The Needs of The Few

I

Fwish... Fwish...Fwish
    Mac'hla dragged the brush through their hair, trying to tame the difficult frizz that just wouldn't lay flat.
    Jim had off-handedly mentioned that he liked her hair, and Mac'hla, who had always been embarrassed by it, was motivated to wear it down.
    She pinned the front back with pins and sighed. It would have to do.
    They applied their makeup with precision. That was, until their doorbell chimed and they jumped, smearing lipstick across their face.
    She sighed and grabbed a tissue, "Enter."
    Spock walked through the door, eyes down on his PADD.
    "Lieutenant, I have-"
    "Good morning." Mac'hla said, interrupting him. He had entered her room at 5:30 in the morning, two hours before they were due to be on the bridge. The least he could do was greet her.
    He raised an eyebrow, "Good morning."
    She smirked a little and continued applying her lipstick.
    He leaned against her desk, still looking at the PADD, "I have received information regarding yesterday's interaction with the, as you call it, 'space manatee'."
    They hummed in acknowledgement, "Would you like a cup of tea, Mr. Spock?"
    Spock finally looked up at her, "Is something bothering you Lieutenant?"
    "No, sir." she said, tiredly, "But I have just woken up."
    He nodded, "Yes, a cup of tea would be nice."
    She stood and approached her automatic kettle which she kept in the corner of her room on her bookshelf. She pressed the button and it started to heat up.
    Spock tilted his head slightly, "Your hair is down."
    They glanced over her shoulder, "Your observational skills never cease to amaze me, Commander."
    He fought back the urge to roll his eyes, "I was going to say it is flattering for you."
    She blushed, "Oh... well, thank you... what kind of tea would you like?"
    Spock glanced over at her shelf, which had multiple boxes of tea stacked neatly on it.
    "Darjeeling, please. No milk or sugar."
    They hummed again and grabbed a tea bag for him and themself.
    "Forgive me if I am being short, I struggle with mornings." She apologized.
    "It is to be expected, Lieutenant, you do not sleep much." Spock said, almost teasingly.
    "Nightmares." they responded offhandedly, not catching that Spock was trying to joke with them.
    Spock stood and looked out of her window, "The Captain has requested that you lead an away team today." he said, trying to change the subject.
    She almost dropped her cup, "I am sorry?"
    "The Captain has requested that you-"
    "No, I heard you. He wants me to lead an away team?"
    "That is what I said." Spock said, looking at them, "Are you concerned that you are not capable?"
    "I did not say that." she said, handing him a mug, "But I have never led an away team."
    "You will do fine, I trust in your capabilities." Spock assured them, sipping his tea.
    "What is the purpose of this away team sir?" She asked.
    She sat on the edge of her bed and swung her feet like a child. Spock couldn't help but smirk a bit.
    "To collect samples of the local flora. He believes there is no one more suited to lead it than you."
    Mac'hla tilted their head, "That is logical."
    "Indeed. I am inclined to agree with him. He has already assigned who will be accompanying you to the surface." Spock informed them, checking his PADD, "Ensign Chekov, crewman Perez, crewman Larsson, and Ensign McMann."
    Mac'hla's heart sank. Ensign McMann.
    For some reason, McMann despised Mac'hla. He refuses to listen to them and constantly starts arguments over the most illogical things.
    But Mac'hla knew, one way or another, she was in charge and he would have to follow her orders. And anyways, Chekov would be there. Mac'hla always got along well with him and she suspected that if McMann tried anything Chekov would quickly put him in his place.
    "Understood, sir. At what time will we be departing?"
    "At 06:00 hours. I recommend that you prepare your supplies as soon as possible."
    Mac'hla stood and straightened out their uniform, "Yes, sir. Your support is appreciated."
    Spock nodded and Mac'hla left, leaving him alone in her room.
    He stared out of the window at the colorful nebula they were flying through, sipping his tea.
    He had no doubt that Mac'hla was capable of leading an away team– in fact, if he had to choose anyone besides the Captain and himself he would choose her...But Mac'hla was known to have a short temper, maybe even by human standards. There have been multiple situations where they and Ensign McMann had gotten into arguments... and said arguments have gotten quite loud in the past. The two were not compatible to work together. McMann was easily insulted and was not terribly fond of taking orders from women (or those who present femininely), and Mac'hla was blunt, stern, and known to be argumentative and confrontational with men.
    Spock was interested to see what would happen with the two on the planet's surface. Surely Kirk was too as he was very well aware of the conflict between these two. Spock suspected that this was somewhat of a test, but who he was testing remained unknown.
Mac'hla slung her bag over her shoulder and calmly walked into the transporter room.
"Captain," They greeted, "Good morning."
"Goodmorning, Lieutenant." he smiled, "You ready?"
"Yes, sir. I have all of my supplies." She said quietly, looking around for the rest of the away team.
One by one they all trickled in until they were waiting for just one more person.
Ensign McMann.
Mac'hla crossed their arms and leaned against the wall, already growing irritated.
"Where is he?" Chekov groaned, "We were supposed to leave five minutes ago."
"Give him time. He's not too late." Larsson said, patting Chekov's shoulder.
"He is not on time, which by definition means he is late." Mac'hla mumbled impatiently.
Kirk bent down behind the com just as McMann entered.
"Oh god," he muttered, "I'm with you?" he asked Mac'hla.
"Yes, you are, Ensign." She said, calmly raising an eyebrow.
"What idiot put this team together?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Kirk straightened up, holding the pen he had dropped, "That would be me, Ensign."
Chekov stifled a snort and even Mac'hla smirked.
"I- um, well, I–" he began.
"Get on the transporter." Kirk said flatly.
"Yes sir."
"Are you not going down, sir?" Chekov asked.
Kirk smiled, "Lieutenant Tirok will be leading this away team."
Chekov, Larssen, and Perez all smiled, excited to be with Lieutenant Tirok.
McMann, however, looked like the world was about to end, "She's going to be leading?"
"Will that be a problem, Ensign?" Mac'hla asked firmly.
"If it becomes one, contact me, Lieutenant." Kirk said, patting Mac'hla's shoulder. He lowered his voice to a whisper and winked, "You've got this."
"Thank you sir." She said softly, folding her arms behind her back.
"The purpose of this away mission is to collect a few small samples of the local flora. As far as we can tell, there is no intelligent life on this planet. If you come in contact with anything animal, beam back immediately. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." They all replied in unison.
"Great. I'm putting all of my trust in you." Kirk said, "Energize."
Mac'hla straightened up, prepared to take the lead and fill the position they had been placed in.
The golden beams surrounded the away team and they disappeared from the platform.