Year 2251, USS Enterprise on route to Niribu

Pike leaned back in the captain's chair as he read the morning briefings. Number One had estimated the small fleet's ETA to six hours. Enterprise had been tasked to accompany the medical vessel USS Pittman to Niribu, who had recently been struck down by a plague. Two hundred million Niribians were dead and another billion was affected. The planet's medical system was buckling under the stress, forcing the Niribian council to contact Starfleet for help.

"Pike to Boyce. Meet me in the conference room in ten minutes. I want an update from each department. I also want you and the CMO of the Pittman to coordinate with public health officials on Niribu."

"Aye, Captain," came the strained voice of Phil Boyce. Upon taking command of the Enterprise, Pike had managed to convince the doctor out of retirement. Boyce was the best in Starfleet and given the Enterprise's mission, his crew deserved nothing less.

"Number One, you have the bridge. Mr. Spock, you're with me," Pike ordered as he sprang out of his chair. His new science officer had joined the Enterprise only a month ago but the kid had proven insightful on more than one occasion.

"Aye, sir," they acknowledged in unison.

Spock followed his captain inside the turbolift. "Deck three". As the turbolift hummed to life for their short trip, Pike turned towards his science officer. "What do we know about the situation on the planet?"

"Haven't you had a chance to read this morning's briefing, captain?"

"I'm asking for your opinion, Mr. Spock," Pike responded, slightly exasperated.

"Volatile, captain." Spock paused. "The political leaders were not held to high esteem before the crisis began and they haven't been able to put in place preventive measures to stop the spread of the virus. Part of this failure can certainly be blamed on poor planning. But for the most part, the people distrust their leaders and have resisted the few preventive measures the government has put in place."

Pike nodded as the turbolift came to a halt. "Could this virus have been engineered as a segment of the population seems to believe? Niribu is very close to the Romulan neutral zone."

"Unlikely, Captain. But Dr. Mayweather would be in a better position to address this point."

"Dr. Mayweather? Alathea Mayweather?" Pike came to a halt. Pike hadn't heard of Alathea's whereabouts in over sixteen years and his science officer casual statement had the same effect as a bucket of cold water.

Pike hadn't seen his friend since the events on Iggisia. All he knew is that she had returned to Earth. At first, he had respected her wishes and gave her space and time to grieve. But after a few months and several unsuccessful attempts to get in contact with her, Pike had reached out to her father. The admiral had been polite but firm in following his daughter's request for privacy. As time passed, Pike had stopped searching for his friend, hoping that wherever she was, Alathea was finally happy.

"That is correct, sir," Spock continued, seemingly unaware of his captain's emotional turmoil. "She is in charge of the emergency field response team aboard the Pittman. But her background is in virology…"

"I know about her background, Mister Spock," Pike interrupted curtly. Had Boyce known about this?

As they entered the conference room, Pike's piercing stare settled on Dr. Boyce. "Report, doctor."

"Most of the population is concentrated on the southern continent, in four large cities." Boyce pointed to the white dots on the computer screen. "This is where the pandemic is most active. Our first task is to relieve the pressure on the local hospitals. Dr. Bayley is ready to deploy portable pods here, here, and here around each city. The Pittman will be responsible for coordinating the deployment of the pods and medical personnel. She's asking for the Enterprise to provide additional engineering and medical teams to help the local hospitals and security teams to transport patients in-between critical care centers. The Pittman should also be able to accommodate up to three hundred additional patients."

"What about the virus? What precautions should our teams take?"

"Preliminary analysis suggests that it is of no threat to other species. The virus attacks a specific protein marker unique to Niribian physiology. But out of caution, I suggest standard protective equipment for class II diseases. Any on-the-ground personnel should be made aware of the early symptoms: persistent dry cough, shortness of breath, headaches."

"And for the Niribians? Any progress towards a cure or a vaccine?"

Boyce shook his head. "None so far. The Pittman's virology team has been studying the disease since we left Starbase 6 but without physical samples, they cannot make any conjecture at this point."

Pike nodded. "Very well, doctor. Mister Spock, anything to add?"

"This disease is highly contagious but the short incubation period should play in our advantage. Once the immediate hospitals crisis has been averted, we should concentrate our effort on tracing and isolating any Niribian presenting with the initial symptoms of the disease."

"Will they trust Starfleet more than their local government?"

"Unknown at this point, Captain."

"Understood. Use any personnel you both deem necessary. Coordinate with Number One. Dismissed." As his crew was preparing to leave, Pike held the doctor back, "Phil, a word, please?"

"How long have you known?" Pike asked as soon as Spock left the room.

Phil collapsed on the nearest chair. "That Thea is on the Pittman?" Pike was grateful that the doctor didn't beat around the bush. "About two years. Since she joined the crew."

"Two. Years?" Pike started pacing the small room furiously. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because she asked me not to. Chris, all I can tell you is that I've been in touch with Thea for the past sixteen years, right after she came from Iggisia. But she should be the one to talk to you about it."

"Why hasn't she tried to get in touch with me?"

"Chris, I'll tell you the same thing I told her. Talk to her." Boyce motioned to leave. "I'll keep you updated on our progress."

"Thanks, doctor." Chris ran his fingers through his hair. He had forgotten about most of the pandemic on Niribu. All he could think about was Thea. His heart was racing in his chest.

STSTST

Five days later, Niribu's central government tower

"Captain Pike!'' Bayley called out as she ran towards the elusive man in charge of the pandemic situation. "May I have a word with you?" She had been trying to talk to the captain for the last couple of days but Pike had ignored her requests. They needed more resources but Pike had been reluctant to send more manpower down to the planet's surface, citing security concerns. Although she was well aware of their proximity to the Romulan neutral zone, the Romulans had never shown interest in Niribu. Surely, the Enterprise could spare security officers to contain the civil unrest.

"Absolutely, doctor."

The man's smile was disarming. Despite her exasperation, Bayley continued in a softer tone. "The situation is out of control out there! We need to get people inside their homes and isolated from each other!"

"I'm well aware of the problem, doctor. I had to fight a crowd to come here." They could still hear the roars from inside the government building. Starfleet's presence had been received as a threat to Niribu's sovereignty and distorted by a faction known as 'fight for freedom' to overthrow the government. FFF had been around for the past three years, calling for anarchy and a coup. They had been considered a small, mostly inoffensive fringe group but their popularity had increased since the beginning of the pandemic.

"We need security personnel."

"I'm aware of your request but I cannot spare any men for crowd control at this time. Starfleet is sending reinforcement."

"They're at least three weeks away. How many deaths are you willing to place on your conscience, captain?" The barely disguised anger in Pike's face made the doctor take a step back. "I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "It was uncalled for."

"We're all under stress, doctor," Pike said in a conciliatory tone. He was well aware that he was as responsible for the lives on this planet as the ones on the Enterprise. Billions of people were relying on him to make the right decision. "But I came here for a report on a cure or a vaccine."

"Of course." The doctor straightened her posture, adopting an all-business attitude. "None of the drugs we've tried had any success in slowing down the progression of the disease nor the severity of the symptoms. Mortality rates are holding at 80%. We have tried plasma transfusion from survivors but this has had a limited effect. Dr. Mayweather is working on a potential solution. She can brief you on it. I believe you two know each other?"

Pike ignored the comment. "Where is Dr. Mayweather?"

"In her lab. Follow me." The doctor headed for the elevator. "Pod 4 and 5 are at capacity. We have started beaming the overflow aboard the Pittman," she continued with her briefing as they rode to the fourth floor of the building. "The situation in other cities is the same."

"After the medical briefing, I will talk to the Niribian council. But Starfleet is not in the business of meddling with other worlds' affairs. I will not tell them how to handle the FFF."

"With all due respect, sir, Starfleet has been meddling in other people's business since its inception. And our meddling could help us save lives."

"I'll see what I can do," Pike grumbled as they stepped out of the lift. "But I will not compromise what makes us who we are for personal safety."

"Captain Pike, maybe it's time for you to visit one of the pods and hold the hand of a victim bleeding out of every orifice as their organs liquify. You may have a change of heart." Bayley stopped in the middle of the corridor.

"Doctor," Pike's tone was firm. "I will talk to the council. But unless we have something to offer these people besides a place to die, they will continue to gather outside. Sending military troops will only put fuel on the fire. As a Starfleet captain, I will not overthrow the local government and on a personal note, I agree with their approach."

"Yes, sir. But I would like for my disapproval to be noted in your official log."

Pike nodded. "As you wish. Now shall we?"

Reluctantly, Bayley led Pike down the corridor towards the last door on the right. His breath hitched slightly as he caught a glimpse of his friend talking with an ensign. Time had been kind to her; Alathea looked almost as young as she had almost two decades ago.

"Dr. Mayweather." Bayley called. Alathea's jaw dropped open as soon as she saw Christopher Pike. "Captain Pike would like an update on your cure. I believe you're already acquainted?"

"Dr. Mayweather," Pike formally greeted.

"Captain Pike." She had been dreading this moment for the past two weeks. But now that Chris was in front of her, she couldn't wait to spend a few minutes with him alone. "Ensign, please bring this to pod 2 along with the rest of the medical supplies," Alathea ordered the nurse.

The young man grabbed the supply and after saluting his senior officers, he left the room in a hurry. He could feel the tension in the room and he wanted to be as far away as possible when it would release, even if it meant visiting the plague ward.

"It's not exactly a cure. More like a short term solution," Alathea started as soon as the nurse left the room.

"Will it cure the Niribians?" Pike asked.

"Yes…"

"Then it's a cure," Pike interrupted more forcefully than he had intended. Taking his personal frustrations about their personal relationship in their work wouldn't help anyone, lest alone the Niribians.

"The cure needs to be activated," Alathea continued, trying her best to ignore Pike's acerbic tone. "We have a few bio-activators on the Pittman and one aboard Enterprise but it won't be enough to help all of the patients."

"Can we at least get to the most critical?"

"A portion of them," Bayley supplied. "Which leaves us to decide who should live or die."

Not us, Pike thought, but the Niribian council will. And given their popularity, whatever decision they make will not be well received by the general population.

"There is another solution," Althea interjected.

"An unethical solution," Bayley corrected.

Before Pike could ask for clarification, an explosion shattered all the windows in the lab, sending the three occupants to the floor. "Everyone alright?" Pike asked, not waiting for an answer. "Pike to Enterprise."

"Enterprise here, sir," came Number One's relieved voice. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, what is the situation?"

"The crowd is taking the government's building by force. The Niribian guards left their post. Whether out of fear or because they are complicit is unknown at this time. Sir, where are you?"

Pike rolled his eyes. "Inside the building with two of our doctors." Pike looked around the room for Alathea and Dr. Bayley. He found his friend applying chest compression to an unconscious Bayley. A shard of glass was protruding from her chest. "Number One, lock onto my position and beam three directly to sickbay!"

"Sir, we cannot get a lock on your position," Number One reported, not having waited for Pike's order to evacuate the away team. "There is a dampening field around the building."

Pike cursed loudly before cutting communication with his ship and making his way towards the two women. "What's her condition?"

Alathea shook her head before stopping the compression. "The glass probably severed the coronary artery. She's bleeding out," Alathea blurted out, holding back her tears. Dr. Bayley hadn't just been her CMO but also her friend and confidante. "She's dead."

"Thea, I'm sorry," Pike said, extending a comforting hand toward his friend.

Alathea jerked away from Chris and stood up. "We need to get out of here."

Voices were coming down the corridor and by the sound of them, it wasn't Starfleet personnel. Pike reached for Alathea and held her back. "Wait!" He forced her back on the ground as the lab door flew open and several armed Niribians entered the room.

"Drop your weapons!" The leader ordered.

Pike raised his hands up in the air as he placed himself in-between the Niribians and Alathea. Despite their frailed nature, he knew that the Niribian were deceptively strong and he quickly estimated his chances to take all four aliens in the room without casualty to none. Besides, he didn't know how many more were roaming the corridors. Surrendering was his only option. Pike motioned to the phaser on his hip with his eyes, silently asking for permission to lower his hands. Once the leader acknowledged the request with a jolt of his rifle, Pike slowly unholstered his phaser with his non-shooting hand and lowered it to the floor. His communicator followed. His movements were slow and deliberate, trying to defuse the situation as much as he could.

The leader kicked the phaser and communicator away from Pike. "What about her?"

"She's a doctor. She's unarmed."

The man seemed to consider the situation. "What are you doing here?"

"We're working on a cure for your people," Alathea supplied.

"A cure?" The man chuckled. "You mean for the council while the people are dying by the thousands? Starfleet is not here to help the people of Niribu. They're here to keep our government in place! They're killing us so they can control us!" The tirade was interrupted by a fist of coughing.

Pike exchanged a quick look with Alathea to confirm his suspicion: the sweat on the man's forehead betrayed his fever and given his shortness of breath, he was in the first stage of the disease. Within a few hours, he would start bleeding internally.

"Jarun! We have cleared the floor," came a voice from the corridor.

"Idiot! Don't use my name!" Jarun turned his attention back to his prize. Two Starfleet officers. Either his government or theirs would pay dearly to get them back. Perhaps he could get some of the medicine the council had been hoarding for themselves. Perhaps he would have enough time to come back to his village and deliver the medicine to his dying son. Jarun shook his head. His son would be dead soon if he wasn't already. This was the reason why he had agreed to help the FFF in the first place. "Move out!" He ordered Pike and Alathea.

The captain slowly walked past the armed men, protecting Alathea with his own body as much as possible. The man who had called their leader by his name was waiting for them outside the lab and led them to an adjacent room with three beds that had obviously been occupied recently. The soldier closed the door behind them.

"Friends of yours?" Alathea asked sarcastically. Ignoring his friend's snarky remark, Pike rushed towards the windows. "They don't open. Trust me, we've tried," Alathea supplied, collapsing on the bed. She looked at the blood on her hands and her mind brought her back to Iggisia and Elena.

"Thea!" Pike called in an attempt to keep Alathea in the present. "We're going to be ok. I promise." He kneeled on the floor in front of her.

"Is that a your-life-back-if-you're-not-completely-satisfied guarantee?"

Pike rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

"Sorry… It's just…"

"When was the last time you've slept?"

"How does that matter?"

"It matters because there are at least six armed Niribians outside this door with nothing to lose. If we have to make an escape before Enterprise can get to us, I need you to be clear headed. Survival training: when was the last time you drank, ate, and slept?"

Alathea sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, they needed to enter survival mode. "There is water under the bed. We've been staying here for the past couple of days, working on the cure. I can't remember the last time I ate. And I have been taking cat naps ever since we got here."

"Lie down and get some sleep. They seem preoccupied with securing the building, that should buy us a couple of hours of rest," Pike ordered while laying down on the nearest bed.

Alathea followed his example, turning her back to Pike. She could hear explosions in the distance, suggesting that the coup had extended to other official buildings. Clearly, the Council had been wrong: the FFF was a lot more organized than the ragtag team they had been thought to be. This was not the reunion she had envisioned. Truth be told, she had never imagined seeing Chris again. She was a field doctor and he was the captain of a starship on an exploratory mission. The only reason the Enterprise had accompanied the Pittman on this mission was because she had been in proximity of the colony.

Sleep wouldn't come. And Pike's breathing told Alathea that he was still awake as well. Night was falling on the capital and with it a stillness that often only came after a hard-fought battle. She turned around on her bed to face her friend. "I wanted to call you," she started. "I just didn't know what to say."

Pike stayed silent for the longest time. He was angry at her for essentially cutting him out of her life, he was sad to have lost his friend, and he was confused about what he could have possibly done to cause their fallout. Alathea was about to turn around on her bed when Pike responded, "Then, why didn't you?" He propped himself on his elbow. He couldn't make out her features in the pale moonlight.

"Because I was afraid of what you'd think of me," Alathea confessed. "After I returned to Earth, I spent a few months in Mojave, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Before I could envision not going back to Starfleet Medical, Nathan asked me to come work with him at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He had found a way to slow the degradation from delta ray radiation in lab rats but he wanted a second pair of eyes before proposing the next phase to Starfleet. Most importantly, he needed someone with medical training to manage the pain in his patients. I spent the next six months working with him."

"So you rekindled a romance with your old academic flame? Do you think I was going to be jealous?"

"No. And we never rekindled anything. Not back then and not at the Academy. Even Leland knew that asking me out was a lost cause. And I think he bedded the entire senior class."

Pike chuckled. "Yeah, I think I spent more nights in your dorm room that year than in mine."

Alathea returned the chuckle before continuing. "Upon my return to Earth, I started having pain everywhere. Nobody could figure out why until someone managed to unseal the records from Aggarwal.

"The doctor who performed your surgeries when we were kids?"

Alathea nodded. "Iggisia had a slightly lower gravity than Earth. The years I spent planetside altered the compound Aggarwal had used to strengthen the bones. Nobody knew what to do so I contacted the only doctor I knew who had worked with Aggarwal."

"Boyce," Pike supplied in a whisper.

"Yes. He presented me with two options. The first one was to reattach Aggarwal's compound to my bones. Phil didn't believe he could do it since my growth plates have long sealed. Besides, I wasn't sure I wanted to go through the pain again."

"Your second option was the harness," Pike gasped in understanding. "And you needed to contact my father."

"Yes," Alathea whispered in shame.

"And you thought I would be mad at you for seeking the only man who could actually help you?"

"Chris, I know how tense the relationship between the two of you had been. I didn't want to become a painful reminder for you. I didn't want you to resent me for associating with the man who had caused you so much pain."

"Did he help you?"

"Yes. He successfully recreated my harness. With it I could strengthen my muscles to be able to function in normal gravity. It took three years but I was eventually able to remove the harness."

Pike sat up abruptly at the realization. "The gravity here is not normal… Thea, how are you moving around?"

"With some difficulty," Alathea admitted.

"We need to get you back to the ship," Pike kneeled in front of Alathea's bed. "Can you run?"

"I don't know," Alathea answered honestly. "Chris, if you're planning to escape, promise me that you will do so even if I'm not able to follow you."

"No," Pike gently caressed her cheek. "Nobody is left behind."

Alathea leaned into his touch. "I'm sorry."

"I'm glad my father could help you," Pike told her sincerely. "I would never want for you to suffer." He climbed beside her on the bed, holding her close. "I wish you would have called me."

"I wanted to. I almost did. Several times."

"So after my father helped you, what did you decide to do? You're still with Medical…," Pike asked to change the subject.

Alathea laughed. "Yeah. My career change wasn't as drastic as I would have hoped. I spent the next five years in Mojave, working at a clinic but something was missing. I wanted to make a difference, not just remove splinters. So I went back to the Academy and got a specialization in field medicine."

Pike whistled at the accomplishment. That was one of the toughest curriculums at the Academy, combining Medical, Command, and Tactical. "Did you go through Command training?"

Alathea nodded. "I'm a lieutenant commander. I'm the fourth in command aboard the Pittman." She paused. "Well, the third now."

"I'm so sorry about Dr. Bayley."

"She was more than just my mentor. I wish you would have been able to meet her under better circumstances."

"I don't think she liked me very much."

"Let's just say that there were some expletives when she described some of your command decisions."

"Considering what just happened, she may have been right. I underestimated the threat posed by the FFF."

"Chris, no one could have predicted what happened. And even if you had more security officers on the ground, they wouldn't have lasted long in front of an army of desperate people. It would have resulted in a blood bath."

"Perhaps."

Alathea cupped his cheek. "You're a good captain, Chris."

Pike chuckled. "How would you know?"

"Because I followed your career. I'm sure that a hundred years from now, they will have some sort of award named after you."

Pike laughed and kissed the top of her head. "No pressure there."

"None at all."

Their light banter was interrupted by the door slamming open. Pike and Mayweather blinked against the harsh light emanating from the corridor. "Jarun wants to talk to you."

Reluctantly, Pike let go of Alathea and walked toward their guard, followed closely by his friend. The Niribian led them down the corridor towards the elevator. A short trip to the seventh floor later, Pike found himself in the server room of the government building. "Do you know how to make this work?" Jarun asked Pike without preamble.

"No," Pike answered while quickly counting the number of guards. Even if he could take them all, there was no guarantee they would be able to escape before more guards were called, especially if Alathea wasn't able to run as fast in higher gravity. "We no longer use this kind of technology."

"What are you trying to do?" Alathea asked.

"We need to send a message to the government. If they have a cure, the people should get it first."

"They do not have a cure," Alathea replied. "We were working on it."

"Can you finish it?"

"Not with the equipment available here. We need something from our ship."

"And by we, you mean you. You're the doctor." Jarun's eyes narrowed. "Tell you what, princess, you finish that cure or your friend here will be the first casualty." Jarun motioned for his guards to get a hold of Pike.

"No!" Alathea placed herself in front of Pike. "I can't complete the cure without our bio-activators! If you let us go, I promise you that we will do our best to help you."

"Your best hasn't been enough to save my child!" Jarun ran towards Alathea. He grabbed the doctor by the arm and threw her on the floor. Alathea yelped in pain.

"Stop!" Pike fought against the guards restraining him. "She's been trying to help your people. All of your people!"

"Then get me that cure! NOW!"

Pike looked at Alathea sitting on the floor. "Thea, you said that there was another solution to the bio-activators. What is it?"

Alathea shook her head. "I hadn't had a lot of time to look into it. But I believe we can use a host to activate the cure and then transfer the plasma to the Niribian. It won't solve the problem for the long-term but it will buy us time to find a real cure or a vaccine."

"Can I be that host?"

Alathea gasped in shock. "Chris, no! It was a theory. I have no idea what the drug will do to you."

Pike looked in-between the guards and Jarun hovering over Alathea. The cure may be deadly but the weapons these desperate men were carrying definitely were and Pike sensed that they were out of time. "Give it to me! I'm the logical choice. If something goes wrong, you can help me!"

"No!"

Jarun kicked Alathea in the ribs. "You heard him! Give it to him!"

Alathea collapsed into a fetal position, protecting her midsection. "Stop!" Pike screamed, trying to free himself from the guards. "Thea, give me the 's an order."

Alathea looked up in-between Chris and Jarun. As a doctor, she couldn't fathom giving the drug to anyone at this stage. They needed more time to understand the effects on the human body. She had already run some promising simulations but she couldn't guarantee that it was safe for the host. But as a Starfleet officer, she understood Pike's order. If she didn't test her theory, they were both dead. She nodded as she slowly stood up from the floor, cradling her injured ribs. "Ok," she conceded. "But we need to go back to the lab. I'll also need access to my medical tricorder."

"What for?" Jarun asked suspiciously.

"To monitor when the drug has been activated," Alathea answered half truthfully. She also needed it to monitor Chris' vital signs.

Jarun motioned for her to lead the way. As she passed Chris, she locked eyes with him and shook her head. Pike gave her an encouraging smile, displaying more courage than he actually felt. When they reached the fourth floor's lab, Alathea retrieved one vial of the unactivated drug from the fridge, trying her best to ignore her friend's body, and loaded it into a hypospray. "Have a seat," she asked Chris.

The captain sat down on the only chair available and removed his command jacket. Alathea scanned him quickly with her tricorder. His heart rate and blood pressure were elevated but it was to be expected considering their situation. "Chris, I never had time to run more than a few simulations. It should take approximately three hours to activate the cure. A plasma transfusion should do the trick."

"How many doses can you get from my blood?"

Alathea shook her head. "I don't know. Three, maybe four."

"So we'll need to do this twice."

Alathea gasped in shock. "Absolutely not! I don't even know what the first round will do to you. But you could go into kidney or liver failure! Not to mention that you cannot donate plasma every three hours!"

"Thea, I will be ok."

"Your will is not going to dictate how your body is going to react to this!" Alathea looked at Jarun. "Stop this!" She pleaded. "We need more time to understand the effects that the drug will have on him! You might be killing him!"

"And my people are dying by the thousands every hour! What is the life of one man if he can save six?" Jarun was getting agitated.

Alathea looked at the hypospray in her hand. During her first day of medical training, her instructors had her recite the Hippocratic Oath. I will never give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it. She was about to violate that oath. "Thea, it's ok," Pike said, placing his hand on hers.

"No, it's not." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Pike grabbed the hypospray from Thea's hand and injected himself. "Chris, no!" Alathea fought him for the device but it was too late. "No…," she repeated, letting the tears flow freely.

"I'm ok," he told her sincerely. He didn't feel any different. "Is it working?"

Alathea ran a quick scan. "Too soon to tell. But you should be laying down." She turned her attention to Jarun. "This will take some time. Can we at least make him comfortable?"

Jarun ordered one of his men to escort Pike and Mayweather back to the room that had recently been converted into a dormitory. Althea helped Chris on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"No difference. Are you sure this is working?"

Alathea shrugged. "I don't know. But you should try to get some rest."

"I'm ordering you to do anything in your power to get out of here alive. Even if it means injecting me a second time, understood?" Alathea ignored him. "Commander, that's a direct order."

"And if I don't obey, I'll gladly be court-martialed." Alathea wrapped a blanket around Chris. She sat down on the floor next to him, monitoring his vital signs.

"Thea, I need to ask you a favor," Pike said after a long silence. "If I don't make it…"

"Chris," Alathea interrupted.

"If I don't make it," Pike insisted, "I want you to execute my last will."

"Chris, I…" Alathea frowned. "What's wrong?" She had known Chris long enough to sense his hesitation. "Where are you hurting?"

"My back," he admitted.

Mayweather scanned him quickly. As soon as the tricorder registered her worst fear, she bit her lower lip. "Your kidneys are failing. We need to stop this!"

As she was about to stand, Pike placed a hand on her shoulder. "No. They will kill both of us at this stage. How long until the drug is activated?"

Alathea readjusted her tricorder. "A couple of hours. But your kidneys will continue to degrade. We need to get you on dialysis and back on Enterprise now!"

"Care to explain this to the man who is willing to lose everything?"

"At the very least, I can give you a nerve blocker."

Pike shook his head. "No. I'm ok."

"Says the man who finished a football game after a major concussion and spent three days in the hospital afterwards. Considering your threshold for pain, I'm not taking you at your word."

"Thea, I need to stay awake. Knowing Number One, she's already on her way here. But she may need our help when it comes to it."

STSTST

Chris groaned when Alathea started washing his body with cold water. "Sorry," she apologized, "but you're running a high fever. How are you feeling?" The question was answered by another grunt. "Almost there, Chris." Alathea caressed his forehead soothingly. Chris' eyes flickered open. The white had turned a yellowish color. His liver is failing. "We need to move to the tenth floor. Can you walk?"

Chris groaned as he struggled to sit up on the bed. "I don't think so."

"I can help you," she whispered to him. "Just put your weight on me." She repositioned herself to his side, wrapping his arm over her shoulders. "I can't get the machine to you." She eyed the guard waiting to escort them. "And I don't want him to touch you."

Chris nodded weakly, slowly standing up with Alathea's help. The room was spinning around him and it took all of his willpower to remain conscious. "Thea…" Chris collapsed on his knees and vomited on the floor. His last conscious thoughts drifted towards Alathea. He needed to stay awake and make sure she would be safe.

STSTST

Pike groaned as the sensations returned to his body. He was laying on his back with faint beeps surrounding him. The familiar hum of the engine could be felt through the wall. Enterprise.

"You're lucky to be alive."

Boyce. He could recognize the judgmental voice anywhere. He slowly opened his eyes to find the ship's CMO hovering over him. "How are you feeling?", Phil asked him.

"Like I was run over by a shuttle."

"That's not a bad analogy," Boyce grumbled as he displayed Pike's current condition on the sickbay monitor near the patient's bed. "We had to replace your kidneys. Liver is regenerating slowly. Blood transfusions are taking care of the remaining traces of the cure."

"Thea?" Pike tried to sit up on the bed.

Phil placed a firm hand on his shoulder, forcing his captain to lie back down on the biobed. He nodded towards the adjacent bed. "Asleep. She hasn't left sickbay since we brought you in five days ago."

"Is she ok?" His brain couldn't process the avalanche of information. All that mattered was that Alathea was safe.

"She's fine. Thanks to you. But I can't say the same for you. So, lie down and get some rest."

"What happened?" Pike insisted.

Boyce heavily sighed, knowing that short of sedating Pike for the night, the captain would not rest until he got a full status report. "What do you remember?"

"The cure… pain."

"That would have been from the kidney and liver failure. You passed out as soon as Thea tried to move you. She convinced your captors to let her put you on dialysis while she worked on extracting the cure from your plasma. That probably saved your life." Boyce paused. "Unfortunately, the drug didn't work. Jarun died within a couple of hours along with two of his men. With no leader, the rest of the insurgents agreed to open communication with Starfleet. Number One negotiated your release in exchange for recognizing the FFF as a governmental entity."

"Admiral Anderson won't be happy about that."

"The situation is more complicated than the Niribian Council led us to believe originally. Anderson is coming here to take charge of the situation. I don't know the details. You'll have to ask Number One… AFTER you get some rest."

Boyce's raised voice woke Alathea from her shallow slumber. "Chris," she mumbled, stumbling out of bed. "You're awake!"

Pike extended his hand to her. "And fine. I should get down to the planet."

"NO!" Boyce and Mayweather exclaimed in unison. "You're staying here until I'm satisfied that you're not going to go into full cardiac arrest on us again," Boyce added. "Now, we can do this the easy way… or the hard way, with restraints."

Pike looked in-between Boyce and Mayweather. "The drug trashed your kidneys and liver," Alathea explained. "Eventually, your heart stopped. If Enterprise hadn't beamed us up at that moment, you'd be dead, Chris. Please, listen to Phil. You need time to recover."

The fear reflected in Alathea's eyes convinced Pike more than the threat of restraints. He relaxed on the bed and held her hand above his heart. "Stay with me?"

She nodded. "Sweet dreams." She whispered as Pike let sleep claim him once more.