That night, Jim had a nightmare. He awoke screaming in his dorm room, waking Bones, his roommate. Bones rushed over to him and tried to calm him down, eventually, Jim stopped screaming, his breathing evened out and he sat up and sung his legs over the side of the bed. He held his head in his hands. His encounter with his mother had awakened memories best left dormant. Jim knew that it was time. He raised his head and looked at Bones.
'Call Gail' he said 'I think it is time that I finished my story and told you both about Tarsus.'
Bone nodded and went to call Gaila. Jim rubbed a hand across his face. He knew that to tell the two best friends that he had the truth. Especially Gaila. He loved her too much to attempt to hide this. She had faced his birth mother and survived. He hoped that she could handle what he was about to tell her. He knew that Bones would be able to handle it, if only because he was a doctor and was trained to handle the direst of situations, especially with the added Starfleet training. He should be able to handle it, even if it was only a recollection. Simple enough. But, what Jim was about to tell Gaila and Bones was something very traumatic. It would be hard to tell them, but it had to be done. Soon, there was a knock on the door. Bones returned with Gaila. She was wearing a tank and sleep shorts with a green dressing gown. She sat next to him and placed a hand upon Jim's shoulder. He turned and smiled at her. She smiled back. Bones just watched on. The connection between the two people before him was beyond anything that he had ever seen. It constantly astounded him. Bone set up the voice recorder. Jim took a deep breath.
'When I landed on Tarsus IV, I was amazed by how beautiful it was. It's hard to describe. I was raised on a desert world, never having been to Earth simply because many feared that Starfleet would take me or Winona would try to reclaim me. To see the rich green of the grass, to feel of a cool wind, see the colours of trees and flowers in their natural environment, in person was incredible.' Started Jim 'Two people were waiting for me, a man and a woman. The woman was a human called Mira and was the head mistress of my new school. The man was middle aged and was Governor Kodos. At first everything was great. The teaching was sub standard compared to Vulcan teachers, but I endured it. I took up some fighting classes even though I was taught on Vulcan. I excelled at everything. Then there was the start of the famine. There were whispers' at first, of fields of grain dying. Kodos tried to hush it up. The affected fields were burned, but I managed to get a sample. I had been given use of a lab and so took it there to run some tests. It was a man made toxin that was killing the fields. Even as I watched it through the computer screen, it was mutating. Something was definitely off. I started my computer upon the task of hacking into Kodos' computer. It was surprisingly well guarded. I knew then that Kodos had something to do with the toxin. I couldn't prove it though. I sent my findings to Starfleet. That was my first mistake. I had forgotten that all off world transmissions were monitored and the transmission that I had sent led to an acceleration of a pre-existing plan, with one change. Me. The next day a meeting was called and two lists were read out. I was on the kill list. Io had been moved, as Kodos put it 'Because of my anarchist attempts of destroying the government'. I escaped with some of the children and led them to a secluded cave. I knew that I had to get supplies and fast. I set up a sentry and a signal. I waited for the cover of darkness and snuck out. I raided several houses for food, blankets and medical supplies. Some of the things I saw in those houses still haunt me. In the first house, I came across a newborn baby, fresh out of the womb, the umbilical cord still attached, with a knife in its chest. The mother was also dead. In the second house, I saw a young girl who sold herself to a soldier in exchange for her life. Once the soldier was finished with her, he killed her. He was the first soldier that I killed. I took the soldiers weapons and added them to the supplies. I got what else I needed, found some other survivors' and returned to the cave. That night, while others slept, I gazed at the stars that had called to me my whole life. I thought of Vulcan. I may technically be from Earth, but my true home was Vulcan. But, the one place I felt most at peace was under the stars. Amanda said it was because, since I was born in space, I belonged to the stars. Many agreed with that and one of the names the Vulcan's gave me was; Starborn. That night, they were a solace to me against what I had seen. Against what I would see. That night, I knew that everything was going to get worse. I was right. Day after day, week after week, I would venture into houses and find horrific sights. Guardians sold their children wards to paedophilic soldiers in exchange for their lives and later for food. Mothers sold themselves to protect their children. The guardians would be shot after they got a hold of the child and the child would be passed around until no one wanted it anymore. The same happened to the mothers, but worse as they would not know that the same thing would be happening to the child they had sacrificed themselves for. Some people were given a clean death; others were tortured and experimented upon. When I could, I saved as many as possible. They often committed suicide, died from infection or, in a few rare cases, returned to the soldiers as the soldiers has gotten them hooked on a drug that they gave them simply to control them and get them to do whatever the soldier wanted. In those cases, I had to kill them. If I didn't they would have given away our hiding place. I had left my name behind and was known only as JTK and Kodos thirsted for my blood. He wanted me alive. Months passed and the Toxin had mutated to the point where the few scientists remaining could not produce and effective cure. I started to leave instructions for what was to happen if I got caught. I had to do something. Each day, despite my best efforts, those under my care died. The day I got caught, I was in Kodos' office. They found me after I had sent an SOS to Starfleet, detailing all that I knew. I warned them not to comm. me back and erased any record of the transmission. I was caught by Kodos' men. For week I was tortured. Then the torture found a new Justification. I was being trained to become the ultimate soldier. Loyal to none but Kodos. Immune to torture and remorseless. They wanted to break me. They failed because, with each whip lash, burn, cut, beating and starvation period, my resolve grew too strong to break. If I did, then I would betray those I had rescued. I learnt how to kill fast and efficiently. I learned to be a cold blooded killer. An hour before Starfleet found me, I made my escape. They found my at the end of a trail of bodies, covered in cuts, bruises and burns. I refused treatment until my charges were taken care of. Sarek beamed down in time to see my broken and bloodied body and a cold, dangerous quality to my eyes. Starfleet learnt an important lesson that day about Vulcan fury and their need for vengeance. You don't get in their way, or you join the body count. He killed every Kodos soldier he could find. Kodos was never found. I managed to calm Sarek down enough that he never left my side, like an overprotective father. We beamed back to the ship. It was decided that JTK ceased to exist off of Tarsus. Crew and survivor alike agreed that I was Surel, not JTK. One of the first things I asked my father was; 'Where is Spock?' I spent the days recovering from Tarsus in the science labs, engine room and on the Bridge, learning and sharing what I knew. I also stated to plan to track Kodos' down and kill him. My scars tell a tale and I have only told you part of it.'
When Jim finished his tale, Gaila launched herself at him, sobbing quietly. Jim returned the embrace. Silent tears ran down his cheeks.
'I'm sorry' said Gaila 'I'm so sorry' she pulled back.
'Hey, hey,' said Jim gently, wiping away her tears. 'You have nothing to be sorry for.' Gaila nodded her head. Jim turned to Bones who was being quiet.
'You okay Bones?' he asked
'Yeah' said Jim 'I just can't believe what you went though. It's not right. No one should have to go through that.'
. . . .
Betrayer POV
Jerk! He steals the hottest girl on Campus and has a tragic tale. We will see about this. I will get the glory of Tarsus IV and then I will steal his girl, the medal for JTK and I will ruin him. His reputation socially, academically and in the science fields will soon belong to me. I will have everything f Jims. It starts now. I will type up his tale tonight and hand it in just before class and well before Jim hands in his, so no one will believe that he his JTK. Then I will have glory and adoration. JTK will not be whispered across the Universe. Soon, it will be my name that invokes fear and awe. Soon they will whisper...
NPOV
What he didn't know was that Jim had forwarded the voice recording directly to Spock. It was done as Jim thought that Spock deserved t know what had happened. It was time for the secret to be revealed.