Rogue Planet Stardate 2259.246

Amara looked at Kal. "I saw a little girl in a dress running through the vegetation," she told him. They continued on and soon she spotted the girl again. "There! Do you see her?" she asked as the girl giggled.

Elyse and Scarlett were studying the vegetation more closely when they heard Kirk's comment. The man sounded irritable and not like himself. The two women shared a glance between them. "I know," Scarlett said in response. 

Elyse approached Kirk a little ways from Scarlett and looked at him. "Are you alright Sir?" she asked quietly and with genuine concern in her voice.

Kal once again had looked the other direction and he hadn't heard anything. The girl's giggles seemed to get softer and softer away. Kal came up. "What!? I didn't hear anything!" he said. "I can't see nothing in all of this!" He said in obvious irritation. They both moved ahead and looked around but they didn't see anything.

"Ofcourse I am...how are you?" Kirk asked defensively as they walked out into the brush. THey had to watch where they stepped and there were small, odd looking rodents and reptiles and even birds of some kind. Insects and other things they couldn't see. The forest wasn't loud exactly but it was alive, that was for certain. It was also quite humid here.

Amara decided to try and follow the little girl. She went in the direction she had seen the girl go. "She went this way," she said. Amara wasn't wearing her Section 31 uniform and so her body temperature wasn't being regulated and she began to sweat from the humidity.

Elyse blinked at Kirk's reaction and didn't know what to say in response at first. There was clearly something going on. "I just want you to know that you can talk to me if you need to," she said gently.

Just as Kal was about to follow her he heard something to his left, like a branch cracking. Amara and Kal became separated. As Amara moved further into the brush she turned the corner and she saw the same, 6 year old girl. "Why are there 2 sides to you Amara?" The little girl said. She was about 6 and Amara swore she recognized her, even in the dark. "You needed to find us and yet...hope that you wouldn't...why is that?" The girl asked innocently.

Kirk looked at Elyse and smiled. "I appreciate that Elyse,," he said and looked like he wanted to say more but didn't. He turned and continued to walk into the thick brush. The wraiths almost never had visitors. Not sentient ones anyway. But there were people here, explorers! And they were very curious about them. they drew close.

Kirk was very good at knowing when they were being watched. He had a sixth sense about such things. He paused and then deciced to ignore it...for now. "Scarlett...with all of the growing things, I dont know how you're going to distinguish anything here," he said. as he moved back toward her. Elyse kept going for a few meters.

Amara didn't even realize that Kal wasn't there anymore. She was so set on finding the little girl. There was something about her that drew her towards her. She turned a corner and then she saw her standing there before her. The little girl appeared to be about 6 years old and as Amara looked at her she was struck by a sense of recognition. The girl looked like her! Amara just stared at her for a long moment as her mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. 

"I...I don't understand what you mean. Who's 'us'?"

Elyse was too distracted by everything around her to realize that they were being watched. She saw a rodent and she began to follow it, wanting to see it better and having no idea what she was wandering into.

Scarlett smiled at Kirk. "Because that's my job Captain and I'm very good at it."

The little girl looked at her oddly and smile. "You needed to find us and also didn't want to...I don't understand it. And, there are hundreds of us," she said. "We never get...visitors here...like you," she said then reached out a hand then pulled it back slowly. "You are...bipedal, corporeal, physical beings," she said. "Are you...going to harm us Amara?" The little girl asked. "I don't know how you can understand me," she said with a smile.

Elyse didn't have her Phaser drawn and the night vision took time to adjust to movement. There were wraiths very curious about the humans and they close, never have ever seen them before. As Elyse drew further she heard a rustle. When she turned McCoy was there and he held up his hands as if shielding himself from her. He lowered them slowly.

Amara slowly began to realize that the being she was facing was something that had taken the form of her 6 year old self. But how did it know so much about her? She thought more about what it had said and something started to make sense to her. "Are you...are you a Wraith?" she asked curiously.

Elyse had lost sight of the rodent but was continuing to explore. She knew she shouldn't go too far so she wouldn't get lost. She heard a rustle behind her and expected to see Scarlett or Kirk there when she turned, but instead she saw Leonard! "Leonard...what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" She thought about the way he had held his hands up, as if to shield himself from her, and thought that was very strange. Something didn't seem quite right here.

"Yes Amara...I came to you because I knew you'd be able to speak our language. You have a way with languages and I could read some of your mind," the little girl said. "I am you, long ago before the...the Romulans took you," she said. "

Leonard came up to Elyse. He had never seen a human before but he had seen her mind and saw her kissing him. He smiled and touched her face. He didn't understand what she said but he knew she was kind. He kissed her.

Kirk had heard something and so he came toward Elyse. The creature touching her looked...odd. Sort of like a large slug or mollusk. "Elyse, get away from it!" Kirk shouted. The wraith accidentally Jerked back and in doing so, scored her cheek with one of it's teeth. It snarled in fear and reared up. Kirk fired his phaser and struck it squarely. It fell as part of it was burned and then had stopped moving.

Elyse didn't feel that this was right. Leonard shouldn't be here and why wasn't he talking to her. However, before she could question him again he kissed her. She heard Kirk suddenly shout and she pulled back. At the same time the creature did to and she felt a sharp slice across her cheek. She looked over and saw that it was a large slug looking creature. She yelled out in fear and stumbled back as Kirk fired his phaser at it. Blood dripped down her cheek and she was trembling. Scarlett rushed over and saw the creature. She quickly began to use the tricorder to scan it as Kirk checked on Elyse.

Amara was frozen in one spot as she listened to what the Wraith said. Tears came to her eyes as she thought about what her life must have been like before the Romulans killed her parents and took her. She wouldn't have been forced to spy and fight...she wouldn't have been used...but she also may not have met James. Either way she lost someone who meant something to her. 

Suddenly, she heard Elyse yell out and she jerked. She then realized she didn't know where Kal was. She began to move back the way she had come. "Kal?" she called out. She hoped he had heard the yell too and was making his way back there as well.

Kal came running when he heard the shout. He had his Phaser out and he fired at a tree just to frighten off something big that moved past him. They all found one another but Amara would see that one of the wraiths was badly hurt. They were all around them and sounded angry. “Enterprise, lock onto my signal, 5 to beam up and one injured alien directly to sickbay,” Kirk said and they were all transported to the ship. Kirk headed straight for sickbay.

When Kirk arrived he saw Amara come in behind him. McCoy was trying to figure out its anatomy. “Jim, I don’t even know it’s
Anatomy. Anything I give it could do the exact opposite of what I’d want it to,” he said. “Do what you can Bones,” Kirk said as he watched Amara looked at it. She looked upset.

Elyse was still bleeding so she decided to go to sickbay as well. A nurse came over to look at her and she saw Leonard look over at her worryingly, but she gestured to let him know she was alright. 

Amara just stared at the creature. Her cheeks were still wet from her earlier tears. "I...I met one of those creatures. It...it looked like me when I was 6 years old. She said she was me...from before I was taken by the Romulans."

Elyse overheard what Amara said. "That one there looked like Leonard when it approached me."

The nurse began to clean Elyse’s wound immediately and she used a pair of tweezers to remove what looked like a tooth and she placed it into a small, glass vial. She disinfected the gash and then began to heal it up. The alien’s lifesigns were becoming weaker and weaker.

“They must have some sort of ability to read our thoughts, and project an image of themselves. I never saw Leonard. I only saw...what you see there. I thought...it was hurting you Elyse,” Kirk said. Kal eventually arrived along with Scarlett. McCoy was doing everything he could to try and save it but its lifesigns were just getting worse and worse. And then the creature shifted and all the lifesigns just flattened. McCoy just sighed then stepped away from it and moved up to Kirk.

“I’m sorry Jim,” he said and moved over to Elyse. “You alright?” he asked as he scanned her again then lowered the scanner. Kirk looked troubled and he was. He killed an innocent creature. Exactly the opposite of what they were out here to do. He stepped away from sickbay and headed down the hall.

Elyse looked at Leonard as he walked over to her and looked her over. “Yes, I’m fine. It was just a scratch.” Elyse could have no idea that the scratch had allowed saliva from the creature into her body and a deadly virus was now starting to incubate.

Amara looked over at the dead creature. It was already dead. She could just harvest the brain stem and be done with this. But she feared what Section 31 might use it for and she didn’t want to be apart of that. She turned and walking away from the room and went after James.

Kirk had made a grievous error. He had killed an innocent life form. He had made mistakes before but this...they were sentient and only trying to understand them. He stopped by a wall intercom. “Bridge,” he said. “Yes Captain?” Spock asked. “Break orbit and resume our course,” Kirk said. “Yes Captain,” Spock said. Kirk’s cheeks were pink and Amara could tell that he was upset. Eventually they made it to their quarters. Once the doors closed Kirk leaned back against the wall as if all of his strength had suddenly drained out of him.

Amara remained silent until they got to their quarters. She looked over at James as he leaned back against the wall. She could tell he was upset over what had happened. "James, you said you thought it was hurting Elyse. You acted to protect an officer and your friend. No one would ever fault you for that. You could have just left it on the planet, but you tried to save it."

Kirk knew Amara was just trying to help but he felt horrible just the same. He was angry and so sad at the same time. Angry at himself and sad that it died. “It doesn’t change that it’s dead Amara,” Kirk said. “And I killed it,” Kirk said as he tried to keep control of his emotions. He should have never gone down there, he thought second guessing himself. What was done was done and he could not take it back. Amara was right there in front of him and he could tell that she felt bad because he did. He reached out and took her face into his hands. His own eyes were moist as he looked deeply into hers. He needed Amara right then. His emotions needed an outlet and as she came into him he jerked her head back by her hair then buried his face into her neck.

Over the next 48 hours the virus incubated inside of Elyse. On the morning of the third day since the scratch she woke up feeling...odd. She felt weakened and unwell. However, she had a job to do and she was needed on the bridge. Elyse certainly didn't seem like herself. She was quiet and anyone who knew her would be able to tell that something was off about her. Several hours into her shift she began to shiver. She felt so cold, but her body was starting to sweat. She was having a hard time concentrating. As she stood up to walk over to another station her legs suddenly gave out under her and she passed out.

Kal had noticed that Elyse looked off but each time he asked she said she was fine. When she had gotten up to help Lucia at her station she had just collapsed. Kal was there in a moment along with Kirk and Scarlett. She was shaking. “Sickbay! Medical Emergency to the bridge!” kirk said loudly.

McCoy showed up with 2 nurses and he was both surprised and horrified to see that it was Elyse. He got down onto his knees and scanned her. “She’s burning up,” he said then looked around the room. “Jim, you, Kal and Scarlett need to come with us incase whatever it is, is catching,” he said. Kirk looked up.

“Everyone stay back!” he commanded as he and Kal picked up Elyse. “Spock, you have the con,” he said as they headed out into the hallway.

Elyse was shaking and she was moaning, though she remained unconscious. Scarlett was horrified by what was going on. Kal was holding Elyse in his arms as they all got into the turbo lift. Scarlett was worried about her friend as she watched Kal place her onto one of the beds in sickbay. She looked at Kal and could see how upset he was. She knew how close he and Elyse were.

"I'm sure she's going to be fine Kal."

“I don’t know...Elyse is tough as nails...I knew something was wrong,” Kal said. Kirk was there with them since he had touched her. McCoy was there scanning her and he had a worried look on his face. “I don’t know Jim, it’s viral whatever it is and our transporters didn’t filter it out,” he said. “It’s attacking her organs virulently. It’s obvious it’s been building for a time, but it’s not anything we’ve ever encountered before,” he said then stepped back so the larger bed scanner could come up over her.

“I’ll need you All to stay here at least over night,” he said. “I’d suggest you all get comfortable,” he said.

The three of them were quarantined away from any other patients. They were in a room that had a glass window and eventually Amara stopped by. She was worried about Elyse and now about everyone else. "Spock's got everything taken care of," she told James. "I can bring anyone anything?" she asked.

“I’d like my holodeck data disk...I could work on them here,” Kal said. “Just ask Fiona for them, she knows where,” he said. “Well, we have replicators so I doubt we’ll need much,” Kirk said. “Just keep me up to date if it’s possible,” Kirk said as he looked at her. He had been rough with her the last time they made love but she still looked at him with tenderness and love. Scarlett came by and asked for a few materials for her Doctorate studies. Nothing Amara couldn’t handle or manage to find. However when she stepped away from sickbay, she felt a sharp pain. And then others as if her insides were on fire. The pain was so intense she fell to her knees and it forced her to sick up onto the floor.

Nathan was looking at the latest duty roster on a PADD when he saw Amara struggling to get to her feet. When he got to her she was bleeding from her nose, eyes, ears and mouth. The pain she was feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt yet she would not go unconscious. “Amara! Amara, what’s happening!?” Nathan said as he picked her up. Even his tough was agony as he jostled her.

Amara made a mental list of all the things she needed to get. She gave James a little, encouraging smile and she mouthed "I love you." She stepped out of sickbay, but she only got a few feet away when she suddenly felt a sharp pain. Then another...and another. She felt as if the inside of her body was on fire. She collapsed down to her knees and became ill as blood began to ooze from her nose, eyes, ears, and mouth. She was trembling and she wanted to pass out, but she didn't. She heard Nathan, but was in too much pain to answer him. She felt him pick her up and every time he took a step she cried out in pain.

In sickbay Amara cried out as her body was wracked with pain. McCoy was right there and he picked up a hand scanner and scanned her. Amara twisted and jerked and it took a nurse and Nathan to hold her down. Kirk and the others could only watch as they could not open the room where they were. “Doctor, what’s happening!” Kirk shouted but outside of the containment room no one heard him say anything.

“Doctor is it the virus?” Nathan asked. “No,” McCoy answered. “Its like her body is attacking itself. She’s hemorrhaging all over, internally,” he said. “Nurse prepare 100ccs of Cryostat!” He said as he erected the larger scanner over the bed. “I’m sorry Amara, but I’m going to bring your body almost into hyperthermia. I think I know what’s causing this,” he said. “Its those damned nanobots! If I can make them cold I can slow them down at least,” he said. Once the nurse touched her with the hypo Amara’s body began to drop in temperature. The pain numbed a little but she knew she was dying. Those nanobots inside of her were killing her now instead of helping her.

Amara had never felt pain like she was feeling now. It was horrific and she would have done anything to make it stop. Tears of blood leaked from her eyes and her body convulsed from the pain. Amara heard McCoy say...something, but the blood in her ears caused it to be muffled. Amara became aware of being injected with something and almost immediately she felt her entire body turn cold. The pain was slightly numbed, but not enough. She began to fear she was going to die and all she wanted was James beside her.

Inside the quarantine room, there was no calming James. Both Kal and Scarlett had tried. Scarlett could only imagine his frustration at not being able to be there with his wife when something horrible was happening to her.