EPILOGUE

CAPTAIN’S LOG, STARDATE 4759.8

Waking the Farrezzi sleepers continues. The slavers on both ships have been detained, as have the ones on the surface. The actions of the New Planets Cousins have introduced complications into an unstable situation. The Federation has promised help. Supply ships and a team of special envoys will arrive in the next few weeks.

The thirteen of us who survived the ordeal are looking forward to the arrival of the Enterprise. Lieutenant Commander Scott and Petty Officer Yüksel are in need of medical attention in the ship’s sickbay.

The entire landing party is due commendations for their exceptional actions during this crisis, but I would like to single out Petty Officer Cron Emalra’ehn, whose heroic action saved his shipmates at the cost of his own life.

Stardate 4760.7 (1738 hours)

McCoy stood next to Sulu in the transporter room, trying not to fidget. He’d brought a stretcher with him for Scotty. Over at the transporter console, Lieutenant Kyle was setting the controls. The two-day journey to Mu Arigulon V—sorry, Farrezz—had felt longer.

Sulu was looking good, McCoy reflected. You’d never know that the helm console had exploded in his face. McCoy still hadn’t come to terms with the loss of Bouchard. Being killed by the mere fact that the ship had gotten too close to another universe? That just wasn’t fair.

“Ready to energize, sir,” Kyle said.

“Beam them up, Mister Kyle,” Sulu ordered, turning to face the transporter dais. The shimmering of the transporter effect, and then six figures materialized in front of them: Kirk, Spock, M’Benga, Scotty, Giotto, and Chekov. Scotty looked the worst, held up by Giotto and M’Benga.

“Welcome back, Captain,” said Sulu, a wide smile on his face. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back, Mister Sulu,” Kirk said, stepping down off the dais. “What have you been doing to my ship?” His voice was light, but McCoy knew there was a bit of concern behind the question.

Scotty spoke up, clearly agitated. “I’ll thank you for getting me to sickbay now, Doctor. I shudder to think what my wee bairns have been through these past few days. I need to be up on my feet so I can see what DeSalle has been doing to them.”

McCoy pushed the stretcher over to the transporter dais, and with the help of M’Benga and Giotto, he transferred Scotty onto it. “Did you enjoy landing party duty, Jabilo?”

M’Benga smiled. “You can have every landing party from here to the end of the five-year mission, for all I care.”

M’Benga wheeled Scotty out of the room, and McCoy went to join Kirk and Spock, who were talking to Sulu.

“—estimates it will take two weeks at Station C-15 to repair all the damage,” Sulu was saying.

“So much for maintaining our schedule of exploration in this sector,” Kirk said. He turned to face McCoy. “Well, Doctor, I hear you saved my ship.”

McCoy grinned, pleased with himself despite all that had happened. “Well, Lieutenant Sulu did the heavy lifting, but yes. How’s that for an irrational, emotional ship’s surgeon, Mister Spock?”

Spock’s eyebrow went up. “Quite exemplary, I must admit, Doctor.”

“Well, there you go, Mister Spock. Sometimes I—”

Spock cut him off. “Only once you abandoned emotional thinking and performed a dispassionate, logical analysis did you devise a solution to the crisis. I had no idea that you had progressed so far under my tutelage.”

“Your—your tutelage?” McCoy sputtered.

Spock’s face was as impassive as ever. “I have been maneuvering your thought processes towards a more enlightened, and logical, worldview. It seems that I have exceeded beyond my expectations.”

McCoy looked to Jim for support, but the captain was smiling. “I think he’s got you, Bones.”

Of all the—! “You green-blooded computer! I save this ship, and you still can’t let me have the last word?”

“Doctor, I offer you my congratulations.” If McCoy hadn’t known better, he’d have called Spock’s expression downright smug.

Kirk laughed, slapping McCoy on the back. “Gentlemen, let’s get to auxiliary control. We’ve got a ship to run.” He walked out of the room, and they hurried after him. McCoy fell in behind Kirk to the right, Spock to the left.

For a moment, McCoy felt that he was being followed. Turning around quickly, he saw only an empty corridor. There was nothing there. He breathed out in relief.

“Something the matter, Bones?” Kirk asked.

“No,” he said, “I’m just getting older.”

Spock raised an eyebrow at McCoy as they followed the captain.

“You’re not thinking of retiring, are you?” asked Kirk in mock surprise.

McCoy restrained a smile. “And leave all four hundred of you with no one to look at your tonsils? Jim, you couldn’t get me off this ship if my life depended on it.”