Corriene had kept her head down for the past five weeks, literally. She had asked Scotty to be assigned to the essential maintenance and upgrade of the Engineering Databanks which were conveniently located in the bowels of the Enterprise where, if you were lucky, you may not see anybody for days. She'd taken ration packs down with her, saving a trip to the mess and by the time she'd finished every day the corridors back to her quarters were pretty empty.
Not for one second had she ever regretted the choice of enlisting with Starfleet, she and many others had lost friends and family on that horrific day. It felt only right and natural to help support the cause, when she had told her Father he had begun to cry.
"Why are you crying Dad?" Corriene had sat by his bedside and held on to his hand as she had told him her news.
"Because I knew that you were coming to see me to tell me this… and Co, well, I'm so damned proud of you." Corriene had flung her arms around him and they had stayed like that for the longest time. "Your Mother would have been proud of you also." He had whispered in her ear.
"Thank you Dad." She had choked back.
"Lassie! Are ya still down here?" Nearly jumping out of her skin, Corriene looked up to see Scotty's face beaming down at her.
"Aye Commander Scott." She replied, giving him a little wave.
"It's the wee small hours of the morning Lass, get ya self ta bed will ya!"
"I will Sir, just finishing up." Corriene answered politely, giving him a salute as he left. Looking back at the databank in front of her she initialised the final diagnostic and then sat back, crossing her legs in front of her. Her fringe kept falling into her face as she looked down at her last ration pack, tutting and huffing, Corriene ran her hands through her hair.
Since she'd been a little girl there had been next to nothing she or her Mother could do with her hair. Kinks, waves and curls all combined to ensure not one strand went in the same direction. Her Mother would spend hours combing and plating until one day, when Corriene had been nine, she had taken the kitchen scissors and chopped it all off, leaving a messy bob that hung around her almond shaped face. All through school, university and work she had kept it the same knowing there was no other alternative. Sure there were treatments and procedures you could have, chemical straightening, hairpieces etc. but that was never her thing.
Throwing her empty packet to one side she checked on the progress of the diagnostic, one of the readings caught her eye as she shifted onto her knees.
"What the…?" Tapping and selecting various calibrations her brows knotted into confusion and her top teeth bit down on her lower lip. "Now why is that happening?" Taking her PADD she typed up the anomaly, quickly packing her kit together she crawled through the opening and headed on her way.
After she had dried her hair Corriene had got straight into bed but It was no good, her mind was racing trying to work out what had caused the anomaly. Throwing her covers off her she padded across her quarters and sat at the small desk, pulling her knees up to her chest she picked up the PADD. Checking the time, she opened a channel to Scotty.
"What is it?" He had asked.
"Sir, what would cause a nought point three of a second lapse in data entry?"
"Lees, will ya go to bed!"
"Commander Scott please!" Corriene pleaded. She heard Scotty huff and then there was the sound of scuffling.
"How many occurrences?"
"Just the one." She answered.
"Christ Lees! Once! It's nothing, we probably went through an Ion storm at the time, fried the unit. Lees, I appreciated the attention to detail but you're looking for something that isn't there." Corriene closed her eyes and sighed, perhaps he was right.
"I'm sorry Sir, you're right."
"Don't apologise, just relax will ya. You're doing fine, it was a wee blip. Stop beating yourself up about it." She knew he was talking about the altercation with Lucignano and she knew he was right.
"Thank you Sir." Ending the comm Corriene let out a groan.
Each head of department sat round the long conference table providing their review and update to Kirk, it was important to him that they meet on a regular basis face to face. Sure they could just send their reports electronically but Kirk had learnt along the way that face to face provided a much better cohesion of thoughts and ideas.
"Doctor McCoy, is there anything else?" Kirk asked charmingly.
"Just get me my damned hypos Jim and I'll be happy." Kirk laughed in response.
"Happy Bones?" He teased.
"Don't push it." McCoy warned.
"Alright, Mister Scott, how's our engines?" Kirk turned his attention to the Chief Engineer.
"Aye they're grand Captain, running at full capacity." Scotty answered proudly.
"That's good to hear Mister Scott, I wouldn't expect anything less." Kirk smiled at him encouragingly, "And your crew, no problems?" He continued.
"Aye no problems Captain, they're a good lot, I canny complain."
"Good to hear, keep up the good work." Kirk turned his attention to Spock. "Mister Spock, can you provide your update…"
"Err Captain, there is one thing." Scotty interrupted.
"Go ahead."
"Well, Lieutenant Lees Captain…" Kirk creased his brow.
"Lees?" He asked.
"Lieutenant Corriene Lees Captain, she's the one who got into it with Lieutenant Commander Lucignano in the mess…" Scotty wasn't sure how to describe her but it seemed to do the trick because Kirk's face changed almost immediately to one of amusement.
"Ah yes, Lees, how could I forget. That was one hell of a right hook from what I remember!" Kirk replied laughing.
"Aye well yes Sir, I canny argue with ya but I'm a little concerned." Kirk's mood suddenly darkened, he never wanted to hear that there was a problem with one of his crew. It wasn't unusual for the HoDs to talk about individuals in the meeting, it was a good way to get a different perspective on performance management and improvement plans. From what he knew of Lees she was a damned good Engineer and she risked her own life to save the lives on an entire deck. She had also sat in his office covered in soup like it wasn't anything to write home about.
"Concerned about what Scotty?" Kirk asked.
"She's gone into her shell a little, I'm a wee concerned she's worried about working with others, her confidence has definitely taken a knock."
"Has she been working in main Engineering?" Spock asked solemnly.
"No, she's hidden herself off in the main databanks, been down there for weeks and I canny think why?" Scotty answered.
"She's keeping herself out of trouble, sounds sensible to me." Bones exclaimed.
"The event in the mess wasn't part of a pattern Doctor McCoy, Lieutenant Lees' record has always been exemplary, she should feel no reason that another incident may happen again." Spock replied, Kirk listened to everybody keenly and then brought himself forward, leaning his elbows on the table.
"Perhaps she's just lost a bit of her nerve Mister Scott, I tell you what, assign her to something outside of Engineering. Get her out of the Jeffries tubes and in a crowd." Kirk suggested.
"Aye Captain, I will." Scotty answered happily.
Corriene found herself travelling on one of the many turbolifts leading to the Bridge the following day, having received a communication from Commander Scott instructing her to carry out a review of the forward sensors. Clutching her tool bag she concentrated on her breathing, in through her nose, out through her mouth. When the doors swished open her feet hesitated but a moment later she saw Uhura stood nearby, giving her enough of a purpose to walk forward and step onto the Bridge.
"Corriene, how are you?" Uhura greeted her warmly, the pair knowing one another from one of the many organised sporting competitions held on board.
"I'm good thanks Nyota, you?" The two women smiled at one another and made their way over to Uhura's station.
"I can't complain, what brings you here?"
"Quick diagnostic, Scotty sent me although I get the feeling he's up to something." Corriene leant in and whispered the last part.
"Like what?" Uhura asked, equally conspiratorially.
"I think he thinks I'm hiding myself away."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because that's what I've been doing." Corriene couldn't help but laugh a little, she wasn't completely unaware of her own character and stubbornness.
"Well, he was right then wasn't he!" Uhura smiled back at her and gave her arm a pat. "I'll see you later, do you want to grab lunch?" Corriene hesitated but nodded.
"Sure, just no soup okay." Giving the woman a small wave Corriene made her way over to the console on the far left of the Bridge and started to pull out her tools. Removing the panel from the wall she set about her task.
Corriene had lost track of the time, it was only when Uhura came to stand behind her that she realised it was lunch and four hours had gone by. She'd been engrossed in her work, blocking out the comings and goings of the Bridge crew behind her. Dropping her tool into its bag she stretched her arms above her head.
"I'm actually really hungry." She announced to Uhura.
"I'm not surprised." The two women left and made their way to the mess.
Kirk had arrived not long after Corriene and spotting her almost immediately had spent the entire morning trying not to watch her work. She'd been completely oblivious the whole time but he was still careful not to stare, primarily because it was simply rude and secondly because he didn't want to get caught. It didn't help that he was having a very slow and very tedious day. He'd watched as, after she'd been stood stock still for what had to have been more than an hour she started to ever so slightly bounce on her feet.
He watched as she faintly swayed her hips from side to side, obviously trying to keep the blood flowing and stop any pins and needles. At one point she turned and leant against the panel, looking at her PADD. The range of expressions that swept across her face was ridiculous. At one point Kirk had to stifle a laugh when he very clearly lip read a series of strong expletives she was silently mouthing to herself as she worked. He found her uncommonly good-looking, different enough to not fall into a crowd and peak his interest. Above all that though he saw a good Officer and when he had had to threaten her with throwing her of his ship he'd felt a pang of guilt, he'd made enough mistakes in his past to know that she wasn't someone who deserved losing her position over one isolated incident.
When she returned from lunch he had looked up at the same time, locking eyes with her he decided on a brief nod and small smile, she responded with the same and then that was that, she went back to work and he went back to being bored stiff.
Five Weeks Later
Curiosity got the better of her eventually and Corriene found herself in front of the main databanks again, this time though it didn't take long. She knew exactly what she was looking for and when she found it, the same less than nought point three of a second blip, she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Shit." She knew what this meant, it wasn't a 'blip' or even an Ion storm for that matter, it was intentional, and it was human influence. "Why?" She found herself asking out loud. "Shit shit shit." She knew it would take her hours to run a full comparison diagnostic, she'd have to know what was happening and who was doing what on the entire ship at that precise time, hopefully a link appearing somewhere.
"Lees!" She looked up above her head.
"What?" Evans was staring down at her grinning.
"Lunch?" He asked, a glimmer in his eyes, there hadn't been a day that went by where he hadn't taken the mick out of her for what happened in the mess.
"Give me a second." She replied, pulling herself up. When she'd reached the top of the ladder Evans had taken her hand, helping her over the railing.
"Well, I didn't think you'd say yes."
"What can I say, you've worn me down." Corriene answered referring to the fact that he had been asking her for days and she had be saying no, she placed her hands on his shoulders as she spoke.
"Just what a fella wants to hear." He replied sarcastically.
Getting to the mess and retrieving her food had gone relatively smoothly, she'd even been able to find an empty table and sit at it without starting a fight. When the pair was facing one another they both began to make small talk, she had to admit it, it felt good to be in her normal routine again.
"Emily and I are having a tennis match tomorrow with Ensign Crangle, can you make up the double?" Evans asked between mouthfuls.
"Sure, Crangles an ex pro!" Corriene replied.
"Hey! We're not too bad as well you know!" Evans said mock offended.
"Yep, umhum, well, we'll see who wins."
"You're so competitive you know that."
"You're not the first to mention it," Corriene smiled sarcastically. "Anyway I thought Emily said she would never play with you again?" Corriene finished her sandwich and took a swig of her drink, watching her friend over the rim of her cup.
"I persuaded her that would be a mistake, plus I bought her a new racket so she felt bad." Evans mimicked Corriene and took a drink from his own cup.
"When are you going to make an honest woman of her anyway?" She knew what she was doing, she'd been teasing him for months, knowing that Emily Ludriecus had been wanting him to propose for a while now.
"Not you as well! Christ you're worse than my Mother you know that?!" Corriene simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Whatever, just know that you're punching well above your weight."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Corriene smiled at him and stood up. "What about you?" Evans asked as they made their way out.
"What about me?"
"Lees, you need to get laid." Corriene made a disgusted face and shook her head.
"I'm not even going to respond to that." The pair of them entered the turbolift and leant against the cylindrical wall.
"You don't need to respond, I can tell. You're gagging for it!" Evans moved into a protective position as he spoke, covering his head with his hands knowing he'd probably get a good whack off his friend for his nauseating comments.
"You're disgusting you know that!" Corriene couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm right."
"Evans, I. Do. Not. Need. To. Get. Laid!" Corriene shouted at him just as the turbolift door swished open revealing Kirk stood waiting and from the look on his face it was clear that he'd heard her. Corriene was like a deer in headlights, feeling her whole body turn a ghastly shade of pink she had no idea what to say. Evans grabbed the fabric of her sleeve and pushed her to one side to make room.
"Captain." Evans greeted professionally, Kirk turned his attention away from Corriene and nodded politely at Evans who was just about holding back tears of laughter.
"Crewman." The three of them stood in silence, Kirk standing between the pair. It felt like a lifetime for the turbolift to reach their deck. The door hadn't fully opened before Corriene had slipped through the narrowest of gaps and briskly walked down the corridor away from the two men behind her. Evans turned to Kirk and smiled at him as he passed.
"Captain." Kirk nodded in response, when the door closed and the turbolift carried on its way Kirk finally let out the laugh he'd been holding in.
Please let me know what you think so far! Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying it LLAP XOXO;-)
