Hey everyone! Sorry this one's a bit later than I anticipated... randomly getting sick and being unable to look at a computer screen without your eyes watering up will do that I suppose... Anyway, this chapter is actually shorter than the last one, but I'm not sure how long that will last. We're delving into more serious territory now, but with a pen name like mine, did you expect any less ;)
Disclaimer: Well... still not mine... wait! Oh... no.. still not...
There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship. - Author Unknown
Chapter Five: Just a Rat in a Cage
Bones had always known how sweet Minnie was and being on the Enterprise did not detract it from her in any way. She was always bright and bubbly to everyone regardless of rank or species. He'd also come to notice an unusual perception into the emotions of the crew. He would go so far to call her an empath if he believed in that sort of thing. However, he couldn't help but wonder one day six months in with her and Jim in the mess. Halfway through dinner, Minnie suddenly said, "Spock seems very lonely," then popped another forkful of food into her mouth. Bones and Jim each raised an eyebrow and turned. Spock was seated alone, away from everyone else, calmly perusing a PADD and eating a salad.
"Doesn't look that way to me," Jim said, returning to his dinner.
"Of course," Bones injected, "it's hard to tell what he's feeling anyway. Got the best damn poker face I've ever seen."
"What makes you think he's lonely, Minnie?"
"I can just tell," she replied, "Especially since he and Uhura broke up."
Jim's eyebrows shot up as he (loudly) repeated, "Him and Uhura broke up?!"
"Jim! Be quiet! But yeah, it was a couple weeks ago, maybe three. To my knowledge it was quite mutual. Very clean break, which is kinda weird. I would think Uhura would get into very messy break-ups… Anyhoo, yeah, he seems really lonely."
The two men shrugged and remained silent. After about a minute, however, Minnie suddenly stood up on her seat and yelled, "Spock! Spock, come over here!"
The Vulcan seemed quite confused, but he moved to sit with them nonetheless.
"Lt. Cmdr. Black, I hardly believe it was necessary for you to shout across the room to gain my attention," Spock said calmly.
"Please, call me Minnie, or even Minerva, and sure it wasn't necessary… but it was fun."
Spock's only reply was "Fascinating," before he resumed his previous activities.
"So, Spock, how are you?" she asked.
"I am quite well. Why do you ask?"
"Because I am interested," she replied with a smile; Bones noted how she pronounced it as 'inarrested'.
"Was I requested to join you for any particular purpose?"
"Nope. I just wanted to talk to you. I don't you very well. I know the other members of the bridge crew pretty well but not you. I find this… fascinating."
"You have me at a loss, Lt. Cmdr. Black."
"Minerva," she corrected, "and I mean to say that I would like to be a friend. Friends tell each other things about themselves. I want to know what you do for fun, how you spend your downtime, what you enjoy."
"I am afraid I have other matters to attend to. I will not be able to continue this conversation."
The first officer rose, bid them farewell, and left. Bones and Jim watched him go, then looked at Minnie; she was pouting. The two men chuckled quietly, earning a glare from their Chief Tactical Officer. This one failed attempt did not stop Minnie from trying, however, as she was determined to become friends with him. She often asked him for help running programs and virtual scenarios, claiming she needed his logic to help her come up with ideas. It seemed to flatter him into helping, and that's how they became friends. She could work her charm on anyone, which was why she was often brought on diplomatic missions and made second officer. On the other hand, a pissed off Minnie was a force of nature. She once dropped a man twice her size because he pinched her butt on a dare. She cursed loudly and often during combat, and gave one of her POs a thorough reaming after he nearly caused a ship-wide disaster with an unauthorized weapon; she left him in tears. She was deadly accurate with any weapon known to the Federation and could disassemble and reassemble all within ten to fifteen minutes. She was, obviously, a master tactician and strategist, her skill at seeing the big picture saving their collective ass on numerous occasions. Minnie was born to be in Starfleet. Within their first year, she'd been promoted to a full commander. Bones was sure she would be the youngest admiral in Starfleet history… and so did several others.
"Oh no, not me," she said when Bones revealed this to her, "I wouldn't fit in with all that brass. Way too uppity for me. Nope, I like it in the lower ranks."
The last part made Bones snort. Commander was a pretty high rank, especially for a twenty-year-old young woman. She was an essential part of the crew. That's probably why Jim wanted her on that away mission. It was a planet called Geolithos. It was very rocky and mountainous with a few lush forests and one vast ocean that was speckled with rock-strewn islands. Due to the rocky surface, there was little fertile land for farming, and it was always hotly contested. Civil war broke out like clockwork every fifty to seventy-five years. The latest had taken nearly a hundred to occur. However, due to Geolithos' new status as a Federation planet, this new war had to be cleared up quickly, cleanly, and quietly. That was where the Enterprise came in. Jim had been eager to receive the diplomatic mission eighteen months in after they'd suffered a two-week long drought of action. The crew was becoming restless and bored, which meant a certain Dr. McCoy had gotten plenty of visitors in the medbay, most of whom belonged to Scotty in Engineering.
"Thank God you're giving these people something to do," Bones told Jim, "I'm tired of 'em."
Jim grinned and took his place on the transporter pad along with Spock, Minnie, and Ensigns Carter and Bel'la from Engineering and Science respectively; Minnie was the only female. A strange sensation like foreboding tugged at Bones' gut as Jim barked "Energize," but he tried to ignore it. He plopped down beside Scotty in the transporter room, called the medbay to ready the staff for the inevitable medical emergencies, and settled in to wait for their return. Twenty-four hours later, Bones found himself in the same position when Jim called to be beamed up in controlled but tight voice. Seconds later, Bones had called a team to the pad, and Jim was appearing before him cradling a near-unconscious Minnie. She was white as a sheet and whimpering softly as Jim explained, "Some damned ritual. Stupid damn rituals! Made her drink something… don't even know what…"
The medical team quickly arrived, and Minnie was loaded onto a stretcher. Once in the OR, Bones hurriedly sedated her and began the procedure. He inserted a tube down her throat, quickly but properly, to keep her airway clear, then ran one from her nose to her stomach for gastric lavage. After several rounds of pumping warm saline in and out of her stomach, the fluid coming out became perfectly clear in color. He removed the tube from her nose and, after making sure she was okay to breathe on her own, from her airway. While all this had been transpiring, a lt. (j.g.) from Science was doing research to figure out what exactly Minnie ingested. She discovered that the substance was the juice of a native plant that the inhabitants had an immunity to but made anyone else very ill. Finally, after Minnie was resting in a biobed with an IV in her arm, Jim and Bones sat beside her, keeping a vigil for her to regain consciousness. Bones also wanted to make sure there weren't any complications. (Her nose bled a couple times due to the tube, but nothing serious arose.)
"I never should've let her do it," Jim muttered at long last.
"What are you talking about?"
"The chief or whatever held out a cup of that stuff and said one of us needed to drink it to seal the treaty. He drank it, then the minority leader. I held out my hand for it, but Minnie grabbed it first. They had no objections, so I didn't say anything. Then Minnie started getting sick. Spock told me to take her and beam up as quick as possible. I… I shouldn't have let her do it."
"Stop beating yourself up about it, Jim. She'll be fine as soon as she wakes up and eats something. It's not your fault, and she wouldn't blame you even if it was. You know that."
Jim remained silent, pursing his lips. Suddenly, he said, "This is her fifth brush with death. Something's not right. Come on, Bones, there's someone we need to have a chat with."
Bones rose quickly and followed Jim into his own office where the young captain began trying to set up a chat with New Vulcan and someone named Ambassador Spock. Bones was greatly confused and chose to remain silent. An image crackled into life on the screen. The doctor felt his jaw drop. It was Spock all right, an older version of Spock.
"Hello, Jim," he said calmly, "Ah, this must be Dr. Leonard McCoy. How are you doctor?"
However, all Bones could manage at the moment was, "What the hell is going on here, Jim?"
"Yes, you certainly are Dr. McCoy," the Vulcan onscreen replied, "You see, when the Narada attacked the Kelvin all those years ago, resulting in the death of Jim's father, an alternate reality was created, an alternate universe. In the reality I am from, these events never occurred. The Narada was transported through time from the future to the day of Jim's birth. I arrived twenty-five years later. I am Spock, just… a different one. Now then, why did you contact me, Jim?"
"What happened to Cmdr. Minerva Black, CTO of the USS Enterprise in your reality? What happened to your Minnie?"
Other Spock's eyebrows knitted together as he replied, "I am afraid I do not know what you mean. I did not know of anyone named Minerva Black in my crew."
"What do you mean?" Jim asked almost angrily, "How can you not know her? You know everyone!"
"I can assure you, Jim, we had no one by that name serving. Perhaps she exists only in this reality and not in mine."
"Of course," Bones interjected, "she told us once how her father had just been released from the Kelvin before it was destroyed. That's why she and her nearest brother were born."
"Yeah. He died before she joined Starfleet Academy."
"Perhaps I have an answer," Other Spock said, "I believe that the two realities are trying to reconcile with one another, to become as alike as possible. If Minnie exists in your reality and not in mine, it may be that the universe sees her as a mistake, something that needs to be undone in order to regain balance."
"So the universe is trying to kill me?" a hoarse voice asked.
Jim and Bones turned; Spock quirked an eyebrow.
"Hi, Other Spock. I'm Minnie Black. You don't know me."
"I know you now," he replied.
Minnie still looked ill. She remained paler than usual and was a bit wobbly on her feet; the IV pole was a great help in keeping her upright.
"Minnie, what are you doing?" Bones asked, "You're supposed to be in bed! Resting!"
"Never mind, Bones. Spock, let me get this straight… you're saying the universe sees me as a mistake and has, essentially, put a hit out on me? Because I never existed in another universe?
"Indeed. It is actually quite remarkable you have survived thus far. I can only credit Dr. McCoy's skills as a physician as the only reason you have not died."
"So, what are my odds at continuing to beat the universe for an extended period of time?" she asked.
"Truthfully, they are slim to none. Why do you ask?"
"Because I wanna know how awesome it's gonna be when I do it."
"I can see why you are friends with her, Jim," Spock said with a smirk, "She, too, cannot believe something is impossible to accomplish. I am sure she did well on the Kobayashi Maru."
"Second only to Jim," she cut in.
"I'm sure. I wish you had existed in my reality. You are a perfect balancing force between Jim, Dr. McCoy, and my younger self. We could have used you," Other Spock replied, "Good luck with your plan, and let the doctor return you to bed. Good-bye Jim, doctor, Minerva. Live long and prosper."
The image of the older Spock blinked into nothingness. After a moment, Bones quietly said, "Come on, Minnie. You've gotta lie down," and gently looped an arm around her waist, leading her back to the biobed. She laid down obediently, gazing up at Bones and Jim.
"You'll be fine tomorrow, Minnie. I'm gonna check your IV to make sure you didn't do anything to it when you got up. I'll be here all night, too, okay?" Bones explained, "I'm gonna give you something to help you sleep, as well."
"I'll stay, too," Jim said.
Minnie smiled weakly after Bones gave her the sedative. Her eyelids began to flutter. She muttered something Bones didn't quite catch but made Jim's eyes go wide with something akin to fear and surprise. Once the doctor was sure she was out, he said so to Jim, and the captain grabbed his wrist and led him away.
"Did you hear that, Bones?" he whispered, "Did you hear what she said?"
Bones shook his head, so Jim continued, "She said 'it's better to burn out than to fade away.' I'm… kinda scared. That line is pretty infamous."
"Well, I've never heard it. Why do so many people know it?"
Jim merely wetted his lips nervously before saying, "There was a singer and guitar player in the late 1980s-early 1990s named Kurt Cobain. He was with a band called Nirvana. The line originally comes from a song by a guy called Neil Young titled 'My, My, Hey, Hey'. Cobain cited it in his suicide note, at the very end. He… uh… he overdosed on heroin and shot himself with a shotgun. It's been used to the same purpose by a few others since then."
"Minnie would never do that, and you know it, Jim."
"I'm not saying she would… but… but she might become reckless. Minnie's the kind of person who would try to do every stupid thing possible to prove she can beat the universe. You know that."
Bones turned to look at the young woman lying on the biobed and knew Jim was right. However, a part of him couldn't help but hope that he was wrong.
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you." ~A .A. Milne
There it is, folks! I figured people will still know about Kurt Cobain in the future.. Nirvana is pretty amazing, after all. I expect to have the next installment out next weekend. Keep an eye on those inboxes! And remember how joyful and delighted and generally excited reviews make me :)
P.S. Info on gastric lavage came from Wikipedia.