A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing! Your insights and ideas help me develop the characters and keeping their reactions believable. Kudos, criticism and commenting of any sort is again highly encouraged, as reviews are love.

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Captain's log. Supplemental. We have confirmed that the attack on the Federation-Klingon conference on the Theta IX to be the work of the Orion Syndicate, which at least has the advantage of not plunging us into another war. Our losses include two security officers, while others have sustained various injuries Doctor McCoy is tending to. Unfortunately, the attack culminated in the abduction of Admiral Christopher Pike. We do know yet know why, as no ransom demands have been sent to us. Right now we... I fear the worst.

As for the Klingons, three of them are dead as well. General Stex isn't among them thanks to the quick reaction of my first officer, Mister Spock. My final report of this incident will see him recommended for a commendation for his role in the events. As a matter of fact, my entire crew performed admirably tonight... with no exceptions.

I have notified the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Barnett, of what happened and he set the fleet on high alert, ordering them to be on the look-out for the Orion interceptor having escaped from the planetoid. Stex claims the Empire did the same.

There was, however, a third party present at the hotel tonight, whether by accident or on purpose, I do not yet know. But I will find out. Luckily, I know just who to ask.

Kirk out.

# # #

The Theta IX planetoid was too far from any star to enjoy much natural light. Its prolonged days and well-lit, short nights were the product of the life-support system sustaining the city built on its surface. Slipping through the fingers on the medical personnel beamed down from the Enterprise and taking advantage of McCoy's being busy trying to wrestle Jim Kirk into a medical exam, Carol skidded across the paved cul-de-sac in front of the bombed hotel. Either way, she had nothing worse than a few scratches and bruises, while others were in greater need of medical attention. The air was nearly unbreathable, heavy with the smell of smoke mixed in the too strong odor of the flowers in the public gardens surrounding the building.

"Otto," she called to the man standing with his back to her, his upturned profile focused on the darkness of space beyond the dome. He whirled around at her approach, concern apparent on his face.

"I'm sorry," she said.

The man just shrugged off her regret. "Kati told me she had run into you and that she was worried, because you were hiding something and looked on edge. But since we realized it had something to do with your work in Starfleet, there wasn't much we could do besides keeping an eye out for you. Besides, we were here to arrange a settlement. These aliens were are in talks with used to be slaves to an intergalactic crime syndicate."

"The Orion Syndicate," she muttered, as his words began to sink in.

He nodded. "Some of them are recent run-aways and among other things, they told us of rumors they heard from their masters about a secret conference held so that the your Federation and some other power in the quadrant could take joint action against them. It didn't take me and Kati long to put two and two together."

"You were here to warn me?"

He pursed his lips together, inching himself closer to her. "The last thing we want is to end up entangled with Starfleet again, but we couldn't leave you in harm's way."

"Thank you, Otto, but... ." She sighed, not knowing what to say in order not to seem ungrateful. Kati was her best friend among the Augments and she had gotten along well with Otto, but this sense obligation they had to her made her very uncomfortable. But now, in the aftermath of an attack and with both Kati and Admiral Pike in the hands of the Orions, she had no time to waste getting to the bottom of it, no matter how much it chafed. "It might be too much to ask," she began warily. "But could we talk to these former Orion slaves?"

He winced. "These people have been enslaved, persecuted or on the run their whole lives. They don't trust any type of authority. You're welcome to come and ask your questions, but just don't mention you're in Starfleet."

She nodded, the question she dreaded the most burning in her mind. "Does he know?" she murmured as if to herself.

Otto heard her anyway. "I just told him."

Carol drew her lower lip into her mouth, further hesitating. "When will he be here?"

# # #

Christopher Pike found himself on his back, the pain in his left side devolving frighteningly fast into numbness, on what looked like the transporter pad of an Orion interceptor. He could feel the blood soaking through his uniform and his head swam, but he fought to stay awake. He would have made an attempt at getting up, but he didn't want to appear even weaker to the enemies currently training disruptors on him, as he was certain his legs didn't have a hope of holding him.

The woman who had been accidentally taken with him had no such problems. She was standing, eyes ablaze with fury, the expression on her elegant features one of pure resolve. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was certain he had never met her before but he had undoubtedly seen her previously. He had a fairly decent memory of faces. Another thing he was good of was recognizing fellow Starfleet officers and she definitely wasn't one of them, despite her impressive fighting skills, which also stressed her position as an outsider. There was a precise, instinctual viciousness to her blows that could have never come from Starfleet training.

Their sudden captivity didn't baffle her. Her serenity didn't waver and a slight, contemptuous smile graced her full, pale pink lips. The strike came so fast Pike hadn't even had the chance to see it. The two Orions now lying on the floor seemed to have had the same disadvantage. Before they fell, he could swear he had heard the sicking crack of broken bones.

"Enough!" a voice intoned loudly in command from somewhere in the shadows. The female stepping closer was a Ruddy Orion with deep orange skin and wearing a fantastic, jewelry-encrusted white wig. "Stop," she addressed his unlikely companion. "Or he dies," their captor added indicating Pike still sprawled helplessly on the transporter pad.

The human standing next to him tilted her head to the side, assessing the newcomer coolly. "He's wounded. He'll die, anyway," she answered, her voice all the more chilling as it was perfectly contained, no feeling tainting his reply. A good judge of characters, Pike realized she meant every word. This woman truly did not care whether he lived or died.

The Orion female spared him a glance before her wide, violet eyes roved back to the other woman. "Then we'll kill you," she said with equal tranquility.

The woman smiled sardonically. "It doesn't matter whether I live or die. You are all dead anyway."

"Why? Because Starfleet will come after us?"

"I am not Starfleet," the woman said archly, for the first time her voice betraying sentiment. She sounded almost offended by the assumption.

"Then what are you, human?" the Orion persisted.

"I'm not human, either!"

"Is that so?" the alien female asked skeptically walking among her armed confederates to get closer. "What are you?" she continued emphatically.

The woman on the pad next to him stood her ground. "Something else."

A memory fought its way through the haze Christopher's mind kept threatening to descend into. James' report of the Botany Bay incident included holographic images of all the superhumans found on board. He couldn't be completely certain, but from the physical strength the woman displayed, her reactions to being assumed to be in Starfleet or human and her knowing Carol Marcus, it was a good bet that he had been abducted together with an Augment. He didn't know whom he should lament most: himself or the Orions.

"Alright, something else," the pirate leader said. "You'll be escorted to a holding cell." Next he inclined her head in his direction. "Take him to the infirmary. Make sure he doesn't die."

"No," the Augment objected, her tone casual in protest. "I'm going with him."

The Orion eyed her carefully. "I thought you didn't care whether he lives or dies."

"I don't, but I'm friends with someone who does and if possible, I'd rather not see her cry."

The Orion female glanced at one of her men briefly. The Augment dodged the first few blasts, but by the third she dropped heavily to the floor. He struggled to lift his upper body to gauge whether they had killed her or if she was merely stunned.

"She's not dead," the Orion said as if in answer to his unspoken question. Her eyes swept over him. "I need you both alive for what I have planned... Admiral Pike."

"Starfleet will never negotiate for my return," he said sharply, the effect undercut by his short breath. He was already being lifted up and laid down on a stretcher.

"We'll see," she said. "I suppose you're going to tell me her people, whoever they are, won't negotiate for her return, either."

"No," Pike retorted grimly, mentally revisiting both James' and Spock's notes about the astounding familiar devotion the Augments shared. "They'll just kill you all. If I were you, I'd be requesting asylum in Federation space by now."

# # #

Kirk had narrowly escaped the clutches of Bones' scanners, when the Klingon general had requested to see him and so Spock had come and rescued him from a particularly nasty hypospray threat. The young captain chose to focus on anger and the necessity to track down the Orions rather than the constantly surging feeling of despondency. The man, who was the closest thing he had to a father, had been abducted, while he had been fighting to protect a former enemy only a wall away.

Then the Orion interceptor had slipped away into the immensity of a hostile galaxy, leaving him burdened with treading carefully around the Klingons instead of charging after it, like his first instinct had told him to. To add insult to injury, he also had to deal with the pervasive presence of the Augments and his nagging doubts about Carol Marcus.

Stex was in his quarters in the hotel, under heavily armed guard, though the man himself did not appear to be that affected by the fire fight had just been caught in. But then with the Klingons, one never knew for sure. Kirk bit back on the bile raising in his throat, his stomach twisting unpleasantly, as his fears and questions about Chris' safety and location pushed against the fragile lid he had slammed down on them in order to keep his wits around himself and conduct an effective search and rescue.

The Klingon enveloped him and Spock in a speculative look. "Captain Kirk... Commander Spock, thanks to you I avoided the dishonor of capture. I will seek to return this service by pledging my very own help in finding Admiral Pike."

"I assure you, General, that the expression of gratitude is unnecessary, yet not unwelcome," Spock said soft, calculated tone. "However, may I ask if we are to understand from your words that the Klingon High Council will not be equally forthcoming with its assistance?"

The Klingon looked away. "Not for lack of wanting." His eyes drifted back to the two commanding officers of the Enterprise. "Our border outposts have managed to track the Orions for a while, as they navigated just outside our frontiers. But they cowardly ran from a fight with us."

Kirk felt the bottom of his stomach drop, as an idea began to form in his mind. "But you know where they're headed, don't you?"

"Captain... they went to the one place where you or my people cannot go!"

TBC