Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. This story was inspired by SofiaDragon's Va'Pak; Uzhau on AO3, which is excellent but unfortunately hasn't been updated in almost a year now, so I decided to write my own version. The first chapter is influenced by her story, then I go in my own direction.
AN: In TOS and SNW, Uhura is great. She's both badass, a genius and kind. However, I REALLY don't like AOS Uhura. They threw away her best characteristics in favour of a 'strong female character'. Also, I'm Spirk to the core. So, there is some Uhura bashing in this, and while she and Spock are together at the start, they WILL be breaking up. You have been warned, don't send flames whining about my writing, I will delete them and block you.
Also, fem!Jim is Lelianna Estelle Kirk in this, named for her grandmothers and nicknamed 'Lily', and her mother was a Betazoid. (Her name was WinAnna, NOT WinOna in this because all female Betazoids have names ending in 'anna') Lily is a strong empath but not very telepathic. She's only telepathic enough to detect an attack on her mind and fight it off, but not enough to communicate or anything. Winanna died just after Lily's birth/George's death from the combination of premature labour with a hybrid child and empathetic shock from all the deaths. Lily and Sam were raised by Winanna's sister Milanna and her wife Dreyhanna on Tarsus IV until the disaster. They both survived, but Sam became a drug addict to deal with the grief while Lily threw herself into learning everything she could to prepare for another disaster. She was helping build the Enterprise when she met Pike after getting in a fight with some xenophobes who weren't taking 'no' for an answer.
Published: 10-5-2024
Read, enjoy and review!
Chapter One
The Fall of Vulcan
Lily would've known that Spock wasn't thinking clearly even without the badly restrained panic and horror that was radiating from him as he rushed onto the transporter pad. His eyes were wild with panic as he barked out coordinates at Ensign Chekov. The coordinates were for Mount Seleya, Lily realized, and that confirmed that Spock wasn't thinking straight. He was clearly after his immediate family and the Elders, and he was so frantic he'd forgotten a basic fact about Vulcan's sacred mountain.
She didn't bother to try to stop him beaming down, both because getting as many Vulcans off the planet before it was engulfed by the singularity as possible was vital (especially the Elders who led the planet) and also because it was clear from his emotions that he wasn't going to be stopped. All she'd be doing was delaying urgent evacuation efforts.
That left option B. Before Spock had even disappeared fully from the transporter pad she was at the wall intercom, barking out instructions for a shuttle to be piloted to the coordinates Spock had beamed to by the most skilled pilot available to retrieve the Acting Captain and the Vulcan leaders. Once that was confirmed, she began snapping out instructions left and right.
"Sulu, get back to the bridge, you have the conn until Captain Spock or myself arrive."
The Asian man nodded and rushed off, but Lily was already turned away to bark orders at the young genius who had saved them and the intercom (now connected to the cargo transporter area). She'd fallen into the mindset she'd honed on Tarsus. Don't think about what's happening, don't let her shields collapse under the emotional onslaught, just keep moving, keep focused on what had to be done to save as many people as possible.
"Ensign Chekov, start beaming as many people up as possible, Cargo transporter, that applies to you too. This is now an emergency evac op and we need to save as many of the people as possible. Aim for as many people touching as possible to maximise transporter power. We'll end up with a lot of siblings and bondmates, but that just means they won't be pushau. Main transporter bay, focus on children, cargo bay on adults.
Somebody get maps of cities to both transport areas so we can target schools and people with specialist skills. Focus on strong life signs only, we don't have time to mess around with weak signals. Also, get everyone in the crew who speaks Vulcan and who isn't in an essential role to both transporters to translate for those who don't speak Standard.
Keep the transporter clear!" She paused to yell at a group of befuddled Vulcans who had just been beamed aboard and were clearly at a loss as to what was going on. "We don't have time for lingering!"
The Vulcans followed her barked orders and she went back to commanding the ship. "Security, escort our guests to the mess hall, the gym, I don't care as long as they're out of the way and grouped together. Alright, I'm headed to coordinate from the bridge."
Lily used the turbolift ride to take a brief pause to breathe and think (and subtly reinforce her already-strong shields against the emotions and thoughts swamping her, not to mention the memories of the last time she'd had to deal with a large-scale disaster), before straightening her shoulders and striding out onto the bridge. Sulu, although he had the conn, was currently in the piloting position, but Lily was concerned that there was still no Navigator (not that she wasn't grateful for Chekov's miraculous save, but all the same). Uhura began speaking the moment Lily exited the lift. Lily could feel her distaste and dislike for her, but so long as the woman did her job and wasn't insubordinate, Lily didn't care if she liked her or not.
(But she was going to note in her report, if they survived this of course, that Lieutenant Uhura broadcasted her emotions during a crisis, while serving under an empath at that, despite the required Mental Shielding Course all cadets were required to take.)
"We've got detailed maps of the planet at both transporter areas," Uhura announced. "Including schools, labs and hospitals."
"Hospitals..." Lily muttered. She commed the transporter bays from the captain's chair. "On my authority as First Officer, I'm ordering you to target strong lifesigns only from hospitals," she ordered. "We don't have the facilities or staff available to support severely injured or sick people," she added sharply as she sensed Uhura's outrage and her desire to argue.
"Spock wouldn't agree to this!" Uhura protested.
Lily fought the urge to growl in annoyance. She seriously doubted that, and she didn't have time for Uhura's naivety. "The shuttle is on its way to retrieve the Acting Captain," she snapped. "While he's gone, I'm in command, Lieutenant. I've given my orders and I expect them to be followed without argument. We're all too busy for this nonsense."
"But why not just transport them up?" Uhura pressed, switching tracks.
Lily really did growl in frustration this time, but she could tell the others were curious too, so she replied impatiently. "In summary, because Mount Seleya is a natural bomb shelter covered in thousands of years' worth of radiation traces, meaning the transporter won't be able to beam them up until they're at least ten minutes' run away. Most of the Council are very old, especially T'Pau, their highest-ranking member. Not to mention the closest area they can be beamed from is a cliff. There's no way all of them would make it to the beaming area. The shuttle is the safest evac for them because, as you seem not to have noticed Lieutenant, the planet is being turned into a black hole! Now, who the hell is in charge in Engineering? I need a damage report."
Spock raced up the crumbling hill as fast as he could, uncontrolled desperation and adrenaline giving him the speed and strength he needed. And he did need the adrenaline drive. The planet had, at most, twenty minutes remaining. It would take him seven point five more minutes to reach the Katric Ark, and at least seven point nine for them all to get out of the mountain. And, as Spock had only considered after he learned of the shuttle Kirk had sent after him to retrieve the Elders, it would've taken another six minutes at the fastest possible estimate to get into beaming range.
Prior to this, Spock had been displeased with Captain Pike for assigning a woman he believed to be entitled, promiscuous and an arrogant cheater to be his First Officer. Now he realized Pike had known exactly what he was doing. In fact, Spock suspected that, if she were not on academic probation, Pike would have named her Acting Captain. She was certainly showing herself to be more suited to it than Spock.
Nyota had contacted him so he could "hear how Kirk is acting like she's in charge" (it seemed that Nyota was unaware that Cadet Kirk had been named as First Officer until Lieutenant Sulu informed her upon his arrival on the bridge). Spock had to admit, he was impressed with the way the Betazoid-Human hybrid was handling things. Kirk was thinking of things that would never have occurred to Spock in time.
Vulcan minds were not designed to make rapid decisions in that manner. They were trained to rely on facts and take their time to ascertain as many aspects of a situation as possible before coming to a conclusion. They required time to comprehend the various ramifications of every choice and decide on the best decision based on logic and statistics, unlike other species who preferred to react to situations based on their 'guts', as humans called it. Spock was no different to other Vulcans in this manner. He was a good First Officer and Chief Science Officer, and was content in those positions, but he was neither suited to a Captaincy, nor did he currently desire one.
Kirk, on the other hand, was shining under the pressure. All her decisions were logical and sensible, unhampered by naivety or an unrealistic belief in the abilities of the Enterprise and her crew (her knowledge was no doubt helped by her degree in Engineering and her work on helping build the ship before joining Starfleet). Nyota's disapproval of Kirk's decision to leave the sick and badly injured behind in favour of the strong was foolish and sentimental. Sickbay was already struggling after the attack from Nero, and the Vulcan healers who'd been saved would be required to help everyone dealing with Broken Bond Syndrome while dealing with it themselves. They did not have the resources to take those who were struggling to survive even without the singularity.
The comm connection cut off as Kirk was impatiently explaining why Spock and the Elders would be better served being evacuated by shuttle than by transporter when Spock entered the Mountain. Spock felt a surge of frustration at himself for being so overcome by his horror and panic that he had forgotten such a basic and important fact. At least Kirk was thinking clearly and acting logically.
In the back of his mind, Spock acknowledged that he might have been biased against the cadet due to Nyota's contempt for her. He should have followed Captain Pike's advice and spoken to the cadet before calling a full hearing against her.
Indeed, Nyota was proving herself to be far more unprofessional than Kirk, seeing as she was questioning her superior officer's orders, in the middle of a crisis and in a very disrespectful manner too.
He arrived in the Katric Ark, finding the Elders and his parents, all save for Amanda taking in as many katras as they could safely carry. "We must go!" He announced urgently the moment he was in audial range. "The planet has only minutes left. Mother, hurry!"
They ran through the tunnel, two Elders being crushed by falling rock as they went, and found the shuttle hovering just outside the exit. It hadn't landed, but was flying just beside the slope, so they could run straight in.
"Hurry!" An Andorian, one of the redshirts waiting at the shuttle door to help them clamber in, shouted as xe and xir companions grabbed T'Pau's arms and practically hauled her inside. "We gotta move! Go, go, go!"
Sarek pushed Amanda and Spock on board ahead of him, then jumped inside himself. They were the last of the group of ten (save for poor Elders Akaana and Sokal) and the human redshirt swiftly slammed the door shut even as the Andorian yelled at the shuttle's pilot to "Move, move, move!"
They flew off, and Spock stared out over the crumbling landscape of his planet.
His comm crackled back to life. "...clear from his apparent grudge against myself and Acting Captain Spock that Nero will target Earth next," Kirk was stating grimly. "After all, both of us have a parent from Terra. Possibly his third target will then be Betazed. However, Earth is closer and Captain Pike has knowledge of its' defence codes. He would never willingly tell them, but given everything else he has, Nero probably has access to some form of truth serum too. Therefore our next move must be to go after him and infiltrate his ship to destroy it from the inside."
Kirk was correct, Spock realized. Assuming, as they had to, that Nero's weapon was unlimited, if they didn't stop Nero now, and instead went to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet in the Laurentian system, at the very least Earth and Mars would be destroyed, with the Luna base being threatened by the time the fleet arrived. That was if he didn't go from Earth to Betazed like Kirk suggested. Kirk and Sulu had destroyed the drill, but who knew how many more Nero had, and there was no telling how much of whatever he had used to turn Vulcan into- into a singularity the Narada had. For all they knew, he could destroy every planet in the Alpha Quadrant, or even the Federation.
What could drive someone to such insanity? he wondered despairingly.
The shuttle jolted as the tractor beam took hold and began drawing them inside the Enterprise. Vulcan was almost completely gone now.
"Draw them in and then move out of range of the singularity immediately," Kirk ordered. "Then start scanning for lifesigns in the debris field. There may be people trapped in air pockets who can still be saved."
Spock thought, dimly, that he should step up and take command. After all, he was Acting Captain, not Kirk. But he didn't want to. Something was wrong, something was missing, but he was so dazed from the shock of the day's events that he couldn't tell what it was.
The shuttle landed in the bay, but none of the Vulcans left. Their eyes were fixed on the comm in Spock's hand.
"Give me a headcount," Kirk was saying. "Even a ballpark."
"358 beamed aboard in the main bay, ma'am," Chekov announced. "184 beamed aboard using main transporter bay. 542 Wulcans saved altogether, ma'am!"
"Chekov, you have made my day," Kirk declared. "You're a genius and I'm going to have you given a commendation for this."
"Zank you, Kommander," the ensign answered shyly.
Spock, meanwhile, turned to the Elders and his parents. "There are twenty transporter pads in the Enterprise's main bay," he informed them. "It was fourteen-point-seven minutes between my beaming down and our evacuation via the shuttle. Operating at a perfect efficiency, they should have saved only 370 people. Miss Kirk's actions have saved 172 more Vulcans than should have been possible."
"We owe this woman a great debt then," T'Pau replied. "I would like to meet this Miss Kirk."
"Do we have an open line to Captain Spock and the Elders?" Kirk was asking meanwhile.
"Yes, Commander," Nyota replied. Even Spock, despite his shocked state and with his difficulties in deciphering emotions, could tell she disliked addressing Kirk as her superior. "I kept a line open to the Captain throughout the evacuation. It dropped when he entered Mount Seleya, but was reestablished when they boarded the shuttle."
That statement was both improper and inaccurate. Nyota should have informed Kirk from the start of the open comm link. Furthermore, the connection was via their personal comms, which naturally had a much weaker encryption code than those used by Starfleet, and so it was highly vulnerable to interception.
Why had Spock not thought of this earlier? Why were his thoughts so confused and illogical?
"Good," Kirk stated. "Saves the need to debrief Com-Captain Spock. Give it here please."
"Greetings, Commander Kirk," T'Pau said. "I am T'Pau, of the House of Surak, High Priestess of Vulcan. The Vulcan people owe you a great debt for saving so many lives."
"I am Lelianna E. Kirk of the Twelfth House of Betazed, and there is no debt, my lady," Kirk answered solemnly, "I did my duty, as did everyone on the Enterprise. And may I just say it's an honour to meet you, so to speak? I hope at some point we can have tea and you'll agree to let me ask questions about the First Contact era. It's always been a fascination of mine and speaking to someone who lived through it would be a dream come true."
"I would be pleased to speak with you about whatever you wish to know," T'Pau replied, softening slightly. "It will be pleasant to return to mundanities."
"It certainly will," Kirk agreed. "At any rate, we have several options for where you and the other Elders can stay. There's Sickbay of course, but I will warn you that it's already packed full and any patients without severe physical injuries are in the hall and conference rooms surrounding it. You can also join the other groups of refugees in the gym, mess halls and rec rooms, and we also have two undamaged observation decks where you could hold a meeting if you prefer."
Suddenly, Spock understood what was missing. T'Pring was dead. His bondmate was dead, as was all of his clan save for his immediate family and T'Pau. The ever-present hum of the telepathic field that he'd lived with, that all Vulcans had lived with, was nearly inaudible. He likely had Broken Bond Syndrome. He staggered, and his mother reached out for him, her eyes widening with worry.
"Spock? What's wrong?" She asked anxiously.
"Miss Kirk," Spock turned to the comm instead of responding to her. "I believe I am suffering from Broken Bond Syndrome. As per Regulations 619 and 620, I am removing myself from duty due to emotional and physical compromise. You are now Acting Captain of the USS Enterprise."
"I understand, Commander Spock," Kirk replied solemnly. "And to all of you: Tushah nash-veh k'odular. I know it won't help your grief, but I promise Nero will receive justice for his crimes."
"Thank you, Captain," T'Pau replied solemnly before changing topics. "In answer to your previous question, I request we be brought to a private area to discuss the next steps of the Vulcan people."
"I'll have a yeoman meet you in the shuttle bay and escort you to an empty room," Kirk agreed. "I'd do it myself but I really can't afford to leave the bridge right now."
"We understand and are not offended," T'Pau answered.
"Kirk out."
"Captain!" Lieutenant Amin, one of the few non-cadets in the crew and the Weapons Officer, suddenly exclaimed. "Security reports a breach in the Engineering bay!"
"Get me visual!" Lily barked. Four Deities, can anything else go wrong today? She wondered despairingly to herself. Considering the technology Nero had available to him, she wouldn't put being able to beam onto a ship at warp past him.
Amin pulled up the security feed of the Engineering bay and Lily paused in bemusement. What looked like two Humans, a Roylan and about a dozen Vulcans were there, several of them climbing out of a water tank, including the younger Human (who seemed to be male, and was wearing a Starfleet uniform). The elderly female Human was standing beside a Vulcan male old enough to have solid grey hair, seemingly speaking seriously to him. By the way everyone was looking at the pair, Lily guessed they were in charge.
Lily commed security. "Commander Giotto, this is Captain Kirk," she said.
"Captain, I assume this is about the Engineering breach?" The older man replied seriously.
"Yes," Lily confirmed. "Please escort the leaders and the Starfleet officer to the bridge, and the rest to join the other refugees."
"Will do, ma'am," he agreed. "Giotto out."
Lily had Amin cut the feed and went back to studying the specs of the Narada they had from their scans and those of the Kelvin from 2233. She was desperately trying to figure out a way to destroy the ship without sacrificing the Enterprise, if only because her father's method had clearly not worked in the long term, and they didn't have enough shuttles to evacuate both the crew and the Vulcan refugees, whose lives were too valuable to be thrown away. Fortunately, Lelianna Estelle Kirk of the Twelfth House was a genius, and the beginnings of an idea was already coming together in her mind.
She looked away from the screen when the turbolift door opened and Giotto and Hendorff exited, along with three of the newest arrivals. Lily was startled when she locked eyes with the woman, who was, to judge by her piercing, solid black eyes, not Human but Betazoid.
"Lelianna E. Kirk," the Vulcan spoke up. He appeared strangely emotional, smiling at her fondly, like they were old friends. Lily wondered if this was how his BBS was showing.
"That would be me," she agreed. "And you are?"
The Vulcan and Betazoid exchanged loaded glances before turning back to her.
"With respect, Captain, we would prefer to explain our story to you in private," the Betazoid stated. Her voice sounded strangely similar to Lily's, but with a Terran accent. "We have vital information about Nero and his ship that you will need in order to confront him."
Lily hesitated, but she could feel the pair's sincerity and urgency, and any information on the mad Romulan was vital, so she stood. "We'll go to my ready room, but first, who are you?" She looked at the Starfleet man, who shuffled embarrassedly.
"Oh, uh, I'm Montgomery Scott. Scotty."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "The one who lost Admiral Archer's dog?" She asked.
He flushed. "I do feel guilty abou' tha'," he muttered.
"I take you've fixed your equations then, if you got those Vulcans here," Lily stated.
He nodded, eyes flickering to the other two, who smiled.
"Well then, consider yourself promoted, Commander," Lily said.
"Wha'?" Scotty blinked.
"We need a new Chief Engineer, and you're probably one of the best students in the 'fleet, from what I've heard," Lily explained. "Head down to Engineering and get started. Actually, no, stay. For my plan to work, we'll need your equations. Ma'am, Sir, come with me."
They entered the ready room and Lily sat across from the couple (they were definitely a couple, judging by the way they kept subtly brushing their hands together on the bridge and, after leaving it, linking it in a scandalous fashion for a Vulcan. Though, she'd never heard of a Vulcan-Betazoid relationship.
"So?" Lily pressed.
The Vulcan smiled broader, though Lily could sense his sorrow, no doubt from losing his planet. Oddly enough, she felt guilt from them both as well.
"This is going to be a shock, but please hear us out," the Betazoid requested. "I know you can sense our sincerity. Trust your abilities about what we're about to tell you."
Wary, Lily nodded. "Alright," she agreed suspiciously.
The Betazoid straightened and cleared her throat. "I am Admiral Lelianna Estelle Kirk of the Twelfth House, daughter of Winanna of the Twelfth House and her husband, George Kirk. This is Ambassador S'chn T'gai Spock. We, along with Nero and his crew, are from 2387. There isn't a lot of time to explain, so I ask you meld with Spock to learn what's necessary to complete your mission and stop Nero before he destroys anymore planets."