Rogue Planet Stardate 2259.246

"James, what they were asking me to do would have gone against the Prime Directive. I would have had to kill one in order to get the brain stem. The mere fact that we have one dead on our ship is coincidence. I refused to do it because it went against the mission and they almost killed me because of it."

Kirk turned her around. "I will take every coincidence I can get until we can disable those nanobot...things inside you," Kirk said. "McCoy has a few of them and he will find out their weakness, eventually. Until then...I'm going to task you to stand on that razor's edge. Because what is the alternative? We can't be together...I want us to be together," Kirk said. "Is that what you want?" he asked her. She had really scared him into believing, for a moment, that she didn't.

Amara didn't fight James as he turned her around. She was no longer angry. She was tired and upset over what had happened. She looked into his eyes and James would see the real Amara again. "James, I meant it when I said that you were the only good thing in my life. To lose you would be to lose the best part of me. I'm stronger when I'm with you than when I'm not. I always want us to be together."

“Well, I’m glad we got that straightened out. Now...I am hungry,” he said as he kissed her.

Later that night they were about to arrive and he had everyone in the ready room.

“Ok, our goal is to get live blood sample from one of these aliens..doctor,” he said. McCoy looked exhausted. “We need a live blood sample with the virus alive in it. Whomever gets it need to beam directly to sickbay. Elyse’s life depends on it,” he said.

“I doubt they will agree to help us after I killed one of them but Amara can speak to them. We will let her try. Nathan will bring a phaser rifle. If they decide to attack fall back behind him,” Kirk said. “Ok, let’s do it,” he said and stood.

Before they had gone to the ready room, Amara had gone to see Elyse. She had been horrified by what she saw. Her friend was on the verge of death. She had hours...that was all. She would not live another full day. Time was not on their side. They needed to move quickly to get what they needed, but gaining the trust of these creatures of what had happened was not going to be easy. However, Amara was going to do whatever she could.

It would be James, Nathan, Kal, and herself beaming down. McCoy would be waiting in sickbay for the blood sample. Amara held on to what they needed to collect the sample. They beamed down and, just as before, Amara didn't need night vision goggles.

They set the same coordinates for the beam down. Obviously they were near where these wraiths were. They knew very little about them but in Kirk’s opinion, the Wraiths were just as at fault as they had been. Just as curious. That might aid them. He made certain Amara was close as they materialized. Nathan held the rifle and it was set to a wide disbursement. But he truly hoped he would not have to use it. He didn’t join Starfleet to hurt people, despite his chosen discipline. That’s not at all who he was.

Kal had a phaser in one hand and a tricorder in the other. Kirk had a phaser but it was holstered. Amara had a tricorder and a holstered phaser as well as the blood sample kit. “Too much vegetation, we’ll not know they are on top of us until they are,” Kal said after a few moments of scanning. It was pitch black and humid. The sounds of the forest were much like any other forest but knowing the wraiths were out there made each noisy more severe. Kirk and Amara shared a look and Amara moved off a little way.

They moved like that for a couple hundred meters. Amara was out in front with Kirk about 15 meters behind her. Kal was a bit behind him and Nathan was a bit behind Kal. Amara turned around a thick bush and the little girl was there. “You shouldn’t of come back!” The girl said and her face looked angry.

Amara remained wary and cautious. She knew that they would need to be careful and respectful of these beings. She just hoped that they wouldn't outright attack them, or not allow them to get close enough to talk to them and explain what had happened. Amara remained in front of the group, with James right behind her, and then Kal and Nathan after him. They moved a little deeper into the vegetation and suddenly Amara spotted the Wraith that was using the form of herself as a child. The being was clearly angry and upset and Amara hoped she could calm it down.

"We sincerely apologize for what happened before," she said genuinely. "It was a horrible misunderstanding and we tried to save him," she explained. "James thought he was hurting Elyse and he was trying to protect her."

The child seemed to think about what Amara said. “Your thoughts are so...duplicitous,” she said. “The one that was killed was a fledgling. His forerunners are angry. Why have you come again?” She asked though her expression was...troubled. Kirk heard movement around them and he turned and saw several, large Klingons amongst the tall ferns. “Amara,” he whispered not certain where she was. He looked back and put his hand up to Kal who saw it and stopped. Nathan stopped as well.

Amara was relieved that at least this Wraith was willing to talk to her. "The one that was killed...he accidentally hurt my friend and now she's dying. She has only hours to live. A virus has gotten into her body and it's killing her. We have a doctor onboard our ship who can save her, but we need some of your blood. I realize that we are asking a lot after what happened, but will you please help us? This woman is the first friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose her. Please...."

Kirk didn’t make any sudden movements and he held his hands up in a non-threatening manner. “So...it was...a mis...un...derstant...ing. A misunderstanding. A mistake...yes, a mistake,” the girl said. She was focused on Amara, reaching into her thoughts. “I do not understand this...love that is strong in your mind. You love this man you call James and you love this woman you call Elyse,” she said and looked troubled again. “You are Amara and you are also Saehir and Kaia,” she said. “I do not understand this. We are just who we are. Why do you see out of so many eyes?” she asked.

Amara swore she could actually feel her reaching into her mind and reading her thoughts. Amara kept her mind open. She didn't want to hide anything from her. She crouched down so she was eye level with the being. "It's a long story. I was born Amara Novak and my parents worked for Starfleet. The ship they were on was attacked by Romulans after it accidentally crossed the border into Romulan territory. My parents tried to save me, but the escape pod I was on drifted over the line as well. I was taken in by Romulans after they killed my parents and was given a new name, Saehir. I was raised by them and trained to be a fight and a spy. I was sent to spy on the Federation and entered Starfleet. There I had to take on a new name so I became Kaia Fox. I had forgotten about the life I had before the Romulans. They lied to me to get me to do what they wanted. I feel in love with James Kirk...the very man I was using to get information and realized that I didn't want to live that life anymore. Thankfully, James decided to help me. I had never had any friends while living on Romulus. You see Romulans don't trust anyone that aren't their own kind so I was always an outsider. Elyse was the first person who wanted to be my friend. I feel a different kind of love for her than I do for James, but I do still love her and I don't want her to die."

“So you go back and live there in your past and you also live here, in the now...a strange existence...it is not linear,” she said. She paused. “This thing you feel...lo...ve,” she said and the little girl smiled. “It is important to you. I can feel how warm it makes you feel,” she said. She paused. “The ‘James’ and the ‘Elyse’ are both precious to you,” she said and then her face took on a frown. “The ‘Elyse’ her linear existence shall end but...you still remember those that are gone,” she said. Behind the little girl there were two others now. She hadn’t noticed them before. To the left was her father, as she had remembered him the last time she saw him. To her right was her mother, as she had remembered her in her dreams. They both smiled at her. “I don’t understand why it is important for her...corporeal body needs to live if she lives in your mind,” she said. “The one the ‘James’ killed lives in our minds and will always, I think,” she said.

It was difficult enough seeing a Wraith in the form of herself when she was a child, but now seeing her parents was gut wrenching. She only had fleeting memories of them...moments that came through in her dreams.

“Elyse is still very young. She has a long life in front of her. The doctor who is trying to save her life is her husband and he loves her so much. We need her on our ship and we are running out of time to save her. I cannot bring back the one you lost, but you can help us save Elyse.”

The little girl’s facial expression changed to one of sadness. She paused as Amara felt it in her mind. The little girl turned her head and looked behind her. The two that looked like her parents were still smiling and they nodded. The girl turned back. “We will help you save the ‘Elyse’,” she said. And then the little girl suddenly changed into the shape of what looked like a cross between a huge snail or mollusk and a manta ray sea creature. It slinked forward and turned to expose its underside to Amara. The top of it was darker than the bottom. It had no arms or legs but Amara’s eyes could see dark lines of where its veins were. As she came onto one knee and took the same the thing didn’t flinch or cry out. The blood was dark red.

Kirk watched as the Klingons changed shape into the alien things and began to slink away into the forest. He heard a noticeable relieved sigh from Kal. The thing spoke in Amara’s mind.

“Go Amara, and help the ‘Elyse’ and preserve this love you have for her,” it said. Her parents changed into larger versions of the one she spoke to and together they slinked away into the darkness.

“Transporter room, 4 to beam up,” Kirk said.

-------------------

Later they were all back on the bridge as the Enterprise pulled away from the planet. “I wonder if they know that their existence is limited,” Kirk said. “Their world will eventually grow colder and the atmosphere would then burn off,” he said. “Their race must have come after the planet escaped its sun,” Spock said. “Fascinating,” he said. In sickbay McCoy was able to create an antibody for the virus and he put it into a hypo and gave it to Elyse. He sat at her bedside and with his fingers, brushed her damp hair back out of her face. He leaned forward and kissed her lips gently then straightened once again. After several minutes her lifesigns showed a slight improvement and he sighed in relief and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Bridge this is McCoy...I think Elyse is going to be alright,” he said. “Yes!” Kal said with a fist pump and looked over at Fiona with a smile. Kirk turned around to look at Amara. He smiled at her and nodded in approval of how she handled the aliens.

Amara was extremely grateful when the Wraiths agreed to help her. She took the blood sample that they needed and they were immediately beamed back onboard the Enterprise and straight into sickbay. Amara gave the blood sample to Dr. McCoy and all they could do now was wait while he created the antibody and injected it into her body. 

Amara was on the bridge when they received word from Dr. McCoy that it looked like Elyse was going to be alright. Amara wiped a few relieved tears from her eyes and then smiled over at James. Later that day she went and retrieved the brain stem from the dead Wraith. She analyzed the brain stem using one of sickbay's bed scanners and then sent the scanning data to Natasha via subspace message.

Days after they left the Rogue planet, Elyse was taken off the ventilator and was able to breath on her own. She couldn't leave the bed yet but she was able to speak and looked around. McCoy fed her resequenced Chocolate pudding that Elyse thought tasted better than the real thing. One of the few things she had ever said that about. The red splotches on her flesh were almost gone and Amara had come earlier and brushed her hair for her. And talked with her awhile. Leonard looked at her as she looked up at him. He looked and felt tired. He hadn’t shaven in the past several days and he had a pretty good beard going.

“You do like to make me worry, don’t you,” McCoy said. “And don’t get to used to this...feeding you by hand thing,” he said with a smile. God it felt good to smile, didn’t it!? He spooned out another bit of pudding and smiled as Elyse opened her mouth and took it in. He reached over and wiped a bit of chocolate off of her face near her mouth tenderly.