Collision Course

by William Shatner

  A Vulcan enlisting in Starfleet, he thought. What an opportunity.

  “And now,” T’Rev said, “may I request of you some information that could also be considered off the record?”

  Mallory liked nothing better than to have a member of his oversight committee owe him a favor. “Of course.”

  “It also concerns Spock.”

  Mallory waited, intrigued.

  “Sarek reports that his son has deduced that a theft ring is in operation at the embassy.”

  For a moment, Mallory was unsure how to respond. “I’ve met with Spock. He said nothing about it.”

  “It is likely he considers it a Vulcan matter.”

  “That would make sense.”

  “Thank you,” T’Rev said politely. “Would Spock’s arrest on what are obviously false charges be connected to that operation?”

  Mallory waved away the server who approached the table to refill their tea. “We were originally interested in someone else. A human teenager we arrested with Spock. The technique he used to steal the staff car was identical to the one used to steal dilithium from the Academy.”

  T’Rev gave Mallory a searching look, as if trying to decide if he were telling the whole truth. “According to the latest briefing I have read, Starfleet believes the dilithium was stolen by the same criminal organization to whom our agents are selling the stolen artifacts.”

  Mallory nodded. “Because of your embassy’s ongoing assistance, we’re close to identifying all members of the group. We even know where they’re based. But we still don’t know for whom they’re working or why they’re stealing the strange assortment of items they’ve been stealing. What is clear is that they have a source of information inside Starfleet. Right now, we don’t know who or what that source is.”

  “Is there a possibility that this other teenager is connected to the criminal organization?”

  “Definitely,” Mallory said. “But not by way of criminal activity.”

  “How else could he be involved?”

  “I think it’s through a midshipman, Elissa Corso—the other teenager’s girlfriend. She’s the one all the evidence points to in the dilithium theft. I think what happened is that she was set up by the real thieves. What they didn’t count on is that her boyfriend—his name’s James Kirk—took it upon himself to prove her innocence. Somehow, he figured out how the dilithium was stolen, built a clever little device to demonstrate the technique, and then…things just got out of hand.”

  “In the final analysis, then, neither Spock nor this James Kirk deserved to be arrested.”

  Mallory smiled. “Spock? No. Kirk? He needs a good slap on the wrist. But he’s no criminal. Just confused. Just as Spock seems to be.”

  T’Rev took in a sharp breath as if he’d been insulted.

  “No disrespect, Representative. But perhaps the teenagers of our two species aren’t all that different when it comes to navigating the shores of adult responsibility.”

  “Perhaps,” T’Rev said, letting Mallory know this wasn’t a topic to be explored. “May I ask, then, why the two teenagers have been subjected to this treatment, when it is clear they do not deserve it?”

  “In confidence,” Mallory replied, letting T’Rev know this also was not a topic to be explored, “observation from a distance isn’t enough. We need a way into that organization—one that can’t be traced back to Starfleet.”

  T’Rev understood. “Because any Starfleet operation could be exposed by the organization’s unknown source.”

  Mallory nodded.

  “One last request.” T’Rev proceeded without waiting for Mallory to grant permission. “Leave Spock out of this.”

  “That I can’t do.”

  T’Rev did not accept defeat easily. “That is illogical. You recruited him for the operation, you can exclude him.”

  “Truth is,” Mallory said, “Spock recruited himself. If he had chosen to return to Vulcan, I wouldn’t have tried to stop him. But he’s elected to stay, and so, when it comes to his dealings with the criminals, Starfleet can’t be seen to be involved with him.”

  “Mr. Mallory, if young Spock comes to harm because of this operation, the relations between your world and mine could be severely harmed.”

  Mallory took the warning seriously. “I trust in your logic too much to think you would allow that to happen. You and I both know the threat the Federation is facing on the frontier. A threat that Vulcan analysts cannot predict. A threat that we cannot combat without committing atrocities. This is not a time for dissension in our ranks. If there is the slightest chance there’s a connection between these criminals we’re chasing on Earth and the warlord who’s attacking our colonies, then finding out who he is and what he wants is more important than interrupting the social life of two teenagers for a few weeks.”

  T’Rev gave Mallory a withering look. “Spock is Vulcan. He does not have a ‘social life’ to interrupt.”

  “That’s probably why he chose to stay on Earth.”

  T’Rev rose to his feet. The meeting was over. “Thank you for the tea, Mr. Mallory.”

  Mallory stood as well. “Thank you for your time,” he said formally.

  As the Vulcan walked away with regal bearing, Mallory sat down again and stared out at the Enterprise. In the days when he’d served on the Constitution, the first of this great ship’s class, life had seemed simpler. He’d never had to choose the lesser of two evils.

  Now he did. And he wondered what kind of a man—or a monster—that made him.

  30

  “I met your father out front.”

  Kirk turned his back on Elissa and the force field that confined him to the small, one-person holding cell. He’d been separated from Spock as soon as they were led from the courtroom. He half suspected the Vulcan had cut some kind of deal, leaving him the only one to get punished. And for what? Nothing.

  “He wants to see you, Jim.”

  “Well, I don’t want to see him, okay?”

  “They’ve canceled my honor board hearing.”

  Kirk turned around to face her. “You said they postponed it.”

  Elissa’s smile was brilliant. “They did, but my adviser just called me. He said someone from Starfleet Security showed up, presented the results of their own investigation, and the Academy dropped the charges against me.

  “Jim, they’re not even coming after me for not protecting my codes.”

  “That’s great.”

  “You could sound happier.”

  “C’mon, Elissa…The only reason I built the override and used it on the staff car was to prove you were innocent.” Kirk shook his head in frustration at how everything had gone wrong for him. “And then Starfleet Security waltzes in and makes it all go away today, instead of a week ago!” He slammed his hand against the wall beside the cell door.

  Elissa had the decency to look sorry. “I guess…I guess we both should’ve had more faith in the system.”

  Kirk didn’t trust himself to say anything in response to that garbage. “At least…it’s over. I’m happy for you.”

  Elissa went to reach for Kirk, remembered the force field. “Me, too, because Starfleet Training Center’s a lot closer than Sam’s place. We can take the monorail to visit each other…What?”

  Kirk just looked at her, and that told Elissa all she needed to know.

  “New Zealand?” Elissa’s eyes flashed.

  “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  “So do I. You’re running away again.”

  “What ‘again’?”

  “What about your father’s farm? You ran away from that, and him. And now you’re running away from me.”

  “I’m not,” Kirk protested.

  “Then why New Zealand?”

  “It’s the right decision for me.” Kirk couldn’t tell Elissa it was the only way out of his impossible situation. That it was the only way he could save his brother. Matthew had said it himself: If Kirk was locked up and sent to a penal colony, Sam
would be off the hook.

  “But not for me…us…” Elissa’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I thought…I thought this was actually going to work out for us, you know? You’d do great at STC. You could be an engineer…a pilot…anything you wanted to be.”

  “Not in Starfleet.”

  “Why not? Your life’s a mess! And here you are throwing away another chance to fix it!” Elissa moved as close as she could to the security bars. “Don’t you get it? That’s why you’re always so eager to help me, and Sam, and stray dogs, and any stranger that walks by. So you don’t have to help yourself.”

  Kirk reacted swiftly, overcome by frustration, by what he couldn’t tell her. “If my life’s a mess it’s because I tried to help you!”

  “Jim, your life’s a mess because you’re not in school. You’re doing odd jobs in the back of technology stores. You’re living on your brother’s old couch. No wonder your father’s worried about you. So am I. And you’re not letting any of us help you.”

  Kirk could see it in her eyes. Elissa was working herself up to leave. Not just this detention facility in the lower levels of Starfleet Headquarters—she was getting ready to leave him.

  “You know what’s really sad?” Elissa said. “You say you hate Starfleet, but that’s always going to be a part of me, and you knew that when you met me. The real story is you won’t admit how much you want what I have. It’s like I was your surrogate Starfleet.”

  Kirk knew there was nothing he could do now but end this conversation, and this was the perfect opening. “ ‘Was’? You’re telling me we’re over?”

  “You’re the one going away for two years. You told me.” Then she was gone, without a single look back.

  Kirk stood at the sealed door, thrumming with unrelieved frustration, until the one mindless thing he could do occurred to him. He punched his fist into the force field. Savagely.

  A minute later when he came back to consciousness, lying flat on the floor, he had a different kind of pain to deal with.

  “You hear what I’m saying, Georgie?”

  Sam flinched as he saw spittle fly from Griffyn’s mouth. He’d thought last night had been the worst experience of his life, but he was wrong. What was happening now was much worse.

  Last night he’d been forced at disruptor point into a storage locker on the lowest deck of the Pacific Rome. The cold of San Francisco Bay had seeped through the hull, and he’d felt as if he was going to freeze to death. There was no light, no food or water, and nothing but hard deck plating to sit on. But it was too cold to sit for long, and he had had no choice but to walk back and forth all night, three steps in each direction, trying to stay warm.

  Now he was in Griffyn’s office, his hands bound behind his back by power cable. Beside him were his guards—two Vulcans! Sam had no idea where they’d come from or why they were working with Griffyn. Dala was also in the small, cramped room. Her blood-red skinsuit was the same vivid color as her glistening, tied-back hair. And instead of a new genus of butterfly painted across her eyes, this time she’d colored her entire face Andorian blue. Somewhere behind him were Matthew and two other kids Sam didn’t know by name. The kids held lasers aimed at him.

  Griffyn stalked back and forth before them all, in a rage. Sam knew he was only moments away from being shot. But terrified as he was, he was also freezing, exhausted, and he knew he couldn’t think straight. He began to moan in fear.

  “Less than a day after your brother goes crawling back to Starfleet, his girlfriend’s cleared! No questions. No more investigation. You tell me why and you tell me now!” Griffyn slapped Sam’s face.

  The blow shocked Sam into a semblance of coherence. “Griff, please…I told you. Jimmy would never give you up. He never would.”

  Griffyn stared into Sam’s eyes like a jungle cat. “Face it, dead man—your brother had a choice to make: you or his girlfriend. Guess who he chose.”

  Sam trembled. “Jimmy wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. He wouldn’t. I swear.”

  “Then give me one reason why’d they clear Elissa Corso.”

  Sam gathered all his remaining strength. “Because…because she didn’t do anything. Starfleet can figure that stuff out.”

  Griffyn grabbed Sam by the throat with one huge hand. “I planted too much evidence against her for Starfleet to clear her just like that.”

  Sam began to gag, his vision blurred.

  Griffyn released him abruptly, and the Vulcan guards caught him, one to each side, kept him on his feet.

  “I’ll give you a reason, Georgie,” Griffyn growled. He strode over to the kids with lasers, stood between them. “Someone sold me out. And if it wasn’t little Jimmy…then it was someone else who’s standing here. Right here! A traitor with the guts to look me in the eyes and say he didn’t do it.” Griffyn suddenly pointed at Dala. “Or she didn’t do it.”

  Dala laughed dismissively. “Like I’m going to turn in the only guy who can get me off the dullest planet in the galaxy.”

  Griffyn mimicked her laugh. “Oh right, you only care about yourself.” He held out his hand to Matthew. “Disruptor,” he said.

  Sam felt his legs begin to shake, his knees lose their strength. The only reason he was still standing was because the Vulcans were bracing him.

  Matthew slapped the Klingon weapon into Griffyn’s hand. He set the dial without looking.

  “Now, Georgie, here, he cares about all sorts of things. Like his brother. Like doing the ‘right’ thing. As if he could…” Griffyn raised the disruptor. “I can’t have traitors in my organization.” He motioned with the weapon, back and forth. “You two, let him go.”

  Sam closed his eyes, all hope gone.

  But the Vulcans kept their grip on him.

  “I believe this one could still be a valuable source of information,” one said.

  “Yeah? Well, that’s why I’m the boss and you two are lackeys. Let him go so the chain reaction from this thing doesn’t spread.”

  The Vulcans stepped back and Sam fell to the floor on his knees, waiting.

  “Look up, Georgie,” Griffyn said. “You don’t want to miss this.”

  He fired.

  The Vulcan on Sam’s left blazed with incandescence, and as his form began to fall, he simply faded from existence. A moment later, the second Vulcan disrupted into nothingness.

  Dala waved her hand in front of her nose, making a face at the acrid smell of electricity and burned flesh. “Griffy, you really think those guys had the butlh to sell you out?”

  Griffyn rubbed the side of his face with the disruptor muzzle. “Who knows? I’m almost done here and it never hurts to tie up loose ends.”

  Griffyn bent down to Sam. “Does it, Georgie?”

  Sam nodded, still in shock.

  Griffyn casually gestured with the weapon as he continued. “Because I still need to talk to your little brother. Find out what Mallory said to him about Elissa. And I’m not going to be able to do that if he gets shipped off to New Zealand, am I?”

  Sam found his voice. “But Matthew said you’d let me go if Jimmy got sent away.”

  Griffyn jammed the disruptor against Sam’s cheek. “Matthew works for me and so do you, Georgie. Understood?”

  Sam nodded, breathing again only when the disruptor moved away from him.

  “So go talk some sense into Jimmy. He’s going to take the Starfleet option, so he can stay in town and I can talk with him.”

  “Okay, Griff. I’ll do that.” Sam hated the way his voice quavered, but he couldn’t steady it.

  “I know you will.” Griffyn nodded back at the kids with rifles. “Because you’re not your brother and there’s no place you can hide from me or them. And if you don’t do what I want, I’m not going to disintegrate you. I’m going to burn you. Slowly. That’s a promise.”

  Griffyn stood up, snapped his fingers at the kids with rifles. “Get him out of here.”

  Sam forced himself to his feet, allowed the two kids to untie his hands, es
cort him out of the office. Gradually, his breath came back to him, then his strength. He knew he was going to need both if he and Jimmy were to get away.

  He wasn’t stupid enough to lead his brother back here.

  He and Jimmy were loose ends. And before Griffyn left Earth, he’d kill them both.

  31

  “Morning, Stretch.”

  Spock had anticipated Kirk’s arrival in the joint holding cell, and so had decided not to meditate. With Kirk around, there seemed little point.

  “Good morning,” Spock said as the guards who had escorted Kirk to the cell resealed the door with force field and bars.

  Kirk tugged on the shoulder of his bright orange jumpsuit with the word PRISONER printed across the front, up the arms and legs, and across the back. “Snappy uniforms, huh?”

  “A sensible precaution for most prisoners.” Spock wore the same type of clothing. Of his personal belongings, he’d been allowed to keep only his IDIC medallion, which he wore beneath the jumpsuit. He was gratified, but surprised that the guards had not bothered to scan it, so its secret was undetected.

  Kirk sat down on the bench beside Spock. “Y’know, I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

  “Indeed.”

  “I figured they would’ve packed you up back to Vulcan by now.”

  Spock was impressed that Kirk had that much insight into interplanetary politics. “The opportunity was offered,” Spock said.

  “Why didn’t you take it?”

  Spock declined to get into family business with this troublesome human. “All things considered, I concluded remaining on Earth is a better choice for me at this time.”

  Kirk leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “Let me guess, you’re signing up for the STC.”

  “Correct.”

  Kirk laughed. “Sucker.”

  Spock wondered what a confection had to do with anything they’d been discussing, but had learned his lesson—asking this human to explain himself generally resulted in further confusion. Thus, he used his standard reply: “Indeed.”