Rin had finally regained consciousness. McCoy wasn't in the room so she eased herself up and out of the bed. While she had been physically indisposed, she had been attacking the situation from all angles. She had made an important realization, and if she was correct, they were all in danger.
She strode over to the communicator on the wall and pressed the white button along-side it. "Captain Kirk, it's Rin. I need to speak with you urgently."
On the Bridge, Kirk heard the voice. "An, Rin, you've finally come back to us," he said with a smile. "What is so urgent?"
"I need to speak to you in person."
"Why don't you come up to the Bridge?"
McCoy suddenly had an angry look on his face, but before he could say a word, Rin answered, "Nothing would please me more, sir, but I'm afraid to leave because your chief medical surgeon would beat me into next week if I left the sick-bay."
McCoy's expression changed and he smiled wide. "Finally, they're learning!" he exclaimed happily.
"But frankly, Captain, if I wound up some time next week, it would be too late," she continued. "A week, and Star Fleet could destroy itself, and the Federation of Planet's with it. Please, it's urgent."
--
"Now, what is so pressing?"
"If you don't take me seriously, you could be sending the Enterprise to her grave," Rin warned. Physical and mental strain and stress were obviously taking their toll on her.
He gave her his undivided attention. "What do you mean?" he asked. "We destroyed the Bird of Prey! All we can do now is alert Star Fleet of the Collective and-"
"Yes, Captain," she acknowledged. "But this computer… it has a mind of its own. It has a will to live and survive. A most human characteristic," she commented. "Point being, if it is threatened and has no way to escape, it will do anything to save itself. Anything, Captain Kirk."
"What are you saying?"
The lights suddenly dimmed. Every system in the ship skipped for some reason or another.
"Cap'n!" a voice was calling. "Cap'n!"
"Scotty, what's' wrong?" he asked in a tense voice.
"I canna' tell, Cap'n," he responded. "We've just lost all power. I've got her on impulse power, but I canna' tell 'ow long she'll last on that."
"See what you can do," he ordered. "Kirk out."
Emergency lighting had replaced the lights all over the ship. Rin was shaking her head under the single light above their heads. "It appears my theory was correct," she muttered in a concerned tone. She looked into the eyes of her Captain and whispered, "Captain, we have been high jacked by a computer."