Refractions: Derailment (3/4)

[bigmamag]

"I never fought him myself. By the time I met him, Spock had already disemboweled him for me." The knife traced a path along Jim's throat. His other self smiled like Jim imagined a shark would. "It was awesome."

Jim tried to imagine a Spock that would do such a thing, but failed. He was sure his Spock would have killed Nero, but he'd have done so as nonviolently as possible, like with that tal-shaya martial arts move Spock told him about once, not simply ripping someone open.

"Captain Kirk?" a voice Jim didn't recognize came from the other Kirk's communicator.

"Decker, how are ya?"

"I had the Vulcan that broke into your quarters earlier, but he...gave me the slip."

His captor's face darkened, and Jim had to admit to himself that it terrified him. He wouldn't want to be Decker at this moment.

"The next time we meet, I'll want your agonizer."

Jim didn't know what the hell that meant, but Decker went silent and subdued, voice tinged with fear. "The captain has been trying to get ahold of you."

"Patch him through, before you mess something else up."

A few seconds passed and Jim was momentarily hopeful when Spock's voice said, "Jim, are you well?" but then remembered that this was not his Spock.

"Relax, Spock, I'm just talking to myself."

"I presume you are not speaking figuratively."

"You should see him. A baby-faced me in a little Starfleet uniform. Maybe we can play with him a bit."

Jim struggled against his bonds, growling, "You just go ahead and try."

"He has your spirit," Spock said, and Jim wondered if he had heard actual amusement in those words.

"But not my animal magnetism. Lock onto my signal, we'll be waiting for you."

"I am on my way. Stay vigilant, ashayam."

"Darling, you're making me blush in front of the hostage," he drawled before flipping his communicator shut. "Now, since we have a little bit of time before he gets here, let's get the ball rolling on this 'torture for information' thing." Jim flinched as his double sliced a shallow line into his neck.

"Yeah, well, I don't know where the fuck you come from, but if you're anything like me, then you'd know that I don't bend over and spread for just anybody."

"We'll see about that. Now, let's get back to the question I asked from the get-go: who is the Vulcan that cut off our engines?"

"I didn't know that someone had shut them down, and before you start carving into me again, that wasn't me being a stubborn jackass. There's only one Vulcan on my ship, and Spock wouldn't do that."

"You're lying, because I saw the security feed and it was a Vulcan, dressed in a Starfleet science uniform. Guess again or I start sawing on your pretty little mouth."

"There's a third universe, we encountered them before we encountered you. They might have more Vulcans on board their ship."

"Alternate universes? You expect me to believe that?"

"Is it so hard to believe it when you're staring at the evidence yourself? Tell me, in your universe, have I suffered any kind of brain damage? Otherwise, I'm a bit disappointed with myself."

Kirk flicked the knife and nicked Jim's mouth. Jim sucked his lower lip into his mouth, tasting blood. It said a lot about the way he led his life in that it was a familiar taste.

"Really, you almost make torture boring. You could at least beg a little. Everyone begs, eventually."

"It'll take a while for me to get there. How about telling me a little about yourself until then?"

Another cut, this time on the edge of his jaw. Jim breathed through his nose and tried not to cry out. There was nothing like being sliced open by a psycho, never knowing how deep they'll go.

A shadow moved behind Kirk, drawing Jim's attention. Had his Spock found him already? He heard the familiar sound of a phaser being shot and Kirk was knocked sideways from the blast. Jim was surprised when he saw Uhura move from the shadows. She gave him a look of mingled worry and relief and began to untie his restraints.

"You're getting one hell of a commendation when this is all over," he said.

"It's not necessary, Captain," she said, taking the belt and tying up the other Kirk as Jim rubbed his chafed wrists.

"We've gotta get out of here, company's on the way," Jim said, remembering that the other Spock could be there any minute. They made it to the hallway, checking around for enemies and running for the nearest Jeffries tube.

"How did you find me? Don't tell me you just happened to be searching random storage rooms."

"I'd been monitoring your frequency before communications scrambled, and when it was back online I identified your voice and listened to the channel, and I heard that other Captain Kirk saying that he had you captured."

"Oh, you've been monitoring my frequency, have you?" he said playfully, taking a moment to stun one of those weirdos from the bondage universe. "Is that your universal way of saying, 'I love you, baby?'"

"Have you suffered a concussion?" she asked.

"Not that I'm aware of, Nyota."

Instead of the usual anger that usually got him, Uhura merely looked confused. It was then that Jim bought a clue and realized this was most definitely not his Uhura. But she seemed innocent enough, so he kept going, sans-flirting.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they ducked into a doorway, waiting until a group of ensigns rushed past before entering a Jeffries tube to climb up to the next deck.

"The arboretum," he answered, checking the deck number as they reached the next floor. One more to go.

"The arboretum?" she said, surprised. "The ship is under red alert."

As if to punctuate her point, a line of phaser light zipped just over his left ear. He dropped and rolled up onto one knee, firing in the direction it had come from. He heard the satisfying thud of a body dropping and hoped like hell that it wasn't Cupcake from his universe, because the guy already hated him like Spock hated split infinitives.

"A red alert, you say? Thank you, Lieutenant, or whatever rank you are. Without your help, I would never know what was happening on my own damn ship."

"I knew there was something off about you. My Captain Kirk would never be such an asshole to a member of his crew, especially one that just saved his ass."

"Now there's the Uhura I'm used to!" Jim said brightly. She scowled at him.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"You said it yourself; the ship is under red alert and that's one of the least-likely places for anyone to be, because the arboretum has no real use except to look pretty. No one is going to be relaxing there in an emergency, and strategically it's a horrible place to hide in because it's open and there is nowhere to hide."

"So what, we're hiding in plain sight now?"

"Hell no, it's a rendezvous point." Jim said, smiling to himself. "Spock and I came up with a couple of months ago. Our ship had been infiltrated and controlled twice already, so we wizened up and came up with a plan. Chances are, if our ship is boarded and we're under attack, we won't be able to communicate the traditional way and it would be impossible for us to find each other. So we figured out a place that no one would be, and so if something like this happens, we'll either know where to wait for each other or, if we're busy, how we can communicate."

"That actually sounds like a good plan. Is Mr. Spock in Starfleet where you come from?"

"'In Starfleet?' He's the best first officer in the entire fleet," he said, glad he was busy climbing up the last Jeffries tube so she couldn't see the flush of pride steal over his face.

"He seems like a capable man," she agreed. Wow, so apparently Spock and Uhura hadn't dated in this other universe. It occurred to Jim that this Uhura might actually like him. Might actually like him a lot, given that she certainly treated him nicer and she'd been monitoring his frequency. He must have had his balls cut off in the other universe or something.

When they reached the arboretum, he was pleased to note that it was emptier than Bones' stomach when they used to go drinking and take an aircar back to the dorms. He strode over to the fountain, feeling underneath for the crack in the rock that held what he wanted. Finding it, he held it up triumphantly.

"A notepad? With actual paper?"

"If you found it, would you assume it held anything important?

He opened it and was glad to see Spock's unfailingly perfect scrawl.

Captain, I have reactivated turbolift four. Barring unforeseen complications, I will be located on deck five.

Thank god for Spock. He really hadn't wanted to climb twelve decks just now. He slid the pen from the metal rings on top of the notepad and wrote, I'm on my way, unless shit goes down.

"Why write back when you're going there right now?" Uhura asked, and Jim was pleased to note that she never stopped analyzing their surroundings for impending danger.

"If I don't make it, he'll know what happened. Let's go."

The turbolift worked as Spock said it would. There was a lot more activity going on at this level, given that it not only contained a surely busy-as-hell sickbay, but also engineering, the transporter room, and even his own quarters. They didn't even have opportunity to sneak around. Everyone seemed on-edge and wary, but no one tried to harm them as they jogged down the hall. The first stop was engineering, which was controlled chaos. At the main power circuit, Jim did a double-take at three Scottys arguing over something. Jim went over to them.

"...and I'm telling you, if you try that you'll blow us all away right enough!"

"We're a wee bit past worrying about that now. I take it you have enough brains to see that we have little choice if we want the kind of power to pull from this bloody atmosphere."

"But if we're without the inertial dampener, everyone on board will be smashed into walls!"

"Gentlemen," Jim said, interrupting their feud. All three turned to him. The non-uniformed Scotty, presumably from the insane universe, looked much like he did when Jim had first met him on Delta Vega, giving Jim hope that not everyone was dressed like they were about to go to a leather bar in that universe.

"Captain?" the two uniformed Scottys said in unison.

"Right, I don't know which one of you two I should be addressing, but I just need to know if you've seen Spock."

"Sure I have, he was with you fifteen minutes ago. You were going to the bridge."

He looked over at Uhura. "Well, at least you know where your captain probably is. You may as well go up there."

"I'm still looking for someone else," she said. The uniformed Scotty that had just spoken to him pulled Jim aside.

"Captain, I assume yer mine since the other one certainly wasn't. I have to tell ya, it's not looking good. We have power to the main engines and are holding her steady, but we're stuck like flies to flypaper and we won't be stable for long."

"How long do we have?"

"I give her an hour at maximum, Captain. And less than two hours overall until she's destroyed completely."

"Do whatever you have to, Scotty. Baby her, sing to her, wine and dine her if need be. We need time to even figure out what the hell is going on down there, let alone come up with a good resolution."

"I'll do everything I can, Captain."

Kirk spared a glance for the other two before leaving, the other Uhura still in tow. He did a cursory check of his quarters to make sure Spock hadn't gone in there, and boggled at the weird ass arrangement of both his old stuff and things he'd never own, like a frankly creepy painting of a woman laying on a bed with a hairy demon sitting on her and a limned-eyed horse staring voyeuristically at them both, or a bookshelf proudly displaying dusty old tomes that anyone could easily download into a PADD or at least buy new.

They moved on, checking more rooms until they got to sickbay. It was, by far, the most packed place on the ship. Every bed was occupied and several gurneys and cots had been set up.

Jim went in, barely sparing a glance for the activity around him, knowing that Bones was somewhere in this mess. He sighed in relief when he spotted the back of him, but froze when he saw that Bones was leaning over a bed inhabited by a person with a familiar pointed ear. Jim bum-rushed the bed, calling out, "Spock!"

"Easy, Captain, he's in a state of shock," Bones said, and Jim got a good look at him. He looked exactly like his Bones, all except for a pair of glasses, which Jim knew his Bones didn't need. At least this one didn't look shifty-eyed and wasn't wearing a leather doctor's coat or something.

"What happened to him, Bones?" asked Jim.

"Bones?" McCoy said. Jim waved his confusion away, motioning for him to continue. "I didn't know at first, since I've never treated Vulcans, but I called the brig and one of them was able to tell me that he was on the bad end of a mind meld. I'm giving him Lexorin for weakness and the psychological transference. He should come around soon, but I don't know how bad off he'll be."

Jim nodded, staring down at Spock. He was muttering under his breath, a deep frown etched onto his face. Jim hesitantly reached out then retracted his hand before saying a mental 'fuck it, he probably won't know' and touched Spock's temple, smoothing his thumb over his brow to relieve the tension there. He heard a loud gasp behind him and yanked his hand away, thinking that it was because of his gesture. It was Uhura, who then ran across sickbay to a curtained area. Curious, Jim looked at Spock and McCoy and then went after her to see what was up.

Jim smiled when he saw an expanse of familiar green skin. He'd missed Gaila deeply since he'd read her name off the list of casualties on the failed rescue mission to Vulcan; it was nice to see that, at least in another universe, she was alive and well and, judging from the fierce hug she gave to Uhura, still had a heart and a personality too big for one person.

When he edged closer, Jim realized that the two women weren't hugging. They were full-on making out in sickbay. It was like Christmas come early, and Jim didn't care if they were due to crash and burn a minute from now, at least he'd have a hell of a nice image to die with.

They separated too soon, and Jim continued to her beside. "Gaila, it's good to see you," he said.

"Thank you, Captain," she said, confused.

"He's not our Captain, Gaila," Uhura clarified, pushing a lock of red hair behind Gaila's ear.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Jim asked.

"About a year. Why, is it important?" Gaila said.

"Let's just say I'm an interested party where I come from," he said, remembering a couple of long nights drinking Cardassian sunrises and having the best sex of his life in a dormitory.

"I'm sorry about your Spock," Uhura said. Jim's mood plummeted.

"He'll be fine, Bon-Dr. McCoy said so. Is there a triage center up yet or is this all the casualties?"

"They were talking about setting up one in shuttlebay," Gaila said.

Jim's mind worked fast. His Bones was probably down there, if he wasn't busy with something else or injured, and Jim tried not to think of that. As he wondered if he should go down to check, Spock took the decision from him by yelling from across sickbay. Jim hurried back to Spock's bedside where the bespecaled McCoy was trying to restrain him and push him back to the bed, having a tough time of it even with Spock's weakened condition.

"Spock!" Jim said, joining McCoy in trying to get Spock to lay back down.

"Jim! Get out, find you, make them bleed!"

"Spock, I'm fine, I'm right here," Jim said, terrified of the mixture of raw anger and fear in his friend's face. Jim grunted with the effort it took to keep Spock from lurching out of the bed. Spock's eyes were unfocused; he was currently doing his best to pry both of their hands from his body.

"Where are you? Have to...TEAR YOU APART GET AWAY!"

Jim's ears were ringing from the volume. "Spock! Look at me." Spock thrashed more. "Look at me!"

Finally, Spock's eyes focused and fell on Jim. All the fight left him; he started to shiver, huge wracking quakes that made him gasp as he flopped back down, reaching out a hand to Jim. Jim took Spock's hand, which calmed Spock even more. He slipped into sleep almost immediately.

When Jim looked back up again, most of sickbay was staring at them. Jim slid down into a chair, wondering what to do now.

He knew he was dreaming. The world he was living in was not his own.

He was in a prison camp on a planet made of ice. It was cold, colder than anything he had ever felt, and it sank into his very bones. Day after day of laboring alongside the broken remains of two species had hollowed him, left him with no feeling except the physical sensations cold and fatigue. They were all going to die here, killed by either execution or exhaustion, every day bringing them closer to their inevitable extinction. Still he felt nothing.

The memories came fast, crisp like staccato notes after a long dirge.

A mining elevator filled with Vulcans and humans, saved by a human who had dared to fight back; he had received a disfiguring wound for his trouble-a light punishment. Seeking out this human, this Jim, becoming friends. Long nights together in a dim barracks, talking, sharing meals outside in the cold, huddled together, drawing attention. The guard who had disfigured Jim-and it was his Jim now, only his-taking Jim into an alley and raping him with a phraser held to Jim's head, Spock helpless without a weapon, forced to watch, the attacker stunning them both when he was done. Spock waited days to take revenge, had cut the guard up, reveled in his screams and his hot green blood on Spock's hands. None of the other guards suspected a Vulcan; there was no shortage of highly-emotional Human prisoners who wished death upon their captors. Jim knew what Spock had done the moment he saw Spock, and that had, fittingly, been their first time together. After that he had spent his nights entwined together with Jim, mapping out every inch of Jim's body, each kiss against his scars a dark promise.

When Spock woke, his fever had passed and the emotions left behind in the meld had mostly faded, leaving only their impressions. Jim was next to him in a chair. He lifted his head when he sensed Spock move.

"Spock, you okay?" Jim asked, and though the memories of that other life were still carved into his mind, Spock had no trouble distinguishing between the two James Kirks. He offered Jim a small nod.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Just ten minutes; the Lexorin finally kicked in. What the hell happened?"

It took Spock a moment to remember, dredging up his own memories from the maelstrom of others. "After I left you a message, I went to engineering to see if I could be of assistance. Upon arrival to this deck, I was ambushed by an alternate version of myself, who seemed to have a grudge with yet another one of my alternate selves. I attempted to explain that I was not the version he was searching for, but he did not listen and instead tried to force a mind meld. I resisted and we fought for dominance, causing us both to tear thoughts and memories from one another. However, my alternate self was much more practiced and skilled with telepathy and recovered quickly from the assault, leaving me on the floor in the corridor."

"Well, judging from what I know about Captain Crazy Kirk, I imagine that you got off pretty easy."

"That is an understatement," Spock agreed. "He does not possess the information we do about what is occurring. To him, we are invaders, enemies, and I only hope he took from me the fact that this is not the case."

Jim's eyes narrowed. "What else did you pick up from him? The more we know about these psychos, the better."

Spock hesitated. It was not that he did not wish to tell Jim everything he had learned, but much of it was of a...personal nature. He could still see Jim in a hundred positions, skin damp with sweat, flushed all over, mouth slack just as it had been after that first mission when Spock had lost control and nearly choked his future captain to death, Jim lying against the console and gasping for air. The line between lying and withholding information was thin at best, but Spock told himself that if they survived, then he would tell Jim more.

"In their universe, Nero escaped from the Klingon prison planet of Rura Penthe approximately two and a half years earlier than in our own time line."

Jim appeared stricken. "That means I had only been at the academy for a few months."

"And I had yet to serve under Pike, if we are to assume that our lives were the same until that particular event. Because we were not there to prevent it, Vulcan was destroyed, and then Earth. The details of these events are unknown to me, but Nero's personal vendetta against myself was such that he tortured my counterpart in that timeline for a brief period before sending him to a prison planet, along with most of what was left of the human and Vulcan species."

"Why would he want to imprison the others?"

"I recall something about a war. Perhaps the Romulan Star Empire wished to use the survivors as slave labor to assist their side of a war."

"So that universe's Kirk and Spock managed to escape and steal the Enterprise?" Jim said, incredulous.

"The Enterprise was completed and spacedocked shortly after you enlisted in Starfleet, so the Romulans may have kept it for practical purposes."

"So we hijacked it, went after Nero, and you disemboweled him with me watching."

"The pronouns you are using are not correct. They are not us. Also, I did not receive that information."

"Oh, Captain Kirk told me all about that detail. Gleefully, I might add."

Spock swung his legs over the side of the bed. "We must find out what our current situation is."

Jim sighed. "Scotty told me that we have less than two hours before we go up in smoke. I've been sitting here running everything through my head, and the only thing I know is that if we're going to figure this out, well, two heads are better than one."

"Should you not have already sought out our counterparts from the safer universe by now?"

"The other Bones told me you were going to wake up soon, and I didn't want to be separated again. If we're all going down, then I don't want to do it worried that you're lying in some hallway alone."

Spock didn't know if it was some residual feeling from the mind meld, but he warmed all over at Jim's words; he wanted to reach out and touch him, ground himself in reality. Instead he removed himself from the biobed.

"We must find them now, as we have wasted enough valuable time."

Jim took Scotty's tip about their counterparts going to the bridge and headed there first. No one was there except various crewmen. He strode past Chekov, who stopped him as he went by.

"Captain, this is all very strange," said Chekov-and then, more quietly: "Lt. Sulu hit on me!"

"Trust me," Jim said, remembering another version of Chekov locked in a torture chamber. "It could have been a lot worse."

"But this is very strange. Sulu is dating girl in botany, and I am sure it was not a different Sulu who hit on me!"

Jim clapped his shoulder absently, heading for the captain's chair. "Keep saying it, it's starting to sound like you liked it."

Jim pressed the intercom button for the entire ship. Spock walked over to him, curiosity apparent in his face if you knew what to look for.

"This is the captain speaking. Or well, one of the captains. I hope everyone has gotten over their initial freaking out and are starting to realize that we've got an even worse crisis on our hands than just having a few extra copies of ourselves. In half an hour, we will lose control of our thrusters and experience heavy turbulence until we're pulled into whatever is down on the planet's surface. I know most of you are busy with your own crises all over the ship, and I want everyone to keep attending to their work. However, I request the presence of anyone named either Kirk or Spock, and anyone else they feel should be included in a briefing. We'll meet in the main conference room. Should anyone attempt to inflict violence upon any person, the deal's off and we will fight. Seeing as how we're all trying to stay alive at this point, I hope we can come to a mutual understanding. Kirk out."

He left the captain's chair and entered the turbolift, Spock right behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Spock asked, "Are you certain this is wise, Captain?"

"Look, we're all about to die anyway, we may as well see if they know something we don't. Even the people from the off-balanced universe will understand survival. Maybe even more than we do."

"In any case, we have our phasers and can solicit help from security if need be."

Jim smirked. "Always safe to have a backup plan."

Spock imagined seeing many things upon entering the conference room, but the elusive Kirk and Spock from the Romulan-controlled universe calmly standing in the middle of it was not one of them. Granted, they did have a random Vulcan tied up and gagged between them, but it was odd that they were there and not actively trying to kill anyone. Spock gave himself a moment to look over his alternate, who looked so different from himself that only their facial features remained the same. This Spock was dressed in a long black coat held closed with silver fastenings fashioned with Vulcan symbols. His hair was styled differently, cut as close as Spock's own on the sides but longer and messier on the top. Spock was interested to find that this version of him had no qualms about displaying emotions; his mouth was twisted into a sneer.

"The only reason we're here," the scarred Kirk said, voice hard with warning, "is because Spock read your Spock's thoughts and knew you wouldn't try anything stupid."

"I also learned that this Romulan was not a member of your crew," the other Spock said.

"What Romulan? That's a Vulcan," Jim said.

"He is most certainly a Romulan. I discovered his true identity with a mind meld."

"Jesus Christ, you sure are giving those out like candy, aren't you?" Jim said.

"Especially given the ethically gray nature of forced mind melds," Spock added, voice betraying his disapproval.

"Aw, don't be mad, sugar," Kirk drawled, its effect ruined when the ship trembled under their feet. The thrusters were giving out.

The doors to the conference room opened and a man wearing command gold walked in. Spock checked his uniform stripes, relieved to see that it was not a captain's uniform. Yet another universe would complicate things even more than they already were.

"Captain," the stranger said, addressing Jim. Jim opened his mouth to answer but was prevented from speaking by the advent of the last pair of Kirk and Spock, to all appearances bearing exact likeness to themselves, except that this Spock's Starfleet uniform had no stripes.

"Commander, I did not order you to be here," the new Kirk said to his officer.

"To be fair, sir, you haven't been around to give orders at all."

His Jim would have immediately ordered this man to leave. This Kirk leveled a hard look at him, eyes accessing. "You can stay, but if this crisis is resolved, there will be disciplinary action against you for an insubordinate remark." He turned his glare to the two Kirk and Spocks with the hostage. "That man is a civilian and a prisoner of the Federation. You will not harm him."

The other Kirk sneered. "The Empire doesn't recognize your authority."

"Empire?" Jim asked.

"The Terran Empire," Spock supplied, recalling more fragments of memory from the mind meld. It also explained the emblem he had seen on the bulkheads, the planet Earth and the Vulcan lirpa, a ancient weapon of war. "It was formed when their home planets were destroyed by Nero and they turned into fugitives of the Romulan and Klingon Empires."

"But where we're from, the planets were saved. Is that true in your universe?" the other Captain Kirk asked Jim.

"Just Earth," Jim said quietly, eyes briefly flickering over to Spock. Spock nodded, not trusting himself to do more.

"Fascinating," the Spock in the Starfleet uniform said. Spock felt a rush of anger for his alternate self, one who had never lost his entire home planet, who could never imagine what it would feel to lose so many. To lose his mother.

"I assure you it is not," the third Spock snarled, and it was disconcerting to Spock to hear how closely his alternate's tone mirrored what he himself felt. "You would not find it 'fascinating' to see both Vulcan and Earth destroyed and witness a madman tear your parents apart in front of you."

Spock had not been aware of this information from the mind meld. He briefly tried to understand how that might feel, how much worse things could have been, but could not. The other Spock turned his eyes to the floor, but his voice, when he responded, was toneless.

"I must still point out the imperative: discussing discrepancies in any alternate universe at this juncture is illogical."

"Right," Captain Kirk said, pointing at the newly-outed Romulan. "What are you doing with Narak?"

"He is a Romulan spy, from your universe," the other Kirk said from beside the captive.

"A Romulan? What the hell, did he get cosmetic surgery?" said Jim.

"That is obvious," the prison universe Spock said, scornful.

"Indeed," the other Spock agreed, showing no indication that he had picked up on the sarcasm. "I had been contemplating why a member of my research team would have motivation to send our scientific research to the Romulans. The answer is now apparent."

"What research?" Jim asked.

"Red matter," Spock said, sure that his conclusion was correct.

The other Spock nodded in confirmation. "The energy on the planet is reminiscent of the energy contained in a small star, which is why we are currently losing control of our thrusters to what is undoubtedly solar wind."

"So the Romulans in your universe took the information from this dead Romulan," said the scarred Kirk, putting a phaser to the back of the Romulan's head and firing, not bothering to watch the Romulan fall to the floor, "fucked up the instructions in their first experiment and realized they needed to do a clean-up operation to get rid of all evidence."

"That's why he shut off our engines," the uniformed Kirk said, scowling at the supine body on the floor. "The Romulans ordered him to sabotage the mission when they found out that we were looking into the strange occurrences around the planet. They didn't want us to find out about the weapon they're developing."

"Your logic is sound," the other uniformed Spock said to his Kirk.

"Except there is information that you seem to be unaware of," Spock said, clasping his hands behind his back. "There is a dangerous likelihood that their experiment only failed as a result of the planet they chose. On this particular planet there is an alien structure that is referred to as The Guardian of Forever. It is reported as having the ability to send a person to any point in history, or even to different dimensions."

"Which is probably why the red matter didn't ignite properly in the first place," Jim said. It was a fascinating event to watch, when Jim instinctively worked out facts that Spock had just as swiftly calculated in his head. "The Guardian was described as being sentient, remember Spock? Pike said it called itself The Guardian of Forever. I bet you a keg of Romulan ale it's protecting itself from destruction."

"A defense mechanism," the Empire Spock said.

"This is all well and good," the commander said, reminding them of his presence. "But how the hell do you know any of that when the planet is uncharted?"

"Excuse me, who the fuck are you and why are you talking to me like I care?" said Jim.

The scarred Kirk laughed outright, and his Spock smirked in approval. Even the other Captain Kirk couldn't quite repress a small smile. The third Spock, of course, reacted to none of it.

"First Officer Stiles," the man said, flustered.

"And you put up with this crap?" Jim demanded of the other Kirk.

"I follow regulation and procedure, yes," Kirk said, his humor dissolving. Spock braced his feet more firmly on the ground as the ship tilted three degrees to the left.

"You didn't answer my question," Stiles said. "It's obvious that you too are keeping information, possibly working for the Romulans as well, given what kind of first officer you have."

It was almost a blessing that the shaking of the ship slowed Jim's charge of Stiles. Spock grabbed Jim's arm, holding him back. "Captain, do not lose focus. Now that we are aware of what we are dealing with, we must conceive a plan to save the ship."

"Get the fuck out of here," Jim said, relaxing in Spock's grip. Spock released him.

"Before I am compelled to shoot your prejudiced ass down like a Romulan dog," the third Kirk added, aiming his phaser at the commander. Stiles left swiftly, and Kirk retracted his phaser and smiled at Jim. "I think I'm beginning to like you. At least you're not a shivering little pussy like that one," he said, gesturing towards third Kirk.

The uniformed Kirk glared openly at his scarred counterpart, then ignored him, showing a degree of restraint that Spock had never imagined a James T. Kirk could possess in any universe.

"We need to figure out how to fix this, and fast," Kirk said, beginning to pace.

The moment the thrusters failed completely was obvious. The ship shuddered and jerked violently; Spock could almost feel the motion of the ship caught in the solar wind, like a sailboat tossed around in a storm. Everyone braced themselves.

"All we have to do is somehow figure out how to neutralize a star in about an hour," Captain Kirk said.

"Theoretically the solution is simple," the other uniformed Spock said. "A star burns out when there is no hydrogen in which to burn. If we could somehow expedite the process, the star may outwardly expand and then evolve into a degenerate form."

"And how the hell do we 'expedite the process'?" Jim said.

"It may be possible to neutralize a star by emitting enough energy to affect the gravitational binding energy, which would pull the subatomic material apart and free us from its gravitational pull. However, this procedure is inadvisable, as hydrogen itself is extremely flammable."

"Great, so we electrocute the star. How the hell do we get that kind of power?" said Jim.

"I do not know," the other Spock said. The room fell silent.

The answer hit Spock all at once. "The warp core," he said. "If we are able to build a small matter/antimatter reaction chamber and launch it into the star, the resulting explosion may be enough to neutralize it."

"That is a foolhardy suggestion, considering the limited amount of time we have to implement such a plan," the uniformed Spock said, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, but it might save our asses, so let's get down to engineering," Jim said, heading towards the door with Spock following. The others hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed.

As they walked down the halls, the reactions of the various crews were interesting. Most appeared relieved, as if having all of their commanding officers working together meant a solution was at hand. Others demonstrated confusion, most notably those in the universes with Starfleet, and with good reason. The Kirk and Spock not wearing uniforms stood out with their odd features; they made themselves even more conspicuous by walking with their hands in the ozh'esta, their two fingers linked as they continued down the hall. Spock had witnessed numerous bonded couples do the same on Vulcan, most notably his own parents. There was no question what these two were to each other, even if he didn't have the memories to confirm it. Jim was currently speaking to his uniformed counterpart, and Spock shifted his attention to their conversation.

"So you enlisted in Starfleet when you were eighteen. Who the hell talked me into that?"

His counterpart appeared surprised. "No one talked me into anything. I wanted to be an officer like my stepdad."

"You're telling me one of my mom's shitty husbands was actually a member of Starfleet?"

Kirk's eyebrows furrowed. "I've only had one stepfather, Anthony Carter. He was a good man. I learned a lot from him."

Jim frowned. Though Spock was not schooled in grasping the subtle nuances of human emotions, he knew from his prolonged exposure to Jim Kirk that his captain was feeling bitter. It was the same emotion Spock felt towards his own alternate self from that dimension-the Spock who still had his mother, could still reach out to her, could tell her all the things that Spock never could until it was too late. Jim looked back at Spock, then slowed and aligned his footsteops with Spock's, looking at him consideringly.

"Come on, Spock, I know that look," he said. "What is it?"

Spock hesitated briefly. "I find that the version of myself that attended the Vulcan Science Academy is a compelling individual."

"If by 'compelling' you mean 'stick jammed so far up his ass that you could use him as a puppet,' then I agree."

"He is obviously going through the kolinahr, a discipline where one seeks to purge oneself of all emotions. I myself wished to pursue this discipline before opting to turn down entrance into the Vulcan Science Academy."

"Spock, don't do that."

"Do what, Captain?" he asked, perplexed.

"Don't compare yourself to them. You think I'm not feeling a little envy either? This guy obviously never got smacked around a little or drove cars off cliffs. But if you start comparing yourself to them, you'll just get a big headache and start to hate your own life. Besides, it was their universe that started this whole mess with the red matter, so they probably have a bitch of a future to look forward to, and he doesn't even have a kick-ass first officer to fight with him through the fallout like I do."

Spock looked downward, irrationally pleased with the sentiment. He couldn't help but look to his left to see the topics of their discussion walking with a great deal of distance between them, and then to the right to see the disquieting (but oddly compelling) image of Kirk and Spock who were as close as two individuals could be, forged together through tragedy and great hardship. He consciously shirfted an inch closer to Jim, and for a moment he let himself feel grateful.

It took them approximately 35 crucial minutes to relay the plan to each of their Montgomery Scotts and build a crude device that could be launched from a shuttlecraft and achieve the desired results. Engineering was chaos, and Spock was convinced that the only reason they managed to build the device so fast was because they had the skills and knowledge of the three chief engineers and three versions of himself, all working to make calculations and direct others in building what they required. It was a mad race down to shuttlebay, with only twenty minutes remaining before they would be pulled off course and into the star itself.

The new Galileo 7 was immediately requistioned and a team of engineers equipped it with the device. Spock surveyed his surroundings as they worked. A sufficient proportion of shuttlebay was set up as an emergency triage station. Cots and medical equipment sat alongside shuttlecraft and engineering stations, doctors and nurses from all universes working to help the wounded. Their own Dr. McCoy was there. When he spotted them, he ran over and greeted the captain with relief and a reprimand.

"I've been sitting down here wondering if some other version of you was going to cut your balls off or something else that I'd have to reattach later, if you got lucky."

"Nice to see you too, Bones," Jim said, letting McCoy hug him for several long seconds before gently prying off McCoy's arms. McCoy took the hint and released him, trying to appear nonchalant. "How have things been going down here?" Jim asked.

"Absolutely insane. I've been working with my counterpart, and let me tell you, if you thought I was a grouchy asshole-"

"You, doctor?" Spock could not help saying. McCoy scowled at him.

"Nice to know you haven't changed a bit, Spock," said McCoy. He then turned to Jim and said in a quieter voice, "No, this guy is seriously unhinged. He asked me if Joanna was alive where I'm from. He hinted that she'd been killed right in front of him."

Jim put a hand to McCoy's shoulder, rubbing gently. "That's not your reality, Bones. And thank god, because I don't know if I could like you if you got even more grouchy."

The ship lurched and Spock almost stumbled into Scotty, who had rushed up behind him in a state of manic energy.

"Captain! The, er, the one I met on Delta Vega?"

"Over here, Mr. Scott!" Jim said, turning from McCoy.

Scotty shouldered past Spock; the rest of them gathered around to hear. "I did what ye asked, I strapped the homemade matter/antimatter bomb to the sides of the ship, but you can't use it!"

"What are you talking about?" the second Captain Kirk demanded. "If you hadn't noticed, we're minutes away from certain death."

"Aye, that I agree, but I've been conferring with that less-friendly Spock and he told me that, with the amount of energy and radiation pouring from that thing, a person in the shuttlecraft will surely be killed!"

"So we get someone to save the ship," the Kirk from the prison universe said, shrugging. "I'm sure someone out of the roughly 1,500 crew members from all three universes would volunteer."

"It's not just a matter of manning the thing and martyring someone. A person wouldn't survive long enough to be able to detonate the device at the right time, and without detonation the thing won't mix the matter and antimatter and it'll just explode normally with the ship and its pilot."

"Surely there has to be some way to keep them alive long enough. An environmental suit, perhaps..." Kirk suggested.

"I'm telling you, no human could survive long enough!"

There was a stillness as his words rang out, and Spock glanced at the other two Spocks, each with perfect understanding.

"But a Vulcan might be able to, Mr. Scott?" he himself asked.

Scotty was stricken. "Aye, but they would have to know how to pilot a shuttlecraft and input the proper codes, and we've only got a few minutes left to figure it out."

"Then it must be one of us," Spock concluded.

"Oh hell no," Jim said, staring directly at Spock.

"I agree, you're not going," the scarred Kirk said to his own Spock.

"If I may invoke logic, gentlemen," said Director Spock. "Logic dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Not where I come from," prison universe Kirk said, then made a surprising gesture, holding out two fingers and linking them with his Spock. Spock watched the scene in rapt curiosity, noting the emotions flickering across the two men's faces as they communicated through what was undoubtedly a telepathic bond.

It took seconds to occur, and when it was done, Spock's counterpart looked up and said, "I will not be going."

"What are you two, cowards?" Captain Kirk said.

"Look you asshole, it's not just about us. We're the leaders of all that's left of two species. It's just not one of us dying. If even one of us dies, everything falls apart."

"Captain," Director Spock said, swiveling to face his own Captain Kirk. "Perhaps it is I who should go."

"You're a civilian, Mr. Spock. You are the most brilliant mind on Vulcan. I can't allow it."

"He is also unqualified to pilot a shuttlecraft," Spock said. "I am qualified to pilot one and am willing to go."

"No," Jim said, face inexplicably flashing with anger.

"Captain-" he began.

"You're not going, and that's an order, Commander!"

Spock stared at Jim's reddened face, at his fiercely protective expression, into eyes that were so alive, that had captivated him since the moment he had looked down into a simulator room at the defiant cadet who wouldn't consider defeat an option. Regret swept through him, though he did not show the emotion.

"Perhaps you're right," he said. He turned to address McCoy. "Is there a qualified Vulcan patient present?"

As McCoy began to answer, Spock reached over and subdued Jim with the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, holding him as he dropped.

"I am sorry, Captain, I have no time to explain this logically." He felt everyone staring as he positioned his fingers at the meld points on Jim's face, felt their emotions around him as he opened up his mind, transferring his entire being, his katra, into Jim, whispering, "Remember."
He eased Jim the rest of the way to the ground, then stalked towards the equipped shuttlecraft.

"Hang on, I can't let you do this!" McCoy said, blocking the doorway.

"You and I both know that, if I wish to go, there is little you can do to stop me."

"Spock," McCoy said, swallowing, voice gone thick with emotion. "Jim would never forgive me if I let you do this without a fight. Hell, I wouldn't forgive me."

"I will be saving more than a thousand lives, Doctor. I can think of no better death. Please remove yourself from the entrance before I am forced to remove you myself."

Hesitantly, McCoy slipped away from the door. Spock moved past him and was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to McCoy, feeling the other man's sorrow through the point of contact.

"I'll miss you, Spock. You're...a damn good officer, the best. And a good friend."

Spock felt his eyes burn, and he looked over at Jim one last time before looking back at McCoy. "If I were the captain, I would say, 'See you around, Bones.'"

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