Chapter Text
“Is there anything you dislike about Starfleet?”
I cast Captain Pike a wary look. There wasn’t a ton of space between us; the path narrowed the farther in we got, and the Captain had insisted we stay close to the mouth of the cave. Once the storm passed, we’d be able to make contact with Enterprise, and the rest of the away team.
“When commanding officers ask me questions like that and expect me to answer honestly,” I said, prompting a wry smile from the Captain.
Away missions were rare for Communications officers, and in my experience, it was rarer still that Pike insisted he join them. Uthea CR4 was a Class M planet that had experienced an extinction event hundreds of years ago. The last of the species had retreated into caves, logged their histories on the walls. Our away team had consisted of two scientists, three Communications officers, and the Captain.
The first half of the journey had been fine: we’d paired off and ventured into caves that showed no life signs and minimal damage. But after a couple of hours, a harsh storm had blown in, jamming communications between the rest of the away team, as well as the Enterprise. Captain Pike had had to coax me away from the histories I’d been translating, reminding me that we’d scanned them and I’d be able to comb through them in more detail once we were back on the ship.
The Captain and I looked away from one another as thunder rumbled outside. My eyes drifted back to him as lightning illuminated his features.
"Why do you ask?” I asked after a moment. He turned back to me, shoulders rising and falling in a shrug.
“I’m always curious as to what people consider a drawback when it comes to service. For most, it’s family.” I gave a small head shake.
“No problem for me there, sir.”
“…You seem close to Number One.”
“ ‘Close’ is relative, sir.”
“She considers you a good friend.”
“ 'Good’ is also relative, sir.”
“And now I’m starting to understand why you seem to get along so well with Mr. Spock.” I smiled a little bit, lowering my eyes to my lap.
“… Why did you choose to come on this away mission?” I asked curiously. He shifted in his place, stretching his legs out. They nearly reached the opposite wall.
“Would you believe that a captain can go stir crazy?”
“I would. But you could go on potentially any mission you like. You went out of your way to go on this one.”
“Why do you ask?” He parroted. I shrugged.
“I’m always curious.” That prompted a soft chuckle from the captain.
“These caves, the landscape. Reminds me of home,” He told me.
“And where is home?”
“Mojave. It’s a city on Earth.”
“It’s strange, to think you could find something so familiar millions of lightyears away,” I commented lightly. Pike nodded. There was a faraway look in his eyes; close to me as he might be, I knew the man was millions of miles off.
There had never been a good reason for me to be in such close quarters with Pike. The man was handsome, I’d already known that. He came across as respectful, firm and stern when needed, but kind overall. Una spoke highly of him; the only thing I’d ever heard her rail against was his stubbornness (not that she had any leg to stand on; she was incredibly stubborn in her own right).
“… Lieutenant?”
Not only had I been caught staring, but I had completely missed the fact that he’d started speaking.
“I’m sorry, Captain, I wasn’t attending. What did you say?”
“I asked where you were from.”
“Oh. Earth.”
“Whereabouts?”
“New York.”
“You miss it?” I smiled, nodding.
“At moments. But I prefer the Enterprise.”
“No need to try and convince me, lieutenant.”
“Just being honest, sir.” Another roll of thunder. My eyes followed Pike as he stood and wandered closer to the mouth of the cave. The sky was beginning to lighten.
“Well, I think we can mark your first away mission as a rousing success,” he said sarcastically. I chuckled, pulling my knees up to my chest.
“It’s not so bad. I got to see evidence of a pre-warp civilization in person, feel their etchings under my fingertips… And the company isn’t so bad, either.” It was something I likely wouldn’t have said if I’d had just a lick of self-preservation. But despite the immediate embarrassment I felt after speaking, Pike simply offered me a smile.
The trill of a communicator kept me from saying anything else stupid. Pike unhooked it from his belt.
“Pike here.”
“Captain, we’ve regained transporter power.” I straightened up at the sound of Una’s voice over Pike’s communicator.
“Have you made contact with the rest of the away team?”
“Affirmative. They’ve been beamed aboard.” Pike looked over to me, watching as I stood.
“You ready to go?” He asked. I raised a brow.
“Are you?”
Pike’s lips quirked into a smile before he schooled his face into its typical neutral set.
“Two to beam up, Number One."