Fascinating Part 6: Confrontation

*BRIEF WARNING OF SOME MILD (POSSIBLY OUT OF CHARACTER) LANGUAGE. WHAT CAN I SAY? I LIKE INSULTING PEOPLE HA*

The red alert alarm blared in all corners of the Enterprise as it approached Vulcan. Since no communication could be established (most likely due to a Romulan attack), you stopped working at your station and opted to instead stand beside Spock, who was simply staring ahead, stoic, as the ship warped on.

“Five seconds to arrival. Four, three, two…”
Despite the strength of the bad feeling you had in your gut and knowing that Vulcan was under attack, you weren't prepared for what you witnessed upon your arrival.

The space around Vulcan was pure chaos. Bits and pieces of the giant, fully-equipped Starfleet ships that had arrived before you were floating around and crashing into each other violently, threatening the safety of the Enterprise.

If this was the condition Starfleet ships were in, you didn't want to think about what Vulcan (and its’ inhabitants) was experiencing itself.

“Emergency evasive maneuvers!”
Captain Pike’s voice rang out above the noise the other crewmembers were making as they kept in contact with various parts of the ships and attempted to safely get around all of the devastating debris.

Your body was jerked sideways into Spock’s as the Enterprise was turned swiftly in order to avoid colliding with a gigantic piece of another ship. As Spock helped steady you, the name of the ship on the (narrowly missed) piece was made visible, and you choked back a sob.

It was all that remained of the ship that (FRIEND’S NAME) had been on, which had in fact been the ship you were originally assigned to. Which meant that your friend…

“Drop us down underneath, Sulu!”

The ship was dropped, and as it dropped the menacing Romulan ship became visible. It was easily two, three, maybe four times the size of the Enterprise, and you simply stared at it open-mouthed, unable to comprehend such a ship existing. No wonder the Star Fleet ships had been annihilated. That seemed to be its’ intention for your ship, too, as it almost immediately began firing once the Enterprise was in view, causing you to be thrown about violently again.

Well, I mean, if it’s focused on us, that means it’s not attacking Vulcan. But if this keeps up, we’ll be in the same shape as the others.

Any concern you had for your own well-being (or, in all honestly, the ship’s) disappeared with the next words that came out of Spock’s mouth.

“Captain, the Romulan ship has lowered some kind of high-energy pulse device into the Vulcan atmosphere. It would appear to be the device (NAME) identified that is blocking all communications in this area, as well as transporter capabilities.”

You rushed to Spock’s side as soon as this was stated in order to monitor the device. It was completely metallic, stretching from the Romulan ship down into the lower part of the Vulcan atmosphere.

“It looks like some sort of drill or something,” you muttered, clenching onto the back of Spock’s seat as you were thrown about again.

“The same thought occurred to me. The primary concern at this point in time is what the device is doing to the planet.”

“Exactly. I mean, if it’s strong enough to block our communications and transporter, who knows what else it’s capable of… We’re going to have to evacuate just to be safe,” you said, sighing as the hopelessness of your situation came crashing down around you.

“I am certain that shall be the captain’s first course of action, given the assumption that we survive this Romulan encounter ourselves.”

Swallowing the worried lump in your throat, you turned your attention to Spock as the battle raged on around you.

“I am so sorry,” you murmured in a low tone.

“Your apology is illogical seeing as you are not the one currently attacking Vulcan.”

“Spock,” you said in a final tone as you threw all caution to the wind and reached around to grab his hand. The Vulcan’s actions halted when you did so, and he turned his face around to look into your eyes as you attempted to convey your emotions to him. Your moment was interrupted by a ceasefire, followed by the Romulan ship making contact with your ship.

“This is Captain Christopher Pike, to whom am I speaking to?”

“Hi, Christopher, I’m Nero.” The tattooed Romulan face broke out into a sinister smirk.
The captain proceeded to engage in conversation with Nero, which resulted in the Romulan announcing that he was not attacking on behalf of the Romulan Empire before he addressed Spock mockingly. Bewildered, you looked at Spock, who showed no sign of recognition.  

“I do not believe you and I are acquainted,” he stated evenly to the Romulan, and you shifted subconsciously towards Spock protectively.

“No, we’re not. Not yet, anyway. You appear to be very well acquainted with your human whore, though,” Nero mocked as he turned to stare at you menacingly. “You could have at least chosen an attractive one.”

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at his childish words, but Spock stiffened ever so slightly at Nero’s insult, and the tone of his next sentence contained the slightest hint of a threat.

“Insulting myself, Lieutenant (LAST NAME), or any other member of Star Fleet will not elicit any unwarranted violent response, nor will it change the consequences you must face for your actions,” Spock stated, staring straight back at Nero, “Nevertheless, I would advise you to never address her in such a way again.”

Unsure of how to react, you simply stared at Spock in awe. That is, until Nero’s derisive laughter brought you back to reality.

“Perhaps I’ll destroy your ship after all. First, though, there’s something I’d like you to see,” Nero continued, before turning to address your captain again.

“Your transporter has been disabled, and I’m sure that you are well aware that your communications are being blocked. As shown by what happened to the rest of your armada, you have no choice. You, captain, shall man a shuttle and come aboard for negotiations.”

With that demand, the Romulan Nero disconnected from the ship. Silence fell upon the bridge as his words sunk in, and after a few seconds the captain was in motion.

“He’ll kill you!” Kirk shouted, shoving you out of the way roughly as he stood to confront the captain.

“Chances of your survival are indeed low,” Spock agreed as he steadied you once again, leaving you to glare at Kirk yourself. “You should rethink your strategy-“

“I am aware of the chances, Spock, and I understand. Right now, I need officers trained in advanced hand-to-hand combat,” Pike responded with resounding authority. Both Spock and Kirk quieted, and you looked around to find that apparently no one had the experience the captain needed. Finally, the helmsman who had stalled the ship earlier volunteered, which allowed Pike to leave the bridge, escorted by the helmsman, Kirk, and Spock.

The Russian was then left in charge of the bridge, and after the group left, everyone returned to their stations. You left Uhura and the other communications officer to resume their duties as you fought to contain your anxiety, watching the monitor Spock had previously been stationed at.

Why was Nero drilling into the planet? There was nothing to be gained by accessing the planet’s core, was there? And what was Pike’s plan? He was a legend in Starfleet; surely he had something up his sleeve.

Minutes later, you breathed a minor sigh of relief as Spock returned to the bridge and assumed command as (hopefully) temporary captain. The crew was informed of the plan – three crewmembers (Kirk, helmsman Sulu and the engineer Olson) were being dropped via shuttle onto the drill, where they will disable it. Once the drill is disabled, the Enterprise would be able to resume using its’ communication and transportation abilities.

Since you weren't really doing much of anything anyways (since Uhura had claimed your station), you simply stood behind Spock in the captain’s chair. As the necessary preparations were taking place, you decided to voice something that had occurred to you when you had first realized that the planet would need to be evacuated.

“The High Council will be in the katric ark,” You whispered into Spock’s pointed Vulcan ear solemnly.

“I am aware of the location of the High Council, Lieutenant (LAST NAME). Given that Vulcan is my home planet, I can only assume that there is a reason that you have deemed it necessary to remind me,” came Spock’s short reply, and you fought the urge to roll your eyes.

“Once the transporter is up, you can transport individuals from the planet in an evacuation, as well as use shuttles. The transporter won’t work in the katric ark, though. Since the High Council is supposed to preserve the culture of Vulcan, they should be the priority. Which means you’ll have to send someone to get them to leave so they can be transported from the planet’s surface.”

Finally understanding just what you were getting at, Spock shifted his attention from the ship’s screen to you.

“Your suggestion is illogical. While you are certainly capable of retrieving the High Council and escorting them to safety, it would be much more logical for the task to be completed by myself. Vulcan is my home planet, and my father is a member of the council, therefore I shall be the one beaming down to Vulcan.”

“No, see, it makes more sense for me to beam down. You’re acting captain now, so you should stay with the ship-“ You argued, trying to use logic to reason with him.

“Yes, and as your current captain, I am rejecting your proposition-“

“You've just admitted that I was capable of doing it. I know where it is, and I can get them out safely. Beaming me would allow you to continue to captain the ship. Plus I've been replaced,” you said, shooting a brief glare towards Uhura.

A few moments of silence passed, and before he could respond, the plan was put into action.
“Away team is entering the atmosphere, sir.”