Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek.
Warning: Contains cursing and violence, may contain hints of Spock/Uhura and Chekov/Eprouve. Work in Progress. blah, blah, blah, you know the drill.
Notes: This is my first ever Star Trek story, so some things may be incorrect. Don't shoot me xD. Constructive criticism appreciated greatly! ...Most of this was written at 2 AM.
"Oi, Sulu!" Eprouve called down the hall to the helmsman. The officer halted, but didn't face the Ensign. Sulu stood, facing the opposite direction, his fists clenched tightly and his jaw set. Emily coughed as she strode toward the officer. "Mind telling me what you're doing away from the bridge?" She asked, fully aware of Mr. Sulu's possible illness. The helmsman turned around to face the girl.
"As a Lieutenant, I am your superior." Sulu growled. "My whereabouts are no business of yours, Ensign!" Emily cocked and eyebrow as she folded her arms.
"On the contrary, Mr. Sulu," Eprouve started, showing no fear of the helmsman. "As the Interrogational Officer of The Enterprise, I have every right to ask you anything." She smirked, "Sir."
Sulu scowled. "Fine, then." He said. "I was on my way to my quarters. I…haven't been feeling well today." The helmsman explained quietly. The young Ensign stared at the Lieutenant, then gave him a smile that showed she was nervous but not afraid.
"Ah." Eprouve breathed. "Is that why your eyes are green, sir?" A look of shock crept over 'Sulu''s face, and there was a long silence. The Ensign went on, "You're the one who reset the coordinates and disengaged the stabilizers and shields. You and the transporter officer and 'Christine'." The defiant young girl pressed. "I bet you're also the one who messed with the distress call from Vulcan. I suppose there were no technical issues after all…just a Klingon infestation."
'Sulu' wouldn't take anymore of the Ensign's reasoning's. He threw a punch at the girl, knocking her into a wall. "My, my, my, perhaps Starfleet Officers aren't as dumb as we Klingons believed?" The Klingon disguised as Sulu laughed. "Or maybe they are, and it's just the little brats that are good at guessing games."
Eprouve coughed violently as she stood up. "Where's Hikaru? And Nurse Chapel and the other officer?" She demanded, her honey-colored eyes filled with fury. 'Sulu' exploded in low laughter. He pulled out a small device from his belt and lunged at the Ensign with it. Emily quickly evaded the attack, unsure of what the little mechanism was—which, as a Tactical Officer, frustrated her intensely.
"Alright. So why'd you pick The Enterprise? Are there Klingons on other Starfleet vessels, too?" Eprouve interrogated, dodging yet another kick. She decided it would be best not to hit him until he got tired and aggravated with her. 'Sulu' growled and swiped for the Ensign's throat, Emily only scarcely getting out of the way in time.
"Don't be foolish," The Klingon snarled. "This is the only Federation starship that we Klingons are interested in…or rather, this starship has the only Captain we're interested in."
Eprouve's eyes widened. "Captain Kirk? What the hell do you want with him?" She coughed as she backed up slowly, trying to make her way to the intercom without being too obvious. Emily was relatively strong for her age and gender, but she still had practically no chance against a full-grown Klingon male intended on killing her. 'Sulu' chuckled darkly.
"That is irrelevant," He retorted with an evil smirk. "You're lucky I had enough mercy to tell you anything before I killed you. Now…let's do this the right way." The Klingon hastily punched the Ensign's throat, knocking her to the ground and sending her into an uncontrollable coughing fit. Emily reached for her neck, touching it gingerly, and forced herself to attack 'Sulu' while she was still on the ground. She kicked across the floor, swiping the Klingon's feet out from underneath him, sending him to the floor and causing a loud bump. Eprouve stood up quickly and groped for her phaser, drawing it out and rapidly setting it to the 'stun' setting.
The Tactical Officer aimed her phaser and fired, but 'Sulu' swiftly rolled out of the way and jumped up, kicking the gun across the hall. Emily cursed quietly as she tried to hit the back of the Klingon's neck, but had to quickly evade an attack with his weapon. This time the Ensign was able to get a better look at the Klingon's device, her face growing pale as she realized what exactly the mechanism was. She backed up, suddenly realizing that she was screwed. Emily didn't care if she was about to be killed, but what she was concerned about was the fact that Kirk was unaware of three Klingons free on his starship that had every desire to massacre him. The Klingon disguised as Sulu sprung forward and wrapped his hands around the Ensign's neck, pushing her into a wall and tightening his grip as she tried to get away.
"Sickbay to Captain Kirk,"
Jim went back to his chair and pressed the switch for the intercom. "Kirk here." He replied cautiously, noticing that it was a woman's voice instead of McCoy's.
"Doctor McCoy wishes for you to report to sickbay immediately, Captain." Christine said to Kirk. "He says it's an emergency."
Kirk raised an eyebrow. "Am I speaking to Ms. Chapel?" The Captain asked, puzzled.
"I—yes, sir." Christine responded.
"Forgive me, Nurse, but…is McCoy aware that you're using the intercom?" Kirk interrogated, knowing that Christine was among the three ill officers who were apparently trying to reek havoc on the starship. The Captain was expecting a hostile response, so he was surprised when Nurse Chapel started laughing.
"Yes, sir, he is." Christine chuckled. "I suppose that you, like him, suspected I was ill?" She asked lightly. Kirk started to stammer some incomprehensible, broken phrases, so the nurse just ignored him and went on. "It was just a mix of stress and frustration, Captain. Sickbay has been rather busy for the past few days, and I'm sure you know how the doctor gets when he's annoyed. Sorry for worrying you." Ms. Chapel explained. "However, I must remind you that Dr. McCoy wishes to speak to you. It's urgent, sir, so if you could please hurry—"
"What's the emergency?" Kirk inquired, glad for the change of subject and embarrassed that he had mistaken an over-worked nurse for an insane one. He assumed that the other two officers must have been the same way, though now he didn't know who could have messed with the coordinates and stabilizers of The Enterprise.
"I'm not sure, Captain," Chapel admitted. "We have a lot of patients right now, and I'm tending to the less critically injured, he's working with the seriously wounded."
Kirk's face grew slightly paler. "All right, I'm on my way. Kirk out." The Captain told Nurse Chapel as he stood up quickly. "Mr. Spock, call me if there's any trouble." Jim said as he walked out the bridge, his First Officer acknowledging his command.
James T. Kirk rapidly strode down the hall to the elevator, very concerned as to why Leonard needed him at sickbay. Scotty had talked to him a few minutes ago, Emily was surely in the Engine Room by then, and the rest of his friends were on the bridge. Who else could be hurt?
Then he remembered. Just because Christine wasn't sick didn't mean the transporter officer and Sulu weren't. Kirk had absolutely no clue where Sulu's whereabouts were, nor the other officer. He groaned as he exited the elevator and jogged to sickbay. So many things could be wrong. Sulu's illness could have been fatal. They could have gotten hurt while the starship was rocking uncontrollably. He could have picked a fight with someone. Maybe that's what happened—Sulu picked a fight with someone, and that officer was hurt. Perhaps worse. If that was the case, Sulu would have to be kept under restraint and surveillance.
The Captain arrived and hurried inside. However, he skidded to a halt the second he noticed something. Kirk looked from side to side numerous times, then took two small, cautious steps forward. He called the CMO's name, not seeing him in the room. Or, for that matter, anyone else. Sickbay was completely empty. The thirty injured crewmen and Doctor McCoy were no where to be found.
"Hello, Kirk." A mischievous feminine voice said from behind the Captain. Jim quickly spun around to face Nurse Chapel, who was leaning against the wall in a cat-like posture, her eyes narrow and her small, dark smile exposing only the edge of her teeth. The transporter officer was standing nearby, about to lock the entrance—and exit—to sickbay. It didn't take too long for the Captain to realize what was happening, so he lunged to the door to try for an escape. He shouted out for help as he did so, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get out before the exit shut, but maybe someone would hear him and know something was wrong. Kirk stopped short just before the door closed so he wouldn't be crushed. The Captain glared forward, jaw set and hands curled up into fists, his brow contracted in hushed anger.
"Where's Doctor McCoy?" James T. Kirk demanded quietly, facing the blocked exit. After his answer was nothing but the snickering of the two officers, Jim closed his eyes and sighed but didn't turn. "What do you want?" He mumbled, surrendering. It couldn't be helped—they had him cornered. Christine stood up straight and left her position at the wall to go closer to the Captain.
"Isn't it obvious?" Nurse Chapel laughed darkly. "We want you."
'Sulu' smiled, his upper lip curled above his sharp, yellowed teeth as his grasp on the young girl's throat intensified. Eprouve stiffened, her already weak grip on the Klingon's arms grew more relaxed. She wasn't able to pull him off. The Ensign's lungs were never strong to begin with, what with all the coughing she did, but now she felt the dire need for oxygen more than ever as darkness started to eat its way into her vision. She could only see the green of the Klingon's eyes piercing through her, and everything else was black. She closed her eyes tightly, as a means of breaking the stare and as a final, futile act of desperation to escape.
He drew back one of his arms—the one with the weapon in it. 'Sulu' pressed a button on the mechanism down, his eyes still locked on the oxygen-starved Eprouve. He swung the device forward, putting it into contact with the Ensign's shoulder. The girl's eyes shot open as excruciatingly fierce pain spread throughout her body. Then, and only then, did the Klingon release his grip. Eprouve gasped for the air she was deprived of as she fell to her knees, doubled over in anguish. It didn't last for too long, however. The Ensign soon fell to the side, having lost consciousness.
The Klingon disguised as Sulu smirked, his hands on his hips as he proudly stared down at the girl, noticing that her breathing had already begun to weaken. 'Sulu' shook his head and turned, moving to the direction of sickbay.
"Engineering to bridge," Montgomery said, trying to force the worry out of his voice.
"First Officer Spock here." Spock replied, sitting at Kirk's station while he was at sickbay for reasons still unknown to the Vulcan. He hoped for good news, since nothing particularly terrible had gone wrong recently and with the exception of the still-missing Sulu and transporter officer, everything on The Enterprise was back to its correct state.
"Mr. Spock," Scotty started. "Captain Kirk informed me that he sent Ensign Eprouve to lend me a hand. "I'm not really in need of assistance anymore, but I thought I let ye know that the lass hasn't shown up yet." The Engineer told the half-Vulcan. Spock raised an eyebrow.
"That is odd, she left the bridge thirteen minutes and twenty-three seconds ago," Spock said, puzzled. "It is very unlike Ms. Eprouve to ignore her duties…if she is not in the engine room in five minutes, please inform the Captain or I and I shall have Lieutenant Uhura try to contact her. Thank you for informing me." Spock gave a disapproving look to the ship's navigator, who had turned around at the mention of Ms. Eprouve and had a worried look on his face.
"Sure thing, sir." Scotty replied, still not entirely sure if waiting was a good idea. "Scott out."
The intercom disconnected and First Officer Spock stood up with a quiet sigh. He looked to Uhura, who looked a little concerned but not nearly as troubled as Chekov did.
"Do you think something may have happened to her?" The Ensign asked.
"It's possible." Spock said. "Doctor McCoy said there were thirty officers in sickbay, perhaps she is one of them. Then again, she has been known to be stubborn, and I doubt she would voluntarily see a doctor…" The First Officer trailed off, and the bridge was silent for a few moments. "The logical thing to do now is to wait for a response from Mr. Scott. Meanwhile, Ensign, please continue your duties and do not fret over the absent." He warned the Russian, who blushed and turned back to his station. Spock vaguely wondered why the Captain had not returned yet. Whatever was wrong in sickbay must have been very serious. He sighed to himself, hoping that there would not be any more issues.
Being unconscious wasn't so bad. There was no physical pain, everything was numb…it was just like being asleep. But Ensign Eprouve had more important things to do than recover. Her Captain was in danger, and if she didn't wake herself up and warn him, he could be killed. No one else on the ship knew that there were intruders…or that they were disguised as real Enterprise officers. Anyone could just walk by, thinking that they were passing Hikaru Sulu or Christine Chapel, and then realize that they were being attacked by Klingons. 'Come on, wake up, wake up, you useless wretch! Your friends are in danger! Wake up!' The Ensign said in her head. After a few minutes of forcing her will power to its maximum potential, Emily's eyes shot open and she was in even worse pain than before. She knew she should move slowly so as not to hurt herself, but there was no time for that. Eprouve bolted up to a sitting position, holding back a scream and shaking with the effort of it.
"N-not fair…agonizers are… inhumane…that damned cheater…" Eprouve whispered to herself as she slowly got up, deciding that moving fast would just make her pass out again. "Then again…he's not human…whether s-something's humane or not d-doesn't phase him…" She coughed violently, tenderly touching her bruised neck with one arm and holding onto the wall to keep herself stable with the other. She blinked her eyes a few times, trying to stop the hallway from spinning and clear up her vision a bit—bit it had no effect. Eprouve hacked again, wincing from the exertion on her throat. She was very irritated—as if her neck hadn't been weak enough before the fight, the damned Klingon goes and attacks her weak spot. Not cool! The young girl staggered toward the intercom, wiping some blood away from her mouth and putting all of her weight against the wall. The Ensign flipped a switch on the intercom, but waited a few seconds before speaking to catch her breath.
"Ep…Eprouve—to bridge…"Emily choked out, coughing in between words. She clutched her side, using her best efforts to remain standing while she talked to Captain Kirk. If only it was Kirk who responded.
"Spock here," The First Officer replied. It wasn't unusual for the Ensign to be coughing, but Spock noticed the unusual sense of pain in her voice. "Ms. Eprouve, Captain Kirk sent you to the engine room seventeen minutes and four seconds ago, would you please explain why you are not there?" The Vulcan asked. Chekov and Uhura turned to watch Spock, both concerned about the girl.
Emily's eyes widened. "Spock!" She muttered. "Oh, God…wh-where's Jim…?" The Ensign stammered, horrified that her Captain wasn't on the bridge. Spock raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances with the ship's navigator.
"Ms. Chapel called him to sickbay, I suspect he's there now, but that was not what I asked you, Ensign—"
For the first time in her life, the Starfleet officer interrupted her superior. "N-no! Shit…S-Spock, please…tell me he—" Eprouve coughed fiercely, almost losing her balance again as her vision became more distorted. "He didn't…go by himself, d-did he…? You sent some…someone with him, right…?" The young girl pleaded weakly.
Pavel rose from his seat, eyes on the First Officer. "Something's not right." Chekov stated. Uhura nodded in agreement, but Spock gave them dismissive looks.
"No, the Captain went by alone." The Vulcan affirmed. "Why, what's the matter?"
Eprouve went pale. "Oh my God." She stammered weakly. "Spock, have you l-lost your mind…? Y-you knew Chris—" The Ensign broke off, entering another coughing fit, but she struggled to continue speaking—she still needed to tell the Science Officer what was happening. "You knew Christine… was one of… the three officers…Kirk could be…d-dead by now…!"
Spock's brow lifted in surprise. Eprouve had never been disrespectful to him before. He knew something significantly critical was amiss. "Emily," Spock repeated, more urgently this time. "What is the matter?"
"Th-there are intruders, sir…!" The teen managed to choke out, sliding to her knees but refusing to lose consciousness again. She took a second or so to rest, breathing heavily. "The three officers…that everyone thought w-were sick…they're Kling…Klingons…They m-must have had surgery…to change their…a-a-appearances." Eprouve explained, voice slowly growing quieter. She was doubled-over in pain, her jaw clenched to keep her from shouting out in torment. Stupid agonizer.
"What?!" Spock hissed, letting his shock show for once. Emily drew in a quick, painful breath before she went on.
"Y-You can see for yourself…the one that…looks like Sulu…has green eyes…instead of black." The Ensign stuttered. "Th-they're trying to kill—" Emily coughed, her voice barely even a whisper at that point. "They're after Captain Kirk!"
