Pain.
That's all James Tiberius Kirk can feel, a blinding pain that conquers all other feeling in his body. It clouds his vision, paralyzes him. He thinks he can hear someone screaming, is it him? He doesn't really care. He's focusing on trying to stay afloat. Swimming through the pain, trying not to drown in it. He can hear voices. See lights. Are they angels? Coming to lift him up out of the pain, carry him into space, where he can float away? He thinks that would feel nice.
Above his body, Dr. Mccoy fights back tears as he attempts to staunch the several flowing wounds in Jim's skin.
The ship had been sabotaged and attacked by Klingons, supplies in the sickbay and all over the ship destroyed, barely enough power to make it to the nearest colony. The captain had held off the bridge on his own for an hour, sustaining several major wounds. Fatal wounds.
"Get me another towel," he snaps at the only sickbay worker there, the rest are tending to the wounded elsewhere on the Enterprise. The crew member complies, grabs the last towel off of a shelf and hands it to the doctor, trying not to cry herself. Mccoy soaks up the blood with it, scarlet life force dripping down to the floor. He sighs, and takes a step back. Turns around when he hears a commotion outside.
First Officer Spock is fighting his way in, several security men attempting to hold him back, but the Vulcan overpowers them and runs in the room, to the dying man on the bed. He stares and stares down at him, for once in his life, he has no idea what he should do. Mccoy isn't going to tell him to get out.
Soon, the entire bridge crew files in after Spock, several nursing small injuries. They stand there, watching, until Chekov stumbles forward. He is limping.
"Keptin!" he cries. The young Russian is twenty years old, still very much a boy, and James Kirk is an extremely prominent father figure in his life.
Jim's eyes flutter open. They take in everyone in the room, and he smiles weakly. He manages to push away enough of the pain to speak.
"Hey guys." He attempts to sit up, but whimpers in pain and slumps back down. "I'm sure I'll be fine in no time. Bones will patch me up!"
No, the doctor doesn't have the heart to tell him, not this time. They won't reach the closest colony for another four hours, and by then Jim will be far gone.
Jim looks around the room, at the stony faces, and realizes that he's not going to live. Pain takes another stab, and he gasps. The light behind his eyes is starting to fade. He's growing weak. He can't fight it much longer. His mind starts to wander, memories of his life flashing before him in vibrant technicolor. A certain memory sticks out, one from his childhood. He tries to talk, coughs up blood, but speaks anyway.
"When I was a kid..when I was sad, my mom sang a song for me." They look at him, curious about what he's getting at. He continues after a coughing fit. "It was called....Somewhere Over the Rainbow. An old song. Could you sing it for me?"
They all know it, The Wizard of Oz is one of their favorite films to watch at the end of the week. Lt. Uhura starts, her shaky voice still beautiful.
"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high...." Kirk nods, smiles at her gratefully. Scotty joins in, his rough bass trembling. "There's a land that I've 'eard of once inna lulluby.." The others start to sing too, no one cares about how good of a voice they have, they are honoring a last request for their captain. The last wishes of a dying man they have all come to love and respect. Even the first officer is singing too.
"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies of blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true." People in the hallways hear, come in the room. They sing too, guess what's happening.
"Someday I'll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly, birds fly, over the rainbow, why oh why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly...beyond the rainbow why...oh why...can't...I?" As they finish the last bars of the song, Jim's pulse starts to drop. His eyes droop shut. The room is full of people now, a loyal crew giving a last farewell to their captain. James Tiberius Kirk dies with a smile on his face.
I hope you liked it. :)