A/N - I don't usually write two stories at the same time but this little idea wouldn't leave me alone so I thought why not? So anyway here is a little oneshot, Michael and Chris are in a relationship in this short, much like the other AU stories I've written recently. As usual the main theme is hurt/comfort. Enjoy!
"Sir, we're picking up a distress call."
Captain Pike glanced up from the Captain's chair controls to Lieutenant Owosekun; a light frown peppered his forehead. "On screen."
Pike read the information on the main view screen and took in the information swiftly; he soon saw that the distress signal was from a small federation shuttle and that it appeared to be caught in tidal winds. He also noticed that Discovery was by far the closest ship who could handle going against the phenomena.
"Set a course, full speed."
He ordered almost instantly. The who's and why's could come later and when they heading towards the ship in trouble.
"Aye aye, Sir."
An instant later he noted the course change and felt the familiar lurch of the ship heading into warp. He got to his feet and strolled over to the tactical station. Chris wanted to know exactly what they were letting themselves in for.
"What are we heading into?"
He was soon briefed by all the huddled officers and he discovered that the federation shuttle was actually a prison shuttle; it was carrying four prisoners and a contingent of federation prison guards. Their distress call was brief and to the point; they had lost all power and were being buffeted around by the tidal waves. Another hour of the rough treatment and the shuttle would be ripped clean in two. As soon as Chris heard the news he radioed down to engineering and ordered them to push Discovery to its limits in an attempt to reduce their travel time; at this rate it was tight but doable.
Bringing prisoners on board his ship made Chris antsy but there was nothing else for it; not when their shuttle was being buffeted around as it was. Discovery started to make preparations, and a quiet shift had turned into a pretty chaotic one. The Engineering team were being pushed to the limit, what with keeping the power for the warp core and working to increase their shield strength for the rough ride they were flying into. Even a ship the size of Discovery was not immune to such hazardous conditions of the tidal storm.
The security teams were busy cordoning off the shuttle bay and the corridors to the brig. Whilst the transporter would usually have been used for such occasions, sadly the storm they were flying into had changed that. Using the transported in these conditions could cause all sorts of interference, and Chris didn't want to be responsible for losing Starfleet prisoners in a transporter accident, not after rescuing them all from a storm in the first place.
Usually in a situation like this Chris would have been fully briefed on all the people about to come aboard. Sadly they simply didn't have the time to get a hold of detailed information but he did manage to skim the highlights of the four men's records. He grimly learned that they had all been put away for violent crimes, which had been carried out using weapons. So, not ideal.
"Shuttle up ahead, Sir." Detmer called out, pointing out the position on the view screen.
Chris eyed the adrift vehicle nervously; for some reason he had a bad feeling about the entire thing and that wasn't just because Discovery was already being buffeted around by the increasing storm. He grabbed onto the back of the chair as a particularly bad wave hit and bit the bullet.
"Bring it on board Lieutenant."
Knowing his bad feeling would not abate without overseeing the situation in person, Chris pushed off of the chair and headed towards the turbo-lift. "And Bryce, tell the security team to cover the shuttle until I get down there."
"Mr Saru, you have the conn."
He was followed off of the bridge by a series of acknowledgements. Pike stepped into the turbo-lift and collided with Michael who had been stepping off onto the bridge. It just so happened that when they bumped into one another the ship was knocked by another vicious wave. The Captain brought his hands up to catch Michael at the same time as she did so they ended up in some kind of weird embrace, an embrace which was mobile because of the ship's motion.
They both fell backwards into the turbo lift which was thankfully empty. Michael's back hit the back wall and Chris almost tripped over his own feet and ended up essentially falling into Burnham's arms. When they stopped moving and the ship became stable he smiled unabashed at her then pushed himself off of the wall. Michael smiled back, her face was flushed and there was an amused glint to her eyes. The flush had most likely been caused by the close proximity and also because of the embarrassing situation.
"Hey." Chris beamed warmly. When Michael still held onto him tightly he glanced down at her firm grip on his chest.
Michael snapped out of the moment and released her hands; she smoothed down his uniform and smiled back nervously. "Hey, yourself."
Pike stepped back completely out of Michael's space and moved to stand side by side with her, and he called out to the lift to take him down to the shuttle bay. He suddenly remembered that Michael had been trying to exit onto the bridge, before they had been interrupted. He also noticed that she was glancing at the doors of the lift nervously, and he knew she was worried that people had seen that little display.
Whilst the majority of the crew knew that they were dating Michael didn't like showing it whilst they were on duty, well honestly neither did Pike. They always kept it professional on the bridge and whilst they were in uniform, as was expected of them.
"Relax." He joked. "I don't think anyone saw you leap into your Captain's arms."
Michael's eyes widened dramatically and she opened her mouth to snap back at him until she noticed his smirk and realised he was joking. She sighed and slapped him on the arm playfully. "I think you'll find you fell into my arms."
Pike grinned brazenly. "A likely story." He sobered when the ship rocked again and he remembered the seriousness of the situation he was about to walk into. "Sorry for diverting you from the bridge, the lift will be all yours in a sec."
"I was actually coming to see what was happening with the prison shuttle."
"Oh." Chris replied, taken aback. "Well that's where I'm heading now. We're just bringing it aboard."
Michael stared at him and frowned after what she saw. "And why does a Captain need to greet prisoners?"
Why did he suddenly feel like he was about to be given a dressing down? The way Michael was looking at him right now reminded him of the way his mom used to look at him, or Number One. Hell, if Number One was here there was no way she would allow him anywhere near the prison shuttle, but she wasn't here and he made his own choices; he followed his gut.
"Since it's an unscheduled pick-up with some pretty dangerous prisoners in the middle of a space storm, and I have a bad feeling about the whole thing." He rattled off holding her stern scolding glare the entire time. He'd had years of practise facing down Una. Michael, bless her, didn't stand a chance.
"Anything else?" He tacked on the end and threw her a dazzling smile.
Michael shook her head and laughed incredulously. She studied him again and then strangely stayed silent. She moved to stand by his side, it didn't escape his notice that she was standing straighter and staring directly forward. "Then I'm coming too."
Chris went to open his mouth to object to such stupidity when he realised that was exactly what Michael wanted; she would turn his own words back on him. And she knew it too. Pike sighed wearily whilst Michael's smirk turned into a full-blown triumphant grin. He let the matter drop and led the way out of the turbo-lift when the doors opened.
Pike and Burnham met up with the security team just inside the shuttle bay, the prison ship had been brought on board and secured by the engineering core. The entire security contingent were kitted out in full tactical gear; protective vests, phaser rifles and phaser pistols. The Starfleet officers encircled the shuttle and they all snapped their rifles up when the ramp hissed open and boots began to walk down the metal gangway.
Chris and Michael stayed to the back of the group and well out of the line of fire whilst the prison shuttle unloaded. Two armed guards emerged first, followed by the four restrained prisoners and then finally a further two guards followed on behind. The effect was that the prisoners were enclosed in the box shape, a standard Starfleet procedure and one which the Discovery team could adapt too easily.
The prisoners were walked forward until they were well clear from the ramp of the ship, so an engineering team could scurry on board to begin repairs and make the shuttle safe. The entourage came to a stop and the two security guards at the front of the procession edged forwards to the Starfleet officers, making a beeline for Michael and Chris, not before calling over their shoulder for the prisoners to remain where they were.
Chris took his chance to have a good look at the four prisoners. He would describe most of the men's appearances as rough or hardened, they all had scars in one place or another and looked like they had gotten into their fair share of brawls. They weren't exactly skinny either, all four of them could give his biggest security guys a run for their money. Pike didn't intend to test out his theory. Still, they looked subdued enough with their hands restrained in front of them, and with their heads bowed they were all the perfect image of submission. So why was his heart pounding and why hadn't his bad feeling gone away?
"Are you in charge here?" The lead security officer was standing directly in front of Pike, her weapon was held down and held loosely in her hands.
"Yes. I'm Captain Pike."
She nodded and let out a sigh of relief, the officer offered her hand which Chris automatically shook. "I'm Lieutenant Reynolds, we spoke over the radio."
Chris noticed his security team and the shuttle's were getting more edgy and nervous as each second ticked by, whilst the prisoners were out in the open like this. He swiftly moved things along and almost stumbled when another tidal wave crashed into the ship.
"I wish we could have met under better circumstances Lieutenant. Your transport will be repaired as a matter of priority, we'll be moving out of the storm and then we can get you all on your way again, hopefully within the next few hours. In the mean time we'll house your prisoners in our brig."
Reynolds nodded in approval of the plan. With the guards dealt with Chris turned his attention to the prisoners who had until now all remained silent. "I'm the Captain of Discovery. This is my ship and whilst you are onboard you will abide by my rules. You will all follow the security officer's orders to the letter. Don't give us any trouble and we'll all get along just fine."
The answering glares informed him that all of these men were not a fan of authority, or Starfleet, or perhaps even both. Chris ignored the steely glares and indicated to the security team to begin escorting the prisoners. The shuttle security team filled in from the rear whilst the Discovery team handled the sides and the front. They all made their way out of the shuttle bay and into the empty corridor; that was when all manner of things went to hell.
Discovery was buffeted by the largest tidal wave so far; it was so severe it tilted the ship at an alarming angle and caused rolling power outages for a fraction of a second. The result was the corridor's lights completely went out and everyone inside the corridor lost their balance, completely unprepared for the sudden blackout and shift of gravity.
Chris only saw flashes of what happened next. One second he had been walking along the corridor, the prisoners and the shuttle crew behind him and the next there was an almighty cry. He stumbled with the ship and turned to the sound just in time to catch one of the shuttle security officers who had been thrown his way, well he imagined that she had been thrown because one of the prisoners was now missing a guard and he looked off balance.
He heard a blaster discharge and spotted that another of the prisoners had tried to make a break for it, and had headed straight into the path of the Discovery's armed personnel. The fleeing prisoner went down the same time that Chris and Reynolds did. He tried to angle his fall so that he didn't land on the Lieutenant but it was a little difficult as the ship was still tilting wildly, and the corridor was falling into even further chaos.
Pike heard scuffling and grunts of pain; he also heard thuds which he could only guess were bodies hitting the floor. The corridor was still shaking, the lights were still flicking; in short it was a disorientating nightmare. Chris was about to get off his knees when he felt a presence behind him.
Before he knew which way was up the mysterious presence made his move. Chris saw a blur of motion come over his head and then suddenly there was pressure against his neck, pressure that was pulling backwards. Chris yelped in surprise and his hands automatically flew up to the thing that was constricting his airway, he tried to get his legs underneath him but between the confusion of the situation and the person trying to strangle him to death the best he could manage was a crazed back pedal.
He was pulled backwards further away from the safety of the security line and he soon found the thing tugging him was pulling him upwards, when the backwards pull stopped he finally managed to get his feet under him properly. That was then he felt a solid body behind him and he put two and two together and realised the thing constricting his neck were restraints, he could now see the hands attached to the things as the corridor lights had finally decided to stop flickering.
"Don't move!"
"Drop the weapon!"
"Stand down!"
There were multiple shouts from both sides, all singing from the same hymn sheet. Chris had a feeling that no-one was listening as the grunting sounds increased in frequency and he was sure he heard a scuffle break out somewhere to his right.
Chris gasped and choked against the restriction and readjusted his hands on the manacles in a vain attempt to get the things away from his neck; he was sure his face must have turned red by now and he definitely hadn't been able to breath properly for the last 30 seconds. His vision was already beginning to grey.
"Stop struggling or I'll snap your neck." A voice growled into his ear.
Chris took the threat seriously and went still under the prisoner's grip, he forced his panicking body to stop entirely and loosened his grip on the restraints. He wasn't prepared to let go of them entirely though, not when he still couldn't breathe. Thankfully his strangled gasps for air were heard and the restraints lifted off slightly, not enough to be comfortable but enough that he could finally take in ragged gasps. The black spots disappeared slowly and after blinking away the fuzziness he took in the scene, he'd half wished he had blacked out when he saw what had happened.
All of the Discovery security team were stood directly across from him, and all of them had their weapons pointed directly their way. Reynolds was just picking herself up from the floor; the rest of the shuttle security team were either knocked out on the floor or were also dragging themselves to their feet. Chris saw that one of the prisoners was lying halfway between the two sides and he was clearly out for the count, it looked like he had tried to charge the security line and had gotten shot for his troubles.
Chris glanced right, remembering the sounds of a major struggle and he almost dropped too the floor when he saw that Michael had a phaser pressed against her forehead, by one of the prisoners. He noticed one of the shuttle security guards unconscious on the floor next to where Michael was kneeling, and that the phaser had clearly been pulled from said officer's unconscious body.
He caught Michael's gaze and her eyes bulged when she noticed the position he was in, he imagined his own expression was just as shocked and worried as hers. The prisoner with the gun suddenly whispered something to Michael and she stood up slowly, tracking the guns movements with her eyes. When she was stood up completely the prisoner gripped her shoulder and pushed until she was facing the other way, his manacled hands gripped the back of her uniform tightly and the phaser was rested against her head in a classic hostage position.
During the change the security team on the opposite side of the corridor ordered for a complete stop; the prisoner holding Michael had ignored them completely and threatened to shoot her if anyone moved a muscle.
"Let them both go now!"
The shouts finally started to make sense and Chris tore his gaze from Michael's shitty predicament to the many guns pointed his way. His own captor didn't like the order or the way the security team moved forward a step, so he tightened his hold and tugged harshly until the Captain's throat was being crushed completely.
"Back off now or the Captain dies!"
He accompanied the threat by shaking his captive's body. Chris thought the strangling was threat enough, not to mention his resultant desperate cries for breath and the gasps and choking sounds he couldn't help but make.
Michael struggled wildly when she heard the threat and his desperate struggles to breathe. "Stop it!"
Through bleary eyes he saw the man holding Michael pull her further back and whisper something in her ear that made her go completely still. He wanted to tell Michael and the security team that he was okay, that this looked worse than it was but honestly his predicament was pretty bad. He could feel himself slipping away again and his struggles grew more violent the tighter the prisoner pulled.
The security team clearly saw how close he was to being strangled to death as they all suddenly took a few steps backwards, and lowered their weapons to point at the floor.
"Woah okay, take it easy." The words sounded muffled to Chris, he'd closed his eyes and had lost the strength to fight the darkness so he simply sagged against the choking arm and prayed for oxygen.
"We've backed off, now let him breathe."
"You're killing him!"
It was funny one of those voices sounded rather like Michael, but then again the voices all sounded muddled anyway so he didn't really trust his oxygen-starved mind for accurate analysis. The restraining arm suddenly lifted and he gasped in as much oxygen as he could manage, drinking it in like it was pure liquid. He imagined he looked rather like a drowning man but he didn't care, all he wanted was to just breathe.
He coughed and choked on the air greedily, he heard mutterings behind him and felt the solid body holding him twist to the side to talk to somebody. Pike mused it was probably the other prisoner who he hadn't seen yet.
After a few minutes Chris felt like he could open his eyes without passing out, when he did he immediately sought Michael. She was in the exact same predicament as earlier only now she had been dragged back further so they were almost side by side. She was also shooting him worried glances over her shoulder every few seconds, an unspoken question in her eyes; are you okay?
The short answer to that question was no, his neck felt like it has been branded, his throat scorched like he'd swallowed lava and his lungs were burning painfully. But Michael didn't need to worry about that so Chris managed a weak smile and nodded, it clearly didn't convince her but it was enough for the moment. Chris was just grateful that Michael appeared unharmed, uncomfortable yes but unharmed.
"What are we doing now Leyton? Think about what you're doing here, there's no where to go." Chris noticed that Reynolds appeared to be addressing the man holding him.
Chris flinched when the manacles moved against his throat but thankfully they didn't tighten, they just guided him backwards a few steps.
"You're all going to stay over there and keep those weapons pointed downwards. If just one comes up we'll kill both of them."
Michael grunted causing Pike to snap to the sound, the prisoner who held her had clearly tightened his grip and the pressure of the weapon against her head. The sight made Chris' blood boil, this was the first violent treatment towards Michael. These guys weren't afraid to hurt and maim to get what they wanted.
The security team glanced at one another and then to Pike and Michael's predicaments, eventually they nodded. "Okay, we hear you." Clearly they thought the threat was credible, hell Chris thought it was credible.
Leyton breathed out a sigh of relief and his hold loosened a tad. Chris felt him twist over his shoulder again and mutter something to prisoner number 3. "J, find us the damn keys for these restraints."
Chris got a look at 'J' when he stepped out to the right and started rummaging through the downed security officer's pockets. Chris saw all of the team opposite tense and one or two almost lifted their weapons before they remembered the threat to life. They were worried about a prisoner having his hands on one of their colleagues, but the search didn't last long and J soon stood up triumphantly with a key in hand.
"Unlock Tig's first, then put them on her." Leyton tilted his head to indicate Michael. Chris did not like the sound of that plan and by Michael's bristle she didn't either, not like they had much of a choice here. "And J give me your cuffs when they're off."
And great, those were probably meant for him.
Chris continued to take in shaky breaths and wished his heart would stop pounding so madly. He also wished that Leyton would ease off on his neck but the prisoner continued to press against his throat harshly; the result was that Chris had to lean backwards into the man's chest and tilt his head just to be able to breathe.
As J was busy undoing Tig's cuffs, Chris noticed that the security team were growing antsy and he could see their muscles twitching, wanting to take action but not knowing how without putting the hostages at risk.
Chris felt J pull him closer and soon there was breath on his neck. "Does this count as trouble Captain?"
Chris closed his eyes and swallowed down his irritation. His captor was mocking his earlier words and Chris was not about to let it get to him, he remained silent and ignored the goad. J did not appreciate his joke going unappreciated, in fact it caused his ugly temper to appear.
Pike grunted when the restraints tugged sharply against his larynx and he gasped for breath desperately. With each new assault on his neck it was like the pain level just picked up where it left off, like right now his entire throat was burning agonisingly and this wasn't even the hardest Leyton had pulled.
"Leyton. You keep doing that and we'll put you down." Reynolds threatened boldly, her eyes blazing furiously.
Chris heard the threat and he felt the prisoner tense behind him, he honestly didn't know whether the threat would push Leyton to do something even more stupid or back down. Thankfully for his neck Leyton mumbled something incoherent then released the unrelenting pressure, allowing the Captain to breath again and stand up straighter.
"Put them on the Captain, J." Leyton ordered.
Chris frowned at his name being mentioned and glanced over at where he had last seen J. He blearily saw that Michael's hands had been cuffed in front of her and Tig now had his hands free, the prisoner had used his new found freedom to snake his arm around Michael's neck in a restraining hold, one which she was trying very hard to ignore.
"Hands." Leyton shook Chris' until he snapped back to his own problems.
Pike had missed J walking over and he was now standing in front with a pair of restraints ready. The last thing he wanted was his hands restrained but he didn't have much of a choice at all, Leyton and his fellow prisoners had taken advantage of the chaos perfectly.
He reluctantly let go of the restraints around his neck and presented his wrists to J who quickly snapped the cuffs on, and soon the Captain's hands were restrained securely. J sauntered off behind the protective cover of Leyton, Tig and his two hostages and Chris immediately brought his bound hands up to Leyton's own when he was dragged backwards again.
"What are you doing?" Reynolds barked out and the entire security line took a step forwards.
Chris felt the pressure on his neck increase uncomfortably and he winced at the resulting pain it caused. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Michael was being manhandled backwards too, back towards the shuttle bay.
"What does it look like?" Leyton sneered. "We appreciate the hospitality but we've had enough of your company. We're going back to the shuttle bay to hitch a ride."
Were these guys completely off their rockers? That space storm was nothing to be sneered at.
"You'll... get ripp... ed... apart..." Chris coughed and hacked his way through the proclamation, shocked at how broken and raspy his voice sounded even to his own ears. He caught Michael's concerned glance his way and the security officers frowned heavily.
"Yeah well I think we'll take our chances. A fancy ship like this will have better shuttles than the prison." Leyton sounded confident and aloof all over again.
"What about Kev?" Tig suddenly exclaimed indicating to the unconscious body on the floor.
"Leave him." Leyton spat back mercilessly. "It's his own fault."
Wow, there really was no honour amongst thieves.
"We're not just going to let you get in a shuttle and fly away." One of the Discovery security officers took a step forward.
Leyton's reaction was as fast and brutal as expected. What Chris did not expect was Michael being used as a threat.
"Tig. Shoot her will you." He'd said it so casually like he was talking about the weather and not murdering somebody in cold blood.
"No!" Chris croaked out and tried to pull away from Leyton, the security officer's faces blanched and fell. Michael cried out when Tig's arm tightened around her neck and the phaser was pressed squarely under her jaw. Despite Pike's struggles Leyton held him tight and even shuffled backwards a few steps, he tightened his hold on his captive's throat until Chris' pleas were silent.
"Wait!" The security team all said as one. "Don't do anything rash, we can talk about this without resorting to violence."
"Tig, hold off." Leyton ordered quickly, just about stopping the prisoner from pulling the trigger.
Chris held his breath and watched the scene unfold helplessly. Michael had almost been killed, she had been less than a second away from it and there was nothing he could do to get her out of the prisoner's hold.
Leyton returned his attention to the security team. "There's nothing to talk about. We're leaving now, anyone tries to stop us and you'll have bodies to clean up."
He didn't wait for the security team to reply he simply tightened his hold on his captive, and before Chris knew what was happening he was being dragged backwards into the shuttle bay by the neck.
"We won't let you take them off this ship."
Michael wasn't far behind them and it wasn't long before the prisoners were the other side of the door, the security team had begun to follow but were stopped when Leyton carried out the next phase in his impromptu plan. "You won't be able to stop us."
Leyton nodded to Tig who moved the phaser from Michael's neck to point forwards. Tig fired on the door controls which sparked and caused the dura-steel doors to slam shut, cutting off Michael and Chris from the security team and safety. The prisoners didn't waste any time knowing full well the door wouldn't hold the Discovery teams back for long; they dragged their captives backwards towards one of Discovery's shuttles.
There were several engineers working on the prison shuttle and around the general space. When they noticed the commotion and more specifically their Captain and Commander's predicaments they all froze in position. "All of you get down on the floor now!" Leyton shouted out to the whole room.
When the reaction was too slow for his liking he got Tig to fire wildly into the air which caused Michael to scold her captor, saying how stupid it was to fire a phaser near flammables. Tig didn't take the constructive criticism well, he told Michael to shut up and pulled her back more roughly. The shot did do the trick with the crew in the bay who all fell to the floor immediately and stayed completely still, their eyes watching the procession and clearly itching to reach out and help their crew in danger.
Chris was pulled to a stop just outside the shuttle whilst Leyton maintained the hold around his neck, each yank and pull meant untold misery for Pike but the prisoners didn't care about that. The prisoners forced Michael to open the shuttle up and Leyton urged them up the ramp whilst he stayed at the bottom with Pike, facing outwards into the bay for any approaching threats and ensuring that the floored crewman stayed where they were.
"Tig, get her to show you how to start this thing." Leyton ordered, he then got Michael's attention and yanked on Chris' neck until he cried out. "Any trouble from you and he pays the price."
Chris had his eyes closed to ride through the pain so he didn't catch Michael's reaction, he could imagine the glare that she would have thrown Leyton though, her famous death glare had intimidated numerous enemies in the past but judging by Leyton's cocky attitude she hadn't had the same effect here. Pike heard her, Tig and J stomp up the ramp and soon enough the engines whirred to life.
"Come on." Leyton growled against Pike's ear and proceeded on pulling him backwards. Chris choked and fought off the irritation that came with the instruction, he was getting sick of being dragged around like a rag doll and his throat felt so damaged that even breathing hurt.
They made their way up the ramp, and Pike almost lost his footing when Leyton suddenly spun them once they were inside. He had actually forgotten the feeling of an unrestricted throat, so when Leyton abruptly removed his hands from around his neck he didn't know what to do with the new found freedom.
Leyton shoved him forward and pushed him down to the floor, a warning finger came up and he growled at his prisoner. "Stay there."
Staying put sounded like a wonderful idea. Chris had just about managed to use his bound hands to break the majority of his fall, and after Leyton backed off he turned around and slumped against the wall, hacking and coughing like his life depended on it.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing, he bought his bound hands up to his throat to soothe the vicious burning injuries Leyton's restraints had made. He could actually feel the imprint of the metal work, it felt sickeningly like he'd been branded.
"Sorry about that Captain but if it's any consolation that probably hurt me more than you." Leyton grimaced and showed off his red and raw wrists under the manacles.
Pike scoffed without really thinking about the reaction. Leyton had to be kidding right? He'd almost choked him to death and he was comparing their injuries? Also he had the cheek to apologise in the same sentence when clearly he wasn't sorry about his actions at all. Leyton appraised his prisoner and frowned down at him, Chris mused that he probably didn't appreciate the death glare coming his way.
Leyton chuckled and shook his head. "Okay you hate me that's fine. As long as you don't give us any trouble we'll get along just fine."
It wasn't lost on him that Leyton was mocking him and parroting his own words back at him. Chris had to tear his gaze away from the sneering face before he said something he'd regret, or Michael.
Speaking of Michael... Pike looked towards the rest of the prisoners and spotted Michael in the pilots seat, the phaser was being waved around her head and Tig and J were talking animatedly. Chris couldn't catch a lot of the conversation above the whine of the engines but he got the gist of what was being said.
"Get us out of here."
"I can't just take off, the shields are still up." Michael shot back fiercely, completely ignoring the phaser that was still being waved in her face.
J and Tig did not look pleased with the refusal, in fact their expressions were nothing short of thunderous. "Well tell them to drop the shields or we'll blast our way out of this ship!"
Chris gulped heavily, he couldn't even begin to imagine the damage they could cause if they were able to carry out such a crazy plan. Thankfully Michael stomped down on the idiotic idea with venom. "I am not helping you do that."
"Then tell them to let us out of here."
Michael glared at the phaser that had now been pressed firmly against the side of her head. "It's not that easy."
Pike wanted to get Michael away from the lethal weapon and the violent prisoners but at the moment she was the centre of attention, and with that came the threats. He soon got his wish even though it wasn't quite how he would have liked it.
"Give me that." Leyton growled and grabbed the phaser from Tig's hand. He turned on his heel and strode back over to Chris, and he pointed the phaser against the Captain's head. "Get onto the bridge and get this ship moving or I blow a hole in his head."
Pike went completely rigid and met Leyton's hard stare straight on. His head was forced back until he hit the wall. "You've got 10 seconds, so you better get persuasive."
Chris glanced over at Michael and saw her frowning at his predicament. Her brash behaviour had evaporated to be replaced by anxiety. When Leyton started to count down dramatically she got in contact with Saru on the bridge. Chris wasn't expecting Michael to get anywhere and he was already beginning to reflect on his final moments; this wasn't the first life or death situation he had been in but he was starting to realise that it could be his last. If he had one regret it was that he wished he had the chance to kiss Michael one last time, to hold her in his arms one more time.
To his complete and utter surprise the shields around the shuttle bay were lowered and Saru gave Michael clearance to disembark. Chris frowned at the information as he listened in on the call, and by the way Michael's eyebrow was slanted she was just as shocked as he was. Leyton, Tig and J on the other hand were completely ecstatic. Chris was completely forgotten and Leyton moved back into the cockpit and ordered Michael to head out of the bay.
After the shuttle had headed away from Discovery it had predictably been buffeted around by the storm outside. Chris was glad he was already on the floor because he would have toppled over by now with all the tidal waves hitting the ship. Even with Michael's skill as a pilot there was only so much she could do in such turbulent conditions, and to make matters worse Tig and J had flat-out refused to remove her restraints.
Much to all of their disbelief and luck they actually managed to make it to warp and after setting in a course to outside of the storm Tig took over as pilot, and Michael was marched back to sit next to Chris. Pike watched her as she was marched over and tensed when J pushed her down more roughly than necessary. He held out his hands to try and break her fall and she smiled at him gratefully.
"J, cover them both will you."
Pike glanced up and frowned as he saw that Leyton was advancing towards them. He suddenly grabbed Chris by the shoulder and pulled him away from the wall, and Michael. Michael started to exclaim against the treatment until J stepped forward and pressed the phaser against the side of her head.
Leyton grabbed Chris' jaw and showed him Michael's predicament. "I'm going to unlock your restraints but if you try anything J will shoot her." He shook his captive's jaw harshly, sending a sharp shooting pain along the length of his neck. "Understand?"
Pike glanced from Leyton's serious demeanour to J's and recognised the threat as serious. He nodded submissively and stayed perfectly still when a key was suddenly produced and he felt his hands being released. Chris didn't resist when he was forced forward to the floor, he grunted when his face collided with the grating but that was the only noise he allowed past his lips.
Leyton grabbed both of his arms and efficiently yanked them behind his back. Chris bit back a moan when the angle became too much, he was sure that Leyton was looking for a reaction and was probably enjoying every second of his squirming, so Chris stayed completely still and breathed deeply against the floor. After a few moments of agony Leyton finally moved his wrists to his lower back and recaptured them with the pair of restraints. The prisoner gripped Chris' shoulder tightly and began to pull him up onto his knees. It wasn't long before Pike found himself being flung back into the corner, and with his new predicament it was not easy to land without injuring his body further.
Before he had to work out how to turn around he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, and he was soon spun and then pushed back against the wall facing the right way. Chris sagged into the new position and remained subdued under Leyton's warning glare.
"Stay put."
They repeated the procedure with Michael and this time the phaser was held against Pike's head as leverage; he had to admit it was an effective strategy. Leyton and his crew had cottoned on to the fact that both he and Michael were far more worried about each other than their own safety. Chris frowned heavily when Michael was handled a little more roughly than necessary, he was that close to calling Leyton out on it when Michael met his gaze and shook her head, indicating she didn't want him to intervene. Pike bit his tongue and waited for Michael to end up back by his side. After one more unneeded warning Leyton moved towards the cockpit and studied the readouts with Tig.
The prisoners began to calm down once their captives were fully under control and when they'd flown far away enough to be outside of the storm's grip. They had kept a careful eye on Discovery's movements and so far there had been no sign of pursuit. The starship had stayed exactly where it had been ordered too. The prisoners could hardly believe their luck, neither could Pike.
Leyton and Tig began muttering quietly at the front whilst J was entrusted with the phaser and ordered to cover the captives. He took up the seat opposite and pointed the weapon at a point between Chris and Michael, ready to fire at either of them at a moment's notice. Chris ignored the phaser and placed all of his attention on the one person who mattered; Michael.
"Are you okay?" He managed to rasp out; his throat burned with the movement and he almost ended up falling into a coughing fit.
Michael sighed sadly and her eyes drifted to his throat. "I should be asking you that."
He didn't want Michael worrying about him not when they were still in it up to their necks. "I'm fine." He eventually managed, hating that he couldn't use his hands to hold his throat when he talked.
Michael shook her head and she looked away for some time. Chris could tell she didn't believe a word he had just said but for whatever reason she wasn't pushing it, probably taking pity on his inability to talk. "Saru let us through rather easily." She muttered quietly so that the prisoners wouldn't hear.
Chris was glad he wasn't the only one who thought so. Not trusting his voice to be quiet enough he simply nodded. Michael understood the message anyway and she couldn't help but frown at his injuries again. "I can only assume he has a plan."
Speaking of which the proximity alarms from the front of the shuttle suddenly blared to life and the craft shuddered violently. The next few seconds were pretty chaotic as alarms blared from the front console and then out of no-where the shuttle was hit by what Chris would identify as a phaser blast.
"It's Discovery!" Tig shouted from the pilot's seat, clearly flustered and confused at the sudden turn in events.
"How is that possible?" Leyton yelled to the front of the shuttle and got to his feet. "You said they weren't pursuing us."
"They weren't, they just appeared out of nowhere."
Pike and Michael glanced at one another and smiled; the spore drive. No wonder why Saru had agreed to not follow the shuttle at warp, he hadn't needed too.
Their matching grins were wiped off their faces when Leyton strolled over to them; he reached down and picked the Captain up by his neck, and closed his fist around Pike's throat powerfully. Chris immediately starting coughing and he his brain went into panic mode when he found that the hold was tight enough to stop any oxygen getting into his lungs.
Leyton slammed him up against the wall which really didn't help matters and yelled into his face. "What are they doing?!"
Even if Chris knew the answer he wouldn't be able to tell Leyton. He couldn't even breath let alone think straight. He tried to kick out at his attacker but Leyton just grunted with the assault and pressed up against Chris more earnestly, pinning him to the wall completely. With his hands trapped behind him Chris had no other defence to offer.
He distantly felt another barrage of shots rock the shuttle and someone shouted something about the shields being out of action. Honestly he couldn't find the strength to follow the chain of events any longer, the only thing he could focus on was the pure rage in Leyton's face as he continued to squeeze the life out of him. He could feel his struggles growing weaker and the black spots started appearing once more. He thought he was imagining it when he saw a faint golden glow appear around Leyton but what the prisoner did next assured him that he was not seeing things.
As soon as Leyton realised he was being transported he lifted the phaser up to aim at Pike's head and tightened his finger on the trigger. "No!" Michael screamed whilst kicking out with everything she had at Leyton's leg.
It was just enough to force the shot to go wide and before the prisoner could fire again he had disappeared in the golden transporter beam. The surroundings of the shuttle faded away and Chris realised that he too was being transported. He also realised that he could suddenly breathe again and that his legs were too weak to hold him up, so when he re-materialised in sick-bay he collapsed to the floor immediately and gasped for air hysterically.
He remembered hitting the floor hard, so hard that if he had had any air left in his lungs then it would have most likely been expelled by the tumble, as it turned out he was already oxygen starved and a fingers width away from passing out.
"Captain, it's alright just breathe!"
Suddenly multiple pairs of hands were on him and they rolled him on his side and straightened out his body to allow his airways to open fully. He latched onto the order and tried to move past how taking each breath felt like dousing his throat with liquid fire; how could the one thing that he needed to keep him alive feel like it was killing him?
"I need the keys for their wrists now."
Chris kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut and just focussed on trying not to pass out, he counted to 10 slowly in his head and tried to match his laboured breathing to the time. He missed one in three breaths completely due to the overwhelming need to cough and hack; his abused throat had taken too much punishment to function even semi-normally.
Whilst he was laying on the floor like a fish on land, gasping for each breath and groaning when his throat spasmed violently; his mind suddenly flew to Michael. His eyes shot open and he glanced around the space wildly, trying to roll over until restraining hands held him in position and assured him he was in good hands. Pike didn't care about his situation, not until he saw that Michael was alright.
"Mich-" He croaked before descending into another coughing fit.
Finally he felt hands close around his wrists and mercifully the restraints were removed completely. He was about to call out Michael's name again when her face appeared in his line of sight. Chris studied her frantically and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was alive and looked okay. The sigh of relief set off a whole other fit which ended with his throat spasming nastily, it was so bad that he began to panic and it wasn't long before he couldn't get enough air past the obstruction.
Michael scooted closer to him and gripped his hand in hers, her concerned gaze was sweeping all over him before finally focussing on his neck. "Chris, you've got to try and breathe okay?"
He wasn't sure if it were her words that calmed him or just seeing her alive and well but whatever the reason the spasms subsided, and he finally got his breathing under control enough to not panic the Doctors that he was about to die of oxygen starvation.
"I'm going to give you a sedative Captain, and then we'll take a good look at that throat of yours." Doctor Pollard's face hovered into view above him and he saw she was holding a hypodermic needle that was headed towards his neck.
He shook his head dramatically and tried to get the message across that he didn't want to be sedated. Doctor Pollard was having none of it. She pressed the hypo against his neck and chuckled. "Sorry Captain but Doctor's orders, it'll be much less painful for you this way."
Chris glanced to Michael for rescue but she just smiled down sadly at him and squeezed his hand. "I'll be here when you wake up." Pike's eyes felt heavy all of a sudden and his world descended into darkness, the last face he saw before his eyes dropped was Michael's.
Chris remained in sick-bay for a few days whilst the Doctor's repaired as much damage to his throat as they could. After extensive sessions the scarring had been reduced to a minimum and the bruising and swelling had diminished enough to be no longer dangerous. His neck was still splattered with a multitude of colours and he had to take a hell of a lot of painkillers to be able to speak, and even then his voice was quiet and raspy, his larynx had been severely bruised and he was lucky there was going to be no permanent damage.
The prisoners had been transported directly to the brig when Discovery had showed up; Saru's plan all along had been to let the prison ship get out of the storm to defuse the prisoners, and allow them to let their guards down. Meanwhile Stamets and Tilly had prepped the spore drive and on Saru's command jumped directly in front of the prison shuttle, before the prisoners had been able to react properly Discovery fired accurate shots directly at the shield generators.
Pike knew the next part of the story. With the shields down and with the shuttle clear of the space storm the transporter pad could be used. Saru had hoped that the quick turnabout wouldn't give the prisoners enough time to carry out their threats to kill the hostages. It was only Michael's quick intervention in kicking Leyton that had saved Chris from death.
The prison shuttle was soon repaired and all the prisoners and security staff boarded and left Discovery whilst the Captain was still in sick-bay, not that he minded. Pike didn't want to see Leyton or the others again; he didn't want to test the limits of his restraint, not after they had almost killed Michael.
After two days in sick-bay Chris was finally allowed to leave and Michael decided to spend the first night of freedom with him in his quarters. The Captain didn't mind the intrusion, in fact it only made his release from sick-bay that much sweeter. And that was how they ended up cuddling together on his sofa, both content silently watching the movie they had on the screen.
After the credits rolled Chris noticed Michael's gaze remain fixed on the screen, like her mind was elsewhere. "Something on your mind?" He prompted.
His question snapped her out of her dazed state and she smiled at him, it was supposed to be reassuring, but he could sense that there was something about her expression that was just off. Chris shifted up on the sofa and took her with him, he gave her a minute to gather her thoughts and sort through her emotions. He knew from past experience that Michael struggled with talking about serious personal things, and he knew that patience was the key.
"It's always hard seeing someone in danger but when it was you…" Michael started to explain her thoughts and then paused; she frowned heavily and looked increasingly uncomfortable. "I did not like seeing you in that position."
Oh, Michael was thinking back to the incident with the prison shuttle. Pike mused that it made sense, they hadn't talked about it properly yet, they had just skirted around the issue. Now that Michael had brought it up Chris couldn't help but flash back to the worst parts of the experience; of not being able to breath, of Michael almost dying...
"Me neither... When I saw that phaser against your head-" He cut himself off after realising how angry he had just sounded. "Well I probably shouldn't say what I wanted to do with it."
Michael smirked. "Probably not."
She sobered quickly and looked up at him. "Does this change things, between us?"
"Not if you don't want it too."
"But… I can't deny these feelings that I have for you and they could be dangerous."
Pike warmed at her honest words, it wasn't exactly the most romantic timing but he knew how difficult Michael found it to open up. Chris had been expecting this conversation at some point but hadn't thought it would come along so soon in their relationship, still trust Michael Burnham to be concerned about emotions getting in the way of their work.
"Would you have acted any differently if it had been any other crew-member in my position?" Chris already knew her answer but that was rather the point, like he said he had been expecting this discussion.
Michael took a few silent moments to contemplate the question before answering carefully. "No. But that doesn't change-"
"But nothing." Pike interrupted firmly. "Our actions are what matters, they're all that matters."
He could see she was still unsure so he leaned forward and tilted her jaw so she was looking at him. "You know I care about you more than anyone right?" She nodded without hesitation; there was so much inherent trust in her gaze. "And even though it would break my heart to do so, I will carry out my duty to Starfleet as long as I am able. We made a commitment Michael and one which I will not break, nothing that happened today disproves that."
Michael visibly warmed at his words, and she finally allowed a proper smile to spill over her face. They loved each other but their first duty had been too and would always be too Starfleet, if the two were in conflict then that would always come first. It was who they both were, it was one of the main reasons why they fell for one another.
"I understand, and I know we will both put our commitment to Starfleet first." Michael's smile fell and she stroked his face absent-mindedly. "Even though it would break my heart too."
Chris gripped her hand tightly and held it against his face, revelling in the warmth of her touch. "Let's not dwell on something that may never happen."
"Okay."
Chris really didn't want to spoil a nice moment but his throat had other ideas. It decided then and there that this was a good time to bring on a coughing fit, it didn't last long but the spasm was enough to change the subject entirely.
"How is your throat doing now?"
Chris managed a strained smile and rubbed it until the coughing subsided. "It's still sore, the Doc says I'm going to sound like a frog for another week so you've got that to look forward to."
Michael ignored Pike's attempt to bring levity to the conversation and she reached up gently to touch his throat, tracing the faint marks left on the skin and the livid bruising. "It looks painful."
Painful didn't exactly cover it, but that was when it hadn't been treated and he wasn't on painkillers. "It's not so bad now."
Michael's mood shifted suddenly and she smiled with a mischievous twinkle in her gaze. "You know, I heard somewhere that ice cream helps sore throats."
"Oh?" He released her hand; Michael pulled away from the sofa and headed over to the replicator.
"It's an old earth tradition but I figure what's the harm in trying it?" She grinned cheekily over her shoulder and programmed the replicator to make some ice cream up for the two of them.
"And which part of this tradition states that the girlfriend needs ice-cream too?" Pike asked appraising her new found levity and basking in the lighter mood.
"The tradition doesn't say, but I do."
Pike snorted, that was so very Michael. The replicator dinged; Michael scooped up the two bowels of ice cream and bought them over to the sofa. Chris accepted the proffered item with a thanks and glanced into the bowel curiously.
Mint choc-chip. His mind supplied as he saw the familiar green tint and chocolate specks. How on earth did she know?
"That's my favourite." He eventually managed, he wasn't able to keep the surprise out of his voice.
Michael smiled smugly and took a bite of her own ice cream. "I know."
Chris laughed heartily and made a mental note to find out exactly where Michael had found the information. He took a spoonful of the ice cream and tasted it, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply as he was suddenly transported back to his childhood. The taste of it sparked a memory of eating homemade ice cream in the hot summer, of his mother letting him lick the spoon and help make the chocolate chips. He had no idea how Michael had done it, how she had managed to replicate something that tasted just like home but she had. The dessert was perfect and it even helped to soothe his throat, Michael continued to surprise him every day.
They both tucked into their ice creams with reckless abandon and chose another movie to fall asleep too. They snuggled together on the sofa and vowed to forget about the pressures of command for the evening, they vowed to forget about the prison shuttle and the choice they may have to someday face; the choice between duty and love.
Finis