Starfleet Chronicles - Leonard McCoy

Chapter Five

Spock and Jade walked over to the transporter pad and waited for Jim to arrive. Jade gave Spock and Uhura some space to say goodbye, so she left a spot open between them. Jim was walking towards them as Nyota leaned forward and passionately kissed Spock, causing Jade to smile at her friend. She'd never understood her love for the commander, but who was she to judge? Jade had a crush on her brother's best friend from the moment they met on the academy shuttle three years ago. Jim stopped at the transporter control, and she listened as she told Sulu his orders. "Whatever happens, Mr. Sulu, If you think you have the tactical advantage, you fire on that ship, even if we're still on board. That's an order. Otherwise, we'll contact the Enterprise when we're ready to be beamed back."

Jade knew this was the best decision, but it still shocked her that he was ready to sacrifice himself and them to stop Nero. Pike had been correct that Jim would make a great captain and make their parents proud. Jim's shocked face at the display between the commander and Uhura was priceless. She couldn't hear what Uhura said to Spock, but she clearly heard him say thank you and her first name. Uhura had made Jade promise to never tell Jim her first name. It started as a joke, but then it became funny watching him try and guess. After an awkward moment between the two boys, Mr. Scott interrupted. "Okey-Dokey, then, if there's any common sense in the design of enemy ship, I should be putting you somewhere inside the Cargo Bay. Shouldn't be a soul in sight." When Jim said to energize, she felt the familiar yet unsettling feeling of being transported. When she was able to see her surroundings, she gasped and ducked as phaser blasts were being shot all around them. She pulled out her own phaser and began to shoot. She ducked behind a console next to Mr. Spock, who looked just as shocked as she was. "Are you alright, Ms. Kirk?" She glanced up at her commander, trying to keep from panicking. "Honestly, Mr. Spock, Given the circumstances we've found ourselves in, I think you can call me Jade." His lips twitched at her response before giving a brief nod and continuing.

They managed to clear the deck quite quickly between the three of them. She watched as Jim switched his phaser to stun and shoot one of the enemy crewmen before switching it back to kill. Spock walked over to Jim, who whispered, "We'll cover you." Spock hesitated before asking, "Are you certain?" Jade placed a calming hand on his shoulder and said, "We got you, Spock." He nodded and ran over to the stunned Romulan. As Spock performed the mind meld on the fallen Romulan, they inched closer to him. Another two Romulans ran up behind him, but Jim and Jade were the perfect team to protect him. They trusted each other implicitly, making them a team no one could break. They walked over to Spock, Jim taking the front to guard and Jade watching the rear. Jim spoke softly, trying to keep from alerting any remaining Romulans that may be about. "Do you know where it is? The black hole device?" Spock lifted his head with a smirk as he looked around and answered, "And Captain Pike." They began to move forward in the deck they were on. Jade followed her brother and Spock, continuously surveying behind them to ensure they were safe. They ran up to the loading dock and found a peculiar-looking ship that had to be the one containing the black hole device. They ran onto it and began searching. As they moved forward into the ship's cabin, Spock sighed. "I foresee a complication," he stated calmly. "The design of their ship is far more advanced than I had anticipated." Before either she or Jim could respond, the computer began speaking. "Voice print and face recognition analysis enabled. Welcome back, Ambassador Spock." Jim avoided eye contact with either of them as he said, "Wow, that's weird." Jade glared at the back of her brother's head, knowing he was keeping something from them. Spock decided to ask the computer rather than her brother, and she didn't blame him. "Computer, what is your manufacturing origin?" he asked firmly. The computer answered readily and without hesitation. "Stardate 2387. Commissioned by the Vulcan Science Academy." She watched as Spock looked as confused as she felt. She glanced at Spock and said, "Wait, that's over a hundred years in the future. What the hell is going on?" He sighed as he looked back at her. "I wish I knew, but I believe your brother is keeping something to himself."
They walked over to the ship's control, where Jim was glancing around. Spock didn't waste any time as he approached. "It appears that you have been keeping important information from your sister and I." Jim ignored his statement and said, "You're going to be able to fly this thing, right?" Spock scoffed and replied, "Something tells me I already have." Jim stared at him for a moment before wishing him luck. As they began to walk away, Spock called out. "Jim. The statistical likelihood that our plan will succeed is less than 4.3%." Jim sighed and told him that it would work. Spock was not to be deterred as he continued, "In the event that I do not return, please tell Lieutenant Uhura," Jim interrupted again and said, "Spock! It'll work."

As Jim exited the ship, she smiled softly at Spock. "I'll tell her you love her, Spock. If you return and I don't, will you tell McCoy the same for me?" Spock gave her a small smile at her confession and nodded. "Of course, Jade. Please be careful so neither of us has to deliver those messages." Jade smiled back and nodded before turning and running to catch up with her brother. He took her hand and began to navigate towards the holding area. They stopped and watched as Spock got the ship off the ground and began flying towards the edge of the oddly shaped ship they were stuck on.

They continued their mission and had to go through a series of weird tunnels before they came across the man himself. Nero was standing on a platform in front of them, and Jim's sole focus was on him. Nero was focused on her brother and didn't seem to notice her, so she pressed herself back against the tunnel wall, staying hidden in the shadows. She watched as Jim was laser-focused on their father's murderer and began to speak, causing her to roll her eyes. "Nero, order your men to disable the drill, or I will-"She almost gasped when Jim was struck with something and knocked to the ground, his phaser falling off the ledge. Jim was flanked by two other Romulans as Nero Jumped the long distance to land beside her brother. She inched backward, staying in the shadows to avoid being seen so that she could have the tactical advantage. Nero ran over to where her brother lay on the ground, stunned, and said, "I know your face from Earth's history." She closed her eyes as Nero bent down and picked her brother up by his shirt and threw him down, hard, once more. He picked him up and began punching him roughly, but she couldn't move, or she'd be right there with him. She watched as they traded blows, and she readied her phaser for the perfect moment. "James T. Kirk was considered to be a great man. You and your sister were hailed as the greatest duo Starfleet has ever seen before and since. James Kirk went on to captain the U.S.S. Enterprise. But that was another life. A life I will deprive you of, just like I did your father. I might let your sister live, but I know where you are; she is sure to follow, so I'm sure I'll find her sooner or later, and she'll suffer the same fate." Jade bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood to keep from acting rashly. She was about to leave the shadows when a voice sounded through the P.A.P.A. system. "Captain Nero. The Vulcan ship has been taken. The drill has been destroyed."

She watched as Nero became enraged and let go of her brother. He began to yell for Spock and ran away from him. Jim began to stand up as the other two Romulans advanced on him. He glanced in Jade's direction and then made a running jump after where Nero had left. He didn't exactly stick the landing and was hanging on to the ledge, barely. She watched as one of the Romulans jumped in front of him and picked him up. Before the other one could follow, she stepped out of the shadows and said, "Hey, asshole!" Just as he turned, shocked to hear another voice, she shot him with her phaser, sending him over the ledge. She began to make her way to the other platform, where Jim struggled with the last Romulan in the area. She knew better than to jump, so she made her way down to him as quickly as she could. When she arrived at the other end, she saw her brother shoot the enemy with his own gun before dropping back down onto the ledge. She rushed forward and helped him up. When he was standing in front of her, she pulled him into a hug, which he readily returned. When she pulled back from him, she frantically surveyed him and asked, "Jim, are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't act sooner; I was just trying to keep from-"He cut her off and hugged her again. "I'm okay, Winnie; you did the right thing. Let's go find Captain Pike before we run out of time."

They found Captain Pike strapped to a table, a black sludge running from his mouth. Jade gasped as she ran forward, and Jim took out the two Romulans standing near him. She began to undo the straps on her side as Jim ran to the other side. Pike blinked at her momentarily before asking in a cracked voice, "What are you two doing here?" Jim smirked at Pike and said, "We're just following orders." Jade was still knelt down, undoing the restraints as Jim was taking them off as she got them free. She watched as he grabbed Jim's gun, sat up, and took out two oncoming Romulans. She and Jim helped Captain Pike stand as Jim pulled out his communicator.

"Enterprise, Now!" She felt the familiar pull as they began to be beamed back to their ship. When her surroundings came back into view, Spock was standing on her left. They smiled at each other before rushing forward to help Jim with Pike. Jim chuckled as he looked at Mr. Scott. "Nice timing, Scotty!" She listened as Mr. Scott explained he'd never beamed four people from two targets onto one pad before. As McCoy took over care of Captain Pike, Mr. Scott, and Jade made their way back to the engineering deck to prepare to head home. She'd made brief eye contact with McCoy, but it wasn't the time, and they had things to do.

She and Scotty worked together to ensure they could warp out of the area. The ship was shaking precariously, and they had to hold on as they moved through the deck. She had no idea what was happening, but she knew it was bad. They knew things were dire when they heard Jim's voice through the comms. "Kirk to Engineering, Get us out of here, Scotty!" She watched as Scotty yelled, "You bet your ass, Captain!" The ship began to shake more violently as Mr. Scott joined her at the control board. They looked at each other, scared, but Jade pressed her communicator.

"Captain, we're caught in the gravity well! It's got us!" She heard Jim's urgent response, "Go to maximum warp, push it!" Mr. Scott scoffed and shook his head as he yelled back, "We've given her all she's got, Captain!" Jade heard cracking noises as the ship continued to shake. They heard Jim's voice urgently again, "All she's got isn't good enough, what else you got?" She watched as Mr. Scott ran his hands through his hair and groaned. She ran over to him and grasped his shoulders. "Scotty! The warp core, we have to eject it!" His eyes widened, and he nodded as he responded to Jim.

"Okay, if we eject the core and detonate, the blast could be enough to push us away. I cannae promise anything, though!" They heard Jim's frantic call back to them. "Do it, Do it, Do it!" She and Mr. Scott began to yell at their crewmen, making them clear the area for their safety. The two of them worked silently as they began to prepare the core to be ejected. She held Scotty's hand as he pressed the button with his free one, both terrified about what could happen. The warp core detonated, and they held onto each other, Jade squeezing her eyes closed, awaiting their fate.

They didn't hear the detonation, but they felt the force of it as it pushed them forward, knocking both Mr. Scott and her into the console and onto the ground. The red alert alarm began blaring around them, and she let out a scared yelp, tears escaping down her cheeks. Scotty pulled her into a hug, trying to calm both of them down as the ship continued to shake so much it felt like it was going to be ripped apart. When, after a few minutes, the shaking stopped, and the ship leveled out, they let go of each other and sat up. Mr. Scott stood up and helped her to her feet.

"Well, that was certainly an introduction to working together, lassie." Jade began to chuckle as more tears escaped down her cheeks. He gave her a soft smile before pressing his communicator. "Captain, are we clear?" They heard cheering on the other end and Jim's relieved voice on the other end. "We're clear, Scotty; everything okay down there?" Jade was zoning out; she felt like she was going to faint. She vaguely heard Mr. Scott telling her brother that he was going to take her to the Med bay, but before she could respond to that, everything went dark.