-11 -

Lawrence Cartwright was bored and frustrated. At first, being transferred from that dreary little penal planet to Camus II had seemed a blessed relief. That had lasted until he got here and discovered Starfleet had finally learned of the Empire's infiltration program. Director Spock had had a lot of questions for him and those early, forced mind melds had been brutal, yet he had resisted them. The last of these had been several weeks ago, but bad as they were he'd have welcomed one now if only for the distraction it would provide. It appeared he was no longer of much interest to his captors. Save for at meal times and daily exercise sessions he rarely saw anyone else, and he had long since tired of reading and watching vids. His captivity would be more bearable if he was able to speak to the occupant of the cell next to his. An attractive young yeoman, she was the only other person currently being held in the cells, but damping fields made communication between them impossible. Their jailers clearly didn't want to risk prisoners colluding on an escape plan.

Cartwright was thinking about this, and lamenting the fact that modern cells had force screens rather than bars, when he received a pair of visitors. On seeing that one of them was Dr Leonard McCoy, he smiled. His prayers had been answered. The other person, a stern looking security officer armed with a phaser, hung back while McCoy deactivated the damping field so that they could hear each other.

"I see you brought your medical bag, doctor."

"Just a precaution," said McCoy, "in case you were feeling unwell. How are they treating you?"

"Well enough. I'm not being abused, but I am being ignored. What I'm craving most, however, is news of the outside world."

"A lot of what's going on at the moment is classified so I'm afraid I can't do much about that."

"You'd be surprised, doctor. Override Mississippi accept."

At these words, which activated a post-hypnotic command placed in his mind long ago, Dr McCoy snapped to attention and stared straight ahead, his eyes vacant."

"Override Mississippi accepted," he replied, his voice flat. "What are my orders?"

"First, relax so that your companion doesn't get suspicious, then tell me what the big secret of this planet is that no one will talk about. I know it's not bio-weapons."

"Thirty years ago xenoarchaeologist Dr Janice Lester discovered an alien device here that swaps bodies."

"Swaps bodies? I thought that was impossible."

"So did we, but the long-dead inhabitants of Camus II discovered how."

Cartwright rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Interesting, *very* interesting," he said. "Now tell me any and all recent news that would be of interest to me."

"The Empire invaded Federation space and was defeated, after which Emperor Khan was challenged by someone who appeared to be your Spock. Spock killed him, and is now the new emperor."

Cartwright was stunned by the news. With all their planning and decades of preparation how could the Empire be defeated? It didn't seem possible. And Spock was *emperor* now? This was a disaster. Even before coming to this universe rumours had reached him of Spock's pacifist tendencies, tendencies that if true would destroy the Empire. No, Spock had to be deposed, and quickly.

"Wait. How do you know all this and what did you mean by 'appeared to be'?"

"On my way to the cells Director Spock contacted me via my communicator. He had just learned that your Spock had bested Khan in hand-to-hand combat and was now on his way to Camus II to formally negotiate the surrender of Empire forces. But your Spock has already been here for several weeks. How can he be in two places at once?"

Cartwright frowned. He didn't understand any of this, but it was clear that the Empire had somehow been betrayed by Spock.

"Where is my Spock now?"

"He and his wife are meeting with the Director in his office."

"Is there anyone else with them?"

"Yes, Dr Janice Lester and her wife, Janice Rand."

"Good, good, I don't see them being a problem at their age. I'll have killed Spock before they realise what's happening. Now prepare a mild sedative then lower the force screen. Your companion will come over to investigate. When she does, inject her with it and await further orders."

McCoy did as instructed, loading a sedative into his hypospray. Then he deactivated the cell's force screen.

Out of respect for doctor/patient confidentiality Kate Shaw had hung back and so had heard none of the exchange between the two, but when McCoy opened the cell she took her phaser from her hip and stepped forward.

"You know you shouldn't do that until I have the prisoner covered with my phaser, doctor," she admonished him.

That was when McCoy struck. As soon as she was close enough, he turned and pressed the hypospray to the side of Kate's neck. The effect was instant. No sooner had the sedative shot into her system that she crumpled to the floor, the phaser falling from her nerveless fingers.

"How long will she be out?" asked Cartwright, exiting his cell and scooping up her phaser.

"About ten minutes."

"Perfect. Help me lift her to her feet. We have work to do."

When they had done so, he noticed the woman in the next cell signalling to him and turned off its damping field.

"Release me!" she said.

"What's your name?"

"Jill Finn."

"I'd love to release you, Jill Finn, but it's better for my plan and better for the Empire that you stay where you are for now. I'll send the doctor here to release you when I'm ready, okay?"

"If it's for the Empire," she said, clearly not happy about this.

Cartwright gave the Empire salute.

"Long live the Empire!"

"Long live the Empire!" shouted Jill, responding in kind.

It was fortunate both that this facility was so sparsely staffed and that their destination lay so close to the cells.

"Do you know how to operate the alien bodyswapping device?" asked Cartwright as they carried the unconscious Kate Shaw between them.

"I believe so, yes," said McCoy. "I've seen it used and its operation seems relatively straightforward."

"Good, because I need you to swap my body for that of the Lieutenant Commander here. That way I'll be able to get close enough to Spock to kill him."