It was over a week before Janice Rand caught herself staring into those blue eyes again.
It wasn't for lack of trying. Since the ship had left Spacedock, she'd spent a good deal of time on and off duty exploring the ship. The ship was larger than she had imagined, and even after she downloaded a deck schematic onto her tricorder, she was occasionally making wrong turns or finding new compartments. All the time, she kept an eye out for a chance to meet the Captain again.
The simple fact was, on a ship the size of the Enterprise, most crewman didn't even see the Captain very often. There were twenty-three decks, and not much reason for a lowly operational support crewman to visit the bridge often.
Janice didn't know why she was trying so hard to meet the Captain again. Certainly a few wild fantasies had flitted through her mind after their chance meeting in the cargo bay, but it wasn't as if any of them could come true. Best to put him out of her mind and focus on her work.
She was trying to do just that as she adjusted the power output on the Enterprise's primary transporter. They had rendezvoused with three cargo ships above Starbase 10, and were waiting to beam up the base's commanding officer.
But try as she might, the Captain's smiling face kept intruding on her thoughts. His smiling face and very well-toned chest...
Commander Scott's voice jolted her out of her daydreams.
"Acknowledged, Starbase 10. Energizing."
The loud whine of the transporter filled the room, and a glowing silhouette appeared on the pad. With sure movements, Scott pulled back the levers and the shape settled into the form of a middle-aged man in command gold.
"Permission to come aboard?"
Scott rose smoothly from his seat. "Granted, Commodore Stocker. I'm Lieutenant Commander Scott, chief engineer."
The man inclined his head, a little stiffly. His eyes darted around the room quickly, taking everything in. He seemed a little shifty to Janice.
"How do you do, Mr. Scott?" Without waiting for an answer, the Commodore stepped hurriedly off the transporter pad. "If you don't mind, I'd like to head to the bridge at once."
Scott stiffened. From what Janice had heard, he was a brilliant engineer, but not to great with people.
"Certainly, Commodore. Crewman Rand here can take you there."
It took a moment for that to sink in for Janice. Hurriedly she jumped up from her seat at the back of the transporter room.
"Certainly sir. If you'll just follow me to the bridge."
Still stiff as a board, the flag officer followed Rand as she led him into the bright corridor. Janice barely noticed him as he stepped behind her into the nearest turbolift.
The Bridge.
The nerve center of the ship. It was one of the few areas of the Enterprise Janice had yet to set foot in. As the turbolift accelerated, her thoughts turned to bridge duty. She'd signed up the day before for Starfleet's yeoman's test. If she passed, her promotion to petty officer was guaranteed, and she'd be on the bridge much more often. Bridge duty was a prize she'd had her eye on since she'd enlisted in Starfleet. She'd finally be part of the action, in a place to prove herself. Not to mention she'd have a front row seat for the ship's travels across the universe.
As she let mind run wild with the possibilities, once again her thoughts took an unexpected turn and Jim Kirk's smiling face popped into her head.
He'd be on the bridge too.
Surreptitiously she took a step back, out Commodore Stocker's line of sight and straightened her skirt. Bringing her hand up to her hair she tried to brush her bangs off her forehead and make herself presentable. On the wall panel, she could see the tick marks disappearing as the lift neared it's destination.
5, 4, 3...
She straightened up and took a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies that had once again awakened in her stomach.
...2, 1.
As the lift doors opened, she was already heading out onto the bridge. She led Stocker around the handrail and over to the Captain's Chair...
...where Commander Spock turned and rose smoothly.
Kirk wasn't there.
Janice tried to hide her disappointment as she came to attention.
"Commodore Stocker to see you, Cap-, er...Commander."
Spock nodded, either not noticing her verbal slip-up or ignoring it. "Thank you, Crewman. Dismissed."
"Very good, sir."
She left Spock and the Commodore to discuss mission specifics or travel times or whatever, and hurried back into the lift. Uhura offered a wave from the communications station, but Janice barely nodded in return.
She stared at the floor as she took the lift back down, heading back to the transporter room. When the doors opened she stepped out without looking, bumping into another crewmember.
A crewmember in command gold and Captain's stripes on his sleeves.
Startled she looked up and was immediately caught once more in the gaze of those clear blue eyes. She stared up at them, and the corners crinkled in amusement.
"Are you all right, Crewman Rand?"
She snapped back quickly. "Er...yes, sir. Just heading back to my post."
"Right. Scotty told me Commodore Stocker had beamed aboard. A little bit of a tool, isn't he?"
"Yes, sir. Er! What I meant was..." She covered her mouth with her hand, horrified. The Captain merely laughed.
"Relax, crewman."
Her hands dropped and she found herself meeting his easy smile with one of her own. He nodded at her and slipped past into the turbolift.
"Well, he'll be wanting to see me." The door started to close, but he caught them and poked his head back out. "By the way, I noticed your name on the upcoming Yeoman's exams. Good luck."
"Thank you, sir."
He nodded once more and stepped back into the lift. She kept staring at those blue eyes until the doors closed.
She shook her head to clear it, and headed back to the transporter room, butterflies swarming anew.