AN: Sorry about that comment, guys…I'm just really workin' hard on this thing and…yeah. ANYWAY, things'll hopefully get a bit cuter and blah blah blah the end. AND THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!!!! It seriously just…makes me happy to make all y'all happy. I should also give credit to Sergei Lukyanenko's "Nightwatch" Teratology for actually the majority of the Russian names in this fic. PLEASE READ HIS BOOKS! THEY'RE SO UNDERRATED AND AMAZING!!!!
Chapter Five: Remembering
She rubbed at her face tiredly as she tiredly stumbled down the frozen corridor with the rest of the graduates. Commencement was yesterday, and they were getting up at the freakin' ass-crack of dawn to go space side. Well…at least there was no jet lag involved. She smiled at her stupid joke. Oh…it's the little things that make you laugh. She wondered if the Russians ever believed in giving breaks. It was a little harrowing how much they really worked. She nodded to herself; it was good. She really liked it all, but…sometimes she wanted to read, or catch up on the outside world. She hadn't had a chance to talk to father in three months! It was kinda crazy, but she was sure that joining the Academy here was probably a better choice than San Francisco. Kinda convenient that her dad got a job here. She shivered as they had the brief walk across the field to the docking bay. Winter right outside of Vologda was no joke. Sure it was dry most of the time, but what scathing winters they had. She was glad they were a little looser on the terms of drinking ages sometimes. At least good old Vodka gave the illusion of warmth. She also missed her warm home of Redding tucked among the redwoods. But California was not for her.
She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she looked to her left. A clever, little grin from her xenolinguist friend lit up her heart. Faina Petrova opened up to her quickly in the Academy when the engineer stumbled over herself in conversational Russian. The xenolinguist was more than happy to aid her in learning Russian, if she only she helped her better her English as well. The two had been in classes together ever since the first day the engineer set foot in the academy. Sure they had their occasional tiffs and fights, like good friends do. But it only made them stronger, and closer than before.
"What?" The engineer grumbled, trying her best not to shiver in the cold, and bear it like most of the others did. Faina chuckled, her bright grey eyes reflecting the light from the newly fallen snow. "Y'know…this'll be the last time we're going to be planetside."
"At least for a while," The engineer huffed. She loved Faina, she really did. But…she just didn't want to be talked to this morning. Seriously. But the xenolinguist was right. She looked around her briefly. The stunted acacia trees covered in a fine layer of snow, the clear sky just turning a faint azure, and faded bands of orange and magenta receded into the horizon. The glowing ivory face of the moon still hung in the sky, just like her breath. A faint smile coursed the line of her lips as she pointed skyward, hazel and light grey looked upward.
"Y'know…We're going to see that quite soon." The engineer's grin widened as she looked back to Faina. She nodded with equal enthusiasm.
"The fabled chunk of celestial rock!" a small giggle escaped her.
The engineer's visage met the sliding glass doors that led them into the hangar. The engineer felt herself focus a bit more at the prospect of a warm building. Faina smirked "Stop being such a baby! Anyway…the cold's good for you!" The engineer wasn't particularly listening to Petrova as they were blasted with hot air. Her eyes shifted closed. Being outside for five minutes felt like fifteen hours. Especially here, but when her eyes shifted open. She had to stop, even as everyone shuffled past her.
She stared in awe up at the huge ceiling of the docking bay as her stomach pitted of all the strange looks around her. The bright lights that gleamed off the shuttles were enough to give her goosebumps…and all of the activity bustling around her. She had long dreamt of this moment ever since she could remember. To be among the stars, the immense vastness of space. And this was one of the very last times her feet would ever grace the Earth. Well, at least for a while. Her heart guttered for a moment, remembering the sad, yet elated face of her father when she received her entrance letter to Starfleet. She would miss him greatly, but…she had to follow her dreams, even for him.
A bony protrusion struck her shoulder. The newfound engineer was jostled back as she exclaimed a quiet, yet sharp "ow…". Piercing grey eyes, and dark blonde hair (that almost appeared to have been strained back. Nary a hair was out of place…unlike hers). met her surprised visage. An intimidating beauty, lip curled in defiant anger made her stomach churn. She seemed to be around her own age, but seemed to have the air of someone that was far older than the poor, little engineer. "Oh! I'm so very sorry!" She bowed a bit, biting her lip in embarrassment. The girl gave her a small huff and a smile, as if to say oh…you're so pathetic.
"Maybe you should pay attention to where you're going instead of focusing on the clouds so much? And the formality's cute, but…anyone can tell you're an American by that atrocious accent."
"...And maybe you could be a bit nicer to one of the engineers that's just been assigned to the Cygnus, Alisa."
The engineer and her acquaintance turned round. A young man, however several years older than the two, looked rather unimpressed with the science officer. Hazel-green eyes couldn't help but be surprised with the striking appearance of the Cygnus' first mate. Andrey Fedorov was well known by the Russian academy. And she had seen him many times, but always thought her place in the academy was rather insignificant. But apparently not, since he knew of her. But that could have been obvious since he knew she was on his crew…duh! The thoughts swirling in her head almost made her dizzy.
"Wait…she's going to be with us? An American…seriously?" sharp green eyes blinked in shock, then turned back to look at the messy engineer. Unruly hair tied in…some fashion, the newly issued jumpsuit somewhat unzipped, that bag carelessly thrown over her shoulder. It was…appalling. The engineer wasn't too sure what to do at the unblinking stare, so she just stood there looking between them.
"Uh…can I go now? I've gotta do some preliminary checks on fuel levels and…" the girl just made an angry noise as she huffed off, grumbling some things angrily she was certain that they didn't teach in official Russian language courses. But the Uzbek still stood there, with a smirk on his face.
"That's usually the best way to deal with her, I'm impressed."
A murmur of a laugh escaped her throat quietly. "I dunno. I guess we still have people like that in America. They dislike being ignored." An awkward silence suddenly cut through the two…as she felt a blush cut across her face. Sure he was very attractive, but it was weird to think of him that way and it was the first officer of the Cygnus. The Cygnus. A calloused hand grazed the back of her head, as she looked groundward. "Well…ah…I should, uh…probably get goin'. Got engineery stuff to be doing."
Engineery. What?
"It's…Ebonfield, right?"
She stopped at her name being uttered and turned back, her mouth hanging slightly open. He was addressing her, but never mind that. He knew her last name even! This was insanity! "Eb-uh-yeah…Ebonfield. Hannah. Yeah…that's my name that I was, uh…yeah." The Uzbek laughed, shaking his head, his sable locks twisting from his visage. If she saw her face, she was sure it would be the color of the star atop the Kremlin. She sighed and her brow crumpled, giving into the defeat of embarrassment. "…I'm an idiot…"
"No…" Andrey Fedorov still chuckled, advancing, a white smile gleaming at her. "…you're just nervous, that's all, Hannah Ebonfield."
"Hannah. Please." A quirked eyebrow with an equally quirked smile made her feel a little more at ease. She had always seen him talking to far more important people that her insignificant self, and she pegged him to be the authoritative type, but he was really nice.
"I should probably let you get back to work. See you space-side. It was good meeting you." He smiled as he walked off. A small sigh cut through her as she watched him go the opposite way. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.
"Ah, good. You're awake. How're you feeling?"
The engineer's eyes felt sore, she didn't know why, but they did. Her body felt strangely numb, as if all of her nerves were pulsating and tingly. Her retinas screamed at her, even through vaguely shuttered lashes and lids. The room was actually…lit, and well. She could hear others bustling about her, and the subtle hum of generators and the automated quiet click and whir of delicate machines. Her eyes slowly came into focus at various people walking by, as if nothing was wrong. She felt oddly at ease. Hannah suddenly found herself looking up into the inquisitive face of the Doctor as she sniffed. "You…you okay?"
"Uh…yeah…nothing to worry about." She tried sitting up and regretted the choice as she groaned in pain. Her body was none too happy with her, after what she'd just gone through. McCoy gave her a consoling look as if to say you really shouldn't've done that.
"You might wanna rest a bit more there, alright?" It seemed the first time the doctor had smiled in…well, she certainly didn't see him smiling at all on the Cygnus. "You've been severely dehydrated, tortured, passed out several times…It's a miracle you're still alive." Hannah nodded, almost in awe of the situation that she had just undergone. She was still unaware that any of it actually happened. "But…you should tell me how you're feelin'. It's kinda important."
"Well, Doctor. I feel like I've been beaten with a dead warhorse, drowned, resuscitated, then beaten with a dead warhorse…again. But, other than that, just fine." A feeble smile cut across her lips as another thought crossed her mind. "…And in good use of a shower, maybe…"
McCoy's smile broadened as he took her hand in earnest, as soothing brown met relieved hazel, "Soon, Miss Ebonfield. But you've still gotta rest. Your ankle seems to almost have healed…"
"Hannah, please." An amused look crossed her features, and a slight pause encompassed them both as she found the right words "Thanks so much for taking care of poor, little me."
"Hey…I'm just an old, country doctor. It's my job…" He paused as she began looking at her wrist with the bandage wrapped around it. Hannah noticed the doctor looking rather amazed at the former wound, as if he had a rather intense experience with removing the quickly growing roots from her body. "When we got back, you were still out…we had given you a little more anesthesia to make sure you were fully under. I had only remembered it spread only through your wrist, but…" He shook his head confounded, almost seeming to remember it then and there "It had almost spread to your chest cavity. It had grown that fast in only a mere two hours, hour and a half off the record."
Hannah's eyes filled with alarm, yet McCoy gave her hand a reassuring pat "But we managed to extract it". You probably don't wanna know how, but…anyway, I should let you get back to rest." She nodded as the doctor left, yet she was about to launch into another question, yet McCoy looked rather exhausted himself. Besides, he probably had many other important things to do. Like, .She had really wondered how long she had been out for. It almost felt like days, but what way was there of knowing. Her stomach roared rather sourly at her, as she looked down, surprised that something so small could make such a furious noise. When was the last time she had good, solid food?
"Hush!" she whispered sharply to it. It seemed to grumble defiantly back at her as she fell back into the standard issue pillows. She lightly winced as she noted, from her other arm hung a dripping IV. Gross. She mused. She had never liked the damn things, but it was probably for the best, as Doctor McCoy seemed, no, was, a good medical officer. It was actually also somewhat comforting to hear her native language, and not just from a disembodied voice that hung listlessly in the bridge of the Cygnus.
About two hours later, and some headway into an article on Klingon warbirds (the engines seemed really superfluous, if they just had a better way of connecting the auxiliary turbines to a different back up generator, then they'd probably stop breaking down so much), some quick footsteps pervaded her thoughts, but she was rather unaware of their presence. "Hannah?" A tenor voice with a familiar accent emerged from her left and into her stream of thoughts. She turned her visage; a concerned, yet elated azure gaze couldn't stop her from smiling. Chekov hastily embraced her, yet was still cognizant enough of the IV (and was rather thankful for that. She inhaled and drank him in, her rising heart rate chronicled by the pinging monitor. Salt and musk, and a sweet note that she couldn't place invaded her olfactory senses. She hoped he didn't notice, and was rather embarrassed. Her stomach did intrepid little flips at the length of their embrace, the pleasing weight of his muscular arms. Actually, she didn't remember the last time she received a hug.
As their embrace ended, a woman in a standard Starfleet uniform came by to remove her IV. The young blonde gave the two a very wry grin, but it eventually softened. Hannah inwardly shook her head; she could never wear a dress that short. It was kind of…strange and terrifying. She tried not to pay attention to the nurse as she removed the IV, attempting to find Chekov's face far more interesting, and it seemed to work.
"How are ju feeling, Hannah?" Chekov had since pulled a chair closer to her cot and grinned, yet there was sincerity in his features. She felt herself sinking deeply into his eyes, remotely losing herself. It was rather interesting to see someone for the first time, without the shroud of omnipresent red cloaking features. The brief movement of the needle in her arm brought her silently back to reality.
"Uh…Fine!" The engineer's eyes listed to left for a moment, taking into consideration how she really felt. "Well…I'm pretty sore, still feel like I was beaten by a dead horse, but…"
"But…how does one get beaten by a dead horse?" Chekov's smile changed momentarily, finding her words confusing. She and the nurse laughed briefly. The ensign's visage clouded, but in amusement, as he saw her in different measures. "Vat?"
"It's a figure of speech, Pavel…" The nurse shook her head, as she wrapped a small amount of gauze around Hannah's elbow. "There…so y'don't look like an attempted suicide victim."
Hannah grinned unsurely, as she met the nurses' warm sienna gaze. "Thanks, I guess…"
"I'm Nurse Christine Chapel, Doctor McCoy's assistant. He said you could leave whenever you feel comfortable, okay? Just sign this datapad here, and you're good to go. Also--" the nurse placed at the foot of her bed, her washed, yet faded and distressed things. "—I figured you wanted to keep these, so we washed 'em, but if you ever want a fresh uniform, we've got those too."
"Thanks…" Hannah smiled deeply. Sure she probably should get some different ones, but this was all she had left from the Cygnus. She clutched them protectively to her chest.
As the engineer finished signing the data pad, Nurse Chapel gave Chekov a dry grin. "Don't you have things to be doing on the bridge, sir?" The young ensign shook his head.
"Niet, ve have a set course. All ees vell. Ze Captain told me to check on Hannah, to become acquainted wiz her quarters." Hannah's eyes went somewhat wide as she just heard Chekov's words. Nurse Chapel covered part of her face with the datapad, as a nervous, yet amused look beamed over it. A severe blush flared across the engineer's face, as she coughed uncomfortably.
As the misconstrued meaning dawned on the young ensign he attempted to explain himself, yet the bemused Nurse Chapel tittered behind the datapad, as her gaze turned on Hannah. "If he gives you any trouble, lemme know." She walked off, giggling.
The engineer and ensign exchanged nervous glances. "Vat I meant vas…"
"N-no…it's okay, I, uh…so, how're you?"
Chekov seemed somewhat relieved that she wanted to change the subject as quickly as he did. A hand dragged through the unruly, tousled curls as his gaze became remotely unfocused. "Somevat tired, really. I alvays vanted to see how ju vere doing, yet ze doctor vould always get rid of me." A saddened note took over his rather exuberant voice. "Ju vere asleep for tree days…"
Hannah's eyes widened, completely unaware that that much time had passed. "That long?"
"I am so relieved zat you are vell, Hannah." Chekov smiled. Hannah did the same, yet she shook her head in shock. So much had happened in the past few days, she couldn't believe that she was alive, or...even awake. It was puzzling to her, and terrifying, yet she was very glad that she was being taken care of. Andrey would have been…
Her brow clouded partially as she suddenly remembered what her dream was moments before she woke up. She reined the tears springing to her eyes as best she could. Everything that happened to her was still shrouded in the illusionary web of dreams. Chekov's confused gaze made her suddenly sniff and smile, "Pavel…look…I should probably change, so…keep talking! I'll still be listening, I promise." She flashed him a quick smile before getting up as quickly as she was able, and tugged on the curtain that surrounded the cot.
"…about vat?" he finally said. It was somewhat amusing to hear his disembodied voice from behind the curtain. As she was wiping the tears away, Hannah laughed as she was leaning against the cot. Yes, she needed a shower, and really wanted to walk, and get to see the fabled Enterprise, but, she needed to have a few moments to herself. It was slowly beginning to hit, but she wouldn't let it. The feelings were far too strong right now, and she didn't want to embarrass anyone, particularly herself…in front of Chekov.
Pulling off the disposable gown and beginning to change she shook her head, even though the ensign couldn't see her "I dunno. Where're you from?"
"I tought zat vas obvious…"
"But where?" She struggled into her tank, smiling at his voice.
"Varykino. Just outside of Moscow. Is a beautiful place if ju hawe not been zere jourself. Many acres of forest, and surprisingly little vater." As she was pulling the pants of the jumpsuit on, she heard a brief sigh from behind the curtain, which made her stop briefly. "…sometimes, I miss it greatly. I feel I have been up here for far too long."
Hannah felt like she startled the ensign by whipping open the curtain almost a little too fast. The ensign stood, smiled and nodded at her. She nodded back, feeling more like herself again "No…I know exactly how you feel. Even…Russia feels like home for me…"
The ensign began walking and the engineer followed; he looked as if he remembered something. "I vas going to ask ju about zat. How did ju end up in Russia?"
Hannah shook her head as they both headed out in the hallway. Oh, it felt good to just walk, and to see other people in brightly lit corridors either leisurely walking or darting in and out of small clusters of the ships' crew. A small smile flitted about her lips. "My father's a Civil Engineer. He helps make the plans for the ships. I guess he just got a good offer. We moved to Moscow when I was eleven. It was definitely a change of scenery for the backwoods of California."
"Wery interesting…" Chekov sidestepped a crewmember as they came close to the turbo lifts. " I guess ju could see Russia from jour house…" He smirked at his own joke. Hannah's laugh exhaled through her nose as she shook her head, then tilted it towards the ceiling in thought "Funny…that sounds really familiar…"
"Really? Vere from?"
"Oh…I think some crazy woman said it. She tried to be the president, like…two hundred years ago."
The ensign shook his curly hair as they stood in front of the lift entrances "Jour country has such a troubled past." Hannah turned back, looking upwards into pale blue orbs, a mischievous look on her face.
"And yours doesn't?"
They boarded the lift with various other crewmembers, an awkward silence pervading the small cabin as they ascended floors with ease. She still couldn't believe that she was on the Enterprise, and once she had a free chance, had to find the head engineer. She'd love to know how she worked. She was eventually pulled from her thoughts as she found Chekov staring at her. As soon as they made eye contact he quickly looked away. Hannah shook her head slightly. Chekov was absolutely adorable. Quite handsome in fact, yet…this was really the second time she had ever really met him. She still didn't understand why she seemed to feel so much for him. Maybe it was a coping mechanism? Or was she just kidding herself that she actually, well…felt something genuine for him. He seemed very interesting, and ridiculously bright. She also had to figure him out. He was just another puzzle wanting to be solved.
They exited on deck four, only a few others with them. They appeared to be in a circular hallway, in metallic hues. It was apparently the best way to make such cold colors actually feel warm and comforting. As the young ensign began leading her to her quarters, the young engineer stopped "Y'know…" Chekov paused and turned to face her, inquisitive blue eyes piercing into her own. Her knees quivered. Oh…he really was rather adorable… "I never really got to thank you for…as much as I hate to say the phrase but…for saving me. For really, keeping my head clear…so…thanks" She nervously coughed. The Russian seemed touched as he approached her, eyes soft with an equally gentle smile. Before he could speak, the engineer could feel eyes on them. Funnily enough, they both simultaneously turned to face a stoic man…with pointy ears. She never did too well in her xenoculturalist classes back in Starfleet Academy. Maybe he was Romulan? No…they had strange tattoos all over their faces…and didn't their planet get absorbed in a supernova?
"Ah! Hello Commander Spock." The ensign's voice was full of enthusiasm; he grabbed hold of the engineer's hand once more (and much to her delight) as they headed over to the stark figure of Commander Spock. His austere presence made him seem intimidating, yet his calm gaze made him appear venerable despite his age. She gulped as their gaze connected; something ancient and wise stirred within, and made her feel rather uncomfortable. Hannah smiled nervously, yet received no immediate response. Great…
"Ensign Chekov," The calm voice pervaded "I believe you were supposed to be present at a meeting that began fifteen minutes ago with your…counterpart." Spock's gaze fell on her at the mention of counterpart…which she didn't like one bit. A hand came to Chekov's forehead as a frustrated noise was emitted from his throat.
"I…I completely forgot!" the ensign began cursing at himself as Hannah just looked confused. Maybe the commander knew something?
"Perhaps you two should follow me…" The esoteric voice echoed, as his tall, lank form strode down the hallway. Recollecting himself, Chekov nodded and followed after, still cursing himself, yet Hannah had to interject, as confusion began to mount to mild annoyance. "Pavel, would you mind telling me what's going on here?"
An apologetic gaze from those inquisitive blue eyes made all of her annoyance melt away and her heart soften. Oh, why was she being such a sissy? "I am very sorry, Hannah. I forgot to tell you zat Captain Qurik vished to hawe a meeting vis you, going ower zee Cygnus files. Da?"
"Da…I mean, yes…" The engineer sighed, wondering why everything had to move so quickly. She just wanted to sleep…forever. Well, maybe not that long, but at the rate things were going…
The conference room was quite small, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. There were five chairs, clothed in black leather that surrounded an equally rectangular table. The same shades that permeated the hallway, was still present here. Very simplistic in design, yet very ascetic in presence. She wondered how the enemies of the enterprise felt in here and her stomach pitched. Those that were present were the exhausted doctor and the lively captain, their anachronistic appearances almost comical side by side. The commander took a side chair, as did the ensign. The engineer was the last to sit, begrudgingly taking a seat at the end, facing Kirk.
"Hannah! I hope you're feeling much better. Bones informed me that you made a quick recovery." Blue eyes flashed humorously as he partially paid attention to a few data pads in front of him. McCoy rolled his eyes at the mention of his nickname and stared deeply into the recovered files from the Cygnus, every fiber seeming to bemoan the sheer fact he was sitting at the table.
Hannah grinned nervously as she took in all the attendants of the table "Well…perhaps three days late, Captain."
Kirk chuckled as he looked in her direction. "I know you've gotta be tired, and need some time to settle in, so we'll keep this short, okay?" The engineer nodded, just as the captain made some motion to the Commander "Oh! I don't think you've been formally introduced! Hannah, this is the Enterprises' first officer, Commander Spock." As she saw him rise partially, she did as well and they shook hands. Then it was as if something clicked in her head; Vulcan! That was it! Why had it taken her so long, she wondered, at such an obvious fact. She supposed she really hadn't been paying attention.
"A pleasure to meet a survivor of the Cygnus." Spock inclined his head briefly before sitting down again. The way he said it made her feel…endangered. As she sat down, she realized how dwarfed she felt in the armchair. And how she was really the only cognizant and alive member of the crew of the Cygnus, once the best ship in the Russian edge of Starfleet, now was drifting in uncharted waters, an unseemly host for horrific beasts.
The dream was not a dream anymore.
"Computer: record session. This is just for protocol, could you list your name, rank, and occupation?" The Captain looked to his datapad almost nonchalantly. Or at least seemed to. Hannah's heart sunk.
"Ebonfield, Hannah. Ensign. Petty engineer to the Cygnus."
"So…what happened after Lieutenants Andropov and Nikitn came aboard?" Kirk now was all business and it seemed very strange to her. It almost seemed over a century since those two names were uttered. Hannah became suddenly quiet as the memory split her skull open, the vividness of it all. She stared at the table as she continued.
"I haven't reviewed the files, Captain, but, you should know that they went planet side with seven and returned with three, two of our lieutenants and a woman…" Hannah shook her head "…she…I had no idea where she came from."
"Was she human?"
Hannah continued to stare at the gleaming surface of the table. "No…an alien. She had green skin. I never got to talk with her, no idea who she was."
"Was she a native of Epsilon Five?"
Hannah blinked surprisedly at her answer, shocked that she hadn't realized it sooner "No…no, Captain, she wasn't."
She felt confused and worried glances across the table. Kirk still pressed on.
"So Andropov and Nikitn…?"
Hannah finally looked zenithward. Chekov appeared to be naively attentive, yet consoling when their eyes met. "Yes. They hadn't retrieved anything. It was as if they were just…running for their lives the moment they got down there…"
"So why didn't they alert the Cygnus when members of the crew went missing?" Kirk shook his head. Hannah glared at the Captain, clearly offended. How dare he assume.
"Would your crew risk others beaming to the surface of a life-threatening planet to find those that were just lost or possibly killed? Or perhaps your crew just leaves people to die?" the engineer suddenly regretted what came out of her mouth and pursed her lips as she started back at the table again. "I'm…I'm sorry…I didn't mean…" She now felt all eyes on her, sympathy, shock, and embarrassment. She blinked and exhaled through her nose, wondering how much more she could take. "Please…continue, captain."
There was a slight pause as she could sense a palpable glare flaring from McCoy to Kirk. "So…ah…even though you're an engineer, do you know anything about when the infection started? Or even how?"
Hannah nodded slowly. Oh, this is gonna be hard. C'mon Anya…get a hold of yourself.
"Only if you're bitten, can you be infected. There were none aboard that were immune. And there were…too many to be counted that were bitten…many others were just…killed. I remember passing by the medical bay several times, and…they wouldn't allow anyone through there. They had to set up an auxiliary med bay, because there were so many tests going on, our labs aren't that big, you see…" The engineer inhaled deeply, afraid of continuing. "I just remember one night, hearing an alarm going off, then stopping and…these horrific screams. I…ran for the evacuation route, just like everyone else. It was so dark…next thing I truly remember were those moments in the docking bay…"
There was a considerable pause for respect, then Kirk continued. "…and what of Andrey Fedorov? He was the first mate, correct?"
Hannah numbly shook her head as everything slowly came crashing down around her. She bit her lip as she felt warmth pool across the brim of her lashes. Please…I can't anymore…not if you expect me to keep my composure.
"Yes, uh…Andrey—" She sniffed and gripped the arms of the chair, knuckles turning white. "—He was one of the seven that did not return.
"So…he's somewhere still on Episilon Five?" Kirk asked hopefully
"Or perhaps dead…" Spock mused. The senior medical officer, ensign, and captain shot Spock a look. The Vulcan tilted his head inquiringly. "It is only logical to think so, is it not?"
Hannah was on her feet before she knew it, fists balled up to keep composure, shoulders visibly shaking. None of the men said a word as she struggled desperately for that even, awkward composure that upset people tend to find. Her gaze suddenly flitted upwards "Captain…I…it's too soon for me. Imagine being the only survivor of the Cygnus, watching people that you lived every waking moment with, be killed in front of you, or worse…become…" Her breath hitched, and her thoughts stopped as words left her. She quickly exited the conference room. She was the only person left from that crew. The only person that could chronicle their stories.
Though there were many people in that corridor. She felt very alone.
"S'vyead. When did they last leave the Cygnus?" Black, sultry lips moved in the dark of their ship. They had been tracking it for days now, and all functions had ceased. She assumed that the Thar, or the Plague, managed to cripple it. Like so many ships before it, and so many planets. Yellow eyes looked through the Helm window as she shook her head, long beaded hair flicking this way and that. Anger flared up again as she regarded the NCC class vessel. The Federation was so blind; where was the aid that was promised them when they sent out distress signals? Only to have their crops and peoples completely destroyed.
"About eighty-two hours ago, Captain M'wyr" Her navigator responded. Her long sand colored nails clacked on the skeletal looking metal. A sigh prosecuted its way through her narrow and flat nose. Her reptilian skin flashed in the lights of the computers. And Vrailya was probably dead by now. Stupid humans mettling in their own affairs. Taking their wounded aboard. It was simply unheard of. M'wyr stood, striding over to the four thorny, green undead which were restrained, drugged. She placed a hand over one.
"You'll have to help me a bit more now, Thar. We ask for vengeance."
DO NOT FRET, DEAREST M'WYR. YOU SOON SHALL HAVE YOUR LITTLE SHIP.
AN: And just when you thought things couldn't get worse. Hoo boy.