The Enterprise part 2

Jamie stood in the dimly lit bridge, the atmosphere thick with tension. The once bustling command center of the Starship Enterprise was eerily quiet, save for the hum of the ship's engines and the occasional beeping of the consoles. Captain Pike lay on a stretcher, his injuries severe but stable, while the remaining crew members exchanged fearful glances.

The traitor, a person they had once trusted - should have been to be trusted, had eliminated all senior staff members, leaving the crew in disarray.

'I told Pike I didn't trust him,' Jamie thought and she mouthed to Bones, nodding her head in Pike's direction. "How's he doing?"

The glance she receives tells her all she needs to know. They needed to get to safety - fast.

Several glances around at the crew and she notices that no one is in the right frame of mind. She had been training for this carefully under Pike's supervision. Now was not the time for careful. Now was the time to break the promise she had made to him when she had entered Starfleet.

"Lass, what are you thinking?" Scotty whispered to her.

Jamie gave him a wink.

"I'm taking back control of this ship." Jamie finally replied leaving her plan of how to do so within her thoughts. 'By breaking the law.'

Jamie jolted upright in her bed, her heart pounding in her chest, drenched in a cold sweat. The remnants of the nightmare clung to her consciousness, vivid and terrifying. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she tried to shake off the lingering images. With a shudder, Jamie hugged her knees to her chest, trying to calm herself.

"Get a grip of yourself, Kirk, it's only a memory," she tells herself, "It's in the past, the crew is safe. You are the Captain and Pike is an Admiral. He likes to bust your gut for never being on time and you like to steal all his best staff."

Jamie feels herself calming. This always happens just before the crew and her ship are due to set off on a mission she dreams about what happened. She glanced at the clock beside her bed. It was 3:00 AM. "Well, that's more sleep than the last time." It had taken her some time to figure out why the memory reoccurred just before setting off but then she realises just how stupid she was to not think of the reason in the first place. She's worried it's going to happen again. It's why she hand-picks her team. It's why she interacts with all her staff before they are assigned to her ship. Not one member of her crew is allowed to feel insignificant. She's worked very hard over the last years establishing that ethos.

She clenches her dominant hand. Not out of rage. To remind herself that she is in control.

"Spock starts in a few hours. Do not give the Vulcan a reason to think you are not in the mentally right frame of mind," she mutters to herself, "you do not need him throwing you off the bridge on his first day."

Jamie groans, getting out of bed, "I need to stop talking to myself. He is going to think exactly just that."

'God, I hope Pike warned him about what I'm like to work with.'

Jamie heads to her ready room knowing she will be unable to return to sleep. "Stupid ten-hours between your shifts rule who ever came up with that idea?"

"You did."

Jamie snapped her head around to the voice that had spoken. Bones. Her best friend.

"I wasn't looking for an answer. Couldn't sleep?"

"Not overly well. But then I dislike flying so I have every reason to not sleep well. Thought I'd find you awake, I'm assuming you had the same dream again?"

Jamie nodded. They were silent for a moment.

"It's different now. You have us - your team - one sign of trouble and well he's out of here. You know that. You've got to stop feeling responsible for what we lost all those years ago. It wasn't your fault."

"It's the first time we've had someone fill the role of First Officer in three years Bones."

"Four really, I didn't do much that first year -"

"You looked after me."

"Just doing my job" Bones shrugs his shoulders. "He was in the mess hall last night - seemed to be looking for someone or at least if he was human that would have been exactly what I thought he was doing at least."

"What do you make of him?"

"Jamie, let me tell you something about that green-blooded, pointy-eared Vulcan you pointed First Officer. At first glance, you might think Spock's all logic and no heart, and you'd be right about the logic part. He's about as emotional as a rock. But don't let that fool you. When I first heard Spock was joining the team, I had my reservations. After all, how could someone so devoid of human sentiment fit in with a bunch of passionate, sometimes irrational humans? You've seen his file, and you know he is more than up to the challenge of the job, and in reality, you need someone willing to keep you in check. You met him and he passed that gut feeling check test of yours. If you think he can be trusted then so do I."

"How do you always know what to say?"

"J," Bones replies half-heartedly giving her a knowing look, "I always know what to say. Most of the time you choose not to listen."

"You'd get bored if I did."