Star Trek: From Ashes and Darkness

Chapter 1: Torpedo

*A/N I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters. I only own my own OC. Warning: Story contains spoilers for Stark Trek: Into Darkness. Also, slight AU... in case some people care...

Year 2259

"Captain on the bridge." Mr. Sulu, the USS Enterprise's helmsman, announced as Captain Jim Kirk walked into the Enterprise command center.

"Mr. Sulu," Kirk called as he walked across the bridge, "Doctors Marcus and McCoy landed on the planetoid, yet?"

"Yes, sir." Sulu confirmed. "They're moving the torpedo into the position now."

"Good." Kirk stated firmly. "Any activity from the Klingons?"

"Not yet. But if we're stuck here much longer they will find us." Sulu replied grimly, and Kirk sighed. Well, at least the Klingons hadn't found them yet.

That would have been one more headache than he already had with his still-raw anger at their captive terrorist, John Harrison; his still-burning grief at his mentor, Admiral Pike's, death; and the tight knot in his stomach that something really wasn't right with their situation.

He hated to admit it - mostly because he hated to admit that Harrison might actually be correct – but there was something too convenient about their position: stranded, with a malfunctioned warp core, on the edge of Klingon space, right after Admiral Marcus issued them 72 untested photon torpedoes?

Scotty's words from their previous argument, before the Scotsman had ultimately resigned from his position as chief engineer, kept ringing in Jim's mind: "A subtle shift in magnetic output from, say, firing one or more of six dozen torpedoes with an unknown payload..."

Unknown payload. And why 72, specifically? It hadn't really occurred to Jim before, but Khan's obsession with the number of torpedoes, followed by his surrender upon learning the number 72...

'Something's not right here.' Jim thought grimly. 'And I'll get to the bottom of it, if it's the last thing I do. It's the least that I could do... for Pike.'

"Lieutenant Uhura." Kirk called to his communications officer. "Did you let Starfleet know that we have Harrison in custody?"

"Yes, sir." The beautiful Lieutenant replied grimly. "No response yet."

Another thing that wasn't right.

Kirk turned to look at Uhura with his brows furrowed deeply, thinking, when a thick Russian-accented voice called over the comms: "Engineering to Bridge. Hello, Captain, can you hear me?"

"Mr. Chekov." Kirk replied, sitting down in his Captain's chair. "Give me some good news."

The young navigator, and temporary replacement for the resigned Scotty, called back: "We found the leak, sir, but the damage is substantial. We are working on it."

"Any idea what caused it?" Kirk asked, and his jaw tightened as Chekov replied hesitantly: "No, sir. But I accept full responsibility."

Kirk pursed his lips, but he replied neutrally: "Something tells me it wasn't your fault. Stay on it."

He cut the comms, just as Sulu informed him: "Shuttle is standing by, Captain."

Taking a deep breath, Kirk opened a new comms link and he called: "Bones, thanks for helping out; Dr. Marcus asked for steadiest hands on the ship."

"You know," Kirk's friend and chief medical officer 'Bones' McCoy replied dryly, "when I dreamt about being stuck on a deserted planet with a gorgeous woman, there was no torpedo."