As Kirk breathed in the modified oxygen that Mia had inadvertantly brought back with her, Bones monitored his stats. Uhura waited by Spock's side, who had woken up in the noise of setting Kirk up with the new attempt at a cure and was watching intently. It was obvious that he was just as hopeful as the rest of them, even though he would never admit it and he would deny showing concern later.
And there was silence for a good few minutes, but they all knew a change wouldn't happen that quickly. And eventually Bones put the tricorder away and went back to his chair, determined to take a nap before things really moved into full swing. After all, they'd all be busy and putting their lives in danger once Kirk was back on his feet.
He didn't dare think that it might not work, because then he was back to the drawing board. And they might not have enough time for him to come up with a new solution to try. No self-fulfilling prophecies on this ship.
After a few minutes, it became clear that his brain was too busy circling around possible solutions
Chekov showed up after a half hour had passed, and when he saw Kirk his face fell. He went and sat next to Bones, who patted the kid on the back in what he hoped was a comforting manner before they returned to their silent vigil. Bones tried not to look at the bruises on Chekov's face, but he couldn't help his concern. After all, he hadn't been the one to treat the kid, and what if something was still wrong?
But he'd ask later, in private. He seemed alright, anyway. And he would actually come to the doctor with aches and pains, unlike some of this crew.
Finally, Bones rose, stretching his tired, mildly aching body and muttered, "Best go see to Carpenter," before leaving the room.
And there was more silence.
"It should not be so quiet." Chekov muttered, his accent almost obscuring the quiet words. Uhura nodded, her gaze fixed on her folded hands in her lap. And Spock just looked like he'd lost his right arm, dazed and lost. It was too much, healing from the damage to his chest and feeling like Kirk would die. He couldn't do anything about it. He was useless, helpless, hopeless. And that was heavier than the silence in the room.
As if she could tell what he was thinking, Uhura reached over and took his hand, squeezing it once. It was a human gesture, one that a Vulcan wouldn't need, but for the moment his human side was the stronger. The action comforted him in a way he usually didn't need to be comforted, and he was grateful that Uhura seemed to be so in tune with him, had learned when he needed a human gesture and when he should be left alone.
Being so grateful to a person for being herself was another very human emotion. But it was very difficult to push those away at the moment, and he was too tired to try.
That meant he was equally too tired to try and refrain from smiling when he heard Kirk's voice. "What the hell are we doing to me now?"
And after the explanation, Kirk just grinned and took a deep breath, effectively eliminating all tension in the room and allowing them to finally just breathe.
Kirk was on his feet once more a few days later, although he was still made to sit for a few hours a day and breathe in the foreign air, until it finally ran out. And by the time it did, Kirk was feeling better than ever. A new man, ready to face all kinds of deadly situations.
Bones reminded him that they weren't interested in deadly situations, but it didn't seem to deter the battle-ready captain. He charged around the Enterprise like a new man, or like a five year old, depending on who was asked.
And it was a relief. Finally, the ship felt right, Aside from the ships leaving with members of the crew who didn't want – or couldn't afford – to get on Starfleet's bad side. And the fact that they couldn't go back for a mission debrief, because that would end in at least one of the crew in cuffs, likely many of them. Until they could come up with a way to clear their names, Kirk was determined they weren't going back. Especially not after they'd given his ship to that Tyrant.
Kirk finally sat in his chair, listening to the familiar sounds of the bridge around him and falling into a state of happy bliss. This was where he belonged. And Spock stood beside him, finally well enough to be up and about, although Bones discouraged long periods of time still. Things were finally right.
"Where should we go, Spock?"
"That is up to your discretion, Captain."
"You're not going to tell me it's our duty to return to Starfleet? Disagree with me every turn?"
"I do not believe Starfleet has our, nor the galaxy's, best interests at heart. I will follow where you lead."
The warmth that surged up through Kirk as his friend deferred to his judgment forced a grin onto his face.
"Sulu? Let's just take it the opposite direction of Starfleet. Let's continue exploring."
And Sulu nodded, a smile on his face, before he turned around and began taking them away from this planet, away from the destruction and pain that had happened to them there. There were other things to take care of – a memorial for Henley, for one – but their first order of business was escaping Starfleet's radar so they could safely do what they needed to do.
"Oh, and let's get rid of the Tyrant, shall we? I don't need anyone not useful on my ship."
The response of overwhelming agreement was also a moment of happiness to the captain. Finally, they were back on track. Finally they could get the Enterprise moving, until they came up with a way to fight Starfleet and their strange desire to strip Kirk and Spock of their titles.
It was something of a party, watching the Tyrant and those loyal to him be ejected from the ship in their little pods. They had a drink handy, there was music playing softly, and through the window they could see each one being shot. They weren't sending them to the planet they'd escaped from – they weren't cruel – but one a short distance away, one they knew had oxygen and a food source to keep them until Starfleet could rescue them. The distress signal worked in the pods, so they shouldn't have a problem getting attention to themselves. After the Enterprise was far away, of course.
"I feel like I shouldn't be so happy about this." Uhura said with a smile as she stuck herself to Spock's side, taking a drink from the glass tumbler. They'd broken out the fancy things, things that were packed in a thousand layers of packing to keep them from breaking most of the time. After all, they had a lot to celebrate. They were alive, they'd escaped the Tyrant, they were all together.
Kirk was drinking apple juice instead, because Bones had yelled about not drinking alcohol so soon after his recovery. And he wasn't happy about that, obviously glancing at the alcohol in Uhura's hand. And she caught his look, grinned wickedly, and threw the rest of it back.
"Stop bragging." Kirk muttered, sipping at the less exciting drink.
"It's not my fault you made us all panic with your near death."
"It's not my fault I almost died."
Uhura raised an eyebrow, one corner of her lips quirked up. And Kirk rolled his eyes.
"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a huge fan of dying or being in pain. It isn't actually my life goal."
"Could've fooled me."
"Yeah yeah, shut up. Spock, tell your girlfriend I don't want to die."
"There is no evidence otherwise."
"Are you... are you joking? Are you playing along to frustrate me? You think you know a guy..."
"I don't-" Before Spock could defend himself, the ship shook with the force of an explosion. All eyes flew to the window, where one of the pods had been blown up and was currently pieces of fire floating around space, immediately going out as the minimal oxygen ran out. And before Kirk could say anything, another was gone.
"Tell me where they are, and let's get them gone." Kirk yelled, before taking off. Spock hesitated for only a second before he followed.
"Where are we going?" He asked, easily catching up with his friend.
"We can't let them die like that." Kirk answered. "Damn it, one week. That's all I ask, one week without people trying to kill us." He stumbled as the ship shook again, not pausing once he regained his balance.
"That was a hit on the Enterprise." Spock said quietly as they continued racing towards the brig, where those pods would have been launched.
"Don't break my baby, not when I just got her back." Kirk muttered, and he skidded into the brig .
Willard was there, already desperately pressing buttons at the control panel. He looked up when Kirk came in, but there was nothing except desperation on his face.
"What's going on?"
"I... I keep trying to get them in, sir, but..."
"But what?" Kirk was trying hard not to yell as another explosion happened outside. And then another one, louder but no less terrible than the first.
"There's some interference with the signal. I can't get them, back."
A horrible moment of silence was only broken by another explosion. Of the seven pods they'd sent out, two remained. And those two didn't have long, at the rate they were being taken out.
Kirk turned to Spock, and what could only be called desperation covered the Captain's face and seeped through his words. "Isn't there anything you can do?"
And while Spock's brain flew through the possibilities, in the end he came up short. He shook his head, feeling the weight of the deaths as if they were his fault.
"There is nothing, Captain."
Kirk snarled and turned to watch the sixth one disappear into flaming wreckage.
He stared, unmoving, for several moments, until the last pod was destroyed. And then he turned without a word he and left, his steps purposeful towards the bridge of the ship. Spock thanked Willard quietly for his efforts before following the suddenly stoic captain.
Another impact threw both Spock and Kirk against the side of the ship. Spock cringed as the shock hurt those pieces of him that weren't completely healed yet, but Kirk hardly seemed to notice the impact, pushing himself off the wall and continuing on his quest. Spock took a moment to breathe before hurrying to follow; he wasn't sure what the Captain would do, after the look on his face when he fled. There was something about watching his enemies helpless as they were killed that had triggered something in the unpredictable man, and he was a completely different person than just a half hour ago. Any joviality had disappeared completely, leaving him... he was almost scary.
They entered a bridge that felt strangely calm, knowing what they'd just watched and listening to the alarms blare. Sulu stood as Kirk took his seat, the chain of command shifting to allow the Captain and First Officer to take their places.
Spock waited silently by Kirk's side, leaning slightly against the command chair for both balance and because his body was sore. And all eyes turned to him, metaphorically of course, for an answer, a next step.
"Who is it?"
"The communications I'm reading... it's the natives of Gandriel V. The planet you were attacked on. They followed us."
"And why didn't we know they were here?" He demanded, although his voice didn't raise in volume, didn't change much at all. And it wasn't fair to demand Uhura know, since it wasn't her job, but she wasn't shaken. She knew enough about Kirk to know she shouldn't take it personally.
"Because they are apparently more advanced than we could have guessed. They didn't show up on our radar."
A moment of stillness filled the bridge, everyone waiting for Kirk's answer. He stared straight ahead, not saying anything for a moment despite another hit, more wailing alarms.
"Take them out." His voice was absolutely calm, uncharacteristically quiet. And his crew didn't take a second longer to follow his instructions than necessary.
No one was allowed to wound the Enterprise.
AN/It's been a little longer this time! I'm in the process of moving, so I apologize for late updates (or no updates, as the case may be). I have plans to finish this fic, so stick around if I'm inactive for a little while! Thanks, as always, for reading!
Also, I realize I should have named this planet, like, forever ago. Oops.