Star Trek: The… Video Game?
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* OPTIONAL tasks allow you to get achievements. Earn enough and you can unlock new weapons!
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Spock, the Vulcan-Human hybrid, was many things: intelligent, complicated, logical, a tad bit emotional, and sassy. But what everyone knows for fact was that he was not stupid (perhaps a little oblivious at times, but he makes up for it in the long run). So, when the turbolift doors opened to reveal the bridge of the Enterprise, the Vulcan noticed that something wasn't right. Virtually, everything was the same and everyone acted the way they usually did; however, what made him iffy was the fact that he didn't remember getting onto the turbolift in the first place. In fact, everything was an empty void since the moment he fell asleep in his quarters last night, so the fact that he doesn't recall anything from that point on was alarming.
Nevertheless, he strides forward to the center, where his Captain was off to the side chatting with Sulu in lowered voices. Then again, he assumed they spoke, despite not being able to hear anything but discern their discreet bobbing heads. Another thing: he couldn't hear voices outside of his line of vision like he normally could – odd. Just before he could speak, Kirk glanced back and spotted him, so he straightened to leave the conversation with the helmsman in favor of speaking with his First Officer.
"Spock, was wondering where you went off to. You're late!" Exclaimed the human with an amused smile. "What? You ready to be beaten again at 3D chess?"
Spock thought for a moment, remembering yesterday's game and momentarily forgetting about his lapse. "If I do recall correctly, it was I who bested you in the round, Captain."
"Details details," he waved him off before animatedly stepping a bit closer. "Anyway, we've got a distress call from one of the Vulcan colonies and by the sound of it, they are calmly facing extreme danger and require backup. Since we're the closest, we're here for the party."
"What dangers are presented?"
"We're not too sure personally," Kirk frowned, eyebrows raising as he crossed his arms. "Vulcans are a private people as you know, so they kept the details to a minimum. From what they have told us, an experiment-gone-wrong type of deal; while they had been able to discern what happened, it was too late to fix it and everything went haywire after that. Their security drones went splat, their computers crossed sides, it was like technology betrayed them. Fortunately, the group who began the project is safe momentarily, but they're trapped in one of their operating towers and they need a way out."
"Captain, we are approaching New Vulcan now," Sulu announced suddenly, making the two turn to him. Spock watched and couldn't but notice the man… hovering his fingers over the console, but never making physical contact as he typed. Furthermore, it was like the screen was frozen on one image, not even blinking like it normally would. "But I'm getting some weird interference around the planet. It's like an electronic web is caught around the entire place and I can't even place the Enterprise into orbit without risking damaging our power supply."
"Hm… Scotty," Kirk turned to the man behind him, who sat at one of the stations. "Are we able to blast our way through that shock? Or at least deflect it to make an orbit?"
"No kin do, Captain. If we even tried tae fire, we'll send th' planet intae smitherings 'n' we cannae exactly gang intae orbit fur lang enough tae hulp thaim doon thare. Th' safest wey tae go is by manual travel," he stood to turn to them, his movements in between robotic and grace. Spock flickered his gaze around, realizing that everyone else acted the same way.
"That's alright for me. I wouldn't want to miss the fun anyway," Kirk smirked as he began to make his way to the turbolift. "Scotty, prepare me a shuttle. I want to be there as soon as possible."
"Aye, sir!" Watching as the Scotsman rushed into the lift first and disappeared into it, the Vulcan decided that while the day had certainly been too strange for his preference, he still had a duty as First Officer and that was to question the Captain on everything he did.
"Captain," Spock intercepted the man before he entered the lift. "Despite your consistent desire to 'stretch your legs', I must remind you of your duty as a Starfleet Captain. Your presence here is required to monitor the situation and make a report to Starfleet. This task can be simply handled by several cremates in need of training. It'd be best to wait here until further orders from the 'fleet."
"Yeah, but if they had something to say then they would have answered already," the Captain smirked." And if you wanted to come along, you coulda just said so. Now come on, you're with me, partner."
Then, with an encouraging pat on the arm, Kirk led the way into the turbolift which Spock reluctantly entered.
NEW OBJECTIVE:
[ ] Meet Scotty at the Shuttle Bay
Spock blinked. That was odd. He could have sworn that… No, it must have been nothing. Once the doors closed, the Commander had the opportunity to speak his mind and question if anyone else noticed this behavior change.
"Captain, have you noticed something… strange amongst the crew?" He questioned innocently, glancing at the man next to him. Surprisingly, he received no response. He was ignored completely. "Captain, I asked you a question… Sir?"
Then the turbolift doors opened and Kirk rushed out like a lightning bolt, once again taking the Vulcan by surprise. However, the moment Spock stepped one foot out of the lift, Kirk made a sharp u-turn at twice the speed until he stopped directly beside Spock at an uncomfortable proximity and nearly knocked the other down while doing so.
"Cap-"
"Come on, Spock! Time's a wastin'!" Kirk exclaimed into his ear. His statement contradicted his movements as he didn't move an inch away. Spock did the favor and backed up considerably, eyeing the man warily before leading the way to the shuttle. Kirk strangely followed him from behind, or occasionally to the front before spinning around until he caught up, or to the side where he ran into walls. This was a peculiar day indeed. When they reached the shuttle and entered, Mr. Scott mentioned the chances of minor turbulence because of the electrical field. Kirk agreed to the terms while Spock led the way into the shuttle, the Captain awkwardly running straight behind him until-
Everything froze and emerged into darkness. Spock couldn't see anything, he couldn't feel, hear, smell anything. His thoughts were there, but nothing else was. He wasn't even sure if Kirk was still with him or if they were even on the shuttle at all.
[ ] Meet Scotty at the Shuttle Bay
* Kirk can use the CONVINCE move to negotiate your way out of serious situations!
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Spock blinked and then he was back, only this time on a sandy planet with the shuttle crashed behind him and a ready-to-run Captain standing (more like bouncing slightly in place) beside him. What just happened? They were just on the Enterprise not a few seconds ago, how'd they get here? Well, other than the obvious shuttle behind them, he would have remembered the trip. And the… 'loading' things and strange tip about Kirk only moments after? No matter, it wasn't the right time to ask about this sudden… change. Right now, what is more important is the large tribal-like area they landed in, one that vaguely mimics the former Vulcan planet. In the distance, he spotted what looked like a figure, circling the entrance of the large tower, perhaps the exact one that the Vulcan engineers were trapped in.
"I see something," Kirk suddenly mentioned the words freakishly not fitting the way his mouth moved. "Better stay outta sight. Wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention to ourselves."
"Agreed," Spock nodded because he was still the Captain. With the Vulcan still in the lead, he hid behind a large stone, his head poking out slightly to see the walking patterns of the figure, who from this angle looked more mechanical than alive. "I believe it is one of the rouge machines that had attacked the engineers. If we can sneak behind it, then I can rewire and disable it before-"
Kirk suddenly stood up, pulled out his phaser, and walked his way out of cover to shoot at the robot. Spock tried to pull him back, but it was too late and the enemy spotted them. Shots were fired on both sides with the Captain sustaining much more damage than the other. Not wanting to give into the very human grunt of frustration, Spock similarly pulled out his phaser set on kill and shot the robot directly in the head, finally shutting it down.
"Nice aim, Spock!"
The Vulcan put away his phaser and sternly faced the Captain. "I did not desire to damage property. I presumed that you planned to not attract 'unwanted attention' as I'm sure by now that machine had alerted others of our arrival."
"You gotta have a little faith in me. Learn to live a little," the human responded half-heartedly. Spock nearly threw his hands up in the air. Oh, that is what he responds to. "Come on! We gotta move."
And then, Kirk began running directly into him (which happened to be in the direction of the tower) and while Spock expected him to start tumbling back in the collision, he was more so done with the surprises when he noticed that Kirk had run into him but failed to run him down. In fact, the Captain all but felt like a brush of air hovering in front of him and infiltrating his personal space. Curiously, Spock experientially held out his hand at arm's length to push the Captain off, watching in bafflement as Kirk continued to run in place but not apply any pressure and when he dropped his arm, the human once again ran into him making him barely move an inch.
It was both horrific and confusing.
"Let us… go." Though still baffled, Spock began to run toward the tower, wary of any more robots that might cross their path. When they reached the entrance, the Vulcan furrowed his eyebrows, deeply concerned at the various murdered bodies of his people. It was a massacre of green blood and flashes to a similar day not too long ago struck his thoughts.
"Geez, what the hell happened here?" Jim muttered disdainfully, suddenly very life-like and coordinated as he carefully stepped over various corpses to examine the view. "Christ, I'm gonna be sick. Now way a simple computer is capable of this crap."
"I must be inclined to agree and disagree, sir," Spock replied in a forced calm voice. "While technology can be capable of performing any task given with proper materials and codes, it can only do such things under certain programming. It is unlikely that an entire project worth of figures can adapt to self-awareness in such a short amount of time."
"So there's a brain behind the bot," the Captain summarized. "Okay. So, all we have to do is locate the one that reprogrammed them."
[ ] Locate and Rescue the Vulcan Engineers
[ ] Locate and Disable the Vulcan Broadcasting Tower
"I suggest that we must locate a possible broadcasting tower that is transmitting a signal controlling the robots to find the root of the hack, but first we must rescue the remaining Vulcans trapped inside."
"Of course. After you." Then, Kirk went rigid and struck the same I'm-ready-to-move pose again. Spock cautiously tapped his shoulder – no response. With a quiet shake of his head, he ran toward the next door, only to be immediately spotted by four robots on the other side. Instinctively, he raised his phaser and shot out, knocking each one down with sets of four or five rounds. Just as he lowered his weapon, a powerful shot connected with his shoulder. With a grunt, he spun around with his other limb extended and shot again.
"Spock! We have to be careful. There are some innocents here who look like they work amongst the bots. Keep your phaser on stun with them."
Kirk's late warning was far away in Spock's mind as his entire attention was locked onto the Vulcan fallen on the ground with a newfound hole right in between their eyes. His arm dropped in disbelief. The Vulcans attacked too? H-He didn't mean to…
"Captain, he is dead," he whispered. "I killed him, an innocent casualty. I acted without thought, I let my emotions control me once again." He turned to the blonde young man, his eyes furrowing in regret. "Captain, I-"
He then remembered that Kirk, this Kirk, wouldn't listen to a word he said. Somehow, this agitated the man, but at the same time, it greatly unnerved him.
"Sir, a dead man is lying at my feet because of my doing," he walked up to stare at his frozen determined face. "Do you even care that someone has died? Are you even listening? Captain Kirk, I killed someone and you're not doing anything about it!"
"Come on, Spock! Time's a wastin'!" Kirk replied, peppy and delayed. The Vulcan gritted his teeth, but took a deep breath and began to move forward to another passageway. He was wasting his time with the Captain, the sooner he completes the mission the faster he can figure out how to fix… whatever this was. And as much as he wants to uncharacteristically ditch the blonde man because he was absolutely useless to him (he doesn't even shoot the robots and takes a considerably long time to catch up to him), Kirk keeps following like an insecure child.
When they arrived at the top of the tower after defeating the enemies along the way (mostly on the Vulcan's part), they had to convince the Vulcans that they were there to help and wanted to know what happened to the area (Kirk, as per the tip, worked well to talk them into it (distantly, he felt that the task to locate the engineers had been checked and completed)).
"We were developing New Vulcan's construction systematics, such as security, evacuation measures, anything to prevent another devastation," K'Ung, one of the leading Vulcan engineers in charge of the project, mentioned as she led the two through their small safe center. "Fortunately, this room is secured from any aspects of intrusion so no one has been able to get in without rigorous checks. However, our processors have not yet been prepared to encounter an unexpected outside source. It began with small codes being rewritten and systems shutting before our entire program had lost its admin connection."
"What about the people out there?" Kirk frowned. "There were some of your people who looked to be on Team Robot."
K'Ung turned to face them, arms neatly placed behind her robes. "They had fallen under programs similar to the ones that corrupted our systems, yet these have been ensured under the host of small semi-microscopic chips in robotic bodies – fleas, if you wish to call them. So far, we have not found a cure to their loss of logic and fall into particular obedience, but we believe that it can be cured, if not delayed until we find a proper solution, if the power transmissions have been terminated."
"Well, we can take care of that while you are beamed aboard the Enterprise in safety-"
"Negative, Captain. There are too many of us and, while we appreciate the efforts, require the materials found here," the woman bowed her head slightly. "Shutting off the power is enough."
[ ] Locate and Disable Vulcan Power Supply
"We'll cut off the radio towers too while we're at it, to get some bonus points," Kirk grinned with a wink. "And, if that isn't enough, I'm sure a classy dinner with the two of us would be quite beneficial for both the mind and body, I always say."
Spock watched as the logic-versus-charm battle ensued, analyzing each detail that both members displayed. While naturally, they acted as though they should have, the Vulcan couldn't help that the second the conversation was over, an eerie yet motivational… sound… music… instrumental notes played in the background as both figures dropped their life-likeness in favor of acting like puppets awaiting orders from the marionette. It played everywhere they went, but it was only now did he take it into account. So this did not just apply to the Enterprise and her crew, but everywhere else (at least on his planet) as well.
"K'Ung, would you inform us of where to locate the broadcasting tower and power supply?" He asked politely, only to be ignored completely other than an offhand comment that they should get going soon. Virtually frowning, he was just above to repeat his request if not a little harsher if suddenly the top right of his line of sight appeared a circular beacon and two dots showed on it. Startled, Spock frantically blinked and swished his hand in front of his face but nothing was done about the newly placed compass. He even tried spinning around but it was stuck there like a personal hologram ingrained into his retinas.
"Captain," the Vulcan turned to the man. "Do you have a similar compass at the top right-hand corner of everywhere you look?"
Kirk merely straightened, began stretching his neck and pulled out his phaser to obnoxiously inspect it like he'd never seen it before, until he returned to a neutral position.
"Nevermind," Spock shook his head with a close-but-not-really sigh. At least the compass might prove useful, the one thing beneficial from the unnerving occurrence.
The first dot was the closest, located at the western area of the under-construction. Much like the operation tower, the radio tower was just as tall as the clouds and as heavily guarded by both the hacked Vulcans and humanoid machines. While it would be effective to eliminate as muchmanymies as possible, Spock thought it would be best to find an alternative route in favor of stealth. Yet, considering that this was the first time ever being on the planet, he was unsure as to where it could be.
"You know, if we weren't kickin' robot ass and saving the Vulcans again, I think this might be a cool shore leave spot. D'you think that there might be an ocean nearby?"
Ignoring the question, Spock snuck passed the guards using the terrain as cover in order to inspect the building from behind and, as he calculated, it was based off the previous ones back on Old Vulcan and had a back gate. Unfortunately, it was locked tight, nothing dropped off and nothing being picked up which told him that it was going to stay like that until who knows when. He inspected the door, carefully eyeing the edges and discerning the material before equipping his phaser and began to slice through with a consistent long beam.
It wasn't long until he burnt a hole through it, giving them a clear way of entry.
"Smart thinking, Commander. Wouldn't have thought of that without you."
Throwing a small glare at the man, Spock led the way into the room, using his communicator to light the way with a built-in flashlight and keeping his phaser out in case of any attacks. Distantly he heard Kirk running up to catch behind him, but he had one objective in mind and that was to locate the control room. The… map that only he could see directed him in what he assumed was the right direction. Eventually, they made up the majority of the building with little to no contact amongst the enemies, which soon became hauntingly alarming. Even the Captain mentioned the oddity of being able to walk out in the open without anyone spitting them. Their questions were eventually answered when they reached the control room.
Over a dozen of them guarded the mere outside and many more just beyond the glass walls, it would be difficult to sneak around and practically impossible to take them all down at once. Switching between stun and kill on a phaser would also hinder their performances greatly, leaving them with no options.
"Hey, I think we can use that stun grenade that Scotty gave us," Kirk whispered, making his partner frown slightly as they hid behind a wall.
"When did Mr. Scott give us this?" Predictably, his question was left unanswered. With a sigh, Spock nodded to the Captain, thinking of no other plan that might work. Suddenly, Kirk took out the grenade from his pants (which left Spock seriously wondering where he pulled it out since their uniforms don't have pockets nor had he seen the grenade on his belt) and tossed it across toward the large group of enemies. It beeped once, twice, then exploded with electricity that short-circuited the robots and knocked the Vulcans unconscious. This at once sent everything into a rowdy mess. Spock pushed himself away to gain cover at a closer range, shooting his phaser set on kill repeatedly toward the machines while Kirk (ever so slowly) stunned the living beings.
Just as they almost cleared the area, the Vulcan was hit directly on the shoulder then dangerously close to Spock's heart in nearly-fatal two shots. Just as he stumbled to the ground, another strange ominous image popped up at the very top of his extended sight: it was a long and rectangular shape barely filled, blinking alarmingly red and just as quickly as his racing heart. Spock didn't get the chance to see when the battle was over until Kirk rushed beside him, his face frozen with the normally determined stare.
"Looks like you need a little help," commented the human before beginning to wave his hands on his wounds, about a few inches shy from touching him directly. Before he wondered any further, as Kirk continued with his… whatever, the line at the top began to fill slowly and effectively. Only one thought popped in kind as his eyes darted between the rectangle and the Captain's fingers: he wasn't comfortable with using vulgarity but it called for it – what the fuck was happening right now?
In an awkward sense of realization then turned to startlement, Spock quickly shoved the Captain off of him but the human felt harder than solid steel. It was impossible to move him, much less get a proper reaction. He was light as a feather before, why was this different? Something just as heavy dropped in his stomach, unsettling him more than he cared to admit. Keeping his face stoic, if not a little unnerved, he watched as the bar filled entirely before disappearing, allowing Kirk to stand up and default to his usual stance.
"Look at that. You're good as new," Kirk's chuckle irked him. "I think Bones might actually be proud."
Spock dropped his gaze to his body, gazing at where the wounds should be but not spotting even a trickle of blood on his pristine blue uniform. He should be dead, but he was not. He should be bleeding to death and in need of medical attention, but he did not. Not when that… sorcery did this and fixed his wounds. He didn't even feel a bit of discomfort. He gazed back up at the human, his focus going foggy for a moment. This was not his Captain. If this was not his Captain, not Jim, who was he? What was he?
"Come on, Spock! Time's a wa-"
A phaser fired right at Kirk's head, leaving a huge chunk missing from the side of his skull. Spock's hand shook, his finger releasing from the trigger as he watched in barely suppressed horror as the wound began to meld and blend in before it looked like nothing had happened in the first place. A tweak of disgust penetrated his face and shot a few more, the taste of bile rising up his throat as Kirk's blood splattered in every direction but kept healing at a quicker pace.
"Spock, we gotta-"
He fired at his chest.
"We should-"
He shot his shoulder and stomach.
"Come on, Spo-"
He blasted his mouth off, next his earlobe.
"We have to move. We're running out of time." And Spock ran out of power in the phaser. But he didn't move. If Kirk was like this, then so was everyone else (at least to a certain extent). His reality wasn't like this, people died in his world and acted as they normally would: Vulcans acted with grace not choppy, humans danced with emotions not anything else, life progressed in seconds not cut off with random blackened 'loading' pauses. What was this thing he was in? Perhaps another world, another dimension that makes him be the main character to solve these ridiculous missions? It was like he was in those Earth fairytales his mother used to read him when he was a child, where the hero battles against anyone evil with their sidekick and usually comes out unscathed.
If this were that, then this was not real. If this were unreal, how would he get back to reality?
"Come on, Spock. Time's a-"
"We are no longer assisting the Vulcans in their situation," Spock interrupted him, abruptly standing to face him more directly. His statement somehow made the unresponsive man pause. "We will return to the Enterprise where I can conduct a proper investigation on this problem amongst us."
It took a second before Kirk spoke again and if he carefully listened, which he always did, he would have heard the same repetitive words sound more insistently. "Come on, Spock. Time's a wastin'!"
"No. We must leave at once before either of us are discovered. While it is unlikely that you will be harmed, it is I that can still be affected through physical attacks," the Vulcan, knowing that the man wasn't real and wouldn't react to him at all, allowed himself to clip his tone in slight irritation. While it was annoying, he couldn't lose himself to emotions entirely as it would distract him from the larger problem at hand. He marched up to the controls inside the room, shooting anything that dared move at him – Vulcan or other – until he safely reached it to completely shut it off. "There. That way no one can interrupt us while we get to the Enterprise."
[ ] Locate and Disable Vulcan Radio Tower
[ ] Locate and Disable Vulcan Power Supply
"Now to shut off the power."
"Negative. We will return to the Enterprise," Spock retorted, brushing past Kirk toward the exit. The Captain quickly followed as the Vulcan took out his communicator and held it open to his mouth. "Spock to Enterprise, do you read?"
"We hear you, Commander," Nyota replied a moment later. " Is there a problem?"
"Indeed. We need immediate access to the ship, beam up our signals," he ordered.
"Yes, sir. Has there been trouble with the Vulcans?"
Probably it'll be best if they knew little of the reason, he thought reasonably. "Negative. The situation has been handled prematurely and they no longer require our assistance. Make note to Starfleet to report their casualties and in need of resources."
" Yes, sir. Beaming you up now, stand clear."
[ ] Locate and Disable Vulcan Power Supply
* The Enterprise is the home of over 400 crewmates! One member has nearly exterminated his entire race and destroyed his planet, leaving him without a home.
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When he was back on the Enterprise, Spock quickly rushed off of the transporter pad and went straight to his quarters, determined to get answers and away from the slowly pursuing Captain behind him. Just as he arrived, he quickly punched in the code, glancing back in surprise to see Kirk walking faster, and at the sound of the door sliding open he walked straight into a wall. With a disgruntled huff, he snapped back to the door and, indeed, it was blocked off. He can't access his room!
"This is completely ridiculous," he muttered disdainfully under his breath.
"Hey, don't leave me behind!" Kirk suddenly popped up beside him, making the Vulcan stiffen and glare at his beaming smile.
"I no longer need your company," Spock retorted not-so politely. "You may return to your post on the bridge."
"I need you with me, Spock. Come on, Starfleet probably has something to say about that problem back on New Vulcan," the Captain shrugged before sporadically spinning around in a circle then began to robotically run off to the nearest turbolift.
[ ] Meet Kirk at the Bridge
No, he will not do that. Spock is a Vulcan who rarely disobeyed orders, but this situation he found himself in was much more important than his regular duties. He looked back at his blocked off quarters, frowning deeply. Why was it like this? Was it because it was insignificant to the current task? It can't be just a wall if this is truly the exact copy of the ship. Spock felt around the wall, touching every spot to sense and weak areas. There was one: in the bottom. Grabbing hold of his phaser, he checked the settings to adjust it before firing at the spot, blasting it completely. The wall flickered then collapsed entirely, much like a hologram losing its energy.
His room was dark when he stepped inside, but when he turned on the lights to see that everything was still the same it was reassuring that at least one thing hasn't changed. Locking the door after him, Spock crossed the room to his desk, seating himself to grab the PADD on the desk. He needed to review the day's events and yesterday's as well, making sure to see if there was anything that might have caused this… problem.
Yet, nothing stood out. It was a complete mystery. He checked yesterday, the day before that, the entire week then month of events, but nothing has changed. It was unexpected as it was new, yet this has only been affecting him.
* Spock, when under heavy stress and denied depression, refuses to eat for weeks and regularly thinks about leaving the Enterprise forever!
That-That hasn't been… No! He-He doesn't do that! It's immoral and illogical, not once had he… committed… that act that hides deep within his mind… The only reason it stays was because of the lingering guilt of not being there sooner, not being able to reach out a little farther-
[ ] Go To the Bridge
The blinking light at the very obnoxious map made it very clear of where he needed to go. Once again, he ignored it in favor of staring off into space. There had to be a solution, something that he was missing. But what was it?
[ ] GO To the BIRDGE
No, he will not.
*As First Officer, Spock can be easily replaced and everyone is very aware of how much they want to get rid of him!
These tips are getting unnervingly insensitive and, quite frankly, brutally honest…
*A little over 400 Vulcans are left in the entire galaxy, their planet destroyed after an insignificant half-breed freak decided to greatly anger the Romulans-!
"No, that is not true," he sharply hisses into the air. "It was not my-"
*Spock lost his mother, Amanda Grayson, over the personal mistake of tardiness and incompetence-
"It was- I was unaware how much she needed me-"
*Spock is very aware of what he has done, but does not have the courage to face the grave mistake that cost thousands of lives, including his mother!
The Vulcan blinked when he felt something moist in his eyes. "I… I did not mean-"
*It's Spock's fault that Vulcan perished.
A small sniff broke the otherwise silent room.
*It's Spock's fault that Amanda died.
"I-I didn't mean to," he whispered, his voice wavering.
*The Enterprise is not Spock's home, as much as he wants to believe it! He has no family. Did you know? His father refused to speak with him when he joined Starfleet, but officially disowned him after the incident of Narada.
He was alone in this and he knew it. Maybe it was best he was in this new reality. Obviously, it steered him away from any emotional confrontations, the thought of losing anyone was impossible here, and he was always busy with these 'missions.' Maybe this was meant to happen and, despite its illogical fortitude, he should embrace the fact that he's stuck like this.
Putting his PADD down and wiping his tears while standing in one swift motion, Spock cleared his face from anything penetrating before leading out into the corridors and off to the bridge. When he arrived, he made sure to act as normal as possible considering that he knew that the people surrounding him were strange fakes. Then again, as he walked passed Doctor McCoy to get to his station, he couldn't help but bump into him because they were just unreal fakes.
At least, that's what he thought until he felt a heavy hand clamping on his shoulder and spinning him around.
"Hey! Watch where yer goin', ya green-blooded hobgoblin! Don' ya know some manners?!" McCoy snapped, clearly unhappy when he was rudely trampled in the middle of his conversation with the Captain. But the Vulcan just… stared at him, his mouth ever so slightly dropped open and his eyebrows raised dangerously close to his hairline. "What's with the look? Ya look the most surprised I've ever seen ya. So, are ya gonna tell me why you decided I was gonna be the new carpet for the bridge?"
"Christ, Bones, I think you broke him!" Jim stood from his chair to worriedly look at his best friend and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. At once, the Vulcan's gaze dropped to it. "Hey, Spock, you okay?"
"I-" Spock collected himself, just realizing that everyone was staring at him questionably. "I can feel your touch."
The statement took them all by surprise. "Uh… what?"
"And you are reacting to my responses," the Vulcan continued as if he didn't hear him. "And you swiftly moved to my presence without another obnoxious phrase."
"God, I think he's delirious," muttered the doctor.
"There are no pauses that, after a long talkative period, requires a 'loading' fade out to continue onto the next action-"
"You mean a cut scene?" Jim frowned. "Like in video games?"
Spock paused, reviewing the last time that Chekov had introduced him to the word and compared it to the event. Was that it? He was stuck in a video game? "... Yes, a cut scene."
"That's it, he's totally off his rocker!" Bones growled, already pulling out a hypo. "I knew I should have kept you for the night! That concussion really messed you up for than your dumb logic could comprehend."
That's when the Vulcan paused. "Concussion?"
"You mean you don't remember-!"
Jim then chuckled, placing his other hand on Bones' shoulder. "No need to throw a fit, Bones, but how about we discuss this somewhere else? Let's go to the breifing room." Then, he turned to the rest of the curious crew. "Everyone else, do what you need to do."
Not watching what the others would do, Jim led ( He took the lead! Spock thought in awe) the duo into the desired room. As the doctor hurriedly guided (forced) the Vulcan to sit on the chair against his wishes so that the humans could interrogate him, Spock could only speculate that based on the information of being concussed that it might have deduced some short term memory loss and, perhaps, a heavily induced nightmare of sorts.
"Yesterday we went on a mission to review the status of New Vulcan," Jim began. Spock nodded, he remembered that – a simple check-in to see how construction and civilization was thriving on the new planet. "We beamed down – me, you, and Bones – to see what's up. However, a freak accident happened with one of the cranes. The thing that it was holding would have collapsed onto an unsuspecting kid if you didn't sacrifice yourself and pushed them out of the way. While you were both not crushed into Vulcan pancakes, you were knocked unconscious from a fallen piece of metal."
"Ya would have been killed if that Vulcan thick skull of yers wasn't there," Leonard informed with a deep frown as he hovered his tricorder over him. "Jumpin' in like that, what were ya thinkin'?! Not thinkin' at all, I can tell ya that!"
"I… do not remember that occurring," Spock muttered quietly, his eyebrows furrowing. "From context, I am assuming I had been evacuated soon after and reawakened with the need to continue before being forced to my quarters for the rest of my shift."
"I guess yer good at rememberin' routine, eh?"
"Okay, so now you know what's up," Jim crossed his arms. "Now, I want to know what the hell you dreamed about! Come on, Spock. Time's a wastin'... well, not literally, I just really wanna know."
The Vulcan visibly flinched at the mere phrase, sending the two humans to glance at each other worriedly. And so, Spock told them, every word and every detail that he picked with his own eyes and ears. His two best friends (yes, they were that… right?) nodded along, each minute passing their eyes deepened with both interest and curiosity. By the time he reached the part where the tips became more harsh, he stopped.
"That's…" Jim blew out a breath, clearly unsure as to how to respond. "If that doesn't sound like a video game, I don't know what does. Christ, my character sounds super generic and useless. You could have pictured me with a little more of my charm, Spock."
"That's not the point, Jim," Bones rolled his eyes before turning back to the Vulcan. "Look, like I said I should have kept you at sickbay for the night under careful observation if yer logical ass would have listened to the doctor. Now, I know for a fact that yer tale isn't over, so spill it. What happened next?"
Spock stiffened in his seat, his eyes snapping between the humans. Should he tell them? How would they react? His most precious secrets were about to be revealed if he told them that he forced himself not to eat and damaged his mental shields at the constant lingering guilt of those he failed to save. Eventually, he dropped his gaze, gulping ever so slightly before speaking.
"I failed to save my people and my mother." His low voice still managed to rock the room. "I had a responsibility, a mission to accomplish, but I had been too ignorant and arrogant to prevent it. I could have prevented the matter if I relinquished the command over the Enterprise, if I had ran faster to reach my parents, if I had been not two feet closer to catch my mother."
There was a heavy beat of silence.
"There were occasional messages that appeared before me," he admitted. "It began to state facts and claims of my next task or the abilities that my companions could use. It was when I had locked myself in my quarters that those messages had become more… enlightening on my identity."
"Like what?" Bones asked at the next longer pause. Spock shifted before sighing ever so quietly.
"It reminded me that I have no one to call family nor home anymore," Spock admitted with a suddenly hardened tone. "My mother had perished, Vulcan was destroyed, and my father had disowned me. I cannot even return to Academy where I will only be seen as an endangered species and I cannot step foot on New Vulcan without being seen as a murderous fiend." His tone dropped again as he finally looked at the two. "It listed my mistakes and proved that I am alone and I believe it."
There was another tense beat after that. But he didn't care what those two had to say to him, they would illogically tell him otherwise and while he was disgusted at the fact of revealing this along with the raging emotions that tie with it, he was at least satisfied with sharing as much. No matter what-
"Yup. You got no family or planet, bo ho." Spock and Jim both turned at the southerner in shock, but the man just pulled up another chair to sit down next to him and face the open window of space. "It sucks I'm sure, but I honestly felt kinda the same way back with my ex wife and daughter. Not that I'm sayin' that either of them are dead or that my planet was destroyed, but my daughter was the whole world to me and she was truly my only family left. I dunno about you but she's the only one that I would die for and I'll do anythin' to keep her safe. But she was taken away from me when I lost custody. It was like I lost everything, Spock. Whatever mattered didn't no more, so that's why I went to the 'Fleet. No family, no home; it was the best place I could be. Then I knew things flopped the moment I met our Captain on the shuttle to the Academy."
Kirk smirked softly while Spock continued to frown.
"If this is a ploy to make me 'feel better', I am missing the part where it does just that," the Vulcan mentioned.
"What I mean, you green-blooded dope, is that while you might not have what you had anymore, there's someone that can help you out when you least expect it," the man chuckled softly, punching his shoulder a little. "As corny as it sounds, you've got Jim and I. Hell, the damn Enterprise is yer home and the crew yer family."
"He's right, Spock," Jim grinned, taking a seat on the other side of him. "We might not be by blood but we got each other much more than that."
"That is illogical," he refuted. "No one can be a family from simple acquaintances."
"Well, we're friends, right? That's gotta mean something," Jim said happily, throwing an arm around the man good naturedly. "Heck, we might be even better than that. I say that we officially adopt you as our honorary brother!" Before Spock could question and refute, the Captain already peered over to the medical doctor. "What do ya say, Bones? Do you want Spock as a little bro?"
McCoy frowned minisculely. "Ya don't have to ask me that, Jim. I thought he already was."
Something about that statement alone left Spock feeling… light inside of him.
"So, from here on, I declare this as a new birthday as the official joining of Jim Kirk, Leonard McCoy, and Spock!" Declared the Captain, loud and heroically as he waved his hand up and pointed out to the stars. "Do you feel it, guys?! The power of brotherhood and friendship for life! I think we need to celebrate. Bones?"
The man smirked before pulling out his tricorder, opening a hidden compartment to reveal two small flasks and a chocolate bar. At once, he was met with surprised looks at the items. "I've got it for all occasions, you never know the type of people who choose how to relax."
"I don't get it," Jim said, choosing to get the flask and take a gulp from it. McCoy did the same with his and they both waited for the last man to choose his option. At once, the blonde was skeptical. "Have you ever drank, Spock?"
The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "Alcohol does not affect the Vulcan body as it does to humans. However," he paused to grab the candy, unwrapping the foil and taking a small bite out of it. "Eating chocolate, highly intoxicating to Vulcans, is not foreign to me."
"Duuuuude," Jim drawled in shock.
"Well, that's a surprise," McCoy chuckled, taking another sip before raising his flask toward the window. "To brotherhood and all that jazz."
"I can't believe you're agreeing with this!"
"Shut up, Jim!"
The man grinned, raising his flask as well. "To brotherhood!"
They then turned and waited for the Vulcan, who stared at the stars. They would have thought he wasn't going to participate and made a fool of themselves before he lifted his bar with a clear look of calm and (if they looked closer) pride.
"To brotherhood."
The entire bridge crew did not see the Captain, First Officer, or CMO until the next morning, for as the three of them let loose until they barely remembered their names and somehow it seemed entirely logical for all of them.
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