Enemies at the Gate

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Amanda Grayson still good looking out the window. She was worried about her son, who had been missing for over a week. She hoped when they reach the planet, they would find her son and the captain. Her husband stood behind her, unsure of how to comfort her. She turned around and walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Adun, I worry for our son."

"Adun'a, he will be fine. Worry is illogical."

"I am his mother and human, we worry for our children no matter how old they get."

"We will find him. Be calm. Come meditate with me. You will feel calmer."

She smiled, though he said being worried was illogical, she could feel his through their bond. The meditation was just as much for himself than her. She just wished her two men would communicate better. She knew her husband loved their son, just was unable to express it, or understand him. She sighed; there was only so much she could do to bridge the gap between them. She hoped Spock would find his mate soon. She worried about when it was time; he had no one since T'Pring broke their bond to be with Stonn when his time was upon him.

**********

Two hours later found them dinning with Doctor McCoy, Lieutenant Commander Scott, and the others. "Lieutenant Commander, how long until we can reach Excalbia?" T'Pau asked.

"It will take 9.83 days to reach tha' planet. We canna push the warp engines too far. We can only run at warp eight fer about 13.42 hours before we have to drop back to warp 7. Until I reach a Starbase or stay in one place fer a week, then I can make it a permanent change, so there is ta limit."

"Fascinating, Lieutenant Commander. And once this change is made, there would be no additional stress on the warp coils?" Ambassador Selek asked him.

"Na, right now with the matter-antimatter balance at 10:1 for warp seven and 8:1 fer warp eight, we are running fine. Until I can get the system better calibrated to make it so the speed can be run fer longer periods. It would go to 1:1 once I can achieve higher warp speeds. The trick I have to do is to keep it from getting too unbalanced, or then the core breaks down. It's all just getting the amount of plasma ta stay the same, so tha' the total amount of power and of particles per time would have ta be increased fer us to achieve higher warp factors. I have it all wrote out fer the Cap'n ta look at and approve."

"Indeed. With the modifications, what speed to do you can get the warp factor up to?" T'Pol asked, joining into the conversation.

"If I can make the necessary adjustments, we can get her up ta warp 8.5."

"That would greatly improve how fast we can respond to emergencies. This improvement could be done to other starships in the fleet."

"Aye, we would be ahead of tha' Klingons and Romulans."

"Indeed."

Amanda looked up from her empty plate, "If you'll excuse me. I need to go rest."

They could see the circles under her eyes and how upset she was. They all let her know it was okay and left the table.

"Ambassador, do you need me to give her anything to help?" McCoy asked Sarek.

"Thank you, Doctor, but no. Once this matter is over, I believe she will rest better. If you will excuse me, I must attend to my wife."

"Of course, sir," they said. The others at the table also made their excuses and left singly or in pairs until McCoy and Scotty were left.

"Are ye up to come back to me quarters for a wee snort?" He asked and squeezed McCoy's thigh under the table. McCoy's cock gave a twitch at his tone and touch.

"Lead the way, Commander," he said in a gruff voice. Scotty grinned, and they left the mess hall. He knew he would be getting another round with the sexy Doctor, and he couldn't wait. He was going to do all he could to make him see that they belonged together.