"This is acting Captain James T. Kirk." Came the sight of a familiar face. "We are willing to negotiate the return of Captain Sulu--"

"I have the captain of your ship and her commanding officer," Koloth, captain of The Force, had said. "I believe that constitutes as that you have been defeated."

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios." Kirk said.

"Haven't you been dead for two years?" Koloth asked.

Kirk stared through the screen long and hard.

"That is not true." Kirk said.

"True as in seeing you in his quarters shortly after your death," Koloth said. "That I did. I saw you. You were a ghost. Dead. And how does a fine young warrior come back from the grave? Tell us," Koloth leaned forward, hands on the arm rest, with a grin. "Tell us. What is your secret? Are you immortal?" Kirk was unable to respond. "So you are!"

Kirk had a short laugh followed by a smile and a roll of his shoulders.

"No," Kirk said. "Transporter malfunction. That is all." Now it was his turn to smirk. "You have a Romulan aboard your ship."

"Romulans have no place on our ship," Koloth said. "And we are very certain there is none."

"Well," Kirk said. "I do not want a war to be brewing because some Romulan disguised himself as a human and became the first officer who initiated this entire conflict." Kirk shook his hand. "I have a science officer who survived the attack you put on the planet. According to our currently bed-rest science officer, Mr Wright was acting very suspicious. In fact, he managed to fire the first shot. Tried to kill the science officer but he couldn't. So she pretended to be dead."

"What kind of name is that?" Koloth said.

"A generally unique name, Koloth," Kirk pressed a button on the arm rest, took a apple out, and had a bite from it. Kirk chewed then swallowed. "I would most certainly want a entire war to be started over a dishonorable Romulan agent wanting to cause war between Star Fleet and your kind. If at all, I want no war with you. If you hand over Captain Sulu and Commander Wright we will forget about this."

Koloth narrowed his eyes.

"That was our territory." Koloth said.

Kirk took another bite of the apple, chewed, then swallowed.

"Still upset over the tribbles we left you with?" Kirk asked.

"That was a victorious day." Koloth said, with pride.

Kirk smirked.

"You were defeated." Kirk reminded Koloth.

"We killed a thousand tribbles!" Koloth said.

"Which isn't victorious." Kirk said.

"They died in honor." Koloth said.

"Okay," Kirk shook his hand. "How about you go see Mr Wright?"

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Scotty noticed something different about the transporter console.

It indicated there was a life form still in it.

"Scotty tae the bridge." Scotty said.

"Yes, Mr Scott?" Came Kirk's voice.

"There is some deficiencies about the transporter I would like tae speak with you about."

There was a pause.

"Captain?" Came Spock's voice.

"I have an idea," Kirk said. "I will speak with you right away, Scotty. Kirk out."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"I have known what you were two years," Sulu said. "You spoke in Romulan with a Romulan refugee was a dead give away." They were cuffed, in the same quarters. "I thought spending time on my ship would change your mind." Wright looked over in shock at the direction of the man. "I was convinced you were different when you saved my life three months ago. That you had decided to serve the Enterprise rather than the Romulan empire."

"You honestly believed a Romulan/Vulcan hybrid would fall for your ship of chance?" Wright said.

"It worked for many." Sulu said.

"They weren't me." Wright said.

"How did you get that Romulan extra?" Sulu asked.

"He was a messenger." Wright said.

"Sent to give you a oral message?" Sulu asked.

"That he was." Wright said.

"You sent a innocent Romulan to his death for rape." Sulu said.

"It was consensual," Wright said. "She lied once she saw him. What she had said originally was true."

"Well, I'll be damned." Sulu said, glaring a hole at the forehead of Wright.

"I also knew the captain and the commander were alive in the transporter," Wright said, in a low voice. "At night I would be plagued by the sights of captain Kirk, sitting down at the edge of the bed, and staring off into the window. I would lean up, call him out, and turn the lights on. When the lights were on, he would be gone. For two years I kept the light on."

"He wasn't dead." Sulu said.

"I believe in the supernatural," Wright said. "And that was a ghost."

Sulu shook his head.

"I saw him alive," Sulu said. "And you saw him too."

"Then does not explain what I saw for two months." Wright said.

"Ever heard of living spirit?" Sulu asked.

"No." Wright said.

"It is when a spirit of a individual comes and haunts others," Sulu said. "Some people speculate it possibly a side effect of those who are emphatic, mediums drawing spirits releasing their excessive energy that goes where they wish to be (often times) or just some where random, and some just discard it as the manifestation of energy that cannot be explained taking on the form of someone alive."

There was a pause.

"Are you not angry at me?" Wright asked.

"I am angry at you," Sulu said. "You could had a lengthy and long career in Star Fleet. You could have deflected the Romulan's and I could have forgiven you for coming to me. That's what humans do, Mr Wright, and you nailed the qualities of humanity down to a tea. I trusted you! You broke that trust with me. I don't know how Star Fleet will handle your return if you ever do come back. Your career would be over. You would be thrown back to your own kind to face your superiors for failing. And if you had a possibility of returning to Star Fleet, I would give a letter of reference regarding your service."

Wrighth had a bewildered expression about his face.

"But my career is a lie," Wright said. "I can not continue my life that way. This is my one and only mission. My first and last. For I am sure it has failed." He looked over Sulu as the sound of Klingon bootsteps approached the brig. "If I had been born on the other side of this issue,as a human, I would have been honored to serve aboard the Enterprise." Sulu appeared to be touched, at first. "But instead? It has been the most illogical, and insane assignment I ever had."

The red electrical wall vanished.

"Live long and prosper." Wright made the Vulcan salute toward Sulu.

The Klingon forced Wright up and towed him out of the room with the electrical field coming up.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Jim, that is mad!" McCoy said.

"It is quite a logical decision." Spock noted.

"Stop agreein' with Jim for once!" McCoy exclaimed.

"That is impossible as this is the most logical situation I will ever find myself agreeing on with the captain."

McCoy sighed.

"Damn it, Jim." McCoy said.

"You two have my blessing," The two were unable to reply following the captain. "If you get married! Besides, I approve my two best friends getting together! The best of both worlds. Vulcan and humanity working out their differences together. And besides, it is plainly obvious," The three walked into the transporter room. Scotty appeared to a have a unsure expression on his face at first but then it turned to certainty. Kirk turned in the direction of the two with a stop and a grin on his face. "I will be fine, Bones." Kirk slapped McCoy's shoulder. "Just a quick beam up."

"The planet will be destroyed in five minutes, captain." Spock said.

"Perfect." Kirk said.

"Chaos," McCoy said, with dismay. Then his face turned into realization. "Jim, wait, five minutes can mean--" Spock applied the nerve pinch to McCoy.

The man fell into his arms.

"Take care of him, will you?" Kirk asked. "When I am not there. That's the only thing I ask of you."

Spock could only nod.

"That is a suicide mission, captain," Spock said. "And I must protest against it as your first officer."

Kirk walked on to the transporter pad with one hand on the sheath that had a blade in it.

"Your concerns have been noted,Spock," Kirk said. Kirk winked. "I will be back before you know it. Get Bones out of here." Spock went out of the transporter room. Kirk looked over toward Scotty, with the utmost certainty and trust in him. "Beam me down, Scotty."

Scotty slid up the bars and he watched the captain vanish in a golden haze.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sulu walked onto the bridge with panic not on his face.

"Take us out of orbit," Sulu sat down into the captain's chair. "Shields up, and don't drop them. Get us out of here."

The Force sent a red phaser blast at the fleeing Enterprise.

The planet exploded sending debris crashing into The Force destroying it completely leaving scrap and remains floating in space. They continued at warp for twenty-two minutes. Sulu had a sigh of relief once hearing the report they were not being followed. "Take us out of warp." Sulu looked over toward the turbo lift, almost as though expecting for Kirk to come in, then tell him how they fooled the Klngons. Kirk did not come. A look of confusion came on Sulu's face as he turned his head away from the turbo lift. He looked over in the direction of Spock. Carol was recovering in Med Bay from the injuries she had suffered. The Vulcan had briefly closed his eyes, emotionlessly, with a sigh.

"In exchange for your life," Spock said. "Captain Kirk had to give Captain Koloth a fair fight on the dying planet."

"Did he get beamed out?" Sulu asked, concerned.

"Negative." Spock said.

". . . Dead." Sulu said.

"Negative." Spock said.

Sulu raised an eyebrow and Chekov also raised an eyebrow.

"But you just said--" Sulu started to say but was cut off by Spock.

"He is not dead." Spock said.

Sulu lowered his eyebrow visibly puzzled.

"How do you know that,Mr Spock?" Sulu said.

"Simple, captain," Spock said. "Kirk and I have a psychic connection."