Disclaimer: If I owned Star Trek, I'd sure as heck would not have as many internet connections problems as I have been having lately…
The elevator doors glided open with perfect precision, letting Christine step out of it almost as soon as she stepped inside. It was morning, about 0730 hours, and the bridge was quiet with tired officers who were all scanning their stations' screens, making sure that they were not looking over any sort of error.
The new captain was not there, but she did pass by the sickbay earlier that day and glanced in to see if McCoy was there and saw the two talking, looking as if they were engaged in some sort of argument. She had gotten the vibe that they were not on the best of terms, even after the big Romulan situation from half a year ago that had nearly risked everyone on board's lives. Christine had wanted to take the time to apologize to McCoy, because she had finally realized what the phrase "never go to bed angry" meant…she was up most of the night in contemplation, making her immensely tired, but reached the conclusion that she should not have lashed out like she did.
Christine quietly stepped up on the circular platform where the captain's chair was situated, surveying the bright white room until she found the empty seat in the back left corner, which she presumed was the science station, judging by the ever-changing graphs and numerous calculations that constantly appeared on the screen.
The bridge itself, though, was a sort of marvel on its own. It was one of the newest Starfleet designs, everything being very slick and clean-looking, unlike the bridges from the older ships that are wood-paneled and have monitors that barely even work half the time. The new bridge represented what Starfleet was supposed to be -- sufficient, but advanced.
Just as she was about to descend the small set of steps from the platform and seat herself at the station, she heard someone from behind her whom she was sure was most definitely not there before. "Is there a problem, Lieutenant?"
She turned around to find the new captain, Spock, staring down at her with his dark Vulcan glare.
"Er, no, none at all," she had forgotten that her official status on the ship was, at least for now, lieutenant since that was the minimum ranking allowed on the bridge. She took one long step towards her seat and sat down, scanning the screens, trying to make sense of it all.
Since she was a medical student, she was not required to complete the Kobiyashi Maru test, but had a small taste of it as a participant for a couple of students when she was still studying astrophysics in her freshman year. The simulator version of the science station was not too different from the real one, luckily for her, and it didn't take much time for her to realize what she was doing.
The morning was very quiet, with no sort of disturbance in sight. With the lack of action, Spock took the time to introduce the two helmsmen to Christine. "This is Lieutenant Chapel, our temporary," he seemed to stress the momentary status of her position, "science officer. She has taken up all of my duties, while I am captain, that is, until Captain Kirk returns from his leave."
He turned to Christine, leaving the two yellow-shirted men staring at her. "This is Mr. Sulu," he motioned to an attractive-looking Asian man, who gave her a swift nod in welcome, "And this is Mr. Chekov." The latter of the two helmsmen was a handsome young Russian whom Christine could not think of as anything else, other than adorable. The teenager gave her a brilliant smile that would definitely brighten up anyone's morning.
"Captain's Log, Stardate 2259.14," Spock noted, updating the log. "With Captain James Kirk's sudden leave-taking, as well as Lieutenant Uhura's, I, Commander Spock, have been appointed acting captain until the time comes when the former returns. We have replaced our communications officer with a graduate who minored in xenolinguistics while at the academy, an ensign by the name of Ronald Gallagher. Since I have taken the captain's place for the time being, I have given my science officer's duties to a qualified medical school graduate who has some experience in astrophysics, Lieutenant Christine Chapel. We are currently in the , which is about three light years from the nearest Class M planet, but because of our warp speed capabilities, regular Starbase visits will not be a problem. Spock out," the captain pressed one of the buttons on his chair to conclude the log.
"An asteroid belt, captain, at two o'clock," Christine noted aloud, "The likelihood of damage is about," she tilted her head to the side, doing the math in her head, "Two percent, too little to be worried of an impairment of any kind, but a ship tilt of about twelve degrees for the next three minutes is recommend to avoid it altogether."
"One-point-nine-two percent to be exact…Thank you, Lieutenant," answered Spock. He relayed the news to the awaiting Sulu. "Twelve degrees straight ahead, Mr. Sulu, for three minutes. Any interference, Mr. Chekov?"
"None, sir, zees rocks are smaller than zee palms of my hands."
"A shipwide broadcast is recommended, Mr. Chekov, to alert the personnel of our location."
"Aye captain," chimed Chekov, "Authorization code 9-5-Victor, victor-2..."
"Access granted."
"…Can I have your attention please," the Russian addressed the ship via the intercom system. "We are currently in zee Dionysus XII quadrant and are averting zee ship by twelve degrees to avoid a small asteroid belt at two o'clock for a little over three meennuts. It is currently 0800 hours on our thirty-fourth day since our departure from Earth. Zank you for your time."
"Mr. Scott," Spock pressed his communication button to connect to the engineering room. "Decrease the engine power for a moment, please, we are entering an asteroid belt."
"Aye sir!" came the Scottish-accented reply of Montgomery Scott.
A brunette yeoman, who was coming around with a tray, handed Christine a cup of coffee. "Thanks."
Suddenly, the engines automatically slowed down, causing everyone to lurch forward and Christine to lose her grip on the steaming cup. Seconds later, the entire front of her shirt was covered in boiling liquid.
"Damnit," she muttered to herself. "Permission to speak freely, captain?" she looked up at Spock. He nodded. "May I leave the bridge to attend to a new shirt?" He didn't answer at first. She turned around, to show him that her the entire front of her torso was coffee-stained. "I won't be two minutes, sir."
"Mr. Chekov?" he turned to the helmsman. "Would you supervise Lieutenant Chapel's station while she is away?"
"Yes sir."
"Thank you," she said. Christine got up and immediately began to fan out her shirt as she walked towards the elevator lift. Seconds later, she was on the floor of her room and began to speedily make her way down the long corridor until she found her quarters.
"Hey stranger," called someone from behind her. Just as she opened her door, she turned to see McCoy.
"Hey yourself. Why aren't you down at sickbay?" she asked.
"Erm, break time," he winked.
"Ha-ha," she answered in sarcasm, rolling her eyes.
"What happened to your shirt?"
"I spilled some steaming coffee on it when the engines stopped…graceful of me, huh?"
"So…how are ya likin' it up there with the big boys?"
"It's not too horrible, it's just a lot of monitoring. The coffee's fresh, though, so that's a plus."
"Well I'll let ya get back to what you were doing, Chapel. I'll see ya around," McCoy smiled at her, which she gladly accepted as his way of making amends. The big brother was back, just as if their previous argument had never occurred.
"See you later, McCoy."
And all was well. Until she realized that coffee stains were virtually impossible to get out of polyester.
A/N: Yeah, she has like some sorta freaky cougar cradle-robbing crush on Chekov…but come on, who the heck doesn't? I mean, look at the kid! I'd be all over it if Spock wasn't there. Don't worry though, Christine/Spock shippers…it won't progress past a little teeny-weeny crush. Maybe a Chekov/OC will be stirring up in my mind later on, but not now. MUST. FINISH. STORY. AHHH.
Also, I know there was not much interaction with Spock, but I really needed her and McCoy to get back on their good terms again. It just didn't feel right with having a grudge between them, especially when there was still a lot of conflict between him and Spock.