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From somewhere above his head, a beam of light engulfed McCoy. Very quickly, everything was getting brighter and brighter, until he could see nothing.

When the blinding brightness receded, he could make out shapes. A bed. A monitor. Sickbay. At first, everything was silent, as though he was looking at a recording with the sound turned off. Gradually, his hearing returned.

Was this another illusion? Everything told him it wasn’t.

McCoy knew that his patients needed him, that only he could save them. They were all waiting for him. He couldn’t give up, not this time. No matter how bad it was, he had to return to them.

Determined to save his patients, McCoy took a deep breath, and plunged ahead. He looked ahead as he always did—

FIFTEEN

Stardate 4758.3 (0736 hours)

—as he always did.

McCoy opened his eyes and inhaled deeply as he sat up. The sickbay air rushed into his lungs. Nurse Chapel was standing in front of him, her face lit up in delight. “Welcome back, Doctor.”

McCoy shook his head, trying to shake off the numbness he felt. “Hello, Nurse,” he said, a grin growing on his face. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost an hour,” she said.

“Wow.”

“Longer than you thought?” she asked.

McCoy frowned, thinking about how it had felt. “Yes… and no. It seemed like I was there forever… but time stood still.”

“Where were you?” asked Chapel. “Your readings fell, but once I started talking to you, they began creeping back up.”

“You were talking to me? What were you saying?”

She blushed. “I told you to come back, that you were needed.”

“Thank you,” he said.

She smiled. “I’m glad to have you back.”

He grabbed Chapel’s hands in his own. “No, thank you. You put up with a lot, and you never say a thing. Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome.” Christine sounded profoundly grateful.

“It can’t always be easy.”

“No. But it’s worth it.”

There was a discreet cough from the doorway to the ward, where Lieutenant Sulu stood. McCoy quickly let go of Chapel’s hands. God… now he was blushing, too. “Welcome back, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Mister Sulu.”

“Good to see you back.” Sulu smiled wanly. “There have been developments.”

“Such as?”

“Lieutenant Uhura’s injured and needs surgery. I’m back in command.”

“What happened to Uhura?” McCoy asked.

Chapel gave him a brief summary. McCoy tried to read the medical monitor. “How am I doing?”

“Fine.”

McCoy leapt off the bed. “Excellent. We’re going to save Uhura, and we’re going to save these people.”

Sulu said, “You’re in a good mood, Doctor. Did you learn what you needed to?”

“Not really,” said McCoy. “But we’re saving these people. Every last one of them.”

A Farrezzi was able to point out the tunnel that led to the command center. Kirk broke into a run, eager to make it there before the ship went to warp. Not everyone could keep up. When Kirk stopped to check his makeshift team, he saw that Giotto was in the rear, keeping Chekov company, talking to him in a low voice.

“James-Kirk-Enterprise,” said Horr, “preparation lawbreaker attack now. Danger!”

“I know,” Kirk replied. “I’m prepared. When we get there, we’ll blast the door open and take them by surprise.” Giotto had liberated some grenades from the slavers.

A few minutes later, they reached the command center. The door was open. In an instant, they were under fire from slavers unleashing particle weapons at them.

With its smooth, featureless surface, the tunnel offered no protection. “Fall back!” Kirk shouted to the crowd of Farrezzi around them. He and Giotto lay down covering fire with their phasers. This discouraged the shooters, but there was still chaos around them. Some of the Farrezzi were slow to retreat, while others were overly eager. A slaver’s blast hit the wall next to Kirk, leaving a sharp odor of burnt plastic.

The group finally reached a bend in the tunnel that shielded them from the slavers’ fire. Kirk motioned Giotto over to him. “Not the welcome I expected,” Kirk said.

“A little too warm for me,”