Familiar Faces

Kirk settles himself into the captain's chair and props one foot up on his opposite leg. He gazes around himself as his fellow officers ready themselves for departure and is convinced that he will never grow tired of this moment; this feeling of a well-ordered chaos on the brink of the precipice. Sulu and Chekov are both ready and situated at the helm. The two chatter away with each other about an equation that Chekov has finally solved while making all necessary checks on the life support systems and warp drive. Kirk shakes his head. That kid is way too smart for his own good.

He glances around, and his eyes land on the empty communications station. Someone will fill that place today, but it will not be Uhura. Kirk's smile falters slightly at that thought, but he steels himself quickly as Spock approaches.

"Report, Mr. Spock," he says.

The young Vulcan clasps his hands behind his back. "All the necessary shipments of equipment and supplies are on board, Captain. We are currently waiting for a few more shuttlecrafts to arrive with new medical personnel."

Kirk's smile splits into a full out grin. "That should make Bones happy."

Spock raises an eyebrow. "Indeed," he replies, a smirk barely visible at the corners of his lips, "If anything, it should raise his blood pressure several points."

Kirk laughs and then punches the comm button on the right arm of his chair. He sucks in a deep breath to calm himself.

"Scotty, are you there? This is the captain."

"Aye, Captain. All's well down here. We're ready for departure when you are."

"Hold on for a few more minutes. We're waiting for a few medical personnel, and then we'll be off. Kirk out."

He turns back to Spock who is gazing almost pensively at the empty communications station. Kirk leans back in his chair studying his Vulcan friend beadily.

"Spock?"

The first officer shakes his head and snaps his attention back to Kirk.

"Yes, Captain."

"Are you okay? You seem . . .distracted."

Spock lowers his guard a bit and meets Kirk's eyes. "I admit," he says in a lowered voice, "to being slightly unnerved by the fact that Lieutenant Uhura is not here. She was one of our best communications officers."

Kirk nods. "Don't worry Spock, I'm sure she's doing just fine on Vulcan."

Spock lifts an eyebrow quizzically not quite expecting the answer he received, but says nothing in return, obviously sobered by his friend's prediction. He does not dwell on Uhura too long however, as there is still much to be done to prepare for their departure, and he cannot let his new captain down.

---

McCoy scrubs at an imaginary stain on one of his empty lab tables as he waits impatiently for his new personnel to arrive. He takes a hard stab at the table with his cleaner and mutters something about incompetent nurses who can't clean anything correctly. It's bad enough he's new at this himself, but to make matters worse, he's been put in charge of at least a dozen more nurses and cadets who haven't seen any action in their lives. The thought almost makes him want to pull his hair out or drink himself into oblivion.

Light footsteps echo in the near empty room, and McCoy steels himself for the crash course he is going to have to give these kids when they arrive. He turns then and is taken aback by the sight of a tall, blonde woman gazing around at the room, her hands behind her back. She's a lot older than he had expected, though certainly not as old as him.

McCoy clears his throat gruffly, and the young woman turns her attention toward him. She smiles and puts out her hand. McCoy shakes it, still not sure what to make of her.

", Chief Medical Officer. You are?"

"Nurse Christine Chapel, at your service," she says her voice firm and her smile genuine.

"Chapel? Aren't you the one whose been working with Dr. Korby on bio-research?" McCoy asks, suddenly remembering her name from a dissertation he had read while at Starfleet.

"The very same."

"Well then, at least I won't be the only capable medic in this sickbay," he says, turning away from her as a slew of cadets enter the room from behind her. "We've got a lot of training to do, Nurse. If I ask you to do something, do it, no questions asked. I'm running a sickbay here, not a lounge. Everyone will do their part."

Nurse Chapel is already pulling on her gloves and suiting up as he finishes his rant. "What's first on the agenda, Doctor?" she asks as McCoy shakes his head in disbelief at the luck he has found today.

"Get the rest of 'em suited up and then we'll figure out which ones go where. I don't want my surgical teams mixed up with nurses who only know how to administer hypos. Why they'd give me people like that I don't know, but it's Starfleet so go figure."

"Yes, Doctor."

McCoy stares as the blonde-haired and blue-eyed woman makes her way around to each of the cadets in turn handing out uniforms and simultaneously taking notes on her PADD. He shakes his head again and fights down the urge to laugh at the utter luck of the situation. He decides then, as he watches his new charges suit up, that he's definitely going to like this woman, Christine Chapel.

Authoress' Note: W00t! Christine Chapel is back!! She was the one person from the new movie whose presence I felt was missing. She is a great asset to the original series and one of my favourite characters. Don't know if we'll have any Christine/Spock angst like TOS, but it's something I may play around with in the future. As always, thanks for reviewing! Keep 'em coming!