Star Trek: The Original Series: The Shocks of Adversity (19 page)

Seconds later, posts that had been in near-silent standby mode for close to two weeks
came back to life, and the familiar music of electronic tones and chirps filled the
bridge again. “That’s more like it,” Chekov said as both he and Sulu conducted a quick
review of their current status.

Kirk tried to put the frustration he was currently experiencing to one side to focus
instead on the situation at hand. “Mister Sulu, fire at will.”

“Yes, sir,” the helmsman answered as the Taarpi ship made another swooping pass on
the main viewscreen. Sulu fired weapons again, and this time his shot was far more
accurate. “Direct hit on their impulse engine!” he shouted in triumph. “They’re limping,
sir. I think we have them.”

Kirk struck the left arm of his chair with his fist, sharing in Sulu’s jubilation,
“Uhura,” he said, “open a channel. Tell them to stand down and surrender their vessel.”

Uhura turned to her console, then quickly turned back. “They’re refusing our hails,
sir.”

“Captain,” said Chekov, “I believe they are attempting to go to warp.”

Kirk knew that he couldn’t let that happen; he didn’t want this pursuit to become
an open-ended mission. “Sulu, move to intercept. Don’t let them get away.”

Sulu said, “Aye, sir,” and an instant later, a photon torpedo was launched from the
Enterprise
, flew across the bow of the fleeing vessel, and exploded directly in its path.

Kirk leapt up from his chair. “Sulu! No!” he shouted. Using photon torpedoes against
a vessel the size of this one would have been deemed overkill even before it had been
disabled.

Sulu, though, had recoiled back in his chair, hands poised up and away from his control
panel, as he watched aghast at the scene playing out on the
viewer. The force of the blast had sent the Taarpi ship into a tumble, turning end
over end as a series of smaller explosions, like a string of old-fashioned black powder
firecrackers, flared along its outer hull. “I didn’t do that, sir!” he said.

Before the captain could demand to know who did, he heard the whine and whoosh of
another photon torpedo being propelled from its launch tube. Looking up to the screen
again, he saw this one land a direct hit on the Taarpi ship, and watched in horror
as the vessel was consumed in a white-hot fireball of matter/antimatter annihilation.
Kirk grabbed hold of the back of Sulu’s chair to steady himself, looking first at
the horrified upturned face of the helmsman, then at his first officer. “Spock?”

The Vulcan turned in his chair away from his station. “The torpedo launches were not
initiated by Mister Sulu.” Kirk’s follow-up question caught in his throat, and fury
overtook his shock as he registered Spock’s next words. “The triggering commands came
from the
814
.”

Spock stood as Kirk headed for the turbolift. Unbidden, Spock followed directly behind
the captain, joining him just as the doors began to slide closed. Kirk pretended to
ignore him as he ordered the car to the ventral airlock and squeezed the activation
handle with far more force than necessary. They rode for several seconds in silence,
Spock violating standard convention by remaining at the front of the car with his
back to the door. Finally, Kirk met his first officer’s passive stare and snapped,
“Was there something you wanted, Mister Spock?”

Spock considered his commanding officer and friend for a moment longer before answering,
“May I respectfully suggest that confronting Commander Laspas at this time would be
unwise, given your present emotional state.”

“Mister Spock, even you must recognize that my ‘present emotional state’ is completely
justifiable,” Kirk said testily.

Before Spock could elucidate on that point,
Sulu’s voice sounded from the turbolift companel.
“Bridge to Captain.”

The captain reached over and replied, “Kirk here.”

“Sir, we detected an escape pod from the Taarpi ship,”
Sulu reported.
“Three life-forms aboard.”

A small glimmer of hope broke through Kirk’s dark expression. “Beam them aboard immediately,
and alert McCoy.”

“Already way ahead of you, Jim,”
the doctor’s filtered voice interjected.
“We’ve got all three of them, and we’re on our way to surgery.”

“Surgery?” Kirk asked, the light of his hope dimming. “How bad is it?”

“I wish I could tell you, Jim, but right now . . .”
McCoy said, and trailed off uncertainly.

The captain sighed. “I know you’ll do your best, Bones. Kirk out.” He deactivated
the comm unit’s transmit button, and looked back to Spock. “You realize, if Bones
can’t save them, that’s three more murders on my head.”

“You cannot accept the moral responsibility for the actions of others,” Spock told
him.

“It was
my
ship that struck the killing blow,” Kirk countered, pained. “I’m the one who agreed
to cooperate with Laspas in this . . . vendetta. I believed him when he said what
he wanted was justice, not revenge.”

Spock paused to consider his response. “Might I
suggest the possibility, Captain, that the destruction of the Taarpi ship was not
intentional? The first torpedo launched was fired across their bow.”

“The first of two, Spock,” Kirk reminded him.

The Vulcan acknowledged that point with a nod. “I would also note that the Domain
does not possess photon weapons; the most powerful armaments in their arsenal are
cobalt fusion torpedoes. It is likely they were unaware of our photon torpedoes’ capabilities.”

“Is that supposed to excuse them for co-opting our weapons systems?”

“No, sir,” Spock said. “Although we had already agreed to assist the Domain against
the Taarpi ship, and had already employed our weaponry against them.”

Kirk shook his head at him, incredulous. “Spock, you’re the one who took exception
when they interfered with our scanners. Now you’re defending their commandeering of
our weapons?”

“No, sir,” Spock said. “I am not defending what they’ve done, and I continue to be
concerned by the seemingly cavalier treatment of this ship by Commander Laspas and
his crew. However, we are in a position where continued cooperation with them is necessary
if we are to reach their repair facilities. It is in our best interests to recognize
that the Goeg Domain is not as similar to the Federation as we may have initially
thought.”

Kirk scowled. “That has become abundantly clear.” The lift came to a halt, and the
doors opened. The captain took a step forward, but Spock remained where he stood,
blocking his path.

“Jim, I know from experience that it is pointless to recommend putting your emotions
aside,” Spock told him. “But I would advise you to take care where they are directed
before acting on them.”

Kirk finally allowed himself a small smile. “Mister Spock, never for a moment believe
that your counsel is pointless.” Spock acknowledged the sentiment with a nod as he
stepped to one side, allowing the captain to disembark.

*   *   *

Damn Spock and his cold Vulcan logic,
Kirk thought as he climbed down the connecting tunnel from the
Enterprise
to the
814
. For a man who claimed to be so unfamiliar with emotions, Spock had a strong understanding
of their potentially destructive power. This shouldn’t have been that surprising,
given his own struggle to tame the human half of his nature.

But his friend also knew him well enough to have recognized there was more underlying
his impulse to rush onto Laspas’s ship. As much as he might have liked to deny it,
Kirk understood Spock’s subtle suggestion that beneath his anger at the Domain crew
was anger at himself, for having placed so much confidence in Laspas.

Kirk’s feet hit the deck of the
814
’s airlock entry chamber, and he willed himself to present the guard with, if not
a friendly face, then one of a man in firm control of himself.

Once he had made his way down to the Domain ship’s nerve center, he was greeted by
an effusive Laspas. “James!” he said, crossing the deck toward him, wearing a broad
smile. “We are victorious, thanks to you and your crew!”

“No, not thanks to us,” Kirk answered adamantly.

Laspas chuckled at what he took to be modesty on Kirk’s part. “Now, as much as I would
like to claim the credit and the glory, it was your weapons that won the day.”

The other man’s exultant reaction to what had happened brought Kirk’s tamped-down
emotions to the surface again. “Yes, they were our photon torpedoes. But the responsibility
for what was done with them is on your head, not mine.”

Laspas stared at Kirk in open confusion, as did Satrav, who was drawn from his post
into the exchange. “Captain Kirk, perhaps it’s a problem with our universal translators,
but it sounds as if you’re displeased.”

“Oh, I’m displeased,” Kirk assured them. “I am highly displeased. I didn’t give the
order to fire those torpedoes. It was someone in your crew who hacked into our weapons
control system.”

“Weapons!” The Goeg commander crossed the deck in one long stride, to where a nervous-looking
Liruq sat at one of the foremost stations. “Do you know anything about this?”

The young officer’s eyes jumped from Laspas to Satrav and back as he stammered, “I . . .
I saw the Taarpi were preparing to go to warp, Commander. They needed to be stopped.”

“And so you used the Starfleet ship’s weapons?”

“From our position beneath NCC-1701, we couldn’t fire on them ourselves,” the weapons
officer explained. “It was our only option.”

“Your only—?” Kirk started to say before restraining himself. It was not his place
to reprimand the man while his commanding officer was standing right beside him.

Laspas turned to gauge Kirk’s reaction, and then turned back to the Liruq. “Code 10,”
he told the junior officer, who immediately stood and vacated his station, seeming
almost relieved to escape his commander’s scrutiny.

“Another example of this ‘initiative’ you Starfleet officers are so fond of?” Satrav
muttered. Kirk shot him an acid look, but the second commander had already turned
away and resumed barking out his orders to the command center.

“James, join me,” Laspas said, and led the way to the doorway tucked to the side of
the forward viewer bank. Kirk followed him into his ready
room, and waited as Laspas stood in silent thought for several seconds before turning
around to face him.

“James, I can understand your objection to having your authority undermined and having
a sensitive ship’s system compromised. But . . . this battle was meant to be a cooperative
effort. It’s not really so important whether it was your crew or mine that struck
the final winning blows, is it? We can both take pride in our victory.”

Kirk blinked once in surprise. “You think that’s what this is about? Bragging rights?”
he asked. “Your crewman committed an act of mass murder! And he used my ship to do
it!”

Now it was Laspas who expressed shock. “You call that murder? It was the animals aboard
that ship who murdered over a hundred civilians!”

“You told me your intention was to apprehend them, question them, and bring them to
justice,” Kirk reminded him.

“Once you suggested it, yes,” Laspas said. “Your idea of using your transporters was
a good one, and if we had had the opportunity . . .”

“But your people didn’t give us that opportunity!”

“They were about to slip away from us!” Laspas shot back, matching Kirk’s irate tone.
“Those animals would have happily destroyed you, just as their colleagues at Nystrom
IV would have if we hadn’t saved you.”

Realizing they were both on the verge of boiling over, Kirk reined himself in and
took a deep breath before continuing. “We do not take life unless absolutely necessary.
One of the Federation’s highest ideals is that all life, all living beings, are deserving
of basic respect.”

“Even when those beings do not share your unqualified respect for life? And who kill
others with none of the same remorse?” Laspas asked.

Kirk nodded. “Even then, yes.”

“Well, that is an . . . interesting philosophy,” Laspas said coolly, considering Kirk
as if for the first time. “It is regrettable that you have chosen to take offense
at the way the Domain handles its own internal affairs.” He turned to open the cabin
door, and gestured to Kirk to walk out ahead of him.

Kirk stepped back out into the command center, with Laspas directly on his heels.
“Satrav, report,” the commander ordered.

“Standing by, code 2-45,” the second commander answered.

“Captain Kirk.” Kirk turned to Laspas, who stood so close behind him that he was forced
to look up into his narrow slit eyes. “Would you have any objection if we were to
resume our course to Wezonvu?” the commander asked.

“No,” Kirk answered in the same neutral tone of voice. “No objection.”

“Code 2-45,” Laspas called out to the command
center, then looked back down his muzzle at the human. “Is there anything else, Captain?”

“No, nothing,” Kirk replied as he turned to go, leaving the Goeg to his ship.

*   *   *

McCoy felt a sick sinking in his stomach as the three survivors materialized on the
transporter platform, and Doctor Deeshal, standing at his side, uttered a single word:
“Urpires.”

They both rushed forward to examine their patients. Only two of the three were Urpires—insectoid
beings, diminutive and frail-looking, even without considering their injured state.
McCoy had only briefly reviewed the Domain’s minimal basic information about the species
ahead of their unsuccessful rescue mission. Now he loaded that data into his medical
tricorder, and ran a scan of the two bodies lying crumpled in front of him. They were
still alive, but judging from the ugly cracks in their chitinous exoskeletons, and
the dark ichor seeping from those wounds and soaking their garishly colored clothing,
they wouldn’t be for much longer. The third survivor, an Abesian, appeared to be in
slightly better shape, though her limbs were spasming wildly, and she keened in obvious
pain.