"Keptin!" Chekov called after Captain Kirk as he was heading  to the turbolift.

"Yes, Mr. Chekov?" Kirk turned to face the young ensign.

Chekov, who had been rushing across the ship, slid to an abrupt stop, nearly running into the captain. He took a quick step backwards and cleared his throat. "I would like to assist in the rescue mission for Lieutenant Uhura."

"You would?"

He nodded eagerly.

With a nod, Captain Kirk resumed walking through the ship. "Come with me."

Chekov nodded again, following after the captain. "Aye, sir."

Less than a minute later, Captain Kirk and Ensign Chekov reached the briefing room. The dim light filtering in from the ceiling failed to penetrate the deep pools of shadows in the corners of the room and the stuffy air hung heavy around them.

Bones slouched in a chair, his arms crossed and his face set in a deep scowl. Scotty and Jaylah sat at one end, uncharacteristically quiet. Lieutenant Commander Giotto, head of security, was also sitting around the large table, as was Commander Spock. The Vulcan leaned back in his chair, his face deathly pale and his hands firmly grasping the arms of his seat.

Ensign Chekov quickly sat down next to Jaylah.

"You look like hell." Kirk commented as he took a seat next to his first officer.

"I assure you I feel much worse."

"You should be in medbay."

"I will not sit idly by while Lieutenant Uhura is in danger."

Captain Kirk shrugged and turned away from his science officer. He folded his hands in front of him and leaned on the table. "I can safely assume you are all aware of what's going on. Although they have yet to tell us why it is so vital that we do so, Starfleet command has ordered us to recover the artifact at any and all costs. While they expressed their condolences for the...the loss of Lieutenant Uhura, they strictly prohibited any sort of rescue attempt until the artifact has been secured."

"Keptin?" Chekov tentatively raised a hand.

"You have something to add Mr. Chekov?" Kirk asked.

"Uh..." Chekov awkwardly lowered his hand. "Did they happen to tell us the the artifact is?"

Captain Kirk hesitated, remembering the commodore's words to him. "It's a terraforming device." He said, deciding that he didn't care if it was classified information or not. It was their right to know. "Very old and very powerful."

"It is similar in function to that of the Vulcan Helios device." Spock added. "The one which the Gorn stole from New Vulcan several years ago."

"We are doing all this for a terraforming device?" Chekov asked.

"I think there's more to it," Kirk said. "It's apparently, from what I understand, the tipping point for an all-out war."

The room was silent.

"War?" Bones repeated in disbelief. "With who? I didn't know tensions between anyone in the whole damn galaxy was that high."

"The commodore refused to disclose any more information on the subject." Captain Kirk replied, trying to remain as formal as he could. In all reality he was frustrated as hell. He hated being left in the dark on things, and he hated that he couldn't tell his crew anymore than the small amount of information he was given.

Bones leaned back in his chair. "Well that's a load of horse shit."

"It's frustrating, I know. But we need to find the artifact and the person responsible. That's our mission parameters at this moment in time."

"The stolen shuttle cannae last that long in space all by itself. He would've headed for the nearest planet or station." Scotty told the captain. "From there, would'a tried to find a bigger ship to use. Something that can survive for longer distances. But the shuttle alone, it's unlikely he was able to get very far."

"Whoever this guy is, wherever he is, we'll find him." Kirk added, wishing he felt as confident as his voice sounded.

"And Lieutenant Uhura." Chekov added.

"And Uhura."

"We're treading on some mighty thin ice, Jim." Bones told the captain. "More than likely any planet or station we run into won't appreciate a Starfleet vessel showing up out of the blue and asking questions. We're going into dangerous territory and if the whole situation is as tense as they make it out to be, we could end up in serious trouble."

"Which is why I want the entire ship and crew on full alert." The captain nodded in agreement. "I will personally lead any party beamed down to the surface of wherever we end up. No one will be allowed to leave or board the ship without my direct order."

"The doctor is right. Our appearance in any foreign territory may be viewed as a declaration of war." Spock said in a quiet voice. "But it would appear that Starfleet has given us no option on the matter, since the recovery of this artifact and the location of the perpetrator supersedes that of the prime directive."

Kirk nodded. "This information does not leave the room. Dismissed."

Everyone stood, except for the captain and the first officer. Jaylah quickly slipped away as did Giotto. Scotty and Chekov exited together, deep in some discussion.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" Bones demanded once it was just the three of them.

Captain Kirk could only offer a vague shrug in his defense. "Probably."

"We got a dog's chance in hell going in there guns blazing. They can't expect us to take on the whole quadrant by ourselves."

"Evidently they do." Spock told the doctor.

Captain Kirk rubbed the back of his aching neck, uncertain of what else he could say to fix the whole situation.

Bones scowled. "Well you better hope we don't run into any other intelligent lifeforms out here. Or else you're gonna have to get real good at bluffing. The stakes are high and you ain't got a hand worth jack squat." He told the captain before storming out of the room.

"Off the record, our first priority will be to locate Uhura." Kirk told Spock as he watched the door slide shut behind the doctor. "Then look for the artifact and do whatever else."

Spock looked at the captain. "I would not wish for it to be any other way."