"So…that's everything, I think." The captain sits back in his chair, clearly unsettled, and rubs absently at his forehead in an almost angry gesture of frustration. "You've been conspicuously silent this whole time, not that I blame you for that."

Spock has been, though likely not for the reasons which are being presumed.

"But if you have questions, there won't be another time to really ask them."

"No immediate questions," he replies automatically, still attempting to wrest sense of the last ten minutes. "I do, however, have…concerns, might be the most accurate term."

"You and me both. Unfortunately, Starfleet Command does not acknowledge the validity of my concerns." Kirk sighs. "I can at least put yours on the record, though, and I probably should. Go ahead."

"I do not see the logic in handing this assignment to the flagship, or to her commanding officer. This has naught to do with our primary mission of exploration, and the risk is not insignificant, both personally and politically."

"Correct. But they don't think any ship other than the Enterprise would be enticing enough to the Romulans. The commanding officer of said Enterprise is just a convenient scapegoat with enough of a flair for melodrama to maybe, possibly, pull this ridiculous charade off." The bitterness in the tone is not lost on either of them.

"You are not expendable, Jim."

"Certain vested parties are clearly not in agreement with you, Mr. Spock," is the wry reply, though it is accompanied by a fond look across the desk.

"No one aboard the Enterprise is going to believe you are acting of your own volition."

"Not as I've just told it to you, no. So I'll have to sell it and sell it well, over the course of the next two weeks. I'm not going to lie, I am not looking forward to it. You know I don't have the patience for the long game."

Anyone who has played more than two chess games with Kirk knows that. Patience is not precisely a virtue in this particular human; rather, something more like a last resort.

"I did tell Command that even if the crew believed it, there wasn't any way you were just going to blindly accept it."

"Their response?"

"They weren't happy about it, but I refused to proceed unless they'd give me permission to at least outline the plot for you beforehand. There was surprisingly little discussion of my conditions; this must be even more important than they're telling me."

"Indeed." That is also concerning, as it would indicate the Federation considers there to be an acceptable price to be paid for the technology, and an acceptable level of collateral damage to be had in exchange.

"So now you know, at least. All you have to do over the next couple of weeks is let me dig my own grave, so to speak."

"I will do no such thing." He raises an eyebrow at the captain's pointed look. "You are as aware as I, that the chances of success would be far higher with my active assistance than passive awareness. In all honesty, I am somewhat surprised that my involvement was not suggested by Command already." There's just the faintest flicker of something in Kirk's expression, and Spock sighs. "It was suggested, then."

"It was. And I vetoed it."

"That was unwise."

"Maybe. But it's one less thing to weigh on my conscience when it's all said and done," Jim replies quietly. "Your integrity is a key part of your character, as a Vulcan and as an officer. I'm not going to have Command take advantage of your loyalty by ordering you into something ethically and morally questionable, not while I have the power to stop it."

"While your commitment is admirable, it is quite illogical to take such a risk completely upon yourself."

"Well, you should know by now that I'm not exactly the logical one of this command team, am I." A faint smile. "It'll be fine, Spock. I can handle it."

"The odds of your being able to carry out the mission without consequences which will certainly derail your career and likely end in serious physical harm, Captain, are 12,764 to 1."

Kirk swallows visibly. "You're not exactly giving me a pep talk here, Commander."

"That is not my function aboard this ship, sir."

"Well, neither is dealing in non-Federation military secrets."

"That applies to us both." The captain's eyes dart guiltily away from Spock's pointed look as he continues. "There is no logic behind accepting this assignment as a solo mission."

"I have no idea what it will take to accomplish it, and anyway – I need you here. Success or failure, the Enterprise needs a captain."

"The Enterprise needs her captain," Spock replies quietly. "I am not that being."

"But you could be." The words are almost inaudible. "I can't ask you to do this, Spock. I can't, and I won't."

"You do not need to. I am volunteering."

"And I'm not going to allow it."

"I would very much enjoy watching your futile attempts to prevent my involvement. Sir."

Kirk stops, hand lowering from his eyes, and turns an incredulous look back across the desk. "Did you really just say I'd like to see you try, to my actual face?"

"If that is your preferred phraseology. Yes."

Kirk's laugh is genuine, but strangely fragile. "It's going to get ugly, Spock. Really ugly."

"I am aware of this."

"And I don't just mean ethically debatable, either. There has to be build-up, we'll need to look like we're at each other's throats in private and barely keeping it together in public…it has to look good, internally and externally, or it won't be convincing. And if we don't sell it? It's very possible neither of us is coming back."

Neither needs to add, that two weeks of intentionally fracturing both professional and personal relationships, particularly two so carefully cultivated and finely balanced as theirs, is going to be most unpleasant.

Such a mission as this will involve days, potentially weeks, of careful groundwork and preparation, laying out tiny details that alone would not be conclusive, but when compiled, will show a rapidly fraying thread prepared to snap at that one crucial moment sometime in the near future. That tension in the ranks is alien to the tightly-knit crew of this particular ship. The resulting damage might take even longer to disentangle than the lead-up will.

"The smart thing for you to do would be to just keep well out of the way," Kirk finally adds quietly.

"If I were to do so, you would carry out the mission alone, would you not?"

"Yes. It's been…made clear, let's say, that I don't actually have a choice. But you do."

"My choice will always be to stand with you, Jim. Not against you, and certainly not without you. The crew of this ship are aware of that, even if it might not appear so in the coming weeks."

"Well." Kirk clears his throat, somewhat roughly. "I'm not going to try any harder to stop you. I'm sorry, in advance, for my selfishness."

"Choosing the more strategic option does not require an apology, and a mutually desired end result is not selfish."

"We'll see if you still feel that way once it's all over and done." Kirk looks down at the desk for a moment, lost in pensive thought. "Is this really what we've come to, Spock? We are supposed to be an organization of scientific exploration. Of diplomacy. Not…interplanetary espionage, or whatever label we want to give it. What is the point of a Neutral Zone, if we use it as cover for our own increasing aggression. Primarily human aggression."

"The expectation being put upon a scientific vessel in time of peace is…disquieting, certainly. And the internal ramifications on ship morale are not insignificant. The extent of sworn duty is certainly not clearly defined, in such a case."

The matter is actually cause for serious concern, but that concern will need to wait until such time as they can both be entirely focused on analyzing the consequences and ethical ramifications of their positions in such an organization. Right now, they have less than two weeks' time to plan and begin implementing what amounts to a ridiculously intricate political intrigue, one serious enough to convince the crew of the Enterprise that her command team has irretrievably shattered.

The scuttlebutt from the lower decks can easily be predicted; while the crew are loyal to a fault, they will follow Spock's lead if the captain appears seriously compromised, and very few would even question the transition. The primary Bridge crew and Chief Engineer Scott, conversely, are even more loyal, and will be difficult to completely convince. They might even still lean toward Kirk unless there is clear, irrefutable evidence of treason, however false that evidence might be at the time.

Unfortunately, Doctor McCoy will be nearly impossible to deceive without prolonged effort and, in all probability, damaged human feelings on both sides. That particular human holds a grudge with even more strength of stubbornness than Kirk himself.

"Bones is going to kill both of us when it's all over," Kirk mutters, as if somehow reading Spock's train of thought.

"We could inform him, at least in brief." This is an incredibly foolish idea, for multiple reasons, but Spock is honor-bound to at least make the suggestion.

"I'd like to, but I'm guessing we'll need him and his medical expertise for some kind of subterfuge, particularly if one of us ends up getting stranded aboard a Romulan ship, or worse," Kirk replies with a sigh. "And anyway. If this all goes south, I wouldn't want him facing consequences as a conspirator, or making him choose between duty to the 'Fleet and duty to us."

"Agreed."

"He's never going to let me hear the end of it, though."

"I believe some sort of grand gesture might be required to restore equilibrium, yes. Perhaps extending an invitation to your next shore leave?"

"Our next shore leave, and they'd better give us both one after what we're about to do. We deserve it."

"While I do not typically derive enjoyment from enforced leisure activities, in this instance I find myself in agreement."

"Then it's settled. That will give me something to look forward to after it's all over and done." Kirk stands, and tugs absently at the hem of his tunic before looking back up at him. "If you change your mind in the next couple of days, I would never hold it against you, you know."

"I do know, which is why I will not. Your risk is mine, Jim."

"May fortune favor the foolish, then. And…well. Thank you."