I do not own Star Trek or anything to do with said franchise. However, I own Alianna Lordeck and co-own Sindari Lordeck and this plot. This fic is based on the new movie, and thus, takes place in the alternate universe of the movie. It's rated for lots of bad language and some sexual scenes (let's face it, it is Captain Kirk we're talking about), and violence and some drinking. You know, standard stuff. Should be lots of fun and I apologize in advance if any of the information about Star Trek is wrong. I've tried to do research, but hey, with eleven movies, five live-action shows and one animated show, along with multiple books and such, getting all the facts straight is kind of hard. Anyways, enjoy.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked
Chapter Fourteen: Searching For Comfort; Searching For Distress.

Alianna stood just inside the closed, and now locked, doors of her quarters, breathing a little heavily and eyes a little wide. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and she was shaking. Not violently, but that fine trembling close to shivering, but she definitely was not shivering. She couldn't shake the lingering feeling of Kirk's hand on her cheek, his breath on her lips or the look in his eyes. She couldn't shake the feeling of him being that close to her, and even though she knew she was exhausted and needed to get to sleep, the exhilaration of the memories kept her upright and awake.

Alianna had, at some point, admitted to herself that she had feelings for the Captain—or at the very least was attracted to him—but as there were express rules against pursuing a relationship with a superior officer, she had done her best to push her feelings to the back of her mind. Not to mention Kirk's reputation… That part of Alianna that was rational, collected and every bit the Starfleet officer she had been trained to be did not want this to happen, but the part of Alianna where her temper originated from, the part where all her emotions and everything that made her… her resided wanted to find out what was at the end of the moment her and the Captain had shared in the hall.

The encounter with Kirk had done everything to fluster her. She didn't know what to think or what to do.

The bell at the door sounded behind her and Alianna visibly started before she turned around and huffed. For a long moment, Alianna just stared at the door, part of her afraid to answer and find Kirk standing there, but a larger part afraid to open it and have it not be him.

"Ali?"

It was Sindari. Alianna sighed, and it was relieved. She knew how to deal with her sister. "Come in," she said, and was surprised to find her voice sounding calm and together, nothing like what she felt.

The doors whooshed open and revealed Sindari, who looked about as tired as Alianna knew she actually was; just thinking about her lack of sleep made Alianna's shoulders sag and her body begin to feel like lead. Sindari's red hair was nearly black with residual water from a recent shower and her skin, usually pale, was tinged pink, which meant she'd had a hot shower. In water. "Are you okay?" Sindari asked before Alianna could demand the location of the non-sonic shower.

"Yeah," she managed. "Why? Do I not look okay?"

"No. You look like you saw a ghost. What the hell is wrong?"

Alianna forced herself to blink and realized, as her eyelids slid closed, how dry her eyes were and how long it had been since she'd blinked. She shook her head and ran her hands over her face, ending the gesture by running her fingers through her tangled and dirty hair; she felt grease from some part of Engineering slide across her skin and into her hair as she moved her hands. "I'm just exhausted from working in Engineering," Alianna said, hoping Sindari would buy the lie and knowing she wouldn't. "I'm tired and covered in dirt. I would like to take a shower and get some sleep. Where's the real shower?"

Sindari blinked at her older sister, startled by the change of topic. "Uh, it's the decontamination shower in the medical bay. I got a little covered in blood and less savoury body fluids on me when I was helping Bones."

"So I can't use it?"

"No."

"Shit." Alianna cast a hate-filled glance at nothing in particular and then stomped into the bathroom, knowing Sindari wouldn't leave and that the conversation would continue above the hum of the sonic shower.

True to expectations, Sindari called, "So are you going to tell me what's wrong?" as soon as Alianna had stripped down and stepped into the cubicle.

She didn't answer right away. Alianna was surprised she actually enjoyed the feeling of the sonic waves removing the dirty and grim from her skin and hair. It would never compare to a real shower, but she found she was getting used to the newer invention. "No," she finally said.

Sindari's sigh of frustration could be heard over the shower. Alianna could picture her younger sister pacing a bit with her arms folded over her chest as she tried to find the words or some phrase that would make Alianna tell her the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It had been the same pattern since they were little, and the familiarity of the gesture did everything to make Alianna feel more like herself, albeit a very tired version of her normal stubborn self. As the thought hit her however, Kirk's comment about her similarity to the Enterprise came back and she blushed, remembering first how it had made her feel at the time and then, once again, the moment in the hall.

Should she tell Sindari what had happened? Was it really any of her business? No. And besides, Alianna already knew what her sister would say: "But Ali, that's against the rules!" Since Alianna already knew it was against the rules and the training that she held so dear to her self-control, she didn't need to hear the words from someone else's mouth.

Alianna wrapped one hand around the ring, hanging low on her chest from the chain around her neck, and closed her eyes, the rhythmic pulsing of the sonic shower acting as a soothing agent and keeping her from flipping out. "John," she whispered. "What do I do?" Getting no answer from the spirit of her surrogate father—just as she had expected would happen—Alianna turned off the shower and climbed out, wrapped one of the thick white towels around her dry but clean body and headed back into the main area of her quarters. "I'd like to go to sleep now," she told Sindari.

"Ali… is there something wrong?"

The change in Sindari's voice, from demanding to caring, made Alianna freeze, her arm elbow-deep in the drawer where she'd stuffed all her sleepwear. There was an urge to tell her sister everything, but Alianna dismissed. "No," she said again, a fraction of her usual stubbornness back in her voice.

"Ali…"

"Why were you in the medical bay helping Bones?"

Again startled by the change in topic, Sindari glared at her sister. "Shit, Ali, if you don't want to talk, then just say so. Don't keep me here worried. Let me go somewhere else and worry where I won't be in your hair."

Alianna frowned at her sister as she tossed the towel on the bed and pulled the large black shirt over her head. As she pulled on underwear and a pair of baggy, bright yellow shorts, the frown deepened and she said, "Sindari, there's something wrong, but I don't want to talk about it. It's nothing serious, so don't worry. But I'm on my last fucking nerve and all I want is to go to sleep until we find these Klingons and I can kick some ass. I'll be fine then."

Sindari kept her sister's green gaze for a moment longer and the turned on her heel and headed for the door, the panels whooshing open softly and exposing Captain Kirk standing in the hall, a bottle of what looked like Andorian Ale in one hand and two glasses in the other.

"Captain?" Sindari asked, startled by his appearance.

"Lieutenant. Am I interrupting something important?"

Sindari looked over her shoulder at Alianna, who was in the process of brushing her long hair and decidedly not looking at the people standing in her doorway; if Sindari hadn't known her sister so well, she would have thought she caught the edge of a blush on Alianna's cheeks, but that was impossible. Wasn't it? Alianna was not a woman who blushed, nor was she a woman who broke regulations for a man. "Not at all, Captain. My sister was just getting ready for bed. Apparently working in Engineering has exhausted her." And then she walked stiffly into the hallway and headed towards her quarters, trying to figure out what exactly was going on and leaving the two senior officers alone.

Kirk remained in the doorway, keeping the doors from closing and gazed at Alianna.

"Well don't just stand there," Alianna snapped, still not looking at the Captain.

He obliged and entered the room, setting the alcohol and glasses down on the desk just inside the room and then remained standing beside it, almost as if he was unsure of what to do next. There were a few moments where there was no noise except the soft rustling of Alianna's brush gliding through her smooth, dark locks. When she had finished brushing her hair, she returned the brush to the top of her dresser and then turned to face Kirk, her green eyes dark and her mouth turned down in what was very obviously anger and confusion.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, voice snappy again.

Kirk responded with a bitter grin and a barking laugh. As he moved closer to her, she noticed that he had, at some point gotten cleaned up as well, and was dressed in his black uniform shirt. When he made to grab her wrist, she pulled away and kept her angry eyes locked on his face, and more specifically, the tape on his nose, which was easier to meet than his eyes. "What is the matter with you?"

She clasped her hands behind her back, her good hand wrapping around the brace on her finger; the spike of pain helped keep her focused. "What's the matter with me? What's the matter with you? You're the Captain!"

"And that means—"

"That means you know this," she gestured wildly at them and the air around them, "is against the rules!"

"So?"

"SO? So, you're a Starfleet Captain! And what's more to the point, we're in the middle of a crisis! We're chasing bloodthirsty, violent Klingons who are trying to destroy the Federation! Trying to destroy what we stand for!" she yelled, gesturing again. The blush that had occupied her cheeks had darkened with the strain of yelling and, for some reason she couldn't fathom, there were tears in the corners of her eyes. "How can you…"

"How can I what?" Kirk crossed the distance between them until there was only about an inch of space keeping them from touching. He didn't try to grab her wrist or arm or touch her at all, just stood there, close, letting the unspoken things and unperformed actions hang between them. "There is nothing to be done right now, Ali. We're following a faint ion trail, but the Klingons are already light-years ahead of us and we won't catch them anytime soon." His voice dropped to a whisper and he continued, his blue eyes intense. "I could sit on the bridge and watch the stars fly by the viewer, or I could wander around the ship and monitor the repairs being made to the remaining damaged systems. The ship does not need me right now, Alianna." He stepped closer and slightly to one side, so the front of his shoulder pressed into the side of hers, a slight touch.

Alianna sucked in a sharp breath as she realized what was going on. It was not just the Captain trying to seduce her; it was the young Captain searching for a moment of comfort amongst all the chaos and danger. The Enterprise didn't need him right now and Kirk wasn't sure what to do. He was an excellent Captain, but he did most of his work through actions: giving orders during a battle, going on away missions when the Captain wasn't supposed to leave the ship, working in Engineering where his secondary skill set could be put to use. Kirk was not a man to sit and listen to reports, to monitor situations, to sit in his command chair and watch the stars fly by. He was a man to be involved and there was nothing for him to be involved in. He was out of his element.

Not to mention he hadn't any more sleep than Alianna had recently and it was likely neither of them were thinking things all the way through.

"Jim…" Alianna breathed, leaning ever so slightly into him. "When was the last time you slept?"

"I don't remember." He smiled, and he was close enough that Alianna could feel the movement of his lips against her hair. "Do you want a drink?"

"Jim."

But he was already moving back to the desk and pouring some of the pale blue liquid into the square glasses. He handed one to Alianna, who took it, but didn't drink anything and she scowled as Kirk smiled over the rim of his glass at her. She opened her mouth to protest, but Kirk was once again in front of her, and her words got lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth.

Sindari was standing behind her console on the bridge, staring at the main viewer screen, watching the stars fly by. Her mouth was set in a semi-permanent scowl and her eyes kept flicking to the security console where Alianna should have been but wasn't, and to the Captain's chair, where Kirk should have been and wasn't. Instead, there was a young man standing where her sister should be and Spock was sitting in the command chair, his dark eyes forward, but his thoughts quite clearly elsewhere; Sindari had no doubt however that if someone called his name or something happened, he'd snap right back to attention without losing a moment. The Vulcan mind was a wonderful thing.

Across the bridge, Uhura caught the movement of Sindari's eyes and her displeased expression. The dark-skinned woman got to her feet and, with the blocky silver receiving device still in her ear in case anything came through, crossed the bridge. "Lieutenant… do… are you okay?" she asked.

The red-headed Lordeck raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of words, but didn't comment. "I'm fine, just a little distracted."

"Do you want me to contact someone to relieve your post?"

"No, Lieutenant. Thanks."

Uhura made a movement like she was going to return to her post, but at the last second, she turned and fixed a questioning glance on her younger crewmate. "Is your sister okay?" she asked, her voice low so no one else—save Spock, who always seemed to hear everything—could hear. It was logical to assume that Sindari would be distracted because something was wrong with Alianna. Alianna's strange and radical behaviour over her stay on the Enterprise only made the assumption that something was wrong with her more likely.

Sindari nodded, a quick motion of her head. "She's just having trouble taking in everything," she said, cobbling together the pieces she knew into a passable answer. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. Feeling a little off-set because of that, Sindari added something she knew to be completely true. "Saving that boy really got to Alianna, but she'll be okay."

"And the boy? I haven't heard anything since he was brought aboard."

Sindari studied Uhura's face and found genuine concern in her dark eyes, and that made Sindari like the young woman more, not that she had had any dislike towards her before. "Bo—Doctor McCoy said that Sage will pull through and that there shouldn't be any complications. As far as reports dictate however, his parents were both killed in that last attack. He's an orphan."

"Should we be keeping him on board?"

"Where else is he going to go? As far as I see it, he's safer here with Bones to look after him and his medical care."

Uhura regarded Sindari with a raised eyebrow, no doubt at the use of the Doctor's nickname.

Before she could say anything, however, Sindari switched the topic of conversation. "Has there been any word from Starfleet?"

Ever the officer, Uhura answered the question. "They only communications from Starfleet have been to relay what could possibly be sightings of a Klingon ship and to promise that as soon as they can, they'll send reinforcements to aid us."

"Hopefully it'll be soon enough."

Uhura nodded once, firmly, before returning to her station. A second after she did so, Spock asked for a report, but there was nothing to report from anyone on the bridge. Several crew members around the ship reported in via intercom that the repairs were going well and the ship would be fully functional within forty-eight hours, but that all battle systems were in near full-working order and that the Enterprise would have full warp spectrum and full shielding available within eight hours and that the torpedoes would be online within twelve hours, joining the phaser banks to complete the weapons array.

Standing at her console, listening to the exchanges, Sindari found herself pleased. Even if things were screwed six ways to Sunday with Alianna and whatever the hell was going on with Kirk, at least the situation was looking up. The Enterprise was slowly returning to her full glory and power, they were on the trail of the Klingons and there would be, at some point, reinforcements on the way.

"Captain?"

"It is Commander Spock, Doctor McCoy."

"Ah, well then, Commander Spock, could you send Lieutenant Lordeck down to the medical bay?"

"She is on her way." Spock's eyes found Sindari's and he inclined his head.

Sindari keyed in the sequence to transfer control of the weapons to Chekov's console and headed back to the turbolift to head down to the medical bay, wondering what Bones could need her help with. The first thought was Sage, and when the elevator stopped, Sindari hurried to the increasingly familiar room, panic tightening her chest as her mind spiralled down to the worst possible situation. But when she entered the room, she found Bones standing beside Sage's bed, and the boy sitting up, a tray of food across his lap and his intelligent eyes staring at the door.

"That's not the lady who saved me," he mumbled around a mouthful of food.

Sindari almost laughed, but she managed to restrain the gesture and turned towards Bones. "You rang?"

"Sage awoke a few moments ago hungry and wanting to see Alianna. I can't reach her."

Sindari's face split into a grin and she actually laughed a bit this time. This all seemed so… normal in the middle of everything. She ran her fingers back through her red hair and approached the bed, sitting on the vacant end so she could better look Sage in the eye. "The lady who saved you is named Alianna. She's my sister. She's… talking to the Captain at the moment, but when I see her next, I'll let her know you want to see her, okay?" When the boy nodded, Sindari's grin only grew. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Sage."

The boy nodded and mumbled something unintelligible around more food.

Sindari pushed herself off the bed and walked over to Bones' side, and the pair crossed the room to the nearest wall, just far enough away so Sage couldn't hear.

"Talking?"

She looked up at Bones, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. "Don't even get me started. I'm not really sure what's going on, but it's something... weird."

Bones' mouth turned into a frown, deep lines creasing around his lips and his brow furrowing. "I don't want to know," he mumbled.

"Was this all you called me down here for?"

Bones' face changed quickly, becoming contemplative for a moment and then his normal mask of calm indifference. "I want you to run Sage's tests and make sure everything is still going well. I have to check up on some of the other patients."

"Okay." Sindari grabbed a tricorder off a nearby shelf. "Bones... Are Sage and the other patients... safe here? While we fight the Klingons?"

Bones surprised her by saying almost exactly what she had told Uhura only a few moments earlier. "Here I can keep an eye on them. Neither their ship nor their crew were in any condition to run repairs and maintain life support while trying to take care of their wounded. Sick bay on the Enterprise is located in the middle of the ship, so there's less of a chance it will be hit, and the Klingons will target the weapons before anything else."

"Gee, I feel so much better."

"You asked."

Sindari smiled at the Doctor before beginning Sage's tests.

Alianna was both very surprised and not surprised at all when Kirk closed the remaining distance and kissed her. Even with her revelations about the young man in front of her, and her knowledge of him, somehow, she hadn't really expected him to kiss her. Later, she would look back and consider herself foolish, but in that second she remained frozen, wishing she had taken a drink of the Andorian Ale nearly forgotten in her hand.

When she didn't respond to the kiss, Kirk pulled back just enough so that he could look her in the eye. "Are you really that against this?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't seem angry or exceptionally hurt, but there was something in his voice that made Alianna want to wince.

The usually opinionated security officer stood there, staring at Kirk, eyes somewhere around neck-level, but she wasn't really seeing him, her mind still on the kiss. Her words were lost again, and she continued to stare forward, her jaw working as she flexed the muscles, chewing over her thoughts, her feelings, and the words she couldn't find. The alcohol suddenly remembered, Alianna downed the glass and extended it towards Kirk. "More," she breathed; the glass was shaking in her hand, exposing just how shaken she was. The Captain raised an eyebrow, but took the glass and refilled it, Alianna draining it in one go as well. Only on the third glass did she slow down, sipping and savouring the taste. "I'm not against this," she said eventually, her words slow and measured.

"Then what—"

She lifted the hand that wasn't holding booze and shot him a glare worthy of her normal self. "Unsure. I'm unsure if this is... appropriate in our current situation." Alianna looked up at him and she tried to convey what she was feeling in her gaze. She took another swallow of Andorian Ale but kept her eyes locked on Kirk, which wasn't hard with him only a few inches away.

He reached towards her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't protest or move away, Kirk wrapped his arm around her, holding her against his chest.

"And I'm really tired," Alianna said.

Kirk laughed at that, and Alianna joined in, the first laughs Kirk had heard from the fiery young woman soft and self-conscious, so unlike the demeanour she presented. She sank down to the bed as she laughed and Kirk moved with her, the security officer remaining in the Captain's arms, her head resting firmly in the curve of his shoulder. As the laughter subsided, she took another drink and leaned heavier into Kirk, the pair shifting to rest against the copious amount of pillows Alianna had stocked up against her headboard. Alianna reached across Kirk to place her glass on the bedside table before shimmying up on the bed so her face was level with Jim's and she could finally return the kiss he'd given moments before.

The kiss started slow and almost tentative, but it built rapidly. One of Kirk's hands lifted to Alianna's face, cupping her cheek, while the other slid along her shoulder and down her side until he could wrap his arm around her waist and pull her closer, nearly crushing her to him. She wrapped one of her legs around one of his and pressed her body against the side of his until they were touching along the length.

It was Alianna who pulled away, only enough so she could speak, but she was still close enough that her lips brushed his as she said, "I am actually exhausted, Jim."

He kissed her again, briefly and continued to hold her close. For a moment, he considered leaving, but there was a large part of him that wanted to stay right where he was. It was an odd desire for the young man, but under the present circumstances, he didn't question it. He had been looking for comfort and he had found it, just not in the way he expected. Jim Kirk moved his head so he could get a better look at the woman in his arms. "Then sleep," he said with a grin.

Alianna raised an eyebrow in a gesture he'd seen before, but this time, one corner of her mouth came up with it, turning the expression into something infinitely more playful than Kirk ever thought he'd see from the rather uptight young woman. "Maybe later," she whispered.

And she kissed him again, moving so she was lying on top of him as she did so.

Author's Note.

Sorry this chapter took so long. It was very hard to get into because it had to be perfect. Of course, getting to see Star Trek: The Music, and meeting Robert Picardo and John de Lancie—The Doctor from Voyager and Q from several Star Treks, respectively—helped me find the inspiration. As did the overwhelming desire to watch all, yes all of the eleven Star Trek movies. I'm not a huge fan of the first one, but man, are the little guys floating around in space amusing.

Don't even ask me why Ali's shorts are yellow. I don't even know.

By the way, searching for comfort in moments of silence during a crisis is legitimate, so no flak for that, please. I've been through it, so I know it's legitimate. Even if there are bloodthirsty Klingons out there somewhere.

Anyways, please enjoy the chapter. The shit hits the fan in the next one.

By the way, the "Distress" in the title just refers to them chasing the Klingons.

And Shauna, you'll get your smut soon. This just wasn't the time for it. Maybe in the sequel or the Christmas fic. We shall see.

Next Chapter: And So It Begins.