A/N: Hi, everyone! Welcome to Chapter 10 of Elaria. :D
Thanks as always to everyone who reviewed: WarriorDragonElf54, steelegirl19, Diversdown, exaigon, and Nakia-Park23, as well as everyone who has favorited or added the story to their alerts. :D

Anyhow, enjoy the chapter, though bear in mind it's more of a set-up chapter for the much longer Chapter 11. XD Also, Jaylira comes across as, well, a bit of a bitch in this chapter, but I promise you, she's going to become increasingly more likeable as the story moves along.

Oh, and please review when you're done reading! The feedback makes me happy. :D

Chapter 10

"This is most unwise," was the first thing Spock said when Jaylira told them of her decision to take a tour of the space station.
"I agree," Kirk said, looking at the blonde as if she'd lost her mind. "You have an assassin after you. The last thing you should be doing is waltzing through crowds."
But the celebrity refused to give in. "I have a reputation to uphold. Word will get out that I'm onboard the Enterprise, and what will people think if I don't make an appearance?"

Elaria rolled her eyes. Reputations, appearances…that was Vartik's brainwashing at work. All the man had ever seemed to care about was his standing in others' eyes; it was an attitude Jaylira had absorbed eagerly, like a dry sponge soaking up moisture.

She noticed Khan looking at her and very deliberately stuck her tongue out at him. He gave a low chuckle at the childish gesture before returning his attention to the escalating argument between Kirk and Jaylira.

"You can't keep me prisoner here!" her sister shrieked, face red with anger.
"You're in protective custody," Kirk insisted. "And you're safest here onboard the Enterprise."
But Jaylira shook her head, refusing to listen to reason. "I'm going!" she shouted. "And if you try and stop me, I'll tell my father; he'll make sure you're all court-marshalled when you get back to Earth!"

Kirk exchanged a worried look with Spock, and Elaria decided it was time for her to intervene; her sister's entitled attitude was getting out of control. "relax," she told the Starfleet officers. "Vartik may be on good terms with Starfleet Command, but even he doesn't have that much pull."
Jaylira glared at her. "Stay out of this, you freak."

Elaria put her hands on her hips. "Why should I? Your decision to go on the station impacts all of us. Who do you think gets the short end of the stick if you get your stupid ass critically shot? Me, that's who." There was no point avoiding that fact; even if JayJay thought she was just a clone, it would still be her who would be sacrificed it Jaylira got hurt.

Her sister just made a face. "That's was you're for, remember? Besides, I don't plan on getting shot."
"Few people plan it," Elaria said agreeably, " and yet it still happens."
Jaylira flushed and stepped forward, raising her hand as if she planned to strike Elaria.
But Elaria narrowed her eyes at her twin. "Don't," she said, putting into her tone a warning of how dangerously foolish such an action would be.

Jaylira seemed to get the message; she froze mid-step, her face blanching white. She swallowed once, then turned back to Kirk. "I am going down to the station."
Elaria repressed the urge to sigh. They were right back where they'd started. "For the love of…" She shook her head. "Just let her go. We'll just protect her the best we can."

Jaylira cast her a disbelieving look. "You, protect me?"
"I want you alive and well, JayJay. If you're in good condition, I get to stay alive."
Jaylira gave a derisive snort. "You didn't seem to care much about live when you tried killing yourself all those times. Why bother caring now?"

Dead silence. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but refused to acknowledge their stares. "My change in values is not the issue here, princess." She turned to Kirk. "Captain?"
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. You, Khan, and two security officers. Stay with her at all times."

Khan wasn't sure what to think. Elaria seemed like such a vivacious woman...and yet she'd tried to kill herself? It made no sense. He wondered if she'd explain if he asked her. There was no denying the strange connection between them...but was that bond enough for Elaria to bare her soul to him? He wasn't sure.

And why was he thinking such useless thoughts anyway? He shook his head. The more he learned about Elaria the more he was drawn to her...but at the same time it distracted him from his original reason for agreeing to assist Kirk: help his fellow Augments.

He felt a sharp stab of guilt; he should be devoting every iota of his energy to helping his people, yet so far he'd done very little on this mission. The only thing he'd really done had been to carry Elaria into the infirmary. The rest of the time he'd just been arguing over various courses of action with Kirk, or helping to identify Solomon's tampering.

He resolved to remain focused for the remainder of the mission, to think of nothing but the task at hand.
Yet even so...he couldn't get her out of his head. Her feline eyes, and silky dark hair...and the feel of her lips when he'd kissed her...

Angry at himself (why couldn't he get her out of his thoughts? And why had he even kissed her in the first place?), he slammed his fist into the wall. The metal dented under the force of the impact, but the faint tingle of pain cleared his head.

And then his communicator beeped, summoning him down to the shuttle bay for departure, sparing him from further time for introspection.

A/N: Thus ends Chapter 10. I know it's short, but like I said before, it's more of a breather/filler chapter, to set up our adventure on the space station, which is going to be the longest chapter so far. :D So, be looking forward to that. I should have it posted in a week or two, depending on how busy my life gets.

Also, and then is one of my tangents, who here likes/has seen the show Merlin? Just curious. :)