Okay, duckies, Chapter five. And yes, it has yet to be edited by no one but me. I'm waiting for my Beta to respond, but I'm an impatient bitch. . . sue me.

To Rachel: Watch season three already! And review.

Jim looked at the brown bag of rations, his stomach rumbling at the sight of it. It had been almost a month since their little discovery in the fields. Almost three weeks since they discovered that almost all the crops were infected. Eighteen days since rations were given out to the public and the colony was put into a state of emergency. And four days since Jim had begged his aunt to allow him to help look for a way to counter the fungus and try to save any crop that wasn't already turned into a husk. His aunt had refused and encouraged him to instead help scavenge the forest for food with the other children and elderly.

Jim's stomach rumbled again. Even though the rations provided all the nutrients and calories that he needed, it still left him feeling hungry. The rations themselves tasted like dry, stale bread, leaving a feeling of longing for even replicated food. He didn't dare complain though. Not like the younger children. The adults kept the situation somewhat a secret from the kids. Jim almost wished he was ignorant to the situation as well. He knew that food was running out faster than they planned. He wasn't sure exactly how quickly they were going through the supplies, but he could see the worry on the adults' faces.

He heard the automatic front door slide open, signaling his aunt's return. The beautiful woman he had come to know and love like a mother looked worn down and tired. She had lost too much weight over the month which worried him, and there seemed to be permanent dark circles under her eyes.

"Your ration's on the table." Jim mumbled, munching on the flat bread like substance, taking careful care not to let even a crumb drop.

"Don't worry about me Jim. I received my daily ration at the lab." Joanna smiled weakly, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

The teen stared at her intensely, but her soft smile never faded. With a brief look of longing directed at his food, he broke the ration in two, handing over the bigger piece to her.

"Jim, it's alright. You should eat it," she insisted, but her brown eyes betrayed her when they glanced at the food, causing her stomach to growl loudly. She blushed in embarrassment. "Really, I'm fine."

"I have a stomach ache," Jim muttered, placing the food onto the packaging and pushing it towards her. "We can't waste food, so you might as well take it."

Her eyes widened in surprise then glanced at the small portion in front of her, her eyes watering. "Thank you." She ate the piece quickly, not glancing at her nephew the entire time, guilt and shame shadowing her for giving in.

"So where's Robert? I haven't seen the jerk for a while." Jim meant to cheer her up. Robert was his aunt's fiancé for the past year. Overall he was a decent man. He worked for security. Jim always joked that he wasn't good enough for Joanna. She was a genius (must have run in the genes) and essentially he was just the muscle, but he was very sweet and made her happy, so Jim accepted him on the condition that he was allowed to torture the man in his own way. Jim was never too fond of father figures. After all, his own biological father died at his birth and his uncle, the only other male role model in his life was an abusive bastard, but Robert never once tried to pretend to be his father nor did he try to control him just because he was dating his aunt. In return Jim kept his pranks and bad behavior to a minimum, and the older man had taught him some fighting moves, much to his aunt's disapproval.

At the mention of Robert's name, Joanna seemed to shut down. Having finished her meager meal, she could only fold her hands and keep her gaze on the salt shaker on the table. "The governor called him and the other guards yesterday. About half of the colonists including us have been called to the recreation center today."

A bad feeling twisted in Jim's gut, but he only grinned. "Guess they're handing out the second round of rations. About fucking time."

There was worry in her expression when she looked at him. Her warm eyes clouded with something Jim could not guess. Before he could ask what was wrong, she stood up. "It's almost time for it to start. Let's go."

Jim nodded, cleaning up the wrapper and crumbs, disposing of them quickly. She watched him, keeping seated until the last minute.

Together they left their home. It wasn't a far trip. Their house was close to the center of the colony where the labs and recreational center was located. The rec center sometimes served as an emergency shelter and as well as a town hall if the situation called for it. It was also the place where they received their rations after a state of emergency had been issued.

Jim looked around, noticing looks of relief on the adults' face. He could not blame them if it turned out they were getting more rations or even a piece of good news. Maybe Starfleet got their distress call and were coming to their aid. The thought even brought a smile to his face despite his usually pessimistic attitude.

His smile faded when he walked into the gymnasium of the recreational center. The gym was bigger than the average sized gym on Terra. It was large enough to fit 500 people with a bit of elbow room to spare if the bleachers were pushed back into the wall. If the second floor that overlooked the basketball court was used as well, the number could easily double. It was the perfect place to take shelter. The center was equipped with medical equipment and cots stored in the basement, and the building itself was sturdy and built to take a lot of punishment.

Up until the moment the teen walked into the room, Jim always found the rec center a place of safety. He had taken shelter here once during a particularly bad snow storm. After the power was lost to his aunt's home and the window broke from the hail storm, both he and Joanna had spent a week huddled in this very gym, but now, something was making his hair stand on end. He noticed the guards standing on the second level, armed and looking over the railing at the colonists filing in. Other guards were blocking the exits on the main floor. No one around him seemed to notice except for Joanna who pulled him closer. Jim resisted the urge to push her away and quietly waited for the meeting to start.

The room went silent as the view screen lowered. It was then Jim noticed, when he tried to move to get a better look at the view screen, that there was way too many people crowded into the room. There had to be at least 600. That many people crowded together was never a good thing. Instinctively, Jim moved in front of Joanna to keep the jostling to a minimum as they were towards the back. They were only a few feet from the guard who blocked that entrance.

"Thank you all for answering your summons." The low booming voice reclaimed Jim's attention to the screen. A middle aged man with a receding hairline and an out of date goatee greeted them with a stern expression. Jim had never seen him before, but the voice was very familiar. "I am sure you are anxious to know the reason as to why you have been brought here. First I would like to thank all of you for your time and dedication to our cause. The countless sacrifices each of you had to make to make our dream a reality. For the past six years, you have toiled away, sharing joy, pain, failure, and success and supported each other to achieve our common goal."

Jim's eyebrows drew together in confusion. What the hell was this guy talking about? He didn't have time to question. Joanna grabbed his upper arm tightly, pulling him back towards the door. Her face was in pure panic. That alone was enough for Jim to hold in his questions for later and just follow. He pushed some people out of the way heading towards the door only to be stopped by the guard. It was then it dawned on the teen as to why the guards had seemed more menacing that day. Instead of holding a normal type 2 phaser pistol, they all were carrying heavy duty phaser rifles. He hesitated as the guard pointed it at them, telling them to step back.

"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures." Jim's attention was divided between the speech and the gun pointed at him. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut. This couldn't be going where he thought it was going. "Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society." Joanna didn't hesitate. While the gun was pointed at her nephew she shortened the distance between herself and the guard from feet to mere inches. The man turned to point the gun at her, but she was already too close. Using her left hand, she pushed the muzzle away from herself while simultaneously stepping into the man's personal space with her right foot. With her left foot she brought it up only to slam her heel down onto the man's right knee with all her might while her right hand hit his windpipe with deadly accuracy.

Jim watched in a stunned silence as he watched the woman take out the burly man in only two seconds. "Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony." None of the other colonists had paid attention to the swift attack. Their attention on the screen as realization was dawning to the rest of the colonists. Panic started to fill the room.

Joanna reached forward to grab the key card to unlock the door they had came through, but the man wasn't having it. He grabbed her arm, and aimed the rifle at her head. The sound of the phaser went off.

Jim watched in horror as the guard fell and his aunt stood over him with both the key card and phaser pistol she had retrieved from the man's belt. He was too stunned to move, his eyes wide. This wasn't happening. "Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death." She grabbed his hand and yanked him forward. "Your execution i s so ordered," Jim faintly heard the guards lift their weapons. "Signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV. " Jim had just gone through the opened door when he heard the first shots go off.

Jim took a seat on a fallen tree, sighing. Their two captives were seated on the soft forest ground in front of him, the woman holding the young boy in her arms. Spock stood beside Jim, phaser still pointed at them. They had decided to take this discussion to the outskirts of the colony.

"Andrea," the child whispered unaware that both Spock and Jim could hear him. "I'm scared."

The woman didn't answer him, but her thin arms wrapped around his small frame tightly, offering him silent comfort.

Jim watched them for a moment. "Spock," he said quietly, placing his hand briefly on his first officer's elbow. "Lower the phaser. They're no longer a threat the way they are now."

Spock hesitated. Jim could practically see the wheels turning in his head on whether he should argue the matter with him or not. Slowly, the Vulcan lowered the weapon, but his eyes were still focused on the woman. "How is your head, Captain?"

"Got one hell of a headache, and I'm a bit dizzy, but I should live." Jim didn't dare say more. He didn't mention that his vision blurred when he moved too fast or that he was finding it difficult to walk in a straight line. He was well aware he had a concussion. Even so, he would manage the trek back to their camp with it on his own. He had learned at a young age how to push himself and ignore the pain. The experience had kept him alive until now. It did not mean that Spock needed to know though. He needed the Vulcan to stay focused instead of worrying about him. Not that Spock would ever admit that he was worried since that would be admitting that he had human emotions.

A brief memory of Spock on his knees with his hand pressed against the glass and a tear rolling down his face crossed his thoughts. No, he wouldn't worry Spock over something so trivial. There was nothing that could be done about his present condition, so there was no point in bringing it up.

Kirk closed his eyes as the sun emerged from behind the clouds, turning his headache into a migraine. He could only grind his teeth and resist the urge to use one of the hypos they had found. "Alright," he began in a soft voice as to not scare the survivors but still firm enough to let them know he wasn't a push over. "I am Captain Kirk, and this is my first officer, Commander Spock. I am going to pretend you did not attempt to kill or assault Starfleet officers and start with a clean slate." He gave them an easy grin. "What are your names?"

The woman eyed him with mistrustful eyes. The young boy on the other hand scrambled out of her lap to look at Jim with wide eyes. "Are you really from Starfleet? Did you come to save us?" At Jim's nod, a large smile crossed the boys face. "See that? I told you they'd come!" he said to the woman who only closed her eyes briefly and nodded in response.

"My name's Lucius, but I like being called Luca more. That's Andrea."

"Luca, you talk too much," The woman spoke for the first time since the pharmacy in a stern voice.

At the woman's words, Luca's suddenly bright and joyous personality faded, reigning in his emotions.

"Look, you can say you're with Starfleet all you want, but I'm calling bullshit on both of you. I'll give it to you that I've never seen you at the colony before, but you were scavenging just like us. That either means you aren't with Starfleet or that something happened in which you need more supplies. Either way, you can't help us." Andrea's voice was cold and her eyes piercing and ruthless. They would have to be careful around her. Jim recognized those eyes all too well.

Jim decided to settle looking at Spock who had yet to say a word. "What do you think Spock?

"I recommend that we escort them back to our camp, Captain. If we release them, there is a high possibility that they will attack and steal from others."

Kirk nodded absentmindedly, regretting it instantly when his head began to pound. "I agree," He ground out through gritted teeth. The action drew Spock's attention for a moment then went back to watching the duo. "Before we do all that, mind telling us what happened on this planet?"

Spock and Jim waited patiently while Andrea thought it over. "If you share some of your food, I will tell you what I can."

"Done," he didn't even hesitate to agree. "But we'd still like you to accompany us back to our camp. You have our word that you will be sa─"

"You're word means nothing." She spat. "Not here, but I will go with you for the food."

Kirk sighed, rubbing his temples absent mindedly to try to ease his migraine. "Start your story wherever you like."

The woman was quiet for some time, and Jim couldn't say he wasn't grateful for the moment of silence. Now if he could just somehow turn off the sun. The light was killing him.

"It started two months ago. The transport ship had brought supplies and a 100 more colonists to the colony." The woman sighed, running fingers through her matted hair until her fingers got caught. She grimaced, removing her hand and placing it on her leg. "Something wasn't right. No one ever beamed down to ask how the experiments were going or how the colony in itself was doing. It never seemed weird to me at the time. I had some experiments in some pretty crucial stages. A week later we found half the crops infected with a strain of fungus we had never seen before. Soon after that, we found out any ration exposed to the air for a given amount of time would get infected as well. We lost a lot of food because of that."

The kid curled up during her tale, resting his head on his knees. She rubbed his back. "The colonist turned onto the natives first. Fear is a funny emotion, can cause paranoia if it gets out of control." She laughed humorlessly. "They came up with the craziest idea that they had something to do with it." Her laugh turned into a bitter smile. "And I was one of them. I'll be surprised if any of the natives are still alive.

"Of course, as it turned out, they were worse off than we were. No food there. In fact, it only made our situation worse. The natives may not have been as technologically advanced as we were, but they did manage to destroy any available food and resource they had before we killed them."

"May I inquire as to why the replicators were not an option to acquire more food?" Spock asked. He chanced a glance at Jim. He had been unnaturally quiet the entire time.

"Don't you think we could have done that if we could have?" Was the snapped reply. "An ion storm by the planet 2 weeks before the transport ship arrived. While it only interfered with some equipment, it acted like an electromagnetic pulse to very simple electronics. Namely, simple communicators and basic replicators. Without parts to replace the ones that got fried they were useless."

"After attacking the natives, the colonist turned on each other. After that, well, look around. Not much left."

Jim stayed quiet. When Spock looked at him again, he looked like he had completely shut down, unaware of his surroundings and locked inside his own thoughts. "Captain, we should get moving if we wish to arrive before sundown and before Doctor McCoy sends either the Lieutenant or himself to search for us."

The blond man didn't show any signs of hearing him. After a moment, he stood up and started to head the direction they came. Spock urged the survivors forward, waiting for them to follow after Jim, letting him take the rear. He didn't show it of course, but the Vulcan was quite worried about the sudden quiet and subdued behavior of his Captain. He was under no illusion that Jim was most likely suffering from a migraine by the way Jim occasionally rubbed his temples with pain in the corners of his eyes. He could only hypothesize what Jim wasn't showing the extent of the actual damage he had taken before he had restrained the woman. That was why Spock divided his attention to both Jim and the woman as they made their long trek back to the camp.

The temperature was dropping quickly as the day wore on, making way for night. Jim gave his yellow command shirt to the kid the moment the young boy started to shiver and the tips of his small round ears turned bright red from the cold. The child smiled shyly when he took the shirt and Jim grinned back ruffling the kid's brown locks, but it did not reach his eyes, still emotionally closed off to the world. When his blue eyes turned to Spock, he frowned. Spock had put back on his blue shirt, though it was still damp, and while he was not shivering, his cheeks and ears were tinged green and his body was unnatural stiff.

Jim took off his black shirt, exposing his skin to the cool wind. Even with the fading sunlight, Spock could see the dark discoloration of the skin where he had been struck by the metal pipe earlier that day and the faint scars that the spear and phaser had left only four days prior. Without any hesitation, though goosebumps were already beginning to show on his arms, Jim extended the thermal shirt to Spock. "Take it."

"I am well, Jim," he said quietly. He glanced at Andrea and Luca. "You need to stay warm as well."

"Spock," Jim said gently, and for a moment, he sounded small and insecure. When he spoke again, the vulnerability was gone, but he also seemed to have closed off again. He took Spock's hand, ignoring the small tingling that shot through his fingers as he did so, and put the shirt in his hand. "Take the shirt. Keep warm."

Slender finger tips curled around the fabric, taking in the warmth that still lingered. "Thank you, Jim." Spock handed the phaser to Jim, so he could put on the additional layer. Jim took the lead once again after Spock had settled and taken the phaser back.

They weren't surprised to see McCoy passing outside the stone formations, muttering to himself until he saw their approach. Neither senior officer had a chance to even open their mouths to call out before their ears were assaulted with a loud southern accent. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR SHOULDER! I JUST HAD THAT PATCHED UP BEFORE WE LEFT THE GODDAMNED SHIP!" Jim winced at the volume of the voice. Apparently, his migraine had not decided to leave during their three and a half hour journey back. "And what the hell happened to your shirt this time?"

"Perhaps this conversation can wait until the survivors have warmed themselves around the fire and receive nourishment, Doctor."

McCoy looked at Spock before his eyes settled on the two new comers. "Well don't just stand there you irritating hobgoblin, get them around the fire and give them some rations. And you!" McCoy looked at Jim pointedly. "Get one of the spare blankets and warm up before you catch hypothermia. I'll see what I can do about that damn shoulder."

"Attend to the survivors first. Spock will tell you about the trip while you're doing that." Jim leaned against one of the large red rocks. Strangely, the rocks felt warm against the skin of his back, and he couldn't stop a sigh from escaping.

"The moment I'm finished with them, I'll be back to fix you up." McCoy had lost the anger in his voice seeing Jim's distress. "Make sure you get something to eat before then, alright Jimbo?"

A groan escaped him. "Please don't call me that. It makes you sound like your 50."

"I can call you whatever I like. I'm the one keeping you alive." The older man smirked, before making his way back to the center of the rock formation.

Jim waited outside, staring up at the darkening sky. Even with the unfamiliar constellations, it put him at ease. The feeling was similar to whenever he was a child and had escaped onto the barn roof to stare at the stars. No matter the problem, it would just melt away when he would look at them. Even living his life among them on the Enterprise had done nothing to lose their appeal to him. In fact, he was sure they had become more mysterious, more magical than they were back then. He lowered himself down to the ground.

He must have zoned out, because he was greeted with McCoy's worried face and a flashlight shining in his eyes. "Shit," Jim muttered, waving his arms lazily, trying to swat McCoy's hand away.

"Dammit Jim, why didn't you tell me you have a head injury?"

Jim just slurred something in response.

"You have a concussion, Jim. Hey, look at me, Kid." McCoy tilted his head up. "Have you been feeling nauseous? Any vomiting? Dizziness?"

"Nausea . Migraine. Just need some rest." His words slurred a bit, but this time his eyes focused on his friend. "This isn't the first time I've had a concussion Bones. I'll survive."

"I'm more than aware of that." Jim could vaguely feel McCoy's hands feel for the bump on his head. "Spock told me what that woman Andrea told you. Now, I'm going to ask how you're feeling, and you're going to answer honestly, not give me a smart ass remark, or any other behavior that's going to make me regret asking."

Jim shrugged.

"Jim." The doctor said in a heavy southern drawl.

"I'm trying not to think about it honestly." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Truth is, I stopped thinking about it when Andrea started talking about it. If I did . . ." He opened his eyes to mere slits. "I can't lose it Bones. I almost had a fucking panic attack the moment I saw . . . it. I can't afford to be weak like that. I'm captain. I have to be strong for the others."

"Well that might be all well and good for a short term solution, but it won't change the situation we got ourselves in. Knowing our luck, it is what you think it is, and you're going to have to tell them what you know." McCoy's eyes softened. "At the very least tell Sp─"

"No," Jim interrupted.

"For god's sake Jim, he needs to know. I can't be there the entire time, and Spock needs a head's up so he can make sure you stay sane enough to get us out of this mess."

"No," the captain repeated more stubbornly, closing his eyes once more.

"No, don't you dare fall asleep out here to avoid the conversation." It was too late. Jim's breathing had evened out, his head falling to the side just slightly. "Son of a bitch. Does he think I'm a Vulcan or somethin'? How the hell am I supposed to move his stubborn ass?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance Doctor McCoy?" the doctor jumped, whirling his head around to see Spock emerging from the rocks. He held Jim's thermal shirt in his hand.

"Jesus Spock." A scowl crossed McCoy's lips as his hand rested on his chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I just came to inform you that Ensign Pennington has regained consciousness. I thought I should inform you." Even off the ship, the Vulcan kept perfect posture with his hands placed behind his back. "If I may inquire, how is the captain?" Spock kept his face perfectly blank. More blank than usual which only gave Spock's true feelings away. The more stoic the face, the more worried Spock was. It didn't seem that the Vulcan had quite figured out that tell however. Jim had told the good doctor this tell before in the past. Even knowing that, it was still hard for him to see past the surface. It just wasn't natural to keep your emotions locked up.

"The idiot is suffering from a concussion. All I can do is give him some painkillers and keep an eye on him while he rests. Of course he had to fall asleep out here instead of next to a warm fire because why not try to get hypothermia while he's at it." The irritation was quite obvious in McCoy's voice, but it was underlined with worry on whether or not Jim had fallen asleep or had fallen unconscious.

"Do not worry, Doctor. I will bring Jim to the fire to get warm while you proceed to check over the Ensign." Spock said it casually, but the other party wasn't fooled in the slightest.

The doctor's eyebrow arched in amusement. "Sure I'll head on back." He stood up, stretching a bit. As he passed Spock, he placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "

"Don't do anything Jim would do." Before Spock could question the doctor to clarify, McCoy had already slipped back into their shelter.

Spock turned to the sleeping human, watching him for a few seconds. Slowly, he made his way over to him, kneeling once he got to his side, he fortified his mental shields for what he was about to do. Carefully, the Vulcan slipped his hand behind the sleeping man's naked back, leaning him forward so that he could be dressed. Even after being exposed to the wind, Jim's skin was still warm to the touch.

It was easier to focus without the exposed skin to distract him, and Spock took that brief second to analyze him. All day, Jim had been on edge, withdrawing inside himself, and keeping his secrets close to his heart. His face had been pinched in pain and his body guarded. In sleep, Jim finally looked like he was truly resting. Though there was still lingering signs of pain, his face was relaxed and seemed to give off a small glow from the moonlight, making his blond hair all the brighter as if it was a halo.

Perhaps because of his lack of meditations or perhaps because he found he truly did not care at that moment, he gave into his impulses. In the back of his mind, he knew how unseemly it was to do so, that his grandmother and father would look at him disapprovingly if they were to ever find out, but the thought did not stop him as it had done in the past. Spock lifted two fingers, his forefinger and his middle finger of his right hand, and touched them to Jim's temple and let them slide down to the sleeping man's jaw.

Even with strengthened shields, he could feel Jim's mind, his soul, reacting under his fingertips, calling out to him. And he could feel his katra pleasantly sighing in response. "Ashaya," he whispered. "Taluhk nash-veh k'dular." His fingers lingered on his jaw before he moved them to brush the back of the warm tan hand. "Ki'ri don nash-veh, hi sanu kaltor nash-veh k'tu kup-hafau."

Spock allowed the contact to remain for a while longer until he lifted Jim into his arms and head back to the camp.

Ashaya- term of endearment

Taluhk nash-veh k'dular- I cherish thee.

Ki'ri don nash-veh, hi sanu kaltor nash-veh k'tu kup-hafau- I have no worth, but please allow me to remain with you.

It took me an hour and a half to come up with that last sentence using available words from the Vulcan Dictionary. What I really wanted to say was Please allow me to remain by your side, though I have no worth. I couldn't find a though. It also took me some time so I can somewhat try to get the syntax right. I am well aware I probably butchered that attempt. Oh well.

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