Hello readers. I sincerely apologize for the two week break between chapters. I have had computer, health, and school issues but now I have a new computer, I am recovering, and the stress of midterms is over. So I'm back. Hopefully you think that's a good thing. Again, I am truly sorry and I hope nothing like that will happen again. -SpockSnapeStephen, 01/23/12

Doctor McCoy sat in a cool blue room filled with gadgets and screens. Two were focused on a darkened cave; one for Uhura, one for Spock. Another had the overall spread of the arena. With a touch of the screen, McCoy could see red dots with black district numbers marking all the tributes. At the bottom were two rows of tributes' face, with five crossed out. Also on the map were the triggers of traps, symbolized with a flame, a droplet, a plant, or a breeze depending on which element they took after.

A fourth screen showed what the people were seeing. Right now it was following the Careers. As usual, they were hunting other tributes.

In front of McCoy sat an electronic tablet where he could make notes and write down sponsor information. Several telephones were attached to the wall, easily accessible. Everything was easily accessible. It made McCoy grumpy. While his friends (yes, deep down he thought of Spock as a friend) were out in the wilderness trying to stay alive, he was sitting in this pretty, clean room. It didn't just make him grumpy, it made him sick.

McCoy picked up his white tablet and called Kirk's.

"Hello? Bones?" McCoy held the tablet close to his mouth.

"I need a break Jim," McCoy said loudly.

"No need to yell. I'll be right down," came the voice of Jim Kirk. A few minutes later he was there in the flesh.

"You okay Bones?" asked the captain. Doctor McCoy nodded.

"I just need some fresh air. Well, as much fresh air as we ever get."

Doctor McCoy entered the warm "living room" of the Games Headquarters. A red strip half of the wall's height ran along the bottom of the wall. The other was light orange and the colors were separated by a thick white stripe. Victors sat around an oak table like the knights of Camelot.
Enobaria, Aloysius, and some others were playing a form of cards. A tap on McCoy's shoulder sent him spinning around. Two people who were nearly opposites met him.

The woman was fairly tall with short, silvery hair and dark brown eyes. The boy was shorter than McCoy. His eyes were covered by shaggy black hair.

The lady spoke first, "I'm Valentine. This is my partner Balint. We're the victors from District Five. You won't be seeing much of Balint since Miriam is my tribute but you and your captain will be seeing a lot of me now that our tributes have joined up."

Valentine took a pause and McCoy jumped in.

"Pleased to meet you. It does seem as though we'll be seeing a lot of each other, doesn't it? It will be nice to work together. Have you met Jim?"
"Yes," said Valentine, Balint having drifted away, "While he was in here earlier. He's a nice man."

McCoy nodded, "Jim'll try to do right by you, even if you don't deserve it. Especially if you don't deserve it."
They stood quietly for a moment before Valentine broke the silence.

"Well, I'm looking forward to working together for whatever amount of time, no matter how short it may be."

McCoy smiled, his eyes far away, and Valentine left him to his thoughts.

0o0o

A beeping noise alerted Kirk to the fact that two of the red dots on screen three were approaching his tributes.

"McCoy? We've got a problem. Something's happening," Kirk phoned through the thin tablet.

Within seconds, McCoy was beside Kirk. The captain just pointed. The red dots with the numbers 12 and 6 were nearly on top of the dots E, E, and 5. Any minute now, Spock, Miriam, and Uhura would be attacked.