When Home is Gone

Part Nine - They never left

Ray's Point of View - USS Enterprise
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Ray stirred as his sister shook him awake. He could feel the coolness of his sister's happiness. He half woke up when the cool air quickly vanished. He felt Luna stand and heard her stumble way from him, her breaths laboured. Ray forced himself awake and looked over to see Luna collapse in the middle of the room. She reached out to the door and her arm fell.

At that moment, Spock and Ray were at her side. Spock placed a hand on Luna's forehead then immediately retracted it.
"She is burning up. Her temperature has spiked." Spock stood and quickly walked over to the com panel on the desk, speaking rapidly. Ray wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trying to find out why his sister was becoming hotter than he was.

Still, the heat grew. Ray knew that Luna couldn't take much more of it and Ray tried to absorb as much of the heat as he could but it was no use. Then the heat stopped rising and Luna sat bolt upright and screamed. It was like nothing anyone had ever heard before. It was like thousands of worlds ending. Of the millions of inhabitants screaming at the sudden end of their lives. Of the billions of tormented souls, searching the universe for peace. It was unbearable.
Spock had made his way over to where Luna sat, Ray had his hands over his ears to try and mute those sound. Spock reached down and placed a hand on the curve of where her neck joined her shoulder and squeezed. She stopped screaming and fell, once again, to the floor.

"What did you do to her?" Ray almost shouted. Both men were almost deafened.

"A Vulcan Nerve Pinch. It renders one unconscious." Spock shook his head slightly when Ray noticed a dark green fluid coming from Spock's pointed ears. Possibly blood. Ray could feel blood coming from his ears too. He touched the thin line and pulled his hand back to reveal the dirt brown liquid.

Doctor McCoy burst into the room, looking quite frustrated and mumbling to himself. He ordered two men in red to take Luna to Sickbay, then he produced two tubes from his bag. He walked over and pressed one to Spock's arm and there was a small hiss. Then he did the same to Ray. He was too shocked to ask about the tubes.

"Can I stay with Luna?" Ray didn't take his eyes off the spot where Luna was, but he did see the exchange of looks from Spock and McCoy, and the small nod Spock gave to tell McCoy to let Ray go.

"I guess. She is your sister, after all." McCoy looked back at Ray, but Ray was already gone.

Ray didn't stop for anything. He just walked quickly to Sickbay, careful not to touch anyone or anything for it would burn. Ray used all his will to hold his anger in and not to let it interfere with his light. He reached out to Luna mentally to try and see what was happening, but all he got in response was a strange feeling that, after a while, gave him a headache. However, it did feel familiar somehow, like something he hadn't felt since he was young, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He sat next to Luna as the days passed by. Nurse Chapel would bring in his favourite meals, some blankets, and some books to read. Ray guessed that Chapel was an extremely caring person and worried for not only Luna's health- but Ray's health too.

Spock would come by every day at 1300 hours to check on Luna's progress and to talk to Ray about their findings and to see if he can be of any help. So far, the only news he had was that they had discovered a shadow that's been following the ship since Luna's... Tragedy? Accident? Ray wasn't sure what to call it. But Ray believed that the familiarity that he felt when reaching out for Luna's mind had came from that shadow. It was only a matter of time before whatever it was revielled itself.