In the conclusion of “Chasing Reflections,” Captain Pike from the mirror universe attempts to abduct Number One on the planet Morex III, but an attack by the Klingons in the hijacked shuttle Copernicus levels the playing field.
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“Star Trek: Chasing Reflections” – Part III
Phil Giunta
Chapter VIII – Fears Realized
Under expert guidance, the Galileo passed through the shuttlebay doors and glided on an arc that would eventually take it around Vox and Sio, two massive asteroids that revolved around one another in orbit above Morex III. Such a heading would enable the craft to avoid the brunt of the ion storm, and would also bring it into the planet’s dark side.
Once their course was laid in, Pike confirmed the landing coordinates with his first officer who had taken a seat beside him at propulsion. Her tense demeanor had not changed since the conference and was reflected in her dry tone. For someone so disciplined, it was unusual for her to be preoccupied while on duty.
Since it would be another fifteen minutes until they reached the planet’s surface, and Dr. Boyce was engaged in conversation with the security team behind them, now seemed as good a time as any to broach the subject.
“Is everything all right, Number One?” Pike asked in a low voice. “You seem distracted.”
“I’m fine, Captain.” She spoke quickly and refused to meet his gaze, preferring instead to scrutinize her panel.
Pike pressed the issue. “During the conference earlier, I couldn’t help but to notice that you looked troubled.”
“I think we all were, sir,” she replied. “It was a very bizarre occasion.”
“Granted, but from your reaction at the time, I sensed that there was something beyond the obvious.”
For a moment, the commander hesitated as if unwilling to bring herself to speak. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.”
“Which one?”
“Yours.”
“Mine?”
“Him.”
“I see.” Pike could not help but to chuckle at the exchange. “And just what exactly made you uncomfortable?”
With a peripheral glance at the others, she leaned toward him and whispered. “He was sizing me up like some piece of meat. I’m surprised he wasn’t salivating. You can’t imagine how humiliated I felt.”
“I don’t think anyone else noticed,” Pike assured her. “Certainly not me.”
Apparently comforted by that knowledge, Number One leaned back in her chair and sighed as the captain engrossed himself in the helm console.
“Coming up on Morex III,” he announced. “You shouldn’t have been surprised, Number One. You’re a very beautiful woman.”
“I second that,” the doctor chimed in from the far end of the shuttle.
Upon hearing the latter, her eyes widened and she found herself unable to look anywhere except straight ahead. As the two men shared a laugh, she felt her face redden. Fortunately, the turbulence of atmosphere rescued her from further embarrassment.
***
Shrouded in the darkness of a tempestuous night sky, the Galileo set down in a grassy clearing atop a sprawling plateau. Below them, a lush valley radiated with the glow of artificial light. It was there that long-range sensors had identified the last known position of the landing party.
Using only hand signals as they departed the craft, Pike disbursed the security contingent in pairs around the perimeter of the landing site. Ordering the doctor to remain, he and Number One set off through the thicket, weaving their way toward the distant illumination. Coming to a halt at the edge of the tree-lined cliff, the Copernicus was plainly visible approximately fifty meters below. Two Klingon soldiers stood at attention around its port and aft sides. The captain considered it likely that at least one more was posted out of view at starboard.
Craning his neck to the right, Pike spotted the Enterprise crewmen seated together on the ground, their backs against a small rock formation. No doubt bereft of their personal gear, they remained under close watch by yet another pair of guards. Curiously, only Spock, Chief Engineer Zundel and Ensign Lampert of security were present. Helmsman Dyle was nowhere to be seen.
Pike flipped open his communicator to contact the others. “I’ve marked them, about ten meters aft of the shuttle. I count four Klingons, possibly five. We need to find a way to draw them out of the valley.”
Without preamble, a barrage of phaser fire erupted all around them. Number One gasped as a member of the security team tumbled from the precipice just off to their left. His silhouette vanished into the shadows of the rocky terrain, sparing them from the sight of his shattered body.
That wasn’t what I had in mind!
To Pike’s chagrin, the incident revealed their location to the Klingons. Even so, it would be difficult for them to scale the cliff face on foot, which made any attack on their part merely a secondary concern.
On the other hand, they had the Copernicus.
“Back away and take cover!” Pike barked. Phasers in hand, captain and first officer dove to the ground beside the Galileo where the doctor was frantically treating a wounded member of the security team.
“He’s not going to make it, Chris,” Boyce said grimly. “Just who the hell’s shooting at us?!”
Number One opened her tricorder. “I’m about to find out.”
Then, just as quickly as the chaos started, the air fell deathly calm.
“What’s the matter, Captain, afraid of your own shadow?”
Swallowing hard, the commander felt her stomach sink. The familiar, acerbic voice was alarmingly close. Checking her readings, she nodded toward the opposite side of the shuttle.
Rising to his feet, Pike carefully crept forward along the hull, phaser at ready. Stepping clear of the craft he spun—and brought his weapon to within inches from the face of his doppelganger.
“Is this any way to greet your twin, Christopher? We are like brothers, after all.”
“Can’t say I feel the same,” Pike retorted. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fire.”
Saying nothing, the Imperial captain merely looked past him. Out of the corner of his eye, Pike noted several dark forms approaching, but it was too late to react. The muzzle of the phaser rifle shoved into the center of his back provided all the reason he needed.
Chapter IX -Chances Lost
“Your men are being dealt with as we speak.” Pike announced, examining the confiscated phaser in his hand. “Remarkable resemblance to our own.”
“Get to the point.” Separated from the Galileo, the Federation captain, his first officer, and his ship’s doctor stood in a row, encircled by Imperial soldiers.
“I came here because you have something I need.” Pike turned his attention to the woman. “Or should I say someone.”
With that, he shot her.
The imposter caught her as she fell and lowered her gently to the ground. Then with surprising speed, he turned and launched himself at Pike.
“Chris, no!” Boyce warned, grasping his captain’s arm as the security team closed in. “She’s only stunned.”
“Of course she is, what kind of man do you think I am,” Pike sneered. “It’s only her heart I’m after. Yet now that my business here is concluded, I admit that I find it difficult to kill you, Christopher. I imagine it would be almost like killing myself.”
Despite his words, he adjusted his phaser to its most lethal setting. “But not quite. Though I will save you for last.”
Taking aim at the doctor, he suddenly froze. With a puzzled expression, he looked from left to right as a deep hum emanated from beyond the cliff’s edge, increasing in volume as it ascended from the valley.
“There!” One of the security team pointed to the small shuttlecraft gliding above the treetops heading directly for them. The Klingon sniper kneeling just inside the open hatch wasted no time in picking his targets. As the Copernicus swept over them, three of Pike’s men were struck down by disruptor fire as everyone else scattered.
***
“Put her in the shuttle!”
While Boyce dragged the commander’s unconscious form toward the Galileo, Pike dove for the closest phaser rifle, prying it from the grip of the fallen guard. Across the plateau, the Klingons were closing in on another attack run. He knew that the purpose of their initial pass was more reconnaissance than actual assault. his time, however, their objective would surely be the Galileo.
“Wouldn’t want to be here when they land!”
In the mayhem, Pike had lost track of his sinister counterpart. Now, the man stood just outside the shuttle’s hatch, knife pressed against Boyce’s throat. For his part, the man exhibited a complete lack of concern for the looming danger. His inexplicable fixation on Pike’s first officer seemed to consume him.
“I hope they treat you well, brother!”
In his single-mindedness, even the approach of the Copernicus was of little consequence—until a disruptor beam struck the side of the hull, slamming both men to the ground and separating them in the process.
Pike saw his opportunity. Setting his weapon to heavy stun, he took aim. Like mirror reflections of one another, the two commanding officers locked grim stares.
“Get out of my universe!”
The roar of engines overhead drowned out the whine of phaser fire, but could not match the Imperial captain’s final howl of rage.
***
“Galileo to Enterprise.”
In the shuttle’s cockpit, Pike rushed through the preflight sequence. Fortunately, the external damage inflicted by the Klingons was trivial. As he brought the shuttle above the trees, he peered into the sky but saw no sign of the other craft. The Galileo’s limited sensors also showed nothing, which meant that the Klingons were waiting for them somewhere out there just beyond scanner range.
“Enterprise. Tyler here.”
“Lieutenant, do you have the Copernicus on sensors?”
After a moment’s pause, the navigator replied affirmatively.
“Lock on and prepare to fire on my mark,” Pike ordered.
“Sir?”
“I’ll explain later. Just do it!”
“Aye, Captain. Do you require assistance?”
“Not if you follow my orders, Mr. Tyler. Stand by.”
Pike turned the shuttle to port and took off in the opposite direction of the valley.
“Chris, our people are back that way,” Boyce reminded him.
“I realize that, but if my guess is right we’re about to have company.”
An alarm beckoned from the helm console. There was one last enemy to deal with and they were now in pursuit. Pike threw the shuttle into maximum speed then reopened the channel to his ship. “Now, Mr. Tyler!”
The night sky became alight in a flare of orange and yellow as massive bolts of energy seared through the clouds, striking the Copernicus and sending its burning hulk crashing into the forest below. Swinging the Galileo around on a return course, Pike complimented the navigator’s targeting skills.
“Doc, let’s pick up our people and go home.”
Epilogue
The portal was gone.
It had vanished hours ago along with the cursed ion storm that gave it birth. Since then, everything had been returned to its rightful place in the cosmos.
All but one. The only one that mattered to Captain Christopher Pike. Having narrowly escaped the Klingons on Morex III, he returned to the Enterprise only to find that fate had robbed him in his absence just as it did on the planet.
“You were supposed to protect her!”
Across the biobed, where the corpse of the ship’s first officer lay covered by a gray sheet, Spock answered impassively. “I had no prior warning of the attack. The assassins were very well organized, disabling both internal and subspace communications before they carrying out their objective.”
“I ordered security around the clock,” Pike seethed.
“Indeed, Captain, and it was those same guards who committed the murder just minutes after your departure. I gathered their actions to be in retaliation for the death of Mr. Tyler. To his credit, Dr. Boyce attempted to save her but has been left in critical condition for his efforts.”
“Where are these guards now?”
“Upon completing their mission, they committed suicide.”
Slamming his fist against the wall beside him, Pike felt his frustration building into sheer rage. A rage directed mostly at himself. She risked her life to preserve his and in return, he failed her. The only recourse left to him now was retribution.
“Round up everyone aboard who was even remotely suspected of aligning with Tyler or Kanaan. They will all shed their blood for this.”
***
In the privacy of his quarters, Captain Christopher Pike frowned solemnly at the face occupying the screen on his monitor. “I’m not sure I understand the reasons for these orders, Bob. You reviewed my logs. We can’t justify keeping something of this magnitude under wraps. You of all people should agree that the rest of the fleet has a right to know.”
Maintaining the upbeat manner for which he was famous, Admiral Robert April, the first commanding officer of the Enterprise, returned an understanding nod.
“At least until we complete a full investigation, we simply need you to restrict conversation regarding the events of the past few days to those crewmembers who had direct contact. Don’t even discuss it with Mr. Spock or Commander Zundel.
“Look, Chris, I was out there. I took that center seat at the beginning and the last thing I want to do is keep your crew in the dark, but this is coming down straight from Command.”
“And they specifically asked you to deliver the message thinking that I’d be less inclined to argue,” Pike concluded. “How clever of them.”
“That and I’ve also had some previous experience in this matter,” April said simply but did not elaborate. “At any rate, I’m sorry for the loss of Lieutenant Dyle. He was one of the best helmsman in the fleet.”
“Yes, he was. Thank you, Admiral.”
“I’m transmitting all of the data I have on the Rigel Seven situation. It’s an extremely volatile state of affairs. Be careful, Chris. I look forward to your reports. April out.”
With a sigh, Pike contacted the bridge. “Number One, set a course for Rigel Seven, warp factor five. Then contact the doctor and tell him to report to the conference room along with yourself, Tyler, and Kanaan. I’ll join you there shortly.”
“Aye, sir.”
Setting out to relay the admiral’s orders, Pike could not help but to ponder the fate of that other Enterprise, her crew, and the purpose behind his doppelganger’s desperate attempt to abduct his first officer.
It’s only her heart I’m after.
Recalling the cryptic statement, it dawned on him that at no time throughout the entire experience did they encounter Number One’s duplicate. Perhaps she was one of a kind.
Or perhaps such a person no longer existed.