Green. That was the color of her painted nails. A dark forest green. A green so dark it was almost black. Green also happened to be the color of Christopher Pike's eyes. Eyes that she would give almost anything to see at the moment. Eyes that she was parsecs away from and eyes that might never be open again.
She knew very little of the state those eyes, and the man they belonged to, were currently in as she had yet to receive word of Christopher Pike's condition. She knew that when the USS Enterprise left Earth, he had been her captain and now, less than three days later, James T. Kirk was in command. She knew that for most of that three-day period, Christopher Pike had been held onboard a Romulan ship and tortured for information. She also knew, to her dismay, how dangerous a motivated Romulan could be. (Indeed, every member of the Federation now knew how dangerous a motivated Romulan could be; dangerous enough to destroy a planet and murder more than six billion of its inhabitants.)
As discomforting as it was, Number One was worried. The immovable and untouchable Illyrian was shaken. Christopher Pike's condition was unknown and until Number One knew his status, she would remain that way. Because, believe it or not, Number One cared. She cared about Christopher Pike just as he cared about her. And that worried her too. If Christopher Pike were able, he would have commed Number One. Which meant that he was not able to comm and infor-
"Captain?" Number One was roused from her distraction. She looked up from the painted nails she had been absent-mindedly examining. "Yes, Lieutenant Hawkings?" she responded.
"There's an incoming subspace message for you, Captain. From the USS Enterprise," the communications officer informed her. The bridge suddenly went quiet. No one spoke a word; instead they all turned to look at their captain.
The captain of the USS Yorktown was on edge. She was about to learn the state her lover was in and the possibilities frightened her. But she had to stay calm and collected because she was Number One, and she was Illyrian, and, goddammit, she was the captain of a Constitution-class starship. "Bring it on screen," she commanded.
"Yes, ma'am," Lieutenant Hawkings replied as he let the call come into view.
The man who appeared on the screen was disheveled to say the least. He had cuts on his face, bags under his eyes, and several sets of handprint-shaped bruises around his neck. One set was an aged green color, while the other two sets of prints were purple and fresh. His blonde hair was messy and his blue eyes looked more tired than she'd ever seen them. Captain James Tiberius Kirk looked thoroughly exhausted.
"Captain Kirk," she greeted coolly.
"Number One," he sighed with a slight smile. "It's nice to see you. It's been a while."
She raised one eyebrow in question. "It has been less than five days since I last saw you."
Yes, James Kirk and Number One were, in fact, very close friends. After James Kirk joined Starfleet, Christopher Pike had taken him under his wing. This meant that James Kirk would often spend evenings with her and Christopher, sharing with them his opinions on classes, classmates, and instructors alike. When she had received word that there was to be a disciplinary hearing regarding James Kirk's actions in his successful completion of the Kobayashi Maru Simulation, she immediately commed Christopher Pike to gather more information. When the call came through, Christopher was in the middle of lecturing him on his breach of the Code of Conduct. Number One was only too glad to assist Christopher. Number One shook herself out of her memories and focused back on Captain Kirk.
"Really?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face. "Only five days? These last few days have just seemed so long."
"I can imagine."
"No, you can't." Silence consumed the bridge of the Yorktown for several tense moments. Many members of the bridge crew were astounded at the audacity of James Kirk. Few among the crew were brave enough (or stupid enough) to address the captain in such a manner.
"I suppose you are correct," she conceded. "As I was not present, I cannot sympathize with the amount of stress you and your crew are under as a result of recent events." Captain Kirk nodded, though whether it was a nod of agreement or of gratitude at her concession, she'd never know. The crew of the Yorktown was quite surprised at their captain's response to such insubordination. They had expected quite a dressing down of Captain Kirk. However, no one on the bridge had courage enough comment. It was silent for several moments until Captain Kirk collected himself.
"I have information on Chris' condition, if you'd like to go to the ready room," he began, but she quickly shook her head. "I will remain on the bridge. In light of recent events, Starfleet Command has ordered all ships to be on Alert and battle ready. The Federation is vulnerable and it is the opportune time for our enemies to attack. It would be imprudent of me to leave the bridge, even for a moment. So long as the information is not classified, you may tell me here."
Captain Kirk's eyes drifted wearily across the Yorktown's bridge, evaluating her crew, and as he did so, the crew began to fidget. James Kirk's appraising gaze was intimidating. Number One was slightly impressed. His eyes landed back on Number One. He acceded, though he still seemed reluctant to share Captain Pike's condition with the bridge crew listening.
"He's unconscious and he probably will be for several more days, but he's alive."
Number One released a small sigh of relief and Captain Kirk continued, "It'll be a long recovery. Those Romulan bastards damaged his spinal cord and Bones says it'll be a long time before he can walk again. He'll be in a wheelchair for a while, and after that he'll still need a cane for support."
"He will be unfit for the Captaincy?" Number One asked worriedly.
"Yeah," he stated, and then added, "But when I was being debriefed by the Admiralty, they let slip that they're going to offer him a promotion once he heals a bit."
At this, Number One's heart lifted slightly.
"This is good news," she said and Captain Kirk's face darkened, "That's about the only good thing to happen around here in several days, I think."
Number One pressed her lips together, and then asked, "Was it as bad as it sounded, James?"
The bridge crew was shocked by the softness with which the question was asked. It was quite out of character for their captain. Captain Kirk, however, was not at all bothered by how Number One asked the question; rather, he was bothered by what the question was. He was considering how to respond. He went quiet for several moments, weighing his words, and then answered.
"It was horrible," he began, "We dropped out of warp and all we could see was wreckage. Giant pieces of metal that used to be starships just floating around Vulcan. I thought it couldn't get any worse, but I was wrong because an hour later there was no wreckage and there was no Vulcan and Chris was being tortured with God knows what by that Romulan bastard!" By the end, his voice was but a raspy whisper.
The crew of the USS Yorktown was at a loss. They did not know how to respond. Nearly half of the fleet and almost all of the graduating cadets had been onboard the six ships annihilated by the Narada. Now, there were no bodies to bury and there was no shrapnel to commemorate the lost lives. There was nothing left. Nothing to remember them by. It was all gone. It was as if they had never been there at all.
Different thoughts, however, were running through Number One's mind. Number One was considering Captain Kirk. She was wondering whether James Kirk was okay. The rest of Starfleet may see Kirk as arrogant and shallow, but she knew better. She knew better because she knew him better. She knew him better than almost anyone.
Number One had first met James T. Kirk when he was fourteen years old. She was serving her last mission as First Officer of the USS Columbia. (She was being transferred to the USS Yorktown to serve as First Officer to a young, new captain named Christopher Pike). The Columbia was tasked with assisting the relief efforts on the Tarsus IV colony. Number One, like everyone else who witness the aftermath of the famine and subsequent genocide, was shocked at the ruins found of the once civilized colony. The dead lay where they had fallen, shops were destroyed, and houses were burning. It was devastating, but she had her orders, so she closed her eyes, took a breath, and began searching for survivors.
Those who had been chosen to live by Governor Kodos were residing in large compounds that were guarded by dogs, fences, and watchmen. These people did not need looking for. It was those that were on the wrong list and managed to escape that Number One was looking for. Those that had been quick enough and quiet enough and strong enough to elude Kodos' men and scavenge enough food to survive. When the Columbia arrived on Tarsus IV, none of these elusive survivors had yet been found and searches had been occurring for nearly three weeks. People were beginning to wonder if Kodos had been successful; they were beginning to wonder if there were any survivors.
Number One had been searching for a week when she first saw him. She was climbing a mountain. A mountain that was just as barren as the rest of the damned planet. There was no green on Tarsus IV. Everything that was supposed to be green had turned brown and died. She had just rested her hand against the trunk of a dead tree when she heard it. A phaser charge. She turned around to see who had pulled a phaser on her and her heart broke when she saw him. He was an emaciated human boy with unforgettably blue eyes. Eyes that were so hard and unforgiving, Number One dared not look away. With a surprisingly strong voice, the boy asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Commander One, First Officer of the USS Columbia."
"What do you want?"
"I want to help you," she said. The boy with the blue eyes snorted and slightly shook his head.
"It's a little late for that."
Yes, she thought, it is too late. "I'm sorry," was the only answer she could give.
"Everyone in Starfleet is always sorry. 'We're sorry your dad died' and 'we're sorry your mom keeps getting stationed off planet' and 'we're sorry we showed up two months late to a genocide on your colony'. Maybe you guys should start doing something other than showing up for the cleanup and apologizing," he retorted bitterly.
"I am attempting to do something other than apologize. I am trying to assist you. I can bring you back to camp. We only want to help you."
"Why should I believe you? How do I know you're not one of Kodos' guys dressed up in Starfleet regs?"
"I can provide no proof of who I am. You will just have to trust me."
"Why should I do that?" Number One knew that he was not going to be able to trust her very easily.
"Because I am telling you the truth. But you don't believe that. And I don't expect you to."
The boy stared at her. She stared back. It was quiet for a moment. Number One broke the silence. "What is your name?" she asked. The boy hesitated before answering, "JT."
"JT, if you have no desire to be taken to base camp, I will not force you to go. I'll leave now if you desire it." JT made no response. He just stared at Number One for several moments until he lowered his phaser.
"Don't you try anything with me, okay?"
"I won't," she said as she crouched down on the ground and pulled off her supply bag. JT eyed it uneasily.
"What's that?" he asked wearily.
"My supply bag," she responded. She then slowly reached into the bag and pulled out an energy bar that was sheathed in a green wrapper.
"Here. Take it," she said as she tossed the bar towards his feet. He backed up as it came towards him. Once it landed on the ground, he stared at it, glanced up at her, and then back to the energy bar. He continued staring at it until he decided it was safe and he quickly reached down and grabbed it. He then held it in his hand. She stood back up and said, "Are you not going to eat it?"
He shook his head. "What are you going to do with it?" she asked. His eyes darted towards his left and he shifted into a defensive stance. "Would you like another one?" Number One asked.
He nodded. She held out another energy bar in her hand. He pursed his lips and looked at the bar. He took a hesitant step towards her and then paused. Then took another step forward and paused again. Number One inched forward and he reached out to grab the bar faster than she thought possible. Then he took several steps backwards. In the place he was standing, he was preventing her from walking down the path towards the right. It was then that she realized.
"There are more, aren't there? More survivors with you?"
He raised the phaser back up and pointed it in her direction. "You leave my kids alone! Stay away from them!" He ordered.
"I will," she quickly promised. "I won't hurt you or your kids." The atmosphere was tense. She licked her lips and raised her hands so that her palms faced JT. It was a show of fealty. One that she hoped he would accept.
"I won't hurt you," she repeated. JT made no response, so she asked another question.
"Do any of your children require anything? Water, medical attention? Here," she said as she again took off her supply bag. "You can take this. It has some supplies your children may need."
She held out the bag, but he made no move towards it. She placed on the ground in front of her and gently kicked the bag in his direction. She then back away. He edged forward and grabbed the bag then backed away.
Number One knew she needed to see the other survivors. For that to happen, she needed JT to trust her. She concluded that because JT was so protective of his 'children', the best way to gain his trust would be to try and help them, so she said, "I have medical training. If any of your children are in need of medical attention, I am equipped to assist them. You can bring them here, to me. Just me. I won't call anyone else up here. I promise that I will treat them well. I just want to help, JT."
He eyed her in consideration. He seemed to be conflicted. He surveyed the surroundings and seemingly came to a conclusion. "Give me your phaser," he demanded.
She looked down at the weapon on her hip. "I can't do that," she replied.
"Yes, you can. Just take it out of the holster and hand it to me," he said.
Number One quickly asked, "Why should I do that?"
"Because one of my kids needs your help, but I can't let you near any of my kids until I'm sure that you won't hurt them," JT replied.
Number One considered for only a moment and then removed her phaser from her hip, placed it on the ground, and allowed JT to pick it up.
JT looked at her and said, "Follow me."
The first encounter between Number One and James Kirk allowed Number One to understand him better than anyone else. And this understanding of the life James Kirk had lived led Number One to worry about him in this instance. Being witness to another genocide, an even larger genocide, could not be conducive to James Kirk's mental health. Of course, there was one positive which was that his past experience with genocide did make him uniquely equipped to assist the Vulcans in their time of need.
"I'm so sorry, James," she told him. And she was sorry. Sorry that he had to watch another genocide, sorry that there was a genocide for him to witness, sorry that he was under such pressure from everyone. At the tender age of twenty-six, he was responsible for maintaining the flagship of the fleet, leading and providing for her crew, protecting and assisting her guests, and keeping the admiralty from tearing him to shreds for all of the breaches of the Code of Conduct he made in the past five days. Not to mention the fact that his body was still healing from the violence of the past several days.
Captain Kirk only nodded in response to her apology.
"James?" she asked to gain his attention. He looked up at her. "Starfleet can do something other than apologize now. Starfleet, the Enterprise, You, did something great, James. Something to be proud of, not something to regret," she told him.
"Tell that to the Vulcans," was Captain Kirk's only reply.
Number One had no response, but she wasn't willing to sit in an uncomfortable silence, so she changed the subject.
"When is the Enterprise scheduled to arrive back on Terra?" she asked.
Glad for the change in subject, he quickly answered, "It'll be another week before we're back. We had to jettison the warp cores to get away from the Narada and some of the engines were damaged in the explosion, so we're flying on half impulse power. When's the Yorktown docking?"
"Before all this happened, we were scheduled to be back in eight weeks, but now they're calling all ships back to Terra. We'll be there with the rest of the fleet that was in the Laurentian system in three days," she told him.
It went quiet again and Number One's mind began to wander. She started thinking about Vulcan. And then she began thinking about one particular Vulcan.
"How is Commander Spock?" She asked of Captain Kirk.
"You know Spock?" He asked incredulously.
She quirked an eyebrow and said, "Yes, I do. He was the Chief Science Officer onboard the Yorktown when I was First Officer. When Starfleet Command told Christopher that they were giving him the Enterprise and promoting me to captain of the Yorktown, he and I argued over who got to keep Commander Spock. Eventually, we decided to ask the Commander which ship he would prefer to serve on and he made the logical decision to take a post on the flagship of the fleet. But you have not answered my question, Captain. How is Commander Spock?"
The Captain of the Enterprise released a sigh and said, "He's about as well as any Vulcan can be after what's happened. He's lost his mother and his planet. He's angry and sad but you know Vulcans. Nam-tor zherka-fam. Gluvau ri sh'hat."
The bridge crew of the USS Yorktown was shocked. Without thinking, Lieutenant Hawkings asked, "You speak Vulcan?"
Captain Kirk gave his signature smirk and said, "Ha, kup nash-veh."
Lieutenant Hawkings continued, "Where'd you learn that?"
The smirk on Captain Kirk's face disappeared and he made no response. Number One knew where James Kirk learned to speak Vulcan and Number One knew that Captain Kirk would not tell the lieutenant where he learned Vulcan. When Number One first heard Jim speak Vulcan, she was as astounded as her crew was. Except it was even more impressive when she heard it for the first time because when she learned that James Kirk spoke Vulcan, it was when he was a fourteen year old boy on the Terran colony of Tarsus IV.
After Number One handed her phaser over to JT, he began to lead them down the path to the right of where they met. As they were walking, Commander One began to ask JT about 'his children'.
"How many children are there?" She asked.
"There's thirteen," he said succinctly.
"Will you tell me about them?" Commander One requested.
JT gave no answer and they continued to walk in silence. They walked down steep slopes, past dead trees, and through thick briars. JT paused for a moment, glanced towards Number One, and let out a sigh. He then continued walking and began to speak.
"Tom is the one that needs help. He's the oldest. He and I used to always get the supplies to take care of everyone else. We'd find food and stuff, but one night, Kodos' guys caught up with us and they started shooting at us. While we were running away, a phaser blast hit the side of his face," As JT said this, he grimaced, but continued on, "I've tried to keep it clean and covered but there's not that much I can do. Sometimes I pour water on it so his face doesn't dry out. And I found some aloe in one of the houses I was raiding when I was looking for supplies. He says that the aloe cools it down some, makes it hurt less. He says it doesn't burn as much after I put aloe on it. But you've got to make sure he's okay. Angela won't know what to do without Tom."
"Who is Angela?" Number One questioned.
"Angela is Tom's little sister. Tom was taking care of her before they came and joined us. Tom would go looking for supplies for just him and Angela, like I do for my kids. We ran into each other one day when we were both looking for supplies, but he wasn't looking so good. So I asked him and Angela to come stay with us. He didn't want to at first, but I convinced him. I told him that Angela wouldn't be so lonely, and she would be protected when we went looking for supplies and he said 'okay'," JT explained.
Number One made no response. Her superior mind was having difficulties processing the information JT had given her. A boy, no older than fourteen, had managed to keep himself and thirteen other children alive on a hostile planet that housed a famine and a genocidal governor. Once the information settled into her mind, she asked, "And what of your other children?"
JT explained all about his children as they continued walking. He told her how he rescued Kevin, Xavier, Xenia, Mark, Nidia, and Rhe'nia from the massacre when Kodos gave his address. He explained how he found Rena and Alice living in an abandoned house and how he found Nisveta crying in a closet where her parents had hidden her before they were killed. He spoke of the day he met Abdullah in a cave in the mountains. Then he told her a most interesting story of how he came to know a little Vulcan girl named T'Pine.
"T'Pine's parents were Vulcan scientists who were studying what alien diseases do to Terran crops," JT began. "Her parents were the ones that discovered the fungus that started the famine. When they told Kodos, he had them killed. The famine hadn't even started yet. Kodos could have done something. He could have stopped this all. But he didn't."
JT paused and turned to help Number One climb up the extremely steep incline. Once she was up, he continued his story.
"I don't think Kodos knows much about Vulcans because T'Pine's parents told her through their mental bond that Kodos' guys were coming and that she needed to get out before they got there," JT explained.
"Anyway, when I found T'Pine, she was meditating in a tree. Really high up. She was meditating over her parents' deaths. She had no one else left to take care of her, so I convinced her to join us. It wasn't easy, and she kept saying 'no'. Said that it was 'illogical'. But I wore her down and she gave in. She likes to say she gave in because 'It is logical to live in a community because one is afforded additional protection while traveling in a large group', you know the whole 'strength in numbers' stuff, but I know that she gave in because she likes me. She says I'm the most interesting human she's ever met," JT proudly told Number One with a smirk that made him look much more like a fourteen year old boy should, and much less like the hardened protector he was.
Number One raised her eyebrow in response. JT's smirk only became more pronounced. He looked away from her and turned to a cave in the side of the mountain.
"This is it," he said to the Commander. "I'm going to go in and tell them that I brought someone with me, and then I'll come back out and get you, okay?" he asked. Number One nodded in affirmation and JT entered the cave.
While she was waiting for JT to come back, she examined the surroundings. She commended JT on his choice of hideout. It was well hidden, large, and at just the right slope so that rain would not flood into it during a storm. And based on the amount of paranoia JT displayed, she assumed there were multiple exits from the cave. She still was having difficulties comprehending the fact that one fourteen year old boy could be brave enough and strong enough to take care of so many other children. It was incredible.
JT leaned out of the cave and said, "You can come in now."
Number One followed him into the cave.
When she and JT reached the place in the cave where the children were staying, she was, once again, astounded by JT's competence. There were makeshift beds made of blankets, piles of board games to keep the young children entertained, pots and pans filled with water, and a wheelbarrow with a small supply of what appeared to be almonds. She also saw thirteen children ranging in age from a young toddler spinning a top to the sixteen year old laying on one of the makeshift beds, a bottle of green Aloe Vera at the foot of the palate and the left side of his face covered. There was one Orion, one Vulcan, and eleven humans. JT began introducing her to the children.
"Kevin, this is Commander One. She's from Starfleet," JT said to a boy who looked to be ten years old. The boy eyed her speculatively, received a glare from JT, and then nodded in her direction as a greeting.
For the most part, the rest of the greetings continued this way. She was not offended; she was a member of Starfleet and they had just showed up weeks too late to save most of colonists. There was, however, one exception to the pattern of her reception with the children. JT brought Number One over to meet the little Vulcan girl.
He turned to Number One and said, "Commander One, this is T'Pine."
He turned towards T'Pine and said, "T'Pine, nash-veh if Number One."
T'Pine raised her left hand in traditional Vulcan greeting and said, "It is an honor to meet you, Number One."
JT smiled and said, "Lesek, T'Pine."
"Ri tra if itaren bolayatik," T'Pine responded. Number One silently observed in amazement.
"Du tan-tor teshan," JT replied.
"Nash-veh veling zahal-tor savan-don-tak t'Surak," said T'Pine with a slight green flush on her face.
"Ri fudau, nash-veh lesek," JT added with a soft grin. T'Pine quirked her eyebrow in question.
JT led Number One away from T'Pine as T'Pine raised the Vulcan salute and said, "Live long and prosper," to which JT responded, "Peace and long life." Number One nodded her head towards T'Pine and her and JT walked towards who she assumed was Tom.
"You speak Vulcan?" Number One questioned.
"Yes," he simply replied.
"Where did you learn to speak Vulcan?" Number One asked incredulously.
JT swallowed and bit his bottom lip. "Hoshi Sato taught it to me," he quietly said.
"You are acquainted with Hoshi Sato?" Number One was becoming more impressed by the minute. She briefly wondered if James Kirk would ever stop impressing her. She doubted it.
"Yes," he replied once more and then directed her attention towards Tom.
"Tom?" JT called to the boy and the by roused. He sleepily groaned and turned towards JT and Number One.
"Tom, this is Commander One. She's from Starfleet and she's going to try to help with your burn," JT told the boy.
Tom nodded his head. JT began to slowly take off the wrap covering the left side of his face. Once it was completely off, Number One surveyed the injury. The burn was most definitely not superficial. The phaser had done serious damage. It looked to be, at best, a deep second degree burn, and, more likely, a third degree burn. She knew it would never fully heal. He would be scarred permanently. She opened the supply bag and pulled out a first aid kit. She grabbed a cocktail hypospray that contained wide-spectrum antibiotics, a mild anesthetic, and an analgesic and injected Tom with it before he even realized she had a hypospray. Moments after the hypospray was injected, Tom let out a sigh of relief.
"Does that feel better?" Number One asked.
"Yes, so much better. Thank you," he replied gratefully as the Commander pulled out a Dermal Regenerator.
Number One smoothly addressed Tom, "This will feel uncomfortable, but it should not cause any pain. Do you understand?"
Tom nodded in acquiescence. Number One turned on the Dermal Regenerator and began attempting to repair the damaged skin.
After several minutes under the Regenerator, the burn looked much better, but there was nothing more for the Regenerator to do.
"That is the best I am capable of doing for you here," Commander One told Tom, "The medical personnel down at base camp would be able to do more for it, but you should be all right."
"Thank you so much, Commander," Tom told her. JT nodded and said the same. Then the little girl that JT introduced as Angela ran toward her and gave her a huge hug.
"Thank you so, so, so, so, so much for fixing my brother!" she exclaimed.
"You're welcome," Number One replied. The girl smiled at her and then ran over to Tom. The two began to whisper furiously.
Number One looked over at JT who was still watching the two siblings with a sad look on his face. Number One realized that JT's family was probably dead. JT turned to Number One and in a low voice said, "Thank you."
Number One merely nodded and resumed observing the cave. Several of the children had surrounded Tom and Angela and were amazed at his partially healed face. Many of the children shot awed glances in her direction. It appeared that helping Tom had earned her the trust of many of these young survivors.
The children that weren't surrounding the siblings were keeping themselves entertained. The Orion girl called Rhe'nia and Kevin were sitting across from each other playing an interesting looking game with a set of green Orion dice, a Vulcan spinning top, and a Terran deck of cards. T'Pine was mediating in the least inhabited part of the room. Staring at the young girl brought to Number One's mind the fact that JT was fluent in Vulcan. She wished to question him about it but knew that an attempt to pry more information from him would not only be fruitless, but also foolish. It might even convince JT to evict her from the cave now that she had served her purpose.
Then, a comm ring made all go silent. Every set of eyes turned to the Commander. She slowly reached towards her belt and retrieved her communicator. She opened it and answered "This is Commander One."
"What is your location, Commander?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.
"I am... high in the mountains outside of the camp," she said and the children tensed, worried that she would give away their position, that she would tell their location to Starfleet.
"We can beam you back if it is too far to walk," the voice informed her.
"Negative. That will be unnecessary. I will stay here for the night and continue searching tomorrow," she stated. The tension in the room decreased slightly and JT was looking at her, surveying.
"That is a strange request, Commander," was the reply she received.
"None the less, it is what I intend to do," she sharply retorted. There was a pause on the other end of the call and then acquiescence.
"Very well. We'll contact you tomorrow at seven hundred hours to check in."
"Affirmative," Number One answered. She shut the communicator and put it back in her belt. She looked around. Judging by the looks on the children's faces, this act of loyalty to them had earned her their trust.
JT turned to her and gave a slight nod in thanks. She nodded in response.
"You can stay here for the night if you'd like," JT offered. Number One accepted the offer and JT went over to the supply bag that Number One had given him. He opened and took out the energy bars. There were five bars in the bag in addition to a bottle of water, several packs of dehydrated food, and the first aid kit that Number One had earlier removed to tend to Tom. He opened the first energy bar and split it into seven small, equally sized pieces. He then opened another bar and did the same thing. With the fourteen pieces of energy bar, JT stood up and then proceeded to walk around the room. As he walked around he handed each of the children a piece of the energy bar. When he returned to the place where he began, he held out the last piece towards Number One. She stared at it in question and then looked up at JT.
"It's for you," he said with the energy bar still pointed in her direction.
Number One shook her head.
"No," she said. "I'm not hungry. I've already eaten today."
JT shifted his weight uncomfortably. He was so hungry. He hadn't eaten in several days, but he wasn't about to let the woman who just saved Tom starve.
Number One could see his internal strife and decided he needed more reassurance.
"I ate back at camp before I left on my trek. I am in no need of sustenance."
JT nodded somewhat wearily and then looked down at the food. Number One observed him with interest. After examining the small portion of food for several moments, he slowly brought it up to his lips and took a small bite out of it. He chewed it very slowly, savoring it. He swallowed the bite and then took another. When he was finished with his small piece, he walked back to the bag and grabbed the large water bottle.
With the water bottle in hand, he walked over to the corner of the cave which held their small stash of almonds and pots and pans filled with water. He grabbed a cup and filled it half way with water. He walked over to the youngest, the little girl named Nisveta, and pulled her into his lap. He held the cup to her face and slowly poured the half-filled cup of water into her mouth. He continued around the room, going from youngest to oldest, giving each child half of a glass of water.
Number One was amazed by JT's capability as a caretaker. She could see that each of these children was important to the boy. He would go to the ends of the universe to protect them. It was incredible to witness.
"I'm going out to sit guard," JT told her.
"Guard?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "Sit in the entrance to make sure no one comes in and give a warning if someone does."
"Do you sit guard every night?" she questioned.
He nodded in response.
"Every single night?" Number One responded.
He nodded once more.
"When do you sleep?"
"When Tom feels up to sitting guard with me, sometimes I'll doze off," he said.
"May I sit guard with you?" Commander One requested.
"Sure. Why not?" was JT's response.
"Where I learned to speak Vulcan isn't important, Lieutenant," Captain Kirk told Lieutenant Hawkings. He raised an eyebrow in the lieutenant's direction and then turned back to the Yorktown's captain. Lieutenant Hawkings, suitably chastised, turned back to his station.
Number One silently commended Captain Kirk on his rebuke. He politely but forcefully reprimanded the Lieutenant. It was the marking of a good captain to be able to maintain both obedience and cordial relations from his crew.
Continuing on her line of questioning, she asked, "How many Vulcans were you able to bring on board?"
"Spock got six of the Council off of the planet, and we took another 21 onboard when we saw their ship floating dead on the other side of the Eridani System," Kirk informed Number One.
The Yorktown's captain gave a solemn nod and was preparing to ask another question of Captain Kirk, when a yeoman on the Enterprise walked up to Kirk.
"Sorry to interrupt, Captain, but Ambassador Sarek is asking for you," the yeoman said.
"Thank you, Rand," Kirk said and then turned to Number One.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go," he told her apologetically.
"Duty calls, Captain," she said with a nod and a smile.
Before disconnecting the call, Kirk smirked at her and said, "I'll see you at home."
And she would.
Number One and JT had been sitting guard in a comfortable silence for nearly half an hour. However, Number One was quite curious about this mysterious young boy and decided to sacrifice the comfortable silence for tense conversation.
"I'm becoming a rather unattractive shade of green with envy, JT. I find myself wondering where and when you met Hoshi Sato, let alone how you were able to persuade her to teach you Vulcan," she began.
JT was rather uncomfortable with the topic, but was unwilling to offend the woman who had done so much for his children.
"I met her here on Tarsus about six months ago. And I didn't persuade her to give me lessons," he said.
"She was here on Tarsus?" Number One asked in horror.
"Yes," was JT's simple reply.
The two returned to silence, though this one was quite uncomfortable. JT was of two minds on the topic of discussing Hoshi Sato. He missed her very dearly, for they had become very close in the short few months that he had known her. She was the first person who had ever challenged his genius-level mind in his fourteen years of life and one of the few people who had ever sincerely taken an interest in him. Talking about her was difficult for him. On the other hand, he wished to continue speaking with the Commander and he knew that it was Hoshi Sato that she wished to discuss.
"One day, this past November, I was walking my little cousin home from school. She was so excited because she was finally going to learn how to read. They had just started with phonetics and she wouldn't stop talking about cool it was that she could sound out words," JT said with a bitter smile.
"So, that day, while we were walking home, she had her phonics book out and I was helping her, teaching her how to sound out some word, I can't remember what the word was. And then this old woman interrupted us. 'You're pretty good at that,' she said. And I asked her if she was talking to me or Jackie. She said that she was talking about me, but that Jackie was doing very well too," JT continued.
"She introduced herself and then she asked me if I'd ever thought about a career in Xenolinguistics. And I had no idea what that was so I asked her," JT said.
"And she said, 'Xenolinguistics. The study of alien languages. Morphology, phonology, syntax,'" he stated with a smile.
"I told her that I'd never thought about it, but it sounded fun. After that, I started going over to her place after school was done for the day and she'd teach me some new alien language. She taught me to speak Vulcan, Klingon, Orion. We had just started Andorian when all this happened. But I learned more from her in the four months I knew her than I have from any other teacher," he finished.
Number One considered this for a moment and then hesitantly asked a question, fearing the answer.
"What happened to her?"
"She died."
Number One gently took JT's hand in her own and said the only thing she could think to say.
"I'm sorry. For everything. I really am."
He looked her in the eyes and said, "I know you are. And I wish that it meant something, that it changed something."
She looked away from JT towards the horizon and said, "You can sleep, JT. I'll keep watch for you. No one will harm your children."
And they were his children, she thought. He protected them, provided for them, cared for them. He loved them. And they loved him.
"Number One? You can call me Jim," he told her.
She smiled softly and whispered, "Goodnight, Jim."
Jim drifted off to sleep, but before he succumbed, he said, "I think tomorrow, I should bring them all down to your base camp. It's time for us all to go home."
And they would.
Translations:
*Be emotionless. Show no emotion*
*Yes, I do.*
*T'Pine this is Number One*
*Thank You, T'Pine*
*No thanks are necessary*
*You are awesome*
*I merely follow the teachings of Surak*
*Regardless, I thank you.*