...What's this? Another update 2 weeks later? Gasp!

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! It means a lot to me. :) This chapter is for you all.

The Voyages of the USS Enterprise

Arc 3: The Enterprise Incident

Summary of arc: It is two weeks from the one year anniversary of Nero's return. The Romulans are making suspicious movements on their side of the Neutral Zone, causing the Enterprise to be called in to patrol the area. Acting against orders, Jim crosses the Neutral Zone, only to be caught by the Romulan patrol. He, along with Spock, gets transported aboard the Romulan ship as prisoner for questioning. While aboard, Jim accidentally uncovers a plot to overthrow the Federation, starting with a planet known as Angelus IV. But before Jim has the chance to relay his message to Starfleet, the Romulan commander orders his execution for treason and Jim must escape the ship before it's too late.

Chapter 7: Really, Really Bad Plans

The bridge erupted into angry chatter as soon as the Romulan transmission ended.

"Captain, you can't go over there!" Sulu protested. "She will kill you!"

"This goes against hundreds of Starfleet regulations!" Uhura added.

The rest of the crew had similar objections, all of which Jim barely heard. Instead, his attention was focused on Spock. The Vulcan was standing quietly off to the side, his hand clasped behind his back. When he met Jim's gaze, he nodded once.

Jim swallowed and returned the gesture. He stood up and the bridge fell silent.

"Mr. Sulu, you have the conn," he said. "Mr. Spock, Doctor McCoy, if you will come with me. Lieutenant Uhura, please alert Mr. Scott to meet us in the transporter room."

Everyone began protesting again, but Jim held up his hand for silence.

"We have already broken Starfleet law by crossing the Neutral Zone in the first place," he said. Sulu opened his mouth to voice his disapproval, but Jim cut across him. "The Federation isn't going to believe that this is a result of some engineering error nor are the Romulans. This is the only way we can avoid a war."

Stunned silence met his words. Jim turned and walked off the bridge before anyone else could protest.

Jim leaned against the wall of the transporter room, counting down from five in his head. Right as he got to one, Doctor McCoy stormed into the room, looking absolutely livid. Spock was directly behind him, as emotionless as ever.

"Jim, what the hell are you thinking?" Doctor McCoy demanded. "You can't seriously be thinking about going over there! Sulu's right—the Romulans will kill you!"

"Bones," Jim began.

Doctor McCoy shook his head. "Do you have a death wish? Or have you been knocked in the head so many times that you have no more common sense?"

"Doctor McCoy," Spock spoke. Doctor McCoy paused mid-rant and looked at the Vulcan, who continued. "I am certain that the Captain has a plan that will not end in certain death."

Jim blinked. Coming from Spock, that was almost a compliment.

Doctor McCoy scowled. "You're both idiots. Everyone on this ship is an idiot. You know what, though? I don't care. If you want to be idiots, then fine. Go get yourselves killed. It's my day off anyway. Don't come crying to me when Jim winds up with a harpoon through his shoulder or choked to death or murdered in his sleep."

"I assure you, in the event that any of those things happen, I will not," Spock said with a completely serious expressions. "Vulcans do not cry."

Doctor McCoy looked flabbergasted. Jim shook his head, hiding a smile.

"Bones," he said again, calling his friend's attention back to him. "It will be okay. I've got a plan."

Doctor McCoy raised an eyebrow, looking scarily like Spock. "Oh?"

Jim's smile turned into a feral grin. "Yeah," he said.

He quickly outlined his somewhat hare brained scheme to Doctor McCoy. By the end, the doctor merely shook his head.

"You're an idiot," he reiterated. He turned to Spock. "What do you think of this?"

"It was his idea," Jim said.

Spock raised an eyebrow in a somewhat threatening manner, as though he were daring Doctor McCoy to call him an idiot.

The doctor sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine," he said. "All right. I won't tell anyone. But be careful, okay?"

Jim laughed. "Aren't I always?"

"No," Doctor McCoy sniped. "You're not."

Doctor McCoy leaned against the wall of the transporter room, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion crash over him as he watched both Jim and Spock disappear in a burst of golden light. He had been up for over fifteen hours now and was beyond any normal realm of fatigue, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until Jim and Spock were both safely back onboard.

Scotty punched in a few buttons on the transporter controls and let out a weary sigh.

"Much as I love this ship, some days, it's too bloody exciting," he muttered. He left without another word.

Doctor McCoy wondered what would happen if he just curled up here and fell asleep. It would save him a lot of effort of going to his quarters, only to come rushing back here when Jim's half-cocked scheme inevitably went sideways.

Before he had the chance to try his idea, the transporter doors swished open to reveal a very upset Doctor M'Benga.

"Doctor McCoy," he greeted stiffly. "Would you mind informing me what exactly is going on here? Have both the Captain and the Commander seriously left the ship?"

"Yes," Doctor McCoy replied just as formally.

"Why wasn't I informed?" M'Benga demanded.

McCoy shrugged. "Hell if I know," he said. "If you'll excuse me…"

"I know that the Captain is your best friend," M'Benga said as Doctor McCoy went to move past him. "But his lack of respect for Starfleet rules and regulations will one day get him into trouble."

"It hasn't so far," McCoy pointed out mildly.

"He's gotten lucky," M'Benga responded. "But everyone's luck runs out at some point. Even the great Captain Kirk's."

The moment Jim and Spock landed onboard the Romulan transporter pad, they were surrounded by a dozen armed and angry Romulans.

It was the first time since Nero's attack that Jim had been around any of their race and the first time he had been around any Romulans from this time line. They were different than Nero and his followers. For one, they lacked tattoos and angry expressions. Instead, they seemed almost Vulcan-like.

"Vulcans and Romulans are cousins," Spock stated when Jim commented on the fact. "But where Vulcans are dedicated to logic and science, the Romulans are more… human in temperament."

They were led to a small room not too far away from the transporter pad.

"You will wait here," one of the Romulans said. "Our captain will be with you shortly."

The door was closed and locked, leaving Spock and Jim alone for the first time since that morning started.

The room was small, barely big enough for the small table and three chairs it contained. The walls were a very boring shade of metallic gray as were the table and chairs.

"Well, this sucks," Jim muttered, slumping into one of the chairs.

Spock walked over and sat stiffly in one of the other chairs, folding his hands together on top of the table. He looked almost… anxious about something.

"Captain," he began.

Jim shook his head. "I know what you're going to say, Spock, and I agree with you," he said. "But this whole thing has just been one giant disaster so far and I really don't want to discuss it at the moment."

Spock gave the Vulcan approximation of a scowl, but wisely fell silent.

A few minutes later, the door opened, revealing the captain of the Romulan ship.