As he teased the last of the chewed wires out of its place, Scotty found himself wishing that he had longer arms with extra joints in it. Some of the damage was in awkward out of the way places. This was the last of the panels that powered the transporter, once this was done they would be able to recover Sulu and Chekov, if they were still alive to recover that was. They'd been in the deep freeze down there for four hours now; Scotty could only hope they were holding on. He'd placed security guards at the already repairs stations, in case whatever it was returned to do some more damage. Now it was just a matter of getting this last case fixed.
Keenser handed him a new wire and Scotty began splicing it into the gap. His hands worked as though they had a mind of their own, repairing was something they'd done all his life. Still, it didn't seem like they could move fast enough, "Come on man!" he said, more to himself than his companion. Keenser cocked his head to one side and muttered something. "I know, I know but they're our friends down there." Keenser shrugged. Scotty's hands had finished their work so he handed him another wire.
The five minutes it took to get the four wires done seemed to take an eternity to pass. Scotty let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he stood up. "Scott here," he said tapping his communicator, "Security to last wiring room, deck 5." Moments later, three ensigns in red shirts appeared.
"Sir?"
"Make sure nothing and I mean nothing, gets into that panel. The lives of Sulu and Chekov depend on it." Scotty said
"Sir!" The three guards spread themselves around the panel and did their best to look serious.
"Come on, let's get them back." Keenser followed him out of the room. The short walk to the transporter room felt like a thousand miles. When they arrived, all traces of blood and gore had been removed. He checked the panel before flicking the console back online. It stuttered a moment before whirring to life. Lights began to flash once more. "Thank God for that!" Scotty said. He patched a line through to Kirk, "We're back online, I can get them back."
"Do it! I'm on my way," Kirk replied.
"Here goes."
Scotty flicked a few switches and used the panel to locate his friends. The life signs were faint but they were there. It was enough. By the time he had a lock on them, Kirk burst through the door followed by medical team – he must have summoned them on his way. Scotty activated the transporter. Warm light filled the room, the scintillating patterns filled the pads; slowly and surely, the figures of two men began to appear. The light faded, two forms remained unmoving on the pads. "You got them Scotty!" Kirk said slapping him on the back.
"Aye, but was it in time?" There was no movement from either form.