I'M BACK! Ish...

Hello my lovely lovely readers! It's been too long! So much has happened since I last saw you all! So let me explain! There's too much. Let me sum up. Got married, moved to Florida, worked for the mouse, suffered through 2 hurricanes (I don't recommend), hated it, three years later moved to Colorado, worked for the Boy Scouts of America that sucked 80% of my time away, and now I finally have a new job where I can devote time to this story! Currently it's about 25% completed, but I am diligently working on it. I have it outlined, it's just sitting down and getting from A to B.

That's why this is just a teaser for the moment. Typically I don't post until the story is 75- 80% done and then post weekly to keep you guys engaged and myself to deadline. But it's been over four years since my last story and that's not fair to you.

So here I present the third in the ongoing story of Charlotte Noland! I do hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Per general rules, I own nothing of Star Trek whether that be plot similarities, characters, timeline, setting, etc. I do however own Charlie, original plots, and any other non-trek entities you may come across. Please do not use without permission.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or whatever you chose to believe in. Enjoy!


Chapter One: City of Angels

The sun was hot. The reflections off the crystalline structures magnified the rays like a lens over an ant. Charlotte Noland, a cadet at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco tried not to fidget in her seat as fighter planes flew overhead, a bead of sweat leisurely tickled down her back. She was in her regulatory dress blues for the occasion; a grey skirt and jacket combo that some genius decided had to be wool while a grey peaked cap kept the sun out of her dark eyes.

Her excitement knew no bounds. She had just completed her first year at the Academy, and although the other cadets were looking forward to a few weeks off in celebration, Charlie already had her first assignment. An assignment she couldn't believe had been granted to her, but one she worked the hardest for. Once the population of cadets heard the news, she knew there would be those who would congratulate her; happy to see she reached such a lofty goal. And there would be those on the opposite spectrum who were already jealous of her privileged state.

"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves."

Though the discomfort was there, sitting in her itchy stockings (why in two hundred years they couldn't come up with a better material?) and her shoes weren't the most comfortable pair she'd worn, nothing could stop the beaming smile that grew across her face as she sat front and center of the gathered assembly. Her eyes flickered around to the surrounding crew from the USS Enterprise, a Federation starship that meant as much to her as the man who stood at the podium with his hands clasped in front and his hat on the clear lectern. This crew, and the captain who stood before them, was a family Charlie had only dreamed about. And one she almost lost.

"Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us, but that's not who we are."

Two years. Had it only been two years? It seemed like yesterday she transported to a time so very different from her own. While she may have been born in the 20th century, she was now living over two hundred and fifty years in the future, and already the adventures she experienced went far beyond any she could have dreamed. Or the nightmares that still came when her guard was down. First, she had been kidnapped, forced to defend herself against a race larger, stronger, and more powerful than she could ever hope to be. Her survival only happened because of the very crew surrounding her. But she owed her life to the man standing in front.

As if that weren't enough, the head Admiral of Starfleet later demanded she be placed under their custody due to the sensitive nature of her arrival. The argument was to decide where her loyalties lied, but the truth was he wanted the power of the blood that coursed through her veins. Admiral Marcus believed her an augment, a superior being with the potential as a formidable weapon against an imagined foe. She was thought of only as a tool, like another who came from her time, but not her world. An enemy she never dreamed of meeting, and never envisioned the connection they'd share. But that connection, and that meeting set up a chain of events that razed her world to the ground.

She frowned, her eyes glassy as her attention turned from the commanding presence in front of her to the memories eleven months prior. The reflections of lifeless eyes, of dejected and unjustifiable pain, of a grief so deep her soul still held the scars from the torture. There was a solemn presence in those around her as many remembered the trials. But none more so than Charlie and the man who stood before her now, his blue eyes sharp as he scanned across those in front of him. He caught Charlie's dark gaze and held it longer than those around her, a warm and unspoken thought passing between the pair as their memories joined in unison.

Distantly, Charlie heard the grunt of exertion along with the mumble of a curse. She could still smell the dull air, a mix of recycled oxygen and sweat, and hear the echoes of struggle from the long road of rehabilitation. But mostly she remembered the stubbornness and the love, and how there couldn't be one without the other.

"Take it easy there, Killer or you're going to undo the last three weeks of progress. McCoy said take it slow."

Captain James T. Kirk gritted his teeth and rolled his blue eyes as he snapped his arms out to grab the parallel railings, leaning his weight onto his hands. He tried not to glare at the woman hovering next to his side, his focus instead on each agonizing step along twelve feet of mat in the therapy center, but the weakness in his limbs and the inactivity from his grounding at the hospital by Starfleet had his irritation spiking.

"I'm fine," he snapped as he stumbled forward, his intent to prove he could walk five steps unassisted but ended up catching himself as he collapsed after two.

Charlie, having just started her first semester at Starfleet Academy raised a dark brow as she crossed her arms, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Hmm, I can see that," she remarked dryly, making no move to assist the captain.

"Don't you have a class or something to get to?" Jim barked, pulling himself upright again and restarting the trek.

"Nope," she said with a pop, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Captain Fernell postponed our tactical drills until next week so you have me all day."

"Wonderful." Jim reached the end of the walk and gently twisted his arms to turn himself around to restart.

"Don't sound so excited," she frowned.

Jim sighed, sweat dripping from his brow causing his cropped hair to stick to his head. "It's not that I'm not glad you're here," he struggled while his arms and legs shook, adding more to his ill humor. "This just sucks on the best days. I don't need you hovering."

Her frown deepened. "I'm not hovering. I'm just making sure you don't land flat on your face. Besides, I have higher orders."

Jim snorted, feeling a small sense of accomplishment when he was able to make it to the end of the railings. His quick victory turned to one of disgust when he remembered all he had been able to do before and he plopped down with a dejected grunt of annoyance.

"Jim—"

"Charlie, don't," he barked, bracing a hand up as she reached down to help him. "Just don't."

She took a surprised step back before her irritation overcame her shock. "I get it. You're frustrated. I understand. But you died. Remember that?" she glared, Jim slanting a glance from the corner of his eye as he took a swig from a water bottle. "Your time had officially been called, and yet here you are walking, practically unassisted a month and a half later. Give yourself and those around you a break, okay? Most of us are just trying to help."

Jim puffed up his chest, ready to argue back when the air left his lungs in a great whoosh. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. I haven't been in the best moods lately." Charlie gave Jim a look somewhere between 'duh' and 'no shit.'

"This weakness is annoying," he continued, his hand landing on Charlie's knee as she sat cross-legged next to him. "My mind is clear, but my body won't listen. I tell my legs to move but they just sit there."

"I understand," she nodded, her smaller hand wrapping around his larger one. "You were mostly dead for a long time and although Miracle Max gave you that chocolate pill to bring you back, you're not going to be able to jump up and do a jig instantly."

Jim blinked at her. "Where do you get these references from?"

Charlie chuckled and rolled her eyes as she laid her head on Jim's shoulder, his own following as their fingers intertwined. "You love my nonsensical references. But if it wasn't for Uhura, and Spock, and McCoy—"

"Don't forget a certain obstinate military brat," Jim added with a nudge.

"Please, I was a wreck," she brushed off. "And besides, the only reason I went down to that garbage ship was so I could get a few of my own punches in. Spock couldn't have all the fun." They both grimaced, Charlie barely able to suppress a shudder from the memory of long fingers around her neck and the blackness of coming death. Gently, she shook the thoughts away, storing them for a later focus. "What I'm saying is patience, Jim. And this is coming from me. Patience, and I guarantee you, you'll be beating my eight-minute mile in no time."

"Eight minutes?" Jim feigned disbelief. "That's it? That's all you can do?"

Charlie lifted her head, her eyes narrowed in agitation. "Oh shut up. This is coming from the girl who hates running. I don't run. I'm like a dwarf, my legs are too short. But I am dangerous over short distances," she added with a smile, sitting up straighter.

Again, Jim rolled his eyes heavenward. "Apparently not that dangerous if you're only doing an eight-minute mile."

Asmile passed between Jim Kirk at the podium and Charlie Noland in the crowd as their attentions came back to the present. There was so much shared between the two. There was pain and joy. Fear and redemption. All of it cumulating in a bond that intertwined around the pair. The battles they'd faced, and the trials that were still coming only strengthened the admiration they had for each other. Life in Starfleet would never be easy. They both knew that. As Bone's had said, space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence. But there was life, and knowledge, and wisdom for the taking, should anyone be brave enough to grab it.

And like any relationship, there were fights. They were two individuals with different personalities and opinions, but their foundation came from the support they gave each other. They had gone to hell and come back, scarred but alive, and each passing day was a blessing they cherished.

Charlie smirked, one particular memory surfacing.

"I'm going to fail."

"You're not going to fail."

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not."

"How do you know?"

"I'm the captain. It's my job."

"That's not an answer. And technically I'm the captain."

"It's an answer, just not the one you want. Captain."

"Why did they elect me captain? I can't do this."

"Charlie," Jim sighed, stopping the pair on the sidewalk of campus and reaching up to grip her shoulders. "They elected you because they see what I see. What Pike saw. You've already taken on a Klingon warbird. You've beaten Khan at his own game. You've already done more for security than most first year officers. Your ATT security final will be a breeze."

Charlie drew her lip between her teeth, Kirk's eye unconsciously drawn downward. After a minute, she gave one sharp dip of her chin.

"Okay." She said, her voice cracking. "Okay," she tried again more firmly. "I can do this. I have done this. I will do this."

Jim smirked, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Go get 'em tiger. Just remember if you run into a problem, ask yourself what would I do?"

Charlie couldn't stop the laugh that erupted, her hand covering her mouth to contain the mirth that still shown through her eyes.

Jim had the decency to look hurt. "What?"

"Nothing. Sorry, it's nothing, I'm sorry I laughed," she said in-between giggles. "I have to go or I'll be late." She stood on her tiptoes, leaving a kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you after I'm done."

With that, she ran off, her bag thrown over her shoulder as her boots slapped on the sidewalk. Jim couldn't stop staring after her, her dark hair in a braid down her back and her dark jumpsuit more form fitting that he would have liked, especially as every male seemed to turn his head as she passed.

He breathed out a sigh, glancing upwards to the grey colored sky. He had a few meetings to go to, the refurbishment of the Enterprise only halfway done. He would work into the night, and if she wasn't back by midnight, he'd probably sleep in the flex office granted to him while his ship was in space dock.

The Advanced Tactical Training examinations could take well over twelve hours, especially the security final where the cadets are required to hold the bridge of a decommissioned ship for two hours. If the other team took over the bridge and pushed a button that activated their team color, the clock would restart and another two hours would have to pass.

Charlie was excited. She knew she had the best team at the command school; she handpicked them herself. The roaster included an Andorian with impressive strategic skills that almost rivaled her own, an Orion woman who could hack a computer faster than Charlie had ever seen, a Caitian who like the cat she mirrored could stalk and attack without so much as a sound, and finally another human, a giant man from the African continent who could crush a skull with one hand. And her team did not disappoint. For the first time in Starfleet Academy history, Charlie's team ambushed, captured, and held the bridge of the USS Cairo in under six hours, beating the record by twelve minutes.

Her strategy was simple. They had set up a perimeter in the air ducts surrounding the bridge, the lack of gravity allowing her team to wait silently for the rival team to make an appearance. With C'Tarr the Caitian, as bait, Charlie easily anticipated the rival captain's use of his whole team as a giant battering ram than to rely on their individual abilities. The minute they entered as a unit, Charlie struck. Nalisash, the Orion girl killed the power except for the communication station that began blasting 20th century rock music while C'Tarr pounced, knocking two of Alpha's members out. At the same time, both Ronian the Andorian and Amare the other human stunned the last two members, leaving the captain for Charlie. She floated out of the duct, her target the Arcturian captain Timnal. He hailed from a militaristic society, and that alone gave Charlie all the information she needed. The minute Ronian and Amare began firing, Timnal's attention would be drawn. She let loose two volleys of fire and that as they said was checkmate.

Back on solid ground, Charlie beamed, sweaty and exhausted as she disembarked the shuttle into the afternoon daylight. She turned her face up toward the sun, closing her eyes as she relished the feeling of victory. Her team had done well on the First Contact mission, between her knowledge of the Picard Enterprise and her own experiences coming to this universe, and she knew that the Science one would be a piece of cake from the background of three of her teammates. The only concern she had was the Security final, and now she stood on a mountain of triumph thanks to her team and her ingenuity.

"So how'd it go?" Charlie caught a smiling voice ask from behind her. "Did you take my advice?"

She hadn't even realized she had left the hangar bay and entered the academy population. Spinning, Charlie smirked and crossed her arms as she eyed the Starfleet captain casually leaning against the wall, his foot propped up as he mirrored her pose. While her crew saluted as they passed, Charlie just cocked a hip.

"You mean that piece about doing what you would have done?"

Jim matched her smirk. "Yeah."

"No."

She spun on her heel with a grin and headed towards the command building for a debriefing, her crew ahead of her attempting to suppress their chuckles. Steps pounded behind her, her grin widening.

"No?" Jim asked perplexed. "What do you mean no? Did you lose? I got the alert you were coming back sooner than I thought."

"Oh no, we kicked ass. We beat the Starfleet record." He was at her side now, trying to keep up with her hurried steps.

"You . . . wait . . . you what?"

"We beat the record. We beat the record, Jim!" Charlie whooped, throwing her fist in the air. Her crew turned and gave the same whoop, a chant they came up with on the shuttle ride up to break the tension.

"So if you won, didn't you use any of my tactics?"

Charlie had to stop then, grinning. "Jim. I did the opposite of what you have done. You were skunked when you did your final! Your whole team got captured."

Jim gaped at her. "How'd you know that?"

Charlie's grin turned into a Cheshire cat. With a shrug she tossed, "Uhura told me." And then ran to catch up with her crew.

Charlie had to stop the laugh that threatened to spew, remembering Jim's thunderous look at the absent communications officer. Because of the results of the Security final, the First Contact, and later the Science mission that they also passed, although with a thinner margin than the other two, Admiral Barnett pulled Charlie into his office two weeks before the end of the semester. While rumors had spread that Jim had given her a cheat (proven false), Charlie still felt the sweat build on her palms that day. Instead of reprimanding her like she had expected, Charlie was given a new course.

She was already considered a third year at the Academy. Between her classes in the city and her experiences on the Enterprise, she had jumped the ranks more as a transfer than a newly enlisted. That's why, as Admiral Barnett explained, she was chosen as a beta tester for a new program the Academy considered implementing. Instead of her final year to be a traditional course of classes within the confines of the Academy, she would spend it more like an internship aboard a starship to gain practical applications in the field. Due to the high demand of battle-ready cadets, seen previously in the last few years, the governing board felt it pertinent cadets get a stronger level of training.

"We are here today to rechristen the U.S.S. Enterprise, and to honor those who lost their lives nearly one year ago."

It had already been a year since everything erupted around her, and now as Charlie sat at the ceremony for the starship that was to be her new home for the next year, she could not believe all she'd accomplished. And all that still waited.

"When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain's Oath, words I didn't appreciate at the time. Now I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were, and who we must be again." Jim's attention caught Charlie's one last time as everyone rose, the Federation flag folded and presented to a mother and child in the front row.

"And those words?"

As one unit, everyone spoke, "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her five-year mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

"Thank you."

The applause followed Jim as he picked up his hat and jogged down the steps next to the stage. As another admiral moved to dismiss the assembly, Jim slid in next to Charlie, a deep sigh erupting from his chest. With a smile, she rose on her toes and laid a soft kiss on his cheek, her eyes glowing with pride and admiration.

"Brilliant speech, Captain," she beamed.

"Well I had a great editor," Jim grinned and leaned down to capture her lips in a chaste kiss as the crew began disbanding for the following reception.

Charlie broke the caress with a larger smile, light shining through her amber eyes as she lovingly gazed at the man in front of her. "But it was all in the delivery. Pike would've been proud."

"I agree with the cadet, Captain," Spock said as he and Uhura joined the pair. "Your speech was quite admirable. It gave adequate justice to the lost comrades—"

"He means good job," Uhura translated as Charlie and Jim chuckled at Spock's perplexed expression.

"Is that not what I said?"

"In so many words, Commander," Charlie laughed.

"Thanks, Spock," Jim added, clasping his first officer on the shoulder. "Means a lot. Now, Charlie and I have to do the rounds so we can get out of here." With a grimace, Jim tugged at his collar, the itchy material leaving a pink rash on his neck.

"I swear, when I become Fleet Admiral, I'm changing the dress uniforms," Charlie said as they moved off. "Why in God's name are they still wool?"

"Fleet Admiral, huh?" Jim smirked.

With a shrug, Charlie curved a glance from the corner of her eye. "A girl can dream, right?"

Mirth spread across Jim's expression like a butterfly opening its wings. "You never dream small, do you?"

"With you by my side, how could I?"

Jim's eye crinkled with love, pulling Charlie closer and laying a far more intimate kiss against her soft lips. "I love you," he whispered.

With a smirk, Charlie responded, "I know."

Jim laughed, surprised by her response. Taking her hand, he led them toward the awning of a nearby building, the drinks and hors d'oeuvres beginning to be distributed. Charlie spotted Scotty ahead of them and waved at the man to gain his attention just as a British voice called behind her.

"Captain Kirk?"

Both Charlie and Jim spun around as a dark-skinned woman and her daughter hesitantly stepped forward. The woman was beautiful with her dark almond eyes and her black hair half pulled back. Her dark suit was well tailored, and Charlie noticed the lack of jewelry except for one gold band on her left hand.

Her daughter was equally stunning. No more than ten, she was a spitting image of her mother, but her eyes were not that of a child. They held knowledge, a pain that Charlie knew all too well. It was a pain that she saw they both shared and when their visions locked, the girl knew it too.

The mother unconsciously stroked the back of her daughter's head, her gaze locked with Kirk's as emotions churned in the dark depths of her visage. "Thank you for your words," she breathed, the tone of sadness in equal footing with the cadence of her voice. She swallowed, her lean neck flexing as the woman attempted to keep whatever demons plagued her at bay.

"Of course," Jim soothed, his attention moving to the child as the mother placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders, as if she were terrified the child would be snatched away. With a smile, Jim held out his hand, the little girl's tiny fingers wrapping around his much larger appendage. "Hi."

She smiled, her eyes brightening. "Hi," she answered, gently shaking Jim's hand as something flashed between the two.

A wave of nausea came over Charlie, her world beginning to spin the minute Jim and girl locked hands. She knew the feeling. It was what she felt the first time she met Khan. Ice poured into her veins, but her cheeks heated uncomfortably hot. Her knees shook, and she reached a hand out to steady herself, catching Jim's arm as the blood drained from her head.

"Hey, whoa, Charlie, are you okay?" Jim asked, letting the girl go to steady her.

The minute they broke contact the sensations flowed away as if they were never there. "Yes," Charlie breathed, reaching up to wipe her clammy brow with a shaking hand. "Yes, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

"Do you need some water?" the woman asked concerned.

"No. Thank you, no I think I'm okay, I just—"

Charlie paused as she heard a high-pitched whistle screaming in the air, getting louder with each second. Without warning, the main stage blew thirty feet into the air in a giant explosion, debris and dirt flying all around. Several other smaller detonations followed, the whole courtyard surrounded to keep the fleeing members of the rechristening from escaping.

The mother screamed, throwing her body over her daughter's when the first bomb went off, sinking to the ground to try to protect her child. Charlie ducked as a large piece of concrete flew over where her head had been, Jim crouched next to her as he used his own body to shield the small family.

Charlie's ears were ringing, the concussion from the blast knocking her equilibrium off. She shook her head, trying to clear her deadened mind from the turmoil around her. Charlie's frantic eyes searched the chaos for their crew. There were members of the congregation on the ground, many not moving as their loved ones and friends hovered over them. Blood was beginning to mix in the dirt, the dark smell of copper, iron, and other metals the casualties bled out coating the air. As the smoke and dust spun, Charlie noticed Spock and Sulu had ducked behind a round table, both sporting small cuts, but nothing serious. Scotty and McCoy were on the opposite side; McCoy diligently working on the injured man at his feet while Scotty had his communicator out radioing for help. Chekov and Carol were the furthest away, pinned against the outermost columns near the majority of the fire. The only one missing was Uhura and with her heart in her throat, Charlie saw her friend's unmoving body in the middle of the courtyard.

Without a thought, Charlie ran into the middle of the fray, ignoring the choking dust and stinging shrapnel to reach her friend. Uhura coughed just as Charlie slid next to her. She was disoriented as she tried to stand, sporting a deep cut just above her right temple that bled into her eyes.

"Here, here I've got you!" Charlie yelled over the screaming and noise, throwing Uhura's arm over her shoulder.

The air stilled, the silence ringing when before there had been din. The wind blew the smoke from the fires, swirling in indistinguishable patterns against the backdrop of carnage. From the edges dark shadows appeared, figures covered in black cloaks with their hoods drawn that seemed to float across the concrete, straight at Jim and the little girl.

Several security members raised their phasers towards the beings, ready to unleash a volley against the terrorists. One hooded being's arm raised, a phaser like Charlie had never seen in his hand. As he pulled the trigger, Jim and the little girl began to convulse, their bodies writhing on the ground as if they were having a seizure. Uhura began to scream, her eyes scrunched in pain as she dropped to the ground, her long fingers fisting in her black hair. In fact, everyone was now on the ground, clutching at their heads in agony. Everyone but Charlie.

She could feel whatever it was that pulsed from the weapon. It was like a gentle shock that tingled along her skin but unable to penetrate. She glanced around in confusion, not understanding how she wasn't affected.

The hooded figures didn't appear to notice. Instead, they made directly to Jim and the girl, a couple firing at the security, hitting them in the chest with a blood splatter. If Charlie didn't know better, she'd think they had guns from her time instead of phasers. The mother was so deep in pain that she could barely stand, let alone fight off the men as they threw her off her unconscious child. Another tried to go to Jim who had gained enough control to try to crawl away. Kirk's hands were like claws, and his movements were jerky and uncontrolled, but still he forced his convulsing body to try to escape.

With a skid, a phaser hit Charlie's boot, her head snapping over to a grimacing Spock shuffling along the ground. McCoy, Scotty, and Sulu weren't far behind, their eyes pleading as they crawled. Charlie kneeled, her hand closing around the hard metal of the phaser's handle. All of her training, all the hours of practice she put in over the last few months coated her limbs like a familiar blanket, the muscle memory a welcomed grounding. She aimed and began firing, hitting several of the men in the back.

The others spun, their cloaks swirling around them and for a horrifying second, Charlie was reminded of the Nazgul from Lord of the Rings. Their faces covered by the hoods, their voices a weird mix of electronic scrambling as they pointed at her, communicating between them and forgetting about Jim.

Charlie drew a bead on the one with the child, her anger masking her fear. "How about you pick on someone your own size," she taunted.

Just as she fired, he dropped something on the concrete. A wall shot up between them, a swirling dark mass that deflected her bullet away. It dug into the ground, a twirling portal that sucked in everything around it. The man with the girl jumped in the vortex, the others disappearing as they were transported. The mother screamed, holding onto a pillar as her daughter disappeared, afraid to be sucked in herself.

Charlie felt the pull, the need to enter the mass although she did not know where it led. It was intoxicating, the power that portal held. She jumped. She didn't know what waited for her, but Charlie knew that little girl needed someone to save her. Down the swirling tunnel she went and then everything went black.


As I said, I don't know when the next post will be. I'm shooting for February/March BUT that all depends on my muse, and she's finicky.

Please let me know what you think!