CH 21 YOU ARE NO EINSTEIN

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CONFERENCE ROOM 38 USS ENTERPRISE

Jim grabs her hands before she can close the laptop wrapping her in a full embrace from behind her chair. Kate lays back on his hunched over shoulder. She needs to feel physical contact with him. His touch has given her a sense of peace since the day she arrived. Kate may bitch about wanting to grow up but right now she just needs her daddy to be at her side. After a quick kiss on the head, Jim lets her go. "Baby I need you to keep talking to him so we can get a lock on his location. I know it is hard but there is a lot more to this than you realize. I will be right here. Can you do that," he says taking the seat next to her.

"I'm sorry," Kate says fighting back tears as she awkwardly reaches over the arm of the chair for him to hold her. "I didn't know it would turn out like this. It was only a game."

"We can talk about that later," Jim rubs her back in slow circles. "It's not totally your fault but right now we have to focus on ending this." As much as he doesn't want to let her go, Jim gently pushes her back in her seat.

"He's coming after me, isn't he," she looks at Jim wide-eyed. Her heart pounds in her chest and she feels a thin sheen of sweat breaking out on her body.

"No," Jim says authoritatively brushing the loose hair off her face. "You are safe. No one is ever going to hurt you." The rapid nodding of her head shows that she believes him but her eyes hold the expression of a trapped animal. Too many people have told her this and failed her. Her eyes tell him she is already mentally making plans to take care of herself. Nine times out of ten, this will involve her trying to run away or back to the Jedi.

Before Jim can address her internal fears a loud "Fuck yes," followed by a fist pump fills the room. "Take that you son of a bitch. Do not come after one of my kids." Jack's burst of euphoria makes Kate smile and Jim look for an explanation. "We got a lock Jim," Jack reports. "Kowalski and your brother are on route. It's over." Kate watches the screen go dark as Jack severs the connection.

Jack's pronouncement might have convinced Bones and her Dad but Kate knows better. "I want to go live with Mommy," Kate blurts out pulling at Jim's shirt to make him look at her. "He has my picture. He knows who I am. How did he do that if he is not better than you are? Kowalski can't stop him, but the Jedi can," Kate tightens her grip on Jim as if she is afraid to let go. "Hank is not nice. He has a temper. I won't let him hurt you." After all, her complaining about wanting to leave, she finally has done something to make it happen. She just needs Jim to understand why.

Jack rubs his mouth feeling a cold chill as the adrenaline leaves his body. "Take her home, Jim," Jack says gathering up Kate's laptop. "I got some calls to make and work to do. I will contact you when I find out something. Might be late but hey you are the Captain. You signed up for midnight calls," Jack jokes trying to lessen the tension. Seeing how scared Kate is stops him from leaving. "Yorkie," he says walking over to her side of the table. "You weren't a half bad partner. Maybe I can find you some busy work in security," he winks. He leans down and kisses Kate on the head without thinking. "We got this pretty girl. Don't worry."

Jim gives Jack a nod and escorts her from the conference room with Bones at his side. Kate's silence between them is unnerving. Just as they are about to enter the turbo, McCoy refrains from getting in. Jim gives him a polite nod when the doctor produces a flimsy excuse about forgetting something in Sick Bay. Both men know why he is leaving. Kirk resists his urge to punch the wall. They had just weaned Kate off her nightly dose of Ambien and now she will be right back on it. "Maybe we should do something easy for dinner tonight and save the McCoy's for tomorrow," Jim tries to sound happy. Kate has been through enough tonight. They can talk consequences tomorrow. "I say we do pizza two nights in a row."

"Do you wish you never met me," Kate asks as the turbo slips silently to E-Deck.

"Kate," Jim draws her name out slowly and softly.

"I mean every time I try to be myself here something bad happens," she wipes her nose on the back of her hand. Jim forces himself not to look grossed out. Joanna did that a thousand times as a kid which is why Jim tended to carry hand sanitizer on all their excursions. He wishes he had some now. "I want to go home where things make sense. I want my Mommy."

"I know kiddo," Jim sighs. "I miss her too but she has her last mission and then she will be with us." His words sound hollow even to his own ears. He needs to stop saying that until it happens. False promises are more dangerous than broken ones. "Besides, you have me and I am not going to let anything happen to you okay?"

Although Kirk's words are meant to be reassuring, they fall flat. He has no idea about some of the things Hank has said to her or what he is capable of doing. "How did you know about him," Kate asks changing the subject. "You said there was more to it in the conference room."

"I'll tell you in the cabin Kate," Jim takes her hand in his as the turbo opens on E-deck. She stays quiet at his side all the way to their quarters. Once in the safety of their home, Kate heads directly to her room as Jim walks to the kitchen table. "Hey, kiddo…mind having a seat with me for a minute," Jim says.

She stands in the doorway of her room not responding for a long minute. Anger has slowly begun to replace the panic she felt an hour earlier. How she let Hank get so deep in her life pisses her off. "Why I know I am grounded," Kate spins lashing out at Jim. All she wants to do it lie in her dark room and shut the world out. She has no desire to have a heart to heart chat on how she is such a fuck up and disappointed Kirk again.

"Did I say that," Jim says calmly holding the back of the kitchen chair looking at her. He wears a neutral expression that Kate has a hard time reading.

"No, but," Kate squirms not moving an inch from her spot.

"So you just assumed that you are grounded," Jim says calmly pulling a chair out for her.

"God I hate calm Kirk," she thinks letting out a deep breath. Calm Kirk is unpredictable. Calm Kirk can end conversations in a hug or bust her ass into next week. Angry, frustrated Kirk is like everyone else. He says things he regrets in the heat of the moment apologizing for them later. Calm Kirk thinks about what he is saying. "I…I guess I…assumed," she says twisting her shirt in her fingers nervously. Calm Kirk also makes her off balanced.

"Have a seat," he gestures to the chair with his head before walking to the replicator. "Blue milk and coffee black," Jim orders bringing a small smile to his daughter's face. Kate takes a seat at the table waiting for her beverage. The only bright spot to a Kirk family crisis is the coffee.

"Is Jack really sending some people to arrest him? I agree he needs help but I don't think that means jail. People make mistakes. I mean look at me. I am a walking encyclopedia on bad decisions," she says taking the cup. Instead of the mug providing a comforting heat to her hands, it feels icy. "Um dad…you needed to say coffee add blue milk," she looks at the cup. "I just got milk and we always have coffee when it is this serious," she holds the cold mug up to him. The smile turning the edges of his mouth upwards makes Kate feel good. As nervous as she is about the Hank situation, her Dad doesn't seem to be anymore. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said he could take care of her.

"See there you go assuming again. That is what keeps getting you in trouble." She looks at him, gets a half smile and lets out a disbelieving laugh. "Did you really think I was giving you coffee at," Jim cranes his neck to look at the clock, "2045 hours. That assumption was as smart as assuming Hank was a lonely kid."

Kate hangs her head. The playful banter is over and her Dad wants answers. "He never pressed me for details until recently," Kate runs her fingertip around the lip of her mug filled with the pale blue milk concoction. "I was the one who told him all the lies so I guess I was pretty dumb to think he was telling me the truth huh," she says staring at her drink.

Jim gives her a nod but lets it go at that. She is beating herself up enough. He doesn't need to do it any further. "Like I said this was not all your fault," Jim takes a deep drink of his coffee looking at his daughter. Right now, she looks so young and so vulnerable. Kate may act as if she has life figured out but tonight proves how much guidance she needs from him. As she reaches out to take his hand, Kate accidently knocks over her milk. The look of panic filling her face shows Jim just how on edge Kate is. "Kate it is just spilled milk, " Jim says gently. "We have an old earth saying that applies to everything that has happened this evening. It is 'don't cry over spilled milk.' Now since this is blue and stains the carpet I will give you a few whimpers but that is it," he says to her reaching behind him to get a towel. When Kate doesn't smile at his joke, Jim becomes highly concerned. She normally laughs or at least bitches about his bad jokes. "Kate, this is one of those parentings things that I handle got it. Don't worry about it. Just know I am taking care of it and you," he says wiping up the sticky blue liquid. "Just like this. See I took care of it. I am that good," Jim says tossing the rag behind his head and missing the counter. The heavy wet plopping sound behind him brings a smile to Jim's face. "Didn't make it did I," he winks not turning around.

Kate smiles shaking her head slowly. The playful moment lasts only a moment. The more she looks at Jim the faster her smile turns into a frown and her eyes assume their hollow, worried look. "I've met people like him before," Kate says dourly traces a circle on the table with her finger. The movement helps to calm her and focus her thoughts. "There was this woman...Talli Breesh," Kate clears his throat. "It was odd she was a woman but crazy can take any form. She was like Hank," she says. "See when you are famous people want to get to know you for every reason other than they just like you. I wasn't famous but Han and Luke were. When I started living with them, I had friends coming out of the woodwork. After being alone for so long it was nice to have people want to be my friend even if it was for the wrong reasons."

She clears her voice and sniffs back a tear. "I think I knew no one but the Jedi kids liked me for me but it was nice you know. Then I ended up here," her eyes fill with tears she rapidly blinks back. "You assigned me a group of kids just like at the Jedi academy to be my friends. Don't get me wrong. I like the kids on the Enterprise and they seem to like me but did they have a choice?" She wipes the tears spilling over her eyes with the neck of her shirt. "I only wanted to pick out a friend and know they liked me. Not like me because of who my parents were or because there is only six of us on board. That is why I talked to him. Hank was like me or at least made me think he was like me. I was so damn stupid," she throws the empty glass off the table. Luckily, it doesn't shatter when it hits the floor.

"Sometimes I am so lonely even surrounded by 431 people," Kate shares in a shaky voice. "I am tired of always having to lie about who I am or what I am. I know the reason is to keep me safe but it is still a lie. None of the other kids have to do it and it is not fair." Jim sits back listening to his daughter talk. She is right. John, Ronin, and Cameron don't have a cover story. Joanna and Erika don't have to make up excuses about their mothers; however, there is nothing Jim can do about this. Kate clears her throat taking a moment to collect her thoughts. She has to explain this so her dad will understand. "When I said in the conference room I wanted to go home it wasn't because I don't love you or like it here. It is because I want to feel normal and safe. I was taken once," Kate licks her lips, "and it was scary but I knew Han would come for me. He had his own ship and could do and go where he wanted. He even found me here on the other side of the known universe without a trail of bread loaves," Kate says calmly.

"That would be bread crumbs," Jim says with a smile correcting her slang

"The point is if Jack is right. If he knows my name and where I live he can get to me. I don't know how to fight here. I don't know my way home because we have no home port. If he takes me," her eyes dart across his face desperately hoping that he understands what she is saying. "I need my lightsaber. I won't be alone and helpless again."

"Captain, we are having a shut-off problem with the secondary water filtration pumps for decks R-V," second class Kenneth Khol reports over Jim's shirt comm. "Lt. Willis got off a double thirty minutes ago and was heading to the officer's club. I didn't want to disturb him. I was hoping you could come down and advise us."

A deep scowl turns Jim's neutral expression to one of anger as Kate stands assuming their conversation is over. Although he has had to cut her off before, unclogging a toilet is not an emergency that takes precedence over his daughter. Grabbing her wrist, Jim holds up a finger. "I am unavailable at the moment Khol. Contact Willis and have him return. If you need more support then contact Lt. Commander O'Neill. She is the officer on duty in engineering. Kirk out," Jim says

Kate walks around the table sitting on his lap. "Thank you for not leaving," Kate says resting her head on his shoulder.

Jim kisses her head gently. "I will never leave you, Katherine. You will never get lost or be alone, but I think you should get some sleep. You look like you are about to fall over," he pats her back signaling her to get up. "Go brush your teeth and get in your pajamas. I will read to you for a while until you settle down." Kate doesn't fight or protest following his command with just a nod. An hour later Kirk closes the book. Kate is snoring in her bed emotional and physically drained. Her peaceful slumber won't last all night but Jim will be there when she needs him. He leans back on her headboard closing his eyes. The stress of the night has worn on him also. A few hours later, another voice comes across his comm badge snapping him awake. Jim looks at the clock and rubs his eyes. "Kirk here," he says in a voice thick with sleep.

"Captain your brother has contacted us," Uhura reports. The speed at which things are moving shocks even him. Jack's people may be heartless bastards but they are quick to respond.

"Send it to my quarters," Jim says getting up slowly. Kate lets out a muffled groan but remains asleep. "Oh, and did Khol get the water pumps running," Jim says falling back into Captain mode taking a seat at his desk.

"Yes," Uhura say with a slight chuckle. "When Samantha found out Khol contacted you instead of her, she read him the riot act. If the rumor mill is correct, Khol will not be able to sit for a week after his ass chewing. How's Kate," Uhura says concerned changing the subject to one she cares about.

"Sleeping," Jim says turning on his computer. "Put my brother thought Lt," he orders cutting her off.

"Aye aye Captain," she says.

"Jim," Sam Kirk's voice comes over the speaker of his computer sounding confident and calm. "How's the pumpkin?"

The affectionate nickname by his brother for Kate makes Jim sit up straighter. By no stretch of the imagination could anyone call Sam and Kate's relationship warm. She has only met him once and that was during a revolution. "Sleeping," he says narrowing his eyes some at the image of his brother on the screen. From the background, it is clear Sam is not at home or at his office at Deneva Mining Corporation. It looks military but Sam is dressed as if he is about to go camping in a worn olive-green Henley and jeans. "Where are you?"

"An hour outside of the Orion system," Sam says formally. "It would have been faster if we stuck to the Risa or New Vulcan locations but nooo she can't make things easy, can she. I will comm you when we tag him. Kirk out," his brother says disconnecting the subspace comm. Jim leans back in his chair rubbing his jaw. If his life hadn't been filled with madmen, he would be contacting the Orion authorities to intervene; however, Khan, Nero, and Kodos proved that some men would always feel they are above the law. After learning what Hank did to the Morris girl, Jim knows this man would turn out to be like them. Lauren would not bat an eye killing Hank nor would he if Kate's life was at stake.

A whimpering sound that slowly turning into a deep moan calling out Dad fills the cabin. Turning off his computer and the light on his desk, Jim grabs his PADD off the coffee table before heading to Kate's room. "It's okay sweetheart. Daddy's got you," Jim says rubbing her back. His touch stops her screaming in her dream but not the labored breathing. "It's going to be a long night for both of us," Jim says propping himself up next to her on the bed. Jim opens his PADD and sends a message to Bones. Hank has tormented Kate enough for the past six months when she was awake. Jim won't let him haunt Kate in her dreams also. Two minutes later Bones is gently injecting Kate with 5mg of Ambien. Kate instantly settles after curling up tightly to Jim's side.

"She should sleep soundly for a few hours on this," Bones says staring at Kate with a sympathetic look. "We can go to Morphazine if it gets too bad. I just don't want to make this a habit. Once this Hank is out of her life I want to take her off everything. You know how I feel about medicating the kids. I think we should go back to her seeing Daniel again once or twice a week and reading at night instead of TV. We seemed to have good results with that. She won't see that as a punishment because reading will be the only thing Joanna will be doing for a week," Bones lets his soft expression fade to his characteristic scowl. "It all makes perfect sense now when I think about it. Jo was whining about Kate using the computer all the time. I feel like an idiot assuming it was Erika's stepfather when Jo complained about Hank." Jim exhales and nods as Kate lets out a small whimper rolling over on her side.

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ENTERPRISE READY ROOM 0800 hours

Jim takes his customary position at the head of the conference table and looks at the faces of his senior staff. They all have a drawn and pinched expression indicating no one at the table had slept much last night. He takes a long draw on his coffee before clearing his throat. "As you all are well aware of by now at 1530 hours yesterday, the individual by the name of Hank Wyn Routh-Mullins was identified as A. Friend. Starfleet security is currently on their way to bring him in questioning. The topic of discussion at this meeting will focus on how it happened to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Jack," Jim calls out his chief of security leaning back.

O'Neill feels all eyes settle on him. Leaning forward on his forearms, he begins. "The perpetrator was able to gain access to the ship comm's and not be detected via a sophisticated piece of malware called the Leech. This program attaches to a signal, much like the animal it is named for and re-routes a copy of the message. It was designed for military use but adapted by hackers to do all sorts of nasty things. The reason for the Leech is so hard to identify when deployed is that it doesn't affect the whole computer system. It only tags one point of entry. In this case a personal computer. The easiest way to wrap your head around it is to think of a single ant in a home. The odds are you will never catch him crawling across your counter unless he brings friends. A. Friend used this to communicate directly with Kate under our noses," Jack reports keeping the meeting formal. His tone is stiff and brusque not carrying the soft southern drawl it normally has.

"Jack and I have spent the better part of the night running systems checks and found it nowhere else on the ship," Uhura backs up Jack's claim. "A computer expert by the name of Henry Halter from Starfleet headquarters has confirmed this. The emails you received Captain were simply routed through TOR enough times that the main IP address was lost. I have uploaded a version of the Leech to your email account, but Mr. Halter doubts he will contact you again." An uneasy shuffling of bodies fills the room. Everyone could read between the lines in her comment. Once Starfleet security found him, Hank would never be heard from again.

"I guess I am up," Matt MacMillan head of supplies and maintenance takes the proverbial floor sighing heavily. "We have spent the past 12 hours going over every log and for the past seven months. Not one of them showed a piece of equipment that was not logged in and is accounted for. The computer in question did not come through the supply chain. That means it had to be personally carried on by a member of the crew." MacMillan looked at Jim with a heavy stare. "Sir, this crew is loyal. I don't see anyone being subversive to the extent of Mr. Letters…er, I mean Hank. I think one of the kids brought it aboard during the Deneva conflict." He raised his hand to stop any comments before they started. "My guess is that the computers were switched when the kids attended classes on the Alexander or one of the other ships. They are all standard issue sir. My best guess is that somehow got the laptop on board and somehow switched it out with Kate's." MacMillan looked down briefly as if feeling guilty pinning the event on Kate.

"I will speak to her on this issue and inform you if events are as you have suggested," Jim said in a neutral tone. Mac Millan's theory was plausible. It would explain how the lap top came into her possession. Until Jim could speak with Kate, the how she got it was still a moot point. He cleared his throat and firmly dismissed everyone back to their jobs. Hopefully, this would be the last staff meeting dealing with Hank Wyn Routh Mullins.