"Asteroids at vector nine six five, seven three eight, five five two-"

"Damage on decks six and seven-"

"Sir, we're being hailed by one of the Klingon ships-"

"Put it up!"

"Captain Kirk, we are engaging the enemy."

Jim stood from his chair and walked around the command console and nodded at the Klingon captain. "Understood. Carry on." He continued straight to the lift, followed by Spock. "Chekov, Sulu, you have your orders."

The doors closed and Spock stood close behind Jim until the captain stepped off, heading towards the transporter room. His eyes locked with Spock's just before the lift closed again and Jim started down the hall.

"Captain!"

Jim turned and saw McCoy running down the hall towards him. The doctor looked looked frantic. "Captain, there's a problem with Spock's mom!"

"Is she alright?!"

"She's fine, I'll take you to her."

Jim moved to follow Bones and was surprised when he moved past and down the very hall Jim was already halfway down. The captain took a deep breath as he realized where Amanda Grayson was.

"Bones, why is she in the transporter room?"

McCoy had the sense to appear sheepish. "She's been there since she woke and I let the plan slip."

With an expletive, the captain started moving faster. As he turned into the room, he spotted the woman, dressed in black, adjusting a phaser and talking to Scotty.

"No, I'm sorry Amanda, you're not going."

Her eyes moved to Kirk. "That is not your decision, Mr. Kirk. As the last remaining member of the Ambassadorial delegation, it is my duty to see that these people are dealt with appropriately."

Clear eyes met Kirk's and he paused to assess the woman. "Why?"

"They took my husband," Amanda replied shakily. "They endanger my son. I am not going to sit here and wait as they destroy my family and home."

"Are you trained?" Jim couldn't believe he was actually considering bringing her along with him. He wasn't exactly planning on playing it safe.

"Yes. Sarek taught me how to defend myself." She put a hand on Jim's arm. "Please, Mr. Kirk. I cannot stay behind and wait anxiously for my son to return or to learn he was killed." She was doing her best to not be emotional but Jim saw it.

"I will not bring you to seek revenge-"

"I do not," she assured. "I merely wish to be useful."

Jim nodded his acquiescence. "Fine. Stay next to me the entire time."

He moved to the pad, closely followed by Amanda. With a nod at Scotty, he felt that familiar tug of being energized. For a split second he lost track of his senses before they materialized in the cargo bay of the Narada.

Silence pervaded the dark arena. Other than the two of them, there were no living creatures. Jim could heat the sound of steady dripping coming from somewhere as he took a step forward. Amanda was on his heel.

Jim's phaser was firmly grasped in both hands as he hurried to the door. The goal was the Narada's weapon systems, and to get there, Jim had estimated running into quite a few Romulans. The sound of a phaser being activated behind him meant that Amanda was readying herself to fight as well. The reality of the situation hit Kirk hard and he pushed that aside for the moment. Jim needed to focus in the task at hand, not on being over protective of Spock's mother.

They rounded the corner and Jim froze in his tracks. He counted three Romulans. Before his phaser was aimed, one of the enemy fell to fire from behind him. Jim quickly shot down the remaining two before turning to eye Amanda appreciatively.

"We should keep moving," she whispered to him, taking a step into the next section of halls.

Two more Romulans were killed before they reached the engineering levels. The sound of weapons being fired was nearly deafening compared to the silence from earlier. Pressing up against the wall, Jim inched forward until he could see the first Romulan.

From the first shot fired, chaos ensued. Jim rolled to keep from being hit by the answering shots. He heard Amanda firing from behind him as he moved into the room, but quickly lost track of her as he aimed at another Romulan. Bringing them down one at a time, Jim soon found himself at the weapon console.

Amanda appeared from seemingly nowhere, stepping up next to him at the console as he studied it. "Are you unfamiliar with the dialect?"

"Yeah," Jim admitted. "But I'm sure you're not."

The woman smiled and nodded. "Move aside, Mr. Kirk." Her fingers fairly flew over the console as she systematically shut down the weapons. One by one the Narada's advanced weaponry failed. It wouldn't be long before Nero realized what happened, so Jim grabbed at Amanda's hand, pulling her away and to another hall.

Kirk heard the heavy footfalls just before the Romulan first officer hit him full force in the chest, driving him back to the floor. Jim groaned and quickly pushed himself up.

"I haven't angered you, have I?"

Ayel bared his teeth and pulled out his phaser, ready to kill Jim. The captain rolled forward, feeling the heat of the bolt as it barely missed him. His foot came up and connected with Ayel's hands, knocking the phaser loose. At the same time Jim aimed his own and fired.

The Romulan hit the ground hard and stopped moving. A small hand wrapped around Jim's wrist to help him stand. Jim holstered his phaser and pulled out his communicator.

"Kirk to Enterprise. Bring us home Scotty."

"Keptin!" came the answering panicked voice. "Mr. Scott is dead. We lost decks three to nine to torpedoes. Damage has been contained, but we no longer hawe beaming capabilities."

Jim looked down at Amanda, who seemed either resigned or relieved. He took her hand. "Thank you ensign." Closing the communicator, he looked around the engineering section. "Well...you an to break some stuff?"

Amanda held up her phaser, beginning the charging sequence. "Absolutely."