Labyrinth | Dr. Leonard McCoy

Chapter Two

The Enterprise.

The name of the ship echoed through Emma's head as if someone were yelling it in her ear through a megaphone. It was a ship she hoped to never see again nor step foot in. It was a beautiful ship. The best one created for Starfleet in Emma's opinion, but it held the most painful memory of her life. It was the ship Chris died on. It was the ship she lived on for nearly six years. It was the ship that taught her everything she needed to know about being Starfleet officer, but it was still a painful experience.

She clutched the ends of her jacket tightly in her hands, afraid that if she let go she would start hyperventilating. All horrible memories aside, it was still better then staying on the planet whose leaders were trying to kill her. She was also looking forward to seeing some of her friends again. As they grew closer to docking inside the ship, she watched as the refugees gaped out the window with wide eyes at the Enterprise. She was almost sure none of them had never seen a ship so large before. Even Cody seemed taken back by it.

"I had no idea they were so large up close." He admitted to her. "Did you serve on one this big?"

Emma swallowed. "I actually served on that ship."

"Holy shit." Cody said surprised.

"Holy shit indeed." She agreed.

Once the ship was safely inside the Enterprise, she assisted the crew in helping the refugees off. She tried not to get caught in the nostalgia of being back on the ship. However, it was hard not to occasionally look around. She knew her chances were slim at not being noticed. She just hoped all she had to do was talk to Jim and then slip into a room undisturbed. The chances were lowered when she saw people glancing at her and whispering amongst themselves. She had not seen most of the people in a year. The last time she was there her husband died. She supposed it was normal for people to talk.

"Commander Pike," an officer approached Emma just as she finished helping the last refugee off the shuttle. "I was told to escort you to Captain Kirk."

"Of course. Please lead the way." She said quietly.

She didn't need him to lead the way. She knew the ship like she knew the back of her hand. She just didn't want to appear pretentious. She didn't want to meet with Jim just yet. She would have preferred she taken a shower and eaten something first. It would make her less cranky, but she could see understand his urgency. He needed to know what happened. She followed the officer towards one of the elevators. When it stopped she realized he was taking her to the ready room.

"You look like hell, Emma." Was the first thing Jim said to her when she walked in. He was right though. She did look terrible. She didn't need a mirror to know that. She gave him a small smile and he gave her a brief hug. "It's good to see you. Sorry it's under these circumstances."

"You too." She said.

"Please, sit. I'm sure you're exhausted. How've you been?" He asked.

Emma wished he didn't ask her that. They had known each other a long time. She wondered if he knew what she looked like when she lied, so she decided to tell the truth. "I've been okay. Thank you for rescuing us by the way."

"I'm sorry it took this long to reach you. You guys were just in very deep space. When the crew learned about what happened and that you were involved they were eager to get to you quickly. You said you were in a humanitarian mission? How long have you been doing that?" He asked and handed her a glass of some sort of liquor.

"Six months. I needed something to...distract me and this seemed like a harmless option. I was wrong obviously." She pointed out. She glanced down at the drink thinking about the leader of their group, Miles, and how he sacrificed himself so everyone could get to safety.