Kirk didn't come to see her, not on the first day, or the second or even the third. By the time the fourth day came round Corriene was pissed off. In her head she knew exactly why he hadn't been to see her and it made perfect sense, he couldn't be seen to be bias, to be swayed by a personal relationship while an official investigation was underway. Her heart though, her heart was breaking from not seeing him. For the short time they'd been together it had felt real and right and essential.

Paranoia was also setting in, did he believe that she could have tried to set Lucignano up? However much she tried to push that from her mind it kept creeping back in, usually when it was night time and she was desperately trying to get to sleep. For the first time since she'd enlisted, all those years ago she was questioning whether or not Starfleet was for her. She was finding it increasingly difficult to marry up her own character and moral compass with what a Starfleet Officer was supposed to be. Looking in the mirror she saw an imposter looking back.

Evans had been in touch, telling her not to worry and that the whole thing would blow over in a week. Apparently the word in Engineering was that nobody believed she was involved and everybody believed Lucignano was guilty. Ever since he'd been demoted he'd lost the respect and support of his peers, he hadn't had that far to fall in the first place. Still, she wasn't too sure, Lucignano wasn't going to go down without a fight at the very least. He'd been indignant when she'd fired him all those years ago, if any of them thought he'd accept being caught now they had no idea!

She'd kept a copy of the data she'd given to Scotty, looking over it again and again she tried to work out where he might have suggested it was fake. In her eyes there wasn't anything but who knew what he'd given them? Evans had told her he was doing a secondary analysis, knowing what they knew now he was confident he'd find substantial evidence pointing to Lucignano. He also wanted to know who he was selling it to, besides it was going to be Starfleet Intelligence's first question.

She'd had enough, deciding the best thing she could do was have a shower she stood, groaned out loud in frustration and went to her bathroom.

"Computer, Corelli Concerto Grosso in G minor, op. six, number eight." The music filled her quarters and she instantly felt the tensions in her shoulders ebb away. Pulling off her uniform she stepped under the water, comforted by the feeling of it beating down on her face and shoulders. She was going to wash her hair twice, she deserved it.

The sound of the cello, violins and running water masked the sound of somebody overriding the lock and walking in.


Kirk was kicking himself, he should have just gone to see her. After their meeting with Scotty and Lucignano he'd felt awful, seeing the utter outrage and hurt on her face had nearly broken him. The worst part was, that until he had seen with his own eyes her dramatic expression and knew for sure she was guiltless he'd doubted her, for a second he'd wondered whether or not she had set up Lucignano.

He'd instructed Scotty to make the investigation his priority, he didn't want this whole thing going on for any longer than it had to. Stealing data was a serious offence and if Lucignano had been taking it to sell to the private sector or who knows where the guy was looking at a lengthy sentence. He checked the PADD on his desk again, nothing from Scotty. Exhaling slowly Kirk rubbed at his eyes, he hoped to god Corriene understood that he couldn't go see her, he hoped to god that what they had started together wouldn't go down in flames! The time they had spent had been some of the best in his life, he could feel it in his gut that he was growing attached to her more and more. He was in danger of losing the woman he was falling in love with.


"Come in." Kirk walked into McCoy's quarters later that day.

"Where are you Bones?" He asked looking around, a hand popped up from the high back chair that was facing away from the door. Walking round he saw that his friend was slouched down, book in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.

"How are you Jim?" McCoy asked, glancing up at Kirk and then back to his book.

"Honestly? Terrible." Kirk helped himself to a drink and then took the chair opposite, picking up a discarded book from the table in front of him he leafed through the pages. It was some old medical journal, from the late twenty first century. Setting it back down he rubbed a hand over his face wearily.

"Hmm, let me guess? It doesn't happen to be related to the fact that some pretty young thing you like is confined to her quarters and may possibly be committing theft does it?"

"That isn't funny." Kirk answered solemnly.

"I never said it was Jim, but it's near on damnit the truth ain't it?" McCoy sat himself up and placed his book on the side table. "You know how to pick them don't you?"

"She's a good woman Bones, she hasn't done anything wrong. Lucignano is just stalling." It was Kirk's turn to slouch.

"For what reason?" It was a legitimate question, Kirk thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know?" He answered.

"Well Jim, congratulations, you really do know how to make things complicated don't you?! Have you never heard the saying 'don't shit where you eat'?" McCoy stood and went to pour himself another drink.

"Come on Bones! You know better than anybody that relationships develop on long missions, you're the expert in what deep space travel does to people. And I don't know but since I met her I feel like somethings changed, I have a purpose again. She makes me laugh, she's intelligent and caring. I find myself wanting to be a better man because of her." McCoy listened and then shook his head slowly.

"Well it sounds like you're suffering from a bad case of 'puppy love' for Ms Corriene Lees." Smiling, McCoy gave Kirk a wink trying to lighten the mood.

"Is that your professional opinion Doctor?"

"Of course! And I'm afraid to tell ya there's no cure." Kirk's comm buzzed.

"Kirk here."

"Captain, it's Scott." Kirk looked nervously to McCoy.

"What've you got for me Mister Scott?"

"Captain, the data missing was definitely taken by Lieutenant Lucignano Sir, I'm in no doubt." Kirk visibly relaxed, the weight lifting from his chest.

"Is there any evidence of Lieutenant Lees being involved in any way?" He had to ask.

"No Sir, the Lassie was telling the truth and I canny believe I ever thought otherwise." Kirk felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest, he shook his head clearing the sense of relief and focused on what he had to do next.

"Okay Scotty, meet me at Lucignano's quarters with a security team, something tells me he's not going to go quietly into the night."

"Aye Sir, with pleasure." Kirk stood and put his glass down, when McCoy stood too and began walking to the door Kirk asked him what he was doing.

"Are you kidding Jim?! I wouldn't miss this for the world."


Corriene reluctantly turned off the shower, she watched as the water was sucked away under her feet. Wriggling her toes she smiled at the pink nail varnish, wearing boots all day had its drawbacks. She missed the feel of sandals on her feet, of being able to see her freshly applied pedicure. It was one of the few self-indulgences she had every allowed herself. Stepping out of the cubicle she didn't bother using a towel to dry herself. Instead, she stickily pulled on her white sleep shorts and vest. Running a comb through her hair and brushing her teeth she turned her head left to right whilst looking in the mirror, she looked tired. Twitching her nose and pouting her lips at her reflection she stuck out her tongue before looking away. When she walked out into her living area she immediately felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, something was wrong.

"You just couldn't keep your fucking nose out could you Lees?" Startled, Corriene jumped and grabbed at her chest and pounding heart. Her head spun to the couch where she saw Lucignano was sat there, looking casually at her with a foul smug grin.

"What the hell are you doing in my quarters?!" She asked taking a step back and taking deep breaths to try and calm herself.

"I wanted to speak to you, ask you why you've always had a problem with me."

"I've not always had a problem with you Lucignano…"

"I beg to differ," He cut her off, his voice rising and sounding angrier. Corriene was getting worried, in her head she started to formulate what to do next. "You've never liked me and now you think you've got me." Lucignano shifted in his seat and seeing that Corriene instinctively flinched at his movement, grinned.

"You were stealing data, you were selling data. What did you think would happen?" She tried to sound calm, unaffected by his presence. Try as she might though she couldn't help the fact that her hands were shaking.

"You gotta pay those bills somehow right?!" He laughed.

"I want you to leave, now." She had backed herself up against her desk, racking her brain trying to remember the whereabouts of her comm badge. Lucignano pushed himself off the couch quickly, in a second he was stood in front of her.

He was at least a foot taller and a foot wider, he knew he was intimidating, he'd used it against people his entire life.

"I said leave." Corriene tried to match his stare, not look scared but she was petrified out of her mind. Her hand had been behind her on the desk, scrambling for her comm badge but she hadn't been able to find it. Not knowing what was going to happen next she twisted and turned her back to him, her eyes searching. It was then that she felt Lucignano's huge hands grab the back of her head and slam her into the desk, he watched as she bounced off the hard surface and fell to the floor visibly out cold. The bridge of her nose was split and blood poured from the viciously inflicted injury, looking down at her Lucignano took a deep breath. He'd hated the woman since she'd fired him all those years ago.

"Who do you think you are?" He spat at her as she began to come to, shaking her head and holding her face with her hands. "It's people like you that make me sick you know that, breezing along with not a care in the world and then BAM! You go and screw up somebody else's life without a care in the world. You know my Wife left me after you fired me, took the kids six hundred miles away from me!"

Corriene pulled herself up onto her knees trying to stem the flow of blood. Peering up through her tears she watched as Lucignano paced to and fro, he was still yelling, talking to himself and crashing his arms into her furniture. Slowly she began crawling back to her desk, hoping to god that her comm badge was still there. Pulling herself up she chaotically searched once more, in her peripheral vision she could see that he was bounding towards her again. She wasn't quick enough though and his hands found themselves around her neck.

"You have no idea who I was selling the data to do you? They're very very dangerous men and when I don't come up with the goods they're going to come looking for me. You, you I'm going to tell them are the reason they don't have what they want and when they take one look at you you're going to wish you had never been born!" She spat the blood that had pooled in her mouth onto his face.

"Go to hell!" Corriene glared at him with hatred, his hands tightened around her throat and she found herself clawing at him.

Clarity came over her and in that moment of desperation, as the sound of the multiple tempi and the range of major and minor suspensions of the classical music that still played she brought her knee up into his groin. Lucignano reeled back in agony, swearing and spluttering. This was her chance, she made a mad dash for the door knowing that at if he got his hands onto her again there was no doubt he would kill her. But then as she saw her hand reach out to open the door she felt his hands around her legs and her body tumbled to the floor. Flung onto her back Corriene felt Lucignano's weight bear down on her thighs, pinning her in place. Their clenched fists battled with one another, punching and grasping and tearing at clothing. She wasn't going to let his hands find her neck again, if it was the last thing she did.


Kirk and McCoy were silent as they walked to Lucignano's quarters, there wasn't anything to say. Kirk was fighting against his own emotions, he was angry as hell. Angry that a member of his crew had put the lives of everybody on board in danger, not only the Enterprise but every other ship and angry that Corriene's reputation as an exceptional Engineer and Officer had been brought into question. The woman had saved the lives of an entire deck, changed the lives of people she'd never met on planets she'd never been to before. She'd enlisted in response to the atrocities carried out by Khan and served the Federation admirably, what had this man done? Put people in danger and stole for his own gain, it made Kirk sick to his stomach. The worst thing was that it had been Corriene who had known what type of man Lucignano was all along and she'd tried to warn him.

As they turned the corner they saw Scotty coming from the other direction being followed by a security team.

"Commander Scott, are you ready?" Kirk asked outside Lucignano's door.

"Aye Captain." Scotty was noticeably angry also.

"Alright." Kirk nodded at one of the Security Officers, stepping forward the man inputted a code into the display panel next to the door. He was the first one to enter, followed by Kirk and McCoy. Scotty followed hot on the Doctor's heels, his eyes scanning the room for Lucignano. When they didn't see him Kirk watched as one of the Security Officers went to look in the bathroom, when he stepped back out and shook his head Kirk's gut filled with dread. Going to the computer on Lucignano's desk Kirk roughly punched the touchpad.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Fabio Lucignano." The computer's voice filled the room.

"Lieutenant Lucignano is currently on Deck fourteen." Kirk looked at McCoy in anguish.

"What is it Jim?" McCoy asked, concerned for his friend.

"Corriene's quarters, they're on deck fourteen."


Thanks for reading, hope you're still enjoying the story?! Please let me know what you think ;-) LLAP XOXO