Disclaimer: I claim no rights to Star Trek or Big & Rich's "8th of November"
"Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
This song is based off of Big & Rich's '8th of November'
Pavel Chekov had been a baby at fourteen when he had said goodbye to his Mama and left Russia to enter the Star Fleet Academy, to join the United Federation of Planets' noble cause. He was doing his duty as he was a gifted teen who could be put to good use on star ship. Star Fleet wanted the best of the best, and Pavel thought he could live up to their expectations. His mother had cried all the way to the transit station and begged him to stay with her. But determined to prove his worth, he gently unwrapped her arms from around him and said good bye. It would be his honor to serve in Star Fleet.
The three years at the academy had flown by, he had learned much. He had made friends, even thought of some of his fellow cadets as brothers. He felt that he was finally where he belonged and was accepted for his intelligence. In Russia he had been ostracized because he knew so much more than his teachers. But these professors had been given rose-colored glasses of how their futures would pan out, how important his intelligence would be. He had worked hard and learned as much as he could. Pavel Chekov wanted to serve on the best ship, the Enterprise, and the best captain, Pike.
The faithful day that Vulcan had sent a distress call for help to the Federation Headquarters, Pavel had learned much more than any class at the Academy could have taught him. He learned about life. Five ships had been reduced to scraps of metal orbiting a dying planet. He had been placed on board the Enterprise and come to serve under a better captain than even Pike, James T. Kirk and his infallible First Officer, Spock. They had saved Earth and the rest of the Federation from Nero and his crazy Romulan crew. They had saved everyone but Vulcan. It was that day that Pavel realized that everything the professors had told them may not have been completely true. There would be death; there would be missions that not everyone would make it back from, and it would crush Pavel's heart every single time it happened.
Now Pavel is 58 years of age. His curls are no longer blonde, but white. But the last battle of the Enterprise still plays in his head. He limps when he walks because Bones McCoy had not been the one to see to his wounds, but he is strong when he talks about the phaser fire his escape pod suffered that inured his leg. He puts on his Star Fleet Dress Uniform over his Maiden Enterprise tattoo one time a year. He goes with Sulu and Uhura to order a round of vodka that they swallow down with their tears. They all sit and remember the valiant crew of the Enterprise that went down on star date 2365.11.08. The memories of those five men who died to save them all flash through their minds and it is as fresh as the day it happened.
On Earth Standard date, November 8, 2365, 1,200 Klingons had attacked in ten Birds of Prey, de-cloaking without warning thousands of kilometers within Federation space. Jim had countered the attack, Spock assessing the situation, Sulu firing weapons as ordered, Scotty diverting all available power to the shield, Uhura sending encrypted messages to Star Fleet, Bones seeing to the wounded and Pavel developing a plan of escape. They had been able to incapacitate eight of the smaller Birds, but the other two had their shields re-enforced some how. The Enterprise had sustained heavy damage and Kirk had ordered all personal to the escape pod. The Excelsior was less than fifteen minutes away as re-enforcements. Uhura, because she was a woman, Pavel, because he was so young, and Sulu, because Kirk told him to, were ordered to the escape pods with the rest of the crew. But by the time their sister ship would arrive, all they would be able to salvage was the escape pods that were badly damaged.
Pavel could hear the Angels cry as they carried his brothers away. They could see the fire raining down and hell all around from the escape pods. Pavel, Hikaru and Nyota had watched as the Enterprise like a proud eagle had flown straight into the two Birds of Prey to protect the escape pods that had not been destroyed. The first one hundred escape pods full of the science crew and other nonessential personnel had taken heavy losses from one of the ships. At the end of the day there were only a few men left standing. It hurt like hell to know that Jim Kirk, Spock, Montgomery 'Scotty' Scot and Leonard 'Bones' McCoy had gone down with the ship to ensure that there were survivors from the Enterprise. They had gone down in a blaze of glory and were remembered every year on their deaths as the good, faithful, wonderful men they were.
The three officers had gone on to serve on other ships, but always, even if it had to be thru comm-link, remembered this day. No other Captain was as beloved as Jim, no other First Officer was as dedicated as Spock, no other Chief Engineer was as miraculous as Scotty, and no other CMO was as compassionate as Bones. There would be no other crew or ship as fine as the Enterprise. Pavel will always hold his head high, because these men gave up their lives so that he could live.
A/N: Thank you for reading.
This fic started after I read 'The Miserable One' by Murf and then ended up on YouTube watching '8th of November' crying like a baby. I recommend both the video and the fic.