Raylene noticed the miniature phaser in his palm. She averted her eyes to face forward and watched Kirk repeat the same motions McCoy had done. When Kirk stood, he held a miniature phaser in his hand.
The men locked eyes and nodded at each other.
And, then…
Kirk turned and shot at Gerard, while McCoy shot at the two other crew members. Gerard stumbled backward but stayed on his feet, the shot hitting him on his right shoulder. Gerard turned back to Kirk and charged him quickly, knocking the gun from Kirk's hand before he could shoot. McCoy's shots were more successful as both crew members went down.
Raylene, frozen in place, watching the events occur then turned her attention to Cady, when she realized there was another threat on the bridge. She looked in time to see Cady running from the bridge and down the hall.
Knowing the dangers if Cady escaped, Raylene ran after her.
The two women sprinted through the maze of hallways, dodging debris as they went. Cady stumbled allowing Raylene to gain a step on her. Raylene jumped at Cady and grabbed her by the waist, tackling her to the ground. The bomb Cady had been holding skidded further down the hallway when the women hit the floor.
Raylene, who laid on top of Cady, put her elbow on Cady's neck, pinning her to the floor. "You're under arrest."
Cady swung her fist and connected with Raylene's jaw, loosening her grip. Cady rolled the two of them over and pinned Raylene underneath her.
"Nice try, doctor, but maybe you should leave the fighting to the real brawlers."
"That's okay. I can handle myself." Raylene swung her head hard into Cady's and she recoiled in pain.
Raylene shoved Cady off her and got to her feet.
Cady looked up at Raylene from the floor. "It pains me to watch your potential go to waste for them. Starfleet doesn't know what they have with a person like you."
"Maybe not," said Raylene. "But I know my crew appreciates me and that's all that matters."
"I wish that were true." Cady said, bitterly.
"Dr. Hobbs." A voice called from behind her.
Raylene turned to see Spock and Uhura coming toward her. When she looked back at the ground for Cady, the woman was gone again, and she had taken the bomb with her.
Raylene huffed in annoyance. "Come on, we have to find her." She ran after Cady with Spock and Uhura trailing her.
They spotted her ducking into a room up ahead and approached carefully. Spock drew his gun and stepped into the transporter room first.
Cady stood near the control panel, holding a gun to Scotty's head. "Drop the gun or he dies."
Spock held a firm grip on the weapon. Raylene stepped up beside him and forced the gun down to his side. She looked at Cady still holding Scotty.
"Let him go. You don't need him." She said.
"Actually, I do," she shoved him down in the chair with the gun still pointed at his head, "just not with me. Send me back to my ship, or I'll end your life a little sooner than you were expecting."
Scotty glanced nervously at Raylene.
"Do what she says, Mr. Scott." Raylene said, much to Spock's disapproval.
Scotty nodded and looked at Cady. "I need you to step on the pad."
Cady walked to the transporter pad, her gun never leaving Scotty's direction.
"Where would you like to go?" He asked.
"Put me on the bridge." Cady smiled at Raylene. "Good bye, Dr. Hobbs."
The transporter whirred to life and bright lights danced around Cady's body until she disappeared from the Enterprise.
"You let her get away." Spock complained.
Raylene faced him. "I just saved all of our lives. She had a bomb that could wipe us all out in a second."
Spock continued to stare Raylene down. "I could have apprehended her before she detonated the bomb."
"And would that be before or after she shot Scotty?" Raylene questioned, fiercely.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I would think as a doctor you would know that." He shot back.
"My job is to save lives. If one criminal escapes because of it, then so be it." Raylene said.
At that time, Kirk followed by McCoy appeared in the doorway. Kirk noticed the obvious tension and stepped between Spock and Raylene. "What happened? Where's Cady?"
"She escaped." Spock answered.
"What? How?"
"Why don't you ask Dr. Hobbs." Spock kept a straight face, controlling his emotions perfectly.
Raylene held herself in check for a moment, but her feelings overwhelmed her. Her anger bubbled over and she lunged at the Vulcan, her fist just missing his chin. Kirk caught her by the waist and pulled her away as McCoy stepped swiftly to her other side to calm her down. He pulled her away from the group and forced her to look at him by grabbing her face.
"Hey, hey. Calm down, sweetheart." He said, soothingly.
Raylene's nostrils flared as she let out a hard breath. "I swear to God I'm going to kill that green-blooded hobgoblin."
McCoy smirked. "As much as I would love to see that, he's your commanding officer and killing him would land you in the brig."
"It might be worth it." She grumbled, crossing her arms to hold in her frustration.
McCoy pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You can't let him get to you."
"Easier said than done." She allowed McCoy to put his arm around her. "I need you to keep me away from him."
"If it keeps you closer to me, then consider it done." McCoy agreed. He turned back to Kirk to listen to the explanation.
Scotty raised his hand timidly and Kirk nodded for him to speak up. "Cady captured me and held a gun to my head and Raylene saved my life by letting Cady escape."
"Where did she go?" Kirk asked.
"I sent her back to her ship." Scotty replied.
"Don't we have her entire crew here on the Enterprise?"
"I believe that is correct, captain." Spock said.
"Wouldn't she be stuck? How can she pilot the ship by herself?"
"I don't know for certain, but knowing how small the vessel is, it may not be too hard to control with one person." Uhura offered.
Kirk pulled out his communicator and spoke into it. "Mr. Chekov is Cady's ship still within range of the Enterprise?"
"Yes, captain. It's—The ship just went into warp, sir!" Chekov reported.
"Sulu, set a pursuit course after that ship!" Kirk commanded.
The group in the transporter room felt the ship lurch before it zoomed off after Cady.
Kirk looked at Spock and Uhura. "Get back to the bridge and tell Starfleet what's going on."
Spock and Uhura moved together out of the room, leaving the doctors, the engineer, and the captain alone.
"You alright, Scotty?" Kirk asked.
"Aye, captain." Scotty said. "Thank you, Dr. Hobbs."
"You're welcome, Mr. Scott." She said.
"Go to engineering and wait for further instructions." Kirk ordered, and Scotty left quickly.
Kirk looked at Raylene and grinned. "I know Spock thought it was the wrong move, but I would've done the exact same thing."
Raylene smiled back at him. "Thank you, captain."
"You two get back to med bay and treat any newly injured crew members."
"All due respect, captain," Raylene began. "I want to be on the bridge when you capture Cady."
Kirk shook his head and sighed. "I don't think you would listen to me even if I said no."
"Probably not." She shrugged.
"Fine," he consented. "You can both be on the bridge." Kirk turned and walked out of the transporter room back to the bridge.
Raylene was pleased with herself until she looked at McCoy's grumpy expression. "What?"
"You know what! You ran after a crazy woman without a weapon and without me." He accused.
Raylene frowned. "You were busy, and she was getting away."
McCoy sighed. "Damn, infuriating woman. When are you gonna get through your stubborn head that I need you, and that means alive."
Raylene put her hands on either side of his face. "I love you, too. You grumpy old cowboy."
McCoy leaned in and kissed her lips hard, trying to express how strongly he felt about her. He needed her like he needed air to breathe, like he needed a vacation from their crazy ship. Once this mess was over, he decided he would request shore leave and completely depart from the ship, with Raylene in tow.
A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story! It was difficult to create a new Star Trek villain but I like how she ended up. Any comments on Cady? Any comments on Raylene? Let me know! Leave a review!