The Orion Syndicate Stardate 2258.85

Elyse's gaze narrowed as she saw three Sulabon's move up to their cage. She stood protectively in front of Scarlett, but Scarlett could feel that Spock was extremely close...like right in front of her. She looked at one Sulabon in particular and she suddenly knew it was him. However, before she could say anything to Elyse, Dr. McCoy spoke. The sudden surprise and the relief was evident in her eyes as she realized that they were being rescued.

"Scarlett needs clothes, or something to wear," she told him.

McCoy didn't hesitate to give up his hooded cloak but he only had eyes for Elyse. "Did they...hurt you?" McCoy asked in an urgent tone. Nathan bent down to look at Rodriguez. She was still just staring off into nowhere. He saw that she looked hurt and grimey and he used his tricorder to see if she was alright. Physically she was but mentally? What happened to her? he wondered. "Nathan...is she alright?" McCoy asked. "I'm not sure," Nathan answered. The men stepped back from the cages as Orions moved up, looked inside then move on.

After the coast was clear McCoy and Spock moved back up to the cages. "Nathan, you have a job to do," Spock said in a serious tone. "I Sir," Nathan said and left Rodriguez reluctantly. Spock put his hand on the bars and Scarlett put her hand over his. Hope and love came through the bond. Outrage and love came back to her. Scarlett was able to make a skirt out of the cloak. "Use the scalpel on the control discs," McCoy told Elyse. "Just sever the control wire thats across the top," He said. As Elyse did Scarlett looked around. "Kaia, she's not back yet!" Scarlett said in alarm.

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Kirk had made it into the turbolift. He had been standing near it when it came down. Once the Orion guards moved off of it he snuck back into it as the doors closed. The doors opened and he held out his phaser down the hallway. He didn't have a tricorder so he began to check all the rooms. They were locked as he moved down the hall. Finally he made it to the double doors and they opened automatically for him. He stepped inside with his phaser drawn and looked around. "Kaia?" he said in a hushed voice. He didn't know who else might be here. "Kaia!?" He said louder. He didn't see her crouched behind a changing wall that she had moved so it was near the door. He faced out toward the bulk of the room. He shifted his gaze to try to find her.

Elyse shook her head when Leonard asked her if she had been hurt. "No, they didn't touch Scarlett or myself, but Rodriguez got taken," she told him in a low voice so as not to upset Rodriguez. "They did something to her and Kaia...I don't know where she is." 

Scarlett had moved over to the bars and as Spock put his hand on the bar, she put her hand over his. They shared a moment together that was just for them. She then used the cloak McCoy had given her to put around her waist to make a skirt.

Meanwhile, Elyse took the scalpel from Leonard and did as he instructed. She used it first on herself to cut the control wire and then she moved over to Scarlett and did the same to her.

"Where's the Captain?" Elyse asked, although she knew the answer. He was looking for Kaia.

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Kaia was crouched behind a changing screen that she had moved so it was near the door. However, even as she crouched behind it doubts about what she was going to do crept into her mind. She heard James come into the room and she heard him desperately calling for her. She could see that his back was to her. She had the perfect opportunity to fire the stun gun at him. However, as she held the gun and the DNA extractor in her hands they began to tremble. This was the man who loved her unconditionally. The man who could make her smile and laugh like no one else ever could. The man who had changed her and made her the woman she was today. She loved him so much and she knew then that she couldn't do this. She dropped the gun and the extractor and the sound made him turn around. She stood up and looked at him. Even in his disguise she knew it was him. 

"I...I need to talk to you."

Kirk had nearly fired but his weapon was on the stun setting. The moment he saw her a relieved sigh came from his lungs. "Damn Kaia, I almost shot you!" Kirk said and then moved to kiss her. The prosthetic face made it so he couldn't really feel her lips but there was still the familiarity of the way she kissed and her scent. That and he had tasted her tongue. "Talk? We need to get the hell out of here!" Kirk said as he looked around warily.

"What happened Kaia, Did they...hurt you? Why'd they bring you up here?" He asked.

Kaia did not stop James as he moved over to her and kissed her. She couldn't help herself and she kissed him back. She slowly and reluctantly pulled back. She feared it might be the last time she ever felt his lips against her own again. Her heart began to beat hard in her chest and she began to tremble as she looked at him and worked up the courage to tell him what she needed to tell him.

"I'm not who you think I am James," she said and already tears started to shimmer in her eyes. "My name is not Kaia Fox. I don't know my real name, but the name I was given by the Romulans who raised me is Saehir. They found me when I was 6 years old and took me in and I was adopted by a Tal Shiar family who trained me." Tears now started to flow down her cheeks, but she forced herself to continue to look at him. She owed him at least that much. "I was sent to spy on Starfleet. I...I've been sending encrypted messages from the Enterprise to the Romulans. I've been ordered to extract DNA from you and bring it to them. For what purpose I'm not sure, but I can't do it. I thought I was doing the right thing...I was doing what I had been told by the people who took care of me, but I know now that it was wrong...that they were wrong. I don't know who I am...but I do know one thing for certain...that I love you. Everything that happened between us was real. I need to make this right James. I need to do the right thing for once in my life."

As Kirk listened his expression changed from confusion at what she was saying to disbelief as to what she said and then open anger. "That was YOU!?" He asked. "We've been trying to figure out who was doing that for weeks!" he said angrily and his eyes narrowed. He had heard of Romulans portraying humans and he almost said something to that affect but he knew she was human. McCoy had done a thorough exam. No, she was human but why would she betray her own people? Why would she betray HIM!? he thought as his eyes became blue fire.

"The 'right' thing Kaia!? THE RIGHT THING!?" He asked her as he began to freak out. "There has to be another explanation," he said as he held his hands up to his head. But she said its true. "No," Kirk said. And again she said it was true. Her words made his stomach churn and he felt like sicking up. He fought back that urge though just barely. His face grew into a snarl and he switched the phaser to kill and then shifted toward her. He pushed her back to the wall and held the phaser up to her temple.

"So, all this time!? All of your...talk of loving me, its just all one, big lie!?" Kirk growled. "All the time at the academy? All of it was just to get me close so you can what? Steal what I know and feed it back to the Romulans!? God damn you!" Kirk said angrily.

Kaia was close to sobbing at this point. She felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. She had just lost everything. She knew that now that she had revealed herself to James that the Romulans would come for her and now she didn't even belong in the Federation. She had lost her family and the love of her life in one fell swoop. 

She didn't fight him as he pushed her back against the wall. She felt the phaser at her temple and knew it was set to kill. She deserved to die and she knew that she didn't want to live in a universe where she wasn't with James or the people she had truly come to care about. 

"No! I truly do love you James...more than I could ever tell you. I tried to tell you about this so many times, but I was afraid. I was told over and over again that anyone who wasn't a Romulan was evil, but you and the crew of the Enterprise showed me how wrong the Romulans were. I was only following what I knew. I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

Kirk's heart broke. For himself and for Kaia if he were truly being honest. If they had gotten to her, it must have been when she was very young. When she was just a girl. But she had every opportunity to tell him and she didn't. She put him and the entire crew, maybe all of starfleet in danger by feeding the Romulans information. "So you met with a Romulan up here? Where are they?" He asked. When she nodded and then said she didn't know he believed her.

"So the Romulans took all of you, to bring 'me' here? To extract 'my' DNA? Why?" He asked. Kaia nodded and said again that she didn't know. Kirk's heart was breaking over and over as he tried to think of a way out...for her. But there was no way out. How could he trust her now? How could any of them trust her? He didn't know.

"Damn you Kaia. I would have done anything for you. And what did I ask for? Truth, that was it. Be with me or not, just honesty and you chose to have a relationship. I bet your Romulan friends didn't tell you to do that!" He said. The problem, the REAL problem was that even knowing all of this. He still loved her. What the hell was wrong with him? Finally he lowered the pistol then put it into its holster. His eyes were ringed in red and were moist with tears as he took a step back.

"I never, want to see you again. I should make you stand trial for your crimes but I don't even want you on my ship for another moment," Kirk said in a shaky voice.

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Nathan came back. "We're all set Commander," he said to Spock. "I'll carry Rodriguez," Nathan said as he slipped Elyse a phaser. "Are you ready?" Spock asked. Just as he did the 2 large Orions came up on them. What is THIS!?" he asked angrily. And then he saw what Spock held. "Sulabon scum!" He barked and then tried to bash Spock with a club. Spock dodged then struck the man in the face with an upturned hand strike. Spock was angry inside for them taking Scarlett. Outside, he was icey calm as he hit the man so hard he flipped off of his feet. The other Orion hit the button on his rod. Rodriguez and the other slaves began to writhe. Not Elyse and Scarlett though. "Fuck!" Nathan said and he hit a button on a small activator then tossed it aside. Small explosions went off around the market. Spock hit the cage open signal and disabled the disc torture that was happening. Slaves began to pour out of their caves and the entire market became like a kicked anthill.

Kaia tried to give James all the information she had. She wanted him to know everything. She wouldn't hide anything from him anymore. She was tired of hiding and lying. She wouldn't let the Romulans run her life anymore. They had lied to her...taken away her identity. She felt completely lost. Her will to live was slipping away as she watched James turn and walk out of the room. He would be able to hear her sobbing as he walked down the hall to the turbolift. Outside, she could hear explosions and she rushed over to the window and saw that everyone was rushing around the market. She could see the slave cages from the window and saw that Elyse, Scarlett, and Rodriguez were free. She knew that the Orions were going to be angry and would go after them. She panicked as she had no way to warn them. Then, she remembered the ship. It would be a suicide mission, but she would die to protect them. She rushed up to the roof and saw the ship. She got inside and quickly started it up.

Spock had managed to get everyone back to the loading dock though the Orions were coming after them. Nathan and Elyse fired back at them and Nathan hit an Orion with the stun setting and he fell. More were coming though and they took cover behind several, large crates.

"Transporter room, lock on to my signal," Spock said. "Not without Jim!" McCoy said. But even as he said it Kirk was firing at the Orions from behind them. THey had the Orions in a cross fire and before long they were all down. More would come soon though as Kirk Jogged up to them. "Energize!" Spock said and they all transported to the ship.

"Where's Kaia!?" Elyse asked. "She's...gone...I couldn't find her," Kirk said and Elyse would hear the remorse and heart break in his voice. "Sir, Chekhov here, 3 Orion Pirate Wessels are powering up their weapons," he said over the speakers. "Red Alert, battlestations!" Kirk said as they hurried to the Turbolift.

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The first ship had tried to fire their energy beam at them thinking it would disable them. When Elyse fired a full spread of Torpedoes at it, it took considerable damage to its engines and began to float out of control. That left 2 others that didn't try those energy beams. They used Disruptors and Torpedoes. "Sulu keep your nose behind that ship!" Kirk said. They had the second vessels aft shields down but those ships were more maneuverable than the enterprise. The third ship hit the port side again.

"Hull breach on deck 12 and 13 sections 21-24 but force fields are holding," Martin said. The Enterprise was taking a beating and Elyses next attack hit their shields but missed with torpedoes. "Keep them away from out Port side Mr. Sulu," Kirk said. "Trying Sir," Sulu said but they could all see the second ship moving around. Elyse fired phasers again and hit them but they only did minor damage to their hull. Just as the Orion ship lined up its next shot a smaller ship decloaked from behind it.

"Sir, I've picked up another ship," Spock said.

Kaia fired her disruptors and the Plasma Torpedo her ship was equipped with. It hit the ship in the rear where its shields were almost gone. The ship exploded into a massive fireball.

"Spock, what is it?" Kirk asked. "I believe it is a Romulan Scout ship Captain, One human life sign aboard," he said just as the last Orion fired at them again. The Enterprise shook as it took more damage. "The Port Nacelle is beginning to buckle sir!" Sulu said.

Kaia flew to try to get behind it but as she fired at it, it fired at her with its rear firing weapons. Her ship took a direct hit though she hit it as well. Her ship's engines winked out as she tried to bring them back up. Her controls died and then the ship's systems began to die one by one.

"Captain, the Romulan ship took a direct hit and its life support is failing," Spock said as Sulu turned the Enterprise to cut off the angle of the other ship. Elyse fired everything they had at it and everything hit. The ship didn't explode but it took heavy damage and began to list out of control. The battle was over.

"Captain, the Romulan's hull is at critical," Spock said. "Beam the pilot directly to sickbay," Kirk said as he stood. "Elyse, you're with me and bring your sidearm, Spock, take the con," Kirk said as Nathan tossed her a phase pistol.

Kaia performed rather dangerous maneuvers that tested her skill as a pilot. However, she was not going to hold back, not when the lives of everyone on board the Enterprise were at risk. She saw that one of the three ships had already been destroyed. She locked on to another and fired her disruptors and plasma torpedo that her ship was equipped with. She was very familiar with Romulan ships and was an expert pilot. She hit the ship in the rear and it exploded into a massive fireball. She immediately craned her neck to find the third ship. She spotted it and got behind it. She fired at it but at the same time they fired at her with their rear firing weapons. The ship shook as it took a direct hit, although she could see that her hit had been direct as well. Her ship's engines cut out and then the controls died. After that, the other systems began to die one by one. She knew that she only had moments left before the ship exploded. She had no intention of calling for help. She closed her eyes as she thought about James. She thought about lying in his arms. That was the place were she felt the safest. A single tear streamed down her right cheek as she recalled his voice in her ear as she drifted off to sleep. If this was to be her last moments, she wanted to recall where she was happiest. 

Suddenly, she felt the familiar effect of being beamed. Seconds after she was beamed from the ship it exploded. She opened her eyes and found herself in sickbay. She had hit her head against the glass of the ship and she was bleeding down her forehead. She had wanted to die and let her pain be over, but now she was back on the Enterprise.

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Elyse looked over at Kirk as they entered the turbolift. She could tell that something was very wrong. She wanted to ask him again about Kaia, but based on the look in his eyes she decided not to. She readied her phase pistol just in case they needed to use it on the Romulan pilot.

Kirk and Elyse arrived at sickbay. McCoy was working on her but he knew she'd need surgery on her eye. He didn't know or really care about what was going on, only that he had a patient who might lose her eye if he didn't do the surgery. "Nurse prepare Lt. Fox for Surgery," McCoy said. Kirk was about to object to him doing anything for her but, his compassionate side won over and he said nothing. He only watched with Elyse as the doctor put her under and then patched up the eye. This was a pivotal moment for Kirk. Only he knew about her treachery.

"Doctor, when we all became Starfleet officers, isn't there a record of our DNA on file?" Kirk asked as McCoy got to work. Kaia was unconscious under anesthesia while he worked. "That's right Jim. Its in the medical database for each family. They did that incase of an enemy of the Federation portraying one of us," he said. That brought up another thought though too.

"She said they wanted my DNA," Kirk said aloud. He saw Elyse looking at him with concerned eyes. "Watch her Elyse. If she tries anything...stun her," Kirk said as he moved to the medical computer. he looked up Kaia's DNA and then ran the database analysis. If anyone else was part of her family, it would show up here. It took several minutes but the computer came back with a match. Elyse was just behind him as he began to cycle through her family members. John Novak, Mireya Novak, daughter, Amara Novak. He looked up John Novak's Starfleet record. He skimmed through most of it and then paused when it came to the incident of his death. He died from a Gravitic Mine hit. Mireya died of the same thing. Daughter presumed dead. Kirk cringed as he thought about that. And he looked through the glass at Kaia as the doctor worked to save her eye.

He brought up older photos of John and Mireye and Amara. Elyse was looking at what Kirk was looking at. The child, she could not been more than 2 years old had the same black hair and piercing, blue eyes. "Presumed dead," he thought. He looked up who survived from that ship. There were several people and Starfleet had arrived to pick them up. There was a blurp just near the end of the accident. They found evidence of a Disruptor blast. A disruptor? Only Romulans and Klingons used those on their ships.

"Where were you?" he asked. "Computer where was the USS Aurora when it was hit by the Gravitic Mine?" He asked. The computer showed him. "Expand by a factor of 8," Kirk said. The computer expanded the map. "The Romulan Neutral Zone," Kirk said to himself, but also outloud. "Only 6 years old..." he murmured then looked back at Kaia and the doctor.

Elyse was extremely confused and concerned about what was going on. Why was Kaia in that Romulan ship? How had she known how to pilot it? Why was Kaia being treated like a prisoner? She saw that Leonard was wondering that too based on the way he glanced over at Jim when he asked her to stun Kaia if she tried anything. What the hell was going on? 

She continued to watch Kaia out of the corner of her eye, but Kaia was unconscious. She stepped up behind Kirk as he pulled up Kaia's DNA on the medical computer. Her confusion grew when she saw that Kaia was directly descended from a family with the last name 'Novak'.  Well, Kaia had said she had lost her family when she was young. Maybe her name was changed? However, when she saw the picture of a young girl who was unmistakably Kaia, she blinked when she saw the name. Her real name was Amara? Why was her first name changed? And why was she presumed dead? 

"Captain, I don't understand. What exactly is going on?"

"I'll explain later. Assemble all senior officers in my ready room in one hour Commander," Kirk said. "I'll take that," he said and took the phaser from her. He watched as the doctor worked. When he was done, he asked the doctor how long she'd be under. The doctor said for a couple of hours. Kirk decided on having a security officer there while he left for the meeting.

When he arrived, he was ofcourse, 5 minutes late. He strode in and moved up to the screen. He navigated to the external cameras of the Aurora. The ship took damage from something. And then, it was hit by a green energy blast before the camera went dead.

"This was recovered from the navigational computer of the USS Aurora Stardate 2241.331. That ship, a science vessel presumably hit a Gravitic Mine. All hands were ordered to abandon ship. Among the lost, were Lt. Commander John Novak and Lt. Mireya Novak," he said as their pictures came up onto the screen. "And Amara Novak, their daughter. "Amara would have been 6 years old at the time that she met her death," he said then sat down. He paused as he looked around the room.

"I do not believe Amara died in that tragic accident. There was a burst of green energy that struck the ship soon after it began to drift over the neutral zone. I think it was a Romulan ship that hastened the Aurora's demise. Now doctor, you've confirmed to me that Starfleet keeps a record of every Officers DNA in the event that someone might try to portray said officer for the purposes of espionage. "Computer display Amara Novak's DNA strand on teh viewer," Kirk asked. The computer complied. "Now, do a side by side analysis of Amara Novak's DNA and Lt. Kaia Fox's DNA," he said. The computer put them side by side. They looked very much identical. "Computer transpose one over the other and analyse," Kirk said. The computer did and then it blinked with the word, Identical underneath but Kirk already knew that. The looks of the others though told them that they didn't.

Elyse did as the Captain instructed. She gathered all senior officers and they met in the ready room. Elyse sat next to Leonard and they waited for the Captain to arrive. One look at him told her that he was going through an emotional roller coaster. They all sat there quietly as Kirk spoke. He brought up the information that he had uncovered earlier. She watched with fascination as he had the computer pull up Amara Novak's DNA and Kaia Fox's DNA. They looked identical to her when displayed side by side. However, when they were transposed one on top of the other it was a definite identical match.  She then began to put things together in her head. The USS Aurora was right near the Romulan territory. 

"If Amara had been placed into an escape pod that drifted over to the Romulan side, perhaps after being struck by a piece of debris from the Aurora, then Starfleet would not have sent someone to go after her. She would have been presumed dead since Romulans don't take prisoners. However, if Kaia Fox is actually Amara Novak then she was raised by the Romulans...."

"Fascinating," Spock said. "So, Lt. Kaia Fox is actually a Romulan agent?" Spock asked. "Yes," Kirk said. "She was 6 years old when they found her and they poisoned her mind, brainwashed her to spy for them," He said. "You'd think that they'd have a shred of decency to return her or make contact with Starfleet to return her," McCoy said in disturbed outrage. He was upset by their cruelty. Under the table he felt Elyse's hand take his and she gave it a squeeze.

"I want everyone to know that I'm building a report to give to Starfleet. And I will be taking statements from all of you. Lt. Fox...or Novak or whatever you want to call her, is a very messed up woman. But she risked her life to help us. Another few seconds and she would have been dead. I want you all to remember that. She didn't have to, she could have escaped in that ship.

"And you have feelings got this woman?" Nathan asked. Kirk shifted and looked at him. "I do," Kirk said honestly. "I won't deny that and neither should you," Kirk said. "Starfleet often takes a pragmatic view on situation like these. I'm not certain anything we say will make a difference," Kirk said. "Any questions?" He asked.

Elyse found herself to be extremely upset about what was going on. She had never once felt threatened by Kaia...Amara. However, knowing that she had been the one who had been sending those encrypted messages was upsetting. It wasn't as if she had been given a choice though. That was the only life she had really known. The Romulans had held her life in their hands. It would have taken a lot of courage and heart to go against them...and she knew she had heart. She didn't believe she could have truly faked the feelings that she clearly had for Kirk...nor the friendship they had formed. Elyse knew what would happen to Amara if she was removed from the ship. She would likely be executed. She desperately didn't want that to happen. She had risked her life to save them and she would do whatever she could to save her. 

"Captain, how did you figure all of this out?"

Kirk looked at her. "Things Amara said and her DNA. And she confessed to me what she was," Kirk said. "She confessed to me and I chose to let her go," Kirk said. "Instead, she risked everything to save the Enterprise, to save her friends," He said. "I don't know about you but that's not something a traitor would do. The thing is, I'm emotionally compromised. And so I will do what I can for her but my word alone will not be worth much. I didn't want to turn our mission into one, big investigation but we are talking about someone's life here," he said. "So I will ask you all now, is there anyone who intends to be a dissenting opinion? Anyone who will not help defend Amara?" Kirk asked.

Spock looked at Kirk. And he would stick to the facts. And the facts were she had operated as a spy for the Romulans. And she had tried to save the ship. She was brainwashed and she had learned the truth. So he said nothing.

Elyse remained quiet. She intended on doing everything she could to help Amara. She didn't believe that this woman was evil at heart...she just didn't. And she had done many things on the mission so far that had helped the team. No one else spoke up either. A moment later Dr. McCoy was called by nurse Anderson on his communictor.

"Doctor, Lt. Fox is waking."

Kirk decided to speak to Amara but first, he loaded all of the information onto a portable screen so she could look at it. What she was going to learn was going to be upsetting but he felt he owed her the truth. He went down to see her.

Amara had been healed though she'd experience some sensitivity in her eye for a while. Kirk stepped up to her though her eyes were still closed. he just stood there a while as he looked at her. When she began to wake, she'd see Kirk looking down at her as she lay in the sickbay bed.

Amara's head was pounding. There was still some dried blood on her forehead and in her hair. Her memory was a little fuzzy at first, but then it all started to come back to her. She slowly opened her eyes and then winced against the harsh light above her. The nurse quickly adjusted the lighting. Amara was surprised to see James looking down at her. As she looked at him she remembered the look of hatred on his face as she had confessed everything to him. She didn't want to look at him so she looked the other way. 

"You should have just let me die. I wanted to die."

"I know you did, but I won't ever leave a member of my crew behind," Kirk said. He shifted and put his hand on her hand. "Everyone saw what you did. You saved the ship. We have a few injured but everyone made it out alive thanks to you," Kirk said. When she didn't look at him he shifted his hand so that his fingers interlaced hers.

"Kaia, I found some information, about your past that I think you should see," Kirk said. "Please, will you look at me?" Kirk asked.

Amara didn't know how to react to James. Only a few hours ago he had been yelling at her and now...now he was holding her hand? 

"You told me you wanted me off your ship...that you never wanted to see me again. I'm not a member of your crew."

"I was angry, didn't I have a right to be? But I'm not angry any more. And it was Kaia Fox I was angry at. Not Amara Novak," Kirk said as he presented her with the data screen. "I think there is something you need to see," Kirk said.

She blinked at the name James said. Amara Novak? Who was that? She finally looked over at him and at the screen. "Who's Amara Novak?"