The Enterprise began to shudder more frequency in the span of twenty four hours. The bridge only took short interval breaks with their relief coming and going. Jim hardly left his chair. He nodded off every so often but remained in that state for a few minutes at most. He kept himself busy by constantly asking questions, especially to Uhura, who had not freed her ear from her ear piece since the static disturbances had been linked to the continuing – and more violent – turbulence that had gripped the ship.

Spock and Chekov switched back and forth from the scanner, Spock and Scotty constantly barking at each other mathematical statistics of what could be causing the quaking while Chekov maintained the helm with Sulu. Amelia was kept on the bridge to assist Uhura in trying to pin point the origins of the static. Skylar kept herself busy by commanding her ensigns from her communicator and maintaining a cycle of diagnostics on all of the ship's weaponry just in case the Enterprise was being pulled into something. That was the consensual hypothesis; the only problem was that there was nothing on the scanner to be pulled into. The information syncing into the ship's data base detected nothing but the asteroid belt. The belt itself was giving off high energy, powerful enough to change the belt's direction as Spock had been so fascinated by. But the Vulcan began to sit before his scanner for longer periods of time now, not peering into it but staring off the flashing lights and gadgets of the console before him, his fingers on his chin as his eyes stared into nothingness – nothingness as vast as the space his scanner showed him.

At the twenty fourth hour, the Enterprise shook more so violently. The entire bridge halted and swayed slightly as they grasped their work stations. With this shake, Uhura pulled the ear piece from her ear and let out a yelp. Jim leapt from his chair to her console.

"Uhura – are you okay?"

Still touching her ear, she nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry, Captain. The frequency was incredibly high on that last interference."

Jim nodded. "Keep it out, monitor from your console."

Uhura nodded and sat back down.

Jim looked around. "Scotty, Spock, anything new?"

Scotty turned around in his chair, barely missing Skylar. "Captain, she's staring to notice the bumps in the road."

Sulu turned. "Scotty's right, Captain. The ship's core temperature has risen slightly. It's not enough to require any attention immediately, but if we keep taking hits, we likely to start seeing damage."

"Aye," Scotty agreed.

"There a small percentage of drain in the ship's shields," Skylar added. "Down by 2.3%."

Jim lightly punched the arm of his chair. "Damn." He looked over at Spock. "Something is happening to our ship. It doesn't matter how minimal the damage is, it is continuing to get worse. Spock, what have you been thinking about to yourself for the past half an hour?"

Spock turned around. "Captain, my theory is that the asteroid belt we passed through a day and a half ago is acting as a transmitter of some sort. We did not start receiving the incoherent static interference until we passed through."

"But that was a few hours after," Uhura mentioned.

"Regardless, I believe that the asteroid belt is a key component," Spock concluded.

"Okay, say your theory is correct," Jim said, "I can guarantee you that nothing is transmitting from the belt. What species lives within an asteroid belt?"

"Aye," Scotty agreed. "The source 'id have to be coming from a ship or planet nearby."

"But we have found nothing on our scanners," Chekov interjected.

"Unless the source is being cloaked by something," Spock replied. "We have not taken into consideration that factor."

"Spock's right," Amelia added. "It is very easy that whatever is out there is using that belt to transmit something."

"Like a message?" Skylar asked.

"No," Spock answered for Amelia. "There is nothing in this interference that suggests it would be a message of any sort."

"Then what's the point of sending out this interference, lad?" Scotty questioned.

"To disable our ship," Jim concluded. "Uhura and Takashi has been actively monitoring and syncing this signal. There has been no breakdown of a message within its patterns. The patterns only correlate with the turbulence."

"Which would mean, Captain, that the static is the source," Spock explained. "What we need to focus on now is figuring out from where this source is coming from. My suggestion is rerouting to the asteroid belt. Whatever interrupted the flow of the belt is what must be causing the disturbances of the Enterprise."

Scotty sighed. "And what a powerful source to be dealing with, Captain. Something powerful enough to reroute an asteroid belt –"

"Can cause considerable damage to my ship," Jim stated.

"It wouldn't damage your ship, Jim," Skylar said. "It would destroy it."

Jim looked back at her. "How's the power flow?"

Skylar glanced back at her screen. "Dropped 1.6% since the last tremor. If they get any bigger, though, we're going to lose power at a much faster rate. We will become defenseless."

Jim nodded. "Sulu," he said, looking at the view screen. There was nothing before the ship except endless fields of stars. "Turn her around, starboard side. Make it wide and take your time."

"Aye, Captain," Sulu replied. "Laying coordinates." Sulu punched the keys on his console. "Coordinates laid. Stand by."

Jim pushed turned on the PA system. "This is captain speaking. We're turning around, soft on the starboard side. All decks, stand by alert. Kirk out." He switched off the system. "Alright, Mr. Sulu, engage."

The Enterprise began to turn slowly towards its right side. The curve was wide and could hardly be noticed until stars in view on the viewing screen began to move towards the left. Then suddenly, Uhura's console began to scream out high pitched static interference. At the same time, the Enterprise shook violently as though something were trying to hold the ship on its current course. Everyone had their hands over their ears as the static continued to wail and the ship continued to shudder.

"Deflectors are being drained!" Skylar called over the static.

"Core temperature is rising steadily," Scotty added.

"Red alert!" Jim yelled.

Skylar punched a button and the familiar call of a red alert competed with the static.

"Sulu, cancel the coordinates!" Jim ordered.

Sulu's hands flew. He called over his shoulder, "Engaged, sir!"

The static immediately began to cease and the ship's hull returned to its forward positioning. Jim immediately hailed the ship again, "Red alert canceled, every deck is on yellow alert. Standby."

"Captain," Sulu called. "The ship will not go into manual."

Jim approached the helm.

"She's not responding, sir. It's stuck in autopilot."

Jim traced his chin with his fingers. "Alright, that's it." He looked to the befuddled crew on the bridge. Heatedly, he said, "Something has got a hold of my ship. We are on a course only God knows where, and I cannot have this. Now, our mission is to explore new worlds but I cannot carry out that task if it puts the 430 crew members in harm. I want every department head in the conference room in five – no later. The rest of you, maintain stations and call up your relief to brief them in the current situation."

Jim proceeded to his chair. He called up Bones.

"Yes, Jim?"

"I need you in the conference room."

"What the hell are you doing up there? Ensign Peters nearly fell off of the operating table. Thank God I'm a good catch or I would have had blood all over my floor."

"Bones – get up here immediately. Kirk out."

:::::

Amelia walked with Skylar towards the conference room. "There has to be some sort of code I can program to override the static interference."

"I'm sure Spock can help you figure that out," Skylar said, her tone even.

Amelia bit her lip. "I am so sorry about everything that happened yesterday. I was completely mortified."

Skylar laughed bitterly. "I know how you feel."

"I take it you two are fighting?"

Skylar looked at her. "Nope. We're over."

Amelia looked saddened.

"Don't. It's not worth the effort."

"Skylar … I'm so sorry."

"What did I say, Amelia?" she snapped. "It's fine. He's an emotionless ass anyway. I can not be with a man who has the emotional range of a spoon."

The girls entered the conference room. Uhura and Spock were talking next to Jim who was filling Bones in. Scotty was at the back of the table tapping his fingers on the table. Skylar took a seat next to Scotty, Amelia sitting on her other side next to Bones. Bones pulled out the chair for Amelia before she could sit. Amelia glanced at Skylar who rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Jim started as everyone around him was seated. "So, we've got a ship on an automated course that cannot seem to be altered; we've got static interference that causes the turbulence that is rocking my ship. It is apparent that this static is overriding our systems. So, the game plan is to figure out the source and disarm the override – or override the override; whatever comes first. I have no interest in where this ship is going. All I want is for some control over it again – I want off of this autopilot bullshit. Lt. Takashi –" Jim looked at Amelia, who immediately straightened up in her seat, "have you seen anything in code which can have the ability to override the helm?"

"No, Captain," Amelia responded, "However, Lt. Uhura and I were both trying to decode what we thought was a message, but obviously this is anything but that. It is a heavily guarded override, but I am going to see about going into the computer system and attempting to override it. Or at least block it to get some control back over the ship."

"Excellent," Jim replied. "I will have Lt. Uhura and Mr. Spock stay with you then." He turned to Spock and said, "Spock, you also need to communicate with Scotty, who I need to monitor our core." Scotty nodded to Jim. "Scotty, you will need to see if there is anything you and your men can do manually."

"We'll do our best, Captain."

Jim turned to Skylar. "Lt. Pike, I need your men on security alert. This ship is being pulled somewhere, and I need to make sure nothing gets onto this ship. If there is another ship transmitting from elsewhere –"

"The transmission cannot be from another ship, Captain," Spock said.

"I believe the captain was giving me an order, Mr. Spock," Skylar cut in sharply.

Spock looked at her. "I understand that, Lt. However, it is very important that everyone understands that what we are dealing with is exceedingly powerful. Pull at this magnitude must come from something as small as a dwarf planet."

"But you said you've seen nothing, Spock," Jim stated. "If this planet is not on our radar, how can the pull be so great? That distance would be phenomenal."

"Indeed," Spock concurred. "However, I do not believe that this planet's gravitational force is from a tremendous distance. I believe that it is quiet near."

"It must be a cloaking device," Uhura commented. "The override has to be."

"How in the galaxy could the Federation not know about a planet having a cloaking device, Nyota?" Bones interjected. "That is a very important and dangerous piece of information."

Spock answered for her, "According to the records Lt. Takashi has synced with our current findings, the only real record we have in this quadrant were a few lifeless dwarf planets, which were destroyed after a group of supernovae. This explosion could be the source of the disappearance of the planets. The energy could have brought forth the asteroid belt."

"Pieces of the planets," Jim mused. "But that still doesn't explain where this cloaking device is coming from. If there are no planets here … unless you are suggesting, Spock, that there is still one here that survived the blast."

Spock waited a moment. "The odds are against that statement, Captain. If the planet was in perimeter of the other planets, it would have been lost. If the planet was in perimeter, we would have seen it on our screen already. We are flying directly through Oryken 3 used to be."

"Do we know why nothing was charted out here when they did exist?" Bones questioned.

Amelia looked at him. "Well, like Spock said, the planets were uninhabited."

"Which suggests an inability to be inhabited, Doctor," Spock concluded.

Bones sighed. "We've gone around in circles," he muttered. To Jim, he said, "So, what do you want me to do?"

Jim eyed him. "I need you to keep your communicator on at all times. I have a really bad feeling about this."

Bones looked around the table. "You all look a mess."

"Thanks, Bones," Skylar scoffed.

"As my first order of business in this situation irrelevant to my trade, I demand each of you get some amount of rest," Bones said. "I know we just figured this out, but all you – including Vulcans – need at least of few hours of down time." He eyed Scotty. "And not at the bar."

Jim sighed.

Bones looked at him. "You look the worst. Your eyes are more blood shot than the wound in Ensign Peters' arm. Jim – go get some sleep."

"I can't believe you expect any of us to sleep."

"If you fall asleep at the wheel, Jim, don't come crying to me when we rear end our cloaked planet."

Spock stood from his chair. "I should request to remain upon the bridge, Captain."

Bones stood, leaning against the table. "Overruled. I see a little bit of green in your sclera."

"Doctor, that will not hinder my ability to –"

"Dammit, Spock, for once will you just follow my prescript –"

"Enough!" Jim ordered. "The both of you. We all need rest. It will be hard to come by in our present predicament, but I reaffirm Bone's request. Minimum three hours. Brief your relief and everyone is confined to their quarters." He looked to Spock. "Everyone. And if I see anyone falling asleep at their console I will know that you did not obey my orders and you will be relieved for the day. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

:::::

Sulu and Amelia finished briefing their relief just as Skylar and Scotty headed into the turbo lift. Jim had already gone to bed, eager to return and Spock lingered back until Jim was out of sight.

"Lt. Takashi," he said as he approached Amelia and Sulu at the helm. "Have you any data you can install?"

"I've already given my relief several lines of code to program into the system," she explained. "He should see some sort of results in about an hour or so."

"What is the probability that it will work?"

"I don't know the exact numbers, Spock," Amelia answered honestly, "but we'll be able to determine how big the source is. He's feeding the system a ship sized program."

"I feel that that was unnecessary," Spock said.

"Well, too much data entry could be hard on the helm, especially right now," Sulu explained. "The controls are starting to wig out a little."

Spock cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure 'wig' is the appropriate verb to use."

"Off of the bridge!" ordered Bones from the turbo lift. "Spock, go to your quarters, now."

Instantly, a thunderous rumble sounded and the Enterprise began to jolt violently. Amelia tripped over Sulu, who attempted to catch her but was catch off balance as well. Amelia slammed into the helm console, her head hitting the edge of it. Sulu tripped over her, while Spock clung to where Chekov would have been seated if he had not already gone to his quarters.

The turbulence lasted for a minute as the ship's hull began to tip. It angled in a new direction several degrees. As it aligned itself, the turbulence ceased and Bones ran to Amelia who now sat holding her head.

Bones took her head in his hands. "Slight gash, doesn't look to bad," he said, his face close to hers. "You need to come to Sick Bay to get that patched up."

He and Sulu both assisted her up while Spock looked at the helm.

"Alert the Captain," Spock said over his shoulder. "We've increased to Warp 3."

:::::

Amelia held a damp cloth on her forehead as Bones walked into the room, stretching sterilized gloves over his hands.

"So this is your fancy way of patching me up?"

Bones smirked. "No, that's simple southern doctoring." He pulled the cloth away from her skin. "All you need is some ointment and a clamp."

Amelia eyed him. "A clamp?"

Bones looked at her sympathetically as he grabbed a hypo-looking cylinder. "Oh, don't worry, Ms. Takashi, it's a very painless procedure. This little laser here is going to do the work of a butterfly stitch. It generates an invisible sealant that keeps infection out and pulls the skin together naturally." He rubbed the ointment onto her forehead carefully. "This is the second time I've had to doctor your head up this week," his tone a bit quieter.

Amelia laughed shyly. "It was not intentional. I mean, I'm not trying to hurt myself."

"Or get drunk?"

"Yeah, that either."

"So you're just clumsy, then?"

Amelia raised her eyebrow and immediately regretted it as a twinge of pain shot through her skin. "Ouch."

Bones began to use the clamp laser. "Hold still."

"I'm pretty sure this fall was acceptable in the circumstance that the entire ship shook," Amelia stated.

"And you're not the only one who sustained any injures from it, so I suppose I'll cut you some slack."

"Please, doctor, I don't need any cutting at all at the moment."

Bones laughed. "Thankfully you don't. I'd hate to operate on you in this situation."

"Yeah. I'd hate to fall off of the table."

"You wouldn't, remember," Bones said. "I'm a good catch."

Amelia's heart fluttered. "Yes, you are," she said softly.

Bones turned the laser off and looked at her.

"You caught Ensign Peters," she added quickly.

"Beautiful skin," Bones stated as he glanced at his work. "Good as new."

Amelia could feel her cheeks getting warm. Suddenly, the heart monitor above the bed she was sitting on began to beep a littler faster. As Bones went to look at it, Amelia jumped off of the table. "Good as –" The room began to spin and Amelia felt herself falling as a combination of her head trauma and another jolt of the skip caused her to fall into the arms of Bones, who dropped the clamp laser and secured her tight in his arms. Amelia looked up at him. "You are a good catch."

Bones gave her a wink.