AN: I wrote this long after when I should have been sleeping. In three hours. Never again.
"I've done nothing," she declared. "Well, not entirely true I suppose. I did warn Spock, who warned Pike. But that's not what you mean, is it?"
A firm "No" was Jim's only reply. Bones and Spocky remained silent, eyes firmly trained on her.
She hmmm'd. "To clarify, he didn't know who I was at all?" When Jim merely stared back, she sniffed and decided his immaturity was still a near crippling issue. Didn't he understand the trial of command never ended? If he felt this was truly important to achieving the mission, then he would need to be helpful. "Again, not surprising but terribly unhelpful all the same."
Kirk, perhaps recognizing any pushiness on his part wouldn't be either accepted or helpful, kept his mouth shut and allowed her to continue to think.
How did one explain meddlesome, timeless beings to those who had no concept of them or their whims?
She turned her eyes to Spock. "I'm not entirely sure how it actually works out." Fact. "I can only speculate." Truth. "From what I know, there can only be one in my situation at any given point in time." Likely true. "As such, it stands to reason I can only exist in one given arc of reality at a time." Right?
Which didn't touch on whether she could be in any one given dimension at a given point in time while in another.
… not entirely relevant.
"That makes no sense," Kirk decided.
Harriet shrugged. It wasn't supposed to make sense.
Bones had the nerve to sigh.
"I really don't see why this is particularly relevant. Or why it had to be discussed in private. If anything, we've only created more confusion and speculation by doing so," she pointed out.
"Did you come through time as well?" Kirk asked with a surprising amount of seriousness.
An interesting question. She didn't think so…
"I honestly don't know," she answered. It likely wasn't an answer he either wanted or expected but he maintained his serious bearing.
Which, really, odd.
"… your disorientation that first day at the Academy…" Spock quietly considered.
"Hmmm." Well, no time like the present – right? "Not the same. Not an entirely divorced concept, but not the same." She paused to organize her thoughts and stroked Smaug's fur. "I, unknowingly at the time, completed a task that made me into something of a… traveler."
When she paused a bit too long, Spock interjected. "… that is not sufficient Harriet. I remind you of my commitment to the Prime Directive."
Harriet snorted, just catching Kirk's surprised face, and Bones' not quite so surprised face, out of the corner of her eye. She'd have to follow up on that…
"Our standing disagreement aside, that's not entirely relevant. I was born on Earth to perfectly normal parents." She cocked her head to the side, focus entirely on Spock.
It was Bones who broke their moment, eyes calculating. "Which Earth?"
"And when?" tacked on Kirk.
Harriet turned her head slightly and blinked at them absently for a moment, missing her Trelawneys, then turned back to Spock.
"Well, that's been one of the more nagging questions since we've met actually. I mean, you'd think there'd only be one Earth, right? But a lot of the history before the Eugenics Wars is missing." Along with magic in general, which posited solid evidence this wasn't the Earth she'd been born on.
Kirk made a sound that reminded her of someone choking on air. Too bad she couldn't see Bones' face clearly – she rather enjoyed labeling his reactions.
"What else is missing?" Spock asked quietly, his eyes still tracking hers.
Harriet's only response was to flare her nose. Really, it was an old pain. It no longer hurt to think on as it used to be. Yet, here she was, reluctant to even mention it to two she could no longer deny being … at the very least firmly attached.
Maybe it was Kirk's presence that was throwing her off?
'How annoying!'
"Everyone and every where."
McCoy's face pinched, likely in some recognition of the nature of her prior pain.
"Luna." Spock, naturally, would pick apart her statement for the said that was unsaid.
"And any trace of the name or lineage." She shrugged. Would Kirk even pick up on the fact Luna wasn't a reference to her or her lineage? "That's not entirely on point or topic though. If anything, I came forward in time, whereas Nero went backward." She looked directly at Kirk. "I have no association with him."
"That doesn't explain how the other Spock doesn't know who you are," Kirk insisted.
"Like I said, there can likely only be one in my situation at any given point in time. If I was traveling elsewhere at the time, I could not have been in his time. I cannot be here AND there at the same time." Sure. Probably. Right?
"That doesn't make sense," Kirk gritted out.
"And your companion? Your warnings?" asked Spock, railroading over Kirk's moodiness. And likely adding to Kirk ongoing sense of being out of the loop. And perhaps doing the same to Bones.
O Dear.
"Ah. Yes. THAT has entirely to do with that task I unknowingly completed." She made a face. "I was the chosen, if you will, and I've had to live with It ever since." Could they tell she'd capitalized the I there?
She shifted a bit on her feet before letting Smaug down. Bones didn't even comment.
"And now, It whispers and nudges and haunts as It wills." She straightened back up. "What you must understand Spock, is that there are beings and entities that possess immeasurable power over time, space, the laws of physics, and reality itself."
"And you're a Special Envoy of them?" Kirk interjected, disbelievingly.
Harriet let out a low, bubbling laugh of amusement. "No. They do what they will, as they will. They do not need representatives." Death did not need her. Which is why she always wondered (and sometimes wept/railed at) why he kept her.
Spock caught her attention when he set his shoulders. Had his eyes ever left her?
"Ms. Luna is a Special Envoy of her people." He turned and pinned Kirk with a look before he could even open his mouth. "That is currently sufficient."
Kirk, surprisingly, kept his mouth shut.
For about ten seconds. Which, odd. What was with this off and on brashness?
"You don't know Nero and you didn't come back in time. Ok. So how were you able to warn Captain Pike?"
Harriet raised an eyebrow condescendingly. "There are some things you are not entitled to know. Furthermore," she stressed as he opened his mouth, "I am an ally in the mission to protect the health and safety of this crew and you have been nothing but belligerent. You are formally warned I will tolerate your belligerency no longer." She knew from experience her tone more than adequately conveyed her seriousness. If he still chose to ignore her warning, so be it. "Now, do you have any additional information on the red matter machine?"
"Only that it can't be destroyed," cadet Kirk said tersely.
"Why not?"
"If you destroy its dual containment fields, then you end up releasing the contents." Kirk frowned. "That's just what we need, a bunch of red matter floating around the solar system."
"So we have to capture the device in one piece," McCoy stated. "How? Even if we can catch up, you can't go in with guns blazing."
"Correct." Now was the time to act, but caution was still required. "It is time to convene a strategy session. Harriet, Doctor, if you would return to the bridge with me." He pivoted on the spot and headed toward the entrance to the office.
"Wait," came Kirk's voice. "I can help. No, wait, please."
Spock stopped against his better judgement and turned back around. "If you have nothing more to add, then our conversation is done cadet."
"Look, the Captain trusted me enough to make me First Officer before he left for a situation he knew he might not return from. And the other version of you was certain I was the Captain of this ship. That has to speak for something."
"Your actions have spoken louder than your potential." He caught the faintest notion of movement at his side. "Harriet. Do not … interfere." She gave him a doubtful look but eventually nodded her understanding. He began walking out of medical at a crisp pace, fully aware of the low likelihood the cadet would remain where he was told. "I am more interested in knowing what resources or knowledge you can provide," he stated in Vulcan.
"It depends." She drew next to him and matched his stride. "I'm not exactly suited for space."
"That is not to say you are unable to adapt." He ignored the cadet that was indeed stubbornly following behind the doctor. Provided he did not open his mouth, he would not have reason to act immediately. There were more pressing concerns. "Can we utilize any of your skills or those adaptations in our attempt to seize the vessel?"
"Not if it involves electronics. No, without quite a bit of time and study to ensure no adverse effects to the ship, the risk is high enough for me to not feel particularly comfortable."
"And your – wards – cannot be extended to cover the ship?" If they could…
"No, not without significant time and effort." She expelled a gust of air, before continuing. "Honestly Spock, I have already done what I am willing to try aboard this vessel."
"I ask only to be thorough," he said softly. Why had he lowered his voice?
"Then as the captain of this vessel, I commend your efforts. However," she continued, "I have limits, both natural and self-imposed."
"I thank you for your trust and ask – "
"Please speak English," McCoy interrupted in his usual fashion.
"- ask that you continue to provide what aid you can," he finished in his native Vulcan. It was – oddly relieving to both hear and speak his mother tongue even if it changed nothing about recent events.
When she spoke next, Harriet's tone was amused. "I told Pike very plainly that I will not be pushed to extend myself, my knowledge, or my connections for an endeavor that I do not approve of."
"And do you not approve of our course of action?"
"What is our course of action," she asked in Common. "If you wish to catch that vessel strictly to execute a rescue mission, no, I do not." They entered the bridge. "That machine must be removed from Nero's control. He cannot be allowed to travel across time as he pleases."
A part of Spock, the more human part he supposed, was not appalled but wondering at her lack of care for Captain Pike's continued survival. The more Vulcan aspects of him, however, understood completely: the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. It was the only reason he had not called Security to escort the cadet to the brig: brashness and an absolute commitment to survival could be an asset if directed in the proper direction. Now, how to direct it?
Cadet Kirk had been useful during the fighting on the drill. He had been useful in his acquisition of Engineer Scott. Perhaps he would be useful in a boarding attempt?
"Mr. Sulu, has there been any change?"
"No, Captain. They're going to be in geosynchronous orbit around Earth in eight minutes. We'll never make it."
"Even if we could Keptin, the only chance we might have of inflicting any significant damage is to take them completely by surprise." As the Tactical chief, Chekov could be relied upon to know such things. "We already know the Narada is more powerful than any Federation vessel. They'll have their own defenses up. They'll be looking for remnants of the fleet as well as local defenses to strike out at them. Ground-based aircraft and missiles won't have a chance of penetrating their shields. Any ship of starship size that drops out of warp near Earth will get pulverized before it has a chance to respond."
Tactical chief and helmsman exchanged a glance.
"There's no way we can drop out of warp within effective attack range without them detecting our presence and responding," Mr. Sulu added. "They'll be scanning everything inside the orbit of Mars. If we emerge outside detection range it's even worse: they'll have plenty of time to see us coming if we try to engage on impulse power."
"As fir getting on board the Romulan vessel, ye can forget transwarp." Mister Scott said it with certainty but was eying Harriet with some degree of interest. "Beaming from a fixed pint on a planetary surface to a ship travelin' in subspace is one thing. Tryin' to beam from a ship travelin' through subspace onto another travelin' through subspace boggles the calculus." He paused and turned toward Harriet. "Unless, o' course, the lass kens another way?"
Harriet considered it and Scott before looking back at him and shaking her head.
It was interesting that she didn't give a verbal answer.
Harriet herself felt entirely superfluous at this point. What did she know about Saturn, magnetic fields, ionization, and coming out of warp behind a moon? What she did know was that they had less than three minutes left to get whatever it was that they were planning done. They needed to hurry. It. Up. –
"If Mister Sulu can maneuver us into position according to the dictates expressed by Mister Chekov, and relying on Mister Scott's expertise in calculating transporter delimitations, I believe I can be beamed aboard Nero's ship."
'Wait, what? I thought we were letting Kirk hang around for a reason?!' She sent Spock a look that was equal parts incredulity and shock. Didn't he know the Captain wasn't supposed to go rushing in?
"I'll do it," Kirk volunteered before she could get a word out.
'Darn straight he would!'
"Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry. Unless, as Mister Chekov suggests, the technology on board the Narada has changed beyond recognition, I am probably sufficiently familiar with Romulan scientific and engineering standards to access their ship's functions and thereby locate the device."
Point. STILL!
"Then I'm coming with you." Really, now what did Kirk have to prove? No, that wasn't very generous of her. He'd always been angling for a rescue attempt. Let him. He'd proven he could take a bit of a bloody nose if nothing else, it was as good a time as any to see if he could handle being given an actual task.
Spock seemed to consider what was not a request but an inevitable declaration of intent.
"I would cite regulation stating that a Captain and First Officer should not be off their ship at the same time, but I know you will simply ignore it."
Kirk had the gall to smile. "See? We're getting to know each other."
Oh, Spock already had Kirk's number. At this point, she was pretty sure it was more a matter of whether or not they would come to blows and kill each other or come to blows and somehow become something closer to friends as a result of it.
"Right, so, Spock and I to the machine, Kirk to Pike. Anything else? No? Right then." She nodded decisively, ignoring the looks on the bridge being thrown her way, and began making her way toward the transporter room. "Tally ho."
"Harriet?" Spock called as he turned to follow after her.
"This ordeal isn't over yet. Surely, you don't expect me to simply sit here?"
"Will you speak in a language we can all understand?" Kirk demanded. "Please," he added into the silence.
"No."
AN2: Since these two chapters go hand in hand, I thought I'd post them at the same time. However, that means there won't be a post for a while.
Prompt: All nighter! (does sleep deprived count?);
The Wisdom of Q (from Star Trek Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager):
a) "You just don't get it [name]. The trial never ends."
b) "If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you outta go back home and crawl back under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross but it's not for the timid."
