Jim Kirk raced onto the bridge, just in time to hear Spock commanding "Raise shields". He turned to Spock. "Status!" he ordered.

From his position in the command chair Spock replied "Captain, a Rumulan Bird of Prey has decloked 17 seconds ago and is now heading at our direction, at an intercept course" Spock got up and Jim Kirk immediately took his place in the command chair.

The turbolift doors opened and deposited an annoyed Dr. McCoy. The doctor did not waste time and headed for the Captain's chair "Jim, what the hell's going on here?" he demanded.

"Not now bones!" The Captain said, his voice called for no arguments.

It was at that moment that Crane at the helm reported "five ships decloking!" fear ran through her voice. "Captain" she cried "We're surrounded!"

Leela couldn't wait in the briefing room any longer. The adrenaline built in her body to an almost intolerable level. The room had two doors. One of them lead in the direction of the bridge, but she knew that she could not enter the bridge during a crisis situation. The other lead to a corridor, but the crew were supposed to stay away from the corridors as much as possible during such situations, but she had enough of pacing the briefing room like a caged lion. Well, the corridor it is Maybe I'll get court-marshaled and that will get me off the ship, she thought as she went towards the door. Then the ship jostled, and she lost her balance and fell, her abdomen meeting with the back of one of the chairs. It was rather painful, but she wasn't badly hurt. As she was catching her breath, and trying to stand up, she was thrown off her feet as the ship received another blow. The shields must be weakening her mind registered, as she lay sprawled on the floor. Now I know why we aren't allowed to walk about the corridors during red alerts, she thought, and she got herself to a sitting position on the floor, huddling her knees close to her chest.

"UHURA!" Kirk yelled "I don't care how you do it, get me *somebody* to talk to, preferably these Romulans or Starfleet Command!" How did the Romulans manage to enter Federation Space without being detected, was all that he could think of. The Enterprise was capable of handling one or even two Romulan ships on her own, but five ships were too much even for the flagship of the Federation. Kirk had no illusions, and he did not feel like he wanted to end his or his crew's life on this exact time and day.

He heard a door opening, and turned around to see a rather haggard-looking ensign Gray stepping out of the briefing room. He was about to order her back into the briefing room when another tirade of photon torpedoes hit the Enterprise and he had to turn back to the center of attention.

McCoy noticed the stunned ensign standing by the briefing room door, and went to see if she was alright.

"Young lady, I don't think the Captain would approve of your standing here" he said gently, and held her hand in order to direct her back into the briefing room. He found himself nearly collapsing with the strong sense of fear that hit him when he touched the young woman. Instinctively he let her go, and the feeling eased. He looked up at the ensign's face and saw her wide-open black eyes, staring in horror at the front screen. Suddenly everything seemed to fall in place. Well, almost everything.

He thought how he would get the ensign off the bridge. He couldn't bring himself to touching her again, and it was the first time that he believed he understood Spock's reaction to the Human touch. Despite all that was happening around him, he couldn't help but grin: Well, that green-blooded Vulcan would have a field trip if he heard this! he mused, when he heard sniffing sounds.

Turning to face the ensign he saw that she was crying. She made no sound, but crystal-clear droplets clung to her cheeks. He felt a stab in the heart. "Ensign, what say we get out of this crummy hole?" he pointed in the direction of the bridge and smiled.

"I... I can't... I can't stay here!" she said quietly, but he noticed her gritting her teeth.

"C'mon" he prodded, when she did not move.

Suddenly, she turned to face him. He wanted to escape her look. He wanted to keep his eyes away from hers but he couldn't.

"Doctor, I can't hold this much longer" she wailed "I *have* to get out of here. *Please* help me" she begged, but her voice was very weak.

Tears were forming in McCoy's eyes.

"Ensign, I want to help you but you have to trust me and tell me what's wrong" he said.

The ship vaulted and Leela could hear Crane's distressed cry "Captain, we've lost Shields four and five"

"Compensate!" the Captain yelled and gave the order to perform another of his tricky maneuvers. He really needed Sulu on the bridge but with the ship beet up so hard he knew it would be hard for him to reach the bridge. The young ensign Crane was good, but he noticed her heightened level of stress and was wondering how much longer she could hold. It was strange how he could sit on the bridge, in the middle of an attack and take in every little detail that was going on around him. It seemed like his level of awareness heightened during such situations. He was aware of a discussion going on behind him between the doctor and Ensign Gray. Although he wanted them both off the bridge, he felt that maybe the good doctor might bring the young woman to her senses.

Another jolt brought him out of his reverie.

"Uhura, I *know* you're doing the best, but I *need* to get backup. Are there no starships in the immediate vicinity?"

The Lieutenant didn't turn to talk to him but yelled over the noise of crackling wires.

"Sir! I managed to contact the Potemkin before the Romulans jammed our frequencies. They will get here as soon as possible"

"Do you have any idea what it is that I feel?" Leela asked.

The doctor could not answer.

"Sir, everything I feel is just too strong!" she cried. "You know that I want to kill ensign Crane?" "We're friends for crying out loud!" "She's never done a thing to me, and now I can't stand the sight of her!".

McCoy stared at her, as she broke into tears. Poor girl, he thought. He wanted to hold her, and comfort her, but the memory of that strong emotion compelled him to stay back. "Ensign" he began gently "Why didn't you come and tell me that you had a problem?" he asked

"And tell you about my envy, my hate, my feelings of murder?" she laughed cynically. "Yeah, right. You would have dropped me at the first loony center you got to".

The doctor had to admit that she was right. "But ensign" he said "I gave you your last psyche evaluation a bit more than a month ago, and you passed with flying colours." McCoy stated.

"I know" she whispered. "I know, and that's why I am so worried"

McCoy looked into her deep black eyes "What's going on, ensign?" he asked, suspicion in his voice.

"If only I knew" she wept. "It's been going on like this for about two weeks now. At first I thought it was nothing more than a slight depression. You know, our missions haven't been too exciting lately, and these things can bring one down, or so I thought" McCoy could identify with that feeling. "But then I noticed that I was taking everything out of proportion. Everything that I thought I could handle like slight envious feelings, resent, fear - I am a very rational person doctor, and could always prevent myself from going overboard." She looked at his face and saw understanding. "Each one of us has these feelings from time to time, right?" "If I had presented such stronger tendencies you would have detected these in your bi-monthly evaluations, right?" McCoy nodded his assent. "Doctor, I can't control my feelings any longer! If I do not leave the Enterprise immediately, I might do something that every one of us will regret. You must understand this!"

At the sound of Leela's high tone the Captain turned "If you two wouldn't mind having this discussion off my bridge..." he pointed in the direction of the briefing room doors, then he noted McCoy's anxious look and stopped himself from saying anything further. What the hell is going on between those two? he wondered.

"Captain!" he heard Mr. Scott's voice from the comm.

"Yes Scotty" he answered, knowing exactly what the engineer was about to say.

"Captain, ye've got ta' get us outta' here. The shields won't hold on much longer"

Yes, it was exactly what he expected. Taking a deep breath, he jabbed the comm button "I know Mr. Scott, and if I *could*, I would be far away from here, but I am a little bit tied up at the moment" He heard silence in response.

"Scotty?"

"Aye Captain. I was hoping you wouldna' said this" he heard the worry in the engineer's voice.

"Scotty, so was I".

"Captain, I'll give you as much as she can, but ye've got ta' know, there's not much left for her ta' give".

"Mr. Sulu!, ummm sorry, Mr. Crane, prepare to fire phasers, wide beam" he said to the ensign sitting by the helm. There wasn't much else left up his sleeve. They managed to disable three of the Romulan ships, but most of them were still going on strong, having more reserved power between the five of them, than the outnumbered Enterprise. Uhura was relaying the damage reports which began to flow into the bridge. How much longer could the Enterprise last this attack? Suddenly he noticed that the Romulans hadn't been firing on the Enterprise for a number of minutes.

Just as he was about to point this out to his first officer, Uhura called out "Sir! we're being hailed!"

Kirk swiveled in his chair "On screen!" he commanded. He did expect to see a Romulan face, but the expression on the Romulan's face caught him by surprise. 'Sheer horror' was the first thought that popped in his mind. He looked at Spock who returned his gaze with a raised eyebrow My thoughts exactly, he thought.

McCoy peered at the screen. The Romulan's facial expression was the exact copy of that of the young ensign standing next to him. She's projecting her feelings on the Romulans, McCoy realized. "Of course" he said to no one in particular "They are more susceptible to such strong emotional projections, just like Spock" he figured. He glanced at Spock's direction, but the Vulcan seemed calm and relaxed, just like a Vulcan! an annoyed thought passed through his mind.

Now the whole scope of the ensign's ability was revealed to him. She can focus on a person or persons and only these people would be affected. If one could control such a talent, it could turn into a very valuable asset, and he began searching in his mind for ideas concerning the harnessing of such capabilities.

"Captain Kirk, if you wouldn't mind please, to get away from our ships as fast as possible" said a trembling Romulan commander.

Kirk wasn't quite sure what to make of this, but he decided to play along "Romulan Commander, I think I should request the same of you." his firm voice said.

"Would you be so kind as to not fire your weapons on us as we leave back for the Romulan Empire territory" the strange acting Romulan Commander said.

I should inform the Federation of your breaching of a treaty, Kirk wanted to say, but he did not want to push his luck. "This time, Romulan Commander, to show you that I do not hold a grudge, I will let your fleet of intruders leave Federation space unharmed."

The Romulan's eyes widened, he immediately shouted a command to one of his underlings, and then turned back to Kirk "Your graciousness will not be forgotten" and the screen blinked out of life.

"Sir, the Romulan ships are departing" informed Crane.

"Spock, did you just see what I saw?" said an astonished Kirk.

"Indeed" replied the Vulcan "Most peculiar".

"Well, Spock, if you were so smart you wouldn't have found this as peculiar as it was" a rough voice said from behind the two of them.

As they both turned Kirk said "Well Bones, would you mind shedding some light on the situation"

McCoy took the bait "Captain, may I present Ensign Leela Gray, our saviour" he pointed his chin in the ensign's direction.

For the first time since the crisis began Kirk took note of the frazzled state the ensign was in.

"We've met," the Captain said.

It was Spock who now spoke "Captain, if I may suggest, could we have this conversation in the briefing room".

Jim Kirk could not see any particular reason for this, and turned to Spock for an explanation, but McCoy put his hand on the Captain shoulder and held the Captain's gaze with his gray-blue eyes "Jim" he said gently "I agree with Spock".

The Captain's eyes widened "Well now, as it is an historical occasion, I shall indulge the two of you" he got up and pointed to the briefing room "Gentlemen, lady, if you please..." then turning back he ran his eyes over the crew he was leaving on the bridge. His eyes landed on ensign Crane "Mr. Crane, you have the conn," and he left the bridge knowing that he made somebody very happy today.

Epilogue

"Captain's Log. Stardate 4256.13"

"We are in orbit of the planet Vulcan, where we are leaving a member of our crew, Ensign Leela Gray. After the incident with the Romulans it was discovered that a latent gene in the ensign's body had caused her to develop deeper emotional sensations, with the ability to project these emotions on people who were more sensitive to such without being in physical contact with them. Also, a regular person without any telepathic capability would be able to sense the ensign's emotions when touching her.

As for myself, it seems that although I am a regular Human being, I was affected through the emotional link I share with my first officer, thus resulting in fatigue and a tendency for worry and guilt.

Due to the ensign's belief that her ability to keep those strong emotions of hers under control was weakening, Science Officer Spock suggested that she be taken to Vulcan where she would be taught methods to enable her to live with her new found talent. The ensign has agreed, and I am now awaiting the return of my first officer after he will take care of formal procedures.

It is my hope that in the future Ensign Leela Gray will return to the Enterprise with the ability to use her talent to the benefit of the Federation and all Humankind"

THE END

***(2016 hindsight... Yikes... I wrote a Mary Sue...)***