Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. Please read and review like usual! I hate to whine but I'd really like at least one review guys. Pretty please?

Audrey walked back on the bridge contemplating her courses of actions. She could stay on the ship and captain it as she was ordered to… or she could teleport to Nero's ship. Although she couldn't tell Kirk or Spock about the real reason she was on the ship her primary orders and instructions mandated her to participate in this mission.

Quickly she plotted out her strategy and put it into action. "Mr. Sulu, you heard what the captain said yes?" Sulu nodded hesitantly. "Remember, if you feel that we have the tactical advantage, you fire on that ship. Understood?"

"Yes Captain. But won't you be here to decide that?"

Audrey ignored his question. "You have the conn, Mr. Sulu." She very quickly exited the bridge and headed to the transporter room. Scotty was sitting there idly waiting for his next orders. "Mr. Scott. I believe that Ensign Chekov needs you to check his telemetry. Could you please report to the bridge?" she asked resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Aye Captain. Ah'll do dat right now." The friendly Scottish man replied as he rushed off. Things seemed to be going according to plan. Quickly, Audrey typed in the coordinates and set the transporter to automatically transport when the correct key word was said. She took in a deep breath, readied her phaser and finally said, "Energize."

In a swirl of white light, Audrey found herself on the strange ship. Water covered the ground and it was dark making it easier to hide herself against enemies. She quietly began to search for Kirk and Spock when she spotted a lone Romulan. Just as she was about to take aim and fire, someone already took him out. It was then that Audrey saw Kirk come into the picture and right behind him was Spock. Instead of alerting the two to her presence, she watched carefully to protect them from other intruders lurking in the shadows. Quickly she took out four other Romulans who heard the two Star fleet officers in the area.

Following Kirk and Spock closely, she covered their tracks making sure that they were not attacked from behind. Instead of using her phaser, she snuck up on the next Romulan very quickly kicked out the back of his knees to make him fall and then swiftly broke his neck silently. She continued to lurk in the shadows behind Kirk and Spock when they reached the futuristic ship carrying what she presumed to be the black hole device. As they entered, Audrey kept an eye out for other Romulans in case they would be ambushed when exiting the ship.

Kirk exited alone and Spock controlling the ship carrying the black hole device left. Silently, Audrey said a prayer for Spock's success and continued to shadow Kirk. She watched silently as Kirk spotted Nero and began to order him to surrender. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another Romulan lunge after Kirk.

'Shit!' Audrey thought as she saw Kirk hit the ground. She shifted into another position waiting for the right opportunity as Nero made his way to Kirk. Kirk was no match for Nero and Audrey had to intervene as quickly as possible. She lunged at the other Romulan kicking out his feet from underneath him and as he was falling, Audrey punched him in the face. The sound of his nose breaking could be heard echoing and quickly she kicked his gun away from him. Kirk was busy trying to fend off Nero and quickly before he could turn his attention to Audrey, she quickly punched him in the face when he was forced to turn around after Kirk's punch. Blow after blow, Audrey and Nero driven by his hate fought each other with Audrey slowly gaining the upper hand. Despite Nero's strength he was slower than Audrey due to the size of his mass compared to Audrey's. Quick and powerful, she used his momentum against him and knocked him down. She had her hands around Nero's neck and squeezed with a ferocious look on her face. "This is for my father and my friends you bastard!"

However, before she could finish him off, a hand pulled roughly at her hair peeling her off of Nero. She then felt the crushing power of the Romulan's fist colliding with her. It hurt like hell and caused her to step back a bit but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

Kirk had gotten up from his position on the ground and quickly tried to help Audrey combat the other Romulan. Nero took this opportunity to escape leaving Kirk and Audrey to fight the lone Romulan once he heard that Spock had escaped with the black hole device. Nero ordered, "Capture her alive. I want to skin her alive in front of HIM!"

"Captain! Go! I can handle this!" Audrey waved him to leave keeping her eyes focused on the enemy.

"I won't leave you here alone!" Kirk firmly told her.

Audrey shoved Jim in the other direction never taking her eyes off the enemy and threw him her phaser. She yelled, "Find my father Jim! GO!" Kirk hesitated but quickly nodded and rand down the corridor. The Romulan tilted his head ever so slightly in amusement at the petite little human girl who stood before him. 'Handle him?' he thought. A smirk came to his lips. 'We'll see about that.'

Just before Kirk entered the next hallway, he turned around to see the Romulan pull out a phaser on Audrey. "NOOOO!" he yelled dreading the outcome of the next few seconds. The Romulan shot Audrey with the phaser set to stun as per Captain Nero's orders. He had expected her to fall unconscious to her feet, but to both Kirk and the Romulan's surprise Audrey's body stepped back against the force of the impact but did not go down. She began making her advance towards the Romulan. The phaser went off twice more and hit Audrey but it did not stop her advance. The Romulan's phaser was torn out of his hands and his body flew off the platform onto the next platform several meters down from the force of Audrey's kick to his chest.

Kirk was stunned. What the fuck just happened? How was that even possible? The force of the phaser should have immediately dropped her but instead it seemed to fuel her advances. Suddenly he felt as though the woman he knew wasn't the woman that was in front of him. It chilled his bones and when Audrey turned to look at him with such a lack of emotion, he involuntary shivered. She didn't say anything but simply jumped off the platform to finish off the Romulan. What Kirk didn't know was that the Audrey he knew was miles away. Her conscious emotional mind had faded to the background as her fighting instincts and battle mind came to the front. There was only one present thought in her mind: the mission.

Not only was he shocked to see Audrey's abilities but he was shocked to see her aboard Nero's ship. However he had no time to ponder about the fact that she had defied his orders. He needed to find Captain Pike because had little time before Spock would execute his part of the plan. The captain came to another large room and spotted Captain Pike strapped to what seemed to be a medical table lying in the center of the room. Approaching the medical table, Kirk took out the Romulan guarding Pike and began to unstrap him.

"What are you doing here?" rasped Captain Pike. His eyes were filled with relief at seeing the young cadet.

"Just following orders." Kirk never had the chance to see the two Romulans coming up from behind. Pike grabbed Kirk's phaser and blasted one but missed the other. Just as the other Romulan was about to fire, his neck snapped and the Romulan fell to the ground revealing a woman wearing a red shirt. Quickly, Kirk hoisted Pike off of the table and yelled, "Enterprise now!" and the three of them were engulfed in white swirls of light.

"Nice timing, Scotty." Kirk's voice could be heard as the three of them reappeared on the transporter pad on the Enterprise. "Where's Spock?" It was then that the Audrey everyone knew and loved came back from the recesses of her mind. However, dread filled Audrey's heart when she heard the silence. Did Spock not make it? A million thoughts flew by and her eyes searched frantically from face to face hoping somebody would answer Kirk. He couldn't die… not like this… not without her telling him she was sorry.

"I am on the bridge Captain. Please hurry." Spock's voice could be heard from over the intercom and she gave a sigh of relief. He was safe.

Quickly Kirk and Audrey made their way to the bridge and Audrey relieved the officer covering for her. Kirk offered support to Nero which he rejected with distaste. Kirk smiled and then said, "Arm phasers. Fire everything we've got." He was hoping Nero would say that.

"Yes, sir!" Audrey quickly implemented the order and began to fire everything the Enterprise was equipped with. The Narada soon disintegrated into the black hole and Kirk issued the order to go home.

With Scotty's brilliant but risky plan, the Enterprise was able to get clear of the black hole despite substantial damage to the Enterpise. Once they got clear of the black hole and the blast, the bridge sighed with relief and chuckled at the absurdity of it all.

2258 – May 28 1700 hours

Audrey was sitting at her father's bedside in the medical bay holding his hand. She watched his peaceful face as he slept a dreamless sleep. As though he sensed Audrey's presence, Captain Christopher Pike began to stir. "Hey dad." She said softly.

Christopher Pike opened his eyes and smiled. "Hey there baby girl." His face now awake looked haunted but still his relief at seeing her face brought tears to her eyes. Pike with difficulty sat up and wiped his daughter's tears. "Hey there now. It'll be okay. Everything's all right now."

Audrey smiled and laughed a little at the irony. Here she was crying when it was her father who had been through the torture and the pain. "I missed you."

He chuckled his eyes twinkling. "Baby girl thank you for coming back for me."

"I'll always be there to protect you dad." It was one of the reasons why she was able to complete the rigorous training she had to complete. She would never admit it to her father because he would be upset but she knew it to be true in her heart.

"That's my line baby girl. But I'm glad you were there." Pike smiled. "Have you talked to Jim yet?"

Audrey sighed. "Yeah I did. He gave me a shit ton of crap about leaving the Enterprise and defying his orders." She squeezed his hand. "Dad, we're going to have to tell him and Spock. I haven't told him anything yet and told him to report this to the High Command. I think it will become imperative to tell the First Commander at least from now on. Not only that, but I think Leo should know too. It makes me uneasy especially since he's bound to find something strange if I ever end up in the medical bay."

Pike nodded grimly. "The High Command will probably come to the same conclusion. If they do tell them, the High Command will most likely reference your past and the conclusions the scientists have made… Have you changed your decision on knowing?"

Audrey vigorously shook her head. "Dad I know the extent of what I can do and I know what my blood can do. But I don't want to know anything more. I don't want to know about what the bloody scientists think about where my blood comes, how it came to be, or any of that. I don't remember and I don't care to remember. Dad, I'm happy where I am right now."

Pike had a sad expression on his face as he listened. "I understand, baby girl, and I'll make sure the High Command is aware of that." It was then Christopher Pike coughed suddenly his face grimacing in pain. Bones appeared quickly by his side and helped him to ease the pain.

"Dad, Leo will take care of you. I'll leave you to rest." She bent over kissed her father's forehead as he closed his eyes. She turned to Bones and squeezed his arm giving him a small appreciative smile. "Thanks Leo." Bones smiled back and absentmindedly stroked her arm. He stepped aside to let her leave as he tended to Captain Pike's wounds.

Audrey and Leo had already had a discussion on her decision to leave the Enterprise to help Kirk and Spock. It had been hard for her and for him. It was hard for Audrey because she couldn't tell him the full truth. She couldn't give him what he wanted because she was bound by orders. It was hard to Bones because he was genuinely worried. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't come back and it scared him shitless. He didn't press further because he knew that she was giving all she could even if it wasn't everything and although it frustrated the hell out of him he knew there was nothing he could do. Bones wasn't the type of guy to wait, he had a terrible temper, but for her he would try.

After leaving the medical bay, Audrey found Spock waiting in front of her quarters. She was tired but she knew that it was imperative to their friendship that they had this talk. "Hello, Spock." Audrey smiled.

Spock felt his heart skip a beat. It was as though he had not seen Audrey's smile in a lifetime. When he had beamed back to the ship before Kirk and Audrey, he panicked when he heard that Audrey had beamed aboard the Narada after them. She had placed herself in unspeakable danger doing that and it almost rendered him catatonic until he had heard that they had all safely beamed aboard the Enterprise. "Audrey. I would like to privately discuss some matters at hand."

Audrey frowned slightly at his formality. "Yes, we can speak in my quarters." She opened the door to her rooms and led him inside. "Would you like some tea?"

Spock shook his head and held up a hand. "No, that is not necessary." Audrey nodded and took a seat in the living room. Being a commanding officer had its perks including spacious living quarters. Spock took up the seat in front of her and began to speak.

"Audrey, it has come to my and the Captain's attention that you have deliberately defied orders when you passed on command of the Enterprise to Cadet Hikaru Sulu and beamed aboard Nero's ship. Are you aware of the consequences of your actions? This will be brought to the High Command's attention." At Spock's cold tone, Audrey's expression fell. He was keeping her at a distance again and it saddened her.

Audrey sighed. "Yes I am aware of the consequences of my actions. I have already spoken to Captain Pike and Captain Kirk about it." She knew that because she was restricted from being able to tell Kirk and Spock about her true identity this would become a problem. It would be but a nuisance though because she knew that the High Command would dismiss the case.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "You have nothing to say about the matter to me?"

Audrey shrugged. "It'll be resolved before the High Command."

"I must inquire as to where this confidence or lack of caring comes from."

"I really cannot tell you more Spock. All will make sense soon I promise you. I just can't tell you now." Audrey apologized and felt a little guilt for being unable to tell her best friend about… well her lies regarding her identity. She was restricted from telling him the truth and she desperately wanted to do so.

Spock's temper flared and a little escaped his emotional control. It manifested in his next few words. "Friendship I recall is 'unconditional understanding and love' according to your definition. Friends 'tell each other what they wouldn't tell anybody else' and yet you are withholding information from me. Are we no longer friends? Would you rather prefer the company of Dr. McCoy or perhaps the Captain?" Spock spat these words out almost hoping that they would affect her negatively in some way. Audrey was horrified that Spock was questioning her friendship her love for him. How could he? It hurt her more than angered her. "From the way the two of you showed your affection for each other and the Captains'… reputation, I can only presume that the two of you must be… I believe you humans call it… 'sleeping with each other'."

Audrey didn't understand where this anger was coming from and it made tears come to her eyes. The words stung her and left deep wounds on her already damaged heart.

Spock immediately regretted the words as soon as he saw her tears. It… hurt him to see her hurting and to be the cause of her pain… Spock felt his heart clench painfully and he had the urge to place his hand over his heart.

"I… I don't understand where this is coming from. I will always be your friend Spock. Until you push me away… Until the day where you don't want me there comes, I'll always stand by your side." Audrey's eyes were filled with sadness as she looked at Spock's dark face. "I can't tell you anything more about the situation. It is not out of choice that I cannot tell you… All I can say is that in due time, you will be told and come to understand why I did what I did."

Spock looked down and realized that he couldn't look at Audrey's face. He felt guilt at causing the sadness in her eyes and just couldn't continue to look at them. He nodded but his curiosity wasn't satisfied. If he couldn't have the answer to that now, then he wanted to know about Kirk and the Doctor. "And the Captain? I do not want to have to recite Star Fleet regulation but if I must I will."

Audrey's face grew slightly angry at his words. "Spock I will tell you what you want but there is no need for you to say that to me. Star fleet regulation? Excuse me? If anybody needs to have regulation recited to them, it should be you. How dare you say that to me? Jim and I are good friends. No more and no less. You have known me and the relationship I have had with him ever since I met him. I was his professor, his commanding officer and his friend. That is all."

Spock's face grew troubled as he listened to her. She was right as she frequently was. He had no right to inquire about her personal relations in such a way especially since he was in a relationship with Nyota that would equally be frowned upon by the Board. "I'm… sorry. That was a poor decision on my behalf to phrase that the way I did."

"You got that right!" Audrey growled. She sighed putting her face in her hands. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking again. "And Leo… I don't know about Leo, Spock."

Spock's face snapped up at those words. There was more to her emotions regarding the doctor than simple friendship it seemed. "You have said those words before at the New Years' Party when you expressed your interest in him."

"I really don't know what's going to happen, Spock. Things have been so hectic lately. I… I'd like to think he was interested in me as well… but I just don't know. Right now, Daddy is my top priority." This answer would have to suffice for now, but her words left a heavy weight in Spock's stomach. He was disturbed by these thoughts but he couldn't bring himself to press her.

"I understand." He said pulling Audrey into a hug as the tears in her eyes seemed to be on the verge of falling. Spock understood that she needed comfort at that moment and he would provide what comfort he could. He felt better knowing that she felt safe in his arms when their minds touched once more. "I am sorry Audrey for the way I had behaved earlier regarding my decision to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet." Spock spoke to her gently conveying his apologies through the bond.

"No Spock, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. It was logical what you did." At these words, Spock held Audrey a little tighter glad that their friendship had survived these rocky events. "Spock, just promise me you won't push me away. No matter what happens don't keep me out."

"I have no intention of doing that Audrey. You are decidedly one of the most precious people in my life and now… one of the few." Audrey felt a wave of sadness and loneliness flooding her mind at the thought of the loss of Vulcan. She sent him her love for him for what it was worth hoping that it would help fill that void left in his mind and heart.

"You better get going. Jim's going to want you bright eyed and bushy tailed for the landing on earth tomorrow." Audrey said softly ending the embrace. She still had her eyes closed and Spock couldn't help but study her face. He began to commit the details of her face to memory. How long her eyelashes were, how the beauty mark rested near the left corner of her full lips.

"I do not understand. Vulcans do not have tails." Audrey opened her eyes to see Spock's eye brow raised in question. She let out a small laugh and kissed his cheek. This was the Vulcan that she had grown to love as a friend.

"It means to be excited for something, Spock. Just one of those sayings that humans made up for the fun of it. I love teaching you about human culture. I only wish we had more time to do so." She said wistfully.

"There is always time, Audrey." Spock did not understand her words but Audrey refused to answer as she ushered him to the door.

"Good night Spock."

"Good night Audrey." Spock replied before the door closed. He stood there for another 45 seconds staring at where her face had been. His hand touched his cheek where her lips touched his skin and remembered how those soft lips felt and how a jolt of electricity ran through his body leaving him breathless. These emotions were strange and unfamiliar to him. Why was he having these emotions about Audrey all of a sudden? He would need to meditate on this to find an answer.