.o0o.

"I just can't believe it." Baker was muttering to herself as they all settled around the table in the debriefing room. "I've known him for well over a year. A Romulan? The whole time? And Hovard-"

Kirk couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. He couldn't imagine how devastated he'd feel if Spock were a Romulan. He could hardly bring himself to think such a thought. He also felt a bit culpable for how things turned out. If he hadn't been so set on Baker being the traitor, he might have seen Stark's manipulation earlier. How many of her decisions had been influenced by Stark? Unfortunately, they had no time to digest this news. He grabbed Baker's shoulder and roughly shook it. "Snap out of it. We've got just over twelve minutes left."

Baker nodded and stood. "We've got to change direction and get out of here and fast. Our only chance is to stay unnoticed."

"Negative." Kirk refuted. "With such little time left, they've undoubtedly already detected our presence. We'll leave ourselves wide open if we try to run."

"It is possible that we have more time than Stark indicated." Spock suggested. "We did leave warp speed to make the repairs to the hull."

Baker was shaking her head. "I'm sure he took that into consideration. If Stark said 11 hours, he meant it. It's so weird to think that one of my own..."

The door slid open and Serin entered, Bones close on his heels. Serin folded his hands behind his back and gave his results promptly. "I have finished with Dr. Hovard. She was not a plant, as you suspected, but was, in fact, being actively controlled by the Romulan Stark. Once Stark was given the proper drugs to render him unconscious, it was a simple matter to remove the connection between them. Hovard shall be herself again."

"Which explains the bizarre readings we got when we scanned her." Bones piped in.

Baker let out a long sigh. "Can he gain control over her mind again?"

"It would require some time and a physical connection. As long as Stark continues to be subdued, he poses no threat to the rest of the crew."

The comm unit beeped. "Uhura to Captain Baker."

Baker waved it off, so Kirk rose to answer. "Kirk here. Go ahead."

Uhura sounded momentarily confused, but proceeded with her message. "We have dropped out of warp, though we are unsure why. What would you like us to do?"

"Don't do anything. Just sit tight. I'll be there in a minute." Kirk chewed on his bottom lip. Them dropping out of warp like that could mean only one thing. They'd reached the rendez-vous point. The Romulans would be there any minute.

"I hope you have a plan." Bones commented as he made for the door.

Kirk looked between him and Serin, then across at Spock's stoic expression and down at Baker who was still seated, looking altogether sullen with her sloped shoulders. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Oh? Care to enlighten the rest of us?"

"No time." Kirk smiled with more confidence than he felt. "Spock, that transmitter, it didn't have visuals, did it?"

Spock raised an eyebrow, and Kirk wondered if he had followed his train of thought. "Audio only, Captain."

"Excellent. Baker, come with me. The rest of you, stay off the Bridge." Baker seemed startled, but snapped back into focus enough to follow him out of the room at a jog.

"All right troops." He greeted his Bridge crew. Sulu, Chekov, Uhura and Scotty were all sitting at their respective stations. Chekov attempted to stand up at seeing him in charge again, but Kirk waved him away. "Listen carefully. We're about to encounter a bunch of Romulans, so I need you to put on your best acting faces. Make like Spock and don't show a reaction to anything. Keep your faces blank and don't say a word unless I specifically ask you to. Got it?"

There was a chorus of "yes, sirs," and Kirk looked upon his crew with pride.

"That goes for you, too, Baker." Baker nodded slowly.

Kirk had just managed to sit in his own chair when Uhura called, "We're being hailed, sir."

"On screen."

The screen was instantly filled with a handsome, young-looking man with a dark green tint to his skin and wild hair. A full Romulan bridge crew could be seen in the viewscreen.

"Captain." Kirk addressed formally, bowing his head in a way that he hoped would be received as polite. "I am Stark. Welcome to Starfleet's finest." Kirk held his breath as the Romulan captain squinted at him.

After what seemed to be the longest minute in Kirk's entire life, the captain nodded. "Your human appearance is well done. It is no wonder you were able to deceive the humans for so long." The captain seemed to examine each face on the bridge in turn. Kirk took pride in his crew's ability to keep calm. "I am surprised you are able to subdue so many at once."

Kirk allowed himself a small smile. "The human mind is weak." He repeated Stark's mantra. "Not only do I control those gathered here, but also the ship's doctor. This," he gestured to Baker, "is the ship's captain. She was no more challenging than the others. It was almost... disappointing."

Baker tensed up beside him, but she took no action.

The captain laughed heartily. "It's a wonder we've struggled so much in the past when these humans are entirely incapable of protecting themselves." The captain tapped his chin. "Come, tell me what news of Starfleet. How much of their forces remain?"

Kirk frowned and made his best bluff. "Unfortunately, they were quick to catch on to our trap. They only lost two ships. The rest were able to remove the humans who were under our control before much damage was done. There are twenty ships heading this way as we speak and more available if necessary. I do not believe the humans see Romulans as a serious threat."

The Romulan captain slammed his fist into his chair with enough force to leave a large dent in its surface and growled a sound so fierce it had Kirk's hair standing on end. "I spent years setting that trap. Do you have any idea how many filthy human minds I had to wade through?"

Kirk said nothing though words burned his throat as they screamed to be released. This was the man behind all of the plants, the man that single-handedly crippled Starfleet. This was the man who'd caused Bones to turn on them.

The Romulan scowled. "Then we shall simply have to show the humans what a serious threat we can be. Lower the shields and beam aboard my ship. We shall see how brave the humans are when they watch the Enterprise being destroyed with a single strike."

"Excellent idea." Kirk responded, standing. He made as if to leave, then stopped by the door, like a thought occurred to him suddenly. "Captain, might I make a suggestion?"

The captain arched a bushy eyebrow, as if making fun of Spock's inquisitive movement.

Kirk strolled back toward his chair and spoke slowly, clearly. He could not afford to mess this up. "Seeing as we have at least a day before the other Starfleet ships will be anywhere near here, might I suggest getting some of the more useful parts from the Enterprise before destroying it? We could certainly make use of many of the materials, and I have witnessed two... creations by the humans that we have no sort of equivalent. I believe it would be worth the time and effort to take them with us and learn more of these human weaknesses."

The captain appeared to ponder the suggestion, but Kirk could tell that he was already hooked on the idea. There was no way that Romulan would let knew technologies just be destroyed. "An acceptable idea. Have the shields lowered, and I will lend some of my people to assist you."

"No." Kirk replied, perhaps a bit too quickly. He started again, slower. "No, that may be an unwise move. I do not have control over every human aboard this ship, and they will be alarmed by your sudden appearance. They will undoubtedly attempt to attack and that could lead to a senseless casualty. I will collect the most valuable parts and bring them to the transporter room myself."

A look of suspicion crept across the Romulan's face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. He nodded. "I assume three hours will be adequate time?"

"Yes."

Without more flare, the Romulan announced, "Terik out," and the screen reverted to a view of space. Well, it would have been space, if space weren't blocked by several large Romulan ships.

Sulu let out a low whistle while Chekov stumbled over a nervous chuckle.

"Well done." Baker congratulated him.

"I've only bought us a couple hours." He corrected her, then asked, "How many ships are there, anyway?"

"Sensors are picking up ten, though there could be more cloaked." Sulu answered promptly. Ten Romulan vessels and one Enterprise. The odds were not looking good.

"Guess that removes the possibility of fighting our way out." Baker snorted.

"That was never a good option." Kirk confirmed. "But we may yet have a way out of this mess."

Baker followed Kirk off the Bridge and toward the debriefing room without being asked. Spock, Serin, and Bones were still waiting there anxiously. Well, Bones was looking anxious, anyway. "What happened?"

"We're surrounded, but I've managed to convince the Romulan captain that I am Stark, and I have control over the ship. We've got a few hours to remove everything valuable before they destroy the Enterprise." Kirk summarized.

"That doesn't sound like good news." Bones grumbled. "Why don't we just shoot them now while we have the element of surprise?"

"Ten ships, Bones. We'd be dead before the torpedoes hit, even with their shields down." Kirk explained, then turned to the Vulcans. "Spock, Serin, I want you two to try and sneak aboard while we're transporting goods and disable the weapons systems. It might not be much, but it should give us the edge we need. We'll get you Romulan uniforms and you should be able to blend in."

Spock and Serin were quick to agree, despite the danger to the mission. Bones opened his mouth to protest, or perhaps volunteer, but closed it with a look from Kirk.

"Captain," Spock did not look at all concerned by his new task, "We stand the greatest probability of success if you send us to different ships."

"Good idea. If you can't get to the transporter again, you can at least disable two ships."

The next ten minutes passed swiftly as everyone scurried to get ready. Kirk found himself back in the transporter room with armfuls of crates facing the two Vulcans already dressed as Romulans. Bones nearly ran into him when he stopped short at how remarkably Romulan they appeared.

They piled the boxes onto a pad, and Spock crouched down below them. "You will not be able to raise the shields again after using the transporter without drawing suspicion." Spock warned.

Kirk nodded. "With the odds the way they are, they wouldn't last more than a few hits anyway. We're counting on you."

"I am aware."

Kirk ordered the shields lowered and immediately transported his First Officer and the crates of extra supplies to the Romulan's ship. It didn't take twenty seconds before Uhura commed to tell him that the Romulan captain was trying to get ahold of him. "Patch him through." He ordered.

"We have scanned the Enterprise. You neglected to mention that there was a second Romulan aboard your vessel. Explain yourself." Terik demanded.

Kirk's mind flashed through possible explanations before he landed on the correct one. He looked up at Serin as he responded. "You're mistaken. I am located in the transporter room. The other life sign you think to be a Romulan is, in fact, a Vulcan officer. He is currently sedated in Sickbay. I did not wish to take my chances with his superior mind."

"Acknowledged." The Romulan said curtly, then clicked off the connection. Kirk took this as a sign that he was believed and let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Change of plans. Serin, you're going to have to stay here in case they scan us again."

"That is a logical conclusion."

"Bones, go ahead and work with Scotty on what we can send over there. I'll just have to find a way to stall them long enough for Spock to work his magic."

.o0o.