Dangers of Distractions

35

Lieutenant Uhura wasn't nearly as angry as everyone had predicted. She really didn't even mind that the crew found out the way that they did. It must have been the hormones.

Another week had passed, though, and there had been no resolution to the issue between Jim Kirk and Amanda Williams and it didn't look like it was going to happen.

And this was the topic of the discussion that Commander Spock was having with Admiral Pike.

"I do not wish to disclose…"

"Spock, it's an order. What is your captain like day to day?" Pike asked.

"Captain Kirk behaves as he always has," Spock offered as an explanation.

Pike nodded on the viewscreen.

"And his memory?" he asked Spock.

"His memory is the same as before, Admiral. But he still cannot remember Amanda Williams."

"What kinds of problems is this causing?" he asked.

"Well…"

"Spock…." He told him sternly.

"Commander Williams and Captain Kirk only speak when they have to. There was an incident about a week ago. He confronted her about her avoidance of the situation. There was a display of affection…"

Pike looked at Spock silently while he waited for his explanation.

"The captain kissed Commander Williams. And then she slapped him. The tension between them has only increased in the time since then."

"Will you please get Commander Williams and then come with her to speak with me? Hail me on the same frequency."

"Of course, Admiral," Spock nodded.

"Pike out."

Spock immediately got to task finding Amanda and met her outside the door.

"Do you know why he wants to speak with me?" Amanda asked as she took a seat.

"I do not."

Spock called up the frequency and hailed Admiral Pike on New Vulcan. Soon, he was looking back at the two of them.

"Hello, Admiral," she said. "I hope you're well."

"I am, thank you," he said. "I suppose you're wondering why I've asked you here."

"I am, admittedly, curious," she replied.

"I am going to bring you back to New Vulcan with Spock Prime and myself. I am concerned about the tension on the Enterprise."

Amanda nodded. She didn't look to Spock. She knew he'd told Pike the truth. And what was happening was what needed to occur.

"Okay. I can pack and be ready in fifteen minutes."

"No, I want you to be closer before we beam you down. The Enterprise should be in the planet's orbit. How long will it take Commander Spock?"

"48 hours," Spock replied.

"Well, I shall see you then, Commander Williams."

"Thank you, Admiral Pike," Amanda said.

"I can honestly say I did not think that this would be greeted with such, well, I anticipated an argument."

"No argument from me, sir," Amanda told him.

"All right. Tell Kirk I want to speak with him in a bit, will you?" he asked Spock.

"As you wish, sir."

"Pike out."

The view screen went dark and Spock turned to Amanda.

"Is this really what you want?" Spock asked her.

"What I want doesn't matter anymore. You know full well that the needs of the many…" she trailed off. "Jim needs to focus on being the best Captain he could be. His grandmother was right. I've only been in his way since I got up here," she said. "The crew of the Enterprise is the best in Star Fleet. And as much as I'm proud to have been a part of it. I've only caused problems. You all will do great things! I don't need to be here."

Amanda said. "I can go help rebuild Vulcan and help teach at Star Fleet again."

"I do hope you will reconsider," Spock told her.

"It's not my decision anymore," Amanda said. "It's out of my hands."

Spock gave her one last, knowing look before he let her leave the room.

…

Amanda Williams was using all of her avoidance techniques that day. She didn't want to spend all night in her room, so she found all the places on the Enterprise that Jim never went.

The only thing was, he found her anyway.

"What the hell are you doing down here? You never come down here," Amanda said.

"I just got done talking to Pike."

"Okay…?" she replied.

"You aren't leaving this ship," he told her.

"I beg to differ," she said.

She glanced up at him for a split second.

"You can't go," Jim told her.

"I have to go. I don't know why I'm here now. I was hanging on to the sad idea that you'd suddenly remember me, but I'm fairly certain we won't end up happily ever after. You know, your grandmother told me that I was going to be your downfall. I was going to stand in your way of being really great. She was right. And now some other force has stepped in to make sure I don't interfere. It's hard to fight that, Jim," she smiled sadly then laughed.

"What's funny?" he asked.

Amanda looked back into his eyes. "This is worse than when I broke up with you when we were in high school. You'd proposed then, too."

"It's worse?" Jim asked. "How so?"

"It's worse because you don't know me. You'll never know how bad I'm hurting because you have no idea who I am," Amanda said as she stood. "But," she sniffled. "Once I'm gone, you can move on, too. I think it'll be better for everyone."

"I really doubt that," he told her.

"Well, I think I'm going to head to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow."

"May I walk you to your quarters? Since we live next to one another?" he tried to smile.

Amanda hesitated, then nodded. "Okay…"

As they walked, they talked. The talk that Amanda had been avoiding for almost a month now.

"…I have all these half-memories. I think of stories and places and events and most are incomplete. I think that's where you fit in."

Amanda nodded. "It's entirely possible."

"Do you know how hard it is to have all these bits and pieces of certain parts of your life floating around in your head? It's driving me crazy. I dream of them, but it's like a huge jigsaw puzzle and a bunch of the pieces are just gone," Jim explained.

Amanda hadn't really stopped to think or consider what it was like for Jim. She'd been too busy dealing with her own angry feelings.

She'd been such a big part of his childhood that he was missing a huge chunk of his life.

"I'm sorry, Jim. I…" she said as she stopped in front of their doors.

They were alone in the hallway and were facing one another.

"I really like you when you aren't hitting me," Jim said.

"Um, Jim…" Amanda said. She didn't want to be feeling this way. But her feelings hadn't gone away and her proximity to him was causing her body to betray her.

In an instant, Jim was pulling her close. It was clear that his body hadn't forgotten her, even if his mind had.

Despite all of her better judgment, she allowed him to pull her into his quarters.

…

It was the bosun's whistle that woke Jim and Amanda the next morning and it was very early morning at that. For a split second of his blissful cluelessness Amanda had forgotten that she and Jim really weren't a couple any more.

Amanda was aware that he was wrapped around her and he was starting to stir slowly next to her.

"Captain Kirk," Chekov's voice called over the intercom. "C…" he began, but the ship was rocked by some kind of a blast.

Amanda and Jim immediately snapped out of their euphoric state and sat up.

"Holy shit," Amanda hissed. "Aren't we in friendly airspace?"

"Captain!" this time it was Scotty that shouted for him. "We're having some problems with one of the engines. And now we're being held hostage."

Both of them rushed to get dressed and ran bare foot through the halls and corridors. They burst onto the bridge just in time for another blast to rock the ship.

His regular bridge crew was in position as the two of them entered.

"Hail them!" Jim shouted.

A second later, Jim was staring at a Tylivian.

"Engine trouble, Captain Kirk?" he asked.

"I suppose you might know how that happened?" Jim said.

"Turn over fifty percent of your crew and we shall fix the problem and let you be on your way."

"Why do you want my crew?"

"Surrender half your crew and you can live, Captain Kirk," the blue being told Jim. "Or fight and all of you and your crew will die," he said. "Your choice.

"Shields up!" Jim told his crew. "Full power."

"Why do they need us?" Amanda asked.

"Carbon dioxide," Jim said finally. "Didn't you tell me that their atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide?" he asked Spock.

"Indeed."

"They need humans to create the carbon dioxide so they can breathe. That's why they wanted us to come here. That was the plan all along. That's why they have a barren, treeless planet. They use all the carbon dioxide and plants cannot survive. And that's why we all got so weak…"

"But why would they have executed the crew that they had?" Uhura asked.

"To get us to come back. Fire everything we have," Jim said.

…

To Be Concluded…