Yeoman Elanore Berenice Troi had been leaving the gym when it happened. A collision that rocked the ship wildly and sent her stumbling into a wall before the red emergency lights immediately came to life. Elanore pushed herself from the wall unsteadily, feeling another explosion hitting one of the lower decks before sirens and a considerable amount of smoke began flooding the hallway she was in.

"Yeoman Troi to Captain Kirk." Elanore spoke through her communication device as she began jogging down the hall to reach the transporters.

"Kirk here." Came Captain Kirk's preoccupied reply.

"I believe decks seven through nine were damaged in the first collision. We've got smoke reaching deck six already and it looks like the transporters are out of action." She explained, stepping back sharply with a grimace when sparks erupted from the transporters in front of her.

"Roger that, Troi. If you can make it to the Bridge, we could really use your assistance in managing the helm. Sulu, Chekov and Spock are doing their best on the necessary calculations but we might not be able to hold the enemy back for long." -

"Yes sir. On my way. Troi out." Elanore twisted open one of the internal doors and slipped inside, climbing the ladder to Deck five before clambering out into the hallway. She swivelled around sharply when she heard voices and shouting down the corridor, expecting to see crew members but instead seeing two burly creatures stepping into the hallway she had just entered.

"Shakra!" One of them growled, its footsteps increasing in pace as it gained on her. Elanore turned to escape down another corridor, reaching for her communicator as she did so before hollering into it, "We've been boarded! Initiate lockdown protocol!"

She instantly felt the heavy hand gripping her shoulder before spinning her around and knocking her to the ground with a powerful punch.

"Yeoman Troi, do not engage! Find a safe place and stay there." Came Kirk's concerned reply but Elanore barely heard it as she spat away the blood pooling in her mouth before swinging her leg out and knocking the creature to the ground. She got to her feet as quickly as she could muster with her head aching and swimming with black spots before she was blocking against another punch from the second creature, throwing her fist out with all the strength she could muster to collide solidly with what she assumed was the creature's nose. A torrent of blue liquid exploded from one singular hole on the creature's face before she grasped its neck solidly and snapped it, watching as the strange species slumped to the floor in a limp heap.

"Yeoman Troi, do you read me?" Elanore did not have time to respond before the first creature who had recovered from her attack, was lunging at her again, this time gripping her throat solidly and hauling her from her feet before she could block his attempt, squeezing with all his strength until a strangled sound escaped her throat and black spots began cascading in front of her eyes. Elanore tried desperately to claw at the creature's hand and remove it from her throat but it was no use. It was a lot stronger than she was and she had been lucky up until now but clearly her luck had run out.

Suddenly the creature shuddered, its hold on her neck faltering before falling away completely and Elanore fell to the floor in a heap, sucking in breathes greedily between coughs. She looked up to see Captain Kirk with his phaser at his side, standing casually over the still form of the two fallen creatures, observing her with a concerned expression before reaching out his hand. Elanore took it and let him help her to her feet before rubbing her neck gently.

"Didn't I tell you to find a safe place?" Kirk finally said, his tone joking but she could tell by his expression that he was worried about her. Not only did she have a nasty looking bruise starting to show across her jaw but her throat had obvious finger marks against her pale skin and looked extremely painful.

"Couldn't be avoided, sir." Elanore responded, wiping some blood away from her mouth.

"What happened to him?" Jim asked, gesturing to the creature with the snapped neck, raising his eyebrow at his Yeoman who had composed herself and was schooling her features again.

Damn this woman can be so Vulcan when she wants to be!

"I killed him." Elanore stated simply, her entire face now void of emotion as if struggling to survive moments before hadn't phased her in the slightest but Jim knew better.

"You killed him? How?" -

"I snapped his neck, sir." Elanore responded, her voice wavering slightly as she plainly stated the way in which she had just killed another life form. Of course Yeoman Troi would defend herself if need be but she had never killed anything before and though the creature had struck out at her first, endangering her and the crew, it was still another life that she had ended.

"And are you okay with that?" Elanore's head shot up in alarm and her eyes darkened with anger and something else that Jim could not quite discern.

"I did what I had to do to defend myself, sir." She said bluntly.

Elanore turned then to see Commander Spock walking calmly toward them, his usual stoic manner slightly ruffled by the attack on the Enterprise moments before but he barely showed in and only someone like Elanore or even Uhura would have guessed the difference.

"Captain, the enemy has been disabled and they have retreat into the neutral zone." Spock explained coolly before his eyebrow raised considerably when he noticed the forming bruises on Yeoman Troi's face and neck.

"Are you well, Elanore?" Spock queried instantly before being able to stop himself, his obvious slip causing Jim to raise his eyebrow at the Commander.

"I am well, Spock." Elanore responded simply as Spock observed the two limp creatures sprawled across the floor with calm interest.

"You two are on a first name basis?" Jim queried curiously and Spock merely raised his eyebrow again before replying, "It is well known among the crew that myself and Yeoman Troi are friends. Elanore has expressed her distaste on several occasions that friends should not address one another by title, therefore I saw it logical to respect her wishes." Spock explained calmly and Elanore couldn't help but let a small smirk come across her lips.

"Jealous, sir?" Yeoman Troi stated jokingly, finding it hard to fight back the urge to laugh at the startled look that came across her Captain's face before he turned and glared at her but she could tell he was fighting not to smile in amusement.

"You, get to Medical and see Doctor McCoy. You, let's head back to the Bridge." Captain Kirk ordered and Elanore nodded, still smiling before turning away from Jim and Spock.

"And Yeoman, I want to have a word with you later." She turned just long enough to nod in understanding, her gut churning with nerves before she continued to the Medical Level.