I do not own Supernatural or Star Trek 2009.
Theta 34-C – Enterprise
"Well," Kirk allowed. "That went smoothly."
The Romulan ship had surrendered as soon as the Enterprise had marked up their pretty paint. Evidently the Romulans were out on a shakedown cruise and were being babysat by their big cousin, who had been pointedly missing in action when the newbies had arrived on the scene ten minutes before Enterprise.
Upon further inspection of some planted 'evidence' stating the destroyed ship had been the Impala, the new commander had seized upon the opportunity and was going to take credit when the Enterprise had arrived and promptly scared the pants off the young crew. Bluffing against Captain Kirk was never a good idea.
Now Enterprise had a pretty new warbird under her thumb and a brig full of young, apprehensive commanders and older, experienced, very angry crew members. Which still begged the question – where was the Impala and her crew? Sam had confirmed that the debris was indeed not the Impala, but rather from one of her shuttles and a busted up old barge, but that still didn't provide many answers.
"This is a prison planet," Kirk commented. "Why haven't we been hailed by the Starfleet personnel running the place?"
"Sir, this is where Vern was being held," Sam volunteered, frowning at the console. "He would have the command experience and brutality necessary to hold sway over the criminals housed on planet."
"Ser!" Chekov burst out. "I hev found de Impala!"
"Hail them," Kirk ordered as excitement ran electric through the bridge.
Uhura shook her head. "There's some sort of interference sir, and they're not answering on the experimental channels."
"If I had to guess," Sam mused, fiddling with his arrays again, "I'd say the Impala has been ordered to keep communication silence. Probably to keep the Federation from finding them. Dean has been warned about trusting the wrong Federation officers, he'll keep the Impala safe and quiet. He's probably down on the surface. I don't know why he's down there, but I'd wager Romulan ale that's where he is."
Kirk settled into his chair, thinking.
"Winchester, what are the chances of this evil doctor lady choosing this planet at random?"
"Nil, sir."
"Right. So Walker will most likely show up here sooner or later."
"A logical conclusion."
"And this is the closest we're currently going to get to their leader without more intel. Sulu, Chekov, work out a place to hide the Enterprise. We'll play the waiting game."
Theta 34-C – Surface
"Captain, I understand the need to be discreet. However, my current attire is straying dangerously close to ridiculous." Spock sounded ever so slightly miffed.
Dean grinned toothily, plucking at his own prison rags. The Vulcan looked much like an indignant wet cat trying to maintain some sort of dignity. "Come on Spock, where's your sense of adventure?"
"Vulcans do not promote such a rash, useless, illogical 'sense.' It does not seem prudent."
Oh yeah. The Vulcan was not happy.
It wasn't Dean's fault Spock looked like jailbait in the ripped, tattered jumper. Dean blamed the haircut – too perfectly trimmed and Dean had forgotten to suggest that Spock spike it up into the Goth/punk look he used when out with Sam.
Dean was sorry he didn't have a tricorder. Jim would kill for footage like this.
In comparison, Jo looked happy as a clam and scarier than most Klingons, knife handles peeking out of sashes, pockets, hair, neck, boot tops and sleeves. Her security crew had immediately latched onto the usually terrifying first officer and plopped him in the middle of their group. Not that Spock needed the protection. But if he ripped some criminal a literal new one using textbook-perfect Vulcan hand-to-hand, their cover would blown wide open.
"Let's go find us a witch," Dean announced cheerily, leading the group out from a clump of bushes where Bobby had thoughtfully put them down after hacking through Starfleet's transporter inhibitor.
Slipping into the prison like he owned the place wasn't hard. His security chief took her place as 2IC with aplomb, glaring at everyone who dared look at the group twice. "Hey, how's it going?" Dean asked with a grin, sidling up to another gang leader.
The ugly, gap-toothed man returned the expression. "Great! We finished toasting all those Starfleet pansies and the lady's in charge now. She's promisin' to let us loose on the Federation as soon as a ship we can hijack shows up."
Well shit.
"You didn't know?" the gangster was continuing. "What, you in solitary or something?" Dean snapped back to the conversation.
"Yeah. Apparently they take poorly to an honest fist-to-fist discussion between men around here. Just got out, picked up my boys and wondered why the hell my door swung open all on its lonesome." The gang leader looked suitably impressed with Dean's bravado. "Hey, where can a man find this lady?"
The gang leader shrugged. "Starfleet HQ. Don't know why you'd wanna go though. She's just gonna beam everybody up when the ship shows up. Until then, we get plastered!" He raised a bottle and chugged to the cheers of the prisoners around him.
Clearly they'd broken into the supplies and while there was a party going on in Dean's corner of the world, screams were rising from other sections of even this medium security wing.
He didn't want to think about the maximum security area. In interests of moving quickly, they got into a small squabble with another gang over a hover-truck, beat their opponents soundly and rattled away happily, the three security officers bouncing around in the back.
Theta 34-C's Starfleet Detainment HQ was a tragic sight. Personnel littered the steps, several torn apart limb from limb instead of simply killed by phaser. Angry prisoners had taken out their frustration and imprisonment on their guards and it showed.
Stalking up the stairs, Dean was surprised to hear a "Psst!" Glancing sideways, he spotted a pair of twinkling eyes and had to swallow the reflexive urge to throttle the impertinent SIO.
Crouching down, he glared. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Gabriel grinned. "I'm investigating. What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Witch hunting."
"Ah, good luck. She's been and gone. Sorry. I tried to stop her but she had that really scary looking Romulan with her, Bern, Stern, whatsisname…"
"Vern."
"Yeah! That dude! Like I said, would have stopped her but I don't fight Romulans."
Calm like Sam, calm like Sam, we will catch the witch, must not strangle IO, he has information, calm like Sam, Dean recited to himself. The tiny communicator hiding in his ear vibrated once. Enterprise was in the system.
Wait. Vern? Vern worked for Kerlyn. Vern was currently working with Gain.
Kerlyn, with lots of capital, lots of influence and lots of hate for the Federation, now had a top notch virologist working for him.
"I see you've figured it out," Gabriel said seriously. "Can we talk…elsewhere? Where we won't be heard by these lovely, gentle beings vacationing in this humble shit-hole? Among the stars, maybe?"
Pursing his lips, Dean sent the code for beam-up back. The transporter room swirled around him as he stepped off the pad. "Right. Security, make sure the SIO gets a shower. Everyone into uniform, be on the bridge in five. Winchester to bridge."
"Captain?"
"Cas, let Enterprise know we're here. They've probably figured out where we are anyway and as much fun as Spock is, I want my first officer back."
"Understood."
Enterprise
"So glad you could join us," Kirk drawled dryly.
Dean grinned over the screen. "Your first officer has mad skills. Can I keep him?"
"Only if Sam stays here."
"Hey, do I get a say in this?"
"No," both captains replied in stereo and a disgruntled Sam subsided, punching buttons harder than necessary on the innocent console.
"Kirk, have you spotted anything unusual in the area?" Dean asked, back to business.
"A brand-new Romulan ship told us it blew you to bits. We laughed in their faces and then took the ship. Scotty's engineering minions are champing at the bit to tear the ship apart. Unfortunately, when we stepped aboard, we triggered the automated defenses. The ship filled with nerve gas that eats our filters. We ended up venting all atmosphere into space. We were going to send over a team in suits but you showed up first. That's it," Kirk summarized neatly.
"You haven't seen anyone trying to board the ship?"
"Nope. And if you're expecting someone, I suggest planting a small security team. They might get suspicious if the ship's completely empty. As it is, Vern might buy a story about boarding the Impala and losing everyone else to a self-destruct."
The captains liked this idea. Unfortunately, their first officers refused to move the Impala out of hiding into transporter range, shuttles would be spotted and Kirk was grounded by a very adamant CMO.
They would have to trust Cupcake and his men.
Dean sighed irritably as the security team beamed over and Jo tried valiantly not to sulk at missing all the fun. "Great. So now we wait."
"Yep." Kirk twiddled his thumbs.
"Son of a bitch. I hate waiting. I'm going to go grill Gabriel. You want your first officer back?"
Kirk looked torn. "If we did swap, we'd both have to come out of hiding and lower shields. We could get caught with our pants down."
"I'll hang onto him then. Sammy still in one piece?"
"Yup. Seems Walker tried to activate Gain's mind-voodoo and failed. Sam said he didn't feel even a twitch. Bones is the best."
Dean laughed in relief. "I'll debate you on that; I'm partial to my CMO."
"You're biased, your vote doesn't count."
Impala
Dean was just turning around to call Gabriel when the elevator doors swished open and the SIO strutted onto the bridge. Dean rolled his eyes and waved an arm. "Bridge, this is SIO Gabriel. Gabriel, this is the bridge."
Ash nodded, Spock was emotionless, Jo waved and Cas – Castiel froze.
"Cas?" Dean asked curiously. Castiel was one of the most unflappable people Dean knew. Dean had seen Castiel calmly weather situations that had flustered even Sam.
But right now, there was a carved block of marble where his friend and pilot sat.
"Hey, little brother."
Dean bristled. Everyone on the ship pretty much knew Cas was an orphan and while he was a lot better than he used to be, something in his past had resulted in a pilot who was excellent with machinery and abysmally awkward with people.
If Gabriel was the cause, Dean wasn't sure if he could keep his crew from something drastic. Wasn't sure if he wanted to keep the crew from something drastic, actually. The bridge crew closed ranks around Castiel immediately, Ash leaning over to poke his friend, Jo eyeing Gabriel like he was evil incarnate.
"Don't call me that," Castiel said hoarsely, very low.
"What, bro?"
"Don't call me brother," he said more distinctly, standing slowly.
"Oh come on, don't be like that," Gabriel grinned and Dean was surprised to see Castiel flinch.
That was enough of that. "Hey, douche bag. Every time you show up, shit hits the fan. We just hauled your ass out of the fire – yes, we noticed your Miranda-class ship scattered all over the ionosphere, so you were stranded on a planet of crazies. Because I am cognizant of these two facts, you are going to go gratefully and quietly sit in your assigned room. You are not going to leave for any reason. There will be no outbound transmissions unless you run them through me. Poke at us with your spy crap and I'll clap you in the brig so fast your head will spin. Continue to screw with me after that and we'll have an accident near an airlock. It'll be worth the paperwork. Got it?"
Gabriel sized up the captain, who was standing just in front of his pilot. "Sure, but can I talk to – "
"Absolutely not. Get out."
Gabriel took another look at the incensed captain and stood not on the order of his going.
"Cas?" Dean asked gently as soon as the jackass was gone.
The pilot was actually trembling, fine shivers of shock running all over his slight frame. "Whoa," Dean muttered and prodded Cas back into his pilot's chair. "Everyone, give me ten. You heard me Ash, out."
A reluctant crew sidled into the elevator. "And leave Gabriel untouched!" Dean called, almost as an afterthought. Explaining why he'd lost a highly experienced SIO because a pissed navigator had stuffed him into a photon torpedo and shot him into the sun would be very awkward. Entertaining and satisfying as hell, but awkward.
"Cas – Luke, talk to me man."
Castiel watched his captain plop into Ash's usual chair, wriggling to get comfortable. "There is nothing to tell. I was in the orphanage with Gabriel. Gabriel, I and three others made a child's pact to be brothers always. It did not last very long. It is only a small part of my life." He fiddled with a minor trim control on his console.
"But you believed in them," Dean said knowingly.
They scared off bullies, they made sure he had a present under the Christmas tree, they taught him to ride a bike, they helped with his homework, they made sure he didn't have to fight for clothes at the orphanage, he was never left out of their games, even when he didn't understand the game because he was still little.
Then they left, one by one.
Gabriel was the first to look after him, the last to go; just vanished overnight, never came back, never sent a message.
Castiel shrugged. "They taught me that everyone eventually leaves, especially the ones who promise to stay."
Shit. Dean thought back on all the times he'd promised not to leave, promised to come back, pushed Cas to leave for the good of the ship. Cas had never said anything, protested no more than any dedicated crew member would. Damn, how did Dean fix this? He'd even wander deep into chick-flick territory if he had to.
With surprising insight, Castiel leaned forward. "Captain, you and Sam alone have never broken a promise to me. Never, not in the smallest or largest of understandings. That means a great deal, especially because you do not consciously try to keep your promises. Your word is sacred, perhaps because of your own childhood. I know I can trust you with my life and with the lives of the people I care about."
Well damn if that didn't make Dean feel all saintly.
Until he thought about Gabriel again. "Cas – "
"Captain – Dean, I'll be fine. I'm looking forward to keeping Jo and Ash from spacing him. I've been through hell with these people, they're not going to leave voluntarily. Let it go, please."
Clearly Luke Castiel was a better man than Dean Winchester, because Dean was still plotting revenge.
There seemed to be a lot of that going around these days – Sam, Kirk and the witch, Cas and Gabriel.
"All right." Dean punched his comm. "All you nosy crew people, get back in here and pretend like nothing happened. Do it awkwardly so I can laugh at all of you for the rest of the shift."
The elevator doors swished open and crew members tumbled onto the bridge like puppies, Ash clapping a hand to Castiel's shoulder, Jo grinning at him. Dean scribbled out a message on his PADD and discreetly showed it to Spock behind Castiel's back.
The first officer raised an eyebrow but nodded. The encoded message slipped over to the Enterprise.
When Sam read the story, Dean wouldn't want be in Gabriel's shoes, not for all the starships in the galaxy.
In the meantime, he had a SIO to visit.
Storming into guest quarters, Dean Winchester eyed Thomas Gabriel like he was something further down on the food chain than Klingon snot.
"You don't like me very much, do you?"
"You left him, Gabriel. Brothers don't do that. Not real brothers."
"High and mighty, aren't you, being a brother by blood."
"Hell no." Dean snorted in disgust. "Blood doesn't mean anything. I've seen way too many blood brothers harping and tearing at each other. No, you chose yourself as a brother. Totally different. You accepted that weight. You built up his hopes, made him feel safe and then you dropped his heart, left it to bounce through a freezing cold, impersonal system. You did that to my friend and subordinate, who I know to be fiercely loyal and attached to those he cares about. You hurt him."
Gabriel flushed for the first time. "What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm considering beating your punk ass into sometime next week."
"I'm IO, we're highly trained. You'll lose."
"I'm Captain Dean fucking Winchester. Bring it."
Gabriel wondered if this was what an avenging guardian angel looked like – unrelenting, uncompromising, harder than durasteel and angrier than Nero, commander of the ill-fated time-traveling Narada.
Enterprise
"Gabriel was in the same orphanage as Cas?" Sam muttered with dark curiosity. The story Dean had sent over prompted this little venture into the spy's past but so far Sam had found only snippets of information. Orphan, bounced about from home to home, diagnosed with moderate ADD but refused meds. Professional career was genius, recording a meteoric rise through the ranks of the Intelligence Office but pretty clean for a spy with just enough black marks to keep a wandering eye from getting suspicious. Interesting, but not damning.
Time to go a bit deeper, read between the lines…he needed Chekov.
The Russian hacker blinked in confusion. He had been sitting in the rec room, happily snacking on cookies with Uhura and Sulu when Sam had blown into the area like a typhoon, snagged the ensign with an apology to his bewildered friends and vanished again.
"You can't tell anyone," Sam said sternly and Chekov suddenly remembered Sam Winchester was a very large, sometimes scary man. "Read this."
Scanning the material, Chekov swallowed bubbling anger as information sank in. Spitting something rather vile in Russian, the ensign cracked his knuckles and vanished into cyberspace. "Nicely said," Sam murmured in appreciation and waited with the patience of a hunter.
Ten minutes later…
Chekov slumped in his chair.
"What?"
"Ve may hev misjudged de bastard."
"What?"
"Vell…"
The orphanage wasn't exactly part of the government's social support system. It was semi-private, run by an idealist who believed in providing more than the skimpy bare necessities as dictated by law. As such, the place was always operating on a shoestring budget, which wasn't a problem until a local gang leader decided the orphanage would make an excellent site for his new brothel. He intimidated, bought out and finagled until the orphanage was nearly bankrupt.
Gabriel's brothers ditched one by one as things began to grow tight, which hadn't impressed the teen at all. But that didn't change the fact that the orphanage was going to shut down from lack of funding and harassment from the local criminals.
Thomas Gabriel was a lazy genius. He worked precisely as hard as he needed to attain a respectable 85% average in school, he only helped little Luke with homework and he abhorred hard work. Yet, somehow, allowing this orphanage to go under seemed wrong.
So he looked up the most lucrative entry-level Starfleet position, which also happened to be the most dangerous and most difficult, applied, was accepted and stipulated that all wages should go anonymously to the orphanage.
He left without a goodbye because Thomas Gabriel was lazy, kind-hearted and had no great power of will. He was afraid if he said goodbye, he would have never left.
Sam Winchester was not as impressed as Chekov. "You have sisters, don't you," he stated calmly. The kid blinked in mild incomprehension.
"Da. I am de youngest of six."
"You don't know then. Brothers don't just skip out on brothers because it's difficult, even for the best of reasons. They stick together, no matter what."
"Like de keptin?"
"Much like Jim or Dean. If they had to leave, they'd say so, even if it broke their hearts to do so because you deserved to know unless there were mitigating circumstances, like say, Cas would be killed for knowing where Gabriel went. This? Not mitigating circumstances. No excuse." Sam paused and consciously pulled himself away from negative thoughts. "Thanks for the help Chekov. I'm going to send that over to Dean, who will decide what to do with it. If anyone asks – "
Chekov looked highly offended. "Commander Vinchester. Do you tink I actually left a trail?"
Sam grinned. "My sincerest apologies." He stood, pocketed the chip and headed towards the communications console.
"Ha, apologize. You are also brother, no? Of course you made sure I vould not get in trouble." Chekov grumbled to himself with a small grin. He'd cover up Sam's cyber-tracks and then maybe go see if Uhura saved him some cookies.
Impala
"…and as a final recommendation, I suggest vacationing SIO Thomas Gabriel on a very cold planet for an indefinite period of time. Perhaps the one Captain Kirk briefly sojourned."
Dean swallowed a chuckle at the acid-tinged words of Sam's unofficial report. Only Sam wrote an unofficial report officially and still managed to convey every single drop of disdain and anger. He'd have to make sure he put himself between Sam and Gabriel the first time they met.
Or just bring popcorn.
"Captain?" Spock asked neutrally. Dean's head snapped up.
"You're doing that thing again, where you grin like a madman. The thing that makes Ellen threaten to sedate you," Ash volunteered bravely.
Oops.
He smiled nicely at his crew.
Judging from their reactions, it wasn't fooling anyone.
"As you were, people. I'm not planning the destruction of the galaxy just yet." Distraction required, distraction required. "Hey, is that a Federation shuttle?"
Spock was the only one to look away from the captain. "It is indeed."
Only then did everyone else return to their stations. "I'm deeply wounded by your lack of faith," Dean grumbled.
There were several pairs of eyes rolled in exasperation.