Starstruck (Star Trek/Khan FanFic) - Under Editing

Preparations

The mission had been going on for several days before Ensign Stanton and Captain Kirk spoke again. The trip was expected to last several weeks, but no more than a month. Marie continued her work alongside Bones, tending to the various illnesses and injuries of the Enterprise crew. There had been a few cases of motion sickness, and some minor fractures and sprains due to turbulence in the atmosphere, but nothing too serious that they couldn't handle as a team. During downtime, there was not much socializing to be done in the med bay. The staff was relatively limited, consisting of Bones, the Chief Medical Officer, Marie, the Assistant Medical Officer, and two nurses. The nurses were usually on-call instead of being continuously on duty, leaving Marie and Bones to their own devices during the duty shifts. Marie had no other friends aboard the ship yet, as she had advanced above her friend group from the Academy and had not yet had a chance to get to know her fellow officers on the Enterprise. She wished she could contact James, but she knew that was unprofessional. Bones noticed her distractedness and distance and approached the Ensign, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"What's on your mind, Ensign?"

"Nothing, sir, I'm sorry"

"I know bluffing when I see it, Stanton. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you looked lonely. Missing your friends? Family?"

"Yes, sir. I am lonely. I have no family left to miss, it's just that I don't really have any acquaintances aboard this ship except for the Captain, and it's clearly unprofessional for me to spend time with him outside a work capacity"

"I'd disagree. You two have been friends for a long time, haven't you?"

"Since we were children. I'm beginning to question his decision to bring me here, though. I graduated the Academy just weeks ago, I have no experience outside of being a student, especially not on a starship. Nobody other than him believes I belong here, and the crew is sort of rude to me sometimes. They don't agree with the Captain's treatment of me. It's hard for me to deal with because he's the only real friend I've ever had. All through childhood, the Academy, and now here, I've always had him. Now there's this distance. It's just...hard to adapt"

"I understand. To offer some reassurance, if Jim assigned you to his ship, you're ready. He takes this very seriously, you know. As far as the rest of the crew is concerned, it's none of their business. It's not your fault you have friends in high places, or that you're as skilled as you are. Tell me who's giving you trouble and I'll take care of them. I am a commanding officer, after all. And not everyone on board is a jerk like that. There are people on this ship that would love to get to know you, I'm sure. You could use a wider circle of friends, especially on space missions like this. Working in the field on explorations can be long and boring"

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your advice"

"Anytime, Ensign. Now, I don't mean to pry, but aside from questioning Jim's decisions as a Captain, and missing him as a friend, how do you feel about him? I could sense a little hint of something else while you were talking about your relationship with him. Something a little deeper than just friendship"

Marie smiled slightly, her cheeks beginning to blush.

"I mean, I've always known him. I've always imagined him as part of my future. We used to live in the same building, we played together, learned together, grew up together. He's always been reckless and a daredevil, and I've always been willing to follow him and take the fall with him. I used to get hurt all the time because of his schemes. He was always so apologetic and caring afterwards, though. He never forgot about me. Not until we started getting older"

Bones laughed.

"That sounds like Jim, alright. He must have liked you"

"Yeah, we were great friends"

"No, I mean as more than friends, Ensign. Like, romantic interest"

"I don't believe that, he would have said something instead of going off with all those girls at the Academy"

"He probably didn't think you felt the same way"

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm a doctor, woman, I know love when I see it. The way he looks at you now...it's there. You don't reciprocate it as deeply though"

"I didn't join the crew of such an impressive starship to have a fling with someone from my childhood just because he's in a position of power now. I'm not going to be another girl in his long line of conquests. If he can convince me that he's got more ability to commit, maybe I'll consider it. But I'm not going to chase after him. It's inappropriate. Hell, it might even be too late.

Just as Bones was going to respond that it's never too late, a ship wide comm channel opened.

"This is your Captain speaking. We have arrived at our destination, the planet Nibiru. We had planned to conduct a purely investigative mission, as the planet is inhabited by an alien species, but it appears as though the largest volcano on the planet, which happens to be near the only major colony, is overactive, and about to erupt. We have calculated that this will wipe out the colony, and potentially the entire species. They appear to be rather primitive, so we cannot risk them seeing us or our technology, as per the Prime Directive. As we have not yet made First Contact with this species, we are going to attempt to prevent their extinction. Please report to your duty stations and prepare for any possibility"

The comm channel closed, and almost immediately Dr. McCoy's comm badge beeped.

"Captain to Dr. McCoy"

"Yes, Captain"

"I'm leading an away team to the planet. We'll need a medical officer to join us"

"Yes, sir"

"Captain out"

Bones turned to Marie, smirking.

"Ensign, you're up. Your first away mission"

Marie rolled her eyes before grabbing her med kit and heading for the door.

"You'll thank me later"

"Yes, Doctor"

The Ensign stormed to the shuttle bay, and just so happened to pass a large window on one of the decks. She glanced outside and stopped in her tracks. All she could see was blue, water as far as her vision reached. She slapped her comm badge.

"Ensign Stanton to the Captain"

"Yes, Ensign?"

"Captain, has the ship landed?"

"Yes, we are on the bottom of the planet's ocean"

Marie was unable to tear her gaze from the window.

"Ensign, are you on your way to the shuttle bay to join the away team?"

"Y-Yes, sir"

"Are you alright, Marie?"

"Yes, Captain, it's just-"

"Oh, the water thing. I forgot. Head back to the med bay, I'll call Bones and-"

"No, Captain. I'm alright. I can do this"

"That's my girl. Hurry up, Sulu is getting impatient"

"Yes, sir"

Marie tapped her badge again and raced to the shuttle bay, pushing her irrational fear of deep water far from her mind. She told herself there was no reason she would have to enter the water for any reason, and that she would be fine. When she reached the shuttle bay, she was directed to a small shuttlecraft that was fueled and ready for takeoff. She jumped inside, the door slamming closed behind her. She quickly sat down and strapped herself in, joining her teammates. Also aboard the shuttle were the Captain, Lieutenant Sulu, Commander Spock, the First Officer, and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, the Chief Communications Officer. The Ensign smiled weakly at her fellow teammates before glancing down at her hands that were clutching her med kit. The Captain put a hand on her knee silently as the ship lifted off and exited the shuttle bay, hurtling towards the surface of the ocean.