Hey guys! So I've been in Italy for the past few weeks and that's why I haven't really had anything up since the first chapter. I actually wrote an entire 2,000 word chapter while I was there, but when I got home, I realized I hated it and scraped the whole thing. Also, because I'm still not really sure where this is headed, I figured I'd at least start with the more familiar and then maybe branch off from there. So enjoy and please tell me what you think!


Three Years Later…

"Seriously? Again?" I say exasperatingly when Dr. McCoy finishes telling me that Kirk's got it in his head to take the Kobayashi Maru test for a third time.

"That's what I said." He answers, straight faced, while continuing to look through the genetic templates in front of him.

How Jim thinks he's going to pass a test that no one in the history of this school has ever passed is beyond me. I shake my head and take a moment of silence for Kirk's non-existent humility. He never took the time to mourn it, so unfortunately, it's up to me and Leonard to remember it for him. I know that Kirk's a good guy in his heart, but sometimes I just want to kick him off of his imaginary high horse.

"Oh," McCoy suddenly says, looking up from his work, "and he said he wants us to be there. Tomorrow, an hour before his classes start."

I furrow my brows at the microscope slide I'm holding, only half listening to what he said, "What? Why?"

He shrugs his shoulders as he goes back to sifting through the genetic blueprints, "Beats me, but he told me to tell you."

Still only half paying attention, I stand up from the stool I was sitting in and cross the lab to look for another sample of Romulan stomach lining, "Well tell him I'm busy. I don't have time to go and watch him embarrass himself."

I hear a very small chuckle from his direction, "That's what I said... Again."

"Yeah well, I actually mean it. I really can't be there." I say as I find a sufficient slide and bring it back to my station.

As I bring the holographic microscope over my eyes, I can practically feel his scowl on my back, "You mean I have to deal with him by myself?"

"Hey," I say as I compare the two specimens, "you did it long before I could even tolerate being around him."

I hear him shuffle into the seat next to me before he mumbles, "Doesn't mean I have to like it…"

I crack a small smile before giving him an affectionate nudge on the shoulder. He only gives me an inquisitive look in return before we both quietly go back to work.

… … … … … …

The Starfleet Academy grounds are quiet before the sun rises.

It's the quiet and stillness of this usually busy city that draws me to wake in the early morning and walk it's barren stone paths. Of course, there's always the chance I might pass an all night class who had just finished mapping the stars, or maybe even a fellow lover of the tranquil night, but these are few and far in between. Although, there is one exception to my rule of solitude.

A Vulcan, a Starfleet officer even, based on his uniform, though I do not know him. When I am able to indulge in one of my early escapades, I haven't failed yet to see him. As I walk the dark paths I pass a stone courtyard, and every time I walk through, he is there. He's always standing on the very edge, where the rock meets grass, looking up at the stars. As a freshman in the academy, when these walks were very scarce, he didn't acknowledge me as I passed, and I didn't acknowledge him. We were comfortable strangers. It was only when I was in the middle of my third year that we had our first interaction.

There was nothing special about that particular morning to me, but perhaps it was to him, because when I passed as I always did, he moved his gaze from the sky to me and inclined his head in greeting. I had hesitated in midstride, not expecting the break from norm. As we locked eyes, I could tell that he was waiting for me to do something, so I did the only thing that made sense: I bowed my head. He seemed content with my action, immediately breaking my gaze and looking back up at the stars without a word.

Ever since that day, whenever I pass him on one of my walks, he silently greets me and I him before we both go back to our previous occupations. On occasion, I have thought about speaking out loud to him, but I have never had the courage to do so. I could probably easily look him up in the Starfleet data base, seeing as there are very few Vulcans in the program, but I find myself reluctant. There is something magical about the mystery surrounding him and I feel if I found out who he really is, the spell of these mornings would be broken.

It is two days after Kirk had taken the Kobayashi Maru simulation test. As promised, I didn't attend, thinking he would only make a fool of himself. It was only midday when McCoy came bursting into the lab, mumbling something about, "Kirk" and, "impossible". When I asked him about it, he grudgingly told me that Jim had somehow passed the impassable. I was surprised, to say the least.

And now, only a few days after the feat, the whole school knows about it. It is this subject that drifts through my mind as I take my walk this cool midsummer morning. I have taken the test myself, every graduate has, and like everyone else, I thought I would be the first one to pass it. I was wrong of course, but everyone has that confidence before they sit in that Captain's chair. It's only when they watch as realistic Klingon ships destroy their vessel do they realize that they never had a chance. But, somehow, Kirk did though, why is that?

I am roused from my inner musings as I step foot in a familiar courtyard. I casually glance over to where I know the Vulcan's figure will be and I'm not disappointed. Standing with good posture, as usual, I watch as he moves his head toward me, no doubt hearing my footsteps. As is our ritual, I wait for him to greet me first, but he doesn't. Just as I did those years ago, I stop mid step, looking at him with curiosity. He stretches out the pause, as if he's trying to decide something, but before I can even figure out what it might be, the moment is gone. He suddenly bows his head in recognition to which I instinctively return without thinking, and just like that, our unusual interaction is over. I leisurely begin to walk again but I watch as he tilts his head upward, looking at the black heavens like nothing happened.

Interesting.


Good? Bad? Is the second half of this chapter boring because it has virtually no dialogue?

Please inform me of any mistakes. Thanks :)