Chapter Seven

                A princess?! A freaking PRINCESS? You’ve GOT to be shitting me. I shouted internally as I left Spock’s office. It’s a good thing I’d already started getting used to calling him Spock in my head instead of professor or commander because, after that meeting I wouldn’t have been able to continue to do so. If hell does indeed exist it was surely a cold day there, for I have witnessed a Vulcan go mad. And yet, I KNEW he was telling the truth. I KNEW it in my bones.

                I must have been walking pretty fast down the hallway too caught in my own thoughts because sure enough I ran straight into someone. Someone I had never seen before yet found his presence oddly familiar.

                “Oh my god! I am SO sorry!” I apologized in abject horror as I began to stand again. I had not only run RIGHT into this random person, but knocked both of us over in the process.

                “It is I who should apologize,” random guy started as he too stood up, gathering his things from the hall floor.

                I stared at him, dumfounded, with an eyebrow raised in confusion. “And just why is that Mr. uh?”

                “Kayden. Kayden Ross.” He replied by extending his hand. I grasped his and physically gasped as I received a cold shock from the contact and quickly withdrew my hand.

                “I’m Aila, Aila Mor. And what do you possibly have to apologize for? I was the one who ran into YOU. I am so very sorry again, I was not paying attention and I should have been.” I just stared at him again. He had the strangest yellow eyes. Not human, but strikingly hypnotizing nonetheless. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t give him a once over, because I did. Kayden Ross was a GOD. He was tall, broad shouldered, muscular even through his red cadet uniform, and the jawline of a Greek god. Although far from the typical coloring of a Greek god, he had stark white hair drawn tied back and a bluish tint to his skin. He may not be human, but he was gorgeous, it was almost enough to make me forget the distasteful feeling I had when our hands touched only a moment ago.

                “I should be the one giving apology for how dare I stand in the way of such beauty?” He looked me in the eyes intently, it was distracting, hypnotic, and left me blushing coupled with his eloquent compliment.

                “I knew you looked familiar! I saw you the other day in the mess hall. Is that where you are going now, to lunch?” I asked as realization dawned on me along a feeling of unease I attempted to squash.

                “In fact I am, would you do me the honor of accompanying me Ms. Mor?” He asked, still gazing intently in my eyes as if he were searching for something.

                “I would be delighted. It is, after all, the least I can do for running into you and knocking you over.” I responded by locking my arm in his, careful not to touch any skin again, and we headed towards the mess hall.

                “So what year are you? I don’t remember seeing you often around the academy.” I asked him as I located the table Tasha was sitting at and headed in her direction, Kayden in tow.

                “I am in my final year. I transferred from the campus in London about two weeks ago.” He answered, but I could sense he wasn’t telling me the truth, or at least not exactly the truth anyway.

                “Oh? Why at the beginning of a semester? That must be hard.”

                “My grandfather lives in San Francisco and became gravely ill. I wished to be nearer him.” I didn’t get a chance to reply because Tasha saw us at that exact moment.

                “Aila! Did you fail a test or something? That took FOREVER!” She exclaimed as we sat down at the table she was occupying with Dr. McCoy and the famous Captain Kirk, who was just staring at me and Kayden. “Look who decided to join us for lunch, I mean, we already ate, but I told Leo I had to wait for you.”

                “Ms. Mor.” Dr. McCoy nodded in my direction, quieter than usual. “How ya feeling darlin’?”

                “Fine.” I replied, not wanting to go into anything else with present company around. “Guys, this is Kayden Ross, I ran into him quite brutally in the hall and knocked him over.” Everyone said their hellos and exchanged names through fits of laughter.

                “Only you would catch a guy by knocking him down, Aila!” Tasha exclaimed.

                “So, Tasha was just telling Bones and me about how you’re going to be singing in the academy’s talent show soon. Wanna do a duet?” Kirk winked at me.

                “Jim!” McCoy exclaimed, obviously catching onto his intentions.

                “I don’t know what lies my best friend has been telling you, Captain, but I am NOT going to be participating in said talent show. I am far too busy.” I responded.

                “It’s Jim. Can’t have you calling me captain if I’m asking you if you’re too busy for a date.” Kirk replied, of course trying to get me to go out with him.

                “Yes, and even if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be going out with you anyway.” I retorted rolling my eyes. “I thought there was a rumor circulating that you promised someone you weren’t going to be hitting on cadets now.”

                “Yeah yeah yeah.” He said just when his communicator beeped notifying him of a text. He looked down for less than a minute his face growing serious then looked back up. “Well looks like I gotta get going.” He glanced at McCoy who shared a look with him before he turned back to me. “I’ll get a date out of you yet Ms. Mor, cadet or not. Your best friend is obviously dating my friend, and he was her professor last semester, so I see no reason why I can’t take you out.” And with that last comment he left.

                “Why is a Starfleet captain dining in the academy’s mess hall with cadets?” Kayden finally spoke when Kirk left.

                “He likes to come eat here to look at the women.” McCoy responded nonchalantly. “Well, I better get going myself, knowing the look he just gave me, something is brewing.” McCoy turned to Tasha then, departing after a quick peck on the cheek.

                “So what was the meeting with Professor Spock about?” Tasha asked me.

                “I didn’t fail a test.” I said, hoping to evade answering, as I didn’t want to lie to my best friend, but there was something in my gut saying I shouldn’t tell her about anything right now.

                “Oh I know that! You couldn’t fail a test if you slept through it!” She replied as she started gathering her empty tray. “I gotta get going anyway, don’t need to be late to Commander Matheson’s physics class…God forbid. Catch ya later.” And with that last statement Tasha departed the table leaving me alone with Kayden.

                We sat in silence while eating our meal together. Which was probably a good thing as the unease I felt earlier slowly grew to overpower the slight feeling of memorization that came with looking Kayden in the eyes. Finally, when I had finished my meal I decided to excuse myself from Kayden’s presence, the overwhelming instinct to run barely being contained.

                “I need to go and work on classwork. Have a good day.” I said to Kayden, not waiting for a reply, as I rapidly gathered my trash and my bag, doing all I could not to run. I headed straight for Spock’s classroom as I left the mess hall.

                I knew Spock was currently teaching a class, but I couldn’t help myself, I needed to talk to him as soon as possible. I entered the quiet classroom noticing that cadets were hard at work focusing on their PADDs and doing calculations. I looked to Spock’s desk where he was sitting seeing he had noticed my intrusion. I silently motioned towards his office while whispering it, knowing he would hear what I said while the cadets would not, and headed towards his office.

SPOCK

                I looked up as I heard the doors of my classroom open and saw a familiar face. Cadet Aila Mor. I tried to reason why she would attempt to disrupt my advanced physics class as she should have been either at lunch or studying during her free period when I noticed a very human look of panic on her face. She whispered the single word office, knowing that I would hear her whisper, and made her way there quickly. It was only logical that I follow her and investigate the cause of her distress.

                “You appear to be distressed, cadet Mor. What has caused you to be in this state?” I asked as I sat down behind my desk, motioning to her to sit in the chair across from me.

                “Spock,” she started, breathing quite heavily, “I don’t know what’s going on with me…”

                “Calm yourself. Take slow deep breaths and then calmly explain your situation.” I looked at her and was admittedly puzzled. I tried to send her calm through the weak link that still remained as I felt her sheer panic. There seemed to be no logical cause for her panic. As she her breathing slowed she looked me in the eyes, pleadingly.

                “Thank you, commander,” she began, and I nodded back, knowing it would be futile to inform her that her thanks were unnecessary, “do you know Cadet Ross, Kayden Ross, third year cadet, supposedly transferred from the small London campus?” She asked, while not as distraught, still clearly upset.

                “I do not believe I am aware of a Cadet Kayden Ross who is attending the academy at this time. I am most certainly not aware of a transfer student from the London campus at all.” I replied raising my eyebrow in question. “Is this Cadet Ross the person who has caused you to run into my class in panic?”

                “I don’t know how to explain it. I get you don’t do emotions and stuff, but I ran into this guy after I left from talking with you, and it was just weird.”

                “Please explain further.” He sounded in a cold calculating voice, however I could somehow sense his worry. Spock was worried?

                “I felt…uneasy at first, but when we locked eyes it was like I was hypnotized. I still felt uneasy underneath, but it was like is was masked. Well the hypnotizing feeling began to wear off while we were eating and I started to feel panicked. There wasn’t any reason for it, I just KNEW I had to get out of there. So I practically ran from the mess hall to here.” She paused, catching her breath a moment before she continued, “Kayden Ross….there’s something wrong with him. I don’t know how I know, but he isn’t who he says he is. And if YOU weren’t aware of him as a transfer cadet….something bad is going on here.” I looked at her, thinking through what she was trying to say. Although her reactions and explanation seemed quite emotional, she had arrived at a logical conclusion. I needed to find out more about this Cadet Ross.

                “I will look into the matter” I simply replied, knowing that her abnormal reaction of panic was probably a developing ability, and that this Cadet Kayden Ross was probably not a cadet at all. He was, most logically, a spy. The timing of his arrival and Aila’s unlocking were to convenient to be a coincident.

                “Spock…I think I’m going crazy.” She said, her eyes watering. She was in fact not going crazy, I should tell her, but how to broach the subject without causing even more alarm?