The next morning, life on the Enterprise had finally returned to normal. Kirk and Spock—having resolved their 'relationship issues'—were finally able to have a comfortable conversation together. The general mood on the bridge was warm and relaxed.

For perhaps the hundredth time, Kirk—having nothing else to occupy his attention—looked over at the science station and caught Spock's eye. He gave him a little smile, a look of fondness passing over his face. The corners of Spock's mouth twitched slightly in response.

All right, they may have been a little obvious with their facial expressions, but it didn't seem like anyone was really noticing. Anyone other than McCoy, of course.

"So, Jim, how are you feeling today?" he asked, coming to stand next to the Captain's chair.

"I'm perfectly fine, Bones, no need to worry," Kirk answered, his smile widening.

"I can see that," McCoy agreed, one eyebrow raising slightly in a knowing smirk. "I trust you took my advice then?"

"Indeed I did, Bones, and may I thank you for such an excellent recommendation," Kirk replied, grinning.

After his shift was over, Kirk followed McCoy back to sickbay to chat—and maybe have a drink as well.

They were walking along one of the corridors, discussing some details of their current assignment.

Suddenly, Kirk felt extremely dizzy. He stumbled, and put a hand out to the wall to steady himself. His vision swam in and out of focus and his head spun violently.

"Jim, are you alright?" McCoy asked, surprised.

Kirk struggled to focus on the image of McCoy in front of him. His eyesight was fading rapidly, and everything sounded distorted and wrong.

"Jim," McCoy said again, taking his arm to steady him.

Another second passed, and then the dizziness was gone.

Kirk looked up at McCoy. Although he felt balanced again, he still felt a little disoriented, as if he had stepped into some kind of alternate universe.

"Yes, Bones, I'm fine," Kirk said after a moment, straightening himself up off the wall.

"I don't know, Jim," McCoy replied, an edge of doubt in his voice. "Here, let's get you to sickbay."

Once they arrived, Kirk found that all traces of disorientation and dizziness had disappeared completely. After running a few tests and determining that Kirk was in perfect health, McCoy still ordered the Captain to his quarters for a while to rest.

When he got there, Kirk lay in bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling. Something definitely felt different, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

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In the morning, Kirk woke up and got ready for another day on the Enterprise. When he went to leave his quarters, however, he almost ran into the door. Mainly because it didn't open.

Kirk stepped back and tried again, walking through the doors as they now opened in front of him. Shrugging, he continued on his way to the bridge.

After several hours of routine operations, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy decided to take a break for lunch together. As they made their way down the corridor to the recreation room, Spock stepped in front of Kirk and McCoy to approached the door. He, too was stopped by the unmoving panels. Spock paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow. As if on cue, it finally slid open.

"That happened to me this morning," Kirk remarked, frowning.

Spock proceed inside, followed by an equally puzzled Kirk and McCoy.

The three men walked over to the food synthesizer to order their meals. When Kirk picked up his plate, he stared at it for a moment.

"My chicken sandwich and coffee," he said, referring to the odd, lumpy mixture he had received instead. "This is my chicken sandwich and coffee," he repeated in disbelief.

"Fascinating," Spock commented, while McCoy hid a grin.

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Back on the bridge after their meal, Kirk and Spock again took their stations. McCoy had returned to sickbay. The Enterprise was currently supervising the shore leave of 12 Klingons on Deep Space K-7 and had to remain alert for any trouble.

After the Klingons returned to their ship, the Enterprise's security officers were able to return as well, allowing Kirk some time to rest in his quarters for the night.

The following morning, on his way to the bridge, Kirk encountered Spock in the turbolift.

"Good morning, Spock," Kirk said pleasantly as he stepped inside.

"Good morning, Captain," Spock replied, a warm smile appearing on his face.

"How's my first officer this morning?" Kirk asked with a playful grin, instinctively leaning toward him.

"Jim, I don't think now is an appropriate time," Spock pointed out in a slightly apologetic tone.

Kirk stopped for a moment, then finally conceded. "Oh, all right," he grumbled, but gave Spock a quick peck on the cheek anyway.

The Vulcan blushed slightly, but offered no words of protest.

At that moment, the turbolift doors slid open. Kirk and Spock stepped out, only to find that they were not on the bridge, but in engineering instead. Kirk looked around, puzzled, but before he could say anything, Scotty called to him from across the room.

"Can I help you with anything, Captain?" he asked.

Kirk looked up as Scotty approached.

"No, no, Mr. Scott. Spock and I were just on our way to the bridge, but we seemed to have ended up here by mistake," Kirk explained.

"Well, that's odd," Scotty said thoughtfully.

"We haven't had a problem with the turbolifts for quite a while. I'd better join you on the bridge to find out what's wrong."

So, Kirk and Spock moved back inside the turbolift, followed by Scotty. When they reached the bridge, the engineer stepped out and moved to his station. Kirk and Spock returned to their posts as well.

"Mr. Chekov, what is the status of—" Kirk began, but got no further, for the lights on the bridge had suddenly faded to black.

After a moment, they flickered on again, dimmer this time.

"Auxiliary power coming online, sir," Chekov announced from his station.

"Mr. Scott, report," Kirk demanded, turning to the engineering station.

"Several main power conduits are malfunctioning," Scotty informed him. "I'm attempting to bypass, but so far, nothing's worked."

"Scotty, I want some answers," Kirk ordered.

"You, Mr. Spock, and Chekov: report to the briefing room in half an hour."

Hopefully, they could get to the bottom of these mysterious malfunctions before anything serious happened.