Destined | Christopher Pike

Chapter Twenty Three

Emma felt a broad range of emotions as she tried to process what just happened. Anger. Sadness. Fear. One second Duke had been kicking himself for not being more careful. The next second he was being dragged away by what they assumed was a Gorn. It wasn't the first time she had watched someone die in front of her, but it didn't make it any easier no matter how many times she witnessed such horrific deaths. It was times like that they made her regret ever signing up to join Starfleet. She hated losing people, especially good people.

She found herself sticking close to Chris as they navigated the hallways. He didn't seem to mind either. While he had his usual Captain facade up, she knew he was kicking himself about Duke. They found themselves near the bridge when the power turned back on.

"Power's on." Chris observed as he removed his jacket. "Means Hemmer is making progress."

"We stay in here, we're lizard chow." Sam sounded panicked. She couldn't help, but notice the difference between him and his younger brother, Jim. She had been in the Academy with Jim the entire time. Sam was more mature, but Jim had a more nonchalant attitude. He never seemed to freak out about anything.

"By my calculations, the ice storm outside has just begun. It is not safe to leave the ship." Spock told him.

"It isn't safe inside the ship. But, hey, at least we'll all die nice and warm." Sam said sarcastically.

"Sam..." Chris said. "You saw I hurt one. We can fight them."

Emma hoped he was right. "Captain Pike, the internal comms are back online."

"Good. Can you open a channel for me, all decks?" He asked. Emma tapped on the keys in front of her and nodded at him when she was ready. "All hands, emergency protocol, regroup and rendezvous in sickbay. Repeat, get to sickbay and watch your six."

"I hate this." Emma mumbled to Chris as they walked.

Chris sighed deeply. He too hated the situation they were in, but they had a job to do. "I know. It's going to be okay though. Promise. When we get to sick bay, I want you to run a full analysis of the planet. It's eco system, terrain, climate. Try to find something that could help us. Okay?"

She nodded understandingly. She didn't mind the distraction of trying to learn everything she could. It gave her the ability to block out the arguments that were had, the grime details she didn't want to know, the fact that her fellow Cadet had been killed. Although the situation wasn't ideal, she was finally putting her love for environments to good use. She did, however, listen as La'an described their behavior to see if their was some sort of connection between the planet that could help them. When she mentioned that they hated the cold, an idea struck her.

"Wait." Emma interrupted. "You said they hate the cold. I suppose it's a good thing we're on a frozen tundra of a planet. What if we cut the heat off in certain areas? We could draw them to the areas we need them in."

"Sounds like a plan. Hemmer, La'an, get to engineering. Spock, wait in the hallway. Uhura, Emma, you two get to use yourself as bait. You two will need to get the Gorn into the transporter room. I'll be on the bridge with Oriana and Dr. M'Benga. Be safe. Be alert." He told them.

Bait. Emma had never used herself as bait before, but she could already tell she didn't like the idea. Neither did Uhura, but they didn't have a choice. The plan had to work so they could get the ship back to Starfleet. It was eerie standing in the hallway, waiting for a Gorn to arrive just so you could run from it. The silence felt deafening as they waited to hear any sound. When they finally heard the chattering of a Gorn, they both looked at one another with the same fear in the eyes. The chattering turned into loud screeches as it locked onto the two of them.