Doctor Meredith Anderson hurried up the white marble stairs of Starfleet Medical Academy not wanting to be late for her meeting. Being a civilian exobiologist meant that she didn't have to worry about kissing the ass of admirals, but still, she wanted to make a good first impression. The higher ups at StarFleet had decided that working with scientists not tied to their organization would expand the knowledge obtained when dealing with new worlds.
She showed her ID to security after passing through various checkpoints along the way. She was trying to look like she should be there. Her boss had told her on numerous occasions that he was first in line for this new opportunity but that they'd offered her a chance to seem fair to women. She knew he was full of shit, but she had just smiled and gone back to her own research. Now she was going to find out if she was going to be on a Starfleet ship, heading out to distant planets. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit excited to be considered.
Not everyone was convinced that civilians even belonged on starships, but it wasn't unheard of to have one or two aboard. Usually, however, they were the spouses or other family members of officers, just along for the ride. Meredith would be the first team leader for exobiology not connected with Starfleet. That is, if she made her meeting on time.
The doors to the conference hall whooshed open, allowing Meredith to quickly enter, sizing up the other occupants of the sterile, yet tasteful room. The eyes of four highly ranked officers and one very annoyed civilian scientist stared at her, and she smiled brightly as she placed her briefcase on the long black table in front of her.
"You're late," Jefferson Humphries, senior biologist and all around jerk, announced. "I was just explaining to the council that I have the needed skills to head the new team. My research over the last decade has been very important and has shown my ability to lead. Your tardiness is just one more reason you shouldn't be in the running."
It was no secret that Humphries did not think Meredith was up to this task, he believed that most women didn't have the sense to keep their mouths shut when smarter men were in the room. The fact that he had been her superior for the last two years only made their mutual dislike for each other more pronounced.
Meredith's dark green eyes stared the man down for a long moment, but just as she was going to say something, a Vulcan male stood up and motioned for her to take a seat.
"Dr. Anderson is 3.2 minutes early." As she sat down, she shot the Vulcan officer a quick smile. There weren't many Vulcans in StarFleet, but the ones she had met had always been quite professional. The others greeted her warmly, and the disgruntled Dr. Humpries still stood at the front of the room, scowling.
Admiral Chivelle, a tall, smiling human woman spoke next. "Doctor, we are most pleased that you could join us. We have looked over the qualifications again, and are confident that you will be an asset to StarFleet. Dr. Humphries is here to sign off on your transfer. Once done, you will get your assignment."
"I didn't bring the files needed to do that, I thought this was just another interview for her. My office will need time to assemble the needed documentation. Say in about a month?" Humphries smirked, but the Vulcan officer, Captain Soval spoke again.
"We have the 'needed documentation' here. All you need to do is sign it." He slid a PADD over to the surprised man. "One signature, and you will be free to go back to your important research."
Lieutenant Carter, an Andorian male smiled, showing sharp teeth. His blue skin and stark white hair gave him an exotic appearance, and Meredith couldn't look away. His antennae tilted forward as if they were sentient. Meredith knew this meant the lieutenant was looking at Humphries as a potential threat.
"Dr. Humphries, we are well aware of your research and insist that you continue it here on Earth, where we can all benefit from whatever arises from your actions." Yep, sounded like a veiled threat. Meredith had no wish to know what that was about. Andorians were skilled assassins. That's all she needed to know.
She nodded to the four officers again, ready to get started.
"Does this mean I am officially with the project?"
"Not without my approval," Humphries spat. "I haven't given that."
The fourth being, a pig faced Tellarite named Griv Stanos stood up and pointed at Humphries. "You. Sign the PADD now and leave. The real work is beginning and it is between us and Dr. Anderson. You are no longer needed in this endeavor." Tellarites were argumentative by nature, but mostly to entertain themselves. Meredith got the feeling that this was more….personal.
She also realized that the four officers each represented one of the four founding members of the Federation. Was that by chance or design? While she pondered her many questions, Major Filorsh again motioned for her boss to sign the PADD that would free her from working with such a misogynist creep.
"Thank you, Dr. Humphries, we will of course be keeping a close eye on your personal research in case it presents opportunities to better our understanding of the project." The admiral's words were final, and Humphries had the sense to not argue with her.
"Don't think this is over, Anderson," he growled as he left. "Once they see how useless you are, they'll come crawling back to me." He glared at the others and left in a show of testosterone and greed. Meredith turned back to the four officers, smiling brightly.
"Thank you for this opportunity, I look forward to working with whatever ship you have me assigned to."
"Glad to hear it," Admiral Chivelle said, smiling back, "your shuttle to the Enterprise leaves in less than an hour. I suggest you pack whatever personal items you think you'll need; your research has already been sent ahead of you."
Meredith stood there, stunned. Then realizing she now had less than an hour to get to her new job, she hastily thanked them again and ran out of the room.
"Do you think he'll give up?" Chivelle asked no one in particular. Stanos growled low in his throat, glaring at the door the two scientists had walked through.
"No. But neither will we."
The others agreed, and started making plans for the next phase in their mission.
Christopher Pike sat in his ready room, reading paperwork sent over from some office called the "Federation Undersecretary of Continuing Knowledge". He'd been warned that there was a chance they'd be bringing a civilian on board and he was not happy about it. Civilians didn't follow orders, they were constantly in the way, and they talked to officers like children. Okay, maybe that last part was more of how his mom still talked to him, but still, civilians stayed in cities and StarFleet officers got to go into space. Those were the rules, he didn't make them up, he just followed them.
The doors opened and Una, his First Officer entered, her face a mixture of humor and apprehension. Sitting across from her captain, she folded her arms across her chest and waited. He was not happy with the situation, but she'd wait to hear it from the man himself.
"Something you needed, Number One?" Chris asked, sighing as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair. He really needed a trim, but honestly, who had time with biologists coming on board disrupting his routine.
"Usually when we are alone, you remember my actual name," Una smirked. "Number One in this setting means something is irking you."
"I am not irked. What I am is," he paused, glaring down at the orders again. "All right, I'm irked," he admitted with his fingers forming quotation marks at the last word, his expression a bit annoyed. "We just finished the refit for Enterprise, we have orders that aren't throwing us into another war with anyone, and I finally - finally have a bit of time to myself when I'm not on duty. What am I supposed to do with a," he shuddered, "civilian biologist?"
"It's my understanding that she will be working closely with the medical staff. You won't have to see her unless a new species suddenly appears in your ready room." Una's dry delivery did nothing to soothe Pike's nerves, which made her smile widely. "Are you more irked, Captain?"
Chris rolled his blue eyes, looking more like a petulant teenager than a highly respected captain. Public relations, that was all this was. Put some brainiac on the fleet's flagship and parade around for a couple of months extolling the virtues of working together for the betterment of mankind.
"You do realize you said that last part out loud, right Chris?" Una stood and motioned to the door. "You may want to not do things like that when our scientist beams aboard in ten minutes."
"Ten - what? She wasn't supposed to be here until later, no one tells me anything about this ship."
"You are the captain, why would you want to know what's going on?" Una asked, an innocent smirk on her face.
Pike grinned at his first officer, and the two made their way to the transporter room to greet their newest passenger. He nodded to the various crew members they passed along the way. He liked to think he was a fair captain, and hoped that there wouldn't be too much disruption having an unexpected guest on board.
"So what do we know about this biologist?"
"You've read her file. She's been offworld three times, twice under the supervision of Dr. Jefferson Humphries."
"Humphries? That idiot who tried to convince the Havann war council to fight over bean sprouts or something?" He neatly side stepped some workers repairing a console in the wall and kept moving.
"The same. He actually was trying to save a plant that was in no danger of being destroyed since it grows so rapidly it is a menace to crops. The Federation pulled him from that assignment. You might also be interested to learn that Dr. Anderson was the one who contacted the Science Council about it before a way could actually start. It was kept quiet, but there is quite a bit of speculation about Humphries competency."
"And you have this information because?"
"Well, the official files never really give the complete story, Captain. I like to be informed on anyone who becomes involved with this ship. It is my job to stay on top of things, right?"
He gave her an amused grin and they entered the transporter room just in time to see someone materialize onto a pad on the floor. The visitor was short, and her dark brown hair framed her face bringing attention to her eyes. They were wide with some emotion he didn't recognize. It wasn't fear exactly, but he could tell she was not a fan of transporters.
Giving her a quick, appraising glance, he noted that she was a bit on the heavy side, but still carried herself with a kind of practiced grace. She wasn't intimidated. He could respect that. His blue eyes met her caramel ones and she gave a small smile to him that had him speechless for a moment.
Stepping forward, he extended a hand. "Good afternoon, Doctor Anderson. I'm Captain Christopher Pike and this is my First Officer who I fondly refer to as Number One as she thinks she runs the ship without me." He was being charming, and had no clue why. She wasn't really his type, and she didn't seem that interested in his charm. Inwardly, he shrugged. He couldn't turn off his incredible personality, he supposed.
The first officer stepped around him, shaking Meredith's hand. "You can call me Una, if you'd like. We aren't big on formalities with visitors. Your equipment has been moved to your lab, and supplemented with a few additions the Science Council believes may be of use. We are very pleased to have you on board."
Pike nodded. "Quite. Well, I will let Number One escort you to your quarters. You have an hour to freshen up or relax or - something until our official first meeting in my conference room. You can meet my science officer Spock and he can fill you in on any Federation expectations for your first journey with us. Ladies," he nodded at both of them and walked out, almost tripping on the floor. Odd, there wasn't anything impeding his walk. He shrugged it off, heading back to the Bridge and the relative peace he could find there.
He found himself thinking of his new passenger. She wasn't a beauty from normal standards, but she had beautiful eyes. He sighed, he didn't know where that thought had come from. He had no interest in her, or any woman really. His ship and their mission always had to come first. Still, her voice had a sweet quality and he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to hearing it again. Just because it made a nice change from hearing Spock's logical tone. Nothing more. Satisfied that he was again in control of his random thoughts, Pike sat in his captains chair and started discussing the ship's departure from dry dock with his helmsman.
Una smiled, which changed her face from stern officer to possible friend. Motioning for Meredith to follow, the two walked towards the turbolift that would take them to where the crew had their living space. She introduced Meredith to a few people they met along the way, and the doctor could feel some of her anxiety lessen. She tried not to think about her previous boss and his hurtful words, but that was the thing about depression and anxiety. They were like two constant companions, no matter how one tried to ignore them.
"So," Meredith asked, "I haven't had a chance to do more than glance at the ship's schematics. Do people get lost on a ship this size? Because I can guarantee I will."
Una whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "People do. I've been known to walk into an empty office when heading for the library. And Captain Pike gets turned around every now and then when he's not watching where he's going."
Meredith paused in her walk, a concerned expression clouding her eyes. "Captain Pike didn't seem pleased to have me onboard."
Una tilted her head, "Why would you say that? He's happy to have such a well respected scientist on board. We all are. Of course Spock won't say anything to make you believe that, but Vulcans are reticent on most emotional exchanges. He's a good officer though, and you'll be working with him the most."
"Oh, I look forward to meeting him then." She seemed hesitant. "Una, how does the captain really feel about being saddled with a civilian scientist? I want to be starting on the right foot, and would like to understand, well, where I stand from the beginning."
They reached what would be her quarters and Una showed her the code to get into them. As they entered, Una patted Meredith's shoulder.
"Captain Pike is someone who puts the safety of his ship and her crew first. If he didn't think you were a good fit, you wouldn't be on board." She showed her where her bathroom was, and Meredith was surprised to see all of her favorite products there. Una gave her a knowing look.
"StarFleet does its research, Doctor. I'll leave you for a bit and come back to escort you to the conference room. We really are honored to have you here." With that, the first officer took her leave, and Meredith was left to have a cup of hot tea from the replicator and get her thoughts together for the upcoming meeting. She would not think about blue eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. She wasn't his type, and that was absolutely fine with her.