Author's Note:
Hello everyone and here is another chapter for you all. This one is focussed around Keenser and it takes a fair bit from the IDW Star Trek comics. Thank you everyone for all your reviews and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
I do not own any aspect of Star trek.
Thoughts of Keenser
Keenser had grown to enjoy being aboard the Enterprise.
His size had indeed made things a lot more difficult to begin with but soon it became just another everyday problem that the crew dealt with. It also didn't take long for them to get the hang of all his quirks and habits such as the rarity with which he spoke and it wasn't long before they discovered that if he said anything it was well worth listening to. As far as he could tell he was one of the oldest people on the ship having joined Starfleet just after the Kelvin made first contact with his home planet Royla, his graduation ceremony as the first cadet from Royla three years later was a time of mixed emotions due to the Kelvin's destruction and the death of George Kirk, the man who brought him into Starfleet, a few months before. From there he served on ships and starbases for years until he finally ended up on Delta Vega until the arrival of the son of his old friend happened thus placing him on one of the finest ships in the Federation.
He had found himself almost invigorated again and a sense of belonging he'd never really felt before had begun to form within him. Though he'd known and been friends with many fine men and women over the years they had drifted out of contact due to re-assignments, retirement and a whole host of other reasons as time passed. This was the first time he'd felt that he would actually mind being sent elsewhere and would object to being taken off the Enterprise. He did wonder if part of it was due to the fact that his Captain was the son of the first human he'd considered a friend and that Jim was so like George Kirk in so many ways. Another part also felt a feeling of responsibility for the crew, as one of the oldest he often found himself in the position of a counsellor. Scotty often went to him for Engineering advice or when he just wanted someone to stand there and listen while he ranted about something that had annoyed him. Pavel also came for practical advice but he also asked about other places Keenser had served at and the Roylan had found himself speaking more words than he did most days as he told stories of missions he'd been on and people he'd met to the wide-eyed boy who hung onto his every word. Due to being in Engineering he didn't really see the others as much but they all greeted him warmly whenever they saw him or when he had a reason to be on the bridge. Many of the ensigns such as Harvard and Rogers often challenged him to various strategy games and Keenser had enjoyed watching them improve their skills as they continued to try and beat him.
His most favoured times however were the few times that Jim had come to see him to talk about his father. This had first happened a few weeks after he was made Captain and Keenser could tell by the young man's nervousness that Jim had been gathering his courage to do it for most of that time. It would have been comical the way the usually bold captain hesitated as he asked what his father had been like as a person and not a hero if weren't for the fact it was obvious that it meant so much to him. The conversation lasted many hours as Keenser told him many stories of the man Jim never knew; his awkwardness during the first contact with Royla, his kindness as the Kelvin returned to Earth taking a nervous Keenser with them to the Academy, how he always found time to say hi whenever he was back on Earth, his parents, Jim's grandparents, who welcomed the Roylan with open arms while he lived on Earth and when he had graduated, how he told Keenser stories of pranks he'd pulled on professors and officers at the academy and the wedding of Jim's parents which the Roylan had been invited to.
Keenser had never mentioned the details of that conversation to anyone and he suspected Jim hadn't either but from then on it became something of a special thing they shared. Their conversations were far from regular but occasionally for whatever reason Jim would seek Keenser out and the two would sit together as they talked about a man who was a husband, a father and a friend instead of a hero.
This is what Keenser believed was the real reason he felt like he belonged. Not only was he creating new, precious memories each day but he could share ones he already had with a crew of young men and woman who were discovering so many things about life as well as the universe.
Watching them grow was one of the best things ever.
PS- So a quick glimpse of Keenser thoughts on serving on the Enterprise. I hope you liked it and please let me know what you thought.