I do not own Star Trek or anything to do with said franchise. However, I own Alianna Lordeck and co-own Sindari Lordeck and this plot. This fic is based on the new movie, and thus, takes place in the alternate universe of the movie. It's rated for lots of bad language and some sexual scenes (let's face it, it is Captain Kirk we're talking about), and violence and some drinking. You know, standard stuff. Should be lots of fun and I apologize in advance if any of the information about Star Trek is wrong. I've tried to do research, but hey, with eleven movies, five live-action shows and one animated show, along with multiple books and such, getting all the facts straight is kind of hard. Anyways, enjoy.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked
Chapter Eleven: The Breaking Point.

Kirk stood several feet away from Alianna for a long time, just leaning on the wall, watching her and waiting to see if she would notice his presence; after his experience with the elder Lordeck, Kirk thought it best that he not startle her, especially when she was emotionally volatile. She did not. She remained tucked into a ball with her back pressed against the wall and her face buried in her knees and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, so tightly in fact, that her knuckles, where she gripped her opposites wrists, were white. Her hair, still bound in a loose ponytail was fanned across her shoulders. She was shaking, but it was a fine trembling, and Kirk wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been watching her for as long as he had; if he didn't know any better, he would have thought she was crying, but that wasn't something Alianna did.

Eventually, Kirk decided to take his chances and squatted in front of her. "Ali?" he whispered, placing a hand lightly on her arm.

She started, her head snapping up and her normal fire evident in her eyes, but only for a moment. That flame snuffed out when she saw it was Kirk and her tense body unwound as she sagged into his hand. "What?" she barked, her voice rough and fairly exhausted-sounding.

Kirk narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in the wet lines on her cheeks; she had been crying. "Ali, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice still quiet. There was no one in the hall, and there wasn't likely to be anyone in this hall for a while, thanks to its out-of-the-way location, so he brushed a few strands of her hair back from her face, unafraid to show a little more compassion towards her. She responded to it, tilting her head slightly to prolong the contact with his fingers.

"That ship... they attacked kids..." she managed around soft sobs. She was still crying.

Kirk frowned and moved his hand backwards to rest behind her ear. "There were no kids among the casualties. They all survived."

Alianna pushed Kirk's hand away from her face and turned her green eyes up to him, a deep frown taking over her face and the tears started falling faster. "That isn't the point," she gasped. " They attacked a ship with children on it. Children who haven't had any training. They don't know how to deal with combat situations..." She sighed heavily and put her head back against the wall with a dull thud. "And Sage..." The tears fell faster and faster and she sobbed once, out loud. "Sage almost died because of a stupid mistake I made... Bones saved him, but what if..."

"He had died?"

Alianna shot a dangerous glare at him, but he didn't let it faze him. He stared at her until she dropped the glare and then he sat down beside his head of security and sighed. Bones had told him about the little boy Alianna had saved on the Intrepid and how transporting him without the shrapnel inside had caused him to almost bleed out while Alianna was still holding his hand. It had been close, but the doctor of the Enterprise's crew had put the kid back together no problem. But Alianna had still not taken it well. She blamed herself and she was appalled at the idea of anyone attacking a vessel with children aboard. According to Bones, she had been crying pretty much since they had found Sage buried under a pile of rubble on the Intrepid.

"Ali," he said, "if Sage had died, it would have been horrible, but it wouldn't have been your fault." When she looked up at him, her expression asking what he thought he was doing, he shrugged with the shoulder closest to her and gave her a half-smile. "Hey, I'm not very good at this. I've never had to console someone before."

The green-eyed woman gave him a small smile in return, a feeble light behind all those tears. "Well, I appreciate it, but it's not going to make me feel any better about this... If I had told Bones there were something sticking out of the kid's gut..."

"They would have had to take the shrapnel out here and he would have almost bled out anyway."

"But if he had bled out because of my mistake, it would have been my fault!" she barked, sitting forward, stray strands of hair flying dramatically away from her face. She wasn't even looking at Kirk anymore. She was staring at the wall opposite, her legs stretched out in front of her and a very defeated set to her shoulders. She was crying harder. "I would have killed him! He would have died because of me! That innocent little boy..." Something left Alianna and she sagged backwards, her shoulders thudding heavily against the wall, preventing her head from taking the blow. "He was on that ship with his parents... his family... They're probably all dead..." She deflated farther, sliding down the wall until she looked like little more than a discarded doll.

Kirk slid his arm around her waist and hauled her back into a sitting position, where she just slumped against him instead. "Sage lived, Ali. He's alive because you saved him. You can't forget that."

Alianna pressed her face into Kirk's shoulder and mumbled something that sounded like, "I know."

The young captain brushed some of her mussed hair from her face and, in the process, pushed her face back so he could look her in the eye. "Ali, you did save that boy. You have no reason to be upset."

Alianna was silent for a moment, except for the soft sobs still issuing from her lips. "You really aren't any good at this," she said eventually, head tilted into his hand. Kirk laughed and even got a small chuckle out of Alianna. As the moment passed, Alianna shifted so she could lean her head on her captain's shoulder and sighed heavily, the gesture shaking with her exhaustion from crying.

"Well, it really isn't part of my captain's duties, now is it?"

"I suppose it's not…" Alianna paused to wipe her tears from her cheeks. Then, she looked at him, a curious look in her eyes. "Why aren't you on the bridge?" she asked.

The change in topic caught him a little off guard. "Er, well, Scotty's finishing up with the Intrepid and Spock is scanning for the Klingon ship, so... there's nothing really for me to do up there except oversee things. I figured my time would be better spent checking on the injured from the Intrepid and the other members of their crew who have come on board. While I was in sick bay, Bones mentioned something about you disappearing back here and not coming back so I thought I'd come and check it out."

"He told you I was here? I came back her to get some peace and quiet."

"Well, he didn't exactly tell me you were here. He said he hadn't seen you since he told you Sage was going to be okay. All he told me was that you were shaken by the boy almost dying, so I figured you'd want some peace and where better to go for that than this hall that's usually empty?" Kirk smiled warmly at Alianna when she twisted her neck to look up at him without moving her head from his shoulder. "I came back here to make sure you were all right, but also because I needed a moment of peace."

"Huh, that's not usually an adjective I hear in conjunction with my name," she said, one corner of her mouth pulling up at the same time her eyebrow lifted in that Vulcan-like way.

Kirk smiled a smile of genuine warmth. "No, but in this case it's valid."

"If you say so…"

They sat like that, Alianna leaning on Kirk's shoulder and his arm pinned behind her back, for several long minutes in a companionable silence. Around them, they could hear the noises of the Enterprise working and moving, and the subtle hum of chatter coming from the sick bay behind them and the corridor around the corner, which was one of the main passages of the ship, well-travelled and usually quite busy. Alianna found it odd that there was this little pocket of peace on such a busy ship, but she welcomed it, and, as was evident in her comfort with the captain, she welcomed him in that moment as well. Kirk wasn't going to pretend he wasn't surprised by her change in attitude, but if what Bones had told him about her reaction to the little boy being attacked was accurate, then her sudden placidness wasn't completely unexpected.

Eventually Alianna sat up, pulling her head from his shoulder and looked at him, her eyes still shimmering with the tears she had shed for Sage and for the other children attacked on the Intrepid. After another languid moment, Kirk broke the eye contact and pushed himself to his feet, extending his hand back down to the distraught security officer and pulling her to her feet when she wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

Once on her feet, Alianna wrapped her arms around Kirk and said, "Thank you, Jim."

Startled, Kirk returned the hug. "You're welcome?"

She laughed. It turned into a sob on the tail end, but she stifled it.

"Are you going to be okay, Ali?"

She nodded against his neck and said, "Eventually."

James Kirk, captain of the starship Enterprise, found himself unable to let Alianna go, or unwilling to do so. The realization startled him and he stepped back rather hastily. Alianna looked offended for a second, but then she started laughing and covered her mouth to keep the noise down. He smiled and joined in the laughter.

"Am I interrupting something? Uh, Captain?"

The senior bridge officers turned as one to stare at Sindari, who was standing at the mouth of the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest. The expression on her face mirrored the Vulcan-like one her sister sometimes wore, but there was a comical edge to hers, like she was containing her own laughter, which she probably was. "No, Lieutenant Lordeck, you're not," Kirk said. "What is it?"

"Commander Spock has located the Klingon ship, sir."

Kirk nodded and sighed, gently rubbing the corners of his eyes around the tape on his nose, preparing himself for the undoubtedly taxing hours that were to follow. When he looked up, he found Alianna's eyes before he turned and headed down the hall towards the turbolift that would take him up to the bridge; if Alianna hadn't known any better, she would have sworn the captain was blushing. Sindari looked from her sister to Kirk and back again.

"What was that about?" she asked.

Alianna waved her sister's concern away and wiped the remainder of her tears from her eyes and cheeks. "Nothing. He was just filling me in about the injured from the Intrepid."

"And you were laughing about it?"

"No."

"Why were you laughing?"

"None of your business." Alianna pushed past Sindari and headed towards another turbolift, one that would take her to the deck where her quarters were located. She tried to ignore her sister trotting along behind her, trying to catch up, but gave up when she realized Sindari wasn't going to disappear. "Shouldn't you be up on the bridge?" she snapped.

"Shouldn't you?"

"I have to change."

Alianna was still covered in dust, dirt and grime from being part of the away team on the Intrepid, and there were several small tears resulting from crawling around through the twisted metal and other rubble from the semi-destroyed ship. She looked very dishevelled, which was uncharacteristic for her, someone normally so put together at least when it came to appearance. There was also something off in her behaviour. The crying in public—something she hadn't done since she was very young—made her seem like she was falling apart at the seams. But that could have just been an observation made by her sister, although Sindari was sure others had noticed too.

When they reached Alianna's quarters, Sindari followed her older sister inside and flopped on the bed as she waited for Alianna to get ready. The rather distraught Starfleet officer discarded the torn uniform and had a quick sonic shower before pulling on a fresh uniform and pulling her hair back into its usual bun, a pair of shiny silver hair sticks completing her normal look. She didn't even take a minute to pull herself together. Once she was clean and dressed, Alianna was moving out of the room, into the hall and towards the turbolift, leaving Sindari to run to keep up.

"Are you okay?" she asked once she had caught up.

"I'll be fine once we stop these Klingons."

"Are you so worked up because there were kids on that last ship?"

Alianna stopped and turned around so she could face her sister and let her see the anguish still plaguing her. "Of course that's why. But I can't let it bother me anymore. We've got a job to do."

Sindari nodded, impressed but not surprised by her sister's ability to push personal things behind when she had to. She had had her freak outs and break downs and was motivated by a need for revenge, but Alianna had managed to keep moving, keep working when a lot of people would have just sat down, stopped and grieved. Sindari had no doubt her sister wanted to do just that, and she had no doubt that the little episode in the hall had something to do with Alianna reaching her limit. As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, even Alianna had to stop at some point and take a break.

The sisters made it to the bridge and found everyone in combat mode. They hadn't actually engaged the Klingons yet, but there was a thick air of anticipation. Alianna and Sindari took over their stations on either side of the command chair, the elder Lordeck catching Kirk's eye and nodding once before she turned her attention fully to her console, checking the status of their shields, weapons and other vital systems before calling up and checking every feed for any sign of security infringement. Finding nothing of import or interest, Alianna settled back on her feet and rested one hand on her phaser in its belt, her green eyes glued to the view screen, watching for any sign of the Klingon ship.

"We have backed out of sensor range," Spock said from the science station.

"Good. Keep us at this distance until we can determine what shape they're in." Kirk leaned on one arm of the chair, his head supported by his hand and a determined look on his face.

"Their cloaking device is still engaged, Captain. There seems to be a problem with the emitters on the starboard wing, leaving it uncloaked." The Vulcan science officer leaned a little farther over his console, his dark eyes moving rapidly back and forth as he soaked up the information. "Our scans might be able to penetrate into the ship if we get close enough to that wing."

Kirk nodded, informing his friend that he had heard, but didn't say anything in response. "Mister Sulu, if you can get us close enough, we can scan, but make sure we have a path for rapid escape. We don't want to give them a chance to use that weapon of theirs on us."

"Aye, sir."

"Captain," Spock interjected, "I'm picking up a fluctuating weapon signature."

Sindari's fingers danced across her own console before the captain could respond. "He's right, Captain. It has the same markers as Klingon phasers, but there are a few variations. They aren't stable."

Spock nodded, confirming Sindari's assessment when Kirk looked to the science officer. "Due to the nature of the weapon, and that there are no records of it in any databases, is it logical to assume it is largely untested. The Klingons may not know it is unstable or they may not think it poses any danger."

"Does it?" The tone in Kirk's voice as he asked told the crew that he thought it did, but he wanted a confirmation and an explanation.

"If they use the weapon again or we hit it with our own phaser fire, the result would be the same as if a phaser overloaded, but on a much larger scale."

The gravity of that statement settled around the bridge, as everyone no doubt started picture the explosion that would result, destroying the Klingon ship and possibly taking the Enterprise with it. The bridge crew remained silent for a long time, until Chekov pointed out the viewer, his eyes suddenly wide with fear and the excitement that came with it.

"Keptin! The Klingons are moving!"

Everyone turned and looked, expecting to see the seemingly disembodied wing moving farther away, and there was almost a collective gasp as they saw the ship moving towards them. Their cloaking device wavered away, bringing the Bird of Prey into view. It was quite obviously an older ship which had seen a lot of combat: there were discoloured panels where repairs had been made, very noticeable patches of rust lined the joints between hull panels, speaking of some time spent planetside, and there was an assortment of dents, dings and scratches decorating nearly every inch of the brown-gray hull.

"They're charging weapons," Sindari informed the bridge. After a brief second she added, "Regular phasers, sir."

"Shields."

A barrage of weapon fire slashed through the space between the two vessels and fizzled out against the Enterprise's shields. Not wanting to detonate the unstable weapons array onboard, the Starfleet ship just faced down the Klingons.

"Hail them," Kirk ordered.

"No response. Everything indicates they're receiving our signal, so they must be ignoring us, Captain," Uhura said, fiddling with her communications controls and trying to see if she could get anything.

Finding they weren't going to get a response from the Enterprise and evidently not going to give a response to the hails, the Klingon Bird of Prey made a turn much sharper than anyone would have thought possible, and took off at warp—something none of the Enterprise's crew would have thought possible by looking at the ship—trying to get away before the superior vessel decided to attack. Luckily, with the ship malfunctioning the way it was, it left a faint trail. Kirk made the command and Sulu took off after the Klingons, matching their speed and heading the best he could with only momentary scans to go from and the faint trail. The stars stretched into long, thin lines as the warp bubble was created and the ship gave a small lurch as it moved into faster-than-light speeds.

Kirk got to his feet and approached the viewer screen, his hands on his hips and a deeply thoughtful look on his face. "Do we know where they might be going?"

"There's nothing on their current heading that seems like somewhere they'd be interested in going," Sulu answered. "They're not headed anywhere near Klingon space, but if they're not working with or for the Klingon Empire, then they could be heading for a hideout on any inhabitable planet."

"I do not think that scenario is likely." Spock turned his chair so he could face the entire bridge. "The attacks on Federation vessels have been quite close together, suggesting the Klingon ship has been moving almost without pause since the attacks began. I believe the Bird of Prey is simply trying to put as much distance between us and them as they can."

The young Captain returned to his chair, but didn't sit down, and pondered over the two theories presented. "Mister Spock's suggestion makes more sense, but if we pass any habitable planets, make sure to scan for energy signatures just in case."

A few moments later, the faint trail they were following dropped out of warp, the Enterprise following. The big ship located the Klingon vessel, but not before another volley of shots was launched, striking the side of the hull and rocking the ship. Around the bridge, those seated grabbed their chairs and those standing grabbed the edge of their consoles, or in Kirk's case, the back of his chair, to keep from tumbling to the floor. Just as the ship stopped its violent shaking, the Klingons launched another barrage of phaser fire, catching the crew off guard and sending most sprawling to their knees, stomachs, sides and backs as the starship lurched again. Alianna smacked her healing wrist on her console, causing her to curse out loud, and her sentiments were echoed by several other crew members as they suffered injuries; luckily none were too severe.

"Shields!" Kirk yelled, finally finding the breath and a moment of stability to speak.

"Shields up!" Alianna responded. It wasn't her first responsibility to manage the shields, but Sulu was just pulling himself to his feet and couldn't reach his console.

More bright shots issued from the ship on the viewer, but the shaking was minimal as they struck the shields. A collective sigh went through the bridge because everyone was able to get back to their positions; it wasn't a release of tension, because as soon as everyone was back in control of their consoles, the tension level rose back to where it had been.

"Is there any way we can take out their ship without detonating the weapon?" Sindari asked.

"Without knowing how the phasers have been modified and how exactly they are integrated into the ship's systems, it would not be wise to fire on the Bird of Prey," Spock said after a moment.

"So what are we going to do? Let them shoot at us?"

"Shields at sixty-five percent," Sulu informed the bridge.

"Evasive manoeuvres, Mister Sulu. Keep them chasing us." Kirk returned to his chair and stared intently at the ship in the middle of the viewer. The Enterprise took off past the Klingon ship, dodging phasing fire. "Can we beam a team aboard?"

"There's some sort of interference!" Uhura yelled over the noise as the ship took another hit.

"Shields down to forty percent!"

The bridge of the Enterprise was rapidly devolving into chaos. Shouts and screams were echoing up from the lower decks, and the lights were flickering behind a quickly thickening veil of smoke. At some point amongst everything, Alianna had taken the ship to red alert and above everything, the faint keening of the siren could be heard. The crew lapsed into silence, except for Sulu's updates on the status of the shields, as they held on to their chairs, consoles and tried to remain upright and survive the confrontation; not being able to return fire had put them in a tough situation.

"Fifteen percent!"

The remainder of the shields gave out, and the next hit rocked the ship harder, sending most of the bridge crew, and probably those on the decks below, flying. Alianna's shoulder cracked against the command chair, the pain knocking her senseless for a few minutes. But that was the last hit.

"Captain... the Klingons have left."

"They took the engines off line."

"Primary power is gone too."

After the reports finished coming in, Kirk rose and sighed, ignoring the coughs and other inconsequential noises around him. There were no reports coming in about fire or causalities or other serious problems, so it seemed that they were just... stuck.

Alianna hauled herself to her feet, holding her bruised arm with her good one. "What the hell?" she breathed, more as a rhetorical question than anything.

"We're stranded."

She moved to stand beside Kirk and looked at him, her face stoic, but her eyes firm. She was angry. "That's just great."

Author's Note.

We're over the halfway point! I have no idea how many chapters are really left because the number keeps changing. Right now, there are nine left, so we'll see if I actually stick to that number. I think I'm going to finish this one up before I move on to other things. Also, I seem to have some inexplicable source of inspiration for this fic right now... Huh. Confusing. Oh well.

Next Chapter: Stranded in the Dark.