A Captain And A Madman

Chapter Nine: Unwanted Attention

"Sir, I found something."

"What is it?"

"An incident report, from the original Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, filed by First Officer Spock; reportedly, around the time of their encounter with mirror universe counterparts of their landing party, an individual identifying himself as John Smith mysteriously boarded the Enterprise before being apprehended."

"What did Kirk do with him?"

"...sorry, sir; the report doesn't seem to elaborate. It just says that there was an encounter. Starfleet never pressed for details."

"What is it with twenty-third century captains and independent streaks? Well, could it be him?"

"It's possible, sir. This Smith isn't recorded as possessing the same equipment, but according to Picard's personal logs, the subject did specify an Enterprise. And Kirk's was one of the most eventful ones..."

"...all right. It's all we have to go on. Prepare an operative. We'll extract the Doctor as soon as the timeline permits."

------------------

"I order you, Let me go!" the mirror Kirk spat, all but flailing in the grip of the two burly men as they dragged him down the hall, easily restraining his frenzied struggled. "Traitors! Spock, get these men off me! What is this?"

Suffice to say, the jig was up; when the mirror Kirk had tried to commandeer the bridge and order that the planet below be bombarded into submission from orbit, Spock had quickly relieved him of duty. It had been a quick step to security from there, and the 'captain' had been dragged, screaming and cursing, all the way from the bridge down to the detention level several decks down. The Doctor, who had been waiting for over an hour for this very thing to happen, had made a beeline for the proper section of the ship the moment Spock had announced he was taking command. Now, the Time Lord lurked behind the corner of one of the corridors, watching the little drama unfold.

"What are you doing, Spock?" the alternate McCoy demanded from inside the Enterprise's detention cell, but Kirk's ongoing rant overrode any hope of response.

"You traitorous pig! I'll hang you up by your Vulcan ears. I'll have you all executed!"

"This man does not know how to negotiate," the Doctor muttered under his breath as he watched them all but toss Kirk inside the cell. "Is everyone from his universe that bloody loud?"

"I think not," the First Officer replied calmly, "Your authority on this ship is extremely limited, Captain. The four of you will remain her in the Brig and in custody until I discover how to return you to wherever it is you belong."

"Has the whole galaxy gone crazy?" Obviously Kirk wasn't even trying to pretend he belonged anymore and, looking at his wild behavior, the Doctor marveled that he'd lasted so long without being discovered in the first place. "What kind of a uniform is this? Where's your beard? What's going on? Where's my personal guard?!"

Spock's brow lifted as he replied, quite honestly; "I can answer none of your questions at this time."

"All right, Spock." the fury in Kirk's eyes had faded, replaced with animal cunning; "Whatever your game is, I'll play it. You want credits, I'll give them to you. You'll be a rich man. A command of your own? I can swing that, too."

"Apparently some kind of transposition has taken place," Spock was musing, entirely ignoring the bribe attempt as he focused his full attention on the problem in front of him. "I find it extremely interesting."