Dragging himself away as he watched her fly off into the distance, Kirk pulled out his phaser and turned to his crew. "OK - you heard what she said - let's go. Brok?"

"I will take Julie with me once Lena has completed her mission, we will meet you at the base. Can you get Suria out?"

"Yes."

The crew members of the Enterprise darted out of the room with Suria and Veelia. It was clear to Kirk that Suria was not moving as quickly as he remembered from the day of the tournament. He wondered what her issue was. The halls of the Palace began to rock - they were being fired upon. Veelia led the way - she was taking them to a shuttle, but it was becoming clear that the Zezians were invading.

Suddenly a wall next to Suria disintegrated - Bones reacted fast, and pulled her out of the way, while Kirk shot at the invading hover craft. The Zezian manning it dropped like a rock, but the craft kept going shattering the opposing wall.

"We have to get out of here!" Veelia cried, "They are taking out the retaining walls! Come on! The Conclave has fled to the underground bunker."

A group of Zezians suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their exit. Without hesitation Suria drew her weapon and took out four in one fell swoop. As the Zezians neared, Kirk shot two and physically took out another with a well-timed punch. They were winning, the Zezian foot soldiers could not cope with Suria, Veelia, himself, Spock, Sulu, Chekov, Bones and Uhura together.

They were finally able to fight their way to the shuttle. Veelia powered it on, and stepped back for Kirk and Sulu to take the helm - the cockpit wasn't made to accommodate her wings. Taking off, Kirk saw the pathway was oddly clear; horrified, he realized why. The Zezian hovercraft pilots had noticed Lena, and were going after her instead. In the distance he saw a small black figure hurtling up the tower… but there were too many crafts! One drew exceptionally close to her, but then suddenly fell, crashing to the ground - Brok or Julie must have shot it down.

"Sir", Sulu said. "Should we... go after her?"

Kirk closed his eyes for a second. Lena had said that Suria's life was more important to the war effort than her own - she had asked him to get her to safety.

"We need to get Suria out of here."

Sulu met his eyes and nodded. "Veelia, give me the coordinates for the base.

Lena watched the shuttle turn away out of the corner of her eye. Jim had listened to her - he was taking care of Suria. She breathed a sigh of relief: one less thing she had to worry about. With Suria away, the Queenship was secure, even if she died. Seeing him again had confused her - it seemed like forever ago when they were last together - wasting their days having sex, lounging, swimming, just enjoying each other's company. It had been wonderful, but she knew it wasn't real - it was a brief vacation from the nightmare that weighed on her. She hadn't wanted him to return - admittedly she still loved him, but she didn't want to deal with protecting him too. But, it seemed that he didn't need it - she remembered his story about Khan and realized with a start that he understood her position - somehow….

As she raced up the tower her wings began to ache; flying with her wings soaked through wasn't as easy as she learned to make it look. She could hear Zezian hovercraft around her, but they seemed to be getting shot down quickly - the human was a significantly better shooter than Brok. Lena didn't have the energy to feel fear - all she felt was desperation to reach the top.

Out of nowhere a Zezian hovercraft, spinning out of control, struck her, causing her to lose altitude. She regained control, but was bleeding badly - it had sliced her underneath the base of her wings! Her adrenaline kept her going, then finally - finally she reach the top. The Zezians had merely place a jammer on the main con-sol, scrambling the signal. Lena pulled it off and quickly recalibrated it, but she would need to restart it from the bottom. When it was constructed the com tower was deliberately created with the switch underwater. The idea was that two would have to turn it off and on; Winged Daughter on top, and a non-winged Virosa under the water. Of course things like hover-crafts negated the security on top, but this was why her people frustrated her so deeply - No non-winged Virosa would dare impeach upon the Winged Daughter's sky, so they had never bothered developing hover-crafts!

Stepping to the edge of the platform on the tower she looked down. She had 800 feet to gain enough momentum to carry her buoyant wings 30 under water and not get shot down in the process. She was not afraid - everyone she loved was dead if she failed… everyone.

She dove.

Just as Kirk pulled the shuttle into the base, he heard Veelia squeal with delight, "The com is back on! Lena did it!"

"Let's go, Veelia!" Suria said, and leapt out of the shuttle. "Suria to all shuttles, Warship is hostile, I repeat, Warship is hostile. Get into formation and fire at will." She turned to Kirk, "Thank you, Captain… for not going after her...and for coming to our aid."

Kirk looked at her unreadable face, remembering how once she had tried to break him and Lena up. Now he understood why. "No problem", he said.

Suria and Veelia ran off.

Kirk looked at his remaining crew. "I'm so sorry I got you all into this…"

Uhura rolled her eyes, "Jim - they attacked us, they tricked us… they outright lied. Technically we are an exploration, AND peace-keeping force. We all knew this wasn't exactly a desk job. Yeah… I mean giving Lena a download of the ship was kind of retarded, but it was something you would do…. because it was the right thing to do. You're pretty good at doing that. The Virosa would have been extinct by now, if they were lucky…." He could tell she was thinking about Vexel. "How does a sentient species even DO this? It's insane!"

"I don't know…" he said.

"Captain!" Brok called. He had returned to the base with Julie - they were smiling broadly. "We did it! Lena got through!"

"Where is she?" Kirk asked.

"Hiding out somewhere, probably. We grew up around here. She knows where to go… I saw her emerge from the water and fly off. Your Crewman is an exceptional shot, by the way!" Brok added when he saw the concerned look on Kirk's face.

Kirk looked down at Julie, "Good work...Ensign."

Julie smiled, "I just hope she's OK."

"Brok", Spock started. "Now that we are temporarily out of danger I feel that I must ask, especially since a number of Starfleet officers are now involved. You are not winning this war. Though the "peace treaty" the Zezians offered was merely a ruse to draw their ship closer, I am curious as to why you did not accept it. Why you went so far as to take control of the Virosa government to circumvent its signing. While it is true that the treaty would have likely offered the Zezians a significant tactical advantage in years to come, you cannot possibly know for certain that it would have. Instead you opted for imminent defeat. Why?"

Brok hesitated but then said, "I guess if Lena trusts you…" he was looking at Kirk. "We're not trying to win, Commander Spock - we are merely trying to keep the war in play."

Brok and Lena had known about the possibility of the war for some time. They spoke about it often as young teenagers. He and Lena had once been together - monogamously - something which annoyed her mother to no end. Though Brok was exceptionally intelligent, he could not father Lena's Winged Daughter, and was therefore unsuitable to be her mate. Additionally her love for him greatly contributed to her radical leanings - she thought it unfair that he should be treated as a second class citizen merely because of a DNA test. She fought her mother over him and eventually came to a compromise: if Lena gave up her relationship with Brok, Bial would promote him within their society to any position he wished to take, despite his testing results. Lena and Brok fought over it, but they knew what had to be done, Brok chose to train as a cultural Ambassador, and Lena went on to lead her first colony. When they met again, three years later, the love between them had changed.

What had not changed was their shared obsession with the Zezians. Lena had met Suria, a young, stunningly beautiful Winged Daughter whose family was second in line after her own. Lena and Suria were mildly disturbed by the fact that the Virosa knew almost nothing about their mortal enemies. They enlisted Brok as their spy, and sent him to Zezian space; as a culture ambassador he was perfect for the position. It was there he learned of Borod - the male who would one day become Vaa. He also reported back that the Zezian culture was very… strange. He realized quickly that they were a plutocracy, and was startled to see that the lower castes had little agency in decision making for their people - quite similar to the Virosa, in fact. They were also completely oblivious to the Zezian upper castes' habits with the Winged Daughters. All they knew was that they had been taxed a great deal to pay for Ya-Mo, which was to be their salvation, and the Virosa had rescinded.

Once the war broke out it quickly became apparent to Lena and Suria that they could not win. Utilizing the warp 7 engine that Veelia had just created, Brok returned to the Zezian home-world. With the elite consumed by the war, he was able to infiltrate the lower caste and confirm what he had always suspected - gross dissention. The Zezian elite had spent centuries running unchecked by the rest of the population, and had, as a result, developed an over bloated sense of entitlement. The refused to listen to reason, had taken increasingly outrageous liberties, and had taken extreme measures to secure their power even more firmly against their own people. It was a story Brok knew only too well.

There were some who spoke out against the Vaa, who was generally disliked, but they had no momentum to do anything about it. Or didn't until the war broke out. The lower caste was primarily the foot soldiers of the Zezian army, and the Virosa were destroying them by the thousands - all for a moon they were promised a century ago.

The leaders of the insurgent movement met with Brok. He revealed himself as a Virosa male, a fellow member of an oppressed class, and enlightened them on the true motives of the elite - and the real reason why the Ya-Mo deal fell through. Additionally, he used Veelia's much improved com technology to transmit the war statistics that had been kept secret from the home-world population, and given them the ability to organize without being detected by the Zezian elite. They used their new media to broadcast the callous loss of life the Vaa was comfortable with. The Zezian insurgents finally had a cause.

This was the plan. The war with the Virosa was merely a distraction - the true battle was the revolution that was to take place on the Zezian home-world. Lena and Suria reasoned that if it were to succeed, if the elite lost their power, the Zezian threat would be eradicated - permanently. The insurgency leaders had already sworn a secret alliance to Lena and Suria, and were preparing themselves for a revolt. They were horrified by their own people's actions. In exchange, the Virosa would continue the war - and continuing relaying information to the Zezian home-world, stirring up more anger by the day. It was almost complete - all they needed was a trigger.

"This is… incredible", Spock said. They all sat silently as Brok finished his monologue.

"Yes… well… it would be if we could figure out how to pull it off. No one knows about this, by the way - we even kept it from Veelia. If anyone realizes we are trying to incite a Zezian revolution - well the Vaa already has one rallying point - he doesn't need another."

"What rallying point?" Kirk asked, knowing the answer.

"Lena", Brok said. "The Zezian population is terrified of her. He's managed to convince them she is a monster who will stop at nothing to destroy their race. Considering the damage she's caused… it's not a hard sell."

"Oh come on Brok, I'm not all that bad", Lena said from the doorway, where she had been listening in.

"Lena!" Brok exclaimed, and rushed over to her. She was back. Kirk stared at her - stricken. She looked awful - soaking wet, pale and shivering, with copious amount of her dark purple blood running down her side. Her face was covered in fresh scrapes and bruises, and the bags under her eyes were clearly visible.

Brok made it over to her one second before she collapsed, "Help me!" he yelled. Kirk rushed forward and slipped her arm under the other side of her waist, careful not to touch the gaping wound on her back; her wings put her weight at well over 300 pounds. She smelled different to him, her intoxicating blend of pheromones were noticeably absent - though it was probably not a good time to ask about it. They lifted her, and carried her to her room. As Queen she could not show weakness to her army - she needed to be treated in private. Kirk's concern increased as he realized she was passing out. They laid her on her enormous bed.

"Bones", Kirk said.

He was there in a second, appraising her wound - he clucked, "Dammit man, she's... fuck… she's lost a lot of blood, and has hypothermia to boot. Do you guys have-"

"Here - medical equipment… anything you need, Dr. McCoy." A male had entered the room. He had a gentle look of concern on his face as he appraised his Queen. "I usually tend to her, but, from what I was told your skills far out surpass my own. I can make myself available to assist you though…"

"Who are you, again?"

He smiled, "We have not been introduced as of yet. I am Avar - Suria's mate - father of her son."

Bones almost jumped back, "Oh...um...well then."

Avar merely laughed, "She told me you might feel some discomfort. I assure you Doctor, I have nothing but respect for you."

"OK...This is a little weird...I'm sorry, though…"

"Do not be. Suria and I belong to each other now - we are a family with our son. There is great love and respect between us. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine."

"Well - good to meet you then."

"Like-wise."

"Ok then - let's see. Her cut is deep, but it looks pretty clean - I'm more worried about the hypothermia right now… why does she keep doing that with her wings?"

Lena had covered herself with her black wings - turning herself into a ball of feathers, just as she had done when she and Jim slept together.

"She's trying to warm up", Kirk said. "It's instinctive."

"Well, it's not going to be enough - I need - Hey Jim, take your shirt off."

"Huh?"

"Get underneath her - humans run a little warmer than Virosa - you can warm her up slowly so her system isn't shocked."

"OK…" Kirk made to remove his shirt but was stopped when Avar put his hand gently on Kirk's shoulder to stop him.

"Doctor, I am sure you mean well, but Lena is betrothed - you would disgrace her…I will call Bay-Lou."

Bones stared at him, "Fine." He peeled back Lena's wing and started working on the gash

in her side.

Kirk just stood there-waiting. Finally a male entered the room. Lena hadn't really said much about him, just that they had been intended since she was 20, and that she was never interested in swapping. What she had had failed to mention was that he was that he was incredibly handsome. He was almost five inches taller than Kirk, dark hair and eyes, and a muscle tone even he had to admire. He glanced at Kirk with disinterest. He didn't seem to be particularly interested in his betrothed, shivering on the bed, either. Veelia entered behind him, and had, in Kirk's opinion, a more appropriate reaction.

"Lena! Oh my God!...Bones - you-you-you can help her, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about her", he turned to Bay-Lou. "You're the betrothed, right?"

He directed Bay-Lou to do what he had wanted Kirk to do. Bay-Lou removed his shirt to reveal the muscular chest Kirk would have had if he didn't drink… or eat carbs, and walked over to Lena, staring down, but not really seeing her. Kirk noticed something shiny around his neck for just an instant before he took it off and hid it from view. Kirk reached into his pocket to feel Lena's pendant. Bay-Lou settled into her bed, with her head resting on his chest, and gingerly touched her arms. He didn't look comfortable; Kirk didn't miss the look of revulsion he had when he looked at her blood-stained wings before a calm mask slid into place.

Veelia gently tugged Kirk out of the room.

"You should not look at her like that", she said softly.

"Like what?"

Veelia tilted her head, "You may still love her, but Bay-Lou is her betrothed. Betrothal is one of our most important laws - without her officially rescinding you cannot act like you two are together. It would actually cost her the Queenship."

"Why?"

"Because betrothal is sacred to us…It is.. when your family begins. It is hard to explain - When a Virsosa female conceives…"

"Yeah… the hormone, I know…but she's just betrothed. And Bial said she was going to rescind."

"It would have been a heck of a lot easier for her to rescind when she was still a princess...Rescinding jeopardizes her Queenship, and Lena needs the full support of every Virosa. Discarding a betrothed is… well it doesn't look good."

"But she doesn't like him - it's why they haven't..."

"Bial continues to underestimate her daughter, then", Veelia explained. "She did delay at first - I think she wanted to forget you. But then the war broke out. Then he was captured. We just managed to free him four months ago, and they did "try". It didn't work though… She has….lost a lot of body fat...and she suffered many internal injuries...throw stress into the mix…. I shouldn't be telling you this…"

"Is that why she smells different?" Kirk said sadly.

"I...you noticed I guess - yes. That is why - her pheromones are inactive."

"So she and Bay-Lou?"

"Are over", Veelia said. "They strongly dislike each other - or at least he dislikes her. They don't share a room anymore. I think she got tired of seeing the revolted look on his face whenever she undressed in front of him…"

"Is he insane? She's...beautiful!"

Veelia smiled, "It is sweet that you still think so. She's...well her body has been through a lot, and the blood stained wings kind of freak him out…"

Kirk was quiet - he felt the strongest urge to punch Bay-Lou in his stupid face. Lena was sacrificing everything for the Virosa; even if he didn't love her, he should have tried harder to make her happy - she deserved that at least. Still fingering the pendant in his pocket he asked Veelia, "What was that thing around his neck?"

"SHHHH", Veelia pulled him roughly into a side room. That was definitely going to leave a bruise on his arm. "Don't ever mention that you saw that! EVER! God...he is so careless sometimes!"

"What was it?"

"I shouldn't tell you this… it was a betrothal pendant - Lena's. They are made of a special type of metal and given to every Virosa female, Winged or non…. They are infused with our pheromones...they're like...a part of us. Upon betrothal there is an elaborate ceremony, and IN PRIVATE the betrothed is presented with it. No one else is ever supposed to see it. It's very very special."

Veelia looked away from him, "The pendant itself is a promise - a vow - to love the recipient as her soul-mate.

Kirk, grasping for something to say, asked, "I thought you guys did arranged matings."

Veelia rolled her eyes, "That's the fucked up part - they sort of lose their value when you're forced into it…. but it wasn't always like this. Before genetic testing started they were freely given. That's where their meaning comes from. In any case, she can rescind, and he'd have to give it back, but… can you understand why that wouldn't go over so well with our people?"

"Yeah…"

"Now, PLEASE don't tell anyone I told you this, and don't mention that you saw it…he is awful!"

"OK! Hey...is there anyway…is it possible for there to be two?"

"Um...no", Veelia said confused, "I just told you how special they are… do you EVER listen to me?"

Kirk shook his head, "Nope", he said, knowing it would piss her off.