silently told them to watch her back as she snuck up on the guard. Just as his head was turned one way, Jennifer put her Susa Mana training to good use and nerve pinched the asshole. She turned around and gestured the all clear before inputting a code into the door lock to open auxiliary control. Once inside she locked the controls with a code she knew no one but probably Spock would be able to hack their way into. She'd left a key code installed that would unlock once a correct seven digit numerical code was input in case Savage could get the captain down to auxiliary control.
"Uhura, once I reroute control from the bridge send a message to Starfleet HQ to let them know what the hell is going on. To Vulcan too, since they're closer and probably aware of the plot anyway. Mitchell, you're going to be able to fly this thing, right? Because I have a feeling there's a ship out there just waiting to meet up with this one, and they won't be too happy when they realize their plan's gone to shit."
"Trust me, Kirk, I can fly this thing." Mitchell responded by laughing as he took the helm station. Uhura had already taken up the station at the communications console.
"Solo?" Jennifer asked in clarification. He would have to do both navigation and piloting. Mitchell just scoffed in reply as if to say had she really asked that. "Good. I'll man weapons and stay on the programming too, just in case." Jennifer got to work on rerouting control when a message popped up on the console she was working at. It was from Savage and Evan. They'd gotten to the captain and were making their way to auxiliary control. Jennifer sent him a reply with the correct lock code for auxiliary control so they could get in. It would only work once.
Less than five minutes into working Jennifer had successfully rerouted control. "Okay, we've got control now. Uhura send that message and then open a ship-wide channel. Mitchell, you ready to fly?"
"Message is sent, Kirk, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Uhura asked skeptically. Just as Mitchell responded. "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Trust me I got this." Jennifer said turning around to face Uhura. The look she received said Uhura wasn't yet entirely convinced. "I was MACO for a couple of years before I joined Starfleet. Trust me, this is nothing." Jennifer elaborated. She heard Mitchell whistle.
"Channel is open." Uhura simply said.
"Sweet. Thanks." Jennifer pushed a button on the console she was working on to initiate the ship-wide broadcast. "Attention Aelpati and Purity of Earth members. The USS Aldrin is now under my control. You'll find that you won't be able to gain control back. You picked the wrong day to implement your plans. Say goodbye to freedom, assholes, you're finished. Security, send a team to the bridge and all departments to apprehend our uninvited guests, would you? Thanks. Kirk out." Jennifer heard a whistle from Mitchell's station and she looked over to him. "What?"
"Anyone ever tell you that you sound hot as hell when you get all authoritative?" Mitchell asked in true awe.
"No, I don't believe I've ever been paid that particular compliment, Mitchell." Jennifer replied sarcastically but laughing.
"All I'm going to say is that if I didn't know you already, I would be scared of you. But since I know you're just a farm girl, I'm not." Uhura commented.
"Thanks guys." Jennifer laughed just as the doors to auxiliary control hissed open.
Savage, Evan, Captain Thompson, and Commander Basilone entered the auxiliary control. "Picked him up on the way. He was making his way to the captain as well." Evan said in clarification. Jennifer nodded back before turning the captain.
"Auxiliary control is yours, captain." Jennifer said motioning towards the small captain's chair in the center.
Savage came to stand next to Jennifer, ready to take over weapons just as Commander Basilone went straight to the navigation console. Evan took up the science station, ready to interpret data in case another ship showed up, as he probably suspected like Jennifer that there was definitely another ship out there.
"I think you've got it, Kirk." Captain Thompson laughed. "I'll just watch if you think you can handle it."
"You got it, sir."
"Good job, Kirk." Basilone turned around and held her gaze. "You pass."
Jennifer halted halfway to the captain's chair. "I thought, Savage said this wasn't our test."
"No, it wasn't, but I think you'd pass it based on your actions here. All of you. Now, are you going to do as the captain said and take the chair or not?" Basilone shot back.
Jennifer went to the captain's chair and took the seat. It felt good. She wasn't even done with her first year at the academy, and already she was being trusted with command. It was… astonishing. Suddenly she felt a spike of fear course through her. What if she fucked it up? She could cost the crew their lives. She could… she was broken off from her train of thought by the captain speaking.
"Kirk. Stop freaking out. Just do it." Captain Thompson said sternly, but not unkindly.
Before Jennifer could reply Evan started speaking.
"Kirk, I'm reading another ship on intercept course. Must be Aelpati's comrades." Evan informed her.
"I'm getting messages from all departments. The intruders have been apprehended." Uhura said.
"Good. Hail that ship." Jennifer ordered. "Captain," Jennifer looked up beside her where Captain Thompson had come to stand, "would you like the honor?"
"I think I would, Kirk. I think I would." Captain Thompson replied smiling.
"They're not responding to our hail." Uhura said.
"Uhura, open a channel." Jennifer stated. She couldn't wait to see what the captain was going to say to these people.
"Channel open." Uhura responded.
"Unidentified vessel. This is Captain Christian Thompson of the USS Aldrin. Identify yourselves."
"They're responding with visual." Uhura informed.
"Put it up on the viewer." Captain Thompson ordered.
The view screen was suddenly filled with the visual of an angry looking human male. "What have you done with Aelpati?" The human male asked.
"Oh, he's busy at the moment, sitting in the brig, perhaps you'd like to join him?" Captain Thompson asked the man.
"No. Not really. You may have defeated him. But you will not defeat me. The Federation will be purified. Starting with your ship!" The visual was cut off.
"Shields up!" Jennifer ordered.
"Shields are up." Savage informed her. Not even a second after the shields were raised the Aldrin was hit with light phaser fire. The other ship's weapons were no match for the Aldrin, small as she was. "Shields holding."
"Fire a warning shot at them." Jennifer said. Savage complied and the group watched as the shot was fired just above the other ship. Phaser fire was returned again. "Shields?"
"Still holding." Savage answered.
"Don't they realize they can't even disable us? Let alone destroy us?" Jennifer asked to no one in particular.
"Well, Kirk, what would do you want to do?" Captain Thompson asked her. This was a test, Jennifer realized, even if it wasn't the original one. Obviously he wasn't too concerned about the other ship, else he wouldn't have allowed her to remain in command. In fact, pretty much everyone but Uhura was more qualified to be in command above her, yet he had allowed her to stay. Obviously he would take over the second anyone was in true danger, but she had to do something. "As little as a threat they really are to anyone, we can't let them get anywhere."
"Savage, can you get a read on their shield frequencies?" Jennifer asked, a lightbulb going off in her mind.
"Yeah. It's a tiny cargo ship. Minimal shields. Monophasic design." Savage answered.
"Good. I have a plan." Jennifer said. "Captain, if you would?" Jennifer stood from the captain's chair and gestured for him to take over.
He looked at her with mild confusion.
"I'm going to reprogram the phasers to be set to the exact opposite frequency of their shields, then fire at the ship at the lowest possible setting. It won't damage it, but it will take out their shields easily. Then I'm going to have Evans get a lock onto all life signs and beam them directly to the brig. No loss of life, easily controlled. Can't be more than what, five, ten people on board?"
"That is correct. The ship was designed for simple intra system cargo transport." Evans replied. "I can do a transporter sweep and easily grab any registering humanoid life signs."
"Great. You good with that, sir?" Jennifer asked the captain.
"Like Commander Basilone said, you pass, Kirk. With flying colors as far as I'm concerned. Get on it." Captain Thompson replied grinning.
Jennifer walked over to Savage's station and got to work reprograming the phasers. When she was done she looked up at the captain. "Permission to commence?"
"All you, Kirk." Captain Thompson laughing.
"Prepare to beam aboard the fugitives. Uhura, send a message to security informing them to expect the brig is about to be filled to capacity." Jennifer ordered.
"Ready." Evan replied. "Message sent." Uhura said.
"Good. Firing phasers." Jennifer said.
The phaser fire hit the other ship directly and the shields fell within ten seconds of being hit.
"Shields down. Reading eight life signs. Transporting now." Evan notified the room.
"Security has sent a message. Prisoners have been received." Uhura stated.
"Great. Well, captain, I think it's safe to return control back to the bridge, what do you say?" Jennifer asked chuckling.
"I believe you may be correct, Kirk. I'll head up there with Basilone. Cancel red alert. Meet us up there when you're done. All of you." Captain Thompson said before rising out of the chair. Basilone. Got up as well to follow him.
"Uhura, send a message to the bridge informing them we are returning control back to them. Let them know that the captain and chief tactical officer are on their way." Jennifer ordered as she started implanting the protocols to return control to the bridge.
"Well, that was anti-climactic. I didn't even get to show off my fancy flying skills." Mitchell whined.
"Sorry, Mitchell, maybe next time." Jennifer laughed. He was right, it was rather anti-climactic. Purity of Earth was supposed to be worse than Terra Prime. To have a plan fall apart so easily, it didn't seem fitting. In total, Aelpati hadn't even held control of the Aldrin for more than thirty minutes. His other ship was taken out too easily. In fact all of it was too easy. Jennifer turned to Savage. "We need to get to the brig, now!" Jennifer shouted as she started running out of auxiliary control. No one questioned her, they all just followed suit.
Jennifer stormed into the brig area surprising the security officers who started to move to stop her from approaching the cells. The group of cadets stopped them from hindering her progress.
"Which one of you is Aelpati?" Jennifer demanded looking into each cell.
A man in the first cell stepped forward. "I am Aelpati. If you think you've won, you're wrong. We have yet to truly begin. The flare will erupt and the light shall awaken the rested and the rested shall rise awoken at last." The tall dark haired male stated cryptically. Jennifer took count of the prisoners in the brig. There were the eight from the other ship in one cell, courtesy of Evan, and the three fake ambassadors in another. There was someone missing. Jennifer turned to the security officers. "Where's the fourth one? He was wearing a Starfleet uniform, red shirt?" Jennifer demanded.
"Fourth one?" One of the security officers asked, clearly confused.
"Yeah. The one who was unconscious outside of auxiliary control in engineering. The fourth one. The inside man!" Jennifer explained loudly.
"We didn't find one in engineering. There was one on the bridge, outside of medical, and communications. No one was in engineering." The security officer explained. Jennifer rushed over the wall com unit. "Kirk to Bridge. Captain, we've got a problem!"
"Captain Thompson speaking. What is it, Kirk?"
"The guard I knocked out is missing. He's not in the brig. He was the inside man. This whole thing was way too easy. Regaining control. Getting the guys from the other ship over here. It was all too easy and we're missing someone." Jennifer explained quickly. "We're missing something. Something big. Aelpati confirmed it." Jennifer looked over to the cell Aelpati was occupying and noticed he was grinning wildly.
"The light shall shine on the rested and the rested shall be awoken." Aelpati started laughing hysterically.
Jennifer's mind was moving at warp speed. What did they miss? There was Aelpati. The other ship. The plot to start with Vulcan. But they wouldn't have been able to do so with so few people. Even with the three fake ambassadors and the eight crewman from the other ship, they still would have needed an army to overtake Vulcan by force. Unless they already had an army. What had Aelpati just said? 'The rested shall be awoken'. The blast… the rested shall see the light. Shit, Aelpati was going to blow up the ship. But which ship?
"Kirk, you still with me?" Captain Thompson asked in a worried voice.
"Sir, how close are we to Vulcan?" Jennifer asked in an eerily calm voice.
"Robinson, what's our ETA to Vulcan at our current speed?" Jennifer heard the captain ask. "Kirk, given that the ship was still flying at the time of the red alert, we're about five minutes out."
"Is the other ship with us still?" Jennifer asked.
"Yeah, Kirk. We've been pulling it in the tractor beam. Couldn't just leave it sitting in the middle of space for god's sake. What's this got to do with anything? Tell me what's going on in that head of yours, Kirk." The captain sounded confused, but worried as well. Jennifer had proven herself enough in his eyes, right now he was just wondering what dots she was connecting.
"Sir. We have a missing terrorist. We have Aelpati saying that, and I quote, 'the light shall shine on the rested and the rested will rise awoken'. Sir, I think he means that one of the ships is about to be blown to bits as a signal to sleeper agents on the surface of Vulcan to begin whatever they're planning. This is much bigger than anyone originally thought."
"Which ship?" Captain Thompson replied immediately, very focused.
Jennifer ran through all the information in her mind, trying to add up all the parts. The solution made sense. A ship would blow. It would be a signal. The rested would rise awoken. But which ship? Jennifer realized, it didn't matter. There was the missing guard onboard, but the other ship was empty. Easily taken out and its crew effortlessly beamed aboard the Aldrin. If it blew now, the Aldrin would be destroyed. Even if one of the terrorists would have been able to plant a charge on the Aldrin, it risked being discovered, or being stopped before being placed. The other ship was more ideal, especially if they had calculated correctly in that the Aldrin would pull it via tractor beam after removing its crew. The Aldrin would still be destroyed. The light would reach the rested and the rested would rise awoken.
"Kirk, which ship?" Captain Thompson asked again impatiently.
"It's the other ship, sir. The other ship is rigged to blow." Jennifer confirmed.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. It's the only thing that makes sense. Too risky for failure here. The other ship makes the most sense. The charges were set to blow as soon as they encountered us. Set on a timer. He's right. We'll never find it and defuse it in time." Jennifer finished the last bit more so talking to herself than to the captain. "Sir, I need to get aboard that ship. The only chance we have to stop this plot is by stopping that ship from blowing up."
"Kirk. That's suicide. You don't know how long you have."
"Well, then I need to get that ship as far away from Vulcan as possible as fast as possible. That signal cannot be allowed to reach Vulcan's surface for the foreseeable future. It needs to be as far away as possible. I'll program the autopilot to take it as far away as possible and then try to defuse the bomb. You can beam me out if I can't find it or defuse it in time."
The intercom was silent for a moment as the Captain thought this over.
"Fine. You can go Kirk, but you'll take a pilot and Basilone is going with you. Get to the transporter room now. Thompson out."
"Mitchell, still want to try some crazy flying?" Jennifer turned around and asked.
"You know it!" He replied happily. Jennifer thought he was crazy, because she felt crazy herself right now.
"You'll die if you go over to that ship, Kirk, you know that." Uhura said softly.
"I too agree that this is crazy." Savage concurred.
"Well you can tell me all this on the way to the transporter room. Let's go, Mitchell." Jennifer and Mitchell started running. Evan caught up with her easily, Savage and Uhura directly behind them.
"Jenn." Evan huffed out.
"I know, Evan, I know." The group made it to the transporter room in record time. Jennifer came to an abrupt halt before going inside. Mitchell went on ahead. "Think of all the people that will die if I don't. Besides, there's still a chance I can defuse the damn thing."
"I know. Good luck, Jenn." Evan said, kissing Jennifer on the cheek before she turned around and headed to the transporter pad.
"Ok, so here's the plan," Jennifer started stepping up to the pad and taking the communicator that Basilone offered her, "we get in, we plot a course at maximum warp as far away from here as possible, and then we find that bomb. Mitchell, we might need you to stay at the helm just in case another ship pops up nearby. You agreed, commander?" Jennifer asked Basilone.
"Yep. Sounds good to me." Basilone responded.
"Good luck, Kirk. God knows you need it." Uhura said.
"Kick ass, guys!" Savage practically shouted.
"Energize." Jennifer gave the command, knowing that Basilone and Mitchell were ready.
As soon as they appeared on the bridge of the small ship Basilone was contacting the Aldrin to tell them to release the ship from their tractor beam.
"Mitchell take the helm." Jennifer said stepping to the navigation console, typing away furiously. "I'm plotting a course to get us the fuck out of here, but like I said, god only knows what we'll come across."
"Got it, Kirk." Mitchell replied.
"I'm going to check Engineering. Best place to place a bomb on a ship this size for maximum explosive power." Basilone said just before departing the bridge.
Jennifer finished typing on the console. "I'm going to join him. Stay safe, Mitchell. The Aldrin's going to be following us at a safe distance, send them the flight path, just in case we can't find and disable the explosives." Jennifer gave her last command.
"Aye, aye, captain!" Mitchell responded happily.
Jennifer found Basilone in Engineering moments later.
"I found it! We've got less than ten minutes. Is that going to get us far enough away at maximum warp?" Basilone asked, already knowing the answer. It would get them far enough away to delay the signal, but not stop it indefinitely. The ship didn't have speed of a Starship, its maximum warp capability being around warp factor 4. Even at maximum warp, the delay would only be weeks, not years or more. The only way for that to happen would be if they went through the passage, which would risk destabilizing it permanently, and destroying any ships using it. They couldn't risk that either.
"Fuck!" Jennifer shouted, joining him near the ship's engine. She took in the explosive device. It was hardwired into the warp core. The charges were inside the containment field, as was the person who had died setting them. There were only two ways to disable the bomb which would blow the warp core and destroy the ship. One was to do so on the interface and timer. The other was to manually disable the charges, but to do that someone would have to enter the warp core containment field, a death sentence due to the radiation. "Fuck!"
"Kirk, you're the programmer. Start trying to disable the bomb from the timer mechanism's interface. If you can't do it in time, I'll disable the charges myself. I'm giving you six minute before I enter the core compartment and the containment field." Basilone told Jennifer sternly. Jennifer simply nodded and got to work.
Jennifer was working through the coding, trying to find a weakness, anything. The coding was, she had to admit, elegant, and quite well constructed. She'd like to meet the person who had constructed such a strong and eloquent destructive device and kick them where it hurt. Whoever it was had to be extremely intelligent, and the person was obviously not on the good guys' side. About four minutes in and Jennifer was barely past the firewalls and security protocols. She had two minutes to completely disable the damn thing before Basilone was intent on sacrificing himself for the greater good.
"Mitchell, are we at a safe distance yet?" She barely registered Basilone use his communicator to talk to Mitchell.
"Yes sir, as safe as we can be." Mitchell replied. Jennifer was still working furiously, sweat dripping down from her brow.
"Okay. Contact the Aldrin. Have them beam you aboard. Tell them to beam Kirk aboard in one minute after you get there no matter what, got it?" Basilone instructed.
"What about you sir?" Mitchell asked, confusion evident in his tone.
"I'll contact the Aldrin when I'm ready to be beamed aboard." Basilone replied evenly. Jennifer looked up for a moment, making eye contact with him. "Just get over there now. Basilone out. Kirk, you almost done? You've got about a minute and a half before you're done."
Jennifer looked back down to the interface and continued working. "Almost there. God this thing is complicated. If this had been my advanced programming final with this time limit… I don't know if I would have passed." Jennifer admitted, terrified.
"Just get it done." Basilone said kindly.
Jennifer felt like she was racing against an unachievable timeline. She knew why Basilone was leaving two minutes to manually disable the charges. It would take that much time if he was fast, and she had no doubt he could be. Radiation or not.
Thirty seconds to go and Jennifer was breathing heavily, trying to remain calm, but a life was in her hands. Basilone's.
"Kirk." Basilone warned.
"Almost there." Jennifer replied. Just then she heard a beeping noise. The countdown had begun. Two minutes to detonation. "NO! WAIT!" Jennifer shouted. She was too late. Basilone had entered the chamber. "You'll die. It's done! It's offline!" It was too late. Basilone had already entered the chamber, unable to hear Jennifer tell him she had deactivated the device. She was suddenly wrapped in the golden light of the transporter signal. "NO!" She shouted. Her shout ended onboard the Aldrin's transporter pad. She failed. "BEAM HIM UP! DO IT NOW! THE BOMB IS OFFLINE!"
"Sir," the transporter chief started speaking, "I'm reading a single fluctuating life sign. It's Commander Basilone. Sir, he's," the transporter chief paused, looking up at the captain who was standing in the transporter room waiting, "he's dying."
"Damn you, Basilone! Damn you I had it! It was done. You couldn't wait two fucking seconds!" Jennifer screamed as tears fell from her face freely. She didn't care who could see her crying. She hadn't cried in so years. "Damn you Basilone! You idiot!"
"Sir, I'm reading no life signs." The transporter chief informed him. "He's dead."
Jennifer fell to her knees defeated in tears. "Damn you Basilone! I had it!" She whispered. "Damn you! You didn't have to die. Why did you go in there? Why?"
Everyone in the room turned their attention to the crying woman on her knees. Uhura was in shock, never having seen Kirk so emotional before. Savage was perplexed, he didn't know the woman well enough to know this had been the first time in years that she had cried, but from what he did know of her, Jennifer Kirk wasn't the type to cry, especially in front of others. Evan was broken up over seeing his strong friend who despised loss of life so vehemently break down, believing she had caused the death of the commander. Captain Thompson was possibly the most composed of the group that had gotten to meet Kirk that day, and yet, he felt heavier than he had in some time. He knew what it was to feel the weight of the responsibility of life. The weight of guilt when those under one's command died, and although Commander Basilone outranked Kirk and was not under her command, she would feel he was, because it was her plan, her actions that had led to his death, even if she wasn't at fault.
Jennifer Kirk had experienced the first death she felt responsible for in years and every horrible memory of that time years in her past came rushing back in an instant. She cried for Commander Basilone. She cried for the deaths she had directly caused by her own hand. She cried for the four thousand, and she cried for the ones she couldn't save. Just like Commander John Basilone. She cried for Basilone. The latest in a long list of casualties that she couldn't save.