Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive ^{Beam me up, Scotty.}

Chapter Text

Maya soon drifted back to sleep, but this time she was less reserved how close she chose to be to Saavik. She pressed up against Saavik’s side with her head resting on her chest and her arms wrapped around her waist. It felt as though she had barely slept at all before she felt Saavik move and stirred awake. Maya opened her eyes and lifted her heavy head.

“I heard the communicator.”

Maya sat up and inched away to allow Saavik to peel back the wall covering to retrieve the communicator. The wind outside was not howling as strongly as before, but the air was still bitterly cold.

Saavik flipped open her communicator. Just as before she held it close and in a cupped hand. “Saavik to Enterprise.”

“Caraccilo here. Can you try to get out now? We’re expecting a twenty minute calm in the storm, and it looks like the next one won’t be for three days.”

“We will make an attempt, however with no time to prepare, our circumstances are far from ideal. Saavik out.” She closed the communicator and shifted her weight to begin to get back on her feet. “Get the phaser. I anticipate we will need it.”

Maya crawled toward the hiding place to take the phaser before she slowly stood up. Falling asleep hadn’t made her feel any more restored and rested, it made her feel worse,with her heart racing and her head spinning. If everything went according to plan, she wouldn’t have to be on this terrible planet much longer.

“What about Enzo?” Maya asked once she was back on her feet.

Saavik stood in the doorframe and looked in both directions: all clear. “I plan to honor the promise you made to your nephew, but be aware that the longer we take, the higher our chances of being discovered.”

With her phaser ready, Maya stepped out in front and began to lead the way. She was on high alert and felt as though the slightest provocation would make her jump out of her skin, yet her body still felt sluggish and heavy. Somehow she still managed to move slowly and cautiously, careful to make as little noise as possible. It weighed heavily on her heart to think that she had no idea where Enzo was or how to wake him without alerting the others.

They were near the exit and so far had remained undetected until the sound of soft, light footsteps padded across an intersecting corridor. Saavik and Maya pressed themselves against the wall and froze, but the young Augment–a teenage girl–had already seen them. The girl simply stared at them with wide eyes.

“Elena?” Maya guessed. Ten years had passed since they had seen each other. The girl probably didn’t remember, and Maya wasn’t sure she had guessed the right name. “It is Elena, isn’t it.”

The only response she gave was the slightest nod. Elena had been five years old when Maya saw her last, and even though she was just as intellectually brilliant as any other young Augment, Elena rarely spoke.

“Do you want to leave this place and go to Earth?” Maya spoke in a gentle whisper. “Enzo will be coming with us too.”

This time Elena had no response, she simply turned and ran away like a frightened doe.

“Maya,” Saavik, too, spoke in a low tone. “Regrettable as it may be, it seems that the best course of action may be to abandon the promise you made to your nephew. The likelihood of remaining undetected is low.”

Maya’s heart sank, but before she could respond , they heard another set of approaching footsteps, and from around the corner came Enzo. Maya held her free hand to her heart and breathed a sigh of relief.

“What an incredible stroke of luck!” She spoke louder than she meant to and felt an immediate twinge of regret. “Did Elena get you?”

“Yeah…she did.” Enzo scratched the back of his neck and looked. “She’s not coming, though.”

“Well, come on, we don’t have much time.” Maya stepped back to the front and began to lead the way to where they had first been let into the compound.

“Wait,” Enzo interrupted. “You shouldn’t go that way. There’s another way out.” Maya looked to Saavik for approval.

“He knows the details of his home better than either of us. If he says there is a better way to the exterior, I trust his judgment.”

“I’m still leading the way,” Maya answered. “Just tell me where to go.”

Maya still held her phaser ready as Enzo gave directions from behind. He led them back around, past where they had stayed the night, around one more left turn, and sure enough they found a heavy door to the outside. And right in front of that door stood Francesca with a wicked grin on her face.

“So predictable!” Francesca purred. “I almost expected that this little trap wouldn’t work, but I suppose that would be giving too much credit to you weak half-breed intellect.”

Maya had her phaser ready and her eyes narrowed on Francesca and her jaw clenched tight. “I don’t want to kill you in front of your son, but I’m also not afraid to do it. I’ll leave Enzo, I’ll stay behind myself, you only have to step aside and let the captain go.”

“No, don’t think I will.” Francesca’s tone was light and playful, an alarming thing to hear in such a situation. “And I think it would serve you well to drop your weapon.”

“And why is that?”

“I can think of one very compelling reason.” Claudius spoke from behind her, and before she could turn to look at him she felt his phaser pressed against her back, just between her shoulder blades. Maya let her own weapon drop to the ground.

“And when I shot a man in the back, I was called a coward.” From behind, Claudius wouldn’t be able to see that Maya was rolling her eyes.

“Don’t give me a reason to kill you sooner than I planned on it. Captain, your communicator.” Claudius demanded.

Saavik silently complied and handed her communicator to Claudius. He flipped it open. “Commander Caraccilo? I trust you’re still there.”

“Yes…who is this? Claudius?”

“Of course, who else would it be if not your captain? I’m afraid you will have to abort your rescue attempts, there has been a complication.”

“What do you mean? What have you done?”

“Nothing yet. The hostages are of more use to me alive and unharmed, even if you did break the rules.”

“Claudius…” Caraccilo paused, leaving everyone tense and eager to hear more. “It’s becoming clear to me thatI may need to rethink my initial refusal of your demands. These delicate negotiations, though, they really need to be done in person. I’d like to invite you onto my ship to discuss the matter, but we only have a window of a few more minutes before the storm intensity will interfere with our transporters.”

He smiled a twisted smile. “I agree completely. Be ready to beam me up, I will be outside and waiting momentarily.”

“You sure you’re not walking into a trap?” Francesca asked.

“Do not underestimate me. Khan very nearly took a ship on his own, and I have the advantage of having learned from his mistakes. Soon we will have the empire we deserve.”