Roger Korby lay motionless in the bed at Starfleet's hospital, hooked up to the life support systems and still showing signs of life. Nurse Chapel was by his side, her hand gripping his.
Jim, Spock, Uhura and Carol waited outside the room, watching through the window as McCoy checked the man's vitals one last time before leaving. He sighed once he was with his friends. "Christine was an easy fix; I can mend bones in the space of a half hour."
"That's why I call you 'Bones'," said Kirk. "What about Korby?"
"His bones weren't just broken; some of them had been reduced to dust," said McCoy. "Khan obviously wasn't very happy with him. And it's not just his bones; his lungs are punctured, muscles ripped, brain damaged and his liver twisted. It's a wonder he stayed alive for so long."
"Christine said her Roger was a fighter," said Carol. "If anyone can survive, he could."
Jim turned suddenly, and the others did the same to see Admiral Barnett approaching. "That hearing thing is starting to freak me out," said McCoy.
"More than the smell?" asked Kirk.
They didn't say anymore when the Admiral stopped before them. "What's his condition, doctor?" he asked.
"Let's just say he won't be up and walking for months." McCoy handed the Admiral the PADD he held. "This is the full report."
Barnett gave it a quick scan before he tucked it under his arm. "The matters here will be handled by our best men. Our greatest men, however, will be going after Khan. And before you ask who, I'm talking about you and your crew, Kirk."
Jim blinked, surprised. He was genuinely flattered for him and his crew to be referred to as Starfleet's 'greatest men'. "We'll do our very best to bring Lucille home safely. Oh, and her dog."
"You said they were heading towards the Ceti Alpha system?"
"Ceti Alpha V to be precise," said Spock. "Mr. Scott is very accurate in his work. And even if he were not, Ceti Alpha V is the only planet in the system which can support life, even if barely."
"Why would he go to such a place, anyway?" asked McCoy.
"Logically it would be ideal for himself and his people, due to their superhuman abilities and determination to survive," Spock explained. "And on such a place he would be exiled and out of the way, meaning that had he not taken Lucille Harewood we would be content to just leave him alone."
"When you get Lucille back, you can let him go there," agreed Barnett. "That'll be one problem taken care of."
"I still don't quite understand why Khan even took Lucille in the first place," said Carol.
"Revenge." Uhura shrugged. "And with her new abilities he could consider her to be one of his own."
McCoy nodded in agreement, deep in thought. "Plus, with losing his kid, he's looking to fill the nest, so to speak. Coming from a father's point of view, taking her actually makes a lot of sense. What doesn't make sense to me, though, is why he'd leave behind the rest of his crew?"
"Did he not leave them behind before?" questioned Barnett.
"He did, but reluctantly," said Jim. "And taking into consideration what happened last time, I'm surprised he was willing to do so again. Have you been able to locate the rest of them?"
"No, and we won't be able to until Dr. Korby wakes up, I'm afraid." The Admiral turned briefly to look through the glass, watching as Nurse Chapel removed a stray hair from the injured doctor's face. "We were able to track down the officers who were in charge of guarding them; they were found dead in their rooms."
The eyes of the crew widened. "Dead?!" McCoy blurted out.
"Suicide pills," said the Admiral. "But I knew those men, and I know for a fact that they would never have contemplated suicide. We think it may have been forced."
"By Khan's crew? The ones who were awake, I mean?" asked Uhura.
Spock shook his head. "No, otherwise they would have forced the officers to give them the information regarding the whereabouts of the remaining crew. Perhaps another party has discovered the existence of the augments and have taken an interest?"
"Like I said, matters here will be handled," the Admiral reminded them. "You have your mission."
"I guarantee that Lucille will be brought home safely, Admiral," said Jim.
"I hope so. Thomas Harewood was an old friend of mine; because of our positions we never made that connection known. I did my best to help his wife and daughter, and all I want is to see her home safe and sound." He handed Jim another PADD. "Here's the list of new transfers. Spologies for it taking so long."
"Thanks." Kirk took it with a smile…and then without even glancing at it immediately handed it to Spock, who began to scan through it. "Anyone on there who my attention should be drawn to?"
"Just one," said the Admiral.
Before Jim could ask who, Spock handed the PADD back to him, having highlighted a name. "Captain, you should see this."
Jim looked…and saw that Carol had been placed on the list as the new Chief Weapons Specialist. He smirked; it was just like he'd planned. Now all he had to do was play it cool. He handed the list back to Spock, the smirk still on his face.
"OK, I need everyone to report to their assigned shuttles, and help out wherever you can before take-off," said the Captain. Spock, Uhura and McCoy left, while Carol watched them go sadly. Jim tried to hide his smirk the best he could when he turned to her and said, "Did you not hear me, Marcus?"
"But I'm not a member of your crew."
Jim gave her his best look of honesty. "Didn't you read the transfers list? You're my new Chief Weapons Specialist." He winked before he turned and walked away.
Carol only stared as the Captain walked away, unable to believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. His new Chief Weapons Specialist? Really? After what had happened, after what her father had done to them all, she couldn't have imagined it to be possible. Sure, Jim had been nice to her, and he'd certainly joked about getting her into the crew, but she'd assumed he wouldn't want her.
But she had to make sure, in case he was pulling some kind of cruel joke on her. "Admiral, is what he just said-?"
"True? Yes." He smiled. "There was more than enough evidence to tell us that you were not in league with your father. Your presence on the Enterprise in fact helped resolve the problem, despite how you got on board in the first place. And Kirk refused to take any other Weapons Specialist."
Carol turned to where she could still see the Captain's retreating form. After everything that had happened… She couldn't help it. The blonde ran up to him and leapt onto his back, hugging him from behind. "Thank you, Jim!" Then she noticed Spock, Uhura and McCoy staring at her, so she quickly jumped down and pulled away, her face flushing. "Uh…apologies, Captain."
"No problem, Carol," said Jim, smiling. "Wouldn't have anyone else." He went to carry on walking, but after a second thought, turned to her again. "Oh, and feel free to jump on my back to hug me from behind anytime." He kissed the top of her head, winked again, before he walked away with the other three.
Carol blushed as she touched the spot where he'd kissed her. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear before hurrying to catch up with her new crew mates.
Jim made his way through the crowd of crew members waiting to board their shuttles, signing any PADDs given to him as he checked over the last of the supplies and assisted in various other jobs. He was in the middle of signing his last when he spotted Sulu passing. "Sulu!"
"Captain," Sulu greeted him. "Everything appears to be in order. Why don't I join you to the shuttle?"
"No need to even ask," said Kirk. "But first, where's Chekov?"
Sulu smirked and nodded off to the side. "He's flirting with the new Yeoman. I think her name's Martha Landon."
Kirk turned to look and smirked when he saw the young Ensign flirting with a blonde girl who appeared to be of similar age. "Hey, go Chekov! Nice catch, as well." He turned back to Sulu. "All we need to do now is get you a girlfriend."
"I think I'm fine for the moment, Captain," said Sulu. "I'll find someone in my own time."
"Where's the harm in letting your Captain set you up with someone?" Jim said back, smirking. "Hey, who was that girl you were dancing with at the Christmas party? She was a psychiatrist, or something like that…" He clicked his fingers, trying to remember the name.
"You mean Helen?"
"Helen Noel! Yes! Why don't I set you two up on a date when you're both off duty?"
"Captain, you really don't need to-"
"Of course I do!" He turned and ran towards their shuttle. "Mr. Spock! What shift does Helen Noel have?"
"Captain!" And Sulu hurried after him.
"And I saved their lives! The Keptin called me wery brave."
Martha smiled. "It sounded like you were. I have to say, your accent is adorable. Russian, right?"
"Yes! Where they have the Garden of Eden, right outside Moscow!"
She laughed. "You're so funny, and sweet. No one's ever paid this much attention to me before. I'm the kind of girl who usually ends up in a corner."
"I end up in the corner, too!"
They continued talking, but had they been paying closer attention to the supplies they were counting, they would have noticed a small movement towards the back. And they certainly would have noticed a small girl open the lid of one of the crates before climbing inside and shutting it up again.
"Spock, you need to listen to me!"
"Are you two gonna do this, like, now?" Spock and Uhura turned to Jim, who was approaching the bickering couple with Carol at his side. "We left Earth five minutes ago, and already you two are having one of your fights. I thought that stopped a month ago?"
Uhura sighed. "We're not fighting, Captain."
"Clearly."
She rolled her eyes. "I was discussing the new arrangements that had been made for us when he just…broke down!" She gestured to Spock, who looked less like his usual stoic self and more like a worried father about to have a panic attack.
Jim sighed. "Spock, what is it?"
"I have already informed you briefly, Captain."
"Is this the whole 'I won't make a good father' crap again? Because I'm pretty sure I told you my thoughts on that."
"Your thoughts?" Carol questioned.
"Yeah, that it's a load of bullshit. You'll be a good dad, Spock."
Meanwhile Uhura looked between her Captain and her bondmate with a confused expression upon her face; this was all news to her. "Wait, Spock, why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Because I did not want to allow my insecurities to place further worry upon you," he explained. "Nyota, my father may have loved both myself and my mother, but our relationship still remained strained throughout my childhood because of the very fact that he is Vulcan. I am worried that our child will experience the same."
She sent him a reassuring smile and placed a hand upon his cheek. "But remember that you're half-human, Spock. You'll do fine."
Chekov approached, but paused when he saw Spock and Uhura together. "Am I…interrupting something…?"
"No, you're fine," said Kirk. "What is it, Chekov?"
"Ve are travelling at maximum varp, Keptin. Ve should arrive in-"
He was interrupted by a sudden scream.
"What was that?" asked Carol.
"Martha!" Chekov suddenly took off at a run, and the other four followed him into the supply hanger where they found Martha leaning against an open crate, her eyes wide with her hand on her heart. She looked petrified. "Martha, are you all right?" asked the young Ensign, placing a hand upon her cheek in order to calm her down.
"There was a girl in the crate!" said Martha.
"What?" Jim didn't know if he'd heard her correctly.
"A little girl," the Yeoman repeated. "She was about this high," She placed a hand against her side to show the height, "had brown hair and blue eyes, and she looked scared. She leapt out and ran off, but I don't know where she went. And I'm not sure if she's hurt herself or not."
Jim's comm beeped, and he picked it up. "Kirk, here."
"Cap'n! I just saw a wee lass run through engineering! Please tell me I'm seeing things!"
"You're not, Scotty. Stay where you are; we're on our way!" Jim closed the link and gestured to the others to follow him. "All of you with me, we've gotta find this girl before she hurts herself, if she hasn't already." He opened up his comm again. "Bones, you there?"
"Yeah, what is it, Jim?"
"We've got a kid down here, somewhere in engineering."
"A kid?! You've gotta be kidding me! How the hell did a kid end up on the ship?!"
"She stowed away in one of the supply crates," said Jim. "We think she may have hurt herself, but if she hasn't, then she may do so. I need you down here."
"I'm on my way."
The group continued running until they reached engineering, where Scotty was waiting. "Do you any idea how dangerous it is down here for a wee lassie?! If she touches something she shouldn't, she's done for!"
"That's why we need to find her," said Jim. "Where'd she go?"
"I'm not sure; she ran so fast! Get down!" The group of six turned to see who Scotty had gestured to, but only turned away again when they saw it was Keenser, who had sat himself up on one of the pipes.
"Who is this girl, anyway?" Carol wondered aloud. "Do you think she belongs to a member of the crew?"
"Any crew member who has a child has registered them as living with relatives. A possible conclusion would be that the child did not agree with the arrangement and wanted to be with their absent parent," Spock informed.
"I hope she's not a worker's child from Earth who was playing amongst the supplies. That would be awful," said Uhura.
Jim suddenly shushed them all. "I need quiet so I can hear."
They remained silent while Jim closed his eyes, adjusting his hearing in order to search for her. He had only recently been able to start hearing heartbeats, and already he'd figured out what to look for. It wasn't long before he picked out a small one, beating fast, and he followed it to a control panel where no one was sat. He knelt down to look under it…
…and found the ten-year-old girl sat there, her knees brought close to her chest as she trembled in terror.
