Title: The Legend of the Sentinel
Fandoms: Star Trek XI/The Sentinel Fusion
Pairings: Kirk/Spock, McCoy/Chekov, Uhura/Scotty
Chapter Rating: PG-13 or light R, for language. Eventual NC-17 for entire fic.
Chapter Word Count: 2257
Overall Warnings: Alternate Universe, light BDSM themes, violence, language, homophobia, xenophobia, sexually explicit scenes between m/m and f/m pairings.
Spoilers: To error on the side of caution the entire plot of Star Trek XI.
Summary: One year after the Narada Incident the Enterprise is caught in an unknown energy wave that activates a long dormant gene from Earth's past. The resulting events that transpire change the very structure of the Federation and its future.
Author's Notes: So I've been reading some very good fanfics lately that are a fusion of The Sentinel and other fandoms. One of my favorites is a series called The Sentinels of Atlantis by Keira Marcos. Now this story is in no way related to Keira's, but it is inspired by her fusion of The Sentinel with another fandom.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Sentinel or Star Trek franchise, nor do I make any profits from these writings.
Prologue
The legend of the Sentinel was a secret passed down through the generations. Unlike many other legends, the truth of the Sentinels existence was kept secret, only told in hushed whispers and with reverence to those who were the most trusted, those who had the blood of a sentinel or guide running through their veins. They were honored with the secret of the Sentinels, taught the knowledge to keep hope alive that maybe someday they would return.
Of course it wasn't always that way… for many eons the Sentinels, with their chosen Guides, protected the land and its people. They were the soldiers and generals, the first and the last line of defense against invading forces. They gave the people hope and security, their presence lighting the way for countless generations.
However, at the end of the twentieth century ambitious human scientists through selective breeding and genetic engineering created the Augment. The Augments were designed to be stronger, faster, and more intelligent than the average human. They were created to be superior in all ways and the next evolution of the human race. However, two flaws that had slipped through the cracks threatened the entirety of the human race… the arrogance and aggression of the Augments. Believing themselves superior to humans, they appointed themselves rulers of all humanity and wished to make the human population kneel before them in submission.
The Augments soon began a campaign of war on the human populace and through this the Eugenics War began. For four years it continued, every country and every continent was consumed by it and no one was safe from it. By its end, an estimated 30 million lives were taken before the Augments were finally overthrown.
In the wake of the Eugenics War anything considered outside of the norm in the human race was feared, the Sentinels and their Guides were if anything too closely related to the Augments for many to accept and so were feared. So the once great protectors of humanity were given the reverse treatment of the Augments. They were "cured" of their supposed affliction by the same scientists that started it all, changed to reflect what the masses deemed normal, average. Over the next few generations the "cure" was distributed until all Sentinels and their Guides faded into legend, spoken only in gossip and whispers. Their descendants growing farther and farther away from who they had once been, most completely unaware of the gift lying dormant in their genetic code, just waiting for when it was needed once again.
Chapter One
Captain Kirk wasn't having a good day, to be honest, he wasn't having a good week either. The Enterprise had been called away from a mission that had the potential to be very entertaining and instead put on what he could only label a "milk run." After receiving the new orders from Admiral Komack Jim had reluctantly had Chekov plot a course away from the Klingon-Federation Neutral Zone and head for the Imala System. They were tasked with escorting a highly valued member of the Kulian delegate to Beur VI for the signing of a peace treaty.
They had picked up the Kulian delegate, who went by the name Jon'ar Kulian't, four days ago and Beur VI was still nearly a week away. Jon'ar was quite possibly the most boring being Jim had ever met. He droned on in a monotone voice about the most inane topics known to the universe, at least in Jim's view. Currently Jim found himself nodding off during another lecture about the mating habits of the Kulian Jaut'l, which if Jim had heard correctly was basically a fruit fly with even less interesting qualities than the Terran fruit fly.
The fact that the Enterprise had been assigned to such a menial task irked Jim just a tad, but to be stuck for a near two week journey with Jon'ar was just plain mean.
Komack of course had gleefully saddled Jim and his crew with the man. Back in the academy, Jim had made the unfortunate choice to correct the Admiral during a class, thereby humiliating him in front of over two hundred cadets. The Admiral had made a glaringly obvious mistake that if taken for face value by the other cadets would have lead to deaths down the line. So Jim didn't regret saying something, though he did wish he'd kept the cocky attitude to a minimum that day and avoided the future hassle.
Jim's communicator chirped, interrupting his thoughts, but apparently not Jon'ar's droning monologue. "Kirk here."
"Keptin there is an unusual reading in our path and ze Commander requests your prezense on ze bridge." Chekov spoke over the communicator, his broken English heavy with a Russian accent.
"Understood, I'll be there in just a minute. Kirk out." Jim stated happily. He would take any reason at the moment to escape another hour spent listening to how the Jaut'l was rumored to be a very romantic creature… seriously, Jim didn't even have a response to that. "I am sorry Jon'ar, but duty calls."
"… and the Jaut'l is believed to pursue its mate with much vigor-…pardon Captain Kirk, did you say something?" Jon'ar paused with a frown on his face.
"Yep, there's a small matter I need to attend to, so please excuse me." Jim replied with a forced smile as he slowly edged for the exit to the mess hall.
"Oh yes of course, Captain, we will continue at a later time." Jon'ar said eagerly, as if Jim were actively participating in the discussion.
"Sure… that'll happen." Jim muttered as he left the mess hall.
A minute later he was exiting onto the bridge from the turbolift. Spock turned his chair towards Jim as he walked onto the bridge and spoke.
"Captain we have encountered an unusual phenomenon that our database has no data on. It appears to be an energy wave moving randomly through space. I have had Lt. Sulu reverse the Enterprise away from the phenomenon, however the energy wave had since moved closer to the ship. I would advise we remove the Enterprise to a more safe position and take readings to ascertain what it may be." Spock said calmly, his hands folded together behind his back in his usual parade rest.
Jim looked at the view screen briefly for a better look at the energy wave. It seemed to be made up of pure light, flowing fluidly through the black of space like a wave crashing against the shore. It seemed to take up nearly the entire view screen, the black of space and the nearby planets and stars nearly completely whited out by the sheer size of the thing.
Nodding, Jim turned to Sulu. "Sulu would you please reverse the Enterprise away from the-"
As he spoke the wave seemed to taken another abrupt course change towards the Enterprise, its bright waves of energy flowing past the ships outer hull and into every being on the ship.
Jim fell to his knees as the energy coursed through his body like a shockwave, igniting nerves, awakening every cell in his body until he felt as if he were on fire. The painful sensation seemed to continue for an endless amount of time, completely taking over Jim's every thought or painfully aborted movement. He felt powerless, locked in his own body, unable to help either himself or the other members of the crew withering in pain just like himself.
Fear, pain, confusion, rage, loneliness, devastation… hundreds of emotions and thoughts flowed through him from the hundreds of minds on the ship. It was as if a switch has been flipped in his mind and he was a sponge soaking up all their thoughts and emotions. Jim felt overwhelmed both in body and mind and unable to do anything about it.
He could hear Spock's pain filled groan from beside him, his face blushed green as his body was stimulated like Jim's. Superior strength and emotionless logic were helpless against the attack of the body of energy.
A low whimper escaped Jim's lips as a particularly painful spasm coursed through him. "Spock…"
"Jim… I am coming." Spock's low groaned reply barely reached Jim's ears over the cries of the rest of the bridge crew.
The Vulcan slowly began to crawl towards Jim, the pain of each inch crawled was pronounced on his face, but he continued on. Jim wanted to tell him to stay still and let the pain take its course, but some deep instinct inside of him rivaled it. The instinct screamed out for the touch of Spock, as if the simple feel of his skin on Jim's would ease the pain. With every last drop of strength he had left he scooted forward to Spock and as their hands connected Jim felt a burst of something unfold in his mind. He felt whole, connected, safe…
And then as abruptly as it began, the wave passed and Jim's body was his own again. Jim sucked in needed oxygen to his lungs as he tried to get his bearings. His heart was racing, his breath coming out in shallow pants as he took stock of everything around him. Lifting his head his eyes connected with Spock's and Jim felt the air sucked from his lungs again. The connection forge when their hands touched exploded within his mind once again and its was if everything slotted into place.
"Sentinel." Jim whispered as he looked into the blown pupils of his First Officer.
"Guide." Spock answered back.
Dr. McCoy was having a fucking bad day. It had started off with an ensign from engineering emptying the entire contents of his stomach onto Leo and then ended with his life changing beyond measure in the space of a few minutes.
Leo hadn't even known there was problem until he'd seen the tendrils of light pass through the wall into the infirmary a split second before a pain like he'd never felt before lit his body on fire. He had fallen to the floor as the blood in his veins seemed to boil as the light passed through him. He could feel his skin crack and burn, sizzle and scrape against the floor beneath him. Leo heard the screams of everyone around him; he heard their breaths stop and start, their hearts race so fast that they might leap from their chests, the loud hum of the warp core, and the slide of fabric against skin. He smelled the fear and pain in the air; the low lights of his office nearly blinded him with their intensity. He senses were overwhelmed with a million different things at once and then it began to ease.
The blinding pain faded leaving a dull ache throughout his body, but the sounds, lights, smells… they remained. His mind and body was taken over by them, leaving nothing behind, nothing but fleeting thoughts and movements. Time slowed down and sped up, stopped all together until he heard his headnurse's voice cut through the fog in his brain.
"… hear me? Dr. McCoy squeeze my hand if you can hear me." Chapel's stern voice spoke from above him, her blonde halo of hair lit by the lights overhead.
Leo flinched and squinted his eyes as a penlight was shined in them, growling in annoyance. "… I" Leo cleared his dry throat and spoke again. "…I hear you Chapel… what the fucking hell happened?"
"I am not quite sure yet Doctor. The ship encountered some energy wave and it passed through the ship. Everyone on board experienced extreme pain during the forty-eight seconds it took to pass. Once the energy was gone about half of the crew were fully functioning within a few minutes, but others, like yourself, experienced… complications." Her lips pursed in a tight line, a crease appearing between her brows.
Leo nodded his head and then was assaulted by a scent that in an instant reignited his body all over again. It was sweet and spicy and utterly captivating. He needed to find the source of it, felt the need so deep in his bones that he might die from the need to surround himself in the scent, to wallow and glut himself in it.
Before he knew it, Leo was off the medical bed and stalking his prey. A primal force directed his every thought and action, urging him forward towards it. A deep growling roar erupted from him as he reached the door separating him from the source of the scent. The door refused to open. Banging his fists on the door, deep gouges appeared in the shape of his two fists, the sturdy metal nearly buckling with the force of his blows.
He heard screams and curses behind him, the smell of fear permeated the air, but nothing was strong enough to distract him from the need to get inside.
Then the door slowly slid open, stopping prematurely halfway open as the buckled metal refused to slip any further into the slot provided for it.
"… I must get to him… he needs me!" Yelled a voice inside, the words fading in and out, Leo's mind too centered on getting inside to listen.
His guide! Leo's primal drive increased all the more at the sound of the voice, flinging the door out of his way, Leo rushed inside.
"… will be alright… I am here…" Whispered Pavel Chekov as he was lifted off his feet and into the arms of his Sentinel.