Solan crept into a back alley where everything seemed damp. He had to wonder if they had had a torrential rain here. He knew if he could find out anything, it would not be right out in the middle of town. It was in the dark corners of the universe where one found information about deep secrets. He did not mind creeping into the dark corners of the universe…most of the time. He was wearing a robe to cover up his suit, and put the hood up to hide the fact that he had a helmet over his head as well. He looked around him as he walked, and finally came upon someone in the alley. The person looked at Solan. Solan could not help but notice that this individual had yellow eyes like Jerah had.

"Hey," Solan said. "Who are you?"

"You are not from this planet," the being said.

"Are you?"

"Why do you ask questions?"

"Because I want answers. Show me where I can find answers to what's going on here."

"You do not want to find the answers you are looking for. Are you from the ship?"

Solan frowned at that question. "What ship?"

"The one that is here for supplies…but I do not believe that is the true reason."

"You're very observant. Have you met up with my captain?"

"You do not want to be caught here. It would be wise of you to go back to your ship. You will disappear if you do not."

"What do you mean?"

"You would be a great experiment, and there would be no way for your people to retrieve you or prove that you have been captured…only that you would be trapped on this world for eight years. Go back to your ship. I am meeting your captain there tonight."

Solan was not sure what to do. "Is there some sort of surveillance on this world?" he asked.

"Yeah. Don't you hear it?"

Solan could definitely hear a buzzing sound. "That buzzing sound?"

"Right."

"What's your name?"

"Helek."

"You know someone named Jerah?"

Helek's eyes seemed to swirl with that question. "You have met him?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," Solan answered. "He had been stranded on Argus Ten for a long time."

Helek seemed surprised by that. "He was stranded?"

"Yeah."

"How did you find him? Is he here now?"

"No. He's dead."

Helek's eyes swirled even more than before. "How did he die?" he asked.

Solan was getting the feeling that this individual knew exactly who Jerah was. "He attacked our ship," he said honestly. "We tried to help him but he held one of our people hostage, and then he attacked our ship."

"And you killed him," Helek said quietly. "You did not take the time to find out why he was so desperate to get here."

"We tried. He wouldn't tell us anything."

"He was my brother. He had escaped to try and find help while the window was open, and promised that he would return. They must have pursued him. You said he was stranded?"

"Yeah. He was on this planet and wanted us to help him fix his ship. I tried, but it was too messed up, and then he threatened one of our crew to force our captain to give him a ship. All he had to do was ask Captain Kirk, and tell him what was going on. Instead, he became a hostile threat. The captain's first priority is to his ship and his crew, and when someone threatens that, he will use deadly force if necessary."

"And Jerah did not succeed at finding help."

"Yes. There is help here now, if you will talk to Captain Kirk and tell him what's going on here. Your brother could have had all the help he needed, because the captain is very concerned about what's going on here."

"Why could he not simply capture Jerah and let him explain?"

"We tried. He had already shut down one system in our ship, and would have destroyed the whole ship. He wouldn't give us a chance to talk to him, and he had us on the planet for two days while a storm passed over. He wouldn't talk to us. He only listened to find out what he wanted to know."

"He had become bitter. He thought he had failed."

Helek looked up. "You should go back to your ship," he said. "If we remain here, we will be discovered."

"You can hide from the surveillance?"

"I can."

"They can't detect me. My suit prevents it."

"I will meet you at your ship."

"Show me where the facility is where these experiments are going on."

Helek looked at Solan. "If I take you there, you may never escape," he said. "Your suit will not be sufficient to protect you. Not only are they creating unheard of technology and…other creations, but they are selling it. You see the traffic going in and out of this world."

"They're experimenting with DNA, aren't they?" Solan asked. "Our doctor discovered something…"

"You must go."

"Show me where the facility is."

"I cannot."

"Is it in this city?"

"No. It is outside the city to the south, and is underground."

"How far underground?"

"Many kilometers. Go back to your ship and wait for me."

Solan finally nodded. "Fine. You said you met my captain. Did you tell him the same thing?"

"Yes. He agreed."

"Alright."

Solan watched Helek disappear into the next alley, but he turned and went back to the hangar where the ship was. He made his way back to the ship the same way he had gotten out of the hangar. Jim and Korax were already there.

"Did you find anything?" Jim asked.

"I found a very interesting being out there, but according to him, you had found him too," Solan replied.

"Helek."

"Yeah. Did he tell you Jerah was his brother?"

Jim frowned. "No."

"Captain, I think we have really stepped in some deep trouble this time."

"I agree. You should hear what Bones found."

"What?"

"You ever heard of a Capellan power-cat?"

Solan's mouth dropped open slightly. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just think about that, and think about this DNA experiment they're doing on this planet."

"You mean, they're experimenting with human DNA and…"

"Shocking, isn't it?"

Solan rolled his eyes at that pun. "Please, spare me. I thought I wouldn't have to hear that without Doctor McCoy along."

"I just had to put that in there."

"And Jerah escaped to find help."

Jim nodded. "They must have chased him to that planet and stranded him there. I guess they knew how to defeat him."

"Or they had something else that could defeat him."

"I think we have all the evidence we need."

"Captain, I think we should get out of here. I sure don't want to be here when that window closes."

"All this would explain all the fear around here."

"Everyone's being monitored. Did you hear that buzzing sound?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"There are no private conversations on this planet," Solan said. "And who knows if this one is just because we're on this ship."

Just then, they heard someone coming up the boarding ramp. It was Kyle Brandon and he had three armed guards with him. "What are you doing boarding our ship?" Jim asked.

"You are under arrest, Captain, and your spy as well," Brandon replied. "It is useless for you to resist."

"Under arrest for what?"

"You have come onto our planet with one whom you did not disclose, and he went into the city without permission."

"What? We only went into the city because you said we could."

"But you sent this one, who is wearing a suit that is undetectable to our scanners. You have deceived us, and how do we know there are not others?"

Jim pressed a button on his communicator, which let Spock know that they needed an emergency transport. The blue light beside Spock began flashing. "Mister Scott, transport the captain, Solan, and Korax at once," he said.

Scotty ran to the transporter controls and scanned for the captain and the others. He initiated the transport, and soon the three appeared on the transporter pad. Jim looked at Korax and Solan. "You two alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Solan answered.

"We have to report this to Starfleet."

Jim hurried to the Bridge. "Uhura, get a message to Admiral Winston, and make it urgent!" he said.

"Captain, there are two ships coming up from the planet," Sulu said. "And they're coming toward us."

"Shields up! Red alert!"

"Captain, we're being hailed," Uhura said.

Jim looked at the screen as Kyle Brandon appeared. "Prepare to be boarded," he said.

"Forget it!" Jim replied. "End transmission! Fire at will!"

The two ships went into defensive mode immediately, and could evade most of the fire from the Enterprise, but Sulu managed to get some shots to hit the mark. "Captain, they have some sort of shielding that our weapons can't penetrate," he said.

Just then, a shot from one of the ships rocked the Enterprise, and the ship shuddered. "Captain! That shot had some sort of electronic burst and it's effecting the shields," Sulu said.

"Can you compensate?" Jim asked.

"I'm trying."

"Mister Gordon, can you change the shield frequency?" Jim asked over the intercom.

"I'm working on it now, Sir," Gordon replied.

Another shot rocked the Enterprise bad enough that Jim almost fell off his feet. "Fire a torpedo!" he yelled.

The proton torpedo hit the first of the ships and exploded in a brilliantly bright flash of light, and although the ship was clearly damaged, it was not destroyed, nor was its pilot discouraged.

"Evade!" Jim yelled.

Sulu was doing exactly that, but the Enterprise was a large ship and was not near as maneuverable as the smaller ships that were attacking them. He barely avoided the next shot by turning the Enterprise at an impossible angle for a ship that large. "Captain, we're outmaneuvered," he said.

"If we are hit with another of those blasts, it could take out the shields and make us vulnerable," Spock said. "The shields of those ships are not graviton like the Enterprise. They are of a different frequency."

"Like what?"

"I am not certain."

Jim did not want to leave the planet, but he did not see that they had a choice. "Mister Sulu, take us to warp," he said.

Sulu turned the ship and they blasted to warp within seconds. Everyone was silent for several seconds. "What kind of shields did they have?" Jim asked.

"According to our readings, they seem to be of the same frequency and makeup as the samples that we have analyzed from Jerah," Spock said.

Jim was dumbfounded for a moment. "Wait. Are you saying their shields are made up of some sort of living substance?"

"Yes, Captain."

"What kind of bazaar experiments are they doing on that planet?"

"It seems they are far less ethical than the Federation."

"Uhura, let me know as soon as you get a reply from Admiral Winston. Send him another message and let him know that we had to leave the planet."

Jim sat down in his chair. "I hate that we had to leave Helek there," he said.

"We also lost the ship that you took down to the planet," Spock replied.

"Yeah. Don't remind me. We may never find out what's really going on down there. Anyone who's there will be trapped there when the four days are over. They're monitoring everything everyone is doing down there, and the people are scared out of their minds. Helek knows what's happening, and we have a pretty good idea."

"That we do, but it is unclear as to what we can do to stop it without being trapped on the planet ourselves."

"I just have to wait for Admiral Winston to reply."

"In the meantime, we can analyze the signature from the weapon they used, and repair our shields."

"Yeah. Go ahead and get that started."

Jim just sat there thinking about Helek. He would think they had abandoned him as well. He wished he knew some way to contact him…but what good would it do? In four days, he would be trapped on that planet again for eight more years. Jim was not sure what it did to a person to think they had no hope at all, but he was sure that was how Helek felt, and he now understood why Jerah had been so hostile and angry. He only wished they could have solved that problem in a different way.

After thirty minutes at warp, they stopped at a small moon that was far enough from Nervala IV that they could not be detected. Jim could not just sit on the Bridge. He was anxious to find out what was really going on in this situation. However, after about thirty more minutes, another ship dropped out of warp. "Captain, a ship just dropped out of warp," Sulu said.

"Shields up!" Jim replied and ran for the Bridge. Sulu vacated his chair as he arrived at the Bridge. "Is it one of the ships from Nervala Four?"

"No, Sir. It's the ship you left there." Sulu looked at Jim. "And we're being hailed."

"On screen, Uhura," Jim said.

Helek's face appeared on the screen. "Captain Kirk," he said.

"How did you…"

"Captain, they will find you here. May I come aboard your ship?"

Jim had to think about that. "We have no choice but to detain you until we figure out what's happening here," he said.

"I will gladly go with you, Captain, and I have also brought my sister and mother."

"Just give us a minute. We'll bring you aboard."

The transmission ended. "Are you detecting anyone else on that ship?" Jim asked.

"No one but those three," Sulu answered.

"Lock onto it with a tractor beam and bring them aboard."

Sulu did that and Helek was soon aboard the Enterprise along with his sister and mother. Jim had plenty of security in the shuttle bay and they were clothed in their "electro suits" as Jim had dubbed them, and he was also dressed in one because Carol had insisted since he was the captain of the ship.

Helek stared at Jim with his yellow eyes. "You do not trust me, Captain?" he asked.

"I don't know yet," Jim replied.

"I advise you to move your ship away from here. You are in danger."

Jim only hesitated a moment and then took out his communicator. "Mister Sulu, take us away from here at highest warp," he said.

"Yes sir," Sulu replied. "Any particular direction?"

"Away from Nervala Four."

"Yes sir."

Jim knew when the ship went to warp. "Now, we're away," he said. "We're gonna escort you to the brig, and you'll be cleared by our doctor before you're taken anywhere else in this ship."

"Even my mother and sister?" Helek asked.

Jim looked at the two women who had come from the ship, and he recognized the younger one as the woman he had met on the street. "I believe I've met your sister," he said.

"She was not part of the experiments…yet."

"Well, if you'll come with us."

Jim stopped to talk to Spock. "I want every inch of that ship gone over," he said.

"Yes, Captain," Spock replied.

Jim led the three guests and a troop of security officers to the brig, and they were confined behind shields. "I'm sorry for this inconvenience, but you surely understand our concern," he said. "If you need anything, you need only to ask."

Just then, Bones walked in. He stood a moment and looked at Helek, and then at Jim. Jim thought he looked rather nervous about this examination, and he could understand why. Bones had gotten a full dose of what Jerah could do, but he went on over to the prison cell and pulled the access device over. It was the only point of access to the prison cell when the shield was closed.

"Put your arm through that hole," Bones said. "Is it possible for me to take a blood sample from you?"

"Yes," Helek replied. "However, it will not be like a normal blood sample."

"I can imagine."

Helek stuck his arm through the hole and Bones took a sample. He and Jim were both surprised at the sample. It was not like normal human blood, but it looked very much like it was electrified. "How did they do this to you?" Bones asked.

"Through many experiments," Helek replied. "Once you are chosen, you do not leave until you are useless."

"They mixed your DNA with a Capellan power-cat?"

"You have done your work, Doctor."

"Answer the question."

"Bones," Jim interrupted, not wanting him to be so harsh with Helek. After all, he had shown no aggression toward them.

"They thought to make us their slaves," Helek said. "But Jerah would be no one's slave. He escaped, and took me with him eight years ago. He was able to get to a ship, but I was not able to get my sister and mother to the ship, so they have been living in fear for this entire time. I have been hunted, but I can hide from their scanners. That is why they were so cautious when you came to the planet. You must have asked about Jerah."

"I did," Jim replied. "I guess that was a mistake."

"It was. There are many who come to the planet to buy research secrets and formulas. The scientists are getting rich off the sacrifice of their own people. The reason Jerah did not trust you is because the Federation has been involved."

"Not in something like this."

"I am afraid you do not know your federation as well as you think."

Jim scowled at that. He could not help but remember Khan. He had been an experiment gone wrong. He would never have thought the Federation was involved in that either, but it had been.

Bones looked at Jim. "He doesn't appear to be sick in any way," he said. "Except for his altered DNA."

He went on over to the next who was the sister. She looked up at him with her light blue eyes and he could see the fear. "You needn't be afraid of me," Bones said. He scanned her and then also took a blood sample from her. "She's clean too."

Last was Helek's mother, who was, of course, older than Helek. She had emerald green eyes much like Jerah's had been after he died. "You killed my son," she said.

"I didn't," Bones replied. He was in no mood to talk to anyone about that after what he had been through. He wondered just what they thought they would do if someone was shocking them and shooting electric charges at them. He scanned her and then took a blood sample. He looked at Jim. "I'm done."

Jim watched Bones as he left the room and then looked at the three "guests". He was not sure what to do with them. He did not think he wanted Helek roaming through the ship whether he was acting hostile or not. He hated to keep the young woman in the brig because she seemed genuinely terrified. "I think you know why we have to keep you confined," he said.

"I understand why you keep me confined," Helek replied. "I don't see why you keep them confined."

"It's only for caution." Jim walked over to the two women. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Neither of them answered, so Jim looked at Helek. "If they don't tell me what they want, I can't help them," he said.

"Mother, talk to him," Helek said. "He wants to help us."

"How can you be sure?" the woman asked.

"Because I talked with him."

She looked at Jim. "I am Jekoliah," she said. "I am not certain that I trust you. You killed my son."

Jim was sure his mother would feel the same way if someone killed him. "I don't know how to explain it to you except that he attacked us," he said. "I actually didn't know it would kill him when I…" He did not want to actually tell her how he died. "I couldn't let him tear up my ship. He wouldn't stop."

Jekoliah just looked at him a moment. "He was angry. No one would help us, and the many others who are held captive on that miserable world."

"How do you know? Who did you ask?"

"No one will go against them. They are too afraid that their children will be killed or taken for the experiments."

"But you never asked anyone from offworld?"

"They are there to make money. They do not care how the money is made."

"Well, the window is only open for four more days. Unless we know where we're going and what we're looking for, we can't go down there, or we'll end up stranded there for eight years. I wish we had known."

"Now you know why Jerah was so desperate."

"I do, but it doesn't change the facts. He kidnapped our doctor and was shocking him, and took him with him when he fled. I have to go and figure out what to do next."

Jim turned and left the brig. He was deeply troubled about this situation, and they had not heard from Admiral Winston yet. However, before he got to the Bridge, Uhura called him. "Captain, we're receiving a transmission from Admiral Winston," she said.

"Good. Send it to my quarters."

Jim went to his quarters and turned on the communication screen. "Captain Kirk," Winston said.

"Admiral," Jim replied. "Sir, we have discovered a big problem."

"I got your message. You have more news?"

"I do."

Jim explained to the admiral what had happened on Nervala IV, about Jerah, Helek, and everything that happened, and what they had discovered. Admiral Winston was silent for several seconds. "It's too dangerous for you to go in there," Winston said. "You could be trapped there for eight years."

"I realize that, Sir, but are we really going to do nothing?" Jim asked.

"With the window time ending so soon, it would be very difficult to accomplish what we want to accomplish without someone being trapped there and being unable to know what was happening for eight years."

"Why has no one suspected anything until now?"

"We don't have much dealing with Nervala Four. It's simply a research station, or that's what it's supposed to be. We may have to wait the eight years and then have a whole month to do something about this."

Jim frowned. "I don't want to be trapped there, but we could try and get out before it closed," he said.

"I understand your concern, but four days isn't long, Kirk."

"I understand, but we could leave whether we've accomplished what we wanted to or not. We could go by transporter."

"Kirk, if you go, you won't have any help for eight years. You should think long about that before you put yourself or any of your crew in that position."

"So, you're not telling me no?"

"You're the only one out there, Kirk. If you can do something, do it, but don't risk getting stuck there."

"Yes sir."

"I'm not ordering you. If you go, you're on your own."

"Yes sir."

"Winston out."

Jim turned off the communicator and just sat down on his bed. The admiral was actually leaving it up to him to do something to help the people on Nervala Four. He supposed there was a first time for everything. He would have to discuss this with Spock and the others. They would have to make a plan with information that Helek and the other two could give them…and that might not even be good enough.