DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction written entirely for entertainment purposes. No payment is received for the production of this work and the world of Star Trek is owned exclusively by Gene Roddenberry (The Original Series) and by J.J. Abbrams (Reboot 2009).

Chapter One

Look! Look at the sky, oh it's beautiful... Dark and wonderful and filled with empty space that is mine to own and mine to live beneath. These stars were the stars of my ancestors, the stars my children would gaze upon. These were my stars. No planet could hide them from me, could take away the knowledge that, no matter where I go or who stands behind me, my stars exist somewhere that is everywhere. Oh wake up, wake up, look at the sky! Look at the sky! Wake up!

Ashayam?

A blonde head quirked, pale eyes wide in a darkened room as slender hands worked to free the tangles from the gentle tumble of soft hair. No sound left his lips save for his gentle breathing, his long fingers treading through the generous locks of his own brilliant curls where they fell soundly to his lap as he sat cross-legged on the cushioned seating panel, his pale body alit beneath the ever-lightening sky outside the huge window.

I can hear you, Ashayam. The man woken from his slumber teased the mind that fluttered like a little bird against his own, dark eyes slanting towards the blonde. A stir in the semi-darkness, movement as he heaved himself up onto his elbows, the bed-sheets rustling around him, he smiled at the small figure in his windowsill. "It never fails to unnerve me, that chaotic mess that is your mind, t'nash-veh tamsu."

Husky laughter, light and sweet fell from pink lips, blue eyes tracing over the lean form of the man within the bed. A body sleek with muscle and honoured with the scarring of war, those long legs far outmatching his own though he took pleasure in knowing his beautiful hair would always be longer than his beloved's straight, black locks.

There was a fluttering of humour across their bond and he leaned into it, fingers leaving his own blonde hair to drop to his lap. "Your dancer? I have not danced for you, Ashayam, in many months... I fear my body has forgotten."

A pause and a sudden blur of movement and he was captured, in strong arms he was held and lain upon his back on their bed, so swiftly his thoughts followed the happenings almost lazily. A gentleness wrapped around his mind, soothing to the manic thoughts that his night-time awakenings often brought, the ramblings he sometimes could not cease. He sank into that embrace with a wanton sigh, his legs falling open with ease to allow the gentle slide of the other man between them.

You dance for me in many ways... James.

The blonde head tilted back as his mate's, his lover's, his master's voice floated across the bond he had linked between them; a bond more secure than any marriage or slavery he could have otherwise found himself in. A bond of protection and love, sacred among all of his master's kind.

James ran slender hands through his lover's silken hair, catching a brown gaze and holding it in the dim light.

I would dance for you forever, Spock. My friend... My master... My T'hy'la.

###

"Spock!"

"Yes, Captain?"

Jim jumped, mouth twisting in a rueful smile as he spun to find his first officer not a foot behind where he was standing.

"Sorry, thought you were..." Blue eyes caught brown, the Vulcan's eyebrow quirking in that fashion that Jim had begun to think was reserved for his slip ups and his alone. He coughed, his mouth a grimace. "Any change in the current course that I need to be aware of? That ion cloud we passed through scrambled my reader and if what Scotty was saying about the planet we're headed to is right then I can see us coming up against rougher currents the nearer we get."

Mr. Spock had moved to stand by Kirk's side, his gaze flitting with no small amount of disinterest to the scrambled scanner even as his hands came around to grasp it for a closer look. "Indeed, Captain," his voice was toneless, though Jim was content to imagine a degree of dry wit behind his first officer's stoic behaviour. "Mr. Scott perceives the new planet discovered by our readers to be of a highly charged magnetic field. It would be logical to draw such a conclusion as to expect a seventy eight per cent increase in the strength of ion currents as we near. May I suggest we exit warp before coming into contact with such a field? The distance could prove beneficial for the production of the Enterprise."

"We're already knocked off timing as it is." Jim sighed, his brow furrowing as Spock returned his personal scanner to Jim's seat, fully functional once more. Computers, computers were always Jim's forte, he would never understand how Spock managed to rewire and fix mechanical gizmo's in the blink of an eye.

"Alright, we'll drop out before we're estimated to reach the planet's main pull, but at this rate it's gonna be another twenty four hours before we reach scanning distance of the place."

"Nineteen hours and twenty six minutes, Captain."

Jim had to restrain the snort of humour in his throat, instead turning a wry grin on his commanding officer. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Spock. That'll be all."

###

I do not like it.

A tread of exasperation coated an otherwise patient bond, wiped away almost immediately against the gentle coaxing of his mate.

"I understand, James, that you've never been aboard a ship that has not been carting you somewhere against your will but we must board this vessel. My fleet is waiting for me and their bondmates for you. If you do not come with me, we face a year apart and such distance would wreak havoc on our bond and on you. I care only for your safety and to have my bondmate by my side, Ashayam."

James regarded the big, hulking vessel, his young face barely passed the age of twenty and yet it held all the horrors of his past in vivid show. His blue eyes were haunted but firm, as if resolve was something hard wired into him. Whatever hardship that had ever been thrown his way, James had dealt with it. He nodded once, his scattered thoughts belying his calm mask as Spock gathered him close and moved on swift legs from the boarding hanger to the open maw of the ship. James clutched at the fabric of his mate's training tunic, his eyes sliding shut as he was placed on unsteady ground and the gentle hum beneath his feet signalled the ship's sudden spur of life.

No, don't sell me, Ashayam... Don't send me away. I am a good dancer, am I not? I can't be sold again... I can't be sold again... I can't...

"James."

The thoughts were not his present mind, only lingerings of fear and memories from a past best forgotten. He forced the panic down with a grimace, his hands reaching up to clutch where Spock held tight to his shoulders, sending waves of calm and love through their bond.

His eyes snapped open to come face to face with their reflection on the silvery surface of the starship's inner walls. Vulcan was so well known for its love of silver, as though they wanted to recreate the light of a moon they did not have. James stood a foot shorter than his bondamte, his yellow hair in disarray where it fell to his slender hips and his blue tunic and brown boots a splash of colour against his pale skin. His cheeks were lit with a flush of pink as he flicked his eyes up to meet Spock's. The flitter of emotions there was as warm and understanding as it had been since he had first been gifted to the warrior, Vulcan emotions as intense as they were compared to a human's. Spock's sleek hair framed his pale face, tucked behind one pointed ear and cropped to his shoulders as was the way for all Vulcan fighters.

James chuckled, his grip loosening, at his own foolishness. Of course Spock would never sell him.

I would sooner sell myself, T'hy'la.

You would look most odd in dancer's muslin, Ashayam.

Spock's loud laughter was like familiar music to his ears.

Jim groaned, his head a constant drumming, though his last thought was not of falling into bed drunk. No... He remembered...

The blonde bolted up, blue eyes wide and mouth agape as he took in the sight of his bridge. The ship had jolted, he remembered that, lurched to one side like a bad imitation of an ocean liner hitting a rough patch of sea. The lights flickered above his head, almost in time to the pained groaning of his crew. At least he wasn't the only one awake.

"Report!"

His voice was rasping in his throat, as though he'd passed through one too many deserts with little water and swallowing did little to ease his discomfort. What the hell had happened to his ship? One minute they'd been on course, ready to drop out of warp and the next...

"I am uncertain as to what could have occurred, Captain, however I estimate the chances of it being due to both the new planet's magnetics and a passing ion cloud to be at ninety-three point two per cent."

Spock sounded every inch the impeccable Vulcan, though when Jim turned to search for him in the sea of crewmen struggling to regain their footing, he found his first officer kneeling a fraction too close. The Vulcan's full bottom lip had split from some form of impact, a dribble of green blood making his normally immaculate appearance all the more alarming.

"You ok, Spock?"

An almost imperceptible widening of the man's eyes let Jim know that the question seemed to have taken the Vulcan back as he rose to his feet, catching his Captain under the arm to assist him rather than offering his hand as was Spock's custom. "I am adequate, Captain."

Jim cast him a searching look, Spock's eye level just an inch shorter than Jim's own, before the blonde nodded slowly, wincing at the pain that lanced across his head; a stupid move, that. He glanced around once more, thankful to see that everyone seemed to be up and standing and, aside from a few bumps and bruises, no worse for the wear. On legs stiff with shock, Jim made his way to his comm. unit and blew out a breath.

"Hey, Scotty, everyone alright down there?"

A shriek of static made him hiss and toss the thing to the floor, rubbing his ear and scowling when the panicked tones of a Scotsman garbled their way through the crackling communications unit.

"I dunno know wha' 'appened, sir! We were doin' grand an' somethin' pulled us off course. No injuries, though, sir and ah've 'had word from McCoy, says he canna' get through to the bridge but e'ryone's up and about."

"Pulled us off course?" Jim cast a bewildered glance towards Spock, Sulu and Chekov hovering behind him as though reluctant to return to their seats. Jim held the comm. at arms length, his mouth a thin line. "What do you mean, pulled us off course, Scotty? Where are we and is the ship alright?"Jim moved as he spoke, directing Uhura and Sulu to the main view screen in an attempt to bring up some image or navigation that wasn't spinning out of sync.

"Ship's not the best she's ever been, cap'ain, but she'll hold ou' 'till we can dock and clean 'er up. And as fer where we are? Well, sir, I really don' know."

"Captain."

Jim spun to face Sulu, his gut clenching at the fearful look on the young pilots face. "Mr. Sulu?"

"I can't read these scanners, Captain. None of what's around us now makes any sense. We don't even seem to be in the same star system, let alone anywhere near that planet. And... I don't think we're alone."

Uhura let out a triumphant sigh as the main view screen suddenly flickered to life, only for her face to fall and her hands to cover her mouth at the sight that met them. Black space surrounded them, but in the distance, not so far as to appear small or offer comfort that they would go unnoticed, was a ship near ten times their size, shimmering and flitting in and out of sight as though to blend in with the stars that surrounded it.

Jim felt his crew's panic stutter against his chest, his own stomach dropping in confusion. "Any thoughts, Mr. Spock?"

The Vulcan was frowning, subtly and minimally but a frown all the same as he stared at the ship that was definitely turning in their direction. "It may be in our best interest to hail the vessel for assistance, sir." He held up a hand to still Kirk's outbreak, his brown eyes catching the Captain's, "It will be of no benefit to fire or flee, Captain. They will catch us and assume we are fleeing for an altogether different reason. If I'm not mistaken, that is a Vulcan war ship."