Daughter of the Stars

The Next Steps

Stardate 2258.42

"Have you confirmed that Nero is headed for Earth?" Spock asked Uhura.

"Their trajectory suggests no other destination, Captain," Uhura replied.

Currently, Spock was pacing about the bridge as he thought while Jim was sat in the Captain's chair, McCoy on his left. Sala was standing off to the right of the Captain's chair, watching, listening, and thinking. Chekov and Sulu were sat at their stations, as was Uhura.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Spock said, still pacing.

"Earth may be his next stop but we need to assume that all Federation planets are potential targets," Jim muttered, his wrapped hand being held several inches from his face, the elbow propped on one of the armrests of the Captain's chair.

"Out of the chair," Spock said simply while walking through the center of the bridge.

Jim threw Spock an exacerbated glance before getting up from the Captain's chair and moving to stand next to Sala.

"Vell, if ze Federation is a target, vhy didn't zey destroy us?" Chekov asked.

"Why would they? Why waste a weapon? We obviously weren't a threat," Sulu concluded.

"That is not it," Spock said simply, "He said he wanted Sala and me to see something; the destruction of our home planet."

"How the hell did they do that, by the way?" McCoy asked, his hand moving away from his face as he asked, "I mean, where did the Romulans get that kind of weaponry?"

"The engineering comprehension necessary to artificially create a black hole may suggest the answer," Sala supplied, her hands tucked behind her back once again, "Such technology could theoretically be manipulated to create a tunnel through space-time."

"Damn it woman I'm a doctor, not a physicist! Are you actually suggesting they're from the future?"

"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Spock answered, following Sala's thought process.

"How poetic," McCoy said in a lightly sarcastic tone.

"Then what would an angry, future Romulan want with Captain Pike?" Jim asked.

"As Captain, he does know details of Starfleet's defenses," Sulu postulated.

"What we need to do is catch up with that ship, disable it, take it over, and get Pike back."

"We are technologically outmatched in every way," Spock returned, "A rescue attempt would be illogical."

"Nero's ship vould have to drop out of varp for us to overtake it," Chekov pointed out.

"Then what about assigning engineering crews to try and boost our warp yield?" Jim asked.

"Remaining crew are repairing radiation leaks in the lower decks," Spock started.

"Okay! All right!" Jim said with a frustrated sigh.

"And damage to subspace communications. Without which we cannot contact Starfleet," Spock continued, regardless.

"There's got to be some way-."

"We must gather with the rest of Starfleet to balance the terms of the next engagement."

"There won't be a 'next engagement.' By the time we've gathered it'll be too late. But you and Sala say he's from the future, knows gonna happen? Then the logical thing is to be unpredictable."

"You are assuming that Nero knows how events are predicted to unfold," Sala interjected, "The contrary, Nero's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the USS Kelvin, culminating into the events of today, thereby creating an entire new chain of incidents that cannot be anticipated by either party."

"An alternate reality," Uhura surmised.

"Precisely."

"Whatever our lives have been, if the time continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed," Spock commented while walking from the front of the bridge towards the Captain's chair before taking a seat, "Mr. Sulu, plot a course for the Laurentian system, warp factor three."

"Spock, don't do that," Jim said, himself walking from the front of the bridge where Spock had been towards the Captain's chair, "Running back to the rest of the fleet for a confab is a massive waste of time."

"These are orders issued by Captain Pike when he left the ship."

"He also ordered us to go back and get him. Spock, you are Captain now. You have to make-."

"I am aware of my responsibilities, Mr. Kirk."

"Every second we waste, Nero's getting closer to his next target!"

"That is correct, and why I am instructing you to accept the fact I alone am in command."

"I will not allow us to go backwards, away from the problem, instead of hunting Nero down!"

"Jim, he's the Captain!" McCoy tried to reason.

"Security, escort him out," Spock said, standing from his seat.

There was a tense silence while two security officers each grabbed one of Jim's arms. They had begun to lead Jim from the bridge before he attempted to himself from their grasp.

"Hey!" One officer cried.

"Enough, Jim!" McCoy yelled.

Spock wordlessly walked up behind Jim while he was continuing to try and free himself from the security officers. Spock reached his right hand out towards Jim, grabbing near his throat. He was doing a nerve grab that rendered Jim unconscious.

"Get him off this ship," Spock said evenly.

Instantly, Sala shot from where she had been standing over to Spock.

"Spock, you cannot," Sala said in a low voice.

"I assure you, Sala, as Captain I believe that it is best for the crew that Mr. Kirk not be aboard this ship. He was never intended to he here in the first place," Spock said in an equally low voice as the security officers gathered Jim up from the floor.

"But he is the first officer."

"That is your position again, Sala. Captain Pike said that you would be second officer only when Kirk was aboard."

"Even so, by Security Protocol forty-nine point oh nine, it is improper treatment of a prisoner to maroon them on a planet off the ship."

"He is not a prisoner, simply a stowaway. I will not discuss this matter further, Sala. The choice has already been made," Spock said before returning to the Captain's chair.

Sala only watched Spock, not having a word to respond with.