Chapter 11
"How is the damsel in distress?" Admiral Pike asked, his large image projected against the starry backdrop of the Bridge.
Everybody fell silent. They all knew that Kirk was more distressed than usual over the sleeping hostage they'd rescued.
Kirk's usual smile he held for Pike slipped, but he nodded, shuffled his step slightly and spoke.
"She is still asleep, but McCoy assures she is in good health."
"Well this is were the bad news comes in. I have looked to the other ships, and there is no logical plan to have a ship to bring her home. And to hire a commercial ship is too much that Starfleet can give up for a single hostage."
"Sir, I'm not sure I follow..."
"You will need to keep her on ship until a right opportunity comes along for her to come home. If she wants to herself, she can pay for a commercial ship, though none that I know of from Home come out as far as you are located."
"Will she need to assume a position? Will she be hired?"
"That's all hazy, and only a few other officials know of the situation. She can help as needed, but tell her upfront we are not offering a position of any kind. She hasn't attended to the Academy, she cannot assume an official position on the Enterprise."
"Understood, Admiral. We will inform her when she wakes."
"Have you found the Colony yet?"
Kirk nodded.
"They have anchored near Ranza V, just far enough to be out of the planets radar. We thought that contact would only raise alarm, we're waiting them out."
"Smart move. When do you plan to attack? We need this taken care of, pronto. Can't have the word move around that Starfleet can't contain its own prisoner colonies."
"Understood Admiral. We plan attack in two days time, Scotty is adding some... flare to the ships weapons."
Pike raised an eyebrow.
"And I am safe to assume that they are in Starfleet ship regulations and codes?"
"Of course," Kirk grinned. He then sighed, and thought he should give his idea a shot.
"Admiral, I think the crew needs a night out, on the town... on a planet. We're about to embark on yet another dangerous mission. My crew has been through more than expected these past days," Kirk said to the screen.
"I would only hear this from you, Captain," Pike said, scratching his chin. He sighed, and shrugged. "But... you will go tomorrow night. I'll let the Nimbuli know you are coming down. Stay together as a group, rent out a bar if needed, don't have anyone separate from the crew. And book hotel rooms, let the pilots have some fun too."
Chekov and Sulu high-fived under their control panel.
"Sir, are you sure this is wise?" Spock asked.
"Of course Spock. Weapons are still under repair, and more fuel is coming our way, which we are low on. Would you suggest only using our thrusters to win a fight?" Kirk asked.
Spock only stayed silent.
"You have the go, Kirk. Leave enough crew to stay behind and keep on the needed repairs."
"Can do, Admiral. We all will enjoy our reward," he said, and then cut the signal.
Kirk smiled, and turned to Uhura.
"Get the intercom on, the whole ship," he said.
"You won't imagine how much my hand hurt after that first punch… but it felt right."
That night, Kirk was at Kamira's bedside. He had the privacy curtain on, so they were enveloped in their own small space, away from prying eyes and ears.
He was telling his story, of growing up with his mother who always chose the worst men. One of them had gotten physical, and he recreated the story of when he first started protecting himself and his mom.
He flexed his fingers, and then brought them back to a fist.
"Later, when any of the guys would get too handsy with her, or whenever I saw even a hint of a bruise, they were in trouble. My fighting always drove them away, despite my mother's anger at me. She just… since my dad… she was ever really the same…" he said.
"Since then, I've protected her. Then I found the academy… and now, she's-"
"Kirk! Come in, Kirk," McCoy's voice snapped on his intercom.
"What?" he asked.
"Come out, we gotta talk."
"Can it wait; I'm in the middle-"
"Can't wait, Captain."
Kirk sighed, pocketed the small communicator, and the pushed a button on the pod bed to make the curtain disappear.
"What is it Doc?" he asked, standing up and taking a few steps away from the bio bed.
"She should be awake by now," McCoy more so muttered than said to him.
"Excuse me?"
"The… medicine, to help her sleep, it should've worn off by now."
"What do you mean?" he asked curtly. McCoy sighed.
"She's been out for a couple days longer than is known. Now, it could be she was over exhausted, so she really is still resting… or she's comatose."
Kirk stood there, taking in the information, but not too well. He started feeling pissed.
"Why in the hell did you not tell me about this?" he asked slowly.
"It's always different with each patient. The trauma she went through could be a factor in this prolonged –"
"Coma?"
"I was going to say sleep, you idiot. Calm down. If she isn't awake by next week, I will make the official call. I am just letting you know – as a friend, damn you – that there is a possibility," McCoy said in such a tone that it stopped Kirk and his anger.
He closed his eyes and looked somewhere else as he opened them.
"Thanks, Bones. Really."
"Yeah yeah, go get sappy on someone else. I was going to suggest you talk to her, not at her like we all know you've been doing."
Kirk frowned, and brushed off the comment.
"To an unconscious woman?"
"I know it's not usually your forte', but it's been… well I don't believe it but-" his eyes flickered to Lena, and then he grunted and looked back to Kirk.
"But it's been said that patients can hear and obtain voices. Sometimes touch helps – appropriate touch mind you!"
"Go back to work, Bones. I've got some waking up to do," Kirk muttered, and went back to the bio-bed. He then pressed some buttons on the bed, and activated the privacy shield.
He looked at Kamira's sleeping body, and sighed. He sat down on the chair he had gotten too accustomed to, and reached for her hand. He brought his other hand to sandwich it, and took a deep breath.
"Karmira?" he said quietly. He laughed, feeling like a fool, but scooted closer anyways, and squeezed her hand.
"Please wake up. Kamira."
He stood up, and leaned over her, noticing a small scar near hear left ear, and a sprinkle of freckles on her nose.
"Kamira," he said, squeezing her hand yet again.
She opened her eyes with a gasp, and brought her head up quickly. They butted heads, and both yelled out.
Kirk fell back into the chair, and she fell back to the bed, both holding their heads.
"Oh, god," she moaned.
"Are you okay?" Kirk asked, opening his eyes and blinking through the pain. She was staring right at him.
"I'm the one that just head-butted you…" she muttered.
Kirk couldn't help but smile.
"You're the one that's been sleeping more than usual," he said, and stood back up.
"It feels more like a whiskey and tequila hangover," she mumbled.
"That sounds like a party I am sad to have missed," Kirk said smiling.
"No, be happy you did," she said, still holding one hand to her head. She then sighed, and looked around at the curtain shield that also was sound proof.
"Where the hell am I? And who are you?"
"Well, if I wasn't one for prompt introductions…"
"You owe me at least that much," she said, meeting his gaze with determination. He was taken aback, and found himself smiling again.
"Well, you're on the USS Enterprise, and you can call me Kirk."
She frowned. Her face then twisted, and she cried out and sunk back down to the bed and threw the covers over her.
"Kamira?" he asked, clueless to her reply.
"Oh god, of all people, of all Captains, why you?" she said, her voice muffled through the sheets.
He sat back down, surprised yet again. She was a handful.
"I take it you know who I am?"
"Oh please!" she said, throwing the covers back down so she could meet his gaze. "As if you haven't taken every female in San Francisco to bed, I've got the unfortunate pleasure of being forced to listen to their woes every night as they drink themselves to oblivion!" she said, her face flushed.
Kirk raised an eyebrow.
"Turn the curtain thing off; now that I'm awake, the doctors need to check up on me."
Kirk sighed, and shut down the privacy shield. Lena and McCoy were on the other end and came to the bed automatically.
"Our clip-pads alerted us of the great news!" Lena said.
"Can you hear me, Kamira?" McCoy said loudly.
"Stop yelling, I'm not deaf!"
Lena smiled.
"Motor skills are in check," she said, smiling.
"I'm fine, docs. I'm fine. Now if you could let me be on my merry way-"
"Sorry dear, but that won't be for a while," Lena interrupted, scanning her vitals and pulse.
"Why not?" Kamira asked, glaring at Kirk. He raised an eyebrow.
"We're galaxies away from Earth, and no amount of currency will get you a shuttle there, it's a dangerous trek if they don't have hyper speed like we do."
"But I feel fine! I just woke up from a deep sleep! Aurora didn't need observation when she woke, everybody rejoiced!"
"Who?" McCoy asked.
"Does nobody know their vintage Disney princesses?"
"Disney? Isn't that the company with the mouse for the mascot?" Lena asked.
"Are you guys aliens?"
"No, we're Earthlings, but don't spend much time there," Kirk replied, smiling. Kamira sighed.
"So if I'm stuck here, for now, what am I to do?" she asked.
"Well first I need a statement from you. From your experience of the Romulans, and the rescue. For Starfleet records. I can write it or record it, whichever you prefer."
"First we need to finish our scans, Kirk, slow down," McCoy grumbled, checking her abrasions and bruises.
Kamira slapped his hands away. McCoy looked shocked, and Lena let out a laugh.
"I'm fine, thank you very much," Kamira said.
Kirk was gleaming.
"It seems you are. 'Docs', you are free to leave, we'll need privacy for the statement," Kirk said.
Lena and McCoy left, and Kirk brought up the privacy curtain.
Kamira looked at her hands.
"Can I maybe just bribe you with the little money I have, and you falsify my records and let me go?"
"Sorry, Kamira. As Captain, I need to do my duties to the fullest, and must follow orders," he said softly.
Kamira looked up and met his gaze, her own guarded.
"I also need to question you, about everything. I need your personal account..." he continued.
She frowned, and sighed.
"Well then, Captain, let's get this over with."
Kirk nodded at McCoy and Lena, and they left without a word, the privacy curtain coming back up again.
"Alright then," Kirk said, turning on his small recording device and setting it on the table. He took out his reader and clicked it on, finding the file sent to him with the standard hostage questions.
"What were you doing before you were captured? Where were you captured?"
Kamira sighed, and looked back down at her hands.
"I was with my foster family, my parents and my sister. They have a small ship and take it for small vacations, and we came along this time. I wasn't sure where we were when we were captured, though. All I know is when we boarded their ship, we went hyper speed for a few minutes before stopping."
"What happened to the other captors?" Kirk asked.
Kamira looked up, looking pained.
"They killed my foster parents right off, they both pulled weapons. My sister and I hid in the kitchen when we heard the blasts, but they found us," she whispered, not breaking his gaze. He felt her squeeze his hand.
"How long were you captive? Until we found you?" he asked.
"They went to sleep maybe five times, with each taking shifts, so I guess five days? I don't know the Romulan sleep cycles…"
"About five days... How did they treat you as a prisoner?"
She squeezed his hands tightly at that question, but she continued.
"They fed us, gave us water. We had to share a small blanket and one pillow. I gave it to-" tears started forming, but she kept talking, "Joanna, my sister. The third day one of the men tried to manhandle Jo, and I kicked out at him. That's when they started getting violent. They killed Jo the next day."
She took a deep breath, the tears now continuous, and she pulled her hands back to wrap them around herself.
"They were beating me up, manhandling me, threatening to rape me," she took a deep breath, and she raised her gaze to him and it lightened. "And the next day, I woke up to the same, but then you were suddenly there. You and your crew," she said. "Thank you. I'm not sure I got to say that."
"You did, many times," Kirk said, his voice breaking. "I'm just sorry we didn't get there sooner," he said, now looking down at his hands.
She reached down and lingered her touch on his scabbed knuckles.
"I had my anger out on one of them," he said, looking back up. Kamira was smiling.
"Well, at least someone got to do it," she said. Kirk laughed, and looked back down to the reader. He cleared his throat.
"I'll have to cut that part out, it's against the rules to commit violence against a Starfleet prisoner... but that is all I need for the file," he said.
"Wait, you mean a file on me?" she asked, looking scared.
Kirk raised an eyebrow.
"Yes... of course."
Kamira straightened her face, picking at her medical gown before resting her hands on her lap.
"Now, is there a way I can take a loan of a Starfleet shuttle?"
"I'm sorry to say you're stuck here, Kamira," Kirk said.
"You're grinning. You're not sorry. Make a move, and I'll have my own anger out on your handsome face, you hear?"
"You think I have a handsome face?" he grinned.
"Ugh, this is going to be unbearable, trapped here with you."
"Well actually tomorrow night we have permission to visit Narcissus 3, for a night on the town. It'll be a bar, probably."
"I could use a good drink."
"So you'll come down with us?"
"Well if my handsy doctor gives me the go…" she said uncertainly.
"McCoy won't have a choice, let's tell him," he said, and lowered the privacy curtain.
"Stop grinning, Lena," McCoy grumbled, though he couldn't help lifting the corner of his mouth either. No patient had ever slapped him away.
"Priceless! Wish I had a recorder."
"I wouldn't allow that and you know it," he said, turning to face her.
"I have my ways," she shrugged, grinning. McCoy stared at her, his eyes darkening.
"So," she cleared her throat. McCoy stood up strait, clearing his throat as well, gripping his cane tightly. "Kamira is in great shape. Those extra days of sleep really helped."
"She's still fragile, and malnourished. She needs nutrients; maybe a Vita BCD bag would help…"
"She's absolutely fine, the scans say so."
"She's malnourished."
"Maurice can help with that. In fact, hell, just have Scotty fill her plate each meal, she'll be fit in no time."
McCoy smiled.
"Scotty'll get the job done, definitely."
"Send her to the mess hall now, it's time for a meal break anyways," Lena said. At that, Kirk had taken down the privacy curtain.
"Hey Kamira, you feeling hungry?" Lena asked.
"Starving!" Kamira said, her face growing bright and showing excitement.
"We've got somebody for you to meet," McCoy said. "You!" he barked at a passing nurse. He jumped, and looked up at him.
"Biochair for the patient, stat!"
Kirk stood up, and brought out his communicator.
"Scotty," he said, "get to the cafeteria, we've got a hungry person who doesn't know what to eat."
"Are they vegetarian though?" a Scottish accent came from the other end. "I won't take that, never in my lifetime."
"Vegetarians are depressing, I eat meat," Kamira said loudly.
"Oh, what a woman! Kirk I like this one-" Kirk turned the communicator off, and just in time the nurse brought a biochair, a comfy white chair with white wheels. Kirk offered to pick up Kamira to help her on the chair, but she refused and had Lena do it.
They made their way to the cafeteria.
Kamira looked around at the people at the tables, and the food lining the back wall. Amazing smells wafted over her and her stomach growled.
"Who's that girl with Scotty? Has he been keeping secrets from me?" Lena asked, frowning. Scotty was sitting next to Kira, quite closely, and they were sharing a plate.
"Since when are you cozy with Scotty?" McCoy asked.
"Since we both discovered we both put potato chips in our sandwiches, Chief, relax," Lena said, and pushed Kamira to the table in question. Scotty smiled and waved.
"This must me my new subject!" he said, reaching out a hand to Kamira, which she shook.
"I'm Kamira, and haven't had decent food in a while."
"What flavors are you craving at the moment?"
"Cheesy and greasy," she said automatically.
"Philly cheese steak it is then!" Scotty said.
"I'll get it," Kirk said. When everybody stared at him, he continued.
"It'll get done faster if it comes from me," he muttered and walked to the kitchen window to order.
"This is Kira. Kira, this is McCoy, Milena, and Kamira. Kira is a chef in the kitchens, makes great food," he said, bringing an arm around her shoulder and squeezing. Kira only blushed.
"I'm just a helper, I cook for Scotty at times," she said.
"Ohh…" Lena said, smiling cunningly. She sat down and McCoy walked towards the food buffet the Galley had.
"What do you do?" Kira asked. Lena smiled.
"I'm Junior Medial Officer, that's is the Chief over here," she said, pointing a thumb at McCoy, who was making two plates on a tray.
"I was the one rescued from the Romulan ship," Kamira said boldly.
There was a split second of awkward silence before Scotty smiled, Kira following suit.
"The survivor! Great to meat you," Scotty said.
Then his face fell.
"But just one Philly cheese steak won't be enough, being asleep for that long... I think we're going to be here for a while."
Kamira laughed. Kirk came and settled the plate with steaming meat and cheese wafting to her nose. McCoy came over as well, and gave one of the plates to Lena, who grabbed a fork and dove into the pasta.
"I can't complain about that!" Kamira said.
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