Star Trek: The Original Series: The Shocks of Adversity (16 page)

“Is that why we’re changing course?” the Abesian asked, as he held the thumbprint
scanner out to Sulu.

“What?” Chekov blurted.

“We are?” asked the Rokean guard behind his back.

The Abesian nodded as he held his scanner to Chekov. “You don’t feel it?”

Chekov paused, and tried to make himself aware of the feel of the Domain ship. On
the
Enterprise
, he could usually detect the shift in ship’s power that accompanied a change in direction
or
speed; apparently the same held true for the crew of this ship, too, because the Rokean
was nodding now in agreement.

“Huh,” Chekov’s guard said, giving him an oddly impressed look.

“Guess you convinced Second Commander Satrav after all,” Sulu’s guard said, and then
the guards pushed the Starfleet officers into the intership connecting tunnel.

*   *   *

“Changing course?”

Kirk stood up from his chair and stepped forward, leaning over Lieutenant Kyle’s shoulder
to check the astrogation board for himself. “Are you certain it’s not just a course
correction?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Kyle answered as he reviewed the data coming through the helm station.

“Sensors aren’t picking up anything that would require a correction,” Lieutenant Arex
added from his position to Kyle’s right.

Kirk moved back to his chair again and hit the comm panel. “Kirk to Sulu: report.”
He got no answer. “Kirk to Chekov, come in.”

Again there was no response, and Kirk looked to Uhura at her station. “Our signal
is getting through,” she told him, having already anticipated his question.

“Then why aren’t they answering?” Kirk asked,
more to himself than to the communications officer. “Get me Commander Laspas.”

Uhura nodded as she turned to her board, and a moment later said, “Commander Laspas
is responding, sir.”

“Good. Open channel, and put him on the main screen,” Kirk said as he walked around
in front of the astrogation panel and faced the image of his Domain counterpart. “What’s
going on over there, Commander?” he asked before the other man could say a word. “Where
are you taking my ship?”

Laspas’s eyes went wide in shock.
“We’ve discovered a vessel in distress, and have initiated rescue procedures,”
he told Kirk.
“Your officers told Satrav you would be amenable to this.”

That stopped Kirk cold. “A rescue mission?”

“Yes, a civilian transport vessel that’s suffered a warp core breach,”
Laspas said.
“Under ordinary circumstances, with a vessel of this class and size, we would be severely
limited in what we could do. But with the
Enterprise
and its resources?”
The Goeg’s voice took on an unmistakably pleading tone.
“James, there may be as many as two hundred and fifty people aboard that vessel . . .”

Kirk put up a hand and said, “Of course, we don’t object to undertaking a rescue mission.
You offered us your help when we needed it; we’d be more than happy to do what we
can for you now.”

“Thank you, James,”
Laspas said, a smile of relief crossing his face.

“Where are my officers, Laspas?” Kirk asked. He knew neither Sulu nor Chekov would
have signed off on a course change, even for a crisis situation, without reporting
it back to the
Enterprise
.

Laspas’s smiling expression turned more serious.
“It seems that in advocating the change of mission, they incited at least one act
of insubordination amongst my crew. Satrav had to have them removed before he could
brief me on the situation.”

“You had them removed?” Kirk asked, feeling his ire rise again. “We had agreed that
we would have those liaisons aboard your ship as my observers and advocates at all
times.”

Laspas explained,
“From what Satrav tells me, they were quite impassioned, on the verge of inciting
a mutiny.”

“I . . . find that difficult to believe,” Kirk answered, keeping his tone neutral.

Laspas shook his head slightly and said,
“I’m certain it was simply a case of misunderstanding, and your men’s unfamiliarity
with our protocols.”

The captain appreciated that the commander was attempting to appease him without expressing
any doubt in the motives of his officers. But he couldn’t help but wonder exactly
what the nature of this latest “miscommunication” was. “And where are Sulu and Chekov
now?” he asked Laspas.

“They should be back aboard the
Enterprise,” Laspas answered.
“But now that the confusion has been resolved, they are welcome back aboard.”

Kirk weighed his next words carefully. “I think perhaps, for the duration of the rescue
mission, it would be best if you and I were to communicate directly rather than through
intermediaries. As to avoid any more miscommunication.”

“That may be for the best,”
Laspas agreed.
“Though I do want you to know that we are immensely grateful to Mister Chekov for
his invaluable insights. You have a fine young officer in that man, James.”

“Thank you,” Kirk said neutrally as Laspas signed off. He remained where he stood,
and wondered what Chekov had done to be singled out for such praise, so shortly after
being ejected from the
814
. There was far too much miscommunication happening of late, and Kirk worried that
he and Laspas were not as immune to it as either might have thought.

“Sir?”

Kirk shook off his reverie, and turned to the navigator. “Yes, Mister Arex?”

“I’ve received the coordinates of the crippled transport from the
814
,” he answered. “I’ve calculated that our arrival at the Wezonvu Repair Facility will
be delayed by approximately fifty-nine hours at minimum, not including the time required
for the rescue operation itself.”

“Thank you, Mister Arex,” Kirk said as he
circled back around the astrogation station. “Uhura, intraship,” he said as he settled
back into his chair.

She nodded as she turned to her workstation, keyed in the proper sequence of commands,
and then turned back. “Go ahead, sir.”

Lifting his head toward the bridge audio receptors, Kirk said, “Attention, all personnel.
This is the captain speaking. The
Enterprise
and the 814 have been temporarily diverted from our journey to the Goeg Domain’s
repair facility in order to assist our new allies in a humanitarian mission. This
will mean at least three additional days of joint operation of our two ships. Your
efforts thus far during this joint mission have been noted and are greatly appreciated,
and I know I can rely on each of you to continue your exemplary performance as the
Enterprise
helps in this rescue mission. Kirk out.”

The captain gestured to Uhura to close the channel, and as she acknowledged, Lieutenant
Arex reported, “Course change completed, Captain. Now on an intercept course with
the transport’s coordinates at warp four.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Kirk said, acknowledging the execution of an order he had
not given, and watched the stars warp by, his ship out of his control.

*   *   *

Scotty felt a tap on the heel of his boot, and heard what he thought was someone saying
his name. He
switched off the sonic decoupler he was using and peered down to the lower opening
of the Jefferies tube. “Hello?”

“Mister Scott?” he heard clearly now. “Chief N’Mi asked me to report to you.”

“Ah, yes.” Scotty climbed back down to the main engineering deck, where one of the
814
’s Abesian technicians was standing waiting for him. “Lieutenant Fexil, isn’t it?”

“First Lieutenant Fexil, yes,” she said.

“Right. I heard you the other night, playing with Uhura in the rec hall,” Scotty said,
giving her a smile and a wink. “Lovely performance.”

Fexil dipped her head modestly and said, “Thank you, sir.”

“So then, lass,” Scotty said as he crossed to the worktable where he had laid his
open toolkit. “I was talking with your chief, telling her that, seeing as we’re going
to be spending a few more days together than first planned, we could maybe get a few
more of our repairs started before we lay in at your repair base.”

“That would be an efficient use of time.”

“My thinking precisely.” Scotty put the decoupler back in its appropriate cutout in
the kit, and then picked up the data slate he had laid on the table beside it. “I
would really like to get some people up and inside our damaged warp nacelle pylon
and see just how deep those microfractures
go.” He handed the slate to Fexil, and said, “I hope you don’t mind that N’Mi volunteered
you.”

“Oh, no,” she answered, unable to contain a small grin. “I’m actually thrilled to
have the excuse to work on the
Enterprise
.”

Scotty tilted his head, considering the woman and her reaction. “It’s not going to
be any day at the beach, you realize.”

Fexil looked up at him, momentarily confused by his metaphor. “No, sir,” she then
assured him. “I understand this is work, and I will treat it as such.”

“All right, good,” Scotty said, then added, “Though if you wish to linger here a bit
after the work is done, I won’t deny you that.” Fexil’s smile returned on hearing
that. “You know, lass,” Scotty continued, “I get the impression . . . and I hope you
don’t take this the wrong way . . . but it seems the
814
isn’t the most pleasant place.”

Fexil reacted as if slapped. “Well, being an officer in the Defense Corps isn’t meant
to be pleasurable,” she said. “It’s one of the most important jobs in the entire Goeg
Domain.”

“Well, yes, of course it is,” Scotty said in response. “But still, as hard and as
serious as any job is, you’ve got to be able to take some pleasure in it.”

The Abesian looked ready to dispute that, but instead said, “I’ll review these requirements,
and have a duty schedule prepared before the end of this shift, sir.”

“Aye, thank you, lass,” Scotty said, dismissing her, and shook his head sadly at her
retreating form before grabbing another tool from his kit and climbing back into the
Jefferies tube to continue his work.

*   *   *

“To ensure the record is clear as to the sequence of events,” Spock said, leaning
back in his chair and looking across the briefing room table to where Sulu and Chekov
were seated, “when you initially pointed out the possibility of survivors to Second
Commander Satrav, Mister Chekov, he opted not to investigate and to continue on to
Wezonvu, is that correct?”

Ensign Chekov, sitting erect with his eyes straight ahead, responded, “Yes, sir.”

Spock shifted his gaze then to take in both men. “And you questioned his decision?”

“He was using the
Enterprise
as an excuse for not investigating,” Sulu said. “I felt that we had to make it clear
to him that Starfleet would never prevent them from undertaking a rescue mission.”

Captain Kirk leaned forward in his own chair beside Spock. “That’s when Satrav told
you, ‘Captain Kirk does not command this vessel’?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” Sulu answered.

“At that point,” Spock continued, “you say there was a single member of the
814
crew who spoke in
support of a diversion, prompting Satrav to eject her and you from their command center.”

“That’s correct, sir,” Sulu said. “And it wasn’t until we were almost off the ship
that we found out that Commander Laspas had reversed Satrav’s decision.”

Spock nodded, satisfied that this debriefing was now complete, if not entirely satisfied
with the questions that still remained unresolved. The first officer turned to Kirk,
who seemed momentarily lost in thought, but caught Spock’s look and said, “Thank you,
gentlemen. You’re dismissed.”

As Sulu and Chekov both stood to leave, Spock continued to observe the captain’s face,
trying to get a read on whatever thoughts were currently going through his mind. Spock
was once again struck by how well the typically emotional human captain was able to
repress any outward indications of his mental status. “Well, Spock,” Kirk finally
said once the doors had slid closed, “your thoughts?”

Spock tilted his head and said, “It would seem that Commander Laspas’s claim that
Misters Sulu and Chekov were in danger of inciting mutiny was an exaggeration, at
best.”

“Well, Satrav’s claim, as related by Laspas,” Kirk countered.

Spock inclined his head, acknowledging this distinction. “We’ve seen that the Domain
Defense Corps is more strictly authoritarian than Starfleet. Clearly, Second Commander
Satrav
perceived a challenge to his authority where there was none.”

Kirk nodded, and then sighed. “I suppose misunderstandings are almost inevitable early
on in any association between two different cultures. We need to find a way to minimize
these problems, especially now, as we head into what is potentially a dangerous situation.”

Spock steepled his hands in front of his face as he considered his response. “Captain,”
he said at length, “I would suggest that the problem we currently face is not one
of misunderstanding.”

“No?” Kirk asked, raising one eyebrow.

“No, sir,” Spock said as he turned to face the captain. “Satrav did not misunderstand
Sulu and Chekov; he refused to listen to them, or to accept their input as valid.
This incident, as well as others, illustrate the Domain’s propensity for unilateral
action, and a seeming unwillingness to engage in the type of cooperative effort we
had agreed to.”

“That’s a rather broad condemnation, Spock,” Kirk said. “Don’t forget it was a Domain
officer who offered us their help in the first place.”

“My memory is intact,” Spock assured the captain. “However, we have had several instances
now where the Domain crew has shown they consider our interests to be secondary to
their own.”

“There are always conflicts of interest, Spock,” Kirk said. “It’s all but unavoidable.
What’s important
is that we’re able to resolve those conflicts peacefully and amicably.”