Song for Eurydice, Part 1: Act III
Commander Spock often found the actions of his fellow crewmembers to be illogical at the best of times, and highly self-destructive at the worst. As he manned the captain's chair in Jim's absence, the Vulcan had the distinct impression that his closest friend was in the process of taking a course of action that was both.
It was not the fact that the captain had given the order to change course to Argelius IV that troubled the Vulcan. It was most certainly the information that he had finally revealed just before Spock had left the briefing room.
Captain Kirk had never been one to rely on prophecy or purported acts of divine providence. The notion that he was trusting in a dream suggested an additional effect to his psyche outside of the neural patterning.
While Spock had mentioned the Vulcan katra, he had to confess that he had given his own very little thought for much of his life. It had only been in the death of his mother, and later Ambassador Spock, that he found himself questioning whether the Vulcan High Command had been accurate to assume that the katra was simply a myth of primitive Vulcan culture. Spock had questioned and meditated on the subject. He could not see a reason to suggest that one could not have a living soul.
His best friend seemed to possess two. And they were at odds.
Given the knowledge that his dreams influenced his actions, Spock considered Jim's health once again. As was expected of both a science officer and a Vulcan, he scrutinized the situation from all angles.
It was, in fact, logical to assume that there was a greater intelligence at work guiding the actions of the Enterprise and her crew, most likely through Diana herself. Considering Diana's age and prominent legacy on Earth as an individual who interacted with many long-lived species, Spock could easily draw the conclusion that she still had enemies across the galaxy outside of Circe.
In that way, Argelius IV did seem a perfectly logical option.
But, Jim's attachment - or in this case, blatant denial of an attachment - to Diana did give Spock pause. If Jim was determined to solve this neurological issue by following a "hunch", as it were, then Diana was the logical expert on the subject and could prove quite valuable. He could see no logical reason for Jim to demand that she leave the ship.
It was purely an emotional response. One that Spock himself felt all too keenly.
It had been quite obvious to Spock and to Leonard that Jim was enamoured with Diana. It had taken very little time for him to take an interest, as he was wont to do. However, even though Spock had not spent much time with Diana outside of her duties as ambassador, he had noticed that she spent the majority of her free time with the captain. Considering how much time he and Nyota had spent together prior to their relationship, he could understand if Diana had been reluctant to commit. But, she had shown interest. If not verbally, then certainly in proximity and the quality of the time spent.
But, just as he was not the ambassador Spock, neither was Jim Steve Trevor. And given Diana's wisdom in other such matters of both human insight and intellect, Spock felt that she must have known the same. He had meant what he suggested to Jim: it was entirely possible for her to love the man that he resembled while learning to see the differences in the two.
Now faced with the prospect of losing Jim's trust and friendship, Spock was pleased to see her arrive in the briefing room. It suggested that she would not take a passive role as Jim decided her fate for them both.
A small smile tugged at Spock's lips as he considered the same of Nyota. He should have known better than to decide their fate without her. And he had certainly been shown how illogical that decision was.
Jim would, too.
And that was precisely why Spock felt that Lieutenant Sulu and Mister Scott had been remiss in their wagers over the progress of any relationship between Diana and the captain. Both of them had incorrectly assumed that the captain could "win" Diana over.
From what Spock had observed, Diana would not appreciate, nor did she need an individual to make decisions for her own well-being. No matter how impulsive Jim's gesture could have been, it did not fit his past interactions with the ambassador. When Nyota had mentioned the emotional trepidation between the two after the mission to Althea, Spock, in turn had taken stock of Jim's behavior. He had not pursued Diana with the same reckless abandon he had pursued others in the past. In fact, he was highly aware that he valued her friendship first.
"Commander, we've set course for Argelius IV, warp six." Lieutenant Sulu reported from the helm.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Please provide - " Spock's standard request for hourly course checks was suddenly cut off by a ship's comm signal. One that he knew all too well.
"Sickbay to the bridge! Medical emergency in the briefing room! I need site-to-site transport for the captain now!" Doctor McCoy's voice was fraught with tension and worry, nearly to the point of panic.
Spock was out of the captain's chair in a moment and he was heading for the turbolift. As he did so, he pointed to the crewman managing the engineering console. "Crewman, initiate the site-to-site transport. Lieutenant Uhura, let Doctor McCoy know I am on the way. Mister Sulu, you have the bridge."
The words were all out with peak efficiency. He wasted no time to extrapolate further. He knew the crew, he knew their capabilities. He knew his own.
He also knew that the Vulcan ritual of kolinar was not nearly as complete a purge of emotion as the High Command had hoped, and Spock's heart was racing with every second that passed without knowing what had happened to Jim. He had considered Jim's calm nature to be indicative that his condition was stabilizing. Apparently, he had been wrong.
No sooner than the turbolift doors opened, Spock sprinted forward. Without pause, he dodged a few crewmen making their way down the corridors before he came to a halt outside Sickbay. For a fleeting moment, a distinctly illogical dread filled him as he recalled a similar run down to Engineering. But, Khan was gone and Jim was already in Sickbay.
Spock steeled himself, found inner calm and stepped forward.
Sickbay was a flurry of activity.
He spotted the ambassador first. Diana stood a few feet away from Leonard and his nurses. He barely had time to register the knitted brow, the way her hands were propped on her hips before she turned to pace the room.
Spock turned his attention to Leonard and his staff. They were in the process of restraining Jim on a biobed as he seized, limbs rigid and shaking.
"Baldwin, get me 5 ccs of tricordrazine!" McCoy barked as he examined Jim, checking his pupils and other vitals as they rushed to work. "I need to stop this seizure now!"
Nurse Baldwin grabbed a hypospray and keyed in the appropriate dosage and molecular information before handing it over to him. "5 ccs of tricordrazine - "
McCoy didn't bother to let her finish before he pressed the hypospray to Jim's neck and pressed the button. The hiss of the device was lost over alarms from the diagnostic console. To the doctor's credit, he continued to perform admirably, undaunted by the dire situation.
As moments ticked by, Spock felt his hands ball into fists as Leonard darted around the biobed, barking more orders while the first officer could only watch.
The alarms ceased and the diagnostic console began to chirp appropriate measurements as Jim finally went slack on the bed and came out of the neurological episode.
Leonard sighed and stood straight, visibly relieved but still troubled. "Dammit, Jim, you're gonna make me go gray."
When the doctor didn't offer more information to the two individuals waiting, Spock refocused himself, allowed the emotional response to pass before he spoke. "Report, Doctor. How is the Captain?"
It did not go unnoticed that Leonard seemed to focus all his attention on Diana for a long moment before he walked over to Spock. When the ambassador pivoted from her pacing to join them, the chief medical officer finally spoke. "He had a full grand mal seizure. By the time we got him on the bed, both the neural patterns were out of control and his brain couldn't handle the stress. Thankfully, tricordrazine is incredibly strong stuff, so it did the trick, but… I was afraid of this. I didn't think they'd start out this bad, though. I've got him sedated for now. He should come to in a couple of hours, once I think he's levelled out."
Spock immediately had a theory on what had transpired. "Ambassador, when I left you and the Captain, he seemed stable and aware."
"And he was." She agreed. He did not need to indulge in his human side to clearly see the distress and concern on her face. "We discussed why I kept this information from him, and we seemed to be working through things when he started to… to lose track of which memories were his. When I realized it caused him pain, I urged him to come here, but he did not want the help. And then he started to babble about… about things he - Steve had experienced." She paused, as if she was concerned with the information she was about to convey. "He seemed like he was starting to talk to himself. I'm not sure."
"The other neural pattern must be trying to find a way to co-exist, but instead it's fighting for dominance." Leonard frowned. He wasted no time in turning to Spock. "No more foolin' around. We need to get him back to Starfleet Medical."
"What? No!" Diana protested. "Leonard, this is not a problem that your doctors can solve!"
"Diana, darlin', if you have some way of bippity-boppity-booing this, then I suggest you do it right now. But, last time I checked, you didn't."
Spock rose an eyebrow. As per usual, the doctor's unusual reliance on popular culture and older parlance did not help the situation. "Dr. McCoy's antiquated turn of phrase aside, we have already set course to Argelius IV. It would take approximately 12 hours to reach the planet at current warp speed. The Yorktown, and by extension Starfleet Medical, will still take several days."
"So, what, you think we should indulge in Jim's delusions of grandeur? Go to this planet with no guarantee that it can do a damn thing to help him?" McCoy scowled, clearly displeased.
Spock, nevertheless, persisted. "The Ambassador is correct, Doctor, in that you do not have any solution to address the issue. It is possible that this detour may be conducive to Jim's recovery."
"Leonard," Diana reached out, touching the doctor's arm with a gentleness that belied her strength. "Give me time to research what we can on Argelius. There was extensive probe information from the people. If I can bring you something of substance, then can you at least entertain the idea?"
"I would be interested in what you find as well." Spock remarked, voicing his support for the idea. After all, the only course of action that would definitively harm Jim would be to take no action.
Huffing, Leonard was predictably cantankerous as he threw his hands up in defeat. "I guess I don't have much choice. And here I thought maybe you'd be on my side, Spock! You're a scientist, dammit!"
"I am, Doctor. But, I believe that Jim's 'gut', as it were, was onto something. There are unusual scientific circumstances at Argelius IV, and they could be related." Spock motioned to the prone figure behind them. "And since the captain is not awake to voice his opinion, I must consider it unchanged."
Leonard took a long moment to consider the situation before him, looking from one to the other. It must have been curious for him. For two individuals that approached the universe so differently to agree. Eventually, he sighed and shook his head. "All right. But, you better be right, because if he has another seizure like that, there might not be time for another one."
It was Diana who answered, but Spock agreed with the sentiment nevertheless. "We are, Leonard. I know we are." Once satisfied that the chief medical officer would give them time, she turned her attention back to Spock. "That being said, I confess that much of the science in the reports is beyond me."
"I understand, Ambassador." Spock was still quite impressed with how much she had learned, but knew there would be much that she simply would not have the benefit of understanding the basic principles of. That was, after all, his purview as a science officer. "I would be happy to assist you. Perhaps I can meet you in the briefing room once I provide my report to the bridge?"
She nodded. "Yes, thank you."
Spock glanced over at Leonard, then motioned to Jim. "You will alert me when he is awake." The request was polite, but not optional.
McCoy nodded, then glanced over at Diana. "You, too. I'll let you both know. But, Diana…" He trailed off. The trio already knew what needed to be said.
She took the words - and the burden - from him. "Stay away, I know." Spock recalled the way Jim had said similar to her when Circe had first afflicted him.
"I'm making it worse."
Diana returned to the briefing room, intent on finding concrete proof that Argelius IV would have the answers they sought. No one spoke to her on her way. If word had gotten out that the captain had taken ill, they had not thought to ask her, or knew better than to do so. She knew her expression was severe, if only to match the torment beneath.
This was torture for her. Diana prided herself on her loyalty, her desire to help and love others. That had included the crew of the Enterprise. It included her captain… No matter how confusing or complicated those emotions felt, seeing him writhe on the biobed before her had made them quite impossible to ignore.
What was it Sophocles had said of Oedipus, doomed king of Athens? Pride breeds the tyrant violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin... Can such a man, so desperate, still boast he can save his life from the flashing bolts of god?
Diana had assumed that she could protect the Enterprise from anything that they were not already capable and accustomed to. That the flashing bolts of the gods would come for her directly. But, she had been wrong. She had not prepared herself for that which her hands and her heart could not heal.
She passed through the doors to the briefing room, then stilled. Her gaze fell upon the datapadd on the far end of the table and, by extension, Jim's vacant chair. Her chest tightened at the vivid memory, fresh and raw, of Jim deteriorating before her eyes. She had done this. All of this had been because of her hubris.
She had sinned against the gods, and as expected, they had repaid her in kind. They had sent the witch goddess of old to enact her revenge. And Diana, in her naive belief that all she need do was speak to Jim, had only played into the woman's hands more. She had been so convinced that he would forgive her, see her side as she knew he was capable. It was almost worse that he could see her side, but he had seen what she did not want to see.
She trusted him in the way she had trusted Etta or Bruce. It was deep, but not a two-way path. She expected Jim to keep her confidence and yet to not ask for more than she felt comfortable sharing. And while she'd finally realized she would speak with him, it had been too late. It was the same behavior from her days in darkness, hiding from Man's problems.
In watching Jim snap at himself - at Steve's ghost, it seemed - and struggling to make sense of it all, Diana knew for certain that she could not let him suffer anymore.
She would not sacrifice Jim's future for her past. Diana may have been prideful, but she was not her father. Humans were not pawns for her amusement. She would protect them. She would help them. Even before Circe had arrived, she had resolved herself to moving forward. She could feel her heart clench in physical longing as she knew it would mean giving up on any chance to have Steve back. Yet, she had to believe that Steve had hoped suffering would end when he made his sacrifice. If even one person suffered because of him, that was one too many. He would not want to return to her at the expense of another good man. And Jim deserved to live a full life, free from the horrors of a World War.
Taking a seat beside Jim's chair, she pulled the datapadd over and began to comb through the full sets of reports from the late George Kirk. If Jim's father had truly found this place before they did, then she agreed with him: this was a sign of where they needed to go.
Unfortunately, the majority of the data available was either completely irrelevant or beyond her understanding. The Argelians had sent a great deal of scientific and mathematical data, ways of proving that they were advanced.
The scientific data made no sense to her. She understood how to read an operations console in a rudimentary fashion. Quantum mechanics and stellar telemetry escaped her entirely. After slogging through a number of reports, feeling no more enlightened, she turned her attention to the cultural database.
A typical proto-Hellenistic culture. On the surface, they seemed like any Greek city-state. It wasn't until she read about the event identified as The Vision that she found the first strand to unravel the mystery.
Commander Spock stepped through the doors before she got much further. "My apologies, Ambassador. I have found it necessary to provide more detailed updates to certain members of the staff when it comes to the captain's health." Diana had a feeling one crew member in particular was just as concerned with the first officer as she was with the captain. The commander made his way over to the table and took a seat across from her. "They are… concerned."
"He worries about all of them. So they worry about him," She remarked, a smile tugging at her lips as she recalled Hikaru's observations. We worry about him worrying about you.
"Be that as it may, I would much prefer to be here determining how we can help the captain." Diana extended the datapadd to him, but he simply held up one of his own. "I brought the research to the captain, and therefore possess my own copy of the records."
She couldn't help but feel relief at the fact that he was so prepared. For a man whose people valued logic over emotion, it was clear that Spock still gave those emotional bonds their due. "Good. Then, you're already familiar with it. Does The Vision sound familiar to you?"
"It does." Spock furrowed his brow, then proceeded to scan through the data in hand. "Commander Kirk mentioned that in his logs, but I have not had time to sufficiently review the information." Diana watched as his eyes raked over the text. He was sucking in information like a sponge. It reminded her of the voracity that she combed through ancient texts when she became an appraiser.
"From what I can gather," Diana pulled up the report she had been studying. "The Argelian calendar conducted a festival to The Vision in what was presumably a once or twice in a lifetime event." She sat back in the chair as the two of them studied their disciplines. "Many of Earth's older cultures worshipped comets in such a way."
"True, although I do not believe that this event was brought on by a comet." Standing, Spock made his way over to the other end of the briefing table and typed in a few commands on the control panel. After a moment, the table lit up to display a series of numbers. It did not take long for her to recognize stardates. "These are the dates during which the Argelian scientific records indicate high levels of tachyon and chroniton particles in the planet's atmosphere. Chronitons and tachyons are frequently associated with temporal anomalies."
Diana looked up from the table to face him. "Temporal anomalies."
"Time travel, Ambassador." She got the distinct impression that, despite the circumstances… he was amused. She lifted one of her own eyebrows to mirror his. "They are largely undocumented by Starfleet, but the Enterprise crew has the dubious honor of having been at the front and center of one such temporal anomaly." Diana didn't bother to ask him for more information. She just stared him down until he conceded. "We encountered a ship of Romulans from an alternate future. They devastated Starfleet, destroying much of the fleet before the Enterprise had even been christened."
"Amazing," She breathed. "I had no idea." She found herself recalling Barry Allen and his exploits. "The Flash… he utilized something we called the Speed Force in order to go back and forth in time. Perhaps he used the same forces…"
"Perhaps. Temporal theory and temporal anomalies are not the most widely regarded or socialized. Starfleet has, for the most part, chosen to bury unusual nature of the events. That being said, I believe this points to the theory that something has been luring Jim to the planet." Spock clasped his hands behind his back. "This such event seems to occur approximately every 38.38 years. A curious symmetry."
Diana's eye was drawn back to the dates on the table. She answered him absently as she tried to figure out what exactly about those dates was so compelling. "Harmonia herself was the goddess of symmetry. Perhaps her hand is the one that moves us ever closer." She paused as she reached out and scrolled through the list. "Do you track pre-Federation dates in terms of stardates as well?"
"Yes."
Diana continued to scroll. The years were easy enough. The conversion in stardates from month and day to day of the year was more difficult, and yet… "Stardate 1918.315. That was… November 11th, 1918." She glanced up at Spock. "That is the date Steve died."
Spock quirked an eyebrow. "Fascinating."
"And it is expected to arrive on Argelius IV on… Stardate 2264.66." Diana glanced at the chronometer, then up at Spock.
"That is precisely when we are expected to arrive."
Diana's heart skipped a beat as she felt the profound truth in what was before her. "We need to be there. For the Vision." Every day she spent on the Enterprise in Circe's wake, the more she pushed her soul to regain its divinity. She had wished so long to simply be human, but it would not save the crew now. She could not afford to simply be Diana Prince.
"What do the Argelians claim happens during this event?"
It was a blessed distraction from the way her heart pounded in her throat. "It …" She grabbed for the datapadd. "It reads very similar to a few of the rituals of my forebears. During the festival, it is said that one could make petitions of the gods in the Temple of The Oracle. Oftentimes, people hoped for prophecy, but there are also accounts of speaking with the dead or even the gods themselves." As she spoke, Diana could feel her stomach swirl with unease, punctuated by that eerie symmetry from before. The people of Althea had not claimed to speak with their goddess. And even if they had, Diana now knew that they would have been speaking with Circe.
Who was accepting petitions and audience with these people? How long had they been doing so?
Diana scrolled further, continuing on for both Spock and her own benefit. "Most of these rituals through antiquity have the same results. If they are met with an audience, no records survive. But, the most recent records show that they changed the iconography of their primary deity approximately…" She trailed off, resigned and disquieted. "Two hundred years ago."
"The same timeframe in which Circe arrived on Althea." Spock stated, then quirked an eyebrow. "Perhaps there is another rival or long-lived individual that you banished as well?"
She shook her head. "No, Circe was the only one. I did not even banish Ares when I faced him last. He simply vanished." Troubled, Diana sought more information as to the identity of their primary god. "They included images of statues and prominent artwork displayed. How can I see it?" Making her way over to the control panel, she pressed the necessary buttons on the display at Spock's prompting until an image appeared on the table before them to replace the stardates.
"He appears humanoid." Spock remarked.
Humanoid, indeed.
"By the gods…" Diana's eyes filled with unbidden warmth, tears threatening to spill as she recognized the man she had once called.. "Brother…"
Spock moved to stand beside her. "Brother? As in, an Olympian? One of the Hellenistic gods?"
Diana nodded, a hand to her mouth as she looked him over. For so long, she had not seen a single god on the shores of Themyscira. Her prayers in the temples had gone unanswered, and she had begun the only strength her people needed as they built their own. But, the chiseled marble statue before her bore the uncanny resemblance to one of those many gods.
"Apollo. He aided me several times during the years I fought as Wonder Woman on Earth. And as the first god of Truth, he had only begun to give me ownership of that sacred duty. We left the planet before I could truly claim the title from him. If he is there, he is an ally. We must go to Argelius. To Delphi." Diana said, turning to face Spock. "He may be the only one who could help Jim. I'll pray to him myself if I have to."
The two regarded one another with a sense that they had come to their logical conclusion. Spock's tone seemed nearly… hopeful… as he replied. "I do believe there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the temporal energy could be centralized on this location. I will take this information to the captain."
Her relief quickly soured as she realized that while they had a solution, only one of them could deliver the news. "Of course…" Diana sighed, careful to mask most of her disappointment. But, if it kept him from deteriorating further, it would be worthwhile. "I will finish my research here and return to my quarters. When we reach Argelius IV, I need to be on the away team."
"I agree. Your knowledge of this individual and any other insights to the Argelian culture will be greatly appreciated."
Spock's communicator chirped in his pocket. With one deft move, he pulled it free and flipped it open. "Commander Spock here."
"Jim's coming to. Just lettin' you know." Diana sighed in relief. At least there was something. "You find anything?"
"Yes, doctor, I believe we have." The commander replied, glancing over at Diana. "I will be on my way to Sickbay shortly. Spock out." Spock turned to leave, then paused and glanced back at her. It was almost as if he had realized that there was a social grace he had missed. "If I may ask a personal query, ambassador?"
Diana blinked, momentarily off-balance from the simply, yet formal way he asked. "Of course, Mister Spock."
"I would like to convey our conversation to the captain, but I would like to understand the nature of your desire to help him. Prior to this… unique situation, I assumed you and the captain had grown close. That you were interested in what could be construed as a romantic partnership." It was clear that Spock had spent a great deal of time thinking over how he would ask the question. Diana could feel her stomach clench as she prepared herself for an uncomfortable conversation. It would probably seem illogical to Spock, her reaction. "I told the captain I felt that you had simply exercised caution and wished to learn how to differentiate Jim's personality and experiences from those of Captain Trevor, but that the closeness you experienced was most likely genuine. Would you agree?"
The shock was plain on her face. She had no desire to hide how she felt. It didn't suit her well, and she had paid for it. But, it was a pleasant surprise. She couldn't help the warm smile on her face as she recognized his attempt to help her. "Yes. I would most certainly agree."
Spock considered her answer, then nodded. "Very well. I will be sure to convey appropriate sentiments to Jim. And I look forward to seeing you on the away mission."
The doors closed behind the commander as he left. Diana was left alone in the briefing room.
She turned slowly, facing the image again. She had been called many things. She had shared many of the gods' blessings in her days.
But, she shared one attribute with the god before her, one that she knew would hear her. Even if she had to scream as loud as needed to send his temple crashing to the ground.
"Phoebus Apollo, god of light and truth…" She breathed, reaching a hand out as if she could touch the static image. "I beseech you. If you do nothing else for me, do this: Show him the way."
As she closed her eyes, Diana had no way of noticing the image flicker in response.
Jim's head throbbed. No, it pounded with the force of a jackhammer.
As he tried to sit up, he found himself trying to recall if he'd ever actually seen an old jackhammer in action, or if that was another one of Steve's memories.
He was never more relieved to remember the mission on Thasus. There had been a team of archeologists. They had jackhammers in case their plas-cutters failed. And they had.
Jim's hand finally found purchase on the edge of the biobed. Slowly, he worked to pull himself back up. He wasn't entirely surprised to hear Bones bark in his ear no sooner than he'd gotten one leg swung off the bed.
"Are you outta your corn-fed mind? I just stopped you from buying the farm and here you are about to go to auction all over again." Any other time, Jim would have appreciated the cantankerous old worrywort's attitude. But, right now, it just made his head ache right behind his eyeballs.
"Jeez, Bones, could you maybe take it down to yellow alert? My headache has a headache." Jim grumbled, still stubbornly swinging his other leg over the biobed so he was sitting. His hand went to his face, rubbing his eyes furiously in the hopes of relieving the pressure behind them.
"Well, of course it does." Bones was still haranguing him, but at least he was quieter now. Small miracles… "You decided it was a good idea to poke the sleeping neural pattern until it started to cook your brain."
"You know me, Bones, I like to keep you on your toes. Keeps you young." Jim remarked, chuckling a bit at his own joke. For a moment, he felt like himself. As if he was back on the bridge. Something told him that wouldn't last very long.
"Do me a favor and don't you worry your pretty head about me, all right, Jim?" When Jim opened his eyes, Bones was keying a dosage into the hypospray before pressing it to Jim's neck. "Cause me a lot more grief having a seizure than my heart needs, thank you."
Whatever Bones had dosed him with took effect almost instantly. A painkiller and probably a few other things, if he had to guess. It wasn't helping him remember exactly what he'd been doing before landing here. In fact, thinking itself seemed to put him in a bit of a haze. "I feel a bit… foggy."
"Well, you're still coming off of sedatives, so expect to be groggy for the next couple of hours." McCoy grabbed his medical tricorder and started to wave it over Jim's face. "Your vitals have leveled out. The second neural pattern looks to be fairly dormant, but…" He sighed and set the sensor back onto the top of the tricorder base "Can't be sure if that's from the drugs or from not seeing our resident ambassador."
Jim furrowed his brow as thoughts of Diana started to creep through the fog. They had been in the briefing room… he had started to get lost. He blinked the thoughts away, trying not to get caught in the exact same spiral that had apparently sent him here. "Is she all right?" He simply asked. If he had been seizing, he didn't want to think about what that had looked like to her.
It comforted Jim more than he could ever express that his first emotion was mortification that Diana had seen him in such a vulnerable and undignified state and not concern for how she'd treat him later. Yup, that was definitely Jim.
"She'll be fine." Bones said, almost dismissively in his confidence. "She took it upon herself to finish whatever research you and Spock started, though."
"Right, Argelius IV. Did we set course?" When Bones nodded, Jim took that as his signal to get back on the bridge. He wanted to be there, to see the planet. The answers were there. Delphi was there. He was sure of it.
Before Bones could bark at him again, the doors to Sickbay opened and in came his first officer.
"Spock." Jim said with a grin. "Good to see you. Are we to Argelius IV already?"
Spock closed the distance between them and stopped, regarding Jim with as close to a smile as he typically gave. "Not yet, captain, but we will reach there in a few hours. I actually came to provide additional information that Ambassador Prince and myself uncovered."
Jim's eyebrows shot up, and he motioned for Spock to continue. "Well, what'd you find?"
"There is evidence of a temporal anomaly that anchors to Argelius IV every 38 years. We are on track to arrive at the planet just before the next occurrence. The Argelians believe that one can speak to the dead or to their gods." Jim grinned. From the way Spock was talking, that last half was Diana's contribution.
The grin faded as he found more of their last conversation coming back to him. Where they stood. The trust lost. The fact that he wanted her off the ship. You really know how to step in it, Jim.
Spock must have noticed his dour mood. "She sends her regrets that she could not see you in person, but I insisted that she rest until the away mission. We will need her."
Jim frowned. He wasn't so sure he agreed. Right now, his head was on straight. How long would it stay that way if he tried to talk to her now? "Glad to hear she's kept busy."
"She has been instrumental in our efforts. There was critical information that we could not have surmised without her… unique perspective." Spock glanced over at Bones in a way that suggested it was not good for the captain. "She has expressed nothing but her commitment to restoring your mental well-being. And as such, we feel that there may be resources available on Argelius IV that may help with the secondary neural pattern."
Jim glanced over at him, thoughtful. "So, what? I go there and ask the gods to take this guy out of my head?"
"It is possible, although I am fairly certain that Diana believes the 'god' on Argelius IV is uniquely qualified to handle this. Perhaps he is telepathic."
Bones frowned, shook his head. "I don't like it. A temporal anomaly ain't magic, and if it was just a matter of being telepathic…" He crossed his arms over his chest and squared off against the Vulcan. "Well, hell, Spock, you could've done something by now."
Spock bristled slightly. "A Vulcan mind meld is not a light undertaking, Doctor. There are significant risks to both parties."
Jim finally stood, ignoring Bones's glare his way. "Hang on, Bones might be onto something. Is that an option, Spock? I mean, I did it with Ambassador Spock. Maybe that makes it easier, or less risky." Jim found himself thinking back to when he had met the older Spock, how they had shared so much knowledge and emotion in the blink of an eye. The mind meld was incredibly powerful.
The department store in London suddenly came to mind. The two Spocks in Edwardian garb, casually discussing… what was it? Universe-ending paradoxes.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the right idea. By the time Jim was about to voice that, Spock had apparently already considered the notion himself.
"Perhaps…" Spock began, resting his fingers on his bottom lip as he analyzed the situation. "The Vulcan concept of the soul is quite protected among my people. In fact, the katra, as it were, was often considered a myth. Yet, in these last days, I have found myself considering its existence all the more." Stepping away, Spock paced the length of the Sickbay as he spoke. "There are a number of Vulcan rituals, highly specialized and very rarely performed, that utilize the mind meld as a technique for healing or ritual cleansing."
"Cleansing?" Bones scoffed. "You pointy-eared bastards don't strike me as the ritualistic and spiritual type."
"On the contrary, Doctor, Vulcan rites of passage are quite revered." Spock said as a rebuttal. "Many of these customs are from the days before Vulcans learned to purge all emotion. The ones that remain have as much influence towards that goal as they do scientific necessity. There are many illnesses that Vulcans are susceptible to that cannot be treated by physical medicine."
Jim could practically hear the steam start hissing out of Bones's ears at the very notion that he couldn't cure something. "Maybe if you would share that information, we could figure out a way - "
"Doctor, it is not for me to decide what the Vulcan Science Academy wishes to share with Starfleet Medical at large." Spock's response seemed to momentarily soothe the doctor's ego, proving yet again that most of their animosity was manufactured mischief. "But, complex neurological diseases have been cured with the rite of fal-tor-voh, a mind meld with a family member that allows the brain to re-establish its neural peptide levels."
Jim didn't intend to give Spock such a blank look, but his mind was still in a bit of fog as he said dumbly, "You think my problem is peptides."
"That is merely an example, Jim." Spock said, a touch of mirth in his tone. "In fact, if I were to characterize your condition, it is actually similar to an affliction in which a Vulcan's katra has been somehow split from his or her body. It is incredibly rare, but can occur. The ritual, fal-tor-pan, is complex and dangerous to all parties involved, but essentially allows for a katra to re-integrate."
Jim felt that all too common flip of his stomach when he just knew he was onto something. "Then, we need to get to Argelius IV, because if we're going to fix this, this is the only way to do it." As he smiled, feeling galvanized by the plan they had, he started to make his way over to the doors. "Now, all I need to do is find Chief..."
As Jim left the medbay, he missed seeing the confused and puzzled faces on his Chief Medical Officer and Chief Science Officer.
He assumed it was because the drugs made him feel so level. But, it wasn't that. Nothing had triggered the memory. Jim didn't even realize the memory was Steve's.
"Computer, open secure channel. Command code Cale-Zeta-Four-Nine-Two."
ACKNOWLEDGED. CHANNEL OPEN.
"This is She-Wolf. I received your message."
"She-Wolf, this is Quinnius. I have tracked the prey to the stated location, and they are now changing course. Headed to sector outside of Yorktown's range."
She grinned. "Good. Follow them. When they stop, you know your orders. I want the Themysciran alive. The crew of the Enterprise… kill them all."
She cut the transmission and typed in her Starfleet Intelligence command code.
DELETE RECORD OF TRANSMISSION.
RECORD DELETED.
BY AUTHORITY OF ADMIRAL VERONICA CALE.