Author's Note: Hello! I'm so happy because I'm petty sure I fixed my cover photo problem! Yay! Sorry, I'm just incredibly happy that it finally shows up on FF! (Hopefully you can see it as well). Also, did you see the announcement about a new Star Trek movie coming in 2023? Idk what it will be about but I heard it would be directed by JJ Abrams. Hopefully we can see Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy again as well as all the (new) original cast lol.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek! All rights belong to JJ Abrams (movie references) and Gene Roddenberry (TOS references). If there's any technical terms I misused, grammatical errors, or mistakes you find I do apologize in advance and I hope you can forgive me! Happy reading everyone!
"Lass!" I heard Scotty yell as I saw him, Jaylah and Khan waiting for me at the entrance of the tower. "I got your message, why did we have to wait out here?"
"Because I know someone who will attempt to stop you from getting into the maintenance room. Follow me." I ordered as the four of us ran into the maintenance building, getting past all the security personnel until we reached the very top of the tower. But when we got to the final floor one of the officers was adamant on not letting us through.
"Hold on ma'am, you aren't permitted to enter." One of the officers tried to stop me as I turned to glare at the man.
"Commander Finnegan, correct? I am Commander Allyson DeLuca, and I demand to see Captain Aurelius DeLuca. We need access to this tower's maintenance console, immediately." I attempted to push past the man before he held out his hand to stop me, though his attempt was blocked when Khan had easily pushed the man back.
"I'm afraid that-" "Allyson!"
My brother's dominating voice came from just behind Commander Finnegan as I saw his imposing form come out from the console room. "Allyson, I demand to know what is the meaning of all this commotion you're causing. You hang up on me, and then you suddenly barge your way into this tower demanding to use the main computer meant for authorized personnel only."
"There's no time for this Aurelius!" I argued, having stood face to face with my brother as he glared down at me, his patronizing and condescending eyes studying my reaction, possibly waiting for me to back down…but I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. "You need to let us use the console to shut down the atmospheric regulator-"
"I don't need to do anything you ask me. Not until you tell me what is going on out there!" Aurelius argued. "Out of nowhere our scanners picked up an IFF alert on an incoming vessel that wasn't replying to any frequency identification requests. Adding on to that, a surprise attack that took all of us completely off guard!" Aurelius growled. "And here your crew comes, crashing through the front gates with some ancient machine rising out of the water! Then you come barging in here sprouting out orders, telling us that we need to shut down the very thing keeping all of us alive without giving me a reason."
"Everyone here will die if we don't! Is that reason enough?" I stood my ground. "The story you want me to tell you can't wait until after we're all out of danger?" When Aurelius didn't answer my question I felt my frustration toward him grow because I knew the reason why he was putting up this alpha male show. "Is your pride and ego more important that you would allow everyone on this starbase to die just so you don't have to listen to the command of your low ranked little sister? Our family is on this base, meaning, if this place goes down? We all will perish, our family included along with everything our family stood for. Set aside this stupid feud and let's work together for once in our lives instead of constantly butting heads like we normally do."
Aurelius visibly looked taken back by my outburst, his eyes widened and looked down at me quite dumbfounded before glancing behind at my friends and my Mate momentarily. Aurelius let out a frustrated sigh in defeat as he moved aside to allow us access to the maintenance board. "The regulator would be impossible to shut down."
"Not for our engineers." I commented as I nodded for Scotty to get to work. As Jaylah and Khan passed, Khan and my brother had made eye contact and I noticed that Aurelius's eyes widened in recognition.
"You." Aurelius called out to Khan as he glared at my Mate. "I recognize your face. John Harrison-"
"His name is Khan." I glared at my brother. "And I'm sorry, you're not authorized to know the specific details. Just to be clear he is permitted to be here. If you wish to know the details, submit a request to the Admiral's who oversaw Alexander Marcus and John Harrison's trial." When my brother didn't move or say anything I turned back to Khan and motioned for him to head to the room to assist Scotty and Jaylah. "Go, I'll be right with you."
My brother didn't try to stop Khan, and Khan hadn't tried to argue with my brother which I was eternally grateful for. When Khan left and it was just my brother and I standing by the entrance of the floor we were on I turned to glance up at him. "Thank you."
"I don't need your thanks." Aurelius scoffed as he turned his back to me and started to walk away, but not before leaving one last comment. "Just make sure whatever is the cause of this attack is put down and dealt with. Don't screw up, Commander DeLuca." Aurelius stopped just beside the officer that had previously stopped us from stepping into the room that held the main computer. "Commander Finnegan, do whatever Commander DeLuca and her crew asks of you. Treat her orders as if you were taking them from myself."
I didn't dwell on the exchange between my brother and myself, nor did I stay and listen if he were to say anything more to Finnegan. I went over to stand beside Khan to watch over Scotty as he started getting into the console, working past the walls that were in place to ensure that we would be able to shut down the regulator in time.
"Am I correct to assume that there's a relation between you and Captain DeLuca?" Khan quietly commented, sneering when he had said my brother's name.
"Aurelius DeLuca, my older brother." "I can't see the resemblance." I smiled up to Khan before getting in contact with Jim. "Captain, we've made our way into the maintenance tower, Scotty is working on shutting down the regulator as we speak."
"Is Mister Scotty nearby?" Jim asked. "Yes, Captain." "Mister Scott, why is that thing still on?"
"We encountered a little resistance on our end, but it's all taken care of. We're working on it now, sir," I held the communicator close to Scotty so he could use both his hands to continue working with the help of Jaylah. "but as you can imagine there's a lot of safety protocols surrounding the thing that, you know, keeps everybody alive."
"Figure something out." Jim yelled as the rushing of wind was caught coming from his end of the line.
"Be careful, Captain. Gravity's gonna get a bit screwy the closer you get to the center." Scotty warned as he moved on to another screen. "Maybe we should scan the operational schematics, see if there's a back door."
"I'm already on it." I said as I was working on the screen to Scotty's left, bringing up all the schematics that Yorktown had in their system, sifting through while dismissing those that were useless in our endeavor, just to look for the operational schematics.
"Lassie, I'm gonna need your eyes." Scotty spoke to Jaylah.
"There." Khan leaned forward, his arm coming up just beside my face as he pinpointed the exact schematic I was searching for.
"We have the operational schematics. I'm tapping into the Yorktown database to pinpoint your location." I reached toward the screen and enhanced the area around the regulator. "I'm picking up two life signs on the building just opposite of the regulator. It must be the captain as well as Edison."
"What are they doing there?" Khan whispered.
"Jim must've gotten Edison away from his objective." I mumbled as we watched one of the dots start to move in a single line through the air, the distance moving fast away from the other idled dot.
"Scotty." Jim called back to us as soon as the other dot, I'm assuming Edison, had departed.
"Captain, he's using the gravitation slipstream to carry him back to the center." I responded to Jim's call as I watched Edison get closer to the center plaza. "I know what you're thinking, Captain, you better be careful!"
I closely monitored the screen in front of me as I saw Jim's dot begin to follow the same slipstream as Edison did, watching as Jim's blip rammed into the central building. It was only when he came to a sudden stop did I let out a sigh of relief. "He's made it back."
"There's an unidentified object inside the regulator." Khan pointed out as I felt the front of his body lean against my back. Khan reached for the screen and brought up a different view of the regulator. We could see a small red dot that began to flash, notifying us that an unknown object that wasn't permitted to be there had entered the chamber.
"He's activated the device. The weapon's in the chamber." I growled as I turned to Scotty. "Any success?" Scotty shook his head in response to my question.
"Captain, we have to stop the processor now or everything breathing in Yorktown is dead!" Scotty leaned over to my communicator in hopes that our captain could still hear us.
It took a few minutes before we finally heard a response from Jim. "Scotty!"
"Captain, I think we can redirect it. There's a sealed construction hatch that'll let you vent the weapon into space. Now, we can override the locks from up here, but you will have to activate the hatch." Scotty read as I changed over the schematics to his screen.
"So I just have to hit a button." Jim stated.
"It's not a button, Jim. It's a silver lever under a white panel. You will have to pull four of them for the hatch to open." I clarified as I looked at the chamber, enhancing the picture so we could see where the four levers were located. "Got it!"
"Once you've primed the hatch, you'll have to exit the chamber immediately. If the hatch is open when the processor cycles and you're in it, you're gonna get sucked into space." Scotty advised.
"What happens if the hatch isn't open?" Jim asked as one of the levers turned green on our screen, indicating that Jim had switched one of them on.
"You'll be sucked into a big fan with the weapon and we all die." Khan blatantly responded as another lever turned green. I reared my arm back and lightly elbowed Khan in the ribs, giving him a scolding look before harshly whispering that he wasn't helping.
"No pressure then…" Jim's strained voice came through as another lever turned green, three were down, one to go.
'Come on, Jim…' I thought as I anxiously started tapping on the desk under my hand.
The schematics of the chamber started to flash red when the final lever was being pulled, I knew that that wasn't supposed to happen, and it caused us to jump into action. Scotty went about tapping away at the console as he attempted to find out the reason for the problem that was being presented to us.
"The vent!" Jaylah let out a sigh in frustration. "Get out of there, James T.!"
"Scotty, the last hatch won't open!" Jim's shout of panic came from our communicator.
"Come on Jim! Use those arms and pull!" I growled as the cycle timer for the ventilation started to count down.
"He's not gonna make it." Scotty fidgeted as I watched the numbers go down. Inside the chamber, from below Jim I saw another blip enter the chamber with Jim and I could only guess who it was as I let out a gasp.
"Jim! Behind you!" I yelled out in warning and just as the counter reached zero, one of the little blips was ejected out of the chamber as one was still attempting to stay inside. 'Please let that be Jim…'
The last lever had suddenly, finally, turned green.
"MANUAL OVERRIDE ENGAGED."
"He did it!" I exclaimed as the vent had opened, sucking out the weapon and Edison's signal out of the base. But before we could celebrate, Jim's signal was sucked out of the chamber as well, headed straight for the ventilation shaft. "No!"
A silence had settled around the four of us, we were all in shock at what we just saw, all of us thinking that Jim had suffered the same fate as Edison, and I thought in that second that I had lost my friend. What would I tell Carol? How would I tell Carol? I turned around and grabbed onto Khan, my Mate wrapping his arm slowly around me as he rested his chin on top of my head. I felt his hand caress the back of my head, holding me against his chest…his attempt to sooth me as his other hand rubbed small circles on the small of my back slowly.
Though…before we could even begin to mourn for our captain, my communicator whirred to life as Leonard gave a loud hoot.
"We got him!" Leonard's voice called out triumphantly. "We have the captain safe in our ship, we'll be bringing him back to the center plaza…as soon as I can safely land this contraption."
The four of us looked to each other, letting the news settle, before letting out a shout in celebration. We successfully foiled Edison's plan, saved Yorktown, and…our captain didn't suffer the same fate as that evil man had.
"Commander DeLuca." Commander Finnegan interrupted our celebration as I pulled slightly away from Khan to look at the man. "Captain DeLuca wishes to speak to you."
"Why?" I asked a bit defensively as Finnegan simply shook his head.
"I'm not sure ma'am. Captain DeLuca just requested that I retrieve you once all this was taken care of." Commander Finnegan motioned for me to follow. "If you will, Commander."
It took me a second to respond, I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer my brother's summons, but I knew if I didn't do it now then I would never hear the end of it. Best get it over with, then delay the inevitable.
I nodded to Khan, silently telling him that I would be alright before telling Scotty and Jaylah that I would return as soon as I spoke to my brother.
I followed Commander Finnegan as he led me to a door, the door leading to a room that I could only assume was temporarily being used by my brother as his office during his stay here in Yorktown.
"I'll be taking my leave, Commander DeLuca." Commander Finnegan said before turning to leave without hearing my response. I took a deep breath, steeling myself to mentally prepare to face my brother before entering his office.
My brother had his back to me the moment I opened the office door, he was staring out the window that overlooked the whole expanse of Yorktown, and when he didn't say anything I decided to be the first to speak up. "You wanted to see me, Captain?"
"Close the door, Commander." Aurelius ordered which I did, standing in place by the door, waiting a bit impatiently for my brother to tell me the reason for his summons. "Allyson, you have some nerve speaking that way to me back there."
"I won't apologize if that's the reason why you called me here." I stated as I stared at the back of my brother's head. "You were standing in our way, so I did what needed to be done, and we saved Yorktown because of it. If I didn't then we wouldn't be here talking, we'd be dead."
"Yes, you did. I was watching you and the way you conducted yourself, Allyson." Aurelius sighed as he turned around to face me, his honey eyes looking at me in thought before he let out a sigh. "From what I just witnessed I just can't understand you and what goes on in that head of yours."
"You never could, none of us could tell what anyone in this family of ours is thinking." I stated before Aurelius glared at me.
"You have all the qualities and makings of an exceptional captain, Allyson. You're highly intelligent, collected, and a born leader, yet you decide to group yourself with a common...meddling crew who can do nothing for you." Aurelius leaned forward against his desk, his hands his only support as he glared at me. "Why? Because you simply didn't want to go along with our family's plan?"
"I don't think I need to explain my reasoning to you on why I do things, Aurelius." I stated. "But if you really need something from me, then it's because I wanted to enjoy myself with people who care about me, watch my back as I would watch theirs not people who constantly berate and disapprove of who I am. I wanted to love being in space."
"You wanted to enjoy being out in space." Aurelius scoffed with a shake of his head.
"Yes, enjoy. Not constantly worrying about being left behind, purposely abandoned, on a planet because I tripped and fell. As well as the dread and the sinking feeling of knowing that my crew would never come and get me, never even consider a plan to rescue me." I glared. "I want to be a part of something, not just a number."
"I would expect my crew to follow protocol." Aurelius stated. "I'm not afraid to die out here in space. To die doing my job."
"Don't you dare talk to me about dying in space, I've died before Aurelius, and if it wasn't for my friends then I wouldn't be here right now. I'm not afraid to die if the situation to rescue me is impossible." I argued. "If there's one thing I took from our stupid lessons, is to not be afraid of death. This is getting us no where, I'm done with this conversation. You wanted an answer, I gave it to you. You can decide if you accept it or not." I was about to turn to leave before my brother's booming voice echoed throughout the room.
"We're not in Starfleet to have fun or make friends, Allyson! We have a duty to uphold. For many generations we are explorers, defenders, researchers, peacekeepers, diplomats and nothing more. DeLuca's don't play nice, we do what needs to be done...to lead the human race into a world of peace and to survive."
"And what a lonely existence that is." I scoffed at my brother. "We have ventured and come so far from the past. We can fly among the stars yet we can't take a moment to appreciate the vast beauty it holds because 'we are Delucas'? That we must continue to be blinded by duty and let everything pass us by?"
"We are leaders, Allyson. Everyone else may indulge themselves in these pointless fantasies of a crew being a family, give in to their need for the simple pleasures, but we are not them!" Aurelius started to fight me.
"We, my crew, wouldn't give up on each other, it's what family is supposed to do. It's what friends do, and I know that DeLuca's wouldn't do the same. I'm not like our family, Aurelius, I could never choose to abandon my friends." I glared. "And if that's me indulging in pointless fantasies, then I'd rather be apart of their world than ours."
"The DeLuca's-"
"Can you honestly say that our father would treat you as well as he does if you were suddenly stripped of your rank? If you were stranded on a plant with indigenous life forms...would he break the prime directive to save his only son? His son that would carry our family name? Would your crew do the same for you as mine would?" I challenged my brother. "Because I know for a fact, even if there was a 5% chance that I could be rescued, my crew…my captain wouldn't hesitate to make the decision to come for me."
"Yes, I didn't want to simply go along with their big plan, but I have my reasons." When my brother didn't respond, giving me a blank, emotionless stare I continued. "Starfleet won't say anything because our blood produces great leaders, but I will say it. Our family isn't as great as they portray themselves to be. They are flawed, and though they are great leaders…they have lost their humanity. You may not want to admit it, refuse to see it, but deep down I'm sure you see their faults just as I have. And I did not want to be a part of what they stand for."
"I've lived my whole life in fear of being lesser than you and Celestyn, afraid of not living up to our parents expectations that it jeopardized my health and mentality at times. And before I got to the age to enlist into Starfleet I made the decision that I didn't want to live that way anymore. As years went by, I've come into my own, and I decided that I will not lay on my back and take the abuse any longer. Not from Celestyn, not from you, and not from our parents." I bowed to my brother. "If that is all, I will take my leave Captain DeLuca. My crew…my real family is waiting for me."
I left the room without waiting for my brother to dismiss me, I didn't even look back to see my brother's reaction as I saw Khan waiting patiently for me outside of the console room. I went over to him and smiled as he told me that Jim was waiting for us, that Scotty and Jaylah had gone ahead while he opted to wait for me.
Khan didn't pester me for answers, didn't ask what business my brother had with me or what we spoke about…he simply reached out to take my hand, and began to lead me away.
'This was where I belonged.' I thought with a smile as I allowed Khan to take me far away from my brother.
I had just finished my debriefing with Commodore Paris on all that happened. From the second we left Yorktown to the moment that we had foiled Edison's plan to wipe out all that the Federation had worked up to.
In front of me, holographic images of faces and names started to disappear one by one, all being labelled as 'case closed' once they vanished off the screen…before the last face remained. Familiar eyes of one Balthazar Edison staring back at me. In books we were taught that he was a captain, a hero, but to me he was simply someone who had lost himself after all those years being trapped on Altamid. Allowing that hatred and resentment to fester instead of thinking logically.
"For decades the Federation taught that he was a hero." Commodore Paris said before dismissing his image. "I guess time will judge us all."
"He just got lost." I said from my position beside the Commodore, a familiar phrase that was told to me just before I went on my 'last' mission into space before turning to look at the woman.
"You saved the entire base, Kirk." Commodore Paris praised. "Millions of souls. Thank you."
"It wasn't just me." I shook my head, I didn't deserve to take all the credit. It wouldn't have been possible without my ever faithful crew. "It never is."
"Needless to say, the position of Vice Admiral is yours." Commodore Paris smiled. "No one deserves it more."
I thought over what she was offering me, though I didn't really need to think much about it. After everything that happened, on Altamid and all that I had experienced with my crew on this mission, I knew momentarily that I had indeed gotten lost during the three years we were in space. I had made the decision long before, but I couldn't straight out deny the position…a position that I had requested for in the first place. I needed to make it look as if I was thinking, considering, about taking up the promotion. "Vice Admirals don't fly, do they?"
"No." Commodore Paris shook her head. "They don't."
"Well, no offense, ma'am, but…" I shook my head as I felt the corners of my mouth turn upward without me realizing it, I couldn't help but hide the smile as I looked back at the Commodore. "where's the fun in that?"
Commodore Paris smiled as well, which made me realize that I think she knew way before that I was indeed lost, and knew that I would find myself once again. That I belonged out in space, with my crew, because instead of pointing out the benefits of the promotion as well as the opportunities I would be missing, she nodded her head in understanding and dismissed me for the day.
I thanked her for her time and turned to leave, taking the lift down to the bottom floor and when the lift opened I saw in the distance Carol and Ally talking and laughing in the lobby area. I was curious as to why they were here, but I was happy they were here. The two people that I needed to talk to to make things right.
"Ladies," I greeted the two women, Carol smiled eagerly up at me as Ally greeted me. "Ally, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Sure." Ally nodded her head as I looked to Carol.
"Stay here, don't go anywhere, it'll only be just a second." I smiled at Carol who tilted her head up to me curiously. "Promise me?"
"O-okay." Carol nodded her head as Ally and I started to walk away so that we could talk in private.
When we had put a bit of distance between us and Carol I turned to stare back at Ally. "What were you two talking about?"
"Nothing much, Carol wanted to wait for you to return from speaking to Commodore Paris so I decided to keep her company until you returned." Ally shrugged her shoulders. "Was everything okay with Commodore Paris?"
"Yeah, just the typical debriefing." I nodded my head. "She said that the position of Vice Admiral was mine if I decide to take it."
I saw Ally visibly tense before she gave me a sad smile. "Will…will you be telling our crew about it? Your promotion?"
"Actually…I turned down the promotion." I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly as I peaked out from under my eyelids to see a shocked expression on my Second Officer's face. "Turns out…Fleet Admirals don't fly, who would've known, it didn't sound as fun as I thought it would be."
"You...turned down the promotion?" Ally asked, thinking that she had heard me wrong.
"Yeah," I said as I leaned against one of the pillars in the lobby. "I think the Enterprise and its crew still needs me around, you know…to keep everyone out of trouble. In case one of the missions goes awry, someone needs to save you guys."
"I think you are the one that ends up getting us into all those situations in the first place." Ally chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning her weight to one side with her hip jutting to the side, a typical reaction when she half heartedly scolded me. "But you do tend to get us out of them…even if it's by the skin of our teeth." I saw Ally fidget, her finger tapping steadily against her arm, and I knew she had wanted to say more. I looked down at the woman and waited for her to continue. "I'm happy that you decided to stick around and stay with us as our captain, Jim. Really happy. There's no one else I'd rather serve under honestly."
"Well, I couldn't just abandon you guys." I laughed. "I look forward to many more years serving with you and Spock in the Enterprise."
"As am I, Jim." Ally said as she motioned with her head back in the direction we had come from, back toward Carol who had found a spot to sit to wait patiently for us to return. "I think there's someone that you need to make amends with."
"Yeah, I know…" I sighed, nervously biting the bottom of my lip as Ally simply giggled.
"Time to beg for forgiveness, Carol is going to give you an earful." Ally laughed as she took a step forward and patted my arm for good luck. "Go and make things right with your Mate, Captain."
"See you around, Ally." I nodded as she waved for me to leave, and I did. I ran back to Carol who stood the second I got close to her. I picked her up around her waist and spun her around, I truly did need to confess and make things right with her. And if she would forgive me, I will happily work on our bond once more.
'Our bond…' I thought as I set Carol back onto her feet. 'I'm kinda jealous of you, Ally.' Carol's blue eyes looked up at me, curious at my sudden change in emotion. Just having looked into her eyes I could see the fire behind them, I knew she was incredibly upset with me. I looked down at her apologetically before taking her face into my hands and leaned forward, closing the distance between us. 'I wonder when will we ever get onto that level?'
I had confined myself into one of the observation decks in Yorktown, sitting by myself to be alone with my thoughts with a silver box left unopened on my lap. It was a box that was handed to me by the two envoys of Vulcan just before we had left for Altamid, but I could not bring myself to open it.
Property of Ambassador Spock. Was engraved on the top of the box and just as I was about to open it, I hesitated, my hand hovering just above the lid. I still couldn't believe it, it still felt so unreal that Ambassador Spock had passed on.
'I have put it off long enough.' I thought with a shake of my head, urging my hands to move as I carefully and delicately opened the top of the box. Inside were some of Ambassador Spock's personal effects; items he must've recovered back on Delta Vega, the planet that he was stranded on after his encounter with Nero.
The first thing I instantly recognized was the Vulcan symbols etched onto a red piece of folded fabric, it was Ambassador Spock's…our full name. There was also a piece of clothing neatly folded inside as well, possibly something that was just as important to Ambassador Spock. I reached out to smooth out the creases of the outfit before I felt something hard and rectangular tucked into the folds, blending into the color of the fabric that I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't reached inside.
It was a thin, gold rectangular device that could easily fit into the palm of my hands. I wasn't quite sure how to open it, tilting it upward before I felt the top half of the device slide open at the slightest of pressure I used. Inside was a picture from what I could tell, the light inside brightened as more of the image was revealed when I opened the device fully.
I didn't have to question what this was, even if the people in the picture were aged I recognized the faces that were staring back at me.
"They look happy."
I was quite surprised at the sudden voice that came from behind me, the tapping of boots against the tiles of the room echoed against the walls before I saw Allyson approach me in my peripheral vision.
"Commander DeLuca." I greeted formally as I turned to watch the woman come closer, anyone else I would've sent them away, but this woman is someone who I've grown to consider over the years as a…good friend? Sibling? She's seen me at my worst before, she's also spoken to my older self as well, so I don't think Ambassador Spock would mind if she saw what was inside this box. "Is something the matter?"
"It's only us, Spock, you can drop the formalities." Allyson chuckled as she walked past me, I felt her presence behind me as she took the empty seat beside me. There was a sudden weight against my back and I realized she must've leaned her back against mine. It was a familiar feeling that took me back to our younger days and I couldn't help but lightly shake my head. It would seem some things never change.
After the two of us sat in silence for quite some time, with Allyson simply resting against my back, I couldn't help but wonder why she had come to find me in the first place.
"Is everything okay, Allyson?" I was the first to break the silence for once as I felt the woman behind me shift a bit over to the side.
"…I heard from Leonard about Ambassador Spock." Allyson spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Are you okay, Spock?"
"If you had asked me that question before we left Yorktown, I wouldn't have been able to give you an answer." I responded as I stared back down at the tiny picture frame I held in my hands. "I wasn't able to fully process that Ambassador Spock is gone."
"I'm sad that he's gone, but Ambassador Spock lived a wonderful, fulfilling life." Allyson commented with as returned to staring ahead of her. "The times I've spoken with the elder Vulcan, he would tell me of his crew, his life, and I had asked him once if he regretted anything he'd done. Regretted the choices he made."
"And did he?" I asked, honestly curious on what my future self had disclosed with Allyson.
"No." Allyson smiled. "If he could go back in time and relive every moment that made him into the Vulcan we met, he would make the same decision because it's what made him who he was." Allyson went back to leaning against me. "If he took his time to take a digital photo out of his personal datapad, go out of his way to frame it, then I think he missed his crew…his friends. They were important to him."
"Sentimentality, a very human characteristic-" I was about to say before Allyson turned to glare at me.
"It's called character development, Spock. There's a hundred years age gap between you two. A lot can happen in that span of time. I can tell you this…he was at peace with himself." Allyson looked down at the picture in my hand, a light smile on her face. "I'd like to think that he's now off on many more missions with them, adventures that we can't yet experience."
I took a second to consider what Allyson was saying, there was an internal struggle that I am constantly going through between my Vulcan half and my human half, but for her to say that Ambassador Spock was at peace with himself. That I was able to be at peace with both sides that were at constant war with each other? It was something I couldn't see just yet, but to know that it was possible…I let out a huff.
"Back on Altamid, I had told Doctor McCoy that I wished to live as Ambassador Spock had." I confessed. "I will honor his life, live as he did, and remain serving in Starfleet."
"I'm glad to hear that. I think Ambassador Spock would've urged you to stay as well." Allyson said. "What was it again that Ambassador Spock said when you first met him?"
"Put aside logic." I smiled as I recalled accidentally mistaking Ambassador Spock as my father. "Do what feels right."
Allyson smiled at me before she went back to looking at the picture in my hand. "Everyone looks so…mature. I can't imagine our friends growing up, especially with all the shenanigans we get up to now."
Allyson, after having asked for my permission, looked at the old picture of the crew of the Enterprise with such wonder. Staring at each person in the picture in amazement and commenting on each of our friends older counterparts that I felt at ease. I was making the right choice to stay in Starfleet.
"-Nyota's beauty hasn't changed one bit. And Leonard is still just as handsome. I wish I was there with all of you." Allyson smiled from ear to ear, and when I hadn't responded for a while she looked up at me in assurance. "You'll be fine, Spock. And if not? Your friends, especially your Mate, will be there every step of the way to get you back onto your feet."
We had all gotten a message from Leonard, though it was no surprise to me why he had messaged everyone for I already knew the reason, it was Jim's birthday. Leonard had reserved a place for all of us to meet and the plan was that while we waited he would retrieve Jim for the surprise party. Leonard hadn't specified what we should wear, no dress code either, so I went with a very casual look. Black cardigan over a fitted low cut white shirt, blue waist high tight jeans tucked into black ankle high boots.
What was left of our crew responded instantly, everyone was leisurely drinking at the party, chatting with everyone that had already arrived and I was in charge with announcing to everyone when Leonard and Jim were on their way.
"Khan." I greeted with a smile as I went over to my Mate's side, finding him taking a sip from his glass filled with some sort of brown liquid. I cozied up into his side as Khan turned his eyes down to look at me, and though he didn't say anything at first I felt his free arm wrap around my waist. I turned my eyes up to slightly admire the man standing beside me. Khan wore a black, tight fitted v-neck sweater with black slacks and his hair as usual, neatly gelled back…immaculate as always. Does this man always have to look so good?
'I am incredibly lucky.' I thought before Khan looked to have slightly choked on his drink.
"You're staring." Khan said as he looked around the room filled with our colleagues. "What are we doing here again?"
"It's Jim's birthday." I said before lightly glaring up at the man. "Didn't you read Leonard's message?"
"I never read anything the good Doctor sends me." Khan instantly responded, causing my smile to widen. Khan lightly glared back as he became a little irritated at my ever growing smile. "What?"
"Nothing." I said as I turned back to look at our crew. "By the way, speaking of birthdays, I don't think I ever asked for yours."
"How incredibly rude for my Mate to not know my own birthday." Khan turned his back to me.
"I haven't found any individual records on augments in the 20th century, only thing that popped up was information on the Eugenic Wars along with Earth's struggles with them." I pouted as I moved around to be in Khan's line of sight, and he continued to tease me by turning back the other way. I knew he wasn't upset at me, I could feel it and I could see the tiny smirk in the corner of his lips! "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"I already know your birthday, Allyson." Khan said and proudly smiled when he saw my eyes widen. "Don't look so surprised Allyson. I make it a point to know everything about you." Khan leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to the side of my head. "The day of my birth is not important, you don't need to be concerned about such a thing." I was about to open my mouth to object, but Khan had placed his pointer finger on my lips, simply shaking his head. "Allyson, if it bothers you then you can pick a day for me. My birth…isn't an occasion I wish to celebrate."
I contemplated what he was saying, Khan's birthday to me was important, but there were probably some horrific memories that were attached to such a day that he would want to keep buried. What he must've gone through with those scientists along with what he had seen…I understood. I sighed and reached up to grip his hand in mine, rubbing the back of his hand in a loving manner before settling once more into his side.
"Then I shall choose the day I met you. Our first meeting wasn't sunshine and roses, and you had regarded me as a weakness as well as wanting me to die. But for me, meeting you…my other SoulMark was very special to me. I was happy to finally put a face to the name." I proclaimed proudly, but before Khan could reply I heard my datapad go off. I looked down to see that it was a message from Leonard that he was on his way with the package. I dismissed the message and whistled loudly to gain the attention of everyone present in the room, the sound of chatter immediately quieting down. "Doctor McCoy and our Captain will be here any second!"
And right on cue, just a couple minutes after I had made the announcement, the doors into the building opened and Jim's voice could be heard as soon as they were close.
"By the way, where are we going? I thought we were gonna get a drink." Jim was looking at Leonard in confusion that he had failed to notice that we had gathered close to greet him.
"I know you told me to keep it under wraps, but, uh…" Leonard motioned with his head to us as we all raised our glasses in a toast as soon as Jim turned his head in our direction.
"Happy Birthday!" We all yelled cheerfully as Jim laughed along with the rest of us, though I think Jim was laughing at being caught completely off guard with the situation he found himself walking into.
Scotty walked forward, smiling from ear to ear as he handed Jim and Leonard their very own glass as the two men came to join us. Carol stepped forward and took her place beside Jim, the two smiling at each other as she stood on the tip of her toes to place a kiss to Jim's cheek.
"Everybody, raise a glass to Captain James T. Kirk." Leonard announced as he came to stand with Khan and myself, of course I was sandwiched between them, but I wasn't complaining. I couldn't help but give Leonard a cheeky once over, admiring how the outfit he was wearing showed a bit of skin in the chest area, he looked really good…both men on either side of me did.
"Captain Kirk!" We all cheered as we raised our glasses to the man who shuffled a bit awkwardly side to side as he gave us a grateful smile.
"Ah, thanks, everybody." Jim said as he raised his glass. "To the Enterprise." "To the Enterprise." "And…to absent friends. Here's to that."
"Cheers." I voiced as I took a drink from my glass at the same time as everyone else had.
"All right, let's get this party started." Scotty gleefully went back to the mini bar. "Who's round is it?"
For a brief second I saw Nyota and Spock share a glance before they both simultaneously looked away from each other, and in that moment I had caught Nyota's eyes. I nodded with my head to the side, silently compelling and urging my friend to say something, suggesting that the two of them make things right before I was led away by Khan.
"If I remember correctly," I heard Leonard come up from behind me, stealing me away from Khan as he hugged me from behind with one arm. "I'm your Mate as well, I'd appreciate it if Khan didn't constantly hog you to himself."
"You had her for a year before I did, I'm just making up for lost time." Khan retaliated.
"And since we got Ally back, you haven't left her side. I think I deserve a bit of her time considering the day I had, I mean…I just flew a damn spaceship." Leonard argued.
"Crashed it, if I recall, you couldn't figure out a way to land it." Khan said as I stood awkwardly between the two men, listening to them bicker back and forth before quietly slipping away from the two of them.
I had gone over to where Jaylah sat on a pure white couch, a couple of empty glasses already piling up on the table in front of her.
"Mind if I sit here?" I asked the woman who simply lowered her legs for me to pass through.
I nodded my thanks and shuffled my way toward the empty seat beside her before letting out a sigh the moment I was able to relax into the fluffy white seats.
"You have two Mates." Jaylah commented as she turned her head lightly to stare back at Leonard and Khan who failed to notice my absent presence.
"Yes, I do. I was born with two names." I proudly proclaimed, and for a second I was taken back. When did it start to get so easy to speak freely about my Marks and my Mates? I looked back at Leonard and then to Khan, as well as our crew that was gathered all around us, and I knew. I didn't realize how much I grew until now, and it was honestly…in my opinion…thanks to them.
"You are lucky." Jaylah commented as I realized she was holding another glass in her hand. "The look they give you is like how my father looked at my mother."
"I am lucky. To have them and this crew." I smiled. "And maybe, one day, with your potential you could join our ranks if you'd like."
"Join this Starfleet?" Jaylah looked to be contemplating.
"It helps you become the best you, and you could find your forever family." I shrugged, having briefly been told a little about what Jaylah had been exposed to back on Altamid and what she had lost. "I know it helped me a lot. This is truly my family."
Jaylah and I spoke together to pass the time, enjoying this party, and while we talked Sulu had come over to introduce his family to me. His daughter was the most adorable little doll I'd ever seen as she started speaking and telling me how great her dads were. Ben and I spoke briefly as well, Ben had asked me how safe it was to live aboard a starship, to my surprise, because he was considering coming aboard with his daughter to be close to Sulu. And while people came and went, the glasses on the table in front of us started to pile up, I think there was a silent competition going on between Jaylah and myself. Though I would never say nor would I know if it really was a competition and neither would Jaylah as the two of us sat in silence and continued to drink.
"Uh, did you drink all those yourself? I'm impressed." Scotty suddenly came to join our little party.
"Some of them are mine." I waved up to Scotty.
"Someone said it will take my edge off." Jaylah stated as she placed the empty glass in her hands down on the table. "My edge is still not off."
"All right, well, maybe this will help. Captain pulled a few strings." Scotty reached into his jacket and brought out a silver case, handing it over to Jaylah. "That is acceptance into Starfleet Academy, if you want it."
"They have a lot of rules." Jim came over as Jaylah reached out to snatch the badge out of Scotty's hands. "Don't listen to them all."
"You'll do fine in the academy so long as you don't listen to Jim's advice, take it from a former academy professor." I gave Jim a scolding look as I stood up from my seat causing the two men to laugh.
"Will I have to wear that uniform?" Jaylah asked.
"Afraid so." Jim smiled as he motioned for me to follow him. "Ally, Leonard and Khan aren't too happy with you."
"What did I do?" I asked curiously as Jim greeted Keenser as we passed by him and his little friend.
"You abandoned the two fossils for better company." Jim joked. "Never seen two old men sulk before."
"They're overly clingy lately aren't they." I asked with a shrug. "I'm not opposed to it, I love being smothered and doted on for once...even if they sometimes take it too far."
"Of course you do." Jim laughed as the two of us pulled up next to Spock who was looking up at the beautiful sight of the newest ship in the fleet being built on the other side of the window.
The two men stood beside each other, none saying a word with Spock looking out the window while I could feel Jim fidgeting beside me before he decided to finally speak up. "I heard about Ambassador Spock. Is that what you wanted to mention that time in the turbolift?"
"More or less." Spock responded, still staring up at the ship that was being built. "I trust your meeting with Commodore Paris went well."
Jim didn't respond right away, but when he did I knew that what they both had disclosed to me wasn't going to be mentioned ever again. I suppose it was the right thing to do since neither of them weren't going to leave us and the Enterprise any time soon. "More or less."
"You really want to head back out there, huh?" Leonard's voice surprised me as he came up to my right and from behind me I felt Khan reach over my shoulder to hand me another glass.
Our friends had all come to join us by the window, came to watch as the new ship was being built before our eyes. It still had a long way to go, for now it only had a body, but when it was complete…this was going to be our new ship. The new and rebuilt Enterprise, just as beautiful as ever, and once this ship in front of us was finished? Off we would go back into space. Back where I belong, with my crew, my family…and my Mates.
But sadly, my peace was rudely interrupted as from behind all of us I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Behind our group, as I leaned forward to glance around Khan and I saw two people I did not want to see ever again.
"Apologies, Miss Allyson, we only ask for a moment of your time."
Khan had seen it before he felt it, Allyson had bristled when she had seen the two newcomers that didn't seem like they were invited to Jim's party. He didn't recognize the faces, and if Allyson was acting defensive toward these newcomers, to Khan they were a threat to his Mate.
"Allyson is busy at the moment." Khan stepped in front of Allyson and glared at the man and the woman.
"This is a birthday party in honor of our captain," Leonard said as he looked down at Allyson whose eyes never left the woman and the man. She was very uncomfortable, but the one thing that bothered Leonard compared to Khan was that Allyson's emotions were all over the place. There were times Leonard could identify certain emotions, but before he could pick out what some of it was there would be an immediate switch. Allyson was currently a big ball of emotions that was failing to settle. Leonard reached out to grab Allyson's hand and gave it a squeeze before looking at the guests, giving a little of his southern charm as he smiled sweetly in their direction. "I'm sure you understand the importance of such an occasion, I'm going to ask that you kindly leave."
"We understand the importance." The man nodded his head. "We only ask for a moment Miss Allyson, your brother wishes to speak to you about something important."
"I'll be right back." Allyson immediately responded, her demeanor changing the second the man had emphasized that her brother needed to speak to her. Allyson smiled at her friends and left to follow the man and the woman out of the building.
As Allyson left the group, the crew of the Enterprise kept their eyes on their friend and Second Officer. Even when they had exited the building they could fairly see Allyson through the glass door as the woman handed her a piece of paper along with showing Allyson the datapad she had held behind her back. Allyson had taken a quick glance over the paper before looking at the datapad, looking visibly upset as she started to argue with the man and the woman. This caused the crew to wonder what exactly they were talking about as well as who exactly those two were.
"Who are those two?" Jim had mumbled, not expecting a response from anyone, he was simply talking out loud. So it came as a surprise when someone, a woman's voice, had spoken up.
"That would be Miss Ophelia and Mister Sebastien."
The crew of the Enterprise turned to where the voice had come from and saw Celestyn, Allyson's older sister, sitting comfortably on the white couch behind them with a smug smile on her face. Her leg was propped over her other leg, as she held a glass of alcohol in her hand that was balancing on her knee.
"Captain Celestyn DeLuca." Jim formally greeted which the woman nodded her head back in greeting. "So, who is this Ophelia and Sebastien person?"
"Synthetic androids with artificial intelligence installed into their programming, been serving the DeLuca family for generations. Raised us as well as the children's of our family for years. Teaching us the way a DeLuca should properly act." Celestyn said with a shrug. "They're probably here to talk about our family's party."
"What party?" Khan asked, causing Celestyn to look at the crew in pure curiosity and glee, though her eyes seemed to linger on Khan for she had recognized him to be John Harrison, remembering his face from when she had seen the clip of his attack on the Kelvin Memorial Archive.
"You're John Harrison, aren't you?" Celestyn asked, causing the crew in front of her to tense up at the woman's hard stare. "So…that's the decision Starfleet came to..." "Captain Celestyn-" "Oh don't be so uptight, if Starfleet authorized his presence aboard your ship I have no say nor do I care. Your file is for authorized personnel and I'm not included to be 'in the know'."
"You were talking about a party?" Leonard interrupted the woman's rambling, hoping to gain some sort of information extracted from the captain.
"Yes, party. Has she not told you anything?" Celestyn smiled as she hopped off the seat.
"Told us what?" Jim asked before Celestyn thrusted her hand out to Jim, placing a crumpled up piece of paper into his free hand and waiting patiently for the man to read the contents of the paper.
"She's kept you all in the dark for some reason...I honestly would've thought she'd have told you by now." Celestyn sighed with a shake of her head as Jim hesitantly unraveled the piece of paper. Those that were close to Jim squeezed closer in an attempt to read over his shoulders. "I don't understand my little sister."
Join us for a
100th Birthday Celebration
Honoring the life and achievements of
Retired Fleet Admiral Cassius DeLuca
March 23, 2263・5pm・Yorktown Starbase・Venue XXXX
All DeLuca's (Spouses and Children) are required to attend.
No exceptions. No excuses. Dress to Impress. Formal attire required.
Failure to appear will result in shame upon your family line.
"A birthday party," Leonard looked back to Celestyn in disbelief, not understanding how this was being considered such a big deal. "it's just a birthday party."
"Not just any birthday party!" Celestyn scoffed. "It's THE birthday party. There's never been a gathering like this in our age. A celebration in honor of the patriarch of our family turning 100! As stated, all DeLuca's are to attend, no exceptions. That means from all sides, even our great-grandfather's siblings' children will be in attendance. That's how important this party is."
"Ally wouldn't go to this." Jim scoffed as he handed the crumbled invitation back to Celestyn. "From what I heard she's not entirely close to the family."
"She's not close to the family, but you don't understand how hard it is for a DeLuca to ignore an official summons." Celestyn dramatically sighed. "Little Ally's gonna attend whether she wants to or not. Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that we'll be borrowing little Ally for a few days."
"I don't like this…" Leonard whispered to Jim, as he took a glance back to Celestyn who went back to sitting on the couch, ordering another glass from the bartender. "I don't want Ally to go to that party, her family is an absolute nightmare from what she's told me, and I can feel that something was bothering her, but if what her sister says is true? Then she'll go because she's being forced to."
"They are a nightmare, I've seen it first hand with Miss Celestyn and her mother. Did she tell you two anything?" Jim whispered to Khan and Leonard who shook their heads. "Only thing I can think of is we can crash that party."
"The invitation doesn't say where the party's being held." Khan pointed out before Jim turned around to Celestyn, catching her mid sip.
"Where's the party being held?" Jim asked.
"The location has been redacted to avoid any unwelcome guests from showing up. Only when a DeLuca has checked in with Aurelius will the location be revealed. Family, all about secrets." Celestyn tutted. "If you're not a DeLuca you won't even get past the front door of the building. You think my brother would be slack on security? It won't be as easy as it was for me to sneak in without being noticed and crash your little birthday party." Celestyn proudly claimed. "VIP only, and if you're not on the list then you're not getting in."
"Is it safe to assume that you already know where the party is?" Leonard asked as Celestyn simply nodded her head.
"Yes, but I'm not telling you anything. I have no obligations to tell you, a simple doctor, anything." Celestyn sipped away at her drink.
"Bones," Jim called for his friend's attention. "we'll figure something out. Captain Celestyn was nice enough to tell us what's going on here in Yorktown, we can figure out the rest."
"We have until tomorrow afternoon to figure out the location of the party." Khan said as he looked to be thinking of possible places that the DeLuca's would choose.
"Khan, how long will it take for you to hack into the databases while remaining under the radar." Jim asked.
"The security of this base from what I briefly saw is a joke, for Allyson I can find the location by the end of the day." Khan spoke with confidence.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Celestyn suddenly interjected herself into their group conversation, startling both Leonard and Jim as her tiny figure squeezed her way between them. "As a fellow Captain, I feel I should reprimand you, but something you said caught my attention. Did you say your name was Khan and 'Bones'?"
"Bones is my nickname this man had given me." Leonard shot a look at Jim.
"Well I'll be damned…" Celestyn whispered to herself before turning on her heels to look at Jim. "Answer me this, James Tiberius Kirk, why do you want to help little Ally? She's quite capable of handling things herself, I've seen it, she's a big girl after all."
"Because she's family." Jim strongly claimed as he saw Allyson sigh before motioning for the man and the woman to lead the way. And when they were out of sight Jim realized that there was a reason why Allyson hadn't told anyone about what was about to happen here in Yorktown. "She never told us because we were all dealing with our own problems. She didn't want to trouble us any more than we already were." Jim glared down at Celestyn. "Compared to what the DeLuca's put her through? I can say with absolute certainty that she belongs with us. We help each other out, it's what we do. It's what family do."
Celestyn hummed in thought before her smile widened into a wicked, mischievous smile as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll get you into the party."
"Why would you help us?" Spock asked, a bit on edge, not at all trusting the smile Celestyn had on her face.
Celestyn turned to look at Khan and Leonard, a knowing look in her eyes though still with that smile plastered onto her face.
"Do you want my help or not? Because even if you do succeed in finding the location yourself, Khan, you still have to get past security. You can't force your way into it this time, unless you plan to falsify an ID that makes your last name a DeLuca, if no family member recognizes you then you'll be immediately thrown out." When the crew failed to respond Celestyn became impatient. "I can get you into that party with a clever disguise so no one would recognize you, so make a decision now so I can plan. If you're simply wasting my time then I will thank you for the free drinks and leave."
The crew didn't have to be told twice, didn't need the extra time to think as Leonard looked to Celestyn with determination.
"Let's hear your plan."
I'm sorry for not posting last week, this last half and a bit of the first half of the chapter I just wasn't happy about so I had to fix it until I was satisfied (or at least content) with what I had. I'm still not that happy with how the argument between sister and brother went about lol, but I hope it still turned out okay. If it's a little confusing I'm sorry. I also had to guess what the writing on the red fabric was, and to me at least, it looked like Spock's name written in Vulcan.
And so...we have come to the end of Beyond. It's a bit sad that I can't watch anymore of the Star Trek movies haha. I hope I ended the movie nicely ^^ we are close to the big Family Showdown! What will happen? Find out next time!
If you are enjoying yourself and my story: review, follow, and favorite! But it's not mandatory =) just knowing that you gave my story a chance, and decided to read my creation makes me incredibly happy! I hope everyone is continuing to stay safe out there wherever you may be in the world!
-SO