Title: Legacy
Genre: Angst/Family
Rating: K +
Summary: SPOILERS for Star Trek 2009. A young Starfleet officer's reaction as her mentor and dear
friend is listed as KIA..and then something else entirely.
NOTE: First Trek fanfic, probably my only unless I play with Spock's pov when he meets Kirk. Sorry if I mess up any details, I', not *quite* a Trekkie.
She had been on Vulcan when she got the news that Ambassador Spock had not returned to Starfleet Command on time, and that Romulus had been evaporated by it's exploding star. The news burrowed into her chest and throbbed with pain as she breathed slowly in and out, attempting to meditate her intense feelings away just like he had taught her. It was hard for her, a child of two worlds like Spock, to fully process her grief, but it was also good. She could still feel the pain, just dulled. But she did cry.
And now she held reports in her hand that would brings more tears later, in the privacy of her quarters on the Enterprise. As a Captain she could not afford intense emotion on deck, though she let her eyes speak her grief in front of her crew. She was not a Vulcan of old, nor was she entirely Human, so the mild display wasn't a problem.
The problem was that now her heart was in conflict. Tiberia looked down at the reports, rereading one crucial sentence over and over again:
Debris from the Ambassador's last known point of origin suggest that they have been through microscopic changes indicative of ripples in Space-Time as recorded during previous Fleet missions, leading us to believe that Ambassador Spock and the Romulan ship pursuing still exist on a different plane.
She snorted. Long winded scientists. Could they have not just said "he's in a parallel dimension" and been done with it?
Tiberia finished the report and closed her eyes. The last words burned behind her eyelids, defying the serenity the darkness afforded.
Rescue without full understanding of Red Matter is unwise.
She should be grateful that her family's dearest friend lived, possible among an alternate Starfleet. Even now he could be talking to her great-grandfather Jim, happy to see the man who'd vanished so suddenly from his life many years before. It was logical. Life was important, not to mention better than dying in a futile attempt to save a population so foolish they waited near an exploding star instead of escaping. Yet..
There was a bitterness in knowing someone who had guided her from the age of three was alive but forever lost. Immortal, in a way. If someone ever made sense of Spock's notes, they could possibly return him to this world.
She'd be dead by then, no doubt.
Rising from her seat, she walked towards the large window of the captain's quarters, staring out at the stars around them spin by. For a moment she focused on her reflection, trying to see the racial similarities in her face that spoke of her lifelong friend. There were the arched brows, the curled ears, and the long, defined face. But also the bright hazel eyes that had been a hallmark of the name Kirk for generations. Her hair was light, too, worn long in a Human fashion.
"Take pride in that you are not fully Vulcan." he'd said once, kneeling down before her as she sniffled. It was one of the rare times some so called "pure blood" had insulted her for her Human father. His eyes had remained on hers as one long, delicate finger wiped her tears away.
"They said I am...illogical."
"They are being illogical in saying so. You have a gift from your blood, Tiberia. Humans are emotional, driven beings. Yet your mother is of Vulcan, and we are logical and controlled. Do you understand the conclusion?"
Tiberia wiped her face with her sleeve, little face scrunching in thought," I am in between two extremes, sir," she said slowly, then smiled," therefore I must be both logical and understanding of emotion!"
"Perfectly deducted!," Spock replied, proud at her reasoning," Do not ever forget that."
He rose, holding out his hand for her to take," and never forget, you are a Kirk. I have known no more noble a family. Or a friend."
Tiberia smiled. She cherished that memory, often repeating his words to herself whenever she felt like an outcast. He was right, of course. Two extremes blending together could only result in a balance. Her.
Her eyes drifted from her reflection, settling on the rows of photos she kept on the window ledge. Her graduation photo, her parents and Spock smiling proudly around her. Another, her acceptance into StarFleet. Only Spock had made it to that, her parents being on a mission near the end of known space.
He had been there for everything, taught her the ways of Vulcan, and left to her his books and journals in the event of his death—or his disappearance in this case.
Tiberia turned from the window, eyes seeking the middle of three bookshelves on the opposite wall. Everything that was Spock would soon join the first of his many journals on that bookshelf. She would be all that he'd deemed commendable in his knowledge.
Straightening her uniform, Tiberia Lynn Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise exited her quarters, the reports forgotten on her desk. She had a duty to perform.
And maybe, someday, someone would bring Ambassador Spock home. And they'd let him read about her fantastic career in some history book. He would be pleased by that.