Elle poked her head into Auxiliary Control. "Scotty?"
No Scotty.
She checked the next few departments. Any lieutenant commander would do to sign off her project, but where was everybody?
"What do you think you're doing?" a voice snapped angrily.
She whirled around to face the disgruntled engineer. "I'm looking for Scotty, lieutenant, have you seen him?"
"Commander Scott is busy doing his job, young lady. What are you doing in a restricted area? Where's your guardian?"
She glanced around. "It's not the armory or Impulse Control, I can come in here," she reassured him.
That just made the man scowl deeper. "You shouldn't be in this section at all," he said. He grabbed her arm and propelled her from the room. "Where is your guardian?"
"I-" Elle pulled away but his grip was unrelenting as he marched her towards the lift. "Look, you're new, right? I don't need supervision, I have clearance as a mission consultant, I just need someone to mark off my homework!"
"Right," he drawled, and set the lift for the Rec Deck.
"No really!" Elle said. "I have clearance!"
He just rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. And I'm the queen of England."
"You're really new," Elle said, resigning herself to being dragged all over the ship. "Came over from Starbase 14 last week?"
"Yes, and I'm not letting any little brat ruin my first good posting." He pulled her out of the lift. "Your guardian's name. Now."
"Captain Kirk," Elle told him. "My secondary guardian is Mr. Spock. My tertiary guardian is Dr. McCoy."
His eyes narrowed. "Don't be insolent," he said.
Insolent? What kind of Victorian world did this guy live in? Elle glared at him. "I'm telling the truth."
"Uh-huh." He dragged her forward.
She dug in her heels. "Lemme go!"
"Don't think you can just run off, you little brat!" He tugged her forward and she tripped over her own feet. With that auspicious entrance, they stumbled into the Rec Room. Everyone looked over at them.
Sulu and Nurse Lia Burke were sitting at a table near the entrance. Sulu shot to his feet and came over, waving back a few of the others who had stood.
Lt. Stupidhead shook Elle's arm slightly. "Lt. Sulu, do you know where this child's guardian is? I found her sneaking around Engineering."
Sulu stared at them.
Elle shrugged an arm helplessly.
Sulu's gaze narrowed to the lieutenant's grip on Elle's other arm and his entire demeanor turned to ice. "Lt. Dior, unhand Miss Wilcott immediately."
He let Elle go and snapped, "Yes, sir."
She stumbled a few steps away, rubbing her arm. "Ow," she grumbled.
Nurse Burke waved Elle over. "Did he hurt you?" she asked, her calm demeanor belying the fire in her gaze.
"Just dragged me here from Engineering," Elle said warily, as both Sulu and the surrounding crewmen grew progressively frostier towards the new guy.
Nurse Lia pulled up Elle's short sleeve to reveal a bruising handprint. "Sulu," she said.
Sulu turned, saw the bruise, and turned back to the lieutenant, who was still standing there. "What made you think it was a good idea to put your hands on a civilian child?" Sulu asked in that voice that usually meant death-by-sharp-sword.
"She was in a restricted area," Lt. Dior replied.
"She has clearance," Sulu said flatly.
"I didn't know-"
"She wouldn't have been able to get off the lift if she didn't have clearance."
"I didn't know-"
Sulu didn't let him speak. "Elle, did you tell him?"
"Yeah."
Sulu's gaze got flintier. "And your solution, Lt, was to forcibly drag her through half the ship?"
"She wouldn't tell me who her guardian was."
Sulu raised an eyebrow, Spock-style. "Elle?"
"I said the captain," Elle said quietly, suddenly uncomfortably aware of everyone in the rec room watching them. She shrank behind Lia.
"Captains don't have kids," Dior scoffed.
Sulu gave a thin smile void of humor. "As a matter of fact, our captain does. So do I. Elle is a ward of the Enterprise in care of the senior officers, including Mr. Scott."
Dior stiffened. "How was I supposed to know-"
"By using your brain," Sulu snapped. "I'll speak to Mr. Scott about refreshing your basic orientiation. And if you ever harm another child, especially Elle, well. Vacuum is especially nice this time of year." His eyes flashed. "Dismissed!"
Dior snapped a salute, shot Elle a glare, and hustled out.
Sulu turned to Elle, his whole posture softening. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," Elle said, mentally adding, just horribly embarrassed.
"I need to speak to Mr. Scott about this," Sulu said. "Lia?"
"Yup."
Sulu glaced over the room, taking in everyone who'd stopped to gawp. "As you were," he announced, and left. By the time he'd cleared the room, everyone had obediently gone back to their own business.
Yeah. Elle could totally see him getting his own ship.
Lia cleared her throat. "Okay, Elle. Let's go to sickbay, heal up that bruise, and you tell me everything that happened."
Elle shifted uneasily. "Can we just-"
"No," Lia said firmly. "That kind of attitude is unbecoming a Fleet officer, and it's gonna get him or someone else killed if he's not straightened out. Can you imagine if you had been a superpowered child or being that took offense at being manhandled?"
"Oh." Elle grimaced. "Yeah, that'd be bad."
"Plus, if those are his manners towards cute kids, his interpersonal skills need work, too."
"I'm not a cute kid!" Elle protested.
Lia patted Elle's head. "You're a cute young lady, how's that?"
"Fine," Elle grumbled.
They walked down to Sickbay in silence, and Lia ushered Elle onto the nearest biobed. While Lia ran the dermal regenerator over Elle's arm, Elle told her everything that had happened.
Lia gave her a hug. "Okay. You can go on, we'll deal with Mr. Fat-head."
"You're not actually going to space him, are you?" Elle asked.
"Nah." Lia gave a sharp grin. "Maybe just leave him in the airlock for a little bit."
"Lia!"
The nurse laughed and waved her away.
Elle found out from the yeomen that Lt. Dior had been transferred to Maintenance, away from critical systems, since he was a "troublesome" officer. Scotty was hesitant to transfer him because he had potential, but the Lt was being watched closely. Apparently his record wasn't too good with his fellow officers on the starbase before, and being transferred to the Enterprise had given him an arrogance-boost. Yeoman Barrows added, "He won't last long on the Enterprise if he doesn't get his head on straight. Don't you worry about him, Elle."
Lt. Dior apologized the next day, in the Rec Room, in front of the same crowd. He looked like he was in physical pain as he apologized for manhandling her down the corridors.
"I forgive you?" Elle said, unsure of the protocol for a situation like this. This was her first ever time dealing with someone new to the Enterprise.
Lt. Dior nodded curtly and went away.
Elle went to sit with Lt. Riley. "I don't like not being liked," she said.
"Does anyone?" he asked, and tugged at her braid. "Eat your porridge."
She ate her porridge.
That evening, Kirk started their literary discussion with, "So. New crewmembers giving you trouble?"
Elle startled. "Sir?" she asked, trying to play it cool.
He raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm not aware when officers are suddenly transferred to new departments with a warning to 'keep him away from the civilian consultant'?"
Elle blushed.
"I got the whole story out of Scotty," he added. "This isn't the first time that troublesome officers have been transferred to the Enterprise as a last chance to work out their issues."
"It isn't?" Elle asked.
Kirk gave a wry grin. "You haven't noticed that the Enterprise is full of stark-raving mad neophiles that don't fit in anywhere else?"
Elle blinked. "Isn't that all of Star Fleet?"
He laughed. "Not hardly. You see it more on the starships. You have to be crazy, to survive out here, to see the things we see and not lose your mind. But further in, or on regular ships, no, they're much more, staid."
"That explains a lot," Elle murmured, thinking of too-soon promotions.
"It does, doesn't it?" Kirk said. "So when there are officers on their last chances, they usually get sent out. They either adapt to the crazy, or they wash out. Lt. Dior could be either one, although I admit he hasn't gotten off to a good start." He gave Elle a Look. "If anyone else gives you any problems, I want to hear about it right away, understood?"
"Yes, sir," Elle said.
"Good."