Thanks to everyone for the continued support-over 2300 views-whether you favorited (not a word... oh well!) or followed or reviewed! And special thanks to elysenjazz, who not only went on a review rampage yesterday but also gave me the idea for this prompt! I hope this delivers. Sorry for not uploading yesterday, but it took a while to hammer out all the kinks in this one (which I'm pretty sure still has some rough spots).

*spoiler below*

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

(This is set after Kirk wakes up in Into Darkness and just a few days before the memorial service nearly one year later, when the Enterprise has presumably just finished undergoing repairs, so it takes place before most of the other drabbles.)


8. Lie

The Admiral on-screen raises an eyebrow. "Problem, Mr. Kirk?"

Jim meets the Admiral's hard stare with one of his own.

"None, sir," he replies stiffly.

His higher-up nods. "Good." The Admiral's expression softens. "I'm sorry, son, but she's one of the premier Chief Engineers in the 'Fleet, and we needed someone not on the Enterprise to do this so there would be less bias." There's a pause, in which the Admiral gazes intently at Jim for several moments before sighing. "Harding out."

Long after the transmission cuts off, Jim remains in his room, staring at but not seeing its walls.


Three hours later, he and his senior staff are down in the Transporter area, greeting their 'Fleet visitor and her aides.

"Commander Russell," Jim says, thrusting his hand out and staring fiercely down at it as if that will block out the face of the officer.

"Captain Kirk," the blonde Chief Engineer replies brusquely, shaking it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Bones frown.

"I'll have Mr. Scott take you down to Engineering," Jim continues, gesturing toward his own Chief Engineer. "I apologize for not taking you there myself, but he'll explain what's going on a whole lot better than I can." Several of his senior staff chuckle at this, Jim included, but the Commander's expression remains forcibly stoic.

Spock's eyebrow raises infinitesimally.

As Scotty leads their visitor away, Jim heaves a sigh of relief. Sure, their meeting wasn't pleasant, but it went a ton better than he thought it would. And he was impressed, actually, with the Commander's control. She hadn't faltered when she'd said his last name, as if she could understand all the troubles and tribulations he's gone through in life.

He snorts. Doubtful. At least she knew his father. At least she understood who the man George Kirk was, unlike him, the "poor boy" who never saw him but always had to live under his shadow.

Because after all, Commander Russell - albeit many years ago - once had the full name of Winona Russell Kirk.


He's sure that Bones has his extremely strong suspicions and Spock has his own scientific conclusion as to who the Commander is in relation to him. However, they don't say anything on the topic for the remainder of the shift and for that he is grateful.

He wonders half-seriously if the ship would implode if the Voice of Emotion and the Voice of Reason suddenly both agreed on something.

Now that lunchtime has arrived, though, he moves quickly through the line and seeks out a secluded corner in the Officers' Mess instead of a spot in the center where he and his senior staff usually eat. He doesn't want to have to face their questions and wondering glances. It's no fault of their own, of course, and he trusts them far more than anyone in his Iowan "family", but he's not sure if he's quite ready to reveal this part of his past to them.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Jim looks up, slightly puzzled at the fact that someone found him; his expression darkens considerably when he sees who it is sliding her tray toward him.

"How?"

"You always did run away from your problems, James," Winona scoffs.

He surprises both of them when he leans over the table and gets up close and personal with her. "Don't - call - me - that - name," he growls.

Winona looks taken aback for a moment, then her composure swiftly returns and the familiar coldness in her pale green eyes is back.

"Mind your tongue, young man," she replies quietly, but no less harshly than her constant yelling when he was a child. "I'm still your mother."

"What do you mean, still?" Jim exclaims. "Maybe by blood, but never by action or feeling. Dang it, woman, I'm not a young man anymore either. Or have you not heard about what happened almost a year ago?"

Winona sniffs. "Oh yes, the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of your crew and ship. Just like him."

Jim's steel blue gaze is now flaming - how dare she bring up the man now - but before he can retaliate, someone else steps in.

"That's a lie, Commander Russell."

Jim narrows his eyes - can it be? - and he whirls around to confirm whether or not the firm, fierce voice belongs to Nyota Uhura.

It does.

His Comms Officer's eyes flash as she stalks up to Winona and even Jim is scared by the palpable fury in her normally warm, chocolate-brown gaze.

"You better listen very carefully to what I'm saying, Commander Russell," she hisses, spitting out the title venomously, "because Jim Kirk is far more than just George Kirk's son. You certainly wouldn't know this because you haven't been in touch with him for years despite all the times he's called you-" Jim facepalms; right, Communications Officer here- "but sitting in the chair has changed him. He's older, wiser, more experienced; he's responsible; he treats all of his crew equally and fairly; he would do anything to ensure the safety of his crew, as anyone could tell after what happened last year; and most of all - and here's where George Kirk failed - he survives. So don't you dare tell him he's still overshadowed by his father!" she finishes, slamming her tray down onto the cafeteria table right next to Jim's.

"Nyota is correct," his First Officer says, setting his own tray down on the other side of Uhura's. "Jim Kirk is his own man. He does not let anyone or anything tie him down or hold him back from who he is destined to be. And in the past year, he has also found a balance between..." he pauses, searching for the right phrase, then continues, "'gut intuition' and logical reasoning. In addition, though his loyalty to his comrades and strength in the face of danger are astounding on their own, they are even more remarkable when one considers all the hardships of his past, including the pain he has been caused by his biological parents... or rather, lack of said parents, through no fault of his own."

Winona flushes and opens her mouth to defend herself but is given no chance to do so, as Sulu pounces on the opportunity left by Spock.

"Jim was the first person to believe in me after Instructor Reynolds back at the Academy," the Helmsman says quietly, but no less intensely than if he had been yelling. "When both he and Spock were gone, he gave me the chair and was confident that I'd do well even though I'd never sat in it before. He just - well, you can't not want to follow a guy like him. Heck, three years ago, he jumped off that blasted Romulan drill to save the skin of someone he'd known for all of ten minutes. A man with that kind of loyalty you can't help but respect. And, Commander, do refrain from speaking so lightly about sacrifice, if you please. Jim didn't give himself up to be like his father. He did it to save all of us, because he cares for his family." He lays his tray down on the other side of Jim's.

Winona narrows her eyes at the veiled implication behind Sulu's words. "Now, this is all very touching, but-"

"Ze Keptin iz my role model!" Chekov exclaims brightly, jumping into position at Sulu's left. "Weenewer I geet an idea, 'e leestens wery carefully and does not jest dismiss me as a leettle kid. And 'e knows his crew wery well, miss! 'E knew I 'ave been shadowing Meester Scott when I zink I only told four ozer people what I was doing."

Suddenly, there's a whole line of his crew to Jim's left and right all trying to talk at once, all of them beginning to shout in their efforts to be heard. And then, attracted by the noise, more of his officers are gathering behind them and adding their input to the shouting match.

"What on earth did you do to earn so much loyalty in such a short time?" Winona asks, the kindlings of awe and respect in her expression.

"Commander, were you satisfied by the upgrades Mr. Scott showed you?" Jim says, completely ignoring her question as he gets down to business.

Winona nods. "The other ships in the 'Fleet would certainly benefit by making the changes he has already installed. You chose your Chief Engineer very well, Captain."

He nods, seemingly nonchalant, though inwardly celebrating the fact that Winona has finally - finally - praised him for something. However, he would be lying if he let the credit go to himself.

So he clears his throat and corrects her. "Actually, Commander, while I appreciate your praise, I can't truthfully accept it. Because you see, I didn't choose the crew. This ship did."


Gah, something about this one made it so difficult. So obviously, Winona failed at following Pike's advice back in the first drabble; I also hope Chekov's accent is fixed. I realized I reversed it in the 5th chapter about halfway through this one. If it's difficult to understand, though, please let me know.

At any rate, hope you enjoyed!