Epilogue
One Year Later
"Jesus, Lena, pull yourself together," Kirk muttered.
She scoffed, nudging his arm with her own as she shook her head.
"No go, Captain," she said her voice shaky – along with the rest of her body. The moment their shuttle arrived at the Starfleet Headquarters to welcome new cadets and officers – one of them returning from year long probation – Lena was a bundle of barely contained excitement, her body never staying still for more than a few seconds.
There was a large buzzing sound, echoing in the large shuttle bay, and Lena let out a gasp as Kirk rolled his eyes.
It was adorable but equally painful to spend time with Lena. Over the shared loss of Bones, they grew from acquaintances to close friends. However witnessing the endearing yet mostly sickening aspects of a long distance relationship was yet another of the many already obvious reasons Kirk was glad that the year was over.
That and the fact that Kamira had graduated from Starfleet only a month ago.
Despite his many attempts this past year of trying to get any kind of info on Kamira – even from Pike himself - it was as though the Admiral set specific restrictions so that even he, as a Captain of a Starfleet ship, couldn't retrieve her files.
The first few months after she left, his mind reeled. Was it her that wanted to stay hidden? Was it her father, the Admiral? Or maybe it was the fact she was a student and those files themselves were restricted from such an unrelated position?
After cycling through the reasons, after the seventh month, he just stopped thinking about it. And he only thought about Kamira at Starfleet Academy, wondering if she was the studious learner or more of a feigned slacker like he was. If she was happy. If she spoke of her time on the Enterprise to gain fame and recognition or if she acted as the quiet mouse and kept quiet about everything, keeping her head down.
A large crowd had formed in the shuttle bay, new Yeoman's and Officers and Cadets all searching for their designated shuttle that would take them to their assigned Starfleet ship.
Lena was almost vibrating next to him as they both searched the crowd. Of course Kirk was keeping an eye out for his friend, but a small part of him was hoping to see a familiar gaze, walking towards them as a new and official member of Starfleet.
"There!" Lena shouted before she started running. Kirk stood still and watched Lena's sloppy bun bounce as she swerved through the bodies of the crowd, crashing against Bones as she finally reached him, jumping into his arms and molding their lips together.
His eyes flitted away as he searched the crowd, the small sliver of hope dissipating as no other recognizable faces were seen.
McCoy and Lena approached hand in hand, their lips red and hair in dissaray and Kirk smiled genuinely.
"Good to have you back, Bones," he said, raising an eyebrow at his new beard. Lena's cheeks were pink and kept glancing over at him – McCoy doing the same.
Kirk sighed.
"Go on, lovebirds, but for god's sake, please keep it PG while on the shuttle, nobody wants to see that," he muttered.
Bones clapped a hand on his shoulder as they passed, and Kirk smiled as he nodded at his friend who was finally back. It really had been a long year.
Kirk stayed at the entrance, welcoming a few new Red Suits and a group of Yeoman's, always waiting for a certain someone to approach.
The crowd had thinned out, and a few shuttles had already left, but he stayed where he was.
Maybe she graduated into a grounded position. Maybe she had the familial recognition to request a position at a different ship. Maybe she…
"Sir? Everyone is accounted for, are you ready to disembark?" a Red Suit asked, standing far to the side of him.
With a final look, Kirk turned and nodded, walking into the shuttle and buckling himself in.
He stood stock still in the lift, breathing in and out. He had punched in the overwriting stop code, just short of the bridge.
He let out a deep breath, his fingers tapping against his legs.
He'd welcomed new members onto his ship before. And the spirits were even (surprisingly) higher with the return of McCoy.
He closed his eyes as he brought in a deep breath. He was Captain. He had a job to do, and the small feeling of disappointment nagging the back of his mind shouldn't distract him from his job.
He opened his eyes, reaching towards the panel to punch in a code, the lift beeping as it descended for another second or so before it's doors opened to the bridge, the chaotic sound coming to an immediate silence.
He stepped onto the bridge, walking straight towards his chair where Spock was waiting, his hands behind his back. He gave a short nod.
"Captain."
He returned the nod.
"Spock."
He looked around, shaking his head before putting on a smile.
"Well, to our new members, I can only hope you know what's in store for you. From what I recall we have three new additions. Don't be shy, Captain's orders, and introduce yourselves."
There was a small round of laughs as the first new member shot up from his chair next to Uhura.
"Yeoman Clint, sir, Communications," he said, his curly red hair bouncing as he gave a curt nod before sitting back down.
Next, a rather large man stood up, his skin a soft blue and his brown hair in long braids. He gave a complicated hand gesture before bowing slightly.
"Officer Phospat, Operations, sir."
Kirk grinned, interested to find out more about this new Officer and their species.
However that grinned falterd when an awkward and static silence fell over the bridge.
He looked over to Spock who turned away, not meeting his eyes.
Kirk raised an eyebrow, and frowned. Only two of the three members had introduced themselves.
He looked around, meeting Lena's gaze. She tilted her head, and not so subtly moved her eyes towards the corner of the bridge. He followed her gaze and stopped when he saw a woman, her back to him, at the Tactical station.
What made his heart stop, however, was the dated and expired uniform she was wearing – a red dress with long sleeves instead of the official short sleeved style.
The silence was almost too loud, it was indescribable.
Kirk cleared his throat, not caring that his voice was unsure, and even shaky.
"There's still one member to introduce themselves… Captain's orders."
She turned around, her head tilted down.
"Cadet, introduce yourself," he said, fighting the smile that threatened to break out. He focused on keeping still and not running to her to make sure he wasn't just seeing things.
But when she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, finally looking up, staring back at him - he knew he wasn't imagining things.
"Tactical Officer Pike, sir," Kamira smiled.
