Daphne found her captain on the hangar deck, overseeing the preflight check of the Magellan – the shuttle that would carry he and Spock to Vulcan and into the heart of the Forge. He was talking to Spock as she approached from across the wide expanse of deck. Their heads were bent almost together and she was once again painfully aware of the energy that always sizzled between the two. Their voices were low, and tension held each man stiff-spined and alert. It was as if they shared some dark, painful knowledge; a terrible, silent dread of coming events.

Jim looked up as she approached.

"May I speak to you, Captain?" she asked.

"Of course," he answered and they walked a few feet away. The handful of crewmen readying the shuttle ignored them. Both Spock and McCoy had told Jim his resemblance to Daphne was obvious, but they had made no formal announcement of any kind about their relationship. If the crew wondered why the assistant head of the science department needed to talk to the Captain just before he departed on a dangerous mission, they wisely didn't let it show.

Without preamble Daphne said, "Don't take the Forge lightly. No human can survive there very long. You're wearing a cold suit?"

Jim nodded and pushed some of his desert soft suit out of the way so she could see it. His eyes rested on her, warm, reassuring and with all the Kirk charm that made people follow him into death and destruction; eyes that were golden brown at the moment, bright with intelligence and grim with determination.

"We'll be alright Daphne. Spock is with me," he touched her forearm gently, just a brush of his fingers against the fabric of her blue uniform.

She looked up and let all the fear and trepidation she was feeling show in her eyes.

"I would appreciate it if you would be very, very ,careful. I lost one brother before I ever had a chance to make him part of my life. I don't want to lose the other."

"You're not going to lose me," he attempted a boyish grin that didn't quite rise all the way into his eyes.

"Good, because I took this assignment to get to know my brother and so far I don't think I've really accomplished that goal."

Now Kirk did grin at her. It was accompanied by a deep laugh that made Daphne think of brandy and thunder, "Maybe that's because you've spent so much time getting to know my First Officer."

Daphne laughed, and envied her brother his ability to fill people with confidence and humor in the worst case scenario.

"We'll talk when I get back. All right?" he said.

She nodded and would have said more but a red-shirted crewman from Engineering called for the Captain's attention.

"You going to go tell Spock to be careful now?" Jim asked, teasing.

It made her smile a bit sheepishly. "Something like that," she admitted.

Spock was standing by the cargo hold of the shuttle, a stylus in his hand, reading through a list on a Padd in the other. He turned as she approached, not just his head, but his entire body as one unit. She winced inwardly. He hurt whether he would admit it or not. For one mad, impulsive moment she wanted to sink to her knees and beg him not to go. She had experienced his pain and felt that she had been torn apart by lightening. How he could control such agony and remain on his feet was beyond her understanding.

But then she looked up into midnight eyes and spiraled helplessly down into love. Spock would never put anything as trivial as his own life ahead of those for whom he cared. His gaze bored into hers for a moment, settled briefly on her lips and gave her the absurd notion he was going to kiss her. Then he gathered her heart and soul once more into his eyes.

Spock burned to touch her, to run his sensitive fingers from her smooth throat where her impossibly slow pulse beat, to her ear and jaw and up to her forehead. He longed to bring his fingers to rest on the touch points that would bring her thoughts and the pure brightness of her being flowing into him. He wanted to give her the pain just for a moment, to be done with it just long enough to breathe without hoping his control wouldn't break.

Instead he straightened a little, refusing to acknowledge the howl of pain that lanced up his spine as he did so, and nodded to her.

"Commander," she said, formally.

"Lt?"

Softly, for only his Vulcan hearing she said, "Pawn e2 to d4."

His reply was immediate, "Pawn, e7 to e5."

"Knight g1 to f3."

Spock's eyebrow lifted. "That is far too obvious a move for you," he said, suspicion lingering in his eyes.

"I wanted you to have a reason to come back," she answered.

"I have always had a reason to come back," he told her.

Daphne clenched her hands to keep from touching him, digging her nails into her own palms. She was certain that if she touched him her desperate need to prevent him from leaving would strike sparks, set the hangar deck ablaze and terrify the crew.

She knew he would die for her. She could only hope he was equally as determined to live for her.

"Take care of my brother," she managed to say.

"I always do," he replied.

Star Fleet discipline and training forced her to relax long enough to flash the Vulcan hand sign and say, "Sochaya heh dif."

Then she turned and walked away with as much military precision and control as she could muster.

"Daphne," Spock called.

She turned.

"Knight b8 to c6."

A slow, delicious enigmatic expression spread across her features. Spock felt a trill of alarm. Until meeting Daphne, chess had always been safe. By its very nature it was unemotional, impersonal.

"You'll have to come back to hear my answer," she said, then turned and left the hangar deck just as the red alarm started to flash, indicating the hangar deck was about to lose atmosphere.

Spock had no further chance to ponder their newly begun game of chess. He entered the shuttle craft, with Jim barely a heartbeat behind him.

They took their seats in the front as the shuttle as turned to face the bay doors. They yawned open and revealed the vivid red orb of Vulcan dominating the space before them. Jim shared one look with Spock and then lifted the shuttle off the deck.

The gates of Hell awaited them.