Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are absolutely fabulous.
Content warning: continuing allusions to a dubious consent/statutory rape situation.
Day 299: I really do think Starfleet is reading our messages
From: mental_health_help_desk_Suarez
To: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
Time arrived: 12/17/2260 00:00:01
Subject: I look forward to seeing you soon
Wow, it did take a while for this to get to me. I spoke with your father today, and the kids arrived safely on the planet yesterday. We're having dinner together on their free day later this week. I feel bad that I am meeting Peter without you but, sorry, I can't wait that long.
Your father-in-law told me he enjoyed his time with the kids as well as his visit with you and Spock. I heard nothing but good things about his trip to Enterprise. He even sent me pictures because he is the ultimate proud daddy showing off his son's ship and adopted child. I'm used to Vulcan bragging after being on New Vulcan for a while, but your father-in-law took it to a new level. He is very proud of Spock.
Apparently, you and Spock even provided him with a possible solution to his problem with the New Vulcan public school system. I can't say if the prejudice levels are better or worse than when Spock was a child, but there's definitely anti-Romulan prejudice. A child who is part Romulan is going to have a target on their back. I think Savik would benefit from being at the International school. She might make friends there. If your father-in-law decides to become an active diplomat again, it will prepare her for that.
So, I hear you're arriving on December 22. I've been invited to the dedication ceremony on the 23rd. The ambassador has also invited me over to his house for a special dinner on the 25th. Apparently, we are to partake in Amanda's favorite wintertime activity of making gingerbread houses. I'll make some royal icing. I don't think I can screw that up too much. You're well aware my wife was the baker in the family. But I always made icing.
Since you'll be on the colony for a week, let's try to schedule a dinner at my place. If you have the time, of course. I understand if you're too busy, but there are some things I think we should probably talk about in person. During your time on New Vulcan, are you on the clock, or is this vacation time?
At least it won't be for a wedding. I am sad, I will be missing another wedding. Although please give my best wishes to the Sulu family. I wish them peace after everything that's happened recently. It's probably best to have it somewhere not as hot or so soon after such a traumatic event.
Pack for the desert. Especially if it is a vacation and you get to wear civilian attire. Actually, you should probably pick up some of the local apparel. It looks a little strange, but it cuts down on the heatstroke. It's sweltering right now. I hope all the kids packed lots of sunscreen and will be allowed to wear appropriate civilian attire. Otherwise, they're going to be burnt to a crisp when we meet up on their free day. I'm still learning how to deal with the heat, but I know how to dress for it. Having the new shopping district helps.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to your time here.
PS: I've heard some interesting stories from your father-in-law about the science program cadets. Have you reconsidered your stance on talking to your brother's mother-in-law about raising the minimum age for cadets on ship?
X
From: Vulcan_Embassy_Ambassador_Selek
To: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
Time arrived: 12/17/2260 00:00:01
Subject: We must have tea together
I hope your free day went well. We all need to relax from time to time. There are some Vulcan teas that I think you would find very relaxing. Some of which you can use during work hours and are now available on the colony.
I heard from Sarak that they have returned from Enterprise with Peter and Josephine. I've been invited to a dinner with the children at one of the new restaurants open in the shopping district. I am looking forward to the dinner. I was also invited to the house on December 25 to make gingerbread houses in honor of Amanda. I've been informed that supplies would be brought in from the visitors. I have fond memories of doing this with her and my siblings as a child.
Is Winona coming with the others? It would be good to see her even if she doesn't know me. I am glad to hear that she is doing well in treatment. After losing someone you love very much, it is difficult to move on. Especially when you lose them under extraordinary circumstances. But your mother is a very strong woman. I feel like that is a universal constant from what I heard from you and Dr. Suarez. Sometimes it takes time to recover, but I believe that she will. Moving to London is just another step in that.
Who else is coming? My father is not the most forthcoming individual. Apparently, I don't have the clearance to know everything.
What will your schedule be like? Would you have time to have tea? Maybe on the 26? Just us if possible. I'm sure my counterpart will be so extremely busy. This way, I can help you pick out those teas to help you relax.
Xxxxx
From: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
To: mental_health_help_desk_Suarez
Time sent: 12/17/2260 22:23:01
Subject: RE: I look forward to seeing you soon
Now I'm convinced that Starfleet is looking over these messages. I've gotten several messages from the kids who are also on New Vulcan in the time I've got in yours. If I'm doing the math right, I think today's free day. Or maybe it is tomorrow. The only other explanation is messages sent from Starfleet or Enterprise devices are getting prioritized. It's a possibility. Regardless I will discuss this with the communications department.
Of course, despite now being on Enterprise, it took Sue three weeks to get a message that Sulu wrote to her the day everything went to hell. But that might be because she was traveling everywhere. Before I forget, they appreciate your good wishes. They're also in the middle of wedding planning madness. I think they're hoping to get some things done when they will be in the same room as Ben. Although, I feel like they have other plans that are none of my business.
I have definitely reconsidered my position on talking to Ming about the age minimum. We've had a lot of problems with the science interns, including trying to get their hands on Vulcan cannabis and alcohol. Cannabis is the bigger problem policy-wise. I'm really annoyed at that. There is a little more leeway for underage drinking. Probably because our policies and rules were written by idiots and not just the drug and alcohol policies. Although the sneaking out thing is also a problem. Not to mention that somebody's going to get court-martialed for trying to fuck a 15-year-old. Technically the rules wouldn't allow for that as they are currently written, but we are sure as fuck going to challenge that idiotic policy. Mother fucking idiots. OK, I have to delete this because this is definitely not something I can
XXXX
From: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
To: mental_health_help_desk_Suarez
Time sent: 12/17/2260 22:45:01
Subject: RE: I look forward to seeing you soon
Never ever take a deep breath before you dictate the word "send". Especially if you're planning to delete something that you probably can't tell somebody. However, Spock says I am allowed to tell you because you are a Starfleet mental health professional. Even if you're not my therapist.
Obviously, I'm angry about the actions of our soon-to-be former 20-year-old science cadet. Thankfully the idiot did not prey upon one of the Enterprise kids, but now I'm worried that could happen too. I mean, you put a bunch of teenagers on a ship with pretty people, and things happen. Thankfully, most Enterprise kids are starting to turn 16 which makes me feel better even if things are a bit murky and still make me very uncomfortable. I'm not 100% sure most 16-year-olds can make the most rational decisions. That being said, if you're not old enough to consent to have sex, then maybe you're not old enough to consent to serve in Starfleet. Spock and Sulu are handling the situation, but I'm still upset about it.
OK, I'm going to think about happier things for a moment. I am OK with you getting to meet Peter without us. He needs more grandmother figures. Although he does love his grandpa Sarak. It surprises all of us that Spock's father is a much better grandfather than he was a dad. Apparently, this is the case a lot, so it gives me hope for Winona. Also, I'm glad you're going to check on the kids. It makes me feel a little bit better that you're close by.
It's been hard being without Peter these last few days. I even miss the other Enterprise kids. I'm aware at this point they've all been my children this last year, except for Jeremy. Jeremy is a nightmare. He murdered a puppy. I'm still hopeful we can turn Chris three around.
Bigotry is usually taught. So, I need to figure out if these ideas come from his mom, who is still on my ship, or his deceased father. Or are we looking at radicalization after his father's death? This is honestly entirely possible and wouldn't surprise me at all. Sad, depressed, lonely boys can be easily radicalized by the right voices whispering in their ears. Oh great, I will have to look at what he's been reading on the ship.
That's not a violation of privacy because there is no expectation of privacy on a starship. It's why I encrypt the hell out of all of our personal messages now. If Starfleet is going to read them, they will have a hard time doing so. Reading materials from hate groups is also against Starfleet policy, and the Enterprise kids are under that policy. So the cyber team has a right to look out for that.
Yes, Spock and I would love to come over one day. Does the 27th work for you? We have that night free. We are going to be on the planet through the new year. It's going to be a mix of on-duty and vacation time. We have a lot of things scheduled. I have to do some read-outs with the Admiral regarding the Hamilton fuck up and the other investigator. I still can't give you details of that in writing, but we will see.
There are also some meetings with various diplomats and embassies that are on New Vulcan. Spock's doing most of those. However, I am required to be at half of them, as his husband, not his first officer. Strangely I am looking forward to being arm candy.
Thankfully, we're actually going to have three days of shore leave. This is good because even though we haven't been in Starfleet too long, we accumulated a surprisingly large amount of vacation time. Apparently, I was supposed to get like a month of leave after nearly dying. However, it wasn't used because of "processing issues." I don't even know sometimes. Also, when the rest of the ship gets to take vacation time, Spock and I are usually working.
This will probably happen in February again. We will have to get some repairs after we're done with our current mission in the New Vulcan system. Engineering had an incident, and I really miss Scotty. He's less dangerous. I didn't think I would type those words, but here we are. It helps that he never did something so stupid that resulted in him losing a hand and causing damage that will have to be repaired. I can't wait until we get Scotty back from the Hamilton. Even though Nyota is really mad that he sent JoJo replicator codes for small weapons.
Anyway, I hope to see you soon. The day of gingerbread houses seems fun, and I'm looking forward to it. Amanda didn't celebrate Christmas being Jewish, but she did love a good gingerbread house. Hanukkah was a little early this year. Some of us do winter solstice, so I don't think it's going to be a full Christmas celebration. They'll probably be gifts mostly because this is the first time we've seen each other in a while.
Anyway, we'll see you soon.
XXXX
From: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
To: Vulcan_Embassy_Ambassador_Selek
Time sent: 12/17/2260 22:02:04
Subject: Re: We must have tea together
Oh, we are definitely going to be busy. I don't know how they schedule so many events for us to do. Although the 26th is actually going to be a shore leave day. So we can definitely have tea. I think Spock is planning to have some sort of nephew uncle bonding activity that involves showing off his Vulcan martial arts skills. But for you, I will miss a chance to see Spock shirtless. I'm sure someone will get me a video, or maybe we can do tea after that? What is the teatime on Vulcan?
It feels strange that we are so close, but it takes messages a little while to get here. Things are going well with the team from the VSA. We only had to send one person home for being a bigot. Which is honestly significantly less than expected.
I'm glad you're gonna get to meet the kids. I want pictures. I think they will all adore you. I need more pictures.
Liz and Kevin are coming with mom. Kevin will be on Discovery next semester, and Liz will do an extra semester in space at Yorktown. This way, they'll graduate at the same time now. I think they're doing this, so it will be easier to get tandem assignments later on. I'm pretty sure they're engaged to be engaged at this point and will be getting married right after graduation. The Admiral is going to be pissed, but she likes Kevin. So she'll get over it, eventually.
The Sulu sisters are coming. One because she is the event planner for the dedication ceremony and another event. Also, she wants to get a feel for Yorktown for the wedding she'll be planning there. I honestly don't think she would've gone back if she could bring her kids with her. Unfortunately, The Admiral couldn't pull that many strings. Although the universe knows that she tried.
I'm actually kind of glad to know that you knew Winona in the other timeline. My mom makes lots of friends outside her own age group. She is best friends with Sulu's fiancé Ben. They've bonded over being Starfleet widows. I could see you guys being friends in the other timeline despite what I am gathering was a really complicated relationship with the other Jim Kirk. I saw some stuff I probably shouldn't have during the mind meld, and some things have popped up in dreams.
I know you don't want to answer my questions about the other timeline but did Grandma Kirk spend a lot of quality time with my other self? Because if a version of me was going to turn out to be a bit of a dick, I feel like she would be responsible. She's definitely the right-winger of the family and would definitely put toxic ideas in someone's head. Again, I'm only getting bits and pieces, but he feels like a dick and possibly the player everyone thought I was but was too traumatized to be.
Sorry, I've just been thinking about some of the problems I've been having with that side of the family lately. We're suing them for a tell-all book. I hope no copies of it have made it to New Vulcan. It was pretty awful. Let's put it this way Kevin is suing for defamation even though they call him Kyle in the book.
I am well aware grandma Kirk hates me for having a husband. She said so 14 times in her book. So if she managed to get her hooks on my other self, I could see Conservative asshole closet case Jim Kirk existing. Which probably would've been hard on you and would totally explain the Carol thing and so many other bad life choices that I've seen in dreams. Not recently, although I did see another version of the events that led to Peter being an orphan. Obviously, things went differently.
Anyway, I have to go because my husband is making me go to sleep. But I will see you on the 23rd at the banquet. I look forward to seeing you then.
To be continued…