An Unexpected Promotion

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2279.358, 1223 hours. He saw Dimora enter the Mess slowly dragging her feet. She had a crumpled tissue in her hand and her eyes were red. Unfortunately everybody else was still laughing at the story Tilk was telling and nobody noticed her distress until she sat down.

Tabby immediately threw both arms around her. "Dee, what's the matter?!"

"Yeah, is everything alright?" Aaron asked. "Did somebody—" he gulped "—die?"

She shot him a pointed look. "No, but I might as well have." Se'tak watched how tightly she held onto her tissue as she struggled not to cry. "My Dad got a promotion."

Everyone frowned save for Aaron. "That's great!" Seeing all the downcast faces he hesitantly asked, "Wait, I forget, what's higher then a Commander?"

"Captain," Se'tak quietly replied as he took in the news. "It means they're leaving the ship."

"Oh."

Dimora began crying again in earnest and this time Tabby joined her. Egil's gaze drifted from one disheartened face to the other; he was the newest member of their little group, his family having joined the Enterprise only a year and a half ago, and he knew best what it was like to have to pack everything up and leave your friends behind as you went from ship-to-ship. "How long—?"

"Just after the New Year; that's only two weeks! How could he do this to me?!" She turned in to Tabby's shoulder and cried while her friend held her and stroked her hair.

Tilk swallowed his food and proceeded to point his fork at her. "He didn't do this to you, per say; it happened to him, and since you're his daughter, not to mention still a minor and not a working member of Starfleet…"

Both girls began to cry harder at the impending separation and Se'tak hit his friend in the arm. "Dude, not helping."

"Sorry."

Se'tak turned his attention back to Dimora. "Do you know what ship you'll be on?"

"The Discovery," she blurted out, grabbing a napkin and dabbing at her damp face. "Captain Thomlinson's retiring."

Egil, who'd been idly pushing food around on his plate, glanced up from his tray. "I was on there a few years ago. She's a good ship—a little different from the Enterprise but still good."

"I don't care!" she shouted back. Now everyone for tables around were watching them. "I don't care if she's 100 years old or fresh off the assembly line, she's not my home!" Egil gawked like a fish out of water but said nothing more.

"There, there," Tabitha soothed, "He was just trying to make you feel better."

"I know," she pouted, her voice muffled by Tabby's shirt. "Sorry."

"Hey," Aaron chimed in, hoping to lighten the mood, "Why don't we go swimming after lunch? It'll help get your mind off things…"

"I can't. Mom said I have to start packing; I just stopped off here to tell you all the news before you heard it elsewhere."

"Oh."

Tabby held her hand. "I'll help."

Aaron latched onto the idea. "Yeah, we can all…" Tabby's hard look stopped him short as she shook her head no.

Dimora chuckled. "Thanks guys. Maybe later, ok?"

"Sure."

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"Anything you need."

The two girls walked off together, leaning on one another for support and leaving the guys in quiet contemplation. They ended up going rock climbing at the gym like they'd originally planned but before where they'd been excitedly talking about the upcoming vacation now they were much more introspective.

He'd grown up with Dimora and Se'tak couldn't imagine what it'd be like with her gone. She was the big sister of the group, always planning movie nights and parties and things. She remembered everybody's birthday and always baked them special treats. Whenever anyone had a problem they went to Dimora because she was such a good listener and gave the best advice.

Seriously, what were they all going to do without her? And who knew when (or if) they'd see each other ever again?

1828 hours. "I can't believe they're leaving…I knew something was up when he and Jim came out of the Ready Room looking the way they did but still, I wasn't expecting this."

Se'tak stopped mid-way down the hall and listened to his parents talking in the kitchen. News of Dimora's family moving on traveled fast. Sa-mekh being Sa-mekh he was quick to point out to Mama the same thing Tilk said to them earlier. "The Sulu family are not leaving, they have been re-assigned as Commander Sulu received a well-deserved promotion."

He casually leaned against the wall, wanting to eavesdrop on the rest of their conversation. Mama dumped the silverware on the table. "You knew Hikaru was going to get the promotion, didn't you?"

No matter how old he got or how often he saw her in action it never ceased to amaze him how good Mama was at her job. She could read people's body language like they were open books and not even Sa-mekh could hide. "I was consulted upon the matter and had before-hand knowledge of the event, yes."

There was a moments pause and then she said, "There's more you're not telling me." Damn. She sounded pissed. Se'tak was glad he wasn't in Sa-mekh's shoes.

"The Captain informed me of the coming promotion three days ago." He paused and cleared his throat. "I was initially offered the position aboard the Discovery and subsequently made the recommendation that it go to Mr. Sulu instead."

Well that was a horse of a different color. His jaw dropped as Mama also understandably balked. "WHAT?! You never told me that!"

"It was a passing conversation between myself and Jim that did not warrant repetition."

"Spock, I'm your adun'a! I'm not mad that you said no to the promotion—that's your choice—but you should've at least told me about the opportunity!"

He heard Sa-mekh move the pan off the cook top by the sound of it's tell-tale sizzle. "Do you wish to leave the Enterprise?"

"No, but…"

"Neither do I, nor do I have any ambition to command my own starship; Hikaru, on the other hand, despite his numerous repeated overtures of happiness in his current position, related to me in confidence that he would not be opposed to new challenges in his career. Therefore it was most logical to suggest him for the promotion as it would most certainly fit this criteria."

There was a long pause and he wondered if Mama was gearing up for battle or trying to calm down. "Ok; but in the future I'd prefer not to be blind-sided by things like this, ok?"

"Understood."

Se'tak listened to the plates being set down on the table but nothing else was said upon the matter. After this latest revelation he felt more conflicted about Dimora's departure then he did before. On the one hand he felt lucky; he was glad that Sa-mekh turned down the promotion and that their family wasn't leaving. On the other hand he was mad because his Sa-mekh had a hand in sending Dimora and her family away. It occurred to Se'tak that Uncle Jim would've had final say over who stayed, who went, and who got promoted, but maybe if Sa-mekh hadn't said anything then Uncle Hikaru wouldn't have been considered and they wouldn't be leaving.

A minute later he was still trying to sort his feelings out when he, T'Alora and Selas got called to dinner. All through the meal he played off like he didn't know a thing about his parents' earlier conversation when in reality it was all he could think about.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2280.006, 1929 hours. The party had been his and Tabby's idea. The ship had had a farewell party for the Sulus the other day but this one was just for Dimora. Tabby offered to host since she knew she'd have no trouble getting Dee over and everyone else pitched in when and where they could. Everything came together and went off without a hitch.

Dimora was surprised to say the least, but after a few turns about the room began to smile and relax. Nearly their entire class had turned out to see her off and she was stunned to learn so many people would miss her. At one point early on in the party Se'tak sat on the end of the sofa sipping his punch and watching her talk shop with Aaron and Tilk.

"I can't believe she's really going." Tabby dropped down beside him and stared wistfully at her best friend. They'd been working side-by-side together for the last five days trying to make sure this party went well and judging by the look on her face he figured the exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

"Yeah. Are you ok?"

She turned to him, her eyes moist. "I don't know. Maybe? Probably not. I think I've just been lying to myself and throwing myself into planning this party so I wouldn't have to think about her really leaving." Tabby glanced back at Dimora. "Tak, she's my best friend."

"I know."

"What am I going to do?"

He threw an arm over her shoulders and drew her in for a quick hug. "You'll be fine; and she'll always be your best friend."

A hiccupped sob escaped Tabitha's throat along with a small chuckle. "I know that, but what am I going to do when she leaves me surrounded by all these boys?" Her tears giving way to giggles he now took a good look around the room. There really was an oddly large number of boys in their class; he'd never noticed the discrepancy before. Before he could reply she bolted up from the sofa. "Oh no."

"What?"

But her attention was already off on their classmates fiddling with some figurines on the bookshelf. "Guys, guys stop that. Luke, I'm serious, put it down! If you break those my mom'll kill me!"

2111 hours. "Hey."

The ladle slid back into the punch bowl and he turned to her with a smile on his face. "Hey yourself."

Dimora reached over and poured herself a fresh glass. "I feel like I haven't talked to you all night."

Se'tak gestured around the room at everyone laughing, dancing, singing… "Well you are the main attraction. The adoring masses have kept you busy."

"Yeah, they have." The blush rose to her cheeks. "I had no idea so many people would miss me."

"Liar. You knew." He nudged her playfully in the shoulder and soon they were both grinning. They remained standing near the snack table awhile and watched their friends goofing off and having a good time.

"You remember when we were like 6 or 7 and the ship had one of those 'Take Your Kid to Work' days?"

"How could I forget? Uncle Jim said he'd give us all a turn sitting in his chair and you kept trying to push me out and steal my turn!"

Dimora hip-chucked him, looking mildly offended. "I did not! You were the one hogging the seat and giving ridiculous orders! And if you hadn't been so damn stubborn and heavy I would've knocked you off and gotten my fair turn!"

He rolled his eyes but continued down memory lane with her. "What about later, when my sa-mekh burned his hand repairing that console, and you begged your dad to let you go with us to Sickbay so you could see your mom? You got your revenge then, didn't you?"

"Heck yes I did!" Both were laughing so hard they were almost doubled over, for while her mom fixed up his sa-mekh Dimora had gone after him with the bandages. Under the pretense of 'practicing' she'd wrapped him up from head-to-toe so tightly that he looked like an old Earth mummy; and she'd tied the knots so hard that Uncle Leonard had had to cut him loose with a scalpel and he cursed a blue streak the whole time.

"What about that time we ran away?"

"Oh my gosh!" Her hands flew up to her mouth. "That was so much fun!"

Se'tak chuckled. "We would've gotten away with it too, if Keenser hadn't been working in that Jeffries tube and evicted us...not to mention we didn't know how to disable the computer sensors so our parents probably would've found us before long too."

"Still, that was the best day ever!" she exclaimed. "And of course Tabby got so mad that we left her behind that she wouldn't speak to us for a week!"

"A week? She wouldn't speak to me for two weeks!"

"Well that's because I told her it was all your idea and your fault so naturally she was madder at you then me."

"Traitor!" He promptly dropped his cup and launched a retaliatory tickle attack.

"'Tak! AHAHAHAHAHAH! 'Tak, stop, I can't breathe!" He watched in amusement as she regained her breath.

Turning serious he looked her over as her breathing slowed. "You know I'm gonna miss you too, right?"

She smiled up at him but the sadness still lingered in her eyes. "I know. What I don't know is how I'll function on the Discovery without my partner-in-crime."

Se'tak rolled his eyes and drew her in for a hug. "Yeah well, you know, there's always this little thing called a comm. unit you can use to keep in touch…"

Dimora stepped back and punched him in the arm. "Wise ass."

Two days later the Sulu family disembarked at Space Station 11 for the start of their journey to the Discovery. The day after that the Enterprise gained a new Deltan pilot, Lieutenant Faranju Umbar. And while Dimora did frequently keep in touch with all her old friends life as Se'tak knew things would never be the same.