She Was Meant For Me
Summary: Kirk is flirtatious, bold, and often rather reckless. Follow the events of her life as she grows up, and goes through trials that would break most men. What will happen when she finally becomes the Captain of her own starship and eventually meets the ultimate alpha male? Fem!Kirk, eventual Khan/Kirk, Lots of twists and changes.
A/N: Warning…parts of this fic will be dark, there will be pain and death, but there will be humor and love as well. I will cover many aspects of Kirk's life from birth, childhood, teenager, and into the two movies and beyond. I will not follow the movies word for word and many aspects of them will be altered to suit my own vision. This first chapter is kind of long…and pretty dark in terms of what happens.
Chapter 1
Deep in the Neutral Zone of space a Starfleet scout ship known as the U.S.S. Kelvin is on a collision course with an enormous Romulan ship. On board is a single man, the recently promoted Captain. Moving away from the doomed ship are several dozen shuttles, and it is within one of these that the man's wife has just given birth to a tiny baby. The man struggles to control his emotions as he hears the baby's first cries of life.
"It's a girl."
"A girl? That's great honey. What are we gonna call her?"
"We could name him after your father and call her Tiberia?"
"Nah that's the worst. Let's name her after your mother…let's call her Arianna."
Arianna…ok George…Arianna it is."
Seconds later he tells her he loves her and the Comm goes dead as she watches the explosion from a distance. Her cries of loss and sorrow join those of her daughter as she holds the tiny infant as close as she can.
12 Years later a young girl with shoulder length blonde hair and bright blue eyes is racing down the road in a sleek antique car, a Police robot right behind her. She turns sharply and sends the car flying off a cliff and into a quarry, nearly sending herself over with it and barely managing to grab the edge of the cliff. She pulled herself up and stood to face the robot as it asked for her name, her tone came out in a snarky sort of tone that was lost on the machinery in front of her.
"Arianna Tiberia Kirk."
Later she's sitting in her room listening to her mother argue with her latest husband Frank over what to do with her.
"Look…I'll send her to stay with George's sister for awhile…maybe she just needs to spend some time away…"
Frank sounded unconvinced but Ari could care less what he thought, she knew he didn't like her and the feeling was mutual. She barely suppressed a snort at the idea that she needed to get away…that was her mother's problem not hers. She just wanted her mother to stay home and be with her, but she was starting to realize that there was little to no chance of that ever happening. That night Winona called her former sister-in-law who was more than happy to have Ari come to stay with them. The next morning Ari and her suitcase were loaded onto a transport ship and heading to the colony known as Tarsus IV. The trip took about a month and she used that time to make herself some new friends who would be staying there for awhile to go to some kind of smart camp.
When the shuttle dropped her off on the surface of the colony she was surprised to see a family of four, two dark haired and two blonde, waiting for her with bright smiles. The woman, a pale blonde with bright blue eyes similar to her own, had immediately recognized Ari due to her typical Kirk looks. She opened her arms and swept the surprised pre-teen into a tight hug.
"Welcome Arianna. I'm your aunt Christina, this is your Uncle Joe, and these are your cousins John and Jacob."
Joe was tall and had black hair and dark green eyes, his oldest son John at 15 shared those same features. The younger boy, Jacob, was only 10 but shared his mother's typical Kirk features with blonde hair and blue eyes. Ari gave them a slightly shy and somewhat confused smile, unused to having such positive family interactions, and the sight of it made Christina ache for the young girl.
"Hi…I'm Arianna…I guess you can call me Ari…it's what my friends call me."
Her sudden beaming smile had both of the boys staring at her in befuddled awe, making Christina laugh softly and share a knowing look with her husband.
"She is definitely her father's daughter…only a true Kirk could put on a smile that bright."
For the first couple of weeks Ari was allowed to settle into her new life on the colony and start taking classes at the school. Christina told her stories every night of her childhood with Ari's father. After two weeks she was given an aptitude test to determine if she was eligible for the 'smart camp' or not. Her score ended up being tied with the highest one, that of an older boy named Karl who immediately got under her skin with his superior attitude and inability to leave her alone for any length of time. He couldn't stand the fact that she frequently beat his test scores, especially since he was 16 and she was only 12, and showed it by picking on her whenever possible. Ari had the rest of the boys from about 10 to 18 following her like lost puppies and willing to do anything she asked them to…so one jerk wasn't really enough to bother her too badly. For the first time in her life she felt a warm happiness at feeling like she was part of a real family, one that loved and supported each other no matter what happened.
All of her warm happiness came crashing down a year after her arrival. She, like many others, had noticed the strange fungus that had taken over the food crops and rendered many of them useless. She assumed that Governor Kodos would contact Starfleet and request assistance…as it turned out she was wrong.
Her family was invited to a gathering at the Governor's palace, but there was no ticket for her to join them. This fact made her both angry and suspicious, and she begged them not to go. They went anyway so she followed them, slipping through the gates and hiding in a dark alcove that was hidden from the view of Kodos' soldiers. She noticed that most of those she had made friends with on the transport ship were hanging out on the area right in front of her hiding spot, along with her two cousins.
The speech given by Kodos chilled her bones and made her shiver in sudden terror. When the soldiers started firing phaser rifles into the crowd she froze for only a moment before surging into action, pushing her cousins and friends into a drainage pipe where they wouldn't be found. When she turned back, intending to get her aunt and uncle as well, she watched them fall under the barrage of phaser fire. Her tears nearly blinded her as she slid into the drainage pipe and told everyone to start moving and not look back. When they reached the end of the pipe they were next to the only lake in the area.
Ari took the lead and everyone followed her into the mountains, where she took them into a cave she had found months back after exploring in her boredom. She told them all to stay put and wait while she and John went to get supplies, the two of them heading back to their house while Kodos and his men were still occupied. They grabbed three duffle bags, John filling two of them with food while Ari filled one with supplies like blankets and matches, before heading back to the cave and covering their tracks just in case. Ari only prayed that Starfleet would come soon, there wasn't much food and it wouldn't last long among 17 kids.
It had been 3 months now and Starfleet still hadn't come, Ari realized they likely wouldn't be as she was sure Kodos wouldn't want them interfering in whatever plans he had. She and the other older kids had been drawing straws to determine who would risk going into the village to steal food. She was currently holding Jacob close to her while they waited for John to come back. The sound of distant phaser blasts made her cry softly, the younger boy clinging tightly to her, and the rest of the kids lowered their heads as they realized they had lost another member of their group. There were only 11 left now…the oldest a boy of 14, only a year older than Ari herself. He came over to her and spoke low so the others wouldn't hear him.
"Anna? I'm going to go down there and try to get something…I know it's dangerous but we have to find food soon or the little ones are going to start dying."
She knew he was right and nodded sharply, though it pained her to risk another life so soon after losing her cousin. After he left the rest of the kids huddled around Ari for warmth and comfort. Only an hour later she heard the light footsteps of the boy as he returned, a nervous smile on his face as he spoke.
"I managed to drag a crate up here but it's too big to fit in here…we'll have to take the stuff out and bring it inside…then hide the crate probably."
The kids immediately ran outside before Ari could stop them. The older boy urged her outside, though she was slow from hunger and fatigue, staying close behind her to keep her moving. When she stepped out into the bright sunlight she saw Kodos and his men, holding the younger kids captive, and whirled to punch the traitor as hard as she could which knocked him unconscious. A strong pair of arms wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides, and she tried to reverse head-butt her captor. She heard a familiar voice in her ear, sounding almost desperate as he asked her to stop fighting.
"Karl?! Fuck you! Let go of me you fucking asshole!"
Kodos stepped in front of her, holding her little cousin Jacob in front of him. She could see the insanity in his eyes and it made her nervous.
"Stop fighting Kirk or I will kill your little cousin right here, right now."
She stared at him in disbelief for long moments, and to prove his willingness he shot the youngest girl in the group of survivors before turning the phaser to rest next to Jacob's head. Ari let out a short scream of helpless rage before her body sagged, head falling forward as the last of her energy slipped away from her. The remaining 10 of them were taken into the depths of the dungeons under Kodos' palace and thrown into separate cells, Ari chained to the wall in hers as an added punishment for leading the little group.
She'd lost track of time in the confines of the dark cold cell, listening to the cries of the rest of the kids echoing around her. Kodos' gave them just enough food to keep them all alive, but not enough for them to regain any strength or health. He came to visit her often, trying to make her surrender to his will. He wasn't willing to kill her because he needed her for his experiments. She was highly intelligent and he needed that, but her constant refusal and resistance was fraying his last bit of patience with her. He entered her cell again as he always did, but when she looked up she realized he was dragging her little cousin Jacob behind him. Ari had already started shaking her head, tears starting to shine in her eyes as her mind swiftly cam to a realization of what the insane dictator planned to do.
"Will you surrender yourself Arianna? It won't hurt you. You know this. It could be quite pleasurable for you really. I merely want you to breed with Karl. Your combined intelligence in one child has the potential to be astounding, and I want to be a part of it."
Ari closed her eyes, a soft whimper escaping her tightly closed lips as she shook her head. The high-pitched whine of a phaser charging followed by the soft thump of a body hitting the stone floor wrenched an agonized sob from her throat while Kodos' dark laughter echoed off the walls as he left her alone with Jacob's body.
Time passed impossibly slow, and yet it also moved horribly fast. She had no way of knowing hos long she'd hung from that wall, her tears had stopped long ago and she felt empty and broken inside. The sound of distant phaser fire and yelling voices from upstairs met her ears but she couldn't bring herself to move anymore, she barely had any strength left as she refused to eat anything after what Kodos did. She felt gentle hand lifting her head and a soft voice whispering to her, urging her to come back to the world. She knew that voice, but she couldn't understand why Karl seemed to be trying to help her.
"Come on Kirk. Open your eyes. Please? Anna please look at me? Don't give up now…everything's gonna be ok now. Starfleet's here now and we're all gonna be ok."
Her eyes slowly fluttered open and he let our a soft sigh of relief that ghosted across her face like a gentle breeze. When she tried to move she whimpered softly and her tried to soothe her as he released her from her shackles.
"Shh…it's ok now. I've got you. Starfleet is taking control back now and it's all gonna be ok."
"Starfleet? How? Kodos…he'd never…"
"No…he wouldn't have…but I did. I knew he had to be stopped."
They both froze as one of Kodos' elite guards stood in the door of the cell, phaser pointing at the two of them with a nasty smile on his face. Ari thought that this was the moment she was going to die…to finally be able to meet her father…but the guard slumped to the ground, unconscious. A man stood behind him in a gold command shirt and Ari clung to Karl, he was familiar which made him safer than any other option right now. She felt herself being lifted up as Karl cradles her to his chest to carry her out of that nightmare and into the soft pastel light of early dawn. She noticed the other kids being carried by Starfleet medical staff, but when one of them reached for her she curled further into Karl who growled a soft warning to make the man back away. The gold-shirted man nodded and led them to the beam-out point.
Once they were settled in the ship's sickbay, Ari seated in Karl's lap and the kids curled around them for safety…all save the traitor who was shunned, the man introduced himself.
"I'm Captain Christopher Pike, and this is the U.S.S. Farragut. I'd like to personally welcome you all aboard and I assure you my medical staff will do everything they can to bring you all back to health as much as we can in the month it will take us to get back to Earth. Other ships have arrived to finish dealing with this disaster but Starfleet felt it best to get all of you home first and foremost…so that's exactly what I plan to do. Now…can I have your names so we can let your families know you'll need to be picked up?"
The little ones started giving their names and telling him who best to talk to in their families. When the traitor spoke they all looked away from him, a fact that Pike noticed and felt compelled to ask about.
"Is there a reason you all seem to be unhappy with this boy?"
Ari bared her teeth at the boy in a silent snarl of anger that made him shrink away from her, even as Karl tried to soothe her by rubbing her back.
"He betrayed us…led Kodos and his men right to the cave we were hiding in."
Pike's brows furrowed slightly as he looked Arianna over.
"You look familiar kiddo. What is your name?"
"Arianna Kirk, Sir."
Pike's eyes widened and a look of deep sorrowed seeped into his eyes.
"I was stationed on the Kelvin with your father…he was a very good friend of mine. I had no idea you were on Tarsus sweetheart."
"My mom sent me to stay with my aunt and uncle for awhile…my dad's sister…she…they're all gone now…"
She started crying again and Karl held her close, his own eyes looking pained at what she had been put through. She eventually cried herself into a troubled and fitful sleep, Karl never left her side…nor did the kids, they all felt safest near her.
In the month it took them to get back to Earth the ship's doctors and nurses managed to get them all to where they could eat a decent meal without feeling sick, and even put a little weight back on them as well. The medical staff kept detailed documentation of everything in the event of a trial…they could not have anticipated that Starfleet would rather hide what really happened, burying all the information in top secret files and feeding the media a story about famine killing half the population instead. Pike was furious when he was ordered into silence, but he vowed to keep an eye on Arianna from here on out…to check in on her once in awhile.
When the shuttle landed Ari stood back and watched with a soft smile as 'her' kids were reunited with their families. A hard, angry voice, made her cringe and step behind Pike and closer to Karl who glared at the offending man.
"What the hell did you do this time you little trouble-maker? How much damage did you do and what's it gonna cost me now huh?"
"Excuse me sir, but I do not appreciate the tone you're taking with her. This girl has been through a nightmare no child should ever have to endure. She has seen friends and family murdered in front of her by the will of an insane dictator. She helped 16 kids escape their sanctioned deaths, only to have most of them die from capture or hunger, leaving only 8 others in the end. Those kids over there being returned to their families are alive because of her. They were betrayed by one of their own and kept in a frigid dungeon for 2 months where they were near-starved to keep them too weak to fight back. Even once they were safe aboard my ship she continued to look out for those kids, making sure they didn't eat too much or too fast and get sick. That young lady is a hero in my eyes and I for one am proud to say she has as pure a heart as her father had."
After Pike's impassioned speech most of the parents were looking at Ari in horror for what she went through, and gratefulness for having saved their kids. Her own mother's face showed a horrified sorrow as she opened her arms, her guilt mirrored in Frank's face as he started talking to Pike in hushed whispers. Ari ran into her mother's arms and the two of them clung to each other, crying softly.
"I'm so sorry momma…I couldn't save them…I tried so hard…so many people died…I saved as many as I could…honest I did…but there was so little food…I tried…"
"Shh…hush my darling. You did so good sweetheart and I am very proud of you for being able to save as many as you did. Your father…he'd be just as proud I promise you."
Frank was gaining advice from Pike on what Ari would need after such a horrific experience, therapy and so on. Karl had been orphaned by Kodos' and Winona offered to foster him so that he and Ari could heal together, an offer both teens quickly agreed with. Pike made sure the information was entered into Starfleet's system and Frank took them all home, Ari clinging to both Karl and her mother while Winona promised to stay home more and help her daughter heal.
A/N: I actually cried a bit writing this, but it's necessary for her future interactions with people. Karl is my own character, as were Ari's Tarsus family members as I know little about that part from TOS. Karl will feature in the rest of the story as a big brother figure for Ari. I hope to upload the next part sometime soon, hopefully people like my idea and stay tuned. ^.^