DISCLAIMER: It's Paramount's galaxy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: P/1. Takes place immediately after the events of "The Cage" (original series pilot). Captain Pike consults with his First Officer concerning Star Fleet Command's issuance of General Order 7 regarding contact with Talus IV, or is there something else on his mind?
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BREAKFAST DATE
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The Starfleet Lieutenant frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Her grey eyes seemed to be frowning as well. She shook her head swirling her black hair about and attempted to change her expression entirely with a wide grin. No, that's not right. It didn't fit her at all. She shook her head again, this time a little dismayed, and frowned once more.
The words of the Talosian magistrate echoed in her mind. He had said that although she seemed to lack emotion, it was only a pretense. For a species that could read your mind, of course the magistrate would know. She had become very good at concealing her feelings and emotions. Hell, Spock, who was half-Vulcan, often displayed more emotion than she did. But she was only human after all. Of course she had emotions. The infuriating thing about it was that the magistrate had said it all in front of the Captain.
And then, of course, there was the other thing the magistrate had said...
She shook her head more forcefully this time. She didn't want to think about that. How absolutely mortifying. What must the Captain think of her now? And to make matters worse, the 'young and strong' Yeoman Colt goes and asks him who he would have chosen as Eve… And what exactly did the Magistrate mean by 'unusually strong female drives' anyway? Thank God the day shift ended shortly thereafter and she could retreat to the privacy of her quarters.
She again regarded her reflection and narrowed her eyes. First in her class at the Academy. Runner up for the Daystrom Prize with her work in applied quantum chromodynamics. She couldn't help but wonder … who would the Captain have chosen?
Just then the chime to the door of her quarters sounded. She stiffened. Usually a visit after duty hours meant something was wrong. As First Officer of the Enterprise, many of the day to day problems fell upon her to resolve. Undoubtedly the head of one of the various departments wanted to speak about a personnel issue, or a scheduling problem, or a requisition request, or any number of things urgent or not. These late night visits had become more frequent since the unfortunate events that occurred during the Rigel Seven mission. It was a difficult time. Three crewmen were killed and many others wounded. She noticed just today that Spock was still limping from the injuries he sustained.
She took a deep breath and turned to face the door. "Enter."
When the door swished open, however, it wasn't a department head at all. She immediately stood. "Captain!" It was the first time he had ever come to her quarters and she couldn't hide her surprise.
Pike seemed surprised as well by her response. Obviously he wasn't used to seeing his First Officer startled. His piercing blue eyes darted about the quarters to assess the situation, but just as quickly returned to her. "Number One," he replied hesitantly. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
She swiftly recovered her composure. The Captain had gotten into the habit of calling her 'Number One' in reference to her position aboard Enterprise. Her last name was apparently too difficult for him to pronounce correctly, and the rest of the crew apparently agreed and also seemed relieved, immediately picking up on it and calling her Number One as well. "Not at all sir." She straightened her uniform and took a step forward. Thankfully she hadn't started getting prepared for sleep.
Pike raised a clipboard he was holding. "I just got word back from Starfleet Command," he said, becoming more at ease. "They've agreed with our recommendation and are even planning to issue a General Order to that effect."
"A General Order," Number One replied thoughtfully. "That is a significant development, the last such order was released over three years ago."
"This will be only the seventh general order since the beginning of Starfleet," Pike commented. "I think they're going a little overboard with the penalty for violation, but I suppose if our initial observations have motivated them to issue a General Order so quickly, they're probably concerned about the possibility of the Talosians leaving their system."
"And so they should be," Number One replied. "Although the Talosians now say they wish no contact with other species, with their mastery of illusion, they could quickly become a grave threat. And as they suggested, if another species were to obtain a similar capability, it would destabilize the whole quadrant. The only question is, how far their illusions can be cast. Is quarantining just their system enough?"
"A good question," Pike responded. "Starfleet Command wants us to write a full report as soon as possible, and I want my best officer spearheading the effort. Include all your concerns and observations. I want a thorough job."
Number One nodded crisply. "I'll start consolidating the depositions from the crew immediately."
Pike handed her the clipboard, but hesitated in the threshold for a moment, something else obviously on his mind.
"Is there something else sir?"
Pike frowned and nodded slowly. "Yes there is. Earlier, before everything happened on Talos IV, I made an offhand comment about not being able to get used to having a woman on the bridge in reference to my new yeoman."
Not only that, he had then turned to her and said she herself was 'different, of course.' Whatever that meant. The thought of it made her bristle, but she concealed her anger and dismay. Now she could think of many things she wished she had said in reply at the time. Why did that always seem the case?
Pike seemed to guess what she was thinking and added, "And that other comment I made. They were both out of line. I could blame it on habits I formed while serving on some Earth Cargo Service vessels when I was young, but that's no excuse. There's no place for that on a Starfleet vessel and I apologize."
That was nice to hear.
"Further, I want you to know I picked you to be my First Officer because you were the most qualified and best person for the job. I meant it when I said you were the ship's most experienced officer."
"I appreciate that sir."
Pike nodded, apparently satisfied with his mea culpa. He backed out into the corridor and then seemed to hesitate again. There was yet another thing on his mind. He had all sorts of surprises tonight. "I, ah… Doctor Boyce and I usually have breakfast together in the Captain's Mess. We use the time to discuss the crew's health and morale."
Boyce was Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer. He and Pike had served together in their previous assignment before Pike was promoted to Captain and took command of the Enterprise. From what she had heard, Pike had by-name requested Boyce for this current position much the same way he had requested her as First Officer. "Sounds like a productive use of time," Number One responded, not entirely sure where the Captain was going, but feeling a response of some sort was expected.
"Anyway," Pike continued. "Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to start joining us."
This was unexpected. The Captain's Mess was relatively small, meant for only two to eat comfortably at a time. Adding a third would make things slightly more crowded. It would, of course, be perfectly natural for the First Officer to dine with the Captain, just as it was for the Doctor.
"We meet at oh six hundred each day," Pike concluded with a nod of his head. He seemed relieved to have gotten it all out.
Number One nodded back. "That's an excellent idea, sir. I can bring the draft of the Talos report to review."
Pike brightened at the suggestion. "Very good. So I'll see you tomorrow morning at oh six hundred." He sure seemed eager for a confirmation.
"It's a date," Number One responded carelessly and then inwardly cringed at that particular reference. Why in space had she chosen that appellation to apply to the proposed breakfast meeting? Could she make her desires more obvious and embarrass herself in any other way this day?
Pike, however, didn't flinch but instead smiled and may have even chuckled. "Number One," he said in parting before turning and heading down the corridor.
"Captain."
Was that twinkle in his eye after that final interchange in her imagination? Starfleet regulations on fraternization precluded pursuing any open relationship between her and the Captain, at least while she remained his subordinate. That would not always be the case, however. Might the Captain be interested in her as well? He might very well be as practiced at hiding his feelings and emotions as she was.
Perhaps she had discovered the Captain's choice for Eve after all…
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THE END
Author's note: I think the original pilot is far superior to the second pilot. I often wonder how the Star Trek franchise would have developed if the original pilot had been accepted with Pike and Number One as Captain and First Officer. Would this have been the progenitor to the Captain/First Officer romantic tension plots we saw in later series? Anywho, this particular fanfiction story was the third I intended to write when I first started writing fan fiction (after a C/7 story and an A/TP story) but only got around to it now. Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review and let me know what you think.