Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. You are all fabulous.
Day 408: I am no fool
From: Peter_K
To: Kevin KR
Time sent: 04/01/2261 12:02:01
Subject: Re: greetings from midterm hell
Sorry, I didn't write immediately when I received your message yesterday. Before responding, I needed a little time to talk things out with Uncle Jim. The strategic candy stash was involved.
I didn't know that March 20 was the anniversary of Sam's death. I knew it was a hard day for Uncle Jim, but I only thought it was because his stepdad was a piece of shit and ruined the day for him. Not this. It was hard for him to discuss the specifics, especially to me.
Mom didn't know the exact day that Sam died. Or if she did, she never told me. She didn't talk about him a lot. I didn't know I had an Uncle Jim until everything fell apart on Devon. Not really. I knew it was this time of the year because the rescue of the Taurus survivors is public record. I also knew he passed away before the rescue, but I did not know how it happened.
I still don't know what happened. As mentioned earlier, Uncle Jim is not ready to talk about the details. Also, most of it is still classified. I hypothesize it's related to protecting you, which makes me feel better. It's less senseless than what happened to the others. Only some details are public, but I've read enough between the lines to know it wasn't all starvation. That would explain the nightmares and why so much of it is classified.
I understand why Uncle Jim didn't tell me. He hates March 20 and was having a good year this time by his standards anyway. He had no nightmares and no panic attacks in the days leading up, so he didn't want to mention it. I think he feared it would be a trigger if he talked about it. He didn't want to deal with the bad memories until he had to.
I know it's hard for Uncle Jim to talk about Dad. It's not an easy subject for him, and usually, he's on the verge of crying even when he brings up the good memories. There's a large amount of trauma there that is still being processed. We had a family session with Dr. Margarita. There was hugging, crying, and chocolate bars. Most chocolate was consumed by Uncle Spock. Is that like the Vulcan equivalent of an edible?
Classes are OK. We are all doing our best to keep Josephine and Reyes on opposite sides of the classroom, especially today. Reyes told Josephine about her grandfather's latest legal issues, and it went downhill from there. I don't want to say what it was, but you can search for it. I know it made the intergalactic news because Reyes knew about it. However, she could've had an alert set for any news regarding her classmates.
I'm worried she will use April Fools' Day today as an excuse to attack Josephine. The parents have told us no pranks at all. Apparently, things went super bad last year, like somebody ended up in the brig bad. Neither the uncles nor Josephine's mom wants a repeat. Considering our parents are in charge we have to be the bigger person and not antagonize her. That is entirely unfair.
I like that Gina does give us interesting projects. It's so much better than my self study on Devon. We are doing a mock Federation General assembly for the next two months. I was assigned New Vulcan because, legally, I am Vulcan. Everybody else was chosen randomly. Several people are unhappy with their assignments. I wish we could make Reyes the Klingon Empire just for reasons. (I am really bitter about the no-pranks rule from the parents. I already picked up candies that would make her stay purple for 72 hours.)
I was mad that Uncle Jim and Spock had to do an away mission together and did not study for my math midterm. I now have biweekly tutoring sessions with Uncle Spock until the end of the semester. I will never blow off studying for Legos again after what happened.
What you're doing seems interesting. Also, at least you're not taking tests at weird times of the day like Liz. Happy report writing. I think you'll do a good job. Also, at least you won't leave stuff out. There have been many reports that the uncles received with missing information. They get upset when that happens, mainly because it leads to things like Uncle Jim breaking his leg on invisible rocks.
I hope you make it in time for the wedding. That way, you will get to see Uncle Jim. He misses you. Can you stay in Yorktown until Enterprise returns? Is that even an option?
Anyway, write back when you get a chance. Also, send us pictures of Discovery. I want to see what other starships look like.
Xxx
Dear Sam:
Sorry for not writing earlier, but I didn't know that March 20 was the anniversary of your death, so you're getting this on April Fools' Day instead. Mom didn't know or didn't tell me. I am personally going with didn't tell me. She was always sad this time of year, but I don't remember if a specific day was worse than the others. It is not like I can ask her.
So, I am your son Peter. The kid you didn't know about because you managed to get your girlfriend pregnant before you left for colony life. I am also technically an orphan now. Mom died last summer after a parasite that attacked Devon. Considering how great-grandpa looked at me, I think that was a universal constant.
But I have Uncle Jim and Uncle Spock to take care of me. That's like having a family again, except I get two dads. They were willing to give up their careers and Starfleet for me; even Mom didn't do that. I begged her to leave Devon. I hated it there because I was the only kid, and I was scared something bad was going to happen. I was right since it killed her. The parasite killed everybody but me.
Mom couldn't leave. It was too important for her career. In contrast, if the Enterprise minors' program was not picked up for another year, Uncle Jim and Spock would have left Starfleet. Yes, they would've sent me ahead to Grandpa, but they would have followed behind as soon as they could. That matters.
So, who am I? Not quite a teenager although I wish I were. I am doing high school-level work. I also want to attend the VSA to prove that I can. Requirements are less strenuous right now since it's the only university on the colony. Grandpa is working to change that. We will see what happens. At my current pace, I have at least four years before I go to college.
I have lots of friends. My best friend is Josephine, a fellow member of the Our Moms Died club. However, hers may or may not have been murdered by her grandfather because, just like my maternal grandfather, he's an evil piece of shit. Yeah, I didn't want her to join the "my grandpa murdered a family member" club with me, but here we are. What happened to my aunt was extremely traumatic, which was probably the other reason we were on Devon.
I am a member of the Junior Enterprise Fencing Club. I also love baking and Legos. I enjoy science time with Uncle Spock but not math tutoring. However, we usually make cookies afterward. Although I think that's so Uncle Spock can get his chocolate fix. He finds preteens stressful.
I want to be angry that you're dead, but then Uncle Kevin and Aunt Liz wouldn't be here without your sacrifice. At least, probably Aunt Liz wouldn't be here. Great Grandpa gets a sad look when he talks about her. I think something bad happened to her in his past life.
Sometimes I think about my life in the other timeline where Grandpa Kirk lived, and I got shipped off to live with other family members. Not Uncle Jim because that Uncle Jim would not have raised me because he was married to Enterprise and his career. Apparently, he's less of a dick in this universe. I'm grateful for that.
I am glad I have this life. Maybe I don't have you and Mom, but I have many other good things. Besides, I lost you both in the other life anyway. Plus, it wasn't really me since I am older. We, kids, keep getting born earlier in this timeline. Our current hypothesis is this is part of the universe trying to correct itself. Yes, we have philosophical discussions about string theory. Don't all 12-year-olds discuss string theory?
I don't know what to call you sometimes. Because I don't think of you as dad, I never met you, so I don't think of you as my dad even though everybody else refers to you that way. Uncle Jim gets that because he calls Grandpa George most of the time. We really are too much alike in all the bad ways.
The person I see as my dad is Uncle Jim. He is the one who stayed with me last night to keep the nightmares away. He is the one who makes me lunch and smiley pancakes. Uncle Spock is there as well, although I think of him as Sa-mekh. He made me a Vulcan citizen to make sure that the evil grandmother or great-grandmother couldn't touch me. They are my dads. I'm not sure I'll ever call them my dads out loud, but I think that way in my heart. That's what really matters.
To be continued…