January 2256
"...How old are you, child?" Kodos asked the young girl who stood before him dressed in a Starfleet diplomat uniform that fitted her thin form very nicely. "You don't look very old..."
Trying to remain calm as Kodos placed his hands on her shoulders, Arianne remained in a perfect standing position, "I just turned 15, Governor," she replied in a respectful tone.
Kodos chuckled and gently caressed her clothed shoulders, "Ah, so that French school sent a young flower to interview me for their research," he said. "Does Starfleet even know that the school broke protocol and left Earth without getting special clearance? I doubt they do..."
Arianne remained silent and still, even as she felt Kodos pulling out the clips that held her hair above her face. Her hair fell down her back and she felt him touching it with an odd reverence.
"Your classmates are too naive to appreciate my colony, but you are much smarter than any of them," Kodos whispered in her ear. "I shall study you and then show you great wonders..."
As Kodos was much taller and stronger than she, Arianne was no match for the bigger man and forced herself to keep calm as Kodos led her out of his office and down a long hallway.
"Even flowers have to be treated with special care," Kodos explained as he led her to a door that was labelled "Lab". "My lab has other specimens, but you are the freshest sample..."
The door to the lab suddenly slid open and a Vulcan female came out, "I assume that this is another specimen for testing, Governor?" the Vulcan female said in a stoic tone.
"Yes, this is a delicate flower," Kodos stated. "Has the punishment cycle finished yet, T'Pol?"
There was a pained cry and the whirring of a machine, "It is finished and the thief will stay in his cell to recover," T'Pol replied cooly. "He will not attempt stealing again after this."
"Place this one in his cell until I decide what to do with her," Kodos ordered, giving Arianne a light shove towards T'Pol. "Maybe she can keep that fiesty little brat company for a while."
T'Pol nodded and roughly grabbing Arianne's arm, she led the young girl into the lab and over to a metal door. With a click, the door opened and Arianne found herself thrust inside a dark cell.
As the door closed, overhead lights flashed on and revealed a battered form laying on a bed in the corner of the room. His gray clothes were stained with what appeared to be blood and his hands and face were badly bruised. Arianne recognized the broken form as her old friend Jim.
"Jim?" Arianne softly whispered, her voice trembling. "What is going on?"
Arianne cringed when the only reply from Jim was a fit of coughing and an incoherent moan.
Trembling, Arianne woke and sat up in her bed, relieved that it had all been just a bad dream.
A quick glance at the digital clock on her bedside table told Arianne that it was 0400 and that it was much too early to be awake. Yet, she knew that returning to sleep would be practically impossible.
Letting out a sigh, Arianne got out of bed and quickly dressed in her cadet uniform, as she had a Bridge simulation exam at 0900 and she could use the five hours for last minute studying.
Taking great care to be quiet so not to wake her father, as he had a meeting at 0600, Arianne left her bedroom, descended the stairs, and wandered into the darkened kitchen for a quick snack.
After replicating a large cup of cocoa, Arianne sat at the kitchen table and thought about the sleepless nights that plagued her ever since the attack. She had laid awake in bed so that her father wouldn't have a reason to worry, but the nights had been long and filled with fear.
Dreams from various past events, like Tarsus, plagued her when she was alone and since she had never told anyone, including her father, what she had experienced there, she suffered alone.
With a sigh, Arianne quickly finished the cocoa, stood, and left the house through the back door.
The kitchen was silent once more, for just a moment and then footsteps could be heard.
Yawning, Chris stepped into the living room and sighed; Arianne was already gone.
It wasn't surprising to him that she left early in the mornings, as he had noticed a drastic change in her personality and mannerisms ever since the end of November. She needed help...badly.
"...I don't regret any actions I took in treating James Kirk, as he is the only friend I have in this gigantic sespool of a planet," Leonard stated into the audio recorder as he leaned back in his chair and looked all around at the quiet Academy library. "I did what I thought was right at the time."
Letting out a sigh, Leonard shut the recorder off and stowed it in his jacket pocket; he had been verbally recalling every little detail of the unauthorized surgery he had performed in December since three that morning and he was worn out emotionally. He needed to find some place to crash for a couple of hours before he met with Captain Pike concerning the inquiry board at 0600.
Jim was still sleeping in his bed back at their dorm, as he was supposed to take it easy until the Bridge qualification exam that some hotshot young cadet had decided to take at 0900, which Leonard thought was the dumbest thing; nobody took Bridge qual exams in the second term.
Swallowing hard, Leonard got to his feet and moved out of the study area, past the shelves full of PADD's and computer stations that were usually filled to capacity with students and staff on an hourly basis; the library looked great after its November remodel, but the memories were still there.
The sound of quiet piano music suddenly caught Leonard's attention and he followed the sound until he saw the source; a young female cadet was seated in one of the pod chairs and there were several PADD's on the floor at her feet. Her blond hair was covering her face and she was slouching.
Leonard scoffed; most likely someone got drunk and made their way to the library last night after the campus bar had closed for the evening because they weren't able to make it to the dorms.
"Hey, time to get up and go back to your dorm," Leonard snapped in a tired voice as he gently nudged the woman's boot with his own. "Regulations prohibit passing out drunk in here."
There was silence and then the woman lifted her head, revealing an infuriated set of blue eyes peeking out from a mess of hair, "Excuse me?" Arianne snapped, immediately recognizing McCoy standing before her. "I'll have you know, Cadet, that I was in a meditative sleep...not passed out."
"Ensign Pike," Leonard said, his voice full of shock as Arianne sat up straighter. "I-"
Arianne sighed and, rising from her chair, she scoffed, "Look, Doctor McCoy, I have a lot to do before 0900, so I'll just be on my way," she snapped, crossing her arms in anger.
Leonard silently watched as Arianne began to move and realized that she was limping. He frowned and, gathering up the PADD's she had left behind, he quickly followed her out of the library.
"Why are you limping?" Leonard asked as he saw Arianne seated on one of the benches just off to the side of the library steps. "If you have some sort of injury, you know that I AM a doctor."
Arianne scoffed, suddenly noticing the PADD's in his hands, "Oh, thanks, you brought me the notes I need to look over before my Bridge qualification sim at 0900," she said, extending her hands to accept the PADD's from him. "I looked over them last night, but I should really-"
"Ensign Pike, don't change the subject," Leonard snapped, concerned by Arianne's sidestepping of the question about her limping. "Why are you limping and when did you sleep last?"
Raising an eyebrow, Arianne muttered something about him being a pain in her backside and snatched the PADD's from his hands. She began to scan them furiously, ignoring him.
Gritting his teeth, Leonard grabbed her hands, causing her to drop the PADDs, "Look, I don't hit women or anything, but you had BETTER start talking or I'll contact your father," he snapped, ignoring the death look Arianne was giving him. "Answer my questions now and DO NOT lie."
"Why aren't you looking after Jimmy?" Arianne snapped back in a voice that wasn't hers. "I don't care about myself at all, but after what Jimmy has been through, he needs friends."
Leonard frowned, "Jim's back at our dorm, asleep," he replied. "I had some stuff to do."
"Well, go and look after him," Arianne snapped as she rose and kicked the PADD's out of her footpath so she could walk away. "Next time, I'll kill whoever tries to hurt Jimmy...I mean it."
Alarmed at the fact that Arianne was implying that she had almost killed someone or a lot of someones because they hurt Jim, Leonard pulled her towards him and released her.
Knowing that something had to be done to deal with the post-traumatic stress disorder that was obviously affecting her view on reality, Leonard opened his medical kit and took out a hypospray.
"I know I might get expelled for this, but I have to do it," Leonard stated as he grabbed hold of Arianne and pressed the hypospray against her neck. "Time for you to get some help, Ensign."
Whatever was in the hypospray acted fast and Arianne quickly passed out in Leonard's arms as limp as a rag doll. Leonard sighed and gently scooped her up in his arms. She was so light to carry, which, considering her age and level of physical activity, was NOT a good sign.
Relieved that nobody was around, Leonard gripped the med-kit with his fingers and carried the unconscious Arianne down the stairs and off down the path towards the dorms; he needed to act fast in order for his plan to work.
His intention was to take Arianne back to his and Jim's dorm, let her rest in his bed while he told Jim about the situation, and then the three of them would discuss the past together.
Little did Leonard know, however, that he would never be able to carry out his plan and that a pair of dark eyes were watching from behind one of the pillars and planned to take their own action.
Yawning, Chris ignored the sudden flash of lights as he wandered over to his desk and took a seat in the plush office chair behind it. He quickly activated his computer and immediately saw that he had recieved one priority message among the hundreds of regular message.
Chris raised an eyebrow and clicked the priority message, seeing it was from L. McCoy.
Captain Pike
I ran into Ensign Pike at the library this morning when I was working on my statement. She does not look well and I respectfully request that her Bridge qual be canceled until further notice. I took the liberty of giving her a sedative and she'll rest at my dorm until she feels better.
There will be no sexual play, I promise. I just want to help her the only way I know how.
I'll contact you in a day or two to update you on her progress.
Sincerely,
Leonard H. McCoy, MD and Starfleet Cadet.
Chris was stunned; Cadet McCoy was going to make Arianne open up to him by sedating her, dragging her to him and Cadet Kirk's dorm, and making her rest until she felt better. He was impressed, but Cadet McCoy wasn't doing himself any favors by acting in such a rash manner.
Admiral Archer was mad enough about the whole fiasco in December, but Chris knew that if the Admiral got wind of this, he would write out the order for McCoy's expulsion himself with pleasure.
Chris sighed, he wouldn't say anything to the Admirality just yet; instead, he would make his way over to Kirk and McCoy's dorm and make sure the two knew that they were to behave like gentlemen while Arianne was there. He would then arrange for Arianne to see a counselor.
Tapping his computer off, Chris rose from his chair and slowly moved out of his office; nobody else would be in for a few hours and by then, Chris would be back, working on paperwork.
"Do not move," Leonard heard a voice say as he stopped to give himself a rest from speedwalking along the path with a sedated Arianne in his arms. "I will shoot both you and her if you do."
Frowning, Leonard turned around to find himself face-to-face with an aged Vulcan who was pointing a phaser at them. The Vulcan almost smiled when he saw Arianne.
"I will take her now and spare your life," Soval stated. "Give her to me."
Scoffing, as he couldn't help but wonder if this Vulcan had ingested some sort of substance that was causing him to act drunk, Leonard turned away; he was just going to ignore all this.
"You illogical human, give her to me now and I will spare your life," Soval again stated, his teeth gritting as Leonard began walking over to a bench to give both him and Arianne a rest.
Leonard continued to ignore Soval as he gently laid Arianne on the bench and opened his medkit to get his tricorder out; he wanted to scan her to make sure that she was doing okay sedated.
Soval was quick, he moved over to Leonard and quickly administered a Vulcan nerve pinch, promptly sending the young doctor to the ground unconscious. He then kicked the medkit aside and grabbed the unconscious Arianne; he had to hurry, his contact was waiting for his return.
Fighting to retain the emotional control that Vulcans were supposed to have, Soval began to carry Arianne across the grass to where a shuttle waited in the bushes. Suddenly, he felt a boot to his back and Arianne fell from his arms and into the wet grass uninjured.
Growling, Soval turned around and saw a groggy looking Leonard standing there with his fists raised into a fighting stance, "Back off, you pointy-eared drunk," Leonard hissed.
Before he knew it, Leonard found his fists connecting with Soval's aged face and was too amped up on adrenaline to even feel the return punches that Soval was administering. Fortunately it was early enough that a crowd of students or command level officers weren't surrounding them.
Unfortunately for Leonard, Soval drop-kicked him and Leonard soon found himself on his back with Soval's boot on his chest. Almost immediately, Soval belted him in the face with the phaser.
As Leonard's vision faded, he thought he could see another being approaching them.
Still slightly groggy from being woken from a much needed sleep, Jim stumbled over to his dormitory door and opened it. To his shock, Captain Pike was standing in the hallway.
"Captain Pike," Jim croaked as he struggled to wake up. "Is this a surprise inspection?"
Chris frowned, "Is Cadet McCoy around?" he asked. "I'd like to talk to both you and him."
"I don't know where he is," Jim replied in a groggy voice. "The door woke me up."
Chris frowned and moved into the room, "Cadet Kirk, get dressed and come with me," he replied in a stern tone. "Don't take a shower or anything, just get your uniform on and follow me."
Ignoring Jim's shocked look, Chris turned his back and took a deep breath to calm down; from what he knew of Cadet McCoy's character, he would never do anything to hurt a woman.
Chris was about to turn around when suddenly, his communicator beeped.
Frowning, Chris pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, "Captain Pike here," he said.
"Captain Pike, Security Officer Prescott here," the voice said. "I was doing my morning patrols around campus and I came across what looked like the remnants of a fight, sir."
Chris raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, "We sealed off the area and found a couple of student pass cards as well as what looks like a medkit surrounded by bloodstains on one of the lawns," the voice said. "We ran the cards and they belong to Cadet McCoy and Cadet Pike, sir."
Fighting the urge to swear, Chris turned and saw Jim dressed in his cadet uniform, "Sir, we also collected samples of the blood and beamed it over to the Science Lab," the voice continued in his heavy tone. "The red blood belongs to Cadet McCoy and the green blood belongs to a Vulcan named Soval who was detained by Admiral Archer last month for attacking Cadet Kirk."
Chris suddenly noticed that all the color had drained from Jim's face, "That fight in the bathroom at that restaurant on Christmas Eve," Jim whispered. "I remember...someone grabbed my face."
"Officer Prescott, contact Admiral Archer," Chris sternly ordered. "Tell him to comm me."
Placing his communicator on a nearby counter, Chris walked over to where Jim stood motionless with a shellshocked expression on his face and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Cadet Kirk, why don't you sit down?" Chris said as he gently guided Jim over to his unmade bed and sat him down. "I need you to talk to me so that I don't think that you've gone into shock."
Jim blinked and looked down at the floor, "Since that night, I wasn't able to remember what happened and it's scared the heck out of Bones," he said in a shocked tone. "I just couldn't remember any of it...what I overheard...it made me start to remember."
Drops of sweat began to form on Jim's forehead, "H-he grabbed my face," Jim whispered in a trembling voice. "He called me by name...said that I must submit...h-he..."
"...Chris, are you there?" the concerned voice of Admiral Archer suddenly filtered through the communicator on the counter. "I just got commed by Officer Prescott...what happened?"
Without warning, Jim sank back on to his bed and placing a hand over his mouth, he began to whimper. Chris inched closer to the bed and saw that Cadet Kirk was gravitating between breaking into tears and puking his guts out all over the place; Chris knew that Jim was going into shock.
"Jon, call Starfleet Medical and tell Doctor Puri to-" Chris began before Cadet Kirk suddenly lurched forward and puked what appeared to be the remnants of a ration dinner all over the standard-issue bedclothes that all cadets were given. "Get someone over here NOW."
Chris heard muffled swearing, "The blanket's ruined," Jim whispered, embarrassed by the hot tears that were running down his face. "I'll do some work on the campus to replace it...I promise."
'Don't worry about it," Chris stated gently. "How are you feeling?"
Jim took a deep breath and Chris quickly pushed the puke-stained blanket off the bed so that Cadet Kirk wouldn't have to rest near his own vomit. He then quickly unbuttoned Cadet Kirk's jacket.
The sound of matter materializing into the dorm caused Chris to turn and see Phlox standing there with a fully equipped med-kit in one of his Denobluan hands, "Doctor Puri wasn't on duty yet, so Admiral Archer asked me to come," Phlox explained as he moved over to the bed where Jim sat upright, barely responsive. "Hello, Cadet, my name is Doctor Phlox and I'm going to help you."
"Jim Kirk," Jim replied weakly as he laid down on the bed. "Where's Bones?"
Chris sighed, "Just listen to Doctor Phlox and I'll go find him for you," he replied in a soft tone, so not to frighten Cadet Kirk anymore than he already was. "Just lie there and relax."
Without waiting for a reply, Chris turned on his heel and quickly left the dormitory. He had to meet up with Admiral Archer and figure out what was going on; this was NOT normal by any means.
Cold...noise...unable to speak...pain...
Feeling his teeth clamped down on something soft, Leonard opened his eyes and saw that he was staring at what appeared to be a ceiling of sorts; he couldn't move his body at all.
Lights flashed in his eyes, causing Leonard to emit a muffled groan, "This is NOT James Kirk!" an angry voice shouted as Leonard felt a hand grab his already sore face. "Who IS this specimen?"
"He was with Arianne Pike and refused to leave her," Leonard heard a voice whom he recognized to be his attacker reply. "He is both an Academy cadet and, according to the med-kit he had on him, a medical doctor."
The light faded and Leonard felt the gag ripped from his mouth, "Tell me who you are," a gruff male voice hissed as Leonard felt his face being slapped. "Why were you with Arianne Pike?"
"I'm not telling you my name!" Leonard yelled as he struggled to get free of whatever was hilding him in a laying down position. "Where's Arianne and why am I tied down like a wild animal?"
There was silence, "You are strapped to a lab table within the underground labs of Shi'Kahr," the montone voice replied. "Specimen Arianne Pike is being studied in the biochemistry lab."
"She's a human being, not a lab experiment!," Leonard yelled, appalled that Arianne was being subjected to heaven knows what. "We're Academy cadets and we need to get back to campus!"
Lights flooded the room, revealing Soval lingering there, "I am afraid that would be quite impossible to do at the moment," Soval stated. "You are deep within the Vulcan homeworld and with current Earth technology, it would take some time for you and specimen Pike to be retrieved."
"Soval, if the man wants to talk so much, bring him," a deep voice said. "We can use him."
Soval quickly unclamped the bindings holding Leonard to the table, "I trust you are able to walk on your own and not cause trouble," he said. "If you cause trouble, harm will come to your friend."
Not wanting any more harm to come to Ensign Pike, Leonard was quiet as he got up from the table and, ignoring the stiffness in his body, he followed Soval into a room that contained several wall to wall consoles, several human-sized pods, and an array of strange equipment and supplies scattered across several transparent counters. A pointy-eared scientist lingered at a table.
"Ah, welcome," the being said, his tone one of amusement. "I am Jeris and this is my lab."
Leonard didn't move or say anything, causing Jeris to laugh and reach under the table, "Put these on and give Soval your cadet reds, please," Jeris ordered as he tossed Leonard a gray wrap around tunic and loose cargo pants. "Since we can't have James Kirk, we'll have to make do with you."
"Give me proof that Ensign Pike is still alive," Leonard snapped as he gripped the clothes in his hands. "If you've killed her, I won't do anything you say no matter how much you beat me."
Jeris motioned for Leonard to come over to one of the pods; when he did, Leonard was shocked to see an unconscious Arianne inside, wearing an identical gray uniform. Her vitals were stable.
"You see, no harm has come to her," Jeris stated. "Now, put on the clothes."
Resisting the urge to unleash his temper on these strange Vulcans, Leonard quickly shed his cadet uniform and put on the gray clothes. Soval quickly took his cadet uniform away and left the room.
"All right, now take a seat in that chair over there," Jeris instructed cooly, pointing to a metal exam chair in the corner of the room that was surrounded by a mess of nasty looking instruments.
Leonard cast another glance at the unconscious Arianne and then silently walked over to the chair even though it looked like it could kill a person. He sat, ignoring how cold the chair felt.
Jeris grinned and walked over to the chair. He clipped something to Leonard's finger and brought a bright interrogation light down so it shone right in Leonard's eyes. For a moment, Jeris was silent and then he attached little sticky pads all over the chest that the low tunic neckline exposed.
"We'll start with a little interrogation as to why you were with Arianne Pike and where James Kirk currently is," Jeris stated as he examined a monitor above the chair. "I wouldn't suggest lying, as these monitors will detect physiological changes caused by lying and dispense punishment."
Leonard was silent, instead glaring at Jeris, "All right," Jeris stated cooly. "Let's begin."
Biting his lip, Admiral Archer glared across the desk at Chris, who was seated in a chair next to a shellshocked Cadet Kirk; he could also see Phlox leaning against the doorway of his office.
"I don't know HOW Soval escaped from Starfleet Security," Jonathan snapped, irritated that even now, Vulcans managed to get the upper hand on him. "He was supposed to be extradited back to Vulcan for trial this month and now he's taken two of our cadets for whatever reason."
Jim lowered his head, "If I could have remembered, sir," he spoke in a soft, trembling voice that clearly indicated he felt guilty about this situation. "If I could have remembered, I could have-"
"Phlox, take Cadet Kirk back to his dorm and ensure that he gets some rest," Jonathan ordered in a stern tone, as he wanted to talk with Chris privately. "Kirk, you're off classes until tomorrow."
Phlox came forward and as if trained by fear, Jim rose, "My fault, sir," he whispered as he moved over to where Phlox was standing. "I couldn't remember any of what happened that night."
Jonathan gave Phlox a look, "Come with me, Cadet Kirk," Phlox stated in what he hoped was a soothing tone as he gently put a hand on Jim's shoulder. "I'll walk you back to your dorm."
Still slightly groggy from the hypo that Phlox had given him back at the dorm to help calm him down, Jim nodded and was quiet as Phlox led him from the room. Chris let out a weary sigh.
The computer suddenly beeped, prompting Jonathan to frown and peer at the screen; he was floored to see that an urgent email message was flashing at him, waiting to be read.
Cursing under his breath, Jonathan clicked the message and his eyes suddenly went wide.
Attention Starfleet Command and Starfleet Academy personnel:
Arianne C. Pike and Leonard H. McCoy are hereby declared subjects of Section 31 experimentation and analysis until further notice. Their location was in one of the basement science labs of Shi'Kahr, Vulcan for primary analysis, but they have since been moved to a secure location.
They are being treated humanely and will have opportunities to submit all necessary Academy work through our agents and it will be delivered to the Academy through secure channels.
Contact with them will not be possible and when they have fulfilled their purpose, they will be devoid of all memories related to their time among us and returned to their rightful place in society.
It is rather disappointing not to have possession of Cadet James Kirk as well, but Cadet McCoy will serve as a useful substitute and we will find a way to get what we need from Cadet Kirk later on.
Now, you may attempt to rescue the cadets, but it is doubtful that Starfleet has decent enough technology to locate the source of this message. However, we do wish you luck in trying.
If either cadet puts a toe out of line, may space have mercy on their souls.
Sincerely,
Section 31
It happened so quickly; Jonathan rose from his desk and began pacing while unleashing a tirade of swear words so nasty that even Chris was gaping at him with a look of utter shock on his face.
"I have connections into the organization of Section 31 and I know who their operative is," Jonathan hissed, fire in his eyes and his teeth grinding so fast that they were wearing down. "Not a word to Command about this, Chris."
Bewildered, Chris watched as Jonathan marched over to a communications terminal and began punching in a strange command code, "T'Pol, I want answers!" he shouted as a female Vulcan appeared on the screen. "Section 31 took two cadets without provocation and I want answers!"
T'Pol was silent for a moment, "If you provide me with the message they sent you, I can most likely find the origin of the transmission," she stated in a monotone voice. "I told you not to contact me."
Cursing loudly, Jonathan ran back to his desk and quickly used the computer to send a copy of the message to T'Pol, "No doubt Soval is behind this," Jonathan snapped as he looked back at T'Pol.
The screen suddenly faded to black and as Jonathan cursed, the door slid open and Spock entered.
"Captain Pike, Admiral Archer, I was perusing the library for some research time this morning before I engaged in my instructional duties and a message of both an interesting and alarming nature appeared on the screen," Spock stated. "I suspect that the message has been appearing on computers all over the Starfleet properties, as I noticed a great deal of activity on my way here."
Chris sighed and crossed his arms, "People are starting to panic," he reasoned, exasperated by the fact that Section 31 had not only struck again, they were inciting mass hysteria within Starfleet.
"Captain Pike, go over to Cadet Kirk's dorm and ensure that he isn't being harassed," Jonathan stated in an exasperated tone. "His name was mentioned in the message, so any friends of Cadet McCoy or Ensign Pike might blame him and seek to cause physical harm to him."
Chris nodded and quickly left the room, "Commander Spock, can you analyze this message and determine its point of origin?" Jonathan asked, gesturing to his computer. "Once we figure out where the cadets have been taken, a rescue operation can be organized."
"I am not as well versed in Section 31 operations as much as I would prefer, however, I believe that my knowledge of the sciences will prove useful," Spock stated as he took a seat at the computer and studied the message extensively. "I trust a rescue party is being prepared?"
Jonathan nodded, "As soon as we figure out where the cadets are, we'll send one," he said in a tone of irritation at Spock's stating the obvious. "I should really go and help keep panic to a minimum. Feel free to use my computer for as long as you need to, Commander."
"I had intended on doing so, Admiral," Spock stated, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Jonathan nodded and silently left the room.
The sound of banging on his dormitory door caused Jim to sit up in bed with a groan, which attracted the attention of Phlox, who was seated in the sitting area, studying a PADD.
"Just stay there, Cadet Kirk, I'll see who it is," Phlox stated as he rosed and moved over to the door that led to the dormitory hallway, as he didn't want Cadet Kirk stressed more than he already was.
With a tap of the keypad, Phlox opened the door and nearly missed a fist flying at his face, which was attached to the body of an infuriated look of cadets. They all looked as if they wanted to fight.
"Where's Kirk at?" one of the cadets snapped. "We want to talk to him about McCoy and Pike."
Before Phlox could reply, the crowd of cadets shoved past Phlox and over to where Jim was sitting up in bed, "Hey, Kirk, we wanna know what you did to Pike and McCoy."
"I didn't do anything to them," Jim replied groggily. "I don't even know where they are."
There was murmuring amongst the cadets and two of them lunged at Jim, forcibly dragging him from the bed and on to the floor while forcing one arm behind his back. Jim gritted his teeth.
"You're a liar, Kirk!" one of the cadets replied as Jim felt a boot connect with his jaw.
Phlox moved forward in an attempt to intervene, but two of the cadets restrained him and Phlox was forced to watch as several cadets beat the stuffing out of Cadet Kirk, ignoring his pleas to stop.
"We'll be back in 24 hours to do this again if you're not ready to talk, Kirk," one of the cadets hissed as Jim felt himself being released. "Your Denobulan watchdog had better keep quiet too."
In a matter of seconds, the cadets were gone and Phlox was hovering over Jim, who was breathing heavily and unable to talk because his jaw hurt from being kicked by a hard Starfleet boot.
"What happened in here?" Chris yelled as he suddenly entered the dorm and saw a badly beaten Cadet Kirk laying on the floor on his stomach with Phlox standing over him. "Explain, please."
Phlox sighed, "An explanation can wait, Captain," he replied. "I think we had better take Cadet Kirk to Medical as fast as possible. Once Doctor Puri is attending to him, I will explain what happened."
From his position on the floor, Jim swore he could hear Captain Pike calling for emergency medical assistance, but the combination of pain and fear quickly sent him into a deep blackness.
Several hours later, Jim awoke to find himself laying in a hospital bed at Starfleet Medical with Captain Pike sitting on a stool beside his bed with a large stylus in his hand.
Jim frowned and tried to move his mouth, but found that he couldn't, "Easy there, Jim," Chris stated gently as he placed the stylus on Jim's lap. "Use the stylus to write what you want to say."
Suddenly realizing that his left arm was secured to a chest in a shoulder sling, Jim slowly typed a message out on the stylus with his right hand and showed it to Chris; it read What happened?
"You were attacked in your dorm by a bunch of cadets who were apparently blaming you for the disappearance of Cadet McCoy and Ensign Pike," Chris explained in a gentle voice.
Ignoring the pain that shot through his frail body, Jim typed on the stylus and handed it back to Chris, his eyes full of confused anger; Why can't I move my arm and why can't I talk?
"The attackers dislocated your shoulder and broke your jaw," Chris explained, hoping that Academy Command would find and expel whoever was responsible for this happening. "Doctor Phlox fixed your shoulder and your jaw was wired shut so it can heal...which should take about a month."
Jim took a deep breath and his right hand shook as he typed out another message and as he held the stylus for Chris to see; Have they found Bones and Arianne yet? it read.
"No, no they haven't, but we're doing everything we can to find them," Chris replied as he took the stylus from Jim's fingers. "Your hand's shaking, it's time for you to take a little break."
Jim shook his head and Chris sighed, placing the stylus on his lap, "All right, you can ask one more question and then I have to go tell Phlox that you're awake," Chris stated firmly. "Puri's on a com-channel with Command and Phlox has to get you on fluids and nutri-drips."
Quickly moving his fingers across the stylus keyboard, Jim handed it back; I can't go back to that dorm, they said they'd be back in 24 hours...I need to stay somewhere where they can't find me.
Chris was silent for a moment and sighed, "I'll talk with Admiral Archer and see if something can't be arranged for you," he stated as he placed the stylus on Jim's lap. "Admiral Archer teaches about 50 classes a week and he's good at it, but even the most stubborn need assistance. Maybe I can arrange for you to be his assistant and maybe he'll let you stay with him in exchange."
Jim nodded, blinking tiredly as his right hand fell limply on the blanket, "I have two Starfleet Security officers posted outside the room, so you're safe," Chris ordered as he got to his feet. "If you need to communicate, use the stylus and don't try to talk. I want you to go to sleep right NOW."
Nobody had to tell Jim twice and as his eyes closed, Chris turned and silently left the room. He moved down the hallway to where he saw Jonathan lingering just outside of Dr. Puri's office.
"Commander Spock's holed himself up in my office," Jonathan stated as he saw Chris approach. "Doctor Puri is in contact with both Starfleet Command and the Vulcan High Command about this situation. I've sent out campus-wide orders that every student and instructor is to log a sample of their DNA, campus ID number, and fingerprints with Starfleet Security...off-campus travel has also been restricted to weekends and nobody is to travel alone anymore...on or off campus."
Chris nodded, but remained silent, "Classes will continue as normal and I've enacted a media ban all over the campus so that people aren't being harassed," Jonathan stated. "I've already gotten comms from diplomatic embassies all over Earth...this is instilling a worldwide panic, Chris."
Biting his lip, Chris sighed, "Jon, Cadet Kirk regained consciousness and I managed to have a brief conversation before he got too tired," he stated. "I told him about what you suggested and he's up for all of it, but he wants to live with you too...he doesn't feel safe going back to his dorm."
"It'll be good to have someone looking after my dogs and watching my house when I'm stuck pulling all-night work sessions on campus or at Command," Jonathan replied. "I know I'm getting up there in years, but I think Puri will back off on my retirement when I say that I have an assistant."
Chris couldn't help but chuckle, "Don't overwork him, Jon," he replied. "Kirk's not superhuman."
Before Jonathan could reply, the door to Dr. Puri's office slid open a crack, "Admiral Archer, Captain Pike, would you both please join this discussion?" the irritated voice of Dr. Puri asked. "Both Command and the Vulcan High Command wish to have your input on this situation."
Exchanging a look, both Admiral Archer and Captain Pike nodded, silently moving into Dr. Puri's office; Cadet Kirk would be okay for the moment and hopefully Cadet McCoy and Ensign Pike would soon be located, rescued, and able to return to the Academy and their own lives.
Nobody wanted to think about what would happen if there wasn't a good outcome to this crisis.