Una kept the shuttle steady for the next few minutes to give Chris the best chance of overpowering their hijacker, Alec needed to be calm and as off guard as possible given the circumstances despite that he'd just been buoyed up by the recent confirmation. For his part, Pike kept his head down and his mouth shut, trying to blend into the background and reduce his threat rating for Alec. It appeared to be working.
Alec was getting sloppier with keeping his distance and at one point he was stood right beside Pike with the phaser held loosely in his hand, staring out the front viewport. Una noticed his positioning too. She took one hand off the flight stick and tapped her fingers against the base of the chair three times before continuing to fly, giving Pike a warning countdown for whatever she was going to pull off.
When the countdown hit zero Number One made her move, she tilted the flight stick forward abruptly making the shuttle's nose dip forward and all three of them careered forward. Alarms blared throughout the cockpit as Una continued to push the craft to its limits. Pike was expecting a distraction but he hadn't quite expected anything so violent, so much so that even he lost his balance and fell forward, thankfully so did Alec. Their hijacker stumbled forward a few steps and completely lost his balance, the hand holding the phaser came into view and Chris went for it.
Before the hijacker had a chance to recover, Pike grabbed his gun arm, slid out his leg and brought the gunman crashing down. They both landed on the floor in a tangle of limbs and that was when the desperate struggle for the weapon started. Chris was distantly aware that the shuttle was levelling out; he could hear Una fighting with the controls to level the ship after her crazy stunt. He hoped she got it under control soon and helped him out because frankly Alec wasn't giving up easily, and after a few knocks to the head, Chris wasn't at his best.
Pure desperation to live drove him onwards, he tangled with Alec and grabbed a hold of his gun arm, stretching it out in an attempt to keep it away from his head. They rolled together on the floor, one getting the advantage one second and then the tables flipped when limbs crashed into flesh. Chris yelled out when a knee hit his ribs, right where Alec had hit earlier.
The attack was enough for him to loosen his hold on the hijacker's arm and he managed to aim the phaser towards the front of the cockpit. Pike shook off his dazed state, tracked the phaser and its trajectory and yelled out a warning to Number One at the same time as he shoved the gun arm aside. A bolt left the gun and he heard electronics explode and fizz, the lights flickered and suddenly they were all plunged into darkness.
Chris didn't have time to wonder whether that shot had successfully hit his XO, he needed to take this phaser out of play, now.
He rolled on top of Alec grabbed the gunman's arm with two hands, lifted with all his strength and slammed the limb down into the ground. He repeated the action until he heard a crack, Alec screamed and he heard the sound of the phaser skittering out of sight. Now that Alec was unarmed the fight was much more balanced, but Pike was still injured. That was something that the hijacker took advantage of brutally.
Alec punched him in the ribs and kidneys, short quick jabs that served to steal Pike's breath away. He gasped and collapsed off of his opponent, curling up protectively to protect his cracked ribs. The hijacker took advantage of his injured state and followed up the blows by several punches to the face and head which had Chris reeling. The shuttle chose that moment to swerve wildly, or rather more accurately Number One lost the fight against some of the flight controls. Pike knew she was still alive because he could hear her cursing at the control panel which Alec had inadvertently blown up.
The hijacker fell off of Pike and crashed into the side of the shuttle; Chris utilised the adrenaline afforded him and leapt upwards, his target was to take out the hijacker before he could take out him. He managed to land a few solid punches whilst blocking the counter-attacks, and when the shuttle rolled again he got lucky. Alec lost his balance and collapsed to the floor but Pike didn't. He snaked an arm around his opponent's neck and curled his legs around Alec's waist, keeping him pinned and in place.
Alec struggled madly but it was of no use, Chris had him trapped in a head lock and he was never going to let go. Not with so many lives on the line and his own survival at stake. Adrenaline pushed Chris through the pain, and through the brutal attacks that Alec kept administering on his already injured ribs, he yelled out with each hit but still kept a firm hold around Alec's neck. Mercifully the elbowing and struggles started to weaken, and eventually Alec stopped moving all together.
Chris kept the hold in place long after the hijacker had gone limp just to be sure that he was out cold and no longer a threat. After 30 seconds he released the head lock, disentangled his limbs from the hijacker and dragged his aching body to a seated position, gasping and backing away from Alec. A shrill alarm snapped him back into the present, that the phaser had been fired at the cockpit and that they were still in terrible danger. He turned to Number One and was relieved to see her in the pilot's seat still, even though she looked to be fighting with the controls.
"Una…" He croaked but was halted by a cough, one which had him hacking up blood which was not a good sign for his internal injuries.
She didn't look back to him and it was clear why, she was fighting with the controls with everything she had but Chris could still see the landscape getting closer out of the viewport.
"We're going down Chris! I can't stop it, all the controls have been shot to shit." Una yelled over the almost deafening shrill of the alarms.
"Fuck." He replied, he knew it wasn't the most eloquent response but it summed up the shitty situation rather well.
"Get strapped in, this is gonna be a rough landing." She added before devoting all her attention to putting them down in a less populated area, and hopefully in one piece.
Chris took one look at the unconscious man below him and realised that he couldn't leave him there, he couldn't leave him to die without any protection. Decision made, he hefted the limp body up and started dragging it towards the seats, grunting and wincing the whole way. Alec was heavier than he looked and with his ribs broken, hauling another body was not an easy feat. He eventually made it to the seats and dropped the body in place, slumping over next to it to catch his breath.
The shuttle dipped alarmingly again and he slid away from the seats a few metres which told him just how serious this was, and that he better get strapped in now. He urgently crawled towards Alec's body and strapped him in whilst he heard Una curse at the controls loudly. Chris managed to strap the hijacker's body in with fumbling fingers; he was about to take the seat next to him when suddenly the shuttle pitched downwards sending him flying into the ceiling. He groaned at the contact and resisted the urge to pass out, he needed to get buckled up before this rust-bucket hit the ground. Chris reached for the straps of a seat on his way towards the floor and managed to get one arm through the buckles before all hell broke loose.
"Chris, you better be in a seat." Una yelled back above the chaos. "We're going dow-"
Her words were cut off when his head slammed against the floor on the way down and then Pike knew no more.
Chris groaned when pain flared, the general numbness spreading across his body was lessening and slowly bit by bit he started to feel each muscle waking up, and with that came misery. The first just so happened to be his legs which screamed for attention every other breath, he soon figured out that it was because his legs were in motion and were dragging over rough ground. Another clue to this fact was the snatches of sky he managed to make out when he tried opening his eyes.
The next time he made a more concentrated effort to open his eyes for longer, when he blinked away the dizziness that seemed to hang over him like a veil; he saw the sky, thick jungle trees towering above him and smoke, lots of smoke. Chris followed the smoke's trail downwards and frowned at the image of a mangled shuttle, except it wasn't just any shuttle, it was the shuttle he and One had taken from Enterprise and it was on fire.
The next mystery Pike couldn't get his damaged mind to solve was why the shuttle appeared to be getting smaller, was he moving? If so then how when he couldn't even keep his eyes open…
Someone grunted behind him, Chris felt himself falling towards the ground and he gasped when his ribs protested the sudden movement. He clutched at them miserably, well with his left arm at least, his right shoulder didn't seem to be cooperating.
"Ah shit, sorry Chris…" Someone muttered behind him, someone familiar.
He laid his head back, took several deep breaths and eventually managed to open his eyes to see his first officer leaning over him from behind his head, her face was covered in ash and blood but her eyes were alert and she was clearly more mobile than he was. Which brought him to the second conclusion, Number One had been dragging him away from the shuttle, and that's when he remembered the crash, or rather he remembered trying to get into a seat and then head butting the floor…
Speaking of which. "Ahhh…" He moaned miserably when his head started flaring up, so much so that he honestly thought it was splitting in two.
Chris felt hands grab a hold under his armpits and suddenly he was being lifted and pulled backwards, something which his abused body did not agree with. Una noticed his suffering immediately but she didn't stop moving him.
"I know it hurts and I'm sorry, but we've got to get clear of the shuttle incase it goes up."
Right, that made sense, with that much fuel, damage and the fire… An explosion that size could take out anything within 25 metres.
"S' okay…" He managed to mumble, that was when he heard Una's grunts of pain and he felt incredibly bad that he was just laying here whilst she was dragging him along. He wasn't the only one in that shuttle crash.
Chris thought he should try and do something about that so he stupidly tried to get his feet under him and help move himself along, of course his legs didn't like that idea and it wasn't long before they both crashed to the ground in a pained heap.
Number One sat up beside him and frowned. "What the hell was that?"
"Sorry, was tying to help." Pike muttered quietly, glad that his tongue seemed to be a bit more cooperative now.
Una sighed and her frown turned into a sad smile. "It's okay just don't try anything stupid like that again, there was a reason I was doing the heavy lifting." She admonished before squinting towards the shuttle. "I think we're far enough away now anyway."
Chris just nodded and managed to lift his head up to look at the burning shuttle, it really was quite a mess and had torn up the ground all-around them. "Some landing…" He joked.
Una glanced at him surprised and then her lips quirked upwards and she smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure you would have done better Mr. test-pilot but I had to cope with a dying shuttle whilst you were rolling around on the floor."
Chris gripped his ribs when they twinged in pain, "I wasn't rolling around on the floor..." he defended weakly.
Una's smile fell and she ended up staring at his ripped shirt, and the blood he could feel running down his face. "Yeah, I know…" She stared at him silently for a few moments, and they both came to terms with the fact that they were still in-fact alive. Una suddenly shook herself out of it and gently levered herself to her feet. "I'm going to go and get the emergency medical supplies, wait here."
"But…" Chris began and started to try and sit up, he wanted to say that it could be too dangerous and that she didn't have to handle this alone, but really he still wasn't seeing straight let alone standing and Una saw that in a heartbeat.
She held up a finger sternly and ordered. "Ah ah, stay put Pike. We both need those meds so I'm going to get them." She glanced at his shoulder and frowned. "And then we can see about putting your shoulder back in place."
With that she set off towards the shuttle, leaving Chris alone and on the cold ground. As she walked away he took stock of the situation, what inside his body was broken and hurt and just what exactly their options were. He registered what One said about his shoulder and when he glanced down at it he saw what she meant, it looked like it had been ripped out of its socket, most probably dislocated if not worse; that would certainly explain the pain he had felt earlier and why it was difficult to move...
Una returned a few minutes later, slugging a rucksack over her shoulder and limping slightly. Chris frowned when he caught sight of her walking, she grimaced with each step and had dried blood covering her clothes. He couldn't make out what was her own blood and what wasn't... She dropped the kit next to him and sank down to the floors groaning when her limbs protested the sudden movement. Chris felt a pang of guilt as he watched her struggle, she was handling this disaster all by herself whilst he had been laying here essentially useless.
"Here, I got these."
He snapped out of the moment when Una started to unpack the supplies she had collected, which mostly consisted of basic medical equipment and mercifully painkillers. She loaded up a hypospray with two powerful painkillers and injected the both of them; they both let out a satisfied gasp as they felt the medicine begin to take effect.
"That's some strong stuff." Chris sighed contently already feeling a little spaced out, "can we just lay down for a while."
Una snorted and shuffled closer to him. "No chance, I'm not having you fall asleep on me Captain."
Chris groaned as Una gripped a hold of his arms and started to pick him up. "Come on, I've got to get a better look at you."
Pike hissed with the movement but managed to help all the same, it wasn't long before he was in a seated position up against the trunk of a tree breathing hard. Una started to peel away what remained of his uniform jacket to get to his wounds.
Chris groaned in pain and muttered. "There are easier ways to get my shirt off Una..."
Una shot him an incredulous look, thinking how mad he was for bringing up something so suggestive at a time like this. She then noticed his lips quirking upwards in amusement and knew he was teasing her, she shook her head and continued to peel the ruined clothes away.
"Noted, Captain." She replied with a wink, one which had him grinning in return.
That grin soon transformed into something else entirely when she started to wrap his ribs up, one scan from the tricorder revealed their broken state and if they weren't supported there was the danger of a punctured lung or more serious internal bleeding. Apart from the internal injuries, Chris had sustained a skull fracture, a severe concussion, a dislocated shoulder and a sprained ankle. Considering the state of the shuttle and the fact he wasn't properly secured when it went down it was a minor miracle, Una hadn't expected to see him wake up after finding him in a mangled heap on the floor.
When it came to the dislocated shoulder Chris kept the wounded limb out of reach and tried backing away. "Can we just leave that for now?"
"No."
Chris wasn't one to complain with injuries but his arm was throbbing badly and he couldn't get his head around the fact that it would be better after Una yanked it somewhere else. He shivered just thinking about it.
"But you haven't even let me treat you yet, this is hardly life threatening." He tried to shift the attention to his XO but she just threw him a withered look and took his arm in a gentle grip.
"Stop changing the subject, I checked myself over for anything serious." She muttered distractedly before narrowing her eyes and considering him properly, seeing through his feeble attempts to hide just how uneasy he was. "Have you ever had a dislocated shoulder before?"
"Not like this." Chris admitted weakly, glancing nervously at Una's grip on his arm. It already felt like it had been ripped from his body, he really didn't want anymore movement.
Una's expression softened, she looked him in the eye and pursed her lips together unhappily. "I know it hurts now, and yes popping it back in place is gonna sting like hell but trust me when it's done the pain gets much better."
Chris met her gaze and saw just how unhappy she was about this situation too, but if she was saying that it had to be done then he believed her. His faith in his first officer was unshakable.
"Okay, do it." He agreed.
Una nodded firmly and took up a position on his side, levering his arm into place and earning a whimper of pain from him.
She started to count down, "3... 2..." just after 2 Una yanked his arm backwards and downwards until it cracked into place. "1."
Pike barely heard the end of the countdown, he yelled out when the agony hit new heights and it took all he had not to pass out there and then. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore punishment the burning anguish stated to recede, and before long the pain levels were down to much more manageable levels. He sagged back against the tree trunk and took deep breaths with his eyes squeezed firmly shut, he clutched his hurting arm and eventually the worst of the effects subsided.
Huh, Una had been right about the pain being better now, of course she had been right...
He started to utilise his hand and fingers again and was pleasantly surprised to find them more responsive, he had been getting seriously worried about nerve damage earlier.
"You back with us?"
Una's anxious words snapped him out of the daze; he opened his eyes to see her looking at him with mild concern, the tricorder in her hands running over his shoulder.
"Yeah." He gasped, feeling exhausted and wrung out but decidedly better. "The pain is better, thanks."
She smirked after confirming his diagnosis on the tricorder. "Told you."
Chris took one look at her face and the blood still dripping down it and then sat himself up properly, it wasn't half as bad as he had been expecting with the rib support in place and painkillers.
He reached out for the tricorder. "Okay One, It's definitely time to take a look at that head wound."
Una frowned. "But..."
"No buts." Pike interrupted firmly, he wasn't about to let her stubborn streak get the better of him this time. "Captain's orders."
Una huffed unhappily but relinquished the tricorder all the same. So now it was Pike's turn to play Doctor. Chris frowned suspiciously at the readings on the screen. Just like she'd said, there wasn't anything too serious, just some strained ligaments, a nasty contusion on her forehead, a concussion and some bruised bones. Her seat and the safety belts had actually done their job.
After applying some gauze and wraps for her more fragile looking bones, they both declared emergency first aid done with. Now that they were both more alert their training was kicking in, specifically their survival training.
Una started to unpack the bag she had brought out of the shuttle, she'd already found the Starfleet emergency blankets, a torch, water and ration packs. She placed them all on the ground one by one, and then pulled out the final item.
"Look what I found." She showed off the phaser with a satisfied smile, Alec's phaser.
Chris felt dread crash into him like a wave, how had he forgotten about the hijacker?
"Did you see Alec?"
Una's movements halted and she flinched before schooling her expression once more. "What about him."
"Was he alive?" Chris pressed the point, why was she playing dumb?
"Probably, I wasn't really in the mood to check after what he did and what he was planning to do."
Ah, that was why. Una never had been a forgiving person, nor a compromising one despite Pike's best efforts to impart his ways to her.
He sighed tiredly and summoned up the strength to restart their life long argument. "Una…"
"What?" She snapped, dropping the backpack and supplies and throwing him a deeply unimpressed look.
But no, Chris wouldn't back down, he couldn't. "We can't just leave him in there, he could die."
Her nostrils flares and her eyes widened comically. "So this was your thinking right?"
Chris couldn't keep up with the change in direction; he blinked, confused. "I'm sorry?"
"When you strapped him in lieu of yourself and nearly died." Number One replied sardonically, whilst giving him the evil eye for good measure.
Chris felt suitably mollified, just as he always did with Una. "I thought I had the time to get the both of us in." He meekly tried to defend his actions.
"Bullshit." One called out vehemently, seeing through his reasoning. "You couldn't put yourself first, even against a scumbag like him."
Her anger tailed off with her words to be replaced by melancholy, she dropped her gaze and took a breath to hold the emotions back. Chris felt incredible guilt crash down on him again, not for doing what he thought was right, but for leaving Una to deal with the aftermath alone. His choices had consequences, and as such he had to own them.
"No, I couldn't. I'm sorry." he finished sincerely, trying to convey with his eyes just how much he meant that. The last thing he ever wanted to do was cause his XO any pain, and he'd inadvertently done that.
Una's features softened, she let out a weary sigh and her lips quirked upwards. "You're insufferable sometimes you know that?"
"I know." Pike smirked back. He actually felt some of the tension between them dissipate.
At the end of the day they were both too set in their ways to be anything other than this. Pike would always put others before himself, regardless of the consequences, and Una would be there to curb that particular trait because sometimes, just sometimes it was the wrong thing to do. He could be blind to that.
Una coughed, breaking the slightly awkward silence. "Well, bad news aside, and despite our hijacker's best efforts I managed to send off a distress call before the instruments were shot to shit."
"Who to?" Pike asked distractedly, glancing at the shuttle.
"The city about the impending attack, hopefully they were able to intercept other shuttles trying the same thing. And Enterprise, although I don't know if either of them received the message..." Number One tailed off at the end, letting the consequence of that hang in the air.
Pike picked up the trail morbidly. "And if there were further attacks then the emergency services are going to be busy for some time."
"We're on our own out here." Una surmised.
Pike slumped back against the forest floor dejectedly, their emergency first aid would have to last, not to mention their supplies. The Captain glanced at the shuttle and came to a decision, if help really was far away then they couldn't afford to just let a man die no matter his crimes. The question was, did he even have the strength to drag Alec out?
Una clocked where he was staring and sighed. "You want me to go and get him don't you."
"I could…"
"Don't be an idiot," Una interrupted firmly before giving him and his arm a withering glare. "I've only just set that arm. You couldn't lift him even if you were stupid enough to try."
Chris smiled bashfully. He appreciated Una's no-nonsense attitude, especially when it came to him. "Sorry for being so useless."
Una got to her feet with a grunt and stretched out her stiff muscles. "I'm used to it." She replied with a sardonic smile, long-suffering as usual.
Pike purposefully ignored the insult and replied in an equally dry tone. "Thanks."
Number One shook her head at him incredulously, she grabbed the phaser and handed it down to him. "Look after this whilst I go play Doctor."
