The Game of Life
By Laurie D. Haynes

copyright December 1997 to Laurie D. Haynes.
No reprints without permission of the author. Archiving allowed
only on ASC and ASCA. All others wishing to archive or link must
get the permission of the author.
No license infringement intended on any holder of Star Trek
licenses.


     The sleek Federation starship, 1701-A imprinted on its hull,
warped through space in pursuit of the Klingon marauder that had
attacked an unarmed freighter, severely damaging it and killing
23 crewmen.
     Something about their current coordinates struck Spock as
familiar. Checking the star charts against computer records,
Spock raised an eyebrow at what he found. He turned to Kirk.
     "Captain, I believe you will find this interesting. If we
continue on this course, we will eventually pass into the system
of the planet Gothos."
     Kirk's eyes widened. 
     "You don't suppose," Kirk said, a pained tone in his voice,
"that Trelane is still there after all these years? That's just
what we need -- to tangle with that brat again."
     Spock gave a slight shrug. 
     "It's difficult to say, Captain. One would think Trelane
would have reached adulthood by now, but we really have no idea
of the development time or lifespan of his species."
     Kirk sighed.
     "True. Well, I want that warship. Continue the pursuit.
Trelane probably moved to other parts long ago," he said
hopefully.

     Within two hours, both ships were approaching Gothos. Kirk
and the bridge crew watched on the viewscreen as the Klingon ship
passed by the planet. Suddenly, the bird of prey came to a dead
halt, changed course and took up orbit around the planet.
     Perplexed, Kirk rubbed his chin and murmured, "Now, what the
hell is he up to?"
     The captain stood and ordered, "Sulu, take us into orbit.
Uhura, hail the Klingons."
     Uhura complied. "Hailing frequencies open, sir."
     "Enterprise to Klingon warship. This is Capt. James T. Kirk.
Surender your ship or prepare to be destroyed."
     The bird of prey answered with phaser fire. The Enterprise's
shields flared and held.
     "Return fire, Mr. Chekov."
     Chekov moved to obey. He pressed the phaser touch pad on the
control panel in front of him. Nothing happened.
     "NOW, Mr. Chekov."
     The Russian tried once again with the same results.
     "Sorry, Keptin. Something's wrong. I cannot fire the phasers
or the torpedoes."
     At that moment, out of nowhere, a familiar figure appeared
on the bridge.
     "Trelane!" shouted Kirk. "What the hell?"
     Trelane, dressed as a 19th Century American cowboy, grinned
at Kirk.
     "Hello, Capt. Kirk," said the intruder, looking Kirk up and
down.
     "You look different. Is this what they call aging? I see you
have different uniforms, now, too. I like them -- very
distinguished-looking. I must confess, I hardly thought you'd
come back to visit me after our last game."
     Kirk's eyebrows narrowed and his hands closed into fists.
     "I see you haven't changed at all. We came for that Klingon
ship, there, NOT to visit you. Uh, by the way, where are your
parents, Trelane?"
     "Oh, they're off on a trip."
     Trelane pouted.
     "I got in a lot of trouble because of you. My parents took
my planet away from me for 15 years! You owe me."
     His expression changed to one of anticipatory pleasure.
     "I've got a great idea for a game! The Klingon captain can
play, too."
     Trelane abruptly vanished from the bridge.
     So did Kirk.
     Uhura was astonished to hear what sounded like Spock
swearing under his breath as he seated himself in the command
chair.
     "Mr. Chekov, scan the planet for life signs."

     
     As soon as they appeared on the planet and Kirk realized
what had happened, he launched himself at Trelane, standing in
front of him, freezing him in position, his fist drawn back to
punch Trelane. As a precaution, the "boy" did the same to the
Klingon commander, who had been on the verge of following Kirk's
example. Both men glared at Trelane, who laughed merrily.
     "Now, here's the game, Capt. Kirk, Cmdr. Kalath. I'll be the
sheriff and you two will be the outlaws. In a couple of days,
when I get tired of playing, I'll let you go. That is, unless I
catch you first."
     Trelane gave his captives his most charming smile. Two
posters appeared in his hands and he held them up. On the posters
were the images of Kirk and Kalath and their names. In large
letters were the words, "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE."
     Trelane giggled.
     "I really haven't made up my mind, yet, which of those ways
I want you two. But of course, I can always have a trial and
execute you afterwards. This is going to be such fun! Now, I'm
going to give you an honest-to-goodness head start."
     He waved his arms and teleported Kirk and Kalath about two
miles away.
     The two captains looked around them. In the distance were
huge rocks and boulders, apparently the foothills of a mountain
range. The two men stood in the middle of a sandy plain, the only
vegetation occasional stands of a plant resembling barrel cactus.
Kirk quickly realized that Trelane had provided them with
weapons, six-shooters in holsters buckled around their hips.
     Kalath watched Kirk warily as he pulled the revolver from
its holster and took aim at a cactus. He pulled the trigger and
the gun kicked as it fired. Kalath followed Kirk over to the
cactus, which now had a huge hole in it.
     "I'll be damned. The gun actually works!" Kirk muttered.
     Kalath pulled his own revolver and Kirk jumped back,
pointing his pistol at the Klingon. Kalath ignored the human and
examined the gun. The Enterprise captain lowered his gun, but
didn't reholster it for the time being.
     "Kirk, you obviously have met this Trelane before," said
Kalath in fluent Galactic Standard. "Who is this... human?"
     He pronounced "human" as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.
     "He's not human," the Enterprise captain replied. "I don't
know what species he is, but I would guess that it's a very long-
lived one, from what I can tell about the developmental time. He
may look like a human adult, but he's only a boy, albeit a very
dangerous one, and he was a boy when I first met him 21 years
ago. He's actually some sort of energy being, much like the
Organians. 
     "This planet is his playground. Everything you see here,
he's created. He's obsessed with Earth, though apparently, he's
fixated on a somewhat later time period than the last time I saw
him."
     Kirk took a deep breath and ventured cautiously, "Look,
Kalath, I don't want to be here any more than you do. We can
fight each other or we can team up and try to beat Trelane."
     "Very well, Kirk, but do not attempt treachery. I shall be
watching you."
     Kirk looked the Klingon in the eye.
     "Same goes for you."
     The two captains set out for the foothills, having decided
the mountains offered their best hope for hiding. The sun was
bright and hot and there was no breeze. After the first half-
mile, Kirk removed his heavy red tunic. He pushed up the sleeves
of his white undershirt and slung the tunic over his shoulder.
From time to time, Kirk and Kalath checked behind them, but did
not see Trelane.

     Aboard the Enterprise, Spock suppressed his frustration and
worry. The sensors clearly picked up Klingon and human lifeforms,
but the transporter would not function. Spock himself had
attempted to take out a shuttlecraft, but the hangar bay door
wouldn't open. Trelane had very effectively imprisoned them
aboard their own ship. Nevertheless, Spock ordered the monitoring
kept up. Every 10 minutes, Engineering tried to use the
transporter, just in case Trelane became distracted and
relinquished control.

     Kalath and Kirk reached the rocks and began climbing. The human
was perspiring heavily, but the Klingon did not seem bothered by the
heat. Kirk pointed to a large flat outcropping up ahead.
     "That ought to be a good temporary stopping point. We should be
able to get a clear view of the plain behind us."
     The two scrambled up onto the cliff of rock and soil. Once on top,
Kalath walked a short distance away to check the terrain ahead. Kirk
turned and, shielding his eyes from the sun, gazed out over the plain
they had crossed. In the distance, he could see a lone figure on foot.
The figure was blurry and distorted as Kirk peered through the heat
waves rising off the hot sand.
     The cliff top was covered with a thin layer of soil, concealing a
weathered crack that ran almost completely through the cliff edge. As
Kirk stood on the edge, the cliff face began to separate. As he felt it
giving way beneath his feet, he whirled and tried to dive away from the
edge. He managed to catch the crumbling remains of the edge with his
fingertips and called out to the Klingon. Kalath spun around at the
alarm in Kirk's voice and saw his erstwhile ally clinging precariously
to the cliff face.
     Kalath stood for a moment, regarding Kirk and trying to estimate
his odds of defeating Trelane on his own. Reaching a decision, the
Klingon cautiously stretched out on the cliff and grabbed Kirk's
wrists. However, the human's skin was sweaty and slippery and Kalath
had difficulty maintaining his grasp on him.  Kalath's eyes squinted
with the effort and bared his teeth sympathetically as Kirk fell to the
rocks, 15 feet below.
     Trelane saw the figure go over the cliff and was curious. He
immediately teleported to the site.
     The boy cocked his head to one side and regarded Kirk with
interest. Blood trickled from Kirk's ears, mouth and nose and his left
arm was twisted at an unnatural angle. The arm was coated in red as the
bone protruded through the skin. Despite this, Trelane realized, the
captain was still breathing -- faintly. Up on the cliff, the Klingon,
convinced that Kirk's fall was Trelane's doing, and fearing for his own
safety, drew his pistol and took aim at the "boy."
     Trelane glanced up at the Klingon and nonchalantly waved his hand
at Kalath and froze him in position.
     "Damn you, Capt. Kirk," Trelane said. "We've hardly started and
already, you've messed up my game."
     He thought for a moment.  "I guess I'll have to get you fixed."
     Trelane snapped his fingers and the two of them transported to the
bridge of the Enterprise.
     Spock blinked in surprise as Kirk and Trelane appeared in front of
him. The Vulcan felt a sudden chill as he took one look at the bloody,
unmoving form of his friend. He quickly issued an order to Uhura,
rising from her seat to go to Kirk.
     "Get Dr. McCoy and a medical team up here immediately," Spock
commanded, and Uhura turned back to her comm board.
     He knelt beside Kirk and checked for a pulse. He was relieved to
find one, though it was weak and uneven. Spock considered carrying his
captain to Sickbay himself, but realized the possible danger in moving
him like that.
     McCoy and the medical team arrived. Trelane moved out of the way
to let the doctor examine Kirk.
     As McCoy passed his mediscanner over Kirk, Trelane spoke up, "He
broke. I want him fixed at once. The game's not finished, yet."
     McCoy glared at Trelane and snapped, "You're responsible for this.
Why don't YOU fix him?"
     Trelane frowned mightily and admitted, "I don't know how.
Besides, it wasn't me who did this. It...it was an accident."
     The doctor returned his attention to his patient. As he read the
results of his scan, he retorted, "Accident, hell! You're the one who
created the entire scenario, you little bastard."
     Spock interrupted, his dark eyes filled with concern that for
once, he didn't try to hide from McCoy.
     "Doctor? Can you save him?" "I don't know," replied McCoy, rising
     to his feet as the techs carefully lifted Kirk onto a null-grav
gurney.
     "The injuries are quite extensive. He has a fractured skull and
three broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung. In addition to the
compound fracture of the arm, he's bleeding internally and suffered a
severe contusion of the brain."
     McCoy shook his head, his expression grim, and ordered the techs
to take Kirk and prep him for surgery.
     "The odds aren't good," he told Spock. "The only thing keeping him
alive now is sheer stubborness."
     McCoy left the bridge with Kirk and the med-techs as Spock turned
on Trelane. The Vulcan's eyes sparked with unusual anger, but he
retained his composure.
     "We are not toys, Trelane, for you to play with and then discard
when we no longer amuse you. Have you not learned anything in 21 years?
Do you even understand what death is -- what pain is?"
     Trelane looked as if he wanted to cry.  "I'll make it up to you!
     Watch!" He closed his eyes for a moment and clenched his fists.
     "I'll destroy the Klingons for you." Spock lunged at him and
     grabbed him by both arms.  "No! Don't!" "Why not? You were going
     to kill them, anyway. I heard Capt.  Kirk say so."
     Trelane looked up at Spock defiantly.  "Only if they forced us to,
     Trelane. We are not murderers." Trelane regarded the Vulcan
     quizzically, not understanding.  "Very well, I shall return Cmdr.
     Kalath to his ship. However..."
     Trelane waved his hand and the Klingon ship vanished from the
Enterprise's sensor screens.
     "There. I've sent them far away. I didn't kill them." Spock nodded
     in relief, but before he could say anything, a deep, disembodied
voice reverberated through the bridge.
     "TRELANE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" "Uh-oh," whispered the boy. "I'm in
     for it now." More loudly, he responded, "I haven't done anything
     wrong, Father."
     "TRELANE, WE HAVE REPEATEDLY TOLD YOU TO LEAVE OTHER BEINGS ALONE.
YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME! MR. SPOCK, WE APOLOGIZE ONCE AGAIN FOR
OUR SON'S ACTIONS. WE REGRET THAT YOUR CAPTAIN WAS INJURED. WE HAVE,
UNFORTUNATELY, NOT BEEN ABLE TO IMPRESS UPON TRELANE THE SANCTITY OF
LIFE. I AM BEGINNING TO THING WE NEVER WILL."
     Spock thought for a moment, then said, "I have a suggestion.
Strip Trelane of his powers and let him travel with us for a while in
his human form. We will return him here in two months, unless
circumstances prevent it."
     "THAT IS A WONDERFUL IDEA. WE WILL PERMIT IT. HE WILL BE A HUMAN
FOR TWO MONTHS AND WILL FACE THE SAME DANGERS YOU UNDOUBTEDLY FACE EACH
DAY."
     "It is somewhat risky, but I feel that the risk is warranted."
     "WE AGREE. GOODBYE, TRELANE, WE WILL SEE YOU IN TWO MONTHS.
BEHAVE AND LEARN THIS LESSON WELL."
     "But I don't want to!" Trelane pleaded, tears streaming down his
face. "Please don't make me."
     His parents did not reply.  "Mr. Sulu, take us out of orbit,"
     Spock commanded. "Uhura, contact Starfleet and inform them of what
has transpired. Mr. Sulu, you have the con. I'll be in Sickbay if you
need me."
     "Aye, sir." The Vulcan took Trelane firmly by the arm.  "You will
     come with me. You're going to start as an engineering assistant."
     "Ow! Let go of me!" Trelane complained as Spock escorted him from
the bridge. "What's an engineering assistant."
     "You will soon find out."


     Spock waited in McCoy's office, pacing impatiently. A little more
than four hours later, the doctor appeared, his surgical scrubs stained
with Kirk's blood.
     "I've done all I can for now, " he told Spock wearily. "I almost
lost him twice on the table.  He'd lost a lot of blood and the damage
was extensive."
     "Will he live?" McCoy sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.  "I don't
know, Spock. He has a chance and he's a fighter. He doesn't give
up easily, you know that."
     Spock nodded.  "May I see him?" 
"Yeah, come on, I was just going to check on him."

     Spock stood beside Kirk's bed as McCoy checked the overhead
monitors. All the indicators were at very low levels. The Vulcan
worriedly watched his friend as he slept. The captain's pallor was
pronounced and his breathing was shallow. A respirator mask covered his
mouth and nose. Spock gently placed his fingers on Kirk's face, and, as
he had done so many times over the years, entered into a mind meld with
him.
     Kirk groaned softly as he felt Spock reach into his mind, feeding
him life energy. The red waves of pain rolled back, leaving only a calm
blueness in its wake. The Vulcan slowly retreated from his friend's
mind. As Spock collected himself, McCoy watched the vital signs
indicators gradually rise.
     "God, Spock, that helped considerably. I feel a little better
about the odds, now."
     The Vulcan swayed on his feet.  McCoy grabbed his arm to support
 him.  "That took a lot out of you didn't it, Spock? Let me help
you to your quarters and you get some rest. I'll call you if there's
any change," McCoy said gently.
     Spock nodded in assent but closely scrutinized Kirk's vital signs
before leaving Sickbay.



     Scott issued Trelane an instruction manual on the nuclear
generator cells, as well as a tool kit, and instructed to help Ensign
Kevin Riley Jr. break down and reassemble each of the cells. Trelane
regarded the manual and tools with complete confusion and started
complaining.
     "You can't make me do this. Why, when I get my powers back, I'll
show you a thing or two."
     "Ah, but there's the rub, isn't it, lad? Ye don't have your
powers, do ye? An' I believe that's the point of this little experiment
-- for ye to learn what it's like to be human."
     Trelane's face screwed up and he started to retort, but the scowl
on Scotty's face made him change his mind. Instead, the youth glared at
Scott, sighed, opened the manual and began reading. Riley took him in
tow and they left Scotty's office for the nuclear generator cells.

     Three days later, to McCoy's relief, Jim Kirk finally woke up. As
the captain's eyes focused on the doctor, bending over him, he fumbled
with the respirator mask and removed it.
     "Welcome back, Jim," said the beaming McCoy. "Surprised to be
among the living?"
     A corner of Kirk's mouth lifted in a grin and he nodded weakly.
     "Trelane found you and brought you back. Get this -- he said you
were 'broken' and wanted me to fix you."  McCoy snorted.  
	"He...let us go?" 
	"Not exactly. His parents did."
	"Ah, yes. I was...hoping...they'd....turn up." 
	"That's enough talking for now, Jim. You just take it easy and rest."
        Kirk sighed. There were few things he hated worse than being
confined to Sickbay.
     At that moment, Trelane walked into Sickbay, a look of extreme
agony on his face. He entered Kirk's room in search of McCoy.
     As soon as he saw Trelane, Kirk bolted upright in the bed.  The
movement cost him dearly. He cried out and sunk back onto the pillows.
McCoy spun around and was furious to see the boy standing behind him.
Trelane held up his finger, which was bleeding from a slight cut.
     "I'm wounded!" he sobbed.  Kirk's good hand tightened convulsively
on the covers in pain and anger.
     When he could speak again, he gasped. "What the devil's...  going
on here?"
     "Trelane, get out. Wait outside and don't come back in here again,"
McCoy snapped.
     A hurt look on his face, the boy obeyed.  The doctor turned back
to Kirk, who looked questioningly at him.
     "It's okay, Jim, his parents stripped him of his powers.  He's
staying with us for a couple of months to learn something about life."
McCoy grinned.  "It was Spock's idea." 
     "Spock?" replied Kirk incredulously.  
     The doctor nodded.  
     "Get him down here." McCoy left the room and called Spock. 
He examined Trelane's finger and sealed the tiny cut.
     "Next time, don't waste my time with something like this.  This is
absolutely ridiculous."
     "It is? Well, how should I know? I never bled before." McCoy shook
his head in disbelief. Spock arrived and raised an eyebrow at the
sight of Trelane.
     "Mr. Trelane, I believe your station is Engineering, not Sickbay."
     "Yes, Mr. Spock," the boy grumbled and stormed out.  The Vulcan
went to Kirk.  Looking him over, he remarked, "I'm pleased to see
you looking so much better, Captain."
     "Thanks," mumbled Kirk. "Why Trelane?" Spock cleared his throat.
     "I take it you mean why is Trelane aboard the Enterprise?" Kirk
gave him a look of exasperation.  "Yes, well, his parents were at
a loss as how to get him to respect the rights of other lifeforms.
I feared this sort of incident would continue to happen unless he did
learn. Therefore, I suggested that he spend two months with us as a
normal human."
     "Trelane...is hardly...normal." "Granted, but he is devoid of
powers." Kirk nodded wearily.  "Just hope...don't...regret." He
closed his eyes and drifted off.  "It will be all right, Jim,"
replied Spock softly, gently pulling the covers up to Kirk's
chin.  Seeing his friend was asleep, he turned and left the room.


     Trelane worked beside Riley on the nuclear generator cells.  On
the first three he helped Riley.
     When they were ready for the fourth cell, Riley asked, "You think
you can do one on your own, now? You've got the manual and I'm here if
you need any help. We'd get through a lot quicker if we each work on
one."
     Trelane replied, "I think so. I've never done this exactly, but
I've tinkered with some of the toys my parents would bring me."
     "Toys? How old are you anyway?" 
     "Only 102 in your years." 
     "Sheesh! You're an old man!" 
     "I am not! I'm just what you would call an adolescent. My father is a 
young man of 289."
     "Wow! You guys sure live a long time compared to humans." 
     "How old are you, Riley?" 
     "I'm 22 and a grown man, but young." 
     "I have monitored Earth, but I had not really thought about your
lifespans."
     "We live about 150 years and try to make the most of every day,"
said Riley. "At least, I do."
     He wiped some grease from his cheek and said, "Look, let's get
through with this and I'll get you a date for Saturday night."
     "A date? Ah, a romantic interlude. That might be fun. I've never
had a date."
     Riley smiled and said, "Then you're in for a treat. C'mon, let's
get back to work before Scotty accuses us of goofing off."
     The two worked steadily at the task. Trelane had to stop
frequently and ask for help. Riley obliged, but it was clear he was
getting annoyed with all the interruptions.
     By the time Trelane was finishing up his third cell, Riley was
completing his fourth. Trelane clicked the last part into place and
bolted the cover back on the cell. As he leaned back away from the
cell, though, he saw a little piece on the floor.  Riley's back was
turned to him, so Trelane quickly examined the part, decided it was too
small to be of any importance, and stuck it in his pocket.
     Riley finished up, then stood and stretched.  "Boy, am I glad
     that's finished." He walked to the wall and activated a comm
     unit.  "Riley to Scott. We're all finished here, sir. You want to
come take a look?"

     Scott came to the generator room from his office and looked over
their handiwork.
     "Very good, lads. Since you've done such a fine job here, you're
in for a reward. I'll teach you how to change out the dilithium
crystals. Report to me at 0700 tomorrow."
     Scotty walked away, not seeing the pained looks on the faces of
the two young men.
     Trelane groaned.  "This isn't fair!" he complained to Riley. "I'm
so tired from reassembling those nuclear generator cells, I could
sleep for a week."
     Riley yawned sympathetically.  "I know what you mean. It does seem
like we're being singled out for punishment. All I did was manage
to get caught necking with a yeoman in an Engineering storage closet.
It's not like I hurt anybody."
     He looked at Trelane meaningfully. Trelane scowled.  "Now, wait a
minute. Capt. Kirk's injuries were the result of an accident, not
any of my doing."
     "Yeah, sure," replied Riley sarcastically.  He scratched his head
and thought for a moment.  "Y'know, I sure would like to get even
with Scotty." 
     "Yes, it would be very satisfying," agreed Trelane.
"If I had my powers, I could just banish him from existence or
strand him on a planet."
     "Whoa! Easy, boy!" Riley chuckled. "That's a bit extreme, don't
you think?"
     "It is?" 
     "Yeah. I've got a great idea. Scotty has this still,
see..." 
     "A still what?" asked Trelane, confused.  
     "A distillery, dummy. It's used to distill alcohol. Okay, listen up."
Riley detailed his plan.


     The next day, Scotty went to his still to check on the latest
batch of his beloved engine room hooch. His eyes widened in horror as
he saw, instead of a beautiful amber liquid flowing through the tubes,
a green slime coursing through his most prized possession. He
spluttered and his face turned red as he shouted for his assistant."
     The assistant cringed when she saw Scotty's still. Heads were
going to roll.
     "Ach! I'll never get it clean," Scotty moaned.  He was almost in
tears.  "The poor darlin' will have to be destroyed." He turned to
his assistant.  "Find the culprit responsible for this.
Immediately!" After a short investigation, the assistant
discovered that Riley and Trelane had been seen in the area the
previous day. The crewman who has spotted them said they had been
acting very strangely -- giggling and such. The assistant chief
engineer passed the information along to Scotty, who called the two
young men on the carpet.
     "All right, lads, 'fess up and it'll go easier on ye. Did ya or
did ya not sabotage ma still?"
     The culprits stood in Scotty's office, carefully studying the
floor.
     "Out with it!" Scott ordered, beginning to lose patience.  Trelane
and Riley looked at one another, then each suddenly pointed at the
other.
     "It was his idea!" they both said.  They were silent for a moment,
staring at one another incredulously, then burst out laughing.
Scott was not amused and ordered them to scrub down the entire engine
room from top to bottom.
     "But that'll take years!" Riley complained.  Trelane said nothing,
afraid of getting himself into more trouble by opening his mouth.
     "Best you get started, then." The two pranksters turned and left
the office. Scott shook his head and grumbled to himself, then
smiled. A couple of days scrubbing the engine room and the lads would
no doubt have learned their lesson -- a Scotsman's still was sacred and
not to be mistreated.

     The two reported the next morning with sonic scouring pads and
proceeded to scrub the deck, inch by inch. By the end of the day, their
knees and backs were aching and they had only done about a fourth of
the deck. They stumbled to their bunks, too tired to even contemplate
mischief.
     At midday the second day, Scott decided to have mercy on them and
ordered them to help him and his team to change the dilithium
crystals.
     "Okay, boys. We're going to power down the warp drive, then switch
over to the nuclear generators while we change out the crystals. I want
you to monitor the cells and make sure everything goes smoothly as we
power them up."
     Scotty's team gradually reduced the power on the warp drives, then
shut them down entirely. Trelane and Riley fired up the generators.
Within 10 minutes, Riley saw a problem with one of the generators. It
was redlining and he couldn't shut it down from the control panel. He
pointed out the problem to Trelane.
     "I'm going to run in there with a tricorder and check it out
firsthand. I may have to disconnect it manually if the override switch
doesn't kick in," Riley said, and headed into the generator room with a
toolkit and the tricorder.
     He scanned the cell and frowned at the readings. He opened up the
face plate on the unit to check out the machinery.
     It all happened in an instant.  A small stream of radiation spat
out the opening directly into Riley's face.
He screamed and fell to the deck holding his hands tightly over
his eyes.
     Trelane yelled for Scott and tried again and failed to cut the
power to the unit.
     Scott arrived in a flash and seeing the problem, ran to the main
engineering controls and shut down all power to the department. The
generator cells whined as they shut down.
     Trelane was already inside the generator room, dragging out Riley,
who was still writhing in pain. Trelane dropped down beside Riley in
concern. Scott was already calling for a med team.

     Scotty pulled Trelane out of the way so the medics could work. The
boy was stunned, speechless as the medical team carried away his only
friend. Trelane couldn't help but notice that the nuclear cell that had
gone bad was the last one he had worked on. His mind flashed back two
days before when he had stuck a left-over part in his pocket.
     His feelings were all jumbled. Riley had been nice to him, had
treated him like a friend. Trelane had previously only experienced this
when the beings he kidnapped tried to please him so he would let them
go. Some of them had been hurt during his games, but he wasn't really
responsible, then. This was different, somehow.
     "It's my fault," he whispered.  Scott looked at him suspiciously
and said, "What are you talking about?"
     "Nothing!" 
     Scott pressed him, "Laddie, if ya had something to do
with this, then take responsibility for it like a man."
     Trelane swallowed hard.  "I...left out a part on that generator
cell." 
     "Why in heaven's name did ya do that?!" Scott thundered.
     "I didn't mean to...exactly." 
      Scott backed him up to the wall. "Then EXACTLY what did ye do?" 
     "When I finished putting it back together, a part was left over. 
I didn't think it mattered -- it was so small."
     Scotty shook his head in exasperation.  "Well, you should be proud
of yourself. A fine man may have been blinded because of you!"
     "Can't Dr. McCoy fix him?" 
     "I don't know the answer to that. You'll have to ask the doctor."
     "Can I go down there and see about him?" Scott shook his head.
     "You'll just be in the way. Wait until later, after McCoy has had
a chance to work on him. For now, confine yourself to your quarters."
     Trelane nodded forlornly and trudged off.


     Several hours later, he went to Sickbay to inquire about Riley.
     McCoy was sitting at his desk, doing some work on his computer
terminal. He looked up when Trelane walked in.
     "What do you want? Don't tell me you've cut your finger again?"
     "No. I want to see Kevin," Trelane demanded.  "Kevin's resting. I
     don't want him to have visitors, right now," McCoy replied.               "
     "Is he going to be all right?" 
     The doctor sighed and answered,"Not his eyes, anyway. The radiation 
destroyed his vision. He'll never see again."
     "Can't you fix him?" 
     "A person is not like a piece of machinery,
Trelane. You don't just 'fix' them and then everything's fine and
dandy. Some things can't be fixed."
     "You mean that, don't you?" 
     "I'm good, and modern medicine is pretty amazing, but there are some 
things that are still beyond us."
     McCoy took pity at the youth's downtrodden expression.  "Look,
come back tomorrow and I'll let you see him, okay?" Trelane nodded
sadly and returned to his quarters.


     Before Trelane reported to his shift the next morning, he stopped
by Sickbay again and was permitted to see Riley for a few minutes.
     Riley was just lying there. A bandage was wrapped around his eyes,
so Trelane didn't know if he was awake or asleep.
     "Riley?" he said softly.  Kevin turned his head toward the sound.
     "Yeah? Who is it?" 
     "It's me, Trelane. I came to see how you're doing." 
     "Well, I've got nurses waiting on me hand and foot, but I
can't enjoy it 'cause I can't tell which ones are pretty and which ones
aren't!" Riley joked.
     "I'm sorry you got hurt, Kevin." 
     "Yeah, well, shit happens, y'know? Hey, I'm told you dragged me out of 
that generator room. I might be dead if you hadn't done that. Thanks for 
saving my life."
     Trelane felt even worse.  "Kevin...it's my fault you got hurt."
     "Nah, it was just a freak accident, kid, don't worry about it."
     "No, Kevin, it really was my fault. I left out a piece on the
generator."
     Riley lay there in stunned silence.  "Damn, Trelane! Do you have
any idea what you've done? I'm blind. I'll never see a pretty
woman again or a beautiful sunset."
     "I'm sorry, Kevin," Trelane repeated, his voice wavering.  Riley
took a deep breath and was quiet for a bit.  "Ah, hell. Did you do
it on purpose?" 
     "No! I wouldn't have done that. You're my friend."
     "Yeah. I sure hope you don't treat friends that way. Look, kid, it
was probably as much my fault as yours. I should never have had you
work on those cells by yourself. I was in too big a hurry to get
through."
     "Then we're still friends?" asked Trelane hopefully.  
     "As long as you do one thing for me," Riley replied with a grin.
     "Anything! Just name it!" 
     "Go to my quarters and bring me some of those racy tapes in the 
compartment over my bed. I'm bored stiff in here!"
     "I'll do it," Trelane promised solemnly.  Christine Chapel stuck
her head in about then and shooed Trelane out.
Trelane was just about to leave Sickbay when McCoy stopped him.
"The captain wants to see you, Trelane. But I'm warning you, don't
stay long and don't upset him."
     The youth nodded and followed McCoy into Kirk's room.  Kirk was
propped up on pillows, reading reports on the monitor pulled in
front of him. He turned it off and pushed it away as Trelane and McCoy
entered.
     The captain got right to the point.  "Trelane, Scotty told me what
happened with the generator cells, that you were responsible for
Riley's injuries."
     Trelane nodded and answered, "Yes, Captain, that's right. It was
my fault, but I didn't intend for it to happen. But, I know it doesn't
matter whether it was intentional or not, because Kevin's blind either
way."
     "Don't kid yourself, Trelane, it does matter," Kirk replied.  "But
the point is, once again, your actions have caused someone to get hurt.
When is this going to end? When someone's dead?"
     Trelane looked miserable.  "I never meant for anyone to get hurt,
not really." 
     "That's not the impression I got down on that planet of yours."
     "Yes, well... I don't know what to say." 
     "Just tell me you'll think about the consequences of your actions,
 okay?" Kirk told him.
     "I'll try." Kirk shook his head in exasperation.  "Okay, go on and
get out of here, then."

     Ten days after the captain's original injury, McCoy began to allow
Kirk to make periodic visits to the bridge. Kirk, however, would
retreat to Sickbay only when McCoy and Spock insisted.

     A couple of days later, the Enterprise pulled into orbit around
Calunus II for a routine planetary survey. Despite Spock's protests,
Kirk included himself in the landing party.
     "Captain," the Vulcan argued, "Dr. McCoy has not actually released
you for active duty, yet. I do not think he would approve of you
participating in a landing party."
     Kirk's eyes flashed with annoyance as he turned to Spock.  "I'm
     fine, Mr. Spock. A stroll and some fresh planet air will do me
good. McCoy doesn't need to know about this."
     He glared at the Vulcan meaningfully.  "Very well, Captain." 
     "I think landing party duty would be good experience for Trelane.
Include him."


     When McCoy found out Kirk had beamed down to the planet, he swore
in three languages and headed for the transporter room.

     The landing party split up into groups of two to explore the area.
Spock was amazed when Kirk invited Trelane to accompany him. The Vulcan
said nothing, though, to indicate either his surprise or disapproval.
     Trelane was enthralled with the area and the idea of being a
member of the landing party. They stood in a warm forest glade and the
dual suns loomed high in the pink sky. The youth ran from plant to
plant, analyzing them with a tricorder. Kirk followed along more
slowly, amused at Trelane's fascination with the beautiful flora. Kirk
had warned him at the beginning about touching the plants or inhaling
the scent of the flowers without first running the tricorder on them.
     Trelane strayed out of sight and the captain shouted for him to
return. The boy reappeared momentarily. In his arms was a small animal,
which looked to Kirk like a cross between a bear and a wolf. Trelane's
eyes gleamed with excitement and he smiled broadly as he approached
Kirk.
     Look what I found, Captain! Can I keep it? It's fur is wonderfully
soft and it makes a pleasing sound."
     "No, put it down. If it's a cub, its mother may be around here
someplace."
     The boy reluctantly put the animal down, but knelt beside it,
defiantly stroking it. Before Kirk could order him to get away from it,
a much larger version of the animal roared and sprang from some nearby
brush, landing upon Trelane. The youth threw up an arm to ward off the
creature's fangs, and the wolf- bear's jaws closed savagely on the arm.
Trelane screamed as Kirk, phaser in hand, searched the ground for a
stone or branch to throw at the beast. He had to get it away from
Trelane before he fired the phaser.
     The captain found a large rock and hurled it at the wolf- bear.
The animal turned loose of Trelane's arm, growled, and turned to Kirk.
As soon as it was out of contact with the youth, Kirk fired a stun
charge at the beast. It had no effect. Kirk had time for only one more
shot before it was upon him. The creature merely shook its head and
pounced upon Kirk, knocking him hard to the ground. Dots danced before
his eyes for a moment and he felt a sharp pain in his gut. But he
grabbed the wolf-bear by the throat. He took the only chance he had and
maneuvered the phaser still in his hand so that it was pointed at the
animal's head.  Kirk pulled the trigger and both he and the wolf-bear
went limp from the shared phaser stun.
     Trelane stumbled to his feet and over to Kirk, unconscious beneath
the beast. The animal was conscious, but dazed. Using his uninjured
arm, Trelane managed to shove the wolf-bear off the captain. Taking the
phaser from Kirk's hand, he put another stun charge into the animal,
knocking it out. He called Spock on the communicator and sat down
beside the captain to wait.
     Within two minutes, Spock arrived, an angry McCoy beside him,
ready to give Kirk a piece of his mind. As soon as the doctor saw
Trelane and Kirk, his anger was replaced by concern.  He first checked
to see if Kirk was alive, then pulled out his medi-kit and started to
apply a pressure bandage to the Trelane's arm, since he was bleeding
profusely.
     Trelane insisted, "I'm all right. But the captain...He needs your
help."
     McCoy quickly caught Spock's eyes as if to say, "Now, how about
that?"
     Spock nodded at the doctor. The boy was learning.  After bandaging
Trelane's arm, the doctor ran his scanner over Kirk.
     "Phaser stun -- Trelane, did you shoot that thing while it was on
the captain?"
     Trelane shook his head.  "He did it himself. It was the only thing
he could do." McCoy nodded and read the rest of the scanner
results.  "Damn!" 
    "What is it, Doctor?" Spock quickly asked.  
    "He busted loose a couple of the internal seals I made. He's bleeding
internally again. Call Scotty and beam us up immediately. Have a med
team standing by and tell Chapel to prepare for surgery. I'm going to
have to go back in."


     The next day, Spock, Trelane and McCoy visited Kirk, confined to
bed. Not for the first time, the doctor scolded his patient.
     "What the hell did you think you were doing, anyway, traipsing off
on a landing party?"
     "Just wanted a little fresh air, Bones." 
     "Hmmph! Next time you pull a stunt like that, I'm reporting you. 
Is that understood?"
     "Perfectly," replied Kirk, grinning.  Trelane spoke up.  "Captain,
I'm sorry you were hurt -- it's all my fault, as usual. If you
hadn't been trying to keep that thing from eating me, it wouldn't have
attacked you. Why did you risk your life to help me -- especially after
everything I've done?"
     "You're a part of my crew, Trelane, my responsibility. I couldn't
stand by and let that beast kill you. Now, while it's true you share
some blame in this, it's also true you meant no harm. And McCoy tells
me you dragged the animal off me and knocked it out. You saved MY life
by doing so. You've come a long way, Trelane. Your parents would be
proud."
     The youth's eyes lit up.  "You really think so? I don't believe
I've ever done anything to make them proud of me."
     "Okay," McCoy declared then, "visiting hours are over. You two
clear out of here and let him get some sleep."
     Kirk opened his mouth to protest, but McCoy pointed a finger at
him and said, "Don't even think about complaining. You're in enough hot
water with me as it is. Furthermore, you're staying right here for the
next seven days, so get used to it."
     The captain shut his mouth and exhaled heavily. He gave the doctor
a dirty look as McCoy injected him with a sedative. Kirk's eyes closed
as the drug took effect and his three visitors filed out of the room.


     By the time the two months were up, Kirk had promoted Trelane to
bridge duty and the boy navigated them back to Gothos.  The captain and
his first officer beamed down to the planet with Trelane. The boy's
parents were awaiting him. They took on the forms of a human man and
woman, the man dark, the woman blonde.  They inspected their son
closely.
     "You seem different, Trelane," commented his mother tentatively.
"More self-assured. More...mature."
     Kirk told of Trelane's exemplary work aboard the starship and how
the boy had saved his life. Trelane interrupted at this point and told
them the complete story of the wolf-bear, not leaving out his own
shortcomings in the incident.
     Trelane's father clapped his hand proudly on his son's shoulder.
     "Two months ago, Trelane, you could never have admitted doing
anything wrong. Thank you, Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, for what you have
done for our son."
     Kirk smiled warmly and replied, "We merely provided the location
and some guidance. He achieved the majority of this on his own."
     Trelane shrugged then said, "Captain, thank you for letting me
travel aboard the Enterprise. I'm truly sorry for all the trouble I've
caused in the past. I understand, now, that what I did was wrong."
     He looked down at the ground, then back at Kirk, and asked
haltingly, "Do you think...just maybe...they would let me into
Starfleet Academy?"
     Kirk was not entirely surprised by the question. He had not failed
to notice the intense interest the youth had taken in his work aboard
the Enterprise.
     "Well, Trelane, I think you'd make a good candidate -- without
your powers, of course. You'd have to take a series of tests, but I'd
be willing to recommend you, if your parents agree."
     Trelane turned to his mother and father.  "Please let me. The last
     two months have been the most meaningful of my life."
     His father considered the request.  "I suppose so, Trelane, but
     understand, you would have to give up your powers if you're going
to live among these people. I don't think you could resist using them
unwisely at his point in time. Also, you should know that you would age
more rapidly in this form, though your lifespan will still be greated
than that of a normal human."
     Trelane thought carefully before answering.  "I can do it, Father.
     I've had them all these years and I was never really happy until I
spent two months aboard a starship as a human. I never had friends
until now. I didn't even know what they were."
     "Very well, son. We will allow you to apply. If they deny you
admission, you must accept their decision."
     "I'll study hard. I WILL pass the admission tests," Trelane
swore.
     "If you like, Trelane," offered Kirk, "you can come back aboard
and we'll arrange transport for you the nearest examination site."
     "Thank you for the invitation, Captain, but I would like my
parents to come with me to Earth for the test. We will travel in our
own way and it will give me a chance to spend some time with them
before entering the academy."
     "Okay, Trelane, I'll pass along my recommendation and notify Star
Fleet that you'll be going to Earth. Good luck and let us hear from
you."
     Kirk extended his hand to the boy and Trelane grasped it firmly
and shook it.
     The aspiring cadet gave Spock a Vulcan salute.  "I hated you at
     first, Mr. Spock, for making me lose my powers. I'm grateful to
you, now. I understand now that life is not a game and people are not
toys. Thank you. Live long and prosper."
     "Goodbye, Trelane. We expect to hear good things from you in the
future," the first officer replied.
     In truth, Spock couldn't help but wonder if Trelane would be able
to stay out of trouble, but he returned the salutation.
     Kirk and Spock beamed back to the ship, leaving Trelane and his
parents behind.

     On the bridge, Kirk gave the command to leave orbit.  After
     ordering Uhura to notify Starfleet of Trelane's imminent arrival,
the captain mused to his first officer, "Think he'll make it, Spock?"
     "It's quite possible, Jim. He's bright and determined, although
stubborn." Kirk didn't miss the twinkle in his friend's eyes as Spock
added, "It would not surprise me if he ended up captaining a starship."
     "Oh, really?" Kirk said, looking dubious. A thought occurred to
him and he looked back up at Spock and said, "Well, I wouldn't trade
this job for any other, but ..." He grinned. "Somebody should tell him
it's not exactly the safest profession in the galaxy."
     Spock's eyebrows twitched as he looked Kirk in the eye for a
moment before directing his gaze to the viewscreen and replying, "I
rather think he knows that, by now."