“Calm yourself, Nurse,” Kirk replied. He pulled out his communicator. “Scotty, get us out of here.”
When the elevator got to the top floor, the guards were waiting. The door opened and they stared in shock. No one was there.
At that moment, the four runaways beamed in near the Bounty landing site. McCoy and Chekov went aboard, but Kirk stayed outside with Gillian.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
“You can’t. Our next stop is the twenty-third century. Just tell me how to contact the whales. Give me their radio frequency.”
“All right—401 megahertz.”
“Thank you … for everything,” Kirk said. Then he spoke into his communicator. “Beam me up, Scotty.”
Kirk started to disappear, but Gillian grabbed him by the waist.
When he beamed on board, Gillian was with him. She grinned. “Surprise!”
Kirk was angry, but he didn’t have time to argue. The dilithium crystals were back to normal, so he rushed to the bridge and ordered the ship to take off. As the bridge whirred into action, Gillian looked around, amazed.
The Bounty flew over San Francisco, on course to Alaska.
Kirk spoke into the intercom. “Scotty, are the whale tanks ready?”
“Aye,” Scotty answered. “But I’ve never beamed up four hundred tons before.”
“Four hundred tons?”
“It ain’t just the whales, it’s the water.”
Just then the whale’s radio signal was heard.
“That’s it!” Gillian shouted.
“Put them on screen,” Kirk commanded.
Instantly the screen showed George and Gracie in the ocean, jumping and singing like two happy children.
“Admiral,” said Uhura, “I’m picking up another signal in the area.” On the screen flashed a picture of a ship.
“It’s a whaling ship!” Gillian cried.
“How far from the whales, Uhura?” Kirk asked.
“About one nautical mile.”
“Oh no, we’re too late!” Gillian cried.
The invisible spaceship was in a race against the whale hunters. It sliced through the sky, as the hunters began loading their harpoons.
“Ten seconds, sir,” Sulu said.
The hunters lined up the whales in their targets—and fired! The harpoons sailed through the air.
But … THWANG! The hunters couldn’t believe what they saw. Their harpoons seemed to hit something invisible and fall into the water.
And they practically jumped out of their pants at What happened next. The Bounty, big as a football field, suddenly appeared right where the harpoons had hit! The hunters spun around in a panic—and beat it.
The Bounty crew cheered. But the biggest problem was still ahead. Kirk again spoke into the intercom.
“Mr. Scott. Let’s try to beam those whales in!”
“I’ll give it me best, sir.”
In the cargo bay, Scotty was sweating. The transporter groaned with the strain. “Stay with me, sir,” Scotty said, “I need more power curve … five seconds … four … three … two … one!”
Before his eyes, the two huge whales slowly appeared. And around them was half a tank of seawater. Seotty’s mouth opened in amazement.
“Admiral!” he called. “There be whales here!”
“Well done, Scotty!” Kirk answered. “Prepare for warp speed as soon as possible.”
With a blast of power, the Bounty left Earth for outer space.
Kirk stood up. “Mr. Sulu, take control. I’m taking our guest down to see her whales. Mr. Spock, we’re traveling with a lot of added weight. Have you figured out how we can get enough speed for time travel?”
“Mr. Scott cannot give me exact figures, Admiral. So I will … make a guess.”
“You? A guess?” Kirk laughed. “Spock, that’s wonderful!”
As Kirk and Gillian left, McCoy said to Spock, “That means he feels safer about your ‘guesses’ than most other people’s facts.”
Spock felt complimented. “Then I will make the best guess I can.”
Meanwhile, Kirk and Gillian joined Scotty by the whale tank. “Hard to imagine,” Kirk said. “When Man was killing these creatures, he was destroying his own future.” He looked at Gillian. “You know, our chances of getting home are not good. You should have stayed where you belong.”
“I belong here,” she said. “After all, if you do get back home, who in your century knows anything about humpback whales?”
“You have a point…”
At that moment, the ship began to vibrate.
“We’re having some power fall-off, sir,” Scotty said.
Kirk rushed to the bridge, leaving Scotty and Gillian behind. When he got there, Scotty’s voice boomed over the intercom:
“Warp seven point nine…. Mr. Sulu, that’s all I can give you!”
“Spock, can we make breakaway speed?” Kirk said.
“No, Admiral. We may be pulled into the sun. However, there is a chance if I can change our path.”
“Warp eight point one,” Sulu said. “Maximum speed, sir!”
“Admiral, I need thruster control,” said Spock.
“Acceleration thrusters when Spock commands!” Kirk ordered.
Spock concentrated on his controls, waiting for the right moment. “Steady … steady…. Now.”
The ship shot toward the sun. Then, silence. It seemed the ship had been swallowed up.
But sure enough, with a bang of retro rockets, the Bounty whipped around the other side. They were out of danger. Before long, the ship slowed down to normal speed.
But something was terribly wrong. There was no sound at all on the bridge. No engines, no beeps—nothing.
Suddenly, they could hear the gibberish of the probe.
“Spock, where are we?!” Kirk asked.
“I don’t know, Admiral. Computers are not working.”
“I have no control, sir!” said Sulu.
“Picture, Uhura!”
“I can’t, sir—nothing!”
Kirk didn’t know what to do. The entire crew was helpless.
“For heaven’s sake, Jim, where are we?” McCoy said. The probe’s noise got louder, and they all sensed they were falling.
And they were—right toward the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco!
But this was twenty-third century San Francisco, at the exact moment they had left it. And at that moment, the window was crashing in on the Starfleet Federation Headquarters—just as it did before. Sarek and Cartwright stared helplessly.
Then a look of horror crossed their faces as they saw Kirk’s ship narrowly miss the Golden Gate Bridge and crash into the bay.
The ship’s windows blew out, and all crew members went flying around the bridge. As they started to sink, Kirk yelled to Spock, “Open the hatch!”
Spock obeyed him. Kirk looked through the hatch and into the rain. “You got us to the right place, Spock. Now all we have to do is get the whales out before we sink.” He and Gillian up to their necks in water. He helped them up into the corridor.
“The whales, Scotty?” Kirk shouted.
“Stuck! There’s no power to the bay doors!”
“The explosive override? Let’s blow it open!”
“It’s underwater! There’s no way to reach it!”
“Go on ahead! Close the hatch!” Kirk took a deep breath and dove underwater. He couldn’t find it. He swam back to the surface, gasped for air, and went back down. Now he saw what he was looking for. This was their last chance. He tore open a seal and pressed a button.
BA-ROOM!—an underwater explosion. The cargo bay doors swung open—and Kirk swam out through them. His air was running out. He raced to the surface. Just as he was about to pass out, his head popped above the water. He looked around to see his crew members hanging onto the top of the sinking ship—including Gillian.
For a minute he was relieved—until he heard the nagging sound of the probe. Where were the whales? Kirk do
ve back underwater. He swam toward the cargo bay until a wonderful sight made him stop. Coming out of the bay doors into the ocean were George and Gracie.
Kirk swam back to the surface and grabbed onto the ship. But the rain was falling harder than ever, and the probe’s call was not being answered.
“Why don’t they sing?!” Kirk said.
And then, all of a sudden, it happened. From deep in the ocean came the song of George the whale.
The probe stopped. Then it turned its antenna toward the sound. It began its signal again, this time softer. The whale and the probe were talking to each other!
It went on for a while, each song answered by the signal. And when they were through, the probe blasted into outer space.
All at once, the rain stopped, the clouds parted—and the sun began to peek through.
At Starfleet Command, the lights came back on. “Mr. President,” Admiral Cartwright cried, “we have power!”
The President looked out at the bay and saw the sinking spaceship. “Send a rescue shuttle!”
Within seconds, Kirk and his crew heard the sound of their rescuers on the way.
“Congratulations, Jim,” said McCoy with a big smile. “I think you’ve saved the Earth.”
“Not me, Bones,” answered Kirk. “They did it.”
The crew looked out to sea. George and Gracie were jumping and spouting happily in their new world. And above them, as the sun broke through the clouds, was the most beautiful rainbow they’d ever seen.
But when things got back to normal, there was still a big problem left: the trial of the Enterprise crew. Into the Federation Council Chamber walked Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov to be judged by the President. In the front row of the audience were Gillian, Sarek, and Spock. When the crew took their places on the stand, Spock rose and joined them.
“Captain Spock,” the President said, “you do not stand accused.”
“I stand with my shipmates,” Spock answered. “Their fate shall be mine.”
“As you wish.” The President read the list of crimes—attacking Federation officers, stealing and destroying the Starship Enterprise, and disobeying the orders of the Starfleet Commander.
Kirk knew he had done it all for a good cause—saving Spock’s life. But still, all the charges were true. “On behalf of us all, Mr. President, I plead guilty.”
But the President surprised them. Because of what Kirk and his crew had done to save Earth, he threw away all the charges—except one.
“The remaining charge—disobeying a superior officer—is directed only at Admiral Kirk. James T. Kirk, I hereby reduce you to the rank of Captain.” The crowd didn’t know how to take this. “And,” the President continued, “because of your new rank, you will be given the duties for which you have shown greatest ability: command of a starship.”
Kirk was shocked. This was exactly what he wanted—his own starship again!
“Captain Kirk,” the President said, “your new command awaits you. You and your crew have saved this planet from its own mistake. And we forever thank you.”
The audience broke into a standing ovation.
As the crowd left, Gillian kissed Kirk and said good-bye.
“Where are you going?” he said.
“You’re going to your ship, I’m going to mine. A science vessel. I’ve got three hundred years of catching up to do. Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch. See you round the galaxy!”
Kirk shook his head and smiled.
At the same time, Sarek was saying good-bye to his son, Spock.
“I am impressed with you and your associates, Spock.”
“They are my friends,” Spock said.
“Yes, of course…. Do you have any message for your mother?”
Spock thought for a moment. Then he said, “Tell her I feel fine….” His human side was, after all, coming back. And he knew his mother would want to know he could finally answer the last question of his memory test.
Later, a shuttle craft picked up Kirk and his crew to take them to their ship.
“Probably an old bucket of bolts,” said McCoy.
But he was wrong—very wrong. They came closer to the ship. In a minute they could see the whole thing. One by one, their faces lit up.
It was the Enterprise! A shiny, new ship built to be exactly like the one the crew had commanded for so many years.
“My friends,” Kirk said, “we’ve come home.”
The great doors of the ship opened and the crew stepped aboard. They went straight to the bridge and took their old places.
Kirk sat in his captain’s chair. “Let’s see what she’s got, Mr. Sulu.”
In a flash, the Enterprise hit warp speed, on the first of its new voyages.
Peter Lerangis, Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home
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