Previously on A Mind Occasionally Voyaging…
“Bones says she’ll pull through,” Kirk said as he took the seat opposite Pike in the Admiral’s cabin. “That Ilyrian immune system. But it’s too soon to say how fully she’ll recover.”
“How are you holding up?” Pike asked.
“I… Take comfort in my duty. There were a lot of things Sam and I didn’t talk about. I guess I always thought there would be time later. You know, until I heard you do it, I didn’t even know he liked to be called Sam? I thought I was the only one who did it.”
With a little bit of difficulty, Pike smiled. “Did he ever tell you about the time we encountered an ancient Earth probe that had been uplifted with alien technology?”
Kirk’s brow furrowed. “This is the V’ger incident?”
Surprise flashed briefly on Pike’s face. “Actually, no, this was before that. I bring it up because the reason we got out of that was that he had a similar name to the probe’s original designer. We were able to trick it into thinking Sam was its creator.”
Kirk managed a little laugh, but it was short-lived. Pike looked to his display pad. Communications with Starfleet had been reestablished and the first news updates had just come in. “Romulan raid in sector 30. The USS Cornwall was destroyed. First officer was Maat Al-Salah.”
Kirk shook his head. “Someone you know?”
“His father was Hansen Al-Salah. Outpost Four?”
The memory was more distant for Jim, but it came back. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t know you kept in touch.”
“I didn’t really,” Pike said. “I think it was too hard for Maat. But I followed his career. This war,” he said, wryly.
“There are times,” Jim admitted, “When I can understand why the Federation would be looking at a project like Genesis.” At Pike’s horrified expression, he quickly added, “I’m not disappointed we failed to recover it.”
Pike looked out the window. It was raining in the simulation of Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. “How soon do they need you back on the Reno?”
“It will be a while. Even without the damage they took when Reliant exploded, it turns out the new engine design couldn’t handle the stress of sustained warp. They’ll need to retrofit the whole propulsion system.”
Pike was about to say something when the door to the captain’s stateroom beeped. “Come,” he said. David Marcus entered and stood awkwardly near where Pike and Kirk were solemnly contemplating untouched drinks. Kirk turned the antique copy of To Kill a Mockingbird over in his hands. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his glasses, then saw one lens had cracked at some point. He discarded them on the table.
Pike spoke first. “Doctor Marcus,” he said, “Captain Kirk just told me about your grandfather. I’m sorry.”
David gave Kirk a guilty look. “We’ve all lost family today,” he said.
“Doctor,” Pike said, cautiously, “Starfleet Command considers Genesis a top-priority project. Can you confirm that all your work was destroyed with the prototype? No backups, nothing left behind on Regula?”
Before David could answer, Pike continued. “Given what you know now, what you’ve seen of the potential for destruction if the Genesis device were… abused. Starfleet would prefer to see your research recovered, but they would… begrudgingly… accept your assurance that no one else, no one with… less noble goals… would be able to recover it. I’m sure your grandfather gave you some sense of how dangerous that would be.”
David thought for a second. “No backups, sir. We’d have to start over from scratch. It… It could take years. Or longer.”
Pike nodded. “Understood.”
He stood. “Jim,” he said, “I need you to handle recovery at Regula and Ceti Alpha Five.”
“Admiral?”
“There’s some urgent business I need to attend to. I’ll meet you back on Earth.”
Once Pike left, David turned to Kirk. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Kirk offered him his still-untouched drink. David declined. “I’m sorry about your friend,” Kirk said.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” David said. “I was wrong about you, and I’m sorry.”
Kirk smiled painfully. “Is that what you wanted to say?”
“I thought… If you had a few minutes, maybe you could tell me a little bit about him. About my uncle.”
“Acting first officer’s log. Stardate 8141.6. Starship Enterprise departing for Ceti Alpha Five to pick up the crew of USS Reliant. All is well, and yet, I can’t help wondering about the family I leave behind. Sam once told me that a long time ago, he worked for someone who liked to say that there are always possibilities. And if Genesis is indeed life from death, I must return to this place again.”
The shuttlecraft Copernicus cleared the damaged shuttle bay and jumped to warp. “The admiral’s shuttle is clear, sir. Engine room is reporting main power nominal.”
“Thank you, Commander Uhura,” Kirk said, taking the captain’s chair.
“You know, if they end up decommissioning the Reno, we should ask about transferring over here,” McCoy said. “The chair suits you.”
Kirk forced a smile. “There’s something about this ship,” he said.
“It wouldn’t be the Enterprise without a Kirk on the bridge,” La’an said.
“He’s not really dead,” McCoy said, comfortingly, “Not as long as you remember him.”
Kirk looked out into the vastness beyond the viewscreen. “You never really know a man,” he said, “Until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.”
McCoy gave him a questioning look. “Something Sam was trying to tell me. On my birthday.”
“You okay, Jim?” McCoy asked. “How do you feel?”
He took a deep breath. “Young. I feel young.” He pointed a crooked finger to the viewscreen. “Mister Sulu-” he paused a moment, considering his words. “Hit it.”
This concludes the story proper. But come back again next time for the over-long epilogue, which exists largely because at this time, I do not think I am likely to write a sequel.
At this time…
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