Last chapter! There's reference to the episode "Mirror, mirror"

o0o

The bridge was quiet, but there was an atmosphere of nervous tension, something that probably had to do with that Romulan scout on the screen, or the circumstances under which he, Spock and Bones had left the bridge.

"Doctor McCoy is alright. He is now resting in Spock's quarters", he announced and immediately thought that that had sounded a bit strange. He smiled. He'd have to tell Bones about it one day, one day when he was in a good mood, 'cause he wouldn't think it funny. But the crew needed some reassurance after that performance they had given them.

"Will he be okay, Captain?" Uhura was looking at him with worry in her face.

Didn't I just say that? he asked himself, but aloud he said: "Yes, Lieutenant. He'll be his usual nosey self again soon. And I believe we'll see him on the bridge again when that happens." He wasn't so sure about the last part, though. As the ship's doctor Bones had seen everyone of them at their worst, however, he acted strangely coy when it came to admitting to being sick himself. He probably felt terribly embarrassed by what had happened, and it was likely that he'd try to avoid meeting anyone from the bridge crew in the next weeks. He could be very persistent in his funny moods.

He felt the crew relax just a fraction. Well, now to my other friends - the Romulans. "What about our shadow there?"

"Nothing, Captain. They've been sitting there quietly. The scans show, their impulse and warp drive to be defective, no weapons no shields." Scotty provided.

"A sitting duck." Chekov said.

Kirk nodded. "Quoting a Russian idiom again, Chekov?"

They all smiled and the tension abated just another notch.

"Captain, the Federation ship P'Jem is on its way to rendezvous with us in 1.5 hours."

P'Jem? That sounded suspiciously Vulcan. So, Nogura did not trust me to follow his orders.

"Uhura, how much more time do they have?" He pointed at the Romulans.

"Eight minutes, sir."

"Okay. Hail them!"

The screen changed and showed the Romulan commander in his chair again, with Delihan beside him. Did they even move in the last 52 minutes? Kirk wondered.

"Captain Kirk, you are an impatient man." Tamulok said.

"Commander Tamulok, are you in need of medical assistance?" Kirk ignored the unfriendly tone of the Romulan Commander, and instead smiled at him, in a quite arrogant way, he'd have to admit, but at least he was offering them help.

"I thought you wanted to blow us to pieces." Tamulok answered.

"That was before I realized how helpless you actually are. Your crew is dying from the Vulcan flu? Well, we have the cure which we are willing to provide."

Delihan's features showed surprise, then hope. The Romulan Commander didn't even raise an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Federation doctors must swear an oath, stating they will provide medical help to everyone who requires it, no matter if they're friend or foe. Did you know that, Delihan?" Kirk watched the Meriahn look at him in amazement.

"No", he whispered quietly.

"We do not require your help", Commander Tamulok said coldly.

"Good, then I was mistaken. You have ... four more minutes!"

Delihan looked close to panic. "No, Captain, wait!", he shouted.

The Commander looked at Delihan in disgust, but didn't say anything.

"What do you want?"

"Captain, we do have the Vulcan flu on board. It has already killed a third of the crew, including our doctor. The others are either sick or here on the bridge. We have not enough hands to keep up simple maintenance, that is why we currently have no weapons, no shields and no engines. Captain, we need your help."

"Meriahn, you're not speaking for the Romulan Empire", the Commander spit out at Delihan.

"No, Tamulok, I'm speaking for yourcrew. And for my daughter, Captain."

"Your daughter?"

"Yes, Captain, ten years ago the Romulans made contact with our world, they were the first aliens we ever encountered. However, the government decided that our people were not ready for a discovery like that, not yet. So we kept it a secret."

"Why did you also keep it a secret from us?"

"The Romulans asked us to. They told us we were between the territories of two imperial powers, the Federation and the Klingons, who waged war against each other. They said, if we gave them permission to make Meriah a strategic outpost for Romulus, allowing them to set up a listening post and functioning as a base for their spies, they'd help us to keep our independence against both, the Klingons and the Federation."

"You have commited treason, Delihan", the Commander said calmly.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Tamulok, my life's forfeited. Captain, over the years, I got to know the Romulans very well, I found my wife on this very ship. We have a daughter, and both, my daughter and my wife are suffering from that disease, we have no cure for."

Kirk began to understand. The Meriahn's unusually stubborn resistance to agree to any treaties with the Federation suddenly made sense. The Romulans had probably told them all kinds of horror stories about the Federation. Romulan territory was too far away to make Meriah interesting for them, except for a good base to spy out the Klingon Empire and the Federation.

"For how long has this ship been in orbit of Meriah Five?" Kirk asked.

"They've been here for almost five years now."

Kirk started. Five years? A cloaked ship in orbit of a planet with which the Federation had been trying to establish diplomatic relationships for more than three years now? And all the time it hadn't been detected? He wondered what else it had done. It was unlikely that it hadn't been cruising through Federation or Klingon territory at some point as well.

"Why do the Romulans not send help? Or a replacement? Five years away from Romulus is a long time, isn't it?" Kirk tried to sound only mildly curious, but in fact, this was something they needed to know. How far into Federation territory do the Romulans operate? he asked himself.

Commander Tamulok quickly said: "Up until now, everything went perfectly."

Kirk nodded. Or maybe the Romulans were otherwise engaged. Preparing for war? Unlikely, if they were, they wouldn't leave their scout, which spied out the enemy, marooned in orbit of a far away planet like this.

"Captain, I didn't mean to hurt Doctor McCoy. Since you know all about the disease, I gather that the Imaloh plant didn't work," Delihan went on.

"What do you mean, you "didn't mean to hurt him"? What do you think tying him up and then assaulting his mind would do to him?"

"Captain, I had no choice. I was a doctor once, but couldn't find a cure. The civilians on my world don't know about the Romulans, so I couldn't ask our other doctors. I knew Doctor McCoy must have a cure, but I couldn't ask him, because then you would have found out about the Romulans and we'd violate our treaty with them. So I decided to try a mind meld. The Imaloh plant that grows in our botanical gardens causes permanent amnesia in a Meriahn. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on humans, or McCoy wouldn't have remembered the ... meld."

"All this, and then it didn't work, did it?"

"I am untrained and didn't expect him to fight me so fiercely."

Kirk nodded. Bones had fought because he had thought that Delihan wanted something that he wasn't allowed to have. "Next time, Delihan, you just ASK! The Federation is not an imperial power, all members keep their independence."

"Captain, I know this is no excuse, but I acted only to save my daughter. I know I will have to face charges on Meriah and I probably will never see my little girl again, but if this is the price to save her life, I'll gladly pay it. I believe your doctor would have done the same."

"That's where you're wrong, Delihan!" Kirk understood this man more and more, and although he didn't like it, he began to feel sympathy for him. However he was sure, that he was not at all like Bones. "Doctor McCoy would have done everything in his power to save your little girl if you had only asked! But if roles had been reversed, he wouldn't have commited such an abhorrent crime to save his own daughter. He is just not capable of hurting someone like that."

Delihan only bowed his head, his eyes closed.

"Commander Tamulok, we will send you the necessary information and a medical team to treat your sick. We are also willing to send and an engineering team on board your ship to help repair your engines." Kirk said.

The Romulans, the Meriahn and the Terrans raised their eyebrows in surprise.

"We expect you to turn over Secretary Delihan to the Meriahni officials, he'll face trial. And then ... we will be happy to escort your ship back to Romulan territory." Maybe they could do a little spying themselves that way. Also the Meriahn would learn from this, maybe they'd learn to trust the Federation. At least they had learned something about the Meriahn: they could lie after all and they weren't so xenophobic as they had seemed to be. He also wondered what bad experiences they had made with alien races. Kirk was sure now, that Coltan had referred to the Romulans when he'd said that. This whole diplomatic mission had finally turned out better than he'd expected, he almost congratulated himself, but stopped. The price had definitely been too high.

o0o

McCoy woke up because he was hot. He didn't know what he'd dreamed about, which was a good sign he thought. He opened his eyes, seeing Spock standing before the bed, his arms behind his back, studying him.

"Spock! Stop that, you're giving me the creeps!" he grumbled.

"I am merely making sure, that you are comfortable, Doctor", Spock replied.

"How? By staring at me like I'm some kind of science project gone wrong?"

"I was trying to determine if you needed the temperature adjusted."

"And? What did you "determine"?"

"I am not sure. You seem to sweat. However, you were cold only a short time ago, so maybe the perspiration on your brow is just ..."

"Okay, okay, Spock! I am sweating. I should go to my quarters, where the temperature is more adequate for normal people, like me."

"That may be wise." Spock didn't move and didn't stop studying him.

"What?"

"Could you specify your question?"

McCoy rolled his eyes and it made Spock strangely hap... It was agreeable, strangely so.

"I mean: Why are you looking at me like I'm a cow on roller-skates?"

"Cow?"

"Spock! Are you enjoying this?"

"This? Really Doctor, you need to be more precise when you speak. I am not a mind reader." He only realized what he'd said after he'd said it. That he'd let himself slip that way alarmed him. He needed to get himself under control again.

McCoy sat on the edge of the bed, looking a bit rumpled, and scrunched up his face. "Are you trying to be funny? Because if you are - you aren't. And if you aren't - what, are you talking about? You know what I mean. You are looking at me, as if you wanted to ask me a question."

Spock sobered. "Yes, Doctor. Indeed." He was unsure about how to pursue this. He thought he needed to, on the other hand he wasn't sure if this was going to bring up some long forgotten pain for the doctor again.

"What Spock? Did you turn into a speech-impaired robot? What is it that you want to ask me?"

"Our meld was successful", he began.

McCoy blinked. "Yes, Spock. Although, you always say it is illogical: Thank you."

Spock simply nodded. "The damage the Meriahn caused was extensive. I am sorry that you had to experience such pain, Doctor."

McCoy looked at him in surprise, gratitude and ... fear. "Spock, don't. I just want to forget."

"Doctor, I discovered Delihan wasn't the only one who caused damage", he said calmly.

McCoy looked at Spock in alarm. Oh, no. Not that. I thought that I was done with that. "Spock, are you refering to that mind meld with the bearded Spock in the mirror universe?"

"Yes, Doctor. He forced you, you didn't consent. It must have been painful. Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you then."

McCoy let his shoulders sag in defeat. "Spock, I don't know. But it wasn't anything like this. I didn't fight him all that much, and although he forced me, he was ... well it wasn't too painful."

"Why not?" Spock was curious, although he realized his question might have been too personal.

"It just wasn't. Okay? I've dealt with it, there was no danger to the ship, or my patients. You didn't even notice, did you?"

"No", he admitted, "but what about yourself? Doctor, I wasn't thinking about the ship's safety, I was thinking about you. Please know, that I am always willing to help you deal with a problem of personal nature - if I am able to."

McCoy felt a lump in his throat. "I know Spock. It's just, I'm used to dealing with problems on my own, and it works too, most of the time." He smiled a his friend. It was strange calling Spock a "friend", even in his mind, though he knew that that's what he was, one of the best he'd ever had, actually. "Does Jim know about this?"

"No. He told me to let you have your secrets."

"See? You should listen to our captain!" McCoy smiled at Spock, to convince him that he was alright. "I'll get going then. I think I could sleep for at least a week...", he said, getting off the bed and walking somewhat stiffly towards the door.

Spock looked as if he was about to escort him to his quarters, but he decided against it. "Sleep well, Doctor."

o0o

"So, Spock. Another mission accomplished." Jim said happily to his first officer on the way to the bridge.

"What exactly did we accomplish?" Spock asked.

"Well, we discovered a secret Romulan outpost. And we may have gathered some other valuable information when our engineers come back. Scotty is eager to look at their engines actually. Maybe he'll even get in a peek at their cloaking device."

"Unlikely."

"Yes, but not impossible. The P'Jem will escort them back to Romulan territory. I'm curious about how the Romulans will show us their gratitude."

"The Romulans are considered too arrogant to be grateful, Captain."

"Who knows? There's a first for everything."

"What did Prime Minister Coltan say?" They had stepped into the turbo lift.

"He apologized. Once he found out, that Delihan had said everything, he seemed very relieved. The Klingons began to threaten Meriah, and Coltan was in doubt if the Romulans would really stay up to their word and defend Meriah against the Klingon Empire."

"Unlikely again."

"Right. So now they are looking at the Federation for help."

"And we may be drawn into a war with the Klingon Empire?"

"Why Spock, you're seeing it all so negatively. If the Klingons learn we have a treaty with Meriah they will refrain from attacking, that's all."

"Klingons seldomly refrain from attacking." Spock said, determined to make this particular mission sound not so successful as the captain suggested.

"I know what you're trying to do Spock. This mission surely wasn't one I will think about with mirth, when I'm old and grey."

"No."

They stepped onto the bridge, each taking their seats.

"Captain?"

"What is it Spock?"

"Why did the Romulan Commander refuse your help even though, it was clear to him that his ship and their problem had been discovered?"

"It was pride," Uhura speculated, actually she did not care much.

"Or prejudice," Spock provided.

"Now explain that!" Kirk prompted.

"We do not know what picture the Romulans have of the Federation. I think he couldn't believe it possible that you would actually give them a cure, with the only reason being their need for it."

"I think you have just been reading British classics again, Spock."

"Mr. Chekov claims those classics to be Russian, Captain."

"Mr. Chekov claims the Vulcan Science Academy is Russian."

Chekov blushed, luckily no one saw, or so he thought.

Kirk smiled, this was nice. He just needed another crewmember on the bridge, to make it perfect.

000 End