I do not own Supernatural or Star Trek 2009.
Commander Sam Winchester was not having a great week. He had been kidnapped, drugged and beaten. Then a spy makes off with a very dangerous virus that could kill off the entire Federation in a few months and his brother went missing just as the Enterprise got the shit kicked out of her by a minefield, surviving only by the skin of her teeth and her crazy captain.
He and Scotty had pulled off a major miracle in getting the Enterprise back into something resembling fighting shape before the unique ion trail of the Impala disappeared but now they had no idea where they were going, how long it would take them to find the end or even what they would find when they got there.
Sam could find his brother, alive and well, sitting in a field of victory.
He could find the battered, lifeless remains of his family and ship.
Or he could find nothing at all and quite frankly that scared him the most.
Pounding on the science console, Sam glared at the negative scan readings as they refused to tell him what he wanted to know. "Chekov, please tell me you've still got a line on their ion trail," Kirk demanded, stern-faced and tense in his captain's chair.
"Aye keptin. Ve should arriwe vithin half an hour if my estimations are correct. Howewer ser, my estimate is experimental, not always accurate and I hev no vay of knowing vhat is vaiting vhen ve arriwe." Chekov stabbed at his readings with sharp, irritated movements.
Kirk turned to Sam, who shook his head. "I'll know as soon as we drop out of warp captain, but I can't tell you if the enemy will be waiting or not, especially if they're cloaked Romulans."
"Sulu, ETA?"
"I don't know when the trail will end, Captain. I can only tell you when it gets stronger."
Kirk glared unseeingly at the screen through a fading, sore black eye. Communications still damaged, no way of contacting Starfleet, a missing ship, a runaway spy and rebel Romulans were tangled up in it somehow. This was rapidly spiralling out of control.
Dean
Dean had been dragged out of his cell, his head spinning and limbs trembling. Thrown to the durasteel floor of the prison, he hauled himself to his elbows, staring at the polished boots of a Romulan commander.
"Captain Dean Winchester of the USS Impala," the commander drawled in cold tones, "I have not had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. I am the esteemed Commandant Kerlyn. I hold your life and the Federation in the palm of my hand."
Dean spat bloody saliva directly onto the shiny boots with a potent curse. Said boots belted him in the chin, splitting skin and spattering more blood across the floor. "It seems you live up to your reputation for stupidity," the commandant said with pleasure. "Excellent. I shall enjoy watching pain and horror chase each other round and round your face until you die of despair. Vern, bring him up to my ship. Yet have no fear, Captain Winchester! At the very least, your men will be released to the formidable Impala immediately."
The wicked grin accompanying that reassurance had chills running down Dean's spine.
Impala crew
Jo had almost convinced the cell door to open when they heard boots pounding down the corridor. She yanked the mangled wire out of the lock and stuffed it down her bra again as Spock and Ash pulled her back, screening her movements.
The door creaked open and thoroughly armed Romulans held disruptors on the crew. "Come with us now and no one else gets hurt," the leader snapped briskly. Everyone looked at Spock, who nodded shortly.
"In an orderly fashion," the Vulcan said quietly, gesturing to the door. Castiel stepped up first, face stony. Ash followed him as Jo gestured for her security officers to take up the rear. The scientists took up the middle, eyes wide and nervous, unused to being in immediate, personal danger.
To their immense surprise, the crew was returned to the Impala via transporter. The bridge crew huddled together. "I don't get it," Jo muttered. "Why the hell would they return us to our ship?"
"I don't know," Bobby replied, "but I do know that the engine room is fried. We ain't goin' nowhere until we get a new warp core and sublight engines. Shuttle bay's been blasted shut an' the shuttles are out of commission for at least twelve hours. Communications are fried too. At least we've got hull integrity."
And then there was a hissing noise in the vents.
A quick reading with the medical tricorder had Ellen paling drastically. "Commander Spock, they've released a virus into the ventilation systems. If these readings are right, we're all going to be dead in six hours."
Enterprise
"We've overshot the end of the ion trail, sir. Coming about to where the trail truncates," Sulu announced.
"Sir, there is a class-M planet in the area with a large industrial complex. It's not registered with the Federation, her allies or the Romulans as far as we can ascertain," Sam reported. "No Romulan ships detected in the immediate vicinity. There is one derelict ship in orbit. It could be the Impala, sir."
Kirk deliberately did not look at his interim first officer. The man was holding it together so far and the best way to help Sam was to find his ship in one piece. If he was anything like Spock, admitting that it could be the Impala meant Sam was 85% certain the Impala was floating dead in space.
The captain rolled his lips together in frustration and dread. "Red alert. Stand by at battle stations."
The derelict was indeed the Impala, battered, broken, port nacelle hanging loose. Uhura's soft gasp was punctuated by a snap from the science station, where Sam had gripped his seat so hard the plastic cracked. "Scans?" Kirk demanded.
"Life signs present aboard the Impala. No hostile ships in the area." Sam's voice was hoarse but controlled.
"Stand off in a defensive formation. Continue to scan. Uhura, contact them if possible."
Uhura paused before reluctantly reporting that the Impala was broadcasting a jury-rigged quarantine signal and her communications were not functioning.
"Quarantine?" Bones demanded. "Jim, if that weasel Walker made it to the planet before us, we could be surrounded by Romulan warbirds just waiting for us to transport over and walk into that virus."
Kirk thought carefully for a minute. "Very well. Winchester, get me a sample of the air on that ship. Get creative, take Scotty and Bones with you. Chekov, I want this area of space scoured constantly. No nasty surprises. Sulu, you and I are going to scan that industrial complex. We need to figure out what the hell is going on before more surprises blow up in our face."
Kerlyn
"How are you feeling, Captain Winchester?"
Dean was feeling like shit, to be honest but there was no way in hell he was going to let Kerlyn know that. Vern had turned out to be a sadistic bastard, enjoying his prisoner's pain. Broad strips of skin had been peeled back from Dean's forearms, hanging loose before Vern had cauterized them with a crude, red hot iron rod to prevent blood spilling all over the corridor on their way up to the bridge, just in case the Romulans had to go into battle. Slipping on a prisoner's blood would lower the ship's efficiency.
"Come, stand beside me."
Dean straightened his spine and glanced up at the view screen.
Enterprise! Kirk had made it after all! Of course he made it, the stubborn bastard.
Hope jumped into his throat, threatening to choke him.
"Your face says you believe the great Captain Kirk will save you and your crew," Kerlyn relished each word like a rich morsel of finest meat. "I believe you will not find that to be so. The Impala has been flooded with the lovely little virus the talented Dr. Gain has created. Your beloved crew will be dead within hours."
Dean glared at the Romulan. Ellen would figure it out. And Kirk wasn't an idiot. There was still hope. There was still maneuvering room.
"Of course, if they do succeed, my fleet is standing by to obliterate them. I hope they do succeed. I would like to know what kind of a solution the Federation would use to neutralize our threat. I am certain Dr. Gain would make great use of the information. In the meantime, I believe I can allow you to enjoy the company of Commander Vern a little longer."
"Bastard," was all Dean managed to spit out before Vern's hand clamped down on his collar, dragging him back to hell.
Impala
"Dr. Harvelle, status report?"
"Damn it Spock, I've only just got a handle on the thing and it's already laid out three engineering ensigns. I'll have an antidote but I don't know how many men will die before I figure it out." The doctor sounded tired and harried.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not unless you can get Bones over here," Ellen snapped.
"I shall endeavour to do so," Spock replied. "Spock out. Commander Ash, Commander Singer, is there any way to get the shuttle bay open? We need to contact Enterprise."
"How drastic do you want me to go?" Bobby demanded. Spock eyed the Enterprise and thought of the war birds that were certainly standing by to eliminate the Federation personnel the instant they seemed ready to attempt an escape.
"I want that bay open. Make it happen."
"Got it."
Enterprise
Kirk was examining planetary scans with Sulu when there was a flowery burst of fire from the Impala's shuttle bay. "It seems that the shuttle bay's open," he remarked. "Bones, Winchester and I are going over. Everyone else, stand by. If there are Romulans in the area, they could make an assault when the shuttle's out in the open. Let's move people, I don't like sitting around like this. Scotty, I want our shields at 100%."
"Capt'n, I need more time, it was a miracle we got warp back online."
"Scotty, you don't have time. Make it work. Let's move before this thing goes south. Sulu, you have the conn."
Sam was practically walking on Kirk's heels as they mobilized.
Kerlyn
"How sweet. The self-sacrificing Impala, readily blowing parts of herself wide open to allow her friends in to their doom."
Wheezing, Dean glared at the man. This jackass had come within ten feet of his brother? If Dean had known how close Sam had been to sadistic torture and death, he would have said damn Starfleet and gone on a manhunt for the Romulan himself. "You hate me, don't you," Kerlyn gloated. "It's not going to help you. In the end, the Federation will bow to me and me alone. It would be best for you to give in now and beg for mercy." He smiled sadistically. "Well?"
Dean's eyes were hooded, his posture bowed.
"Well?"
"Go to hell."
"I didn't hear you."
"Go to hell."
Kerlyn leaned in closer. "What?"
Dean's head tipped up, angry eyes bright with determination. His head reared back and slammed into Kerlyn's already-crooked nose with brutal force.
"I said GO TO HELL!" Dean roared, planting a heel into the Romulan's diaphragm before Vern smashed a disruptor rifle's butt into the back of his head.
"Take him away until he's broken," Kerlyn croaked, venom oozing from every pore. "And if he even attempts to escape, you will take his place, understand?" Vern bared his teeth with cruel anticipation.
"Perfectly."
Impala
"Containment protocols in place, captain," Sam reported through his haz-mat suit as the shuttle finished its landing sequence.
"Let's go," McCoy demanded. "Time is ticking."
"Move out," Kirk ordered. "Bones, get to the infirmary ASAP. Winchester, you and I are going to find your brother. Hop to it."
Spock was waiting for them. "Spock! Report!"
Filling them in was the work of a moment. Keeping a handle on Sam Winchester was a lot harder. In the end, Kirk decided it would be an efficient use of resources to allow Castiel, Ash and Sam to track down Dean. They weren't leaving without the elder Winchester.
"Sam, if you do get a line on him, the shuttle's at your disposal. He's either on the planet or on one of those hidden war birds. McCoy, you and Harvelle obviously have to get a handle on this virus. Spock, with me. I need both ships ready for combat at any moment. Find me Commander Singer. Let's move people, we're the Federation's only hope."
Four more Impala crew members had fallen to the disease, bringing the count to seven. No one was dead yet but Ash, acting on a whim, had discovered that the infirmary was bugged to the hilt with listening devices and cameras, which had only reinforced Spock and Kirk's suspicions that the Romulans were watching both Impala and Enterprise like fish in a tank.
"Spock, find a way to jam the Romulan instruments without them noticing."
"Captain, that is theoretically impossible."
"So you have an idea?"
"Perhaps."
Kerlyn
"The Enterprise has been in the system for four hours. I think the Impala and the heroes aboard her should be in the throes of painful death. And I want the pleasure of ending the Enterprise myself. Prepare to de-cloak. When we are finished turning the pride of Starfleet into nothing more than a twisted example of my power, we will contact the spy and unleash my wrath on those who have insulted the great Romulan empire." Kerlyn gloated. "Is Captain Winchester still with us?"
Vern shrugged. "Somehow. One might almost respect him for his tenacity. At the very least, he is lasting longer than the last human we…hosted."
The shuttle had zoomed towards the Romulan war bird as soon as it appeared and now Commander Jo Harvelle glued herself to the wall of the enemy ship. "You're sure we got the right one?" she hissed to a stone-faced Sam Winchester, who simply glared in answer. "Got it. Ash, cover our six." They slipped through the corridors quickly and silently.
"I got a line on a human signature two decks up," Ash reported with none of his usual lackadaisical, laid-back drawl. "We have a three minute window before Enterprise fires on our location and hopes to toast Kerlyn." Two decks up, Ash plugged a chip into the control panel beside the door that purportedly contained a human signature. "Worm uploaded. Estimate one minute until the ship's disabled. Door opening in 3, 2, 1."
The door hissed open and they rolled in.
Anger ran ice cold and then boiled in Sam Winchester's veins as Vern stood with a dripping laser scalpel over the prone figure of Dean Winchester, thick red blood plopping languidly off the table.
With an animalistic roar, the younger Winchester charged across the room, slamming into Vern with punishing force, the Romulan's head cracking off the floor. Dazed, Vern struggled to his feet but there was no Winchester to fight.
Sam was hunched over his brother as Ash trained a phaser on the Romulan with a very scary glint in his eye. "Ash, get out of here. I want this ship to blow. Take Jo with you. I'll get Dean out."
Jo nodded, dragging a reluctant Ash with her. Questioning Commander Winchester at this juncture would be a bad idea.
"You are arrogant enough to assume you alone are enough to defend your brother from me and an entire ship of trained Romulan warriors?" Vern sneered, staggering woozily as Sam bit his lip, ripping a sleeve from his shirt and pulling out field bandages, closing up the worst wounds.
"Hey Deano, you in there?" Sam shifted Dean to a sitting position, cradling his brother's head in the crook of his shoulder, listening with pain to Dean's wheezing breathing
"Winchester, are you listening to me?"
Sam Winchester's dead cold glare would have stopped a far braver being in its tracks. Gently checking over his brother, ignoring the threat to himself, Sam carefully hoisted Dean up into a gentle fireman's carry.
Vern stepped forward, shifting into a fighting stance.
Sam's expression froze into a universal statement of "Bother us again and I will tear your face off millimetre by millimetre, salting the exposed flesh with glee."
The Romulan subsided, especially since the phaser Sam carried in his free hand hovered between Vern's groin and his head. "You're going to come with us. You are going to do so quietly. You are not going to attempt to escape. If you do feel the urge to escape, I will kill you instantly and with great pleasure. Move."
Vern waffled for a second.
Sam shot him.
Enterprise
"We're clear of that virus Jim but that's only as long as Gain doesn't monkey with it again," McCoy reported. "Ellen says she'll be all right by herself."
"Good work Bones. Spock?"
"Shields at maximum, captain. Still no transporter so Commander Winchester's extraction team will have to make a shuttle run. Waiting on the Romulan vessel's appearance."
"Excellent. Crew stand by."
The Enterprise hummed with anticipation. Even if they managed to nail Kerlyn's ship, they were vastly outnumbered and Kirk knew it. Seven war birds against two heavily battered Federation ships? No-win scenario. Both ships were going to run and run fast. Impala had orders to blast out of the system as soon as the Winchesters made it back on board. Kirk had pinned Castiel down and extracted a promise to leave Enterprise behind out of the stoic pilot, knowing he would follow through.
"Sir, Romulan war bird on screen."
"Sulu, nail'em and make it count."
Enterprise was pissed and it showed, even if she was held together by duct tape and Keenser's weirdo alien bubblegum. Slamming into the war bird with all her might, she waded into battle again.
Kerlyn
"What? What, I don't understand! They were disabled. Why are our shields fluctuating? What is going on? Someone get me answers! Vern? Vern, respond!"
"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation starship Enterprise. Surrender or perish."
Kerlyn stared at his stricken, confused crew and the implacable Enterprise captain. The war bird shuddered under another onslaught and Kerlyn almost missed the shuttle making a break for the Impala. "Shoot down that shuttle!" he screamed, his finger shaking with rage. When his confused navigator shot wildly at the weaving shuttle, Kirk decided enough was enough.
"We will construe your continued hostilities as a refusal of surrender and proceed accordingly. Prepare to be destroyed."
That was when the seven other war birds decided to make themselves known.
Kirk scowled.
Time to think creatively.
Impala
The shuttle rattled to a landing with haste and little care, the door swishing open as soon as atmosphere was restored, Sam stumbling down the steps. "Ellen! Ellen, help!" he cried as various crew members stared in horror. "Move!" Sam shouted, running towards the bay doors, his battered brother clutched in his arms.
Jo tumbled out behind him, making a dash for the bridge. "Connect me to the bridge and get us out of here," she shouted as Ash dragged a groggy Vern out of the shuttle.
"Put him in the brig and make sure the cell's gassed. He's not going to regain consciousness until we turn him over to IO," Ash growled, shoving the Romulan into the grasp of Jo's biggest security guards.
He sprinted onto the bridge just in time to see the Impala jump to warp. "What, we're leaving Enterprise behind?" Ash demanded as Castiel manipulated rebelling, fracturing controls.
"We are, under Captain Kirk's orders. Sit down and help me out, we're suffering warp overload."
"What? You put one of the Enterprise's warp cores into our engines? What the hell were Bobby and Scotty thinking?" Ash plopped into his chair, wincing at the fluctuating power levels. It should have been a simple thing to dump a big warp core into a small ship but in reality it was comparable to strapping a jet rocket into a hover-car with masking tape – if you weren't careful, the whole engine would blow and the ship would be so much debris floating in space
Dr. Ellen Harvelle had to swallow hard and put an extra lock on her emotions when Sam Winchester appeared in the infirmary door, blood staining his shirt, hands and face, his brother cradled in his arms, wide hazel eyes begging her to make this right, terrified and helpless.
"On the bed," she ordered briskly, "and then someone get him out of here." How the hell had a sentient being done this to another? Skin hung loose, fingernails missing, tendons ripped free, ribs broken, a punctured lung hastily reinflated by Sam and his ever-present first-aid kit, face sliced open with a thin sharp knife, bruises surfacing on his feet from a beating.
Sam should not see this. "Get him out of here!" Ellen ordered again when her orderlies hesitated to push a towering, intimidating, terrified first officer out the door.
"What?" Sam asked, hurt vibrating through his voice.
"Go up to the bridge and keep us in one piece. Trust me. Go!"
"Is he going to make it?"
Ellen spared a second to meet his eyes. "Yes."
She'd keep that promise.
She had to. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't.
Sam stared at the view screen without actually seeing the screen, the bridge or the crew, sitting in his brother's chair and hearing his brother's laboured breathing rasp constantly in his ears. "Where are we going?" he asked tonelessly.
The bridge crew eyed each other carefully. "We are heading to the closest star base. Someone has to notify the Federation that Walker and Gain made it off the planet. They're planning to spread a virus that's going to kill humans, Klingons and Romulans alike," Ash reported succinctly. "Enterprise stayed behind to cover our run."
"What's the Impala's status?" Sam heard himself asking before his complaining ribs seemed to collapse in on themselves and he realized that not all of the blood staining his uniform was Dean's. He slipped from the chair bonelessly, feeling the last vestiges of situational control slip from his fingers and the world went black.