Disclaimer:

This story is based in the "Star Trek" universe. The use of anything related to "Star Trek" in this series is not intended to infringe upon the rights of Paramount Pictures. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.

All other content or otherwise are works of my own imagination. All events are fictitious in nature.

Any similarities to persons living, dead, or otherwise are purely coincidental.

This story contains strong themes of homosexual content, if this offends you in any way, please refrain from reading further. If you are not of legal age to read this, please leave now.

A/N: I'd like to thank TalonRider for editing this chapter. His skill and tiresome effort applied to my work is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

A Vulcan’s Love
-By Emulated

Chapter 15: Instigation

The main lighting came back on overhead, along with the computer consoles.

“I have them running off the main deflectors emergency power.” Said H’Jan as he walked over towards the console, “We have direct computer control, forcefields and the door works.”

I nodded, “Romulans. It must be the Romulans.” I said, looking at T’Luk.

“Or someone working for them.” Added H’Jan, as he tapped at the display.

“Even so, I do not understand how they could have got onboard, let alone remain undetected.” Said T’Luk.

“They must have had help.” I replied.

“Are you suggesting that someone onboard Titan is working with them?” Asked T’Luk.

“It’s possible.” I replied.

“Power is still out across the deck, along with the backup security systems.” He pulled out his tricorder, “The four intruders are still heading this way.”

“They’re coming for that.” I remarked, pointing at the generator.

T’Luk looked at the generator, “I concur, it is likely, considering their position and heading.”

“H’Jan, are there any security teams between the intruders and us?” I asked.

He tapped on the display, “No.”

“How long till the intruders get here?”

“If they meet no resistance, about a minute.” He replied, “I’m going to try to alert security, get a team sent down here.” He paused, “But they’ve locked down every entrance and exit to this deck. Transporters are down, no one can beam in.” He said, “And communications are out.”

T’Luk spoke up, “Where is the nearest weapons locker?”

H’Jan thought for a moment, “Just outside the door, on the wall opposite.”

T’Luk nodded and walked over to the door, “Kai.” He beckoned. I walked over to him as he stepped out. The entire corridor was pitch black, the only light available was coming from the open door behind us. T’Luk stepped over to the opposite wall and keyed in a code onto an access panel. The section of the wall spun around revealing five phaser rifles. He unclipped one and threw it across to me, before unclipping one for himself and another one for H’Jan. I charged my rifle and faced it towards the far end.

H’Jan appeared at the door, reading from the tricorder, “They are just around the corner!”

I glanced at T’Luk who had sealed the locker before he grabbed my arm, pulling me back into main deflector control room. Once we were inside, T’Luk spoke aloud, “Computer, erect a level ten force field around this room and seal the door.” The sound of the locks engaging, along with the force field being established could be heard. “Only unlock with my authorisation.” He finished, causing the computer to chirp in response.

“They’re in the corridor.” Said H’Jan, watching the display.

I looked at the generator. It was in direct view of the door, we had to move it in case they managed to get through. I walked over and began unplugging the connections. T’Luk looked at me questioningly.

“I’m gonna hide it.” I said, unplugging the last lead. I tried to pull at the unit, but it wouldn’t move, it was too heavy. I looked over at T’Luk, “I could really use a Vulcan right about now.”

He swung the phaser over his shoulder and grabbed the other side of the generator. H’Jan found the anti-grav trolley and pulled it alongside. We were about to lay the generator onto the unit before we heard the computer deny entry. We had to move fast.

“Lets lay it down.” I said, trying to pivot the generator again. At first it didn’t budge, but it suddenly seemed weightless when T’Luk pressed against it. We slowly lowered it onto the anti-grav unit, allowing H’Jan to activate it.

“Where should I put it?” He asked, looking around.

I glanced towards an alcove, “Over there, you stay with it and take up a position.” I looked to the opposite side of the room, “T’Luk.” I called out, as I headed towards a monitoring station. It was about the size of a wardrobe and contained many flashing lights, all indicating the status of the main deflector. There was more than enough room for us to take cover behind it.

As soon as we crouched down, the sound of the force field could be heard deactivating, “What the hell?” I called out. I glanced across at H’Jan, who was about 5 metres away. He glanced down at the tricorder.

“FUCK! They have our access codes! They’re using the Captain’s personal code to lower the shield!” He replied, cursing.

I increased my phaser’s setting to the highest stun setting. I wasn’t taking any chances.

“They’re having trouble with the door.” Called out H’Jan, “T’Luk restricted access, only he can open it.”

I turned to T’Luk, “They’re probably gonna blast it open.”

“Indeed.”

I looked over at H’Jan, “Where the hell are the security teams?”

He shook his head, “I don’t know.”

I thought over it for a moment before I heard a screeching sound coming from the door. I peaked around the corner and saw a small incision being drawn around it. They were cutting their way in. I looked over at H’Jan, “Get over here with that.” I called out.

H’Jan wheeled it over and crouched down next to us, hiding behind the maintenance unit, “What are we gonna do?” He asked.

“I’m not sure.” I replied.

I jerked violently when I heard someone knocking in front of us. I looked at the glass wall and jumped when I saw a figure standing there. It took me a few seconds to realise that it was Casey, along with another security officer. They were standing on one of the small lifts that go up and down the side of the deflector, passing through the different decks. He tapped against the glass again and shouted something. I couldn’t make out his words because of the thickness of the glass and the screeching behind us.

“What’s he saying?” Said H’Jan.

“I believe he wants us to take cover.” Replied T’Luk.

I pointed toward the alcove and Casey nodded. I faced the other two, “Come on, we’ll go over there.”

We stood up and quickly rushed over there, we couldn’t see much, but I could make out Casey applying something to the glass. A few seconds passed before I heard a quick ‘whipping’ sound. I peeked around the corner and saw Casey stepping through a hole in the glass. He trained his phaser toward the incision being cut in the door, noticing that the intruders were half way through, before he rushed over to us.

“Quickly, you need to move. Now!” He ordered.

I didn’t argue. We ran over toward the hole in the glass. H’Jan stepped through ahead of me, but I stopped and turned around, “We need to take that with us!” I said, pointing to the generator.

Casey shook his head, “We don’t have enough time, we have to move!” He shouted, while taking up position in the room, alongside the other officer.

I was about to argue, but T’Luk tugged on my arm and pulled me through the hole. We stepped through the makeshift gap and stood on the lift. H’Jan pressed a button which quickly dropped us down to the next deck. As the room came into view, we noticed there were at least 30 armed security personnel queuing up to use the lift, headed up by Commander Clark. As soon as we stepped off, five officers stepped on and rode back up. I watched at the ensuing action before A Lieutenant pulled on my arm,

“You have to get out of here.” She said.

I nodded at her, before I glanced forward and followed T’Luk and H’Jan out of the room and into the corridor outside. Given that everyone was in the room behind us, there was little going on in the corridor, except for the doctor and a medical team. He walked over to us.

“Are you guys ok?”

We nodded, “Yeah.”

I peaked back through the doors and watched as the empty lift arrived again, ready to take up five more officers. I’m sure the intruders had no idea that there was going to be so many weapons trained on them when they stepped through the door. I could still hear them cutting through the door on the above deck, before a loud bang could be heard. Several seconds later, it sounded like there was a small war going on up there. There were people shouting, phasers discharging. It was all very disturbing, considering we couldn’t see a thing, and that Casey was still up there.

I glanced back into the room to see more officers going up the lift. There was no way that the intruders would win, they couldn’t take out those many officers. Then again, that wasn’t their motive. Given their destination, it was clear that they were there to take out the generator. I cursed aloud. The generator. We didn’t have enough time to bring it with us, but at least it wasn’t in plain sight of the door. Saying that, it could have been easily hit during the crossfire.

I turned to H’Jan and T’Luk. They were doing the same thing that I was, taking in the whole situation while staying out of the way.

After what seemed like hours, the siege finally stopped. For a few seconds, the silence seemed deafening. A small security team ran up to the doctor, “Power’s back on upstairs, we’re going to escort you up there.”

He nodded, “What are the casualties?”

“We’re not sure yet, Sir.”

The doctor nodded again and turned to us, “You three have just become nurses, lets go.”

I stared at him for a few seconds before I nodded quickly and followed him across the hall and into a turbolift. As the doors closed I glanced up at T’Luk. He was looking at me with his same usual expression, but I could tell that he was somewhat bothered by what had happened, I could feel it. H’Jan on the other hand didn’t look as good. He was wide-eyed and somewhat slow to respond. As for me, I felt very little; perhaps it was shock.

The lift stopped and we stepped out. To our left were four Romulans. They were lying lifelessly on the floor, but seeing as there were at least ten armed personnel surrounding them, I assumed that they had been stunned. The doctor stepped through the cut in the door ahead of me. I followed him looking closely at the scorch marks on the floor and surrounding bulkheads from the phaser fire.

I glanced around the room. It was as though a photon torpedo had exploded in there. The consoles that we had worked on minutes ago were completely destroyed. The bank of deflector monitoring equipment and regulation systems were equally as shot. The Titan wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

I got my mind to stop focusing on the objects and equipment, and started looking for anyone injured. The doctor was scanning someone who had been shot in the chest. I eyed the blue blood. He was Bolian. He was still alive, but his wound was serious. He’d need medical attention immediately. I walked further to the rear of the room, and noticed someone propped up against the wall.

“Casey!” I called out, rushing toward him.

He opened his eyes and smiled meekly up at me, “Hey.” He called out.

“Hey. How are you?” I asked.

He frowned, “I’ve been better.” He glanced at his arm, “Hurts like hell.” I looked at the wound. He had suffered a direct hit on his left arm. His uniform was ripped to shreds, revealing his seared flesh. A sight like that should have made me lose control of my stomach, yet for some reason, I didn’t feel queasy at all. But instead of worrying about my reaction, I needed some help for Casey.

“I need someone over here!” I called out.

I heard a woman call back, “I’m coming.”

I looked back at Casey, “You were very brave.” I smiled at him, “And you saved our lives.” I said, telling the truth. There was no way that we would have stood a chance against them.

He shook his head, “Just doing my job.” He looked over to his right, “Well, not good enough.”

I looked over to where he was looking. Laying on its side, near the middle of the room was the generator. It’s outer casing had been blown off, its connection ports were melted beyond recognition. It was useless. There was no way it was salvageable. I opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off when this nurse quickly rushed over, “Casey? Are you ok?” She asked, looking concerned. It was clear that she knew him.

“You’re the nurse, you tell me.” He responded with a smile.

She shook her head at his sarcasm, reached down and grabbed her tricorder. She read the display, “You have third degree burns…your bones are ok, for the most part.”

“Must be all that milk I drink, eh?” He said, winking at her.

“This isn’t funny, Casey.” She remarked, pressing a hypospray to his neck, “This should stop the pain. But we’ve gotta get you to sickbay.” She said, tapping her combadge and requesting a beam out. I watched as she placed down the hypospray before she gripped onto his hand lovingly.

I felt a tingle flow through me then, I realised that they were together, as a couple. Casey hadn’t mentioned that he was seeing anyone. I wondered how long that had been going on.

The nurse turned and faced me, “Thank you, Ensign.”

I nodded at her as they were both enveloped in a blue, sparkling hue and beamed down to sickbay. I felt someone squeeze on my shoulder. I looked up to see T’Luk standing there. I stood up and pulled him into a hug. He ran his hand across my back softly.

“Come on, Kai.” He said, as he pulled back.

I nodded and followed him out of the room.

*

“This is the Captain. Following the events that recently occurred, I have decided to implement a level 4 lockdown of the ship. All crew, other then officers with a rank of Lieutenant or above, are to immediately return to their quarters and remain there until further notice.” Riker paused, “Under that regulation, the Titan is to remain stationary until Starfleet command sends out a ship.” He paused again, “Starfleet is aware of the situation and have dispatched two ships under the command of Starfleet Intelligence. When they arrive within the hour, they will perform a complete sweep of the ship and question every member of the crew. I expect everyone to cooperate with their investigation to the full. I will keep you apprised. Riker out.”

I looked over at T’Luk, “Well, I guess that answers that.”

“Indeed.”

It had been almost two hours since the attack. During that time, T’Luk, H’Jan and myself had been in the mess hall. We didn’t do a lot, mostly pondering over what had happened or rather, what will happen now. We had also heard from Casey that the doctor had repaired his arm, but he wasn’t expected to return to duty for the next week, so his arm would have enough time to heal completely. We had also heard that no one was killed, so it seemed that the Bolian I noticed earlier was on the way to recovery too.

“It’s not like we could go anywhere anyway.” Said H’Jan. “With the deflector out of whack, warp travel is out of the question.” He finished, standing up from the table.

“Still, now we have to let Intelligence come over here and pick this place apart.” I replied as we headed for the doors.

“That is true, however, there are many questions that need answered, including how the intruders managed to get onboard.” Replied T’Luk.

H’Jan shook his head, “Unless they beamed through our shields, I don’t see how they managed it. We’ve been at yellow alert for over a week. So they could have been here for ages.”

I shuddered at the thought of those terrorists having been aboard for that long. All that time. And we had no idea. No idea at all.

*

I sat back against my sofa and closed my eyes. I exhaled deeply and relaxed. The last few hours had been very demanding to say the least. I was glad to find a moment to chill. I sipped some of my drink again and leaned back. I had arrived in my quarters about a half hour ago, after we received the order to return to our quarters over the Comm system.

I exhaled again and began to wonder about T’Luk. I wondered what he was doing, right now, in his quarters. I wish I could’ve been with him. We wouldn’t even have to do anything special, as long as he’d be with me, I’d be satisfied.

I opened my eyes and jerked slightly, I couldn’t recognise where I was. Not only that, but I was standing. I seemed to be standing in a white, cloud-like place. The floor was pure white, and there didn’t appear to be any walls. I turned to my left and saw T’Luk sitting cross-legged on the floor. He appeared to be meditating. I walked over to him, suddenly realising that my drink was no longer in my hand.

“T’Luk?” I called out.

He opened his eyes and looked up, “Kai?” He said, seemingly surprised that I was there.

“Is this real?” I looked at him, “Are you real?”

“I am real.”

I stared at him for a moment before I sat down opposite him, “Where are we?”

“This is where I go in my mind when I meditate.”

“So, you’re meditating?”

He nodded.

“Then what am I doing here?”

“What was the last thing you were doing?”

I thought for a moment, “I was sitting down, relaxing, and…” I paused, “Thinking about you.”

“The bond.”

“What?”

“I believe this is part of the bond.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Yeah?”

He nodded.

“How come this hasn’t happened before?”

He was silent for a moment, “Last night must have…completed the connection.”

“I see.” I paused, “So, I’m in my quarters, and you’re in your quarters, yet we’re telepathically linked together?

He nodded, “Yes.”

I smiled at him, “This is kinda cool.”

“Indeed.”

I looked at him for a moment, before I reached out and touched him. I could feel him, so he was physically there, in a sense, “Just seeing if you’re really here.”

He reached out and touched me.

I grinned at him, “This is cool.” I thought for a moment, “So does this happen to all Vulcans?”

“The bond does manifest once a Vulcan mates, however it does so at varying degrees.” He paused, ”I believe that what we are experiencing is quite rare, even among two Vulcans.”

“Rare? So is it just a random thing? We just happen to have a strong link?”

He shook his head, “The strength of the link is dependant on the mutual affection between the people involved.”

“Oh.”

“The fact that I am able to experience a small amount of emotion may have contributed to that.” He said.

“Or my love for you is strong enough for the both of us.” I replied, smiling.

“I can feel it.”

“Feel what?” I asked, cocking my head.

“Your love, right now.”

“Really?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

“Wow.” I said, looking at him, “I hope it doesn’t bother you.” I joked.

“Not at all, it is very…pleasing.”

I crawled over and sat next to him, placing an arm around his shoulders, “Pleasing?”

He looked up at me, “Very pleasing.”

I giggled and stroked his ear, “You’re so adorable. I can’t help but love you.”

“I love you too, Kai.”

“I know, I can feel it too.” I whispered as I held him close, feeling his warmth. It was a very weird experience. While I was physically still in my quarters, I had no recollection of it. In fact, it felt as though we were on a holodeck. Everything seemed so real. Like I was physically with T’Luk, not just mentally. I could feel him, hear him, even smell him. But then I suddenly heard my door chime. I felt a warm tingle before I ‘returned’ back to my physical self in my quarters. Evidently, the link was susceptible to external stimuli. I stood up and walked over to the door, opening it.

There were three men standing there. One of them was standing in front, while the other two stood behind, carrying phaser rifles. I opened my mouth to reply, but the man in front raised a hand, “It’s just a precaution, do not worry.” He said calmly. He spoke with a smooth Australian accent, almost hypnotic. I stared at him for a few seconds before he spoke again, “You are next to be questioned, are you ready?”

I nodded, “Yes, I’m ready.”

*

“Do you work for the Romulan government?”

I raised my eyebrows at the first question, “No.”

“Are you a member of the Romulan terrorist cell?” He asked. He wasn’t the same guy who collected me from my quarters, that guy looked friendly. This guy was someone different. He had short black hair and dark eyes, making it impossible for me to tell if he was Human or Betazoid. I wouldn’t have called him good looking, but his looks were quite distinguished, with a chiselled jaw and a well-built body. All in all he looked quite intimidating, obviously the reasoning for him being the person to question us.

“No.”

The officer nodded, but continued to look into my eyes. His piercing stare was making me question my innocence. While I knew that I had done nothing wrong, and that I was no way involved in what happened, he was making me feel like I was guilty. Like he could read my mind and sniff out any bad or illegal action that I had ever done.

“It’s noted that you’re romantically involved with another crew member.”

I frowned. Starfleet had no right to snoop into my private life, so I wasn’t sure about the nature of the question. Actually it wasn’t a question, so I remained silent.

“Ensign T’Luk.” He continued.

I wasn’t sure what he wanted, as he was just stating facts, not asking questions.

“How long have you been romantically involved with Ensign T’Luk?”

I shook my head, I wasn’t doing this, “I fail to see what this has t-“

“Please answer the question.”

“No.”

The officer blinked. “What was that?”

“I said No. I’d gladly assist you in with the investigation, but I’m not answering any private questions.”

“Has Ensign T’Luk displayed any suspicious behaviour?”

I glared at him, “What?! No.” I paused, “Wait actually, I think he had some juice with his breakfast this morning.”

The officer stared at me.

I leaned forward, “He usually drinks tea.”

The officer looked at me blankly, “Ok, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to tell me exactly what happened from your point of view.” He paused, “Think you can manage that, Ensign?”

I smiled at him, “Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Now please begin from the moment you detected the cloaked Warbird. I believe you were in astrometrics at the time.”

I nodded, “Yes, I was in astrometrics when we detected the Warbird.”

“Go on.”

“I was on duty with Ensign T’Luk and Crewman Foster. At first we couldn’t determine the nature of the contact, so Foster initiated a detailed scan.”

The officer glanced briefly at a PADD, “Wasn’t Lieutenant Anders also in astrometrics?”

I nodded, “Yes, he arrived just after we detected the contact, but he left just before the generator went down.”

“Do you know where he went?”

“He went to tell the Captain about the discovery.”

“I do not understand, why would he have to tell the Captain in person?”

I shook my head, “I’m not sure. He told me not to inform the Captain via the Comm system, he said he’d report the finding directly.”

“And after he left, the generator went down?” He questioned.

“Yes, less than a minute after he left the room, the generator malfunctioned.”

“What happened next?”

I thought for a moment, “Lieutenant Anders called over the Comm and asked what happened. We wasn’t sure at the time, so he said that he’d head back.” I paused.

“Go on, Ensign.”

“Once he returned, he told Crewman Foster to go to engineering, then he sent Ensign T’Luk and myself to the generator. He said he’d stay and monitor our progress.”

“Was he alone in astrometrics.”

“Yes.”

“So it is possible that he disrupted the power flow from there, which allowed the stowaways to walk about undetected, until he cut off the power?”

My mouth dropped, “What?”

“He had ample time and resources to complete those tasks.”

“Whoa! Just because he was left alone in astrometrics, it doesn’t mean that he’s responsible for everything that happened.” I said.

The officer pressed a button on the PADD before he pushed it toward me, “Read.”

I looked at the device and read the screen. A shiver flowed down my spine. The display was reading a log of all console requests sent out of astrometrics. A request was made to access the security and power systems on deck 15.

“So Anders is responsible for the power being cut off?”

“It is a succinct possibility, yes.”

I thought for a moment. This was all quite far-fetched to me, yet all the evidence did support that claim, “If you knew all of this, why are you questioning me? Shouldn’t you ask Anders?”

“Lieutenant Anders is currently being questioned. You are in here so we can validate your story.” He replied.

“Oh.” I replied, before I looked at him, “Can I ask you something?”

The officer nodded.

“How did the intruders get onboard?”

The officer sat back in his chair, “For the moment, we are assuming that they came aboard when the generator was beamed aboard. That was the only time the shields were lowered.” He paused, “However we cannot be sure until we finish questioning Lieutenant Anders.”

*

I looked at the officer as we arrived outside my quarters, “But I have just been questioned.”

She nodded, “Even so, the investigation is still underway. You must remain here.” She said, as she pressed the button to open my door.

I stepped inside and faced her, “When should it be over?”

“It’s hard to say, but you’ll be notified when we’ve finished. Have a good afternoon, Ensign.” She replied, pressing the button again to close my door. I stood there for a minute before I felt my stomach rumble. I walked over to the replicator and went through the menu. After several minutes of thought, I finally decided on a burger and some fries.

I placed the plate on my table and sat down. I sipped some of my Bolian tonic and quickly tucked into my meal. Before I started to share my meals with T’Luk, I’d usually eat in silence or read while eating. But sometimes, if I was in the mood, I’d bring my console over to the table and watch some football matches that my Dad had sent me, or a film or something. That didn’t happen that often though, as I’d usually eat with the guys in the mess. But being there alone was quite odd. I wasn’t enjoying it at all. Perhaps it was the circumstances, as I usually didn’t have any problem at being on my own. I don’t know. All I knew was that I didn’t want it to last for too long. I wanted to see T’Luk.

About an hour later, when I was sitting on my sofa reading some news from the other side of the quadrant, someone pressed my doorbell. I placed down the PADD and walked over. I pressed the button and opened the door, revealing H’Jan standing there.

I looked at him, “What are you doing?” I asked quickly.

He smiled, “Relax, I’m allowed to come here. Can I come in?” He asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I nodded, letting him enter as the door closed behind him. I watched as he walked over to the sofa and sat down. I sat next to him, “So why are you allowed here?”

“Well, we’ve begun repairs to the main deflector, so to speed up the job they’ve allowed some of us to assist them.” He replied.

I nodded, “Oh, ok.” I frowned at him, “So what are you doing here then?”

“Don’t worry, Commander Librescu gave me direct authorisation to come up here and tell you.”

I frowned, “Tell me what?”

“He wasn’t a traitor.”

“What?”

“Anders. He wasn’t guilty.”

“What do you mean, wasn’t guilty?” I asked.

“You know how everything pointed to him?”

I nodded.

“Well he was trying to stop him.”

I shook my head, “I have no idea what-“

“Anders uncovered the real mole onboard.”

“What?” I asked again.

H’Jan looked at me, “Ok, you know how the computers in astrometrics accessed the power grid?”

“Yes.”

“That was because Anders was trying to stop the real mole, Crewman Meyer, from gaining access.”

“Wait. You mean Crewman Meyer as in the transporter technician?” I asked.

“Yes, apparently Anders noticed some unusual encrypted transmissions being sent along our carrier link to Starfleet command. When he traced the signal, it led him to Meyer.”

“Why didn’t he tell anyone?” I asked.

“He didn’t know who to trust.” He paused, “He detected the transmissions a week ago, before we arrived at Earth. But it took him until this morning to crack the encryption.”

“What did he find out?”

H’Jan looked at me, “The message was detailing instructions to beam aboard four armed Romulans at the same time as the generator. That way the shields would be down, and the transporter system would have been active, so it wouldn’t have alerted the bridge or created an intruder alert.”

I sat there for a second, “So do they have this guy Meyer?” I asked.

H’Jan nodded, “He’s in the brig and has apparently supplied us with quite a bit of information, in exchange for leniency.”

“Oh, but what did Anders do then? I mean, he obviously didn’t stop them.”

“No, he wasn’t that quick, but it was Anders who got the power back online so quickly, when it was cut off.”

“So he isn’t a traitor?” I asked.

“No. Anders isn’t a traitor.” He paused for a moment, “He’s not really a science officer either, well he is, but he isn’t.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“He’s an undercover agent.” He replied, smiling.

I looked at him blankly.

“He works for Starfleet Intelligence.”

“Intelligence?” I asked.

He nodded, “Yep.”

“Wow.”

H’Jan laughed, “Yeah.” He smiled at me, “And to think, you worked with him all this time, and you didn’t even know!”

“But he was a good science officer, I mean, he knew how to do everything.”

“Like I said, he was trained as a science officer so he does know everything you do. He just happens to be an undercover agent as well.”

I shook my head, “This is a lot to take in.”

He nodded, “I know.”

I thought for a moment, “So Starfleet Intelligence posted an agent onboard? I’m sure the Captain wasn’t too pleased.”

He laughed again, “No, I imagine he wasn’t.”

*

Admiral Ive stood near to the window of his office and looked out onto the bay of San Francisco as Vice-Admiral Becker finished reading the report aloud to him.

“Apparently, one of ours uncovered the mole onboard.” Said Becker.

“One of ours? Who?” Asked Ive.

He lifted the PADD and read from it, “Lieutenant Anders.”

“Anders?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I don’t recall posting an undercover agent on Titan.”

Becker frowned and pressed on the PADD, his eyes widened slightly when he read the paragraph, “No, Sir, you didn’t post him on there.”

Ive turned and looked at him, “Then who did?”

“According to this report, I authorised the transfer.”

Ive paused for a moment, he knew exactly what Becker was saying, “Did you?”

“No.”

“Scan our database, look for this Lieutenant Anders.” Said Ive, walking over to his desk and sitting down.

Becker tapped on his PADD, “According to this he does exist and he is one of ours, always has been.”

“Now check that against an offline backup, go back six months.”

Becker nodded and walked over to Ive’s screen and tapped a command into the panel next to it. The computer chirped a reply and the screen moved forward out of the wall, revealing a contained data unit behind it. Becker plugged his PADD into a connector and searched through the record. After a few seconds he shook his head, “His name isn’t on the list, Sir.” He paused, “He’s in Starfleet, but, he’s never been working with us.”

Ive nodded, “So our networked database has been hacked, to say that he’s an agent?” He said aloud.

Becker closed the panel and the screen retreated back into the wall, “It seems that way, Sir.”

Ive pressed on his combadge, “Computer, open a priority one connection to the USS Titan.”

*

Now that Crewman Meyer had been taken care of and the officers from the Starfleet Intelligence vessels were satisfied that the situation had been resolved, Captain Riker was authorised to allow all crew to return to duty. Because of what happened, Comm. Jones wanted to have a meeting down in astrometrics. I was on my way down there when I received a call over the Comm, from quite a concerned Alex.

I reached forward and pressed the button for the turbolift, “Calm down Alex, what’s up?”

“Are you alone?”

I glanced about, considering the ship had just resumed from lockdown status about ten minutes before, there was no one about, “Yes.”

“We’ve just received a communiqué from Starfleet, they’ve given us instructions to arrest someone.”

“Who?”

“Lieutenant Anders.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t work for Intelligence.”

“I’ve seen his record myself, it says-“ I asked, as the turbolift doors opened.

“The record was forged, the database was hacked. Anders is not an Intelligence agent. He’s working with the terrorists, Kai.”

I glanced at the occupant already in the lift. I froze in horror. The blood drained from my face. It was Anders.

“Kai? Are you there?”

Anders reached down and unclipped his phaser and reached out with his other hand, grabbing my combadge, “Give me that!” He spat.

“Oh my g-“ Came Alex’s voice, before Anders closed the channel. He ripped off the badge and threw it to the ground, stamping on it.

He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the lift. I tried to resist, but he pressed the phaser against my temple, “Get in here, Ensign. We don’t have time for games.” He said, pushing me against the wall, “Deck 8, main shuttle bay.” He called out, causing the lift to rise.

My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was beginning to feel light-headed, “They’re not gonna let you off the ship.” I said, looking at him.

He snarled at me, “Oh they will. With your help.”

My eyes widened. He was going to use me to get off the ship. I couldn’t let him do that. I had to get away.

Anders waved the phaser in my face, “You try to run, and I’ll burn a hole through your leg.”

I shivered. I couldn’t believe this was happening. It all felt too surreal. I closed my eyes and swallowed, trying to find some calm in the chaos. My thoughts flickered from one thing to the next. Anders. The phaser. The shuttle bay. T’Luk. I swallowed again and focused my thoughts on T’Luk. I needed him. I said his name in my head, ‘T’Luk.’

And in the faintest of whispers, I got a reply, ‘Kai.’

The turbolift stopped. Anders waited until the doors opened before he shoved me out. I stumbled drunkenly, nearly falling forward.

He reached out and grabbed my arm, laughing at me, “Come on.” He said, as he dragged me towards the shuttle bay. I tried to slow his pacing down, until he realised what I was doing, “Walk quicker, or I’ll blow that fucking hole in your leg.”

I just stared emotionlessly at him and quickened my pace. We stepped outside the main shuttle bay, the doors opened for us to enter, but someone shouted out to us, “STOP MOVING LIEUTENANT!” I recognised the voice, Commander Clark.

Anders spun me around and placed the phaser at my head. Two security teams were at both ends of the corridor. There were at least ten officers, all pointing phaser rifles at us, along with Comm. Clark. Anders tightened his grip, “No, you put your weapons down, or I’ll pull the trigger!” He said.

Clark looked at me and up at Anders, “You’re outnumbered and outgunned Lieutenant, you can’t get off this ship.”

Anders moved his head near to my ear, but spoke loud enough for the officers to hear, “They think I’m joking, Ensign. They think I won’t spray your blood across the bulkheads.” He paused, “Tell them to put down their weapons. For your sake.”

My eyes widened at his threat, “Put down your weapons.” I shouted.

Anders looked up at Clark, “Well, Commander. What’s it going to be?”

Clark clenched his jaw, “Lower your weapons.” Once the officers trained the phasers away from us he stared at Anders, “This isn’t over.”

He smiled and shook his head, “Erm. Actually, it is.” He said, stepping backwards, while still holding me in front. We stepped into the shuttle bay. As soon as the doors closed, Anders walked over to the door panel and sealed the door, ensuring that they couldn’t get in quickly. He turned to me and pushed me toward the Interceptor. I didn’t like where this was heading. As soon as we were on that ship, we could blast a hole through the doors and then he could take me wherever.

Anders pushed me against the entry hatch, “Open it.” He demanded, pressing the phaser against my head for emphasis.

Suddenly I felt an overwhelming sense of T’Luk. I glanced upwards and watched as T’Luk dived from the roof of the Interceptor and onto Anders. I turned and watched as they slid across the floor. Once they stopped, T’Luk quickly stood up and kicked forcefully at Anders hand, breaking his wrist and sending the phaser flying across the room. As Anders yelped in pain, T’Luk reached down and picked him up off the ground, holding him a foot above the floor by his neck.

“You should not have threatened Kai.” He said in a tone that I had not heard before.

Anders made some strangled sound as his face was quickly becoming devoid of colour; T’Luk’s grip was tight.

I stood there for a split second before I rushed forwards, “T’Luk...!” There was no question that he could kill Anders with little effort. And while I wasn’t concerned for Anders’ safety, I didn’t want T’Luk to kill him.

T’Luk ignored me and moved his face closer to Anders, staring into his eyes for a few seconds, “Ponfo miran.” He said in Vulcan, before he released his grip. Anders fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath. T’Luk watched him closely before he rushed forwards and held me tightly.

I wrapped my arms around him, “T’Luk!” I cried, tears escaping my eyes.

“I am here, Kai.” He said softly.

“Oh god! I thought he was gonna…”

“Shhh, I have you. No one is going to hurt you now.” He said, as he rubbed his hand across my back.

We held each other for a few seconds before the doors to the shuttle bay opened and a dozen armed personnel flooded in. They ran over to the Lieutenant and surrounded him.

Captain Riker entered and quickly walked over towards us, followed closely by Councillor Troi, “Are you alright, Ensigns?” He asked.

I pulled back from T’Luk, “Yes, Sir.” I said, still shocked by the whole ordeal.

“I am fine.” Replied T’Luk.

Riker nodded and glanced over at Anders, “You done well, Ensign T’Luk. We’ll take care of this now.” He looked towards Councillor Troi, “Could you please take these gentlemen somewhere quiet and make sure that they’re ok?”

“Of course, Will.” She turned to us, “Please, come with me.”

T’Luk placed his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the shuttle bay. I didn’t look back.

Thank you for reading Chapter 15 of A Vulcan’s Love.

I'd like to thank everyone who emailed me after the last chapter, it's
great to hear from you guys and know what you think about my story.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

As always, any comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated.
I respond to every email, so feel free to send me a message, even a hello!

E-mail me at: emulatedlove[at]gmail.com

Discuss this story with other readers at: http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=20578

Visit my blog at: emulatedlove.blogspot.com for news about future chapters and my other stories.


Thanks Again!

Emulated