The BLTS Archive- Creations
by Penny Jones (subtrek@aol.com)

---

DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters are the property of
Paramount Studios, Inc. The story contents are the creation and
property of Penny Jones and is copyright © 1999 by Penny Jones. One
copy of this story may be downloaded for the private, personal
enjoyment of the reader but may not be reproduced nor distributed
further without the express, written consent of the author.

---

Blue eyes searched the dimly lit room. They searched for familiar
faces. Her nose flared as the smell of sweaty bodies mixed with the
aroma of alcohol drifted through the open door. She smoothed down a
non-existent wrinkle in her skirt and took a small step forward. Never
had she felt comfortable in these places, and yet she had agreed to
meet her friends here. Not for the first time did she wonder how much
they might have changed since their last meeting.

Taking a deep breath she forced herself to take the next step,
allowing the door to close behind her. After all it wouldn't do for a
commander, let alone a doctor, to be late. She smiled slightly as she
realized how long it had taken her to go back and get her degree. Now
she was returning to her friends and the only place she really felt at
home.

The dark dampness of the place enveloped her as she scanned the room.
Suddenly the room filled with a heavenly voice. The young woman who
was now taking center stage was graceful and used her voice and body
to relay the mood of the music. Christine smiled as she moved forward.
Uhura had always entertained them with her songs. However it was not
often she took to the stage in a place like this. For a moment Chris
paused and allowed the words to wash over her, warming her beyond
reason. With a gentle sigh she moved toward the other end of the room.
Someone bumped into her as a hooded man stepped in her path. His face
remained hidden from view, but she could feel his eyes boring through
her.

Her hair rose on the back of her neck as she moved to go around. His
voice stopped her in her tracks. It seemed to float around her pulling
her in as it echoed in her mind. "Soon, very soon my dear." Shivering,
she turned toward him but he seemed to blend into the smoke. She
blinked her eyes and scanned the room but the crowd seemed to have
swallowed him up.

On trembling legs she moved toward the stage, unable to shake off the
feeling of being watched and having met the man somewhere before.
Closing her eyes she took a deep breath then opened them as she took
the last few steps out of the crowd. Her heart rate increased as she
caught a glimpse of her friends. She had waited three days for their
ship to dock. Uhura was the only one who knew she was coming back and
had asked her to meet her and Rand here.

She stumbled as her eyes followed Uhura back to her table. There
seated in the far corner of the bar were all her friends. She remained
where she was as she silently watched them. Her eyes searching their
faces for one in particular. A tender smile lit her face as she spied
him. He hadn't changed all that much. Had she really expected him to?
Yes, she knew she had matured in the last five years and the rebound
love that she had felt for him was gone as something else settled in
its place.

She shook her head wondering if time had passed at all as she listened
to the friendly banter taking place. Finally she felt as if she were
coming home. Here she could try to figure out what was happening and
hopefully heal again.

Remembering the recent advice her friends in medical school had given
her, she squared her shoulders and took another step forward. One more
step would put her in their line of sight. Taking advantage of the
opportunity, she slowly compared each face with the one from her
memories.

Captain Kirk was seated at the head of the table as usual and his face
had a few more lines along with some gray in his hair, but his eyes
still sparkled with an inner strength all their own. To his left and
grumbling about slow service, voice gruff with a hint of tenderness
sat Dr. Leonard McCoy. Uhura had taken the seat next to him. Her sleek
black figure remained as graceful as ever. At the present she was
using her charm to its full advantage with the burly man sitting next
to her. His Scottish brogue seemed a little thicker with each swallow.
Chief Engineer Scott raised a brow and his laughter roared through the
room. Sulu was busy teasing Lt. Rand and Chekov was turning red from
his neck to his hairline.

A smile graced her lips as her eyes moved to the man seated at the
Captain's right. Her eyes lit with surprise as they met and held dark
brown ones. His brow was arched slightly on his face. It would be the
only hint she would get at his surprise at seeing her. Letting out the
breath, she didn't know she was holding, she took the final step
forward and gently put a hand on Sulu's shoulder. She was shocked by
how steady and clear her voice sounded to her own ears.

"Is this a private party or can anyone join?"

Within seconds she found herself in the warm embraces of her friends
and they each took turns in greeting her. It was then that she
realized just how much she had missed them. This was where she
belonged. These people were her family. They would always be there
when she needed them. Quickly she pushed those thoughts away. Tonight
would be hers. The other could wait until she was safely aboard the
Enterprise.

The evening passed quickly, filled with laughter and warm memories. It
wasn't until she turned to argue a point with Scotty that she realized
her mistake as her head began to spin. McCoy and Scotty had taken
turns spiking her drink. It was done in good fun and not in heavy
doses, but to someone who didn't drink very often and who hadn't slept
much in the last couple of months it was enough.

She could feel her defenses starting to crumble as sweat rolled down
her neck to disappear under her shirt. Her heartbeat quickened as a
voice floated into her mind. His words slammed into her brain as her
head jerked upward. She knew that voice, had in fact heard those words
before, long ago and more recently. Her eyes darted around the room.
He was there somewhere, watching and waiting.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Somehow she had to regain
control. Memories of a time long past learning to do just that and
recently relearning them with her roommate came to mind. Opening her
eyes she met Spock's across the table. The question in them told her
that he knew something was wrong, but not what.

Before he could utter a word she stood and made her good nights,
promising to report on board in the morning. She remembered promising
Uhura and Rand that she would meet them for breakfast as she moved
across the room. Without looking in Spock's direction, she made a
hasty retreat, her calm voice belying the war waging inside her mind.

When she entered her temporary quarters she locked the door then sank
to the floor. Quickly she began her Vulcan meditation exercises. That
would be the last thing she remembered that night.

Later that same morning, she awoke with a severe headache. Cradling
her head in her hands she sat up, trying to remember what had
happened. The sheet slid down over her naked body. She moaned slightly
as fear gripped her. She had hoped to have left that behind her on
Earth. Now she knew it really had started again as she stared at her
arms.

---

The warmth of the room caressed him as he wrapped the robe around his
damp body. His hair, still wet from the shower, dripped softly on his
robe, leaving it a slightly darker red. He gracefully slid behind his
desk as he rubbed the towel through his hair. With a flick of his
wrist he initiated the intercom.

He had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity. Selar was the
adopted granddaughter of T'Pau and although they were related, they
had rarely spoken. Why she would be calling him now peaked his
interest. However, he knew the answers would soon be forthcoming.

Her lean face soon appeared on his screen with head bowed. Smiling
slightly she met his gaze. "It has been too long, Spock."

"Indeed, Selar, and to what do I owe the honor of this call?"

The smile quickly faded as deep blue eyes met his. She looked away
then met his eyes again. "I have a request of you that is not entirely
logical and to a certain extent is out of pure curiosity and
friendship."

Spock's eyebrow rose at a steep angle as he steepled his fingers and
leaned forward. He knew of Selar's background and realized that after
twenty years of being with humans it would take considerable time for
her to fully accept the Vulcan way, although even the scholars had to
admit she had made a lot of progress in the last eight years. With
that thought clearly in his mind, he leaned back. "What is your
request?"

For a brief second a smile lit her face, which she promptly tried to
compensate for by biting her lower lip. Her eyes, however, sparkled
with her excitement. Spock continued before she could utter a word of
apology. "Due to the lateness of the hour, I can assume this issue is
important."

She nodded and glanced around her. "Oh, yes, Spock. You see it all
started about four years ago." At his raised eyebrow she stumbled over
the next few words. "Maybe I should just get to the favor?"

At his nod she continued. "I need you to keep an eye on a friend. We
went through medical school together and she has been experiencing
extreme nightmares. We have tried various medications and nothing
seems to work. The last week of school she didn't sleep more than one
point two hours a night. I know that humans cannot go for long periods
of time without sleep and I am worried about her."

Selar took a deep breath and stared right through him. "I started
teaching her how to meditate and she learned quickly. It was as if she
already knew how but needed to be reminded." Shaking her head, she
brought her eyes to his. "It is hard to describe what I felt while
trying to teach her. Also I'm afraid her condition might worsen and I
can't let anything happen to her."

Spock had not taken his eyes from her face and later would remember
this conversation with chilling clarity. When she had finished, he
leaned forward. "I will keep an eye on Dr. Chapel for you. However,
there is something you are not telling me."

Selar glanced around her then leaned forward and lowered her voice.
"It has to do with T'Pau. We were discussing school and I mentioned
Christine and her problem along with some other things she had told
me. Suddenly Grandmother was sitting straight up in her chair and
asking me question after question. I have never seen her like that.
She did not wait for me to say farewell, merely that she needed to
speak with someone and would get back to me. Spock, I think something
else is going on and it involves Vulcan and Christine. I have just
been informed that I am to meet and accompany Ambassador Sevek back to
Vulcan."

Spock tilted his head to the side and raised one eyebrow. If what
Selar said was accurate then indeed something was going on. Nodding he
leaned back and bowed low. He needed to do some research to find out
if there was a connection somewhere. "I will let you know if anything
happens. It would be wise to keep what we suspect to ourselves until
we know more about it. Peace and long life, Selar." He replied as his
fingers took on a familiar V shape which was copied by the young woman
on the screen.

"Live long and prosper, Spock."

The screen went blank as Spock leaned back. Resting his elbows on the
chair, he brought his hands together in front of him with the first
fingers steepled. His brows furrowed in thought. Vulcans were known
for their logic and rituals. For one such as T'Pau to forget was
unheard of unless something was indeed wrong. After spending several
minutes considering his options, he finally sat forward and began
typing.

As first officer he could access any crew member's records at anytime,
but never before had he looked past their Starfleet records. That was
about to change. As Chapel's records appeared on the screen, he
realized that he had never accessed them before.

It took him an hour to read through her recent schooling. His respect
for her and the other three interns rose considerably. The rest of her
record took only a few minutes. It was not up to Starfleet standards
which in itself brought on more questions that needed answers.
Adjusting his monitor he began the real search as he zipped through
files that should be under heavy security. They gave way under his
careful administration.

After several minutes the screen began to flash and the words "Access
Denied" ran across the screen. A half hour later and he was no closer
to opening her file. It was sealed and could only be opened by voice
command. That was not what bothered him. It was *whose* voice that
brought the frown to his face. The information must be very important
for the President of the Federation to be

the only one who could access it. It was turning out to be a very
interesting challenge.

He called up a few more things then dressed as he placed a call to
T'Pau. He was quickly informed that she would call him back. A few
minutes later, he left his quarters and headed for the starbase.

---

Her head was spinning wildly as her body shook from the cold. Suddenly
she jumped from the bed pulling the sheet tightly around her as she
ran for the bathroom. Her body screamed in protest at her jerky
movements, but another part of her was controlling this war. Seconds
later found her bent over the toilet relinquishing her supper. Though
she would love to blame it all on the alcohol intake of the night
before, she knew better. The nightmares she could handle but the
radiation poisoning was beginning to take its toll.

Her time on the Enterprise had lulled her into thinking that it was
all in her past. When she had left to finish her schooling, it had all
started again. She knew she should be in sickbay, but also knew it
wouldn't get really bad for a few more days. However, until the nausea
passed, she wouldn't be going anywhere. For once she wished she could
wake up with her clothes on. It always worried her as to what was
happening to her besides the radiation.

Through a wave a dizziness the door chime registered in her mind.
Vaguely she remembered making a breakfast date with Nyota. She debated
on whether or not to let her in. The bruises and needle pricks were
barely visible and did it really matter? No, besides she could always
blame it on the alcohol.

Before she could change her mind, she yelled, "Come in." Getting to
her feet, she wrapped the sheet tighter then brushed her teeth and ran
a cool cloth over her face, her eyes closed as she tried to fight the
wave of dizziness that crashed over her.

Not bothering to turn around, she called to her friend. "Nyota, I need
you to get me some anti-nausea medicine from sickbay."

"Lieutenant Uhura is not present."

The voice was deep and soft, seeming to echo through the small room.
Christine groaned and spun around. Which in itself was not a smart
move. She knew that voice only too well. Had in fact heard it in her
dreams for years.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Spock," she replied as she raised a hand to try and
stop her spinning head. She opened her eyes to see him standing in the
bathroom door staring at her with one eyebrow raised and for a brief
second concern showing in his eyes.

Her head and body hurt too much to ask what he was doing there but she
stored the thought away for another time. She held out a hand as her
world began to spin faster. His voice seemed to be coming through long
tunnel, but his warm breath brushed her cheek and a hot arm wrapped
around her as blackness swept in like a tidal wave.

---

He curled deeper into his bed, shoving his head under his pillow. All
he wanted was for the noise to cease, so he could return to the woman
in his dream. Cursing loudly he threw the pillow across the room as he
sat up. He quickly glanced at the clock as he made his way to the
intercom. 0430. Hell, he had only gone to bed an hour ago. Someone was
going to pay dearly for this. He punched the button on his desk as he
sank into the chair. "McCoy here and this better be dammed good."

"Doctor, your services are required on the starbase."

"Spock, you pointy eared Vulcan, is it that you just don't sleep and
think the rest of us don't need any either?" he grumbled as he threw
on his clothes. He knew Spock would only call if it was important.
Which could only mean, someone form shore leave had gotten hurt, but
Spock was not scheduled for duty tonight.

He splashed cold water on his face and took a deep breath. Spock's
next words sent chills down his spine and stopped him in his tracks.
"Doctor, I know you just got in. However Dr. Chapel is in need of your
expertise in her quarters."

McCoy's right eye brow rose in a good imitation of Spocks'. Picking up
his shoes, he tried to keep his feelings from taking over. "What in
blazes are you doing in her quarters at this time of night?"

He sat down heavily on the bed, knowing it had to be bad. Chris would
avoid having Spock call for help at all cost. In fact she would avoid
having him in such close quarters.

"Not what you're thinking and an explanation will be forthcoming as
soon as you get here. You might want to get an anti-nausea hypo on
your way."

McCoy nodded and moved to leave, his thoughts turning to Christine. He
knew her better than anyone else had. In fact he had become very
attached to her. They had become close friends before she left and had
kept in touch throughout her schooling. She had told him about Roger
and her feelings for Spock. He had in turn told her about his ex-wife
and how their marriage had failed. She was like a daughter to him, had
in fact helped him get closer with his own daughter. He had sensed
something was wrong earlier but had put it off as jitters at seeing
her friends. Now he was kicking himself for not following his
instincts. Christine would be the first person to let him know that.

Spock's voice brought him back to the present. "I would advise you to
hurry, Doctor."

He checked his med kit as he raced for the doors to Sickbay. A slight
wave to the nurse then he stuck his head inside his office. "M'Benga,
I'll be on the starbase if you need me." He grabbed a hypo spray off
his desk and injected the vial's contents into his system. The alcohol
fog began to lift around his brain. He needed to be sober for this.

Within minutes he was standing at her door. A silent prayer passed his
lips as he announced himself.

---

Spock closed his communicator then lifted Christine into his arms and
headed toward the bedroom. A frown marred his face as he took stock of
the room and its contents. Something was out of place but he couldn't
quite figure it out. The woman in his arms began to stir, bringing his
attention back to her. She was lighter than he thought she would be.
Her blonde hair curled gently around her pale face. His eyes were
drawn to her lips as he remembered the last time they had been alone
together all those years ago. A slight smile crossed his face as he
remember the feel of her lips against his. As she moved again, he
glanced down into beautiful blue eyes filled with fear.

Christine awoke to movement and a voice screaming in her head. She
tried to block out the sound by turning toward the warmth that covered
her right side. Trying to bury her head in its softness and failing,
she shifted her body. Arms tightened around her back and legs as she
groaned.

Opening her eyes she saw a blue-clad shoulder. The heat emanating from
the body was too warm to be human. Cautiously she raised her head and
met brown eyes set in a finely chiseled face. Fear coursed through her
as her eyes swept over the face and came to rest on pointy ears. She
pushed against him then raised her fist swinging it toward him. "No!"
she screamed.

Suddenly her feet were swinging free as her hands were trapped between
their two bodies. The voice in her head grew louder. Her voice was
childlike and full of fear as she tried in vain to free herself.
"Please don't hurt me. I won't do it again. Please let me go. I have
to find them."

She felt as if a boa constrictor had wrapped itself around her. The
hand on her arm moved up cupping her face as his other arm tightened
around her waist keeping her firmly in place. Gently he raised her
head to look at him. His voice remained low and soft. "Dr. Chapel...
Christine, it is I. Spock. You are safe now. Whom do you need to
find?" He moved so that her toes barely brushed the floor but didn't
lessen his hold on her.

In her mind a new voice was making itself heard. She couldn't tell
him, she couldn't let him find what she had kept secret for so long.
Spock's voice seemed to be coming from far away, repeating itself
along with the new voice. "Christine, you're safe. It's me, Spock."

A chill swept over her as the other voice grew louder almost drowning
him out. "Forget." She shook her head and blinked back tears as the
voice repeated the word over and over. Leaning her head against his
chest, she took a shuddering breath. "I don't want to forget."

Spock raised an eyebrow and spoke quietly, keeping his eyes trained on
what he could see of her face. "Forget what?" He readjusted his hold
on her as he felt her stiffen in his embrace.

Pushing back against him, her brow wrinkled slightly. "I don't know."
Her free hand flew to her head as she cried out in pain. The buzzing
of the door could barely be heard above it. Calling for the doors to
open, he once again swept Christine into his arms and carried her to
the bed. Gently he laid her down and pulled the blanket up to cover
the slipping sheet.

Tenderly she brushed a finger across his brow and whispered to him.
"Help me. Please make this stop." Somehow the words touched something
deep inside his mind. Stepping back he took a deep breath and stared
at the woman now unconscious on the bed. At the cough from the door he
turned to find McCoy staring angrily at him.

As Leonard rushed past him he got the glimpse of a smile lighting the
older man's face. Knowing that McCoy would take care of her, Spock
moved to the living area. His hands were shaking as he closed his eyes
to meditate. He had to regain a sense of balance, but mostly he needed
to purge himself of the fear he had received through his contact with
Christine. Being a touch telepath, he often felt others' emotions, but
mostly he prepared himself before hand and the contact would be just
an impression. He did not have time to prepare himself for such a
strong reaction as hers had been. Her fear was so strong and inbred
that it had barreled its way through his barriers. The thing that
bother him the most was just before he left. It was as if for a brief
second her mind had touched his. He knew that couldn't be. However
logic dictated that it was so. For now he needed to regain control. He
would think about the rest when time was not an issue.

---

Half an hour later McCoy entered the living area his face was worn and
haggard more from the last few minutes than his night out. He took a
deep breath and plopped down in the nearest chair. His anger was in
full gear as his eyes met Spock's.

"So, would someone mind telling me what in the bloody hell is going on
around here? That girl is exhausted from God knows how many sleepless
nights. Along with suffering from radiation poisoning which is damn
near impossible to get these days, and to top it all off, I find you
here and her with nothing on but a sheet. How long has it been since
she slept? How did she get the radiation?"

Spock waited until McCoy had taken a deep breath and leaned forward
before beginning. "I will start with your first question. I don't
know."

McCoy could only stare with his mouth open. "Well, I'll be damned. For
once you don't have all the answers. So what are you doing here?"

Spock chose to ignore the sarcasm as he continued. "Dr. Chapel seemed
extremely nervous tonight. I took it to be from seeing her friends.
However, I noticed her constantly scanning the bar. A gentleman in a
blue robe followed her out of the bar. He seemed to ignore her so I
did not pursue that. No one else left until Uhura and Rand did." Spock
steepled his fingers and leaned forward as he explained how and why he
came to be there. "So you see, she assumed I was Lieutenant Uhura when
she let me in. The rest you already know."

McCoy rubbed his hand over his face. Standing he paced the room.
Finally he came to a stop near the doorway to the bedroom. His eyes
misted as he turned toward Spock. His voice was low and full of venom.
"Damn it, Spock, some of the stuff done to her I've never seen
before." He waved his hands to encompass the whole room.

"Where has she been for the last two hours that the computer says she
wasn't here? More than that, the poison has been in her system for
three days. Granted, the symptoms get progressively worse and there is
no way she could have known, not with the small amounts she's been
receiving. Where did she get it? Who in the blazes would do such a
thing to another human being?"

Again he collapsed into the chair. "Unfortunately, Doctor, she was
unconscious most of the time and incoherent when she wasn't fighting
me. I don't think she is aware that she was even gone or where she is
now. If we require more information, we will have to ask her."

McCoy nodded and leaned back in the chair. "Well, that will have to
wait. I gave her a mild sedative. She should be out for the next
couple of hours. I'll let Jim know and we need to get Uhura over here
to get her stuff. I need to get her transported to the ship as soon as
possible. Hopefully she'll be safe there."

Spock stood and walked to the window, seemingly engrossed in the
stars. "If they can reach her through the starbase's shields, she will
not be any safer on board. However, I can arrange to have the
computers monitor her at all times."

McCoy agreed as he turned to stare at the open door. "Fine. I want
them set up so that if she blinks, I'll know it. I want to know if she
disappears and where she goes. No one has the right to do what they
did to her." Rubbing sore eyes he continued. "She has bruises all over
her and needle holes as well. Some are full of radiation while others
I can't tell what is there."

Sighing, he placed his head in his hands. "Maybe it's better that she
can't remember." His eyes snapped open as he stood. "Some son of a
bitch is using her as his guinea pig and I want to rip him apart and
feed him to the Klingons." His voice was rising steadily until he was
almost yelling. "Damn it, Spock, what kind of person can do stuff like
that?"

Spock could find no answers so instead chose to inquire into other
matters. "What would be the purpose of ripping them apart? I fail to
understand why you would want to do such a thing as to bring yourself
to their level."

Leonard's mouth dropped open and his eyes grew large. "Tell me you can
look at her in her present condition and not want to bang someone's
head in."

Spock turned toward him. "I did not say that I did not see the need
humans have for releasing their anger. What I fail to see is how that
would help you feel better. I too would like to see the culprit
caught."

McCoy rolled his eyes and leaned forward. The words he meant to say
was silenced by a piercing scream. Both men were up and in the next
room before the sound ended.

Spock knelt next to the bed trying to wake her. Suddenly she bolted
up, a look of pure terror on her porcelain face. Her eyes scanned the
room, coming to rest on Spock. A scream died in her throat as Leonard
blocked her view. For a brief moment her eyes were filled with an
unknown horror before her mind latched onto who and where she was.
Brushing back a strand of blonde hair, she moaned softly then leaned
her head on her bent knees.

Leonard rubbed her back until her breathing returned to normal and she
gazed up at him. "Are you okay, Chris?"

She nodded and looked up to see Spock handing her a robe. A blush
began on her chest and blossomed across her face as it dawned on her
that she was still draped in a sheet. Both men politely turned away so
that she could cover herself. Touching McCoy's shoulder when she was
done, she curled her feet beneath her on the bed. Her head remained
bent as he began speaking.

"Chris, you're suffering from radiation poisoning. It isn't severe but
it could be. Do you have any idea what is going on?"

She looked through her lashes at the open door, wondering if she could
make it. Sighing with resignation, she shook her head and stood facing
Leonard.

"They never give me enough to kill me."

She reached out a hand to steady herself as Spock spun her around and
Leonard yelled. "Who?!"

She looked at both men in confusion and fear. Spock took a step
forward and lowered his voice. "Who are they? Who is doing this to
you?"

She shrugged her shoulders and tried to see the images that seemed to
float just out of reach. Shaking violently she slumped to the bed. Her
voice was low and shaky. "I don't know. It's like the answers are
there only when I try to remember they disappear." Rubbing her temple
she looked up at her long-time friend. "I've been hearing other voices
in my mind. Unless there aren't any to begin with, in which case I am
going crazy. I can hear them but I can't remember what some of them
say. I just don't know what to tell you."

Leonard shook his head. this was not what he had expected when this
night had begun. His eyes narrowed slightly as he glared at her. It
finally dawned on him what was nagging him in the back of his mind.
"Young lady, just what are you doing awake? That sedative should have
kept you out for a few hours, unless the nightmares are that bad?"

He leaned back against the wall, his eyes roaming from her to Spock.
It wasn't often he got to see these two together and he planned to
study the hell out of both of them. Spock seemed to be inspecting the
room as if it would give some kind of clue. Yet he never moved from
Christine's side, while Chris fingered the belt on her robe and would
constantly glance in Spock's direction.

With a deep sigh Christine met his eyes. "Mild sedatives don't work
very well. I seem to be able to block them when the need arises."

McCoy crossed his arms across his chest and glanced toward Spock. "How
long have you been having these nightmares?"

Christine glanced between the two men. "Most recently?" She raised a
brow as Leonard nodded. "Off and on for the last four years. However,
the first time I had one was when I was twelve. Recently I learned
that they weren't part of my medical record. I fail to understand how
they were omitted. Dr. Metel at Starfleet Academy knew about them.
However, they ceased shortly before I was assigned to the Enterprise."

Spock straightened his shoulders and placed his hands behind his back.
"Your medical records are substandard for Starfleet's normal
requirements. However, I cannot access anything before the age twelve
without voice confirmation from the President of the Federation. I
found that piece of information to be quite fascinating."

McCoy nodded. "I got the same results when she first came on board ten
years ago. Also your records from twelve to twenty were fairly bare
too. Is there a particular reason for this?"

Christine shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "I don't know and I can't
seem to find out anything more than you two. I don't remember anything
prior to waking up in the hospital in San Fransico on the third of
November. The nightmares as you call them started six months later."
She tried to hide a yawn behind her hand but failed miserably.

Leonard stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't we talk about this after you get some rest?"

She would have loved to do nothing more right now, but knew it would
be impossible. Standing she turned him toward the door. "Why don't you
two go back to the Enterprise? I'll grab a quick shower then meet you
on board in an hour. Just tell me where my quarters are and I'll be
there."

Spock stood in their path and would not budge. "That would be an
illogical step at this time."

She peered around McCoy's shoulder and met cold brown eyes. "And why
is that?"

McCoy turned and answered for him. "Because, young lady, you were
missing for almost two hours. Spock and I aren't leaving without you."

Her brow wrinkled as she glanced between the two men. "Two hours. Are
you sure?" She waved off their comments before they could form them.
"You're serious about staying, aren't you?"

Spock rocked slightly on his feet and nodded. "Yes, the doctor and I
will wait while you shower and change."

Christine blushed again as she pulled the robe closed. Gathering her
stuff, she slipped into the bathroom. As the warm water flowed over
her so did her tears. It had started again, only this time was worse
than the others. This time she could almost catch a glimpse of a face.
Like all the other times she felt used and helpless, only this time
she knew would have to end differently.

Concentrating on the voice she tried to picture the face of the man in
the bar as his words played over and over in her mind. The face
remained a mystery, but his laughter filled her along with a brief
glimpse of tangled thoughts. A tingle began at the base of her neck
and spread over her as her hair stood on end. A deep baritone
reverberated throughout her mind. "Soon enough."

Shivering she jumped out and dressed quickly. Suddenly she wanted very
much to be on board the Enterprise.

Leonard closed his communicator and looked over at Spock. He had spent
the last few minutes casing the room. "So what is bothering you?"

Spock turned toward him and raised a brow. "I don't know. Something
seems out of place here but I am unsure what it is."

McCoy nodded and looked around. "I thought the same thing. Only it
seems different now then when I first entered."

Spock nodded and turned back to work as McCoy spoke. "So, is the
computer ready to track her?"

Spock faced him and cocked his head to one side. "Yes, however the
chances of us preventing them from taking her again are ninety nine
point nine..."

McCoy held up his hand. "I know, Spock. Jim's got Scotty working on
that too. I plan on keeping her in sickbay for a while. That should
give him a little time."

Spock turned back to the bedroom doors, deep in thought. He knew that
some of the answers could be found in Christine's records. First he
needed to get in touch with Dr. Metel. His eyes met McCoy's. "Doctor,
when you first noticed the discrepancy in her records, did you contact
Dr. Metel?"

McCoy sat back in his chair and nodded. "Yeah, Tom told me that he was
told to cease any and all inquires into her past. The word was brought
down by Vulcan and Starfleet agreed in the name of Federation
Security. He informed me of the nightmares too."

The 'v' in Spock's forehead deepened as he leaned back against the
wall. "That is the second time Vulcan has been mentioned in connection
to Dr. Chapel. If we also take into account her violent reaction to me
earlier, then the only logical conclusion to make is that Vulcan is
indeed involved."

Leonard sat forward. "What do you mean violent reaction? I know she
was terrified when she first came to a few minutes ago."

Spock pushed away from the wall. "When I first arrived, she passed out
in the restroom. While I was carrying her to her bed, she became
conscious. Upon seeing me, she began to swing her fist and kick at me.
Then she asked me not to hurt her." He walked over to the window and
stared out into the stars.

Leonard continued to stare at Spock's back trying to make heads or
tails out of this whole situation. He caught a movement out of the
corner of his eye and turned just as Spock did the same. There was
nothing there. The two men looked at each other then moved toward the
spot. Just then the door opened and Christine stepped into the room.

A smile lit McCoy's face as he moved toward her. "Chris, you look
great."

Shaking her head and smiling slightly she moved to meet him. "Len, you
never could lie well. My stuff is packed and ready to go. If you're
ready."

Leonard turned to Spock who nodded and moved to join them. Leonard
clasped her hands within his and headed toward the door. "Uhura and
Janice are on their way to get it. You are to come with me directly to
sickbay where you will remain for quite awhile."

She rolled her eyes and nodded. "All right, let's get this over with.
The sooner we get there the quicker I can get out."

Leonard cradled her elbow in the palm of his hand as he propelled her
out the door. Spock took his place on the other side. McCoy leaned in
close and staged whispered to her. "Who said I was going to let you
leave? We have some catching up to do, but not until you get some much
needed rest. After that I may let you out. It depends on how good you
are while your there."

Smiling she hugged his arm. Her voice was low and soft. Both knew that
Spock could hear them but continued anyway. "What you really mean is
the quicker I drive M'Benga up the wall, the faster my recovery will
be." Her blue eyes shone with laughter as she winked at him. His
laughter echoed in the empty corridors as he winked at Spock, whose
eyebrow was almost touching his hairline. "Ah, Chris you wound me, and
how I missed you around here. M'Benga has been bitching for three
weeks now of how you would probably get assigned here. He swears that
you'll come in and totally rearrange the sickbay just to get even with
him. Just what did he do before you left?"

Christine's laughter wafted through the air as she shook her head.
"That is between him and me. Ask me again in a few weeks. Maybe by
then I'll have gotten my revenge." Laughing and joking they made their
way to the base's transporter room and back to the ship.

---

McCoy made his way to his quarters. They had beamed aboard a few hours
ago. After running quite a few tests, he had ordered everyone to get a
few hours sleep. Christine had surprised him by hopping up on the
biobed and telling them to get out. His thoughts returned to the
results of one test in particular, wondering again if Chris had any
idea what these people wanted from her. He shook his head as he
entered his quarters. He hadn't wanted to leave her there alone.
However, everyone had reminded him that there was a nurse and M'Benga
on duty. She would be safe for now.

He flopped face first onto his bed as the doors swished closed behind
him, his mind refusing to shut down. He thought back to his attempted
conversation with Tom Metel. The man had refused to answer any
questions, had in fact hung up on him. Leonard knew the man well
enough to know the pressure was being brought to bear from higher up
and that Tom wanted to talk but couldn't risk it. All the more reason
for him to worry about what was actually going on.

Turning onto his back he threw his arm over his eyes and asked the
computer to lower the lights. Somehow Vulcan had become involved and
their role was a very large piece of the puzzle. He had spent the last
hour studying their history and trying to find some connection.
Closing his eyes he sighed deeply knowing the answers might never
come. Sleep over took him quickly.

---

Christine pushed back from the desk and stretched. The Enterprise had
left the starbase three days ago and it had taken everything she had
to lie in the sickbay pretending to rest. Tonight though she had had
enough. It had taken her only a few minutes to talk Nurse Kali into
getting her a change of clothes. The stimulant she had given herself
had countered the sedative.

Smiling she raised her arms over her head. Poor Leonard. He had taken
to giving her one every night so she had no choice but to take the
stimulants. M'Benga had reluctantly agreed to let her leave sick bay
if she promised to get some rest. She had agreed and now six hours
later she was still in the computer lab trying to make heads and tails
out of her life.

Shaking her head she stood and stretched again. Where had the night
gone? On slippered feet she turned off the computer and headed for the
door. She had gotten no closer to finding out about herself than when
she had started except for the fact that she couldn't find a birth
certificate anywhere. It was like she had never been born. The
communique she had sent to Dr. Waymire was still unanswered. She
wondered briefly if he was still alive. The other two messages would
take longer to reach their destinations but she hoped they at least
would be helpful. Hopefully she would learn the name of the doctor who
had treated her all those years ago.

Sighing she flexed her shoulders to work out the kinks. It seemed that
nothing was going right lately. Nothing had gone right since she had
returned to Earth. Calling for the computer to cut the lights, she
glanced around one last time. She needed to get to her quarters before
Leonard learned she hadn't gotten any sleep again. He had spent the
better part of the afternoon regaling her with reasons why the body
needed sleep. Like she didn't know already. They had even talked about
the different drugs to control the nightmares, all of which had failed
in the past.

She knew that they weren't nightmares in the sense that everyone else
thought they were. It was more like a living nightmare. A part of her
that refused to stay hidden. It was like there were two separate
beings pulling on her, trying to make her see what they wanted. Lately
she was hearing some of the crew's voices. She knew it shouldn't be
possible but it was and in a way it was driving her crazy. Shaking her
head she stepped out into the hall.

The air was knocked out of her as she collided with a warm body. His
hands automatically grabbed her arms to keep her from falling back
through the open doors. Her eyes met Spock's, who immediately masked
the look of concern on his face as the doors closed behind her. His
voice showed not a trace of the emotions he felt whirling through him
at this contact with her.

"Are you all right, Dr. Chapel?"

Christine took a deep breath trying to regain control of her scattered
wits. His fingers felt like tiny flames where they met her skin.
Taking a step back to break the contact, she collided with the doors.
She wanted nothing more than to duck back into the other room away
from his prying eyes. The voices in her head were getting louder and
she didn't want him to know about them. However, he retained his hold
as he turned her toward the lift.

Her voice shook slightly as they walked. "I'm fine although I should
learn to watch where I'm going. What brings you down here at four in
the morning?"

She shivered as his eyes moved over her. Then he trained them straight
ahead as he pushed the button for the lift. "Dr. McCoy and I agreed to
have the computers keep an eye on you until we could figure out how
you disappeared off Starbase 12."

She tensed then forced herself to relax as they stepped inside the
lift. Her eyebrow raised in perfect imitation of his as he requested
sickbay then met her eyes. "The computer was also keeping tabs on your
sleeping habits. Since you have managed to get half the crew to aid
you in disobeying the doctor's orders, we deemed it necessary."

Christine rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall hoping to
dislodge his hand that still held her arm. "So, are you my watch dog
sent to make sure I get to sickbay?"

Spock tilted his head then raised an eyebrow. He took a step closer to
her. "Yes, and to make sure that you stay there." He leaned forward a
fraction of an inch, putting his face within an inch of hers.
"Regardless of the nightmares, the human body requires more sleep then
yours is currently receiving."

The lift came to a stop and Christine pulled her arm free and strode
quickly down the corridor. Spock kept pace at her side. She wanted
nothing more than to just get away from him. She needed to release the
emotions that had been held at bay for the last couple of years, but
Spock's persistence prevented that from happening. He had been ordered
to take her to sick bay and he would see to it all the way. Suddenly
she stopped and whirled around to face him.

"It isn't necessary for you to go any farther. I am quite capable of
getting there by myself."

Spock nodded. "I have no doubt that you can. However, since you have
not slept in the last twenty-four hours and only an hour prior to that
in the last seventy two, it would seem that someone needs to make sure
that you stay there."

She placed a shaky hand over her face. How far back had he checked on
her sleeping habits? Knowing Spock, the inquiry would be very
meticulous. So he would know exactly how long it had been. Christine
stepped back and leaned against the wall to allow a crewman to pass.
Her brows furrowed in thought as she gazed at him. Another image
formed of him standing in an open doorway.

Shaking her head, she met his gaze. "Tell me, Spock. What brought you
to my quarters on Starbase 12?"

Spock raised his brow and moved closer as two more crewmembers passed
them in whispered conversation. His eyes followed them until they
turned the corner with a hurried look behind them. Only then did he
turn to meet her eyes. He knew she couldn't have heard what was said,
but her eyes told him she had in fact always known what was said about
her. Sadness seem to envelope her as she turned away. His touch was
gentle on her arm.

He watched in silence as she blinked rapidly several times, took a
deep breath then met his eyes with a smile. A smile that never quite
made it to her eyes. Her voice was low and hushed. "I promise to stay
in sickbay and try to sleep. You don't have to stay."

"I know," was all he said as they moved down the hall, his hand gently
supporting her. She took a deep breath and stepped into sickbay. The
hiss of a hypo greeted her at the door. She turned to see M'Benga's
retreating form. Slowly she made her way to the biobed. Trying to
quiet her panicky mind, she lay down and turned on her side to stare
at the cold white wall that surrounded her.

Spock's voice sent a chill down her spine. He was so close yet he
didn't touch her. "I came to your quarters because a mutual friend was
worried about you. I had promised to keep an eye on you. However, my
first inquiry said you were not there. When the computer informed me
of your return, I decided to check on you."

Christine turned to face him. He had moved a chair to the side of her
bed. "Selar always did worry too much. I thought I was bad but she's
ten times worse." Christine yawned and closed her eyes. Maybe she
should just give in to sleep and let the dreams have free reign. She
never could remember what they were about, but the terror and
hopelessness remained with her during her waking hours. She tried to
blink back her tears but one succeeded in escaping. Quickly she
brushed it away. Now was not the time to give into her tears. Selar
and Timon had spent too much time in the last four years for her to
ruin all their work by crying now.

Their methods might have been consider going overboard but they had
helped. After all, doctors needed to have a firm grip on their
emotions. It wouldn't do to break down while telling someone what
their chances were. At least that was what she kept telling herself.
The last year she had improved greatly and with the time spent on
Caltair 4 Timon had mentioned that she could pass as a Vulcan. Selar
had laughed for twenty minutes on that one. Now, though, all Christine
could do was pray for a peaceful night's sleep.

Spock sat down on the chair and stared at his hands. Slowly he sorted
through the jumbled impressions and thoughts. Raising his head, he
watched the woman on the bed, her wrinkled brow slowly smoothing out
as sleep at last won the battle she so vigilantly fought. Somewhere in
the back of his mind, he sensed her jumbled thoughts. Ignoring them he
moved on to the other voices he sensed. Some he knew although he had
never heard them before, while others seemed to flit away as he drew
closer to them.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he began his meditation
ritual. Soon he found his mind drifting. The thoughts were jumbled and
he realized that like before they weren't his. He tried to understand
what they were saying but they just became like a mist that parted as
you drew nearer.

Suddenly nothing made sense as other thoughts merged and became
louder. His eyes snapped opened as his head jerked up to stare at
Christine. She had begun to toss and turn and he knew it wouldn't be
much longer before the dream became unbearable for her. He
contemplated melding with her to find out what exactly was going on.
Somehow he knew the answers were there locked up tight inside her.

A movement to his left brought him back to his surroundings. McCoy
stood in the doorway with arms crossed, staring at them a worried
frown adding to his weathered features. "They just won't leave her
alone, will they?"

Spock raised an eyebrow as he joined him at the door. "I find it
interesting that you should phrase what is happening to her in that
way," he replied to the doctor's question.

McCoy glared at him as he stepped further into the room. "Now just
what do you mean by that? Do you know something that you're not
telling?"

Spock shook his head as he joined Leonard at the foot of her bed.
"Only that her thoughts are not her own. There are many voices that
tend to merge, although one seems to be louder than the rest, yet I
cannot make out the words."

McCoy stared at him and took a deep breath before running a shaky hand
through thinning hair. "You didn't meld with her, did you?" he asked
as he turned to leave.

Spock glanced down at the floor then at Christine. "No, she seems to
have developed some form of telepathy in the last few years."

McCoy waited until Spock joined him at the door before commenting.
"Actually from previous scans, it would seem she has always had the
ability. She was just lacking in knowledge." They walked across the
hall and into McCoy's office. Spock stood in front of the desk with
his hands behind his back. "How could she not know, Doctor?"

McCoy leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the desk. "I don't
know. All I do know is that she seems to have it now and she still
doesn't know it."

They sat in silence as each tried to fit the pieces together. A
piercing scream rent through the room. Both men jumped to their feet
and ran to where Christine sat screaming on the biobed, eyes still
closed in sleep. She was unable to wake from the nightmare. Quickly
McCoy jabbed her with the hypo. They watched as the scream died on her
lips and her eyes softly fluttered open.

She searched their faces and knew that it had only been a short time
since they had knocked her out. The dream was a vague impression of
terror in the back of her mind. She shivered and drew her knees up as
she pulled the blanket tighter around her. Sighing she leaned back and
closed her eyes.

McCoy stomped off muttering to himself about finding something that
would help her sleep and yet keep the nightmares away. Spock ran his
eyes over her face once more before following the doctor out. He too
needed to do some research before meeting with the Captain.

---

Spock sat next to Captain Kirk waiting for McCoy to finish his
conversation with Dr. Waymire. It had been three hours since he had
entered sickbay. The Captain had arrived a few minutes ago after
receiving the list of Vulcans that would be beaming aboard at Starbase
11. They had received orders to pick them up at that time. Things were
definitely not what they were suppose to be.

Kirk had merely taken a seat and waited. It seemed that Dr. Waymire
was a most popular man. McCoy had just finished explaining the reason
for his call and was now informing him of her condition and the
treatment they were trying.

Suddenly the man's voice seemed to bounce off the walls in the small
office. "How long has she been under? Didn't she explain the side
effects of a sedative on her at this point? We tried that when she was
fourteen and nearly lost her. Those may be dreams she's having but
they are dangerous to her. It's as if someone wants her to remember
while something else fights to make her forget. In essence it is a
battle of wills inside her head. I can't tell you anymore than that.
Maybe things will be different now that she's older. The one thing I
do know is that those people were in no way her true parents. Their
DNA didn't match. I know, I did the test myself."

McCoy glanced up at the men across from him. "What made you do a DNA
test on them?"

The old man shrugged his shoulders. "It was just the way they acted.
Don't get me wrong. They cared for Christine very deeply but do you
know a single parent that doesn't know what day her child was born.
Oh, they knew the next time they came and a few other details to boot,
but I wasn't fooled. There was this Vulcan that was always waiting for
them outside too. Oh, he never let Christine see him but her parents
would send her off ahead while the talked with him. Then he would just
disappear until the next visit. Strange things happening with that
one, but since it was a Vulcan I kept my mouth shut."

The old man shook his head and smiled. "Boy, how I do go on. Listen,
you take care of that girl and give her my love. Seems she is trying
to get a hold of me, too. Tell her I don't recall the name of the
doctor who saw her in the hospital but I remember her folks saying
something about they should have stayed on Vulcan a little longer.
Well, gotta go. Seems an Ambassador Sarek needs to talk to me. Never
in my life have I had so many official calls. Oh, one other thing. I
made some copies of my files I kept on her. I copied them into the
computer. You should be getting them at any moment. It's a good thing
I kept most of my old records on paper. Seems someone broke in
yesterday and destroyed everything on the computer. Boy, didn't that
piss me off. Now I have to get a computer guy to retrieve it all.
Well, Leonard, you find out what they're trying to hide from that girl
and send me your recipe for mint juleps and we'll call it an even
trade. Be seeing you."

McCoy sat back and shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. Now
there was an old country doctor. He noted the file that was being
upload as he turned to his guest. "All right, Jim, what's going on
with this envoy?"

Jim Kirk stood and than began to pace. "It seems not only will we be
bringing an envoy on Vulcans and rather esteemed ones at that but
there will be twenty young ladies joining them."

Both Spock's and McCoy's eyebrows shot up as they glanced at each
other. McCoy decided to bite and get it over with. "So, who are our
guests?"

Jim turned to look at Spock but spoke to McCoy. "It seems, Bones, that
Ambassador Sarek and his wife will be joining us once again. They will
be accompanied by Dr. Selar, a recent graduate from medical school,
and none other then Dr. Selek, the head of the Vulcan Science Academy
who just happened to be visiting in the area. It seems he will be
bringing six other healers with him. Now if I were playing cards right
now, I would say this hand was stacked."

Leonard shook his head in agreement and watched as the two fell into
step as they left. He called the nurse and asked for a stimulant and
placed it at Chris' bedside and to always have someone in the room
with her. He wanted to try to hold off on giving it to her until she
got at least a little more sleep, but he also wanted to be prepared.
After what he had learned so far today, he was certain that the
Vulcans were involved but how to prove it? Calling up the files that
Dr. Waymire had sent, he set off trying to find what was wrong with
his friend.

---

Spock sat down at his desk and bowed his head slightly in respect.
T'Pau waved her hand and got right to the point. "Spock, I know your
ship has received its orders by now. Ambassador Sevek will be joining
your father on his return trip. We have requested that the Enterprise
convey them to us. The Federation has agreed."

Spock steepled his fingers in front of him and leaned forward. Never
in all his years had he seen anyone do what he was about to do.
However it seemed necessary. "It is illogical to have the Enterprise
deliver them when the Intrepid is in their vicinity and could be on
Vulcan within five days."

T'Pau nodded and glanced off to her right. "Now is not a time to
question why we do what we do. Your presence has also been requested
on Vulcan. Live long and prosper."

Before he could return the saying, the connection was broken from her
end. He leaned back in his chair, his thoughts returning to days long
ago and a visit to Ambassador Sevek's house almost twenty years ago.
The ambassador had just returned from a planet that no one would name.
All the healers of the city had gone to the mountains shortly after
his arrival. He remembered that day because his father had returned
with him. All conversation would come to a halt whenever the children
got near.

The Science Academy had been silent for the next three weeks. No one
knew what was happening and one was not supposed to show curiosity in
such things. It was then that he had informed his father that he was
joining Starfleet. He knew that what had happened on Vulcan then had
to do with what was happening now. He realized that there were still
some pieces of the puzzle missing.

---

Kirk paced his quarters as Spock filled him in on his recent
conversation with Dr. Selar. It had been a week since they had left
Starbase 12. Later tonight they would arrive at Starbase 11 and beam
up the envoy to Vulcan. Selar was worried about her friend and
although Kirk knew of the unusual upbringing of Selar, it still
shocked him when she was so open in her concern. No doubt there had
been more to the conversation then Spock was telling but then he
trusted Spock and knew if it was important he would be told.

One thing was clear. Christine and her friends had also sought relief
for her symptoms with a sedative. He could not help wondering why she
had not mentioned it to McCoy. There were quite a few things that
bothered him about this. The fact that Spock had reason to believe
that Vulcan was involved disturbed him more than he would say. They
were the backbone of the Federation. They were looked up to for their
scientific knowledge and their logical outlook on everything. They
made the best diplomats because they never got emotional. They would
look at each side objectionably and then discuss changes so that both
sides would be happy. To think that now they had something hidden in
their closets would rock the very foundation of the Federation.

He sank down in his chair and gazed at Spock. "So the two of you have
come to the conclusion that Vulcan has something to do with Christine
Chapel's childhood. Something that they don't want to become public.
Isn't that a guess, Spock?"

Spock cocked his had to one side. "I do not guess, Captain. I have
spent the last week searching every database I could access from here.
Everything points to Vulcan's involvement."

He leaned back, steepled his fingers and gazed at the chronometer
hanging on the wall behind Kirk's head. Kirk realized how much that
look irritated him at times like this. When he himself wanted to do
something, anything beside sitting here doing nothing. Kirk nodded.
"All right, the envoy will be brought aboard at 1900. I want a full
briefing ready by 1700. I think the senior officers might be of some
help. Maybe they can think of something we might be missing." Kirk
jumped up and headed out the door. He was due on the bridge in five
minutes.

---




Christine pushed the computer display panel away and swung her feet
over the edge of the bio-bed. McCoy had insisted that she be in
sickbay resting every couple of days. She hated sitting there doing
nothing, but there wasn't much she could do. After the last two times
he had made sure there was no way for her to sneak out. Spock had been
sent to retrieve her again only this time from the rec room, where she
was beating Ensign Thorson at a game of shoks. Thorson had discovered
the card game two years ago. Christine had picked it up quickly and
before the end of the day had beaten him in the last five games.

She sighed loudly as she jumped off the bed. She looked around for her
robe and then remembered Leonard had taken that too. She glanced down
at her nightgown. It would be fine for where she was going. Carefully
she stuck her head out the door. When she was sure no one was around
she walked across the corridor and into McCoy's office. Halting in
front of his desk, she placed her hands on her hips and waited for him
to look at her. The longer it took, the more her anger boiled. She
knew he knew she was there. The alarm would have sounded the minute
she stepped out of sickbay. Finally when she could stand it no more he
looked up.

"Aren't you suppose to be resting?"

"Damn it, Len. I can't stand sitting there doing nothing. You of all
people should know that." She crossed her arms over her chest and
began to pace.

McCoy slowly stood and walked around to the front of his desk. His
eyes took in her appearance. Her face was flushed with anger and her
blue eyes flashed lightening at him. He smiled slightly as he noticed
the nightgown that swished around her when she turned. Once again he
was reminded of just how beautiful she was as she paced back and
forth. The light blue gown with white lace around the bosom
complemented her pale face and vivid blue eyes, which were throwing
daggers at him right now. Laughing, he held up his hands to defend
himself. "If you don't want to be gawked at, you shouldn't run around
in that gown."

She rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. "I don't know which one
I'd like to strangle more -- you or Nyota. I can't believe she picked
this one." When his grin threatened to spread again, she raised her
finger and wagged it at him. "And you ... you're just impossible."
Taking a deep breath she turned and began pacing again. "I am still
mad at you." Her anger had not disappeared even though she knew he had
been trying to do just that.

Leonard cocked a leg on the corner of his desk and relaxed. He knew
she needed to vent and how could he refuse her in her current state of
dress? "Permission to speak freely, Christine."

"Like that would have stopped me." She ran a shaky hand through her
hair and as she passed him again her voice began to rise as she
finally got to the problem. "Who the hell gave you the right to keep
tabs on me? I can't believe you would do that without telling me. I'm
a big girl, Len. I can take care of myself. I've been through this
before. It'll pass." She took a shaky breath and came to a stop in
front of him. "It always does." Her voice was almost a whisper on the
last words. She turned toward him and held her hand out. "Trust me on
this, Len. I know the different stages by heart." Her hand dropped
back to her side.

Leonard stood and placed and reassuring hand on her shoulder. "How
often has this happened?" Neither one had heard the door open nor saw
the two standing there as she spoke.

"What does it matter?" she asked shrugging her shoulder as she took a
step back. "It has nothing to do with the fact that you didn't trust
me. Damn it, Len, you aren't my father or my husband. Who said it was
all right to go and sic Spock and that damn computer watch dog on me?"

Laughter filled the room at her statement. She opened her mouth to
scold Leonard when she realized he wasn't the only one laughing.
Turning she saw Kirk leaning against the wall holding his side. Spock
stood to his right with one eyebrow raised. "I fail to see the humor
in this, and for your information, Dr. Chapel... Dr. McCoy did not
'sic' me on you." Spock's other eyebrow joined the first as his
friends again erupted in peals of laughter.

Kirk tried to stop laughing but never quite succeeded. "The image from
that might be enough to make this whole mission worth it." McCoy
nodded in agreement before falling into his chair.

Christine crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
"Sometimes I think they deserve each other," she muttered as she
lowered herself into the other chair. Gazing from the captain to the
doctor, she lowered her voice. "All I wanted was to go back to my
room. I can take care of myself."

McCoy smiled and sat forward. "That might be but allow the rest of us
the right to worry over a friend." Spock stepped forward as the
captain lowered himself into the opposite chair, still smiling.

Jim smiled at her as he motioned to Spock. "Why don't you escort her
to the briefing room while I bring McCoy up to date?"

Spock nodded and offered Christine his hand.

Ignoring it Christine stood and looked around quickly. She spotted her
robe on a shelf by the door. Turning she rolled her eyes at both
individuals as she retrieved the item. Slipping it on quickly, she
glanced up at Spock in time to see his eyes move up her body. She
turned away to hide the blush that rose to her cheeks, then she
activated the doors.

The briefing started fifteen minutes late due to the absence of Kirk
and McCoy, who entered with huge smiles on their faces. Personally
Christine thought they both needed some R & R badly. She brought her
thoughts back to the meeting as Spock stood and nodded to the Captain.

"In a few hours we will be escorting a group of Vulcans to Vulcan. In
the last week ships heading to Vulcan have increased. In the last
forty eight hours, over two thousand Vulcans have returned home. This
hasn't occurred in over twenty years. Everything that has taken place
in the last week has been done since Dr. Selar mentioned Dr. Chapel's
current sleep problems." He walked to the other end and pointed to the
screen. "This is Ambassador Sevek and Healer Selek. The last time both
men were on Vulcan at the same time was 19 years, 8 months, and 3 days
ago. No one knows where they were before their return. Recently Dr.
Chapel's extra sensory powers have increased in the telepathy
department. I have come to the conclusion that the voices she is
hearing are real, further data is required to be 100% certain."

Christine let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Finally
she could stop wondering if she was crazy. Now all she had to do was
figure out how to make them stop. She rubbed her head. The headache
had started a few seconds before the meeting and had been steadily
getting worse. Right now it was tolerable but that wouldn't last very
long.

She brought her attention back to the events at hand, realizing that
she had missed parts of the briefing. Spock was just finishing up with
the Vulcan envoy and was moving to the next part. She cocked her head
at the mention of the twenty young women that would be accompanying
them.

Spock glanced up at Kirk as he continued. "There is very little known
about them. The only information I can find indicates that they are
human, between the ages of 35 to 45. All other information is secured
in the interest of the Federation." Spock took his seat as his
friends' murmurs grew around the table.

Kirk stood and held up his hand. "All right, folks, we all know that
is the highest security there is. However, it will not do us any good
to speculate. I suggest we take this unique opportunity to get to know
these young ladies as well as their escorts. Scotty, you will be in
the transporter room. Let's keep this as quiet as we can for as long
as we can. Spock, Bones and Chapel will be on hand to greet them in
one hour. Needless to say, we seem to be coming up with more questions
than answer; so keep your eyes open. Dismissed."

Dr. McCoy's hand on her arm let Christine know she was to wait. She
motioned Nyota to her and whispered in her ear. Uhura shook her head,
grinned and walked out. Christine's eyes moved between Kirk and McCoy
as they waited for the room to clear. Jim sank into his chair and
leaned forward arms resting on the arm of the chair. She followed his
eyes to Spock then quickly looked away.

Jim sat staring at him with his chin resting on his hand. Suddenly she
found herself to be the victim of those intense brown eyes boring into
her. His voice was low and all trace of his earlier humor was gone.
"Dr. Chapel, can you please tell us why T'Pau has asked for your
presence on Vulcan?"

Christine jerked forward. "Sir?"

Jim nodded. "It seems that they want you down there as well. What is
it that connects you with Vulcan?"

Christine shrugged her shoulders and leaned back. "I haven't got a
clue. I have never been to Vulcan and the only Vulcans I know are Mr.
Spock, Ambassador Sarek, Selar and Master Sters."

Kirk watched as Spock eyebrows rose slightly at her mention of the
last name. "Who is this Master Sters?"

Christine sat forward and leaned her elbows on the table. "He was a
friend of my parents. Every afternoon for eight years he would come by
and teach me different things. He helped me through high school after
my parents died. In fact I stayed with him for a few years but he was
very private. I don't know anything more than that. I saw him once a
week after I started medical school and then when I was dating Roger
it became a once a month thing. We keep in touch still. In fact the
last time I saw him was right before my residency." A shiver ran up
her spine at the memories of their ill-fated residency to Caltair 4.

Spock turned to the Captain and lifted one eyebrow. "Master Sters is
well known on Vulcan. He was absent for seventeen years. T'Pau said
that he was on assignment. He was to be my sponsor for the Academy but
was called away unexpectedly. So there is not much more I can tell you
about him. I do know that for the last eight he has reclaimed his
titled as Grand Master at the Science Academy."

Kirk shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "All right, it looks as if we
aren't going to get any answers until they are ready to give them.
Dismissed."

Christine stood and looked to Leonard. "Go on," he said as he motioned
her out the door with his hands. "Change your clothes and meet me back
in sickbay." She smiled brightly at him and gave him a quick hug as
she flew out the door.

Half way to her quarters she met Nyota carrying two very big sticks. A
smile lit her eyes as she took them from her. "Thanks. Did Snarl say
anything?"

Nyota smiled and nodded. "Yes, she said she would meet you the gym in
four hours. She will just be getting off her shift and could use a
good work out." Uhura wrapped her arm through Chris's as they headed
toward her room. "You aren't thinking about taking Snarl on right now,
are you? I mean you haven't rested in days. She could tear you apart
before she realized you were down."

The doors to her quarters swished closed behind them. Chris set the
staffs in the far corner, then grabbed her uniform. She stepped into
the bathroom to take a quick shower. "I am hoping that it will wear me
down enough to help me sleep. And don't worry -- I can handle Snarl."

Nyota nodded. "You're probably the only one. Well, except for Mr.
Spock." She held her breath waiting to hear the answer. She knew about
Chris's affection toward Spock and hoped that the time away had cured
her of them. Chris's laughter rang out around her. "Not working,
Nyota. If you want to know, just ask."

Nyota shook her head and sat down. "All right, so how do you like
being back?"

Her answer was muffled by the sound of the water, but still managed to
make sense. "I am glad to be back, but I wish they would turn that
stupid computer off. I can't even blush without them getting a
printout on the damn thing. Other than that, it's great to be home."

Nyota sighed and rolled her eyes. She raised her voice just as the
shower quit. "What about Spock?"

Chris's head poked out around the divider and glared at her friend.
"You don't have to yell. I mean these walls aren't all that sound
proof."

"You didn't answer my question."

Her head disappeared for a few minutes then she reappeared fully
dressed and combing her hair. "We are friends and nothing more. I
managed to realize that I was using him to hide. Sort of a rebound
from Roger. I still care for him very deeply but that's all it can
ever be and I do know that, Nyota."

Nyota shook her head. She understood her friend maybe better than
anyone else. Look at Janice and the Captain, and herself. Maybe that's
the way it was meant to be. "Don't worry, Chris, your secret's safe
with me. So, tell me what was it like on Caltair 4. I heard they went
nuts."

Chris shivered and turned toward the door. "I have to get to the
transporter room. I'll see you later." Seconds later Nyota found
herself alone in the empty room. Shaking her head she whispered to no
one in particular. "What did I say now?" Shrugging she went to the
bridge for the docking with Starbase 11.

---

Ambassador Sarek and his wife Amanda stepped down from the dais and
greeted the captain. Dr. Selar and Ambassador Sevek took their places
next to them as they waited for the next group. Dr. Selek would arrive
after all the women were on board. McCoy grabbed Christine's arm as
she sagged next to him, her eyes never leaving Ambassador Sevek's
face. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she smiled up at Leonard
as he put her between him and Spock, as the first of the women was
beamed aboard.

Silence filled the room as the three women materialized. They were all
blonde with blue eyes of the same build and height as Christine. The
facial features were different but other than that they seemed to be
the same. As the three of them stepped down and moved toward the
group, there were four screams of pain and the women along with
Christine grabbed their heads and fell to the floor.

McCoy rushed forward as Spock lowered Christine to the floor.
Ambassador Sevek grabbed two of the women and pulled them toward the
door. "We must separate them," he said as the doors swished open. Dr.
McCoy grabbed the third one and with Dr. Selar's help managed to get
her out the door. As the doors shut behind them Christine moaned and
shook her head. On shaky feet she rose with the aid of her Captain.

Seconds later the doors opened to admit Ambassador Sevek back into the
room. His eyes scanned the room then stopped with the Captain.
"Captain Kirk, I must request that she leave the room now." His hand
moved up to point at Christine. "There can be no more than three women
in a room at any given time. It causes them extreme pain, as we have
just witnessed. There is no way we can authorize the transfer of the
others until she has gone." His eyes seemed to bore into her very
soul. Slowly he circled her like a lion with his prey. His eyes rose
as the command crew planted themselves between him and her. With a
raised brow he turned away. "I refuse to cooperate as long as she is
here. Her kind seems to have a strange effect on men."

Christine felt her temper rise but held it in check. The man might be
Vulcan but he was quite rude, something she had rarely seen. She
turned as a gentle hand touched her arm and met the warm blue eyes of
Lady Amanda. "Come with me, Christine. I think they have a few things
to discuss." Christine nodded and let herself be led out the door.

As she passed Ambassador Sevek she could not resist a parting shot.
"They are sentiment beings and should be treated with a little
respect, Ambassador."

Amanda's hand tightened on her arm and pulled her through the doors.
As they closed behind them she heard a slight tinkle of laughter
coming from Lady Amanda. She glanced at the woman who smiled and
patted her arm. "I have been wanting to say that to him for the last
week. I'm glad someone finally did. I am curious to know what planet
you come from. Sarek has not answered me."

Christine could only shake her head. She had never been alone with
Spock's mother and was not sure how to react to her. Wiping her sweaty
palms on the side of her uniform, she shrugged her shoulders. "I am
from Earth. At least I thought I was. I don't know where they are
from." Her hand was shaking as she grabbed the handle in the turbolift
and requested the VIP quarters. She glanced over at the rather petite
woman standing next to her and noticed the soft smile on her lips.

"Why don't you stay and talk with me a while? Sarek and the others
will not be done for quiet some time," Amanda commented.

Christine nodded as they walked down the corridor. She could use a
friend right now.

---

Christine changed into shorts and a t-shirt, then headed to the gym.
Her talk with Amanda had been interesting but did nothing to help calm
her. Snarl was already warming up when she entered. They nodded to
each other as Christine began. She was actually looking forward to it.
It had been a long time since she had worked with someone she didn't
have to worry about. Though Snarl was good, it was her strength that
challenged Christine and that is what she needed today.

Grabbing her staff she turned and bowed to her colleague. Snarl bowed
then snapped out a command to the computer. Immediately the room
shifted gravity. Christine felt it pull on her and smiled. Vulcan
gravity, this she could handle. Lt. Snarl grinned showing those canine
teeth her race was noted for. The fur on her neck stood on end as they
circled each other. Neither paid any attention as the doors opened and
the computer set the warning of the gravity to the entrants. Their
thoughts were only for each other.

Snarl swung the staff up and over. Christine countered and the
resounding crack echoed in the room as the two staffs met in mid-air.
A low growl came next, causing Snarl to pause and take a step back.
Christine lowered her staff and shook her head. "What's the matter,
Snarl? Forget how to fight?"

Shaking her mane of hair, Snarl raised her staff and bowed. "No,
merely forgot." They both nodded and this time the cracks seemed to
fill the room as they came together and slid apart only to connect
again. Christine smiled as the muscles in her arms bulged every time
they connected, her mind planning her next move before she completed
the first. With a swiftness Snarl had never seen, she swung her staff
out. The top half connected with Snarl's then suddenly the bottom was
knocking her feet out from under her.

Snarl lay on the mat breathing heavily. Christine offered her hand but
Snarl knocked it away. "You putta," she growled at her. Immediately
Christine backed up, her staff at the ready. The first time Snarl had
lost at this, Christine had a nasty gash in her thigh. She had since
learned to always be on guard.

Her voice was low as she took a step back. "It's your fault for not
practicing while I was gone. Would you like to go again?"

Snarl leaned on her elbow and gazed at her friend. With a sigh she
waved Christine forward. "You are right but you need to work off some
aggression and I refuse to be at the receiving end." Snarl stood and
shook her head. "There are enough Vulcans on board. Why don't you use
one of them, or are you afraid they might win?"

Christine's laughter rang low and sweet. "Oh, Snarl, I only worry that
they won't use full strength. With you I know I get the full force and
I am sorry. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Am I forgiven?"

"Yes, and if you hadn't made me mad once and not stopped until I had
calmed down, you still wouldn't know. Now it would be dishonorable to
give less." She bowed then stood up and nodded to the people behind
Christine. She turned to find Spock, Sarek and Sevek staring at them.

Sarek stepped forward and nodded to them both. "I find it interesting
that a human and Caitian are in a gym with Vulcan gravity fighting
with Kantian staffs. At what level do you practice and who taught you
this?"

Snarl bowed low to them and turned to Christine and bowed even lower.
"I will leave them to you. I request a new lesson tomorrow." Christine
nodded then turned to put the staffs away.

Sarek stepped forward and motioned toward the staff. "May I?"

Christine smiled and handed him hers. "They are both made from
Trainian wood found on Kantian."

Sarek nodded and tested it for balance. "Nicely done. Who taught you
how to make these?"

"Master Seers and Wantran. It is tradition for a Master of Kantz to
make their own staffs."

Christine held in her laughter as the men's eyebrows rose as if they
were triplets. Sarek asked for the other staff and tested it. Nodding,
he moved into the center of the room and practiced for a few minutes.
He turned to Christine and bowed. "Would you do me the honor?"

Eyebrows raised she moved into the center of the mats. "Only if you
promise not to hold back."

"As the Lieutenant said, it would dishonor a master to do less. I have
reached the advocate level."

Bowing, they began to circle each other, testing the strengths and
weaknesses of the other. Christine knew that Sarek was stronger than
she was but she had youth and quickness on her side. Her weakness was
that she hadn't slept in so long that she wasn't sure if she would be
able to last very long. She knew with him she would not be thinking of
her next move until it was time to do it. Finally she would be able to
use the knowledge Wantran had given her.

She led with the first thrust and was quickly countered. She felt the
pain of the staffs connecting down to her shoulder and each jolt
thereafter only add to her pain. She knew that each clang of the wood
would stay with her for a day or two. Still she continued, countering
each attack as he swung. He was not holding back and she knew that if
it didn't end soon she would lose.

She saw the staff coming toward her left side about waist high.
Instinct and training took over. She brought the end of her staff down
on his using it for support she swung herself up and over. As she hit
the ground she brought the other end of her staff around connecting
with his legs. He struck the mat with a resounding thud. Christine
stepped back breathing heavily. She had definitely had a workout
tonight. Sarek came to his feet and bowed.

"Fascinating," he replied, then turned to Spock. "There will be a
meeting at 0700 tomorrow. Your mother and I expect to see you later
this evening."

Spock nodded and watched as his father and Sevek left the room.
Christine could swear that she saw a small smile flit across his face.
However, when he turned toward her, there was no trace. His eyebrow
was almost reaching his hairline. "At our last lesson, you did not
mention that you had studied under Master Wantran as well."

She smiled and leaned on her staff for support. It had taken more from
her than she wanted anyone to know. She knew that even at full
strength Sarek would have won if she had not have used that little
flip at the end. However, right now she just wanted Spock to leave.
Mustering what strength she had left, she moved to the corner and
placed the staffs in her locker. "No one ever asked me." She shrugged
her shoulder and moved toward the changing rooms. "I spent five years
with her. She entered me in the Kantz championship games when I was
twenty. I took top honors against Soron of Vulcan. Though I went by
the name of Wan two at the time." She turned facing him waiting for
his reaction.

It wasn't what she expected. "Impressive. You are the only human who
has achieved that honor. Though I do not understand why you would
change your name. Did you not know the importance of the title?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was dating Roger at the time and he was
not very big on strong women." She waved her hand. "He didn't mind us
using our brains a little but God forbid we use some bronze. I guess
in a way he is why I did not go on to med school to start with. I..."
She shook her head and turned to the doors. "I am too tired to talk
and all I seem to do right now is babble. So, if you'll excuse me, Mr.
Spock, I think I just might be able to get some sleep."

Spock bowed low and turned to leave. "Thank you for showing me that my
father is not always perfect. Also, I seemed to recall you offering
another lesson. Perhaps we will be able to do that soon."

---

Christine spun around, however the room was empty. She shook her head,
realizing some things had changed. Smiling she managed to change then
headed to her quarters. She lay down but sleep was a long time in
coming and when it did it was filled with images and cries that woke
her screaming. Glancing at the clock she realized she had only gotten
a half hour sleep. She punched the pillow and tried again. Two hours
later she gave up, dressed and headed to the observation room. There
was only a few hours to go until shift change.

---

Uhura glanced around the bridge. It was turning out to be another
boring run. Not that she minded it with all that was going on with
Christine. She just hated not having anything to do. Sighing she
turned around to glare at Sulu and Chekov who were silently chatting
away and pointing at their boards. The Captain had left her in charge
while Spock and he attended a briefing with Ambassador Sevek. She
shivered at the thought. The man was very polite but tended to make
her gut clinch. She knew there was no reason for it but she could not
change what her guts thought about the man.

She shook her head and rising made her way to the to men in front. "Is
there a problem, boys?"

Sulu smiled up at her and pointed at Chekov's board. "It seems we have
a ghost. The readings match ours perfectly only they're about a light
year away. We were just deciding whether to tell you or run another
test."

Uhura smiled and turned away. "Well, now I know so why don't you run
your little test? I want to know what that is by the time the Captain
gets back."

Thirty minutes later and they were no closer to what was there than
when they started. Chekov turned around, his accent thicker than
normal. "There is no way that thing is coming from us. I think we are
being followed."

Uhura took a deep breath and called the Captain. When he arrived with
Spock, she filled him in on what they knew so far. Spock immediately
set to work at the science station, relieving the ensign that was
there. Kirk waited patiently while Spock ran his test. Then looked
around at his crew. "Suggestions?"

Spock was the first. "We need to get closer to be certain who it is.
However, by doing that we take away our element of surprise. I suggest
we wait and see what they do. If they are the ones who took Dr. Chapel
from the starbase then they will surely try again."

Kirk nodded then turned to Chekov. "I want to know where that ship is
at all times. If it gets within transporter range, it might be able to
beam her out with our shields up. They had no problem getting through
the shields of the starbase."

Chekov nodded and turned back to his board. Shift change would soon be
over and he was ready for a good workout. Sulu had promised to teach
him some different fencing moves and he was getting good at it. Then
he would make a trip to the rec room. The Vulcans had come aboard last
night and he had caught a glimpse of the women that had accompanied
them. This was definitely going to be a very good trip.

Sulu shook his head and jabbed Chekov in the ribs. The man had not
changed at all. The smile on his face let everyone know just where his
thoughts were. He knew Chekov loved his job in security but
occasionally he would do a stint up on the bridge. As he put it, he
wanted to be sure he had a job to go back to in case security didn't
work out. Sulu stood and let his relief take over, nudging Chekov
again to get his attention. He laughed gently as they moved to the
lift. They really needed to get that boy a girl at the next stop.

Uhura joined them in the turbolift and into the mess. Laughter
abounded, as in the far corner sat three of the women with a fair
amount of the male crew surrounding them. Sulu had heard from Chekov
that they were all blonde and a little older than Christine, but he
was unprepared for the beauty he saw before him. They seemed to shine
and something inside of him yearned to get closer. He shook his head
and glanced around the room. It seemed he wasn't the only one affected
in that way.

With a gentle hand on Uhura's arm and a tight grip on Chekov, he
pushed them back out the door. The longing on Chekov's face was
mirrored on his. It was as if they were calling to his soul. Uhura was
glancing between him and Chekov. Her words seemed to agitate him. "You
two look like your best friend just died."

He shook his head and tried to explain what he felt in there. Chekov
could only nod as it dawned on them both that something had to be done
and quickly, before the whole male contingent started fighting over
those women.

Minutes later the senior officers along with Christine met with
Ambassadors Sarek and Sevek. It was agreed that the women could have
the deck above the mess to themselves. Dr. McCoy would run some tests
on the women to see whether they were doing it on purpose or
naturally. Against Ambassador Sevek's protest Christine was giving
permission to help. The testing would start immediately.

It didn't take long for McCoy to realize that the women only seemed to
have the effect of a siren's song when there was two or more in the
same room. However, this did not have the same effect if the third
woman was Christine. Finding that small piece allowed them to move on
to the next step. One small consolation was that Vulcans seemed to be
immune to this. However, he was not taking any chances.

It took McCoy and Chapel a day to find that it was a type of hormone
that the women secreted. It was genetically encoded in their DNA.
Age-wise, it seemed that Christine was the youngest, born one year
after the youngest of the others. The genetic code for this hormone
seemed to have been missing in her.

McCoy stared at these findings. All the clues seemed to point to one
possible answer, yet he was hesitant to bring it up. He wanted to be
absolutely sure of his findings. He knew if he was correct,
Christine's whole life was about to be turned upside down.

Christine left sickbay and headed to her quarters. She was supposed to
meet Janice there twenty minutes ago. Janice would still be waiting
knowing that she would be there soon. As she exited the lift, she
passed Spock and his mother. The doors to her quarters opened
automatically as she passed its sensor. Racing forward she yelled for
Spock before the doors could close all the way.

Spock entered to find her kneeling next to Lieutenant Rand. The woman
was pale and barely breathing. Amanda stood in the door watching as
they called for a stretcher. Christine continued to work on her friend
and co-worker, knowing that it should have been her lying there. A
single tear rolled down her cheek as Janice was rushed to sickbay.
Spock looked around her quarters, then stared at the far wall. Again
the feeling that something wasn't quite right nagged at him, but like
before he couldn't see what it was.

The investigation didn't last very long. The ship that had been
following them for the last few days had disappeared only to reappear
an hour later at the same distance away. Janice had survived, but like
Christine she couldn't remember anything. Ambassador Sarek offered his
services for a mind meld, hoping that it would give them some clue as
to whom they were dealing.

Christine leaned against the door jam watching intently. She had heard
Spock mention it and knew he had done a few on Kirk but had never seen
it done. As a doctor she was very interested in this procedure and how
it would affect a non human. However today she opted for staying back
out of everyone's way. Healer Selek was seated on the second bio bed.
He would be supervising. McCoy took up a position behind Janice and
Sarek. Spock was in McCoy's office talking with the Captain, as they
continued to track the other ship. Whoever was trailing them had
decided to take their time to move again.

The doors behind Christine opened and the Captain came to a stop
beside her. She nodded to him and turned back to watch. Sarek moved
forward blocking Janice's face from Christine's view. Though she
couldn't see the placing of the hand, she felt it. The words spoken
sounded through her mind. Her face paled as she took a hesitant step
back. Her eyes met those of Healer Selek and a chill went through her.
Her voice was low as she spoke the words at the same time. "My mind to
yours mind, my thoughts to your thoughts."

Body trembling, she yelled "no" and turned to flee. She impacted with
Spock. Shoving him away she ran out of sickbay as if someone was
chasing her. When she entered the observation lounge, she sank into
the nearest cubicle.

A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. She turned to see Lady Amanda
sitting in the corner. "You seem to be having a lot of problems
lately. Would you care to talk? It's the least I can do since you
listened to me last time."

Christine smiled and shook her head. "I don't know where to start."

"How about at the beginning? Problems tend to be easier to deal with
when shared."

Christine took a deep breath and told her everything that had happened
to date. She spoke of the fear and pain, of the voices and sickness,
of friends and loved ones. Neither paid attention to the comings and
goings that surrounded them. When she could talk no more, they merely
sat and gazed at the stars around them. They had dropped out of warp
earlier to see if they could improve on the shields and the stars lit
the eternal darkness of space.

Amanda's voice was no more than a whisper but cut the silence like a
bomb. "Does he know you love him?"

Christine returned her eyes to the stars. "Yes and no. I told him a
long time ago, but time changes one's outlook on such things."

"One's outlook, yes, but your heart will not lie." A deep sadness
filled her eyes as she gazed at the young woman. "My son is very
bright about most things, but somehow I have forgotten to teach him
about matters of the heart. I fear he will grow old alone, when I have
found that I want grandchildren more than anything else in these last
years. Still it is his life even if I don't like the outcome. His
father is proud of him and that is all that will matter to him in the
long run." Standing she offered Christine her hand. "Why don't we go
see how the mind meld went? Maybe they have found out something
useful."

Christine shook her head as another shiver ran up her spine. "You go
on. I don't want to see them just yet." In silence she watched as Lady
Amanda glided from the cubicle to disappear into the darkness of the
lounge. Taking a deep breath she stood and ran a hand across the
window as if she could grab a star and hold on to it. She jumped as a
voice came from out of nowhere. Looking around she saw no one, yet the
voice came again over and over as it resounding in her head. It grew
louder until she could no longer stand the pain. The darkness from
outside seemed to wrap around her, helping her descend into its
territory.

Uhura heard the scream and entered the lounge within seconds of the
scream dying. Glancing around she detected nothing out of the
ordinary. Seconds later the lights had been raised and the room was
being searched. A few seconds after that Kirk, McCoy and Spock raced
into the room. McCoy grabbed Uhura arm and spun her around. "Did you
see Chris?"

"No. I got here as the screams died and there was no one here." She
felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on her. The scream
had been filled with pain and to know that it had come from her friend
made it all the worse. Her eyes met Bones. "She's not on board, is
she?"

McCoy rubbed a shaky hand over his face. "No, the computer set the
alarms off about the time your call came in."

Uhura sagged into him. "There was so much pain in her scream. It felt
like someone was tearing her apart." A tear fell from her brown eyes
onto his hand as he ushered her to the nearest seat.

"Just relax and take a deep breath. We know where she is. We just
don't know how to get to her."

He glanced up and glared at Spock and Kirk as they joined him. "So,
what's going on?"

Kirk shook his head. "The ship disappeared a few seconds before the
alarms went off. We don't know where that ship is now. I'll keep you
informed as soon as we know anything. The computer is set up to notify
the three of us the minute she is returned."

McCoy ran his hand through his graying hair. "Let's just hope they
decide to return her. What the hell happened to the damn shields?
Don't they work anymore?"

Spock walked over and sat down in the nearest cubicle. "We knew they
could get through a starbase's shields. There was a 98% chance that
they could get through ours as well. Mr. Scott was working on
improving them."

McCoy grabbed Uhura arm and headed for the door. "Well, there is
nothing we can do until we find that damn ship. Uhura and I will be in
sickbay."

Kirk turned to stare out the window. Once again he felt helpless.
Someone had taken a member of his crew and he had always taken that
personally. The question now was how to get her back and keep her. He
sighed loudly and turned to his first officer. "So what can we do to
keep them from getting her again?"

"I suggest she have someone with her twenty-four hours. They have only
taken her while she has been alone. The computer said that Healer
Selek and my mother where the only other people here before her
disappearance and both said they did not hear anything."

Kirk nodded. "So that clears them."

Spock sat forward and placed his fingers under his chin. "You believe
that they have help from someone on board." Kirk took it to mean that
he had been thinking alone the same line. "I too thought that they had
someone helping them. Actually the odds of it are..."

"Spock, all I want to know is a list of people that might be working
with them."

Spock nodded and sat back. "I will have it downloaded to your
quarters. Healer Selek is on the list, so is Ambassador Sevek. We do
not know the speed of that ship but I calculate that it can go at
least warp 9.6. That would give both of them enough time to get to
Starbase 11 a day before us."

Kirk walked toward the door. "Damn, and here I thought we would only
have to worry about the ten people we picked up on Starbase 12. Just
how many people are we talking about, Spock?"

"With the twenty women and the Vulcan envoy, it would bring the total
to 43, sir."

The doors closed on his parting words leaving Spock to consider them
in total darkness. "I want to know who's behind this, no matter what."
He gazed out at the stars. Somewhere that ship lay waiting for them.
He didn't know where but he knew it was waiting up ahead. Janice had
been knocked unconscious seconds after the beam began transport. She
had been early and had gone into Christine's room to wait for her. As
soon as the doors closed behind her, a light began to dance around
her. It had been very painful at the beginning and she remembered
hearing a voice telling her to forget but that was all. The next thing
she was waking up in sickbay.

He stood and headed out the door. They had to return Christine
somewhere and he would be waiting, but first he needed to ask Janice
one question. Who had overheard them setting up the date?

An hour later Spock left sickbay with a blanket and some interesting
information to sort through. His mother and father had joined Leonard
and Nyota in sickbay. He noticed that his mother was taking it hard.
She had mentioned the fact that she had talked with Christine for a
few hours a couple of nights ago and then again a few minutes before
she disappeared. Fleetingly he wondered what they could have in common
that would formulate such devotion. It seemed that he would never
understand women which he deemed highly illogical. His father informed
him that women were one of the only things that logic did not apply to
whether they be Vulcan or Human.

It was late into the third shift when Christine reappeared in the
observation lounge. Spock was at her side before the beam disappeared.
Carefully he wrapped the blanket around her and picked her up. The
doors opened as he neared them and in rushed the congregation from
sickbay along with the Captain. Spock raised one eyebrow and moved
past them.

They fell into step behind him, informing the crew who had been
visiting the lounge to go back to what they were doing. Bones'
sarcastic words echoed in the corridors, helping release some of the
tension. "If this keeps up, she isn't going to have any clothes left.
The least they could do is send her back with what she left in."
Amanda reached over and took one of his hands in hers as Uhura did the
same. Both ignored the tear that rolled down his face.

Everyone was startled by Christine's scream as she swung her hand
toward Spock's face. Within seconds she found herself pressed tightly
against his body. Her hands were pinned to her side as she tried to
get away from the creature that held her. Realizing that her feet were
swinging freely she swung them back and then forward, trying to kick
her captor in the shins. He was quicker than she was and she found
herself caught between the wall and his body as his voice tried to
calm her.

Her breathing was ragged as she tried in vain to get away. She felt
the cloth that surrounded her to be slipping further down the harder
she fought. Suddenly near her ear she heard the soft hiss of a hypo
and wondered briefly where it had come from. Slowly her head began to
clear and she gazed into two very worried brown eyes. Through the
ringing in her ears, she made out the whispered words that brushed her
cheek with warmth. "Christine, it's alright. You're safe now."

She groaned loudly as she realized that the warm body pressed so
intimately to hers belonged to the one person she didn't want to find
her like this. Taking a deep breath she leaned her head back against
the wall and tried to move the rest of her. It was at that point that
she knew that only Spock's body and the wall kept her from falling. It
also was the only thing keeping the blanket in place.

Off to her right she could see Captain Kirk and Leonard. Both wore
matching expressions. She closed her eyes and felt the darkness
surround her once again.

Voices filtered through her thoughts. Some she knew, some she didn't.
All seemed to call to her. Pain filled her as she moved toward the
nearest and loudest, yet another called to her soul and briefly she
turned to it and felt its fear. Its cry for help ripped through her
defenses and tore at her heart. Somehow she knew that she must find
the owner of the voice. She had to solve the puzzle, had to fit the
small pieces that her mind was desperately trying to hold onto. The
answers however were not where they were heading.

The light from the room blinded her as she cried out. "I have to find
her. Help us." She sat up and pushed at the hands trying to hold her
down. Her breathing heavy, hair disheveled as in wide-eyed amazement
she glanced around her. Slowly her whereabouts began to take shape and
she took a ragged breath and reached out and grab McCoy's arm.
"Leonard?"

His voice was soft and low. "You're on the Enterprise, Chris.
Everything's okay, relax and let the medicines do their work."

She shook her head and glanced around the room. She let her eyes
settled on the two men standing in the corner. Shaking her head, her
eyes never left where Spock and Sarek stood. "No, it'll be too late. I
need to talk to Ambassador Sarek and Spock. We can't go to Vulcan."

Spock stepped forward. "Your memory has returned?"

She shook her head. "No, but I know the answers aren't here. Please,
if we go there then the dreams will always be there and neither I nor
Vulcan will know the truth we all seek."

Sarek moved forward and bowed low. "I must confer with T'Pau before I
agree."

Christine nodded. " The only request I make is that T'Pau tell no one
of my request not to go to Vulcan." At Sarek's nod she glanced at the
Captain. "I know I don't have the right to ask this Captain, but if
T'Pau agrees, will you turn the ship around?"

Kirk glanced at Spock and then gave a dip of his head. "If it will
solve what is going on, yes, I'll turn around." He glanced at the
people in the room. His eyes meeting each ones as he spoke his next
words. "I expect that what has been said in here will go no further."
Everyone agreed including Sarek and Lady Amanda.

Suddenly the doors open and in rushed Doctors Selar and Selek. Selek
stopped and glared at Kirk as Selar rushed to Christine's side. "The
computer informed us that she had been returned. How is she doing?" As
soon as the words were spoken, the doors opened to admit Ambassador
Sevek.

Kirk shook his head and smiled. "Well, now that we are all here, she
is fine and in need of rest. So shall we call it a night? Dr. McCoy
can take care of his patient without all of us."

McCoy nodded and shooed them out the door. His eyes met Janice and
Uhura's as the doors closed behind the others. "Well, if you two are
staying, I suggest one of you get some sleep. I'll be back in a few
hours. Also I'm putting this room under quarantine. The shields should
give you some added protection." Smiling he walked out the door.

He sighed loudly as he stepped into his office. Things would be slow
going for a little while. He sat back in his chair and put his feet on
his desk.

He didn't budge when the doors opened to admit the Captain and his
first officer.

"So, what have you two been up to?"

Jim took a seat and leaned it back on two legs. "Just doing some
thinking. Could it be possible that whoever is kidnaping Dr. Chapel
put her up to asking us to take her somewhere else?"

Spock took the other seat and rested his chin on steeple fingers.
"There is a fifty percent possibility. As in all things, there is no
logical way of knowing without doing a mind meld."

"Oh, no, you don't." McCoy's feet hit the floor with a loud thud. "We
have no idea how powerful her esper rating is now and if they are
controlling her mind then they might be able to get to you. I don't
recommend it, nor will I condone it."

Spock raised an eyebrow then leaned back. "Your concern is logical and
I will not attempt it. I merely offered it as a course of action that
we may have to utilize. Dr. Selar and Dr. Selek are the most sensible
choices for such an undertaking. However, they are on the list of
possible accomplices."

McCoy rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I just can't believe that Vulcan
could somehow be involved in something that so clearly hurts someone
else. By the way, when Christine is in sickbay, it almost seems as if
something else is there also."

Spock stood and walked toward the door. "I have also noticed such a
phenomenon. Every culture has those who digress from the norm. As for
Vulcan we are no exception, although ours are not as common as
others." The doors closed behind him as he made his way down the empty
corridors.

McCoy just shook his head. "I think he wants the answers as much as
Chris does." He leaned back and put his feet back on the desk. "I
think we are going to have our hands full with them."

Jim stood and began to pace. "I know. I've been waiting for him to
mention the mind meld. We talked about it earlier when Dr. Chapel ran
out of sickbay. Spock may be the only one she'll trust."

"Yeah, I thought of that too. You know what really bothers me, Jim?
Those women they brought on board. They are as much a part of this as
Chris and the Vulcans, but they don't seem to care. It's like a part
of them is missing."

"What do you mean Bones?"

McCoy shook his head. "I hate to sound cliché but to steal an old
saying from the 20th century, they are the equivalent of a dumb
blonde." Placing his hands behind his head, he looked up at the
ceiling. "Twenty women with no brains, what a waste."

Kirk stopped and smiled at him. "That depends on how you look at it.
Some would love the idea. Especially with the hormones they produce."

That caught Bones attention. His feet hit the floor as his hands hit
the desk. "That was the other thing I wanted to talk with you about.
Those hormones are only produced by Deltans. And then we have their
physical shapes which are perfect in all proportions. Got me to
thinking so I ran a few test and matched some data. You wouldn't
believe the genes those women carry. Even Chris has them though
someone did a much better job at it with her."

Jim turned and took his seat. "Does Spock know about this?"

McCoy punched a button on his files and nodded his head. "Yep, seems
he just got my message."

Jim leaned back trying to make himself comfortable for what he took
would be a long conversation.

"All right, out with it. Just how many different species are we
talking about?"

McCoy shook his head. "We're not completely sure. We've counted five
but there are ten other genes that we've never seen before. Of the
ones we are sure of, four of them have a high esper rating. They
consist of Vulcans, Deltans, Melkot, Kaferians. Add to that the one
planet in the Federation that is genetically perfect."

"Ilyria?"

"Yep. I heard Captain Pike's first officer was from there. They are
perfect and designed to fulfill certain jobs in that society. About
sixty years ago, they broadened their codes to allow for people to go
off planet without interrupting their society. Seems to have paid off
for them."

"Any guess of the other genes inside them?"

"Oh, I have a few ideas but I'd like to get some sample to be sure.
One thing, there is three years' difference between the youngest of
them and Christine.

She just might be their last experiment before something went wrong.
If that's the case, she might know something that they want kept
quiet." He rubbed a hand over weary eyes. "Then again they might need
her to continue, by seeing what she can tolerate and is capable of
they can create better and brighter beings than their first batch."

---

Spock waited patiently at the transporter, awaiting the return of his
father. T'Pau had requested that he accompany the Enterprise on its
current mission. However, she wished to speak to him first. Spock had
met with her briefly before returning to the ship to oversee the
transfer of the women. His mother had requested to stay onboard and
await Sarek's return. Spock's curiosity had been peaked this trip and
he was finding it difficult not to find fault with the way Vulcan had
handled the crisis twenty years earlier. He still had no information
on what happened all those years ago but T'Pau's reaction to his
question had been enough of an answer. It was time he and his father
had a nice long talk.

The ship that had been following them was still waiting out beyond
Vulcan's sensor range. Spock had told the Captain that it would wait
for them there. Dr. Chapel would be safe for the time being. He knew
that there were Vulcans on board but he needed proof. Actually they
needed to find out who had started all of this and where he was right
now. The other part of this trip that he found interesting was their
heading. Christine had been unable to give them an exact location,
just a direction to take from here. She was the other part that
interested him. Lately she had surprised him in quite a few things. He
had always been attracted to her but knew that it could never go any
further and, with her attraction to him, he had avoided her. Now he
realized that she wasn't what he had thought. A part of him warned him
not to get much closer but another part wanted answers to more than
just her past.

His thoughts were interrupted by the intercom. Lt. Uhura's musical
voice filled the room. "Mr. Spock, Ambassador Sarek requests three to
beam aboard, sir."

Spock tilted his head to the right then acknowledged her. In seconds
his hands sped across the board and the lights sparkling on the pad
began to take shape. He had been correct. When the forms on the pad
had finally taken shape, there stood his father along with Ambassador
Sevek and Healer Selek. He was informed that they would be accompany
them on this part of the journey since they knew more about the goings
on inside these women's mind. Dr. Selek had been dealing with them for
the last twenty years. At Spock's questioning look at his father,
Sarek nodded and stepped through the doors with Spock close behind.
After everyone had been returned to their quarters Spock and his
father headed for the briefing room.

Sarek took the seat nearest the door and waited while Spock took his.
The two sat facing each other as if gauging an opponent. Sarek took a
deep breath and steepled his fingers. With eyes closed, he began in
his ambassador's voice.

"Twenty years ago on a planet that Sevek, Selek and I were visiting, I
found a young child. Next to her were three bodies. One was T'Lar,
daughter of T'Ser, sister to T'Par. The other two were Vulcan-related.
After tests were run, it was shown that both were related to T'Lar --
one, a daughter whom we called T'Ral and the other a granddaughter
San. Though both had been genetically tampered with, the granddaughter
was more human than Vulcan. Only San was proven to have carried a
child. That meant that T'Ral and San had been genetically produced
from T'Lar's genes."

His eyes met those of his son. Spock nodded for him to continue. There
was no use in asking questions without knowing all the information. He
watched as his father rose and stepped to the far wall. With hands
behind his back he turned toward him. "Throughout our investigation
the child kept repeating that she had to find them. Eventually we
found the underground lab on Sierra 3. There were forty children
ranging in age from ten to eighteen. San's daughter was the youngest
at seven. Later tests would show that she was the only one not born
from a test tube. Her father was found on Sierra 3 two weeks later. It
seems that all four adults had been murdered. The planet we were
visiting held an inquiry into the deaths. Their law states that no
outsider can conduct an investigation into a murder. Their murders
remain unsolved to this day. We took all the children back to Vulcan
where they were reconditioned. It seems that they were bred to hate
Vulcans in any form and would become quite violent around us. The
people on Sierra 3 would tell us nothing other than the fact that the
people that ran the lab looked very much like us. The planet is
uncivilized and lawless and further investigation was proven illogical
at that time."

Spock raised an brow and leaned back. "You said that further
investigation was illogical at that time. You went back?"

Sarek nodded. "Your mother insisted that we do what we could to help
the children. It seemed illogical but then humans can be at such times
and she had a weakness for one of them in particular. She was with me
when the child was found."

"Christine... Mother always liked that name."

Sarek nodded. "Yes and now that she knows what has become of her she
wishes to help. Even before that she would see a blonde child and ask
about them. We went back to Sierra 3 five years ago. An old woman
remembered us and told us that the lab had recently been visited by
the others. I checked with Sevek and Selek and found that they had
continued with the investigation and were checking to see if the
owners had returned. They had not."

Spock nodded and stood. "Twenty years later and you may be able to
find who did this. Interesting." Bowing he turned to the door. "Dr.
Chapel should be informed of this. I leave the choice up to you."

The doors swished shut behind him as he made his way to the bridge. He
needed time to think through this new information but duty called and
it could wait for a few hours.

---

Christine stared at the doors as they closed behind Sarek. Slowly she
turned to look at his wife. "So everything I have grown up believing
is false. The Chapels aren't my parents?"

Amanda shook her head and squeezed her hand. "I wish there was another
way to tell you but Sarek doesn't always understand that tact is
sometimes needed for things like this. Remember, even though they are
not your biological parents, they did love you." She leaned forward
and patted her hand. "If there is anything I can do to help..."

Christine shook her head and turned away. Right now she just wanted to
be alone but since they had broken orbit an hour ago, she knew that
would be impossible unless she was sneaky about it.

---

McCoy shook his head to try to clear away the images. Spock and Jim
had just left after informing them of Sarek's revelation. Things were
looking worse and worse. The only thing that made any sense at all was
Vulcan's handling of things. Though how they could think that they
were involved just because one of the murdered women was a Vulcan,
beat him. It would explain why Christine was having such a hard time
remembering. If the ones responsible knew she was remembering, would
they come after her? Did she know who killed her relatives? Is that
why so many were interested in her?

Sighing he stood and walked to the door. There were too many questions
and not enough answers. He figured Sarek would be finished soon and
headed toward sickbay. Christine could probably need someone to talk
after learning about her past. He could only hope that it helped her.
His biggest fear was that it would traumatize her if she remembered it
too quickly. Though if he knew her, she would be trying to piece
together the pieces even before Sarek was finished.

He came to a stop just outside the doors' sensors and took a deep
breath. Deep inside he wished that this was all a bad dream and he
would wake up tomorrow to find that it had been induced by his alcohol
intake. Running his hand through his unkempt hair, he took a step
forward and came face to face with Christine.

He knew by the look on her face that he was not supposed to be here.
"Going somewhere?" Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she
turned around. Leonard kept pace behind her. "You know, Chris, if you
want to leave sickbay, I can always find someone to sit with you in
your quarters. However, I will have to have the computer keep tabs on
you again and that means Spock, too."

He chuckled as her groan reached his ears. "Listen, I know you need
some time to think so I'm going to do you a favor. You can leave." She
spun around so quickly that he almost ran into her.

"Are you serious?"

He looked into her deep blue eyes. "Yeah, on one condition. You only
go where there are other people. You can sit in a quite corner of the
rec room and think. No one will bother you. If you go to the
observation room, then you have to go with someone else. Deal?"

He smiled as her eyes lit up and she hugged him. "Deal, and thanks,
Len."

Shaking his head, he waved a hand at her. "If I didn't you would have
found another way out. I suppose you got the computer to believe that
Nurse Tenton was you."

She only smiled, kissed his cheek and flew through the doors before he
could change his mind. Silently he watched as Amanda stepped out the
door behind her.

Suddenly the alarm blared and he cursed softly. That poor computer
would need some serious work if he knew her. Automatically he called
Spock. Within moments the computer informed him of Christine's
whereabouts.

He knew Kirk and Spock would do everything to keep an eye on the
unknown ship, which had once again fallen into place parallel to them.
Silently he prayed that they could keep Christine safe but wasn't
counting on anyone. Rubbing his chin he realized he needed a shave and
badly. On his way to his quarters he stopped to consult with the lab.
There were a few more tests he wanted them to do today. The last scan
he had done on her a couple of days ago didn't match the ones from a
week ago. He knew something was different but couldn't quite figure
out what it was. The lab should be able to figure it out in a few
hours that gave him enough time to shave and eat.

---

Christine sat in the far corner of the rec room and listened to Uhura
sing. Her soft voice flowed with the music from the lyre almost
sounding as one. It had a soothing effect and, though she needed to
bring her mind back to her current problems, she knew that she needed
to relax more than anything. She closed her eyes and let the music
lull her into a semi-conscious state. She could hear others around her
but they seemed far away and drifting farther as her mind began its
own journey down a long forgotten path.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and she glanced around the room. Her eyes
stopped for a brief second on the group of Vulcans standing off to the
right of the room. One was Dr. Selek, the others must have been new to
the ship because she did not recognize them. As she continued to
survey the room, her eyes met those of Ambassador Sevek and Sarek.
Sighing she stood and turned to leave only to come face to face with
the Captain and Spock.

Kirk smiled slowly and motioned for her to join them. Shaking her head
she smiled at him. "Thank you but I think I will go work off some
excess energy. It seems I have a lot of it since spending so much time
in sickbay."

Nodding Kirk took a seat next to the chess table. "I understand how
you feel. I hear you are a Master of Kantz." She nodded as Spock took
his seat across from the Captain. "Would you give me a demonstration?"

Christine thought for a moment then nodded. "If I can find a partner,
I'd be delighted."

Spock lifted his head and glanced between them. "Will I suffice?" At
her nod he continued. "Then we will meet you in the gym in thirty
minutes. That should be long enough for our next move."

Jim nodded then rubbed his chin as he stared at the board. Christine
turned and headed away. She could hear the whisper of conversation as
she went. From the betting, she figured the gym would be quite full of
spectators. It would do her body good and maybe afterward she would be
able to sleep. Her mind was already going through the motions in her
head. She would need all her wits about her on this one. The trick she
used with Sarek could not be used again and she needed to try her
alternate one. Though she wasn't as proficient with it, the bend still
threw her opponent off guard. Tonight she would need every trick she
knew.

---

Spock had the advantage over Sarek of knowing his opponent as she knew
him, but that didn't always mean anything. She realized there was much
that neither knew about the other. Today they would pit their
strengths and weaknesses against each other in a way she never thought
they would. Christine had never thought she would find herself in
combat with him let alone with half the crew watching. As she
continued stretching, her eyes caught the deep brown eyes of Nyota's,
who was walking toward her with Amanda. They both smiled as they
reached her side.

Nyota's voice was light and full of laughter. "I placed my bet on you
so don't let me down. In fact I think half the female crew picked
you."

Lady Amanda leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Spock
told your Captain that he might want to bet on you." Chris's eyebrow
rose in an exact imitation of Spock's, causing both women to giggle.
Amanda pointed at her staff.

"Sarek spoke quite highly of your skill with the Kantain staffs. Not
many humans can bring a Vulcan down in battle. I wish you luck."

Chris smiled and glanced around the room. She smiled to herself as an
idea began to form in her head. If things went as planned, she would
take him out within twenty minutes or he would take advantage of the
move and win.

Spock stretched and watched as several crew members tripped over the
gravity shelf. He knew that being raised on Vulcan gave him an
advantage and she would keep her moves at a level even with his. A
Master's job was first and foremost to teach while learning at the
same time. For a brief second he let his eyes drift to her. She stood
with her back to him as she conversed with Uhura and his mother.
Taking a deep breath he picked up the shaft next to his corner and
tested it for balance. His brow rose as he noticed the intricate
design carved into the center. Small roses entwined with thorns ran
down to join with a Le-matya who encircled the staff. He raised a
brow, impressed with the delicate and accurate carvings. Did the same
hand that held the other staff do such dainty work?

His mind raced at how much he did not know about her. Slowly he looked
around the room. His eyes took in the others that he considered his
friend and wondered if he knew as little about them as he did about
Christine. Slowly he shook his head no. He knew the others pretty
well. They would spend time together off duty, which allowed him time
to study them. He then realized that Chris kept mostly to herself and
was not one to be anywhere near him except in sickbay, and those few
times when she had been there he had been engrossed in other things.

Clearing his mind he stepped onto the mat and bowed low to his
opponent. The silence that filled the room was interrupted violently
by the clash of their staffs. As the jolt shook his body, Spock raised
a brow realizing that again he had let size lull him. Logic dictated
that he should have remembered how easily she had taken out his
father. Though she was human, she had been training in Vulcan gravity
and had learned to regulate her breathing to handle the thinner
oxygen. As the staffs connected again he brought his thoughts back to
the exercise.

He was impressed that each of her moves stayed within his level of
training and she had managed to stay within a tight circle in the
center of the mats. Though on his last two leaves he had begun
training at the next level, he was not certified at that level but he
now knew that he would be before they returned to starbase 12.

She lunged at him, throwing him off guard. He swung his staff downward
only to find hers already there.

His arms began to ache as the staffs came together time and again. He
glanced at her face for a second. Beads of sweat were breaking out on
her forehead and her breathing was becoming labored. A small smile lit
her face as his eyes met hers. Her staff came forward and arched up
toward his shoulder. He countered and spun around behind her only to
see her flip through the air and land behind him. With a quick flick
of her staff she snapped one of his legs out from under him.

Suddenly they both toppled backwards as the ship shook and the gravity
in the room dropped.

Spock found himself lying across her legs. He tried to move but
suddenly felt the beginnings of a transporter. His eyes met blue ones
filled with fear. His head began to pound and her scream rang through
the air. Suddenly the room around them disappeared and a large dim
room with a table in the middle took its place.

Spock quickly got to his feet and helped Christine to hers. Searching
around he found the left side of the room to be filled with equipment.
He moved to the nearest one then slid behind it, his eyes taking in
the advanced looking computers. Something felt wrong with the whole
setup. He had never seen anything like it before.

As he made his way deeper into the room, he came to a computer screen.
He touched a few keys but what came up was mostly gibberish. The few
words he could make out were a different form of Vulcan. He reached
toward the screen and froze as a new sound entered his mind. He heard
doors open.

Slowly he made his way back to where Christine was. He flinched as he
heard her scream inside his head.

Christine whirled around as doors whooshed open behind her. She opened
her mouth to warn Spock then thought better of it.

Figures moved toward her, their gray robes flowing around them like
gossamer wings. Large hoods covered their faces. As they neared, she
raised her hand, aiming at their hoods. The air around her began to
tingle. She stepped forward but was held in place by a force field.
Her captors circled her then reached through the field and jabbed her
with a hypo. As she tried to turn to face it, a voice echoed through
her mind.

*Forget* Shaking her head she tried to push the thought away. She
screamed inside her head, at the same time the two surrounding jumped
and stepped back.

Christine felt herself falling and knew that she had failed again.

Realizing that they did not know that he was there, Spock remained
hidden and watched as they lifted Christine onto the table. In silence
he watched as they stripped her of her clothes and a domed machine
drifted down from the ceiling to encompass her body. Tubes ran from
the machine up into the ceiling. When the machine connected with the
table, several screens came to life around the room.

Spock slid further into his hiding place as the people turned to the
machines. He watched in silence as they began punching buttons. Trying
not to let anything interfere with his thoughts, he concentrated on
which buttons they pushed, hopeful one of them would tell him how to
get Christine out of this.

On two of the screens several formulas appeared that Spock knew. He
was shocked because each was for a disease that they had long ago
found cures for, with a few slight variations of them. Suddenly he
understood that these people weren't from their time. It was the only
explanation he could find that fit all the pieces.

A few minutes later the people left and Spock moved forward, coming to
stand next to the table. He could see Christine through the top of the
machine. Her blue eyes were wide with fear as they met his. Nodding to
try and reassure her, he began looking around the table for a release
mechanism. When he failed to find one, he turned to the machines and
stopped.

Something flickered across his mind. His brows came together on his
forehead as he concentrated on the disturbance. Slowly he turned back
to Christine as her voice in his head became stronger. When his eyes
met hers, he saw a small smile flit across her face as her voice
caressed his thoughts.

//I wasn't sure I could do it.//

Spock raised one brow and moved closer. //I have heard your thoughts
before but only when you were in danger.//

She closed her eyes. //I'm sorry.//

//It is illogical to apologize for something that you did not know you
had and therefore could not control. Do you know how to open the
machine?//

//No, and don't worry about me. I'm no good to them dead. Just find
out why they are doing this and how we can stop them.//

Spock nodded and moved away. Her voice seemed to fade out of his mind
the further away he got. Briefly he wondered if she could only speak
telepathically near another telepath or if she were weakening from the
different experiments.

Half an hour later, Spock managed to obtain access to the alien
computer. Quickly he scrolled through the database until he found
Christine's name.

There was very little information in it. However there was a reference
to a new beginning. Every once in awhile he would pause to check on
Christine but she had been knocked unconscious by the drugs now
infesting her system.

Glancing around, he typed in the file name. Twenty minutes later he
was still trying to access the file when the doors to the room opened
and the men in gray robes rushed in followed by a man in a blue robe.

Spock stood and turned with hands raised. The grays were holding a
small oval object in the palms of their hands, directed at him. The
man in the blue robe shook his head as he came forward. His voice
seemed to echo in the room.

"You're not to know just yet, Mr. Spock. I'm sorry but you must return
to the Enterprise. Dr. Chapel will join you shortly." He nodded to one
of the men and stepped back.

Spock took a step forward. "Why are you doing this to her?"

The man held his hand up. "You will know in time, Mr. Spock.
Everything will ... shall we say come together. All things will be
perfectly clear soon enough." With the lowering of his hand Spock felt
his mind go blank as the hiss of a hypo echoed in the near empty room.
As sleep claimed him, he heard the man's voice surround him. "Soon
enough."

---

McCoy was the first one to reach the spot where Spock and Christine
had disappeared. Kirk reached the comm. panel on the wall and quickly
yelled into it. The reply was the same as before. No one knew how the
other ship was getting through their shields and there was no way to
lock on to Spock or Chapel. Kirk turned toward McCoy and shrugged his
shoulders, turning he spoke to his crew.

"I need everyone to clear this room and report to your stations. We
need to find a way to stop this from happening again. If any of you
have an idea, please take it to one of the senior officers. With all
of your help, we will find a way through this." Kirk's eyes met those
of Ambassador Sarek's as he moved toward Scotty. With a nod and a
short movement of his head to the right, Sarek joined him. McCoy and
Uhura joined them a few seconds later. Together they waited for the
room to clear then began making plans for Christine's return.

McCoy agreed to be in the gym waiting while Scotty would try to lock
on to their beam while they were transporting. If they were lucky,
they would learn what frequency they used and be able to set their
shields to block it. Sarek gave them a few more missing pieces that he
had obtained in the last hour from Ambassador Sevek.

Kirk glared at the man. "You mean to say that five Vulcans are on
record stating that they gave permission for Dr. Alvin Stienman to use
their DNA for test purposes? Then those same Vulcans disappeared to
never be heard from again until T'Ser was found on Sierra 3?"

Sarek nodded then turned to Dr. McCoy. "Doctor, in our searches now as
before, we can find no record of a Dr. Stienman. The only logical
conclusion is that he doesn't exist. However, to have five prominent
Vulcans state that it was necessary for him to conduct his test means
that whatever proof he showed them was verified by Vulcans. Since he
was a human, maybe you can find out more about him?"

McCoy nodded and rubbed his chin. "One thing bothers me. Jim."

Jim shook his head and looked around. "Only one thing, Bones? I'm
impressed."

Leonard shook his head and took a deep breath. "I wasn't talking about
all that's happened to our people. I talking about those five Vulcans.
Actually, T'Ser. If she was so for this research then what was she
running from and who killed her? I think the research might have been
valid at first but somewhere along the line things changed. I don't
think that youngest one was suppose to get pregnant. And that was why
they were after them. Only Sarek and his friends arrived before they
could finish the job."

Sarek turned toward the Captain. "I believe Dr. McCoy may be on the
right path. However, after several conversations with the other young
ladies, I have come to the conclusion that during the DNA factors,
they lost something. In turn they brought into this world forty very
lovely but dense women."

Uhura took a step closer. "I think the Ambassador is right. I also
think that Christine is what they were trying to achieve and now they
are using her to further their research."

McCoy's head bounced as his mind sped through the last results of
Christine's test. "You know, Uhura, you might have something there.
Jim , I noticed on Christine's last test that radiation levels in her
body were almost back to normal. In fact everytime they have taken
her, her system has almost purged all of the radiation from it."

Scotty smiled as he thumped his head. "That's it, Doc. Why dinna I
think of it?" His eyes were glowing as he began to let different
equations run through his mind, only to be interrupted by the
Captain's hand on his arm shaking him.

"What are you talking about?"

Scotty looked over at the Doctor and smiled. "Tell me, how do you tell
one human from another on a ship the size of the Enterprise?"

Uhura shook her head. "If they are the only humans on board, it would
be easy."

"But if most of the crew were human, then what ya gonna do?"

McCoy's face lit up as it dawned on him. In his best southern accent
he bowed to the chief engineer. "Why I do believe I'd give her a dose
of something like radiation so that I could find her with no problem."

Kirk laughed out loud. "And to think we thought they were trying to
kill her."

"Christine tried to clue us in. She said they didn't want her dead. I
think subconsciously she knows a lot more than we think." Kirk nodded
as McCoy's words sank in.

"You know, Bones, I do believe it is time for a long talk with that
woman when she returns."

Sarek stepped forward as they turned to leave. "Captain, you might
want to consider having someone mind meld with her."

Kirk stared at the man, remembering the panicked look on her face as
Dr. Sevek performed a meld with Lt. Rand. "I will have to think about
that. After her earlier reaction, it might prove dangerous for all
parties involved."

Sarek bowed slightly. "The results would outweigh the risks involved."

"They might at that, Ambassador, but I think she has the right to say
yes or no."

As Sarek stepped through the doors his voice was low but carried with
discipline and dignity. "Circumstances may prove otherwise."

McCoy glanced from Sarek's retreating back to Jim's furrowed brows. "I
do believe we were just told that it might not be up to us or her."

Jim threw his hands up and walked toward the doors with the others
behind him. "What is up to us in this whole fiasco?"

McCoy shook his head and moved off to sickbay. There were a few things
he wanted to have on hand in the gym. He had no idea what shape Spock
would be in when he returned. Christine was another matter altogether.
He knew exactly what he needed for her. If the aliens kept to their
schedule then he should have around one and a half hours before they
would be returning. He entered sickbay and set the computer up to
inform him the minute Spock or Christine returned to the ship.

The computer's voice interrupted McCoy's steady pace to the gym.
"Commander Spock is in the gym." He raised his brow as his pace picked
up. A few seconds later he stepped inside the gym and bellowed at the
computer. "All right, already. I know Spock is back, you can cease
your useless prattle."

---

Spock awoke in the middle of the gym with McCoy leaning over him. His
voice was low and raspy. "How long were we gone?" McCoy raised an
eyebrow then turned back to his tricorder. "You have been gone for
sixty four minutes."

He quickly glanced at him then turned away trying to hide the pain in
his blue eyes. However, Spock had already deduced the true facts. "Dr.
Chapel has not returned yet?"

The silence was his only form of confirmation. "I spent thirty minutes
accessing their computers. There are a few things I need to look into
before I can explain what I found. So, if you are through, Doctor, I
need to be going."

"Look here, you pointy eared devil, you'll do no such thing. Right now
I want you in sickbay." McCoy grinned and ran a tricorder over him as
the doors opened to admit the Captain, Sarek and Lady Amanda. Spock
raised his brow and met his mother's eyes. McCoy continued, "Well, you
look healthy but then what do I know? There's no telling what they did
to you over there."

Spock nodded and turned to the captain. "I am unable to explain the
last twenty minutes of my time on board their ship. However, there are
a few people I need to talk to before we decided which course of
action to take."

Jim nodded and moved forward. "Are you sure you're up to it?"

Spock's nod was interrupted by McCoy's loud outburst. "He may think he
is but until I run some tests on him, he isn't going anywhere but
sickbay."

Spock started to protest but was soon quieted by the captain himself.
"I agree. After the shape Christine has been coming back in, we need
to know exactly what they did to you." Spock gave no further protest
as he was escorted to sickbay.

---

Christine glared at the people standing around her. They had removed
the covering a few minutes after Spock had disappeared. She tried to
turn her head away from them but couldn't move it. The drug they had
given her earlier paralyzed her body while letting her mind and vital
organs remain functioning. Snatches of their conversation were
recognizable. Dread filled her as she realized just what they were
using her for. She closed her eyes and prayed that nothing would come
of it. However, from a few words she understood that it was already
too late. Years too late.

Suddenly a picture formed in her mind. Bright lights shining down as a
warm hand brushed her brow. Mentally she jumped as a greenish brown
face with pointy ears leaned into view. She felt fear race through her
as the face came closer. She trembled as the man grabbed a handful
hair and hissed into her ear. The words spoken were strange yet a part
of her knew what they meant. "Why you? Of all of them, only you
remain."

Then in a blink of an eye she was in another room with small recess in
the walls. In each recess was a small bundle hidden from view by the
low lighting. A small hand reached for the button along the wall. It
was like she was seeing everything from someone's else's viewpoint. A
slab slid out from the alcove activating the light above it. A scream
echoed in her mind as her eyes took in the twisted, bloated mass that
lay staring up at her with her own eyes.

---

She blinked and found herself gazing up into the blue robed man's
face. She could just make out his teeth as he leered down at her.
"Soon enough, Christine. The time is near when we will no longer need
you. Then and only then will you learn why." She tried to pull away
but couldn't as she felt his breath on her cheek. "Such a pity" were
the last words she heard as the sides of the table opened and pierced
her skin.

A bright light shining in her eyes brought her back to her
surroundings. Only they were different, familiar lights. She looked
around as the gray walls of the Enterprise gym seemed to close around
her. Her eyes met those of Doctor McCoy's.

The smile on his face seemed to melt away as he ran the tricorder over
her. "Well, at least they had the decency to send you back with some
clothes."

Chris smiled and shook her head as she tried to sit up. "I bet that
spoils your day."

Leonard laughed and nodded as he gave her two shots with the hypo.
"Yep, sure does. This should help with the nausea and the other will
start fighting the radiation," he replied. "Sometimes it makes me
think they know more about us then we do."

"I think they might at that." She shivered and slowly came to her feet
with his help as he handed her a blue robe. McCoy let her know that he
needed to report to the Captain and Scotty. "They just might have a
way to stop them from taking you again. I'll let you know what they
find out." Chris squeezed his arm and shooed him away. "I'll go
straight to sickbay, I promise."

He stared at her as if he could see into her very soul, which she
sometimes thought he could. When he was sure, he nodded and turned
away. "I'll call M'Benga and let him know your on your way."

Alone in the turbolift she let her thoughts return to the images she
had seen. They seemed so real with a slight touch of deja-vu.
Stumbling slightly she made her way to sickbay. While no one was
around, she ran a diagnostic on herself. Her eyes filled with tears as
the readings she had hoped weren't there began to slowly heal as she
watched.

Somehow they managed to do what couldn't be done in this time period.
A single tear rolled down her cheek as she let the implications of
what she had learned begin to seep into her mind. The tricorder soared
through the air and shattered against the far wall as she collapsed
onto the biobed.

Ten minutes later M'Benga entered and glanced briefly at the shattered
remnants of the tricorder. Slowly he made his way to her side. With a
flick of a switch, the biobed hummed to life. M'Benga frowned at the
findings. Quickly he grabbed a tricorder and rechecked his findings.
They were the same. After giving her the necessary medicine, he walked
out of the room in search of Dr. McCoy.

Briefly he wondered how they could have missed this on all the other
scans. Then he knew. Never before had they gotten to her so soon or
paid attention to anything other then the radiation. Stopping at the
CMO office he called up her other charts and notice the same readings.
He frowned as he drummed his fingers on the desk. It wasn't like McCoy
to miss something like this. Suddenly he knew. McCoy hadn't missed it.
He had probably noticed it the first time but neglected to tell anyone
until he was sure. Shaking his head, he turned off the computer just
as Leonard walked into the room.

M'Benga continued to drum his fingers on the desk causing McCoy to
stare down at him. Understanding dawned a few seconds later. "You ran
all the tests on Christine, didn't you?" At his nod Leonard stepped
further into the room. "So, now you know. I thought it best to keep it
a secret. Chris had enough on her mind and doesn't need this added to
it."

M'Benga shook his head as he stood. "It's too late, Doctor. I think a
tricorder smashed against the wall means she knows."

McCoy ran a hand over his weary face. "Damn, did she say anything?"

"No, she was out like a light when I got there. I for one don't want
to be around when she wakes up though."

"That makes two of us. Maybe we should go run some of those
experiments we've been putting off."

M'Benga nodded and headed out the door with McCoy hot on his heels.

Neither man really needed to worry. Christine awoke forty minutes
later to an empty sickbay and a killer headache. The headache she
could deal with. As for the empty sickbay, she was glad for it. That
way no one would stop her from leaving.

She grabbed a change of clothes then quickly made her way to
Ambassador Sevek's quarters. There were questions she needed and
wanted answers to and, after her last trip to that ship, she knew
Sevek had them. Taking a deep breath she signaled the occupant.

The door opened and Sevek stood just on the other side and motioned
her in. "I knew you'd come eventually." She shivered, checked the room
then stepped inside moving forward just enough to allow the doors to
close.

---

Amassador Sarek stopped and turned toward Kirk and Spock. "If I am
correct, then you assume that one of the people that you picked up at
starbase twelve is involved in everything that has happened in the
last twenty years?" At Kirk's nod he continued. "I fail to understand
why you need me to be present while you question them."

Kirk nodded and stepped forward. "We are hoping not to offend any of
them."

Sarek turned to look at his son. "Did you explain to him that it would
be illogical for us not to be a suspect?"

Spock nodded, "Yes, Father, but he persisted that you at least be
present."

Just then Christine came running past them with tears streaming down
her face. All three men called to her but she continued on as if she
hadn't heard.

Spock raised a brow and turned toward the others. Without another word
they turned the corner and rang for admittance to Ambassador Sevek's
quarters. After the third attempt, they asked the computer for his
location and were informed that he was in his quarters. Captain Kirk
used his override and stepped into the room. What they found shocked
them all.

Ambassador Sevek was sprawled on his bed with a Klingon ceremonial
knife protruding from his heart. Spock queried the computer for the
last visitor to the Ambassador's quarters. The answer was what he had
expected. Christine had been the only visitor since ten that morning.
Sevek had returned to his quarters only twenty minutes ago.

Jim called for McCoy to do the autopsy. They would wait to talk with
Christine until all the results were in. Spock moved toward the far
wall and tentatively reached out his hand. For a second he thought he
felt it shift but, when he moved his hand again, he only met solid
wall. Puzzled he turned to the computer terminal on the desk for some
much needed answers. However, none were forthcoming.

---

Christine couldn't believe the words that had issued forth from the
Ambassador. They had hurt and she just wanted to forget she had ever
heard them. She closed her eyes and let the sonic shower massage away
her troubled thoughts. There would be plenty of time to think about
them later. Right now she just wanted to relax. When she felt relaxed
and drowsy, she turned off the shower and grabbed her dark blue satin
robe and wrapped it loosely around her. Slowly she leaned into the
mirror staring into light blue eyes. Her thoughts turned inward.
Somewhere deep inside herself were all the answers they needed. The
question was, did she have the guts to look there? She shivered and
took a deep breath as a single tear slid down her pale cheek.

She stood and wiped away the traces of her tears. Halfway to her
dresser a chime announced that she had visitors. Calling out she
learned that it was the Captain and Commander Spock. She grabbed the
sash on her robe and pulled it tighter as she turned to her guests.
They quickly scanned the room before their eyes met hers.

The Captain moved slightly forward. "Dr. Chapel, we have to ask what
you were doing in Ambassador Sevek's quarters?"

Christine shrugged and turned toward her desk. "I needed some answers
and I thought he might be of some help." Shaking her head she ran a
finger gently across her desk as she took a deep breath. "He wasn't.
Why?"

The last few seconds had allowed her to pull herself together so that
she could face them. Kirk took her arm and led her toward a chair.
"Ambassador Sevek was found in his quarters dead. You were the last
person to see him."

Christine sank to the chair, hand covering her mouth. "H...How? Who?
When?" she asked as her eyes moved between the two men. When nothing
was forthcoming, she wrinkled her brow in thought. Seconds later her
eyes grew wide. Mouth open she stared at Spock and then turned to the
Captain. "You think I did it, don't you?"

She couldn't believe this was happening. How had things gotten so bad?
Had she changed that much in the last few years? She voiced that
question in a low voice as her eyes once again met Kirk's hazel ones.

He sighed and looked away. "You were the last one to see him and you
came out of his quarters just seconds before Spock, Sarek and I found
him."

She shook her head. "I can't believe this. He was alive when I left.
Standing in the middle of the room..." She looked up at Spock. "I
admit he was very rude and he did say some things that upset me, but I
could never kill him anymore than I could kill one of you."

Spock placed his hands behind his back and stepped forward a little.
"The Ambassador returned to his quarters three minutes before you
entered. There was no tampering with the computer. You were the only
one to enter his quarters."

Kirk sat down next to her and placed her hands in his, drawing her
shocked gaze away from his science officer. "Dr. Chapel... Christine,
until we solve this, we are going to have to place you under arrest
for murder. The knife he was killed with was a Klingon ceremonial
dagger from the Caltair 4 incident. The same one you requested to keep
when you left there."

Christine pulled her hand away and jumped up. It took her only a
minute to reach the decorative box above her bed. She opened it to
find it empty. Shaking she dropped the box and closing her eyes. She
took a couple of deep breaths. Her voice was low but steady as she
stood and looked at the two men.

"I'll change then accompany you to the brig."

Kirk waved his hand. "We've decided to place a guard outside your door
and place you under house arrest. Dr. McCoy will be by later to talk
to you. Think long and hard about what he has to say. I think it's
time we got to the bottom of this one way or another."

With that said he walked to the door, with Spock falling into step
beside him. He stopped in the doorway and turned toward her. "If it
helps any, I don't think you did it. I'm sorry for all of this."

Palm up he motioned to the area in general. Seconds later the doors
shut leaving her to the silence of an empty room and head full of
voices that never went away. Throwing herself onto her bed she finally
let the emotions surface. She had been trying her hardest to control
her emotions somewhat but now she realized that it was a useless
battle.

When all her tears were gone, she arose and grabbed a hypo out of her
drawer. Leonard had given it to her that second day aboard and told
her to use it when she really needed it. She knew she should let him
know but somehow she knew he would try to stop her. Especially in her
current state of mind.

Without further thought, the hypo hissed against her tender neck.
Slowly she sank to the bed. This time there would be no one to stop
the nightmares. She needed to know the answers and this was the only
way. One last tear made its way slowly down her cheek as the black
nothingness closed in around her. She exhaled a finial shaking breath
before placing herself in the care of her own dreams and past.

---

Selar paced the room before coming to a halt in front of the mirror.
With a shaky hand, she brushed the dark brown tresses out of her eyes.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. No matter how many times she
looked in the mirror, she couldn't get use to the face staring back at
her. Her medical team had done a fabulous job with her disguise, right
down to a Vulcan DNA overlay on her. The real Selar was hidden and
well taken care of on Vulcan. If everything worked out then she would
be returned to her own time and the real Selar would wake up none the
wiser. As for the others, they would wonder but not really understand.
As for herself and her other crewmates, they should be sent back
through the Guardian a few minutes after they left.

She flopped down on the bed and leaned back. If history was correct
then Christine should have been placed under arrest by now. Leaning
back on the bed, she stared at the ceiling trying to figure out what
her next move should be. Espionage was not her forte. The Captain's
maybe but not hers. She smiled to herself.

Yes, he would love to be in her shoes right now. The only thing good
about all this was T'Pau. She was the only one who knew what they were
doing back here. They had needed Vulcan's help to stop him before all
of Vulcan became obsolete. The Captain had taken a chance and in
return they now had a vessel that was just out of range of the two
ships who were even now playing their cat and mouse games. Oh, how she
missed the quiet of sickbay. At least there she knew what to do next.

She rolled over and pulled out a gold piece of jewelry. Tapping it
gently she waited. A few seconds later his gruff voice filled the
room. "Doctor, do you have a report to make?"

They had agreed early on in this mission that names would never be
spoken. That way if anyone overheard them, they would not comprise the
future.

"Everything is right on track. I think it's time I had a talk with the
Commander. Hopefully I can get him to see the logic in a meld." She
hesitated for a second then with a bravado she didn't really feel
continued. "I still think we should at least tell him, Captain."

His voice softened and she could hear the smile that accompanied the
words. "We have already discussed that and the answer is still no."
She heard his sigh through the combadge. "However, if your plan
doesn't work, we may have to. Keep us informed and be careful."

She closed the channel and closed her eyes. Hearing his voice had
comforted her like nothing else could. A few minutes later she made
her way to sickbay. As she entered she could hear Spock's and McCoy's
voices droning on in the background. Though she couldn't make out
their conversation, she knew it had to be about Dr. Chapel. Squaring
her shoulders she forged ahead into McCoy's office.

Selar glared at the two men in front of her. How could they be so damn
dense? Didn't they understand that the longer they waited, the less
chance they would have of succeeding?

With eyes blazing she plopped down into the chair. Crossing her arms
she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Letting her temper have
free run wouldn't get her anywhere. She opened her eyes and met warm
blue ones surrounded by a lot of laugh lines. He would be the easiest
one to deal with. All she needed to do with him was appeal to his
compassionate side. She turned to the other pair of eyes. His were
cool with one slightly raised brow as he met her gaze unblinking.
Somehow she needed to get him to understand that this was the only
logical course of action. They needed to know that to do nothing they
would lose a valuable colleague, but how to do that without letting
them know how she could know such a thing? In order for her to
accomplish her mission, she needed to remain calm. Sighing she again
tried to explain to them why they needed to meld with Christine.

Selar let her eyes shift between the two men. Spock had realized the
logic of the meld, now he was trying to convince McCoy. Their
bickering seemed to be a release mechanism. A way for them to release
the tension as well as reassure each other that it would work right.
Not only that but it was a way for them to get their points across.

Every once in a while McCoy would come very close to shouting and he
tended to pace constantly, using his hands to emphasize his point.
Spock on the other hand would raise an eyebrow or steeple his fingers
or fold his hands neatly on his lap as he stressed his point. It
didn't take long for her to realize that their little displays were
their only way of expressing their feelings. She knew it was also
their way of saying they cared about each other and the crew. In their
own way they were no different then the crew from her own ship.

She shook her head as McCoy made another circle of the room. She knew
he would eventually bring his attention back to her. Then she would
bear the brunt of his displeasure. Her reprieve was short lived as
McCoy turned angry blue eyes on her. His hand shot out toward her.

"If you're so dead set for this, then why doesn't one of the others
meld with her?"

Selar leaned back in the chair and met his steady stare with an equal
one. "Chris trusts Spock implicitly. The information she has stored
inside is the only way to stop..." She bit her lip and looked from
McCoy to Spock whose eyebrow was touching his hairline. Her eyes
returned to McCoy's as he stepped toward her.

"And just how in the hell do you know what's in her head?"

Her audible sigh seemed to echo in the small room. "I don't know what
is in there. I just know that there has to be a reason why she doesn't
remember anything."

"Then why don't you meld with her?" McCoy hurumphed as he crossed his
arms and leaned back on his desk.

Spock raised a brow and tilted his head to the side, waiting patiently
for her answer. Selar leaned back and closed her eyes. She needed to
relax and tell them enough so that they would not ask her to do this
again. Yet not so much that they would become suspicious of her. When
she opened her eyes again, she realized that it was too late for the
latter. "I haven't the complete training needed to do a meld correctly
with a non- Vulcan."

Her eyes remained fixed on the far wall as her words seemed to hang in
the room. Spock stood and motioned for McCoy to follow him into the
other room. Selar leaned back and sighed. She knew that what she had
said was true but it would be weak considering Selar had melded with
Timon and a few other cadets in order to help them deal with the
Caltair 4 incident. Hopefully they would not push it. She didn't need
them to know that she could not do it, although she was beginning to
think Spock already knew.

A few minutes later Spock returned alone. He took the seat next to
hers and just sat there looking at her. When she could take no more,
she leaned forward almost touching him. "Just understand that I just
want to help her. You must believe that."

Spock leaned closer and raised his hand. "Prove it." She noticed the
spread of his hand and knew that it was useless to say no. If she
didn't allow the meld then they would not meld with Christine and she
was the answer to this whole puzzle.

Slowly she nodded and closed her eyes. His hand was warm on her face
and his voice was low. "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your
thoughts." She felt his mind slowly enter hers and recognition dawned
in his as he touched her thoughts. Soon though he pulled back as he
encountered the thoughts of T'Pau. Her message to Spock was short and
Selar could hear him repeating them as his mind pulled gently away
from hers. She opened her eyes and met his.

"I didn't think you would believe me."

Spock nodded and pulled back. "It would be highly unlikely that you
can fake T'Pau's thoughts. I have shared her thoughts before. I will
not question your loyalty again but, know that if T'Pau had not left
me a message, you would even now be sitting in the brig."

She nodded and leaned back. "So are you going to meld with her?"

Spock nodded and stood. "I think now would be the most prudent time. I
don't think they will wait very long if they know what we have
planned."

Selar nodded and moved to the door. "You should have one other with
you during the meld."

Spock nodded and entered the door's sensor range. "Thank you Doctor.
We will. Now if you would return to your quarters, we will notify you
as soon as everything is over."

---

Spock stood in front of the Captain and stared straight ahead with his
hands behind his back. McCoy stood to the right and slightly behind
the Captain's chair with arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes
bored into Spock's as the Captain leaned back.

"I don't care what Spock says, Jim, we know absolutely nothing about
this woman other than she came from the future to right a wrong that
may or may not destroy Vulcan. I for one just can't take her word for
it."

"Jim, if we are to find out what is happening to Dr. Chapel, then we
must assume logically that we should start with Dr. Chapel. As for the
Doctor we know as Selar, I do not believe that she could have T'Pau's
thoughts in her mind unless T'Pau put them there."

Jim Kirk held up his hands to forestall any more conversation between
the two men. Placing those same hands on the desk he stood and leaned
forward.

"We can solve all of this by one call to T'Pau."

Spock straightened his shoulders and glanced at McCoy. "She has
already confirmed the woman's story."

Jim nodded and turned toward McCoy. He could not agree with Spock.
Nothing he had said so far convinced him to risk Spock's life with a
meld. Kirk was inclined to agree with McCoy.

"Spock, there has to be a better reason. We can't just take the word
of some woman, because she has convinced T'Pau that she is telling the
truth. Those other five Vulcans had believed in Dr. Cantan's words and
convinced T'Pau in the rightness of the experiments and look what's
happened to them."

Spock nodded and took a step forward. "Captain ... Jim, the woman we
know as Selar is a Doctor from..."

Kirk jumped from behind his desk and raced around to the front. McCoy
was right on his heels. Spock was on his knees with his hands pressed
to his head. As they neared him, he looked into their eyes and slowly
rose.

Only one word passed his lips as he bolted out of the room.
"Christine."

Kirk and McCoy slid into the lift just as the doors were closing. It
whisked them through the heart of the ship and opened on Christine's
deck. Spock squeezed through the doors before they had completely
opened and sprinted down the hall. His fingers flew over the sensor
lock as he entered in his security override. The two security guards
stared at Spock as the doors opened and McCoy and Kirk breezed into
the room on Spock's heels.

Christine's scream of agony ripped through the air causing the hair to
stand up on their arms. McCoy grabbed Christine's med kit from the
storage unit by her desk and headed toward the adjacent cubicle. As he
rounded the screen, he found Jim and Spock on the floor trying to hold
onto Christine's flying arms and legs as she desperately fought the
demons in her dreams.

Jim glanced up at the wrong time and Leonard winced as her foot
connected with Jim's jaw. His eyes moved to Spock who seemed to be
having as much trouble holding onto her hands. Green blood dripped
from a split lip to land on Christine's forehead and slid down to mix
with the red blood that seeped from the cut above her right eye. His
eyes quickly scanned her body, taking in to account her disheveled
appearance. Her robe was twisted around her body giving glimpses of
bare flesh and blue underclothes as she twitched and bucked against
the hands that now held her down. Her long legs were covered with
holes and bruises from her last visit with the other ship but were
quickly being over-shadowed by the new ones as she continued her
struggles.

"Why isn't she waking up, Bones?"

McCoy glared at Jim then quickly ran the tricorder over her. "Damn,"
he swore as he threw open the med kit and pulled out a hypo spray. As
he reached for the medicine, he noticed two pairs of boots standing
behind and to the left of him. He shot the guards a dirty look and
snarled at the Captain. "Jim, I don't think we need an audience."

Jim glanced over his shoulder at the two men. "Return to your posts.
We'll call if we need you."

They hesitated then turned and left, as Jim returned his attention to
the problem at hand. "What's going on, Bones?" McCoy pressed the hypo
against her neck and the hiss seemed to echo throughout the room. Then
he replaced the empty cartridge with another one.

"Besides the fact that her heart is about ready to burst and her
breathing is almost non-existent, she went and gave herself the
largest sedative a human can handle safely. Nothing much," he growled
as he once again pressed the hypo against her flushed skin. "Lucky for
her we got here when we did."

His eyes met those of Spock's. "Speaking of which, how long have you
been hearing her thoughts?"

Spock watched McCoy's hand as he ran the tricorder over her again.
"The first time was in her quarters at the starbase. However, I hear
them mostly when she is highly disturbed."

McCoy nodded and continued to run the scanner. He jumped and nearly
fell back as her eyes flew open and she jerked forward trying to sit
up. Quickly he regained his balance and nodded to the others. "You can
let her up now."

Christine sat up and ran a shaky hand through her limp brown hair. Her
eyes met Kirk's then Leonard's. Slowly she brushed away the blood that
trickled into her eye. She took note of the green smears mixed in with
the red. Just as quickly she noticed the bruise that was even now
turning a dark shade of purple on Kirk's jaw. In an instant she knew
that she had caused all of them some pain. She lowered her head and in
a shaky voice she gazed at McCoy.

"What happened, Leonard?"

Bones shook his head and stood. "Don't Leonard me. Get changed and
meet us in the other room." He turned and quickly left the room with
the others following him. No one said a word as they waited for her to
arrive.

Christine jumped into the sonic shower and just as quickly jumped out
and grabbed the first outfit within reach. She glanced down at the
calf length skirt and matching shirt. Some day she really needed to
redo her wardrobe. Slowly she moved into the other room and met three
pairs of eyes staring at her. She made her way to the couch and the
only empty seat next to Leonard. As she sat down he jumped up and
began pacing the room..

"Just what were you thinking of, young lady?" he growled as he turned
to face her. "You could have killed yourself. Did you lose your mind
in the last few years?"

Christine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had known this
was coming only now she didn't know how she was going to explain this
to all of them. McCoy she could handle and he would understand. At
least, she hoped he would. The others she wasn't sure of. Sighing, she
leaned forward and rested her head in her hands.

"I just wanted to know the truth." She opened her eyes and looked up
into Leonard's. Her voice was small and weak. "After Captain Kirk and
Mr. Spock arrested me for killing Sevek, I wanted this whole ugly
thing to end. I took the sedative to see if the dreams would tell me
anything." She looked down at her hands and tried to still their
shaking. "I thought if I couldn't wake myself, maybe I could find
something in the dreams to help me."

She met Kirk's steady eyes as she tried to make them understand. "I'm
sorry about your face, sir. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. " She
held her hands out to him to try and get him to understand. "I just
needed some answers."

Kirk nodded turned to look at Spock, then met her eyes again. "Did you
learn anything?"

Christine shook her head. "No, the dreams seem to fade quickly when I
wake up. All I know is when I think about the dreams... I'm filled
with a terrible fear and the terror is a constant companion any more."

McCoy hurmphed and hiked a leg up on her desk. "Damn fool thing if you
ask me, but nooooo. I'm just the CMO. My opinion doesn't count. Damn
it, Chris, you could have died just now."

His voice had risen as he stood to face her. Christine was on her feet
and almost next to him before he could finish. Her voice rose to meet
his. "What the hell do you expect from me? I've played it safe for
twenty years. I'm tired of them using me as a guinea pig. I've had it
with the nightmares and days and weeks without sleep." She spun around
with eyes blazing to glare at the other two men. "I'm tired of them
using me to create those creatures that haunt me. It's *me* they're
using and I have the right to know why and to use whatever means I
deem necessary to achieve my goals, as long as no one else gets hurt."

Her temper cooled with the last word and she met the shocked gazes of
her commanding officers. Her eyebrows rose and she shook her head
before returning to her seat on the couch. This wasn't how she had
wanted this conversation to go but she had to admit she felt a lot
better. Her eyes locked with Leonard's and she noticed the sly smile
that graced his wrinkled face. His voice held none of the anger from
earlier.

"About time you told us how you really feel. It was still a damn fool
thing to do. Why didn't you call and let me know?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You wouldn't have let me do it."

McCoy nodded and looked at Spock. "Seems everyone wants to endanger
themselves today."

Christine followed his eyes and met the piercing brown gaze of the
first officer. His voice was low and well modulated and seemed to
vibrate all the way to her very soul.

"The doctor is right about one thing. It was a very dangerous thing to
do. However, I understand your curiosity. I would like to suggest that
we try a mind meld. It is the only logical course to take since all
else has failed."

Christine could not believe her ears. She looked at her favorite men
and found that for once all agreed, although they seemed a bit
hesitant about it.

"What kind of danger would you be in from the meld?" she asked as her
eyes moved slowly back to his. Spock steepled his fingers and leaned
forward knowing that by her question she was at least willing to
listen to the prospect. That in itself let him know just how desperate
she was. The fear he felt radiating from her was constantly battering
against his shields. If they agreed to the meld, he would need to
meditate for an hour before they could begin.

"The danger is real, however, I consider it to have only a twenty
percent chance of doing any permanent damage to either of us. The only
unknown factor is the voice from whomever is telling you to forget. He
doesn't want you to remember for a reason and will feel threatened as
the meld takes hold. I cannot predict what his reaction will be,
therefore the danger may be greater than anticipated. However, the
outcome if we succeed would be worth the risk."

His brow raised slightly as he leaned back. She felt all their eyes
boring into her. Slowly she glanced up to meet Leonard's concerned
face. She needed to know and so did they but did she have the right to
endanger Spock's life?

Slowly her eyes moved on to the next man. As Kirk's eyes met hers, she
knew he didn't like the odds but trusted that Spock would do the right
thing. Taking a deep breath she turned to meet Spock's, only to find
them closed and him looking as if he was in deep thought. She hated to
interrupt him but she too realized that the meld was the last step
open to her. However, she wasn't sure she wanted Spock to know
everything that was in her mind.

She heard her voice as if she was a long way away. "I agreed to the
meld but I don't want any more people here than necessary." When Spock
opened his eyes she continued. "If at any time your life becomes
endangered, you have to break the meld." Her eyes rose to meet
Leonard's over Spock's head. "If he fails to do so, I want you to
promise to break it for him. Is that understood?" At McCoy's nod she
continued. "I do ask that Selar be there. She is the only reason any
of you found out about this and she deserves to know what is going
on."

When everyone had agreed, Spock rose and headed toward the door. "I
require an hour to prepare. I suggest that you try to meditate also,
Dr. Chapel. Dr. McCoy can prepare everything else."

Within minutes her quarters seemed a whole lot bigger as all three men
left. Christine let out a deep, drawn out breath and raised her arms
over her head as she stretched tired muscles. Her insides felt like
jelly. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.

After two tries, she dressed and headed to the gym. She need to relax
in her own way.

---

Christine was out of breath as she entered sickbay. She had been so
engrossed in her Tae-bo exercises that she had completely forgotten
about the time. McCoy's untimely page had brought her back to reality
with a resounding thud as she missed her swing and landed hard on her
rear.

She knew she must be a sight in her skin tight gray exercise outfit.
With a shaky hand she brushed a sweat soaked strand of brown hair out
of her eyes and glanced around the room. Sarek, Amanda and Selar were
seated off to her left, while McCoy and M'Benga had their heads bent
over their tricorders near the right wall. Slowly her eyes moved to
the center. Spock sat in one of the chairs while the Captain paced the
room behind him.

For a brief second she thought the wall shimmered off to her right out
of the corner of her eye. However when she turned to look at it fully
there was nothing there. Slowly she moved forward. Now that the moment
was finally here she wasn't so sure she could go through with it. She
took a deep breath and sat in the chair opposite of Spock. His eyes
had remained closed since she had entered. She knew instantly that he
was meditating. Taking a few shaky breaths she closed her eyes and
tried to convince herself that what she was about to do was right.

However, a voice deep inside her warned her that to do so would
endanger Spock more than she could possibly know. Thoughts of her five
years with the Enterprise slowly manifested in her mind only to be
replaced with her last five. Shivering, she pushed those thoughts away
and concentrated on relaxing. Still the voice was persistent and, try
as she might, she couldn't deny that the possibility existed and Spock
or she might not survive. She opened her mouth to speak only to feel
warm fingertips touch her cheek.

Her eyes flew open as his words spoken aloud replayed in her mind. "My
thoughts to your thoughts, my mind to your mind."

Suddenly she felt his thoughts burst through her mind. At first they
flooded her mind, then just as quickly they were gone and yet she
could feel him all around her. She took comfort in that, although she
could feel something else moving toward her. It was dark and fear
gripped her. She tried to pull away, to hide, only she couldn't.

Suddenly she saw Spock beside her, his hand in hers. His voice was low
and filled with strength. She heard his words though he never opened
his mouth. "Trust in yourself. You are safe and I am here. You do not
have to face this alone anymore."

She so wanted to believe him but her thoughts shifted to the earlier
warning. No sooner was thought formed than she received his answer.
"The warning may be a tactic used to keep you from taking this step.
If you wish to stop, I will withdraw."

Christine felt his hand in hers but more than that she felt briefly
his fingers on her cheek. Through him she saw all her friends, worried
etched on each face, and she knew she couldn't back away from it now.
She felt more than saw him nod.

"We must start in your past. Think back to the first thing that you
can remember. To before you woke in the hospital."

Suddenly she could see the white cold room. At first she thought she
was in the hospital until something in red walked past where she lay.
She tried to sit up and look around her but found that she couldn't.
Suddenly a tiny fist was in her view as it moved toward her mouth. She
looked up into warm brown eyes and clear ice blue ones. She knew these
people but didn't. A part of her knew them from another time. She
pushed her mind, trying to grasp on to what she know was right there.
A warm voice whispered into her ear.

"We need to go forward. You are too far back."

With a gentle sigh, she let her mind move forward to another time.
Without warning she gasped as pain shot through her brain. Spock
gasped too as she felt the pain shoot through him. She realized that
he was feeling it from her. She tried to shield him from it by pulling
away to end the meld. His free arm shot out and wrapped around her
waist and pulled her closer to him.

"If we do not continue then they will have succeeded in whatever plans
they have for the future." The words she heard flowed in and out with
the images he had received while linked with Selar. "Vulcan needs you,
Christine, for only you have the ability to end this."

A tear rolled silently down her cheek and melded with his fingers. She
knew now that there could be no quitting. Slowly she let her mind
drift to the start of her dreams. Hopefully her mind would take it
from there.

The room seemed to darken around her as she stood and slowly made her
way down the hall. Her father stood at the far side and pressed his
fingers to his lips as she neared his silhouetted form. "Hey, kitten,
what are you doing up this late?" he whispered as he picked her up.

Suddenly his face changed and she looked into dark brown eyes. A
scream tore from her lips as his voiced echoed through her mind.
"Soon, Christine, very soon."

She tried to pull away and then Spock was there beside her, his hand
joined with hers. "I am here." A calm flowed through her and she once
again looked into the brown eyes of nightmare.

His face was hidden by the hood of his dark blue robe, yet she could
just make out his lips which right now formed a frown. His eyes
shifted from her to something beside her. She turned to follow his
eyes and out of the corner of eye, she saw Spock standing, his hand in
hers. She turned back to look at her demon to see him turn away. His
voice seemed to echo through her mind. "Too soon. It won't go any
further."

In shock she turned toward Spock. "He means to stop us."

Spock only nodded then motioned for her to move forward. "He may try,
however the odds of him succeeding are only 32%."

Christine giggled and turned back toward the darkness. She knew she
needed to finish this but her fear of what was waiting seemed to be
pulling her back into another place. A place filled with lights and
drawers. Where tubes and machines hummed with a life of their own.
Slowly she made her way toward one of the drawers and with a shaky
hand she pushed the first button. She turned away as the drawer opened
with a loud *psst*. Suddenly she knew what was awaiting her if she
turned around. Looking around she realized she was alone.

Frantically she searched the room, always staying away from the now
open drawer. Spock was here somewhere. She knew he was; he had
promised she would not go through this alone. Slowly she turned toward
the now open drawer and cautiously made her way toward it. She
swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Her hands trembled and her
breathing increased as she got closer. Finally she stood over the
drawer. Biting her lower lip she opened her eyes and looked down. A
scream welled up in her throat. She jumped and spun around as a hand
came to rest on her shoulder.

"Damn you. You scared me to death. Where were you?"

Spock nodded and moved forward. His eyes searching for answers that he
knew were there but still hidden in the recess of her mind. Her
thoughts jarred him back. "Spock, where were you? You've closed off
your thoughts. Before I could feel you near. Now it's as if you're
here but not here."

He turned toward her. "I had to take care of something. If you look,
you'll know what I did." He turned back to look at what was in the
drawer. "Are they all like that?"

Christine took a nervous step back and nodded. "The ones I've seen
are." She moved to the next drawer and pushed its button. The drawer
slid out and inside lay a small inhuman body. It was twisted and parts
that should be inside were out. Christine shuddered as she looked down
into clear blue eyes that so mirrored her own.

Spock reached down and touched the small form. Images flooded through
him and instantly he knew that their thoughts were hers and yet not.
He pulled back and reached for her hand. Using it, he pulled her
closer. "You must open your mind."

Her brows wrinkled as she looked at him. "I have."

Spock shook his head and pushed her backward. Instantly she was up
against a wall. "Look around you, Christine. What do you see?"

Pursing her lips together, she turned her head to the left. A wall
rose before her and continued as she looked around. Suddenly she could
feel them closing in. Slowly moving toward her, trying to wrap her
inside. Threatening to seal in all her fear and pain. "Don't let it,
Christine. The closer the walls, the more you push me away. If they
succeed in cocooning you, then my life will end if I can't find my way
out."

Christine closed her eyes and willed them away only to open them and
find that they had not receded but were no longer moving forward. "How
do I..."

Spock's body was pressed tightly against hers and his voice seemed to
caress her as he turned to look at the now still walls. "You have to
understand that there is nothing you can keep hidden. We will only
access the information we need."

Unbidden, her dreams of Spock floated to the surface. Quickly, she
tried to squash them down. "No, don't. They need to be free so that
you will understand that it doesn't matter. I have always known."

She could feel his body pressed against hers. Yet she felt a draft
caress her skin. His hand moved over her cheek. "Christine, free your
thoughts to me. Your dreams are your own. I will not access them
unless you agree to it."

She closed her eyes and thought back to a time when she was with her
dad. Together they walked down the dark corridors. "Someday, little
one, you will leave this place far behind. Just remember all that you
see. You may be the only thing that stands between them and the end of
the Federation." He stopped by the door to a huge room and bent down
to her level. "You should not have been. I should not have fallen for
her." His eyes looked past her to the empty corridor. "I have doomed
my time." Slowly his eyes met hers. His touch was soft as he rubbed
her cheek. "Trust no one, for the enemy will be hidden from you." His
sigh echoed through the empty halls. "You were our pride and joy and
now I must let you go."

He stood and walked toward the door. His hand wrapped around her
smaller one. T'Ral will take good care of you and hopefully get you
off this planet." He froze suddenly and spun around. T'Ral stood off
to his left and with her were two of her offspring. A third stood by
the outer doors.

T'Ral stepped forward and held out her hand. "Come, child, there is no
time for good-byes." Her eyes met Timmons. "Will you return to your
time?"

He shook his head. "No." He touched his daughter's head and quickly
looked away. "I have destroyed that chance."

T'Ral looked at the child and nodded. "She was not to be."

"She was why I came. I was to make sure she never was. Once here, I
couldn't destroy her. She is after all a part of me. Teach her all you
know. She may be your only hope." T'Ral nodded and boarded the small
shuttlecraft. Two of the women joined her; the third touched his
cheek. "Be careful, my love. I wish that we could go together."

"As do I, T'Ling, but you must go with T'Ral and the others. See our
daughter to safety and then look for me. We will meet again. Believe
in that and my love for you and S'lena."

"Someday she will remember this day and all that goes with those
memories. May she be old enough to understand and young enough to stop
what will come."

Slowly the doors shut and the shuttle lifted off. Christine's voice
seemed to come from far away as she spoke her first words in three
hours. "It took us three weeks to get to Sierra 3. All that way just
to die. We didn't know. How could we not know of that base?"

She felt him slip from her thoughts like a lover's caress. A part of
her felt empty and hollow as her thoughts were once again her own.

Her eyes flew open and she stared at the man across from her. He sat
unmoving with pointer fingers steepled and resting just below his
lips. His eyes remained closed. "Spock, are you all right?" she asked,
moving forward slightly. He nodded as McCoy stepped forward.

"He's fine. The two of you have been at this for quite a while, you
need a break. I could have sworn I heard that stomach of yours
growling a few minutes ago."

Christine nodded and stood. Selar and Lady Amanda met her at the door.
Amanda's voice was gentle and gave her a sense of security. "Why don't
we go get something to eat? By then you two might be ready for another
round."

Chris nodded and with a backward glance allowed herself to be led from
the room. Spock remained exactly as she left him.

---

McCoy leaned his chair back against the wall as he sipped on a warm
cup of coffee. He didn't know where things would go from here but he
knew that there was nothing he could do but be there for Chris when
this whole thing was over.

Slowly he let his chair fall forward without making a sound. He
quickly glanced at his tricorder then around the room. Standing he
quietly left the room and returned a few minutes later. Nodding at
M'Benga he returned to his seat. Yawning he let his gaze sweep over
everyone that was present. All eyes were trained on the center of the
room, yet he could have sworn that they were being watched.

---

Christine sat in the mess hall and gazed at her friends. Something
didn't feel right. They were with her and saying everything she
expected them to.

That was what bothered her. They did nothing new. Slowly she stood and
moved toward the exit. Uhura stopped her with a hand on her wrist.
"Christine, you hardly ate a thing."

Chris smiled and patted her friend's hand. "I'm not done. I just need
to go to the restroom."

Uhura smiled and moved to join her. "Well, let's go. Besides you
haven't said a word about what it was like to meld with Spock."

Christine could only stare at her friend. How did she get here? When
she had left sickbay, Selar and Amanda were with her. Then she was
here with Uhura and Rand.

Nodding she quickly moved out of the room. Silently she began to set
up the walls that had always been there. As they entered the restroom,
she smiled at Nyota then stepped out of the room and slammed her palm
on the close switch. She quickly punched in Spock's security code that
she had received through the meld. Rubbing her hands, she took a deep
breath and headed down the corridor in search of Spock.

---

Christine strolled the now empty corridors. She knew something was
wrong only she didn't quite know what it was. All she knew was that
she needed to find Spock. When this whole thing had started, she had
left him in sickbay. With a snap of her fingers, she turned around and
headed for the nearest lift.

The doors swished opened and she stepped inside to barren walls and
slowly glanced around. There was nothing there. Even the doors were
gone. Understanding finally dawned as she stepped out of the lift and
found that she was where she wanted to be but hadn't gone anywhere.

Taking a deep breath she turned toward sickbay and froze. Standing in
the middle of the corridor with an outstretched hand stood her
nightmare. The blue robe seemed to float around him as if it weren't
really on him. His face remained hidden in the dark shadows it formed
as it lay over his forehead.

Turning she began to move off the other way. Halfway down the hall, he
was there again. Her breathing quickened as she turned to run back the
way she had come from only to find him there as well moving toward
her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly she turned back to
the way she had been going. As she opened her eyes she realized the
way was now clear.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him moving silently toward her.
With no further thought, she moved forward. She knew it would take
longer this way but she would eventually reach Sickbay.

After twenty minutes of walking and not getting any closer to her
destination, she halted near the turbolift and concentrated on
Sickbay. Opening her eyes, she was disappointed to find herself right
where she had started out. Air blew out slowly from clenched teeth as
she turned to find the blue robed man blocking her path, his hand
still held out waiting for her to accept it.

She bent her head then bit her lower lip. When she looked up again,
she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Spock stood with his
hands behind his back, one brow raised, staring at her. Slowly he
moved forward as the man in blue did the same. Spock stopped a few
feet away and motioned to the other man with an empty hand.

"It's all a trick of the mind, Christine. Come with me so we may end
this."

Christine took one step forward and stopped. The hair on the back of
her neck stood on end as she looked into Spock's empty eyes. She shook
her head and turned to look at the other man. He had stopped a few
feet away. His hand was still held out but he made no move to grab
her.

Christine knew that this was all happening in her mind. She had
realized that back with Uhura. What puzzled her was finding that Spock
had been allowed to appear. If this being who now controlled her mind
was in charge, then why didn't he stop her from getting to this point?
Why stand there with outstretched hand as if the choice was up to her?

Slowly she turned around and moved toward the man in blue. She needed
to see his face if only to know who he really was.

Spock's voice held her motionless for a brief second. "Christine, you
need to shut him out of your mind. Build the walls up so that he must
leave to survive."

Christine whirled around with brows knitted. She glared at Spock.
Suddenly she knew what she had to do.

With one thought she pushed the blue robed man back and grabbed Spock.
Slowly she pulled him closer and closed the walls around them. Her
voice was low and full of venom.

"Why are you doing this to me? What more could you possible want from
me?"

Spock raised a brow and leaned forward. "I'm afraid, Christine, that
you have mistaken me for someone else."

Christine shook her head. "No, not this time. You're not Spock. He
wanted to find you to get the answers, not shut you out. If I had done
as you said, I would never find my way back to where I belong. You are
the one that created this ship and everything in it. Why?"

He shook his head and tried to step back, only to run into a wall. His
eyes searched the area for a way out.

"You can't go anywhere. I learned from the real Spock how the walls
can keep you from returning to yourself. Now, you will tell me what I
need to know."

His laughter echoed throughout her mind as he shifted to his true
form. "You are my creation and his destruction. Through you I have
created the ultimate disease and his father will be the first to fall
victim to it. You and your offspring will be the downfall of Vulcan."

Christine grabbed his blue robe and slammed him against the wall.
"Tell me where the children are!"

He shook his head and turned away. With a long sigh, Christine opened
a small door in the wall and held out a trembling hand.

Making his way carefully through the opening, Spock joined them in the
dark corridor of her mind. His fingers made contact with the psychic
points on the man's face as he finally came into view for her to see.

She gasped and took a step back as his blond hair slipped from beneath
the robe and his crystal blue eyes stared into hers.

At her gasp Spock glanced her way and probed her memory for his face.
He latched onto the fleeing memory.

A small hand was clasped in a large callused one. Blue eyes smiled
down framed by long curly blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. His
words echoed through both their minds. "You know, little one, some day
you'll change the universe. I know because I came from a time where
you did just that."

Spock's voice seemed to blend with that of her father's. "Christine, a
person can take many forms in the mind. Remember that."

Suddenly the image and the man began to fade from her mind. In the
split second between his disappearance and his reappearance, one word
hung in the air. Spock snatched it with his mind and tucked it safely
away.

The man reappeared but seemed slightly shaken as he stood near
Christine. Things were not going as planned and Spock and Christine
could tell that something was wrong. He was there but he was slightly
transparent. The man's grin showed straight white teeth as he slowly
solidified and moved toward Spock.

***

Selar stood and stretched, then slowly made her way toward where Kirk
and McCoy were. She too had noticed the shimmer of that wall. Now she
was determined to find out just what was going on and who was behind
it. With her fist tightly held against her side, she let it slam into
the wall.

Slowly the wall rippled out from where her hand had struck. With
furrowed brow, she slowly walked to the door and into the hall. One
tap of her left chest activated her hidden comm unit. Her voice
remained low as she filled them in on what she suspected. When she was
done, the other ship moved forward just enough to scan the Enterprise
to confirm her suspicions.

Now that she knew what was going on, she just had to figure out a way
to deactivate the hologram. Boldly she walked back into the room and
moved to McCoy's side as he leaned back against the wall with his
chair. She was hoping that she was at the right spot. Closing her eyes
and taking a deep breath, she waved Kirk over.

She wasn't sure if she could convince him but she knew she had to try.
Quietly she asked him to fire his phaser at the wall where she was
pointing. His brows just about went through his hair as he glared at
her. "I can't do that. It would damage the ship."

"If you don't, Captain, you could endanger your First Officer's life."
Kirk's eyes searched her face looking for something -- she wasn't
quite sure of what -- but he must have found it for he raised his
phaser and fired.

McCoy's chair hit the floor with a resounding bang. Kirk swung his
phaser to his left, pointing directly at the robed man that somehow
appeared where the medical analyzer was a second before. In a flash
the man disappeared, leaving the room filled with gasps as he went.

McCoy rolled off his back and slowly stood. "Damn it, Jim, next time
give a fellow some warning."

"Sorry Bones, but that might have ruined the surprise for our
uninvited guest. Which reminds me, Dr. Selar, you have some explaining
to do as soon as this is all over."

She nodded and slowly made her way back to the others, all the while
wondering how she would explain this to him without revealing too much
of the future. Taking a deep breath she sat down to wait.








He knew he was in trouble, knew that Kirk and the others had found his
hiding place. Still he had to finish before it was too late. Spock had
proven to be stronger than he had given him credit for. He would have
to use the few precious seconds to put a halt to this meld. His eyes
narrowed as he moved closer to Spock. Swirling around, he grabbed hold
of Christine's mind and pushed violently forward.

Instinctively Christine screamed and began to quickly bring up her
walls.

Spock understood and quickly began to withdraw as he whispered, Do it.
The walls grew and began to tighten until blackness surrounded her.








McCoy rushed forward as Spock and Christine collapsed backwards with
enough force to send both of them to the floor. His tricorder at the
ready, he quickly scanned them, then slowly rose.

"They seem to be fine. I won't know for sure until they regain
conciseness," he remarked as he summoned four orderlies to transfer
his patients to the next room. He shooed everyone away but Kirk who
joined him in his office for a night cap.

McCoy studied his friend as he slipped into his chair. The tell-tale
smudges under the eyes told of sleepless nights. The blood-shot eyes
and small wrinkles made his face seem years older. Neither man spoke
as McCoy filled the glasses and handed Kirk his. Sighing heavily, he
rubbed the bridge of his nose as he plopped his feet on the corner of
his desk. Closing his eyes he leaned back as he spoke.

"They really are fine, Jim. I thought I saw a facial muscle move on
Spock just before he jerked backwards."

Jim nodded, stretched his legs and crossed them at the ankles on the
other corner of the desk. He raised his glass and took a long draw off
it before speaking.

"Yeah I saw that, too. Let's just hope they found what the needed so
we don't have to do this again."

McCoy nodded and took a long swig then rolled his neck to relieve the
tension that had set in. "So, are you going to tell me how she
convinced you to fire your phaser in my sickbay?"

Jim smiled and closed his eyes. "Not yet. I'm still not sure why I did
it myself. But looking in her eyes, my gut told me to trust her." His
smile grew as he turned those vibrant eyes on McCoy. "You know I could
never resist a beautiful woman."

McCoy's laughter seemed to echo in the small room. Yeah, he knew how
his friend was with women but never had he let one talk him into doing
something that could endanger his crew. However, he knew that part of
it was the fact that Spock trusted her and McCoy would bet doughnuts
to diamonds that had more to do with it then her looks, but he would
keep that to himself. Sighing, he closed his eyes and let the liquor
and the dimness lull away his aches and pains. All they could do now
was wait. It could be a few hours or a few minutes before they would
come around.

He awoke with a jerk, slightly disoriented. His boots hit the floor as
he rose from his chair. He was half way out the door with Jim on his
heels before the alarm finished its second round. As one the flew into
sickbay in time to see the last tell-tale signs of the glistening
light of a transporter.








Spock came to slowly, trying to quiet the pounding in his head. It
took several minutes for it to dissipate and a few more for him to
orient himself. As he opened his eyes, the blinding light was the
first thing he saw. He heard the soft murmurs of others. Carefully he
lifted himself up and glanced at the room around him.

McCoy, Kirk, and M'Benga were gathered around the other bed. None
spoke until Kirk turned toward him. "Bones, it seems Spock has
recovered."

"'Bout damn time," McCoy mumbled as he moved toward the bed. His gruff
words and precise treatment let Spock know that there was something
wrong. The indicators above his bed blinked red and yellow at a pace
inherently fast for a human but which were slightly slow for Spock.

As the men gathered round, he noticed the sheet that was draped over
the other bed. His eyes searched McCoy's face but the man refused to
meet his eyes. Quickly he turned toward Kirk. "What happened?"

McCoy shook his head but answered him slowly. "Damned if I know. I
thought the meld was ending when both of you were thrown head over
heels in opposite directions."

Spock nodded. "Yes, whoever was in contact with her is a very adept
telepath. He attacked Christine, causing her to immediately raise a
barrier to protect herself. I rushed back to myself to avoid being
caught inside. However, that does not explain your current lack of
enthusiasm."

McCoy's eyes hastily scanned the room as his breathing increased. His
voice was icy and low. "Those bastards took her not more than five
minutes ago."

His hand slammed against the wall. "She hadn't even regained
consciousness."

Spock's eyebrow rose slightly as he glanced from one man to the other,
finally stopping at Jim. Jim nodded once and began to pace. "Leonard
and I think they might have done it to prevent another meld. If that's
the case then they won't be giving her back anytime soon."

Spock leaned back against the wall as the silence surrounded him. The
tension in the room a tangible thing that weighed heavily on all
present. He shut his eyes and let his mind begin to sift through the
images and thoughts he had received from Christine and the mysterious
man that haunted her thoughts. As the images swirled around his
thoughts his mind sorted them into categories of importance. Then, as
if a bright light had gone off, he quickly sat forward and wrinkled
his brow in thought as one word seemed to drop from the air into his
lap. Sierra 1.

The place had popped into Christine's mind just as the stranger
disappeared and just as suddenly had fled. Only he had heard it and
locked it away before the man could reappear.

His eyes flew open and he swung his legs off the bed. McCoy's hand hit
the center of his chest with just enough force to get his attention.
"Just where do you think you're going?"

Spock merely pushed the hand aside. "I need to verify some information
I received through the meld and..." His eyes met Jim's. "...we need to
head for Sierra 1. Everything points to the fact that they were only a
week's travel from Sierra 3 and the corridors I saw in her thoughts
were designed for underground inhabitation. It is possible that they
built a underground base on a planet that is not suitable to sustain
life to keep others from learning that they were there."

Jim didn't say a word merely turned and walked to the comm unit on the
far wall. "Bridge, this is the Captain."

"Bridge here, sir."

"Set a course for Sierra 1, warp 8." He turned to look at his friends
as he disconnected the call. "Let's hope they decided to stay with us.
Otherwise we may not get Dr. Chapel back."

McCoy nodded then his brow creased in thought as he wagged a finger at
Kirk. "You know, Jim, if they were trying to keep us from learning
about Sierra 1 and we are now heading there, they might give her back
knowing that the gig's up."

"Highly unlikely. Doctor. They would then be admitting to the fact
that is indeed their base. The odds are 87.32 percent that they keep
her in hopes of making us wonder if we are indeed correct."

Just then the intercom whistled, forestalling any further
conversation. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here."

"Sir, the other ship is veering off and going... Sir, this can't
be..."

"What is happening, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, they are going faster than warp 10 by our scale and that just
isn't possible."

Silence reigned throughout sickbay as each man contemplated the
consequences if this was accurate. Kirk turned to look at Spock who
only nodded. "It would stand to reason that if indeed these men are
from the future then they would bring the technology of the future
with them to use here. Otherwise they would not succeed."

The intercom crackled again as the lieutenant's voice once again broke
through their thoughts. "Sir, I show a smaller craft of Vulcan
registry following them."

With those words Spock was off the bed and half way through the doors
before Kirk could acknowledge it.

Spock knew that the one person who might know what was happening was
on this ship and it was time to get some answers from her.

---

Kirk headed for the one person who could help solve this whole thing,
if she chose to do so. However she was probably prohibited from
telling them too much about the outcome. So they would be pretty much
on their own. He eyed his first officer who hadn't spoken a word since
they had left Sickbay. He seemed as if he were having a hard time
thinking and for Spock that was not a good sign. Quickly he glanced
over at Bones and nodded his head toward his first officer. McCoy just
shrugged and shook his head.

Together they all came to a halt in front of Doctor Selar's quarters.
Spock signaled for her and was granted immediate entrance. She stood
in the middle of the room staring at a small piece of jewelry in her
hand then looked up at them. The sadness in her eyes did not go
unnoticed by the three men who crowded into the small room.

She absently pushed back a lock of coal black hair and tucked it
behind one small pointy ear. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I
take it they took her and left?" At their nod she glanced back to the
object in her hand. "Well, that explains that."

Spock tilted his head to one side. "From what I have gathered from
you, the Vulcan ship that is following the other ship has some of your
friends on it."

She nodded and walked to the bed and sat down. "Please sit down and
I'll fill you in on what I can."

Once they were seated, she hid the small device on the underside of
her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she gazed steadily at each man. "I
guess I should start at the beginning. You already know that I am from
the future and that we were sent back to straighten up a mess done by
someone from the future. We were ordered to the Guardian of Forever by
Starfleet due to an imbalance of one of the scientists there." She
blew out a breath of air and glared at the ceiling as she tried to
arrange her thoughts as to just how much she could tell them. She knew
names had to be withheld because that would endanger her future and
whether or not she got back to her own timeline or another one.

Kirk moved forward and sat on the couch across from her. "We know
about the Guardian. It's nice to know that it survives into the
future."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Oh Starfleet's not going to endanger
that. They will probably still be studying it long after I'm gone."

McCoy sat down next to her and patted her hand. "Just take your time,
little lady. This must be as hard on you as it is on us. Just tell me
one thing -- are you really a Vulcan, cause you sure don't act like
it?"

Selar laughed and grabbed his hand. "Let's just pretend you didn't ask
and leave it at that."

McCoy nodded but didn't release her hand. She turned back to the
Captain. "To make a long story short, this scientist along with three
others went through the Guardian within minutes of us beaming down.
Whatever they did back here changed our past and we could only come
back and try to change things. One of the younger scientists took it
upon himself to try it first. We waited for a day and when they didn't
return, we assumed he had failed. Upon coming to this time, we learned
he was found on Sierra 3 dead almost 20 years ago. However, the change
in the time line didn't happen then so we asked the Guardian and it
sent us to now. We can only hope to stop whatever is to come."

Spock leaned forward and steepled his fingers. "How do you know what
needs to be changed? You yourselves might be the reason your timeline
has been changed."

She nodded and glanced from Spock to Kirk before settling on McCoy.
"One of the people who came back with us is ... has what could be
described as the mind of a computer." She bit her lip as she realized
just how close she was to revealing just what Data really was. "He
compared his memories of the past with the computers on the ship. The
differences are our only clue. I know there are some things we've
changed. In the computer, Spock never melded with Dr. Chapel. In fact
she never made it back to Vulcan a second time. She disappeared
in-flight."

Kirk leaned forward. "Why don't you just tell us where their ship is
heading?"

She chuckled softly as she fingered the edge of her shirt. "I wish I
could. We don't have a clue where their base is or which one of the
three is responsible for all of this. The only thing we could hope for
was if we could get you to meld with her and hopefully learn the
location from her or that we could be close enough to follow them."

Kirk stood and began to pace the room. "So your friends are trying to
keep up with them, only problem is they are going to0 fast for our
ship to follow." He stopped pacing and spun toward her. "Your friends
modified that Vulcan ship to keep up with them, didn't they?"

Her brows wrinkled as she sat a little straighter. "What does that
have to do with any of this?"

Kirk came to a stopped directly in front of her and leaned forward so
that he was literally breathing in her face. "So why can't you do the
same for us?" Kirk leaned back and waited. Willing her not to say the
wrong thing.

She shook her head and stood, causing him to take a step back.
Standing so close to him, she realized that she was just a tad taller
than he and she decided to take full advantage of it. Glaring down at
him, her voice no more that a whisper. "We both know I can't do that
even if I knew how. I'm a doctor, not an engineer. Besides we can help
but we can't interfere. Even if we do follow them, we can only take
the people into custody from our time. The others need to be stopped
by you. We don't know how this will end anymore than you do, now that
we've come back and changed that one item. The reaction from that
minute action has had far reaching effects and how it ends is anyone's
guess."

Spock nodded and stood. "She is right. One small change in a river can
create a lake. The ripple effect from that one actions goes in many
directions."

Spock nodded to Selar and motioned for Kirk and McCoy to join him as
he headed out the door. "We will let you know if anything else
happens."

---

Meanwhile on the Highwind, Christine awoke to a dark empty room.
Instantly she knew something was wrong. Her mind immediately searched
for anything that was familiar only to come upon the one person she
hoped never to encounter again. His soft chuckle was cut off as she
once again built up her walls. She did learn a few things from Spock
during their brief meld. He had left her with enough information to
teach herself how to raise a barrier to keep others telepaths out. She
had taught herself how to keep out most of the thoughts of her
crewmates over the years but even that had taxed her dearly. She had
never told anyone, afraid of what they would do to her. Now she
realized she might have prevented a lot of pain on her part and just
maybe this whole ordeal could have been prevented.

As her head cleared and her eyes became adjusted to the dark, she
pulled herself up to a sitting position.

She ran a shaky hand through her hair and tried to make out the
different shapes in the room. She suddenly realized that she wasn't
alone. In that same instant the lights came up in the room and sitting
in the corner with his blue robe on stood the man of her nightmares.

Slowly he moved forward and came to a stop beside her. His hand
trembled as he reached out to touch her face. She pulled away to the
far corner of the bed. He chuckled as he sat down on the only other
piece of furniture in the room.

The silence seemed to lengthen as they sat across from each other.
Christine took the time to examine the room. The room was about 4 by
six. Barely big enough to hold the bed let alone the small toilet her
capture was now sitting on.

She took a deep breath and turned her attention to him. His hood
blocked his face but she could feel his eyes drilling into her. Her
head began to hurt as she felt him battering against her defenses. She
knew that if things kept going that he would eventually win, so she
decided to end it here and now.

"Just what is it that you want from me and why now? Why not three
years ago?"

His shoulders pulling back were the only clue that she had indeed
surprised him.

"Does it really matter?"

It took everything she had to stay where she was instead of pouncing
on him. "It does to me. I at least deserve to know what it is you are
using me for."

He nodded and stood. "You're right but the time isn't right yet." He
walked toward the door then spun around when she grabbed his arm.

"I know you're not from our time. I also know that you intend to
destroy Vulcan. Why do you hate them so much? My father said it was
because you could have been like them. Is that true or do you just
enjoy destroying innocent people."

He grabbed her hand that still held his arm and pulled her forward. As
she fell toward him, she reached up and snagged his hood with her free
hand. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers as she got her first look
at her own personal demon. His cold blue eyes bored into hers.

"Yes, I hate them that much. Because of them I could never be anything
but second best. Now look at me. I am at the crossroads of creating
the perfect virus. One so specifically tailored that it will take
years before they realize what is destroying them and by that time it
will be too late. But more than anything else, they are the reason why
my world was banned from the Federation. Sarek and his son destroyed
our only chance so it is only fitting that I destroy them."

Christine shook her head. "I can't believe that. Sarek and Spock would
never do that unless they had reason to believe that it would be
harmful to your world. However, that doesn't explain why you would use
me your own flesh and blood to destroy them."

His laughter seemed strained. "You are not my flesh and blood. My
cousin was a fool to fall for that half-breed. However, his stupidity
is my gain. Everything was going just fine then I hit a snag and I
thought I would fail." His touch was soft and almost caring. "His last
good deed was to give me you. Without you I couldn't have gotten this
far. Though something else is wrong. The new ones seem to be no better
than the others are. No matter what I do, I can't seem to make them
think for themselves. Something in the virus seems to destroy a part
of them. Each batch is different."

His hand moved to cover her stomach. "However thanks to Spock and you,
I might still succeed."

Christine recoiled in utter horror. "NO!"

He moved forward and grabbed her upper arm. Christine tried to back
away but ran into the far wall. "Tell me, my dear, what else did your
father say to you? Did he tell you how much you look like my late
wife? How she died at the hands of our worst enemies? How if Sarek had
agreed we would have had the weapons to destroy them long before they
destroyed us? But, no, we had to get our weapons from the cardis and
then have them turn on our world and all but destroy us."

Christine was breathing heavily as his body pressed against hers. His
breath was hot on her cheek. Suddenly his gripped loosened and his
hand caressed her cheek then moved to the side of her neck. If his
lips hadn't been biting on her ear, she might have missed his next
word. "Cassandra."

She pushed against him trying to get his attention toward something
other than herself. "I don't think Cassandra would have wanted you to
exact revenge in this manner."

His laughter echoed throughout the room as he turned away and opened
the door. "Just where do you think I got her DNA? She came to this
time with me. It was her idea. It seems she fell in love with a
certain Vulcan but he didn't want anything to do with her. I loved her
but he ruined her. She couldn't return it, and for hurting her it is
only fitting that his offspring help in bringing down an empire."

The room seemed chilled and smaller with the closing of the door.
Christine could understand how Cassandra had felt but that did not
make what they had done right. Once again Spock's charm had gotten to
someone else, only this time the woman was slightly crazy. Question
was ... if their planet wasn't ready, then how did they obtain the
knowledge to do what they were doing now? Somehow she knew that there
were still some pieces of the puzzle missing. Slowly she moved toward
the door and tried the handle. Sighing she moved back to the bed.
Sitting down she placed a hand over her stomach and wondered if what
he said was true. Was she even now carrying his child and would this
child be the harbinger of death and destruction for all of Vulcan?

She closed her eyes knowing that no matter what, this child could
never be born. She couldn't take a chance that that mad man would
succeed. A single tear made its way down her cheek to drop softly on
her tanned knee.

Her hand angrily swiped away the remaining evidence of her tears as
she leaned back. Somehow she knew she needed to find a way out of this
mess, before everything she cared about was destroyed.

---

Spock followed the Captain onto the bridge then took his place at his
station. Kirk sat down then nodded toward Sulu and Chekov. "Set course
for Sierra 1. Warp 8.9."

No one made a sound until the ship jumped to warp. "Course laid in.
Three hours and ten minutes to arrival."

Kirk nodded and stared at the screen. They needed to have a plan and
he knew that they couldn't leave the ship unprotected. Spock, of
course, would go down. He knew that was not a subject for debate.
However, he couldn't help but worry. What if this madman had finally
found what he desperately sought? The man had been at it for almost
twenty years. Should he take a risk on Spock's life? Then again Spock
had already been in the man's clutches and had come back seemingly
unaffected. Turning to look at his friend he realized that all his
questions were mute. Spock would go because Vulcan was in danger, as
would Sarek. Kirk wanted to go but was unsure whether he should leave
someone else in charge with an unknown adversary in the vicinity. His
mind made up he looked around the bridge, deciding on who would go and
who was needed onboard. With his mind made up, he called for a
briefing in two hours then quickly left the bridge.

In his quarters he contacted Sarek and Selar to inform them of the
meeting. Slowly he let his mind and body relax for a few hours. He
knew he would need all his strength for this next meeting. The only
thing that kept him from relaxing completely was the fact that if they
were heading to the wrong place then everything would be over.

---

Christine jerked awake as the door opened inward. There standing in
the glare of the corridor light was him again.

He held out his hand. "Come, Christine, it is time for you to return
home. There are quite a few people waiting to meet you."

Christine shuddered but stepped into the corridor. She pulled her arm
out of his hand and moved off behind the guards. "This is not my home
nor will it ever be."

"That is a shame, my dear. Dr. Calvin was very committed to making a
being that could fight this disease I will unleash. The poor man
didn't suspect a thing until it was too late." His eyes met hers as
they stepped onto the transporter. "What a shame he didn't live long
enough to meet you."

The smile left his face. "Then again he would have caused more
problems. It was better that he died. Just like all the others."

As the transporter grabbed them, Christine asked only one question.
"Even Cassandra?"

When the beam released them, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.
"You know absolutely nothing about her. She died fighting for what she
believed in. Nothing would please her more than to know that he would
be the cause of his destruction long before they ever met." He
released her and took a step forward. "I suggest you keep any other
thoughts to yourself. Let's get moving. The others might become a bit
impatient."

Christine hesitated and quickly glanced around. A shiver ran down her
spine as she recognized this place. It was the last place she had seen
her father. The shuttle bay did not seem quite as big now as then but
she had seen it enough times in her dreams to know where she was.

The room seemed to grow darker as she heard the clacking of shoes
against the tiled floor. The woman who looked down at her seemed older
than time yet her face was serene. Her voice was calm and quiet as her
eyes searched Christine's face. Finally she must have seen something
in her eyes for she nodded and spread her fingers. Gently she touched
her face and the world went dark. Christine gasped and found herself
face to face with her abductor.

"So, tell me little one, do you know who I am yet?"

Christine glared at him then suddenly his name popped into her
thoughts.

He smiled and walked away. "I see you have begun to put things
together on your own. I knew you would. That's why I took you with me.
Let's see your friends find you now."

The door opened and, as he stepped into the corridor, her words
brought him up short. "What makes you think they don't know where I
am? You aren't as smart as you think you are, Ventura. You won't win.
I won't let you and without me you lose."

Seconds later Christine found herself thrown halfway across the bay.
Just as suddenly she was picked up with a hand around her throat and
slammed against the wall. "I will win." He hissed in her ear. "There
is nothing that can stop me now."

Christine tried to take a breath but found that his hand was cutting
off her air. He released his hold and let her fall to the floor. For a
few seconds she sat gasping in fresh air. Suddenly a sharp pain knifed
through her stomach. Biting her lip she carefully got to her feet and
followed him out the door. Deep inside Christine knew that whatever
happened from this moment on would decide the fate of the Federation
and Vulcan. Her mind made up, she finally knew what she had to do. She
didn't know if anyone knew where she was and something inside told her
that she couldn't rely on anyone but herself. This was her Kobyaashi
Maru. There was no backing out of this one.

She walked down the empty corridors and knew that she had tread this
same path before many years ago yet nothing had changed. The ghosts of
those before still kept pace with her, only this time there was an air
of urgency about their presence. Almost like they knew this would be
the deciding ending. The playoffs were here and the ball was up in the
air. Would it be caught or would this be the last game for Christine?

Doors lined the corridor but it was the last door on the right that
Christine shied away from. She could hear the voices calling to her.
Begging her to come inside and help them. However, Ventura took the
corridor off to the left and led her to what had been her room as a
child. Some of her memories seemed to come rushing up like a fast
ball. Others were like a curve ball that looked head on but suddenly a
part came out of nowhere and smacked her upside the head. Still others
seemed to come out of left field and had absolutely nothing to do with
where she was and what she was trying to remember. Like the smell of
her mother as she rocked her to sleep or the color of her eyes. The
deepest green Christine could ever remember seeing.

She sighed deeply and carefully sank onto the bed. The cramps in her
stomach had increased in intensity but that was one thing she would
never let Ventura know. The cramps were proof that he had indeed used
Spock without his knowledge. In silence she asked for forgiveness,
knowing that this child was not meant to be and thankful that it was
not her that would end its life.

She leaned back on the bed to let nature take its course. Tears slid
unchecked down her cheeks as she thought of all that could be but that
she could never let happen. As the tears fell, the small little voices
comforted her, letting her know that she was not alone. That they knew
her pain because they had felt it before many times and knew that the
end was near, and that she would be better off in the end. In her mind
she heard the lullaby that they sung to her. The same one her father
had sung to her so long ago. It didn't take long for her to fall into
a restless sleep.

---

Spock took his seat next to the Captain and watched as his mother and
father entered, followed closely by Selar. When everyone had taken his
or her sears, the Captain stood and began to pace. "Long range scans
show nothing at this time. We can only hope that we are headed in the
right direction. Dr. Selar has told us that she does not have any clue
as to the location of their home base. However, we have reason to
believe we are heading in the right direction. Ambassador Sevek, if
you have any thoughts that might be of help, please feel free to
speak."

Kirk turned to face Spock and McCoy. "If they are on Sierra 1 then we
need to have an away team ready to beam down. The only problem is that
Sierra 1 is an L class planet. If they are indeed there, then it may
be impossible to beam you down outside of their base. Spock will be
leading the team along with Dr. McCoy. Ambassador Sarek, I can not
keep you from going but I do ask that you think seriously about this.
If what Selar says is true, then the entire Vulcan population will be
wiped out by a virus and you are its first victim."

Sarek nodded, his voice was calm and low. "I understand the
consequences and am fully prepared to do what is necessary to ensure
the safety of Vulcan."

Kirk had turned away but glanced over his shoulder at the Ambassador's
words. Yes, he would die if he thought he could save Vulcan. Not for
the first time, he wondered if he was doing the right thing by letting
these two go. Shaking his head, he turned back to his crew. "Chekov,
pick two members of security to accompany Spock and his team. You will
accompany the Ambassador along with Uhura. I expect both teams to keep
in constant contact. We are here to stop this mad man. Let's just hope
he still hasn't perfected his virus. All right, we'll be there in
twenty minutes. Get what you need and meet in the transporter room in
ten minutes. Dismissed."

Kirk held out his hand as Spock stood and motioned for him and the
rest of his crew to stay behind. "I don't want any of you taking any
unnecessary chances. You are to find Christine and that mad man and
get out. Don't touch anything else. Is that understood?" He held each
of their eyes as they nodded, then stood and left the room.

---

Spock walked silently down the corridor, his mind clearly not on his
surroundings. If he were totally honest with himself, his mind had
been engaged elsewhere for almost 2 hours. He knew Christine was
awake, had in fact felt her initial fear. He still couldn't make out
anything but her feelings at this distance but he had felt her pain
not more than an hour ago. In fact still felt the pain she was
enduring. He knew she didn't know he could feel her. Still a part of
him had called out to her, knowing that right now she needed to know
that she was not alone. However, what bothered him now was the outer
calm he felt radiating from her. There was no fear; in fact he felt
her presence but no emotions at all. This worried him more than
anything else did.

The shrill sound of the intercom coming to life greeted him as he
entered the transporter room. "Spock, we're in luck. Most of their
base is underground. We'll beam your team down in the shuttle bay and
Chekov's team down near their energy source. We are not to keep any
data on their technology. Is that understood?"

After affirmatives all around, Spock's team stepped up onto the
transporter and disappeared in a blaze of glittering lights. Seconds
later they appeared in the darkness of an empty shuttle bay.

---

Christine awoke to a small mess.

Quickly she cleaned herself up and changed her clothes. If she were
careful, Ventura would never know that his plan had been spoiled until
it was too late. As she brushed her hair back, she felt a small tingle
at the base of her brain. She stood up straight and grabbed the edge
of the sink for support as the room swam around her. She spun around
and moved toward the door. Outside she heard the shuffle of feet as
they moved away from her door followed by tiny giggles.

Christine paused then reached out and waved her hand in front of the
door. It automatically slid open. She jumped back and the door slid
shut. Cautiously she stepped into the door's sensors then slipped into
the hall. On silent bare feet, she made her way slowly down the
corridor back the way she had come. At the crossroad she turned to the
left and made her way to the last door on the right. Taking a deep
breath she palmed the door.

---

Sarek glanced around the empty room. The equipment here was similar to
that of their own time but slightly different. He knew that to keep
the time line clean all of this would have to be destroyed. Quickly he
turned his thoughts back to the problem at hand. They were here to
find Dr. Chapel and the doctor responsible for all of this. Out of the
corner of his eye he noticed something moving off behind the
workstations and the sound of laughter. However, when he turned to
look there was nothing there.

Chekov spun to his left and ran around the power grid but came up
empty handed. He looked around and took a deep breath and heard
another noise off to his right. The noise was coming from a spot near
the place he had just vacated. Soft giggles were the only noise
besides the breathing of the away team that could be heard.

Each man took up his station around the Ambassador. Uhura stood with
phaser drawn at his side and shivered slightly. The voices reminded
her of small children playing a game. Only thing was these children
were raised to hate all Vulcaniod beings. Which put both away teams in
danger. Glancing back to Chekov, she nodded toward the other room.
"Pavel, they seem to be playing with us. I suggest we move out of here
and try to find the others."

Pavel returned to his group and together they moved forward. "I think
this place is full of gremlins."

Sarek glanced around and then stepped forward. "It would seem that the
good Doctor did not cease his experiments twenty years ago. It would
only be logical that he continues since this base was never found. It
will be interesting to find out just who he is."

Pavel looked over to Uhura as the skitter of tiny feet could be heard
in the background. "At least he doesn't quote us the odds for
success."

Sarek merely raised his eyebrows as they moved into the control room.
They quickly went to work with Lt. Thomas taking his place behind one
of the consoles. His hands flew across the board then stilled. "Sir,
this shows that there are only eighteen life forms. Six here, one
lifeform about three hundred feet from Commander Spock's group and
five more three doors down from us."

Pavel moved forward. "That can't be right. I know we heard something
in the other room and they couldn't have left here already." Just then
a small giggle was heard a few feet away followed by another then
another until the laughter completely surrounded them. Then just as
quickly it was gone.

Pavel nodded to the security guards as they moved toward the door. It
was time to get things moving. They now knew where everyone was and
needed to move fast before they lost them.

---

Kirk took his seat and watched silently as the planet swirled in
vibrant orange colors. They seemed to blend from a deep rich orange to
a near radiant neon. Still something in his gut told him that
something was about to go seriously wrong. Sulu sat at his seat
keeping an eye on the two vessels the orbited the planet. Each had
taken up a point on opposite sides, while the Enterprise took up a
station at the pole. It was the only place they could keep an eye on
both ships and remain unseen. Kirk turned his attention to his
communications officer. Ensign Bendall shook his head at Kirk and
turned back to his board. Kirk understood the man would let him know
when the away team contacted them. He was beginning to see why McCoy
didn't like being left behind.

He stood and took three steps to the right then six steps back. Time
seemed to stand still as he waited for his people to let him know how
things were going. He slammed his fist into his palm. "Damn it, I
should have gone with them."

Sulu smiled and spun around. "There isn't anything you could do down
there, but if that ship moves, we'll need everything you have,
Captain."

Kirk smiled and came to a stop directly in front of his helmsman. "I
know that, Sulu, but it doesn't make the waiting any easier."

As Sulu turned back to the screen, the comm board came to life. "Sir,
both parties report that they have arrived safely and that they will
let you know as things develop."

Kirk nodded then resumed pacing.

---

Spock heard the tinkle of laughter as his group made their way
silently down the corridor. His eyes remained fixed on the lone door
at the end of the corridor. He didn't understand what was happening
but he could feel her fear and knew she needed him. He had vowed to
help her and could not even if he wanted to turn back now, though a
part of him told him it was not just for Vulcan or himself that he had
to do this for.

His thoughts went back over the years. Years of her sitting by his bed
in sickbay, quietly reassuring, without saying a word. Sometimes just
her presence was enough to calm him. Then the last few years while she
was gone only to see her again a few weeks ago. He hadn't realized how
much he missed her until he saw her making her way through the crowd.
Many a time he had thought of her after seeing someone who looked or
walked the way she had and in those instants he had ached to see her
again. Then she was there but not the same, she had matured, and he
often wondered if she still loved him.

Illogical as that was, still he had wondered. Suddenly he had heard
her thoughts but they were jumbled and frantic. That and her fear had
invaded his world. Just as he felt her, she had shut him out and left
the club. He not been able to meditate and had even been grateful when
Selar's call had come in. However, as their conversation had
continued, he had felt his throat tighten and the fear he had felt
through Christine had returned, mixed with his own. Until this moment
he had ignored the fact that it had been his fear that had led him to
her door that night. Fear that something had prevented her for
reaching out to him. His tricorder beeped bringing his mind back to
the task at hand. Silently he counted the number of lifeforns in the
base and raised his brow. The away teams had both reported the strange
laughter that followed them since their arrival yet the readouts still
read only 18 lifeforms. He knew someone or something was blocking
their sensors. When he glanced up they were at the last door. Dr.
Selar stood beside him with a frown marring her lovely features.
Slowly he moved into the sensor's range, allowing the door to swing
open. Christine stood in the middle of the room frozen.

Christine couldn't move, she knew that she needed to open the drawers
but another part of her warned her that the dream was about to become
reality.

She didn't know how long she had stood there silently listening for
the voices. All she knew is they weren't answering, yet she could
still hear their laughter. Then suddenly it all stopped and she felt
their overwhelming hate. A part of her screamed at them but they
wouldn't listen. They just keep telling her that the enemy had arrived
and revenge would soon be theirs.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she frantically searched her mind
for a way to stop what was about to happen, knowing deep down that if
she didn't then nothing else would matter. She searched the empty
corridors but they had shut her out. She knew then that in order to
get them to listen, she had to go to the leader. That was what now
held her frozen to the center of the room. A part of her did not want
to see what was about to unfold, while the other part told her it was
the only way. She only wished that Spock or someone else was here to
help her.

She jumped as a hand gently touched her arm. The heat from his touched
seemed to radiate through the silk robe wrapped around her still damp
body. Slowly her eyes met his. "Selar, Sarek and you are in danger and
they won't listen to me." A tear slowly made its way down her damp
cheek. With a gentleness she had only seen him use with children, he
wiped it away.

"It will be alright. We will get them to understand." Christine took a
shaky breath and took a step forward. Stopping she looked back at
Spock and held out her hand. "Will you help me?"

Spock nodded and took the hand, together the approached the middle
drawer.

Christine took a deep breath and with a shaky hand pushed the lower
right button. The drawer slid open and the being that stared back at
them caused her to jump back a step.

She was hideous. All her internal organs were present but on the
outside.

She had no mouth and no ears but the eyes were filled with pain.
Christine let out a small gasp as the creature looked at her than
gazed at Spock.

Hatred shone from the eyes for a brief second then they slowly turned
back to Christine. She felt the voice again caress her thoughts. "So
the lost one has returned. We knew you would be back." The eyes
darkened as the voice hissed inside her mind. "Why did you bring the
evil ones here?"

The door swished open and the other away team entered followed by
Ventura and his men."Isn't this a nice family reunion. Grandfather,
father and son. Oh but then you probably didn't know about the latest
one, did you? Oh well, let's just say that the newest member should
prove to be quite promising." On silent feet he moved into the room
and looked down at the woman in the drawer. "How does it feel seeing
the lost one again. I told you she would return and then vengeance
would be ours."

Christine pushed him away. "NO. You're wrong on all accounts. There
will be no newest member. Your revenge is unfounded." She turned away
from him and glared and the woman in the drawer. "Ventura's revenge
isn't yours. He's the reason you are like you are. The Vulcans had
nothing to do with it. You must open your mind to me and see for
yourself."

"Don't listen to her No. 2, she has been corrupted by them. Look
inside my mind and see what they did to her when she was young."

Silence filled the air as a smile curved over his lips. Thinking he
had won he turned to his guards. "Kill Sarek first. I want Spock to
see his father die and know that because of him all this has
happened." Christine grabbed his arm. "NO!" As two of the men grabbed
Sarek, she released him and turned to the woman in the drawer.
Searching through years of walls, she finally found what she was
looking for. "My sister, many nights we spent in this room talking,
making plans, laughing at each other as more and more of us were made.
On that last night we made a promise to each other." Christine closed
her eyes and tried to remember how it went.

Spock's presence behind her brought with it a sense of calm and she
drank it up as she again let her mind travel back through time.
Suddenly she felt Ventura as he tried to slip into her thoughts and
just as suddenly she felt Sis push him back.

Eyes stilled closed, Christine began to speak. "Someday when we meet
again. Our lives anew we well begin. All we learn throughout the
years. We will share together in gentle tears. For our thoughts will
belong to one another. This is a promise we make to each other. May
not a tear fall in sorrow? For we are only parting until tomorrow."

Christine gasped and fell into Spock's arms as Sis rushed forward to
meet her friend. Ventura moved forward but stopped when the room came
to life with small half bodies. Uhura and Selar gasped and moved
closer to the center of the room. Ventura's men aimed their weapons
and fired but found them harmless. Everyone waited in silence as two
souls collided and melded, old friends relieved lonely nights and a
lover's embrace.

Spock slowly lowered Christine's limp body to the ground but continued
to cradle her in his arms. No one knew how long this would take.
Carefully he studied the strange creatures around him. Some had no
eyes or ears while some had no legs or arms. Each was incomplete as a
being yet all seemed to be able to with the help from the others to
move freely. Those with eyes seemed to be listening to an inner voice
yet none took their eyes off the room's inhabitants. Over the years
they had learned to communicate telepathically in order to get around.
He wondered if Ventura even knew what these people were capable of.

Spock didn't know how long they had been here. He only knew that with
each passing moment he felt disgust at this being who claimed to be
human yet had created these innocent beings and taught them to hate,
then used them for his own hateful revenge. As time crept by, each of
the creatures would venture forth tugging on his, Sarek or Selar's
clothes then just as quickly dash back. The ones with no eyes or ears
carried those creatures that had no legs. They used each other in
equal balance in order to survive. To that he knew went a great deal
of thought on their part.

Slowly his eyes met his father's. Sarek's brow was arched in imitation
of his son's as yet another of the creatures came forward. This one
however laid her hand on Sarek's as the creature that she carried
stared into his eyes.

Slowly Sarek knelt, allowing her to meld with him. Spock held his
breath then glanced down as Christine stirred in his arms. He helped
her to sit then again looked toward his father. After a few seconds he
too stood as the creatures again retreated to the dark.

Christine slowly stood and made her way to the drawer. Tears silently
slipped down her cheek as she stared at what used to be her only
friend in a world full of pain and loss. Gently she reached down and
touched her cheek.

"I shall always remember you and what you did for that little girl who
had nowhere to turn."

No one moved as one by one the drawers in the room opened. Like a clap
of thunder they covered the ears as they spoke with one voice into
their minds.

"Leave now or never leave."

Christine nodded and walked briskly to the door. She glanced back as
the doors opened. In her mind she could here them singing a soft
lullaby.

Several of them ran into the corridors ahead of them. They would make
sure that everyone went where they were supposed to go. At the last
minute Ventura pushed one of his guards into the crowd and ran toward
the power grids.

Chekov turned to follow only to be stopped by Sarek. "There is no need
to seek him out. They will make sure his plan does not succeed. Then
he will be returned to his own time."

No one spoke a word as they entered the shuttle bay. Christine bent
down and took the hand of one that had accompanied them. "You don't
have to do this. We can find a way."

Sighing gently she stood and faced the others. "I thought it was worth
a try but they have made up their minds."

Spock nodded and hailed the Enterprise. "Seventeen to beam up."

They waited as the prisoners and Chekov's security team beamed up. A
few seconds later the rest of them stepped off the transporter only to
be met by Jim himself. "Spock, what happened down there. We were just
about to send down another security team when your call came through?"

Spock glanced at the people around him, taking into consideration that
Selar had yet to return to her period. "I suggest we move to the
briefing room to continue, Captain. It would seem we have quite a bit
to tell you."

Jim nodded and headed toward the door, only to be stopped by McCoy.
"Well, you guys can discuss this all you want. However, I know one
young lady who needs to get some rest and I want a complete physical."

Christine groaned but knew it was for the best this time. As her eyes
met Spock's, he raised a brow then looked straight at Leonard. "There
is a matter of a statement made earlier that needs to be cleared
up..."

McCoy gave him a dirty look and, grabbing Christine's arm, propelled
her out the door. "I'm sure that can wait until she has gotten a
little rest."

Silence reigned as the doors swished shut behind them.

---

Sarek and Selar sat in the rec room a few hours later watching a game
of chess between Kirk and Spock, in which Kirk was losing and praying
for an interruption. McCoy sat off to his right and kept up a running
commentary on the beauty of a simple sunset. He had yet to get even a
small rise out of Spock and soon lapsed into silence.

The chirp of the comm unit was a welcome respite for the Captain.
"Sir, a Dr. Ventura wishes to speak to you."

Everyone in the room was on their feet and out the door before Kirk
could finish his sentence. "I'll be right there."

---

Christine stretched and slowly slid her feet off the bed. She quickly
glanced around then jumped down and grabbed her robe. In three long
strides, she was sliding out the door only to be stopped by McCoy.

"I was just coming to get you. Seems Ventura is calling to talk to the
captain. I thought you might want to be there?"

Christine nodded and pulled the robe tighter. They entered the bridge
a few moments later to a smiling Ventura and the shocked looks of the
rest of the crew. All eyes turned toward her as she stepped down
toward the captain's chair. Ventura's voice was cold and husky. "Oh
look and there's the little mother to be now."

Christine swallowed the lump in her throat and walked toward the
screen. Her voice was low and filled with pain, but in spite of all
that it was calm. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your
revenge will never take place. Your Cassandra and all the others died
for nothing." McCoy stepped back and leaned against the rail. He for
one knew this would be a very interesting discussion.

Ventura's smile never left his face. "Oh, but you are mistaken my
dear. Before we got to Sierra 1, I impregnated you with Spock's sperm.
Only thing is I left a messenger in his DNA string. When he is older,
it will begin to break down and then all of Vulcan will die."

Christine shook her head. Her voice was almost hollow. "I hate to be
the one to disillusion you but that child will never be born."

Ventura leaned forward. "Oh, but it will, my dear. Vulcans do not
believe in killing a child. Any child, regardless of what that child
may do in the future. Isn't that right, Sarek?"

Sarek moved forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He is correct,
my child. The child will be born. We can find another way to fight
him."

Christine smiled up at him then turned back to the screen. Ventura was
scowling at his helm officer then slowly she could hear the soft voice
of a computer as it counted down. "Ten seconds to auto destruct."

A sad smile spread across her face as she gave the final blow. "I
miscarried. There is no baby."

Ventura turned from the screaming men around him to stare at her.
Seeing the truth in her eyes, he threw himself at the screen. "Damn
you. Damn you all to hell."

The hood of his robe fell back to reveal pointy ears and blonde hair.
His next words shocked them all not so much in many as in language.
"May the blood of my fathers forever torment your souls." It took a
few seconds for the translator to translate the words from Romulan to
Federation Standard. However, by the time they did, his ship was
obliterated by a flash of bright light as the destruct sequence
finally made it to zero.

All eyes turned away from the blinding flash. When things had calmed
down, Christine again found herself the center of attention. Selar had
moved up to her other side. "Are you sure?"

Christine nodded and then looked to McCoy, the others glared up at
him. "She's telling the truth."

Sarek nodded then looked over at Selar. "That still does not explain
the continued presence of Dr. Selar."

Selar shrugged her shoulders and moved back a step. "Evidently not all
has been put right."

Spock nodded and looked down at the planet. "The ability to continue
Dr. Ventura's work still exists as long as the base does."

Kirk nodded. "But do we have the right to destroy their only home."

Christine turned away from the viewscreen and walked into the lift.
"You won't have to."

Her whispered words sent a chill down the spines of all present. Spock
stepped into the lift before the doors could close. Sulu's words
barely reached them. His hand shot out to hold the doors open. "Sir,
there's been an explosion on the planet. The base is completely gone.
No trace of lifeforms."

Kirk jumped from his chair. Sarek spun around. Christine's eyes met
Selar's and bid her a fond farewell.

---

Selar stumbled to the ground. She glanced up as a gentle hand grabbed
her hand and helped her up. A smile lit her face as she again found
herself on the surface of the Guardian of Forever. Its cold voice
echoed through empty space. "All is as it was." Beverly turned around
and threw herself in his arms. "We did it, Jean-Luc."

He smiled and pushed her brown tresses out of her face. "Yes, you did.
You know I kind of like you with pointy ears."

She smacked him gently and then slowly brought her lips to his. The
kiss was quick and sweet and full of promise. "Just think what you'd
be missing if I stay this way."

His laughter brightened her soul as she tried to shake off the sadness
she had seen reflected in haunted blue eyes. Taking a deep breath she
buried her head in his shoulder. "Take me home, Jean-Luc, I need to
know what happened so long ago."

He nodded and turned to Data. "Data, you heard Dr. Crusher, see if the
Enterprise is up there."

His arm still around her waist, they materialized on board the
Enterprise-E and slowly made their way down half empty corridors, each
lost in their own thoughts.

---

Spock felt the shift in the current in the air as Selar disappeared.
In that split second, he knew that the future was safe in the next
generation's hands. He stepped back into the lift and allowed the
doors to shut. Christine stood beside him gripping the handle. Slowly
she spoke her deck. Spock stood silently watching her, and for the
first time since he had seen her in the club he could no longer hear
her thoughts.

The lift doors parted and Christine began the short walk to her
quarters. She was exhausted and just wanted to relax. Her head pounded
as she again relived the last words spoken to her by her friend. "You
will be the only one left. The others will follow me. You must shut
your mind to us, for my next words are not for you to hear. You are
what we can never be so live for us S'Christa."

Christine felt the tears start and wished for the first time in her
life that Spock would leave her alone. She did not understand why he
was with her now.

The doors to her quarters silently opened as she neared; slowly she
moved inside but stopped inside the doors sensors to keep them open.
"You may come in for a few minutes, Mister Spock, but I am really
tired and would like to get some sleep."

Spock nodded although her back was to him then entered on silent feet.
Christine moved forward then quickly swiped at the tears rolling down
her cheek.

Seconds later, she found her face buried in Spock's uniform and his
arms holding her tight. "You must not keep all the pain inside. You
knew they were going to destroy the base?" At her nod he stroked her
hair and continued. "Why didn't you say anything? We might have been
able to save some of them."

Christine stepped back but his hands did not let her go far. Her
blurry blue eyes met his. "They wanted it this way. They were tired of
not being able to do anything without the help of one of the others
and Sis could never leave the drawer. It was better this way."

Spock nodded. "I cannot hear your thoughts any longer. I thought once
they were gone I would be thankful. Now I find I miss them."

Christine couldn't hide the smile that lit her eyes. "Why, Mister
Spock, who would have thought you could say something so nice?"

His brow rose slowly as he released her and took a step back. "I have
come to realize a number of things lately. One of which is that I
missed you while you were away." He placed his hands behind his back
and leaned back as Christine crossed the room to him. She moved so
close that if he took a deep breath they would be touching. Spock
found that this disturbed him but not in the way it normally did with
humans.

She didn't touch him, didn't dare for fear that he would bolt like a
deer seeing the bobcat. Instead she let herself get as close as she
could then slowly moved back. "Truth be told, I missed you too. I owe
you a debt of gratitude and am not quite sure how to repay you."

Spock moved forward, missing the smell of her and her nearness. He
stopped just shy of touching her. He found he enjoyed this game of no
touch but felt a yearning for something that he hadn't felt since his
first year aboard the Enterprise. "You owe me nothing, Christine. I
did what was necessary at the time."

Christine turned and walked over to her bed, then slowly sank down to
sit on the edge. "Oh, yes, I do. You didn't have to come to find me on
the starbase and, after the way I treated you when I first came to,
I'm surprised you stayed." She plucked at the seam of the comforter
and she absently stared at the rose sewn in the corner. "And above all
that you melded with me to try and help me find the answers even when
all the evidence pointed to me as Sevek's killer. I don't understand
why you did any of it."

She felt his hands on her arms and glanced around to find him kneeling
in front of her.

The warmth of his hands seemed to burn through the thin material of
her blue green robe. Her eyes strayed to his lips, which were now
inches from hers. Oh, how long had she yearned to feel them against
her own again? Slowly she leaned forward then remembered who he was
and leaned back glancing down at her entwined hands.

Spock stared at her then reached out and gently lifted her chin with a
finger until her eyes met his. "I have thought about this day ever
since our lesson all those years ago. As illogical as it seems, I find
myself wanting to be with you and, when I am not. I am thinking of
you."

Standing he brought her with him. Slowly he moved away. "You create
chaos where logic once ruled. I am at a loss to figure out why this is
so. For the last two weeks, I have meditated to try and figure out how
to control these feelings." His pacing brought him back to face her.
"I always walk away from each meditation wanting to see you again."

Spock turned and stepped into the door's sensors. His eyes met hers
then he was gone.

Christine sank to her bed and let out the breath she didn't know she
had been holding. With a shaky hand she brushed a stray strand of
brown hair away from weary blue eyes. For a brief second she wondered
if she had imagined this conversation. Shaking her head and still
unsure of what was going on, she showered and crawled into her bed.
She knew no nightmares would find her tonight. She closed her eyes.

Four hours later she threw the bedcovers off and climbed out of bed.
Quickly she changed into a pair of shorts and shirt and headed for the
gym. Damn Spock and his talk. She had spent the last few hours tossing
and turning, trying to figure out if he meant what her heart wanted
him to, or if she had simply wanted him to mean that.

Entering the gym she adjusted the controls and then grabbed her stick
from her locker. Slowly, rhythmically, she forced her body to go
through the rituals. An hour later, with muscles sore, she paused in
the middle of the room. Taking deep breaths, she closed her eyes and
felt a familiar presence behind her.

Turning around Christine took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
Spock placed a finger over her lips. "Sshhh, Christine. Now is not the
time for words."

Seconds later his lips replaced the soft caress of his fingers.

Christine found herself spiraling out of control and opening her mind
once again to his. He felt her sadness and new-found joy. She felt his
love and sorrow. Together they would bridge the gap and heal the
wounds of all the lost years they spent fighting against their natural
attraction.

Her Kantian stick dropped to the floor behind her as her hands slowly
moved up his arms to wrap around his neck. A flame shot through her
body igniting small fires as his hands moved to cup her breasts. Two
hearts from different worlds rapidly beat as one and destiny was
fulfilled in the stars.

---

The End