Now its begins to get interesting...

Chp.7 Overloaded Senses

Audrey, McCoy and Spock found themselves in the middle of the Cardissian ship's sickbay, surrounded by nothing. It was eerily quiet, hearing her breath filtered in the suit, the others in her ear. There were definitely people on this ship, their essences dimmed but still alive. Audrey, however, couldn't place her finger on the strange emotions coming from around her.

"It's good to know I got here in one piece, with this thing on," McCoy grumbled, his tri corder whirling in the air. She rolled her eyes, her own tri corder set to different setting than the other two. The petite Commander had a gut instinct on what virus had been released.

"Doctor, I cannot comprehend why you must insist on degrading the transporter…" Spock replied, making Audrey shake her head, catching the slight amusement off the Vulcan.

"How about you two stop your bickering and we actually get to those dead bodies?" She mumbled into her headset, as the two men quieted. "Dr. McCoy, where does your tri corder place some of the life forms?"

McCoy looked at Spock, who raised an eyebrow in return. "Do either one of you have any idea where to start looking for the Cardissians?"

The two remained silent. "Fine, McCoy you start in here and work your way up to the upper deck. Spock you start in the engineering sections, and I'll take the quarters and bridge."

"We're splitting up?" The CMO sputtered.

"If we split up, the faster we get this done and get back on the Enterprise." Without any retort, McCoy nodded and Audrey turned to find her way up the bridge. What she needed to do is find the nearest computer terminal and learn the layout of the ship.

"What are you sensing Commander?" Spock asked, causing her to jump. "I apologize, I did not intend to frighten you."

Audrey blew out the breath she was holding and waved her hand. "It's ok, Spock. I just feel something strange."

Spock cocked his head slightly, his breath fogging up the transparent plate. "Then I should accompany you on the journey to the bridge. My sensors show no life forms in the engineering or any such sections. These life forms do appear dead."

Audrey groaned inwardly, knowing full well Jim had told Spock to watch over her. "Maybe having you watch my back will help in the long run."

"I happen to agree, Commander," McCoy sounded from the doorway. "You seem to attract trouble like honey attracts bees."

"I'm not helpless and both of you know that," Audrey angrily said into their mikes, causing McCoy to flinch. "What we need to do is take samples and figure out where this ship came from."

"That is best accomplished by us not going in different directions," Spock replied calmly, getting a glare in return.

"Fine. The security camera I hacked was focused on Deck 18, two decks below us. Who knows what lies above or below that," the red head commented, stalking toward the turbolifts.

"Commander?" The question intoned in Spock's question makes her turn around. "The lifts are inoperable. The ladder to the lower deck is 4.5 degrees north of our current position."

It was no wonder why the doctor and Spock got into logical arguments, the Vulcan could be downright irritating. "Right," she muttered, following the two men in the direction Spock had pointed out before.

Distracted by her irritation she almost didn't feel the cannibalistic rage directed at her back, and if it weren't for Spock's acute hearing, she would be breathing in the virus at this very second. For the second time in the past week, she owed her life to the Vulcan.

Ducking out of the way, Audrey rolled onto her side to see Spock disarm the Cardissian, whose eyes were raging with hunger and animalistic tendencies. She watched as Spock nerve pinched the poor soul and let him collapse beside her.

She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when Spock held out a gloved hand to help her up. "I thank thee," Audrey whispered, seeing McCoy lean over the bulkhead and stare curiously of them. Realizing what had just occurred, he rushed over, his tri corder going over her form for the millionth time in a week.

"Run your thing over that being, Doctor," Audrey snapped, searching wildly for hers. Her own tri corder had slid in the opposite direction of they were going, and Audrey felt that rage again. "Uh, gentlemen, we have company again!"

Both helmet swiveled toward hers, both set of eyes noticing the few crew members left, growling in their direction. Yes, this was definitely her mother's virus; the cannibalistic rage was just one of the symptoms of it. This was only the second stage and it scared her to the core.

"Guys we need to move now," she whispered, moving as much as she could against the bulkhead. "We cannot stop them until they reach the third stage."

"Third stage?" McCoy exclaimed softly.

"Don't ask, just move," she barked, pushing him around the corner, ladder in view. "Spock, what kind of reading do you have?"

"Multiple life forms below and above us. Some of their presences are dimming, as you might say." Spock replied, when Audrey sensed more rage, that same emotion threatening to overtake her senses.

She hadn't healed completely yet, nor had the mediation needed to take on such emotions. Her mother was insane to come up with this crap, why did she think that taking the fight out of people could help anyone?

Her vision started blurring, her head pounding as the rage grew closer and closer then…

"McCoy to Enterprise, I need an emergency beam out now!" McCoy shouted into his communicator, his arm holding Audrey up while Spock looked at the Cardissians warily.

"No, I can do this. I can block them out," Audrey said, trying to center herself, only to fail. "We have to finish this mission. We can't let any more people die."

"Then I will endeavor to do so, Commander," Spock replied, taking his phaser and stunning those running toward them. "I will ascertain what is causing this."

Audrey opened her eyes long enough to look directly at Spock, her thoughts transferring to his as his floated in her mind. "You believe you can outrun these infected survivors?" she asked, taking out the closest Cardissian to them.

"I have more strength and speed than you do, Commander. I can reach the bodies we need for the samples you require."

"Are you out of your Vulcan mind, Spock?" McCoy shouted beside her. "You're outnumbered five to one!"

"Yet I can outmaneuver them Doctor. They are reaching their death and only want to die honorably." Spock replied, flanking the two.

"You call this death honorable?" Audrey reached out to McCoy, patting him on his chest.

"In more ways than one," she said, closing her eyes as dizziness swept over her. "Pearce to transporter room?"

"Go fo' transporter room," A familiar Scottish voice replied.

"Scotty, I need to lock onto Spock's signal once we are aboard the Enterprise. If any anomalies occur you are to beam him out immediately do you understand?"

"Aye ma'am, are you ready for a beam out?" Scotty acknowledged, making Audrey lay her eyes on Spock.

"You get to those decks where there are no life signs, you hear? Any sign of something off you request that beam out okay?" Audrey said, tightening her grip on McCoy. "I don't need the first officer of Starfleet's flagship playing hero on my conscience."

"I understand, Commander. There would be no logic in getting myself killed if I cannot give you the samples we came for." Audrey laughed, causing Spock to raise an eyebrow.

"I always knew Vulcans had a dry sense of humor," she said, breathing hard when emotions again got the best of her. "Enterprise, two to beam out."

"Aye Commander. Transport in three, two, one…" The familiar sounds of the transporter beam whirring around her helped soothe her aching head and soon she saw the inside of the decontamination chamber.

The red head still felt the aftereffects of telepathic overload she just experienced, wavering a bit on her feet just as she heard the doctor yelling instructions at the nurse who had taken care of her before.

She heard the whirring of the decompressing air in the chamber, when her vision started blurring again.

"Doctor…" she slurred, when she noticed the doors opened and Nurse Chapel rushed in holding a hypospray.

The last thing she remembered before blacking out was McCoy taking off her helmet and pushing that hypospray into her neck and then everything turned black.

~~~~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~~~~

Jim remained on the edge of the seat from the moment his three officers and friends departed from the bridge. His blue eyes, at that very moment, were locked on the view screen in front of him watching as Audrey, Bones and Spock beamed aboard the ghost ship.

Sometimes in the back of his wayward mind, he had always thought he would be the one participating in these insane plans. This time however, those three were the ones fit to do so.

He couldn't help but think that he had some kind of influence over his first officer and the woman accompanying them seemed to think so too.

"Lieutenant Uhura, activate audio now." Kirk said, handing gripping the chair.

"Aye, Captain," she replied, three familiar voices filtering into the bridge, two of them bickering.

"Some things never change, no matter what the environment," the captain muttered to himself when he remembered something. "Bridge to Scotty."

"Scotty 'ere, sir. What can I help you with?" the Scottish man answered.

"Do you have a lock on all three of them in case they need an emergency beam out?"

"Do you doubt my abilities, Captain? Of course I do, always have to be prepared down here!" Jim laughed, shaking his head. Only Scotty could get away with chastising him.

"I had to check, Scotty. Bridge out."

"Captain, I have detecting more lifeforms heading toward the Doctor and Commanders," Lieutenant Darius said from Spock's console. "Their readings are fluctuating, between strong and weak!"

"Damn!" Jim muttered, turning his chair to the science station. "What do you suspect is causing those fluctuations, Lieutenant?"

"It's difficult to say without proper readings, sir. My assumption is that the virus has different stages."

"Keep an eye on those readings, and let me know if anything changes."

"Aye Captain," Darius replied, Jim turning around to face the viewscreen , only to see Cardissians approach the position of his officers. Noticing that their backs were turned to the raging beings, Jim started fidgeting, muttering under his breath.

Uhura tried to keep the squawk of surprise from him when they saw Spock disarm the first Cardissian attack Audrey, who had seemed distracted, which was unlike her.

"Captain, three more Cardissians are approaching the Commander's positions, and their readings just got stronger!"

"Understood. Bridge to Scotty, be prepared for a possible emergency beam out," Jim countered calmly, even though his heart was beating faster than it normally would.

"Aye sir. Transporter is ready," Scotty replied, only to be interrupted by Audrey's voice from the other ship.

"Run your thing over that being, Doctor," Audrey snapped, the bridge suddenly abuzz with activity, analyzing the readings that were coming in. "Uh, gentlemen, we have company again!"

"Uhura, can you hear anything from that ship? Were there any transmissions relayed before it was infected?" Kirk asked, eyes searching the video for any clue of what was going on.

"Negative, Captain," she replied, her voice tight with concern. "No transmissions at all."

"Well that's weird," he said to himself when Friedman interrupted him.

"Captain, I just got the Cardissians' last known coordinates!" he yelled over the commotion around him. "They came from inside Klingon space!"

Jim waved his hands in the air with frustration. "Of course! If you wanted to hide a world renowned geneticist you would do so in Klingon space because you know we can't get you there!" he said angrily when Bone's voice sounded over his.

"McCoy to Enterprise, I need an emergency beam out now!" Jim stared at the screen, noticing Audrey drooped over McCoy's shoulder, Spock stunning the raging Cardissians charging them. Something was definitely wrong when he heard Audrey reply she could block them out.

What exactly was she feeling that made McCoy want to beam out before they even got the samples?

"We have to finish this mission. We can't let any more people die," Audrey said, words starting to slur. It took one tough Starfleet Officer to say such words, and his admiration for the Commander increased tenfold.

Then Uhura gasped audibly and Kirk turned around to see her beautiful face ashen. "What happened, Lieutenant?"

"He closed himself off, Captain," she replied an edge to her voice. "This only means he's going to do something only you would."

Jim stood stumped for a moment, wondering how Spock could handle the raging humanoids on that ship when he heard McCoy exclaim that Spock was out of his Vulcan mind.

"Yet I can outmaneuver them Doctor. They are reaching their death and only want to die honorably." He heard Spock say making the Captain shake his head. Spock really was out of his Vulcan mind thinking he could take on a ship full of raging Cardissian warriors. They were deadly without the virus as it was.

"Jim, I blame you solely for this," Nyota said, her eyes trained on the three officers running.

"Not my fault he wants to play hero. He knows what he has to do and he will come back, just for you." Jim answered back, hearing Audrey ask for an emergency beam out. He had the utmost faith in his Number One, when Scotty replied he was ready.

"You get to those decks where there are no life signs you hear? Any sign of something off you request that beam out ok? I don't need the first officer of Starfleet's flagship playing hero on my conscience." Commander Pearce said, her voice sounding throughout the bridge quieting it.

"I understand, Commander. There would be no logic in getting myself killed if I cannot give you the samples we came for." Spock's replied monotone causing Audrey to laugh, even if it was hoarse. Jim, in his time working with Spock, knew that the man had a very dry sense of humor, even others didn't understand it.

"I always knew Vulcans had a dry sense of humor." The voice replied, breathing hard. "Enterprise, two to beam out."

Jim didn't realize he was holding his breath until Scotty had announced that Bones and Audrey had made it back safely into the decontamination chamber. He thanked Scotty and settled back in to make sure Spock got back safely too.

~~~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~~

It had been fifteen minutes since Bones and Audrey returned safely and Spock was on the run from cannibalistic Cardissians – which was how the wonderful doctor described them. He had Ensign Friedman follow the feed on the ship so they could keep track of where Spock was when Jim finally had it.

"Lieutenant Uhura, please hail Commander Spock and open a channel so we can converse with him," Jim said through gritted teeth. Without back up his first officer was outnumbered, even though as the minutes wore on more Cardissians died.

No what bothered him was the prolonged exposure Spock was having to the environment, even in a hazmat suit.

He was ready to suit up himself when Spock answered him back. "It is illogical to come after me, Captain, when I have obtained the samples needed and am ready to be beamed back to the Enterprise."

Spock was too good at reading him, even on opposing ships. "Acknowledged Commander. Scotty, beam Spock out of there pronto."

"Aye, Captain, ready to transport in three two one…" Scotty said, when Jim closed off the connection and nodded to Uhura. "Lieutenant, you're with me. Sulu, you have the conn."

"Aye Captain," his pilot replied, when Nyota and he entered the turbolift. Nyota stood against the wall, arms crossed, and her eyes angry.

"Has he reestablished the bond yet?" he asked, the lift doors opening to the deck sick bay was on.

"No, and he knows me too well to attempt to do so at this time," she replied, walking in step with him.

"Smart man," Jim muttered, entering the organized chaos that was Bone's sick bay. His eyes landed on the small form on a biobed, Bones hovering over it analyzing the readings.

"Spock is finishing in the decontamination chamber if you wish to speak with him," the CMO said, without turning around. Nyota nodded and walked toward the doors that would lead to Spock.

"What happened, Bones?" Jim asked, stepping closer to Audrey whose eyes were closed.

"Overload of strong emotions. Being around those kinds of emotions for her were overwhelming."

Jim fought the urge to brush his hand across her forehead and instead turned to Bones. "She can get overwhelmed by emotions?" he asked, his best friend sighing.

"When empaths and telepaths haven't mediated or centered themselves, some of the strong emotions people can emanate can overload their senses," Jim nodded encouraging Bones to continue. "Since the Commander here hadn't been around many humans or humanoids for a while, she was susceptible to the overload. She couldn't block out the rage and thus blackouts occur. I was lucky enough not to be affected by it, probably because the hobgoblin helped out."

"You deduction is correct Doctor," Spock sounded behind them, a much calmer Nyota beside him. "When her thoughts entered mine, I knew she had lost control. Taking control was the only logical position I had."

Bones was shaking his head, but held back a grin. "I take it you got the samples we needed, Spock?"

A groan interrupted what was to be another round of bickering, all four of them training their eyes on the now groggy Commander. "Do all of you have to stand there staring at me?" she said, her arm slinging over her eyes.

"Lights ten percents," Bones commanded.

"I take it Spock returned?" Audrey asked.

"I have just returned, Commander, and as I said before, I have accomplished the mission with positive results."

"So in human talk, you have the samples and are itching to take them to the science lab to analyze them?" Audrey teased, getting two raised eyebrows in return.

"I will continue to endeavor to discover what caused that rage, Commander," Spock replied.

"Then on you go, Commander, you are our only shot at figuring this out at this moment since I will probably be confined here for at least four hours."

Spock looked at Jim, who just nodded his dismissal. The Vulcan turned and exited the room, obviously on a mission that would take most of his concentration. Jim turned back to the groaning Audrey as Bones pressed another hypospray to her neck.

"That was to help with the inevitable migraine with an emotional overload."

"Thanks, Doctor, you've done your research," Audrey replied, sighing in relief. He could tell she was slipping back into a deep sleep, so he had to ask his question before she did.

"Commander, I need to know what we should do with the Cardissian ships," he asked causing the arm to lower and brown eyes to meet his.

She sighed heavily, eyes blinking away the pain. "What we need to do is blow those ships up."

"What? You can't be serious, those are actual beings on that ship!" Nyota exclaimed, making Audrey glance sharply at her.

"What you do not know, Lieutenant, is that those beings are dead, or will be dead within the next hour. Tearing them to pieces would be merciful compared to what they are going through right now." The hard edge to her tone almost caused Jim to take a step back.

He may disagree with senseless murder, but the Commander was correct. The latest reading showed only five life forms still breathing and their readings were diminishing every minute. Before Nyota could respond, Bones stepped in.

"You also have to realize that if we don't, we risk exposing not only us, but the rest of the system to that virus," the glare in Bone's eyes evident when Nyota nodded. "I understand why you reacted like that, I did too until I saw it first-hand."

"Lieutenant Uhura?" Jim asked formally, watching the different expressions wash over her face until it settled on neutral.

"I am going back to the bridge, Captain, and will alert the base about our course of action," she said, turning as Spock did.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, I will be up shortly." Uhura nodded walking out the doors. "Commander, are you certain this is the only option we have?"

"I am certain. We have to be sure this virus cannot spread and destroying it with heat and exposing it to the vacuum of space may be the only way to kill it."

"May?"

She sighed, eyes drooping in exhaustion. "I cannot know for sure until I see the results, but if I am correct space will stop it from spreading. The Klingons cannot chance having it spread into their territory."

"Then we will do what we discussed as soon as I return to the bridge." Audrey nodded, head lolling to the side.

"Good. When I awake later, can you debrief me on how that goes over with Pike?" she said softly, eyes closing.

Jim leaned in closer and patted her arm. "You know I will do so. Now rest."

Her eyes closed fully, her vital signs stabilizing as she did so. "You know, you have to resist her until this is all over, Jim," Bone said, pulling up two chairs. Jim looked at them warily, not knowing if he should stay a few more minutes. "Just sit Jim and listen to what I have to say."

He glared at his best friend, then turned his eyes to the slumbering red head that his thoughts centered around. "What are you going to lecture me on this time, Bones?"

Bones didn't hesitate. "I know she's special, Jim and I know you're attracted to her." Jim's head shot up. "Hear me out, as of right now there is a threat out there that could potentially emotionally compromise you and the Admiralty is looking for any reason for you to mess up."

Jim sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew his friend was right and Bones was talking to him as a friend to a friend, not as a CMO to his Captain. "Go on, Bones, you know I welcome your honesty."

"You cannot let this compromise you more. She has as much as stake as you do, and she is an empath to boot."

Now Bones was talking as his CMO and it was turning to a conversation Spock was probably going to have with him later. The doctor continued on. "You can listen to her, and follow her all you want but you and you are alone are captain of this ship. You need to remember that."

Jim met the hazel eyes of his best friend. "Is that all?"

"One more thing: don't get hurt." With that Bones stood up and went to his office, leaving Jim alone with his thoughts, which right now were more than he could possibly handle.