Kari pulled the trigger. The impulse shot through her senses, traveling across her nerve endings and out of the back of her neck. A flash of light flared across her lids and the heat tore at insides of her mouth, one pulse, two pulse, three pulse and-
Kari felt every second. Kari felt every nerve fire and every tissue burn and she felt the blood gushing out her neck, felt the breath leaving her lungs, heart pumping overtime, trying to save her, trying to not die. Kari's mind was not blank and her life was not flashing across her eyes.
No, Kari's mind was stuck on one memory.
-/Mayflies/-
Kari sat alone in her bedroom late one night. She was supposed to be in bed by Kari's mind was too hyper, too alive to fall asleep. Kari's little fingers searched through her bedsheets until she found it. Pulling the stick out from under the sheet, Unwrapping the sheet of plastic enveloping the sphere, and plopping it into her mouth, Kari suckled lightly on the lollipop. Butterscotch.
Kari smiled, rolling it around her tongue, feeling the ridges and crevices catching on her sensitive tongue. She hummed with the constant beeps and heart monitors, breathing in the disinfectant of the floors, the cool temperature thrumming across her skin. Kari grinned, took another lick and searched around for a small book Mister Chekov and Sulu gave to her one night.
The little girl was happy and the woman was helplessly distracted as the weapon shattered her sentence, taking away her life. Except...
Kari was not dead.
-/Mayflies/-
Once the beam passed through the back of her throat at an upward trajectory, Kari was dead. Well Kari was dead and then she wasn't and now she's just in darkness. She's cognizant somewhat of what's happening around her, like the coolness of the tile and the warmth (now gone cold) of her own puddle of blood. She stays like this for hours in the silence until a scream pierced her eardrums.
And then it's this constant thrum of sound invading her senses, too loud to be ignored but to soft to be decipherable. She feels a wail pierce, it sounds familiar, and hands, hands shaking and covering her neck, moving her quickly and-was that her father's voice?-pleading for her to wake up. Kari struggles, willing her nerves and muscles, her conscious mind and her dormant body to work together, to get the air filling her lungs, to twitch and to spasm at their prods.
Soon enough her body was being lifted up and put on some sort of bed, pushed along the halls and then left alone, a sheet tickling her nose. Kari struggled to keep consciousness, to wake up, to live, but she couldn't…
The last thing she remembers in her drowsiness is hours later, a cool hand brushing her cheek.
-/Mayflies/-
Kari felt a touch, dragging across her throat, a warmth was to that feeling, seeping through her flesh, reminding her of something, something she had forgotten, the touch was familiar, the touch was life. It burned, scalding her neck with its intensity. The fire, well it spread, galloping across the burnt out nerves and connecting them with a bridge of flame and heat, wisps of smoke curling around her senses, dragging her mind to focus on everything at once. It curled at the bottom of her spine before it jumped, curling, entwining across the bone, spreading across the flesh of her back, ink searing across the skin, bright, hot-and the lights, the lights were coming into focus, breath sucked in, swirling clarity across her eyes, she could feel her pupils dilating, her ribs and bones working with muscles-spasms and jerks pushing across her body-and her lips parted, chapped and a dry gasp, exhaling, sharp and startling even though she felt it rise and build from the pit of her stomach and lungs.
Her eyes opened, eyelashes brushing, eyebrows curving to their own will, the sight was clearer though, intense and sharp, vibrant shades she never noticed before screaming at her now. She panted, fingers twitching by her sides, her bones cracking from stiffness, she breathed. She lived. Kari looked around herself and eyes met with three men.
She didn't know if she should cry in joy at seeing their faces, cower in fear of their anger, or wail at the failure of her suicide attempt-she didn't know. Her father answered for her when he took one look at her, pulled out his flask, and walked away, out of the room, leaving her behind. Her captain followed and then she was left alone with the third man. Kari could tell just by looking at him that this man was the one that brought her to life. A name sauntered across her mind, whispering in her ears.
"Hello Mr. Adar," she whispered, thoughts and memories not her own imbedding into her mind, knowledge she didn't know becoming known.
"Your Majesty," the man bowed. He smiled, "Would you like some help?"
"That would be most pleasant," she replied, nodding. Mr. Adar helped her sit up-it was not very hard-and he helped her out of the bed-it was not very hard-and he helped slip on some flats onto her feet-this was quite easy-and then they walked. Her legs weren't jello, no they felt stronger, and her body strutted forward with her escort. The man led her down a few rooms until they reached her old one, clatters of dropped objects following them behind. Kari entered her room and went for the bed, stripping as she went. Mr. Adar didn't look but Kari already knew that.
You are quite the woman, he spoke but his lips did not move.
Kari turned toward him, throwing her hair into a ponytail, Of course I am. How am I so calm?
I shared with you some of my emotions, calmness being one of them.
Kari nodded. She found an old shirt and some pants from her mother, never worn, and rolled the articles on. The green jeans and grey vneck fitted her form nicely and Kari smiled at the her mirror reflection.
It is weird to be a princess.
The man chuckled, You haven't even taken any of your duties, my liege, you wouldn't possibly know.
Good point. It was silent as Kari grabbed the few things she had before taking the man's arm once more and leaving her bedroom. Is the ship ready?
You do not wish to say goodbye to your 'family'? his eyebrow rose.
I do not wish to cause them any more harm, she sighed, I fear that my heart would surely break if they reacted like Bones did.
Mr. Adar nodded and they continued on their way.
-/Mayflies/-
"NYOTA!" Bones shouted, Jim following behind, worried. The woman in question on deck turned to the doctor, brow raising in question, "What do you know about the Ilnae people?"
The woman sighed, "Practically nothing, the Ilnae are very reserved and secretive of the their culture and biology, their society is undocumented."
"Did you know there princess was kidnapped?" Bones took a swig of his drink. She shook her head. "Did you know that they have purple eyes?" He didn't let her reply, "Did you know they age everyday? Did you know they lost their princess the same day Kari came aboard? Did you know Kari wasn't dead? Did you now-"
"She's alive?" Tears were in her eyes, shoulders trembling, the crew silent across the room. Bones took another swig, a watery grin stretching across his face as he smiled,
"Yeah she is."
Nyota made a noise, grabbed his hand, and they ran for it, the Medbay their destination, others following, fumbling behind.
-/Mayflies/-
"Yeah she is." Spock sucked in a breath. Yeah she is. Yeah she is. Yeah she is. Yeah she is.
Yeah she is. Yeah she is.
She was alive?
Yeah she is.
Spock walked fast, wanting to get to the once dead child. Alive. She's alive.
Yeah she is.
-/Mayflies/-
She wasn't where Bones had left her.
Jim smacked him upside the head, "I told you not to just leave her there!" Nyota Uhura's hands were on her hips, a scowl firmly presented to Leonard McCoy.
-/Mayflies/-
The ship wasn't the Enterprise but it was large enough for a few crew members to be on it. Each greeted her with a bow, a smile, and a "welcome back". Kari was assaulted with memories that aren't hers and more knowledge than she expected when she let her mind wander. The air lock closed behind them and soon enough they were given the clear to go.
The engines powered on.
-/Mayflies/-
Everyone sprinted when the sound for a leaving vessel dinged, the soft chime sharp in their ears. They ran, ran with all their skinny legs could but only to reach them in time to see them yards away, too far to be called back in.
A doctor kicked a wall, a lieutenant slammed her fists against a door, and a scientist with pointy ears slumped, shoulders drooping, stomach dropping. They gave up.
They gave up too soon.
Author's Note: Thanks guys! Thank you especially klycmep for your review, SailorSedna052 and Azure Mint for your favorites, and SailorSenda052 for following!
I really like writing this ^u^