First off, I am so sorry!!!! I haven't posted a new chapter in weeks, and I feel terrible. I could come up with a bunch of excuses, but the real reason is quite entertaining/weird. I had the opposite of writer's block, but it was equally horrifying. I wrote like, ten chapters, only to decide that none of them would work, and I hated them all. Oh, let me tell you, it was frustrating. And then I got a new computer, which was not frustrating until I tried to import the old documents onto it, and the thing flipped out on me. So really, this chapter is far too long coming. I apologize for the wait, and hope this chapter makes up for it.

Now, just a bit of housekeeping. This is the first of a multi-chaptered arch, as you will see. Don't worry, I will finish. I'm really excited about this, because it not only allows me to explore some more action/adventure type stuff, but it also lets me play with the other characters as well. On that note, Spock is probably horribly OOC in this. I blame it on the situation, though that is a terrible excuse. I apologize, and feel free to tell me what went wrong.

Fun fact: I wrote this entire chapter listening to one song on repeat. "Whoa Oh!' from Forever the Sickest Kids. The one with Selena Gomez. Yeah, I'm that cool.

Anywho, enjoy this chapter, and I'm sorry for the wait and lack of Chekov in this one. He'll be back, I promise. There is nothing that can keep a Russian down.

Natalia couldn't feel anything. There was something hard under her, but that was all she knew. Her entire body was numb and cold. The cold. That was what woke her. The searing pain as it hit her arms and legs. She tried to take a deep breath, and the air attacked her lungs, thrusting sharp pinpoints into the delicate tissue. She coughed, and this time the pain wracked through her torso, a dull aching pain, quite different from that caused by the cold. Finally, after sputtering for a full minute, she opened her eyes, almost afraid of what she would see.

It could have been worse, she supposed. At least she wasn't restrained. She was lying on a cold metal floor, surrounded by several bars, in what seemed to be an archaic looking brig. She retained enough energy to roll her eyes as the rust and filth. Looked someone had been watching a few too many 20th century gangster movies. Slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, and to her immense joy her head did not spin. She pulled her knees to her chest, her bare legs covered in goose bumps. She looked as far past the bars as she could, but saw nothing other than walls and a single doorway, leading down an equally dirty and damp looking corridor. She inspected the lock on the bars, and sound the one sign that she was indeed in the 23rd century. The locks was small and sleek, but completely impenetrably. She assumed there was some sort of keypad on the other side, though she couldn't see it. She shivered again, wondering why it was so damn cold.

Natalia was a few moments from sleep when she was jolted out of the stupor by the sound of heavy boots approaching. She opened her eyes, and something closer to a mountain than a man coming towards her cell. He didn't say anything to her, just opened the door and held it. She waited for a command, but it never came. Instead, he reached one thick arm in and pulled her out by her shoulder. She bit her lip against the pain, but straightened herself as he closed the door.

He was certainly humanoid, walking on two legs and gripping her with one arm while the other swung loosely at his side. His face was obscured by a thick yellow hair, coming from both the top of his head and his chin. She did catch a prominent nose as they passed by a more brightly lit hall, but then turned her eyes to a forward position.

He stopped before a large door, and typed in a final keycode that made the door swing open silently. He pushed her ahead of him, and jabbed her in the back to keep her moving. Natalia followed his prodding, moving a straight line through what seemed to be a communications room. Most of the terminals were empty, though there was a bright light coming from the very back of the room. As she approached, she saw her initial captor, the face she had seen before she had been rendered unconscious.

It was the face one would expect. The woman was young, only a little older than Natalia herself. She was either Romulan or Vulcan, as her eyebrows swept up and a way from her face. Though, Natalia reminded her, there certainly weren't enough Vulcans left to have them running around terrorizing Starfleet. The enemy was very pretty, her dark eyes sparkling with what could be mistaken as humor, but Natalia was beginning to understand as pure evil. Her shocking red hair was cut into a short, sharp bob, the left side three inches longer than the right. When she spoke, her voice was almost musical, though containing a sinister note.

"It seems the Vulcan was given time to return to the ship." Natalia did not show her joy that Spock had managed to get away. She kept her mouth in a hard line as the woman addressed her. "Your crew has already began searching for you, Ms Flores." Well, there went her plan on not telling t hem who she was. "They have been out it for two days, and I think it is time that we fuel their waning hope." She smiled, though it wasn't a comforting gesture, and turned to the communication station. Natalia quickly recovered from the mental shock of learning she had been out for two days, and watched the woman work. Her fingers were quick and sure, and she did not second guess any of her commands. Natalia could practically hear Uhura's voice cutting through whatever chatter was going on at the bridge. "We're being hailed, Captain" Even though the voice was only in her mind, it was a comfort. Uhura, at least, would be keeping a look-out for her.

"We have your missing Ensign." The female said softly, and the sound made shivers crawl up Natalia's spine. She imagined the flurry of activity, and again, heard a voice in her head that was an odd comfort.

"Front screen, Lieutenant." Kirk barked in her mind.

No sooner had the voice died than the large screen on the wall in front of the group of three flickered to life, and Natalia gasped at the scene laid out in front of her. It was the bridge of the Enterprise, as pristine as she had left it, save for the empty tactical seat in the dead center of the screen. She barely got a chance to see it before being shoved away, out of the screen. It only took the giant man one arm to fully restrain her while he stood at the edge of the viewing space, giving the tall woman the center spot.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise." Natalia's heart pounded loudly at the sound of his voice, easily the most comforting this she had heard in her life. "We understand you have something that belongs to us."

"Ah, so it is the infamous Captain Kirk." The woman seemed pleased, and when she smiled again, it was softer, more alluring. Natalia instinctively rolled her eyes, despite the situation. Was there a woman out there that Kirk couldn't charm? "I have heard of you and your little miracle crew." She continued. "I did not believe the stories, I must admit, until I saw Ms. Flores. She is indeed a youngling, and yet so very bright. She is a fighter as well. She almost had the upper hand at one point during our little chat. But, I must say, it was that mouth of hers that got her in trouble." The woman sent Natalia a glare. "She certainly went down swinging. She probably is still feeling the damage as well, after two days." Her full attention was turned to Natalia now. "Are you still in pain, mija?"

Natalia pushed against the wall, trying to launch herself at the woman. The familiarity stung when said in such a sarcastic tone, and her blood was now boiling. Unfortunately, she did not make it very far, as a huge arm caught her around the middle, effectively holding her up and off the ground. She kicked out, crying out in frustration when she missed.

"Let me down you flippin' man mountain!" She yelled, trying her best to inflict some kind of damage on him. He did not let go, though, and did not seem at all phased by her struggles.

"There's that mouth." The woman sighed, shaking her head in a condescending manner. "She is incredibly feisty, I will give her that."

"Why did you contact us?" Kirk asked.

"I thought you want to know that your precious prodigy was alive and in fairly good condition." The red-head laughed, raising a finger and coaxing the younger woman forward. "Come here, Miss Natalia. Report to your Captain like a good girl."

The man-mountain released her, and after picking herself up off the ground, she walked to the woman, her shoulders back and her head high. There was an audible gasp as she appeared in the screen, and when she finally dared to turn back, she saw that every member of the crew wore a different expression.

Spock, of course, was neutral, though there was a spark in his eyes when Natalia looked up at him. He stood just to the right of Kirk, who was dead center, standing between the command chair and the empty tactical station. Kirk tried his best to follow Spock's example and keep his face clear, but Natalia caught the smallest of smiles cross his face in relief as he saw her standing at attention. Sulu and Uhura wore nearly identical expressions of mixed relief and worry, though from the way his eyes darted back down to his view screen every so often, Natalia knew Sulu was already a step ahead, trying to figure how to get her back. Finally, she turned to Chekov, and had to stiffen her position even more to keep from breaking her stance. He was staring at her in disbelief, struggling not only to believe that she was there, but to keep his expression from betraying how desperate he was to have her back.

"It is rude to stare, Ensign Flores." The woman behind her snarled, capturing her upper arm between long red fingernails.

"Captain Kirk." Natalia nodded once, keeping her voice steady. "As you can clearly see, I am being held captive on a ship of unknown size and origin."

"She is fine for the time being." The woman said, cutting her off. "She has yet to serve her purpose, and so I have yet to do any serious damage to her."

"Serious damage?" The voice of Dr. McCoy came from somewhere to Kirk's left. "The entire right side of her face is a bruise!"

"It is?" Natalia reached up with her free hand and touched her face gently, wincing at the sensation. Not a moment later and the woman released her grasp just to throw her fist in Natalia's face. There was a muffled gasp of horror, and when Natalia finally blinked her eyes open, she saw that everyone but Kirk and Spock wore the same look of badly suppressed revulsion.

"She is still functioning, is she not?" The woman's voice had dipped dangerously low. "You have seen that she is alive and you have seen the treatment she will get for every mistake made. We will contact you when we are ready to agree on terms for her return. And remember, it is not just her mistake that we will be counting, Captain Kirk." With that, she terminated the link.

Natalia stared at the blank screen, not tearing away her gaze until the woman shoved her back towards her guard.

"Take her back to her cell." The woman snarled. She reached down and roughly grabbed Natalia's face between her thumb and forefinger. "Rest up, sweetheart, because you will be working hard in the morning."

Natalia bit back the retort, and allowed herself to be half-dragged back to the cold cell she was really starting to hate. She sighed as the door clinked shut and man-mountain lumbered away. She leaned against the far wall, letting her head fall to her shoulder. There was nothing she could do here, and so she followed the advice of the evil, evil woman and fell fast asleep.

***

Her chest pounded as she ran, needing to take three strides to every one of Spock's. He was not impatient, though, and he urged her on as quietly as he could. They were being followed by at least two people, and if the weapons fired at them earlier were any indication, they were not friendly individuals.

No sooner had the two burst forth from the cave and into the bright sunlight than Spock was yelling into his communicator.

"Spock to Enterprise, get us out of here!"

Natalia had her phaser out, pointed at the cave where they had just emerged from. Spock covered what was behind her, which didn't look like more than brush and sand. The two had beamed down to the planet for what had been a simple enough task of delivering supplies and fixing a malfunctioning translating system at the Starfleet outpost on the planet. It was such a simple mission that Kirk had opted out, deciding that Spock and Natalia were enough. No sooner had they beamed down, though, than they were ambushed, finally realizing that there was no outpost on this planet, but on the sister planet.

"Spock to Enterprise-"

"I'm tryin', sir, but something is scrambling the signal!" Scotty's brogue cut through the still air as Natalia scanned the area, looking for anything that was not a plant or rock.

"We are both working on it, and there is just nothing there!" Chekov's voice made Natalia pause for a split second, and she tried to ignore the desperation present. "Stop moving!"

"We're not moving!" Natalia hissed. Suddenly, though, she was, as she heard something snap from behind her. Turning, she fired three phaser shots, and heard the satisfying thump of something heavy hitting the ground.

"I think I've got you now." Scotty said, and bands of white light began swirling around the unusual looking pair. Before Natalia's body could throw up the weak tingling that signaled transport, she felt a sharp pain in her right calf. She fell to her knee, touching the spot on her leg and feeling something wet and sticky. The next moment, she felt something pulling her, and heard Spock's voice calling her first name.

"Natalia!"

"Natalia!" This dream was suddenly too real. She could feel strong hands at her shoulders, and Spock's voice still filled her ears, though he seemed to speaking in a hushed tone now. She snapped awake, and her heart sank when she realized how real her dream was.

Spock was kneeling next to her, his dark eyes slightly wild as he gently shook her by the shoulders. For a moment she thought she was back on the Enterprise, but felt the chill of cold metal against her bare legs and winced. She was still in her holding cell, although now she was not alone.

"How the hell did they get you?" She asked groggily, sitting up from her slumped position. "You were beamed back up. You were there when I talked to Jim."

"Yes, I was." He was clearly shaken, at least to Natalia's fairly tuned eye. "We left the planet that you were taken on immediately, and had just reached orbit of the sister planet when your call came in. I beamed aboard the planet with Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Sulu, but while we were outside greeting the commander of the post, we were attacked again. This time I was the one that did not get away."

"Did you seriously walk into that again?" Natalia asked, fairly sure that Spock would not have done something that stupid.

"Captain thought it would be a good idea, and I acquiesced to his request." Spock shook his head slightly. "Clearly it was not the right decision."

"Have you figure out what kind of ship we are on?" She asked softly. Spock nodded once.

"Again, I think we are dealing with Romulans." He said softly. "The woman we spoke with, who is truly terrifying, is at least half-Romulan, though I am sure she is also part human. The vessel we are currently on is actually a high security luxury vessel, designed to commute groups of ambassadors and other dignitaries through space in a safe and opulent manner. It seems the woman with the bright hair has been using it to track down the Enterprise, as we are the only ones in space right now that knows the details of the Narada Incident."

"Why does she want those details?" Natalia asked.

"She is quite young and impulsive. She feels that she has been lied to by the Federation, and is in search of the truth." Spock stopped, then resumed his speech. "In many ways she reminds me of you and Mr. Chekov. The three of you are all incredibly intelligent and young. You are all in search of answers, though the questions may be too complex for you to understand."

"Please, sir, do not compare me to her." Natalia tried her best to bite back the sneer that threatened.

"I will desist, if you wish." He said simply. She nodded, letting her head fall back against the wall., She winced when it hit a sore spot she had forgotten about. Spock looked at her, concern again coloring his eyes. "Ensign, may I perform a cursory exam of you for injuries?"

"They're there, I can tell you that." She said, sitting back up. "Though you don't look nearly as beat up. I suppose it's a miracle they managed to subdue you at all, though."

His lips twitched into a slight smirk as he placed his long, slim fingers at her hairline, being extraordinarily gentle as he felt her scalp for cuts and bruises. "I must say, Ms. Flores, that I went rather quietly once it became clear they could incapacitate me. I did not argue or, as you would say, 'put up a fight', as I suspect you did."

"You got that right." Natalia muttered as his warm fingers came across the same spot the wall had. She winced slightly, and he lightened his touch further, until it felt like a warm summer breeze running through her hair. In the dim light, he inspected the side of her face that McCoy had pointed out, his gentle fingertips grazing across the multicolored flesh. "Is there a rescue mission planned?"

"There was." Spock said, reaching for her arm. When he was sure that her right was fine, save for a few scrapes, he inspected the left. "Much of that plan hinged on my discovery of how their transporter system worked."

"That didn't happen, did it?" She said, reading the slight change of tone.

"No, it did not." He said sadly. "Although Ensign Chekov is quite aware of this plan, and quite able to enter the system himself." He paused, looking down at the young girl in front of him. "Especially with the extra motivation."

"Is he a wreck?" Natalia asked softly, not sure if she wanted to know.

"He has a very good poker face, according to Jim." Spock said, and Natalia almost laughed at how awkward the statement sounded coming from the half-Vulcan. "He is not in the best of mental states, though he has been performing in a most productive manner. He is determined to find you and bring you back to the Enterprise."

Natalia smiled weakly, noting that although her examination had been over for a while, Spock had not removed his hand from her arm. She recognized it has an attempt to comfort her, and she was grateful. "Commander, do we know what they want with me?"

"I suspect that they want you to assist in an upgrade of their weaponry." He said, shifting so that he was sitting next to her, back against the wall. They were shoulder to shoulder now. "While the luxury shuttle is equipped with some basic defensive shields, they wish to be on the offense more often. If the recent thefts of several pieces of equipment from Starfleet bases in the area are related, than this shuttle has built up quite the arsenal, which I suspect they do not full know how to operate."

"So they want me to help them?" She shook her head gently, before letting it fall to Spock's shoulder. He did not move or stiffen at the motion, so Natalia assumed he was not uncomfortable with the act of familiarity. "What if I don't want to?"

Spock again let his mouth twitch into a small smirk, though she did not see it. "Very rarely do you show your true age, Ms. Flores, so it always comes as a surprise when you act like a human teenager."

She recognized the statement as teasing, and did not take offense. "Yeah, well maybe when we get out of here, I'll start acting out more often. I'll pierce my nose or dye my hair blue. There's teenage rebellion for you." She was slipping back to sleep, but fought against it to add one more thing. "Though if we get out of here, Jim might be so happy that he'll just ignore my blatant disregard for Starfleet Dress Code."

"I quite agree, Natalia." Spock said, and once he was sure that she was sleeping soundly, he decided to join her in the land of the barely conscious.