Title: Salt
Rating: M (for language and themes)
Warnings: Major character death (but nothing unexpected), harsh language (from a majority of the male characters because let's face it, they're all potty-mouths), dark themes
Pairing: A little Khan x OC if you look hard enough
Summary: Katelyn Pike felt she only had two duties in life: take care of her father, and serve Starfleet to the best of her ability. But when a Starfleet commander goes rogue and takes away one of those duties forever, she's left with a choice—continue to serve Starfleet and take him out, or listen to the curious things her heart is telling her. "These memories are nothing to me, just salt."
(A/N) So welcome to my latest story! I'll be publishing this both on Wattpad and here, but I won't be posting it to Wattpad until I've finished the fic completely (as of right now it's about halfway done but I was getting impatient xD). So woohoo! Updates will be sporadic, but I intend to finish it if it kills me. SO without further ado, Salt!
Chapter One: Sunday Brunch
Katelyn sat on the counter beside the stove, feeling like she was six years old again while she watched her father cook them breakfast. She tilted her head to the side curiously as he threw some spices into his infamous "garbage omelet" and picked up one of the bottles when he set it down.
"I thought you hated oregano?" She asked, and he snatched the bottle back, setting it down with the others.
"I do. But not when it's mixed with other things." He told her, flipping the omelet over before turning and giving her a dubious look. "Aren't you too old to be sitting on the counter, young lady?" He changed the subject, and she shrugged, grinning sheepishly.
"24 isn't too awfully old…" She started, casting him a mischievous glance. "I'm much younger than you, anyway." She jabbed, and he rolled his eyes.
"Well I would hope so. I am your father, after all." He stated, tending to the omelet again. "Your legs aren't painted on. Go do something useful." He told her, and she jumped off the counter, snapping a smart salute.
"Understood, sir! Admiral Pike, permission to be dismissed?" She asked, holding her salute, garnering another eyeroll from her father.
"Granted." He said, his tone suggesting that he was growing tired of her antics. She snickered before walking to the cabinets and grabbing two plates and silverware. She set the plates down by the stove so that they would be ready when the food was done, and then set about making coffee.
As she was pouring the ground beans into the filter, she heard something clatter to the floor behind her, and then her father cursing quietly. She immediately spun around and grabbed it for him, handing the spatula to him with a supportive smile. He grunted irately and took it with a nod of thanks, and she turned back to making the coffee, sighing sadly. He was still very upset about his legs and how they weren't going back to normal. After that Centaurian slug had chewed through a portion of his spinal cord on its way to attach to his brainstem, he had been essentially paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors had done everything they could, and in her opinion they had done a really good job of patching it up, all things considered. He could walk for longer periods of time now as long as he was using his cane, but bending down and standing in one spot for a long time were still difficult. Seeing him so upset was also hard for Katelyn. He tried to hide his discomfort and difficulty from her, but they both knew she saw it all and usually chose to ignore it for his pride's sake.
In fact, she had just moved back into her own apartment two months ago after having lived with him to make sure everything was alright. It had been about a year since the Nero incident, and he was definitely getting better, but the difficulty was still there. Katelyn was just glad that Starfleet had chosen to promote him to Vice Admiral after everything that had happened. Unable to captain the Enterprise for obvious reasons, it was good for him to have something to occupy himself with. Even if he did constantly complain about all the paperwork that came with the new job.
She did miss her job as the Diplomatic Officer of the Enterprise, and often found herself wondering what adventures Kirk was getting them into while they were off on their survey of Nibiru and other nearby planets. Both Kirk and her father had attempted to convince her to go along, Kirk even pulling the it-won't-be-the-same-without-you card, but she refused. Her duty to making sure her father was back on his feet (both proverbially and literally) always came first. Besides, she had found plenty of work around Starfleet Headquarters as is. The Admiralty had decided that she had the best qualifications of all the fleet's Diplomatic Officers, and offered her the position of the Chief Diplomatic Officer of Starfleet. She had accepted for obvious reasons, and was immensely enjoying her new assignments.
She was shaken out of her musings as the coffeemaker dinged, signaling that it was finished, and she set about pouring two cups of it. She heard her father turn off the stove and serve up the omelets, and she quickly placed their two mugs of coffee at their respective seats before reaching and taking the two plates that he was about to try to carry to the table.
"I've got it." She reassured him, bringing them over to their seats, and she heard him grunt bitterly again.
"Kate, I'm fully capable of doing things myself, contrary to popular belief." He grumbled, and she flashed a smile his direction.
"But there's no need for you to. You told me to put myself to use, and I am." She stated cheerfully, and he huffed.
"You and I both know that's not what I meant."
"I'm just trying to help you, daddy." She soothed as she pulled his chair out for him, and he sighed before gingerly taking a seat, setting his cane aside. She waited to make sure he was all settled before tucking in, smiling and shaking her head when she tasted the omelet.
"Mm. I'm really gonna miss these Sunday brunches when I'm on my next assignment. Lord knows I can't cook." She told him, and he scoffed.
"Lord knows you'd better learn how before I disown you." He deadpanned.
"But daddy! Cooking is hard!" She pouted, and he sent her a look and a raised eyebrow from across the table.
"It's really not that hard, Kate. It's just experimenting. You've been watching me do it for 24 years."
"Easy for you to say. You've been doing it twice as long as I have…" She grumbled, and he rolled his eyes for the third time that morning.
"In other news, Kirk has let his ego ruin him yet again. Although, this time he might lose the Enterprise." Her father told her, and she nearly spat out her coffee.
"What?" She asked incredulously, and he hummed in agreement.
"Just thought I should let you know so you'd be prepared when he came to you whining about how much of an asshole I am."
"What did he do?" She asked, still shocked. Yeah, she knew that Kirk had his headstrong moments, but what could he have done that would qualify him losing the ship that he loved so much?
"He lied on an official report. He violated the Prime Directive, and then didn't think it was important enough to include." He said exasperatedly, and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Then how did you find out that he lied?"
"Spock filed a separate report detailing the incident. At least one of them has some common sense, even if their idea was idiotic in the first place." He muttered, and she chewed her bottom lip.
"Something tells me it's not you he's gonna be complaining about." She mused, and her father shrugged.
"Either way, I don't have much sympathy. If he's going to make stupid decisions, he's going to have his privileges revoked." He stated as he finished his coffee, and then stood. "Well, I've got to head into the office." He told her as he made his way towards his bedroom, and she raised an eyebrow.
"I thought today was your day off?" She asked, but he shook his head.
"It was supposed to be, but I've got to meet with the two idiots." He told her, and she nodded.
"Oh, okay. Well, if you need me, I'll be in and sifting through Hilton's findings from the survey." She said as she took their plates and mugs to the sink and cleaned them quickly.
"Noted. I'll see you this evening." He said by way of farewell as he went to go get ready for the meeting he was not at all excited about. Katelyn finished with the dishes, and then left her father's apartment, heading straight to Starfleet Headquarters since she had already been dressed for work. As she walked, she wondered when Jim would appear in her office, demanding to "hang out" at a bar while he drank away his sorrows. Making a bet on 3:15, she smiled to herself and took a deep breath before heading inside for another day of work.