Trigger – Chapter 5

"So you have to do is press that button?" Marisa repeated, raising an eyebrow. She almost felt like she should be taking notes, like she was back at the Academy sitting in a classroom. It seemed so long ago, but really, it had only been a week since she had sat for her exams. It was crazy how far away it all seemed now, warping through space on the Enterprise.

"Just press the button," Chekhov replied with a nod. Holy hell, that was the simplest instruction of the day. Everything else had been a blur of diagrams and numbers and complicated codes and firing sequences. Marisa wasn't sure how in the hell she was going to remember it all. Sighing, she flopped back in the chair, letting her arms dangle loosely over the side.

It was the next day, and Marisa was on the bridge with the rest of the flight crew. Chekhov had spent the entire morning going over tactics and weapons information, from the exact weapons the Enterprise had and how they were used to procedures during different situations. Later, they would get into the more tactical things – when and where to fire, how to plan around your enemy's actions, that sort of thing. Right now, Marisa just needed a break.

"How's it coming Chekhov? We have ourselves a Weapons Officer yet?" Marisa winced. He wasn't even talking to her, and she still found him grating. She wasn't sure how she was going to work on the bridge; this was only her first day, and she already was suffering from major Kirk-Overload. All morning long he had been trying to rile Spock up, or chatting casually with Sulu and Chekhov, or teasing Nytoa and the others. He acted more like they were on lunch break than flying through space on one of the powerful ships in the galaxy.

"She is wery good, Captain," Chekhov replied, and Marisa couldn't help but grin. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen that Kirk had dragged his lazy ass up from his special captain's chair and was standing right behind her.

"So you like that, don't you Cadet?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think you're good at what you do?" He took another step down until he was standing right next to her. Marisa sat up straighter, glaring at him. What gave him the right to just sneak up on her like that? She was hoping that Kirk would just go away, but he seemed immune to the daggers she was shooting him with her eyes. Clearly, he was still waiting for an answer.

"I'm here for a reason, aren't I?" She replied sharply, turning her head purposefully in the other direction. "I don't think I would be assigned to the ship if Star Fleet didn't think I was capable." Chekhov, who was sitting next to her, shifted in his seat, becoming very interested in the diagram of the ship's shield spread out in front of him. Marisa could see that everyone looked like they were working, but their eyes kept flicking over to her and Kirk. Dammit, he was going to cause a scene right here in front of everyone, wasn't he?

"Well, someone thinks highly of themselves!" Kirk grinned, delighted that he had gotten Marisa to bite back. She was still facing the other direction though, and had no intention of being dragged into something like this. She had to learn to control her temper if she was going to work with the man. Starting now, she wasn't going to let him see how much he riled her up. She obviously couldn't ignore him – that plan had gone down the drain the second she stepped onto the bridge – but she could very well treat him indifferently. Marisa deliberately looked down at the control station in front of her, opening up the screen and punching in a code.

"Oh!" Kirk laughed, crossing his arms across his chest. "So now you're taking the high road?" His smirk widened. Marisa was beginning to think that it was permanently attached to his face. Her shoulders stiffened as she scrolled down the screen, her eyes not taking in anything that was written. "Or do you just not have a comeback? It's because it's true, isn't it?" He pressed on. "You think you're so much better than the rest of us. And you call me arrogant!" He laughed again. "You're such a hypocrite."

"I am not a hypocrite!" She snapped back. Alright, so much for keeping her temper. But she wasn't going to just sit there and let him attack her like that! Marisa's eyes flashed, and she subconsciously curled her hands into fists. "I don't think that at all." She kept her face towards the screen, though she could feel Kirk's presence behind her through every pore of her body. Pressing her lips together, she uncurled one hand and jammed in a button, pressing much harder than she needed to.

"Is that a little pent-up anger I'm sensing there?" Kirk's voice was so fake it made her head hurt. Marisa knew that if she turned around, he would be wearing that insufferable smirk, his blue eyes too bright. The bridge was silent; she was sure that everyone was watching the exchange. "So now you're giving me the silent treatment, huh?" He continued. "That's real mature, Ward. Again with the hypocrisy!" He shook his head. "I'm the one you say is immature, and yet here you are, acting like a child."

That was it. Marisa shoved her chair back, standing up and whirling around. "Don't," she snapped, glaring at him. "Call me a child." Her eyes flashed dangerously, narrowed with rage as she stared at him. Kirk seemed a little taken aback by her suddenly movement. His eyes were wide, and Marisa was so close she could see that there were dark rings under them. She opened her mouth to continue, to stick up for herself, but she couldn't remember what she had been going to say.

God, why were his eyes so damn blue? She snapped her mouth shut again, her jaw clenched. She blinked. They were too bright, that's what. She was going to go blind. Yet somehow, she couldn't bring herself to look away. It was like they were magnetic. Kirk seemed to notice that, watching as the ire faded slowly from her eyes. Without meaning to, the corners of his mouth turned upwards into that unbearable smirk. Dammit, Marisa swore. She wrenched her gaze away, instead staring at a spot over his shoulder.

"I'm just trying to do my damn job, Kirk," she snapped, her anger flooding back. She glanced back at him, just to show him that he had absolutely no effect on her. "I suggest you do the same." With one last withering glare in his direction, she brushed right past him, stalking across the room and out the door. One of these days, she was going to strangle that man, and she didn't care how many regulations she was breaking when she did.

XXXXXX

"What" Nyota hissed, closing the door behind her, "in the hell was that all about?" Marisa had practically ran through the empty hallways, desperate to get away from Kirk. She wasn't sure how she even made it to the bathroom, given that her entire vision was clouded over in a haze of angry red. Nyota had apparently followed her. Marisa paced back and forth in the tiny room, still bristling with anger. Whether it was directed at Kirk or at herself, she wasn't quite sure.

"God! He's just so…ugh!" She threw her hands up into the air, letting out a frustrated sigh. "It's like his sole purpose in life is to get under my skin." She turned on her heel. Nyota leaned against the counter.

"You know him," she told Marisa, her eyes kind. "He teases people, he pushes buttons. That's what he does. But I don't think I've ever seen him lay into someone as much as he did to you today. And with you still being new, too!" She was a little surprised about that. Kirk had gone farther that he usually did today.

Marisa groaned, stopping and letting her head drop back against the tiled wall behind her with a thump. "I just don't know what to do! From the second I stepped on to this ship its like he's out to get me. I tried ignoring him. That didn't work." She scowled. "I tried to treat him indifferently. That didn't work either. It's like I'm a game to him!" She banged her head against the wall again.

"Well," Nyota began slowly, glancing over at Marisa with a wary expression. She trailed off, not finishing her sentence. Marisa picked her head up, eyeing her friend suspiciously from across the small room.

"What?" She didn't like the look on the older woman's face.

"Don't take offense, okay?" Nyota started, her eyes betraying her worry. "It's just that Kirk probably knows he can get a rise out of you." Marisa opened her mouth to protest, and so Nyota rushed on. "Most people either ignore him or dismiss him. We're used to how he is and what he's like. You come along and snap back right away. You're stubborn, like he is, and you're got a temper, like he does." She shrugged. "You clash."

"Like he does?" Marisa repeated, her eyes flashing. "Nyota, you cannot possibly compare me to that…that…animal!" Nyota winced. "I'm nothing like him! Sure, I might have a bit of a temper, but did you hear what he was saying to me? He was personally attacking me! I had to stand up for myself somehow!" She was shouting now, her voice echoing off the plain white tiled walls and the perfectly shiny mirrors.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't stand up for yourself," Nyota replied with a frown. "You just shouldn't give Kirk the satisfaction of what he wants and he'll eventually leave you alone. You're just a new plaything for him." Marisa winced. Plaything? That was a bit harsh. She crossed her arms over her chest, breathing in deeply through her nose.

"I tried," she ground out. "For about five minutes. And then I just couldn't do it anymore. He just makes me so angry." Her body tensed visibility, the memory of what had just happened on the bridge still fresh in her mind. The worst part was that damn smirk! He wasn't even really angry with her; he was just having fun, messing with her head. And Marisa was afraid to say that it worked.

"What happened there at the end?" Nyota asked, her lips curving upwards into a small, devious smile. Marisa frowned.

"You mean the part where he called me a child or the part where I yelled back at him?" She retorted sharply, still sore over being called Kirk's plaything. Nyota's grin widened.

"No, I meant the part where you couldn't keep your eyes off of him."

"Wha-what?" Marisa stuttered, her mouth falling open in surprise. "That is not what happened. Not at all. I was angry at him! I was glaring at him!" Her voice grew louder and a bit shrill as she protested. Damn. How had Nyota picked up on that? Marisa herself hadn't even known what happened. One moment she was ready to strangle him with her bare hands, and the next she couldn't look away. Nyota seemed unperturbed, still leaning against the counter with a knowing smile on her face.

"Of course you were," she replied calmly.

"Nyota!" Marisa was shocked. "How could you even think that? I hate Kirk, remember? Or did you not just see what happened in there?" She had uncrossed her arms and was moving them around as she talked, gesturing back towards the bridge. Her eyes were wide, disbelieving as her friend continued to smile.

"I think you're protesting a little too much," she continued. "What? Do you not find him attractive?"

"No!" Marisa replied quickly, sharply. "Not one bit. The sight of him makes me want to throw up, actually." She crossed her arms over her chest again. Nyota didn't say anything; she just continued to stare at Marisa, her brown eyes sparkling. Finally, Marisa threw up her hands.

"Alright, alright, I think he's attractive. Happy now?" She scowled. "I mean, hello! You've seen him. He's hot. We all know that. But that doesn't change the fact that he's an absolute asshole with no respect for women and no care about anything that's not him!"

"But he is attractive," Nyota reminded her with a smile.

"Ugh!" Marisa let out a strangled yell of frustration, pushing off the wall and stalking out of the bathroom. "You're no help at all," she told her friend, letting the door slam behind her. Scowling, Marisa stalked off down the hallway, her hands clenched into fists at her side. As angry she was at Kirk for the scene he had caused at the bridge, she managed to have some anger left over for Nyota too. Who did she think she was, telling Marisa she and Kirk were similar? And why the hell she did bring up how attractive he was?

Marisa didn't want to admit it, but there had been something there in the bridge. She had gotten up to face him and immediately forgot what she was going to say. Marisa didn't forget things like that. But she sure as hell didn't get all weak-kneed and spacey because of a pair of damn blue eyes. She had just been momentarily taken aback by the proximity, that was all. Once she caught her breath she was able to reply.

Clearly, it was all Kirk's fault. Thank God she was working in Engineering tomorrow; she didn't think she could stand another day in his presence. She was going to have to see Chekhov about spending as little time as possible on the bridge. At least, until she figured out what to do about Kirk, that is. Because Marisa wasn't going to let some stuck-up, immature boy ruin her dream job. As she stomped down the hall back to her room, she was still fuming. The only problem was she couldn't decide who she was angrier with – Kirk, or herself.

AN: Well, it's been awhile! *hides* I'm REALLY sorry it's taken me so long to update. I was gone practically all summer, and then school started up again and things got a little crazy. But I'm back into the story now and I know where I want it to go, so hopefully I'll be updating more regularly. Thanks so much to everyone who has kept reading and leaving reviews! You guys are the best.