New Allies, Old Fears

Cora stood to the side of the Bridge on the Franklin, beside Spock as they all gathered, trying to think of a plan for how to save the rest of their crew. Spock seemed to be doing well since McCoy had treated the wound, he was standing and moving around. And she was quite pleased that her own efforts to assist had seemed effective. She may have used a bit too much at one point to both dull the pain and replace it with a more pleasant feeling, not only had Spock begun to smile rather dopily...or what she assumed was such for a Vulcan...but it had begun to spill out into the others in a partial projection. They were all glad Spock wasn't feeling any pain, but they didn't quite need to feel the rest of it. She made sure to keep part of her attention attuned to Spock in case his side began to hurt again, she'd rather prevent the pain ever reaching him than allow him to feel a moment of it.

"We should wait until we're absolutely sure," Scotty was arguing against Kirk, who wanted to use coordinates Chekov had found through Kalara's call.

"No, we have to get the crew back now," Kirk remained firm, "Chekov has the coordinates that can lead us to Krall's base, so we go!"

Scotty opened his mouth to continue shouting, when a calm began to settle over them.

"Seriously, Cor, still so creepy," Kirk muttered, though there was no bite in his voice. They were all used to a calm overtaking them when tensions were high and she was around. It did throw them off quite a bit though when she was in another room and still managed to sense the rising anger and send calm to them. Even after three years experiencing her abilities first hand, it still unsettled him how instantly and easily she could bring down a situation and make him feel like dialogue as opposed to shouting was best.

"With respect, sir," Scotty continued, more subdued, "How do we know that Krall was at the base when she called him? Even if he was, we don't know that the crew is even with him."

"Or if they're even still alive," McCoy added.

"They are alive," Cora spoke up, "I…I have felt…" she took a breath, "Not all who were taken remain," she had felt it as though pinpricks, like the whole of a mass of emotion lessened minutely. She wasn't near enough to feel the death itself, but she could feel how there was less to feel when she turned her focus to where she felt the crew were gathered, "But a great number of the crew survive. I feel them, they are together."

"There, see," Kirk pointed at her as though he'd won the argument.

"It still doesn't help up track if they're with Krall or if he's somewhere else," McCoy pointed out, rolling his eyes when Kirk shot him a look as though he'd betrayed him.

"And, no offense, Lassie," Scotty added, "But you cannae pinpoint where they are, only lead us to them."

"Actually," Cora began, hesitating to speak, not sure how her words would be taken.

Spock frowned, seeing a flash of the thought in her mind that was causing her great concern and hesitation, "Why are you suddenly thinking of Vokaya?"

"Vodka?" McCoy asked, shaking his head, not understanding though perking up a little at the idea there might be some nearby. He was going to need a stiff drink after this mess.

"Vokaya," Cora repeated though her nose crinkled somewhat at the mention of Vodka. She'd had the misfortune of tasting the liquid once, a mishap with mixed up cups during a birthday celebration for Chekov onboard the Enterprise. She'd been given the wrong cup, taken a sip...and promptly spit the drink back into the cup with a grimace. It was terrible!

"It is a mineral unique to Vulcan," Spock explained, "Which emits low-level radiation. I presented Cora with a Vokaya amulet as a token of my affection and respect."

"That blue necklace?" Kirk blinked, seeming to realize something when he looked at Cora with some concern.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Hold on," McCoy shook his head, "You gave your mate radioactive jewelry?"

"The emission is harmless, Doctor," Spock reassured him, "But its unique signature makes it very easy to identify."

"…you gave your mate a tracking device?"

Spock blinked, looking at the others who were now staring at him, and realized, by human terms and without context or understanding of his reasons, that did appear to be what he'd done, "That was not my intention."

"I'm glad he doesn't respect me," McCoy muttered.

"It was a precaution," Spock defended, he had no intention to ever use the amulet to monitor her movements as though he needed to know where she was at all times. There was only one time he would ever use the amulet in such a way and that was the reason he'd given it to Cora, "To keep her safe."

"I'm a little lost here, Spock," Kirk gave him an odd look, "How does a Vokaya amulet keep Cora safe?"

"Because there is a formula that can be used to home in on the coordinates," Spock explained, "When coupled with teleportation parameters aboard the Enterprise, it can be used to locate the mineral, and, therefore, Cora, and beam her aboard, no matter where she is."

"Still getting a tracking device feel, here," McCoy stated.

"We were unable to beam Spock to the Enterprise from the volcano on Nibiru," Cora reminded them, "When the comm. cut out, we could not pinpoint his location in order to do so. Spock did not want to be put in a similar situation."

It had been the result of a series of difficult dreams he had had. Just as Cora had once dreamt it was not Pike who had died in Daystrom but himself, he had dreamt it hadn't been him in the volcano but her. When his father had given him his mother's necklace, it was as though that part of his mind had been reassured. The shared concern between his human and Vulcan half over his mate's safety had been promised with that necklace. No matter where she was, the teleports on the Enterprise were advanced enough to be able to beam her up using the necklace as the coordinates.

"It is very sweet," Cora continued.

"Alright, fine," Kirk shook his head, seeing that as a bit more morbid than sweet, but then again he didn't understand a lot of things that made up Cora's relationship with Spock, if it was agreed between the two of them, fine. Right now they needed to find that blue stone, "So we need that formula to change the search parameters. Spock, I assume you know this formula?"

"I do," he nodded, "But I do not see why it is needed. Cora is right here."

Kirk opened his mouth to tell him something, to tell him what Cora had done when she'd found him on the Enterprise mid-attack, but it wasn't his right to do so. This was something clearly between Spock and Cora.

Cora looked at the Vulcan, an apology written all over her face, "I am. But the amulet is not."

Spock blinked and turned to her, "It is not?"

"I am so sorry, Spock," Cora told him, earnest, "James T. Kirk hid the artifact with Ensign Syl. The pods were ejecting at different times, the chances of being separated was great. I realized he had no way to find it once more. I gave Ensign Syl the amulet to ensure we could find her and the artifact once more. I firmly believe all the crew are together. She is with them."

Spock continued to stare at her.

"Cora?" Kirk called out as he felt an apprehension and guilt start to seep into him, a quick glance at the others shifting showing they were too, "You're projecting again."

Spock blinked, realizing he could feel it as well, he could see her looking down as she tried to pull the emotions back into her, but he could still feel it. He knew she felt so poorly for placing the amulet with Syl, knowing how important the item was to him, to be the last remnant he had of his mother, how much it meant to both of them. She was guilty and anxious, concerned, and worried for his reaction. He knew she had not given it to Syl to keep, but to return later, and he knew she had good reasons to make that split second decision.

He would not lie and say he was not somewhat hurt that she had removed the necklace and placed it with another. But it was surprisingly less to do with the fact that it was his mother's amulet and more to do with the basis of his fears. Cora could have been taken and he would not have been able to locate her. If she had gotten lost in the woods or among the stone, she could have been alone and he would have found the crew instead of her.

When his father presented him with the necklace, it became his. A gift to him. Which he had then given to Cora, a gift to her. It had gone from being his mother's necklace to Cora's necklace.

He was not angry with her for giving the necklace to someone else, it was clearly intended to be a temporary condition. He was more upset that he could have lost her and not had a way to find her again.

"It was a logical decision," he finally spoke, realizing that his upset was the illogical part. Cora was beside him, she was with him, there was no logic in being upset he might not have been able to find her when there was no need to find her. Emotions were not logical, he understood it, it was ironic that the one among them that favored emotion more than most, had come to a logical plan, "With Ensign Syl in possession of the amulet, we can now track the crew," he nodded, moving over to a console where Chekov was, putting in the formula.

"I will hawe to filter out all other energy emissions," Chekov murmured, getting to work.

"You are not angry?" Cora asked, stepping over to Spock.

He looked at her, "Do I feel angry?"

Cora blinked, reaching out through their bond, "You are proud of me?" she asked, sounding genuinely startled. Of all the emotions she had thought he might feel, pride was one she had never considered.

Spock reached out to take her hand, wanting her to be sure of how he felt, "It could not have been easy to part with the amulet."

Logically, Cora was with him, the crew were not. It was illogical to be upset she'd removed the necklace when the reason behind giving it to her was null. He could look at it in that lens.

But Cora, she had so few possessions. She had a small pack that she had taken with her from Hestia, reminders of her family. That was all. She had no means to return home, she had no other possessions besides those. Except the amulet. It was the first gift he had given her, and it had been something important to him.

Of the two of them, she would be the one to become attached emotionally to an object. It would be difficult for her to part with something so meaningful. But she had, because it was the logical thing to do, to give them a way to find not just the artifact, but the crew. And he was immensely proud of her for being able to make that decision to separate the emotions that must have been overwhelming her with a plan her mind had formed.

He reached out, curling a finger under her chin to guide her gaze to him, "I am very proud."

Cora began to smile at that…

"We're proud of you too, Lassie," Scotty spoke up, causing the two mates to look over at him, "...and I ruined the moment. Sorry."

Kirk dropped his head into his hand and shook it. Though he was a little relieved their moment was over. It was both oddly endearing to see Spock be sweet to someone, but also a little off-putting for the normally stoic man. That and Cora had started to project once more. He was really going to need to talk to her about that when all this was over. It was great she was happy, but he could do without feeling all those warm and fuzzy feelings directed at Spock.

"Captain!" Chekov called when the computer began to beep, "I am detecting a wery trace amount of Wokaya."

"Does the location match the coordinates you acquired from Kalara, Mr. Chekov?" Spock asked, switching gears and getting back on topic.

"It is a match, sir," he nodded.

"Its presence suggests that Ensign Syl, and thereby the rest of the crew, are being held at Krall's base of operation."

"Can you beam them out?" Kirk asked.

"No, sir," Chekov sighed, if it had been the Enterprise, they would have, but the teleport system on this ship was ancient, "Zere is some geological interference zat is blocking the transporter signal on zis ship."

"Well, I guess we're gonna have to go in and break them out the old-fashioned way," Kirk sighed.

"You cannot go to this place," Jaylah spoke suddenly, "Everyone who goes there, he kills."

"You've...you've been there?" Kirk turned to her, "You've seen it?"

"Well, why didn't you say something, Lassie?" Scotty asked.

"It is not a good place," Cora answered, "It does not bring up good thoughts," she could sense the mix of Jaylah's emotions. Fear, reluctance, despair, anger, hurt, loss, pain, and so many others.

"I know you will ask me to take you there," Jaylah added, "If your friends are there, then they will die, just like my family. And I will not go back to that death place!"

"Aye, but if you've escaped then you can show us the way in and the way out," Scotty argued.

"No!" she shouted, "This is not the deal we made Montgomery Scotty. If you choose to do this, you are on your own."

"Wait…" Scotty called as the woman turned to storm off to the next room.

"Let her go," Kirk tried to call out when Scotty moved to follow.

"She's lost people too, Captain," Scotty reminded them and left the room.

"She is very hurt," Cora told them, "And very scared," she looked between the men around her before slowly making her way after Scotty.

~8~

Scotty paused as he entered the room, seeing Jaylah intently focused on her staff and fiddling with it, checking it over and tweaking it, "Look," he slowly approached her, "That's our friends out there, Lassie. Right? We cannae just leave them behind. Now, we could really use your help. We just need you to be brave, is all."

Jaylah shook her head, not looking at him even as she spoke, "When we were in that place, Krall would come and take someone. There were screams. I can still hear them. And we would not see that person again. We did not know who would be next. My father planned an escape. But we were seen by the one they call Manas," she glanced up, seeing something out of the corner of her eye, and noticing Kirk had moved into the doorway, following Cora as the woman entered the room but they didn't step further in, "My father fought him so I could get out. He was brave and Manas killed him. What you want is impossible."

"Look, maybe it's not," Scotty admitted, "Right. My wee granny used to say 'Ya cannae break a stick in a bundle.' You're part of something bigger now, Lassie. Right? Dinnae give up on that. 'Cause we'll sure as hell never give up on you. That is what being part of a crew is all about."

Jaylah let out a breath and looked over, "Is that what you believe in James T.?"

"All I know is we stand a better chance with you," Kirk told her. He looked beside him as Spock, McCoy, and Chevok moved to the doorway, "We stand a better chance when we're together, all of us."

Cora slowly stepped down into the room, hearing Jaylah's story, the way her father had given everything to ensure his daughter survived and feeling an empathy for her.

"You…" Cora began, hesitating a moment to try and gather her own courage to speak, "You feared. I have too."

"Your fear is not my fear," Jaylah muttered, looking down at her staff as she fixed it.

Cora glanced down, before taking a breath and moving over to Jaylah. The woman looked up when Cora came to stand on the other side of the table she was working at.

A moment later, Jaylah let out a short breath, before panting, her eyes widening before she stumbled back, "What you do to me!?" she demanded, grabbing a knife from her belt. She had been fine, just moments ago, angry and a little fearful, but fine and then it was as though all she could feel was that fear in the camp, but worse, so much worse.

"Fear," Cora told her, "My fear," Jaylah looked confused, "I am an Empathic, I can…share emotions," she offered, not wanting to have to go into detail about what she could do.

"And that?" Jaylah asked, "That was your fear?"

She nodded, resting her hands on the table and looking down at the odds and ends lying on it. Her gaze drifted to her arms, to the sleeves of her uniform, "My people are modest, but…I do not wear this version of the Starfleet uniform just for that," she looked up at Jaylah as she moved to push the sleeve of her right arm up.

The woman stepped closer, moving her knife to her other hand and taking Cora's right wrist, turning her arm this way and that as she frowned down at it, "How you get these?"

Cora could sense Kirk, Chekov, and Scotty stepping closer, looking at her arm in the dim light of the room, able to see the faint scars scattered along it even in the light. McCoy and Spock remained nearer the door, both had seen the scars, McCoy in his medical examinations, more so focused on those of her back to ensure the damage there wasn't irritated or infected, and Spock as her mate. But no other member of the crew had ever seen her scars before, not till now.

"My people are slaves," she explained to Jaylah, "If we misbehave, we are punished by the Mas'heirs. When I was young, I…did not thank them properly."

"Thank them?" Jaylah asked, letting go of Cora's arm though the girl didn't cover up the scars again, just looked at them.

She was silent for a long moment, not sure she could truly put words to it all, to all the years she had endured under the Mas'heirs hands, to all that her people still endured, "We are always grateful to our masters for allowing us to live," she murmured, able to sense the shift in the room at her words, "Every year we live, every breath we take, are ones the masters allow us to have."

"Cor…" Kirk breathed, utterly stunned to hear that. He looked over his shoulder at Spock, the only one in the room who didn't seem shocked at what Cora was saying, and why would he, if Cora told anyone about her past, it would be her mate. Though Spock looked like he was just barely holding himself back from murder.

It was a large part of her feelings of being indebted to the Fleet. The Mas'heirs controlled them, every aspect of their lives. From the moment of their birth, to who they had families with, to where the children were placed, to how they died or how long they lived. The Mas'heirs made sure that the Empathics knew who held the control and power over them, that they held the lives of their slaves in their hands. Every single moment, it was always emphasized, was one more the Mas'heirs allowed them to have and that could be taken away at any moment.

And when they were sold, when the eleventh children were torn away and sent off-world, those feelings were even stronger. These were the people who took them away from the Mas'heirs, and they should be grateful to see so much of the universe. They should be grateful for a new purpose in life. They should be grateful that they were deemed useful enough to be desired by others. It didn't disappear when an Empathic was freed, because every moment of freedom was due to their new masters. They should be grateful for being released, and every moment of freedom was due to the Fleet. All the places she saw, all the people she helped, the food and clothing and purpose, it was all because the Fleet had done this for her.

"When we come of age, we must thank them," she continued as though she hadn't heard him, still looking at her arm, recalling that time, "They have allowed us to live 10 years, they are not always so generous. I did not do so fully. I missed a word. It was an unforgivable slight and it was only right that I be punished for such disrespect."

"These masters gave you scars," Jaylah realized.

"I was punished severely," Cora added, "But I was…" she shook her head, closing her eyes as she pulled her sleeve back, knowing she had been lucky to be such a prized eleventh child when others were not so lucky, "I was too valuable to them to kill as I should have been. They offered of my family to take my place, to endure the rest of my punishment for me. My father did not hesitate," she looked up at Jaylah, "He survived, but barely. I feared for my life, my family, my father. And that was not the first or last time I would."

Jaylah looked away.

Cora stepped forward, "I fear now," she told the woman, "For my crew. My crew is my family, they…" she trailed off a moment, turning her head, her expression morphing just slightly, "My crew is my family."

She blinked at that, she had said it before, to others, to Khan, that the crew was her family to protect. At the time, it had been directed more to a small number of the crew, those she had been closest to, Spock especially. But it had been nearly three years since then, she knew her crew better, all of them, she had gotten to know them, to speak to them, engage with them. The entire crew had become her family, if it had not been for this situation, this fear she felt for them, she might not have realized…

"Cora?" Spock called, stepping more into the room when she didn't continue to speak, moving over to her side and reaching out to touch her arm.

Cora blinked rapidly, "My apologies," she shook her head, needing to focus more on the situation than the revelation she'd just had. She looked back at Jaylah, "You have lost your family," she finally finished, "Do not ask us to lose ours. Not when they could become yours too."

Jaylah looked between them all, seeing people who would not give up, seeing people who would fight for their family, the way her father had fought for her.

And so, she gave them a nod.

~8~

Cora looked up when she felt Spock approaching her, where she was sitting on the couch of the mess area, the man sitting down next to her. She watched as he slowly reached out to take her hand, using his other to gently move her sleeve up once more.

"These are symbols of your strength," he reminded, as he always did whenever the times came that she would look at her scars as anything but that.

It didn't happen often, not recently at least. At first Cora had been very self-conscious about the scars the Mas'heirs had left on her for their punishments. It had gone from being symbols of her failures, the deserving punishments, to being a sign of her weakness, that she should have found some way to protect herself, to stop it. He had worked hard to help her see them as signs of strength, that she had survived, that she was still there, she had endured and come out alive.

But, every so often, a powerfully painful memory would come about, and her mind would wander to that time, to what the scars had meant then. Her words to Jaylah, he knew, were one such moment. How she had spoken about herself, her past, it was difficult to bear hearing about.

"I know," Cora murmured, squeezing his hand and looking down at her arm, "It is…funny," she remarked, "Sometimes I can almost forget they are there."

He looked to her, not needing to speak for her to know he was curious.

She glanced at him, the corner of her lip quirking in the smallest of smiles when she nodded, "When you look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like I am precious to you."

He tilted his head, "You are precious to me."

"I feel that too," she admitted, "When it is you. And, when you look at me like that, it reminds me I am precious, I am not worthless."

Spock couldn't help but smile at hearing her say that. He could still recall a time where she had thought herself no more than a worthless slave, had called herself it. But then Khan happened, and she had realized the value she held, not just to the Fleet, but to other people, to him, but more so, to herself. She was worth something to every person on the crew, she was worth everything to him. To hear that she truly believed this now was an immense relief to him. He could only do so much to convince her of her worth, she needed to feel it herself, and she did.

"I am glad."

She opened her mouth, wanting to speak to him more about her feelings of him considering returning to New Vulcan, but she knew and she felt that that was a conversation best kept for when this was over. It was going to be too important to rush through or to risk it being cut off once more. She could feel that they would come out of it stronger, just as she had with enduring the Mas'heirs, and that was enough for her.

"I was able to obtain other precious items from the Enterprise before it was destroyed," she told him, changing the topic only slightly, "My pack, and your box, they are safe here on the Franklin."

"Thank you," Spock breathed, his eyes wide.

Though it should not surprise him. Many of the crew had small keepsakes, but not many brought objects onto a starship that were important or sentimental to them. It could be dangerous to be among a Fleet crew. It had been proven over and over, ships getting attacked, their own had been lost and destroyed in moments. Many chose to keep their valuable items on their person or on their home planets, with other loved ones, safe elsewhere.

It was not an option for him nor Cora. She had nowhere to go but her ship, it was the only home she had as she had been taken from her planet and all she had to her name were the items she brought with her and the uniforms the Fleet provided. From what Kirk had told him and McCoy of how they'd gotten Krall's location, the ship had been in ruins, there had been other hostiles in the area, and Cora had used herself as bait to trick Kalara into revealing herself as one of Krall's henchmen. He was not pleased at all that she had done that, but Kirk had reassured him, had sworn, he had been behind them and following closely. He knew it was illogical given the danger it had put her in over a handful of items, but he was happy for her that she had gotten her possessions back.

He was touched she had also gotten his few items as well. He had the option of transferring them to his father, to New Vulcan, to keep for him. But he had not been able to do so. He had seen his planet destroyed in an instant and it had stuck with him. He had kept those few possessions with him on the Enterprise. The only thing he had left elsewhere was the box from Ambassador Spock, which he had placed in the safe keeping of Yorktown for they would be returning there after the mission. Or so he had thought at the time.

He was touched, but not surprised.

"Spock," Kirk's voice called out a moment later, "Cora? Jaylah's got us set up."

They looked over and nodded, standing and moving over to a table Jaylah had positioned odds and ends to represent Krall's base. Now all they needed was a plan.

A/N: Awww, Cora :'( And Jaylah :'( But Cora! D':

I wanted to explore just why Cora feels so indebted to the Fleet to the point where she wouldn't leave even for her mate. The gratitude runs deep thanks to the Mas'heirs. I could imagine if someone lived their entire life with the mentality that every single breath they took only happened because someone else allowed it, that it would certainly mess them up a lot later in life. To Cora, she owes the fleet, because every moment of freedom is thanks to them, every breath she takes from the moment she left Hestia is because 'they allowed it' just as the Mas'heirs have trained the Empathics to think. And here's probably also a healthy dose of fear that it could be taken away at any moment. One wrong move on Hestia and the allowance of the Mas'heirs stops, you're dead or you're tortured or your family is. One wrong move in the Fleet and for all she knows (or fears, because she may know it won't happen, but fear usually clouds that) the Fleet's allowance may run out and she'll be shipped off back to Hestia. Part of her 'gratefulness' is true and utter terror of what happens if she misbehaves :(

But I also think we've seen Cora grow a lot in just the last...7ish years? Four in the Academy, 3 on the Enterprise, plus the months between the first movie and the second, so yeah, 7 or 8 years. Spock has been a huge help with her self-confidence, having a crew that supports her and a Captain that clearly cares about his crew as much as Kirk does has sort of helped her feel comfortable and encouraged to grow. There's still much more to come for her though ;)

Speaking of growing though, Cora seems to have had some sort of revelation about how her care for her crew has grown too, from just a handful to the entire ship. I wonder why that struck her so much and what it might mean... }:)

The Vokaya amulet :) I feel like that would be a reason Spock would give it to Cora. Already he was subconsciously not wanting to be away from his mate or separated from her, he just needed a kick of reality to realize that lol :) I also thought he would tell her about it, not just in it being his mother's but what it could do. Poor Kirk and Bones, they're so confused by the relationship :) I felt like Cora would be the one freaking out over what Spock would think of her loaning it to Syl for its tracking purposes, and Spock would be more 'well that was a logical plan, well done' and realize for Cora to part with something important to her would be something she'd already feel bad enough about :)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I do have an original Cora story planned, but I've also heard that there might be a 4th Star Trek movie sometime next year. Not sure if it's true, but I'll have more about both stories in the last chapter ;) We'll have to wait and see what it might be about, there's oodles of possibilities ;)

I'm not sure about a Chekov story, it's always possible ;) I'm probably weird but my writing process isn't 'let me sit down and create an OC specific for this show/person' but more me doing random things throughout the day and suddenly, out of nowhere, an OC is just like 'hey! what up! So about this Spock guy...' and they just sort of pop out at me already made and ready to go. So far none have popped out for Chekov, but that's not to say one of the ones still swimming in the back of my mind won't one day go 'So let's talk about Chekov...' ;)