A/N: One new character in here, she was in my story Target Practice, which is really short so if you want to read it to find out her background then you can through my bio. Just incase it's confusing her name is Crewman Angela Robertson (Malcolm calls her Ela because she hates Angela and he refuses to call her Angie). Anyway on with the Story!


Run of The Ship: Chapter 1

"Malcolm I really don't think this is necessary." The captain said exasperatedly as he glanced over the pad of excessively extensive security measures Malcolm had put together. Malcolm frowned at him.

"Sir, just because someone smiles and acts friendly doesn't mean we should trust them." Malcolm said stiffly and watched the captain roll his eyes with increasing irritation. "And the fact that they've agreed to help us out with routine repairs free of charge is more than reason to be suspicious . . ." he continued.

"Malcolm!" The captain interrupted. "I get the point." He sighed heavily and looked at Malcolm resignedly as if he were about to hand over his water polo ball or something of the sort. "Implement your security measures Lieutenant but minimise the number of personnel onboard please, I'll be checking myself. And make sure you rotate them so everyone gets a chance to go down to the surface."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir." he said.

"Dismissed." The captain said handing the padd. back to Malcolm.

Malcolm was on his way back to the armoury, not looking where he was going and reading through his security suggestions. Enterprise was docked in an alien space station around Lerackia, and the Lerackians had offered to help them out by assisting them in some repairs. They had cheerfully said that none of the crew would be needed for the duration of the repairs and that they were quite welcome to take some shore leave on the planet.

Malcolm scowled. Like they were going to leave their ship in the hands of some strange aliens they had just met. What kind of fools did they take them for? But then again with the Captain making introductions . . .

So deep in thought was Malcolm that he didn't here someone calling his name until they were right behind him.

"Malcolm!" he jumped in shock and glared at his assailant.

"Don't do that Commander." He grumbled

"Sorry you were in your own little dream world there." Trip grinned. Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Was there something you required?" he asked.

"Just wanted to know who you wanted to keep onboard? Who I need to assign to engineering?" he asked. Malcolm contemplated this for a minute, mentally going over those of the engineering staff who had prevailed in their target practice lessons.

"Crewmen Rostov and Robertson would work." Trip frowned at him.

"Robertson?"

"Yes."

"You'll be staying on board right?"

"Yes." Trip frowned and repeated.

"Robertson?"

"Yes Robertson. Do you have a problem with that? If you want to assign someone else . . ." Malcolm trailed off as they approached the armoury door.

"What? No of course not."

"Confident in her abilities then?"

"Yeah. That's fine I'll tell her.." He said and still frowning walked back the way he came. Malcolm smirked at his back.


"Have fun Malcolm." The Captain said as he walked down the gangway to the shuttlepod.

"And you sir." Malcolm responded.

"Have fun?" he heard Robertson whisper incredulously by his side. He ignored her.

"Enjoy your patrolling Malcolm." Trip said and grinned at them as he passed and walked down the gangway to the shuttlepod. Malcolm heard more incredulous muttering about senior offices on happy pills and smirked slightly. He turned round and headed for the exit, looked back and noticed she hadn't moved.

"C'mon Ela, we don't want the bay to depressurise with you in it, now do we?" he asked sweetly. She glared at him and followed him out.

"So, where do you want me?" she asked.

"Engineering. You'll be by yourself for the most part, think you can handle it?"

"Of course. What about the others?"

"Rostov is with the Lerackian repair team with Kelly, Travis is on the bridge, me in the armoury."

"Wow, don't think this ship has ever been this empty." She commented.

"Hm." Malcolm didn't say anything, she'd stated exactly what was worrying him.

"Oh don't even go there. I know paranoia is generally a good quality for a security officer to have but you take it a little too far Malcolm." She said as she turned the corner and he walked straight on.

"Hm." Was all she got as a response.


Angela was humming absentmindedly to herself. This was rather boring really, just making sure everything was running correctly, Commander Tucker had made sure everything was temporarily set up to work on its own, all she had to do was make sure it stayed that way. Boring.

What she wouldn't give for a bit of excitement. Warp core breach. Depolarisation of the nacelles. Restriction in the plasma flow. Broken light bulb . . .

She sighed and leant back on the railing and looked at the screen in front of here. Surprise, surprise, no change. She sighed again. Unzipping her pocket she pulled out a padd. and began to read her copy of Harry Potter and the Horcrux Collector. She wondered what Malcolm would say if he saw her reading when she should be looking at the unchanging screens.

Hearing the door open she turned round expecting to see Malcolm, but didn't.

"Oh, you're early, I didn't think you were supposed to be here until - " she didn't get any further as the Lerackian pulled out a weapon and shot her in the chest and she fell to the deck, unconscious.


Malcolm frowned as he felt the ship jump to warp. The aliens had to have commandeered the ship, he thought frantically as he practically ran over to the weapons locker. He paused remembering what Ela had said earlier, maybe he was just being paranoid, she probably just hit a wrong button down in engineering or something. Malcolm snorted at himself, who was he kidding?

Grabbing two phase pistols, holstering one and holding the other he went back to the console he'd been working at and did an internal scan of the ship. Three human bio-signs in the brig, two Lerackians outside it. There were three Lerackians on the bridge, two in engineering and one in a turbolift along with another human, presumably on the way to the brig.

He quickly disabled the internal sensors - he'd have to edit that wit in his report as he wasn't really supposed to be able to do that - and planned a route that would hopefully jeep him clear of the Lerackians, and leave him with quick escape route incase he did.

He stealthily made his way down the corridors and grinned at the idea of Robertson being the damsel in distress. He was going to enjoy this


Please Review and tell me what you think! I got 6 weeks off now, so if you like it it will most certainly be continued!