In our second act, Spock from the mirror universe escapes capture by the Klingons and Captain Pike of the Terran Empire sets his sights on capturing Number One from his Federation counterpart.
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“Star Trek: Chasing Reflections” – Part II
Phil Giunta
Chapter V – Crossing Over
Aboard the Klingon battlecruiser, Vogra’chok, General Kahv directed an accusing finger at the human on his monitor. “You have the audacity to deny the unprovoked attack and destruction of one of our patrol ships?!”
Maintaining a suspiciously even temper, the enemy captain recounted what was doubtlessly a well rehearsed fabrication blaming the incident on the battlecruiser’s alleged ‘plasma leak’ and its proximity to the anomaly.
“In fact, we can transmit our sensor logs to you for verifi—”
“Sensor logs can be easily manufactured,” Kahv dismissed the offer. “Yet perhaps I might be inclined to believe you if my men had not already arrested members of your crew on the planet—with the corpses of six Klingons found nearby!”
Captain Pike bolted from his chair. “You have no right—”
“I have every right!” the general slammed both fists against his console. “And I will tolerate no more lies! Such crimes against our Empire will not go unpunished. You will surrender and prepare to be boarded, or we will blast your ship apart and send your frozen carcasses back to your Federation leaders! I give you two minutes.”
With one final threatening scowl, he closed the channel.
“Sir, one of their shuttlecraft has just emerged from the ion disturbance.”
Kahv wheeled on his tactical officer. “Check your readings again, that can’t be correct!”
Obediently, the soldier did so but his report remained unchanged. “It is no reflection, my lord. It is one of their craft on a direct course for Enterprise.”
Perplexed, Kahv punched a button on the communications panel to summon his landing party, but static was the only reply. He deduced that the ion storm must have been expanding more rapidly than their sensors first indicated. As it was, even the basic task of maintaining their position was beginning to place a strain on the engines.
“They must have sent down two landing parties and one has obviously eluded us until now,” Kahv surmised. “Lock onto the crew and beam them aboard. Have them escorted to the brig for questioning. Then destroy the shuttle.”
***
In the transporter room, the Klingon soldiers greeted the newcomers with mild bewilderment as they confiscated phasers and communicators. The uniforms worn by these Starfleet officers were unfamiliar, though the chest insignia of a planet pierced through by a dagger was impressive. Perhaps they were a special espionage unit or maybe they simply altered their attire for some unfathomable purpose. One of the Klingons uttered a churlish comment in his native tongue and shrugged. Such questions would be saved for the general.
The same Klingon then approached the placid Vulcan. He pointed to the other’s facial hair with a broad grin. Stroking his own beard, he turned to his colleagues and made another remark that inspired harsh, guttural laughter among them.
Their amusement was short lived.
With a deafening thud, the entire room titled wildly sending both captors and prisoners colliding with one another in a tangle of arms, legs—and weapons.
Seconds later, two Klingons fell at the hands of Lieutenant Commander Spock. Retrieving his phaser, he took aim at a third but found it unnecessary when the guard collapsed, the blade of a dagger plunged into the back of his neck.
Across the room, a member of the landing party screamed in agony as he was struck by disruptor fire just before a second impact rained massive slabs of debris atop the skirmish.
For several minutes, no one moved. Only the rumble of distant explosions echoing through the corridors broke the sudden, eerie silence.
Reaching up with an unsteady hand, Spock took hold of the transporter console and pulled himself to his feet. Wiping away dust and fragments, he examined the controls. Pleased to find no damage, he was fascinated to discover a set of coordinates that had recently been entered revealing the Klingons’ intended destination.
“Spock…”
The Vulcan glanced up to see the only other surviving member of the landing party trapped beneath an enormous metal shaft. Ignoring his pleas, Spock simply returned to his task.
“Commander,” the man groaned. “I’ve…always been loyal to you…and the captain.”
“Assisting you would delay my departure, Ensign.”
With one final confirmation of his settings, Spock rounded the console and waded through the pool of bodies to the transporter pad. Preparing his phaser, he drew himself to his full height just as the shimmering curtain of the transporter beam enveloped him.
The desperation in the doomed ensign’s eyes was the last thing to fade from his vision.
Chapter VI – Familiar Strangers
Pike shouldered his phaser rifle as he led an armed security team into the transporter room where Lieutenant Pitcairn was standing by, his own weapon well within reach atop the control panel.
Joining him there, Pike waited until each man took their position before addressing them. “Gentlemen, we’re the first line of defense against their boarding party. There will be two more teams posted in the corridors should the Klingons manage to get past us. I’d like to make sure that doesn’t happen. You have your orders.”
“Sir, with all due respect,” the transporter chief began. “Those battlecruisers will start shooting the minute they so much as suspect a problem.”
“I’m not handing the Enterprise over to the Klingons. This is a no-win scenario, Chief, like the Kobayashi Maru. Only difference is, we’re taking some of them with us.”
As if on cue, a blinking red alarm activated in the center of the transporter console.
“Incoming,” Pitcairn announced.
In one swift wave, all weapons rose in unison. At the same moment, Number One beckoned from the intercom.
“Go!” Pike snapped.
“Sir, another Starfleet vessel just arrived and has opened fire on the Klingons! Their lead ship has already been disabled.”
The lights above the transporter pad began to pulsate, accompanying the high-pitched hum that filled the room.
“Raise shields and go to red alert. Order all decks to battlestations.” If this isn’t the Klingons then who…
The captain’s unfinished thought was answered when a singular form coalesced in the center of the platform.
And left everyone speechless.
***
“Hold your fire!”
Lieutenant Tyler’s hand paused over the phaser controls as the last of the enemy craft limped away from the battle. Barely intact, it turned and attempted to retreat toward the far side of one of the planet’s larger moons.
“Commander, Starfleet vessel coming about on an intercept course for Klingon battlecruiser. They’re within firing range and closing.”
“Can you identify?” Number One asked.
Tyler shook his head. “Not at this range, but I am picking up unusually high radiation levels from their secondary hull.”
“Mr. Kanaan, hail them.”
“Channel open.”
“Starfleet vessel,” the first officer began. “This is Enterprise, please respond.”
After several seconds of silence, she tried a more direct approach. “Starfleet vessel, we request that you break off your attack. The Klingons are retreating. I repeat, break off—”
“They’re powering weapons,” Tyler warned.
Further reports became unnecessary. Number One could do no more than watch while the salvo of photon torpedoes streaked across space to dissect the Klingon warship’s hull.
With a start, the communications officer raised a hand to his earpiece receiver. “We’re being hailed.”
“On screen.”
The graveyard of jetsam that symbolized the remains of battle faded into a snowy haze of gray. Sheepishly, the ensign frantically manipulated his board. “We’re still close enough to the anomaly to hinder communications, but I think I can…”
He trailed off the moment his eyes met the chilling stare glowering back at them from the viewscreen, a stare made much more unnerving by the face behind it. The man’s left eye was glazed over in a sickening white cataract. His oily brown hair, streaked with dull silver and pulled back into a ponytail, accentuated his weathered complexion. All told, his features portrayed him as a grotesque, malevolent interpretation of—
“Captain Christopher Pike… of the Imperial starship Enterprise.”
Chapter VII – Within Reach
Seated around the conference table, Captain Pike and his senior staff absorbed the extraordinary tale imparted to them by an intimidating double of their science officer. Even more daunting was the unsightly figure on the tabletop monitors to whom Spock addressed his report.
“After eliminating the Klingon landing party, we received your order to return. However, when our shuttle cleared the anomaly, we were promptly captured by one of their warships. It was there that I discovered the Klingons’ intent to board the Enterprise. Your subsequent attack provided a perfect opportunity for my escape. Using coordinates preset into their transporter, I beamed myself to this starship, believing it to be our own.”
When his commanding officer did not respond, the Vulcan went on. “According to this vessel’s sensor logs, the phenomenon we are now witnessing was caused by the explosion of a Klingon battlecruiser which released particles of matter and antimatter into the ion storm. The incident appears to have resulted in the creation of a temporary portal between two parallel dimensions. However, if my theory is correct, such an event would have had to occur in our reality at the same moment.”
“We… experienced something similar,” his captain concurred in a low voice that revealed a level of distrust bordering on malice.
For Pike, the feeling was mutual. Not without effort, he averted his eyes from the screen and risked a glance at each of his officers in turn. Gauging their expressions, he knew that every one of them harbored the same suspicions as he. Inexplicably, Number One was the most somber of all. Pike made a mental note to question her about it when this conference was concluded and the others were well out of earshot.
“More recent data indicates that the fissure is beginning to collapse. At its current rate it will reach the point of no return in little over four hours. It should be noted that due to its instability, that estimation is merely speculative.”
***
Attempting to wrap his mind around this impossible series of events, Pike’s focus was almost entirely consumed by the woman sitting beside that feeble imposter. So captivated was he that only somewhere in the depths of his subconscious did Spock’s warning actually register.
“Captain, as… unprecedented as this discovery has been, it is nevertheless advisable that we depart immediately.”
Those last few words jolted Pike from his self indulgence. Fate had handed him a change of fortunes and he was not about to leave without collecting what the universe owed to him. At all costs, he would acquire this woman and from her, take what he needed. It was simply a matter of tactics. He was well aware that his Enterprise was not yet prepared for a ship-to-ship conflict. As it was, that last battle against the Klingons pushed the damaged starship beyond her limits.
“The decision to leave is mine,” Pike countered. “As you said, this is certainly unprecedented. Four hours should be ample time for our safe return. I don’t see why we can’t spare a few brief moments to get to know our… selves.”
Amused by his own witticism, he twisted his face into a wry grin. “Captain Pike, you and your officers are more than welcome to beam aboard for a tour of my Enterprise. I’m sure you would find our way of life… different.”
Spock was the first to reply. “Sir, may I respectfully remind you that the portal is highly unsta—”
Pike held up a hand for silence. “I didn’t ask you!”
“I’m sorry, Captain,” his duplicate declined. “But four members of my crew including my science officer are still on Morex III under Klingon custody and I need to get them out. In the meantime, we’re prepared to beam Mr. Spock back to your ship.”
“Of course.” Pike shifted uncomfortably in his command chair until an idea suddenly struck. “But as I’m sure you know, there is strength in numbers. It may be wise for our two ships to remain together for as long as possible in case more of their warships arrive. At the same time, I could have a security team stand ready to assist in recovering your men.”
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. We can handle the situation ourselves. Good luck to us both, Captain. Enterprise out.”
He continued to stare at the viewscreen for almost a full minute as the Federation ship turned in the direction of the planet and slowly diminished from view, taking with it his only chance to save the life of his lover.
“Sir,” the new ensign at communications began. “Transporter room reports that Mr. Spock is safely aboard.”
“Helm, set a course for Morex III. Keep us out of their sensor range.”
“Aye, sir.”
Pike pressed a button on the arm of his chair. “Bridge to Sickbay.”
“Sickbay, this is Boyce.”
“Prepare your operating room, Doctor. You’re about to get your donor.”
Switching off the channel, he removed the dagger from his waist sash. Running his thumb along the blade, he muttered to himself. “I’ll see you on the planet, Captain Pike.”
And then I’ll see you dead.