Daughter of the Stars

Nero

Stardate 2258.42

The ship pulled out of warp. Sala gripped onto some of the railing in the bridge to stabilize herself. The Enterprise appeared to enter directly into the center of a battle field. Pieces of federation ships were everywhere.

"Emergency evasive maneuvers!" Captain Pike yelled.

The Enterprise was surrounded by debris from the other Federation ships that had been deployed to assist Vulcan. Sulu attempted to maneuver his way through the debris field, causing those on the bridge to feel the changes in the axis the ship sat on.

Jim, who was also standing, gripped tightly onto some of the railing on the bridge. He had taken the liberty of making sure he had a hand on either side of Sala, closing her in to help keep her upright.

"Damage report," Pike requested.

"Deflector shields are holding," Lieutenant Duke relayed.

"All stations. Engineer Olson, report," Captain Pike said, urgency in his tone, "Full reverse, come about starboard ninety degrees, drop us underneath."

Sulu manipulated his interface, dropping the Enterprise under the saucer of one of the destroyed ships.

"Captain, the Romulan ship is locking torpedoes," Spock called.

"Avert auxiliary power from port nacelles to forward shields," Pike said quickly.

There was hardly a moment to react before the torpedoes were fired upon the Enterprise. The ship shook and lurched as it was hit, causing Sala's footing to falter. She fell backwards against Jim, somewhat grateful that he had put his arms on either side of her on the railing.

"Mr. Sulu, damage report!" Captain Pike yelled.

"Shields at thirty-two percent. Their weapons are powerful, sir. We can't take another hit like that," Sulu said.

"Get me Starfleet Command!"

"Captain, the Romulans seem have lowered some pulsar device into the Vulcan atmosphere that is jamming all communication and transportation abilities," Spock relayed, the urgency of the issue evident in his tone.

"All power to the forward shield. Prepare to fire weapons."

"Captain, we're being hailed," Uhura said.

A lightly aged Romulan man appeared on the screen.

"Hello," The man said casually.

"I am Captain Christopher Pike. To whom am I speaking?" Captain Pike asked, his voice distinct.

"Hi Christopher. I'm Nero," The Romulan said, still in his casual tone.

"You have just declared war on the Federation of Starfleet," Captain Pike said, "Withdraw and I'll agree to arrange a meeting with the Romulan leadership at a neutral location."

"I do not speak for the empire," Nero said sharply, "We stand apart. As do your Vulcan crew members. Isn't the right, Spock? Sala?"

"Pardon me but, I do not believe that you and I are acquainted," Spock said, stepping towards the screen.

"Nor do I recall being acquainted with you," Sala said, stepping away from Jim and forward to be in better view of the screen.

"No, we're not. Not yet. Spock, Sala, there is something I'd like you to see. Captain Pike, your transporter has been disabled. As you can see by the rest of your armada, you have no choice. You will man a shuttle and come aboard the Narada for negotiations. That is all," Nero said before his transmission flickered out.

There was silence on the bridge before Captain Pike stood.

"He'll kill you. You know that," Jim said simply, his tone low.

"Your survival is unlikely, sir," Spock said.

"Captain, we can gain nothing by diplomacy," Sala stated, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Going over to that ship is a mistake," Jim added.

"I, too, agree. You should rethink your strategy," Spock supplemented.

"I understand that," Captain Pike said before pausing, seeming to think, "I need officers who have been trained in advanced hand-to-hand combat."

"I have training, sir," Sulu said, raising his hand to further distinct himself.

"To my knowledge there is no formal training, but Cadet Kirk does excel in his hand-to-hand combat courses," Sala noted, seeking to aid her Captain.

"Come with me," Captain Pike said before making the motion to leave, "Kirk, you too. You're not supposed to be here anyway. Chekov, you have the conn."

"Aye aye, Keeptin," Chekov replied.

As Captain Pike, Sulu, and Jim left the bridge, Spock and Sala followed suit. The five Starfleet members made their way to one of the lifts that lead to the shuttle bay of the star-ship.

"Without transporters, we can't beam off the ship; We can't assist Vulcan. We can't do our job. Mr. Kirk, Mr. Sulu, and Engineer Olson will space jump from the shuttle. You will land on that machine they've lowered into the atmosphere that's scrambling our gear. You'll get inside, you'll disable it, then you'll beam back to the ship," Captain Pike instructed, "Mr. Spock, I'm leaving you in command of the Enterprise. Once we have transport capabilities and communications back up, contact Starfleet, report what the hell's going on here. And if all else fails, fall back and rendezvous with the fleet in the Laurentian system. Ms. Sala, you are first officer until Kirk is back aboard the Enterprise. Which means, Kirk, I'm promoting you to first officer."

"What?" Jim asked.

"Captain?" Spock asked, "Please, I apologize. The complexity of human pranks escape me."

"It's not a prank, Spock. And I'm not the Captain, you are," Pike said before entering the turbo lift that lead to the shuttle bay. Pike gave a glance to Jim and Sulu, "Let's go."

Jim was giving Spock the ghost of a smirk before he and Sulu entered the turbo lift with Captain Pike.

"Let us return to the bridge," Sala said once the doors to the turbo lift had shut.

Spock gave a small nod of the head before he turned to lead the way back to the bridge. Once re-entering, Sala made her way to speak with Chekov while Spock went towards the Captain's chair.

"Mr. Chekov. Kirk, Sulu, and Olson are going to be space jumping in high-G drop suits. Please bring their vitals and location on the screen," Sala said simply.

"Aye, Lieutenant Commander," Chekov replied before Sala moved to stand near the Captain's chair.

Once settled into the chair, Spock paged down to med bay, "Doctor Puri, report."

"It's McCoy. Puri was on deck six. He's dead," McCoy said over the comms.

Spock paused for a moment before speaking again, "Well then you've just inherited his responsibilities as Cheif Medical Officer."

"Yeah? Tell me something I don't know."

After a few moments, Chekov spoke, "Ze avay team iz entering ze atmosphere, sir."