Captain Pike and Commander Nhan followed John deeper into the city ruins; they both balked and were taken aback by the damage they saw, by the clear signs of battle and destruction. Knowing it was an invasion and that people with corporeal bodies were reduced to whatever John was now made the silent walk all the more haunting, they now knew and had come face to face with the casualties of this planet. It made it real. Death clung in the air like a limpet to a rock and the smell of burning flesh and energy weapons reigned everywhere.

Pike watched the scene mournfully and tried to keep his mind on alert, no matter how difficult it was to be amongst this death and see it first hand there were others that needed their help. Soon enough John began to lead the pair of them underground and began explaining what had happened.

He reiterated what he had said in the hall, that he and his people didn't used to be like this. They used to have bodies that weren't too different from humans. That had all changed when their flesh and bones were disintegrated by the enemy and they suddenly found themselves floating as atoms, trapped in the gaseous state.

No matter how much he wanted to stay objective Pike found he couldn't. Just listening to what John and his people had been through, seeing the aftermath of it, it made his blood boil. Chris had never seen such savage brutality. John had lost his home, family, his body and his life. It was unimaginable yet he was living it.

"Can you tell me anything about the invaders?" His tone had an angry bite to it which Nhan noticed, if she thought anything of it she didn't say anything, honestly she looked like she shared his sentiments. The more he saw the more he wanted to bring those responsible for this genocide to be brought to justice.

John clenched Spock's fists and he stared dead ahead like he wasn't seeing the world around him, his eyes clouded over and he exhaled audibly. "They landed in massive column ships. They came out shooting when we sent envoys to welcome them." John closed his eyes and took a moment to recover, shuddering at the painful memory. "They slaughtered everyone they saw."

Pike swallowed down his rage, clenching his jaw as he pressed for details. "Did they say anything at all?"

John halted suddenly before a large doorway and Chris noticed that Spock's face had fallen and his skin looked paler than usual. "No they didn't." John turned to look at Pike and muttered. "They didn't seem to need a reason, they just kept shooting."

John's eyes drifted again and his muscles clenched. It didn't take a behavioural scientist to point out that he was lost back in that moment, relieving the horror of the past. Wanting to snap him out of the pain, Pike reached out to gently grasp Spock's shoulder. John flinched at the contact and almost fell backwards; it was clear by his confused expression that the contact had been unexpected and he was not used to physical touch any longer.

"I'm so sorry." Chris offered sincerely knowing his words wouldn't be enough, nothing would ever be enough but he had to say something. Seeing this suffering hurt. He only wished they had been here when this had happened, the Enterprise could have helped, they could have perhaps stopped this atrocity. Instead an entire world had burned.

"How long ago did the invaders come?" Nhan inquired.

The question snapped John out of his memories and he frowned as his mind whizzed forward to the present. "I wish I could tell you, but time has been passing differently for those who survived."

They both perked up at the mention of survivors, perhaps finally some good news. "How many of your people survived?"

John cast his eyes downward sadly. "A couple of hundred."

Pike felt his jaw drop open in shock. A planet the size of this with its infrastructure would have at one point supported millions of lives, but there were only a handful left?

"If you can call this living." John grimly added and proceeded to push the heavy doors open.

Pike stepped forward to help John with the doors they were incredibly stiff and appeared to get stuck half way open. Chris figured that they probably hadn't been used in quite some time, what with John and his people not having bodies any longer. John led the way through the doors and Pike and Nhan followed in his wake; their eyes widened as they took in the huge underground cavern that stretched out further than the eye could see.

Suddenly Pike felt the urge to shiver and his skin tingled, something flashed in front of his vision for a second and it almost felt like a transport beam. He turned to Nhan and saw she was experiencing the same thing as he was; he looked back over his shoulder and clocked a barrier of some kind that they had just crossed.

The Captain and Nhan turned back to John and they both gasped audibly. Beyond John there were hundreds of people scattered round the cavern, well people was a rather loose term. Each person was heavily distorted and translucent, so much so that Pike ended up straining to see if he was actually seeing shapes or bodies. The only way he could properly describe them would be ghosts. He tried to focus on a single figure but found the task utterly impossible; the ghosts kept drifting and eventually melded into one before breaking apart again in some strange random pattern.

"This is the only place we've found that we can see one another." John began to explain as he led them further in. "We can communicate telepathically but you won't be able to hear that, hopefully your officer will understand and be able to translate where he can."

The trio of Starfleet officers came to a stop in the centre of the cavern; Pike was suddenly aware that the ghostly beings were beginning to form a ring around them and had already blocked off the way to the exit. They were all staring inward so were aware of their presence but for now at least were keeping well back; that suited Pike just fine. His senses were going haywire and they had been ever since he had passed through that energy barrier, it was like he was absorbing the fear and misery in the room.

"Its alright, they're not like the destroyers." John began to calm the ever interested crowd. "They're here to help us."

"Help us, how can they help us?"

"Who are they?"

"I don't trust them."

"They look like the destroyers."

"What if they've come to make it worse."

"How could this get any worse?"

The Captain's eyes bulged and he blinked rapidly as he tried to process what he had just heard. He couldn't get his brain to process that all of those voices had poured out of Spock's mouth almost instantaneously. His tongue had tumbled over the never ending syllables and his voice changed as he mouthed each person's thoughts.

Chris decided to step in before things got too out of hand and these people inadvertently broke Spock's brain. "My name is Christopher, I'm from the United federation of planets, and we are peaceful explorers. I know you're scared, I would be if I were in your shoes. John-" he indicated to Spock knowing full well that wasn't his real name. "-has told me what happened to all of you. I'm deeply sorry we couldn't be here to help stop this atrocity from ever occurring."

He spun on the spot and looked at each of the lost souls in turn, the ones he could make out at least. Seeing them like this, seeing fear and suffering like this made his blood boil. "If you let us, we can help now. Anything we can do to make your lives any easier, to help fix things where we can."

The Captain finished his speech and watched the room carefully for any signs of recognition. He squinted and tried to latch onto the facial expressions of the crowd to see if his words had made an impression on anyone. From what little he could make out it didn't look promising, John noticed too.

"I have been inside their minds and they speak the truth. I was suspicious at first." He paused and glanced sideways at Pike and Nhan, specifically at the wounds he had inflicted with a distant expression falling over his features. He soon snapped out of it and finished his point. "But these are honourable people and what they say is true."

A strange buzzing sound suddenly started and then the room was filled with insistent mutterings. A strange energy began to cloud the air and Pike sensed it converging on Spock. All of a sudden words began to tumble out of Spock's mouth, all from different people.

"Maybe we should listen."

"We can't go on like this."

"What if he makes it worse?"

"Worse, how could this get any worse?"

"I want this to end."

After the influx of voices there was one overriding question that got repeated through Spock from all sides.

"You can really help us?"

Pike glanced round at all the frightened faces as best he could, trying to put as much sincerity into his words and expression as he could manage. He wanted to help but he couldn't do that until there was trust. "We can try."

Chris wasn't in the habit of lying and he wasn't about make a liar out of himself now. This entire situation was new ground for all of them. He had never seen anything like this ever before; people being ripped from their bodies and suspended between states like this. It was a damn good thing that Spock was here, if anyone could get their head round this it was his science officer.

He addressed John. "I need my science officer back to see what we're dealing with here.

John nodded an agreement then Spock's expression and body stiffened immediately. Pike grabbed hold of his officer's arm when he swayed unsteadily and almost tumbled. Spock blinked away the fog and not before long a familiar stoic expression settled across his face. Spock met Pike's questioning gaze and Chris was grateful to see familiar eyes staring back. "You alright Spock?"

"I am well Captain." Spock's eyes drifted down to the hand that was still gripping his arm, now that he was steady Pike pulled it away quickly knowing Spock's discomfort with being touched.

Chris didn't think it was a good time to mention the strained eyes, the tensed muscles or how weary and drained Spock looked. There would be time for that later, he knew better than most that Spock would push through any discomfort until their goal was met.

Spock took out his tricorder out and began running scans of the general area; particularly he pointed it areas of interest and where the ghosts were crowded. Pike watched the translucent people form more of a loose ring and begin to give the three of them some space, he still couldn't make any particular person out properly but it looked like the ghosts were talking amongst themselves.

Eventually the ghost people began to close inwards again, forming an even tighter circle around the Starfleet officers. Pike wasn't the only one to notice the sudden change; he saw Spock and Nhan react to the change in atmosphere, it was like the room had become chilly all of a sudden.

Spock then stiffened and his eyes squeezed shut. Chris had seen this happen often enough to be able to recognise that John was back. "We've been talking. The only thing we wish for, is an end."

Pike and Nhan locked eyes and mirrored each others puzzled faces, not sure what end meant but not liking the sound of it.

John noticed their twinned confusion so clarified. "We are suffering all the time, this pain is unimaginable." Offhandedly Pike wondered if Spock could feel what John could… "We can't end this ourselves, god knows we've tried. We're stuck."

With a growing sense of dread Chris finally understood what they were asking for; they were asking for help to die. Just the thought of it made him sick to his stomach and he fought off a shiver. He noticed Spock coming back to them so he addressed his science officer, knowing there had to be another way.

"Can you shed any light on the situation Spock? There has to be something we can do." He desperately wished Spock could give him something, anything.

"The readings are not easy to decipher Captain, whatever caused this phenomenon is beyond our capabilities and knowledge."

He glanced up from his tricorder and indicated to the shimmering barrier by the door way. "This entire structure is encased in some kind of stasis field, effectively it keeps these people in a state between life and death."

Christ. No wonder why John had been so scared before hand, they'd been trapped like this not knowing if their suffering would ever end. A never-ending hell, nothing else could compare to the hell of this.

"Now do you see why we ask for an end, for peace finally?"

Their deaths had been dragged out to last for eternity, an eternal suffering. No-one deserved this, least of all victims of an invasion. Pike would be chasing down who had committed these heinous crimes after he was done here and would bring them to justice.

"You all feel this way?" Pike addressed the room.

Lots of yes' tumbled out of Spock's mouth, essentially yelling using his voice.

Pike felt at a loss, he was sworn to preserve life. How could he possibly stick to his values and help these people commit suicide? "Is there nothing we can do for them?" Pike knew he was grasping at straws but what else was he to do?

"Sadly Captain these people have already been killed. There is nothing we can do to prevent that."

"But they have some semblance of life." Pike argued. "Surely we can't end that."

John returned. "A life of constant suffering and pain, a life without end a life without meaning. This is no life Captain."

Pike addressed the room sadly. "I can't even begin to understand what you've all been through, but what you're asking us to do. It goes against everything we stand for."

"You said you help people, it may not feel like it but this would be helping us. We don't even have the ability to end our own suffering, what kind of existence is that?" John implored.

With a further muscle spasm Spock returned, and he shook his head like he was dizzy again. Spock looked at Pike and added his two opinion. "A fundamental aspect of being alive is birth and death, the beginning and end of life. If one can ever move on then is it really living?"

Chris was torn, what they were asking for went against everything he had ever sworn to uphold yet he couldn't ignore such a desperate plea. After hearing the pain in John's voice, and seeing the anguish on the people's faces Pike found he couldn't leave them to this fate. They should help these people move on and finally find peace.

The Captain grimly came to a decision; he couldn't leave them here to suffer for eternity. "Okay we'll help."


The trio wasted no time and got to work. Spock began jerry-rigging some equipment together with the aim to disrupt the stasis field so the trapped souls could be released. Nhan worked closely by his side whilst Pike stood on the outskirts, helping where he could but just generally offering any small comfort to John and his people as they prepared for the end.

Chris was still in two minds about this whole thing, it was difficult for it to really sink in that John and his people were already dead especially when he could see them with his own eyes. Pike rubbed his face wearily and tried to clear his mind, this was hard enough as it was without his conscious getting in the way.

You're not killing them, you're saving them, freeing them. That's what John had said, it was just a shame Chris couldn't find it within himself to believe it.

Spock looked up from his temporary work space and indicated for the Captain to come over. Chris felt a great sense of foreboding as Nhan stepped away, clearly Spock was finished. Chris joined Spock. "Is it ready?"

Spock nodded. "It is."

Pike glanced over the controls and frowned. "How do you operate it?"

"Do not worry Captain I will-"

"No you won't Spock." Pike interrupted coolly, levelling his steely gaze at him. Chris was pulling rank here and Spock noticed; he stood taller as the Captain emerged. "I'm not having anyone else take on this burden."

Chris looked between the two officers and saw they wanted to argue, both Nhan and Spock offered protests at the same time. "But-"

"I offered our help to these people, so I'm going to cut off the stasis field. That's my final word on the matter." Pike interrupted strongly.

He was deadly serious and they both clocked it so their mouths snapped shut; their respective arguments dying in their throats. They both knew hope stubborn he could be, Number one had always teased him about it, but it would work for him here. There was no way in hell Pike was going to let anyone else do this, if he wasn't willing to do it then how could he ask it of his crew?

Pike waited for his science officer to show him how to operate the equipment. Spock hesitated for a moment, he didn't look happy with the situation but he held his tongue nonetheless. When Pike proved to be stubborn enough to not budge on the matter Spock realised he was fighting a losing battle; he proceeded to walk the Captain through which controls to operate.

Chris barely heard a word of what Spock was saying his thoughts were starting to run away from him. His mind got stuck in auto pilot as he took in Spock's instructions whilst the other part of it seemed to stall, perhaps finally realising the gravity of what he was about to do.

By the time Spock finished Chris was feeling very sick. He pushed the queasy feeling aside and drew on his memories of the people's pleas, knowing he didn't have the right to force people to live especially when from their opinion they weren't living and they never would be again. Pike pulled himself together and glanced up at the crowd noticing that they had stilled; they all sensed the change in atmosphere.

"John, we're ready." Ready to end your lives. The words stuck in Pikes throat, he brushed aside Spock and Nhan's concerned stares.

Pike watched a single figure drift towards Spock's body and soon enough John took control of Spock's body one last time, swaying unsteadily like the whole planet was rocking beneath his feet.

For the second time Chris grabbed Spock's arm to keep him from falling flat on his face, it took him longer to steady and balance this time which confirmed a theory of Chris'. Each transference the symptoms for Spock had been getting worse, most likely his body and mind were beginning to react badly to the process.

After a few seconds John smiled warmly at Chris and brushed off his concern, indicating he was okay now. "I wanted to thank you, all of you. I know you may feel this is murder but truly you are freeing us: saving our souls." Suddenly John didn't have the ability to meet his gaze and he glanced away sheepishly. "I am sorry about the way we met, I wish we could have had an easier start. You're good people."

"There's no need to apologise anymore John, it's forgotten and understandable after the suffering you had been put through." Nhan replied kindly.

"What she said." Pike added sincerely. He couldn't have put it better himself.

John frowned. "Still I should not have been so quick to judge. You weren't."

John stared round the room and shifted on the balls of his feet, flexing his fingers and wrists every few seconds. Pike realised he was relishing what it was like to have a body for the final time, the thought hit him like a tonne of bricks. What was about to happen slammed back into him and brought back all the feelings of dread.

Eventually John stopped stalling, he glanced at his people and appeared to be more at peace. "Please thank Spock for me. I couldn't have done this without him."

"We will." Nhan replied.

All the people began to merge into one bright huddle and soon it was impossible to make any individual person out. A nervous energy grew in the room as the silence drew on. Pike tasted bile rise in his throat, he was about to end lives and no matter how he spun it this was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.

John glanced from the officers to his people and smiled and he held up a hand in farewell. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye John."

John smiled sadly. "My real name is Khelban".

After the dying declaration he disappeared and left Spock's body for the last time. Pike watched Khelban join the others never once looking back. Thankfully Nhan was close by to catch Spock because he lost his footing entirely and his limbs fell asleep, he collapsed sideways and sagged completely in Nhan's grip.

Pike watched his officer carefully and frowned when Spock collapsed under the strain of all the transferences. He seriously looked like hell; the kid was clearly exhausted and under too much strain mentally and physically. He caught his science officer's eye and clocked the weariness and pain hidden behind those depths. Yeah he was definitely going to watch Spock carefully, and order him to medical A.S.A.P.

With great difficulty the Captain pulled his concerned gaze away from Spock, he had his own duty to carry out. Pike's hand hovered over the controls and he observed the change in the room. The nervous buzz of earlier was gone, the room had turned silent all of a sudden and the mood had been replaced by something lighter, more hopeful.

He realised the fear and panic was gone, in its place he could see the people were at peace with this choice and with what was about to happen to them. Knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable any longer, Chris closed his eyes took a deep breath and pulled himself into the moment.

On autopilot he operated the controls and heard a buzz begin to fill the hall, when he entered the final command he felt the release of some kind of energy wave. When he looked up again Khelban and all the people were gone. They were finally free; they were finally at peace.


A/N - Just one more part to go after this, I've been working on a few other stories that are Discovery era which I will begin posting as soon as this piece is done :)