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"Captains Log: Our encounter with the force field at the galaxy's edge has crippled the ship. Nine crew members lost. All from sudden seizures of unknown origin. Lieutenant Mitchell was almost the tenth. Dr. McCoy has him under observation. We've lost warp capability, reduced to impulse power only. Bridge functionality has been restored...barely."
In the med bay Jim was standing with Spock and Bones talking about what had happened to Gary.
Jim couldn't deny the flash of fear he had felt when his friend had opened his eyes to reveal glowing orbs. The white had not gone away even after they had taken him to the med bay and as he was told, still there.
"Damnedest thing I've ever seen, Jim. Gary's vitals are perfect. He's alert. Been up reading for the last twelve hours. He keeps asking for 'more'," Bones says to them putting a hand on his chin in thought.
"More what?" Jim asks looking over at him in confusion.
"Information, data anything and everything. I finally have him a book of poetry to shut him up," Bones replied shrugging.
"What hit my crew, Mr. Spock?" Jim asks turning to the Vulcan commander.
"I've been studying their medical records for any commonalities in the hope of ascertaining a cause," Spock replies, "All of the affected crew members shared extraordinary results from the same barrage of tests: Esper, Apperception, Duke/Heidelberg, quotient," Spock explains but Jim interrupts.
"Those are all tests for Psychic ability," Jim says to him.
"Precisely," Spock agrees, "And Mitchell scores highest of them all."
Jim turned away in thought, something was attacking his crew, had attacked his crew and he was gonna be damned if he didn't do something about it. He wouldn't let their fate be the same as the Valiant, he had a duty to protect his crew, to protect her.
They all started walking down the corridor towards Gary's room to check on him, "Bones, where's the psychologist who joined us at Aldebran? Dehner, wasn't it? She might be able to help," Jim said turning to Bones.
"We,uh..." Bones replies scratching his head a bit and looking away in slight embarrassment, "She withdrew her transfer. Guess she had a change of heart," He told Jim lowering his hand.
"Bones, don't tell me..." Jim replied with a sigh.
"It was a long time ago. I thought she'd forgiven me," Bones replied shrugging again.
"Captain," Spock said bringing their attention away from each other and to him, "I am concerned about the reference to extra-sensory perception in the logs recovered from the Valiant," Spock told them as they came to a stop outside of the door leading into Gary's room where he was being monitored.
As the Enterprise had undergone repairs when it returned to earth, many of the areas had been re-built, the med bay being one of them. It had been heavily damaged in Nero's attack and was rebuilt from scratch, patients now having metrical quarters for the more serious cases. And Gary was most definitely a serious case.
"I fear there may be a connection to what happened to our crew," Spock continued.
"Check with Uhura. See what you can find," Jim replied pressing the button for the doors to open.
"Let's just be grateful that Gary seems to be-" Jim stopped abruptly after seeing inside the room.
"-okay?" Jim continued looking inside the room with the other three.
Gary stood standing in the middle of the room holding his hands up as various things...floated...around him, including a medical kit, a small mirror and even a full glass of water.
"Jim!" Gary shouted happily, "What do you think?" He asked grinning widely at them.
"Gary! What-?" Jim shouted in surprise and astonishment as they stepped inside the room.
"God, I'm thirsty," Gary commented before moving the glass of water to his lips and taking a sip, without using his hands.
"Don't worry, Captain. I feel incredible," Gary said to him as the glass moved away, "Don't let the eyes bother you," Gary said to them seeing them staring at them.
"How are you doing that?" Jim questioned him gesturing to the floating items and equipment.
"I'm not sure. I just..." Gary started thinking of the right words to use as Bones walked up behind him and started scanning him,"...think of making it happen...and it does," Gary explained floating the glass of water over his hand but not touching, to demonstarte, though the ones floating around his head were enough as Bones walked away from him and back over to Jim.
"Scans normal. Nothing out of the ordinary," Bones said to Jim as they stared at Gary.
"You mean aside from the floating objects." Jim replied incredulously.
"Oh Jim, meant to tell you," Gary said to him with an air of carefree around him, "There's something wrong with the impulse power. Mr. Scott will probably tell you all about it," Gary informed surprising everyone in the room of how he could know something like that.
"How do you know...?" Jim questioned him in confusion.
"It's amazing Jim," Gary replied putting a hand on the wall, "It's like I can "hear" the ship. Like she's talking to me," Gary said staring at the wall, "And I can talk back to her," Gary informed them.
"Gary, how 'bout you rest a little while-" Bones said to him walking up and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Gary screamed shoving him away in anger making Bones stumble back.
"Enough!" Jim shouted getting between them, "Gary! I want you on bed rest and under observation until we know what happened to you! That's an order!" He shouted at him but Gary only smirked at his tone.
"Aye aye, 'Captain'," Gary said to him, none in the room missing the sarcastic way he said the title.
Inside the Enterprise conference room, Jim had called down the head of every area. This included Sulu, chief helmsman, Chekov, chief navigator, Farrah, chief tactical officer, Nyota, chief communications officer, Dr. McCoy, chief medical officer, Mr. Scott, chief engineer and Spock his first lieutenant.
"How the hell did he know about the impulse problem?" Jim said to Mr. Scott as they all sat around the clear, glass rectangle table.
"I hadn't even told you, yet, Captain!" Mr. Scott replied holding his hands up having no answer of how Lieutenant Mitchell knew.
"Tell me now, Mr. Scott," Jim said to him a little more forcefully then he had meant to.
But everything was really starting to get to him. Seeing Gary, somehow floating objects around him, and then attacking Bones, was weighing on him. That was not the friend he knew. That...that thing was an entirely different person. A person that's threat level to the rest of his crew was rising, but Gary was a part of his crew to. He didn't know what he should do.
"Well, warp is completely fried, as we know. But even before we were hit by whatever it was, I found cracks in the impulse engines that I need a star base to fix," Scotty replied understanding his Captains, his friends tone. He would let it slide...this time anyways, "And astonishingly well-equipped one, preferably," Scotty added.
"Keptin," Chekov spoke up making Jim turn to him, "Without warp capability it will take years to reach the nearest base. If impulse power holds, we can reach the outpost on Delta Vega in a few days. It's an old Lithium-cracking facility. Uninhabited, but it may have the resources we need," Chekov informed him.
"Lithium Cracking? Why not just give me some glue and string?" Scotty replied sarcastically turning to the young man who sometimes shadowed him in engineering.
"Do the best you can, Mr. Scott," Jim told him as Scotty sighed and nodded in acceptance.
"Any update in Mitchell?" Jim asked turning to Bones.
"Got him sedated. He's out. But he's still smiling. Makes me nervous," Bones replied doing a visible shiver.
"Uhura, any clues from the Valiant logs?" Jim asked turning to the communications officer.
"I recovered just one new fragment. The crewmen who recovered from the attack... He showed the same symptoms as Mitchell," She informed him, "Shortly after that the Captain ordered the self-destruct," She continued solemnly.
"Pike, any idea what that energy field is yet?" Jim asked Farrah.
"No, sir. Though it appears Commander Spock was correct. It does seem to be some sort of force field. However I dont want to risk any further tests, as we know what happened last time when we became to close to it," Farrah replied thinking of what had happened on the Bridge earlier, though not just the Bridge either, the entire ship had some sort of effect happen from the strange green energy.
Jim nodded before addressing them all, "Okay. Bones, I want constant updates in Gary. If he so much as blinks I want to know. Chekov, Sulu, set a course for Delta Vega. As fast as we can get there. Mr. Scott, give us what you can," He said to them before growing even more serious, "I want no discussion if the Mitchell situation with the rest of the crew. Dismissed," He said as the all stood up to leave the room.
Jim caught Farrah's eye as she gave him a look that said everything would be okay. But for some reason Jim knew it wouldn't be in the end. He nodded in return and she sent him a small smile before she walked out the door.
"Captain?" Spock said gaining his attention, "Our patient is no longer Gary Mitchell," Spock said to him.
"Explain yourself, Commander," Jim said to him tensely.
"While Dr. McCoy had him sedated, I attempted to mind-melds with Mitchell. Dr. McCoy believed I was simply examining him," Spock informed him.
"Damn it, Spock, you were out of line-" Jim said to him knowing what a mind-meld felt like, having been subjected to one by Spock Prime himself.
Spock cut him off before he could continue, "Captain, there was no one there. No consciousness. No sentience of any kind. Whatever now inhabits the body of Gary Mitchell poses an imminent threat to this ship and its crew."
"Remember what Mitchell said. He can now merely think if something and it happens. That may be a clue to the fate of the Valiant," Spock said to him.
"What I need are recommendations, Mr. Spock, not vague warnings," Jim replied turning away from him.
"Very well. Recommendation one: Leave him behind on Delta Vega," Spock recommended walking to the door.
"Gary is my friend and a member of my crew!" Jim shouted turning back around to face Spock,"I won't leave him stranded in some rock in the middle of nowhere!"
"Then you have only one other choice, Captain," Spock replied turning to look at him as he stopped at the doorway, "Kill him while you still can," He said before leaving the room and Jim to his thoughts.
He refused to believe what Spock told him, he knew, just knew, deep in his gut that Gary was still in there. He would not strand Gary on a planet because of some mind-meld and he would certainly not kill him.