Chapter Six

Leonard McCoy yawned and looked up. The kid who had been making all the noise the night before was actually quiet. Thank God. That damn kid was getting on his nerves.

"All passengers, this is the Captain. Thank you for choosing Ariekel Cargo for your journey. We will be docking with Betazed Space Central in ten minutes. All passengers should be at the airlock with their luggage at that time. Captain out."

"You heard him!" a voice called out, "Let's go. I hear that they've got some nice hot springs here."

Several passengers laughed at that. Leonard sat up and grabbed his carry bag, stuffing his padd and blanket into it. Here he was, off world for the first time in his life, all for some stupid medical conference.

He was just planning to stand up when he heard a squeak from above him. Looking up, he cursed and stood up sharply, startling the kid above him a bit.

"Any reason you're wasting time up there?" he asked bluntly.

"I can't get down," she said, her face flushing red.

Leonard sighed, "Come on. I'll help you. Just don't look down."

"It's not the height. I'm just too short!" she said, clearly exasperated.

Leonard picked her up off the bunk and deposited her on the floor. Her head barely came up to the bottom of the bunk.

"I see. Well, I hope you got all your stuff, 'cause I sure as hell ain't going back for it," he said gruffly.

She was quite for a few minutes before speaking up, "I'm Elaine. Elaine Kirk. What's your name?"

"Leonard McCoy."

"Okay!" she said with a smile before skipping off, leaving him in blissful peace.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"So what are you trying to say? That somehow, you can't seem to bypass a simple security system?"

"No sir. I'm merely saying that, being a royal family and all that, they will most likely have some damn good security systems," Jason Karmich snapped.

"Well then find a way around it. Now!" his mysterious superior replied coldly, "Now, where did that damn diary get sent?"

"Earth, sir. A place called Riverside, Iowa. North America. As far as I can tell, it was received. But after that, nothing," Karmich replied, scowling.

"Well then. Who was it addressed to?"

"Someone named Kirk, sir. According to Earth records, there are three listed as residents of Riverside. Winona Kirk and her son, James Tiberius, as well as her adopted daughter Elaine. The girl shares the same physical features as the original owner of the diary. She's not in any system before her adoption, though. Her file is sealed under the authority of Winona Kirk, being the girl's guardian and all. So, all I can get is a name, age, and picture. Do you want me to contact Krillat and see what he can find?"

"Yes," the boss replied, "Tell me what you know about this child so far."

"Her name is Elaine Jasmine Kirk. She is about 14 Earth years old. She's a redhead and has blue eyes. About 3' 11" from look of the picture. Graduated from Riverside High at 13 and actually on Betazed. She seems to be a potential Starfleet candidate for their Academy outpost there," Karmich rattled off rapidly.

"So she looks like the King's mother and would have been born about the time that the Queen disappeared. She was pregnant at the time. It appears that you have stumbled upon something big, here Jason. I assume you know what that means?" the boss said calmly.

"Yes sir," Jason replied, voice shaking, "When I'm no longer of use to you, you'll kill me."

"Make your peace now. I estimate three weeks. But don't worry. I'll make sure that you die with honor. You will be an innocent in all this. You have been a good employee. If only you hadn't discovered this."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Karmich said, "I'll contact Krillat now and have him do some digging around in the Federation file system. He doesn't need to know about our discovery."

The boss nodded and stalked off, leaving a shaken Jason Karmich behind in the sole joy of his life, a room full of computers. He set about contacting the Betazoid agent on Earth and mourned his death while he still could.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"Sharina! What are you doing out there?"

"It's alright, Macy. I'm watching the sunrise," Princess Sharina of Betazed replied. Her best friend, who also happened to be her handmaiden, sighed.

"We don't have that much time. The Federation Convention of Medical Professionals is starting in an hour and I know that you wanted to go," Macy said, flicking a strand of black hair over her shoulder. Sharina shook her head, loosening her loose bun of reddish brown hair. Turning, she smiled at Macy.

"Come on then. Let's see if my Healer's robes still fit," she said with a smile.

"You better hope so. I'm not sewing anything today. That robe can't get much smaller, considering how fast you're shrinking. I can't believe that you managed to lose all that baby weight so fast," Macy said, jealousy tingeing her words.

"Oh, come on, Macy! A healthy diet and exercise can remedy almost any problem," Sharina protested.

"Uh huh," Macy snorted, but didn't comment any further.

##### ##### #####

They were almost late, but Macy managed to get them there just in time. As Sharina hurried in, the conference was just beginning. Smoothing her Betazed Healer's robes, she walked around, marveling at the Federation's newest medical techniques. Although Betazed had yet to join the Federation officially, they were an ally world and enjoyed the benefits that came with their partnership with the Federation.

Sharina was standing by a display of a new procedure that could heal internal wounds faster than ever before, she heard a voice behind her.

"It doesn't work on anybody except Vulcans, y'know," said a man with a slight Earth accent.

"Pardon?" she asked, turning to see a human man in civilian clothing standing a few feet behind her.

"I helped test that procedure. It only had optimal results on Vulcans, but they decided to sell it anyway. And with a false label, it seems. Greedy bastards. I'm Leonard McCoy, currently a doctor at a small hospital in Georgia on Earth," he said.

"I'm Sharina, currently a Healer at Harelle General Medical Center. So why would they sell this and say it works on all species when it just works on Vulcans?" she asked.

"Because my tests were the only ones with those results. Everybody else screwed up when using the method and claimed that mine were wrong so they could cover their asses. Nobody apparently listened to the fact that to properly use this technique, you have to actually insert the device near the injury and leave it there for three days to speed up the healing process. Most species don't do well with a metallic device that pulses electromagnetic waves in their bodies," McCoy explained.

"Did they change anything to reflect what the others did wrong?" Sharina asked, bewildered.

"Nope. Just ignored the whole lot of us and sold it as it was," he said with a scowl.

"Well then why bother to test it if you're going to ignore the results?" Sharina sighed, "Sometimes I lose all faith in the universe."

"You and me both. So, what's it like at Harelle General. I've heard they can get pretty busy come spring time," McCoy said with a knowing smirk.

"Well, considering all the marriages that happen during the spring, it doesn't surprise me. At my own wedding, one of my guests managed to sprain their ankle running to get something that they deemed absolutely necessary for the wedding to take place. Very common, actually," Sharina said, smiling.

McCoy's smirk didn't even waver, "That must have been an interesting one. My wife almost broke her ankle at our wedding. She tripped over a tile that had risen two centimeters above the rest of the tiles and no one noticed it."

Sharina laughed, "That actually would have made for an interesting wedding. Way more interesting than the weddings here."

"Well, come on now. I heard a rumor once that y'all don't wear anything to your weddings. That's got to make for some interesting moments," he smiled.

"Well, yes actually. I can probably still remember a few from when I was a kid."

"You mean they let kids attend the weddings?" McCoy stared, "That has to scar them for life."

"We're a planet full of telepaths. We're pretty open about a lot of things," Sharina said teasingly.

McCoy whistled softly, "I bet. Maybe you could tell me a few of those tales? Lunch is on me."

"Well, if you insist," Sharina said, mock-glaring at him. He laughed and they continued their conversation as they went over to the small buffet table that was set up for the attendees.

AN- Well, I know it's a short chapter. But hopefully over Christmas break, I'll be able to type a longer chapter. I just wanted to save you all from the horrors of waiting for a new chapter.