Emilie Pollack was one of your worst tormenters, and she seemed to be jealous of everything that ever had happened to you. For some reason, this included the incident in Omega IV. Pollack was about three times your size, and it had been a major stroke of bad luck for you that the violent, bad-tempered blonde had gotten stationed on the Enterprise with you. Three weeks after you had been released from sick bay, she cornered you in a secluded section of the ship, where pretty much no one ever went.

You slammed into the wall from the force of Pollack's first punch and inhaled sharply, feeling something crack in your ribcage. Pain rushed through your body, and you spat out a mouthful of blood as billions of little white dots burst in front of your vision. You slowly slid down the wall, dazed, hand at your side. As your eyes slid in and out of focus, you could see Pollack coming towards you again, but then –

Through the ringing in your ears, you heard running footsteps, and someone pulled Pollack back from you. You couldn't focus. The world slipped in and out of blackness before your eyes, like a series of photographs, but unreal, distorted . . .

You saw Pollack crumpled on the ground, clearly unconscious . . . someone's breathing faintly met your ears through the growing ringing . . . and a pair of worried, beautiful brown eyes swam into brief focus . . .

Then the ringing in your ears consumed you, and you fell into blackness, the pain gnawing at the edges of your mind. One word drifted through your hazy thoughts:

Spock . . .?