Chapter 32- Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them
I got dressed and ran to the bridge where McCoy was standing to the left of Dawkins with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. Dawkins sat awkwardly in the Captain's chair and looked at the blank view screen along with everyone else. The screen wasn't exactly blank, but it showed an empty star field and everyone looked at it nervously as though they expected something to materialize like a magic trick. "Anything on sensors?" McCoy asked tensely.
"Negative, Sir." A young man in a gold shirt replied. His accent sounded like his primary language may have been Spanish, but I couldn't exactly tell.
"When did this thing pop up?" McCoy asked no one in particular. "Did we actually see the damn thing or did we just get a blip on a screen?" Dawkins may have been the Captain, but McCoy seemed to be giving all the orders and running the show. God knows he probably had enough practice being with Jim to know what to do in sticky situations.
"Aye, Sir. I saw it." The man in gold replied. "At least I think that's what it was. It just disappeared."
McCoy's face grew darker and he barked, "Try sending out a hail. Even if they don't pick up, at least they will know we saw them." As predicted, there was no answer.
We all stood around awhile longer until McCoy shrugged. "Well, there's no point staring at something we can't see. If they wanted to attack or board, they would have by now. Still, we should try to group together. Send out a subspace hail requesting medical aid and see if we can get at least a few other ships without tipping them off if they are listening."
"But, Sir, what should I tell them if they answer?" The man in gold asked.
He thought about it for a minute and slyly replied, "Tell them we need granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and a DNA regenerator. I can't be sure any of you haven't been contaminated by the radiation."
The man nodded and Dawkins smiled up at him. "That is a great plan, Dr. McCoy. A little deceitful, but brilliant."
"Yeah, well out here honesty will get you nothing but your ass blown off, kid." He mumbled.
"Sir," The gold shirted man called, "I got a response from the Vico, but they are disabled and adrift right now. They already have aid from another ship on the way and they have what you need, but you would have to come get it."
"Goddamn it." He hissed. His plan didn't work out as he expected it to and Dawkins looked at him in shock. "Tell me you have a shuttle on this damn bucket of bolts."
"Aye, Sir." Dawkins reported. "I can show you. Do you know how to fly a personal craft?"
"Unfortunately." He growled. "It's like riding a bike. You fly one, you've flown them all." He noticed the surprise on my face and he added, "There was this time Jim and I were on the surface of a planet, and ….well you can probably fill in the blank yourself." Details may vary, but I was sure it had something to do with Jim becoming incapacitated and in need of medical care. I wanted to read his full medical record when I got back to the ship. I would bet Spock had to install a separate server just to hold all the information. As he turned to go, he quietly bent to whisper in my ear, "Can you clock out for a minute?"
I followed him to the shuttle bay where he waved Dawkins on. He looked back to me with an intensely uncomfortable urgency. "I don't like this." He whispered. "I don't want to leave you here with that kid running the show. At least back on the ship, Spock has a fucking clue what he is doing when he has to take over."
I nodded and replied, "I understand, but you said it yourself: if the Romulans really were sitting out there, they wouldn't wait this long to act. I am starting to think these guys were just seeing things. Their Captain just died and they are hearing rumors and they are scared. I'll stay here and try to keep them calm. You do what you have to and hurry back."
He gave a concise nod and looked around quickly before bending to give me a hurried kiss. When I smiled he justified it by saying, "We were off the clock." Just to underline his point, he acted as though he were inserting a timecard into a clock to go back to work as he left. I went back to the bridge and watched the small craft take off and bank sharply in the direction of the Vico. I quietly wished him a safe journey and began to understand his assertion that the galaxy was full of things that could go wrong. Suddenly space seemed vast, cold and lonely.
Dawkins returned shortly thereafter and reclaimed his throne. I stayed and chatted with the crew for awhile, listening to them tell me about their service so far and their families until the ambient mood settled into relative calm. I told them as much as I could about the Enterprise and her crew. The man in the gold shirt was named Hernandez and he relayed that he once met Sulu and a man that by his description sounded like Pavel once while on leave. The whole encounter consisted of Sulu smiling at him and letting him cut in line while checking out at a store, but to him it was a brush with greatness. Of course Al wanted to know all about engineering, but I could only relay .02% of what Scotty had rattled off to me. Still, he was impressed with the ship's warp capacity- something he said the Raven lacked since there was no practical purpose for a research vessel to travel that fast.
Hernandez abruptly turned to his control panel and pushed some buttons while listening intently. It seemed he did the jobs of Uhura, Sulu, and Pavel and I hoped he got some kind of bonus pay for that. "Sir, I just received a transmission from the shuttle. Dr. McCoy was delayed by a medical emergency on the Vico, but he is on his way back and should arrive in the next 25 minutes or so." It seemed trouble found him as often as it did Jim, or at least he was stuck cleaning up after trouble.
I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Hernandez turned to Dawkins with barely controlled panic. "Sir! We've just been scanned."
"By what?" Dawkins asked baffled. As far as we knew, we were the only ship for miles, but then again, exact distance can get all muddy in space when you deal with mind boggling measurements like light years and parsecs, yet even these could be traversed as quickly with warp as walking down to the corner convenience mart to pick up a gallon of milk. I still didn't have a firm grasp on the whole thing, it was probably just best left for Pavel and Sulu to work out.
"I'm not certain, Sir. The Vico is within range, but they would have no reason to…" His voice fell silent as a shimmering image filled the view screen until it solidified into a ship I had seen before. I knew immediately what it was and my heart sank. Before Dawkins could give his first order, the Romulans fired one well placed shot that shook the ship violently. The lights went out, leaving only emergency systems online, casting the bridge in an eerie shade of red and people scrambled to regain their positions.
So they had been waiting and watching all this time, but why?
They got a second shot in that sent sparks and bolts of electricity flying from the control panels. The bridge was permeated with the smell of hot wire and burnt flesh that was sickening. "Shields up!" I yelled looking for Dawkins in the smoke and darkness. I found him on the floor, bleeding and burnt, his blonde hair matted down, but a brave look on his face. He was dying and he knew it. I was reminded of the awful day I worked in sickbay the last time I was attacked by Romulans, and the amount of death and destruction that had resulted. The awful pile of bodies, and the ones who I stayed with until their eyes went dull when the last remaining vestiges of life were cast off were fresh in my memory.
Where the hell was McCoy? I can't do this by myself. I can't save him.
"You have to protect them." He sighed. "Only the best can save them. Congratulations, First Officer."
I tried to protest. I wasn't qualified for this. I wanted to tell him I had only just graduated and my being on the Enterprise didn't mean I was some kind of god, but the trusting smile on his face silenced me. I wanted to hold out hope for him or at least stay there until he was no more, but I had a job to do. I wasn't born great, I hadn't achieved great things, but I was having it thrust on me with a vengeance and I had no choice but to take it.
"Hernandez!" I barked peering through the dissipating haze, "Are you ok?"
"Aye, Sir." Came his shaky voice. From what I could see, he had sustained a burn to his upper arm, but he didn't seem to be bleeding. With any luck the wound had been cauterized as soon as it was made.
"Good. Send out a distress signal and cross your fingers someone picks up." I sat in the Captain's chair with some hesitation and looked for the intercom button. "Anyone with any medical training report to your…supply closet and treat what you can until Dr. McCoy comes back." I had to believe he would return, even though I knew he was a sitting duck out there. "Dawkins is down, send someone up for him."
"Sir, the Vico is gone." Hernandez reported in a mystified tone. "She's no longer on the grid." I was just as baffled as he was. "It looks like she has been destroyed, Sir."
I looked straight ahead at the Romulan ship and squinted. They probably took a shot while we were scattered on the floor. Robbery obviously wasn't their motive. "Send the call anyway and see if you can contact McCoy. Tell him not to come back to the ship."
After a few tense moments, Hernandez sighed, "No response, Sir." He jumped when a light went off on his panel. "We have an incoming hail."
"On screen." I ordered, hoping it was a response to the distress call. I couldn't have been more wrong. My face went pale when a very familiar face came into view. He recognized me too and a twisted smile spread across his tattooed face, now sporting a nasty scar across his left cheek. I really hoped Jim was the reason for that. All this time I thought he was dead, but I was in sickbay the whole time and I never directly asked Jim what became of him. I guess I just assumed and I knew what that did…
"Saren." I greeted coldly.
His sardonic grin grew wider and a menacing chuckle escaped his lips as though he just couldn't believe his luck. I couldn't either. "One of them now?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"They offered a generous pay and benefit package. I can retire in 20 years." I replied flatly.
He huffed and leaned in a little closer and sneered, "I think we found something of yours. But what was it your Captain said, 'finders keepers?' Say goodbye to your doctor."
Hernandez switched the screen to see the Romulan ship tugging the shuttle with it's tractor beam. "Someone get to the transporter and see if you can get McCoy off that shuttle!" I yelled.
As if Saren heard the command, the ship sent one round into the shuttle, vaporizing it into a puff of fire and molten metal before my very eyes. A deafening silence settled over the bridge. I sat back in the chair unable to think. He couldn't be gone. I didn't just watch him die. He wasn't really dead. He couldn't be. I felt like I had died as well. A vast, empty, aching hole tore open in my gut and I couldn't breathe. What the hell was I going to tell Jim? Leti? His daughter?! It felt like the entire universe collapsed in on itself at that very moment.
"You should really be more careful with your communications." Saren mocked. "Just as well, I had a score to settle with Captain Kirk." He smirked again before ending the transmission to leave me drowning in my sorrow.
He accidently scored twice: he didn't just murder my crewmate, he took the man I had come to love from me. As much as I wanted to cry out in agony, I took a deep breath and promised myself time to mourn for him later. I was still on the clock and no matter how it hurt, I had to be a professional.
"Sir." Hernandez quietly called. "We have a response to the distress signal from the Enterprise."
I made him say it again because I couldn't believe my ears. A wave of relief washed over me temporarily. "Tell the operator to patch you through to Kirk and tell him to get his ass over here, pronto. Tell him I said so."
He looked away for a moment contemplating relaying such a highly unorthodox message to the Captain of Starfleet's flagship, but he did as ordered. He turned to me and smiled. "I have a James T. Kirk on the line and he wants to know who the hell you are."
He was going to love this. "Put him on screen."
Jim's bleary blue eyes blinked in disbelief when he saw me. "Collins?" He asked leaning in close to the monitor. "Christ! Is that really you?" A goofy smile crossed his face when he could finally believe his own eyes. I was never so relieved to see his face as I was then. I would have kissed his giant lips if it didn't seem so strange. He yawned and ran his fingers through his hair to make himself somewhat presentable considering he had just rolled out of bed. "It seems we are popular today. We got a call a few hours ago to rescue a disabled ship, and now they are telling me it's gone. What the hell's going on? Why are you the Captain? Where's Bones?" His questions came rapid fire as his brain came online and with each query, more dread and suspicion filled his voice.
"It is a very long story, but I am having a standoff with a Romulan ship. Not just any Romulan, either." Jim's eyes narrowed intensely, he knew who I was talking about. "The ship is damaged and I am not sure how much longer I can hold him off. I need your help, Jim."
He nodded with determination; of course he would come to my rescue….again. When it came to his crew members, they didn't come much more loyal or reckless than Jim Kirk. "Where's Bones?" He slowly reiterated. He knew that McCoy outranked me and should be the one sitting in the chair. The fact that he wasn't disturbed him greatly.
I took a deep breath to steel my nerves and replied, "He's dead, Jim. Saren killed him."
By the wide, disbelieving look in Jim's eyes and the way his mouth tried unsuccessfully to form words, the universe collapsed for a second time that night and I knew that he would stop at nothing to avenge his best friend's death. In the end, that was all I could hope for in memory of the man who had done so much for us and cared deeply in his own idiosyncratic way.
I ended the transmission and looked back toward the Romulan ship floating in the darkness. Although my heart ached terribly for what was lost, I hardened my resolve and prepared for war.
