Spock had Chekov take Veelia to the brig – charged with the murder of the Zezian First Officer. She didn't seem too concerned. Kirk wondered if, in drama of the day's events, Spock had completely forgotten that Veelia was capable of breaking out whenever she felt like it. They beamed the dead Zezian officer back aboard the Zezian warship, but had refused their demands to give her up. Then they took off, leaving the warship stranded. Kirk was glad he was dead - the Zezians were monstrous in their actions toward the Winged Daughters. He suspected Spock was pleased by his death as well. What to do with Veelia now was another question entirely.
Sitting on a couch in his living room, he and Spock were at loggerheads once more. Spock vehemently wanted to avoid the war - he reasoned that the Federation had no place in this standing conflict. Kirk agreed, though reluctantly. The trouble was Veelia. Should they release her to the Virosa, she would not only face no punishment, but she would be honored as a hero for committing an execution without a trial. As a Winged Daughter, in Virosa society, she was technically allowed to do that. If they released her to the Zezians she would face the same fate as Vexel. Spock toyed with the idea of just keeping her on the Enterprise until the conflict was resolved.
"No way, Spock," Kirk said. "First, she's one of the key players in this war. If the Virosa ever do get the Zezians off their back, first on their to-do list will be to come after us. Second - it's a death sentence. She needs to fly -almost daily or those wings start atrophying, that's how the other one died. And, honestly, I think she'd just escape; there's a reason the Zezians keep Winged Daughters drugged up, and Veelia is brilliant to boot. We should just TAKE her home."
"What you are suggesting is logical, but bears a bias towards the Virosa."
"How can you NOT be biased towards the Virosa - look at what they did to that girl. She was 20 Spock! At 20 you hadn't even joined Starfleet yet! This is sick!"
"I concur that the actions of the Zezians are morally reprehensible, but I…"
"I don't understand why this is such a hard decision."
Suddenly the door to Spock's quarters opened again. Veelia swept in, being followed by a thoroughly frustrated Chekov.
"Vee-ya, you must stay en ze brig!"
"I don't feel like being in the brig… Captain..Captains? What is going on?"
"How did you manage to escape the brig?" Spock asked, glaring at Chekov.
"I TOLD YOU - your force field is stupid!"
"I have mentioned zis several times, Sir", Chekov cut in.
Veelia ignored him, "What are you doing with me? I need to go home. As the Captain is no longer under arrest, I can go back without facing Lena's wrath."
"I understand, Veelia", Spock began.
"No you don't!" she shot back. "I need to go back. Lena needs me. I am one of her fleet commanders, and I developed all of our military technology. If you keep me here, you are essentially fucking us over, all because I wanted to help HIM!" She pointed at Kirk. "I saved your damn ship - I transported us over the Zezian warship and took out five of the guards."
"We were only under attack because of the apparent technology swap-"
"Which wouldn't have been a PROBLEM, had you listened to Lena's warning in her melodramatic message to stay away!"
Spock couldn't argue with her there. Lena had charged him with keeping Jim away from this war, and he had chosen to ignore her. Of course he couldn't have known that Jim had given the Virosa advanced technology, so there had been no logical reason to stay away. Kirk stepped in.
"We weren't going to stay away, Veelia. That's why she detached the message. She knew Spock and I would want to know what happened …even if she was already dead."
Veelia smiled sadly at him, "Perhaps…" she conceded.
Her wing started beeping. "Oh no!" she said. She pulled out the con-sol they thought they had confiscated from her and tapped it furiously. "I'm out of power!"
"Where did she get that, Ensign?" Spock snapped at Chekov.
She ran from the room. Kirk, Spock and Chekov chased her as she got into the turbo-lift. Oddly enough she held it for them and punched the key to get to the bridge. Once there, she darted out and ran over to the Captain's chair, and started to draw power - she was charging it.
"Veelia! What are you doing?" Kirk shouted - he was getting rather sick of chasing her all over the ship.
She rolled her eyes at him like the insolent teenager she was, "Like I said before-charging my con-sol, I'm out of power; I need to get this."
The bridge members looked up -Julie was there- completing some repairs. She looked at Kirk, "Should I let her-"
"Got it!" Veelia squeaked. "Lena! - Yes, I am alright - I'm sorry I haven't picked up, I … my con-sol lost power - no, I'm a little further away- where am I? - That's a really funny story actually- Yes - um, well… I'm sort of on the Enterprise?"
Veelia looked at Kirk, I'm in trouble she mouthed.
"Yes - he is here -he got your message - I DID tell you to destroy it - I took my shuttle- I had to activate the self-destruct feature - Fucking Zezians- Now? - OK…"
Veelia closed her hail. The com on the Enterprise started beeping. "You might wanna get that" she said to Kirk. Across the hail screen a brilliant amethyst light pattern pulsed across the screen. Kirk felt light headed -Lena was hailing him.
"On-screen" he said, and the com officer picked up the signal.
"An image is being transmitted, Sir", he said.
Suddenly she was there, right in front of him. Lena! She looked different from the image he had seen three weeks ago. Her hair stopped short at her shoulders, her skin was ghostly white, and the gash across her face had healed into a scar. Her wings were a deathly shade of jet black, no longer patched - but it was still her… very much alive.
Her eyes softened when she saw him, "Hi Jim," she said.
"Lena!"
Her eyes watered for a moment, but then she regained her composure, "I see you have a stow away."
"I don't know if I'd call her that."
"Is your crew alright? Veelia said something about Zezians…"
"Princess Lena", Spock broke their reunion, "Upon receiving your message we made the decision to return close enough to your space to monitor the activity. We were spotted however by a Zezian warship – apparently the have realized you were given Starfleet technology, and were angered."
Lena blinked, "I am sorry for all this trouble...for sending out the information the way we did… for my message...it wasn't supposed to happen this way. I never wanted you dragged into this."
"Hey! I had a three minute window to send out that info! There WAS no other way!" Veelia piped in. "We would all be dead by now had I not done it!"
"Veelia-" Lena began.
"It's alright", Jim said. "I knew the consequences when I gave it to you. I don't regret it."
She looked away. Jim could tell she was upset. He felt his own control waning. Had it really been almost a year ago that he held her in his arms, and then left her to fight a war? He had spent a year getting over her, then three weeks mourning her, and now she was here - alive, right in front of him. He had the craziest desire to leap through the hail screen.
"Lena.." he said.
"Don't Jim...Just don't." She shook her head. "I need you to stay out of this. The Federation has no part in this war, and I won't have your crew's deaths be on me… I do need Veelia back though. I don't want to know what she's even doing there. I know her shuttle was destroyed, but she cannot stay on your ship. Can you…. I don't know… drop her off on a planet somewhere? I will send someone to retrieve her."
"WHAT?!" Veelia shouted.
"Princess Lena", Spock cut in, "Would that be wise?"
"Oh, now you want to bring her back?" Jim interrupted. Spock raised his eyebrows, and gave Kirk a look that plainly said, Anything to get her off this ship.
"You can't get close enough to beam her back. The Zezians believe you have allied yourself with us, and they have surrounded our space. Veelia only got out because she equipped the shuttle with warp 7… actually…can you get your Chief of Engineering?"
"Mr. Scott", Spock hailed him, "Your presence is required on the bridge."
They waited in silence for a minute or two when Scotty appeared next to them. "Yes Capt'an - Oh my God, isn't she supposed ter be dead?!" he said upon seeing Lena.
"Mr. Scott", she ignored his quip. "Veelia has in her possession a formula which advances warp core theory. Please take a look at it, and tell me if it is applicable to the Enterprise."
"OH I could have told you that!" Veelia butted in, "It is!"
Lena rolled her eyes, but smiled at her protégé's obtrusiveness, "Well show it to him then."
Reluctantly she showed him something on her con-sol.
"Holy shite! Wow! Tha's…"
"Brilliant?" Veelia finished his sentence with a palpable smugness.
"Tha's a good word fo' it!"
"Perfect", Lena said. "Veelia - you will help Mr. Scott equip the Enterprise to engage warp 7. Jim, then I need you too…"
"He is currently not the Captain", Spock said.
"What?"
Veelia looked at Spock quickly and mouthed Don't tell her! He ignored her.
"Upon admission of the download I decommissioned and arrested him. I have since dropped charges, but he is still relieved."
Lena glared at Veelia, "We'll talk about this later. Jim - I am sorry."
"All good."
"Very well, Captain Spock - With Warp 7 engaged you will be able to get close enough to Virosa space without endangering your crew. Please beam her to the nearest Virosa ship. In exchange, I offer you her con-sol - which has all the technology she has developed in the past year."
"WHAT!?" Veelia screeched - again.
Lena ignored her, "This will be a fair trade. She snuck aboard your ship to retrieve more technology, and you are giving her back to me as an exchange. I will send you an agreement detailing the circumstances. Additionally, I will send you a continuing treaty. In return for the download, you will be sent ANYTHING she develops from this point forward if it was based off of your technology. We are doing this as an apology because I stole a download of Jim's ship. The Vaa won't buy it, but his officers don't want another enemy to fight. This should effectively remove you from the war."
She continued, "Captain Spock - you are to leave Virosa space after the exchange has been made and get the hell out of here. That is not a request."
"No way!" Jim said. "We can't just walk away, not after what we've seen. Lena, I've seen their fleet myself - you're out-numbered."
"And I would continue to be out numbered with the addition of the Enterprise to my fleet. You can't help me - you can only get in my way!"
Her words struck him like a physical blow, but he didn't back down, "We're pretty good at being outnumbered."
"I'M TELLING YOU TO STAY OUT OF IT!" Lena's composure broke, her face betrayed her fury.
"Do. Not. Come. Here. Captain… or Mr. Kirk, or whatever the hell you're called now…"
"Lena…"
"Prin-cess Lena!" she said, and flipped off her hail screen.
He final words rang in silence over the bridge. Veelia sighed, and looked at Kirk, "She's still totally in love with you - you know that, right?"
Kirk said nothing. His eyes found Julie still at her station on the bridge. It was crazy to think that just a few weeks ago she had kissed him. For the first time in his life he was glad he didn't sleep with a girl, but he still felt odd having her hear the exchange. It struck him then that though he didn't love her, he could have; it would have been so easy - but with Lena back in the picture, even tangentially, that was no longer possible.
Spock interrupted Kirk's musings, "Ensign Chekov - please relieve Veelia of her con-sol and take her to sick bay. There should be enough space to accommodate her wings. Veelia - I request that you remain there until you are needed. Crewman Hernandez, please assemble engineering."
Chekov wandered over to Veelia, "Vee-ya, I need to take your con-sol." She held up her forearm. "Please take et off."
"You first", her eyes ran over him, promptly making everyone on the bridge uncomfortable. Chekov blushed slightly, but grabbed her arm and gently removed the con-sol.
"Vee-ya" he said warningly.
"Anything else you need me to remove?" she asked coyly.
"Ensign Chekov!" Spock cut in, "Please make sure you take her DIRECTLY to sick bay."
"Yes, Captain."
"Seriously?" Veelia said to Chekov.
"Yes Veelia - I" he leaned in "I haf a girlfriend now."
"I have lots of girlfriends, Pavel."
No - you do not understand - ve are…intimate." He was blushing furiously, trying to explain to her - she wasn't getting it.
"Yeah! Same!"
"No - only vis each ozzer."
She stared at him like he was crazy. "Aren't you a little young to be betrothed?"
"I am not…"
"Veelia", Kirk cut in, annoyed by the realization that Chekov was officially getting laid more often than he was, "Boyfriend - girlfriend usually implies monogamy, but not a permanent commitment."
"Huh?"
"Yes - zat is what I meant to say."
Veelia raised her eyebrows, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Who would DO THAT?"
A year ago Kirk would have agreed with her. "Spock, just get Bones to come up here and take her to sick bay."
Veelia stared at Chekov, whose embarrassment was fading to exasperation, "It is a human zing, Vee-ya."
"So you can only sleep with her?"
"Yes."
"Hmmmm… is she good looking – I can share…"
Chekov was saved from answering as Bones stepped onto the bridge.
"Dr. McCoy, please take Veelia to sick bay and ensure that she remains there", Spock said - he was quite tired of her antics.
"My pleasure."
"Oh I remember you now!" Veelia said excitedly. "You were Suria's gift. She spoke VERY highly of you…" She approached him with a dazzling smile, and a strong hit of pheromones. Chekov seemed almost insulted that she had literally just changed targets in front of him.
Bones looked down with a smile, "Oh - did she now?"
This was too much, "Hey Veelia!" Kirk cut in, "When did you turn 18 again?"
"Oh I will turn 18 in 9 days… thank you for asking!"
Bones glared at Kirk, "I hate you", he said, and pulled her off the bridge with him.