Hey guys!

Boy, it's been a long time since I posted something. Sorry about that. I've been very busy with Uni and life in general. Not to mention that I also fell out of the fandom for like... five months? And then, four days ago I was pushed back into it because I decided to read one of my favourite Star Trek fanfics again.

Anyway, here is the Prologue to the 10,000 word monster I hammered out yesterday. It's not finished yet, I'll be putting up the first chapter soon, too. I just need to edit it a tiny bit.

As always, Star Trek does not belong to me.

Enjoy!

Encoded

Prologue:

The apartment seemed less than welcoming when shrouded in the darkness spilling in from the windows facing the street. Aravik adjusted the baby carrier strapped to her chest, carefully as to not wake her sleeping son.

She made her way into her bedroom, housing a single bed and a large wardrobe. Quietly, she pulled the suitcase from the bottom of the wardrobe and began to fill it with essentials such as clothes, toiletries and, of course, her son's baby blanket.

Aravik zipped the suitcase once the necessities were stored within and gathered up her wallet, making sure that it contained her ID card, the passport permitting her to travel interstellar and her credit card. She stuffed her wallet into the inside pocket of her jacket, picked up the suitcase and left the apartment.

She heard the door lock automatically behind her and released a soft, trembling sigh.

Her feet carried her down the two flights of stairs and out into the cold night. Aravik's eyes darted down towards her son's sleeping face. She had done everything to ensure he would not fall ill while exposed to the weather since she was not in possession of a car; the baby was tucked snugly into the carrier, wearing the warmest clothes she could procure and a knit cap to cover his ears.

Aravik moved through the busy streets, doing so very carefully to avoid being knocked into by an unobservant passerby. Perhaps taking a taxi would have been the better option but she did not want to risk using her credit card again and having him find her before she even reached the space port.

A sigh of relief escaped her chapped lips when the large structure of the space port began to rise in front of her. They were not safe yet, but close.

The space sport was pleasantly warm, causing a shudder to trickle down Aravik's spine as she stepped in from the cold. The sudden change in temperature and noise seemed to wake her son, causing him to shift and coo against her chest. Aravik brushed her palm over her son's back and made her way further into the space port.

She purchased a bottle of water for herself and proceeded through the check-in. Once she had given up her suitcase, she settled down on one of the seats to wait for her shuttle. Her son had woken completely by then, whining as he curled his chubby fingers into the front of her jacket.

Aravik unlatched the carrier and pulled her son out of it once she was able to remove it from her body. She then opened her jacket and undid the buttons on the left side of her tunic, a difficult task, seeing as she had to keep her son steady where he rested on her thighs. Finally, she was able to lift her child to her chest and guided him until he latched onto her nipple.

As she watched her nursing child, she was distracted by the way her son's eyes kept sliding halfway shut, a tuft of fair hair peeking out from underneath the knit cap. Somebody dropped their comm. cell and the child in her arms was startled, round eyes blinking up at her as if she was the source of the disturbance.

Her mouth twitched upwards just slightly as she trailed her fingertips over her son's soft cheek. It took a few second before the suckling sounds returned and the baby lost interest in everything but the breast he was nursing on once again.

A sense of regret and guilt established itself. Had this been the right decision? Was running away and endangering not only herself but her child the solution to the problem she had caused by trusting him? Aravik shook her head. She had no other choice; her morals forbid her to leave that man to use her research for his schemes. Even if it meant for her to abandon her home, her family, her life; the only thing she regretted was the fact that she had dragged her own child into this.

Aravik closed her eyes for a brief moment. She was selfish. She could have left her son with the few friends she had gathered in her time here. But she was unable to bring herself to do so, the thought of leaving her child too painful to even consider for more than a moment.

Her son hiccuped and unlatched, drooling as he turned his face to look up at her once more. Aravik fumbled for a tissue to wipe her son's face, then cleaned herself and buttoned her tunic. It took some shifting due to the bulk of her open jacket, but she managed to lift her son against her shoulder to burp him.

The voice of a woman declared the shuttle to planet Byron III ready for boarding and Aravik gathered the baby carrier to make her way towards the boarding area. A bus brought Aravik and the other passengers to the shuttle.

Aravik was the last to board. She allowed the young steward to guide her towards her seat, thanking the man with a polite nod. He smiled and promised to bring her a blanket and a baby seat before walking off towards the back of the shuttle.

Aravik settled into the cushioned seat after depositing the baby carrier in the compartment above her head. Her son was dozing against her chest and she was grateful when the steward did not speak upon returning with the blanket and the baby seat. He installed the seat quietly and stood back as Aravik buckled her child into it. She whispered 'thank you' and received a bright smile in return. The steward then offered the blanket he had been holding and left with a tiny bow in her direction to tend to the other passengers.

Seeing as there were no more than ten passengers, the shuttle was relatively quiet. The soft murmur of people talking combined with the slow hum of the engine being started was a relaxing alternative to the loud cacophony that had been Aravik's past few days. Her eyes began to slide shut, the stress finally catching up with her.

The captain's voice declared the shuttle ready for takeoff and as soon as he had spoken, the vehicle began to move.

This was it.

The point of no return. Her fingers curled into the armrests of the seat, digging deep grooves into the synthetic leather.

Aravik turned her head to look out of the window, casting a last glance onto the glowing lights of the city she had spent the last seven years in then looked ahead once more and shut her eyes.

And that was the Prologue. For anyone who's about to complain about the OC, she won't appear again. Not for a while at least. I am, after all, a Spirk shipper first and foremost.