The Stars Above Us

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

She doesn't know why she let Tommy talk her into this. Maybe it's because the other thirteen year old had a good point. They'll never know what they're dealing with if they don't look. The two teens were pressed against the wall of the medical clinic. There were a bunch of people in the courtyard but Jim had no idea why until the lead enforcer started talking.

"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."

The next thing Jim heard was shooting and shouting.

"They're killing everybody," Tommy said. "We gotta do something." Jim looked around the corner as best she could. What she saw… there were no words. People were being shot and falling all over the place. The entrances were blocked off and the people who tried to run in those directions were gunned down. That's when Jim spotted a little ball with brown hair.

"Psst, Kevin," Jim called, trying not to give either of them away. She motioned for him to run to her. He looked around, nodded and sprinted in her direction.

One of the enforcers spotted the kid and turned his weapon in Kevin's direction, that's when Tommy jumped between them, taking a shot to the head. Jim thought he was dead for a second, but as soon as the enforcer turned to kill someone else, Tommy pushed himself up and made his was to her. His right eye was a mess but he put on a brave face as they pulled more kids out of the courtyard. If she could save them all, she would've but there wasn't enough time and she didn't want to get the kids she did save killed by trying to get more of them.

"Where are we going?" one of the boys whispered.

"There's a cave system out behind Hoshi's," Jim said. It was where Mister Takashi told her to go and it's where she would've been if she hadn't run into Tommy. She looked at him, "You okay?"

Tommy shrugged, "I'll live."

Jim looked down at the blood on her hands. She didn't mean to hurt him but the man had his hand around her throat and she wasn't gonna let him kill her. Going for her knife was the last resort and the sound it made when she stabbed the man in his neck was gonna haunt her forever. Jim cringed as she retrieved her knife and scrambled away with the rations she stole.

All the food that the kids had was officially gone a few hours ago. She didn't expect it to last forever, not with a dozen kids eating it, but that meant she had to go steal it. Jim avoided taking from the other colonists and went straight for Kodos' rations, the man she encountered was one of his enforcers.

On her way back to the kids, she stopped by the now-stagnant river and washed as much blood off as she could. For some reason Jim still hadn't figured out, she was in charge. Tommy's eye was still a mess but Jim had enough medical supplies to take care of it, for now. Twelve days is a long time to go without medical care.

"I'm definitely taking an emergency medical class when this is over."

Nineteen days in, Jim buried Heidi. The girl was ten and she liked butterflies.

Twenty-two days in, Jim realized that no one was gonna last much longer. Not her, not Tommy, not Kevin, no one.

Twenty-four days in, Jim buried Shane. He was twelve and he wanted to be a reporter.

Twenty-nine days in, Jim stopped eating. She gave her rations to Kevin and Elena, the youngest kids in the group.

Thirty days in, Jim buried Alice. The nine year old would sing the other kids to sleep at night.

Thirty-seven days in, Jim stopped hoping that someone would find them and resigned herself to the fact that she was probably gonna die on this barren wasteland.

Thirty-eight days in, Starfleet showed up in the best and worst way possible.

"You can't go in there," she heard a voice say.

"The hell I can't," a familiar voice growled. There was a shuffle and some murmuring before someone stepped into the private room in the Olympus' sickbay. "Jim."

"Bones. You look like crap," she whispered as she blinked her eyes open and took him in. His hazel eyes were red-rimmed, his usually tan skin was pale and she could tell that he'd been running his hands through his hair. Her best friend looked almost as bad as she felt. He stared at her for a long time before he rushed across the room and hugged tight her against his chest.

"I told them something was wrong but nobody listened to me," he said with a quiver in his voice and Jim could tell that he was close to tears. "They kept telling me that you were too busy and that you forgot about me. But I knew. I knew something happened."

"I didn't forget about you, Bonesy. I just didn't realize how bad it got until I tried to comm you and dad, then it all went to hell. I don't break promises, especially, pinky promises to my best friend," Jim muttered against his chest.

She took a deep breath, Bones always smells like clean linens and sunshine. For some reason it made her feel safe and that was the last straw, Jim burst into tears. She didn't have a chance to grieve the losses and there were plenty of those. Jim had to keep it together for the kids, she couldn't let them see their leader break and she didn't have the time or energy to cry. Now, she didn't really care anymore. Hoshi and Takashi were gone. She buried three of those kids with her own hands. There were over four thousand people murdered by the man who was supposed to protect them. She had every right to her tears and she knew Bones wouldn't hold it against her. The blonde doesn't know how he did it but Bones climbed onto the biobed with her without letting her go. And that's how they stayed.

Jim loves her dad, she really does, but being around adults made her uncomfortable. It's why they had her in a private room on the Olympus, she almost killed the away team. If it hadn't been for the fact that she recognized Nurse Pryor, there's a good chance that she would've. It's why Bones stayed in the room with her when there were other people in there. It was also why Bones –with special permission from her dad's CO- was on his way back to Earth with her and the other kids after they were transferred to the Aldrin.

"I think it's just men," Bones said. She gave him a look. "You're not as leery with women. You want to talk about it."

"Not yet," Jim sighed.

"When you're ready, I'll listen," he told her.

"I know. I'm just… I don't know what to think right now."

"Nobody expects you to," Bones said with a smile.

"I just feel bad," she said. He gave her a look. "Dad."

"He understands, Jim," he told her. "We all do."

"How? I don't even understand," Jim muttered.

"We'll figure it out. Together."