ST:FIC Days of Our Youth 3

Chapter Three

Whether he liked to admit it or not Kirk was actually starting to enjoy walking through the Romulan ship. It was intensely interesting. Just the basic set up was enough to keep him busy for at least an hour. He had the feeling that if Scotty had come he would have tried to rip the ship apart just to figure out how the lights worked. Speaking of lights, everything was set at a dim lighting and tinted red. It gave everything a very surreal feeling to it.

            “I see you like my ship, Captain,” D’nal said quietly. Kirk had just been staring at the walls like they were at a museum. Jerking his eyes away from the walls, Kirk looked at the Romulan. He pursed his lips and nodded his head lightly.

            “It’s… Nice,” he said.

The other captain laughed. With a shake of his head, he looked up ahead at the Vulcan and his mother. They were standing very close and she seemed to be speaking very quickly. Every so often he would look over his shoulder at Kirk with a strange expression on his face. It seemed like he didn’t understand the situation any more than his captain.

Not a few minutes later Amanda stopped in front of some chamber. She waited patiently for D’nal to type in his password. With a hiss the door slid open and she nearly jumped through, pulling her son after. D’nal shook his head with a smirk and followed, Kirk going after him.

The chamber looked almost exactly like the transporter room only the transporter pad was separated from the rest of the room by thick, clouded glass. Kirk blinked and had to lean forward slightly to see if he could guess at the machine. What was Amanda supposed to be showing them again? Glancing at D’nal he quickly focused his gaze on Spock and his mother. So far nothing about this trip was making sense.

            “Mother, what is this?” Spock said slowly, breaking the silence no one realized had dropped over them.

Amanda smiled. “It’s what’s been helping me,” she responded. Finally letting go of Spock’s hand she walked reverently up to the machine. The way she stared at it made it seem like it was the giver of all life and not some hunk of Romulan junk. Kirk stepped over to Spock. The Vulcan watched his mother with narrowed eyes.

            “Spock, do you have any idea what that is?” He whispered.

            “No. Unfortunately, Captain, I have no ideas about it,” Spock responded just as quietly.

            “That would be because we just invented it,” D’nal cut in. Kirk and Spock instantly step away from each other like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Before anything else could be said Amanda stepped back to them. She smiled at Spock. Her eyes were stuck on her son and her son only. Honestly it was starting to creep Kirk out.

            “Let me show you, Spock, please,” she whispered, her hands twining with his again. Mothers seemed to have special powers or something because there were very few people in this universe that could make Spock loose emotional balance. Well, her and Kirk but that was a whole other story; one that would be talked about at a later date.

            “Of course, Mother, anything,” he responded after a minute of silent consideration.

She smiled brilliantly and pulled him up to the glass room. Lightly tapping the glass with her free hand she stepped inside, pulling him after.

Almost as soon as they stepped in the chamber the glass slid shut.

            “Hey!” Kirk jumped forward. D’nal’s hand dropped onto his shoulder, stopping him from pounding his fist against the glass. “What are you doing? Let them out of there!” Kirk commanded, well aware of the fact that he was on a Romulan ship and not his.

D’nal shook his head. He pulled his hand away. “I can’t. She’s the one who locked it, not me. She, honestly, has power over this room,” he explained. Stepping away from the captain, D’nal stepped over to the computer facing the glass chamber.

            “She does? But... Why?” Kirk was confused. Why did a human woman have power over a Romulan captain? That just didn’t make any sense.

            “That, I can’t tell you. Unless, of course, she lets me,” he said. Without looking at Kirk, D’nal set to work. His fingers flew over the buttons with practiced ease. He would glance up at the chamber every so often then down to the computer. Pressing one last button he stepped back.

            “Watch,” he told Kirk. Since he didn’t have anything to possibly do at the moment, he did, indeed, watch.

The chamber in front of the two captains started to whine. Behind the glass Kirk heard a gasp closely followed by a strangled sort of sound. The sounds were quickly cut off and followed by shocks of light. If Kirk were anyone but James T. Kirk he would be extremely nervous. But he was Kirk and he was just pissed, instead.

            “D’nal! Tell me what’s happening-- Or so help me!” Kirk threatened, stabbing a finger into the Romulan’s chest. D’nal pushed his hand away and shook his head.

For what it was worth even D’nal looked upset.

A second later all the sounds and lights disappeared. The machine wound down and with a tiny ending whine finally stopped. The glass door slid open but no one stepped out. Shooting one glance at D’nal, both captains stepped up to the chamber. Looking inside Kirk was met with a very different sight then he expected.

Amanda was no longer Amanda. She was a tall, haughty looking Romulan with long brown hair and very confident looking green eyes. Resting her hands on her hips she smirked at the captain of the Enterprise.

            “Hello, Captain,” she said.