"Look out!"
Startled by the cry, Janice Rand whipped around just in time to see the anti-grav sled loaded with heavy crates barreling toward her down the cargo ramp. She saw a heavy cargo stack knocked aside by the sled, the contents spilling over the cargo bay floor as the unit picked up speed.
Janice dropped the padd she'd been writing on, turning to dodge even as she realized that there was no possibility of getting out of the way in time. With a grimace she shut her eyes and waited for the heavy weight of the sled to crush her.
A heavy weight did hit her then, but from behind her. The anti-grav sled was suddenly shooting past and she was flat on her back on the floor, her head spinning. The sled slammed against the cargo bay's far wall, the crates stacked on top of it flying every which way.
Gradually she became aware of a pair of arms around her. Bare, well-muscled arms. Looking up, she found herself gazing into a pair of startling blue eyes...
Several hours earlier...
I must look like a fool, Janice thought to herself when she realized she couldn't stop smiling. For perhaps the hundredth time she looked down again at the padd with her new orders.
"Rand, Janice. Crewman 3rd class. U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701."
Finally.
It'd been nearly a year and a half since Janice had passed basic training at the Starfleet Training Center. She'd applied immediately for starship duty, but had been given nothing but Earth assignments. Now, after the destruction seven Starfleet ships at the Battle of Vulcan, the fleet needed all the able crewman it could get.
Janice's leg bounced up and down as she waited on the bench at the transfer station. Her eyes flicked back to the padd once more.
"U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701. As of Stardate 2258.91, assigned to Operational Support Services."
A job in supply. Not very glamorous, but at least starship duty. And on the flagship no less.
She'd of course heard about the exploits of the Enterprise in the wake of the Battle of Vulcan. The newsnets had been filled with little else in the days after the attack. For the past two months the Enterprise had rested in drydock undergoing repairs to her warp drive and spaceframe in the wake of the battle. Now she had finally been christened and put under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, the youngest Captain in Starfleet history.
From the desk in front of her, the transfer officer read aloud from his computer screen.
"Group 3 report to transporter room 18 for transfer to the Enterprise."
Janice rose from the bench and shouldered her duffel, heading for the transporter room with five others who were also apparently assigned to the Enterprise. As she entered the transporter room and stepped onto the pad, she glanced around. All enlisted, like her. And all male. Four humans and a vaguely avian looking being with a stout beak and tiny beaded eyes.
The transporter operator seated at the console nodded at an unheard voice in her ear. "Acknowledged, Enterprise. Energizing."
The dark groundside transporter room disappeared in a haze of light, only to be replaced with the clean, brightly lit transporter room of the Enterprise. From behind the console, a red-shirted lieutenant rose and stepped forward, carrying a padd.
"Welcome to the Big E. My name is Lieutenant Kyle." The officer motioned with his padd toward the deck in front of the transporter. "Muster here if you would, please. Respond when I call out your name, and standby for your living assignment. Abrams, Robert..."
"Here sir."
Janice adjusted the duffel on her shoulder as she stepped off the transporter to the deck. She glanced around the transporter room, admiring the sleek lines and factory-fresh equipment as Kyle continued to read off names and room assignments.
"Rand, Janice."
She straightened up and came to attention. "Here, sir."
"Deck 12. Room 3C 46. Um...Uuvu'it, Hrrii'ush...?"
The birdlike being to Janice's right chirped in the affirmative.
"Deck 12. Room 4B 16. Welcome aboard everyone. Company dismissed."
Janice eagerly hefted her duffel and headed out into the corridor.
The cargo bay of the Enterprise was filled with busy crewmen. The cargo transporters hummed constantly as new supplies were brought onboard, and Janice hastily dodged an anti-grav sled steered by a bored-looking Megazoid as she descended a ramp to the lower level. Finding the man she was looking for supervising the unloading of a pallet of sensor modules, she snapped to attention beside him.
"Crewman 3rd class Janice Rand, reporting for duty, Chief."
The burly red-shirted man looked up from a padd and glanced at the new arrival.
"Chief Petty Officer Chase," he responded. "You're from supply, right?"
Janice smiled. "Yes, Chief. I-"
"Great." the burly Chief replied. He rummaged for a moment on a nearby deck full of padds. "We're shorthanded until the rest of the crew gets onboard."
The Chief apparently found what he was looking for, and turned back to her, a padd in hand. "I'll need you to inventory all the spare parts we've taken on today before we can stow them. Start with the pallets at the bottom of the ramp and work your way toward the port side."
He pressed the padd into her hands and turned back to what he was doing. Janice stood there for a moment, before shrugging and booting up the inventory checklist on the small vidscreen.
She'd been at the inventory for nearly two hours, and Janice's head was spinning with numbers and manifests. She set the padd down to rub her eyes when she noticed him.
He was standing near her at the cargo transporter waiting for the rematerialization of several heavy crates. After the freight arrived, he started handing the packages over to several other crewman, loading up an anti-grav sled. All of them were sweating from the work, and several had removed their uniform shirts, including him. Taking in the view, Janice was certainly glad he had.
The man was thin, but not overly so, and it was clear that there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. Janice stared as the man picked up another crate, his muscles rippling as he hefted it over to another crewman. Straightening up, he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and stood a moment to catch his breath. Looking at the crewman's handsome face, Janice couldn't help but feel she knew him from somewhere.
Just then the man glanced up and caught Janice's gaze. His eyes were the most brilliant blue she thought as he flashed her a grin. Blushing, she brought her attention back to the inventory, typing into the padd. Looking up after a minute, she saw the man was still looking at her, and still wearing that lopsided grin.
"Look out!" Chief Chase hollered.
Janice was knocked flat on her back before the anti-grav sled the careless Megazoid crewmember had lost control of hit her. Regaining her senses, she found herself staring up at the deep blue eyes of the smiling crewman.
"Are you all right?" he asked, still kneeling over her.
"Yeah," she answered, looking up at him. God, he had a nice smile. He seemed so familiar...
The man straightened up and wiped the dust from the cargo bay floor off his hands before offering her one to help her up.
"Thank you," she said, letting him haul her to her feet. Her fingers brushed over his lightly. His hand was rough and calloused. She realized with a start that she wasn't letting go of it.
"Janice Rand," she said, smiling, reaffirming her grip and shaking the man's hand.
That enchanting smile spread over his face again.
"Welcome aboard, Miss Rand. I'm Captain James Kirk."
Janice froze, still clutching his hand. Know she remembered where she knew his face from.
Captain.
James.
Kirk.
"Oh my God." she stammered.
Kirk laughed, a light and easy sound that made Janice's knees wobbly. "Not quite, Miss Rand."
Bellowed commands from across the cargo bay caught the attention of both of them then. They turned to see Chief Petty Officer Chase in the face of the Megazoid crewman, who looked positively terrified.
Kirk turned back to Janice. "I'd better go save Crewman Dax before the Chief flushes him out an airlock. A pleasure, Miss Rand. Good to have you onboard."
The Captain turned on his heel and headed toward the commotion, leaving Janice standing in the middle of the cargo bay trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.