Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.
Chapter Ten:
Jim stared at the far side of the medical bay, as Dr McCoy run a medical scanner over him. Jim hadn't so much as glanced at McCoy since he had sat down on the bio-bed he was currently seated on and he didn't need to look to know his best friend was growing more and more annoyed by the second. It seemed like he wasn't the only one to have picked up on McCoy's increasing annoyance, as the other medical staff seemed to be finding jobs to do as far away from Jim and McCoy as possible.
Jim could hear McCoy grumbling and growling under his breath as he continued to scan him, but he did his best to ignore it. He knew he was being childish, but something McCoy had said during the Nero fiasco had been playing on his mind ever since the Enterprise had left the space dock at the start of this mission months ago.
He knew he should have just sat down with his best friend and talked it over as soon as it had started playing on his mind, but he hadn't. He'd been unable to do it, it was just too much like asking for help. Many would probably call him a coward because of that, but Jim had his reasons for never seeking out help and those reason were filled with blood and death because nothing in his life could ever end in anything else.
Finally McCoy lowered his scanner with a sigh and began sorting through the medical equipment he'd need to treat Jim's injuries. Jim glanced at McCoy for a second before turning his attention back to the wall on the far side of the medical bay.
"You know," McCoy suddenly started talking, not even bothering to see if Jim was actually listening to him. "I was glad, hell I was damn right over the moon, when all this started."
Jim glanced at McCoy again, but McCoy's attention was on treating his countless cuts.
"I'll be the first to admit, this is one of my worst nightmares and watching it play out has been one of the most stressful things I've ever gone through," McCoy continues. "When that call came through saying there had been an accident on the bridge, I felt my heart stop. All I could think about was my best friend was on that bridge and would I be in time to save him… Then it was over. Medical had nine bodies in the morgue and one possessed crew member who could destroy the Enterprise with a single thought."
McCoy paused and looked up at Jim, who meet and held his gaze.
"But all I could feel was joy," McCoy continues once more, holding Jim's gaze. "Joy at the fact my best friend was no longer ignoring me. Joy at the fact my best friend was calling me 'Bones' again and not 'Dr McCoy' or 'Leonard' when we're off duty in the mess hall."
"Bones…" Jim mutters, unsure on what to say but knowing he had to say something.
"No," McCoy stops Jim from saying any more. "I don't want you to apologise. You're my best friend, Jim. We were roommates for three years. Do you seriously think I wouldn't have worked it out? I'm a doctor, Jim, it's my job to notice things like that… I just wanted to say-"
Whatever McCoy was about to say was cut off by Jim all but lunging forward, to wrap his arms around McCoy in a hug. McCoy stood still in shock for a moment before returning the embrace. Jim smiled into McCoy's shoulder as he heard the rest of the medical team breathe a sigh of relief. McCoy's bad mood had vanished the moment Jim had looked at him and held his gaze.
And just like he had done countless times before, McCoy made a silent promise to himself that he'd always be there for his best friend, no matter what. After all from what McCoy knew of Jim's life before Starfleet, it was about god damn time someone had the kids back.
)o(
Jim stared at the PADD screen in front of him. It held a list of eleven names. The eleven crew members who had died on this mission. Eleven dead crew members. To Jim that was unacceptable. The number of fatalities was too high. All he could think about was what he could have done to avoid this. What he could have done to save their lives. But each time he came up with nothing.
There was no way of knowing when they left their galaxy that some unknown force was going to attack them, do unknown damage, kill nine members of the crew and leave one possessed by an incredibly power, supernatural entity. Even when they found that distress beacon, they had no way of knowing they would encounter the same force which had led to that ship's Captain ordering the self-destruction of their ship.
Then there was Gary and Kelso.
Jim knew there was a chance Kelso's death could have been avoided.
If Kelso had never beamed down to Delta Vega, he'd still be alive. But it had been Kelso who had found what was needed to fix the ship. And who knew, if Kelso hadn't been there someone else could have died in his place and that someone would most likely have been Scotty… Or maybe him or Spock or maybe even all of them.
If Scotty hadn't found Kelso's body, he would never have gone looking for Jim and Spock and who knew what could have happened if Scotty hadn't found them when he did. Both he and Spock could have regained consciousness too late to stop Gary and the Enterprise would have either been destroyed or Gary would have used it to get to the closest Federation planet and then destroyed the Enterprise.
Suddenly Jim's computer sounds the alert for an incoming call and Jim's gaze snaps up from the PADD he was looking at. The caller ID told Jim it was Pike who was calling him. Jim looked down at the report one last time before reaching over and answering the call.
)o(
Fatality report: Stardate 2253.136
Lieutenant Patrick Avers, age 38. Science department, zoology. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Lieutenant Rebecca Barton, age 27. Engineering department, quantum mechanics. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Ensign Andrew Brooke, age 21. Science department, computer science. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Nurse Adam Cole, age 31. Medical department, field medic. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Lieutenant Martin Green, age 26. Science department, astrophysics. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Doctor Elouise Miller, age 35. Medical department, space psychology. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Ensign Micky Parker, age 20. Engineering department, junior engineer. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Ensign Amelia Towan, age 23. Linguistic department, communications. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
Ensign Samantha Wyatt, age 22. Science department, geology. Cause of death: Seizure leading to brain haemorrhages and neurological damage. Date of death: Stardate 2253.135
)o(
Fatality report: Stardate 2258.140
Lieutenant Lee Kelso, age 25. Command department, navigator. Cause of death: Single phaser shot to the right temple. Date of death: Stardate 2258.140
Lieutenant Gary Mitchell, age 26. Command department, pilot. Cause of death: Single phaser shot to the chest. Date of death: Stardate 2258.140
)o(
Captain's Log: Stardate 2258.141
It was only yesterday when myself, Spock and Scotty beamed down to Delta Vega, yet it feels like a lifetime has passed since then. Yesterday two of my closest friends died. Their deaths adding to the other nine promising crew members who died days before. They had their entire lives and careers ahead of them. They all had families back on Earth who'll never see them again… Who's goodbyes on the day we left space dock were their finally goodbyes. The last time they'd ever see their loved ones face to face. The pain, the searing pain, of losing those I care so much about, it's almost unbearable, but I know it's my job as Captain to bare it… Because the lives of the rest of my crew depend on it.
)o(
Jim all but stumbled into his quarters, having just pulled a double shift on the bridge. They were still a few days away from the closest Starbase, but the Enterprise was making good progress and Scotty had pulled of a near miracle to get the ship moving a warp one point four. The funerals for the fallen crew members had taken place before Jim had come on shift and he had overseen the ceremony.
It showed the dedication the dead crew members had to exploring space, as not a single one had requested that their bodies be returned to Earth for burial. Each had requested that they be buried in space, for lack of a better term. So in a ceremony which was shown live throughout the ship, eleven coffins had been fired out into space via the torpedo tubes.
Watching Gary and Kelso's coffins get fired out into space had almost been too much for Jim, but he had somehow held it together and made it through his double shift. Nobody mentioned it if they noticed his eyes were slightly red from mourning his dead friends the night. McCoy had turned up at his door with a bottle of bourbon and they had drunk, or in Jim's case, drunk and cried in honour of their fallen comrades.
And Jim didn't care in the slightest if people thought him weak for crying. He was James Tiberius Kirk and he could cry if he damn well wanted to. Two of his closest friends had died and he had killed one of them in order to protect his crew, if people didn't think that was acceptable to cry for them, then they could go-
Jim's chain of thought was cut off by his computer sounding the incoming call alert and much to his surprise it was Ambassador Spock's caller ID on the screen. Sighing Jim quickly made his way over to the table and collapsed into the seat and accepted the call. Ambassador Spock's face flickered into view and Jim couldn't help but smile slightly at the face which greeted him.
He owed Ambassador Spock his life and if it hadn't been for Ambassador Spock's help, Jim knew he would never have been able to beat Nero, hell he never would have made it off Delta Vega alive and he would never have made it back to the Enterprise in time to save Earth, even if he had escaped that monster alone.
"Ambassador," Jim greets.
"Jim," Spock greets in return inclining his head slightly.
"What can I do you for?" Jim asks, smiling slightly at the way Ambassador Spock raised an eyebrow at his question.
"I believe we have yet to finish our chess game," Spock answers, not commenting on Jim's poor grammar. "It is your move, is it not?"
"I think it is," Jim agrees. "But I don't think I'll be a good companion right now… It's been a trying few days. We were tasked to explore the far edge of our galaxy and we run into some… Trouble, you could say. Eleven crew members were lost, two of whom were close friends of mine."
"Gary Mitchell and Lee Kelso," Ambassador Spock replies.
"Yeah," Jim nodes. "But how-"
"The same events occurred in my own timeline in a few years from now," The Ambassador answered, with a hint of longing and sadness in his voice.
"I thought you weren't going to tell us about your timeline," Jim points out.
A hint of a smile crossed Ambassador Spock's face. "I said I would not talk about events which have yet to come to pass in your time. I'll have you checkmated in three moves."
Jim nodes and turns his attention to the chess board beside his computer. He quickly moves his first chess piece of the continued game and grins at the Ambassador, he was looking forward to seeing how this move affected the Ambassador plan.
Checkmate in three moves, Jim was highly doubtful.
)o(
Hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is final chapter! I hope you've all enjoyed reading this story. I will be publishing the next story 'AOS: The Naked Time' sometime this week, so keep an eye out for it. Until next time,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLife1997.