Star Trek 1

"No." Kirk says, his tone even. There was a fifty-fifty chance he could bluff his way out of this, but he was't particularly hopeful. The grin that the alien was giving him didn't bode well.

"I'm afraid I must call you on that lie, Captain. That's a Vulcan standing next to you, isn't it? They fetch a very nice price now that they are so rare." The alien shot Kirk a smug grin.

Spock's fingers twitch at the mention of his home, but it's his only reaction to the alien. He suspected this would happen, but he hadn't realized he would be the target. Kirk glances at him before returning his attention to the alien.

"He's not for sale. Sorry."

"Are you sure? I could reward you handsomely beyond just protection. Like I said, Vulcans fetch a high price in the market."

Something dark passes across Kirk's face. "He's not for sale."

The alien cocked his head to the side as the armada's weapons made a reappearance. "Are you certain, Captain?"

"I'm positive." Kirk's voice was arctic. "Let me make this clear one last time. He is not for sale. Do not ask again." He glanced at Uhura, and she cut the transmission. "Sulu, Chekov, get us out of here. We need to get to neutral territory, and fast. Keep shields up, and go to warp. We don't have the firepower to fight these guys."

Sulu and Chekov tapped several keys on their consoles, and nodded. "Ready for warp."

"Hit it!" The engines powered up and they took off. Chekov looked up from his console.

"Sir! They are following us!"

"Get us to Federation space. Uhura, upload those coordinates to the outpost now. Sulu, get our weapons online and ready. If we have to face these guys, it'll be on our turf. Spock, run a scan on those guys, see what you can find out. Weaknesses, anything."

Spock nods affirmative, fingers flying over his console as he scans the approaching fleet. He examines the data coming in and grimaces. So far, there's no hint of a weakness they can exploit with their limited firepower. They may have to comm ahead and let the Federation know and just hope they can outrun the smugglers. Or maybe -

Something explodes against the side of the ship. The sudden lurch sends Spock sprawling across his console. Suddenly Kirk is beside him, helping him back to his feet. "What the hell was that, Uhula?" he demands.

"They've opened fire on us!"

"They have weapons that can shoot in hyperspace?" Sulu sounds frantic. "Who did they get those from?!"

"It doesn't matter!" Kirk snaps. "Get us the hell out of range!"

Kirk hails Scotty. "Scotty, give us everything she's got! We've gotta get away from these assholes!"

"I'm giving you everything she's got!"

"Give us more!" Another impact had him hanging onto the back of his chair for support. "Like, now!"

"I can't! Any more and we'll overload the warp core!" Scotty sounded frantic. Kirk looked at Sulu.

"Drop us out of warp. Wait a second, then head for Earth. Hopefully, that'll give us a few minutes headstart. Spock, Uhura, hail Starfleet. Have them prepare a battleship to rendezvous with us. We need firepower, and we don't have it."

Uhura curses rather impressively. "They're jamming our signal, Captain! I can't get out a message!" Another impact almost knocks them off their feet. The others have managed to strap in by now, but Kirk and Spock are still standing at the console. They grab on to each other and the console to avoid hitting the ground.

That's when Spock notices it. "Every time they fire, their shields flicker." he says.

Kirk blinks. "What?"

Sulu catches on quickly. "Once we drop from warp, we can open fire on them." he says. "Time our shots with theirs. They must have an inferior setup if their shields flicker like that."

"Or a poor energy source, but we won't have the time to find out which." Spock points out. "At the very least, we'll be able to fend them off if they catch us before we can warp again. Our weapons will not do much - "

"But it will make them think twice." Kirk says. "All right - hit it!"

They dropped out of warp, the aliens right behind them. Kirk gripped the back of his chair. " Bring her around and start evasive maneuvers! Make 'em work to hit us!"

Chekov and Sulu's fingers flew across their consoles, weapons firing in counterpoint to the aliens. A particularly lucky strike hit the alien's engines.

Uhura turned to Spock and Kirk. "We're being hailed."

Kirk nodded. "Keep hailing Starfleet, send them a coded distress message. Put him on screen."

The alien appears again. "Captain, surely this one Vulcan cannot possibly be worth this much trouble?"

"Apparently you think so." Kirk retorts. The alien simply grunts and turns his attention to Spock, who is still frantically working his console.

"What about you? Perhaps you can sway the Captain's mind. I will make you a deal - come with me, and I will not destroy your ship and everything on it."

"I do not think I believe you." Spock replies without thinking.

"Believe it. My fleet can and will kill you."

Kirk's stare goes stony. "You are not getting Spock. End of story." Movement from the corner of his eye catches his attention. Uhura nods once and goes back to her work. Kirk straightened and gave the alien flat stare. "If you continue this, we will fight you until either we or you are destroyed."

"I think you're bluffing." The alien studied Kirk.

"Try me."

The transmission was cut, and Sulu's fingers began flying over his console. "They're powering up weapons!"

"Raise our shields! Same pattern as before! We've got reinforcements coming, we just have to hold them off. Uhura, what do we have on the way?"

"Two Starfleet destroyers and an interceptor. The interceptor will be here in five minutes." Uhura said. A blast from the other ship almost threw her from the chair. "Can we hold them off that long?"

"We'll try."

Another explosion against the ship. Spock grabs hold of the console. Checkov growls. "Shields down 60%" he calls out. "We're not gonna last five minutes!"

Kirk glances down at Spock. The Vulcan's face is blank, but he knows all to well what goes through his mind. "No." he growls. "You're not doing it."

"I wouldn't expect you to let me." Spock says mildly, although he can't deny the thought crossed his mind. "Uhura, I recommend telling the interceptor to hurry."

"Already on it." she replies. "ETA 2 minutes."

"That's more like it." Checkov growls. "We can do two minutes."

Kirk glances at Spock. "Don't even try it, Spock."

Spock gave him the Vulcan equivalent of a scoff. "Even if I were to attempt it, I suspect that between yourself and Lieutenant Uhura, I would find myself stunned and strapped into my seat."

Uhura nodded. "That's about the long and short of it, yeah." Another explosion rocked the ship.

Kirk turned to Chekov. "Damage report."

"Shields down another ten percent. We can't take another hit like that one."

Uhura stood and joined Kirk and Spock. "The interceptor is here and is firing at the enemy ship. The battleships are a minute and a half behind." She paused. "We're being hailed again."

"Put him on screen. Tell the interceptor and battleships to hold fire." Kirk said, turning to face the screen.

The alien came back up on the screen. "Your reinforcements won't be enough to save you." he sneers. "The only way to live is to give us the Vulcan."

"Not gonna happen." Kirk has dropped all formalities. "You shouldn't have fired on my ship."

"You should have taken my offer. I'm sure your exploration would not have suffered at his loss."

"Captain, Starfleet has sent a message." Uhura says. "You need to see this." She moves so Kirk can see the screen without moving. It says one word - Negotiate. So the aliens must be at least somewhat important for Starfleet to risk this.

Kirk looks up at the alien. "Go to hell." he says flatly. "Uhura - tell the ships to open fire."

It took a second, but the ships opened fire. The alien's shields didn't last long under the barrage of fire from the battleships. Within minutes the alien ship exploded, debris flying everywhere. The interceptor hailed them.

"Was that necessary, Captain Kirk? We told you to negotiate." The admiral looking at him scowled.

"It was necessary, Admiral. He was asking us to sell my First Officer to them. He was a smuggler, sir." Kirk said, back straightening out of habit. "I took the measures necessary to protect him and my crew, and would do the same again."

The Admiral frowned, but accepted the explanation.

"Admiral." Spock speaks before he can think better of it. He keeps his face carefully expressionless. "I cannot help but come to the conclusion that we were sent into that part of space on purpose. Perhaps to draw out the smugglers?"

The admiral's gaze flickers to Kirk. "Keep your First Lieutenant in line, Captain." With that the communication is cut.

Sulu laughs harshly. "If we were sent there, it wasn't to draw the smugglers out, Spock." he says.

"I thought I'd give the admiral the benefit of the doubt." Spock says dryly.

"Uhula - damage report. I want to know what's taken hits and how long it will take to fix them. Coordinate with Scotty, make sure the warp drive is uncompromised." Kirk turns his attention to Spock. "A word." The two leave the command room. The outside hallway isn't exactly private, but it's better, and they can't just leave command yet. Kirk rounds on Spock. "Please tell me you weren't planning on doing that."

"The thought did cross my mind." Spock admits.

Kirk gave a quiet laugh. "Well, then, thank you for not driving me to an early grave and agreeing to go."

Spock allowed a tiny grin to cross his face. "Again, my assessment of how you and Uhura would stop me is accurate."

Kirk laughed outright as they walked back onto the bridge. Uhura looked up from her console. "Repairs are underway, and Scotty says that the warp core is fine. He gives approximately five hours before we're ready for travel. None of the hits were direct, just glancing, so it's just patch repairs at this point."

Kirk nodded. "All right. Well, we're in neutral territory now, let's head to the outpost, and dock there until repairs are complete. The ship'll hold until we get there, right?"

"Yes. Most of the damage is superficial."

"Good. Let's get to safety, guys." Kirk turned a wry grin to Spock. "Ten bucks says my coffee spilled."

Spock offers a hint of a smile. "Twenty says the cups aren't even on the same side of the mess hall." he replies.

Kirk grins. "Should we go find out? Make sure med bay is secure while we're at it?"

Sulu grimaces. "Just don't remind Doc I'm late for my check-up."

"I won't tell if you don't get caught." Kirk replies cheerfully.

Sulu laughed as he manuevered the Enterprise into the docking bay. "Deal."

Kirk grinned. "Then I would start by vacating the bridge. I'm willing to bet pretty good money that Bones is on his way up here right now."

"And I'm gone!" The docking clamps in place, Sulu stood, stretched, and took off through the doors. They'd barely closed behind them when Bones stepped off the turbolift.

Spock merely rose an eyebrow as Bones walked in, scanning everyone present. Kirk gave him a slight grin before turning to Bones.

"Yes, Bones?"

"Smugglers, Jim? Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"You're trying to send me to an early grave, aren't you?"

"Not intentionally." Kirk said easily, grinning up at the medic.

Bones sighs. "What the hell. Smugglers. What are the odds?" He scans the group one last time. "Is anyone injured? No? Better be telling the truth, because if I find out later that you are, there will be hell to pay." With that he walks off the bridge. Kirk immediately dissolves into laughter.

"Come on, Captain." Spock says, fighting back his own laughter. "Let's go find that coffee." With that he leads the still-laughing Kirk off the bridge.

Chekov glances at Uhula. "Is it just me, or do those two spend an inordinate amount of time together?"

Uhula laughs. "Chekov - there are some things you just don't question. Their relationship is best left alone. It'll make your head hurt."

"Don't doubt that. At least it's not just me."

Uhura laughed and patted Chekov on the shoulder. "Nope. Not just you. Come on, we've got some time off, and I'll share my vodka stash with you and we can swap drunk stories."

Chekov laughed and stood, stretching the kinks out of his back. "That sounds like a plan. And once Scotty's done with repairs, he can bring whiskey and join us."

--/

Kirk and Spock entered the mess hall and Kirk immediately cracked up. There was coffee everywhere. He dug a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to Spock. "It's a twenty well lost."

Spock merely pocketed the bill and shook his head. "Shall we get this cleaned up. After all, it is our coffee."

"Yeah. I'll go hunt a mop down."

It doesn't take them long to clean up the mess and retrieve more coffee. Spock takes a sip of his. "What will you do while we wait for the repairs to be finished?" he asks.

Kirk sighs. "Honestly, I'm going to see what else I can dig up on our mission. There's got to be something we're supposed to be doing, and after the smugglers, I'd rather not take any chances."

"You don't like what I implied."

"What did they expect me to do?" Kirk mutters.

Spock offers a half-shrug. "Perhaps they wanted you to give me up."

"All aboard the train to nope-ville!"

That makes the Vulcan choke on his coffee. "All aboard what?"

Kirk didn't laugh, but it was a close thing. "All aboard the train to Nope-ville." he said with a grin. "It's something I picked up from Chekov. Don't ask."

Spock shook his head. "I wasn't planning to."

Kirk nodded and took a sip of his coffee, wincing when he burnt his tongue. "Ow. Hot."

Spock shook his head, then turned the conversation back to their mission. "So, what are we to do?"

Kirk sighed. "I've sent a message to Starfleet asking if they could elaborate a little on where they want us to go. It's just a matter of time before we get the response. So until then, I figure we'll just wait here. I'm not going anywhere without a direct set of coordinates. It's too dangerous, and I'm not willing to put my ship, and my crew at risk like that again."

Spock nods. "I believe it would be wise to arm the Enterprise while we are here. I have some acquaintances in the science division - I could ask a few favors."

Kirk considers. "That shook you up too, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did. I've been singled out before because of my heritage, but never like that." the Vulcan replies. "Besides, I would rather not be at the mercy of Starfleet should be come across trouble again."

Kirk nods. "Do it. Tell 'em that I'll pay if that sweetens the deal. I've got more than enough, I'll fund their program if I have to."

Spock doesn't quite grin, but it's close. "I'll be sure to tell them."

Kirk snorts. "I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not - you've got a hell of a poker-face there, Spock.

"So I've been told." Spock said dryly.

Kirk shook his head and grinned. "Yeah, by Captain Pike, if I remember correctly." The grin faded a little at the mention of Pike. "Anyway, so we're hopefully going to be outfitted with more weapons, and with any luck, a definitive set of coordinates. Am I missing anything? I feel like I'm forgetting something." Kirk muttered.

"I would like more information on those smugglers, but that is hardly necessary for the continuation of the mission." Spock muses. "I suppose anything else we may need, we will remember before we leave again."

At that moment, McCoy walks into the room. "Coffee?" he asks hopefully. Kirk hands him a cup and lets him fill it up himself. "Are we staying here for any length of time? I'd like to restock - just in case."

Kirk nodded. "Yeah - we've got a lot of minor repairs to do, and we need more weaponry than what we've got. So, yeah, you've got the time to restock on anything you need in medbay. Give me the list, and I'll approve it."

McCoy sat down and looked Spock over. "You all right there, Spock?"

"Yes, I am fine, Doctor."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "You can call me Bones, you know. Just throwing that out there for ya."