Chapter Fourteen: On My Way Home

They blocked the door. Several lines deep of Black Sun warriors prevented the crew from escaping with Lucy back into the night. So much for easy.

The crew echoed the stance of their opponents, their weapons out and pointed at the group. Charlie shoved Lucy behind her, a shield against the others as she drew a bead on two who stepped forward.

"Surrender," the one on the left barked.

"You wish to surrender to us?" Charlie smirked. "Very well, we accept."

"Cute," the other sneered as Jim shot Charlie a glare. "But your bravado with get you nowhere. Drop your weapons and we won't kill you."

"Why don't I trust that?" Jim answered, his weight shifting as his muscles flexed under his dark shirt. "You've bombed a peaceful ceremony, you kidnapped this kid, and you've attacked me and my crew several times. I think our weapons are going to stay right where they are."

"You're outnumbered ten to one, Captain Kirk," the left leader answered, his voice rougher than the other. "We knew you'd come for the brat, made sure your communications officer was dumb enough to believe we had no idea where you were." Uhura's hand gripped her phaser tighter, her anger evidence by the snarl on her lips.

"Oh? You thought we didn't know you had tapped our communications after that stint in London? Tsk tsk," he continued shaking his head in faux disappointment. "For Starfleet officers, you're all pretty stupid."

"Watch it," Charlie snapped. "Not all of us have been raised the Federation way."

He laughed, the others following as they watched the exchange. "Well that is true. So how about we make a deal then, Captain Kirk. You stay, with the girl of course, and we won't kill your girlfriend and let them go on their merry way?"

"How about no," Charlie barked before Jim could answer.

"Charlie, let me handle this," Jim ordered, his eyes flashing red quickly. "How about no!" he yelled.

Charlie scanned the room as Jim and the leader began to argue, their chance to escape deteriorating each second. They already walked into a trap. Who knew what reinforcements were coming? What other traps had already been sprung? She underestimated their ability to track, and her arrogance about her intelligence and that of her crew had her making these amateur mistakes. She needed to act, and act quickly. Her family's survival depended on the next three seconds.

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

She drew her gaze up. Then she saw it. The sprinklers. The lights. Chaos. It was her turn to take their plan and turn it to chaos.

"I will not ask again. Drop your weapons!"

"Over my dead body," Charlie growled.

She drew her phaser up and fired, hitting one of the overhead can lights dead on. Immediately it erupted, sparks spraying all around. In rapid fire succession, the other's realized her plan and shot the rest of the lights out. As the bright lights died, they were replaced by dim emergency beacons that casted shadows into the corners.

Charlie fired one last time, hitting a sprinkler head, water bursting forth in a rain shower and shocking those caught under their waterfalls. Sparks sputtered when the water hit the exposed lights, falling like rain to the floor and scattering those under it. The klaxon flashed and blared an ear piercing wail as the fire alarms across the building were triggered. The emergency lights flickered, then died as the crew separately dove behind overturned tables and knocked over bookcases. Flashes illuminated the room as bullets sprayed around them, the Black Sun disoriented for only a moment before regaining their bearings.

"The teleporter!" one of the leaders shouted as he shoved some of his men toward the side of the room, the transporter like device creating its own sparks and flames, the wheezing sound of water and electrons a low hum. "Save the machine!"

Chaos reigned then. The Black Sun weren't all soldiers, and they knew that the alarm was going to bring in the outside world. A few of them fled their lack of discipline scattering them like chickens with a fox in the hen house.

"Great, so were trapped and soaked, nice going, Spitfire," McCoy growled next to Charlie, shaking his head like a dog, and scattering droplets of water. She just shot him a glare, one arm wrapped protectively around Lucy who was buried into her chest while the other fired random phaser bursts over their head.

"Didn't see you coming up with any ideas yourself there, Doc," she retorted as a new volley shattered the wall above their heads, plaster and brick stinging their eyes.

"The cadet's logic to create a distraction was sound," Spock defended, crouched with his phaser ready as he kept one eye on the group making their way across the room and his other on Lieutenant Uhura and the captain on the other side. "Although the execution remains to be seen."

More bullets penetrated their cover, their protection slowly eroding to mulch. Lucy screamed, the alarms and gunfire too much for one so young who had already dealt with so much.

Charlie wiped the water from her eyes, slicking her wet locks back from her head. "Well we've got maybe three minutes to get out of here before the fire trucks show up and then we'll really see all hell break loose."

"What's the plan then?" Kirk asked as he and Uhura managed to slide in next to Spock.

"They seem awfully protective of that thing in the corner," McCoy remarked with an evil grin. "See, Spitfire? I can come up with crazy ideas too."

The others slowly turned to the contraption on the other side of the room. With a smirk, Charlie unsnapped one of the three silver discs she clipped to her belt, having explored the Vulcan ship for any goodies they would need. She pushed the center button, illuminating a blue ring and ten second countdown. She flicked the disc over their heads, sending it rolling toward the other side of the room.

"What was that?" Uhura asked.

Before Charlie could answer, the disc exploded, gray smoke pouring out in abundance while anyone within ten feet were shocked into a stupor.

"That's our cue, let's move!"

Charlie jumped up, Lucy's hand in her own as she let out a volley of phaser fire toward those reminding standing. The others immediately joined her, their fusillade too much for the few that remained standing. Between the darkness save their weapon fire, the smoke, and the continuing rain of sparks, they had all the cover they needed to escape. Except Lucy was glued to floor in fear and wouldn't move.

"Lucy, c'mon," Charlie ordered, pulling the unyielding child. It was no use, she was shocked into an almost comatose state.

"Let's go kid," Jim said, picking her up and running toward the door. The smoke was beginning to choke their lungs and burn their throats as their eyes watered. They burst into the hallway, coughing, and wiping the water out of their eyes. "Alright, we need to- where's Charlie?"

They spun, the auburn haired spitfire not in the hallway.

"She must still be in there!" Uhura exclaimed, running back toward the door, but the smoke had become too much and she backed up coughing again, her arm over her eyes.

"Spock, here," Jim said, passing the girl to his first officer.

"Captain, I don't think—"

Too late, Kirk had already disappeared back into the fray.

The air immediately burned his lungs, and he crouched low where the smoke was lessened. Under it he could see Charlie, prone on the floor halfway across the room as if she had begun to run and collapsed. She was just beginning to stir when Jim pulled her shoulders trying to help her up.

"Charlie, are you ok? What happened?"

"Jim? I don't know. You grabbed Lucy and I blacked out as we ran. I think I'm ok now—"

White hot pain flashed through Charlie's shoulder drawing a scream from her throat as a gun fired from somewhere in the mists. Immediately blood began to pool and cascade down her arm as the sting turned to an intense throb that made her instantly nauseous. Her hand came up to try to stop the bleeding, the blood forcing its way between her fingers.

"Charlie!" Jim added his hand, applying pressure as tears formed in her lashes from the pain.

Another fired, missing Jim's head by inches. They both ducked, Jim's other arm wrapping around Charlie to try to drag her out of the door and away from the fire.

Suddenly one of the masked Black Sun materialized out of the smoke like a Ringwraith on the mounts from Mordor. The handgun in his hand was pointed directly at them, pausing their steps.

"I've had enough of this bitch," he snarled from behind his mask, Jim turning to block Charlie. "Get out of the way."

"Over my dead body," Jim snarled back.

"Your choice," the man shrugged. As he pulled the trigger, a phaser blast stuck his hand and he dropped the gun with an exclamation of pain. Uhura materialized from the direction of the phaser blast, her weapon still pointed at him as she hurried over to the pair, her strides long and purposeful.

"How about you pick on someone who's also armed," Uhura hissed.

"Uhura, get Charlie out of here," Jim ordered, passing off Charlie to Uhura's surprised arms, his red rimmed gaze never leaving the man in front of them clutching his wrist. "I've got this."

"You can't escape it, Captain. They are coming," the man taunted.

"Maybe, but they haven't had to deal with me yet."

"That bitch is the next to die."

"Jim," Charlie groaned.

"Kirk, we don't have time for this," Uhura argued.

"Go!" Jim shouted, advancing on the man slowly. "Uhura, that's an order."

Uhura pursed her lips, her eyes glaring as she pulled Charlie's good arm over her shoulders. "C'mon," Uhura said, dragging Charlie out and into the hall as the sounds of fists meeting flesh reverberated around them, the smoke and dust doing nothing to dampen the sound.

"The hell!" McCoy bellowed when he caught sight of Uhura and Charlie. "I leave you alone for two seconds!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Charlie grumbled as the doctor took over from Uhura, his med kit already out and assessing her injury. "Can't take me anywhere."

With a rip, her black shirt was torn, exposing both sides her shoulder.

"No exit wound. The bullet's still in there," McCoy assessed. "I can't do anything for this here. I need the ship. Where's Jim?"

Uhura just gave the doctor a pointed look and nodded her head at the door. McCoy's already sour expression darkened further, glancing up to the Vulcan who continued to hold the small child protectively in his arms. For once, they were both thinking the same thing.

"We need to move. Now." McCoy ripped open the package in his hand and shoved the tampon into the bullet wound in Charlie's shoulder, her scream muffled by her other fist.

"Ow! A tampon. Really?"

"Hey, we're closer to World War I than our own time. If it worked for them, it'll work for you." McCoy wrapped her shoulder tightly, pining her arm across her chest. "C'mon, Spitfire, up you get!"

McCoy pulled her up, the sounds of sirens in the distance breaking through the general din of the fire alarms.

"We don't have time for this. We needed to be out five minutes ago."

"You go ahead and try to pull the captain out," Uhura derided. "Not that he will listen."

"He won't," Charlie groaned, trying to swallow the throbbing pain as she fell back against the wall, her knees shaking. "Not until Jim feels like I'm safe. That guy signed his own death warrant pulling that trigger."

"What are you talking about?" Uhura asked.

"It's the blood."

"Khan's blood," McCoy elaborated. "It's changing Jim and I don't know why."

Uhura's eyes widened, the implications needing no other explanation. "And you were going to tell me this, when? Who else knows?"

"Just us." Charlie closed her eyes, breathing through her nose, then snapping her eyes open at the sound of footsteps above their head. "I'm sorry to keep it from you. I was trying to protect Jim. I may have made it worse."

Before anyone else could answer, Jim stumbled out of the room, his eyes red and blood shot. "Let's get out of here," he ordered, heading straight for Charlie as the others just gapped at him.

"Waiting on you, Skippy," Charlie growled, her eyes narrowed in pain and anger.

She pushed off the wall, and turned away from the captain as she followed Uhura and Spock down the hall, McCoy pulling up the rear. Just as they turned the first corner, a spray of bullets surprised the team, Spock having enough reflexes to grab Uhura and drag her back around the corner before she could be hit.

"We'll that's just great, we're stuck," McCoy bit.

"I would not despair, Doctor," Spock announced, nodding at Uhura who pulled out a remote from her belt. "Mr. Scott prepared us for such an event."

"What do you mean—"

Suddenly a gigantic pulse erupted on the other side of the wall, a rolling ball of electricity flying past them and dissipating against the wall.

"The hell was that?!" Charlie barked, her eyes wide as McCoy and Jim checked around the corner.

"They're all knocked out," Jim noted, nudging one with his foot. "Bones?"

McCoy had his tricorder out, astonished at the readings. "That was like a giant stun. How the hell did you do that?"

Uhura flicked out a similar disc to Charlie's from her pocket. "Stun grenade. Spock and I laid them along our route just in case. Scotty came up with it after he saw the smaller smoke ones that Sybok had in his ship."

"Warning would have been nice," Jim chastised.

"We felt it necessary for just Nyota and I to know," Spock acknowledged. "In case the worst should happen."

Spock's meaning hung in the air and Kirk had enough self-reflection to appear sheepish.

"That's all well and good, but how are we going to get out?" Charlie grunted. "We can't stun our way through the Black Sun and whatever first responders are now out there."

"Spitfire's right," McCoy agreed. "Do we have a plan B?"

"Didn't Scotty mention a tunnel?" Kirk asked.

"He didn't know where it went," Uhura remarked. "That could be just as big of trap as the one we left."

"Doctor, if you please?" Spock asked, handing off Lucy into McCoy's arms as he withdrew his tricorder. "Mr. Scott is correct, there's a tunnel four corridors away that head northwest away from the building. If I calculate this correctly, it should lead us closest to our rendezvous location. There does not appear to be any life signatures within the tunnel."

Thunderous steps echoed through the hallway toward the group, the sounds of firemen looking for injured joining the din.

"Guess we're going to find out," Charlie proclaimed, pushing the group to follow the tricorder.

They dodged around three corners, first right, then left, then right again, opening the door to a closet until Spock indicated the hidden trap door under the mops. Spock leapt down first, McCoy passing off the child before following. Charlie gingerly lowered herself down until both the Vulcan and doctor were able to ease her the rest of the way to the floor with Uhura and Jim following up the rear.

The tunnel was dark and damp, the dripping of water echoing loudly while the sounds of waves could be heard in the distance. The only light was the illumination of the Vulcan's face as he reoriented the tricorder.

"This way, half a kilometer."

The floor was uneven and slippery, their steps cautious as they tried to not lose their footing on the algae covered stones. The sounds of the warehouse dimmed, no indication anyone found and followed them into the shaft. After what felt like an eternity, they found the rungs of a wet ladder heading to the surface, the small pinholes of a manhole cover above them.

Spock started up first, Lucy behind him, and Uhura next. Charlie grabbed the bars, taking a deep breath then began her ascent. She wrapped her arm behind the ladder, using the crease in her right elbow to hold her in place as her feet propelled her up. The scariest moments were when she would reach a point where the ladder attached to the wall, the bolts blocking her ability to slide her arm further. Some deft maneuvering allowed her to move past but by the time she was to the top her arm was shaking in exertion.

Spock helped pull her up the rest of the way, acting like she weighed nothing, which in comparison to Vulcans' strength she probably didn't. As soon as McCoy crawled out they dropped the cover back on and took off following the cold beach and North Sea to the waiting Vulcan ship.

Charlie hissed as the pilers pulled within her shoulder. Squeezing Jim's hand to the point he wondered if he would ever have feeling again, Charlie tried to ignore the poking and prodding as McCoy extracted the bullet still lodged in her shoulder. Although he had given her a nerve block to stop most of the pain, the sensations of tools beneath her flesh were still uncomfortable.

"Almost got it, Spitfire," McCoy grounded out, twisting his wrist back and forth as he worked the bullet out. "You doing ok?"

"Do I look like I'm doing ok?" she moaned, her teeth grinding together as she panted against the disjointed sensations.

With a disgusting 'pop' the bullet came out of the hole in her shoulder, the wound immediately filling with blood. McCoy dropped the forceps with the bullet lodged between their teeth on the metal try next to him in the sickbay, immediately turning his attention back to the wound. Taking out his tricorder, he began scanning around her shoulder and arm as he applied gauze to staunch as much of the bleeding as he could.

"Well the bullet missed your basilic vein and only chipped the head of your humerus." He snapped the tricorder closed, withdrawing a wand from the ship's emergency surgical kit, and running it around the skin surrounding the bullet hole. "This should get most of it."

Charlie hissed, the twisting and turning of regenerated tissues tugging internally were not sensations she felt she would ever get used to. Slowly the bleeding stopped and the wound closed until only a light red scar remained.

"That's the best I can do without a full cellular regeneration chamber," McCoy said, sitting back and admiring his work. "But I think this protoplaser got most of it. You'll just have a bigger scar."

"Thanks, Bones," Jim said, his gratitude shinning as he clasped McCoy's shoulder. "Honest, I owe you one."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, what would you do without me?" McCoy rolled his eyes as he snapped his gloves off.

"Oh, we'd be long gone," Charlie derided as she dragged on another shirt, hissing as the strange sensations between the nerve block and new scar. "You are literally a lifesaver."

Uhura stuck her head around the corner. "We're about five minutes out. You guys done in here?"

"Yeah," Jim nodded.

"Is Lucy sleeping?" Charlie asked, pulling her braid out of the collar of the shirt.

"Yes," Uhura nodded, stepping into the medbay and leaning her shoulder against the frame. "I think she was out within five minutes. Spock can't move because fell asleep on him."

Charlie grinned, envisioning an extremely uncomfortable Vulcan.

"McCoy, I think you should check her out when we get back to Spock's brother's." The concern in Uhura's eyes bright.

"Did she say anything?" McCoy asked, the gruffness of his voice stronger than normal.

"No," Uhura shook her head. "But Spock says he can feel something wrong."

"If they hurt her—" Jim let the sentence fall, this threat unmistakable, the red line around his blue irises pronounced.

"They took her away from everything she ever knew and kept her locked in that room for who knows how long," Charlie contended. "She is hurt, but not all hurts are visible, or fixed easily with a magic wand. No offense, McCoy." McCoy grumbled without heat. "I know from experience. The question just is how much."

They could feel the ship tilt in decent.

"Come on," Jim said, standing. "When we land, let's get Lucy inside and let her sleep as long as she wants. When she wakes up, give her a thorough exam, Bones. Uhura, stay with her. I think being alone with anyone right now may make her more uncomfortable."

The sun was just beginning to rise when the Vulcan ship touched down near the Loch, the winds blowing Sybok's robes as he waited for the vehicle to land. No sooner had the door fell open that the team was out. Dirty and sweaty, they just wanted to shower, change, catch a quick nap and then figure out what the Black Sun wanted with Lucy and the machine.

"How did it go, Brother?" Sybok asked when he saw Spock, the others dragging their feet toward the cottage.

"We retrieved the child," he nodded toward McCoy carrying the sleeping Lucy out of the ship, having insisted he take her into the house, muttering something about Joanna. "And found a machine that I believe you may have interest in. Let us take a few hours and we will debrief you on what transpired in Edinburgh. I need to contact Ms. Aldridge to inform her of our success."

Sybok noticed the different shirt Charlie was now in compared to the one she left with and the way Kirk seemed to hover even closer. With his brow raised in an eerily similar fashion to his brother, Sybok replied, "Indeed."

The sun was beginning to set when the house began to stir again. Showers had been taken, naps long overdue and in the case of a chief engineer dinner was to be had.

The subtle awakening of the house was obliterated by the long, high pitch scream from the downstairs bedroom.

The crew scrambled, Charlie the first to throw open the door to see a wide-eyed, shaking child with sweat plastering her hair to her head sitting on the bed with the blankets twisted around her body. The others tried to also enter the room, her dark gaze widening even further with the commotion. Charlie knew that look, the fear that shown. She had felt it herself.

Quickly Charlie spun, Uhura managing to sneak in before Charlie unceremoniously shut the door in the men's faces.

"Don't need them making a mess of this," Charlie mumbled to a surprised Uhura. With a resolute nod, they turned to the child.

"Hey, it's ok," Charlie soothed, her posture one as unthreatening as possible. "You're safe with us now. We brought you back to our cottage. They won't hurt again. I promise, we will protect you."

Lucy was dwarfed by the pillows and frills, the room's former occupant most likely an elderly woman who enjoyed crocheting. She continued to shake as the women moved closer, each sitting delicately on the edge and end of the bed, making sure Lucy knew she could escape if she wanted. Slowly, the fog of fear eased from her dark eyes. While she looked like a child, her eyes held a knowledge that few knew. When she and Charlie locked gazes, both dark, both knowing, she could see the same knowledge in the woman's gaze so similar to her own.

"They – they can't find me, right?" her voice was soft and shaky.

"No, they can't," Uhura affirmed. "I made sure they would not be able to find us." There was anger there, the game they played with communications officer stinging still.

"Uhura is the best there is," Charlie gloated with a grin. "If she says they can't find us, they'll be able to find Nessie long before they find us."

"Nessie?" The girl questioned.

"You know Nessie, right?" Charlie looked between Uhura and Lucy, both mirroring the same confused stare. "Nessie? Loch Ness Monster? Mythical creature that lives in Loch Ness that only a lucky few have gotten to glance at?"

They both slowly shook their heads. "God, what happened in the future?" Charlie derided.

"Future?" Lucy asked, her brows low looking between them. "What future?"

Charlie and Uhura glanced between each other. "It's nothing, she was just being, well, her."

Charlie rolled her eyes.

"So your name is Lucy, right?" Uhura asked.

She nodded her head.

"My name is Nyota Uhura. You can call me either Nyota or Uhura."

Lucy smiled softly, not quite meeting her eyes. "What about the others out there?"

"Do you remember meeting Captain Kirk?" Charlie asked. Lucy's eyes brightened and she nodded vigorously, a smile on her face.

"Well he's out there," Uhura grinned. "And his commander, a Vulcan named Spock. Plus there's Sulu, and Scotty, and Dr. McCoy."

"We all came to get you," Charlie added. "So you don't need to worry, ok? We'll get you back to your mom."

Lucy's eyes dropped, plucking at the blanket at the mention of her mother. Uhura and Charlie again spared a glance.

"Hey, I bet you're starving?" Uhura's tone had a note of finality to it, as if it would solve all the problems.

Lucy perked up then, her stomach rumbling as if it was just invited to participate in the conversation. Both Charlie and Uhura laughed, Lucy managing a little giggle.

"What's your favorite meal?" Uhura asked, taking the child's hand as she scrambled off the bed.

"Banana and chocolate milk."

Charlie and Uhura shared amused glances as they opened the door.

"Whatever works," Charlie shrugged.

The men were scattered around the main living area. Sulu, McCoy, and Scotty were playing cards at the table, Sybok and Spock stood over in the corner conversing softly and Jim was pacing near the entrance to the hallway where the bedrooms were, a frown marring his features.

"So one banana and a glass of chocolate milk, coming up," Charlie announced, heading to the small refrigerator in the corner.

"I'll get it," Sulu said, jumping up, surprising Charlie. "Ben and I got word before this craziness happened our adoption was accepted. Better get in the practice," he added sheepishly.

The rest of the crew perked up, the good news a needed booster for them after an exhausting night.

"Here you go." Uhura led Lucy to a chair at the head of the table, the child visibly uncomfortable with the attention.

"So, lassie," Scotty smiled, shuffling the cards in his hand. "Go fish or Andorian poker? Aces wild." He winked and she giggled, indicating go fish would be better.

"Child, what did the Black Sun want with you?" Sybok's question was jarring and unexpected, Spock sending his brother a withering glare.

Her smile left and she found her lap remarkably interesting, ignoring the cards dealt to her. If looks could kill, Sybok would be dead by Scotty's glare.

"They took me because they needed me to open the door for them," she whispered. "That only me and the captain can."

Charlie caught Jim's eyes, his frown deepening.

"But you're just a child," Sybok scoffed.

Her head snapped up then, a glare in their dark depths. "They said it was because of what's in me."

"What do you mean 'what's in you?'" Sulu asked, handing Lucy her requested banana and a glass of chocolate milk.

"I think it's what made me better," she answered, taking a sip of the milk. "The bad man who gave my Daddy his blood that saved me."

Startled, the crew all shared the same look.

"Saved you?" Sulu questioned, his tone soft but his features hard. "What was wrong?"

Lucy shifted in her seat, her eyes far off in remembrance. "I was really sick. I don't remember what made me stay in the hospital but it was for months. I almost died. But one day, the bad man gave my Daddy his blood and it made me better that I could go home."

"Did you know his name?" Uhura asked gently. "The man who gave you his blood?"

Lucy shook her head, her eyes filling with tears as she glanced to her lap, picking at the peel of banana instead of opening it. "No. My Daddy knew, but Daddy died at the attack in London. Mommy said the bad man who saved me killed my Daddy. Why would he save me, but kill my Daddy?"

The crew was silent, not knowing how to answer such a difficult question. Uhura knelt down in front of Lucy, taking her small hand in her own. "Sometimes it's really hard to understand why people do really evil things, especially when they show us they can be good. The best we can do is make sure we're good, to keep the bad in check."

Her eyes welled up further. "Was I bad because I helped them? The bad men who took me?"

"No." Jim was forceful, getting down to Lucy's level as well. His blue eyes shinned with no hint of red in their depths, the first time in weeks. "Nothing you did, nothing you gave them was your fault. None of this is your fault. Anything you did or you gave them you couldn't control. You are so very brave, Lucy, for what you've gone through. Don't forget how brave you are."

The tears fell down her cheek, Uhura reaching up to wipe them away as Lucy and Jim continued to stare at each other, a silent conversation between the two. Slowly, Lucy nodded, her lip out in a pout but strength in her small frame.

"I am brave," she said with conviction. She looked among the group. "Thank you for saving me."

Charlie smiled sadly, knowing the pain was still there, and the fear, but the brave face masked it. With a look to McCoy, he cleared his throat.

"Why don't we make sure you're back to feeling better for your mom, ok? Uhura will come too."

Lucy nodded, sliding out of the chair. Taking Uhura's hand again, they headed to the back bedroom with McCoy in toe. At the last second, Lucy turned and ran back to Charlie, wrapping her small arms around Charlie's frame.

"Thank you." She whispered.

With her own tears in her lashes, Charlie hugged the child. "Anytime, kid."

Other than a few bruises and scrapes, McCoy cleared Lucy with a clean bill of health. The doctor was able to verify the presence of Khan's blood within the child, although at a far lesser extent than Kirk's. While the regenerative properties had healed her, with no sign of any serious illness within the child, a surprising connection between her and the captain was not lost on the rest of the crew.

The question remained: why would the Black Sun need Khan's blood? Obviously, they couldn't locate the augments after the Vengeance incident, so they shifted their attention to the next best thing. But how did they know? Both the child and Kirk's recoveries were classified or unknown. Neither knew about their link to each other until the Black Sun designated that connection. So how did this group learn about it before them? The crew pondered these questions, too many building without resolution.

After a few days Lucy opened up about everything that transpired from when she fell through time to when the crew showed up. At first she would only talk to Uhura or Charlie, and Kirk once in a while. But slowly she warmed to the crew, taking a particular interest in Sulu and Scotty. But the horrors she shared, the pain and suffering the Black Sun put her through to try and use her for their gain left lasting scars on the child. Lucy couldn't tell Charlie why they were using her, only what they did. First they only took blood samples. When whatever they were trying to do didn't work, they moved on to electrolysis, EEGs, electrodiagnostic tests, evoked potentials, neurosonography. They connected her to the machine in hopes her little body could somehow power it.

All of it was in vain. Lucy said that while something "fuzzy" as she called it would happen, it didn't make the Black Sun happy. They were angry, and that anger scared her the most.

"I tried," she cried one night after a nightmare woke her up, Charlie immediately at her side. "I tried but I couldn't do it." The others tried to soothe Lucy, but like Pike did for Charlie, this was something only she really knew how to handle.

The day after the raid, Spock sent Kate all the images, readings, and videos he took of the Black Sun's warehouse while McCoy sent part of the sample of the black ooze he found down to her. With a promise to be as expedient as possible, she set to work, the crew now in limbo. They still weren't sure how to return to the 23rd century, what the Black Sun wanted, or how to keep a nine year old occupied in the rural highlands of Scotland.

A week later, they received a message from Kate. Gathered around the kitchen table, Kate's face shone from the screen of the laptop, her eyes hallowed with dark circles under them and her bright red hair up in a messy bun.

"From the pictures you sent," Kate addressed the group. "It would appear that the Black Sun is trying to create a transporter for mass travel through time."

"What do ya mean mass travel?!" Scotty exploded. "I know I push the boundaries of physics once in a while, but what yer talkin' about is advanced even in our century!"

"What they have done is tapped into some extraordinary power source that we can't yet figure out." Kate frowned, her brow furrowed. "That sample you sent us Dr. McCoy was unlike anything we have ever seen. Our mass spectrometer couldn't identify any known elements. And the mass energy is off the scale. I don't what it is, but even in small doses, it would rival the energy output of at least half a dozen nuclear bombs. Maybe more."

The crew was silent in shock.

"Are you saying I shipped you a bomb?!" McCoy broke the silence with his shout.

Kate at least had the decency to smile. "No, it's not a bomb, just equal in strength. I've been in contact with Dr. Noland and sent her our findings. Whatever that stuff is, it's stable and benign in its current form. I'm not sure what would happen if it contacted an outside energy source though, like electricity or magnetic energy. That type of output from that reaction would only be rivaled by something like a black hole."

"Lass, what yer describin' is the stabilized red matter we used ta send you and the other lass back," Scotty slowly argued. "We haven' yet invented it, and yer sayin' these Black Sun mongrels have some?"

Kate worried her bottom lip, lost in thought. "In a way, yes. Listen, I'm not expert in anything like this. I'm just going off what the experts I talked to have said."

"But that doesn't explain why the Black Sun would need me and Lucy if they have this energy source," Kirk added. "Why come after us if they already have red matter?"

"Because you may be that energy source needed," McCoy responded, leaning back against the chair with his arms folded. "I've been doing my own experiments on this stuff. On its own it's ooey, gooey blob monster material. But when it senses you or the kid's blood it snaps to it like a magnet and produces so much energy it practically melted the table in the lab. Now if someone would turn that thermal energy into something else, well that would get us home a hundred times over."

"And they haven't figured that part out yet?" Kirk's eyes hardened.

"Not that I can tell," McCoy shook his head. "From what I gather, Lucy doesn't have enough concentration. That's why they wanted you."

"But how were they able to get to our century in the first place?" Sulu argued. "It's not like it's a hop, skip, and a jump."

"I can answer that," Kate countered from the computer. "There are two theories. One is since the Black Sun has been around for centuries, it's possible that future members were able to come back to this time and open a gateway. The other is that right now, if they used that energy source on its own, they could probably send half a dozen people, maybe a full dozen if they timed it right. Since what they are trying to do is mass travel, they haven't yet perfected the technique. What that machine looks like, and what I've learned about the Black Sun from Charlie's mom, it would be stable enough to send an army."

The crew fell silent, every new piece of information expanding what trouble they were really in.

"And that's the rub," Charlie piped up. "We're figuring out all the hows, but not the whys. Why are they doing this? To promote chaos? It's got to be more than that."

Kate sighed, her exhaustion prevalent. "I don't know. There's so much and it's so complicated, but you're right. We have the hows, and that may be all we have until we get you all back to the 23rd century. The why may live there."

That night found Charlie and Kirk in Sybok's study unable to sleep. The fire was bright and warm in the hearth, its flames throwing light onto the menagerie of books, scrolls, papers, and other tchotchkes. They sat together on the small sofa, Jim's arms around Charlie's shoulders as she laid with her back against his chest.

They were just talking, nothing specific or relevant, just trying to wind down and settle the bundle of nerves each felt with the news Kate broke. But no matter how hard they tried they kept shifting back to what she said, what they learned, and how difficult the road ahead felt.

"I wish I could just wrap my brain around all of this," Jim sighed at one point, reaching up to rub his tired eyes.

"Do you feel better since we came up here?"

"A little. Whatever was fighting inside me in London isn't working as hard, but it's still a constant battle not to snap at every little thing, or throw punches that we haven't figure this out yet. And when I think about Lucy, and what they did to her."

His fist clenched in his lap, his body tense and ridged. With a practiced movement, Charlie reached out and rubbed her hand slowly along his forearm, gently massaging the muscles to relax as she made her way down to his hand, helping him unclench and linking her fingers through his.

"We always figure it out. Sometimes it takes longer; sometimes it's over in 48 hours. Honestly, I like this whole getting sleep between catastrophes.

"But I think the biggest thing is we've got to figure out how to get back. To stop this. Whatever this is."

"The way lies with you, child." They both snapped up as Sybok came into the room, dropping off a couple books. Slowly he turned around, leaning against his desk as he sized up Charlie and Kirk, the first chance he's had to be alone with them.

Charlie's brow furrowed as she sat up. "What are you talking about?"

Sybok smirked and crossed his arms. "Do you not know how you got here?"

"Yeah, through a whirling tornado of terror," Charlie answered, echoing McCoy's previous statement. She turned to Jim, one brow raised in question.

"That was not what I meant." They both gave the Vulcan their full attention again. Leisurely, Sybok picked up a random book, licking his thumb and flipping through the pages. "Do you know why you landed in Colorado and not London?"

Charlie paused, her brows drawn low in confusion as her head tilted to the side. "No. I don't know. Figured it wasn't expecting us to jump too. That's what happened last time."

The book snapped closed. "It was because of you. You directed the course to your home. You drove your crew into the wilds of Colorado instead of following the path of the attackers."

She blinked a few times in surprise, her jaw dropping open. "How the hell did I do that?"

"What were you thinking when you jumped in?"

Again, Charlie paused, thinking of the moment she plunged into the black. "It drew me in. I wasn't even thinking of getting Lucy. I just felt its pull, and I remembered what is what like when I first fell into the 23rd century. I – I did think of home, wondering if that thing would bring me back, but then I just, I don't know, let it happen. Let it take me wherever."

"Exactly."

"Hold on, are you saying Charlie controlled it with her mind?"

Jim's brows were raised skeptically, and Charlie had to admit that she was also unconvinced. She sat on the couch, the firelight reflecting off her features and turning them into golds and reds, the shadows flickering with the flames. She just stared at the fire, not really seeing it, trying to put herself back to that moment. The feeling of falling and how, just for a moment, she sensed a turn, a change of course as the woods of home flashed in her mind in an instant. Had she controlled where they went? But how? How could she have done that?

"How … how is this possible?" Charlie breathed, her wide dark eyes snapping up and searching the Vulcan's.

"It's something to do with your bloodline. The power it holds."

"What power?!" Charlie cried, jumping up and pacing the study as her heart pumped forcefully in her chest. "All I ever hear about is my blood this, my blood does that, they need my blood for some stupid thing. 'Live up to our legacy, Charlotte. Countless Nolands before you would be rolling in their graves if they knew blah blah blah.' No! I'm sick and tired of this stupid excuse that it's my blood! How can I do this? Why me?!"

"Do not argue with your gift," Sybok chided. "Have you never controlled where you wanted to go before?" He added in an irritatingly calm. "What about when you returned to 21st century Earth the first time? Wasn't there a reason you were unable to stay?"

Jim and Charlie caught each other eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Jim questioned slowly, rising with Charlie to stand in front of the Vulcan.

"My dear brother explained how you came to stay in the 23rd century when the others returned. Do you honestly believe that Spock's calculations were wrong and the transporter malfunctioned? My dear, do not be naïve."

Charlie paused, reflecting back to those thirty seconds of landing back in Bristol in 2013 and desperately, excruciatingly wishing she never made that decision. The next second later she was back on the Enterprise, thinking fortune had smiled on her.

She sat gingerly, her eyes wide in realization. "It was me? I brought us back to the ship?"

"You did," Sybok acknowledged, a smile tugging at his lips. "I do not yet understand how exactly you are able to do so, but those in your bloodline seem to have extraordinary powers and skills that are uncommon in most of humanity.

"And I believe it will be you to get us back."

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