Saru's breathing hadn't eased up as she got him back to his quarters. Instead, his body was flushed with a lot more activity than before that spoke enough that…he was approaching some biological threshold for something; to…death, madness that Saru expected or to something else; that she hoped. His adrenals were high and she could feel his exhaustion from the pain as she helped him out of his jacket and shirt and guided him into his mossy bed.

His ganglia were inflamed and extended though she could imagine how sensitive those were now; she could see the veins in them though…unlike before, the veins inside were much smaller than before; getting less blood flow there which…was odd.

"You still don't believe I'm dying?" Saur croaked, watching her carefully.

"I don't know." Michael admitted. "It's just…if a Kelpien in your time has never lived to see through; to clarify your beliefs that death is the end result then…how can I simply believe it? Why do the Ba'ul cull the Kelpiens when this…happens?"

Saru closed his eyes. "It's seen as a mercy."

Or a way to conceal the end result. Michael finished in her head. Not allowing herself to say it out loud because…Saru didn't want to hear it; not now. This wasn't the conversation they should have now.

Saru shifted back, fingers fiddling with one of the flower he had in his hand. "I'm glad you didn't insist on sickbay."

"It was busy there… I figured…here of all placed was quiet; surrounded by plants of your home world would be where you'd want to be." Michael spoke softly.

Saru nodded, his lips curling up a fraction as he rested his back, a low exhale escaping his lips. "There's a knife in that draw," His head tilting to the side as an indication.

Michael frowned though obeyed as she rose to her feet, taking her time as she strode towards the side cabinet and pulled it open. Inside was a smooth silver blade, carefully crafted and had clear signs of use; she could smell the plant residue all over it. The blade was warm to touch against her flesh, but no doubt cool to anything hotter than her flesh. Yet, it felt so…fragile in her grasp. It would be so…easy to crush it as if it was made of clay; rendering it into metallic dust.

"Is this yours?"

"My sisters." Saru spoke, "She gave it to me before I left."

Michael wandered back, her eyes examining the details carefully before she looked back to Saru, settling to sit on the side of his bed "I could kill you with quicker and less painful methods than a blade."

An agreeable hum echoed, "I want it to be from something from home, than the direct hands of a predator…"

The remark was hardly offensive because she understood the sentiment; his knife by her hands were different than to her simply snapping his neck or was it the fact it'd make her feel better about doing it herself. All in all, Michael wasn't sure how she even felt about being put into this position.

Yes, she was stalling but…upset? It was confusing to really grasp how she felt about this. Denial, very strong. Was it Apathy…or the fact that she couldn't quite get in touch with her emotions to feel more.

"What?"

Michael's dark gaze move from the blade to the Kelpien. " I should be upset. Crying, trying to talk you out of this, perhaps allow myself to…speak on my emotions and what we even are to each other." She lowered the blade. "I want to feel that."

Saru's hand move, gently coming to her knee. "Your broken bond?"

Her head bobbed. "Crying is physically impossible for us. Our eyes can't tear up, our throats don't tighten and my lungs don't even have much of a function to cause the…traditional crying habits. It's…frustrating."

His fingers tightened over her knee as a squeeze of assurance. "I know your reactions aren't going to be deeply emotional. Perhaps it's no longer in your nature but…I don't care. You're here by my side. Right now, that all that matters."

Michael said nothing but she twiddled the blade in her fingers. "I want to feel this, Saru. I don't want to…move on from this so quickly. I don't want to be so…apathetic to someone who's become part of my family here."

Saru's face softened. "Then... why don't you try and fix it with Captain Pike? If he broke your bond, he can mend it, surely. I would…want that for you. To be happy with him. Take a…leap of faith."

His attempts to further push her with Chris was almost amusing enough to make her roll her eyes; though his point still stood. "You think I'm being too slow."

"I think you're holding yourself back, Michael. He's a good man; honourable. He holds himself back for you. If you don't let him in, how can you two become something more that you two so desperately want? Live in a moment…see where it takes you."

Michael tittered softly, "dating advice on your deathbed, really not the sort of conversation I actually pictured."

"Well, I aim to surprise." Saru inhaled heavily, a flash of pain flickering through his features. "Pain's increasing…" His eyes flickered to the blade, almost begging for a moment for her to use it before his expression shifted, his hand moving to her wrist. "I know you'll reconnect with your brother, Michael. I…won't say it won't be easy but…I'm sure you'll get that."

"Thank you, Saru." She could feel he was genuine in how it warmed his voice, despite the other ailments he had. His hand moved from her wrist to her hand, touching over the blade with a clear hint.

"Please…stop stalling."

Michael's eyes lingered on Saru's face, her lips pursing though she watched as his head tilting, exposing his ganglia to her.

Though as she rose the blade, still stalling by going slow, she watched as the veins in the at the base seemed to disappearing fully before the flesh start to darken with clear indications of wither before they seemed to…detach, falling back onto the mossy pillow. Saru didn't notice that though she could sense the suble changes of his adrenaline lower and the rise of dopamine endorphins in his blood. Her lack of anything was what caught his attention.

"What?"

Her eyes flickered up from the shredded ganglia to his face though passively picked it up, holding it in front of his face. "I never touched it with the blade."

His eyes widened, taking it from her though he let out a short laugh of relief as he flipped it around in his hand, relaxing back fully. The surge of emotions was palpable and she could sense that perhaps it was overwhelming now but she knew she had to get him back to sickbay; this was something he'd want to be monitored about now…


His words did linger after Michael left him there with Dr Culber to rest; relieved herself to know she wasn't going to lose her friend but he was still underdoing more subtle changes now the worst was past him. She wanted him time to adjust with dignity and privacy as he could get in that time. As of now, Michael knew to…fully get where she wanted to be emotionally, she had to do one thing.

Ping

The doors opened, revealing the familiar ready room and the captain himself as he flicked through a vast amount of data with a clear sense of interest and devotion. He looked up though as she stepped him, his face warming up; the news already having met him about Saru.

"How is he?"

"Resting up. It'll take time for his body to adjust and…I thought it'd be wise to remove him from duty for the next few days."

Pike nodded swiftly. "Already done."

Michael nodded, though her attention flickered to his PADD. "The Sphere's data?"

The captain looked down then nodded enthusiastically, "Everything the Sphere had over the last hundred thousand years. It…. It's a vast amount of data to look through. It'll…take perhaps Starfleet centuries to look through."

"Or a decade for a vampire." Michael mused though he gestured for her to take a seat so she did. "We're still on the path for Spock shuttle, despite our delay, we should reach him in about 8 hours."

Pike nodded, pushing the PADD aside though he was clearly still in a good mood, the pull of his eyebrows suggested a more serious next topic. "You did good today, Commander but… I struggled. From having no data on…what was happening to a sudden info-dump, while literal in the case of the Sphere, it's hard to grasp on what you know and what you're sharing and when."

Michael nodded. "I'm sorry. I know that…I can leave people behind on my train of thoughts. Processing information faster is…something I'm used to, it's easy to forget, so to speak, that others don't have that same ability."

Pike's lip curled up. "Next time, keep me in the loop."

"Yes sir."

Pike's expression stayed though he plucked up the PADD and held it out. "The Sphere data collected information about earth. Humans, proto-humans, Neanderthals…vampires."

Immediately, Michael grasped the PADD though she knew the expression of surprised made it over her face; though she saw the words were translated, she could see the more in-depth analysis of her species was…all here.

From the conception of the first to… the near extinction; categorised by events, bio-types, scans, history, population, practises… it was all there. For a second, Michael felt like she was holding the very key to her kind's complete life….

"Ohh….there's gonna be such a long meeting with the clans now…" She sighed, though she opted to stop herself from going into it; not now. Though that didn't erase the slight smile on her face.

Pike's head tilted, "I thought you'd be beaming about this a lot more."

That brought her focus back though she recalled what she had come here to do. She placed the PADD down. "I want to." Michael admitted, "I've…been thinking a lot of my emotions and…lack thereof."

Pike's feature softened though the air between them changed from professional to personal. Subtle but they both knew what this was about.

"The bonds."

Michael nodded. "Broken, my…empathy is limited…but I think I know how it can be repaired. When that happens…I'll be able to…process things much more emotionally. I…don't like not being able to feel sad when I should, especially if I'm about to lose a close friend."

"What can I do to help?"

Michael inhaled deeply, "You're…not the problem. Cause, maybe but not the problem." No, she knew she was and now, she had to be the one to do this; take the lead if Chris was the one letting her. "I kept things slow and…that's not allowing me to accept what we could have."

"I won't rush you, Michael." The captain assured. "Whatever you need…"

"I need you." She rose to her feet, moving around his desk though could feel his curious gaze before she held a hand out. Slowly, he reached out and took it; the touch immediately lighting up her senses like before with warmth…tingling her skin. "Physical contact…helps." Her voice softening.

Chris's head tilted before he squeezed her fingers assuring, "Do you feel something?"

Her head bobbed. "I…don't expect you to but…yeah."

Chris moved, not pulling his hand free but rose to his feet, leaving them standing a foot away from each other. With the warmth through his touch, the scent suddenly surrounding her, the spur of emotions was…overwhelmingly good… she didn't want it to end. Carefully, she stepped closer, glad that he was firm though she could feel his anticipation; knowing where this was going and…there was no desire to stop her; only for her to carry on.

So Michael compiled, her other hand coming to his cheek, feeling the warmth of his flesh, both literal and the mental before she lent up; his posture shifting to meet her half-way before their lips met; a new warmth spread this time, the second pausing as she felt the warmth seemed to heat through their touches…

The dull ache that had been there since the severing was fading out. She could feel the torn tethers…weave back, the dull black state seemed to seep away with a dull yellow but it throbbed with life, redeveloping back but…not straight away but it spread a new warmth in her chest….

Chris pulled away sharply though she watched in surprise to see his pupils dilated, his other hand coming to his chest as breathed as if he had been winded, falling back into his chair but his grip on her hand tightened.

"Wow." He inhaled deeply… "I definitely felt that…"

Michael blinked airy, a smile drawing on her, lips though she felt the same tug of gravity towards him. Each beat of his heart tightening that… She reached forwards with her hand again, her cool touch brushing against his cheek though she watched him gaze up at her before his head tilted.

"Your eyes…" he started curiously, "They're…dark red again."

"Good." She was on the right track. They both were.


"Mine!"

The captain growled possessively as she kicked back Nambue from the human woman, shoving her away and yanked the doctor forwards and immediately bit him in the neck, her fangs sinking into his stone flesh like hard cheese; feeling and hearing the texture crack and hearing the vampire under her cry and finally yield to which she jumped off and grabbed her meal, yanking the terrified human away further from the others to eat in peace.

"No! Please." Words meaning nothing as the Captain came to a stop, shoving the officer down to the more.

The human did try to get up, holding her broken wrist to her chest, breath panted that concurred to a broken rib—or two, a bruised eye swollen and her lip bled; the scent of that alone a calling temptation that wore down her patients with each breath.

Her mouth filled with venom, swooping down to pull the woman's ankle; slamming her straight onto her back; the bone in her grip snapping, sending the woman's screams singing into the air. With a soft movement, the captain didn't hesitate to straddle and pin her down flat before her teeth sunk into the soft, delicate flesh of her throat.

Blood spurted into her mouth almost instantly, her mind going hazy with the unstable need—hunger running deep, her primal urges tingling as she guzzled from her, the warmth of the blood lighting up her system that felt good.

She vaguely felt the pathetic struggle; fingers clawing at her sides, pushing against her but it was nothing of note. Barely worth it as the struggles cased as the human convulsed with a gurgle before falling still; veins running dry soon though the captain growled out in frustration; the need for more filling her. She could feel the blood roll down her flesh, the scent drifting up to her nose that yearned her desires more.

It didn't take too long either to find a new food source; senses following one; vaguely aware of another in pursuit behind but she got to her meal first, a flicker of a finger that easily cracked a spinal disk before the captain took on Gant, his eye black and face bloody but she was quick to tackle him onto his back and swiped her fingers across his eyes, startling him at that before she gripped his shoulder, pushing his head back into the ground….pushing and pushing.

"Ah…." The pained moan of pain pulled her attention more besides them, though she could see the deep dark look in Gant's eyes...the desire in his eyes that was fuelled by hunger.

His fangs were sharp though, after a second, his hands laid flat, palms open with a clear display of submission; just as she wanted.

In a heartbeat, she was off, pulling her meal with her before she crouched over it with a primitive protectiveness before she exposed his throat, not removing her eyes from her clan member as she sunk her teeth into his flesh.

Gant's nostrils flared and he did move though he watched with full attention; the enjoyment of the blood filling her once again but the presence of Gant was more distracting; the look in his face didn't change, his posture shifting into a crouch as if ready to pounce though his shoulders weren't as tense as they should that would indicate that.

He didn't move when the human expired nor the blood as it stopped running though she watched him as he stayed; not disappearing off with disinterest as he usually would. He was cautious but he moved forwards. The Captain growled but not so defensively now, curious though he slid to his knees in front of her and sat on his heels, eyes briefly roaming her figure that implied enough; he wanted her.

She dropped the corpse, tossing it carelessly aside but rose to her feet for one reason, fingers undoing her zipper and pushed it down, the fabric skimming down until caught onto the rim of her boot but Gant was quick to step in before it became a problem by pulling her limb free of the boot before that was gone and slipped her leg free. His pants were open and clearly displayed his interest, his hand came to her calf though she sunk carefully down onto his lap, not allowing him entrance yet though she leant and caught his lips; tasting the blood there that made the difference, stirring the yearnings into something else but just as primal.

He broke the kiss, mouth quickly latching onto her skin, cleansing away the blood from her chin before his lips pressed into her throat as his fingers gripped at her hip, his hips rocking against her pelvis as she felt him harden even more. His hand slipped under her knee, pulling her leg around him.

She growled warningly though unable to help herself for more as she guided him into her; stirring the pleasure that had been boiling under the surface. Her eyes flickered closed, head rolling back as she groaned out but the enjoyment of the initial penetration was overrun as Gant picked up from soft rocks to swift thrusts, his hands more or less held her hips into place though she easily remedied this with a harsh tug of head hair, pulling his head back from her flesh, exposing his throat to her; teeth once again buried into his flesh, straight into the old bite scar she had left many, many times.

He cried out, but she could feel his reactions within her; the pleasure and pain only adding to the experience.

She thrust her hips harder against him, moments of time becoming irrelevant as each thrust and rock only got them closer. Gant had a few tells that the Captain had caught onto when he was close; the grip on her hips, the angle of entry shifting and the scrape of his fangs against her flesh. Two of those, she could feel much more. They were loud, but they weren't trying to be quiet either; the others were occupied similar or waiting it out.

Soft sounds turning into heavy grunts, echoes of growls resonating… Her eyes fluttered shut, her grip in his hair not loosening as the bubble of pleasure rose as they got harder and faster… then swiftly, she felt him strike deep; sending her into an orgasm with a muffled sound, not unlatching her teeth for a second…. Gant following a few seconds later, his sound much louder before he felt him empty into her….

Her thighs squeezed around him, rocking a little to extend their pleasures for a little longer…

"Hm… nothing quite as thrilling as post-feed fuck now is it?" It startled her to hear the sounds of their sire so close, but not enough to part them.

Carefully, the captain prised her fangs away, allowing them to revert back to normal before her focus turned from Gant to Ophelia. The sire herself was seated in a tree, watching down at them with a dark smirk.

"What do you want?"

"Walk with me." With a sharp nod of her head, Ophelia jumped out the tree and landed with silent ease. The captain untangled from Gant before pulling up her pants and her shoe on again before Ophelia moved, breezing through the trees though following pursuit was easy.

They continued for about five minutes before they slowed though the Captain remained weary when they parted from the main clan. Usually, not for a good reason or something, her sire wanted to keep private.

"I'm surprised you didn't tear your clothes off." Ophelia started airily, though the air of amusement hung in the air. "Or end up on your back…or his."

The Captain glowered at the clear prods into a reaction. She had never hid her actions, mostly because everyone would be able to tell for many reasons so bothering was futile. Nor was she embarrassed about it; baser instinct were just that and….there were a few things that brought the sense of pleasure on this dead planet. Enjoying short pockets of moments was what she deserved, even if ruled by the afterglow of bloodlust.

"Talking about sex is hardly what I'm here about." The Captain spoke calmly, her face passive, dark red eyes watching her sire though, "Not to mention, you don't provide us with clothes. We don't rip what we can't replace."

"Salvage from the dead, my childe." Ophelia shrugged before her face turned serious. "How is the training going along?"

"As expected. Gant's pushed them more into gear since his arrival back but…" the captain hesitated. "Without being able to feed regularly, maintaining the ability to focus enough to fight without tearing a limb off is near impossible."

"Their names?"

"Fragmented. Only…last names or titles." The captain knew her real name wasn't captain, but a title that had stuck more than the name she had when she was human. The name was…too inside the fog to recall. Right now, Captain seemed accurate; she wasn't human anymore and…why should she have something that wasn't hers anymore?

"Good." That seemed to please the sire. "Your old lives aren't worth remembering, ties to pasts you don't need."

The way that was phrased bothered the Captain but she didn't voice it. "Our current lives aren't worth living on a planet with nothing, waiting to be fed."

Ophelia snorted. "Well, that's about to change."

Captain's head tilted though there was…a sense of relief; desire to leave was what made her restless.

"We're leaving. Most of the group are ready to leave but where we're going; control is necessary, if you or any others slip up, then I'll tear off their limbs and let them feel the flames with their head-on." The threat was heavy; real though she knew it'd be followed through without hesitation.

"A populated planet?"

"A Gorn Colony. There's a dense animal population that should sate the thirst but our nature must not leave the clan." Ophelia explained. "Gorn aren't that federation friendly and I don't care but it's a good place to start since Orion ships no longer pass through this sector since they kept find the empty hulls of the ones I raided." The sire chuckled. "It'll be close where we need to be."

"For this Detmer?"

Ophelia nodded. "You'll enjoy her, Captain. Having another female aside that snail-Hemet, Narwani."

Captain shrugged. It mattered little. "She'll just be another vampire."

"No, she'll be a fresh vampire, ready to be moulded," Ophelia responded with before she drifted closer though there was a somewhat twisted edge to how she looked at her with almost- demeaned look of innocents. "Maybe…" her hands came to her face- taking a lot of effort in the Captain's part to not reel away; feeling the sire's presence once again. "Maybe I'll let you make her."

Captain's jaw clenched, "I've not turned anyone."

"No, but you want to, don't you." Ophelia cooed. "Human's don't think we don't have the same sire to procreate, we do, but not in the same manner. You could imagine it, couldn't you? Knowing that…It's you're venom in their genetic matrix; they'll be part of your legacy. Yours…in almost every sense of a sire to a childe. It's only the external shell that differs. It only takes a single bite."

The Captain swallowed; not a reflex but to wash away the rise of venom; the thoughts she could see and feel from her sire was strong. The idea pulled at her; it lulled at a desire to fully govern something; something she could create and mould to her wants and desires…someone that would need her to be there, need her to be their teacher… she wanted to be needed. Wanted more…

Ophelia patted her cheek then sauntered way to lean up against a tree, "I know that the ones I leave aren't truly the ones you can keep. Sure, you can use them for pleasure but…there's no connection to you, not like our bond."

"You ensured that," Captain corrected, "Logically, you don't want us to turn against you. Think that to be would be unwise in the eyes of a sire that needs us in check. Gant is good if you need a lap-dog, or a fuck, or someone to pick up the kids when they get into a brawl."

"You're not complaining." Nodding straight to her lower half.

Captain shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it, but…I might as well enjoy what I have at my disposal."

"Gant's more mature out the others, I see why he would offer himself up to you. You're both my eldest."

"They knew the human me, enough in their subconscious to not want to cross that line." There were more reasons to Gant but he wasn't loyal to her, only to Ophelia; it wouldn't surprise her if their sire pushed for them to act on baser instinct. It did leave her curious to why Gant was willing to cross it; did his human life change so much that allowed such behaviour to exist?

Ophelia's smirked though the tangent of conversion pulled back quickly. With an edge of impatient "I have a bird-of-prey in orbit. Everyone's to stay in their designated areas. If not, put their head in a box until we get there."

"Why are we moving now, sire? All this time and—"

In a heartbeat, the captain found herself being shoved back into the tree, her sires face inches from her own though she could feel the disapproval that seeped into the hair, a hand gripping into her head, pulling her head back at an angle. The captain's eyes remained on her though.

"Stop with your questions, little one." The coo spoken with a heavy tone of a hiss that laced throughout. "My plan is in motion, but you're not privy to the details until I get that human." Her lips curled into a sharp smile, fangs exposed. "Do you need a reminder?" Eyes flickering down to her neck; to the scar that laced her flesh.

The captain blinked before her posture softened against her. Submitting. "No."

"Good. Now, pack up your camp."