AN: Another choppy confusing chapter. And plot progression…wee…oh, did I mention cute fluffy stuff? I think we're also in need of that. I was also surprised that no one saw the Sarah Palin reference (or maybe you did, you just didn't say anything). I dunno…I thought it was funny…anyway…

Chapter Six: Reassurance

Chekov felt in his heart that he wanted to run out after her, but somber throes of her emotions kept him stationary. He desperately wanted to comfort her, but it felt best to leave her alone for now. After all, they had just met. But he felt that it was his place, because of his blood, because of those meager, yet full hours they spent together. His visage drew tablewards for the first time, a pang of guilt wracking his chest. He wished he had done more to prevent what had just transpired here, he wished that he could have made her feel more comfortable. He had undertaken the task of making sure she was all right, for the captain. And look what had happened. So many things that he could have done to make things right…But were there?

A vivid pause overtook the room as Chekov could even still feel her outside. Maybe it wasn't too late to leave? Hell…she didn't even know where her room was. And all those curious people that had never even seen her before. This wasn't how the crew of the Enterprise treated guests. Not in his book anyway. Chekov's thoughts paused as he could even feel the glare exchanged from McCoy to Spock "My god man! Look what you've done!"

The first officer raised his eyebrows in the form of a shrug, twisting his chair towards the miffed doctor. "I was merely posing some different thoughts on the subject, doctor. It is a simple matter of life and death. What she is not able to comprehend is entirely her fault—" The vulcan turned to the captain of the Enterprise. "Yet the situation now stands thusly: we've got a possibly infected former member of the Cygnus now amongst our ranks--"

"She's not infected…" Bones rumbled, hands tangled in his usually sleek combed hair, now awry and all out of place. "I ran every single test I could think of while she was still out, y'here?" the doctor slapped his palm down on the liquid face of the table "Clean as a pin…"

"But doctor," Spock smiled briefly, a brief grin creeping up the side of his face. "I believed that pins carried an average of—"

"Dammit, man! It's a figure of speech!"

"Your interruptions are proving to be quite irrelevant, doctor."

"Alright…" Kirk raised his hands to his temples, quite obviously sick of the bickering. Yet his smile proved to Chekov that he thought quite otherwise. But the ensign was glad that Kirk wanted to be more adult…well, at least in appearance. "…So…what's our next course of action?"

"Ve shuld go back to Epsilon, and see if Andrey Fedorov ees still aliwe…" Chekov was now on his feet, not entirely sure why, but it seemed to make them take the nineteen-year old more seriously. Now, however, they just stared at him, perhaps realizing that his affections lied with the quite pretty engineer. Kirk seemed to approve, yet Bones McCoy soon became the voice of reason.

"Well…easier said than done, kid." He laughed ironically, then a rather serious grimace loomed over the weather-worn face "…Besides, we can't just go back just to see if someone's alive, I mean…it's risky, but…"

"And you were anxious to get to the Cygnus in the first place, Bones."

"Jim…that was when I didn't know there were flesh, eating zombies aboard the ship."

"Zombies…you're making this sound like Science Fiction."

Spock managed to side step into the conversation quite easily, dark gaze rising from the lacquered surface of the table, "Yet what reason have we to do back to a planet we know nothing about? Surely it's quite dangerous, and there are chances that we could very well end up like the Cygnus."

Chekov raised an eyebrow at the Vulcan's logic. Even though he was only half, he sure didn't fail his people. And though this was nowhere near where he wanted to take the outcome of this situation, Spock was quite right. But he didn't have to be right all the time! "Commander Spock. This ees a different crew. And ve have seen vhat Epsilon Fiwe can do to a ship. But zis ees a chance where ve can maybe learn from zere mistakes. So zee crew of zee Cygnus vas all Russian, zey vere unavare of zee situation. Vis zeir liwes, ve now understand so much…zis planet could ewen be an threat to zee entire Federation—"

"Ensign Chekov." Kirk raised an eyebrow, with an equally amused smile, leaned forward in the sleek chair, strong hands folded into themselves. Azure depths quickly darted to his lap, lips being grazed by teeth. Chekov felt the hot hands of embarrassment present on his shoulders. "Thank you for your…speech. But I mean, c'mon. It's kinda obvious where your intentions lie."

Pale skin quickly took on a reddish hue as Chekov's head snapped upward, a surprised, wide-eyed expression regarded his three superiors. A jumbled stammer began prying itself out of his lips, attempting to be translated into something, but the good captain stopped him with a laugh. McCoy shook his head slowly, annoyed and deterred by the next tangent. Spock's stoic gaze was unmoving, yet slightly impressed with the words from the ensign "Though, perhaps his intent lies elsewhere as you say, Captain, I believe Chekov has a very good point. Though we have no standing evidence that this is a threat to the entire Federation, but in order to understand fully the nature of the virus, we could have our labs analyze all of the data that you gentlemen managed to extricate from the Cygnus' databanks. However, that may not be enough."

Kirk nodded and turned his light gaze to McCoy who looked like he was just about ready to fall asleep. "Bones, you said there was a…"branch" you managed to extract from Ebonfield, right?"

McCoy made a short, inquisitive grunt as his consciousness began to come back to the conference room at hand. "Huh? Oh…yeah. Our labs are running tests on it now. Should be done in…another four hours, I think."

"See what you can get out of that, I want an analysis of the results as soon as possible. Chekov-" The now serious captain turned to the curious ensign. Chekov blinked in bewilderment. Meetings always seemed to go like this, quickly resolved, and quickly from seriousness to humor. He wondered if Kirk was perhaps, bi-polar or not.

"Yes, Keptian?"

"Change our course from Station K-7 to Epsilon Five. I'll see all of you gentlemen at eighteen-hundred hours." Kirk stood, handing Chekov a datapad, as he patted the shoulder of the weary Bones "And, doctor, please get some rest."

Chekov sighed inwardly. Though he truly loved being acting navigator, he had a lot of work ahead of him.

"Here to see Andrey come back?"

Hannah blinked in surprise at the head engineer. She wasn't aware that she had actually traveled quite this far. At all. She nodded, saddened by the memory that pervaded her consciousness, and slunk back behind the instruments that would soon bring the crewmembers home. She chanced a look behind her. Even Captain Ignatevitch was there. Well…that made sense. It was certainly a dangerous planet. He would be considered a horrible captain if he weren't there.

"I just miss him, okay?"

Iilya smirked at her behavior "It hasn't even been three days yet."

"So?" She stopped herself. Why was she thinking these things now? Iilya hand Hannah were always being silly, but this wasn't the time. They had to focus on so much information; any little detail wrong and someone could die. Or everyone. The engineer hadn't seen either in practice yet, and she hoped never to. She turned to Iilya, who currently had a puzzled look on his face, every single wrinkle (which weren't many), was outlined in vermillion. "What's wrong?" Hannah eased herself closer to him, the red glare from the screen tingeing her face with the same hue.

"They should've contacted us fifteen minutes ago…"

Hannah felt her heart plummet, then shook her head, enraged that she could even think that way. She couldn't give up so easily on them like that, as a brief glance went over to the unknowing Iilya. Firstly, the group was strong and worked together well; that's why they were chosen. And Yasha Ignatevitch was captain for a reason. She had thought back to a few days before, bringing several samples up of strange ferns to beetles to, whatever information the science labs managed to extricate. Secondly, she knew that they would be just fine. Sure this was their first time doing an operation such as this, having the crew spending a day or two on the surface. God, that made it sound so casual…

"This is Andropov to the Cygnus. Requesting three to beam up, one injured."

Her heart dropped into her stomach, resuming its freefall, where only seconds before, she had built up her opinion that they were impregnable. The crushing weight of such a loss… Even though she wasn't focused on anyone else in the small cabin, but an obvious intensity to the already anxious atmosphere was palpable; she could taste its ashy throes on her tongue, feel its heat across her arms. Not only did they set out with seven, but…

"Andropov…what happened?" Iilya barely exhaled; the confusion mounting on his face was terrifying. Iilya was one of the most relaxed, optimistic members of the crew, and she had never seen him like this. She just seemed to notice that her breath was coming out in short gasps.

"We'll explain later. You've just gotta—"

"Kautsky!" The ardent, Muscovite accent from Captain Yasha Ignatevitch barreled through the room, nearly made Hannah jump out of her skin, tears pricking at her eyes. No…please, god, no. Which five were missing? Which five were…gone? "What are you doing, man? Send them up here at once!"

"Yes, sir!" Iilya quickly focused at the harsh utterance of his surname. "Retrieving them in three…two…one…"

Two columns of blinding whiteness, one human shaped, another, somewhat irregular, formed into Gavriil Andropov and Kuzma Nikitn holding a wounded…woman. Someone she had never seen before. Someone that no one had seen before. Almost having green, reptilian skin in appearance, and strange clothes she couldn't tell if they were supposed to be disheveled like that or not.

But...where was Andrey?

Hannah seemed to feel all eyes on her all at once. A nauseated sadness crippled her form as the seemingly slow realization dawned on her that Andrey…would never hail the Cygnus again. Never would she see his smile, never his advice. As the other crewmembers helped the three off the platform, Andropov's steely grey eyes regarded her sadly. "I'm sorry, Anya…we turned around and he was—"

"Don't. Just…stop." She put up her hands defensively. She didn't harbor any ill against Gavriil, as he was a particular gregarious being. Why wouldn't the room spinning? She almost felt everyone looking at her, even that wretched Alisa, boring their gazes into her being. Wordless she began walking away from the saddened, confused weapons specialist, before something twisted, and she fell into the darkness.

Hannah awoke with a stuffy nose and a wet pillow. Her head ached as she quickly swung up from her palate. Pressing two fingers against her brow, as almost seemed by habit, she closed her eyes, sickened from her dream. Still dizzy with remorse and confusion, she looked up across the four feet to where a sleeping Nurse Chapel lay. Somehow they'd been assigned as roommates, which was fine by her. It was kind of strange, standing there in the hallway, looking as she did and seeing a confused, piteous face mark the engineer with her lights. With a comforting arm, Nurse Chapel led her to their room. She was very nice, and Hannah didn't really want to bother her with all the horrific things that had befallen her of late. The engineer just sighed, envy creeping into her mind, wishing she could sleep peacefully like that. Sleep might find her elsewhere, but not now. The engineer threw on some standard issue pants that were in her closet and just left her tank on. Though it would be the slightest bit cold, she would endure. Besides, it also reminded her that she was not engulfed in a blazing furnace.

Hannah quickly exited her room, attempting not to wake Nurse Chapel, and succeeding. Sure there was still some activity, but none too much. She decided to just walk the halls, maybe to just explore, but too soon she got to thinking. Where were they going to go? She seemed to be in good hands, and the federation didn't take to harming part of their ranks, unless they were endangered by said crewmember. She hoped she didn't pose a threat; then again, it was over. She was free from the Cygnus, and the evil that lay there. An unconscious finger ran over the bandage that encapsulated her left wrist. She suddenly got the feeling, however, that they weren't quite done yet.

So…he's somewhere still on Epsilon Five?

Kirk's words rang through her head, wondering if they were true. She wondered if anyone was still alive from the crew? Maybe they had just disappeared and were still somehow surviving. As Iilya had said, Uzbeks managed to somehow be the most positive in the most daunting of situations. Her visage fell at the thought of Iilya, having not a clue what happened to him.

A familiar face gauzed her features, that suddenly jolted her out of everything, into an unfamiliar blankness which she felt she had rarely been in. He looked so serene and relaxed scanning a datapad. All of a sudden, she had many questions ringing throughout her mind all at once, yet the contents of the datapad was not one of them. She supposed he eventually felt someone staring at him and his gaze flew skyward, only to look alarmed that it was the engineer. An awkward pause consumed them both before it was broken, none other than the ensign himself.

"How long hawe ju been standing zere?"

"Not too long…I think. I'm sorry for distracting you, I'll just…" Hannah made the gesture to leave, but he quickly stood. Almost…impossibly fast.

"No!" Chekov looked about, embarrassed that his voice carried so much, and cleared his throat briefly. "I mean…no. I don't mind eef—zen again eef ju have got somevere else to—"

"No…not really…"

"Vell, good…ju should—"

"Aum…yeah…" Hannah sat quickly, her face suddenly feeling quite hot. Chekov's attention did not resume at the datapad.

"Are ju not cold?" His eyes falling on her bare arms made her shudder a little bit.

Hannah shook her head, bangs partially falling in her eyes. "No…it's just…better this way."

"I vould tink zee opposite…I mean, ju had been in a wery harsh inwironment, and I tought zat perhaps ju had gotten used to zat."

Before Hannah could answer, her forgotten stomach roared in defiance, disgruntled that it had been so long forgotten. The engineer looked down in surprise, suddenly remembering how hungry she was, and nearly laughed at Chekov's surprised face, his blue eyes widening in earnest surprise. She blushed a little, her gaze suddenly falling to her form. Had she lost that much weight? She really did feel emaciated.

"I vas not aware zat such a small person culd make such loud noises." An amused grin crept up on his face, and she couldn't help but laugh, from embarrassment, from breaking tension. Chekov seemed relieved that she could laugh, glad even; since their expedition on the Cygnus. The ensign shook his head, curls bouncing slightly "Vhere are my manners? Let me show ju to ze canteen. Is zee least I can do."

They both stood, a nervous nod falling from Hannah's head, still trembling slightly from laughter. As they began heading for the turbo lift a question floated from her lips briefly "It's very kind of you to show me around, but…aren't you on duty now?"

"Niet. I beliewe I am not due until…three, four more hours?" He tuned his gaze towards her unexpectedly, feeling her heart dancing gently underneath her ribs. He was almost a head taller than she was, so she found herself always looking up…into those pristine depths. She looked away, her face suddenly hot.

"Good…awesome."

"Vhen vas zee last time ju had someting to eat?" Chekov queried as they doors to the turbo lift hissed shut. There was a lengthy pause as she tried to remember. Then she shook her head, almost surprised that she didn't remember.

"It's probably best not to think about it, I guess." Hannah laughed, almost to herself.

A concerned look clouded Chekov's brow "I am steel surprised zat ju can still valk zen."

Hannah's brow popped skyward, a funny grin on her face "Me too…"

The canteen was almost in every way like the Cygnus', which was a little disconcerting to the engineer. As they were both of the NCC class, there were many similarities found. It reminded her of older days laughing with her crewmates as she struggled through her always-improving Russian. And even recently with her run in with the creatures in the dark. She suddenly remembered where she was at the replicator, and almost ordered just about anything she thought was good. She picked her way through the growing crowd as she spotted the mustard uniform, the emphatic hand and quiet, yet elated grin. As she was sitting down, Chekov's expression was a mixture of horror and confusion. She laughed, as she couldn't help herself, knowing the causation of such an expression.

"Y'know. You have the best faces…ever…"

"Vat…ees all of zis?" Chekov looked almost curious. "Vaffles, broccoli, ketchup…?"

"Well," She began, almost in awe that there was such sustenance in front of her "They all taste good."

"But together?" A muffled laugh emitted from Hannah, already enjoying the waffles, and an amused yet bewildered one from Chekov "At least ju picked rye bread,"

"Ohmigod…these are heavenly." She quickly swallowed. Waffles had never tasted so good…ever. Hannah nodded at the mention of black bread "Well, I can't live without it. I guess it's something that's just stuck." She noticed how Chekov smiled and felt her face warm "…am I embarrassing you?"

The ensign stopped mid chew of cereal and shook his head in earnest and smiled partially "No…not at all." and almost as an afterthought he carelessly added "Vhy vould I since I'm sitting vith…" The ensign's face immediately turned a bright shade of red, as he seemed to stop himself from saying something. "Uh…sorry I…" The engineer smiled slightly, yet wasn't entirely sure what he was going to say. Perhaps it was for the best, yet Chekov would become his most adorable when he would get flustered. A devious ribbon flitted across the planes of her mind, she would be sure to have to do that more often. Yet her new friend was in a rut, and she planned to pull him out.

"So...what'd'ja guys talk about when I left?...And sorry for doing that. It was pretty rude of me to just…leave." It seemed the best think to talk about, but Hannah was regretting mentioning it already; her newly torn open grief would take time to mend, but it was relevant.

The ensign seemed rather grateful to have been immersed into a different line of thought. A sigh, however, cut through his being. "Vell, ve talked of vat course of action to take. Because of zee possibility zat Andrey might steel be aliwe, ve are going back to Epsilon Fiwe." Hannah suddenly felt the cold clammy hands of nausea at work in her stomach. Going back? Shouldn't they stay as far away as they could from that place? But Andrey could still be alive…

"Ju hawe been more zan helpful to us, Hannah. But…zere is only so much ju know, da? Ve need someone zat can giwe us an accurate assessment of vat happened." Chekov assumed a serious countenance, her small hand suddenly in his large warm ones. "I know zat Andrey Fedorov vas wery important to ju. Ju can count on us." A smile suddenly flickered in his lips as she smiled back, yet a sadness overtook her features. It took them so long to leave…and now to go back? All she could do was nod, and held Chekov's hand tighter, glad to have a friend somewhere in this vast universe. "Balshoye spaciba, Pavel…"

"What mess have you gotten us into now? Are you sure you calculated the coordinates correctly?" Brown eyes scanned the vast expanse of jungle that lay ahead of them. The map had said a desert…and it appeared that they weren't going to be running into that anytime soon. A clawed hand scratched the oblong brown ear that seemed to be too far for human proportions. "Sure…leave it to Odok to mess things up." He muttered to himself. This was insanity! If they didn't meet today's quota, things would be thrown way off schedule! They had to show something at the auction. The Ferengi sighed through his nose as he began to do the calculations himself on a datapad.

"I'm sure I did, Zek." The young Ferengi, named Odok, scratched his head imploringly. "I did as you told me, but this isn't so bad, I'm sure we could find something here."

Zek made a noise that was to suggest he was rather unhappy. He swung around, Odok looked rather frightened at the steely gaze his superior was giving him. "Well if you had done exactly as I told you, why, in the name of the blessed exchequer, are we three planets away from our destination?"

Odok gazed into the blue of the datapad, briefly whispering numbers and nodding to himself then his face froze when he realized a tiny detail had evaded his grasp; he looked skyward ready to apologize, but a figure suddenly made his eyes wide with surprise. Zek's face became a mixture of nausea and boredom as if to say oh what now. The more officious of the two Ferengi turned; a tall figure was standing in front of them, yet the planet's twin suns shadowed the figure's features. It was bent with exhaustion, as it suddenly fell to its knees in shock.

"I have not seen the countenance of an intelligent species in a very long time." Almond eyes looked into Zek's alarmed and confused ones. "Please take me with you. There is nothing left but shattered bones and wild beasts. We must leave this place."

The Freeing looked as if a huge wave was on the horizon, he was just waiting for it to come crashing down. He didn't want to have anything to do with this…human. He'd just weigh them down. Then again…what was a human doing here on a planet that was just recently listed by the Federation? Zek could only think of asking him the most reasonable question that came to mind "What crew do you report to?"

"The Cygnus, sir. I had lost contact with them about a month ago…I think. I've kind of forgotten—"

"That's alright," Zek politely smiled and turned to Odok giving him a look. The young Frerengi thought for a moment then began quickly typing away something. "I was beginning to wonder what a human was doing on this planet. Excuse me a moment while I confer with my affiliate here." Zek scurried the mere four feet keeping him and Odok apart. They both looked into the depths of the screen. There was a random wanted for any of the surviving members of the Cygnus, from a certain Beld'Khar under the name M'wyr. Zek made a face briefly. It wasn't a usual item they did trading with, slaves or such, but Latinum was Latinum. And it would take far too long to reach their original destination. This was too good of a coincidence. Zek looked over to the distraught human. "Did you say you had a name?"

"Yes, Andrey Fedorov."

AN: okay…maybe a little far-fetched, but…I'm using an artistic license here. Did I mention my favorite Star Trek series was Deep Space Nine?