I think you should all know, or I should say again because you've earned it, your reviews make my day. Seriously, readers, you guys are a better audience than a writer could ever ask for. SharkGurl, dgames, Paper-Knights, Lovely Rain Dancer, DanAlaya, ScornedxRose, TimeLady945, oh gosh there's too many to name but every single one of you guys who take time out of your day to let me know how you feel, your phenomenal people and you make writing this so worthwhile. I love reading to see perdictions of where this is all headed, and hearing I'm not the only one invested in Eve's future. Also, a very special thank you to ShimmeringWater, because there's nothing harder than being the one to issue constructive criticism, and it was something I so totally agreed with. Gotta say, doing Eve in that situation and not destroying her and Khan's trust was really tough, and your comment helped me figure out how to proceed. Hope the chapter afterward cleared up your reservations about how Eve was reacting. So, as I continue munching my virtual cookies (Mmm, so tasty), for all you fantastic readers, here's Evelette Enterpriseing.
There were two discarded red uniforms sitting in the back of the jumpship as Eve came aboard, second on after Kirk who went immediately to the front controls, starting up the engines. "This way." A female voice said behind her, and she blinked as the woman touched her elbow, gesturing for her to enter the control room.
Eve paused at the entrance to the circular area, watching Khan as he came onto the ship, hands sealed in thick metal keeping his hands folded over each other. Spock was last, still pointing the rifle at Khan as he shepherded him into the back, forcing him into one of the seats. The woman went to help strap Khan in so Spock didn't have to lower the weapon.
Taking the chance, Eve went over to Kirk. He was still breathing hard, eyes burning with the alertness that came with all energy going towards controlling one's self. She put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently before she went to one of the seats, settling herself into it and examining the communications controls.
It wasn't a long flight, considering the type of distance they covered. Eve unlocked her safety belt as they entered space, gripping the seat but shifting forward to get a better look as they came upon the leviathan.
The U.S.S. Enterprise, newest ship in the fleet and home to thousands of lives. She tried to calculate how many people a craft of that size would contain, but she couldn't remember the exact figures any longer.
It would tip her own scales, however. She had saved half a starship's worth of people during her service, a couple hundred more in the clinic… but Khan's plan insured she'd be responsible for the deaths of an entire crew.
She shut her eyes as they entered the hanger deck, shrinking into her seat as the woman spoke with the voice that had alerted her to the torpedos. He sounded so much less severe now, welcoming them back. Of course, there was the mention of the men he was sending down to escort 'Harrison' to the brig, but his evident relief at the success of the mission still made it all sound so harmless.
Eve remained seated as the latches of the door undid, the airtight seal giving out to lower the ramp. She could hear phasers charging, her eyelids lifting though she couldn't bear to watch Khan stride into the sea of red shirts waiting to take him back into captivity.
"Doctor?"
She looked up a Kirk, instantly realizing that her hands were shaking. She gripped them together, trying to hide the tremor. He offered his own, helping her up. "Come on, let's get you patched up."
Keeping her hands in her pockets, she stepped out of the jumpship and onto the deck of the Enterprise. She could see Khan, already ahead as the security team hurried to get him secured.
"I need to get him locked up. Lieutenant Uhura here is going to take you to the med bay, alright?" Kirk spoke slowly, making her wonder if the fact that she was utterly in over her head was showing as frailty to him.
Either way, she would be glad to have him at a distance.
"Yes, thank you Captain."
Uhura gave her a warm smile, which Eve returned regretfully. She looked away as Kirk gave her more orders, beginning to understand the gravity of what she was meant to be doing here. It was made a great deal worse as she watched Uhura go up on tiptoes, giving Spock a quick kiss before addressing Eve. "Let's get you to Medical Bay. I'm sure you're exhausted."
Thankfully that was about the extent of their dialogue. Uhura didn't attempt to press her for information on her time with Khan, or thrust any instruction on her as to what different sections of the ship were and who was in command of what. By the time they reached medical, the smell of plastic gloves and sanitization fumes was so welcome it almost broke her down completely.
"Why don't you take a seat over here?" Uhura guided her to one of the series of white cots, not unlike the one she'd first placed Khan on almost a year ago. Eve sat down numbly, not able to summon a thank you, though Uhura didn't seem to be looking for one as he went off to fetch one of the women in blue shirts attending to minorly injured crew further down the line. Eve focused on the nearest patient, watching a man squirming as a major burn was attended to on his arm.
"Issue with the warp core." A woman strode up to her with Uhura at her side, the woman's blue dress somewhat broader to support a hefty figure. She was human, with frizzy brown hair and iris' to match. She flashed a quick smile at Eve. "Hello. We had a running bet about you, you know. I read about how you saved the entirety of crew remaining on your ship though, so I won. Some knuckle head conspiracy theorists thought you'd gone to the mental side. I'm Doctor Povlati. You're free to go, Lieutenant," she added waving a hand at Uhura as she grabbed up a data pad, "We'll be fine here."
"It's fine." Eve nodded as Uhura looked to her. "Thank you."
"No problem." Uhura assured her, then in a flash she was out of the med bay, leaving Evelette to the attentions of Povlati as the woman drew a curtain out from the wall. She drew it around the clear plastic rod to give them some privacy, but also to block Eve's inspection of the wounded.
"So, about seven years since you've seen space? Not how you wanted to return I'm guessing." Povlati said without looking up from the datapad, clearly examining her medical files. "Not much in the way of bad medical history though."
"I'm not in the market for a surgery." Eve's voice came out sharper than she intended, lifting the woman's gaze. "Can you just give me the check-up? I'd like to get cleaned and start doing something before I do go crazy."
"Yes, Ma'am," Povlati didn't genuinely seem to mind, setting the electronics aside and gesturing to her clothes. "I'll need you to remove those."
Evelette shrugged out of the heavy coat, setting it aside though keeping it close all the same. She tugged off the gloves, and upon prompting she began pulling the shirt off, but she stopped as Povlati breathed in sharply.
Not wanting to face it, Eve had made a point of not inspecting her side after the surgery clash. All along her right was a ugly purple fringed in red, scattered in different splotches, some following the lines of her ribs and more on her hips, disappearing under the pants. She'd noticed some of it while changing, but she'd been in such a hurry and the room was darkened, she had no idea how bad it was.
And to the woman in front of her, paired up with the cut across her face and the bruise she was certain the Klingon had left, she must have looked like a poster image for physical abuse. She pulled the shirt off the rest of the way, carful not the meet Povlati's stare. She didn't both taking off the leggings, but she pushed the boots off her feet and let them drop to the floor. "Ready."
She was taken aback when the other woman gripped her hand, squeezing tight enough to nearly crack it. There was so much pity in her face – sudden remorse for the chatter before.
Good people were so much easier to fool than they should have been.
Povlati plucked up a scanner from one of the drawers of the bed's assigned cabinet, moving behind Eve to begin looking over her skeleton looking for cracks or breaks, simultaneously looking for organ damage. She took a blood sample, cleaned off the solution from her cut and then the rest of her face. It was oddly comforting, to be taken care of in this way. With Khan it was always so much more surprising, she never got to really appreciate it.
The doctor sealed up the cut with high tension adhesive strips, small white bandage like material that worked like stiches without the needle and thread. She cleaned up a couple other minor scrapes Eve had collected along the way, then rubbed a cooling numbing solution along Eve's side and front where landing on the weapons had left marks.
"All done, Ma'am." Povlati said quietly. She helped Eve put the shirt back on, then disappeared through the curtain leaving her to wiggle back on the boots and gather up her gloves and jacket. When she returned, Povlati checked to make sure she was ready before drawing back the curtain. Eve noticed she had a blue dress folded up under her arm and a set of boots. "Alright, I'm going to take you to the showers, then once you're done I'll bring you to your quarters."
"I suppose that's for me." Eve jerked her chin towards the cloth bundle, eyeing it skeptically.
"We don't have much in the way of stylistic options." Povlati said apologetically, throwing in a touch of humor to try and make her feel better. "Shall we?"
There are few pleasures quiet as profound as a shower after a long absence from hygienic supplies. Amidst of the spray of deliciously hot water and the mist of vapours, everything dropped away for and the first time since the call came in on her communicator, she felt like herself again. When she shut her eyes, she could pretend she was back at home in her own bathroom, just off a very long, very rugged shift. Each stall even had its own shampoo and conditioner. Civilization at last.
She dried off with one of the towels in the stack by the front of the showers, then grudgingly slid into the little blue dress. It felt far stranger than the clothes Khan had given her, and after a long moment of contemplation, she grabbed her boots and returned to the shower, soaking the towel and cleaning them off, grabbing the pair of socks from the new boots but putting on Khan's shoes.
It made her feel at least a little more like her, and that wasn't an easy thing to accept.
But it reminder her, and quickly she snatched up the jacket, bringing out the disk. There was a long scratch running over the surface, but as she tapped the circle her niece appeared again, though now slightly static flecked. Eve shut it off before Lacy could begin talking and dissolve her into hysterics.
Povlati was waiting outside, leaning on the wall though she stood straight as Eve returned. She was about to speak, then stopped as she noticed the boots. She seemed to want to say something, then thought better of it. "Your quarters are this way."
She waited until they had started walking to go on. "Now, just so your aware, there is going to be someone posted outside your door, and you get a private room. You're not a prisoner, they won't follow you around or anything unless you want them to, it's just so that you feel safe in your room. Officially you're wanted for questioning since no one was able to decipher whether John Harrison had kidnaped you, but I'm more than happy to vouch for the damage that… monster did to you."
"I promise not to start screaming and attempt to throttle Captain Kirk in retaliation." Eve said mockingly, but the truth was it made her uneasy all the same. Povlati laughed and stopped as they came to a door with a large man in a red shirt posted out front. "Doctor Swan, this is Lieutenant Jameson. He'll be your door guard."
"Doctor."
The man offered his hand, and Eve shook it. "Sorry to be such a trouble."
"No trouble at all." His mannerisms said otherwise.
"Alright, I better get back to medical bay, but as soon as your feeling able I'm sure we can find something for you to do." Povlati dragged her attention away. "I know work sometimes helps get my mind off other things."
"I'll probably be knocking on your door very soon." Eve chuckled uneasily. "Thanks for being my tour guide."
"Not a problem – the Lieutenant can help you find medical bay if you need. Although as your Doctor, I recommend a very good rest. You've earned a day off." Povlati nodded goodbye, then went back the way they'd come. Before she could get twitchy, Eve moved forward through the sliding open doors, tugging her jacket and shirt close to her chest.
She didn't let out her breath until the door shut behind her, isolating her in a small room with a bed built into the far wall, all white with a light in the center of the ceiling. There was a mirror, encompassed by a line in the wall which hinted to a locker, but no furniture. Not a cell, but not exactly the royal suite. Eve put down the only belongings she had for the moment on the bed, crawling into the little alcove and curling up on the bed. It was the first time in almost two weeks she hadn't slept with Khan nearby.
Where was he on the ship? Everyone she'd met thought he was some vicious tormentor, but the opposite felt true now. Without him, she was vulnerable.
She didn't cry – for him, for what he'd think, she didn't allow herself to cry – but she pulled out the disk and placed it on the pillow next to her face.
There was too much time to think in a room like that. She tucked the disk under pillow, stashed the jacket and shirt under her mattress, and then took a minute to organize herself. She went over and pressed the mirror, snatching up a brush gratefully. Luckily it took some time, her ringlets and knots versus the buildup of tangled mess two weeks could accumulate. She shook it out, forcing it to dry faster though muttering death threats to the flaming beast as the ringlets refused to desist, leaving her looking like a plastic model rather and a doctor. She trapped them into a bundle, putting her hair up in a pony she found in the locker next to dental spray.
Someone took a great deal of time balancing what to give someone who could be a prisoner or a physiologically fractured mess.
Finally, Evelette strode out of the room, facing the hulk. "Well, how about it Lieutenant? Show a girl the way to the damaged and disfigured gallery?"
He looked at her like she was the latter of the two scenarios her room prepped for. That was good – she could play crazy and broken. People didn't like being nearly strange people, especially ones who were suffering. And she couldn't let anyone here close without dooming Khan to imprisonment. Again.
So with a grunt from the incredible sulk, they started down the hall together.