still dont own star trek but im updating Saturday so yay!
Episode 1-8 Miri
Saya and Spock had done 5 sessions and she noticed the world seemed so different when she wasn't afraid of everyone wanting to hurt her. She had suddenly realized that Riley had been hitting on her and Brenner and Wilson had shown interest that she missed. She didn't know why they stopped but was glad as she had zero interest herself.
Spock had in addition to creating trust in her and deconstructing her fear, had amplified her natural instincts. He had realized that she was paying attention and processing every cue she received including ones that her conscious did not notice. He made the connection and communication between her conscious mind and subconscious mind quicker and easier for her. It was to make sure she still had healthy fear and concern to alert her to danger.
That morning she got up and met Spock, McCoy and Kirk for breakfast. Walking to the bridge together the 3 men noticed Saya's lack of timidness with the other crewmen. She wasn't overly friendly but she did greet the ones she knew and smiled at everyone. She also had finally stopped hiding behind Spock all the time. "Looks like things have gone well with you." Kirk commented.
"Yeah, I thought i was fine cause I was used to it but it's nice not to worry if the people around me will hurt me constantly." Saya replied with her bright smile.
McCoy grinned, he liked seeing Saya sunny and without her timidness. "Well, little ray of sunshine, I need to take care of the sick. Maybe you will be able to rub off on Spock a little and he might even smile."
Saya grinned but left it. She figured that Spock wouldn't want her pointing out that he did smile and McCoy wouldn't agree that it was a smile. Taking their stations the day went normally until Uhura received an earth style S.O.S.
It was confirmed as an earth style message but it was from the ground not space and was not replying to their answer on any frequency. Kirk confirmed that they were far from any possible source of the signal and Spock inspected the planet "Measuring the planet now, Captain. It's spheroid-shaped, circumference twenty four thousand eight hundred seventy four miles. Mass six times ten to the twenty first power tons. Mean density five point five one seven. Atmosphere oxygen, nitrogen."
"Not the Earth, another Earth. Another Earth?" Kirk said and Saya wondered how another earth like planet could exist but figured that with as many planets as they had found, there was bound to be some that were almost identical.
Kirk ordered Spock to hold the ship in a fixed orbit and checked with Uhura that their was still no response from the planet. Once done he determined that they would beam a landing party to the surface, in the vicinity of the distress signals. Spock had informed Saya that she would beam down with them and help record tricorder readings.
She stood next to Spock on the transporter pad and looked around. There was Kirk, McCoy and 2 security men she didn't know. They soon beamed down to see a decimated town that reminded her of pictures from her mom's time. Kirk and Spock discussed it and came to the conclusion it was roughly 1960.
When the question of where everyone was came up Spock took a reading and notified them that natural deterioration had been working for the last several centuries. Evidence suggested that the distress signal was automated. McCoy commented on the antique architecture and they started exploring.
Spotting a tricycle Kirk picked it up and handed it to Spock who handed it to McCoy. Saya watched wondering what happened to the child who owned the trike as McCoy put it down carefully and spun one of the wheels. Suddenly she heard a shout of "IT'S MINE! MINE!" And a strange looking person ran out and attacked McCoy. Saya tried to pull him off and Kirk and Spock ran up and succeeded.
Saya let go and looked at the person feeling that something was off but as he struggled more Kirk punched him in the face. Saya grabbed Kirk's arm to prevent him from doing it again and said "Don't you see he's not right! He… He…" Spock managed to grab ahold of it's arm and keep it still as Saya looked into his face.
Suddenly he twisted to get near the trike and cried "It's, it's broke. Somebody broke it. Fix. Somebody, please fix."
With a puzzled expression Saya muttered, "He's mentally challenged or a child… he's not right. He's very wrong." Suddenly she looked around scanning every building and looking at the roofs as McCoy told the creature that someone would fix it. Saya saw the twitch of a curtain but as soon as she focused on it all movement stopped.
She heard Spock confirm that it was human despite it's appearance and Kirk confirmed it had the mind of a child. Suddenly it started seizuring and Kirk told it that they would help and the creature started yelling "Liar! Never, never, never, never, never, never, never!" Hysterically before he stopped moving. McCoy confirmed that it died and Kirk asked why.
"Its metabolic rate. It's impossibly high as if it's burning itself up, almost as if it aged a century in just the past few minutes." McCoy said. Hearing foot falls Saya zeroed in on the location of the sound but saw nothing. Kirk started following the sound and everyone ran along with him. They paused losing the sound when the house near them creaked.
They ran inside and Kirk asked how old the house was. Spock said it was about 300 years old and they concentrated suddenly on the sound in the closet. Flanking the door Spock and Kirk were ready for whatever may show up as Kirk called "Come out. We mean you no harm." Saya had to raise an eyebrow at the concept that they meant no harm while brandishing weapons.
Kirk quickly opened the door holding his weapon to bear on a crying girl for a moment before he realized what he had found. "Don't hurt me, please." She begged, trembling and when Kirk told her that he wouldn't hurt her she trembled more and begged again "No, please, don't. I didn't do anything." Sayas heart broke the more the child begged to not be hurt and trembled in fear.
Kirk maneuvered the terrified child to a chair and Saya got on a knee and smiled. "It's ok sweetie. We are going to help. We aren't here to hurt. Shhh, it's ok. I promise we will do everything in our power to help." She managed to sooth the child as Kirk ordered Spock and the guards to look for any other signs of life. "I'm staying with her." Saya told him and Spock nodded.
She heard McCoy wonder what happened to the girl that would make her so terrified. Saya wondered the same thing, she knew with everything in her that something was very wrong on this planet even if she had no proof. Kirk asked the girl what happened and she started remembering "But I remember the things you Grups did, burning, yelling, hurting people." When Kirk said that they didn't do anything like that, she seemed unbelieving and asked "You're not going to hurt?"
"Well, of course not. We're here to help." Kirk told her.
When the girl said "grups don't help." Saya spoke up. "You know, grups when i was growing up didn't always help and often hurt. These grups are different though. They really do help."
The girl seemed to be in shock and Saya didn't know how to pull her from it. Kirk asked what happened and where everyone was and she insisted they knew. Kirk again said they didn't and asked and the girl said "You got a foolie, is that it, and you want me to play, but I can't. I don't know the rules. I've got to know the rules." At McCoy's question of what a foolie was the girl answered "A game, you know. You can't play a game without rules. Even Grups ought to know that."
Kirk asked what Grups were and the girl said "You are. They will, when Onlies get old."
"Grownups. Seems like the child has been alone without adults for quite some time…" Saya said. She hadn't realized the others hadn't figured it out.
"You said something about the Grups doing bad things, yelling, hurting, burning." Kirk prompted.
The girl answered "That was when they started to get sick in the before time. We hid, then they were gone. Am I doing all right?"
She looked so concerned Saya had to smile. "You're doing great princess."
McCoy asked "You said the Grups got sick. Is that why there aren't any of them around?" The girl told them that they died but after the awful things "A plague, Captain. That could explain a lot of it."
"But what about the children, the Onlies? Didn't the awful things affect them?" Kirk asked.
"Of course not. We're here, aren't we?" The girl said and Kirk asked how many children there were and She said "All there are."
Kirk asked what her name was and she told them Miri. "Miri. A pretty name for a pretty young woman." Kirk said with a charming smile and Saya rolled her eyes but Miri seemed to hold onto that.
Spock came back and reported "Children, Captain. Lots of them. We couldn't begin to get close to them. They just seemed to scurry away, like animals. Only children." Kirk informed Spock that Miri had told them all the adults died.
"That creature which attacked us was certainly no child. Perhaps it died of the disease the girl's talking about." McCoy pointed out.
"There must be records somewhere and answers to some of our questions. Miri, do you know any buildings where the doctors used to work?"Kirk asked her.
She knew but didn't want to really because as she said it was a bad place. "Probably tried to either use the children to cure the plague or tested the children for it. Either way unpleasant for kids." Saya commented.
Miri asked Kirks name and he told her 'Jim.' to which she said she liked the name and he answered with "Good. I like yours, too. I like you." Miri asked him if he really meant it and he said "I wouldn't lie to you."
Miri smiled and said "I wouldn't lie to you, either, Jim. I remember the Grups, but you're nice. You're different." Suddenly Miri noticed a mark on Kirks hand "It's already starting. I knew it would. Just like it did with the Grups. It'll spread all over you, and you'll yell, and you'll try to hurt everybody and then you'll die. I knew it would! I knew it would!" Miri said in a tizzy.
Miri still led them to a building that also housed the automatic transmission station. They discovered that everyone but Spock had the blue blotches and McCoy took tissue samples from each to attempt to isolate the problem. McCoy called up for them to beam down more equipment and Saya started looking at the files piled all over. "Some of this may be useful but we can't read it all. I may be able to help figure out how they organized things." Saya quietly offered to Spock.
At his nod she started to look over the document stacks and places they were stacked. Saya pointed to a stack and said "This one was likely the last used documents by the scientists. I think." Spock started there.
Kirk asked McCoy if he had any speculation on why Spock was the only one unaffected "I don't know. Probably the little bugs or whatever they are have no appetite for green blood." Saya smiled because if they still felt in good humor there was hope.
"Being a red-blooded human obviously has its disadvantages." Spock said after reading a document. "Now there you have a museum piece, Doctor. Lens type, manually operated, light-activated."
"Spare me the analysis, , please. It is enough that it works." McCoy answered irritably.
Miri noticed that it had spread on McCoy's hand and said "It spreads real fast. I know. When you're old, it covers you like anything." The tension got thick enough to cut a knife with but everyone kept working their best.
Kirk and Spock both found reports on genetic manipulation to prolong life. They kept working and Saya tried to help the best she could. Spock brought up the fact the experiments were 300 years old and only children remained. "Must have worked on one level for the kids to still be around. Miri mentioned remembering the before time so she lived through it."
All 3 men looked at her and Saya pointed out "She is also still with us despite the other children acting like wild animals."
"Loneliness or curiosity could explain that. I think children have an instinctive need for adults. They want to be told right and wrong." Kirk shrugged it off.
Saya gave Kirk a look like he was stupid and Spock said "There may be other emotions at work in this case, Captain."
"She's got her first crush and it's you. Means she's growing up." Saya added.
They went back to work and Spock found the calculations to give them more information "According to their life prolongation plan, what they thought they were accomplishing, a person would age only one month for every one hundred years of real time." Spock said. Kirk ordered the guards to go outside again to try to find others again then gave Miri some busy work.
They realized this was proof that the children were likely quite old. "A few days ago or a week ago that creature that attacked us could have been just like Miri. A child entering puberty on this planet means a death sentence." McCoy pointed out and Saya wondered aloud if she knew. Kirk suspected that she didn't.
"Even with some idea of what's happening there's no adult interpretation. I think we're dealing with children. Immensely old perhaps, but nonetheless children. We've got to do something about the others." Kirk added as he speculated being able to have Miri help him approach the other children. Kirk and Miri left and Saya watched wondering if they could save themselves much less the children.
Kirk and Miri came back and Kirk put her to busy work again as they tried to find a cure. "This fellow made these notes in the last weeks after the disaster began. I disregard these last entries. He said himself he was too sick, too far gone to be sure he wasn't already mad, and I agree, but based on the entries he made before that, I know how much time we have. The ship's computers will verify my figures." Spock told them.
They speculated that Miri had a month and a half and they would have much less time. "The older the victim, the more rapid the progress of the disease." Spock surmised and when Kirk said that Spock was immune he replied "I am a carrier. Whatever happens, I can't go back to the ship, and I do want to go back to the ship, Captain."
Saya wondered if it would affect her quickest or slowest. She knew she was younger than the others in years lived but older because of the cryogenic freeze. She figured it really didn't matter. McCoy responded to something Kirk said that she missed. "No, but we know what it is and how fast it does it. It's progressing. We'll begin to feel it inside soon. Intense fever, great pain in the extremities, fuzziness of vision. Of course, those are the early symptoms. There'll be more."
The ship contacted them again and confirmed they had 170 hours, 7 days. "You know I don't think i have ever had death so close so many times as I have since being on the Enterprise. Even more interesting is that we always seem to have a timeframe for it…" Saya commented with an ironic smile.
They read late into the night to try and find anything. Saya fell asleep in a chair with a paper in her hand and Spock covered her with the fire suppressant blanket that was in the emergency kit in the room. In the morning they kept looking, Spock had kept going through the night. McCoy suddenly stopped "I think I've found it." He said. Kirk ordered Saya to take Miri for a walk and she obliged. Coming back from the walk she found out the children had taken the communicators.
Another day passed and they discovered that the children would run out of food in a few months. Everyone was getting more angry than usual except Spock and they kept frantically working. The only good thing was with Miri around everyone was trying their best to stay in control. Kirk pushed past Saya making her drop a beaker of something McCoy had requested and she froze. Taking a deep breath she in a growl said "Excuse me!" As she grabbed another from the cabinet and walked out of the room.
Kirk followed her and Saya went into another lab and threw the beaker against the wall as hard as she could. Taking another breath she turned to see Kirk watching her. "I'm fine now. Let's keep working." Kirk gave her a hug and they returned silently and got back to work. McCoy discovered something and they had a little hope then.
Miri later approached Saya about one of the children getting hurt and needing her help. When she went to help they quickly overwhelmed her and tied her to a chair. She tried to remain calm as she worked the ropes around her and tried to get the children to understand.
Saya continued trying to talk sense into the kids. Suddenly the rope gave way and she was able to remove it but knew without the proper situation it would be pointless so she held it in place. The kids kept playing their games making their versions of threats. Suddenly Miri opened the door and Kirk came into the room behind her. Saya dropped the ropes and got up ready to help as she could.
Miri told Kirk to tell the others and the kids started chanting "Tell'em, Jim! Tell'em, Jim! Tell'em, Jim! Tell'em, Jim!" Kirk kept trying to call for order and suddenly Saya stood on her chair and bellowed "ENOUGH!" When the startled kids silenced she glared at them and said "You will listen!" Kirk looked at Saya with a moment of surprise before telling the kids how dire their situation was.
The kids refused to listen and chanted until Kirk finally told them that they were doing the hurting. They were behaving like those things they feared. They finally got through and returned with all the children to find Spock and the guard on the floor over McCoy. When Kirk asked what happened Spock answered "He injected himself with the vaccine. He was unconscious when I found him."
They soon realized that the vaccine worked and treated everyone in the team. Once done they beamed down a medical team to stay and help the children and Kirk arranged teachers and advisers to help the children reach adulthood. Saya was finishing her shower. She felt as if she needed many to wash away what they had gotten. Hearing a knock at the door and Spock's voice she called out "One moment please."
Getting dressed quickly she opened the door and kept towel drying her hair. "I swear, I feel as if I still need a shower." She said and at both Spock and McCoy's odd looks she shrugged "I may not be overly appearance oriented but I still don't like feeling dirty or sick… that was a whole new type of feeling gross."
Spock examined Saya a moment before saying "We missed a few sessions in the time we spent on the planet. We may be required to make them up." Saya smiled and shrugged saying "no biggie." Spock again mind melded with her and reinforced what had been done before. There was much less resistance in her mind in accepting the facts. As McCoy left Saya asked Spock "would you have really quarantined yourself on that planet if we couldn't have found the cure."
"It would be the logical thing to do." Spock said. Saya smiled and said good night.
*END*