Chapter 28

"Captain, where is she?"

Admiral Pike was drumming his thumbs, looking anywhere but the comm camera. Seems they were both on edge.

It had been ten torturous minutes since Kirk had had messaged her.

"She should be here soon," Kirk said for the third time, breaking the unbearable silence again.

This time, the hiss of the lift doors indicated her arrival.

"Permission aboard the Bridge?" Kamira asked shakily.

When she got the call, she was at first puzzled. But as she made her way through the complex halls of the ship, the track to the Bridge coming so easy to her... she thought back.

Kirk had known Chor's name before he had given it…

"It seems you have found this bitch's real father after all," Chor had said.

That is when her pace had quickened.

And as she rode the lift, she became disbelieving, stopping the lift one floor above the Bridge so she could slump against the clean white halls of the ship, her arms crossed, her head down, lost in thought. She had stood there for who knows how long before she gathered the courage to go.

She looked over at Spock and Kirk standing together next to the Captain's chair - they were completely alone, no one else was on the Bridge.

She fiddled with the hem of her short sleeve yellow uniform dress. The long sleeved ones she had found in wardrobe couldn't fit over her bandage, so she opted for the current standard uniform; her only shirt was bloodstained from when Chor had cut her neck, and she only had a pair of sweats borrowed from Uhura.

Her wound on her neck had healed quickly, the cream the man with changing eyes had worked like he said it would - the wound was barely a scar now.

James walked over to her.

"Hi."

She frowned.

She opened her mouth to ask what was going on when an echo of someone clearing their throat stopped her.

She turned and saw that the Bridge window was currently projecting a comm.

A man, with combed over graying brown hair and a frown tugging at his lips looked back at her.

"Sorry, sir?"

She looked over at Spock, who mouthed 'Admiral'.

"Uhm, Admiral. Apologies, Admiral," she said, bringing her hands together behind her back.

The man on the comm only stared back as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Kamira frowned as her heartbeat quickened.

"Spock, can I request your absence? You must understand…" the Admiral started.

"I entirely comprehend the situation, Admiral."

Spock turned and boarded the lift, leaving Kirk and Kamira alone on the bridge with the stranger on the comm, his face growing bigger as he leaned over his desk, his face growing larger on the screen.

Kamira looked at Kirk, confused.

"James, this can't-"

"James!?" the man echoed in disbelief.

Kamira looked back at the comm, embarrassed as she felt herself blush.

"Apologies again, Admiral-"

"Pike," James whispered.

"Admiral Pike. Apologies, I didn't mean to speak out of order, sir."

"You look just like her…" Pike started, but broke off, turning his head away.

Kamira looked back at Kirk, catching his gaze and glaring.

So when was she going to meet her father? Why was there an Admiral talking to her?Were they reprimanding her for wasting Starfleet resources and time, or offering her a quick ride home?

And who was this 'her' the Admiral was talking about? Was this really about her father, or was it really her mother they'd located?

James reached out and grasped her hand, squeezing it tightly. The Admiral cleared his throat somewhat melodramatically, and James pulled back quickly.

"Captain, you are free to leave the bridge."

James stuttered his words before he closed his mouth and only nodded.

"Of course… certainly, Admiral-" he managed to say.

"NO!" Kamira shouted, her hands clasping into fists, "Enough of this!" she continued.

The Admiral on screen and James standing next to her both stopped and stared.

"What the hell is going on? Am I in trouble?" she turned to look at James, who quirked an eyebrow.

"I mean I know I've been somewhat of a nuisance," she looked at the comm., "but I haven't even bothered the Federation directly! And Chor said something about you and my father… my real father. Is this about him? Is he the one in trouble? But then who is this 'her' you are talking about? Just tell me the truth! What is this all about… why am I here-"

She looked at James, searching for an answer.

"Kamira?" the broken voice of the Admiral stopped her short of her rant.

She frowned, turning her head towards the comm.

The Admiral was crying even more now, tears flowing freely as he flipped through a small book in his hands. He stopped on a page, and held it open as he lifted it towards the screen, showing a photo.

It wasn't digital, not integrated into to the paper of the book to allow editing and movement... it was a paper photo, pasted on, the corners curled up slightly. She'd only heard of paper photos, she'd never seen one, even if it was on a screen.

But the subjects of the photo was what got to her.

"We paid almost a fortune for this photo to be printed, but it was worth it," his voice echoed on the comm.

It was of the Admiral, though looking very much younger, leaning over a woman in a hospital bed with a baby in her arms. Wrapped around the baby was a woven blanket of purple, blue, and green stripes.

The thing was… Kamira had a blanket exactly like that…

She had been wrapped in a blanket with the same colors, same pattern, when she was found on the steps of a foster home; the counselors had let her keep it.

Kamira looked at James again, still with wet eyes.

"James?" she asked shakily. Even though her mind was making all the connections… she just didn't want to believe it.

"Captain, may I request again-" the Admiral's voice said, the screen still showing the photo of the couple and their newborn baby.

"No," Kamira said more softly this time, "I want him here," she said, furrowing an eyebrow.

She didn't even know why she wanted James there, but she did. She looked at him, and he was smiling back at her.

"Go take care of the comm? I just… I can't be alone, but act like it, alright?" she whispered.

James nodded, reaching forward to give her shoulder a tight squeeze before he walked over to Uhura's station and sat down to keep the signal strong.

Kamira took a few deep breaths, looking at the photo still on screen.

"Da- Dad?" she asked.

The photo dropped, showing a broken down Admiral Pike.

"Kamira?"

She walked up to the window to rest her hands against the glass, her fingers breaking through the projection, her father appearing bigger than ever as she looked up.

"Step back… I can't see you anymore," Pike said distressed, his eyes flying all over the place. Kamira took a few steps back.

She couldn't believe it.

The more she looked at the man on screen, the more of herself she saw. And the woman in the photo- the one holding the newborn baby, she looked almost exactly like herself.

But in the back of her mind, she felt disbelief.

"There you are," Pike said dazedly, a huge grin on his face as he wiped at his cheeks.

"But, how… how did you know?"

"The second I said your name, after you had been recaptured… Admiral Pike knew who you were immediately," James interrupted.

Kamira looked over at him with a questioning look.

"How many other Kamira's do you know?" he continued.

He had a point.

However when she looked back to the Admiral on screen, she suddenly felt unbelieving of the situation yet again.

Any photo can be manipulated.

This was too good to be true for her.

She was so happy with the Clarke's, but in the back of her mind the question of who her real parents were was always tugging.

She had grilled all of the counselors at the foster home about her drop off story; she knew it back and forth. Every detail every object in the basket, the blanket, the time and place, everything. She had tried to search for her parents with that evidence, but there was no way to find them... they had even hidden their faces from the street security cameras.

"Where was I dropped off?"

"Kalling House, in the Richmond District," Pike answered without hesitation.

Kamira stopped, but shook her head slightly and continued on with her test.

"My birthday is August 2nd, 2252," she lied.

"It's April 16th, 2248," the Admiral said instantly.

He was telling the truth. That was her birthday.

She gasped and turned around, closing her eyes as she felt the tears come.

"Kamira," James whispered, but she shook her head.

She turned back around, staring down the man on the screen, holding back her tears, her vision slightly blurring.

For clarity, she decided on one more detail to test.

"It was raining that day, I remember the counselors telling me the place almost flooded," Kamira said shakily.

Admiral Pike chuckled and shook his head.

"Actually it was recorded as one of the hottest nights of Spring in a long time. Reached at least a hundred-twenty degrees, I believe. Certainly felt like it. We put cooling packs under you in the basket, so you didn't overheat."

Kamira's knees failed her and she collapsed to the floor, uncontrollably sobbing. Kirk ran forward, kneeling on the ground beside her to hold her close.

Admiral Pike held his head in his hands, silent gasps heard from the comm.

"James, it's him… he found me," she said brokenly between sobs, drenching his shirt with her tears.

"I know, Kamira. It's all okay now," James whispered in reply, stroking her hair repeatedly, rubbing her back with his other hand.

Admiral Pike cleared his throat and Kamira pulled back.

Kirk glanced at the screen, expecting to see an angry Admiral. But instead, he seemed pleased, content.

"I am scheduling a shuttle out immediately," Pike said, wiping his face, "You may not be able to return home right now, but that can't stop an Admiral from traveling to a Federation ship. It will be silent; I will make contact when I am close enough to appear on radar."

Kirk nodded, and Kamira let out another small sob as she laughed as well.

"I can't wait to meet you," she said brokenly.

The Admiral's face almost twisted in pain, but he only nodded.

"You have no idea, Kamira."


McCoy filled his tray with food he didn't care about and sat down at an empty table in a corner of the Galley.

Lena had completely ignored him ever since she kicked him out of her room, leaving him to button his pants and put on his shirt in the cold white halls.

And others wondered why his mood seemed worse than ever these days.

"Who the hell is Kamira?" Uhura said as she sat across from him.

He sighed, and took a sip of his water.

"I mean c'mon, the look on the Admiral Pike's face… and they had us clear the bridge! And that was the first time. Then we run a suicidal mission to bring her back, and they clear the bridge again? Never in the history of Starfleet have I heard of something like that-"

"She's an M.I.A. Officer or Agent or something," Chekov said, Shea next to him as they approached. They smiled and sat down at the table as well, ignoring McCoy's scoff of anger.

"Secret Agent Kamira?" Uhura grinned.

Lena, holding only an apple and water, sat next to Uhura. She kept her gaze on the table, but felt McCoy looking at her.

She took a bite of her fruit, keeping her eyes down.

"Maybe she's a rogue Starfleet officer!" Shea said, snapping her fingers.

"Or a mutant," Chekov grinned.

"A wanted vigilante!"

"Maybe she's a criminal," McCoy muttered, forking his food around but not eating it.

"She's not a criminal," Lena said sternly as she finished chewing. She frowned at everybody's silence, "She's NOT a criminal."

"She's right," Uhura butted in, nodding at Lena. She looked confused almost… "We would have known if she was a criminal when the Medical Bay ran her blood," Uhura continued.

There was another beat before Shea spoke up.

"Maybe she's a mistress of the President or something."

"That explains the suicide mission-" Chekov said.

"Crew, please return to Bridge," Spock's voice echoed through the galley.

"Here we go!" Chekov said as they all moved to stand up.

Lena grasped at Uhura's hand, giving her a pleading look, but Uhura only raised a brow and left to the bridge.

Leaving her alone with him.

Lena frowned, and took another bite of her apple.

She swallowed and stood up, McCoy standing with her.

"Lena-"

"Don't," she said, walking away.

McCoy followed her out into the hall.

"Don't what?! I haven't even said or done anything to you since…"

Lena frowned, but stayed silent as she kept walking.

"What, so you're still ignoring me?" he asked, and quickened his pace, getting close to her. "I bet you can't ignore what I did with my mouth-"

Lena stopped abruptly and turned, giving a good slap to his face.

He stood there, dumbfounded. A smile peeked on his face before he went back to frowning as usual.

She was breathing heavily, but had no idea why.

He took a step closer.

"As I was saying, you'll never forget where my-"

She raised her hand to slap him again, but he caught it. She pulled, but he only stepped closer.

She relaxed involuntarily.

He moved his nose to her jaw, and she shivered.

"Stop," she whispered.

"Are you sure-"

"Someone's coming," she said, bringing her hands up to his chest and pushing him away.

He stumbled back just as Lena turned her head and a shaky Kamira came around the corner. She stopped, and eyed the two of them before she came forward.

"Kamira, are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah," she said looking down.

"Have you been crying?" McCoy asked.

"Bones was just about to check on the security crew that got hurt during the mission. I'll take you back to your quarters, you need sleep," Lena said, giving a small glare to McCoy.

He cleared his throat, and nodded.

"Remember we need to check that arm every day," he said to Kamira before swiftly leaving.

Kamira and Lena watched him leave.

"What the hell was that about?" Kamira said the moment he was out of sight.

Lena sighed.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."