Stolen Moments

3. Unexpected

"You're shitting me, Bones."

"You are certain, Doctor?" Spock took in the young woman resting peacefully on the bed.

"Look for yourself." McCoy handed over the identification cards Nurse Chapel found in the grey bag.

"Jasmine Sharpe, birth date March 3rd 1993, resident of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, student of Harvard University. Have you perhaps checked this name against historical records, Doctor?" Spock asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Chapel should be back any minute with the results," McCoy promised while marking something down on his datapad.

"Say this girl is who she appears to be. How'd she get here?" Jim wondered aloud. "And what should we do? If we tell her the truth she's not gonna take it well; everyone she's ever known is dead, family, friends, boyfriends. It'd mess anyone up."

"It would prove a fascinating study."

"Have some empathy, Spock. For God sake!" McCoy exasperated.

"I was merely–" their conversation was interrupted with the return of Chapel.

"What'd you find?" the Captain inquired eagerly. He wasn't a science officer or historian, those subjects were only mildly interesting to him for the most part, but even Kirk couldn't deny this was exciting. Thanks to the wars of the twenty-first century, knowledge of that time and much of it afterwards, was spotty in all but the most significant areas; there was so much she could tell them.

Chapel tapped two fingers on her datapad to make the information appear on the larger screens, "It looks like this is Jasmine Sharpe but there's some irregularity regarding her past." Pictures of the girl appeared from news articles detailing her academic achievements, photos taken during family gatherings that were posted to some sort of ancient forum, and still more were related to her disappearance. There was even a video of her family attempting to walk into their home when they were rushed by reporters. Chapel muted the volume.

"What sort of discrepancies?" Spock demanded softly with a severely arched eyebrow.

"She and her family don't appear in public record until shortly after her seventeenth birthday. Before that it's like they didn't exist. She has a father and two sisters; her mother is not mentioned in any records I found. Though it doesn't appear her father was employed, the family never lacked for money."

"And what of her? What did she do in her time? When did she die?" Jim crossed his arms over his chest.

"She disappeared in Egypt while on a field experience internship. Her disappearance was made more notable because a near by military base exploded, killing many and injuring others on the night she vanished. Initially she was counted as a possible victim but all the bodies were later identified and she wasn't among them."

Chapel brought forth news broadcasts, books, and articles written years, some as high as ten and fifteen, after the date she went missing. "Her family searched all their lives but no traces leading to the discovery of her fate were ever found. Eventually her father died, both sisters married, and started families of their own; they all lived unusually long lives for humans of that time period."

A silence filled the sickroom as all eyes turned to the invalid; she rolled over in her sleep, and muttered something that sounded like cookie.

"Would you excuse us, Nurse Chapel," Jim commanded kindly. The blonde nodded and exited the med-bay.

"Poor girl." McCoy held the lightly tanned hand of the visitor with an expression of concern. "If her sisters had children it's possible she might have relatives. I could run the tests."

"Perhaps it would be best to wait until she awakens before doing so."

"This is a sensitive situation. I'm inclined to agree with Spock." Jim put his hands in his pockets.

"There is one other thing I've discovered," McCoy said hesitantly.

"Which is?" the Vulcan questioned.

"Her blood tests came back. I think this girl could be a product of the Eugenic Wars. She has a similar genetic make up to Khan. In fact it's so close I'd say there's a very good chance she could be an immediate member of his family. It would explain how her injuries have healed in a matter of hours, and why her father and sisters lived so long."

"You didn't mention that first because?" Jim asked with surprise.

"The time period would be right." Spock moved closer to her with a scrutinizing expression. "If that is true she could be dangerous, Jim; perhaps harboring the same violent ideas as her brethren. Even if that is not the case her presence here raises many questions."

"Like what?" McCoy despite making note after note in the girl's freshly created record, was still fully focused on the conversation, while also checking her vitals, and glancing at some of the articles Chapel had brought forth. Multitasking was a skill most medical students learned early and McCoy was better than most.

"Historical records have never lead us to believe that humans had access to even rudimentary transporter technology during that time. Not only was she sent through time but also space. This should not have been possible if the records we have are indeed accurate. We could not do this today with any technology that I am aware of. If she is indeed a relative of Khan's, it is very suspect."   

"Spock. I'm not going to punish her for the actions of a possible relative. Besides she and her family weren't put into that cyro-ship and blasted into space. There's a story behind that I'm dying to know."

"How fortunate we are in sick bay then," Spock replied in a tone drier than usual.

"Was that a joke?" McCoy asked without looking up.

"Of course not, Doctor."

"Can you tell us just how strong she is, Bones?"

"For some reason she's not nearly as robust as Khan or anyone from his band."

"She is a woman," the Vulcan said blandly.

"I'm aware of that, Spock, but she should be much sturdier based on what we know. The best comparison I could give you, is that she's about as strong as a weak Vulcan woman of similar age."

"Even so I believe that makes her at least twice as strong as every man on this ship, myself excepted, of course."

"Of course," McCoy mocked with a loud snort. Spock gave him a look.

"It'll certainly be interesting when she comes too," Kirk mused. "Spock when she wakes up, after she learns what's happened," he trailed off.

"We do not have the technology to send her back, Jim. Even if a solution did present itself the historical record indicates she was never found. We cannot damage the established timeline by attempting such a feat." Silence. Jim was thinking along the same lines but didn't like it, and as for the Doctor. While McCoy didn't often agree with Spock, this was one area in which he couldn't doubt the Vulcan's logic. "She will undoubtedly be upset when she is informed. It may lead to violence."

"Then maybe the best thing to do would be to place her in your charge, Spock. I'm going to alert Starfleet of our guest." Kirk slapped McCoy on the shoulder and left sick bay.

McCoy scoffed. "Oh, this isn't going to be pretty. Don't scare her too badly, Spock."