A/N - I wanted to make Pike a bit more of a BAMF in this and managed it for about a quarter of the story, the rest I'm afraid is shameless Pike Whump. Hope you enjoy :)

An insistent beeping cut through Chris's relaxing evening. He regrettably pulled his head out of a novel and dropped his glass of brandy. Captain Pike put his head in his hands wearily; he really was not in the mood for visitors this evening not after the day he and the crew had experienced. Discovery had responded to a distress call and found an unmarked ship with severe engine troubles; several people were trapped below decks. Pike and the Discovery crew fought against the clock to rescue every last crew member before the ship exploded in a blazing fire ball.

Strangely the rescue had been well received. Several fights had broken out amongst the survivors and members of the federation crew; sadly people had to be sedated and restrained for some time. It left a sour taste in the mouth when they had all risked life and limb to save each and every one of the crew aboard the ship and were met only with suspicion and anger. Still a Captain was never really off duty and he had sworn an oath to help people regardless of how bad-mannered they were, so he zipped up his uniform and got to his feet.

"Come." The door slid open in response to admit none other than Adrian; the last person he wanted to see in his own time.

Chris welcomed the refugee in graciously and hid his discomfort as he poured them both a drink, Adrian predictably got straight to the point like he had all day and refused the drink.

"Captain, have you thought anymore on our request?"

Pike was going to take a seat but changed his mind as he noticed the stance Adrian had taken; the man was clearly still on edge and his behaviour was making Chris a little anxious. The request Adrian was talking about had been something playing on his mind ever since the man had brought it up. He had been sorely tempted to report the threatening behaviour earlier, but had relented when Adrian's first officer had pleaded for leniency on account of them going through hell and almost losing their whole crew. That was one nightmare Chris could relate to and prayed it never happened to him one day.

The Captain could still remember how easily Adrian lost his temper before, and the power behind Adrian's shove that had sent him careering over a table; he wasn't about to let his guard down around the man again. For some reason the crew didn't want to be taken to a starfleet base but that was protocol. Pike couldn't deliver these people to another planet without good cause and quite frankly they hadn't given him or his crew one; the authorities could sort out the mess at the starbase when they got there.

To be honest Chris couldn't wait for Discovery to get to starbase 5 and take these survivors off his hands, because their presence was making him and security nervous. The reasons for their ship's problems were sketchy at best, and anyone who acted that aggressively when refused something was someone to be wary of.

"My answer hasn't changed." Pike wearily answered watchful for any signs of Adrian's temper re-emerging. "I've told you why we have to take you to the starbase. I don't want you or your people to worry though, you will be safe there."

Chris watched as Adrian laughed mockingly and began pacing in the small space. Pike had to wonder what the man hoped to achieve coming to his personal quarters in the middle of the night on his off time.

"You people are all the same." Adrian's face turned redder and more frustrated, he was pointing his finger in Pike's face. "We ask for help and you never listen to what we want."

Pike backed away a little to give himself a bit of space, if this turned violent again he would have to subdue Adrian without harming him too badly. This was really not what he wanted for his evening off.

"Adrian, we are helping you. Why don't you want to go the starbase?"

Adrian's reaction wasn't just fearful he was nervous of spending time with the authorities which in turn made Pike nervous. What were these people hiding and what exactly were they running from?

Adrian stopped pacing and reached behind his back suspiciously. "I knew we were right not to trust you."

Pike recognised the signs and was already moving even as Adrian pulled whatever it was from behind his back, Chris balked a little when he recognised one of their phasers. He had no idea how Adrian had managed to get his hands on one but it couldn't have been without violence. The Captain went straight for the phaser and got his hands wrapped round Adrian's before the man could bring the weapon frontwards.

Pike's momentum carried both men backwards until they crashed into a cabinet with enough force to shatter and break the shelves apart, Chris focussed all his energy on keeping the phaser pointing away from his head as Adrian fired off shots that went wide. He didn't want to think about how much damage was being wrought upon his personal things.

Eventually Chris managed to get a strong enough grip on Adrian's arm to twist it just so to force his muscles to spasm, and the phaser fell to the floor with a dull thud. Adrian looked at him furiously and charged forward lifting Pike's body up and carrying him across the room with impressive strength.

The Captain yelled out as his back collided harshly with a wall, and his head smacked against the surface painfully making him see stars and knocking his brain around. Pike opened his eyes and swore when he saw a fist flying towards his face; he didn't have enough time to dodge the brutal blow so instead rolled with the punch tasting blood as his teeth knocked into the side of his gums.

When Adrian cocked his arm for another swing Pike ducked under the arm and shoved his attacker against the wall, wrenching his punching arm up behind his back in a restraining hold. Adrian tried to kick out backwards but Pike saw the move being telegraphed and side-stepped the powerful kick. Chris gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on Adrian's arm, kicking the man's legs out from under him in a powerful side sweep. The last thing he wanted to do was harm Adrian seriously but this was getting out of control.

Pike pushed Adrian against the wall and bent his wrist just enough until Adrian cried out and stopped struggling against the hold, Pike knelt down and kept a restraining arm around Adrian's neck and shoulders. "Hey, calm down." He hissed and winced when Adrian tried to buck him off and caught his nose with the back of his head.

Pike just about managed to keep a hold of Adrian's arm and regrettably twisted it even further behind his back. Adrian cried out and finally stopped struggling, leaning forward against the wall breathing harshly. Chris remained where he was for a few moments and let the pounding in his own body wash away; thankfully Adrian was beginning to calm down.

"I'm going to release your arm now, okay?" Chris didn't want to hurt the man anymore than necessary, and things had already gotten out of hand which was evidenced by the blood he could feel pooling in his mouth.

Adrian nodded and Pike sympathised as he knew how painful this hold could be. He released the grip slowly and backed away from the refugee, quickly picking up the dropped phaser and setting it to stun. He glanced at it absently and saw that it seemed to be in perfect working order, the main concern was where did Adrian get it.

"Where did you get this from?" Pike indicated the weapon and kept it pointed loosely at his attacker who was clutching his shoulder and scowling angrily.

Adrian suddenly smirked, the kind of smug smile which made Chris nervous. "What you really need to ask is how many more did I get my hands on?"

Pike blinked twice. Surely Adrian had to be bluffing. Then again he shouldn't have been able to get his hands on anything in the first place. Chris raised the weapon fully now, taking the threat seriously.

"What are you talking about?"

Chris took several steps back as Adrian stumbled forward a feral grin on his face. "My men have taken control of your ship by now."

Pike narrowed his eyes at the man. Surely he was lying. "I don't believe you, and if you take one more step I'm going to have to shoot you."

Adrian stopped walking forward and narrowed his eyes at the weapon. "I sent three to the bridge, two to engineering and the rest of them are spread out in populated areas of the ship. Granted we can't cover everyone but the important sections with the important people, yes."

Pike stared at the man before him and scrutinised his actions and words. He prided himself on being able to read people and his instincts were telling him Adrian wasn't lying to him, which was seriously worrying. He also realised that if Adrian had failed in his mission then perhaps his men had failed throughout the ship?

"Stay there, get your hands up." Chris ordered and walked over to his computer, eager to conjure up the security feeds for the areas.

Adrian didn't look happy but did as instructed; the really worrying thing was that he looked very confident for a man that had a gun on him. Pike quickly brought up the security feeds and his eyes widened as he saw that Adrian hadn't been lying. The bridge had stunned bodies lying everywhere with the rest of the crew on their knees being covered by gunman, engineering was a similar story. He quickly flicked through other feeds on the ship and watched firefights breaking out everywhere; the refugees had somehow got their hands on a hell of a lot of firepower.

Pike's eyes shot from the live footage to land on Adrian. "What the hell have you done?"

Adrian lowered his hands and swaggered forward, Pike raised the weapon and almost fired then and there. "I told you, I've taken control of your ship."

The Captain's mind raced as he thought of what to do here. Suddenly Adrian reached into a pocket and slowly pulled out a communicator, Pike let him continue when he saw it wasn't a weapon.

"Peter, is the bridge secure?"

Pike watched the live footage from the bridge and saw one of the gunman answer his communicator. "Yes Adrian, we have control of the warp core too."

Chris closed his eyes in resignation. If that was true then these people really did have control of Discovery, he realised the only thing they were missing was his access codes and command. Something he wouldn't give up easily.

Adrian watched him carefully then issued a command that made Pike's skin go cold. "Kill one of them would you."

Pike's eyes widened and he rushed forward. "No, don't do that."

Adrian held up a hand and Pike begrudgingly halted. "Peter, hold on that for a second."

Chris glanced at the security footage and held his breath as he saw one of the gunman holding his phaser to Ensign Tilly's head. That had been far too close. He looked back at Adrian and realised this man held all the cards at the moment, and he hated it.

"Please don't hurt any of my crew." Chris swallowed his pride and pleaded with his attacker.

Adrian beamed happily and looked pointedly at the phaser still pointing at his chest. "Only if you surrender yourself to me, now."

Pike sighed and looked back at the security footage, he knew he didn't have a choice with his crew being used as bargaining chips for his surrender. With gunman on the bridge and in engineering they controlled exactly where the Discovery could go. Chris reluctantly powered down the phaser and threw it into Adrian's waiting arms who laughed at the action.

Chris watched as Adrian expertly flipped the weapon round and changed it from stun to fatal. He then spoke into his communicator. "Don't worry about killing anyone yet Peter. The Captain and I are coming to the bridge."

Pike was relieved when he saw the gunman back away from his crew but felt unbelieving defeat well up in him; he was supposed to be the one who protected his ship from harm but he had failed them by not taking the threat Adrian posed more seriously. Now he saw the various feeds of violence and he was staring down the barrel of a phaser, he realised Discovery was in a lot of trouble.

Adrian reached behind his back and produced a set of restraints, another mysterious acquisition of federation equipment. He twirled the weapon round to indicate Pike turn. "Turn around Captain."

Chris reluctantly did as commanded and turned his back to his attacker, hands coming together at the small of his back in anticipation of the next command. Adrian shuffled up behind him and soon Pike felt the metal bite of the cuffs close tightly on his wrists. This entire assault had been pre-mediated, Adrian had not come here with the intent to talk.

Adrian placed a controlling hand on Pike's shoulder and started pushing forward, the phaser resting against his lower back jabbing irritably. "Come on Captain, your crew needs you."

The turbo lift doors opened and the stench of burning filled Pike's nostrils, the smell of recent phaser fire and sadly of burnt flesh. Adrian shoved his captive out of the lift and onto the bridge throwing the Captain down to the floor powerfully. Pike lost his footing instantly grunting on impact and rolling with momentum across the polished floor; with his hands trapped behind him he couldn't stop from falling and the helpless feeling was already becoming old.

Adrian sauntered over to him and gripped his shoulder harshly, dragging him upwards and forwards without giving him time to get his feet beneath him. Pike was reminded how strong Adrian was when the man dragged him across the bridge and threw him down at the foot of the Captain's chair cruelly. Chris couldn't help but slide into the chair and saw stars as his head collided with the base; he shook his head until his vision cleared and looked into the eyes of his terrified bridge crew who were kneeling in front of him surrounded by gunmen.

Chris didn't have the time to roll out of the way when he noticed Adrian's boot flying towards his chest, so he gasped and fell backwards against the Captain's chair feeling his ribs buckle under the force. He hadn't said a word since Adrian had steered them out of his quarters but that hadn't abated the man's rage at all, if anything stewing in the lift had made it worse so now he was taking out his frustrations on a helpless prisoner. Pike was just thankful it was him and not his crew.

Pike breathed sharply and tried to block the throbbing sensation radiating from his chest out. Out of know where a hand gripped his hair and he yelped as it pulled him up, he followed the direction of his hair just to keep it attached to his head and ended up on his knees in front of Adrian. Adrian released the agonising grip on his hair and sneered down at the Captain.

"You really should have helped us Captain." He indicated round the bridge to his men who stood tall over the crew with phasers held at the ready.

Pike looked at his crew then back at Adrain and his face grew stony; his crew had risked their lives to save these people's lives and this was how they were being repaid? "We were helping you." Chris spat angrily.

Adrian's eyes flashed dangerously and predictably he lashed out. Pike's head snapped to the side and he tasted yet more blood when Adrian's fist crashed into his jaw, he managed to stay on his knees after the first blow but not after the second. Before Chris had been able to lift his head to glare at his captor another fist crashed into the side of his face sending him crashing to the ground. He landed badly and felt his shoulder jolt under the impact causing a groan to slip past his lips. Chris closed his eyes and rested his head against the cold deck whilst he caught his breath. He felt Adrian walk around him and tensed in preparation for another assault on his body, when none came he wearily opened his eyes and saw Adrian talking to his people.

"Captain are you alright?" Ensign Tilly hissed urgently drawing Pike's attention back to the crew.

One of the guards heard the question and nudged Tilly warningly. Pike glared at the man but kept his mouth shut, he did not want to draw attention to the crew anymore than necessary. These men had already proven to enjoy violence and sadly they were quite good at it. The Captain smiled at Tilly and nodded hoping it would be enough to reassure their fears, although he imagined the effort was slightly diminished by the blood dripping down his face.

Adrian turned to Detmer who was sat in the helms seat looking very tense. "Set a course for the Alpha quadrant." He ordered.

Detmer looked down at her Captain unwilling to follow an order without his approval, Pike really did appreciate this crew's loyalty and trust in him after their ordeal with Lorca. Adrian noticed that his order wasn't being followed and he turned his murderous glare on Pike. "Do you want to see your crew dead?" He asked nastily and pointed his phaser at the row of kneeling bridge officers.

Pike quickly answered. "No, no." He looked at Detmer and okayed the order. "It's alright Detmer, do as he says."

Setting a new course was not worth someone dying over not when the course was the Alpha quadrant, anyway altering course like this when they were expected at the starbase would alert outside help one way or another.

Detmer plotted the course immediately after Pike okayed it but it was clear from Adrian's furious face that the damage had already been done. Chris gulped when he saw his captor storm over to his defenceless position. Knowing what was coming he tried to curl his body into as tight a ball as possible to protect his head and organs, not that it was easy with his hands behind him.

He grunted when Adrian's boot kicked his back, head and chest over and over again taking out his rage and exasperation on his chosen human punch bag. Pike's whole body became numb and he barely reacted to the boot so Adrian took it as a challenge. He gripped the Captain's hair tightly lifted his head up and then crashed a fist into his face brutally. Pike saw stars after the first blow, felt his nose crumple and break under the second and almost lost consciousness entirely when the third hit.

Adrian grabbed his shirt and pulled until he was up off the ground, and he glared down at Chris with unprecedented fury. The Captain breathed heavily though his mouth and closed his eyes expecting another crushing punch, when none came he blearily blinked his eyes open and saw Adrian loosen his grip on his shirt.

The man turned to address the bridge shaking Pike's body roughly to indicate exactly how serious he was. "You all need to start listening to us unless you want to watch your Captain get beaten to death."

Chris crashed to the ground miserably and groaned when the impact jolted all of his injuries. He thought the beating was finally over until Adrian glared down at him and pulled his boot back for one final parting gift. His boot caught Pike's ribs perfectly and the whole bridge heard his rib crack under the merciless blow. The Captain couldn't help it, he screamed and felt like a hole had been punched right through his chest. Impact injuries were the worst and always left you gasping desperately for breath whilst leaving a trial of flames behind.

"Stop it please!" He heard a desperate voice break through the haze followed by a scuffle, he didn't know who had cried out but it sounded a hell of a lot like Ensign Tilly.

Pike tried to catch his breath and scrunched his face up in agony as each gulp of oxygen burned his insides, how ironic that the thing he needed to stay alive felt like it was killing him. No matter how much he tried to calm down, his body wouldn't listen to him. He continued to gasp for breath as the pounding in his head reached a crescendo and his sight descended into darkness. Pike fought valiantly against unconsciousness all the way down if not for his own sake then for his crew's, but truthfully he had been fighting a losing battle. Foreseeably the Captain finally tumbled over the abyss and fell limp.

A/N - This is a shorter story than usual and will have just one more part, the second part will most probably be up later in the week :)