A/N: I can't even apologize and grovel enough for the massive delay on this story. Life has been a little cray cray lately and I have been traveling around the ENTIRE state of Oregon for the last two and a half weeks visiting family and I have not had a moment to myself. I would have updated before I left, but my other fanfiction needed to be tended to and I just ran out of time. Anyways, this chapter is part one of a very long chapter that I decided to split down the middle. I should hopefully be posting the next part (if the internet deigns to cooperate) after I have wrapped up all the loose ends and edited as much as possible.
I would also like to thank all the lovely people who have reviewed my little fic thus far:
HeavensWeatherHellsCompany, ShimmeringWater, WendyLeaf, CLTex, Alyssa43, Starcrier, Frostivity, LyannaPendragon23, TARDIS-follower, Onesmartcookie78, Guest, PrincessGrace15, Guest, WarriorDragonElf54, DanAlaya, 88dragon06, priestessofeternity, Guest, Larissa Loyd, pjfunnybunny
You guys rock and are the reason I keep on writing! Anyways, enjoy part one of the uber long chapter to come!
Pointless Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Ana and Connor...
Ana hastily thanked the pilot of the shuttle before exiting the craft and descending the stairs. The second her feet hit the ground of the shuttle hanger, she was running full tilt towards the Daystrom Institute where the command meeting was most likely already underway. She exited the hanger and immediately noticed the immense crowd of people, both civilians and Starfleet personnel, that were running and/or looking up at the tall building in which the Institute was located. Ana followed their gazes and gasped at what she saw. Towards the top of the building, there was a gaping hole where windows should have been and a handful of emergency shuttles were attempting to put out the small blazes that spanned the entirety of the floor. It took Ana a moment to drag her gaze from the horrific sight before she was running yet again, pushing past the stationary onlookers and dodging the emergency crews and medical staff that were running back and forth. When she finally was able to make it into the building, she bolted into the nearest turbolift right as the doors began to hiss shut. She attempted to hide her anxiety, but her body betrayed her with the uncontrollable tapping of her foot as she waited for the turbolift to reach its destination. When the lift finally reached the proper floor, Ana had exited and was striding determinedly down the dimly lit hallway before the doors of the lift had even fully opened. She was again forced to dodge both bloodied medical staff and armed to the teeth security teams before she finally reached the Starfleet high command conference room...or what used to be the Starfleet high command conference room.
The room looked as if it was the location of a bloody battle of some sort: The large table that once resided in the center of the room was now in phaser burned pieces, every single window was blown out and glass and other debris littered the floor...along with the bodies of both the injured and the deceased. She scanned their faces, recognizing them as being people she had both worked, and in some cases, been friends with. She searched for one face in particular, which was the one belonging to her first officer, but Conner was no where to be seen. Ana took a deep breath, attempting to control her emotions at the thought of losing her friend and fellow officer. She prided herself on her ability to maintain a level head in the face of dire situations and hadn't felt fear, both for her own life as well as the lives of the people she cared deeply for, since she was a young girl. Yet since waking up on the jump ship in the presence of the stranger with the dark hair and the piercing blue eyes who had taken her from the blast sight in London, she had experienced the emotion on more than one occasion in the span of just a few hours. Ana couldn't hold back her sigh of relief as she heard a familiar voice coming from behind her. She turned to face her living, yet slightly worse for the wear, first officer and smiled.
"Thank God, Connor." She took a step towards him and rested a hand on his arm, noticing that his uniform was singed and torn beyond repair. "I thought I'd lost you."
"You're not going to get rid of me that easily." He placed his hand over hers. "I'm a hard one to kill. I'm just happy that you were late to the meeting, otherwise you might have been caught in the crossfire."
"What the hell happened here?" She questioned as she turned to look out the broken windows and over the city.
"The meeting was attacked by some psycho named Harrison." He lifted the slightly cracked data PADD he had been holding and pulled something up on the screen before handing it to her. "Apparently he's one of us."
"Commander John Harrison." Ana read aloud as she scanned the very impressive credentials before clicking on the link in order to view a picture of the man in question. When Commander Harrison's image filled the screen, Ana froze, her eyes widening in shocked recognition. The man in the image before her was none other than the stranger who had abducted her less than five hours ago halfway across the world. Connor snapped her out of her trance-like realization when he spoke.
"Apparently, Harrison was the same one who blew up the Archive as well." He said has she silently handed his PADD back to him. "According to Admiral Marcus, he's gone off the deep end."
"Ya, I can see that." Ana responded quietly as she looked around the room.
"Is everything ok, Ana?" Connor questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest and gave her his best 'I can tell there's something wrong, so don't tell me their isn't' look. Ana was quick to make an excuse for her odd behavior.
"Does it look like everything is ok?" She stated as she indicated the battle scared room with a wave of her hand. Connor narrowed his eyes and studied her face for a moment.
"Well, you've got a point there." He said has he uncrossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders wearily. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a familiarly monotone voice coming from behind Ana. Connor looked over her shoulder and scowled as he spotted someone walking towards them.
"Why is it that whenever he's around, you always get that rather unattractive look on your face." Ana asked, knowing exactly who was approaching them.
"Because I don't like him." He stated coldly, his eyes narrowing. "He's too...observant."
"Oh, don't be such a xenophobe." Ana whispered before she turned to greet the man standing behind her. "Commander Spock." She smiled wearily as she held up her hand in a traditional Vulcan greeting. "What can I do for you?" She asked as he returned her gesture before again placing his hands firmly behind his back.
"I saw you enter 4.5 minutes ago and came to inquire as to why you were not present at the meeting earlier." He stated succinctly.
"I was...unavoidably delayed, Commander." She replied. "I was in London when I received the order to report to Daystrom and I was forced to wait for adequate transport to San Francisco." Spock nodded and lowered his gaze, not even bothering to question her answer, which was rather unusual for him. "Are you well, Spokh?" She asked in Vulcan, attempting to draw him out of his un-Vulcan like state of distraction. After a moment, Spock raised his gaze to meet hers and she could have sworn she saw intense emotion flicker in his dark eyes before he was able to control it.
"Admiral Pike is dead." He stated, once again in control of his emotions. "He was killed by a phaser blast to the heart." Ana's eyes widened at the news. Chris Pike had been a good friend to both her and her father with whom he had served with when her father was still alive.
"I'm so sorry, Spock." She said sincerely. "I know how close you two were and what a great influence he was during your time at the Academy."
"Yes." Spock replied. "I know that it is illogical, but I will miss his presence greatly."
"As will I, Spock." She murmured. "How is Jim handling all of this?"
"He is upset for the loss of his friend and mentor and I believe that he will act rashly in order to avenge his death."
"Sounds like Kirk." Connor muttered from behind them. Ana turned to chastise him for being insensitive when Ana heard her name being called over the activity in the conference room. She turned to see who was addressing her and spotted Admiral Marcus on the other side of the room waving he over.
"My office. Now." He ordered before making his way towards the nearest turbolift. Spock raised an eyebrow at the Admiral's decidedly brusk tone and Connor stiffened beside her.
"Shit." She mumbled. "Why do I feel like I'm in major trouble?" She groaned as she followed the Admiral. This was just not her day.
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