In the Shadow of Ares: Teaser

Personal Logs, Captain James T. Kirk. Stardate: 2264.34

The last time I had been in orbit around the U.S.S. Yorktown, I was elated to be aboard my brand new ship. The Enterprise-A had just been cleared for our mission, and I was ready to set course towards the nebula and beyond. I had no idea what we'd find, and frankly, I didn't care. I knew it would be exciting and worth whatever risk that needed to be taken. As long as we found new civilizations or some scientific phenomenon, I knew it would be worth it.

I just didn't expect what we found when we got out here.

I found a superhero from Earth's past - two, actually - hiding on a planet that no one could see. That would be interesting enough, but… now we've managed to find another Themysciran. And that girl went through the ringer. And I have the unlucky job of having to deliver her to Starfleet Intelligence.

But, that's not what she needs. She needs caring doctors, familiar faces, and time to re-adjust to what it means to be human. She's not gonna get that at Starfleet Intelligence. Even if I believe for one second that Admiral Marcus's co-conspirators aren't still spread around the intelligence community, I can't believe that Vanessa Katalepis will be better off without her spiritual, if not literal, sister around.

I promised Diana I'd get her a meeting with the Admiralty board. And I meant it. I sent a communique ahead to Commodore Paris, and she's assured me that she'll get some sort of an audience for her. Of course, that still means we'll be expected to comply with the order until told otherwise, and I just don't see Diana agreeing to turn her over until she has to. Or until I have exhausted every channel for escalation I have.

I used to think the rules didn't apply to me. After Khan, I told myself they were there for a reason, but… let's be honest. Marcus used my grief over Admiral Pike and pulled the wool right over my eyes.

I'm not going to get fooled again. And I sure as hell won't let that happen to Diana, either.

She's sharp as a plasma cutter. She knows so much about Earth's history - my own planet's history - but… I know there are things she doesn't. If she knew about Khan, about the Eugenics War…

She'd never let Starfleet Intelligence have Vanessa.

And I wouldn't blame her.

I just want to make sure she's happy with the choice she made. I asked her to leave her planet, and now that she's here… Well, let's just say I don't think there's a single crew member who doesn't see her smile and think:

"Did I just watch the sun rise?"

The Yorktown should have been one of those sights to behold for Diana. If it had been any other situation, Jim was sure she would have lit up and asked him a hundred questions that he would have no way of answering without putting Scotty or Chekov between them. She'd proven to be as insatiably curious as he was, and he hadn't thought that was probable. He thought anything was possible, but… well, goddesses of love and truth had definitely pushed at his ability to suspend his disbelief.

Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten a single smile - not even half of one - since they had set course for the starbase. Now that they were disembarking, he had hoped he'd at least get a few minutes to check in with her and let her know that he hadn't forgotten about his promise. He wasn't sure exactly how Commodore Paris would make good on the request, but he held no other official in higher regard than her. She'd been instrumental in helping him over the last year. Without her, he probably would have taken much longer to snap out of his depression - if at all.

As they reached the lobby, Jim's feet came to a halt as he watched his crew filter out past him. Sulu had agreed to hold the bridge, since they needed a skeleton crew to run while they performed a few maintenance tasks with the extra resources. So, he wasn't surprised to see Spock and Uhura pass him on their way to a restaurant they'd frequented during their extended stay. He didn't want to know details, but he was happy for the two of them. If the Enterprise crew were his extended family, Uhura and Spock were the closest to siblings he had. Well, and Bones, but sometimes Bones jumped from brother to grandpa in a microsecond.

He couldn't ask him about this whole Vanessa situation, either. He knew his chief medical officer was on his side, but all Bones could do was give a recommendation. If Starfleet Medical ignored it, they still had to go up to the same Admiralty board. Either way, Jim would be having a tough conversation. He had a feeling Diana would probably do most of the talking. He got the impression she'd started drafting her argument the moment they had parted in the lounge.

Jim really needed to keep all thoughts of the observation lounge as far from his mind as possible. That was not going to help him. He wasn't the young ladies' man he used to be, but… he'd found that just being friends with the most beautiful woman in the galaxy was proving difficult for his libido. And unless she started to give off signals that she was interested, he was going to have to work very hard to keep those thoughts in check.

"Jim." Her voice had completely caught him off-guard. He'd been so engrossed in policing his thoughts, Diana had managed to sneak up behind him. He spun and flashed her a grin, even as his heart jumped a mile.

"Diana, hey, I didn't realize you were getting off the ship already." That was a flimsy excuse, and he knew it. He already had a feeling she would have wanted to jump ship the moment they got here, in the hopes that it meant she could meet with the Admiralty board after.

"I wanted to know when we would meet your admirals. I have a great deal to say to them." That radiant smile that he'd come to cherish was nowhere on her countenance. Instead, she had the stern frown that somehow managed to make her awe-inspiring and intimidating all at once.

"I…" He sighed. "I don't know yet. Commodore Paris said she'd contact me once she knew the situation, but most likely, we'll find out before she does. Admirals don't exactly wait around for red tape."

Her frown deepened, and Jim found himself scrolling through his entire mental catalog of proven ways to cheer a person up in the hopes that he'd find something for her. "We're talking about a woman's life, and they're playing some ridiculous political game. Man's World has not changed. Do they even care about what this will do to her?"

Jim could tell that he would be the next target on her slowly growing list of people to be perturbed with, and he desperately wanted to avoid that. "They do, yes. They're just… focused on the big picture. This isn't the dark ages, though." He caught her eye and winked, then in a very similar tone to the one she'd used on him, he intoned: "We Starfleet do not torture."

Diana rose an eyebrow in challenge, propping her hands on her hips. She might have been in civilian garb - really attractive civilian garb, his thoughts inconveniently reminded him - but her bracelets were poking out from her sleeves. It was a solid reminder that beneath the unassuming Ambassador was a warrior prepared to charge into battle. "Are you making fun of me? Because, we could have used the lasso on you-"

"Oh, come on, it was a joke. I'm trying to get your mind off of the waiting, because we can't control that. They're going to call for us when they're ready and not a moment before." Jim noticed a few crewmembers coming up behind them and reached out, gently steering Diana out of the way with a hand around her upper arm.

"Vanessa needs help now. And I don't think I should have to be patient…" Diana had trailed off, presumably distracted by something behind Jim.

He wasn't focused on that. Instead, he found himself watching his very own Ensign Chekov coming off of the docking bridge from the Enterprise with a duffel bag the size of his crew uniforms and personal effects.

"Ensign Chekov!" He called, waving the young man over. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Vat do you mean, sir? I saw ze message, you approved my transfer. I didn't realize zat you vould be so amenable - " His ensign was talking a mile a minute, and seemed more excited than anything else.

"Amenable?" It was Jim's turn to scowl now. He wracked his brain as he tried to process what was happening in front of him. "Wait, what transfer? Is that the notification I got last week? I haven't even had a chance to look at it - "

"But, I did, Captain Kirk." The voice came from behind Jim, and suddenly, he understood why Diana was staring over his shoulder. That voice sounded eerily familiar. "Mister Chekov talked Commander Sitwell's ear off, and she requested he transfer to the Farragut at the same time he asked for it. I figured I'd take care of it now, make it a little easier for everyone."

Jim turned to face the voice. Barrel-chested, more salt than pepper in his hair, and with a full, well-trimmed beard, the realization hit him like he'd just slammed to a stop mid-warp. He knew that face from a handful of meetings with the Admiralty Board. "Admiral Kent? You..." Jim found it impossible to ignore the resemblance now. "You look just like Superman…"

In the ensuing chaos, Chekov disappeared down the corridor.

"As he should." Diana said beside him. She gently moved him aside and crossed the distance between her and the gentleman with distinctly Admiral bars on his jacket. "He's... " She turned to face him and somehow, she was beaming. That smile he'd been seeking all morning lit up the room, all because of the admiral in front of her. She turned back. "Conner. Conner Kent." She reached up, resting her hands on either side of the admiral's face. "You look just like your father…"

Jim's jaw went a bit slack. "You're Superman's son." He added as an afterthought, "Admiral. Sir."

Conner chuckled and hugged Diana before looking over her shoulder to Jim. "Yes, son, I am. And I have to tell you thank you."

Jim's mouth moved aimlessly before he finally managed, "For what?"

"For letting me know my father was alive. And for bringing her back to our world." Conner turned to face Diana. "After all, who else would have known to make you Ambassador?"