Discovery
Michael picked up the hypospray containing the tardigrade DNA she had secretly cloned. She raised her arm until the injector was poised over her neck, her thumb hovered over the trigger.
I am right. I can save us, she thought.
"Nooooooooooo!" Tilly's voice echoed in Michael's head. It continued in a high-pitched rush of words, "Stop! Don't do it!"
Michael hesitated with the hypospray millimeters from the preferred injection site, her thumb still hovering over the trigger.
"You won't get a second chance, you'll never be able to come back from this," head Tilly argued.
"Maybe not," Michael answered out loud, "but the crew will be safe and home. I've lost you. I've lost another Captain. I cannot fail them too. It's worth the price."
"Don't be such a martyr," head Tilly countered in her usual blunt manner.
Tears pooled in Michael's eyes. Hearing my inner voice as Tilly, just like Tilly would sound hurts too much. "Go away and leave me be."
Head Tilly was now standing with her hands on her hips, staring at Michael defiantly. "That's rather hard to do when I am you, silly."
"You are completely exasperating at times, you know?" Michael huffed.
"Tell me about it." Head Tilly agreed with a knowing nod.
Michael pushed down the urge to smile. Her thumb moved away from the trigger.
Head Tilly continued, "Girl, we need you out of prison, not in it. Incarceration is so limiting. At the very least it total nixes the chances for mind-blowing sex with hot guys."
Where the hell did that come from? Michael asked herself. The hand holding the hypospray dropped into her lap.
"Admit it. You miss Ash. And he is very hot." Head Tilly added.
"We seem to have drifted from the point." Michael nudged.
"Like I said, there is no WE," head Tilly pointed towards Michael, "just YOU. I only go where you take the conversation. Don't blame me for your naughty thoughts."
Michael shook her head to clear it.
Head Tilly smiled angelically. "There is always another way, have the patience to find it. Haven't you learned anything from our most recent Captain?" When Michael didn't offer a counter argument to herself, head Tilly continued, "For heaven's sake, if you had sex more than a couple of times a year, you wouldn't have to argue with yourself about it in the middle of one of your existential crises."
Michael laid the hypospray on the table and rubbed her temples.
"Captain Pike would also say 'We must always travel in hope.' Do that rather than grasping at a desperate solution. The worst outcome is a leisurely trip with your adopted family exploring a part of the galaxy that has never been seen by humans before." Head Tilly beamed. "Hey, I'm getting downright wise since joining the Command Training Program." She paused and her facial expression turned serious. "Promise me you won't do this. Because I may still come back to you."
"I promise." Michael whispered allowing her tears to flow freely.
ooooo
"You made the right decision," Kayleigh said to Saru over dinner in her quarters.
"By stranding the crew decades from home?" Saru asked, skepticism dripping in his tone of voice.
"Yes. Our current situation may not prove to be our persistent one. Have a little faith."
"That sounds like a Captain Pikeism," he said sadly.
"He must be a smart man if he quotes me." Kayleigh responded with a grin. "And they give him the tough missions so he can't be a complete moron."
Saru fought to keep the corners of his mouth from curling upwards. "That is utterly irreverent. And Captain Pike would find it amusing."
"I like that trait in a leader."
They ate in silence for several minutes. Saru spoke next, "My people have a rich spiritual practice that guides and comforts. But since my Vahar'ai, holding onto that trust is elusive. I no longer believe in things I cannot see, touch, control, or understand."
"I think faith evolves with us, with our experiences. It feels like it is gone and then belief resurfaces, stronger and clearer than before."
"Perhaps," Saru muttered to himself, unconvinced. The silence returned as he picked at his meal.
He's barely eating and sleeping and so very weary, Kayleigh thought hoping her concern for him wasn't betrayed by her body language or tone of voice. He doesn't need to carry any more burdens.
"I'm not ready to work without a net, I need Captain Pike's guidance," Saru admitted quickly and out of the blue, his face and body radiating misery as he purposefully avoided eye contact.
Kayleigh was taken aback. How do I respond to that? Assuring him he is ready feels inappropriate, because am I really qualified to judge that? And it sounds like I am dismissing his feelings without appreciating they are real. "Captain Pike must have believed … no that is not right as I haven't given up hope that he and Tilly are still alive … does believe you are. Otherwise he would have left Nhan in charge during his absence. The risks from the geometric storm were too great to hand over the ship to you simply because you were posted to Discovery first."
Saru remained silent, but his eyes looked into hers.
No protest must be a good sign, she thought before plunging ahead. "And I will follow your lead to the ends of the galaxy."
"It appears you already have," he responded dryly.
Was that a whisp of humor? Mission accomplished, at least for now. Time for a change of subject. "Tell me, what is the Kelpien equivalent of a third date?" She asked in a casual tone.
ooooo
Paul turned his face towards the sunlight. He was floating, floating, floating across a wide ocean. He could no longer see the shoreline behind him and there was no land in sight ahead. Wispy clouds drifted lazily overhead across a vivid blue sky. Periodically dolphins swam around him, and nudged his hands, arms, legs. They spoke in a strange language, one that sounded familiar but was incomprehensible.
And Hugh was there, hovering nearby, just out of reach.
Paul stretched his hand out reaching for his love.
"Dr. Pollard, please report to Sickbay. Commander Stamets moved the fingers of his left hand."
ooooo
Vayu
Tilly sat by her Captain's bedside, nervous and unsure. There is so much I want to tell him, but how do I start? How do I broach the subject? Maybe I should just get it all out while he is sleeping. That way I will have said what I need to say without him hearing it.
OK, that sounded really stupid. What is the point of saying it if he doesn't hear me?
Because then I won't have to be embarrassed when he laughs.
That is ridiculous, the Captain would never laugh at me.
It's hard to have a serious conversation with myself when the Captain is holding three sleeping baby dragons. One was curled on Pike's left shoulder, one across his abdomen, and one on his right shoulder. Bonnie said the Captain was babysitting them, but Tilly questioned who was babysitting whom.
The one stretched across Pike's stomach woke, raised its small head, and coughed and sneezed out sparks. Pike tamped out with the palm of his hand the burning embers of his shirt where the sparks landed.
OK, not asleep after all.
"Is someone there?" He asked.
"Me, I mean Tilly. How are you feeling?"
He smiled. "I'm fine. How are your injuries?"
"All mended, thanks to Bonnie and the bone knitter. My shoulder is a little sore." She hesitated. "Thank you, for rescuing me, and for taking care of me."
"You are welcome. And right back at you."
Tilly was glad he couldn't see her blush. "You are welcome." She hesitated.
"Is there something else you wanted to say?" He asked.
You can read me like a book, even without the visual cues, Tilly thought. "How did you know?"
"Typically you are more talkative."
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't apologize for being who you are. It's a good package." Pike gently reminded her.
"You always make me feel like I am consequential." And special, she added to herself.
"You are."
The baby lying on Pike's right shoulder reached up, still asleep, and latched its mouth around Pike's earlobe. The Captain yelped "Ouch" before sliding his index finger into the dragon's mouth and between its lapping tongue and his ear, breaking the seal. He allowed the hatchling to continue sucking his index finger until it lost interest and curled back into a ball. "Malie weaned them last week, but they haven't quite acquiesced to their new reality," he explained to Tilly.
"How … I mean … you seem very knowledgeable about young dragons."
"Oh that. I've had some experience with them. A few years ago, Malie was injured when that season's eggs hatched. I happen to be the first being they saw and … well … for a few weeks they decided I was their mother.
Tilly resisted the urge to squeal in delight. Oh please, please, please tell me there is holographic … not gonna happen given our commander's inexplicable dislike for holotechnology … please, please, please tell me there is photographic evidence.
Pike continued, "Fortunately, Malie healed quickly and took over; I remain godfather to that nest." He looked proud when he added, "One of the littermates is entering Starfleet Academy this fall."
"May I touch?" Tilly asked timidly, her hand already hovering over one of the babies.
"Of course. Rub or pet them like you would the fur of a dog or cat, with the grain of the scales."
"They are soft! And smooth. I expected they would be rough like fish scales."
"Yeah." Pike grinned. "Magical, isn't it?"
"Like being in a children's book. I assume Tinkerbell will fly by at any time."
"So you have met a Feynesian?" He asked. "That's a rare privilege."
"What?"
"The species that inspired the legends about fairy folk. They visited Earth hundreds of years ago." Pike explained.
"Huh?" Real articulate there, girl. Totally impressive.
"Many of our myths and fairy tales sprung out of encounters with extraterrestrial beings. It was a way to explain and accept the unfathomable."
"Oh."
Pike chuckled. "I don't think that is what you came to talk about. So shoot."
OK, this is the moment. Summon your courage. And try to sound … I don't know … alluring … no, not the place … like a serious adult … yes, exactly like that. Tilly blurted out without stopping for breath, "I realized when we were on the planet, after I almost died and you rescued me, after you took care of me, after you held me that night I hurt, after figuring out you were going to sacrifice yourself so I could wait longer for Discovery to return, after you rescued Reno, Detmer, and Bonnie, after you almost died … that … that … I have a lot of feelings for you. Oh, I definitely still think you are totally hot, and I would make out with you on any surface of the ship or planet … but I feel more. I think I love you."
"I see." Pike said quietly and seriously.
You've gone this far, just do it. It's better to know. "Is it possible, that you might … maybe, just maybe, feel something for me as well?" Tilly finished is a tiny, unsure voice.
"Yes."
Hiten charged into the infirmary as the alert klaxon began sounding. "Christopher, I need you on the bridge. An attack from a Klingon battle group is imminent."
"What?" Pike and Tilly asked in unison. Wrapping his hands around the baby dragons to ensure they were secure, Pike sat up on the edge of the bed.
"I will use small words appropriate for your addled mind. Very bad guys. After us. With big, powerful phasers. No time for a lengthy explanation." Hiten replied while tapping his foot.
Pike sighed. "To point out the obvious, I cannot see. I will be little use to you."
"We will be your eyes. This is not a time for humility. Even blinded, you are the best strategist and tactician in the fleet," Hiten countered.
"You bested me and Enterprise, remember?" Pike reminded the pseudo pirate.
Tilly's eyes grew wide.
"And I appreciate the legend that grew up around that. It has saved my ship and my crew several times. But here, in this room, surrounded by your crew, we shall be honest. You let me escape." Hiten replied, his impatience growing.
Pike tilted his head and replied in a quiet voice. "Perhaps."
Hiten shook his head. "There is no perhaps." He continued, "I excel at running and hiding. This ship cannot outrun three Klingon battle cruisers. They've been shadowing us for twenty-four hours. That is plenty of time for their sensors to have gathered every nuance about this vessel's capabilities and weaknesses. There is nothing more important than my crew. And today they need you Christopher."
"Three?" Tilly mouthed in equal amounts of disbelief and fear. Pike's voice steadied her.
"Tilly, go help in Engineering. Report to Commander Reno." Pike ordered as he handed the dragon babies to Bonnie who had entered the room on Hiten's heels. "Bonnie, get ready for casualties."
"No," Tilly argued frantically. "I should be with you, I want … I need to be by your side."
"Engineering. Now. Go." Pike punched out in a firm tone. Her training took over and she left as he insisted, though she left reluctantly.
Pike held out his hand. "Hiten, guide me to the bridge."