Five Months Ago

Enterprise Orbiting Varia

Pike drummed his fingers on the desk while waiting for Aalin's arrival. What the hell is taking her so long? The main transporter room is only five decks away.

"Status?" he requested in a firmer than usual tone of voice.

"Number One is en route to the bridge. Engineering verifying stability of the power grid after the brown out triggered during the transport cycle."

Punching another icon with his thumb Pike said, "Tell Louvier I want a full report in thirty minutes."

"Aye sir."

Aalin's ride in the turbolift cleared the remaining disorientation triggered by the problematic transport clearing the way for single-minded focus on irritation at the man who ordered her unscheduled, untimely return to the ship. Outside the ready room she impatiently tapped the fingers of one hand against her thigh while waiting for an invitation to enter. And also briefly considered ignoring this courtesy. Hearing "Come" over the external speaker she charged into the office footfalls heavy, arms swinging briskly. "I was on the cusp of a breakthrough with their language. What were you thinking pulling me out without even a by your leave? Or am I being generous assuming forethought was involved?"

Pike unhurriedly rose from the chair behind the desk and fixed her with an expressionless stare. His usual cordial 'have a seat' remained absent. Instead he stayed on his feet, arms behind his back with hands loosely clasped, legs slightly parted; Starfleet parlance labeled this pose as relaxed attention.

Aalin found herself automatically mimicking his stance. This only increased her annoyance. She recrossed arms in front of her chest and glared up at him.

"Well? Go on, I think I'm entitled to an explanation," she said.

Pike kept many tools in his command box, silence was one of the most effective and he was an expert in wielding it. A brief silence calms, creates intimacy and encourages the sharing of confidences. It demonstrates respect. A protracted silence unnerves foes often leading them to impulsive actions weakening their position, exerts dominance, and breaks down defensiveness. Also, as most species dislike protracted quiet and crave anything to fill the emptiness, it makes even the toughest person uneasy.

Except this recipient who grew up with four assertive siblings and had spent her career waiting for others to speak before translating their words. Tilting her chin up slightly, Aalin softened her glare to a polite expression, relaxed arms and hands at her sides and straightened her shoulders settling into her poised persona.

Minutes passed. Pike's intention of soothing with silence before delivering a measured reproach achieved the opposite. Neither spoke nor changed their stance.

"Ship secured and ready to leave orbit," a voice from the bridge announced from the intercom.

Pike spoke to the air, "Begin pursuit of the rogue vessel. Best speed. Yellow alert." Muting the open channel to the bridge his attention refocused on the woman in front of him.

Minutes passed. His eyes narrowed. Her expression remained unchanged.

He fought the urge to fidget. And blink.

Aalin continued staring at a point just over his right shoulder; she neither frowned nor smiled.

Minutes passed.

"I can do this all day," she remarked.

Pike's brow creased further narrowing his eyes. Her countenance and posture remained serene.

He'd planned a calm and firm recitation of Aalin's errors followed by a stern lecture precisely explaining her boundaries and the latitude he would permit. However, the final threads holding his temper in check snapped. "You left the Varian government complex without my authorization."

"Your authorization?" she echoed softly.

"Yes. Authorization." In a tone growing more heated he added for emphasis, "As in approval. Or permission."

Her reactions were subtle: barely flared nostrils, a brief tick in her cheek.

"And yes, the stripes grant me the privilege of making decisions for you," Pike answered before Aalin could articulate her reply.

He guessing her thoughts infuriated Aalin. She exploded with an angry snort, one perfectly representing the emoji releasing steam through its nose. Then began pacing in circles stopping periodically to express her wrath.

"I concede you are in charge of this mission …"

Two circles.

"But I am not a member of your crew …" A pointed finger accompanied the emphasized word.

One circle.

"There was …" Pike began.

"You asked me to join this mission …" Hand waves accompanied her words.

Two circles.

"Due to my expertise …" Her arms raised higher, hands flicked open parallel to her shoulders, fingers spread and palms up as if pleading to the sky.

Three circles.

"Enterprise needed …" he said.

Her jaw clenched. "I'm a professional, not a toddler to be sent on arranged playdates …"

Four circles.

"No one learns a language through rote instruction in a classroom; you have to live it in real situations with real people …" Her hand gestures grew larger.

Two circles.

"Damn and blast. Stand still," Pike roared.

The volume of his voice stopped Aalin in her tracks. "Excuse me?" she asked crossly.

"We are going to discuss this like reasonable adults," he punched out.

"You beamed me to the ship without a word of warning, without a heads up, just as you did that morning in the refugee camps," she retorted. "And you are not in charge of where I go."

"I am as long as you are a guest on my ship. Or working on my ship …"

Aalin started to interrupt.

"Or working on a mission under my purview," Pike quickly added short-circuiting her semantics protest. "Sit down," he ordered. Then said in a conciliary tone, "Please."

She sank into a chair, weary, the ever-present headache throbbing.

"May I speak now?" he asked.

Aalin nodded.

"A potentially hostile ship entered orbit …"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," she interrupted.

"May I continue?" he asked with ebbing patience.

"Yes."

"A potentially hostile ship entered orbit, I needed room to maneuver …" he began again.

"Still don't see what this has to do with me. Everyone keeps emphasizing how important this mission is, how critical understanding their language is to its success, and the minute I start making real progress you jerk me away."

"Well perhaps, if I am allowed to complete a sentence, you will," Pike replied through clenched teeth.

She waved a hand in his direction, "Go on."

"The ship assumed an aggressive stance towards us then slipped just beyond our weapons' reach. I needed time for assessing the threat and room for responding to it requiring Enterprise to leave orbit. We pinged your communicator. There was no answer. Why did you ignore the call?"

"I didn't. I wouldn't. My communicator never indicated there was an incoming message."

"OK. That is almost an impossibility, but we'll leave it to the side for the moment. We had kept a transporter lock on you at all times. Yesterday I acceded to General Ablick's request in a show of good faith and ceased that, because I knew where to find you. That is until this afternoon when it was necessary to quickly remove you from Varia. Finding a way for distinguishing your life signs from the Indigenous inhabitants consumed precious minutes I didn't have to spare."

Aalin rubbed her temples. "What does one have to do with the other? I mean Enterprise leaving orbit for a few hours while I finished my work on the surface. You should have gone on without me."

This time Pike emitted an angry sort. He jumped to his feet and began pacing. "I couldn't strand you without resources on a non-Federation planet. What if Enterprise didn't return?"

"That seems far-fetched. And besides, I can take care of myself."

He paused for a moment, starred at her, then resumed pacing while muttering under his breath, "Of all the stubborn, headstrong, pigheaded, obstinate …"

She settled further into the chair and crossed her legs, "I can hear you by the way."

Pike rounded the desk and stood in front of her. Leaning down and close he said, "I now understand your question when you first beamed a board. Asking if your father called in favors and sent Enterprise to retrieve you from the refugee camps." He drew closer, "If I were your father, I'd keep a team on permanent standby for the inevitable."

Both could hear and feel the other's rapid breaths. Chris pushed away his desire to kiss her. Aalin pushed back her longing to kiss him. A few seconds later Pike turned and walked to the viewport.

"You're in charge of this ship and this mission, and I respect that and you," she said sincerely. "But I'm the language expert, how I accomplish my piece of the task is my purview. Leaving the Varian government complex and interacting spontaneously with others in addition to my instructor was vital. I talked to the government officials and received permission." Aalin decided this was not the best time for mentioning General Ablick's constant wandering hands during that conversation.

Staring out of the window Pike remained silent.

"I have three days left …" her palm pressed forward with fore, middle, and index fingers uncurled echoing the count, "three days! … to sort out your ritual greeting for the Varians when negotiations resume. To learn why the one your previous interpreter chose insulted them. It can take months to attain competency in a language, becoming fluent usually involves years. I had to do something to find a way through."

He answered in a tone devoid of anger, "You're a civilian, I took an oath to protect you, mission or not. And your impulsive action put me in a difficult position. What if a rival faction had detained you? Or one of mercenary bands trying to disrupt a treaty between the Federation and Varia? Held you hostage? I then would have to choose between very limited options when negotiating with terrorists, your life, my crews' lives, and the lives of innocents who might get caught in the crossfire. At the very least, in order to beam you on board, I delayed pursuing a ship that may pose a threat to my crew or our mission's objectives."

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds bad," Aalin muttered under her breath. She bowed her head with eyes closed. After straightening her shoulders and lifting her head she said, "Look at me please."

Pike slowly turned.

"I didn't consider all the possible consequences and I'm sorry. I truly am. I apologize. This won't happen again. Next time I'll talk to you first."

"What makes you think I'm sending you back to the surface without an accompanying security detail? One who knows how to follow orders?" he queried. Aalin quickly realized it wasn't a joke nor a threat but a statement of fact.

"And …" she began.

"Why is there always an addendum with you?"

The good-natured exasperation in his voice elicited a brief smile from Aalin. "And we will decide together on the best course forward." She stood and held out her hand. "Deal?"

With a slight eye roll and head bob he shook her hand. Their contact lingered.

"Captain, we're in range of the vessel."

Pike tapped the intercom icon on the desk. "Acknowledged, on my way." Turning back to Aalin he reluctantly withdrew his hand. "Try and stay out of trouble for the rest of the day."

She replied, "I always try."

ooooo

Present

Day 4

Noohra

The children stopped for lunch. With Magda and Li watching over them, Aalin drifted away from the group and took refuge from the midday heat under a shady tree. Omer brought her a ration of food and water. She shook her head, "You take it, I'm not hungry or thirsty." A subsequent smile from her convinced the young boy who was always ravenous.

"Omer?"

"Yes ma'am?"

She smiled again, he was quickly growing into a courteous and thoughtful young man. "Please look for Jacob and make sure he's eating? And talk to him a bit? He's lonely and scared and needs someone to look out for him."

He nodded and raced off to join the groups of children.

Aalin watched them play. To any being listening, she pleaded silently, Please let this child and all of them have a future. Help me to protect them and get them to safety.

She planned to spend the afternoon scouring any nearby villages for food and catch-up with the orphans by nightfall. But now, in these few free moments, she'd indulge and think of Chris. Their first argument all those months ago replayed in her head. We both have quick tempers … though mine is worse, she admitted sheepishly.

Today her thoughts of him were accompanied with remorse. I've done it again Chris, I've put you in an impossible position. I may never have the chance to explain all to you, but I hope you understand I had no other choice. And I think you would have done the same had you been at that orphanage.

With a hand shading her eyes, she looked to the sky and tried discerning where Enterprise might be. Not in orbit but nearby. That's comforting.

When I look to the sky are you looking down to me?

ooooo

Enterprise Orbiting Aschask Prime

Pike entered the small observation lounge and locked the door with his command cipher. Out these rear facing viewports, beyond human sight, lay Noohra. His finger traced the lower pane oriented towards the planet's northern hemisphere.

I've spent years mastering my temper, tightly reining it in … a chuckle … and if you could hear me Aalin, you'd chide the horse metaphor … yet you can push my buttons and kindle my anger it into fireworks faster than any other. Why is that?

He shook his head to clear it and gazed out the window.

When I look towards you are you looking up to me?