Ensign Julia Hyland woke up with a headache and a dull pain all along her right side. Squinting her eyes open, she was assaulted with bright lights and a strong smell of disinfectant, leading her to conclude that she was in the Medical Bay. She quickly went to sit up, but a firm hand pushed her back down.
"Hey there, just take it easy for a bit," a man's voice said, and Julia heard a slight whirring sound as the bed slowly started to raise up so that she was in a sitting position.
She looked towards the voice, letting out a short gasp as she saw who it was. Her hand automatically raised up to form a salute, though she couldn't quite complete it due to a twinge of pain. "Captain!"
"It's alright, just relax. You just spent a lot of time under a dermal regenerator, and I can't imagine that you're feeling one hundred percent yet," Captain Kirk said.
Julia nodded, slowly bringing her hand to lay by her side. "If you don't mind me asking, sir," she started tentatively, "what are you doing here?"
"I was informed of the minor explosion in Engineering by Mr. Scott, and came down to check up on things myself." He flashed her a grin. "Besides, what kind of Captain would I be if I didn't check up on my crew?"
Julia thought back to the incident. She had been on Alpha shift in Engineering. The warp core had been damaged due to a recent run in with the Borg, in addition to numerous other repairs, and everyone had a very large workload. She was so focused on getting to her next task that she almost didn't notice something off about one of the power couplings. When Julia went over to investigate, she saw that it was overloading. Seeing that it was too late to try to stop it, she quickly glanced around and saw two other Ensigns, Robert Carrick and Brynni Vhuna, coming her way. Without thinking, she ran at them, shielding them with her body and pulling them down just as the coupling exploded. The last thing she could remember was the pain before the world had faded to black.
"Sir, there were two others caught in the explosion with me, are they okay?"
The Captain's expression became more serious. "Ensigns Carrick and Vhuna are just fine; they came away from the incident with a few minor burns. Mr. Scott informs me that if it weren't for your quick thinking, they would currently be in critical condition, if not worse."
Julia blushed slightly at the praise, but was soon overwhelmed with guilt. "I'm so sorry sir, I should have been more observant. I should have noticed the power coupling long before it became critical, if I had then this never would have happened."
"More observant?" The Captain asked her, with a expression Julia couldn't identify quickly flashing across his face. "If it weren't for your observational skills, you'd be dead, and it's most likely that Ensigns Carrick and Vhuna would be too. Mistakes happen, but that situation was not something that you could have prevented."
"Yes, sir." Julia replied, looking down at her hands.
"You performed admirably considering the circumstances." Captain Kirk stood up. "It's almost time for my shift. Just know that you are not at fault for anything. Don't blame yourself for something you couldn't control; rather, you should be proud of your actions. You did well."
The Captain started to walk away. "I wish you a very speedy recovery, Lieutenant."
"Excuse me, sir?" Julia asked, and the Captain paused near the door. "I'm sorry, it's just, I'm an Ensign, not a Lieutenant."
"I haven't made a mistake, Miss Hyland. Your observational skills and quick thinking saved the lives of yourself and two others today. Every one of your performance reports consistently note your remarkable work ethic and the superb execution of your duties. I've been thinking about promoting you for a while now, but this event has solidified my decision. We could use more officers like you, especially higher up in command."
Julia could only sit there in amazement, her mouth slightly open in shock. She'd never quite thought that she was important enough to gain the attention of the Chief Engineer, let alone the Captain of the ship. Eventually she was able to get her brain working enough to stutter out a small, "Thank you, sir."
"Get well soon, Miss Hyland." And with that Captain Kirk left the Med Bay.
Everyone always told stories about the charming, humorous, flirtatious man that was Captain James T. Kirk. After the events that had just transpired, however, newly promoted Lieutenant Hyland knew that there was much more to him than the stories led people to believe. She could now see better than ever before that he took his position seriously, and cared about his ship and everyone in it. Never had she felt more confident in her decision to join Starfleet.