I'm sorry for the delayed update. Life + school got in the way lol.

I do not own Star Trek

"Where are we, Sulu?"

"We're 237,000 kilometers from Earth." Sulu answered after a glance at his screen.

"Damage report!" Jamie demanded, resisting the urge to bite her lip.

"Shields are dropping."

"We are defenseless, ma'am." Sulu finalized, swiveling in his chair to face her.

Jamie was just about to pull her hair out, the red alarm blaring and illuminating the bridge. "Ma'am, we have a bulkhead breach."

Everything was happening at once, and it was happening fast. With every attack, the ship jolted. "Evasive maneuvers! Get us to Earth! Right now!"Jamie shouted over the alarm.

"Captain, stop! Everybody on this ship is going to get killed if you don't let me speak to him." Carol said, stepping in front of Jamie so that she could focus on her.

Jamie frowned. Perhaps this was worth doing, after all, she had to consider the lives of her crew. "Uhura, hail him."

"Sir, it's me. It's Carol." Carol said, turning back to the screen.

Suddenly, the red blaring of the alarm system stopped and everything became an intense silence. Admiral Marcus's face reappeared on the screen, making Jamie's skin boil.

Carol tried her best to convince her father to stop firing, turn back around, and let the Enterprise drop Khan off to Earth. However, the Admiral wasn't taking any of that, and he used his advanced technology to transport Carol back to his ship.

They weren't able to intercept the transport signal at all, so now any leverage they had to survive was gone. Yet, Jamie did not believe in no-win scenarios.

"Sir, my crew was just following my orders." Jamie said, desperate, even though she felt this conversation was starting to become one-sided. "I take full responsibility for my actions, but they were mine and mine alone. If I transport Khan's location to you now, all that I ask is you spare them. Please, sir."

She deeply cared about her crew. After all, they were like family to her.

"I'll do anything you want." Jamie begged, curling her hands into fists. "Just let them live."

Marcus hesitated, his face grim. "That's one hell of an apology. But if it's any consolation, I was never going to spare your crew."

Jamie swallowed. She knew it was a fool's errand anyway.

Once the screen flickered off, she turned around slowly, unable to raise her eyes. She had failed her crew, she had failed to save their lives. They were probably going to hate her for this.

"I'm sorry."

When she looked up, the first eyes she managed to find were the Vulcan's, and they were deep with worry.

The last time she felt this terrible was when they grounded her, suspending her Starfleet. It was her fault that everyone's lives were in danger.

Her own, damn fault.

"Their weapons have been powered down, Ma'am." Sulu suddenly announced, making Jamie raise her head in surprise.

Jamie narrowed her eyes. Just what was Admiral Marcus playing at?

"Enterprise! Can you hear me?"

"Scotty!" Jamie exclaimed, grinning. Perhaps they could turn the tables themselves.

"Guess what I found behind Jupiter."

Jamie's eyes widened, as she leaned over the dash. "You're on that ship!"

"I snuck on. And seeing as I've just omitted an act of treason against a Starfleet Admiral, I'd really like to get off this bloody ship. Now beam me out!"

Jamie sighed, falling back into her chair as a heavy weight lifted off her chest. "You're a miracle worker. We're a little low on power right now. Just stand by, stand by."

"What do you mean, 'low on power'?" Scotty snapped back. "What happened to the Enterprise? … Call you back."

Before she could give him a full explanation, his comm flickered off.

She spun over to Spock. "Spock, our ship. How is she?"

"Our options are limited, Captain." Spock explained, turning in his chair to face her. "We cannot fire and we cannot flee."

Jamie hesitated, finding herself lost in his eyes once again. They were calculating, but then again, they almost always were. "There is one option." She looked behind Spock, to where Uhura was standing. "Uhura, when you get Scotty back, patch him through."

"Yes, ma'am." Uhura nodded.

"Mr. Spock, you have the comm."

Jamie moved to the lift, and Spock followed. "Captain, I strongly object."

The doors closed behind them. "To what? I haven't said anything yet."

"Since we cannot take the ship from the outside, the only way to take it is from within. And as a large boarding party would be detected, it is optimal for you to take as few members of the crew as possible."

Jamie walked out of the lift, and entered the hallway which was bustling with people. "You will meet resistance, requiring personnel with advanced combat abilities and innate knowledge of that ship.

This indicates that you plan to align with Khan, the very man we were sent here to destroy."

"I'm not aligning with him, I'm using him." Jamie reasoned, rounding a corner. "'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'."

"An Arabic proverb attributed to a prince who was betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects." Spock protested, sounding exasperated.

Jamie sighed, but she knew where this was going. "Still, it's a hell of a quote."

"I will go with you, Captain."

"No, I need you on the bridge." Jamie snapped.

Spock stopped her, turning her around. "I cannot allow you to do this! It is my function aboard the ship to advise you on making the wisest decisions possible, something I firmly believe you are incapable of doing this moment."

"You're right!" Jamie shouted, startling Spock. "What I'm about to do, it doesn't make any sense, it's not logical. It's a gut feeling."

Spock raised his eyebrow, while Jamie resisted the urge to sigh again. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I only know what I can do. The Enterprise and her crew need someone in that chair that knows what he's doing. And it's not me. It's you, Spock."

Jamie smiled.

As much as she wanted to believe that she was the best woman for the ship, the best captain to lead the Enterprise, she knew she couldn't live up to everyone's expectations. She knew that it was mostly because of her father's legacy that she was able to graduate Starfleet early.

Spock was smarter than her. Spock was braver than her, and Spock was stronger than her. He would only see the logical solutions of the problem, therefore that made him a better Captain than her.

"Besides, if something happens to you on that ship, I won't be able to forgive myself." Jamie added quietly.

Spock was struck speechless.

Jamie stood and planted a kiss on Spock's lips. It was a soft, tender kiss ended as soon as it started. Once she pulled away, she was gone.