Chapter Ten: Truth

They were running through the halls doing their best to keep up with the rotating ship, then as they were running on the walls they came to a four-way hallway.

"We got to jump!" Jim yelled out.

"What?" Scotty said in disbelief.

"Jump! Jump!" Sadie screamed out as Jim and Scotty jumped, herself right behind them, she wasn't even panting whereas the two men were.

They finally made it to engineering when they had to grab ahold of the railing, Sadie ahead of the men by a good amount had to watch in horror as Scotty began to slip before Jim caught him. Then both were slipping, Sadie was unable to help them as she screamed at Jim to hold on.

To their rescue came Chekov, "I've got you, Captain!"

Sadie smiled and Scotty laughed in relief, "Chekov. Don't let go!"

With much straining and the help of the ship being righted again everyone got themselves back on their feet. Sadie hurried over to the three men as Scotty said, "Even if we get the warp core online, we've still got to redirect the power!"

"He's right, Captain!" Chekov agreed.

"What are you talking about?" Jim asked not knowing.

"Someone has to hit the manual override," Scotty explained before turning to Chekov, "Laddie, there's a switch..."

Chekov cut him off knowing, "Behind the deflector dish! I'll flip the switch!"

He then ran off as Jim turned to his sister and Scotty, "Let's go!"

The three reached a panel where an automated voice was speaking, "Core misaligned. Danger."

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Scotty moaned out.

"What?" Jim and Sadie both asked.

"The housings are misaligned! There's no way we can redirect the power!" Scotty said, "The ship's dead, sir. She's gone."

Sadie said shaking her head, "No, she's not."

Jim nodded going off with her as Scotty called out after them, "Wait, Jim!"

He chased after the Kirk siblings as they raced to the warp core to try and fix it, "If we go in there, we'll die! Do you hear me? The radiation will kill us! Will you listen to me? What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm opening the door. I'm going in," Jim explained.

"That door is there to stop us from getting irradiated! We'd be dead before we made the climb!"

"You're not making the climb," Jim muttered before punching Scotty knocking him out.

He turned to Sadie, who glared him down, "Don't even think about it, I'm going with you or knocking you out again. I can last longer then you."

Sadie helped Jim drag Scotty and strap him in, and then they headed into the housing. Sadie knew the radiation would kill Jim, she hoped she could stay awake long enough to explain that Khan's blood could save Jim, just like it saved and changed her.

Sadie could see Jim growing weaker and weaker; she herself wasn't doing the best as it was affecting her as well. She and Jim helped each other climb, and soon they were at the core.

After a minute they got up to the core, and began working together to kick it into place. It seemed like it took forever, however in reality once they entered the housing it took only five or ten minutes.

They were thrown backwards as the core realigned. Sadie panted and could see Jim was passed out and so she began dragging him back to the entrance,

Sadie laid Jim down onto her lap and looked up as Spock came over, "Open it."

She could barely hear Scotty in the background, "The decontamination process is not complete. You'd flood the whole compartment. The door's locked, sir."

She panted reaching over to shut the door she just brought Jim through. Jim looked up at Spock, "How's our ship?"

"Out of danger," he replied, "You saved the crew."

"You used what he wanted against him. That's a nice move."

"It is what you would have done."

Sadie then spoke up smiling at Spock, "And this, this is what you would have done. It was only logical."

Jim swallowed, "I'm scared, Spock. Help me not be. How do you choose not to feel?"

Sadie soothed Jim's hair back beginning to cry, she could hear the tears in Spock's voice, "I do not know. Right now I am failing."

"I want you to know why I couldn't let you die. Why I went back for you."

"Because you are my friend," Spock answered before Jim then began coughing then breathed out his last breath.

Sadie let out a sob looking up at Spock, "Khan's blood can save him. It saved me, made me better. Not good enough. We need him alive, only alive can his blood save us."

Sadie then passed out from the pain of the radiation.

Spock then screamed out, "Khan!" He then rushed to the bridge after Khan crashed, "Search the enemy ship for signs of life."

"Sir, there's no way anyone survived." Sulu tried to argue.

"He could."

"Yes, sir."

They found Khan on the scanners, and watched in amazement, Sulu saying, "Whoa! He just jumped 30 meters!"

"Can we beam him up?" Spock asked.

Chekov shook his head, "There's too much damage. I have no incoming signal. But it may be possible to beam you down, sir."

Nyota nodded looking at Spock, "Go get him."

Spock rushed down to the transporter pad, "Stand by for coordinates."

"Yes, sir." The officer said.

Chekov commed down, "Enter 3517 by 2598."

"Coordinates confirmed," was the reply he received as he beamed Spock down.

Sadie woke up as she could hear Leo ordering people around, "Get me a cryo tube, now! Get this guy out of the cryo tube. Keep him in an induced coma. We're gonna put Kirk inside. It's our only chance to preserve his brain function."

She then heard Carol ask, "How much of Khan's blood is left?"

She smiled, he figured it out, the tribble was alive, she tried sitting up but was pushed back down by a wave of dizziness.

"None," was the answer she received.

Leo tried to get ahold of Spock, "Enterprise to Spock. Spock!"

Sadie shook her head sitting up, "Leo!"

Leo looked at her breathing a sigh of relief as he ordered, "Activate the cryogenic sequence." Comming over to her he pulled her into a kiss, "Thank god you're okay darling. Don't scare me like that again."

Sadie smiled getting up as Leo commed the bridge, "McCoy to bridge. You get that son of a bitch back on board right now!

I think he can save Jim."

Sadie kissed Leo once more, "One more thing and I'll be back I promise."

She then ran up to the transporter room comming to the bridge, "It's Sadie, lock on Khan and Spock and beam me down."

"One moment," she was told before being beamed down behind Spock and Khan.

She looked at them stepping forward yelling out, "Spock! Spock! Spock, stop! Stop!" Spock stopped turning to look at her with wide eyes, Khan looking at her with surprise for fear she had died as well considering how the Vulcan was beating him. "He's our only chance to save Jim!"

Spock nodded and began stunning Khan until he was truly unconscious. Sadie began coughing, weakened by everything, she began to fall but was caught by Spock, she smiled up at him, "Thanks."

He shook his head, "You have his blood in you already?"

Sadie nodded, "I'll tell everyone everything once we're all together safe and sound."

~Two weeks later~

Sadie was by her brother's bedside watching him sleep, after they got Khan, they grabbed enough of his blood to bring Jim back and fix Sadie back up to how she'd been.

Sadie had told everything from beginning to end to the Starfleet council, and they cleared her of any charges against her once Marcus's true nature came out.

Khan was put back in his cyrotube and locked away with his crew until it could be decided what to do with them.

Once Sadie was cleared she told her friends what had happened after Nero, how she found Khan met him and dealt with him. She left nothing in the dark, even coming out how Marcus chose her to be experimented on after Khan had injured her in a duel. Leo asked to do tests on her so he could compare her new notes to those he had of Khan, Sadie agreed telling him not much had changed. She was only a bit stronger, injuries would heal quicker for her and her endurance was much better.

She was quickly drawn out of her thoughts by Jim gasping as he woke up. She smiled as Leo turned to him rolling his eyes, "Don't be so melodramatic. You were barely dead."

Sadie smiled as Leo began checking Jim out, "It was the transfusion that really took its toll. Did the same to me the first time."

Leo nodded, "You were out cold for two weeks."

"Transfusion?" Jim questioned.

"Your cells were heavily irradiated. We had no choice."

"Khan?"

Leo nodded, "Once we caught him, I synthesized a serum

from his superblood, with help from your sister's blood. Tell me, are you feeling homicidal? Power mad? Despotic?"

"No more than usual," Jim smiled, "How'd you catch him?"

"I didn't," Leo answered moving out of the way so Spock could come forward.

"You saved my life," Jim smiled.

Sadie frowned, "Leo and I had something to do with it, too, you know."

Spock spoke looking down at Jim, "You saved my life, Captain. And the lives..."

Jim shook his head, "Spock, just...Thank you."

"You are welcome, Jim," Spock replied.

A/N:

Alright guys this is the last official chapter of "The Way Things Are", the next chapter is the epilogue where we'll see the end of the movie AND Leo and Sadie's wedding!

Love,

Savannah