Star Trek: The Predicament About Demons

9

An unsettling silence settled throughout the room. Just a few moments ago Leonard had stormed out in anger after what had just been dropped on him. (Jim blamed that on benny.) But Jim couldn't bring himself to go after him. Not right now.

"Why didn't you tell him?" He asked from where he sat.

At first, Benny didn't answer—she just stood there, unmoving with her eyes trained on the wall. "I did it to protect him..." She closed her eyes as silent tears streamed down her flushed cheek. "Not like you don't keep secrets from him."

"I don't keep secrets from Leonard." He spoke tersely. "Only when it comes to some situations, but that's only rarely."

Benny sniffed and finally sat down, wiping at her eyes. She had smeared her mascara, dark circles marking below her eyes. Sighing, Jim stood and walked over to a cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a tissue box before walking back over and setting it down in front of the brunette. She whispered a small "thank you," taking a sheet from the box and wiping her face with it. It wasn't a makeup remover, but it was better than nothing, she thought.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" She sniffed again. "I thought I was doing him good."

Jim nodded. "Yeah, I understand," he sighed and rubbed at his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. That's when something got him thinking.

"Say, uh... When you said you were trying to protect him..." he paused for a moment. "What'd you mean by that? It wasn't just to protect him from Valliant, was it." It wasn't a question. Benny knew it would have to come to this.

"It's not just Angels that can kill demons." She bit her lip nervously. "There's something that's known as a 'Demon Bomb,' as most people call it. It, uh- it requires a host to set it off..." Just explaining it left a bitter taste in Benny's mouth, let alone thinking about it.

The captain shook his head, already knowing what this was leading to. "No, we're not doing that." Jim was sick of people dying all around him—they had just dealt with Krall, and many had died during the attack. He was held responsible for all their deaths, he didn't need more innocent people dying. Why did it have to come to situations like this? "I'm not risking anyone else's lives. Is there another way?"

"Only Devil Traps, but it won't be enough to stop him." Benny sighed. "I'll see what I can do, but as far as right now, a Demon Bomb is our only hope at defeating him." She stood up again and walked over to the door, but just before leaving, she said to Jim, "But if we're lucky enough, we might not have to come down to it."

Get in control. Get in control. Get in control. Get in—

Nothing was working.

No matter how hard Leonard tried, he couldn't seem to get himself under control. For the past few minutes, he had been trying to hold in his tears, trying not to make any noise. Sure, he may have been alone, but the Jackdaw was like the Enterprise: you shared a bathroom with someone in the room next door. Leonard didn't care who was on the other side; all that mattered was that he got in control of himself.

Sleep was not an option. He could lay down salt and some candles, but he couldn't bring himself to—he was both emotionally and physically exhausted. He choked back unshed tears, keeled over as he sat with his elbows resting on his knees. Leonard's eyes were wet, and he could tell that he probably looked like a corpse. He wanted to be comforted by Jim, yet all at the same time he needed time alone.

It was all too quickly as images flashed in his mind— images of everyone's dead bodies. Ain't no way was he going to sleep, what with that awaiting to haunt him in his slumber. Suddenly a wave of nausea washed over him, and he stumbled into the bathroom. Leonard collapsed onto the floor in front of the toilet, disposing of the icky contents from his body. He gagged and coughed and spat into the bowl, shivering down to his bones. He must've been running a hay fever, he thought, as he ran an unsteady hand through his hair and gripped at the back of his neck.