The day passed tense and fearful. No one quite knew what to do. They knew Kodos' guards would be out, trying to find those that escaped. They watched as a group-citizens, had burned down the remainder of the crops. They only knew it to be citizens because only moments later, their small little dots crumpled one by one as another group in black approached, trying to put the fire out. It didn't matter really, Kodos had several edible plants in his greenhouse and the last of the eight food processors still functioning.
Jim was capable of ignoring his mounting emotions, his cramped back, the memories of last night. He was capable of sitting in that one spot until he died, not of starvation, but of thirst in just three short miserable days. If it hadn't been for Kevin.
Kevin Riley, with messy brown hair, wide eyes and expressing more emotion than Jim could bare; Kevin walked up to him, still in his star ship PJ's and no shoes. "Jim, what's going to happen now?" Jim tore his eyes away from the terrorizing town and looked at him. He knew he couldn't just sit there, not any longer, it was early afternoon, they hadn't eaten in over twenty four hours. Kevin needed to eat.
He stood and held out his hand. Kevin immediately clasped it. Jim swore, if anyone was going to make it out of this, it'd be this little guy. "We're going to get some food and water." Micheal and Mitchel, who had been talking quietly to themselves, looked up at him. Jenna had fallen into a restless sleep with Rachel and the two other children next to them. Micheal gently woke them up. Tevik stood from where he and Sam had been sitting. Jim didn't let himself feel more a second of jealousy and pain at the fact Sam had been resting his head on Tevik' shoulder. Ru and Maya looked to be the most tense and they startled when Tevik spoke.
"Jim, it is too dangerous to venture out. If we wait until tomorrow-" "Tomorrow is going to be too late Tevik. It's not only the guards that we have to worry about. It's the people. Sivath said they were trying to save the right people, which means he's only killing either those he doesn't like, need, or feel worthy. There are people out there like us, people that are terrified and panicked and they react emotionally. Without reason." The flash of the man entered his vision but he pushed it away. He needed his concentration on this.
Jenna frowned and said, "Professor Sivath was the one who gave you, your speech?" Jim nodded frowning. "Kodos had a projection of himself for us. But he basically said the same thing. Before...before it happened. " Kevin sat down beside her, losing all energy. He realized Jenna was in her pyjama's as well. No shoes. Rachel was the same. Tevik probably hadn't been sleep anyway, so he was dressed. Micheal had slippers on, but had no shirt, the same as Ru. Mitchel like him and Sam was fully clothed. They needed food, water and some clothes.
Together, after two hours, they finally came up with a plan. Micheal, Ru and him would go directly into the city. They would look for food there while Tevik, Maya, Rachel and Sam would take the extended fields. Mitchel would carry the weapons and with Jenna would protect their hiding place. At any cost.
Jenna gripped the phaser firmly, her face determined and rageful. He hoped she stayed in the cave, even just for one day. She didn't need another memory joining her worst one just yet. They broke up and slowly the curses of Maya and Rachel were behind them. Ru he knew from morning exercises, was silent and fast. He ran the best time on the obstacle course. Ru took point though Jim was fidgety in the middle with Micheal keeping up the rear. They each grew tense as they neared the town. The smell hit them first; ash and smoke, and a foul smell that Jim knew instinctive was death. It's scent was sick and strong made worse by the heat of the day. Micheal stopped and tried to throw up but nothing came out.
As they slowly made their way into the outer lining streets, they saw bodies had been moved, the streets still broken, littered with mess and blacked with phaser fire and smoke. Here a fire had burned, everything was crumbling and black. The smell was thick and smoke was still lazily flowing upwards. Ru quickly opened a door to the left, a house that hadn't been touched by fire. It was, however, previously broken into. Everything was knocked over, broken and useless. Jim went upstairs, Micheal kept watch at the door and Ru looked through the main floor, he called out quietly, alerting them to the water being turned off. Jim knew there would be no food found here but maybe...
He almost called out in joy. Dressers and clothes had all been tossed to the ground but they were still here. He grabbed everything he could, most would only fit the kids but he managed to shoes to fit the girls. Downstairs, Ru saw his armful and went back to the kitchen, coming out with a cloth bag to put everything in. "Well at least there's this." Micheal who crouched by the front window said, "We need more. We should see a couple more houses." Jim agreed and tossed them both a shirt. Hurriedly, they put them on. There was no shoes to fit them.
They had to make their way slowly into the alleyways. The houses now closer together, the smell stronger. Ru stopped at an opening three streets over, where the houses looked slightly more intact. Jim tensed thinking about the guards but slowly, slowly Ru stepped forward into the city courtyard and Jim cringed. Bodies. This is where Kodos had shot the second group of townspeople. He threw up a hand to cover his nose, looking back he saw Micheal was wide eyed.
Jim blinked several times and shook himself, his stomach wanting to heave like Micheal's. Grabbing both of the others, he forced them all to walk, sick. He couldn't help but look down in case he trip over them. They were purple coloured, limbs at awkward angles suggesting most had been running. Most of their faces were to the ground but others were on their backs, their expressions full of terror. Their noses and mouths had red brown blood coming from them. He shuddered.
Jim's heart racing, he held them until they turned into the next street. There were only a few bodies there. But he could now see the path the guards were using. They were cleaning it up systematically, now his heart raced for a different reason. They didn't have much time. "We need to hurry up. We need to pay attention to what needs it. These people are dead, we're not. Our kids aren't." Jim remembered Kevin and straightened his shoulders, breathing through his mouth. He could practically taste death. "We need to move. The guards will block our way out soon." He didn't know how he managed to stay calm when image after image was battling for attention. The boys nodded, looking green and scared.
They searched five houses, only being terrified once in the third one. The guards had been right outside lifting up bodies onto carts. There was going to be a mass grave somewhere Jim thought. Maybe Kodos had planned this all along. Maybe this was his end game. The fifth house they almost started fighting. Though they found some clothes, not much else was coming up. Ru wanted to head back, Micheal stated the obvious, they wouldn't live much longer without food or water. Jim had sat down heavily onto the floor. Frowning he shifted his weight. Interrupting them, he called, "Hey, check this out." Jim turned and lifted up the shifting tiles. He grinned.
When they approached the camp it was to see a dirty Sam greet them looking grim. He had a cut on his head. Jim's heart leapt in worry. Sam spoke slowly almost reluctantly, "There's nothing, it's all black and silver. It was worse that Kodos had us believing, it's all gone."
Going into the caves, Jim set down his bag and Micheal set down his. It was only when Tevik and Sam shared a look that Jim saw the expressions everyone had. They were missing Maya. Ru noticed too. "Where's Maya?" No one said anything and Jim could see the panic setting in. Jim put a hand on Ru's shoulder just as Ru spoke again, the words lined with panic, "Where's my girlfriend?" Jim sharply said, "Explain." The harsh tone made everyone flinch, the kids all had their heads bowed. Little Ashley was crying silently.
Tevik spoke, it was the first time in years he heard true emotion in the Vulcan's voice. "We were trapped along the Western fields, I heard the guards before they approached and we ran. There, there was no cover for us to hide. Maya was caught by a phaser." Rachel stepped forward then, she was noticeably trembling and her voice shook as she spoke, "Ru...Ru she saved my life. The reason why she got hit was because she tripped on a rock. You know how she's-she was-the best runner of our class." Rachel didn't continue, only looked down and Jim followed her gaze and sighed. Ru gasped, following Jim's eyes. Maya had been wearing a t-shirt and cotton shorts to bed. But she had put on her favourite pair of runners. Jim knew that because when she beat him on their race a month ago, she playfully told him it was because of them. Her mom had gotten them to her last Vindi, the month that allowed ships to dock. And Maya had given Rachel one of them. They had been even then, Rachel wearing one shoe and Maya the other.
Jim felt his heart squeeze painfully, tears prickled at his eyes and image after image flowed through him. The phaser fire, the bodies of all those people, purple, bloody and foul. He could see Sivath his favourite teacher telling them they weren't worthy of living. He saw the man he killed last night, the wedding ring on his finger. He felt a hundred years old, empty and scared. All those images now melted with Frank, Frank who he hadn't thought about in months. But he could feel those hands on him now, the deep voice telling him he was No One. He could feel the breath on his neck.
Jim's whole body was going to shatter, he was going to break apart and never be able to put himself back together. Right before he thought it would happen he heard Kevin cough. Jim's eyes snapped open, he hadn't realized he closed them, his body was trembling. Kevin coughed again and Jim gave himself four seconds to compose himself and said clearly, "We found some things in town. Here."
Rachel really started sobbing when he gave her, her own pair of sneakers. Ru sunk down against the back wall, not able to hold himself up. The kids took their clothes and shoes quietly. Tyler thanked him, his nose beet red. Then he gave them all canisters of water, which everyone took greedily. At the bottom of the bag, Jim without any joy to it, gave everyone a energy bar. He had enough food to last them all maybe a week, two if they were careful. Most of it was energy bars, these were medical, meant for dire times when you need a pack full of vitamins. Exactly what they needed.
Jim walked out into the opening of the caves. Their venture into the town had taken most of the day and the sun was now starting to set. Clouds were coming in, it would rain soon, Jim could feel it on the air. He needed to make sure no one else died. Instead of sleeping, he took watch, making sure they weren't found during the night.
The days were long, hard and agonizing. A month later, they hadn't eaten in days. Kevin was having another attack, this was more dangerous than ever. Everyone was thinner than he thought possible. Even Tevik was sleeping more, his own body not being able to handle the strain.
Jim explored the surrounding hills, keeping away guards and people alike. Over the past week he had fought five people, all of whom were worse off then his group. He hadn't killed anyone else, but he did knock a man out and leave him on the hill. He wasn't sure the man had enough energy to move after that, so he might have died of dehydration. Jim tried not to think about it. Panic was now forefront on everyone. When he tried to go near the town, he could hear screams and yesterday he had witnessed himself the mass graves that Kodos had ordered, bodies were piling up now, even more than on the day of the massacre.
The colony hadn't been the largest but it was almost twenty years old. It had a stable population of over fifty thousand. The majority had been in the town. But the fields had several houses as well, almost village like. This wasn't a small colony when Jim stumbled across dead and rotting bodies every day. The stench of death was in everything, the air, the land, Jim's clothes and hair. He didn't think it would ever truly wash out of him. As it was, it hadn't rained in five days, so while they had enough water caught from it, they hadn't been able to bathe since then. And really, showering with nothing but rain didn't really make you feel clean. Jim was filthy and his skin itched. He was sun-burnt on his face, arms and neck, his clothes torn and muddy form his fights. His hands were raw and scabbed form those fights and from digging in the black dirt for nonexistent roots. He found himself grateful for the fact that the rest of the small planet was too mountainous, wild, and full of native animals to settle properly in other regions. They would have been littered with bodies as well.
Jim found himself jumping at the slightest movements, his hand squeezing the knife periodically. He had now refused to give it up, not feeling like he could defend them all without it. His mistrust had escalated to the point were he had fought off young kids, not allowing them to join their small group. He hadn't told anyone about it and he still felt guilty. But it was driving him mad seeing the kids slowly lose weight, their energy leaving them, their eyes hollow. He wasn't going to suffer watching more of them deteriorate.
His fury was mounting too, every time he woke up from the nightmares of his memory, only to face it again had him enraged. He felt like jamming the knife into the nearest person, or his eyes if it would make him stop seeing this. His hand shaking, Jim took a slow drink of his water, feeling it enter his empty stomach. His body wanted to throw it up but he clench his jaw and took deep breathes until it faded. Jim jumped when he heard gravel crunch behind him. He snapped his body up, knife at the ready, his water bottle falling to the ground.
Tevik raised a brow and held up his hands. It took a moment for Jim to recognize him from the vision of an enemy his mind produced; slowly, he put the knife back into his waistband. "Perhaps, it would be best if you slept, Jim. I can watch over our camp until morning." Jim shook his head not wanting to have nightmares the moment he shut his eyes. "I've got it Tev." Tevik stood beside him and Jim was shocked at much skinnier he was. Tevik had always been lean, but never skinny, Jim could see his bones of his shoulders. His face was taunt against his cheeks, his ears looking ridiculously big on his head. The traditional bowl cut was no more, Tevik's hair had grown out, it was messy and dirty. He didn't want to know what he looked like he if a Vulcan was losing that much weight eating less than them, if Tevik looked unkept, he must look deplorable.
As if his body was following his thoughts, he got dizzy and he crouched. Standing up straight now took a certain energy that Jim hardly ever possessed. Rachel and Ru, who hadn't gotten over Maya's death, ate the least out of all of them and they looked skeletal now. Jenna was doing only slightly better, Mitchel and Micheal both looked gangly, if Jim hadn't known it was them, he wouldn't have noticed them from their faces. Their eyes were sunken and hollow; bones were too sharp on bodies meant to be broad.
The kids were barely hanging on. Tyler was quiet, he stopped crying long ago, he always cuddled into Jenna. Ashley, Jim always itched at the thought of her, he wanted to brush out her red hair so badly. All of them had knots in their greasy hair, but her's were the worst. He had to cut it to her shoulders the other day, it was her first haircut, since her mom had wanted it to grow out. She cried as the waist long locks fell to the ground. He felt for them the most, their parents shot and killed in front of them, they didn't know how to process it, none of them did. He didn't know how to help either. It made him angrier.
Sam. Sam was bad off. He had always been what Jim knew to be... the good one. Seeing this, it wasn't making him angry like Jim. Sam didn't want to put a knife in anyone's gut and watch the blood pour out. Sam was agonized in a way that not even Jim could reach him. It was Jim, after all, who was now the official leader. He didn't know how exactly it happened. They listened to him because he pushed everything down. He was doing a good job at it too. He made them go for searches daily, even had Ashley and Tyler go with Jenna who was the designated caregiver to them and Kevin.
His voice was always calm, always harsh, snapping them from their own haunted images. Sam, Jim noted, leaned on Tevik and him. Sam needed instruction, needed someone to care for him, needed Jim to tell him what to do next. That made Jim furious for a reason he couldn't comprehend. Maybe Kodos had been right about them, his mother too and even Frank in a way. Jim was and had always been someone who did not lean on anyone. Jim, who hadn't spoken to his mother in almost two years besides, 'hi' and 'I need to get to class now'. He was strong and harsh and furious and now extremely desperate.
Terror was becoming a familiar emotion. He had only to walk outside, the heat making the people die of thirst if not prepared, rotting those that did perish within a day or two if not burnt of buried. Most now weren't, burning was so much easier and reserved needed energy. The darkness outside was only broken by a crescent moon. No lights shone in the city at all.
Jim, starring at Tevik, knew there was only one thing to be done now. He left Tevik at the entrance where the Vulcan would keep look out. He eyed the sleeping kids, Kevin wasn't breathing right. He really noticed the kid, took his time eyeing him up and down. Jim tried not to look at him too long in the daytime, it always made him panic.
Kevin was the skinniest of all of them. He didn't even look human now, bones poked out everywhere, his skin looked grey, his breath was full of rattling, an infection had set in, not letting up. He wasn't going to get better. That knowledge had him convinced, glancing at the others, a plan started to form, jolting his hazy mind into something clear and sharp. Sam, he knew, was too weak, Jenna was needed to keep Kevin calm. Rachel was too loud, but Micheal and Mitch. They were like him. Especially, Mitch. He could see the change come over them in their eyes, just like him. He nudged them awake and they both bolted up, like him as well, ready for fight.
Micheal frowned at seeing him but Mitch's first words were alert and quiet, "What's the plan?"
It wasn't until they made it pass five guards that Jim stopped them. He could hear shouts and a fight going on. It was a woman's scream that had Ru wanting to run towards it. Jim only barely stopped him. When they all looked around a familiar corner, it was to see the city square, dark and ominous. No bodies littered the place now. But dried blood and fluids painted the stone in black. Five guards were standing around old Paddy's trinket cart. He remembered the friendly man with a white moustache, Patrick had patched up his school uniform a couple times, telling him old, funny stories from his life. He had seen his disfigured body being thrown on top on others in a ditch two days ago, Professor Jensen beside him.
Now his cart was sideways and broken, the guards were fighting not with the girl, but each other. He only caught a few words but it made him even sicker than usual. They broke off slightly and he saw the woman was pinned across the cart. The woman screamed and clawed, guards laughed. Jim moved back not being able to see more, his heart pounding and echoing hands gripping his wrists, his hips. His back seared with the memory of a belt. Micheal, it seemed, couldn't stop watching, his face showing even more traumatizing horror. "They're... they're... we need to help." Both Micheal and Ru moved forward, Ru looked ready to kill them all gladly, but Micheal was still in shock. Jim and Mitchel had to silently fight them to hold them back.
It took Jim leaving after a few minutes of whispered arguing for the others to follow. The screams of the woman lowered to whimpers that was cutting him to the core, and he couldn't take it any longer. The guards didn't stop, only switched and that was when Jim ran. Ru glared at nothing when they all caught up to him, Micheal just looked sick, Mitch and him, they kept their faces as stoic as possible.
It wasn't long before they were caught. The closer they got to Kodos' private estate, where he knew it was packed with people, the more alert and business-like the guards were. It was Mitchel who saved them, right before the guard could reach for his comm, Mitchel aimed and fired their phaser for the first time. It hit dead centre of the man's face. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Jim froze but Mitchel ran right up the unidentifiable man and grabbed his phaser. He tossed it to his brother and said, "Hey, he has a spare. Here." Jim automatically caught it and pushed down his shock, his heart pounding away. He swallowed thickly, wishing he brought his water, and then nodded to everyone. He thought of all the times he told himself, it was going to be alright, if he just pretended. He told himself that, as he wondered how long someone could endure adrenaline rushes before becoming immune to them. He tried to put the phaser on stun and saw there was no option for it. There was only kill. Jim swallowed as they made their way silently through the last of alleyways, stepping around the guard.
Ru was the quietest, so he scouted the front for them. There was no cover now, only the hill, the courtyard where so many of his classmates were murdered. Ru came back, eyes wide. His voice only trembled a bit but otherwise he was calm. This is why he brought him. Ru needed something to focus on other than Maya. "Okay, the guards are all over the place. I saw movement in the windows of the Academy so I think that's were the chosen survivors are all held. That hole is still open, I saw the gap but it's on the opposite side of Kodos' place."
Jim nodded. He had expected this. It wasn't going to be easy. He ordered they split up. Mitchel and Ru would go to the right, behind Kodos' place, there would be guards but hopefully some sort of shelter with the bare trees. Him and Micheal would take the gap, easier to get to but harder going across the lawn. Jim went over for the twentieth time the layout of Kodos' place. The codes he had gotten from watching Sivath and his and Mitchel's own hacking.
"We know, Jim. C'mon. We'll meet you there." Mitch said before stopping himself and turning to hug his brother briefly and tightly. He turned and looked to Jim, seriously he said, "Don't let anything happen to him." "I won't." Jim swore.
They made it up the rocky hill quietly, only falling twice. From the small gap he could see five guards. Micheal counted. They were on a routine watch and turned at intervals. Micheal whispered, "Every forty seven seconds. We'd only have five seconds to pass them. It's not possible." Jim knew that and looked down to his phaser. The man floated in front of him, his eyes panicked, slowly fading from the world. Jim wasn't panicked right now, he had been scared, but a calm had come over him. He didn't think, just reacted.
Lifting the phaser, right on forty seven, he went through the gap and fired three perfect shots. The two guards who stood farther away, shouted as their companions fell to the ground. Jim ran in the opposite direction, hopefully letting Micheal get to the mansion. Hoping that Micheal understood a diversion when he saw one. Micheal didn't, instead, Jim turned as one of the guards shouted again. His body fell to the ground, a knife in the back of his skull. Micheal had stolen it from Jim's waistband. The last guard fired shots and he heard Micheal shout. Jim lifted his own phaser and as they starred at each other, Jim saw the guards eyes widen a fraction.
Jim shot, the guard was Alex Sansmoore. Jim took a deep breath realizing he just killed more people, one of them his friend and science partner. Micheal whimpered and Jim ran to him, his worry cutting through everything else. "Micheal! Micheal, talk to me." Dropping to his knees, he saw Micheal was already sitting up. "Don't talk like I'm dying." Jim let out a hysterical little laugh that had no humour in it. He had to clamp a hand across his mouth to stop it.
Micheal was hit in the leg, nothing too bad but it made him limp and hiss in pain. Jim helped him; first, by ripping part of his shirt, tying it securely, getting a whispered curse from Micheal, and then helping him up. Together they made their way slowly across the lawn. Jim kept glancing around, anyone looking out the windows could see them. Anyone coming up towards the school could see them. He felt fear course through him and made Micheal slightly jog. Jim kept them from falling but it was a close call.
Jim jumped as someone shouted beside them. More guards were here, Jim didn't have time to point his phaser but the guards fell, dead, as Mitchel came in view firing at least seven shots rapidly. Jim and Micheal stood frozen. Mitchel was terrifying to watch and he heard Micheal take in sharp gasp at the merciless expression his brother showed. Mitchel then turned to them and both boys stiffened, only relaxing when Mitchel lowered the phaser and ran to them. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, just a graze. We need to hurry though, anyone can find those men."
Mitchel stepped to the other side of Micheal, arm around his waist, together with Ru bringing up the rear they got to the doors of Kodos' mansion. Jim breathed a sigh of relief; the lobby was empty. He knew the way to Kodos' office but didn't want to go near it, he also knew the kitchen had to be around that area as well. Kodos wouldn't stand for waiting for his dinner. They all looked to him and Jim swallowed, ears straining for any hint of noise. "Okay, we need to stick together now. We'll search the ground floor. Ru, take my phaser and lead, we'll go left."
They searched quietly and quickly, all of them flinching under their own footsteps. Jim had to tell Micheal to breathe quieter twice, though it was clear the other boy was in pain. It was their eleventh room that they found the kitchen and all boys froze. Jim hadn't seen this much food in a very long time. It had to have been at least a year, it shocked all them. Bread was on the counter, along with dried pasta in canisters. Tarsus fruit, the red pomleen, the green fredlic were combined with apples and oranges in a basket. Sweet and juicy and Jim knew if he took one bite it was explode his taste buds. Before he could stop them, they all launched towards it. It was only a second later that he followed not being able to stop himself.
They gorged on bread, cheese, fruit. Jim was only able to stop when he noticed how bad his stomach wanted to throw up what he just ate. Then he noticed how loud they were being. "Guys. Guys! Shut up!" The harshness in his voice made them all turn to him. Ru had a mouthful of an apple, Micheal and Mitch were savagely ripping apart a small portion of cooked meat they had found in the stocked fridge. "We need to get bags. Gather everything up. The others need as much as we can carry, we won't be able to come back."
It took them less than three minutes, Micheal with renewed energy was completely indifferent to his leg, though he left a blood trail that made Jim wince. They had a bag each full of more food that they had dared hope for, this would keep everyone alive for at least another month. Jim, himself, carried a bag of everything dried; meat, fish, fruit, even three canisters of nuts. Jim only stopped them to use actual running water to clean Micheal's leg, then he dunked his head under the tap. The others followed him, they had to rush Ru who looked like he wanted to wash his hair fully, Jim threw him a kitchen towel to dry off and nodded to Mitchel who stood at the door, signalling it was time to leave.
It was only when they were halfway down the hall, looking into the rooms on either side vigilantly, that Jim noticed something mounted on the wall. "Hey, in here," he whispered. Mitchel impatient and fearful of being caught tried to stop him. "Jim, we don't have time. We need to leave now." Jim ignored him and went into one of the deserted offices. On the wall was a mounted med kit. With raw fingers he pried off it's mount and opened it, gasping in awe. Bandages, hypos, wipes, and more it made him want to tear up. This would save Kevin's life and Jim glanced beside him to Micheal. He knew his leg was worse off than they were pretending. They had all grown a tolerance to pain in the past couple of weeks.
Without any warning, he picked up a hypo and stabbed Micheal in the leg. "Fuck! What was that for?" Jim shrugged and looked at the colour on the stripe of the hypo. "It looks like pain, infections and some kind of anti-biotic. Hopefully, you're not allergic to it." Rubbing his dirty pants where Jim injected him, Micheal glared at him but slowly his face softened into a kind of wonder. "Oh, wow, that shit really works." Jim smiled and then glanced at the labels of the hypos. He sighed, he was allergic to all of them. That meant Kevin would have an intolerance to them too. There was no wonder and happiness when he stuffed it in his bag. At least the others would benefit from it. All of them had some kind of cut, sprain or burn.
They made it all the way to the entrance. They were free but Jim found he couldn't go forward. Ru frowned at him, rushing him. "C'mon. We need to run." Jim stepped toward him and said, "Here. Take this." Quickly, before he could stop himself Jim gave Ru his bag. Ru's eyes, a nice caramel brown, showed his shock and worry. "Jim, what the hell? We need to go."
Jim looked at his friends. His best friends. All of them as skinny as him, as filthy, as hopeless. They were all so scared, Jim's hands trembled with it. At any moment, they could be captured, killed. It was real and possible and terrifying. But these guys had all fought beside him, against people who either had attacked them or who wanted food. These guys came here, to the worst of places, beside him, willing to die to help each other. He felt so much love for them in that moment he thought it might overwhelm him. And he knew, when this food ran out, there would be no help, no second chances to run back here. They would be alone and dying.
"I need to send a signal to Star Fleet. The only place to do it is from Kodos' office."
