Time’s Up

By Helen J. Lake

**note: this story is better understood by viewing ST: VOY “Unforgettable”

 

            Tana ran down the corridor, her bare feet padding silently on the red carpet. She skid to a halt and peered around a last corner. She glanced at the sensor in her hand. He was hiding in the conference room. Perfect. One last glance down the hall both ways, she stole towards the doors.

            She activated the door sensor and slipped in, sliding along the wall. To her surprise, there was someone in the room. Even though her cloak was still activated, she found herself ducking. Keeping herself in a small tight, small form, she peered through the darkness at the form.

            A head of dark hair seemed to bob fitfully over crossed arms. The head turned slightly and she saw the curve of Vulcan ears. To her astonishment, she realized that he was sobbing. Her curiosity peaked, she approached him. He looked up suddenly, almost as if he sensed her presence. Tears streamed down his face, but she still recognized him.

Spock, she thought. I remember him from school. He’s much more attractive than we were told…

She reached towards him, wanting to feel the silky hair between her fingers. The doors snapped open and another man walked in. She retreated to a corner and watched as the newer man, one she also recognized—Kirk was his name—tried to talk some sense into the weeping Vulcan. Eventually, Kirk was able to convince Spock to pull himself together and leave the room.

Once they were gone, Tana sighed and turned once more to her sensor. The blip was still flashing on the screen, showing that he was nearby. Pulling a small tool from her belt, she tweaked the sensor and realized that he was in the next conference room.

Who knew there was more than one conference room?

Stealing silently to the door, she activated them and slipped out. Flattening herself to the wall as a random crewmember ran past, Tana made her way slowly to the next entrance. The sensor indicated that he was heading towards the door. She froze, placing the sensor on her belt and drawing her weapon. The doors opened with a whoosh and she sensed him standing just in front of her. She reached up and touched her temple, activating the thermal sensor in her eye. He was approximately .8 meters away.

Before she could fire or speak, several crewmembers came bounding around the corner. Concentrating on staying out of the way, she soon lost track of her prey. His thermal signature was gone. She cursed mentally and deactivated her thermal sight. Placing her weapon back on her belt, she pulled her sensor out once more.

The hunt was on again.

 

Several hours later, Tana was slinking down the side of a corridor. The sensor had spotted him again, this time in someone’s quarters. She was making her way towards the room, avoiding the crewmen stumbling around. Some of them were acting very strangely and she was concerned.

They must get through this. After all, I know they do.

The Enterprise’s missions were famous all over the galaxy, after all. She had had to learn about them in school. She’d paid attention only as much as possible, and she now found herself wishing she’d remembered more. What could have caused this mania?

“Pardon me, crewmen,” a deep baritone said behind her.

She looked over her shoulder to see Spock…heading straight towards her. She held her breath and pressed herself flat against the wall. He breezed past her and entered the door beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief and checked her sensor again. Her prey was in the next set of quarters. She began to creep that way.

Suddenly, a deep rumble sounded through the hull. Tana gasped as she saw thick bulkheads lowering between her and her destination. Frozen with shock, she took another step towards the shrinking gap. Making a decision, she ducked and aimed to roll under the bulkhead. Halfway through the tumble, a solid body hit her and made her end up back on the other side. Scrambling to a kneeling position just as the bulkhead locked into place, she looked around for who had run into her. There wasn’t anyone else in the corridor.

“Flavo,” she murmured. My prey somehow sensed me and shoved me backwards…where I can’t reach him until the bulkheads are raised.

She cursed under her breath. He was the hardest one to capture in all her history as a tracer. Stealing that temporal device and hiding a century in the past was ingenious enough, and he’d even gone to another quadrant…but every time she got close, he was able to elude her somehow. It infuriated her. But it made her that much more determined.

Standing slowly, she glanced around, wondering what she should do until the bulkheads were raised. A strange sound—it sounded like harsh music—came from Spock’s quarters. Curious, she went to the door. Curiosity had always been her weakness, one her trainers had warned her about. She’d ignored them, knowing that her instinctual prying had saved her butt before. And helped her capture her share of refugees.

The door didn’t open at her approach, to her surprise. She pressed her ear to the smooth, cool surface. The music coming from the other side was harsh, but had a purpose and a clear beat. She even kind of liked it. Looking over her shoulder, Tana decided to go inside. It would keep her out of the way, and she could observe the Vulcan. She opened the access panel beside the door and activated it. It opened and she paused, wondering if Spock had noticed. There was no noise, so she went in, shutting the door once more.

Spock was seated on the floor, on a small mat. There was a statue with his belly hollowed out and a pile of red-hot coals inside. Incense made the room smell lightly of spices. The music was loud, but not painfully so. She made her way across the room to slide down the wall. From this vantage point, she could see the entire room without being where Spock might go and stumble across her.

Tana checked the power on her cloak system. She had enough left for another week, at the least. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t take that long. With another glance at the meditating Vulcan, she settled in for a long rest.

 

“Who are you?” Spock said suddenly, clearly. Tana perked up from a half-doze. He was looking straight at her. But that should be impossible. With a quick glance at her power supply, she saw that she was still cloaked. She remained silent. A moment later, Spock rose to a kneeling position.

“I cannot see you,” Spock stated. “But I can sense you. Who are you?”

Again, she didn’t answer. There should be no way for him to know she was there. She had heard of some races that could sense the minds of others. Vulcans were touch-telepaths, so he couldn’t possibly sense her unless he touched her.

Spock sighed. “You may remain silent, but it does not change the fact that you are there.”

She frowned. Her conscience told her to hold her tongue, but her intense inquisitiveness argued to find out how he knew she was there. A battle waged within her as she saw him stand completely. He placed the statue on a shelf and rolled the meditation mat, placing it in a drawer. He looked towards her corner once more.

“I do not suspect any malicious intent on your part,” he said. “I will show my trust in this by retiring at this time. You may remain here. It is perhaps a safe haven from the madness onboard the ship.”

He touched his temple, his hand shaking, and she remembered how he had sobbed earlier. She knew he was affected by whatever this “madness” was. But he had somehow recaptured control, at least temporarily. He didn’t bother turning the music off as he stripped and slipped into bed.

She waited until he was breathing evenly, then got to her feet. She stretched luxuriously and took a ration bar from a sack on her belt. Taking the opportunity to get a closer look at his quarters, she began to walk around. Being careful not to move anything, she gazed at the few pieces of Vulcan artwork.

Odd. He’s half-human, if my memory serves me, and yet there isn’t anything here that would suggest it.

Finally, Tana approached the sleeping Vulcan. Watching him for a moment, she again wondered how he might have known she was there. The technology available to him would not have picked up on her in this time. He stirred in his sleep and she quickly hurried to her corner. He sat up and looked around. He seemed to be waiting for her to make a sound. After a full minute, he lay down again and slept.

 

Tana woke up as soon as the rumble of the bulkheads began. She slowly stretched out, relaxing her tense muscles. She rose to her knees and looked for Spock. He wasn’t in the bed anymore. Her tracking skills kept her from leaping to her feet. Instead, she looked around until she spotted him coming out of the refresher. He stopped and gazed around the Spartan quarters.

“You’re still here, aren’t you?” It was not a question.

She said nothing. His eyebrows bobbed in a shrug and he took out the meditation mat. Kneeling, he began to chant under his breath. The music still played. She was beginning to get annoyed with it. Knowing that the barricade had been lifted, she headed towards the doors. With Spock deep in his meditations, she activated the door and went into the hall.

She activated her sensor and began a sweeping motion. Flavo’s blip appeared thirty meters away…and he was moving. Nodding to herself, she started down the corridor.

 

Tana had been following Flavo around the ship for nearly an hour. She wondered why he didn’t use his temporal device to disappear during the night. Perhaps the bulkheads had interfered with it. Or maybe he had been fascinated by his surroundings, as she had been.

A footstep behind her. She whirled and pressed herself into the wall. It was Spock.

“I have been following you,” he stated. “It seems I can nearly see you.”

Tana touched the cloak, glancing at the power. It was still full enough. She shook her head. It was impossible…wasn’t it?

“I have decided to make Captain Kirk aware of your presence.” He was looking straight towards me. But his eyes moved slowly, as if he wasn’t exactly sure of where I stood, only the general area. “I will tell him now. Unless you wish to tell him yourself.”

It was a strange offer, almost a threat. She cocked her head and waited.

“You may come with me,” he stated. After another pause, he turned on his heel and walked away.

She looked at her sensor. Flavo was on the other side of the ship. If she wasn’t paying attention, and he activated his temporal device, she would lose him. She had to be alert to catch the readings so she could follow quickly. But she was sure that Kirk’s reaction to Spock’s announcement could cause delays in her hunt. She remembered that he was a passionate man, one who acted on instincts. If he raised shields at the wrong moment…she would be trapped here.

She cursed under her breath and hurried to follow Spock.

 

“Spock,” Kirk said softly. “Are you sure, after everything that happened the last few days…that you didn’t…”

“Hallucinate?” Spock angled his head and seemed to consider this. “I do not believe it is a hallucination. I can still sense this presence. When I leave the room where I am aware of it, I no longer sense it. Therefore, I believe it is an actual creature, and not a figment of my imagination.”

“Well,” Kirk replied, smiling. “I’m glad to see you have your logic again.”

Spock nodded at him. “It is refreshing to think clearly once more.”

Kirk glanced around his quarters. “Do you sense this person here?”

Spock didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Who are you?” Kirk said, addressing the unseen stranger. “Spock says he can’t sense any evil from you. And we mean you no harm. Won’t you show yourself?”

What harm could it do, really? They wouldn’t remember anything, due to my pheromones. She came to a decision.

“I will do as you ask,” she said softly. Kirk jumped, but Spock seemed unsurprised to hear her voice from behind. She flipped the switch and her cloak shimmered into off mode.

“So,” Kirk said. “Hello.”

“Hello, Captain,” she replied. She turned to Spock. “How did you know? No one has ever sensed me before.”

“I cannot explain it, Miss.” Spock seemed at ease with her, despite her deceit. “It was a new experience.”

“Hmm,” she said. “Vulcans are touch telepaths. But you knew I was here, without physical contact. I know some scientists who would love to study you.”

“Indeed,” Spock said. “And I would enjoy studying you…and your technology.”

“Captain,” she said, looking at him. “I’m sure you want to know what I am doing here. First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Tana, a tracer.”

“A tracer?”

“A type of bounty hunter, I suppose. I track refugees from my world and bring them back. We discourage anyone from leaving.” She paused. “This is not something humans often support.”

“You have met other humans?”

“Tracers have interacted with humans in the past, but most instances were unplanned. Such as now.” Spock was eyeing her cloak with interest. “I cannot allow you to examine any of my equipment.” She took a deep breath slowly. “The Temporal Prime Directive.”

Kirk stared at her, while Spock raised an eyebrow. “There is no such Directive,” Kirk stated.

“Not yet,” she replied. She waited, watching Spock’s eyes as he considered this.

“Let me make sure I’m following this,” Kirk said, drawing my attention. “You are from the future…tracking a refugee on my ship...and you weren’t going to reveal yourself to us.”

“Correct,” she said. “We are supposed to get in, get our man, and get out. All unnoticed.”

“Is there any way we can help you?” Kirk asked.

She stared at him, surprised. “You want to help?”

“If there is a criminal on my ship, I want him placed in the hands of the correct authorities. That means you.”

She grinned suddenly. “Great!” She glanced at Spock. “Before we begin, I must tell you one more thing.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this part?”

“There’s something about my people’s physiology that causes other races to forget us within a day. And if there is anything in your computer that might indicate we were here, I place a computer program in it to erase all evidence.”

They were staring at her. She crossed her arms and waited for them to process this last piece of information. After what seemed like forever, Kirk smiled at her, then turned to Spock.

“Well, what we don’t remember can’t hurt us.”

Tana chuckled and sighed in relief. She pulled out her sensor and began to calibrate it. The men waited silently.

“He’s two decks down…” she announced. She held the sensor out to Kirk. “I believe it’s the mess hall.”

Kirk looked at the graphic on her screen and nodded. “He may be trying to get something to eat.”

“I must go.”

“Wait!” Kirk called. “What can we do to help?”

She looked up from her sensor. “Nothing. Just let me do my job.” Kirk’s eyes hardened. “Captain, no offense, but I can’t think of anything you can do to help me. If I come up with something, I will contact you. Otherwise…” She shrugged.

Kirk did not seem the type of man who could stay out of the action. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Finally, Spock reached out and touched Kirk’s shoulder.

“Jim,” he said softly. She could barely hear him. Her eyes snapped to his dark ones. He nodded to her. This was his role; to keep Kirk from jumping into things he did not understand. She nodded back and looked to Kirk.

“Go,” he said. He ran a hand over his face and she was gone.

 

Tana tracked Flavo from the Mess Hall to empty quarters. The closer she got to him, the clearer her sensor could pick up on his actions. She slid a micro-thin image sensor under the door, which he had locked. She activated the crawling action and guided it into the room.

“There he is,” she hissed. She used the controls, leading the sensor further into the room. Knowing he might spot it on the floor, she turned and sent it up the wall. Once it was to the ceiling, she made sure the anti-gravity unit was working. Then she guided it to over Flavo’s head.

She decided to let him finish eating, wondering when the last time he had had any food. Her ration bars had been less than fulfilling, so she could only imagine what he had coped with.

Five more minutes, she thought. Then he’s mine.

She started to work on the door locks, watching for anyone who might happen by. By the time the five minute had come to an end, Flavo had finished eating and she had finished picking the lock. With one last glance up and down the hall, she activated the door and vaulted in.

Flavo’s reaction was immediate: he leapt to his feet and headed for the door. Tana kicked out and he dropped onto his side, clutching his knee. She pointed her weapon at his head, standing over him. He gasped, looking up at her in anger.

“Tana!” he hissed.

“Hello, Flavo,” she replied. “It’s been a long time.”

He snorted. “And who’s fault is that?”

“I had to leave, you know that.”

            “Yeah, but you came back.”

            Her hand wavered. “I came back for you. To take you with me.” He shifted under her and she moved the weapon back to aim at his head. “And what did I find…”

            “You found me,” he retorted. “Finding solace. My wife had left me, left our entire world. A Tracer was after her. What did you expect me to do? Wait for them to bring you back? I know you, Tana. You would have outwitted them and I would never have seen you again.”

            “You say you know me,” she said slowly. “If you had, you would know that once I had found a way out, I would come back for you.”

            “I didn’t want you to go! I wanted you with me, by my side!”

            Tana stared down at him. What he said sounded so right…She moved the gun away slightly, trying to read his face.

            He kicked up, catching her in the back. She flew forward and into the wall, hitting her nose. She saw stars and felt the blood gush, knowing it was broken. She stumbled to her feet, wiping at her face gently, she reactivated her cloak and ran out after him. She’d have to retrieve her micro-sensor later. The hunt continued.

            Tana sniffled gently, ignoring the pain. The blood wouldn’t stop running across her lips. She kept wiping at them, but it didn’t help. She paused to lean against the wall, fighting a wave of nausea and dizziness. This wouldn’t work. She needed to be clear-headed. She needed medical attention. Cursing, she started to make her way towards Sickbay.

 

            The doors to Sickbay slid open. McCoy looked up from where he’d been examining a malfunctioning hypospray. He didn’t see anyone there.

“Hello? Is someone there?” he called. Suddenly, a woman faded into existence. He didn’t recognize her, but she was injured. “Here now,” he said, going to help her. “Let’s get you on this bed…”

“Thank you, Doctor,” she replied quietly. He got a tissue and bone mender out and began to run it across her face.

“Now, are you going to tell me who you are?” he drawled gently.

“Before or after you call Captain Kirk?” she finished for him. “He knows me, and Spock too…and I need to speak to them anyway.”

McCoy eyed her, his forehead crinkling. “All right, Miss…”

“Tana,” she provided, smiling at him. Her nose was still hurting, but the swelling had gone down. She thought the bone was mending too.

“There now,” he said. “Would you like something for the pain?”

She nodded. “Nothing too strong. I need to be clearheaded.”

“Of course,” he replied, giving his voice an inflection of knowledge. He injected her with something and she sighed in relief.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, turning to go to the intercom. “Sickbay to Captain Kirk.”

“Kirk here. What is it, Bones?”

“Is Mr. Spock there with you?”

There was a pause. “Yes, he is…”

“I, uh, need to see you both in Sickbay, please.”

“Is everything okay, Bones?”

“Fine, just fine…” He looked at her. Tana stepped up beside him.

“Captain,” she said softly. “It’s urgent.”

“We’ll be right there.”

McCoy turned and looked at her. “Well, you must have some kind of hold on them.”

She smiled. “Something like that.”

She said nothing more to him as she walked around Sickbay. She seemed on edge and distracted. McCoy leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Within minutes, Kirk and Spock walked in. Neither seemed surprised to see Tana. She stopped pacing and went to them.

“It’s proving harder to capture him than I had thought,” she announced. McCoy frowned, confused. “It’s a personal vendetta...”

Kirk looked at her. “I thought he was a political refugee.”

Tana stared at her feet. “I…lied, Captain.” Finding strength in the silence, she met his angry eyes. “Flavo is…was my husband. I was a Tracer, so I left the homeworld often. I…discovered that I had a wanderer’s spirit. After my last capture, I didn’t want to go back. So I didn’t. I’m the refugee. And they sent a Tracer after me.”

“Obviously, he was not successful,” Spock stated.

“No,” she replied, turning to him. “He caught me, but instead of using the neurolytic emitter to erase my memory…he tried to persuade me. He was an old friend, in fact he’d trained me. A bit too well, for his sake.” She closed her eyes briefly. “He told me that my husband was terribly lonely and needed me. It was enough to make me want to go back, to get Flavo and leave once more.” Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip.

“What happened?” Kirk asked gently.

“I made a mistake,” she continued. “I told my tracer I wanted to come back, to rehabilitate. I went home. And found Flavo in the arms of another woman.” Wiping a tear that spilled down her cheek, she added, “I ran away again.”

“So, how did it end up with Flavo on the run, from you?” McCoy asked. They all looked at him. “Hey, I can figure things out, even when no one wants to tell me anything!”

Kirk smiled at him. “He had a good question, Tana…”

“Yes,” she allowed. “You see, Doctor, Flavo is a scientist. He helps create the technology we use when tracing. Somehow, he stumbled across a temporal device…It made him a very dangerous man. Now he leaves the homeworld, escaping into the past, whenever he wants to. The authorities put out an announcement. I can remain away from the homeworld and never worry about a tracer being after me…if I capture and turn Flavo in.” She sighed. “And so began my pursuit.”

Kirk rubbed at the bridge of his nose wearily. “How do you know they won’t capture you when you drop him off?”

Tana shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on walking up to the door and knocking. I have plans for that part…but I didn’t plan on my emotions getting the better of me. He knows what buttons to push with me.”

“What assistance can we provide?” Spock asked.

“That’s where you come in,” she agreed. “I remember from my studies of your computer banks that Vulcans purge their emotions, correct?” Spock nodded slowly. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to mind-meld. I want you to join me. Help me capture Flavo. You can be the rational one, help to rein me in…”

Kirk shared an ironic look with Spock. She smiled.

 

After a quick equipment training for Spock, they began their hunt. She found Flavo’s signal on a deck that Spock identified as Engineering. She gave Spock her extra cloak and they headed towards him.

“He’s in the upper level,” she breathed, knowing Spock could hear her. “There aren’t any crewmen there.”

“Understood,” Spock replied, his voice deep and gravely. They crept towards the stair-ladder, avoiding the chief engineer—Scott, if she recalled correctly. She checked her sensor for other cloaks in the vicinity—he was not moving. She fine-tuned the sensor, half-crawling as fast as she could.

She began to breathe to Spock, “If he’s immobile in a public place, he must be up to something.”

“Agreed,” Spock murmured.

She lifted her head just high enough to see over the floor of the upper level. Activating her thermal vision, she slowly looked over the area. Cursing mentally, she realized that the engines were interfering with her readings. She switched to normal vision and climbed smoothly onto the level. Spock came to crouch beside her.

Squinting in concentration, she looked for…something. A glimmer, a waver, some kind of visual disturbance that would indicate where he was. There, she saw something akin to a heat undulation. She gestured to Spock, and pointed. She drew her weapon and Spock copied her action.

“We need that distraction,” she announced, barely making a noise. Spock nodded and pressed a button on his communicator, still on his belt. Never taking her eyes off of Flavo’s location, Tana overheard Scott go to answer a page from the bridge. He was called to take care of something, leaving Engineering to a bored looking crewman.

She nodded and raised the weapon—having it set for wide beam. She fired quickly and heard a dull thud. Spock covered her as she approached slowly and used a special device to short out his cloak. She sighed in relief when she saw his face. Everything would be okay now…

 

“Thanks for your help,” Tana said to Spock. Spock looked up at her. He held a real book in his hands and she peered at it curiously.

“Moby Dick,” he stated, closing the book and placing it on the desk. “Captain Kirk allowed me to borrow it.”

“Is it good?”

“It is…fascinating.” He stared at her, his dark eyes searching her face. “It’s about a man out for vengeance, against a great white whale.”

She met his gaze evenly. “Ouch, Spock.” She shook her head. “Flavo is still my husband, and my responsibility. He will be returned to our world, and I will be free. It’s as simple as that.”

“Is it?” His voice was quiet.

“No,” she admitted. “But it makes it easier for me.” She held her hand out to him. “Goodbye, Spock.”

He glanced at her hand and took it, gently squeezing before letting go. “I regret that I will not remember you once you go.”

She smiled. “Regret…is that an emotion, Spock?”

He raised an eyebrow at her and she chuckled. With one last glance, she activated her cloak and left his quarters. He watched her go, wondering what would happen to her, once she was home.

 

Tana checked Flavo’s bindings. He glared at her, but she ignored it. Confident they were ready to leave, she sighed and sank into her pilot chair. She ran an inventory check, making sure she left no clues of her existence on the Enterprise. Everything was accounted for.

Goodbye…and thanks for your help…she thought at the ship. Then she activated the temporal device and vanished.

 

The End…maybe