It took no time at all for things in the science lab to get weird, well weirder than they had already been so far. Pike and Tilly were playing the part of model hostages when Jenkins began to mutter repeatedly. At first Chris thought the Lieutenant was just talking to himself as he worked but the more he and Tilly listened the crazier Jenkins sounded. It was like he was having a conversation with someone else. The problem was except for Pike and Tilly, Jenkins was the alone.

Pike frowned when the voices grew louder. "Please stop this, I don't want to hurt anyone." It was Jenkins but it didn't sound like the man Pike had gotten used to.

In an instant the voice changed and laughed darkly. "Its a little too late for that."

Chris glanced sideways at his companion and saw she was as concerned and confused as he was. It sounded like Jenkins was having some sort of mental break, either that or he was having a full blown argument with himself, complete with different voices. The mystery was getting stranger by the second.

The softer voice returned. "I won't let you."

Both Pike and Tilly flinched when Jenkins slammed his fist against the work surface, shattering one of the screens to bits. "You can't stop me!" He screamed.

The Captain snapped to the sound instinctively, glancing over his shoulder just in time to see the screen smash into a thousand tiny pieces. Sadly Jenkins chose that moment to turn his enraged glare on his captives. The Lieutenant caught Pike looking over his shoulder and Chris gulped when he saw something snap in him.

Jenkins picked up the phaser, growled and fired a warning shot that landed right next to Pike's knee. Tilly yelped in surprise and Chris flinched away from the heat of the fatal shot, wincing as sparks scorched straight through his uniform pants.

"I told you to face the wall!" Jenkins yelled.

Pike forced his gaze away from the burnt scorch mark on the floor and stared directly at the wall as instructed. His heart was fluttering madly, reacting to the danger of death. Chris took several deep breaths and clenched his fingers together tightly, trying to still his trembling muscles. That was the problem with adrenaline surges, when you were unable to make use of it the crash back down to normality was like going cold turkey off a drug.

Chris thought he was tense until he stole a glance at Tilly. She looked downright petrified and was as stiff as a board. Pike wanted to reassure her but was well aware Jenkins was already pissed with him, he couldn't expect the gunman to bother with a warning shot next time. With that in mind they both waited on tenter hooks for whatever Jenkins had planned for them next. Eventually they heard him mutter angrily and storm away, stomping to the other side of the room.

Pike really wanted to look over his shoulder and see what Jenkins was up to; there were several clangs which could have been drawers opening and shutting and the sound of someone searching for something violently. The only thing stopping him from peeking a look was the smoke that was still drifting up from the scorch mark, a stark reminder of what could happen to him if he disobeyed a second time.

It turned out Chris wasn't in the dark for long. Jenkins' footsteps suddenly walked towards them and he wandered into Pike and Tilly's line of vision, dumping several lengths of wire onto the floor at their feet. Pike's stomach dropped nastily as he started at the wire then Jenkins' furious expression.

"I need to get on with things and you two are stopping me from doing that." He glared from the two of them and the phaser held loosely at his side. "So we've got two options here."

Pike and Tilly held their tongues and glared at the gunman. "Option one I kill you both now."

He toyed with the phaser in his hands and scrutinised their reactions, Pike remained impassive and stared straight ahead not willing to give the murderer the satisfaction. "But you might be useful." Jenkins finally decided, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"So option two." He indicated the wire on the floor. "You stay out of my way, don't make me angry and you might get to continue breathing for a little while longer."

Jenkins glanced from Tilly to Pike. "So what's it going to be?"

Pike was sick of the cavalier attitude and disregard for life. He was also sick of not knowing what the hell was going on with Jenkins. "Who are you?" He pointedly ignored Jenkins' question, outrage and curiosity overriding the need to hold his tongue.

Jenkins levelled a thunderous expression at him so Pike could see he wasn't exactly pleased with the change in direction. "Do you have memory problems Captain? I'm Lieutenant Jenkins."

Tilly surprised both of them by speaking up confidently. "No you're not, I know Evan Jenkins and you're nothing like him."

Pike clenched his hands together tightly and tensed for a violent reaction. Jenkins predictably turned his murderous expression to Tilly, but then he did something completely unexpected: he laughed. "Oh I see, you know him."

He stared at Tilly thoughtfully and seemed deeply amused by something. "That must have been why he was screaming at me when I nearly shot you."

Pike and Tilly both breathed in sharply. "Where is Lieutenant Jenkins?"

Jenkins looked at them both and grinned, tapping the side of his head. "He's in here, where else?"

Pike and Tilly were both as confused as each other. Had Jenkins suffered a mental break, was he suffering from memory less or was there some kind of alien entity at play here? Honestly Pike wouldn't be surprised if it were any of those things; Discovery had completely destroyed any expectations he had of normality. A ship that travelled across a highway full of mushrooms, a Doctor back from the dead and an officer who was a Klingon trapped in a human's body. Nothing shocked Pike anymore.

"I needed a body." Jenkins clarified when he was done being amused with his captives' blank expressions.

The Captain felt his blood boil, how could anyone be as offhanded as this? "So you took his?"

Jenkins pleased smile disappeared and he pointed the phaser at his captives again. "We're not talking about this anymore. What you need to know is I am not the Evan Jenkins you know and he can't help you. I will not hesitate to kill either of you if your usefulness runs out. Are we clear?" He threatened, completely void of emotion.

Pike's blood ran cold as he stared into the eyes of a murderer and absorbed the menacing words. Sadly Chris knew a serious threat when he saw one, and Jenkins was not kidding around. When they noticed Jenkins' annoyance at being kept waiting the Captain and Tilly both nodded mutely.

"Up." Jenkins commanded.

They both nervously got to their feet, wary of the phaser and the way it tracked their movements steadily. Pike struggled to keep his hands clasped behind his head and watched Tilly have similar problems. He shook the sleep from his legs and stepped closer to Tilly, feeling the need to stay close for his comfort as much as hers.

Jenkins handed out a coil of wire to Tilly. "Tie him up." He pointed at Pike.

"What?" Tilly squeaked in shock and recoiled from the proffered item.

The impatient displeasure was quick to resurface and Jenkins' aimed the phaser at Tilly, expression clouding over like a dark storm. Pike intervened quickly before things got too out of hand. "It's alright Ensign."

Tilly's shocked gaze glanced from her Captain to the wire and Jenkins, after spluttering a little more she nervously took hold of the material. Pike brought his hands down in front of him and crossed his wrists, encouraging Tilly over before Jenkins got too impatient.

"No, no." Jenkins warned dangerously. "Behind your back Captain."

Pike glared at the gunman but turned around all the same, crossing his hands the same way and presenting them to Ensign Tilly. He felt her fingers brush against his hesitantly. "How do I?

Chris cottoned on that Tilly had clearly never done anything like this before and didn't know where to start, working with knots was hardly something people did on a day to day basis. The penny soon dropped that he was about to guide someone through tying him up, this was really not how he thought his evening off would go.

"Start looping round my wrists, then cross the wire up and over every few turns." He instructed gently trying to make this less difficult for her.

Pike could feel Tilly's hands shaking as she started looping the wire around his wrists; after just 2 loops Jenkins interceded. "Tighter, much tighter."

Pike felt Tilly freeze so gave her some further reassurance. "Do as he says Tilly."

She sighed deeply then pulled harshly on the wire making Pike wince involuntarily. "Sorry." Tilly muttered miserably and continued looping the wire tightening it when Jenkins gave her a warning glare.

"Not your fault." Pike ground out, resisting the urge to flex his fingers under the tight wire. He could already tell these were going to be impossible to slip and had no give whatsoever. The only saving grace was that his circulation mercifully seemed to be intact.

After a few more loops around and over his wrist's Jenkins looked satisfied. "That's enough, tie it off."

Pike felt Tilly tie off the knot and retreat backwards. He then sensed a new presence at his back and grunted when rough hands pulled on the wire, making sure the binding was tight. Sadly he also felt the knot being placed further out of reach which was another potential escape route burned.

The Captain recognised a strong grip land on his shoulder and stumbled forward as he was steered away from the exit, grunting in surprise and dropping to his knees heavily as Jenkins kicked the back of his legs without warning. Chris winced when his knees slammed into be ground painfully; he would have fallen flat on his face except for the controlling hand on his shoulder.

Chris straightened up but then he felt the phaser graze against his neck and stilled. "Don't move." Jenkins whispered threateningly in his ear and then the presence disappeared.

Pike heard footsteps retreat then Tilly yelped and grunted, Chris clenched his fists and locked his jaw helplessly. He wanted to look round and see what was happening to Tilly but that would only land them both in more trouble, so with great restraint he stared straight ahead. The struggle became more difficult when he heard further signs of discomfort and realised Jenkins must be securing the Ensign, none too gently either.

The only thing stopping Chris from acting was his fear for Tilly's wellbeing. Jenkins had already proved to be short tempered and who knew who he would choose to lash out at for further disobedience, so the Captain kept staring straight ahead. His shoulders tensed with displeasure the more he heard Tilly's discomfort and Jenkins' rough treatment.

Eventually the sounds stopped and Pike heard two sets of footsteps approach. He watched Jenkins guide Tilly forward, past his kneeling position, and left her standing with her back to a support beam.

His concerned gaze swept over Tilly looking for signs of fresh injuries. There didn't seem to be anything on the surface but her wrists already looked red and the wire looked painfully tight. Pike felt what little control he had over his temper slip away as Jenkins smiled nastily, there was no need to enjoy other people's pain. Whoever it was in Evan's body was a complete sadist.

Pike knew what was coming next when Jenkins turned his attention to him. "Get over here." He ordered gruffly indicating to the support beam with his phaser.

With great difficulty and immense balance Pike managed to get himself up off his knees and just about kept his footing; he made his way over to the support beam. When Chris got close Jenkins grabbed his arm roughly and yanked him the rest of the way, slamming him up against the surface powerfully. Pike groaned when his head connected painfully with the harsh metal, vision flashing violently and adding another bruise to his already pounding head.

Chris tried to reposition his hands finding it more than a little uncomfortable the way they were trapped between his lower back and the support beam. Jenkins noticed the attempt and held Pike's body against the beam and levelled a warning glare at him. Chris got the message loud and clear: Don't move. Jenkins studied both his captives suspiciously then moved to collect a long length of wire. Without a word he started looping it round Tilly, Pike and the support beam.

Jenkins started by looping it under each of their arms and pulled on the wire sharply slamming both of them up against the beam forcefully. Tilly and Pike winced and tensed under the continued assault, Jenkins would wrap the wire over their upper arms or chests and then would brace against the support beam and yank on the material hard.

With each go round the pressure on their chests increased and Chris felt hopeless when he could no longer even move his hands. They were completely trapped between him and the beam, and he and Tilly had been forced ram rod straight against the thing. Pike reluctantly admitted that Jenkins sure knew how to tie things up securely.

The damn thing was so tight that Pike was sure he and Tilly were going nowhere fast. There was no give at all in on his wrists or in the wires tying them in place. It really didn't help that the wire cut into their muscles painfully every time they moved to get to a better position or struggled.

Jenkins stood back and admired his handy work, pulling at the wire to make sure it was as tight as possible. When he was happy he slapped the Captain lightly on the face, mockingly. "Don't go anywhere now."

Pike glared darkly at him as he wandered over to his work station and continued working on his secret project; something that was making Chris more nervous with every second he spent in Jenkins company. He was a violent, murderous, antagonist with access to the ship's systems. That could never be a good thing.

Chris glanced over his shoulder as far as his neck would strain to get a feel for how Tilly was doing, he could sense how stiff she was behind him and was a little concerned she had been quiet for so long.

"Are you alright?" He whispered gently, wary to keep out of Jenkins' earshot.

Tilly jumped at his voice then turned her head to try and look at him. They just about managed to glance each other out of the corner of their eyes. "I'm okay Captain." She replied bravely.

Pike could see the turmoil in her eyes, her fear for their lives and her friends and the echoes of pain from the rough treatment. Yet she was still standing strong and she was here with him, Starfleet officer Sylvia Tilly.

"Good." He nodded, thinking maybe a bit of a morale boost was in order. She was looking to him to get her through this to give her strength. He slipped into confident Captain Pike seamlessly. "We're going to get out of here Tilly. Do you believe me?"

He watched some of her fear melt away and marvelled at the abhorrent trust she had in him, taking his word as given. He felt humbled that she followed him without question.

Tilly nodded fiercely, determination rekindling inside her. "Yes Sir."

Pike felt some of his tension bleed away into their surroundings as he studied the Ensign. Tilly was holding it together but more than that she was facing up to the tragedy of a friend in trouble, amazingly falling back on her training and trust in her Captain even in a situation as screwed up as this. Chris had to admit he was impressed, at her age not many people would be able to put all their fears aside and focus on the job in hand; especially not after all the Discovery crew had already been through. Their resilience and teamwork was something to be admired and he was honoured to be allowed into the family, to be a part of something great.

Knowing Tilly was more or less okay, Chris' attention turned to Jenkins and he sighed sadly. "And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to save Evan too."

No matter how hard Tilly and Pike struggled against the wire bindings they didn't budge an inch; annoyingly if anything they actually got tighter. For all their efforts all they managed to do was tire themselves out and rub their wrists raw. Pike had now almost lost all feeling in his hands and he was pretty sure Tilly was in a similar position.

The Captain's attention soon switched from their hopeless bound situation to the reason he and Tilly were in such a position: Evan Jenkins. Not that it was him anymore not really, but with a lack of a name Pike had to call him something. Jenkins was now fully absorbed in his work and hadn't paid any attention to his captives since he had left them tied to the damned support beam.

Chris's gaze dropped to the floor and he felt a cold chill wash over him when he spotted the pool of blood, following the trickle to the dead crewman's hand just like he had earlier. Pike hadn't even seen his face, so he didn't know who was lying there dead: who had been disregarded like rubbish. He felt enraged and the sudden spike of anger caused the Captain to throw caution to the wind.

He addressed the murderer in an unforgiving tone, forgetting the golden rule to not interrupt. "Why are you doing this?"

Pike noticed Jenkins' shoulders tense and he turned to look at Pike and Tilly, like he had just remembered they were there. Chris saw frustration in the man's eyes but overall he looked calmer and lacked the murderous intent from earlier. Surprisingly Jenkins actually answered even if the answer sounded crazy.

"Because the federation must be destroyed." Jenkins soon returned to his work, losing interest in Pike and Tilly. "Even if I have to take it down one ship at a time."

Chris never understood people who wanted an end to the federation; it was so far from what he stood for. Something that united so many races across the cosmos was nothing short of beautiful, even if the system did have it's flaws. They were a peaceful organisation committed to exploration but it was becoming more common to come across people who want them obliterated.

"Why?" Pike asked genuinely curious.

Jenkins typed one final command into the keyboard and moved away from the console. He leant back against the workstation nonchalantly and faced his captives head on. Jenkins glared boldly at Chris and more importantly the badge on his chest. "That's a longer conversation, but let's just say I stand against the federation and everything it stands for."

The computer beeped behind Jenkins drawing Pike's attention to it. He noticed the same schematics he had seen earlier and began to wonder what Evan was planning for the ship. Chris hadn't missed the way Jenkins had alluded to destroying Starfleet's ships one by one, the sudden leap to a ship-wide threat made Pike deeply concerned about Jenkins' level of access.

"What are you doing to the ventilation system?"

Jenkins smirked. "You'll find out soon enough Captain."

Pike bristled at the mocking tone. He was sick to death of half truths and vague lies, why couldn't Jenkins give them a straight answer for once and drop the bullshit act? Another thing that was making Chris' blood boil was the gunman's cavalier attitude. Jenkins was enjoying causing suffering and misery to everyone around him, how could anyone or thing treat life so carelessly was beyond him.

Tilly surprised both of them when she spoke up, her concern for her friend outweighing her anxiety and hesitation. "Why did you take Evan's body?"

Jenkins cocked his head in interest and studied his captives. Suddenly he pushed away from the work station, picking up the phaser absentmindedly and stalked towards Pike and Tilly. Chris automatically tensed up when the weapon was once again trained on him.

"I chose Evan Jenkins because he was quiet and weak, someone who could be controlled easily." Jenkins sneered nastily.

Pike was beginning to struggle to keep his fury contained and under the surface. Not only was this entity controlling poor Evan, forcing him to watch murder and cruelty. Now he was insulting his character, had he no remorse?

"He's not weak." Tilly whispered sadly, undeterred by the close proximity of a weapon.

Jenkins smirked and leaned into her personal space. "He can't even stop me hurting his friends."

Without warning he brought his hand up and slapped Tilly round the face harshly, and her neck whipped round and she yelped out in shock. Pike struggled against the bindings with anew determination, yelling obscenities at Jenkins.

"You bastard!" He growled, letting the reigns off his temper so his anger flew free.

Jenkins brought the phaser up and pressed the barrel right against Pike's head, stopping both of their struggles effectively. Jenkins looked from Pike to Tilly and pressed the weapon against the Captain's head harder, earning a grunt of pain in return. "See, nothing." He mocked.

Pike wished more than anything for the use of his hands. He would happily pound the entity into the ground right now phaser be damned.

"Lieutenant Spock to Captain Pike."

The smug grin was wiped off Jenkins' face in an instant. The entity lost the cocky stance and his mood sank, panic flooding his features. He moved in front of Pike and held the phaser steadily against his forehead.

"What does he want?" Jenkins asked nervously, glancing up at the ceiling as if Spock was going to materialise any second.

Pike gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to call the man an idiot. Instead he held his tongue just about. "I don't know."

It genuinely the truth, he had no idea what Spock wanted with him. Jenkins however didn't look convinced as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Really?"

Pike let the anger drain from him and relaxed his muscles, needing Jenkins to believe him. "Really." He confirmed.

Jenkins glanced up at the ceiling again and came to a decision. "We'll ignore it."

Alarm bells rang in the Captain's head; Spock was not one to let a matter lie. The universe surprisingly had impeccable timing as that was the moment Spock's voice rang out through the space again.

"Lieutenant Spock requesting Captain Pike." Most people wouldn't have noticed the concern and urgency in Spock's voice, but Pike knew Spock better than most.

Jenkins swore loudly and looked round the room wildly. He rounded on Pike again. "What happens if you don't answer him."

Chris seriously thought about lying but then did he really want Spock tracing his location and walking in on this? If he could get a message to him however…

"He'll come looking." Pike answered grimly.

Jenkins scrutinised him and looked like he was going to hit something or rather someone. For a moment Pike thought it could go either way then Jenkins made his decision and glared at both of them. He aimed the phaser at Tilly's head and glared warningly at the Captain.

"One wrong word and she's dead." He threatened darkly.

Chris glared at the man but nodded all the same, understanding the threat clearly. Jenkins indicated silently for him to go ahead so Chris made his voice as neutral as he could manage and answered. "Pike here."

There was a pause for a few moments and the Captain was a little worried that Spock had come looking already. Then his science officer's steady voice echoed through the room. "Captain, apologies for disturbing you off duty. I have some matters I wish to discuss and I was hoping you were available this evening."

Pike closed his eyes and resisted the urge to laugh out loud, cursing his luck. He had wanted Spock to open up to him for weeks and the one time he reached out Chris had been tied up by a murdering entity with a phaser held to his head; Spock always did have impeccable timing.

"No need to apologise Spock." Pike took a deep breath and hoped to hell he was right about who Spock was currently sitting with. "I'm going to have to take a rain check though. I have a prior engagement with Commander Burnham."

Pike held his breath as silence followed, thankfully for only a beat. "Understood Captain, we'll talk another time."

Spock was so good at hiding his emotions that Chris doubted for a second that his science officer had noticed anything off, but he had to believe Spock knew him well enough to not let this lie. Thankfully Jenkins was convinced and his confident grin returned. After beaming happily at both of them he skipped back to his work without a care in the world, panic of the interruption forgotten completely.

Meanwhile in Spock's quarters on the other side of the ship the Vulcan science officer was still staring blankly at the communications panel, head tilted to the side in confusion. He turned slowly to the other occupant in the room who mirrored his puzzled yet stoic expression.

"Apparently you have a prior engagement with the Captain." Spock stated.

"I don't." Michael frowned deeply and got to her feet, concern flashing across her face. "Something's wrong Spock, the Captain didn't sound right."

Spock pondered the matter for a few moments then glanced from the closed communication line to Michael. "I agree."

A/N - Just wanted to say thank-you for all the follows and lovely feedback! I'm really glad people are enjoying these stories as much as I enjoy writing them, it definitely spurred me on to write this chapter sooner.

Next chapter should be up in the next couple of days, hopefully by the weekend :)