A/N: And we're back! So sorry about letting you all wait. As my gift to you, prepare for angst.

I don't think there's any need for a wordlist this time, but please let me know if something is unclear.

Another PSA: the pixies won't be joining us. They're not a part of the Fae's crew, at least (they might be Aurora's actual aunts, who knows?). I thought I would use at least one of them, but I changed my mind. All new officers will most likely be original characters or borrowed from other fandoms.

With that said, enjoy :)


Chapter 7: Surfing the waves of destruction

The captain's ready room was still and quiet, a jarring contrast to the turmoil on the bridge. Aurora's thoughts more than made up for the difference though, her mind filled with worries and what-ifs on repeat. Whatever strength she had felt back on the bridge was gone. "You, me and the rest of the crew"? In the silence of her ready room, it sounded laughably hollow.

The doors slid open and Maleficent entered. "Captain."

"Come in," Aurora mumbled as she slowly sat up, tired enough not to care much about appearance.

"Balthazar has gotten the fires under control in engineering and Commander Terei has begun analyzing the devices that were used to sabotage the ship."

Aurora nodded to herself. She hadn't seen much of the ship's science officer – Lieutenant Commander Terei – since Captain Roberts died, Terei being too busy helping out with the repairs. "Sounds good."

"Have you read the reports yet?"

Aurora looked down on her desk where a few PADDs lay, screens dark. The dread that had filled her when she brought them with her came back with full force. Reading the injury report and the damage report would make this all real; it would make it far too real. It would mean that the ship she was put in charge of had been damaged, broken. It would mean that people on her ship – under her command – had been injured. "No," she sighed, eyes still lingering on the PADDs, "no, I haven't looked at any of them."

"Aurora?"

"I can't. It's... it's too much," Aurora said, no louder than a whisper. "It was supposed to be an easy mission. Scanning a nebula. Exploring the stars. Not," she gestured at the PADDs as her voice grew louder, more frustrated, "this. One dead, one missing – maybe dead as well – a ship reduced to scrap, sabotage?"

"It is highly unlikely that Ensign Scarlett is dead, seeing how–"

"It doesn't matter!" Aurora exclaimed, flying out of her chair and slamming her hands down on the table. She swallowed and dipped her head, trying to collect herself. She didn't usually get this upset, but this time it would seem her father's genes shone through. It left a bad taste in her mouth. "I wasn't meant to be captain. I don't want to be captain. I don't want to lead anyone!"

"Nevertheless, you are the captain," Maleficent noted, "and you are in charge of this ship."

"And I can't do it," Aurora murmured, her voice cracking. "I'm not cut out for this. I can barely stand the damn ship getting damaged. How am I supposed to handle a casualty report?" She stared back at Maleficent with wide eyes, fury and helplessness battling for power.

"So what do you suggest?" Maleficent asked. "We do our best while you sit in here lamenting your misfortune?"

"What?" Aurora replied, confused at the sharpness in Maleficent's tone. "No, I–"

"Or perhaps you think everyone should take a few weeks off to handle their frail emotions while the ship falls apart and Ensign Scarlett is forgotten," she continued, her expression hardening.

"That's not what I meant–"

"Then what did you mean, Captain?" Maleficent snapped. "Why should the ship and crew suffer because you can't control yourself?"

"I didn't ask for this!"

"Yes you did!" Maleficent shot back, her eyes burning. "You accepted the position of first officer. You knew the risks, you knew that you were next in line to the captain's chair." She clenched her jaw and looked out through the window for a few moments, her hands curling into fists. When she turned back, her voice was lower but no less fierce. "What would happen if Balthazar decided he'd had enough? Or the doctor? Or, for that matter, if I hadn't accepted the promotion following Captain Robert's death?"

The words stung, taking Aurora by surprise. It was true, though; she hadn't thought about the other's role in this, how everyone else felt, how everyone else had been affected. She'd been too focused on herself, on how to cope with something that had been forced on her. And while Maleficent's words did nothing to make her feel better, they did put things in a new perspective.

She sat down in her chair with a sigh, head bent in defeat. "I... hadn't thought of it like that," Aurora mumbled as the anger that had gripped her slowly faded away, leaving her with the fear of her responsibilities and the shame of disappointing her crew – and more importantly, disappointing Maleficent.

"I'm sure you hadn't," Maleficent shot back, a badly hidden snarl on her lips. "But while you wallow in self-pity, your crew suffers." She stepped up to Aurora's desk, towering over the young captain as her eyes bored into Aurora's. "If you can't handle your feelings in a crisis like this, when a real crisis hits, people will die." She stood there for a few moments, eyes burning and hands shaking in an unusual show of emotion. Then she straightened and crossed her hands behind her back, the image of a perfect officer once more apart from the hard look on her face. "We have a lot of work to do, Captain. Get back to your post."

As Maleficent left the ready room, Aurora stared after her, stunned by her words. It had all been true, everything Maleficent had said. She had been selfish and blind, only caring about her own problems.

Angry and selfish. Just like father, she thought bitterly, feeling bile rising in her throat. It was the one thing she'd striven to never become, yet here she was, called out on it by one of the people she admired the most.

With a choked sob, she slumped against her desk, trying to hold back the tears.


Aurora stepped onto the bridge a while later, as soon as she felt sure that she could keep up a calm facade towards the crew. "Report," she ordered, surprising herself with how clear her voice sounded.

After an odd glance towards Maleficent, Diaval replied. "All decks have reported items missing. Everything from," he scrolled through a long list on his console, "tricorders and phasers to storage crates and beds."

"So we were attacked? Thieves?"

"It sure looks like it," Diaval muttered. "Without sensor data we can't be sure, but with Philip gone and all these missing items, I don't see any other explanation."

"Good." Aurora winced and shook her head. "I mean, at least we shouldn't have to worry about saboteurs on board the ship." She paused for a brief moment, steeling herself for her next question. "How are the repairs going?"

"Balthazar is working like crazy down there, Captain," Diaval said. "We've got navigational shields and thrusters – at least partially – still no weapons–"

"What about long-range communications?" Aurora asked, for once happy to occupy her mind with repair work.

Diaval shook his head. "Completely fried. There's barely anything left. Whoever attacked us didn't want us to call for help."

"What about the shuttles? They should have something, right?"

"They were sabotaged as well," Maleficent added, not taking her eyes off of the console she was working with. "Propulsion, communications, sensor, all destroyed. Our attackers did a thorough job."

"Of course," Aurora mumbled, leaning against the railing and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well, as long as we're stuck in the nebula, communication is useless anyway."

"We could modify a probe," Diaval suggested, looking between Aurora and Maleficent. "We could outfit a class-5 probe with a distress beacon and send it out of the nebula. It'll take a while at warp two, but with a bit of luck, we might be able to alert Starfleet. Or at least alert someone."

"Do it," Aurora said and then chuckled halfheartedly. "At this point I don't care if the Borg stop by to help."

With a wry smile, Diaval nodded. "I'll get on it right away," he said before heading for the turbolift.

Aurora looked out over the bridge, her stomach dropping at the sight of the damage. Although nothing was burning anymore, debris littered the floor and chairs, and cables hung loosely from the ceiling. It looked like a war zone. Shifting her gaze, it landed on Maleficent, bent over a console with a blank expression. Seeing her like that, Aurora could almost pretend that their fight had never occurred. Almost.

Licking her lips, Aurora took a few tentative steps towards Maleficent. "Do we have an estimate on the warp drive?"

"Balthazar is prioritizing it, but he couldn't give a definitive answer yet. Regardless, we shouldn't hope for anything over warp three, at best. Not that it is all that relevant without sensors," Maleficent concluded.

"They're not..."

"They're beyond repair," Maleficent clarified, pulling away from the console to meet Aurora's gaze. "That includes the shuttles' sensors as well."

"Shit," Aurora mumbled. She frowned, worrying her bottom lip as a small, wild idea began to form in her mind. "All the shuttles?"

"Yes," Maleficent snapped. "As I explained: propulsion – both sub-light and warp drive – sensors and communications were all completely destroyed in the shuttles."

Aurora felt herself shrinking under Maleficent's hard tone. "I know, I just..." she trailed off, wondering if she should just ignore the idea. Still though, if there was a chance, she had to take it. "I meant the waverider."

Maleficent looked up, perplexed. "The waverider?" She blinked, brows furrowed. "It's not even warp capable, Captain."

"I know, and it might be sabotaged as well, but..." She pursed her lips, going through her idea yet again, checking for faults. "This wasn't a targeted attack, right? They didn't come after us specifically, they just attacked us because we were in their hunting grounds, so to speak. Because we were in the nebula."

"That's the most logical explanation, yes," Maleficent agreed, skepticism still clear on her face. "The disrupting particles in the nebula together with the inability to communicate from inside makes it a good spot for ambushes."

"Exactly. So chances are that they didn't bother to check out the designs for this specific class of starships. They were going with a generic design, going after the standard systems that most Starfleet ships have." She licked her lips, feeling a glint of excitement bubble up. "Weapons. Shields. Communications. Sensors. The shuttlebay. But," she stepped around Maleficent to bring up the Nova class schematics on the console, "how many ships have sub-light shuttlecrafts docked in the hull? You can count those ship classes on one hand."

Maleficent watched her, pursing her lips in thought. "It's not a standard feature, no. And from what Balthazar could tell, the saboteurs focused on the easiest ways to cause as much damage as possible to make pursuit difficult. Even if they knew of the waverider, they may have ignored it to focus on more effective ways of sabotage."

"And if it's still intact, we have sensors." Aurora winced. "Extremely limited sensors, but still. It's better than nothing, right?"

After a moment of consideration, Maleficent bent her head in agreement. "Indeed."

Aurora breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Maleficent left for the turbolift, gesturing for her to follow. It felt good to be able to contribute in other ways than, well, commanding and ordering. The fact that Maleficent hadn't shot down her idea instantly was also an added bonus.

As the waverider was docked in the hull only a few decks below the bridge, Aurora didn't have to endure many minutes of awkward silence on their way there. It wasn't that she was getting angry looks – or even angry vibes – from Maleficent... she didn't get anything. Maleficent was suddenly the model Vulcan, her expression and her voice excessively blank, almost lifeless. To someone who had just seen said Vulcan's fist shake with rage, her face twisted into a snarl, the complete radio silence was unnerving.

The waverider was a fairly cramped vessel, only built for short duration, short range planetary missions where regular shuttles couldn't handle the atmospheric stresses. Needless to say, it wasn't built for comfort. Maleficent sat down in the pilot's chair, quickly tapping a few commands on the console. "It would seem that you were correct, Captain. All systems looks operational."

Taking the copilot's seat, Aurora checked the status as well. "Yeah." She pulled up the specs, specifically for the communications and the sensors. "We should be able to patch the external sensors into Fae's systems pretty easily. We might as well use its communication system as well." Frowning, she browsed through the details of the two systems. "They're barely even close to the other shuttles' systems, but I guess they'll have to do. It's better than flying blind, deaf and mute." She glanced over at Maleficent, hoping to get some kind of reaction in return, but there was none.

"I believe I can extend the range somewhat," Maleficent noted, eyes fixed on the console.

Aurora sighed, quietly enough that Maleficent probably didn't hear. "Good." She hesitated, barely resisting tapping her finger on the armrest. "I'll just... patch the systems in from the bridge, then."

"Very well."

Aurora got to her feet, doing her best not to show her disappointment. She wasn't quite sure what she had hoped for, her mind still a mess from her breakdown and the subsequent fight with Maleficent. Without another word, she left the shuttle and headed back to the bridge.


"Cocoa, hot." Aurora pulled off her hairband, letting her blond locks fall freely down her shoulders. Even though she was tired enough to fall asleep on the floor, her mind was still buzzing with the events of the day, so instead of going to sleep right away, she was going to curl up with a book and hot chocolate. Maybe some lighthearted, silly romance novel.

Putting the cup of hot cocoa on her bedside table, she changed into her nightwear and crawled in under the sheets, feeling at least some of the tension of the day slowly seep out of her body. She had gone through about half her cup when the door slid open and Maleficent stepped inside.

"Ah, hi," Aurora said, giving Maleficent a wild, confused look. "Did you... need something?"

One of Maleficent's brows rose almost immeasurably. "I take it you never did read the damage report for the ship."

"I... I may have skimmed through it?" Aurora tried with her best apologetic smile, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"The power grid in the parts of the ship that was evacuated before still needs extensive repair. We will have to continue to share room until the repairs are completed."

"Oh." Aurora nodded, mostly to herself. "Okay." So she would be sharing quarters with Maleficent. For several nights. Okay. She wasn't sure what was worst: the awkwardness of interacting with Maleficent after their fight, or the fact that even now, the idea of her and Maleficent sharing quarters still brought up several very inappropriate scenarios in her mind.

"If you disapprove–"

"It's fine," Aurora interrupted her, trying her best not to seem too frazzled. "I was just surprised. It's nothing."

"I see." Maleficent turned on her heel and went over to her bed, proceeding to step out of her uniform.

It took until Maleficent pulled off her undershirt – her back still turned towards Aurora – that Aurora realized that she was staring. She quickly turned away, cheeks burning. Thinking about Maleficent was one thing, blatant ogling was another thing entirely. Not for the first time, Aurora wished that her first officer would have been ugly. Or at least... mediocre. Blinking, she realized that she had turned back, staring at Maleficent's half-naked back. How could someone's back even be erotic?

Huffing in irritation, Aurora turned her head away again. Her impromptu roommate's looks wasn't even what bothered her most. They needed to talk about the fight, to at least come to some kind of understanding. Even if it was fully in the past for Maleficent – which she doubted – Aurora couldn't go on like nothing happened. So, gathering what little courage she had, she took a deep breath and said, "Maleficent." Pause. "About what happened earlier..." She trailed off, hoping Maleficent would pick it up for her.

But that was not what Maleficent had in mind. "It is late. If you need to talk, we can do so during daytime." The words came out unwillingly, clearly forced.

"Yeah, sure. Okay," Aurora mumbled. What little hope she'd had for a good night's sleep was pretty much gone. It was clear that Maleficent was still upset with her, and she didn't know what she could do besides, well, trying her best not to disappoint Maleficent again. She just wanted things to go back to how they had been a day earlier. Now though, that seemed unlikely to happen. "G'night."

"Goodnight, Aurora," came the quiet response as Maleficent lay down in her own bed.

Aurora frowned and looked over towards Maleficent's bed, but the Vulcan was lying with her back turned.

She said my name.


A/N: Yeah, I just threw my science officer in the air and waved her around like I just don't care. I don't want her to seem too retconned. Plus, Balthazar deserves some help, right? I bet he's pretty overworked by now. There's a doctor onboard as well, despite his lack of screen time. Both of them will show up, eventually.

Bonus: I have one extremely, horribly obscure Xena reference in this chapter. If you actually found it, you are insane. (Hint: season 5)