The Orion Syndicate Stardate 2258.85

"You, are Amara Novak. You're Amara Niovak. Your father is John Novak, Your mother is Mireya Novak. When you were around..6 years old, the ship you were on, the USS Aurora struck a Gravitic Mine then drifted across the neutral zone. As you know, such a thing would be considered an act of war by the Romulans. And they sent a ship to investigate the encroachment. The Aurora crew probably saw the ship and knew they were in trouble. They ordered an evacuation but your mother and father, who were officers on that ship, remained to make certain everyone else made it out. You were probably put into an escape pod but you likely drifted to the Romulan side where you were picked up by a Romulan ship. Starfleet who investigated picked up everyone they saw," Kirk said.

As she listened to what James was saying, she found herself growing more and more upset. She had already been teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown and now she felt that she was starting to tip more in that direction. She was trembling and she began to feel sick to her stomach.

"The Romulans...they...they always told me that it was a Federation ship that attacked the ship I was on. They told me that Starfleet didn't care enough about me to come and rescue me." Tears started to stream down her cheeks. "I feel completely alone."

Kirk did not let go of her hand. "Amara, it's going to get worse than that. I'm preparing a report to Starfleet. There will be an inquiry. Everyone on this ship is going to help you but I won't blow smoke up your ass. Kaia will be deemed a traitor and a spy. Amara...Amara might be able to avoid that, if she cooperates," he said.

Having James continue to hold her hand did help to comfort her somewhat. "I'll tell you anything you want to know. I don't want to lie and deceive anymore...especially not to you. I...I meant what I said when I told you that everything that happened between us was real. At first...I thought I could just use you...but then I very quickly fell in love with you. I...I truly wanted to tell you everything and I tried, but I was afraid of losing you."

"Would you detail that, in my report? The more you say without council, the better it will be," Kirk said. He looked into her eyes for a moment. He felt as if he were losing her. But, would he want her back? Would he really? He wasn't certain. So many lies, he thought. But, he recalled her in his bed. Her arms around his neck, her body against his, warm sweat against warm sweat. Could she fake that? Could she lie about that? He didn't know. He hoped not.

"The best thing we can hope for Amara is keeping you out of prison," Kirk said. "But I can't do that alone," he said. "I need your help," Kirk said.

Amara slowly nodded and then she looked down. "I shouldn't remain on the ship James." He would be able to hear the affection in her voice when she said his name. That was not something one could easily fake...not when it was spoken from the heart. "The Romulans will know by now what I did...that I betrayed them. They'll come to kill me. I'm just going to put everyone on the ship in danger."

"I...can't allow you to do that Amara. The Enterprise is headed back to Federation space," Kirk said. We are set to rendezvous with the USS Exeter. Admiral Gray is a Judge Advocate. He's agreed to hear me out. He's our best chance for leniency Amara," Kirk said.

All Amara could do was nod a little. She wasn't trying to run away from facing what she had done, but she truly did care for those on board the Enterprise. She wanted to keep them safe. 

The ship's Psychiatrist, Dr. Campbell was called to talk to Amara alone. His report was going to be extremely important to their case. He spoke to her for several hours before going to see the Captain and Spock in the ready room. 

"Amara is showing classic signs of having lived a life of abuse. Physical and mental would be my best guess. She was extremely young and vulnerable when she was taken in by the Romulans. She would have had no choice but to completely depend on them for everything. They manipulated her to be what they wanted her to be. However, the overwhelming guilt she is feeling points not to a heartless killer, but to a young woman who truly cares for the people on this ship. I've actually had to prescribe some anti-depressants for her as I believe she is borderline suicidal at this point. She feels...lost and unsure of where she belongs anymore. The very people she was trusting to take care of her were actually the ones to kill her family. That's going to be a difficult pill for anyone to swallow."

The next morning Kirk visited Amara in the brig. The brig was a large room with 4 cells in each corner. The cells had a bed and was protected by a force field. "Clear the room," Kirk said as he came in. He stepped up to Amara's cell and turned off the force field. He stepped inside her cell and waited for her to sit up. He had a small package in his hand and he set it down in her lap as he sat down next to her. He said nothing until she opened it. It was a Jum-ja stick. The confection they shared when they spent time at the Starbase. He looked at her.

"I'm...still in love with you, you see. I try and try to see my way out of it. But then, here I go thinking about you. We're a pair, you and I. And I know you deceived me once, it isn't who you are anymore. I know you're depressed but no matter what Amara...You will always be in my thoughts...and in my heart," Kirk said.

For Elyse, watching her friend get taken down to the brig was one of the most difficult things she had ever had to endure. It had upset her so much that Leonard had eventually given her a sedative to help her sleep. 

Amara didn't sleep. Her mind was filled with too much for her to be able to rest. She had gone through all the information that Starfleet had on file about her parents, but she would never truly know them. That opportunity had been taken from her. Her mind kept trying to recall memories of them...or of that day...but all she saw were flashes. 

In the morning, James came down to see her. She was laying on her bed and only sat up when he turned off the force field and stepped into her cell. She looked down at the small box he had set in her lap. She slowly opened it and he would see tears well in her eyes as she looked down at the Jum-ja stick. Hearing him tell her that he was still in love with her and telling her that they were a pair caused the tears to overflow and begin trickling down her cheeks. She looked over at him and into his eyes.

"You deserve better than me James."

Kirk offered her his shoulder to cry on. It was nice, just having her close to him. He was following protocol but he would have had no issue with allowing her back into her quarters. He still might and just post a guard.

"Who'd put up with me?" He asked as he broke off a small piece of the candy and popped it into his mouth. "If you ask me, now that we know the truth about you, there is understanding. And as it turns out, I don't want better, I just want you...regardless of what you call yourself. So I want you to think about the best case scenario. You would lose your rank and commission, but you could work here, with me on the Enterprise. If that doesn't suit you than I need to know. Because what that entails is that you and I are a couple too," Kirk said. "If you don't want that you need to tell me because that is what I'm going to ask for," Kirk said.

Amara actually laughed at what James said about who would put up with him. She reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. The tears actually made her already incredible blue eyes seem even bluer. She looked over at him and into his eyes. "I want to remain on the Enterprise. I will do whatever I need to in order to just be here with you. My...my skills are essentially the same...although there are a few that you don't know about." When he asked her what they were she broke off a piece of candy before looking back at him. "Sword fighting for one. I'm actually pretty handy with a number of different weapons and my hand to hand fighting skills...well, let's just say I've been holding back with Quinn in order to not get questioned."

"Well, I promise that you won't need your...fighting skills with me," Kirk said in hopes to make her smile. 'We've had some good arguments but I rather prefer how we resolved them," Kirk said. Either he jumped on her or she jumped on him. "The Exeter arrives tomorrow. I want you there when we speak to the Admiral," James said. "Now, what do I have to do to get a kiss?" Kirk asked as he looked at her. He was hoping for more than just a kiss but he'd take a kiss if it was all she was going to give him. They were alone after all.

Amara didn't know what was going to happen, but she knew that James still loved her despite everything and that was all she truly needed. With his love she felt she could do anything. She smiled when he asked what he needed to do to get a kiss. "Well...you did bring me candy...." She leaned in and kissed him for the first time as herself and it felt incredible. All of the weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and she felt free. The kiss slowly deepened and right there in her cell James made love for the first time to Amara.