Disclaimer: The new Star Trek movies were the lovely work of JJ. Abrams, not myself.
"Family is not an important thing. It's everything."- Michael J. Fox
I was out of breath. My heart was pounding so hard it felt as though it would burst out of my chest any second now. Cold beads of sweat dripped down my back, cooling my sweltering flesh. I was exhausted. Every muscle in my body was begging me to stop, but I had to keep going. For everyone on this godforsaken planet, I had to escape.
My actions were in obvious violation of the prime directive, but I had to go against my orders. I couldn't bring myself to sit by and watch an entire civilization meet its end at the merciless hands of the Klingons. Surely, he wouldn't have.
Warm feelings surged through my brain, evoking memories of an intimate friendship; memories that I'd convinced myself were long forgotten.
The trip to Nibiru was supposed to be one for only observational purposes. It was home to a quaint, relatively primitive people. Everything was red. Red trees, red grass, red vegetation. That really stood out to me.
The mission had started off well by my standards. Jim and Spock had reached some sort of consensus on how to proceed and they entire crew was beginning to grow rather fond of the little white men. Everything was going according to plan, until of course, until Spock discovered that the planet was on the verge of becoming totally inhabitable. Jim was filled with the zeal to save those men, bordering on insanity. He kept the senior crew members working around the clock, desperately trying to figure out a way to intervene; he wanted to stop an entire volcano from erupting.
I told him he was being foolish. As far as I was concerned, stopping natural disasters was the work of God, not men. I didn't want those people to die, but I also wasn't keen on getting on the bad side of command (again).
Spock disagreed, but I wasn't surprised. If anyone could have come up with a way to stop a volcano, it would be that damn Vulcan. He was going somehow neutralize the entire the volcano, whilst…Jim and another crew member distracted the planet's inhabitants. It's a good thing the only weapons they possessed were sharp, pointed spears. Perfect for puncturing flesh.
Somehow, I had agreed to go with Jim (it was probably because I knew he'd get himself killed without me). I waited a few miles away from what seemed to be their temple structure having previously secured our arrival back to safety upon the back of a giant lizard thing. Jim went inside the temple and grabbed something to distract the locals. While we got them out of visage of the shuttle, Spock and the others were working on stopping the volcano.
Being a mission of the USS Enterprise, some things didn't go according to plan. Jim stunned the lizard, we were spotted by the locals who attempted to kill us, the shuttle over heated, Spock cut himself loose from the protective cables, and we had to use the Enterprise to rescue him, thus revealing our presence to the planet's inhabitants. Scratch that. Nothing went according to plan.
We got back home alright, but command wasn't happy. Jim was reassigned and demoted. He wasn't happy either.
Months later, when everything had more or less returned to normal, I asked Jim why he had insisted on going back for Spock, especially when Spock would have let him go without even a second thought.
His response will stay with me for as long as I remember it. It comes back to me sometimes, but then I forget it. It flows through my mind in a never ending cycle.
"What else was I supposed to do?" he said, looking at me straight on, like it was the most obvious answer in the universe or something.
"My crew is my family. And there's nothing I wouldn't do for my family."
I can't tell you how many times I've heard that phrase repeated. Now days, it feels like everyone from genetically enhanced psychopaths to newbies to the fleet have said it. I guess it's no longer Jim's phrase. To this day I can't put my finger on it, but it will always be the most significant thing he ever said.
I had reached the borders of the local encampment by now. I could hear the clinking of the Klingon soldier's army behind me. Damn! They were close.
I was really getting too old for this. You'd think after all those years of semi-faithful service; the bastards at command would give me a break. Nope. They were going to work me to my grave.
THUD! I had collided face first into something very solid and very invisible. A goddamned force field. Well, that was new. The Klingons had obviously been honing their invasion techniques and this was the culmination.
I could see the soldiers now. They had me surrounded.
"Surrender now, Star Fleet officer. We may just let you live," stated what looked to be the force commander.
"And what? Forever be your prisoner? Thanks, but no thanks, boys."
"You will die then?"
Sighing, I pressed the button activating my comm.
"Enterprise, this is McCoy. On- planet mission was a failure. Now would be an excellent time to take defensive measures."
I didn't wait for their response. The idea of relaying that the entire team sent down to the planet's surface, with the exception of myself, was dead, made me sick.
"It would be my pleasure," I answered the Klingons.
The Klingon soldiers laughed cruelly, but a strange wave of calmness came over me. I wasn't afraid of death. I welcomed it in fact. By allowing them to stop and kill me, I was giving the crew up on the ship above enough time to get away.
As an added bonus, I finally figured out was so special about Jim's words. They were universal. No matter who you were or where you came from, you could relate to them. That's why so many people said them. I wasn't being haunted; I was being reminded.
"Thanks, Jim," I muttered silently. "Guess, I'll be seeing you pretty soon."
I heard a loud clang and fell to my knees. Blood was gushing rapidly out of my shoulder. Leave it to a Klingon to be a shotty marksmen.
"You do not fear your ultimate demise?"
Ah, yes. I'd forgotten about this part. They liked to toy with their victims before killing them. But, I wasn't about to give them the pleasure of watching me writhe in pain.
"Not at all. You may have gotten me, but up there," I weakly gestured towards the sky, "is an entire ship of people who are gonna walk away from here alive. Because you're gonna kill me, they're gonna get the chance to live. I just saved my family from the likes of you."
The commander's face darkened, causing mine to light up momentarily.
"You know what? Lives are temporary. But, death is permanent. You may have saved your pathetic family, but it will only be a matter of time until they perish."
"Until we all perish," I finished for him. Serves him right for countering with a stupid comeback.
I heard another clang. I must have really pissed him off now.
Another clang and my entire life flashed before my eyes. I could see my greatest triumphs and my most appalling failures all in a matter of seconds. Death was really everything it was cracked up to be.
And then, everything went blank.
I think that Khan's famous words (from that particular movie) are more befitting of Jim. He's an easy character to understand and relate to while Kahn is much more complex. That particular statement should be easy to understand and relate to as well.
Thoughts? Ideas for improvement?
All comments/reviews would be much appreciated!