A/N: Hi! I had internet issues all yesterday, all good now.

"Today we will be analyzing the new advances in technology that we are taking to Memory Alpha," Spock said.

Elle perked up. "Memory Alpha! I love that website!"

Spock blinked. "It is not a website. It is a planetoid that houses the Federation's central library."

"Okay, but it's also a website that has all the canon Star Trek information. I like Memory Beta better though because it includes fanon and stuff from the novels." Elle rotated the holographic schematic, looking at all the memory servers. "Wait, this is the whole planet?"

"The whole planetoid," Spock corrected.

"There's a Doctor Who episode about a library planet," Elle said. "That was a terrifying episode."

"Why?" Spock asked.

"Because there were flesh-eating shadows living in some of the paper books," Elle replied placidly. "When I first watched that episode I couldn't sleep for a week."

Spock sighed. "I will never understand the human propensity for purposefully inflicting mental trauma on themselves as entertainment."

She pointed the stylus at him. "Hey, you watch MacGyver, and you like it."

"I do not watch MacGyver, my quantum mechanics team watches MacGyver, and I do not like it. Although you are correct. To a Vulcan, that is classified as horror." He gave a delicate shudder. "The inaccuracies."

Elle cackled.

"Returning to the subject," Spock said.

She forced herself to calm down and focus.

-/\-

"What are we all staring at?" Elle asked, sliding in next to a group of yeomen, all staring raptly at Mr. Scott and a new lieutenant.

"Scotty's in loooove," Yeoman Barrows said quietly.

"She's too young for him," Yeoman Rand said, with the confidence of someone who'd won twenty credits last week for catching Scotty and Uhura having a "not-date" on the Observation Deck last weekend.

Elle nodded sagely.

"Then why's he flirting?"

"She's an engineer," another yeoman said. "When is an engineer not going to flirt with another engineer?"

"Never," said Lt. Riley in passing, and winked at his fellow engineer.

Lt. Martine rolled her eyes expressively.

Elle sniggered.

-/\-

"Are we there yet?" Elle asked, peering over Sulu's shoulder.

"I will turn this ship around," Sulu threatened, smirking. "And no. We're almost in visual range though."

"Sensors registering-" Spock's calm announcement was cut off by the whoop of an alert. "-incoming phenomenon, approaching at warp 2."

"That's not a natural phenomenon, then," Kirk said. "Visual?"

It looked like an ion storm, but more colorful. It looked like, it looked like it was moving with intent. Searching.

Elle shivered and drew closer to the captain's chair, suddenly nervous.

"Shields up," Kirk ordered. "Yellow alert."

Elle started for the nearest empty station. She was only on the first step when the storm hit.

A wave of energy poured through the bridge, leaving a feeling like static electricity. It swept over Elle and stalled. Stopped. Dove deeper, like tiny needles piercing her brain.

Hello, hello, greetings, hello, yes, you're perfect, we need you, we need your help-

Elle wanted to scream, but she was stuck, frozen in this moment as a wave of pressure crashed over her mind-

Hello, let us in, greetings, greetings, do not resist, it's okay, it's a body, we haven't had bodies in so long, hello hello hello-

"Go away!" Elle shouted, or tried to, but they ignored her.

Do not resist, it's all right, we can share, you're small, hellohellohelloHELLO-

Elle finally blinked, and then she was somewhere else. A familiar ceiling, a familiar texture over her arms. She sat upright, gasping for breath, her head spinning. "Bones!" she shouted, forcing the words past uncooperative lips. "Bones!"

Firm hands grabbed her before she could fall out of the biobed. "Hush, darlin', easy," Bones soothed, trying to sit her back against the raised bed.

"No, no, they're in my head," she said, grabbing at his arm in pain as the Others settled into her mind. "Bones, they're in my head, they need their own bodies-"

"Who, Elle? Who's in your head?" he asked calmly, his blue eyes serious.

"They are," she whispered. "There's so many of them-" She started to cry, frustrated. "I can't, there's too many-"

"Deep breath," he coached. "Deep breath. Who?"

"The Z- Zetar," she hiccuped, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. "They- they want physical bodies again- they-" The clamor of voices in her head grew louder and she couldn't resist it.

Hello hello hello hello let me have a turn, look, color! Color! We haven't seen in so long-

Elle drifted in a sea of grey.

-/\-

There were stickers on her face.

Stickers, stickers, what's a sticker don't you remember, it's a non-permanent adhesive, it comes off, it's measuring electrical signals in the brain, sticker sticker we used to play with stickers mama I want stickers yes I know you'll get some stickers, stickers, stickers, they're not stickers, She calls them stickers-

With a groan, Elle lifted a hand to peel one of the itchy stickers off her forehead.

"Doctor she's awake," someone said.

Voice, voice, you got to speak last time, I want to speak next time. Sing sing sing, we should sing, we haven't sang in ages we should sing the song of the stars of the dark of the deep let's sing, let me speak it's my turn-

"Chris," Elle whispered tiredly. "Chris, my head hurts."

A warm hand pressed against her forehead. "I know, sweetheart, you're going to be okay."

Warm, warm, touch touch touch touch we haven't touched in so long, feeling, oxytocin, serotonin dopamine, yes we know what it means shut up, warm warm I want a hug, someone give us a hug-

Spock appeared over her, his black hair haloed in the sickbay lights. "Elle. How do you feel?"

"I feel-" she winced as another personality tried to shove forward. She slammed the mental door on him/her/them. She squinted up at Spock. "What?"

Spock frowned. "Am I speaking to Elle?"

"Yeah, it's me, I-" She shivered, trying to focus, trying to remember. "Were you speaking to someone else?"

"You were speaking another language earlier," he informed her, still frowning, his sharp gaze analyzing her. "Records match the language to the Zetar people."

"They're in my head," she said. "The cloud, it was them."

"We know. At least ten separate identities."

She shook her head slowly. "A hundred." She tapped at her forehead. "They're in here."

He looked worried. Visibly worried. "A hundred?"

A hundred, yes, the last centenar of us, the survivors, we are here, we're here, we finally have a place to rest, a place to exist instead of the dark the cold the void the place between solar winds-

She pressed her hands over her ears, trying to shut them up. "Shut up!" she hissed, pain spiking at her temples. "Spock, make them stop, they won't stop-"

"Do not damage yourself, ax'nav," he said, reaching up to grip her wrists. He hissed as he felt what she was feeling. "They are chaotic."

"Don't touch me," she said, trying to yank away from him, "you don't need that-"

"Let me help," he said calmly. "I can supplement your shielding."

She almost sobbed in relief as his calm, methodical presence shored up her weakening mental barriers. "Thank you," she whispered, as the whirling storm eased into a distant murmur of voices.

"Elle?" The captain was there, in front of her. How long had he been there? He met her gaze. "Can you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," she whispered, still bracing her head in her hands.

"We're going to try to get them out of you," Kirk said. "We're going to use a pressure chamber, I need you to be brave, okay?"

Pressure chamber. Pressure chamber. Memory Alpha. Elle squeezed her eyes shut as memories popped up. "Lt. Romaine," she said, "is she okay?"

"The new lt? She's fine. Did you hear me, Elle?"

"Memory Alpha, was it destroyed?" she pressed urgently.

"No, we haven't reached Memory Alpha yet." The captain took her hands gently. "Elle, can you understand me? I need you to be brave-"

"You can't kill them!" Elle cried. "They spent this long-"

"Elle, they're killing you," Kirk said. "Their brain patterns are overwriting yours."

"They want somewhere to rest," Elle told them, echoing what the Zetar had told her. "They have so much knowledge, they have all this history, it can't just die."

"It's not worth your life," Kirk said.

"Wait," Elle begged, "wait, what if there was a solution?" She didn't know who she was asking. The captain? The Zetars? Both.

Kirk raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

What do you mean what do you mean we need a body we need a mind this mind we need your body do not resist you'll die your brain your mind we need it to rest-

Elle resisted the urge to claw at her hair. "Like I said," she gasped, "McCoy's a hoarder, he's still got, the fishbowls. Sargon, Thalassa. One's broke but the other two, these guys aren't as old or powerful as Sargon, they could fit, they could fit, right?"

Kirk and Spock shared a glance. "They might," Kirk said. "We need to get them out of your head."

"I'll ask," Elle said. "I'll ask, and you can talk to them. Or one of them."

"You can't let them take over," Kirk said urgently.

"Have to," Elle rasped, the pressure in her mind building, like watching a lasagna explode in the microwave. "Have to communicate. Can't just, kill them. Negotiate. You can do it. Please, captain."

"There's no guarantee we will get you back," Spock warned. "We cannot."

"I can handle it," Elle said shakily. "I can, I'll convince them. I will."

Convince, convince what, we want this body, we don't want a fishbowl, what's a fishbowl, what's a fishbowl, no, we don't shoot lightning, we don't want android bodies, we want this body-

Elle dropped the barriers in her mind and let the tide wash over her.

-/\-

Elle stood knee-deep in rustling grass, surrounded by people of all ages, vaguely humanoid. Exactly one hundred of them. "Where are we?" Elle asked slowly.

"You are on Zetar," the one closest to her said. "This is our homeworld. Our shared vision of it. Welcome. Thank you for your body."

Elle swallowed hard. "You took it."

"One of us, our leader, yes. They are speaking to your captain."

"I need you all to leave," Elle said, trying to stay calm. "This is my brain and you all don't fit in it."

"Yes we do," said the one closest to her, and everyone else echoed the words. "That's why we chose you. You had enough room, and enough elasticity to house us."

"I'm the youngest," Elle said. "Is that why?"

"That is one of the reasons."

"What if we could put you somewhere else?" Elle asked.

"We don't need anywhere else, this is where we can stay." They offered her smiles. "You can stay with us. We won't suppress you completely."

The words, kindly meant, made her shudder. "Human brains aren't meant for more than one mind."

"We will fix it," they assured her.

"No, but-" Elle huffed. "You can't stay here. I don't want you here, and my captain won't let you take over my brain. They will remove you, do you understand? Either they'll throw you back out into space or they'll actually kill you."

The sky above the grass turned a darker shade of cerulean, and all the voices murmured discontent.

"I don't want that to happen to you," Elle said desperately. "I know how long you've tried to survive, to stay together. What if there was another way?"

"What is the way?"

"Listen," Elle begged, "listen, my captain is explaining to your leader, you have to agree, please, or your civilization will be truly lost."

"Shush, then."

And it was like the landscape flattened around them, and Elle was sitting behind her own eyes, looking at Kirk and Spock like she was sitting in the middle of a theater, watching a movie. Except those were her eyes, and she wasn't supposed to be a passenger in her own head.

"This is non-negotiable," Kirk was saying, when Elle finally stopped freaking out.

"We will accept," said Elle's mouth, Elle's voice, except it wasn't her.

"Very well then."

There was a hiss, a pinch on Elle's arm what's that what's that ow, it hurt, nothing has hurt in ages, what was it what was it what was it oh it was a sedative, we're going to sleep, everyone go to sleep we're transferring to the two fishbowls, no I don't want to be separated no I want a body no I want to stay here stay here stay here I don't wanna go I dont want to go no no no no NO NO NONONONONONONONONONO-

-/\-

Elle woke up screaming.

"Whoa, hey, whoa, it's okay!" Strong hands held her gently as she flailed. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay, you're okay-"

She burst into tears. "They're gone," she sobbed, hiding her face in the captain's shoulder. "They're gone, they're gone-" The silence in her own head was defeaning, but it was her own tears, her own emotions, and her own voice.

Kirk rubbed her back gently. "You're all right, you're okay," he soothed. "They're all in the containers, you won't have to worry about them anymore."

"They just wanted a hug," Elle whispered, her tears welling again at the memory.

"They'll be hugged plenty by Memory Alpha technicians," Kirk said, giving her a tight hug.

"It wasn't destroyed?" Elle asked.

"No."

"Nobody died?"

"No."

"Lt. Romaine? She's okay?"

"She's okay." Kirk leaned back a bit to meet her gaze. "Why her?"

"This, I think this was an episode," Elle said, taking a shuddering breath. She ducked her gaze. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"It's not your fault," Kirk said, tucking her back into a hug. "You were very brave, and you saved the ship and you saved the Zetars. You have nothing to feel sorry about."

She took another breath, trying to get a handle on her emotions. "I'm tired," she said, sniffling.

"I'm sure you are," he teased gently, resting his chin on her head. "You just hosted a whole colony of people in your head."

"They were loud," Elle said.

"I'm sorry."

She let herself enjoy the silence. The only noises were the quiet beeps and whirs of sickbay, and her own heartbeat in her ears. "I feel bad for the little boy."

"Little boy?"

"One of the Zetar. Was a little boy."

Kirk 'hmm'ed thoughtfully. "The leader told us that the most worthy of his people survived, only a hundred."

"A hundred," Elle confirmed. "But one was a child. He wanted stickers." She picked at the last monitor on her temple, the itchiness distracting her.

Kirk put his hand over hers, gently stopped her from scratching. He squeezed her hand. "You gave us quite the scare," he said. "Let's not do that again, huh?"

She nodded tiredly. "Where's Bones?"

"Finally ordered him and Spock to bed once you and the Zetar were both stable," Kirk said. "I promised to keep an eye on you." He winked. "And Dr. Sanchez is keeping an eye on me, and Nurse Chapel is keeping an eye on her, so that means you're getting some food in a little bit."

Elle wrinkled her nose. "I don't feel like food."

"How about strawberry smoothie?" Nurse Chapel asked, entering on cue. "If you drink this whole thing you get a lollipop."

Elle took a sip of her smoothie. "Wait," she said, "we're at Memory Alpha?"

"We are," Kirk said. "Made orbit a few hours ago."

"Can I go?" Elle asked eagerly.

Nurse and captain shared an amused glance. "We'll see," Nurse Chapel said. "In the meantime, drink your smoothie, the captain will read you a story, and you can go back to sleep."

Elle grumbled internally about being treated like a child, but that did sound kind of nice, actually.

She fell asleep halfway through her smoothie.

After rigorous brain scans, brainwave pattern testing, neurological function tests, and quizzes on Vulcan language, Shakespeare, and Mexico, Elle was allowed to leave sickbay.

"If you feel the slightest bit dizzy, nauseous, disoriented, sick, or tired in any way you come right back, you hear me?" Bones asked.

Elle nodded.

"Good. Jim agreed to take you to Memory Alpha so go on."

"Yes!"

It was a bust. A huge bust. "It's just servers," Elle complained to a cheerfully-sympathetic Kirk. "It's just freezing cold server rooms and there's no cool stuff. No books. What kind of library is this?"

"The boring kind," Kirk said kindly, and laughed at her exaggerated facial expressions.