Mac was still trying to break into the system to get control of the fortress…or Nod temple as it had been called. There were so many blocks on the system, he was having a hard time. Every time he got past one, another one popped up. Helek was still fighting off the enemies. "Are you having any luck yet?" Helek asked as he was behind the next console from Mac.

"I never saw anything so protected in my life," Mac replied. "Who created this thing?"

"I don't know, but if you can't even get in it, this may be a hopeless cause."

"No. There's always a way."

Suddenly, a ghostly face appeared on the screen in front of Mac, startling him. "Not in this case," Cabal said.

Mac jumped back from the screen in time to avoid a shock. "What is this?" he asked.

Helek looked at the screen. "That's that thing they call Cabal," he said. "He's a highly sophisticated computer program."

"Then this was a failure from the beginning."

"No, because we didn't know he was here."

As Jim and the others were on their way to find Mac and Helek, suddenly, McNeil caught up with them. "We're in trouble," he said.

"Why?" Jim asked. "Why aren't you guarding the entrance?"

"We were, but the doors suddenly just opened and a whole bunch of troops came in."

Jim thought of Carol and Bones down in the medical bay. "How did they get the door open?" he asked.

"I don't know. It just slid open…could be Cabal."

"Cabal? How would he get here?"

"Same way we got here."

Jim thought every time they thought they were gaining a little advantage, something else happened. "Then we have even bigger problems," he said. "We need to get in touch with Artie. I thought they were isolating Cabal."

"It might not have worked," McNeil said. "After all, he's a very sophisticated computer program."

"And he most likely knows right where we are too, right?"

"Probably."

"Well, they're coming," Anakin said and activated his lightsaber. "So we best figure out what we're gonna do."

"We're gonna fight, that's what," Jim said.

They all got ready as they could hear the enemies coming through the corridors of the building since it echoed. As the enemy came to them, they engaged in the battle. Anakin advanced on them using his lightsaber as efficiently as possible. He shoved some back with the Force and caught some of the bullets and shoved them back at them.

"We can't stay here doing this," McNeil said. "There are too many of them."

"Where are we supposed to go?" Jim asked.

McNeil was looking around the area they were in now which was what looked like a storage area. He crawled over to a crate there in the room and popped the top off to find out what was in it. He found grenades in the crate. "Oh yeah," he said as he took some of them out.

Jim got over to him. "I have stun grenades," he said. "But it's rather difficult to throw them at them."

"This is not stun grenades." McNeil pulled a pin out of one of them and threw it. "Duck!"

Everyone on Jim's team ducked just before there was an explosion. Smoke rose from the area where the grenade had exploded. Jim jumped up and hurried out of his hiding place, followed by his team. The grenade had done its damage, but it did not get everyone. "Hold it right there!" Jim yelled as he had one of the troops in his sights. "Don't move!"

Anakin took the weapons from any of them who were still moving. "More prisoners," Solan said. "I guess we can put them in with the others."

"Yeah, the ones that survived," Jim agreed. "Let's get them in there before more show up."

"Admiral Kirk!" a loud voice said over the intercom. "You will not win this battle! You have trapped your own self! Give up before I take all of you out myself! And I will be starting with your electrical friends!"

Jim was alarmed at that threat. He looked at Ajah. "Power down," Jim said.

Ajah closed his eyes and reigned in all his electrical powers till only a pinpoint of light was seen in his eyes. "This is as far as it goes," he said. "But what do I do if you need me?"

"You'll have to use a blaster."

"But if I get angry…sometimes I cannot contain myself."

"I guess this is a time when you're gonna have to learn."

"What about Helek?"

"He most likely heard that transmission too."

Helek and Mac had heard that transmission. Helek had reigned in his powers as well, which gave the enemies more advantage. "I can't get into it," Mac declared as Helek was beside him now. "It must be that computer program."

"I thought they were trying to get him under control," Helek replied.

Just then, a message popped up on the computer console that Mac had to get away from…

Who is this?

Mac was confused by that message, but he typed: Mac.

This is Artemus Gordon. We are trying to isolate Cabal's program. He cannot detect these messages.

Wow. So what do you want me to do?

We have almost isolated his program. With your help from there, we can do it.

I'll do what I can.

I will send you the steps in sequence to coordinate your point with ours.

If I don't get another shock.

He is occupied right now.

Mac followed the instructions that Artie sent to him, and when he had put in the last code, everything on screens in the room lit up blue. "Oh, that did something," Mac said.

"You have control of that area now," Artie replied.

Mac rubbed his hands together. "Now, I'm gonna wreak some havoc of my own." He first shut down the generator that was blocking communications. "Contact the admiral."

Helek grabbed his communicator…

Jim was surprised when his communicator chirped at him. He grabbed it. "Kirk here," he said.

"Admiral, it's good to hear your voice," Helek replied.

Jim smiled slightly. "It's really good to hear yours. Give me a minute." He changed frequencies. "Scotty."

"Admiral!" Scotty said. "I hear you, Sir."

"Transport Dr. McCoy and Carol to the ship," Jim said.

Scotty was silent a moment. "Got them, Sir."

"Good." Jim looked at the others. "Now, let's move." He changed the frequency on the communicator. "Kuaya, you guys can join us again. Helek, where are you and Mac?"

"We're in the control room near the generator," Helek answered.

"We'll get on our way to you."

"What about the entrance?" McNeil asked. "They're gonna keep coming in."

"Mac, can you seal that door?"

"Give me just a moment, Admiral," Mac replied.

Jim heard the entrance slam down as it sealed. "I guess that takes care of that," he said.

"Reinforced too with a shield door."

"Excellent."

Solan rolled his eyes slightly at that compliment to Mac. He could not bring himself to trust Mac after all he had been through with him. He noticed Jim looking at him with a disdainful look. Jim could see that Solan still did not want to accept Mac, but he had helped them, and he was even in control of the building now. Jim hoped Cabal would not succeed at taking that control back. "Let's move!" he yelled. "Let's get these taken care of and get to that core!"

Everyone swung into action and pushed the insurgents back with an onslaught but being careful of the enemy's weapons. Jim thought it was a lot easier to dodge a laser shot than a bunch of bullets. Kuaya arrived and gave them a blast with his lance which scattered the attackers. Ajah was helping, and he was staying under a console in case Cabal was able to spray them with water.

Just as they thought they were making some progress, more beings came into the fray along with Kane. Jim wondered who they were because they were nothing like the ones they were fighting at first. "Admiral Kirk!" Kane said. "You will meet your demise this day, along with your team of invaders!"

"Invaders!?" Jim exclaimed. "You are invading our planet! You can bring all the reinforcements you want. If I'm killed, there are plenty more who will fight you!"

"My brothers and sisters and I will finish what we began long ago!"

Jim was beginning to think some of those beings looked familiar. Brothers and sisters, he thought. Jim's mouth dropped open as he realized who he was looking at. "Khan," he whispered. "It's Khan's crew."

"What?" Solan asked. "You mean that maniac who locked you in the holodeck before?"

"Yeah."

"Admiral, I suggest we retreat for now and regroup," Spock said. "I cannot imagine that we can defeat a whole group of Khan's people."

Jim just stood there a moment, but he pressed the button on his communicator which alerted Scotty to transport all of them to the ship. "We'll meet again," Jim said as light started encircling him.

As they all appeared on the transporter pad, Jim looked around him to make sure everyone was there, even Mac and Helek. He was angry now because he did not like retreating. He stepped down from the transporter pad and just stood there a moment. The others gathered around him. "So what do we do now?" Solan asked.

"I'm thinking," Jim replied as he started walking.

"Admiral, you remember what it took to defeat Khan," Spock said.

"Yes, Spock, I do remember, and I'm in no hurry to have to do that again." Jim paused a moment. "Helek, Mac, what did you guys see down there?"

"The central command is where the generator is," Mac said. "I know how to get into it now."

"Get on the line with Artemus Gordon and tell him how. I want him to get into that thing and isolate Cabal. Cabal and that Legion are how Khan's bunch got loose. Tell him to shut down everything of theirs as soon as possible!"

"I'm on it," Mac replied. "But he's already trying to isolate Cabal. That thing is as slippery as grease."

Jim was thinking about what his next steps should be. "What else did you see down there?" he asked.

"You were right about that tiberium," Helek said. "If we had destroyed that thing, we would have caused the explosion he wants."

"That's why he let us get in there. We just have to stop the rest of his game."

"How will we do that?" Spock asked.

"Since he doesn't seem to have a lot of space power, maybe we can use the Enterprise. He can't shoot down what he can't reach."

"We must be careful not to destroy anything that would have tiberium hidden."

"I know that. We have to figure out that tiberium signature so we'll know if it's there. I want to target the power relays there on the base so they won't have enough power to run that generator. Mister Spock, I want you to get an analysis of everything on that base."

Spock nodded and headed for the Bridge. "All of you stand by," Jim said as he turned into sickbay.

Solan looked at Helek and Ajah. "It looks like this is going to be a long battle," Solan said.

"If we can find out how to gain an advantage, we can win easily," Ajah replied.

"There won't be anything easy about this until we get that Kane. As far as I can tell, he's as bad as that Khan guy, and now he has a whole army of them." Solan sighed. "I sure wish I knew what Jim is planning."

"I wish I had more of my people here," Kuaya said. "We could do more to help. Alone, I feel that I am not much help."

"You're part of a team," Helek replied. "We all work together."

"Yeah, if we can figure out what we're supposed to do," Zander added. "I think we were lucky to get out of there at all."

"Where is he getting all those troops?" Anakin asked. "He seems to have an endless supply."

"There are too many things we don't know about this maniac," Solan declared.

"He has clones," McNeil said. "Many of them are clones."

"Clones?"

"Yeah. It's the quickest way to get a big army without having to recruit, and not having to use force over years."

"Well, that sounds familiar," Anakin said. "So there's some clone machine around there?"

"It's a vat, and it's fast."

"So, you're telling us that they have a vat somewhere on that base that spits out clones like a factory?"

"Yeah."

"And I thought I'd heard everything. I guess if I could find that and stand outside it, I could slice every one that came out."

They all looked rather disturbed by that suggestion. "Well, I think we could just destroy the thing," Solan said. "I guess Jim went in there to see Carol. I'm going to my quarters for a bit. See you all later."

Jim stood beside Carol's bed in the medical bay. "We shut down the generator, but Kane has awakened all of Khan's people," he said. "It's gonna be hard to defeat all of them."

"Jim, this seems like it's getting more dangerous all the time," Carol replied.

"I have to try. I want you to go back and stay with Alex and Joy. The Enterprise can take you there."

"No. What if you need it? I'll just take a shuttle."

"Fine. Just get there. You can do something to help in headquarters."

"Right. Jim, please be careful."

"I will. I just have to figure out what to do." Jim sat down on the bed and sighed. "Just when we thought we might be getting the upper hand…"

"She'll be alright, Jim," Bones said. "She just has to rest and heal, although I think she's probably as stubborn as you on that front."

Jim smiled. "Hey, she's my one and only." He leaned over and kissed Carol. "At least stay on the bed until he tells you to get up."

"I'll try," Carol replied.

"You mean I'm not going with you?" Bones asked.

"Well, who's gonna make sure she stays in that bed?" Jim asked.

"Don't worry. Nurse Renee will do that."

"Good. You just crave that adventure, don't you?"

"You can't go on a mission like this without me."

"I'm not sure we'll be leaving the Enterprise. We're gonna try to cause some damage from here since they don't have space offenses."

"Good idea."

"I intend to target their power stations or whatever they call them."

"You sure they don't have backup power?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. See you later."

Jim left the medical bay and went to the bridge. "Have you heard any word from Artie yet?" Jim asked as he found Spock on the Bridge.

"Yes, Admiral," Spock answered. "They are working on isolating Cabal again. He escaped them the first time, and they have reactivated the generator."

"What about your analysis of the base? Did you locate the power plants or stations? Whatever they're called?"

"Yes." Spock brought up a schematic of the base. "You can see the power stations are positioned in several locations around the base."

"I want to target those. Send that up to Mister Sulu." Jim was rather surprised to see Sulu piloting the ship…but there was no one else he would rather have at that helm.

Jim sat down in the captain's chair. "Mister Sulu, let's make some noise," he said.

"Yes, Sir," Sulu replied.

Sulu moved the Enterprise to another position. "You got a target yet?" Jim asked.

"Yes sir," Sulu replied.

"Fire."

Grakar, Korax, and some other Klingons were on the ground when they saw the shot from the Enterprise hit one of the power plants. It exploded into brilliantly bright light. "The admiral must have gone back to the ship," Korax said. "They did not gain control of the Nod temple."

"Perhaps we should try again," Grakar replied.

"I believe they are taking out the power," Korax said as they saw another power plant explode. "That should make it easier."

Grakar's communicator chirped at him. "Grakar here," he answered.

"Grakar, we lost control of the temple," Jim said. "Where are you guys?"

"We are not far from it. We were contemplating what we should do next. Perhaps we should try and enter again."

"If you get a chance, but Kane has awoken Khan's people, and furthermore, he has stored tiberium in there. He was hoping we would destroy the generator and cause the explosion he wanted."

"What do you want us to do, Admiral?"

"Just hang tight while we take out those power plants," Jim said. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yes, we are all still alive."

"Good. I'll get back to you later. Where are you located?"

"We are inside the base near the back wall. We were preparing to destroy the cloning factory."

"That's a good idea. If you can, do it. We definitely need that out of commission."

"It shall be done."

Jim ended that transmission. "Mister Sulu, don't get too close to the cloning factory," he said. "That's where Grakar and the others are."

"I'm not sure which is the cloning factory," Sulu replied.

"It's near the back wall. Target every other power conduit and also target their construction yard. They build things way too fast. It's like they pop up right out of the ground."

"Working on that, Sir. The construction yard is the largest part of the base."

As they destroyed more buildings, they could see the power levels dropping for the base. "I think it's working," Jim said.

"It appears to be," Spock agreed. "However, I believe they will reconstruct if we do not destroy that construction yard, and also if we do not disable the temple."

"But how? He's storing the tiberium there." Jim looked at the map. "I think if we destroy all that other, we'll be able to get into that temple."

"I agree, Admiral."

They continued destroying the power plants, and then began firing on the construction yard. "Are we making any progress on it?" Jim asked.

"We are, Admiral," Sulu said. "But it's heavily shielded. Seems like every time we take it down a little, they repair it before we fire again. What kind of technology do they have?"

"I don't know but keep firing on that thing. They can't keep it up for much longer."

"We have their power down to almost nothing without the power plants but if we don't destroy this thing, they will replenish it."

"Just keep firing. What about the forces on the ground?"

"They are still being overwhelmed by enemy forces, but their production has slowed down without enough power."

"Great. Work on destroying that construction yard. They can't keep rebuilding without that."

Sulu focused on the construction yard and soon had it out of commission. "Construction yard down, Sir," he said.

"We're being hailed, Sir," Uhura said.

"On screen," Jim replied.

Kane appeared on the screen. "You may think you've won, but you have not!" he said.

"We're gonna keep fighting you," Jim said. "You will not win this war!"

"Oh, but I don't think you will be fighting against me much longer, Admiral."

"I'll never stop fighting you as long as I live and am able. End transmission."

"The nerve of that guy," Solan said. "Why does he think you would stop fighting?"

"He's insane like it has been said. He can't have much power in there without those power plants and the construction yard is practically gone now too."

"Unless another one pops up somewhere," Sulu said. "I've never seen buildings built this way."

"So if we keep destroying them, they keep building but they can't build them without that construction yard." Jim paused a moment. "How does that work?"

"I don't know, Admiral. It doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps it is connected to the tiberium in some way," Spock suggested.

"Maybe he thinks he is going to poison us with the tiberium." Sulu looked at his screen as something changed about the fortress that was called the Nod temple. "Admiral, something is happening. The generator has been shut down."

Jim looked at the screen. "How?"

"I don't know."

"We're receiving a transmission," Uhura said.

"On screen," Jim said.

A woman with dark hair and brown eyes appeared on the screen. "Admiral Kirk," she said. "I would like for you to get me out of here. I'm sure you know the generator has been disabled, and it won't be coming back up this time."

"I don't believe we've met."

"Admiral, you can put me in chains or whatever while we discuss that if you want if you will just get me out of here," she said.

Jim just stared at her a moment. "Do you have coordinates?" he asked.

"I sure do."

Jim pressed a button on his chair. "Scotty."

"Yes Sir," Scotty answered.

"Are you getting coordinates?"

"Yes Sir."

"Transport one guest and make sure security is there."

Jim looked back at the screen. "I'll see you on the ship," he said.

"Thank you, Sir," the woman replied.

Jim looked at Spock. "I'm going to the transporter room," Jim said. "You should stay here and watch after your ship."

"Yes, Admiral," Spock replied.

Jim went to the transporter room just as their guest was appearing there. She sighed with relief as she saw the inside of the Enterprise. "I'm glad to see you, Admiral," she said.

"And who are you?" Jim asked.

"I'm Una Chin Riley."

Jim scowled. "I'm afraid I don't remember meeting you."

"I was Captain Pike's first officer. It's a long story, but I'll be glad to share it with you. However, I'm sure you would rather talk about how to stop Kane from his goal."

"What is his goal?"

"He intends to infect the entire universe with tiberium."

"How?"

"The Mycelial Network."

Jim frowned. "Another Starfleet secret?"

"You're learning, Admiral."

"So what is the Mycelial Network?"

"That's kinda complicated."

"Well, we have a conference room. Forgive me if I have security around you."

"I'm fine with that."

Jim took out his communicator. "Mister Spock, I think you should meet us in the conference room. I want Ajah there and everyone else on the team."

"Yes, Admiral," Spock replied.

Soon, they were all in the conference room. Jim stood at the end of the table. "Everyone, this is Una Chin Riley," he said.

"I believe we have met," Spock said. "It is good to see you…Number One."

"You too, Spock," Riley replied.

"I think I'm missing something here," Jim declared. "But we'll get into all that later. We need to know the important stuff right now."

"Right. Kane intends to get into the Mycelial network so he can spread tiberium throughout the universe. The Network connects everything."

"What do you mean, it connects everything? And how did you find this out?"

"I pretended to be with him. He has released prisoners from all over the world to work for him."

"You were in prison?"

"Like I said, it's a long story," Riley said. "I joined him as a spy. He intends to create a rift to get into the Network."

"Wait a minute," Jim said. "A rift?"

"Yes. Cabal and Legion have been practicing creating rifts to find the right way."

Jim and Spock looked at each other. "Admiral…" Spock began.

"I know," Jim replied. "This could be catastrophic. You said they've been practicing?"

"Yes," Riley answered.

"Where?"

"I don't know. Somewhere that they wouldn't be noticed."

Jim looked at Spock. "You think that could be where those rifts came from that sucked us in?" Jim asked.

"It seems so, Admiral," Spock replied. "However, it is questionable why they did not enter themselves. I also do not remember seeing any ships near us."

"I don't think we had much time to think about it, and the trip probably caused the system not to detect them."

"You may be right."

Jim looked at Riley. "Exactly how do they get into this Mycelial Network?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but once they're inside the rift, they can enter it."

"You said this Network connects the whole Universe?" Anakin asked. "What does that mean?"

"It connects the entire universe, every galaxy, somehow. I'm not really sure. I just know what I heard, and we have to stop him."

Jim paced a moment. "So we have to just watch for a ship he may be trying to do this with?" he asked.

"I'm sure we do."

Jim pressed a button on the communicator in the room. "Mister Sulu, watch for any ships leaving the planet," he said. "Kane is trying to create a rift so he can get into some network."

"A rift?" Sulu asked.

"Yeah. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"What kind of ship is it?"

"No idea, just let us know if anything looks like it's in a big hurry to get out into space."

"Yes, Sir."

Jim frowned as he looked at the ones in the room waiting for him to make a decision. "Spock, transport Grakar and Korax back to the ship. They need to know what's happening here."

"Jim, what is our plan?" Spock asked.

"All I know to do if wait for that ship and try to stop it. In the meantime, I'm going to find out who our guest is."

Jim sat down in the chair at the end of the table and looked at Riley. "Okay, now I want to hear your story while we have a little time," he said. "You were Captain Pike's first officer?"

"Yes," Riley replied. "He had definitely mentioned you before."

"Is that so? And why were you in prison?"

"Because I was genetically enhanced and that's forbidden in Starfleet, as I'm sure you know. Although it wasn't my choice to be enhanced…at least that was Captain Pike's argument."

Jim frowned. He knew well how Captain Pike went to bat for people he cared about. "But they didn't listen, huh?" he asked.

"No. I was put into a prison colony to stay the rest of my life."

Jim shook his head. "That's not even fair," he said.

"I couldn't even have contact with anyone until Captain Pike made the argument that it was cruel and unusual punishment. La'an usually came to see me, and he did too after that."

"This must be quite a story, but you still have to have a scan by our doctor."

After a few minutes, Spock returned with Korax and Grakar. "We have mostly rendered the base helpless," Grakar said. "They have no power."

"Good," Jim replied. "We do have a bigger problem. He has a ship somewhere that he intends to use to create a rift in space that will go into some Network that connects the entire universe so he can disperse tiberium over the entire universe."

"That was quite a mouthful," Bones said as he was coming into the room. "Sorry, I've been tending to some minor injuries. I guess I can scan our guest now."

Jim nodded. "We have to stop him from spreading tiberium."

"How do we do this, Admiral?" Grakar asked. "What sort of ship does he have that can do this?"

"I don't know, but I know we can create a rift. We will just have to follow him if he succeeds at creating one." Jim looked at Riley. "What do you know about this Mycelial Network?"

"Not much," Riley replied. "Just what I told you."

"So we're going in there blind without knowing anything that will happen."

"I did hear Kane say something about some fungus called JahSepp that live in the Network, and they're some swarm of green sparks."

"Well, that sounds real inviting," Bones remarked. "Let me guess, they would attack our ship and render it helpless."

"I have no idea."

"We can't let him do that, so the risks don't matter," Jim declared. "We'll just figure it out when we get there, and Anakin can maybe have some influence on this too."

"I'll do my best," Anakin replied.

"So, we just have to wait until we can locate Kane and whatever he has hidden down there."