"We are taking a picture of our little family on the bridge. No, Ensign Chekov, you are not to wear a fedora. That was not invented in Russia." Jim said.
". . .But it was made in Russia!" Chekov said.
McCoy sighed.
"It'll completely cover your face, kid, no one would be able to see that big head of hair you have." McCoy said.
"That is logical." Spock noted.
"Computer, prepare for a family picture in five minutes," Jim said, then he pressed a button on the armrest. "Scotty,Miss Chapel, please report to the bridge. Kirk out."
"Can we have plants in the picture, captain?" Sulu asked.
"Sure, on the second take." Jim said.
"Second take, captain?" Sulu said, unsure.
"Then we can do anything. Silly,weird, and 'unfascinating'." Jim said.
Spock raised an arched dark eyebrow.
"If you are attempting to elicit a human response from me then I must decline this picture." Spock said.
"Do it and I am goin' to make everyone know you have a collection of sterilized blue Tribbles!" McCoy said.
"You . . . blue. . . Tribbles?" Jim looked at Spock with a stunned but generally confused and surprised reaction.
"I believe everyone now knows of it,Doctor McCoy." Spock said.
"But not where you got them!" McCoy said.
"Why does Hikaru get a plant and I don't?" Chekov said.
"Ensign Chekov, your belongings are unnaturally able to shroud your face and those around you." Spock reminded the Russian.
"If it is supposed to be family oriented, why don't I have something to smile about?" Chekov said.
McCoy looked over toward Jim.
"He makes a good point, Jim." McCoy said.
Jim considered.
"Well, honestly, this is for Star Fleet's pestering me for a picture of my main bridge crew," Jim admitted. "And for my own momentoes in my career box."
"People are obviously goin' to look back and say 'Well, damn, the greatest men and women on the fleet, gone, just like that'," McCoy said, sarcastically. "Which I do not think of this happenin'." He glared over in the direction of the Vulcan. "Spock will outlive the whole of us and the only momentos he will have of us is just chicken scratch at attemptin' to convincin' him that he has feelin's!"
"Logically. Your attempts at humanizing me are failing. And they will continue to fail." Spock said.
Uhura and Sulu shared a hearty laugh.
"Some day I will get through that Vulcan skull of yours!" McCoy said.
"And I will be right one of these days!" Chekov added.
"Should we get prepared for the photo, captain?" Sulu asked.
The doors opened to reveal Chapel and Scotty.
"Get into place, everyone," Jim said. "We are taking a photograph for Star Fleet to remember us and the five year mission we went on."
"I swear, we are goin' to fade away." McCoy grumbled, coming over to the left side of the captain's chair.
"Family photograph, captain?" Scotty asked.
"Right you are." Jim said, with a short lived smile.
"I never been part of a large family photograph." Chapel remarked, coming over to the left hand backside of the captain's chair.
Chekov just stood where he was at and folded his arms.
Two minutes to taking a picture.
"One of these days these computers are going to get less freaky with that voice." Uhura commented, picking up a padd from her desk and turning toward the screen.
"Computers," McCoy said. "Talk about Vulcan's bein' Vulcans."
"They are a lot less creepy." Jim agreed.
"Thank you." Spock said, standing by the right hand side of the captain's chair.
Scotty stood along the rails across from Chekov. Sulu was across from Uhura right behind Mr Spock.
One minute.
"Frozen in time," McCoy said, leaning his fore arm on the arm rest rotating a little medical tricorder in his hand. "I rather spend it givin' them this glare."
The edges of Jim's mouth started to move up into a smile as he had his attention on the viewscreen but it wasn't just quite. McCoy's eyes glared in the direction of the view screen. Chapel had a smirk (or a smile, no one could really tell) of the sorts, partially visible, but not that quite. There was a white flash that engulfed the scene. Spock fades away first then reappears on the picture. Nurse Chapel is the first of the group to start fading away. Uhura is the second to begin fading away on the picture. Chekov is the next to fade before the eye. Sulu is next. Jim vanished from his seat. McCoy is the next. Our view slowly turns away from Spock,who fades completely, right toward the direction of Scotty who was seemingly lost in thought. It was one that was 'froze in time with one expression?' or more so a very unique expression.
Our view backtracks off the padd to reveal the people were back on the photograph to reveal Scotty, very old, his hair completely gray.
"And I thought Mister Spock would outlive us." Scotty said.
"Mister Scott," It was B-4's voice. "I have your belongings packed for the trip."
Scotty looked over toward the golden tilted android.
"Thank you, B-4," Scotty said. "You do nae have tae occupy me tae Calicietron."
"I am obliged to, sir," B-4 said "I would not be standing here if you had not insisted I not be turned into scrap metal. Logically, I am in your debt."
"It was Mr La Forge's part that you are online." Scotty said.
"Geordi." B-4 said.
"Yes." Scotty said.
"Mister Geordi is designing starships for private individuals." B-4 said.
"Yes, that he is." Scotty said.
"I have calculated your recent activity due to the passing of Ambassador Spock-" B-4 was cut off.
"That was ten years ago, B-4!" Scotty interrupted.
"And this anniversary is weighing on your mind," B-4 continued. "My brother would agree with me. I am aware that each anniversary you reminisce or go to the museum not go to somewhere you are not going to be listening to regarding the components of engineering and the updated newly re-generalized physics that go with it."
Scotty sighed.
Ever since they found another golden android and transferred Data's memories into it, La Forge was brighter than he had been before. Scotty heard rumors that La Forge was planning to marry a android! That was a hurdle they could beam right over with time and progression with Star Fleet accepting androids as sapient beings. Holoprograms were still paving the way to getting their own recognition as sapient beings. The new android acted like Data, looked like Data, sounded like Data, and had Data's memories. B-4 was glad to be rid of his brother, plainly, regarding to have a singular matrix that did not contain another soul in the manner of memories and programs. His brother Lore and his other relative Val were in his brother's matrix, kept together, but separated on some level of programming Scotty couldn't wrap his head around.
Scotty put down the padd onto the table.
"I appreciate your concern, lad," Scotty said. "But I will be fine, I am goin' on a civilian transport."
B-4 stared at Scotty.
"There is a forty-two point thirty-six percent chance of it experiencing a failure and crash landing with injuries to all those involved."
"B-4, go home."
Scotty had all ready visited the museum last week and toured the Enterprise E engineering room with the new chief of engineering Randall Tax. The fellow men and women he worked with in engineering would have approved of the new developments. The engines, this time, were able to go over warp nine. They could only go over 12 at the time being in this generation of starships. Scotty had unfortunately had not been there when McCoy and Spock went with Jim to the Enterprise B on the maiden tour. Spock was shaken, visibly upon his return without the admiral, and there was something that loomed on the doctor's shoulders. Spock had attempted to retrieve Jim thirty-five years later and his results came up fruitless. His one chance and he blew it.
Spock met with a man named Soran and he rejected his offers to get Jim back.
Jim was dead.
The Vulcan was sure of it.
Until Picard informed him of the man's passing himself and McCoy finally had the evidence, the grave site, to visit his old friend. Scotty joined the doctor that day, under the cloak of night. On a planet that had yet to develop warp drive. A planet that the admiral had died saving. Spock attended. He placed a rose on the grave. Scotty placed the picture of the Enterprise family, the illogical and silly, and McCoy choked up putting a bottle of Bourbon on the grave. It rained that night. Scotty wasn't sure if he was crying or not. He wasn't sure if the Vulcan was crying because of the rain. He was sure the doctor was crying. A day later, upon visiting the grave, McCoy died of old age. Spock would die seventeen years later saving Romulus and he failed saving it. But what happened afterwards was remarkable.
Vulcans and Romulans unified together.
Unification was heartbreaking to witness for the Scottsman.
2397, that is the year it currently was, and Scotty was all that was left.
He did have some correspondence with Rear Admiral Tuvok, who shared some stories he had with Captain Sulu.
All that was left of the friends he had known were memories, memorials,and their descendants.
"Ambassador Spock . . . he was. . . he was the most human Vulcan I ever knew." Damn, Scotty had to give the eulogy for Spock. Spock gave the Eulogy for McCoy. Sulu had done Chekov's eulogy. Uhura did Chapel's eulogy with M'Benga by her side. M'Benga gave Uhura's eulogy. He had been fortunate to have been inside a transporter buffer for sixty-five years and not have to give Uhura's eulogy. Scotty had watched the eulogy tapes. He had watched the funerals to his fallen friends except for McCoy. Scotty had been there to witness that first hand.
Their deaths had been covered from top to bottom.
The media was all over their deaths.
And it shamed Scotty knowing that, in turn, they would be all over his death.
Stupid being legendary and all.
He had long gone run out of his usefullness asides to being the head of the engineering corps. Star Fleet was determined to have Scotty stick around and actually do something that benefited them. It had been too long since Scotty had served with a Romulan. Romulans had joined Star Fleet nine years ago as a endangered species. Captain Nero, among the dead, and his crew. Well, they at least thought Captain Nero had died when his starship appeared in where Romulus used to be in 2390. He was apprehended when attempting to come over and take down the Enterprise E. He was insane! He ranted how he had destroyed Vulcan, destroyed the USS Kelvin, how he forced Spock to witness his planet's destruction, painfully, and lost a majority of his crew due to the interference by Cadet James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. By then Spock was declared dead.
His knowledge of Captain Pike eventually made Star Fleet take him seriously and send him to a high top security insane asylum, and they threw away the key. What was left of Nero's crew were given a choice: prison or rebuilding their civilization on New Romulus. They chose the latter. Nero's ears were not as pointy, in fact, they were human like. It seemed as though they had been gone a complete twenty-five years. Scotty went through the grieving process again, but, this time for what he knew would happen for his younger counterpart if he had met the Ambassador and when he died. He had grieved knowing that Spock would die alone without anyone he really knew but then again the Ambassador's circle of friends was not as large as it was in this. It was small. Scotty and Spock were the last of a bygone era.
Lucky lads,Scotty thought as he headed down toward the turbo lift, they still got everythin' ahead of them.
Thud.
"Scotty." It was Uhura's voice from beside him.
Scotty turned in the direction of Uhura. She was young, so young, young as he had first met her aboard the Enterprise as the Chief Engineering officer, Lieutenant Commander. Her black hair was seemingly in a bun. She had her golden earrings. Her sleeves denoted her rank as lieutenant rather than commander. Scotty oddly could feel young again! It was like he had lost luggage. The weight he had carried was gone. Completely. He felt . . . Free!
"Uhura . . ." Scotty said, stepping forward toward her direction. "You. . . you are dead."
"So are you." Uhura said.
"I am dead?" Scotty said, bewildered with raised eyebrows. "That is what happens? Just walkin' and then you are dead? Well, that was anticlimactic."
Uhura smiled.
"That is what Sulu said when we took him from his gardening rounds." Uhura said
"Uhura. . ." Scotty said.
"The captain's waiting for us," She held her hand out toward Scotty. "Are you ready to go home, Scotty?"
A glint appeared in Scotty's eye as he smiled.
"Ah lass," Scotty took her hand. "I have been ready for tae long."
Uhura took out her communicator.
"Mister Spock," Uhura said. "Two to beam up."
"Your arrival is timely as always, Mr Scott," Spock sounded so young. Young enough that he sounded exactly how he he had sounded on the first five year mission. Scotty could feel excited and happy! He was going to see McCoy, Jim, Sulu, Chekov, and Spock. His roundabout family. "Preparing to beam up."
Uhura closed the communicator with her free hand.
"I missed you." Scotty said.
Uhura and Scotty vanished in a blue light.
On the street Montgomery Scott had collapsed,unresponsive, and people surrounded him. B-4 came to the Scotsman's side then he crouched down and put one finger on the neck of the man. B-4 listened for a heartbeat. There was no heartbeat coming from the Scotsman. B-4 lowered his head briefly closing his eyes then he lifted his head up and closed the Scotsman's lifeless dull eyes. Today one of Star Fleet's greats had fallen to the ground and did not get back up. People recognized Scotty immediately. His image was well known across the Alpha Quadrant for his part in James T. Kirk's missions.
B-4 experienced a new emotion. Of course he was programmed to feel and experience in the beginning unlike his brother. Data was unfortunate to have not been programmed in the first place without emotions. B-4 had been around Scotty for a few years. Scotty's death stirred something new inside the android. Somewhere, among the circuitry and wires and programming. This emotion was new, and unexpected. It affected the android, greatly. The android could feel a tear come down his cheek. He registered this as happiness and sadness. It was the emotion of bitter sweet. Hope, possibly, was somewhere in there.
"I hope you are happy up there, Mr Scott." B-4 said.
"Scotty!"
"Glad you could make it, Scotty, Jim was startin' to annoy the hell out of me not doin' anythin'!"
We see a photograph of the bridge crew, the not-so-offical one, with Scotty smiling with hands behind his back with what seemed to be a bottom of whisky poking out from his closed hands. Sulu held a large plant in his arms and he was beaming with pride. Chekov had a backwards hat on his head doing a silly pose. McCoy had a hypospray aiming for the neck of Jim who was apparently doing a defensive pose edged to the corner of the captain's chair. Spock was staring at the view screen with arms behind his back not amused. Chapel and Uhura had their arms along each others shoulders smiling at the view screen.
"I missed this old girl."
"It seems we have everyone in attendance. I think."
"Me, Jim, Scotty,Spock, Sulu, you,and Uhura. Yep, we got everyone!"
"Captain, where to next?"
"Thataway, Mr Sulu."
"A most logical choice, captain."
The Enterprise vanished into space leaving a trail of blue flakes behind.
The End.
A/N
It initially was Spock who would be the one who would not fade at the end. However, after six minutes of brainstorming that consisted of most of the day and while eating dinner, and after cleaning my plate, I decided it to be Scotty centric!
I got the fading idea from watching the last scene to Warehouse 13 the 'Endless' episode.