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Ready Room – Morning
The chime sounded once and Erica stepped inside, before the doors fully parted. Pike was standing by the viewport, hands tucked behind his back, gaze distant. He didn’t turn right away, but she knew he’d been waiting for her having scheduled the meeting himself.
“Lieutenant,” he said, finally looking over with a gentler expression than his tone suggested. “You’re cleared for duty, but that’s not why I asked you here.” Pike's tone was gentle, and Erica’s posture stayed crisp. “How are you, really. I ask as a friend.”
Erica hesitated, then blew out a breath and let formality loosen its grip. “You saw me leave. I just…wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.”
Pike gestured to the chair across from his desk. “Sit.”
She did.
For a moment, neither spoke. Then Erica broke the silence before he had to.
“I keep replaying it,” she admitted, eyes fixed on a spot on the desk. “The fight with the Gorn. Being taken. If I’d been stronger, faster,… if I’d seen it coming…” She stopped herself, jaw tightening. “I don’t want it to happen again. I’m making sure it won’t.”
Pike leaned forward, arms resting across his knees. “You think being stronger or faster would’ve changed the outcome? I don’t know that anyone can go toe to toe with a Gorn without any risk, I am not sure that endless training can change that.”
Erica shrugged, staring at her hands. “I know, but maybe it would help against something else. We were lucky we all even made it out. No matter what happened regardless.”
Pike’s expression softened. “You’re not the only one who wonders what they could’ve done differently. I can give you names, too many, of people I couldn’t save. People who died under my command. That stays with you. Even when you know it’s not all on you. You got the team out and that matters”
Erica’s voice dropped. “In the war, I was always flying in to pull someone out of the fire. When you’re rescue instead of wreckage, it feels different. Like you’re in control of what happens.”
“And you did that here,” Pike said firmly. “You survived. That took real strength. You stayed conscious despite your injury and piloted an alien ship out. In doing so you were able to save the rest of your team and the colonists.”
She met his eyes at that. Slowly, quietly, she nodded. “I know.”
He leaned back. “Based on your psych evaluation you’re cleared for duty. But being cleared and being ready are different things. So I’m asking you: are you ready?”
Erica let the question sit between them. Eventually, she straightened. “Yeah. I think… no I am. I am fine on the bridge. At the helm. Away missions…I am not sure about yet.”
“And that’s fine. I know you’ve talked to the councilor as well. They feel as if you are ready to return to the pilot seat. Take your time, you’ve got a whole crew standing behind you on the bridge.”
She snorted. “Pretty sure most of them are sitting behind me, technically..”
Pike smiled. “True. But, you’ve got a whole crew behind you, not just professionals obligated to check in, but people who care enough to show up. You don’t have to hold all of this alone.”
Erica exhaled, tension easing from her shoulders. “Thanks, Captain.”
“Anytime, Erica.” Pike stood, his voice returning to its usual command level but not its distance. “You’re good to return to the bridge when you’re ready.”
She rose to leave, pausing at the door.
“I won’t let it own me,” she said quietly. “But I’m not pretending it didn’t happen.”
“That’s how you move forward,” Pike replied. “Not by forgetting, but by learning and finding your strength again.”
She gave him a final nod and stepped out, the doors closing behind her with a soft hiss.
Bridge – Later
The turbolift doors parted, and Erica stepped onto the bridge in a fresh uniform. The bridge was quiet as they’d not yet left the starbase after the ceremony. It has been three long months of just repairs and then preparations for that.
Jenna Mitchell was already at the helm, just checking her interface.
“Well, look who finally remembered she works here,” Jenna said with a smirk that didn’t quite hide the relief in her eyes.
Erica dropped into the navigator’s chair beside her, fingers brushing over the console like greeting an old friend. “Had to make sure they didn’t break anything while fixing her.”
“Same.” They both fell into the comfortable rhythm of pre-shift checks, hands moving over their respective stations with familiar ease. The hum of the ship wrapped around them like background music.
Jenna glanced sideways after a moment. “For the record, I’m glad you’re back. Una was at the helm most of the way back to Earth, but wasn’t the same. I missed you.” Jenna tapped a command into her console, checking everything.
“Thanks. I really wasn’t sure how I’d feel. It is weird. I wanted to go with a landing party so much and I can’t imagine it could have gone any worse. But I don’t know that I really regret it. I mean part of me keeps wondering, what if I hadn’t been there? I don’t know that Pike would have been able to have piloted the shuttle craft down without being caught and who knows…” She trailed off, her confidence waning.
Jenna gave her a comforting smile before returning to her controls.
“And I still can’t believe Una’s plan involved ramming the enterprise into the Gorn ship. And I know you guys didn’t give up on us as well, staying at your stations. ” Erica reminisced.
“We’re a crew. We don’t give up on each other.
They settled into the stations side by side, hands moving over controls in quiet sync before they both paused to look out at the starbase together.