Title: Everything That Can Go Wrong...

Author: Woody Nightshade woodyn@alloymail.com 

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Star Trek and its characters, excluding Samantha Starkey, 
belong to Paramount Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit made.

Dedication: To Frank and my other friends at the DeForest list. 
You are priceless. And to Amaranth; I kept some of the innuendo.

Notes: < > indicates thoughts.

 

Captain James T. Kirk was walking down a corridor of Deck Five with 
his loyal associate, Doctor Leonard H. McCoy. It had been a peaceful 
day so far, although the Enterprise was even at the moment scratching 
her surface paint against the neutral area in space inhabited by 
Felis, an easily irritable race of humanoids. They were a relative 
race to Caitians, much like Romulans were to Vulcans. The actual 
names of their race and homeworld were unpronounceable without mastering 
purring skills, so the Federation Standard English called them by 
the name Felis because of their feline appearance. This gained a 
tactical advantage to the Feds, because their tails are just as 
emotionally revealing as ones of actual felines. Though there are 
not many more terrifying sights than a Feli wagging its tail violently. 

The Enterprise's current mission had nothing to do with the Felis 
(they had to pick up a diplomat from Space Station 18 and transport 
him to a planet joining to the Federation, called Philandron II), 
so the Captain held his fingers crossed that they weren't in fighting mood. 

"How many hours of travelling we have left?" McCoy asked.

"Twelve, four of them near the Felis border. I hope they do continue 
behaving themselves", responded Kirk, but he didn't look worried. 
Apparently he still thought that a bunch of cats, no matter how 
violent, were no match against his starship and crew. 

"Have you seen Spock lately?"

"I think he's studying the biological profile of the Felis. Why, 
is there something wrong?" Kirk asked. Spock didn't have problems 
frequently, but when he did, it was usually something major. 

"He's just been behaving a little oddly for a couple of days. I 
don't know if it's anything, but I thought that it would be good for you to know." 

At the very moment, Spock walked by them.

"Ah, speaking of the devil. Hi, Spock." He nodded to the Doctor.

"Where..." Kirk noticed a glass full of red liquid in his hand and 
frowned, surprised. "...are you going?"

Spock looked embarrassed, though barely noticeably. 

"I overheard a conversation in Sickbay that Commander Starkey has 
not been there drinking blood in several days. As you know, the 
iron of blood is necessary for her to sustain her ability to function. 
She is a valuable and vital officer, and it would be illogical not 
to work to improve the situation." He lifted the glass a little. "It's AB+. Her favourite."

"Ah. Sounds...logical enough to me", Kirk said. "Wouldn't you agree, 
Doctor?" he asked with an undeniable twinkle in his eyes. 

"Yes, sir, I most certainly would." Bones played along smoothly. 

"Very well then. Proceed."

Spock walked to her door and went in. Kirk and McCoy observed the situation. 

"I wonder from which way the wind is now blowing?"

They almost ducked when Spock stormed out the room and pressed himself 
flat against the wall. After him something came flying out of Sam's 
quarters. It was the glass of blood. It crashed into the wall, making 
the whole corridor look like a rehearsal for a horror movie. The 
blood also spilled on innocent bystanders, particularly on Kirk 
and McCoy. Sam rushed to the door, looking furious and frightening. 

"Although I am a female, I am still fully capable of taking care 
of myself!" she shouted to Spock's face. "If I need a servant, I'll 
ask for it!" She glanced to Spock, then to Kirk's blood-dripping 
face, then to McCoy's face which looked alike, and then again to 
Spock. "...sir!" she added fiercely and turned back to her quarters. 

Spock's, Kirk's and McCoy's (and actually everyone else's) eyes 
were open wide in astonishment. McCoy looked to Kirk, to Spock, 
to Sam's door, to Spock's door, which was next to Sam's, to the 
red wall and again to Spock. Then his face brightened. 

"Wait!" he said to no one in particular, and lifted his left hand. "I'm having a déjà vu."

**********

On the very next day, Sam was walking down the corridor, heading 
for the turbolift. Her duty would start in a few hours, so she thought 
to get something worth chewing. On her way she saw a member of the 
engineering staff fixing a wallpanel.

"Auch!" Sam took a closer look and saw that he'd cut his finger. 
The smell of fresh blood drifted in her flaring nostrils.

"Here, let me see it." She was in her blue uniform, so she didn't 
differ from the medical staff in any way. She took his hand in hers. 
"Lovely colour." Sam touched the wound and brought the finger to 
her lips, tasting his blood. "You're A-, aren't you?" He nodded, 
terrified. She lifted his hand on her lips and sucked hungrily, 
with a power no mortal possesses.

The engineer pulled his hand away with the supernatural strength 
of a man in danger and ran away with considerable speed. 

"Yippee. Now I'm really in trouble." She turned around and walked 
back to her quarters. She'd lost her appetite.

**********

"Did you hear that Sam attacked a crewman in Deck Four a while ago?" 
McCoy asked Kirk, in a corridor again. "Really? Are you serious?" 

"I've never been more. Poor guy stepped by to get his hand fixed. 
He was shaking like a fever patient."

"This is just… great. What is wrong with her?" A blast that rocked 
the ship interrupted them. An all-too-familiar sound of the Red 
Alert echoed in the corridors. Kirk rolled his eyes.

"One day without *any* of this, and I'd be a happy man."

"Everything that can go wrong, will. Murphy's Law." said McCoy grimly. 

Kirk started running towards the nearest turbolift, heading for 
the bridge. McCoy went to the opposite direction, to the Sickbay. 

Kirk jumped out the turbolift and shouted "Status report!"

"We are being attacked by a Felis Battleship. One direct hit, no 
severe damage. Shields holding."

"Phasers locked on target, but our cease-fire remains unbroken, sir."

"Get me the Captain of that ship!" Uhura pushed some buttons on 
her console and announced: "On visual, sir." A face of a big male 
humanoid cat appeared onscreen. 

"What is the purpose of this attack?" 

"You have violated our space. We have a right to defend ourselves."

"Is he telling the truth?" Kirk asked Chekov.

"No, sir. We have stayed strictly inside Federation space."

"We most certainly have not. We can prove it by sending the map 
of our route to you."

< I sure hope Chekov is right. Interstellar war is the last thing we need now. >

"Very well. Standing by to receive." Uhura was one step ahead of 
Kirk. When he opened his mouth, Uhura closed it by saying: "Transmitting."

The Felis Captain looked his smaller viewscreen for a moment and 
turned to the big one, his tail between his legs.

"It appears that our navigator has made a mistake. You were right. 
I promise he won't be left unpunished. Did we cause any severe damage?" 
Kirk looked to Spock, who shook his head.

"Nothing we couldn't handle."

"Very well then. I apologise. Have a journey free of incidents." 
The Felis was replaced by a starfield.

"Oh. That went smoothly. I assume there won't be any disturbance 
from them any more. I leave the bridge in your hands, Spock."

On his way to the Sickbay to check the casualties, he processed 
the incident in his head, only to notice the pointlessness of it. 




In Sickbay he saw McCoy treating a foot of a woman in red uniform.

"What do you have here?"

"Just a twisted ankle. Okay, Blight ", he said to his patient. "It's 
all right now, just be careful." She jumped down, smiled to McCoy and walked out. 

"By the way, what was that thing you said in the corridor?"

"What?"

"The law thing."

"Oh, it's just one of Sam's priceless treasures she shared with 
me. Murphy's Law. Everything that can go wrong, will. From the 20th century."

"True, undeniably." He paused to reminisce what he was saying when they were interrupted. 

"...so, where was I?"

"Asking what's wrong with Sam."

"Right. What is wrong with her?"

"Well, I could get technical and explain you the details of her condition..."

"Please don't." Kirk shot McCoy with a look of a deeply suffering man.

"The bottom line is this", Bones continued. "If anything isn't done, 
she'll die, just like Spock then. Only this time I have no idea what would help."

"Oh my... This is starting to sound like a really bad sequel. Is 
Sammy co-operating?" he said, looking like he knew the answer, and wasn't going like it.

"As tight-lipped as an Aldebaran shellmouth." In spite of the gravity 
of the situation, they couldn't help but smiling.

"Well, at least she is eating something. Any suggestions? I don't 
mind if they are good or bad ones, as long as we have something to start with."

"I thought that Spock might be of help here. He's been through practically 
the same thing and he is close friends with Sam."

Kirk stopped, his face brightened. He got a grip on McCoy's shoulders. 

"That's it! Bones, you are a genius."

"I know." He smiled. 

"Where's Spock? I've got to..."

"Hold your horses, he isn't going to escape anywhere. We're both 
off duty, and I think that we deserve something strengthening."

"You're right, as usually. I'll get the glasses."

Bones went to the next room to raid the liquor cabinet. "What do 
you mean by 'as usually'? More like 'as always'. If I recall correctly, 
my opinions would have saved us numerous times, but you were just 
too stubborn to listen. Do you remember the time when we..."

Kirk smiled. 

**********

Later that night, Sam's door beeped to announce a visitor. "Enter", 
she said, depressed. She was sitting in front of her viewscreen, 
reading an ancient document, one of her many. 

It was Spock. He walked into the room, and as the doors had closed, 
she stood up and kissed Spock briefly on the cheek. Then she leaned 
on his shoulder and turned away, sighing deeply. 

Spock breathed on the back of his hand and sniffed suspiciously. 
Sam noticed this and chuckled, then her face turned moody again. 

"It's not your breath, it's just..." she sighed again "...nothing."

"Nothing? Your mood varies from furious to depressed. You throw 
an artefact full of your favourite beverage into a wall. You attack 
a crewmember. I do not think that it is normal behaviour, even for a vampire."

"Look, I'm sorry about that glass, it was nice for you to try. And 
I did not 'attack' that crewman! If I attack, the victim does not survive alive."

"So you did not attack. But I am sure that he is not going to come near you for weeks."

"Great. At least I have one thing less to worry about." She sat 
on her bed and buried her face in her hands. 

Spock sat next to her, and placed his hand hesitantly on Sam's shoulder. 
After many years of interacting with members of other species, he 
still wasn't fully comfortable of the aspect of closeness in his life.

"Tell me what it is. Your efficiency as an officer is suffering, 
and as First Officer, I can not allow that to happen." Sam overlooked 
the remark of his higher rank as a typical way for Spock to cope 
with an emotional situation. "Jeez! Like you would understand."

"Perhaps I do. I once faced a similar situation, and Captain Kirk 
was of great help." He hesitated. "It took place 1.216 years after 
he received the command of the Enterprise." Spock looked down. "During 
my first pon farr." Sam’s eyes grew larger. She laid her hand on 
Spock's and clutched it gently. "So you do understand." She let 
go, noticing the Vulcan's discomfort, and sighed. "It's sort of 
a...virus. Very rare, and fatal. Causes certain death. It occurs 
only among my people, and even then only in females. Males are carriers."

"Fascinating. Usually it is the other way round. That indicates 
an extremely rare genetic structure."

"True. The symptoms include extremely variable stages of mind." 
She smiled wearily. "I have been a real troublemaker, haven't I?"

"What triggers the symptoms?"

"Actually, lack of iron. We need a greater amount of it than Humans 
do." Spock looked confused. "Then why did you..." Sam interrupted 
him. "Storage somehow alters the chemical structure of blood and 
is of no use. And besides, we vampires feed on life force too."

"Aha. Can anything be done?"

Sam bit her lip. "Actually there's one thing that would help." She 
hesitated. "But I don't think anyone would be too thrilled of the idea."

"What would it be?"

"I'd have to drink someone's blood. Fresh and warm."

Spock didn't speak for a while. When he did, he sounded somewhat... Vulcanly astonished. 

"I can understand your reluctance to speak. But I might know someone 
willing to help." Sam lifted her head and looked into Spock's eyes. 
She was the only one on board with equally hypnotising look. "You do?" 

"Yes. Captain Kirk is known to be most co-operating in many things."

"Do you really think he'd do it?"

"I am almost certain. Among others, he has grown very fond of you."

"Great!" She bit her left thumb. "Among others... I take it that you are one of the 'others'."

"Yes, one could say so."

She smiled, blushing slightly. "Thank you, Spock."

"For what?"

"For being friends with me."

"That is not something one thanks for. Friendship is something that 
grows over times, and being a two-sided agreement, does not require gratitude..."

"Believe me, Spock. I think it does every once in a while."

**********

Later on, Spock asked Jim, and he agreed. McCoy was cast in the part of a supervisor.

**********

"Are you sure that you can do this?"

"You said that it isn't dangerous, and Spock says you'll die if 
this isn't done. And I don't want to lose a valuable officer - and 
friend. Besides, we're under his watchful gaze", Jim said, nodding to Bones. 

"One more time, just to be sure. You're not going to make him vampire, aren't you?"

"No, turning into a vampire would require not just me to drink his 
blood, but him to drink mine too. He'll be perfectly safe. And in 
case of an accident, the process can be reversed when it's not yet complete."

"So it's all right for me then. The rest is up to Jim."

"Oh well, here we go", he said nervously. "Will I feel anything?"

"Yes, pleasant pain." Sam licked her left fang.

"How pain can be pleasant?"

"You'll see."

Sam pulled Jim closer and wrapped her arms around him. Jim, instinctively, 
got a grip on her slim waist. He was breathing heavily. Perhaps 
it was Sam's exotic vampire pheromones, or the early night lightning, 
or both, what made him become aroused. He really wished that Sam 
wasn't close enough to feel his state. She'd insisted this to be 
done in the night, because she required both darkness and privacy. 
He felt her warm breath on his neck. He tilted his head to reveal 
his neckvein, pulsating of excitement. 

Sam’s eyes glowed red. She had been suffering for too long. Now 
the pain was over. She felt something in her mouth, like a memory 
of a taste, a sensation she'd been longing for years.

She tasted Jim’s neck with her lips and tongue, exploring for the teeth. 

Jim was aroused, thoroughly. And it did not help at all that Sam 
shifted against his groin, brushing her hips against him through 
the separating pieces of uniform fabric. Now he finally understood 
the power linked to the vampires. Her mere presence was enough to 
make him feel a little uncomfortable, but to experience this in full force…

Bones observed them with what was supposed to be the eyes of a professional 
medic, but he couldn't help being more than mildly curious. Sam 
had been very tight-lipped about the habits of her people, and he 
could see why. If everyone knew, they'd be running down the corridors 
screaming every time she walked by. 

Sam opened her mouth and sank her teeth into his jugular vein. Jim 
gasped.  Jim felt 
a pulse of sexually charged pain from Sam's toothmarks striking 
through his whole body like a lightning. And it made him even harder. 
His red blood was flowing out from the two holes in his neck, and 
his arousal would flow out also any second now.

Sam drank with the passion of a starving being. She sucked his élan 
vital like she hadn't been eating in decades. The taste, the mere 
smell of blood made him to want more and more. This was exactly what she had needed.

Jim was feeling his blood escaping. He tightened his grip on Sam's waist. 

She felt his body stiffen, so she took one last sip and let go. 
She closed her eyes and tossed her head lightly backwards. Blood 
was dripping from the sides of her mouth. Jim’s knees buckled and 
Bones grabbed him, seating him on the edge of his bed. 

Bones pressed Jim's neck to stop the bleeding. 

"How are you feeling?"

Jim held his eyes closed. "Couldn't feel better."

Sam licked her lips for the last drops of Jim's blood.

"Thank you. You are the best I've ever had."

"The pleasure was all mine. It was a... stimulating experience."

Bones wiped the blood off Jim’s neck and started treating the wounds. 

"Sam, these aren't closing."

"Yes, a vampire's bite is the one of the few things in which the 
modern technology can't affect on. They'll heal naturally, but you'll 
have to carry the stigmas of my... meal for a while. But you're 
the only one so far to survive alive."

"I'll carry these proudly", he promised. He touched his wet shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I stained your shirt. Here, let me take it off", 
she said, opening his zipper.

"No, really, you don't have to..." he objected, fearing that Sam might see how
her drinking affected on him. Despite that, Sam removed his shirt.

Bones had completed his tricorder readings over Jim.

"You drank almost half a litre. You really were thirsty."

"One could say so. But you must rest now. Thanks, Bones", she said 
and hugged him warmly. Jim stood up.

"And thank you." Sam and Jim embraced gently.

"By the way," whispered Sam in Jim's ear, "don't be embarrassed. It happens to everyone."

She walked out, her lips still red of Jim’s blood.

**********

"Do I dare to ask what happens to everyone?" Bones inquired.

"No," said Jim, "no, you don't."

He smiled.

 

The End