#christopher pike fanfic

[starryeyes2000]

Volte-Face: Chapter 37

Read on A03 or FFN

Pairings: Christopher Pike x OFC (Aalin)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: On her first mission as a member of Starfleet, interpreter Aalin Matthews is stranded on a war-torn world ten days’ journey from a haven. Safe passage for Federation personnel has been revoked. Hostile forces are hunting the orphans she is protecting. As she and the children make the dangerous trek, the crews of both Enterprise and Shenzhou work behind the scenes to aid them.

Banned from intervening, from returning to the planet, from scanning for Aalin’s location, Captain PIke must decide whether to ignore the prohibitions or risk intensifying the conflict, a choice complicated by his personal feelings for Aalin. And Spock must come to terms with his decision allowing her to remain behind; should the worst occur, it will be the first time the young lieutenant has lost someone under his command. Both Pike and Spock undertake a dangerous mission among the brutal people who invaded their neighbors in order to protect Aalin and the children and end the war.

Excerpt:

Five Months Ago Enterprise Orbiting Varia

As Aalin woke the wall and overhead lights gradually illuminated. Fluttering lids scratched against eyes like sandpaper, sore muscles protested movement, repeated swallows granted no relief to a dry throat. Skin on her chest and left arm, tender to touch, itched. Her head hurt. She propped on elbows and her eyes swept the space. Its floor to ceiling windows were one-way, transparent into the room, opaque to its occupant. Medical equipment littered the walls parallel to her bed.

A vague memory surfaced, someone at her side smoothing and tucking a blanket around her.

What happened?

Conversation sounded nearby. “... Ms. Matthews … Varian language translation … no solution …” Easing up and out of the bed, feet bare rendering her footfalls inaudible, and clothed in the knee length cross-tied blue gown of Sickbay, she followed the voices.

M’Benga, Chapel, a science officer, and their captain faced a three-dimensional hologram. With more force than necessary, Pike’s hand cast the picture onto a wall-mounted screen which flattened the intertwined patterns into rows of individual images. He pinched the bridge of his nose then said, “Again, Spock, from the beginning using words with fewer syllables.”

“We have little accurate data to work with. All recordings made of Varian speech prior to Ms. Matthew’s collapse were truncated. Software interpreted the frequencies beyond what Federation science believed possible as erroneous and eliminated them.”

“Damn foolish design choice,” M’Benga muttered. “Which came too close to claiming a life.”

Pike couldn’t stifle a slight wince. He said, as if repeating another’s words, “I can’t point to a concrete example, but the recordings of their language seem off.”

“Sir?”

“An observation Ms. Matthews made. Months ago. During a briefing at the State Department. She downplayed the assessment and no one, including myself, followed up on it.”

Reaching the conference room, Aalin stopped at its threshold, behind them, silent, and unnoticed. She tuned out the Vulcan’s continuing presentation instead studying the waveforms displayed on the screen. “Are those voices?”

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Taglist: @arrthurpendragon @ocappreciation @ocappreciationtag @bardic-tales @themaradaniels @chickensarentcheap

[fanfictionismyaddiction]

Hey, my requests are open

I decided I would also like to write for other fandoms outside of f1.

I’m thinking about:

Criminal minds

Aaron Hotchner

David Rossi

Emily prentiss

Game of thrones

Little finger

Tywin Lannister

Tyrion Lannister

Sansa stark

John snow

Star trek

Leonard McCoy

Spock

Christopher pike

Harry potter

Severus Snape

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

Lord of the rings

King Thranduil

NCIS

Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Sherlock

Mycroft homes

The walking dead

Negan

Celebrities

Alan Rickman

Lee Pace

Pedro pascal

Zak Bagans

Let me know if you want other fandom or characters I’m open for everything.

Drop a request.

I would be happy to write it

[ansonmountdaily]

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS 2x08 "Under the Cloak of War"

[elen-aranel]

Helloo~ May I make a Christopher Pike x reader request? It's a month old scuttlebutt, that the captain is involved with you, based solely on misconstrued events (leaving the direction of his quarters early morn in a rumpled uniform, stopping by medbay for a 'shot') Everyone knows that everyone knows, from cadet to captain. Except you don't. And noone has bothered checking. And the captain finds it funny (and you 'apparently' don't mind either as you've not bothered to shoot it down) so any moments you two have in view of others, he gives you a conspirational wink with some flirty banter. You think (hope) he's really flirting and not just being friendly.

Is it a bit much for a request? If so lemme know. Or i can commission? Idk. The idea hit me and it made me giggle with all the ways it could go.

Thank you so much for the request, and for your patience... this took a while! I hope you like the direction I've gone with it <333

Common Knowledge

Pairing: Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings/Notes: Reader wears the dress version of the standard SNW uniform. Food mentions, alcohol mention. WC: 5.8k

It all starts the morning after you spent gamma shift in a Jeffries tube. Well. Several Jeffries tubes, in fact, chasing down an issue with a relay that had blown and taken a bunch of circuitry out with it, including some life support systems.

You’re feeling good, though, as you step out into the corridor on a deck full of crew quarters. Yes, your red uniform dress is creased and you’re in dire need of a shower, but the relay and the burned-out circuitry are replaced, and all systems are back online.

You deserve a water shower, not a sonic one, you tell yourself as you head toward the turbolift, nodding to the occasional officer as you walk by them. You just need to make sure the ops console on the bridge is reading everything correctly, then your duty shift will be done.

“Commander, Lieutenant,” you greet Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley and Lieutenant Ortegas as you enter the turbolift. Unlike you, they both look fresh and ready to face the day. Number One nods in greeting, but Ortegas looks you up and down quite blatantly, and you find you’re trying to smooth your skirt despite yourself.

“Long night?”

“I—” you start, but before you can reply—

“Computer, hold. Open the doors,” Commander Chin-Riley says, and as you turn, Captain Pike is walking into the lift. And somehow, even though you’ve been on the Enterprise for a while, you’re never not struck by his presence. His broad shoulders. How handsome he is.

“Good morning, Number One, Ortegas. Lieutenant.” He puts an odd weight on your title, even though of course he knows your name, and then your mind goes blank as he winks one of those blue eyes.

“C-captain,” you stutter, well aware of Ortegas trying to stifle a laugh next to you.

“Sleep well?” Una asks, something knowing in her voice, after the captain directs the turbolift to the bridge.

“I’ve had… more restful nights,” he says, and looks at you sideways, doubtless taking in your rumpled dress and less-than-fresh appearance. “Like the lieutenant here, I’d wager,” he adds, and you must have missed a memo somewhere because this ‘lift ride has gotten very weird, very fast.

You decide keeping quiet is your best bet — it’s a short ride, thank goodness.

But you can’t shake the feeling that there are eyes on you as you finish your work on the bridge.

It may have started in a Jeffries tube, but it continues in sickbay.

You appreciate knowing sickbay is there. Doctor M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are skilled at their jobs, and you’ve had cause to be grateful for them when accidents happen, from a pulled muscle during a workout to a painful plasma burn from faulty equipment.

That doesn’t mean you love getting your quarterly check-up and shots. But you decided early on in your career that you weren’t going to be one of those people doctors had to chase for their physicals. Every three months you turn up. You’re due for routine vaccinations against some common alien viruses that human immune systems need reminders about, and your contraceptive shot.

Not that you really need it, of course. You aren’t getting any. The closest you’ve been since you joined the Enterprise was Lieutenant Paulson, a senior engineer who sometimes commands gamma shift when you’re on that rotation. He asked you out to dinner on Starbase 1, and while you like him as a person, you had to decline. You’d known him for a while, and never felt any kind of spark. And there’s been no-one— there’s been almost no-one else on the ship that you’re interested in. But still, you get your shot.

Today your appointment is during your shift. You didn’t want to be interrupted; you’re working on a new scanning device to be used on a planet with an unusual combination of atmosphere and magnetic field, which affects the resolution of normal scanners. So when your reminder went off you kept hold of your PADD, and you carried on entering the design parameters as you walked.

“Woah there,” a voice cuts through the equations you’re focussing on, and you feel hands on your arms, steadying you as you stumble.

As it turns out, walking with a PADD is a mistake.

Especially when you walk straight into the captain in the corridor outside sickbay.

“Captain! I’m so sorry! I—I was— I’ll pay more attention.” You look up, flustered, into his blue eyes, suddenly keenly aware of the bulk of him, of the controlled strength in his hands.  Happily, he seems amused rather than annoyed, that half smile playing about his lips.

“I do admire your... dedication, Lieutenant, but you’re right. Paying attention is a good idea.”

And as the doors to sickbay swish open, letting Chief Kyle and one of your fellow engineers out onto the corridor, you realise the captain hasn’t moved. You’re still in his space, and he’s still holding you.

“Captain, Lieutenant... are you joining us?” Nurse Chapel looks as though she’s suppressing a smile. “You’re, uh... both here for your quarterly shots, right?” she adds, as Pike finally steps back, and you walk with him into sickbay. You nod, mutely.

“Yes. Timed it perfectly this time, didn’t we Lieutenant?” he says, and he grins at you, knowing.

“Sure,” you find yourself saying, sitting down a little abruptly on the biobed Doctor M'Benga indicates. Is Pike… flirting with you? Or just being his usual warm self?

“This shouldn’t take too long. I’m sure you want to get back to your... duties.” M'Benga looks meaningfully at Pike, who shrugs, a picture of innocence.

“Can you blame us?”

You can’t help your smile.

But actually, now you really think about it, maybe you’re wrong.  Maybe it started with the onions.

You have a shift free, moving from nights to days as you do on a semi-regular basis, since some edict came down from Starfleet that people shouldn’t just work nights for health reasons. It doesn’t entirely make sense to you; you’re on a ship, so it’s not like anyone has a real day or night, but being able to socialise with people who are always on alpha is a plus, and you suppose the same rules apply to planetary bases which do have day and night.

The captain has invited you to dinner. That isn’t special, even though you wish it were – he likes to get to know the whole crew in an informal setting, and it’s just your turn. And maybe you over-think it just a little, during the day, planning what to wear to make yourself look pretty but not like you’d tried too hard.

Either way, you are early. You only realise as you press the chime for the door, when it’s too late to back out.

But the captain’s smile is warm and welcoming. “Hi, come in, come in. You any good with a vegetable knife?”

You grin in return, relaxing. “Yes sir. It’s been a little while, but I can chop.”

“Chris. We’re not on the clock right now.”

“Yes, Chris.” You follow him into the kitchen area of his quarters, taking in the fire, the view of a green forest through the windows, all the details that mark the space as his.

“Excellent. That spatial anomaly today— well. I’m playing catch-up here.”

“Oh wow, you really are...” the vegetables are all laid out ready, and there are a lot. But then, you don’t know how many people will be here. “Set me to work. How do you want the carrots?”

Pike’s knives are sharp and well balanced, and it’s easy to chop carrots into even circles, and to dice potatoes into neat cubes. You chat, too, about the food he’s making, and the special unit he had the ship’s botanists set up to let him grow fresh herbs in space.

You’re pretty much on autopilot by the time you get to the onions. You know the technique: you slice them in half through the root, then make sure you don’t cut the root again as you cut from close to the root to the tip, then across into chunks.

“So, there’s something I’m curious about,” you say as you grab the next onion.

“Oh?” Pike pauses for a moment, hand poised over the control for the oven.

“The forest overlay you have for the windows. Is it somewhere special to you? It’s really lovely.” You blink a little as you chop. Perhaps you got a lash or something in your eye.

Pike presses the control on the oven, then turns to look at you. “No, actually it’s—” he frowns. “Wait, are you all right?”

You blink again. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Your brow draws together, and you put your knife down, turning to him a little more.

“Because you’re crying.” He starts towards you.

“Oh, damn.” You can feel it now — that tell-tale sting in your eyes. You look down at your chopping. “The onions. But I was being careful.” You sigh, blink again, and feel a tear roll down your cheek.

“If there are a lot it doesn’t matter how careful you are. I’m sorry, I should have done them.” He reaches past you, and you’re terribly aware of him in your space. He pulls off a piece of kitchen towel.

 “It’s not your fault—” the words die on your lips as he turns to face you, blue eyes filled with concern.

“I’ll just—I don’t want you to use your hands—” and he takes the towel and dabs your face, and you suck a little breath in at his closeness, wondering why it has to be in a circumstance like this, when the door chime goes. “Enter,” he says, distractedly, blotting away one more tear before stepping back. “There. No harm done. But you should wash up. Ah, Spock, perhaps you can take over the chopping.”

You look round to see that Spock, Sam Kirk, Ortegas and Uhura have all walked in, just in time to see you with red eyes from the onions. At least, you think as you wash the onion off your hands, your makeup is waterproof.

Regardless of how things did or did not start, you’re pretty sure the captain only thinks of you as a friend. That this flirting is just a joke between the two of you... even if you wish it were real. Either way, you decide you might as well enjoy it.

You get back to the transport point from your solo hike on Chi Orianis Prime – it’s beautiful, with fluffy peachy-pink grass that’s soft underfoot and smells very slightly citrus-y when you tread on it, interspersed with lavender coloured bushes, with views of blue lakes and red mountains in the distance – right as Pike gets back from his fishing trip. Given how he’s carrying his cooler, it must have been a successful one.

You’re just about to ask him about it when Chapel and Ortegas arrive, with Uhura and La’an in tow, laughing together. They’re wearing t-shirts and shorts and sandals, carrying towels — clearly back from the beach, La’an actually looking like she might have caught the sun a little.

You take a step closer to him.

“Enjoy your trip?” The smile on Erica’s face is just a little too innocent.

“Yes, thank you. Wouldn’t have been the same without the lieutenant here, though.” Pike catches your eye, and you smile back at him, sappy, playing along.

“The captain’s right. We had a good time.”

None of your close friends wanted to go to movie night with you tonight. They’re showing a classic 20th century Earth film, Casablanca, and none of them were interested in seeing something that old. But it seems pretty popular with the rest of the crew when you get there. You pick up some popcorn first, wondering once again whose idea it was to put a Starfleet delta on the containers, and you head to find a seat.

Maybe it was a good thing your friends didn’t come. There aren’t too many spaces left when you go to sit down, but there are a few seats a couple of rows in front of where Spock and Nurse Chapel are sitting together. You settle in, allowing yourself three pieces of popcorn before the lights go down.

And right before they do, Pike slides into the free seat next to you.

“I thought you were going to stand me up,” you tell him, tilting your popcorn container over.

“A gentleman would never,” he replies, and you can hear the smile in his voice as he takes a piece.

The back of the shuttle is open to the bay, and Cadets Novakova and Manuel, on engineering rotation, are standing inside it with you, PADDs in hand. You’ve popped a panel off the inside of the shuttle, and you indicate a junction point.

“So, okay. You want to interplex the circuitry here. What will be the result of that? What are you hoping to achieve?”

“Well, the increased signal strength will improve thruster response time and efficiency.” Manuel says, shrugging his broad shoulders like it’s obvious.

“Yes, and we need better responsiveness for the planet. The atmospheric differentials are almost out of spec.” Novakova nods. “This is the easiest way to achieve that.”

“All right. And looking at the systems in front of you, will there be any other consequences?”

“No, there shouldn’t, it should just—” there’s a pause, then Novakova steps back, playing with a twist of her blonde hair as she considers. “Wait. That pathway, it connects to the impulse engine as well, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does, and the boosted signal would go through there too…” Manuel’s fingers fly over his PADD.

They look at each other as the penny drops, and you notice Pike in the bay, listening in. You tilt your head and raise a brow in a silent invitation, but he shakes his head a little, content to observe.

“So if we interplex the circuitry there, we will get an increase in thruster efficiency, but at the expense of introducing instability into the impulse control matrix.” Manuel sighs.

“You’re flying along, minding your business and then boom. Impulse reactor overload.” Novakova winces. “I didn’t see that.”

You nod. “You didn’t. Because neither of you really looked. For what it’s worth, it would probably have worked on the shuttles at the academy. But these are a different model. You have to work with what’s actually in front of you. That’s half the battle.”

“Wise words, Lieutenant.” Pike leans into the back of the shuttle, and you can’t help your smile at the praise as the cadets turn to acknowledge him. “The two of you should take them to heart.”

You're sitting on a bench in the bar, sipping a favourite drink, listening to Ensign Thyra play an Earth guitar but sing a wistful sounding song in her native Andorian, when Lieutenant Ortegas sits down next to you. And then Nurse Chapel sits on your other side.

“So, you and the captain. How’s that going?” Christine’s opening is straight to the point.

You give her a sceptical look. “It... isn’t? Hi to you too, by the way.” You turn to Erica. “To both of you.”

“Oh, come on. You guys are not subtle.” Erica rolls her eyes. “It’s been scuttlebutt for weeks. Me, Number One,” she starts counting off on her fingers, “Christine, Mbenga, Uhura...”

“Sam Kirk,” Christine adds.

“Yes, Sam Kirk, Spock, La’an...”

 “We’ve all seen it. I even heard the cadets talking about it. Everyone knows.”

You shake your head, putting your drink down on the table in front of you. “We’re not... I don’t—” you look from one to the other. “There’s nothing between the captain and me.” You take a breath. “He flirts, sometimes I flirt back, but it’s just a joke.”

“Doesn’t look like a joke to me.” Christine says, her voice soft, almost sympathetic.

Erica shrugs. “It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it, if you guys are keeping things to yourselves... We just wanted you to know that we’re happy for you. Pike should have someone on the ship. And you. You should have someone too.” Her smile as she stands to leave is genuine.

“I—I’m not hiding anything. But thanks, I guess? I appreciate the sentiment.”

Arriving early when the captain invites you to a crew dinner is your habit now. You enjoy helping with prep when you can, and having a quiet moment to chat with Chris.

But this time you use the computer to check that others have arrived before you get there. You try to relax; these are your friends, Chris is your friend, but with what Erica and Christine said… you feel self-conscious. Second guessing everything you do and say.

 You leave as soon as you can without being rude.

You feel a bit self-conscious with work, too, although you try to bury it. Especially with Pike piloting the shuttle for this mission. You’re sitting in your tactical uniform in the back of shuttle Kepler with Spock, Sam Kirk, La’an, and a couple more science officers. You would expect Kirk especially to pass some comment, but even he is quiet, because Zeta Lyrae VI’s wind shear is every bit as bad as science predicted.

A long-range scanning probe identified it as a possible source of dilithium as well as some other useful minerals — visual scan only, though, because the strange magnetic field prevented scanning of the interior. But that’s where the scanner you developed comes in. The visual scan also tagged some potential ruins which Kirk will investigate, and there’s general surveying to do too.

You grit your teeth against the turbulence. You trust that the captain’s piloting skills and the modifications you and the cadets made to the shuttle will see you safely to the ground, but you still feel motion sick. You know, though, there are pattern enhancers in the cargo. Perhaps you’ll be able to beam back up.

The turbulence lessens as you get deeper into the atmosphere, but you’re still very glad when the shuttle touches down. There’s a metallic tang to the air as the shuttle door opens, but it’s cool and refreshing despite that, and you take a deep breath, settling your rolling stomach, before you get to work.

The dawn sky of Zeta Lyrae IV is muted shades of pale blue and grey, warming a little to mauve-pink at the horizon, where the two suns have just risen. Barren-looking plains stretch out in front of you, with a river lazily meandering across, and there are hills leading to mountains not far away to your right. It’s hard to make out, but the lines of dark stones partially embedded in the ground to your left could well be the remains of a wall, and there are other, more defined structures further away in that direction.

“Lieutenant, you have everything you need?”

“Yes sir.” You lift your last case again, the heavy one, and try to keep your face blank at the weight of it. You know you’ll be feeling it tomorrow, but its contents were too large for your backpack. “I’ve identified a site two kilometres away that’s suitable for the scanner base. Enhanced scanning should be online within an hour.”

Pike nods. “Kirk, La’an, you have the ruins. Spock, the science survey is yours.” He turns to you. “Let me help with that.”

“I’m fine, honestly,” you protest as Pike takes the case from you, fingers brushing yours for one tiny electric moment.

“We’ll make quicker time if we share the load. Which I’m sure Spock will appreciate.”

“Aye, sir.”

You notice that there’s no flirtatious comment today.

This planet feels a bit like a dream, with its dead quiet, muted colours, pearly grey sky and the two suns gently highlighting the landscape. The only evidence you can see of the turbulent atmosphere are the occasional blue-green clouds scudding quickly across the sky.

You pick your way through the pathless terrain, looking for any signs of life. While there are scraps of ragged looking vegetation here and there, a lot of it seems dead, and the planet as a whole seems mostly barren.

You don’t make conversation; there’s something about the planet’s quiet and your confused emotions that steals your ability to make small talk, and Pike is quiet too. There’s just the sound of two pairs of boots crunching on the ground.

Until you almost step on a flower: a seven petaled bloom in the shape of a star, pale blue in the middle deepening to grey-purple just at the tips. You pause to get a better look, to see if there are any others like it nearby, but it seems solitary.

“Are you all right, Lieutenant?”

You look up to see Pike has stopped too, mild concern on his face.

“Yes sir, I’m fine.” You straighten up. “I just... this flower is the only one I’ve seen, and I wonder... is it the last gasp of the life that used to live on this planet, or is it a glimpse of hope for the future?”

Pike glances at the flower, but his focus is on you when he speaks. “We’ll likely never know, but I... I choose hope.”

The site you chose from the visual scan is obvious when you get there. You’re at the edge of the hills, and there’s a grey cliff curving round one edge of a flat open area. Geophysics had identified it as a potential location for dilithium, and as you get close you can see veins of the pink crystal running through the rock.

Now you just need to find out how much there is.

With Pike helping it doesn’t take too long to set the scanner up. You start with the base in the case he was carrying, and together you fold it out into a large circle, locking struts and its three legs in place.

You attach the probe that will drill into the soil, the antennas to communicate with the smaller unit near the shuttle and with the Enterprise, and to facilitate scanning in the atmosphere. Finally, you attach the computer from your backpack which is the brains of the system — you can’t help your private smile of satisfaction as it comes online. The shuttle is far enough away that its systems don’t affect the sensitive scans, and when the probe deploys and calibration data flows straight through immediately.

You talk to Commander Pelia and Lieutenant Spock on comms, making adjustments on the fly to the different parameters, optimising the uplink from the scanner and away team’s tricorders to the Enterprise.

Pike checks in with La’an at some point, but next time you look up you see he’s a little way away, tricorder out, following a standard scanning pattern working outward from where you are. You’re a little surprised he didn’t tell you that’s what he was going to do. Then the scanner beeps as the drill returns a result outside expected tolerances, pulling your focus.

It’s easier to get lost in your work than think about him, and for a long while, you do.

“Lieutenant, do you see that?” There’s a note of concern in Pike’s voice, and you follow his gaze to the horizon to your right.

It almost looks like a distant rain shower would on Earth, but there are green lights sparking all through it. Like lightning but less directional. You take a breath, and realise the metallic smell has intensified, to the point you can almost taste it.

“Yes, sir, I do.” You turn and meet Pike’s eyes.

“Plasma storm?”

“Plasma storm.” You redirect your scanner’s gain to maximum in that direction, sacrificing resolution elsewhere.

Pike’s tone is rueful. “Should’ve known when I scanned a burned patch of vegetation. It must have developed quickly.”

“Looks like it’s moving fast, too.”

“I’ll contact the rest of the away team, have them meet us at the shuttle. You start packing.”

“Sir,” you reply, distracted, already deep in the scanner readouts. You vaguely hear Pike calling Spock, then La’an, but you’re focused on one last scan.

“Lieutenant? I gave you an order.”

“Yes sir, you did, but look.” You point to the readout of the storm’s speed on the screen. “Scans show that even if we leave right now, we can’t make it back to the shuttle before the storm hits. We don’t even have time for them to pick us up.”

Pike frowns. “Options?”

“The cliff. There’s a cave system behind it. I don’t think there’s an entrance close enough, but...”

“Phasers? All this dilithium makes it risky.”

“Plasma burns are no fun, sir. I would know.”

He raises a brow. “Sounds like a story for later. All right. Let’s do this.”

You grab your phaser from your holster and dial the power up.

“Fire.”

You focus your beam on the weakest spot, and Pike fires at it too. And... nothing happens, for long enough for a shade of doubt to creep in. Then there’s a sound, a pile of rubble, and a gap. Just large enough for a person.

The cave is dark. It’s big, too, enough that the torches on your vests can’t illuminate the other side from where you are.

The storm is still raging outside, but the sound of it is quiet in here; the narrow space you opened the gap into curved round for a few metres before opening out into the space you’re in.

Now all you can do is sit and wait.

And you’re so aware of Pike, sitting with you.

He’s quiet, and now you come to think of it he has been all day. Definitely no flirting. You try to steal a glance at him, see what he’s thinking, but it’s too dark, and you don’t want to turn to face him.

You cast around for a distraction, and find a piece of dilithium embedded in the rock floor of the cavern next to you. The surface is flat and glassy-smooth, but with a few imperfections, and you like the feel of it under your fingers. In your head you go over the dilithium crystal eigenstates you memorised at the academy in one of your classes in warp field mechanics, and calculate the power output you would need for your phaser to trigger different levels.

“Sir, I’d like to try something, to give us some more light. It’s safe.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

You adjust your phaser to its second lowest setting, scoot across a little and fire on the dilithium, counting seconds in your head. It starts glowing red immediately, but as you shut the beam off the glow spreads, along one vein, then another, then another, until the whole cavern is lit up like its own galaxy, surrounding you on the floor, the walls, the ceiling.

“Wow, that’s—that’s good work. Thank you.”

There’s something in his expression as he looks at you, the wonder in his eyes melting into a smile, that makes you brave.

“So… I had an—an interesting chat with Chapel and Ortegas the other day.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently the scuttlebutt is that we’re dating... we’ve been dating for a while. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them it wasn’t true.” You stare out across the cavern at all the glimmering lights.

“Oh.” He exhales. “Hah, yeah… I’m, uh, sorry about that? Things… got away from me.” You hear him stir, move into a different position.

You frown. “I don’t understand. What are you sorry for?”

“I’ve always been interested in you. And you’re not the sort of person that’s cowed by rank – Paulson is your superior, in your chain of command, but I was in the bar when he asked you to dinner, and you were so sure of yourself when you rejected him. So that day in the turbolift, Una and Erica jumping to conclusions... Your face was a picture, and I had to take Una’s bait. But by the time she told me there was already a rumour, you were joining in, and I—”

His voice goes quiet, like a confession.

“I couldn’t stop. And that wasn’t fair to you… making you an object of gossip like that.”

“Chris, I—” but now it comes to it, you can’t find the words. How do you tell him that you wouldn’t mind, not at all, if only the gossip were real? “But you did stop. We’ve barely spoken today. Until now.”

“I can read the room. You weren’t up for it the other night. Or today. And… I would never force my attentions where they clearly aren’t wanted.”

“But... they are, Chris. They are wanted.”

The cavern is dead quiet, and you almost wonder if you actually spoke aloud. But the look in Pike’s eyes when you finally turn to meet them—

“Lieutenant Spock to Captain Pike. Come in, please.”

Pike shrugs a little, face apologetic, as he flips open his communicator.

The ride back to the Enterprise is as quiet, and bumpy, as the ride to the planet. Spock and the rest of the away team had sheltered in the shuttle with shields up while the storm passed over them, and when the Enterprise’s scanners had shown that another one was forming, they came to pick you up.

All the equipment you left outside was destroyed.

But you think, as you climb in the shuttle, you catch a glimpse of one of those star-shaped flowers, still intact. Still blooming.

And Pike makes a point to catch your eye as you leave the shuttle bay. It’s subtle, but you recognise the invitation.

You think you can smell food as you press Pike’s door chime, and the scent only gets more appetising as you walk in. The lights are low, apart from the fire burning brightly, and Pike pauses, apron on over his gold uniform, to smile at you as you walk over to the kitchen area.

“You came.”

“Of course.”

He picks a small bottle up, and pours from it into a salad bowl in front of him. “I hope you’re hungry… I may have gone a little overboard on the mac and cheese. I thought we could use a little comfort food after that planet.”

“It smells amazing. Anything I can do to help?”

“It’s almost ready. You could pour the wine?” He indicates to the bottle and two glasses on one end of his L shape table. You uncork the chilled bottle and take care of the drinks while he brings plates, salad, and the macaroni cheese, piping hot and smelling delicious.

Sitting next to Chris, rather than opposite like you might at a restaurant or on the other side of the L as you have when you’ve been to crew meals here, feels so intimate. As he reaches over to get some salad, or you go to pick up your glass to sip some chardonnay, you can’t help but touch. You try not to let being this close to him distract you… as intimate as this is, as hopeful as you are, nothing is settled.

You take a bite of your pasta and sigh. “It’s perfect, Chris. Creamy, the cheese— everything. Perfect comfort food. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You see him relax a little as you load up another forkful; he cares what you think.

You eat for a while in companionable quiet, then he takes a breath.

“I’m planning on demoting Spock. He has the worst timing.” He quirks one of those half smiles at you, the kind that make you melt a little, but then his expression goes serious.

“My position on this ship… I have to be careful of it. Your training – everyone’s training – tells you to do as I say. So, if I’m… interested… in someone, usually I try to set that aside.” He puts his fork down and shakes his head a little. “Clearly I didn’t do well on that score with you. But… I would have to be sure, before I truly pursue anything, that a person isn’t saying yes because of my rank.”

“I told myself that flirting was just a joke between us. That you don’t get involved with your crew. I want it to be real, but when people assumed that it was… It spooked me for a moment there.” You turn to face him more fully, to look into his eyes.

“I understand what it means for you to be Captain Pike. I understand that the Enterprise comes before me. But I felt that—that pull toward you, long before whatever this was started. It’s not your rank, your position of authority, Chris, it’s you.”

Chris stands from his chair, reaching a hand out to you. You stand and take it, his fingers warm in yours, and let him draw you to him, feeling the press of his body all along yours. You stare into his eyes, and see a wonder there that you’re sure he sees in your eyes too – the knowledge that you can finally have this. But then your eyes drift shut as he kisses you, gently, unhurried, savouring the moment.

You part for just a second, and then it gets passionate as you kiss him back, one hand on his chest, while his other hand finds its way to your lower back, holding you tighter. Your lips part, his tongue finds yours and you taste him, and you can’t get enough.

“So I know your shots are up to date,” Chris says, voice gravelly, when you pause for breath. “Would you like to take this to the bedroom?”

“Yes please.” You don’t care if you sound needy; you just want him. He takes your hand again and leads the way.

You are not quite sure what happened to your dress. You remember Chris helping you take it off last night, but quite how it got this crumpled is a bit of a mystery. You lift it up from the floor, and try to shake it out, not very successfully.

“Breakfast is served,” Chris says, looking fresh and neat in his uniform, not a hair out of place. No evidence to be seen of your activities last night, or how little sleep he may have had. “Oh, did you want a new uniform? I can synthesise one.”

“No need. I’ll have time to change in my quarters before shift.” You pull it on and try to smooth your skirt. “Breakfast?”

“Waffles. And real maple syrup. I know this little farm—”

It isn’t far from Pike’s quarters to the turbolift, and the officers in the corridor nod and smile to you as usual. Until you meet Lieutenant Ortegas.

She looks you up and down, taking in your creased dress with a raised brow and a sly smile. “I saw the duty rosters; I know you’re on alpha today. So… you get lucky last night?”

You try to hide your smile, but you feel too good – you don’t really want to.

“Yes, Erica, I did.”

Everyone will know, but you don’t mind. You and Chris are at the start of something special.

[wwillywonka]

excerpt from my wip mcspirk sequel to trails and trials! have some spock reflecting on his friendship with pike 🤪

Jim was married to the Enterprise. That was the way it had always been and always would be.

Silver woman goddess. She. The decision was premade when the universe itself was created.

Spock understood. Spock was devoted to Starfleet, to being an officer, so therefore he was devoted to the Enterprise and devoted to Jim. Jim was the entire crew’s leader, their hero, their savior, their light. Spock looked up to him.

It had been the same with Christopher. Captain Pike was the first person in Spock’s young but already insurmountably tumultuous life to show him kindness, to accept him without judgment or reservation.

Ensign Spock, at the age of twenty, had accepted his assignment aboard the new NCC-1701 with a distinctly Vulcan lack of pride. Having graduated from the Academy early, this was simply the next step in a career, the logical place for a student of science to be, one of the first to discover all the Universe had, until this point, hidden away from the Vulcan-Terran eye. To boldly go…

He had no expectations or desires when it came to pursuing personal relationships beyond those which were necessary for him to perform his duties to the best possible efficiency. So when Captain Pike had stopped his rousing opening speech to stand before the lone Vulcan in the row of crewman standing at attention, raking a curious, warm gaze over him, then smiled-

Christopher was his first friend. At first, the Captain treated him the same as any other Ensign, greeting him warmly in the corridors, asking for his opinion and valuing it as much as the other science officers in Spock’s lab, promoting him to lieutenant within the mission’s first year and insisting Spock deserved it and Spock actually believing him….

It was nothing more than Pike being a very good, very attentive captain. But for a half-breed outcast loner with a tendency towards habitual self torment, it was more than enough.

Then, the five years were over, and they were back on Earth, and Pike invited him and a few other select officers (including Lieutenant Uhura and Nurse Chapel) for dinner at his family’s home in California and Spock felt for, the very first time, at ease.

Looking for temporary refuge from the crowded room, Spock had wandered onto a balcony and found himself overlooking a desert that reminded him, oddly, of Vulcan- of home.

“Hiya, Spock!" came Christopher's cheerful voice. "Doing okay out here?"

He looked a little tipsy, his seafoam green irises twinkling pleasantly in the light emanating from inside the house.

"Yes, Captain." He turned to look at the house and saw Uhura's silhouette flitting about the dining room. Faintly, he could hear her singing some unfamiliar Earth tune.

“You're brooding," Christopher said, without preamble. Despite the meaning behind his words, there was a smile in his voice, even though Spock wasn't looking at him.

“Not at all, Captain. I simply wanted to see for myself the place you speak so fondly of. Surely, it is worth some observation for you to reference it so often."

Christopher laughed, eyes crinkling at the edges. “Well, of course I talk about it, Spock. I grew up here. It’s my home.”

“Yes, Captain.” Something inside of him prevented Spock from pursuing what was surely to be a very personal inquiry into his own upbringing, something he had managed to, so far, avoid relaying to the Captain in any detail.

He turned, facing away from Captain Pike once more to look out at the sands, blue with night.

“You belong here, you know,” Christopher said then. “I mean, on the Enterprise. With them, with us.”

It was then that Spock finally looked at him.

“With me.”

And then, the two men stood staring at each other for exactly 7.92 seconds. Spock definitely, absolutely, completely, pointedly did not feel like unfolding his arms from behind his back and wrapping himself around Christopher’s torso nor did he desire to bury his face into Christopher’s neck and find shelter from the chill now spiraling down his spine.

Then, the ice melted, and Captain Pike was granting him one of his usual genuine, but ultimately professional, smiles. “Thanks for coming, Spock. I know it's probably not very… standard procedure to spend leave at your Captain’s house. But I figured we all deserved some fun and celebration after those five years.”

“Indeed, Captain.” And after a pause, “Thank you for inviting me.”

The first thing Captain Pike did when they were awarded their second five-year mission was recommend Spock for the position of Chief Science Officer. And they were back, once again, in the black undiscovered frontier of space.

Spock, now stationed on the bridge, found himself seeking out Captain Pike’s smiles more than was right for a Vulcan.

It was not entirely surprising, then, that Spock, around the time of their fateful encounter with Talos IV and its inhabitants, felt something within him burst and blossom with the unfamiliar sensations of -

Of what, he did not know. Or rather, he would never dare allow himself to name it. Spock knew only that he wanted something from his first Captain that could not be satiated by the shame-laced, sweat-tinged fantasies that filled his head and his hands in the dark loneliness that was 4 A.M. in his quarters.

It was illogical. It was childish. Captain Pike was twelve years older than he, not to mention his superior officer.

So he said nothing, and he suffered and grew angry at such an un-Vulcan reaction and grew angrier still as he internally punished himself for experiencing any feeling in the first place.

And then, any chance Spock had at telling Christopher anything at all swiftly came to an end.

And he’d gotten himself put on trial out of loyalty to the first person who’d ever shown him he deserved to be loved.

So Spock brought him back to Talos IV, back to the illusions, back to her. He could give Christopher Pike that, at least.

There was something quite different about refusing to do something and no longer having the choice to change one’s mind.

He did not dwell on it often, but his first crew on the Enterprise had, too, been his first assignment aboard a starship, and it held a place within his memory that he did not wish to see damaged by the Pulosians.

To think Christopher was no longer himself, that he was very likely dead by now…

Spock had not and doubted he would ever allow himself to go down that mental path. It was illogical to wallow in that which was already etched into the arteries of time.

Christopher was gone.

[eye-em]

The Weight of the Name (2835 words) by Eye_Em Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James T. Kirk & USS Enterprise NCC-1701, James T. Kirk & Christopher Pike, Crew of the Starship Enterprise & James T. Kirk, James T. Kirk & Tarsus IV Survivor(s), James T. Kirk & Tarsus IV Survivor(s) (Star Trek) Characters: James T. Kirk, Christopher Pike, Crew of the Starship Enterprise, Tarsus IV Survivor(s) (Star Trek) Additional Tags: Protective James T. Kirk, BAMF James T. Kirk, Tarsus IV (Star Trek), Tarsus IV Massacre (Star Trek), Tarsus IV References (Star Trek), Post-Tarsus IV Massacre (Star Trek), Dadmiral Christopher Pike, Parent Christopher Pike, James T. Kirk Whump Series: Part 1 of The Name Is Kirk Summary:

The Enterprise saved nine kids from the dying planet of Tarsus IV. One of them just happens to be the son of George Kirk.

[anindoorchild]

Starfleet Academy Era and literally every time Pike appears Kirk exclaims “god you’re hot” and Bones has to lead him through exposure therapy to desensitize Jim to things like Pike’s captain voice and dress uniform. (Obviously it only makes it worse for Jim and he and Pike end up making out and being in love forever)

[affixjoy]

I’ve been wanting to write something with Spock/Pike for AGES and now I finally have! 🎉

Featuring! Spock/Pike/T’Pring! T’Pring is an untouchable goddess and Pike wants her to step on him! Set during the body swap episode!

I’ve got a few more ideas, so this will almost certainly gain a chapter or two soon.

[greenjamtoast]

Love Slugs

A Star Trek: SNW fanfic

Part 1

Captain Christopher Pike/reader

Rating: T

- - -

Summary:

A tight space in a balmy climate quickly convinced us to shed our uniform jackets. The shirts beneath them gradually unzipped, and buttons came undone to fight off the heat. Only a fraction more skin was exposed, less than I’d show in civvies on a day off, but it still defied protocol.

We’d both been in tighter situations than that—figuratively and literally—with bare arms abound, but neither of us accounted for the slug effect.

OR

After a rather heated moment on an away mission, Captain Pike is cornered in the hallway to talk about the kiss. And maybe see if he has any interest in repeating recent history.

- - -

Part 1:

Despite his rank and the professionalism that came with it, I still expected to see more emotion on his face than what greeted me when I called after him.

His eyes did a quick perimeter scan before meeting mine, wary of any onlookers before settling into placidity. He planted his feet, shoulders squaring to match mine, and smiled, but his eyes did not crease at the corners, did not sparkle. “Yes, Ensign?” An eyebrow ticked up, inviting a reply, but he blinked as he did it. Feigned diplomacy.

“Captain Pike,” I greeted, parking my feet a meter from his. “For someone so willing to square off with unknown dangers on weekly away missions, I have to admit I’m surprised. I didn’t think I’d have to literally flag you down,” I teased. I come in peace.

His chin tucked in a millimeter, smile warming a single degree. “Respectfully, the Gorn inspire less fear than the mere possibility of your wrath.” He nodded at a passing Lieutenant, waited for their footsteps to fade. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice lowered. “I didn’t mean to be evasive.”

“You know, I’m not sure I believe that,” I replied lightly, involuntarily stepping an inch closer. Catching myself, I retreated two inches back. “Look, we both saw Christine’s report. The slugs may have kicked things off, but it’s clear we crossed that line all on our own.”

I heard an intake of breath and knew another apology was about to greet me. “I’m not mad at you,” I rushed, cutting him off.

- - -

…Want to read the rest? Check out the full chapter (and part two!) on AO3 :)

- - -

A/N: I published this back in June but figured I’d post it here, too. This is my first dip back into writing fanfic in forever (Captain Pike has that effect on people), and I hope everyone who reads it finds something they like. :)

[curator-on-ao3]

Chapters: 1/7 Fandom: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Number One | Una Chin-Riley/Christopher Pike Characters: Number One | Una Chin-Riley (Star Trek), Christopher Pike Additional Tags: Time Travel, post-episode: s02e03 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Strange New Worlds), everything after that episode is different in this reality, There Was Only One Bed, Fake Marriage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, horses (of course), Patterns, breaking patterns, Idiots in Love, Friends to Lovers, breakable things as a metaphor for an unbreakable relationship Summary: When Chris and Una are thrown into Earth’s past, they have ... time ... for some important realizations.

Story is fully written and I’ll update every couple of days or so.

[ichayalovesyou]

Cool News Guys

Guess who finally has an AO3 Account?! MEEEEEE!

Am I slowly but surely putting all of my Captain Pike x Reader fics on there? YES!

Would it be awesome if y'all checked it out? ALSO YES!!

BEHOLD :D

All of my Star Trek stuff is under IchayaLovesYou as a pseudonym of my main account! My non-trek (BG3 and WIld WIld West) stuff are under my main account.

[starryeyes2000]

Episode 2: Let’s Run Away: Part 1

SNW: Additional Scenes Season 2 - CALU

Read on AO3 or FFN

Pairing: Pike & Una, Pike x Fem!OC (Aalin)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 1.7k

Strange New Words Season Two additional scenes in the Chris/Aalin 'i carry your heart' universe. As there are few hints as to where Spock and Chapel's relationship is headed in this season, I've decided to post my Spock/Chapel scenes here.

This series contains spoilers for Strange New Worlds Season 2. Each chapter title will be prefaced with the episode number.

Excerpt:

Una took a seat at the kitchen table in Chris’ quarters and reached for a cupcake. His hand shooed hers away from the filled platter, scolding, “Those are for Aalin.” When the timer beeped, he retrieved another dozen from the oven, and with care placed each on a cooling rack.

“You’re in the doghouse?”

“Little bit,” he muttered. The tin was refilled with batter and returned to the oven.

“At this rate you’ll be handing out cupcakes in the mess hall.”

“Okay. More than a little bit.” He stirred a new batch of icing, chocolate this time. Una had claimed her prize while his back was turned, treat now consumed she licked her fingers then reached for another.

Continue reading on: AO3 or FFN

Story Masterlist

Series Masterlist | OC Masterlist | Author Masterlist

Taglist: @arrthurpendragon @ocappreciation @ocappreciationtag @bardic-tales @themaradwrites @chickensarentcheap

[fic-rec-time]

Another Life

by LullabyKnell

Star Trek AOS/Complete/Chapters: 12  Words: 61,871

In one moment, James T. Kirk is the acting captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, on his way home to Earth after stopping the Narada. In the next moment, without explanation, James T. Kirk is an Academy cadet on academic probation again, barely a day before Nero will destroy Vulcan. 

He dares himself to do better. And with a planet on the line and no proof but his own memories, he knows that "better" means he'll need some help.

//

I am . . . beyond words. This is an amazing piece of writing. The desperate determination to save Vulcan and everybody else, Jim and Spock and Pike leaning on each other, Spock and Jim coming together as a team, the bridge crew coming together as a team, its all so good. The emotion in this sweeps you away. The mechanics of the time travel itself I won’t get into detail on, because spoilers, but it feels so true to the source material.

[divinemissem13]

Hi friendo! askin you the aquatic asks <3

🐙 a pretty/elaborate quote from a published work

🐠 a funny quote from a published work

🦑 a romantic quote from a published work

Thanks for asking, friend! Fun to go back through stuff I’ve published looking for all of these!

🐙 A pretty/ elaborate quote:

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita (ST: Voyager, vignettes of Kathryn and her favorite tree on the Janeway farm)

I used to watch those holos - of dogs reuniting with their owners after years apart - with a healthy dose of skepticism. I always thought they must be rigged somehow, or maybe the owner hadn’t really been away all that long. For seven years, I never dared let myself hope that I might be in for such a greeting, and yet here I am, my face covered in dog slobber and my own tears and all because Molly remembers me.

She starts to settle and for the first time, I realize we are being watched. My mother leans against the door frame with a smile on her face and a steaming mug of something (coffee, I hope) in her hand. I’ve seen her since arriving, of course, at Starfleet headquarters and over com calls, but the vision of her now completes the image of home that I have carried in my mind's eye for so long. My heart swells with gratitude as I stand, brush myself off, reshoulder my Starfleet-issue duffle bag, and walk up the two steps to meet her.

🐠 a funny quote

Friendly Competition (ST: Strange New Worlds, Pike/Una one-shot)

“Are you sure you don’t want to start with something a little smaller? A boot, maybe?” she purrs at him with a gleam in her eye that tells Chris she is definitely up to something.

“Oh, I’m sure. The scant. Hand it over,” he confirms, holding out a hand and wiggling his fingers.

Una stands and walks close to him, her finger tips playing with the hem of her very short dress. She doesn’t remove it though. Instead, she leans in and whispers in his ear, “Here’s the thing, Captain: I never said we were playing strip poker.”

Chris stands there with his mouth hanging open as Una struts away toward the bedroom, still fully clothed. He replays the evening in his head and realizes that, in fact, she had never once requested an item of clothing from him. He had eagerly removed something of his own volition each time he lost a hand, blinded by the anticipation of when she would have to do the same.

And now, standing alone in the middle of the living room in the oh-so-attractive combination of mismatched underwear and socks, he only has himself to blame.

🦑 romantic quote

Always a Bridesmaid (and that’s just fine) (ST: Picard, sort of?, Beverly and Kathryn attend Jean-Luc’s wedding to Laris. Beverly could not care less that she’s not the bride.)

Beverly knew this to be true now, because as she walked down the aisle on Jack’s arm, her eyes were drawn past the groom to the officiant: her Kathryn, radiant, even in that potato sack of a dress uniform. Radiant in anything, really, and also in nothing, because her radiance came from somewhere inside - from a light that only Beverly could see because it shone just for her. She’d never seen anything like it before, not from Jean-Luc, not even from the first Jack Crusher. The only thing that even came close was the lights that shone from her sons’ eyes when they were newborns and she was their entire world. Those lights faded, though, naturally over time as they grew and their worlds expanded.

But Kathryn’s light… If anything, it grew brighter and stronger with each passing day - each passing moment. She was sure that Kathryn could see it too, from the way that her eyes sometimes crinkled when she looked at Beverly, as if she were looking into the sun. And this is how Beverly knew, beyond any doubt, that she and Kathryn are meant to be together.

[elen-aranel]

All Work

For: @youvebeenlivingfictional Comfort Prompts, 11: Stopping by their workplace on your way home late at night with the hunch that they’re still there. Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x Reader (no Y/N) Warnings: Mention of canon-typical violence WC: 790 Rating: Teen Notes: tfw you have to post immediately before you lose your confidence... it's been a while!

When you press the chime for the door of the ready room, you hope there won’t be an answer.

You hope the captain is in his quarters, cooking, perhaps, or reading a book, or watching one of those black-and-white movies he enjoys. You would like it if he were working out in the gym, or maybe taking a walk in the arboretum amongst the trees.

But based on how he’s looked when you’ve seen him hurry down a corridor, when you’ve handed in a report on the bridge, he hasn’t been doing any of those things for a while. And right on cue—

“Enter.” The familiar voice sounds subdued as you step through the doors. Your eyes sweep across the mostly empty room, from the red armchairs, over the conference table and the display still showing the disputed border that the Enterprise had found herself in the middle of, to the desk at the other end with the captain sitting there, poring over a PADD.

And it’s more than just the stubble that’s there at the end of a long day. It’s the hunch of his shoulders. It’s—it’s not defeated, that isn’t the word, but the almost resolute look in his eyes. The way they’re narrowed slightly, just at the corners. You’ve known him for years, and it isn’t a good sign.

“He just has to get through it,” Una had said in an undertone, glancing round to make sure you weren’t being overheard at dinner in the mess hall. “He’s signing off on all the fitness evaluations, and he is personally going over every single repair log. I would’ve insisted, but when he’s in this mood—” She had given a small shrug. “I pick my battles. But you’re welcome to try…”

And so here you are.

“What can I do for—oh, hey,” his face relaxes a little, and the corner of his mouth quirks up just slightly. Not quite a smile, but it’s a start. “It’s—I guess it’s late, huh. Did you need something?”

“No, nothing. I don’t need anything. But…” You pull the last chair from the conference table, spin it round, and sit down so you’re more on his level. “It’s nearly gamma shift, and I wondered…” your eyes stray to his PADD.  “Do you need to be doing those reports right now? I have it on good authority that they’re not due in for another month. Surely they’ll keep ‘till tomorrow.”

He shrugs. “As a captain you stay on top of the paperwork, or you drown in it. But… I could take a break. Drink?”

“Sure.”

He stands, walks round the desk, and heads to the other end of the room to pour two glasses of whiskey. He holds one out toward you, question in his expression, and you get up and join him. You sit together in one of the alcove sofas.

“Cheers,” he says, and you clink glasses. You enjoy the bite of the alcohol, the complex flavours on your tongue.

“So you spoke to Una?”

“She told me you were working through something. I just think you’re working too much. You know what they say…”

He rolls his eyes at that. Which you deserve.

“I just… I remember Rigel VII, Chris. And those months before. This… this conflict? It wasn’t that, but I worry, you know? I know being captain is the loneliest job and blah blah blah… but… sometimes I think you hold onto that load?”

He regards you with those pale blue eyes, softened now.

“When I gave the order to fire on that Zenali ship… I know it was the only order I could have made, and I don’t regret it, not for a second… but…” he tilts his head, takes another sip of his drink. “Meeting the Zenali ambassador, who lost his son... he was so gracious. He didn’t bear us any ill will. Just wanted to work towards peace.”

“Yeah.” You know that you can never fully understand the weight of those decisions, and those consequences, but at least you can be here with him. You lean back against the sofa, and after a beat, Chris mirrors you.

“I guess Number One could take a look at the repairs for me. Perhaps I will call it a night,” he says after a while.

“Yeah?” You try to play it cool, but you’re pretty sure he can read your relief.

“Yeah.” He smiles properly this time, downs the rest of his drink, and puts his glass up on the side. “So, any suggestions on what one can do around here to wind down?” He stands, and offers you his hand.

You take it, letting him pull you up. “I may have one or two…”

[shannyfishwriter]

SNW: "Untraveled Roads" - Chapter 2

Title: Untraveled Roads Pairing: Spock/Chapel Summary: A large party of ambassadors on board the Enterprise leads to a very interesting realization for Spock and Christine Chapel when it comes to what a possible future together may look like. ===========

Spock hadn't expected to be sitting in his parents' temporary quarters on the Enterprise.  His father had remained neutral and mostly silent, which was not an unusual dynamic in the family.  In that moment, he found himself missing Michael.  However, he didn't vocalize it.  It was one thing to have such a discussion on Vulcan, but it wasn't something that could be done here.  

"I hope that this time around that we might make time to visit more and meet your friends here on the Enterprise," Amanda spoke up to Spock.  There was tea out and tea already poured for all.  

"I do not want to take you away from any diplomatic duties you might have while on board," Spock replied.

"Luckily, I am not the ambassador," Amanda commented.  "Though I will of course be at all of the social events on board."

"We all will," Sarek spoke up.  He looked from Amanda to Spock.  "Will we not?"

"We will," Spock agreed.  "Captain Pike has requested that the senior staff attend the social events as well, if possible.  We have already been given a list of which events require more formal dress."

It was all a bit awkward.  "Right, well, how about a tour?" Amanda asked Spock, getting to her feet.

"I will be unavailable to join at this time because I must prepare," Sarek told them.

Amanda smiled.  "Of course, it will give Spock and I time together."  Sarek's need to prep and have that quiet space was something that she'd expected and was ready to take advantage of.  "After all, it isn't everyday that we are on board the Enterprise."  The last time she was there was when she'd come to be a part of the V'Shal dinner between their family and T'Pring's family.  However, this was the first time that her husband, Sarek, was on board.  She had found herself missing her children and wanting to have that connection with Spock's life, which was harder when he was so far from Vulcan.  However, she was proud of him for how far he'd come and accomplished with Starfleet.  She also knew that he had a new found appreciation (or at least she thought he did) for his own human side.  

<read the rest here>