Samsa had been given very clear instructions not to peek until Jim finished prepping their meal. After continuing what they started before Spock interrupted them - and almost burning dinner as a result - they were nearly ready to eat.
By then Samsa was starving. A glass of blood sat on the laid table which she had politely refrained from devouring before Jim was ready to eat as well. Her senses were still being drawn to his heartbeat, even though she desperately wanted to ignore it. Maybe the cold had increased her appetite for some reason?
"Dinner is served!" Jim announced triumphantly.
Samsa turned from her position washing dishes at the sink and grinned at the two beautifully arranged bowls of Spaghetti Bolognese, completed with a single leaf of basil perched on top. "Oh, Jim!" She grinned. "It looks delicious!"
He took a bow and Samsa became aware of an adorable blush blooming on his cheeks. She dried her hands and moved closer, snaking her arms around his neck.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Anything for you, Hon." Jim smiled and bent down to close the space between them.
There it was again. The hunger. The longing. That excruciating desire to consume his blood. Samsa pulled away and pressed a kiss to his throat, feeling the throbbing of his jugular artery against her lips. She widened her jaw and angled her teeth towards his skin...
A call on Jim's communicator brought her back to reality. Only then did Samsa realise what she had been about to do. She froze. Every nerve in her body tensed and tears scorched the back of her throat.
"Yes, Mister Scott?" Jim asked, retrieving his communicator. Thankfully, he seemed unaware of Samsa's intentions mere moments ago.
"Captain, there's something you should see in the transporter room, right away, Sir."
Jim winced at the Engineer's message. "I'm on my way," he eventually said. When the communication ended, he ran his hands down Samsa's arms with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Dollface. You go on and eat without me. I'll be back as soon as I've dealt with this."
Samsa didn't reply at first, still trying to comprehend how close she came to hurting him. She shook her head and forced a convincing smile. "No, that's okay, I'll go with you. In the meantime, we can keep your fabulous cooking warm in the oven."
Jim grinned at the compliment but frowned slightly. "You sure?"
Samsa nodded. "I'd much rather have our romantic dinner together. You go and I'll catch up after sorting the food out."
Jim smiled and gave her one final kiss before heading to the transporter room. As soon as he was gone, Samsa grabbed the glass of blood and emptied it in three swift gulps. She felt the tears from earlier finally breach the surface.
If Jim's communicator hadn't interrupted them...Samsa would have bitten him. She would have given in to the bloodlust. Unable to stop. Forgetting who she was. Forgetting who Jim was. He would be bleeding out. Possibly already dead.
No.
Samsa buried those frightening thoughts and, despite it doing little to tame her hunger, finished off the dregs in the glass. She set the oven on low heat to keep their meals warm and changed into her uniform before making her way out.
☆☆☆
After grounding every shuttle in Engineering, the other Samsa made her way back to the upper decks to find her partner in crime. While passing the science labs, she ended up bumping right into Carol Marcus - an unfortunate encounter that couldn't have been avoided.
"Samsa!" Carol greeted with a wide smile. "I haven't seen you in quite some time, how have you been?"
Though it irritated her, Samsa mirrored the woman's cheery expression. "Very well, thank you. And yourself? I'm guessing you've settled in nicely by now?"
"Just about," Carol beamed. "Sorry I can't stay and chat, I've got so much work to do. Maybe we could grab a coffee sometime when we're both on a break?"
"I would love that!" Samsa nodded and began to inch past her, hoping that would indicate an end to the conversation. "Let me know when you're free."
"Will do." With one last smile, Carol moved towards the laboratory to her right but paused to say one last thing. "In the meantime, say hi to Jim for me."
Samsa froze. She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. "Jim?"
"Yes, I haven't seen much of him either." There was that insufferable smile again.
Carol Marcus was a beautiful woman. Samsa had thought so right from the moment she first laid eyes on her. It was this undeniable beauty that empowered the corrosive envy festering at the centre of the Sanguine's chest.
Something inside her snapped. She took a single step towards Carol, feeling rather satisfied as her smile slowly fell. "That's sweet, but stay away from Jim," she purred, focussing on her compulsion. "If I see you anywhere near him, it won't end well for you."
Samsa stood her ground, waiting for Carol to stagger away. She looked suitably nervous as she headed back into the laboratory. A smirk flickered over Samsa's face and she turned, continuing her search for Jim.
He couldn't be far. His scent still lingered in the air...somewhere nearby. Samsa frowned, about to give up on this deck when the door to her left opened and someone pulled her inside the room. It appeared to be a storage cupboard, with all four walls decked out in thick shelves holding various pieces of scientific equipment.
Sure enough, Jim Kirk grinned at her under the low lighting. He still had hold of her wrist, rubbing soft circles over her pulse. "Have you done it?"
"The transporter is the only way off Alfa 177," Samsa reported while eyeing their surroundings. It was incredibly snug, only allowing for a matter of inches between them. "Interesting choice of hiding place."
"Cosy, right?" Jim said. "I needed somewhere to lie low. No one will look in here." He lifted something to his lips: a large orange bottle filled with sweet-smelling liquid.
Samsa widened her eyes at the Saurian Brandy. "Where did you get that?"
"Picked it up in Medbay. Took a bit of convincing but it was worth it."
"I thought I made a point earlier about keeping a low profile."
No response. She rolled her eyes and turned to leave the room but Jim was too quick. He used his body to press her against the door and pinned her wrists above her head. Samsa gasped but couldn't help feeling a bolt of pleasure work its way down her spine.
"And I thought I was the one giving orders, Dollface." His voice came out in a low growl not far from her ear.
Samsa shivered and pressed her forehead to the side of his face. The desperate need to have him close returned. She knew they should be focussing on the task at hand, but the sensation of his chest against hers was intoxicating.
"Did I hear you getting jealous out there?"
Those words caught her off guard. Jealous? That wasn't right. She simply wanted to ensure that Carol understood boundaries. Given the chance, anyone would have done it. "Not jealous," she corrected. "Just cautious."
"I thought you already knew," Jim whispered, as he began to trail his lips along her jawline. "I am yours and you are mine."
By now, his mouth hovered mere inches away from her own. Samsa's back arched as she braced for the contact. She wanted him. She wanted all of him. Nothing else mattered. Not even the blood coursing through his veins.
"Say that again," she begged in a desperate whisper. "What am I?"
Jim's eyes flashed with lust before he uttered the single word that sent them spiralling into a kaleidoscope of euphoria. "Mine."
☆☆☆
While on route to the transporter room, Samsa attempted to work out why her cravings were so strong. Maybe it was the cold temperature she wasn't used to? Or the effects of the transporter earlier? Whatever the case, she had to get it under control.
When she eventually caught up with Jim, Spock was there too. The transporter room was filled with various crates - samples beamed up from Alfa 177. Scotty stood amongst them, holding Rupert in his arms. The animal was curiously calm considering how different the Enterprise was compared to the snowy planet below.
"What's going on?" Samsa asked, stopping at Jim's side.
"Transporter breakdown," Scotty said. "We beamed up wee Rupert here and...well...see for yourself. It's in this specimen case."
Samsa frowned and moved closer as Scotty lifted the lid of the large crate in front of him. An animal identical to Rupert was contained inside, but nowhere near as calm as he was. It bared its teeth and snarled up at them, furiously clawing at the walls of the case.
"A few seconds after they sent this one up" Scotty began, patting Rupert's head. "-that duplicate appeared. Except it's not a duplicate...it's an opposite. Two of the same animal, but different."
"One gentle, the other fierce," Samsa whispered.
"A Jekyll and Hyde affair," Spock surmised with a single arched brow.
Scotty nodded. "Quite right, Mister Spock." The Engineer sighed and took a step forward. "Captain, we don't dare bring up the landing party. What if something like this happened to a person?"
Samsa's stomach lurched. "But what about the storm?"
Pavel. Hikaru. Hendorff. Benita. Luna.
All of them would be taken by hypothermia if they stayed down there long enough. Neither of the Gillian sisters had experienced their bodies shutting down due to extreme cold. Though Samsa was fairly sure the heart would remain unaffected in such a scenario, she did not want to test that theory.
"There is still time before the dropping temperature becomes fatal," Spock said. "There is always the option of sending a shuttle down, however, I do not see them performing well in such critical weather conditions."
Silence fell between them all. Samsa glanced at Jim to see him staring at the ground, his eyes motionless and absent despite the pressing matter at hand. He looked...conflicted. Unsure of the next action to take.
The Blonde exchanged a glance with the First Officer, and it was clear Spock was just as perturbed by Jim's silence.
"Captain?" He prompted, quietly.
Jim flinched and cleared his throat. "Yes...though the shuttles may be temperamental in the storm, we can't leave them down there." He dragged a hand through his hair and flipped open his communicator as it started bleeping. "Lieutenant Uhura, perfect timing, can you send word to Engineering to have two shuttles prepped to pick up the landing party on Alfa 177."
"I'm sorry, Captain, I was just about to tell you. I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"I dread to ask," Jim cringed.
"We just received word that someone has sabotaged them."
Samsa exchanged a worried glance with Scotty. That did not sound good.
Jim narrowed his eyes. "Sabotaged them how?"
"All the launch keys have been taken. We're currently assessing the security footage to find the culprit."
"I'll keep the channel open." Jim placed his communicator on the transport panel. "Let me know when you find anything."
"Yes, Captain."
"What motive would any of the crew have to sabotage the shuttles?" Scotty grimaced.
"Surely we can get one working, right?" Samsa's voice shook through the words and she felt the colour empty from her cheeks. "There's got to be a way."
"Scotty, how long will it take for you to find the trouble with the transporter?" Jim asked.
"Can't say, Sir, but we're doing everything we can."
The waver in the Scotsman's voice was minute but noticeable. It was paired with an abundance of determination. Benita was one of those among the landing party. Samsa wasn't entirely sure where the pair were up to in their relationship but one thing was definite: Scotty cared about her. A lot.
"Have you determined how this fault occurred in the first place?" Spock questioned.
"I don't know, Sir, but when Doctor Alvarez came up, his uniform was covered with a soft, yellow ore. It had highly unusual properties. It may have caused an overload. I can't tell. Not yet."
Samsa remembered the metallic paste on Pablo's coat. It must have come from the seabed on the planet. A thought nagged at the back of her mind. Both she and Jim were transported minutes after Pablo. Had the transporter already been corrupted at that point?
"Captain?" Uhura suddenly called.
"Yes, Lieutenant."
"We've managed to identify the person responsible for the sabotaged shuttles." Uhura paused, her voice coated with a layer of hesitation. "From what we've seen on security cameras...it was Doctor Gillian."
Samsa's already hammering heart contracted against her ribcage. "But...but I've been with you," she said, turning to Jim. "When would I have had time to compromise the shuttles and-and why? It doesn't make any sense."
"Hey," Jim cooed, taking hold of her arms. "We know it wasn't you, Sam, calm down."
Only then did Samsa realise her breathing was growing out of control. Tears had started to form in her eyes with the weight of panic and fear overwhelming her. It was just like before, in Jim's quarters. Her senses homed in on the heartbeats surrounding her: the rich blood pulsing through so many arteries...
"There's only one logical answer," Spock said, drawing her attention to the Vulcan. "We have an imposter aboard."
Hey readers, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and would love to hear your thoughts. Also hope the way I've written this storyline so far isn't too confusing with two Jims and two Samsas ahaha.
I wanted to say a massive thank you for 10K reads on Second Chance!! I honestly never thought it would get that far. Every read, vote and comment means the absolute world to me!!
Also...I was so excited to hear we're getting the AOS cast back for Star Trek 4!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get cancelled or shelved but I'm counting down the days till it comes out!!!
Much love to you all!! ❤