Another chapter in the adventures of the starship Tori.

Fanfic-Reader-88: Long time, no speak. Yeah, things have really gotten from bad to worst.

Invader Johnny: Time is of the essence. These are TOS Klingons that will put you in a mind-sifter to rip secrets from one's mind and could leave them a vegetable.

Rating: T Violence

Chapter 4

Bridge
USS Tori

The red turbolift doors parted and Freddie was the first to step onto the bridge.

A voice called out, "Captain on the bridge!"

"Battle Stations!" he barked as he walked around the red guardrail and took the step down to the bridge center then another step to stand in front of his command chair after André relinquished the seat and took his place at the navigation station.

Rex pressed the necessary controls to signal the various stations of the alert status then the button to shipwide communication to call out, "General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations! This is no drill! Repeat, this is no drill!"

The red klaxons started flashing and sounding throughout the ship and the bridge crew snapped into action with their full attention on their stations. Robbie walked around the back of the bridge to his station with Trina behind him to take her defense station at the end of the ring next to the main viewscreen. Jade took a position next to the left of the captain's seat right by the armrest. She should have gone down to sickbay, but her staff was well trained to function without her and knew that she shouldn't tie up the lift. On a personal note, she felt she needed to next to the captain for moral support.

Throughout the ship, backup and auxiliary systems were coming online with secondary fusion reactors powering up. The tertiary duty personnel were roused from sleep or what other activities they were currently involved to rush to join the second shift since André had ordered Yellow Alert at their stations in the secondary bridge, auxiliary control and engineering. Secondary damage control parties were taking their positions throughout the ship and the rest of the marines not on duty were spilling out of their barracks, most already in combat gear, and rushing to key positions throughout the ship to join Star Fleet security in preparation to repel boarders and cargo transporters for quick boarding actions. Secondary phaser crews were joining the current duty shift in the phaser control rooms while the ordnance crews were monitoring the loading of photon torpedoes. In sickbay, the staff was preparing to receive wounded.

A few moments later as if on cue, the turbolift doors opened and two marines stepped onto the bridge with each one taking his position next to the exit. The first one was recognizably Carter, having recovered from his near death experience, dressed in fatigues and grey full combat armor while the other was wearing a standard duty uniform with green shirt and landing party field jacket with the green division strips going over his shoulders and collarbone. The one in the standard uniform had a bit of messy hair in front, soft brown eyes and looked to be the same age as the captain with similar build and height.

Freddie took his seat and asked in a clipped tone while watching the stars streak by and the rear of the Klingon vessel they were pursuing, "Report."

Rex called out while looking into the raised tactical display, "We're in pursuit of the Klingon vessel and she's twenty light seconds ahead of us at warp six and accelerating."

Jade rested her right hand on the left armrest of the command chair, darted her eyes to Freddie and asked in a worried tone, "While still inside the system?"

The doctor was raising the concern he felt. Star systems were big and in plenty of instances even impulse drive was considered too slow to cover certain distances even at fractions of the speed of light, so low warp speed travel up to warp three was acceptable. However, one would have to be a fool or desperate to engage higher warp speeds within a system and some systems would simply fire on a vessel if they came into it at those speeds.

Rex answered while maintaining his focus on the tactical scope, "They're moving above the elliptical to clear the system faster."

The captain ordered, "Don't let them get away Powers. Take us to any speed necessary to maintain pursuit."

"Aye sir… passing warp six point five," he answered with a quick glance down at his panel.

Freddie pressed the communication button on the right armrest to engineering. "Sinjin, we may have to push the engines."

"She'll give you all she's got and more sir," the frizzy haired engineer answered.

Rex reported as his eyes were practically glued to the tactical hood, "We've just cleared the system and she's reaching warp seven."

"Go to any warp necessary to overtake. Phaser crews standby for precision firing. I need you to punch through their shields and bring her out of warp, not destroy her. Shapiro, find Vega on there."

Robbie had his back to the captain and nodded his head to the side and remarked, "That's going to be a little tricky trying to find her on a ship full of ethnic Klingons."

Jade quickly suggested passed Freddie, "Tie in the life science sensors and cross reference the DNA sample we have on file for identification."

The science officer nodded his head, not bothering with getting a confirmation from the captain since it was a great idea.

Freddie slightly tilted his head and half smirked to Jade.

Jade returned with her own smile and shrugged a shoulder.

Rex called out, "She's past warp seven point five and still accelerating."

Freddie stared at the viewscreen as if he could will the ship in front of them to slow down. He briskly ordered, "Stay with her helm. If they're faster than us, they'll going to have to prove it."

André commented with a sliver of worry in his voice, "Firing on them at that speed sir…"

The captain sighed out, understanding and agreeing with the concern. Firing traveling that fast was just as likely to cause a catastrophic reactor failure just as much as bringing them out of warp if one could punch through the shields. He called out over his shoulder, "Valentine, hail the Klingon ship."

The Caitian tapped a few controls then patiently waited for a response. She slightly turned in her seat and reported, "They're not responding sir."

"Keep the channel open."

"Aye sir."

Freddie coldly stared at the ship and began, "Klingon vessel, you have kidnapped a Star Fleet crewman. You are ordered to heave to and return our crewmember immediately. I am prepared to use force to get her back."

He waited several seconds for a reply.

Cat dishearteningly answered, "No response sir, but they're sending a signal out in front of them."

"A calling for help?"

"I don't know, it's scrambled. I'll need a few minutes at least to break the code if I can."

Freddie nodded in understanding and Rex quickly added, "She's hit warp eight."

He clenched his jaw then ordered, "Project their heading. Where are they going? To Klingon space? Outpost?"

André studied his navigational readouts then answered, "Their current heading is taking them to…"

"Where?"

He knotted his brow and answered perplexed with his own response, "They're running down the Neutral Zone towards galactic south."

The former science off slightly frowned, certainly not expecting that action. It would have been far more logical to gun it towards their own space and get immediate support. "Any particular planet, outpost… other Klingon vessels?"

"Nothing that would appear on our sensors," Rex answered while monitoring the warp power. "They've settled at warp eight point five and we're ten light seconds behind them."

"Maintain speed. Navigation, what are the possibly destinations at this head?"

"They could be heading to Sherman's Planet or any number of other disputed planets in that direction, wait… the computer just determined where we're heading on this course: Organia."

Everyone on the bridge turned away from their stations to pass glances towards André.

Jade knotted her brow and asked Freddie, "Why would they be heading for Organia?"

The captain slightly dipped his chin and contemplated the answer. He answered in a quiet voice, "They've got caught by us and now they're trying to run to the 'parents' to get their side of the story heard first and point their fingers at us. They'll probably say we were trying to frame them and have a 'spy' as proof of it."

The doctor's apprehensively asked, "Are they just going to believe them?"

Freddie shook his head and answered, "I don't know."

Trina got up from her station and braced her hands against the guardrail. "You can't let the Organians let the Klingons keep her. They'll want to try her as a spy to humiliate the Federation… they might execute her."

Other than the status beeps and soft communication chatter from other parts of the ship, the bridge became deathly silent. The majority of the crew may not have any deep emotional connection with who had been a temporary crewmember at best, but they could feel sympathy for her predicament with the Klingons.

Freddie took a deep breath then got up from his seat, taking the step down and walking to the end of the navigation console next to André. He rested his hand on the front corner for someplace to rest his hand then answered her with a sympathetic tone, "Lieutenant…"

He was interrupted when André called out, "Captain?!"

Freddie turned and saw a figure slowly materialize from a faint ghostly image to a solidified form of an older gentleman with brushed back dark hair with a wisp of gray and a goatee. He wore a simple garment of a faded short sleeve dull brown tunic that reached nearly to his ankles with an embroidered silver collar and neckline.

He faintly smiled to the crew and introduced himself, "Hello, I am Ayelborne, the Chairman of the Council of Elders of Organia and the Klingons have informed of the situation and why you are pursuing them. They have asked us to mediate the matter."

Freddie politely smiled and answered as he walked around his seat to stand in front of it, "Hello Mister Ayelborne. I'm Captain Fredrick Benson of the USS Tori. I fail to see what there is to mediate. They have kidnapped one of my crewmembers and I want her back. There is nothing to discuss."

"They see it differently captain and thus, the need for an independent mediator."

"I'm sure they do…"

"We would prefer that you handle your affairs with each other, but… if it has fallen on us then we will help you."

Freddie squared his jaw, fighting down the annoyance of the non-corporeal lifeform on his bridge. He politely answered, "It'll be about a day before we reach your planet and I am clearly concerned about the welfare of my crewman in the meantime. You're quite well aware of how brutal they can be…" He quickly recalled something from the report Captain Kirk had filed after his experience with the inhabitants. "…how they are willing to use violence against her to get what they want. They have devices to use on the mind that could leave her brain-dead… one they were willing to use on Captain Kirk when he was on your planet before you freed him and they did attempt to murder two hundred of you when they occupied your planet. Unlike you, she's not immortal."

Ayelborne tightened his pleasant expression for the briefest of moments then answered, "We can save you the time and bring your ships directly into orbit of our planet and speak face to face if you wish."

Freddie took a slow breath then answered, "That will be acceptable."

"Very well, I will bring your vessels just outside our system to give you each time to reduce your speed. We'll speak again within one of your hours."

"Or sooner," Freddie made a point.

Ayelborne politely nodded his head, understanding the message then began fading from sight.

Trina' shoulders slumped and she muttered, "What if they side with the Klingons?"

Freddie turned his attention to his security chief and replied with a heavy heart, "Trina, I'll fight the Klingons to get her back as I would for any other member of this crew and… I would fight even the gods, but how do I fight a god that can shut this ship down with a thought if they decide the Klingons are in the right?"

Trina dropped her chin, bracing herself more against the railing and felt a sense of hopelessness that quickly spread through the rest of the bridge. Robbie focused on his station, trying to hide his disheartened expression. The other bridge crew tried to find refuge in their stations to hide their embarrassment.

A voice called out from the turbolift enclave, "If I may suggest sir?"

Freddie turned and looked over his left shoulder along with a number of other bridge crew and Jade taking a half step back to look at the marines standing guard at the turbolift. The one that spoke took a step forward, carbine at the ready to defend the bridge. He was the one wearing the field jacket and green uniform shirt peeking out from his mostly zipped up jacket.

The captain didn't immediately recognize the marine standing about an inch or two taller and slightly more muscular than him, an odd occurrence as he believed he had at least familiar with all the members of the marine detachment. He had light brown hair that was slightly wild in front that slightly hung over into his forehead and was probably not regulation. He did take a quick view at his collar to see his rank and asked with a clear intention of also wanting to know his name, "Yes Gunny…"

The marine smiled and answered in a cheerful voice, "Gunnery Sergeant Dustin 'Dusty' Hale, sir."

Freddie nodded along then asked, "What is your suggestion Gunny?"

He gave a half smirk and slightly cocked his head to the side. "I believe you're asking an incomplete question."

Freddie walked around the navigation console and behind his command seat, resting his forearm over the top of the backrest. He passed a curious gaze to Jade, she wearing a concern expression with a softly knotted brow. He was intrigued by the response and asked, "What question should I be asking?"

"How does a man of faith fight a false god?"

The captain slightly knotted his brow then glanced down, thinking for a few seconds on the crewman's words. The picture of the situation suddenly turned, giving him an entirely new perspective. A smile formed on his face and glanced up to see the sergeant holding back a laugh at seeing the officer's realization. He turned his head and asked, "Valentine, get me the chaplain up here."

"'kay, 'kay," the redhead eagerly responded and started tapping the intra-ship communications.

As soon as he gave the order, the ship gently rocked then settled back to steady cruising at warp.

Freddie glanced around and called out, "Report."

André looked at his monitors and navigational display between the helm and navigation consoles. "We've definitely moved. The stars aren't in the position they would be on a continuing followed course and speed. Recalculating our position."

Robbie quickly called out, "Star system ahead, a quarter of a light-year away."

Rex hastily added, "We'll reach the outer edge of the system in about a minute."

"Helm, reduce speed to warp seven."

"Aye sir. ETA to system five point nine minutes."

"Position of Klingon vessel?"

"She's reduced to warp seven as well and still ahead of us."

"Reduce us to warp two when we reach the edge of the system. Keep an eye on the Klingon ship though and if they try to run, chase them down."

"Yes sir," he answered as he preprogrammed the controls to carry out the order.

The turbolift doors opened and the chaplain, an older gentleman with a touch of gray to his hair in a red uniform shirt with Lt. Commander braids on the end of his sleeves, took a cautious step onto the bridge. He curiously looked around, having never been to the bridge, least long in a battle situation as his place was in sickbay.

Freddie looked to the chaplain and took a step up to the higher ring level, welcoming him with a warm smile, "Chaplain, thank you for coming to the bridge. I need your help and it's an unusual request."

He raised a curious eyebrow, but answered, "Anything I can do to help Captain."

Planet Organia
Organia Neutral Zone
Sector 1913

About twenty minutes later, several gold shimmering columns appeared in the meeting room of the council of elders for several moments until they coalesced into Freddie, Jade and Trina. The captain and doctor had kept their landing party attire on and Trina had changed into a duty uniform shirt and pants with her jacket. She had come prepared to get her sister back with the phaser carbine in her hands.

They immediately were met by the Organian Council of Elders seated behind a well-made wooden long table and standing to the left, three Klingons and Tori with her hands cuffed in front. The one standing in front was clearly the commander of the vessel and presumably the one shuffling weapons to the villagers and the others stood on either side of Tori.

Captain Benson looked squarely at the leader of the group of Organians and introduced himself with a stern voice, "As we've spoken earlier, but for the benefit of the Klingon representatives, I am Captain Fredrick Benson of the USS Tori."

The Klingon standing in front of the others proudly announced himself, "I am Commander Krell."

Freddie professionally acknowledged his counterpart, "Commander."

Ayelborne stood up from his center seat on the opposite side of the table and walked around two of his fellow elders sitting to his right to meet Freddie on the other side. "Welcome Captain. We understand that there is a disagreement that needs resolution through mediation."

"As I said on my ship, we don't need mediation. They've kidnapped one my crewmembers and I want her back. It's a straightforward solution: give her back to us."

Krell took a step forward and countered, "She's in our rightful custody. She is a spy and you are using her as an attempt to malign our reputation with other species and endangering the peace."

Trina began to snap, "She's not a spy—"

"Why is she wearing one of our uniforms?" Krell looked to Ayelborne and continued, "They used her in an attempt to frame us with interfering with a native culture—by supplying them with primitive weapons—when we were there for legitimate scientific research. She is the proof of it in her uniform… and being a Klingon. She's probably a fugitive that fled the Empire and they gave her sanctuary in exchange for being one if their agents or maybe she's an outright traitor—we haven't been able to determine that yet—and if so, they have no claim to her. It is an internal Klingon affair."

"No she isn't. She's my sister," Trina sharply retorted, giving a cold stare to the Klingon commander.

The Organians turned curious gazes to the security officer. The claim gave the Klingons pause, passing glances to each other while Krell studied the woman he met as a Klingon officer. One of the other members curiously asked, "Your sister?"

"Yes, my sister," Trina defiantly told the practical gods. "We were trying to get the weapons back that Klingons gave one group of natives and help us facilitate a restoration of the peace they destroyed in the hopes of turning the planet into one of their puppet governments. She did not try to infiltrate your ranks at any time."

Trefayne, an equally elderly looking man with blonde, fading into white hair commented, "But you are not Klingon."

Trina proudly announced, "I'm Centaurean and I don't care that she's Klingon. She's my sister and they're giving her back to us." She visibly flicked her thumb off the safety to the weapon in her hands.

The Klingons shifted their posture, ready to draw their weapons in an instant. Krell looked to the Organian leader and pushed, "That's a pathetic lie on their part. They have no proof for their wild accusation. If they did, they would have come to you to resolve the situation."

Freddie snapped a cold gaze to the Klingon and answered, "We have the word of Captain Kirk watching you give the weapons to them including talking about improvements and the logs of the Enterprise of a Klingon vessel in orbit." He added with a dismissively snort, "We have no need to come crawling to them as you were so eager to do instead of facing us."

Krell's frown deepened, perhaps ready to strike at the starship captain from the insult.

Ayelborne paused for a moment at the mentioning of Captain Kirk's name.

Freddie turned his head and looked back at Ayelborne to continue with a cold voice, "If you want more proof, ask Tyree, a native. He lost his wife to the people they gave weapons to and there have been plenty of others that have had their property stolen, women kidnapped and raped and been murdered. We're just trying to clean up the mess they started by giving them firearms."

The other Organians started whispering among themselves, weighing each side's words.

Ayelborne glanced over to his fellow councilmen, assessing their views with only a glance. He turned back to them and answered with a patient smile. "I see gentlemen that you are quite passionate and there are many things to weigh in this dispute where we believe further discussion is in order and visiting Neural to confirm one side or the other's position."

Krell smiled, believing he could paint a picture of a conniving Federation setting about framing one of their neighbors and putting all the blame on them for the tragedies.

Freddie squared his jaw, took a deep breath then answered, "No."

The elder looking gentleman slightly tilted his head and curiously asked, "Pardon?"

The starship captain shook his head and casually replied, "I said no." He let that sink in a moment then continued, "There is nothing more to discuss. No extensive negotiations that could drag out for who knows how long. The Federation didn't ask for your input on the matter of Neural—a world in our treaty zone—or a matter of one of my crewmembers. The Klingons are not allowed there anymore, we will do our best to clean up the damage they've done and I will have my crewman back right now."

Krell crossed his arms over his chest and mockingly asked, "Is that so Captain? You're in no position to make demands here."

Freddie answered in a surprisingly casually manner, "Actually I am."

He let his statement hang in the air for a moment, staring coldly at the Klingon to see if he would raise or call to use poker analogy.

The commander laughed, either covering up his nervousness or not believing that a Star Fleet officer had the mantle to carry out such a threat, "And how do you propose you are going to do that? They're not going to allow violence here."

"Perhaps not here, but… before we beamed down, I gave my first officer one last order…" He took a moment to look at his digital watch on his left wrist then continued, "…that if he didn't hear from us within the next say… eight minutes, he was to disable your ship to prevent you from taking her back to Klingon space and if they don't hear from us five minutes after that… assume we're dead and to unleash everything they have where we are standing then carry out General Order Twenty Four—the complete destruction of the planet's surface."

He looked to the Organians and coldly asked, "You may be gods, but can you really take the full firepower of a starship?"

The Klingons and Organians looked perplexed at the sheer gall he directed at them then horrified for a moment at such a revelation of him appearing to be telling the truth.

Krell covered his shock with a forced laugh after seeing something in the young man's eyes, "You truly have lost your mind haven't you captain? They're simply going to disable your ship as they did during our brief war and the Federation… they don't wipe out entire planets."

Freddie looked to the Organians and asked, "Then disable my ship. Take their side and let them keep my crewman… take the side of the one that would give weapons to a peaceful people living on their own planet not bothering anyone and encourage them to conqueror their neighbors… steal from their neighbors… to rape their neighbors… Show the universe what you really are then… I'll stop you here and now."

The Organians studied the young captain for several moments, trying to ignore the minor discomfort they felt with his presence in willing to unleash such violence. He had been truthful to Captain Kirk that their presence was disturbing to them with continued exposure. Ayelborne took a deep breath then calmly answered in a grandfather like tone, "Captain, I am truly shocked at your response. I can sympathize with the plight you claim has happened, but I had found it hard to fathom that someone from a people that claim to want peace so much would be willing to use such violence in response. As I asked Captain Kirk, do you have the right to wage war Captain as your actions—if they succeed—could lead to such a war that we prevented and allowed both sides to come to an understanding? A war that would end the lives of millions of innocent people and to destroy life on a planetary scale? Is that what you're willing to commit?"

The Organian believed he had hit a nerve, the same one that struck Kirk when he laid out his argument to him last year. The Klingons made the same assumption that Freddie would just roll over.

They were mistaken.

Freddie took another step towards Ayelborne and defiantly answered, "I'm not James Kirk. I will not be beaten over the head with a pathetic moral equivalency argument that our ideologies have the same merit and that we'd be equally guilty of anything."

He looked to Krell and practically spat out, "We don't kill millions of innocent people. Klingons are willing to commit that act. We don't enslave species, the Klingons do that. We don't destroy life on a planetary scale… the Klingons don't even do that…" He turned to look at the ascended being and made his final verbal push, "…but I do defend the right to wage war to protect our freedom from them wanting to conquer us… and wage war against you if you dare try to make us bend our knees to you."

Ayelborne clenched his jaw, startled by the vitriol directed at him by the lower lifeform. He cleared his throat and sputtered, "We are not gods and never claimed to be."

"But the way you use your power is no different than a power from on high dictating to us down below."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but if we did nothing you would unleash horrible destruction upon one another—"

"That the Klingons started. They're the ones that broke off negotiations. That's the one little fact that you keep ignoring in this situation. I'd rather we had peace, true genuine peace, but we have a fundamental right to self-defense that you have no right to take from us."

Ayelborne looked tired for a moment, either feeling frustrated or perhaps seeing the captain's point-of-view and not willing to admit it just yet. He took another calming breath, a curious thing for a being that didn't need to breathe, and answered, "Captain… I admire your passion for what you believe is right—"

"It is right," Freddie curtly interrupted him.

"But… we will have to disable your ship to prevent anyone from being killed, including yourself so we can peacefully resolve this situation."

One Organian closed his eyes in concentration and the others watched him. He squeezed his eyes tighter as if he was struggling then quickly opened them, startled. He looked to Ayelborne with a distressed expression and confessed, "His ship is still functioning. I cannot disable it."

Krell and the other Klingons looked just as startled, but the commander was the first to speak, "How?"

Freddie gave a dismissive gaze towards the captain and answered, "It doesn't matter how. I just did it. Now, are you going to give me my crewman back or are we all going to die here?"

Krell shook his head in mild disbelief and uttered, "You don't have the authority… you're out of your mind."

"Of course I do: protecting the life of one of my crew from a hostile power…" He turned a brief glance to Ayelborne. "…hostile powers." He focused back on Krell and pushed on, "You've kidnapped one of my crewmen and I'm affecting a rescue and if these so-called gods want to interfere… then I'll put their name to the test."

Freddie could see the look of panic in Krell's eyes and the supposedly brave Klingon flustered, "Do you know… do you know what will happen if you attempt such a thing?" He motioned to Tori and demanded, "We'll be right where we started before they interfered. You're willing to go to war over her? Willing to plunge our peoples into a war all over her? She's Klingon. She's not one of you."

The Star Fleet captain snorted out a breath, wearing a bit of a smirk and shook his head. "You and these false gods you crawled to keep bring that up about what 'we'll do'. We'll do nothing. Once this is said and done on this planet, if there is a war, you're the ones that will fire the first shot and start the war and for what reason? We won't kneel to you and do you know what?"

Krell wasn't sure about the turn of phrase, but asked anyway, "What?"

"At this moment, I don't care about some high minded ideals about interstellar nations and their problems. About some track of space or this strategic planet or that one. My concern right now is Commander Vega, because she's not going with you. She's one of us and I don't care that she's Klingon, so if you want her that badly, you'll have to fight for her… or we'll be dead in the next few minutes."

Krell stood up straighter and squared his jaw, trying to remain intimidating but had already lost that contest with his stammering. He saw the Organians were apparently useless in stopping the determined starship captain, his plan blowing up in his face, so it was left up to him. He reached behind him in a swift motion and pulled his communicator out. He began speaking in Klingonese and with that act, Freddie drew his phaser from his thigh holster with blinding speed and trained it on Krell as he understood enough Klingon to know that he was ordering.

Everyone else in the room raised or drew their respective weapons to fire on one another, but before anyone could fire their weapons, they let out various cries of pain while dropping their weapons. They instinctively grabbing their hands as their weapons' temperature shot up hundreds of degrees. Fortunately, there was no physical damage to their hands.

However, Freddie kept a tight hold of his phaser even if his hand was shaking from the intense pain and kept a cold stare on Krell.

The Klingons and the Organians stared in astonishment.

He growled out as if feeding off the pain, "Put the communicator down, now."

The Klingon looked on him in wonder and asked, "How are you…"

Freddie growled and turned a hateful glare towards Ayelborne, a being that probably could snap his fingers to sweep him from existence and pushed on, "Making it feel like it's a couple of hundred degrees… hoping the pain will stop me…"

The non-corporeal lifeform shook his head and muttered, "You shouldn't be…"

The starship captain's gaze never left Krell's eyes and growled, "I had to bury my wife… that's pain…"

Jade's eyes went wide and jaw slightly slacked, feeling Freddie's pain in her heart for him and dredging up her own pain when they buried Carly. It was raining that day in Seattle…

Krell found his wits and started speaking again into the communicator.

Freddie squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened, in fact, the heat dissipated from the weapon. He sucked in a few breaths to calm his breathing from the heat ceasing and his hand stopped shaking.

The Organian elder bowed his head and quietly uttered, "Your weapons are not going to work here. We will not permit violence here."

Feeling a reprieve, Krell began speaking for a third time, but Freddie lowered the weapon then in a flash, raised it and chucked it as hard as he could at Krell. The phaser struck him in the face hard enough to make his nose to start bleeding purplish-pink blood.

Krell cried out in shock, dropping his communicator and grabbing his face.

Freddie leaned down and charged at Krell, driving his right shoulder into his stomach to knock the wind out of him. He lifted the Klingon off of his feet as he continued with his forward momentum until he reached the conference table and slammed him down on it.

"ARRGGHH!" Krell as the back of his head and spine hit the unyielding table.

Freddie climbed on top of the table and him and started pounding away at the trapped Klingon's face, sending more blood flying from the damaged nose with the intent of breaking the man's jaw and knocking his teeth out.

One of the Klingons guarding Tori pulled a knife out from his belt, preparing to defend his captain, but Tori grabbed the soldier's right shoulder to pull him down then drove her right knee into his solar plexus.

The wind was knocked out of him and he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.

Tori raised her cuffed hands above her head and slammed them down on the back of his neck as hard as she could manage. The cuffs hit him and dropped him in an instant.

The third Klingon was startled, but moments later attempted to grab Tori.

However, Trina raised her phaser carbine with the butt end outward and charged him, slamming it against his face, sending another shower of pink blood spewing from his broken nose with a number of broken teeth accompanying it. His head snapped back and he collapsed backwards to the ground. She jumped on him and slammed the butt of the weapon down on him again to make sure he didn't get back up.

Over at the table, Krell's head snapped back with each punch, reeling from the impact of the fist that had already broken his nose, knocked a few of his front teeth out and cracked his left cheek bone. A part of his mind thought the Star Fleet captain's hand must have been broken already since Klingon bones were a little denser than human ones, but Freddie just kept wailing on him.

He was fighting to remain conscious, something he wouldn't have been able to do without Klingon training even with his sturdier build. He was able to get his right hand to his dagger strapped to his outer right thigh. He slipped it from its sheath and attempted to slash upwards into Freddie.

The former science officer saw it and shifted to his right, allowing the blade to slice up across the padded shoulder of the jacket thought the first layer. The action caused Freddie to throw his body to his right and roll away and back onto his feet with the table now on his right.

Krell got onto his feet, wiping away the blood from under his nose and spitting out the blood in his mouth along with a few broken piece of teeth. He growled in frustration and pressed a stud on the handle and two short curved blade's popped open away from the blade to form a cross guard.

Freddie reached just behind his right hip, popped a clasp then pulled with the hand his KA-BAR from its sheath. He held it up in an inverted grip with the blade pointed at an angle to the floor and his other hand out ready for the knife fight.

The Klingon appreciatively smiled to the Star Fleet captain just before he lunged at Freddie's gut, but he reached out with this left palm to grab the wrist and slashed down with his other hand at the blade. The blades' edges scrapped across one another until Freddie's blade locked with the hilt of the Klingon blade and trapping his knife hand.

The Klingon growled in frustration and may have had his other hand still free, but Freddie didn't give him the chance to use it with a quick head-butt to the nose.

Krell's head snapped back and more blood went flying, but before he could stumble too far, Freddie yanked Krell's arm forward and stepped back with his right foot, swinging Krell along with him to rotate him two hundred seventy degrees towards the table. He let go and let the Klingon commander hit the edge of the table, nearly sending him doubling over it.

Krell grunted out from the hard impact to his gut, but quickly attempted to recover by bringing his hand up palm over the table's surface and push himself up.

However, Freddie was quicker and lashed out with his right foot into the back of Krell's right knee, immediately bending the leg to drop to that knee then a quick strike to the other one to bring him completely to his knees with his chest against the edge of the table.

Freddie palmed over Krell's forehead and yanked his head back while bringing the edge of his combat knife to Krell's neck. He growled out for everyone in the room to hear, "If you move I won't stop until I hit bone and even then, I might not stop."

Krell glanced up to meet his gaze and saw the killer instinct in his eyes in knowing he would end his life if pushed. "Okay, okay…" He let go of the tedious hold he had on his dagger and slid it across the table.

Freddie didn't take his eyes off of Krell for a moment as he called out, "Sound off!"

Trina answered as she finished undoing Tori's cuffs, "We're fine Captain."

"Get back to the ship now."

Jade asked with clear concern, "What about you?"

"I'll be up in a few minutes and if I'm not… Commander Shapiro has his orders," he answered in a clipped tone.

Jade looked horrified, but knew well enough not to argue with him.

Trina understood it was time to get going and pulled out her communicator and called out, "Tori, this is Vega. Three to beam up."

"Say again. Three?"

"The captain will be up shortly. Just beam us up."

Jade called out, "Just two Robbie. I'm staying."

The Vega sisters turned surprised gazes onto the doctor and Freddie slightly looked over his shoulder to give her a questioning look.

The doctor coolly added, "Robbie, if you have me beamed up… do you want me to finish that sentence?"

A few moments later, Trina and Tori were swept up in the gold shimmering beam of the transporter and disappeared from sight.

Freddie refrained from commenting on Jade disobeying his order and focused back on his Klingon prisoner. He pulled Krell's head back a little further and dug the edge of the blade against his neck. "Now that I got what I want, we're going to clear up the other matter while I'm here."

"What?!"

"This is what is going to happen: you're going give up this claim to Commander Vega and not try some clandestine scheme to get her back, you're going to come back with me to Neural and help me get all those weapons back… if we have to go from house to house to house to do it and you're going to make sure they return everything they've stolen from the Hill People—especially the women they've kidnapped and raped then you're going to every single person that was touched by the violence you set in motion and beg forgiveness."

Krell initially snorted out defiantly, thinking the starship captain had gone mad. "You truly are mad! I'll do no such thing."

"Fine…" Freddie hissed out in disgust. "Then I'll take you back there anyway and give you to Tyree where you can face justice to the people you've helped to murder and pillaged… you shouldn't underestimate what a grieving husband would do to the person responsible for his wife's death."

The commander's eyes went wide as any number of circumstances they could unleash upon him flashed through his mind.

Ayelborne raised his hands and shouted, "Captain, I demand that you release him at once. This violence is intolerable."

Freddie glanced up to look at the gathered non-corporal beings and defiantly answered, "No."

The simply answer through them off for a moment.

"If you're truly gods and you want to stop me then you strike me down right now because that's the only way you're going to stop me…" He snorted out a harp breath from his nose, "If you do… it'll just be another way for you to prove to the galaxy what you are: the champion of conquerors… gods that need to be overthrown for us to be free."

The pair stared off at one another, one confident in his convictions and the other one that could barely able to still fathom such passion and had the ability to perhaps sweep him from existence with a snap of his fingers. Ayelborne raised a hand, perhaps willing to go through with such a suggestion, but Freddie looked back without any fear.

"Robbie, lock everything you have on our position to fire!"

The Organian looked up to Jade holding her communicator near her mouth.

The former terror of her high school gave the god a cold stare and whispered, "If you try it, I swear you'll be dead right after him."

Ayelborne looked to Jade's eyes, seeing the anger and unwavering loyalty she had towards her captain. He felt something odd, something he hadn't felt in tens of thousands of years: fear.

He sighed and relented with a nod of his head, "Very well Captain…" He looked to the Klingon and suggested, "Commander Krell, for your own safety and the peace between your two governments, I suggest you go with the captain and do as he's asked. The Captain will follow his own laws to make sure you're returned to your government."

Krell gritted his teeth and spat out, "I'd rather die."

Freddie dug the blade a little deeper into the Klingon's neck and whispered, "You don't get the easy way out for your crimes."

A figure on each side of the room slowly started forming. One was a muscular dark skinned older man with wisps of graying hair in a Klingon military uniform with a long jacket draped over his shoulders that had a number of medals running down the lapel. The other figure was a lovely dark haired woman with darkly tanned skin in her mid-to-late forties dressed in a colorful sari.

Krell's eyes widened as he recognized the man as the Emperor of the Klingon Empire. He spat out, "What kind of trick is this?"

Ayelborne answered with a fretful expression, "It's no trick commander. As soon as you beamed down, we appeared in the government bodies of your respective peoples and allowed them to see what was going to transpire, what we had hoped would be a peaceful negotiation."

Freddie dryly pointed out, "We don't negotiate with hostage takers." He glanced over to the image of who he recognized as President Qnorna Kannal and asked nearly rhetorically, "So they've been watching this entire time?"

"Yes we have Captain," Kannal answered with a faint smile.

The Emperor ordered in a firm voice, "Commander Krell, you are to carry out Captain Benson's conditions immediately."

Krell, Freddie and who appeared to be the President of the Federation looked mildly stunned at the Emperor's order to his subornment.

The Klingon commander licked his blood covered lips and asked, "What?"

"You heard my order Commander. You thought you could be cleaver and steal a planet out from under the Federation, but clearly you overestimated your cunning to succeed and prowess to defeat Captain Benson when you were caught. Even if the Organians wouldn't interfere, we wouldn't go to war to cover for your lack of both. You will clean up your failure then we will deal with you."

The Klingon commander stuttered for a moment and replied, "There is no way of knowing that you're really the Emperor. This could be a trick by them."

Freddie added with a flick of his eyebrow, "He's right on that point." He looked to the attractive Indian woman and commented, "With all due respect Madam President, there is no way to confirm you are you."

The battle hardened Klingon warrior spat, "For what purpose? Merely to save your life? Your duty is to the Empire and for that your life and your ship has always been forfeit. You know I don't need to tell you this. If you resist and are determined to continue to fight Captain Benson, you and your crew will have a good death, but your family… they'll live with your shame and dishonor and we will not pursue the matter with the Federation. You can stay in the Organian's custody if Captain Benson will allow it until my orders reach your ship, but if you still don't wish to carry out my order then I will simply have your first officer carry out my orders and have you executed."

Krell thought on it for several moments then patted a hand on the table, signal that he was conceding. "I'll stay with the Organians until I get confirmation."

Freddie pulled the blade away from Krell's neck and took a step back.

Krell pulled himself to his feet and turned to face Captain Benson. He braced his hands back against the table as he rested against the edge, giving a weary expression to the captain as blood continued to flow down onto his shirt.

The Emperor turned his attention to the other projected image, assuming he was speaking with the President, "Madam President, I hope that with Krell's cooperation in handling the situation on Neural that this matter will be settled and that there won't be any further political ramifications? This won't be a point of contention over the parceling out of planets for development within the Neutral Zone?" He passed an added glance towards the Organians as they would be the impartial final arbiters of awarding such planets, but ones now that could be bullied by a single starship captain.

The Indian native diplomatically smiled and answered with a pleasant voice, "Certainly Emperor. What's important is to maintain the peace and find a way to peacefully resolve our differences and not let one… isolated incident blow up into something more and disrupt settlement allocations in the Zone."

He would have laughed at her naïveté, but he saw a look in her eyes that said she was playing the same political game: she may not want war, but she wasn't timid in waging it; after all when the last one started, the Federation didn't back down.

Captain Benson spoke up while having the chance to face the Emperor, "What about Commander Vega? Are you going to pursue her?"

The Emperor gave a thoughtful expression, spearing a glance to Tori then back to Freddie. "I don't understand why or how a Klingon would join Star Fleet, but… She may have been wearing one of our uniforms, but she did not commit any form of espionage within our boarders, so she is not the Empire's concern."

Tori and Trina visibly looked relief, assuming the Emperor was telling the truth.

The Federation president spoke up, "Then we'll speak again once things have been resolved on Neural to make sure there are no other problems."

The Emperor slightly bowed his head in acknowledgement then President Kannal looked to Captain Benson and pleasantly remarked, "I wish you the best Captain Benson in repairing the damage on Neural and look forward to personally reading your report."

"Thank you Madam President."

The Klingon Emperor spoke up one last time, "Captain Benson?"

"Yes?"

He closed his fist and brought it over his heart. "I honor your courage and your convictions. What the Empire could do with a commander like you…"

Freddie paused, momentarily stunned by the praise, but quickly recovered and answered, "Thank you Emperor."

The figures faded then Freddie reached for his communicator and spoke, "Tori, this is Benson. Cancel General Order Twenty-Four and prepare to beam us up. We'll be leaving for Neural in about an hour."

He could hear Robbie audibly sigh before answering, "Understood. Whenever you're ready Captain." He looked to Krell as he walked over to pick up his phaser. He hissed towards the Klingon, "I'll see you on Neural Commander Krell."

The commander refrained from growling, knowing he had been beat and his jaw just hurt too badly.

Freddie spoke into his communicator, "Beam us up Robbie."

A moment later, the pair disappeared in a shimmer of gold.

Author's Note: Well, Freddie faced down the Klingons and gods and apparently won. I wondering if it'll be that easy for them?