Summary: A typical mission-gone-wrong leads to a meeting with a familiar face for Jim. Things are about to get even stranger than normal.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides Kerry and the plot.
Warning: Descriptive death/gore
A/N: Here I am starting yet another fanfiction when I shouldn't. I can't help myself, it seems. Blame the movie. Really. Also - Main pairing is up in the air for now. Suggest something!
- Guardian - Chapter One -
"Damn it," Jim hissed through clenched teeth, his right hand gripping his opposite forearm as he sank to his knees, his head spinning. The sound of a phaser shooting twice sounded in his left ear and then warm, strong hands lifted him to his feet by his upper arms. He vaguely understood that Spock was the one dragging him along.
McCoy was going to be pissed that he had injured himself on a simple mission again. All they had to do was check on the research team that was in charge of studying the strange plant-like life form on a remote planet. The team had not been heard from in several weeks, so the Enterprise was sent to investigate and provide assistance if necessary. Of course Jim's luck would turn a possible communications malfunction into something much more complicated.
Information files had been sent with the mission parameters and Jim had recognized the flower that had shot the barb embedded in his arm. It was part of the plant that the researchers were studying. The bud of the flower had followed them as they skirted around it, avoiding it like they had been advised as they made their way across the expanse of open plain between them and the research facility. Jim didn't think it was coincidence that the bud had opened and shot the barb the moment he had placed a hand on his phaser in his unease. The plant wasn't supposed to be sentient, damn it!
More shots sounded and Jim blinked at the ground - the grass-looking stuff was blue, which was really disorienting - in confusion. He could feel that both of Spock's hands were supporting him still. Alright, then who was shooting?
He lifted his eyes to his First Officer's face. Spock's expression was more serious than usual, his eyes focused on something to their immediate right. He swung his head in that direction, frowning as he took in the silhouette of a young woman in the light of the sun, a phaser steady in her hand as she fired off a few more shots. There was a soft thud and Jim's eyes were drawn over his shoulder to the flower lying smoking on the ground.
The woman was suddenly at his side, pulling his injured arm towards herself. "Sit him down," she directed at Spock, her voice a clear, steady sound. There was a minute change around Spock's eyes with a tightness around his lips, and Jim could only tell what the change meant because of two years of working closely with the man. It was a Vulcan equivalent of a frown. Jim tried to focus on the woman's face, but the sun was still behind her, blinding him. The dizziness making his head spin didn't help either.
"Don't get pissy with me, Vulcan," the woman hissed. "He's being poisoned and every second you spend questioning me is a minute off his life."
Her voice sounds awfully familiar, Jim thought faintly.
"Know that should you make any motion to harm my Captain, I will not hesitate-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Why don't you be protective when he's not dying, damnit."
Jim found himself seated on an uneven boulder with the sleeve on his injured arm torn away. The woman was kneeled over his arm. He still couldn't see her face.
"Alright, I'm going to need you to start talking. Think you can get him to carry a conversation, Vulcan?"
"Affirmative."
"The poison is putting him into shock. Don't let him fall asleep. I need to remove whatever poison hasn't dissolved into his blood stream. I don't have a med kit on me and neither do either of you, so I'll have to suck it out the old-fashioned way."
Spock was silent for moment as both men watched the woman lower her head to his arm and started sucking hard on the wound. She drew back immediately and the barb between her teeth was spat out on the ground beside her.
She looked familiar. Very familiar. Jim racked his mind. Where had he seen this particular shade of brown hair before? He knew if she would just look up at him, he would know the answer.
Spock finally spoke when the woman lowered her head again, this time sucking directly on the wound. "Captain, are you feeling unwell?"
It took several seconds for Jim to force his attention away from the top of the woman's head to Spock. There was concern there that most other people would not have seen around his eyes and the very slight turn of his lips. "Dizzy," he said shortly. "Tired. Stupid flower. Stupid mission."
The woman spat again.
Spock tilted his head slightly as he stepped closer to Jim. His hands twitched almost unnoticeably. "You have somehow managed to endanger yourself again, Captain."
"Jim."
And again.
"Sir?"
"I've told you… to call me Jim."
"Of course… Jim." He paused, his eyes flicking to the side as he tried to think of how to start a conversation - it was Jim's specialty, not his.
Spit.
"Heard you and Uhura had a fight."
Spit.
Spock shifted his weight, the only sign of his discomfort. "That is a rather personal matter and is neither the business of the person who informed you nor your own. I do not wish to speak further on the matter."
Jim snorted softly, shaking his head slowly, wishing he hadn't when his dizziness increased. "She looked pretty ticked off on the bridge today, Spock. What'd you say to her?"
Spit.
"That is none of your concern." Spock's posture was becoming increasingly stiff.
"Come on, Spock. I'm just trying to help"
Spit.
"… In what way, might I ask? Prying into my personal affairs does not seem particularly helpful to me, Captain."
Jim sighed. "I told you to call me Jim."
"How are you trying to assist me… Jim."
Spit.
"Look, I know you probably have a hard time understanding human women. I mean, they're pretty irrational, even to me. But I think I understand them okay. So my offer is, you tell me what you said, and I can tell you what you did wrong so you can avoid it in the future." Jim grinned at Spock, a genuine open expression as he regarded his First Officer's response.
Spit.
"That seems like a reasonable offer," Spock started, his voice seeming hesitant.
Jim's grin widened. "So is that a yes?"
Spock said nothing in response, appearing to be in thought as they both listened to the steady rhythm of the woman sucking the poison from the wound and spitting. Jim's full attention was on Spock now, the drowsiness diminishing in his curiosity.
The woman spat one last time and drew the back of her hand across her mouth. "That should be it," she said, standing up. Spock seemed relieved at the interruption.
Jim shifted his gaze to her, glad that he could finally study her face now that the disorientation had gone. Thanks, however, died on his lips as he jerked to his feet, blood draining from his face. Alarmed at how pale his captain was growing, Spock stepped even closer to Jim, almost hovering but not touching.
"Yo-YOU!" Jim choked out, a horrified expression on his face as he raise an accusing finger at the woman. "No, no, no, you died! You died!" Panic laced his voice and Spock's hands flew to his shoulders to steady his swaying.
The woman's expression turned sad and Spock noticed for the first time the odd purple color of her irises. And the lack of the sound of a heartbeat coming from her direction. No heartbeat. As close as they were to each other, he should have been able to hear it just as clearly as he heard Jim's.
"You died," Jim repeated, softer this time. "I saw you die. On Tarsus IV, I swear I saw you die." He started trembling and Spock's fingers tightened on his shoulders.
Spock stared at the woman. He was vaguely aware of Jim's involvement in the Tarsus IV situation. He was one of the nine surviving witnesses to the tragedy. Higher command had decided that he, as Jim's first officer, needed to know the highly confidential information in the event that Kudos reappeared as most of the witnesses insisted would happen. Spock knew from the records that this woman was not among that number. As unremarkable as the rest of her appearance was, there was no forgetting those purple eyes.
"Kerry," Jim whispered. "How?"
"Jim," she said softly. She started fiddling with the hem of her worn, blue, Starfleet issued shirt. "You were too young to understand at the time, no matter how I tried to explain it to you. I was never 'alive' to begin with." Her lips twitched into an ironic expression around the word. Alive. "The Vulcan can tell you - I am not 'alive' even now."
Jim looked at Spock in confusion. The commander dropped his arms to his sides quickly. "I can hear no evidence of a heartbeat, though I should be able to, if faintly, at the current distance," he said. "Have you considered the possibility that she is an android who looks similar to-"
"I'm not a robot," she hissed. "If I have to bleed to prove it, I will." She held out her arm, wrist up.
"Don't!" Jim said quickly. He let out a whooshing breath, his shoulders sagging. He could remember it now, her easy dismissal after the one long, confusing explanation that he hadn't understood, and couldn't quite remember, when he mentioned her lack of a pulse. "You haven't even aged. What are you?" he questioned after a long moment of silence. Around them the only sound was the rustling of the blue-colored grass under the pressure of a light wind.
Kerry stayed quiet for several minutes, her violet eyes steady as she studied the two men before her. When she finally spoke, her voice was as Jim best remembered it - clear, but with an ancient note to it that resonated in his chest. "I guess the best way I can describe to you what I am is what your culture calls a guardian angel."
A frown creased Jim's brow. "Explain."
"The easiest way to say it is to say that I exist only to protect you. In any situation where you would die physically, or even mentally, I am there to prevent the danger or to take your place. Tarsus IV was not the first time I have 'died' for you, though you were too young to remember the time before that."
Jim was silent for several minutes, the muscles in his shoulders alarmingly tense as he processed Kerry's words. "I don't like it," he said finally. "I watched you take a bullet to the head. For me. And I watched as they put you in a body bag to be shipped off and identified. Instead of me. But now you're standing in front of me without even a scar on your forehead, saving my life again. Who decided that my life was worth your sacrifice?"
Kerry's sigh was soft, a smile touching the corners of her lips. "I don't measure sacrifice the way you do, Jim. I have no problems with protecting you. No one can do what I do for you. Even just now. Had it been anyone else, they would have failed to remove the poison and you would be a willing slave to the Meperian."
"… Meperian is the name that the scientists gave the flora that dominates this planet," Spock stated, drawing both Jim's and Kerry's attention to himself. "What do you know of the situation here?"
Kerry glanced at Jim before fixing her eyes on the blackened flower a few yards away and crossing her arms. "The Meperian is a very ancient plant. It's been here ever since the beginning of life on this planet. Starfleet reported the existence of the plant and a certain interest group decided that a plant that covers an entire planet was the biggest news in science since discovering the cure to Terran AIDs under the ice on Eris. Money changed hands and a research team was sent. My lack of aging was drawing too much attention, so I went with them. The study was going fine up until about a month ago. One of the braver scientists, Aaron, got too close to one of the flowers and got stuck with a barb just like you did a few minutes ago. The doctor patched him up as best he could, but the other scientists…"
Kerry trailed off, hands falling clenched at her sides. Spock and Jim watched silently as she drew her hand through her hair and paced a small circle as if the movement would help her put her emotions in check before returning to where she stood. She sighed heavily. "The other scientists saw this as an opportunity to study the Meperian's effects on living beings. There's nothing on this planet besides plants and it would take too long and cost too much to have animals brought here. They wanted to see what would happen.
"Aaron was paralyzed for about an hour and then was up and moving like nothing had happened the next morning. They ran some tests and found out he couldn't feel pain anymore. Beyond that, he seemed fine, so he was back to work the next day. A few days later one of the other scientists accidentally stabbed through his own hand when preparing a sample. He didn't so much as blink. About a week ago, I decided that the scientists were starting to act really strange, so I secretly followed Aaron and another scientist out on one of their walks. From the distance that I was watching, I couldn't hear what was said, but I clearly saw Aaron distract the other scientist as a flower rose from the ground and shot a barb at him."
Kerry paused again and closed her eyes before continuing. "I did a quick pain test on each of the scientists the next morning. None of them noticed when I pricked them with a needle besides the Vulcan that had come with us. When I tried to explain to her what I thought was going on, they attacked us." She opened her eyes and gazed sadly at the two men before her. "It took ten of them to hold her down. I- I don't think they meant to kill her, but they seemed crazed as soon as they got her shirt off, chanting that the Meperian demanded a sacrifice or something. I only managed to escape because the two holding me joined the rest of them. I've been running from them ever since. It seems they gave up just yesterday."
Slowly, Jim reached out and placed a hand on Kerry's arm. Her posture relaxed under his touch and a brief look of exhaustion passed over her features. "I'm fine," she said softly.
Jim nodded and removed his hand. "So this Meper… ah, thing is controlling them?"
"I'm quite certain. The only other explanation would be maybe the isolation, but a month without outside communication is hardly long enough to go crazy."
"That's why we were called in," Jim interrupted. "What happened to communications?"
Kerry jerked her head in the direction of the facility. "I checked on it after they left the place. Sabotage. I suspect just after Aaron was infected."
Spock straightened, his hands retreating to rest folded together at the small of his back. "Left? They abandoned the research facility?"
Kerry gave a short, huffed laugh. "They've gone primitive. It's why they've been chasing me, seeing as I'm the only thing with a female scent on the whole damn planet."
"How many are left?" Jim asked, frowning at the building. Even from this distance, it looked deserted.
"Eight. There could be fewer by now. They started killing each other. My… my best guess is that, well, the Meperian discovered it could control Aaron in a way and it wanted to control the rest of the scientists. Maybe emotions started to run together and well, isolation can make men hormonal… well, more hormonal than normal. The Meperian probably couldn't control that emotion and all hell broke loose. Why evolution gave a plant surrounded by nothing but itself the power to control a living being in the first place, I have no clue."
Spock appeared thoughtful. "It is possible that there were once life-forms on this planet besides the Meperian. Did the scientists discover any signs of life besides the flora prior to their enslavement?"
Kerry shook her head quickly. "No, but it's practically impossible to find something like that in the first place. The Merperian is massive. The only place it doesn't touch is the magma core."
Jim raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can already tell this is going to be a long report." The hand shifted from his face to blond hair, fingers finding a hold for a second before sliding though. He looked sideways at Spock. "So, what, should we just leave everything as is and report to Starfleet? That's the easiest and obviously less hazardous way out of this mess. On the other hand, we could retrieve whatever information the scientist managed to find on this thing and send it with the report so there's no temptation to send another research team anytime soon."
"The data could prove invaluable," Spock mused softly.
Kerry snorted. "Sure it will. Alright, might as well." She adjusted her phaser in its holster at her hip. "If you don't get it, I'm sure Starfleet will send someone else, but there are some things in the files that Starfleet doesn't need to know about. Mainly having to do with me."
"Files can be altered on the Enterprise. I'll have Scotty beam you up while Spock and I get them." Jim reached for his communicator.
Kerry's hand was around Jim's wrist in a flash. He stared at her in amazement. He hadn't even seen her move. "I can't do my job from so far away, Jim. What part of what I am don't you get?"
Jim's eyes hardened slightly. "Most of it. I can't have you going with us. It's dangerous and you've already been through enough."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going with you whether you like it or not."
"Well, I don't like it! And-"
Spock gracefully cut in before Jim could continue. "Captain, I see no problem with her accompanying us to the facility. She seems fully capable of defending herself and it would give us an opportunity to assess her intentions."
A wry grin spread across Kerry's lips. "Don't trust me, Vulcan?"
Spock's back straightened even more and his chin lifted slightly. "I do not."
She laughed and finally released Jim's wrist, which he rubbed with a frown. "You're stronger than you look," he mumbled. Kerry only grinned wider.
The trek to the facility was silent with tension floating between Kerry and Spock. Jim seemed completely oblivious to the hard stares his first officer was giving the woman who had her eyes fixed on the abandoned building before them.
Kerry froze just inside the doorway to the building, her eyes running quickly around the room. "The generator must be barely functioning," she murmured, indicating the emergency lights along the floor bathing the interior in an ugly yellow color. Her lips tightened into a thin line when her eyes found the large puddle of green on the floor, a trail leading into the next room. She glanced once at the two men behind her before quickly crossing to the open door on the opposite side of the room, her phaser already in her hands.
Jim shared a look with Spock before following just as quickly. He could hear Spock pulling out his phaser at the same time he did and he would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious.
It happened in a flash. He was shoved into Spock, who caught him with both arms, and Kerry disappeared to his right. There was a loud thud, a growl, and then a phaser blast followed by another thud. Seconds later, Kerry appeared again, muttering swear words under her breath as she frowned the red blood on her shirt.
"Damn," she hissed, cursing audibly this time. "If any of the others are in here, they'll have heard that. I should have snapped his neck."
Realizing that he was still leaning on Spock, Jim pulled away quickly and stepped into the room. On the floor, there lay a dark-haired man, eyes rolled back and twitching as blood poured from his chest at an alarming rate. He took note of the battered and torn white coat. "He was one of the scientists?"
"Yeah," Kerry said softly, turning her phaser in her hand. "Damn, it's broken. I really should have just broken his neck." She heaved a sigh, about to simply toss the now useless weapon on the ground when there was a rustle of clothing somewhere in the room. Her body tensed up, her eyes swiftly sweeping the room. Suddenly, with a quick flip of her wrist, the phaser flew from her hand and hit another man in a white coat right in the middle of his face just as he popped his head over one of the counters, a snarl on his lips. The man let out a yelp and stumbled backwards right into a large jagged piece of metal. His hands abandoned his bloodied, broken nose as he stared in disbelief down at his chest where it pierced him.
Kerry was across the room and Jim paused to wonder how she had gotten there so fast before he followed, his phaser trained on the doorway to the room they had just left. He noticed Spock aiming his own phaser on the opposite door.
"It missed your vitals," Kerry observed. "Unfortunately for you, Doctor Jace, I have no intention of helping you stop the bleeding. I'm sure you understand why." Her hand closed over the point of the metal sticking out of the man's chest and there was a squealing protest. She had bent the jagged metal so there was no way the doctor could pull himself off.
Jace thrashed, his hand clawing at the fabric of Kerry's shirt. She didn't even blink as she grabbed both arms and twisted them back uncomfortably. The man moaned and thrashed some more before going still, his blood shot eyes staring at her. He began to laugh quietly. "I knew," he said between fits of giggles. "I knew you weren't normal."
"No, I'm not," Kerry said flatly. "Where did you put T'Para's body, Jace?"
Spock glanced at her quickly. "The female Vulcan you spoke of?"
Kerry didn't respond, her eyes fixed on the doctor as he threw his head back, laughing harder.
"A Vulcan," he purred. "A Vulcan. We thought she would be the dangerous one, the hardest to handle. A lethal beauty. But it was you we should have been more worried about." The man's head lulled forward, his eyes staring at the blood on his chest. "You'll kill us all, kill the M-Mo-Mother." He shook his head suddenly. "No, no, no, the Meperian." He looked up at her with pleading eyes. "It's in my head," he whimpered. "I can feel it there even as I'm dying." He whimpered again. "Please, just kill me. Please. Please."
Slowly, Kerry released her hold on his arms, instead placing her hands on either side of his head. "Where is T'Para's body, Jace?" she asked again, more softly this time.
Tears started falling down the doctor's cheeks, mixing with the blood from his broken nose. "They - the scientist tried to-to e-eat her. It made me sick and I fought th-the M-meperian's influence. I scared them off by setting off the fire alarms. I buried her body myself." He sobbed loudly. "Please, please, please. I want to die."
Kerry nodded slowly. "Of course. Thank you for trying, Jace."
"Can he not be saved?" Spock said quickly. "He seems to be able to resist the influence of -"
Kerry cut him off. "It's impossible to remove the Meperian's control. The longer he fights it, the weaker he becomes. The proof is in his reflexes. He should have been able to avoid the metal. If he doesn't give in, he'll die soon, maybe a month from now. His psi-rating is the only reason why he can fight it in the first place. Killing him now would be merciful."
"Please, please," Jace murmured, his focus only on Kerry. "I want to die."
"Do it," Jim said softly, his eyes and phaser still focused on the doorway. "He shouldn't have to suffer anymore."
"Close your eyes, Jace," Kerry whispered.
He shook his head slowly against the hold Kerry had on him. "I want to see your face when I die. My angel of death."
"I'm no angel," Kerry murmured, her fingers gripping the sides of his head tighter.
"You are. I knew you weren't normal."
SNAP.
When Kerry withdrew her hands, Jace's head fell forward against his chest, his empty eyes staring straight ahead. Shaking fingers darted forward, closing his eyes.
Jim turned and placed a hand on Kerry's shoulder. "Kerry, I-"
She spun on her heels, holding up a hand to silence him. "Don't. We need to get moving. The Meperian's control acts like a hive-mind. If they haven't killed each other, they'll be here soon. The main computer is in the next room."
Kerry led the way, a little slower, a little cautious, now that she didn't have a phaser, but still faster than Jim was used to seeing humans move. She seemed to glide across the floor.
Thankfully, after a quick search, they found no scientists in the room. On one side of the room was the computer console which Kerry moved to right away, her fingers pressing buttons and typing furiously. She glanced at Spock over her shoulder after a minute. "I'm almost done. You wouldn't happen to have something to transfer this data onto, would you?"
"I do not. I did not anticipate a need for such a device."
Kerry made a quick dismissive gesture. "Never mind then. I'll just yank out the hard drive. It'll take me a bit longer to modify things." Silence filled the room before Kerry knelt down in front of the computer and ripped away the front panel with little effort. Her hand disappeared inside and came out a few seconds later holding the memory drive. She unfurled from her crouch and quickly shuffled through the contents of the cabinet next to the console. She pulled out a small satchel designed to hold portable scanning equipment and shoved the drive inside. She secured it across her chest. "Let's get out of here."
There came a loud crash in the room they had come from and both Spock and Jim stepped in front of Kerry with their weapons directed at the doorway. A figure appeared in the dim yellow of the emergency lights, close enough to see an outline, but too far away to see features.
"I can smell you, Kerry Ignaria," the figure purred, lowering slowly into a crouch. "You've brought new minds with you for me. I shall take them after I've killed you."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Kerry said softly. "We're leaving this place. I suggest that you leave as well. The reactor's ready to blow." As if on cue, the emergency lights started flickering and a low mechanical groan filled the air.
"… You didn't," the figure growled. "Only the Vulcan is fast enough to get to a safe distance in time."
Kerry chuckled. "I've become much faster and stronger in the past hour, Aaron. You should start running now if you want to get out."
Snarling, the figure sprang from its crouch. Two shots were fired at the same time, both hitting the man in the chest. He fell to the floor with a thud and started writhing, a hand pressed desperately to the hole through his left lung. He was gasping shallowly and a wet sound made its way past his lips. He coughed a spray of blood before seizing violently.
Suddenly the room behind him seemed to be teeming with movement, soft hisses and growls filtering through the doorway. There came a loud, insistent siren from overhead and the emergency lights blinked a few more times before turning red.
"Warning: Reactor overload in ten minutes. Please evacuate all personnel. Warning: Reactor overload imminent."
Jim looked at Kerry sharply. "You weren't bluffing."
She readjusted the satchel across her chest. "Not at all. The things a touchy piece of crap. It just needed a little nudge in the wrong direction." She paused. "We'll need to get through them to get out." She tilted her head towards the door to indicate the noises in the next room. None of the scientists seemed willing to cross the threshold.
"I calculate that there are four of them. You require a weapon," Spock informed Kerry flatly.
Kerry crouched slightly and reached a hand into her right boot, drawing out a six-inch blade with a thick handle. With a flick of her wrist, the bright steel extended to thirty inches and she straightened. "Don't worry about me. We don't have much time."
"Warning: Reactor overload in nine minutes," the computer blared as if to punctuate her point.
Before Jim could protest that such a short sword couldn't possibly be enough protection, he felt his feet being swept out from under him and heard a clang of metal hitting metal just before his back hit the floor and his phaser fell from his fingers.
"Pay attention!" Kerry hissed as she shoved back a brave scientist that had been inches from stabbing Jim in the head with a jagged piece of metal. He realized that Kerry must have knocked his feet out from under him to save him. Before Kerry could help him to his feet, the scientist leapt at her with a snarl. She stumbled back at the force of the tackle and they crashed to the console, the metal of their weapons clanking together once more. "Pay attention, Jim!" she hissed again, placing her free hand to the flat of her blade to shove her assailant back. "I've got this one!"
The noises from the other room grew louder and Jim fumbled for his phaser when a figure pulled itself from the red-hued shadows, back hunched and feet dragging. Jim's fingers found his fallen weapon and he was about to pull the trigger when a low whine escaped the possessed man's throat.
"I don't want to die," he moaned. Kerry's broken phaser fell from his fingers and clattered to the floor as his feet started dragging backwards. "Please, I-I don't want to diiiiie." Tears started streaming down his face.
"Warning: Reactor overload in eight minutes. Please evacuate all personnel. Warning-"
Suddenly, the man's body shook violently and green eyes rolled back, showing only white as the rest of his face fell slack. He let out a noise that started as a painful moan deep in his throat and turned into a growl. "Kill," he said with a hysterical laugh. "Kill. Kill, kill, kill!" He lunged and Jim pulled the trigger, shooting him right in the forehead. The body stumbled and collapsed on top of Aaron, who had finally stopped twitching. Twin howls erupted from the shadows the same time the remaining scientists trudged into the room, wearing the same vacant expression and rolled back eyes.
More clangs rang behind Jim and he could hear Kerry cursing under her breath. "You can't save them, Jim!" she snapped when he glanced worriedly back at her. "Just shoot!"
"Warning: Reactor overload in seven minutes. Please-"
Jim couldn't remember Spock moving, but the Vulcan was beside him, helping him to his feet and Jim grinned at him briefly before he turned to face the advancing scientists. "Wanna see who kicks butt the fastest?"
Spock glanced at Jim with a raised eyebrow. "It is illogical to hold a contest under such conditions, Captain. It would be more efficient to simply shoot-"
The scientist on the right lurched forward, arms spread wide to catch Spock around the waist and pull him to the floor. Instead he sailed forward when Spock side stepped him fluidly and he stumbled before spinning around and charging again. The remaining scientist chose this moment to surge forward too, aiming at Jim.
"Warning: Reactor overload in six minutes. Please evacuate-"
Jim matched the man blow for blow, his hands easily fending off the sluggish attacks as his mind and eyes searched for a way to end this quickly. He caught sight of Spock over his opponent's shoulder and when those dark eyes met his, he grinned widely.
As if hearing or seeing some signal not noticed by others, both men shoved their opponent at the same time and the two possessed men stumbled backwards and into each other, the back of their skulls smashing together. With practiced ease, phasers were drawn back out and fired at the same time. The two bodies fell together, arms and legs entangled. The limbs twitched in tiny aftershocks as blood ran down their paling faces, one from a hole in his forehead and the other from right between his eyes.
"Warning: Reactor overload in five minutes. Please evacuate all-"
Hearing a loud clank, Jim quickly remembered Kerry's struggle. As he turned to face her, there was a smooth slicing sound and a heavy thud. Kerry stood still as a statue, her sword arm held out straight behind her, the blade dripping blood as she watched the man on the ground before her. His hands were clutching at his neck, trying to hold the gaping wound closed and the blood in, and his mouth moving desperately like a fish as he tried to find the air that wouldn't come anymore. He let out small gurgling sounds as his body thrashed in rebellion to the fact that he already knew in his mind - he was dying, already dead, because no one could save him now. Kerry finally looked away when the dying eyes rolled back forward, the sad gray staring at her the same way Jace had.
"Warning: Reactor overload in four-"
The blade retracted in her hand and she shoved it back down in her boot. She turned to Jim and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to have to swallow your pride for a bit, Jim." She shifted her gaze to Spock. "Go ahead of us." When Spock hesitated, she snarled. "Go! You won't be fast enough if you're the one carrying him, now go!"
Before Jim could even understand what was going on, he found himself thrown over Kerry's shoulder. He felt himself getting dizzy when the emergency lights suddenly started flashing by too fast for him to follow with his eyes. If it weren't for the uncomfortable pressure on his stomach, he would have thought that he was flying backwards instead of being carried. It made his mind spin when he realized that it was Kerry carrying him and running so fast. He heard rather than saw things being knocked over and out of the way and then there was sunlight, bright and blinding after being in the darkness of the research facility. The world tipped once more and he found his feet again, and then his balance with the help of a warm hand on his shoulder. 'Spock,' he thought distantly.
He turned just in time to see the opposite side of the facility, which was now several hundred meters away, explode in smoke and flames. 'Well, shit.' He quickly grabbed his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise!" he barked out. "Three to beam up!"
"Aye, sir!"
When he felt the beginnings of the transport working, Jim understood why the extra distance was needed between them and the facility. The shockwave from the explosion was growing bigger. Faintly, (so faintly that Jim wasn't sure he wasn't imagining it) there was an inhuman scream, a sound that seemed to surround them. The scene disappeared, replaced by transporter room two on the Enterprise with Scotty at the controls and McCoy bursting through the doorway, tricorder in hand. Jim let out a sigh of relief and he turned to look at Spock, who met his gaze. They had survived another disastrous mission and that was something to be glad for.
Suddenly McCoy's tricorder was in his face and he scowled and shoved it away. "I'm fine, Bones."
"Somehow I doubt that," McCoy drawled sarcastically. "Who's this you've brought with you anyway?" His concerned eyes shifted to Kerry.
Kerry shifted backwards, eyeing the tricorder nervously. Jim noticed this and stepped in front of her. There was no need for McCoy to cause an uproar in the transporter room about Kerry having no heartbeat before he had a chance to explain the situation to him.
Of course, that wasn't stopping him from freaking out about something else entirely.
"Jesus, she's covered in blood! What the hell happened down there?!" McCoy started forward again, brandishing his tricorder. Jim stepped with him, keeping himself between Kerry and his friend.
"None of it's my blood," Kerry said, making everyone in the room freeze at the soft tone in her voice. A strange calm fell over the room and Jim wondered how she had done it. "Please, Doctor, I just want to submit my testimony and go to sleep. I want to put this behind me."
McCoy seemed to waiver and he lowered his tricorder. "You should at least come to the Sickbay first."
"We'll be fine, Bones," Jim repeated, using the strange calm to his advantage. "Just a few cuts and bruises. They can wait until the report is filed and sent. We'll go right after we're finished. I'll even sit still for you."
They stood in silence for a long moment as McCoy considered the situation with a scowl. Jim finally relaxed when McCoy let loose a long sigh. "Alright, fine. But you are going straight to sickbay right after. Don't think I can't see that gash on your arm."
"Sure thing." Jim smiled sheepishly as he quickly steered Kerry out of the room with both hands on her shoulders. Spock nodded briefly to McCoy and Scotty before following after them.
Sometimes Jim really hated it when he was right. The report was long, very long. The unfortunate necessity of Kerry's testimony was long in itself, but the evidence cited from the files from the torn out memory drive they were going to attach doubled the length. By the time the three of them were finished, Jim was ready to just fall into bed and go to sleep. His thoughts of skipping the trip to the sickbay were interrupted by the voice of the communications officer on Gamma shift over the comm.
"Bridge to Captain Kirk."
Sighing, Jim leaned forward from his slump and pressed the button to open the comm. "Kirk here. What can I do for you, Ensign?"
"Admiral Pike wishes to speak with you about the mission report." The voice paused. "Do you want me to tell him to call back later, sir?"
Jim took his hand off the comm so he could curse aloud at Pike's promptness. Internally he wondered if he sounded so tired that the Ensign was worried about him. He opened the comm again. "No, go ahead and patch it through. Thank you, Ensign."
"Aye, Captain."
Jim gently nudged Kerry out of the way of the vid-screen so he could place himself in front of it. The terminal chimed seconds later, notifying that the call had been transferred. Drawing a deep breath, Jim focused on wiping the weariness from his face before switching the screen on and opening the channel. Pike appeared on the screen, a PADD laying on the table before him.
"Admiral," Jim chirped, his hands folding together on the table in front of him. "That was quick." He could feel Spock's disapproving look on him - because of his informal tone with a superior officer - but the Vulcan said nothing. He had found it useless to reprimand him after six months. Besides, he only did it with the admirals that didn't mind so much.
Pike huffed a laugh and reached a hand up to tap the edge of the PADD. "It was an interesting read. I didn't believe it until I remembered that things tend to go pear-shaped when you're involved. Maybe you shouldn't go on away missions. Something always goes wrong when you go."
Jim balked and leaned forward. "Hey, now, not always. I'll have you know that the mission before this was completely normal. Boring almost."
"Alright then, I correct myself. Something goes wrong most of the time." Pike folded his hands together, mimicking Jim's previous posture. "On to business. It's good that you got that memory drive. Saves Starfleet the trouble of sending someone back down there. After this goes through filing, all ships will be warned away from the planet. Hopefully no one will get convinced that the risk is worth any amount of credits."
Kerry jerked in her seat to Jim's right, growling under her breath. "If anyone needs convincing of how dangerous the Meperian is, I'll gladly inform them of the hell I went through down there."
When Pike shifted in his seat unconsciously to see if a new angle would give him a view of the owner of the voice that had suddenly enter the conversation, Jim scooted over to allow Kerry into camera range. "Ah, is this our damsel in distress?" Pike asked, his words teasing but his voice flat as he studied the strange woman with purple eyes. "How are you feeling Ms. Ignaria?"
Kerry shifted her weight back in her seat, her hands going to rest across her hips as she frowned down at the table in front of them. Her eyes darted back up to the screen before she answered. "To be honest, sir, I'm exhausted. Haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks. I'll just be glad to go to sleep without worrying about something trying to attack me."
Pike nodded solemnly. "That's understandable." His eyes turned down to the PADD and his fingers flicked along the surface. "I have a question for you, Ms. Ignaria. These files say that you were sent with the research team as a psychologist. Not to be insulting, but the situation was rather sketchy when the team was sent out and no one's background was really looked into. Would you submit to a-"
"Respectfully, sir, I must interrupt." Kerry was leaning forward now, the lengths of her forearms lined up with her legs as she leaned on her elbows. Jim looked at her in mild alarm and she shot him a quick look that silenced any protest. "What do you need a background check on me for? There are several things that are… classified in my past that only a Fleet Admiral can access. If you need character references, I can get them for you."
Pike poorly masked his startled look by drawing a hand across his mouth. "I didn't mean to offend you, Ms. Ignaria. I just need proof of a medical license and character references."
Kerry's posture relaxed and the tension drained from the air. She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You want to reassign me, Admiral?"
Jim jumped at Kerry's question. "Sir? To the Enterprise? Are you serious?"
Pike scoffed. "As long as she's qualified, I don't see why not. We're short on psychologist willing to serve in the fleet. The ship psychologist for the Enterprise was never replaced after the Narada incident, and as flagship, she needs one. Especially with all the bizarre things that have happened in the last two years."
"His reasoning is highly logical, Captain," Spock stated, speaking for the first time as he positioned himself behind Jim's left shoulder. "Doctor McCoy has been acting as the temporary psychologist. I am certain he would appreciate someone taking over those duties for him."
Pike was smiling as Jim frowned over his shoulder at Spock. "Ah, thank you, Commander. I'm sure he would." He turned his attention back to Kerry. "So, Ms. Ignaria, I'll need what background information you can give me, some references, and a psychiatric evaluation from Doctor McCoy because of your involvement on the last mission. After that, you can start working." Pikes eyes shifted to Jim and his lips twitched in barely concealed amusement as Jim worked his jaw soundlessly. "Your next mission will be transmitted to you tomorrow. Pike out."
The screen went black and Jim rounded on Kerry, who crossed her arms. "You planned that," he accused, pointing to the screen.
Kerry grinned, but shook her head. "No, not really. But the situation did fall rather nicely into my lap, didn't it?"
Jim groaned. "I was going to drop you off at the next safest planet. You know, so you wouldn't get dragged into how crazy life on this ship gets."
Kerry rose quickly to her feet to tower over Jim's seated form. "I am your guardian, Jim. You can't get rid of me and you're stuck with me until you no longer need me." She leaned forward and tapped him sharply on the nose, making him flinch. "So you better get used to it." She lightly laid a hand over the gash on his arm. "Come on. This is probably infected by now and you did make a promise to the good doctor." She stepped back from Jim and spun on her heels, heading for the door of the briefing room.
When Jim crossed his arms with an almost-pout (he would never in his life admit to pouting - he preferred the word 'sulking'), Spock spoke softly. "She is correct, Captain. Doctor McCoy would be highly displeased if you chose to forgo the trip to sickbay." His posture was stiff, with his hands folded at the small of his back, but Jim could read some amusement in those dark eyes.
This made Jim scowl, but he reluctantly stood and made to follow after Kerry as the door slid open for her. "That's creepy, guys," he grumbled. "It's like you can read my mind or something."
Kerry chuckled and looked over her shoulder with a wide grin. "It's no secret that you hate hospitals, Jim."
McCoy was in his office when they arrived, which Jim was very glad for because it saved them the trouble of herding him there in the first place. Now if they could keep him from yelling too loudly.
All three gathered into McCoy's office and closed the door before the doctor could say a word. There was a long moment of silence as McCoy stared at them from his desk, a confused frown on his face. He finally cleared his throat and set his PADD down.
"You're actin' funny, Jim. Something happen? Someone die?"
Jim shifted nervously on his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, no, Bones."
McCoy's frown deepened as he studied Jim. "You were thinkin' 'bout not coming down here weren't you?" he accused, shaking his head as he stood, tricorder in hand. "Well, thank you for bringin' them both here, Mr. Spock. I think I'll start with our guest. There's no way none of that blood is yours, hun. There's just too much."
There was a blur of movement when McCoy rounded the desk and in the next second Kerry had the tricorder pointed away from herself with both hands. McCoy seemed frozen and slowly turned irritated by the touch but he stopped himself from saying anything at the deeply serious look on the woman's face.
"Doctor, I'm going to ask you to stay calm and let me explain the situation," she said slowly in the same soothing tone she had used in the transport room.
"Explain what-"
Kerry gently twisted McCoy's wrist to point the tricorder at her chest and the doctor quickly fell quiet as he studied the screen and indicators. Surprise flickered across his face as he set the machine aside and he reached for her wrist, then her throat, desperately trying to find a pulse beneath his fingers. Kerry stood still and silent, even lifted her chin a little to allow better access to where a pulsing vein would usually be. Mild curiosity registered on McCoy face as he stepped back.
"You're too warm and soft to be an android. What the hell are you?"
Kerry lowered her chin back down and locked her gaze with his. "My… people don't have a proper name anymore. If you need a name, you could say that I am Jim's guardian."
McCoy slowly backed up and sank down into his chair. "His guardian? Explain."
Kerry nodded. "Okay." She paused. "Um, is it alright if I sit?" She eyed the seat opposite McCoy.
The doctor blinked in confusion at the statement, but nodded. "Er, yeah. Go ahead."
A smile touched Kerry's lips as she maneuvered around the chair and fell heavily onto it. "Thank you. Today has been a little taxing." Her strong, mysterious aura was suddenly replaced by one of exhaustion. "Ah, right, an explanation. By guardian, I mean that I am his protector in a way. My abilities are limitless. I am stronger and faster than anything. I could even fly if it was needed, though I haven't done that in quite a long time. In a sense, you could say that I'm immortal."
McCoy frowned. "Forgive me if I don't believe you. Are you sayin' you're a god?"
Kerry suddenly threw her head back and laughed deeply, shocking the men in the room. She quelled her laughter quickly, shaking her head. "I can't claim something like that. My people were once revered as gods, but our power is not the same as it used to be." Sighing, she adjusted her posture to slouch more comfortably against the seat back. "I don't remember the stardate when we left our planet. A plague had destroyed most of our people. The few of us that were left were… different. We didn't really know just how much the disease changed us until we reached the first planet with sentient life. We happened to arrive in the middle of an earthquake. There were a bunch of natives trapped in a collapsed building. My brother couldn't bear to see them die, so he tried to lift the slab of concrete that was blocking their way out. I was about to run and help him… but he lifted it. All by himself."
"It was amazing." Kerry's hand lifted and fluttered a small gesture as if to try and express her awe where her words could fail. "He saved their lives… all by himself. We stayed for a week and my brother continued to perform miracles - saving lives with his strength and speed, dying in their stead and then coming back to life. When we left, my brother stayed behind. He was the first to find the people he was supposed to protect. We finally realized what the plague had done to us by third planet. It's only speculation, but we believe that maybe the universe designed the plague to turn us into what we are so we can protect important people."
She paused for a long moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "My sister and I ended up on Earth. The miracles we created made us gods in a very short time. As time passed, we started feel a pull towards certain people and our power seemed to be focused on them. The circle of people we could protect grew smaller and smaller. I lost track of my sister maybe a hundred years ago, but it seems she's destined to protect the more artistic types of Earth. Caravaggio was the biggest hint to that. He had a bad temper, that one."
Kerry lapsed into thoughtful silence, lost in reverie. McCoy took this opportunity to voice a question. "So Jim is one of these people that you're supposed to protect?"
Kerry sighed and folded her hands together tightly on her lap. "Not one of them," she said softly. "I can't be one hundred percent sure, but I think he's the last for me." Her hands clenched tighter for an instant, her finger turning white from the pressure.
Jim jerked to attention at her side. "Last? What do you mean last?"
Kerry lifted her gaze from her hand to look up at him. "I can't feel any pull besides yours, Jim. It's a symptom of being at the end of the line."
"End of the line," Jim echoed, confused.
There were a few minutes before Kerry spoke. "My brother died. He had found the end of the line, the last person he was to protect. When she didn't need his protection anymore, his heart started beating again. From what I hear, they ended up marrying and dying together. She was the last person he was destined to protect. For us, a life without protecting someone is an empty existence. I guess it's a self destruct mechanism."
Jim's face darkened, but he said nothing, trying to absorb the information. McCoy leaned forward, placing his arms on his desk for support. His expression mirrored Jim's - awe mixed with confusion. "So, basically, you're some super human that's destined to protect our captain?"
Kerry chuckled and nodded. "Pretty much, though those powers are very conditional. I can only use them if it helps Jim in some way, shape, or form. Otherwise, I'm a human without a heartbeat that can't die. On my own, I have very basic defense skills and can't lift more than 25 pounds. My intelligence is a lot higher than normal, seeing as I've experienced hundreds of years more than most people, but most scratch that off as just a creepy psychologist vibe."
"You mean that ass-kicking you delivered down there wasn't technically real?" Jim balked, shifting on his feet as he studied Kerry as if seeing her for the first time.
Kerry gave a short laugh. "Oh, it was real. My knowledge of advanced fighting techniques disappears when I don't need it. You remember my magically disappearing abilities, don't you? You thought it was hilarious that I could kick the shit out of the men who were chasing us and then get pinned to the floor by Stacey in ten seconds."
"Yeah, I remember," Jim muttered. "Doesn't seem so funny now."
McCoy watched their banter slightly slack-jawed. These two knew each other? When they fell silent, he returned Kerry's pleasant smile with a frown as he started to grumble words under his breath. Both Spock and Kerry politely ignored him when he mumbled that she was "worse than the damn green-blooded hobgoblin" before sitting back in his chair and glaring at Jim. "You attract the strangest trouble sometimes, you know that?"
Jim pretended offence to the statement with a scoff and crossed arms. "Hey, it's not like I go looking for it."
Kerry snorted. "Sometimes I wonder about that. Hopefully that trouble will become easier to handle now that I'll be around."
"You're stayin' on the Enterprise?" McCoy asked.
Kerry tilted her head at him, amused. "I can't very well leave the person I'm supposed to protect, can I? I've been doing everything from the sidelines since Jim thought I was dead. It'll be nice to not have to do everything so secretly anymore. Admiral Pike offered up a nice reason to stay on the ship, provided that you think I'm still sane after the recent planet-side mission."
"Yeah, and what position would that be?" McCoy grumbled, praying for something more useful than another empty-headed Yeoman.
"Ship psychologist," Kerry chirped matter-of-factly. "I'll have you know I earned that psychology degree on my file myself."
McCoy's expression lightened instantly and a slight grin reached his lips. "Really now. That's nice to hear."
Kerry was smiling. "Spock said you would be relieved. I'm glad I can help."
"So I just have to say you're not crazy besides the obvious protective thing and you'll take over?"
"Pretty much. You'll have to do the examination the slow way though. Lie detector tests don't work on me." She raised a hand, palm facing him, and tapped her wrist with two fingers.
The frown returned. "Damn," he cursed quietly, drawing a laugh from Kerry and a snort from Jim. McCoy glanced at Spock's silent form and his frown deepened. "Don't even think about tellin' me off for trying to skirt a responsibility."
A tilted eye brow raised as Spock refolded his hands behind his back. "On the contrary, Doctor. I was going to comment on the efficiency of using a lie detector test to finish the job quickly."
McCoy brooded for a moment before pointing a finger at the Vulcan. "Don't think I'm gonna to start likin' you just because you're bein' agreeable."
"I was not attempting to-"
Jim cut in, huffing in annoyance. "Okay, let's stop the bitch fight here. Can I get patched up so I can go to bed? I'm exhausted."
"Jim," Kerry said with a scolding tone. "Bitch fight? Really?"
Jim turned on her with a roll of his eyes. "What? They're fighting with each other and being little bitches about it. It fits."
"It doesn't," McCoy snapped as he stood, rounding the desk to take Jim's arm. "Great, it's infected. That'll be an antibiotics hypo and dermal regenerator for you." Jim groaned at the word 'hypo'. "How'd he get this, by the way, Miss Protector?"
"It's minimal damage. I can't protect against everything. Just be happy he's not possessed or dead, which both of these two would be if I hadn't been there."
McCoy huffed his acquiesce as he ran his tricorder over the gash on Jims arm. Seconds later, he spun on Spock and did a quick scan of him as well. "Alright, you two can go while I finish with Jim. You're fine as far as I can tell." He added 'freaks of nature' under his breath, knowing that at least Spock would hear it. When neither seemed to take offence, he nodded and turned back to Jim.
Spock turned to the door, but was stopped by Kerry's hand on his sleeve, her fingers pinching the fabric to avoid any contact with his body. He allowed a brief curiosity at this before she withdrew her hand and spoke. "Wait. I have one more thing I need to say. It's important."
"What'd you forget to mention?" McCoy said with a sigh as he set down his tricorder. "You have white feathered wings that you hide by some magical illusion?"
"I'm no angel," Kerry said quickly and Jim was reminded of the pained expression she had worn when snapping Jace's neck. "You need to understand that what was discussed in this room can never be told to anyone else. This must become your best guarded secret. If the wrong higher-up were to learn about this, the Enterprise could lose her captain and myself to black ops or be sent on missions even more dangerous than those you have face already. There are such things as corrupt officials. I should know - I've seen all sorts of them. You need to keep that in mind if you think someone else should know. If there's even a small chance that the information could end up in the wrong person's hands, don't say a word."
The three men were silent, absorbing the seriousness of the warning. McCoy spoke first. "How do you know you can trust us? Spock an' me, I mean."
"Doctor, you are required to know about me because you will have to cover for my lack of a heartbeat. Put a warning on my file more severe than the one you have on Jim's, so that only you can attend to my so-called wounds. Or I could pretend to be deathly afraid of bio-beds and tricorders. Whatever works. I know Jim doesn't trust his health to just anyone and that he puts his life in your hands tells me that you are someone I can trust.
"And you, Mr. Spock. You were down on that planet with us, so there's no way I could have gotten through the whole situation without making you suspicious. It was easier to just tell you straight out. Besides that, it is your duty as First Officer to ensure the safety of your captain and crew. A man of your intelligence should be able to figure out what would happen, how many people you would lose should the Enterprise suddenly start going to more dangerous places. I know you care about Jim, and even if you say you don't, which is a load of Vulcan bullshit by the way, your sense of duty to your crew and captain will protect this secret."
Spock shifted very slightly under Kerry's scrutiny. "If I have offended you in some way, I apologize."
Kerry suddenly sighed deeply. "Ah, I'm sorry. Vulcan detachment from emotions irritates me. I shouldn't take it out on you, but you were going to say something about Vulcans not having emotions, weren't you?"
Spock dipped his head slightly. "I will admit to such. Although I stand by the statement, I will refrain from mentioning it in your presence as it seems to be a source of distress."
With a soft laugh, Kerry ran a hand down the side of her face. "Why, thank you, Mr. Spock. That's very nice of you. I guess my last question is where can I crash tonight? You have guest quarters, right?"
"I can guide you there, if you would like," Spock offered as he took a step towards the office door.
"Yeah, thanks," Kerry said as she moved to follow him. She glanced over her shoulder as the door slid open. "Remember, Jim. You promised to sit still for the good doctor."
Jim scowled as the door closed behind the two retreating figures. "It's not fair that there are so many people on this ship who know me too well," he groaned as McCoy loaded a hypo.
The doctor snorted as he pressed the cold metal to his friend's neck. "Quit your bellyachin' and be happy you're alive."
"I hate you," Jim said with a wince. "I hate all of you."