Eight

"No one knows for sure whether or not Liaison Coulson's connection with Narla are tied with the Federation, but we are aware that she has some connection with the Tesseract."

"The energy readings are too similar for us to ignore. If she is similar to the Tesseract, then it could open a new window of opportunity for the agency."

"The Tesseract was unstable, raw energy that backfired on us spectacularly. Do you really want the same thing to happen when you get your hands on Liaison Coulson?"

Emily frowned as she leaned forward and listened to the conversations going back and forth between Director Fury and Alexander Pierce. They'd both been going at it for the past two hours. Pierce wanted to take her in for further studies to determine whether or not she was similar to the Tesseract. Fury was dead-set against it after reviewing the reasons behind them wanting to take her in. Emily was grateful for that notion, because she sure as hell didn't plan on becoming anyone's test subject.

It was bad enough that word of her 'heritage' had slipped out to the mainstream media. Reporters had been eating away at the story since it was released to the public nearly a week ago. Since then, both Emily and Leonard hadn't been able to leave her apartment without getting ambushed by some reporter trying to get the scoop on what life was like for a long-lost princess. Worst still, Leonard was dragged into the mess after the reporters finally noticed they were always leaving together.

Beside her, Maria leaned against the wall with her arms crossed as she too listened to their conversation. The brunette had asked her to join them at the Treskellion when word of Fury's argument came to light. Emily hadn't been happy with the idea of being the reason behind said argument. But she was also worried over whether or not Pierce would get his way. Unease crawled through her at the thought of becoming someone's test subject. She knew that was a high possibility, especially since the agency held so much power over her. And it was enough to make her realize that maybe Leonard had been right all along… she didn't openly trust the agency with everything, much like how Tony acted as well.

"They've been at this for hours now," Maria muttered out loud. "The boss is determined to make sure that Pierce doesn't get his hands on you, but that doesn't mean Pierce can override his orders."

"Pierce is a fool to think that this won't go by unnoticed," Emily rolled her eyes in exasperation. She too crossed her arms as she thought of how to get out of this mess. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea to find out more about my biological makeup, but the way Pierce is going about it is wrong… and I can't help but feel as though he has his own agenda."

Maria nodded in agreement, though she didn't bother saying it out loud. Emily watched from the corner of her eye; Fury shifted from foot to foot when the argument finally ceased. She could tell from the irritation written across his face that this was far from over. Pierce glanced in her direction, and another shiver swept through her under those piercing eyes. It was only until Fury left Pierce's office to join them that Emily forced herself to visibly relax.

"You're off the hook, for now," Fury reassured her after taking a deep breath. Relief swept through Emily the moment he said that, though it was short-lived when she noticed the ulcer forming on his forehead. "I'm not gonna lie, there's a chance Pierce will override my orders and force you into submission. If he does that it means you'll need to comply with his orders."

"He's an ass if he thinks that's going to end well for him," Emily snorted in disbelief. She glanced at nothing in particular. Her thoughts suddenly reached out to Leonard's. After discussing with him what was happening, he'd been furious. He of all people knew how she reacted around doctors and needles the first time she was brought back to Earth. To relive some of those memories of being on the Atlantis would likely trigger panic attacks. And sure enough, his anger hadn't subsided… not that she expected it to. "He should consider himself lucky that I take orders from you of all people… if you consider that following orders."

"Don't get your ass twisted in a knot, Coulson," Fury snapped with a roll of his eye. Though she hadn't missed the hint of affection in his voice when he snapped at her. Emily offered a half-smile when she realized this was hard on him as well. He had been there when Coulson decided to adopt her. While he would refuse to admit it, Fury had also watched her grow up alongside Leonard and his family. He'd seen how much she had changed for the better because of the life Coulson had given her. "I'm gonna keep an eye on Pierce for the time being… we've had to deal with this mess before with Danvers; and you're not much different from her."

Emily rose an eyebrow in surprise at the mention of 'Danvers'. She'd heard that name before. Carol Danvers had been a famous pilot within the air force before she disappeared years ago. Emily remembered reading stories about another woman with a similar name appearing years later. Said woman happened to have powers that could make anyone drool, along with the same smart-ass attitude she boasted.

"I take it that's the reason why you were so interested in me in the first place?" she guessed.

"You and Danvers share a similar quality that I've been looking for within the agency: You care about people," he explained after debating whether or not it was safe to talk about. Emily couldn't help but tilt her head to one side when she noticed the hint of affection in his voice once more. It seemed as though he was talking from memory. "Just don't let it get to your head."

She struggled not to grin at that. Despite his obvious affection, Fury refused to let it show. Once that was established, she wasted no time in heading back to the transporter. Leonard was already impatient enough for her to get back home without the need for transporting to go wrong. And thankfully that in itself hadn't been a hassle. The biggest challenge she faced was deciding where to go from there.

SHIELD had always been everything to her. From the moment she was taken in by the agency, Emily knew what she wanted in her life. She'd always looked up to Coulson and had been desperate to follow in his footsteps. But his warnings rang in the back of her mind. He'd warned her that the agency would try to take advantage of her. She hadn't realized at the time that he was trying to protect her. Emily swallowed hard at the thought of what would happen if Pierce overrode Fury's orders.

She knew it was a possibility, and the thought of how that would happen terrified her to the core. She didn't want to go back to being someone's test subject. She didn't want to be dragged down to the labs at endless hours, waiting to see when the next hypospray would be used. Her father hadn't been kind to her before those days, but when he brought her to the labs with him, it solidified her fear of him and doctors.

Emily let out a heavy sigh as she finally reached her apartment. Leonard was already back from his shift, though he'd made arrangements for that to happen. She felt guilty enough for making him feel as though he needed to do so. But Leonard had reassured her on more than one occasion that he'd do anything for her.

"How'd it go?" he asked when she got inside.

"The boss was able to get Pierce to back down… for now," she explained with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean Pierce can't override his orders. There's a slim chance that Pierce will do just that, and if he does…"

She couldn't bring herself to finish as fear wormed its way into her stomach. A familiar knot twisted against her stomach, causing her face to pale. Leonard rose an eyebrow in concern when he realized what was happening. He suddenly wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, holding her close as she buried her face into his shoulder. Almost as quickly as the panic threatened to overwhelm her, it dissipated within that embrace. Emily let out a shuddering breath as she struggled to regain her composure. She wasn't in any hurry to lose control, especially since this was something they had been working on for so long.

"No one has the damn right to run experiments on anyone without their consent," Leonard reminded her with a pointed look. Emily couldn't help but glance up at those hazel eyes. They were filled with compassion, something that Pierce seemed to lack. "If Pierce thinks he can get away with that load of bullshit, he's gonna regret it."

Despite herself, Emily couldn't hide the small smile that followed when she realized what he meant by that. The fact that Leonard of all people was willing to stand up to someone like Pierce meant so much more than she would admit out loud. That topped with the fact that Fury had also been willing to stand up for her meant so much more.

"I think at this point it's safe to say that the agency won't be getting it's hands on me," she reassured him with an affectionate kiss.

He was ready to say something else when their coms went off at the same time. Emily rose an eyebrow in surprise as she looked at her com to see that they were assigned to a new mission. A newly discovered planet known as Nibiru was currently under investigation by the Federation, and they wanted the Enterprise to explore it. She knew Jim was eager to prove himself as Captain of the ship, so it didn't surprise her that he'd jumped at the opportunity.

"Just when I thought we'd actually get a damn break from these missions," Leonard grumbled under his breath.

Emily only smirked in response before kissing him affectionately, "It could be worse, Leonard."

Leonard didn't look entirely convinced with that notion, but he certainly didn't argue.

.

.

Sure enough, it didn't take them long to reach the Enterprise once everyone had been situated in the shuttle. Since Leonard was the reluctant one to go on a shuttle, it had taken a bit of encouraging and coaxing on Emily's part to get him on. Eventually, everyone reached the ship and the Command Crew was now sitting around the bridge trying to go over the latest scans. From what Emily had gathered, Nibiru was a planet that had only recently been discovered with a population that had barely invented the wheel yet. The only problem was, said planet was also occupied with dozens of highly active volcanoes, with one large enough to wipe out the entire planet.

"So, what are the readings so far, Mr. Spock?" Jim asked after clasping his hands together.

As usual, Jim was sitting at the Captain's chair while Emily remained at her station. Leonard and Spock were standing not far away, both with expressions impossible to read. She hadn't missed the tension between them, and it didn't take a genius to know why. The two of them were constantly going at it, and she would usually end up getting caught in the middle of whatever argument they had. It didn't help that Spock seemed to toy with Leonard's view of logic. He seemed to get a kick out of it too, which only made things worse.

"The latest readings indicated that there was intense volcanic activity," Spock explained once they'd fallen into the normal routine. "The readings suggest that the activity is strong enough to trigger an eruption powerful enough to destroy the planet."

"Isn't there anything we can do about it?" Leonard asked when he reached Emily's side.

Emily chewed the bottom of her lip as she thought of the numerous possibilities revolving around helping said people. The real problem rested on the fact that the indigenous people lived right next to the active volcano. It wasn't as if they could actually let the ship be seen and stop it from erupting. She knew it would go against regulations to interfere with a planet's evolution, but killing off an entire population was out of the question.

"There is," Spock replied with a nod, "But, it would violate Starfleet's prime directive."

It didn't take Emily long to figure out what Spock was implying. She and Scotty had been working on a cold-fusion device during one of their drinking sessions. It was only thanks to the help of Tony that they were able to finish it, though the genius/playboy/billionaire had been too drunk to realize he was being helpful. She almost smirked as she recalled how surprised Scotty had been that Tony was willing to offer some advice. And how annoyed Leonard had been to find them at their apartment working on said device.

"He means the cold fusion device that Scotty and I worked on a month ago," she explained when Jim frowned in confusion.

"Are you sure the device is functional?" Jim asked curiously.

"Aye; we tested it a good three times before declaring it finished," Scotty replied with a firm nod.

"The device that you and Mr. Scott developed would be powerful enough to freeze the lava, and render it inert," Spock concluded.

Emily's brows furrowed together as she realized where he was getting at with that. To activate the device, one had to be there to push the buttons. It wasn't as simple as pushing a button on a remote. The frown written across Scotty's face only confirmed what she had been worrying about.

"Hang on there, you'd have to actually be in the volcano to trigger the device," Scotty pointed out, frowning at the thought of putting himself through that.

"Is there a problem with that?" Jim asked when he noticed Chekov's frown, ignoring Scotty's valid point.

"There vould be too much interference from zhe smoke for us to beam him down or up," Chekov explained. "A shuttle might vork, but it is risky."

Yeah, no kidding, Emily thought. Having to fly a shuttle over an active volcano was dangerous enough, but it would also mean the indigenous population might see them. But, Spock seemed to contradict her once again with his own theory.

"A shuttle might not hold out in the smoke and ash," Emily pointed out.

"It may not hold for long, but a shuttle would prove a more efficient way of reaching the volcano," the Vulcan remarked.

"And you're actually willing to risk your life just by proving me wrong?" she snapped under her breath.

"I am willing to take the risk of assisting these people," Spock countered without missing a beat.

The tone of his voice was enough for her blood to boil with outrage. Her fingers curled into fists, and it took every bit of restraint she had not to punch him. This wasn't the first time Spock had contradicted her every word. She remembered one time working with a SHIELD agent who had acted the same way. They thought they knew better because they had more experience in the field, but in the end, their arrogance had nearly gotten themselves killed.

"And what about the natives?" Leonard asked pointedly. Emily stiffened when she caught the smirk that followed as Jim looked at him. Jim had this nasty habit of dragging either herself or Leonard onto these crazy missions, and Leonard had already guessed what was on his mind as a look of panic flashed in his eyes. "No, you are not dragging me down there on a suicide mission!"

"Ah, come on, Bones," Jim said cheekily, "You're not afraid of a little planetary exploration, are you? Besides, you're the one who was so interested in saving the species."

"Fine," Leonard grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

They had already made plans to conceal the ship underwater, in the ocean. After discussing (more like arguing with Scotty for a good thirty minutes; he made a valid point about hiding a high-class Starship in the middle of the ocean), the decision was finally made that Jim and Leonard would spend the night on the planet before drawling the indigenous people away from the volcano, where the shuttle would launch the device and render the volcano inert.

"You're acting Captain when Spock leaves," Jim added once the plans were finalized, looking at Emily with a grin.

She simply rolled her eyes and nodded, having already realized that a debate over how bad of an idea that sounded would just fly right over his head. Besides, it wasn't the first time he had given her the position, and it most likely wouldn't be the last. It seemed that lately, Jim had been setting her up as acting Captain more often than she would have liked, preparing her for whatever hell he would get the crew in.

"Just don't get yourselves killed, please," she muttered as they reached the transport pads.

Leonard merely shot Jim a glare before kissing her on the forehead.

"I can't make that guarantee," Jim replied with a smirk as the swirling lights began to appear.

Emily crossed her arms as they disappeared and shook her head. Some things never changed.

.

.

Emily shifted uneasily in the Captain's chair while listening to the reports of the rest of the crew around her. She had been aware of the constant reports that were being sent on Jim's and Spock's away team progress. Because they were out and about on the planet, everyone needed to keep a sharp eye on the teams. The first time they did an extensive mission like this was when things had nearly ended in disaster. Leonard and Jim had been on a separate part of the planet, while Spock's team had been on another side. And of course, Emily had been left in charge at the time. It wasn't that she hated being Captain of the Enterprise; she just wasn't fond of having the weight of an entire crew on her shoulders.

She hated to admit that she was better-suited working in areas such as the bridge and Engineering. Because she was a Liaison, she was required to work shifts in all fields that needed her the most. The job requirement wasn't all that bad though. At least she was surrounded by people she trusted, and the people she considered family. Chekov was busy running scans on the planet with other crew members keeping an eye on the situation at hand. And each report came back telling Emily that the volcano was that much closer to erupting. A shiver of unease swept through her at the thought. If they didn't make it to the volcano in time, not only would the indigenous people be hurt, but Jim, Leonard and everyone else involved could be killed as well.

She held back a sigh as she tried swallowing back the unease. It was better not to think about the problems that could occur while the team was away. She put up with Leonard's pessimistic attitude on a daily basis, and she suspected it was rubbing off on her. Then again, she had been through enough near-disasters during her time with SHIELD to know that anything could and would go horribly wrong.

Finally, Emily looked up and stared at the viewing screen for a few seconds. They were keeping track of not only Leonard and Jim, but Spock's team as well. Though, she had to admit that she was focused solely on Jim and Leonard's movements. Leonard had been anything but happy with the idea of being dragged on said planet, and Jim didn't help matters by causing things to go wrong. The red dot indicating Jim's movement had suddenly stopped as it got closer to where Leonard was waiting, and Emily's brows furrowed together in concern. She knew if Jim was involved, the end results would likely be disastrous.

"Jim, what happened?" she asked after opening the com.

"Our wonderful Captain just stunned our ride!" came Leonard's angry shout from behind, before Jim could explain himself.

Emily held back a sigh of frustration as she realized what that meant. Only Jim would find a way to shoot at whatever creature Leonard managed to wrangle up for their ride. She was hardly surprised though. She had been on enough missions with the Captain to know what sort of disastrous outcomes to expect. That was one of the many reasons why Leonard was so reluctant to be involved with said missions. She suddenly found herself understanding why he complained so much over the fact that Jim was constantly putting his life at risk over stupid decisions. She'd dealt with enough agents at SHIELD to know that Jim was the least of her problems at the moment.

"Open all coms," she ordered after realizing this was something the shuttle team should hear as well.

"Kirk to Shuttle 1," Jim called, "Both of us are out of the kill zone. You are clear, repeat."

"Spock, you're clear to neutralize the volcano," Emily called through the com.

"So, hurry it up, let's get out of here!" Jim added.

"We have to do this now! I told the Captain the shuttle wasn't built for this kind of heat," Sulu grumbled to them.

"And Scotty and I did our best to work with what little time we had," Emily reminded him pointedly. "As long as you hover around the volcano and not directly over it, it should be able to hold out."

The silence that followed wasn't entirely promising. Emily nearly rolled her eyes as she imagined Sulu doing exactly what he shouldn't be doing.

"You're hovering over the volcano, aren't you?" she deadpanned.

She listened as Sulu paused in his response, clearly unsure of how he should address her, "No, now we're not, Captain Coulson."

Emily winced at the way he said her name. She was anything but Captain material, and everyone around her knew it. Her father would have been proud though if he could see where she was now. She realized with a start that Coulson had never been around to see her graduate from Starfleet, or to see how far her and Leonard's relationship had gone. Coulson was never happy with the notion that they were seeing each other again. There was a time when he would approve of their relationship, but that ship sailed faster than she thought possible when Leonard chose Pamela over her years ago. She knew in the back of her mind that he would have never forgiven Leonard, much like Clint never did. But at the end of the day, it was her happiness that mattered the most.

"Captain, did the indigenous life form see you?" Spock asked.

"No, Mr. Spock, they did not!" Kirk shouted back.

And he's lying, Emily nearly rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time.

The only reason Jim would ever lie (which was more often than anyone wanted to admit out loud) was when it came to disregarding the regulations. Spock was the one person anyone turned to if they wanted to know whether or not it went against regulations, and she could already imagine him reciting numerous rules to Jim.

"The Prime Directive clearly states there can be no interference with the internal development of alien civilization!" Spock reminded him, reciting a classic rule that was pretty much engraved in everyone's memory the moment they enlisted in Starfleet.

"I know what it says," Jim retorted, sounding as if he was struggling to shout and run at the same time, "which is why I'm running through the jungle wearing a disguise! Now, drop the super ice cube and let's go! Kirk out!"

Emily sank back into the chair, letting out a sigh as she heard Leonard shouting about the people trying to kill them. Somehow, she wasn't surprised with that. Wouldn't be the first time Jim had almost gotten himself killed, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. She looked up when a beep sounded, indicating that Spock had been deployed. But it was only seconds later when an alarm went off.

"Sulu, what's happening?" she asked after realizing something had gone wrong with the second away team.

"I can't hold this position," Sulu strained to speak, the whole bridge could hear him struggle to get the shuttle going.

"Retract Spock, and abort mission," Emily sighed, knowing that the volcanic ash and heat had probably done something with the engines to make them malfunction.

"Negative, this is our only chance to save this species. If this volcano erupts, the planet dies," Spock argued.

"And you're going to die along with them if you don't actually listen to me for a change," she countered without missing a beat. She rubbed the temple of her forehead as she tried to ease the already growing headache. She was tired of hearing Spock disregard everything she said. "Sulu, pull him up!"

Before Sulu or Uhura could do anything to stop him, the dot representing Spock suddenly fell off the edge of the viewing screen, disappearing seconds later.

"Spock, are you okay?" Uhura asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"I am, surprisingly, okay," Spock replied, "Standby."

"Dammit, Spock, do not standby!" Emily retorted. "Uhura, see if you can deploy a second retraction line and pull him up."

"We have to abandon the shuttle," Sulu argued.

"We can't just leave him, Sulu!" Uhura shouted back.

"We don't have a choice," Sulu retorted. "Uhura, I'm sorry. The engines can't take this much heat or volcanic ash."

"Alright, report back to the Enterprise, then," Emily sighed as she realized the logic in Sulu's statement. "Uhura, we'll find a way to get him out of there," she added, knowing Uhura wasn't going to be pleased with this. Though, she had no idea just how they planned on getting Spock out of that volcano without the natives seeing the ship. "Jim, did you catch that?" she added.

"Captain, I'm ditching the shuttle. You gotta make it to the Enterprise on your own," Sulu repeated his last statement in case the Captain hadn't heard.

"Wonderful," Jim grumbled.

"Jim, Leonard, get to the beach," she put in.

"Negative," Spock's voice cut in as he already guessed what she was thinking, again, "The native species must not see the Starship. It is against prime directive."

"Yeah, I've got another idea," Jim replied.

"Kirk, the beach is that way!"

Leonard's shout made Emily frown as she realized Jim had suddenly changed directions, the blinking dots moving further away from the beach where they would have met with the Enterprise crew. The plan would have gone accordingly if Jim hadn't reacted the way he did earlier. She rubbed the temple of her forehead in frustration, knowing that once this was over, she would never hear the end of it with Leonard's complaints.

"I know; we're not going to the beach!"

Apparently, whatever Jim was planning, Leonard seemed to catch on within seconds.

"Oh, no, no! I hate this!"

"I know you do!" Seconds later, a splash sounded before their coms went off.

They'd arrived at the Enterprise minutes after Uhura's team and were already on their way to the bridge.

"Keptain on the bridge!" Chekov announced the moment a soaked Kirk and Leonard arrived.

Emily let out a sigh of relief once she realized they were safe. She had no doubt that Jim was in for an earful once they recovered from this mission. Leonard wasn't a fan of being dragged into suicide missions to begin with. When things usually ended in disaster, it took him a few days to recover from the incident and actually speak to Jim in a somewhat pleasant tone.

"Lieutenant, do you have an open channel to Mr. Spock?" Jim asked the moment they had arrived.

"The heat's frying his coms but we still have contact," Uhura replied.

"Spock!" Jim shouted out to the com.

"I have activated the device, Captain," Spock replied. "When the countdown is complete, the reaction should render the volcano inert."

"Yeah, and that's gonna render him inert," Leonard pointed out.

"Can we at least use the transporters?" Kirk asked.

"Negative, sir."

"Not vith these magnetic fields," Chekov put in.

"We need to beam Spock back onto the ship," Jim said, turning to Emily. "Any ideas?"

"We'd have to be right over the volcano in order for it to work," she reminded him, frowning as she realized that would go against every primary directive.

"No way, man! You're talking about an active volcano," Scotty protested, "Sir, if that thing erupts I cannot guarantee we can withstand the heat."

"I don't know that we could maintain that kind of altitude," Sulu added, frowning at what had happened to the shuttle, and that was with the minor repairs she and Scotty made.

"Captain. Our shuttle was concealed by the ash cloud, but the Enterprise is too large," Spock informed them, "If you utilize a rescue effort, it will be revealed to the indigenous species."

"Spock, it isn't going to kill you just once to break the rules," Emily rolled her eyes, "Following the rules will get you killed."

"Em's right, Spock. There's got to be an exception," Kirk nodded in agreement.

"None. Such action violates primary directive."

"Shut up, Spock! We're trying to save you, dammit!" Leonard shot back.

"Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Spock replied, his voice steady as ever.

Leonard only rolled his eyes at that.

"Spock, we're talking about your life!"

"The rule cannot be broken under any circumsta—"

"Spock!" Emily pinched the bridge of her nose as Uhura looked terrified, knowing that anything could happen to him while the coms were out. "Try to get him back online."

"Ninety seconds until detonation," Chekov reported.

Jim let out a sigh of frustration and ran a hand through his hair. If there was one thing Emily had learned about Spock over the last few months, it was the fact that he loved following the rules. So much so, that he was willing to risk his life for them.

"If Spock were here and I were there, what would he do?" Jim asked, glancing at Emily and Leonard.

"He'd let you die," Leonard replied without hesitating.

Emily nodded in agreement, having no doubts that was true. Spock was always bound by the rules. It was the one thing that he held himself to since the Enterprise began her missions. She wouldn't be surprised if Spock took whatever plans Jim had seriously.

It didn't take long for Jim to disobey Spock's urgency to follow the rules, again. For that reason though, Emily found herself wincing as the Enterprise emerged from the water, revealing the shocked faces of an indigenous people standing over a cliff as the ship began to soar above them. Jim had been given full pardon for hacking into the Kobyoshi Maru, but that did he could take risks like this again. He was still on a tight-rope, considering how many rules he'd broken in the past, with the Council.

"Locking onto Commander Spock," Chekov reported.

Once they'd locked onto Spock, Jim ran out of the bridge with Leonard and Emily following, headed straight for the transport room. Emily breathed out a sigh of relief when Spock appeared on the transport pad seconds later, his arms stretched wide, his eyes wide, looking as if he was ready to accept death, yet shocked to find that he was still alive.

"Spock! Are you alright?" Jim asked once it dawned on the Vulcan what had happened.

"Captain, you let them see our ship."

"He's fine," Leonard scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk," Uhura's voice sounded over the com.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Jim asked, looking slightly annoyed and amused at the tone of her voice.

"Is Commander Spock on board, sir?"

"Yeah, safe and sound."

Well, he was safe, at least. Sound was a whole different story.

"Please notify him that the device has successfully detonated."

"Did you hear that? Congratulations, Spock. You just saved the world."

Of course he wouldn't feel happy, Emily thought with a roll of her eyes as he pointed out once again that they had violated the primary directive.

"Ah, come on, Spock, so they saw us," Jim brushed it off as if it was nothing, "Big deal."

"Get washed up," she muttered once Spock had left the transport room. "No offense, but you smell like an open fish market."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Leonard shot Jim an accusing glare before the two of them headed out.