Star Trek: Invasion (part 2 Of 3) free porn video

The Empire has invaded the Federation's universe! Now the captain of the USS Endurance finds herself facing the Empire fleet alone, while on Camus II her mother Janice Lester, the former Jim Kirk, discovers the terrible truth behind a conspiracy decades in the making. STAR TREK: INVASION (part 2 of 3) by BobH (c) 2018 - 7 - As we made our way to wherever Kate Shaw was taking me, I thought about turning and wrestling the phaser from her. I just as quickly dismissed the idea. Kate was younger, stronger, and faster than me. In my prime I might have been able to take her, but not now. Sadly even if I'd still been a man, been Jim Kirk rather than Janice Lester, my clock just had too many years on it. When we arrived at the room that was our destination, Kate pressed the door buzzer. The door whooshed open, and there he stood - Spock, *my* Spock, craggy-faced and beardless. "Spock?" I said, not quite believing my eyes. "Ms Lester," said Spock. "You have much to explain. That will be all, Ms Shaw, You can leave the prisoner with me." "Are you sure, sir?" she replied, sounding uncertain. "Quite sure. Or do you believe Ms Lester capable of overpowering me?" "No sir, I do not." "Then that will be all, Lieutenant Commander." "Very good, sir." When she had gone, I turned to my old friend. "Spock! It's good to see you again, but you need to contact Starfleet Command. I don't know how, but agents of the Empire have somehow crossed from the mirror universe and infiltrated this facility." Spock frowned. "How is it you know about the mirror universe, and the Empire? Information about them is classified and not public knowledge. I might assume you had learned of them during the time you appropriated Captain Kirk's body, but it was my understanding those memories had been overwritten. There is also the matter of how you came to be in possession of fake credentials entered into the system by Jim Kirk during his time as an admiral. They are why I tasked Lieutenant Commander Shaw with watching you." I let out a long sigh. We didn't have time for this. "We can't go any further until you mind meld with me," I said. "Indeed?" said Spock, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, because it's the only way you're going to believe me and not question everything I tell you, just like you did following my last visit to Camus II." Spock thought about this for a moment, nodded, then raised a hand and gently placed his fingers on the side of my face, adjusting them slightly until he could make the meld. I offered no resistance, opening my mind fully to his. After a minute or so, Spock broke contact and lowered his hand. "Jim?" he said. "How is this possible?" "It's possible because though we believed I had forced my mind back into my own body on the Enterprise by sheer force of will and wrested control from Janice Lester, I had done no such thing. Janice let me do it. She never intended my return to my own body to be anything other than temporary. The link between us remained and could only be undone by the machine here on Camus II. Later, when she was strapped into Khan's brainwashing device, her original personality about to be overwritten by a more docile, more feminine one she had created, Janice forced the switch again and I was the one who got brainwashed instead of her. For most of the past three decades I believed I was Janice Lester, and always had been, while she took my place." "Fascinating," said Spock. "At no point during that time did I suspect she was not you." "As captain of the Enterprise she acquitted herself well. I've read the mission reports and could find nothing in them I would have done differently. But then, I think she took more of me than just my body." "Explain." "Our understanding of Khan Noonien Singh's brainwashing device is that when it overwrites the existing personality of anyone subjected to it, that personality is then gone forever." "That is correct." "So how then have my own memories and so many of my original personality traits returned? Where were they in the meantime? The answer has to lie with the alien bodyswapping device. Janice told me we were still connected, and proved as much when she switched me back into her body. Is it possible our minds remained permanently 'quantum entangled', that rather than being overwritten my original memories were sent down the link between us in some fashion? Also, while we were still entangled like that, could she have fooled even a mind-meld?" "Unknown, but it is an intriguing idea." "It's also possible that exposure to the strange energy ribbon that killed her then triggered a cascade of memories back down the link and into my mind, because somehow or other I got them back." "Who else have you told about this, Jim? Does Janice Rand know?" "No, she doesn't. No one does but you. And it's not Jim, not any more." "With the alien device on this world you could have a male body. Jim Kirk could live again." "Thank you, but no. Too much water has flowed under the bridge since then. Those who love me love the woman they've known all these years In the case of my children, the only person they've ever known me as. I'm their mother and I will stay their mother. More importantly, Jim Kirk still has enemies who wouldn't hesitate to strike at him through his family. That's why David was killed, and I refuse to risk losing Janice, Grace, or Grant and his family because of who I used to be. Jim Kirk is dead, and he has to stay dead. But enough about me, we have to tell Starfleet Command what the Empire is doing here." "The Empire is doing nothing here," said Spock. "I am the director of this facility, and I am in charge of brainwashing Starfleet personnel." - 8 - "Are the cameras ready?" "Affirmative, my lord," said Captain Adamant. "A cloud of micro-drones will pass through with the fleet when we open portals to the Federation's universe. They will record the coming battle from every angle, combining their input to create a three dimensional live-feed. With the feed from the bridge of this flagship, your victory will be live-streamed through a dimensional portal to every corner of the Empire." "Excellent! Excellent!" Khan grinned wolfishly. Three decades of planning and preparation were about to come to fruition. What came next was almost a formality. Victory was assured. The viewscreen was currently displaying the fleet, arrayed before him. There were thirty starships in all, every one of which was superior to any vessel the Federation could call upon. Then there was his own ship, the Leviathan, which was in turn larger and more powerful than any of them. More powerful still were his doomsday machines. He had six in all, five of them constructed over the past twenty years having been reverse-engineered from the original that Captain James T. Kirk had captured. Khan sometimes still missed Kirk. His natural bloodthirstiness and contempt for the very concept of mercy were exemplary, yet he had still ultimately proven unworthy. In the Empire, promotion was achieved by assassinating those above you and taking their position. Kirk had been killed during one such challenge to his authority. It was unfortunate, but fate had to be allowed to take its course. "We've given the Federation long enough to get starships to Charon," Khan announced. "Let the invasion commence!" One by one, each starship opened a portal directly in front of them and sailed through it into that other universe. When they had done so the Leviathan followed suit, as did the doomsday machines. What they found on the other side was a disappointment. Rather than the Federation fleet Khan had hoped to decimate, all that awaited them was a single starship. It made no attempt to flee, maintaining its position until the entire Empire force had assembled. Khan frowned. Something wasn't right. "Scan the enemy ship. I want to know the status of their shields and weapons." "Yes, my lord," said Captain Adamant. "Helmsman, full scan of that ship." Ten seconds later the scan was complete, but the helmsman had something else to report first. "A small shuttlecraft has just launched from the rear of the enemy ship. Should we intercept or destroy?" "Is it headed for Earth?" "Negative. Its course will take it out of the solar system and into deep space." "Probably cowards fleeing rather than stand with their crew and face us," sneered Khan. "Let them go. Such people do not deserve a warrior's death. Now give me the result of your scans." "Yes, my lord. Shields have not been raised and all weapons systems appear to be at standby status only. They have not gone to battle stations." "Are they getting ready to surrender to us?" said Adamant, sounding uncertain. "Let's find out," said Khan. "Open a hailing channel." "Hailing channel open," said the communications officer. An image of the Federation ship's bridge appeared on the viewscreen. Sitting in the captain's chair was a confident-looking young woman. "Hello, Federation ship. This is the ISS Leviathan, flagship of the imperial fleet of the Terran Empire and I am Emperor Khan Noonien Singh." "I am Captain Grace Coleman of the USS Endurance, and we know who you are. Starfleet had a couple of run ins with your counterpart over here, which he lost. The last resulted in his death." "Careful, woman," said Khan, menacingly, "It isn't wise to try and provoke me. If you and your crew hope to survive you will now kneel before Khan, just as your entire United Federation of Planets soon will." "That will not be happening," said Captain Coleman. "I'm afraid you appear to be labouring under a misapprehension. Starfleet didn't send me here to bend a knee. They sent me here to accept your surrender." For a moment Khan said nothing, stunned by the woman's audacity. "Are you mad, woman? You're facing a vastly superior force and you haven't even raised your shields or gone to battle stations." "I don't need to," she replied, "and I'm still awaiting your surrender." Khan's patience was at an end. This impudent female needed to be put in her place. "Helmsman, open fire on that ship," snarled Khan, "phasers at full power!" Khan leaned forward in his throne, anticipating the destruction of the Endurance. Nothing happened. "I gave you an order!" he shouted. "Destroy that ship!" "I..I'm trying, my lord," came the reply, "but weapons systems aren't responding. None of our systems are except life support and communications. The Leviathan is dead in the water!" Khan hit the comms button in his throne's armrest. "All other ships," he yelled, "obey your Emperor and fire on that enemy vessel!" Again, nothing happened. "All ships are reporting complete failure of their systems," said Captain Adamant, sounding fearful, "and none of the doomsday machines are responding to commands." Khan slumped back in his throne. This was impossible. Captain Coleman had deployed no weapons, yet somehow she had neutralised the finest ships in the Empire's fleet. But all was not yet lost. He still had one ace to play. "Send the signal out to all our sleeper agents. It's time for them to rise up and destroy Starfleet from within. If the woman thinks she's won here she has another think coming. Monitor all news and Starfleet channels. I want to follow the uprising as it happens." For the following hour they did just that, Khan refusing calls from his restive captains all the while, until he was forced to accept the truth. "There's been no uprising, my lord," said Captain Adamant. "None of our agents have responded to the call, none at all." The viewscreen sprang back to life. Once again it showed Captain Coleman on her bridge. "You've had long enough to consider your position, 'your majesty'." she said. "Now I need to dispose of those nasty doomsday machines of your. First those to your starboard I think." The viewscreen switched to a split image, one half showing Grace Coleman and the other the doomsday machines. The captain snapped her fingers and explosions could be seen taking place deep in the maw of each. Then, one-by-one, they started to crumple, crushed by the unleashed power of the miniature black hole at their heart, until all that remained were super-compressed balls of matter. "Now for those to your port," said Grace, snapping the fingers of her other hand. Once again the process repeated itself, until all six of the doomsday machines had been destroyed. Sitting on his throne, Khan could barely accept what he had just witnessed. Entire worlds had been bankrupted to finance the construction of the doomsday machines. They were supposed to make the Empire invincible, an unstoppable force. Now they were all just so much scrap. "I'm ready to accept your surrender now, Emperor," said Grace. Khan had promised his captains one of the quickest wars in history, and it had been. He just hadn't expected it to end like this. "Before that can happen we have to determine if I am to remain Emperor," said Khan, wiping nervous sweat from his brow. "After such a defeat I have to offer the challenge. It is our way." At all levels of the Empire's military you progressed by killing your superiors and, rightly, the Emperor was not exempt from this. Only council members and starship captains had the standing to challenge for the throne. The council wasn't here, but his captains were, not that he actually expected any of them to challenge him. In the decades Khan had been Emperor he had never been successfully challenged. He doubted that any of his captains believed they could take him, even now. Their faces appeared on the Leviathan's viewscreen. "Well?" he said. "Does anyone choose to challenge me?" There was a sudden bright light, and somebody materialised on the bridge. "I do," said the newcomer. "You?!" said Khan. "How can it be you?" - 9 - I'd demanded to know what was going on on Camus II, but instead of telling me there and then Spock called a meeting where, he assured me, everything would be explained. "You just need to remain patient a little longer and all will become clear." And what a meeting it was. First, Kate Shaw brought in mirror-Spock and mirror-Uhura, who actually gasped on seeing me, her hand going to her mouth. I had no opportunity to enquire why because seconds later, before introductions could even be made, in walked Bones McCoy with...my wife? "Janice?" said Janice Rand, coming over to me. "What are you doing here, sweetie?" "I could ask you the same question," I said as we hugged. "Janice Rand is here because I wanted a neutral observer I trusted with me when I came to inspect this infernal place on behalf of the Surgeon- General's office," said Bones. "After some persuading she agreed to accompany me." "I wasn't his first choice, and I wouldn't have told you I was going to Camus II even if I was allowed to," Janice said to me. "I was worried it would trigger painful memories for you." "And Dr Lester is here at my request," said Spock, covering for me. "As the person who found the alien bodyswapping device and first uncovered its secrets, I believed it possible she could provide further insights into its operation." I saw Kate Shaw raise an eyebrow at this, but she said nothing. Mirror-Uhura had been staring at me since her arrival, bursting to let something out. Now she did. "You swapped bodies with your Jim Kirk!" she said. "Just as happened in our universe." "Interesting," said mirror-Spock, regarding me through narrowed eyes, weighing me up. I was intrigued by this news about their Jim Kirk and had questions about his fate, but for now there were more important ones I needed answers to. I turned to Spock. "It's time you explained what's going on in this facility. Don't leave anything out." "Very well. It began eight years ago at Khitomer. After the Enterprise and her crew foiled the attempt by dissident Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans, and humans led by Admiral Cartwright to sabotage the peace conference, I was approached by Starfleet Intelligence who wished to know what my plans were now that the Enterprise was to be decommissioned. It had been my intention to become a diplomat. They convinced me to delay this." "Why?" "They believed that though the ring-leaders had been rounded up the conspiracy went far deeper, that there were still those in Starfleet and elsewhere actively opposed to peace. They gave this group the code name 'Ares', and wanted me to take charge of rooting it out. I agreed with their assessment and accepted the task. I chose Camus II as the logical place to establish my command, then had covert Starfleet Intelligence officers placed on every ship in the fleet in order to do so. Lieutenant Commander Shaw was that officer on the USS Spencer. At the time they recruited me, neither Starfleet Intelligence nor I realised that behind Ares was another entity with an agenda of its own." "The Empire?" "Exactly so," said mirror-Spock. "The Empire invented a means of sending people across to this universe in ones and twos to infiltrate Starfleet. When their agent had a counterpart here that counterpart would be killed and the agent would take his place. When they didn't, those already here would establish new identities for them. The first two agents sent over were Lawrence Cartwright and Jenna Lawson. Having replaced the real admiral, Cartwright had Ms Lawson assigned to your USS Enterprise, where I'm told she later perished in an accident. Meanwhile, Cartwright founded Ares." "So he killed the real Admiral Cartwright?" "No, in that instance they were able to smuggle him back to my universe, where he was killed by Khan." "Khan? You mean Khan Noonien Singh?" "Yes. In my universe he is the Emperor. Although my brother, First Minister Sybok, was in charge of the infiltration program, it would be many years before I learned how extensive it was." "Why?" "Sybok was secretly a Vulcan separatist. He was eventually betrayed and executed. As his brother I naturally came under suspicion as well. We had never been close and I had not known of his political leanings, so there was nothing to find. Nonetheless, from that point on my ship and I were given missions that kept us well away from the center of power. A few months ago I was contacted by someone who supplied me with a pair of the harnesses used to cross between our universes and a complete list of Empire agents who had been sent here in the past three decades. It would have been unwise to attempt to cross between Earths, so my wife and I used the harnesses to cross between Vulcans." "Your...wife?" I said, staring at mirror-Uhura. She inclined her head and gave a little smile. "News of their arrival on Vulcan was relayed to me," said Spock. "I arranged for them to be sent here to Camus II, where I personally debriefed them. As soon as I understood the magnitude of the threat to the Federation, I had Lawrence Cartwright brought here from the penal planet where he was serving his sentence so that I could interrogate him further, and Khan's brainwashing device sent from Nevada." "How did you convince Starfleet Command to go along with this?" I asked. "Why would they accept the word of someone from the mirror universe?" "All the Empire's agents over here have sub-dermal communicators that enable them to communicate with each other without Starfleet knowing about it," said Spock. "Their covert communications were riding on personal communications carrier beams, lost in all the chatter." I snapped my fingers. "Ah, so *that's* the 'operational reason' why ship-to-ship and ship-to- shore private communication channels have been suspended for the past few months!" "That is correct," said mirror-Spock. "The sub-dermal communicators were undetectable by the Federation until I supplied the means to do so. This enabled Starfleet to confirm the veracity of the list I supplied." "The size of that list and the names on it caused a great deal of concern," said my Spock. "After three decades of infiltration, more than half of Starfleet ship's captains and their senior officers were Empire sleeper agents. To arrest them all and relieve them of their duties would have left Starfleet gravely vulnerable." "So instead you had Khan's damned device shipped here, set up bogus training sessions, then brainwashed them into believing they'd always been loyal servants of the Federation!" said McCoy, not even trying to hide the outrage in his voice. "What else would you have had us do, doctor?" asked Spock. "This was the only solution to the problem that did not leave the Federation dangerously unprotected. We are not using the device to completely overwrite personalities as Khan did, just to alter loyalties." "That's more than enough! What you believe is a core part of who you are!" "There were ten sleeper agents on the USS Trafalgar," said Janice Rand, "including the captain, first officer, transporter chief, and chief engineer." Bones looked at Janice with disappointment in his eyes. "My god, have you all forgotten your history?" he cried "When Khan used that device on his enemies we called it a war crime, and rightly so. If it was a war crime when he used it then it's a war crime when we do. And don't talk to me about 'situational ethics' either. Situational ethics be damned. Something can't be both a war crime when others do it and acceptable when we do, it just can't. Federation exceptionalism doesn't exempt us from the norms of civilised conduct." "These people are spies, not enemy combatants, Bo... doctor," I said, "and almost every society with a martial tradition has always treated soldiers and spies differently. Also, for there to be a war crime don't we actually have to be at war first?" "Lee Forrest was one of the sleeper agents," said Kate Shaw. "He wasn't only my captain, he was my friend. I introduced him to his wife, and I'm godparent to their twin daughters. I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the idea that this man who's been a loyal Starfleet officer for the past fifteen years, with a distinguished service record, would have turned on Starfleet the instant the Emperor ordered him to. Yet I have to believe it, because his name was on the list and he has a sub-dermal communicator. Khan's machine has changed things so that he's now the loyal Starfleet officer we all believed him to be. If the alternative is imprisonment, his daughters losing their father, and his family being disgraced, I'm OK with that." "The point is moot now anyway, doctor," said Spock. "The device has been sabotaged and is no longer operational." "Sorry about that," I said, sheepishly. "Don't be," said McCoy, firmly. "You did the right thing, Janice. And now, if no one has any objections, I'd like to check on the prisoners you're still holding to ensure they're being treated properly." "As you wish, doctor. Ms Shaw, please accompany Dr McCoy and see that he comes to no harm." "Yes, sir," said Kate. The pair turned and left. For a moment there was silence in the room. "A passionate man, your Dr McCoy," said mirror-Spock. "Indeed," said Spock. "In that as in so many other ways, the good doctor is unfortunately all too human." - 10 - To the credit of the crew of the USS Endurance, the appearance on their viewscreen of the Empire fleet and its six doomsday machines did not cause panic on the bridge. It did, however cause some concern. "Should we raise shields and go to battle stations?" asked Reyna Skullcrusher. "Negative," said Grace Coleman. "Captain?" "As you were, Ms Crusher." "The lead ship is hailing us, captain," said Zoe Nyonga. "Onscreen, Ms Nyonga." An image of the Empire ship's bridge appeared on the viewscreen. Sitting in a throne behind the captain's chair was a man Grace recognised from her studies at Starfleet Academy. Beside him standing next to that throne was a small girl. "Hello, Federation ship. This is the ISS Leviathan, flagship of the imperial fleet, and I am Emperor Khan Noonien Singh." "I am Captain Grace Coleman of the USS Endurance, and we know who you are. Starfleet had a couple of run-ins with your counterpart over here, which he lost. The last resulted in his death." "Careful, woman," said Khan, menacingly, "It isn't wise to try and provoke me. If you and your crew hope to survive you will now kneel before Khan, just as your entire United Federation of Planets soon will." "That will not be happening," said Grace. "I'm afraid you appear to be labouring under a misapprehension. Starfleet didn't send me here to bend a knee. They sent me here to accept your surrender." A low murmur went around the bridge. They trusted their captain, but this was suicidal. "Are you mad, woman? You're facing a vastly superior force and you haven't even raised your shields or gone to battle stations." This wasn't an assessment Grace's crew could argue with. "I don't need to," replied, Grace, "and I'm still awaiting your surrender." Khan looked as if he was about to explode. "Helmsman, open fire on that ship," he snarled, "phasers at full power!" Khan leaned forward in his throne, clearly anticipating their destruction. Nothing happened. "I gave you an order!" he shouted. "Destroy that ship!" "I..I'm trying, my lord," came the reply, "but weapons systems aren't responding. None of our systems are except life support and communications. The Leviathan is dead in the water!" Khan hit the comms button in his throne's armrest. "All other ships," he yelled, "obey your Emperor and fire on that enemy vessel!" Again, nothing happened. "All ships are reporting complete failure of their systems," said the ship's captain, sounding fearful, "and none of the doomsday machines are responding to commands." That was when Leviathan killed the link and the image on the viewscreen reverted to showing the space in front of Endurance, with the Empire ships arrayed before them. "What just happened?" said Kevin Okuda, speaking for the rest of the bridge crew. "How did you do that?" "If and when I'm allowed to tell you more I will," said Grace. "Suffice it to say that when I took the call in my ready room ordering us to Charon, I was also informed of the Empire threat and how I should respond to it." "You knew they were coming?" said Michael Shaw, in his clipped English accent. "That's not possible!" "Starfleet Intelligence knew. My orders came directly from them." "Since when do we take orders from Starfleet Intelligence? asked Reyna. "Since Headquarters directed us to. This one is Starfleet Intelligence's play, and I trust the man in charge of the operation implicitly. You would too if you knew who that was." Michael Shaw suddenly leapt to his feet and turned to face Grace, phaser in hand. Before he could fire it he was felled by a phaser stun blast from Zoe Nyonga. "I was waiting for him to try something like that," she said. "Were you indeed?" said Grace. "I think when this is all over you and I are going to have to have a long conversation Ms Nyonga, not least about what you and he were doing on my bridge armed with phasers." By the time security officers had come and taken her navigator away Grace was ready to contact the Leviathan again. "Reestablish contact, Ms Nyonga. It's time to put this to bed." The viewscreen sprang back to life. Once again it showed Khan on his bridge. If anything, he looked even more concerned. "You've had long enough to consider your position, 'your majesty'," said Grace. "Now I need to dispose of those nasty doomsday machines of yours." When Grace destroyed the doomsday machines merely by snapping her fingers, the bridge crew stared at their captain in awe, and not a little fear. They knew there were no weapons on board Endurance capable of the feats they had just witnessed, so it appeared Grace had somehow acquired powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals. "I'm ready to accept your surrender now, Emperor," said Grace. "Before that can happen we have to determine if I am to remain Emperor," said Khan. "After such a defeat I have to offer the challenge. It is our way." The faces of his starship captains appeared on the viewscreen. "Well?" he said to them. "Does anyone choose to challenge me?" There was a sudden bright light, and somebody materialised on the bridge. "I do," said the newcomer. "You?!" said Khan. "How can it be you? Your ship is supposed to be out beyond Vulcan." "As indeed it is," said mirror-Spock. "But one of your other captains suspected this incursion would not go well. He smuggled me aboard his ship so that I could challenge you if and when the time came." Spock was already stripped to the waist, the grey of his chest hairs mirroring the grey in his hair and beard. "Very well," said Khan, rising from his throne and tearing off his own shirt, "challenge accepted." The Leviathan had a large open area between the helm and the viewscreen and it was here that the two circled each other, while the assembled captains looked down on them from that viewscreen. Khan made the first move, leaping at Spock with terrifying speed. Fast as he was Spock was faster. He threw Khan aside with almost contemptuous ease. As Khan got to his feet the concern on his face was plain for all to see. With that one move Spock had demonstrated he was the stronger and faster of the two. Khan feinted, drawing Spock in, then lashed out, his hand flat, slashing it across Spock's chest as if it was a blade. And just as a blade would it drew blood, a thin red line appearing. Khan grinned triumphantly, as if this move had given him the edge in their combat. He was quickly disabused of that notion. When they engaged again Spock was as strong and fast as before. Panic appeared in Khan's eyes, but it was too late. Spock got him in a headlock then wrenched his head around with great force, snapping his neck. As Spock stood over Khan's body so the shouts of the other captains started to ring out: "Hail Spock! Hail Spock! Hail Spock! Hail Spock! Hail Spock!" He was now their Emperor. He turned to the viewscreen and addressed Grace. "I am ready to negotiate the terms of our surrender," he said. "Myself and one other will transport aboard your ship." "Acknowledged," said Grace, breaking contact. "A pity," said Reyna, arms folded across her chest. "I had hoped for battle so that I could send many of the enemy to meet their ancestors." "Perhaps next time, Reyna," chuckled Grace. "Zoe, contact Starfleet and tell them we're ready to have them send the USS Vladivostok and the USS Montreal to babysit the Empire fleet while we're gone. They've been on standby, waiting to hear from us." "Aye aye, captain." That just left one more thing to do. "Mr Okuda, as soon as our guests are on board set a course for Camus II." - 11 - Lawrence Cartwright was bored and frustrated. At first, being transferred from that dreary little penal planet to Camus II had seemed a blessed relief. That had lasted until he got here and discovered Starfleet had finally learned of the Empire's infiltration program. Director Spock had had a lot of questions for him and those early, forced mind melds had been brutal, yet he had resisted them. The last of these had been several weeks ago, but bad as they were he'd have welcomed one now if only for the distraction it would provide. It appeared he was no longer of much interest to his captors. Save for at meal times and daily exercise sessions he rarely saw anyone else, and he had long since tired of reading and watching vids. His captivity would be more bearable if he was able to speak to the occupant of the cell next to his. An attractive young yeoman, she was the only other person currently being held in the cells, but damping fields made communication between them impossible. Their jailers clearly didn't want to risk prisoners colluding on an escape plan. Cartwright was thinking about this, and lamenting the fact that modern cells had force screens rather than bars, when he received a pair of visitors. On seeing that one of them was Dr Leonard McCoy, he smiled. His prayers had been answered. The other person, a stern looking security officer armed with a phaser, hung back while McCoy deactivated the damping field so that they could hear each other. "I see you brought your medical bag, doctor." "Just a precaution," said McCoy, "in case you were feeling unwell. How are they treating you?" "Well enough. I'm not being abused, but I am being ignored. What I'm craving most, however, is news of the outside world." "A lot of what's going on at the moment is classified so I'm afraid I can't do much about that." "You'd be surprised, doctor. Override Mississippi accept." At these words, which activated a post-hypnotic command placed in his mind long ago, Dr McCoy snapped to attention and stared straight ahead, his eyes vacant." "Override Mississippi accepted," he replied, his voice flat. "What are my orders?" "First, relax so that your companion doesn't get suspicious, then tell me what the big secret of this planet is that no one will talk about. I know it's not bio-weapons." "Thirty years ago xenoarchaeologist Dr Janice Lester discovered an alien device here that swaps bodies." "Swaps bodies? I thought that was impossible." "So did we, but the long-dead inhabitants of Camus II discovered how." Cartwright rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting, *very* interesting," he said. "Now tell me any and all recent news that would be of interest to me." "The Empire invaded Federation space and was defeated, after which Emperor Khan was challenged by someone who appeared to be your Spock. Spock killed him, and is now the new emperor." Cartwright was stunned by the news. With all their planning and decades of preparation how could the Empire be defeated? It didn't seem possible. And Spock was *emperor* now? This was a disaster. Even before coming to this universe rumours had reached him of Spock's pacifist tendencies, tendencies that if true would destroy the Empire. No, Spock had to be deposed, and quickly. "Wait. How do you know all this and what did you mean by 'appeared to be'?" "On my way to the cells Director Spock contacted me via my communicator. He had just learned that your Spock had bested Khan in hand-to-hand combat and was now on his way to Camus II to formally negotiate the surrender of Empire forces. But your Spock has already been here for several weeks. How can he be in two places at once?" Cartwright frowned. He didn't understand any of this, but it was clear that the Empire had somehow been betrayed by Spock. "Where is my Spock now?" "He and his wife are meeting with the Director in his office." "Is there anyone else with them?" "Yes, Dr Janice Lester and her wife, Janice Rand." "Good, good, I don't see them being a problem at their age. I'll have killed Spock before they realise what's happening. Now prepare a mild sedative then lower the force screen. Your companion will come over to investigate. When she does, inject her with it and await further orders." McCoy did as instructed, loading a sedative into his hypospray. Then he deactivated the cell's force screen. Out of respect for doctor/patient confidentiality Kate Shaw had hung back and so had heard none of the exchange between the two, but when McCoy opened the cell she took her phaser from her hip and stepped forward. "You know you shouldn't do that until I have the prisoner covered with my phaser, doctor," she admonished him. That was when McCoy struck. As soon as she was close enough, he turned and pressed the hypospray to the side of Kate's neck. The effect was instant. No sooner had the sedative shot into her system that she crumpled to the floor, the phaser falling from her nerveless fingers. "How long will she be out?" asked Cartwright, exiting his cell and scooping up her phaser. "About ten minutes." "Perfect. Help me lift her to her feet. We have work to do." When they had done so, he noticed the woman in the next cell signalling to him and turned off its damping field. "Release me!" she said. "What's your name?" "Jill Finn." "I'd love to release you, Jill Finn, but it's better for my plan and better for the Empire that you stay where you are for now. I'll send the doctor here to release you when I'm ready, okay?" "If it's for the Empire," she said, clearly not happy about this. Cartwright gave the Empire salute. "Long live the Empire!" "Long live the Empire!" shouted Jill, responding in kind. It was fortunate both that this facility was so sparsely staffed and that their destination lay so close to the cells. "Do you know how to operate the alien bodyswapping device?" asked Cartwright as they carried the unconscious Kate Shaw between them. "I believe so, yes," said McCoy. "I've seen it used and its operation seems relatively straightforward." "Good, because I need you to swap my body for that of the Lieutenant Commander here. That way I'll be able to get close enough to Spock to kill him." **************** To Be Concluded ****************