No. 5 Every whumpee's needs (running out of air)
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The room seemed to close in on him. He was trying to breath shallowly but it was getting harder and harder.
How long had he been in here? Keenser couldn't tell anymore.
The Roylan had been crawling through a vent, trying to solve a major problem, when another blast hit the ship.
These damn Klingons!
And suddenly he hadn't been able to move forward or backward anymore. His way had been blocked by debris.
He would die in here. He just knew it. No one would come to save him.
His friends were all fighting for their own lives.
He thought of Scotty.
The last time he had seen him, the engineer's body had been covered in burns and scratches.
Engineering was a living hell hole. Fire and smoke. Everywhere.
Scotty had yelled his commands at his fellow crewmates… not seeing that Keenser had climbed into one of the vents.
Maybe he had noticed by now that his friend was missing, but there wouldn't be much he could do about it.
Keenser whimpered. He felt tears in his eyes.
'I'm sorry Scotty.'
He had meant to help the human. But he had failed. He had failed him, the ship, its captain.
What would they think of him? Would they notice he had tried to help? Or would they think that he had escaped without telling anyone?
He wouldn't. He would never leave the crew behind.
Keenser was a good crewmate. Maybe the smallest, but one of the most loyal ones. He loved this ship. And the humans on it.
He didn't know where it came from but suddenly the whole vent was filled with smoke.
Keenser coughed, gasped, cried.
He couldn't see anything. And he couldn't breath. The smoke filled his lungs, the heat burning them from the inside.
He wanted to get out. He *needed* to get out.
So he tried to move again, slammed his body against the debris. His body was getting weaker and weaker.
He had to save himself. So that he could save the others.
Uhura who always had nice conversations with him in his native language.
Sulu who had taught him some sword skills from time to time, saying he should be able to defend himself despite being small.
McCoy who had always patched him up after an accident down in engineering.
Chekov who had always watched him closely, being an eager student, when the Roylan showed him how to fix things.
Mr. Spock who had played chess with him at quiet evenings.
Scotty who had spent all these months on Delta Vega with him, laughing and drinking and keeping him company.
And Kirk who had got him off the planet. Who had allowed him to join a crew. A family.
If only he knew what it had meant to Keenser.
To be part of the Enterprise crew. To serve under George's son.
It was everything he could have asked for.
But Keenser would never be able to tell Jim.
He lay still on the ground, his body slowly going numb. All air was gone. He wasn't breathing anymore.
He closed his eyes for a moment. Just a second - not longer.
And when he opened them again, he had to blink in surprise.
"Hey buddy."
That voice. It shouldn't be here. It shouldn't be on the Enterprise. It belonged onto another ship.
'The Kelvin…'
Keenser looked at the outstretched hand. And before he could think about it… he took it.
The pain was gone. The air was back.