The Tirok Maneuver

V

The senior officers sat around the table, anxious energy filling the room.

"What are our options?" Kirk asked, bouncing his leg anxiously.

"Sir," Mac'hla said, uncharacteristically solemn, "We do not have any."

Kirk looked down at the table, "There has to be something..."

"Captain," Spock said examining his PADD, "According to these calculations, the black hole had nearly swallowed too much to contain. Black holes cannot fill up, however they can create too much gravity to handle and eventually tear itself apart from it. The more it swallows, the denser it becomes, and density..."

"Creates gravity." Uhura said.

"Precisely, Lieutenant. In theory, anything could be enough to cause this black hole to collapse. The black hole is incredibly small compared to others that we have seen, meaning it does not take as much gravity to tear it apart. But once a blackhole collapses, regardless of size, it releases a massive burst of energy. Even if we were able to survive being taken in, the outward blast would destroy the ship."

"Mr. Spock," Mac'hla said quietly, "Could the blast not be ridden if timed correctly? If the ship were at a safe distance, it could ride the outer edge of the explosion until the energy dies out. If something else went into the black hole before the ship, we could make it to safety."

"Theoretically, yes, that is possible..." Spock said.

"We're working with a lot of theories here." Scotty muttered.

"I'm afraid we have nothing else to work with." Spock said, "So little is known about black holes, that we have no constant to work with.

"Darkness is our only constant." Mac'hla said, "And if we cannot find a way to create a collapse, then darkness is all we will ever know."

"...Thank you, Mac'hla." Kirk scoffed, "That was... dark."

"It would be illogical to make a situation seem more hopeful than it is."

Kirk smirked, "I can always leave it to you and Spock to give us a reality check."

Mac'hla nodded, not catching that what he said wasn't exactly positive.

"But doesn't a black hole take like... 10 googol years to die?" Chekov asked.

"Typically, yes, if it were supermassive. But this blackhole is incredibly small, only about the size of Pluto, and according to Miss Mac'hla's research, 13.7 billion years old; almost as old as the universe itself, therefore making it weaker. This black hole has been dying for quite some time."

Mac'hla added, "It has been producing Hawking radiation which has gradually worn down the integrity and mass. One more object swallowed will create a catastrophic effect as the hole tries to take on the object and condense it. While it condenses, radiation is created. With the weakening integrity, the small amount of radiation created will be enough to collapse the blackhole. This blackhole is like glass. Anything could break it."

"So we fire a torpedo into it. That way it can collapse and we can all get out of here." Sulu said hopefully.

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy, Lieutenant." Spock said, "Our torpedoes are offline. All of our defenses are. The black hole is interfering with the defense systems, and there is no way to eject it. We cannot beam it out either. Transporters, communications... everything external is down."

"Then what are you suggesting, Spock?" Kirk asked.

"We need something that can be independently controlled." he said, his voice dropping.

"A shuttlepod." Mac'hla whispered, "Being piloted from the inside. Our only external resource that does not need to be controlled by the ship."

"No." Kirk said firmly, "Absolutely not. There has to be another way. I will not send one of my crewmen on a suicide mission."

"Captain, if we do not do this entire ship will be destroyed. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Spock insisted.

Kirk held his head in his hands, "And you just want me to pick someone and send them to their death?"

"No, sir. I will pilot the shuttle." Spock said evenly.

Mac'hla looked at him, their heart pounding, "Sir, you–"

"It would be illogical to put the lives of the crew in danger or wait for someone else to volunteer. I will take the shuttle."

Mac'hla looked down as tears welled in their eyes.

"Spock, I can't ask you to-" Kirk began.

"You aren't asking me to do anything." Spock interrupted, "I am volunteering."

Jim rubbed his temples, "You're all dismissed, but Spock, stay with me."

Mac'hla stood, hands shaking.

No. No, no, no.

She knew that Kirk would fight it, but Spock was far too persistent. One way or another, Spock was going to pilot that shuttle.

They quickly went back to their quarters and stared out of their window.

Out in the distance was a glowing orange ring, and inside of it, the darkest black she had ever seen. A total void of light.

The thought of Spock flying into that alone sent shivers down her spine.

Spock was their best friend. He had always understood them and stood by them, even when they were at their worst.

And now he was going to fly himself into the black hole? He was going to kill himself?

Mac'hla felt a whimper escape her lips and clasped her hand over her mouth.

"No. It is illogical to cry." they thought.

But they couldn't stop the tears from falling. The absolute void they felt at the thought of losing Spock made the blackhole pale in comparison.

Mac'hla curled up under their blankets, staring at the wall as tears continued to flow.

She had grown so attached to Spock... it was illogical.

And the thought of losing him? Too painful to put into words.