After the show ends, the cameras go dark, and the kayfabe wall comes down…
Originally, I planned to write a sequel for this story, but it got scrapped in favor of a totally different Dawnbreaker story starring Jaylah, as well as a rewrite that's more respectful to the source material, Carrie. And so, I decided to wrap things up with this short bonus chapter, with things that could have been in the sequel if this story wasn't such a dumpster fire.
One year passed since the Dominion War. The once proud Commander Spock had been demoted to Ensign, and was doomed to spend the rest of his spacefaring days aboard the USS Bradbury since he was not allowed aboard the Enterprise. If only he had been a little bit more considerate, he could have avoided this fate but unfortunately, his Vulcan logic, and the emotions he had tried so hard to suppress, had gotten the best of him and while he was stuck in the lower decks, the other former members of the Tomorrow Knights thrived.
Shiarrael, the Romulan girl, and Luen, the Dominion defect, had both been exiled from their homes, but they found each other. As partners, they were now trying their best to fit in among the Federation folk.
Jaylah and Shenara got married, and now, they were working to build a bridge between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
Indigo-1 went back to Nok, and were now focusing on inducting more people into the Indigo Tribe.
McCoy and Carol got married and had a baby son named David. The same happened with Uhura and Omal who also had a baby son named Coaden.
Both Ferris and Scotty, and Walker and Nilani got married. They weren't expecting children for now, but if they did, Walker said that he would name his first two children after the two he lost.
Aldar and Kilowog weren't in a rush to get their relationship developed. Right now, they were taking it nice and slow. Guy and T'Lin, on the other hand...they were currently expecting. Guy said if the child was a girl, he'd name her T'Quila.
John took on the role of Green Lantern Honor Guard, a concept Kirk invented, and also entered into a relationship with fellow Green Lantern Katma Tui, who he claimed that he married back in his home universe.
Sulu quit Starfleet entirely, returning to his husband and daughter.
Kirk and Diana had twins—both of them blonde and blue-eyed, taking after their father. They were named Steve and Audrey respectively, after Diana's lost loves. Anti-Matter Kirk and Anti-Matter Spock also created a daughter via replicator, and named her Tessa.
Sinestro and Hal were also parents now. By some miracle(Parallax), they were now proud fathers of a beautiful baby girl named Kalita.
All the while, Spock was left alone, desolated as both of his former lovers, Uhura and Kirk, continued on with their lives, without him. He lived on a delusion that he had been right all along, and kept calling James T. Kirk his bondmate.
Even when he had received the news that Kirk married Diana, he cried that his t'hy'la was being stolen from him.
"I'm ashamed to be your t'hy'la."
Those words never left the Vulcan's mind. Those were the words that cut him the deepest, even when there were still whispers going around the Bradbury about how he had screwed things up when the war was in full swing. He never regretted what he did, nor admitted his mistakes...not until the Bradbury visited the planet of Harmonia, a technologically advanced tropical paradise inhabited by immortal women who worshipped a mother goddess.
Just like Khan with the Enterprise crew, those women viewed the Bradbury crew as inferior to them, and when the landing party consisting of Captain Abbott and several ensigns went down, they simply paid them no mind and began to embrace each other lovingly, kissing tenderly as they wrapped their arching, feathery wings around one another protectively, a silent promise to never let go.
Spock, who had been one of the ensigns chosen by Abbott to go down with him, nodded at the glorious sight. Although his Jim had chosen that woman Diana over him, they still shared a t'hy'la bond, and that was never to be denied. Deep down inside, he envied these women a little bit. However, the other ensigns seemed to think otherwise.
"That's disgusting!" Ensign Clarke called out callously, his face twisting into a repulsed scowl as the women broke apart, though they continued to caress each other's hands affectionately.
The others wore similarly disgusted expressions as they aimed their phasers at them.
"Crewmen, stop that at once!" Abbott cried.
"Captain, I know you're somewhat of a romantic, but even you must admit that's bloody unnatural," Hughes said as he sneered at the women as though dirt on his shoe couldn't even begin to describe his opinion of them.
"Ensign Hughes, you are completely out of order, can you not see they are in love?" shouted a mortified Abbott.
"Sir, with all due respect, that is NOT love, love is between a man and a woman, not whatever the hell that is," Hughes replied, as though baffled by his captain's response.
"He's not wrong, sir, this is sin," Mr. Harrison spat out, glaring at the women, surprising the good captain, who had expected so much more from this bright young crewman.
"Alright, this has gone far enough, stop it!" ordered Abbott.
"Sir, this is sick!" Wright protested loudly.
"Where are the men?"
"They can't even have children!"
"ENOUGH!" Spock roared. "This is the 23rd Century, we should be beyond such sentiment!" He then turned to the women and bowed his head in apology. "Please forgive my crewmates, ladies."
Suddenly, Abbott's expression shifted. "Ensign Spock, when we get back to the ship, can I request an audience with you?"
LATER...
"So, ensign, why did you stand up for the Harmonians? I thought you only cared about Captain Kirk, and it's a well-known fact that you dismissed Dawnbreaker Khan Noonien Singh's feelings for the USS Vengeance as illogical." said Abbott.
"Because they were illogical." said Spock. "A ship is but a machine, made of different metal and synthetic alloys, unable to think or feel on its own. What about you, captain? Are you going to take Khan's side on this whole dispute too? Is it even possible for a human being to be in a romantic relationship with an inanimate object?""
"No, ensign, I would say no." replied Abbott. "I would say it's impossible, it's narcissistic and immature, but…Do you realize, Spock, that this is what they once said on Earth about relationships like what you once had with Kirk? Only loving the opposite sex was considered as normal and mature, while everything else was labelled pervert, and even, during a certain time, outlawed and prosecuted legally, in some places even punished by death. I don't think anyone can judge the true value of another man's feelings or relationships."
At this, the Vulcan seemed to have a realization.
It wasn't until that the Tomorrow Knights had to unite again in going against another major threat to the galaxy in the form of an intergalactic conqueror known as Lord Starlight and his army that Spock met Khan again. The Dawnbreaker had returned from deep space to aid Starfleet in the war, and by the time he came back, his army of Red Lanterns had increased tenfold and counting.
"Why did you come back? You're not welcome here." Spock had told Khan upon meeting.
"Is it really so? Because everyone else seemed to think otherwise." the Augment grinned. "You, on the other hand...is there any guarantee that you won't stand in my way just like you did during the Dominion War?"
"Just ask Captain Abbott. Thanks to him, I had...a realization." said the commander-turned-ensign. "He mentioned some old Earth superstitions about human love and romantic relationships. I did not want to side with those who perpetuated these antiquated and bigoted attitudes."
"You wanted to side with love.", Khan concluded.
"Your formulation is exceedingly emotional, but it is, in essence, correct", Spock agreed. They exchanged a long look, and Khan understood that there was at least one thing that they shared, that was making them alike: they loved and cherished a single being with whom each of them shared—or had shared—his entire soul, and that was why Spock had been finally able to grasp and respect a concept that would still perhaps be shocking to many of his contemporaries.
From afar, they could hear voices.
"Khan Noonien, what's taking you so long? You're missing the party!" Jaylah.
"Spock, the captain needs you, you've gotta hurry up!" Alan Scott, a lieutenant he'd grown quite close to during the years. He was also Montgomery Scott's cousin.
"Well, then, until later." The Dawnbreaker flashed a crazy grin, and started towards the rest of the Tomorrow Knights.
Spock sighed, and went the other way. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to understand the red menace someday, soon.