"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Kirk muttered as he and McCoy walked briskly towards the city transport craft.
"Yeah, it's not my idea of a good time, either," McCoy grumbled, following closely behind Kirk. The two men pushed through the crowds of people until they reached the bus stop. "I'd rather have you sitting in that biobed all day, if I could."
"I know, I know," Kirk laughed a little as the doors of the hoverbus slid open and the people flooded inside. "But we've got shit to do," Kirk called over his shoulder as they made their way towards the back of the bus. People shoved their way through the crowded bus and soon all of the dingy cloth clad seats were no longer vacant. Kirk sighed and grabbed a hanging loop from above and held on tight.
"I can only imagine what kind of complaints she has," McCoy rolled his eyes as he watched the passengers on the bus slowly start to recognize Kirk's face. They began to point at him, trying to be subtle, but McCoy knew that the young captain had noticed. He simply stared straight ahead out the windshield of the bus.
Suddenly, the bus jerked to a stop, sending all of the passengers lurching forward. "What the hell?" Kirk asked as he elbowed is way back to a standing position. The doors of the bus slid open again and Kirk could barely make out one of the Starfleet patrol officer's helmets poking out of the doorway. People began to part and Kirk's heart skipped a beat. They can't be coming here for me, right? He swallowed hard as the officer continued towards the back of the bus. His eyes met Kirk's and he suddenly stopped.
"Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy. Please come with me." The officer said harshly and motioned to the door. McCoy and Kirk shared a concerned look before pushing through the concerned onlookers.
"Can I ask what this is about, officer?" Kirk asked once they were clear of the bus.
"Admiral Henyar wishes to speak with you." The officer said curtly as he continued forward, making his way to his patrol car.
"He couldn't call my communicator?" Kirk asked. That's what they're for, after all. He held back.
"He asked that I directly escort you to his office." The officer responded, opening the back door for McCoy and Kirk. McCoy hesitantly ducked inside and Kirk followed.
"He tell you why?" McCoy asked as he and Kirk buckled themselves in.
"Only to escort you." The officer shrugged as he put the car into gear and they sped off onto the street.
McCoy and Kirk shared another glance as they whizzed through the streets. I wish we could do that weird Uhura-Spock telepathic thing right now, Kirk thought to himself and sighed. But I bet he's probably just swearing in his head right now, cussing Spock out.
What the fuck, Spock. McCoy's thoughts raced. How the hell did you get us into this situation?
The ride to the Admiral's office seemed longer than it ever had to the two men. They sat in silence as they began to slow and move to the side of the road.
"You gonna take us up there too?" Kirk asked as he unlatched the seat belt.
"I'm going to escort you." The office said sharply as he stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him.
"You think they have to pass a test certifying that they have no personality to get on the force?" Kirk asked and McCoy rolled his eyes and stepped out of the car. "I've got to say," Kirk said sarcastically as the officer led them inside the enormous building. "This is not exactly how things are usually done with Starfleet. This raise any red flags for you?"
"I'm not here to ask questions, just follow orders." The officer answered dryly. Kirk threw his hands out and looked at McCoy, who whacked him across the back of the head.
The three men made their way through the building swiftly, walking through the halls in awkward silence, and standing in the elevator in even more awkward silence. They finally reached Admiral Henyar's office, and the officer pushed the door open and motioned them inside. Kirk stepped through first, taking a deep breath and raising his captainly bravado. McCoy followed him, his trademark frown spread across his face.
"Captain Kirk?" The Admiral's secretary asked from behind his desk. "The Admiral will see you now," He said and pushed a buzzer, unlocking the Admiral's door. Kirk glanced one last time at McCoy and winked at him, exuding false confidence.
"Captain Kirk," Admiral Henyar sighed as the two men stepped through the door. "Doctor McCoy. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Captain Kirk alone for a minute." McCoy and Kirk exchanged another look before McCoy hesitantly turned to leave. He pointed at his watch as he left. "Please have a seat." The Admiral motioned to the chair in front of his desk as the door shut behind McCoy.
"Any particular reason we've been called to the principal's office by your guard dog?" Kirk asked as he sat down in the plush seat.
"I was going to get to that, yes," The Admiral rubbed his temples. "Captain, is there any particular reason that some of your crew members were seen landing an unauthorized vehicle this afternoon?" Kirk froze for a second.
"Pardon?" Kirk asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"A team of drilling officers claimed that they saw Mr. Spock exiting an unmarked ship earlier this afternoon," The Admiral folded his hands on his desk. "And yes, they were sure that it was him. It's hard to mistake a Vulcan."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kirk feigned confusion and started to shift to stand up. "I'll talk to Spock and see what's going on, then report back to-"
"Not so fast," The Admiral interrupted and motioned for Kirk to sit again. Kirk reluctantly did. "I was confused and concerned by this allegation, so I followed up. I checked the lists. I scanned security footage that was nearly wiped clean for some reason?" The Admiral continued and Kirk's heart sunk. "It all leads back to you, Captain," The Admiral leaned forward. "So I'll give you one more chance. You want to explain why your First Officer took that woman from Neural, then you left with her, and came right back with her? You want to explain why you're hiding her?"
"Shit," Kirk sighed after a long pause. He shook his head. "This isn't the way things were supposed to go down."
"I would hope not," The Admiral scoffed.
"The woman. She's a Kahn-ut-tu healer from the planet Neural. I had told Spock a long time ago that his old Spock self told me about this healer during one of my many hospital stays," Kirk spoke with his hands. "He said that one day I'm probably going to need a good fix-up, and that's who I should call. Anyway, I told Spock that if worst comes to worst, he should go and grab a Kahn-ut-tu if I ever get in a bad enough situation. Well, the time came after that bombing. Spock was just following my orders by bringing her back."
"So you are aware that extracting her is directly violating the prime directive?" The Admiral asked.
"Yeah," Kirk sighed and shrugged. "But what else could I do? I was going to die." Kirk tried to convince himself and the Admiral at the same time.
"That's a risky move, Kirk." The Admiral shook his head. "Now, you want to tell me why you and your crew are slinking around with her still?"
"Her healing, well, it came with a price. She's got, I guess, a kind of hold on my brain. She's using that to manipulate me and my crew." Kirk rubbed his head. "They're only following orders."
"I find that hard to believe." The Admiral scoffed. "What do you mean by a hold on your brain?"
"I don't know the details, but I do know that if I don't do what she wants, I get a headache worse than twelve hydrogen bombs going off all at once." Kirk shrugged.
"Right," The Admiral closed his eyes in exasperation.
"Speaking of which, I would love to continue this conversation, but if I don't show up where she wants me in two minutes, my brain's going to split in half." Kirk stood up again.
"I have every right to detain you, Captain." The Admiral said coldly and Kirk froze. "We're going to discuss this more later. Right now, I'm going to send my officer to this meeting with you to take notes. Are we understanding each other?"
"Loud and clear, Admiral." Kirk said stiffly, and he turned to the door. "Just one more thing," Kirk swiveled on his heel. "Why not just call me? Did you really think I wouldn't show?"
"I thought that it might shake you up," The Admiral laughed quietly. "I've employed one of my favorite tactics, and it looks like it worked."
"What, you think you scared information out of me?" Kirk scoffed.
"I think that being pulled off the street had a very different effect than just calling you," The Admiral smiled smugly. "And I got what I needed."
"Right," Kirk had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
"You are dismissed, Captain." The Admiral waved his hand and Kirk stepped through the door.
"So?" McCoy stood up immediately to greet Kirk.
"We've got a babysitter for the time being," Kirk grumbled as he motioned with his head to the officer. "And the Admiral knows everything."
"Wonderful." McCoy sighed, his words dripping with sarcasm. "As if things weren't complicated enough."
"Ah yeah and here's the kicker," Kirk said as he led McCoy out of the room. "Something's up with the Admiral. I can feel it in my gut."
/
"Alright, what's with the urgency?" Kirk asked, swinging the door to the warehouse open. Spock stood before him, his hands neatly clasped behind his back. Behind him, the Kahn-ut-tu woman lounged on a chair, twirling her hair in her fingers gently. Kirk did a double take as he saw her, flashing back to his vision for a brief second.
"Luna requested your presence," Spock cleared his throat, pulling Kirk back into reality. "She...disagrees with the way that I am managing the production of weapons." Spock explained and the woman waltzed over to the group.
"The man means to cheat me, Captain." The woman pressed her hand to her chest and said innocently.
"She is referring to the class of weapon that we are providing her with," Spock said, his voice edged with anger. "However, she seems to forget about our agreement made prior to-"
"He's going to provide me with low class weapons, Captain," The woman interrupted. "I wish for your most advanced weaponry." She said, a crooked smile on her face.
"That wasn't our deal," Kirk warned.
"Then change the deal," The woman shrugged and Kirk's face began to wrinkle up in confusion.
"Do not threaten the Captain," Spock whipped out his phaser and held it to the woman's head.
"Oh, I can do so much more than that," The woman smiled and Kirk's hand reached for the phaser in his holster.
"Jim," McCoy pleaded, reaching out a hand to Kirk. Kirk swung his elbow up and it connected with McCoy's jaw, sending him toppling to the floor. He steadied his phaser, aiming it at Spock's head.
"Put the phaser down, Spock." Kirk's voice shook as he trained the gun on his friend.
"Jim," Spock said softly, looking deep into Kirk's fearful blue eyes.
"I'm not asking, Spock." Kirk snarled, his voice still shaking. Spock reluctantly began to lower his weapon, and Kirk's finger squeezed the trigger. Spock gaped as a phaser blast hit him square in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.
Kirk stumbled back, staring at the weapon in his hand. His incoherent thoughts swirling in his head suddenly began to form again. What have I done?
"Thank you, Captain." The woman sneered, examining her nails. "Now, about those weapons."
Kirk breathed heavily as he stared at Spock, who was clutching his shoulder and writhing on the ground. "What did you make me do?" He breathed, nearly inaudibly.
"What was necessary," The woman shrugged. "Now you're going to see to the weapons," Kirk could feel the woman tugging at his brain.
"I-I," He stammered as he dropped his phaser on the ground. "I've got to go," He breathed and turned his attention to the door.
"No, you will not." The woman pressed, but Kirk's stare remained on the door.
"I've got to go," He breathed again and took off in a dead sprint to the door.
"James!" The woman shrieked, watching as Kirk burst through the door and disappeared.
/
McCoy's head spun as he opened his eyes. "Doctor McCoy," He could hear Spock's pained voice call out. He sat up straight and wiped the blood from his nose.
"Spock?" McCoy breathed as he saw Spock laying limply across the room. "What the hell happened?" He scrambled to his feet and dashed over to the Vulcan, kneeling down beside him. "Shit." He whispered as he saw the scorch mark on Spock's shoulder. "Who did this to you?" He asked, pulling the medkit from his side.
"Jim," Spock gulped.
"What?" McCoy asked in disbelief.
"You have to find him, Doctor." Spock pleaded, clenching his teeth as he attempted to sit up.
"Are you going to be okay here by yourself?" McCoy asked, his heart skipping a beat as he thought about Kirk.
"I am fine, Doctor. Find him." Spock pleaded and McCoy sprung to his feet.
Shit, McCoy thought as he raced out of the warehouse, his head still reeling slightly. Where the hell could he have gone? He asked himself as his feet hit the gravel of the parking lot. He can't have gotten far, He realized as he continued forward. Where the hell would he, oh SHIT! He swiveled around on his heel and looked to the roof of the warehouse, only to see Kirk perched on the edge of the twenty story building.
/
"Jim," McCoy said softly as he opened the door to the roof. Kirk stood still, staring at the horizon, the wind blowing his hair back. "Don't you want to come away from there and talk to me?"
"I can't, Bones." Kirk said firmly as he watched the distant city, the sun setting just behind the illuminated buildings, painting the sky red and orange. "I can't."
"You can, Jim. You have the choice." McCoy assured him, taking a half-step closer.
"I don't, Bones." Kirk choked on his words. "She-she's in my head. I can't control myself." A tear leaked from his eye and fell softly onto his cheek.
"Yes, you can," McCoy affirmed. "But only if you take back that control."
"I hurt you, Bones. I shot Spock," He said, his voice cracking. "All of this? It's all my fault."
"It's not your fault, Jim. She's responsible for this, not you. As for Spock, he's okay. Just a little shaken up," McCoy paused, choosing his next words carefully. "Jim, you have the best marksmanship of anyone in all of Starfleet, and hell, maybe in the entire universe. Do you know how easily you could've landed a kill shot on Spock?" Kirk tensed up with the words. "But you didn't. You know why? Because you've still got one hand on the wheel."
"I don't deserve to live, Bones," Kirk said shakily. "Look at everything that happened because I didn't die."
"Think about what would've happened if you did die," McCoy protested. "If Spock was willing to violate the prime directive to keep you alive, imagine what he would've done if you died. Think about me, Jim. Think about the Enterprise. Do you really want to leave her in the hands of that green-blooded hobgoblin?" McCoy asked and Kirk shook his head slightly. "That's what I thought. Right now, you're putting yourself back in control. But that means your emotions are all raw. Everything you're thinking and feeling, it's coming back to you. And it's hitting you like a truck. So, why don't you come down from there and we can figure all the rest of this shit out? We can't make things right without you, Jim." McCoy pleaded.
Kirk breathed in deeply before taking a step backwards, down from the ledge. "That's it, Jim." McCoy whispered as Kirk turned around and took a few shaky steps towards him. McCoy rushed up to meet him and scooped him in a bear hug. McCoy pressed a hypo into Kirk's back and Kirk melted into the hug, his body growing limp. "I'll take care of you, Jim. I always will."
/
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Believe me, you don't want to miss what's coming next! Lots of action and drama! As always, constructive criticism and feedback is much appreciated. I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the story, and thanks again for reading!
-buckminsterbarnes