A/N: Let's all wail together in mourning as our favorite heroes will not return in the fall. We will never know if Sylar could ever be good, if the Petrellis will survive, what will become of Ando & Hiro or what the world's reaction to Claire's revelation would have been. BWAHHHH! They tease us with a volume 5 (the coincidentally named "Brave New World") only to jerk the rug out from under us. I officially hate NBC…
Chapter 51- Frenemies
Mendak couldn't believe his eyes. The Enterprise was directly ahead, nearly crippled and according to his readings, almost without defenses. And then it just vanished, and it wasn't like it warped away either. The ship did not have enough power to run the lights in the interior hallways, let alone fuel a massive reaction like a warp drive. But aside from this obvious problem, there was no wash left behind in the fabric of space with which to track them. All was dark and still in the empty space before him- the federation ship had simply blinked out of existence.
Even after several furious calls to the captains of his supporting armada, no one could quite come up with a plausible explanation of what they had all just witnessed. Several theories about cloaking devices and temporal black holes were bandied about, but Mendak kept his suspicions to himself. What the others didn't know was that the Enterprise held two powerful magicians that likely aided them in their escape, although exactly how was a mystery. All he knew was that his sensors were of little use and he had to go on sheer intuition. If he were in Kirk's situation and had his inferior sensibilities, he would run to the nearest ally for support. In this case, it was the Klingons which were not exactly Federation allies, but they were firm enemies of the Romulans. And as the old Earth saying went, the enemies of my enemies are my friends. And where was he most likely to find the most protection than the heart of the Klingon empire, Qo'noS?
Even though he knew it was suicide, he ordered his army to set a course for the Klingon home world and prepared for a glorious battle and honorable death. With his family name dishonored by his treacherous father, he really had no choice but to redeem it. He would come home a hero or die trying.
Jim didn't really know what to expect, but the whole thing seemed to be over in the blink of an eye. He looked around the bridge and it was as if nothing had changed except the Romulan armada on the screen was now replaced with a looming planet and a floating space station that he recognized as Klingon construction. Sulu looked equally in awe and Uhura smiled widely when she realized Hiro's plan had worked. Somehow the little man and his friend had moved what amounted to a small island to a new location with nothing more than some fuzzy pink energy and squinted eyes.
"Yatta!" Hiro yelled with his fists in the air when he took in the screen. Chekov shook his head in wonder at the man and chuckled to himself.
"We did it, Hiro!" Ando yelled excitedly as he jumped up and down with joy.
"Yes you did." Jim beamed as he approached to shake the men's hands. "Thanks for getting us out of that mess. You saved a lot of people and I didn't get sick this time!" His smile faded and his blue eyes became more focused. "But the real question is how are you feeling? Any pain, headaches?"
Hiro just smiled at the taller man. In reality he was trying his best not to flinch as the searing hot pain in his head intensified with each passing second. It was like having a roman candle in his cranium complete with flashing lights before his eyes. He just hoped his nose didn't start bleeding. Never before had he accomplished something of such great magnitude, and he wanted to stick around to enjoy it.
Jim squinted just a bit at him as if he suspected he wasn't getting the whole truth, but he let it go. "Ok then, but if you do I want you down in the sickbay immediately and that's an order."
"Hai." Hiro bowed slightly, still smiling.
"Sir, I have an incoming hail from Qo'noS." Uhura announced.
"Great!" Jim sighed plopping back down in his chair. When the transmission had been patched through, he straightened a bit and put on his best authoritarian face. "I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise. Your High Council requested assistance for a ship of yours that was disabled near the Beta quadrant. We responded to the distress call and have the occupants of the vessel aboard our ship. We only wish to return them to their home planet."
The Klingon on the other side of the link looked less than pleased, but as they were generally sour people, Jim didn't think much of it. "And where is the vessel?" The Klingon asked in a low, almost growling voice as though he were angry.
"It was destroyed by the Romulans." Jim answered simply. "They also nearly destroyed my ship as you can probably tell. As such, we respectfully request assistance from the Klingon Empire to allow us to dock at your space station until repairs can be made to get us home. The Federation will, of course, provide you with a fair amount of credits for any materials we may need."
"We will allow you to stay, but only as long as it takes to get your ship in working order and then we expect you to leave promptly." The Klingon gave a wicked smile and added, "The price of ship building materials has recently gone up substantially."
Jim gave a tense smile although he hated being screwed. He knew full well the price of materials had only gone up since he opened his mouth. Pike would probably drop dead of a heart attack when he got his expense report. At least the Klingons weren't demanding their own engineers to do the work like some Chicago union mob racketeers- Scotty would kill them all the moment one soldered the wrong wire to the wrong circuit. "We appreciate it." He finally forced himself to say with perhaps the most disingenuous smile he had ever worn on his face. As soon as the connection was cut, he mumbled, "Greedy bastards." It wasn't like the credits were coming out of his own pocket, but it was the principle of it all. "Sulu, get us to an empty dock. Chekov, you are dismissed and are hereby ordered to go back down to sickbay to be fully examined."
Chekov looked pale and startled. "But Sir, I…"
"It wasn't a request." Jim said flatly. "It was an order. You have done an admirable job under the circumstances and it will be noted in the official report. Now get moving." Of course he felt like a total hypocrite for being so harsh because everyone who knew him also knew that he would go to great lengths to avoid McCoy until he either lost consciousness or the doctor eventually caught him which just made a bad situation worse. But those who really knew him also knew that he treated his crew better than most people would treat their family members because over the past few years that was how he had come to see them. Jim never really had a family that gave a damn about him until he joined Starfleet, now he couldn't imagine it any other way.
"Aye, Sir." Chekov nodded as he limped to the lift, finally overcome by exhaustion of spent adrenaline.
Jim watched him for a moment before motioning for Ando to come close. "Do me a favor and follow him down there, make sure he makes it." He whispered before giving him a clap on the shoulder. "Ando," he said a little louder to cover his tracks. "The com system is down. Could you go down to sickbay and get a status report on McCoy's patients?"
For reasons unknown to him, he saluted as he sharply replied, "Yes, Sir!"
Jim gave him a bewildered look and chuckled quietly. "Alright, then. Hiro, could you escort Uhura while she gathers the Klingons for transport off the ship? This all might go easier if you speak the language." He smiled turning to his xenolinguistics expert. "We don't want any misunderstandings, but we do want them off the ship ASAP and I would feel better if you had some protection. I would send…someone else…but..."
His playful smile grew wider with each passing second, prompting her to cut him off before he went too far. "I will be fine." She hissed through clenched teeth as she got out of her chair and stomped to the lift where she and Hiro squeezed on before the doors shut.
Ando turned to Hiro and asked in Japanese, "Why didn't I get that job?"
Uhura replied in kind, leaving Chekov wondering if they were talking about him. "Because the Captain is a teenager sometimes and can't play nice with others."
"Oh." Hiro nodded wide eyed. "Are you and Mr. Jim together? Is he jealous?"
"No!" She shook her head in disgust. "I mean yes…well, not together but…it's a long story." She sighed as she hung her head and some of her hair spilled down her shoulder. Chekov's paranoia turned to curiosity when all he could make out was the name of his captain and Uhura's reaction to whatever had been said. He thought about just talking to himself in Russian to drive home the point of being excluded, but Uhura would understand him and that kind of defeated the purpose, so he kept looking straight ahead and hummed a Russian pop tune until his stop came.
He and Ando left their companions to corral the Klingons while they went to the hospital on the ship. Ando wasn't really fond of hospitals, but with the minimal lighting provided by the backup generators, it seemed even more foreboding because within dwelled the formidable Dr. McCoy and he was on a mission to speak with him. It really was like slaying the dragon and he wished now more than ever he had a sword. What he didn't know was that Chekov felt much the same.
"Well," McCoy drawled as soon as he caught sight of his wayward patient. "look who came back after going AWOL. You'd better have a damn good explanation or you'll be peeling potatoes until your thumbs bleed."
"I vas requested on the bridge, Sir." He replied meekly. "The Captain needed a navigator. It vas an emergency situation."
McCoy glared at him for what seemed an eternity before gesturing to the empty bed next to Sylar and sighing, "Get your ass up there so I can have a look at you." He had no reason to doubt the young man. Even though he had been trapped in the sickbay managing the seemingly endless flow of casualties, he had enough sense to know that something serious was going down on the bridge for Chekov to take off like he did.
Ando nervously cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Doctor, the Captain asked me to get a report on your patients." It felt a lot like questioning God and he did so with fear and trembling.
McCoy glanced around the room and recited the information as he simultaneously examined Chekov. "Sylar and Peter are still in serious condition but improving. At the rate they are going, they will be right as rain in an hour or two. I'm still keeping them down until I'm sure they are 100%. Waking up with raw nerve endings is a hell of a way to suffer. Nathan is in fair condition," he paused to glance at his unruly charge, "but I expect we can get him cleared in the next half hour or less. Spock is stable and as long as I don't see any signs of rejection, he will be free to go in a couple of hours." He stopped when Chekov gasped slightly when he pushed on his ribs. "Chekov appears to have some fractured ribs, but otherwise he seems fine. We'll patch him up and he can be on his way." He took one last look around to make sure no one had been left out. "The rest have been discharged already, but they obviously don't have sense enough to leave."
"If we are in your way, Dr. McCoy, we will gladly leave." Noah offered. "We don't want to interfere with your duties."
McCoy half smirked to let him know that he was only semi-serious, but the room was getting a little crowded with the injured, the medical staff, and the watchers that held vigil over the patients- he didn't need bystanders taking up space as well. "Yes, I will just get back to work then." Mohinder agreed. He lowered his voice and quietly asked Claire, "Will you be alright here?"
Claire gave a desperate smile and shrugged. "What's he going to do, kill me?" It was dark humor, but it was true.
Mohinder softly smiled and said, "Well, I'm certain I won't be of much help but if he tries I will just be in my lab."
She nodded as she watched Noah, Matt, Ando, and Mohinder vacate the room leaving just she and Nathan to watch over their own kind. She was still miffed at her father, and judging by the way he deftly dodged her glances, he knew he was in the dog house. She let out a small sigh and glanced down at Sylar, who was looking more and more human by the minute- and looking back at her. She jumped slightly and tried not to look disturbed although she was. The funny thing was, he looked equally shocked even though he tried to maintain his usual unreadable expression. "Sylar," she smiled nervously, "you aren't supposed to be awake yet."
He said nothing. His full lips never even parted as though he intended on saying anything and it was creepy the way he kept his eyes locked on her- they were not quite as evil as usual but he was certainly guarded. He didn't move, he didn't speak, he just kept staring as if he really had no choice because it hurt to blink. "I'll get the doctor." She stated with determination.
He slowly shook his head no. This was a calculated move on his part because the truth of it was, his brain had fully regenerated and was back up to speed even if his body wasn't. It wasn't like he didn't try to move, but even the smallest shift caused too much pain for his newly formed skin and he knew what was in the cards- he was completely helpless for the time being and he simply couldn't stand the thought of having people tend to him. He had never been this low in his life and he would rather wait it out and suffer until he was something like himself again than to abide the indignity of being hand fed and sipping water through a straw while she held the glass for him. Water. There was nothing more he wanted in the world at that moment. He was so dehydrated he would have gladly traded oxygen for some cool water, but his pride kept him from asking for this one simple thing. He would wait until he could get it himself. He snapped back to attention when Claire began to speak.
"So it sounds like you did a pretty big thing today." She chattered. "Good for you. I didn't think you had it in you." Neither did he, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Looks like the evil genius saved the day."
His mouth twitched into a small smirk and with a raspy voice he whispered, "Why are you here?" There was no doubt he was suspicious and he was in no mood to play games.
She had to lean in close to hear him, but she looked him straight in the eye and replied, "Because no one else was and I thought you might need some support." He faintly smiled as his eyes drifted shut and he rested, patiently waiting for the time when he was again complete and able. He didn't need her pity, if that's what this was, but he wouldn't have guessed that of all the people on the ship, she would be the one he would wake up to. Peter wouldn't have surprised him at all nor would Hiro or his friend…what's his name. Hell, even Nathan would have seemed more likely because for all of his bluster and bitching, a cooler head would have prevailed and like it or not, he saved his precious little brother and Sylar knew that for Nathan there was no greater good than that.
Claire noted he was shivering slightly and she carefully covered him with another blanket, a gesture he did not ask or thank her for, but that was to be expected. As she watched his eyelids gently flutter as he fell into a deep sleep, she noticed the way his long, dark eyelashes almost brushed his cheek and for just a moment he seemed utterly human. He looked unassuming and completely ordinary- the kind of man in another time or place might go completely unnoticed in a crowd. Was this what Gabriel Gray was like? She regretted not having the chance to know the watchmaker, maybe things could have been different but she knew that the moment would be short lived. Soon the lamb would again turn into the lion and they would all run for their lives.