Title: Family
Time Setting: At the end of Star Trek IV.
Codes: Kirk, McCoy and the rest of the original crew.
Summary: The crew contemplates their fate prior to the Court Martial.
Disclaimer: Star Trek and characters are Paramount's property, I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. Any original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.
Copyright 2005
Chapter 6
While Pavel was being interviewed, Hikaru was contemplating his fate. After all the rain, the grass looked greener and the flowers more plentiful in the sunshine. His thoughts were far from the beautiful view. He had been waiting for his first command for a long time. It was within his grasp until this incident. The last information he had was his promotion to captain would occur after the training mission. The ill-fated training mission as it would turn out. The Excelsior was the next ship needing a commander and he had convinced himself the ship would be his.
Sulu didn't notice McCoy, Scotty and Uhura moving toward him until they were at his side. Scotty spoke up first, "Well laddie, it won't be long."
"Yeah, I know." Sulu could understand the depression the Admiral was feeling. They were all watching their careers go down the toilet. He didn't want the others to catch onto his mood so he changed the subject. "Did you get a hold of Mr. Spock?"
Dr. McCoy had just talked to the lieutenant and reported, "I left a message for him with his father's aide. They are expected to return there later this afternoon."
Nyota was not fooled and knew Hikaru well enough to see the worry in his eyes. She touched his arm, "Hikaru, it will be okay."
"Will it, will it really?" Sulu turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Chekov and the Lieutenant entering.
Lt. Spears announced, "Commander Sulu, the panel will see you next."
Chekov smiled as he met Sulu in the center of the room and lied when he said, "A piece of cake, no problem."
Sulu grimaced and followed Spears into the room. The lieutenant indicated the center seat and Sulu sat down and faced the committee.
Admiral Webber asked the first question as he had with all the other interviews. "Commander Sulu, I have two questions I would like to start with. First, how long have you served with Admiral Kirk?"
Sulu cleared his throat slightly, "I served on the Enterprise a couple of years prior to the Admiral becoming captain. With the two years the Admiral was with Starfleet Command, I would say we served together twenty years or so."
Admiral Webber asked his second question, "What is your impression of Admiral Kirk?"
Sulu took his time in responding, "The Admiral is a mentor and one of the finest captains in Starfleet. And frankly, if Starfleet does not recognize his value they will be very short sighted."
"Very commendable, Commander. We have picked up on the fact that Kirk can con his crew to follow him into hell and back," Admiral Stevens added.
"Excuse me!" Hikaru was dealing with the results of his decision to help Admiral Kirk and having someone accuse him of blithely being lead by the Admiral just made him furious. "The Admiral did not order us to go with him. He did not con us. We helped our friends in need. We knew what we were doing and the possible results of disobeying Starfleet orders. So, do not imply we were tricked into helping Admiral Kirk."
"Commander, that is enough. We still have more questions." Webber smirked at getting a rise out of Sulu.
Captain Edwards tried to pull the interview back on track. "Commander, I understand you were scheduled for promotion at the end of your last mission. In light of that fact, why did you go with Admiral Kirk to the Genesis planet?"
"If there was a chance we could save Mr. Spock and help Dr. McCoy I didn't have a choice. It is that simple. I full well knew the consequences of breaking Dr. McCoy out of detention, stealing the Enterprise, and going to a restricted area of space. I know I have trashed my chances of any promotion in the near future. That is assuming we are still in Starfleet when this is all over." Sulu hoped he still had a career when this was all over. It would be humiliating to be an ensign again but that would be preferable to the stockade or a rehab facility. He couldn't imagine the Admiral without a ship to command. He tried that after the first five year mission and that was a disaster. Scotty needed a ship to baby or he might succumb to depression over the death of his nephew. Dr. McCoy could certainly find work in the private sector but would he be okay without Kirk and Spock. No one talked about it but everyone knew McCoy, Spock and Kirk were a team which needed each other. Nyota, what regrets would she have with her career in shatters. Pavel was still recovering from his encounter with Khan's creatures. He needed to get back into a normal routine to fully recover.
Admiral T'San pulled Sulu out of his reflections. "Commander Sulu, do you consider the Admiral and your crew mates as close as family?"
Sulu had never thought of it before but with all the time and experiences they had been through, yes he did feel as close as family. "Yes sir, I would consider us a family not from blood but from choice."
Admiral Webber looked at the rest of the panel and they all shook their heads indicating no other questions. "Lieutenant, you may escort the Commander back to the waiting room and due to the late hour have the security guards escort them back to their quarters. We will review our notes and determine if we need any additional information and complete the interview with Admiral Kirk."
Sulu followed the lieutenant to the waiting room. He reflected on the interview and Admiral T'San's question. He had never thought about the others as family before and that thought was comforting. He joined his crew mates in returning to their quarters.
Admiral Webber informed the rest of the panel they would meet at 0700 hours to review the psych scan reports and determine if they needed to interview anyone a second time. Admiral T'San bowed his head slightly and left to check on his aide's progress in obtaining the psych scans.