Uhura's eyes widened as she realized the inevitable conclusion to the argument and she opened her mouth to offer an alternative. Before she could however, the Andorian lunged forward. The other teenagers watching the teenagers the argument with mild interest scrambled backwards on instinct – moving away from the threat and danger.

J.T dogged Gareb's first attack as the alien lunged into empty air. Growling, the Andorian pivoted and executed a lightning fast overhand, forcing J.T to duck. Gareb cackled in delight.

'Stupid, stupid boy,' he sneered before turning mockingly to face Spock, 'make sure you watching Vulcan – this is what we do to people who-'.

Spock would never know how the Andorian intended to end his remark because Gareb's vocal chords leaped a decade of octaves as J.T powerfully rammed his kneecap into the Andorian's blue testicles.

Whump!

'And that's what happens to bullies,' J.T spat out in Andorian.

Gareb collapsed onto the ground, doubling over in a fetus position to protect his painful injury. He squealed maliciously and glared upwards at the smaller boy who now towered over his adversary. Galvanized by a deathly glare from their leader, Gareb's two accomplices snarled in defiance and advanced towards J.T. One had an ugly scar marring his face and the other was half-blinded by an eye-patch. J.T acknowledged the new threat and shifted his weight, balancing on the balls of his feet. He briefly scanned his new opponents with an expert eye; both were taller and stronger thanks to their alien physique but J.T was faster.

And smarter.

He estimated the distance between himself and the aliens. Then, satisfied he had sufficient runway, he charged.

Eyepatch baulked slightly at the sight of a scrawny teenage boy sprinting directly towards him but Scarface grinned with anticipation. He crouched slightly, ready to receive and entrap the enemy. I've got you now, you little sucker.

J.T allowed himself a devious smile when he saw the wide gap between Scarface's legs and locked onto the location. With a meter to spare, he dived forwards and tucked himself into a ball, rolling like an armadillo under the short tunnel of flesh. With his adversary's back now to him, J.T twisted his lower body and kicked his leg into the back of the closest knee his shin could find. Scarface's leg was forcibly shoved forwards and he buckled under weight his leg no longer supported. Everybody knows, when the wall of a tunnel falls, the rest of it follows. With the more confident of the two Andorians temporarily incapacitated, J.T swiftly advanced on his remaining opponent before Scarface could recover from his tumble.

Eyepatch was a good head taller than J.T thanks to his growth stunt as a result from starvation so the teenager quickly dismissed attacking the alien with his fists. His best hope would be to attempt an assault on the Andorian with the strongest part of his body – his elbow. Grasping his fist he rammed the tip of his elbow towards Eyepatch's gut, using the strength of his second arm to push the fist of his first arm and double it's force. Amazingly, spurred by adrenaline, Eyepath turned his body sideways with microseconds to spare and J.T's eblow whistled over its intended target area. J.T swore under his breath as the momentum of his attack caused him to loose balance and teeter slightly. The Andorian realized J.T's fault as well and hastily countered with a right hook that struck the side of J.T's face, causing the teenager to reel even more. If it weren't for inertia, J.T would have lost his footing moves ago.

Blood seeped from the bloody interior of his cheek and he spat it out, tarnishing the grass beneath him. He angrily started towards the Andorian but sensed movement from behind him. It was instinct that saved him.

Pivoting, he spun on his heel as Scarface lurched towards him, thrusting his arm forward in a collision course for the teenager's nose. J.T deftly swiveled his upper body sideways using his hips and grabbed the Andorian's arm. Using it as a makeshift ladder he shoved his foot up against Scarface's knee and used the leverage it provided to haul himself upwards, pushing downwards on the alien's outstretched arm at the same time and scampering up the Andorian's body in a matter of seconds. Scarface barely had time to comprehend what had happened before J.T was straddling his shoulders, gripping his neck with a vice-like grip as the Andorian staggered around the lawn.

Eye-patch hissed in frustration as he lumbered around his flailing friend, unable to attain a clear shot at the teenager sitting bizarrely atop his comrade. Noting that Eye-patch was now within range, J.T jackknifed. Unwillingly, Scarface's torso was forced to emulate the movement of his shoulders and he lost his balance, crashing into his comrade. J.T kicked off the Andorian's shoulders and tucked himself in a ball to absorb the shock of the fall. He tumbled forwards and twisted his body, spinning sideways before rolling onto his feet. He abandoned the thought of rising and instead observed the tangle of limbs from a defensive crouching position.

The sound of running feet alerted him to an approaching presence. He jerked his head towards the rhythmic noise, ready for this new threat and possible attack.

Amanda Greyson returned to the spot she'd been teaching at just in time to witness Gareb trigger the fight. The young linguist who had accompanied her earlier gave her a pointed look and a silent agreement passed between them. The teenagers had all lived through hell not too long ago and it would be absolutely futile to try and break them apart, lest they injure themselves in the process; the best course of action would be to acquire someone more resourceful in such a situation. Amanda stayed behind to protect her son and ensure that the fighting didn't turn life threatening while Uhura left to search for anyone with a phaser. Sprinting to the hospital ward, Uhura had spotted Christopher Pike strolling through the doors; he was a Starfleet lieutenant, most likely trained in combat and a more preferable candidate than the timid doctors and nurses who probably hadn't seen a fight in their life let alone know what to do in such a situation. Her assumption was proved correct as lieutenant Pike readily agreed to her request and followed her to the hospital's makeshift classroom area. When the pair finally rounded the corner they were met with a blonde-haired boy crouching defensively as he watched two Andorian's attempt to untangle themselves. A third Andorian was lying on the ground in agony, clutching his groin while a young Vulcan and his human mother stood to the side.

'Boys! What do you think you're doing?' Pike demanded, striding towards them intimidatingly.

When the four fighters stubbornly refused to answer, he turned to the only boy who didn't appear to be grappling.

'You – the Vulcan, what happened here?'

'The three Andorians were attempting to evoke an emotional response from me through verbal taunts. The human patient argued with their leader which evoked him into attacking'.

'He was going to hurt the Vulcan!' J.T protested, 'I only stood up for him'.

Pike scowled at the four survivors. Inwardly however, his silently approved J.T's actions – even through he shouldn't have provoked the Andorian in the first place; he'd done it to protect a stranger. With a pang of sadness, Pike realized that J.T had been doing this for months – protecting his kids from Kodos and taking the assault meant for them upon himself.

'I can justify the boy's explanation,' interjected Uhura.

Pike nodded slowly; he expected as much.

'I don't want to hear about this again – got it?' he told the boys, the tone of his voice implying that his question wasn't

All four of them nodded sullenly although J.T and Gareb glowered at each other in resentment. Pike sighed, partly in frustration but mainly in relief.

'Good to hear it,' he muttered.