Samantha Gray or Sam as she was known surveyed the crowd of fresh out of the academy cadets that where to be her security force.

With so many ships destroyed and soldiers killed by Nero the training for the new fleet had been shortened. And she had risen through the ranks quickly eventually being assigned here. The Enterprise.

"Listen people. I will train you. And I will teach you. What you will learn might someday be the only thing keeping you alive. People tend to grow complacent when inside such a powerful ship. Feeling protected. But that is a wrong thing to think. I will be harsh with you and hard. And most of you will undoubtedly come to hate me. And that is fine. As long as you are and stay alive to do it. "Sam announced."

"First Rule, "Don't die". I will give you tips and teach you tricks to stay alive. I will teach you to fight fair and I will teach you to fight dirty. "

"Why will you teach us to fight dirty. Isn't that dishonorable?" a young man maybe 20 interrupted.

"Because boy, honor doesn't matter. Out there if you fight honorably in the wrong situation you will die. And then where will you be? Honorably dead? Pointlessly, stupidly dead I say. If you fight for real outside of the ring, outside of tournaments there are no rules but one. And that one rule is the rule of the Jungle. The stronger and/or smarter one will survive. The rule of the Jungle cannot be reasoned with. You cannot talk with it sensibly over tea. It is in the end incontrovertible, unassailable and absolutely true. And that is why we are here."

She now had everybody's full attention.

"We, the Starfleet, is just another example in history for an organization keeping the jungle at bay so to speak. This is what makes civilization possible. Makes the distinction good and evil possible. Which makes it possible for other rules than that of the jungle to apply. It is the reason we have amenities you all take for granted. Amenities like basic rights and justice.

Don't take them for granted. They are not to be taken for granted anywhere that is not federation. Remember the law of the jungle. Never forget that civilization is a temporary state of affairs and in the end the law of the jungle will return. Each of you and every single person in this service is keeping it at bay. But you can only do so if you are alive. And I will make damn sure that you have the best pre-conditions so remember this. Hate me all you like but remember why I am pushing you, because in the grand scheme of things each of you is all that stands between Civilization and the Jungle."

"Any questions?" she looked around sternly, No one dared to speak. "Good, now we will start "

And she started by pushing everybody to their own personal limit. And what she said happened. Most people hated her. Called her psychotic. And other less than flattering things But they remembered her speech, remembered what she said during training and therefore each and every person did whatever they could, gave what they had to give. Pushed themselves to their limits.

She repeated her speech before every first class. And soon everybody knew her.

After a few weeks chief of security Sam sat down in the officer's mess.

She sat down across from the captain. She eyed him sternly.

He sighed. "Let me guess you want to do an extra class for all the officers and you want me, Spock and every other officer to go through the same grueling training as the rest of the crew."

"Precisely captain, I am so glad we understand each other." She said with a quiet sweet smile that made him somewhat afraid. His Mom had always looked at him that way when she would dole out aweful chores as punishment for something he had done. The chores where always grueling.

He would come to find his fears had been accurate.

The officers arrived in the gym the next day.

She gave them the same speech but with an addendum. "Hate me all you like but remember why I am pushing you, because in the grand scheme of things each of you is all that stands between Civilization and the Jungle. You are the captain, you are the first officer. And the rest of you are mostly the heads of your department. In anything relating to your job or department I have no authority. But if we are on a planet, moon or whatever, if I have the slightest hint that it could be unsafe you will follow my lead. I cannot do my job of protecting you, keeping you safe if you disobey me. Is that clear?" she was especially looking at the captain.

Kirk was opening his mouth. She cut him off before he could speak. "I do not care if you think you know better. I am trained for this. I am not unreasonable. If you can provide me with a rational explanation why you disagree I can be persuaded. However if I am not convinced I expect you to follow my lead." She saw that Spock was raising an eyebrow.

"Yes Commander?"

"While your logic is sound I submit that sometimes risks must be taken. If it comes down to saving oneself or a great number of others, the life of one or few do not outweigh the potential to save the greater number."

"I agree commander and if such a situation comes up and the odds are it will, I shall follow the lead of the captain or you. At the same time I will still be trying to protect you to the best of my ability. I do not care if the odds are not in our or my favor. The moment you stop trying to survive is the moment you are as good as dead not before."

"I commend you for your determination. Even if it is most illogical."

She smiled coldly. "Illogic has its merits. Illogic excludes the possibility of a no win scenario. And that is what a survivor in essence is. Someone that does not believe in no-win scenarios. Which is why we humans have survived even the darkest times and will continue to do so. Now as much as I would like to get into a discussion on the merits of illogic I am here to train you all. I will push you all to your limits and assess your abilities. Commander Spock I have devised a separate test for you, as the parameters under which you might show strain are different than humans. I need to know what each crewmember is capable of to accurately estimate possible and probable behavior in various scenarios, as well as multiple courses of action available at any given time."

"Logical." Spock mumbled.

So she instructed the others to run on the tred-mils. She explained the gravity would gradually increase until they could go no more.

"Commander I have specially programmed that tred-mil to start out with a gravitation that is 1,37469512 times that of earth." She explained. Spock nodded in understanding that was Vulcan's gravity.

They all started at the same time. Spock, the captain, Uhura and Sulu were the fittest of the bunch. Chekov, Scotty and Bones( she had been sort of friends with him at the academy ) not so much.

She spoke to Chekov first, in Russian. Devising a scenario tailored to rally even the last of his energies. Basically guilting him into push just once more. Just a bit farther. Just one more gravity increase. Just a bit more.

Bones was next to tire. Here she quietly spoke to him. Listing all the planets that had higher gravity. Devising a scenario that would bring out the desperate doctor. That would tug at his heart. It would lead to push him just a bit farther. Just one more gravity increase. Just a bit more.

Next came Scotty here again she spoke quietly devising scenarios that threatened what he held most dear. The Enterprise. It worked he pushed himself just a bit farther. Just one more gravity increase. Just a bit more.

But soon Sulu and Uhura were also starting to tire. I spoke to Uhura in Swahili and to Sulu in Japanese. She was now going in-between the 5 persons. Again and again nudging each of them to push themselves farther and farther.

Chekov was the first to stumble. She knew his border was reached. She programmed the tred-mil to calm down in the process of 10 minutes. When she told Chekov he would have only 10 more minutes to go and the gravity and speed would decrease he seemed very relieved.

In the end only the captain and Spock were left. She noticed the captain straining himself. She wanted to walk towards him and try to encourage him. When out of nowhere he suddenly seemed to get a burst of energy, his eyes however were far, far away. Actually knowing what she knew from the "download" she got from Spock Prime she could guess were his mind was. She pondered what she should do.

When she heard a gasp, she looked into the direction of the sound. She saw Uhura looking at the display of Spock's treadmill. It was at almost twice the setting she normally trained with at about 11 times that of earth. She had to fight to hide a smile. 'My little overachiever.' She thought warmly.

She programmed both of the remaining treadmills to slowly slow down within 10 Minutes. The Capitan was now clearly laboring with a gravity 4,5 times that of earth.

When the training came to an end. Kirk was gasping, stumbling of the treadmill and landed flat on his back on a mattress in the gym. Spock, yes well Spock would look a bit tired to everyone but that was it. She knew better. She knew he had heard her devising scenarios at least for Bones and Scotty. She knew he had used a similar method to focus his energies. For all his 'I am Vulcan and Vulcans don`t' talk he was quite human. She should know.

"Ok people well done. You are the only group that did not complain. Congrats for not being obnoxious. Tomorrow I will assess your martial arts skills. After that I will test your knowledge of weapons. And following that, I will devise a training program for each one of you. If I find you to be on a comparable level as others I will divide you up into the different classes that are scheduled to start next week. Dr. McCoy please distribute hypos to prevent sore muscles."

Everybody but Kirk, Spock and Bones grumbled but quickly ran lest she change her mind.

"Now what the fuck was that all about you psychotic bitch?" Bones asked her.

"I was trying to push you to your limits you obnoxious bastard!" she answered in kind with a smirk.

"Yeah physically not psychologically." He fired back.

"Mind over matter. Bonesy, Mind over matter. Do you really think you would have kept on so long if I had not provided you with scenarios in which you might have to?" she asked him.

And when she saw his annoyed look she knew he knew that she was right.

"So Captain, do you still think my training is unnecessary?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I kinda like your stand on Illogic." Kirk said. She smiled. Of course he would.

"I understand your point, however I believe that apart from training with additional gravity you cannot provide me with adequate training. I am quite strong and a most efficient fighter, I believe …"

She cut him off. "Commander Spock I am a genius at physical expression, I have a black belt in several martial arts. Several of these martial arts are designed for fighting against a stronger and faster opponent. I have no doubt you would beat me arm-wrestling. But there are infinitely diverse races out there. Some twice or thrice as tall as us, and/or a lot stronger than us or even Vulcan's. Not to learn such techniques from me, when the possibility of meeting someone/ something stronger or faster is approximately 57.38 percent, would be illogical. I assure you I am capable of devising a training that will keep your mind and body challenged."

He raised his eyebrow, and then nodded. "Your logic is flawlessly sound." He bowed slightly and left.

She inwardly smiled, that was considered high praise from a Vulcan.

She turned towards Kirk.

Kirk still had a shadow behind his eyes; I thought I knew what it was.

"Captain, do you have something to add?" she asked him.

"I checked over the Training Drills you came up with. The programming is ingenious. Say why aren't you a science officer? Or even a communications officer? I mean you spoke to everybody in their native language. And how did you come up with your ideas for the Drills? I mean a lot of those scenarios seem incredibly imaginative and highly unlikely. I thought Starfleet already covered every conceivable thing that could happen."

She ignored his questions. "Yes well it is the inconceivable ones that I am concerned about. Does this mean the crew will practice these drills?" she asked.

"Well, some of them seem to be very Kobayashi Maru like. No-Win scenarios." He stated.

"That is not true. There is 1 possible outcome to each simulation that could be considered a win." She countered.

"Really?" Jim asked not believing her.

"Indeed captain. Perhaps you have not found it yet?" She suggested.

"Hm. You're good very good. Another question though why does my first officer seem so uncomfortable around you?

"I doubted anyone would notice." She replied.

"Yeah well I pay attention to him." He shrugged.

"Yeah, I bet you do." She said in a teasing tone her eyes twinkling. When Jim Kirk looked shocked and then worried she continued. "Don't worry, I doubt anyone other than Uhura has noticed. You're not obvious. I just am used to paying attention to everything, even the minutest details."

"Uh, ok. Uhm so why is Spock uncomfortable around you?" he asked not deterred.

"I have met him before during our academy days. He informed me then, that I look a lot like his mother only that his mother was older and brunette. I can't imagine it is easy for him seeing me every day. I color my hair red, it would be brown otherwise. And my personality is 'most antithetic'. " she gestured quotation marks around the last two words.

He smiled. "Yeah that sounds like Spock. But I get it. I'd probably be freaked to work beside a replica of my mom or dad too. Good Night Sam."

"Good Night Captain." She answered.

"Its Jim when we're not on duty." He reminded her.

"Good Night Captain Jim." She answered cheekily.

He rolled his eyes, smiled and left.

'So far so good', she thought. 'Now it will be interesting to see if I can whip this crew into shape in time.'

She only hoped that she was not interfering too much or too little. She couldn't just take over and do everything for them. They would not learn and grow that way. She breathed in. She would just have to trust her instinct in this.

Also what to do about Uhura, she was keeping Spock from his T'thy'la.