Star Trek: Spock

It was a regular day on the USS Enterprise. Regular, except for the fact that most of the crew was leaving for shore leave. They were in orbit around a particular branch of the Starfleet academy, where they were welcoming onboard a new group of graduates who were joining in on the Enterprise's five year mission. On their way to pick them up, there was a unexpected hiccup and many of the crew had been killed. These new recruits would basically be replacing those who had died.

Aside from the stuffy classrooms, this branch was known for its campus highlights. There was a great shopping mall, and many dining and bar locations that speckled the campus. In all honesty, it was a better vacationing site than most of the ones the crew had already visited.

Of course, the handful of crew remaining on-board the ship during this leave included the bridge personnel, much to their disappointment. Throughout the morning, Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu had been sending pleading glances toward the Captain, praying he would take the hint and let them beam down to the satellite campus. And he caught the glances. By about noon, he was getting sick and tired of the guilt creeping into the pit of his stomach. Why had he needed them to stay anyway?

"Okay! Fine." Everyone on the bridge looked up at the captain with hopeful expressions.

"Take your vacation. But I want you back in two days! Or else you won't get back on-board!"

They all knew he was only on edge because of the complications on their way here. A Romulan ship had come out of nowhere, and the Enterprise had taken some nasty blows. That was another reason for the shore leave; engineering was working on repairs. One by one, the personnel on the bridge made their way to the elevator and left for vacation, until finally it was only Spock, Kirk and a bridge attendee left. Kirk had zoned out, reliving the past few days in his head. He couldn't help but see the number of lives lost as the people he'd lost. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Spock clear his throat. Kirk looked up to find the man standing next to him .

"Yes, what is it, Spock?" He said, exhausted.

"I see you are not planning to go on shore leave, Captain. After the events on the journey here, I thought it might be wise if you took this opportunity to rest."

"You know, your starting to sound like Dr. McCoy," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Indignant, Spock raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just giving you my opinion as your first officer, Jim."

Chuckling, Kirk stood, stretched and made his way to the Turbo-Lift.

"You're not going on shore leave, are you, Spock?" The captain asked, curious as to why the Vulcan was following him off the bridge. The doors slid open, and they stepped inside.

"Actually, Captain, I wanted to check out some books from the campus' library. It's said to be the best in the quadrant." There was a pause of silence as the doors slid back open on the quartering floors.

"Oh... well.... "

Spock never went on shore leave.

"...I'll meet you in the transporter room then." He finished.

After Kirk and Spock had packed for two nights, they met again in the transporter room to beam down. They were about to step onto the pad, when a rushed looking redshirt scurried into the room.

"Sorry, Mike, I was reading a book, and I didn't hear the shore leave -" she stopped when she realized Mike -the transport operator- was not the only one in the room. "..anouncement." She looked down, her cheeks burning.

"Oh, jeez. H- hello, Captain. Commander Spock." She lifted her eyes to find them both staring at her. She went an even deeper shade of pink.

Surprised, the captain looked at Mike, but the man only shrugged his shoulders. He returned his amused gaze to the girl.

".....What's your name, ensign?"he questioned.

"I'm Jamie Gordon, sir," the young girl said, straightening her posture at an attempt for dignity. She seemed pretty young. She had red curls of shoulder length, with choppy bangs ending just above her brown eyes. She was tall and skinny. Taller and skinnier than Kirk, but shorter and less lanky than Spock.

"You were supposed to leave an hour ago, Ensign Gordon. You're late." Kirk said. Although, he couldn't really talk. He was late for just about everything when he was an ensign.

"Well, sir, I was reading this really great book about Romulan and Klingon history, sir, and I just completely missed the announcement on the intercom, sir," she explained. She spoke with very animated zeal. Suddenly, a look of panic covered her. "I can still go, sir, though, right?"

The ensign had the blue history book in her hands, a green backpack on her shoulders.

"Of course. Next time, just.... Be on time." He looked over at Spock, who had kept silent during the whole conversation, wondering what he thought of this ensign. To his surprise he was staring at Ensign Jamie Gordon, but not with the calculating expression he normally wore. If Kirk didn't know any better, he would say Spock was gawking at the girl. His eyes were wide, and he was standing perfectly still, frozen. Without taking his eyes of the Vulcan, he spoke slowly to Jamie.

"You can beam down with us."

"Okay, sweet!" Jamie practically leapt onto the transporter pad.

Kirk turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, yes, sir.." Jamie mumbled.

"That's more like it. Okay, I think we're ready. Spock?" He returned his attention back to his first officer.

Spock continued to look at the girl. Kirk was a little surprised she hadn't noticed yet. Not knowing what else to do, Kirk elbowed his first officer in the arm. Spock immediately looked up at the Captain, regaining his composure and cool demeanor.

"Mm. Yes, Captain?" He spoke. Kirk could of sworn his voice was trembling, but he dismissed it.

"Are we ready?" He repeated, looking back at Jamie, who was smiling patiently, book in hand.

"Yes, sir."

"Energize."