"Captain, we are currently 2500 kilometres from our destination," Sulu speaks up as he sits at his work station reading the screen in front of him.

"Prepare to disengage warp," Kirk swings in his seat as he looks around the bridge. He notices the girl standing beside Uhura, peering over her shoulder with a look of intrigue on her face.

"Lieutenant, don't you ever get confused with all the languages?" She asks fascinated.

Uhura smiles. "Sometimes I forget myself and slip from one to the other, but when it comes to translating, it's pretty self-explanatory." She shows a proud face. "I was at the top of my class in xenolinguistics."

The girl gives her a confused look. "Xeno… Linguistics?"

The lieutenant nods. "Study of alien languages. I could teach you some if you'd like."

The girl smiles and shakes her hands in front of her. "Oh, no. I'm not good with languages. I tried learning some Klingon from a book the other day, and it just went completely over me." She rubs the back of her head nervously. "To be honest, there's times that even English goes over me."

"Pardon me," Spock's voice calls from nearby and the two women turn to see him sitting at his work space, "however I feel that Lieutenant Uhura is becoming distracted by your interference."

The girl glares at the half-Vulcan and pushes herself away from Uhura's desk. "Oh, my apologies, captain's pet," she snaps at him sarcastically.

Spock stops working and spins his seat to face the girl. "I am sorry, I do not understand your meaning. In what way defines me as a 'pet'?"

"Oh, I don't know. Unwilling to break the rules, perhaps? Interfering in business clearly not yours to interfere in? Or how about this; ratting out somebody who trusted you enough to confide their feelings?"

"Are you referring to when I informed Mr Scott and the doctor of your intentions?"

The girl throws her arms to her side dramatically as she almost gives up. "Yes, what else would I be referring to, you Vulcan dimwit."

Uhura stands up from her seat and places a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, hey, calm down."

"Considering the fact you were – and still are - unable to commandeer the shuttle, do you not feel relieved that I did so?"

"That's not the point, you logical idiot."

"Calm do—"

"Is that not contradictory? Calling one an idiot with an adjective which shows intellectual understanding is somewhat illogical."

"Do you want me to hurt you!?"

"It is impossible for you to harm me."

"We'll see about that," the girl shoves Uhura's hand off her shoulder and approaches Spock who remains in his seat, challenging the girl with his unwavering eyes.

Before she can reach him, a man steps between them, cutting the girl out of her rage. She looks up to him to see his stern look.

"Kirk…" She whispers as he stands between the two.

"You need to calm yourself down. I know things are difficult for you and I know that Spock's way of doing things doesn't help matters. Go take a walk to cool your head."

"B-but—"

"Go." Kirk's voice is stern yet hold some gentleness behind it.

The girl gives Uhura a sad look before walking past Kirk and Spock to the doors leading out of the bridge. She steps through them and, as the doors close, the eyes of the captain, commander and lieutenant watch.

"Spock," Kirk starts as he turns to face his commander, "you know that she's on thin ice right now. Can't you at least try and be more considerate to her feelings?"

"If her actions cause any form of disruption in the managing of the ship, then she will solely be responsible for any problems caused."

Kirk gives him a blank look before turning to Uhura. "Seriously, I wonder what you see in him."

Uhura shrugs. "At times like this, so do I."

The captain takes to his seat. "Uhura, can you open a channel to doctor McCoy?"

"Aye, captain," the lieutenant replies and quickly flicks switches at her work station as she sits down.

"Captain," Spock's serious voice speaks to Kirk who sits idly in his seat. "You seem to have something on your mind. Care to enlighten?"

Kirk looks at the half-Vulcan from the corner of his eye. "Considering you current attitude, if I tell you, all you'll do is accuse me of treason."

Spock frowns. "Captain?" He watches as his captain avoids him. Spock looks forward to the front of the bridge. "I do believe she can take care of herself. Even though she may be rather spontaneous and impulsive, she seems to understand where her own position. You need not worry over her well-being."

"Maybe it's the fact that you're attracted to her," Lieutenant Uhura adds in with a merciless glare.

Kirk rolls his eyes at her accusation. "Come on, Lieutenant. You honestly think I'll go as low as taking advantage of a woman who doesn't even know who she is?" He leans back in his seat and rests his chin on his hand. "Besides, I prefer stronger women; those in their prime. She's barely in her 20s."

"You prefer the dominant type?" Spock leans in to his captain.

Kirk looks at him with a wry smile. "Don't you?"

Spock looks towards Uhura who shares his gaze before looking back at Kirk. "I have no comment on the matter."

"Stupid Spock. Stupid Kirk. Stupid Enterprise," the girl mumbles as she drags herself through the long corridors of the Enterprise. "What do they expect me to do? Sit around bored, waiting to reach my ship? Well, I know it's not my ship, I can barely work my way through the elevator buttons on this one, but still…" She slows her walking with every word until she comes to a stop and stares at her feet.

She twists her body to lean her back on the wall and sighs to herself. "What am I doing? I'm acting like a complete bitch…" She slides herself down and tucks in her legs to her chest. "I get why Spock did what he did, but still… And Kirk is barely helping matters with one minute helping me and the next not getting off my back… Then there's Bones…"

"What about me?"

The girl jumps in surprise when the familiar voice echoes in the corridor. She raises her head to see McCoy standing over her with his usual look.

The girl looks everywhere other than his eyes. 'You can see right through me,' she thinks to herself. "Just forget it," she mumbles instead, afraid of speaking her mind. "What do you want, anyway?"

McCoy holds out a weapon in front of him. "Here. I forgot to give you this earlier."

"What is it?" The girl asks as she carefully takes it from his hand, inspecting it intently.

"A phaser," he explains. "It's a special gun which fires concentrated energy blasts as ammunition. Depending on the settings, it can stun or kill a target."

The girl gives him an awkward look. "And you're entrusting me with this?"

McCoy motions with his hand. "Stand up, I'll show you how to fire it."

She gives him a reluctant shuffle before pushing herself on her feet, careful to not accidentally fire the phaser. "Why you and not… Well, somebody who uses a phaser on a daily basis."

The doctor gives her a stale look. "Thanks for not trying to degrade me as a mere doctor," he comments and watches her shy away. "We're all supposed to learn how to handle them, kid. Besides, the captain made me your guardian, so I have to."

The girl clicks her tongue. "Try saying that in a more enthusiastic way next time, Bones. I may get the wrong idea that you don't really want me here, like everybody else."

McCoy frowns. "What's with you?"

The girl shakes her head. "Nothing. I'm just getting a little tired of not knowing who I am or where I actually stand with anybody."

"Cheer up, kid. We're almost at your ship," he places an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "Which is also the reason why you need to get your ass in gear and follow me."