Star Trek: Before Destruction - Chapter 10
*** TEN ***
The white streak that was Enterprise blazed like a stray bolt of lightning through the vacuum of space. She was on a heading that would bring her into a still-disputed area of the galaxy. The Federation claimed it. The Klingon Empire claimed it, but the Organians controlled it and named it the Neutral Zone. Hence, ownership of any tract of space or any planet within that region must be acquired by peaceful, productive occupation. This was in accordance with the treaty signed by both claimants. Violent aggression by either party was forbidden, and would, by the self- appointed arbitrators / enforcers, be stopped.
Since the initiation of the treaty, both camps had made attempts to stretch the limits of the contract, to no effect. The Treaty was ironclad. Adherence to it was not an option. In addition, it was agreed that Organia, as a planet and a people, was to be left alone... until now.
James T. Kirk occupied the center seat. He waited for the inevitable. The weight of the Captaincy was never heavier on his shoulders than at this moment. His orders to approach the planet in the solar-system ahead of him was a violation of Treaty. His orders to set his ship for self-destruct was a violation of his conscience. And yet he still waited for the inevitable.
The meeting Jim had called in sickbay with McCoy and Spock was an exercise in futility. The danger still roamed his ship. To attempt to incapacitate the Grensk android would be difficult even if it was not conducive to exploding. The android had far superior strength to that of even a Vulcan. Every plan that they discussed or formulated put all aboard in jeopardy. To leave Grensk to his own devices placed the ship in no less a perilous position, but it did give them a timeframe within which to work. They used to call his predicament a 'catch twenty-two, Jim recalled.
Jim looked at the chronometer in the arm of his chair. "Mr. Sulu, shouldn't we be reaching the system perimeter soon?"
"Aye, Sir, coming up on it in about eight minutes." Sulu spoke calmly.
"Prepare to power down to impulse, point 9, in about eight min..." Jim shut his mouth and grabbed both sides of his chair. He could feel something vibrating subtly for just a moment. It stopped. He sat still to see if it would happen again. Then the whole ship began to shudder violently.
Jim hit his comm button. "Kirk to Engineering, Scotty, what's the problem?" he asked urgently. The shudder became more pronounced. "Mr. Scott!" No answer. Spock quickly moved over to the engineer's console.
"Captain," Spock announced, "the port nacelle is beginning to buckle, all readings are peaking in the red."
"Sulu!" Jim started, but before he could finish his sentence, the ship pitched to port, and the Enterprise began to maneuver in an irregular, large spiral, her inertia dampeners and starboard engine began to whine.
Holding onto the corner of the console, the helmsman tried to reach for the controls, fighting like the rest of the crew against the powerful centrifugal force. Straining, he managed to get a finger on the correct button, and pressed the emergency shut-off switch. The starboard engine went silent and Sulu was able to engage braking thrusters.
"All stop, Sulu." Perspiration beaded on the Captain's forehead.
"Slowing, Sir," spoke Sulu, equally sweaty.
Uhura turned from her station. "Captain, damage control is reporting a fire in engineering, and something about an explosion!"
Jim punched the communication button again, "Kirk to Engineering," static was all he received. "Engineering, report!"
"Hanson here," the din of extinguishers, and the crackle of electricity obscured his voice.
"Mr. Hanson, report Engineering's status."
"We've had an explosion in the Jeffries Tube. Commander Scott is being taken to sickbay on antigravs. Fire's almost out but it looks bad down here."
"How bad, Mr. Hanson?"
"We won't be able to make repairs on outboard number one without dry-docking. I believe if we tried to engage it again, she'd blow in a matter of seconds, Sir."
"Is there damage to the nacelle's main reactor?" he asked.
"As far as I can determine, it's intact. We did lose the Starboard engine's fail-safe though. The automatic power shutdown to the engine was damaged in the feedback explosion."
"We noticed." Jim swiveled his chair to the engineering station, manned by Spock, who was inspecting the console. Spock nodded to the Captain, in confirmation to what Lieutenant Hanson reported. "Do what you can down there and keep me posted. We may need at least warp 3 in two hours."
"Aye, Sir. Hanson out."
"Mr. Spock," Jim rose from his chair. "You have the con. I'll be in sickbay. Mr. Sulu, resume course for Organia, impulse, point 9 warp."
"Aye, Sir. Course locked in. Engaging now."
* * *
Sickbay was lined up with no small number of crewmen suffering from minor abrasions to motion sickness. Nurses Evans and Downey distributed medicines and applied antiseptics with the deftness
that earned them the privilege of their tour on the Enterprise.
The doors to sickbay parted and in stepped the gold and black clad Captain, followed by Dr. M'Benga, who did not seem to be in good humor.
"Not the best way to wake up, being thrown from my bed, Captain," spoke the doctor as Jim turned the corner, oblivious to the comment, lost in his own thoughts.
The beds were mercifully empty, save one, on which Jim saw his unconscious Chief Engineer, with McCoy attending him.
"How is he, Bones?" Jim concernedly asked.
"I'll know as soon as I get this blasted shirt off him." He put his medi-scanner down on the tray next to him. "Nurse Chappell, will you hurry with that molecular separator!" He then loaded his hypo and injected a pink liquid into his patient.
Jim went to the bedside and beheld the blackened arm of Commander Montgomery Scott. Though he had several facial lacerations, and bruises, his arm was by far the most serious. His uniform had melted and fused itself to his right arm and his hand looked like a badly toasted marshmallow. He could tell from the readings on the bed's monitor that his whole body had suffered some kind of trauma, probably a near-fatal jolt from the overload.
Nurse Christine Chappell returned to McCoy with the requested instrument. The doctor checked the setting and wasted no time in putting it to use, after switching on the bed's sterilization field, a reflex action.
The Captain watched as the uniform fairly unraveled at the touch of the instrument, losing its molecular cohesiveness. The dust that was once a sleeve, was ionically drawn to the receptors at the head and foot of the bed. What it revealed was not pleasant to look at. Scott's last two fingers were clearly broken, and his middle finger was completely gone.
"My God, Jim, what was he into?" spoke the doctor, not taking his eyes off his task. "It looks like he's had his hand up a thruster."
"Security to the shuttle bay," came the First Officer's voice over the main speakers. "Repeat, security to the shuttle bay."
Jim rushed over to the comm box and punched the sender. "Mr. Spock, what's the trouble?" he asked, already projecting the answer.
"Uncertain Captain, we received a condition red alert from shuttle control, however, no one is responding to," his voice broke off. "One moment Captain." Jim heard Sulu's voice in the background but could not hear his words. "Captain, the tractor beam has been disabled. It is most probable that,"
"Sabotage, I know Spock," Jim cut in. "Meet me in shuttle bay with two phasers. Needle beam setting," he said, swiftly trying to think ahead of the situation. "Belay that, Mr. Spock. Have Sulu try to keep the Shuttle Bay doors closed, and meet me in the transporter room!"
Spock paused in thought, for a split second, then, replied. "Captain, I believe I understand your line of reasoning, but I fail to see its effectiveness."
Kirk rolled his eyes up in his lids and sighed.
"In the least, it will avail nothing. But in the worst case it could," Spock continued.
"Now Spock, that's an order!" Jim said, only slightly irritated. He was very used to His First Officer's willingness to offer more information than was often desired.
"Aye, Sir, Spock out."
Jim punched the sender switch again and the speaker went dead. He looked over his shoulder as he made for the exit. "Take care of him Bones, he's the only Chief Engineer I have." Then he exited sickbay.
Dashing down the crowded corridor, he reached the turbo-lift. He heard the familiar voice of the computer, announcing the ship's destruction in 2 hours, just as the doors closed behind him. "Deck 7," Jim instructed the computer-controlled lift.
* * *
Lieutenant Kyle was listening to the intra-ship communications, trying to determine the reason he had been thrown to the floor and bounced around the room, a few minutes ago. He leaned over the transporter controls, one hand supporting his chin, the other, flattening down the back of his sandy colored hair. The entry door slid open to admit the Captain.
"Captain!" spoke Kyle, snapping immediately to attention.
"At ease, Mr. Kyle." Jim walked over to the controls, and rubbed his hands together. "Is everything in its usual working order?" Jim asked, assuming it was, since no mention of it was on the damage report.
"Yes, Sir, I just finished the level 1 diag's a minute ago. No damage was detected." He spoke with his usual English accent.
"When was it last tuned?"
"Just this morning, Sir. At the end of last shift. Saw em do it myself as I was coming on duty."
"Very good, Lieutenant," he said, setting the board for manual location-sensor lock and overriding the safety features. The door slid open again, this time admitting the expected Mr. Spock, who quickly moved to the controls beside Jim.
The overhead speaker came to life, "Sulu to transporter room. Mr. Kyle, is Captain Kirk there yet?"
Kyle looked at the captain, who indicated that he himself would respond. "I'm here Sulu, what is it?"
"Captain, Security reports that all guards and personnel stationed in the shuttle bay, have been phaser-stunned. And, Sir, Gallileo 2 is attempting to debark."
"Are the bay doors still closed?"
"My console says they are, but Security says," Sulu, being in contact with both the Captain and Security, had to speak to one party, while listening to the other. "Security reports the doors are opening!" The ship beneath them rumbled and vibrated as if she had run aground. "Captain, we have explosive decompression in the shuttle bay!"
"Is everyone out of there?" asked the Captain with urgency.
There was a pause of dead air space, then, "Security has them all in the airlock, Sir. No casualties to report other than that of the men being stunned," reported Sulu, then added, "Shuttle craft is launching now."
"Thank you, Mr. Sulu. Pursue shuttle craft and find out if the tractor beam can be repaired soon and get those bay doors closed," Jim said, reverting to a calmer tone for Sulu's sake, only a little relieved at what he heard. "Kirk out." Jim turned to Spock, "Our Mr. Grensk has been busy."
"It would seem," Spock commented with a nod. "Captain, if I may." Jim sighed and indicated to Spock that 'he may'. "I do not see the logic in using the transporter to stop Lieutenant Grensk, considering the way the transporters react when in contact with the explosive. It seems equally futile to have ourselves transported to the shuttle. Grensk's mechanical strength would be more than sufficient to stop us." Jim knew Spock's line of reasoning was 'off track' with the Captain's intentions, but out of respect for his 'Number One', he heard him out. "Logic suggests that we use our weapons against the shuttle either to disable or destroy it, before it is able to near the planet Organia. This would put ourselves at grave risk, but will prevent the destruction of a planet."
"Spock," Jim placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, "trust me. I have a plan, and while we execute it, I'll show you why a humble Starship Captain can beat his logical Vulcan First Officer consistently at chess." Jim moved aside. "Man the console," he said to Spock. Then looked to the Lieutenant standing away from his post. "Mr. Kyle?"
"Yes, Sir?" he felt entirely left out of the conversation and was not just a little surprised by it.
"What you are going to see is classified, dangerous and possibly a court-martial offense. So unless it goes before a board of inquiry, mum's the word."
"Mum, Sir?", he asked, genuinely confused.
"Not a word," Kirk placed his index finger to his lips.
"Aye, Sir."
"Spock, are you able to scan the shuttle?" Jim asked.
"There was some interference, but I now have a positive sensor lock on the craft itself," he said while adjusting controls. "You mentioned Chess, Captain?"
Jim restrained the look of amusement that he was inclined to facially display at the Vulcan's obvious curiosity. A quality that Jim enjoyed seeing in his friend. "Sometimes, the passion for winning, or the threat of losing, can be a 'well' of inspiration, Mr. Spock. Such is the urgency of this situation. Lock geographic sensors onto the explosive in Grensk's chest." He observed Spock's operation of the equipment, confident that his precision was equal to the task.
"Nothing personal, Spock, but logic can even hinder the process that motivates, that drives us to decisions that must be made. Deep concern about the cost of failure is another driving factor."
"Secondary lock confirmed," he said, glancing up to Jim with an inquisitive look. "Passion hardly seems a formidable strategy in a mathematically logical game such as Chess. The end result would seem to be chaos, rather than 'Check Mate'," he stated matter-of-factly, in defense of his Vulcan heritage and their standing philosophy.
"Sulu, to Captain Kirk. Sir, more bad news. All sub-space broadcasting equipment has been damaged beyond repair and estimates on tractor beam repair is 5 hours."
Jim pressed the communications switch and responded, "Mr. Sulu, I'm not surprised. Continue Impulse pursuit. Kirk out." Then to Spock, "Locate the upper perimeter of the explosive, plus 10 centimeters." Spock raised an eyebrow, hinting of his understanding at what the Captain had planned.
"You are correct in your comment comparing it to 'chaos' Mr. Spock, as that can often be the result. But it is the balance between the two: emotion used reasonably. We also have faith that the unproven or the untried, can be accomplished, though we have no evidence of it until it is tried. This 'faith' is the greatest evidence I know of, that separates us from the animals, Spock, for unlike them, we can believe in something that our 5 senses or previous experience cannot corroborate or conclusively prove."
"Upper boundary from the Lieutenant's chest cavity, located and confirmed," spoke Spock, still continuing the difficult operation, while pondering his captain's insight.
"Lock transporter beam terminator to those coordinates."
"Transporter beam locked."
Jim took a deep breath. "Mr. Spock, energize!"
With controls in hand, Spock slowly moved the matter gain levers forward. Pad 'A' started to shimmer and the outline of something began to form. Then the base of the platform exploded with a loud 'crack'.
"Cross circuit to 'B', Mr. Spock," spoke Mr. Kyle, as he shielded his eyes from the blast.
Spock's hands worked to bypass the channel with a simplistic ease that moved Lt. Kyle to envy. No stress could be seen in him, every movement exactingly correct. Pad 'B' began to glow, in the now, smoky room. "I am reducing termination boundary by 5 centimeters," he said above the hum of the machinery.
This time the shimmering on the pad began to solidify, and the disembodied head of Lieutenant Grensk, began to take shape, less than 2 meters above the platform. As more mass was added, the head slowly descended to the deck and came to rest, eyes open and mouth forming words without voice.
"Check-and-mate, Mr. Spock," said the Captain, as he went to the platform and stooped to pick up the remains of the android.
Lt. Kyle stood speechless at what he had just witnessed. He appeared to be an unwitting accomplice to murder. Jim looked over his shoulder at the lieutenant and realized it might be wise to explain. Just a little.
"It's OK, Mr. Kyle, that is an android, not a human. I don't think this qualifies as murder."
"A-aye, Sir," he said, blinking his eyes and fighting his initial shock.
"The shuttle is starting to drift off course, Captain," Spock said, looking at the equipment. "I am curious, sir, as to how you came to suspect the Grensk android from the beginning?"
"As you did, you mean?" James said, sharing the credit. "It seemed odd to me, simply the way he looked at me. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Perhaps it was his lack of soul, that was the tip-off." He looked at Spock and could tell that the Vulcan was not buying it. In the past, they both had been deceived by androids who had as much soul as Grensk. "Alright, maybe when they removed the parts of his internal workings in his chest to make room for the explosive, they damaged the circuit that allowed him to blink his eyes normally. In the conference room, I noticed that he seemed to be a bit sluggish in the 'eye batting' department."
"That could explain it," Spock conceded. "With your permission, it seems appropriate for one of us to retrieve the shuttle and Lieutenant Grensk's body. I volunteer."
"Agreed, Mr. Spock. I'll have a security team with antigravs, meet you upon your return. Be careful," he stressed the last.
"Mr. Kyle, you may return to your post and energize when ready," stated Spock as he made for the platform.
"Aye, Sir." The Lieutenant reset the console and quickly but carefully set them for the First Officer's destination.
"Captain?" Spock stated rather than questioned.
"Yes, Spock?" Jim stepped back from the transporter, cradling the heavy android head in his arms.
"I will consider your 'chess' strategy."
"Ready to transport Mr. Spock," came Kyle.
"Energize," Spock said with his arms behind his back in a formal stance, and with that he began to shimmer and disappear.
