ST: Requiem (5/?)

Title: Requiem (chapter five)
Rating: PG-13/T for language, some violence
Genre: Angst, h/c, gen
Characters: The entire ST:XI crew plus some new OCs; Kirk's POV this chapter
Spoilers/warnings: Anything in the movie is up for grabs. Also trying to stick as close to canon as possible for the show, but I haven't watched many. Most of my knowledge is limited to what I've found on (numerous) Web sites, so if I'm off on something, feel free to let me know.
Length: This chapter: approx. 9000 words (yeah... Jim got chatty)
Notes: Sorry I'm late--I couldn't get on to LJ for most of the day. Lots of medical references here. I'm an English major, not a doctor. Ergo, some stuff might be wrong. Let me know if there are issues--I'm always glad to learn more. Also, I didn't have a lot to go on for the mind meld section, so... do with that as you will. This chapter has a lot of inspiration from littlefairy78's Supernatural story "Sleep Eternal", so mega thanks to her for the inspiration (and for letting me use her story as my muse for this story).
Notes the second: Some bad news on the posting front--I'm going on vacation next weekend, and due to the sudden increase of activity in my social life (I have one of those? Who knew?) it's going to be impossible for me to finish another chapter before I leave. Therefore, the next chapter will be posted July 31. Hopefully the length of this chapter, plus the one or two oneshots I'll be posting next week, will make up for the long wait.

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

( He was walking with Sulu when everything changed. )