Jamie wondered who came up with the phrase 'All good things come to an end' because she was gonna hurt them. Three months. They've been out in the black for three months on –what she calls easy- assignments when a comm from home stopped her dead in her tracks.
Jamie spent most of Beta shift working on a project with Scotty. When she went to her quarters, she walked into a conversation between Hikaru and his parents. "What are you talking about, mom?" From the look on his face, something was very wrong.
"She won't comm us back. It's not just us, her friends haven't heard from her or anyone on the ship for the last few days, either. I think something's wrong, Hikaru." He glanced up at Jamie who nodded and left the room. She didn't have to say anything, from what Yoshiko just told him, Yuki hasn't contacted them from her training cruise.
Jamie went to the bridge and looked at the officer manning Uhura's station, "I need you to contact the Armstrong." The communications officer did as she asked and a look crossed his face.
"I'm not getting anything, Captain. No response, ma'am, not even an emergency message."
She nodded, "Get me Admiral Komack. Send it to my ready room." Jim walked into her office and sat at her desk. A really bad feeling settled in her chest.
"It's none of your concern, Kirk."
She sighed, "So something is wrong, sir."
"We lost contact with them thirty-one hours ago near the Vintaak System. We have a team on their way to investigate," Komack told her.
"We're a few hours away. Let us look, sir. What could it hurt?" she asked.
The admiral looked at her, "How do you even know about this, Kirk?"
"The Armstrong is conducting a training cruise, some of my officers taught those cadets while the Enterprise was under repair. When the ship stopped returning comms and messages from their families, the families started contacting us. I doubt I'm the only ship who's noticed." Judging by the look on his face, she was right. "Given the losses my class sustained over Vulcan, you can't blame them for being worried. I contacted you when my messages to the ship were met with silence." So, she starched the truth a tiny bit and she didn't mention that her mother was on the ship but he didn't have to know that.
He sighed, "You can go. See if you can figure out what happened to the Armstrong."
Jamie nodded, "We'll do our best, sir." He closed the comm and Jamie walked onto the bridge, "McKenna, divert to the Vintaak system. Hawkins, get the senior staff up here." Both men nodded and carried out the orders she gave them.
"You wanna hit something?"
Hiri chuckled, "It won't do me any good right now. I just… thirty-one hours and the brass didn't bother to say anything."
"Komack sent a ship. We just happen to be closer," she said.
He gave her a look, "I'm not sure if that's better or worse, Jamie. Like they could really forget that we're out here."
Jamie took the three steps to him and held his face in her hands, "We will figure out what happened to the Armstrong. Maybe Yuki and Winona are okay… maybe they aren't. We'll deal with whatever we find."
"I thought I was the rational one," he said with a small smile.
"That's what I let you think. Bones says we're both crazy, so…"
"I guess we better get to work," Hikaru rested his forehead against hers.
Jamie pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "You're right, Sokka. Let's go find Katara."
"You and Pavel need to stop watching The Last Airbender," he laughed.
She shook her head, "Never. Aang is one badass kid."
The Armstrong was a mess.
"Scans show three hundred and sixty-seven lifesigns, Captain," Spock told her. With a total crew of three hundred and ninety, that was good news.
"Keptin, zheir comms, shields, veapons are all down. Power iz down. Life support is minimum."
Jamie looked at Hikaru, "Any idea why?"
"There is substantial weapons damage to the ship, ma'am," he told her. "They're sitting ducks."
She took a deep breath, "Spock, Chekov and Scotty, you're with me. Uhura have Bones and a med team meet us in the transporter room, you have the con."
She would take Hikaru but he'd be a liability if he went and leaving him in command wasn't a good idea. He knew how she thought, so she didn't have to fight with him on it. He also knew that Jamie knows how he feels.
She doesn't talk about what happened to Sam but she's been in Hikaru's shoes; she just hoped that it didn't turn out the same way. "Stay alert. We don't know what happened to them and we don't want to end up like that if we can help it." Uhura acknowledged the order as the away team left the bridge.
The inside of the Armstrong looked about as bad as the outside did, it reminded Jamie of the holos that Scotty showed her after Marcus and Khan laid waste to their ship. "Bones…"
He looked at her, "Take my team to medical. On it." Bones, Chapel and a pair of medics heading in the right direction.
"Scotty…"
"Me, Riley and Chekov to engineering."
She grabbed his arm, "My mother is the chief engineer on this ship. Yuki Sulu is one of the top engineering cadets. Keep your eyes open for them."
"Aye, lass. I'll comm you if I see 'em," her friend nodded. She looked at Spock and before she could say anything, he did.
"We should head to the bridge."
Getting to the bridge took twice as long as it should've but they made it. Unfortunately, the bridge was destroyed and was only pressurized by a force field.
"What the hell happened here?" She glanced at Spock and he looked as lost as she did. A lieutenant was walking past when Jamie looked at him, "LT, what happened to the bridge?"
The guy gave her a look, then noticed the captain's stripes on her arms, "We were attacked, ma'am. I don't know the details, just that the bridge was obliterated. Half the senior staff was killed, including our CO and CMO. Commander Velez, the XO, is now the acting captain and Commander Thomas, the chief engineer, is the acting XO."
Jamie thanked him for the info. If this was Jamie's ship, she'd either be in engineering or in the battle bridge, "Let's go find the CO." As they walked –and climbed- through the ship, Bones commed her.
"I have Yuki. She's injured but nothing I can't fix. According to some of the officers, she got hurt saving some of the engineering team from an explosion." She let out a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding.
"That sounds like a Sulu to me," Jamie muttered.
Bones chuckled, "Yea, she's crazy like her brother. She'll be among the first transports back to the Enterprise. I gotta get back to work, the only doctor down here is a student."
"Thanks, Bones," she said before she closed her comm.
Spock looked at her, "She is in good hands."
"Yea, she is."
When they got to the battle bridge the acting Captain let out a breath, "Captain Kirk. If you're here, then we aren't completely defenseless. Acting Captain Velez."
"Jamie Kirk. I got a team in medical and another in engineering. From the looks of it, we might have to pull you to the nearest star base. What happened?"
"Tholians."
The Tholian race was an extremely xenophobic, non-humanoid hermaphroditic species from the Alpha Quadrant with a 'propensity for precision.' The Armstrong was attempting to survey the area when they got the Tholian's attention. Apparently, they weren't perfect enough and the ship made the mistake of not leaving the area fast enough for the Tholians. They were attacked making their exit from the sector. When they were nearly destroyed, the Tholians left them alone.
Jamie and Velez made the decision to move the Armstrong's crew to the Enterprise and use the tractor beam to tow the battered ship to the nearest star base. No strangers to having so many extra people on the ship, the Enterprise crew either doubled up with a friend or shared with someone from the Armstrong. Velez was a little surprised at how seamlessly the Enterprise's crew assisted his.
"No offence, but I kinda expected a mess from a twenty-six year old Captain," he told her honestly.
"None taken. In all fairness though, I'm almost twenty-seven and my mentor was Christopher Pike," she said with a smile. Velez chuckled as she led him to Uhura's quarters, the communications officer was rooming with Spock. "Here you are. We should be at Starbase Four in a few days. Velez, I know what it's like to get tossed the big chair. And while I've only been a captain for a little over two years, trust me when I tell you that you did an amazing job."
He nodded, "Thank you, Captain. Goodnight… or morning... or whatever time it is."
Jamie took a breath and headed to medical, it was crowded but organized and running smoothly thanks to the awesomeness that is her best friend.
"Don't tell me you're hurt," Bones grumbled.
She shook her head, "I'm not, I'm just checkin' in."
"Everyone has been treated. Those I could let go are gone."
Jamie nodded, "Yuki?"
"She's still out but Sulu is sitting with her. She's over there," he told her.
"How long has he been here?"
Bones looked at her, "A while. I keep trying to tell him to get some rest but he won't listen… like someone else I know."
"I'll take care of it. Thanks, Lenny." Jamie wasn't even remotely surprised that her boyfriend was still here.
He gave her a look, "Nobody calls me that."
"Your sister does," she chuckled.
"You're not my…" She gave him a look and he sighed in defeat. "Fine but not in front of my staff."
She nodded, "Deal. Get some rest." He waved her off but she knew he'd do what she asked. Jamie walked over the bed where her boyfriend was sitting next to his sister, "You need to get some sleep."
"Later," Hikaru shrugged.
"No, now. You've been here all day. You haven't eaten and you need some sleep. I'll stay with Yuki, go."
"You don't have to do that, Jamie."
She smiled, "I'd do anything for you and you know it. In this case, I'm staying for my own piece of mind. Don't make me have to order you to rest. Go."
"Jamie," the whispered word pulled the young captain out of her light nap.
"Winona. What are you doin' in here?"
Her mother looked at her, "Just checking on my crew. How's Cadet Sulu?"
"Bones says she should wake up in the next day. I'm more worried about Hikaru. I had to force him to get some sleep," Jamie sighed.
"You look like you should get some rest too," the older blonde smiled.
Jamie shook her head, "I can't leave her alone. Not that she really could be alone on a crowded starship."
"I just got a few hours of sleep, I'll stay and comm you both when she wakes up."
"I can't ask you to do that."
Winona smiled, "You don't have to. I'm your mother and I wasn't there when you needed me, let me be here, now. Besides, she's one of my cadets. I'll look after her while you get some sleep, Captain."
Jamie didn't have it in her to argue, so she nodded, "Okay. Thanks." Winona squeezed her shoulder and took Jamie's seat. The young captain went to her quarters, pulled off her uniform and crawled into bed.
"Who's with Kiki?" he mumbled as his arms wrapped around her.
"My mother."
"You should tell her about the time you and Jim caused that explosion."
Jamie rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Which one?"
"I blow stuff up all the time," Winona chuckled. "It's the mark of a good engineer."
Bones rolled his eyes, "So, she's gets her crazy from you." Everyone at the table laughed.
"Jamie's not crazy, you're just grumpy. You're like the grumpiest doctor I've ever met." They all looked at the source of the voice and Jamie smiled.
"Ignore him, Yuki."
"I plan to. Is seating by rank?" the cadet asked. Some ships still do that but the Enterprise wasn't one of them.
Jamie shook her head, "Nope and we have plenty of room."
Jamie moved closer to her mother and let the younger Sulu sit next to her. Yuki woke up six hours after Jamie left sickbay. After two days, Bones let the young engineer out of medical. They had one more day until they reached Starbase Four. After unloading the Armstrong, the Enterprise was tasked with taking the Armstrong's crew back to Earth.
"Did Hikaru tell you that Velez is putting me up for a commendation?" the younger Sulu asked.
Winona nodded, "If he didn't, I would've."
"You earned it," Jamie said.
"All I did was get hurt," Yuki sighed.
Before Jamie could say anything, Bones spoke, "You saved your shipmates. I know I'm a grump but that's because I've seen these idiots do a lot of dumb stuff. It's funny because I know, without a doubt, that there is nothing they wouldn't do for everyone on this ship. Darlin', you pulled a Jim Kirk."
"Awe… Bonesy has a heart," Jamie teased.
He kicked her under the table, "Watch it, Jim, or I'll find a reason to hypo you into next week."
"You do know that I let you hypo me, right?" she asked.
Hikaru chuckled from behind her, "She can hold her own in a fight with Spock. If she didn't let you hypo her, you wouldn't and you know it." He kissed the top of his sister's head.
"Hiki," Yuki chuckled.
"Did she just call you Hiki?" Chekov asked, trying not to laugh.
"She did," Hikaru said. "Don't even think about it, Pasha."
Jamie chuckled, "Sisters get a pass on names. I called my brother Sam." They all looked at her and Winona smiled.
"His name was George," her mother told them. "If anyone else called him Sam he would glare at 'em and growl 'don't call me that'."
Scotty chuckled, "My sister calls me Gummy. She couldn't say Montgomery when she was little. It stuck."
Jamie looked at her best friend, "What about you, Bones?"
"Don't you dare. I told you…" he started.
"Not in front of your staff. This isn't your staff, it's mine. Besides, yours is tame compared to Hiki and Gummy," she laughed.
"Lenny," Bones sighed. "Donna, and sometimes Jim, calls me Lenny."
"Why do you call her Jim?" her mother asked.
Bones looked at Winona, "Payback for 'Bones'." Her mother looked at her and Jamie saw the question on her face.
"Third thing he ever said to me was 'I've got nowhere else to go, the ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones.' So, I dubbed him 'Bones'."
He rolled his eyes, "Too bad you didn't listen to the second thing I've ever said to you."
"'Don't pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. A solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And while you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence.' I remember. Chris had a good laugh when I told him. Said it took some convincing on his part just to get you on the shuttle."
"You said all that and you still joined Starfleet?" Carol asked him.
He nodded, "It was Pike's fault."
"You know, if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have met me," Jamie pointed out.
Bones looked at her, "You have been a pain in my ass since the academy."
"But I'm also your bestest friend in the universe and you love me," she smiled.
"We all have our faults," he replied with a smirk.