Thank you, Mr. Doeriver, for your kind review. I am really striving to write as well as I can for everyone's enjoyment. It was greatly appreciated.

CHAPTER NINE

The Medical Institute on Vulcan responded quickly to Spock's inquiry. A Vulcan healer of some renown was currently on Starbase Seven giving a lecture on mental trauma. Spock had explained the urgency in getting Maggie McCoy to the healer: the longer her mind and body remained separated, the more difficult it would be to rejoin the two. If it was even possible. Spock had refrained from adding the last part, but it had been understood nonetheless.

At maximum warp, the Enterprise would reach Starbase Seven in two days.

McCoy stood before the transparasteel window in the Critical Care Ward, silently urging the steaks of light to slip by faster still. Exhausted from the effort, he turned away.

He retrieved his PADD from an unused biobed and plopped down into the chair next to Maggie's bed. He pulled up several reports regarding the black material imbedded into her flesh and scanned them again. It was a quick—and mostly useless—read.

Substance Analysis Summary:

Element: Unknown

Source: Unknown

Toxicity: Unknown

Symbiotic Lifeform: Negative

Purpose: Unknown

Removal: Not Recommended

Irritated, McCoy tossed the PADD on the foot of the biobed and stood. He picked up Maggie's hand and studied the black, liquid-like veins. Spock had said that the Hunoi's purpose wasn't just to heal and repair but to make improvements as well. So if that was true, McCoy thought, what made this—he pressed a fingertip to one dark line until it flexed—an upgrade? What was its purpose?

Curious, he manipulated Maggie's fingers. The material expanded and contracted easily with the movements, neither limiting joint range nor adding to it. The only certainties that McCoy did have was that it was tough as hell and impossible to remove. He'd attempted to take a small sample earlier and burned out four laser scalpels in the process. After venting to Scotty over lunch, the Engineering Chief had supplied a pair of Dilithium cutters—the sharpest tool in his arsenal.

They hadn't made a scratch.

And even if they had, separating the material from Maggie would still be impossible. A scanner had revealed billions of microscopic filaments extending downward from the veins to connect with Maggie's tissue, tendons, nerves, and bones. It had knitted itself so tightly into her flesh that, for all intents and purposes, it had become part of her.

Some sort of defensive property then? If so, it seemed inadequate coverage for any real protection. Unlikely then, McCoy concluded and returned Maggie's hand to the bed.

McCoy leaned closer to get a better look at the dots on either side of her nose. He brushed a fingertip against one of the metallic teardrops then angled himself closer. In doing so, he placed a hand on the sidetable for balance. He'd placed a microscanner there earlier and hadn't powered it down. An electrical shock startled him with a low-volt tingling sensation in his arm. His finger was still touching the dark bead, and he was further startled by an abrupt snap-hiss sound.

Two round energy discs appeared in front of Maggie's eyes. Semi-transparent with a blue tinge, he could just made out the shape of her eyes beneath them. A diagonal ripple of light shimmered across the holographic lens before returning to a bluish state.

McCoy stood there, agape, trying to understand what had just happened. Electricity was the key. All brain activity—thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and bodily control—functioned by electricity. So no electricity, he thought, means no control. McCoy glanced up at the brain function monitor above the bed. Since Maggie's mind was still trapped behind a mental barrier, the indicator remained at zero.

He rolled his lower lip between his teeth, thinking, then he snatched the 'spanner from the table and quickly readjusted the tip so that it had a slight curve. He linked it to the monitor over the bed then slid it behind one of the lens so that the optic was facing outward.

The monitor showed nothing more than a blue-tinted medical ward. McCoy swore under his breath. He'd been so sure . . . . He reached out with his other hand to press a finger to the bead—maybe it was in sleep mode?—but let out a yelp when he glanced up at the monitor. The empty ward had been replaced by three data columns. The first had somehow accessed his personnel file, displaying a list of allergies and last recorded stats. The last column on the right held current readouts for heart rate (currently skyrocketing), blood pleasure, temperature, and more.

But it was the center column that held his attention. It was a live-feed of his hand . . . but without skin. He flexed his fingers then rotated his hand. On the monitor, muscles and tendons peeled away in turn, showing layer after layer of his hand until he had an interior view of the bones. He wiggled his pinky finger, saw the faint thickening of bone where he'd broken it as a child. It was both utterly fascinating and very disturbing.

McCoy withdrew his hands and allowed a shudder to pass through him. He took several deep breaths to organize his thoughts. The Hunoi had either sensed that Maggie was a healer from the partial memories left outside the mental barrier or, lacking information, they had simply designed her after their own template.

"Oh, Jesus," McCoy whispered, as a new realization dawned on him. His daughter would never refuse the tools the Hunoi had provided her with, not when it allowed her to pinpoint the source of a disease or injury at a glance. Maggie would always be watching, searching, analyzing. He knew his daughter. She was like him in so many ways, and he—even on a contained ship like the Enterprise—lived much of his life balancing on the edge of burnout.

With tools for healing literally at her fingertips, what chance would Maggie have of a life of her own?

Feeling sick, McCoy tapped the microscanner against one of the dots. There was a faint popping sound and the lenses disappeared.

"Damn you, Hunoi," he whispered. "Damn you to hell."

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