Spock had been on the Enterprise for some time, he had been around humans almost exclusively for even longer, and while the human mind was not much of a mystery to him, there were still things he didn't fully understand about humans; currently he found himself more and more perplexed by the human need to fidget.
Kirk had been sitting at his chair on the bridge, fidgeting with everything in sight for the past hour and occasionally would share a look with Lieutenant Uhura who would shake her head almost imperceptibly. To a human the shake of the head wouldn't be noticed, but Spock noticed ech shake of the head, each grim expression Uhura gave Kirk and then Kirk's resumed fidgeting.
Eventually after an hour he left the bridge, leaving Chekov in control who kept them in a controlled orbit. Kirk went down to medical where Dr. McCoy was sitting, working at his computer before looking up as Kirk walked in.
"What's going on?" he asked as Kirk sighed, leaning against the desk.
"Bones, I may have lost Mr. Spock's girlfriend," he admitted as he looked at McCoy. McCoy raised his eyebrows, looking concerned before he walked over to the door and pushed the button, making it close.
"What happened?"
"Well, Spock came to me and said Alex was feeling bored by just bringing me lunch and paperwork and the like, and i knew that he was right, she was qualified for a lot more being a soldier, so I gave her a new mission today, I needed someone to go down to the planet before the next ion storm and see if the Klingons are actually using the planet to mine dilithium,"
"Jim, you didn't!"
"She was supposed to check in at least twenty minutes ago," Kirk sighed. "And now the storm is making it impossible to get ahold of her,"
"Well," McCoy sighed as he looked at the Captain. "In the time I've known Spock, he's shown to be a very level headed, logical man, who would understand that Alex is a soldier who signed up for this and who has a choice on whether or not to accept a potentially dangerous mission," he said, keeping his voice level.
"So you'll tell him that it's going to be at least six days before we can check and see if Alex is alive?" Kirk asked and McCoy scoffed in response.
"Oh not a chance in Hell, you're the Captain," he replied as Kirk turned to the door.
"This is the part of being the Captain I really dislike," Kirk told McCoy who smiled wryly.
"Heavy hangs the head," he quipped back as he got up to follow the Captain.
"Where are you going?"
"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world,"
Alex sat against the edge of the cave, the jacket she wore was pulled tight around her as she looked at the Klingon who was still passed out. He'd lost a lot of blood, but Alex wasn't sure that he wasn't faking being unconscious to trick her and possibly kill her.
The wound looked bad though and after a few moments of indecision she moved forward to her knees, taking the scarf from around her neck and pulling the long curved sword towards her. She used it to cut the scarf in the middle, cutting through the beautiful Vulcan fabric guiltily, before she wadded up some of the fabric and pressed it to the wound, wiping the bright purple blood away from the wound to see what she had to work with.
It was hard working in the dark, but she was able to see the tear in his flesh and knowing that it would be worse if she didn't do something she looked at the Klingon. "If you're awake, you better tell me," she told him, but when she got no response she sighed and then picked up the phaser. "I'm really sorry," she said as she shot the sword until the end she was shooting glowed red with heat. She used the other end of her scarf to tie a tourniquet around his upper arm and then tore the sleeve away and pressed the red hot weapon to the wound, cauterizing the wound.
The Klingon woke up then, bellowing in pain and swinging his arms, Alex backed up, holding the sword out in front of her as they both panted and he looked accusingly at her.
"What people burn others to death?" He demanded and she scoffed.
"I wasn't trying to kill you, I was trying to help you," she told him as she gestured to his arm.
He looked down at his left arm cautiously, as if he didn't trust taking his eyes off of her before he really looked at it again, seeing the tourniquet tied around his arm he reached over with his right hand and touched the material.
"You are not Vulcan yet you wear the garments of one," he pointed out and she nodded.
"I know a Vulcan," she said as she moved to her feet, standing shakily as she held the sword out.
"Put it down girl, it is not a toy," he told her and she scoffed.
"Do I look like I'm playing?" She asked as she held the sword out.
"It is an ancient weapon not to be wielded by the likes of you!" He insisted and she scoffed.
"It wasn't that hard to wield it when I was fucking up that thing out there," she said. "And with you injured, I could probably kill you faster than I did that thing,"
"You killed the Chath'ran?"
"The what?" She asked as she lowered the blade just slightly.
"The beast- our people call it the Chath'ran," he explained as he looked over at his shoulder again, not paying much attention to her.
"Yeah- two of them," she admitted and he looked at her, looking somewhat impressed at her admission.
"You are fierce for a Crystal poacher," he told her and she sighed as she dropped the blade and ran her hand over her face. "Unless you are something else?" He asked and she crossed her arms.
"Let's just go with Crystal poacher for now," she said as she sat back down, pulling her coat tight around her again.
The two were quiet for a time, the Klingon tried to call to his ship but the ion storm provided too much interference to get through, and Alex didn't want to let him know who she was really just yet, lest he decide to kill her.
She lay down on the ground and crossed her arms as she lay on her side, pulling her knees to her chest as she stared at the opposite wall. It wasn't the most uncomfortable she had been falling asleep, but it definitely was not as comfortable as falling asleep with her cuddly Vulcan boyfriend.
When Alex woke up she was surprised to see a fire in the cave. She sat up and looked at the Klingon who looked uninterested in her.
"Where did you get the wood?" She asked and he nodded further into the cave.
"Klingons have been mining in these caves for many years," he told her. "The Earth Federation claimed it was too wild of a place to conquer- the Earth Federation is weak and has no knowledge of what it means to conquer," he told her as she moved a little closer to the fire, warming her hands near it.
"Hm, I had no idea you all had been mining here for so long," she said and he looked at her.
"We do not advertise, thief," he told her. "It keeps more of your kind from taking what is ours, though I should kill you for knowing about this place, I owe you a life debt," he told her and she sighed.
"I couldn't just let them kill you- and the storm was coming in," she explained.
"You fought off two Chath'ran," he replied. "You saved me and I owe you a debt,"
"I understand," she replied before she stood up and walked around the fire. "What's your name?" She asked as she walked in a slow circle around the fire, the Klingon who sat on a rock nearby was working on something and she looked from him to the flames.
"Thal," he replied.
"Thal," she repeated, putting the emphasis on the 'Th' the way he did. "My people call me Ramirez," or at least they used to. It was interesting getting used to being referred to by her first name.
"Your people?"
"Mhmm," she replied as she stopped walking around the fire and warmed her back near it.
"Where do your people hail from?"
"Another time and place," she told him as she sighed and turned to face the fire. As she turned her back to him she heard Thal move and suddenly she was grabbed from behind.
Alex fought against the Klingon who had wrapped his arms around hers making it difficult to fight but after a moment of struggling she jumped, bringing her knees close to her chest, and when inertia brought him forward she tucked and rolled her body weight, sending him over her as she got out of his grasp.
He had landed on his back and Alex grabbed the blade, holding it to his chin as he looked up at her before chuckling lightly. "You cannot blame me for trying," he shrugged and she narrowed her eyes.
"Try that again and I'll cut you from here," she pressed the tip of the blade into his chin a little harder and then dragged it down to his abdomen lightly before pressing it into where his navel would be. "To here."
"Understood," he agreed and she nodded before stepping back, tossing the blade to the ground.
Spock stood on the Bridge, his face stoic as he absorbed what the captain and head ship's surgeon had just explained to him. He turned and sat at his control and began to work, trying to amplify the range the ship's sensors had, knowing that it was not going to work, but he had to do something, he couldn't just sit around and hope Alex was okay.
Alex sat with her back to the wall of the cave, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms resting across her knees and her forehead resting on her arms. She sighed as she forced herself to stay awake, before looking up at the Klingon on the other side of the cave.
He was asleep next to the fire, but he was shivering. She frowned and moved to stand up before she squatted down next to him and pressed the back of her hand to his face. He was burning up.
Alex frowned as she looked him over before she checked the injury on his arm. Over the hours that they had been in the cave the wound had begun to swell up and was hot to the touch. She bit her lip and then looked further into the cave before she stood up and picked up her communicator, her phaser and the blade.
She walked further into the cave, as she did the light left and she was left to hold the wall with one hand while she moved through the dark until she saw a light in the distance. Carefully moving through the cave, she managed to avoid stumbling over rocks until she finally got to the light, a doorway built into the cave. She opened the door and had to blink a few times as she looked around at the immense mining operation that had been built into the planet.
"Okay," she said to herself. "Sorry Federation, but the Klingons have definitely gotten to this planet." She sighed and then started to walk along the large trench in the middle of the area, looking down she could see that it went down very deep into the planet. She stayed away from the edge of the walkway, hugging the wall as she walked. She could see what looked like a large shack, probably an office of some sort a few levels down, so she decided to go there and see if there was any sort of communicator or first aid kit there.
As she walked she checked her communicator a few times, but knew it was useless, the ion storm was going to be wreaking havoc on the enterprise's communications array.
When she got to the shack she peeked through the window and saw no one there, it was strange, if what Thal told her was true, that Klingons had been mining here for so long, where was everyone? And if he had found the wood for the fire here before, why hadn't he alerted anyone else to their presence?
She stepped into the shack and looked around. There was a chair at a table, some papers were strewn about the room and a computer array against the wall. She set the blade on the table and sat down at the computer before she tapped a few things on the screen. The computer was taking a minute to start up, and while it did that, she stood again and began to search the room for anything she could bring the Klingon to help with the infection.
After some searching she managed to find some clean water in a large plastic pouch. She took it and put it into a bag she found and then started searching through the desk for any form of first aid kit, which she didn't have, but she did find a map of the mining operation. It looked like there was an area that the Klingons had been living in a few hundred meters further down, so after tucking the map into her bag, she left the shack.
The living area was as deserted as the rest of the mining operation, and Alex was starting to get a bad feeling about it. She found the living quarters and past a sort of living room area was a kitchen. Much of the food had been taken when they had left, but she was able to find a loaf of thick brown bread that only had a little bit cut off of it. She also found what looked like a container of tea, and after scavenging a few more things from the kitchen, she went to the bedrooms and added blankets and pillows to her bounty.
She didn't know if it would be safe to move Thal, so she returned to the hut and picked up her sword and then went back to the cave. When she got there she knelt next to him, he was still hot, and she sighed, hoping that she'd be able to help him.
Alex stayed awake around the clock for two days, feeding the unconscious man a very primitive bread soup made with the bread she'd found, the water, and a few more things that had been in the kitchen. She kept it watered down, mostly broth and held his head on her lap to make sure the Klingon didn't drown on the soup. She would also make him drink tea made from the tea she had found, and she cleaned and checked his wound constantly. It was on the third day of being awake that the man suddenly shifted. She was sitting with her back to the wall, her elbows on her knees, staring wearily into the fire when he suddenly sat up.
She jumped, then moved to his side. "Hey, you're okay," she said softly and he looked at her.
"How long did I sleep?"
"Two days," she told him. "It's day three now. I wanted to take you down to the living quarters, but I wasn't sure if I should move you or not,"
"It would not have been safe," he agreed before smacking his lips slightly. "What am I tasting?"
"I made bread soup,"
"What?" he asked and she smiled.
"It's a soup made on Earth, usually it has meat, stale bread, vegetables, all kinds of things in it."
"And what did you find?"
"Bread, some spices, and water," she explained with a shrug. He seemed to consider that before he looked at her.
"You are crafty for a crystal poacher," She stayed quiet and then nodded when he said that and then sighed. "What?"
"I was just thinking, it's been three days," she explained. "What if neither our ships are waiting for us?"
"My ship has gone," he nodded. "They would take me for dead, and they would have left."
"I'm sorry,"
"Don't be," he replied. "It is the way of a soldier. We experience loss, we move on, life does not come to an end for those who live when one dies."
"I used to be a soldier," she replied and he looked at her curiously. "It was… A long time ago,"
"Even we Klingons have heard rumors of the soldier lost to time," he told her and she smiled softly before she nodded. "The Earth Federation will return for you," he said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "I should have died now twice, but for you, Girl,"
"Ramirez," she reminded him and he squeezed her shoulder.
"Ramirez," he repeated.
Over the next three days Alex and Thal talked, she tended to his wound, he watched over her while she slept, and he even began to teach her some Klingon.
It was the middle of the day on the sixth day of being stuck in the cave when Alex looked up. Thal, who was sharpening the bat'leth looked up when she did and she stood slowly before moving towards the wall of rocks. Thal stood as well before he seemed to hear what she was hearing, and grabbing Alex by the arm, he dragged her away from the rocks just in time for them to start to tumble.
When the opening of the cave was revealed, Alex smiled seeing red uniforms, two men from the Enterprise security team were there, and she grabbed Thal's arm quickly, knowing he was likely to charge the men.
"Do not attack," she reminded him and he tensed but instead lowered his weapon.
"Lt. Ramirez?" one of the men, a young boy with an even younger face, Bill Cody spoke to her and she smiled gratefully at him.
"Yes," she sighed as she stepped forward.
"Watch out!" the other man, Lyle McDonald gasped when he saw Thal and took him in. Alex winced when he pulled out his phaser and pointed it at Thal who squared his shoulders, but Alex stepped in front of him.
"Lower your weapons," she ordered and the two men looked at her curiously. "Lower them, he will not attack," she looked over her shoulder at Thal who looked irritated, to say in the least, but gave her a slight nod.
"Alex?" she heard Kirk's voice and she smiled gratefully, but didn't move from her place in front of her patient.
"Captain, I'm okay," she told him. "I didn't survive alone, and I want your word that no harm will come to my companion," she said as Kirk approached the mouth of the cave. He stopped and stared past Alex who stared at him, then looked back at Thal who had a look of distaste on his face.
"Kirk," he practically spat.
"Thal," he replied and then sighed. "Your ship left six days ago Thal,"
"I know," he said and Alex bit her lip.
"If I were a lesser man- I'd leave you here,"
"If I were a lesser man- I'd kill you where you stand," Thal replied and Alex spun on her heel to shoot him a look. "But," he glanced at Alex and then back at Kirk. "I owe this one, your Ramirez, a life debt," he explained and then looked back at Kirk. "I will be taken as your prisoner,"
"I will accept," Kirk replied and Alex looked at them both in surprise.
"What- no- Thal didn't do anything wrong," she protested as Kirk drew a phaser and pointed it at Thal.
"Ramirez, take up the Bat'leth. Do not let those who spill no blood touch it. They do not deserve it," Thal instructed her and she picked it up before looking at Thal.
"I didn't want you to be a prisoner," she told him and he looked at her before giving her a small nod.
"We are soldiers Ramirez," he reminded her and she nodded before she walked out of the cave with him, where the landing party waited.
After beaming aboard the Enterprise, Alex and Thal were taken by Dr. McCoy to be given a full exam. It was decided she was malnourished and dehydrated, which she could understand, she had given the majority of the water to Thal, to keep him alive and to wash his wounds.
Alex was getting an IV of fluids and vitamins and had a big meal in front of her when they looked Thal over, and Dr. McCoy found himself face to face with a Klingon soldier who looked absolutely pissed to be there.
"Thal," Alex said and he glanced over at her. She didn't want to implore him to let the other human help, not in front of Dr. McCoy or his nurses so she bit her lip. "Botlh 'e' yIchaw'," she said softly. It was clumsy and not well spoken but she could see the corner of Thal's mouth twitch at the words before he relaxed on the exam bed.
Dr. McCoy stared at Alex in shock before he glanced back at the Klingon. "I have to say Alex, from a Vulcan to a Klingon, you sure do take to interesting people," he said. "What am I supposed to do here?"
"Help him," she replied.
"A Klingon?" he asked and she sat up.
"A patient," she replied and he looked at her for a long moment before he nodded.
"A patient," McCoy agreed before the door opened to the med bay and Kirk walked in.
"What the hell happened down there?" Kirk demanded of Alex while McCoy began to work on Thal's arm.
"I was attacked, I tried to call for help, but the Chath'ran were too fast and the storm was coming in," she explained.
"The what?" Kirk asked with a frown and she looked at Thal who rolled his eyes.
"It is a Klingon name for the beast," he explained. "She fought two and made her ancestors proud,"
"And what- he saved you?" Kirk asked.
"Actually, I saved him," Alex replied and Kirk looked from Alex to Thal.
"You… Saved him…"
"Yes," she sat up a little further, a frown on her face. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"It's not hard to believe, it's just…" Kirk looked a little lost for words.
"He understands why I owe you a life debt," Thal provided. "It binds you both to the Federation, and the Klingon Empire,"
"Huh," Alex said before the door opened again, and Spock came into the room. Her face broke into a grin when she saw him and he looked around the room before moving to her bed.
"Lt. Ramirez," he said as he looked down at her. "Welcome back. When you have been cleared by Dr. McCoy, I will be ready to take your statement of what happened on the planet," he told her, staring down at her with an impartial look on his face. Alex stared back up at him for a moment before she saw his eyes flicker to the bed next to hers and then she understood what was happening. He could allow himself to show concern for her in front of Kirk, or even McCoy, but he could never let himself do it in front of a Klingon.
"Thank you Mr. Spock," she said as she nodded. "I'll have Dr. McCoy let you know when I can be released."
"Now, Spock," McCoy looked up from Thal. "What kind of a greeting is that?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand Doctor, did I not welcome Lt. Ramirez back?"
"Well yes, but-"
"And do you feel that I have said the things I need to say?" Spock looked at Alex.
"Yes, everything you need to say to me has been said," she agreed.
"But you-"
"Then I will await your prognosis for when Lt. Ramirez is able to leave the medical bay Doctor," Spock said before he turned on his heel and left the room.
Alex smiled at the flabbergasted look on McCoy's face before she shared a knowing look with Kirk who cleared his throat.
"What do you say Doctor, think Alex can recoup in her room?"
"I suppose so," Dr. McCoy replied grumpily as he looked at Thal who had watched the interaction with interest.
Alex was allowed to leave medical and was brought to her room where she sat on the bed and waited, and she didn't have to wait long, within five minutes of being brought to her room, the door opened and Spock walked in before kneeling down next to her bed. She smiled as he reached out and touched her face before he pressed his forehead to hers.
"I'm okay," she assured him and he held her face before he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I wasn't worried," he replied and she smiled before looking into his eyes.
"Liar," she whispered and he stared down into her eyes for a long moment before he pressed his forehead to hers.
"Yes," he replied and she sighed before she moved to wrap her arms around his middle.
"I missed you too," she told him and he slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She sighed before inhaling his familiar and comfortable scent before she spoke against his shoulder. "So what do we do with the Klingon?"
Thank you so much for your patience with this story! I kinda ran out of steam because I wasn't sure where to go after this storyline, but then I thought of something fun! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
