"Jim, do not doubt. Thalassa has done it many times before," Spock replied. "This time will undoubtably be the same."
[I'm not so sure.]
Ignoring us, McCoy opened his communicator, which flung droplets of water everywhere. He ignored those too. "McCoy to Enterprise. Ready to beam up. And get some towels handy, would ya?"
"Yes sir," the puzzled tech in the transporter room said.
Bones glared at us and brushed his sopping wet hair out of his eyes with the hand not holding the communicator. "I hope you're happy."
Spock raised an eyebrow, ignoring the salty water running down his own hair. He said nothing, but I knew he had a retort saved up just for that. I'm sure he'll use it on the bridge sometime.
We had spoken with Thalassa, and she agreed to release her host and come aboard the Enterprise as a disembodied spirit. There, she would take a human body temporarily to restore me back to my human form. Unfortunately, when Spock and Bones were swimming back there was a slight malfunction with the life-support belts. Meaning that the force field keeping the water away from them completely collapsed.
I, of course, found the thing damn hilarious and almost fell into the waves laughing. Bones didn't find it as funny as I did, but they made it back to shore without further incident.
"You know, Spock, you REALLY should have checked the power packs on these belts before you checked 'em out..." Bones continued complaining even as the transporter kicked in. I just couldn't see how he could keep up a stream of continuous bickering as his atoms were taken apart, flung through space, and slammed back together. Especially since he's terrified of the damn thing.
We materialized on the transporter pads of the Enterprise. Or rather, Spock and Bones were standing on the floor, and I was seated on the shoulder of a very damp Vulcan. The cloth was hard to hold on to, though. Not sure why.
My two friends stepped off the pads, McCoy still complaining his head off and Spock turning a deaf ear. McCoy grabbed a towel and dried off his face and hair, all while keeping up a steady stream of curses. I'll never know how he does it.
Captain, we should proceed to Sickbay as quickly as possible, Spock sent to me telepathically. Thalassa will be arriving soon, and we need to have a host prepared for her. Who would you recommend?
It only took me a moment. Doctor Muhall.
The mental link between us betrayed his surprise. The same host as the first encounter. Coincidence, Captain?
Spock, I'll never understand you. You call me 'Jim' out loud, and yet in telepathy you insist on 'Captain.' I would have grinned if I was able.
Indeed.
~~~~~~~
Sickbay was quiet and empty, save one Vulcan, two humans, and an extremely impatient lizard. Thalassa had arrived a few minutes ago, and Muhall was already sharing her consciousness. I, of course, thought the whole thing was taking too long to prepare.
I sighed. [How much longer?]
"I am ready now, Captain Kirk," Thalassa said, and I couldn't quite get over that strange echoing voice associated with her species. She glanced at Bones and Spock. "If you gentlemen would be so kind...?"
Bones stomped into the next room, grumbling about 'damn wizards' or something to that extent. Spock followed, plainly ignoring the doctor's ranting again. The privacy screen went up, and I glided to rest next to my body.
[Thalassa...before we do this, I have to thank you for your kindness,] I said. [Without you, this could not be done. If there is anything I can do to repay you, EVER, just let me know.]
"You are most generous, Captain. And now, if we could begin..."
I took the hint and stayed perfectly still. Thalassa placed one giant hand on me, and touched the forehead of my body. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and suddenly a sharp pain lanced through me. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, and as my vision turned black I wondered what had gone wrong...
~~~~~~~
Hearing returned first, fuzzy and distant. Voices arguing, shouting, incomprehensible. I strained to decipher the meaning of the words, but I was tired. Oh, I was so tired...
Someone was holding my hand, tightly, in a grip so hard I thought my fingers would break. The not-quite-pain jolted me further into consciousness, and the sounds I had been hearing tumbled into words.
"He's been unconscious for over-" I strained to hear the words, but I couldn't quite catch them. "What if something went wrong?"
"He was severely injured, was he not? It may-" The voice dissolved again for a brief moment, leaving me disoriented and confused.
I tried hard to place the voices. The first one had to be McCoy. The second...Spock?
"Be quiet, you two!" a third voice hissed. "I think he's waking up."
"Jim? Can you hear me?" McCoy, much closer now.
I moved my head slightly, struggling to open my eyes. After a minute they did, and as my vision cleared a little I could see Spock, McCoy, and Muhall gathered around me. Normal-size.
I blinked, my sight still a little unfocused. "It worked?" I rasped, throat sore.
"Yes, Jim. You're back."
"Why do I...feel so badly?" I whispered, not up to the effort of speaking louder. "How long was I unconscious?"
"You were only out for two days," Bones said. "I still haven't healed all the damage from Henoch's attacks, so you'll probably be too weak to move much for about a week."
"Damn." I didn't say anything else. My throat hurt too much and I was already exhausted. I closed my eyes for a moment, then had to force them back open again. Hell, I just woke up, why did I want to change that? There were so many questions I wanted to ask. What had happened in those two days? Where was Thalassa? Had Henoch showed up again? So many questions, my head hurt. I'm sure it showed on my face.
McCoy spoke, and the caring tone startled me. "You just rest, Jim. We'll answer all your questions later." There were no curses, no harsh words, no speech about my own mortality. Just geniune concern for a friend.
I nodded weakly, and Bones smiled. Then he turned to the others and motioned toward the door. "Now, both of you; out. The captain needs his rest." They reluctantly followed his instructions, but Spock paused in the doorway to glance back at me.
Go, Spock, I thought toward him before I realized what I was doing.
Spock looked startled, but nodded slightly. Yes, Captain, the answering telepathic voice came. Then he walked out the door.
I lay awake for a moment, wondering about that last exchange. How had he heard me? How had I heard him? I thought the lizard form was what gave me my telepathy...wasn't it?
Thought gave way to dreams as my eyes closed.
~~~~~~~
I stood alone on the seaside cliff, wind ruffling my hair. A pod of majestic blue whales swam below, and a flock of rainbow lizards flitted through the air like Terran seagulls. Peaceful waves lapped at the shore, and the silence was nearly absolute.
[IMPOSSIBLE!]
I turned to see the absolutely furious face of Henoch's host, the demon wolf that had nearly taken my life twice. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, and his eyes were wild with insanity and rage. The once-golden disc on his forehead pulsed black and dark blue, with flecks of red.
[You CANNOT live! I have destroyed your body two times!] he roared. [Why will you not succomb?!]
"Henoch," I said calmly, "what ever made you think you had the power of life and death over me?" I spread my hands, calmly noting the yellow aura around them as if it were commonplace. "I am a free man. I am much stronger than you are."
[You are HUMAN.] He said it like it was a curse.
"I may be human, but that doesn't make me an inferior, defenseless being. You wronged me first, Henoch. If anyone should be pursuing revenge, it should be me."
With that last statement, I flung out my hands, palms open, and blasted him with a bright yellow beam. It struck his chest, and he tumbled over in pain and shock.
[Impossible! A...human...cannot...wield...the mind-powers!] he gasped.
I glided smoothly over to him, keeping up a steady stream of golden light. He writhed in agony on the grass, whimpering in nearly unbearable pain.
I shunted all my power to my right hand, and shot out my left to grab his face. My fingers touched the disc, and I pulled. To my shock, it came right off with little blood and fur dislodged. The instant it ceased to contact Henoch's host, his face went blank and the gem reverted to solid gold.
I took a step back, psi power fizzling out as I did so. I stared at the limp figure. "Henoch?" My eyes shifted to the tail of the beast, and noted with dismay that the flame was nearly out. During my time with the dracongianes, I had learned that the fire tail marked the beast's life force. Henoch was near death.
[You...have defeated me...] The voice was weak, nearly inaudible.
I knelt next to his head, tightly gripping the golden disc. "Yes, Henoch. I'm sorry, but it had to be done."
A faint smile crossed his face. [Now...I understand...you were right...] Unfocused eyes stared across the sea. [Tell your friends...I was wrong...]
"Yes, Henoch," I promised. Abruptly remembering the disc, I glanced down at it. "Henoch...what does this disc do?"
[It is...a conduit, for mind-powers...I had need of it...for a short time...] His voice faded for a moment, then surged with unexpected strength. [Use it, James Kirk. Protect your ship and crew until you can protect them no longer. If you wish it, the Gem of Romula will bond with you as it did me.] His strength failed, and I knew I was rapidly losing him.
A giant paw rested lightly, gently, on my arm, dwarfing it by comparison. [Do not surrender...to ANYTHING,] Henoch wheezed. [Trust Spock. Trust McCoy. And may your respective deity smile upon you this day.] His rigid body slowly relaxed and went limp, the tail flame blown out by the breeze.
I removed his paw from my arm and laid it gently on the grass, then stood back to view the fallen enemy - no, friend. Whatever Henoch had once been, he was no longer. And I was free of its influence.
I looked down on the gold disc, and watched in amazement as it melted into a yellow light. It engulfed me in its brilliance and power, and I knew I had made the right choice.
