Alpha Carena V
While it had almost required dragging him off kicking and screaming, James Tiberius Kirk was on shore leave. He was not to do anything but relax for two weeks, during which the Enterprise would continue on its mission under the command of its first officer Mr. Spock. McCoy and Spock respectively assured him that it was psychologically necessary and that he would be immediately given back command of his ship upon his return, and he reluctantly left for his prescribed vacation.
The second his leave was up, Kirk called up the Enterprise to demand that they beam him up as soon as the ship entered orbit. Lieutenant Uhura told him that Dr. McCoy, Mr. Spock, and Miss Michaels would be meeting him in the transporter room, which confused him slightly. He didn't press at the moment, as he was too anxious to return to his ship, but it nagged in the back of his mind as he waited in the picturesque garden for Scotty to get within range. As far as he knew, there was no girl on his ship named Michaels, and certainly none who was close enough to Spock to be allowed anywhere near him while he worked. The second he appeared on the ship, however, the thought was driven out of his mind in a very painful manner.
"Ow! Jeez, Bones, could that have possibly been any more painful? Don't- don't answer that."
Scowling and rubbing the spot the hypo of some vaccine or another had so rudely injured, the captain looked around and noticed something off.
"Hey, where's Spock? Uhura said that he'd be here with-"
Kirk was cut short by the arrival of his first officer, looking slightly annoyed at himself for lateness and followed quite closely by a rather young, very pretty ensign. Spock didn't seem to notice that she was walking and standing closer to him than even Uhura had before she had broken up with him. Something about it didn't sit right with Kirk, but he supposed that since both of them were on a Starfleet ship, they were clearly responsible adults able to make their own decisions. In theory.
"Mr. Spock. I assume that this would be the Miss Williams that Uhura mentioned? I must say that you and Lieutenant Marcus would make quite a pretty team in the science department."
He flashed the girl his best winning smile and her face flushed pink before she stepped out from behind the first officer to snap a salute.
"Ensign Anne Michaels reporting for duty and requesting assignment, sir."
Kirk shot Spock a questioning look, and the commander explained with a slight look of exasperation at the ignorance of his human crewmates.
"We picked her up when ensign Burrows decided to retire early. I deemed it logical to allow the officer most frequently in command of the ship to allocate any and all personnel that will be staying on board for an extended period of time."
"How thoughtful, Mr. Spock."
"Merely a practice of logic, sir."
Kirk and McCoy rolled their eyes at each other in response to the first officer's characteristic Vulcan response to questions. Stepping down off the platform, the captain gave the new girl a once-over.
"All right, then. Where are you from, ensign?"
"Alpha Carena V, sir."
"And this is your first assignment aboard a starship?"
"Yes, sir."
Looking her up and down, Kirk noted the color of her uniform and the insignia denoting ensign Michaels as a science officer. Since she was a new girl, the best place for a science officer to start out was probably the research bay.
"All right, then. I think that the best place for you would be-"
The girl shot a pleading look at Spock, who then uncharacteristically interrupted his captain without warning.
"If I may make a recommendation, captain. The girl has been working at my station, assisting me, since she joined the crew. It would be beneficial to both of our continued productivities if she continued to work on the bridge."
Kirk stared at Spock for a long moment. He never interceded on anybody's behalf, let alone a new girl not on the crew for even a month, but nothing seemed wrong with the half-Vulcan. Even so, it was most unlike Spock to change his mind so suddenly on an issue. He said he didn't want to presume to assign someone to a position when that was the captain's job, but he had just about insisted that the ensign be allowed to work with him on the bridge. Shrugging off the growing unease, Kirk relented.
"Recommendation noted, Mr. Spock. Ensign Michaels, from this point on you are to assist Commander Spock in performing his duties on the bridge. Speaking of, unless Bones here is going to stick me with another hypo I suggest we get to work."
They dispersed, but despite his best efforts Kirk was unable to shake his bad feeling about Miss Anne Michaels. Through talking to other members of the bridge crew, he found that she and Spock had been almost inseparable since he had picked her as Burrows's replacement. After a week of Spock and the Carenian doing everything together but sleeping and bathing, Kirk snapped and decided to include Bones in his investigation.
"Why do you want me to pull her medical records? As far as I can tell, her performance has been exemplary, and nobody but you seems to be able to find any fault in her. Hell, even Spock likes the girl!"
"Look, she just gives me a bad feeling, okay? Captain's intuition is telling me that that girl is trouble, and that something's up with her and Spock spending so much time together."
"Jim, I'm not going to authorize anything on that basis."
The computer chirped, and Kirk beamed at his senior medical officer's groan when the new ensign's records since the day she joined Starfleet appeared on a viewscreen. Genius-level repeat offenders had a tendency to hack ship computers and set the voice commands to more appealing settings than the ones provided, and the med-bay was no exception. McCoy shut it down before he could get past the first few lines, but that was enough for the captain.
"Apparently, she hasn't eaten a thing since she got onboard. Wouldn't you say that's a bit strange, Bones? Definitely worth looking into!"
"I'll admit it's odd, but everyone needs to eat. I'm sure it was just a computer malfunction, and if you continue to bother me and remain in my office, Jim, I'm going to assume you need a physical!"
The captain cleared out pretty quickly after that, but as he headed back to the bridge a thought occurred to him. As he had briefly thought on his first day back, maybe Spock and Michaels were a couple. The crew's reactions when he'd been poking around lent some credence to that theory, but Carenians of all kinds were emotional creatures. Spock, who Bones affectionately called their living computer every once in a while, would never get involved with anyone so emotional. Then again, he had dated Uhura, so maybe anything was possible.
Over the next month, the rest of the crew seemed to come to the same conclusion he had. Spock called his assistant Anne more frequently than he had ever called anyone by first name, and had even been repeatedly caught smiling in her presence. Kirk tried to just accept what made his friend happy, but something about the girl still grated on the wrong side of his instincts. One day, on the bridge and en-route to Starfleet's most recent crisis, Scotty decided to voice what everyone had been thinking.
"So, lass. You and Mr. Spock, eh? When can we expect the happy news? You are inviting the entire crew, of course."
The ensign looked incredibly confused, and Spock made a look of weary suffering through all of humanity's failures. Turning towards Miss Michaels and carefully avoiding the gaze of anyone else, he explained loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"They are laboring under the misapprehension that the two of us are romantically involved, Anne. Given the amount of time we spend together and the recent effects on my behavior in your presence, it was a logical assumption. However, as we both know full well, it is entirely false."
The ensign's eyes widened in shock, and she blushed pink again.
"Oh! No sir, Mr. Scott, we- we're not- he's not interested in me just in- oh dear, I suppose that I should start from the top, shouldn't I? Back at Alpha Carena V's starbase, I declined to take up a position on any starship that had offered me one. None of their environments were- suitable for me. However, when Commander Spock allowed me a tour of this bridge, I felt right at home. After a brief- discussion with him, he agreed to let me feed here as long as I could be a useful officer in return."
"I knew something was up with you! What do you mean, feed on us?"
"Captain, your anger is illogical. She poses no threat. Miss Michaels, please continue."
Kirk gritted his teeth, and the girl looked physically pained by his distrust before continuing.
"My species, the Drellans, are peaceful. We do not harm any living being, whether flora or fauna, because we feed on the love that others exude. This crew cares so deeply for one another that a whole city of us could live off of your bridge alone. When I informed Mr. Spock of this, he agreed that the logical approach was to prevent my becoming underfed at the starbase and invite me aboard. He instructed me to find the specific person who showed the most ability to- assist me, and then we left to pick up the captain."
The bridge crew stared at the Drellan as one, Chekov with a look on his face that wouldn't be out of place at a Tribble petting zoo, until Sulu broke the stunned silence.
"You looked for the largest source of love on board, and chose Mr. Spock?"
"That's right."
"Look, girlie, I'm a doctor, not an educator, but I'm sure someone must have told you that Vulcans are somewhere near the least emotional beings in the cosmos!"
The ensign looked at the doctor in confusion, and Spock raised a single eyebrow in alarm at the medical officer's misinterpretation of events.
"That's not true at all! Vulcans feel emotions many times more strongly than most other species, but they choose not to show them lest they interfere with their- pardon me, Spock- religion of logic. Spock is half-human as well, making him more susceptible to emotions than the average Vulcan."
Kirk, who had heard enough to understand, chose then to interrupt.
"All right, all right. You two aren't getting together, the ensign's part of a whole species of alien hippies, and everyone here is the best of friends. Now, Spock, I'd like a word with you. Everyone else, back to your work."
The first officer made another face of long-suffering infuriation at human methods before approaching his friend.
"I would assume that you are requesting an explanation of my behavior, captain."
"Yes, Spock, that would be nice. Why did you think it was necessary to hide all of this from me?"
"I assure you, captain, I was hiding nothing. I merely made the decision to let Miss Michaels choose when best to inform you of her unique situation. If you had asked, I assure you that I would have explained in full."
"I don't doubt that, Spock. Return to your post."
The first officer nodded curtly before going back to the science station to prepare for the upcoming mission. Looking around, Kirk felt satisfied that his fears hadn't been entirely groundless. The girl had been using Spock, but it had been harmless, and now he got to tease the commander about being the most loving being aboard the ship. Suddenly, he realized that the Drellan wasn't at her post. Turning around quickly, he saw her standing behind the captain's chair with a smile not so different from the one Chekov had been sporting earlier.
"Are you okay, ensign?"
The girl snapped out of her trance-like state, blinking rapidly.
"Oh yes, sir. Perfectly fine. Better than, in fact. The truth is, captain-"
She blushed even brighter than before, lowering her voice to a point that he was sure only she and the captain could hear.
"Well, I could feed a whole city from this bridge, but between you and Spock alone, I could feed my entire race."
Anne Michaels returned to her post before the captain could formulate a response, and as his wide eyes followed her back to the science station he noticed that the first officer's ears were a bit more green than usual. It was many long minutes before he decided that he and the commander were going to have to have a little chat later about enhanced Vulcan hearing and that he could probably forgive the new girl for any mistakes she might have made.