11:28

It was funny how quickly life could change in the span of a few minutes, twisting the meaning of the simplest things until you could barely remember what they meant before.

The slow ticking of a clock each time the second hand pulsed. The shrill ring of a phone as it clattered against the counter. The muted shuffle of footsteps behind a door.

She'd known it was bad the moment she'd spied the dark smoke billowing over the skyline, glass tinkling as the apartment shook, but nothing compared to the slow torture of the waiting that followed. Carol's eyes snapped to her phone as it buzzed suddenly, swearing loudly as she read the routine update notification.

"What is it?" Nick replied quickly, sitting up attentively from his place on the apartment's sofa.

"Goddamned notification," Carol huffed, glancing up at him slowly, "Did you hear anything from McCoy?"

"Not more than before," Nick sighed slowly, "The Archive's shut off except for emergency personnel, but it's been an hour since the scanners reported any signs of life from the wreckage. All other casualties are being sent to the Royal London Hospital. He's not kin but since he's the CMO of the Enterprise, he'll be notified if any crew members are brought in or found at the Archive."

"All active duty officers have to report back to Starfleet headquarters by tomorrow morning and it's been hours already," Carol replied quickly, standing abruptly as she began pacing back and forth, "What if it takes too long? What if they can't find her?"

"They'll find her, Car," Nick reassured, standing slowly as Carol paced away from him.

"But what if they don't?" Carol snapped, her eyes glancing out the apartment window towards the fading column of smoke in the city center, "She wanted to pick up her phone yesterday, but we told her to wait. She was there this morning, Nick. She wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me."

"Car-"

"What if she was right?" Carol mumbled abruptly, breathing heavily as she marched across the room, snatching her PADD off the table.

"Carol, what are you-" Nick started, falling silent as Carol waved him off.

"The Archive," Carol started, pacing back and forth across the living room, "Adea said there was something weird going on at the Archive. There was a report that said a Klingon rifle had been sweeped for trackers, but the report was wrong and it almost got her killed. She's spent her entire time in London digging through the Archive trying to find the person who wrote the report, but yesterday she said something was off. The user couldn't be found. Everything else they were doing was classified. Something about a weird person bothering her. What if this wasn't an accident? What if she was onto something?"

"Onto what?" Nick asked.

"C'mon, Nick, it can't be a coincidence!" Carol pressed, "Adea finds something weird at the Archive and less than a day later, someone blows the damn thing up to kingdom come? Why else would someone blow up a facility filled with dusty old books and hard drives?"

"Carol, I know it's difficult right now waiting for news about Adea-"

"This is not about news!" Carol snapped backed, "I thought it was insane too, but look where we are! What if she was right?"

"Car-"

"What if she was?" Carol huffed, fixing Nick with an unyielding glare.

"If half of what you're implying is true, then you're going to need a lot more than conjecture and Adea's observations, Car," Nick started quietly.

"It's not conjecture!" Carol countered, flicking through her messages, "Adea sent me the user ID and a photo of the report."

"That's not my point, Car," Nick replied hastily, bracing Carol's shoulders gently, "I'm saying if whatever Adea found had something to do with the Archive attack today, you need to be careful. Whoever or whatever you're dealing with had no problem turning central London into a vaporized hole in the ground. Do you think they'll have any problem going after a single Starfleet officer looking into this?"

"I know, I just-" Carol started, exhaling loudly as she squared her shoulders, "McCoy will find her. We all go back to San Francisco. My father can clear up what's going on with the missiles. Starfleet will catch who did this. And then it's handled. No one gets hurt. Everything will just go back normal."

"Of course," Nick reassured hesitantly, scratching the back of his head as Carol breezed past him.

"Good," Carol huffed, turning abruptly as she crossed the living room towards the kitchen, flicking on the electric kettle, "Because I don't know what I'll do if she's gone."

"Adea's a tough little thing," Nick sighed, following Carol into the kitchen, "Besides, we have our best out looking for her. They'll find her."

"They'd better," Carol sighed, resting her head on Nick's shoulder as she stared out of the kitchen window towards the city, her focus on the flashing of the sirens below blurring as a reluctant tear trailed down her face.

12:46

Death wasn't new to him.

Hell, it was part of his job. Preventing it. Making it easier. Keeping it away as long as possible. Sure, he'd seen people die. But there was always something distant about it. It was a job. It was natural. It was the vital results displayed across a screen. Sure, it was not always this easy. The first time someone had died during residency, it'd felt as if it'd been his own mother. Maria. 65 years old. Congenital heart disease. Heart Attack. There was nothing they could do, but read results from the scanner and record the time of death. He'd almost quit that day. But that was perhaps why he'd chosen medicine. So one less person would have to feel that way someday. So he'd learned to process it. Moving away from the patients to the machines that whirred quietly in the background to save their lives. It seemed to make all the difference.

That, and his quippy fellow resident of a friend who never seemed to break a sweat. Or give up on him.

He'd barely rolled out of bed before he'd gotten the notification about the attack in London, a phone call following shortly thereafter. It seemed the advanced sensor on the EV scanner he'd developed was the only one powerful enough to scan through several meters of rubble without irradiating bystanders. The phone call faded into the distance as grabbed his things, placing the call on speaker as he'd tried to contact his friends. He'd nearly made it to London when his phone finally rang, the faintest pang of relief fading the moment he'd heard his friend's ever steady drawl, nearly unrecognizable with the panic that laced through it.

Learned steadiness be damned. A few seconds of that nervous tone was nearly enough to break his own heart.

Besides, that girl had started to grow on him.

Théo had spent the morning scanning through the rubble, wondering what was worse, the seconds ticking by without news about Adea or the seconds ticking closer to finding her hurt. Or worse. But if there was anything Théo could do well it was build machines. And if anyone else was under that rubble, the scanner would find them. Théo was sure of it. And if Len hadn't heard anything at the hospital, maybe there was a chance….

Chance. Hope. If he was musing about hope, surely he was losing it. He exhaled the smoke of his cigarette through his teeth, shaking his head slowly as he ran his hands over his face. He needed a break. Longer than the two minutes he'd taken to get to whatever tiny plaza he was at now.

Fuck, he was definitely losing it. Now he could hear her….

"Théo?" the voice repeated, this time closer.

He glanced up slowly, blinking as he turned over his shoulder towards the voice, his cigarette falling to the ground as relieved recognition flickered in the hazel eyes that met his.

"Nom de dieu," Théo mumbled quickly, stumbling back slightly as she rushed forward, hugging him tightly, "You're fucking alive, Adea!"

He stepped back slowly, his eyes trailing from small cut on her ash-smudged cheek to the grey dust coating the black jacket.

"How did-" Théo started, trailing off as he eyed her in shock, "Holy shit, you're alive! Adea, are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to you?"

"Lee," Adea interrupted quickly, her dark eyes growing wide, "He wanted to meet me at the Archive. Is he-"

"He's alive. He's ok," Théo stated faintly, staring back at her incredulously, "His train was delayed. He didn't arrive until after ze attack. But you. How are you alive? It's been hours."

"I got knocked backwards into an alleyway when the building exploded," Adea replied quietly, "I missed the fireball and the debris, but something falling crushed my bag. It had my phone, my PADD…. A woman saw me and invited me inside. I didn't know how to get back to the apartment. I've been trying to get McCoy or Carol's number, but Starfleet communication lines were all busy. And I just had a civilian line. I-"

"You don't know zeir phone numbers?" Théo mused.

"I-Nevermind," Adea frowned, "Lee gives me enough shit about not knowing numbers as it is. Do you have your phone?"

"Of course," Théo replied, fumbling quickly for the black device in his coat pocket, noting Adea's wince as she reached forward to take it, "But are okay? Have you been to ze hospital? Or ze checkpoint at the Archive site? I can bring you now?"

"No," Adea replied quickly, her eyes flickering warily towards the sirens sounding in the distance,"I'm fine."

"Mon oeil," Théo retorted, "An explosion nearly took you out."

"It's a few scratches," Adea huffed dismissively.

"Why don't I believe you, Cherie?" Théo mused, raising a doubtful eyebrow.

"I'm fine," Adea stated, steadying her breath, "I promise. A few scrapes and bruises from getting knocked backwards, but I'll live. Your phone...please?"

"Fine," Théo gave in slowly, eyeing her dubiously as he offered her his phone, "But you should know if you're lying, and I didn't drag your ass to ze hospital, I won't hear ze end of it from Len and you won't hear ze end of it from me, hmm?

"Je te jure," Adea promised, her fingers tapping quickly over the screen as she found the contact.

She exhaled steadily as the phone began to ring, her pulse racing. She swallowed dryly as the ring droned on, the fingers of her free hand drumming quickly against her thigh. Maybe he was unava-

"Bout time, Théo," the southern doctor's voice huffed, "Best hospital in England my ass. No one knows what's going on. Damn near forgot what type of organizational nightmare civilian hospital's are. Someone walked by about ten minutes ago saying they hadn't found anyone else dead or alive at the attack site. What's going on there? Have y'all heard anything else?"

Adea closed her eyes, the relief of hearing his voice again threatening to overtake her composure. She inhaled shakily as her vision blurred slightly, a small smirk tugging up at the edges of her mouth.

"God damn it, Théo," McCoy grumbled hastily, "You can't call at a time like this a remain silent on the damn line. You'll give a man a damned heart attack, just sitting there on the end of the line like a-"

"Lee," Adea breathed softly, exhaling shakily as the line fell quiet.

There was a pause as McCoy sighed loudly, mumbling under breath as he exhaled.

"Adi?" McCoy breathed, the line falling silent again,"Oh thank God. Adi, where are you? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Adea replied quickly, "I got knocked into an alleyway. I missed the blast and the debris, but I lost my phone. A few scrapes, but I'll live."

"Where are you exactly?" McCoy pressed, "Are you by the hospital?"

"No. Cochrane...Plaza?" Adea read slowly, squinting as she stared at the sign, "It's near the Archive. Where are you?"

"Wait there, Adi," McCoy stated, his voice trailing off as the background noises grew louder.

"Lee, where are-"

Adea frowned as the line beeped, searching to reconnect the signal.

"Lee?" Adea repeated, huffing as the line continued to beep.

"What happened?" Théo asked, fishing in his pocket for a cigarette.

"Call is reconnecting," Adea sighed, turning the phone on speaker as it continued to beep, "Do they know what happened to the Archive?"

"Beyond zat it got blasted sky high zis morning?" Théo mused, "Non. Not much more. Currently forty dead. Over two hundred wounded. Zey still don't know who did it or why, except zat ze bomb would have taken out several blocks if it had been above ground. But who ze hell bombs an Archive?"

"It's not just an Archive," Adea answered slowly, glancing back at the phone, "Something else was going on there. They were creating weapons reports. Something to do with base code 731, but there isn't a base code 731."

"731?" Théo repeated, raising an eyebrow slowly as recognition dawned, "Now zat makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Adea frowned, "You've heard of 731?"

"Of course," Théo shrugged, taking a long drag as he exhaled the smoke through his nose, "Section 31. Intelligence and Defense. Sometimes zeir work overlaps with medical R&D, so we hear from zem from time to time. Never knew where it was exactly, but if it was in ze Archive building, everything makes a lot more sense, non?"

"Section 31?" Adea repeated.

"You've never heard of it?" Théo mused, "Isn't your mother running Starfleet or something? I zought you would have at least heard something?"

"Nothing at all," Adea replied slowly, the steely gaze from the man at the Archive flashing into her mind as the other end of the phone line crackled back in.

"Adi? You there?" McCoy huffed, the background noises behind him growing louder.

"I'm here," Adea answered, scrunching her nose as a loud screech echoed through the phone, "Lee, where are you?"

"Don't mind that," McCoy huffed, "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Yes," Adea sighed.

"Mhmm," McCoy grumbled, "Are you just saying that or did you receive a proper medical exam?"

"I'm fine, Lee," Adea promised, "I swear."

"Well forgive me if I don't trust your judgment," McCoy huffed loudly, "Lord knows what I might find when I get there. Broken bones. Lacerations. Internal Hemorrhaging…"

Adea shook her head slowly, smiling as McCoy rattled on.

Who knew there'd come a day when McCoy's medical rants would make her day.

"What's going on with the Enterprise?" Adea asked slowly, "My last assignment to the Enterprise was temporary. I mean, I assumed I would get permanent posting, but... Have you heard anything from Kirk? Do you know anything?"

"Since the reassignment?" McCoy replied.

"Reassignment?" Adea repeated, frowning slowly, "What are you talking about? What reassignment?"

"It just happened this morning," McCoy sighed after a pause, a quiet reluctance in his tone.

"This morning?" Adea repeated slowly as she frowned, "What happened this morning? Lee-"

"One second, Adi," McCoy stated, his voice trailing off.

"Lee!"

She glanced down at the phone as the call ended, exhaling loudly through her teeth.

"All ok, Cherie?" Théo sighed, raising an eyebrow at Adea.

"He hung up" Adea sighed, crossing her arms, "And something about a reassignment?"

"Don't ask me," Théo shrugged defensively.

"Why would he say that?" Adea muttered half to herself, frowning as she caught sight of Théo's growing grin, "What? What's that look for?"

"Dunno," Théo smirked, flicking the ashes from his cigarette onto the ground, "You keep asking me all ze questions. Why don't you just ask Len yourself, hmm?"

"He hung up," Adea reminded tiredly.

"Who's says by phone?" Théo mused, nodding behind her, "Besides, in person is probably faster, non?"

Adea raised a confused eyebrow at Théo, glancing slowly over her shoulder as caught sight of McCoy, her hands clapped over her mouth. She stared back in shock wonder as he rushed towards he, barely uttering his name before his lips met hers, his hands wrapping around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Goddamnit, Adi," McCoy exhaled, breaking the kiss slowly as he pulled her to his chest, kissing the top of her head, "I thought you died."

"Lee, how did you-"

"The hospital team had a transport to beam personnel to and from Archive site," McCoy stated slowly, "I've been waiting by it all morning waiting for you to turn up somewhere. What the hell happened to you?"

"I've been trying to get in touch with you all morning," Adea replied softly, "I left to get coffee before you got there, so I was a couple of blocks away from the Archive when it exploded. I lost my phone and my bag, but a woman across the street let me stay at her apartment until we heard it was safe. I was there until I saw someone that looked like Théo from the window. It was a fat chance in hell but turns out, it was Théo."

"Well maybe that coffee addiction finally did you some good," McCoy smirked reluctantly, his thumb brushing her cheek as he kissed her once more, stepping back slowly as his dark green eyes scanned her, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Adea sighed, exhaling steadily as she met McCoy's wary look, "Few scrapes and bruises, but I'll live, Doctor."

"Yeah, we'll see about that. You seem to be in one piece. All of your fingers. Not comatose. But that doesn't discount internal injuries," McCoy huffed, his unimpressed scowl fading slowly as he glanced over Adea's shoulder towards Théo, "Thank you, Théo."

"Aucun souci," Théo nodded slowly.

"Now let's get you back to the apartment," McCoy continued, eyeing her again, "Even if you look fine, you still need a proper medical exam. I have some medical stuff there, but it's probably best to get back to San Francisco first. I don't trust the damn doctors at that hospital here. You shoulda seen it. Running around like a bunch of chickens with their damn heads cut off-"

"Lee, what did you mean about a reassignment?" Adea asked, her stomach growing uneasy as she met McCoy's uncomfortable gaze.

"Adi, I don't know how to tell you," McCoy started slowly.

"What's wrong?" Adea pressed, her pulse quickening as she crossed her arms, "Was I reassigned?"

"Adi, Jim's not the Captain of the Enterprise anymore," McCoy stated, exhaling slowly,"He's not the captain of any ship anymore."

"What?" Adea stuttered, her eyes wide as her breath caught in her throat, "What do you mean he's not the captain of any ship anymore?"

"They're sending him back to the Academy for violating the prime directive during the Nibiru mission," McCoy concluded quietly.

"What?" Adea stuttered, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as her shock faded from confusion to guilt, "No that can't be. I read the captain's log. He said there was no contact. How on Earth did-"

"Well turns out that pointy-eared bastard your sister's so fond of didn't write the same thing in his report," McCoy huffed.

"Spock?" Adea blinked, staring back at McCoy, "What? Why would he do that?"

"Hell if I know," McCoy grumbled, eyeing Adea as her pacing grew more frustrated, "But right now-"

"Spock would be dead if it wasn't for that mission," Adea continued angrily, huffing loudly as she crossed her arms, "Kirk saved his goddamn life. Why the fuck would he do that?!"

"'Cause he's a self-righteous ass, Adi," McCoy sighed tiredly, glancing over his shoulders as a siren sounded, "Adi, we need-"

"I swear to God the moment I see him I will-"

"You and just about everyone else on the Enterprise," McCoy huffed, "But we have to get a move on. Now. We have to report to San Francisco by tomorrow morning."

"That two-faced motherf-"

McCoy pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling as Adea let out a string of curses under her breath. He turned back towards Théo, raising an eyebrow as the frenchman smirked, shaking his head.

"You gonna be okay, Théo?" McCoy asked.

"I'm always okay," Théo smirked, nodding across the square, "Besides, I have get back to ze site soon, before some idiot breaks my tech. Take care of yourself, hein?"

"I'll try my best," McCoy sighed, eyeing Adea as she exhaled slowly, crossing her arms as her pacing came to stop.

"And you, ACDC Dancer," Théo smirked, a playful warning in his tone as he nudged Adea, "Keep yourself in one piece. Can't have zis one here falling apart again because something's happened to you, okay?"

"Will do," Adea sighed, pausing her tirade as she exhaled slowly through her nose, "Thank you, Théo."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now go save ze world," Théo concluded, shooing them as he walked back towards the Archive, "Or whatever it is you people do up zere on your starships."

Adea exhaled slowly as Théo disappeared around the corner, huffing slowly as she turned back McCoy.

"What now?" Adea sighed, crossing her arms.

"The Enterprise was returned to Pike, and as far as I know, you're still assigned to it," McCoy sighed, "But we can figure all that out later at the apartment. Besides, Carol's worried sick about you. You may want to call her before we get back, before you give her a heart attack walking through the door. I think we've all had enough chaos for one day, wouldn't you agree?"

"Chaos doesn't even begin to cover it," Adea huffed, glancing over her shoulder towards the Archive sight, unable to escape the growing pang of uneasiness building in her stomach.

23:19

McCoy huffed loudly as the jet bounced gently, crossing his arms as he glared out the window. He'd agreed to letting Carol arrange other transport that the Starfleet shuttle when she'd promised it be more comfortable and less stressful... But this...

"You'd think they could transfer us on something faster," McCoy grumbled, crossing his arms as he glanced warily out the ship window, "Starfleet can beam someone halfway across a planet, but can't develop anything faster than a metal death trap that gets us to San Francisco in six hours."

"It was this or an overly crowded Starfleet shuttle," Carol sighed, leaning back against her seat, "At least here we might get some form of sleep."

"Sleep my ass," McCoy huffed, glaring out the window.

"C'mon now, Doctor," Scotty piped, propping his feet up on the seat as he nudged Keenser, "When the last time you took an actual private jet? Always shuttles with Starfleet. I like it! It's like a movie."

"Or an accident waiting to happen," McCoy grumbled, looking up attentively as Adea returned from the back of the jet, "How are you feeling, Adi?"

"Tired," Adea grumbled, plopping down besides McCoy as she rested her head against McCoy's shoulder.

"Just tired or headache?" McCoy huffed, shifting uncomfortably under her cheek,"Sure, you didn't hit your head when you fell?"

"No, just my side when the debris knocked me back," Adea muttered.

"You hit your side?" McCoy repeated, glancing down at her quickly as his scowl returned.

"No," Adea sighed, frowning as his shoulder slipped from under her cheek as McCoy stood slowly, "I mean, kindof. Where are you going?"

"This rickety metal box should have a corporeal scanner somewhere," McCoy huffed, crossing the cabin as he disappeared around the corner.

Adea groaned loudly, exhaling through her nose as she rubbed her hands over her face.

"How 'bout it, A? Once a doctor, always a doctor," Carol smirked.

"Shut it," Adea grumbled, crossing her arms as she pressed her thumbs into her temples, leaning back against the headrest.

"So was this a drunken New Year's thing, or a thing thing?" Scotty mused loudly, "You and the doctor?"

"Um,"Adea started slowly, her cheeks flaring red as Carol snorted into her water glass, "I-"

"I mean, I'm happy for you," Scotty pressed on, oblivious as Adea flashed a shade of deep scarlet, "Just surprised. I mean, Kirk maybe. Or Chekov. Whatever happened to that girl in Fort Baker? Dock Girl, or whatever Kirk and Sulu are always rattling on about? I mean, didn't he like your sister at some point?"

"And I think there are more pressing matters at hand," Carol spoke up quickly, standing abruptly as she crossed the jet to sit besides Adea, "Did you remember anything else about the missiles?"

"Missiles?" Scotty questioned, "Does that have something to do with this?"

"No, the Archive," Adea sighed quickly, her uncomfortable frown easing slightly as she eagerly switched subjects, "Just what I told you at the apartment. Someone from Section 31 logged every Klingon weapon clearance last year, including the one that said my rifle was clear when it obviously wasn't. District 31 is apparently top secret defense and intelligence division of Starfleet, that none of us have ever heard of, except Théo, by some miracle. It just seemed bad reporting, until a man approached me in the Archive. He said something about the search history being monitored and not everyone seeing my interest as innocent. He knew who I was. Or at least who my mother was."

"Wait, you've met him before?" Carol asked.

"No," Adea replied slowly, wracking her thoughts as his cold gaze floated back to her, "I would have remembered him. He was striking. At least as tall as McCoy. Pale. Jet black hair. Built. It was his eyes though. He had really piercing eyes. It was...unsettling."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, lass," Scotty huffed, "So some creep know who you are, makes a veiled threat 'cause you looked at a report about missiles, from a secret Starfleet department that may or may not exist, then a day later, the whole thing blows up?"

"Something like that," Adea sighed.

"Did he have a name?" Carol pressed on.

"He never said one and I don't recall having one on his uniform," Adea replied slowly.

"Wait, hang on, how'd he know you mother?" Scotty asked, "I mean, I'm sure she's lovely whoever she is, but why would he care?"

"My mother's a fleet admiral," Adea answered reluctantly, crossing her arms, "He knew I was her daughter."

"A fleet admiral?" Scotty repeated, blinking back her, "Your mother's one of the six fleet admirals? Wait, there's only two women. Which one is she?"

"It doesn't matter," Adea frowned, "Growing up, she didn't want anyone to use or coerce us to get to her. Nyota and I barely mention it. She uses her mother's family name, so only handful of people make the connection. Why would he know something barely anyone in Starfleet knows? And more importantly, if he knew, why would he care?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Scotty mused, "Cause if not, I'd thought it be obvious? He gets a message to you, he gets a message out to the most important people in Starfleet."

"Or if something happens to you, the most important people in Starfleet will look into it," Carol added slowly, concern flickering in her blue eyes as she stared up at Adea.

Adea swallowed dryly as she glanced between the two of them, the cold creeping weight returning to her stomach. She looked up quickly as McCoy returned, a distant uneasiness in his expression remaining for a moment longer before it faded, his ever present concern returning.

"Lee, what is it?" Adea frowned, watching him as he approached.

"Nothing," McCoy sighed quickly, holding up silver scanner as he offered her a small smile, "Just, a long day."

"You can say that again," Carol sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned her head against Adea's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Adea pressed softly, raising a concerned brow at him.

"I think its the plane," McCoy sighed, sitting besides Adea as the device chirped on. "It'll pass. But at least this will help decrease today's list of uncertainties."

"I'm fine," Adea reminded, raising an eyebrow as McCoy rolled his eyes.

"Well here's another one for your list, Doctor. Looks like they identified the bastard," Scotty announced slowly, staring at his PADD, "Headquarters just sent out an alert."

"Who was it?" Carol asked, eyeing Scotty as his finger waved across the screen.

"Annnnnd...it's loading," Scotty huffed, rolling his eyes as he shook his head, frowning as Keenser tapped his screen.

Adea winced as McCoy's cool fingers brushed the skin of her waist, her side tensing uncomfortably.

"Easy there, Doctor," Adea grumbled quickly, slowly lifting the side of her shirt to expose the purple bruising stretching across her side.

"You're fine?" McCoy repeated, the frustration clear in his tone.

"Better than being electrocuted?" Adea offered.

"Fine, my ass, Adi," McCoy quipped in a low voice, shaking his head slowly as he began waving the scanner over her.

"Got it," Scotty announced, standing as he walked towards the three of them, Keenser in tow, "Commander John Harrison. Coerced a Starfleet officer into carrying out the attack. They're issuing a manhunt for him effective immediately throughout Federation Space."

"What?" McCoy muttered under his breath, pausing as he glanced up suddenly for the scanner.

"Is there photo?" Carol asked, moving to stand beside Scotty as he scanned further.

"Yeah, right h-" Scotty started, trailing off abruptly as he stared at the screen. He stared blankly at Carol as he offered her the PADD, a nervous look flickering in the blonde doctor's eyes as she took the device.

"What?" Adea asked, a cold uneasiness creeping into her stomach as Carol stared back at her.

"Adi, hold still for a second," McCoy huffed, "There's something weird going on with the scanner."

"What is it?" Adi pressed, glancing between Scotty and Carol.

"That man," Carol started shakily, "The man you just described. The one from the archive."

"Adi," McCoy started quietly, lowering the scanner as he eyed the screen incredulously, "What on Earth-"

"The man. What about him, Carol?" Adea pressed, her nervous confusion crumbling away as she saw the image, her blood running cold as the pale grey eyes stared back at her through the screen.

She stared up at Carol, her pulse pounding loudly in her heard as the room around her seemed to spin. It was thing to assume everything was linked…. But this.

"That's him," Adea exhaled numbly, staring hard at the ground as the drumming in her ears became deafening.

"Are you sure?" Carol pressed.

"I'm certain," Adea confirmed.

"Adi, we have to do something," Carol started, "I can see if the pilot can connect us to my father-"

"Wait," Adea replied quickly, glancing slowly between her crewmates, "What if he's not acting alone? A single man couldn't take out an entire block of London. He must have had help. If you call your father from here, you risk someone else learning what we know or listening in on the call. You should talk to him in person when we land."

"I guess so," Carol sighed, glancing up from the PADD as she caught sight of bewildered concern in McCoy's eyes, "Doctor? What do you think?"

"Lee?" Adea questioned, lowering her shirt slowly as she stared back at the deepening crease between his brows, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"It's not possible," McCoy mumbled quietly, staring back at the scanner.

"What's not possible?" Adea frowned, eyeing McCoy warily.

"The scanner is used to detect internal injuries, by mapping the depth and severity of the injury," McCoy started, "You said debris hit you. Something with the force to knock you backwards and leave the bruise the that it did. Are you sure it was debris?"

"Of course it was. What else should it be?" Adea frowned, taking the scanner as McCoy enlarged the image.

She stared back at the scan, confusion flowing quickly towards panic as her side instinctively twinged. She stood up slowly, her eyes glued to the scanner as she made her way to the back of the cabin, memories from the attack flashing into her mind as she stared at the scan. She stumbled into the bathroom, the scanner nearly slipping out her hand as she sat it on the counter, flicking on the light besides the mirror. Her breath caught in her throat as she lifted her shirt slowly, the steady uneasiness constricting her chest giving away to sickening horror as she caught sight of the bruise, less distinct than the scan but nonetheless and unmistakably in the outline of a human hand.

Confession Time:

1. Easter eggs. I like them. They're fun ;)

2. I do enjoy a good cliffhanger (for which, I feel I must apologize to Purplestan)

3. There are 50 people following this story, and this week over 5000 views. I appreciate your support and enjoy hearing what you all think, so to respond to questions and comments left in reviews:

-Purplestan: Good eye for spotting our favorite Archive ghost ;)
- Says-the-Slytherin: I'm glad reading it is as fun as writing it until 2 am some mornings. Glad you like it!
- AmandaBaker852: Twas tempting for something to happen to Adea, but alas I like her too much. Besides, poor Chekov would have been a wreck. Nyota would have been wracked with unresolved guilt. And Carol, Kirk, and Bones would have launched on a revenge-driven war path, potentially resulting in the torpedoing of Kronos ;) She'll be safe... for now ;)
- .2020: I'm happy you enjoyed it :)
- Magensby: I know, right? Damn girl needs to treat that fine doctor of hers better.
- x XRoweenaJAugustineX x: Good to hear from you! And yes, I agree, Carol is a smart-ass guardian angel this world needs.
- akagami hime chan: All the Uhura-Ele sibling angst! More background and more of it to come ;)
- lawsomeantics38: Thank you for the support :) Who are her parents, hmmmm? *hobbles aways, tutting about Easter Eggs*
- ladyune30: Glad you enjoyed it!

And for those following and favoriting, glad you all like it! I look forward for hearing from you and enjoy!
Til the next chapter, live long and prosper.
-Case H.