p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline; font-kerning: none;"Chapter 2/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"A buzzing sound pierces through Celia's half asleep brain. em"Hhhmph."/em she mutters./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"A sleepy Scotsman next to her turns around to sleep on. Celia gropes around on her bedside table, and finds a buzzing communicator. Stifling a huge yawn, she answers. em"M..Murray speaking."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Lieutenant Murray, it's Admiral Pike."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"This sends a jolt of energy through Celia's body, and she immediately sits upright. em"Admiral Pike, how can I help you?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Inside the bedroom, this attracts the attention of the Scotsman, and he turns around to look at her with questions in his eyes./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"From the other end of the communicator, Admiral Pike continues. em"I need you to come to my office at headquarters. How soon can you get here?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"The sleepy woman tries her best to think clearly, but her brain isn't ready for this. em"An hour, sir?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Admiral Pike grunts. em"That'll do. I expect you here in an hour. And Lieutenant, this is a private meeting."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I understand, sir."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"He breaks off the connection, and Celia just stares in the distance for a few seconds. em"Everything a'ight love?"/em asks Montgomery Scott next to her. This jolts her into action, and she throws the covers open. em"I need to go to headquarters. And I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."/em she concludes./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Luckily he understands confidentially. He smiles and motions to the bathroom. em"Better get to it then. Lemme know where ye are after, we'll grab lunch."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Smiling, she bends down and kisses him. And then one more, for luck. em"I'll hold you to that babe."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She braves the cold air in the apartment and heads for the shower./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"-/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"An hour later she arrives at Admiral Pike's door. She's nervous, but she raises her hand and knocks the door./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She hears a muffled male voice say em"Enter."/em from inside. She enters a very orderly and open office. Admiral Pike sits behind his desk. She stands to attention, but he motions dismissively. em"At ease. Have a seat, Murray."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She sits down in one of the comfy cream-coloured chairs. Pike studies her. She decides to just get on with it. em"Why have you summoned me, sir?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Her superior smiles. em"I need your help."/em He gestures to his desk. There are two folders lying there. Celia can't see what they are. em"I have two conflicting reports about your trip to the class M planet, Nibiru, and I need you to confirm the correct one."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Celia feels her stomach drop. This feels like backstabbing. To stall for time, she dares to ask a question. em"Why me, sir? Surely somebody else is more qualified..."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I need an outside voice in this Lieutenant. I have a Captain telling me nothing happened and his First Officer telling me something happened. And for some reason I think the Chief of Security wasn't involved in any of this."/em He looks at Celia intently. em"So I ask you again, Lieutenant, what happened on Nibiru?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She swallows, and takes a deep breath. em"During our survey of the planet, we discovered that the volcano would erupt soon. We wanted to save the people, but also remain unseen. So Kirk and McCoy distracted the locals, while an away team went into the volcano to freeze it."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Here she pauses, as she gathers her courage. Pike simply looks at her. It doesn't look like he's terribly surprised by what he's hearing. He just looks sad./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Commander Spock got stuck in the volcano, and the only way to save him was to fly overhead with the Enterprise, and beam him out. Which we did. We returned home afterwards." /emshe concludes her tale./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Pike chuckles lightly. em"I applaud you for trying to protect your Captain, but I'm going to ask you to tell me the full tale. You were seen, I imagine."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She sighs. It was worth a shot. em"We were, sir. We rose from the sea right in front of them. I imagine we looked like a sea monster to the poor things."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Silence follows that remark. Celia doesn't know what to say, so she just keeps quiet while Pike thinks. She looks through the blinds in the window and observes the tall buildings outside./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Suddenly his voice brings her back to the present. em"I need to you write a full report yourself."/em She looks at the man in front of her. em"You had nothing to do with this decision, which is a stupidity in itself, and you can be objective in this. Leave nothing out, and send me a write up about the survey mission immediately. Do not discuss any of this with anybody. Dismissed."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She nods, and gets up quickly. Before she leaves, she turns back to her superior officer. em"Will people get in trouble, sir?"/em she asks him./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"He looks up to meet her eyes. em"They are already in trouble. Your report won't make it any worse for them."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Thank you sir."/em she says, and she leaves the room. As the door closes, she can feel her heart beat in her throat. She can guess what has happened. Kirk put in his report that everything was fine. Spock told the truth, thus exposing Kirk as a liar. Admiral Pike has just asked her to stab Kirk in the back. She starts to walk towards the nearby library. Lying to save Kirk is pointless, because anybody investigating the incident will surely check the data of the trip, which will speak the truth. If she lies now, she'll only get in trouble as well. Unfortunately, she has to write the report truthfully. She sighs as she walks towards the communal computer area. She's going to feel incredibly guilty about this./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"A buzzing sound pierces through Celia's half asleep brain. em"Hhhmph."/em she mutters./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"A sleepy Scotsman next to her turns around to sleep on. Celia gropes around on her bedside table, and finds a buzzing communicator. Stifling a huge yawn, she answers. em"M..Murray speaking."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Lieutenant Murray, it's Admiral Pike."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"This sends a jolt of energy through Celia's body, and she immediately sits upright. em"Admiral Pike, how can I help you?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Inside the bedroom, this attracts the attention of the Scotsman, and he turns around to look at her with questions in his eyes./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"From the other end of the communicator, Admiral Pike continues. em"I need you to come to my office at headquarters. How soon can you get here?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"The sleepy woman tries her best to think clearly, but her brain isn't ready for this. em"An hour, sir?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Admiral Pike grunts. em"That'll do. I expect you here in an hour. And Lieutenant, this is a private meeting."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I understand, sir."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"He breaks off the connection, and Celia just stares in the distance for a few seconds. em"Everything a'ight love?"/em asks Montgomery Scott next to her. This jolts her into action, and she throws the covers open. em"I need to go to headquarters. And I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."/em she concludes./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Luckily he understands confidentially. He smiles and motions to the bathroom. em"Better get to it then. Lemme know where ye are after, we'll grab lunch."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Smiling, she bends down and kisses him. And then one more, for luck. em"I'll hold you to that babe."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She braves the cold air in the apartment and heads for the shower./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"-/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"An hour later she arrives at Admiral Pike's door. She's nervous, but she raises her hand and knocks the door./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She hears a muffled male voice say em"Enter."/em from inside. She enters a very orderly and open office. Admiral Pike sits behind his desk. She stands to attention, but he motions dismissively. em"At ease. Have a seat, Murray."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She sits down in one of the comfy cream-coloured chairs. Pike studies her. She decides to just get on with it. em"Why have you summoned me, sir?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Her superior smiles. em"I need your help."/em He gestures to his desk. There are two folders lying there. Celia can't see what they are. em"I have two conflicting reports about your trip to the class M planet, Nibiru, and I need you to confirm the correct one."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Celia feels her stomach drop. This feels like backstabbing. To stall for time, she dares to ask a question. em"Why me, sir? Surely somebody else is more qualified..."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I need an outside voice in this Lieutenant. I have a Captain telling me nothing happened and his First Officer telling me something happened. And for some reason I think the Chief of Security wasn't involved in any of this."/em He looks at Celia intently. em"So I ask you again, Lieutenant, what happened on Nibiru?"/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She swallows, and takes a deep breath. em"During our survey of the planet, we discovered that the volcano would erupt soon. We wanted to save the people, but also remain unseen. So Kirk and McCoy distracted the locals, while an away team went into the volcano to freeze it."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Here she pauses, as she gathers her courage. Pike simply looks at her. It doesn't look like he's terribly surprised by what he's hearing. He just looks sad./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Commander Spock got stuck in the volcano, and the only way to save him was to fly overhead with the Enterprise, and beam him out. Which we did. We returned home afterwards." /emshe concludes her tale./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Pike chuckles lightly. em"I applaud you for trying to protect your Captain, but I'm going to ask you to tell me the full tale. You were seen, I imagine."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She sighs. It was worth a shot. em"We were, sir. We rose from the sea right in front of them. I imagine we looked like a sea monster to the poor things."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Silence follows that remark. Celia doesn't know what to say, so she just keeps quiet while Pike thinks. She looks through the blinds in the window and observes the tall buildings outside./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"Suddenly his voice brings her back to the present. em"I need to you write a full report yourself."/em She looks at the man in front of her. em"You had nothing to do with this decision, which is a stupidity in itself, and you can be objective in this. Leave nothing out, and send me a write up about the survey mission immediately. Do not discuss any of this with anybody. Dismissed."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"She nods, and gets up quickly. Before she leaves, she turns back to her superior officer. em"Will people get in trouble, sir?"/em she asks him./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"He looks up to meet her eyes. em"They are already in trouble. Your report won't make it any worse for them."/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Thank you sir."/em she says, and she leaves the room. As the door closes, she can feel her heart beat in her throat. She can guess what has happened. Kirk put in his report that everything was fine. Spock told the truth, thus exposing Kirk as a liar. Admiral Pike has just asked her to stab Kirk in the back. She starts to walk towards the nearby library. Lying to save Kirk is pointless, because anybody investigating the incident will surely check the data of the trip, which will speak the truth. If she lies now, she'll only get in trouble as well. Unfortunately, she has to write the report truthfully. She sighs as she walks towards the communal computer area. She's going to feel incredibly guilty about this./span/p