The two of them remained silent as they rode the transporter up to the bridge. It was just awkward, too awkward for James's taste. Kirk lifted up a hatch on the side and stopped the transporter mid movement, the lights dimming ever so slightly. He turned and faced Jesse who seemed unphased at the fact that they weren't moving, that it was just them in here…alone.
Arms already crossed, she tilted her head to look at him, no expression on her face. The rumors did not do him justice. James was beyond handsome which made things even more difficult to control her heartbeat. She forced her thoughts out of her head and continued to look at him, tracing every line of his body, memorizing every muscle and feature of him.
"Can I help you with something?" He asked with one of his prize-winning grins as he leaned against the wall with his shoulder. Anything she had just felt for him evaporated as his reputation sunk in. She chuckled to herself at her own stupidity and at his present stance. What was he, in high school?
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that question?" she replied flatly. James's smile fell away and he stared at her with a serious intent.
"I don't like getting off to bad starts," He said sternly, "I'm sorry for insulting you but when I make a direct order I expect all crew members on this ship to obey it."
Jesse smiled to herself. "First off, I accept your apology. Secondly I am technically not a crew member or your subordinate, I was sent here to fix the electrical controls of the USS Enterprise and thirdly, " Jesse looked at him, her eyes softening from the fierce frustration they held earlier, "I'm sorry I insulted you so by not reporting to the bridge. I mean to do my job, get her fixed and return. My direct desire to start fixing was not meant as an offense to your authority."
Kirk was slightly taken aback by the sincere reply. He had heard enough about the stubborn and irate nature of Jesse Smith, but was shocked that he was experiencing first hand an apology. He switched the power back on and felt them rise once more.
"Wow." He said aloud and grinned. "Who ever thought I'd get an apology from you."
Jesse shot him frightening glare to which he chuckled. Suddenly he turned and stared at her. It was only now that he fully registered that she was in a tank top, black sweatpants and boots.
"Is it that easy for you to take off your clothes?" Kirk asked with a laugh as the two walked onto the bridge. Jesse made a face behind his back quickly replacing it with a smile when Kirk spun around after a few of the crewmembers began to laugh. Introductions were made, even though most knew or knew of the lovely Jesse Smith.
"It says here in your file that you are quite skilled with recalling various alien cultures and languages?" Spock state in an unwavering voice.
"Yes Sir I am." Jesse replied.
Kirk looked at her with intrigue, "Really? How many languages can you speak?"
"Five Captain."
Kirk nodded. "Someone else who has a good tongue."
Urhura stiffened as she thought about throwing something hard at his head and instead settled on glaring pure hatred at Kirk who only laughed in response. Sulu and Chekov quietly laughed as Spock merely stood there, unsure of what that exactly meant.
"Honestly Jim control yourself, you're a Captain for gods sake!" Bones cried.
"Always ruining my fun." Kirk turned to Jesse and stared, "How long will it take you to fix the wiring and get the warping pad up code"
Jesse stared off for a minute, making a few calculations in her head. "A week should suffice."
Now it was the entire bridge that stared at her as if she was off her rocker. "You have seen the ship?" Bones asked unable to take her seriously.
"Yes I have. Re-wiring the ship will take a week at most, the rest of the damage falls under Scotty's specialty and not my own. Though once the wiring is done, it shouldn't be much more for him to repair."
Before Kirk could speak, Urhura interrupted.
"Captain, you've just received an important message from Admiral Pike."
"Put him on screen."
"Sir, He says he needs to speak with you in private."
Kirk remained motionless, a bit surprised as the request of the Admiral.
"Mr. Spock you have the bridge." He said as he headed off to his private chambers. The atmosphere in the bridge began to relax after Kirk left to deal with the severity of that message. Jesse walked over to Nyota and leaned against the wall, arms crossed once more.
"Is he always so forward?"
Nyota laughed. "You have no idea." Nyota watched as Jesse ran a thumb against the silver trinket once more.
"Still have that I see." Jesse gave a small distant small.
"Some things are harder to remove than others."
Jesse watched the crewmen interact with one another on the bridge. It was interesting to see how ships were different in their relationships. Something Jesse was almost a bit envious of but not enough to make her want to stay on a ship for longer than she was ordered to. She missed those days when they were all together, laughing and joking around so long ago. Nyota laid a hand on her arm, causing Jesse to look down at her concerned friend.
"Are you ok?" She whispered in deep concern.
Jesse gave the best fake smile she could muster and patted the slender hand. "I'm fine, just tired." Jesse waited a few more moments before heading back to the engineering room. Upon her return, it seemed that more alarms had gone off since her arrival only an hour ago. She watched as Scotty continued to yell at the young cadets, one of two female cadets bursting into tears causing his rough exterior to soften almost immediately.
"Some things never change…"
Hoping to avoid another rant by Scotty, Jesse made her way to another panel began cutting it up to start another on another section. What she did not notice was the watchful glare of the second female engineering cadet, her short black hair slightly shifting as her head followed the graceful walk of the other woman. Without any one realizing it, she snuck away from her group and stopped just inches away from Jesse's legs. Sensing a figure, Jesse pulled herself out only to be met by the overly cheerful face of the young female cadet who was kneeling down right next to her.
"Sweet god…" Jesse cried, taking a few breaths to recover the shock of the close face. "You frightened me a bit, wasn't really expecting anyone haha….uh so what can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if I could assist you in your endeavors. Central wiring has always fascinated me and since our last Lieutenant….well….died I have not been able to learn much as Scotty does not like to dabble in this area." She said with a smile. Jesse observed the girl. She couldn't be older than 17 at best, her angular face only accenting her slender, delicate frame. Her light brown eyes were slightly covered by the straight black bangs that stretched across her face, the rest of her black hair, cut sharply forward stopping right at her chin. She was quite pale, perhaps due to the fact that many have not seen any form of sun in quite some time. The girl seemed nice enough and more capable than the other cadets so Jesse nodded in agreement. A few hours passed by and thanks to the young cadet, Jesse realized that she might actually be ahead of schedule now. She seemed oddly connected to the young cadet. Perhaps it was the simple fact that they were two women in an area that was mainly dominated by men.
She sat crossed legged beside Jesse chatting away as she occasionally handed tools, only to be interrupted by brief explanations on wiring components as Jesse moved to different areas. Jesse enjoyed the company, even though it was a bit louder than what she was used to. Emily's thorough knowledge of the latest gossip kept Jesse entertained while she worked, laughing every so often at the stories Emily had of the young captain and his late night activities. It was interesting to here the double-sided nature of the Kirk. His behavior was exactly what she fell for before...thankfully she knew better now…or so she hoped.
"It's a wonder he hasn't contracted anything from these encounters…especially with all the on planet visits we're made within the past year!"
Jesse dropped her tools in laughter, tears forming on the edge of her eyes. Soon it dawned on her that she couldn't remember the young girls name.
"I'm sorry I don't mean to interrupt, but I didn't catch your name?" Jesse asked as the young cadet handed her the lit blow torch.
"Emily Faolixan." She replied with a smile.
'Faolixan…why does that sound familiar to me' Jesse thought to herself. She racked her brain, the name on the tip of her tongue. Her thoughts were disrupted when a chunk of loose hanging metal smacked her right on the forehead, creating a large bloody gash across her forehead.
"Damn it all to hell." Jesse shouted as she gingerly touched the gash, pulling herself slightly out of control panel.
"Lieutenant are you ok?" Emily shrieked as a look of deep concern crossed her face. "Oh my god….that's a large gash…and a lot of…" Emily gulped as all the color from her face drained. Jesse looked at Emily, waiting for her to finish, debating whether she was going to finish or empty her stomach all over her tools.
"Oh shit…" Jesse reached out and caught Emily before she landed on the sharp wiring tools. She pulled herself forward with her free hand to gain a stronger stability and make the positioning of holding Emily a little less painful.
"Emily….hellooo….wake up hun…" Jesse said, gently tapping her face in hopes of getting her to come around. With no response, Jesse lifted the light girl up and in her arms, attempting her best to avoid stepping on any of the spaced out tools. 'Mental note- clean up tools'
Jesse walked into the medical center slightly blinded by the bright lights the room had. She nearly dropped Emily from the blindness, catching the entire medical centers attention with the unconscious girl in her arms. Bones ran over, scanning her vitals. When he seemed satisfied that Emily was in no immediate danger he helped Jesse lay her on a bed, hooking her up so that they could make sure she didn't go into cardiac arrest. Bones turned to ask what caused then when he gasped in shock.
"What the hell happened to you?" He said grabbing her face with both of his hands. Jesse rolled her eyes and attempted to remove his hands only to be swatted back by McCoy. "What'd you do, lose a fight with a Cardathian?" he asked, his tone slightly angry.
"Ha ha ha you're so funny." She freed her face from his grip and turned to leave. Bones grabbed the nearest sedative shot and headed towards her. She spun around and glared at him.
"You attempt to shot that thing in my neck and I'll drop kick your ass."
Bones laughed, a full on laugh. It seemed to Jesse that it was not often that he did that and took slight comfort in the fact that she had caused someone joy.
When he regained a bit composure he said, "At least let me bandage you up. Kirk will kill me if I don't do that." Jesse watched him a bit more before agreeing to this. She followed him to his office and sat on the stiff metal table off to the side. Her golden eyes followed all of the pretty lights that whirred and buzzed around her. Jesse was so distracted that she did not even realize that Bones was scanning her body. Without hesitation Jesse grabbed the device from his hands and crushed it but it seemed a bit to late. Bones said nothing, all emotion gone from his face. Jesse looked away, a bit distraught in her own stupidity to avoid this scenario. This is why she hated being on ships.
"Before you say…or do anything. I ask that you keep this between us." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I…I wasn't going to…anyway." Bones said, disappointed in his own reaction to the discovery and guilty in making Jesse uncomfortable.
"I had no idea, and I promise I won't…." Bones stuttered.
"Its fine." She interrupted. Bones gathered a few gauze pads and antiseptic for her forehead and got to work, searing the wound shut. Jesse forced a smile. "I'll be gone soon enough. After that it is unimportant what you say." Upon finishing, Jesse jumped down from the table and shifted uneasily away from Bones. It was the first time someone other than Nyota knew, and sadly it made her feel worthless. She moved to door, heading back to the engineering room.
"Just so you know…I don't really care." Bones shouted at her. She stopped and looked at him, "We weren't the only one's who suffered." For the first time, Jesse felt a wave of relief and comfort. For the first time, she began to feel…. Safe. An unusual and long forgotten feeling.
"Let me know when Emily is awake," Jesse said flashing him a genuine smile as she walked out.
Spock waited until the door opened to enter the private chambers of Kirk. Kirk sad at the desk, the only light in the room was that of the halogen message that he sat facing.
"Computer lights on." Spock called as he made his way around the desk, curious about the sudden sullenness of the captain.
"Sir, what was so urgent, that Admiral Pike requested a private audience?" Spock inquired. Kirk rubbed his eyes, trying to regain feeling. The message replayed over and over in his mind as he tried to grasp the seriousness of what might soon be happening. Kirk pressed a button and stood up, facing the window as Spock took the seat.
"This is an Emergency announcement to all Federation Starships. An immediate threat has been made…"
Jesse made her way to the mess hall. She looked around a few times finally noticing Nyota in the back corner waving at her. Jesse made her way to the table and sat down, finally glad to relax, however brief the moment may be. She heaved a sigh of relief and stretched out her back as she leaned over the chair back.
"Holy shit, Jesse!" Nyota cried as she grabbed Jesse's face. Twice in one day…wow. "What the hell happened to you?" Jesse pulled her face away and leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
"Piece of metal dropped on my face. Felt bad for Emily, apparently she gets queasy at the sight of blood."
"Emily….Emily Faolixan?" Nyota asked.
"Yeah…why?"
"No reason…the girl gives me the creeps."
Jesse laughed. "This coming from the girl dating Spock?"
Nyota tossed a piece of food at Jesse with a grin. "He's not creepy, just serious…for most of the time. Its endearing!"
"Haha…of course it is."
The laughter ended and Nyota grew quiet, her face growing more serious by the second. Jesse felt the shift in attitude and opened her eyes as she remained in the reclined position hoping it wasn't anything to serious.
"The Captain hasn't returned yet." Jesse sat up and looked at her.
"That was nearly three hours ago..." Jesse stated. Nyota remained silent as she pushed her food around her plate as if avoiding the statement entirely.
"I know…" she said finally, "what ever Admiral Pike sent him must be something bad."
"Just because it's been awhile, doesn't mean its all bad Nyota."
"I just have a feeling…"
After she spent a few more hours on the central circuit board, Jesse could no longer ignore the throbbing pain that emitted from her forehead. She couldn't tell if the pain was because she had been hit in the heard earlier that day or because of Scotty's incessant shouting and the constant clang of metals as the cadets kept on dropping things. Whatever the reason the pain was unbearable at this point. She cleaned up her tools, neatly packing them away in the cloth wrappings and setting them off to the side issuing a threat to any who touched them in the slightest. The young group gulped and nodded hastily in response, afraid if they didn't do so.
Grabbing her black duffle bag, Jesse took off in haste to her assigned room and breathed a sigh of relief as she entered its silence a few minutes later. The heat of the water caressed her skin, relaxing whatever tension her muscles once held. For once in a very long time, Jesse felt as if she didn't have to try so hard to hide. Lost in her own thoughts, her fingers came to rest on the simple silver choker. 'Marahmangara...'
A few minutes had passed since she flopped in her bed without a care when the annoying ding a bell called her back to reality. She groaned as she slowly removed herself from the soft, warm haven of comfort and motion for the door to open. Though groggy Jesse stared with an annoyed look at Kirk.
"What do you want?"
"Captain."
"I'm not on duty obviously…. captain" she said, emphasizing the last word with a bit of distain.
Kirk smiled, as he looked her over. Her black hair was still wet from the shower the ends resting on her shoulder, dripping water that was soaked in by the black sports bra she was wearing. Kirk couldn't help but stare at the limited amount of clothing she had on. Black sports bra and short red shorts just made her even more irresistible to him. But the most intriguing thing that capture his attention were the black tattoos that were on her abdomen. They wreathed in an out of one another like two trees entwined together. He began to lean forward, closing the distance between them.
"Do you like being naked or is it just around me?" Kirk asked, his head slightly tilted, still smiling.
"Goodnight James." Jesse said with a grin as the door closed. Kirk called for her, but it was too late, the bed had already taken her prisoner.
