Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 16:31:20 -0500 (EST) In: alt.startrek.creative From: kdj2020@webtv.net (Kevin Johnston) Title: Image Of Thyself Author: Kevin Johnston Series: The Original Series Rating: G, just like in 1979 Archive: Yes For ASC Feedback: Always welcomed. Yet another Author's Note: First it was a nasty sinus infection, then it was bronchitis...and now, I really do appreciate what it is to be healthy :-) Chapter 8 Seven hours later, after a quick dinner and a restful sleep, Kirk stepped out of the starboard turbolift, refreshed and ready for whatever might come next. Though Sonak had been in command the past eight hours, the command chair sat empty. Moving past it to the Science station, Kirk waited a few seconds for the younger officer to acknowledge his presence. "Captain. Well-rested, I presume?" It was a variation on Sonak's usual greeting, which though always formal, somehow managed to carry a fair amount of genuine kindness in it. "Yes. Any change in status?" "In fact, yes. The Intruder has altered course to intercept us directly." The news surprised Kirk. He had assumed that whatever it was, it would not stop its march towards Earth for any reason. "New intercept time?" "Twenty hours." "But it's still heading towards Earth?" "Yes, but at its present speed, intercepting the Enterprise will delay its arrival by another sixteen hours." "Assuming it passes us without stopping." "That is correct." "All right. Let's think about finding a way of getting it to stop. The more time we can buy for the evacuation, the better." "Sir?", came a new voice, female. Uhura's assistant Comm officer, Andorian, tall, with her race's whitish antennae and cobalt-blue skin. Spinning around, Kirk moved away from Sonak and back towards his chair. Sitting down, he responded to her. "Yes, Lieutenant...I'm sorry, I don't know your name yet." "T'riala, sir. About the evacuation, sir. We received confirmation three hours ago that key Starfleet personnel are being discreetly moved off-planet, and that a special session of the Federation Council has been called on Vulcan." "Meaning anyone important enough to be needed is leaving Earth, quietly. What about the civilian evacuation?" A shake of her head, the human gesture learned from her Academy classmates, a twitch of her antennae, her own cultural expression. "No word on that, sir." "Damn." Not knowing whether or not to agree with her captain's one-word pronouncement, T'riala responded as she felt prudent. "Shall I signal Starfleet with a request on that, sir?" "Please." A fourth voice, one whose owner had stepped out onto the Bridge in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. "Request on what, sir?" Motioning Sulu to stand alongside him, Jim answered. As he spoke, he saw Spock, taking his post over from Sonak. At the edge of his peripheral vision, he could see Uhura taking her station, as well, and in front of him, Chekov and Ilia, coming on duty also. "It looks as though they're not evacuating any civilians." "Surely not.", came a shocked reply. Gesturing towards the Comm station, Kirk continued. "All they've confirmed for us is the safety of Starfleet's brass and the Federation Council. Not a word about anyone else." Sulu shook his head, not wanting to believe it. Clearing his mind, he spoke. "Any new developments?" "One. It's moved to intercept us, in twenty hours." "It's aware of us." Nodding in agreement, Kirk answered back. "Aware of us, and intrigued enough to take a closer look. I'm guessing it recognizes us as being from the same species as the Columbia." "I'd say that's a good guess. How do we get it to stop for a closer look at us, without destroying us?" "I have no idea.", Kirk said, as he smiled. It was a small smile, one meant to convey a touch of humility, and a gentle plea for help, as well. Thinking quickly, Sulu ran through what he knew, then offered an observation, hoping that might lead to an idea. "It destroyed the Klingons and the Columbia, after they ran their sensor scans. Might it have interpreted those scans as a hostile move? As a prelude to attack?" "I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. When we get into sensor range, I want all scans shut down. Science Officer?" Turning in his own seat, Spock coolly acknowledged the order. "Programming automatic sensor shutdown, now.", as he turned back to do just that. Then, "Tying into helm controls for shutdown of navigational scans, as well." It was Pavel who chimed in, "Confirmed. Nav scans set for auto-shutdown." "Good work, everyone. Alpha-shift, that goes for you, as well. Get some sleep, people." Jim delivered the words as he worked his way into a more comfortable position. Surveying his surroundings, he took in each crew member, one at a time. "Speaking of sleep, how did everyone's night go? Mister Chekov?" Turning to answer, the Russian grinned. "I can not complain, Keptin. The new bunks are very nice, compared to the old ones. Nicer still, compared to those at Starfleet Academy." "Right. What was it like, being back at the Academy after having been out here for five years?" Kirk was genuinely interested in hearing Chekov's thoughts, and listened carefully to each word. "It vas...different. Advanced Security training is not for everyone." "But you made it through, with flying colors, from what I've heard." "Da. I would like to discuss that with you, in private, sir." Kirk was going to say something off-the-cuff, but the seriousness in Pavel's tone of voice led him to abandon that in favor of equal seriousness. "In my quarters, right after end of shift?" Chekov nodded his head in agreement. Sensing that the mood needed to be lightened again, Uhura stood up, and yawned, loudly, stretching as she did so. "Permission to take a nap, sir?" Turning around to face her, Kirk looked at the chronometer (Earlier, McCoy had stated, "Damned funny word for a watch") on his wrist, and with mock-seriousness, shook his head "no". "Permission denied. Take your station, Commander." Easing back into her seat, Uhura smiled as she did so. Grins had popped out on faces across the Bridge, save for Spock's. Uhura was especially glad to see the ship's navigator smiling. She knew Ilia, just barely, from a few brief encounters at various Starfleet functions. The Deltan had struck the Human as someone very pleasant to be around, and as a good possibility for a friend. Friends were something Nyota Uhura took seriously, and she resolved right then to take the other woman aside, after end of shift, and offer whatever would be accepted in the way of friendship. Pavel, too, she thought to herself, and Hikaru...when was the last time the three of us really talked to each other, or just shared a meal? Agreeing with herself that both situations would be taken care of by the end of the the day, she then set to her work, monitoring communications across the Quadrant. They were lucky, that the Intruder had not been spotted by anyone, a freighter, or a passenger liner. Panic, here in space, or back on Earth, was the last thing anyone needed, and privately, she wondered if Kirk was wrong about moving people off-planet. As a communications specialist, she knew all too well how quickly word could leak out, even by accident. A comm log, left unattended for a coffee break, could be seen by anyone passing by. True, that such a log would not have any real details of the current crisis, but, a call from this person to that office... that just might be enough to start people talking. Something like that could easily lead to assumptions. As an officer, she knew how swiftly assumptions could lead to panic, on the part of uninformed civilians. So, she sat, and listened, and hoped. -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Thu Jan 29 01:16:45 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n5.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.89]) by condor (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aM5qN2wv3NZFjK0 for ; Wed, 28 Jan 2004 22:13:36 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13033-1075356021-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.