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From: istannor@aol.com (Istannor)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Date: 10 Jan 2005 04:08:52 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: New TOS: A Higher Duty:All: Chapters 0/28: (PG)
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Greetings, Gentlepersons. Happy New Year! This brief intro is to explain the
Historical Context for this story. It has been many years since these players
have writ their story and left the stage, but still we yearn for echoes of
their triumphs, and their trials. This was discovered, hidden in the papers of
a deceased Romulan Attache. It seemingly was written many years ago, possibly
contemporaneously with the Second Voyages and it seems to answer some of the
tantalizing questions left after the discovery of the first series of Tales
uncovered by this humble historian. It is a tale of the time after the first
Five Year Voyage of the Starship Enterprise. The Entire Crew is reunited but
much has taken place in the interim. Some of these details are detailed in the
Logs and Letters series on my webpage. More is revealed in the Tales from Gol.
This story was obviously witten when the anonymous writer was less experienced
or polished, but history is history and must not be hidden from the light. Read
these words and if you find any enjoyment in the telling of the tale, well, it
is good and this aging historian is content.

Feel free to review the other stories at your leisure at the archive listed
below. There is always a light on in the reading room.

http://members.tripod.com/~Istannor/Istannor.html


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From: istannor@aol.com (Istannor)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Date: 10 Jan 2005 04:09:19 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: New TOS: A Higher Duty:All: Chapters 6-7/28 (PG)
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Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 6/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 






Chapter 6

Kirk sat at his desk in his quarters, and read for awhile.
After he finished the last of  his journals, he turned to
the panel on the desk and flicked a channel button for a
direct channel to the Enterprise. It would be the gamma
shift on the Enterprise. His first shift would be asleep,
except for one person, who he knew would be awake when he
called. The Enterprise came on line and he had the bridge
patch him through to Spock's quarters.

Spock's face came on screen, already seated in front of the
chess set. "Jim, I believe it is your move." Both of them
quietly went about finishing their chess game, as if they
sat across from each other in the same room. For them, no
other duties existed, no other urgencies summoned. The
universe centered on them and their game of chess. It helped
to reaffirm their place in the cosmos. Spock was the victor
that night, of no consequence to either of them. It did take
more than two moves. The channel was monitored, since it was
a high security diplomatic conference. Few words were said;
they just played. After they signed off,  Kirk slept well.

The next day of the conference was much the same, except for
the amount of attention Kirk received everywhere he went.
Many wanted to congratulate him on his speech. Even the
observer from Starfleet, did not complain about his
unplanned talk,which was a good sign. Maybe he could
get through this without "causing trouble".

"Captain, Captain Kirk," He was brought back from his
daydreaming by the voice of the Federation Ambassador to the
conference. Ambassador Davis was actually likable, for a
diplomat. Kirk had found her to be helpful and considerate.
It also helped that she actually had liked his response to
the Orion. He turned to look as she approached him, and was
surprised to note who was with her. She walked towards him
with the Romulan party of women he had noted before. There
was no evidence of any of the Romulan Ambassadors. An
interesting fact Kirk noted, and tucked away.

"Captain James T. Kirk, allow me to introduce you to M'arenn
Al'Sthor of the house of Doyat and her sister Therenna, al
S'Thor also of the house of Doyat." Kirk bowed deeply to
both the ladies, his eyes meeting first M'arenn, and then
the second woman's face. A jolt hit him when he looked into
the eyes of Therenna. He felt his shields raise in defense
after the definite sense of being probed hit him. It was
stronger than the first time, but he wasn't too worried.
Spock had been relentless in training Kirk in developing
personal shields. Spock told him he shouted to
telepaths emotionally and Human thoughts and emotions
tended to be overwhelming to some lesser-trained telepaths.
So, Kirk had dutifully learned shielding, until Spock was
satisfied with his skills.

He doubted anyone of Vulcan stock could break through
them without at least touching him and he didn't plan on
allowing that. "This, Captain is their adjutant, J'usreyan,
of the house of R'esch." Kirk turned to meet the eyes of the
older, strongly built, graying man standing beside them. For
the briefest of moments, he was hit by a look of pure anger
or hatred, he wasn't sure which. As soon as he noted it, it
was gone, to be replaced by the placid look of a loyal
retainer. Hmm, that one bears watching, he thought.

"Captain," M'arenn stepped towards him, a subtle fragrance
tickled his nostrils as she approached. She was dark, with
eyes as gray as his silver lady. Her face was unmarred by
lines. No hint of her true age showed, thanks to her Vulcan
heritage. She was a powerful and commanding presence, not to
mention beautiful. What a combination he thought. "I am
honored to meet you at last, especially after your
performance last evening. That speech would have made the
most seasoned of diplomats shed their cynicism for at least
a second," The last words were said with a slight hint of a
smile. She moved closer and rested her hand on his arm.

"Only a second, well then I have failed miserably, Lady
M'arenn. I was hoping for lifetime conversions out there. I
will have to work far harder next time. But, please, quick
before my heart shatters," Kirk lifted his hand dramatically
to his chest thereby effectively removing her hand from his
arm.  "Surely your enlightenment lasted for longer than a
second." Two could play at this game of teasing and he
definitely had nothing better to do than play word games
with two beautiful women. Kirk allowed his smile to mirror
M'arenn's own as they pleasantly bantered back and forth,
neither taking, nor giving offense. Finally, answering some
unknown cue, Kirk turned to the sister who had stood
silently to the side during their exchange.

"What about you, Lady Therenna, are you on the one second,
or on the lifetime group?" He asked her with a friendly
smile. When she looked up into his face for the first time,
his smile widened into his most charming.

She turned to face him and gave a smile full of humor with a
touch of cynicism. He was absolutely struck by her beauty
and the coal dark depthless eyes that met his. They were
pools of mystery and intelligence. Momentarily stunned, he
found himself deeply attracted to her and that bothered him.
He was careful to keep his mask in place however, as he
waited for her reply.

"I think I am sitting in the neutral zone right now, Captain
Kirk, only time and fate will tell." A small enigmatic smile
played over her lips, and Kirk found himself wondering how
they would feel. He brutally cut off that line of thought,
shutting down so completely, most Vulcans would have
been satisfied.

"Well", the Ambassador said to the silence, "perhaps we
would all be more comfortable if we found some place we
could all sit and chat at length." She led them over to a
table that was strategically isolated from prying eyes, but
was still visible to the Romulan bodyguards that attempted
to circulate inconspicuously, while keeping a sharp eye on
the House S'Thor.

The following next few hours were thoroughly enjoyable for
the two envoys and Kirk. Their conversation was witty and
entertaining. It touched on a myriad of subjects with humor
and insight. Kirk was having fun in spite of himself.
Conspicuously absent from the conversation was J'usreyan,
who remained a stony presence on the outskirts of their
consciousness. It was with mutual regret that they finally
arose to bid each other good night. Kirk bowed again to both
ladies, deeper this time, and watched as they were led away
to their quarters.

When they reached their quarters, Ramsthet, the son of
M'arenn was still awake. He had obviously been holding on to
wakefulness, to talk to his mother. She walked into his
sleep chamber and quietly talked to him about his day spent
with the children of Cygni, and put him to bed. Therenna
listened to the nighttime ritual from the sitting room and
gathered her thoughts. She felt confused and fractured by
the evening. It had been totally entertaining, but she could
not rid herself of a sense of shame that they had arranged
it all to spy on the Human. She understood the importance of
why she acted as the Praetors heart. The goal was not in
doubt, but she felt guilty, and slightly dirty, for lying to
Kirk. Her feelings of guilt were not normal, she had done
far worse for the empire. The problem was that he did not
feel like an enemy. She usually had no difficulty with a
rather ruthless eradication of the Praetor's enemies, but
reading those people had always left her feeling justified.

Her sister entered the room and came to sit beside her on
the lounge. "Therenna, were you able to get a better
impression tonight?"

"Yes, oh great moons yes."

"And?" M'arenn waited. Her sister was acting distracted.
Then, a single tear ran down her sister's face.

"Forgive me, I am experiencing things as he felt them, and 
it is slightly overwhelming. He is ... different compared to 
what I am used to, or expected. He thinks about a magnitude 
more than he says. His mind races far ahead, anticipating 
what we will say, or do, or where we will look next. 
Unfortunately, he thinks I needed to touch him to read his 
thoughts, so he is not aware of how deep I was able to go. 
When he looks at me, he drinks me in like a vortex, with a 
sense of wonder and longing, instead of the lust for power,
or advantage I have sensed in many others. I sense deep 
moral convictions. He loves someone, or perhaps something, 
deeper than life itself, with a purity and joy that makes 
me want to cry. I can not describe it. His love is laying 
on top of his mind, like a flame, flaring from him like the 
coronal edges of a sun. I wonder, how would it be to have 
someone feel that way about me. He is dangerous M'arenn," 
She whispered, more to herself than her sister,"so very 
dangerous.  He made me reconsider my purpose, there is 
nothing more dangerous then forcing one to question 
themselves. How can we let someone such as he, be our enemy,
and how can he not be our enemy?"

M'arenn leaned in and hugged her tightly. "I have seldom
seen you cry after a reading, little one."

She did not answer at first. M'arenn was not sure she would.
The answer, when it came was unexpected. "I think he knows I
am a strong telempath, he just does not realize how strong I am."

"Why do you think  that?" M'arenn knew it was not too
terribly bright to ask that question of a telempath, but it
was too late to pull the question back.

"I know he felt me attempt to read him. His shields got
tighter afterwards. He knew and it did not frighten him or
repel him. He looked at me as if my probes were only
interesting, no more than interesting."

"Is it that hard for you, Sister?" M'arenn wrapped her into
her arms and held her close.

A small voice spoke from against M'arenn's chest. "When our
people find out my skills, their terror is almost
overwhelming. They are so afraid that their schemes, lies,
and fears will be discovered, and the Emperor will know.
Except, for our closest family, I have been alone for my
entire life. I have never found anyone who ever looked at me
like he did. Even my own consort died before he lost his 
fear of me. A part of  me does not wish any harm to come to
him, M'arenn. He is special, different, like a blazing fire
that threatens and caresses at the same time. It is so hard
to explain, because I do not have the words. Please, tell me
we will not have to harm him, at least this time."

"Shh,  little one. We are not going to hurt him at all. We
are only here to be the eyes and heart of the Praetor. We do
what we must. Today we are not here to kill. We will kill
him if we must, you do understand that, do you not?" Her
sister nodded. She took Therenna in a loving embrace and
sent waves of love and reassurance to her mentally. She
could not help but be totally unprepared for the effect this
man had on her sister, <and even you, a small voice
whispered>. "Even me," she admitted to herself. "Perhaps men
of honor and conviction will one day transcend empires." The
thought gave her pause.


Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 7/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 




Chapter 7

Jim Kirk lay on his bunk, with hands clasped behind his head
and reviewed the evening's events. Remarkable women, both in
different ways. He could feel the beginnings of a deep
attraction for Therenna. He had not been interested in
anyone for a long time, but it was definitely there. Crap,
he would never act on it. He could sense depths and strength
pulling him in, and making him want to see more. Spock and
he had discussed forming a triad once, but they had never
found anyone who they thought could accept them both.
Therenna was one who could, he thought. Of all the bad luck,
she had to be a Romulan. The universe was probably laughing
at him. His response was a raised middle finger over a
sardonic smile. He turned over and tried to go to sleep.
After a while, unable to rest, he remembered Spock was not
out of range for conversation or a chess game, so he called
him up with a smile of anticipation. That night, Kirk won
the game.

The next day, Spock relaxed, as the last of the supplies for
the emergency repairs for the space dock were beamed off the
Enterprise. They had made a small detour to get the
supplies, but it would had added a full day to their
journey. The major part of this leg of their rounds was
completed. Now, all that was left was to finish beaming up
the reporters who were scheduled to cover the last few days
of the conference. Those were the only days open to the
media. If they maintained warp five, they would be back to
the planet in 6.2 days. That would mean they would make
planetfall in time for him to join Jim for the last  2 days
of his camping trip. He was looking forward to personally
investigating the caves and fauna of Cygni Beta 1, as well
as enjoying the company of his Captain and even Dr. McCoy. A
smile hinted at the corner of his eyes.

He sat in the command chair as the bridge hummed around him
with quiet efficiency. Jim and he had the crew so well
trained, his presence was not really required, but it gave
him satisfaction to be there. He called the ship home, more
so than he did Vulcan. Nowhere, had he found greater ease,
intellectual satisfaction, and acceptance. So, for the
moment, he sat and mused about a recent article he had read
on temporal anomalies, some of which he found fascinating,
some of which he was contemplating writing a dissenting view
on.

The lift doors opened behind him and the familiar tread
tickled him back to full awareness. McCoy came to stand
beside his chair. "Well, Spock, are we ready to turn around
and go get Jim?"

"We are only awaiting the transport up of rest of the
reporters, Doctor. Once that is complete, we will be
departing for Cygni Beta 1. I anticipate our arrival in 6.2
days."

"McCoy looked at Spock with a knowing glance, "and not a
minute too soon, eh, Spock? I bet that command chair is
beginning to itch you where you sit."

"No, Doctor, I am not having any discomfort at this time,
but I will be sure to note your concern for my posterior
section in my log." Spock's look was one of pure innocence
as he looked at McCoy.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it. Call me when we get
there, Spock, I can't wait to collect on our bet." The last
statement was made as he exited the bridge.

"I would not consider doing otherwise, Doctor". Chuckles
escaped from Uhura and Sulu, as McCoy left. Spock turned to
finish the last details, so they could depart.

"Mr. Sulu, plot the most direct course for Cygni Beta I, you
have the con, take us out of orbit when the last reporters
are aboard." He left the bridge to contemplate the
chessboard; they would be back in range for a real-time
game, by gamma shift of the same evening.





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From: istannor@aol.com (Istannor)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Date: 10 Jan 2005 04:09:31 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: New TOS: A Higher Duty:All: Chapters 1-3/28: (PG)
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Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 1/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 




Chapter 1

The music in the mess was loud and the singing was louder.
All around the walls, draped from the ceiling, and festooned
across the chairs and tables, floated rainbow threads
intertwined with small green balls of light. They pulsed to 
the beat of the percussion instruments played by the on-board 
Worlds Apart Band.  McCoy beat his fingers on the table 
and tried to sing along with the words, though he obviously 
knew very few of them.

"Leonard, when are you going to learn the lyrics to this
song?" Uhura asked with obvious amusement.

"Words, shmords, it's the tune that counts, the words just
get in the way," he retorted and turned to his companions at
the table. "Besides, if I learned the words, I'd have to
sing the same ones each time. This way I get to create," he
concluded with a flourish of his hands meant to demonstrate
a maestro conducting an orchestra.

"Ye can not pronounce the Deltan dialect, 'tis all. I've
heard ye murder the sound." Scotty shot out before he raised
his glass to his lips. "Here's to Deltans, their music, and
the fact that they know no good festival should pass without
a bit of the good stuff,"

"Scotty, darling, I don't know of a single festival with
liquor, you don't celebrate."

"Ah, Penda, you wound me to the soul." He grabbed his shirt
over where his heart wasn't. "I have yet to touch on all the
important occasions for all of our member worlds, but be it
far from me to deny any me respect and due admiration," he
raised his glass towards the ceiling. "I shall miss no
festival before its time. Of course it is all the sweeter to
have you to celebrate with, my bundle of perfect
engineering."

"If I said that, you'd knock me out," McCoy observed dryly.

"If you said that,  you'd explode before I got to you.
Compliments aren't your cup of bourbon," Uhura replied with
a shrug. "The last compliment I heard you give was: 'You're
too damn healthy to be in my sick bay, so get your butt
out'."

"I didn't say that," his voice rose in protest.

She nodded emphatically, "You sure did and Scotty heard it,
didn't you Scotty?"

"That I did, Lass, and saddened and shocked I was to hear
it. Unlike a fine wine, he does nae mellow with time."

McCoy snorted and turned to look at the temporary stage
where the new singer had walked out, dressed in the
traditional robes of a  Deltan twirl dancer. "Never you mind
how you're telling tall tales on me. Shut your traps so I
can see her. I mean...see this show."

Her name was Ashram. She was a copper-skinned, lithe
testament to the Universe's ability to create unbelievable
beauty. She floated out among the glowing bulbs of soft
green light.  At her signal , the lights begin to pulsate
slowly.  Then the music rose from the players, who set on
the stage.  If there had been anyone in the room who was not
looking at the stage, that was no longer so. Everyone leaned
slightly forward in anticipation of the entertainment.
Deltans could make the slightest movement carry a multitude
of interpretations depending on the needs, lusts, and
darkest desires of the observer.  It was not uncommon for
each and every one of their planet based entertainment
experiences to conclude in several very strongly felt offers
of marriage from a human audience .  However, luckily for
the crew the Enterprise, all Deltans who served aboard a
Federation starship had to swear to celibacy during their
tenure, while on board.

So, Crewman Ashram, was relatively safe.  At least, her
especially strong ability to broadcast pheromones to any
adult male or female audience member was limited by her
regular monthly shots. Those shots had no effect on her
ability to cast a spell with the slightest motion of her
fingertips, or how her leg moved slowly across the stage in
contretemps to the music.  There was magic being cast, not
tied to dolls, or potions, or even words, this magic rose up
from the imagination of those who watched, and the grace and
energy of the one who danced.

Logic dictated that she was not dancing to each and everyone
in the audience.  Reality demanded that she did not know the
soul of those who were watching.  There are times when logic
and reality can not override the beliefs of an audience.
This was one of those times.

She danced.  They dreamed.

"Damn, Penda, is she fabulous, or what?" McCoy whispered,
half to himself, half to the stars around them.

"She has the gift, that's for sure."

The inter-ship Com link broke in to the performance and
everyone stopped to wait for the words that followed.
"Command crew, report to the briefing room in 10 minutes.
Delta shift bridge crew, you will remain on duty until
alpha shift returns from the  briefing, Captain's orders,
out."

Moans drifted through the audience as the command crew
pulled themselves from their altered states and back to the
reality of a urgent briefing session. That always meant
trouble, somewhere, somehow, but trouble was what they were
getting paid for, and more importantly, trouble had called
most of them to the stars.

"Not bloody fair, I tell ye! She was just getting to the
juicy parts." Scotty protested. "Let's get it over, then.
I'm sure this is going to hurt my ship, some way, so I
better get her ready."

"Oh pooh, Scotty, at least you got to see Ashram, I was
waiting for Eldraw, her dance mate.  He's the main
attraction for me."

"That's because ye are a lass, and not appreciative of the
finer things that another lass' dance can do for a lad." He
answered as they walked towards the exit from the rec room.

"Darling, I think you would be surprised at what I know
about what a "lass' dance can do for a lad," she drawled
with a wink.

Scotty stopped momentarily and turned around to McCoy as
Uhura left ahead of him. "Did she just say what I think she
said?"

"Yep, and I bet she can back it up. But, if I were you, I'd
get a full check-up on your heart and lungs before you ever
find out." He snorted and passed a stunned Engineer, leaving
him rapidly behind. Scotty, took a deep breath, shook
himself and hurried after them.




Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 2/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 



Chapter 2

Kirk, Spock and a yeoman were already seated at the briefing
table when McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty arrived. Sulu, Chekov,
and M'Benga were only seconds behind them. By the time they
had all gotten settled, Spock had signaled the Yeoman to
send the info packets to their individual table screens.

Kirk started the ball rolling. "We received an incoming message 
from Starfleet Command, marked priority, today at 1750, ship time.  
The content of the message is in front of you. We are ordered 
to go, at due speed, to Cygni Beta 1 where you will be leaving 
me, so I can attend a diplomatic conference as one of the 
Federation representatives. The Enterprise will then go and 
rendezvous with a transport full of media personnel at  Starbase 
8. You will then safely bring the aforementioned cadre of
cacophonous clods to the wonderful conference, where they
will look for photo-ops and speak with the famous and almost
so. I have been instructed to be on my best behavior and not
chew the scenery. This will be a wonderfull opportunity to improve 
relations with the representatives of the member and non-aligned 
worlds."

McCoy snorted out loud and Uhura looked at the ceiling while
she attempted to stifle her response.  McCoy couldn't
resist. "Captain James Tiberius Kirk, if I didn't know
better, I would think you ain't too excited about this
adventure."

Kirk simply glared.

"Captain," Uhura ventured, "perhaps there is something
positive you can gain from the experience."

"Positive...diplomats and reporters in the same mission?" He
said with obvious disbelief.

"There are some great caves on Cygni Beta 1," Sulu offered. That
got Kirk's attention and encouraged him to continue. "You
all know about my interest in geological formations, so I
did a bit of a tour of the caves of Cygni Beta 1. They have
a unique resonance that interferes with current
communication technology and basically limits them to the
use of amplified radio waves. That means deep space sensors
and scanners have limited usefulness. The interference with
our sensors was one of the reasons it took them so long to
be contacted. We had no good way, other than direct
surveillance to discover their level of technology and
readiness for off-world contact. The caves are breath-
taking, they have natural phosphorescence and intermittently
they actually hum. "

"How far are they from the conference site?" Kirk asked.

Sulu looked at his screen for a few moments, " No further
than 20 kilometers, by these maps. I can give you the maps I
made because I went off the beaten track a ways to explore
some quieter, less touristy caves."

Kirk smiled. "Deal. Maybe this won't be the unrelenting pain
in the ass I was anticipating." He nodded emphatically.
"Alright, I do this... wonderful conference, then I'm going
to hide in the caves until you come and get me, and don't be
late, or else."

"Captain, perhaps we should discuss the particulars of the
conference," Spock suggested. Kirk waved at him to begin.

"First, this conference will have Klingons, Romulans,
Orions, representatives of the Non-aligned worlds and a full
Federation representation from the small and large systems.
The purpose: to end trade sanctions imposed  the Federation
on all Governments who trade with Slave holding systems in
exchange for a guarantee for of an immediate cessation to
all government sanctioned abductions and  legalized trading
in Sentient Beings."

"Well, I'll be damned," McCoy exclaimed.

"And about time," Scotty threw out. " How are they going to
verify cooperation?"

"That is a crucial point that has not been agreed on.
However, it is obvious Starfleet will have to take a
frontline role in the process; hence the Captain is a
Starfleet's representative."

"Why you, Captain, instead of one of the Command staff?"
Uhura wanted to know.

"The Klingons, the Romulans, and the Non-aligned World
representatives specifically requested him." Spock answered.

"How does it feel to be that popular?" McCoy quipped.

"Sort of like being the only prostitute in port, when a deep
space cruiser has just docked after ten months in space. I
know I'm going to get screwed, repeatedly, and it ain't
going to be fun."

Everyone laughed, but Spock, who continued as soon as there
was a relative break. "The Ariadne will remain in orbit
during the conference to assist with security." That got
everyone's attention.

"Why them and not us?" Chekov asked.

"We were told that many of the Orions have unpleasant
memories of their clan encounters with the Enterprise, and
prefer we absent ourselves."

"Let me get this right," Chekov continued, "they want our
Captain there, who commanded the ship that makes them
nervous, but they don't want the ship around?"

"Essentially accurate," Spock answered.

"I don't like this, not one bit," Chekov stated. "We are a
better ship than the Ariadne. We have seen more combat and
made more first contacts. Sending the Ariadne instead of us
is like kissing your sister."

Kirk waved away the objections. "For the record, we already
had this discussion with Starfleet and we lost. Spock, why
don't you finish the briefing and I'm going to go and finish
the packet on the attendees. We have already made the
necessary course changes and we will arrive in three
standard days. I will see you on the Bridge."

The briefing continued after his exit. "How long is the
conference? Sulu inquired. "It will take us at least 7
standard days to get to Starbase 8 and back to Cyngi Beta 1
and that means he is going to be down there without any
back-up for all that time."

"Understood. That is why we are going at our best speed and
returning. I am planning on negotiating for him to carry one
weapon to the conference, on the pretense of him leaving
to go into the wilds where he will not have security back-up."

"Dr. McCoy, your screen has the possible infectious agents
and parasites, along with an evaluation of the local foods
and water."

"Yeah, I see it. Mostly heavy minerals and no real parasites
that affect humans. Everything else we can handle with
immunity boosters. You see anything else, Gregory?"

"Looking at the list of attendees, the Zsxthys will be
there. He will need to be immunized against their venom, and
the Dowerg are also going to be there," M'Benga replied.

"They carry lots of nasty bugs. You're right. I see they
will have Vulcan Healers, so there is good news." He
finished scanning the material. "We can have him ready in
two days, Spock."

"Acceptable. Uhura, you will have to update the translator.
Can you have all of the possible languages loaded by our
arrival?"

"No problem. This will give us a chance to use our newest
toy. We have a small earpiece we can mold into his middle
ear and the program will reside at a remote site. He will
get contemporaneous translation for any audio language. He's
may have to depend on Starfleet Diplomatic Corp for sign and
scent translation, but more of those Ambassadors carry their
own translation devices to send the interpretation to any
direct line receivers."

The planning finished 20 minutes later and they went to get
ready for their shift. Chekov went to make sure none of the
reporters could get into any of the restricted areas and he
especially wanted to limit computer access. Noonan Singh
Khan had taught him a lesson about what can happen when you
don't keep hackers out, and he never planned to forget it.





Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 3/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 



Chapter 3


Kirk bent over to put the last few items in his carrier for
the conference on Cygni beta 1. He was looking forward to
the spelunking trip afterwards, as a break from the routine
of shipboard life. The information Sulu had given him showed
lush mountainous forests with trees 150 to 300 feet high and
caves that glowed with a rainbow of colors and were filled
with fantastical rock formations.  Hopefully, he'd have a
chance to explore a few of  them.  He had already done a
quick, but thorough, review of the major landmarks. He had
even identified some caverns that he meant to explore that
were closer to the diplomatic compound than the ones Sulu
had seen.

There were no large predators for him to worry about and
many of the plants were edible. The water was even drinkable
for short periods of time. It had an unfortunately high
level of heavy metals that would become toxic over time, but
he was not planning to be there that long.

The conference was sponsored by the Cygnian Government, the
head of  one of the largest non-aligned systems. Starfleet
had told him several planets had specifically asked for him to be
the Starfleet representative  no-one was really sure why they had 
made the request, The latest theory was some baloney about 
his military reputation having caused such a stir that some 
of the representatives wanted to meet him. Another story said 
they wanted to verify Starfleet's philosophy of peaceful
exploration by seeing how far they could push him before he 
exploded. He thought the latter was closer to being 
accurate. So, he was suppose to go, smile, be nice, and
try not to gnaw on the furniture, so he could prove he
was civilized and not given to wiping out whole planetary
systems.

Kirk had to smile to himself over the thought that people
feared him. A kid from the cornfields had a reputation as
the Federations foremost military leader. He snorted,a 
half disgusted and half bewildered sound. All
he had ever wanted was to explore the stars. The only reason
he fought so well was because he hated losing, especially
when lives depended on his winning. Tarsus made him decide
to never be on the losing side again. So, if he had to
fight, he would be so good at it, his people lived, and the
other side died. He sighed and thought briefly about how
strangely his life had turned out compared to his
expectations. At least there was an upside, and that side
made it all worth it, most of the time. He put the last 
bit of his camping equipment in the bag and closed it in 
time to hear the cabin door open. He didn't turn; he knew
who it was, "One moment,Spock, I just have one last memo 
to do and I'll be ready to go. I'm starving. Maybe we can 
stop and grab something first."

Spock entered the cabin. He tooka relaxed stance, hands 
clasped loosely behind him. "I am now able to detect Human 
exaggerations and since I do not notice any evidence of 
malnutrition, I must conclude you are stalling, not 
starving." Spock walked over to Kirk who was now standing 
over his desk terminal entering some last bits of data 
into the computer. Spock knew Kirk enjoyed his Vulcan 
sense of irony and indulged in it whenever possible.
The Vulcan's relqtively new ability to accept 
and share his emotions had been cemented, 
after he rejected Gol, confronted V'Ger,and finally 
found his own true self.

Kirk leaned back and gave him am indulgent smile, then a
look of pure mischief broke out on his face. "I have a
dilemma."

"And what is that dilemma, T'hy'la ?"

"I'm not sure if I want to go to the conference, go get
something to eat, or stay here and finish the especially
brutal endgame I have planned for you. Hmm, do I eat, suffer
with a bunch of diplomats, or kick your ass, what a
decision." He rubbed his hands together with a dramatic 
flourish on his face while Spock walked over to the 
chess set and perused the board.

"Indeed, and what makes you think this is the setup for a
brutal endgame, as you so quaintly phrase it?"

"Checkmate in three."

Spock continued to look at the board. "I hardly think that
will occur." His hand went to his chin, a sure sign of
doubt.

"Read 'em and weep," Kirk laughed, moved to stand
companionably beside him, and then grabbed his own throat in
a mock strangle hold.

"Jim, I can call the planet and tell them your beam down
will be delayed so I can convince you of the error of your
ways." Spock felt his curiosity growing and he suddenly
wanted to play the game to its logical conclusion. The
teasing and humor he indulged in with his shield mate was
satisfying, especially as he did not allow himself to engage
in these displays with any other. Kirk's planned departure
surged into the front of his thoughts, and he still felt a
general sense of unease. Illogical fears flooded his psyche
and he pushed them away. His lapse helped bring him back to
reality.

The mood in the cabin changed abruptly. Kirk looked at him
quietly. "Stop worrying, it will be only two weeks and
voila, there and back again like a damn Hobbit." A slight
quirk formed on his lips. "I am a big boy after all.
Sometimes, I have been known to take care of myself without
either you, or that other mother hen looking over my
shoulder."

"You are supremely capable, Jim. I still do not have to
meekly accept the fact that they want you there at the
conference, not the ship. I especially do not appreciate the
fact that the Cygnians are solely responsible for the
conference security. It would be logical to have us provide
additional assistance, even if that necessitates us doing it
from outside of the system to make the Orions comfortable.
It is more logical for our ship to remain in orbit, instead
of the Ariadne. The Captain of the Ariadne is ...
unimaginative."

"Yeah, that nay be true, but he is a damn site more compliant 
than I am. We both know the things we do have half of the 
command staff cheering and the other half wanting to wring 
our necks. He won't rock the boat.Paul Boudreaux is a rising 
star and he can't ever get any face time in Command if he 
doesn't get the key assignments. You know the game.  Our 
favorite Admiral wants this for his protégé and neither 
you nor I are on top on his list of favorites. He can always 
say the unaligned diplomats don't want us there because 
the Enterprise is: "the ultimate symbol of Federation 
expansionist policy."  I guess Starfleet is concerned that 
the Romulans and the Klingons would take the Enterprise's 
presence as undue provocation. So, I'm in and you're out, 
my friend. You know as well as I do how touchy the unaligned 
worlds are about their sovereignty. They just want to prove 
they can go it alone. I bet they're counting on those 
high-density mineral deposits on the home world discouraging 
any mischief. Not even our sensors can fully penetrate the 
interference, and it does make it difficult to attack 
something when you can't target it. Anyway, they have a 
defense shield over the whole conference; I checked it, 
you checked it, Chekov checked it."

Spock reached to touch the meld point on Kirk's face. They
had matured enough to allow each other that level of
intimacy. He sent through the meld all his worry that he
felt for this human. Kirk allowed Spock to feel his
acceptance of the unavoidable through the touch. "Please, be
careful, Jim. I do not, for want of a better term, "like"
this, and I must admit that I am concerned for your safety.
Our link will only tell me if you are hurt. It is not a
shield against trouble, unfortunately."

Jim leaned back with an incredulous look on his face. "Who
me? I never get into any trouble. Honest!" The look Spock
gave him was so comical, Kirk couldn't help but laugh. He
touched his friend's arm lightly and spoke softly. "You know
I'm not trying to discount your concerns, Spock. I don't
like this either, but I really don't have any grounds on
which to question the assignment any more than I already
have. All I can tell you is, I promise to be careful, just
like always."

Kirk looked up into Spock's face with a hopeful grin, only
to find Spock looking at him with a stern expression. "Well,
okay, how about I promise to more careful than always." The
grin got larger and Kirk saw his friend's stern expression
melt.  "Now, come on and walk me to the transporter room, I
will have to eat planet-side. The faster I leave, the faster
you guys can get under way."

He turned to walk away and Spock stopped him with a
question. "You do have the Phaser as planned?"

"Of course, Commander Spock, Sir," he saluted in amusement.

Spock grimaced at him, "Very well, my Captain. Before you
leave, I must inform you of something." He paused for
dramatic effect. "I anticipate checkmate in two moves, and
you are the one who will hear those words from me." He said
this with his head tilted to the side and a Vulcan
equivalent of a smirk on his face. "I believe that is what
you humans call, something to remember me by." And with that
he turned and walked briskly to the cabin door and  picked
up his friend's bag on the way.

He stood briefly in the doorway waiting for Jim to review
the board and heard Kirk whisper, "What the hell did I
miss?" Kirk turned back to look at the Spock, and then back
at the board.

Kirk  finally  walked past him out into the corridor, but as
Kirk did, he whispered through gritted teeth,  "You're
bluffing, revenge is sweet."

"Indeed", was Spock's only reply. His smile was obvious to
any that knew him.

Bones met them in the transporter room. "Jim, I thought you
might like this for all those lonely days down there, with
those savage, wayward, diplomats." As he spoke he handed his
friend a small unmarked flask. His lopsided grin was on full
force. "In fact, Jim, my boy, I am thinking that you might
really need this."

"What is it, Bones, as if I don't already know?" He lifted
the flask to his face to take off the top and take a sniff.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, Jimboy, wouldn't want those fine
folks to get the wrong first impression of you, now would
we? If you open that, they might mistake you for a drinking
man, and that would just not do." Bones southern drawl was
thick as he spoke to his best friend. "So, you go on down
there and stay out of trouble, you hear, because you will
not have me around to pick up the pieces."

Jim's sigh of exasperation escaped audibly, "You guys are
hopeless. First, you give me a bottle of illegal brandy.
Then, you tell me to be careful. I really am able to take
care of myself, you know."

His pronouncement was met by  knowing looks, "Sure you are,
Jimboy", from Dr. McCoy and a quiet "Indeed' from Spock. He
turned to look at both of them without a trace of annoyance,
just fondness. The transporter beam shimmered around him and
took him down to the surface below.

Still on board the Enterprise, Dr. Leonard McCoy turned to
Spock, who uncharacteristically stood  watching the
transporter platform. "You really are worried, Spock, and
don't try to deny it, I can see the signs, Vulcan or not.
What's the problem? He really is a big boy, as he likes to
say."

"I honestly can not isolate the source of my discomfort,
Doctor. Something about this conference seems contrived to
make sure that the Captain is isolated on the planet without
adequate back-up."

"The USS Ariadne is no slouch, Spock. Their Captain and crew
are considered one of Starfleet's best, at least that is
what Komack keeps saying."

"Yes, you are correct, Dr. McCoy, that is what Komack says,
but his motives are transparent.  He wishes to supplant the
Enterprise in the public eye with a more compliant Captain
and crew. The simple truth, however, is that we are the
best, and we are not there. I assure you I will be
monitoring the situation closely." With that statement,
Spock wheeled and walked towards the door. He waited for
McCoy, who followed thoughtfully after him.







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From: istannor@aol.com (Istannor)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Date: 10 Jan 2005 04:09:42 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: New TOS: A Higher Duty:All: Chapters 4-5: (PG)
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Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 4/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 





Chapter 4

Cygni Beta 1 was a beautiful planet and the diplomatic
meeting was to be held away from the capital, near the
mountains in the Northern Hemisphere. The weather was more
temperate in that region. It had been felt that more of the
delegates would be comfortable there. Kirk was happy over
the choice as it put him closer to the wilderness areas of
Cygni 1 most famous for rugged beauty. He was definitely
more at home in space, but an occasional sojourn in the
wilds always recharged his batteries. His only regret was he
would be solo on all but the last two days of this trip. He
privately hoped Spock and Bones could get back and join him
early.

The fresh air, filled with new and alien aromas, assailed
him as he stepped out of the transportation center of the
diplomatic complex. He walked slowly across the complex,
following the escort who had immediately greeted him as 
soon as the transporter beam had cycled off.
The poor man almost jumped out of his shoes when Kirk 
introduced himself. The man was so obviously nervous at 
meeting him that Kirk gave him his most reassuring smile. 
He was escorted to his quarters and then he checked in 
for the conference. Signs of the over fifty different races
in attendance were all over the conference. Trade banners,
travel booths, hawkers of tourist trinkets and exotic 
delights, all wanted the same thing: come, visit and buy. 
The diplomatic staff hurried around the complex in a  
rush to get all the final details ironed out before 
the official start.

He looked forward to stowing his gear and getting to the
banquet, since he had skipped lunch to get planetside. 
He stared at himself in the mirror and almost saw the man 
from the first five year voyage looking back at him. 
He had been underweight when they had tied him to 
a desk, but getting his ship, and his friends,back had 
restored his appetite and his health. Fortunately, 
secondary to Spock's influence, he rarely ate meat anymore.
So,McCoy's weight loss diets were a thing of the past.  
If he worked out daily, maybe he could destress enough to 
keep from shooting anyone or saying anything dangerous. 
And, for once, he could look forward to eating at a banquet 
without worrying about Bones looking over his shoulder.
Yes, he really needed to rehearse the positives."Crap,"
he muttered."That didn't help one damn bit." 

After stowing his gear, he strolled through the huge maze
of gardens in the central courtyard, between the guest quarters
and the conference wing. The maze was lush, and filled with
whimsical topiaries interspersed between towering walls of
vegetation; it was beautiful and it smeeled good too, so he 
decided to come and run the maze later.  If he worked hard enough
at it, he might be able to do it blind- folded before the
end of the conference. He made it to the banquet hall in
time to see the Klingon delegation being introduced as they
entered. He got in line and patiently waited his turn. He
had been ordered to join the Federation Ambassador's party
on arrival. When he got to the doorman, he quietly told him
his name and  was announced. 

"Gentlebeings, I have the honor of introducing to you, 
Admiral James T. Kirk, Citizen of the United Federation of
Planets and Captain of the USS Enterprise."

The crowd all seemed to turn and stare at once, He got the 
distinct feeling that he was waering a target on his chest 
as he walked across the room. A  protocol clerk led him to 
his seat. Thankfully, his seat was with three pleasant young 
diplomats trade envoys from the unaligned planets, one Andorian, 
and one Vulcan who had been raised in a mixed Human and Vulcan 
Colony. It seemd liek he wouldn't be forced to eat looking
down his fork at truly hostile faces tonight. He could
relax a little. He had been anticipating the worse, like a
table full of Klingons with deceased brothers who had
been on some ship he had blown up. Anything less was a real
pleasure.

Dinner was uneventful. The food was delicious, as expected,
and the conversation was neutral and superficial, which was 
also the norm at occasions such as these. The Vulcan, Sturm, 
knew Sarek and Amanda and Kirk was able to learn the 
most recent news on their whereabouts and adventures. He 
knew Spock would appreciate an update on his parents since 
as a rule, he did not correspond closely with his father, 
though he and his mother were doing much better in that department. 
The distance was the last stubborn remnant of the years of 
estrangement from his father.  

Years before, Kirk had asked Spock if the friendship between
them had further distanced father from son. Spock had raised
both eyebrows at that and  stated: "There would be no
logical reason for my father to object to our friendship.
Actually, Amanda has clearly stated her belief that you are
a good influence on me." Kirk remembered cracking up. He had
been called many things, but he could not remember the last
time anyone had called him a good influence.

He was smiling to himself and trying to remeber where the 
table conversation had left off when the main Romulan party was
announced. They were a large party that included the
Romulan Ambassador to the Federation, the Romulan Ambassador
to the Unaligned worlds, and two striking women who were not
uniformed, and one serious looking little boy, a most
unusual composition for any Romulan party. An older,
strongly compact Romulan seemed to hover around the women,
even more protective than the very obvious bodyguards that
flanked them at both sides. The party intrigued Kirk. At
least they might be interesting to talk to, he thought, if
he could get anywhere near them. But, it probably wouldn't
happen since the Romulans tended to treat him like a
sexually transmitted disease ever since the incident at the
Neutral Zone.

At the exact moment of that last errant thought, the smaller
woman at the head of the party turned and looked straight at him.
A jolt ran through him. She had attempted to "read' him. His
mental shields had held, he knew, but the attempt interested
him even more. Just as he vowed to find out more about them,
he heard their names being announced. "Ambassador Trank of
Romulus, House d'tTrenk, accompanied by the lady M'arenn
of the house S'Thor." Kirk noted that no one else in the
entourage was introduced. That usually meant they were
servants. In this case, however, he was not sure the nameless
servant rule held true.

Patience, Jim, let the story unfold, he told himself. Just 
watch the group closely. Act like you're eager to
find out all you can about the Rihannsu and Klingon 
cultures. He wouldn't really be lying. He never knew 
what bit of information might prove useful. One part of his 
brain told him he shouldn't think about combat strategy at a 
diplomatic conference. The other part said, why not? Anyway, 
it was hard to turn it off and it might not be smart to turn 
it off.

He spent the rest of the evening circulating, smiling,and being
civilized. Somehow, no matter how hard he tried to meet them,
the Romulans always seemed to end up on the opposite side of 
the room from him. Since one of them was obviously a telepath, 
he took the hint and left them alone. Relatively early, he 
retired to his room , primarily to catch up on some paperwork 
he had brought along, and read some articles about the latest 
research on warp engine capabilities, and failed attempts at 
modifications. It helped him anticipate what Scotty was going to 
ask to do next. Afterwards, he did his nightly light work out. 
All in all, at least for the first day, he had managed to do
an acceptable job. So, he patted himself on the back and went 
to sleep.

On the third day of the conference, Kirk was scheduled to
give a brief talk to the assembled representatives regarding
the role of Starfleet in the future growth of the
Federation. He had been given a canned speech, with clear
instructions to stick to the script. He tried to
give the speech all the interest he could in view of its
rather pedantic content. Finally, he reached the end
followed by some polite applause. It was more than he
expected and probably more than the speech deserved.

The Cygnian ambassador, RTabor, came to the podium to congratulate
him and give a few words of appreciation for his "inspiring
words". Kirk couldn't tell if the dig was accidental or 
intentional. Then, just as he was about to leave the podium, 
RTabor went against precedent set for all the other presentations 
given up to that point. He opened the floor to questions. Kirk
was interested to note the lights flash across the room as
far too many delegates signaled for a chance to ask a question.
He sighed. it was an ambush. 'See,' he told himself, 'this is 
why you think strategy at a damn conference.'

The first question was from the Orion delegate and  Kirk
braced himself. There was no love lost between the Orion's
and the Federation. The Orion's were well known to
unofficially participate in pirating, large-scale smuggling,
and an underground slave trade. Since Kirk hated the concept of
slavery, he took every chance he could to make the lives of
illegal traders from that sector of space a pure hell. He
did not even attempt to apologize for his attitudes towards
their practices. IDIC just did not seem to encompass those
types of behaviors, not in his mind.

"Captain," The Orion began, "you state Starfleet's primary
goal is the exploration of space, for the good of all the
beings of the Federation. However, you are a well-known
figure to this person, in that you have personally captured,
or destroyed over twenty ships from Orion space. You
illegally insisted  they were engaged in pirating or illegal
trades. I submit, Captain, Starfleet is nothing but the
military arm of the Federation, and your sole purpose is the
eventual takeover of our space. You want all space
humanized, made uniform in the image of man. The Federation
is a Human first, racist society. We poor unfortunates who
stand against you, are subjected to the predations of your
mighty starships and you, Captain, are the worst of the
lot."

The assembly had an air of hushed expectancy as they waited
for Kirk's response. Spock had once told a court-martial board
that Kirk did not panic and was constitutionally unable to
panic. He had said unequivocally that any assumption Kirk
had acted out of panic was in error. His First Officer's
faith in him, especially then, had been inordinately
satisfying. He still wasn't sure Spock had been entirely
accurate, because could and did feel what he thought was
panic. The difference between for him was what panic did 
to him. It transported him to somewhere else, where time 
slowed and things crystallized. He went into a zone where 
he was able to see strategies many moves ahead, and pick 
what he needed to do. He entered the realm of possibilities 
and was able to draw on the gifts he had inherited.

His heritage was a curse and a charm, one he denied and
fought against when it suited him and used when he needed
its assets. At the age of thirteen, he had killed to save 
lives, his and those he had taken under his protection. 
Kodos the Executioner had killed 4000
men, women, and children to save the other half of the
world's population during the
famine on Tarsus 4, or so he said right before the phasers 
cut down the innocent. Kodos, the Executioner was dead, but 
his death had come many years after a young Jim Kirk had 
tried to kill him. A mere boy, Kirk had killed over 20 other
grown men. Starfleet had pushed that figure upwards, but
he didn't remember those others. He had been at the mercy
of his memories and his heritage and they had died.  
To save the lives of those he had chosen to protect, 
he had killed with deadly purpose, and something inside of 
him had died, never to live again. A year had passed before
he had found his feelings again and now he held on to them all.

Spock had once told him that he, meaning Jim, truly did not
understand panic, if he thought that becoming utterly calm
was what it was. Kirk had laughed at the time at being
instructed on emotions by the master of emotional control.
Fortunately, there was no need to panic and was an merely 
an inconvenience. These type of questions
didn't kill you, so there was no need to panic.

He looked out of the mass of waiting faces, and  read who
was openly hostile, friendly, or neutral. Several strategies
raced through his mind. He suddenly knew which one would
work to get him the biggest bang for the buck ...  the
truth.

"Remind me Ambassador, what exactly was your question?" A
low rumble of amusement flowed through the hall. "Oh, wait,
now I remember. You have actually underestimated the number
of vessels the Enterprise has captured or destroyed from
your region of space, Ambassador. However, I will continue
to do so, as long as anyone enters Federation space and
threatens the safety and sovereignty of it's citizens and
its member worlds. That is one of our jobs, and we are very,
very good at doing our jobs.
                                                                          
                                                                          
                                                                          
                                                                          
                                                                          
                                       
My crew and I actively seek out and stop anyone, or
anything, that interferes with the ability of a citizen of
the Federation to live in peace, or to exercise their
bedrock right to freedom of choice. A citizen of the
Federation has freewill, and must be allowed to exercise
their freewill to the extent it does not destroy the lives
of others. I did not say other humans; I said others. Be
they from the least powerful planet in the Federation, or be
they from Vulcan itself, our ship will defend their rights.
However, I can not and will never defend the right to
involuntary rape, murder, enslave, rob or terrorize another
being.

To date, I have never seen any culture yet that approached
the Federation demanding to be murdered or enslaved. If one
does, then so be it. I will defend that as their choice.
Any ship that enters Federation space with that intention
has to get through me first and that is very hard to do. The
Enterprise has never been known to attack without
provocation. We also have never been known to lose once
challenged. I have no shame or insecurities regarding our
record. It is open for all to see. When you read that
record, you will see a list of all of our military
encounters. You will, if you have any pretense of fairness,
also see our record of exploration and discovery of beings
never before known to the Federation.

On our first five year mission, we visited more planets,
mapped more systems, and welcomed more races to the
Federation then any other Federation ship has done in all 
the
years prior, or since. We are now on our second tour of
duty; and we plan to continue doing what we do best. Some of you,
sitting here, first heard of the Federation as a direct
result of the Enterprise making contact with you. If it
wasn't us, then it was some other ship with the same goals
and ideals, just a different name.

I will not apologize for our successes, nor excuse our
failures. We have had both. I will tell you this: regardless
of our perceived might, any ship of the line will gladly lay
down its life for the defense of all of our citizens, no
matter how humble, no matter how different  their beliefs,
or practices.

Variety enriches and strengthens us; it allows us to grow
beyond any limitations our individual cultures, or citizens
might have. Sameness is death, and it is the antithesis of
freedom. We do not offer you freedom to be like earth
humans; as a member of the Federation, you have the right 
to the freedom to achieve your highest destiny, and my ship 
stands ready to fight... or die, to insure that freedom." 
When Kirk finished giving his totally unscripted, politically 
incorrect, unsanitized response he had no doubt Starfleet 
would be on the horn by the morning.

There was silence. Then a light smattering of applause
started from the back of the hall and spread slowly, until
it rose to a roar of approval. Many of those present stood
to give him an ovation. He gave a brief nod and exited from
the podium to join the Ambassador who was gesturing for him
to quickly return to his seat, probably before anyone else 
could ask a question. He wondered briefly if McCoy and
Spock would consider this as staying out of trouble. Maybe
he wouldn't tell them.

His mind continued to wander along the lines of how to
escape the anticipated ribbing from his friends. He had only
told the truth to the best of his ability, but the look the
Ambassador was giving him was not a good one.  The diplomats
would have to clean up any difficulties he had created, and
he'd have to hear about what a pain he was, over and over
again until they got tired of the refrain. So what. It was
what they got paid for and he wasn't dissatisfied with what
he had said especially since it shut up the Orion, which
felt damn good. The rest of the session was uneventful.


Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 5/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 





Chapter 5

"Well, M'arenn, what do you think of their warrior prince?"
The Romulan woman Kirk had seen in the lead of the party at
the start of the other days banquet, turned to look at the
source of the question. The man who spoke to her was
J'usreyan, former consul of the Rhihannsu empire, acting as
her protocol agent openly, and as the head of her security
in reality. He was older by many years, and she valued his
wisdom and counsel. His aristocratic bearing did much to
hide his age and the weight of the grief he carried always
close to his heart. His only son, her husband, had been the
nameless  Commander of the ship Kirk had destroyed
on the faithful day when he had been ordered over the
neutral zone to test out the new cloaking device.

M'arenn was average height,slim, with hair so dark, it 
seemed to glow. Her features were sharp, without being 
harsh, and when she smiled, it rarely touched her eyes. 

"Jus, my Thal did not want to go; you know that as well as
I. He argued against the wisdom of provoking the Federation
when they did not threaten any hostilities. You also know
the Praetor's Supreme Counsel over-ruled him. He went, and
he never returned. The pride of the Romulan Fleet  was
destroyed by one ship, captained by a man who was not old
enough to command a light cruiser in the Romulan Empire.
Remember Thal's final message was to the Human: "In another
place, another time, we would have been friends." Seeing the
Human up there now, on a deeper level I know my husband
spoke the truth. Unfortunately, there is a small voice
telling me to shoot him where he stands. This Kirk and my
beloved may be much more alike than they differ, but I still
have not forgiven Kirk for Thal's death."

"A warrior's way is death, M'arenn. He knew the risks when
he chose the path."

"I know that, Old Man, but I honestly still do not know how
to feel about this. I have spent too much time hating Kirk
for the death of my husband. I am not ready to let it go
because of one speech, no matter how moving." M'arenn
sighed. "He is as impressive as we were told, perhaps more
so. All in all, a very dangerous man. What do you think,
Little Sister?"

The question was addressed to the quiet presence at her
side, Therenna, her sister in all things. All of her features 
were a softer reflection of her sister's. Her eyes were what 
set the two women apart. They were so light gray, they seemed
almost translucent. It made many people uncomfortable to even
look her in the eyes. But if M'arenn was the
Praetor's eyes and ears, Therenna was just as thoroughly the
Praetor's heart. She was a high functioning telempath, as
rare on Romulus as on Vulcan, their ancestral home. Equally
brilliant, she used her skills to serve the Praetor. She was
able to get partial to full readings on the motives,
thoughts, and truthfulness of non-telepaths, because of
their lack of shields. Few knew of her capabilities, but it
was those skills that had her at the conference with her
sister. She was the heart and M'arenn with her sharp
intellect, and highly developed strategic mind, was the
eyes.

The team had been sent to the conference to collect needed
information to assist the Praetor as he plotted the
best course for the Romulan Empire. His generals were
clamoring for war and they wanted to attack first, certain
that domination was the eventual goal of the Federation. The
Praetor was not sure what was in the Empire's best
interests, so he had sent the sisters to feel out the enemy, 
and give him information he could trust. His knew generals 
had not always been completely honest with him, and for this
decision, he needed totally unbiased reconnaissance.

M'arenn waited patiently while she watched her sister gather
her thoughts. She knew her sister never answered a
question without attempting to first integrate all of her
impressions. 

"The human has mental shields, very strong ones, especially 
for a non-telepath. The presence of shields tell me he has 
had extensive training by a telepath, probably Spock, but 
who can tell. His inner thoughts are not accessible, only 
his emotions. They are not as well shielded. They seem to 
leak around the barriers, and those I can read fairly easily."

M'arenn waited. She never interrupted her sister's process.
"From what I can sense, he told the absolute truth, as he
felt it. There was no trace of dissembling; his conviction
was burning in its intensity. He also felt no pride in the
response to his speech. He has a strong distaste, and
sadness attached to the list of the transgressions
of the Orion pirates, but none specifically aimed at the
Ambassador. His mind is exceptionally strong in that he
emotes in a way which almost projects across the room. It is
possible that his feelings could affect those who are
psychically sensitive, even with him intending them to do
so."

 M'arenn and Jus sat forward. "Are you saying he can control
 others responses?"

"No, I honestly do not sense he has that level of power, 
but it is possible he can influence those who are open. The 
Humans call it charisma, because they do not understand 
its psychic origins. His pride is mostly attached to his 
ship and his crew, so it would be difficult to make him 
respond to a personal insult.  I also got the occasional 
impressions of something deeper, something I can not explain 
and have not sensed in other humans  running under his surface.
It is something he ... pushes down into himself.It may be 
unpleasant memories or feelings of guilt, I'can't tell. There
is something else inside of him that flows like a slow, wide 
river. However, I was not able to pick up anything more, so, 
I must apologize for my deficiencies." She gave her
sister a half smile.

Her sister's mouth crooked at the edge in an expression of
mild exasperation. "Therenna, you tell me everything about
him, but his last sexual partner, and you feel a need to
apologize. I wish you would stop that," her face softened,
"but, then I suppose if you did stop, you would not be the
sister I love so well. Come, we must contrive to meet this
man and get you some more information."

"I do not advise that, M'arenn; Kirk is dangerous. They say
he is one of the most dangerous men in Starfleet. You should
not risk exposing yourself to him." J'usreyan's face was
full of concern.

"I have no attention of revealing our true identity. I just
want to know my enemy. How else will we be able to find his
heart when the blade is ready, ehh Jus?" M'arenn smiled to
ease his fears, "So, let us plan to make this meeting a
reality."




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From: istannor@aol.com (Istannor)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Date: 10 Jan 2005 04:12:01 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: New TOS: A Higher Duty:All: Chapters 8-9/28: (PG)
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Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 8/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 




Chapter 8

Two days later, Kirk awoke and dressed. As he groomed
himself in the mirror, he whispered repeatedly: "Last day of
this crap, get it over, don't screw up, then ... camping."
He whistled to himself as his internal clock got him moving
at 0600 shiptime. He repacked his things in one bag to leave
at the consulate and packed his backpack for camping. It
contained few things. He rarely needed more than the basics,
to be happy in the wild. His provisions, a change of socks,
raingear, lamp, communicator, bedroll, and medikit were
easily stored in the pack. Almost as an afterthought, he
tucked the phaser he had brought down with him into the
pack. The Security staff had stored it in a time-release 
safe so he could not access it until his day of departure.
He was not allowed to wear it into the conference, but
the Cygnian authorities had okayed having it in his room 
for the last few hours of the conference. He was Starfleet,
after all, and he really didn't want to be on a planet with Orions, 
Klingons, Gorns, and Romulans, without a phaser. But, they 
didn't have to know that his real reasons.

He took his hunting knife out and spent some time sharpening
the blade. That simple act helped him meditate. The knife
was a gift from Bones, a Bowie knife he called it. It was a
wicked looking thing, but over the years, Kirk had become
very skilled with it. When his pack was finished, he got
dressed and headed for the morning reception. He left the
pack in a holding room near the back exit. That way, he
could sneak out for the woods, later that day. Then, he went
and checked out a flitter and parked it away from the
compound, in the woods, after he had finished checking it
over himself. His past experiences with shuttlecrafts had
made him relatively suspicious of any small craft. He found
he got comfort from giving them the once over, before he
took them for a spin.

The sessions opened that morning with little fanfare. The
rest of the conference was going to break off into smaller
sessions for more intense and pointed diplomatic and trade
negotiations at the end of the morning agenda. Kirk could
sense the air of anticipation as the participants prepared
to really get down to the business at hand. He surveyed the
room in hopes of getting a glimpse of his company from the
previous few evenings. They had been more fun than he had
expected, but the conference was coming to an end, and he
doubted he would ever see any of the Romulan party again.
Feeling more than a little disappointed, he sat down at the
table with Ambassador Davis' entourage and waited for an
opportune time to exit.

Kirk wasn't sure when he first noticed the unusual activity.
The subliminal cues drew his attention away from the
speaker, to see security personnel attempting to quietly get
the attention of the Cygni ambassador. Kirk excused himself,
and moved quietly in their direction. His sixth sense began
to hum loudly telling him something was happening, something
not good. Life had taught him from a very early age to never
ignore that inner sense, so he walked unobtrusively over to
the Speaker's table. From the side and the back, he was only
able to catch a reference to "unusual subspace activity".
That made him immediately want to go and call the Araidne,
and request more information.

He exited the conference room and walked purposefully for a
vidphone he had seen earlier. He reached the booth and
placed a priority 2 call to the Araidne. There was no
response. He then sent the same request through the Cygnian
channels, only to get a recorded message stating that the
lines were all busy, please feel free to try again later. He
tried a priority one query through diplomatic channels
without any better luck.

Kirk sat and leaned back into the booth. His sense of
foreboding screamed. He could think of several scenarios
that would result in communications being cut off but none
of them were good. He sat up on full alert, all senses at
battle readiness. He attempted one more call to the orbiting
starship. No luck. Then, he stood and left quickly to get
his pack. He wanted his weapon in the worst way.

An explosion rocked the building, just as he arrived at the
storage room. Then, more sounds of battle reached his ears.
Screams and the unmistakable whine of phasers and the thrum
of disrupters, clearly echoed through the corridors. He
grabbed his phaser from the pack and set it to kill. His
guess was whoever was attacking the compound would have on
some type of body armor. He did not want to die because of a
phaser on stun. He slowly tilted his head around the
doorway, plans already being sifted and discarded. Just as
he cleared the doorsill, he heard running in his direction.
He waited and a Cygnian security man ran full tilt around
the corner. A disrupter beam cut him down, forty paces away
from Kirk's hideaway. He now was in his zone. The disrupter
was Klingon, he could tell by the sound alone.

He waited patiently for whoever would have to round the
corner to take up their station at the back exit nearest
him. Within seconds, two Klingons came into view. They
looked briefly about, but they did not look like they
expected any opposition. They were fatally surprised when
the phaser blasts hit them in rapid succession, almost
faster than thought. They would go to the afterlife with a
look of total shock on their faces. Kirk went to the bodies
and scavenged the weapons and the communicators. More was
always good, when it came to weapons. He stuffed them into
the pack and made for the unprotected rear entrance.

He knew going back towards the conference would be a waste.
He immediately decided the best plan was to get to his
flitter for the trip to the woods and harass them from
behind the enemy lines. He could be a total pain in the ass,
but only if he was free. Once the Enterprise arrived,  he
knew he'd have the necessary firepower to end the
discussion.

The compound was surrounded on the east, north, and south by
the municipal center of the local town. The guest quarters
stretched out across the back of the stone complex, with
windows that looked out on the picturesque tree shrouded
lake. Gardens, filled with statues and manicured apiaries in
whimsical shapes, were arranged in a maze in the center of
the complex and stretched all the way to the guest quarters
at the rear. Kirk had enjoyed strolling back and forth
through the maze for the breaks during the conference. He
had made a game for himself of beating his previous times.
The last few days he had done it with his eyes closed to
practice using his other senses. Spock had been hard on him
lately, when they trained together. The Vulcan railed at his
dependence on sight and Kirk had been forced to agree with
him. He was grateful for his private game now.

He crouched low and looked out to check the rooftops and
corners before he exited. The assault team had either
decided not to place troops up high, or they had not managed
to get there yet. He ran to the maze opening and raced
through it without a single wrong turn. He reached the other
side in time to hear raised voices from inside the guest
wing. They were female voices, complaining loudly, in
indignant tones. He could hear male voices respond, but he
was unable to discern their content. It could only be the
Romulan women up against the intruders.

Again, he waited for the voices to come near him and pass
him in the windowed corridor. He hid from view, behind a
sculpted bush, in the form of a bird with its babies. Then,
he ran low and fast, to the door to the south wing. Slowly
and quietly , he pulled it open. He could see the retreating
backs of the guards bringing up the rear of the party. The
older Romulan male, both women and the child were being
herded down the corridor with the butts of blasters in their
backs and loud cursing in their ears.

There was no pause to sight. He fired and took both of the
trailing guards out. J'usreyan turned immediately and jumped
the other guard who had  turned to confront the attack from
behind. He broke the pirates's neck with an audible snap.
Neither the women, nor the child had made a noise.

Kirk put his finger to his mouth and signaled them to hit
the ground and come over to him.  It would not be good to
have anyone see them through the glass while they escaped.
When they reached him, he got close to M'arenn, "The
conference has been over-run. The fact that they didn't kill
you outright, means they want hostages. We can use that to
our advantage. If we get out through the back I can have
transportation out of here. Do you trust me to do this?"
M'arenn looked to her sister and J'usreyan. Her sister's nod
was instantaneous, J'usreyan paused and took the measure of
the human. He slowly nodded, and added, "For now."

"Good enough. Lets' go and keep low. I'm going to lead us
out of a rear window and down into the woods."  Kirk handed
his newly confiscated weapons to the adults and it was
quickly obvious that they knew how to use them. Quiet
amusement hit him as he thought about how well the Romulans
train their diplomats, as if he believed that anymore. They
moved swiftly and silently, pausing at hallway junctions
only long enough for Kirk to signal the all clear. Finally,
they reached an unlocked room and entered closing the door
behind them and locking it. Kirk quickly crossed to the
window and opened it and climbed out.

He was back in the window after a few seconds, and told them
to come down. First, M'arenn, then her sister. They passed
the boy out, and J'usreyan followed. No- one confronted
them, as they passed into the relative safety of the
surrounding woods. Kirk found the flitter just where he had
left it and hurried them inside. It was going to be cramped,
but they all could fit because the women and child were
relatively small.

"Don't get too comfortable. The most dangerous part is still
ahead. To get to the mountains, and safety, we are going to
be in clear space just long enough to be sighted. A lot is
going to depend on what type of weapons they have trained on
the sky and how fast they can bring them to bear on us.
Those are the unknowns. They tell me that's what I'm good at
dealing with, so let's get the hell out of here." He had as
much information as he was going to get, so, it was time to
go. "Hold on ladies and gents, this show is going on the
road."

The engines whined into full power and they blasted off into
a steep climb. Kirk roared from the cover of the small woods
to cross the lake towards the mountainous wilderness on the
other side. Just as they cleared the trees he began evasive
maneuvers. He banked at an impossible angle to port, at the
exact wrong  time and the exactly wrong angle because it put
so much strain on a small vessel. It was the last way anyone
would guess if they were attempting to site them with a
laser. He was rewarded with the flash of a laser cannon that
blasted a path straight in front of their previous path and
then veered to the starboard side as the gunner crew
attempted to anticipate his moves.

The ship then headed straight down towards the lake. Kirk
stopped its downward descent a few feet above the lake. He
angled towards the opposite shore and headed for it at full
speed. He knew that the hardest direction for a laser cannon
to go was down. It was built to combat aerial attacks and
special mounting changes had to be made to head it below its
own ground zero. A safety feature was built into it to keep
crews from shooting themselves or their own personnel. They
made to the other side but he knew pursuit was not far
behind.

He switched vectors quickly going off at a random 38 degree
angle from their previous course. They would really have to
work at following them. The Romulan male had quietly taken a
seat at the screen and monitored for approaching craft. He
nodded his head in approval of the human's tactics. Motion
caught his eye from a craft approaching from the northeast.
He fed the coordinates to Kirk who  made instant course
adjustments. They began a flat out race for the mountains.
The rock formations would throw off any small ship sensors,
and the towering trees would make visual sighting difficult.
Only an orbiting starship, would have enough sensor power
and sophistication to be able to find them. Kirk was hoping
that the Araidne was keeping any orbiting ships busy.

The ships behind them had more power and they slowly started
to narrow the gap. Kirk headed into the trees at a breakneck
pace, running more on feel and split second reflexes.
Instruments were useless at the speeds they were traveling
because the echoes from the rock formations threw up ghosts
on the screens of the racing ships. Kirk hoped that none of
them had spent long hours in simflight against someone as
skilled as Sulu. If they had, Jim Kirk and his new friends,
would die here on this planet. J'usreyan called out the
distances of the approaching ships as Kirk kept his full
attention on flying. His hands skimmed across the board
without visible hesitation.

After a few minutes, it became obvious the pursuers were
dropping behind. Kirk knew they would try to climb out of
the cover and head above, and over them, to try to catch
them when they came from under the foliage. Just as they
cleared the treetops, Kirk veered suddenly away on another
acute angle, and headed off from the pursuers. When they
realized their mistake, the pursuers started to lay down a
wide barrage of phaser fire, but they were unsure of his
exact course. Realizing their error again, they dived back
into the forest, only to be hampered by the falling trees
and fire started by their previous barrage.

Kirk skirted low over an outcropping of rock. His pursuers
were momentarily blinded by the flashes from their own
barrage. They crashed head on into the rock that reached up
to grab them from the skies. The force of the explosion
ripped the ships apart, and sent shards of vessel and rock
hurtling ahead. One metal fragment clipped the left wing of
Kirk's flitter, and sent them on a shuddering slide to the
right.

"Damn, put your heads in your laps and hold on to something,
we're going to crash. I hope this thing has safety fields"
Using the skills of a lifetime, Kirk banked with use of
power thrust. He tried to make up for the loss of lift from
the wing. They cleared a large group of rocks and trees and
saw a small opening in front. The clearing was their best
and only chance for a landing. He headed down, while pulling
up on the nose, and breaking at the same time. They had to
stop before they hit the trees, even if it meant they landed
upside down. The crash lasted forever. The tail and
underbelly hit first and then the nose barreled down onto
the ground. As the nose hit, Kirk hit the reverse thrusters
which slowed them even more, but dug them into the ground.
The force sent him forward into the control panel, and his
head hit before the harness caught him. His final thought
before oblivion was a silent cry: "Spock!"

Spock jerked up from the command chair when the psychic call
hit him full force. A momentary look of fear fled across his
face as he waited for awareness of pain or death. When
nothing else came through the link, he turned toward Uhura.
"Lt. Uhura, patch me through to the conference on Cygni, at
once."

There was no urgency in his voice, but his abrupt change of
position had not escaped anyone's notice. The bridge
instantly became more alert. "Mr. Spock, there is no
response on any channel. I am now attempting to raise the
Ariadne." The crew waited. Uhura's hands flew while she
played the console like an instrument; "I am putting this on
speaker."

"Red Alert, red alert. This is the USS Araidne, I repeat
this is the USS Araidne. We are under attack. I repeat, we
are under attack, by three unmarked vessels of Orion design.
We request immediate aid. The diplomatic conference is also
under ground assault. Hostages have been taken. All vessels
in the vicinity please respond. I repeat we are under
attack." The message repeated itself.

Spock turned towards the helm. "What is the fastest speed we
can make to Cygni, Mr. Chekov." After a moments pause for
computation, Chekov replied. "At warp six we can be there in
3.14 days, Sir. At warp 8, and taxing the engines, it will
take 2.15 days"

"Warp eight, Mr. Sulu. Lt. Uhura, notify Dr. McCoy that we
will be arriving at Cygni in 2.15 days and inform him to
expect casualties... and notify Mr. Scott that his engines
will be taxed." Spock's voice never wavered but everyone on
the bridge heard the difference in his tone. Spock gazed
intently at the viewscreen, as if looking at it would get
them there faster, knowing it would not, and started to plan
for what they would find when they arrived.

"He is moving, Therenna." He heard a soft youthful male
voice over him. Someone began gently stroking his face. That
was a familiar sensation, he knew he would remember as soon
as his head stopped splitting open. Slowly, he opened his
eyes and his confusion worsened. The alien face was
familiar, yet he could not place it. Where were Spock and
Bones? His head hurt too much to think, but he knew he had
to. He tried to sit up and was held down by small, but
surprisingly strong arms. "Captain, you are safe and off of
the flitter. I am Therenna and you flew us to safety. You
hit your head in the crash, so we carried you into the
woods."

It was coming back in fitful spurts. "How long have I been
out?"

"Approximately 25 minutes."

"Too long. We have to put more distance between the crash
site and us. Help me up." As he struggled up to a seated
position over her protests, waves of nausea and dizziness
hit him. He took deep breaths and relaxed into the pain, a
skill he had learned to do over the years. Experience had
been a hell of teacher. When he could see clearly, he noted
that J'usreyan and M'arenn were nowhere to be seen. "Where
are the others?"

"Back at the flitter, getting as much out as they can." Just
as she finished, he could hear steps approaching from the
woods. Therenna turned, grabbed up a phaser, and held it
with a steady hand on the trees in front of her. Her sister
and the older man came from the trees carrying Kirk's pack,
and some other supplies from the downed ship.

He could see M'arenn smile as she noted he was awake. "We
are so glad you could join us, Captain. I did not want to
miss the opportunity to thank you for that thrilling ride."
He could see a wary look on the face of her companion behind
her.

"I live to serve, Madam," he tried to smile but only
succeeded in a pained grimace. "I highly recommend that we
get the hell out of here. We are too close to the crash
site. When they find the ships, they are sure to find us."

"Can you travel, Captain?" J'usreyan came over to him to
look at him closely.

"I have no choice." A low groan escaped as he made it to his
knees, a new benchmark. "If you will bring me my backpack,
I'll get my bearings. There is a map of the area, in the
side pocket." J'usreyan reached in and produced the desired
map. It took longer for him to clear his head than it did
for him to identify their location on the map. After
reviewing the sites he had marked for exploration, he
settled on one that was close enough to reach in a day's
travel. It also had the advantage of offering caves and a
fresh water source. The main advantage for the site was  it
was one of the least desirable places around to set up camp.
That bit of strategy might give them a few extra days
protection from being found.

He signaled them all over. Once they had gathered around, he
took the opportunity to look closely at each of them. They
felt the human's gaze penetrating their defenses while he
read them for signs of fear, or weakness. Not even the boy
was spared an appraising gaze. Kirk's face softened into a
gentle smile as he looked at the boy in approval. "What is
your name, young man?"

"Ramsthet"

"Very well, Ramsthet, we are here," he pointed to their
position on the map, "and we need to get here." Now, he was
pointing to an area of the mountains that spread out before
them towards the horizon. "There is a trail, of sorts, that
leads almost all the way to the caverns on the northwest
slope of this range ahead of us. I had picked some of the
more interesting caverns out on the map to take a look at
earlier, when I was going to be doing this for fun." He
smiled a little at the irony of his words. "Well folks, this
is no longer fun, and I suggest we take a little different
trail. It will lead us deeper into the mountains and much
further off the beaten track." J'usreyan held his hand
forward to question him.

"What is the advantage for us in taking a harder path? It is
not likely that we will have any more of those kesrats after
us, since the first group did not return. Why not head back
for the city; we can get help there?"

"Unfortunately, I don't agree. They will be looking for us
to try to get back to civilization and that way will be
covered. They went out of their way to make sure they
rounded up all of you from the guests quarters. My guess is
you are of substantial value to them, either as hostages, or
for old fashion ransom. They lost a Starship Captain, and
two-fifths of the Romulan delegation, when we ran out on
them. That is very bad business, and I bet some very angry
folks are going to be out here beating the bushes trying to
get us back. Our best defense is: we are not worth anything
dead. Our second best defense is the reason why they chose
Cygni in the first place for the conference.

"What's that," asked Therenna.

"The ore deposits," this came from M'arenn.

"That's right." Kirk went on, " the ore deposits all through
these ranges make it impossible for anything less than the
most sophisticated sensors to be able to pick up, or track
life forms. Even the Cygnians use a satellite tracking
system instead of ship board tracking. They turned it off
when the site was attacked. Without the Cygnian satellites,
the attackers are just as blind as we are. It should have
discouraged anyone from attacking the conference, but at
least it will help cover our getaway. We are just going to
just have to hope these guys do not have anything near that
capability."

"And, if they do, " J'usreyan queried?

"Then, I hope you have some very rich relatives.  So, unless
there are any more objections?" There were none. "I suggest
we get moving, right now. There is probably only three more
hours until sundown, and I would like to be as far away from
here as possible by that time."

"Wait," M'arenn held his arm lightly and searched his face
to look for her answer. "Captain, I have one question, why
did you help us?"

"It just seemed like a good idea at the time." Kirk half-
smiled and made to rise.

"No, do not make light of my question, Captain. I want to
know why you are risking your life for us. It is obvious
that you could have gotten away on your own, with less risk
to yourself. You will tell me why, before I go with you."

Kirk stopped and gathered his thoughts. He was not quite
sure why he had done it himself. "I think to be perfectly
honest, I helped you because these assholes pissed me off. I
wanted to make sure they didn't get what they wanted, and if
that was you, then so be it, they weren't going to get you.
Also... once, a long time ago, I remember being terrified
and hoping that someone would come to help me, before it was
too late. No one did. I swore then, I would leave anyone lie
to experience that, if I could help it." He looked at
M'arenn, willing her to understand. "That's the best
explanation I can give you."

"We are Romulans, Captain; we are not even part of the
Federation."

"Nobodies perfect, M'arenn. Are we going to sit here and get
caught, or can we go now?" His head was cocked to the side,
a smile playing across his face as he waited for her
response.

M'arenn looked to her sister, who gave a slight nod. "Very
well, Captain lead on."

"Actually, I had it in mind that J'usreyan would lead, so I
can bring up the rear, and cover our trail."

"Agreed. Jus, you take the lead, Therenna will follow, then
Ramsthet, Kirk and myself. Objections Captain?"

Kirk smiled and shook his head to say no, <diplomats my
butt,>  he thought, but the words stopped inside his head.
Though Therenna did give him a strange look. The temporary
camp was cleaned up and left behind within ten minutes. They
set off deeper into the mountains.


Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 9/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 




Chapter 9

"What do you mean, they haven't come back? You can't have
lost contact with both of those ships?" The Klingon screamed
at the Orions cowering in front of him. "I give your wing
one simple assignment, bring me the Praetor's whores, and
what do you do? You lose the cursed bitches, and their
whelp, along with two ships. If I didn't need you now to
guard all of these sniveling excuses for Deneebian slime
devils, I would blast you into space dust where you stand.
Who else is not accounted for?" He waited but no one seemed
to want to answer his last question. Finally, he turned and
grabbed the nearest person by his neck, and lifted him by
one hand, off of the ground. "Tell me, you spineless worm,
or die, now." The Orion whispered as he choked, but what he
said was garbled. "What did you say?"

"Sir,  he is unable to speak, if he is unable to breathe," a
quiet presence to the side of the Klingon spoke into his
ear. K'Rath, turned to look at the Romulan who stood beside
him. He hated Romulans, but he hated poverty more, and this
Romulan was paying a lot for his efforts. The dog had
offered even more at the end. It did not hurt to listen to
one such as he, if only until the credits exchanged hands.

K'Rath let the Orion down. "Speak, worm." The man gasped for
air and moved slightly back out of the Klingons reach.

"Kirk."

He had not moved far enough. K'Rath's blow knocked the Orion
across the room, to thud tonelessly against the wall. "Kirk.
Of all the plagues you had to let loose, you let Kirk get
away? C'Thuth, take a squad into the mountains after them,
we need those women and Kirk, the rest of these worms in
total are not worth what those four will bring."

"K'Rath, they can not search for them by air," the Romulan
interjected, "the Cygnians almost have control of the
airspace again. Let them go overland and use the terrain to
keep out of site."

"C'Thuth, do it, but find the crash site first, and drop the
squad there. You can use one of the smaller transports to
get them there. Tell them, either bring back those hostages,
or do not come back."

"It is done," the other Klingon left to make ready.

K'Rath was still fuming, "I do not understand how they could
have gotten away. This was planned down to the last second.
None of the delegates were armed, and our contacts were
suppose to take out any major resistance before we landed.
How in the prophets name could one Starfleet captain, two
women, an old man, and a boy slip away, and destroy two of
our ships at that?"

"I told you to kill Kirk, not to try to capture him." The
Romulan was snarling in frustration. "Our simulations all
had him pegged as a major variable in all the scenarios. He
is too dangerous, and once his Vulcan and that cursed ship
arrives, our chances of success are reduced by 53.4%. It is
your pride that has brought us to this point."

"No. I will have Kirk as a pelt to hang on my wall. All of
the Klingon empire will know that I, K'Rath, son of chKruth,
took Kirk in battle, not like a coward with poison. You
Romulans have no honor. Kirk will see my dagger when it
falls. Of course, I will collect the credits first, then I
will kill him.

Go back to the hall with those babbling diplomats, and get
them quiet before we start killing them one at a time. We
wouldn't want to cut into the profits, now  would we." The
Romulan spat in anger and stalked from the room, leaving the
Klingon to glare after him. "Soon my friend you, too, will
see the dagger,"  K'Rath sent silently to the retreating
figure. "You," he pointed to his communications station,
"start calling the home worlds with our ransom demands and
our terms. I want responses from them all within 8 hours, or
we start killing the first set of hostages."



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From: istannor@aol.com (Istannor)
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Subject: New TOS: A Higher Duty:All: Chapters 10-11/28: (PG)
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Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 10/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 





Chapter 10

"Spock?"

"Enter." McCoy came through the cabin door and walked over
to the computer desk, where Spock sat reviewing the layout
of the diplomatic compound and the terrain surrounding it.
He had already instructed the crew to begin modifying the
sensor array to overcome the interference from the ore
deposits on Cygni. McCoy flopped gracelessly down into the
chair across from the desk and sat without speaking. They
both had become much more comfortable in the others company
over the years. Jim's acceptance of their differences, and
his appreciation of their gifts, had taught them well.

"Have you heard from any other ships?"

"There is a Vulcan cruiser, the Accord, that will be in
range in 3.2 days and the USS Powell will arrive at
approximately the same time we will. We do not have any
other ship in range to get there fast enough to assist us."

"I guess this means  the Ariadne has been destroyed."

"Not necessarily, Doctor, but it is safe to assume that she
has been damaged sufficiently to prevent her from further
communications. Perhaps, she withdrew to begin repairs."
Spock had learned the value of hope from his shieldmate. The
probability of the Ariadne still being intact was an
automatic computation for him, but he no longer felt the
need to voice it, unless requested.

"How are you doing, Spock?"

Spock knew finally, this was the reason McCoy had come. How
different this human's approach was, compared to Jim's. Jim
would have walked in and asked Spock exactly what he wanted
to know.  McCoy's mind on the other hand was often muddied
and hard for the Vulcan to follow. It was something he had
learned to adjust for, as best as he could. He at least
understood what question the doctor was asking and
considering its vagueness, that was an achievement.

"I sense no further pain or distress, Doctor, only purpose.
I sense resolve and calm reassurance through the link."

"Spock, how well can you pick up his thoughts over this kind
of distance?"

"As you know, Doctor, I am a touch telepath, so the ability
to communicate is best when in contact. You know our link is
not that of bondmates.  Bondmates can send and receive clear
thoughts across any distance. It is a family link only. More
than 20 meters away, it becomes mostly emotions or strong
impressions. Any further than that, and only exceptionally
strong emotions of love, pain or fear are received."

"Did you feel any sense of pain, or terror, since the first
time?" His concern for Jim was obvious and Spock bowed to
that concern revealing more than would be considered
appropriate on Vulcan, but then he was not on Vulcan and did
not wish to be.

"Jim has never in my experience, feel terror consistent with
what  I have sensed from some other Humans. I have noticed
this to be a side affect of command training, and I have
noted in other Captains. They are trained to allow their
fear to focus them, not unlike a form of Vulcan
conditioning. As for your other question, no, I have not had
any indication of pain since the initial episode." He could
see McCoy relax.

"What are we going to do when we get there, Spock?"

"The respective embassies for the various hostages, have all
received communiqués with a list of ransom demands, and
threats, if we attempt to rescue them. The Captain's ransom
was set at 3 million credits."

"That is a damn fortune," McCoy blurted.

"Yes, and by far the largest amount requested for a single
hostage baring two."

"Who?"

"Two women, by the names of M'arenn and Therenna, had their
ransoms set at 4 million credits, apiece." Spocks left
eyebrow rose as he divulged that last bit of information.
McCoy whistled, a painful sound to Spock's hyper acute
hearing.

"Who are they?"

"Unknown, Doctor. They are listed as members of the Romulan
ambassadorial party, but no further details were
forthcoming. It is logical to assume they obviously are
vastly more important figures than the Romulans would have
us believe. Perhaps, they are members of the Praetor's
cabinet, or relatives. Whoever they are, someone wanted them
badly enough to attack a planet and a Federation Starship."

"Do you think this is why they wanted Jim so badly at the
conference, and not the Enterprise."

"Undoubtedly. Had the Enterprise been the ship to guard the
conference, the Captain would have remained on the ship
nightly, and his comings and goings would have been much
harder to predict. Also, the Enterprise with him in command,
has never been defeated. Their logic was impeccable. I
regret I did not anticipate it."

"Spock, there is no way to guess that terrorists would
overrun an entire diplomatic conference. You shouldn't blame
yourself."

"On the contrary, anticipating the unexpected is our job.
Which is why Jim took a phaser with him. He also felt
something was suspect."

"I thought they banned all hand weapons at the conference."

"They did, but you know the Captain. He is never one to take
no for an answer."

"Well," they both sat quietly for a minute deep in their
private thoughts. "Guess I better get back to sickbay. I
already have two of the journalists under observation after
they fainted when they found out they were stuck on a ship
that was going into combat." McCoy chuckled, "I think I am
going to order them all sedated before we get there."

"Probably a wise precaution, Doctor. Please let me know if I
can be of any assistance."

"Will do, Spock," McCoy rose to leave, then stopped and
turned back to face the Vulcan. "Spock, you will tell me if
anything changes?"

"Of course, Doctor." Spock waited long minutes after the
door had closed behind McCoy before he turned back to the
Embassy plans.


Title: A Higher Duty
Author: Istannor
Contact: Istannor@aol.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG13 for violence 
Part: 11/28 
Codes:TOS
Summary: This is set during the second 5 year voyage of the Starship 







Chapter 11

They made excellent time. The women and the boy traveled
quickly and without complaint and the older man was
obviously no stranger to rough travel. When Kirk deemed they
had gone as far as they safely could, in the deepening
gloom, he had them wait and went ahead to look for a
suitable camp. He found one in a tree of all places, but
what a tree. It was easily 300 feet tall and fifty feet in
diameter at the base. There was a hollow at the base and
when he pulled aside the debris, he could see into a cozy
burrow inside the tree that was large enough for ten people
easily. He went back and got the rest of the party and after
they were safely nested in, he covered all evidence of their
passage, and then brought more leaves and fallen branches to
the opening to camouflage it. To cover their scent, he found
some animal droppings and smeared both himself and the
opening to their new den. Klingons had been known to track
by scent alone.

They settled down to a cold, dark, camp for the night. They
could not afford a fire; the smell was too easy to track, as
well as the heat source. Light was out of the question. Kirk
made sure he was not in contact with Therenna, but he had
the rest of them huddle together for warmth. J'usreyan took
the first watch. The most dangerous watch was during the
silent hours of the night, right up to dawn. That was when
most sentries fell asleep or were spooked by imagined
terrors. He reserved that one for himself. M'arenn had the
second watch. Therenna complained when she had not been
given a watch, but Kirk assured her she would have plenty of
opportunities. When that was settled, he promptly laid down
and went to sleep.

M'arenn awakened him for his watch, and he quietly went over
to the entrance to take up his position. He gave his eyes
time to adjust and sat with his ears tuned for sounds of
change in the nighttime air. The quiet rustle of movement
from inside the tree alerted him that someone was moving
towards him.  He sensed it was Therenna, before he could see
her clearly in the dark. She sat next to him and wrapped her
knees in her arms.

"Captain." She whispered. He nodded in response. They sat in
companionable silence before Therenna spoke. "Why do they
call you Captain, if you are actually an Admiral? "That was
not the first question that Kirk had expected, but he
answered.

"By tradition, the commander of the Flagship is always
addressed as the Captain. When I left Starfleet Command, to
assume command of the Enterprise again, I took the Honorary
rank of Captain."

Renna nodded her understanding. "Do you think we actually
have a chance of eluding pursuit?"

"Sure, a good one. Especially, once we get in the mountains.
The Enterprise will be here in probably 2 or three days, so
we have to stay out of reach for that long. Food and water
is not an issue for that length of time." Kirk reached
across and touched her lightly so she could sense his
confidence. "We'll do fine."

"You are a strange man, Captain."

"Probably even weirder than you know." She could see his
smile in the dim light. "Since we are going to be spending
so much time together, why don't you call me Jim?"

"Jhim," She tried out the strange sounds, "Jim...and I would
like you to call me, Renna."

"Done."

"Do you have a wife, Jim?"

"No, do you?" he didn't try to keep the amusement out of his
voice.

"No," she chuckled. "I do not have a husband either."

"Now, why are the men of Romulus stupid enough to allow a
beautiful, intelligent, brave, and kind women such as
yourself to remain unattached? I am ashamed of them all."

"Please, don't patronize me, Captain.  The answer is
obvious, too many powerful men on Romulus are fearful of my
gifts. They don't like people who can discover all their
schemes, sense their inadequacies, and counter their lies.
My skills keep me isolated, I fear."

"I am sorry I said that," he said quietly. "And I didn't
mean to sound patronizing, Renna. You and your sister are
two strong, intelligent, brave people. I like that in any
person, female or male."

She looked at him with a new appreciation. He was actually
being honest. She could sense that he felt her pain and
shared it with her. What type of being was this?

"Since we are talking about your skills, however, may I ask
you a few questions?

"Ask, Captain. I may not answer you, but I will not
dissemble."

"First, just how strong a telepath are you? Can you always
sense thoughts and emotions without touch, and if so, at
what distance? Can you sense someone's thoughts from far
enough away to warn us of their approach? Are you able to
confuse or misdirect someone from a distance? I need to know
what tools we have at our disposal and nothing beats
asking."

She sat and looked at him, admittedly more than a little
stunned. Few had ever questioned her like this, in such a
matter of fact fashion, and never had she had a non-Romulan
openly interrogate her regarding her talents. How strange,
how strangely wonderful to have hr skills treated in such a
matter of fact fashion. She liked the temporary feeling of
normalcy it gave her.

"I can sense strong emotion from 200 meters, actual thoughts
can be blocked by good shields. Those are harder to pick up
unless someone is totally unshielded. You know, of course,
that I attempted to read you several times, Captain."

"Yeah, I know."

"That does not offend you?"

"Renna, no offense, but you are neither the first, nor the
strongest person to probe my mind, and you probably will not
be the last person to try. I am sort of used to it by now,
and it would be a waste of my energy to be offended."

"I see, well in answer to the rest of your questions, if
they were truly broadcasting the extreme and powerful range
of emotions, I could sense them coming, but otherwise, no.
However, with touch, most unshielded people are open to me.
I can not read you, which I find interesting. A telepath has
been working with you, I suppose."

"You might say that."

"They were thorough." Kirk smiled, but didn't volunteer
anything. "And, in answer to your last question, I can't
influence peoples' thoughts from any distance. I don't know
how. But, I have been trained to shoot a phaser and a
disrupter like a warrior, if they get too close."

"Let's hope that particular skill doesn't have to be used,
I'm a runner not a fighter, at least for now." They sat in
silence for a while longer before Kirk broke their reverie.
"Renna," he said quietly, "you better get some sleep, we
have a way to go tomorrow."

"You're right. Thank-you for the company, Captain." She got
up and quietly moved back to her bed of leaves. Her sister,
who had been listening to the entire conversation, silently
lay beside her and worried about the strange beginnings on
this fateful trip. M'arenn's last thoughts before sleep
caught up with her were regarding irony and dangerous
humans.


The next morning they awoke to Kirk sitting alertly at the
entrance to their little den. He got them up, moving, and
fed. Next, he told them to take care of their need to void
while they were inside the tree. He allowed each of them a
moment of privacy, and instructed them to cover their wastes
with leaves. "The harder we are to trail," he said, "the
longer we remain free." After everyone was finished, they
headed deeper into the mountains.

Kirk again took the rear of the party, to cover their trail,
with Jus in the lead. After awhile, to M'arenn's chagrin,
her son Ramsthet began to lag back with the human, watching
everything he did. Kirk noticed and began to quietly explain
everything he was doing, and why. He also took time, to the
gentle wonderment of her son, to point out plants and small
animals along the trail. It was obvious Ramie had been won
over completely by the human. He did not leave Kirk's side
until he called a halt, much later in the day, for them to
eat and take care of their needs again. Once more, he found
a giant tree, and they entered it to rest briefly.

While everyone else was resting, Kirk and Jus retraced their
steps to listen and look for any sign of pursuit. They found
none, but they did find some berries they took Ramie back
with them to pick enough for everyone. They ate all of them
with great relish. M'arenn could not miss how Ramie's face
shone with pride because he had helped provide food for the
adults.  Kirk's tricorder had read them as safe for humanoid
consumption and he wanted to make their meager stores last
as long as possible. The berries also gave a source of
liquid and they had not found water yet. When he and Jus
agreed they had waited long enough, they made their way down
the tiny game trail.

Kirk finally called a halt and took his bearings. "We leave
the trail here and head up that way. We should start to see
evidence of some rocky caverns soon. It will be pretty rough
for a while. Does anybody have any difficulties with
heights?" No one did. "Good, you go ahead and I'll hide
where we left the trail. Wait for me about twenty klicks up
ahead."

Jus stopped him. "What is a klick, Captain?"

"Oh, right. A click is the distance a fully armored soldier
can walk in 10 seconds. So you walk ahead and count out two
hundred seconds. Then wait, I'll join you."

"What is a second?" M'arenn inquired.

Kirk shook his head. "Where is my cultural competency? He
beat his hand against his thigh to a slow rhythm. "Copy this
beat. No,  little faster. There," he nodded as they got it
down. "Count from one to two hundred for every time you
finish this beat. When you get to 200, stop, and I'll catch
up with you." They watched as he disappeared into the forest
before they began their trek in the opposite direction.

They made their way through the trees to follow his
directions. Ramie and Renna looked back and smiled before
they went out of sight. Not more than 15 minutes after they
had stopped at the agreed upon time, Kirk joined them and
motioned them forward. They made it to the caverns by dusk,
just as the sun was setting, Kirk found the one he had been
looking for and they entered in to find a surprisingly large
cavern, which stretched back into the mountain. They could
hear water dripping, and Kirk followed the sound to the main
cavern where a cave stream flowed down into the darkness.

When Kirk was comfortable with their distance from the
opening, he stopped them all and said with an almost joyful
voice, "Now, behold," and he turned on the light from his
backpack. The cavern lit up like a celestial starshow. The
light bounced off the stalactites and stalagmites that
shimmered and glittered with color over a coal black cave
pool, glowing with reflected light. It was beautiful beyond
mere words. Kirk stood in front of them, as if he had
created it all for them. A look of pure enjoyment
transformed his face.

M'arenn watched as her sister stared awestruck at the view
before her, and the man who stood in front of them against
the cave wall, lost in his personal world of wonder. Her
stomach knotted in confusion. Truly he was a dangerous man.
He gave them a few more moments of light, before they were
returned once more to the world of darkness. They made camp
away from the water and set up the watch for the rest of the
evening. Therenna volunteered to take care of the meal and
Kirk volunteered for the first watch. After they had eaten,
the Romulans bedded down to all get some rest. It had been
an arduous journey and they all were going to have to share
the watches until help arrived.

Later, during Jus' watch, M'arenn came to sit beside him at
the cave mouth. Spread out before them, was the deepening
nighttime sky and the lush ancient forest, with its
nocturnal sounds of hunter and hunted. "Jus, we have a
problem." M'arenn spoke at a low murmur, so their voices
would not carry.

"Are you talking about Therenna and Kirk, Ramie and Kirk, or
you and Kirk, little one?" Was the man's reply as he looked
at her with knowing eyes.

"What are you a mind reader too, old man?" M'arenn was more
than a little exasperated with his question.

"No, I am just old. I've seen a lot in my years, and it's
not too hard to see what is going on. Your sister sees a man
she can love and respect. Your son sees a man he would want
as his father, and you see more of your husband in him than
you would care to admit. Makes it hard to think of him as
your enemy, does it not?"

"Yes, it does, but you are one to speak, I thought you hated
him."

"No, I never said I hated him, only the result of his
actions. He was doing his job, M'arenn.  I was only angry
that he won, and my son was defeated. I have always
respected him as a warrior. The council should never have
sent Thalen on that mission, it was totally lacking in
honor. What honor is there in sneaking up on listening posts
and destroying them, when they can't even see you? Why? So
we could test a weapon, prior to going to war against an
enemy, that has not threatened us? It was madness."

"I don't believe this is you, Jus. I have never heard you
speak this way before."

"You have never asked me before, Little One. Also, you know
that it would not have been wisdom to have said any of this
within earshot of the Praetor, or his lackeys."

"We are his lackeys, Jus."

"No, we are his family. There is a distinct difference."

"Well, regardless, what do we do about Renna and Kirk?"

"We hope we are rescued  before too much damage is done."

"This is difficult. It is hard to hate him as an enemy."

"I, for one, can not hate a man who refuses to hate me and
cares for me and mine like his own. We owe him four life
debts, M'arenn, they must be paid."

"I know." She rubbed at her brow. "This is making my head
hurt. I am going to try to rest now. Goodnight, Jus."

"Goodnight, Little One." He turned to quietly look back out
over the tranquil night as she made her way to her pile of
leaves.



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