Adea stepped gingerly out of her bathroom, pulling her wet hair into a messy knot atop her head. She'd managed to hold herself together long enough to slip away unnoticed from Kirk's party, mumbling off some excuse about needing to sleep and blood making her nauseous. For once in her life, even Carol seemed to barely notice. She ignored everything she knew about hangovers as she picked up her half-full wine glass from the coffee, pulling her sweatshirt of her knees at she sat on her bed.

What the hell had come over her? She frowned into her wine glass, regretting having replaced so many of Kirk's drinks. At least then she could blamed alcohol for her choices… Adea startled as a slow knock echoed in her room, swearing under her breath as the wine sloshed over the rim, splattering onto her rug. She exhaled slowly, setting the glass hastily on her night stand.Why couldn't she be left alone… Wine was barely drowning out the images flashing through her head. The last thing she needed was more drama to mull over. She lay back on her bed, closing her eyes as she prayed Carol, Kirk, or god forbid McCoy would leave her the hell alone. Why was anyone even up at time? After a minute of silence she exhaled shakily, opening a hesitant eye towards the door. She closed her eyes again, almost finding a moment of near peace as the knock echoed again.

She forgot about her hand as she pushed herself up quickly, a guilty knot in the pit of her stomach accompanying the sharp pang. She hesitated for a moment, her hand above the door as she mentally prepared herself for the person on other side. She exhaled through her teeth, her face flushing red as she opened the door, her eyes meeting McCoy's.

It was bad enough her mind kept replaying it in her head. It was another thing to see him standing there in the same green sweater she'd nearly ripped off a few hours ago. She stepped slowly out of the doorway, guilt twisting in her stomach as she caught herself staring after him. They stood in awkward silence as she shut the door behind him, her arms crossing nervously as she grappled where to start.

"I don't know what to say," Adea mumbled honestly, staring blankly at the floor, "I didn't mean for that to-"

Adea trailed off abruptly as she glimpsed the expression on his face.

"Lee, what-"

"I can't stop thinking about you, Adi," he spoke up suddenly, stepping towards her.

"What?" Adea breathed, her hands dropping to her side as his words echoing in her head.

"Dammit, I have tried to get you out of my head," he continued, his voice shaking with a quiet urgency, "But I can't. And I have no idea what this is or how any of it works without being a ticking time bomb, but I want you so badly it hurts."

"Lee-"

"I've fallen for you, Adi," he concluded slowly.

Adea stared back at him with wide eyes, rooted in place as her heart pounded in her ears. Did he just say he'd fallen for her? The room spun dangerously as her mind raced to catch up with the moment. One minute they were joking...then kissing… then...She swayed sharply as his words finally registered, stepping backwards as she caught her balance.

"Why would you say that?" She whispered softly, her voice constricting in her throat as she stared back at him.

"Adi-"

"Why on earth would you say that?" Adea repeated, her breathing increasing rapidly as he moved closer to her, ""Is that supposed to make everything make sense? Did you just forget why you're even here? Why we're even having this conversation? Are you even going to mention whatever the hell just happened in Kirk's bathroom? Our captain's, bathroom?!"

She stared forward, another wave of guilt rolling through her as visions of her last words flashed through her mind.

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking earlier," Adea continued, shaking her head quickly, "But this, on this ship is playing with fire, Lee. It was stupid, and impulsive, and it cannot happen again, Lee. We cannot happen again."

"We shouldn't or that's how you feel?" McCoy questioned.

"Lee, it doesn't matter I feel," Adea snapped.

"So you do feel something?" McCoy countered softly.

"Yes-I mean, no. I-" Adea stuttered, her resistance crumbling as he stepped closer towards her.

"Then why do you still wear my Starfleet shirt?" He countered calmly, his thumb brushing her cheek.

Adea stared back at him in shock, her breath quickening as her mortified mind stumbled for an excuse. Part of her wanted to deny she still had, but if he'd seen it, she'd already been too careless. Admitting she still missed what they had? She thought guiltily to the party, her lips burning as if she'd been stung. It was bad enough her mind wandered to kissing him as often as it did, and it was even worse now that she'd acted on it. More than acted on it.

Adea looked up at him, the look burning in his dark eyes confirming he saw right through her reaction. She parted her lips to protest as he leaned forward suddenly, his lips pressing against hers. She'd barely registered responding to the kiss, when she pulled away sharply. She stared up at him, her lower lip trembling as her vision blurred.

"Lee, this will never work," Adea continued softly, looking up at him, "Someone will eventually figure out we didn't first meet on this ship and whatever hard work I've put in to be where I am will be reduced to having slept with my superior officer to get it. My judgemental family, who has held every mistake I've made over my head will never let something like this go if they found out."

"Adi, I know it's hard-"

"No you don't know," Adea replied sternly, "My family members involve themselves in everything I do and when I make the smallest mistake, they treat me like I'm incapable of doing anything right without their help. One of the only things I ever had that made me happy, and that they couldn't control or meddle with, was you."

"Adi-"

"This has to stop, Lee," Adea concluded slowly,

"So that's it?" McCoy started slowly, "Your family is difficult so you'd rather make yourself feel nothing?"

"It's more complicated than that," Adea replied bitterly.

"Then tell me about it, Adea!" McCoy pleaded, staring back at the distant pain building in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter, Lee," Adea exhaled shakily, "We can't do this again"

"Why not?" McCoy sighed, his voice shaking as it rose.

"Because I can't fall for you again without hurting the both of us, and I already am!" Adea snapped loudly, squeezing her eyes shut as a hot tear rolled down her cheek.

"Adea-"

"Please go," she mumbled quietly, unable to look him eye as wiped her face hastily with the edge of her sleeve.

He remained there for a moment longer, his hand caressing her shoulder softly, as he exhaled quietly through his nose. Adea stared numbly at the floor, crossing her arms across her chest as she heard the door shut behind her. She didn't bother turning off the light as she padded slowly to her bed, curling onto her side as she buried her face in her hands.

She knew this feeling would go away.

It had to.


Two weeks later


"Now I know there's something wrong," Sulu concluded, staring at the full whiskey glass in front of McCoy.

McCoy raised an eyebrow in response, taking a reluctant sip of his glass, "Do you, now?"

They sat across from each other in the living room of the doctor's cabin. It had become a tradition of sorts between Sulu and McCoy, each bringing a new bottle of whiskey to sample. Though McCoy had still come this month, the absence of his characteristic enthusiasm for the event had not gone unnoticed to Sulu.

"This is the bottle of bourbon you gave me for my birthday last year," Sulu continued, drinking from his own glass, "You wouldn't shut up about it for two years. For two years. Now you won't even touch it. What gives?"

"Guess I'm just tired," McCoy replied dryly.

"Tired my ass," Sulu replied, "What is it? I have seen you this down since dock girl."

"Dock girl?" McCoy repeated slowly.

"That's what Kirk and I call her," Sulu explained, "The mystery girl you ran off to be with when the Enterprise landed after the Romulan mission. You could barely get off the ship when we docked. A few months later you were in a bad mood for weeks like a bad breakup."

If Kirk and Sulu had noticed something he really needed to get a hold of himself…

McCoy's frown deepened as he took another sip. It had been weeks since Kirk's party but Adea remained the last person he wanted to think about right now. These days it seemed he spent half his time thinking about her and the other half trying to put her out of his head. She'd walked away once and he had said nothing. So he'd left reason aside and told her. Now she would barely look at him. It had been weeks, and in spite of the logical voice in his head that told him to move on, he couldn't shake the feeling she might change her mind if he fought harder for her. Either way, hoping didn't help.

Maybe she was right...this would never work. He knew Uhura could be difficult, but to be honest, he knew very little about the two of them, let alone their family. They barely spoke about each other, and he'd be damned if he'd ever heard them mention their parents. If Uhura was difficult, what the hell were they? He'd seen the uncharacteristic fear in Adea's eyes when she mentioned them. It was so brief he would have missed it had he not seen it before, the night she had come to his apartment to apologize. It made him uneasy to see something scare her so much and downright sick feeling helpless to stop it.

"Since when do you and Kirk make conspiracy theories about my free time?" McCoy frowned, taking a generous sip from his glass.

"Since when are you so defensive, Doctor?" Sulu countered.

"It's not defensive, it's called tired," McCoy replied dryly, finishing his drink as he stood up slowly, "I'm going to head to bed."

"Hear me out first," Sulu offered.

"Hear what?" McCoy replied tiredly.

"I have a theory," Sulu proposed, "If I'm wrong, I shut up and leave, and next month's whiskey is on me too. If not, you're going to talk to me and help me finish this whiskey."

"I don't have time for your theories," McCoy sighed, growing annoyed at Sulu's insistence.

"It's Lieutenant Ele, isn't?" Sulu spoke up.

McCoy stared back at him, his brows furrowing.

"Wha-"

"She called you Lee one time in the cafeteria," Sulu continued, "You hate nicknames. So besides the handful of people on this ship that call you Bones, everyone here calls you McCoy or Doctor. So why does the newest recruit to the Enterprise call you by a nickname, that if I remember correctly, you only allow your own sister to use?"

Sulu paused, taking in McCoy's expression before continuing.

"She would have been a student at the Academy when we docked after the Romulan mission, but it's still possible that you knew her. If you did, that fact and her relation to Uhura would explain the secrecy then and now. It's her, isn't it?"

McCoy sat down slowly, facing Sulu. The man had an eye for detail. He could outright deny it, but if Sulu could figure out that much information from a nickname, it was pointless trying to get something past him. Besides it wouldn't change anything now..

"So this is what you and Kirk discuss in your free time?" McCoy refilling their glasses.

"I didn't tell Kirk who she is," Sulu replied, "He's good at a great many things, but subtlety is not one of them."

"You don't say," McCoy mused.

"So if it's Ele, what happened?" Sulu questioned, "You two seemed close. Now you're both burying yourselves in work and ignoring everyone."

"Since when are you so observant?" McCoy replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Ever since I heard her say Lee I have watched you two," Sulu continued, "I was testing my theory. She puts up a stoic wall like her sister, but when she's around you, she changes. She seems less guarded. She laughs. She talks about her life outside of Starfleet. And I'll be damned if that worried frown of yours doesn't vanish when she joins us. Now all I see two people miserably trying to convince each other they don't need each other."

"Are you cupid now?" McCoy retorted.

"No, but I'm your friend," Sulu replied, "If you want to sit around and be miserable, hoping it won't interfere with your work, that's your choice. But if you're going to waste good bourbon then, yes, I will intervene as necessary."

"Too late to intervene," McCoy stated bluntly, taking a long sip from his glass, "Adea's convinced it won't work, and she's probably right."

"So you're not convinced?" Sulu asked.

"What choice do I have?" McCoy mused dryly, "She's made up her mind."

"What choice do you have?" Sulu repeated, pressing on, "Did you try talking to her?"

"She doesn't want to," McCoy replied bluntly.

"So you didn't try?" Sulu pushed.

"If you want me to forget about this and drink with you, you're moving further from the point," McCoy growled, growing annoyed.

"So if there's nothing you can do, why not let her go?" Sulu countered calmly.

"Dammit Sulu, a moment ago, you were just guessing if our relationship exists. Now you know how it works?" McCoy snapped.

"So there is some fight still left in you," Sulu smirked slowly, "This mopey bourbon drinking had me worried."

"Are you done?" McCoy exhaled loudly, pitching the bridge of his nose.

Sulu shrugged in response, topping of McCoy's glass, "If she cares about you, seeing that you still care and would fight for her probably means more to her than she is willing to admit."

"Alright. Point made. Now enough of this concern for my love life for this evening," McCoy muttered, clinking Sulu's glass, "I'm a doctor, not a bachelorette contestant."


"You've been avoiding me," Carol stated, pacing into Adea's room.

"Busy with work," Adea replied simply, closing her door as she returned to the three screens projected over her desk.

"Work?" Carol repeated dryly, "You're preparing the report for an ongoing planet exploration. A bit overkill isn't it?"

"If my final few hours on Ujaar are as uneventful as the first few, then my report is nearly done," Adea shrugged, saving the screen view as she turned to Carol, "I'm not ignoring you."

"Bullshit," Carol snapped, her eyes trailing from Adea's unusually casual bun to her lack of makeup, "What is going on with you? You've been acting squirrelly ever since Kirk's party."

"I'm not acting squirrelly" Adea sighed, frowning as she crossed her arms, "Don't you have somewhere better to be?"

"C'mon, A, I haven't seen you this bent out of shape since," Carol trailed off abruptly, her eyes growing wide as she stared up at Adea, "Did something happen with McCoy?"

"You honestly don't have anywhere else to be on this ship right now?" Adea huffed, edging past Carol as placed her PADD in the bag on her bed.

"Wait, something happened with McCoy?" Carol questioned, "What happened with McCoy?"

"Nothing," Adea snapped, returning to her desk to switch off her projector.

"Adea, don't try to deny it now," Carol pressed on, "Spill"

"Carol-" Adea warned.

"Spill!" Carol ordered.

"Can you just drop it, Carol?" Adea huffed.

"Adea Uhura-Ele, I swear if you don't tell me I will-"

"Fine!" Adea snapped, averting Carol's eyes as she stared at floor, "I slept with McCoy."

"You slept with McCoy?" Carol repeated slowly, her eyes growing impossibly wider, "What? When?"

"It doesn't matter Carol. It was a mistake," Adea groaned, " I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

"Wait, is that why he left Kirk's party so shortly after you did?" Carol questioned.

"He left right after I did?" Adea replied, a cold pang of guilt burning in her stomach.

"What do you mean? Of course he did," Carol replied, "Why would-"

She trailed off abruptly, her hands clapping over her mouth as she stared back at Adea.

"You hooked up with McCoy at Kirk's party?" Carol asked, the red blush blazing across Adea's cheeks confirming her question as she pressed on, "Wait, did you two hook up in Kirk's room when you got hurt?"

"Car-"

"Oh my god, Adi, you did, didn't you!" Carol replied, a giddiness shading the shock in her voice

"Yes, well I wasn't exactly thinking my actions through in the moment, Carol," Adea frowned, crossing her arms as she avoided Carol's gaze.

"Who knew the doctor was such a freak," Carol mused, nudging Adea's shoulder.

"Drunk, Carol," Adea corrected, growing frustrated, "And you're not helping,"

"What? You can't tell me you never had that fantasy," Carol replied, raising an eyebrow at Adea.

"Believe it or not, no, Carol," Adea hissed, "I've never had the fantasy of risking court martial by drunkenly screwing the ship's doctor in the captain's bathroom. So drop it Carol."

"You can't honestly tell me no part of you found that exciting," Carol continued.

"Dammit Carol!" Adea snapped, tossing her mission wristband onto her bed, "Can't you just let it go?!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Carol snapped back, "You spend years pining after him, beating yourself up because you never told him how you felt the first time, and now you're going to snap at me, because for some inexplicable reason you've gone and changed your mind again."

"What the hell do you know about what I want, Carol?" Adea retorted.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Adea?" Carol shouted, "Every other week you complain to me when you change your mind about him."

"I told you to drop it," Adea shot back, "I didn't want to talk about this."

"About what happened? Or that you're denying how you feel about him again?" Carol retorted.

"Goddamnit, Carol, stay out of it!" Adea snapped back, "Nothing will happen with him again!"

"Why the hell not, Adi?!" Carol yelled.

"Because falling for me is what got Adam killed!" Adea shouted back.

Adea breathed heavily as she stared forward at Carol, her body growing numb as she felt the cold tendrils of guilt constricting her chest. She glanced up at Carol, watching the shock in her eyes fade to concern.

"What?" Carol muttered quietly, her mouth still open in shock as she stared back at Adea, "Adi, you told me-"

"I told you he left," Adea stated, her voice low as she stared forward blankly, "That he said he wanted to marry me, so I panicked because I wasn't ready. I told Nyota, and she told our mother. She told me to leave him, so I got scared and I ended it."

"Adi, you said you never heard from him again," Carol replied softly.

"I didn't," Adea answered quietly, "He never talked to me again, and I was too scared to say something again. I didn't even know he died until I saw his name on a casualties list."

"Adi, what happened?" Carol questioned softly.

"He was aboard the USS Constellation on the edge of Federation space, when it encountered the Romulan ship that destroyed Vulcan," Adea continued slowly, her voice cracking with emotion, "The ship didn't even stand a chance. It was obliterated. The hull breach was so catastrophic, the entire crew died within minutes."

"Adi, you can't blame yourself for that," Carol replied slowly.

"No, Carol, I can. I was the reason he was assigned to the USS Constellation" Adea stated, trembling as she looked up at Carol, "He was supposed to be assigned to a higher class ship, the USS Bradbury, but a few weeks before he left he was transferred a ship posted at the limits of Federation space. I had wanted to see why he left, so I went and I found the transfer documents. He didn't request a transfer, Carol. My mother ordered it. She signed it the day after she told me I was better off without him."

"Oh Adi," Carol breathed, frowning as Adea shrugged her hand off her shoulder.

"I can't fall for McCoy again because I can't risk something happening to him," Adea concluded, her voice breaking as a hot tear slid down her cheek, "If my mother thought anything about McCoy was threat to me, she has the power to destroy his career in Starfleet. Or transfer him to a battlefront in the middle of who knows where. Starfleet is everything to him. I couldn't live with myself if I was the reason something bad happened to him."

"Adi, I'm so sorry," Carol responded softly.

She watched Adea as she returned to packing the bag on her bed, biting the nail of her thumb.

"Does anyone else know?" Carol asked slowly, "McCoy? Your sister?"

Adea shook her head quickly, wiping her face hastily as she glanced at her watch.

"I have to report to Engineering soon to retrieve my EV suit," Adea muttered quietly, "I'll meet you there."

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Carol asked softly.

"It's fine," Adea replied, placing her wristband into her bag, "It's in the past. It doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm not so sure about that, A," Carol stated quietly, squeezing Adea's shoulder softly as she made her way to the door, closing it quietly behind her.


Ujaar - Class L Planet.

Ruins of the Old Medina.


"Mini, get a move on," Kirk's voice urged.

"Working on it," Adea answered in a low voice, pulling the scarf higher over her nose as she paced towards Sulu's location at the other end of the old medina market.

Half a century ago, a large civil war had wiped out most of the Ujaar's life and resources, rendering it a class L planetoid. Save a handful nomadic tribes and transient black-market traders, the region and its medina remained sparsely inhabited. She stepped over a fallen column in her path, fiddling uncomfortably with her earpiece. Though the planet did not fall under Starfleet's prime directive, Kirk thought it best to conceal all Starfleet insignia to avoid unwanted attention from the few remaining locals. Save the uncomfortable earpiece, hidden under her dark Tuareg scarf, she was dressed the part of a transient trader, from her leather jacket down to the black market Klingon phaser they'd confiscated on a previous mission.

"ETA?" came Sulu's voice.

"Twenty minutes," Adea huffed, climbing across another set of ruins, "Someone told me it was faster to go left."

"Aye, sorry lass," Scotty apologized.

"You do know the point of sending Sulu was so you would have someone to cover your six," Kirk pointed out.

"Yeah, well, he wouldn't fit through," she grunted, landing hard as she jumped down from the wall she walking on, "There was wreckage across the entrance."

"It's not safe," admonished Uhura's worried tone.

"Nothing in Starfleet ever is," Adea mumbled under her breath, "Beside I'm-"

Adea fell silent as a loud crash sounded through the medina. She jumped beneath a pillar as the ruins shook, narrowly avoiding chunks of the ceiling as they clattered to the ground.

"Mini, what the hell was that?" sounded Kirk's voice.

"I-" She frowned at the static in the earpiece, "I don't know. Enterprise, do you copy?"

An indistinguishable gargle floated through the static as Adea pulled out her phaser, her heart pounding in her chest as the weapon hummed on.

"Sulu, do you copy?"

The transmitter squelched again through the static. Adea exhaled shakily, pulling the scarf from over her face.

"Dammit, do you copy?"

A bright light burst through the market, illuminating the main corridor. Adea frowned, stepping cautiously into the corridor with her hand raised to blinding light.

"Sulu?" she called out cautiously.

Loud shouts echoed in the distance, as she heard footsteps running towards her. She stepped backwards cautiously, her phaser raised.

"Sulu, is that-"

The runner collided hard with her, sending the two of them spiralling to the ground, as the impact knocked the wind out of Adea's lungs. She lay there for a moment, dark points dancing in her vision as the person tried to pull her to a seated position, shouting at her urgently.

"What?" Adea mumbled slowly, the frantic Andorian woman before her coming into focus.

The woman gestured towards Adea's phaser, moving behind her to pull her to her feet. She pushed the phaser into Adea's hands, pointing at it again. Adea's earpiece chimed as the universal translator rebooted. Language detected: Andorian. Commencing translation.

"Like your gun!" She shouted, "If you stay, you will die! There is a ship, this way."

"Like my gun?" Adea mused, glancing warily towards the bright light.

"We have to run!" the woman shouted, yanking Adea's arm, "This way!"

"Why-" Adea mumbled, falling silent as a clearer voice echoed through the medina.

"BE'VETLH TU' !'"

Adea's blood ran cold as she glanced quickly between her weapon and the woman. She knew that dialect. Klingons.

"Run!" The woman hissed again, yanking Adea aside as a large hole was blasted into the fallen column where Adea had stood.

Adea sprinted after the woman, clamoring over the ruined stones of the medina. They took a sharp left, skidding across the stones as they came to the open air center of the old market. Muffled sounds echoed through the static as a voice finally became clear.

"Ele, do you copy!"

"Sulu! Where are you? I'm still in the medina. We're being pursued by Klingons."

"Ele, you need to get out of there now," Sulu urged, "Your signal is bouncing. Chekov can't beam you. The Enterprise beamed me up once I was far enough from the ship to avoid detection. Get out of the medina!"

"Working-" She dodged another blast, "-on it!"

She turned sharply, following the woman down another narrow corridor towards a corner of the medina Adea had not explored.

"Through here, there is a clearing," the woman gestured, coming to a brief stop, "My ship is there."

"Adea," came Uhura's voice, "Get out of the medina. You can't let them find your phaser. If they catch you with it, they will assume you stole it or killed one of their own for it. They will kill you. Do not fire it. They will recognize it."

"What fucking good does that do?!" Adea hissed, glancing over her shoulder towards the fading shouts. She turned slowly to the woman, her phaser raised.

"Who are you?" Adea ordered, "What are you doing on Ujaar?"

The woman raised her right hand to Adea, fumbling shakily with the folds of her coats to present the silver crescent badge to Adea. Adea lowered the phaser slowly, recognizing the symbol of the Andorian Science Division.

"I am Sozia. I am here doing research for my ship. I came here alone on a small craft from the main ship," the woman explained quickly, gesturing nervously towards center of the medina, "The Klingons appeared from nowhere. They saw a man beam away nearby and they spotted me. We were not expecting trouble. I am unarmed."

The woman stepped towards Adea, shakily extending her arms for Adea to verify her story. Adea checked the woman quickly, finding nothing.

"Lieutenant Adea Ele," Adea replied shortly, "I'm a lieutenant aboard the USS Enterprise."

"We have to go, Adea Ele," Sozia urged, "They won't be far behind."

"Mini, get the hell out of there!" Kirk's voice shouted, "That's an order."

"Enterprise," Adea began, pacing quickly after Sozia, "There is an Andorian science officer with me. We're trying to get to a clearing on the western end of the medina. Can you beam me up from there?"

"Aye!" Scotty shouted, "But you have to be in the clearing. The buildings are interfering with your signal. You need to move!"

"I know," Adea hissed, skidding to a stop as the Klingon shouts echoed suddenly echoed on the same street. Sozia pulled her quickly into a side street, a finger raised to her lips.

"It is through there," Sozia whispered, her dark grey eyes wide as she raised her arm towards a nearby street, "At the end of this-"

Sozia fell silent as hot droplets splattered across Adea's face, a spiked Klingon chain skidding to a metallic halt on the cobblestones. Adea stared forward blankly at the mangled blue stump where Sozia's extended hand had been. The moment of surreal horror seemed to move in slow motion until Sozia let a blood-curdling scream, collapsing to the ground as she clutching her spraying limb. Adea's stomach lurched as she stumbled dazed into the wall behind her, nearly vomiting.

"Adea!" Uhura shouted, "Adea, copy!"

Adea snapped out of her daze as another Klingon shout rang out in the street, this time no more than a few meters away. She glanced quickly into the street, taking in as much as she could before she dodged blast near her head. There were two, maybe three Klingons at the end of the street, arm to the hilt. They were further away than Adea had thought, but still close. Definitively within firing range if she and Sozia crossed the alley to the clearing. Adea glanced quickly at Sozia, biting her tongue to keep her stomach from lurching as she surveyed the wound. Sozia was in no condition to make it to the clearing alone, even if it was a few meters away. If she helped Sozia, she couldn't provide cover. If she couldn't provide cover, they were both dead. Adea frowned, glancing at her weapon as she tried to drown out the voices hailing her from the Enterprise. If she failed to provide cover and the Klingons caught her, they wouldn't just be dead. They'd die horribly at hands of Klingon torturers. Adea inhaled sharply, switching the phaser on.

Here goes nothing.

Adea swung into the alleyway, firing upwards in rapid succession at the stone archways above the path. She narrowly sidestepped a phaser blast, covering her head as the archways collapsed into a stone pile between her in the Klingons. Adea raced back to the alleyway, dust fluttering up from the pile as the Klingons continued fire from the other side.

"Adea, copy!" Uhura shouted, her voice desperate.

"Copy," Adea replied quickly, rushing to Sozia, "The Klingons attacked us. Sozia is badly injured. I need authorization to get her aboard the Enterprise. I don't think she can make it back to her ship."

"Who?!"

"I need authorization now!" Adea shouted back, yanking the scarf off her head as she tied it tightly around around Sozia's arm in a makeshift tourniquet. She fumbled for Sozia's badge, straining as she tried to make out words.

"Sozia Zh'tilret," Adea read slowly "Andorian Science division. She told me she came here with a small craft. Her reporting ship is the AS Asiti? Eviti? I can't make it out."

Adea looked forward, frowning as she took in Sozia's paling face.

"Sozia, I need you to help me," Adea pleaded, "I can't carry you towards the ship by myself. I need you to walk with me. Can you do that?"

The woman nodded faintly, extending her uninjured arm as Adea pulled her to feet.

"AS Ositi," Kirk replied urgently, "We confirmed it. You have authorization, but get your ass to that clearing now!"

Adea stumbled as the woman leaned heavily on her, pulling her past the rubble arches as the shouts grew louder. Adea heaved her down the alley, gripping Sozia's waist as they neared the clearing.

"Beam us out!" Adea shouted, tripping into the clearing as Sozia slumped.

Adea head snapped towards the alleyway as the stones of the barricade clattered. She could see the light of their phasers now. It wouldn't be long before they got through. She glanced down at Sozia, her heart racing as she watched her eyes fluttering closed.

"Scotty! Now!" Adea shouted, "She's falling unconscious. I won't be able to carry her much longer."

A tingling sensation spread through Adea's body as loud blast echoed behind her. She glanced towards the medina, the shadowy figures of Klingons fading slowly. With a bright white light, Adea landed hard on the floor of the Enterprise, her arm wrapped around Sozia's limp torso. She looked up woozily, barely having a moment to take in Scotty's blank expression before someone rushed her, grasping her shoulders.

"Adea, what the hell did you do?!"