A/N: TONIGHT'S SPECIAL: A TWO CHAPTER POST!
I finished Chapters 10 and 11 so I decided to put both up tonight! Thanks to those who have read from the beginning and read my other story Saving Doctor McCoy!
The group of guards led Spock and Raylene onto the bridge and shoved them forward. Raylene looked at the Enterprise crew gathered on one side and saw Sulu nearly unconscious on the floor with a knife protruding from his chest. She needed to help him, knowing if he stayed like that much longer he could bleed to death.
A woman stood from the captain's chair and Raylene recognized her as Cady.
"Hello, new friends," she sing-songed. Welcome to my ship. I'm Captain Cady."
Spock and Raylene stayed silent.
Cady frowned. "It's rude not to introduce yourselves. As you can see, I'm not a very patient woman." She gestured to Sulu on the floor.
Raylene glanced between them and spoke up. "I'm Dr. Raylene Hobbs and this is Commander Spock. He doesn't say much."
Spock glared at Cady and kept his mouth shut to prove her point.
"Oh, good. A doctor. Looks like you're in luck, sweetheart." Cady said to Sulu.
"Will you let me heal him?" Raylene asked.
"If you could stop him from bleeding on my floor that would be great. I would hate to have a messy ship when Starfleet comes." Cady studied her nails, uninterested in Raylene or the others.
Raylene moved slowly to Sulu and removed her med kit from her shoulder. The knife had stuck perfectly between his ribs but hadn't appeared to pierce the lung. Raylene put on her latex gloves and studied the knife.
"I didn't want to remove it and cause more damage." Uhura said.
"That's good. It's okay that you left it alone. It created a natural plug for the hole. If you would have removed it, he could have bled out faster." Raylene explained.
"It still hurts, doc." Sulu groaned, reminding them he was still there.
"I know. It will probably feel worse when I pull it out." She dug around in her med kit for a pain reliever and found the last one in the bottom. She prepared the hypo and stuck it in his neck.
"I'm gonna pull this out and then the best I can do right now is stuff the wound and wrap it tight until we can get to med bay." Raylene said, getting a grip on the knife.
"I understand. Do it." Sulu said, staring at the ceiling to avoid seeing the knife come out of his chest.
"On three," said Raylene. "One. Two. Three!" She ripped the knife from his chest and Sulu let out a scream.
Raylene quickly pulled his shirt up his torso to get a better look at the wound and wipe the blood that had crusted over in places. Once the area was clean, she packed gauze into the hole and wrapped it until it was secure. Uhura smoothed Sulu's hair as he calmed down.
When Raylene finished with him, she turned to face Cady. The captain began clapping slowly and smiled.
"You're very impressive, doctor. How long have you been in Starfleet?" Cady asked.
"Almost a year."
"A new recruit? How fortunate. Tell me, do you like Starfleet?"
"Yes, but I have to say I understand where you're coming from." Raylene approached Cady and Gerard tried to step between them. Cady put up her hand to stop him.
"And how is that?" Cady asked, curiosity dancing in her eyes.
"Starfleet abandoned me on a planet. I only escaped because the Enterprise crew found me."
"So, you know what it's like to be one of us! You can join us doctor. I could always use some more female power on my ship."
Raylene shook her head. "That's not the point. The point is I got a second chance from Starfleet. They made me a doctor and let me be on this ship."
"It was pity!" Cady spat. "I don't want pity. I want retribution. I want Starfleet to suffer like I did."
"You can't condemn all of Starfleet for one mistake." Raylene argued.
Cady raised her head in defiance. "You really think Starfleet is just and peace seeking? On my starship, I was the lieutenant commander. I did a lot of pointless jobs, but I did them because I was loyal to my captain. Then, Starfleet sent us into deep space to explore a region only monitored once before.
"My captain was excited, but I was wary of our orders. Soon we were attacked by a Draulzidian ship and commanded to abandon ship. I escaped in a shuttle with Gerard and a few others." Cady looked at Gerard, then back to Raylene.
"We landed on an uninhabited planet and spent three days trying to find food and water, hoping Starfleet would send help for us. On the third day, the Draulzids found us on the planet's surface, captured us, and took us back to their planet. They tortured us for weeks before forcing us to take part in their games." Cady's face grew dark as she replayed her past in her head.
"Day after day we were forced to fight other prisoners, until the only one's left from my crew were me and Gerard. That was when I knew Starfleet wasn't coming. That was when I decided to be my own captain."
Cady stepped closer until she stood nose to nose with Raylene. "We escaped because we gave up on hope and decided to fight for ourselves. Starfleet doesn't deserve people like us. People like you."
Raylene glared back at Cady, never wavering from her gaze. "I'm nothing like you. The Enterprise has shown me that."
Cady stepped back and smiled. "I'm glad your vision of Starfleet has been restored. It will make it so much better when I burn it all down."
"You don't have to do this," Raylene began. "Let us report you to Starfleet and tell them you're alive. Let them fix what happened."
"You still don't get it." Cady huffed. "I don't want to fix it! I don't want to be reinstated and put on another ship, so I can continue to serve the people who turned their backs on me."
Raylene continued to argue. "It was an accident! Starfleet didn't know what was out there. You were in unknown space. No one knew you would be attacked. We take that risk every day we are on this ship, but we do it because we love the unknown."
Cady scowled at Raylene. She couldn't think of a reply to her argument. Cady walked quickly toward Raylene, ready to strike her, when a noise stopped her.
A group of guards entered the bridge escorting the one and only James T. Kirk.
Cady grew instantly excited at seeing the blond-haired captain being brought toward her. "The man I've been waiting for. Hello, captain."
Kirk held eye contact. "Listen, I appreciate what you're doing, but can I get my ship back?"
Cady moved toward him. "We just met and you're already trying to get rid of me? That's disappointing. I thought we could become closer. Much closer." She rubbed a hand across his chest as she circled him.
Kirk glanced sideways at her as she stood just behind his shoulder. "I have enough friends and I get in enough trouble with women, so I think I'm good."
"Ha! I heard you were funny."
"What else does my reputation say?"
Cady stepped in front of him. "I've heard you have a problem with authority. I hope that doesn't become a problem between us."
Kirk smiled, slightly. "I don't think you'll be here long enough for it to affect our relationship."
"You underestimate me, captain." Cady grew serious, crossing her arms in anger.
Kirk glanced around at his crew. "No, I think you underestimated me."
Suddenly, the ship shook, and alarms went off on the control panel. A member of Cady's crew pushed at buttons, frantically.
Cady turned to the crew member. "What the hell is going on?"
"Torpedoes were fired on the starboard side at our ship. Someone locked us out of the firing systems from engineering." The crewman reported.
Cady flipped quickly to face Kirk. "What are you doing?"
"It's not me. I'm standing right here." Kirk smiled.
"Get to engineering now and find who is messing with our ship." Cady ordered.
Many of the guards took off to engineering leaving Kirk unattended. He ran at Cady and pushed her to the floor. Gerard moved toward Kirk, but Spock stepped between them and punched the larger man.
Kirk looked at his crew. "Everyone move!"