I'm going to a haunted house. Any tips?

"Sir!" Someone turns around, facing Spock. "The sensors are reading phaser fire between the Enterprise and someone else!"

"Who?" I ask.

"Unknown."

I glance at Ashley, who looks at Spock. "The Enterprise!"

"Lieutenant, will that put us in the neutral zone?" Spock asks.

"Yes, sir."

"Take us in." I step forward but Ashley grabs my arm.

"Alana, we can't." Ashley looks into my eyes, and we both sigh. It's the Neutral Zone and some treaty.

"But they've already violated the treaty!" I exclaim. "For a starship to enter it, by either side, would be considered an act of war. They just declared war on us. Are we just going to sit here helpless?"

"Lieutenant commander," Spock begins, "that is illogical. The Romulans could argue the Enterprise violated the treaty first, and they were fighting back."

I open my mouth, but that seems logical enough to me. Then an idea comes to mind.

"For a starship to enter it? Like a full fledged one?" I ask.

"That is what the treaty says." If Vulcans could say duh without acting sassy, Spock would. He's the sassiest Vulcan (and the only Vulcan) I know.

"What about a shuttle?" Smirking, I walk around the bridge. "Starships have to be able to transport people through the solar system for long periods of time. Shuttles... not so much."

"Yeah, I don't trust you in a shuttle. You almost crashed it into the Enterprise!" Ashley whispers.

"I did not. You were the pilot!" I whisper back.

Spock looks at me. "Logical thinking, lieutenant commander, however, our shuttles can serve as starships if the need arises."

Yeah, Spock's been the one teaching me how to think logically ever since I met him. He made me do so many logic puzzles he's probably regretting it. I wonder if I could out-logic him... nah. His time is like 30 seconds on one of those things, and mine's five minutes.

"Do they know that?" I ask, pointing at the screen. "And don't forget if the Enterprise is destroyed, so is your girlfriend."

Spock hesitates before replying. "Unclear."

"Well, let's go!" I exclaim, starting to walk out. "Millard, Ash, with me."

"What? You're crazy!" Amber whispers.

"I'm not," I reply. "Deck... wherever the shuttles are."

"You do know I'm probably going to crash the shuttle, right?" Ashley asks.

I turn to look at her. "Who said you're driving?"

"Wait. What?" Amber asks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're going out into the Neutral Zone with phasers?!" Amber asks.

"And we should have more shields!" Ashley adds.

"What?! Warp 2?!" Amber looks over at me. "Alana, we can't outrun our outgun them!"

"Yeah, but we can outsmart them. Don't be space grumps like Bones!" I exclaim, quickly ducking before walking into the shuttle.

"I am not a space grump. Spock's making me come along. That green-blooded hobgoblin," Bones mutters.

"Where are the photon torpedoes?!" Ashley asks.

"Not here. Now let's go!" I exclaim, sighing.

Amber takes the pilot's seat, and Ashley and I glance each other. There was one seat left.

"So."

"So."

"One of you just take the seat. There's a jumpseat there for the other." Bones sighs.

"Kay." I sit next to Amber while Ashley sits in the jumpseat behind me, and Bones across from her.

"Pike to bridge. What's the coordinates?" I ask.

"Sending them now," Uhura replies.

"Oh, great. Neutral zone!" Amber sighs.

"Wait, what? Alana, are you crazy?"

Yeah, that's Bones.

"Don't think so! You can test me later!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, that'll happen real soon!" Bones replies back.

"Hangar doors opening," Spock says.

"Thanks, captain," Amber replies.

Communication shuts off, and Amber expertly pilots the shuttle out of the shuttle bay, steering it towards the neutral zone. However, she hesitates before heading to warp.

"What are you waiting for?" I ask.

"Your command, captain," Amber answers.

Smirking, I look back at Ashley. "Punch it."

Amber pushes the handle, and we go into warp.

"You are probably the stupidest person in Starfleet." Ashley rolls her eyes.

"I can agree," Bones mutters.

"That's lovely but I passed the entrance exam." I smirk.

"Hey, she's got a point." Amber shrugs.

"How long until we rendezvous with the Enterprise?" Ashley asks.

"45 minutes," Amber answers.

Before the 45 minutes are even up, we can see phaser fire. I can't see the other ship, so I guess they're invisible or something.

"My God!" Bones exclaims. "The Romulans have developed their cloaking device already."

"What's the plan?" I ask.

"I thought you had a plan..." Ashley groaned.

"Amber, can you put me through?" I ask.

"Yeah." Amber presses a few buttons. "You're on."

"Pike to Enterprise. Come in, Enterprise." I stand up, leaning over by Amber's seat.

"Enterprise here, Lieutenant Uhura speaking," Uhura replies.

"What the hell is going on?!" Bones asks.

"Bones? Alana?" Jim asks. "What are you doing here?!"

"What we're doing is coming aboard." Amber buts in.

"Open hangar doors," Kirk orders. "Quickly."

Once we get inside the Enterprise, we race to the bridge, where Jim sits. I stand behind the captain's chair. There is no time for discussion of how or why we're here.

Suddenly, the ship is hit with a blast. Ashley grabs onto the nearest thing, which happens to be me, and we both fall. Looking at the screen, I see the Romulans ready to fire again.

"Fire!" Jim orders, and I quickly stand up, only to watch the Romulans go back undercover.

"Missed!" Chekov groans. "Keptin, phaser banks are close to drained!"

"Scotty!" Jim exclaims. "Hurry up and recharge those phaser banks."

"Aye, captain! I'm workin' on it!" Scotty exclaims.

"Bones. Where's Spock?" Jim asks. "How did he let you out here?"

"A certain someone reasoned that the treaty said starship, and that didn't include shuttle." Bones stares at me. "He and the original Enterprise are parked on the edge of the Neutral Zone. I got stuck babysitting Alana and Ashley."

"Oh." Jim nods. "Alright then."

"Captain, phaser banks are half full!" Scotty exclaims.

"You're a miracle worker, Scotty!" Jim exclaims.

"Sir, the Romulans have fired something new. It'll hit us in sixty seconds... 59...58..."

"Brace yourselves! Sulu, get us out of here!" Jim exclaims. "Lana, Ashley, Amber, Bones, hold onto something!"

I grab onto the side of the captain's chair. Jim looks at me, and just for a second, we make eye contact. I can read what he's saying: we may not get out of this alive. I glance back at the screen, then to him.

We will. I know it.

"Three... two... one!"