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The Enterprise lurched forward yet again as Rand pulled herself through the service tube towards the bridge. While her station was not the most important to be manned during a Red Alert, she knew that Kirk would be counting on her. Long days without having a chance to visit the gym and full turbo lifts were not making her task any easier. Cursing under her breath at the uselessness of her skirt uniform, Rand pushed herself faster towards the bridge level.
When she finally arrived on the bridge, everyone was attentive awaiting Kirk's command. Eyes were glued to their consoles, ears straining to hear the slightest whisper and silent tension engulfed the atmosphere. Standing quietly at the ready on her Captain's left elbow, Rand took her spot and waited with the rest of the bridge crew.
Stepping to the unoccupied side of the Captain's chair, Commander Spock raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps, Captain, they do not wish to attack a Federation vessel. An open channel of communication would level the odds and gain insight into our opponent's position and reasoning." His voice was smooth as velvet, logic grounding for the aggressive human.
Just as Kirk had turned to respond, the Vessel fired. "Zey hawe launched four photon torpedoes." Chekov reported. "Shields are at sewenty percent. Ve are not prepared." Terror filled the young man's voice.
Grace under fire, calm in the storm, Kirk responded quickly and evenly. "Divert all available power to the forward shields. Fire intercepting torpedoes and fire phasers at its engines." Sulu and Chekov were complaining with the commands as they were given.
Chekov turned, smiling happily. "Torpedoes hawe been intercepted." He took a deep breath before turning back to the view screen.
A ripple, almost like a ribbon, was racing towards the under belly of the ship. Rand had enough knowledge to know it was the blast from the eight photon torpedoes blast radiating back at the ship. She also knew that it was heading at such an angle it would be more of an upper-cut blast and not a jab. The underbelly of the ship was not as shielded as the nose; the charge would be a heavy blow to the ship. Moving forwards, bracing herself for impact, she could only watch as Sulu's phaser fire destroyed the engines and weapon's bay of the marauder ship.
The ship rocked with the blast, and most of the circuits were over-loaded. Rand was thrown into the arm rest of the Captain's chair. The console to the left of the Captain blew up, sending shards of glass-like plastic flying through the air. In a daring move, Kirk leapt to his feet and threw Rand to the floor, taking the full brunt of the explosion instead of the Yeoman. A large piece of metal hit him square in the right temple as several shards sliced into his unprotected abdomen. Rushing over to the unconscious Captain, Rand nodded to the Commander confirming that Kirk still lived, even as a pool of crimson formed around his limp frame. Without looking back, Spock moved towards the Captain's chair and continued to fight off the attacker leaving the Yeoman to aid their fallen comrade, already giving his orders for an answering strike.
Two things rushed through Rand's mind. First that Kirk looked more like a little boy lying in the floor than the grown man she had been serving under for the last few months and second that there would be no medical team available to come and retrieve the wounded officer because no doubt they were attending to the other wounded crewman on the lower decks. Gritting her teeth at the impossibility of the situation, Rand pulled Kirk into a sitting position. She tore the remains of his golden tunic and tied them over one shoulder and under the other to help stop the blood flow. Wiping tenderly with her own sleeve, she removed the blood splatter from his neck. Blue eyes fluttered open in response, a question in their azure depths. "We have to get you to Med Bay, Captain, you are wounded." Her voice was quiet as she began to help him stand.
When a wounded James T. Kirk did not argue leaving a battle to be treated, it was not a good sign. Rand hurried towards the turbo lift with Kirk's unwounded arm over her shoulders. The ship was under constant assault, so the floor beneath them jumped wildly causing them to clutch each other for support. Her gaze never left the double doors, their goal. Her duty was to provide the Captain with the best possible assistance no matter the situation; she was not going to fail him now. One foot in front of the other, crouched low they made their way to the turbo lift.
Once inside, she ordered the lift down to the Med Bay. Breathing deeply and struggling to keep the heavy man upright, Rand squeezed her eyes shut. Kirk had shoved her out of the way, he had taken the hit instead of her. If she hadn't already been a loyal assistant, now she would have been for sure. She owed him her life. The shard would have punctured closer to her heart and would have gone deeper due to her less muscular build. She would have bled to death on that floor, but he had protected her.
Suddenly the lift came to a halt. The lights flickered once before shutting off leaving on the eerie glow of the emergency back-ups. Rand and the bleeding Kirk were stuck in Turbo Lift 2.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
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