Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 00:15:21 -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. Nineteen hours later, Kirk stepped back onto the Bridge, again. Nodding at Chekov, who had returned to the Weapons Console, he settled into his seat. On the main viewer, the stars raced by, as if the heavens themselves felt the urgency of the great ship's mission. In front of Kirk's command chair, Ilia sat at Navigation, while Lieutenant DeFalco held down the Helm. Spock intoned, "Intercept in thirty minutes.", with no feeling in the words whatsoever. Scott and his people had squeezed every bit of power out of the new engines, to bring them here more quickly. Now, it was almost time to face whatever awaited them. "Acknowledged.", he answered back, not letting his frustration show. Spock, it seemed, was not going to let so much as a single second of emotion loose, and while that bothered his friend, the mission was too important to let that get in the way. Turning his attention to Chekov, Jim gave the younger man a quick thumbs-up, that went unnoticed by the others. In return, a smile, from the Russian. "Mister Chekov. Status report?" "Shields ready. Phasers and photon torpedoes ready, as well. Security details standing by, on all decks." "Good." Pausing for a few brief seconds, Kirk then went on. "Mister Sulu, please note, and log Lieutenant Chekov's transfer to the post of Security Chief, effective immediately." "Aye, sir." "Sir?", came Uhura's voice. Swinging in his seat to his left (and that felt odd, after five years of her being to his right), Kirk answered back. "Commander?" "Message from Command, Admiral Nogura." Kirk smiled a not very nice smile, at hearing that. He had wanted to take the old man to task on the issue of the civilian evacuation, but had instead left it to Sulu. Right now, he looked forward to seeing how his Exec had handled things. "On-screen." "Captain." "Admiral." The face that stared out at the Enterprise Bridge was ancient, weathered. Its owner had seen too much, been part of one too many "situations". The rumor mill at Command had him leaving within the year, but no one was willing to place money on that, just yet. "Commander Sulu." Hikaru stood from his seat, came front and center, next to Kirk's right side. "Admiral." "James, your Exec seemed displeased with the timetable for civilian evacuation. He'll be happy to hear that we've just sent twenty thousand people to Vulcan. They're being told that it's a training exercise." "We're both glad to hear that, sir." "Is that true, Commander?" "Yes, sir. Pleased to hear it. Begging the admiral's forgiveness if I came on a bit too strong." "Nonsense, Commander. You stood your ground, and did it properly, without offending an old man. James?" "Yes, sir?" "Keep a close eye on that one. He'll have your job someday if you're not careful." "Yes, sir." The face smiled, broadly, then went serious, in a flash. "Twenty thousand, James. That's all I dare move off-planet without starting a panic. Not exactly a rousing success." "I'm sure you've done what you can, Heicharo." A nod, softly executed. "That, I have, and if this goes poorly, I've told the Federation Council I want you to have my job, if you survive. If not, my seat goes to Admiral Wesley." "A fine choice, sir." "Yes, it is, either way. James, I'm not just saying I'll resign. I'm saying that I'm staying on Earth." Kirk nodded, having known all along that his mentor would not run to safety. "It's been an honor, sir, working with you the past few years." He meant it, too. Though Nogura had used him, manipulated him, he had done so for the good of the service. Done so for the good of the innocents that he, Kirk, was also sworn to protect. In the end, Kirk forgave him. "The same, James, the same. Command, out." With that, he was gone. Again, emotionless, Spock. "Twenty-six minutes to intercept." -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. 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: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Mon Feb 23 23:57:01 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n36.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.104]) by merlin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aVuz61Oe3NZFlq1 for ; Mon, 23 Feb 2004 20:53:04 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13227-1077598365-stephenbratliffasc=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yah