A/N: I'm sorry for the major delay in getting this chapter written. I've been so focused on getting HotG written, that I've almost forgotten about our precious Karmen. And I have also been stressed out due to life in general. I do truly miss writing Star Trek fanfiction, and I'm now gonna give this story my utmost, undivided attention until I catch up with the art that I've drawn. Also, the planet being described is NOT the planet from the TOS episode "Shore Leave". I don't know what planet it is but I'm just going with it because you almost never see any shore leaves on TOS. Also, as far as Pavel's accent goes; I'm WAY outta practice with writing his accent so forgive me if it seems over the top or something... Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter of Adventures of the Enterprise!

Extra Note: I had stopped writing this chapter for a short time, seeing that Anton Yelchin had died very recently due to his car crushing him. Not only was I sad, but I felt as if it would be rather disrespectful to post a chapter of this story where the character Chekov is one of the main characters. Don't ask me why, seeing as this is the TOS Chekov I'm writing about, but I felt as if it would be rather insensitive to some people. May God rest his soul and may he be resting in peace. God bless.

Chapter Genre: Friendship, Humour

Chapter Rating: K

Rating Content: Author chose not to list warnings/No warnings apply


Karmen continued to pluck at the various strings, testing and experimenting with different tunes and notes. Whilst she played, she would hum a small melody she had learned when she was a young girl. Whilst living on Earth and training in Starfleet, Karmen had gained a fondness for music, something that was not all to common on her world. Sure, there were celebrations and festivals, even the occasional social gathering, but rarely did it involve music. She had an interest in the guitar, something that also wasn't common on her world. She enjoyed listening to the various notes a guitar could play.

However, there was a lack of musical instruments on the Enterprise, something that shouldn't have surprised her. From the range of people she knew so far, almost none of them were music enthusiasts. All, save for one particular crew member.

Spock also had a fascination, as he said, for music and he had an instrument called a Vulcan Lute. It was almost an equivalent to a human guitar, however, the Lute he owned had a total of twelve strings, something that she had a hard time comprehending and learning to master. However, with some help from Spock, who even said that she was a quick learner, she was able to play the Vulcan Lute as if she had been playing it since childhood.

Karmen heard a knock at her door, immediately snapping her mind back into reality. She quickly addressed whomever was behind her door. "Come in."

The door slid open to reveal Captain James Kirk. Karmen placed down the Lute and stood, squaring her shoulders. "Captain." She nodded sharply, to which Jim chuckled. "At ease, Karma, you're not on duty."

She relaxed her posture, if only slightly. Although she had been apart of the crew for almost eight months and the Captain had started to consider her as a friend, she still felt that it was improper not to address the Captain as if he were in a position of authority. She thanked her home planet for that instinct. "Is there something you need of me, sir?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." He said. "Karma, have you ever taken a break lately?"

"'A break', sir?"

"Yes."

Karmen cocked her head slightly. "Ah, well I have had about two days off of working in Engineering."

Jim suppressed a sigh. There were some moments where she could be rather naive. "That is because you had an injury, Miss Leison; that's purely medical."

Karmen briefly remembered the incident that had happened about two days earlier; she had been calmly working in Engineering. Scotty was teaching her various technical skills that could be vital in cases of emergencies. They had been on one of the higher floors of Engineering when the ship suddenly shook and lurched.

The first time it had happened, they were both able to stay balanced, but the second time they both had lost their balance. She had grabbed Scotty's hand for support, thinking that he would be able to hold her up. However, Scotty wasn't expecting the sudden weight of her and he fell down with her. Karmen's wings had been spread out for balance from the previous quake, so when they fell down her wings had been bent from the joint where feathers met flesh. One was fine, but the other had been sprained and she wasn't able to move it without it hurting. She needed her wings, both of them, for balance and so Bones had given her two days medical leave.

"But I still consider it a break, sir." She cleared her throat quietly, understanding that the Captain seemed to be losing some element of patience with her.

"So as I understand it, then," he sat down across from Karmen, "in the amount of time you have been apart of the Enterprise crew, you haven't had a single Shore Leave?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. I see no reason for going on Shore Leave; it wastes valuable time that I could be using to work."

Jim chuckled. "There are times when I think you sound a lot like Spock."

There was a long pause between them before Karmen cleared her throat. "Well, sir-"

"Karma, you can call me Jim or Kirk when we're off duty."

She cleared her throat again. "Well, Jim... If you don't mind, I'm rather busy."

He raised an eyebrow. "I can see that." He said in an almost sarcastic tone. Karmen realized how stupid she must have sounded, then.

Jim began to take his leave then paused. "The next shore leave is actually tomorrow, Karma."

"Sir, as I said before, I have no desire to go on Shore Leave."

Jim was never one for using his role as Captain for ill reasons, but he knew that sooner or later Karmen would have to have a break. And a break after having an injury was a good reason as any. "Karmen, as a friend I suggest going on Shore Leave as a way to relax, but as your Captain I order you to go on the next Shore Leave as a means of recovery."

Karmen's lips set into a fine line, at odds with herself. He had just said they were off duty but he had given her an order, nonetheless. She was a bull-headed Feluma but this was one of the very few times where she allowed someone else to win. With a sigh, she nodded. "Aye, Captain."

Jim smiled. "Good. I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Lieutenant."

The moment the door closed behind him she flopped down onto her chair. Every moment she thought that she had humans figured out, they always managed to throw another curve ball at her!

/ / /

"Karma, so glad you could join us!"

Karmen grinned unenthusiastically at her Captain and placed down her bag. She had done some research and she gathered what she believed to be the essentials for an outdoor Shore Leave. She had hoped that she dressed appropriately as well, seeing as outdoor weather could be rather unpredictable; black yoga pants and a blue tank top that was specially designed for her. "Of course, sir. Couldn't miss it."

Jim chuckled. "Well, seeing as this is your first Shore Leave and that you're such close friends, I decided you should be going with Sulu and Chekov this time."

Sulu nodded and Chekov waved from the transporter. Karmen waved back at them, stepping onto the platform. "Hey." She said nervously. "I still don't think this is necessary under any circumstance..."

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it!" Sulu said, smiling.

"I hope so."

Karmen, out of a force of habit, grabbed her wings and wrapped them around herself. "I know it was a joke, but I'm still paranoid." She stated. She heard a small snicker behind her before hearing Sulu say, "Energize." Karmen quickly closed her eyes.

/ / /

"Karmeen, it eez alright, now."

Karmen opened her eyes slowly then stretched her wings out, sighing with relief. Picking up her bag she looked around the luscious setting of the planet; a gorgeous, shimmering lake, a forest with lush green trees, plenty of small flora and fauna to observe and enjoy. "It's so beautiful, here!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, Karma," Sulu agreed. "That it is."

"Vere do you think ve should camp?" Chekov asked them.

Sulu pointed to the forest along the lake. "Somewhere in there; we can do our hike and go fishing there if we find a decent spot."

"'Fishing'?" Karmen repeated, unsure as to what that was.

"We'll show you once we get there, Karma."

They started to move and Karmen shrugged off his statement, following close behind him. As they walked in the forest Sulu began to point out various flora and fauna to Karmen, whom had never seen or even heard of the majority of what the things he was pointing out. After spotting a butterfly Karmen asked about them and Sulu had gone into a full lecture about how butterflies evolved from caterpillars; 'metamorphosis'. Pretty soon he was giving a full lecture about many other animal species that often underwent the same form of metamorphosis or 'evolution'.

Chekov slowed down so he was walking directly beside Karmen. "So, Karmeen, are you enjoying ze shore leave so far?"

Karmen smiled. "Yes, this planet is absolutely stunning! As much as I hate admitting it, I do believe the Captain was right in sending me on shore leave; I feel very relaxed."

"Zat ees good."

They walked in silence for a few brief moments. When Chekov opened his mouth to say something Sulu said, "Here seems like a good spot to camp." They both looked to see an opening in the forest along the lake. "I can't argue with that, Hikaru." Karmen said.

"Da, eet is perfect."

Karmen took the initiative and walked into the opening, setting down her bag and opening it. "Well, I'll start unpacking so we can go 'fishing', as you say. I'm rather eager to see what sort of activity it is."

"You will like eet, Karmeen!"

Karmen smiled again. In the amount of time that she had come to know Pavel, she had truly begun to enjoy his company. He always managed to bring a smile to her face, even if she was ever frustrated or upset about something. He also was always the first one to help her with whatever problems she had. He was such a gentleman, as well.

And, for whatever reason, he seemed to be a popular topic for her to think about as of late. Perhaps it's just the friendship we share. She thought.

She froze, suddenly, as she heard a squawk just above her. Lookig up, her gaze fell upon a dark creature; completely black in color, its eyes just as black, this creature was a fair size. Completely covered in feather and adorned with wings, Karmen finally realized what the creature was.

She gasped and fell backward, fear gripping her heart. Why has this demon approached me!? She thought.

Chekov had heard her gasp and thought something had possibly bitten or startled her. "Karmeen?" He turned sharply and saw her sitting still on the ground, her eyes not tearing away from a Crow. "Karmeen, are you alright?" He stood from his pack and walked over to her, startling the crow in the process and causing it to fly over them. Karmen released a small breath (which came out almost as a squeak) and flopped onto her back, looking up to the sky. Chekov could hear her muttering words of some kind. "Ees something wrong?" He asked again, kneeling down beside her.

"How could you approach such a creature?" She breathed out.

"Vat? A crow?" He asked, obviously confused.

She sat up and ruffled her feathers on her shoulders and wings, an odd habit that she had developed whenever she experienced something terrifying. "Is that what you call the demons?"

"What is going on, what 'demons'?" Sulu asked, approaching the two with bamboo fishing rods in hand.

"She vas startled by a crow, Sulu."

"No, a demon." Karmen said.

Sulu raised an eyebrow at his winged friend. "Perhaps you can tell us about this demon as we fish."

Karmen and Chekov nodded. Chekov offered his hand and she took it, gladly, and stood. Brushing herself off she took one of the bamboo fishing rods from Sulu and inspected it. "Such an odd tool." She muttered.

Karmen followed Sulu and Chekov to the edge of the lake where they all sat down. "You see, Karma," Sulu begun exlpaining, "fishing is a form of hunting; you can, however, choose to keep and eat the fish or to let it go back into the water."

"But why let the fish go? Isn't it a waste of time to catch it only to let it go?"

Chekov chuckled. "Sometimes feeshing can just be a vay to relax; you don't need to alvays be hunting for zem."

Karmen nodded in understanding. "We never had fishing on my planet. Where I lived, it was far too cold for any water life to live there."

Sulu gave Karmen and Chekov a worm. Karmen was confused briefly before realizing (after observing Chekov and what he did with his worm) that it was bait for the fish. She followed Chekov and knotted the worm onto the hook, wiping the grime off of her hands. "So, what do we do with the rod?" She asked.

"Just watch." Sulu said. "Because these are bamboo rods you can't make the bait go too far." He reared the rod and gently swung it forward, the hook and bait going under the water. The bobber keeping it from going too deep. Karmen, cautious not to hit anyone with the hook, copied Sulu's actions. She smiled as the line went out and the bait into the water.

"Vell done, Karmeen!" Chekov praised, setting his own line out into the water.

Karmen crossed her legs and breathed in deeply. "It's so warm, here." She said, soaking in the rays of the sun.

"Da."

"Indeed."

Several moments of silence passed by as they all sat, waiting for a fish to take their bait. Karmen cleared her throat. "I, ah, guess I owe you two an explanation from earlier, with the... Crow."

She looked to her two friends and sighed. "Back on my homeworld, there are some birds that are considered as cursed. They once were normal Feluma, like me. They followed the laws, honored the gods, did all of the things that were righteous and true."

Sulu and Chekov listened with interest and Chekov placed his rod into the ground, his full attention on her and her story. "However, Feluma had started to rebel against the gods, not following the laws, doing unspeakable things. The gods, outraged, had taken these Feluma and placed a curse upon them, turning them into small black demons, completely covered in dark black feathers. The gods had cursed them so they could never communicate with their own people, replacing their voices with sharp, unintelligible calls. It is said that their black eyes contain the curse within their souls and if you dare to turn your back, to look away, then the curse can fall upon you."

Her story finished, Chekov and Sulu looked briefly at one another before looking back at her. "It is a legend, nearly a myth, but many Feluma dare not to laugh or mock the stories. I know that I am not on my homeworld, but I still cannot help but fear these creatures."

Chekov leaned over and patted Karmen on her shoulder. "Vell, there ees no need to be afraid of crows, Karmeen. Zey are completely harmless."

She nodded her thanks. "Yeah."

Karmen suddenly felt a tug on her rod and she looked to see the line being tugged on. Instinctively, she began to pull back on it. "That's it, Karma; just keep pulling until you get it onto shore!"

Karmen nodded and continued to pull. This fish refuses to be captured! She thought. Readjusting her grip she stood from her seated position and pulled with all of her strength, pulling the fish straight out of the water.

Karmen had been expecting many things when she went out on shore leave, but getting slapped in the face was not one of those things. She had tugged so hard that the fish came flying out of the water and straight into her face. Out of shock she dropped the rod and wiped her face, looking down at the flopping fish. Cautiously, she knelt down and poked at the slimy creature. "You caught one!" Sulu exclaimed, having trouble with catching a fish of his own. "That's great!"

"Mhmm." She muttered, not tearing her eyes from the fish. Her body betrayed no emotion, but mentally, she was freaking out.

Oh my gosh, what on earth is it doing? What do I do with it? Should I squish it? She picked it up by its tail and inspected it closely. She noticed two flaps on its sides that opened and closed. When she forced the flaps to stay closed the fish would try and shake her off, making her realize that that was how they breathed. "Um, are we keeping these or letting them go?" She asked, turning her gaze to her friends.

"Ve are keeping zem, Karmeen."

She shrugged. "Alright, then."

/ / /

The remainder of the afternoon was filled with fishing, not that Karmen truly minded. Chekov had, at one point, nearly lost his fishing rod after he didn't pay attention to it. He had just caught sight of the rod pulling out of the ground and he lunged after it, face planting directly into the edge of the water which plastered his face with algae and mud. Despite themselves, Karmen and Sulu couldn't help but laugh and Chekov had joined in (after getting his fish onto shore).

Now the three friends were sitting around a campfire, just finishing their meal of cooked fish.

"That was delicious! Who knew that fish could make for such a good dinner?" Karmen stated, licking her fingers.

"Well, now you know!"

Karmen nodded and licked her lips. "So, I brought along a small treat for us."

Both Karmen and Sulu watched as Chekov began to open a fairly large plastic bag. Sulu, knowing what it was, smiled whereas Karmen had no clue as to what the contents of the bag were. "Ze only vay to complete a campfire!" He said, taking out small white things.

He handed the bag to Sulu, whom also took a few out, then he handed the bag to Karmen. She took one of the things out from the bag and then set the bag down. She held the small white thing in her hand, using a finger to squish it. She smelled it, her mouth watering at the sweet and sugary scent. "What a strange food..."

Chekov had already placed on of those white squishy things on a stick and he proceeded to cook it over the fire. "Eet ees called a marshmallow, Karmeen!" He explained, an amused smile crossing his face.

"'Marshmallow'..." She repeated, squishing it once again. Sulu couldn't help but laugh as he handed her a stick. "Here, use this."

She took the stick and impaled it into the marshmallow, copying Chekov and placing it above the flames of the fire. "Okay, what do I do with it now?"

"Just cook it. You can burn it or just cook it until it's a golden color all around." Sulu said, beginning to cook his own marshmallow.

Karmen watched the marshmallow, occasionally turning the stick so it would be evenly cooked. She pulled it out from the fire and inspected it. Seeing that it was almost completely golden in color she pulled it off of the stick and put it into her mouth.

She moaned slightly at the sweet, sticky taste of the marshmallow, catching the attention of her two friends. "By the gods, this is delicious!" She exclaimed. She savored the flavor of the marshmallow as it melted in her mouth, the sugary taste forever imprinted in her mind.

Sulu shrugged it off and chuckled, Chekov had a harder time tearing his eyes off of Karmen. She was really enjoying that marshmallow...

"Chekov, your marshmallow." Sulu warned him.

"Oh, shoot!" He rapidly pulled his marshmallow from the fire, blowing on it to extinguish it.

Karmen laughed. "Seems that food isn't favoring you today, Pavel."

He pulled his marshmallow from his stick and sighed. "I think you may be right, Karmeen." He agreed, putting the marshmallow in his mouth.

They had eaten a few more marshmallows before they started to turn in for the evening. It took Chekov a few moments to realize that they had only one tent set up. "Karmeen, don't you have a tent to sleep een?"

She climbed up a nearby tree and out onto a branch, where she hung upside down. "This is where I sleep, Pavel. We Feluma do not require a bed or tent."

Chekov shrugged slightly. "Alright, Karmeen. If zere is anything you need-"

"I'll let you know, Pavel."

He nodded and entered the tent, closing the flap behind him.

Karmen sighed contentedly, wrapping her wings around her like a bat. She closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

/ / /

Sulu had woken up early, that morning. He sat up and yawned, stretching out his stiff limbs. He took a moment to fully wake up before he checked on Karmen, seeing as she had slept outside. The instant he opened the entrance of the tent he closed it and nudged Chekov with his foot. "Chekov, wake up!"

He snorted and yawned. "Vat, vat ees eet, Sulu?"

"It's Karmen; she doesn't look the greatest."

This made Chekov sit up and crawl over to the entrance of the tent, nearly toppling over due to sleepiness. They both opened the flaps of the tent to see Karmen in the spot she was the previous evening. She didn't appear to be doing well, however. Her hair was completely disheveled and sleep tousled, her arms hanging limply along with her wings, which were so large that the touched the ground of the forest. Her mouth was open and her eyes remained closed.

"Ees she dead, Sulu?!"

"I don' know."

She suddenly twitched, nearly startling the two men. "But something tells me she isn't."

She twitched again, this time more violently. She muttered something unintelligible and moved in her sleep. Unfortunately that movement caused her to slip off of her branch and onto the forest floor. She landed on her stomach with a grunt, turning over slowly onto her back. "Ow..." She groaned.

"Karmeen!" Chekov got out of the tent and knelt beside her. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "I've fallen on my head before, Pavel. You'd have to do more than that to hurt a Feluma." She looked up and froze as her eyes fell onto Chekov, whom for whatever reason, wasn't wearing a shirt. His chest completely bare, free for her eyes to see.

He's gorgeous... She couldn't help but think. Karmen shook her head and sat up, suppressing the urge to slap herself. Are you kidding me?! He's a colleague, you shouldn't be thinking that!

"You gave us quite the scare, Karma!" Sulu said, exiting the tent. "You appeared almost... Dead, I guess is the only word."

She nodded and stood up, brushing herself off. "Yes, there are some moments where a Feluma can be in such a deep sleep that they do pertain the qualities of being dead; short and very few breaths, limbs motionless, it's almost impossible to wake a Feluma up when they're in that state."

"Unless zey fall on zeir head?"

She chuckled. "Yes, I suppose."