Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home Read online

  “Mr. Chekov, give a phaser and a communicator to each team,” Kirk continued. “We will only radio each other in an emergency. All right, let’s do our job.”

  The Bounty landed in the park. The ship’s ramp was visible when it let the crew out. But when it closed, nothing could be seen—except for the seven strangers from the twenty-third century.

  They wandered onto the city streets and looked around in wonder. Everything seemed so odd and ancient to them.

  By the twenty-third century, money was not being used any more, but Kirk realized they needed some now. The only valuable thing he had was an antique pair of eyeglasses. At an antique shop he sold them to the owner for $200.

  Kirk divided up the money with the crew, and the teams split off to their missions. Kirk had no idea where he and Spock should begin searching for the whales.

  “Simple logic,” said Spock. “I will read this map.”

  Posted on a bus stop nearby was a map of San Francisco. But Spock couldn’t figure it out. Just then a bus pulled up. On its side was a large advertisement:

  SEE GEORGE AND GRACIE

  THE ONLY TWO HUMPBACK WHALES IN CAPTIVITY

  AT THE CETACEAN INSTITUTE, SAUSALITO

  “I think we’ll find what we’re looking for at the Cetacean Institute in Sausalito,” said Kirk. “Two humpbacks named George and Gracie.”

  “How do you know this?”

  Kirk gave a sly smile. “Simple logic.”

  When they reached the Institute, they were just in time for a tour. Kirk and Spock looked around in wonder at the main room. Huge models of whales hung from the ceiling.

  Kirk noticed that the tour guide was an attractive woman. And from the look in her eyes, she noticed Kirk, too.

  “Good morning. I’m Doctor Gillian Taylor and I’ll be your guide,” she began. “The Cetacean Institute is the world’s only museum devoted just to whales…. Even though we have laws against whale hunting, some countries and pirates still kill them off. If this doesn’t stop, there may soon be none left.”

  “To hunt animals to extinction is not logical,” Spock said.

  “Whoever said the human race was logical?” Gillian answered. “Now, if you’ll follow me…”

  She led them to the glass whale tank. They all stared down into it to see George and Gracie. In their time, Kirk and Spock had never seen Earth creatures so big.

  Gillian looked at the whales with a smile. “They wandered into San Francisco as babies and were brought here. Beautiful, aren’t they? And intelligent, too. Why shouldn’t they be? They’re swimming around with the largest brains on Earth.”

  She led the group down the stairway that curved around the whale tank. No one noticed that Spock was not with them.

  “Unfortunately, soon we will have to return George and Gracie to the open sea,” Gillian said with a sigh. “For one thing, we can’t afford to feed them a couple of tons of shrimp a day!”

  Kirk was shocked. If they let the whales out to sea, how could his crew possibly find them and beam them up in time? “How soon?” he asked.

  “Soon,” she answered sadly. “It’s too bad, because I’ve grown quite fond of them.”

  At the bottom of the tank, the group looked at the whales through the glass.

  Over speakers, a sound could be heard. “What you’re hearing is a whale song, sung by the male. In the ocean, other whales will pick up the song and pass it on.”

  Suddenly Kirk’s eyes popped open. In the whale tank he saw three figures—George and Gracie, and Spock, with his hand on one of the whales.

  He’s reading the whale’s mind, Kirk thought.

  “We still don’t know the reason for the songs,” Gillian continued.

  An older woman spoke up. “Maybe he’s singing to the man.”

  Gillian spun around to see Spock. “What the—!” She raced to the top of the tank, and Kirk followed.

  When they got there, Spock had come out of the water. Gillian was furious at him and Kirk. “I don’t know what this is about,” she said, “but I want you guys out of here right now or I call the cops!”

  The two men quickly left the building. “What did you learn from them, Spock?” Kirk asked.

  “They are very unhappy about the way whales have been treated by man.”

  “Do you think they’ll help us?”

  “I believe I was successful in telling them what we wanted.” Not the answer Kirk hoped for, but good enough.

  Beep-beep. Kirk answered a signal on his communicator.

  “Admiral, this is Chekov. We have found the ship with the nuclear reactor, and it’s called … the Enterprise.”

  At the Institute things had quieted down. Gillian sat by the edge of the whale tank, while the whales sprayed her and made noises. It sounded like they were trying to tell her something. But what?

  Before long, Gillian noticed her boss come in. “Bob … it’s tearing me apart,” she said. “I don’t want to let the whales go.”

  “I know, but we can’t keep them here without risking their lives.” He gave her a friendly look. “You look tired. Why don’t you go home?”

  She nodded and left. In a few minutes, an assistant came in.

  “We all ready?” he asked.

  “Looks like it,” Bob answered.

  “Gillian’s gonna go crazy.”

  “I know, but it’s for her own good.” Something sneaky was up.

  On her drive home, Gillian passed by Kirk and Spock and offered them a ride.

  Kirk whispered to Spock, “It’s her—from the Institute. Maybe we can find out when those whales are really leaving.”

  Both men climbed into the car. As they drove off, Gillian asked, “What were you guys trying to do back there? Was it some kind of macho thing?”

  “Can I ask you something?” Kirk said. “What’s going to happen when you release the whales?”

  “They’re gonna have to take their chances. They’ll be at risk from hunters…. Say, you guys aren’t from the military, are you?”

  “No, ma’am,” Kirk said.

  Just then, Spock spoke up. “Gracie is pregnant.”

  Gillian jammed on the brakes in anger, and the car skidded to a stop. “All right. How do you know that? And who are you?”

  “We can’t tell you,” Kirk said. “All I can say is we mean no harm to the whales. In fact, we may be able to help you—in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine.”

  “Or believe,” Gillian said.

  “Very likely. You know, maybe we ought to talk about this over dinner.”

  Gillian agreed, and she drove them all to a restaurant.

  Miles away, Scotty, McCoy, and Sulu were at a Plexiglas factory called Plexicorp. Their mission: to find a material that would make a good whale tank for the Bounty. Sulu had split off to look at the factory’s helicopter. And Scotty and McCoy had gotten inside the factory by pretending Scotty was an important professor from Scotland.

  Doctor Nichols, the factory director, showed the two men into his office.

  Scotty knew he needed to get a lot of Plexiglas from Doctor Nichols. But what could he give him in return? He thought a moment and then said, “Doctor Nichols, let’s say you have a big wall of Plexiglas that’s six inches thick, to hold tons of water. Suppose I could show you a way to make a wall just as strong but only one inch thick. Would that be worth something to you?”

  “Are you joking?”

  “He never jokes,” McCoy said with a serious face.

  Scotty sat in front of a nearby computer. With incredible speed, the screen glowed with graphics that amazed Nichols. He knew he could become rich and famous with this formula. Now he would give anything to “Professor” Scotty.

  Meanwhile, Kirk had asked Gillian to drive into Golden Gate Park—to the landing site of the invisible Bounty. When they got there, Spock stepped out.

  “You won’t change your mind?” Gillian asked him.

  Spock didn’t understand the slang. “Is there something wrong with t
he one I have?” he asked.

  “Just a little joke,” Kirk said to Gillian. “See you later, Spock.”

  But Gillian had another question for Spock. “How did you know Gracie was pregnant? Nobody knows that.”

  “Gracie does,” Spock said. He turned to Kirk. “I’ll be right here.” With that, he walked away.

  “He’s just going to hang around the bushes while we eat?” Gillian asked.

  Kirk shrugged. “It’s his way.”

  Spock waited until the car pulled away. Then, when no one was around, he quietly beamed out.

  Kirk and Gillian drove to a restaurant and sat down for dinner. Kirk began asking questions. “Exactly how will George and Gracie be taken away?”

  “They’ll be flown to Alaska and released there.” Gillian sighed sadly. “We’ll keep in touch with them by tagging them with radio transmitters.”

  Kirk looked deeply into her eyes. “You know, I could take those whales someplace where they wouldn’t be hunted.”

  Gillian laughed. “You? You can’t even get around without a lift!” But there was something about Kirk. He didn’t look like a liar—and she liked him. “Where could you take them?”

  Kirk spoke carefully. “It’s not so much a matter of place as of time.”

  Gillian was listening in hopes that Kirk had an answer. But suddenly Kirk’s communicator beeped—and that broke the spell.

  Kirk flipped it open. “What is it?” he shouted. “I told you never to call—”

  “Sorry, Admiral,” came Scotty’s voice. “We thought you’d like to know, we’re beaming them in now.”

  “I see,” Kirk said. “Tell them phasers on stun. Good luck. Kirk out.”

  Gillian looked at him sharply. “Who are you?”

  “All right, the truth…. I’m from the late twenty-third century. I’ve been sent back in time to bring two humpback whales with me in order to … bring them back from extinction.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so? Why all the disguises?”

  “You want details?”

  “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

  “Then tell me when the whales are leaving.”

  “OK, your friend was right. Gracie is very pregnant. At noon tomorrow the whales get shipped out—and I’m sure all the newspaper and TV people will be there.”

  Kirk jumped up from the table. “Noon tomorrow? Come on. I don’t have much time.”

  As they drove to Golden Gate Park, Kirk told her all about his crew and his mission.

  “Well, that is the craziest story I ever heard,” Gillian said as they pulled up to the invisible ship’s landing site.

  “Now, will you tell me something?” said Kirk. “George and Gracie’s transmitters. How can we get in touch with them?”

  “I can’t tell you. That’s top secret.”

  “Look. I can get two other humpbacks from the open sea. But I’d rather take yours. It would be better for me, better for you—and better for them. If you change your mind, this is where I’ll be.”

  Gillian looked around. “Here … in the park?”

  “Right.” He gave her a kiss and walked off.

  Just as Gillian started her car, she heard a funny noise. She turned around.

  There was no one within yards of where Kirk had been standing.

  On board the Bounty, Spock reported to Kirk, “The tank will be finished by morning.”

  “What about Uhura and Chekov?”

  “We’re waiting for their call.”

  “If we don’t move quickly we’ll lose the whales!”

  “In that case, chances are our mission would fail.”

  “Our mission?!” Kirk was furious at Spock’s calmness. “Spock, you’re talking about the end of every life on Earth! You’re half human haven’t you got any feelings about that?”

  As Kirk stormed off, Spock looked like he did have feelings—anger, pain, and confusion.

  In the Naval Base, Uhura and Chekov had sneaked into the USS Enterprise. They quietly collected photons near the nuclear reactor. When they finished, Uhura radioed Scotty and asked him to beam them up.

  “My transporter power’s very low,” Scotty replied. “I got to bring you in one at a time. Stand by.”

  “Take the collector. You go first!” Chekov said. He stepped aside as Uhura was beamed out.

  Suddenly Chekov heard the sound of running feet. Guards!

  “Freeze!” a gruff voice called out.

  It was too late to be beamed up. The guards took Chekov to their office. Soon the room was filled with naval officers and FBI agents.

  One agent started firing questions at Chekov. “All right, who are you and what are you doing here?”

  “My name is Pavel Chekov, Starfleet Lieutenant Commander, United Federation of Planets.”

  “He’s a Russian,” someone said. “We better call Washington.”

  Quickly, Chekov snatched up his phaser. “Don’t move or I will have to stun you.”

  The FBI agent came toward him. Chekov fired.

  But the phaser made a tiny noise and did nothing.

  “Must be the radiation,” Chekov said. He raced out the nearest door.

  The chase was on. Chekov climbed a ladder onto the deck of the Enterprise. But Marines and patrolmen came at him from all directions. He stopped by the edge of the deck, trapped.

  There had to be a way to escape. He looked to his left. A group of Marines came at him. Chekov slipped—right off the edge of the ship!

  When Chekov’s chasers looked over the edge, they saw him lying on a barge floating on the water. His eyes were closed.

  Things were tense on the Bounty. They had lost touch with Chekov, and Uhura felt terrible that she had left him alone.

  “Uhura, you did what was necessary. Keep trying,” Kirk said gently. Then he spoke into the intercom. “Mr. Scott, how long for the dilithium crystals?”

  “It’ll be well into tomorrow.”

  “Not good enough, Scotty. You’ve got to do better!”

  The next morning, Gillian drove up to the Cetacean Institute. She was surprised—no cameras, no newspapermen. She unlocked the main door and walked into the tank area.

  George and Gracie were gone.

  Gillian saw her boss standing in the corner of the room. “They left last night,” he said. “We didn’t want a mob scene with the press. Besides, we thought it would be easier on you this way.”

  Gillian’s face turned red with anger. “You … sent them away. Without even letting me say good-bye?” She slapped him and ran outside. Crying, she jumped into her car and drove to the place where she left Kirk in Golden Gate Park.

  “Kirk!” she screamed. But her voice was drowned out by a loud sound in the air. She looked up to see Sulu in a helicopter. He was lowering a huge sheet of Plexiglas into … thin air!

  Then she saw something that made her jaw drop open. Scotty was floating in the air, guiding Sulu. But there was only half of him there! She couldn’t know that the other half of him was being covered by an invisible ship.

  “Kirk!” she yelled. “I need you!”

  On board the ship, Kirk heard her. And in a moment, Gillian noticed herself start to disappear!

  In a moment she was aboard the Bounty, facing Kirk. “Hello, Alice,” he said. “Welcome to Wonderland.”

  “It’s true … what you said…”

  Kirk showed her the new whale tanks.

  “Kirk,” she said, “They’re gone.”

  “Gone?!”

  “They were taken last night. I wasn’t told. They’re in Alaska by now.”

  Just then, Spock came in and said, “Admiral, we have full power…. Hello, Doctor, welcome aboard.”

  As Gillian stared at Spock’s pointy ears, Uhura’s voice came in on the intercom.

  “Admiral … I’ve found Chekov. He’s in emergency surgery.”

  “Uhura! Where?”

  “At Mercy Hospital. They don’t think he’ll live!”

  In an instant,
Kirk, McCoy, and Gillian were in Mercy Hospital. They found hospital uniforms and a bed with wheels. Kirk and McCoy dressed as doctors and Gillian put on a nurse’s uniform. She jumped under the bedsheets and pretended to be a patient—and off they went.

  They wheeled their way past doctors and policemen, right into the operating room. And there, unconscious on a bed, was Chekov. A doctor and two nurses were around him.

  When no one was looking, Gillian sat up. She, McCoy, and Kirk all put on white masks and went over to Chekov. McCoy examined Chekov with his tricorder.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” the doctor said.

  “I must get to work on him right away or he’ll die!” McCoy answered. “So put away your butcher knives and let me save this man!”

  “I don’t know who you are,” the doctor said, “but I’m going to have you removed!”

  “Doctors, please,” Kirk said. And with one swift move, he had his phaser drawn.

  Kirk then aimed his phaser at the doctor and nurses, and pointed them into a small room. He shut the door, fired his phaser at the lock—and melted it!

  At the same time, McCoy began to heal Chekov with his tricorder. “Wake up, man, wake up,” he said.

  Kirk and Gillian joined McCoy. Soon Chekov’s eyes started to flutter. He sat up with a start. “Doctor McCoy!” he said.

  McCoy smiled. “Hello, Chekov.”

  They wheeled Chekov out of the operating room and down the hall. One of the policemen remembered seeing them when they went in. “How’s the patient?” he asked.

  “He’s gonna make it!” Kirk answered.

  The policeman looked at his partner. “He? They went in with a she!”

  Oops. Kirk, McCoy, and Gillian raced away, pushing Chekov on the bed. Close behind them were the hospital guards, with their weapons in hand. At the end of the hall a large elevator door opened, and Kirk rolled the bed right in.

  The door closed, and Gillian felt them going the wrong way. “We’re going up!” she cried out. “They’ll take the stairs and catch us!”