Glancing around, Kirk saw who he assumed to be the young doctor. "Dr. Xosa, a word?" Turning around in annoyance, she exclaimed "I'm too busy for this! My compound isn't – Oh my god". Face paling, she exclaimed, "I'm sorry Captain Kirk, I thought you were a cadet". Smirking at her, he remarked "well, shit – sorry to catch you in a bad mood". He made a great effort to disguise his surprise – she was not, as he had assumed, human – though he shouldn't really have been surprised, a name like Xosu. She didn't look far from human – It was the eyes that gave her away – they were only slightly larger than usual, but an intense shade of dark violet. Not exactly something you see cropping up in human genetics. Aside from a slightly silvery glowing quality to her white-blond hair, she appeared otherwise human-like. He couldn't quite place her home planet though; he'd never met anyone with purple eyes. It wasn't her slightly unusual appearance that had truly surprised him; it was her otherworldly beauty – you didn't see many aliens that looked like that… Shaking his head internally, knowing that he was suspiciously silent, he said "McCoy sent me to talk to you about joining the Halii party. You're quite welcome to, if you have surface excursion training. I can't risk taking you if you don't." Nodding, she said "yes, I was qualified for it before we left Earth. It's very important that I be allowed on this excursion – it could mean a lot for the compounds I am trying to develop." He grinned – "Well, I'll be damned if I'll stand in the way of medical science!" Hesitating, he looked back at her. "Pike asked me to keep an eye on you, you know." She rolled her eyes – "of course he did. I can take care of myself – I've been doing it since I was 8 years old." Then she hesitated –But if he asks, you can tell him you've been checking. You know, so he doesn't kick your ass next time he sees you. That cane could probably do a lot of damage to your kneecap…" Wincing, he retreated and left to return to the bridge, furiously trying to shake the image of her smile out of his mind – she's too young, she's Pike's friend, she's too young… she has the most BEAUTIFUL eyes… Shit.
Jupiter sighed to herself – great impression, she thought. Snap at the Captain, THAT looks good. Really helps with the professionalism – it was difficult to be taken seriously as a scientist barely in her twenties, and that hadn't exactly helped her case… Mind wandering, she suddenly thought about how attractive he had looked, leaning casually against the doorframe… Stunned, she internally slapped herself. What the hell?! Get your shit together, Zo.
Over the next few weeks, Kirk had reason to visit the med engineering lab, a necessary interest in another engineer's project – developing a jumpsuit that could protect explorers more effectively from environmental toxins. His eyes were consistently drawn, however, to the young woman hunched in the corner over her microscope. He had convinced himself that he was getting used to her violet eyes, her silvery hair (he wanted to touch it – to see if it was as soft as it looked), the way his eyes were drawn to her as she walked by him in the corridors. That he didn't want to stop her in her tracks, fall into step beside her. The mystery that surrounded her only served to increase his fascination.