A story of dangers, heroics, rescues, puberty, awkward situations, getting to know your crewmates, friendship, dating, romance … with a pirates and dragons thrown in. As well as the stranded in a cave during a storm trope.

Characters: Pike, Tilly, Saru, Reno, Detmer, Pollard, Stamets and the rest of the Discovery crew, Una Chin-Riley, and original supporting characters.

Later Tilly would blame it on the cozy fire. The woozy feeling from the pain medication. The grogginess from just waking up. The feeling of safety and being cared for. Why else would she blurt out to their interim captain, Christopher Pike, "Sir, would you ever get romantically involved with a member of your crew?"

Three Days Ago

"Team three" Commander Saru barked into his communicator. Hearing the edge in his voice, Captain Pike looked up from the map he and Commander Nhan were reviewing and paused to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"Team three leader here sir."

"You are 10 minutes late. Report to the rendezvous point."

"Ah…Sir, we are just…finishing up a few last-minute details. A couple of final samples."

"Unacceptable!" was the loud reply.

Pike looked at his security chief and shook his head. He tried hard not to smile and almost succeeded. "Go retrieve team two from the lake and beam directly back to Discovery. Take a medic with you and let me know if there are any injuries." Nhan nodded and headed south.

Walking over to Saru, Pike straightened his shoulders and prepared to deal with the next problem. Ever since his Vahar'ai, Saru could go from calm past firm to disgruntled and then angry in less than 30 seconds. His behavior of late bounced from extreme to extreme just as rapidly, pushing at all boundaries and sometimes testing his captain's renowned patience. Saru described the Vahar'ai experience as an evolution, liberating him from constant and overriding fear. Pike was starting to view it as the equivalent of a human entering puberty who engaged in an almost daily battle of wills.

"Mr. Saru, report."

Saru's eyes flashed with irritation but he calmed his voice and replied, "Teams one, four, five, and six are here and ready to return to the ship. I am attempting to ascertain the status of team three now which you have just interrupted." That response drew curious stares from the assembled crew.

Pike decided it was time to defuse the situation and give Saru a gracious way out. "Very well. Please return to the ship with those present," he gestured towards the other scientists then continued, "and…"

"Captain, I would prefer to …" Saru's tone started to get heated again.

Pike interrupted, "and take the conn. The storm will start in about 90 minutes. If there is a problem, I need you on the bridge."

"No Captain. You belong on the bridge, I here. It is my responsibility to ensure your safety."

OK, Pike thought to himself so much for a gracious exit. "Not the time or place for that discussion," he quietly warned. Saru glared down at his captain. Pike serenely looked up at his first officer. After a few seconds he added, "Implement my orders."

They continued their mutual staring for another minute. It seemed like an eon to the others until finally Saru looked away and relented. "Yes sir."

"Prepare to leave orbit. I'll beam out with team three." Pike turned to head to the cliffs where the geology team was collecting samples. "And Mr. Saru, a job well done, my compliments to you and the science teams."

The geological survey sight was a ten minute walk from the rendezvous point and with a comfortable margin of time before the geomagnetic storm hit the area, Pike, once out of the sight and hearing of the other away teams, sat on a fallen log, stopping to savor a rare private moment. It had been three weeks since they encountered the sphere and five weeks since the second signal led them to New Eden. The interval had given him time to focus on a secondary mission while onboard – evaluate the Discovery crew and decide if it should be disbanded and replaced. It was important to observe a crew's performance under intense pressure. And he had learned it was equally important to observe a crew's ability to handle the more predominant routine of space travel when there was no pressure of imminent catastrophe to focus thoughts and actions, no drilled responses to automatically execute. It was in the quiet of unremarkable days that subtle warning signs were missed and disasters sneaked up. He liked to use the example of climbing Mount Everest with his crew – most deaths occur on the way down from the peak after the goal is achieved, you relax and forget hazards remain.

So, the crew spent the last few weeks updating and fine-tuning ship's systems, analyzing the sphere data and surveying a system of five planets in a complex orbit around a trinary star system. And while he knew this bright and talented, yet inexperienced crew performed well under pressure with the good leadership, he had learned their inexperience could be an Achilles heel. Today reflected that. The expedition got off to a rocky start as the landing party initially behaved like children visiting an amusement park, each running excitedly in a different direction examining an interesting object catching their attention. Luckily, the only consequences so far had been lost time, a few bumps and bruises, and the group exploring the southern plain stranding themselves in the middle of a lake on a homemade raft. Their explanation should prove entertaining.

Pike beamed down at the start of the day but decided to return to the ship allowing Saru space and privacy to get the teams back on track. Later in the day he returned to spend one-on-one time with each group. As Discovery's primary mission was science rather than exploration, most of the crew interacted only with their department leaders, rarely entering the Captain's orbit. He wanted to use this opportunity to get to know them better.

Soon he would have to decide their future. More immediately it was time to end this indulgence and get back to work. Sighing he rose and took out his communicator. "Pike to team three. What's your status?"

The reply came slower than expected and the young lieutenant leading the team sounded flustered. "Captain, sir? We're ready for beam out … except … I mean … there is one problem. Ensign Tilly is missing."

Pike swore silently to himself and took off running towards the geological survey site. Captains could miss subtle warning signs too.

Tilly clung to the edge of the cliff with both hands. Brilliant idea, she thought to herself. Yes, it was an interesting and unexpected energy signature, but next time … mental note … tell someone where you are going in case, once again, the worst happens, and you slip off the cliff. Barely catching yourself before falling to a certain death. Losing your communicator, but then it wasn't like you could let go to get it out of your pocket. And hey girl, awesome reflexes and strength there, catching yourself. Kudos. And Oh my God, what am I going to do now? How much longer can I hold on? She tried peering down without losing her balance or grip to see if there was anything to break her fall when the inevitable happened.

"I turned around and she was gone. I don't know for how long sir," the team leader reported radiating anxiety.

Pike sought the right words to steady her and remind the situation wasn't her fault, finally deciding the best way forward was to focus the geologist on a task. He smiled and said, "I need you to take responsibility for getting your team beamed back to Discovery while I look for the Ensign. I appreciate I can leave their safety in your able hands so I can focus on the search." She nodded and handed the Captain her tricorder.

Moving away from the others, Pike continued scanning for isolated life signs. Something appeared to be interfering with the sensor. Perhaps the more powerful sensors on Discovery could break through. While waiting for those scans to be completed, he squinted at the distant horizon searching for signs of the coming storm. The wind was picking up on this ridge.

Michael called back with the results or rather the lack of results. "I'll come and help you search, heading to the transporter room now."

"Belay that," Pike ordered firmly. "I will assess and let you know." Michael tended to act first, and then ask forgiveness. Right now, he didn't need additional complications. OK, time to put those old-fashioned tracking skills to use, he thought and began walking away from the cliffs towards the forest examining the terrain for clues a human had passed through.

Tilly could no longer feel the edge she was desperately clinging to. Her fingers were cramping, and her arms and shoulders were numb. She was frightened and beginning to shiver as the temperature dropped and the wind increased. Worst of all, she had no idea how to save herself. When the time came, she didn't even feel her fingers relax and let go.

After several dead ends, Pike circled back to the cliffs and found a trail of disturbed rocks. He approached it cautiously probing for hidden recesses and other instabilities. It appeared stable enough and looked to continue for at least another kilometer. This was the best lead so far, so he started down the path.

Instinct screamed at him to hurry, logical implored him to proceed very carefully. The path became treacherous with no warning. Anyone walking here and not paying attention would have stepped into the unexpected hole and tumbled over the side. He peered cautiously over the edge and was horrified. Ensign Tilly had fallen and landed on a small outcropping several hundred meters below. Beyond that was a sheer drop off. Her right leg and arm were dangling over the outcropping and she was starting to stir. If she panicked and moved slightly, she would roll off and fall to a certain death.