"Adea, what the hell did you do?" Nyota repeated, "You were supposed to stay with Sulu!"

"Sozia needs medical attention. Now," Adea breathed, "Scotty-"

"Already done," he replied, gesturing towards the fading gold beams as Sozia's unconscious form vanished, "Adi, lass, are you ok?"

"Where is Sulu? What happened down there?" she mumbled quickly.

"What happened down there? You nearly got yourself killed by going off on your own," Uhura hissed, "Do you know what would have happened if they caught you? Or what type of intergalactic incident it would have caused if you would've killed one of them?"

"You think I don't know how a violent encounter with the Klingons would impact diplomatic relations?" Adea breathed, "Why the hell were there Klingons on Ujaar?"

"They were tracking something in the south end of the medina," Uhura replied quickly, "It could have damn well been you, Adea."

"Could have been," Adea exhaled shakily, glancing down at the dark blue blood staining her hands.

"Adea, do you honestly not care?" Uhura snapped, stepping towards her sister.

"Get out of my face," Adea groaned, her stomach knotting uneasily as she heard her boot squelch against the bloody floor, "Scotty, where's Kirk? Sulu?"

"Sulu's fine and they're both on the Bridge, but are you alright, lass?," Scotty frowned.

A few inches more, and that mangled mess could have been Sozia's head. Or her own. Adea exhaled shakily as visions of the attacked flashed in her mind, summoning every last ounce of her focus to ignore the spinning of the room. Blood. Why was there so much blood?

"It's fine. It will pass," Adea affirmed weakly, clenching her hands to stop them from shaking.

"Fine? Are you stupid, Adea? You could have died!" Uhura hissed, "Did you think about that?"

"Oi, Lieutenant. I don't think this is the best time," Scotty spoke up, pacing towards the two of them as he glanced towards Adea, "You look like you're going to be sick, lass."

"It's not important right now," Adea stated, pushing shakily past her sister, "Scotty, can you-"

"Damn it, Adea, are you insane?" Nyota snapped, her voice rising as she grabbed Adea's upper arm, "What if that had been you?"

"Get the hell off me, Nyota," Adea breathed, snatching her arm away from her sister as she paced unsteadily towards the door, "Scotty, tell the captain I will report in a half-hour. I have to change out of this."

She needed to get away. If she wasn't going to faint, she was going to be sick. Adea shouldered past Nyota, passing Scotty as she paced into the hall, staggering against the wall as the room spun faster. Oh God, it was everywhere. Under her nails, across her face, soaking into her scarf. She pressed her fingers against her temples, barely hearing the voices rising behind her until they spilled out into the corridor.

"You need to calm down!" Scotty shouted.

"Calm down? Scotty, my sister almost died!" Uhura snapped back.

"Adea, did you even bother to think of anyone other than yourself?" Uhura called out after her, charging down the hallway towards her.

"Shut up," Adea warned weakly, the room spinning faster.

"Oi, Uhura, that is enough!" Scotty shouted following after her.

"Honestly, Adea-" Nyota shouted.

"Please shut the hell up, Nyota," Adea groaned, pressing harder into her temples.

Why wouldn't the room stop spinning?

"Lieutenant, that is far enough!"

"Stay out of this, Scotty," Nyota snapped, pacing after her..

Adea ignored her as rushed forward, her sister's ranting fading into the blur of the room as it spun faster still. Why couldn't Nyota leave her alone? It was too much. Too loud. Too much spinning. Too much blood. Adea wavered unsteadily, dark points beginning to dance in her vision as a loud voice rang out in the hall. Her attention snapped back to the hall as she looked up slowly, a wave of relief slowing the room as she spied McCoy.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" McCoy shouted, pacing towards them he glared between Scotty and Uhura, "I can hear you two shouting down the hall."

He surveyed the room quickly, exhaling slowly as his eyes found Adea. He paced forward quickly, steadying her as she swayed forward again.

"Are you ok?" he breathed, relief flashing in his eyes as he steadied her shoulders, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, just dizzy," she mumbled quickly, grasping his arms for support, "Sozia?"

"She is alive," McCoy reassured quietly, frowning as she shook against his hands, "Adi, I know you don't feel well right now, but I need you to breathe in slowly. Can you do that?"

She nodded as she inhaled slowly, the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears fading gradually. McCoy reached forward slowly to check her pulse, his thumb brushing her cheek as he placed two fingers against her neck.

"Look at me," he instructed softly, his frown deepening as he looked into her eyes.

"It's probably shock still wearing off," Adea mumbling quietly as he removed his scanner his waistband, holding it up to her temple.

"You're going to lecture a doctor on shock?" McCoy mused, a relieved smirk tugging at the edge of mouth as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What wrong with her, Bones?" Uhura asked, crossing her arms.

"She's exhibiting symptoms of shock," McCoy concluded, "They should hopefully improve on their own, but she needs to be monitored. I don't want it to get worse. I'll take her up to the medical bay."

"I'm going with her," Uhura stated, stepping towards them.

"After screaming at her down the hall?" McCoy mused, "You're not going anywhere until you calm down."

"Calm down?" Uhura repeated, raising her voice as she stepped towards McCoy, "Bones, my sister-"

"Is in shock," McCoy retorted sternly, "You might've notice this if you weren't busy pitching a fit and making it worse."

"Making it worse?" Uhura repeated.

"I'm not debating this with you right now, Uhura," McCoy his tone steady as he stepped towards her, "You're staying here until you can calm down."

"I will go wherever I damn well want to," Uhura hissed

"Watch your tone, Lieutenant," McCoy warned in a low voice.

"Watch my tone? Damn it Bones, I am coming," Uhura stated, "You have no right-"

"No right?" McCoy drawled, taking a measured step towards Uhura.

He came to pause a few inches from Uhura, staring down as her as she continued to glare up at him.

"I am not debating this with you any further, so let me make myself clear," McCoy drawled, his expression growing cold, "Shock is not an emotion but a medical condition, and as a medical condition, her care falls under my authority as Chief Medical Officer. So unless you want to be officially reprimanded for causing harm to another crew member and violating of the direct order of a commanding officer, you will keep your distance from Lieutenant Ele until otherwise instructed."

Uhura took a step back from him, her mouth pulled into a tight line as she glared up at him.

"Is that clear enough for you, Lieutenant?" McCoy concluded, the warning wavering in his low tone.

"Yes, Doctor," she hissed, her shoulder roughly brushing McCoy's as she stormed out of the room.

McCoy exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked up towards Scotty.

"Scotty," he sighed in a low voice, "Keep an eye Lieutenant Uhura until she can calm herself down. Find Doctor Wallace and ask her to bring change of clothes for Lieutenant Ele to the medical bay. I'll report to the bridge when I'm done tending to her."

"Aye," Scotty nodded, disappearing around the corner.

Adea followed McCoy wordlessly into the elevator, uncrossing her arms as the doors closed behind them. She exhaled deeply, leaning her head against McCoy's chest as the spinning began to slow.

"You're alright, Adi," McCoy murmured softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as she pulled closer to him.

He rested his chin against the top of her head, exhaling through his nose as he felt her trembling begin to slow.

"You can shower in my apartment if you want," McCoy offered quietly, "It's right next to the lab. Might keep everyone out of your hair for half a second."

She nodded wordlessly, exhaling slowly as her breathing calmed.

"If you feel like you're going to faint, let me know," McCoy muttered against her hair, "Or sit down. Falling over from two feet is better than five. Can't have you breaking your head in two."

"I'm not going to faint," Adea huffed, looking up slowly as McCoy raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you see I don't trust your stubbornness," McCoy drawled, brushing her cheek softly, "You would be floating in space without a helmet, going on about how you have enough air."

"I would do no such thing," Adea smirked weakly, exhaling steadily as the elevator chimed.

"Mhmm," McCoy hummed, eyeing her with a raised brow as they left the elevator, "C'mon, let's get you treated. I'm not sending you off on your own until your heart rate goes down."


"About damn time," Kirk said, rotating to face McCoy as he entered the bridge, "Bones, status report."

"Sozia's stabilized," McCoy stated, "The injury severed the radial and ulnar arteries but the tourniquet prevented the injury from being lethal. She'll live, albeit without a hand. She will be stable enough to transfer in forty-eight hours if she remains as she is now."

"How's Mini?" Kirk asked.

"She'll be alright," McCoy replied, "The shock is wearing off now. She's otherwise uninjured."

Kirk nodded slowly as Spock approached the bridge.

"I find it curious, Captain, that three Klingon warbirds would arrived cloaked and armed at the precise time and location of our officers. There has been no Klingon activity in or near this system in months." Spock observed.

"I don't like it either, Spock," Kirk added, turning back to Sulu, "Mr. Sulu, did anything seem out of the ordinary?"

"No, Sir," Sulu replied.

"Did Mini report anything?" Kirk asked.

"Nothing more than you would have heard on the transmissions," Sulu concluded.

Kirk inhaled slowly, glancing back to Spock.

"I got confirmation on the Ositi and the USS Jamestown. They've been working in tandem on a joint mission for the past year," Kirk sighed slowly, "Sozia's story matches up with that of her ship but something still doesn't add up here. I want to know why the hell armed Klingons were this far from the Q'onoS System before another crew member gets hurt."

Spock nodded curtly, returning to his seat.

"Bones, let me know when Mini and our Andorian guest are able to talk," Kirk continued, "I want a full briefing from both of them."

"I'm here," Adea breathed, the doors of the bridge sliding shut behind her.

Her wet braid swung behind her as she paced towards the bridge, stopping a few meters before Kirk.

"Is she cleared?" Uhura spoke up, glaring towards McCoy as she stood abruptly.

"Doctor?" Adea asked, avoiding her sister's glare as she shot him a pleading look.

"Yeah," McCoy replied tersely, eyeing Adea as he crossed his arms, "She's cleared."

"Mini, what the hell happened down there?" Kirk asked.

"I'm not sure," Adea replied, "It was quiet and uneventful. I tried to get further into the medina for final hour of the mission, after the yesterday's visit and the first few hours this morning. The planet and medina appeared to confirm what I put in my pre-mission report-the planet's all but abandoned-at least the part we were exploring. I was on my way back to Sulu, when there was a bright light in the medina. Sozia ran into me and pulled me away as the Klingons started firing. I delayed their advance by causing an archway to collapse, but they injured Sozia. We made it to the clearing, at which point the Enterprise beamed us up."

"Were there any signs of Klingons that you saw on the planet?" Spock questioned, standing now as he moved besides Kirk, "Dwellings? Technology?"

"Nothing," Adea replied, shaking her head slowly.

"Is it possible you missed something?" Uhura spoke up, crossing her arms.

"I would have remembered signs of a Klingon presence if I had seen them," Adea replied decisively, "There were none, Commander. I was only aware of their presence when I heard them."

"Heard them?" Kirk questioned.

"Be'vetlh tu'," Adea stated, "Find that woman. They shouted it after they shined something into the medina."

"Uhura?" Kirk asked, glancing towards the linguist.

"The translation is sound," Uhura concluded.

"Curious," Spock commented, retrieving his PADD as he began scrolling rapidly through the screen.

"Were they trailing Sozia?" Adea questioned, glancing nervously towards Kirk.

"It is unclear if that was their immediate target," Spock stated, projecting a map of Ujaar onto a larger screen, "However, it does appears they were in fact tracking you, Lieutenant Ele. Intercepted communications indicate the Klingons landed at two points on Ujaar in the past 48 hours. Both points correspond to areas of the planet explored by Lieutenant Ele independently of Commander Sulu."

Adea stared back at him, heat rising to her face as she felt the eyes of the room on her.

"That's not possible," Sulu spoke up cautiously, "How would they find one of us and not the other? We had identical gear and nearly identical moments."

"Precisely," Spock concluded, "They landed at the edge of the old harbor and the southernmost corner of the medina: the two points Lieutenant Ele indicated in mission logs she explored alone."

"That doesn't make any sense," Adea breathed, shaking her head slowly, "One of combatants had a bat'leth. They were armed for conflict. What did they expect to find?"

"I don't like it," Kirk stated, eyeing the blue movements traced over Spock's map of Ujaar, "I don't like it at all. Commander Spock, alert Starfleet command that we narrowly circumvented a hostile conflict with the Klingons. Alert me of any new information which should be recorded in the ship's log."

"Captain," Spock nodded curtly, returned to screen.

"Lieutenant Uhura, see to it we intercept every Klingon message on and near Ujaar," Kirk ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Uhura answered.

"Sulu, Mini," Kirk continued, "I want you two to help me debrief Sozia. If you remember anything more, anything at all, you will report it to me and Commander Spock immediately."

"Yes sir," they answered quickly.

"And Mini?" Kirk added, his frown softening as gaze fell on her, "For the love of God, keep yourself in one piece. That's an order."

"Sir," Adea nodded, turning on her heel as she exited the bridge.

She barely made it halfway down hall when the doors to the bridge slid open again, her headache returning as she recognized the frustrated tone.

"Where are you going?" Uhura called out.

"Has it occurred to you that I have had enough for one day?" Adea sighed, turning reluctantly to face her sister.

"Are you going to say anything about today, Adea?" Uhura snapped angrily, "You nearly die and you still have nothing to say to me?"

"Are you concerned I nearly died? Or do you want blame my decision making?" Adea retorted dryly, "I'm really losing track of your opinions today."

"So that's it?" Uhura huffed, "You ignore orders and go off on your own, got one woman's arm ripped off, nearly get yourself killed, and you don't give a shit?"

"Well I'm sorry you now give a damn about my wellbeing," Adea replied coldly.

"Damn it, do you care about anyone else but yourself, Adea?" Uhura snapped, her voice rising.

"Apparently not," Adea snapped sarcastically, turning away from Uhura as she continued down the hall.

"And will that be your excuse when you fuck up bad enough to get someone killed?" Nyota snapped.

"Well then, I'm sure I'll have my sister to personally thank," Adea retorted coldly, resentment burning in her eyes as she stared back at her sister.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nyota replied, confusion twisting into her tone as she stared after Adea, rooted in place in the hallway.

"It means leave me alone, Nyota," Adea stated coldly, pacing away from her sister.

"Adea!" Uhura called out, her footsteps echoing as she raced after.

"Leave me alone," Adea hissed.

"Damn it, Adea, what the hell does that mean?!" Uhura shouted, grabbing her sister's shoulder as spun Adea to face her.

"It means you cannot possibly get out of your own head long enough to see that you make my life a living hell!" Adea shouted, jerking away from Uhura as her voice dropped deathly low, "And I have spent my entire life trying to get away from you. Trying to have something, anything, that was mine, something that you couldn't ruin! But eventually, I lose everything and everyone because of you!"

"Everyone?" Uhura repeated slowly, concern twisting in her stomach as she stared back at the pain burning in her sister's eyes, "Adea, what are you-"

"Adam," Adea replied quietly.

"Adam?" Nyota repeated, watching her sister's expression grow cold, "What about Adam?"

"He's dead," Adea stated simply, her tone unemotional.

"What?" Nyota breathed, her controlled composure cracking as she processed her sister's words, "Adea, what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" Adea mused coldly, letting out a dry laugh, "Well that's a new response, Nyota. I barely recognize you actually give shit to understand what I'm talking about. You usually just jump right into kicking me when I'm down."

"When did he die?" Nyota repeated, the frustration in her voice slipping towards worry, "Adea, what happened?"

"Ask our mother," Adea retorted bitterly, "It's her name on the goddamn transfer, but you should know that already. You tell eachother everything."

"Adea, I-I didn't know-"

"Stay the hell out of my life, Nyota," Adea stated coldly, storming off without another word.

Nyota's jaw tensed as Adea disappeared around the corner, a coldness seeping down her spine as Adea's words reverberated in her head. She swallowed nervously, staring hard at the ground as heart pounded louder in her ears. They were never truly close, but this was different. The look in Adea's eyes… Uhura fought back the waves of guilt that threatened to overtake composure as she thought back to their conversations, years of Adea's words slowly weaving together. It had to be a mistake. An oversight. The wrong person. Anything… Nyota startled as footsteps echoed suddenly in the hall, her eyes flickering frantically towards their owner as McCoy appeared around the corner.

"Lieutenant, what are you-" McCoy trailed off suddenly, catching sight of the panicked expression in her eyes, "Are you alright?"

"Your PADD," Nyota mumbled faintly, glancing up towards the tablet in his hand.

"What?" McCoy replied slowly, his eyebrows knitting as he glanced down at the PADD

"Your PADD," Nyota repeated, her voice cracking as she raised her voice, "Can I see it?"

"Sure," McCoy replied slowly, his mouth pulling into a concerned frown as he held it out to her, "What's going on?"

"I need to see something," she muttered quietly, her grip shaking slightly as she typed into the screen.

"Is everything alright, Lieutenant?" McCoy questioned hesitantly, crossing his arms uneasily as he eyed her frenzied searching.

"Just give me a moment," Uhura replied hastily, her mouth pulling into a tight line as she scrolled through a list, opening a new page.

"You're starting to worry me now, Uhura," McCoy stated, frowning as she continued to scroll wordlessly, "What is it?"

What was with her today? Her reaction after Adea returned was bad enough. Now she felt the need to follow Adea off the bridge to continue their argument? He hesitated a minute or so before following them, wholeheartedly expecting part two of today's ongoing Uhura-Ele War. What was going on now? God forbid he'd missed it and Uhura had already sent Adea storming off to who-know-where in the goddamn ship. Wasn't this morning not enough drama for her?

Goddamn transmission quality…

His heart had nearly stopped when he'd heard that scream, the entire bridge freezing over until the moment he'd heard her voice crackling back in over the speaker. He'd barely rattled off instructions to the medical staff to stabilize Sozia before he'd run out of the room, the world around him blurring until he'd finally found Adea. Blood-splattered and wide-eyed from shock, but alive. In all his years as a doctor, he couldn't recall ever being so relieved to see someone alive.

His thoughts snapped abruptly to the present as Uhura let out a gasp, her hand clapping over her mouth as McCoy's concern returned.

"Uhura, what is it?" McCoy pressed, his voice growing urgent as her eyes welled up with tears.

"What did I do to her?" Nyota mumbled numbly to herself, her hand falling from her mouth as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Now you're scaring me," McCoy breathed, his brows knitting as he crossed his arms uneasily, "Are you talking about Adea? Is she ok?"

"I don't know," Nyota replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" McCoy replied sternly.

"That's why she never forgave me," Nyota muttered faintly, her eyes distant as she stared forward blankly.

"Forgave you?" McCoy repeated, clenching his jaw to prevent his building frustration from spilling over, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? What's wrong?"

"Adam," Uhura uttered quietly, shaking her head slowly as she as she wiped her face on the back of her sleeve.

"Adam?" McCoy repeated, a cold guilt creeping down his spine he thought of the first time he'd heard that name, "Who's Adam?"

"He was Adea's first boyfriend. They dated in high school and her first year at the Academy, until he wanted more and Adea broke it off," Nyota replied quietly, a tear falling down his face, "He's dead. His ship was attacked by the Romulans and he died."

McCoy stared wordlessly the Lieutenant, the heavy knot in the pit of his stomach twisting tighter as she wiped away another tear.

"I-I did this," Nyota mumbled numbly, "It's all my fault."

"What? "McCoy breathed, shaking his head slowly, "His ship was attacked by Romulans. How is that your fault?:

"Because he never should have been on that ship to begin with," Nyota concluded weakly.

"That doesn't make any sense," McCoy replied slowly.

"He was supposed to be assigned to the Bradbury," Nyota explained quietly, blinking away a tear as she handed the PADD to McCoy, "He was transferred two weeks before departure to another ship on a longer mission, the USS Constellation. The ship he died on."

"I don't get it," McCoy replied quietly, his eyes scanning over the transfer order,"What did you have to do with this?"

"Adea told me Adam wanted to propose to her. I know what to do, so I panicked I told our mother," Nyota stated numbly, "This transfer wasn't an accident. Our mother was the one who ordered it."

"What?" McCoy breathed, frowning as his mind raced to comprehend her words, "This transfer order is signed by-"

McCoy trailed off abruptly as he caught the look in Uhura's eyes, a sinking weight building in his chest as he finally made sense of her words.

"Your mother?" McCoy blurted out, his mouth falling open in shock as he reread the name, "That's your mother?!"

"We hate mentioning it, because we were always treated differently once people knew," Nyota replied quietly, "Barely anyone knows."

McCoy stared forward blankly, Uhura's words and the hall around him blurring into nothingness. He ran a hand over his face, unable to ignore the guilt wracking his mind as memories of Adea flashed in his mind. Lee, please. There was someone else…. I didn't want to lose you….. I didn't want you to get hurt…. I can't fall for you without hurting both of us.

That's what she had been trying to tell him. Standing right in front him, begging him to let her talk.

And he didn't want to hear her.

He didn't even try.

"I'm sorry, Bones," Nyota replied suddenly, quickly stepping backwards as she took in the uncharacteristic distress in McCoy's eyes, "I-I didn't mean to burden you with this."

"Yeah," McCoy replied quietly, his focus fading in and out another wave of horrified guilt flooded his mind.

"I should go," she stated abruptly, hesitating as she turned to walk away, "Bones, I know it is a lot to ask but please, don't-"

"I won't say anything," McCoy managed to mumble quietly, gritting his jaw as he fought to maintain his composure.

He stared after Uhura as she disappeared wordlessly around the corner, the heartbeat pounding in his ears near deafening as he contemplated what was more of a suckerpunch:

Learning what Adea was so afraid of or realizing how much it meant she cared about him.