Fic: Que Sera Sera (9/15)
Fandom: TOS/TNG/ST XI -slight AU where there isn’t a 16 year gap between the events of Generations and Star Trek 2009.
Pairings: Kirk Prime/McCoy Prime/Spock Prime, Kirk/Spock/McCoy, Scotty/Uhura
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor character death
Summary: Spock Prime went to save Romulus from a supernova and failed, leaving him in a universe that is similar and still so different from his own. Meanwhile in another part of the galaxy Kirk Prime was freed from the Nexus by Captain Picard and survived. Not believing that Spock Prime is dead Kirk Prime goes in search of him, and travels to the universe created when Nero went through the black hole. In that universe Kirk and Spock are starting on their five year mission, determined to write their own destinies after their encounters with Spock Prime. Unlike them McCoy doesn’t trust destiny as far as he can throw it, and he has his own problems to deal with, like getting custody of the three year old daughter he didn’t know he had.
Que Sera Sera
“I’m telling you, Jim, nothing about this adds up. These people aren’t just healthy they’re perfectly healthy, no scars, no tissue damage, no nothing. Hell it’s on record that Sandoval had his appendix removed, and my scanner just showed him with an intact healthy one right where it should be!”
“We’ve got even more problems, Bones, no one from this colony wants to leave, and Spock was right the planet is still being hit by the rays. We don’t know if the protection they have is permanent.”
“Yeah, and whatever protection they have doesn’t apply to us. We have to get everybody off this planet before the safety window is over, and where the hell is Spock anyway?”
Bones was right he should have been back by now. It shouldn’t have taken this long to look at a couple of fields of vegetables. Kirk flipped his communicator open.
“Kirk to Spock.”
There was no answer.
Kirk checked over the machine. Finding nothing wrong with it he tried again.
“Kirk to Spock, please come in…Spock?”
After several long moments Spock’s voice came over the communicator.
“Yes, Captain, what did you want?”
“Spock, where are you?”
“I don’t believe I want to tell you.”
“Well…well whatever just report back to me.”
“No,” was the answer Kirk got and the communicator fell silent again.
“Spock!” Kirk yelled into it to no avail.
Kirk stared at the communicator in confusion.
“Bones, what just happened?”
Bones looked just as stunned as Kirk. “I think the by the book hobgoblin just told us to go to hell.”
“Well we can now add one more thing to the weirdness metre. And you know, Bones, I thought you would be happy about this.”
“Happy about what? That Spock has apparently gone off the deep end?”
“Yeah, I thought you said you might like Spock again if he got that stick out of his ass.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No?”
“No, I said I’d like him better if he got that entire fence out of his ass! And this isn’t what I meant.”
“Oh, my mistake, Bones.” Then Kirk sighed. “So, do you have any suggestions?”
“I suggest we find him before someone else in the landing party does.”
Though he wasn’t answering it Spock had left his communicator open. So Kirk and Bones were able to track his signal and found him by the lake swinging in a tree.
Kirk gapped at Spock. “What the…?”
Bones really wished he had brought a camera.
As they went over to Spock Kirk start feeling a sense of unease curling in his stomach. It was as though he had walked this path before. Recognizing it as that sinking feeling he got whenever he remembered something from a life that hadn’t been his, damn mind meld, Kirk stopped walking and pulled Bones back away from the large flowers they were just about to pass.
“Bones, wait it’s the flowers.”
“How do you know that?”
Kirk didn’t answer. How could explain it and not look insane? Luckily he didn’t have to. DeSalle walked by them just then and suddenly set off the flowers.
“Look!”
Bones quickly scanned him and compared the results to DeSalle’s last physical.
“You’re right, Jim, this is the cause. The spores from these flowers are causing his cells to regenerate at an impossible rate. Any effect of the rays would be neutralized once they came in contact with these spores. That’s why the colonists aren’t affected.”
“So what about the whole…happy thing?” Kirk asked, as he gestured to Spock, who had left the tree and was currently sitting in Leila’s lap admiring the clouds.
“The spores seem to attach themselves to the nervous system, lowering chemicals levels in the brain, and causing a sense of euphoria.”
“So if it creates a low chemical level would a high level of say…emotion snap them out of it?”
“It’s possible, but how would we do that?”
“I know one way,” Kirk said, stepping forward with determination.
Bones caught his arm. “Oh no, Jim, I’m not treating you again because Spock nearly broke your neck and back the last time.”
Kirk stepped back and rubbed his neck at the memory.
“Yeah, you’re right I don’t want to go through that again either. Can anything in your bag of tricks help?”
“Maybe, but I can’t just start randomly using stimulants on Spock. I could do more harm than good.”
“If we could get him alone could you try a small dose?”
“If we can monitor him sure.”
Before Kirk could think of anything he noticed Leila and Spock getting up and moving away, and he threw himself into action.
“Spock, wait!”
Kirk ran up to them shoving himself into between Spock and Leila, and deliberately knocking Spock’s arm off Leila’s shoulder.
“Where are you two going?”
Leila looked at him suspiciously. “We wished to be alone.”
“Oh, but you can’t Spock has to report his findings first.”
Spock seemed to bristle in agitation. Bingo, Kirk thought.
“Captain, I believe I already made it clear that-“
“I know, Spock, but I don’t make the rules you know the regulations.”
Spock’s hand twitched, but he moved away from Leila.
“I will be back shortly,” he said, and followed Bones and Kirk into the small wooded area next to the lake.
“Now, Captain, if would kindly get to the point!”
With Spock now thoroughly agitated Bones checked the level of stimulant and then shoved
the small dose in the hyospray into Spock’s neck.
Spock stiffened and then seemed to come back to himself.
“Doctor, Captain, what is going on?”
“Nothing but a mid-summer’s dream, Spock.”
“Captain, I hardly think this is the time to be quoting Shakespeare.”
“Sorry. The spores from the flowers all around here affected you Spock and now we’re glad you’re back to focusing on the mission.”
“Yes, I remember. It was as if nothing mattered but simple contentment no needs, no desires.”
“It’s like having a day off, Spock, something I’m sure you’re completely unfamiliar with.”
“Doctor McCoy, I hardly think this is the time to insult me.”
Bones rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re clearly back to normal. So that’s one down and only what, two hundred to go?”
“243 to be precise.”
“Thanks for that, you green-blooded computer.”
“Bones, knock it off and start trying to figure out a way to fix this.”
“Well, I can’t stab everyone with hypos all day we don’t have enough time for that or enough supplies.”
“And we agreed that anger wouldn’t be the best high emotion to get to break the effect of the spores.”
“That is true, Captain, and starting a brawl between the colonists and the crew will not reflect well on us in our mission reports. However, if we still have access to the ship I could set up a subatomic transmitter. That may create the environment necessary to counteract the effects of the spores.”
“All right you two go back to the ship I’ll try and round up the crew and keep them away from the flowers. Maybe we can even get some supplies together to make the beam out from this planet faster,” Bones said. He was going to make sure not one single spore got on the Enterprise. He wasn’t letting his daughter anywhere near the stuff.
As they talked Sulu went by with a dazed out look on his face.
“Good luck, Bones, it looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
***
Kirk and Spock went back up to the ship and got to work. It didn’t take long and they were nearly finished when Kirk’s communicator beeped.
“Kirk here.”
Leila’s voice came through. “I want to talk to Spock.”
Spock looked down at his belt and realized he had left his communicator with Leila.
Kirk handed over his communicator.
“It’s okay, Spock, you talk to her I’ll finish up.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Spock stepped into the next room in the lab which thankfully.
“Leila.”
“You said you would be back soon.”
“Yes, but I had to return to the ship. There were…some-something’s to do before coming back to the colony.”
“I miss you. I could help you, Spock.”
Spock sighed.
“I will beam you up momentarily.”
Spock went to the transporter room and Leila arrived on the pad. Spock dismissed the transporter chief so they could be alone.
Leila came over and hugged him, but Spock remained stiff and unresponsive.
“Spock?”
“I am sorry, Leila, but we must work to keep you and ourselves safe.”
Leila looked at him, tears filling her eyes.
“You aren’t one of us anymore.”
“No.”
“You could be again.”
Spock backed away from her.
“I can’t. Leila, I have a duty to this ship, to the man I serve on the bridge.”
“I still love you, you know. I think I always will.”
“You are a bright young woman, Leila, you deserve better than me.”
There was a whoosh as the door opened and Kirk cleared his throat as he came in.
“Spock.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We’re ready to test the transmitter.”
“Yes, of course.”
Spock left for the bridge with Kirk to test out their plan. The pulse from the hastily built machine bathed the planet and the bridge crew waited with baited breath.
“Did it work?” Kirk asked.
Before Spock could answer Uhura said that they had an incoming message.
“McCoy to Enterprise.”
“Go ahead.”
“Captain, I’ve got Mister Sandoval here and he and the colonists are ready to beam up whenever you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Doctor, Kirk out.”
Kirk smiled and turned to his first officer, they had done it together.
“Well I think we can file this away as our first successful planet side mission right Spock?”
“Indeed.”
They went to the transporter room to help get everyone and every supply from the colony on-board, and on the way Kirk tried to talk to Spock.
“Spock I heard you talking to Leila. You know you don’t have to stay on the Enterprise for duty.”
“That is not why I stay, Jim,” Spock replied cryptically and Kirk let the matter drop.
It may be all that Spock wanted to focus on, but he would not be foolish enough to ignore the fact that the building camaraderie with the people on the Enterprise was valuable to him. He had been on space missions before and knew that what they were doing here, working as a team would be invaluable in the coming years. Also the ease with which he and Kirk were able to form a command team was like nothing Spock had encountered before, but if Kirk doubted his loyalty he would have to do something to reinforce it.
“Perhaps I could interest you in a game of chess this evening, Jim?”
“I’d like that.”
***
As the Enterprise left Omicron Ceti III Sandoval went to Kirk to express his gratefulness.
“I would like to thank you for all you and your crew have done, Captain Kirk. You helped us even when we thought we didn’t want it. We wanted to establish something great there and instead we did nothing.”
“So you can do something now, just not with a bunch of spore throwing flowers hanging around.”
Sandoval thank him and again and went to where the other colonists were staying, while
Kirk went to the bridge.
“How are they doing, Jim?” Bones asked as Kirk sat down in the captain’s chair.
“They actually want to do things now, Bones, and I think that’s great. They’ll keep moving forward, we all will.”
Kirk turned his chair to the science station.
“Spock, you haven’t said much about all this.”
“There is not much to say, Captain…except that for the first time in my life I was happy.”
Spock turned back to this scans, ignoring Uhura’s glare.
It was an illuminating experience to be sure. To feel so freely for the first time, to know true contentment, it had been fascinating. But it had also been induced in a state of essentially intoxication. It was not unlike what many of his shipmates did when they drank alcohol. It was used to get away from reality. Thus Spock knew it was not something to be achieved in the universe as it truly was. It was not real.
Happiness was a lie.
Chapter 10
Pairings: Kirk Prime/McCoy Prime/Spock Prime, Kirk/Spock/McCoy, Scotty/Uhura
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor character death
Summary: Spock Prime went to save Romulus from a supernova and failed, leaving him in a universe that is similar and still so different from his own. Meanwhile in another part of the galaxy Kirk Prime was freed from the Nexus by Captain Picard and survived. Not believing that Spock Prime is dead Kirk Prime goes in search of him, and travels to the universe created when Nero went through the black hole. In that universe Kirk and Spock are starting on their five year mission, determined to write their own destinies after their encounters with Spock Prime. Unlike them McCoy doesn’t trust destiny as far as he can throw it, and he has his own problems to deal with, like getting custody of the three year old daughter he didn’t know he had.
Que Sera Sera
“I’m telling you, Jim, nothing about this adds up. These people aren’t just healthy they’re perfectly healthy, no scars, no tissue damage, no nothing. Hell it’s on record that Sandoval had his appendix removed, and my scanner just showed him with an intact healthy one right where it should be!”
“We’ve got even more problems, Bones, no one from this colony wants to leave, and Spock was right the planet is still being hit by the rays. We don’t know if the protection they have is permanent.”
“Yeah, and whatever protection they have doesn’t apply to us. We have to get everybody off this planet before the safety window is over, and where the hell is Spock anyway?”
Bones was right he should have been back by now. It shouldn’t have taken this long to look at a couple of fields of vegetables. Kirk flipped his communicator open.
“Kirk to Spock.”
There was no answer.
Kirk checked over the machine. Finding nothing wrong with it he tried again.
“Kirk to Spock, please come in…Spock?”
After several long moments Spock’s voice came over the communicator.
“Yes, Captain, what did you want?”
“Spock, where are you?”
“I don’t believe I want to tell you.”
“Well…well whatever just report back to me.”
“No,” was the answer Kirk got and the communicator fell silent again.
“Spock!” Kirk yelled into it to no avail.
Kirk stared at the communicator in confusion.
“Bones, what just happened?”
Bones looked just as stunned as Kirk. “I think the by the book hobgoblin just told us to go to hell.”
“Well we can now add one more thing to the weirdness metre. And you know, Bones, I thought you would be happy about this.”
“Happy about what? That Spock has apparently gone off the deep end?”
“Yeah, I thought you said you might like Spock again if he got that stick out of his ass.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No?”
“No, I said I’d like him better if he got that entire fence out of his ass! And this isn’t what I meant.”
“Oh, my mistake, Bones.” Then Kirk sighed. “So, do you have any suggestions?”
“I suggest we find him before someone else in the landing party does.”
Though he wasn’t answering it Spock had left his communicator open. So Kirk and Bones were able to track his signal and found him by the lake swinging in a tree.
Kirk gapped at Spock. “What the…?”
Bones really wished he had brought a camera.
As they went over to Spock Kirk start feeling a sense of unease curling in his stomach. It was as though he had walked this path before. Recognizing it as that sinking feeling he got whenever he remembered something from a life that hadn’t been his, damn mind meld, Kirk stopped walking and pulled Bones back away from the large flowers they were just about to pass.
“Bones, wait it’s the flowers.”
“How do you know that?”
Kirk didn’t answer. How could explain it and not look insane? Luckily he didn’t have to. DeSalle walked by them just then and suddenly set off the flowers.
“Look!”
Bones quickly scanned him and compared the results to DeSalle’s last physical.
“You’re right, Jim, this is the cause. The spores from these flowers are causing his cells to regenerate at an impossible rate. Any effect of the rays would be neutralized once they came in contact with these spores. That’s why the colonists aren’t affected.”
“So what about the whole…happy thing?” Kirk asked, as he gestured to Spock, who had left the tree and was currently sitting in Leila’s lap admiring the clouds.
“The spores seem to attach themselves to the nervous system, lowering chemicals levels in the brain, and causing a sense of euphoria.”
“So if it creates a low chemical level would a high level of say…emotion snap them out of it?”
“It’s possible, but how would we do that?”
“I know one way,” Kirk said, stepping forward with determination.
Bones caught his arm. “Oh no, Jim, I’m not treating you again because Spock nearly broke your neck and back the last time.”
Kirk stepped back and rubbed his neck at the memory.
“Yeah, you’re right I don’t want to go through that again either. Can anything in your bag of tricks help?”
“Maybe, but I can’t just start randomly using stimulants on Spock. I could do more harm than good.”
“If we could get him alone could you try a small dose?”
“If we can monitor him sure.”
Before Kirk could think of anything he noticed Leila and Spock getting up and moving away, and he threw himself into action.
“Spock, wait!”
Kirk ran up to them shoving himself into between Spock and Leila, and deliberately knocking Spock’s arm off Leila’s shoulder.
“Where are you two going?”
Leila looked at him suspiciously. “We wished to be alone.”
“Oh, but you can’t Spock has to report his findings first.”
Spock seemed to bristle in agitation. Bingo, Kirk thought.
“Captain, I believe I already made it clear that-“
“I know, Spock, but I don’t make the rules you know the regulations.”
Spock’s hand twitched, but he moved away from Leila.
“I will be back shortly,” he said, and followed Bones and Kirk into the small wooded area next to the lake.
“Now, Captain, if would kindly get to the point!”
With Spock now thoroughly agitated Bones checked the level of stimulant and then shoved
the small dose in the hyospray into Spock’s neck.
Spock stiffened and then seemed to come back to himself.
“Doctor, Captain, what is going on?”
“Nothing but a mid-summer’s dream, Spock.”
“Captain, I hardly think this is the time to be quoting Shakespeare.”
“Sorry. The spores from the flowers all around here affected you Spock and now we’re glad you’re back to focusing on the mission.”
“Yes, I remember. It was as if nothing mattered but simple contentment no needs, no desires.”
“It’s like having a day off, Spock, something I’m sure you’re completely unfamiliar with.”
“Doctor McCoy, I hardly think this is the time to insult me.”
Bones rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re clearly back to normal. So that’s one down and only what, two hundred to go?”
“243 to be precise.”
“Thanks for that, you green-blooded computer.”
“Bones, knock it off and start trying to figure out a way to fix this.”
“Well, I can’t stab everyone with hypos all day we don’t have enough time for that or enough supplies.”
“And we agreed that anger wouldn’t be the best high emotion to get to break the effect of the spores.”
“That is true, Captain, and starting a brawl between the colonists and the crew will not reflect well on us in our mission reports. However, if we still have access to the ship I could set up a subatomic transmitter. That may create the environment necessary to counteract the effects of the spores.”
“All right you two go back to the ship I’ll try and round up the crew and keep them away from the flowers. Maybe we can even get some supplies together to make the beam out from this planet faster,” Bones said. He was going to make sure not one single spore got on the Enterprise. He wasn’t letting his daughter anywhere near the stuff.
As they talked Sulu went by with a dazed out look on his face.
“Good luck, Bones, it looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
***
Kirk and Spock went back up to the ship and got to work. It didn’t take long and they were nearly finished when Kirk’s communicator beeped.
“Kirk here.”
Leila’s voice came through. “I want to talk to Spock.”
Spock looked down at his belt and realized he had left his communicator with Leila.
Kirk handed over his communicator.
“It’s okay, Spock, you talk to her I’ll finish up.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Spock stepped into the next room in the lab which thankfully.
“Leila.”
“You said you would be back soon.”
“Yes, but I had to return to the ship. There were…some-something’s to do before coming back to the colony.”
“I miss you. I could help you, Spock.”
Spock sighed.
“I will beam you up momentarily.”
Spock went to the transporter room and Leila arrived on the pad. Spock dismissed the transporter chief so they could be alone.
Leila came over and hugged him, but Spock remained stiff and unresponsive.
“Spock?”
“I am sorry, Leila, but we must work to keep you and ourselves safe.”
Leila looked at him, tears filling her eyes.
“You aren’t one of us anymore.”
“No.”
“You could be again.”
Spock backed away from her.
“I can’t. Leila, I have a duty to this ship, to the man I serve on the bridge.”
“I still love you, you know. I think I always will.”
“You are a bright young woman, Leila, you deserve better than me.”
There was a whoosh as the door opened and Kirk cleared his throat as he came in.
“Spock.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We’re ready to test the transmitter.”
“Yes, of course.”
Spock left for the bridge with Kirk to test out their plan. The pulse from the hastily built machine bathed the planet and the bridge crew waited with baited breath.
“Did it work?” Kirk asked.
Before Spock could answer Uhura said that they had an incoming message.
“McCoy to Enterprise.”
“Go ahead.”
“Captain, I’ve got Mister Sandoval here and he and the colonists are ready to beam up whenever you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Doctor, Kirk out.”
Kirk smiled and turned to his first officer, they had done it together.
“Well I think we can file this away as our first successful planet side mission right Spock?”
“Indeed.”
They went to the transporter room to help get everyone and every supply from the colony on-board, and on the way Kirk tried to talk to Spock.
“Spock I heard you talking to Leila. You know you don’t have to stay on the Enterprise for duty.”
“That is not why I stay, Jim,” Spock replied cryptically and Kirk let the matter drop.
It may be all that Spock wanted to focus on, but he would not be foolish enough to ignore the fact that the building camaraderie with the people on the Enterprise was valuable to him. He had been on space missions before and knew that what they were doing here, working as a team would be invaluable in the coming years. Also the ease with which he and Kirk were able to form a command team was like nothing Spock had encountered before, but if Kirk doubted his loyalty he would have to do something to reinforce it.
“Perhaps I could interest you in a game of chess this evening, Jim?”
“I’d like that.”
***
As the Enterprise left Omicron Ceti III Sandoval went to Kirk to express his gratefulness.
“I would like to thank you for all you and your crew have done, Captain Kirk. You helped us even when we thought we didn’t want it. We wanted to establish something great there and instead we did nothing.”
“So you can do something now, just not with a bunch of spore throwing flowers hanging around.”
Sandoval thank him and again and went to where the other colonists were staying, while
Kirk went to the bridge.
“How are they doing, Jim?” Bones asked as Kirk sat down in the captain’s chair.
“They actually want to do things now, Bones, and I think that’s great. They’ll keep moving forward, we all will.”
Kirk turned his chair to the science station.
“Spock, you haven’t said much about all this.”
“There is not much to say, Captain…except that for the first time in my life I was happy.”
Spock turned back to this scans, ignoring Uhura’s glare.
It was an illuminating experience to be sure. To feel so freely for the first time, to know true contentment, it had been fascinating. But it had also been induced in a state of essentially intoxication. It was not unlike what many of his shipmates did when they drank alcohol. It was used to get away from reality. Thus Spock knew it was not something to be achieved in the universe as it truly was. It was not real.
Happiness was a lie.
Chapter 10