Jonathan had been on his way to sickbay to inform Trip about his decision. He didn't expect him to undestand and he didn't expect him to not insist and fight against his decision, but he needed to tell him.

He had no right to just turn back to Earth and treat him like a prisoner aboard this ship.

He had also wished to talk to him first and – at best – to not talk to Thydia after all. She would be even more hard to have a conversation with – unable to convince and openly offending and accusing him. He had no wish to even see her, but somehow – for some reason unknown to him – he couldn't avoid her.

She had held him back on his way to sickbay, with an unreadable expression on her face, but the same glare in her eyes she had when they had first met her. She wouldn't let him pass, wouldn't let him get away from her as long as he hadn't talked to her.

"I want to know when you will be sending us back. I don't want to stay here any longer and neither does Kyran. We have talked about it and we agree in it – we want to leave, today!"

He had no chance to back out of the situation any more, he couldn't just leave her standing there and he knew she wouldn't let him go, wouldn't listen if he told her that he was going to deal with her later. Therefore he had taken her to his private quarters and had asked her to sit down, which – of course – she hadn't done.

"We're here, we can talk in private and I don't want to sit down. Will you please tell me when we're about to leave?"

"You are not..."

Deadly silence occured. If they had been emotionless before, her eyes were like glowing fire now – full of rage and hatred. He hadn't expected her to react any different, hadn't expected her to understand. Now he was about to fight with her – badly...

"What did you just say? I think I lost it somewhere after you´... I believe I heard you say that we won't leave. That you won't let us leave..."

"That's exactly what I've been saying."

"You have no right for this! You have no goddamn right to decide about our lives – you have no right after all!"

"You're aboard my ship and Trip's safety is part of my responsibility... You're under the authority of Starfleet command being on this ship and you will not go anywhere."

"Kyran's safety is none of your business and neither is his life or mine. You have no responsibility for anybody and you definitely have not even the slightest authority. For the sake of all good and holy things – you have no right to do this! I won't listen to you and I won't obey to your goddamn authority!"

"Well – then leave. I won't stop you."

He had managed to surprise her, to leave her speechless. She obviously hadn't expected him to be that brutaly honest with her. But she didn't need long to find her voice once again.

"There is no way I will be leaving him – especially not leaving him with you!"

"Then you will have to stay, don't you?"

"You do know that you cannot force him to stay. You can't keep him here against his will... and I know that he wants to leave."

"With you."

"Yes exactely – with me."

"Well, he can't!"

"You can't make him stay! You have no right to do this – it's his very own decision!"

"You don't seem to understand – he can't go back to the planet's surface. It's atmosphere is poisoning him – he can't survive down there!"

"We're going to find a way."

"Even if we do – he belongs aboard this ship. He's a part of this crew..."

She fell silent as she looked at him intensively and a sad smile appeared on her face. A knowing smile, like she had just realized something of great importance he had told her right then – without even realizing. Her voice had a soft tone of understanding as she spoke up once again.

"No Captain – it's you who obviously doesn't understand... He no longer belongs to this place, he no longer is a member of your crew, your family. He doesn't feel comfortable here, he doesn't remember you – doesn't know you anymore, he cannot even speak your language properly... He shouldn't be here and you shouldn't force him, just because of a time long ago when he had been a friend of yours. It's the past, Captain – a past that is gone. Give him a future..."

He was stunned by her words, he couldn't believe she really had just said that, had told them to give up his friend – a friend he had just found again – for a second time. Had she any idea what she was suggesting there? Did she know what it felt like to be asked to do that? Probably not! Otherwise she wouldn't have been that insensitive.

"He was never meant to be gone! This wasn't supposed to happen! Whatever you say the facts still stay the same – he's a part of that crew and he will remember. We just need to give it some time..."

She had a close look at him and to his surprise he didn't see any sign of anger on her face. But there was another emotion and he didn't know what to make of it, didn't know if he was even right with what he thought he was seeing in her eyes. It was empathy that lay within her features.

"You lost him once, you don't want to lose him again... This isn't about the ship and neither is it about it's crew – it's just about you and him. You think you failed him by not finding, not bringing him back and you wish to make up for that."