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“Doctor M’Benga,” Kirk called back. “Two days okay?”

“I can adjust the nutritional feed, sir—he’ll be safe.”

Kirk spun his chair to face Spock, who was still working diligently at his controls. “Well, Mister Spock,” he said, “it looks like we’re on our own for a while.”

Spock only raised an eyebrow again. He really must be tired.

“Have you determined why the Farrezzi didn’t wake up even though the atmosphere of their planet had been restored?”

“The information Neff-Bironomaktio-Frerish gleaned from the captured members of the New Planets Cousins indicates that they reconfigured the master purge mechanisms to release them first. They made an error and reactivated only when the Enterprise’s arrival triggered the distortion projector and an emergency reawakening protocol.”

“The shuttles didn’t do it?” asked Kirk.

“Negative,” said Spock. “The power of the shuttles was below the threshold. Only the arrival of a starship could trigger the system.”

“So if we’d never come here,” said Kirk, “the Farrezzi would be sleeping still, unaware their planet was waiting for them to reclaim it.”

“Correct, Captain.”

“Lucky for them we came along,” Kirk said, bringing up an image of Farrezz on the central console.

The first sight of a new world always offered him a thrill, but seeing a planet he and his crew had rescued was even better. “Let’s get to work, Mister Spock. We’ve got a planet to wake up.”

EPILOGUE

CAPTAIN’S LOG, STARDATE 4759.8

Waking the Farrezzi sleepers continues. The slavers on both ships have been detained, as have the ones on the surface. The actions of the New Planets Cousins have introduced complications into an unstable situation. The Federation has promised help. Supply ships and a team of special envoys will arrive in the next few weeks.

The thirteen of us who survived the ordeal are looking forward to the arrival of the Enterprise. Lieutenant Commander Scott and Petty Officer Yüksel are in need of medical attention in the ship’s sickbay.

The entire landing party is due commendations for their exceptional actions during this crisis, but I would like to single out Petty Officer Cron Emalra’ehn, whose heroic action saved his shipmates at the cost of his own life.

Stardate 4760.7 (1738 hours)

McCoy stood next to Sulu in the transporter room, trying not to fidget. He’d brought a stretcher with him for Scotty. Over at the transporter console, Lieutenant Kyle was setting the controls. The two-day journey to Mu Arigulon V—sorry, Farrezz—had felt longer.

Sulu was looking good, McCoy reflected. You’d never know that the helm console had exploded in his face. McCoy still hadn’t come to terms with the loss of Bouchard. Being killed by the mere fact that the ship had gotten too close to another universe? That just wasn’t fair.

“Ready to energize, sir,” Kyle said.

“Beam them up, Mister Kyle,” Sulu ordered, turning to face the transporter dais. The shimmering of the transporter effect, and then six figures materialized in front of them: Kirk, Spock, M’Benga, Scotty, Giotto, and Chekov. Scotty looked the worst, held up by Giotto and M’Benga.

“Welcome back, Captain,” said Sulu, a wide smile on his face. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back, Mister Sulu,” Kirk said, stepping down off the dais. “What have you been doing to my ship?” His voice was light, but McCoy knew there was a bit of concern behind the question.

Scotty spoke up, clearly agitated. “I’ll thank you for getting me to sickbay now, Doctor. I shudder to think what my wee bairns have been through these past few days. I need to be up on my feet so I can see what DeSalle has been doing to them.”

McCoy pushed the stretcher over to the transporter dais, and with the help of M’Benga and Giotto, he transferred Scotty onto it. “Did you enjoy landing party duty, Jabilo?”

M’Benga smiled. “You can have every landing party from here to the end of the five-year mission, for all I care.”

M’Benga wheeled Scotty out of the room, and McCoy went to join Kirk and Spock, who were talking to Sulu.

“—estimates it will take two weeks