Collision Course

by William Shatner

  Sam couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes, looked out at the rain. “I needed the money.”

  “Sam, I told you I can get a full-time job in one of those shops in New Union Square.”

  “Not that kind of money.”

  Kirk put his hand on his brother’s arm. “What kind of trouble are you in?”

  “Old trouble, Jimmy. Nothing new. Just some old debts to pay back.”

  “And you’re in debt to this guy…this criminal.”

  Sam nodded unhappily.

  “Say I give him an override, would that cover what you owe him?”

  Sam had never felt so conflicted. He’d made so many bad choices that he couldn’t see a way out this time. The last decent option left to him was to keep his kid brother from following in his footsteps.

  “Jimmy, you can’t do that.”

  “Sure I can. Look, Starfleet already has my override. For sure, they’ll take it apart, see how I did it, add a new layer of security to their low-level stuff, and then it’ll be useless. So, if I give the specs to your friend, there’s no harm done. He gets something he thinks is valuable, and I get to find out the name of the person who’s causing all this trouble for Elissa. I don’t have a problem with that.”

  The rain stopped. Sam checked the readout on the controls. Ten-thirty, sharp. “Okay,” he said, hands tight on the controls. “Just as long as you know what you’re getting into.”

  Kirk’s forehead creased. “Is there something else I should know?”

  “Naw.” Sam switched the car into ground mode. “It’ll just be a simple trade.”

  Kirk settled back in his seat, and Sam loved his brother for being the one person in the world who trusted him, and hated himself for not telling him that was exactly what he shouldn’t do.

  Sam drove toward the docks.

  Kirk whistled in appreciation as his brother drove the car through the holographic screen and into the cargo deck of the Pacific Rome. “Very nice…”

  “Try not to look around too much,” Sam cautioned him. “They’re a pretty jumpy lot.”

  Kirk saw five guards approach the car with laser rifles leveled. “Got you.” Then Kirk sat forward. “Sam, they’re…kids.”

  There were a few hundred colonists at the storehouse by the time fourteen-year-old Jimmy Kirk reached it. Dusk had given way to night and the unfamiliar stars of Tarsus IV shone through the cold air, forming constellations he didn’t know.

  “Is this where Governor Kodos is?” Jimmy shivered violently. All he had was his light jacket. Matthew and the boys with him had heavier parkas, and gloves to keep their hands from freezing as they gripped their laser rifles.

  “Somewhere,” Matthew said. He was looking around, past the clusters and knots of colonists: men, women, families with children. A line of sorts was forming by a refueling station. Jimmy saw floodlights there, tables set up with computer terminals. The adults who seemed to be in charge wore red bandanas, like Matthew’s and the other boys’. They were scanning colonists’ hands and eyes, handing out colored cards. For rationing, Jimmy thought. Though he didn’t see any food.

  “We need to go over there,” Matthew said.

  Jimmy looked where his friend pointed, toward a smaller table set up under a single floodlight by the loading dock of one of the storehouses. There were two older boys and a girl working at it. Jimmy recognized one of the boys: Griffyn. He was nineteen, so he was allowed to operate flyers and usually drove the visiting kids around on leisure days. His parents had one of the big farms in the valley. They even had horses. Jimmy had ridden one of them.

  “Here he is,” Matthew said as they approached the table.

  Griffyn looked at Jimmy as if he were one of the horses, as if he were being inspected.

  “Jimmy Kirk, right?” he asked Matthew.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Matthew and the other boys hung their rifles on their shoulders and stood in a line like soldiers at attention.

  Griffyn tapped the computer terminal on the table. “You’ve got a good file, Kirk. Prime qualities. It’s what the gov likes to see. You’re on the list.”

  “What does that mean?” Jimmy asked, puzzled.

  “It means you’re going to be okay,” Matthew said quickly. “Food. Parka. Everything you need.”

  “That’s great.” Jimmy’s teeth chattered as he spoke. He didn’t want to appear ungrateful, but why wouldn’t he be getting everything he needed? Everyone knew food was going to be tight for the next few weeks, but the fungus hadn’t ruined any parkas as far as he knew.

  Griffyn held out a red bandana. “Are you on board?”

  Jimmy stared at him without understanding.

  Griffyn scowled at him, impatient. “Matt, explain it to the kid.”

  “You just got to help out, okay?” Matthew dropped his voice almost to a whisper. “There’s not as much food as everyone thought. The fungus got into even the processed stuff. So things are going to get tense, you know. The governor needs help to keep everyone under control.”

  Kirk looked around at the other kids with their rifles. “How do we do that?”

  “We protect the food we do have. Do what the governor says. Round up any troublemakers. That sort of thing. Sort of like protectors.”

  Jimmy nodded to Matthew. That all made sense. “Okay, sure. I’m on board.”

  Griffyn threw the bandana at him, and Matthew caught it. “He’s going to need a coat, too.”

  Griffyn said something to the girl, and she hopped up onto the loading dock and went into the storehouse.

  Matthew helped Kirk tie the bandana around his neck like the other boys. Kirk’s fingers were shaking too much to tie the knot.

  Kirk thanked his friend, then asked the most important question he could think of. “How about coats and stuff for the kids in my cabin?”

  Matthew shook his head. “The governor checked their files. Nobody’s prime. You’re the only one.”

  “Who’ll take care of them if I don’t?”

  “Don’t worry. Someone will. Maybe us. Maybe one of the other teams. The way the governor’s working it, everyone’s going to be taken care of. You just have to do what you’re told, now.” Matthew leaned closer. “And don’t ask so many questions, okay? If Griffyn doesn’t like you, he can take you off the list.”

  Just then the girl came out of the storehouse with a parka and gloves and even boots for him to put on. Almost immediately, Jimmy felt warmer. And guilty. He hoped the kids from his cabin would get theirs soon.

  Then Griffyn came to him with a laser rifle. “You know how to use this?”

  “Of course,” Jimmy said. All the kids visiting Tarsus IV had been given lessons in essential farm skills to protect livestock from predators. Not that there was any livestock left in the colony. When the fungus had struck the animal feed stores, the ostriches and transcattle had all been slaughtered. But it was already too late. The fungus had already entered the livestock’s systems and made the meat toxic.

  Griffyn shoved the rifle into his hands. “Good. Then here’s your first ration.” He gave Jimmy a concentrate bar, too, and laughed when Jimmy shoved nearly the entire bar into his mouth at once. “There’ll be more when your team’s finished their next assignment.”

  Jimmy chewed vigorously and swallowed hard as Matthew stood to attention like a soldier again. “What are your orders, sir?”

  Griffyn grinned—he obviously liked the way Matthew behaved toward him. “Get back to the kid’s cabin, take care of the others there. Should be twenty-three left.”

  Jimmy felt proud. His team was going to take care of the kids in his cabin. Right away.

  “All of them?” Matthew asked, frowning.

  Griffyn’s grin vanished. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No, sir.”

  Griffyn touched Matthew on his shoulder. “That’s what I like to hear.” He looked over at Jimmy. “Just be sure your friend here does his part. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir.”r />
  Jimmy felt certain there was something else going on that Matthew and Griffyn hadn’t told him about. Why would anyone think he wouldn’t want to help the other kids in his cabin?

  “Ready to go back?” Matthew asked.

  “Yeah, but—”

  All heads turned toward the main tables as a shriek interrupted Kirk’s question about picking up supplies first.

  A young mother with a toddler in her arms was screaming something at two teenagers in red bandanas.

  The teenagers were trying to pull the child from her and she was fighting back.

  Jimmy’s eyes widened. Why weren’t the other adults there stopping them?

  Then he saw the reason.

  Other teenagers in red bandanas had rifles aimed at them, preventing anyone from coming forward.

  Suddenly, the young mother broke away and began running madly across the lot between the storehouses. Jimmy could see that her path would take her right past Griffyn’s table.

  “Take her down, Matthew.”

  The coolly delivered instruction didn’t register for Jimmy, not even when he saw his friend toggle his rifle off safety mode, heard the power cell ramp up.

  The woman was fleeing for her life, her child’s legs kicking out. Soon she came close enough for Jimmy to see the tears glistening on her face. Each breath escaped her in a cloud of vapor.

  All she cried out was, “No…no…no…”

  Then a red beam of energy stitched the darkness between the muzzle of Matthew’s rifle and her head.

  She hit the ground with all her forward momentum, crumpling into a ball and rolling once as the child flew from her arms, wailing.

  Another teenager raced up to the woman’s body, fired another beam into her, then almost casually shot the toddler, too.

  Jimmy was too shocked to cry out. He could barely catch his breath.

  His friend, Matthew, was expressionless as he lowered his rifle. But he smiled when Griffyn tapped his shoulder with a bar of food.

  “Good shot,” Griffyn said. He passed out bars to the rest of Matthew’s team, held out a last one for Jimmy. “Any questions?” he asked.

  Jimmy was fourteen, scared to death, and surrounded by lasers.

  He took the food.

  He asked no questions.

  26

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

  Kirk knew that voice. He gulped down a deep breath to steady himself. “Sam, who are these people?”

  But even before the doors to their rental car were jerked open, Kirk knew the speaker’s identity. His throat tightened.

  Sam got out of the car, silent.

  The moment Kirk stepped out his side, he was shoved against the vehicle with a rifle muzzle under his chin.

  “Jimmeee.” The word came out in a burst of laughter, and Kirk twisted his head to see the person who could not be here, but was.

  Three years older but easily recognizable. Matthew Caul. From Tarsus IV.

  “I heard you got away, but there were so many stories going around…so many lies about Kodos and the teams…. How’re you doing, pal?”

  Matthew pushed aside the rifle that pinned Kirk to the car, but three other rifles still kept Kirk in their sights.

  “Not going to say hello to your best friend? The guy who kept you alive on T-IV?”

  Kirk fought down the desire to tell Matthew what he really felt. “You also tried to kill me.”

  “Only after you blew your chance. Your choice. Your fault. Wanna do something about it now?”

  Kirk knew if he took a step forward, he’d be cut down. He focused on his mission. He had promised to help Elissa, and that’s why he was here. So he only had one option.

  “Yeah,” he said with a rueful smile. “I really did blow it, didn’t I?”

  His former friend stared at him, awaiting more.

  Kirk obliged him. “You guys were right, and I couldn’t see it. I mean, there’s no way the governor could’ve known the Vulcan ships were already on their way. Communications were down.”

  Matthew nodded, still judging his former friend’s sincerity.

  So Kirk went all the way. “With what he knew at the time, I figure Kodos did the right thing. It was a tough situation. It needed a tough solution.”

  Matthew chewed the inside of his cheek. “So you’re okay with everything?”

  Kirk forced himself to look apologetic. “Are you okay with me? I almost got you shot up by those Starfleet goons.”

  Matthew shot a glance at Sam. “He’s your brother. You buying any of this?”

  Kirk kept his face from betraying his concern. Could he count on Sam? Would his brother know enough to play along?

  Sam shrugged. “He doesn’t talk about Tarsus IV all that much. But when he does, yeah, he knows he screwed up. He keeps saying he wishes he’d gone off with his friends there instead of being shipped back home.”

  “You finally came to your senses, huh?” Matthew asked.

  Kirk chose his strategy. “I’ve got my own thing going now,” he said with mock bravado.

  “Big deal. You’re stealing Starfleet cars.” Matthew stopped and put a hand to his ear, then turned away, as if listening to something he didn’t want to share. Kirk guessed he had a privacy earpiece, like the one Mallory had worn.

  Mindful of the three rifles trained on him, Kirk risked letting his gaze wander. He noted a wall of angled windows that overlooked the main cargo deck. A metal staircase led up to a door beyond them.

  The lights behind the windows were out, so Kirk could only see distorted reflections of the deck in their dark surfaces. But there was someone up there watching. He knew it.

  Matthew turned back to him, no longer listening to unheard voices. “I hear you need to break into a Starfleet computer system.”

  Kirk relaxed. Someone above Matthew had accepted his cover story. He could move to the next stage of his plan. “Sam says you have an in.”

  Matthew gave him a skeptical once-over. “It’s going to cost.”

  “Sam also says you could use more Starfleet cars,” Kirk offered. “I can give you the plans for my override.”

  “Just give us the override.”

  Kirk knew Mallory would be holding on to the only one he had, so he continued his bluff. “My first one had a few problems. I’ll make you a new one. It’ll work better.”

  Matthew put a hand to his earpiece again. “How long?”

  “A day to get the parts, a day to build it.”

  Matthew listened, then nodded. “We don’t have the time for that.”

  Kirk hadn’t expected his offer to be refused, suppressed a flash of panic. “Come on, two days? Then you can lift all the Starfleet cars you want.”

  “There’s something else you can do for us.”

  “Like what?”

  “There’s a guy at Starfleet we think you know. Eugene Mallory.”

  Kirk kept his face blank. “So?”

  “We’re interested in one of his investigations.”

  “Which one?”

  Matthew ignored his question. “We need an inside guy we can trust.”

  Kirk glanced at Sam, seeking insight, but his brother looked just as confused as Kirk felt.

  “If I go anywhere near Starfleet,” Kirk said slowly, “they’ll put me in custody.”

  “That’s perfect,” Matthew said. “We know all about Elissa and her honor board hearing. We know why you want access to the Academy’s computers.”

  Kirk looked back at Sam in surprise. How much had he revealed? And why?

  Matthew sneered at Sam. “Forget him. It’s not as if we need your brother to tell us what’s going on at the Academy.” He studied Kirk as he made his proposition. “What we want from you are the details of the dilithium theft investigation.”

  That’s when Kirk understood exactly what was going on here.

  Matthew’s gang had stolen the dilithium.

  “If I show up on Mallory’s doorstep,” Kirk said, wishing he cou
ld punch Matthew’s teeth down his throat, “they’ll put me in detention. What could I do in there?”

  “You’ll still see Mallory and he’ll talk to you. Then in three days you’ll have your hearing, they’ll probably find you guilty of something. You’ll appeal, get released, and you’ll come back here and tell us everything he said.”

  Matthew stopped again, hand to his earpiece. “In exchange, we’ll arrange unlimited access to the Academy’s computers for, say, an hour.”

  “What if they lock me up and send me to a penal colony?”

  Matthew seemed amused by the possibility. “That’s one way to get your brother off the hook. But that’s not the way Starfleet works.”

  Kirk was backed into a corner. The only thing to do was to turn himself in, tell Mallory everything, and lead Starfleet back here for the dilithium. Elissa would be cleared and he’d have the satisfaction of seeing at least one of Kodos’s enforcers face justice.

  He nodded. “Okay. An hour will do it. Sam can drive me over to Starfleet Headquarters and I’ll turn myself in right now.”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Matthew said casually. “I forgot to mention the details.” He swung some kind of alien hand weapon up from a holster and shot Sam with an energy beam.

  “Sam!” Kirk was thrown back against the car with a rifle butt rammed in his stomach.

  He doubled over, dropped to his knees, gasping for air as Matthew grabbed his hair, forced his head back, stared down at him.

  “Your brother’s only stunned this time. But we don’t want you to have any smart ideas, so we’re tucking him away in a safe place…until you come back with what we need to know. And if you don’t deliver”—Matthew held up the disruptor—“this has five settings past stun, and the top one won’t even leave ashes behind. Your choice, Jimmy.”

  He held the weapon’s emitter to Kirk’s forehead.

  “You going to do the right thing?”

  27

  Spock had finally achieved the second foundation of inner breath when he heard the holding cell’s force field power down and the security bars slide open.