A Broken Mirror Stardate 2259.165

Elyse listened closely to Kirk and she nodded. She knew the Avenger and she knew that it was going to be nearly impossible for them to destroy her...especially now that she was armed with those new Torpedoes. Elyse already knew in her mind what she was going to need to do. She knew she wouldn't be coming back, but she couldn't tell Leonard that.

She walked with Leonard to the Transporter room and she looked at him when he started to move towards the pad. "No, you're not coming with me. You need to stay here." When he looked like he was going to argue with her, she pulled out her phaser that was set to stun and fired it at him. He was knocked out for the moment, but she knew he would come around soon. She walked over to him and she crouched down beside him. She lightly caressed his face before leaning down and kissing him one last time. "Goodbye Leonard...I love you." She stepped onto the Transporter pad and looked at Scotty. "Energize."

She appeared on the Triumph and she looked at the crewman operating the Transporter. "Shut off the transporter," she ordered. She knew that Leonard would try to get to her. She would keep the crew on the ship for as long as possible before ordering an evacuation. She planned to save as many lives as possible. She appeared on the bridge and she took her place in the Captain's seat.

Pike sat on his bridge and held out his glass as an Andorian stepped up and refilled it then stepped back. He wore a collar and only looked at the floor. “Emperor, our scouts have returned,” his comm officer said. She was very pretty with long, blonde hair down to her waist and her uniform exposed her middle and her legs. “Emperor Pike, the Commander’s intelligence was right, there is a base orbiting Vulcan,” he said. Pike smiled. “Lay in a course and inform the fleet...we’re not waiting, we will destroy the Alliance, once and for all,” he said,

Aboard the Triumph, Elyse received an encrypted message from one of her spies on the Avenger. ‘Pike is leaving for Vulcan’ was all it said. All it had to say. She informed Kirk that Pike was headed toward Vulcan. McCoy tried to get onto the Triumph but Scotty said she had disabled her transporters and her shields were up. And she would not answer her communicator.

“Now its all just a waiting game. “If they travel at the speed of their slowest ship, we have 9 hours,” Kirk said. “Everyone get a bite to eat and some rest,” Kirk said.

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On the Enterprise Scotty reported that the first attempt to bring Kirk back came up empty. Spock looked at Amara. “It’s just our first try, we won’t leave him there Amara,” Spock assured her.

It was difficult for Elyse not to answer her communicator when she knew it was Leonard. However, she knew what she needed to do and she would not let him die...not when there was still so much good he could do. The Triumph was operating with a smaller crew and Elyse was thankful for that. She would be able to get them off the ship faster. She sent everyone to get something to eat and get some rest, but she remained on the bridge. 

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Amara sat next to Kal on the Enterprise bridge. They hadn't spoken since word that Jim was alive had gotten to them. Amara hadn't told Kal the truth yet though about him. "He's not the Jim from our world," she said. When he looked at her oddly she explained what he had explained to her and told Kal that there was a way for him to get home. "He doesn't belong here. He says he wants to remain, but somewhere there is another Amara who is waiting for him and needing him. If we survive this fight I plan on sending him home."

Kal could hardly believe what Amara was saying. But there was enough in what she said for him to believe her. "What if he refuses to go Amara? It's not up to us to select another man's fate. I can tell when you have something up you're sleeve and I don't like it," Kal said.

"The Empire fleet could do significant damage to our ships before Kirk's fleet flanks them," Kal said. "I can give the Enterprise time to get undocked and into the fight...but...I need to command the Lo'Kah," he said. "I can draw their initial volleys with the few cloaked ships we have," Kal said. What he was suggesting was suicide. Those small ships would never stand a chance against those torpedoes. "Those torpedoes wont do well against your shields and if you're moving, you'll not be easy pray for them," Kal said and stepped up to her and took her into his arms. Seeing her again had reignited his feelings for her. In front of everyone he kissed her...well. He smiled.

"We will go and meet them," Kal said and began to let go of her.

Amara looked over at Kal as she listened to what he was saying. Her eyes widened at his plan. It was...suicide. She opened her mouth to argue with him, but before she could he took her into his arms and kissed her. Feeling his lips against her own nearly caused her knees to go weak. She thought about James and his kisses. They were nice...but there were no shared memories between them. She and Kal...they had shared memories. He had been there when her daughter was born. He had been the one holding her hand through her contractions. He had been the one to comfort her and to truly give her strength through this fight. 

As she felt him start to pull away she leaned up and kissed him again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and as their lips parted she rested her forehead against his. "Come back to me Kal," she whispered. "I love you."

"And I love you," he said as he stepped away.

"Captain, the Empire Fleet is approaching the Vulcan system," Elyse said from the Triumph. "We can't leave the rings until they engage," Commander. "Amara has set up the station to create spacial interference using graviton pulses. The Empire fleet just need to get close enough," Kirk said.

Pike smiled as the Vulcan sun appeared on his viewscreen. He was dressed in black and gold. "Emperor, I recommend tactical alert, we've detected cloaked ships," His science officer said. Pike pushed his communications officer off of him. As she stood she she wiped the side of her mouth and he zipped himself back into his pants. "Ignore them, and continue to the base," he said.

"Captain, they are within the graviton wave diameter," Spock said. "All ships, Head to the rally point, maximum warp!" Kirk said. One by one from the planet's rings Kirk's fleet jumped into warp.

Kal was on the bridge of the Klingon Warbird. There were Klingons, a Romulan, Andorians and a couple of Terrarites on the bridge with him. "All ships...attack!" Kal said as the Avenger warped up near the base. All at once, each ship fired their Quantum Torpedoes at the Avenger's escort ships. Two Torpedeos at full yield hit a Heavy Cruiser escort and it tore through their shields and tore off the left Nacelle. A Destroyer hit by the Romulan scout ship simply blew up into a massive fireball and another Heavy Cruiser took heavy damage but was able to fire back from the other warbird in Kal's trio and then they cloaked again.

"Emperor, they've got...Quantum Torpedoes!" His helm officer said in alarm. "Ignore them, Destroy that base and that Heavy Cruiser!" Pike said. He fired his phasers at the base but before he could fire his Torpedeos The Klingon ship escorting him rammed into his port side. It blew up as it hit his shields but all of his Torpedoes missed the base and the Enterprise as Amara began to move it away from the base.

"Amara...They..." Her Science officer said but they all saw what the Klingons did. All those still on the base were shaken by the phaser fire. "Shields at 65% The base commander said. Pike growled. "Report!" he said. "Our port Torpedo launchers are inoperative!" His operations officer said. Amara managed to get her ship moving and it moved out of the Avenger's front arc and moved to its port side. The Avenger fired phasers. Her ship was rocked by the attack. "Shields 45% Amara, those weapons are powerful, we can't take another hit like that!" Sulu said as he fired at the damaged Heavy Cruiser. "Where ARE they!" Her pilot asked. "We've been betrayed!" Her com officer said.

Elyse was ready when she got Kirk's communication. "Maximum warp," she told her pilot and the Triumph surged forward towards the rally point. 

Amara's eyes widened when she saw the Avenger. The ship was...massive! However, she knew they could use that to their advantage. Sulu got the Enterprise undocked and Amara paid close attention to the Avenger and which Torpedoes were being fired. She could see that they all came from the port side and that side was now empty. "Sulu! Keep us on the port side of the Avenger!" However, the ship still had phasers and they were rocked by an attack. Thankfully, their shields held. She then remembered something James had told her. "The shields are stronger on our sides!" She ordered a few attacks, but she knew that they wouldn't last long. They needed the other ships. 

She looked over at her com officer when he said they had been betrayed. "No! They're coming!" She couldn't see Kal, but she hoped he was alright.

Kal and his 2 other ships decloaked again but the avenger was ready. It fired phasers at them as it fired Torpedoes at the base. The other Klingon warbird and Kal's was hit. On the bridge a panel exploded and sent a Klingon flying. "Keep firing!" Kal barked as the Avenger fired again and the Warbird exploded as its warp core blew. Kal's ship veered away from the explosion and fired Torpedoes in concert with the Romulan ship. They hit the starboard side but didn't do as much damage as they would have liked. "Keep firing, don't let them get a bead on the Enterprise. The Avenger and the base exchanged fire. The Avenger was rocked by several Torpedoes just as the base was. Ceiling structures fell and people scrambled to get to safety. An Andorian was crushed by a panel that fell on him. The civilians were huddled down and the children began to cry in fear as rubble from the ceiling began to crumble and dust floated down upon them.

"Medium damage to the phaser array," Pike's operations officer said. "They're aiming for our weapons...keep firing, I want that base...destroyed!" Pike said. Amara's ship fired its phasers and 2 Torpedoes then moved to the side as it was hit by phasers from the Avenger. she exchanged fire twice more and twice more she managed to keep their sides toward them. On that last volley though two decks decompressed on the starboard side. Men and women were sucked out into space just before force fields came down to reseal the deck. "Major damage to Cargo bay 2 and to decks 11 and 12 Amara! Emergency bulkheads have sealed those areas," her Tactical officer said. Kal's ship avoided a Torpedo but was hit by another phaser from the Heavy cruiser. Conduits burst as his ship took heavy damage. The lights blinked and their weapons came offline. The Romulan ship fired its last torpedoes and the cruiser began to list out of control as it lost power as well.

"Amara...Kal's ship...its hull is at critical," Sulu said. The problem was they couldn't get to him, they'd expose themselves to the Avenger's starboard side. And they can't lower shields to transport the survivors. "Amara, we can't fight them alone!" her Andorian Pilot said. The Avenger was about to fire at them again, they all knew it and their shields were just about gone.

Her Tactical officer was working to try and get more power to the shields and then she smiled. "Amara....Its the...Its the Defiant!" She said. Just before the Avenger fired The defiant warped in right between the Enterprise and the Avenger. Its dorsal shields took the phaser fire and fired phasers right back.

Elyse's ship and her escorts, the 2 Klingon battlecruisers warped in behind the Avenger and opened fire. phasers and Torpedoes dug into the rear shields and armor of the Avengers massive nacelles.

Inside the Avenger Pike's throne and bridge shook violently under the massive attack. "Emperor, their trying to disable our warp drive!" The tactical officer said. "Aft Torpedoes, fire!" Pike shouted. And 5 Torpedoes slammed into the 2 Klingon ships and the Triumph. Elyse's bridge shook at the hit but it only did light damage. One of the Klingons took heavy damage and the third one took medium damage. Those Torpedoes are powerful!

Elyse had the Defiant aim directly at the Avenger's nacelles. She knew that she needed to bring down the ship's shield. Finally, it was down enough. She knew Pike well enough to know that he was going to try and warp out. She needed to move quickly. She ordered a mandatory evacuation to the Alliance base. Only one crew member would stay with her, the one operating the Transporter. She waited until he informed her that everyone was out before she pulled out her communicator and contacted Leonard. She was sitting at the helm. As he picked up she knew she didn't have much time. 

"Leonard...I'm sorry for everything I did to you and to everyone else I hurt and I'm sorry that we won't be able to be together...but I'm not sorry for what I'm about to do." She said as she put the Triumph into position to ram the Avenger's port nacelle. "You changed me. You made me a better person. I...I just wish I had been this way all along." Leonard would now be able to see through the view screen what she was going to do. The Triumph began to fly straight at the Avenger. "Please know that I love you...so much," she said as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Seconds later the Triumph collided with the Avenger in a ball of fire.

Amara watched from the Enterprise and her eyes widened at what she witnessed. However, she could not let Elyse's sacrifice go to waste. "Open fire! Fire everything we have at the Avenger!"

The port Nacelle came free of the superstructure as the Triumph picked up speed and rammed into the Avenger. Pike was thrown from his throne and sparks flew up all over the place. "Emperor, the Port Nacelle is Gone! Warp Drive is down! Our Power grid is fluctuating!" His operations officer said.

The Defiant fired a full compliment of Torpedoes and phasers. "Screw the weapons, target their warp core," Kirk said. The last 2 Klingon ships took more fire from Avenger Torpedoes and Amara's ship took another phaser hit that cut right into the saucer section. "Hull breach on deck 5 and 6 Amara...." her tactical officer said. The Defiant was taking the brunt of what the Avenger had left but Kirk focused on the warp core. One of the Klingon ships exploded when it took one too many Torpedoes and the last one managed to dodge them. Amara was able to get one last barrage in before another phaser hit damaged the Enterprises port thrusters.

"Captain, the Enterprise is in trouble. "Fire everything at their warp core!" kirk said and more phasers and torpedoes slammed into the Avenger almost on the same spot. One Torpedo slipped inside the armor and...

The Avenger went up like a massive fireball as their warp core was destroyed. Pieces of the ship, some large, others small rained out in a sphere in all directions. The Defiant was thrown back as well as the Enterprise. Amara's bridge shook violently and control stations sparked and a fire broke out near the Communications station as people were thrown.

Kal's ship was incinerated by the explosion. Sulu got up and snatched up an extinguisher and put out the fire as others got up off the floor. The Avenger, the Empire's greatest ship, was no more.

Kirk smiled as the Defiant regained control.

Everyone around her began to cheer as they watched the Avenger go up into a massive fireball. However, Amara was just staring at the spot in space where Kal's ship had been only moments ago. Now...it was gone. The joy of the moment was not there for her. Just like the moment when she found out Jim was dead...she felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest once again. She fought back tears as she knew that she was still in command. She ordered the ship back to the Alliance base. 

Scarlett had been on the bridge of the Defiant and after the ship docked at the Alliance base she walked over to Spock. "Are you alright?"

Spock was finally free. He and all the other aliens. Free. He looked at Scarlett with a calm face and then stood and kissed her in front of everyone. Kirk grinned. McCoy was in sickbay and he worked on patients that had been injured during the battle. Inwardly he wanted to collapse and weep over the loss of Elyse.

The Defiant, The Enterprise, the Klingon warbirds all rocked and the Romulan Scout ship was preparing to dock. Civilians who recognized loved ones ran up to greet them. Men and women of all races either cried over those they lost or rejoiced over those that had survived. The civilian ships had docked and a Winona came out with Aurora. When she saw Amara she began to cry and she hurried up to her.

“I was so afraid...we heard that you all had died,” she said. She smiled as she handed over Aurora.

“Well Spock, you’re free now, what do you think you’ll do first?” Kirk asked. Spock thought a moment. “Get married,” he said as he looked into Scarlett’s face.

Kal and a few others had been transported to the Romulan scout ship. He was injured but he stepped out of the airlock and stepped forward into the mass of people who already began to celebrate. He was looking for someone. And when he found her he smiled. As Winona and Amara doted on Aurora several people moved out of the way and standing before her, with his arm in a makeshift sling, was Kal.

Of all the things Scarlett expected Spock to do or say, kissing her in front of everyone on the bridge was certainly not one of them. However, she did not stop him and she kissed him back happily. As the kiss ended, she looked up into his face and Kirk approached them. When Kirk asked Spock what he planned to do first now that he was free she was stunned by Spock's response. However, that stunned look quickly changed to one of pure happiness. She cupped her hands around his face and pulled him down to kiss her again. She then kept her face close to him. "I love you Spock...so much," she whispered to him.

Amara was the last one off of the Enterprise. She looked around at the celebrations and grief happening around her. She wanted to weep for Kal, but there was so much that she still needed to do. She was relieved when she saw Winona appear with Aurora. "I'm so glad you both are alright," she said as she hugged Winona and then took Aurora into her arms. She saw the Defiant, but James had yet to appear. She needed to make sure he got home. She was about to go find him and talk to him when suddenly several people standing around her moved and she suddenly saw Kal standing before her. His arm was in a sling, but he was alive. Winona quickly took Aurora back into her arms as tears filled Amara's eyes. "I...I thought I had lost you...." she said as her voice cracked from the flood of tears she was holding back.

Kal smiled as he stepped up to Amara. She looked tired but she also looked beautiful. He took her into his arm and kissed her. Kirk had just come out of the airlock. He was about to move into the crowd when he suddenly saw them. Kal and Amara kissing and holding one another. It didn’t look like they were just friends. It looked like two people very happy to see one another again. In that moment he knew this wasn’t his home. His Amara was waiting for him. He decided to make a quiet exit. Everyone here was now a free people.

“Spock...you should take this ship and attack all of the ship yards. All of them and destroy them all. Capture the council, end the empire for good,” Kirk said. “I’d like to borrow a ship,” Kirk said. McCoy came out of the airlock but he wasn’t happy and jovial like the others. Kirk stepped up to him.

“I’m sorry McCoy. I truly am,” Kirk said as he put his hand on his shoulder. Scotty and Sofia moved past them arm in arm. “I could use your help, one last time,” Kirk said. “I’m going home,” he said. “I’m finally going home,” he said and they headed for the airlock to the Romulan Scout ship.

Amara was continuing to try and hold out hope that James would reappear in the Transporter one of these times. However, after the last empty teleportation even Spock and McCoy were starting to lose hope. Spock was in charge of the entire ship now and all 400 crew members. They couldn't just wait in the same spot forever. Amara had begged for one final chance, but she decided that she couldn't wait in the Transporter room this time. She waited in the hallway. It would break her heart to see it turn up empty again.

Spock, McCoy and Scotty were all in the transporter room. And all but Spock held grim faces. They knew this was hit last chance. If he didn’t appear than he either died or would never find their pod. No one said anything as Scotty moved to the controls. McCoy looked at the transporter pad with Spock as Scotty energized.

At first there was just the crackling energy but Scotty increased the gain like usual and, after another moment. The shape of a man appeared and then Kirk appeared. McCoy smiled in relief as did Scotty.

Kirk stepped off the pad like he hadn’t been gone at all. “Spock...Bones...Scotty, well you all look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Kirk said in his usual light hearted flair. They all just began to laugh except Spock who didn’t seem to understand the joke.

As Amara stood out in the hallway she could hear the transporter being fired up and energized. She could hear the crackling and then there was silence. She didn't know if it was her pent up hope or imagination, but she could have sworn she heard James' voice. She held her breath as she stepped into the Transporter room and as her eyes fell upon the form of her husband tears began to stream down her cheeks. "James...." She saw him smile at her and she knew it was him. She rushed over and into his arms. As their lips met, Spock, Scotty, and Bones all stepped out to give them a few moments of privacy and to spread the good news. James and Amara shared one of the most passionate kisses they had ever shared together.