Gomen! I didn't mean to take so long. I had some serious problems writing parts I didn't want to write and trouble writing things a certain way. Please forgive me. I also have three other stories going. Hopefully I'll finish one of them soon. Until then, read Plugged In.
To Rachel: As your old babysitter, I have to say I'm slightly uncomfortable with you reading this chapter. . . Don't judge me. Naomi does that already. Read at your own risk and comment. I like your reviews. ^.^
"Lieutenant Commander Scott, we have the damage report." Scotty nodded absent mindedly, grabbing the PADD with his teeth while he tried to fix a coolant leak near the warp core. For the past 24 hours, the entire engineering department had been, and still was, working nonstop trying to patch the ship together. The Scott put his tools down on the tray beside him and removed the PADD looking over what had been fixed, what needed his attention, and what would be impossible to fix without going to a Starbase.
He cursed under his breath. While there had been some casualties, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but the damage was still extensive to the outer hull.
He almost growled when his communicator chirped. With a tired rub of his eyes, he answered. "Scott 'ere."
"Hey Scotty, it's Sulu. Starfleet headquarters finally got back to us. They are waiting for you in the ready room. Do you want me to come join you?" Sulu sounded tired, even to Scotty and he was working at half capacity at this point. It was no surprise. Barely anyone on the ship has slept in during the past 24 hours, and only now were people getting breaks for short naps and food.
"Nah, it's okay lad. Keep watching over the bridge fer me and keep me posted."
"Will do, sir. Sulu out."
Scotty closed his communicator and looked through the contents on his PADD again, trying to plan out how he was going to describe what had happened 10 hours after the captain's shuttle had landed. He wasn't so sure what happened himself. It had been so fast.
He entered the conference room; the admiral was already up on screen. "Admiral Barnett. It is good to hear from ya, sir."
"Lieutenant Commander Scott. I have read your report, and I am finding the contents to be very disheartening. Do you mind saying what happened in your own words?"
"Aye sir. Twelve hours after the captain and Commander Spock departed for the planet, an unidentified ship dropped out of warp about two kilometers away from the planet. The ship possessed advanced weaponry, efficiently blocking our communications. She was a lovely piece of work I got to say Admiral. If I could get my hands on her," Scotty chuckled, "well that would be a night to remember. Taking her apart piece by pi─"
"Yes, Mr. Scott, I am well aware of your love affairs with engineering, but please stay on topic. Your two commanding officers and chief medical officer are currently left on a most likely hostile planet." The admiral rubbed his temples, clearly already worn out from this discussion.
"Aye, my apologies admiral. We tried to establish contact, but it wouldn't respond, then it opened fired. One shot completely disabled shields and tore through the hull of decks five through nine. I made the decision right then to withdrawal. I gave Sulu the bridge, and made my way to engineering to help repair the damages."
"And the damage report?"
"It's not looking too good Admiral. We're a sitting duck, and we need parts. I can get 'er to limp back to the nearest space dock, but we are in no condition to fight let alone defend ourselves."
"Understood, Lieutenant Commander Scott. Keep going with repairs. The nearest available Starship is a week away at their fastest speed. It's already en route; just hold on until assistance arrives."
"We'll definitely do our best sir. Now if you would excuse me Admiral, I got to get back to engineering before one of the lads downstairs, accidentally make a crack in the matter/anti-matter chamber and ─" Scotty was interrupted by the ship shaking, jarring him to the right, almost falling over. "Sorry admiral, looks like I'm needed in engineering."
Barnett nodded dismissing him, and the line disconnected. Now he had to find the idiot who was trying to blow up his precious lady.
How is he Doctor? The voice pulled him out of the darkness. Out of the nightmares.
He should be coming around soon. Be patient, Spock. He just suffered from a severe head injury.
I recall you saying that he would be "fine".
And he will be, but let him rest while he can. It's bad enough I can't give him anything for the headache he's going to wake up with. Jim could feel the headache they were speaking of. His head felt like it was going to split open, but he didn't have the energy to speak up or fully wake up to do anything about it. He was stuck between waking and suffering though his nightmares. He wasn't sure what was worse, the nightmares or reality.
Spock! What are in blue blazes do you think you're doing?! The voice whispered sharply.
A cool hand pressed against his heated flesh. He is suffering a migraine as well as nightmares, the voice replied.
The pain in his head and the echoes of the nightmares faded to the recesses of his mind. Something warm took its place. It was comforting and familiar and he clutched onto it as tight as he could. Sleep Jim. The voice sounded like a soft whisper inside his head. It soothed him, lulling him back into unconsciousness.
Jim awoke with a start, sweating and panting. He didn't wake from a nightmare, but from the sudden movement nearby. It took him a moment to realize it had been Spock moving by the fire, stoking it to keep it from going out.
"I apologize, Jim. I did not mean to wake you," Spock said softly, keeping his voice down. It was still dark and it seemed that everyone was asleep.
Vaguely aware that he was still panting and looking around wildly, Jim took a deep breath, wiping his face tiredly with his hand. "It's alright Spock. How long was I out?"
"26.48 hours, Captain."
So he had slept for an entire day. That wasn't very encouraging to their moral. Watching the shadows of the flames dance on the rock walls, his headache returned. Jim closed his eyes, in a futile attempt to put the pain at bay. "We need to move as soon as the sun comes up. It's not safe here."
"Captain . . . Jim, I would suggest waiting for one more day before relocating. The ensign and yourself are still far from optimal health. Further strain at this moment can worsen your condi─"
"You don't understand," Jim hissed. This caused Spock to raise both eyebrows marginally in surprise at the outburst. Glancing around to make sure the others were asleep, he looked back at Spock. "We can't stay put. It's too dangerous. If anyone saw us crash, they will be looking for us, and we already know they are hostile. We need to regroup with the Enterprise."
"We have not been able to clear the interference or return to the shuttle and return to the Enterprise to report our progress. As it has now been over 72 hours, a search party will be taking a shuttle to search for the landing party or the Enterprise will regroup with Starfleet Command. To continue moving away from the crash zone will decrease the chances of the search party finding our current location by a significant amount."
"No percentage Spock?"
"Would you take the percentage into account when reconsidering your decision?"
Jim smiled. "Probably not."
"Then I do not see the purpose of stating facts that you will blatantly ignore," Spock said easily, keeping his focus on putting wood on the fire.
"I'm serious though Spock. We need to keep moving. Staying here is too risky."
Spock looked up from the fire, the shadows from the flames made Spock's features sharper as his dark gaze turned to Jim. "What do you not wish to tell me Jim?"
Kirk decided the fire was much easier to look at. "I thought we made a deal. I'll tell you when I'm ready." It came out harsher than he meant it to, but he didn't say more to cover the mistake. He glanced up at Spock only to see a brief flash of emotion in his eyes that he didn't quite catch before Spock returned his attention to the fire.
"You should rest while you can, Captain. I will wake you before dawn, so that we may further discuss our next action."
The human's eyes were already trying to drift shut when a thought crossed his mind. "When was the last time you slept Spock?"
"I have received an adequate amount of rest to continue keeping watch."
Exhaustion had Jim lying back down into his makeshift bed, his eyes finally giving into the pull. "Liar," he murmured, falling into unconsciousness once again.
Dammit. Why was it so cold? Jim shivered, pulling his jacket around him tighter. It was spring, yet there was a cold front coming through, dropping the temperature to almost freezing at night. Though it was not uncommon during this time to occasionally have freezing weather at night, there had always been heating in the house. Now, they didn't even have that luxury. Two weeks on the run: never having a full night's rest, never staying put longer than a day.
The worst part was that they could not start a fire or turn on the heater or else they would be found. All Joanna and he could do was huddle together at night under a thick blanket, praying no one would find them while they slept.
"Here Jim, eat something." Joanna placed a small apple in his hand, salvaged from an uncontaminated tree they had passed by earlier that day.
Jim's hands were numb with cold and his stomach twisted unpleasantly at the sight of food to the point he felt nauseous. "I'm not hungry," he murmured, trying to give it back to her.
"Try to eat something Jim. Anything. You'll need it to keep up your strength."
Jim just shook his head, closing his eyes.
The woman looked at him with concern, taking his hands and doing the best she could to warm him up. "I know it's hard," she whispered, "but you need to eat. You're just so hungry right now, you don't feel it anymore is all." She tried to give him a smile. "You'll get sick if you don't try to eat something. If you get sick, how are you supposed to protect me?"
It got his attention at least, opening his eyes to stare at the woman before him. That was right. He had promised to protect her no matter what a year ago. He was the man in the family. It was his job.
He took the apple, eating it as slowly as he could to at least trick his body into feeling full. The sweet meat of the apple was overwhelming to his taste buds, almost making him gag. Theoretically, he knew it wasn't the apple that was too sweet, but that he hadn't eaten anything with taste in over a month and a half, and it was almost enough to make him throw the apple away without finishing it.
It took him ten minutes to finish his small meal. His aunt was still watching over him with worry in her eyes. He must be getting sick, that was probably why he felt so sluggish and weak.
He didn't know when he fell asleep, only that he was shaken awake sometime later after the sun went down. "Huh, wha─?"
"Get under the floor boards." Joanna hissed, already pulling up the secret compartment they had stumbled upon in their search of the house.
The small hiding spot could only fit one, and she shoved Jim into it before he could protest or suggest running. She shut the door just in time for the front door to open. There wasn't much light, but Jim could see through the false floorboards. It seemed to be a one way window, disguised as floor on one side but able to see out on the other.
His aunt had already picked up the phaser, waiting for the intruders to come around the corner. She couldn't see the guard coming up behind her, and neither could Jim until it was too late. She was struck hard from behind. The attack stunned her, causing her to drop the phaser and fall to the ground unmoving.
"Looky what I found boys. Isn't she a looker?" The guard who had knocked out Joanna was a beefy one, tall with enough muscle to be considered a body builder. His tight shave made him look bald, and his grin was disgusting combined with the way he stared at the unconscious woman.
"Really you're going to do it here? It's freezing." Another guard, one he couldn't see, spoke up.
"You're more than welcome to join me," the beefy one said with amusement in his voice. He knelt beside the woman, lifting her chin so he could see her face.
"Maybe later," the other guard said. Jim watched in horror as the guard started to strip her.
He was a moment away from drawing attention to himself when her eyes open, staring straight at him, knowing he was watching, knowing what he was going to do. She shook her head just barely, enough that Jim knew she was telling him to stay quiet, then she mouthed for him to close his eyes.
The guard noticed the movement as well, and she tried to defend herself as she grabbed for the phaser that she had dropped, but the guard that Jim couldn't quite see, stepped on her hand with his heavy combat boots, crushing her fingers. She muffled her cry of pain by biting her lip, but her eyes shone with tears from it.
"She still has fight in her," the beefy guard laughed pinning her down. "I like that."
"You would," the other muttered.
"Get off me bastard," even laced with pain, her voice came out strong hiding any fear or panic she might have felt, denying them the satisfaction.
"You better watch how you're talking to me. I might not be so gentle with you if you piss me off." The guard was still on top of her, pinning her with his body weight. His hands snaked down her back, pulling at her bra strap.
Joanna glanced at Jim's hiding spot, warning him not to come out no matter what before she fought. The moment he shifted his body weight to rid her of her pants, she gutted his stomach with her elbow, allowing him to pull back enough to hit his windpipe.
She might have escaped if it was only the one guard, but there was another, and he had a phaser. Jim could do nothing as she was stunned and she fell into a heap on the floor. The beefy guard had recuperated from her attack and his eyes were dark with anger. He struck her face hard, and anger bubbled in Jim's chest then horror as the man began to strangle her.
"You will behave bitch," he growled out."I'll fuck you so hard you won't be able to move, and I'll have you begging and sobbing for me to take your fucking cunt over and over again by the time I'm finished." He loosened his grip enough for her to breath for a moment then tightened it again.
When he had enough of that he flipped her over, ripping off her clothes in the process as she shook and coughed, gasping for air. He struck her again for no good reason. Her skin was already bruising from the previous strike.
After that, Jim could not look anymore. The moment he watched the guard pull down his own trousers, it became too much. If he continued to watch, he would not be able to stop himself from going out there to try to stop it. There was nothing he could do. He would just get both of them killed if he did. He knew that, but it didn't stop the bile that forced its way up his throat. He could not drown out the sound of skin slapping skin even when he covered his ears, and he could not stop his heart from breaking when he heard her cry out in pain and sobbing some time later. He knew she stayed as quiet as she could for his sake, but she was finally wearing down. He didn't know how long he had been in that small hiding spot when she had. Probably a few hours, given that sun was streaming into the room by that time.
His arms and legs were cramping from staying in the same position for so long, yet he couldn't bring himself to even try to stretch. Her screams made him tense as did her cries of pain when they beat her, and he didn't look up the entire time, cursing himself at his weakness. He couldn't do a goddamned thing to help her. The guilt wrapped around his entire being, drowning him, suffocating him, taking root deep within him. Worse yet, she did not once beg or plead for them to stop. Even with dignity stripped from her, she held onto her pride.
"Hey, you two are you done yet?" Jim hadn't heard anyone else enter the house, but he had recognized the voice it belonged to.
"Almost, Robert. Have one last thing to do." Jim looked up for the first time since it had all started; wanting to see if it was really Joanna's Robert he had heard. He wished he hadn't. God, he wished he hadn't.
Her bruised and cut face looked back at him. Her green eyes met his, red from crying, pained, and empty. As if sensing he was looking at her, she gave him a soft smile, her eyes warming just slightly. "I love you," she whispered. Then it all disappeared. A phaser went off, piercing through the back of her head, searing its way through to the front.
Jim's eyes were wide. He stopped breathing. He could only stare at the perfect hole between her eyes. There was no blood or brain matter, just the hole since the wound cauterized from the heat of the phaser shot. He could literally see to the other side. Her head fell against the door, filling Jim's gaze with her expressionless face.
Jim was panting now and he couldn't stop the bile that rushed up. He caught it in his shirt, so that the sound of the splatter wouldn't alert the others to his presence and he fought the instinctive cough afterwards only to be rewarded with another wave of nausea and vomiting.
"All done," the guard said nonchalantly. Jim barely heard the zipper go up on the man's trousers and he had to fight yet another wave of nausea. He was successful this time.
"You're such a kill joy Robert. I didn't even get my second turn with her," said the other guard Jim had yet to see.
There was silence for a moment, then a weary sigh."That was my fiancé you ass."
"Oops," the beefy guard said, not sounding apologetic at all. There was more silence before he spoke again. "Don't give me that look. If you wanted her, you should have asked Kodos to spare her from the execution list."
"I tried," Robert's tenor voice said. "Let's get out of here. We have orders."
Jim listened to their heavy footfalls head towards the door. The door opened with a whoosh then closed behind them. An hour or two passed before he even attempted to move. There was barely enough room to crouch let alone stand, but he needed the leverage to push Joanna off the door. The air in the small area had quickly gone pungent from the acidity of his throw up. It was hard to breathe it in yet it barely registered in his mind growing accustomed to the odor as he waited.
It took about a minute of repeated pounding with his shoulder against the hatch to get her to roll off. He climbed out and stared at Joanna's naked body. A flood of emotions swam through them and it was overwhelming. His legs gave out from under him, his back hitting the wall, sliding down to the floor with tears in his eyes. The one person who had ever truly loved him was gone.
Unable to do anything else, he cried. Cried for his weakness, his cowardice, his anger, and feelings of betrayal. He cried until there was nothing left but an empty shell void of emotions. He sat on the cold floor, staring at the body. He no longer felt cold.
As the sun became high in the sky, he moved to get the phaser that his aunt had been using until the guard had knocked it under a table and forgotten about it. He latched it to his belt as if it had always belonged there. Their partially eaten dinner that had been knocked to the floor and trampled upon was covered in dirt. He stared at it. Kneeling down beside it, he picked it up off the floor, shoving it in his mouth quickly and devouring it. Vaguely he remembered it should have had tasted horrible and he should have been disgusted, but he didn't care to register what it was he put in his mouth. He needed food to keep his strength up. He couldn't afford to not have the energy. Whatever illness he was getting before would have to be pushed back, ignored until he got out of this hell hole. He glanced at the corpse. Joanna gave up herself so he could live. He wouldn't throw it away.
With that thought in mind, he moved on autopilot. Going through the motions of packing up whatever the guards had left, cleaning up his presence, but leaving hers. There would be no burial. Her body would stay where the fungus could take root. He couldn't afford the time and he couldn't give away that he was in the area even by leaving an unmarked grave.
He took off his shirt and put on his aunt's discarded one on instead until he could wash his. It was a bit tight, and the sleeves stopped two inches above his wrists, but it was better than nothing.
He left the house and left with his backpack and a few things from his aunt's. The extra food had been taken, but the water and some medical supplies were still there. Not a surprise since the security team under Kodos had access to the clinic and other supplies directly.
Leaving the settlement was easy enough. Most the guards had left, leaving only a few behind. He covered his tracks, and slipped into the dark woods navigating through them. As he did all this, he thought of nothing. Felt nothing. His body moved as it had been doing for the past two weeks. A different type of cold had taken hold on him.
When the sun fell, he kept moving instead of making camp. He should have stopped. Shelter was important, but luckily it was a warm night. The cool wind only caused minor discomfort, so he kept pushing. The moon rose in the sky, lighting his way through the forest.
Out of his own head, Jim didn't hear the cries of a child or the curses of a man until he had rounded a corner of a storage shed for a farm at the edge of the next territory. Or maybe he had been pulled this direction because he had heard them. Either way, he took in the way the man held the small boy's arms so tightly it seemed that the small bone would break under the pressure. The boy screamed as the guard tried to take off the kid's shirt. "Hold fucking still. If you be good, I'll give you something to eat."
Jim watched without an ounce of emotion on his face as the kid stopped struggling. His panicked brown eyes caught sight of him. His cheeks were stained with tears, and he begged silently.
It was unneeded. Jim already knew what he was going to do the moment he recognized the man's voice to be the guard he hadn't been able to see the night before. He was short, balding and had a beer belly. Not that it mattered what the man looked like. Jim stepped out behind the tree, phaser raised and shot the man in the back.
It took only one shot to bring him down, but Jim shot again and again. With each shot he took another step closer, staring on in indifference. The man was dead. He was after the first shot, but he kept shooting, filling the body with holes until he was a foot away.
The child, who had been released after the first shot, looked up at his cold, closed off face from the ground eyes wide with fear. When Jim returned the gaze, he scrambled back, averting his eyes to look at anything but the dead man and the teen that had killed him in cold blood.
Jim didn't bother to ask why the kid was out here alone, if there were anyone else nearby, or if his parents were still alive. He knew the answers already. It was a waste of time to ask them. Instead he said, "you can come with me if you want or you can go wherever. I don't really care. Just choose quickly." His tone was flat and uncaring, and he didn't give two shits about it. Jim was already turning around heading back towards the cliffs where he knew there were caves hidden behind rocks that he could squeeze between. It would be safer there.
Tentatively, he heard small footsteps following behind him. They were noisy, left a trail, and were easy to track by almost anyone. That wouldn't do. "Kid, if you're going to follow me, you're going to have to learn how to walk without drawing attention to yourself." Joanna had taught him the same lesson the day they had run. He still had to think about it at times but it was almost second nature to him now. Now he was going to teach it to someone else.
"My name's not kid," the child muttered with a thick Irish accent, frowning as he looked at his feet. "It's Kevin. Kevin Riley."
Jim. Jim! Kirk startled awake, memories still swimming around his head taking him longer to focus than he would have first sight that he was greeted with was a shinny muzzle of a phaser.
"Shit," he muttered. A hand grabbed his bicep and yanked him to his feet.
The man who held the phaser had long brown hair that reached his shoulders, and a tanned complexion. His body odor was strong, only overpowered by the smell of his rags he used as clothes. Jim took a quick look around to assess the situation before being forced to kneel beside Spock, phaser to his head.
There were two other men. One who held a phaser to Uhura and Ensign Pennington who had a resemblance to Jim's captor except for his younger features, and another who had a phaser to Spock and Bones and a knife at his hip.
"This is what's going to happen," the man who grabbed Jim, and must have been the leader, said, looking at everyone in the camp. He didn't raise his voice. He was fairly calm and cold. Those were the worst types in Jim's experience. "We're going to take all your food and supplies and you're going to let us. You won't talk, and you won't move. You do that and we'll leave you alone." His dark eyes glanced at Uhura. "Mostly."
Jim knew the routine. He could tell when someone was bluffing or all business. This was one of those few times where the man was all business and kept his mouth shut. His kids would have known to follow his lead, would have seen the signs themselves. For that moment, he forgot he wasn't Big Brother Jim and that he was now Captain James T. Kirk. He forgot that his crew had no idea that normal rules did not apply here on this planet, in this situation. While he could trust Spock to sense that the human was deadly serious, he could not trust Bones to not grumble a smartass remark, or believe that his communications officer would try to negotiate. He forgot that there was a young naïve officer who had yet to learn that people no longer saw reason when put into a desperate situation they believed they had no hope of getting out of.
"We are officers of the USS Enterprise. We are here to help you," Pennington offered. His heart was in the right place. He was eager to please his captain and take control of the situation. If he had more experience, he would have known better.
The man behind him wasted no time to slice open his throat with a knife pulled out of his shirt sleeve. Uhura stifled a gasp at the sight of the blood, covering her mouth with her hands to contain it. McCoy looked green as he watched the ensign fall and choke with his last remaining moments. Kirk was sure McCoy was mustering every ounce of strength to not go to the young man's side or curse out his murderer. Even Spock had gone rigid from the lack of hesitation on their captive's part.
"No talking. No moving," the leader repeated, completely unfazed.
The voice was drowned out by the rush of blood pounding in Jim's ears. He couldn't bring himself to look away from the young man. He had already stopped moving; his face had gone pale and his eyes dull. Once again he had been too weak to save someone.
Jim's eyes wondered to the woman and child they had brought to camp. They were safely standing behind the leader. So they had been betrayed. Those two had brought them here.
He closed his eyes cursing himself. He knew better than to do that. He knew yet . . . fuck.
"Danny, everything of use has been gathered," Andrea whispered, handing out the bag to the leader known as Danny. The man took the bag, shouldering it.
"Danny, about the woman?" The younger brother asked.
No. No. Jim paled.
"Just be quick. We have to get back to camp before day break."
Uhura turned panicked eyes to her captain. She couldn't fight back, not with a knife and phaser aimed at her. What should she do?
Jim was frozen. This couldn't be happening. Not again.
Uhura cursed her attacker in Klingon, having decided to fight, but her movements were limited with a knife being pressed to her throat. Obviously the man did not like his prey to fight back. Spock was glancing at him, silently asking what they should do.
Dammit. What could he do? He heard the fabric of her uniform rip. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Why was he useless? Why was he so fucking useless?!
You are not useless, Jim. Clear your mind and think. That small voice called to him through his panicked haze.
That was right. He was captain now. Not that scared little boy from over a decade ago. He had received training, he was healthy, and he had the strength he lacked back then. He was going to protect his crew, no matter what.
His eyes turned cold, eyeing Uhura's quiet panic as she tried to ignore the man grabbing her breasts roughly, his mouth leaving kisses on her neck. She was calm and still thinking clearly though. Good. He'd need that. He glanced at Spock, conveying him to follow his lead. Uhura just needed a chance to counter. He could do that for her. Spock raised an eyebrow, one that expressed that he understood.
Kirk didn't waste any more time. He turned, grabbing the knife from the man's waist behind him, while Spock rushed the leader Danny. Both turned to shoot Spock. Jim stabbed the man closest to him just behind the knee, causing him to scream and draw the attention of the other two men.
Danny was slow in his reaction, the heavy backpack slowing his movements enough to turn to Spock then Jim, then back to Spock. Spock closed the distance, disarming his opponent quickly and gracefully, taking the phaser and changing it to stun before turning it on Danny.
Jim meanwhile took the knife from the man's knee, grabbed the arm with the phaser, yanked him forward then sliced his neck with a quick movement of his wrist.
The commotion drew the attention of Uhura's attacker. It was enough for her to wrap her fingers tightly around the blade and kick the man's crotch hard, knocking the breath out of him. She took the opportunity to roll them over, bend his arm the wrong way, relieve him of the knife and turn it on him, straddling his waist with a heated glare.
Danny was still calm, even though one of his men was dead. He looked closer at Jim, and for the first time since this encounter his eyes showed interest in something. "You are one of us," he voice held some sort of amusement.
"I am nothing like you," Jim growled.
"But you are. How many people have you killed? How many have you seen die?"
Kirk didn't answer, but his entire body lacked any feeling or warmth.
"You are just like me. You'd do anything for your family."
As if to make a point, the man Uhura had subdued pulled out his phaser. Uhura saw him move and dodged. It grazed her shoulder and forced her off him to avoid another shot. She scrambled up to her knees, but the phaser was already pointed at her. Jim didn't even hesitate. He turned and shot the man.
Uhura moved before the body could fall on top of her, but it was obvious she was shaken up by the way her body trembling just slightly. Jim watched with an eerie calm.
Danny's eyes hardened at the sight of his brother's body. "You didn't even feel anything when you killed him did you? Killed Nathan without feeling a fucking thing. You're just like me."
"You are mistaken. The captain has no qualities similar to yours in any way. The captain only kills as a last resort," Spock spoke matter of factly.
It caused the man to laugh humorlessly. "Is that so? Your captain had plenty of time to switch his phaser to stun the moment he got it didn't he? So why did he use the kill setting instead of stun?"
The entire camp went silent.
It was Jim's turn to narrow his eyes and approach the man called Danny. "As we can't have you following us─" he raised the phaser to Danny's head.
"Captain," Spock's hand grabbed his wrist. It didn't take a genius to know what Spock was silently asking him to do, but Spock didn't understand. He couldn't. There were different rules here. There were no starship regulations or federation laws that could be upheld and enforced. This was survival. "I'm sorry Mr. Spock, but if we let him go, he will come back with more men and retaliate."
"Jim," he said quietly. That was low of Spock to resort to making it a personal request by using his name instead of referring to his rank, Jim thought. "If you do this, you will be following their rules. You are above such actions. You are superior to this."
There was a breath of silence then the sound of the phaser going off followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.
All eyes were on him. He was aware of that, yet Jim didn't care. His attention was to Andrea and Luka. "Leave everything you have and get out of here. If I catch you attacking my people or attempting to retaliate again, I won't hesitate to kill you."
The woman looked sick. She dropped the second backpack along with the small bag she had brought with her as fast as humanly possible. When she grabbed Luca's hand, Jim fired into the air, startling her. "Luca stays." Then he added as an afterthought, "No harm will come to him." The second half of his statement was softer than anything else he had said since awakening.
She looked at Luca, kneeling she whispered something into his ear. The child nodded to whatever was said, gave her a quick hug, and she was off.
Luca made his way across the camp looking up at Jim expectantly. Jim had seen that look before. On kids so desensitized to the situation that death didn't bother them. On children who had been touched, like Kevin had almost been. This child was used to being passed around from one adult to another, no longer afraid of it, too tired and hungry to care past finding food. Andrea was probably the only adult that took care of him. The thought of what the boy believed Jim would do to him was sickening. He had been too late to save him from suffering the same fate some of his kids on Tarsus had. But Luca was still alive. That was what mattered.
"No one will touch you again," Jim murmured, just loud enough for Luca and possibly Spock to hear.
Luca seemed to understand what he meant and his shoulders slumped with relief. He didn't look at him with hatred and fear.
The same couldn't be said for everyone else. As he turned around, Spock was staring at him with an unreadable expression, McCoy was looking at the dead bodies as if debating whether he would throw up or not, and Uhura wouldn't look at him.
"What the hell were you thinking Jim?!" McCoy spoke up, having been the first to somewhat recover from his shock. "Did you have to kill them? Couldn't you have at least let one of them live so we could get some answers or something?"
He didn't have time for McCoy's nervous blabber. There was only one person he wanted to talk to.
Uhura didn't look him as he approached her. She held her ripped uniform together with her hands, staring quietly at the ground. "You okay?"
A slight nod. "Just . . . need a moment. . . I'll be fine, Captain." She squirmed under her superior's gaze.
Jim took off his shirt. He only meant to hand it to her, but she flinched when he reached out.
"I'm s-sorry," she stammered.
Jim only paused for a moment then seemingly unfazed by her actions, set the shirt several feet away from her. "Keep warm, lieutenant," he whispered quietly.
Moving away to let her collect herself, he was once again assaulted by Bone's rant. He didn't have time for this. "Bone's you're a doctor. Do your job and treat the lieutenant."
"Goddamnit Jim, I'm trying to talk to you. You need to calm down! You're making Spock look like he's part of the damn glee club with as much emotion you're putting out."
"Are you my second in command Doctor McCoy?" Jim stared him down.
Leonard faltered. "No."
"Are you going to offer any tactical advice to get us out of here alive?"
"No, but dammit Jim, you need─"
"Then I suggest, Doctor, that you do your job and keep your mouth shut."
McCoy was left gaping, unsure what to say. Jim was fine with that. He left the rock formation, planning to keep watch until they were ready to leave. He didn't care that he had unsettled his crew, didn't care that they might fear him. He was fine with that. He was going to protect his crew. He rather them fear and hate him and live than respect him and be dead, because from here on out, he wasn't going to lose another crew member to this planet. He would make sure of that.
Sorry guys. I am waiting for my official Beta to show up in my email. It will be revised eventually. Review.