Chapter VII

Chapter VII.

As Heather and McCoy were sitting in the Officer's Lounge, over the loudspeaker they heard, "Commander Heather Scott, report to Admiral Kirk's quarters."

"Talk to you, later, if I'm still alive."

"Good luck."

"I'm going to need it!" she said, as she departed for Kirk's quarters.

Heather presses the buzzer, outside Admiral Kirk's quarters.

"Who is it?"

"Commander Heather Scott."

"Come in, Heather."

Heather walks in, and says, "Good evening, sir."

"Have a seat, Heather. We have a few things to discuss here."

Heather sits, facing Kirk's desk.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself at this time, before we begin?"

"No, sir."

"Well, I guess we might as well start with why you did what you did."

"I was going up to Lt. Christenson to talk to him, sir."

"You were sure in an awful hurry for just wanting to talk to someone."

"Proudhawk believed that Lt. Christenson was the person who broke into the computer core. I wanted to question him."

"And you were ready believe Proudhawk that quickly? I thought you were the superior officer and thought before acting."

"Normally, yes, sir, but tensions have been rather high and I have been under stress as of late. Proudhawk is my soulmate, and there was no reason not to believe him."

"I understand you being under stress, and your reasoning for believing Proudhawk, but as a commanding officer, you will find that stress becomes a natural part of the job, and you can not let that interfere with your duties."

"Admiral, I was given the promotion to Chief Science Officer, under circumstances that were not the best, and I feel that I am not quite ready for this position." Heather stated, beginning to feel a little unsure.

"From my understanding, Captain Starska promoted you with good reason and in good faith. I believe his judgement was right, and besides, how does a person grow but through challenges?"

"Yes, sir."

"Was there anything you discussed with McCoy or Spock that you wish to elaborate on further? As I will be making a report out to Starfleet over the incident."

<Uh oh.> thought Heather, before answering. "I was in error in not checking with Personnel to see if Lt. Christenson had come aboard, and I also should not have touched him, as I knew he had psychic powers."

"Noted as such. Do you have good reasoning for not checking with Personnel beforehand?"

"I was handling a problem in Astrophysics, sir. I did not think that Lt. Christenson would be aboard so early as he was not due until 1400 hours."

"But should you still not check with your different departments, as to the status of the ship?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, that that's taken care of, is there anything else that you wish to discuss?"

"No, sir."

"Okay, I would like to discuss the way that you are going to handle Lt. Christenson in the future, and what your recommendations towards him are."

"I will handle him like any other member of my department. I wish he wasn't so jumpy however, that power of his, is dangerous."

"Is there anything in specific that you would want done in regards to this? IE. transfer or otherwise."

"I don't think that will be necessary. May I speak freely, sir?"

"Please do."

"Zachery Christenson can hear Proudhawk and I when we talk telepathically. He admitted it to me, when I met him in Sickbay. I'm not sure Proudhawk and I can shut him out, and he seems not to care that he does it."

"Have you ever thought of asking him not to?"

"I did, but I thought it would be obvious when I was conversing with Proudhawk. Lt. Christenson still listened in on our conversation."

"Does this give you reason not to trust him?"

"Yes, I'm not sure he isn't going to pick my brain."

"I can assure you that he will not pick either yours, Proudhawk's, or any other member of this crew's mind. He can not actually do anything except through physical contact, except pick up telepathic communication."

"Admiral, he still can hear Proudhawk and I, then. As Soulmates, we have no privacy from each other, but now, we'd have no privacy, period."

"I have spoken to him about this, and he says that he will try not to. He is still learning how to control all of his powers."

"Then what's he doing on Saratoga? Shouldn't he be on Vulcan or somewhere else so that he can learn to control his talents?"

"Evidently, Starfleet felt that his presence here was needed more than his continued training."

"Is it because someone broke into the computer core?"

"Possibly. Who knows all the reasons behind Starfleet's orders?"

"So, I have an untrained telepath in my department? What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, he's not quite a telepath, unless you touch him, also not quite untrained. And what you're supposed to do is nurture him along and maybe even learn something yourself. I do not find you directly responsible for today's incident, but I can not really find Lt. Christenson completely at fault, either."

"He was sitting in the Officer's Lounge. What could attack him there?"

"Proudhawk has reluctantly, already admitted that he started to attack Lt. Christenson."

"He what?! I had no idea, since he was blocking me out." Heather stated.

"I would suggest that you, Proudhawk and Lt. Christenson get together and discuss this, with an arbitrator for Proudhawk if you feel it's necessary."

"I don't think it's necessary, I can handle Proudhawk, if the need arises."

"If he's not handling you." Kirk smiles.

"Very funny. Proudhawk wouldn't dare."

"Will that be all, Heather?"

"No, I have one more question. Did you get the results from Dr. McCoy? He neglected to tell me what he found." As Heather visibly relaxes, letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Here." says Jim, as he hands Heather the file in front of him. "Perfect match."

"Then how come I heard McCoy muttering to himself that he really wouldn't be able to tell if there was anything wrong or not?"

"When did he say that?"

"While he was examining me."

"It's all we have to go on."

"It's not much. I haven't told McCoy this, but Lt. Christenson was able to break the bond I have with Proudhawk."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I felt the bond break, going from me to Proudhawk. Proudhawk could still feel me, but I lost total contact."

"That must be some side effect of what he described to me of what he was doing."

"Side effect? If the bond had not reformed, I probably would have died of shock."

"It's unfortunate that it happened, but due to circumstances that were presented in the way they were, Lt. Christenson did not realize that you were Soulmates until it was too late. He was truly sorry and apologetic about what he did to you."

"I'm sure Proudhawk knows what happened to the bond, and I'm sure he will want to discuss it with Lt. Christenson, because if I had died, he probably would have also."

"It's unknown at this time, and the only way to find out is to try it, and we're not about to. As I said earlier, he's still not completely in control of all his powers, and under situations such as this, unfortunate accidents may occur."

"Is it possible I could read Lt. Christenson's file, so that I can prevent such a thing from happening again?"

"That's a very good thought. You are dismissed to do so, and, Heather, thanks for the honesty."

"Will you be speaking to Captain Starska, about this?"

"I will report the incident to him, and my findings, but nothing more, unless I deem it necessary at that time. Along with a recommendation that he also reads Lt. Christenson's file."

"But, Admiral, there are two Captain Starska's at the present time, and Commander Smith has requested that I use my telepathic powers to find out which is which."

"I will delay my report until such time that the true Captain has been found."

"IF he can be found. Commander Smith is placing all his proof in my telepathic ability."

"Well, we could always use Lt. Christenson's psychic abilities to probe the inner mind of each Captain."

"NO! If he is untrained, he could kill them both!"

"After you read his file, you will find that he has many different psychic abilities, some he does have in control and some he does not. However, I would save this option as a last resort."

"I may be able to tell the difference right away, and we won't need to use him. I have a few questions to ask both Captain Starskas that would be proof."

"As I said, as a last resort. May I suggest that you read Lt. Christenson's file and prepare yourself for the board of inquiry."

"Yes, sir."

"That's Jim."

"Right, Jim." answered Heather.

Part 8