"What do you mean 'no clearance'?" Kirk's bloodshot eyes bored into Pike's and despite being literally light years apart, Chris could feel the tension rolling off Starfleet's prodigal son in waves. "We chased those … Fugitives for two whole hours. My best officers learned how to man the obscure transport vehicles of this Godforsaken plant in five minutes so we could chase two criminals through alien streets in the pouring rain for two hours. Two hours of diddly squat, and now that I actually have the means to locate my first officer, you're telling me I can't. Because of protocol. "

No one on the bridge dared draw breath.

Admiral Pike dropped his gaze and massage his temples with one hand. "Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but even I have my orders. And they are for the Starship Enterprise to dispatch immediately to Saturn VII to respond to a code three distress signal. People, innocent people are in grave danger, Jim. This isn't an order you can just shrug off, Jim." He looked at Kirk with an expression of two parts resignation and one part sympathy.

"And leaving my First Officer on an alien planet is something I can?" Kirk's eyes glittered with hostile determination and his jaw was set with stubbornness.

Pike's cheeks flushed and his gaze hardened. "That isn't what I meant. Look, Jim. I understand how important a Captain's First Officer is, but-"

"The Hell you do. You haven't been Captain in what, five years? And come to think of, I don't know who your First Officer was. Can you even remember his name? His race, his specialty? And Mr Spock isn't just my First Officer. He's one of the best officers on this ship, Hell, in all of Starfleet. He's a necessity to the Science Department and crucial to the development and completion of each and every of my missions. He's not just a co-worker, a friend or even my First Officer. He's someone lover," Kirk's eyes cut to Uhura, standing with her head bowed at her station, her face hidden by a dark curtain of hair. She lifted her head at the mention of her lover and the look in her eyes forced Pike to look away.

No one spoke for a few moments. When Pike looked back at Kirk, he was shocked and saddened to see the same look emotion in Uhura's eyes in the slumped stance of his protégé. Kirk's arms were braced on the bar in front of the screen through which Pike observed the bridge. His head was bowed slightly, but Pike knew without seeing his face the look that haunted his eyes.

"You have twenty four hours." Pike conceded, his expression defeated.

"Forty eight," The crew jumped slightly at Kirk's sudden interjection. His eyes blazed with hope and hunger, and his voice, although slightly hoarse, was bright with the promise of a smile.

Pike softened in the face of such eager loyalty. "Thirty six. That's all I can promise you. And if Starfleet finds out about this, I'm not the only one who'll suffer the repercussions. Your entire crew will be considered responsible for anything that happens on Saturn VII that could have been prevented by intervention by this vessel. Are you willing to put your career and the future of your entire crew on the line, Jim?"

Jim considered his options, the probability of finding Spock, the probability of him finding a satisfactory replacement, the probability of Uhura ever smiling again. The probability of him ever smiling again. When he looked Pike in the eyes, the Admiral knew Jim was his father's son.

"You can't have an entire crew without a First Officer. Ask me when we get him back if I think it was worth it,"

"And Jim?"

Kirk turned from his crew, one hand on Uhura's shoulder in a comforting squeeze to look at Pike with an slightly closed, and also somewhat triumphant expression.

"I do remember my First Officer. I married her. She was a quarter Orion and her specialty was engineering. She died five years ago, saving my life during a mission we didn't think was dangerous. So don't tell me I don't understand, Jim. I think I understand a lot better than you give this bureaucrat credit for. You have thirty six hours. Good luck,"

Pike's face faded from the screen as it went black, and Kirk's hand slowly slid from Uhura's shoulder to clench in his hair.

Less than four miles away, on the dusty cargo-hold floor of an ex-Romulan fighter ship, Spock opened his eyes.