A New World, A New Home: Chapter 2
Later that day Jaylah heard the indicator that someone was at her door. She guessed that it was probably the medical officer that Scotty had called. She was fully ready to send them away since her headache had already dissipated and she felt like exploring again. However, when the door to her quarters opened she found a group of three Starfleet officers all dressed in blue save for a couple security guards waiting nearby. She'd never seen any of these people before and couldn't stop the uneasy feeling they gave her.
The one leading the group was a short, stout, man with a large nose and lopsided grin. Despite being slightly shorter than Jaylah he still managed to look down his crooked nose at her before speaking in a nasally voice.
"Hello Miss Jaylah. I'm Doctor Isenberg and we need you to come with us."
"Why?" Jaylah immediately felt on edge after hearing his request and began looking for a quick escape route.
The doctor furrowed his brow and explained as if it was obvious. "Well when we heard you weren't feeling well, it brought to our attention that you have yet to submit to a medical examination or receive any of the required vaccines that are necessary to protect the many citizens of Yorktown from possible alien pathogens." Although the doctor wasn't a particularly intimidating man, each member of his group was much larger and currently looking like they were ready to take measures into their own hands if she decided to run. She looked at each one trying to size them up.
"No. I will not go with you." Her stern words didn't seem to faze the doctor. Isenberg pushed his glasses further up his nose, his grin never faltering.
"Oh, this isn't an optional exam Miss Jaylah. All new arrivals to this station are required to undergo a full medical evaluation. Without this examination, you could expose yourself and this city to numerous forms of bacteria that could have severe consequences on the entire population." The doctor took a step forward in an attempt gain her attention. "Jim Kirk may have cleared you to come to this city but he failed to get my authorization. Now you have to submit to a medical examination." Jaylah felt a sense of panic begin to rise when the group started closing.
"No!" Jaylah made a sudden move to run. The short man reached out to try and grab at her arm but Jaylah was quick to twist his hand at an excruciating angle and make a run for it. She heard the short man angrily shout at his guards to stop her and before she could take even a few steps she felt the wind knocked out of her as one of the larger security guards fired a stun gun. The impact sent her reeling towards the marble floor. As her vision began to fade from the effects of the shot to her side, she could hear the angry injured doctor shouting orders to prep her for a medical examination.
Later that evening Jaylah woke up, back in her bed, feeling stiff and slightly woozy. Her body was sore and she reached her hand up to her neck to feel a slight swelling. She ran to her mirror and saw small sore spots lining her neck just below her ear that still stung to the touch. Anger didn't even begin to describe the feelings she had coursing through her. She felt sick to her stomach at the realization of what had happened. She pulled the mirror off the wall and tossed it across the room. At the sound of the shattering glass she let out a scream to the air. She had to get out of that room. She needed something to take her mind off of what had transpired.
Jaylah all but sprinted to Genesis. Upon her arrival, she immediately ordered a large glass of orange juice and downed the whole glass before ordering another. A young off duty cadet had seen the pale woman arrive and took note of how quickly she was drinking. He guessed that this might be his opportunity to get lucky and sauntered over to what he assumed was a soon to be a very inebriated woman.
"So, who's the guy?" He tried to use as charming a tone as possible as leaned back against the bar, just a little too close for Jaylah's comfort. She took another drink of her orange juice before answering without even a glance at the young man.
"What guy?" Despite her lack of attention, the cadet wasn't going to give up. He gave a slight smile before continuing.
"Come on. I know that look. Some guy decided to let a gorgeous woman like yourself get away and now you're here trying to drink away your sorrows. I've seen it plenty of times" He bumped her arm with his trying to get a response with no such luck. Jaylah clenched her teeth without answering. Her breathing became heavy and this seemed to encourage the young man farther.
"Hey if you want to cry it's okay." He moved to put a hand on her lower back. "I'm happy to be a shoulder to cry on." Just as his hand made contact, Jaylah's elbow met with the man's nose. She brought a hand to his chest and hauled him onto the bar with a shout. The man only had a split second to register the fact that a pale fist was headed straight towards his head.
"JAYLAH!"
Jaylah's actions halted, leaving her fist resting just a few inches from the shaken officer's eye. Jaylah looked over to see Scotty standing right in front of her holding her wrist that was sitting just above the man now strewn across the bar. The engineer had walked through the door just in time to see the young cadet headed towards Jaylah and automatically sensed trouble. He thanked the powers that be that he had been able to stop her hand just in time, although he suspected it was her name being shouted rather than his grip on her wrist that had stopped her.
"Jaylah, come on now. He's no' worth it." By now the whole bar was staring at the spectacle and Scotty new he'd have to get her out of there before any more trouble came of it. "Come on lassie. I think he's had enough" He gestured towards the man whose nose was now bleeding. Jaylah took one last look at the man before pulling away. Scotty knew she wasn't fond of being touched by strangers but her actions startled him. The crew had been at Yorktown for a couple months now, and although he'd noticed a few people venturing to try and tame the wild lady from an unknown planet, he'd never heard of any of these attempts ending in violence. Something wasn't right.
Scotty was quick to pull her out of the bar and into the low-lit streets. As soon as they were out of the bar Jaylah began walking at a brisk pace away from Genesis.
"Ah wait, now hold up there lassie!"
He brought a hand to her shoulder halting her movements and took a stance in front of her. Although she'd stopped he couldn't help but notice that she failed to meet his eyes. He decided to keep his tone level to avoid upsetting her further.
"Mind telling me wha' that was all abou'?" She continued to avoid his gaze and he could see from her stiff posture that she was shaken. Her eyes darted along the ground as if she was looking for her answer there.
"He did not have permission to touch me," she answered through gritted teeth. Scotty didn't miss the strain in her voice and wondered what had triggered such a response.
"Aye, he had no right, but I don' remember you ever hitting me for touchin' you." He knew that wasn't fair. They'd developed a closer relationship since meeting on Altamid and he knew that he was one of the few people she felt comfortable around. He would be lying if he said that this knowledge didn't give him a small amount of pride.
"He is just like that other man. He does not ask permission to touch" She ground out the last word and it sent his blood pressure up a few notches. Who had touched her?
"Wha' are you talking about lassie? Who touched you?"
"The doctor called Isenberg." He clenched his fist trying to reign in his temper at her answer. Scotty couldn't help but feel helpless, like he was back on Altamid and she was telling him of Mannis.
"He said I had… a bacteria. I tried to run but he stopped me. I do not remember anything else but he gave me these." She pulled the collar of her shirt down to show the tiny light blue circular sores along her neck that he recognized as the marks of at least five or six medical shots. He couldn't look at her. His people had done this. Even if it was something as trivial as a few shots, he knew that by doing it without her permission the doctor had greatly hindered her trust in the Federation; possibly even her trust in him. The thought of what they'd done made his blood boil. He felt like hitting something.
She never cried but he could tell that her emotions were hanging on by a thread.
"Come on lassie. I'll take ya home and we'll get this straightened out." He reached out for her hand.
"No!" Jaylah let out a breath attempting to reign in her emotions. "No, I will not go back there. They will find me again." Scotty felt his heart breaking at the fear in her voice. He knew Jaylah to be one of the strongest people he'd ever met and that bastard had broken a part of her.
"Alrigh', well then you can come stay with me for a bit." He felt her eyes on him as he said everything in a rush. "No one will come looking for you there. I can keep an eye out to make sure no one bothers you for a time and we'll figure out the rest later." Scotty knew this wasn't a permanent solution but at the very least he could offer her a place where no one would think to look for her. Jaylah let out a breath, nodded, and began walking again. As they walked back to his apartment, Scotty made no further attempts at getting any more details from her about what had happened. He'd heard more than enough.
By the time they'd reached their destination, the orange juice Jaylah drank earlier began to ease her frazzled nerves. Once inside his apartment she'd taken a seat on the nearby sofa and rested her head on the arm. Scotty had planned to offer her his bed while he took the sofa but before he had the chance Jaylah had fallen fast asleep on his couch. The engineer pulled her feet up so she could rest comfortably and placed a blanket over her. He kept the lights on low so if she were to wake she wouldn't have trouble knowing where she was. Once he was certain she was at ease he went to his bedroom, tossed his leather jacket on the bed, and walked over to his personal computer. He pulled up the medical database and keyed in a search for just one word;
"Isenberg"
So what did y'all think? I had so much fun writing this chapter. Don't worry. I won't leave y'all hanging. I've written the next chapter and if I can't complete the 4th chapter before my fall semester starts I'll be posting the next one before it's finished (sans the minor cliffhanger). Reviews are always appreciated and I'd be happy to hear any ideas for future chapter scenes if you feel like sharing them.