Hi! I am not too happy with this chapter so please bear with me if it's not up to usual standards. I blame the codeine cough syrup my boyfriend is forcing upon me as I'm sick. I hope it's ok! Everything will be made more clear in the next chapter. Please review!
Tishbing
Chapter Eleven
McCoy hovered in his office watching his monitor showing the captain saying her goodbyes to the station commander, Thomas Leighton. It was painful to watch her have to break off something that could have made her happy in her time of need but necessary. He had to give the Commander credit. He was very understanding. The perfect gentleman and it made McCoy angry. Even though he knew that Jamie wouldn't be truly happy digging around dirt and microscopes with Leighton, she'd have been content and at peace.
He watched as the dark haired man kissed her on the cheek and left, their business with the space station concluded, there was no reason to continue to procrastinate. It was time to relieve the Hood and continue the relief efforts at New Berlin.
The situation was becoming more desperate and the crew was itching to get underway. McCoy felt like he was being pulled in too many directions at once. He was tired in a way he hadn't been since his internship at Atlanta General. In between caring for Jamie and her small passenger, he was acting as sentry to prevent Spock from harassing her, finishing Cargo Bay Three into a makeshift hospital with Lt. Cmdr. Scott and working on his side project with Uhura.
It had been decided by the Ambassador that their plan should be kept from the captain. The older vulcan believed that Jamie's conscience and honor would interfere with what they were planning and that would be her downfall. So it was with that, that they schemed and put together their skills. Very reluctantly, a certain chief engineer became a part of their team to ensure their success and to make sure that it wouldn't affect their current mission to New Berlin.
Putting down his coffe, the doctor went to the private room at the back of his sickbay. Jamie was staring at the wall, lips pressed thin and a frown marring her face. He picked up his handheld and a hypo with an analgesic. He injected the medication and was worried when there was no response from Jamie. She just continued staring at the wall.
He didn't really need to run the handheld scanner over her. The biobed's sensors gave him an accurate enough account of Jamie's vitals but it was an excuse to be near her. He was running through his second sweep when she spoke.
"My mom called me this morning."
He paused, waiting.
"She called in every favor."
The hollow sound of her voice signaled utter defeat. Pulling up a stool, McCoy sat next to Jamie.
"She spoke to every Admiral, Captain and even a few mistresses. She tried every Judge who had been a friend and even some who were bitter opponents." Her hands twisted in the sheets, biting the bottom of her lip as she collected herself and McCoy waited.
"There's nothing to be done until the appeal and even then...it's unlikely to change the original judgement." Jamie trembled, her control over her heartbreak and anger hanging on a thread and McCoy wanted to tell her not to worry, that everything was going to be fine but Ambassador Spock's words of warning stopped him. Sometimes, in order to save a patient, they had to suffer before they got better. They couldn't risk Spock finding out and if Jamie suddenly was calm and happy, Spock would know.
"So much for being the fucking golden girl of Starfleet." Jamie snapped.
McCoy reached for her hand, carefully prying the fingers from the sheet and encompassing it within his larger two. "Sometimes...it may seem like we're at the darkest points in our lives but I want you to remember that it's always darkest before the dawn."
Jamie turned, her eyes narrowing on the doctor. "And sometimes the darkness has a way of overcoming the dawn." She murmured slowly, pulling her hand from his and moving it to the top of his head. She trailed her fingertips down, ending at his cheek.
"We'll see, Bones. Thanks for trying to cheer me up." She scowled at the rough feel of his cheek. With everything going on, he hadn't exactly been taking care of himself.
"Go get some sleep and shave. You look like shit." She smiled and let her hand drop and it was the hardest thing McCoy had done in a long time, walking away and not telling Jamie that everything was going to be alright.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The entire crew was on edge. They had been in orbit of New Berlin for a week and, though the tectonic instability had been rectified, there was still the matter of assisting in the rebuild of the Terran colony. The absence of the Captain was wearing on the Enterprise officers. They were used to her brand of leadership. Under Spock...it was rather a different manner. He was efficient and followed every regulation to the letter but it was a cold, strict style leaving a lot to be desired. It was like he was trying too hard to be separate from the crew.
Several crew members had attempted to discuss the situation with their reclusive Captain only to be firmly dressed down and reminded of the hierarchy of Starfleet by Kirk. Spock knew of each instance that a bridge crew member or someone else going to Kirk and, though he didn't say anything, he did appreciate her respect of his authority and professionalism despite their difficulties.
The tension between himself and two of the main senior staff had transferred to the remaining crew. Most of the interactions were professional but cool. The loss of his intended had made Spock realize how much he depended on human interaction and affection but he had a ship to run.
He was finalizing his progress report when his comm sounded. Walking to the wall unit he hit the button.
"Acting Captain Spock here."
"Mister Spock, I was hoping to have a word with you."
It had been a while since he had heard Jamie's voice and he struggled to control his heart rate.
"When would you like to meet, Captain?"
"Now, if you have the time."
"Affirmative."
He heard her sigh. "I'll see you in a minute. Kirk out."
He was curious at to what she was planning on saying to him. She was still on medical leave so it shouldn't be related to ship's duties. There has not been any further communication between their legal representatives. Nyota had been avoiding him and has been in to see the captain only rarely and Dr. McCoy would have informed him of a decline in his child's health.
Standing, he pulled his blue tunic to straighten it and walked out, turning to his right and pressed her door chime.
"Come."
He stepped in, the dim light only bothering him slightly as he looked around Jamie's quarters. They were...chaotic. Having spent the week in solitude her living area had a multitude of archaic paper books strewn all over, piles of laundry littered the corners and a number of plates and mugs were on the various surfaces. Spock wrinkled his nose at the smell of stale coffee knowing that she shouldn't be drinking the caffeinated beverage in her condition.
"Ah, Comm-Acting Captain. Please, have a seat."
Spock turned, noticing Jamie sitting at the small desk, a collection of PADDs surrounding her computer. He hadn't seen her in two weeks, since before she became ill. The doctor had been a rather efficient form of guard dog in preventing him from seeing her.
She looked thinner, pale and tired. Her normally slightly curled hair hung limp and her eyes looked old as though she had lived a hundred years. The medical band on her wrist blinked reminding him of her frailty. Spock felt a twinge of guilt as the young captain winced and laid the PADD she had been reading down.
Her lips thinned as she took in his still standing form and she gestured to the chair next to her desk. Back erect, Spock took his place.
"I was going over some of the reports and I wanted to make a suggestion."
Spock raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I was unaware that the doctor had released you for duty."
"He didn't. Being a captain doesn't simply stop when it's convenient. Anyway-"
"You are supposed to be on bed rest. You are only harming yourself by disobeying medical directives."
Jamie's jaw clenched and her eyes flashed as she ignored his interruption. "Anyway, I noticed the efficiency ratings have been slipping over the past week. I think you've done an...excellent job in my absence but-"
Spock sat straighter at her praise. "While I appreciate your support, I believe your time would be well spent resting."
Jamie's hand slammed down on the desk, several PADDs skittering to the floor. "Do Vulcans have a word for chutzpah? Because you've definitely got it." Jamie laughed and shook her head in disbelief.
Spock jerked at the display.
Jamie pulled the PADD she had been reading and slid it over to him. "To be a capable captain, you have to respect other's cultures and beliefs. In this case, predominately human. Most of the crew...that is, most of the crew bar you apparently, need encouragement at the end of a grueling and challenging mission. I called you in to suggest a celebratory dinner or party for the crew. Something to let everyone know that they did a great job because they did a hell of a job."
Spock frowned in confusion. "I do not understand what having a meal together will accomplish."
"In most cultures, the breaking of bread together assists in solidifying bonds of friendship and trust. These are your shipmates and the people you will be relying on." He remained silent. She looked up at the ceiling in exasperation before glaring at him. "They need this. Sometimes, I honestly wonder how you could have been the son of a diplomat. Did you learn nothing from him?"
Spock jerked back as if she'd slapped him. He was surprised she had brought up his father rather than his mother as most would have in an argument about his humanity. "I learned many things. Most prominently vulcan culture and beliefs in-"
"Bridge to Acting Captain."
Spock reached the panel at the same time as Kirk, both of their hands slamming on the panel but the second their fingers touched Jamie jerked away as if she'd been burned.
"Spock here."
"Sensors just picked up an unknown ship off our port bow. It's scanning us and not responding to hails."
Kirk's jaw clenched as she stood back and watched Spock do her job.
"Raise shields. I'm on my way to the bridge."
Spock started for the door when a loud high pitched whining sound started to envelop the room, the tone loud enough to cause Spock's ears to hurt. He looked to the captain, her eyes wide as she started to glow.
"What the-? Spock!"
She twisted and Spock knew what was happening. "Bridge! Someone is attempting to transport the captain. Block the signal! Raise shields!"
"Ach! I cannae get the shields to respond! The ship's sending out a graviton pulse and it's interfering with our systems."
He watched in horror as Jamie reached towards him, her blue eyes wide and filled with fear. It was the same expression his mother had given him before the cliff face had crumbled beneath her on Vulcan. The next moment, she was gone as if she'd never been there.
"Cap'n Spock! They're gone! They just...disappeared."
Spock stared at the spot she had been moments before, devastation and guilt and fear overwhelming him. His mother was gone, Nyota had left him...and now Jamie and his child were taken from him! It was too much.
"Lt. Cmdr. Scott, power up the engines and scan for their ion trail now."
Spock didn't wait for his answer. He ran for the bridge.
The lift seemed to take forever, Spock was shaking as he waited. Once it opened he stormed off. The bridge was in utter chaos. The beta shift crew was unprepared for the kidnapping. Uhura was frantically attempting to scan frequencies while Scott was barking out orders.
"Report."
Scott jerked to attention, the tips of his ears red. "I cannae get the engines started, sir. Remember? I told ye I was takin' them offline to do routine maintenance on the plasma inducers since we were just hanging around in orbit. It'll be at least two hours before I can get them online safely without the ship blowin' apart."
Spock's head jerked towards the science station where Carol Marcus was hitting the controls in a panic. "I...I had asked Mr. Scott if I could run a level one diagnostic on the forward sensor array since I noticed it was off by .01% and I had just started it. I can't stop it now. I can't scan anything more than a parsec away for the next six hours. I'm so sorry, sir." She looked close to tears and Spock's anger grew at her incompetence. He couldn't believe it.
"Overwrite it! Now."
"I'm trying, sir."
Uhura moved closer to him from her station at communications.
"That graviton pulse took out communications. It fried almost all our circuits. I can't get a message out or even listen properly until they're repaired."
"Show me an image of the ship." He snapped.
The young Tellerite on navigation pulled the image up onto the viewscreen. The image shimmered and an orange disc shaped ship appeared seemingly out of nowhere. It had three red nacelles on the rear and red lines around the edges. The design was unfamiliar but he was hardly an expert on ship identification.
"Ensign, what make of ship is that?"
"Unknown, sir. The computer can't identify it."
"Sickbay to Bridge. I can't get a clear signal on the captain's biosensor bracelet. What's going on?"
Was the captain's bracelet still transmitting? Hope bloomed in Spock's chest.
"Sir, it may be transmitting now but it's only able to be tracked to a few thousand kilometers and right now communications is down. By the time we get it running, she'll be gone." Uhura answered before he could ask.
Spock's hands gripped the armrests, the metal twisting under his fingers. "Get to it then. Everyone! Get to work. The captain is missing."
The crew snapped to attention, running to their stations and Spock stared at the viewscreen, the image of the ship that had stolen his child and mate frozen in front of him. Her last words to him had been comparing him to his father and her disappointment. He had lost everything. Uhura, his child and his future. "Did you learn nothing..."
