Thirteen
'Kid's gonna get us all killed at the rate he's going.'
'At this point I'd sooner be happy knowing that Harrison was taken in without it leading to a firefight.'
'Just try and work on keeping Kirk in line.'
Emily nearly rolled her eyes at Leonard's remark. She knew he was annoyed with Jim's behavior, and she couldn't quite blame him for his annoyance. They had been keeping in touch with each other through their mental link since the shuttle arrived on the Enterprise. Since Leonard was the Chief Medical Officer, he needed to report to his station before the ship officially left for said mission. Once the shuttle reached its destination, everyone got ready for the mission looming ahead. And everyone was on edge for the reason behind said mission. Only a few people knew the reason they were leaving in the first place, and those who did were keeping quiet about it until Jim announced it over the com.
Like Leonard, she was also frustrated with the way Jim was handling said mission. It was bad enough that he wanted to treat the mission in question as nothing more than a quest for revenge. What pissed her off more than anything else was that she understood what Jim was going through. A shiver of unease swept through her as she recalled the year she went after those men. Those had been darker days, back when she and Leonard hadn't been talking and she'd been on the verge of spiraling out of control. She was forever grateful that people like Coulson and even Clint had been there to help pull her out of that mess. But now, someone needed to be told that they couldn't allow themselves to be swallowed by the darkness.
She made her way towards the nearest turbolift when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Emily glanced at Uhura in surprise as the communication's officer jogged after her. She looked equally unhappy with what they were about to do. Though, Emily suspected that Uhura had other reasons for being so unhappy. She'd seen the tension between Uhura and Spock since they started preparing for this mission. Uhura had even gone as far as taking a separate shuttle to avoid confronting the First Officer.
The tension between them hadn't gone by unnoticed. After seeing the way he acted in the volcano, Emily wasn't too surprised that Uhura was so unhappy with Spock. But she had a feeling the Vulcan didn't even know why Uhura was annoyed with him. He just went on with his job and tried to pretend that everything was okay between them.
That's no way to handle any relationship, she thought as she recalled how Leonard's relationship with Pamela spiraled out of control. Another shiver swept through her as she recalled the many times she and Leonard had gotten into arguments before he chose Pamela over her. But she knew that Pamela had only been interested in the money and fame that came with dating a doctor.
That was what had left her feeling so resentful towards Pamela. The redhead hadn't even been interested in who Leonard really was, whereas she never wanted him to change. She shook her head at the thought, realizing that dwelling on it wouldn't get her anywhere.
Spock was Vulcan, and in many ways, he was still learning many of the emotional aspect's humans retained. Being new to a relationship meant there were still things he didn't understand, such as Uhura's annoyance towards his recent behavior. So in a way, Emily understood why he was so confused with her.
"Are you alright?" Uhura asked when she finally reached the turbolift before the doors could close on her. "Spock told me that you were there during the attack on Daystrom."
Emily swallowed hard as she caught Jim out of the corner of her eye approaching them as well. She wasn't in any mood to talk with him around, but she knew that Uhura meant well. They had slowly but surely been getting to know one another since they started working together. It wasn't easy working in close proximity with people she knew nothing about, and Leonard had encouraged her to at least try getting along with other crew members. So, she chose to talk with a different crew member from the command crew at least once a week as a result.
It amazed her at how quickly she had begun to adapt to those talks. She quickly learned new things about the command crew each week, and in doing so, they had all become good friends of hers. Uhura was one of them – while there was still some tension between them because of Spock, they still talked and liked to keep in touch with each other while they weren't on duty.
Her old roommate Gaila had also been another friend of hers that she kept in touch with as often as she could. Gaila had been assigned to another ship after the events with Nero. Since the Farragut had been destroyed during Nero's attack, Gaila wanted to work on a different vessel once she was given the opportunity.
"Of course he did," Emily nearly rolled her eyes at the mention of Spock. She had her own reasons for being so annoyed with the half-Vulcan. Spock's tendency to file reports for the slightest reason had irritated her to the point where she wished she could rip the bangs off of his forehead. "Damn pointy-eared bastard couldn't keep his mouth shut when I knew nothing about the cameras that were installed."
Uhura rose an eyebrow in surprise when Emily brought that up. Apparently, Spock hadn't told her what he reported on Jim and herself. Somehow, she wasn't surprised with that notion. He probably thought he was doing the crew a favor in filing a report on anyone who didn't follow the regulations. And while she understood why he needed to do so, it annoyed her that he couldn't bend the rules just a little for the sake of protecting himself and the people who cared about him. When she first started working for SHIELD, the first thing she was taught was that the rules could be bent in her favor. While some had never approved of such methods, they usually ended up working in her favor.
"He never mentioned anything of that sort," she remarked thoughtfully.
"Of course he didn't," Emily scoffed under her breath. "I never intended to spy on anyone. Those cameras were installed without my consent thanks to SHIELD."
"I'm sure you didn't," Uhura nodded in agreement. "You don't seem like the type of person who would do something like that."
She wasn't sure how to handle the situation – not that Emily couldn't blame her. She wasn't trained for something like this. To know that the agency, one she once worked with for years, had suddenly betrayed her was worse than she could ever imagine. She should have seen it coming. After all, Coulson never wanted her to join the agency. He had been hoping she would find some other outlet for her abilities, like Leonard had.
Her shoulders sagged in relief when Jim finally reached the turbolift. While she was perfectly comfortable talking with Uhura, that didn't mean she felt comfortable around the conversation they were having. And Jim didn't certainly make things any easier with the odd looks he gave both of them. Emily crossed her arms over her chest and tried to maintain her composure throughout the ride to the bridge. Though that was easier said than done when Jim threw her a self-conscious look.
Thankfully, Uhura took the initiative to break the awkward silence as they rode the turbolift towards the bridge, "Captain, I'm so sorry about what happened to Admiral Pike."
Jim was quiet for a few seconds as Emily realized that wasn't necessarily the right thing to say. Uhura knew how much Pike had meant to Jim. While she meant well, Emily couldn't help but chew the bottom of her lip doubtfully as she looked away. Pike's death had shaken them to the core in more ways than one. She knew that Jim always saw Pike as a father figure. Losing him was like a nail in the coffin, and it was something that Jim wouldn't take sitting down.
"We all are," Jim replied.
"Are you okay?" Uhura asked, looking at Jim warily.
She knew that Emily was anything but okay. Knowing that much meant that Jim was probably worse off. Instead of saying anything to the woman who could so much as kill someone if given the order, Uhura focused her attention on Jim in the hopes of getting him to talk. Not that Emily couldn't blame the communications officer. Uhura had always been intimidated by her presence, along with a few others. But they always respected one another, and Emily found herself grateful for that notion.
"Fine, thank you, Lieutenant," Jim nodded his thanks. Though, Emily could see a storm of conflict clouding his normally vibrant blue eyes. "Actually, Scotty just quit." Emily swallowed hard at the thought of Scotty. He had been anything but happy about the torpedoes that were currently sitting in engineering. He was right about it being a catastrophe waiting to happen. "And your boyfriend's second guessing me every chance he gets."
That was enough for Emily to narrow her eyes. Spock was making her life a living hell by telling everyone what had happened. He didn't seem to realize that his admittance was causing more harm than good. Though in his defense, Emily knew he couldn't exactly help it. Even so, she had a feeling that things weren't going to get much better after this. Especially when she saw Uhura shake her head slightly.
What bothered her more than anything was the notion that Scotty quit on the job. She knew things were going from bad to worse the moment the CEO quit on his Captain. Scotty had always seemed like a good engineer, so she was hardly surprised that he wasn't happy with the torpedoes that were being used as their main weapon.
"I'm sorry," he apologized after noticing neither of them had said anything. "That was inappropriate. It's just… sometimes I want to rip those bangs off his head. Hell, maybe it's me…"
"It's not you," Uhura replied almost immediately.
"It's not?" Jim frowned.
Emily was already running through the multiple scenarios that ran through her mind. She knew that Uhura had been unhappy with Spock's decision to stay in the volcano while it erupted. He could have died from that eruption if Jim hadn't saved him. He'd done so without any warning, and he didn't seem to care how Uhura would be affected by his death.
She thought back to what Leonard had said all those nights ago, and a shiver swept through her when she realized how similar they'd sounded. True, she knew not to push Leonard over the edge with her reckless behavior, but she was also not afraid to die. Maybe she was afraid of leaving the people she cared about behind, but that was a whole different story. Her ability to serve people and protect them was something that Leonard had never tried stopping. He knew that she would go behind his back regardless of what happened.
"I'd rather not talk about it," she replied, though something told Emily that it was something she didn't want to talk about in front of Jim.
"Oh my God, are you two fighting?" Jim blinked a couple of times, and his reaction only confirmed why Uhura was unwilling to talk about it around him. It was also another reminder why Emily and Leonard had been reluctant to tell him about their relationship, "What is that even like? Is it anything like when Em and Bones fight?" Emily restrained herself from punching him in the arm when he brought up the constant arguments that went on between herself and Leonard. Even Uhura looked slightly amused and annoyed with his last comment. The turbolift doors opened, and Spock was already waiting for them. "Your ears burning?" he quipped, moving to allow the two of them past.
She just rolled her eyes at that, before glaring at Spock. Considering how much he had been telling both Uhura and Leonard, she was anything but happy with the Vulcan. Instead of saying anything, she ignored Spock and brushed past him. She knew he would never understand what was happening, but she felt an odd sense of satisfaction showing an act of defiance around him.
"Keptain on the bridge!" Chekov announced.
If there was one crew member who always seemed to know when Jim was on the bridge, it was Chekov. Emily almost grinned as she suspected he enjoyed making the announcement. She had to admit, it was nice to hear some kind of enthusiasm during such dark times. Chekov always seemed to make everything a little brighter in such a dim situation.
"Captain," Sulu greeted Jim as he reached the bridge.
"Mr. Chekov, you've been shadowing Mr. Scott and Liaison Coulson, so you are familiar with Engineering systems of this ship?"
Emily rose an eyebrow in surprise at that. She had been working mostly down in engineering, where Scotty needed most of the help he could get from someone with capable hands. Since they started their year-long mission out in space, Chekov had been shadowing them both in an attempt to work in more than one field. She knew that working as the chief of any field was difficult work. Leonard had complained about it on more than one occasion, and while he preferred being in charge, that didn't make his job any easier. As a Liaison, her job was to work in every field possible where help was needed the most. In some aspects, they're jobs weren't too much different.
"Aye, sir," Chekov replied.
"Good," he patted Chekov on the back, "You're my new chief. Go put on the red shirt."
Chekov blinked at that. Emily could understand his sudden concern about having to wear a red shirt. There were enough myths and rumors flying around about people in red shirts being the first to die, and often in large numbers. Though, she suspected his surprise was more to the fact that Jim had thought of asking him at all.
"Aye, Keptain," he replied after a few seconds of silence had followed, standing up and doing just that.
"Retract all moorings, Mr. Sulu," Jim called after sitting in the chair.
"Yes, sir," Sulu nodded.
"Lieutenant Uhura, open a ship wide channel."
"Yes, sir." Uhura clicked a few buttons and nodded.
"Mr. Chekov, how are we looking down there?" he called to Engineering.
"All systems nominal, Keptain," came Chekov's reply.
"Copy that."
"Varp available at your command."
"Thank you, Mr. Chekov. Alright, lets ride."
"Yes, sir," Sulu reached out and sent them to warp.
"Channel open, sir," Uhura announced, bringing up the ship wide broadcast.
"Attention, crew of the Enterprise," Jim began, "As most of you know, Christopher Pike, former captain of this ship, and our friend, is dead. The man who killed him has fled our system and is hiding on the Klingon Homeworld, somewhere he believes we are unwilling to go. We are on our way there now. Per Admiral Marcus, it is essential that our presence go undetected. Tensions between the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been high, any provocation could lead to an all-out war."
She swallowed hard at the mention of Admiral Pike. Losing him hit her harder than she would have liked to admit. She felt more than guilty for what had happened. Sensing Jim's eyes on her, she looked away and tried to cast the uneasy thoughts away. Dwelling on such thoughts wouldn't get them anywhere. She needed to focus on the mission at hand, especially since Jim seemed to have lost his own ability to plan ahead.
"I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on the surface of Kronos, where we will capture the fugitive John Harrison, and return him to Earth so he can face judgment for his actions," he added after hesitating for a moment. He gave her a look, and she nodded reassuringly, hoping he'd understand that this was the right thing to do. "Alright, let's go get this son of a bitch, Kirk out."
"Captain," Spock called as Jim stood up. "I believe you made the right decision. If I can be of assistance, I would be happy to accompany you on the away team."
"You, happy?" Emily scoffed, raising an eyebrow as Spock looked between her and Jim.
As a Vulcan, she highly doubted Spock was capable of such emotions. Then again, she had to remind herself that he was also half-human. He had shown emotions before… when his mother passed away, it was obvious that her death affected him more than he would show. Then there was their time in the turbolift when Spock finally admitted that he missed his mother. It was the first time she had ever seen him reveal any emotions, and it reminded her of just how human he really was.
"I was simply attempting to use your vernacular to convey an idea," Spock replied.
"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Jim rolled his eyes before looking at Emily. "Look, I get that it's risky firing the torpedoes at Harrison," he sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
"I know, Jim," she replied, feeling her heart race with unease as their eyes met, "Revenge is… never the right answer. I've learned that the hard way; you of all people should know that."
Jim flinched at that. He only knew bits and pieces of her own past with SHIELD. She never did fully trust him enough after the way he'd spilled the beans about her working for the agency. While her standards hadn't changed much since that incident, at least they finally began to see eye to eye. He knew it would take time for them to forgive one another after what happened. But at least now they were off to a good start when it came to building trust.
"And that's why I'm going with you on the away team," she added, earning a look of surprise from Jim.
"Em, you know Bones is gonna kill me if I drag you along," he sighed, running a hand through his hair at the thought.
"All the more reason for me to join you on this mission," she replied, crossing her arms determinedly. She couldn't hide the small smile that followed when Jim glared at her, "I know Leonard won't be afraid to ring your neck if anything happens to anyone."
Jim looked as if he was ready to argue when he seemed to think better of it. Knowing what she could do while on mission terrified and fascinated him. He knew better than to argue with her, especially when he saw the value in bringing her along. She would gladly give her life to protect those around her… and as uneasy as he was with using her as a ploy, he knew she was right.
Though, he didn't get a chance to say that out loud when they all felt a terrible jolt from the ship. Emily barely managed to stay on her feet while everyone else and Jim got knocked over from the force of it. She bit back a groan, knowing that jolt meant the ship had gone out of warp.
"Mr. Chekov, did you break my ship?" Jim demanded after opening the com.
"Sorry, sir," Chekov apologized, his voice sounding rushed, "I don't know vhat happened. I had to actiwate the emergency stop."
"Chekov, the core's overheated," Emily called through the com after realizing what the problem was. She'd already returned to the computers to see that the system was overheated. "Check the cooling tank and find it as soon as possible."
"Understood," Chekov replied, "Sorry, Keptain."
"Damn it," Jim cursed under his breath. "Mr. Sulu, time to our destination?"
"Twenty minutes, sir," Sulu replied, "But that's twenty minutes in enemy space we weren't counting on."
Now Emily understood what the problem was. They were stuck in Klingon territory. If a passing ship happened to spot them, she had no doubts they wouldn't hesitate to attack. The Klingons had been advancing further into Federation territory, taking over planets or destroying entire colonies if they could. Unease swept through her at the thought. She knew they were sitting targets if the Klingons decided to attack them now.
"Alright, we better hop to it," Jim sighed in exasperation. "Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, Liaison Coulson, you're coming with me. Lieutenant, how's your Klingon?" He looked at Uhura.
"It's rusty, but it's good," she replied.
"Good, you're coming too. This isn't gonna be a problem, is it? You two, working together?" Emily could almost hear the chagrin in his voice as he looked between Spock and Uhura.
"Absolutely not," Uhura replied.
Spock rose an eyebrow.
"Unclear."
"I'll meet you in the shuttle bay," he told them before turning to Emily. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, and she only rolled her eyes.
"Positive," she replied firmly, before trying to hide the smirk that followed as Leonard reached them.
It was a good thing he'd only gotten half of that, because he seemed to already guess what the two of them were planning. Then again, he could already read her thoughts through their mental link. She nearly rolled her eyes when he commented on what a terrible idea it was. Her going with Jim meant that there was less of a chance he and the others would get killed. She had to reassure him of that, even if it made him any less happier.
"You're not actually going down there, are you?" he demanded, shooting them both an accusing look. She almost smirked when she caught him looking at her pointedly. "You don't rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tire."
"I'm sure Engineering will have us all patched up by the time we get back," Jim replied with a coy smile before reaching for the com, "Isn't that right, Mr. Chekov?"
"Yes, Keptain," Chekov replied through the com, sounding frazzled, "I'll do my best, sir."
"Mr. Sulu, you have the com. Once we're on route, I want you to transmit a targeted comm-burst to Harrison's location. You tell him you have bunch of real big torpedoes pointed at his head. If he doesn't play nice, you're not afraid to use 'em." She didn't miss the look in Sulu's eyes as he stared in surprise. "Is that a problem?"
"No, sir. I've just never sat in the chair before," he admitted sheepishly.
"You'll do great, Hikaru," Emily reassured him with an encouraging smile, knowing it was true.
If there was anyone she could rely on as a friend, it was Sulu. Jim simply nodded in agreement, and they were both about to leave for the shuttle bay when Leonard got in the way again.
"Jim, wait. You just sat that man down on a high stakes poker game with no cards and told him to bluff," Leonard shook his head, "Now, Sulu's a good man, but he's no Captain—"
"Well, for the next two hours he is. And enough with the metaphors, alright?" Jim retorted with a roll of his eyes. Emily couldn't hide the smirk that followed, knowing that when put under the pressure, Leonard had a tendency to use metaphors. "That's an order. Mr. Sulu," he turned his attention to Sulu, "make sure that the Knormian ship is ready to fly."
"We'll be fine, Leonard. And if you really wanted, he could always put you in charge," she added reassuringly as Leonard rolled his eyes.
Leonard made a face at the thought of being placed in that sort of position. He'd never been trained in the field of command, and he sure as hell wasn't in any hurry to take on that position. Still, it amused Jim at the thought of putting the good doctor in charge of everyone on the ship. He of all people knew that Leonard would more than likely put everyone in their place, which was partly why he'd chosen Sulu.
"It's not you I'm worried about," he admitted with a sigh before kissing her on the forehead. "Just make sure you both get back safely."
"I think we both know that's a promise neither of us can guarantee," she whispered, ignoring the scowl that followed.
.
.
"Acting Captain Sulu to shuttle bay two," Sulu's voice rang through the coms as the four of them, along with one other Security Officer, reached the shuttle bay. "Please have the trade ship we confiscated during mud incident last month, fueled and flight ready. Captain Kirk is on route to you right now."
'This mission is gonna end in miserable failure,' Leonard complained through their telepathic link.
Emily nearly rolled her eyes at the tone of his voice. She was hardly surprised with his annoyance, given the situation they were in.
'We'll be fine, Leonard. Nyota's with us too, so she'll help keep Jim in his place,' she reminded him knowingly.
She knew that didn't make him feel any better, but it was better than nothing.
Admittedly, Leonard was right when he had warned her about worrying over Jim. His reckless decisions thus far had gotten them stuck in enemy territory, with torpedoes that were fully capable of destroying the whole ship. She, Uhura and Spock had changed into outfits that resembled Knormian arms dealers in an attempt to blend in and make themselves less suspicious to the Klingons. Security Officer Hendoroff blinked in confusion when he noticed the outfit changes.
"Lieutenant," Jim greeted Hendoroff with a nod, "loose the red shirt. You are a Knormian arms dealer, put those on."
"Sir?" Hendoroff frowned in confusion.
"Look, if this thing goes south, there can be nothing tying us to Starfleet," Jim explained, "Unless, of course you wanna start a war, Mr. Hendoroff."
"No, sir."
"Good, me neither."
