The thing about Kari McCoy and Uhura is that she was not a normal mayfly.
She was a space mayfly.
-/Mayflies/-
The foul smell still haunted the hall. No one wished to go into the area anymore because they could still see her image clearly, branding across their minds. One hand stuffed into her mouth with the gun while the other hung limp by her side. Blood cradled her back like a halo, washing under her in rivulets, spreading across the floor. You would think there wouldn't be so much blood, but there was blood, blood everywhere.
Most of the staff were actually glad she had closed her eyes, not wanting to see them hollow, staring up at the sky, brains blown out behind her. It was scaring enough to see her body rigid, the foulness breaching their senses, no, it would be too much to see those green eyes dead, piercing your soul from beyond the dead. They could almost imagine the sound, when the trigger pulled and the beam shot, the slight gasp leaving her parted lips, body stuttering against the floor.
It was horrible.
-/Mayflies/-
Kirk stared down at the girl, pale skin sheeted white, blending against the white tiles. Her eyelashes scrunched up on her face and dry tears fading on her cheeks with each passing moment. Kirk leaned forward, having to check, needing to be sure, fingers pushing against her neck to feel the dead pulse. Her body was cold, very cold and the blood that smeared his fingers when he pulled away suffered the same. He sighed, closing his eyes, before getting back up.
A small crowd had gathered and cries of anguish and whispers interrupted his thoughts. Any semblance of calm was destroyed when Jim's ears picked up the muttering voices of McCoy, "What the hell is going on here?" Leonard's souther draw flared with annoyance, trying to move through the crowd, "Its like these people have no idea how to move."
"Doctor," Uhura's laugh tinkled beside the man. Jim's stomach fell, knowing that any moment from now they could reach through the crowd and see the girl. Jim quickly intercepted them.
"Hey, Uhura, Bones, why don't you guys go a different route? This hall is pretty roadblocked," the captain told them, turning them away, leading them to the other direction. Bones resisted, turning back to where she lay.
"Dammit Jim, I have to go this way, you know that this is the fastest way to medbay," the doctor told him, walking forward. "I wonder what all the fuss is about…" Jim panicked, grabbing the man again, "What the hell are you doing Jim!"
"Please," the man pled, "please go a different way." Uhura inched forward, out of Jim's sight. She approached the center of the crowd, a feeling growing deep in her chest, something dangerous, something scary. She was worried and needed to know what had happened.
"Jim! What's wrong?" Leonard asked, fading in the woman's ears. She stepped forward, and saw a figure on the ground, a gasp torn from her throat.
All semblance of calm was shattered when Nyota Uhura began to wail, rushing for the body. Bones heard the sound and looked her way; Jim sighed, defeated. Bones approached, a yell, a sprint forward, Jim followed, the doctor dropped to his knees by the girl, by Kari, and proceeded to check her pulse, shake her body, anything to wake her. Nyota kneeled on the ground, hands covering her mouth, eyes glued to the gun in her daughter's mouth, the blood everywhere, her chocolate curls framing her face perfectly, her limp hand, her rigid frame.
-/Mayflies/-
Spock was informed when he arrived at his shift. He wasn't there, he didn't know anything, all he heard were the whispers in the halls, the cast down eyes. Uhura and McCoy were hugging, the man rubbing her back when she fell apart. Spock looked around for Kari when Chekov informed him, "Kari won't be around no longer."
"And why is that?"
"She is dead," his voice was clear, accent gone in that one phrase, bold words spoken universally.
-/Mayflies/-
They moved her body to Medical. All of the nurses watched with waning eyes, slanting eyebrows as they rolled her across the white floor, a white sheet covering her body. The Head Nurse rubbed McCoy's back as he trembled for the first time. It shocked her but it also shocked her that she could be so calm with the events happening.
The girl gave her a lollipop only just a day ago.
-/Mayflies/-
Many of the staff wore black and Kari's body was left untouched for the time being. McCoy drank and Uhura always had a box of tissues on hand. Chekov's puppy dog eyes turned abusive and Sulu's hidden grin was not out to play. Scotty helped clean the blood and Jim stood still, not flirting, not smirking, no wise cracks, nothing.
But Mr. Spock was the worse of them all. Insensitive and cruel, his walls were strengthened and he refused to be anything but logical, not daring to think about her, taking more time to meditate. He made Nyota cry twice and Jim snapped, yelling at him. Yes, Spock was the worse of them all.
-/Mayflies/-
They found the letters and tears bled through the paper, wetting the ink once more.
-/Mayflies/-
Business went on though.
One day, a week or two after Kari's passing, the Ilnaen ambassador boarded the ship. He was a tall man with greying hair and a tight business suit. He did not dress like any ambassadors that Kirk has ever seen. Jim greeted the man with purple eyes with a weak smile, "How may I help you, ambassador?"
The greying man looked rushed, distracted, staring at everything for a moment before turning to Jim, "I see you all are in mourning."
"Uh, yes, how did you know?"
"Many of the crew are wearing black. I must ask," the man looked around once more, "did a young girl die?"
Jim choked, "Excuse me?"
"Did a young girl die? She'd be between her twenties and forties, brown hair, pale, ring a bell?"
The captain's stare harden, turning cold, "Why do you want to know?"
"The princess," the ambassador told him, "was kidnapped a month ago. The kidnapper has been caught, detained, and executed for her crimes, we've been searching everywhere since."
"And why do you think our crew member is your princess."
The man ignored him, "How old was she?"
"Excuse me?"
"How old was she when died, Mr. Kirk?"
"Twenty five, now why do you want to-"
"When you first came into possession of the girl, she aged rather quickly didn't she?" his purple eyes bore into Kirk's, "And you found her as a child, correct? She died at twenty five but was only here for less than a month, now, Mr. Kirk, where is she?"
"Excuse me?"
"Mr. Kirk," the man sighed, annoyed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I will ask you one more time, where is the girl? Where is our princess?"
"Medbay," Kirk sighed, admitting defeat. His shoulders slumped but at least he could return Kari to her people. Nyota would be pissed. "Follow me."
-/Mayflies/-
McCoy was adamant on not letting this man see his daughter. Bones was angry and annoyed and believed that her family was wrong not to have found her in time. The purple eyed man ignored him and reached for the shrouded body. He pushed back the sheet and smiled at the sight, brushing her cold cheek with his hand, "Just like your mother," he cooed. McCoy and Kirk exchanged looks.
The man moved from her cheeks to her eyes, pushing an eyelid back. Bones was going to move forward but Jim held him back as the ambassador examined her eyes. Dark purple and bright lilac were swirling into the green, the man smiled, closed her eyes, and patted her head. The man stroked one lone finger across her neck from jaw to jaw, curving around the bone. The ambassador turned to the friends, "Good news," he smirked, "she's not dead."
-/Mayflies/-
It was silent before a gasp tore through the air, Kari's eyes fluttering open.
Author's Note: I'm sorry klycmep for annoying you with my tease chapter, but I'm thinking about extending the story a bit and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for following!
Also thank you guest for your support, along Aelius Kerr, buttonsXD, and dulceiita for favoriting my story.
Thanks!