I stumbled into my cabin, exhausted from work. I was just expecting the
comm unit to blare "Lieutenant Williamson to engineering". It would be
typical, after all, after such a hard days work. I do know how the system
works; I am just unused to this format.
Going from a science ship to a starship is a lot to chew. I was used to doing most of the engineering tasks myself. The small things that needed to be tuned on a science vessel could be tuned by very slight adjustments and not need to be again for months. There are only two engineers on a science shuttle, and it only really needed one. I, being of lesser rank then the other engineer, was usually ordered around to do such things as adjusting the sensors, which were used constantly.
I placed an information disk into the cabins computer. It started to play old earth songs, slow songs, sad and happy songs. I blocked my thoughts and feelings from entering my brain, and sat listening, just being. I could sense people walking through this deck around me. Their names, their rank, their jobs, were they were going, what they were going to do when they got there, flooded my mind. I shut of the flow of information quickly; I wanted to let these people have the privacy of there thoughts. But as I sorted through the names of one hundred forty-three some people, I noticed something odd. All of the officers, even Captain Kirk, were in Sickbay. I was quite curious as to what was going on, but my thoughts were interrupted by the soft swish of the door opening.
"Evening, Province." I chimed, welcome for the company. My roommate nodded and strode to her bunk. She was of earth origin, and was quite humanoid. She was of medium height, with blond hair flowing down her back. She was radiantly pretty, and was in Environmental Control. For some reason she found the quiet place interesting. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Turning the music off, I sat on my bunk. "So, how was your day? As stressful as mine?"
"I doubt it. Engineering," She shuddered "How can you stand it?" She smiled, knowing the answer before I said anything.
"Anyway I can!" I exclaimed. This greeting had become a ritual over about a week. "Hey, you want to grab a bite to eat? I'm starving!"
"Sure. Wait, let me fix my hair." Her hair sparkled it was so perfect. She heard my small groan, and tossed her hair in I-don't-really-care-no-matter what-I-say manner. She giggled. "I was just kidding, Gladus."
I flipped my own hair out of my face with a quick turn of my head. My dull brown hair fell to my shoulders in its boring manner. I had always longed for Provinces' beauty. "Okay, then lets go! I'm really hungry!" I walked to the door, and waited for it to open. It was halfway open when it snapped shut again. I frowned, walked to the computer and said "Computer."
"Working"
"Open cabin door."
"Working. Authorization needed to open cabin door." What the.who would lock us in our own room? I scowled at the computer. "Computer," I said, starting to get annoyed. Province was looking at the door, confused and worried.
"Working"
"What if I blasted the door down?" There was a pause, as if the computer were thinking.
"You need authorization to blast down the door, also."
I sighed. Computers had a self-saving streak in them, which no one normally bothered to undo in the original workings of all ships computers. An easily fixed problem, but often overlooked. Whoever had rigged this, they new me well. No one knew me that well, except.. "Computer." I said again, now confident that I had figured out who my jailer was.
"Working."
"Open a line to Lieutenant Stovic."
"Working. Line to Lieutenant Stovic open."
A picture of a black haired, blue-eyed Vulcan appeared on the screen. His stoic expression was no surprise, nor was it that he had been in his quarters at the time.
"Good evening, Lieutenant." His gaze seemed to hold as many lies as truths. "May I help you with something?" He was carefully fanning innocence.
"What on earth did you have to override to do this, Stovic?" I asked, icily. Nobody keeps me away from my dinner. "If there was a fire, we would be charred to a crisp!" I was furious, because I was being quite truthful, if he had disarmed everything.
"We?" He asked, glancing over my shoulder. "Oh. I did not mean for Lieutenant Province to be stuck." The doors opened quickly, and Province dived, and was gone right before they snapped shut again.
"Is there any reason for you trapping me in this manner? Or do you wish me to starve?" I scowled at him. We had known each other from academy. He was also in engineering, and a genius, like most Vulcan's, in the area of computers. We were once good friends, until I accidentally invaded the privacy of his mind.
"I had to discuss something with you. It is for your ears alone." He glanced behind him, and lowered his voice. "I was recently tapping into the computer to listen in on sickbay, to check to see if a certain lieutenant was feeling on his feet again." I nodded. He was not like a conventional Vulcan in that he held nothing against lying or espionage. "I listened to a very interesting meeting of the officers and the captain. Apparently, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. McCoy has disappeared." I suddenly stopped my foot tapping.
"So you want me to use my, er, ability, to find him." I groaned. I wasn't Vulcan, or anything with telepathic capability. I'm just your plain old human from Detroit; except, somehow, I ended up with telepathy. And Stovic was the only one alive that new about it. I quickly forgot about dinner. "And I suppose you want me to go tell Kirk about it, right?" 'It' was a word that didn't need explaining.
"Yes, that would be the logical assumption. You might want to check the ship before you go to him, however. If the doctor is on the ship, you can get him without telling the Captain."
"And if he's not on the ship?"
"Tell the Captain."
"But we're on patrol, we can't just start looking all over the place!"
"The Captain will decide that. I'm unlocking the door to your cabin." I saw him reach over the screen to turn off the unit.
"Wait. Will you come with me? He's not going to believe me unless you say it's true." Okay, so maybe I didn't want to face Kirk alone, but I wasn't going to tell him that.
He thought for a moment. "Very well. That is a logical excuse." His face faded away. And I knew he knew why I wanted him there.
Concentrating while your nervous is a hard thing. Once I had finally relaxed enough to sense the people around me, it became apparent that the doctor was not on the U.S.S Enterprise. I was not surprised. I hadn't noticed him for a couple of days. Of course, I wasn't looking for him then. Now that I was, there was urgency in my looking. I searched the minds of everyone. No matter how hard I looked he wouldn't appear. Eventually, I called Stovic.
"I was waiting for your call. I am presuming you didn't find him." I shook my head. He glanced at my frazzled face and my even worse hair, and said dryly. "Come to my quarters when your presentable, and we will meet with the Captain."
-----------------
After a few minutes of trying to neaten my hair and make it regulation, and of changing into a newly pressed uniform, I sat on my bed to try and gather my wits. When my mind was clear, I searched for Kirk. He was in his quarters, which was lucky for us. I didn't think I wanted to tell the whole bridge about myself. However, if it were necessary, I would have.
I made my way to Stovic's cabin. He was standing outside his door as I approached. I looked at my feet. For moment I had tried to read his thoughts, feel his dreams, but had remembered in time to stop myself. At this time, I didn't need the guilt of three years ago. He looked at me, and we silently walked the turbolift. "He's in his quarters." I said quietly, knowing his Vulcan hearing would pick it up.
"Good. He is in the easiest place possible to talk to." He strode, cat like, into the lift, me at his heels. His height was intimidating to me. I was rather short, and he was rather tall. I feel somewhat sorry for Captain Kirk. He is taller then I am, but still quite short, and his good friend was a Vulcan.
As we stepped out of the lift and into the corridor, still as silent as anything, I realized the tension in my companions' movements. He, also, was nervous about speaking to his captain. I hope I didn't show my nerves as much as he did (that's sort of an oxymoron, isn't it?), but the fact that this Vulcan was nervous made me nervous also. When we approached the door, I knocked. What was I thinking about not showing nerves? As I reached over, embarrassed, to the automated door system, the door slid open before I could request entrance.
The captain sat at his table, with a bottle of scotch sitting before him. It was full, however. Apparently, this young captain refused to drink his sorrow away. His hair was messy, his uniform rumpled. It was somewhat embarrassing to see the most decorated Starfleet captain in this sad state. "You knocked?" He asked, with a tired and slight smile.
"Sorry about our intrusion, sir." I stammered, locking my knees so I wouldn't quiver. "I am Lieutenant Gladus Williamson and this is Lieutenant Stovic. We're from the engineering deck, sir"
"Captain." Kirk's gaze shifted from me to Stovic. "We came to offer our services in the search for Doctor McCoy." We? I wondered silently.
Kirk's voice suddenly sharpened and quickened. His intake of breath became faster. "How do you know about Bones?" The nickname for his friend was well known, and we immediately knew whom he was talking about.
I hadn't thought of this. How could I explain that Stovic had eavesdropped on a conversation in sickbay?
Stovic cut in, sensing my indecision. "Sir, a security guard asked us if we had seen the Doctor recently. We figured you might need extra help at this time." I gave an inner sigh of relief.
"Fine, then. Go look with the rest of them." He waved a hand at the door, then starred gloomily down at the table.
There was a long silence. I broke it by saying. "Captain?"
"Yes?" He asked, still starring at the table. I was trying hard not to hear his thoughts, but they were almost to loud to block.
I stammered. "Ah, sir.they wont find Dr. McCoy."
He looked up sharply. "What?" he asked, not believing what he had heard.
Here it goes, I thought. "Doctor McCoy is not on this ship. Anywhere. I've. err.looked." Oh dear, that sounded very stupid indeed.
"I agree sir." Added Stovic. "If she has looked and not found him, he is not aboard this vessel."
This proclamation astounded Kirk. He sat, looking in disbelief at the unlikely pair that had arrived on his doorstep. I felt somewhat sorry for him. He didn't understand. Leaning towards Stovic, I asked him the one word that would initiate the explanation. The only explanation needed. "Now?" He nodded.
The map of the ship, with every single person on it and there location at the time, along with there names and ranks listed next to them, which I had organized while looking for the doctor, was the first thing that entered the captains brain. I fed the information slowly. There would be an uproar if he fainted because of a brain overload. The next thing that went to him was the feeling of just being, and the feeling of other people's feelings coming into your head, and trying to block them, then the feeling of keeping my telepathy secret from everyone, the stress, the pain of not talking about it.
I saw the brief amount of awe that crossed his face, than shock, then genuine sympathy. It took about two minutes to complete the, what I called, one-ended mindmeld. As Captain Kirk recomposed himself, I sank to my knees. The stress of slowing down the information was immense. Sliding along the wall, I sat on the floor; sweat pouring off my face, knowing I would be unconscious quickly. I heard the Captain call for a nurse and Spock as my eyes darkened. Then I was carried out of the room by strong arms, and was enclosed by black.
---------------- I awoke in the bright lights of sickbay. I was on my back, looking at the ceiling. Suddenly, a Vulcan face blocked my view of the ceiling. This was not Stovic. This was. "Mr. Spock, sir." I said immediately. I tried to sit up, but groaned and was shoved gently back by Nurse Chapel. I closed my eyes, controlling the throbbing in my head, and opened them again. Spock was still there.
"Please explain to me how you managed to meld with the captain without touching him or becoming part of him, lieutenant." His expressionless face held what might have been excitement.
"Mr. Spock, Gladus needs her rest. She has had a hard night." Nurse Chapel's scolding voice came from my right.
I was capable, at this time, to bring myself to full wellness; I was already feeling ten times better. I glanced at Spock, and asked the question that would, again start an explanation. A different explanation. "Sir, would you be able to handle extremely fast information input?" I asked, quietly.
"Yes." He said.
I closed my eyes and sent the way I had learned how to do it to him, sent the knowledge that they were in my mind but I was not in there's, showed him how I blocked things I didn't want him to see. It took less then twenty seconds to complete this meld, and caused no fatigue. However, I watched Spock stagger slightly, and sit down on the bed next to me. Nurse Chapel rushed over.
"Mr. Spock!" She cried, and hurried to him.
"Fascinating!" He said, getting up. I, too, came into a sitting position, and then stood, shakily, still slightly unsure of my footing.
"Sir, may I ask what time it is?"
"It is 0900 hours."
I stood up straight, now aware of were my feet were landing. "Do I have leave to go back to engineering?"
He glanced at Nurse Chapel, who was glaring at him, but letting him continue. She probably doesn't believe I'm well, I thought.
Spock looked back at me. "No. You are to fetch Lieutenant Stovic, and meet the Captain and I in the briefing room."
"Yes sir." I said, and jogged off.
As I came through the door out of Sickbay, I ran into Stovic. Literally. He was standing just outside the door. "I was just passing by." He said innocently. I welcomed his company as we made our round about way to the briefing room; stopping first at my room, then at his, to change into newly pressed uniforms. On our way to deck 15 in the turbolift, I asked how I had gotten into Sickbay. There was no way that Kirk could have been the one to carry me out.
"I carried you to Sickbay."
"You did what?" I said, not believing my ears. He avoided all physical contact with me what so ever. The mindmeld I had caused, by helping him bandage a cut on his shoulder, did not want to be relived by either party.
"I knew you would not be able to do any sort melding when you were unconscious." He looked slightly nervous. This was not a good time to bring up this subject.
"Why did you volunteer to help? Not saying that you couldn't, but how could you help?" I really wanted to know. He didn't answer, since the lift doors opened, and we were standing outside the briefing room. After a nervous glance at Stovic, I entered. He was right behind me, sliding, cat like, into the room.
And their sat Captain James T. Kirk, and Commander Spock. Kirk was looking avidly into the computer, and Spock was looking over his shoulder, intent on whatever was depicted there. Kirk clicked off the terminal and turned as he heard the door swish shut.
Kirk looked slightly better then the last time we had seen him. His hair was now combed, but he still looked worse for wear. His ashen face scared me a bit. You never expect a hero to ever look like that. "Lieutenant Williamson, lieutenant Stovic," He nodded to us in turn.
"Sir." We said simultaneously. There was nothing more to say.
He started anyway. "We have just been viewing your records, Williamson. There is nothing that states your telepathic capabilities in them." He looked tired. He probably didn't get any sleep last night, I thought.
"No sir, there shouldn't be."
"Why is that, Lieutenant?"
I glanced nervously at Stovic. "Starfleet doesn't know of my capabilities, sir." This was nerve racking.
"I see." Said Kirk. He looked thoughtful then looked at Stovic. "You meet at Starfleet Academy, I assume?" He seemed to be appraising Stovic, as if not yet convinced of his purpose there.
"Yes sir, we did." He said. He didn't elaborate,
"And how do you plan to help Williamson? Or the search, for that matter?" He had asked the question I myself wanted to know the answer to.
"Sir, Lieutenant Williamson can only keep up long distance telepathy for so long. Even if she could, it would leave her terribly exhausted." Get to the point, I thought. I didn't need weaknesses of my 'ability' pointed out to my officers at this point. "I offer to meld completely with the Lieutenant, thus offering her strength to draw from." I gaped at him. This was all a dream, I told myself.
It wasn't.
Kirk looked surprised, then recuperated. "Spock could have done the same thing. Why you?"
Stovic stiffened slightly, then gained control of himself. He spoke with clarity, as though he didn't want to have to repeat it if unheard. "We have melded before, sir. This would make it easier for I to meld with Lieutenant Williamson then Mr. Spock." Spock and Kirk glanced at each. I almost rolled my eyes. They were reading into this way too much.
"I see."
This time Spock spoke. "We believe that you and Lieutenant Williamson would be an asset in the unofficial search for Dr. McCoy the Captain and I were about to conduct." He looked exactly like an expressionless Vulcan should look. His eyes betrayed him. He was worried, no matter how much he argued with the doctor.
Kirk started again. "We have a scheduled refitting of the Enterprise when we return to Starbase 2, and four weeks of shore leave. During those four weeks, we have planned to rent a small science vessel and a skeleton crew. However, I do believe four people would do, if we're not actually studying anything." I nodded mutely. It didn't take much to run a science ship. He continued with his plans. "Anyhow, we would go from Starbase 2 to earth. Once we have searched that solar system, we will radiate out from there and do slow circles, hitting most of the star systems in the time allotted possible. Spock thinks we can get more then 116 star systems." He looked expectantly at us. We were his last resort. I knew that I wouldn't let my captain down, but Stovic?
"I'll go, sir" Stovic said even before I did.
"Me, too, Captain." I said. Now, all we had to do was find McCoy, and.
"Thank you. I know you both will work admirably. Now, Williamson, you probably want to go back to bed. You're both dismissed."
--------------------
I pushed through the crowds of Starbase 2, case in one hand, and a present from Province in the other. I looked around for the café that was supposed to be our rendezvous point. I was to meet Stovic at the West Side Café. Apparently, he would have directions to the craft we were to spend four weeks on.
I was in civilian cloths, no Starfleet insignia to be found. My hair was tied in a non-regulation half pony tale. It was still shore leave, after all. Stovic, however, I knew would not be. He never went more then two feet from his uniform. I could imagine him, standing stiffly at the entrance to the West Side Café. He would have a datapad in one hand, which would have directions to the science ship.
After about a half hour of searching, I sighed, calmed myself and tried to find him. When I found his signature "entity", it was surrounded by a melee of confusion and anger. I'd seen things like that on other occasions. Stovic couldn't be in the middle of a fight, could he? I started jogging, the running, then sprinting towards the now visible entrance to the café. As I approached, I noted that Stovic wasn't standing at the entrance. Good grief, I didn't want to save him!
When I charged through the open door, the shear mass of bodies around me astounded me. They were either fighting with each other, or fighting to get out the door.
While I pushed my way through the crowd, searching for Stovic, people began to throw punches at me, mad that I had jostled their beaten bodies. Men and woman littered the floor. The people who were still standing were a much more prominent threat, however. They seemed to be the ones who started things. Bloodying my nose, probably breaking it and what felt like cracking a rib, I refrained from infuriating them further by retaliating, or stunning them. My eyes began to darken, my vision blurry, but my mission kept me on my feet and searching. My breath came in short and shallow breaths, doing more damage then good to my poor lungs. The call of sleep, of darkness, of no worries beckoned me. I stumbled over a body, and fell on top of it. I gave in, letting darkness overwhelm me, but then I shifted and saw the bodies face. Green blood spilled out of his nose, and the corner of his mouth, his black hair ruffled, and his uniform a greenish tint from his own blood.his uniform? Stovic!
I swam back into consciousness, and my memory returned. The mission, my duty, all came back into my head as I sat up, biting back a groan. Apparently, I was much worse for wear then I seemed. Rising to my feet, the strength of my duty began beating back my pain. My pain seem to dim, and I started to try to drag and carry Stovic out of the café, which was now destroyed, and desecrated with unconscious forms. As I dragged my four-week companion out the door, I realized I couldn't keep this up for much longer. I was biting my lip so hard that it was bleeding, and the constant pain of my lip put somewhat if a blocker of my real pain, the pain in my chest.
When I finally had Stovic sitting up against a wall, next to the plant were I had thrown my things behind, I was exhausted. Once my breathing had slowed to a sufficient quick intake, I pulled out my case. I knew of a certain ugly skirt that my Aunt had given me, and how thick and gauze like it was. I pulled it out, silently thanking her for the first time for this birthday gift. Ripping it into strips, I created a sufficient binding for my lower chest, were most of the pain seemed to be coming, and made pads to staunch the blood out of both of our noses. The makeshift binding seemed to help quite a lot, and I began searching Stovic's pockets.
He groaned softly and shifted against the wall, but he was still out cold. My hand gripped what felt cold and metal, deep inside one of Stovic's pockets. I drew it out slowly. A phaser! I rolled my eyes. Probably hadn't even drawn it.typical. Stuffing the phaser into my belt, I continued to search his pockets. The pocket with the phaser was deeper then it looked, and reaching into it almost to half way up to my elbow, I found the datapad. Stovic must have picked this location as a meeting place because of its proximity to a transporter room, which would transfer you to your ship. There was an uncomplicated map on the pad, too. It showed one of many transporters was right down the hall, and to the right. Good, even with this 'brace' I couldn't go very far.
Stuffing the datapad and present into my vest, and putting the small case under my arm, I took the pad from under his nose, and mine and starting dragging him off. Blood from my nose dripped onto his ebony hair, and turning it a reddish tint. I almost snorted in ill humor as I remembered the horses of earth that had blotchy coat colorings, and then recalled the torrent of blood that would doubtless flood the floor. My chest started throbbing again, and I went into an exhaustion induced delirium as I dragged his gangly body down the hall, cursing his height, and transferring his stoic expression onto a horse, I giggled in a hopeless sort of way. It seemed as if I had been dragging him down this hall for ages, and there was no sign of an end to it. I abruptly stopped in front of a door, which was labeled transporter room, and pulled out the coordinates to the science ship, which was on the datapad, and gave it to the engineer running the stupid thing. He starred at me, and then motioned for me to get on the platform. Staggering up the steps, I complied. With Stovic's unconscious form leaning on my beaten and battered body, I told the transporter man to "do it", and the golden shimmer dissembled our mangled bodies.
.And reassembled in front of a frowning young man, who began to speak even before the effect of the transporter beam was gone. "Your late. We have to get this show on the road before." The Captain! We made it! I can let Stovic go, I can.I can.I can sleep. A black box appeared around my vision, centering on Kirk, who was looking down at me.I must be on the floor.I don't care.
The last thing I saw were Kirk's amber eyes looking down at me. ------------------------
The cut was deep. Stovic's muscles tensed under my hand, but he didn't protest. I have to make him get a nurse to check this. His green blood ran on my fingers as I pressed gauze into the wound. His blood seeped through the pad, and I quickly changed it. Stubborn Vulcan's, I thought savagely, can't stop work for five minutes to go to Sickbay, insist that there fine, then the cut gets infected, then they have to stay in Sickbay, all because of their stupid, stubborn, emotionless, pride. I concentrated fully on the cut in front my eyes. I felt myself let the barriers of my mind drop.
And I wasn't looking at the cut any more, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and I was staring straight ahead, trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder. My shoulder? I swung my head around, and there I was, with a stoic expression on my face, tending to my wound. Wait.I was tending to my wound? I cursed silently to myself, or whoever I was. All the memories that weren't mine flooded into my brain. Still cursing, still trying to keep my calm, I put my spirit back into my body, and found it was shared by Stovic. Pushing his mind out of mine, I looked out of my own eyes, into those of Stovic.
I opened my eyes, and really did look up at Stovic. I took a shocked, quick intake of breath, and regretted it. Pain shot through my chest. Groaning softly, I squinted at his face and brought him into focus. He had a piece of what looked like tape across his nose, and a sling around his left arm, and a black eye but besides that, he looked all right.
As the pain ebbed away, I tried to sit up. Putting a restraining hand on my arm, he said softly, "Don't try to move. You have broken your nose, cracked a rib, and strained a three muscles in your back pulling me to the ship." His eyes twinkled, but he looked exhausted. His stoic expression remained, however. It was oddly reassuring. At least someone was half way sane on this ship.
I glanced at the darkish color of the Sickbay, and then realized the lights must be dimmed. Time to sleep, or go to bed, in the small and rather cluttered Sickbay. About a sixth the size of the Enterprise's Sickbay, the size suggested few patients. I coughed slightly, and said in a gravely voice, "Sit down, for God's sake. You're a real mess, you know!" Of course, he wasn't really, just extremely tired looking, and though he had a new jerkin on, he apparently hadn't taken a shower, there was still a little bit of my own blood in his hair, caked and probably stuck there for awhile. I half smiled. He found a seat at the diagnostic table across from me. "You shouldn't be running around like your ship shape." He raised a slanted eyebrow. I sighed, and then coughed a hacking cough. It was hard to not succumb to curiosity. "You should be in bed. You know, I found you and you were surrounded by unconscious people. And your phaser was in your pocket." As I spoke, I shifted one leg to the floor, and began to sit up, using my leg for leverage. Gasping and panting, I continued. "You didn't.even draw it.did you? Stubborn. Vulcans. Don't you find it.illogical to.not defend yourself.with a phaser?" Swinging my other foot down, I sat fully upright at the edge of the mat. Bed, really, but it felt like a mat. He wouldn't interrupt me if I kept on talking, so I did. "You could've been killed. You could've broken your neck. You could have never been able to work again. Why were you in the middle of a fight, anyway?" He had both brows raised now. Let him laugh, I thought. At least he's alive to laugh.
He took all my reprimanding in silence, as usual. He seemed to have half believed me. "When was the last time you got some sleep?" I scowled at him.
"9.3 hours ago." He looked somewhat amazed that it would've been only that long. But if he was as tired as he looked, he needed the rest.
"9.3 hours," I imitated. Scowling more, I barked at him. "Lie down and sleep, Stovic." I watched as he obediently went over to a mat a few down from mine and lay down and closed his eyes. His breathing became regular, and he seemed to be asleep, or meditating. Trying to tiptoe and lean heavily on the wall simultaneously, I went out the door and breathed a sigh of relief in the hall. Oops. Ouch. Looking down, I saw I had one of those handy-dandy chest splints on.
Leaning against the wall and walking down the hall, I figured that the engineering room, (science ships don't have 'decks' for important things, they have 'rooms') was probably on the next level down. I headed slowly towards the ladder. I didn't want to think about when I came back to this level to crew quarters, (which is on the same level as the sickbay, or 'sickroom', I suppose would be more appropriate) because my back seared in agony when I lifted either arm above my head. You can slide down a ladder, but you can't slide up. Science ships don't have turbolifts, only ladders.
In the familiar surroundings of the science vessels engineering room, I began to look over all the machinery. If you knew your mechanics, you could tell by the blinking lights were you were and how fast you when you were going to get there. I loved a science ships engineering. I grew up with it. My dad was a commander on one of the fleet's many science vessels. I had always been fascinated by how everything worked, how it all came together, how rock could actually make power, and a boatload of other things. As I looked around now, I noted the things I could adjust to maximize power consumption, amplify the cutting laser to almost the amount of a phaser, increase shields of the entire ship, and raise the best warp speed by .5. The starship had taught me many things.
I started with the small warp drive, capable of warp 2. Twiddling a knob and flipping a switch, I began directing the computer on how to maximize power to warp engines taking the power mainly from the science rooms, and there power-sapping machines. I worked silently, welcoming the calming thrum of the engines that was the predominant sound in this room. Among it mingled the beeps of the computer and the drone of my own directions. After an hour and a half of un-broken concentration, the computer began reading to me the steady rise in maximum warp speed. Every ten to fifteen minutes, the machine told me that the warp capacity had risen by point such and such, and after about a half hour of no further such readings, I was satisfied with warp 2.57, slightly more that I was expecting.
I slapped the com units' button. "Engineering to bridge,"
"Spock here."
"Mr. Spock, we now have warp 2.57," There was a pause, a beep of a computer, and the clicking of a button being pressed.
"Thank you, lieutenant Williamson. I believe you should return to your quarters and rest until we arrive at earth,"
"Yes, sir. Sir?" "Yes lieutenant?"
"What's this ship called?"
"It is the Old Glory, lieutenant."
"Thank you, sir. I will return to my quarters immediately."
---------------------
After a good nights' sleep, most of the pain in my side was gone and my nose seemed to be almost completely healed. It had been almost a day since the fight at the bar (I must note that to this day I have not returned there), and in the morning on the Glory.
Stovic, Spock, Kirk and I (more Spock and Kirk then us) decided that Spock and Stovic would do night shift and Kirk and I the day shift. The whole little decision sort of had the air of 'cultures should stick together' Stovic and I were going to switch shifts halfway thru the course of the trip. I headed up to the bridge whistling 'By the Sea', a very old song indeed, as I climbed the ladder. I came out of the small hatchway onto the bridge.
Captain Kirk, sitting in his command chair with his normal royal composure, was, like me, not in uniform. He wore a blue shirt, with loose dark blue pants, and an old corduroy brown jacket. "Good morning, sir. Sleep well?" I was used to my fathers normal reply of 'like a rock' and almost looked around from the engineering console were I had seated myself when he said. "Not very well, I'm afraid, Gladus."
This startled me. He looked well rested, but his eyes.he was obviously very sad. I lifted an eyebrow at him, and glanced over my shoulder. "Sir?"
He seemed almost like a startled deer. "Sorry, Lieutenant. Yes, I slept well, thank you." Sure yah did, sure. I thought. He was radiating borderline exhaustion, even if he didn't look it.
"Maybe you should go take a nap, Captain. You look exhausted." He yawned widely. I made a small one-ended mind link and pushed all my tiredness, all that was left, into him. "I can handle the bridge for now. We wont reach the Sol system for a few hours at maximum warp."
I had forgotten his stubbornness. "I'll be fine, thank you, lieutenant." Men. I'd have to touch him to actually make him fall asleep. Drat it all. And I'll have to get him in a position so he won't fall off his chair. Then I'd have to arrange for one of the Vulcan's to come and pick him up, Spock probably. Stovic if I was lucky. Never once did it cross my mind to leave him here, half asleep.
I roamed quietly around the small bridge, writing down things on the small datapad I had carried with me. After a few rounds, and a few notes, I came up behind him, pad in hand. I tapped him gently on the shoulder, and began to hand him the pad. He was out before he had begun to reach it.
I walked quickly to the communications board. "Lieutenant Stovic to the bridge please." I said to the board as I pressed the ship wide button. Stovics voice issued softly through the bridge.
"Acknowledged."
Stovic was up on the bridge in minutes. He surveyed Kirk, who was sleeping like a baby, and raised an eyebrow at me. "May I request your assistance in getting the Captain to his quarters?" I glanced at his arm, now in a flexible splint. "If you feel up to it.?" I added. "He seems to have drifted off to sleep. Poor sir." I smiled at Stovic, and he looked coolly back. Typical Vulcan attitude. Excuse me; Vulcan's don't have attitudes. How about typical Vulcan mannerism? Means the same thing, but doesn't have to do with dreaded emotion.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what I had just done. If it weren't leave, I would be in serious trouble. It was, though, and I wasn't. He knew my capabilities, damn him. He seemed a little irritated. "I was just about to complete a game of chess with Mr. Spock." He glanced at the captain. "It seems the game will have to be cut short." He called Spock to the bridge.
I began looking down the ladder, planning how to navigate with the captain down the four foot round space. I would probably take his feet and.I backed out of the hatchway as Spock came up. "Situation, Lieutenant?" He asked and surveyed the bridge. He noticed immediately the, shall I say, inconvenience? He raised a slanted eyebrow at me.
"Request permission to take the captain to his quarters, sir." Both eyebrows went up that time.
"Leave him, Lieutenant." I nodded, seeing the semi genius in this statement. He would wake, realize he had fallen asleep, but believe it had gone by unnoticed.
----------
He slept for the five hours before we reached earth. Stovic and Spock took over the shift, continuing their chess game. I returned to my cabin, taking out a data disc with all my favorite old science fiction novels on it. It was amazing to see how close some of these sci-fi books came to the truth. Of course, my favorites' are the books based on the extremely old movie, STAR WARS. I sat and read, drifting off to sleep after a few chapters.
And was then awoken by a bleat of the comm unit. "Williamson here", I intoned sleepily.
"We have arrived lieutenant." The stone cold voice of Spock woke me up completely.
"Ill be right up. Sir." I added belatedly. Oops. I ran a brush through my hair, straightened my shirt in the mirror, then dashed out the door, half tripping up the ladder.
"Sir." my voice trailed off, for on the main screen was a large corkscrew orbiting earth. "Earthbase 1," I'd never seen it in person. It rotated like a bolt-shaped pillow, floating above the blue and tan colored earth below it.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice whispered in my ear softly. I turned my head slightly. Kirk stood behind me, his hair a little wet from a shower or something.
It's understandable why Captain James T. Kirk had an amazing list of women at his every beck and call. For one thing, he's young and famous. For another, he has an enormous amount of charisma working for him. No wonder he was such a good Starship captain. I bet he could turn the tables on an entire Rumulan society if he wanted too.
And there he stood, with his wet hair and his silly half grin. Oh well. No chance there. That man's heart belongs to his ship, and his ship alone. I gave a small inner sigh, and returned my gaze to the view screen.
Going from a science ship to a starship is a lot to chew. I was used to doing most of the engineering tasks myself. The small things that needed to be tuned on a science vessel could be tuned by very slight adjustments and not need to be again for months. There are only two engineers on a science shuttle, and it only really needed one. I, being of lesser rank then the other engineer, was usually ordered around to do such things as adjusting the sensors, which were used constantly.
I placed an information disk into the cabins computer. It started to play old earth songs, slow songs, sad and happy songs. I blocked my thoughts and feelings from entering my brain, and sat listening, just being. I could sense people walking through this deck around me. Their names, their rank, their jobs, were they were going, what they were going to do when they got there, flooded my mind. I shut of the flow of information quickly; I wanted to let these people have the privacy of there thoughts. But as I sorted through the names of one hundred forty-three some people, I noticed something odd. All of the officers, even Captain Kirk, were in Sickbay. I was quite curious as to what was going on, but my thoughts were interrupted by the soft swish of the door opening.
"Evening, Province." I chimed, welcome for the company. My roommate nodded and strode to her bunk. She was of earth origin, and was quite humanoid. She was of medium height, with blond hair flowing down her back. She was radiantly pretty, and was in Environmental Control. For some reason she found the quiet place interesting. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Turning the music off, I sat on my bunk. "So, how was your day? As stressful as mine?"
"I doubt it. Engineering," She shuddered "How can you stand it?" She smiled, knowing the answer before I said anything.
"Anyway I can!" I exclaimed. This greeting had become a ritual over about a week. "Hey, you want to grab a bite to eat? I'm starving!"
"Sure. Wait, let me fix my hair." Her hair sparkled it was so perfect. She heard my small groan, and tossed her hair in I-don't-really-care-no-matter what-I-say manner. She giggled. "I was just kidding, Gladus."
I flipped my own hair out of my face with a quick turn of my head. My dull brown hair fell to my shoulders in its boring manner. I had always longed for Provinces' beauty. "Okay, then lets go! I'm really hungry!" I walked to the door, and waited for it to open. It was halfway open when it snapped shut again. I frowned, walked to the computer and said "Computer."
"Working"
"Open cabin door."
"Working. Authorization needed to open cabin door." What the.who would lock us in our own room? I scowled at the computer. "Computer," I said, starting to get annoyed. Province was looking at the door, confused and worried.
"Working"
"What if I blasted the door down?" There was a pause, as if the computer were thinking.
"You need authorization to blast down the door, also."
I sighed. Computers had a self-saving streak in them, which no one normally bothered to undo in the original workings of all ships computers. An easily fixed problem, but often overlooked. Whoever had rigged this, they new me well. No one knew me that well, except.. "Computer." I said again, now confident that I had figured out who my jailer was.
"Working."
"Open a line to Lieutenant Stovic."
"Working. Line to Lieutenant Stovic open."
A picture of a black haired, blue-eyed Vulcan appeared on the screen. His stoic expression was no surprise, nor was it that he had been in his quarters at the time.
"Good evening, Lieutenant." His gaze seemed to hold as many lies as truths. "May I help you with something?" He was carefully fanning innocence.
"What on earth did you have to override to do this, Stovic?" I asked, icily. Nobody keeps me away from my dinner. "If there was a fire, we would be charred to a crisp!" I was furious, because I was being quite truthful, if he had disarmed everything.
"We?" He asked, glancing over my shoulder. "Oh. I did not mean for Lieutenant Province to be stuck." The doors opened quickly, and Province dived, and was gone right before they snapped shut again.
"Is there any reason for you trapping me in this manner? Or do you wish me to starve?" I scowled at him. We had known each other from academy. He was also in engineering, and a genius, like most Vulcan's, in the area of computers. We were once good friends, until I accidentally invaded the privacy of his mind.
"I had to discuss something with you. It is for your ears alone." He glanced behind him, and lowered his voice. "I was recently tapping into the computer to listen in on sickbay, to check to see if a certain lieutenant was feeling on his feet again." I nodded. He was not like a conventional Vulcan in that he held nothing against lying or espionage. "I listened to a very interesting meeting of the officers and the captain. Apparently, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. McCoy has disappeared." I suddenly stopped my foot tapping.
"So you want me to use my, er, ability, to find him." I groaned. I wasn't Vulcan, or anything with telepathic capability. I'm just your plain old human from Detroit; except, somehow, I ended up with telepathy. And Stovic was the only one alive that new about it. I quickly forgot about dinner. "And I suppose you want me to go tell Kirk about it, right?" 'It' was a word that didn't need explaining.
"Yes, that would be the logical assumption. You might want to check the ship before you go to him, however. If the doctor is on the ship, you can get him without telling the Captain."
"And if he's not on the ship?"
"Tell the Captain."
"But we're on patrol, we can't just start looking all over the place!"
"The Captain will decide that. I'm unlocking the door to your cabin." I saw him reach over the screen to turn off the unit.
"Wait. Will you come with me? He's not going to believe me unless you say it's true." Okay, so maybe I didn't want to face Kirk alone, but I wasn't going to tell him that.
He thought for a moment. "Very well. That is a logical excuse." His face faded away. And I knew he knew why I wanted him there.
Concentrating while your nervous is a hard thing. Once I had finally relaxed enough to sense the people around me, it became apparent that the doctor was not on the U.S.S Enterprise. I was not surprised. I hadn't noticed him for a couple of days. Of course, I wasn't looking for him then. Now that I was, there was urgency in my looking. I searched the minds of everyone. No matter how hard I looked he wouldn't appear. Eventually, I called Stovic.
"I was waiting for your call. I am presuming you didn't find him." I shook my head. He glanced at my frazzled face and my even worse hair, and said dryly. "Come to my quarters when your presentable, and we will meet with the Captain."
-----------------
After a few minutes of trying to neaten my hair and make it regulation, and of changing into a newly pressed uniform, I sat on my bed to try and gather my wits. When my mind was clear, I searched for Kirk. He was in his quarters, which was lucky for us. I didn't think I wanted to tell the whole bridge about myself. However, if it were necessary, I would have.
I made my way to Stovic's cabin. He was standing outside his door as I approached. I looked at my feet. For moment I had tried to read his thoughts, feel his dreams, but had remembered in time to stop myself. At this time, I didn't need the guilt of three years ago. He looked at me, and we silently walked the turbolift. "He's in his quarters." I said quietly, knowing his Vulcan hearing would pick it up.
"Good. He is in the easiest place possible to talk to." He strode, cat like, into the lift, me at his heels. His height was intimidating to me. I was rather short, and he was rather tall. I feel somewhat sorry for Captain Kirk. He is taller then I am, but still quite short, and his good friend was a Vulcan.
As we stepped out of the lift and into the corridor, still as silent as anything, I realized the tension in my companions' movements. He, also, was nervous about speaking to his captain. I hope I didn't show my nerves as much as he did (that's sort of an oxymoron, isn't it?), but the fact that this Vulcan was nervous made me nervous also. When we approached the door, I knocked. What was I thinking about not showing nerves? As I reached over, embarrassed, to the automated door system, the door slid open before I could request entrance.
The captain sat at his table, with a bottle of scotch sitting before him. It was full, however. Apparently, this young captain refused to drink his sorrow away. His hair was messy, his uniform rumpled. It was somewhat embarrassing to see the most decorated Starfleet captain in this sad state. "You knocked?" He asked, with a tired and slight smile.
"Sorry about our intrusion, sir." I stammered, locking my knees so I wouldn't quiver. "I am Lieutenant Gladus Williamson and this is Lieutenant Stovic. We're from the engineering deck, sir"
"Captain." Kirk's gaze shifted from me to Stovic. "We came to offer our services in the search for Doctor McCoy." We? I wondered silently.
Kirk's voice suddenly sharpened and quickened. His intake of breath became faster. "How do you know about Bones?" The nickname for his friend was well known, and we immediately knew whom he was talking about.
I hadn't thought of this. How could I explain that Stovic had eavesdropped on a conversation in sickbay?
Stovic cut in, sensing my indecision. "Sir, a security guard asked us if we had seen the Doctor recently. We figured you might need extra help at this time." I gave an inner sigh of relief.
"Fine, then. Go look with the rest of them." He waved a hand at the door, then starred gloomily down at the table.
There was a long silence. I broke it by saying. "Captain?"
"Yes?" He asked, still starring at the table. I was trying hard not to hear his thoughts, but they were almost to loud to block.
I stammered. "Ah, sir.they wont find Dr. McCoy."
He looked up sharply. "What?" he asked, not believing what he had heard.
Here it goes, I thought. "Doctor McCoy is not on this ship. Anywhere. I've. err.looked." Oh dear, that sounded very stupid indeed.
"I agree sir." Added Stovic. "If she has looked and not found him, he is not aboard this vessel."
This proclamation astounded Kirk. He sat, looking in disbelief at the unlikely pair that had arrived on his doorstep. I felt somewhat sorry for him. He didn't understand. Leaning towards Stovic, I asked him the one word that would initiate the explanation. The only explanation needed. "Now?" He nodded.
The map of the ship, with every single person on it and there location at the time, along with there names and ranks listed next to them, which I had organized while looking for the doctor, was the first thing that entered the captains brain. I fed the information slowly. There would be an uproar if he fainted because of a brain overload. The next thing that went to him was the feeling of just being, and the feeling of other people's feelings coming into your head, and trying to block them, then the feeling of keeping my telepathy secret from everyone, the stress, the pain of not talking about it.
I saw the brief amount of awe that crossed his face, than shock, then genuine sympathy. It took about two minutes to complete the, what I called, one-ended mindmeld. As Captain Kirk recomposed himself, I sank to my knees. The stress of slowing down the information was immense. Sliding along the wall, I sat on the floor; sweat pouring off my face, knowing I would be unconscious quickly. I heard the Captain call for a nurse and Spock as my eyes darkened. Then I was carried out of the room by strong arms, and was enclosed by black.
---------------- I awoke in the bright lights of sickbay. I was on my back, looking at the ceiling. Suddenly, a Vulcan face blocked my view of the ceiling. This was not Stovic. This was. "Mr. Spock, sir." I said immediately. I tried to sit up, but groaned and was shoved gently back by Nurse Chapel. I closed my eyes, controlling the throbbing in my head, and opened them again. Spock was still there.
"Please explain to me how you managed to meld with the captain without touching him or becoming part of him, lieutenant." His expressionless face held what might have been excitement.
"Mr. Spock, Gladus needs her rest. She has had a hard night." Nurse Chapel's scolding voice came from my right.
I was capable, at this time, to bring myself to full wellness; I was already feeling ten times better. I glanced at Spock, and asked the question that would, again start an explanation. A different explanation. "Sir, would you be able to handle extremely fast information input?" I asked, quietly.
"Yes." He said.
I closed my eyes and sent the way I had learned how to do it to him, sent the knowledge that they were in my mind but I was not in there's, showed him how I blocked things I didn't want him to see. It took less then twenty seconds to complete this meld, and caused no fatigue. However, I watched Spock stagger slightly, and sit down on the bed next to me. Nurse Chapel rushed over.
"Mr. Spock!" She cried, and hurried to him.
"Fascinating!" He said, getting up. I, too, came into a sitting position, and then stood, shakily, still slightly unsure of my footing.
"Sir, may I ask what time it is?"
"It is 0900 hours."
I stood up straight, now aware of were my feet were landing. "Do I have leave to go back to engineering?"
He glanced at Nurse Chapel, who was glaring at him, but letting him continue. She probably doesn't believe I'm well, I thought.
Spock looked back at me. "No. You are to fetch Lieutenant Stovic, and meet the Captain and I in the briefing room."
"Yes sir." I said, and jogged off.
As I came through the door out of Sickbay, I ran into Stovic. Literally. He was standing just outside the door. "I was just passing by." He said innocently. I welcomed his company as we made our round about way to the briefing room; stopping first at my room, then at his, to change into newly pressed uniforms. On our way to deck 15 in the turbolift, I asked how I had gotten into Sickbay. There was no way that Kirk could have been the one to carry me out.
"I carried you to Sickbay."
"You did what?" I said, not believing my ears. He avoided all physical contact with me what so ever. The mindmeld I had caused, by helping him bandage a cut on his shoulder, did not want to be relived by either party.
"I knew you would not be able to do any sort melding when you were unconscious." He looked slightly nervous. This was not a good time to bring up this subject.
"Why did you volunteer to help? Not saying that you couldn't, but how could you help?" I really wanted to know. He didn't answer, since the lift doors opened, and we were standing outside the briefing room. After a nervous glance at Stovic, I entered. He was right behind me, sliding, cat like, into the room.
And their sat Captain James T. Kirk, and Commander Spock. Kirk was looking avidly into the computer, and Spock was looking over his shoulder, intent on whatever was depicted there. Kirk clicked off the terminal and turned as he heard the door swish shut.
Kirk looked slightly better then the last time we had seen him. His hair was now combed, but he still looked worse for wear. His ashen face scared me a bit. You never expect a hero to ever look like that. "Lieutenant Williamson, lieutenant Stovic," He nodded to us in turn.
"Sir." We said simultaneously. There was nothing more to say.
He started anyway. "We have just been viewing your records, Williamson. There is nothing that states your telepathic capabilities in them." He looked tired. He probably didn't get any sleep last night, I thought.
"No sir, there shouldn't be."
"Why is that, Lieutenant?"
I glanced nervously at Stovic. "Starfleet doesn't know of my capabilities, sir." This was nerve racking.
"I see." Said Kirk. He looked thoughtful then looked at Stovic. "You meet at Starfleet Academy, I assume?" He seemed to be appraising Stovic, as if not yet convinced of his purpose there.
"Yes sir, we did." He said. He didn't elaborate,
"And how do you plan to help Williamson? Or the search, for that matter?" He had asked the question I myself wanted to know the answer to.
"Sir, Lieutenant Williamson can only keep up long distance telepathy for so long. Even if she could, it would leave her terribly exhausted." Get to the point, I thought. I didn't need weaknesses of my 'ability' pointed out to my officers at this point. "I offer to meld completely with the Lieutenant, thus offering her strength to draw from." I gaped at him. This was all a dream, I told myself.
It wasn't.
Kirk looked surprised, then recuperated. "Spock could have done the same thing. Why you?"
Stovic stiffened slightly, then gained control of himself. He spoke with clarity, as though he didn't want to have to repeat it if unheard. "We have melded before, sir. This would make it easier for I to meld with Lieutenant Williamson then Mr. Spock." Spock and Kirk glanced at each. I almost rolled my eyes. They were reading into this way too much.
"I see."
This time Spock spoke. "We believe that you and Lieutenant Williamson would be an asset in the unofficial search for Dr. McCoy the Captain and I were about to conduct." He looked exactly like an expressionless Vulcan should look. His eyes betrayed him. He was worried, no matter how much he argued with the doctor.
Kirk started again. "We have a scheduled refitting of the Enterprise when we return to Starbase 2, and four weeks of shore leave. During those four weeks, we have planned to rent a small science vessel and a skeleton crew. However, I do believe four people would do, if we're not actually studying anything." I nodded mutely. It didn't take much to run a science ship. He continued with his plans. "Anyhow, we would go from Starbase 2 to earth. Once we have searched that solar system, we will radiate out from there and do slow circles, hitting most of the star systems in the time allotted possible. Spock thinks we can get more then 116 star systems." He looked expectantly at us. We were his last resort. I knew that I wouldn't let my captain down, but Stovic?
"I'll go, sir" Stovic said even before I did.
"Me, too, Captain." I said. Now, all we had to do was find McCoy, and.
"Thank you. I know you both will work admirably. Now, Williamson, you probably want to go back to bed. You're both dismissed."
--------------------
I pushed through the crowds of Starbase 2, case in one hand, and a present from Province in the other. I looked around for the café that was supposed to be our rendezvous point. I was to meet Stovic at the West Side Café. Apparently, he would have directions to the craft we were to spend four weeks on.
I was in civilian cloths, no Starfleet insignia to be found. My hair was tied in a non-regulation half pony tale. It was still shore leave, after all. Stovic, however, I knew would not be. He never went more then two feet from his uniform. I could imagine him, standing stiffly at the entrance to the West Side Café. He would have a datapad in one hand, which would have directions to the science ship.
After about a half hour of searching, I sighed, calmed myself and tried to find him. When I found his signature "entity", it was surrounded by a melee of confusion and anger. I'd seen things like that on other occasions. Stovic couldn't be in the middle of a fight, could he? I started jogging, the running, then sprinting towards the now visible entrance to the café. As I approached, I noted that Stovic wasn't standing at the entrance. Good grief, I didn't want to save him!
When I charged through the open door, the shear mass of bodies around me astounded me. They were either fighting with each other, or fighting to get out the door.
While I pushed my way through the crowd, searching for Stovic, people began to throw punches at me, mad that I had jostled their beaten bodies. Men and woman littered the floor. The people who were still standing were a much more prominent threat, however. They seemed to be the ones who started things. Bloodying my nose, probably breaking it and what felt like cracking a rib, I refrained from infuriating them further by retaliating, or stunning them. My eyes began to darken, my vision blurry, but my mission kept me on my feet and searching. My breath came in short and shallow breaths, doing more damage then good to my poor lungs. The call of sleep, of darkness, of no worries beckoned me. I stumbled over a body, and fell on top of it. I gave in, letting darkness overwhelm me, but then I shifted and saw the bodies face. Green blood spilled out of his nose, and the corner of his mouth, his black hair ruffled, and his uniform a greenish tint from his own blood.his uniform? Stovic!
I swam back into consciousness, and my memory returned. The mission, my duty, all came back into my head as I sat up, biting back a groan. Apparently, I was much worse for wear then I seemed. Rising to my feet, the strength of my duty began beating back my pain. My pain seem to dim, and I started to try to drag and carry Stovic out of the café, which was now destroyed, and desecrated with unconscious forms. As I dragged my four-week companion out the door, I realized I couldn't keep this up for much longer. I was biting my lip so hard that it was bleeding, and the constant pain of my lip put somewhat if a blocker of my real pain, the pain in my chest.
When I finally had Stovic sitting up against a wall, next to the plant were I had thrown my things behind, I was exhausted. Once my breathing had slowed to a sufficient quick intake, I pulled out my case. I knew of a certain ugly skirt that my Aunt had given me, and how thick and gauze like it was. I pulled it out, silently thanking her for the first time for this birthday gift. Ripping it into strips, I created a sufficient binding for my lower chest, were most of the pain seemed to be coming, and made pads to staunch the blood out of both of our noses. The makeshift binding seemed to help quite a lot, and I began searching Stovic's pockets.
He groaned softly and shifted against the wall, but he was still out cold. My hand gripped what felt cold and metal, deep inside one of Stovic's pockets. I drew it out slowly. A phaser! I rolled my eyes. Probably hadn't even drawn it.typical. Stuffing the phaser into my belt, I continued to search his pockets. The pocket with the phaser was deeper then it looked, and reaching into it almost to half way up to my elbow, I found the datapad. Stovic must have picked this location as a meeting place because of its proximity to a transporter room, which would transfer you to your ship. There was an uncomplicated map on the pad, too. It showed one of many transporters was right down the hall, and to the right. Good, even with this 'brace' I couldn't go very far.
Stuffing the datapad and present into my vest, and putting the small case under my arm, I took the pad from under his nose, and mine and starting dragging him off. Blood from my nose dripped onto his ebony hair, and turning it a reddish tint. I almost snorted in ill humor as I remembered the horses of earth that had blotchy coat colorings, and then recalled the torrent of blood that would doubtless flood the floor. My chest started throbbing again, and I went into an exhaustion induced delirium as I dragged his gangly body down the hall, cursing his height, and transferring his stoic expression onto a horse, I giggled in a hopeless sort of way. It seemed as if I had been dragging him down this hall for ages, and there was no sign of an end to it. I abruptly stopped in front of a door, which was labeled transporter room, and pulled out the coordinates to the science ship, which was on the datapad, and gave it to the engineer running the stupid thing. He starred at me, and then motioned for me to get on the platform. Staggering up the steps, I complied. With Stovic's unconscious form leaning on my beaten and battered body, I told the transporter man to "do it", and the golden shimmer dissembled our mangled bodies.
.And reassembled in front of a frowning young man, who began to speak even before the effect of the transporter beam was gone. "Your late. We have to get this show on the road before." The Captain! We made it! I can let Stovic go, I can.I can.I can sleep. A black box appeared around my vision, centering on Kirk, who was looking down at me.I must be on the floor.I don't care.
The last thing I saw were Kirk's amber eyes looking down at me. ------------------------
The cut was deep. Stovic's muscles tensed under my hand, but he didn't protest. I have to make him get a nurse to check this. His green blood ran on my fingers as I pressed gauze into the wound. His blood seeped through the pad, and I quickly changed it. Stubborn Vulcan's, I thought savagely, can't stop work for five minutes to go to Sickbay, insist that there fine, then the cut gets infected, then they have to stay in Sickbay, all because of their stupid, stubborn, emotionless, pride. I concentrated fully on the cut in front my eyes. I felt myself let the barriers of my mind drop.
And I wasn't looking at the cut any more, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and I was staring straight ahead, trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder. My shoulder? I swung my head around, and there I was, with a stoic expression on my face, tending to my wound. Wait.I was tending to my wound? I cursed silently to myself, or whoever I was. All the memories that weren't mine flooded into my brain. Still cursing, still trying to keep my calm, I put my spirit back into my body, and found it was shared by Stovic. Pushing his mind out of mine, I looked out of my own eyes, into those of Stovic.
I opened my eyes, and really did look up at Stovic. I took a shocked, quick intake of breath, and regretted it. Pain shot through my chest. Groaning softly, I squinted at his face and brought him into focus. He had a piece of what looked like tape across his nose, and a sling around his left arm, and a black eye but besides that, he looked all right.
As the pain ebbed away, I tried to sit up. Putting a restraining hand on my arm, he said softly, "Don't try to move. You have broken your nose, cracked a rib, and strained a three muscles in your back pulling me to the ship." His eyes twinkled, but he looked exhausted. His stoic expression remained, however. It was oddly reassuring. At least someone was half way sane on this ship.
I glanced at the darkish color of the Sickbay, and then realized the lights must be dimmed. Time to sleep, or go to bed, in the small and rather cluttered Sickbay. About a sixth the size of the Enterprise's Sickbay, the size suggested few patients. I coughed slightly, and said in a gravely voice, "Sit down, for God's sake. You're a real mess, you know!" Of course, he wasn't really, just extremely tired looking, and though he had a new jerkin on, he apparently hadn't taken a shower, there was still a little bit of my own blood in his hair, caked and probably stuck there for awhile. I half smiled. He found a seat at the diagnostic table across from me. "You shouldn't be running around like your ship shape." He raised a slanted eyebrow. I sighed, and then coughed a hacking cough. It was hard to not succumb to curiosity. "You should be in bed. You know, I found you and you were surrounded by unconscious people. And your phaser was in your pocket." As I spoke, I shifted one leg to the floor, and began to sit up, using my leg for leverage. Gasping and panting, I continued. "You didn't.even draw it.did you? Stubborn. Vulcans. Don't you find it.illogical to.not defend yourself.with a phaser?" Swinging my other foot down, I sat fully upright at the edge of the mat. Bed, really, but it felt like a mat. He wouldn't interrupt me if I kept on talking, so I did. "You could've been killed. You could've broken your neck. You could have never been able to work again. Why were you in the middle of a fight, anyway?" He had both brows raised now. Let him laugh, I thought. At least he's alive to laugh.
He took all my reprimanding in silence, as usual. He seemed to have half believed me. "When was the last time you got some sleep?" I scowled at him.
"9.3 hours ago." He looked somewhat amazed that it would've been only that long. But if he was as tired as he looked, he needed the rest.
"9.3 hours," I imitated. Scowling more, I barked at him. "Lie down and sleep, Stovic." I watched as he obediently went over to a mat a few down from mine and lay down and closed his eyes. His breathing became regular, and he seemed to be asleep, or meditating. Trying to tiptoe and lean heavily on the wall simultaneously, I went out the door and breathed a sigh of relief in the hall. Oops. Ouch. Looking down, I saw I had one of those handy-dandy chest splints on.
Leaning against the wall and walking down the hall, I figured that the engineering room, (science ships don't have 'decks' for important things, they have 'rooms') was probably on the next level down. I headed slowly towards the ladder. I didn't want to think about when I came back to this level to crew quarters, (which is on the same level as the sickbay, or 'sickroom', I suppose would be more appropriate) because my back seared in agony when I lifted either arm above my head. You can slide down a ladder, but you can't slide up. Science ships don't have turbolifts, only ladders.
In the familiar surroundings of the science vessels engineering room, I began to look over all the machinery. If you knew your mechanics, you could tell by the blinking lights were you were and how fast you when you were going to get there. I loved a science ships engineering. I grew up with it. My dad was a commander on one of the fleet's many science vessels. I had always been fascinated by how everything worked, how it all came together, how rock could actually make power, and a boatload of other things. As I looked around now, I noted the things I could adjust to maximize power consumption, amplify the cutting laser to almost the amount of a phaser, increase shields of the entire ship, and raise the best warp speed by .5. The starship had taught me many things.
I started with the small warp drive, capable of warp 2. Twiddling a knob and flipping a switch, I began directing the computer on how to maximize power to warp engines taking the power mainly from the science rooms, and there power-sapping machines. I worked silently, welcoming the calming thrum of the engines that was the predominant sound in this room. Among it mingled the beeps of the computer and the drone of my own directions. After an hour and a half of un-broken concentration, the computer began reading to me the steady rise in maximum warp speed. Every ten to fifteen minutes, the machine told me that the warp capacity had risen by point such and such, and after about a half hour of no further such readings, I was satisfied with warp 2.57, slightly more that I was expecting.
I slapped the com units' button. "Engineering to bridge,"
"Spock here."
"Mr. Spock, we now have warp 2.57," There was a pause, a beep of a computer, and the clicking of a button being pressed.
"Thank you, lieutenant Williamson. I believe you should return to your quarters and rest until we arrive at earth,"
"Yes, sir. Sir?" "Yes lieutenant?"
"What's this ship called?"
"It is the Old Glory, lieutenant."
"Thank you, sir. I will return to my quarters immediately."
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After a good nights' sleep, most of the pain in my side was gone and my nose seemed to be almost completely healed. It had been almost a day since the fight at the bar (I must note that to this day I have not returned there), and in the morning on the Glory.
Stovic, Spock, Kirk and I (more Spock and Kirk then us) decided that Spock and Stovic would do night shift and Kirk and I the day shift. The whole little decision sort of had the air of 'cultures should stick together' Stovic and I were going to switch shifts halfway thru the course of the trip. I headed up to the bridge whistling 'By the Sea', a very old song indeed, as I climbed the ladder. I came out of the small hatchway onto the bridge.
Captain Kirk, sitting in his command chair with his normal royal composure, was, like me, not in uniform. He wore a blue shirt, with loose dark blue pants, and an old corduroy brown jacket. "Good morning, sir. Sleep well?" I was used to my fathers normal reply of 'like a rock' and almost looked around from the engineering console were I had seated myself when he said. "Not very well, I'm afraid, Gladus."
This startled me. He looked well rested, but his eyes.he was obviously very sad. I lifted an eyebrow at him, and glanced over my shoulder. "Sir?"
He seemed almost like a startled deer. "Sorry, Lieutenant. Yes, I slept well, thank you." Sure yah did, sure. I thought. He was radiating borderline exhaustion, even if he didn't look it.
"Maybe you should go take a nap, Captain. You look exhausted." He yawned widely. I made a small one-ended mind link and pushed all my tiredness, all that was left, into him. "I can handle the bridge for now. We wont reach the Sol system for a few hours at maximum warp."
I had forgotten his stubbornness. "I'll be fine, thank you, lieutenant." Men. I'd have to touch him to actually make him fall asleep. Drat it all. And I'll have to get him in a position so he won't fall off his chair. Then I'd have to arrange for one of the Vulcan's to come and pick him up, Spock probably. Stovic if I was lucky. Never once did it cross my mind to leave him here, half asleep.
I roamed quietly around the small bridge, writing down things on the small datapad I had carried with me. After a few rounds, and a few notes, I came up behind him, pad in hand. I tapped him gently on the shoulder, and began to hand him the pad. He was out before he had begun to reach it.
I walked quickly to the communications board. "Lieutenant Stovic to the bridge please." I said to the board as I pressed the ship wide button. Stovics voice issued softly through the bridge.
"Acknowledged."
Stovic was up on the bridge in minutes. He surveyed Kirk, who was sleeping like a baby, and raised an eyebrow at me. "May I request your assistance in getting the Captain to his quarters?" I glanced at his arm, now in a flexible splint. "If you feel up to it.?" I added. "He seems to have drifted off to sleep. Poor sir." I smiled at Stovic, and he looked coolly back. Typical Vulcan attitude. Excuse me; Vulcan's don't have attitudes. How about typical Vulcan mannerism? Means the same thing, but doesn't have to do with dreaded emotion.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what I had just done. If it weren't leave, I would be in serious trouble. It was, though, and I wasn't. He knew my capabilities, damn him. He seemed a little irritated. "I was just about to complete a game of chess with Mr. Spock." He glanced at the captain. "It seems the game will have to be cut short." He called Spock to the bridge.
I began looking down the ladder, planning how to navigate with the captain down the four foot round space. I would probably take his feet and.I backed out of the hatchway as Spock came up. "Situation, Lieutenant?" He asked and surveyed the bridge. He noticed immediately the, shall I say, inconvenience? He raised a slanted eyebrow at me.
"Request permission to take the captain to his quarters, sir." Both eyebrows went up that time.
"Leave him, Lieutenant." I nodded, seeing the semi genius in this statement. He would wake, realize he had fallen asleep, but believe it had gone by unnoticed.
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He slept for the five hours before we reached earth. Stovic and Spock took over the shift, continuing their chess game. I returned to my cabin, taking out a data disc with all my favorite old science fiction novels on it. It was amazing to see how close some of these sci-fi books came to the truth. Of course, my favorites' are the books based on the extremely old movie, STAR WARS. I sat and read, drifting off to sleep after a few chapters.
And was then awoken by a bleat of the comm unit. "Williamson here", I intoned sleepily.
"We have arrived lieutenant." The stone cold voice of Spock woke me up completely.
"Ill be right up. Sir." I added belatedly. Oops. I ran a brush through my hair, straightened my shirt in the mirror, then dashed out the door, half tripping up the ladder.
"Sir." my voice trailed off, for on the main screen was a large corkscrew orbiting earth. "Earthbase 1," I'd never seen it in person. It rotated like a bolt-shaped pillow, floating above the blue and tan colored earth below it.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice whispered in my ear softly. I turned my head slightly. Kirk stood behind me, his hair a little wet from a shower or something.
It's understandable why Captain James T. Kirk had an amazing list of women at his every beck and call. For one thing, he's young and famous. For another, he has an enormous amount of charisma working for him. No wonder he was such a good Starship captain. I bet he could turn the tables on an entire Rumulan society if he wanted too.
And there he stood, with his wet hair and his silly half grin. Oh well. No chance there. That man's heart belongs to his ship, and his ship alone. I gave a small inner sigh, and returned my gaze to the view screen.