As she expected, Rin found Spick speaking with McCoy. They both grew silent when they saw her.

"Darn it, Rin," McCoy growled at her. "I said bed rest."

"Acknowledged, but I can sleep later," she mumbled. She briskly walked into Callista's room and placed her talons on her sister's temples.

In a language very foreign to the non-Aurelian beings in the room, she said words similar to those the Vulcans used during their Mind-Melds, but in the same sense, very different. Her spoken words had an almost musical sound to them, and to living ears, it was a hypnotic language. It was a treat to the human ear, yet a secret to the tongue. With all the knowledge contained by the most intelligent alien race, the sound produced from her throat was one that was unutterable by any other species. Not even a computer could speak such foreign words. It was an unspeakable symphony of sound, an acoustic masterpiece, honey to the ears.

'Callista… hear me, sister.' Rin mentally called to her sister though the connection. 'You are deathly ill. As a descendant of Vivek, you may hold the knowledge he held once,' she explained. 'For some reason or another, I am unable to access the information in my own mind, so I have no choice but to ask you. Callista, please answer me…'

She didn't respond. After a few frustrating moments, Rin pulled away and broke the link. Spock and McCoy were watching her, and by this time Kirk had arrived in sick-bay as well. But she hadn't even acknowledged their presence in the back of the room.

"She's not even mentally there," she told herself. "A meditative-state, perhaps?" Rin rose to her hind legs and checked cardio and respiratory signs. Her breathing had become even more labored and her heart rate had increased even more.

She lifted her gaze to the back of the room and her eyes locked onto her old childhood companion's. A look was all it took. She sat down as he walked over and he seated himself in front of her.

"Rin, you can't!" McCoy shouted as he took a few steps forward. "You're in a weak mental state. You might not be able to hold up with the strain of a Mind-Meld."

"Bones," Kirk began as he grabbed McCoy's arm suddenly, "what's going on here? What's she got her head set on? 'Weak mental state'?"

Rin had already blocked them out. Currently, all that existed was she, Spock, and the goal of knowledge to be gained.

She tensed when the link formed. If she didn't know how to cure her sister, no one would, and the Hiroshi's would be a dead line. It became quickly apparent she was going to have a hard time honing in on the information. Inherited knowledge and that she had gained over her lifetime was immense.

They scanned her memories first. She blocked out a few to avoid any potential emotional outbursts and went back to the earliest memory: her hatching.

There was extreme darkness and pressure entirely around her, and then there was a sudden burst of light. Her young eyes quickly adjusted to the world, and to her parents. Rin's stomach knotted as her father lifted her in his talons to his face. There was silence as he looked into his daughter's green eyes, and he approved with a smile. He gently touched the tip of his beak to hers and at that moment, he sealed all the knowledge he had within her, so that she would only find what she needed when she needed it, and not before.

"Bones, what did you mean when you said she was in a 'weak mental state'?" Kirk asked again. "Did something happen I should know about?"

He was quiet for an instant before speaking. "Rin was secretly interrogating the Klingons," he began. "Only Spock and the ensign working the brig knew about it. All according to her plan, in the shape of a Klingon, she broke out of her cell during the feeding and attached one of the guards that ran at her. Then, the ensign smacked her atop the head with the butt of his phaser."

"He did what?!"

"Calm down, Jim," he assured him. "She said he deserved a raise for his accuracy," McCoy added.

Suddenly and without warning, Spock pushed himself to his feet. He looked a little winded and was catching his breath.

"Spock, what happened?" Kirk asked as he helped his friend steady himself on his feet.

After a moment of silence he replied in a puzzled tone, "I was forced from the meld." He creased his eyebrows and looked up. "I was unaware such a thing was possible."

McCoy walked over and knelt by Rin with his scanner. "There is an enormous amount of activity going on in there," he reported in a surprised sort of voice.

"I believe she found the information she was searching for," Spock stated in monotone. "Perhaps the memory we found reminded her of what needed to be done."

"What needed to be done?" Kirk asked curiously.

"I am uncertain," he responded honestly. "As close friends as we are, her race's ways are still secret from me, but her reasons are understood."

Rin was still sitting on the floor. She almost looked as if she were meditating. A look of deep thought was etched across her face.

Fortunately, the time that held her was brief. Revan had entered sick-bay by that time to check up on her friend and crewmate.

"Bristag," Rin finally whispered and her eyes opened.

As the three exchanged glances, Revan translated. "Ship." They turned and stared at her. "It's a form of Mandalorian," she explained. "I don't know how she learned it though, with her stressing upbringing and shaken childhood."

Spock did not comment but rather turned his attention to Rin. She had risen from her spot on the floor and was heading toward the door.

"Really now," McCoy said as he stepped in front of the door. "After all the stress you've been physically and mentally put through, you should be off your feet for awhile. Heck, we'll even take care of her if you tell us what to do," he offered.

Rin stared at him a moment silently. She took to hovering to 'get off her feet' and left the room. McCoy shook his head but said nothing as they all followed her.

Sooner than later, they found themselves in the engineering section. Although it was a very dazed conversation, Rin was speaking with Scotty, and he looked to be getting a bit irritated.

"What?!" he exclaimed in an unusually loud voice. "I canna' just give you the dilithium crystals!"

"Scotty please," she asked in a quiet voice. "I'll only need a shard of the crystal."

"I'm sorry, Lassie, but I canna' do it."

She narrowed her eyes at the situation. "Scotty, you know I would never do anything to endanger the Enterprise. She's too precious to us all." She frowned when she realized that her words were doing nothing. "You know my numbers are correct," she urged "Check with the Computer, Mr. Scott. You know I'd never hurt her. Never."

He continued to stare silently at her as the thought it over. He sighed as he rubbed his creased forehead. "How much do you need?" he asked slowly and hesitantly.

"Only a shard of it, barely nothing," she answered quickly. "Please, we need to hurry."

"Alrigh', alrigh'." He glanced around the engine room and walked over to the crystal. "Only a shard now," he cautioned as she neared the glowing crystal.

"I completely understand," Rin assured him. She carefully eyed the crystal before touching it. "Alrighty then, this shouldn't hurt you a bit." Cautiously, she adjusted her claws along the side of the crystal and made a small scratch. She pulled back to see if the ship reacted to the change. When nothing happened, she leaned in and genltly chipped a piece of the crystal into the palm of her talon and slowly pulled away.

Enterprise's engines skipped for a second or two but eventually fell back into normal rhythm. Scotty looked relieved when the monitors showed no damage. When he turned around again Rin was already gone.

When Rin entered her quarters, she locked the door behind her. Her race's ways were secret, and that was how they would so remain.

She ground up the fragment of crystal into a fine powder. She then gently plucked some of the hairs from the old black feather on her desk and burned them. The few ashes were mixed with what was left of the crystal. She bit one of her fingers until it bled and let it drip slowly until the mixture filled the small flask. Once she stopped the bleeding, she held the flask in her talons and breathed on it. Instantly, it turned a silvery-blue. Rin's eyes widened and a smile appeared n her face. "A success!" she whispered as she headed for sick-bay.

She was surprised to rind Revan, Kirk, and Spock already thee, waiting for her. She hesitated only an instant before walking up to McCoy.

"This," she said as she held the blue vial aloft, "is what will cure my sister." He opened his mouth to comment but she stopped him. "There is no time to test it. I know this will work."

A moment of silence passed between the two and tension held the stare. His blue eyes were sparkling with uncertainty but her green ones were full of determination.

Finally, McCoy heaved a sigh, and he stepped away so she could enter the room. She shook the flask a little and opened it.

Callista hadn't changed a bit. The wounds looked to be worsening as time marched on. Once she gave Callista the potion though, the body would focus back on what had priority and things would go back to normal.

Rin dripped some of the healing concoction on her finger. She muttered something under her breath as she ran the coated finger down the center of her sister's beak. The smell would stimulate some of the nerves.

Rin dripped half the flask down Callista's dry throat and she massaged the throat to coax the liquid into the stomach.

Then with what was left, she covered her talons with the contents of the vial. When her hands were completely blue, she stepped toward Callista's head and placed her hands on her sister's face, sort of the way the Vulcans do during the Vulcan Mind-Meld.

A moment later, Callista's eyes opened and she started coughing. Rin pulled back, relieved, and rolled Callista onto her side. "Yes, that's it," Rin coached. "Take deep breaths now." She looked at the company that was staring at her and she smiled at them. McCoy returned it and they turned back amongst themselves.

Callista finally mentally returned and rolled onto her chest. "What happened?" she asked in a confused tone. "How did I wind up here? Last I recall I was on the Eon Hawk and you were yelling at me…" She looked down as things fell into place. "The Klingon ship…" she realized.

"Yes, the Bird of Prey," Rin confirmed softly. "It fired on the Ebon Hawk while you were there. We fired back and rescued you after it had exploded."

She was staring at the ceiling in a slightly dazed fashion. "I… I'm sorry…" she whispered breathlessly. "I should've listened to you," she admitted moments later.

Rin couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her voice was caught in her throat. She couldn't utter a sound. She felt weakened suddenly as she steadied herself against the all. Rin glanced down at her hand s and assumed, 'The blood I gave must've weakened me severely.' She slipped a little further and neared the ground. 'That and the Mind-Meld…' Rin carefully lowered herself to the floor and everything went black.