Chapter 10

Dustin felt worried for Coal down in the generator room. He said a quick prayer for his safety. But at the front of his mind for the moment was what he was supposed to do.

"Could you tell us more about the storm than our sensors?" Spock asked.

"Maybe," Dustin replied hesitantly. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the outside of the ship. After a while he was able to sense the ions outside the ship. Keeping his eyes closed he said, "The majority of the storm is made up of cations. The original elements mostly consist of atoms that contained around two hundred electrons. That can't be naturally possible, someone must have engineered them. Since being created they have undergone radioactive decay, I'd estimate seven of them. There must have been some outside source that charged them and made them lose electrons like that."

Dustin opened his eyes to find most eyes on him with slightly gaping mouths. Except for Spock and the young Russian Chekov, Spock was nodding his head in thought, and Chekov was entering data and numbers into the screen front of him.

"Well then, what don't we know now?" Bones asked, almost annoyed.

"So, if we are to infer that this storm was created by someone, for what purpose?" Spock said, immediately working logically through the information.

"Probably to waylay us for some old enemy nursing a wound we gave them without knowing it, who is now plotting revenge on us, but mostly Jim and Spock." McCoy had a sardonic look on his face and Kirk scowled at him.

"That hypothesis had some logic in it Doctor." Spock sounded slightly amused, "If I may expound on it, there is a 87.73% chance that it is an old enemy. Either that or we were caught in the trap of some form of space pirate. Any other thing being the cause is unlikely."

"Unlikely?" Kirk looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes Captain, unlikely." Spock rose his own eyebrow, only much higher, "As in, 2.003% chance."

"That's unlikely." McCoy smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Keptain! Using ze data Dustin gave us, I vas able to make some readjustments on our sensors, and zey've detected ze enemy wessle, it followed its into ze storm."

"Well let's go get it!" Kirk clapped the young Ensign on the shoulder, smiling proudly.

"But, sor, our varp drive isn't functioning," the Russian reminded him.

"Haven't you ever heard of impulse??"

"Da, but sor, ve von't be able to maneuver fast enough. Ve vouldn't stand much of a chance."

"I'm not going to fight them ensign. And besides, even if my plan doesn't work, we can have our resident scientist from the past and his hotheaded friend help us take care of them."

"Hey!" Dustin pulled himself indignantly to his full height, prepared to defend himself and his strange new friend's honor. But Kirk cut him off with a slightly teasing, slightly scathing look, "It's the least they could do after causing so much trouble earlier." His words made Dustin's defense cave as he turned red with embarrassment.

"If ve're not going to fight zem, vat are ve going to do?"

"Yes, what are we going to do, Jim?" Bones asked almost sarcastically.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Kirk gave him a secretive look.

"Great!" McCoy frowned. "I'll be in med-bay. I have a feeling it's going to be busy in there soon."

"C'mon Bones!" Kirk laughed at his friend's serious expression, "Have a little faith!"

"I do." McCoy rolled his eyes, "In your ability to tear yourself apart."

"Oh, just, ... Don't spoil the surprise!" Kirk pleaded.

"Captain, I think I share the doctor's sentiments. Although I trust you explicitly, I would like to know your plan," Spock cut in.

"Really Spock, you finally agree with him for once in your life and it has to be over this?" Kirk asked, then sighed, "All right, fine. This is my plan!" Kirk relented with a rueful smile, "I know you guys are serious when you agree, after all. Okay look," His face became serious, "Now that Dustin has given us eyes to see in this ridiculous storm, we go and find them as soon as Coal has the Warp Core stabilized which will hopefully be soon, and not fatal this time. Their sensors won't detect us unless we really get close, but we don't have to. We hit them with a couple Photon Torpedoes, crippling their ship, then contact them. We will offer them help, and should they refuse, which is likely, we will sabotage their communications and leave them to drift." He looked at them all expectantly, "So, ... what do you think?"

"Well, why didn't you say so? Now if you don't mind I really ought to be getting to med bay, or the engine room. But it is my hope everything will go well with Mr. Cassel," the doctor turned and left the room, assured that the captain wasn't planning something too dangerous yet.

"Captain, what if we are underestimating the other ship's ability to see?" Spock strategically waited until McCoy had left the room to ask.

"Well, we'll have a bit more of a fight than we bargained for," was the captain's response. "Or... Do you think you could sabatoge them?" he asked Dustin.

Dustin shrugged, "Maybe, if it were something simple. I don't know though, they're far away, and everything is a little different in space."

"You're calculations were very precise, and what you did with Cassel was no special feat," Spock pointed out.

"Yeah, well..." Dustin paused. He had no idea how he did the calculations. "I can try. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to see if you can jam their sensors so we know for sure they're flying blind," Kirk said. Spock nodded in approval.

"I don't know where they're sensors are," Dustin said.

"Chekov! How would you like to help Mr. Chase sabatoge the enemy ship?"

"Sounds like fun, sor," Chekov told the captain.

"Yes, great. Show Mr. Chase were things are on the other ship."

"Yes, sor," Chekov nodded, leading him off a little ways.

There was a whistling noise and Bone's voice came over the intercom. "Cassel is fine, Jim. Unconscious, but that's my doing. He absorbed a lot of energy. As you can imagine, I thought it best for the safety of him and the whole crew if he was subdued. His vitals are still really high, but I still don't know what the norm for him is."

"Good. Keep him under observation," Kirk said, clearly relieved.

"Of course," McCoy ended the conversation.

"Sulu! The warp core is back in functioning order. Stand by for orders."

"Keptain, he did eet, ze other ship is flying blind," the young ensign shouted, and Dustin was smiling triumphantly.

"Great!" Kirk beamed, "Mr. Sulu, maneuver us in towards their ship."

"Yes sir!" Sulu's reply was a mixture of respect and excitement as he adjusted some controls on the board in front of him. Dustin vaguely wondered what each of them was for, but he didn't have long to find out, as just at that moment, there was a flickering on the bridge, and the Captain himself disappeared, along with Spock, only to be replaced by a couple of surprised looking Klingons.

"Don't move." Sulu's phaser was out before Dustin had even really processed what had just happened. The Klingons understood however, throwing their own weapons on the ground and putting their hands up.

"Ze Ion storm! Zey were trying to transport these two aboard our sheep, end now the Ion storm has caused the beaming to svitch zem with Keptain Kork end Commander Spock!" Checkov was messing with his instruments frantically, trying in vain to reverse what had happened.

"Mr. Scott." Sulu had the dark skinned woman who had been standing to the side contact the chief Engineer, "The Captain and Spock have been compromised, you are now acting Captain in their place."

"Wha' happened?!" Scotty's voice came through incredulously, "Wait no, I kin believe it. Jim always manages to get in some sart of trouble like this, no matter how foolproof his plan is. Better tell McCoy to get ready fer him an' Mr. Spock, because if this is anythin' like usual, it's nae goin' ta be pretty." His voice became apologetic, "I'll be there in two shakes. Scott out." The line went dead.

Everyone just sat there on the bridge for a while, and Dustin could tell that they were waiting for something. The door wooshed open at the end suddenly, and Scotty marched in with McCoy right behind him, "But how in the name of Ghandi did this even happen?" The doctor's voice was close to shouting, and his eyebrows were drawn together tightly.

"I donnae know." Scotty was saying for what was obviously the fifteenth time, "We'll have to ask Sulu."

"The Klingon's transport went haywire and instead of just beaming their two guys aboard, they beamed the Captain and Spock off as well."

"Aye," Scotty nodded sagely, "I thought it was somethin' like that."

"Well, what'n the heck are we gonna do about it?!" McCoy really was shouting now, and everyone just acted as if it was an everyday occurrence. Which, it occurred to Dustin, it probably was.

"Ve have to feend ze keptain and Spock. Zere is a high chance sat ze aren't een our uniwerse any more," Chekov said while looking at his screens.

"Aye," Scotty admitted. "Hopefully we don' run into the others again. Call a security team to take the Klingons to the brig. I doubt they will be much help righ' now, we kin question them later. Chekov, help me find them. Hopefully we can lock onto their coordinates and beam them back." Scotty turned to leave the bridge. "Hey, why donnae you follow me," he said to Dustin.

Dustin nodded and followed him, Chekov, and McCoy to what must have been the transporter room. Scotty and Chekov immediately set to work entering equations and looking at sensors. Dustin stood off a bit besides Dr. McCoy, who was frowning deeply, and seemed really annoyed. He's really worried, Dustin realized.

"Mr. Scott, sor. I zink they'we been transported to ze Klingon sheep. I have found ze coordinates, but I can't find zem, zere's too much interference." Scotty leaned over and entered in a few more equations.

"Aye, I cannae lock onto them either. All we kin do is send somebody doon to the coordinates were they landed," Scotty sighed.

"Zis feels familiar," Chekov pouted.

"Well then, just us three beam down and rescue them," McCoy suggested, anxious for action.

"We cannae leave this ship, it's too dangerous," Scotty argued.

"No one's really zeemed to care in ze past," Chekov said, still busy trying to get around the interference.

You could send me, Dustin thought, but immediately pushed the thought away. He really had no desire to go down by himself to a Klingon ship. "I could go," the words somehow made it out his lips.

Scotty looked him over, "How much combat trainin' have ya had?"

Dustin felt really self conscious. "I've led an army before and won," he answered truthfully. "In fact I was made king for it," he wrinkled his nose slightly in disgust.

"What kind of battle?" Scotty asked.

"The kind with swords and bows."

"Why tha's primitive! Do ye know how to fire a phaser?"

"I have good aim with a gun."

"That might be close enough," Scotty seemed reluctant to say it.

"You can't be serious, he's a kid. How old are you?"

"16."

"He's freaking younger than Pavel!!"

"Aye, but I donnae see what age has to do with it. It's experience that matters," Scotty said gravely.

"Okay, well Dustin, how exactly did you win?" McCoy asked.

"I convinced the opposing side that I was surrendering and led them into our city into a trap. Hey, all is fair in love and war."

"I still would feel better if I went with," McCoy argued.

"But don't you have Cassel under observation?" Chekov asked.

"He can come as well," McCoy growled, annoyed with every second they were wasting.

"Vat, but he's-"

"Actually, if we woke him up he'd be in better fighting condition than anyone else aboard." McCoy admitted.

After barking a few angry orders into a communicator, McCoy nodded, "Cassel should be on the way now." He moved unceremoniously onto the transport pad, nodding at Dustin to follow.

Coal came in only moments later, a confused expression on his face as he followed nurse Chapel in uncertainly.

"What's going on?" He seemed slightly asleep still, but that changed as soon as he laid eyes on McCoy, "You drugged me!"

"Oh fer cryin' out loud!" McCoy's impatience bubbled up in a growl, "Just get over here!!"

"But, what are those?" Coal asked.

"Doesn't matter. Come on!" the doctor ordered.

"It's a teleport pad," Dustin explained while Coal crossed the room. "In a moment we'll-" there was a slight tingle down his spine, "Be somewhere else," he finished.

Klingons. There were Klingons everywhere. That's the first thing that Dustin noticed. The second thing he noticed was that Kirk and Spock were only about ten feet away from them. The latter of the two kneeling next to the former, with blood everywhere. Pink, green and red.

"Jim!" McCoy cried out, ignoring everything and rushing to the captain's side. "What happened?" He demanded.

"Step away from him," a Klingon ordered, a phaser pointed at the doctor. Dustin had already drawn his phaser, but dropped it when a few phasers were pointed at him. McCoy and Dustin both put their hands in the air, Coal watched them and did the same, still a little groggy and disoriented.

Dustin would have felt better armed with a phaser, but at least he knew that neither him or Coal needed them.

"Hands on you're heads." The Klingon growled angrily. They quickly complied, lining up behind the Captain and First Officer, McCoy still kneeling next to Kirk with a make-me-move look on his face.

"When I say duck, everybody duck." Coal's voice came through the confusion that had been clouding Dustin's mind thus far. He nodded slightly, and saw the half-Vulcan and CMO do the same. Klingons surrounded them on all sides, but it ended as soon as the obvious leader of the Klingons stepped forward.

"Duck!!!" Coal's shout had Dustin hitting the ground as what could only be described as a tornado of fire erupted over his head. He heard the shout of Klingons and the sound of phaser fire, but it was all muffled due to the literal roaring of the flames above him. It was at least a minute before it finally began to taper off, then end. There was absolutely no sound, but definitely an awful smell, the melted things around them were hardly recognizable! Then, just as he started to stand, there was a soft sigh behind him, and Coal fell to his knees.

"Are you all right?" Dustin was quickly next to him.

"Yeah, just exerted myself a little too much," Coal groaned and Dustin helped him back up. Together they made their way to the three officers.

"That was quite a performance," Spock observed with a hint of satisfaction on his face. "Most fascinating."

Coal smiled slightly, still tired. Dr. McCoy was still trying to awaken Kirk. Finally he slapped him, "For heaven's sake, wake up!" he shouted.

"Doctor, I do not see how-" Spock started to say when Kirk started stirring. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

"You were saying?" Bones asked Spock with a smug smile.

"Whaa'?" Kirk started trying to get up.

"Take it easy, Jim," McCoy warned. "Spock, what happened?"

"The Captain and I both managed to sabotage the ship, and we're injured in the process. Then you came and forced the Klingons away, but it is safe to assume that they will be back."

"Ya'think?" McCoy rolled his eyes, then glanced at Coal, his eyebrows drawing together, "did you overdo it again Cassell?"

"No!" Coal looked as guilty as he sounded.

"Here, take this," McCoy handed Coal a small tablet. "It will help give you energy." Coal obediently put it in his mouth.

"Wait, what?" Kirk asked, "If you have pills that do that, why are you constantly stabbing me with needles?!"

"Quit whining. I'm afraid he might melt the needle again."

"You enjoy jabbing me with a hypo, don't you?" Kirk asked, sounding quite childish.

"Captain, now's not the time. We need to get back to the Enterprise," Spock chided.

"I'm starting to think that you two like to gang up on me." Kirk pouted as McCoy helped him to his feet.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jim," McCoy said.

"Uh, guys. Someone is coming toward us," Coal interrupted. "There's several Klingons on their way to us."

"Doctor McCoy to Enterprise!" McCoy's communicator was out in a second, "Get us outta here!"

"The transporter is havin' problems, yer jus' gon'ta hav'ta hang on till we get it fixed doctor, an' that'll take at least 10 minutes, tops." Mr. Scott's apologetic voice came back in reply.

"So, we should expect it to work in 2.5 minutes?" Kirk challenged.

"Well, uh, aye. Hold on." The team were facing the direction the Klingons were coming from, phasers ready, but also bracing to be beamed aboard the Enterprise at any moment. Scotty's voice came back over the communicator. "Better make it an hour. I'm sorry, it's worse than I thought."

"You have twenty minutes," Kirk said.

"Aye, sair. Naturally, sair. Jus' hang on, ye know."

"Just hurry, ya'know!" Kirk answered back sarcastically.

"Aye, ahm doin' the best I can!" The engineers voice sounded somewhere between frantic and exasperated.

"Is it getting darker in here?" Coal's voice finally broke through their obviously standard conversation.

"No." Dustin looked at him, seeing him, but only partway, as if a shadow were over him, "What's wrong with you?" McCoy's head whipped up at that,

"Somthin' wrong Cassell?"

"I-I don't know." Coal reached out, grabbing Dustin for obvious assurance, "I just feel a little strange."

"Die, Starfleet scum!" A Klingon voice came out of the darkness suddenly, phaser blasts following it unceremoniously.

"Doctor!" Spock grabbed McCoy, pulling him to the ground before he could get up to check on Coal. Dustin hit the ground once again, feeling the components of the phaser blasts as he did so, and surreptitiously changing them into something less deadly. Coal was down on the ground next to him, still seeming to be half faded.

"I feel sick." He moaned quietly, " I hate overdoing it!" He then looked carefully at himself, "I also feel really strange, almost like I have to somewhere soon, but only half of me has gone there ..."

"Captain, we're ready fer ya!" Scotty's voice came crackling out of McCoy's comm on the ground, laced with pride and excitement, "we've equated the ion storm into the controls, it should work jus' fine."

"Energize!" Kirk didn't mince words.

"Aye sair!"

Dustin tensed a little as he felt his molecules tear apart, then they reformed, and he was laying down on the transporter pad, back aboard the enterprise. Medical personnel came running, and he was about to see what he could do to help, when a horrible sounding groan came from his right. Coal.

He turned, mentally berating himself for forgetting his friend (and vaguely wondering when he'd come to think of Coal that way) only to stop dead in his tracks. The person on the transporter pad definitely wasn't Coal. Very similar build and facial structure, only this young stranger was obviously taller, with a firmer jaw. He was also wearing what looked like an old WWII uniform. That and he was bleeding everywhere from awful looking wounds in his leg, chest and side. His blood crusted golden hair was also a big difference. All Dustin could do was stare for a moment before calling for help (even though medical personnel were already picking the young man up and tending to him.)

Dustin leaned in to look at the young man, he really did look a lot like Coal when it came down to it. That's when the strangers eyes snapped open, "No!" His shout caused everyone to jump with alarm. Then his eyes promptly closed and he murmured a word that had Dustin scrambling after him to Med-bay, "August."

Author's Note

This was an intense chapter.