Space Isn't Just Darkness

Chapter Eleven

Ferris Pov

Bones did his best to get me back to my designated room before I broke down completely. All I could remeber were his strong arms sitting me down on the edge of my bed as I cried miserably. He offered words of comfort and reassurance but they fell upon deaf ears.

All I could imagine was Jim huddled up and freezing on that god forsaken planet. There was a chance he might make it to the starfleet outpost but the overwhelming possibility of him not making it superseded the notion. There were wild animals and people on that planet.

I hadn't even been able to say goodbye.

And it was all because of him.

Spock.

Bones had left a few minutes ago after I asked him to. He'd been reluctant at first, but had eventually complied. At this point I just wanted to be alone.

I sat in a small armchair next to my bed with my legs curled up beside me. Quiet tears still seeped down my red cheeks. I loosely held a small 4×6 photo in my hand that I typically kept stowed in my phone case. My eyes were focused on a small tablet across from me on the nightstand. The tablet displayed Jim's whereabouts and vital signs. I couldn't turn away from the screen for fear that in one simple instance, his location and status might suddenly go dark.

In the back of my mine, I was thinking up ways to save him. We were out of range for beaming but maybe I could operate a small cruiser to his location. I wasn't a very good piolet but I am sure someone was.

There was suddenly a soft knock at my door that knocked me out of my thought.

I made no move to answer the beckoning.

After a second round of knocks, I could hear the person at the door slip a card into the key slot and the sound of my door finally opening.

Only two people were allotted mastercards into Enterprise rooms. One of which was being held prisoner by the fiend Nero.

I didn't look up as he entered. I remained silently fixated on the tablet that still indicated Jim was alive. His heart beat remained a steady zig zag up and down.

Spock approached with tentatively. There was just the slightest hesitation in his steps. He didn't even make an attempt to straighten out his wrinkled blue uniform.

"I believe I owe you an apology," Spock began. The only response I gave was when I wiped the tears off my flushed cheeks. "I reacted illogically to the situation with no thought to how it might affect you."

I said nothing.

"If it is any consolation, we have officially received a report that Mr.Kirk has made it to the StarFleet outpost."

I swallowed slowly, thankful for the news but still anxious. I'd never been so far from Jim before. Whenever he was nearby, I always took reassurance in his mere presence. And for the first time in a long time, I couldn't feel said presence at all. 

With slow movements, I gently lifted the hand that held the photograph. Spock gingerly took the photo in his fingers.

It was considered old fashioned to print out photos since holograms were far more convenient. However, Jim and I felt it was more genuine.

The picture was set at a beach in Florida. Our mother took us there when we were twelve with our step father just before we drove his antique car off of a cliff. Jim and I were standing next to each other in the photo, equally sunburned and covered in sand. My eyes were closed but my smile was sbright. Jim had seaweed in his hair, that I'd place there, and held an empty conch shell in one hand.

Sometimes, if I really thought about it, I could still feel the warmth of the sun from that day and smell the salty scent of the sea.

Spock looked at the photo closely. Try as he might to conceal it, I could tell he was just as hurt on the inside as I was on the outside.

I sniffed before wiping my eyes again. "I k-know it's been a tough day for everyone," I began, looking away from the tablet for the first time. "But I don't know what to do without him."

Spock opened his mouth to reply but a sudden ping from the tablet silenced him.

My heart dropped as I turned to the tablet that had suddenly begun to glitch, its screen becoming fuzzy and difficult to read. My lungs seemed to stop working as the screen failed to tell me whether Jim was still alive.

Spock's comlink chimed to my left but I didn't turn away from the screen. I was already assuming the worst before the monitor suddenly recalibrated and displayed a new location.

My brows furrowed.

How could Jim be aboard the USS Enterprise?

"I have just received a notification that someone has transported onto the ship. Their preceding location was Delta Vega," Spock told me, also looking puzzled.

It was some kind of miracle.

I stood quickly, almost making myself dizzy.

"Is it Jim?" I asked him hopefully, a renewed sense of urgency flooded my body.

"Possibly," Spock replied, his steady brown eyes fixed on his com. "The only notification I have received is that whomever it was is being transported to the bridge."

I didn't wait for him before I practically bolted out of the room. Mang curious stares followed me as I raced down the halls. My chest felt ready to burst when I entered the bridge and saw a familiar head of blonde hair and a flash of blue eyes.

"Jim!"