Spock and his team of rescuers arrived in the Miridian System, but they were being careful not to let themselves be detected. The Klingons would go down first, and once the explosions started, Spock and the others would go. They all stood in silence, waiting again, after that horrible four days of waiting that seemed much longer. Korax and Grakar were also with them. They had argued several times during the four days about which of them would get to spill Ja'rod's blood, and J'watok as well. Spock had simply stayed out of that argument, and let them decide that on their own.

Bones thought about that knee injury Jim had. He knew it was serious, and it had been so long that he was afraid it might not heal properly now. He looked at Carol whom he had sedated twice to help her sleep. Her face clearly showed her worry, and he thought their problems would be beyond his expertise.

Jim had gone as far as he could go but he had finally gotten out of that water. He had managed to get himself into a tight fissure and sat down in a small area that was barely big enough for him to fit, but he was there, and he just let himself sink into sleep. He was awakened later by sounds in the tunnel. He could hear angry Klingons talking. He was trembling but he stayed still and stayed silent. They can't see me, he said to himself.

To say that Ja'rod was angry would have been a severe understatement. However, he was not one of the ones in the tunnel. There were two Klingons there, a Romulan, and a Nausicaan. The Nausicaan sniffed the air. "The human has been here," he said.

One of the Klingons with them was the one who had helped Jim before. He had known this had to be where the captain had disappeared to, and he had thought it was quite amusing that he had managed to get away from Ja'rod even with an injured knee. It was a humiliation to him, but it also put the captain in even more danger because if they found him and captured him again, Ja'rod would show no mercy.

Lolak, his name was. He had wanted plenty of times to take Ja'rod out, but the chancellor had told him to wait. Lolak had hidden his true purpose well enough to be trusted anywhere as a guard or on trips he took alone. It was why he had been the guard at the prison where he kept Jim Kirk alive. He hoped now that he could stop these others from finding him. While they went further down the tunnel, he stayed behind to "keep watch" in case the human got this far.

Once the others were gone down the tunnel, Lolak began looking around the area he was in. He soon saw the fissure. "Young captain," he said quietly. "I know you are here."

Jim tried to push himself further back into the wall. "You must come out. I am Lolak. I am the one who helped you while you were in prison. You are a brave one to have escaped from Ja'rod. If the Nausicaan comes back, he will find you because he can smell you. You must come out."

Jim's fear made him want to stay right where he was, but he knew the Klingon was not lying to him. He was trembling as he moved toward the opening and looked out. He could see Lolak out there waiting for him. "Hurry, young one," Lolak said quietly.

Jim wondered why he called him young one all the time. How old was this Klingon? He helped Jim get out of the fissure, and then got him over his shoulder and headed down the tunnel at a run. He got him outside and into the forest which was very dark. Lolak took Jim to a cavern where there was a fire built in the middle of the open area. Jim groaned with the pain in his knee as Lolak laid him down on the floor. "You must remain here and stay quiet," Lolak said. "There is food here, and they will not look for you here because it is my private domain."

"Thank you," Jim replied, thinking it sounded much like a squeak.

"I must get back before they realize I am gone."

Lolak ran out of the cavern and headed back to the tunnel. He applied a scent eliminator so that he would not smell like Jim. He knew that Nausicaan would smell it. He knew the captain's friends were in the system but they had not arrived at the planet yet.

Jim lay there on the ground feeling like he wanted to do nothing but sleep. What could he do besides that anyway? He just stared at the fire and let his eyes close…it was so quiet anyway…

Grakar and his band of Klingons had beamed down to the planet in a remote area. Lolak had sent them a map of the area where the prison was located. There was a village there and several structures that had been constructed. These were what they intended to destroy with their distraction.

They made their way down to the perimeter of the village and squatted to watch and listen. They could see a Romulan guard who was definitely paying attention to his job. "Who are they expecting?" Korax asked.

"I do not know," Grakar replied. "Perhaps us."

"That is odd, seeing that they are so confident in their ability to destroy the Federation, the Klingon House, and the Romulan Republic."

"I do not believe this is the time for such light-hearted talk," Jirrok said.

"The humans believe it relieves tension."

"Maybe so, but we must pay attention to our surroundings."

"We are paying attention," Grakar declared.

They were all silent, and not only was there a Romulan guard, but also a Nausicaan who walked the perimeter. "We will have to eliminate that Nausicaan," Grakar whispered. "But we must attempt to do it quietly."

"I will follow him," Jirrok said. "I will take him out when we are to the best place to attract no attention."

"Good."

Jirrok sneaked away from their observation point and followed the Nausicaan around the perimeter of the camp. He soon came to an area that was out of sight of the buildings. Jirrok drew out his kut'luch and moved silently toward his…prey. Suddenly, the Nausicaan stopped and sniffed the air. Jirrok moved fast before his enemy could figure out what he was smelling and where it was coming from. He plunged his kut'luch into the Nausicaan's chest, stopping him where he stood. He dragged him out into the forest and hid him in some bushes.

Grakar and the others were still observing when Jirrok came back. "He will not trouble us," Jirrok said. "There is an area in the back of this compound where there are no guards because it is against the cliffs. It would be unexpected if we found a way in from that way."

Grakar considered that. "Is there a passage between the cliffs?" he asked.

"There is one, but it is very narrow. We cannot fit through it."

"That is why they do not worry."

"We can go around the back of the corner building. Without the Nausicaan, there will be no guard. However, we must move quickly because others will discover that he is gone."

"I agree."

Grakar thought a moment. "Korax, take half and go to the back," he said. "I will take the rest and we will move toward the front. We must set our charges quickly."

"We will work fast," Korax replied. "We must be wary of Ja'rod and J'watok."

"I realize this."

Korax and his warriors headed toward the back of the village, or compound. Jirrok was with him. They squatted at the edge of the buildings and waited for a moment. Korax gave each of them a charge to place in a strategic location. "We must move quickly," he whispered. "I will take the farthest building. Jirrok, take the closest, and then watch for that Romulan."

Jirrok nodded, and they all kept low as they moved behind the buildings. Korax arrived at the last building which was a small place that held weapons. He went inside and took some of the weapons, and then set his charge inside. He left the building and instead of going back the way he came, he went on across to the edge of the forest on the other side.

Grakar and his troop were doing much the same thing, but their task was a little more difficult because there were more guards at the front. Grakar took Dapodi and they sneaked silently to a place out of sight of the two Romulan guards. Then they heard someone yell, "Paheeng! Where are you?" Grakar and Dapodi stayed still and listened. "Ildees!"

When that name was called, one of the Romulans turned. "What is going on?" he asked.

"Paheeng is not answering! Find him! If he has sneaked off on a hunt again, he will be disciplined!"

"He does not see the point of this constant guard! We are on an isolated planet!"

"Do you question me?"

Grakar knew that was Ja'rod talking. "He does not even have loyalty of his followers," he whispered.

"He is no leader," Dapodi replied. "He only has a big mouth."

"We must take these guards out."

Grakar sneaked over to the Romulan that was still standing at his post. The Romulan realized too late that Grakar was there. He grabbed the Romulan and jerked him down to the ground where he drove his kut'luch into his heart. He and Dapodi got the Romulan out of the area and into the forest. They then waited for the other to come back, but did not see him. "We must move," Grakar whispered. He knew the charges in the back must already be set by now, and they had to get started with their own. He also knew that when those explosions started, they would not have as much trouble setting theirs.

Lolak was standing at the same place when the Nausicaan, Xeith, returned, along with Etsal, the Klingon, and Jikas, the Romulan. "He came this way," Xeith said. "He has been here very recently."

Lolak had made sure to remove the smell from the place Kirk had been hiding as well. "Perhaps your nose is not as skilled as you think," Lolak said.

Xeith bared his teeth at him, clearly showing his short tusks. "We will find him."

Lolak followed them as the other two went along with Xeith. He knew they could not find Jim Kirk because he had hidden him well. "I heard some yelling," Lolak said. "There must be trouble. The captain could have gotten back to the village."

Etsal glared at Xeith. "And we follow you," he said. "If he is in the village, he can cause more trouble and perhaps contact his ship."

"He would not be able to get that far," Jikas declared. "He could not even stand."

"He did not want to stand before, but if he is trying to save his own life, he can do more."

"You give that puny one too much credit. He is weak!"

"He is, but he is determined, as we were told of this captain. He is not like others. And do not forget, he escaped!"

Lolak merely stood there while they all discussed what they would do next. "Let's go back to the camp and let Ja'rod know that he may have made his way back there," Etsal said.

"I will remain out here," Lolak replied. "If he is out here, he will probably come out if he thinks everyone left. Besides, my abode is not in the camp."

"Keep watch."

Lolak stood there and watched to make sure the other three left that trail, and then he went into the forest to his cavern. Jim was lying asleep when he walked in. Lolak squatted beside Jim and lifted him up which startled him so badly, he hurt his knee trying to get away from him. Lolak put his hand over Jim's mouth. "Silence," he whispered.

Jim realized who he was and then relaxed as much as he could. "I have brought you water," Lolak said as he helped him sit up against the wall of the cave.

Jim took what looked like a crude canteen and drank some of the cold water. It did not taste very good but it was still water. He leaned his head back and looked at Lolak. "I'm sorry," he whispered, because that seemed to be all he could do at the moment.

"I did not mean to startle you but you need water, and I did not think I could avoid startling you."

"Probably not."

"You have a fever from your injury."

Jim nodded. He knew he had fever and his knee was badly messed up. "I can't walk," he said.

"You do not have to," Lolak replied. "Once your friends are here, I will get you to them."

Jim closed his eyes. "You won't be able to spy anymore."

"Perhaps not, but I believe Ja'rod is seeing his final day."

Jim did not answer, but was sinking into sleep again. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion that woke him, and then there were several subsequent explosions. "I believe your friends have arrived," Lolak said.

Spock and the others had been transported to the planet at the same place as Grakar and the Klingons. When they heard the explosions begin, they headed for the village. "That was quite a distraction," Bones said as he and Spock were hiding behind trees.

"They have most likely taken out some of the resistance," Spock replied. "Take Carol and Solan with you and find the captain. The rest of us will help the Klingons."

Bones was not sure he liked splitting up, but he would not argue. He had never liked fighting and firing weapons, but he had come to realize that there were times he had to do it whether he wanted to or not…and this was one of those times. He, Solan, and Carol ran down to the back side of the village. There was certainly a lot of chaos going on, and two of the buildings were burning with a…green flame. "That's unusual," Bones remarked. He had no time to think about that as they suddenly met up with one of the angriest Klingons he had ever seen.

Bones fired at him, but the Klingon was wearing armor. "YOU!" the Klingon yelled and charged toward them.

Bones dodged out of the Klingon's path as he tried to tackle him, which caused him to stop and turn toward him. This action put Carol behind the Klingon and she took the long-bladed dagger that belonged to Jim and plunged it into the back of the Klingon's leg. He let out a yell that drew the attention of a Romulan, and a Nausicaan. The Klingon was not dead. "GET THEM!" he yelled as he fell to the ground. He grabbed at Carol's leg, but she evaded him.

Bones and Solan fired at the other two, Xeith and Jikas, who were coming fast. They managed to avoid their fire, however. Xeith jumped to the side that Bones and Solan were on and rolled right over to them. He then grabbed Bones and jerked his arm behind him. Bones still had the blaster in his hand and when Xeith jerked his arm backward, it put the gun right at his side. Bones fired the blaster, and Xeith was shocked to feel a hot laser bolt tear through him.

Bones rolled away from the Nausicaan and looked to see what had happened, and he could see that Xeith was dying. Solan had ran to the other side of the trail they were on because Jikas had gone to that side where Carol was. He was the Romulan, but he did not find Carol such an easy opponent. She saw only one thing…the ones who were holding her husband captive! She swung the dagger at the Romulan, but he jumped back in time. He said something to her in Romulan, and that just made her angrier.

Solan tackled the Romulan, and wrestled his weapon from him. Solan moved and Carol finished the Romulan with the dagger. She jerked the dagger back, and Solan swallowed hard as he looked at her. "You're a tough woman," he said.

"Let's get on our way!" Carol replied.

Bones was holding his weapon on the Klingon who was lying in the trail. "Where is Captain Kirk!" he demanded. "Tell us now!"

The Klingon glared at him, but then Carol came over there with the dagger still in her hand. "You tell us where he is, or you will have the dishonor of being killed by a woman!" she said.

"A human woman at that!" Solan added. "She means it…Ja'rod!"

Bones was surprised by that. "You know him?" he asked.

"This is Ja'rod." Solan leaned over him. "I could just turn you over to Grakar and Korax if she doesn't kill you first. That's her husband you have in there."

Ja'rod glared at him, but they could see his resolve was weakening slightly. "He escaped!" he yelled.

"You expect us to believe that?" Carol asked. "He was injured!"

"I don't care if you believe it or not! He escaped!"

Bones thought the Klingon was telling the truth. "He escaped on a broken, dislocated knee?!" He looked at Solan. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"Then where is he?" Solan asked.

Just then, two more Klingons arrived, but they realized it was Jirrok and Korax. They stood over Ja'rod. "So, we finally find the traitor!" Jirrok said.

Korax glared at Ja'rod. "You killed my friend," he said. "I will make you die an agonizing death for that."

Bones looked at him. "We can take him and let him have a trial," he said.

"I will carry out his death sentence." Korax looked at Bones. "We will not change all our ways."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with Klingon justice. Where are Spock and the others?"

"We have lost track of the others."

"Jim escaped!"

"We know. I made it into the prison after I set the charges. He has gone into the tunnels."

"How are we supposed to find him?"

"We will have to search the tunnels for him. I know the way."

Korax and Jirrok tied Ja'rod up tightly and Korax went with the others while Jirrok took Ja'rod out to be transported. Bones, Solan, and Carol followed Korax until they came to the other side of the complex which was in utter chaos. Just as they got to the other side, they were met with two Nausicaans and three Romulans. They automatically swung into combat mode, and made short work of them, but Bones got a cut, some bruises, and a bloody nose and lip this time and Carol got a gash in her arm. Bones took a strip of cloth and tied it around Carol's arm where the cut was. "That should do until we get out of here," he said.

Bones held his side where his cut was. It hurt but it was not bleeding profusely. They all began running again, and went out into the forest. Korax led them down to the trail that went into the tunnel that Jim would have had to go through if he escaped.

"Jim!" Bones called. "Jim!"

"Jim!" Carol called, joining in.

They listened a moment, but did not hear anything. They continued calling as they went into the tunnel, but then another Klingon came to the entrance. "I will take you to him," he said. "I am Lolak."

"He is the spy," Korax said to Bones and Carol.

They all went with Lolak and he led them to the cavern where Jim was. Carol ran to him and fell beside him. "Jim!"

Jim was startled until he got his eyes open and saw her with tears streaming down her face. "Carol?"

Carol kissed him more than once. "Jim, we…"

"What are you doing here on this planet?"

"You know what we're doing here."

Bones came over to him as well as Solan. Bones scanned Jim with a tricorder. "There's no way he's walking out of here," he said.

"We'll carry him," Solan declared.

"I will carry him," Lolak volunteered. "I told him."

The others stepped back, and Lolak got Jim up and onto his shoulder. "This way," he said.

They followed Lolak and he led them out of the forest through an isolated area. Bones took out his communicator. "Spock, do you read me?" he asked.

"Yes, Doctor," Spock replied.

"We have Jim, and we're on our way back to the transporter site."

"We will meet you there. Your brother is wounded, but he will make it back."

Bones was shocked to hear that. "You make sure of that," he said.

"We are not far from the site."

Bones wanted to hurry now. They all soon made it to the transporter site. Korax and Lolak stood back. "We will finish this place," Korax said.

"That is not part of the plan," Spock replied.

"We have not found J'watok yet! He is the one responsible for Kor's death."

"We must get back to the ship before they call in reinforcements. They were not expecting such a bold attack."

Grakar arrived just then as well as three other Klingons. He looked at Korax and Lolak. "We will find that traitor," Grakar said. "But now, we must accompany our friends."

Korax and Lolak did not like it but they went with them to the ship. Spock hurried to the Bridge of the ship they were on, and they started to break orbit. However, they were pursued by Klingons and Romulans. Solan was trying to get up to the Bridge as well, but he was knocked off his feet as the ship rocked violently with a shot from one of the pursuing ships.

Spock sent a message to the Enterprise that they were in trouble. "They sure don't want us to get away with their prize!" Solan declared when he finally made it to the Bridge.

The Klingon pilot was doing his best to outrun the pursuers but they were already in trouble. "They have damaged the warp drive!" he said. He avoided another shot as he tried to get further from the other ships.

"Enterprise," Spock said. "We cannot go to warp!"

"We're on our way, Sir," Scotty replied. "We should be there in five minutes!"

"Five minutes!" Solan said with dread. "We could be blown to bits by then!"

The Klingon fired back at their pursuers and managed to hit one of them while they were taking evasive action.

The five minutes passed by quickly and the Enterprise suddenly dropped out of warp. They fired at the ships that were pursuing Spock and the others, and kept them busy while the ship docked in the shuttle bay. Spock hurried from the ship as soon as the door was open. "Take us out of here, Mister Scott," he said into the communicator.

"Let's go!" Scotty said to Sulu.

A few seconds later, they were at warp. Sulu looked at Scotty as they were both glad that was over. "Space is getting too dangerous," Scotty declared.

Jim was taken to the medical bay, as well as all the others who were on that mission. All of them had at least minor injuries. Bones would even have to tend to Ja'rod's wound. The nurses had seen to it but Bones would have to do more. He took care of his brother's wound first, which was a stab wound. Then he went over to Jim. The nurses could take care of the other minor wounds.

Bones scanned Jim's knee again. "This is gonna require surgery," he said. He looked at Carol who was sitting on the next bed getting the wound on her arm tended. "It's really bad. I'm surprised he's not dehydrated."

"I gave him water as often as possible," Lolak said as he walked up to the end of the bed. "The chancellor gave me specific orders to care for him."

"You saved his life. Now, I have to see if I can put his leg back together."

"Doctor, are you saying that he might never be able to walk?" Carol asked.

"He won't for a while. I just don't know. There's only so much I can do. I mean…"

"Do what you can. That's all anyone can ask."

Bones put oxygen on Jim. "Well, you best just hold still," he said as he gave Jim anesthesia. "This is gonna take a while."