The Man Out of Time

Chapter 6

"Kronos?" Marcus asks.

"Yes sir." Jim says.

"So Harrison's gone to the Klingon home world. Is he defecting?"

"We're not sure sir." I answer.

"He has taken refuge in the Ketha province-a region uninhabited for decades."

"He's got to be hiding there sir. He knows that if we even go near Klingon space, it will be all out war. I request that Jim and I's command be reinstated and your permission to go after him. Starfleet cannot go after him but we can, please sir."

"All out war with the Klingons is inevitable Miss Adams, Mr. Kirk. If you ask me, it's already begun. Ever since we learned of their existence, the Klingon Empire has conquered and occupied two planets that we know of, and fired on our ships half a dozen times." Marcus walks past the models of different ships since the 20th/21st century all the way up to present, it was practically a little display of the evolution of ships. Marcus stops at the last ship, a bigger, darker version of the Enterprise. "They're coming our way." He continues, then turns back around to  face us. "London wasn't an archive, it was a top secret branch of Starfleet designated to Section 31. They were developing defence technologies and training our officers to gather inteligence on the Klingons and any other potential enemy that means to do us harm." He pauses. "Harrison was one of our top agents."

"Well now he's a fugitive and we wanna take him out." Jim answers.

"Pike always said you two," He gestured to Jim and I. "were one of our best and brightest. You shouldda heard him defend you." He pauses again. "He's the one who talked you into joining Starfleet, wasn't he?" He addresses Jim because he knows the relation between Pike and I.

"Yes sir." Jim answers quietly.

"He ever tell you who talked HIM into joining?"

Kirk looks at Marcus, realizing that Marcus was the one who talked Pike into joining.

"His death is on me." Marcus pauses. "And yours can't be."

"Sir, please! I-" I start to protest.

"Mr. Spock, you said the province where Harrison's hiding is uninhabited?" Marcus interrupts.

"Yes sir."

"Well, as part of our defensive strategy, 31 developed a new photon torpedo." He presses a silver button on his desk and a holographic image pops up of the very thing he's talking about. The image slowly rotates 360° "It's long range and untraceable, it'd be invisible to Klingon sensors. I don't want you hurt but I wanna take him out. So you park on the edge of the Neutral Zone, you lock onto Harrison's position, you fire, you kill him, and you haul ass."

"Permission to reinstate Mr. Spock as First Officer." Jim says. Spock looks at Kirk in surprise and then looks at me with a questioning look. I nod at him, indicating that it's no joke.

Marcus looks at the three of us and then answers. "Granted."

As Jim and I are walking to the shuttle that will take us to the Enterprise, Bones walks up to us.

"Jim! Natasha! Where were you guys?"

"For what?" Jim asks, not stopping.

"You medical exam!" Bones says."Ten hours ago you two were in a fire-fight, it's my duty to-"

"We're fine."

Bones takes him by the arm, stopping him. "The hell you are." He says to him quietly, and glances at me.