{"id":13882,"date":"2017-03-07T12:29:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T17:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13882"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:15","slug":"the-curse-of-bodie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13882","title":{"rendered":"The Curse of Bodie (by McFair_58)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0In 2269 an archaeologist digging in the ruins of the Bodie mine on Earth discovers skeletal remains dating to 1876. On the wrist of the dead man, who is wearing a green jacket, is an alien device. Its discovery sends the crew of the Enterprise into the past to Ben Cartwright’s Ponderosa where the eddies of time and an alien menace are moving together to doom Ben’s youngest son.<\/p>\n

Rated: PG-13 \u00a0 (77,500 words)<\/p>\n

The Curse of Bodie – A Bonanza-Star Trek Crossover<\/p>\n

Rating based on western violence and adult situations<\/p>\n

All known and public characters belong to those who created them. \u00a0All new characters belong to the author. \u00a0There is no intent to infringe on copyright and no money is being made – just friends and warm hearts hopefully!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Curse of Bodie<\/strong><\/p>\n

PROLOGUE – 1964<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The lone figure of a man occupied the middle of a dusty thoroughfare.\u00a0 A tempest was upon him, both inward and outward.\u00a0 The wind howled, keening like a banshee as his mind whirled, calculating, dismissing, assessing, deciding.\u00a0 The strong breeze worked at displacing the hat firmly anchored on his head and lifted the edges of the long dark coat he wore, giving it life and flight, making it look more like the membrane-thin wings of a bat than any kind of cloth.\u00a0 As he stood there the appropriately named tumbleweeds tumbled by, making much better progress than the curious stranger did.\u00a0 He fought a sigh, for a sigh was a dangerous thing.\u00a0 It gave a man hope and snatched it away just as quickly.\u00a0 The man in black closed his eyes and fought to focus his thoughts, seeking to link ideas with a commonality.<\/p>\n

Hope.\u00a0 It was a foreign thing to him, dismissed as easily as pain and love and…guilt.<\/p>\n

Guilt.<\/p>\n

No good could come of guilt.\u00a0 He\u2019d told someone that not long ago.\u00a0 It stripped a man of action, of the ability to think clearly; of the capacity to think of anything other than an action or choice that had been made and could not be un<\/em>made.<\/p>\n

His near-black eyes flew open.<\/p>\n

Forgotten.\u00a0 What had he forgotten?<\/p>\n

Jim.<\/p>\n

Joe.<\/p>\n

The stranger turned to face the row of empty buildings before him.\u00a0 The land they occupied was dry as the bones of the old ones and the storm that had come upon it so unexpectedly sucked out what little life it had left; chewing it up and spitting it out with no more regard than the tons of rock that had pounded down uncaring, sealing the fate of the man he sought to save.\u00a0 No, the man he had saved.<\/p>\n

Had<\/em> he saved him?<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

Removing his hat, the lean man lifted his face to the sky and allowed the wind to play through his chin-length martial-straight raven-black hair briefly before replacing it, relishing the one hundred plus degrees of heat that beat down on his head, comforting him as surely as the fires of home.\u00a0 Looking at the sky, he thought of the ship that should be sailing there, and of the man who belonged in the captain\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

Was he the one he sought here in this time?\u00a0 Was it Jim?<\/p>\n

Or was it Joe?<\/p>\n

Either way, it was imperative he reach him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice startled him.\u00a0 He felt shame at that.<\/p>\n

Then he felt shame at feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I help you?\u00a0 You look kind of lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s near-black eyes narrowed as they locked on the newcomer.\u00a0 It took a moment but he recognized him as some sort of lawman and pronounced him harmless.\u00a0 \u201cI am <\/em>in need of some assistance,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you one of the reenactors here for the pageant?\u201d the ranger asked.\u00a0 \u201cIf you are, that\u2019s a great costume.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man looked at the black garb that covered him.\u00a0 \u201cThis is my current attire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawman nodded…slowly.\u00a0 \u201cOkay. Well maybe you\u2019re looking for the tourist office then?\u00a0 If you are,\u201d he said, pointing, \u2018it\u2019s over there.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at his wristwatch.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve got about fifteen minutes before it closes.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he was not prone to prevarication, it would be easier to accept the young man\u2019s scenario than to contest it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u00a0 I will endeavor to make it there before that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a ghost walk later tonight, if you\u2019re interested.\u00a0 It goes down in the old Bodie mine.\u00a0 We\u2019ll meet at the saloon over there at midnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bodie Mine….Bodie.\u00a0 He had been there hadn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

Or was he yet to arrive?<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps another day,\u201d\u00a0 he said at last.\u00a0 \u201cI have someone I have to…meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man raised a hand to shield his eyes and looked at him askance.\u00a0 \u201cYou aren\u2019t thinking of taking off into the desert are you?\u00a0 The sun will be down in an hour.\u00a0 It\u2019s dangerous out there no matter what, but deadly at night.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced toward the sky.\u00a0 \u201cLet alone with this storm blowing up.\u201d<\/p>\n

More dangerous that you know<\/em>, the man thought to himself.\u00a0 \u201cIt is not my intention to cross the desert,\u201d he replied, knowing full well he could have and would have had no difficulty surviving the journey.\u00a0 His training as a boy assured him of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou looking for a hotel then?\u00a0 I imagine there\u2019s a room available at the Bodie Victorian.\u00a0 We\u2019re on our off-season now, since it\u2019s so hot.\u201d\u00a0 The young man grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYou look like a weather-beaten gunslinger, you should like it there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man told the truth.\u00a0 He most certainly did look like a desperado.\u00a0 He was attired from head to foot in black and wore a black hat pulled low over his ears and eyes.\u00a0 His coat was what was known as a duster, chosen to conceal some of the weapons he carried beneath it as well as to lend bulk to his bone-thin frame thereby rendering him slightly more intimidating.\u00a0 On his hip there was a sling that contained a Colt revolver he had no intention of using.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u00a0 If you would….\u201d<\/p>\n

At first the lawman looked confused.\u00a0 Then, \u201cOh! Right, the hotel.\u00a0 It\u2019s down this street at the end. \u00a0Can\u2019t miss it. 281 Main Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

He inclined his head.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome!\u201d the man said with a smile.<\/p>\n

The stranger blinked, confused.\u00a0 \u201cOne more thing, if I may?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man eyed him.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure you haven\u2019t been in the sun too long?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just told you.\u00a0 You\u2019re in Bodie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, yes.\u00a0 I need to be in….\u00a0 I need to find the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Can you direct me there?\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawman grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYou an extra?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn \u2018extra\u2019 what?\u201d he inquired, one black eyebrow cocked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, it was easier to acquiesce.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word\u2019s out their filming at Lake Tahoe day after tomorrow.\u00a0 That where you\u2019re headed?\u201d<\/p>\n

Once again he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what, go to the station at the edge of town, the one on the southern side.\u00a0 The man behind the counter can direct you.\u00a0 He does some stunt work from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow far is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about\u00a0 two and a half hours north of here,\u201d he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe more if the wagons are running slow.\u201d\u00a0 The lawman was still watching him, as if attempting to discern whether or not he was in his right mind.<\/p>\n

A discernment he would welcome knowledge of as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re gonna spend the night here.\u00a0 Right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Absentmindedly, he nodded.<\/p>\n

The lawman opened his mouth to question him again, but a hail from across the street drew his attention.\u00a0 He returned it with a wave.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s Bill.\u00a0 We\u2019re prepping for the ghost walk.\u00a0 I gotta go.\u00a0 You\u2019re sure you\u2019re okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am…well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seemingly satisfied, the young man tipped his hat and jogged across the street to join his coworker, tossing a \u2018Take care of yourself.\u00a0 Hope to see you again!\u2019off as he went.<\/p>\n

It was doubtful.<\/p>\n

Lieutenant Commander Spock, late of the Starship Enterprise, hesitated, waiting for his path to clear before moving on.\u00a0 The two men were standing, talking to another pale young man with pale blond or white hair.\u00a0 He appeared to be asking directions and the answers had him looking his way.\u00a0 Pulling his hat over his eyes, Spock melted into the shadows cast by one of the empty buildings.\u00a0 Leaning against it, he paused to gather his strength.<\/p>\n

This was the last leg of a long journey that had taken him from the twenty-third century to the nineteenth and, now, to the twentieth.\u00a0 He had failed in every time and every level.\u00a0 But he would not fail here.\u00a0 He would rescue the young man upon whom the fate of worlds depended and return the time stream to its proper order.\u00a0 And in doing so, he would \u2013 he must<\/em> \u2013 find his friend.<\/p>\n

Even if it meant he would never return home again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

PART ONE<\/p>\n

1864<\/p>\n

2269<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ONE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright shed his green jacket, flinging it over the back of one of the big red chairs, and hung his tan hat on the rack by the door.\u00a0 Removing his gun belt, he placed it along with his pearl-handled pistol on the sideboard and then crossed to the large bowl of fruit that served as both parlor decoration and snack and grabbed a big, red, juicy-looking apple.\u00a0 He took a bite, savored the sweet sensation, and then dropped onto the striped settee in the great room and anchored his boots on the table.<\/p>\n

Life was good and he was tired.<\/p>\n

It was October and the year was winding down.\u00a0 There was an awful lot to do to get ready to weather it.\u00a0 This year it seemed Pa had decided, since the Ponderosa was nearly as old as he was, it was time to shore up the house and outbuildings and make sure they were as air tight as they could be.\u00a0 Apparently while he<\/em> was considered \u2018young\u2019 at twenty-two, the buildings at an age somewhere over that were as old and decrepit as a man over eighty.\u00a0 At least you would have thought so from all of the stripping, chinking, hammering, and painting going on.\u00a0 Adam had got a burr up his saddle to make a few changes since they were at it and Pa had agreed, all of which meant he had spent the day hauling and lifting boards, carting paint cans and buckets of nails, and wielding a paint brush like a big fat unwieldy \u00e9p\u00e9e.\u00a0 When he\u2019d danced a little \u00e9p\u00e9e \u2018jig\u2019 to keep himself warm, big brother Adam had rolled his eyes, called him an \u2018idiot\u2019, and then joined in before going back to his plans.<\/p>\n

Joe took another bite and chewed on it as he chewed on that image of Adam.\u00a0 There was something \u2018up\u2019 with big brother.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure what it was.\u00a0 Adam was his usual cool, collected self, but he seemed, well, distracted.\u00a0 Of course, he\u2019d<\/em> be distracted too with all those facts and figures and measurements swimming around in his head.\u00a0 Big brother was always dreaming \u2013 dreaming of what he could tear down or build up, of where he could go and what he might see.\u00a0 Sometimes it bothered him because it seemed Adam wasn\u2019t happy.\u00a0 He wanted him to be happy.<\/p>\n

But he sure didn\u2019t want big brother to leave.<\/p>\n

Joe shifted so he was more comfortable and took another bite of the apple.\u00a0 He\u2019d talked it over with Hoss on the way back to the ranch and middle brother had agreed that something was up.\u00a0 Adam was sneaky<\/em>, he said.\u00a0 Sneaky like a fox.\u00a0 You never knew what he was thinking until he let <\/em>you know.\u00a0 Joe turned and looked toward the door.\u00a0 Hoss had headed to the barn to check on one of the horses that had chewed its leg up on a barbed-wired fence the day before.\u00a0 He should be back any minute.\u00a0 Adam was due back too.\u00a0 In fact, so was Pa.\u00a0 It was almost suppertime and\u00a0 Hop Sing would be hopping mad if any or all of them failed to show.\u00a0 Joe drew in a breath of the aromas floating on the air from out of the kitchen.\u00a0 There was beef, and onions too, and maybe a hint of yams with sugar on them.\u00a0 Coffee was brewing and he thought \u2013 yes \u2013 there was apple pie.\u00a0 One thing about winter coming was they could always count on a good, hot, stick-to-your-ribs, fill-you-up-from-top-to-toe meal.<\/p>\n

As if on cue, their Chinese cook appeared at the end of the dining table.\u00a0 Hop Sing was wearing a soiled apron and an exasperated expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere your family, Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lifting his feet from the table, the man with the curly brown hair sat up.\u00a0 \u201cKeepin\u2019 late hours it seems,\u201d he said with a half-grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Mister Ben and Mister Adam want to tear up house and barns?\u00a0 House and barns fine as they are!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m with you, Hop Sing,\u201d Joe said as he rose and walked to the door.\u00a0 Opening it, he tossed the apple core outside.\u00a0 \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked out the door and then swallowed hard as Ben Cartwright, king of the Ponderosa, timber baron and owner of half the state of Nevada, stepped in the door wiping apple mush off his face.<\/p>\n

He winced.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Ben no need eat raw apple,\u201d Hop Sing groused.\u00a0 \u201cHave cooked pie in stove!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked at his father.\u00a0 The older man was not amused.<\/p>\n

Twisting his face and raising his eyebrows, Joe tried to change the subject.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Adam?\u00a0 Ain\u2019t he with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, he isn\u2019t<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 His father drew a deep breath and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes Joseph I think you were raised in a barn!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s probably why it needs so many repairs.\u00a0 The kid bucks at everything like a bronco that won\u2019t be tamed,\u201d his oldest brother said, startling them both as he stepped in the door and anchored his hat on the rack.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa,\u201d Adam said with a grin.\u00a0 \u201cMust be the black clothes.\u00a0 I was right behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe didn\u2019t know whether to be insulted or not.\u00a0\u00a0 He opened his mouth to make a comeback, but couldn\u2019t think of anything to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou better shut that mouth of your\u2019n, little brother,\u201d Hoss said as he too entered.\u00a0 \u201cNext thing you know, you\u2019ll be catchin\u2019 flies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly flies in ranch house on Hop Sing\u2019s pie!\u201d the Chinese man shouted.\u00a0 \u201cCartwrights sit down and eat soon or Hop Sing give it all to bugs!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on there, Hop Sing,\u201d Hoss countered, halting the cook in his tracks.\u00a0 \u201cI done just got here.\u00a0 It was the smell of that apple pie that drew me in like a pig with a ring through its nose.\u00a0 I could smell it all the way out there in the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father had deposited his coat on the back of the settee and accepted a napkin from Hop Sing with which he wiped his face clean.\u00a0 Joe squirmed beneath his pa\u2019s firm stare and then watched as it slid from him to the hearth and the wood box beside it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you remember to bring in the wood, Joseph, before you sat down to partake of your apple?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

He thought about it, screwing up his face like his pa had just asked him to do a six figure sum.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph?\u201d\u00a0 The older man waited five seconds.\u00a0 \u201cI take that as a \u2018no\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hung his head.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want us all to treat you like you are a responsible adult, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 Well, that would mean taking responsibility, now wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe took a step back.\u00a0 The thunder was rumbling, just like his stomach.\u00a0 The storm was gonna break any minute.\u00a0 \u201cYes…sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father\u2019s arm shot out like Zeus aiming a thunderbolt.\u00a0 \u201cYou march outside, young man, and you bring in that wood. \u00a0Then<\/em>, you can eat!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was standing with his arms crossed, a self-satisfied almost feline smile twisting his lips up at both ends.<\/p>\n

Hoss was looking at his toes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir.\u201d\u00a0 He said it, but didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow<\/em>, Joseph!\u201d<\/p>\n

He almost saluted.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir!\u201d\u00a0 And with that, the brown-haired man caught his coat from the chair beside the settee, tossed it on, and headed out the door.<\/p>\n

Once outside Joe let out a long sigh.\u00a0 No matter what he did, it was always wrong and it always marked him as a green-horn kid who still needed his father and brothers to wipe snot from his nose and keep his nether region clean.\u00a0 Gathering in air and letting it out in another mighty sigh, he headed for the wood pile only to discover that there wasn\u2019t<\/em> a wood pile.<\/p>\n

He was going to have to chop it.<\/p>\n

With one last longing sniff of the meal that was lost to him, Joe headed toward the barn and the pile of short logs laying beside it.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to split them before he could take the wood inside.\u00a0 It was going to take a long time.\u00a0 He could only hope Hoss left something<\/em> for him to eat.<\/p>\n

Though he knew it was a vain<\/em> hope at best.<\/p>\n

With a sigh Joe bent to retrieve one of the logs but stopped when he heard a noise he couldn\u2019t quite identify.\u00a0 It was almost musical and came from within the barn.\u00a0 Leaving the wood behind, he moved to the door and opened it and peered inside.\u00a0 At first he couldn\u2019t see anything other than their mounts which had been housed for the night along with the wounded horse.\u00a0 Then he noticed a vague sort of light toward the back \u2013 almost like a star had come to visit and moved on leaving a trail of silver dust in its wake.\u00a0 He walked over to the area that contained a table and tall cupboard and reached out for the light just as it vanished \u2013 twinkling and then disappearing like that same starlight dragged down and sunk in a black sea of sky.<\/p>\n

In its wake, it left a man.<\/p>\n

Joe stumbled back, surprised, and \u2013 he hated to admit it \u2013 terrified<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho…who…are you?\u201d<\/em> he asked as the man turned to face him.\u00a0 He was of moderate height and age.\u00a0 One, maybe two inches taller than him.\u00a0 With a lean build and a head of grizzled hair. He was dressed in a black suit and stared at him with just about as much surprise as he\u2019d shown a minute before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d Joe demanded this time.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019d you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man took a step toward him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked.\u00a0 \u201cSorry about what?\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger stared at him a moment longer and then lifted his hand.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s went for his gun, only to remember it was laying on the sideboard in the house.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s cool blue eyes locked on his.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t mean you any harm.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a weapon.\u201d\u00a0 He paused and an amused light entered those eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWell, not really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe eyed the strange thing the man held in his hand.\u00a0 It was silver and long.\u00a0 In fact, it looked like the handle of a pistol with no barrel or chamber for bullets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d he breathed.<\/p>\n

A second later there was a hissing sound and a cloud of vapor or smoke drifted his way.\u00a0 As Joe breathed it in, the world began to fade.<\/p>\n

He felt an arm catch him around the shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, son.\u00a0 Though I imagine at your age a good long nap is something you\u2019d rather <\/em>have than not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He opened his mouth to say he wasn\u2019t a baby and he didn\u2019t need a nap, but just then that fading world went black.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Doctor Leonard McCoy shook the young man gently, making certain he was unconscious.\u00a0 Then, opening his recalibrated medical tricorder, he ran a quick sweep to ascertain that he had not been harmed by the tranquilizer he\u2019d released into the air.\u00a0 After a moment, satisfied, he rose to his feet.\u00a0 The next thing the doctor did was to run his hands over his own lean frame and citified Western suit in order to establish that everything <\/em>he owned had come through that damned<\/em> transporter process with him.\u00a0 Satisfied at last that it had, he left the boy laying on the floor and returned to the area where he had materialized and waited.<\/p>\n

And waited.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Jim,\u201d he breathed.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, you were right behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his friend continued in absentia, McCoy crossed to the partially opened barn door and looked outside.\u00a0 The house he had seen in the holos was there \u2013 a large one composed of hewn wood planks with white chinking between the boards such as his ancestors would have erected in Georgia \u2013 if on a less grand scale.\u00a0 The owner of the ranch house was Benjamin Cartwright.\u00a0 He had three sons.\u00a0 McCoy turned and looked at the handsome young fellow spread out on the barn floor.\u00a0 Undoubtedly, this was one of them.\u00a0 Probably the youngest.\u00a0 Name of…Joe?\u00a0 Yes, Joseph Francis Cartwright, approximate age twenty-two in late eighteen-hundred and sixty-four A.D. by the old calendar.\u00a0 There were two other sons \u2013 Adam and Eric \u2013 both older.\u00a0 The Enterprise\u2019s physician frowned.\u00a0 Time travel was always difficult because the briefing included knowledge not only the births but the deaths of those they might encounter.\u00a0 This one had experienced a fairly long life for the time, living well into his sixties.\u00a0 His brother Eric had died young, and Adam \u2013 well \u2013 Adam Cartwright had simply vanished without a trace.<\/p>\n

\u201cBones in the desert,\u201d McCoy muttered, \u201cor buried at sea, most likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d not had any sons.\u00a0 Unlike Benjamin Cartwright who had lost three wives to death, his had simply left him taking their daughter along.\u00a0 Sometimes he wondered why he married himself to Starfleet instead of to another woman who might have given him more children.\u00a0 He loved children, but then again, that\u2019s why <\/em>he hadn\u2019t had any more.\u00a0 Creating them and then leaving them behind for five years at a time seemed cruel at best.\u00a0 The nineteenth century equivalent would have been to sail off to sea, which the elder Cartwright had done as a young man \u2013 but before<\/em> he had his three boys. Ben Cartwright had exchanged the wide ocean for the vast forested reaches of Nevada and had, according to all accounts, died a happy man.<\/p>\n

Except for that missing son.<\/p>\n

The country doctor, known best as Bones to the man he was waiting on, turned back into the barn intending to search the whole thing just in case Jim had materialized somehow before him and was laying somewhere unconscious, when he heard a noise.\u00a0 Well, not a noise, a voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe!\u00a0 Hey, Little Joe!\u00a0 What you doin\u2019 out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bones stepped back behind the door.\u00a0 He glanced at the young man on the floor.\u00a0 There was nothing to do but leave him there.\u00a0 His brother knew he was in the barn.\u00a0 If he moved him or tried to hide him, that would prove more suspicious than just leaving him where he was.\u00a0 Moving quickly, McCoy ducked into the small room off the stalls and began to look for another way out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDag-blame it<\/em>, Little Joe!\u00a0 You get your skinny little hiney up to the house, you hear me?\u00a0 Pa\u2019s blowin\u2019 steam out his nostrils.\u201d Hoss Cartwright paused just outside the partially open barn door.\u00a0 \u201c Joe!\u00a0 You hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

He waited.\u00a0 When his only response was silence, the big man\u2019s irritation turned into concern.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Joe!\u201d he said as he gripped the door and pulled it open.\u00a0 \u201cYou in here, little brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was there all right, laid out flat on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The big man rushed to his brother\u2019s side and knelt beside him, anchoring his knees in the fetid straw and dirt Joe was eating.\u00a0 He hesitated a moment and then placed a hand on his brother\u2019s back, checking for a heartbeat.<\/p>\n

It was strong.<\/p>\n

Joe stirred slightly at his touch.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t say anything, but he moaned.<\/p>\n

Sitting and slipping in beside him, Joe cradled his brother\u2019s curly head in his lap and placed a hand on his forehead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, boy.\u00a0 You hear me?\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n

Joe moaned again.\u00a0 His eyeballs rolled behind the lids and those eyelashes he had, so long and black a girl would \u2018a wished for them, fluttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to you, little brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe licked his lips and struggled.\u00a0 It was like he was swimming up out of some dark sea.\u00a0 \u201cMan,\u201d he said, \u201cin…the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damn!<\/em>\u00a0 He\u2019d been so plumb worried about Joe he hadn\u2019t thought to check.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 eyes roamed the barn\u2019s interior.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t nothin\u2019 to see but their horses \u2013 and that little pony he\u2019d been workin\u2019 on.\u00a0 The pony was snortin\u2019 and stampin\u2019 his feet.<\/p>\n

Kinda nervouslike.<\/p>\n

Torn between what had happened to his brother and what might happen next, Hoss was never so happy to hear his father\u2019s irate bellow sound as he was at that moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u00a0 Hoss!\u00a0 What are you two doing in there?\u00a0 Playing checkers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u201d he answered back, curbin\u2019 the worry in his tone.\u00a0 \u201cPa, it\u2019s Joe.\u00a0 He\u2019s been hurt!\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father barreled in the door a second later, his eyes wide and wild as he searched for them.\u00a0 There was nothing like their pa.\u00a0 He was like a mean old she-bear and a pappy bear all rolled into one when it came to his cubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d the older man asked as he dropped to the barn floor beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure as shootin\u2019 don\u2019t know, Pa.\u00a0 I opened the door and found him here \u2013\u201d\u00a0 Hoss stopped.\u00a0 Joe was clawin\u2019 at their pa\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

He watched as his father caught his brother\u2019s hand and squeezed it.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it, Joe?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan…\u00a0 Pa….\u00a0 There was…a man.\u201d\u00a0 Joe drew in air like someone just breaking the surface.\u00a0 \u201cLooked like…a…city slicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father\u2019s eyes moved to him.\u00a0 \u201cYou see anything, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sir.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded toward the wounded animal.\u00a0 \u201cBut the pony\u2019s skittish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rising to his feet, the older man drew his gun and turned in a slow circle before shouting, \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Whoever you are, wherever you\u2019re hiding, come out!\u00a0 Come out now!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leonard McCoy swallowed over the lump in his throat and pulled at the black ribbon wound around his high-stand collar. He had a phaser on him, but was forbidden by regulations to draw it.\u00a0 It had been against Jim\u2019s orders to bring it along at all, but his motto had always been \u2018better safe than sorry\u2019.\u00a0 The doctor was sure security wouldn\u2019t check his medical kit before the transporter room blasted his atoms into oblivion and reformed them in nineteenth century Nevada and he\u2019d been right.<\/p>\n

His hand reached for the weapon now.\u00a0 He knew what a bullet from a handgun could to do to a man.\u00a0 In a way, the damage was worse than what a phaser would do as the metal missile tore through flesh and bone, ripping and wrecking havoc along the way.\u00a0 Infection was the main concern in early American medicine, infection and controlling it.\u00a0 There were few treatments available.\u00a0 Most were native plants, some of which were efficacious and others, useless.\u00a0 Fortunately, he had brought along the hypo-spray and a plethora of medicines \u2013 once again, against regulations.<\/p>\n

A slow smile curled Bone\u2019s lips as he watched the three Cartwright men through a crack in the barn wall.\u00a0 Maybe he did<\/em> belong in the Wild West.\u00a0 It seemed he had a stubborn streak and a penchant for independence that bordered on the insubordinate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a doctor, not a soldier,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, come out now!\u201d Ben Cartwright pronounced from the other side of the wall.<\/p>\n

McCoy had explored the portion of the barn he was in, which seemed to be some sort of an office.\u00a0 There was a door to the back of it that emptied into another portion of the barn.\u00a0 The problem was, it was locked.\u00a0 He\u2019d rummaged briefly for a key, but had failed to find one, and now it looked like \u2013 if he didn\u2019t go \u2013 he was sure to be caught and questioned.\u00a0 Weighing the trouble using the phaser might cause against what the discovery of a twenty-third century man in a nineteenth century barn might do to the timeline, he decided the phaser was the lesser of two evils.\u00a0 With his eye to the Cartwrights Bones slipped the weapon out of his pouch, set it on a tight beam, and sliced right through the padlock.\u00a0 Careful not to burn himself, he knocked the remnants off with his elbow and slipped into the darkened corridor beyond, quickly making his way to the door at the other end which, fortunately, was not<\/em> locked.\u00a0 As he stepped out and under the star-flecked sky, Bones sighed, satisfied that he had managed to guard not only their mission but the integrity of the past.<\/p>\n

That was until he heard the distinctive click<\/em> of a gun\u2019s hammer being cocked.<\/p>\n

Raising his hands into the air, McCoy turned toward the man who held it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam<\/em> Cartwright, I presume?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWO<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James T. Kirk came to a hard stop against the bole of a particularly knotty pine tree, the breath knocked out of him.\u00a0 He rested on his hands and knees for a moment and then forced himself to his feet.\u00a0 One minute he had been standing on the transporter platform of the Enterprise and the next \u2013 instead of materializing in the Cartwright\u2019s barn alongside Bones where he was supposed to be \u2013 he found himself suspended in mid-air and then, plummeting to the ground.\u00a0 Landing with an \u2018oomph\u2019 on a patch of rocky soil, he had rolled down the side of a steep hill until that pine tree reached out and slapped him hard, halting his descent.<\/p>\n

Probably saving his life.<\/p>\n

Anchoring his hands on his hips, the captain of the Enterprise took a moment to catch his breath and then looked down, noting that the hill continued on for another hundred or so feet until it bottomed out in a pile of rocks bordered by a meandering stream.\u00a0 He might<\/em> have survived the fall, but he was glad he didn\u2019t have to test that particular theory.\u00a0 Glancing about Kirk looked for any sign of local inhabitants.\u00a0 Seeing none he opened his communicator, aimed the signal at the invisible starship that floated above, and spoke into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Scott, are you there?\u00a0 Scotty?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye, sir,\u201d came the almost immediate reply.\u00a0 \u201cI hope your trip was a bonny one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blond man scowled at the bracken covered rocky ground beneath his feet.<\/p>\n

Brutal<\/em>, more like.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot exactly, Scotty.\u00a0 I\u2019m….\u201d\u00a0 Jim glanced about.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m on the side of a steep hill…somewhere.\u00a0 Bones is nowhere in sight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean you\u2019re not at the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n

How did he answer that?\u00a0 The \u2018Ponderosa\u2019 was the name collectively given to Benjamin Cartwright\u2019s vast holdings in Nevada.\u00a0 According to the records of the time, its approximate size was a thousand square miles or six hundred thousand acres.\u00a0 So, technically he was on<\/em> the Ponderosa even though he wasn\u2019t at<\/em> it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s put it this way, Scotty.\u00a0 I\u2019m not at the ranch house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t me wee bairns whot caused the trouble, Captain, you can be sure of that!\u201d the engineer said, his Scottish accent growing even as his indignation rose.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you or Doctor McCoy didn\u2019t fiddle with the coordinates, did ye?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk suppressed a sigh. No matter what<\/em>, Mister Scott\u2019s beloved machines couldn\u2019t<\/em> be at fault.\u00a0 \u201cNeither the doctor or I had anything to do with setting the coordinates, Scotty.\u00a0 I left that to Kyle.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t add, but thought, \u2018After all, that\u2019s his<\/em> job.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a moment, Captain….\u201d<\/p>\n

The channel went dead.<\/p>\n

Kirk waited a minute and then began to twist and turn the knobs on the communicator.\u00a0 \u201cScotty?\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He drew a breath and held it.\u00a0 There were in the nineteenth century, for God\u2019s sake!\u00a0 What could be happening on the Enterprise?\u00a0 \u201cScotty!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The communicator chirped back to life several seconds later.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, sir.\u00a0 I wanted to check in with Kyle.\u00a0 I had the lad take a look at the log and he says there was<\/em> a wee variance in the transporter signal at the moment you beamed down.\u201d\u00a0 The engineer paused.\u00a0 \u201cStill, as it didn\u2019t affect the coordinates, it should have had nae effect.\u00a0 It makes noo sense that you and Doctor McCoy ended up in different places.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk chewed that over for a moment.\u00a0 He hesitated and then asked, \u201cIs there anyone else within earshot, Mister Scott?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTis the night watch, Captain.\u00a0 Just Uhura, Sulu, and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good.\u00a0 What he had to say wouldn\u2019t be influenced by the presence of his senior officers.\u00a0 \u201cIs this a secured channel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely, Captain, as per your orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a ridiculous precaution considering the era he had landed in.\u00a0 Still…. \u201cIs there any word on Mister Spock\u2019s location yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

He sensed more than heard Montgomery Scott\u2019s sigh.\u00a0 \u201cNae, sir.\u00a0 Not a bleep or blink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk frowned.\u00a0 \u201cYou haven\u2019t found a signature for the artifact either?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStrange as may be, Captain, nae, I have not.\u00a0 But then we know very little of its properties.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible the wee thing only gives off a signal when in use.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a good thing they were not on Earth anymore.\u00a0 The professor who had discovered the missing artifact \u2013 Campbell Beckett \u2013 had raised the temperature of the planet to Vulcan norm when he discovered what Spock had done.\u00a0 Campbell had immediately contacted the big brass at Starfleet and they had contacted him and….<\/p>\n

Kirk sighed again.<\/p>\n

It had all started about a week before when they had gone home for a short R&R on Earth before heading out into deep space to continue their five year mission.\u00a0 While planet-side, Spock had made the acquaintance of Professor Campbell Beckett who had told him about a recent find that had been made in California on land that had once been a state park known as the Bodie Ghost Town.\u00a0 Bodie had been a small mining town with no claim to fame until, due to the freak collapse of the mine, gold was found there in eighteen-seventy-six.\u00a0 The town boomed and busted within the space of twenty years.\u00a0 The empty buildings remained standing for nearly two centuries as a ghost town and tourist attraction before giving way to the advance of civilization and humanity\u2019s constant need to expand.\u00a0 The professor had been digging in the ruins of the original mine when he found a curious artifact that he believed might be of alien origin.\u00a0 He invited Spock to supper and then to his lab so the Vulcan scientist could take a look at it.<\/p>\n

Kirk ran a hand over his chin and sighed.\u00a0 He should have realized something was wrong when Spock returned that night to go over their current mission plans.\u00a0 The tall lean Vulcan had said little.\u00a0 In fact \u2013 for<\/em> a Vulcan \u2013 he\u2019d seemed preoccupied.\u00a0 When McCoy joined them several hours later with a bottle of Kentucky bourbon and three glasses in hand, Spock had declined the offer and risen from his chair.\u00a0 He wished them both good night before returning to his room.<\/p>\n

The next morning both Spock and the artifact were gone.<\/p>\n

Kirk hesitated.\u00a0 It felt like treason even to ask. \u201cDid you remember to calibrate the instruments to detect any Gateway emissions?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye, sir.\u00a0 \u2018Twas nothing on the surface.\u201d Scotty paused.\u00a0 \u201cBut then you know Mister Spock.\u00a0 If he doesn\u2019t want to be found, the odds are long he won\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we\u2019ll just have to do something to shorten those odds in our favor.\u00a0 Keep at it, Mister Scott.\u00a0 I\u2019ll check back in an hour or two if I am able.\u00a0 Kirk out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blond man replaced the communicator in the leather satchel he wore anchored over his shoulder.\u00a0 Somehow it had miraculously remained with him during the fall.\u00a0 He looked around again, scanning the forested area, his mind firing as rapidly as photon torpedoes during a surprise attack.\u00a0 At first he\u2019d thought, as unlikely as it was, that Spock had simply removed the alien object from the lab to study it more closely.\u00a0 But then when, during the professor\u2019s tirade, Campbell had used words all too familiar to anyone who had been on the Guardian\u2019s planet, his stomach had sunk to his toes and he had felt a real rush of fear for his friend.\u00a0 Campbell Beckett said that Spock had mentioned a place called \u2018Gateway\u2019 as a possible origin for the artifact.<\/p>\n

Gateway, the home of the Guardian of Forever \u2013 one of only two planets in the Federation that were quarantined.<\/p>\n

Professor Beckett had heard of Gateway, of course.\u00a0 He was just being cagey.\u00a0 As an archaeologist Kirk could have expected no less.\u00a0 Rumors abounded about the Guardian\u2019s planet, of course, though there was little real<\/em> knowledge out there.\u00a0 He had managed to put the archaeologist off using Starfleet\u2019s standard lie…er…cover story that the living machine the planet held was a simple repository of knowledge.\u00a0 But he knew \u2013 he<\/em> knew the truth.\u00a0 The Guardian was not only a repository, it was itself <\/em>the gateway to all of time and space. No one knew much of its creators.\u00a0 They remained hidden in a past the Guardian refused to show.\u00a0 It was thought two races had occupied the planet, the ones who created the Guardian \u2013 known as the Originators \u2013 and the earlier ones who had created the planet itself.<\/p>\n

Once they knew Spock had gone, he and Scotty had moved as quickly as possible to find the fading signature of their particular Vulcan-Human hybrid.\u00a0 Along with Spock\u2019s, they found another familiar pattern.\u00a0 It matched the one in the sealed records they carried on the Enterprise \u2013 the records of the only Federation starship to visit Gateway, and of the crew who had set foot on its surface \u2013 including him, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty.\u00a0 After their mission the planet had been closed to any and all traffic.\u00a0 Jim closed his eyes and sighed, seeing once again a beautiful female face with large dark eyes, surrounded by a fluff of even darker brown hair.\u00a0 He felt again the touch of her lips on his and then watched as a speeding car struck her and took her life while he looked on unable to do anything to prevent it.\u00a0 They had experienced then firsthand<\/em> what interference with the past could do.\u00a0 McCoy, crazed from an overdose of cordrazine, had prevented Edith\u2019s Keeler\u2019s death and, due to her successful peace movement, America and its allies lost the Second World War.\u00a0 Perseverance and a lot of luck \u2013 and maybe a wag or two of God\u2019s finger \u2013 had saved them and <\/em>the time stream that time.<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s hazel eyes opened, taking in his surroundings once again, hoping against hope for some movement that might indicate the location of his friend.\u00a0 What could<\/em> Spock have been thinking?\u00a0 If the Vulcan suspected the artifact came from Gateway, then why dare to take it?\u00a0 Could it be he was attempting to protect it, to hide it away from someone?\u00a0 If so, why had Spock not come to him?\u00a0 The blond man frowned.\u00a0 Professor Beckett had informed him as well that Spock had suspicions that the artifact contained random elements \u2013 unstable<\/em> elements.\u00a0 Might those<\/em> elements have effected Spock due to his unusual physiology?<\/p>\n

Was he even in<\/em> his right mind?<\/p>\n

A thorough investigation of Spock\u2019s quarters had given them their first clue as to where he had gone.\u00a0 There were notes laying on Spock\u2019s desk, written in his immaculate Vulcan hand, and they were able to tap into information he had brought up on the computer concerning the nineteenth century and the Nevada Territory.\u00a0 All of it pertained to a family by the name of Cartwright.\u00a0 He\u2019d held\u00a0 a briefing with his officers to discuss their options \u2013 and to get their permission in a way \u2013 and then had given the order.<\/p>\n

Though there would be Hell to pay later, without Starfleet\u2019s permission, he had ordered Scotty to slingshot the ship around a nearby sun and take them into the past.<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s frown deepened as he dusted off the knees and the backside of his brown striped trousers and then unfastened the buttons and rolled down the sleeves of the deep blue work shirt he wore in order to stave off the growing chill.\u00a0 Night was coming.\u00a0 He really needed to move.<\/p>\n

As he did, he considered what had happened.\u00a0 He knew his Vulcan friend \u2013 knew him well<\/em>.\u00a0 If Spock had considered all options and decided this bold move had<\/em> to be made, there had to be a valid reason.\u00a0 He knew as well, since that move had to do with Gateway and the Guardian, that Spock would be hell-bent to take whatever chance it was by himself <\/em>so no one else would have to face Starfleet\u2019s fire.\u00a0 Well, damn<\/em> him!\u00a0 He was just <\/em>as determined that Spock not<\/em> face it alone.\u00a0 And so he and McCoy had kitted up and stepped onto the transporter platform and, while Bones complained yet again about his atoms being scattered from the Enterprise to eternity, he\u2019d watched Kyle move the levers and the Enterprise disappear and then \u2013<\/p>\n

He\u2019d landed here and McCoy was…well…somewhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kirk looked up.\u00a0 He used the rising moon to get his bearings, and then headed off in the direction he thought Ben Cartwright\u2019s spread lay.<\/p>\n

After all, no matter what, moving was always better than standing still.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood beside the striped settee where his youngest lay unmoving, his brother Hoss by his side.\u00a0 Joe seemed to be sleeping, but there was nothing any one of them could do to rouse him.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t a mark on him other than a scrape on his forehead that had probably resulted from him striking the barn floor when he fell.\u00a0 There was no sign of any attack, nothing to indicate violence.<\/p>\n

He just wouldn\u2019t \u2013 or couldn\u2019t<\/em> wake up.<\/p>\n

The man standing before him with his hands raised in the black city slicker suit looked to be a little younger than him.\u00a0 Perhaps in his mid-forties.\u00a0 He was well-spoken and obviously well-educated and claimed to be a doctor named Leonard McCoy.\u00a0 So far he hadn\u2019t let him near Joe.\u00a0 Before he did, he needed <\/em>to understand what had happened in the barn.<\/p>\n

So far the man\u2019s answers had been vague at best.<\/p>\n

\u201cEr, well, yes…\u201d\u00a0 McCoy cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cYou see, I was headed this way when my horse threw a shoe.\u00a0 I saw a light in your barn and went inside to see if I could find someone to help.\u00a0 I heard your son come in, but by the time I found him, he was just about out.\u00a0 I have no idea what happened.\u201d\u00a0 He started to lower his hand toward his vest.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019d just let me….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep \u2018em up,\u201d a low voice warned.\u00a0 \u201cUntil we tell you to put them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked at his son, Adam.\u00a0 It was Joe\u2019s gun he held in his hand.\u00a0 He\u2019d found it lying beside his brother when he marched the stranger back into the barn to make him face the music and discovered Joseph had fallen unconscious.<\/p>\n

Somehow, there was something poetic about that.<\/p>\n

McCoy lifted his hand above his head again.\u00a0 \u201cCertainly.\u00a0 It\u2019s just…\u00a0 Well…I\u2019d like to help.\u00a0 I have proof in my pocket that I am a physician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben gestured with a hand to his middle son.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, come here and take whatever it is he has.\u201d\u00a0 As his son obeyed, he demanded, \u201cNow, tell me again just why<\/em> you\u2019re in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I said, I\u2019m looking for a missing friend. The last thing he<\/em> said was that he intended to head for the Ponderosa.\u201d\u00a0 The man looked down as Hoss reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin leather wallet.\u00a0 Then the stranger\u2019s blue eyes, lighter and clearer than his middle son\u2019s, returned to him.\u00a0 \u201cI need to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben took the wallet from his son and opened it.\u00a0 Inside there was a letter to Paul Martin from a State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia recommending Doctor Leonard McCoy and stating that McCoy was headed for California.\u00a0 The white-haired man frowned as he perused it.\u00a0 Milledgeville was not a regular hospital.\u00a0 It was an asylum for the lunatic, idiot, and epileptic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this man you are seeking an escaped patient?\u201d Ben asked as he closed the wallet.<\/p>\n

Leonard McCoy sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve treated him before, but more than anything else he\u2019s my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam,\u201d he said after a moment\u2019s thought, \u201clower your gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, we know nothing about this man,\u201d his eldest son protested.\u00a0 \u201cThat letter could be a forgery, or he could have taken it from someone else, or \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr he could<\/em> be telling the truth.\u00a0 We\u2019ll know for certain when your brother wakes up.\u201d\u00a0 Ben turned to look at Joe.\u00a0 Worry stabbed him once more when he saw his youngest had not shifted or stirred in the slightest.<\/p>\n

Hoss was at Joe\u2019s side again.\u00a0 He was brushing his brother\u2019s brown curls back from his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think\u2019s wrong with him, Pa?\u201d he asked, his eyes wide with worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I may….\u201d the doctor from Georgia began.<\/p>\n

Ben turned toward him.\u00a0 McCoy was wagging his hands over his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes. Put your hands down.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He paused as his eldest challenged him.\u00a0 The gun was still out.\u00a0 Adam was too old to order, so he said only, \u201cSon,\u00a0 please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reluctantly, Adam obeyed.\u00a0 Ben noticed his son kept the gun, placing it behind his belt, instead of returning it to the sideboard where Joe\u2019s holster lay.<\/p>\n

Doctor McCoy indicated the pouch at his side.\u00a0 \u201cI have some smelling salts in here.\u00a0 I think they might do the trick.\u00a0 If it\u2019s all right….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded slowly, still uncertain whether or not he could trust the man.\u00a0 When the doctor moved to Joe\u2019s side, he went with him.\u00a0 So did Adam.\u00a0 Hoss, of course, was already there.<\/p>\n

His middle son rose from his position beside his brother as the doctor drew near in order to give him room.\u00a0 McCoy rested one hip on the settee beside Joe.\u00a0 First, he checked the boy\u2019s eyes and then took Joe\u2019s pulse.\u00a0 After a moment, the stranger reached into his pouch and drew out a small paper twisted at both ends.\u00a0 Holding it close to Joe\u2019s nose, he snapped it.<\/p>\n

The scent of something like perfume filled the air.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t smell like any salts he knew.<\/p>\n

It took a second but Joe grimaced, then he moaned, and finally, coughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if that don\u2019t just beat all!\u201d Hoss exclaimed and slapped his thigh.<\/p>\n

As if reading his mind, the stranger stood and moved out of the way, allowing Ben to drop to the settee beside his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u00a0 Joseph, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

His son\u2019s long black eyelashes fluttered.\u00a0 A second later the hazel-green eyes behind them appeared, dazed and confused.\u00a0 \u201cPa…?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben laid his hand along Joe\u2019s cheek, like he had done when he was a little boy \u2013 but for just a second, since his youngest was no longer a boy but a man.\u00a0 Removing it, the white-haired man held it out and said, \u201cCan you sit up, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctor McCoy turned to Adam.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d advise getting him some juice if you have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eldest frowned.\u00a0 Clearly the doctor\u2019s suggestion set off some alarm.\u00a0 \u201cJuice?\u00a0 Not brandy?\u00a0 Doc Martin usually gives that or coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical advances,\u201d the stranger said, cocking one grizzled eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cJuice is better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, go see if Hop Sing has any juice left from this morning,\u201d Ben ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

As McCoy moved to sit beside Joe again and began to examine him, Ben signaled Adam to his side.\u00a0 Walking with his eldest to the door, he said, \u201cAdam, I think you should check the barn and the surrounding yard.\u00a0 Make sure there\u2019s no one else here.\u00a0 If<\/em> the doctor is telling the truth, there may be someone else who attacked Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked confused.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you believed him.\u00a0 You let him treat Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know about smelling salts.\u00a0 They couldn\u2019t do your brother any harm.\u00a0 As to Doctor McCoy, I\u2019m inclined<\/em> to believe him \u2013 but not entirely convinced yet.\u00a0 Once your brother recovers we\u2019ll see what he has to say.\u201d\u00a0 He caught his son\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cIn the morning, why don\u2019t you ride into town and see if Paul has ever heard of this hospital in Georgia.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the stranger who was tenderly cleaning the scrape on Joe\u2019s forehead and speaking softly to him.\u00a0 \u201cOr this man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 With that Adam headed out the door.<\/p>\n

As it closed behind him, the man stood up and looked his way.\u00a0 \u201cYou can talk to your son now, Mister Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben crossed immediately to Joe.\u00a0 The boy was sitting up with a blanket tucked around him that the doctor had magicked from somewhere.\u00a0 Leonard McCoy gave him a smile that told him he too was a father and understood his need as he shifted out of the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you son?\u201d Ben asked as he sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Pa,\u201d Joe said in that way he had when he was determined to deny any weakness.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t need to fuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not fussing, Joe, just doing what fathers do.\u201d\u00a0 He touched his son\u2019s forehead near the scrape.\u00a0 \u201cDo you remember how you got this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I fell, I think.\u201d\u00a0 Joe frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not really sure.\u00a0 I can\u2019t remember….\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glanced up at the stranger.\u00a0 \u201cDo you remember meeting Doctor McCoy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked to where the doctor was standing.\u00a0 He frowned again, thinking hard.\u00a0 Finally he shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n

That agreed with the doctor\u2019s story.\u00a0 \u201cDid you see anyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, he thought.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 I was chopping wood and heard a noise in the barn.\u00a0 I remember going in, but that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben had a sudden thought.\u00a0 He looked at McCoy.\u00a0 \u201cCould this man you\u2019re searching for have \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s not violent.\u00a0 Just…lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I just tripped, Pa.\u00a0 Fell and hit my head.\u201d\u00a0 Joe hesitated and then smiled that self-effacing smile he had.\u00a0 \u201cI was pretty riled about chopping that wood and wasn\u2019t watching where I was going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere you go, little brother,\u201d Hoss announced as he came into the room with juice in hand and Hop Sing in tow.<\/p>\n

\u201cMistah Joe okay?\u201d the Chinese man asked, clearly concerned.\u00a0 \u201cNot scramble brains like eggs?\u201d<\/p>\n

As Joe laughed, Hoss replied,\u00a0 \u201cYou know\u2019d Joe since he was a baby, Hop Sing.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t nobody <\/em>got a harder head than baby brother here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled at the banter, grateful to see the color returning to his youngest son\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, help your brother upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

That youngest scowled.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I\u2019m fine.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need to lie down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The white-haired man looked at Leonard McCoy who was standing to the side, listening to their exchange.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think, Doctor?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The stranger jumped a bit, as if his mind had been very far away.\u00a0 His eyes went to Joe.\u00a0 With a smile, he said, \u201cRest wouldn\u2019t hurt, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Doc….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard him, son.\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s gaze went to Hoss.\u00a0 The concern his middle boy felt for his baby brother but was masking, shone out of his son\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, take your brother to his bed and make sure he stays there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Hoss could reach him, Joe tossed off the blanket and stood \u2013 too quickly.\u00a0 As gracefully as he could, which was none to, his youngest caught the edge of the settee to balance himself.\u00a0 From how green he looked it appeared the world was swimming around him and he was about to pass out, but bound and determined as Joseph was, the older man knew there was no point in trying to help.\u00a0 Joe would have to come to that conclusion by himself.\u00a0 Resolute,\u00a0 Joe took the first few steps.\u00a0 Hoss caught him before he could fall and, supporting his brother by one arm, maneuvered him muttering protests up the stairs and toward his room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be fine,\u201d McCoy said softly a second after they\u2019d reached the top.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m thinking Joe struck his head as he fell.\u00a0 There are no signs of concussion, so a good night\u2019s sleep should set him right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben turned toward the stranger.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Doctor McCoy.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry I doubted you.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo apology is necessary, Mister Cartwright.\u201d\u00a0 The look out of his eyes was as soft as his voice. \u201cI have a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one?\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger nodded.\u00a0 \u201cShe lives with her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

The white-haired man drew a deep breath.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know why, but he trusted this man.\u00a0 He had no reason to \u2013 the way they had met was certainly suspicious \u2013 but he sensed he was a man to whom all life was sacred.<\/p>\n

Instinctively he knew McCoy would not have harmed Joe on purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look tired,\u201d Ben said at last.\u00a0 \u201cThe least we can do is provide you with a room for the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no.\u00a0 I need to move on.\u00a0 My friend \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said he was headed here, and you can\u2019t travel by night,\u201d Ben insisted.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you get some sleep and then set out in the morning to look for him?\u00a0 I\u2019ll send one of the boys with you.\u00a0 You\u2019ll only make mistakes tonight, and the wilderness is no place for a man to do that.\u00a0 She\u2019s as unforgiving as she is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger said nothing for several moments.\u00a0 He seemed to be considering his options, weighing what he knew was best against his desire to help the man he was seeking and obviously loved.\u00a0 Finally, he sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you\u2019re right.\u00a0 I am <\/em>weary.\u00a0 I thank you for your hospitality \u2013 and your trust.\u00a0 You have no reason to extend either to a poor Georgia boy far from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanity<\/em> is my reason, Doctor McCoy,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

The doctor \u00a0held out his hand.\u00a0 As Ben took it, he said, \u201cI feel privileged to have met you, Mister Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor\u2019s pale blue eyes lit with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cBen.\u00a0 Please, call me Leonard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked up.\u00a0 Hoss was coming down the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cDid you get your brother settled?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hog-tied him with the sheets,\u201d Hoss said with a shake of his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat oughta keep him down \u2018til mornin\u2019 at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThat youngest one of yours reminds me of another friend of mine.\u00a0 There is no such word as \u2018can\u2019t\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got that right,\u201d Hoss declared.<\/p>\n

At that moment the front door opened and Adam stepped in.\u00a0 He tossed his hat on the sideboard as he entered the room and finally relinquished Joseph\u2019s firearm.\u00a0 \u201cAll clear, Pa,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no sign of anyone other than the doctor here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor is going to spend the night.\u00a0 Hoss was about to show him up to a room.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eldest held his feelings close.\u00a0 Ben wasn\u2019t really sure what he thought of that.\u00a0 Still Adam stepped forward and extended his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome to our home, Doctor McCoy,\u201d he said, his lips pursed in that certain way he had.<\/p>\n

Ben relaxed visibly.\u00a0 Really, he need have no worries.<\/p>\n

Brother Adam was on watch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About twenty miles away from the Ponderosa, in Virginia City, a stunningly beautiful and young saloon girl wrapped in shimmering copper cloth sashayed across the floor carrying a tray with two drinks while humming a soft tune in her soft, husky voice.\u00a0 She was barely tall enough to call \u2018short\u2019, coming in at five feet one inch.\u00a0 Her curves were sharper than the hotel banister\u2019s; her corseted waist barely the span of a man\u2019s open hands, while both her bust and hips were ample.\u00a0 She moved with a surety that turned every head in the Bucket of Blood.\u00a0 Of course, that might also have been due to her picture perfect face, deep green eyes, and the mass of blue-black hair that fell to her shoulders in a wave of unruly curls.\u00a0 There was just something about her.\u00a0 It made the hard-bitten miners and the saddle-weary ranch hands rise from their seats when she passed through, scrambling for their hats to see who would be the first to tip one.\u00a0 When she was gone a stupefied smile lingered on their lips as if they had just been handed \u2013 free<\/em> \u2013 a bottle of the Bucket\u2019s finest aged Kentucky whiskey or, maybe, won an immense pot in a poker game.\u00a0 Her name was Medora MacNamar and even though she\u2019d been at the Bucket for less than a week, she was pulling in tips one hundred times higher than the regulars.<\/p>\n

Which made the other girls a mite sore.<\/p>\n

When she reached a table situated in the far corner of the establishment, Medora deposited the tray she was carrying on its rough surface and then\u00a0 lifted two drinks from the battered surface.\u00a0 After sliding them toward the two men who occupied the table\u2019s chairs, she planted her ample rear on the arm of one and proceeded to run her hand\u2019s through that man\u2019s thick chestnut hair.<\/p>\n

Leaning down, Medora nipped his ear, kissed it, and then said, \u201cAbdon, is that something in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdon Walls, a tall man with pale blond hair and odd glass-green eyes, did not glance up.\u00a0 He lifted the whiskey and sipped it.\u00a0 \u201cPrimitive, but acceptable for a stimulant,\u201d he said, his tone absently clinical.<\/p>\n

\u201cEase up, Doc,\u201d Medora said, the words dripping from her plump lips like honey.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will cease to address me by that wretched appellation,\u201d he growled.<\/p>\n

She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWhen in Orion\u2019s belt, Doc<\/em>….\u201d<\/p>\n

The man in the other chair stirred.\u00a0 \u201cMedora\u2019s right, Abdon.\u00a0 Repulsive as these clothes and the altered skin we wear are, we are in need of them to accomplish the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

A superior sniff was his only reply.<\/p>\n

Medora shifted then and moved to Orlo Bond\u2019s chair, casually and deliberately releasing a strong burst of pheromones as she went.\u00a0 Of course Orlo was no more his real name than hers was Medora, or the Doc\u2019s, Abdon.\u00a0 They had used the onboard computer on their Orion star freighter to generate three Wild West names.\u00a0 She was particularly smitten with her own and thought she might keep it once they returned to their ship.<\/p>\n

It could only make her more mysterious.<\/p>\n

Grinning, Medora took two fingers and reached inside and drew from her tightly corseted copper bodice, with its dripping black lace and jet beads, several folded bills amounting to nearly two hundred dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s take?\u201d Orlo asked as he fingered the printed paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis morning\u2019s,\u201d she snorted, and not daintily.\u00a0 Human males were<\/em> a weak and gullible lot!\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s more than enough to buy the last of the supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orlo, a rail thin man with slicked-back gray hair, dressed as a wealthy and landed Westerner in a black frock coat, gold canvas trousers with black braces, a black hat and ivory shirt, permitted a smirk to lift the corner of one of his genetically altered lips. \u201cThen we can make our move tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the anomaly?\u201d Abdon groused.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone else is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medora watched Orlo\u2019s pale blue eyes drop to the gun-metal gray device peeking out from under the sleeve of his frock coat.\u00a0 They each wore one.<\/p>\n

\u201cUndefined and troubling, but not enough to stop the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdon\u2019s lips quirked with an unpleasant sneer.\u00a0 \u201cCaptain\u2019s orders?\u201d<\/p>\n

Orlo pushed his chair back and started to rise.\u00a0 \u201cYou might say so.\u201d<\/p>\n

His rising dislodged Medora from her perch.\u00a0 \u201cMy shift ends at nine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The gray-haired man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s best we operate under cover of darkness.\u00a0 The target must be taken and soon, and with no intervention from the other biological units in the household.\u00a0 Once we have eliminated him in fulfillment of the contract, we can set about mining the silver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat difference does it make if he\u2019s alone?\u201d Abdon shifted his long charcoal gray rifle frock coat back as he too rose to his full height, which was one foot taller than Medora.\u00a0 \u201cWhy not take them all out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor one thing, it\u2019s in the contract,\u201d Orlo replied.\u00a0 \u201cCurb your thirst for blood, doctor.<\/em>\u00a0 You know better.\u00a0 A delicate incision effects the desired result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdon Wells\u2019 face lit with a wicked smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust be sure I\u2019m the one to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright had returned early from town. He\u2019d gone to talk to Paul Martin who told him that, while he had not heard of Leonard McCoy, the name and signature on the letter were as authentic as the Georgia asylum the stranger said he came from.\u00a0 At that point, there was little they could do but go by that letter and the man himself.\u00a0 He seemed honest enough and had taken care of Joe.<\/p>\n

After reporting what he had found to his father, he\u2019d set about doing his little brother\u2019s chores including chopping the wood in the woodpile Joe had abandoned the night before when he went into the barn and, well, whatever happened, happened<\/em>.\u00a0 Joe was fully capable of doing it \u2013 and he\u2019d said so in a very loud, very <\/em>clear voice that morning at the table \u2013 but Pa as usual was being overprotective of Marie\u2019s boy and forbid it, telling him he needed to stay close to the house and rest.\u00a0 Joe had argued and cajoled and worked his way with Pa as he<\/em> usually did, and wrung from him a slow leave to travel into town instead to fetch some supplies they needed in order to begin mending the north fences the next morning.\u00a0 Even so, Pa had insisted he take a wagon and one of their hands with him, a new man by the name of Theron Vance who had signed on just the week before.\u00a0 They\u2019d left about a half hour ago.\u00a0 Vance, who was about Joe\u2019s age, was an albino.\u00a0 He had white hair and pallid near-white skin.\u00a0 Theron seemed a nice enough man \u2013 and Pa was \u00a0fine with him \u2013 but there was something about the newcomer that raised the hackles on the back of Adam\u2019s neck.\u00a0 He told himself the man\u2019s condition had nothing to do it.\u00a0 At least, he hoped<\/em> it didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Vance was way too quiet for one, and had a way of looking at you with his crimson eyes that reminded Adam of a banker watching someone else count out his money.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure he would have sent Little Joe out alone with Vance this soon, but then \u2013 as the sages put it \u2013 father knows best.<\/p>\n

Adam had just paused to wipe the sweat out of his eyes and then raised the axe again, aiming to split the next piece of firewood, when someone cleared their throat, attracting his attention.\u00a0 He turned to find a hardy-looking blond man of medium stature dressed in brown striped trousers and a blue work shirt watching him.\u00a0 He glanced behind the man and saw no horse.<\/p>\n

His suspicions instantly raised, the black-haired man dropped the axe to his side but didn\u2019t\u00a0 let it go, and turned to greet him.\u00a0 \u201cCan I help you, stranger?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man smiled \u2013 a sincere, winning smile that lit his hazel eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI was about to ask you the same thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Adam ran his sleeve over his brow as he eyed the wood pile.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re offering to chop wood?\u00a0 I take it that means you\u2019ve been out in the sun too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger laughed.\u00a0 \u201cCould be, or could be I\u2019m looking for work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eldest of Ben Cartwright\u2019s boys weighed his initial reaction against his growing acceptance of the man.\u00a0 \u201cWell,\u201d he said, anchoring the axe in the stump he used as a chopping bench, \u201cwe have more than enough of that to go around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The smile grew broader.\u00a0 \u201cGreat.\u00a0 I heard Ben Cartwright could always use hands and that he\u2019s a fair man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat he is.\u201d\u00a0 He held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cAdam Cartwright.\u00a0 And you might be?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man took it.\u00a0 His handshake was as firm as the confidence that exuded from him.\u00a0 \u201cJim.\u00a0 Jim Kirk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you hail from, Jim?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRiverside, Iowa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He whistled.\u00a0 Nearly two <\/em>thousand miles away.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a long way from home, Jim.\u00a0 What brings you west?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim was sharp.\u00a0 He knew he was fishing.\u00a0 \u201cNothing in particular.\u00a0 I guess I wanted to see the wider world.\u201d\u00a0 He turned in a half-circle, indicating the tall Ponderosa pines surrounding them.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like this in Iowa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing to hold you either?\u00a0 No family?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI had a brother, but he\u2019s gone.\u00a0 My father too, and my mother has her own life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyes strayed to the house.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t imagine burying either Joe or Hoss, though he had been forced to face the possibility before.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 About your father and brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Jim\u2019s turn to poke.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a close family, aren\u2019t you?\u00a0 That\u2019s what everyone says.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people in town \u2013 and the young man and his unusual companion I crossed paths with a mile or so back who were headed into <\/em>the town.\u201d\u00a0 Jim Kirk smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI take it the one with the curly brown hair was your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could you tell?\u00a0 Did Joe tell you so?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cFamily resemblance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s black brows peaked toward his hair.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s something I don\u2019t hear too often.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s there,\u201d Kirk said, growing serious.\u00a0 \u201cAround the eyes and in the set of your jaw.\u00a0 You\u2019re both determined men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s one thing we Cartwrights are, its determined \u2013 to take care of our own,\u201d Adam answered, half in truth and more in threat.\u00a0 The black-haired man wiped the sweat and dirt from his hands on his trouser legs and then indicated the house.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go in and talk to Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they approached the house, the door opened and Doctor McCoy stepped out.\u00a0 For just a moment the doctor\u2019s step faltered and his eyes narrowed as if the presence of Jim Kirk had surprised him. Then he was on his way again.<\/p>\n

Adam looked from one stranger to the other.\u00a0 There it was again, that \u2018pinch\u2019 of suspicion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just coming to find you, Adam,\u201d the Georgia doctor drawled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, here I am. What can I do for you?\u201d he replied as both he and Kirk halted about ten feet from the door.<\/p>\n

The doctor hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, this is Jim Kirk,\u201d Adam said, correcting his omission.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s here looking for work.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy inclined his head.\u00a0 \u201cMister Kirk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim actually laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThat was my father\u2019s name.\u00a0 Just Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor returned his smile.\u00a0 \u201cJim, then.\u201d\u00a0 He held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Leonard.\u201d\u00a0 The older man\u2019s light blue eyes left the newcomer and fixed on him.\u00a0 \u201cSeems your house has become a bit of a way station, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s answer was tight.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not unusual.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing else around for miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment the door to the house opened again and his father stepped out, a questioning look in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, I saw you had someone with you.\u00a0 Are you going to introduce me to your friend?\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Adam could say anything, Jim Kirk stepped between him and the older man and offered his hand.\u00a0 \u201cJames T. Kirk, Mister Cartwright, and though neither your son or you are my friends \u2013 yet \u2013 those who know me call me \u2018Jim\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 As his father shook the stranger\u2019s hand, Kirk added, \u201cI came here looking for work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man\u2019s eyes went to the yard.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s your horse?\u00a0 You didn\u2019t walk, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir, I did.\u00a0 As to where my horse is,\u201d Jim patted his belly, \u201ca man\u2019s got to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

His pa\u2019s white eyebrows shot up.\u00a0 \u201cYou ate <\/em>your horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk laughed. \u201cNo, I sold him to buy food.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father laughed as well. \u201cOh, oh…well, that\u2019s better.\u201d\u00a0 Adam watched as the white-haired man clapped the stranger on the shoulder and directed him toward the open door.\u00a0 Once they\u2019d reached it, he turned back.\u00a0 Concern lit his father\u2019s dark brown eyes as he asked, \u201cDid Joe and Vance get off all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 Jim ran into them on his way in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d\u00a0 The older man turned to the stranger.\u00a0 \u201cDid the boy look, well, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Kirk nodded.\u00a0 \u201cSeemed healthy, and happy to be heading into town.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Was there some trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Doctor McCoy who answered.\u00a0 \u201cThe young man suffered a fall last night and was unconscious for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Doctor McCoy,\u201d his father said.\u00a0 \u201cHave you been introduced?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnofficially,\u201d the blond man replied.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t know he was a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you again, Doctor, for what you did for Joe last night,\u201d his father said.\u00a0 \u201cI understand you intend to leave us tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMost likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease be sure to see me before you leave.\u201d\u00a0 Turning back to Kirk, the older man said, \u201cNow, young man, if you will come with me.\u201d\u00a0 And with that they disappeared into the house.<\/p>\n

Young<\/em> man.\u00a0 Kirk looked like he was in his mid-thirties.\u00a0 At least Pa didn\u2019t call him<\/em> \u2018boy\u2019.<\/p>\n

Doctor McCoy noted the smile on his lips.\u00a0 \u201cSomething funny?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cJust Pa.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think he will ever believe any of us are old enough to pull up our own boots, let alone make all of our own decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cYou sound a little…frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, don\u2019t get me wrong,\u201d Adam said as he returned to the axe and the woodpile.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t have a better father.\u00a0 It\u2019s just…well….\u201d\u00a0 He looked up at the broad expanse of sky above him.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s more.\u00a0 Somehow, I know <\/em>there\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re discontent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was he?\u00a0 \u201cI suppose so, though I have everything I could hope to have and more \u2013 a loving father, two brothers whom I couldn\u2019t be closer to, and an inheritance to rival any prince in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked at the older man and grinned.\u00a0 \u201cAre you a philosopher as well, Doctor McCoy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeonard, please. And yes, it is my belief that all who practice medicine are that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA doctor for the soul as well as the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.<\/p>\n

Adam stood with his hand on the axe handle.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Doctor…Leonard, I\u2019m sorry I doubted you last night \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be.\u00a0 There need be no apology for vigilance.\u201d The older man\u2019s eyes went to those same trees, but wore a wary look.\u00a0 \u201cThere are very big, very<\/em> bad things out there, Adam, that seem to be drawn to good men like you and your father and brothers, as if the darkness needs to blot out the light in order to make itself complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words sent a chill up Adam\u2019s spine.\u00a0 \u201cYou sound like you have experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor\u2019s pale eyes reflected other places and times.\u00a0 \u201cI do, Adam.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 Too<\/em> much of it.\u00a0 More than enough to last several lifetimes.\u201d\u00a0 When he saw his look, he added, \u201cIt\u2019s what happens when you sail off to see what \u2018more\u2019 there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a navy man?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, the stranger\u2019s face had an odd look.\u00a0 Finally he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve spent my adult life sailing the seas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to let Pa know.\u00a0 He was first mate on a ship when I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I know,\u201d the doctor said softly.<\/p>\n

The black-haired man frowned, his trust shaken.\u00a0 \u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard McCoy smiled.\u00a0 \u201cOnce a sailor, always a sailor.\u00a0 I can see it in the way he holds himself, in his easy sense of command \u2013 and a little bit in the way he walks.\u201d<\/p>\n

It made sense, so why wouldn\u2019t that hint of suspicion go away?<\/p>\n

The older man nodded toward the wood pile.\u00a0 \u201cDoing your brother\u2019s chores?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said, forcing himself to shake off the sense of unease.\u00a0 \u201cJoe went into town for supplies.\u00a0 Pa thought that would be easier on his rock-hard head than jarring it by taking blows with an axe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a pistol, that young one.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam took a swing and split the first piece of firewood.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s Joe.\u00a0 Bullheaded, obstinate, and brave at times to the point of stupidity.\u201d\u00a0 He tossed the wood onto the pile and then added with a grin, \u201cYou know Pa\u2019s hair wasn\u2019t always white.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard ran a hand through his own grizzled hair.\u00a0 \u201cI know the feeling, only with me it\u2019s a couple of friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one you said was missing?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor let out a long, breathy sigh.\u00a0 \u201cTalk about bull-headed and obstinate, on that point Spock would give your brother a run for his money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam had put another piece of wood on the stump.\u00a0 \u201cSpock?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s…part Russian.\u00a0 His father was Tartar and his mother, Mongolian.\u201d McCoy grinned.\u00a0 \u201cMakes for an unusual mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam brought the axe down again.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor hesitated just a moment, as if recalling the right words \u2013 or making them up on the spot.\u00a0 \u201cHe was injured.\u00a0 They gave him morphine.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid he may have become…addicted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d seen morphine addiction.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t pretty.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard\u2019s lips curled in a sad smile.\u00a0 \u201cSo am I.\u00a0 Spock\u2019s absolutely brilliant. I\u2019d hate to think of anything happening to that mind of his.\u201d\u00a0 He seemed to drift away and then come back.\u00a0 \u201cNow, don\u2019t you go tellin\u2019 him I said that,\u201d he drawled even as he sought his gaze.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like me and my little brother.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s bright, even though he doesn\u2019t think so.\u00a0 It has nothing to do with book learning, it\u2019s all instinct.\u00a0 I admit I push him as hard as I can to get him to think, to slow down and make choices before he leaps into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy laughed.\u00a0 He slapped the leather pouch he wore.\u00a0 \u201cYou know who I carry this for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam couldn\u2019t help but smile.\u00a0 \u201cSpock?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man glanced over his shoulder in the direction Joe had gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just hope, in that respect, Joe and Spock are not<\/em> alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright reined in the horses pulling the wagon filled with timber for mending fences and glanced at his companion who had chosen to sit in the back with the wood.\u00a0 Theron Vance was dangling his feet over the cart\u2019s tail-gate, staring back toward Virginia City.\u00a0 Their new hand wore a light-colored shirt and matching trousers, which covered almost all of his skin, and a large wide-brimmed hat to shade his face.\u00a0 He\u2019d explained that his skin condition made him more susceptible to the sun than others and that his eyes were weak and the bright light made them even weaker.\u00a0 When he\u2019d asked Theron why he didn\u2019t stay back East, the newcomer said he came from Vermont and that there were too many people there.\u00a0 Too many people to stare and laugh and call him names.\u00a0 He\u2019d hoped by coming to the West to escape that, but had found out all too quickly that men were the same everywhere.\u00a0 Vance was small like him in build and just about the same height.\u00a0 Joe knew what that had meant for him \u2013 constant fights to prove himself.\u00a0 Theron was<\/em> a scrapper.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen that in town today when some of the local thugs had tried to take both of them on.\u00a0 Joe shifted his bruised jaw from side to side.\u00a0 Pa wouldn\u2019t be happy that he\u2019d gotten into a fight, especially after taking that blow to the head the night before when he fell, but like Vance he was stronger than he looked and they\u2019d both come out fine.<\/p>\n

Joe looked up.\u00a0 It was late afternoon and the light was fleeing.\u00a0 They were heading into autumn and the sun settled in about seven o\u2019clock.\u00a0 They would have been home sooner, but the tussle in town slowed them down.\u00a0 Pa\u2019d be pacing that path in the worn grass out front of the house, making it even deeper.\u00a0 Joe shook his head.\u00a0 He had a hard time getting his father to remember that he was nearly twenty-three and was a full-fledged man now.<\/p>\n

Of course, Pa still treated Adam like he was eighteen, so what hope did he<\/em> have?<\/p>\n

When he laughed, Vance swiveled toward him.\u00a0 Joe nodded in return and patted the wooden seat beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you come up here, Theron?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t you tired of watching the world go by backwards?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Albino gave him an odd look.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m keeping watch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The curly-headed man frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever for?\u201d<\/p>\n

His pale-skinned friend turned and raised a hand and pointed toward a cloud of dust that was fast approaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat.\u201d<\/p>\n

One word.\u00a0 It was one <\/em>word and it sent the chill of winter through him.\u00a0 Joe was instantly on the alert.\u00a0 He met Theron\u2019s crimson eyes and realized for the first time that Vance was neither a ranch hand or<\/em> a friend.<\/p>\n

He was the enemy.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat have you done?\u201d he asked, his voice robbed of strength by a growing fear.<\/p>\n

Vance jumped from the wagon and amazingly kept his feet.\u00a0 Standing in the middle of the road, he replied, \u201cWhat had to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe eyed the dust cloud.\u00a0 It was large so it had to hold several men, and was maybe two\u00a0 minutes shy of reaching them.\u00a0 He looked at Vance and then at the reins in his hands.\u00a0 Before the other man could react, Joe slapped the lengths of leather against both horses\u2019 rumps and shouted, \u2018Hee-ya!\u201d sending them forward in a frenzied burst of speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d he heard Vance call from behind him, his voice cold as a machine.\u00a0 \u201cYou cannot escape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damned<\/em> if he couldn\u2019t!<\/p>\n

Careening wildly, the supply wagon bumped and jolted over every rock and stone in its path, depositing lumber beside the road as it went.\u00a0 Joe bumped and jolted with it, reawakening the pain in his head.\u00a0 He ignored it.\u00a0 Locking his fingers tightly around the reins, he held his seat, shifting only to take a look behind.<\/p>\n

To find the cloud was following him.<\/p>\n

Home, Joe thought.\u00a0 Home was not <\/em>that far away.\u00a0 He could make it.\u00a0 He\u2019d raced wagons before, using more speed than was safe or sensible.\u00a0 With every shed piece of timber, the one he was driving grew lighter and went faster.\u00a0 With any luck, he could outpace whoever it was Theron Vance was in cahoots with.\u00a0 He\u2019d get his brothers and then they\u2019d all come back and \u2013<\/p>\n

Joe blinked.\u00a0 The light was dying and he wasn\u2019t sure.\u00a0 No…<\/p>\n

Yes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There was <\/em>someone standing in the middle of the road.<\/p>\n

Shouting for all he was worth, Joe called out, \u201cGet out of the way!\u00a0 Mister!\u00a0 I can\u2019t stop!\u00a0 Get out of the way!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The man didn\u2019t move.\u00a0 Joe had a split-second choice to make \u2013 kill a perfect stranger or himself.<\/p>\n

With great regret he chose the path his father had taught him to take and turned the wagon.<\/p>\n

A split second later Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest son felt the right-hand wheels leave the road.\u00a0 Joe heard the horses\u2019 shriek.\u00a0 He felt himself catapulted out of the seat and into the trees where he struck one hard, slid down it, and fell into darkness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Consciousness faded in and out with pain.\u00a0 Joe blinked and moaned, coming awake for the third time.\u00a0 Something wasn\u2019t right.\u00a0 Something<\/em>….\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t know what<\/em>.\u00a0 Whatever it was made him gasp and fade out for a few seconds whenever he tried to move.\u00a0 As he lay there, breathing hard, fighting to stay conscious, he heard a noise.\u00a0 Sucking in air, he held it as his mind fought to identify the sound.\u00a0 Footsteps.<\/p>\n

Someone was coming.<\/p>\n

Someone out of a cloud, wasn\u2019t that it?\u00a0 Someone who had descended from the sky to hunt him.\u00a0 He\u2019d run, hadn\u2019t he?\u00a0 But he hadn\u2019t gotten away.\u00a0 They were going to take him, just as easily as he<\/em> would round up a young green calf.\u00a0 Tears entered his eyes unbidden, partly from pain but more from shame.\u00a0 They were gonna use him somehow, maybe to demand money from his pa, or to make Pa sign over his land, or….<\/p>\n

Joe let that breath of air out and tightened his jaw.<\/p>\n

No…they…weren\u2019t!<\/em><\/p>\n

Even as his pa\u2019s voice inside his head scolded him for not staying put and waiting for the doctor, Joe raised himself up on one elbow.\u00a0 After the forest stopped whirling, he tried to use the other one to steady himself.\u00a0 It was then he discovered what was wrong.\u00a0 That arm was broken just as sure as the trees branches that lay snapped beneath him. Sucking in the pain, he leaned back on the other arm and used it to push himself into a seated position.\u00a0 Then he tried to stand.<\/p>\n

Tried.<\/em><\/p>\n

The world rocked like the deck of that ship his Pa had taken him on once.\u00a0 It had been anchored in the harbor, but the sails had been unfurled and there had been a strong wind that day.\u00a0 It had shifted from side to side like a bucking bronco.\u00a0 At the time he\u2019d wondered, because of the motion, how his pa had been able to walk the deck without being sick.<\/p>\n

It was sure making him<\/em> sick.<\/p>\n

Rolling over, Joe dropped his head and lost the lunch he\u2019d eaten in town with Vance a few hours before.\u00a0 Once everything was wretched out of him, he began to shake like autumn leaves.\u00a0 Still determined, he fought to regain his feet but was stopped and held down by a pair of strong, unforgiving arms.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d caught him!\u00a0 Whoever it was, they had him and they would use him against Pa!\u00a0 And \u2013<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will do yourself further damage if you attempt to rise,\u201d a soft voice, sounding nothing like he expected said.\u00a0 \u201cLogic dictates you remain quiescent until the bones you have broken are set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked away tears and looked.\u00a0 His vision was blurry so it was hard to make out the features of the man who held him.\u00a0 He thought there was something unusual about them, but then he decided it didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 Nothing mattered.<\/p>\n

Nothing but warning his pa and his brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen…\u201d he managed to mutter.\u00a0 \u201cMen…after…me.\u00a0 Don\u2019t….\u201d\u00a0 Joe drew a deep breath as his hand shot out to take hold of the man\u2019s coat, \u201cdon\u2019t let them…take me.\u00a0 Pa….\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger gently pried his fingers free and stood.\u00a0 For a moment, everything went silent.\u00a0 Then he crouched at his side again.\u00a0 \u201cA party of four men is headed this way.\u00a0 I trust these are the ones of whom you speak?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked.\u00a0 The stranger sure talked funny.\u00a0 Fearful that admitting he didn\u2019t<\/em> know might cause him to lose the only help he had, he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 I think…they want to…use me or…maybe…kill me…\u201d he said between breaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, in either case, the logical conclusion is that it would be expeditious to remove you from their path.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word was so big it made his brain hurt when he tried to wrap it around it.\u00a0 \u201cExpe…what?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a small sigh.\u00a0 \u201cWise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded, regretted it, and then began to push himself up again.<\/p>\n

The hands returned.\u00a0 \u201cYou cannot walk.\u00a0 Your leg is injured as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dang it!\u00a0 That\u2019s<\/em> why he fell.\u00a0 \u201cI sure as Hell can try!\u201d he growled, fighting the man\u2019s hold.<\/p>\n

The stranger paused.\u00a0 \u201cI fail to see what the ancient Earth myth of an abode of eternal punishment has to do with whether or not you are able to rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Joe blinked again, trying to clear his eyes.\u00a0 Even as the stranger began to come into focus, he felt the man\u2019s hands move, one sliding under his knees and the other supporting his shoulders.\u00a0 A second later he picked him up.\u00a0 \u201cHey!\u00a0 What are you doing?\u00a0 You can\u2019t carry me!\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s eyes were almond-shaped and black as his pa\u2019s, but the look out of them reminded him of Adam \u2013 even to the way one eyebrow arched and his lips twitched at the ends.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour statement is illogical as that is precisely the task I have accomplished.\u00a0 I would advise you save your energy for what is to come.\u00a0 We shall be forced to move with great rapidity and you are likely to suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Joe thought Doc Hickman had a bad bedside manner!<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked at last.<\/p>\n

An odd light entered the stranger\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 He hesitated, almost as if unsure of what to say.\u00a0 \u201cThey are almost upon us.\u00a0 Do you prefer I answer your inquiry or begin to run?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe heard them.\u00a0 Crashing through the trees not all that far away.<\/p>\n

\u201cHell<\/em> if I care,\u201d Joe braced himself for action.\u00a0 \u201cRun!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOUR<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Kirk stepped out of the Cartwright bunkhouse and stretched his arms toward the sky.\u00a0 It was late and he was tired.\u00a0 Still, sleep eluded him.<\/p>\n

When Ben Cartwright had agreed to let him work for them, the older man had meant just that.\u00a0 He\u2019d been sent out immediately with one of the older hands to meet up with Cartwright\u2019s middle son, Hoss, to complete the work of mending fences on the western range.\u00a0 He had to be honest, it had felt good<\/em> to do something with his hands.\u00a0 He loved what he did, sailing the stars and seeking out new life and new civilizations, but at the same time there was something to be said for putting down roots and working a piece of land, for taming it and turning it into something to be prized and passed on to the next generation.\u00a0 His life was, well, complicated.\u00a0 There was a simplicity about ranching that called to him.<\/p>\n

Kirk smiled.\u00a0 It probably went back to his roots as an Iowa farm boy.<\/p>\n

Stepping away from the bunkhouse, the blond man turned his face upward.\u00a0 The stars were dazzling, clear as diamonds and just as brilliant.\u00a0 They winked at him, challenging his wish for a bit of earth of his own to settle down on.\u00a0 It was tempting \u2013 the scent of pine and moss, the rush of a raging river in the distance, the ground beneath his feet.\u00a0 Still, he knew it was only a dream.\u00a0 He was a sailor as sure as Benjamin Cartwright had been once upon a time.\u00a0 It amazed him that the older man had been able to put it all behind him \u2013 that spirit of adventure, of sailing the seas and never knowing what was around the next bend.\u00a0 But then, he had never married and had not had sons.\u00a0 If he had, it might have been different.<\/p>\n

Would he ever, he wondered?<\/p>\n

Kirk had just turned back toward the bunkhouse when something stirred.\u00a0 Instantly on the alert, he pivoted on his heel in time to see a shift in the shadows near the house.\u00a0 He\u2019d left the gun Adam gave him in the bunkhouse.\u00a0 That had been another thing \u2013 the feel of a finely made and hand<\/em>made instrument in his hand.\u00a0 It had brought a smile to the face of the boy he had been who had loved the old adventure stories of the Wild West.\u00a0 Uncertain what to do, Kirk decided a challenge would have to suffice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d he called as he took a step forward.\u00a0 \u201cAnswer me!\u201d<\/p>\n

The shadow of a man appeared.\u00a0 It quickly turned into Ben Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Kirk stood down.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, sir.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know it was you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you keeping watch?\u201d the older man asked.<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep.\u00a0 I just stepped out for a breath of air.\u00a0 You?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright approached him.\u00a0 When he stopped at his side, he looked up at the panoply of stars above their heads.\u00a0 \u201cBreathtaking, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt certainly is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sky reminds me of the sea,\u201d Ben said softly.\u00a0 \u201cEbon swells glinting with starlight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s none of my business, sir, but \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen.\u00a0 Please,\u201d the older man said with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t stand on formality here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell?\u201d the rancher asked.\u00a0\u00a0 When he frowned, he added, \u201cYour question?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u00a0 How did you give it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Ben\u2019s turn to be confused.\u00a0 \u201cIt?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk indicated the black expanse above them, punctuated by the light of those diamond stars.\u00a0 \u201cSailing the seas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man remained silent a moment.\u00a0 When he spoke at last there was a longing in his voice, like the cry of a sea mew sounding over still water.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I was young, I thought only of myself and what I desired.\u00a0 I had a deep yearning within me to see the world.\u201d\u00a0 Ben paused.\u00a0 When he spoke again, his tone was tinged with regret.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a legacy I have given to my oldest boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried to make him understand.\u201d\u00a0 Ben pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cThe world calls to a man like a beautiful courtesan.\u00a0 It\u2019s splendor is seductive.\u00a0 It promises everything he desires and whispers in his ear that it will bring him pleasures unimagined and, in the end, happiness.\u201d\u00a0 The older man smiled sadly.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a reason for the legends of the sirens, Jim.\u00a0 They\u2019re real, but they\u2019re not sitting on a rock somewhere singing songs and combing their long hair.\u00a0 They are here<\/em>,\u201d he pointed to his head and then his heart, \u201cand here.\u00a0 They call to a man to abandon everything but his need to feed the hunger inside.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed then, a short bark.\u00a0 \u201cIn the end those desires consume the man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you <\/em>weren\u2019t consumed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat saved you?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause.\u00a0 \u201cThe love of a good woman.\u201d\u00a0 The older man turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t say.\u00a0 Do you have a wife or children, Jim?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s been no time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright\u2019s hand came down on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cMake<\/em> time, son.\u00a0 It\u2019s home and family that complete a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew from the records that the elder Cartwright had been married three times, each wife dying tragically at a young age and leaving him a son.\u00a0 He\u2019d suffered so much loss, but it was obvious the older man would not think for one second of doubting the choices he had made.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to know Hoss a little today,\u201d Kirk said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a good man and so is Adam.\u00a0 I look forward to spending some time with your youngest as well.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated a moment.\u00a0 \u201cBoth of your older sons told me I remind them of their younger brother.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not entirely sure it was in a good<\/em> way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright\u2019s near-black eyes turned away from the sky to settle on him.\u00a0 Kirk experienced something in that moment that was not unheard of, but was rare.\u00a0 He sensed a nearly primordial force in the man \u2013 a power of command that matched, or maybe, exceeded <\/em>his own.\u00a0 The land baron was rock solid as the ancient mountain ranges that populated his lands; his strength and belief in himself and his sons as deeply rooted as the pines that covered the mountain\u2019s rocky face.\u00a0 Here was a man who never wavered, never doubted a decision once it was made.\u00a0 And yet, at this moment, in those unassailable black eyes, Kirk saw something he would never have expected.<\/p>\n

Fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen,\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cIs something wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man started, as if his thoughts had been far away. \u201cNo.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 At least, I don\u2019t think so.\u201d\u00a0 His smile was chagrined.\u00a0 \u201cAdam and Hoss tell me I\u2019m like an old mother grizzly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk made a leap. The last he knew the youngest Cartwright had not returned and he had heard no wagon come into the yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re worried about Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben crossed his arms and rested a thumb against his lips. \u201cHe should have been back long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould he have stayed in town?\u201d\u00a0 The ship\u2019s archives were rife with the exploits of Ben\u2019s third son.\u00a0 While he didn\u2019t exactly raise Hell<\/em>, Joseph Francis Cartwright raised enough Cain to land him in the history books.<\/p>\n

The older man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot without permission, and not after what happened last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded, accepting that.\u00a0 \u201cWould you like me to go look for him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben dark eyes reflected his gratitude.\u00a0 \u201cNot now.\u00a0 It would be pointless.\u00a0 We\u2019ll look at first light.\u201d\u00a0 The older man stirred.\u00a0 \u201cMost likely something delayed them and Joe and Vance made camp for the night.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll ride in in the morning, right as rain.\u201d\u00a0 The older man placed a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for offering.\u00a0 Now, you should get some rest, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t mind my saying so, sir, you should too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man laughed as he lifted his hand.\u00a0 Then he did a strange thing.\u00a0 He saluted.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir!\u201d<\/p>\n

It appeared Ben Cartwright sensed they were kindred spirits as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still later that night, after the Cartwright household had settled and all of the men in the bunkhouse were asleep, Jim Kirk left his bed again. A low almost inaudible chirping had alerted him to the fact that someone from the Enterprise was attempting to reach him.\u00a0 Unsure of whether it was McCoy, who was quartered in the ranch house, or Scotty calling from the ship, he had risen and gone outside.\u00a0 Once he was certain there was no one posted who would notice his movements, Kirk moved away from the house and opened his communicator.\u00a0 Tuning it to the signal he had received, he waited for a voice on the other end.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim, is that you?\u201d he heard McCoy whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 Where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the house.\u00a0 Do you think it\u2019s safe for us to meet?\u00a0 I had a few things I wanted to go over with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk didn\u2019t like the sound of that.\u00a0 It reminded him of the time on the Enterprise after they had left Sigma Iotia II when Bones reluctantly informed him that he might<\/em> have left his phaser behind on the planet, possibly contaminating an entire culture.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cBones…what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a moment of silence.\u00a0 \u201cProbably nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Probably<\/em>\u2019 nothing,\u201d he echoed.\u00a0 \u201cBut possibly something?<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 When the doctor said nothing more, Kirk agreed.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, Bones.\u00a0 Where do you want to meet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the farm boy.\u00a0 Where do you suggest?\u201d<\/p>\n

Not the stable, he thought, or the barn.\u00a0 The animals might react to the presence of strangers. \u201cSomewhere away from the house.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk glanced up.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you at navigating by the stars?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs good as any land lubber,\u201d came the doctor\u2019s gruff reply.<\/p>\n

Kirk sighed.\u00a0 \u201cHow about I set a homing signal on my communicator and you follow it?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy\u2019s tone brightened.\u00a0 \u201cNow, that I can do!\u00a0 See you shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blond man initiated the signal and then closed his communicator and moved into the woods, glancing behind as he did to make certain there was no movement at front of the house. When he was satisfied, James T. Kirk turned face forward and set out to select a meeting place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright never understood why he got so powerful hungry in the middle of the night.\u00a0 He\u2019d get himself a big scrumptious snack before headin\u2019 up to bed \u2013 near big as Little Joe hisself \u2013 and then he\u2019d lay himself down to sleep and, dang it! <\/em>if his stomach didn\u2019t decide to up and start talkin\u2019 to him every time about four or five hours later.<\/p>\n

The big man heard the tall clock strike three as he descended the stair.\u00a0 He\u2019d peeked in Little Joe\u2019s room on his way down and found his brother was still missin\u2019.\u00a0 He sure hoped Joe and that odd fellow Theron Vance had bedded down for the night somewhere and not run into trouble on the way back from Virginia City.\u00a0 Pa had come up at about two in the mornin\u2019 and must have fallen asleep.\u00a0 The older man would be up bright and early lookin\u2019 for baby brother and if he didn\u2019t find him, that\u2019d be the end of sleepin\u2019 for all of them.\u00a0 If it came to that he might think of things differently.\u00a0 He might hope Joe had run into a mess of trouble cause if he hadn\u2019t, then it was gonna find <\/em>him when he had to face down their pa.<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019 stomach rumbled like to wake the dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on there, fella,\u201d he said, a smile curlin\u2019 the edge of his lip.\u00a0 \u201cGrub\u2019s a comin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man knew there was some of that apple pie Hop Sing had fixed for supper the night before left, and he\u2019d spied a cold side of beef with his name on it when he\u2019d eaten his before-bed snack.\u00a0 Both were callin\u2019 to him now.\u00a0 He made his way to the kitchen and placed his hand on the larder door, glancin\u2019 out the window that opened onto the porch as he did, and froze.<\/p>\n

That there stranger \u2013 the one who said he was a doctor \u2013 was movin\u2019 past the front of the house and headin\u2019 into the woods.<\/p>\n

Now what was that feller from Georgia up to?<\/p>\n

Hoss glanced down.\u00a0 He was in his night shirt, but he\u2019d left his trousers on expectin\u2019 that early mornin\u2019 call from Pa to go lookin\u2019 for Little Joe.\u00a0 He always kept a spare pair of boots in the mud room.\u00a0 The big man glanced up the stairs, but decided he\u2019d lose the trail if he took time to get a fresh shirt.\u00a0 So, instead he tucked the ends of his night shirt into his trousers and then headed for his boots.\u00a0 In two shakes of a lamb\u2019s tail he was headed out the door.\u00a0 Well, maybe three.\u00a0 He\u2019d grabbed some of that there roasted beef before leavin\u2019 the house.<\/p>\n

After all, if his stomach decided to strike up a conversation, it might just give him away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Kirk was pacing, wearing a path into the sparse grass, when Leonard McCoy found him.\u00a0 His friend did not<\/em> look happy.\u00a0 The physician supposed it was because Kirk had been mulling over all the things that could have gone wrong since he hadn\u2019t told him what it was that had<\/em>.\u00a0 Not that it was anything bad.\u00a0 He\u2019d only made a couple of compromises.<\/p>\n

Just a couple.<\/p>\n

Stopping just without Kirk\u2019s circle, McCoy cleared his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat took you so long?\u201d Jim snapped as he halted and turned toward him.<\/p>\n

McCoy shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI had to work my way through the woods.\u00a0 I\u2019m a doctor not a frontiersman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim stared at him in that way that he had, the one where his whole body was a challenge.\u00a0 \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what <\/em>did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy pulled at the black necktie holding up his collar.\u00a0 \u201cYou make it sound like I committed a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk was taken aback.\u00a0 \u201cDid<\/em> you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I just…well…I brought a few things with me that were not on the requisition list.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot on the….\u201d\u00a0 His captain paled.\u00a0 \u201cTell me you didn\u2019t bring a phaser.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy pursed his lips and rocked on his heels.<\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s hands flew in the air.\u00a0 \u201cYou did!\u00a0 What were you \u2013\u00a0 Wait, did you use it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The physician shook his head.\u00a0 Then he shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you use a phaser \u2018not really\u2019?\u00a0 Bones, what did you do?\u00a0 Tell me!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI used it to open a lock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk blinked.\u00a0 \u201cA lock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t you just pick it?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy straightened his back.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a doctor not a \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

The blond man finished it for him.\u00a0 \u201c…a lock-pick, I know.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk ran a hand over his chin.\u00a0 \u201cAnd where did you pick <\/em>this lock?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Cartwright\u2019s barn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cartwright\u2019s barn.\u201d\u00a0 He drew a steadying breath.\u00a0 \u201cDid anyone see you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Well,\u201d his frown deepened, \u201cat least I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou…don\u2019t…think <\/em>so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d finished and put it away before I stepped out of the barn and found Adam Cartwright waiting for me.\u201d\u00a0 His grizzled eyebrows leapt with hope.\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t say anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk was drawing long, slow breaths.\u00a0 \u201cThings.\u00a0 You said, \u2018things<\/em>\u2019.\u00a0 Plural.\u00a0 What else did you bring with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d he grinned, \u201cyou know Spock.\u00a0 Odds are when we find him he\u2019ll need patching up.\u00a0 I brought some medical supplies, a hypo-spray, and a few other items.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd since we haven\u2019t found <\/em>Spock yet, have they all stayed in your pouch since<\/em> your arrival?\u201d Jim asked, his look indicating he knew <\/em>they had not.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll but one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich<\/em> one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cartwright boy surprised me, the one called Little Joe.\u00a0 I had just materialized and there he was, staring at me and asking questions I couldn\u2019t answer, so I….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPut him to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s anger had been building.\u00a0 It exploded in a barely controlled, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to revive him, but then his brother showed up \u2013 and his father \u2013 and they took him into the house.\u201d\u00a0 He took a step toward him.\u00a0 \u201cJim, you know how it is.\u00a0 The longer someone is under the more likely they are to suffer consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Joe Cartwright was under how<\/em> long?\u201d<\/p>\n

He gulped.\u00a0 \u201cA couple of hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood God, Bones!\u00a0 That young man isn\u2019t a father yet.\u00a0 Do you realize what you\u2019ve done?\u00a0 You may have altered the time stream.\u00a0 We have no idea what contributions his descendants play.\u00a0 One of them could have invented the warp drive!\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWe know who invented the warp-drive, Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but do we know who his great-great-great-great<\/em> grandfather was?\u201d<\/p>\n

Point taken.<\/p>\n

His infuriated friend took in several deep breaths to calm himself.\u00a0 \u201cCan you tell if there will be any lasting effects from this hypo-spray that you brought with you and used even though you were ordered specifically not <\/em>to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can if I can examine Joe again,\u201d McCoy stated plainly.\u00a0 \u201cI tried to before, but the family is so close I couldn\u2019t manage any time alone with him.\u00a0 I thought since he was still out here somewhere, maybe you and I could find him and we could \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou stop what you\u2019re sayin\u2019 right there, Mister, and both of you put your hands up!\u201d<\/p>\n

He and Jim pivoted toward whomever had spoken.\u00a0 They exchanged glances when they realized the big man with the big rifle emerging from the trees was none other than Hoss Cartwright \u2013 the very<\/em> irate brother of the man they had just been discussing.<\/p>\n

Kirk moved forward a step, waggling a raised finger.\u00a0 \u201cI can explain….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do your explainin\u2019 to my pa,\u201d Hoss growled.\u00a0 \u201cAdam was right about you, after all,\u201d he said, aiming his comment at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t no doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor\u2019s don\u2019t hurt no one.\u00a0 I heard you talkin\u2019 about hurtin\u2019 Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy exchanged a look with Jim.\u00a0 His captain sighed and nodded his head ever so slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I may,\u201d he said in his best southern drawl, \u201cI\u2019ll just reach into this pouch and show you what I used on your brother.\u00a0 It\u2019s harmless as a shot of whiskey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why was you talkin\u2019 about \u2018consequences\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are consequences when a man drinks too much, aren\u2019t there?\u201d he said as two fingers located the hypo-spray.\u00a0 \u201cSome can be long term as well.\u201d\u00a0 He waited.\u00a0 \u201cIf I may?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man glared at him over the rifle.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re sayin\u2019 whatever you got in that little pouch at your waist is what knocked Joe out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I show it to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The rifle was lowered \u2013 ever so slightly.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy withdrew the instrument. He held it out, allowing the starlight to catch on its silver case and make it glint enticingly\u00a0 \u201cNow does that look so dangerous?\u201d\u00a0 Noting the man\u2019s puzzled expression, the physician offered it to him.\u00a0 \u201cHere.\u00a0 Take a look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss moved forward like he was facing off a mountain lion.\u00a0 Slowly, step by step, he grew closer.\u00a0 At the last he reached out and snatched the instrument away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d the big man asked, eying the medical tool as if it was a snake ready to bite him.<\/p>\n

McCoy smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt emits a dust that can put a man to sleep.\u00a0 Something like laudanum.\u00a0 Its empty now, of course, but you dispense it by pressing that button at the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright\u2019s middle son shifted his finger to the right.\u00a0 \u201cThis one here…?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took both of them to catch him when he fell.<\/p>\n

Once they had deposited Hoss Cartwright on the ground, he turned to Jim and said, \u201cSee?\u00a0 I told you it would come in handy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s look could have fried duranium.\u00a0 \u201cNow what?\u201d<\/em> he demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe find Joe Cartwright and check him out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim nodded toward Hoss\u2019 recumbent form.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what do we do with sleeping beauty here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll administer the antidote before we go and he\u2019ll wake up in about fifteen minutes.\u00a0 He\u2019ll have a headache and his memory will be foggy, but that\u2019s about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should put him back in his bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy blinked. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat way when he wakes up he\u2019ll think it was a dream and our cover won\u2019t be blown.\u201d<\/p>\n

The physician scratched his head.\u00a0 \u201cAnd, considering his size, just how <\/em>do you propose we do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk pursed his lips and then turned his hazel eyes on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t happen to have a repulsor-lift folded up and tucked in that bag of yours, do you, Bones?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the end they had to leave sleeping beauty lie on his bed of grass.\u00a0 Kirk regretted it as it meant both he and McCoy would now be suspect in Ben Cartwright\u2019s eyes, but there was nothing to be done about it.\u00a0 Even if they could have lifted the big man and carried him back to the Ponderosa, getting Hoss into the house and up the stairs without rousing those who were sleeping would have been impossible. They\u2019d decided the risk was not worth it and, after returning to the ranch to pilfer two horses, headed out to locate the other Cartwright son who had traveled to Virginia City and still not returned.\u00a0 Kirk hoped they would find Joe as his father expected, camped somewhere along the trail to town, whole, and sleeping peacefully.<\/p>\n

Still, knowing how his luck had been going so far, the blond man seriously doubted that was going to be the case.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright woke again about four in the morning.\u00a0 He went first to Joe\u2019s room to check and see if his youngest had returned.\u00a0 Finding it empty, he moved to the head of the stairs and descended.\u00a0 The scent of coffee brewing filled the air.\u00a0 Hop Sing was already up and at work, preparing a fine breakfast to sustain them all for the day to come.\u00a0 As he entered the great room Ben considered what that day might hold.\u00a0 He wondered if Joe was just being Joe \u2013 carefree and perhaps a bit<\/em> careless \u2013 or if something had occurred that had delayed his son.<\/p>\n

Something that entailed some sort of threat or risk to him and maybe to the Ponderosa as well.<\/p>\n

Passing into the kitchen he greeted his surprised friend and cook.\u00a0 While he intended to leave with a pot of coffee and a cup, Hop Sing shoved a fresh breakfast roll and some fruit into his hands as well. Sitting down at the empty table to eat, the older man was struck by a sudden premonition \u2013 a fear, really, that for some unspeakable reason it might soon be this way \u2013 just him, alone at the table, without his sons.\u00a0 As he sipped his coffee, he tried to throw off the feeling of dread, but failed miserably.\u00a0 Coming to a decision at last, Ben rose, intending to go upstairs and rouse both of his older boys and go out to look for Joe, but before he could the front door opened and Hoss stumbled in still wearing his night shirt and looking like something the cat would have refused to drag in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss!\u00a0 Son!\u201d\u00a0 Ben crossed swiftly to his side and took his arm.\u00a0 \u201cWhat were you doing outside?\u201d<\/p>\n

His middle boy looked at him, his face almost comically screwed up with confusion.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t rightly know, Pa.\u00a0 One minute I was openin\u2019 the larder and the next thing I remember I woke up in the woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben led him to the settee and settled him there.\u00a0 Going to the table he poured a cup of coffee and returned with it.\u00a0 While Hoss sipped the strong brew, Ben waited.\u00a0 When it seemed his son had calmed, he asked him again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat were you doing outside?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss puzzled it over a minute.\u00a0 \u201cI think it had somethin\u2019 to do with Joe, Pa.\u00a0 And maybe with that new man name of Kirk.\u201d\u00a0 He took another sip and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThen again, maybe I was just dreamin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think you were sleepwalking?\u201d\u00a0 Joe had done it before, but not Hoss.\u00a0 Maybe worry for his brother?<\/p>\n

Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t rightly know, Pa.\u00a0 But I cain\u2019t shake the feelin\u2019 that somethin\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d a strong voice asked from the stair.<\/p>\n

Ben looked up to find Adam already dressed in his usual black and descending.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems your middle brother was sleepwalking,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s brow did a little dance. \u00a0\u201cIn his nightshirt and boots?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man looked.\u00a0 Hoss did have his boots on, and trousers.\u00a0 Would a sleepwalker take time to stop and dress?<\/p>\n

\u201cI checked Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 I assume he\u2019s still not back,\u201d his eldest said as he came to rest beside them.<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, and frankly, I\u2019m worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cFor once I agree, Pa.\u00a0 There\u2019s been too many things happening around here for this to be coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean the strangers?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI checked McCoy\u2019s room.\u00a0 He\u2019s gone too.\u00a0 And I bet if we check the bunkhouse, Kirk\u2019s with him.\u00a0 There was something….\u201d\u00a0 His son met his troubled gaze.\u00a0 \u201cI think they know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s scowl deepened.\u00a0 He seldom so misjudged a man\u2019s character.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 But I\u2019d lay a bet on it.\u201d\u00a0 Adam walked over to the sideboard.\u00a0 Once there, he picked up his father\u2019s holster and gun and held them out.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s say we ride and find out what is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss,\u201d the older man asked, \u201care you able to sit a horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

His son finished his coffee and stood up.\u00a0 \u201cJust let me get a proper shirt, Pa.\u00a0 Then I\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked from one son to the other, feeling pride \u2013 pride and<\/em> a kind of fear.\u00a0 He\u2019d reared them to be bold and courageous, to look danger in the face and not fold or fall back.\u00a0 Did that mean he had also<\/em> reared them to take chances, to court risk and perhaps, invite death?<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d Adam asked, clearly concerned.\u00a0 \u201cIs something wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, son,\u201d he said, accepting his gun belt and fastening it around his hips.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet your gear ready.\u00a0 We\u2019ll eat first and then ride to find your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIVE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe was in complete darkness.\u00a0 There was not one jot of light.<\/p>\n

He was walking forward, his hand resting on a cold surface.\u00a0 He could smell as much as feel that it was a rocky wall, so he figured he must be in a cave.\u00a0 Pressing on in spite of a growing fear, he lifted leaden feet and continued to move forward.\u00a0 Thirty, maybe forty minutes later his boots struck something hard and manmade.\u00a0 Crouching, he explored the floor with his hand.\u00a0 When his fingers touched a long cold metal rail, he realized that he was not in a cave.<\/p>\n

He was in a mine.<\/p>\n

At that point panic set in.<\/p>\n

The lack of light told him he was deep in the earth.\u00a0 It also gave him no direction to shoot for.\u00a0 If he continued on, he might reach the surface, but just as easily he could be working his way down, deeper into the mine\u2019s bowels where he would be lost and no one would find anything left of him but his bones.<\/p>\n

Joe paused, panting hard.\u00a0 Inaction was not a part of him.\u00a0 It rankled like the stink of a corpse in his nose.\u00a0 Leaning back against the dripping wall, he fought for the memory of how he had come to be here.\u00a0 But there was nothing.\u00a0 Nothing but the blackness, the stale air, and the sound of water dripping, forming stalactites and stalagmites as it had for thousands of years before his birth and would continue to do long after his death.<\/p>\n

There was a peace in that.\u00a0 One he could almost surrender to \u2013 if he had not heard someone calling his name.<\/p>\n

Joe.<\/em><\/p>\n

He knew the voice, though he couldn\u2019t identify it.\u00a0 I\u2019m here.\u00a0 Here!\u00a0 Where are you?<\/em><\/p>\n

I am beside you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe looked.\u00a0 Of course, he couldn\u2019t see anything, so he reached out and found \u2013 empty air.<\/p>\n

No, you\u2019re not.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 I am.\u00a0 You will not find me with the senses you are accustomed to.\u00a0 Do not try.\u00a0 Simply follow my voice.<\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know where its coming from<\/em>, he protested.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Reach out with your mind.\u00a0 You will<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For once, Joe did as he was told, though he wasn\u2019t exactly sure how to \u2018reach out with his mind\u2019.\u00a0 He closed his eyes, even though the action was pointless, and concentrated.\u00a0 Surprisingly as he did, far in the distance, a pale glow appeared.<\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 That is I.<\/em><\/p>\n

You?\u00a0 Who are you?<\/em><\/p>\n

The answer is not pertinent to the moment.\u00a0 Seek out my presence, Joseph Cartwright, as you have done before.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Before?\u00a0 When had he done it before?<\/p>\n

Also not pertinent.\u00a0 Focus on the light.\u00a0 Reach it.\u00a0 Reach me.<\/em><\/p>\n

For some reason Joe was more frightened than he had ever been in his life \u2013 frightened of the dark, but, in a way, even more so of the light that beckoned to him.\u00a0 He hated to admit it, but….<\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid.<\/em><\/p>\n

Understandable.\u00a0 You have been confronted with a concept your primitive mind cannot conceive.\u00a0 Therefore, the logical thing to do is to accept the superiority \u2013 in this case \u2013 of one who does.\u00a0 Go to the light.<\/em><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that what you did when you die?<\/p>\n

No.<\/em><\/p>\n

He sensed more than heard a sigh.<\/p>\n

Very well then.\u00a0 I shall have to come to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Suddenly the light was on him.\u00a0 He caught, at the edges of the cool silver glow, a hint of a world he would never \u2013 and should<\/em> never know.\u00a0 It was all metal, cold and hard.\u00a0 There were no trees, no mountain streams, no cattle or sheep grazing, there was only a vacuum of sound and air.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n

You are not there.\u00a0 You are here with me.\u00a0 Here….<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWith me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe gasped as if coming up for air from too long beneath the water\u2019s surface.\u00a0 He coughed and wretched again, though his empty stomach refused to give up anything but bile.\u00a0 The same strong hands held him. When he\u2019d finished they released him and the man who owned them stood up and took a step back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is regrettable that Doctor McCoy is not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The brown-haired man blinked and tried to focus on the speaker.\u00a0 Joe frowned as he noted the man\u2019s long lanky form clothed all in black, his shaggy chin-length hair of the same color, and the slightly occidental turn to his eyes and skin. It all seemed familiar \u2013 but not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat…happened?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the incident in which your wagon departed the road, you were thrown out and struck your head engendering a concussion.\u00a0 I regret I did not note this before moving you.\u00a0 My concern was for your more evident physical injuries and for the even greater need to remove you from your present circumstances in order to prevent your seizure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s highly active brows did a little dance.\u00a0 \u201cAre you a professor…or something?\u00a0 You sound like a professor….\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s expression remained flat.\u00a0 \u201cSuch associations are also not pertinent to our current state of affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe bristled.\u00a0 \u201cWould you just…speak English!\u201d he shouted and then instantly regretted it.\u00a0 His voice sounded through his head like it was an empty hollow, causing pain each time it struck the side of his skull.\u00a0 He put a hand to his head.\u00a0 \u201cPlease….\u201d<\/p>\n

The man sighed.\u00a0 \u201cIt is not wise to waste energy, Joseph Cartwright, when there are men tracking you who do not wish you well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He blinked.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you know who I am?\u201d\u00a0 The pain in his chest was getting a little easier to take.\u00a0 At least he\u2019d put seven words together without drawing a breath.\u00a0 \u201cAnd, who<\/em> are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso unimportant, but knowing humans….\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cI am called Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCalled?\u00a0 It ain\u2019t your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

One ink-slash eyebrow peaked.\u00a0 \u201cIt is my name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you say so?\u201d Joe challenged.<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s mouth quirked at the end.\u00a0 \u201cI am beginning to regret reviving you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shifted.\u00a0 It hurt like Hell, but he had<\/em> to do something.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean, reviving me?\u201d<\/p>\n

The quirk turned down into a frown.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright, in the past forty-five-point-two seconds you have asked nine questions.\u00a0 Is this behavior apt to continue?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cForty-five-point-two?\u201d\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cYou got a stopwatch hidden somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock sighed.\u00a0 \u201cAlter that to eleven in fifty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, it\u2019s just…\u00a0 I wake up to find some stranger who doesn\u2019t quite feel<\/em> like a stranger bending over me and then, somehow, entering into my dreams….\u201d\u00a0 Joe scrunched up his nose.\u00a0 \u201cWell, a man\u2019s almost duty bound to ask questions, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s lean form was ramrod straight. \u201cFor the record then, I was walking along the road when I saw a wagon being driven with dangerous rapidity.\u00a0 I watched until the wagon drew close and noted one young man driving it and four other men on horseback in pursuit following hard upon it.\u00a0 It was immediately apparent that the young man attempted to escape those behind.\u00a0 I meant to offer assistance, but instead was perceived as a threat by the young man who then turned the wagon and was ejected from its seat into the trees as it crashed.\u00a0 I hastened down the hill to render assistance. While noting the man\u2019s injuries, I became aware of the continued pursuit of the party of four and made a judgment to lift him and carry him away.\u00a0 Upon reaching a place of relative safety, I found he was unconscious and administered the necessary treatment to waken him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe was glassy-eyed.\u00a0 \u201cThe young man being me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He could see it in the other man\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 That made twelve.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he replied, this time stifling the sigh.<\/p>\n

The brown-haired man thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019d you get in my head?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s look was stoic.\u00a0 \u201cIt is impossible to \u2018get\u2019 in someone\u2019s head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what I mean.\u00a0 I…heard you.\u00a0 Talking to me while I was out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man cocked his head.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps your injury was more severe than first diagnosed.\u00a0 If you were \u2018out\u2019, as you put it, you could not have heard my voice.\u00a0 Is this not true?\u201d<\/p>\n

He supposed it was.<\/p>\n

Shifting to ease the pain in his arm, Joe glanced around.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI know that.\u00a0 Where<\/em> on the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApproximately eleven-point-two-three miles from the ranch house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you a math<\/em> professor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a scientist.\u201d\u00a0 Spock eyed him closely.\u00a0 \u201cUnfortunately, I am not a physician and it appears you are in need of one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock bent.\u00a0 He gripped his bloodied sleeve and ripped the tough cloth of his green jacket and the shirt beneath with the ease of a knife slicing through warm butter, exposing the broken bone that stuck out of his flesh.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will have to be set.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time Joe didn\u2019t ask a question \u2013 he already knew the answer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Vulcan-human hybrid known simply as Spock to his companions in Starfleet, crossed the short space between himself and Benjamin Cartwright\u2019s youngest son to check on the young man\u2019s condition.\u00a0 They had traveled a good portion of the day, reaching the top of a high hill, and so far Joseph was without fever, though he tossed and turned as if one already claimed him.\u00a0 Regrettably, the Vulcan was sure it was to come as the break was an open fracture on an oblique line and parts of the bone was protruding through the skin.\u00a0 Without his tricorder he did not dare use any of the local plants to render the young man less susceptible to pain as he administered the necessary remedy of realigning the bone, the end result of which was that his patient passed out.<\/p>\n

His own experience with Doctor McCoy\u2019s dubious administrations had shown that this was often the case.<\/p>\n

He had been impressed by the young man\u2019s fortitude.\u00a0 When informed that no sedative was available, he had nodded his head and told him, \u2018do what you have to do.\u2019\u00a0 Ever aware of his Vulcan strength and the vulnerability of human bones in comparison, after cleaning the wound as best as possible under such primitive conditions and securing it with a clean cloth, Spock had taken his arm in both hands and snapped the bone back into place in one quick movement.<\/p>\n

Pain at last silenced Joseph Cartwright\u2019s endless questions.<\/p>\n

Before turning to the small fire he had kindled and placed the young man close by, Spock made a circuit of their camp.\u00a0 He had carried Joseph high up into the hills hoping to elude detection.\u00a0 A fire was imprudent, but necessary.\u00a0 He knew this young man\u2019s history.\u00a0 He did not die in eighteen-sixty four before and so, he could not now.<\/p>\n

After all, that was what he was here for, was it not?\u00a0 To preserve Joseph Cartwright\u2019s timeline?<\/p>\n

A slow smile, so closely guarded it was hardly unnoticeable, quirked the ends of the Vulcan\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n

It was contagious.\u00a0 Two questions in barely less than four seconds.<\/p>\n

Satisfied at last that the men who had been pursuing Benjamin Cartwright\u2019s youngest son were nowhere in the vicinity, Spock returned to the fire and sat, hugging it close for warmth.\u00a0 It was autumn in Nevada and while the daytime temperatures were tolerable, those at night \u2013 dropping to a range between forty-five and fifty-five degrees \u2013 were not only uncomfortable for him but, at times, debilitating.\u00a0 Wishing was illogical but acceptable in a case where no real action was possible, and so he wished again that he had packed a kit including medical supplies before leaving the Enterprise.\u00a0 Due to the clandestine nature of his departure and his mission he had opted to leave all\u00a0 technology behind.\u00a0 His concern had been that any of these devices \u2013 a phaser and certainly a communicator \u2013 could be manipulated by those remaining aboard the Enterprise and used to home in on his position. Spock drew a breath and held it for a moment before releasing it along with a bit of human tension.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he had not counted on human intuition proving more effectual.\u00a0 He\u2019d sensed it when he went into the light healing trance in order to pull Joseph Cartwright back to consciousness.<\/p>\n

Jim, as usual, had blazed his own trail.\u00a0 His captain was here.<\/p>\n

No doubt seeking him.<\/p>\n

Sighing was an irritating trait he had inherited from his human mother.\u00a0 Amanda had always smiled whenever he had done it as a boy, though, in truth, most of the time the sigh had come as a result of her exercising her seemingly mystic<\/em> ability to \u2018get under his skin\u2019 as she put it.\u00a0 He suppressed another one as he thought of his captain\u2019s dogged pursuit.\u00a0 Jim had no idea that, by his very presence, he was putting everything he held sacred in jeopardy.\u00a0 The balance of time was precarious at best and even more so now that it rested on the shoulders of one very young and wounded young man named Joseph Francis Cartwright.<\/p>\n

This was not their first meeting, though Joseph could not know it.\u00a0 Their paths had first crossed in eighteen-seventy six.\u00a0 Spock struggled to keep a scowl from turning his lips down.\u00a0 It had not gone well.\u00a0 Due to his actions \u2013 or inactions \u2013 a tragedy had occurred that had not occurred before, altering the time stream and allowing Professor Campbell Beckett to discover, in twenty-two sixty-nine, an alien artifact attached to the wrist of a skeleton buried deep in the ruins of the Bodie mine, which had collapsed three hundred and ninety-three-point-five years in the past.<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s eyes went to the young man at his side who slept the sleep of intense pain.\u00a0 A skeleton clothed in the tatters of a brown shirt, gray pants, and a brilliant green leather coat.<\/p>\n

The Vulcan closed his eyes.\u00a0 He could still see it.\u00a0 This young man, so vital and alive, died in the collapse of the Bodie mine in eighteen-seventy-six instead of living to the date the history cards indicated.\u00a0 What he had come back to prevent, he had instead caused, the result of which had been galactic destruction.<\/p>\n

He was here, now, to gain the knowledge \u2013 and the ally \u2013 he needed to set it right.<\/p>\n

When Professor Campbell first approached him, he had been intrigued by the offer of extending his scientific knowledge.\u00a0 He\u2019d followed the man to the Starfleet lab where Campbell housed his most recent find.\u00a0 At first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a circlet formed of an unusual metal resembling Earth\u2019s hematite.\u00a0 The professor had smiled when he handed it to him, expecting the admiration of a colleague.\u00a0 He had done his best to leave Campbell with the perception that he had succeeded.\u00a0 It was a prevarication.\u00a0 The instant his fingers contacted the alien metal he had become aware of its intelligence and its purpose.<\/p>\n

As well as his own.<\/p>\n

During the meeting later with Jim, one portion of his mind had remained on the artifact, turning over the information it provided.\u00a0 He had quickly come to the conclusion that radical action was needed.\u00a0 Fortunately Doctor McCoy\u2019s entrance with his ever-present bottle of Bourbon whiskey offered a legitimate reason to depart.\u00a0 Excusing himself, he\u2019d told his friends he was retiring to his quarters.<\/p>\n

Which he did, for one-point-two-five hours during which time he did not sleep but searched the ship\u2019s records, following the descendant trail of one particular man in Earth\u2019s nineteenth century.\u00a0 The alien presence within the bracelet had explained that one of the Originators \u2013 those who, in the far past, had used but did not create the time portal \u2013 had grown weary of the non-interference policy of his race.\u00a0 His desire was not for order, but for chaos to reign in the galaxy.\u00a0 He\u2019d used the Guardian of Forever to seek a fixed point upon which this future turned and had located it on nineteenth century Earth on a piece of land in Nevada known as the Ponderosa.\u00a0 In order to carry out his plans, the rogue Originator had stolen a significant number of the bracelets \u2013 \u00a0the time manipulators \u2013 and placed them in the hands of unscrupulous beings whose \u2018price\u2019 was to do his bidding.\u00a0 One such group was here, now, and he suspected they were the ones who had driven Joseph Cartwright off the road in an attempt to end his life.<\/p>\n

Of course, it would not succeed.\u00a0 Not unless time was already out of joint.\u00a0 The information contained in the visions the Guardian shared with him through the telepathic touch of the bracelet had showed two deaths for the youngest son of Benjamin Cartwright, neither of which occurred in eighteen-sixty four \u2013 one of old age in the nineteen-hundreds, and the other crushed and buried under a ton of rock deep within the bowels of a mine in Bodie, California.\u00a0 This occurred in eighteen-seventy-six.\u00a0 That had been his first stop.\u00a0 He had met Joseph Cartwright then as an older man, though still young at thirty-four.\u00a0 In what proved to be a very unwise move, he had enlisted Joseph\u2019s aid to try to stop the men procured by the rogue Originator.\u00a0 It had been a mistake.<\/p>\n

And had led to his death.<\/p>\n

Spock pulled back the sleeve of his black duster and gazed at the time manipulator.\u00a0 Placing his fingers on its highly polished surface, he closed his eyes and listened.\u00a0 Again, his old friend \u2013 for so he thought of the Guardian \u2013 warned him that he must not hold this course too long.\u00a0 Sadness rippled through his mind.\u00a0 He answered, lying, and assuring it that he would take no unnecessary chances.<\/p>\n

The bracelets were attuned to the Originators\u2019 genetic code.\u00a0 Anyone else employing the technology was summarily warned that they should not.\u00a0 On the inside of the device there was a series of nearly invisible needlelike projections. These tiny pinpoints were impregnated with venom from one of Gateway\u2019s long extinct creatures that acted as a poison.\u00a0 Five warnings would be given. So far he<\/em> had used it two times, first to travel to eighteen-seventy six and then to come to this time.\u00a0 He would have to use it at least once more time to return to the twenty-third century where he belonged.\u00a0 By the fourth use, the voice of the Guardian warned, the wearer\u2019 mind would be affected.<\/p>\n

Before the sixth, he would be dead.<\/p>\n

The latter threat did not concern him.\u00a0 The first, however, did.\u00a0 Death held no fear for him.\u00a0 He would either continue in another form or cease to exist.\u00a0 But the thought of losing his mind….<\/p>\n

Behind him he heard a noise.\u00a0 Joseph Cartwright was stirring.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d the youth muttered as his eyes rolled behind the lids.\u00a0 \u201cPa….\u201d<\/p>\n

Unaware of the content of the human\u2019s dreams, Spock knelt beside him and placed a hand on his right shoulder.\u00a0 He was discomforted to find it felt near normal \u2013 for him \u2013 which meant the young man had developed a fever.\u00a0 Apparently there had<\/em> been contamination in the wound, which his meager skills as a surgeon had not been able to eradicate.<\/p>\n

All of which did not bode well for Earth\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph,\u201d he said, his voice pitched low.\u00a0 \u201cIt is time you wake.\u00a0 We must get you to\u00a0 doctor.\u00a0 I am no longer able to see to your needs.\u00a0 It will require someone with greater skill.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man\u2019s expressive brows knit together in the middle.\u00a0\u00a0 He drew in a breath and opened his eyes.\u00a0 When they had focused, he pronounced, \u201cYou\u2019re not Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, a statement at last.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I am not.\u00a0 I am Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes opened and closed in rapid succession several times.\u00a0 At last, he seemed to remember. \u201cSpock.\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 The man who saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan rose to his feet.\u00a0 He would have welcomed an inquiry at the end of that statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shall see.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHere, Pa.\u00a0 Look.\u201d\u00a0 It was morning and Adam Cartwright was crouched on the ground beside a large tree.\u00a0 Relief flooded through him.\u00a0 This was the first sign they had found since…well, since the busted and twisted wreck of the supply wagon had been located halfway down the side of a hill wrapped around a tree.<\/p>\n

Even as he finished, his father appeared at his side. \u201cWhat is it?\u00a0 Something of Joe\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cFootprints.\u00a0 Two pair.\u00a0 There, look,\u201d he pointed at the smaller of them, \u201cthat\u2019s Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019d know the print anywhere.\u00a0 He nicked his heel a month or so back.\u00a0 There, you can see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man nodded, the tension in his form easing but not disappearing.\u00a0 His near-black eyes went to the other set of prints.\u00a0 Before asking, he glanced up the hill to where some of the hands were conducting searches.\u00a0 \u201cDo they belong to Theron Vance?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Vance is about Joe\u2019s size and weight.\u00a0 This man is a little heavier and definitely taller.\u00a0 I\u2019d say around six feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father crossed his arms and pulled at his chin with one hand.\u00a0 He looked across to where another man was kneeling, picking in the grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think of Vance\u2019s story?\u201d<\/p>\n

Theron Vance had arrived that morning on horseback just as they were saddling up to ride.\u00a0 He said Joe had been pulled into a poker game and, as he had no interest in gambling, he had left him behind and headed back to the Ponderosa on foot, arriving around dawn and going straight to the bunkhouse.\u00a0 When he saw Cochise wasn\u2019t in the barn, he\u2019d decided Joe had stayed in town for the night.\u00a0 There was a new saloon girl at the Bucket who was wowing all the men.\u00a0 She\u2019d been eyeing Joe all night, he said.<\/p>\n

It sounded like his brother.\u00a0 Still….<\/p>\n

At first his father had accepted Vance\u2019s story, asking only one or two questions to clarify it.\u00a0 But then, as the sun rose and headed toward noon, the older man had grown agitated \u2013 angry at first and then, as though the anger had gone cold with the passage of time, afraid. At one o\u2019clock he ordered them to saddle up and ride out with him to look for their brother\u2019s trail.\u00a0 They\u2019d found it soon enough, here on the road to Virginia City at the edge of a hill, mingled with the wooden remnants of the supply wagon and the corpse of one of the horses that had pulled it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 Adam!\u00a0 Come here!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Hoss who called this time.\u00a0 He was farther down the hill.\u00a0 Middle brother was still a bit shaky from whatever had happened to him the night before, but the blood tie that bound him to Joe was keeping him on his feet.<\/p>\n

He and his father exchanged glances and then headed down the hill.\u00a0 At the bottom they found Hoss \u2013 and Joe\u2019s hat.<\/p>\n

Its brim was tinged with red.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think, Pa?\u201d the big man asked, his blue eyes wide with concern.\u00a0 \u201cJoe…ain\u2019t here.\u00a0 You think he up and walked away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam took the hat.\u00a0 It was a tangible tie to his lost brother and as such, brought a lump to his throat.\u00a0 \u201cWe found some tracks about halfway down.\u00a0 There was someone else here.\u00a0 It looks like they carried Joe away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 He pointed to a single set of tracks near the place where he had found Joe\u2019s hat.\u00a0 \u201cI thought that was one mighty<\/em> heavy man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was kneeling again, feeling the grass.\u00a0 When he lifted his hand, the fingers came away coated with blood.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone is<\/em> injured,\u201d he stated as calmly as he could.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be your brother,\u201d their father said, his voice breaking on the last word.\u00a0 \u201cHe couldn\u2019t carry a man that size.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Pa,\u201d Adam said, standing.\u00a0 \u201cJoe carried me when Cochise\u2019s man shot me.\u00a0 Remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father closed his eyes briefly.\u00a0 \u201cHow could I forget?\u00a0 Still, the boots look like the longer ones we noted up the hill.\u00a0 That wouldn\u2019t be Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had to admit the older man was right.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good sign, ain\u2019t it?\u201d Hoss asked, hope lighting his voice and his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cLooks like someone\u2019s helping him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded absently, his eyes locked on his father\u2019s.\u00a0 They had found other tracks on the road above \u2013 horses\u2019 tracks \u2013 at least four of them.\u00a0 Someone had been chasing Joe.\u00a0 He\u2019d been fleeing for his life.\u00a0 That\u2019s<\/em> why the wagon had crashed, throwing their little brother into the trees.\u00a0 It was possible whoever had been following Joe had him, though the tracks they\u2019d found lower on the hill had been made by only one man.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil we know otherwise,\u201d his father answered at last, \u201cthat\u2019s the scenario we will go with.\u00a0 Call in the other men and send them back to the ranch,\u201d he added, thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cI think its best we complete the tracking on our own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam scowled as he looked up and noticed Vance had risen and was watching them.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Theron?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father reconsidered.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0 It\u2019s best we keep him in sight.\u00a0 Tell Vance he\u2019ll be joining us and Adam….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said, turning back from his proscribed path.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep what we\u2019ve found close.\u201d\u00a0 He turned.\u00a0 \u201cYou too, Hoss.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to hear Theron\u2019s opinions on the subject as we proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam exchanged glances with Hoss and then nodded.<\/p>\n

That was something he wanted to hear too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SIX<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leonard McCoy was anchored on the top of a flat rock with one foot on his knee.\u00a0 He\u2019d removed his shoe and was massaging his blistered foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamned dude boots!\u201d he groused.<\/p>\n

Jim Kirk turned to look at him, a slow smile spreading across his face.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what you get for picking a dude\u2019s<\/em> duds rather than a ranch hand\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0 Jim indicated his feet.\u00a0 \u201cPlain old leather work boots with low heels.\u00a0 Great for rocky terrain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, first of all, I wasn\u2019t planning on scaling any damn <\/em>rocky terrain and, secondly, any respectable physician of the time wouldn\u2019t be caught dead in anything less than a pair of Congress Gators!\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk hid his smile.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t do to let McCoy know he was amused.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d traveled part of the night and, after making camp and catching a few hours of sleep, into the new day without finding a sign of Joe Cartwright or his companion. They had been following the road, but had left it when they heard a large group of horses approaching.\u00a0 From the shelter of the underbrush they had watched Ben Cartwright, his elder sons, and about a half-dozen ranch hands thunder by.\u00a0 Cautiously, they\u2019d followed them and watched as they discovered the ruined wagon and started the desperate search for its missing occupant, first searching the flat ground and then moving into the hilly country where they were now camped.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he\u2019d been doing when McCoy started complaining \u2013 watching the Cartwrights undo their bed rolls and settle in for the night.<\/p>\n

Bones put his shoe back on and limped to his side.<\/p>\n

\u201dI\u2019d sure like to know what they found.\u00a0 That boy has to be hurt.\u00a0 He\u2019s gonna need a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBut he has to survive, right?\u00a0 Joe dies in….\u00a0 Well, after nineteen hundred, doesn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometime in the teens, I think,\u201d his friend said, his tone not entirely convincing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBesides my little faux pas?<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 The doctor shrugged, chagrinned.\u00a0 \u201cSpock.\u00a0 He\u2019s here.\u00a0 Maybe….\u00a0 Well, maybe something\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nightmare Bone\u2019s interference had caused in Earth\u2019s nineteen-forties haunted them both, but it was worse for McCoy.\u00a0 Instead of saving her, the physician had been forced to play a part in Edith Keeler\u2019s death.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know if he could be forced to do such a thing again.<\/p>\n

Kirk laid a hand on his friend\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t your fault, Bones, you know that,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n

The doctor pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe not.\u00a0 At least this <\/em>time we\u2019re working to keep<\/em> a young man alive, not to….\u2019<\/p>\n

Jim had raised a finger to his lips.\u00a0 With his other hand, he indicated McCoy should get down.\u00a0 The sound came from behind them.<\/p>\n

Someone was scaling the hill.<\/p>\n

Crooking the same finger, he drew his friend into the trees \u2013 just in time.\u00a0 Almost before they had time to settle two men appeared.\u00a0 Both were long and lean.\u00a0 One had pale blond hair; the other, gray.\u00a0 It was the younger man who exuded threat.\u00a0 He was wound tight like a spring ready to explode.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is pointless!\u201d he spat, anxiously fingering the weapon on his hip.\u00a0 \u201cLet me take the unknown element out of the equation.\u00a0 Then we can move in and claim the target.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man disagreed.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to know more about him first.\u00a0 There\u2019s something….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA man bleeds.\u00a0 He dies.\u00a0 That\u2019s all there is to it,\u201d the blond remarked, his tone chilling as a winter\u2019s night without a fire.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do we care who he is?\u00a0 Time is running out and we need to eliminate the target if we are to acquire the information we must have to complete our task.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re too much like Medora,\u201d the other man chided.\u00a0 \u201cHow did you come to be a physician, Abdon, when you enjoy killing so much?\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdon\u2019s lip turned up with a sneer.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Orlo, that you can\u2019t dissect a thing and find out how it ticks if it\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim glanced at Bones.\u00a0 His friend had gone pale.<\/p>\n

Orlo, who appeared to be the superior in the situation, turned to confront the other man.\u00a0 \u201cYou will do nothing to the target.\u00a0 His death is proscribed in a certain place, at a certain time \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat difference does it make?\u201d the other man challenged.\u00a0 \u201cDead is dead.<\/em>\u00a0 All that beauty buried under a tone of rock.\u00a0 What a waste.\u00a0 Let me take him apart first and then we can plant the corpse there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gray-haired man paled nearly as much as Bones.\u00a0 \u201cHe is barely more than a boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdon shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cA specimen is a specimen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk was frowning.\u00a0 There was something about the two men, about the way they held themselves and especially about their speech, that didn\u2019t ring true for the nineteenth century.\u00a0 He glanced at Bones again.\u00a0 He had sensed it as well.<\/p>\n

Aliens?<\/em> the physician mouthed.<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded.\u00a0 Was this why Spock had used the professor\u2019s artifact to come back into Nevada\u2019s past?\u00a0 Had he found out somehow that an alien race had come to the Earth and was interfering with its timeline?<\/p>\n

Had Spock come back to stop them?<\/p>\n

Gesturing to McCoy, Kirk indicated they should back away.\u00a0 While he knew their welcome would be less than cordial, he felt the need to warn Ben Cartwright that his missing son was in greater peril than he could imagine.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take much of a leap to recognize who the target was they spoke of.\u00a0 Obviously, these two had been among the four who had chased Joe Cartwright off the road.<\/p>\n

A finger tapping on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie.\u00a0 He glanced at McCoy, slightly aggravated at his timing.\u00a0 Bones had a funny look on his face, like he\u2019d taken a shot of whiskey gone bad.\u00a0 As their eyes met, the doctor pointed at something he couldn\u2019t see over his shoulder.\u00a0 Kirk pivoted to find a petite ebon-haired woman wearing a skin tight knee-length satin gown cut from a shimmering copper cloth holding a Derringer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s snub barrel was aimed directly at the doctor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was dusk and it seemed they were no closer to finding Joe than they had been at sunrise.\u00a0 Glancing at Theron and Hoss who were both asleep, Adam stretched and rose from his position by the fire they\u2019d kindled.\u00a0 He picked up the torch he\u2019d fashioned earlier and lit it.\u00a0 As he did, his father turned toward him from the position he had taken on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, you have to be exhausted.\u00a0 Get some sleep.\u00a0 We\u2019ll set out in an hour or two, once Hoss is rested.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at his brother again.\u00a0 The big man had been unstoppable until about an hour back when he\u2019d stumbled and nearly toppled over.\u00a0 Hoss, who had awakened in the forest, unconscious without any known cause, seemed to be finding it almost as hard to regain his strength as Joe had.<\/p>\n

Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t sleep. Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to make one more circuit of the area to look for prints.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy torchlight?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shrugged. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s all I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father started to toss off the light blanket that covered his legs.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll come with \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, no.\u00a0 Get some rest. \u00a0One<\/em> crazy Cartwright is enough.\u00a0 Tomorrow when I\u2019m stumbling tired you can tell me, \u2018I told you so\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 His lips turned up at the ends in a half-smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll call out if I find anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you going to look?\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyebrows mirrored his lips.\u00a0 \u201cWherever my feet take me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Adam moved into the dark, he considered their progress so far.\u00a0 They\u2019d followed the trail of the heavy man for most of the day until it reached ground so sparse and dry there was no track.\u00a0 From there it had been educated guesses which had brought them to the foot of another even larger hill than the one the wagon had tumbled down.\u00a0 His father had called it a night at that point, as scaling it in the dark was not a particularly attractive \u2013 or effective \u2013 option.\u00a0 Still, something called to him from that hilltop.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know if it was his brother, but he couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that time was of the essence, and if he waited until morning whoever was up there would be gone \u2013 and most likely beyond his reach.<\/p>\n

Crouching, Adam examined the ground.\u00a0 The flickering light of the torch cast shadows on the dry grass, revealing indentations the daylight had hidden.\u00a0 He pushed his fingers into one of them, noting it was<\/em> deep enough to confirm one man was carrying another.\u00a0 The black-haired man glanced up then.\u00a0 The tracks led straight up the hill.\u00a0 After considering it a moment, Adam turned the torch upside-down and drove its burning head into a patch of barren ground, extinguishing it.\u00a0 There was nothing more the light could reveal and its presence would surely give him away.\u00a0 Whoever had Joe had taken great pains to move as far away from the site of the crash as possible. He had to hope that meant they were on their side.\u00a0 When he reached the top, Adam halted.\u00a0 The underbrush was scarce and scattered far and wide, offering a limited chance for concealment.\u00a0 He noted a brace of trees and just as quickly realized that the plot of land beneath them was occupied.\u00a0 There was a tall man dressed in black with dark hair standing, staring at the stars.\u00a0 Another man lay on the ground in a crumpled heap.<\/p>\n

Was it \u2013 could it be Joe?<\/em><\/p>\n

Palming his pistol, Adam shifted forward, intent on making a sprint for the shadows.\u00a0 As he did two things happened \u2013 the man who had been staring at the stars turned and looked at a narrow channel of pine trees that ran like a gauntlet down the southern side of the hill, and a party of five stepped out of those trees.\u00a0 It was obvious two of the five were prisoners as their hands were tied behind their backs and they moved only when prodded by a hand or the barrel of a gun between their shoulder blades.\u00a0 Of the other three, one was a short well-built woman.\u00a0 The other two, as tall as she was not, seemed almost cadaver-like they were so thin.<\/p>\n

Adam shifted forward to hear what they had to say.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spock was looking at him, one ink slash eyebrow cocked.\u00a0 \u201cCaptain.\u00a0 I would prefer it if circumstances allowed me to express approval of your appearance.\u00a0 They do not. \u00a0And while I welcome your concern, history would have been served better if you had remained on the Enterprise. \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNice to see you too, Spock,\u201d McCoy snarled from beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBones.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk warned as gaze went to the petite woman who continued to point the derringer at Bones as if she sensed he <\/em>could be better controlled by threatening the life of his friend than his own.\u00a0 The blond man scowled.\u00a0 For some reason she commanded his attention even more than the two men who accompanied her.\u00a0 While they were a threat, she was….what?<\/em>\u00a0 There was something about her.\u00a0 Whatever it was made him giddy and almost unable to think straight.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim,\u201d he heard McCoy say softly.\u00a0 \u201cThe boy.\u00a0 I need to get to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever the physician.<\/p>\n

Kirk lowered his eyes to the crumpled form on the ground behind Spock.\u00a0 He recognized the boots and gray pants.\u00a0 It was Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest boy and he was obviously injured.\u00a0 No surprise considering the fall he had taken.<\/p>\n

Turning to the gray-haired man who seemed to be in charge, at least officially, and ignoring the woman as best he could, Kirk made a leap.\u00a0 \u201cIt will do you no good if the target dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orlo frowned.\u00a0 Good.\u00a0 He\u2019d struck a nerve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you know of the target?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that\u2019s him, laying there on the ground.\u00a0 And I know he\u2019s hurt.\u201d\u00a0 He indicated Bones with a nod.\u00a0 \u201cLet my friend see to him.\u00a0 He\u2019s a physician.\u201d<\/p>\n

That pronouncement elicited a response from the stick-thin blond man.\u00a0 He walked over to where Bones stood and stared down at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou are a healer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you find it efficacious to save a man only to have his neck stretched?\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched McCoy bristle.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s just a boy<\/em>, damn you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMan or boy, its means nothing.\u00a0 He is to be disposed of.\u201d\u00a0 Abdon\u2019s thin lips lifted in a sneer.\u00a0 \u201cAs are you and your companion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d Kirk demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe you will find they are Orion pirates, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk glanced at the woman.\u00a0 That explained it.\u00a0 She must be an Orion Slave Girl like Marta, altered like the Andorian had been who had come on the ship to commit murder during their journey to the Babel conference.<\/p>\n

No wonder his head was muddled!<\/p>\n

He addressed Orlo again.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it you want?\u00a0 Why are you here in the past, on Ponderosa land?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the silver,\u201d the woman replied.<\/p>\n

Orions, mining minerals, imagine that.<\/p>\n

Kirk remembered that Ben Cartwright had found silver on his land and had several mines.\u00a0 They were small compared to Henry Comstock\u2019s load and would be easier by far to pillage than the lodes that had made it into newspapers.\u00a0 While silver had always been precious, so much had been mined by the twenty-third century that its value had multiplied a thousand-fold.\u00a0 If these people were Orions \u2013 and he doubted Spock was mistaken \u2013 then it all made sense.\u00a0 They had somehow managed to obtain the time manipulators in order to travel throughout Earth\u2019s \u2013 and maybe other planets\u2019 \u2013 history to mine precious metals and sell them on the intergalactic black market.<\/p>\n

It was a scheme as audacious as it was dangerous.<\/p>\n

He nodded toward Joe where he lay unmoving on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cWhat does Joe Cartwright have to do with this?\u00a0 Why him?<\/em>\u00a0 Why not his father, or one of his brothers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d a voice asked out of the darkness, \u201cwhy not<\/em> one of his brothers?\u201d\u00a0 Adam Cartwright followed hard upon his words.\u00a0 He held a gun at the ready.\u00a0 It was trained on the woman, creating a stand-off.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t if I were you,\u201d he growled as both Abdon and Orlo went for their own weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t shoot all three of us,\u201d Abdon stated, his voice quiet and sure as a snake slithering through grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not,\u201d Adam replied, his aim shifting to the vile blond-haired man.\u00a0 \u201cBut I can assure you that you\u2019ll<\/em> be first.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe thought he heard his brother\u2019s voice, but he couldn\u2019t have \u2013 could he?<\/p>\n

Adam wasn\u2019t here.\u00a0 There was only the curious stranger with the dark almond-shaped eyes that looked right through him, the one who had set his arm and tended him through the night as he raved.\u00a0 Fire licked at his senses.\u00a0 Sometimes he could see it rising in red-orange licks of flame around him, threatening to burn not only him but the whole world.<\/em>\u00a0 At other times it seemed the fire was within, threatening to consume him from the inside-out.\u00a0 In lucid moments Joe recognized that he was fevered and that infection must have set in as a result of the break in his arm.\u00a0 In his not-so-lucid moments he thought he was surrounded by a pack of wolves with fire for fur.\u00a0 They snapped at him with their slavering jaws and, where their spittle dripped, his skin grew charred, turned black, and fell off.<\/p>\n

It was then he\u2019d screamed.<\/p>\n

Keeping his eyes closed, Joe lay still now and listened to the conversations whirling around him.<\/p>\n

Someone laughed; a thin nasal laugh that chilled the blood.\u00a0 \u201cPrimitive, do you think I fear you or that inefficient weapon?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Adam who replied.\u00a0 It had<\/em> to be Adam.\u00a0 His tone was cool, unruffled.\u00a0 \u201cInefficient or not, it will still put a hole through your scarecrow-thin chest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what would you want to go and put a hole in Abdon for?\u201d someone asked.\u00a0 It was a woman.\u00a0 Joe could tell.\u00a0 Though he couldn\u2019t see her, he could taste<\/em> her in her words.\u00a0 \u201cSeems to me a handsome man like you has better things to do with the barrel of his gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you…talking….\u201d\u00a0 Adam went silent.<\/p>\n

Joe struggled for all he was worth just to open his eyelids a crack.\u00a0 What he saw when he managed it puzzled him.\u00a0 The woman \u2013 that new saloon girl at the Bucket \u2013 was pressed up against his brother.\u00a0 She had her hand on his hand, on the one that held the gun.\u00a0 Unbelievably, as he watched, Adam surrendered the weapon.<\/p>\n

Joe wanted to shout, to scream, \u2018Adam, no!\u2019, but try as he might nothing came out of his mouth but a low moan.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor God\u2019s sake, let me tend that boy!\u201d someone with a southern accent demanded, each word bitten off like he was tearing open a cartridge.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t care what you are going to do later!\u00a0 He\u2019s going to die here and now <\/em>if you don\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d he heard his brother say, but Adam\u2019s tone was distant.\u00a0 \u201cI…Joe….\u201d\u00a0 There was a pause and then, \u201c…Medora.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet him go,\u201d someone said.<\/p>\n

Were they going to release Adam?\u00a0 Adam…\u00a0 Adam would live to go back to Pa.\u00a0 Pa would be so happy….<\/p>\n

A moment later Joe felt tender fingers touch his face and arm.\u00a0 He wanted it to be Pa, but he knew it couldn\u2019t be Pa, not out here amongst the burning wolves.<\/p>\n

One of the hands landed on his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cFor God\u2019s sake!\u00a0 He\u2019s burning up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a physician.\u00a0 Treat him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith what?\u00a0 Powdered plants and water?\u00a0 I need my kit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe felt the man rise to his feet.\u00a0 After a second he said, \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

A grunt was his only reply.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpock, help me hold him down,\u201d the kind man commanded a second later.<\/p>\n

Ten pounding heartbeats later another pair of hands joined the first.\u00a0 In the distance Joe could hear other men talking, and the woman, the woman kept speaking Adam\u2019s name.\u00a0 But those voices were like a dream.\u00a0 The two near him were real and clear as eyes opened on a new day.\u00a0 They spoke in hushed whispers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor, do you have your communicator?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in the kit.\u201d\u00a0 There was a pause.\u00a0 Then, louder, the doctor said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll need to reopen that wound and clean it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second man \u2013 he thought it was Spock \u2013 did as he was told, pressing down on him, holding him firmly to the ground.\u00a0 Joe wanted to scream, did<\/em> scream.<\/p>\n

No one could hear him.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime is of the essence, Doctor,\u201d Spock breathed through gritted teeth.<\/p>\n

Joe heard shuffling.\u00a0 Something was dropped and then picked up again.\u00a0 \u201cDamn!\u201d the doctor cursed.\u00a0 \u201cI have it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again Joe fought to open his eyes.\u00a0 He needed to see Adam, to find out what that woman was doing with him.\u00a0 He needed to look into the eyes of the two men bending over him to make sure they were what they said they were and that they didn\u2019t pose any harm to his Pa or his brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s…fighting like…a…la matya<\/em>,\u201d Spock said as the pressure on his arm and leg increased.\u00a0 \u201cNow…would be…a good…time…Doctor….\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause.\u00a0 \u201cJim\u2019s gonna kill me for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Joe saw it again, the light he\u2019d seen in the barn \u2013 a silver, shimmering glow like he\u2019d always imagined would surround an angel.\u00a0 This time it was accompanied by a high-pitched whine that worked its way into his head until he was sure it was going to explode.<\/p>\n

Then, suddenly the ground beneath him changed.\u00a0 It felt hard as metal.\u00a0 Joe coughed and wretched even as he heard Adam ask, \u201cWhat?\u201d and then go silent again.<\/p>\n

A moment later Doctor McCoy\u2019s kind face appeared above him.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, son,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Then there was nothing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Kirk dropped heavily into the briefing room chair and lowered his head into his hands.\u00a0 God, he was weary!\u00a0 When he\u2019d opted to stop on Earth to give his crew some much-needed R&R, he had never expected to end up where he was now in eighteen-sixty-four, without permission, with an illicit artifact in storage, four Orion pirates in his brig \u2013 including one who had to be put in quarantine to stop the effects of the pheromones she gave off as easily as breathing \u2013 and two nineteenth century brothers in his sickbay.\u00a0 One of them most likely dying.\u00a0 Regrettably, he had to agree with Bones that there had been no choice but to bring them to the ship.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright had been out of his mind when they reached the Enterprise, so he would pose no threat to the time stream \u2013 that was if <\/em>he survived.\u00a0 It was questionable.\u00a0 They\u2019d try to sedate the older brother the second he\u2019d materialized on the transporter platform, but Kirk had seen the elder Cartwright\u2019s eyes widen and his mouth gape and he knew \u2013 he knew<\/em> Adam Cartwright had seen something.<\/p>\n

Something that could alter Adam\u2019s own timeline and maybe his world\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The brothers were located in two cordoned off rooms joined by a corridor close by the sickbay.\u00a0 They\u2019d used the computer to replicate their own bedrooms and the hall outside of them at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Unfortunately, they couldn\u2019t replicate their father or missing brother.\u00a0 Joe kept calling for both, especially his \u2018Pa\u2019.\u00a0 Though he was not a father it pained Jim to think that the young man might die here in space, and his father \u2013 a man he respected deeply \u2013 might never learn the truth of his fate.<\/p>\n

Kirk shifted and looked up as the doors to the briefing room opened.\u00a0 He straightened up when Spock walked in and presented himself formerly.<\/p>\n

\u201cLieutenant Commander Spock reporting for disciplinary action, sir!\u201d the Vulcan said in his most formal tone.<\/p>\n

Kirk wearily waved him toward a chair.\u00a0 \u201cSit down, Spock.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to court martial you.\u00a0 I just want to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

One black eyebrow peaked toward the Vulcan\u2019s once again perfect bangs.\u00a0 He noted his First Officer\u2019s hair was still long, covering his ears, as if whatever he felt he had to do was still left undone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it you wish to understand, Captain?\u201d<\/p>\n

He leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you feel you had to steal an artifact and go into the past without consulting me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s lips were tight.\u00a0 \u201cI cannot tell you that, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk blinked.\u00a0 \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot tell you that either, Captain.\u201d\u00a0 His first officer paused and added, as if it explained everything.\u00a0 \u201cIt would not be in the best interests of all concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes his Vulcan friend\u2019s reticence provided an intriguing enigma.\u00a0 At other times, like this, it was just plain exasperating.\u00a0 \u201cBut it\u2019s over, Spock.\u00a0 The Orions are in custody.\u00a0 We have the time manipulators including the one you took from Campbell under lock and key, so to speak.\u201d\u00a0 The bracelets were actually being guarded by not only a squad of security officers, but by both sonic and laser beams so no one could steal them and wreck further havoc.\u00a0 Scotty had tracked down the anomaly that had separated him and McCoy when they had beamed down.\u00a0 It had been caused by the manipulator\u2019s emanations. \u201cOnce the youngest Cartwright heals we will return him and his brother to their place in the time stream.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk studied his friend.\u00a0 There was a tightness to Spock\u2019s dark eyes and a slight tension at the edges of his lips.\u00a0 \u201cWhat aren\u2019t <\/em>you telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n

His first officer\u2019s lean form lost its rigidity.\u00a0 Spock drew a breath and let it out slowly, as if somehow that would make what he had to say easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, you have to let me go back.\u00a0 You must give me one of the bracelets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 He sat straight up. \u00a0\u201cAbsolutely, not.\u00a0 Not only is it against regulations and the express orders of High Command, but \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain…\u201d\u00a0 He cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cJim.\u00a0 I need you to trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk knew what it cost his friend to call him by his familiar name while on duty.\u00a0 He opened his hands wide, almost begging.\u00a0 \u201cSpock, what is this all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan paused, as if considering his next words carefully.\u00a0 \u201cYou know of the Guardian of Forever and of the consequences of employing its gifts?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could I forget?\u201d he replied as a vision of Edith swam before his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese bracelets.\u00a0 They are not simple manipulators of time, they are a part of the Guardian itself.\u00a0 When I made contact with the one Professor Beckett discovered, I was put into instant telepathic contact with the Guardian.\u00a0 It showed me…future events.\u00a0 Ones I am sworn not to reveal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk frowned.\u00a0 \u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is necessary for one of the time manipulators to be buried in the cave-in of a mine in Bodie, California\u00a0 in eighteen-seventy-six that will expose a valuable body of gold.\u00a0 It is also necessary that I be there \u2013 along with Joseph Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

His head was hurting.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock actually looked apologetic.\u00a0 \u201cI am afraid I can say no more, Captain, without betraying the Guardian\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

He considered it.\u00a0 Then he shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo. \u00a0I can\u2019t risk it.\u00a0 I\u2019m giving you an order, Spock.\u201d\u00a0 He met his friend\u2019s dark stare.\u00a0 \u201cStay put.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock blinked as if surprised by what he had heard.\u00a0 \u201cAre you then willing to risk the destruction of all you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk stared at him hard.\u00a0 When he spoke, his tone was menacing. \u201cWhy<\/em> is this so damned important?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou \u2018cannot say\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 He huffed in frustration.\u00a0 \u201cI could<\/em> order you to sickbay and have McCoy administer an injection of Sodium Pentathol.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTruth serums are known to be remarkably ineffective with Vulcans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019re<\/em> half-human.\u201d<\/p>\n

His lips pursed.\u00a0 \u201cIt has proven to be a detriment before, but not in such cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpock, I \u2013\u201d\u00a0 Kirk broke off what he had been about to say as his communicator went off.\u00a0 Flipping it open, he snapped, \u201cKirk here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Bones, Jim.\u00a0 The Cartwright boy\u2019s reached a crisis.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s in his room, but he\u2019s suspicious.\u00a0 He can\u2019t figure out where their father is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn my way.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at his friend.\u00a0 \u201cAre you coming?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock rose.\u00a0 He gave him an odd look.\u00a0 \u201cLet me<\/em> go, Jim.\u00a0 In the end, I may be the only one who can save him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEVEN<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam sat by Joe\u2019s bed, holding his brother\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Outside the night was falling.\u00a0 He could hear the rush of the wind and see the stars twinkling in the sky, but all the same, he knew something was wrong.\u00a0 His suspicions had been roused when, despite his questions, neither their pa or Hoss could be found.\u00a0 Pa was certain to have been on the road.\u00a0 Even if he thought he could take care of himself, he still thought of Joe as a boy who needed looking after.<\/p>\n

Nothing short of death would have kept their father from his youngest son\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

The sense of something amiss had been compounded by the fact that the door to Joe\u2019s room had been locked behind him.\u00a0 Earlier when he had stepped out of his own room and into the corridor it had been dim and, even though the proper things were there \u2013 the pictures on the wall and Pa\u2019s elegant wood table with the vase of flowers, there was something…<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

He looked now around Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 Everything was there.\u00a0 The washstand.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s dresser.\u00a0 The picture of the Indian chief and his favorite blue and white glass bottle of Bay Rum.\u00a0 But something was also missing.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t quite put his finger on it.<\/p>\n

The closest he could come to it was that this simply was not<\/em> home.<\/p>\n

With a sigh, Adam reached out to touch his brother\u2019s burning hot forehead.\u00a0 They were in the eye of the storm.\u00a0 Only a few minutes before Joe had been raving.\u00a0 Doctor McCoy had been with him then.\u00a0 He had pronounced that he had done all he could do and the rest was up to Joe.\u00a0 Joe, the little brother whom he had held minutes after he had been born, proud as if he had been his own son.\u00a0 Joe, whose snotty nose he\u2019d wiped and skinned knees he\u2019d bandaged time and again when, as a toddler, they began to understand the stuff the boy was made of.\u00a0 Tears and grit.\u00a0 That was Joseph Francis Cartwright.<\/p>\n

The brother he loved and now faced losing.<\/p>\n

Adam heard a sound behind him and turned to find Spock had entered the room.\u00a0 He had shed his long black coat and wore only a black shirt and trousers.\u00a0 For a long time he said nothing.\u00a0 He just stood to the side with his eyes shut.\u00a0 When he opened them there was something new in them.\u00a0 It matched the fierce determination he had seen in their<\/em> father\u2019s eyes when it had become clear that day that Sam Walton was pursuing little Joe with the intent to torture and kill him. Nothing<\/em> short of God himself could have stopped the older man from going after him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Cartwright,\u201d he said, \u201cwhat are you willing to endure in order for your brother to live?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned.\u00a0 He opened his mouth to protest, but then said, \u201cAnything.\u00a0 Everything<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI imagine you have deduced that you are not in your home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked again.\u00a0 If he wasn\u2019t home, then where was he?\u00a0 \u201cYes….\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock approached and stood down looking at Joe.\u00a0 \u201cThe infection was rampant when your brother was brought aboard the ship.\u00a0 His system was weakened by the transporter.\u00a0 Joseph has retreated beyond Doctor McCoy\u2019s reach.\u00a0 He does not expect him to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam could feel the fire in Joe and it scared him.\u00a0 That fear was almost enough to block out Spock\u2019s words.\u00a0 Almost.<\/p>\n

Ship.\u00a0 Transporter.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we?\u201d he asked, breathless.<\/p>\n

Spock moved to the window.\u00a0 He stood for a moment looking out and then he touched the wall next to the windblown curtains.\u00a0 A second later the images behind them disappeared and in their place was a portal that showed a sea of stars.<\/p>\n

Spock turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cI would have spared you this if I could, but circumstances must dictate our actions.\u00a0 Your brother does not trust me, nor does he have any cause to.\u00a0 I need you to speak with him.\u201d\u00a0 The tall lean man drew closer.\u00a0 \u201cI am asking you to join with me in order to save him.\u00a0 While I have the ability to shield one mind, I cannot shield two.\u00a0 What you will see within the link….it will contain images that could affect your mind and your ability to reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

He loosed Joe\u2019s hand and rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean \u2018link\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a common practice among my people, the joining of minds for pleasure and for the sharing of information.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at Joe.\u00a0 \u201cAs well as for healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam frowned. \u201cYour \u2018people<\/em>\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock cocked his head as he lifted a hand.\u00a0 Tapering fingers caught hold of a thick lock of his ebon hair and pushed it back, revealing an elegantly pointed ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not human.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sat back down.\u00a0 Hard.\u00a0 \u201cNot…human?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour world is limited, Mister Cartwright, though you have seen great changes within your lifetime, have you not?\u00a0 Trains, the combustion engine…airships.\u00a0 Is it possible for you to conceive that one day man will<\/em> fly?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 Major Cayley\u2019s air balloon had shown him that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that even farther into the future, he will sail the stars?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked at the portal again.\u00a0 \u201cIs that what this is \u2013 a star <\/em>ship?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock nodded and then looked toward the bed.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother is weakening.\u00a0 We must act now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at Joe.\u00a0 To him, nothing had changed.\u00a0 He was still lying there, unresponsive, murmuring words only he could understand.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are…already linked.\u00a0 It is a part of what I was talking about before.\u201d\u00a0 Spock paused.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother\u2019s life is inextricably tied to the fate of your planet.\u00a0 We must save him, you and I, and then he must return to your father\u2019s home and grow to be a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sensed something unspoken.\u00a0 \u201cJoe <\/em>must return.\u00a0 What about me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock came to stand beside him.\u00a0 \u201cFirst, we must call your brother back to the land of the living and then, I will explain.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roy Coffee squinted one eye, eager to fight off the headache that was forming behind it.\u00a0 It came from watching Ben Cartwright pace like a caged lion from one end of the great room in his ranch house to the other.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t help when Ben stopped to ram his fist into his hand with a slap!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are <\/em>they, Roy?\u00a0 How can two young men simply disappear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Ben, you just calm down.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got two dozen men out there scourin\u2019 them hills, lookin\u2019 for Adam and Little Joe. They\u2019re sure to \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCalm down!\u00a0 Calm down?<\/em>\u00a0 How can<\/em> I calm down when half my family is missing!\u201d\u00a0 Ben threw his hands in the air.\u00a0 \u201cFor God\u2019s sake, Roy.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a week!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 I know<\/em>. And Ben, I cain\u2019t blame you for bein\u2019 worried.\u00a0 But those boys of your\u2019n are grown men.\u00a0 Sometimes you forget they can look out for their selves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe was injured, and Adam simply disappears in the middle of the night while looking for him?\u00a0 Roy, they didn\u2019t just head into town for a poker game and forget to come home.\u00a0 Something is terribly<\/em> wrong.\u201d\u00a0 His old friend moved to the blue velvet chair that had become a staple in the Cartwright home and was nearly as old as Adam.\u00a0 Dropping wearily into it, Ben leaned his head back and closed his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cRoy, for the first time, I\u2019m afraid neither one of them is ever <\/em>coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt it too.\u00a0 Something in the air that smacked of change.<\/p>\n

Hoss was in the room too.\u00a0 Since his brothers had disappeared, Hoss had grown quiet.\u00a0 Real<\/em> quiet.\u00a0 At first he was ready to tear into the world to find them brothers of his, but then, when there weren\u2019t no more world to tear into, it seemed the stuffin\u2019 had been pulled out of him.<\/p>\n

In the end, Ben might lose all three boys.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d he said, speaking up at last.<\/p>\n

Ben opened his eyes and looked.\u00a0 \u201cYes, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t figure they\u2019re…well, they\u2019re both dead<\/em>, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the first time it had been put into words so far as he knew and the sound of those words made Ben Cartwright \u2013 the strongest man he knew – crumble.\u00a0 A single tear trailed the length of his cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod willing, son,\u201d he said, \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Pa, God let His own son die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was different, Hoss,\u201d Ben replied, his words quiet.\u00a0 \u201cThat was for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI reckon that\u2019s what I\u2019m gettin\u2019 at, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 The big man rose and came to his father\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if there\u2019s some purpose \u2013 somethin\u2019 we cain\u2019t see \u2013 somethin\u2019 so<\/em> important God\u2019s gotta take them both<\/em> away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy watched Ben closely.\u00a0 He could see the man\u2019s faith battling his fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,\u201d the older man quoted, speaking words written on his heart, \u201cplans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you…hope….\u201d<\/p>\n

The room fell uncomfortably silent and remained that way until someone banged on the door.\u00a0 When no one moved, the banging continued.\u00a0 The second time it was accompanied by a voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 Pa, it\u2019s Adam.\u00a0 Open up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dumbfounded, the three men stared at each other, all of them riveted to the spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

The spell over Ben broke the soonest.\u00a0 Seconds later he was on his feet and racing to the door that had been bolted for the night.\u00a0 Roy moved in behind him and watched as it opened to reveal not only Adam, but Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eldest held his brother in his arms.\u00a0 Joe looked pert near spent, but he was breathin\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d the older man declared.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u00a0 Where?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, Pa.\u00a0 We need to get Joe to his bed.\u00a0 Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy had been watching Hoss.\u00a0 He looked like he weren\u2019t sure any of this was real.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man said nothing.\u00a0 He moved forward slowly and when he got to Adam\u2019s side, reached out tentatively to touch both of his brothers.<\/p>\n

Then the tears flowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need you to ride into town,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s not completely out of danger yet.\u00a0 We need medicine and a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere have you been, Adam?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

Roy watched Ben\u2019s oldest closely, waitin\u2019 to hear just the same thing.\u00a0 \u201cWas it them outlaws what took ya?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe just got away.\u00a0 I\u2019ll explain everything later.\u00a0 First, I need to see to Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy watched as Adam, followed close behind by his pa, headed up the stairs.\u00a0 Joe seemed a light burden, like the boy\u2019d lost weight.\u00a0 The lawman watched until they disappeared and then turned back to find Hoss doin\u2019 the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m headin\u2019 back to town.\u00a0 You want to ride with me, son?\u201d Roy offered.<\/p>\n

Hoss was shakin\u2019 his head.\u00a0 \u201cI just cain\u2019t believe it\u2019s real, Roy.\u00a0 Not after all<\/em> this time.\u201d\u00a0 The stunned look the big man had worn for nigh on seven days suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by the biggest, brightest smile the sheriff had ever seen.\u00a0 \u201cI got my brothers back!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you do, son.\u00a0 That you do.\u00a0 Now come on.\u00a0 We gotta get on the road so you can get back with that doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou go ahead, Roy.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be there in a minute.\u00a0 I gotta let Hop Sing know.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d seen the Chinese cook.\u00a0 He was mournin\u2019 as hard as Joe and Adam\u2019s blood kin.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy walked to the door and opened it.\u00a0 Night was upon them, but the ride into Virginia City from the Ponderosa was one he had done so many times, he knew he could navigate it blindfolded.\u00a0 On top of that, the lightness in his heart might just be enough to light up their way.<\/p>\n

The lawman crossed to the Cartwright\u2019s barn where he\u2019d stabled his horse.\u00a0 He\u2019d intended to spend the night and then head out again at first light.\u00a0 He\u2019d never been so happy as to have a need disappear like that one.\u00a0 Too many times the end of a search like this had been bad, ending with a corpse instead of a comin\u2019 home.\u00a0 Yep, this just might make bein\u2019 a lawman worth it, seein\u2019 a lovin\u2019 father reunited with his missin\u2019 sons.<\/p>\n

Roy paused.\u00a0 Noting the hand workin\u2019 at the back of the stable, he called out.\u00a0 \u201cSon, can you give me hand saddlin\u2019 up my horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man pivoted, startling him at first, until he remembered it was that odd young\u2019un about Joe\u2019s age.\u00a0 The one with the funny name whose hair and skin were white as snow.<\/p>\n

Theron Vance approached him with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be happy to, Sheriff.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spock sat in his darkened room aboard the Enterprise relishing the heat he was soon to abandon.\u00a0 It had been a risk, telling Adam Cartwright the entire truth.\u00a0 Still, in the end it was his world and his brother who were threatened.\u00a0 He had suspected Adam was a man of unusual mettle.\u00a0 This had been confirmed when they joined in the link.\u00a0 He had made contact with the black-haired man before turning his attention to his young brother, revealing a part of himself so that the shock would not overwhelm him when his attention needed to be focused on saving Joseph\u2019s life.\u00a0 At first the nineteenth century man had reacted with terror, his mind unable to grasp what it was seeing.\u00a0 Then slowly, but quicker than he had expected, that terror had transmuted into wonder.\u00a0 When he released his grip on Adam Cartwright\u2019s face and opened his eyes he had expected see a sense of displacement, as if everything the man had ever known was altered, changed.<\/p>\n

Instead, Adam had been smiling.<\/p>\n

Moving to the bed, he had taken a seat to the right of Joseph and indicated Adam should do the same on the left.\u00a0 He\u2019d placed the tips of his fingers on the elder Cartwright\u2019s face and they had both reached for Joe.<\/p>\n

And the battle had been joined.<\/p>\n

What passed as a smile lit the Vulcan\u2019s usually stoic face, touching his near-black eyes and crinkling them at the edges.\u00a0 He\u2019d fought them.\u00a0 Though small in stature Adam Cartwright\u2019s young brother\u2019s mind was a force to be reckoned with, his strength drawn from an invigorating mix of chaos and order.\u00a0 There was a strong sense of his father there \u2013 it almost overwhelmed his own personality in much the same way Sarek\u2019s had done to him when he had been young.\u00a0 It was this that provided balance and order.\u00a0 Joseph was like him in another way.\u00a0 The element of chaos came from his vibrant emotive mother.\u00a0 She even looked like Amanda.\u00a0 Spock saw her with Joseph as a child \u2013 laughing and dancing with delight, pouting and scolding his father to get her way;\u00a0 her love radiating as a beacon, surrounding the young man, protecting him heart, soul, and mind.<\/p>\n

It was this he wished to surrender to.<\/p>\n

Spock shifted in his chair and steepled his fingers.\u00a0 Each time he entered a meld with a human he learned something about himself.\u00a0 Joseph\u2019s desire to join with his mother had been echoed before in his own life, when another incident involving time had transported him, along with Jim and McCoy, even further into Earth\u2019s past history.\u00a0 He had been dying and the closeness of death had brought him to a place of peace.\u00a0 A place of running water filled with his mother\u2019s laughter.<\/p>\n

His safe place.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

It had taken Adam Cartwright\u2019s stubbornness to draw his brother back to a world of pain.<\/p>\n

At one point, he thought they had lost him.\u00a0 He could sense the young man weakening, felt his spirit sigh and wish to depart.\u00a0 It was then Adam had taken over, his ebbing strength growing taller and stronger than the Ponderosa pines that populated the land surrounding his Nevada home.\u00a0 Adam had refused to relinquish Joseph to Marie.\u00a0 She was there, waiting.\u00a0 Spock could see her.\u00a0 She stood with her arms extended.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Adam, she waited still.<\/p>\n

In the end, when he had broken the link, it was to find Adam Cartwright spent, his body splayed out across his brother\u2019s as though he would protect him until the end of time.<\/p>\n

The smile faded.<\/p>\n

Which was precisely what he had asked Adam to do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright closed the door of the ranch house behind him.\u00a0 He looked around, finally spotting Adam sitting on the table on the porch, his face turned toward the sky.\u00a0 A week had passed since he and Joe had returned and he could sense that something was wrong.\u00a0 Well, maybe not wrong, but different.\u00a0 <\/em>Adam was not himself, or at least not the Adam he had come to know.\u00a0 There was a distance between them, as if Adam was withdrawing, preparing himself for….<\/p>\n

What?<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, we missed you at supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eldest gave him that shy smile he loved so much, the one that quirked the ends of both lips.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa.\u00a0 I have a lot on my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s going to be fine, you know,\u201d he said as he rested his hip on the table.\u00a0 \u201cDoc Martin checked him out and said all he needs is time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s hazel eyes flicked to his face.\u00a0 \u201cTime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben reached out and covered his hand with his own.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, is something wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

He ducked his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know how to say it, Pa.\u00a0 Nothing is wrong exactly….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut nothing is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re thinking of leaving.\u201d\u00a0 There.\u00a0 It was out.<\/p>\n

His son\u2019s black brows danced.\u00a0 \u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I was young once.\u00a0 Of course, I hadn\u2019t seen all of this yet.\u201d\u00a0 He indicated the pines and the land.\u00a0 \u201cBut I thought there had to be more, so I went off to find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is more, Pa.\u00a0 So much <\/em>more.\u201d<\/p>\n

His intensity surprised him.\u00a0 \u201cDoes this have to do with what happened while you and Joe were being held?\u201d\u00a0 His sons had not been the same since then \u2013 neither of them.\u00a0 Joe was slowly coming back to himself, but Adam….\u00a0 Well, Adam it seemed, had left the day they returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way.\u00a0 I guess looking death in the face made me think.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled this time, creating dimples in his cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not all that young myself, Pa.\u00a0 If I want to see the world, I had better do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brothers will miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t meant it to hurt him, but it did.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 I\u2019ll…miss them too.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll come back, Pa.\u00a0 I won\u2019t be gone all that long.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the pines, the earth, the sky above.\u00a0 \u201cHow could I stay away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben drew a deep breath.\u00a0 He could argue with him, but it would be pointless.\u00a0 He could remind Adam of his responsibilities as oldest, make him feel guilty for thinking of himself.\u00a0 But Joe and Hoss were men now.\u00a0 While they would miss their older brother, they did not need <\/em>him in the same way they had before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen will you tell them?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked down.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve talked to Joe already.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell Hoss tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben fought back tears as he slapped him on the leg.\u00a0 \u201cThe least we can do is give you a send off party.\u00a0 We\u2019ll invite \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Pa.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want any party.\u00a0 I just want to enjoy the time I have left with you and Joe and Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.\u00a0 \u201cThe time you have left?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s smile broadened.\u00a0 \u201cPoor choice of words, Pa.\u00a0 Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was with a heavy heart that Adam saddled Sport for the last time in his father\u2019s barn.\u00a0 Another week had passed and he was leaving.\u00a0 They\u2019d all been home together the night before.\u00a0 Joe had been permitted to leave his bed behind for the settee and Joe, along with Hoss and Pa, had listened while he played his guitar and sang cheerful tunes.<\/p>\n

They had done nothing to dispel the almost funereal atmosphere.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d risen early unwilling and unable to say another goodbye.\u00a0 His heart was heavy in his chest, but he was determined to follow the course that had been charted for him.\u00a0 He had to go away to save them \u2013 to save<\/em> Joe.\u00a0 He\u2019d been asked not all that long before what he would be willing to do to protect them.\u00a0 Anything, he had answered, everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He meant it.<\/p>\n

Adam paused in what he was doing and turned toward the house.\u00a0 Hop Sing would be up, preparing breakfast.\u00a0 Joe was no doubt sound asleep.\u00a0 Hoss was probably snoring.\u00a0 And Pa?\u00a0 He looked up.\u00a0 Though he couldn\u2019t see him, he suspected Pa was standing in the window looking out.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed his eyes.\u00a0 He had been wrong on one account.\u00a0 It was Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing out of bed?\u201d Adam asked, his tone sharp.\u00a0 Was this one last attempt to make him change his mind?\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll make yourself sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to know,\u201d his kid brother started.\u00a0 \u201cAre you leaving because of me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam pulled on the saddle strap to make sure it was secure.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever would make you think that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s young face was screwed up.\u00a0 His limber brows dipped down in the center while his full lips twisted up to one side.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I just think you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not because of you, Joe,\u201d he lied.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it because of what\u2019s…out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked over Sport\u2019s back at his younger brother.\u00a0 What did Joe remember?\u00a0 \u201cOut there?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe was frowning so hard it made his<\/em> head hurt.\u00a0 \u201cI can almost see it, that…place.\u00a0 The one with the colors I don\u2019t have a name for.\u00a0 Is that where you\u2019re going?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam moved around Sport to lay his hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder \u2013 the good one.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to sail an ebon sea with swells that glint like diamonds,\u201d he said, forcing a smile. \u201cBut just for a while.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI….\u201d\u00a0 Joe hesitated.\u00a0 Whatever it was, it was hard for him to say.\u00a0 \u201cI need you, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u00a0 You\u2019re a man now, Joe.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need a big brother looking over your shoulder all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother wobbled.\u00a0 \u201cI wish I was as sure as you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph!\u201d<\/p>\n

So Pa had<\/em> been looking out that window.\u00a0 \u201cUh oh,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As their father approached, Joe reached out and grasped his arm, so hard it hurt.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t go, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes grew moist, not from Joe\u2019s grip but with another kind of pain.\u00a0 He placed his hand over his brother\u2019s.\u00a0 It was trembling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to go, Joe.\u00a0 It\u2019s…something I have to do.\u00a0 But I promise<\/em> I\u2019ll be back.\u00a0 You hear me?\u00a0 You look for me every year, in the autumn,\u00a0 in October just as the leaves are turning.\u201d\u00a0 A tear escaped to trail down his cheek.\u00a0 \u201cOne day you\u2019ll see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph,\u201d their father said more softly as he came alongside them.\u00a0 \u201cCome back to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s shoulders slumped.\u00a0 Their father took him in hand and began to direct him back to the house.\u00a0 Uncharacteristically, Joe surrendered without a fight.\u00a0 By the time they reached the door, he had mounted Sport and had his nose turned toward Virginia City.\u00a0 His father paused to look at him one last time and then disappeared inside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam didn\u2019t go to Virginia City.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t bound for the stage coach as he had told his father, nor did he intend to sail Earth\u2019s seas.\u00a0 He had returned to the place where he and Joe \u2013 along with five other beings, three of which were not human \u2013 had been transformed into starlight and taken up to ride the waves of Heaven.\u00a0 A lone figure awaited him; a tall lean man who was also something other than human.\u00a0 A man with almond-shaped eyes dark as his father\u2019s and long black hair that hid his ink-slash eyebrows and the tips of his pointed ears.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou understand that what we are undertaking is a crime,\u201d he said without preamble.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that the punishment, should we be caught, will be harsh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock hesitated only a moment longer.\u00a0 Then he stepped forward and held out his hand.\u00a0 In it was an odd metal bracelet that shone like the finely polished barrel of gun. \u00a0He took it from the other man and stared at it.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a method of transportation far more sophisticated than your mount.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Adam said as he snapped the bracelet around his wrist.\u00a0 \u201cWhere will it take us?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan\u2019s eyes shone with a kind of frenzied determination.<\/p>\n

\u201cInto<\/em> time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the two men disappeared, a shadow stirred within the trees.\u00a0 Seconds later a man appeared.\u00a0 A smile lit his pale face as he watched the manipulator\u2019s energy swirl around the pair, and then consume them.\u00a0 The Vulcan was living dangerously.\u00a0 This was his third use of the Originators\u2019 \u2018magick\u2019.\u00a0 Soon that logical mind would begin to shatter.<\/p>\n

Theron Vance\u2019s lip curled in a sneer.<\/p>\n

He wondered if Adam Cartwright had any idea<\/em> what he was in for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

End of Part One<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> A Piece of the Action<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> The Shadow that Passeth Away, Marla Fair<\/p>\n

PART TWO<\/p>\n

1876<\/p>\n

2269<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ONE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright stood with one black-gloved hand resting on the fencepost, looking out toward the Virginia City road.\u00a0 The autumn wind rustled his curly silver-gray hair, tossing ringlets that sparked like quicksilver before his green eyes.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t bother to strike them away.\u00a0 The cold winter wind was an excuse for the tears that filled them \u2013 just in case anybody noticed.\u00a0 It was a ritual he repeated every October, standing here, waiting for the impossible.\u00a0 He\u2019d done it for twelve years and he\u2019d do it for twelve more.\u00a0 Hell, he\u2019d do it until his bones froze up and he was no longer able to walk to the fence.<\/p>\n

Adam had made him a promise.\u00a0 One day he\u2019d see him.\u00a0 One day<\/em> he\u2019d come.<\/p>\n

Joe cracked a smile.\u00a0 Hopefully it would be before they were both too old to spit nails at each other.<\/p>\n

He was thirty-four now, just about the age Adam had been when he went away.\u00a0 Older brother would be somewhere around forty-six.\u00a0 Sometimes he pictured what he\u2019d look like.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s hair had always threatened to rear back from his forehead.\u00a0 Would he have lost most of it, or, like their Pa, would he still have a full head of hair but gone white as snow?<\/p>\n

Joe ran a gloved hand through his own unruly locks.\u00a0 Pa said his<\/em> hair was like he was \u2013 unwilling to be tamed.<\/p>\n

Sobering, he turned around to look at the house.\u00a0 If he knew his Pa, he was watching.\u00a0 He said it was nothing but foolishness, but Joe knew in his heart Pa hadn\u2019t given up either.\u00a0 Pa was in his late sixties now and slowing down, though you\u2019d never know it by any lack of determination or spirit.\u00a0 Still, his body was growing old.\u00a0 He\u2019d always been a big robust man.\u00a0 Pa was smaller now, thinner.\u00a0 And they were about the same height.\u00a0 Joe shook his head.\u00a0 That <\/em>had been a day \u2013 the one where he realized he was almost as tall as his pa.<\/p>\n

It came to all of them, aging and dying.\u00a0 Leaving or being left.\u00a0 Jamie\u2019d grown up and moved on.\u00a0 And Hoss….\u00a0 Hoss had left them in the spring of eighteen seventy-two.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t thought anything could bring that big, gentle giant down.\u00a0 In the end, the Doc thought maybe his size had something to do with it.\u00a0 Could have been his lungs or maybe his heart was just too<\/em> big to keep on beating.<\/p>\n

Adam didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 He needed <\/em>to know.<\/p>\n

Joe drew in a breath of crisp cold air, dispelling the darkness that threatened to overwhelm him.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost Alice that same year, in the fall, just like he\u2019d lost Hoss and Adam.<\/p>\n

And his child.<\/p>\n

The tears fell now and he didn\u2019t care who saw them.\u00a0 It happened every year, this sadness that threatened to take him with it.\u00a0 In the beginning it had nearly done just that.\u00a0 The Doc had been worried he\u2019d take his own life.\u00a0 He had to admit, he\u2019d considered it.\u00a0 The pain had been….well…he didn\u2019t have a word for it.\u00a0 Pa had been there taking his hand, trying to walk him through it.\u00a0 He\u2019d done his best, but Pa wasn\u2019t a brother.\u00a0 He\u2019d needed<\/em> his brothers.\u00a0 Taken together with Alice\u2019s horrific death, the loss of Adam and then Hoss had been almost more than he could bear.\u00a0 The look in his pa\u2019s eyes had been the only thing that stopped him.<\/p>\n

He just couldn\u2019t bring him anymore pain.<\/p>\n

That had been four years ago.\u00a0 Slowly, ever so slowly, with each day that passed living had gotten a little bit easier.\u00a0 He\u2019d thrown himself into work, driving himself so hard he\u2019d ended up in bed for one whole winter with something the Doc called Dropsy of the Brain.\u00a0 He\u2019d been feeling poorly.\u00a0 Later Pa\u2019d told him how worried he\u2019d been about him.\u00a0 At the time the older man had thought his lack of appetite and inability to sleep were the result of all he\u2019d been through.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought so too until one day he woke to a sudden fever.\u00a0 By that night it had been so high he\u2019d been out of his head.\u00a0 He\u2019d hear his pa and Doc Martin talking when they thought he couldn\u2019t, whispering in low voices about damage to his brain.\u00a0 He\u2019d come to believe them too.\u00a0 While he was fevered, strange images had flashed in his mind of a place for which he had no name \u2013 a place that seemed to grow out of the desert sands, the buildings more like plants than mortar and stone structures.\u00a0 And the people there, they were beautiful but odd.\u00a0 One of them, a man, spoke to him, telling him he had to come back, it was not his time, his family would miss him.<\/p>\n

I would miss you, Joe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam had said that, or at least he had thought it was Adam until he pried open his eyes and found it was someone else. Someone from long ago.<\/p>\n

Someone who changed his life.<\/p>\n

Joe heard the ranch house door open behind him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t look.\u00a0 It would be Pa.\u00a0 The older man always joined him at the fence.\u00a0 They\u2019d stand there, trading stories about Adam and Hoss, remembering them with tears of joy instead of sadness as they would have wanted.\u00a0\u00a0 He waited for that familiar hand to land on his shoulder.<\/p>\n

Instead an even more familiar pair of arms encircled his waist.<\/p>\n

Come away, Joe<\/em>, those arms said.\u00a0 Embrace living and leave the dead to their hard-earned peace.<\/em><\/p>\n

He covered the slender hand that wore his ring with his own, pulling it close so the woman it belonged to could feel his beating heart.\u00a0 Then he turned and laid his hand on her amber hair.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019d wakened at last from his illness, he\u2019d seen a woman sitting in the chair beside his bed.\u00a0 The room had been darkened so the light wouldn\u2019t hurt his eyes, so he couldn\u2019t see her clearly.\u00a0 She\u2019d lifted his head and given him some water and then left to call his father.\u00a0 An older woman had come back with the pair of them.\u00a0 He felt their hands.\u00a0 Heard their happiness.\u00a0 And wished he could share in their joy.\u00a0 But he had been too tired.\u00a0 He\u2019d smiled weakly and fallen back to sleep.<\/p>\n

She told him later that nothing had ever frightened her more in her life.\u00a0 She\u2019d cried all night, fearful that he would never wake again.<\/p>\n

But he did and the next time he was aware, and even though the room was dark that day too, he recognized her as surely as he recognized the woman standing beside her, holding her hand \u2013 it was Anne Landes and her mother, Carrie Pickett.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 They\u2019d returned to the Piney Woods for their annual visit and had decided to pay them a call, arriving just as he fell ill.\u00a0 Carrie told him later that nothing could pry Anne from his side.\u00a0 Her child had grown thinner as well, often forgetting to eat as she tended him.\u00a0 His Pa said he would come in in the middle of the night and Anne would be sitting there, holding his hand and stroking his forehead, telling him he had to come back \u2013 telling him she loved him and wanted more than anything to be his wife.<\/p>\n

At first all he could think of was sleeping.\u00a0 Then it was learning how to walk again.\u00a0 He\u2019d lain so long his muscles were weak and he had to fight for every step.\u00a0 Then, it was pushing himself beyond endurance as if he had to prove something, roping more, riding longer, driving himself harder to prove simply that he could<\/em>.\u00a0 She\u2019d scolded him one day \u2013 yelled<\/em> at him really \u2013 accusing him of being afraid.<\/p>\n

Afraid.<\/p>\n

At that moment his brothers\u2019 words had come back to him.\u00a0 They\u2019d always said their little brother wasn\u2019t afraid of anything.\u00a0 They were wrong.\u00a0 Anne was right.<\/p>\n

He was afraid of life.<\/p>\n

Anne left that year, going back to New York to pass the winter with her mother.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t wait for her to come back.\u00a0 He followed her and in her fancy parlor on Fifth Avenue he proposed.\u00a0 It took her several months to sell her property there and then she and Carrie had come home to the Ponderosa to stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re feeling sad,\u201d his beautiful wife said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Adam, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

With Hoss, there was no chance for a return.\u00a0 Adam, well, Adam had ridden off that night and simply disappeared.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know which loss was harder.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have us now,\u201d Anne said, taking his hand and placing it on her belly.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to let it go, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m not Alice.\u00a0 No one is going to take me away.\u00a0 Or your child.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0\u00a0 Words wouldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s late,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cCome to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

With one last look over his shoulder at the expanse of autumn leaves, Joe Cartwright did something that was coming to feel more and more comfortable.<\/p>\n

He did what he was told.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe woke later that night, or maybe it was early morning.\u00a0 Anne was sleeping.\u00a0 She had her hand draped over his chest.\u00a0 Gently disengaging it, he rose.\u00a0 Wrapping a lounging robe about his lean frame, he went to the door and opened it and stepped into the hall.\u00a0 Pulling it closed behind him, he went downstairs.\u00a0 Outside the windows there was a spark of light \u2013 a pale vermillion color tinted the long low bank of clouds heralding rain. The house was still. So still he could hear the ticking of the tall case clock with its green face that had sounded since before his birth and would sound long after he was dead.\u00a0 The pleasure he\u2019d found in Anne\u2019s arms had distracted him for a time.\u00a0 It might have done so longer if he had not begun to dream.\u00a0 The images from his fever dreams were still with him as was the voice in his head \u2013Adam\u2019s voice, promising to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u201d<\/p>\n

His name was spoken so low he wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d heard it. Joe halted and ran a hand across the back of his neck.\u00a0 Then he shook his head, deciding he was crazy.\u00a0 Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he headed for the kitchen.\u00a0 Warm milk with a pinch of sugar might not be included in Doc Martin\u2019s book of remedies, but it had always served him well.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe.\u00a0 It\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe halted.\u00a0 He had<\/em> heard it this time.\u00a0 Not only his name, but the voice from the past that spoke it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be careful, Joe.\u00a0 They\u2019re coming for you again.\u00a0 Whatever you do, don\u2019t <\/em>go to Bodie.\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned in a circle, frantic.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u00a0 Adam, where are you?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

A man stepped out of the shadow cast by that old tall case clock. The dawning light struck him, revealing a lean taut figure and a full head of rich black hair.\u00a0 Joe frowned.\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t be Adam, the man was too young.<\/p>\n

But it was.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Joe.\u00a0 I want to stay, but I can\u2019t \u2013 not yet.\u00a0 Remember what I said.\u00a0 Don\u2019t go to Bodie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBodie?\u00a0 What\u2019s Bodie?\u00a0 Adam?\u201d\u00a0 A sound behind him made the man with the shining gray hair turn.\u00a0 When he did he stumbled back, confronted by a face from his nightmares.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret the need to do this, but it is imperative we are not delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked and looked down as the man\u2019s hand landed on his shoulder. Seconds later long fingers pressed into his temple.<\/p>\n

Forget.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWas that necessary?\u201d Adam snapped as he caught Spock by the shoulder and turned him around.\u00a0 They were outside now, some distance from the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking contact was not wise.\u00a0 That contact being accepted as reality would be even more unwise should your brother determine to share any recollection of it with another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 I just….\u201d\u00a0 Adam looked back toward the house.\u00a0 \u201cI just had<\/em> to see him.\u00a0 I had to warn Joe about Bodie. What you showed me \u2013 what I saw \u2013 I can\u2019t let that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you cannot.\u00a0 But not for your brother\u2019s sake alone.\u00a0 Remember, his fate, Adam, is inextricably connected to the fate of your world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ve told me.\u00a0 Time and again.\u00a0 You still haven\u2019t told me how<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is not known cannot be revealed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, you intend to keep me in the dark, even though my brother\u2019s life hangs in the balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He could still see it.\u00a0 The images shown to them by the Guardian.\u00a0 At first the idea that he was traveling through time and space and standing on another planet had seemed like madness.\u00a0 He\u2019d even told Spock so, believing he must be ill or insane and had imagined the whole thing.\u00a0 But then he\u2019d come to realize that it was <\/em>real and that it was what he had always wanted to do \u2013 to sail an ebon sea dotted with stars and to go boldly where other men had not gone before.\u00a0 The Vulcan was amused.\u00a0 At least, he thought<\/em> he was amused.\u00a0 Those sober lips curled a bit and his eyes seemed to dance when something struck him as particularly droll, but the effect was subtle at best.<\/p>\n

Still, you travel with a man \u2013 well, a kind<\/em> of a man \u2013 for half a year and you get to know him.<\/p>\n

For them it had been a six months since he had walked away from his family and home.\u00a0 For Joe and his pa, it had been more than a decade.\u00a0 They\u2019d spent the time tracking down the other groups supplied by the rogue Originator with time manipulators.\u00a0 He\u2019d walked on the Orion homeworld and visited one of the outer moons of Qo\u2019noS.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen things and beings he\u2019d never dreamed<\/em> could exist.\u00a0 And all the time they\u2019d been looking over their shoulder.\u00a0 At first Lieutenant Commander Spock of the Starship Enterprise had been listed as missing in action, then, as simply missing.\u00a0 A short time ago Starfleet had put a price on his head.<\/p>\n

James T. Kirk was one of the signatories.<\/p>\n

The reason was the bracelets.\u00a0 Starfleet knew that, as soon as it was discovered they were associated with Gateway and the Guardian, the entire galaxy would be after them.\u00a0 He and Spock had managed to track a good many down and to stop the beings who wore them from causing any harm.\u00a0 They, of course, each still had one.<\/p>\n

Starfleet was not happy about that.<\/p>\n

They couldn\u2019t surrender them.\u00a0 Not before their mission was complete.\u00a0 Not before he made sure the bones of the man found in the Bodie mine wearing one of them was not<\/em> Joe.\u00a0 Somehow they had to stop that bracelet ending up on his brother\u2019s wrist and his brother ending up in that mine.\u00a0 Spock wouldn\u2019t tell him what it was, but there was something about Joe \u2013 something important<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Important enough for someone to want him dead before his time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leonard McCoy had a mission.\u00a0 He was armed with the necessary tools and was, at the moment, stalking his prey down a poorly lit corridor.\u00a0 The one he hunted had made a few mistakes, but the biggest was returning to the scene of the crime.\u00a0 It had been simple to pick up the trail and follow it \u2013 as easy as getting a frown from a Vulcan.<\/p>\n

McCoy missed a step.<\/p>\n

Now, why had that particular<\/em> phrase come to mind?<\/p>\n

Adjusting his balance, the self-proclaimed country doctor continued on, careful not to disturb the vial of precious liquid he held.\u00a0 When he reached the end of the corridor he halted to allow a crewmember to pass by.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t remember him, but the man looked like he could use a transfusion, his skin was so pale.\u00a0 Making a mental note to check if any of the crew had been diagnosed with pernicious anemia when he got back to sickbay, McCoy started across the corridor.\u00a0 What lay behind the door in front of him was going to prove quite a challenge. Maybe he should take his dose now.<\/p>\n

Nah.<\/p>\n

It would be more fun to wait.<\/p>\n

Stepping boldly up to the door McCoy bypassed the code that sealed it.\u00a0 The first thing that hit him was the heat.\u00a0 Ignoring it, he stepped inside.\u00a0 The room was completely dark except for a faint red glow that pulsed against the far wall like a sunrise refusing to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you gonna turn a light on,\u201d he asked, his tone wry, \u201cor do you want me to trip and spill the Bourbon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Kirk\u2019s voice was weary.\u00a0 \u201cBones, go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot before you take this.\u201d\u00a0 He held the glass out.\u00a0 \u201cDoctor\u2019s orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI fail to see why you think alcohol is the answer to whatever ails a man.\u00a0 This is the twenty-third century, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy squinted into the dark.\u00a0 He could just make Jim out, seated at Spock\u2019s desk.\u00a0 \u201cIt must be the chair.\u00a0 You\u2019re talking like a Vulcan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not funny, Bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew where the light was and so he moved forward and turned it on.\u00a0 McCoy sucked in air when he saw his friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look like Hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim ran a hand across his stubbled cheek and through his unkempt hair.\u00a0 \u201cCouldn\u2019t sleep.\u00a0 Bad dreams.\u00a0 I came straight here.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy drew up a chair and sat down.\u00a0 He shoved the glass toward his hurting friend.\u00a0 \u201cLike I said, \u2018Doctor\u2019s orders\u2019,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 As Jim obeyed, he made his diagnosis.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re still blaming yourself, aren\u2019t you?\u00a0 For what\u2019s happened with Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s hazel eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cIt is<\/em> my fault.\u00a0 I should have trusted him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd got yourself court-martialed along with him.\u201d\u00a0 McCoy sipped his Bourbon slowly.\u00a0 \u201cSpock wouldn\u2019t have wanted that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s eyes flicked to his face.\u00a0 His words bristled with challenge.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s not dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor held up a hand.\u00a0 \u201cWhoa, there.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t say he was.\u00a0 I\u2019m just saying Spock wouldn\u2019t want you sitting here in his quarters \u2013 in the dark \u2013 bearing the weight of a galaxy of guilt on your shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend was fingering his glass.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t look up when he said, \u201cStarfleet is sending me a new First Officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, those hazel eyes shot to his face.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ve declared Spock a criminal.\u00a0 He\u2019s been officially stripped of his rank.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cI just heard.\u00a0 There\u2019s a price on his head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood God….\u201d<\/p>\n

One second Jim was sitting there, staring at his glass like a lazy Louisiana gambler.\u00a0 The next thing he knew the blond man had burst out of his chair and was pacing the room, pounding his fist into his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t end like this, Bones!\u00a0 With Spock\u2019s career in disgrace, with him….\u201d\u00a0 He had to swallow over the word, \u201c…imprisoned or executed.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy whistled.\u00a0 \u201cHas it come to that?\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s jaw was tight.\u00a0 \u201cNot quite.\u00a0 Not yet.\u00a0 Command has given Spock another two weeks to surrender the himself and the Originators\u2019 devices and then \u2013 then<\/em> they go after him with all phasers primed.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHow are they gonna find him if he\u2019s still back there in the nineteenth century trying to solve whatever it is he thinks he has to solve?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk looked at him.\u00a0 There was something in his eyes \u2013 something dangerous.\u00a0 \u201cA special agent has been selected to use one of the confiscated time manipulators to go back and get him.\u00a0 I intend to steal it before he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy choked on his Bourbon.\u00a0 \u201cYou…what?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

His friend rounded the desk and leaned on it.\u00a0 \u201cI intend to break into the vault that holds the time manipulators.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to use them to go back into the nineteenth century and help Spock do whatever it is he thinks he has to do.\u00a0 Bones,\u201d Kirk paused. \u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t order you \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t want to \u2013 but I could use your help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you going to…steal<\/em> the manipulators?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs one of the signatories on Spock\u2019s \u2018wanted poster\u2019, I have complete access to any and all things pertaining to the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou sly dog.\u00a0 That\u2019s <\/em>why you signed it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim nodded.\u00a0 He held his gaze.\u00a0 \u201cI hate to push you, Bones, but I need to know if you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He downed the last of his bourbon.\u00a0 \u201cYou think I\u2019d miss the look on Spock\u2019s face when you catch up to him?\u00a0 Of course I\u2019m in!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHell, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 Things have been too dull around here without that green-blooded hobgoblin to bedevil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded.\u00a0 Then he leaned over and depressed a switch.\u00a0 \u201cYou can come in now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Puzzled, McCoy turned to look.\u00a0 One after another three people filed into the absent First Officer\u2019s quarters \u2013 Scotty, Uhura, and then, Sulu.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d Kirk said, \u201cbuckle your seatbelts everybody, here we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright halted what he was doing and looked up.\u00a0 He squinted into the low-riding sun and then wiped his sleeve over his face. Though it was October and the air was chill, pounding fence posts was more than enough to make a man feel like it was summertime.\u00a0 He\u2019d removed his green jacket and was attired only in his light brown shirt and gray pants, a fact that was certain to make the woman approaching him chide him for being careless with his health.<\/p>\n

Upon reaching him, Anne held out a basket.\u00a0 \u201cI brought you lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He bent low and kissed her cheek as he took it and placed it on the ground beside them.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t have to do that, you know.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got some jerky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to.\u201d\u00a0 She frowned.\u00a0 \u201cAfter last night I was…worried about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, don\u2019t you worry.\u00a0 I just fell and hit my head, that\u2019s all.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what I get for walking around in the dark without a lamp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were….\u201d\u00a0 She paused.\u00a0 \u201c…talking about Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his turn to frown.\u00a0 \u201cWas I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 It was like…before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Before\u2019 being when he\u2019d almost died of the brain fever.\u00a0 Joe dropped the mallet in his hand.\u00a0 Taking Anne in his arms he pulled her close.\u00a0 \u201cShh,\u201d he said, brushing her hair with his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cNothing\u2019s going to happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her arms circled him and her hands gripped him with all her strength, like she feared he might suddenly up and disappear if she didn\u2019t hold on tight enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey.\u201d\u00a0 He gently pushed her back so he could look into her eyes.\u00a0 She was crying.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? Not Pa….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Anne turned so her face rested on his chest.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s..something in the air, Joe.\u00a0 Can\u2019t you feel it?\u201d<\/p>\n

It pained him, less than it had before, but it still did.\u00a0 He remembered Alice had been like this at times when she\u2019d been with child \u2013 overly sensitive, prone to worry and<\/em> tears.<\/p>\n

He cupped her head in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cAll I sense is a new beginning.\u00a0 The old year\u2019s almost over.\u201d\u00a0 With his other hand he touched her middle.\u00a0 \u201cAnd look<\/em> what this one holds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a boy, you know,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n

He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cAh, now, you can\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up at him.\u00a0 Dead serious.\u00a0 \u201cBut I do.\u00a0 He\u2019s your <\/em>son.\u201d\u00a0 She shifted his hand.\u00a0 \u201cAnd he\u2019s a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt it.\u00a0 It was the first time.\u00a0 Wonder filled him at the tiny feet pressing through Anne\u2019s skin into his hand.\u00a0 He smiled, and then frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bet that\u2019s gotta hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo more than dealing with his thick-headed stubborn-as-a-mule father!\u201d\u00a0 She laughed as she bent to retrieve the basket.\u00a0 \u201cAnd now, Mister Cartwright, if you would be so good as to put your jacket back on and accompany me to yonder tree, we will share the repast I have prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

He snorted as he reached for the jacket.\u00a0 As he pulled it on, he looked at the basket and all the wonders it held, including a bottle of wine.\u00a0 Anne was a beauty and a wonderful woman, but she was not<\/em> a cook. \u201cYou<\/em> prepared?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shrugged. \u201cWith a little help from Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 As his eyebrows formed a \u2018v\u2019, she confessed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I packed<\/em> it anyhow!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe laughed, kissed her again, and then \u2013 with their arms linked together \u2013 they repaired to yonder tree.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A lone figure waited in the hallway outside of Admiral Fitzpatrick\u2019s office.\u00a0 He had been called to receive his instructions regarding the mission to track down and apprehend Lieutenant Commander Spock.\u00a0\u00a0 His operatives were in place.\u00a0 All he needed was the official seal to travel through time.\u00a0 The man\u2019s pale lips curled.\u00a0 Well, it wasn\u2019t that he \u2018needed\u2019 it, but it was all part of the game. \u00a0The endgame, really.\u00a0 Within the pouch he wore, anchored on the hip of his current Western gear, was one of the time manipulators.\u00a0 It was not one confiscated or counted by Starfleet.<\/p>\n

It was his own.<\/p>\n

He needed two, after all, not to travel but to write his signature, so to speak, declaring what he had done.\u00a0 He would do it by having his agent place the bracelet on the wrist of Joseph Cartwright in the year of eighteen-seventy-six, deep within the heart of the Bodie Mine.<\/p>\n

Oh yes, and he would enjoy<\/em> doing so.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s attention returned to the present when the door opened and he was ushered into Admiral Fitzpatrick\u2019s office.\u00a0 Fitzpatrick was a crusty well-seasoned Starfleet officer who regretted the task he had been assigned, but would execute it with his usual military efficiency.<\/p>\n

The older man was looking at his screen. Without looking up, he said, \u201cMajor…Vance, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The being known as Theron Vance\u2019s crimson eyes crinkled with a joke only he knew the punch-line to as he drew himself up to attention and saluted.<\/p>\n

\u201cReporting for duty, sir!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWO<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They\u2019d done it.<\/p>\n

James T. Kirk breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the green grass of eighteen-seventy-six Nevada solidify underneath his boots.\u00a0 He glanced from one side to the other.\u00a0 They were all there \u2013 him, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Bones \u2013 all whole and hearty in spite of their mode of transportation.\u00a0 At least for now.\u00a0 They\u2019d put their necks in the rope for him and for Spock.<\/p>\n

Now it was his<\/em> job to knock down the gallows or, better yet, prevent them from ever being built.<\/p>\n

It hadn\u2019t been easy.\u00a0 It had taken a complicated series of deceptions to break into the vault that held the bracelets, combining Scotty\u2019s unsung ability to over-ride just about any security protocol in existence with Sulu\u2019s martial arts skills, and dusting both of those off with Uhura\u2019s use of her more than apparent charms.\u00a0 Bones had supplied the anesthetizing gas, and he\u2019d used his credentials to get them out of the facility before the alarm bells had gone off.<\/p>\n

And boy, had they gone off!<\/p>\n

He could still hear them ringing in his head even though the alarm was three-hundred and ninety-three years in the future.<\/p>\n

They were all attired for the time, looking more like the cast of a musical set in a nineteenth century barroom than anything else.\u00a0 Bones was once again the crusty but benign frontier doctor with his black leather bag.\u00a0 He, well, he looked like a gambler in his silk vest and expensive suit.\u00a0 Scot had chosen to wear his clan\u2019s tartan.\u00a0 He hated to say it, but in his plaid kilt and socks, sash, and feathered hat, his chief engineer was a little hard to take seriously.<\/p>\n

Hopefully that would work to their advantage.<\/p>\n

Uhura and Sulu had presented the greatest challenge.\u00a0 Due to the primitive thinking on Earth at the time, neither of them would be accepted as full-fledged members of society.\u00a0 In the end Sulu had opted to present himself as a Chinese servant.\u00a0 There was, after all, one by the name of Hop Sing in the Cartwright household.\u00a0 Uhura, well, she was breathtaking.\u00a0 Apparently the men of the Wild West hadn\u2019t made any distinction when it came to using women.\u00a0 She had chosen to become a dance hall girl and was dressed to the nines, as they once said, in a skin-tight crimson gown with black bead trim that emphasized everything she had.<\/p>\n

Everything.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

She was the first to step up to him.\u00a0 \u201cOrders, sir?\u201d the Bantu woman asked in her husky voice.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d laid out a plan.\u00a0 Sulu would initiate contact with the Asian population in Virginia City by claiming to be one of the Cartwright\u2019s cook\u2019s cousins.\u00a0 From what the records said the Chinese man had…well…hundreds.\u00a0\u00a0 Uhura and Scotty would go to Virginia City as well.\u00a0 The lieutenant was to learn all she could from the patrons at the Bucket of Blood, while Scotty used a cover story to introduce himself to the local constabulary.\u00a0 Once known, the engineer could then use that connection to discover what the sheriff knew.<\/p>\n

He and McCoy were going back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure what kind of welcome they would receive.\u00a0 After twelve years they might not even be recognized.\u00a0 Still, he doubted that.\u00a0 Considering the measure he had taken of the man Ben Cartwright was, that keen mind would forget little \u2013 and maybe forgive less.\u00a0 After all, they had<\/em> disappeared the same night as Adam and Joe.<\/p>\n

It was possible the older man thought they were responsible.<\/p>\n

Though his close-mouthed Vulcan friend had revealed little before vanishing for the second time, Kirk did know one thing for sure \u2013 Joe Cartwright\u2019s life was in danger and, somehow, it mattered to the world he<\/em> came from just as much as it did to Cartwright\u2019s own that the young man survive.\u00a0 He was banking on Ben\u2019s love of his son to give them the proverbial foot in the door.<\/p>\n

They just had to prove they were on his side.<\/p>\n

Somehow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, pardner, you ready to mosey on down to the Ponderosa and see if anyone\u2019s home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim turned to find Leonard McCoy with one thumb stuck behind his gun belt and his hip thrown back, chewing on a piece of straw.<\/p>\n

He was enjoying this entirely too<\/em> much.<\/p>\n

\u201cBones, this is serious business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure it is. Never said it wasn\u2019t,\u201d he drawled.\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t mean a man can\u2019t enjoy himself.\u00a0 You know, I just might retire to some place like this in Georgia \u2013 sun, wind, the smell of pines….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo antibiotics, primitive anesthetics, amputations,\u201d Kirk countered.<\/p>\n

\u201cHostile Indians, gunslingers, banditos,\u201d Sulu added with a flourish as he joined them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd ye have to remember, Doctor McCoy, it was very <\/em>hard to find a fine bottle of Scotch.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a second and then they all burst into laughter.<\/p>\n

For Kirk the moment was short-lived.\u00a0 There was an ominous silence where Spock\u2019s rejoinder should have been.<\/p>\n

Bones caught his shoulder with his fingers.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t miss anything.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll find him, Jim.\u00a0 We\u2019ll bring him home, and somehow we\u2019ll manage to sort out the mess the pointy-eared bastard\u2019s gotten himself into.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor\u2019s rrrright, Captain,\u201d Scotty added, rolling his \u2018r\u2019s\u2019 with relish. \u201cWe\u2019ve beat the odds before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, they had.<\/p>\n

But every gambler, no matter how good, had to run out of luck some time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shadowing Joe had proven easier than either of them thought it might.\u00a0 It seemed baby brother had mellowed with age.\u00a0 He\u2019d spent the morning in the house doing paperwork and then headed out about noon for the north pastures.\u00a0 After checking in with the men, Joe had settled in and begun to repair the fence along the pasture line.\u00a0 Adam watched him hauling posts and pounding them into the ground, noting how Joe had gained bulk over the last twelve years.\u00a0 His youngest brother was still smaller in stature than a lot of other men.\u00a0 There were several working the fence farther down the line that appeared like giants in comparison.\u00a0 One looked like he might weigh in at three hundred pounds or more. \u00a0Still, Joe was well-muscled and fit and probably had a meaner punch than he had as a kid.<\/p>\n

And that was saying a lot.<\/p>\n

Adam smiled and then grew sober as he thought of the lost years.\u00a0 While it was true he could travel back to the very moment when he had left, Spock had explained that it was dangerous.\u00a0 If he elected to return, it would have to be to this<\/em> time stream where Joe was in his thirties and Hoss was….<\/p>\n

Hoss was dead.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d blamed himself when the Vulcan first told him.\u00a0 He should have been there.\u00a0 There must have been something he could have done to prevent it.\u00a0 Spock had thrown his cool cold logic in the face of that, explaining that the records indicated his brother had died from a pulmonary embolism.\u00a0 The records also showed that Hoss had an enlarged heart.\u00a0 Spock explained that, with the medical knowledge of the era, there would have been no way to save him.<\/p>\n

Hoss, with a heart that was too large…<\/p>\n

Imagine that.<\/p>\n

In the time they had traveled together the Vulcan had admitted to him that the human emotion he had the most trouble understanding was guilt.\u00a0 There seemed no reason or explanation for it.\u00a0 One did what one was called upon to do and there was no need to question the doing of it, as it was, in the end, the only logical thing one could do.<\/p>\n

It made sense.\u00a0 Of course, that didn\u2019t stop the way he felt.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d asked Spock, one night, if the Vulcan had ever felt the tiniest spark of guilt.\u00a0 It had been a rare night when the twenty-third century man was in a rare mood.\u00a0 Spock told him about the time, during the Babel Conference, when his captain was injured and he had to leave his dying father \u2013 the father only his <\/em>blood could save \u2013 in order to save the ship and its passenger load of dignitaries.\u00a0 His mother had confronted him, so angry she had slapped him and told him she never wanted to see him again.\u00a0 At that moment, Spock said, there had been something \u2013 regret for his choice, a feeling that he might have done differently….<\/p>\n

Guilt.<\/p>\n

It was most unpleasant, he had remarked casually, and then returned to his calculations.<\/p>\n

Adam snorted.\u00a0 This must have been how Joe felt when he\u2019d confront him about his emotions and force him to think.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you find something amusing?\u201d Spock asked.<\/p>\n

Adam cast a glance at his brother where he worked across the field.\u00a0 Since his wife had gone, Joe had removed his jacket again and tossed it over the fence.\u00a0 He was taking a drink of water.\u00a0 It seemed safe to take an eye off of him for a minute.\u00a0 Crossing to where the Vulcan sat under a tree, his eyes closed and his hands balancing on his bent knees, he halted before him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you awake?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The sigh was suppressed. \u00a0\u201cI do not talk in my sleep,\u201d Spock replied without opening his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you look like you\u2019re asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those near-black eyes opened.\u00a0 They fixed on him.\u00a0 \u201cWe have traveled together six-point-o-three months, Adam Cartwright, and you have not yet realized that I am meditating when in this position?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips quirked.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve traveled together six-point-o-three months and you haven\u2019t yet learned to know when I\u2019m kidding?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKidding is illogical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam snorted. \u201cYeah, but it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is was again. That suppressed sigh.<\/p>\n

After making certain they eliminated or accounted for all of the time manipulators they could, he and the Vulcan had used the two they had to come to eighteen-seventy-six to prevent Joe\u2019s kidnap and death in the Bodie Mine. Since the night he\u2019d made contact with his little brother they had shadowed Joe, following close behind him, camping near him at night, and then watching him work during the day like they were doing now.\u00a0 Since time was fluid, they had no idea when the attempt to abduct him would be made or who would make it.\u00a0 They only knew that someone was going to take Joe at some point and stick him in that mine and leave him to die.<\/p>\n

He took a step back and looked again to make sure Joe was alright.\u00a0 His brother was busy pounding posts.<\/p>\n

Satisfied Adam returned to the Vulcan\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After lunch Joe had gone back to mending fences.\u00a0 This kind of labor wasn\u2019t something he had <\/em>to do \u2013 there were plenty of young men whom they employed that could perform such menial work \u2013 but there were a number of reasons he did it.\u00a0 First off, he liked it.\u00a0 Driving posts wasn\u2019t challenging like riding a bronco, or fast and furious like driving a herd.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t grand as cutting lumber or dangerous like going down in a mine.\u00a0 It was, well, relaxing.\u00a0 He laughed to think what his two older brothers would have said if they\u2019d heard him admit that he enjoyed something that was relaxing.\u00a0 But then, he wasn\u2019t that young man anymore who had shinnied out of every chore in any and every way possible in order to make a break for town and trouble.<\/p>\n

He was going to be a father.<\/p>\n

Joe pulled at his left glove, making sure it was tight.\u00a0 Another reason he continued to do this kind of work was<\/em> those young men they hired.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard one of them not too long ago refer to him as the \u2018prince of the Ponderosa\u2019.\u00a0 The title\u2019d made him laugh, but it had stung as well.\u00a0 The last thing he wanted anyone to think of him was that he was some kind of pampered rich boy. Those who knew him knew different.<\/p>\n

But not everyone knew him.<\/p>\n

Like that new bunch Pa had hired while he and Anne had been away a few weeks back. \u00a0The ones who were working up the fence from him now.\u00a0 The round-up was coming and he knew they needed extra hands, but there was just something about them.\u00a0 His father was a good judge of character, but when it came to the round-ups he sometimes hired men he knew could be trouble.\u00a0 They needed men who were willing to do the dirty work \u2013 rough, tough men who could wrassle a steer to the ground with one hand tied behind their back.\u00a0 Deets, Brewer, and Carter were certainly that.\u00a0 Deets was the oldest and the largest, weighing in somewhere around three hundred pounds.\u00a0 He looked to be around forty-five.\u00a0 His age didn\u2019t mean anything though.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen the man tackle Brewer, who was also of a good size and closer to twenty, and take him down in five minutes flat.\u00a0 Deets hadn\u2019t even come up breathing hard.\u00a0 Deets was tall, with dark skin for a white man, and there was a slight upturn to his eyes like, somewhere in his past, one of Hop Sing\u2019s cousins might have snuck into the line.\u00a0 Brewer looked like he might be part Indian.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The last of them, Aiden Carter, was slight-built like him, but not as well muscled.\u00a0 Carter had dark curly hair and today was wearing a light shirt and gray pants.\u00a0 The first day they\u2019d worked, \u00a0the trio had greeted him cordially enough, but he didn\u2019t like the way they looked at him.\u00a0 Deets treated him like a rival and Carter, well, Carter….<\/p>\n

He looked at him like he was the mother lode or something.<\/p>\n

Deets saw him looking now.\u00a0 Putting down the sledge hammer he held, the big man rolled down the sleeves of his checked shirt and started walking toward him.\u00a0 Carter and Brewer followed closely behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there something you desire from me, Mister Cartwright?\u201d Deets asked as he halted a few feet away, sweat glistening on his rolling muscles as he flexed them, showing off like a cock striking at the ground.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps you think I am not working hard enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Deets,\u201d Joe said with a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve had a chip on your shoulder since the day my Pa hired you.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you give it a rest?\u201d<\/p>\n

Deets was seven<\/em> inches taller than him.\u00a0 He leaned in menacingly, emphasizing that difference.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you make me, Little<\/em> Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hardly anyone called him that anymore.\u00a0 In fact, he preferred they didn\u2019t.\u00a0 It reminded him too much of his absent brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I will,\u201d he replied, completely unruffled.<\/p>\n

The big man stared him down for another heartbeat or two and then leaned back and roared.\u00a0 A second later he slapped him on the shoulder so hard it nearly drove him to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like you, Cartwright!\u00a0 You have the heart of a warrior!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe blinked.\u00a0 This was hardly the outcome he\u2019d expected.\u00a0 \u201cYou…you don\u2019t want to fight me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the contrary, I would be honored<\/em> to meet you in battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBattle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I have been ordered to take the coward\u2019s path.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you calling a \u2018coward\u2019?\u201d Carter sniveled.<\/p>\n

Joe looked from one to the other.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is this all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brewer\u00a0 stepped between them and drew his gun.\u00a0 His lip curled with a sneer as he said, \u201cThis.\u00a0 It\u2019s time you come with us, Mister <\/em>Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked from one to the other.\u00a0 There were three of them and one of him, but only one was armed.<\/p>\n

It was about even.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh,\u201d Deets said, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cYou will not surrender without a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure as Hell won\u2019t!\u201d Joe shouted.<\/p>\n

And charged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright shifted in his chair.\u00a0 He was seated behind his desk working on paperwork.\u00a0 It seemed he did more and more of this every day and spent less and less time in the saddle.\u00a0 Most of the hard work and rough-riding he\u2019d been forced to turn over to Joe, not because his son insisted, but because the time had come at last to admit to himself that he simply could not do it anymore.\u00a0 When he felt like complaining, his thoughts turned to Dan Tolliver[2]<\/a>.\u00a0 Dan had refused to admit he was getting old and that refusal had almost cost his son his life.\u00a0 Joe had been the one to tell Dan that a man had to move on, to find something he was capable of doing \u2013 maybe just sit back and pass on what he had learned. It was hard, but he was ready.\u00a0 His life had been good.\u00a0 He\u2019d spent it carving out an empire \u2013 creating a legacy to leave to his sons \u2013 and it was time to pass it on.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Joe was the only son he had left.<\/p>\n

The irony was, of all of the boys, Joe was the one he had most feared would not live to see old age.\u00a0 Adam had always been so sensible, so steady, and Hoss….\u00a0 Ben choked to think of his gentle middle boy who had been taken from them so suddenly and so senselessly.\u00a0 Hoss, well, he had been as rock steady as the earth itself.\u00a0 Joe had always been reckless and impulsive, so full of anger, and impossible to control.\u00a0 Now, he was going to be a father himself.\u00a0 Ben shook his head as a smile chased away the aches and pains.<\/p>\n

He was going to be a grandfather.<\/em><\/p>\n

The thought of it was bittersweet as the reality of Joe\u2019s first child who lay buried in the same grave as his first wife.\u00a0 He\u2019d loved Alice.\u00a0 He\u2019d mourned her loss nearly as much as his son had.\u00a0 For a long time he believed Joe would never dare to love again, but then Anne had returned.\u00a0 They\u2019d had a special bond, the two of them.\u00a0 Just like Joe had with Carrie.\u00a0 A bond that, with time, had turned to true<\/em> love.<\/p>\n

A soft footfall alerted him to the fact that his daughter-in-law had come into the room.\u00a0 She was carrying a bouquet of autumn flowers.\u00a0 Hop Sing came out of the kitchen to take them from her and the two of them laughed as they exchanged a few words.\u00a0 Anne, though forceful and quixotic at times as Joe\u2019s mother had been, was a welcome addition to their home.\u00a0 She loved his son and that was all that mattered.<\/p>\n

With a familiar and long missed swish of skirts, Joe\u2019s wife came to his side.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you this evening, Pa?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Pa.\u00a0 Joe had insisted.\u00a0 He had a daughter now in the place of two sons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine, Anne.\u00a0 How are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWaiting on Joe.\u00a0 You know, I think he\u2019d work twenty hours a day if you let him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s little I do or do not \u2018let\u2019 Joseph do anymore.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s your job now to rein him in.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned and looked out the window above the dining table.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s like a stallion, isn\u2019t he?\u00a0 With that mane of silver hair blowing wild in the wind and his muscles rippling in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he had never considered describing his son in quite <\/em>that way, he could appreciate the image.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve tamed him.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Anne pivoted toward him.\u00a0 She looked ill.\u00a0 \u201cHave I?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben rose and went to stand beside her.\u00a0 \u201cI meant that as a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just, I would never want to change Joe.\u00a0 I hope you know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.\u00a0 \u201cLife and time change us all.\u00a0 Now, why don\u2019t you go up and get ready for supper?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Joe will be home shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched until she had mounted the stairs and headed toward the wing he had given to the pair.\u00a0 After what happened to Alice, Joe had decided to stay in the ranch house rather than build his own.\u00a0 Here, there were eyes and ears other than his to guard his wife and child-to-be.<\/p>\n

Rising from his seat, the older man crossed to the door and opened it and looked out, half expecting to see a man clothed all in black walking his way.\u00a0 He was too old to wait like Joe by the fence post.<\/p>\n

But he never stopped hoping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright swayed on his feet, but he didn\u2019t go down.\u00a0 His lip was bleeding.\u00a0 Hell<\/em>, just about everything on him was bleeding from his forehead where Deets had just landed a good punch to his knees where they\u2019d scraped the ground when he fell, cutting through the fabric of his gray trousers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is pointless,\u201d he heard Carter say.\u00a0 \u201cEnd it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Deets spat on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cI would not expect you to know anything of honor, worm.\u00a0 You who work in Intelligence spend your days in the dark like the gagh,<\/em> cowering beneath the belly of a rock!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes went from one man to the other.\u00a0 He hated to side with the big guy, but it seemed doing so might make his life longer.<\/p>\n

Raising his fists again, Joe tried to look fierce.\u00a0 \u201cCome on,\u201d he demanded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not…over until it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter looked at him with disdain.\u00a0 \u201cOh, it will be over soon for you, Cartwright.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that was their goal, why not kill him now?\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re bluffing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A strange weapon appeared as if by magic in Carter\u2019s pale hand.\u00a0 It resembled a gun but was too compact.\u00a0 And there was no barrel.\u00a0 As the man with the dark blond hair spoke, he aimed it at him.\u00a0 \u201cTry me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe cannot die now,\u201d Brewer stated, speaking for the first time.\u00a0 \u201cNeither the time nor place are right.\u00a0 Our orders are to deliver him to Bodie alive, and then to collect our fee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name sent chills shivering through him. Bodie.\u00a0 Adam had warned him about it \u2013 if the figure he had seen in his dreams was <\/em>Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019ve heard of it,\u201d Carter said, his upper lip twitching.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have and I\u2019m not going there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDeets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Joe could think to move the giant of a man had hold of him.\u00a0 He pinned his arms to his back even as Carter swooped in like a carrion bird scouting out supper to come.\u00a0 \u201cYou have a choice, Mister Cartwright.\u00a0 You can come with us willingly, or I will order Brewer to give you some incentive.\u00a0 Perhaps that pale thing you have taken for a mate….\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe froze.\u00a0 Visions of his home, his wife, his child going up in flames swam before his blood-shot eyes.\u00a0 A woman was at the window of the burning house looking out at him, pleading for him to save her.\u00a0 It was Alice.\u00a0 And behind her was Anne.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said simply.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter\u2019s pale eyes flicked to the powerfully built man.\u00a0 A challenge passed between them.\u00a0 \u201cDeets, stand down,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

Deets bristled.\u00a0 Then he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt is my regret,\u201d he said, seeking Joe\u2019s gaze and holding it, \u201cthat you will not die in battle as you deserve.\u00a0 You are a man of honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Thank you\u2019 just did not <\/em>seem the right thing to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cBind him!\u201d Carter ordered.\u00a0 Brewer was the one who complied, roughly taking his hands and drawing them up behind his back where he bound them with some sort of twine.\u00a0 When he was done, the small man ordered, \u201cGet the wagon and put him in the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe knew once he was in the back of that wagon he\u2019d lost any hope of escape.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa will be looking for me,\u201d he warned.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Sheriff Coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will not find you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Joe watched as Carter caught his green coat from the fence and then came to stand before him.\u00a0 \u201cBecause you will be buried so deep in the bowels of the Earth that no one will find you.\u00a0 Your fleshly form will be left to rot until you are nothing but a pile of bones and a story to be told to an audience that has no interest in the tale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes misted even as his jaw grew tight.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u00a0 Tell me why.\u201d<\/p>\n

The thin pale-skinned man looked directly at him.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose you deserve to know.\u00a0 Your death and burial in the Bodie Mine will serve as a catalyst,\u00a0 It will echo down the centuries until it reaches one man, a man who \u2013 thanks to your capture today \u2013 will be reborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were mad.\u00a0 The lot of them.\u00a0 But that meant little.\u00a0 Mad or not, his death was the only thing that would satisfy them.<\/p>\n

Joe bit his lip and considered his options.\u00a0 Finally he decided that if he was going to die, it would be on his own terms.\u00a0 Bracing himself, he called upon his waning strength for one more attempt \u2013 one more chance <\/em>to break free and smell the open air.\u00a0 One more \u2013<\/p>\n

Deets was there, looming over him again.\u00a0 There was a pistol in his hand, poised to slap him in the side of the head.\u00a0 Regret filled the big man\u2019s eyes, not for what he was doing, but for the way<\/em> he was being forced to do it.<\/p>\n

Deet\u2019s hand moved.\u00a0 Joe felt steel contact flesh even as Carter uttered words he would only half-hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, sweet prince.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam stopped at Spock\u2019s side.\u00a0 The Vulcan was rising to his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI have been considering the circumstances in which we find ourselves and have come to a conclusion concerning our proper course of action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it best we advise your brother as to the threat facing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s black brows shot up.\u00a0 \u201cTell Joe?\u00a0 About me?\u00a0 About you<\/em>, and where you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe is already aware of me through the link, and while the truth has not entered his conscious thinking, it is locked in his subconscious and should render the shock…acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that<\/em> was encouraging.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan\u2019s eyes flicked to the field where Joe was working.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be well if one of us traveled ahead to Bodie.\u00a0 I believe it should be you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cYou have a working knowledge of mines, do you not?\u00a0 And are an architect?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will, therefore, have a better grasp of the layout of the mine.\u00a0 If you brother is taken and ends there, it is imperative that we have a better way to reach him.\u00a0 Before….\u201d\u00a0 The Vulcan paused.\u00a0 His black eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore?\u201d\u00a0 Adam drew in a sharp breath.\u00a0 He was still wrapping his brain around time travel, but one thing he understood was that this man \u2013 this alien \u2013 had been moving through it for some time.\u00a0 \u201cSpock, have you been here <\/em>before?\u00a0 In this place?\u00a0 At this<\/em> time?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan did sigh this time.\u00a0 \u201cIt was not my intention to indicate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeaning \u2018yes\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Adam bristled.\u00a0 \u201cBy all that\u2019s holy, why<\/em> didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe knowledge would have served no purpose other than to confuse you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dark-haired man was putting it together.\u00a0 \u201cSo you were here before, in eighteen-seventy-six, in Bodie \u2013 with <\/em>Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Those dark eyes held his.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said he was kidnapped and left at the bottom of the mine, and that we had to stop him from going there.\u00a0 Which means you weren\u2019t able to stop him before.\u201d\u00a0 A chill ran the length of his spine.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened the first time?\u00a0 What happened to Joe?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s voice was quiet.\u00a0 \u201cI made a miscalculation.\u00a0 Your brother died.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stumbled back.\u00a0 What did that mean?\u00a0 Joe died?<\/em>\u00a0 Joe was alive now, in the next field, hammering away at fence posts.\u00a0 His brother hadn\u2019t yet been to Bodie, but he\u2019d already died<\/em> in Bodie?\u00a0 Adam pressed his hands to his head and moaned.<\/p>\n

Again, the Vulcan\u2019s voice was quiet.\u00a0 \u201cI can take it all away.\u00a0 If it is too much for you.\u00a0 Adam,\u201d\u00a0 Spock waited until he looked, \u201ceven with our travels, this may be too much for you to bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was shaking.\u00a0 \u201cBut you need me, right?\u00a0 That\u2019s why you pulled me out of my own time and took me with you?\u00a0 You need<\/em> me to save Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the random element.\u00a0 The past has not been repeated, it is renewed.\u201d\u00a0 Spock pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cI was in the mine.\u00a0 I was not able to reach your brother in time.\u00a0 There was a moment, a window when he might have come to me, but he would not.\u00a0 He did not trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you knew he would trust me<\/em>, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cI do not have a biological brother, Adam, but I understand the bond.\u00a0 It is the same with James Kirk and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The admission had taken something out of him.<\/p>\n

Adam shook himself, trying to forget what he\u2019d just heard, or at least pushing it away until he had time to process it. The only thing that was important was that Joe was in danger and this man \u2013 this alien \u2013 for whatever motivation of his own, was Hell-bent on saving him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d he said at last, \u201cif we keep close enough watch on Joe my knowledge of that mine will be unnecessary.\u00a0 This time we\u2019ll keep him from ending up there.\u00a0 I say we stick together….\u201d\u00a0 Adam broke off what he had been about to say.\u00a0 Spock had moved toward the field where Joe was working.\u00a0 The Vulcan rarely showed any emotion. He was showing it now.<\/p>\n

Adam looked.<\/p>\n

Joe was gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was after supper and Joe was still not back.\u00a0 Ben had talked to Anne and had a hard time calming her fears, but in the end had managed to convince her that it was not all that unusual for any of the men to be out late, or even all night.\u00a0 Things came up, he said, unexpected things that needed tending.\u00a0 If Joseph was not back by morning, he promised, he\u2019d go looking himself.<\/p>\n

In the end it had taken her mother\u2019s soft scolding to get her to bed.<\/p>\n

As for him, old habits died hard.\u00a0 He\u2019d rambled around the house for several hours, interrupting Hop Sing in the kitchen irritating his foreman when he came in to drop off supplies, and finally even irritating himself by how much difficulty he had thinking of Joseph as a grown man who could take care of himself.\u00a0 He and his youngest had been through a lot together, from the loss of his mother through killing fevers, blindness, and then, that terrible fire that had consumed not only Joe\u2019s house but his hopes for the future.<\/p>\n

Feeling everyone of his sixty-odd years, Ben lowered himself into the blue velvet chair that had seen him through it all.\u00a0 He braced his elbows on the arms and leaned to the\u00a0 right, resting his chin on his fist.\u00a0 He\u2019d sat here awaiting the birth of his last boy.\u00a0 It was here he had tested and teased all of them.\u00a0 And here, on that awful day in seventy-two, when he\u2019d been informed Hoss had not made it. The thought of it brought tears to his eyes, so he closed them and leaned back.<\/p>\n

It was then he heard a voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben blinked back the tears and looked.\u00a0 The great room was empty \u2013 or so it seemed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d he asked, instantly alert.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriends,\u201d the man said as his shadow separated from the ones cast by the burning oil lamp on the side table, \u201cwhether you believe it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a young blond man, about Joe\u2019s age.\u00a0 With him came another man, older, a little taller, with ice blue eyes and a genuine smile.\u00a0 Ben\u2019s own near-black eyes narrowed.\u00a0 The pair seemed impossibly familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u00a0 How did you get in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs to how we came in, it was through the side door into the kitchen.\u00a0 We saw the light and figured either you or your son were still up.\u00a0 It was…imperative that we not be seen.\u201d\u00a0 The blond man paused.\u00a0 \u201cAs to \u2018who\u2019 we are \u2013 we\u2019ve met before.\u00a0 Long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben rose and walked to the oil lamp where he spun the thumb wheel, illuminating the pair.\u00a0 He cast his mind back, thinking over all the ranch hands he had employed in the last fifteen or so years.\u00a0 When the hook finally sunk into one, he had two reactions \u2013 anger, and then astonishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cKirk…\u201d\u00a0 He turned toward the older man.\u00a0 \u201cAnd…Doctor McCoy.\u201d\u00a0 Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIt can\u2019t be.\u00a0 You haven\u2019t…aged a day.\u00a0 How can that be?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cGood breeding?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stumbled back to his chair and sat down.\u00a0 He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. \u201cI must be dreaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several heartbeats later he felt a man\u2019s hand on his arm.\u00a0 He looked up to find Doctor McCoy standing by his chair.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re real, Ben, just as real as the threat to your son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph?\u201d\u00a0 There was only one to worry about now.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about…?\u201d\u00a0 Ben halted.\u00a0 These men.\u00a0 They had been at the Ponderosa the day Joe and Adam disappeared.<\/p>\n

How dare <\/em>they?<\/p>\n

The blond man he knew as Jim Kirk all those years ago followed his thoughts without him expressing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I said, Mister Cartwright, you have no reason to trust us.\u00a0 Our acquaintance twelve years back lasted a day or two and ended in mysterious circumstances.\u00a0 We…can\u2019t explain to you why or how we came, or<\/em> why we left when we did.\u00a0 But then \u2013 as now \u2013 it has to do with the welfare of your remaining son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are men who want to hurt him,\u201d the doctor said softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen?\u201d he asked, looking from one to the other.\u00a0 \u201cOther men than you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to hurt Joe, Ben,\u201d Jim said, taking a seat on the edge of the low table that butted up against the settee.\u00a0 \u201cA friend of ours,\u201d he glanced at the doctor, \u201ca man we both respect and care for found out your son was in danger.\u00a0 He came here in order to help him.\u00a0 The trouble is, our friend ended getting lost.\u00a0 We\u2019ve come back to find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy was Joe \u2013 is<\/em> Joe in danger?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy answered.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u00a0 But there are men hunting him. \u00a0Bad<\/em> men, Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time we have other friends with us.\u00a0 We think we can stop them, but we need your help \u2013\u00a0 and trust \u2013 as well as that of your son,\u201d the blond man said.\u00a0 \u201cIf we could speak to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe isn\u2019t here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men exchanged glances.\u00a0 It was Jim Kirk who was immediately on the alert.\u00a0 \u201cIf Joe\u2019s not here, where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glanced at the stairs.\u00a0 \u201cHe…didn\u2019t come home tonight.\u00a0 I told Anne \u2013 his wife \u2013 that he probably ran into something that delayed him and made camp for the night.\u201d\u00a0 The older man paused. \u201cI assured her he would be home in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood God!\u201d McCoy breathed.\u00a0 \u201cJim, you don\u2019t think….\u00a0 Are we too late?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim was on his feet in an instant.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was your son\u2019s last position?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s fingers gripped the armrests, the knuckles gone white.\u00a0 \u201cIn the north pasture, mending fences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blond man was already on his way to the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim,\u201d McCoy called gently.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to rendezvous with the others, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn!\u201d\u00a0 Kirk spun to look at his friend.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 We\u2019ll keep that and then head out.\u201d\u00a0 He turned and looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright, you have my word that \u2013 if it is within our power \u2013 we will find<\/em> your son and bring him back to you.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes flicked to the doctor.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, Bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s hand was on the door before Ben could find his feet.\u00a0 \u201cJim!\u201d he called.<\/p>\n

The blond man spun back toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho…who are<\/em> you?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy was at his side.\u00a0 They both looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike we said,\u201d Kirk replied, \u201cfriends.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then both of them were gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Ben Cartwright followed the two men out into the night, watching them mount two horses and ride until their forms became one with the descending shadows of the night, a slight female form stepped out of the others cloaking the head of the stair that led to the great room. \u00a0Her eyes on the older man, she quickly descended without a sound and passed into the kitchen.\u00a0 Once there, Anne Cartwright gripped the edge of Hop Sing\u2019s preparation table, breathing deeply to steady her nerves.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know who those men were, but she could hear the truth in their voices.\u00a0 They believed Joe was in deadly danger.\u00a0 Someone had taken him.<\/p>\n

Someone who meant to harm or, maybe kill<\/em> him.<\/p>\n

Anne glanced at her attire.\u00a0 She was wearing her night dress.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 Nothing mattered but finding the father of her child and making certain he was safe and whole.\u00a0 Looking out of the kitchen window, she checked to see if Ben was still there.\u00a0 He was.\u00a0 His back was bent.\u00a0 He looked like he\u2019d aged twenty years.<\/p>\n

She watched Ben return to the house a few minutes later with his head down, as though he feared the worst had already happened, and head for his office.<\/p>\n

Once her father-in-law was settled, Anne slipped out the side door and headed for the stable.\u00a0 There would be spare boots there \u2013 too big, but they\u2019d do.\u00a0 Joe had ridden out on a sturdy work animal that morning, leaving his current Paint behind.\u00a0 He called this one Cochise too.\u00a0 The horse knew her.\u00a0 It would carry her without question.<\/p>\n

After finding a spare pair of Joe\u2019s boots and stuffing the toes so they wouldn\u2019t fall off her smaller feet, Anne saddled Cochise and mounted.\u00a0 Pointing the horse\u2019s nose toward the open door, she moved him outside and then leaned down and breathed next to his ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cCooch, Joe\u2019s in trouble.\u00a0 Find Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The horse blew air out of his nostrils and nickered, and then he flew like the wind.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nyota Uhura was standing at the bar in the Bucket of Blood saloon watching the crowd.\u00a0 She glanced at the clock. Her shift ended in thirty minutes and she was supposed to meet with the Captain and the others in approximately two hours at a point halfway between the city and the Cartwright ranch.\u00a0 So far the only things she\u2019d managed to collect were propositions, a couple of drunken proposals, and a coarse handprint on her rear.\u00a0 It had been interesting at the start of her day to watch the cowboys and miners file in one by one and take note of her presence.\u00a0 One, who sounded like he was from one of the southern states, had complained to the Bucket\u2019s owner, saying he had polluted<\/em> the atmosphere of the establishment by employing a \u2018Darkie\u2019.\u00a0 Nyota\u2019s lips curled.\u00a0 He had quickly been shouted down by a dozen others and then taken by the collar and thrown into the street amidst cheers and boos.<\/p>\n

Apparently, she was considered rather exotic by the rough and tumble white men who frequented the bar and, when she began to sing, they\u2019d hung on every word and every sashay of her ample hips.\u00a0 She\u2019d gone from table to table, playing up to them, running fingers along their scruffy sun-burnt faces as she searched each one for a sign of anything out of the ordinary.\u00a0 For the greater part of the day she had found nothing.<\/p>\n

That had changed five minutes ago.<\/p>\n

The Bucket had the stereotypical swinging doors that ushered sober men in and drunks out.\u00a0 She\u2019d heard them swing a hundred times since she\u2019d started her day.\u00a0 Still, there was something different the last time it happened.\u00a0 Maybe it was the hush that fell on the room.\u00a0 Maybe it was the fact that all heads turned.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was the man who made them turn.<\/p>\n

She was waiting on a tray of drinks and doing her best not to stare.\u00a0 The man was dressed in black from his hat to his snakeskin boots, and had his gun tied down just like all of the illustrations she\u2019d seen of gunslingers in the Wild West.\u00a0 Nyota\u2019s beautiful face formed a half-smile.\u00a0 So not all stereotypes were untrue.\u00a0 But unlike those illustrations, his skin was neither tough as leather nor burnt brown by constant exposure to the sun.\u00a0 It was white.\u00a0 Pure <\/em>white.\u00a0 So was his hair.\u00a0 But his eyes, his eyes….<\/p>\n

They were crimson.<\/p>\n

She recognized him as an albino, a person effected by a genetic disorder that resulted in a lack of pigmentation of the skin.\u00a0 Other than a thin band of skin at his wrists, where his sleeves failed to meet with his gloves, and his face, he was entirely swathed in cloth, most likely to protect that sensitive skin.\u00a0 Just looking at him set off all the alarm bells her academy training had given her.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know how she knew, but somehow she did.\u00a0 This man was not from this time anymore than she was.<\/p>\n

She wondered if he could tell the same thing about her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, you are, Nyota,\u201d the barkeep said.\u00a0 \u201cTake this to table three and then you can call it a night.\u201d\u00a0 He looked her up and down and shook his head, making a sort of \u2018yummy\u2019 sound.\u00a0 \u201cBest thing I ever did, hiring you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She leaned in and ran a finger under his chin.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, honey.\u00a0 Best for me too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man gulped.\u00a0 She held the pose for a minute, tempted to pull her finger toward her to see if he drifted after it like that ancient cartoon character transported by the thought of a delicious treat.\u00a0 She let him loose and watched his jaw fall toward the counter.\u00a0 Picking up the tray, Uhura held it to one side and made her way through the crowd, flirting as she went.\u00a0 As it happened, table three was right next to where the black and white gunslinger had decided to take a seat.<\/p>\n

Smiling at the men who had ordered the whiskeys she carried, she lifted them from the tray and placed them on the table.\u00a0 Then, without looking at the albino, she headed back to the bar.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t do to let him know she was interested, and he didn\u2019t look like the type that would play any sort of game.\u00a0 It was better to remain aloof and then let the captain know about him.\u00a0 If he posed any kind of threat \u2013 other than to the men in the Bucket \u2013 they\u2019d soon find out.<\/p>\n

Five minutes later the handsome Black woman left the back room of the bar and headed for the door.\u00a0 Night was falling and the fading sun painted the dusty path in front of the saloon orange-red.\u00a0 She\u2019d just stepped off the boardwalk and into the street when she felt someone take hold of her arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister, if you know what\u2019s good for you, I\u2019d advise you let go,\u201d she said as she turned.\u00a0 Then, she fell silent.<\/p>\n

It was the albino.<\/p>\n

His crimson eyes were lit by a sort of immoral delight as if, like a child, he knew the secret to the game and she did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll let go once I deliver my message,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

She held still.\u00a0 \u201cMessage?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell your captain, Curran Theron is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCurran Theron.\u00a0 That\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded and did as he said.\u00a0 He let go.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne more thing,\u201d Theron added as he backed into the shadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d she challenged.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe cannot win.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI keep tellin\u2019 ya, there ain\u2019t no one in Virginia City answerin\u2019 to that there description!\u00a0 Are you deef?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Montgomery Scot folded his arms over his tartan sash.\u00a0 \u201cArrre ye surre, Mon?\u201d he asked, laying it on thick.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, I been from one end of this here town to the other today, and there ain\u2019t no tall skinny maybe-Asian, maybe-not man with pointy eyebrows who speaks like a perfessor and is dressed all in black, nowhere no how!\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotty buried the smile the sheriff\u2019s description brought to his lips.\u00a0 Was that what he had said?\u00a0 Appearing to consider what the lawman had told him, he lowered his eyebrows and his voice.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNoo, ye arrre not pullin\u2019 my leg, arrre ye?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy Coffee\u2019s pale eyes went to what lay just below the hem of his kilt.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t take hold of one of those pale hairy legs of your\u2019n if\u2019n you paid<\/em> me!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Enterprise\u2019s engineer sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cPale!\u00a0 Skinny!\u00a0 Mon, I\u2019ll have ye know that those arrre the legs of a Scotsman and thereforrre, farrr betterrr than yours, ye wee sun-baked scantily bewhiskered mon!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen here,\u201d the sheriff countered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve half a mind to throw you into one of my cells for disturbin\u2019 my<\/em> peace!\u00a0 I got a lot of things to do to catch up.\u201d\u00a0 The lawman leaned on his desk and glared at him.\u00a0 \u201cNow you go on and get outta here!\u201d\u00a0 With that Roy Coffee turned and headed for the safe at the back of the room.\u00a0 \u201cGod must hate me,\u201d he muttered as he went.\u00a0 \u201cWhy I ever let Ben Cartwright talk me into comin\u2019 back to this here one-horse town, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 And what \u2018d I ever <\/em>do to deserve this sort of thing at the end of the day?\u201d\u00a0 He glanced back to see if the Scotsman had left.<\/p>\n

He had not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what\u2019re you<\/em> waitin\u2019 for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotty remained as he was, arms crossed.\u00a0 \u201cJust admirrrin\u2019 the law at worrrk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the love of Pete!\u00a0 I\u2019m gettin\u2019 my keys and I\u2019m goin\u2019 home, and….\u201d\u00a0 He was working at the combination.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

\u201cDag-nab it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould you use a wee <\/em>bit of help, Sheriff?\u201d the engineer asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know enough to get my own safe open,\u201d he snapped, fiddling with the dial and listening to the tumblers.\u00a0 \u201cNow what in Sam Hill\u2019s<\/em> wrong with this thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m handy with locks, if I do say so myself.\u00a0 Arrre you surrre you don\u2019t want me to take a look?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy let out a sigh as big as the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood!\u201d Scotty said, smacking his hands together.\u00a0 \u201cOut of my way, lad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaning down he listened.\u00a0 Compared to the Enterprise security systems, opening an old-fashioned tumbler lock was like taking candy from a baby.\u00a0 Scotty worked it one way and then the other and then stood back as it clicked and opened.<\/p>\n

And cooed with admiration.<\/p>\n

Reaching into the safe he pulled out a bottle that sat next to the sheriff\u2019s keys. \u00a0It carried the Rosebank label and was dated eighteen-forty-five.\u00a0\u00a0 His eyebrows peaked as he asked, \u201cArrre you a Scotch drinkin\u2019 mon, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff actually smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt ain\u2019t worth drinkin\u2019 if it don\u2019t put hair on your chest.\u201d\u00a0 Roy Coffee\u2019s blue eyes crinkled.\u00a0 \u201cOr on your legs, in your case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotty blinked \u2013 and then roared.\u00a0 Picking up the sheriff\u2019s keys in his free hand, he crossed to the older man.\u00a0 He held both hands out, offering the keys \u2013 and the whiskey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, sheriff, which will it be?\u00a0 Arrre you going home to an empty house and a cold supperrr, or would you like to bet who can drrrink who under that therrre desk of yourrrs?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy Coffee stared at him.\u00a0 He took the keys in his hand and tossed them toward the door.<\/p>\n

The lawman thought a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPull up your skirts, stranger, and take a seat.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get the glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk and McCoy rode hard and reached the rendezvous early.\u00a0 It was his hope that the others might do the same, but when they reached the halfway point between the Ponderosa and Virginia City there was no one there but Sulu.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny news of Mister Spock, Captain?\u201d his helmsman asked.<\/p>\n

Kirk answered even as he dismounted.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 You?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky.\u00a0 The Cartwright\u2019s cook was actually in town to visit his uncle.\u00a0 I was introduced as number thirty-one cousin,\u201d he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how quickly I was accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you have any luck?\u201d McCoy asked as he joined them.<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cFrom what I can tell, Mister Spock never made contact with Hop Sing.\u00a0 The only strangers he remembered, and that was vaguely, were you two.\u00a0 Apparently you made him nervous all those years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there was one other thing.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it means anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Kirk asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a ranch hand, came about that same time, in eighteen-sixty-four.\u00a0 He thought he was with you.\u00a0 Hop Sing said he looked like a devil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d McCoy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the description I would say he was an albino, Captain.\u00a0 It was the crimson eyes.\u201d\u00a0 Sulu grinned.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing thought he was a human incarnation of a dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn albino?\u201d the doctor asked.\u00a0 \u201cIn the West?\u00a0 Seems a strange place for a man with an aversion to light to settle.\u201d\u00a0 He paused. \u201cJim?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI remember him.\u00a0 His name was…Theron Vance.\u00a0\u00a0 Remember, Bones, the man was with Joe Cartwright when the accident happened.\u00a0 The one that almost killed Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bones shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cVaguely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe left before we found out what happened to him.\u201d Kirk\u2019s thoughts were whirling.\u00a0 He turned to Sulu.\u00a0 \u201cDid Hop Sing say?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sulu shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing said Vance turned into a dragon and flew away.\u00a0 I asked around.\u00a0 Apparently he worked for the Cartwrights for a short time and then disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJim,\u201d McCoy asked, \u201cwhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was tapping his forehead, trying to force a memory to the fore.\u00a0 \u201cBones.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk looked up.\u00a0 \u201cBones.\u00a0 What was it you told me about that crewmember you passed in the hall before you found me in Spock\u2019s quarters?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy frowned.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean the one with anemia?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded.\u00a0 \u201cCould he have been an Albino?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bones considered it.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t see him well.\u00a0 Just saw he was too pale.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cCould have been.\u00a0 Is it important?\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought it might be.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think he\u2019s following us, Captain?\u201d Sulu asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr preceding us,\u201d he said, his tone dark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him too,\u201d a new voice added.\u00a0 \u201cJust now, in the Bucket of Blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

They turned to find Uhura had arrived.\u00a0 She moved forward with her usual determined stride, her silk skirts swishing. \u201cCaptain, a man fitting that description came into the Bucket just as my shift ended.\u00a0 He had a message for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s brows lifted.\u00a0 \u201cFor me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said to tell you his name was \u2018Curran Vance\u2019 and….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUhura?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you cannot win.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anne Cartwright had dismounted.\u00a0 Leaving Cochise behind, she followed the strangers who had visited the ranch house through the trees to their rendezvous.\u00a0 There were four of them now.\u00a0 It was obvious from what they said that they had been spying on the house and all of them but, for some reason, she didn\u2019t fear them.\u00a0 It seemed they were here to help.\u00a0 To help her, to help Ben.<\/p>\n

To help Joe.<\/p>\n

Drawing closer, she continued to listen to their conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas anyone seen Scotty?\u201d the blond man asked.\u00a0 \u201cSulu?\u00a0 Uhura?\u201d<\/p>\n

Both of them shook their heads.\u00a0 The Chinese man said, \u201cThe last time I saw him, Captain, he was with Sheriff Coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Captain?<\/em><\/p>\n

The captain nodded.\u00a0 \u201cProbably following a lead.\u201d\u00a0 He paused a moment and then went on.\u00a0 \u201cWe can\u2019t wait any longer.\u00a0 From what we understand, Joe Cartwright has disappeared.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019s been taken.\u00a0 We have to get on the trail.\u00a0 Sulu?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chinese man stepped forward.\u00a0 \u201cSir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you and Uhura to go to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Come up with a cover story.\u00a0 Sulu, you lean on being cousin number thirty-one and Uhura….\u201d<\/p>\n

The negro woman grinned.\u00a0 \u201cAnd me?\u00a0 How do we explain me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk eyed her.\u00a0 \u201cIn that get-up, I\u2019m thinking maybe a traveling actress?\u201d\u00a0 His gaze flicked to the Chinese man.\u00a0 \u201cSulu, you can be her servant.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman laughed.\u00a0 It was a magical sound.\u00a0 \u201cThat works.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep a watch on the place.\u00a0 I understand Joe Cartwright has a wife.\u00a0 Whoever is behind this might try to take her, to make Joe do…whatever it is they want him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne drew a breath.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t thought of that \u2013 that her rash action might actually put Joe in greater <\/em>danger.<\/p>\n

As the strangers continued to speak, Anne began to back away, intent on returning to Cochise.\u00a0 She was confused.\u00a0 What should she do?\u00a0 Everything that was in her screamed she needed to go after her husband, but, maybe….<\/p>\n

Maybe, she should just go home.<\/p>\n

When she reached Joe\u2019s horse, she paused to pat his neck.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, boy, that I ran you so hard.\u00a0 I think I made a mistake.\u00a0 I think \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t make a mistake, my dear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne started.\u00a0 She glanced around but saw no one.\u00a0 \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

Without warning a white hand clamped over her mouth and a sinister voice whispered in her ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are precisely where I want you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THREE
\nJoe Cartwright groaned as he opened his eyes.\u00a0 At first he was confused because the ground seemed to be shaking beneath him.\u00a0 Then he realized he was in the bed of a wagon.\u00a0 It was painful to move, but he shifted anyhow, intent on sitting up.\u00a0 It was then he found he was trussed like a calf with both his arms and his legs bound.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see anything.\u00a0 There was a tarp thrown over him, probably to hide the fact that he was in the wagon.\u00a0 He closed his eyes against the pain and nausea consciousness had brought with it and tried to think.\u00a0 Where had he been?\u00a0 In the field, right?\u00a0 Working on the fence.\u00a0 Someone had been there other than him.\u00a0 Someone….<\/p>\n

Deets.<\/p>\n

And Carter and Brewer.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d beat the crap out of him.<\/p>\n

Even as the memory of what happened flooded back, the wagon he was in jolted to a halt.\u00a0 He heard someone jump to the ground and then the tarp was thrown back flooding the wagon bed with light. Unaccustomed as his eyes were to the brightness, he winced and turned away even as a pair of powerful hands took hold of his shirt and dragged him up and out of the wagon.<\/p>\n

A second later he was\u00a0 tossed to the ground.<\/p>\n

Brewer had done it, but it was Carter who crouched beside him.\u00a0 The smaller man reached out with a gloved hand and took hold of his face and forced his head up.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you ready to die, Cartwright?\u201d he asked, a sneer curling his lips.\u00a0 \u201cBecause we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe frowned.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see much past the small sneering man.\u00a0 Deets was there, watching with his dark brows drawn into a \u2018V\u2019 of disapproval.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is no way to treat a warrior,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Carter pivoted.\u00a0 \u201cI told you to holster your martial scruples, Deets.\u00a0 They make you and others like you weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018V\u2019 deepened and was accompanied by a growl.\u00a0 \u201cHow dare<\/em> you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter rose to his feet.\u00a0 He went toe to toe and forehead to chest with the bigger man.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I <\/em>am in charge and High Command will have your head \u2013 and other <\/em>parts of your anatomy \u2013 slowly and painfully removed one at a time if you disobey me.\u201d\u00a0 Carter turned slightly.\u00a0 \u201cBrewer come here.\u201d\u00a0 Pivoting back he added, \u201cYou two get him up!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019d seen a panther laying in wait, biding his time, knowing that time would come.<\/p>\n

That was the look Brewer had.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir!\u201d he spat.<\/p>\n

Brewer took hold of him on one side and Deets on the other, and they drew him to his feet.\u00a0 It was all he could do to stand.\u00a0 The ropes had cut off the circulation in his feet.\u00a0 Tears flooded his eyes as they were forced to bear his weight, but he refused to cry out.<\/p>\n

Carter was pacing before him.\u00a0 After a minute, he stopped and met his gaze. \u201cDo you know where you are, Joseph Francis Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t really paid attention.\u00a0 He\u2019d assumed they were somewhere in the woods beyond the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Now, looking, he realized it was unknown territory.\u00a0 There were few if any trees.\u00a0 Mostly it was rock and….<\/p>\n

And a sign that read \u2018Bodie\u2019.<\/p>\n

Carter chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNow<\/em>, you get it.\u00a0 This is the end of the line for you, Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe licked his lips.\u00a0 His voice cracked when he spoke.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The look out of the man\u2019s eyes reminded him of a coiled snake about to strike.\u00a0 Carter drew closer and used that gloved hand to take hold of his chin and force him to meet his stare.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to die, Cartwright, and you\u2019re never<\/em> going to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a moment of silence into which Deets spoke.\u00a0 \u201cThis is not the way of our people or the code of the warrior.\u00a0 Release him!\u00a0 Let him fight<\/em> for his life.\u201d\u00a0 The imposing man paused.\u00a0 \u201cHe is a worthy opponent.\u00a0 Let him die <\/em>with honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA death with \u2018honor\u2019 is not in the contract, or have you forgotten that Deets?\u00a0 If we want use of the manipulators beyond this, then we do what my people ordered us to do, which is cooperate with Curran.\u00a0 And that<\/em> is to leave Cartwright bound and gagged in the bottom of Bodie Mine with one of them on his wrist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018You have to be careful, Joe,\u2019 <\/em>the ghostly Adam had said.\u00a0 \u2018They\u2019re coming for you.\u00a0 Whatever you do, don\u2019t go to Bodie.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Joe began to struggle.\u00a0 Death here, above ground, was preferable to one buried in complete darkness beneath the earth\u2019s surface, gasping for air.\u00a0 He fought hard, pulling against Brewer and Deet\u2019s strength in what he knew was a losing battle.\u00a0 If he could only make them mad enough \u2013 make them strike him so hard he\u2019d never get up again.\u00a0 If only \u2013<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice took him by surprise.\u00a0 He looked up and the world \u2013 stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a man on a horse.\u00a0 Though it had been twelve years, he recognized him.\u00a0 It was the man who had come back from Virginia City with him close to twelve years before, the man who had stood by as a group of other men trailed him, bent on taking him for some unknown reason \u2013 the man who had calmly and quietly said \u2013<\/p>\n

You cannot escape.<\/em><\/p>\n

Theron Vance was seated on Cochise, his crimson eyes laughing.<\/p>\n

Anne was in his arms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Adam Cartwright galloped alongside Spock, he tried not to think about what they might find when they arrived at Bodie.\u00a0 In spite of everything they had done, it seemed nothing had changed.<\/p>\n

Joe was still going to end up at the bottom of that damn<\/em> mine.<\/p>\n

When he was at college he\u2019d taken part in debates about the nature of time and joined in the speculation about whether or not, if one traveled into the past, he could change it.\u00a0 There were two schools of thought.\u00a0 The first said \u2018yes\u2019.\u00a0 Man was not a creature out of control.\u00a0 He could choose his own destiny.\u00a0 But there was another school that said that time flowed just like a river and, inevitably, no matter how hard you fought against it, the rushing waters would pull you back to the same place.<\/p>\n

He felt like he was drowning in time.<\/p>\n

Spock had said little once they realized Joe was gone.\u00a0 The set of the Vulcan\u2019s jaw spoke the words that would not come.\u00a0 Spock was determined not to fail again like he had the first time.\u00a0 There had been that moment, the one he told him about, when Joe could have been saved.\u00a0 His little brother had embraced fear for just a second too long and that had been the end of him.<\/p>\n

Could he \u2013 would<\/em> he be able to redirect that river?\u00a0 If it was his hand reaching out, his<\/em> voice calling, would Joe react fast enough?\u00a0 Could he snatch him from his fate?<\/p>\n

From…death.<\/p>\n

The sun had risen as they mounted their horses and began the thirty mile ride to Bodie.\u00a0 They had pushed the animals mercilessly until a sheen of foam coated their sides.\u00a0 Common sense dictated they stop to let them rest.\u00a0 If the horses keeled over and they had to continue on foot, it would do Joe no good.\u00a0 Still, like a racehorse at the gate, Adam champed at the bit, feeling each wasted second as the stab of a knife in his side.\u00a0 Was Joe in the mine yet?\u00a0 Was his brother still alive?<\/p>\n

Or was he already buried under a ton of rock.<\/p>\n

They were riding again now, moving forward.\u00a0 The sun was mounting the sky toward noon.\u00a0 They should be there soon and then he would know the truth.\u00a0 He\u2019d know<\/em> if time could be rewound.<\/p>\n

But did he want to?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Curran Theron gestured to Deets.\u00a0 When the Klingon came forward, he ordered him to lift the woman from the saddle and place her on the ground.\u00a0 As Deets complied, albeit grudgingly, Theron dismounted and crossed to stand before the bound.\u00a0 The look out of Joe Cartwright\u2019s eyes was delicious.\u00a0 In it was a mingling of indignation, rage, and out and out fear.\u00a0 Theron closed his eyes, drawing in the sensation, feeding on it.<\/p>\n

Enjoying it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will not shout or attempt to get away, do you understand?\u00a0 Do so, and the woman dies instantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cartwright nodded.\u00a0 \u201cLet her go,” he pleaded.\u00a0 “I\u2019ll do whatever you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theron scoffed.\u00a0 \u201cYou will do what I want whether I let her go or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you harm her, I\u2019ll \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d the man with the crimson eyes queried.\u00a0 \u201cBurst forth miraculously from your bonds and kill me?\u00a0 I think not.\u00a0 I think you\u2019ve used up your quota of miracles,\u201d he scoffed.\u00a0 \u201cMy friend Deets knows how to secure an enemy.\u00a0 He has been schooled in every aspect of the art of war since he was old enough to walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The human\u2019s eyes were on the woman.\u00a0 \u201cLet her go.\u00a0 Please.\u201d<\/p>\n

The white-skinned, white-haired man, who was no man but one of the Originators simply said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theron knew what was coming and he welcomed it.\u00a0 He\u2019d witnessed in his many trips through time and space what kind of a man Joseph Cartwright was.\u00a0 Fury kindled in the rancher a strength that surpassed anything human \u2013 perhaps, anything Klingon<\/em>.\u00a0 Bound as he was, the human struck out, ramming his shoulder into Brewer and breaking free of Deets\u2019 grip.\u00a0 His feet were still bound as were his hands.\u00a0 He knew<\/em> he couldn\u2019t do anything, but still, he was determined to try.<\/p>\n

He failed, of course.\u00a0 Deets brought the handle of his nineteenth century weapon down on the back of Cartwright\u2019s head and dropped him at his feet.<\/p>\n

As the woman softly sobbed, calling out for a man she would never touch again, Theron knelt at Joseph Cartwright\u2019s side.\u00a0 He took hold of that thick, curly silver and gray hair and lifted the human\u2019s head and looked into his dazed eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour only child will be born on another world, in a place where the meaning of honor is not known.\u00a0 He will be reared among my<\/em> people and given power over time and space.\u00a0 And he will use it.\u00a0 In time his descendants will learn to use it too and then, instead of bringing order to the galaxy, the last of your line will bring chaos, disorder<\/em>, and destruction.\u201d\u00a0 Theron leaned in close.\u00a0 \u201cWould you like to know his name, father of all that will come?\u00a0 Would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grunted, barely conscious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will tell you what it is,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames…Tiberius…Kirk.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Tiberius Kirk sighed.\u00a0 He\u2019d sailed the stars.\u00a0 In a way, he had conquered them.\u00a0 But now, when he needed to own<\/em> them and to make them work in his favor, they\u2019d turned against him.<\/p>\n

His horse had thrown a shoe.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim.\u00a0 Here,\u201d McCoy said, thrusting the reins of his own mount toward him.\u00a0 \u201cTake mine.\u00a0 I\u2019ll follow as soon as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBones, I don\u2019t want to leave you out here alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you worryin\u2019 about?\u00a0 I\u2019ll be just fine,\u201d the Georgia doctor drawled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a tough old bird.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t an animal within a hundred miles would want to take a bite out of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk scowled.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not the four-footed kind I\u2019m worried about.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy sobered.\u00a0 \u201cJim, we can\u2019t know for sure, but I just think there\u2019s no time to lose.\u00a0 And somehow, I think when you find Joe Cartwright that you\u2019ll find Spock too.\u201d\u00a0 His friend hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cThey<\/em> need you.\u00a0 I can get by without you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you can, can you?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll manage.\u00a0 Scotty\u2019s bound to be along soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk frowned.\u00a0 In all the excitement he had forgotten about his engineer.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you suppose is keeping him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m laying odds on the Bucket of Blood.\u00a0 That is, if they have Scotch behind that counter.\u201d\u00a0 McCoy approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cReally, Jim.\u00a0 Go<\/em>.\u00a0 That young man needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded, giving in.\u00a0 \u201cHead back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Find Sulu and Uhura and all of you stay put.\u00a0 Between Spock and Joe Cartwright, I\u2019ve got enough to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod speed, Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n

As McCoy began to lead his lame horse back the way they had come, Kirk leapt into the saddle of the doctor\u2019s mount and settled in.\u00a0 He\u2019d been surprised to find just how natural it felt, how at home<\/em> he felt on a horse.\u00a0 He knew there were adventurers and trailblazers in his past, and knew as well that much of what he was had been written in his genetic code long before he was born.\u00a0 He wondered now if there was a cowboy or two, or maybe a land baron like Ben Cartwright in the mix.<\/p>\n

Or someone like his son.<\/p>\n

Gripping the reins tightly, the blond man signaled to the tired animal that he expected him to ride like the wind.\u00a0 The horse must have had some trailblazers in his past as well.\u00a0 It snorted and stamped the ground, and then sprinted forward in a nineteenth century equivalent of Warp Four.<\/p>\n

Kirk snorted too and, leaning forward close over the saddle, relished the wind in his hair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe struggled without success against the two men who dragged him ever close to the mine\u2019s entrance.\u00a0 He\u2019d kept his gaze locked on his wife\u2019s as long as he could. \u00a0He wanted to tell Anne so <\/em>much \u2013 that he loved her, that he would do everything<\/em> he could do to survive and return to her and their child.<\/p>\n

That he would throttle the bastards who threatened them with his bare hands if given a chance.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d looked so small, so helpless, so \u2013 lost<\/em> \u2013 standing there.\u00a0 He heard some of the words Theron spoke after Deets had bashed him in the head.\u00a0 What he heard hadn\u2019t really made sense.\u00a0 The trouble was, he didn\u2019t know if his head was so muddled from the blow that he misunderstood them, or if the Albino was mad and actually<\/em> thought he could travel through time and space.\u00a0 It made him think of that book Adam had read to them one snowy winter called, \u2018The Last Man\u2019.\u00a0 He\u2019d had a hard time following it, and had slept through more of it than been awake, but he remembered it talked about a far flung future where men traveled in airships and had become so full of pride that they challenged God.<\/p>\n

\u2018Remember what the Good Book says, Joseph, Pride goes before destruction\u2019, <\/em>he heard his Pa say in his head. \u00a0A man who believes he knows more than God is doomed to failure.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

He had to hold onto that.\u00a0 <\/em>Had to believe it was not<\/em> happening again.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t care what happened to him, but he couldn\u2019t<\/em> lose Anne and the baby, not the way he had Alice and his first child.\u00a0 God couldn\u2019t be<\/em> so cruel, so…heartless.\u00a0 This time it had to be him.\u00a0 If someone died, it had to be him<\/em>.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t survive it again, just couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

His Pa\u2019s voice returned.\u00a0 This time quoting Jeremiah.<\/p>\n

\u2018For I know the plans I have for you,\u2019 declares the Lord, \u2018plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n

Humbled, he prayed silently as the dark open maw of Bodie Mine claimed him, \u2018God, give Anne and the baby a hope and a future.\u00a0 If you have to take someone, take me.\u00a0 Please, God, please, let them live.\u00a0 But whatever God, whatever….\u201d\u00a0 The tears were flowing down his cheeks freely now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThy will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once inside Deets untied his feet and chafed them to return the circulation.\u00a0 It was pointless.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t going to walk to his own death.\u00a0 So far he\u2019d refused to aid them in any<\/em> way.\u00a0 His defiance had brought about another beating \u2013 this time from Brewer \u2013 during which the two men holding him had had a heated exchange in a language he didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

Deets forced him up, Brewer took his other arm and they began to drag him again.\u00a0 As he was hauled along what seemed at least a mile of rough tunnel floor, Joe closed his eyes and tried to gather his strength.\u00a0 If they eventually left him alone there might be a slim chance he could escape \u2013 maybe work his way deeper into the mine and find another exit.\u00a0 If he was going to try, he had to rest, had to save what little strength he…had….<\/p>\n

When his body jolted against the floor, Joe moaned and opened his eyes.\u00a0 It shamed him to realize he\u2019d fallen unconscious.\u00a0 His head was throbbing from the beating and the blow to the head he\u2019d taken and the pain was casting tiny flecks of light on the mine walls.\u00a0 Joe closed his eyes and opened them again.\u00a0 It was then he realized the light wasn\u2019t in his head.\u00a0 It was real and was advancing toward them.\u00a0 His vision was blurry so he couldn\u2019t be sure, but he thought it was Carter, carrying a lantern.\u00a0 As the light grew brighter, Joe began to shiver, not with fear but from the cold.\u00a0 This far down into the mine the temperature had dropped.\u00a0 It felt like the inside of a spring-fed cooling room.\u00a0 Brewer snorted, deriding him as his teeth began to chatter.<\/p>\n

When Carter halted before him, Joe saw he was wearing his green.\u00a0 That jacket was warm.\u00a0 Carter must have been cold.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cBring him!\u201d Carter surprised him by ordering.<\/p>\n

And then they continued on.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t know how long they traveled this time.\u00a0 As they moved along the primitively hewn corridor Joe lost all awareness of it, of where he was and where he had been.\u00a0 Life became one long descent.\u00a0 Here and there sputtering torches, their flames starved for oxygen, lit the way.\u00a0 He\u2019d been in mines before.\u00a0 He knew what that meant.\u00a0 They were taking him deep \u2013 very<\/em> deep.\u00a0 So deep it was unlikely anyone would find him.<\/p>\n

This mine was going to be his grave.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d traveled another five minutes or so when Carter called a halt.\u00a0 Joe had ceased struggling by that time, his head wound finally lulling him into a state of semi-consciousness where nothing existed but echoing footsteps, the scent of smoke, and the remembrance of light.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelease him,\u201d Carter ordered.<\/p>\n

Four hands obeyed.\u00a0 Twenty fingers opened.\u00a0 He fell to the cave floor again and lay there unmoving.\u00a0 Above him there was a burst of light.\u00a0 Into it came a pale sneering face.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes the condemned man have any last words?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was out of energy, but he found enough to do one last thing.<\/p>\n

Spit in the man\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Joe tensed.\u00a0 He knew it was coming.\u00a0 Out of the dark came a hand with something hard clamped around the wrist.\u00a0 Whatever it was, it struck him in the side of the head.<\/p>\n

In a blur of lightly tanned skin, red pain and green cloth, the lights went out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As he fought against Spock\u2019s Vulcan strength, Adam both hated and admired the man for his ability to control his emotions.\u00a0 It gave Spock an edge, but it also made him one of the coldest bastards he had ever known.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my kid brother they\u2019re dragging down into that Hell<\/em> hole!\u00a0 Let me go!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam,\u201d the Vulcan said as he easily restrained him, his tone even and unperturbed, \u201clisten to me. \u00a0This has happened before.<\/em>\u00a0 The Originator, Curran Theron, is a man of compulsion, driven to assure that his plan for the future of this galaxy unfolds as he<\/em> demands.\u00a0 He has a time in mind for your brother\u2019s destruction.\u00a0 It is not now.\u00a0 Nothing will happen until it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know things haven\u2019t changed?\u00a0 You yourself said I<\/em> am the random element. \u00a0I<\/em> was not here before.\u00a0 Maybe my very presence has altered what happened.\u201d\u00a0 His jaw was clenched, his words were breathed more than spoken. \u00a0\u201cDid you consider that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The look Spock gave him was almost comical \u2013 would<\/em> have been if things had not been so desperate.\u00a0 \u201cI have considered all options and concluded there would be no rational reason for Theron to alter his plans.\u00a0 The odds are fifty-two-point three-five to forty-seven-point-seven-five that the Originator is not aware of your presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam gripped the cloth covering Spock\u2019s chest and shook him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not betting my little brother\u2019s life on fifty-fifty odds!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty-two-point- \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn<\/em> it, Spock!\u201d he swore, pushing the Vulcan back.\u00a0 \u201cToo much can go wrong!\u00a0 We have to get down there.\u00a0 We have to get close to Joe before….\u201d\u00a0 Adam paused.\u00a0 His gaze went to the Albino.\u00a0 Theron stood beside a wagon.\u00a0 They\u2019d just watched him force a bound and gagged woman into it a moment before.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to get to Joe before<\/em> they blow that mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain you forget, Adam Cartwright, that I have been here before,\u201d the Vulcan said, shifting to stand beside him where he could watch Theron\u2019s movements.\u00a0 \u201cThe man named Carter will return in one-point-two minutes and together he and Theron will move off into the trees, leaving Deets as guard and Brewer to set the explosives.\u00a0 This will take approximately forty-two-point-three minutes including the trip for Brewer both down and back to the surface.\u00a0 There is a separate entry leading to the place where your brother is being held that can be navigated in twenty-point-two, leaving a window of opportunity of twenty-two-point-one minutes in which to rescue Joseph and return with him to the surface.\u00a0 If he had not fought me, I would have been able to free him the first time I was here and to escape with him before the charges went off.\u201d \u00a0Spock paused.\u00a0 \u201cThis time, you are with me.\u00a0 He should have no objection to following you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam drew in a breath.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s only one problem with your theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan\u2019s right eyebrow tipped up.\u00a0 \u201cIndeed.\u00a0 And what is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s brother indicated the mine entrance with a nod.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been three minutes and Carter\u2019s not back.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk had pushed his horse so hard the animal had finally given out and he\u2019d been forced to abandon it by the side of the road.\u00a0 Now, he was running.<\/p>\n

There was no time to lose.<\/p>\n

Spock had often remarked on his \u2018hunches\u2019, almost but not quite dismissing their possibility.\u00a0 He\u2019d lived with them his entire life and knew they had nothing to do with logic or anything else that made sense, but were intuitive leaps based on an inner \u2018gut\u2019 feeling.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t really understand where they came from either.\u00a0 He\u2019d tried to convince himself they were based on cumulative experience. but that fell flat.\u00a0 He\u2019d had them when he was a boy before he had <\/em>any experience.\u00a0 One day he\u2019d asked his mother about it and she\u2019d told him that it was something passed down from generation to generation in her family.\u00a0 It was this genetically-driven keen insight that had made the men in their family what they were and caused them to succeed where others failed.<\/p>\n

Whatever it was \u2013 hunch, insight, or intuition \u2013 it was screaming now that he had to reach that mine and reach it soon<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As he ran, sprinting forward like an Olympiad, a wry smile parted his lips.\u00a0 It hadn\u2019t been all that long since he\u2019d fought like a Klingon targ<\/em> against Bones\u2019 orders that he devote extra time to his physical training.\u00a0 His friend had lifted his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest at the end of his last exam \u2013 where he\u2019d been ten pounds overweight \u2013 and refused to listen to his excuses that he had no time, that there were other more important things he had to do, that \u2013 for God\u2019s sake! \u2013 all he did was sit in a chair all day and issue orders, and what the Hell<\/em> did he need to be able to outrun a sehlat<\/em> for?<\/p>\n

Thanks to Bones, he was barely winded.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d passed a sign to the mine about a mile back. Now he was beginning to see signs of habitation; small huts, tents, and the like.\u00a0 They were empty.\u00a0 Autumn was here and winter was fast approaching and it seemed the mine, which at this time in its history was unproductive when compared to other richer strikes in the area, had shut down for the season.\u00a0 He was still puzzled by why Theron had brought Joe here<\/em>. Why not just kill the youngest of Ben\u2019s sons outright if that was what he intended to do?\u00a0 No, there was more going on here than simple murder.\u00a0 There was a reason, at least in the Albino\u2019s mind, that Joe Cartwright had to die at the bottom of that mine.<\/p>\n

A reason he wished to Hell<\/em> he knew.\u00a0 Though maybe he was over-thinking it.\u00a0 Maybe Theron was simply insane and Joe’s death in that mine\u00a0 – and the discovery of an alien artifact in the future – was just his sick way of saying to the galaxy, ‘Theron was here.’<\/p>\n

Kirk skidded to a halt when he saw a light appear in the distance.\u00a0 He stood, panting, catching his breath for a moment, and then advanced forward stealthily.\u00a0 There were two men standing outside the mine\u2019s entrance.\u00a0 One was Theron.\u00a0 He recognized him by his white hair and pale skin.\u00a0 He was dressed like a gunfighter.\u00a0 The other man wore a long black coat over his pants and shirt.\u00a0 There was a familiar look about him.\u00a0 He was a little dark and a lot wild-looking and would have been counted as a giant in this time.\u00a0 There was something about the way he held himself and the cast of his eyes he\u2019d seen before.<\/p>\n

Where….?<\/p>\n

The blond man\u2019s sharp mind rolled back through all the faces he had seen since joining Starfleet.\u00a0 It finally stopped and recognition clicked into place.\u00a0 Deep Space Station K7.\u00a0 The one with the tribbles.<\/p>\n

And a ship full of devious, lightly-tanned, round-eared Klingons.<\/p>\n

Kirk moved closer so he could see better.\u00a0 Theron had moved away from the wagon.\u00a0 There was someone in its bed.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t tell if it was Joe, but it made sense that it was.\u00a0 He\u2019d just determined to slip into the trees on that side of the mine when he sensed as much as saw something move in the shadows to his right.\u00a0 The blond man stopped, his hand resting on the rough hide of a tree.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t one but two<\/em> men.\u00a0 They were heading away<\/em> from the cave\u2019s entrance, going around….<\/p>\n

Kirk stiffened.<\/p>\n

One of them was Spock.<\/p>\n

Almost as if sensing his scrutiny the Vulcan halted and turned his way.\u00a0 A second later, he was gone.<\/p>\n

Kirk hesitated, unsure of his course.\u00a0 Should he follow his long absent and somewhat errant first officer and confront him, or rescue whoever was in the wagon?\u00a0 While the Vulcan\u2019s recent actions were a mystery to him, he knew in his heart that Spock would never betray him or the Enterprise and that, while he might not agree with his methods, his friend undoubtedly had a logical reason for everything he had done.<\/p>\n

When it came down to it, he either trusted Spock or he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

This time, he chose to trust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOUR<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright stared down a long, dark, nearly vertical shaft.\u00a0 It was barely more than shoulder-width, though he suspected it widened as it cut into the mountainside\u00a0 that contained the mine.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen this kind of exploratory shaft before.\u00a0 It had most likely been cut early-on in Bodie\u2019s development to allow preparatory access.\u00a0 Now it led to the medium-sized chamber where Joe was being held.\u00a0 In his initial trip to eighteen-seventy-six, Spock had discovered it and used it to reach Joe just as Theron\u2019s man ignited the charge to bring the mountain down on top of his brother.\u00a0 Sadly, Joe had been injured \u2013 struck in the head and not thinking clearly \u2013 and his reactions had been slow.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s ability to think had been hampered and his choices dictated by fear.<\/p>\n

He could hear it in Spock\u2019s voice.\u00a0 The sense of failure, the guilt<\/em>.\u00a0 The Vulcan\u2019s fingers had brushed Joe\u2019s.\u00a0 Then he\u2019d lost him and Joe had…died.\u00a0 His brother had died suffocated in darkness and buried under a ton of rubble.<\/p>\n

Alone.<\/p>\n

Well, not<\/em> this time.<\/p>\n

Adam swung his legs up and into the shaft.\u00a0 Spock caught his arm before he could descend.\u00a0 \u201cYou have fifteen-point-five minutes in which to extricate your brother before the setting of the explosives is complete.\u00a0 You must both be in the shaft before they are detonated or you will be trapped within the mine.\u00a0 If Carter is there still, you will have to overcome him before you will be able to flee.\u201d\u00a0 Spock paused.\u00a0 \u201cYou remember Qo\u2019noS?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is Carter\u2019s home planet, despite the dissimilarity of facial features and coloring to the people you saw there.\u00a0 He is of a race that is reared to violence, whose actions are controlled only by their own questionable sense of honor.\u00a0 You must beware.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you <\/em>going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock glanced to the left.\u00a0 \u201cI will endeavor to free the woman and to overcome the one who holds her.\u00a0 It is obvious she is someone of importance to your brother.\u00a0 My calculation would be that she is his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam still could hardly believe it.\u00a0 Joe.\u00a0 Married.\u00a0 It had almost happened so many times in the past that he guessed he had assumed it would never actually <\/em>happen.<\/p>\n

As Adam caught the top of the shaft with his fingertips and began to lower himself into it, he glanced at Spock who was now nothing more than a single lean shadow within the greater bulk of shadows cast by the mountain.<\/p>\n

Then he began to slide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright sat in the darkness of the great room after the two strangers departed, feeling completely useless and out of control \u2013 for about fifteen minutes. Then he sprang to his feet and, damning old age and infirmity to Hell<\/em>, put on his gun belt, wrapped a coat around his diminished frame and placed his hat on his head before aiming straight as an arrow shot from the bow toward the stable.\u00a0 Once inside he crossed to Buck and patted him on the nose, telling him he was sorry to be taking one of the younger horses, but what he needed tonight was not certainty and experience as much as raw, reckless energy.<\/p>\n

Kirk and McCoy already had a half-hour\u2019s head start.<\/p>\n

Moving farther into the stable he watched a pair of young freshly broken horses stamp and snort and toss their manes, ready for action. He chose a beautiful high-spirited Appaloosa he\u2019d watched run like the wind only a few days before.\u00a0 Of course, Joseph had his eye on him.\u00a0 After all, his youngest son and the animal had a lot in common.\u00a0 Anne had watched with both admiration and fear as her husband worked to break the animal, barely managing to keep his seat.<\/p>\n

It was only fit that this would be the one to bear his son home.<\/p>\n

Saddling the horse took longer than Ben would have liked.\u00a0 By the time he left the barn nearly an hour had passed.\u00a0 As he walked the Appaloosa out, ready to depart, he saw that it was going to take even longer.\u00a0 The white-haired man drew in a breath and held it.\u00a0 He really didn\u2019t have the energy for a fight.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing was waving his arms and running toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Ben!\u00a0 Mister Ben!!\u00a0 Do not go, Mister Ben!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben checked his ride.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing, I\u2019m not in the mood to argue \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing no want to argue.\u00a0 Hop Sing wish go with you!\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cI appreciate the offer, Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 And he really did.\u00a0 But he needed to fly like the wind and, while his longtime friend was a fair rider, there was no way the Chinese man could keep up.\u00a0 \u201cBut I need to be on my way now<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He turned and looked in the direction the two men had gone.\u00a0 \u201cI may already be too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHop Sing come.\u00a0 Bring wagon.\u00a0 Maybe need for Little Joe or for Mrs. Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben almost missed it.\u00a0 Then he snapped to attention.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

A soft worried woman\u2019s voice spoke from out of the dark.\u00a0 \u201cAnne\u2019s gone too, Ben,\u201d Carrie Pickett said as she stepped off the porch.\u00a0 \u201cI think that child got a notion in her head to go after Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood Lord!\u201d he exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was Anne thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman\u2019s smile was sad.\u00a0 \u201cOnly about the man she loves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben considered their options and then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHop Sing, have Carrie help you pack the wagon with blankets, medicals supplies, and some food and water.\u00a0 Follow me when you can.\u00a0 I am going to track those two strangers and I have no idea where the trail will lead me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing caught hold of the Appaloosa\u2019s reins.\u00a0 \u201cYou be careful Mister Ben.\u00a0 No want find you in need of wagon too.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 Ben looked at Anne\u2019s mother.\u00a0 \u201cCarrie?\u201d he called.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp Hop Sing.\u00a0 And try not to worry.\u00a0 I\u2019ll bring the children home.\u201d<\/p>\n

She raised a hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m right sure you will, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

He started to move and then halted and turned back.\u00a0 \u201cOne more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrie came to stand beside Hop Sing, her pale eyes determined and<\/em> afraid.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes misted.<\/p>\n

\u201cPray.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spock remained where he was and watched Adam Cartwright descend into the darkness like Earth\u2019s mythic Hermes in pursuit of Persephone.\u00a0 He\u2019d had little time to spare to consider the possible ramifications of the introduction of this random element into the equation.\u00a0 Things were happening too quickly and they were unfolding in a slightly parallel line to what had happened before.\u00a0 The first time he had walked this path Carter had returned to the surface to reconnoiter with Theron, leaving Joseph Cartwright alone.\u00a0 The fact that the man from Klingon Intelligence had not this time suggested either a betrayal of Theron on Carter\u2019s part, or a successful attempt by their victim to overcome his captors.\u00a0 In either scenario, both Adam and Joseph Cartwright should be able to make their way to the surface unimpeded unless someone else intervened.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the most expedient thing he could do was to make certain Curran Theron was removed from the equation.<\/p>\n

From what he had been able to learn, Curran Theron was an Originator \u2013 one of the race that had built the Guardian of Forever and created the gateway to time that it was.\u00a0 The Originators were sworn to non-interference.\u00a0 The Guardian was meant to be a tool with which man would observe and record history, not seek to alter it.\u00a0 As a youth Theron had been one of the best and brightest of his people, but he had grown discontent with their guiding principle.\u00a0 He saw non-interference as weakness.\u00a0 Curran Theron believed that the Guardian should be employed to meddle.\u00a0 He believed that, instead of bringing order and peace to the galaxy, its \u2013 and his \u2013 purpose was to open a door to chaos and disorder.<\/p>\n

Since he, Doctor McCoy, and Jim Kirk had passed through the Guardian into time before, their past and present were clearly written there in three intersecting lines.\u00a0 The rogue Originator had stumbled across these lines.\u00a0 Studying them, he had come to a conclusion.\u00a0 There was a man within them whose life could be altered, turning him from an agent of law and order to one of chaos and disorder, thereby changing history.<\/p>\n

James T. Kirk<\/p>\n

Spock blew out the breath he didn\u2019t know he held.<\/p>\n

He had seen some of these images himself.\u00a0 He\u2019d watched as Jim\u2019s ancestors came to America as explorers, and how they had opened up the young country\u2019s western region, leaving paths behind them for others to follow.\u00a0 There were so many lives, so many bold choices, all leading to one man \u2013 one man in whom all of these characteristics would find ultimate completion.\u00a0 A man of determination and drive who feared nothing, who at times appeared reckless, but was in reality preternaturally certain that no matter what he did that it would come out right.\u00a0 A man of checks and balances, one whose anger was tempered by compassion; whose high sense of justice was married with a sense of honor that would not suffer wrong.\u00a0 A man, Spock thought, whose gut feelings outstripped logic.<\/p>\n

Joseph Francis Cartwright.\u00a0 Benjamin Cartwright\u2019s youngest son.<\/p>\n

There had been good men before, and there would be others after him in the captain\u2019s lineage.\u00a0 But Adam\u2019s young brother was the fixed point upon which the man who would be James T. Kirk hung.<\/p>\n

And Theron had determined to destroy him.<\/p>\n

The Originators had created the time manipulators for their own purpose and pleasure.\u00a0 They were mobile devices attuned to the Guardian\u2019s thoughts, that employed the Guardian\u2019s power.\u00a0 Never interfering, they used them to move through time, observing and watching as nascent races rose and fell, lives were lived and ended, and worlds were born and died.<\/p>\n

In time the Originators grew cold and indifferent, as unfeeling as the waves of time they rode.\u00a0 It was at this time in their history that Curran Theron was born.\u00a0 As he grew, Theron determined he would be nothing like those who had gone before him.\u00a0 He would use the power of the Guardian to <\/em>interfere, to change time and make the galaxy into a place that fit with his own twisted sense of right and wrong.<\/p>\n

Curran Theron was quite mad.<\/p>\n

And in that madness he had fixated on Joseph Cartwright.\u00a0 The Originator had studied the rancher, gleaning from the eddies and waves of time shown to him by the Guardian that Joseph and his son were all he needed.\u00a0 Theron determined the time when the rancher\u2019s son would be conceived and then traveled back to eighteen-seventy-six – before the boy was born – with the intention of killing Joseph, so he could father no other sons.\u00a0 He would then take Anne, his wife, and their child away with him.\u00a0 He meant to rear the boy and make him into the father of disorder.\u00a0 James T. Kirk as he was known would not be there to stop Gary Mitchell from reaching out and destroying universes, or to call out the godlike boy Trelane and stop his devastating childish pranks.\u00a0 Charlie X would be free to vent his anger on the universe as well and Captain Kirk – Jim Kirk whose intuitive leaps had saved the lives of thousands – would not be there to stop the Horta\u2019s children from being hunted to extinction, prompting their peaceful mothers to start an intergalactis war that would devastate worlds.<\/p>\n

Instead, Joe\u2019s seed would develop into one of the most destructive forces in all of time and space.<\/p>\n

James Tiberius Kirk with no conscience.<\/p>\n

Spock stirred.\u00a0 Time was passing.\u00a0 He had lost one point-nine-minutes to idle speculation.\u00a0 He had noted of late that his thoughts were slightly disjointed.\u00a0 His calculations and logic slowed.\u00a0 The Vulcan knew it was the influence of the venom that had been introduced into his system three times now as he used the manipulator.<\/p>\n

After the next two times he would join Curran Theron.<\/p>\n

He would go mad.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It had taken everything in Ben not to push the thoroughbred to a gallop.\u00a0 He knew the animal would grow exhausted quickly if he did.\u00a0 Instead he moved forward at a steady trot.<\/p>\n

Still, it was nearly impossible to ignore the fear deep<\/em> inside that drove him.<\/p>\n

The two strangers had headed southeast.\u00a0 The trail would take him into California soon, and into a low mountain range.\u00a0 He knew the area.\u00a0 It was dotted with mines, most of which were barely able to sustain their existence.\u00a0 Ben tried to remember which might still be operating.\u00a0 He could only recall one.\u00a0 Ten years after Sutter\u2019s Mill a group of four prospectors had made a rich strike in those hills.\u00a0 The mine was named after W. S. Bodey, one of the four, for the absurd reason that Bodey had perished that winter in a blizzard and never made it back.\u00a0 A sign painter had misspelled the man\u2019s name and it had stuck, and soon the town of Bodie \u2013 and the mine of the same name \u2013 became reality.<\/p>\n

Bodie called to him.\u00a0 He was sure it was there he would find his son.<\/p>\n

Gently nudging his mount to put out a little more speed, Ben moved quickly forward.\u00a0 The road he was traveling was two-pronged.\u00a0 One path started near the Ponderosa and the other just outside of Virginia City.\u00a0 They ran in a parallel fashion for some time and then converged and crossed over into California at its southernmost border.\u00a0 He was nearly there now.\u00a0 If he calculated right, riding at full tilt through the night, with a change of horse, he should arrive at the mine early the next day.\u00a0 Hop Sing would be following close behind with the supplies.\u00a0 He could only pray the Chinese man would find his way.<\/p>\n

He had a feeling they would be needing<\/em> those supplies.<\/p>\n

Just as he reached the place where the two paths came together like the rods of a witching stick, Ben heard the pounding of horses\u2019 hooves.\u00a0 He halted and listened.\u00a0 It was a party of at least a half-dozen by the sound of it.\u00a0 With no cover to take, Ben drew his gun and a breath and waited as the strike of hooves grew louder and the riders appeared .<\/p>\n

When he saw who was at the head of the party, he let the breath out in a relieved sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen!\u00a0 What in Sam Hill<\/em> are you doing out here?\u201d Roy Coffee inquired as he drew alongside him and reined his mount in.\u00a0 \u201cWhy ain\u2019t you at the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking for Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, if that don\u2019t beat all.\u00a0 That\u2019s just what we\u2019re up to.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t it, Montgomery?\u201d<\/p>\n

As Roy spoke, he turned to look at the stranger who had come up alongside the lawman.\u00a0\u00a0 The newcomer was of moderate build, with dark hair and intense eyes \u2013 and wearing a kilt! Beside him was another man, dressed much the same as Hop Sing, and behind that<\/em> man there was a beautiful negro woman attired as an actress or maybe a dance hall girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright,\u201d the man said, revealing himself by both tongue and dress to be a Scot, \u201cyou dinnae know me and hae no reason to trust me, but believe me when I tell you we\u2019re here to help find your son.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Roy saw the look on his face, he chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t quite know what to think of Montgomery either, Ben, but I can<\/em> tell you this.\u00a0 If a man holding his liquor is any sign of character, he\u2019s got it in spades!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Cartwright.\u00a0 My name is Nyota Uhura,\u201d the beautiful woman said as she nudged her horse forward.\u00a0 \u201cMy friends and I….\u00a0 From what we have been able to determine from hearsay and rumor in the town, a band of men have taken your son into California.\u00a0 We have a friend who is missing as well, sir.\u00a0 We think he might be with Joseph.\u00a0 If you will have us, we would like to join with you and offer our help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben met and held Nyota\u2019s dark eyes.\u00a0 He read no deception in them, only concern and resolve.<\/p>\n

The decision took less five heartbeats.\u00a0 Ben nodded.\u00a0 He turned then to Roy.\u00a0 \u201cI believe they took Joe to the Bodie Mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy looked skeptical.\u00a0 \u201cYou got a reason for thinkin\u2019 that, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

He hesitated.\u00a0 A slight smile quirked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy pulled at his chin.\u00a0 \u201cBut you\u2019re sure anyhow?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.<\/p>\n

The Asian man beside Nyota looked at her and grinned.\u00a0 \u201cHe sounds like Captain Kirk, doesn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stiffened.\u00a0 \u201cJim<\/em> Kirk?\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery Scott answered for them all.\u00a0 \u201cAye, sir.\u00a0 James T. Kirk.\u00a0 He\u2019s one of the men whot we\u2019re lookin\u2019 for.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was something here, something…<\/p>\n

Perhaps an answer to prayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the man I\u2019m following,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0 \u201cKirk, and Doctor McCoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile spread across the Scot\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cWell, why didn\u2019t ye say so before?\u00a0 What are we waitin\u2019 for then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothin\u2019 I know of,\u201d Roy said.\u00a0 \u201cBen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking from one to the other, Ben knew he had four sure souls at his side.<\/p>\n

Now, if they were only in time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was like going back into the womb.\u00a0 Adam finished his descent down the shaft and into the mine with a short drop and a tumble to the floor.\u00a0 He righted himself and then stepped back and pressed up against the clammy cavern wall, anchoring himself so he could find balance in the complete and total darkness.<\/p>\n

Only it wasn\u2019t complete.<\/p>\n

The black-haired man realized there was an unnatural pallid glow off to his left, some one hundred feet or more away.\u00a0 In spite of his need for haste, he waited until his eyes adjusted before moving.\u00a0 It was going to be difficult enough to navigate the mine\u2019s floor without making a false step or sound and he knew he could do it better if he could at least pretend<\/em> to himself that he could see.\u00a0 Spock had warned him Carter might still be down here.\u00a0 He was hoping the Vulcan was wrong.\u00a0 Maybe the light was something left with Joe, like a lantern.<\/p>\n

But no, that would indicate that there was some small shred of compassion in the black souls of his brother\u2019s kidnappers and he knew better.<\/p>\n

Half-crouching, half-walking, Adam approached the area with the light.\u00a0 He halted behind a large stalagmite and used it for cover.\u00a0 Even with the light it was hard to see, but there were<\/em> two men \u2013 one standing, holding a gun, and the other on the ground.\u00a0 As the man with the gun shifted and stepped back into the range of the light, a smile broke across Adam\u2019s face.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see his face, but he could see the bright green jacket he wore and the gray pants.<\/p>\n

Joe must have turned the tables on Carter and had the upper-hand.<\/p>\n

Relieved, Adam rose and stepped in front of the pillar of rock. \u201cJoe!\u00a0 Joe, thank God!\u00a0 I was afraid you were….\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s voice trailed off as the man pivoted to face him and a slow sneer twisted his tightly compressed lips.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Joe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Something woke him.\u00a0 A voice?\u00a0 Yeah, that was it.\u00a0 Big brother\u2019d called his name.\u00a0 He must have overslept again and Adam was hopping mad that he wasn\u2019t up and doing his chores.\u00a0 Joe shifted and frowned both at the pain he felt and at the cold hard surface he was laying on.\u00a0 What\u2019d he done?\u00a0 Fallen asleep in the barn after a fight?\u00a0 Or maybe he\u2019d had one of those<\/em> nightmares, the kind where he\u2019d roll out of bed and wake up on the floor.\u00a0 It took a lot to pry his eyes open, but he managed it.\u00a0 When he did, he realized his second thought had been right.<\/p>\n

It was a nightmare.<\/p>\n

Vance\u2019s cohort, Carter, was standing over him.\u00a0 He was wearing his green jacket, which confused him.\u00a0 Had he put it on because of the cold?\u00a0 Carter was holding a gun and pointing it at…who?\u00a0 Joe squinted and frowned.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t make the other man out.\u00a0 Whoever it was had dark hair and was dressed all in black.\u00a0 The man and Carter were arguing.\u00a0 Joe tried to listen to what they were saying, but the pounding in his head drowned most all of it out.\u00a0 All he managed to catch was a word here and there.<\/p>\n

…Cartwright<\/em><\/p>\n

…die here<\/em><\/p>\n

…No<\/em><\/p>\n

…my brother<\/em><\/p>\n

Did Carter have a brother?<\/p>\n

He<\/em> did.<\/p>\n

No, he had<\/em>.\u00a0 Both of them were dead.<\/p>\n

Worse than the pain in his head and chest, that realization made Joe moan.<\/p>\n

A swift kick in the side silenced him.<\/p>\n

The newcomer shouted and his angry words reverberated through the chamber, bouncing from one wall to the other and along the corridor leading to a surface world that was now lost to him.\u00a0 In response came more words \u2013 not from Carter or the man he held the gun on \u2013 but from that world above.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarter!\u00a0 Five minutes…\u00a0 …detonation!\u00a0 Get…here!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 Watch…one while…finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe forced his eyes open again and looked up.\u00a0 Carter\u2019s attention was focused on the stranger and not on him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have a clue who the other man was, but if the bastard who had taken him and whose companions were holding his wife hostage was his enemy, then that meant they were friends.<\/p>\n

And friends looked out for one another.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam remained riveted to the spot, his thoughts flying fast and furious.\u00a0 Carter and his gun stood between him and Joe.\u00a0 He knew this scenario was different from the one Spock had described, where the Vulcan had been the one who crawled down the shaft to rescue his brother.\u00a0 But that didn\u2019t mean that it might not end up the same way, with both of them trapped by a rock slide, only this time it would be the skeletons of both<\/em> he and Joe the man from the future would find with the Originator\u2019s bracelets on their wrist.<\/p>\n

At that thought, Adam\u2019s hazel eyes flicked to Joe.\u00a0 He let out a small hopeful sigh.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s hands were tied in front of him.\u00a0 There was<\/em> no bracelet on Joe\u2019s wrist.<\/p>\n

Yet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In spite of the pain pounding through him, which signaled infection and made him want to cry out, Joe managed to keep his eyes closed and remain still \u2013 even when he heard another man join them.\u00a0 Whoever it was, was shouting, screaming at Carter that it was time to \u2018Get out!\u2019<\/em>\u00a0 The sneering man must have listened.\u00a0 All of a sudden he felt someone loose the ropes binding his hands.\u00a0 Seconds later they took hold of one of his chafed wrists.<\/p>\n

Joe opened his eyes a slit.\u00a0 It was Brewer, not Deets who stood nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doin?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting the manipulator on Cartwright here,\u201d Carter growled as he snapped the bracelet open.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s in the contract.\u00a0 Kahless alone knows why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHurry it up.\u201d\u00a0 Brewer was nervous, and why shouldn\u2019t he be?\u00a0 If the explosive detonated it would bring the whole mountain down on all of them.<\/p>\n

Joe looked once again at the stranger Brewer held at gunpoint.\u00a0 Whoever it was, his black-swathed body was tense.\u00a0 He looked like a stallion ready to make a break for freedom.<\/p>\n

The curly-headed man drew in a breath.\u00a0 It really didn\u2019t matter who the man was.\u00a0 In any case, the enemy of an enemy is a friend.<\/p>\n

Without letting the breath out, Joe bunched his legs up and kicked out, taking Carter in the chest and driving him back into the nearby cavern wall where he struck his head on an outcropping and fell motionless to the ground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Good old Joe!<\/p>\n

Adam had seen his brother moving and knew what to expect.\u00a0 They\u2019d done the same thing many times before, not only to escape danger but to toss their brother Hoss laughing to the ground.\u00a0 Even as a twinge of regret stabbed him, thinking of the brother he could not<\/em> save, Adam lunged forward to save the one he still had.\u00a0 The man who had come to warn Carter had turned toward the commotion, so the gun was aimed away from him now.\u00a0 Adam struck the Klingon\u2019s arm and drove the weapon out of his hand and then crashed with him to the ground.\u00a0 Brewer\u2019s strength was amazing.\u00a0 He was twice as strong as Hoss.\u00a0 While he struggled with Brewer, Adam glanced at the man Joe had taken out.\u00a0 Carter had regained consciousness.\u00a0 He was rising, reaching for the abandoned gun.<\/p>\n

It would only take him a second to shoot Joe.\u00a0 He had to do something.<\/p>\n

As panic seized him Adam\u2019s eyes landed on the lantern.\u00a0 If it was extinguished the playing field would be leveled.\u00a0 No one could see and no one would have an advantage.\u00a0 Maneuvering Carter\u2019s companion into position, Adam struck out with his foot and drove him into it.\u00a0 The lamp turned over, rolled \u2013<\/p>\n

And went out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In complete darkness Joe listened the to the scuffle.\u00a0 There was an \u2018oof\u2019 and then someone hit the ground.\u00a0 Seconds later someone else began to run, up the passageway, up toward the surface and safety even as a voice called again that it was time to get out \u2013 that the charge would go off any minute.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s hands were unbound now and so he used them to right himself, and then worked his way to his feet using the wall as a prop.\u00a0 The cavern was absolutely black.\u00a0 \u2018Stygian\u2019, Adam would have called it, using one of those fancy words he got from the books he loved so.\u00a0 Joe could hear a man breathing hard.\u00a0 Assuming it was the one in black rather than Brewer who\u2019d probably fled like the coward he was, he followed the sound and stumbled toward him.<\/p>\n

It surprised him when halfway there the man caught him in a bear hug.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d he breathed, his voice breaking with emotion.\u00a0 \u201cJoe.\u201d\u00a0 Then, a second later.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to get out of here.\u00a0 The mine\u2019s about to blow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man caught him then about the waist and directed him away from the path Brewer had taken.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s feet skidded on the mud-covered floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere…where are…you going?\u00a0 The way…out is \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s another way, Joe.\u00a0 A shorter\u00a0 route to the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

He put on the brakes.\u00a0 Though his strength was ebbing, he managed to pull away.\u00a0 \u201cWhoa….\u00a0 Why…should I trust you?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a silence, so profound it made the darkness deeper, thicker, more suffocating.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe,\u201d the man said, breath in the words, \u201cit\u2019s me.\u00a0 Adam.\u00a0 Your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FIVE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James T. Kirk stared at the space Spock\u2019s departure had left for maybe a minute and then made his way through the underbrush and positioned himself to the left and behind the wagon.\u00a0 Once in place he quickly realized that the occupant of the wagon had not been Joe Cartwright, but his wife, Anne.\u00a0 She\u2019d been lifted from its bed and was standing by it now, her cries for her husband\u2019s release piercing the air.<\/p>\n

Joe was in<\/em> the mine.<\/p>\n

From his vantage point Kirk watched the altered Klingons come and go.\u00a0 The one called Deets, a giant of a Klingon warrior, had completed the task of placing the explosive charges in the mine and was standing about thirty feet away, awaiting the order to set it off.\u00a0 The blond man looked up at the massive pile of rock.<\/p>\n

When he did, half the mountain would come down on those inside.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been watching Deets.\u00a0 It was clear the Klingon held Theron in contempt, and that he would rather bury Carter under a ton of rubble than Joe.\u00a0 Kirk had a suspicion that Carter was Klingon Intelligence rather than a part of their vast military organization.\u00a0 The small, sneering man reminded him far too much of Darvin, the small sniveling<\/em> man who had wrecked so much havoc on Space Station K7.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

The blond man reprimanded himself.\u00a0 None of that mattered now.\u00a0 What mattered was that Joe Cartwright was going to die within minutes if he didn\u2019t somehow prevent Deets from triggering that explosion.<\/p>\n

The problem was Anne Cartwright.\u00a0 There was no way he could protect her.\u00a0 If he took on Theron, Deets posed a threat and vice versa.\u00a0 He simply couldn\u2019t be in two places at once.<\/p>\n

It was then Kirk saw Spock again.\u00a0 His wayward first officer appeared briefly, directly to the right of Theron, exposing himself just long enough to let him know he was there.\u00a0 Jim frowned.\u00a0 He wondered why Spock was not attempting to rescue Joe, since that had seemed to be the Vulcan\u2019s mission all along.\u00a0 Then he remembered there had been another man with Spock.\u00a0 He made a leap and suddenly knew it was Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 Adam was with Joe in the mine.<\/p>\n

Spock, like him, was looking to stop the explosion that would doom them both.<\/p>\n

Jim did likewise, exposing himself by stepping out of the shadows for just a moment and then ducking back.\u00a0 Theron seemed unaware of them both.\u00a0 The Albino stood with his back to Spock, holding Joe\u2019s wife fast.\u00a0 Theron\u2019s lips curled in a sneer as he pivoted, angling the terrified woman toward the mine\u2019s gaping maw.<\/p>\n

He was going to make her watch.<\/p>\n

Outraged, Jim rose up, meaning to go for Theron\u2019s throat.\u00a0 As he did Spock shook his head.\u00a0 The Vulcan held his gaze for a heartbeat or two, again asking for his trust, and then disappeared.\u00a0 A moment later a pale hand hovered over Theron\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 The Vulcan applied pressure and the man dropped.<\/p>\n

As his first officer stepped out of the trees to take charge of Anne who was silently sobbing, Kirk did the same and headed for Deets.\u00a0 He saw the Klingon rear back in recognition. The massive warrior looked at the detonator in his hand.\u00a0 He hesitated, as if debating whether or not to complete the order he had been given since the one who issued it was lying flat on his face.\u00a0 Whether it was the desire to create a smokescreen for his escape, or simple military training, Kirk would never know.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t really matter, after all.<\/p>\n

All that mattered at that moment was the signal passing through the air from the detonator to the explosives in the tunnel.<\/p>\n

A signal he could do absolutely<\/em> nothing to stop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, come on.\u00a0 Trust me.\u00a0 You have to trust me.\u00a0 We\u2019re out of time!\u201d Adam pleaded.\u00a0\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see his little brother, but he could hear him breathing heavily.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou…can\u2019t…be Adam….,\u201d he argued.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019s…dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not dead, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m here.\u00a0 I\u2019m alive<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He thought furiously.\u00a0 How could he convince him?\u00a0 \u201cJoe, remember back when you were a kid.\u00a0 That time Lotta Crabtree came to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Remember what you told me when we were fighting at the house \u2013\u00a0 after I said you could just forget about us being kin?\u201d<\/p>\n

Please, Joe<\/em>, Adam pleaded silently, please remember.<\/em><\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s tone darkened a bit, as if that argument still stung.\u00a0 \u201cYeah…I…remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou told me that\u2019d be easy because you couldn\u2019t see yourself as kin to anything whelped out of a \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cThin…blue-blooded…Boston Yankee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Joe.\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 It\u2019s me!\u00a0 How else could I know that?\u201d\u00a0 Adam paused and turned in the direction Brewer had taken. There had been a sound.\u00a0 Whatever it was reverberated along the walls, moving down the tunnel toward them.<\/p>\n

Joe was silent for five long unsettling seconds.\u00a0 Then he said, his voice small, strangled, disbelieving.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam….\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no time for a reunion.\u00a0 Focused on the sound, which he now recognized as a series of charges going off, Adam struck out with his hand and caught his brother\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, they\u2019ve done it!\u00a0 We have to get into the shaft.\u201d\u00a0 He looked up.<\/p>\n

Rock was falling.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Joe!\u00a0 Move!\u00a0 Now!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The shaft Adam had descended was about a hundred feet away.\u00a0 As they ran, the ceiling above them cracked and debris began to strike the cavern floor.\u00a0 A massive cloud of dust rose up from that and then another exploded inward, rushing down the corridor from the surface, stinging their eyes and choking in their throats.\u00a0 Joe was moving too slowly.\u00a0 It pained him to do it, but he forced him to move faster, almost dragging him.\u00a0 A few seconds that\u2019s all they had.\u00a0 A few precious seconds in which they could reach the shaft.<\/p>\n

They had<\/em> to reach the shaft….<\/p>\n

Suddenly, they were at its base.\u00a0\u00a0 As rock and stone pounded him, Adam pushed Joe before him and shoved his brother up and into it.\u00a0 He followed as quickly as he could, pulling his legs in just as a large boulder crashed to the floor, partially sealing them in.\u00a0 Once in the shaft Adam reached for his brother, found him and pulled him close, pressing Joe\u2019s mouth and nose into his shirt and wrapping his other hand around his head, guarding him from the dust that swirled about them, keeping him safe as he had done for his brother when he was a little boy \u2013 as he had so<\/em> longed to do and so much missed doing over the last twelve years of Joe\u2019s life.\u00a0 As he waited for the roar of the explosion to fade, for the rocks to stop falling \u2013 waited to see if they would survive \u2013 Adam Cartwright couldn\u2019t help it.\u00a0 He smiled.<\/p>\n

He was home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJim!\u201d Spock shouted, calling his attention to the woman running toward the dust and debris rolling out of the mine.<\/p>\n

Altering his direction, Kirk ran forward and caught Anne Cartwright in his arms even as she bolted for the collapsing rock.\u00a0 He caught her and held her tightly, letting her fight and kick against him, pressing his hand into her hair as she cried out for the man she loved.<\/p>\n

The man they had failed to save..<\/p>\n

Spock was crouching beside Curran Theron, making certain the Albino was out.\u00a0 The Vulcan rose and walked woodenly over to where they stood.\u00a0 He waited until Anne\u2019s shouts had diminished to silent sobs before speaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Cartwright.\u00a0 Anne,\u201d Spock said, his look and words intense.\u00a0 \u201cThere is hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne stiffened.\u00a0 Her head came up.\u00a0 She looked at him first and then at Spock, her eyes widening with surprise even as she asked, her voice robbed of strength, \u201cThere\u2019s hope?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s dark eyes flicked to him and then returned to the grieving woman.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re husband was not alone.\u00a0 His…brother was with him.\u00a0 They may have made it out.\u00a0 There is another way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again they locked gazes.\u00a0 Yes, there was hope in the near-black depths of his first officer’s eyes, but it was slim.<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded and, taking Anne Cartwright in hand, said, \u201cLead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without a word the Vulcan turned and began to walk.\u00a0 He led them to the right of the mine entrance and into the trees.\u00a0 They walked a short distance and then turned and angled back toward the mountain.\u00a0 As they approached it Kirk noted dust swirling in the air.\u00a0 This must be what Spock meant.\u00a0 His first officer must have found an exploratory shaft cut into the side or something of that nature.\u00a0 It was how Joe\u2019s brother had gotten to him.\u00a0 If the gods were kind, they would find the pair sitting just outside the mine.<\/p>\n

But the gods are capricious.\u00a0 Outside the shaft there was more dust whirling up and into the sky.<\/p>\n

Dust….and rock.<\/p>\n

The shaft had collapsed on their end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Doctor Leonard McCoy was carrying his boots.\u00a0 It was a new pair, created and produced by the Enterprise\u2019s replicator for his second journey into the past, but they were just as damned<\/em> poorly fit to his feet as the first ones!<\/p>\n

He knew it.\u00a0 He knew<\/em> the computer hated him!<\/p>\n

At first he\u2019d led Jim\u2019s lame horse along the road, intending to return to the Ponderosa as ordered.\u00a0 Then, a few miles out, he\u2019d abandoned it and turned around and begun walking.\u00a0 Oh, he hadn\u2019t just left the animal beside the road.\u00a0 He\u2019d waited until he was near a farm and then shooed it into the field toward a boy who was working.<\/p>\n

McCoy had no idea how much of\u00a0 a lead Jim had on him.\u00a0 He imagined it was fairly substantial.\u00a0 He\u2019d considered stopping, but somehow that didn\u2019t seem right with Jim in danger, Spock out there somewhere, and Joe Cartwright missing as well as half of the Enterprise bridge crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t do anything halfway, do you, Spock?\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n

The Georgia doctor considered the road ahead.\u00a0 The night sky was brilliant with stars and the moon shone down, lighting the road before him.\u00a0 If he was going to find Jim, he was going to have to keep walking.\u00a0 Maybe he could find another horse and trade something for it.\u00a0 McCoy looked himself over.<\/p>\n

He wondered with a wry smile if there would be any ranch hands who would be interested in a trade that involved a used hypo-spray?<\/p>\n

McCoy snorted as he sat on the edge of a large boulder and lifted his foot to put his right boot back on.<\/p>\n

Maybe he should use it on the blisters on his feet.<\/p>\n

As he placed one boot on the ground, Leonard McCoy heard a noise.\u00a0 It was indistinguishable at first from those of the night, but then he realized it was the sound of horses flying fast \u2013<\/p>\n

And coming his way.<\/p>\n

After quickly lacing the boot he held, he had caught up the other one and just about finished with it when the first horse and rider appeared.\u00a0 The man shot past him, quickly followed by another and another and….<\/p>\n

That one.\u00a0 The woman.\u00a0 It was \u2013<\/p>\n

\u201cUhura!\u201d he shouted.\u00a0 \u201cLieutenant Uhura!\u00a0 It\u2019s McCoy!\u201d<\/p>\n

He was concerned at first that she hadn\u2019t heard him and then relieved when he realized she had. The beautiful Bantu woman checked her horse and turned back. As she did, the others with her did the same.<\/p>\n

Riding as if she had been born to it, Uhura came to his side.<\/p>\n

McCoy stuck out a thumb in the universally recognized code for hitchhiking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa\u2019am,\u201d he drawled, his face breaking with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d be obliged if I could trouble you for a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When he removed his hand and shifted Joe, Adam discovered his brother was unconscious.\u00a0 They\u2019d managed to work their way up the shaft to the point where it widened before narrowing as it left the mountainside.\u00a0 They were in a pocket about four feet high and as many feet wide, blocked on both ends by fallen rocks.\u00a0 He could see sunlight, so there were<\/em> small openings feeding them air.\u00a0 Leaving Joe, Adam crawled forward to see if he could move any of the rocks, but found all too quickly that were wedged in tightly and wouldn\u2019t budge.\u00a0 Returning to where his brother sat propped up against the wall, Adam crawled over him and checked the other end as well.<\/p>\n

It was worse.<\/p>\n

By the time he took his place at Joe\u2019s side, he found he was exhausted.\u00a0 The air was thick with dust and growing stagnant.\u00a0 The shaft\u2019s walls were damp and cold.\u00a0 The light piercing the rocks at the end of it was meager.\u00a0 Still, it was enough to let him see his brother.\u00a0 Joe was pale \u2013 even paler than the rock dust.\u00a0 And he was breathing hard.\u00a0 Joe had obviously been beaten.\u00a0 Reaching out, Adam ran his fingers through the matted curls to the left side of his brother\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

He was right.\u00a0 It was blood.<\/p>\n

Moving his fingers to his brother\u2019s cheek, Adam licked his lips and then called him. \u00a0\u201cJoe.\u00a0 Joe, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment there was nothing.\u00a0 Then Joe\u2019s eyelids fluttered.\u00a0 Finally, he opened his eyes and looked around like a man waking from a dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man drew in a sigh of relief that fought for escape.\u00a0 He knew Joe would balk if he perceived he thought he was showing any hint of weakness.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you, little brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s hand moved.\u00a0 It reached for him.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He clutched it, as reassured by the touch as he hoped Joe was.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYes, it\u2019s me. I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe licked his lips and coughed.\u00a0 \u201c…how?\u201d<\/p>\n

He snorted.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a long story.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you, Joe, the next time we\u2019re sitting in the great room in front of the fire.\u00a0 But first, I have to get us out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother looked at him sideways.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s…here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shifted so he was sitting against the rock wall like Joe was.\u00a0 He leaned his head back and sighed.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Here\u2019 is a pocket of air in the middle of a ton of rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile crept across his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cSame old Adam.\u00a0 Always encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

The curly-haired man drew in a breath, coughed, and then shifted, moaning as he did.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour ribs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHurt.\u00a0 My head hurts more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blood. There had to be a wound there.\u00a0 Adam hesitated and then said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those green eyes rolled over to look at him.\u00a0 Joe did that funny thing with his lips.\u00a0 The one where they pursed them and smiled at the same time.\u00a0 \u201cOh?\u00a0 \u2018Bout what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI..didn\u2019t make it in time.\u00a0 I should have moved faster, gotten to you before the blast went off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you\u2019re…perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam blinked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always…thought you…were perfect.\u00a0 Or…had to be.\u201d\u00a0 Joe coughed again.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re just…a man, brother.\u00a0 No more…no less.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cWhen did you get to be so wise?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s energy was fading.\u00a0 His words slurred as he spoke.\u00a0 \u201cWhen…had to take care…myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s words stabbed him.\u00a0 \u201cGod, Joe.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t….\u00a0 I….\u201d\u00a0 It was so<\/em> hard to say.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry I wasn\u2019t here when Hoss died.\u00a0 When your wife, your child….\u00a0 I know there was nothing I could have done about Hoss, but I might have been able to prevent….\u201d<\/p>\n

Still fading, Joe let out a little sigh before speaking.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, I…thought I couldn\u2019t survive when Alice….\u201d\u00a0 He drew a pain-filled breath against the memory.\u00a0 \u201cWhen Alice…and the baby died.\u00a0 Pa…told me something….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Joe?\u201d\u00a0 He needed<\/em> to hear it.\u00a0 He’d been so long without their father’s wisdom to guide him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was after…I tried….Well, after…I thought about…ending it.\u00a0 Pa came…to my room.\u00a0 Sat by me.\u00a0 \u2018Never regret…anything from your past…son\u2019<\/em>, he said.\u00a0 \u2018One day you\u2019ll…look back and thank it.\u2019<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank it?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe laughed.\u00a0 \u201cFor…hurting you.\u00a0 Pa…said you\u2019d thank it…for…hurting you so much…that you decided to be…stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam reached out and squeezed his brother\u2019s arm and then slipped his own in behind Little Joe and pulled him close.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s head fell to his shoulder as they sat there in the dark, breathing in dust and debris, waiting to suffocate or for the shaft to cave-in and bury them.<\/p>\n

Together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dawn broke as Kirk and Spock surveyed the damage the Klingons\u2019 explosives had caused.\u00a0 They\u2019d collapsed the main entry to the mine and partially caved-in the shaft.\u00a0 This was it, Kirk thought, shaking his head and not even slightly amused.\u00a0 The \u2018freak\u2019 accident in the historical record that revealed the gold vein and turned Bodie into a prosperous town.<\/p>\n

At what a cost.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d looked and there were chinks between the rocks so, if the brothers had managed to make it into the narrow shaft, they were getting at least a minimal amount of oxygen.\u00a0 Even with Spock\u2019s Vulcan strength they\u2019d been unable to move any of the fallen rock, it was so tightly wedged in.\u00a0 They\u2019d tried calling out to the pair but, so far, there had been no reply.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t necessarily mean either or both men were dead, but if they were unconscious from lack of air, that did mean time was running out.<\/p>\n

What he wouldn\u2019t have given to be able to use a phaser!<\/p>\n

Running his hand over his face, Kirk considered the fall of rock before him and then turned to Joe Cartwright\u2019s pregnant wife who sat on top of a low boulder nearby.\u00a0 The dawn was breaking and it set her amber hair on fire.\u00a0 She was a strong woman and, once the shock of what happened had worn off, had done all she could to help them.\u00a0 The problem was, now, there was nothing left to do.<\/p>\n

Nothing but wait for the inevitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnne?\u201d he asked as he came to stand beside her.\u00a0 \u201cDo you need anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up.\u00a0 He read the unspoken answer in her eyes.\u00a0 She needed her husband and the father of her baby, alive and whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cNo, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk sat beside her and took her hand in his. \u201cDon\u2019t give up hope.\u00a0 Not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne\u2019s eyes flicked to the wagon next to which Curran Theron lay, trussed like a pig awaiting the spit.\u00a0 Her voice was small.\u00a0 \u201cHow can a man hate so much?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Spock who answered.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t realized the Vulcan had joined them.\u00a0 \u201cCurran Theron does not hate.\u00a0 His crime is worse than that.\u00a0 He feels no ill will, nor acts from any desire other than to spread chaos throughout the universe.\u00a0 You, your husband, the Captain and I, to him, we are nothing but expendable pieces in a galactic game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk looked at his friend.\u00a0 Was that a tremor of emotion in his voice?<\/p>\n

\u201cSpock, are you \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk stopped.\u00a0 There were horses \u2013 many<\/em> horses thundering toward them.\u00a0 Rising to his feet, he placed himself between whoever it was that would arrive any second and the grieving woman.\u00a0 Seconds later he heard her sharp intact of breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen!\u201d Anne breathed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was exhausted.\u00a0 He\u2019d ridden through the night without sleep.\u00a0 He was also entirely awake and primed to take action the second it appeared it was necessary.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what he had expected to find when he rounded the bend and saw the Bodie mine, but it had not been two bedraggled men and the very dusty and dirty, tear-streaked face of his daughter-in-law.<\/p>\n

He was off the horse before it stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnne!\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man saw Jim Kirk step aside as Anne recognized him and rose to her feet.\u00a0 A heartbeat later she was running toward him.\u00a0 As she caught hold of him, clenching him so tightly he stumbled back, his daughter-in-law\u2019s composure failed and she began to sob.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d she breathed.\u00a0 \u201cOh…Pa….\u201d<\/p>\n

As the others in his party arrived, Ben placed his hand on her head and soothed her quietly, even as he looked over it to meet the blond man\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 He read no despair in them, but there was also little hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Kirk joined him.\u00a0 Ben knew the expression on his face.\u00a0 It was one a soldier gave their general when forced to acknowledge they had failed.\u00a0 \u201cAlive, sir, we believe, but….\u201d\u00a0 Kirk drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cYou son is trapped in a shaft leading to the surface.\u00a0 I am afraid, Ben,\u201d the young man\u2019s eyes flicked to Anne, \u201cthat both his air and time are running out.\u201d<\/p>\n

His daughter-in-law drew in a breath and let it out in a strangled cry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk started to respond, but then another man moved forward.\u00a0 One Ben had not seen before.\u00a0 He was dressed all in black as Adam had often been.\u00a0 \u201cHe is not, sir,\u201d the newcomer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men exchanged glances.\u00a0 Ben saw something pass between them.\u00a0 Almost as if they had come to a joint decision \u2013 as if both felt the need to hold something back.\u00a0 It was Kirk who finally answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spock glanced at his friend, grateful Jim had agreed that this was not the time to tell Ben Cartwright his oldest son still lived – and was trapped with his brother in the mine.\u00a0 He then headed for the others who had ridden in with the older man.\u00a0 The first he encountered was Montgomery Scott.\u00a0 Beside him was an older man whose wry eyes and determined look reminded him of their head of security.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Spock,\u201d the Scotsman sighed.\u00a0 \u201cDo ye hae any idea how long we\u2019ve been lookin\u2019 for ye?\u201d<\/p>\n

One ebon eyebrow peaked. \u00a0\u201cAssuming you began the moment I left the Enterprise for the second time, I would calculate it to be six-point-two-four months and \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t really want an answer, Spock.\u00a0 That\u2019s the human way to say \u2018we missed you\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan turned to find Leonard McCoy coming toward him.\u00a0 He was limping.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor, are you injured?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cTortured.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been \u2013 tortured by a bad pair of boots.\u201d<\/p>\n

He really had no reply to that.<\/p>\n

The older man who had come with the crew of the Enterprise had been eyeing the elder Cartwright and Joe\u2019s wife.\u00a0 He turned to him and asked, \u201cYou gonna tell us what happened, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 It was the closest he could come to showing his disappointment.\u00a0 \u201cWe arrived too late.\u00a0 The men who took Mrs. Cartwright delivered her husband into the mine and then…detonated the explosives, causing a cave-in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just how come you were late?\u201d the older man demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Sheriff Roy Coffee, Spock,\u201d Scott explained.<\/p>\n

He inclined his head toward the lawman.\u00a0 One black eyebrow lifted.\u00a0 It seemed simple enough.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe were too late because we did not make it in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

His statement unexpectedly raised the sheriff \u2018s ire. \u201cNow, you listen here….\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly Kirk was at his side.\u00a0 \u201cSheriff?\u00a0 \u00a0Sheriff Coffee, you\u2019ll have to forgive my friend.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk shot him a look.\u00a0 \u201cEnglish is his second language.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, Captain, it was my fourth….\u201d<\/p>\n

This time the look said, \u2018shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did so.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain?\u201d Roy Coffee asked them both suspiciously.\u00a0 \u201cYou two soldiers \u2013 or sailors?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk nodded. \u201cSort of.\u00a0 Sheriff, I hate to tell you what to do, but now that we have more man-power, might it not be wise to see if we can move any of that rock?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam shifted his brother\u2019s weight.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s head fell to his lap as he did.\u00a0 When he touched his skin, he felt the fever rising.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d also come away with fingers thick with blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u00a0 Joe, wake up!\u201d he demanded, gently slapping his brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 Doc Martin always said not to let a man with a concussion sleep.\u00a0 He might never wake up again.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u201d<\/p>\n

The only answer he got was a vague sort of grunt.<\/p>\n

Adam felt like a heel for doing it, but he sucked it up and said, \u201cJoe.\u00a0 Anne needs <\/em>you.\u00a0 So does your child.\u00a0 Joe, you have<\/em> to fight \u2013 you have to stay with <\/em>me so you can return to them!\u201d\u00a0 When his brother didn\u2019t stir, he pressed him.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u201d<\/p>\n

This time he groaned and his eyes opened, sort of.\u00a0 \u201cAnne….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s waiting, Joe.\u00a0 Outside this hellhole.\u00a0 She\u2019s waiting for you.\u00a0 You have to stay awake so you can get back to her!\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother blinked.\u00a0 His eyes opened wider, this time with some amount of clarity.\u00a0 He looked around.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re…still trapped?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 But I think I heard something, just a moment ago.\u00a0 Joe, I think someone is trying to reach us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had been faint, but he was sure he had heard the sound of rocks being pulled away and of men grunting as they labored to move them.\u00a0 He\u2019d definitely heard voices.\u00a0 At first he thought they were in a dream, but the longer he\u2019d listened the more certain he\u2019d become they were real.<\/p>\n

They were real.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Joe breathed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019ll…be pa.\u00a0 He\u2019d never…give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wondered idly if his father had given up on him.\u00a0 It sounded like Joe had.\u00a0 But then he couldn\u2019t blame him \u2013 couldn\u2019t blame either of them, really \u00a0\u2013 not after what had happened with Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, Joe. Pa wouldn\u2019t give up.\u00a0 You <\/em>can\u2019t give up either.\u00a0 You hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s head moved.\u00a0 He thought it was an affirmative.<\/p>\n

A second later a cloud of dust covered them as a series of rocks tumbled from the pile blocking their exit to the top of the shaft.\u00a0 The light increased.\u00a0 It appeared to be the rosy light of dawn.\u00a0 Adam laid his brother down and then crawled over him, moving toward it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere!\u201d he shouted.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re here!\u201d<\/p>\n

A muffled cheer went up.\u00a0 Someone asked a question.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t understand it, but he could anticipate it.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe\u2019s alive,\u201d he called back.\u00a0 \u201cDo you hear me?\u00a0 Tell Anne!\u00a0 Joe\u2019s alive!\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone went running and then even more rocks fell.<\/p>\n

A second later a hand reached through a small opening the rock-fall had created.<\/p>\n

Adam gripped it and held on for all he was worth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI have him!\u201d Ben cried.\u00a0 \u201cGet the rest of this rock out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew it was difficult.\u00a0 Jim Kirk\u2019s people had formed a line through which they\u2019d passed stone after stone.\u00a0 Montgomery Scott was an engineer and it hadn\u2019t taken him long to find the needed tools in one of the empty shacks and then use them to begin to remove the rocks blocking the shaft in an ordered fashion so as not to cause any more damage.<\/p>\n

He was in the way and he knew it, but there was no way on God\u2019s green earth that he was going to let go of his son\u2019s hand!<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u201d he called.\u00a0 \u201cI have you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Nyota Uhura bent beside him.\u00a0 She used a wet cloth to clear his eyes.\u00a0 Then she smiled.\u00a0 \u201cIt won\u2019t be long, sir,\u201d she said, packing all of his hopes and fears into that one phrase.<\/p>\n

But would it be soon enough?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you will, sir,\u201d the young Chinese man said.\u00a0 \u201cPush aside as\u00a0 best you can.\u00a0 We need to get this large rock out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben did as he was told, but he didn\u2019t let go.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t<\/em> let go.<\/p>\n

The man named Spock moved in next.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen it before, for his size the odd black-haired man was a mountain of strength.\u00a0 Spock took hold of the boulder and pulled \u2013 hard.\u00a0 A second later it came away and a dusty and dirty figure tumbled out into his arms.\u00a0 Ben had expected Joe.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s heart skipped a beat.<\/p>\n

It was Adam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SIX<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk glanced at the wagon near which their two prisoners sat, hands and feet bound.\u00a0 They had Theron and Deets.\u00a0 In the excitement of the explosion Brewer had gotten away.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought about pursuing the Klingon, but decided at the moment that it was a waste of time and energy.<\/p>\n

He was probably halfway back to Qo\u2019noS by now.<\/p>\n

The blond man turned his attention then to the makeshift structure they had created out of branches and bark and covered with boughs and leaves from nearby trees.\u00a0 It housed two very sick men.\u00a0 Though the elder Cartwright brother had not been wounded \u2013 at least not in any way they could find \u2013 he had fallen unconscious in his father\u2019s arms and had yet to wake up.\u00a0 Joe, well, Joe Cartwright was far from being out of danger. When he\u2019d talked to McCoy, the doctor had growled and complained about an era where medicine had yet to advance to the level of Spock\u2019s stone knives and bear skins.\u00a0 The blow that Deets had given to Joe\u2019s head had broken the skin and become infected.\u00a0 His fever was high.\u00a0 A course of powerful antibiotics could save him.<\/p>\n

Without them, McCoy warned, he might die.<\/p>\n

Housed in the moment within the construction were four people.\u00a0 Anne Cartwright would not leave her husband\u2019s side.\u00a0 Bones said it was all right.\u00a0 She\u2019d been a great help to him and was a lady to be reckoned with.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright sat between his two sons, fearful for the one and filled with wonder at the other \u2013 at the son who had gone missing so many years ago, whom he had feared dead, who had been pulled from beneath the earth in a second birth and was now alive and yet in danger.<\/p>\n

Across the camp his crew was sleeping too.\u00a0 They\u2019d been on their feet for more than twenty-four hours.\u00a0 It had taken an order, of course, to get them to do so.<\/p>\n

Kirk ran a hand over his face.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there was no one around who outranked him<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to get some sleep,\u201d a familiar voice chided, \u201cunless you want to end up in a third bed in my make-shift sickbay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim looked up to find McCoy watching him.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s Theron yet to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend inclined his head toward the wagon beside which the trussed malcontent and rogue Originator sat.\u00a0 \u201cSpock\u2019s gone to see to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk looked over his shoulder.\u00a0 He could see his friend\u2019s long lanky form advancing slowly toward the wagon.\u00a0 A frown furrowed his brow as he turned back.\u00a0 \u201cAbout Spock….\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s something wrong.\u00a0 I can\u2019t put my finger on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want me to order him to let you examine him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo need to antagonize him yet.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got my eye on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk glanced again at his first officer.\u00a0 Spock had stopped by Theron.\u00a0 His tall form was rigid, disapproval of the rogue Originator written into every line.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThat makes two of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Curran Theron\u2019s smile was as mad as it was maddening.\u00a0 His crimson eyes lit with a queer delight as he looked up and asked, \u201cI bet you think you\u2019ve won, Vulcan.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIdle speculation is as worthless an occupation as betting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Originator laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s why you\u2019ll never understand.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cDo you play chess, Spock?\u201d<\/p>\n

Frowning was illogical, but it was genetically impossible for him to avoid doing so thanks to his mother\u2019s DNA.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about poker?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a moment Spock was struck dumb by the absurdity of a being whose species had created a link to all of time and space engaging in a simple card game.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Theron was not an Albino, but he had chosen to make himself look like one, which in some ways was a window into his twisted mind.\u00a0 Spock pursed his lips.\u00a0 A window he should <\/em>have been able to open.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you\u2019re wrong.\u00a0 You\u2019re playing it now,\u201d the Originator laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve dealt you\u00a0 a hand and you\u2019re losing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock stiffened.\u00a0 \u201cYou have been defeated and are under arrest.\u00a0 I fail to see how you could in any way consider yourself as having the upper hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curran Theron\u2019s voice changed.\u00a0 It deepened and grew more intense.\u00a0 \u201cDid you really think for one Earth minute that a being such as I <\/em>could be incapacitated and held by such a simple thing as ropes around the wrist?\u00a0 I walk with the gods<\/em>, Spock,\u201d he declared.\u00a0 \u201cAnd soon, you <\/em>will too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theron\u2019s last words were close to a whisper.\u00a0 They carried both a warning and a threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not over.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stirred.\u00a0 He sucked in air and ran both hands over his stubbled cheeks.\u00a0 He\u2019d reached into that shaft, meaning to save one son and had found, in fact, he\u2019d saved two.<\/em>\u00a0 His eldest son, whom he had given up for dead, was alive.\u00a0 <\/em>Adam was here.<\/p>\n

Adam was home.<\/em><\/p>\n

The older man turned and glanced at his other son.\u00a0 Anne had not left Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 She was there still, asleep, her head laying on his son\u2019s chest.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s hand was draped over her shoulder.\u00a0 Sadly, Joseph was far from well.\u00a0 Doctor McCoy\u2019d said he had done all he could before he left, the rest was up to Joe now.\u00a0 Ben leaned back and looked at the green boughs above him.\u00a0 How many times had he heard those words concerning this, his last born child?\u00a0 His son had a strong constitution.\u00a0 Joe had survived more than any man should be asked to survive.\u00a0 Still, there would be an end, as there had been an end for Hoss, for Marie, and for his other wives.<\/p>\n

He prayed Joe\u2019s would not come before his own.<\/p>\n

As the older man sat there, thinking, his oldest boy stirred.\u00a0 A low moan escaped Adam\u2019s dusty lips.\u00a0 He seemed to grow quiet and then, without warning, shot up out of the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben caught his shoulders, still amazed that the touch was real.\u00a0 \u201cSon, you\u2019re brother is beside you.\u00a0 He\u2019s…hurt, but he\u2019s here.\u00a0 You kept him alive, Adam.\u00a0 You saved him.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son blinked once, twice, and then focused on his face.\u00a0 \u2018Pa?\u2019 he mouthed and then reached out and touched him as if trying to determine whether or not he was real.<\/p>\n

He knew the feeling.<\/p>\n

Ben caught his hand and squeezed it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m real<\/em>, Adam,\u201d he said, \u201cas real as you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unexpectedly, Adam began to cry.\u00a0\u00a0 Tears streamed down his dusty cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cPa,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry for what, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor leaving you.\u00a0 You and Joe and…Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIf I had been here, maybe….\u00a0 Hoss, Pa.\u00a0 And…Joe\u2019s wife and child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was<\/em> here, son,\u201d he said, his heart breaking as well as his voice.\u00a0 \u201cThere was nothing I could do.\u201d\u00a0 Ben paused.\u00a0 When he spoke the words he meant them.\u00a0 It had taken a long time, but he did<\/em> mean them.\u00a0 \u201cGod\u2019s will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyes went to his brother.\u00a0 \u201cGod\u2019s will….\u201d he mouthed.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBe done.\u201d<\/p>\n

His son fell silent then, as if dealing with that in his own way.\u00a0 A moment later his eyes returned to him.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t go away because I wanted to, Pa.\u00a0 There was something….\u00a0 Something I had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEach man plots his own course, son.\u00a0 It does no good for another to question it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Pa,\u201d Adam insisted, gripping his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI need<\/em> you to understand.\u00a0 It was for Joe.\u00a0 It was to protect<\/em> Joe.\u201d\u00a0 He watched as his eldest son\u2019s eyes went to his brother and his sleeping wife.\u00a0 \u201cSo he could have a life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends…or for his brother,\u201d Ben quoted, his words quiet.<\/p>\n

It took a moment, but Adam nodded.\u00a0 The grip on his fingers was returned.\u00a0 \u201cI love you, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019m so<\/em> glad to be home.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d told his sons that tears were a blessing and he meant it.<\/p>\n

He did nothing to stop their flow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk pulled Scotty to the side.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Sheriff Coffee?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe left, Captain.\u00a0 He\u2019s looking for the man whot escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n

He let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s hope he doesn\u2019t find him.\u00a0 I\u2019d hate to think of a local sheriff going up against a Klingon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotty laughed.\u00a0 \u201cMy money would be on the sheriff, Captain,\u201d he said with a wink. \u201cHe\u2019s a bonny man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Absently, he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are Uhura and Sulu?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding guard, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI want you three to return to our time and the Enterprise and wait for my orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve tampered enough with the time stream.\u00a0 The more of us there are in the past, the more possible damage we can do.\u00a0 McCoy has to remain for the time being.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright can\u2019t be left alone without a doctor.\u00a0 Spock,\u201d he glanced in the direction of the wagon.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll watch Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotty frowned. \u201cAre you thinkin\u2019 there\u2019s somethin\u2019 wrong with Mister Spock, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a feeling \u2013 another one of those inexplicable \u00a0hunches<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Scotty.\u00a0 I hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well, sir.\u00a0 I\u2019ll gather up the others and we\u2019ll use the time bracelets to return.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTake them off the minute you get there and hand them over to security.\u00a0 Don\u2019t for any<\/em> reason use them again.\u201d\u00a0 He drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cEven though you\u2019ve only used them once, I don\u2019t want to take any chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about you, Captain?\u00a0 You\u2019ve used it three times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk grinned.\u00a0 \u201cFive <\/em>seems to be the charm.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of why I\u2019m worried about Spock.\u00a0 He\u2019s used it four times so far as I can deduce.\u201d\u00a0 He looked for the Vulcan\u2019s slender form near the wagon, but didn\u2019t see him.\u00a0 Spock must have finished with Theron and gone on to something else. \u00a0\u201cIn order for Spock to return to our time, he will have to use the manipulator again.\u00a0 I want Bones there looking out for him when he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that the blond man left Scotty to inform the others of his decision.\u00a0 As he crossed back over to the makeshift hospital a pale glow lit the sky behind him and he knew they were gone.\u00a0 That left him, Bones, and Spock to mop up the mess they had made in history.\u00a0 Theron would need to be taken to a Starfleet facility, all of the bracelets gathered and quarantined, and it would probably be wise to go to Gateway to check in with the Guardian and see if it could show them the past they had lived and the future they might have unwittingly created.<\/p>\n

Bones was coming out of the tent when he arrived.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same,\u201d the doctor replied, his tone discouraged.\u00a0 \u201cDamned<\/em> if I don\u2019t feel useless!\u00a0 The man has a simple infection and it\u2019s probably going to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk scowled.\u00a0 \u201cYou really think he might die?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a doctor not a prognosticator.\u00a0 It\u2019s up to Joe.\u00a0 He\u2019s young and strong.\u00a0 He may make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded and then glanced toward the wagon.\u00a0 \u201cHave you seen Spock?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHe was over there a minute ago.\u201d\u00a0 When he looked and didn\u2019t find him, he added, \u201cWhere\u2019d he go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019m going to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk hastened his pace as he drew near the last place he had seen Spock.\u00a0 That inner sense he had was tingling.\u00a0 When he arrived, the tingle turned to a shock.\u00a0 Curran Theron was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n

Neither was Spock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Vulcan stumbled and almost fell.\u00a0 It had happened so fast.\u00a0 Theron had appeared to be subdued, his hands bound, his feet hobbled.\u00a0 Then, suddenly, he was free.\u00a0 Having had no direct contact with the Originators before, it appeared they had underestimated their powers.\u00a0 Theron had allowed<\/em> himself to be taken.\u00a0 He could have escaped at any time.\u00a0 He chose not to.\u00a0 He chose to let everything unfold as it had, knowing that \u2013 no matter what \u2013 his will would<\/em> be done.\u00a0 Even now, he meant to go back, meant to leave Joseph Cartwright in that mine.\u00a0 Then he\u2019d kidnap Joseph\u2019s wife, in effect kidnapping his son.\u00a0 Theron would rear the boy as his own, corrupting him, bending the child to his will and molding the last of his descendants to become one of the most destructive forces in the universe.<\/p>\n

Jim Kirk unleashed.<\/p>\n

Before that he would play with them, as a cat did with mice.\u00a0 He would torture McCoy, ruin Kirk, and him, well, Theron had told him what he intended to do with him \u2013 destroy his mind.<\/p>\n

Though there was no one Spock would admit it to, that scared him.\u00a0 It scared him so much he had decided that logic dictated illogical action.<\/p>\n

He was going to kill the man with his bare hands.<\/p>\n

Even as the thought crossed the Vulcan\u2019s mind, Curran Theron turned to look at him.\u00a0 It was as if the Originator could read his mind.\u00a0 \u201cBehold the noble Vulcan!\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThe archetype of non-violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

If he could<\/em> read his mind, Theron didn\u2019t need to be told.\u00a0 Half of his heritage was human.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not let you destroy Jim,\u201d Spock warned as he walked.\u00a0 \u201cNow or<\/em> in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how do you propose to stop me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not know how,\u201d he admitted, \u201cbut I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rogue Originator caught him by the arm and spun him around.\u00a0 Theron\u2019s crimson eyes blazed a trail into his near-black ones.\u00a0 \u201cTell me, Spock,\u201d he breathed, \u201cwhat is it you fear most?\u201d\u00a0 Theron\u2019s hand touched his.\u00a0 Cold fingers encircled his wrist and then grasped the bracelet he wore.<\/p>\n

Spock drew in a sharp breath.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Originator\u2019 smile was wicked and pregnant with pleasure.\u00a0 He took hold of the bracelet and pressed a hidden switch, releasing all of its remaining venom in a single deadly burst.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Adam opened his eyes again, it wasn\u2019t to find his pa but a lovely woman keeping watch over him.\u00a0 She sat between him and Joe and, by the way she was holding his little brother\u2019s hand, he knew she must be his wife.\u00a0 The woman was beautiful as he would have expected, with deep golden blonde hair and a face that would have moved a master painter, but there was more to her than that.\u00a0 Even as she held her wounded husband\u2019s hand and tears ran down her cheeks, her eyes were bright with hope.\u00a0\u00a0 He continued to watch her until she blinked and turned to look at him.<\/p>\n

She must have sensed somehow he was awake.<\/p>\n

That beautiful face lit with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He returned it.\u00a0 \u201cAnd whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at Joe, leaned over and kissed his forehead, and then placed her husband\u2019s hand on his chest.\u00a0 Turning fully toward him then, she said, \u201cMy name is Anne.\u00a0 Anne Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes went to her belly, which was big with child.\u00a0 \u201cMrs. Anne Cartwright, I hope?\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

She laughed too.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Uncle Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sobered him.\u00a0 Again, the loss of those twelve years away struck him as hard as the falling rocks in the mine.\u00a0 He\u2019d missed so much \u2013 saying goodbye to Hoss, helping his brother through his loss, Joe\u2019s courtship and wedding….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d he sighed, shifting his covers and sitting up.\u00a0 \u201cJust feeling sorry for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at him, seeming to read his mind.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter why you went away.\u00a0 You\u2019re here now.\u00a0 You….\u201d\u00a0 Her voice broke.\u00a0 \u201cYou were here to save your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

He felt her hand on his.\u00a0 \u201cWe can\u2019t question God, Adam.\u00a0 About Hoss or Alice.\u00a0 If she had lived, I wouldn\u2019t be here and Joe….\u00a0 Well, he wouldn\u2019t be the man he is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was it Joe had said as they sat in the mine shaft waiting for their air to run out?\u00a0 That God allowed a man to be hurt so he would decide<\/em> to be stronger?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re very wise,\u201d he said with a little smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, she\u2019s…not,\u201d a tired voice remarked, so softly they almost missed it. \u201c…just…stubborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne pivoted sharply.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u201d<\/p>\n

His grin was pale, but it was there.\u00a0 Adam watched as his brother weakly lifted his hand and his wife caught it.\u00a0 \u201cHey…beautiful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Adam closed his eyes.\u00a0 He sighed with relief.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t over by a long shot.\u00a0 There was the threat of internal injuries, of infection, of…so much.\u00a0 But his brother was awake and alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you two awake aren\u2019t a sight for a weary old physician\u2019s sore eyes,\u201d a tired voice pronounced, opening Adam\u2019s eyes again.\u00a0\u00a0 He looked and found Doctor McCoy standing just within the door of the small structure.\u00a0 The older man was grinning.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m beginning to believe I could cure the common cold!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam began to rise to his feet.<\/p>\n

A hand on his shoulder held him down.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you wait a minute, young man.\u00a0 Until you have a permission slip from this old Georgia doctor, you\u2019re not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to….\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like to talk to my father, Doctor McCoy.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s eyes flicked to Anne and Joe.\u00a0 \u201cAlone.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy lifted his hand. \u201cOh, I see.\u00a0 Well, I guess that couldn\u2019t hurt.\u201d\u00a0 He brightened.\u00a0 \u201cI just left off talking with him myself.\u00a0 He was saying goodbye to Sheriff Coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRoy left?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheriff needed to return to his duties in Virginia City.\u00a0 Your father asked him to check in at the Ponderosa and let the men there know what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Theron and Deets?\u00a0 Roy left them here?\u00a0 Unguarded?\u201d\u00a0 Even though he knew the rogue Originator and altered Klingon had no business in Roy\u2019s jail, he found it hard to believe the seasoned lawman hadn\u2019t fought for just that.<\/p>\n

McCoy smiled.\u00a0 \u201cSon, you\u2019ve been traveling with the sour-tempered, close-mouthed first officer of the Enterprise.\u00a0 Jim Kirk is blessed with a winning smile and an even more winning way with words.\u00a0 He convinced your sheriff that he was a Pinkerton detective and, as such, had jurisdiction over the prisoners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam snorted.\u00a0 \u201cAmazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Jim.\u201d\u00a0 McCoy nodded toward his brother.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you just let me get to the man who needs me before I start feeling useless.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor nodded toward the entrance.\u00a0 \u201cYou go talk to your father.\u201d<\/p>\n

He rose to his feet, a bit more shakily than he had expected.\u00a0 As he reached the opening, the doctor called him again.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, and Adam….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Doc?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep it short.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are they?\u201d Kirk demanded of the remaining prisoner.\u00a0\u00a0 He had removed Deets\u2019 gag and was glaring at the Klingon.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Theron?\u00a0 What happened to Spock?\u201d<\/p>\n

Deets spit and then wet his lips with his tongue.\u00a0 \u201cYour man was unprepared.\u00a0 Theron overcame him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock?\u00a0 Unprepared?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re lying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would I lie<\/em>, Kirk?\u00a0 What would it gain me?\u201d\u00a0 He pulled at his restraints.\u00a0 \u201cRemove these and I will show you whose side I am on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were working for Theron.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d he growled.\u00a0 \u201cI did not work for that Ferengi<\/em> dog!\u00a0 I was assigned to K\u2019Resh by the High Command, the man you knew as Carter.\u00a0 I was fulfilling my duty, nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk mulled it over.\u00a0 He\u2019d pegged Carter instantly as Intelligence.\u00a0 Deets was a soldier and he knew what that meant since, in a way, he was one himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your true name?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Something sparked in Deets\u2019 black eyes.\u00a0 Respect, he thought.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDrax.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrax,\u201d Kirk repeated.\u00a0 He drew a breath and let it out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like to trust you, but I\u2019m not sure I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was surprised to see Drax\u2019s eyes move to the structure where the two Cartwright men lay.\u00a0 \u201cTheron is a spineless coward,\u201d he spat.\u00a0 \u201cI have seen bravery here unmatched by our young Klingon men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Cartwright,\u201d Drax explained, his lips curling with a sneer that was what a Klingon used for a smile.\u00a0 \u201cThat one has the heart of a warrior.\u00a0 I would be honored to kill the man who meant to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk winced.\u00a0 \u201cHow about you help capture him instead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Drax\u2019s eyes were at first confused and then lit with delight.\u00a0 \u201cAh….\u00a0 So he may be tortured first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c…right.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d deal with that expectation later.<\/p>\n

Moving behind the Klingon, Kirk cut Drax\u2019s bonds and then stood back, prepared to defend himself if necessary.\u00a0 When the giant just stood there at military ease, he breathed a sigh of relief.\u00a0 With a glance at the structure from which Adam Cartwright was just emerging, he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright had been watching an exchange between Jim Kirk and one of the men who had tried to harm Joseph.\u00a0 These men \u2013 Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the others \u2013 they were good men, but they were…wrong.\u00a0 Something about them was \u00a0simply wrong.<\/p>\n

Just like something was wrong with his eldest son\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

Ben drew in a breath and turned to look at him.\u00a0 In some ways it was almost like Adam had never left.\u00a0 In fact, Adam looked <\/em>like he had never left.<\/p>\n

He looked as young as Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam took him by the arm, almost as if needing to know he was real.\u00a0 His son stared into his eyes for several heartbeats before releasing him.\u00a0 Then he smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI imagine you have questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

His lips curled with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cAbout a million of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll warn you up front, Pa, there\u2019s almost a million I can\u2019t answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben reached out and touched his face.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, son.\u00a0 You\u2019re home.\u00a0 That\u2019s all<\/em> that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam hung his head.\u00a0 When he looked up again, Ben saw the face of the little boy who had been through everything with him.\u00a0 \u201cI just want you to understand one thing, Pa.\u00a0 Like I said before, I didn\u2019t choose to go away because I wanted…needed something for myself.\u00a0 Oh, I\u2019d talked about it often enough.\u201d\u00a0 He paused and his voice changed.\u00a0 It became filled with wonder.\u00a0 \u201cI talked about how I wanted to see strange, far-off and distant places.\u00a0 I…did that, and it was amazing.\u00a0 But the only reason I left, Pa, was for family.<\/em>\u00a0 For Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wanderlust that didn\u2019t <\/em>take you,\u201d Ben asked, his gaze locked on his son\u2019s, \u201cis it satisfied now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam glanced at the place where his brother lay and then back.\u00a0 \u201cIt is, Pa.\u00a0 It is.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to be anywhere but here.\u201d\u00a0 A second look of wonder overtook his handsome features.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to be an Uncle!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 And he \u2013 he would be a grandfather.<\/p>\n

There were truly miracles still left in the world.<\/p>\n

Letting the tear that had formed in his eye fall unimpeded, Ben sniffed and nodded toward the structure.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go see that brother of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Adam fell into place beside him and they began to move, Ben halted and turned toward his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Pa?\u201d Adam asked, doing the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have one question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s black \u2013 not gray \u2013 but black<\/em> eyebrows peaked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever it is they gave you where you went that\u2019s kept you so young looking….\u00a0 They don\u2019t sell it in bottles, do they?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s heart sank to his toes when he heard a low, almost bestial noise. \u00a0It was the kind one animal made over another, expressing without words a loss that had<\/em> no words.<\/p>\n

The problem was, it sounded human…or…Vulcan<\/p>\n

He glanced at the Klingon jogging at his side.\u00a0 Drax had heard it too and recognized it as well.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been on enough battlefields.<\/p>\n

With a nod of his head, the blond man indicated the warrior should head to the right, while he took the left.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what they were looking for, but everything in him told him it had to do with Spock and Theron.<\/p>\n

He just prayed the rogue Originator was also the originator of the cry.<\/p>\n

Of course, prayer had never availed him much.<\/p>\n

Breaking through the trees, the first thing he saw was Spock writhing on the ground.\u00a0 \u201cDrax!\u201d he shouted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve found Spock!\u00a0 Theron has to be somewhere nearby!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is mine!\u201d came the forceful answer.\u00a0 The Klingon shouted a battle cry and then he heard him breaking through the trees.<\/p>\n

Dropping to his knees beside his first officer and friend, Kirk caught his shoulders and tried to steady him.\u00a0 \u201cSpock!\u00a0 Spock!\u00a0 It\u2019s Jim.\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u00a0 It\u2019s Jim<\/em>, Spock!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan quieted, minimally.\u00a0 He still moaned and moved from side to side, but his movements were less violent than before.\u00a0 His lips parted but the only thing that came out was a strangled, \u201cNo….\u201d<\/p>\n

What had Theron done to him?\u00a0 Quickly examining him with his eyes, the only thing Jim could see that was out of place was a ring of deep green on Spock\u2019s wrist beneath the time manipulator he wore.\u00a0 On closer examination he realized the green was running along the Vulcan\u2019s veins, almost like blood poisoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpock?\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u201d Kirk heard the tremble in his own voice. \u201cWhat did Theron do to you?\u201d\u00a0 Even though it was a waste of time, he wished he had a communicator \u2013 wished he could call Scotty back on the ship and forward in time and have him beam McCoy to his side in an instant.\u00a0 \u201cSpock?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time the Vulcan\u2019s eyes opened.\u00a0 They contained something Kirk had seldom seen \u2013 fear.<\/p>\n

\u201c…Jim?\u201d<\/p>\n

He gripped him harder.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Spock.\u00a0 It\u2019s me.\u00a0 Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheron….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gone.\u00a0 Tell me what he did, Spock.\u00a0 Tell me \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

Vulcan strength bruised his flesh.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph…must save<\/em>…Joe….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s safe, Spock.\u00a0 Remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 There was a desperation in those eyes as well, something also seldom seen.\u00a0 \u201cSave him…Jim.\u00a0 Save…the future….\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim glanced the way Drax had gone. Turning back to Spock he said, \u201cI can\u2019t leave you alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes…save Joseph.\u00a0 Send…McCoy….\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock stopped struggling then as he lost the battle to remain conscious.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d had to make many hard calls.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d have to make many more, but this was one of the hardest.<\/p>\n

Kirk left Spock laying where he was and ran for all he was worth back to the camp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anne Cartwright stood and stretched and then placed a hand in the middle of her aching back.\u00a0\u00a0 She was weary beyond words.\u00a0 Since Joe had awakened briefly, giving them hope of a full recovery, a weariness had overcome her borne, she was sure, on the back of everything that had happened over the last few days.\u00a0 Her other hand went to her belly.\u00a0 She had heard of maternal impressions and knew a child could be marked for life by what its mother endured.\u00a0 She could only hope that the love and strength of the Cartwright men would be what her son felt rather than her fear.<\/p>\n

She had been so<\/em> afraid.<\/p>\n

With a sigh she scolded herself.\u00a0 What a fool she had been for walking away all those years ago!\u00a0 She could have been married to Joe for over seven years now and had two or three little ones.\u00a0 She would have known his love all that time, would have shared the joy of \u00a0their children born.\u00a0 Now, here she was, keeping watch over him, broken…maybe dying.<\/p>\n

Was that it?\u00a0 Would she be a widow, raising a boy without a father\u2019s strong hand as Ben had had to raise his three boys without a woman\u2019s touch?<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s bed was empty.\u00a0 He and his father had just left.\u00a0 They\u2019d checked in on them and then gone to find Jim Kirk.\u00a0 She wondered about Adam.\u00a0 Once he had cleaned up by running a wet cloth over his face and removed the dust from the mine, she\u2019d been startled to see that Joe\u2019s older<\/em> brother barely looked older than Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe by a year or two, but certainly not<\/em> twelve or thirteen.<\/p>\n

There were mysteries within mysteries here.<\/p>\n

As the thought crossed her mind, her husband moaned and she turned toward him.<\/p>\n

Anne gasped.<\/p>\n

Theron Vance stood beside Joe\u2019s bed.\u00a0 He had the fingers of one hand entwined in her husband\u2019s curly hair.\u00a0 The other rested on Joe\u2019s throat as if he would throttle him.\u00a0 Theron\u2019s crimson eyes lit with triumph.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cards are on the table, my dear,\u201d the villain gloated.\u00a0 \u201cI win.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEVEN<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Captain Drax of the Klingon Imperial High Command clung to the shadows near the human\u2019s camp.\u00a0 He watched as Captain James Kirk, the bane of the Empire, halted and leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees in an attempt to recover from his quick and impressive sprint through the trees.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam Cartwright, the brother of Joe, turned toward him as the Starfleet captain arrived.\u00a0 The oldest Cartwright son had been standing near the wagon with his father and seemed to instantly understand what had happened.\u00a0 Apparently, though he did not burn with the same fire, Joe\u2019s brother was Duranium bound in cloth.\u00a0 He broke into a run and headed for the structure where his brother lay.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright followed hard on his heels.<\/p>\n

He would like to know this man \u2013 this man who fathered such sons.<\/p>\n

Drax waited as they entered the structure, already knowing what they would find, in order to know their battle plans.<\/p>\n

Kirk was the first to appear.\u00a0 \u201cFan out!\u201d he shouted. \u201cFind them!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was doubtful the Cartwrights or the Federation men would find Curran Theron or the warrior named Joe.\u00a0 But he<\/em> would.\u00a0 Unlike the Federation slaves who were bound to obey the orders of men too weak and frightened to sit in a captain\u2019s chair, once there were no orders a Klingon commander was given reign to use his own mind without being bound by rules and regulations.\u00a0 The human lawman had tied him hand and foot and taken his disruptor, but he had not searched him thoroughly.\u00a0 Drax bent down and freed the handle of the knife he kept concealed in his boot, making the weapon readily accessible.\u00a0 Then he opened his belt buckle and palmed the small scanner hidden within.\u00a0 While he had laid in the wagon with Theron, he had managed to attach another of his hidden tools, a homing device, to the Originator\u2019s clothes.<\/p>\n

It was beeping now.<\/p>\n

Drax turned and plunged into the wood, following its call like a hunter follows sign.\u00a0 As he ran he considered how he had come to this moment and this place.\u00a0 Theron, the Originator, had contacted his superiors and laid out a plan, the likes of which would have astounded Kahless himself.\u00a0 Theron explained how, by using the Guardian of Forever \u2013 which the puny humans had usurped and kept to themselves \u2013 he had discovered a fixed point in time which was the genesis of the future they now occupied.\u00a0 One man was the crux. One man they all had reason to despise for his interference and his ability to triumph over the Empire.<\/p>\n

James T. Kirk.<\/p>\n

Theron went on to say that he intended to travel back in time \u2013 and this was the part that should have warned him \u2013 not to kill the man from whose loins Kirk\u2019s lineage sprang, but to take his child and rear it in a warrior\u2019s way, training it to set aside peace and to crave destruction and glory.<\/p>\n

This Kirk would be a warrior not a peacekeeper.<\/p>\n

Drax sighed as he pushed a low tree limb aside and continued on, his eyes trained on the device.\u00a0 James T. Kirk was solely responsible, Theron had said, for what the galaxy had become \u2013 weak, listless, and without honor.\u00a0 If Kirk had not defeated the Romulans and his own people, they would have triumphed, bringing strength, control, and order instead.<\/p>\n

Not a green targ<\/em>, he had questioned him.\u00a0 Why not simply kill Kirk outright?<\/p>\n

\u2018Think\u2019<\/em>, Theron had replied.\u00a0 \u2018Think!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

What could be accomplished with a very different Kirk and the resources of a very different<\/em> Starfleet on their side?<\/p>\n

And so he had signed on, along with K\u2019Resh and Ba\u2019Or who were in it for the reward the Originator promised more than anything else, to join in Theron\u2019s madness.\u00a0 For it was<\/em> madness.\u00a0 It would be to his eternal shame that he had not seen the signs of this.\u00a0 Not until it was too late.<\/p>\n

Not until he had given his word.<\/p>\n

Theron\u2019s treachery after the explosion had released him from that bond.\u00a0 K\u2019Resh was dead and buried under a ton of rock, that damned<\/em> time band still on his wrist.\u00a0 Drax glared at the one he wore.\u00a0 If not for the need of it to return him to his time and home, he would tear it from his flesh lest the very metal contaminate him.<\/p>\n

Drax took time to spit.\u00a0 He smirked at the thought of what awaited the Originator when he found him, and then he crouched like a Grishnar cat<\/em> stalking its prey.<\/p>\n

His prey was within his sight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe lay on the ground, panting hard.\u00a0 He\u2019d come fully awake back in the camp when he\u2019d felt impossibly strong fingers tighten on his throat enough to choke off his air.\u00a0 To his horror and surprise he discovered the man threatening him was none other than Theron Vance, the Albino his father had hired and fired a dozen years before.<\/p>\n

Apparently when Theron had a grudge, he held it.<\/p>\n

Instead of choking the life out of him, Vance had lifted a finger to his lips and called for silence.\u00a0 Wondering why Theron thought there was a snowball\u2019s chance in Hell <\/em>of him doing what he wanted, Joe\u2019s gaze followed his nod to find Anne standing there, her skin drained of color, trembling from head to foot.<\/p>\n

It was at that moment, he knew he was dead.<\/p>\n

Vance had led them both out of the back of the tent, more than half-supporting him. \u00a0The man was tough as Hoss and twice as determined.\u00a0 Theron was taking them somewhere.\u00a0 Wherever it was, he\u2019d lay odds it was to torture and kill him, and then to take Anne hostage against his brother and his father who would turn Heaven and Hell upside-down to bring justice.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d only just found Adam and now….\u00a0 Joe\u2019s eyes sought his wife\u2019s frightened gaze and held it.\u00a0 If she could escape, could get away<\/em>, at least Adam would be there for his child.\u00a0 Adam and, for a time, Pa.<\/p>\n

But first Anne had to escape.<\/p>\n

He saw her read it in his eyes. \u00a0She shook her head slowly.\u00a0 Anne\u2019s hand went to her belly and she did it again. \u2018No\u2019<\/em>, she said silently, \u2018I won\u2019t have my child grow up without his father.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018You have no choice<\/em>,\u2019 he replied in the same way.\u00a0 \u2018I love you.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Theron dropped him to the ground, kicked him in the side, and then moved away.\u00a0 Then, he looked down.\u00a0 The Albino was dressed like a gunslinger with a pearl-handled Colt holstered and tied down to his right leg.\u00a0 The black cloth emphasized his pure white hair and skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were supposed to have been at the bottom of that mine, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 He cackled manically.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever is Professor Campbell going to think when he discovers one of the manipulators instead on the wrist of a Klingon!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s head hurt enough without listening to gibberish.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re mad!\u201d he spat back.<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I?\u201d\u00a0 He seemed to seriously consider it.\u00a0 \u201cIf so, I am only mad north-northwest.\u00a0 When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw,\u201d he smirked.<\/p>\n

Adam had read him that.\u00a0 It was Shakespeare.\u00a0 The man was quoting Shakespeare!<\/p>\n

\u201cLet my…wife go,\u201d Joe pleaded, his hand clutching his ribs where they throbbed. \u00a0\u201c Do what…you want with me… but…let Anne go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Albino rolled his crimson eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve been through this before, Joseph.\u00a0 I fully intend to kill you, but I have no intention of letting your wife go.\u00a0 She, and your child, are mine to mold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe tried to push himself up.\u00a0 It was a struggle, and if he made it to his feet he knew he would be useless.\u00a0 Still, he had to try.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re…not…taking her,\u201d he grunted.<\/p>\n

Theron struck like a snake, taking him by the throat even as he rose and then holding him, actually lifting him off his feet with that grip.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who is going to stop me?\u201d he sneered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked.\u00a0 Anne was so close it startled him.\u00a0 Her jaw was set and her eyes colder than he had ever seen.\u00a0 She was backing up, moving away from them.<\/p>\n

She’d come up without being heard or seen and she had Theron\u2019s pearl-handled gun in her hands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes!\u00a0 Yes!<\/em>\u00a0 Drax formed a fist as his lips curled with satisfaction.\u00a0 The woman was as much a warrior as her mate!\u00a0 No wonder Theron so feared their progeny.<\/p>\n

Moving closer, the Klingon heard her say.\u00a0 \u201cYou get away from my husband, you bastard!\u00a0 Let him go!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Originator refused.\u00a0 \u201cHe is suffocating now.\u00a0 He can last three minutes without air. One has expired.\u00a0 Surrender the gun and I will let his boots touch the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 She had the look of a Sabre bear<\/em> protecting its offspring.\u00a0 \u201cIf I shoot you, you\u2019ll drop him now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a crushed windpipe,\u201d he countered, his fingers tightening.<\/p>\n

Drax saw her falter.<\/p>\n

Her only choice was to shoot.<\/p>\n

As the thought crossed his mind, Drax noted something out of place to his right.\u00a0 When he looked, he saw nothing \u2013 until James T. Kirk rose up for a second to show he was there.\u00a0 Then, to his left, something moved as well.\u00a0 It was Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 Along with the warrior\u2019s brother was his father.\u00a0 In their eyes there was no sign of fear.<\/p>\n

They were worthy.<\/p>\n

The Klingon warrior watched as Kirk moved through the trees, maneuvering himself into a position from which he could attack.\u00a0 The Cartwrights did the same.\u00a0 While stealth was to be admired, caution was not.<\/p>\n

Drax stepped out of the trees and shouted\u00a0 \u201cCurran Theron, you are challenged!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leonard McCoy halted when he heard a shout and turned back the way he had\u00a0 come.\u00a0 When there was nothing more, he resumed his passage through the trees.\u00a0 Kirk had run into the camp.\u00a0 He\u2019d met his eyes and said one word.\u00a0 Only one.<\/p>\n

Spock<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Their exchange had been brief.\u00a0 From what little Jim had managed to communicate, he guessed it was bad.\u00a0 They knew when they\u2019d used the time manipulators that there had been a risk of being poisoned.\u00a0 Apparently the beings who created the Guardian were stingy and wanted to keep time travel to themselves.\u00a0 McCoy grunted.\u00a0 No, that wasn\u2019t fair.\u00a0 They needed <\/em>to keep it to themselves.<\/p>\n

He just wished they\u2019d found a kinder, gentler way to do so.<\/p>\n

Kirk had given him quick directions to the place where he had left Spock even as he took off again.\u00a0 It seemed the Vulcan had taken a full dose of the bracelet\u2019s venom, either by mistake or by Theron\u2019s design.\u00a0 He had no idea what that would do to the poor green-blooded bastard.<\/p>\n

Jim had mentioned a bent-over tree and a few other landmarks.\u00a0 As they came into view, the physician quickened his pace.\u00a0 Between Jim\u2019s return trip and his into the woods, it had been almost half an hour since the captain had discovered Spock in whatever condition he was in.\u00a0 God alone knew what might have happened in that time.\u00a0 As he passed the tree and sighted the clearing where Jim had left the Vulcan laying, Leonard McCoy stopped.<\/p>\n

The clearing was empty.<\/p>\n

Spock was gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim moved through the undergrowth to join the Cartwrights as soon as he saw Drax make his move.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is he doing?\u201d Adam demanded.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no time!\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew that.\u00a0 He\u2019d looked.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s veins were standing out and there was a blue discoloration around his lips and nose.<\/p>\n

Kirk gritted his teeth.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s being a Klingon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA what?\u201d Ben Cartwright asked.<\/p>\n

As the captain of the Enterprise mentally kicked himself for forgetting the older man had no idea what this was all about, Adam stepped in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a type of soldier, Pa.\u00a0 Like a samurai or abrafo warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWarrior or not, he is jeopardizing your brother\u2019s life!\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s gun was in his hand.\u00a0 He scowled , his finger itching on the trigger.\u00a0 There was no way to get a clear shot.<\/p>\n

Kirk felt for the older man.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGive Deets a few more seconds.\u00a0 We can barge in, but if we do, then both <\/em>Joe and Anne may die.\u00a0 As well as your son\u2019s unborn child,\u201d he added softly.<\/p>\n

For a moment the older man said nothing.\u00a0 He nodded and then pulled his watch from his vest.\u00a0 \u201cDeets has half a minute.\u00a0 Then we go in.\u00a0 Agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk exchanged glances with Adam.\u00a0 It had to end \u2013 one way or the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Drax did not hesitate, but walked straight past Anne Cartwright to Curran Theron and spit in his face.\u00a0 \u201cYou<\/em> are without honor!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonor mattered little when you signed up,\u201d the Originator sneered as the spittle dripped down his cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonor is everything!\u00a0 I honored my commander\u2019s orders, nothing more.\u201d\u00a0 He dropped his voice. \u201cNow, you will honor this man and let him go<\/em>.\u00a0 He is worth more than all of your valueless<\/em> kind taken together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Theron glanced at Joe.\u00a0 Cyanosis painted the warrior\u2019s face blue.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if I don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will<\/em> kill you,\u201d he breathed.<\/p>\n

Theron looked at him long and hard and then he did something he had not expected.\u00a0 He let go. \u00a0Joe Cartwright plummeted to the ground at his feet and lay deathly still.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may have him,\u201d the Originator said.\u00a0 \u201cI will take the woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will do no such thing,\u201d Joe\u2019s consort snarled like a brush devil<\/em>, aiming the gun she held again between Theron\u2019s crimson eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou will not threaten my family again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright sprang to his feet and shouted human words.\u00a0 \u201cAnne, no!\u00a0 You\u2019ll never forgive yourself!\u201d<\/p>\n

The son of steel joined him, revealing himself \u2013 sadly \u2013 to be less worthy than he had first believed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s right, Anne,\u201d Adam Cartwright told her.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 I…caused a man\u2019s death once….\u00a0 A man who deserved to die.\u00a0 It still haunts me.\u00a0 Life is life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s not,\u201d the warrior\u2019s woman declared, showing her mettle.\u00a0 The gun did not waver.<\/p>\n

The Federation captain shot him a glance and then stepped between Theron and the woman.\u00a0 \u201cAnne, give me the gun.\u00a0 Your husband needs you.\u00a0 Put it down and go to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman of courage blinked and then her eyes went to her mate.\u00a0 After a moment, she stood down.\u00a0 It was not a surrender.\u00a0 It did not diminish her honor.<\/p>\n

No matter what race, a woman\u2019s place was to look out for her own.<\/p>\n

As Anne Cartwright moved, Drax looked from one human to the other.\u00a0 Their honor demanded they not take a life unless their own life was threatened.\u00a0 He had encountered it before, this mercy they spoke of.\u00a0 On the battlefield they were as ferocious as any race he had battled, but off the field, they failed.<\/p>\n

He <\/em>would not.<\/p>\n

It took four steps.\u00a0 By the time Drax reached the Originator, his knife was out.\u00a0 Catching the worm by the throat, he squeezed, giving him ten heartbeats to experience what the warrior Joe Cartwright had.<\/p>\n

And then he gutted him like a bireQtagh <\/em>he was.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCoy had been panting when he broke through the trees.\u00a0 Now, he was breathless.\u00a0 Drax, their former prisoner, had just murdered Curran Theron.\u00a0 As he watched, the Klingon dropped the Originator\u2019s lifeless form to the forest floor next to Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 He could immediately see something was wrong with the young man.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s coloring was off and he was still, so very<\/em> still.<\/p>\n

He reached him at the same time as his brother and father.\u00a0 Adam knelt before he could, pressing his hand against his brother\u2019s chest.\u00a0 When he looked up, his gaze was a mix of horror and hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis heart\u2019s beating.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy nodded.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen Joe\u2019s chest rise and fall.\u00a0 It was the lack of air he was worried about.\u00a0 That, and the damage it might have done.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee to your sister-in-law,\u201d he grunted as he set to work, startling the young man who seemed for a moment not to remember he had one.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 Anne.\u201d\u00a0 Adam rose.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I\u2019m going to get Anne.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright stood close by.\u00a0 He made no move to kneel or get in his way, but kept a silent vigil as McCoy set to work.\u00a0 He nodded agreement to his oldest son and then his eyes returned to his youngest.<\/p>\n

The doctor met those eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll do all I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around him there was chaos.\u00a0 He heard Adam speaking in low, soothing tones to Anne.\u00a0 Kirk was yelling.\u00a0 Probably at Drax.\u00a0 Even though in his heart of hearts Jim would have wanted the bastard dead who had done so much damage to this fine family, he knew his friend.\u00a0 Jim could not and would<\/em> not stomach murder.<\/p>\n

There would be whatever the Klingon equivalent of Hell<\/em> was to pay.<\/p>\n

Pushing all such thoughts aside, he turned back to his patient.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s throat was swollen and he was having difficulty breathing.\u00a0 In this century there was only one thing to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen,\u201d he called, his eyes rising to the older man.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need your permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben frowned.\u00a0 \u201cFor?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy sighed.\u00a0 \u201cA tracheotomy.\u00a0 It\u2019s a simple operation.\u00a0 It will help him breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it,\u201d he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou have my permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, Doctor McCoy turned back to his patient and got to work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise stared down Captain Drax of the Klingon Imperial High Command.\u00a0 Well, stared \u2018up\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018That was uncalled for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Drax\u2019s lip lifted in a sneer.\u00a0 \u201cI do not agree.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a threat.\u00a0 It was eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheron was not an \u2018it\u2019.\u00a0 He was \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA madman.\u00a0 A murderer and a coward.\u00a0 One who would use a woman and a ruin a child to create his own twisted vision of the future.\u201d\u00a0 The Klingon raised on black eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cOr am I wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk scowled, some of the wind taken from the sails of his righteous indignation.\u00a0 \u201cNo, you\u2019re not wrong.\u00a0 But \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the difference between us, James T. Kirk, between human and Klingon.\u00a0 Your sense of honor is hampered by mists of mercy that cloud your eyes.\u00a0 Our eyes are open wide.\u00a0 There is evil.\u00a0 There is good.\u00a0 One deserves to live. The other does not.\u201d\u00a0 His dark eyes flicked to where Theron\u2019s body lay, covered now with a blanket.\u00a0 \u201cTheron did not deserve to live.\u00a0 Joe Cartwright did.\u201d<\/p>\n

How could he argue with that?<\/p>\n

\u201cDrax, there\u2019s self-defense and there\u2019s murder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe warrior could not defend himself.\u00a0 His capture was gutless; his captor spineless.\u00a0 I would not let Joe Cartwright die.\u201d\u00a0 Drax sought his gaze and held it. \u00a0\u201cWould you have done differently?\u201d<\/p>\n

Would he?<\/em>\u00a0 Would he have let Ben\u2019s son die because of his high-minded principles?\u00a0 Because he refused to dispense death to a creature who not only threatened Joe and his family, but all of time?<\/p>\n

Humbled, he replied.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Klingon tilted his head.\u00a0 His eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cDo you know why, Kirk, the Originator wanted Joseph Cartwright dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

It bothered him.\u00a0 None of it had seemed to make any sense.\u00a0 Why Joe?\u00a0 What was so special about a man who would live his life on one plot of Nevada land, marry, father children, rear them, come into his old age, and pass on as all had to do.\u00a0 There was no monumental accomplishment that they could find.\u00a0 No mountains moved or climbed.<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me of your<\/em> life, human.\u00a0 Tell me where and who you come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk balked.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Drax sneered again.\u00a0 \u201cHumor me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the usual story,\u201d he shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cMy ancestors were European settlers on the North American continent of Earth.\u00a0 I was born in Iowa.\u00a0 My family came there, oh, a hundred or so years back.\u00a0 Before that, they lived in the West and pioneered the frontier in the nineteenth century.\u00a0 I don\u2019t recall any names but….\u201d\u00a0 Kirk stopped.\u00a0 He turned and looked at Bones where he was working on Joe Cartwright. \u00a0\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pivoted back to face Drax.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was you<\/em>, Kirk, whom Theron meant to use as a weapon to destroy this universe you now serve.\u00a0 The birth of Joe Cartwright\u2019s son is the fixed point in time from which you <\/em>sprang.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe…is my….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany times removed great-sire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk blinked, taking that in.\u00a0 \u201cEven so,\u201d he countered.\u00a0 \u201cWhy would Theron fixate on me?\u00a0 I\u2019m not that<\/em> important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drax actually laughed \u2013 well, more barked<\/em> his amusement.\u00a0 \u201cStopping the advance of parasites on Deneva that would have driven the galaxy to madness, triumphing over the Romulans and, yes, my people as well, halting the advance of how many hostile races and their threat to the Federation?\u201d\u00a0 The Klingon shook his dark head.\u00a0 \u201cThere is more, Kirk, so much<\/em> more.\u00a0 These are things you cannot yet know.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was silent a moment.\u00a0 Then he asked, \u201cDid Spock know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Drax nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOne thing our people have in common, James Kirk, is the worth of a comrade.\u00a0 I am sorry for your loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t admitted to himself that Spock was dead, but he did have to acknowledge the Vulcan was lost.\u00a0 Lost in madness and lost somewhere in time with no sure way to discover where and when.\u00a0 When he returned to twenty-two-sixty-nine he intended to petition Starfleet to allow him to go to Gateway and use the Guardian to search for him.\u00a0 After all, it was Spock who identified the danger to all of them and took the singular risk to set time right.\u00a0 Rather than branding him a criminal, he should be given a commendation.<\/p>\n

He would be, Kirk told himself.\u00a0 Once he found him and brought him back.<\/p>\n

\u201cKirk?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 He had no words.<\/p>\n

Drax nodded, accepting his silence.\u00a0 After an interval, the Klingon said, \u201cI would return to my people, James Kirk.\u00a0 Will you attempt to stop me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk looked at him.\u00a0 A wry smile twisted his lips.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow I don\u2019t think a Wild West jail could hold you, Drax, and right now the Federation has no jurisdiction.\u00a0 Though I need that time manipulator….\u201d<\/p>\n

The soldier drew himself up to his full height, which was about the same as a mountain.\u00a0 His heels came together and his hand shot out.\u00a0 \u201cI salute you, James T. Kirk.\u00a0 May we have an opportunity to meet in battle.\u201d\u00a0 Drax actually smiled this time.\u00a0 \u201cI would make your death a glorious one.\u00a0 As to this,\u201d the Klingon paused and then added as he twisted the time manipulator he wore.\u00a0 \u201cI<\/em> need it more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drax vanished in a twinkle of starlight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright halted outside his baby brother\u2019s door.\u00a0 It had been three days since the cave-in.\u00a0 They\u2019d returned to the Ponderosa only the night before as Doctor McCoy had insisted they let Joe recover before moving him.\u00a0 The tracheotomy had saved his life, but left him weak.\u00a0 Due to Joe\u2019s other injuries, it had taken most of that time to stabilize him enough that he could endure the ride.\u00a0 A weary smile curled his lips.\u00a0 This was the first opportunity he would have to sit with his brother alone.\u00a0 Anne had rarely left Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 Earlier, he\u2019d come up to see how he was doing and found her in a deep sleep in the chair beside the bed.\u00a0 When he called her she hadn\u2019t wakened, and so he had lifted her up and carried her to the next room and placed her on the bed.<\/p>\n

In Hoss\u2019 room.<\/p>\n

His father had kept it as a shrine.\u00a0 It was filled with the items his middle brother had used in life that were now memorialized in death.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 white felt fur hat was there, and his gun and holster.\u00a0 So was his leather vest.\u00a0 Each was left in its usual place as if his brother might return any minute to don them.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d had tears in his eyes as he closed the door and it had taken him about an hour to compose himself before he could return to look in on Joe.\u00a0 That was what he was doing now.\u00a0 Checking on his remaining brother.\u00a0 As he paused outside the door Adam became aware of a voice coming from inside the room.\u00a0 Thinking perhaps Joe had wakened, he gripped the knob and opened it.<\/p>\n

And found Jim Kirk sitting in the chair beside his sleeping, but restless little brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fever is lower,\u201d Kirk said quietly as he rose.\u00a0 \u201cBones thinks he\u2019s past the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBones?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk smiled as he approached.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s what I call Doctor McCoy.\u00a0 Short for \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSawbones.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d tried that with Doc Hickman once.\u00a0 The result wasn\u2019t pretty.<\/p>\n

The blond man nodded toward the hall.\u00a0 Adam agreed and they stepped outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re leaving, I hear,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u00a0 We need to get back to our time.\u00a0 We…\u201d\u00a0 He drew a breath.\u00a0 \u201cI need to look for Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could come with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYour place is here, at your brother\u2019s side.\u00a0 At your father\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cAnd with your nephew, Uncle <\/em>Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ran a hand along the back of his neck. \u201cIt\u2019s just, I feel I owe Spock so much.\u00a0 I feel the need to repay him for \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what Spock would have to say about that<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

He held Kirk\u2019s gaze.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a good man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Kirk agreed.\u00a0 \u201cSo are you.\u00a0 So is your brother.\u00a0 I\u2019m…grateful, in spite of everything, that I got to meet you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way Kirk said it, gave it more weight than it deserved.\u00a0 \u201cAny special reason?\u201d\u00a0 he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 Nothing special.\u00a0 Just…thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam watched Kirk depart and then turned back to his brother\u2019s room.\u00a0 He entered and went to sit by Joe\u2019s side.\u00a0 There was a bloody bandage around his brother\u2019s throat. \u00a0The doctor had removed the stem that had let him breathe only the day before.\u00a0 It would need to be changed yet again tonight.\u00a0 Adam drew in a deep breath and turned to look around the room that had been Joe\u2019s the entire time he had lived at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He was there now instead of in the wing that he and Anne occupied, as it was easier to look after him.\u00a0 They were there, just like in Hoss\u2019 room, stuffed in a blue and white bay rum jar, written in the worry lines of the Indian chief\u2019s portrait…<\/p>\n

The memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s voice was soft.\u00a0 Barely audible.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Joe?\u201d he asked, leaning in close.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you….\u201d\u00a0 Joe coughed.<\/p>\n

Adam caught him when the fit didn\u2019t stop and then gave him some water to drink.\u00a0 \u201cYou just keep quiet, Joe.\u00a0 Doctor McCoy said you shouldn\u2019t talk much for a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave to….\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNothing is more important than your health.\u201d<\/p>\n

A half-smile curled his brother\u2019s lips. \u201cThis…is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam put the glass down on the bedside table.\u00a0 He caught his brother\u2019s shoulder with his hand and said, sternly, in his best Ben Cartwright voice while wagging a finger, \u201cOne question, young man, and that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe laughed \u2013 and coughed again.\u00a0 \u201cJust…one.\u201d\u00a0 His brother\u2019s green eyes grew moist.\u00a0 \u201cAre you…home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam glanced around again, hearing the memories whisper along with the wind through the Ponderosa pines.\u00a0 Outside the moon was shining, lighting a land he knew \u2013 even now \u2013 like the back of his hand. \u00a0Pa was in the great room, sound asleep in the chair where he had kept vigil for them all night after night, year after year, waiting on three wayward boys to find their way home.<\/p>\n

How could he ever leave again?<\/p>\n

Adam squeezed his brother\u2019s fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m home.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

End of Part Two<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> From Same Pines, Different Wind by Marla Fair<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> A Time to Step Down<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> The Trouble With Tribbles<\/p>\n

PART THREE<\/p>\n

1964<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ONE<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Mike!\u00a0 You still got that hare-brained notion to go up to Lake Tahoe and scout out tomorrow\u2019s shoot?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man who portrayed Little Joe Cartwright stared out of the tight cramped location space he laughingly called his dressing room at the mountain of a man blocking the light that might have made it possible for him to find his shirt.\u00a0 He was bare-chested, having just shed the last remnants of the man he pretended to be most days of the week.\u00a0 Little Joe lay in a heap of tan, brown, and green clothes discarded on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWardrobe lady\u2019s gonna have your head, short shanks, if you leave those there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wardrobe lady was nearly as old as his grandmother.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll give her a roll in them, just to mollify her,\u201d he said, his face and voice deadpan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you aren\u2019t the orneriest<\/em> little cuss ever to come to Hollywood,\u201d his friend and co-worker sighed.\u00a0 Then with a wink the big man added, \u201cAnd I do mean \u2018little\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a long-standing joke between them \u2013 the difference in their stature.\u00a0 Dan stood six foot four to his five foot nine and at 300 pounds, outweighed him by about the weight of a gorilla.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but I got size<\/em> where it counts,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

Dan stared at him and then burst into laughter.\u00a0 As he did, a tall dark figure paused behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you two still at it?\u201d Pernell asked..<\/p>\n

\u201cJust some unscripted fun between brothers,\u201d Dan remarked.\u00a0 \u201cWant to join in?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man who portrayed their older brother Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cHeading home. I advise you two do so as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cMike wants to take a look at the shoot area at Incline Village for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man frowned. \u201cWhatever for?\u00a0 It\u2019s trees and grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but I\u2019m the one who has to take a spill in<\/em> those trees and on<\/em> that grass,\u201d he protested.\u00a0 \u201cI want to check it out.\u00a0 The last fall I did I nearly broke my collar bone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pernell\u2019s eyebrows rose. \u201cYou could<\/em> let the stunt men do their job, Mike.\u00a0 It\u2019s what they get paid for.\u201d<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t understand.\u00a0 Either of them.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t just want to act.\u00a0 He wanted to do it all, experience it all \u2013 understand<\/em> it all.<\/p>\n

Michael Landon\u2019s lips curled in one of his most devilish smiles.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I <\/em>get paid to look handsome and make the ladies swoon.\u00a0 No better way to do that than to fall off a horse and suffer.\u00a0 I want to make sure I do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pernell was perusing his script.\u00a0 He waved his hand as he walked away.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s your neck,\u201d he sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do take a lot of risks, Mike,\u201d Dan said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure you want to do your own stunt work?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was hard to explain.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to do it, he had<\/em> to.\u00a0 There was something in him that drove him to succeed, to prove himself.\u00a0 He snorted as he closed his dressing room door.<\/p>\n

In that way, he was much like the youngest Cartwright he portrayed.<\/p>\n

Shinnying into his leather jacket, which he wore over a tan shirt and a pair of jeans, he turned and looked at Dan.\u00a0 \u201cLook, you don\u2019t have to come with me.\u00a0 Lynn\u2019s away with the kids.\u00a0 I have nothing else to do.\u00a0 Dolphia\u2019s at home waiting on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want you going out there alone.\u00a0 It\u2019s way out on the lot, another fifty miles or so.\u00a0 Something might happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike made a face and waved his hands in the air while singing the theme to the Twilight Zone.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0 A spaceship is going to land and little green men are going to abduct me and take me away with them into outer space.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou worry too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan circled his shoulders with his arm.\u00a0 He cocked his head and favored him with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what big brothers are for.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It took about an hour and\u00a0 a half to drive the dusty roads and was dusk by the time they arrived.\u00a0 As usual it took the big man more time to get out of the car than the spunky little fellow who played his kid brother.\u00a0 Mike was a dynamo.\u00a0 He was energy personified and was driven by a need to be accepted and approved of that he figured stemmed from his terrible childhood.\u00a0 Sometimes it made him want to knock some sense into that thick curly-brown head of his.\u00a0 Other times, well, it made him want to cry.\u00a0 He had his own kids.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t imagine treating them the way Mike had been treated.<\/p>\n

It was a wonder he\u2019d come through the years of mental and physical abuse without turning into some sort of a monster himself.<\/p>\n

They were going to shoot an outdoor scene the next day, where Little Joe came riding in and was shot off his horse.\u00a0 Mike had to fall and roll to a stop. Of course, he insisted on doing it himself.\u00a0 At first the producers had balked at him taking on more and more stunt work \u2013 they were worried about that handsome face that had women all across the world swooning getting damaged \u2013 but he\u2019d talked them into it and soon had been fighting and falling with the best of the men who made it their profession.\u00a0 The grips had erected a facade of the house nearby as another scene they were going to shoot tomorrow had Joe stumbling up to the house and dropping to the ground before they ran out and found him.\u00a0 It was funny, seeing the Cartwright\u2019s ranch house sitting there where it might really have been, the false front looking all too real in the meager light.<\/p>\n

Closing the car door behind him, he followed his fellow actor and friend to the field.\u00a0 Mike was walking it, looking at the ground, kneeling every now and then to check a rock or odd bit of raised up ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do you think?\u201d he asked as he halted nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks good,\u201d he said, rising to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cNo rocks so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly in your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike looked up at him and then he laughed \u2013 that laugh that engaged any and everyone who heard it and made them laugh with him.\u00a0 It was almost a giggle, but not quite.\u00a0 Sometimes it reminded him of the nicker of the high-spirited horses that were such a part of his current world.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ready to go then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost.\u00a0 I want to check the ground near the house facade as well.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you get back in the car?\u201d he suggested as he rose and pulled his jacket close about his throat.\u00a0 \u201cNo point in both of us freezing to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Autumn and the nights were turning cold.\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 But don\u2019t be long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, right,\u201d Mike grinned, \u201cgotta watch out for those little green men.\u201d\u00a0 He rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019ll let me send a postcard when we get to Alpha Centauri.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you just shut up and do what you\u2019re going to do so we can get home?\u201d he grumbled.<\/p>\n

Mike waved.\u00a0 \u201cBe there in a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the last Dan saw of him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the man with the curly brown hair tramped the uneven ground of the Incline Village location, headed for the false front of the Cartwright\u2019s home, all sorts of things were flying through his head.\u00a0 He missed his wife and his kids.\u00a0 They\u2019d gone off to visit with Lynn\u2019s family and left him alone to rattle around in their empty house.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like being alone.\u00a0 It left him too much time to think.\u00a0 Though the demons of his past had been imprisoned by the man he\u2019d become, they still rattled at the bars of his childhood prison and shrieked to be set free.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew he was hotheaded, and impatient, and that he played too hard and drank too much.\u00a0 Lynn was trying to change him and he welcomed it, though sometimes he felt it wasn\u2019t fair to her.\u00a0 In some ways she had to be the mother he had never had and that bothered him.\u00a0 He\u2019d done that with Dodie and it hadn\u2019t worked.<\/p>\n

It was going<\/em> to work with Lynn.<\/p>\n

As he arrived at the facade, Mike turned and looked back toward the car.\u00a0 He could hear the radio blasting away and see Dan rocking inside.\u00a0 It made him smile.\u00a0 They were close, all of them, even if Pernell \u2013 well, he was a good choice for Adam.\u00a0 Pernell could be aloof and at times a bit of a pain, but they still had some great times.<\/p>\n

After casting around, looking at the ground, he headed for the false front door.\u00a0 Acting was a funny profession.\u00a0 You had to see it all in your head, you had to believe<\/em> it.\u00a0 There were times when he thought, if he opened that door at just the right time, Little Joe Cartwright might be there waiting for him.\u00a0 Crossing to it, he put his hand on the knob and laughed as he began to open it.<\/p>\n

The laughter died when a man stepped out of the shadows beside him.<\/p>\n

Falling back, he asked, \u201cWho?\u00a0 Who are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man was lean, with dark hair and dark intense eyes.\u00a0 He was dressed like one of their extras in a tattered long black duster and other worn Western clothes.\u00a0 Extending a trembling hand, he said, \u201cYou must come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike fell back.\u00a0 He held up his hands even as he glanced toward the car to see if Dan had taken note.\u00a0 \u201cWhoa.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going anywhere with you.\u201d\u00a0 He squinted, sizing the other man up and recognizing his symptoms from personal experience.\u00a0 \u201cFriend, you look like you need to go home and sleep it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not partaken of any fermented or distilled liquids.\u201d\u00a0 The man\u2019s voice was flat, his words spoken as if he were reading from a freshly produced script.\u00a0 \u201cThe threat is real.\u00a0 You must come with me, Joseph Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u00a0 Hey, man, I\u2019m not Joe.\u00a0 My name is \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

The man gripped his arm with unexpectedly strong fingers and for the first time he felt real fear.\u00a0 Struggling against him, Mike turned to call out to Dan.<\/p>\n

It was then he felt fingers on his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is for your own good,\u201d the stranger said.<\/p>\n

And everything went black.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI tell you, he was there one minute and gone the next!\u201d Dan Blocker declared.\u00a0 He\u2019d not gone to the police since he wasn\u2019t entirely sure Mike wasn\u2019t just pranking him.\u00a0 Instead, he\u2019d driven to Lorne\u2019s house to get the older man\u2019s take on things.<\/p>\n

Lorne seemed to be considering everything he had told him.\u00a0 \u201cIt does seem a little out of character.\u00a0 I mean, Mike can be a prankster, but his pranks are seldom hurtful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan nodded his head.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t really imagine him taking off on foot either.\u00a0 You don\u2019t think, well….\u00a0 There are crazy people out there.\u00a0 You know, most fans are great, but there are some….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s all right.\u00a0 After all, this is reality and not a television show.\u00a0 I\u2019d give it until morning.\u00a0 See if he shows for work.\u201d\u00a0 Lorne snorted.\u00a0 \u201cYou know that kid.\u00a0 He could have had a car hidden in the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan nodded.\u00a0 And then a shy smile lifted the corner of his lips.\u00a0 \u201cI wonder what Ben and Hoss Cartwright would do if Little Joe just up and disappeared like that right from under their noses?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorne smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no need to wonder.\u00a0 They\u2019d ride out with guns blazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 What David wants to show \u2013 four men, loving each other, protecting each other, and without worrying about what anyone thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something our country needs desperately right now.\u00a0 It only takes a look at the paper, or a half hour watching the news.\u201d\u00a0 Behind Lorne, on the television screen, yet another riot was breaking out.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes I wonder if we will survive as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan was silent a minute. \u201cYou think old Ben Cartwright would wonder?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorne\u2019s dark eyes fastened on his.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Dan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man headed for the door.\u00a0 When he\u2019d reached it and had his hand on the knob, he turned back and said, \u201cYou know, I do<\/em> feel like Hoss.\u00a0 I\u2019m just busting to see that little scamp show up in the morning.\u00a0 But when I do, I\u2019m like to break his neck.\u201d<\/p>\n

He left to the sound of Lorne\u2019s laughter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wherever he was, it was cold.\u00a0 And dark.<\/p>\n

Dark without stars or light.<\/p>\n

Dark, like the inside of a cave.<\/p>\n

He wrinkled his nose.\u00a0 Maybe that was it.\u00a0 He was<\/em> in a cave.\u00a0 He could smell the earth and feel the dampness seeping through his trousers.<\/p>\n

What was he doing in a cave?\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d been scouting out the wooded clearing where he was going to take a fall…<\/p>\n

Michael drew in a sharp breath of air.\u00a0 He remembered.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been kidnapped!<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must remain still,\u201d someone said.<\/p>\n

He felt like a little kid, waiting on the bogey man to jump out.\u00a0 His heart was pounding and his breath came in short, soft gasps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s brown brows danced toward the unruly curls layering his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cSafe?\u00a0 How can I be safe?\u201d he asked, his voice rising with his temper.\u00a0 \u201cYou kidnapped<\/em> me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must modulate your tone.\u00a0 If you do not do so, I shall be forced to render you silent once again.\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed over his fear \u2013 and dropped his voice.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am familiar with your boisterous personality and tendency toward quick unexpected motion.\u00a0 In our current circumstances, neither would be wise to exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned.\u00a0 How come his kidnapper sounded like a Harvard don?<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked quietly.\u00a0 \u201cWhy did you take me?\u00a0 Why are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you attempting to outstrip your earlier record for the number of inquiries it is possible to make within the space of a sixty second period?\u201d<\/p>\n

Was that…a smile <\/em>he heard in that question?<\/p>\n

\u201cAs to your second query,\u201d the man went on, \u201cI am attempting to protect you from outside forces which wish you harm.\u00a0 As to why we are here \u2013 in this cave \u2013 I….\u201d\u00a0 He stopped.\u00a0 Michael heard a sharp intact of breath.\u00a0 \u201c…I have to…must…<\/em>keep you safe.\u00a0 This was the only approximate locale I could find.\u201d<\/p>\n

He waited.\u00a0 \u201cAnd my first question?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause.\u00a0 As if the man was truly confused.\u00a0 \u201cYou do not know me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t see <\/em>you!\u201d he spat back.<\/p>\n

He heard the man rise.\u00a0 Heard him walk across the cave floor and felt him at his side.\u00a0 A moment later a light appeared.\u00a0 He blinked it away at first it hurt his eyes so much, but then a few seconds later looked up and into the man\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Michael gasped.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d found his little green man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James T. Kirk found solid ground suddenly under his feet.\u00a0 He glanced around, noting the inky night sky with its crystal clear stars and the tall whispering Ponderosa pines and sighed.\u00a0 He was more than ready to get back to the steady sure method of transport he was used to \u2013 and to cease traveling through time.\u00a0 This was the last stop.\u00a0 Well, he hoped<\/em> it was the last stop.<\/p>\n

The Guardian said it was.<\/p>\n

Sometimes he had a hard time remembering what time he was or had<\/em> been in.\u00a0 While he hadn\u2019t joined Spock one his initial trip to eighteen-seventy six, he\u2019d been to eighteen-sixty four, back to twenty-two-sixty-eight, then<\/em> to eighteen-seventy-six, finally arriving here, on Earth, in nineteen<\/em>-sixty-four.\u00a0 He\u2019d been surprised when the Guardian\u2019s images had run past the lives and deaths of the Cartwrights and their children and continued right on up to the same time period he had visited with Major John Christopher.\u00a0 He\u2019d been even more surprised to find that \u2013 in one of those inexplicable eddies of time \u2013 the idea and ideals of the Cartwrights had transcended time and still existed in a TV show, of all things, depicting their extraordinary lives. The producer, a man named Dortort, must have read the historical record and fashioned the show on what information and antique photos he found there.\u00a0 The images the Guardian showed him were remarkable.\u00a0 The resemblance of the cast members to the actual men was uncanny.\u00a0 Oh, they were not nearly so rugged or, in reality, weather-beaten and worn as the actual Cartwright clan, but \u2013 if one didn\u2019t know better \u2013 they could easily be mistaken one for the other.<\/p>\n

Kirk sighed again and then scowled.\u00a0 It was getting to be a habit.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, at the moment, Spock wasn\u2019t capable of knowing which was which.<\/p>\n

The blond man ran a hand over his face.\u00a0 The last image the Guardian had shown him \u2013 one that had altered the historical record \u2013 was of a newspaper detailing the kidnapping and death of one of the lead characters on Bonanza.\u00a0 The bright young star with so much potential had mysteriously vanished from a shooting location one night and been found the next morning at the bottom of a cliff near Lake Tahoe.<\/p>\n

It was Michael Landon, who played Little Joe.<\/p>\n

While Landon\u2019s passing did not change the historical timeline in large ways, it seemed to in small ones that were significant.\u00a0 Apparently the man, when older, had been a force for good.\u00a0 Also apparent was his love of ladies so like the character he portrayed.\u00a0 Kirk smiled.\u00a0 Nine kids!\u00a0 Not all of them biologically his, but all of them reared with his unique idea of what a man or woman\u2019s place was in the world.\u00a0 Those kids and their kids had contributed after his untimely death from cancer at age 54.<\/p>\n

They had contributed a lot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Kirk drew a breath and then turned to the kit he carried.\u00a0 This time, Prime Directive be damned<\/em>, he\u2019d brought a phaser, a communicator, and<\/em> a tricorder altered to work on radio waves.\u00a0 He also had a pack McCoy had supplied him with that contained medical equipment, including bandages and other items plus the remedy for Spock\u2019s madness.\u00a0 It was the same as the inoculation against the time manipulator\u2019s venom that Bones had injected him with before he left.\u00a0 It rendered the poison harmless.<\/p>\n

The Guardian had set him down the day before the body was discovered, which meant he had less than twenty-four hours to find Spock and the actor and somehow convince his out-of-his-mind Vulcan friend that Michael Landon wasn\u2019t <\/em>Little Joe Cartwright \u2013 that he\u2019d already saved Cartwright back in eighteen-seventy-six\u00a0 and he should let the actor go.<\/p>\n

The fact that Landon\u2019s broken body had been found at the bottom of a cliff suggested that his death had been an accident.\u00a0 They\u2019d discussed it in the briefing room before he went down to Gateway and the others had agreed.\u00a0 Like the real man who\u2019d inspired his character, Landon was reputed to be quick-tempered and a bit reckless.\u00a0 The fall suggested Spock was holding the young man somewhere high in the hills, maybe in a cave.\u00a0 Something had happened.\u00a0 Something that had made him fall.<\/p>\n

Something he<\/em> had to stop.<\/p>\n

Kirk glanced about, making sure he was alone, and then opened the tricorder and scanned the area, looking for a non-human signature.<\/p>\n

There were two.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo what are you going to do with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

The light was gone and they were in the dark again.\u00a0 It was easier that way.\u00a0 Looking at the man who held him had been like watching an episode of Outer Limits.\u00a0 Odd.\u00a0 Unnerving.<\/p>\n

Frightening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will…protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep sayin that.\u00a0 What do I need protected from?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Other than you<\/em>, he thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheron…he…\u00a0 He is still out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d mentioned that name before.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s Theron?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was the sound of boots turning sharply on dirt.\u00a0 So he was standing.\u00a0 \u201cI…do not understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike rolled his eyes.\u00a0 That made two<\/em> of them!\u00a0 Still, slowly, his fear of anything happening to him was fading.\u00a0 It was obvious the man wasn\u2019t right in the head.\u00a0 Maybe he was a fan who had escaped from a mental institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know who Theron is,\u201d he said, keeping his tone even.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know you and I don\u2019t know why you think you have to protect me.\u00a0 The only one threatening me is you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, a pause.\u00a0 \u201cI do not threaten.\u00a0 I…guard.\u00a0 It is…my duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

That<\/em> was a new wrinkle.\u00a0 \u201cAre you army or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFederation,\u201d he said as if that explained it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 Mike sucked in air.\u00a0 \u201cHow about a name?\u00a0 What\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do not recall it?\u201d<\/p>\n

It came out slowly in a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 After a second he asked, \u201cHow about you do something for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou tell me my <\/em>name.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man shifted again, almost as if he was uneasy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do not know who you are?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I know who I am,\u201d he huffed.\u00a0 \u201cI want you to tell me who you<\/em> think I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the man upon whom the future world depends,\u201d his kidnapper said, his voice even but his words reviving those fears, \u201cyou are Joseph Francis Cartwright of the Ponderosa and it is my mission to save you \u2013 whether you desire it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TWO<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was morning and Mike was a no-show.<\/p>\n

Dan sighed.\u00a0 He\u2019d consulted with Lorne the moment they knew and then with David and they\u2019d decided it was time to call in the police.\u00a0 The Paramount brass refused.\u00a0 While squad cars should<\/em> have been flying onto the lot, their sirens wailing, the soundstage was instead deadly still.\u00a0 The big guys said they had to make sure it wasn\u2019t one of Mike\u2019s pranks first and then, if it wasn\u2019t, get their shit together before calling it in.\u00a0 \u2018You know, Dan\u2019, they\u2019d said, \u2018once the press knows that Little Joe Cartwright has gone missing, they\u2019ll descend like vultures and it will be all over the news\u2019.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t been able to get hold of Lynn yet, or any of Mike\u2019s relatives so he kind of agreed. Still, something had to be done.<\/p>\n

His friend<\/em> was missing.<\/p>\n

Work had shut down for the day and the producers had told them all to go home.\u00a0 The three of them had hung around to see if there was anything they could do.\u00a0 Lorne had just gone for his coat.\u00a0 As he joined them, with it dangling off his arm, he sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like something out of one of the episodes.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t seem real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan ran a hand over his bald pate and exchanged a glance with the older man.\u00a0 He could see it in Lorne\u2019s eyes as well.\u00a0 They might only pretend to be kin, but in the ways that counted, they were.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 The four of them were close.\u00a0 They cared deeply about each other.<\/p>\n

And just like the Cartwrights they felt a need to protect their own.<\/p>\n

As Pernell joined them, he remarked, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Lorne asked.<\/p>\n

The dark-haired man\u2019s lips twisted in that determined smile he used to such advantage as the oldest Cartwright son. \u00a0\u201cIf they won\u2019t do it.\u00a0 We need to do it ourselves,\u201d he said quietly, expressing it for the rest of them.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later, after some debate, they headed for Incline Village.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike stirred and opened his eyes, only then realizing he\u2019d fallen asleep.\u00a0 He stretched and looked for the other man.\u00a0 When he did, he realized there was a bare bit of light showing off in the distance.\u00a0 He decided it must be where the opening into the cave was.\u00a0 He\u2019d been in enough of them while filming to recognize that the kidnapper hadn\u2019t brought him in too<\/em> deep.\u00a0 With his eyes grown so used to the dark that the pale light was like an open lantern, he was able to discern the size and shape of the man who was holding him.\u00a0 He was a lean fellow, probably six feet or over, with shaggy dark hair and a ragged beard.\u00a0 He was dressed as a Wild West doctor or maybe a gunslinger in a tattered black suit with a long duster.\u00a0 His abductor moved with a wild restless energy, pacing back and forth before the cave maw, muttering to himself.<\/p>\n

It almost sounded like he was working equations.<\/p>\n

Shifting, Michael repositioned himself more comfortably against the cavern wall.\u00a0 He was cold and aching and really<\/em> hungry.<\/p>\n

He watched the man another minute or so and then called out.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s for breakfast?\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger halted and turned toward him.\u00a0 \u201cI had forgotten your need for immediate sustenance.\u00a0 I will endeavor to locate something suitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustenance?<\/em>\u00a0 There he went again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come with you,\u201d he said, starting to rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would not be…prudent.\u00a0 You must remain here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael stifled a sigh.\u00a0 Then he had a thought.\u00a0 This man believed him to be Little Joe.\u00a0 There was no way <\/em>Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest son would accept that.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Hell<\/em> I will!\u201d he shot back.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m coming with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stranger shifted again.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI cannot protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s leavin\u2019 me here alone gonna protect me better?\u201d he countered, easily falling into Joe\u2019s manner of speech.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you gonna do?\u00a0 Tie me up?\u00a0 Leave<\/em> me here alone?\u00a0 That\u2019s just like making a can out of me to sit on a fence and be shot!\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt bad.\u00a0 Obviously the man had mental problems.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like playing with him like this, but then, what else did he have to work with?<\/p>\n

\u201cYour logic..is…impeccable.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brows popped.<\/p>\n

That was the first time anyone had ever told him that.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will…go together,\u201d the stranger said, \u201cbut you must make a vow to remain close to me and not endeavor to escape.\u00a0 There is…danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, there was.\u00a0 And he knew who<\/em> it was coming from.<\/p>\n

Crossing his fingers behind his back, he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got my word.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk had been walking for some time and he still had, perhaps, a half hour before he would reach the area with the alien signatures.\u00a0 With the tricorder working on radio waves, the information he could access was limited\u00a0 He guessed one of them was Spock, but the other \u2013 so readily identified in the twenty-third century \u2013 was just a non-human blip in this one.\u00a0 It could be anything from Orion to Klingon.<\/p>\n

Or maybe another of the Originators.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t think Theron had a partner, but then it was impossible to know.\u00a0\u00a0 Whoever it was had come back in time so that limited the field.<\/p>\n

Another ten minutes walk brought the blond man to the base of a high hill. \u00a0A narrow natural stair wound up its side.\u00a0 At the top there was rock \u2013 a lot of it \u2013 and some of it jutting out over the land below.\u00a0 Going with the intuitive feeling he had, that this was \u2018it<\/em>\u2019, James T. Kirk anchored the tricorder over his shoulder, flipped the machine to his back, and began to climb.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the last place you saw him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan nodded.\u00a0 \u201cSure is.\u201d\u00a0 The other two followed him.\u00a0 \u201cRight over here by the house facade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ground\u2019s dry,\u201d Lorne said.\u00a0 \u201cSee if you can find any prints.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pernell was already crouching.\u00a0 Suddenly he looked up and laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, we\u2019re acting like we know what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan laughed too.\u00a0 \u201cWell, that\u2019s what we are, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Actors?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI guess something has to have rubbed off after six years in the saddle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see anything?\u201d their TV pa asked, bringing them back to the business at hand.<\/p>\n

Pernell stood up and dusted off his pants.\u00a0 \u201cThere are prints.\u00a0 Two sets besides Dan\u2019s.\u00a0 One long and narrow, the other the same, but smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike short-shanks might leave?\u201d the big man asked, the worry ringing even in his own ears.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm-hm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should call the police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both he and Pernell turned and looked at Lorne.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to tell them yet,\u201d Pernell said.\u00a0 \u201cThese could have been made by anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr by Michael and his…kidnapper.\u201d\u00a0 The older man sighed.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s face it.\u00a0 We\u2019re tampering with evidence here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan pursed his lips and blew out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI know what you\u2019re saying is right, here.\u201d\u00a0 He touched his head.\u00a0 Then his heart.\u00a0 \u201cBut this<\/em> isn\u2019t hearing it.\u00a0 I….\u00a0 I feel responsible.\u00a0 I just gotta keep looking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pernell nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, many\u2019s the days I\u2019ve wanted to shake some sense into that kid and I\u2019ll admit I\u2019ve had a few where I wished \u2018Pa\u2019 would send Little Joe off to college.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned and then sobered quickly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I agree with Dan.\u00a0 I just…feel responsible for him somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older man looked from one of the them to the other.\u00a0 \u201cOlder heads should prevail, but it seems younger ones shall.\u00a0 All right.\u00a0 We\u2019ll follow the tracks.\u00a0 Just be sure you don\u2019t disturb anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan nodded.\u00a0 There was only one thing he was going to \u2018disturb\u2019.<\/p>\n

That was the head of the man who done kidnapped his little brother.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike had been nearly blinded when they left the cave.\u00a0 In fact, he was still blinking away tears and that made his vision fuzzy.\u00a0 It was early in the morning and this high up a mist clung to the land.\u00a0 It made their passage treacherous, but also provided him with what he needed \u2013 cover<\/em> to make an escape attempt.\u00a0 At the moment he was trailing close behind the man who had taken him.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t much up here, but they\u2019d managed\u00a0 to find a few roots and berries and the like.\u00a0 Enough at least to keep his stomach from growling.\u00a0 A cool mountain spring had provided a drink to wash them down.\u00a0 If he\u2019d had Lynn and the kids with him, it would have been a beautiful day.<\/p>\n

As it was, it was filled with uncertainty.<\/p>\n

He thought he knew where they were and it was not too far from the location site.\u00a0 Instead of moving out, the kidnapper had moved up into the hills.\u00a0 They\u2019d talked about using this area once for outside shots, but it had proven too much for the heavy equipment to manage.\u00a0 There was a cliff here…somewhere…..<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the mist.<\/p>\n

As they stopped and the man who held him bent to the ground once again, Michael said, \u201cYou still haven\u2019t told me your name.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man stood and turned, some greens in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you still have not remembered?\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought hard.\u00a0 It had to be someone \u2018Joe\u2019 would know and not him.\u00a0 Thinking furiously, he filed through his memories of past episodes but nothing stood out.\u00a0 There was no long lean, slightly greenish-skinned, black-haired man in a battered imitation of a Doc Holliday suit.<\/p>\n

He pursed his lips and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSorry.\u00a0 No.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps the blow to the head you took while you were being held in the mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

So….a mining <\/em>episode.\u00a0 \u201cWere you in \u2018The Henry Comstock Story\u2019?\u201d he asked, hopeful.<\/p>\n

There it was again \u2013 the inward breath but no audible sigh.\u00a0 \u201cMy name is Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brown brows danced.\u00a0 \u201cLike…Doctor<\/em> Spock?\u201d<\/p>\n

The kidnapper\u2019s near-black eyes fixed on him.\u00a0 \u201cI endeavor to leave those things medical to the ship\u2019s physician.\u00a0 Simply Spock.\u201d<\/p>\n

So his name was Spock.\u00a0 He was very unusual looking.\u00a0 He\u2019d caught a glimpse of the tips of his ears and they were…pointed.\u00a0 His brows slashed upward like an incline and his hair, well, it was black, but it was so<\/em> black it was almost blue.<\/p>\n

And he was a…sailor?<\/p>\n

Bending, he worked haphazardly at gathering more of the greens.\u00a0 \u201cSo where\u2019s home, Spock?\u201d<\/p>\n

Again that look<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be better if I did not say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot from around here, eh?\u201d he snorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Squinting his eyes, hoping to see through the mist, the brown-haired man nodded toward a plot of grass a few yards away that was thick with it.\u00a0 \u201cI think I see some more over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock nodded absently and looked away.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease endeavor to remain some ways back from the cliff\u2019s edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

So it was here.\u00a0 The cliff and the natural stair he remembered leading down it.<\/p>\n

Somewhere.<\/p>\n

Energized by the discovery, Mike tossed off a quick \u2018will do\u2019 and then moved into the mist, feeling just a twinge of guilt for doing precisely what he\u2019d promised he would not.\u00a0 It was obvious Spock took him at his word as he had given him pretty free range since they\u2019d left the cave. \u00a0As the mist swallowed him, Mike\u2019s pace slowed.\u00a0 He tried to feel his way with his feet, but it wasn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 That was another bit of experience he had, from filming \u2018Between Heaven and Earth.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t done the tricky stuff, but he\u2019d been high enough to reinforce his more than healthy respect for heights.<\/p>\n

He grinned.\u00a0 That\u2019s what a real<\/em> man called \u2018fear\u2019.<\/p>\n

Moving forward, carefully, he held his hands out before his face like he\u2019d been taught to do by the blind teacher in another episode where Joe had lost his sight.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 It really did help and kept him from bumping into branches and other things sticking out into his path.\u00a0 Just as he heard Spock call his name \u2013 well, Joe\u2019s <\/em>name \u2013 he ran into something rough that did not give way.\u00a0 He frowned as his fingers explored it.\u00a0 It felt like mesh \u2013 metal mesh \u2013 with some sort of thickly-woven cloth beneath.\u00a0 Maybe it was a tree with really weird bark.\u00a0 Or maybe….<\/p>\n

Maybe it was someone with a gun.<\/p>\n

Michael fell back as a figure stepped out of the mist.\u00a0 He was a tall man and looked by his bone structure to be part Native American.\u00a0\u00a0 His skin was tanned, his hair and eyes dark.\u00a0 He was wearing some sort of a uniform with a gray duster thrown over it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho…who are you?\u201d he stammered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am Ba\u2019Or of the House of Kahnrah.\u00a0 You and your companion have made our shame complete.\u201d\u00a0 A sneer lifted his lip as he brandished the weapon.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I will make you<\/em> no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dan stood with his head tilted as far back as it would go, looking up at\u00a0 the high ridge that jutted out of the side of the rocky hill before them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you guys think?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Pernell\u2019s hazel eyes followed his.\u00a0 \u201cI think we\u2019re nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to the ground.\u00a0 \u201cThe trail leads right to here and then disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d long ago forgotten about guarding the integrity of the signs they followed.\u00a0 They\u2019d hit a patch of ground where the footsteps were so clear it would have been hard not to have spotted them.\u00a0\u00a0 If someone had taken Mike they weren\u2019t doing anything to hide their tracks.<\/p>\n

Which was a worry in itself.<\/p>\n

Lorne had joined him.\u00a0 He was looking up too, shielding his eyes against the rising sun that was beginning to burn the mist off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I remember right, Michael is afraid of heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d all watched him when they filmed that show about Little Joe and Eagle\u2019s Nest.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 True to the character he portrayed, Mike had stubbornly climbed a heck of a lot farther up the rocky ridge that day than a man with that kind of phobia should.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone took him, he\u2019d have had little choice.\u00a0 Fear or not,\u201d Pernell said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute,\u201d Dan said, squinting into the rising light that made the mist glow even as it evaporated.\u00a0 He pointed.\u00a0 \u201cUp there!\u00a0 \u00a0I saw something move.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they often did in the show, the three formed a line and stood together looking up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a man climbing!\u201d Lorne declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove that.\u00a0 Look!\u201d\u00a0 Excitement laced with fear colored Pernell\u2019s baritone lifting it to a medium tenor.\u00a0 \u201cNear the edge of the cliff!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan took a step back and angled his neck.\u00a0 \u201cDamn!\u201d he cursed.\u00a0 \u201cI think those are Mike\u2019s boots and he\u2019s right on the edge!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Kirk stood with his back pressed against the rocky wall of the narrow winding stair that cut into the mountainside.\u00a0 He\u2019d been just about to emerge on top when the sound of voices directly above his head stopped him and dropped him down out of sight.\u00a0 Two of them he didn\u2019t recognize, but he knew the third.\u00a0 He\u2019d know that cultured, seemingly unruffled voice anywhere.<\/p>\n

It was Spock.<\/p>\n

At least the Vulcan wasn\u2019t raving like the last time he\u2019d seen him back in eighteen-seventy-six just after Theron had injected the full load of venom from one of the time manipulators into him.\u00a0 Kirk closed his eyes briefly in order to dismiss the vision of his stoic, self-controlled first officer writhing in the grass, screaming like a lunatic.\u00a0 Bones has said that once the poison was in his system it would slowly become a norm.\u00a0 Due to his Vulcan physiology, it wouldn\u2019t kill him, but it would slowly and quietly drive him insane.\u00a0 The antidote he carried would halt its progress.<\/p>\n

Bones didn\u2019t know if they could fully reverse the effects.\u00a0 The odds, he said, didn\u2019t look good.<\/p>\n

Before going to Gateway Kirk had met with the Starfleet top brass and explained things as well as he\u00a0 could.\u00a0 They\u2019d reluctantly recalled the warrant for Spock\u2019s arrest and rescinded almost all of the charges against him, though there were still a few minor ones he was going to have to face.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, he had sent the new first officer packing, odds or not.<\/p>\n

Now, as he clung to the cliff-face and listened, he tried to imagine who was there besides Spock and the missing actor.\u00a0 Whoever it was, was no doubt the one giving off the other alien signature.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d wracked his brains and the only possibility he could come up with was the other Klingon \u2013 Brewer or Ba\u2019Or \u2013 the one who had been ordered along with Drax to assist Curran Theron.\u00a0 Ba\u2019Or had had run as the explosives went off.\u00a0 That was the act of a coward, something the Klingon could not admit and hope to go home to anything other than being put on kitchen duty or sent out to hunt prickle mice.<\/p>\n

For a Klingon warrior there could be no greater disgrace than to have been outsmarted by humans and a Vulcan.<\/p>\n

Shifting slightly, Kirk looked up the ridge and was rewarded by pebbles striking him in the face.\u00a0 As the blond man pulled back to avoid the rest of the shower, he cursed.<\/p>\n

A set of boots dangled, almost off the edge, and they didn\u2019t look like anything out of a shop on Qo\u2019noS.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCome closer, Vulcan, and he dies!\u201d Ba\u2019Or roared.<\/p>\n

Spock blinked.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what was wrong.\u00a0 It was as if his thought processes as well as the body they drove were impaired.\u00a0\u00a0 He had seen the Klingon step close to Joseph Cartwright, watched as they came face to face and Ba\u2019Or reached out, but he had failed to move.\u00a0 Failed<\/em> to take action.<\/p>\n

Now it was too late.<\/p>\n

Ba\u2019Or\u2019s gloved hand encircled the throat of Ben Cartwright\u2019s youngest son as Theron\u2019s had before, increasing pressure as he spoke.\u00a0 Joseph was not quite dangling, but his feet barely brushed the ground and his fingers were working frantically at the Klingon\u2019s hand in an attempt to dislodge it.\u00a0 Logic dictated this was futile.\u00a0 His human strength could not prevail.\u00a0 Therefore….<\/p>\n

Therefore….<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you stand and do nothing, Vulcan?\u00a0 Do you wish to watch him die?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes rolled his way and then rolled back up into his head as his body went slack.<\/p>\n

He had less than three minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is the honor of the House Kahnrah served by the death of a human male who has not been faced in battle?\u201d Spock demanded, breathing and thinking hard, doing his best to employ Vulcan mind disciplines to overcome the chaos and fatigue that sought to drag him down into a pool of disorder and confusion.\u00a0 \u201cYou have his throat.\u00a0 Do you intend to crush it?\u00a0 What are human bones to you?\u00a0 It would be like battling a racht.<\/em>\u00a0 Only a weakling would threaten a worm who has<\/em> no bones.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cAgain where is your honor, Ba\u2019Or of Kahnrah?\u201d\u00a0 The Vulcan moved haltingly forward.\u00a0 \u201cThis man is my maqoch<\/em>.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 What is done to him is done to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ba\u2019Or did not release Joe, but he lowered him until the young man\u2019s feet touched the ground.\u00a0 \u201cYou will die for him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Determination shone from his near-black eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI will die<\/em> for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ba\u2019Or stared at him for several heartbeats and then threw his head back and roared.\u00a0 Seconds later his fingers opened and Joseph Cartwright slid to the ground unconscious.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk held his breath.\u00a0 From what McCoy told him, Spock was in no shape to take on a lightweight prize fighter, let alone a Klingon warrior in his prime.<\/p>\n

He had to do something.<\/p>\n

Looking up again, the blond man spotted the same pair of boots hanging just over the edge of the cliff, only they were horizontal this time.\u00a0 He climbed up a few feet and dared to look over the edge.\u00a0 Spock was backing up, retreating before Ba\u2019Or.\u00a0 Did his friend know he was here?\u00a0 Or was his first officer simply trying to put as much space between the fallen actor and his would-be-assassin as he could?\u00a0\u00a0 With an eye to the pair, Kirk reached up and caught the young man around the hips and began to draw him down.\u00a0 The ledge was narrow, so it took some maneuvering, but finally he had him and propped his unconscious form against the rocks.\u00a0 Making sure he was well anchored before doing so, Kirk began to ascend once again.<\/p>\n

He had to save Spock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d Lorne called softly from the ground.\u00a0 Like Ben Cartwright was so many times, he\u2019d been left to watch as his television sons climbed the narrow ledge, ascending into danger to see if it was indeed their actor \u2018brother\u2019 whose boots had been hanging off the side of the high cliff.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019d been able to keep track of Pernell and Dan for the first few minutes, but then the trees had shifted to the outside of the path and they\u2019d vanished behind a screen of green leaves.\u00a0 He wanted to call out to them again, but they all knew stealth was imperative.\u00a0 If it was<\/em> Mike \u2013 and if someone had<\/em> taken him \u2013 then his life could be in danger.<\/p>\n

Lorne snorted.\u00a0 The next time he portrayed Ben Cartwright impatiently waiting on word of one of his missing boys, he\u2019s have a lot of resource material to call on!<\/p>\n

A minute later he saw Pernell\u2019s dark head break above the tree line.\u00a0 Dan was close behind him.\u00a0 They were moving.\u00a0 Then they stopped.\u00a0 Then they went down and out of sight.<\/p>\n

Lorne\u2019s white eyebrows met in the middle.\u00a0 \u201cDamn!\u201d<\/em> he said at last.<\/p>\n

And began to climb.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kirk had shifted into a covering of leaves at the top of the ridge.\u00a0 He watched as Spock and the Klingon began to circle one another.\u00a0 Due to the Vulcan\u2019s shaming of him, Ba\u2019Or would feel it necessary to kill Spock with his bare hands.<\/p>\n

That gave him an advantage.<\/p>\n

Silently opening the kit he wore, Kirk pulled out his phaser.\u00a0 He set it to high stun and then moved, circling around in order to end up to the aft side of Spock where he\u2019d have a clearer shot.\u00a0 His friend was moving slowly, almost as if in a dream.\u00a0 There was none of the panther-like grace he had come to associate with the Vulcan \u2013 nothing to suggest the speed and agility he knew Spock was capable of.\u00a0 His friend was too thin.\u00a0 He was unkempt, valleys of a sickly green surrounded his once keen eyes, and his skin was the color of paste.<\/p>\n

And still<\/em> Spock was going to fight. \u00a0Still<\/em>, he was going to fulfill his mission to save Joe Cartwright \u2013 to save him <\/em>\u2013 even if it killed him.<\/p>\n

Once in place Kirk looked for an opportunity to fire.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spock was breathing hard; a physical reaction he had only rare acquaintance with and found most unpleasant.\u00a0 The resulting lack of oxygen drove a green mist before his eyes, altering both his mental and physical state, rendering him weak and unable to think clearly.\u00a0 His dark eyes sought the man he had to protect even as he took another step back, intent on drawing the Klingon away from his intended victim.<\/p>\n

His victim….<\/p>\n

His….<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s gaze dropped to the matted grass near the cliff\u2019s edge.\u00a0 It was empty.<\/p>\n

He faltered.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been there.\u00a0 Someone had been there.<\/p>\n

Joe?<\/p>\n

Jim….<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you surrender Vulcan.\u00a0 You are wise,\u201d Ba\u2019Or snarled as he advanced.\u00a0 \u201cDeath will come more quickly that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock blinked and staggered back, his eyes riveted the that empty space of ground.\u00a0 He had a mission.\u00a0 There was <\/em>a mission.<\/p>\n

What <\/em>was his mission?<\/p>\n

Jim.\u00a0 It had been to save Jim.\u00a0 But first, he had to save….<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d\u00a0 It came out as a strangled gasp.<\/p>\n

The Klingon was mere feet away.\u00a0 He held no weapon.\u00a0 He needed none. \u00a0He had removed his gloves and his scarred fingers were reaching out, flexing, seeking tender bones to crush.<\/p>\n

Ba\u2019Or almost had him when the Klingon halted.\u00a0 Suspicion lit his feral eyes.\u00a0 With the look of an animal scenting danger, he pivoted on his heel.<\/p>\n

A second later he turned back with a roar.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have you done with him, Vulcan?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The equation was flawed as the question.\u00a0\u00a0 He had done nothing.<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Why had he done nothing?\u00a0 Why couldn\u2019t he remember what he was to have done?<\/p>\n

What he had done….<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s near-black eyes lit with real fear.<\/p>\n

Something was desperately wrong with his mind.<\/p>\n

Ba\u2019Or remained still for several beats of Spock\u2019s Vulcan heart, staring at him, and then the Klingon warrior launched himself forward with the power and strength of a desert sehlat<\/em>, a death cry on his lips.\u00a0 Spock braced himself for the impact.<\/p>\n

It never came.<\/p>\n

Instead there was a high-pitched whine.\u00a0 Spock saw the Klingon\u2019s eyes widen with surprise.\u00a0 Then, suddenly, dawn broke over the forested land, bathing them both in a rich red glow.<\/p>\n

As he fell, Spock had an errant thought.<\/p>\n

His mother should have been here.<\/p>\n

She so loved the sunrise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDan!\u00a0 Dan!\u201d Pernell called.\u00a0 \u201cHere!\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man\u2019s head came up.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have you got?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMike!\u00a0 I\u2019ve got Mike!\u201d<\/p>\n

Those were just about the sweetest words he\u2019d ever though he heard.\u00a0 Hastening to follow, Dan called out, \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the trail.\u00a0 Just above you.\u201d\u00a0 There was\u00a0 pause.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s unconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unconscious?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDan?\u201d their TV father\u2019s voice called.\u00a0 \u201cDan, what did Pernell say?\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned and saw Lorne\u2019s white head advancing up the trail.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s got Mike!\u201d he called down.<\/p>\n

That head looked like the hind end of a white-tailed deer\u00a0 it was coming up so fast.<\/p>\n

Turning back Dan started his own climb again.\u00a0 It took less than a minute before he nearly stumbled over Pernell, who was kneeling in the middle of the path.\u00a0 He had his hand out and was gently tapping Mike\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike?\u00a0 Michael!\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice was shaking.\u00a0 Dan wondered why.\u00a0 Then he noticed the red marks on Mike\u2019s throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood God!\u201d he heard Lorne exclaim behind him.<\/p>\n

Pernell was looking up at him.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think we should move him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan wasn\u2019t sure why everyone was looking to him, but they were.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan you tell if anything is broken?\u201d<\/p>\n

The black-haired man shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 I checked.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man drew in a breath and let it out slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you just get out of my way and I\u2019ll see what I can do about getting little brother somewhere safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorne had already begun his descent.\u00a0 Pernell, with an eye to the edge of the path, slipped past him and did the same.\u00a0 Stepping over Mike\u2019s silent form, the big man moved to the other side and then knelt and gently lifted him and laid his still form across one shoulder.\u00a0 Then, as if carrying a precious Ming urn, he began his descent.<\/p>\n

About halfway down a sound stopped him.\u00a0 A funny sound that had no place in the wilderness.\u00a0 It was a high-pitched whine that grated on the nerves, something like a tornado siren.\u00a0 Dan looked up and for just a second there was a flash of light that hurt his eyes.<\/p>\n

Then it was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cDan!\u00a0 Are you coming?\u00a0 We can hear sirens.\u00a0 The studio must have called the police!\u201d Pernell shouted.<\/p>\n

As he arrived at the bottom and laid Mike on the ground, he heard Lorne make a \u2018tsk-ing\u2019 noise with his tongue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d the big man asked even as he gently touched his television brother\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike was starting to stir.\u00a0 Those green eyes were just next to opening.\u00a0 It looked like he was going to be all right.<\/p>\n

Lorne didn\u2019t miss it.\u00a0 He shook his head and then, in spite of everything, laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what on God\u2019s green earth do you find funny?\u201d Pernell demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just thinking about the ratings,\u201d the older man said.\u00a0 \u201cThis adventure would have blown them through the roof!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

EPILOGUE<\/p>\n

1876<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCome in, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother\u2019s voice was so soft, he wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d heard it.\u00a0 Opening the door just a bit further Adam peered inside.\u00a0 \u201cAm I intruding?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe pursed his lips as his eyes lit with joy.\u00a0 \u201cAnne\u2019s sleeping in the next room.\u00a0 Come on in.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d had an adventure the night before \u2013 a joyful one \u2013 one that had culminated in the arrival of the tiny bundle of humanity nestled in the crook of his brother\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

It was a boy, sure enough, just as Anne had said.<\/p>\n

Eric Benjamin Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Adam tiptoed over and looked down.\u00a0 He whistled softly.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s got as much hair as you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201c\u2019Cept it\u2019s blond as Anne\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s curly head was a mix of yellows, dark as amber and pale as wheat.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Adam said, adding without missing a beat.\u00a0 \u201cDefinitely<\/em> takes after his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brother laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, I can\u2019t believe he\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were in the sitting room of the wing of the house their Pa had given to Joe and Anne.\u00a0 Adam grabbed a chair and pulled it up and then sat there looking at the pair.\u00a0 He knew exactly what Joe meant.\u00a0 Though four months had passed since the events that had unfolded upon his return, he could still hardly believe Joe was here \u2013 alive and whole.\u00a0 He\u2019d been so sick back in seventy-four with encephalitis, and what he\u2019d suffered at Theron Vance\u2019s hands had brought it all back.\u00a0 For a time Adam feared he\u2019d come home to be the only<\/em> Cartwright son.\u00a0 The responsibility weighed on him and his own fears had risen up like a tide, trying desperately to tear him away.\u00a0 His father was old.\u00a0 Who knew how long he had.\u00a0 Joe, well, if Joe was gone then it was almost as if he had taken a wife.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to care for Anne and Carrie and…<\/p>\n

Eric.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d have to be Joe and Ben rolled into one.<\/p>\n

In the middle of the night, in his darkest despair, he heard the sirens call and remembered the ebon swells glinting with diamond dust stars and for a moment he wished he was there again, going where no one had gone before.<\/p>\n

But for just a moment.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d done another thing in the middle of the night.\u00a0 He\u2019d come in and knelt by his brother\u2019s bed and prayed to be half the man Joe was.<\/p>\n

Only half and it was enough.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d taken turns with Joe up until the last few weeks.\u00a0 Once Anne was great with child, the Doc told her she needed to go to bed herself for the sake of her child.\u00a0 He and Pa took turns carrying her in and sitting with her, stepping out when they could to give the couple time alone.\u00a0 Joe was mending slowly.\u00a0 The worst of it was the weakness.\u00a0 About a week before they\u2019d gotten him to sit up on his own for the first time.\u00a0 After that, his brother seemed to seize on that small victory, pushing himself, quickly growing strong enough to visit his wife in her<\/em> room.<\/p>\n

Then one night Joe had come sliding down the staircase, hanging on for dear life to the railing, his eyes wide and his silver-gray hair flying wild.\u00a0 Anne\u2019s water had broke.\u00a0 She was in labor.\u00a0 Doc Martin was called and, as a small blessing to all of them who had suffered and lost so much, Eric Benjamin Cartwright made a perfect entrance into the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo who do you think he\u2019s going to take after?\u201d Adam asked, a smile twisting his lips.\u00a0 \u201cHoss or Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes were bright.\u00a0 \u201cYou, big brother,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll have the soul of a seeker, the mind of a scholar, the strength and hands of a man, and….\u201d\u00a0 His brother\u2019s green eyes held his hazel\u00a0 ones.\u00a0 \u201c….a hint of mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019d never talked about it.\u00a0 What had happened.\u00a0 Where he had been or what he had been doing while he was there.\u00a0 He\u2019d never explained how he \u2018d remained so young.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter anymore.\u00a0 Nothing mattered anymore.\u00a0 Nothing but….<\/p>\n

Home.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the black-haired man said, reaching out toward his nephew who caught hold of his finger and drew it hungrily toward his mouth, \u201cthere\u2019s no mystery to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s called love.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2269<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Kirk stood outside his first officer\u2019s door, waiting for silent permission to enter as he so often did.\u00a0 When it came as a whisper in his mind, he touched the wall panel and the door slid open.\u00a0 Anticipating his request, the Vulcan had modified the temperature of his room to where it was…almost…pleasant.\u00a0 Spock had also anticipated another need.<\/p>\n

Two glasses sat on his desk, filled with an amber liquid.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeen raiding McCoy\u2019s \u2018medicine\u2019 cabinet, have we?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock sat as he often did, with his index fingers forming a steeple and resting on his lips.\u00a0 He released a breath of air as he dropped them to his lap and straightened up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a sense\u00a0 you would have need of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to make Bones jealous with that talent of yours,\u201d he said as he took a seat opposite the Vulcan and reached for the glass.\u00a0 Holding it up, he saluted and took a sip.\u00a0 When he did, his eyes lit up.\u00a0 \u201cDoes Bones know you took the good<\/em> stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI left a bottle of Vulcan Spice tea in exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was there in spite of Spock\u2019s protestations.\u00a0 A wry wit.\u00a0 There was no denying it.<\/p>\n

Kirk took another sip and then leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cSo have you divined the cause of my present mood as well?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have un answered questions,\u201d his friend replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegarding?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk swallowed another sip, relishing the inner warmth the liquor produced even though, combined with Spock\u2019s recreated Vulcan atmosphere, it made him a little dizzy.\u00a0 It had been about a month since the events that had transpired on Earth.\u00a0 They\u2019d battled first for Spock\u2019s life and then, for his sanity.\u00a0 That day on the hilltop in 1964, he\u2019d been forced to stun both his friend and Ba\u2019Or, who\u2019d rushed the Vulcan with murder in his eyes.\u00a0 The blast had weakened Spock\u2019s already weak system and it had been touch and go for a good while.\u00a0 After Bones was sure he would live, it had taken the best scientists and doctor\u2019s in Starfleet to figure out how to flush the Originator\u2019s venom from Spock\u2019s system. And then had taken Ambassador Sarek to reach his son and restore him to sanity.<\/p>\n

That had been a day.<\/p>\n

Once Spock was out of danger, the next battle was the one against Starfleet to get his record wiped clean and the Vulcan officially reinstated as first officer on the Enterprise.\u00a0 Among other things, Professor Beckett \u2013 who carried a good deal of weight \u2013 had lodged a formal complaint against the Vulcan for the theft of the original manipulator and his university had to be…compensated with a special grant to visit Gateway in order to get him to withdraw it.<\/p>\n

As to the ramifications on Earth and in the past, they\u2019d been, well, interesting.\u00a0 Starfleet had ordered that a cordon be established around the Bodie mine to keep any alien species from acquiring the time manipulators buried there.\u00a0 It effected the nervous system and made anyone who touched anything that came from within ten miles of the mine feel ill.<\/p>\n

Thus the rumors of a Bodie curse.<\/p>\n

In the end Spock had gotten a slap on the wrist for acting without orders \u2013 forced time away \u2013\u00a0 which the Vulcan had gleefully spent diving into some long-delayed research \u2013 but that had been it.\u00a0 They\u2019d come back to the Enterprise, life and duty had crowded in, and things had returned to normal.<\/p>\n

Well, almost.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have not come to peace with my choice to act on my own regarding the events in nineteenth century Nevada, nor with those events themselves,\u201d Spock said when he said nothing.\u00a0 \u201cAs a result, our relationship has been strained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Had it?\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t realized it, not until McCoy had pointed out how he had been avoiding the Vulcan.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Spock.\u201d\u00a0 Jim sat the glass down on the desk.\u00a0 \u201cI am sorry.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t know what it is.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged and his smile was chagrinned.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like to be left out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock nodded.\u00a0 \u201cPrecisely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vulcan shifted.\u00a0 \u201cIt is your belief that my choice not to consult you before journeying into the past is an indication that your input was not necessary.\u00a0 On the contrary, it was you<\/em> who were necessary to the time and plane of existence we now occupy and therefore not expendable.\u00a0 It was to insure your continued existence that I made the choices I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not that petty, Spock,\u201d he said, slightly indignant.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot \u2018petty\u2019, no, but…human.\u00a0 There is within the human creature a desire to know that its life is useful.\u00a0 That it will be missed when it is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim frowned.\u00a0 \u201c\u2019It\u2019 being me<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the abstract.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you think,\u201d he began, \u201cthat I\u2019m in a blue funk because I felt you didn\u2019t need me?\u201d<\/p>\n

One ink-slash eyebrow peaked.\u00a0 \u201cA \u2018blue funk\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook it up.\u201d\u00a0 Kirk rose and began to move about the room.\u00a0 \u201cPart of it is what you say, Spock, but there\u2019s something more.\u00a0 I feel…\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Out of control like I have no \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cControl over your own destiny?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock finally sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThis is another reason I did not consult you before taking action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat \u2018reason\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJim, you pride yourself on being a self-made man; a man of keen intellect and decisive action based on experience.\u00a0 I was aware that it would be…uncomfortable for you to realize how much of what you are was written into your genetic code long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew all about genetics.\u00a0 He\u2019d been through all the tests when he joined the Academy and the statisticians had tried to pigeon-hole his course based on what they found.\u00a0 He\u2019d ignored them and forged the man he was today.\u00a0 Except, he hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 Not really.<\/p>\n

It was hard to deny your ancestor\u2019s influence when you were looking him in the face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are thinking of Ben Cartwright, and of his youngest son.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded as he dropped back into the chair.\u00a0 \u201cIt was startling,\u201d he had to admit, \u201crealizing just how much of what I am came from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough<\/em> them, Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s use of his personal name always made him pay attention.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are creatures of choice.\u00a0 What is written into our genetic code may be acted upon or denied.\u00a0 This was Curran Theron\u2019s aim, to…alter your choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

A strong-willed man could be a force for good or evil.\u00a0 What was reckless to some was courage to others.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If a man was stubborn that could mean he would not bend, but then again, it could just mean he was not willing to compromise.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d seen it in the Cartwrights, in Ben and his boys.<\/p>\n

He saw it now in himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel sorry for him in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The peaked eyebrow tried to climb higher.\u00a0 \u201cTheron?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe had all of time and space and yet his world was so small.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk rose then.\u00a0 He started for the door.\u00a0 A second later, he turned back.\u00a0 \u201cYou haven\u2019t touched your drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spock\u2019s lip curled in that half-smile that was only his.\u00a0 \u201cI believe I shall save it for when the good doctor comes to retrieve his bottle.\u00a0 I understand it is a good mixer with Vulcan Spice tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk laughed so hard he nearly split the seams of his regulation shirt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1964<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Mike.\u00a0 How you feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

His costar was sitting slouched in a chair.\u00a0 Mike \u2019s curly brown head was barely visible above the book he was reading.\u00a0 Dan bent down to read the title.\u00a0 \u201cThe Man Who Fell to Earth.\u201d\u00a0 The big man straightened up.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow I didn\u2019t see you as a science fiction type.\u00a0 Romance, maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike lowered the book and glared at him.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d managed to keep the whole episode where he\u2019d disappeared out of the press.\u00a0 It had taken some maneuvering since the police had been called in.\u00a0 In the end he and Lorne and Pernell had accepted Mike\u2019s explanation that he\u2019d been on a bender and his sense of humor had gotten out of control.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the truth.\u00a0 They all knew it.<\/p>\n

Even though they didn\u2019t know what the truth really was.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re ready for you, Mister Landon, Mister Blocker,\u201d one of the director\u2019s assistant\u2019s said.<\/p>\n

Dan slapped the bottom of Mike\u2019s shoe.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, short-shanks.\u00a0 Time to dazzle the ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike stretched and then stood, placing the book on his chair.\u00a0 He scratched his head and then ran a hand along the back of his neck.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Dan, I\u2019ve been thinking I might try my hand at script writing. Maybe making my own show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, how hard can it be to create a TV series?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan\u2019s eyebrows popped.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you go letting David hear you say that,\u201d he snorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I wasn\u2019t thinking about a western.\u00a0 More of a, wagon train to the stars, if you know what I mean.\u00a0 Something set in space, with a captain and his crew seeking out new life and having an adventure or two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I suppose there\u2019s little green men in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike got a funny look on his face.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe one.\u00a0 But he\u2019s not little.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou actually gonna pitch that to someone at the studio?\u201d<\/p>\n

Those green eyes did their dance and then that laugh came, the one that made everyone join in.<\/p>\n

\u201cNah.\u00a0 Hell<\/em>, it\u2019d never sell.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> The Stillness Within<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Between Heaven and Earth<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Klingon for \u2018close male friend\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Family,\u00a0Hop Sing,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0Roy Coffee,\u00a0SJS,\u00a0Star Trek<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0In 2269 an archaeologist digging in the ruins of the Bodie mine on Earth discovers skeletal remains dating to 1876. On the wrist of the dead man, who is wearing a green jacket, is an alien device. Its discovery sends the crew of the Enterprise into the past to Ben Cartwright’s Ponderosa where the eddies of time and an alien menace are moving together to doom Ben’s youngest son.<\/p>\n

Rated: PG-13 \u00a0 (77,500 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10058,"featured_media":30546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,24,23,41,690],"tags":[951],"class_list":["post-13882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-crossover","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","category-ma-rated","tag-star-trek","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-24-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id","wpcat-690-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":3084,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Cartwright-four-scan-book.jpg?fit=1980%2C1442&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57961,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=57961","url_meta":{"origin":13882,"position":0},"title":"A Stop at The Shady Villa (by JC)","author":"JC","date":"August 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: After a nearly fatal case of mistaken identity in Kiowa Flats, Joe and Hoss continue their quest for Texas Longhorn breeding stock, inadvertently stumbling across a potential goldmine (What Happened Next after \u201cThe Gunmen\u201d).\u00a0 Written for the Chaps & Spurs 2025 Third Quarter Challenge*. 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