Chapter 4

---Kira---

My heart was racing as I rushed down the hallway.

Starfleet. They're from Starfleet.

I forced myself to stop running and I stood at the end of the long hallway at the verge of the stairs catching my breath. All of the sudden it occurred to me just what I had done.

"Crap!"

Idiot! Why did I run away! I hope Sylar is in a good mood because if he finds out I'm totally in for it. Oh well. There is no way I'm going back there right now.

I decided to detour to the surveillance room to cover my behind. I went up the stairs and down several hallways before I got there; by that time I was already feeling more in control of my emotions.

"Peeps?" I called out as I entered.

The surveillance room was dark as usual with a lineup of 10 screens providing the only light in the room as they switched between all the different cameras in the complex. All I could see was the silhouette of a figure sitting in front of the screens.

"That was quite a scene you made in the cells. You alright?"

"You really do see everything, don't you?" It was a rhetorical question. Of course he saw everything. The bug eyed little creep had eyes like a hawk and a nose bigger than the galaxy itself. He earned his nickname well.

"You mind keeping an eye on them from here? I… just needed to get away for a bit."

"You're not going soft on them are ya?"

My breath caught in my throat for a second and I swallowed. "Of course not! You don't want to be in there with them anymore than I do. Come on! It's not like they are going to be any trouble."

He chuckled at me, "I suppose not. I'll watch them for now, but if Sylar catches you it's your hide not mine."

"Yeah. Thanks."

I really needed some time to think.

Not willing to risk being seen heading back to my room I headed for the back entrance instead.

The whole complex was built into a series of interconnected caves in the mountains. The walls were thick and there were only 3 ways in or out. The back entrance was more of an emergency escape than a door. Rocks surrounded the tiny entrance, making it impossible to see unless you knew where to look.

There was another reason it was left unguarded. It opened up into the swamp; a humid murky pit of mud that stretched on for miles. Trees grew densely out of the muck, their roots interweaving with each other out and above the mess like the mangrove trees I had once seen on earth as a child.

One tree stood out among the rest, it was immense, and must have been a couple of centuries old. It towered above the rest; a tangle of crooked branches climbing all the way to the heavens.

Stashing my laptop in the rocky entrance I skipped over some rocks like stepping stones, nimbly avoiding the sticky murk of the muddy waters, and on to a plot of land right under the tree.

The best spot on this horrid planet was here in this very tree, the canopy of the swamp trees below and the most amazing blanket of stars and planets twinkling above as if they were alive.

I often come up here to escape the complex for a while. I would climb as high as I dared and gaze up at the stars. Sometimes I would imagine which one was Earth.

I took a deep breath; the air was cool and crisp. My soul began to ease and the hand that seemed to be squeezing at my heart let up a bit.

Something big is about to happen. I am sure of it. I had become, perhaps not content, but accepting of my place here many years ago. There had never been much of a choice.

The fact of the matter is I am trapped here; no one escapes unless they are dead. That is the way things have always been here, and I have come to accept it. At least I thought I had.

I haven't bothered to think of home in years. Yet now all in only one day I've dreamt of it and now Sylar even brings back Starfleet officers!

My father had been a Starfleet officer… perhaps he still was. I had no way of knowing.

My display back there in the cell was embarrassing, but I couldn't help it! With my parents faces so fresh in my mind the mention of the Federation had shined a glimpse of hope right in my face- and it twisted at my heart like a knife. For a split second I had dared to dream of getting off this wretched planet, of seeing my family once again… I dreamed that I could be free.

But the crash back down to reality had come fast and hard. I knew better; there was no escape, no hope. When Sylar had first brought me here I had attempted several escapes. I failed, and the consequences were severe. I would not risk it again. It's just not worth the pain.

I suppose as far as kidnappings go things could have gone much worse. So long as I did as I was told, Sylar ensured my safety- no one could touch me.

Originally I was to be sold off as a slave with the rest of the missing ones. It was probably my first attempt at freedom that spared me that fate, I suppose.

My family and I had just relocated from Earth- my father had just been stationed in a small space colony as an enforcer. I was 7 at the time and I made sure that everyone knew that I did not want to go.

There had been an increase of thefts on other federation colonies in the quadrant and the Federation was upping security in precaution. The colony was so out of the way of the other incidents… no one anticipated the strike.

We had only been there a couple of months…

I was taken along with several others- women and children.

We were stashed in the brig of their ship; they had placed us 'in storage' until they could find a buyer. I wanted out and I wasn't about to wait around… I had an amazing talent with computers, so I hacked the keypad on the door and jettisoned away in an escape pod.

I didn't get very far before they caught up with me.

And they beat me, badly.

I don't remember much of what happened after they did. One minute I was in the pod and the next I woke up here on Terran, and I've been here ever since.

Since I had proven to have an affinity for computers they kept me and put me to work here with them.

There isn't a computer system in the complex that I haven't improved upon by now. I've fixed equipment, created consoles, designed computer programs to run systems and even computer viruses to destroy them.

They named me Keys because I type so fast.

I've never been proud of what I've had to do, but I'm alive. There's no escaping; I'm one of them now.

All I will ever be… is a stargazer.

To be continued…

So there is most of the scoop on Kira. Thanks for the reviews guys! It's been really encouraging. Let me know what you think!