Oops! Bu görüntü içerik kurallarımıza uymuyor. Yayımlamaya devam etmek için görüntüyü kaldırmayı ya da başka bir görüntü yüklemeyi deneyin.
༄ chapter forty one
-ˋˏ THE NEXT BEST THINGˎˊ-
summer, 2259
THE crew of the USS Enterprise had been back at home, stationed at San Francisco's Starfleet Headquarters, for about a month. Each individual member of the now-decimated ship was slowly but surely was being pulled aside for their statement on what had occurred on their past week-long mission. Khan was being held in the deepest and most secure depths of the Federation's prisons and was on trial, being tried as a war criminal. Overall, everyone was just glad to be able to rest, surrounded by family and friends after the harrowing ordeal they went through.
Jim Kirk was still asleep, safe and sound in private medical quarters, watched over by a constant vigil of doctors - notably Leonard McCoy, who had only left Kirk's side to bathe and spend much-needed time with his girlfriend and daughter. Kit Pike had yet to reconcile with his sister or girlfriend, spending many of his days with the Enterprise's security team and avoiding the grief that was steadily consuming him from his father's death. Nyota Uhura spent a majority of her time with Darcy Simmons, Hikaru Sulu, and their respective daughters, Thalia and Demora, as well as Nath Lemuria, who hung around Chandler to give his sister time alone.
Vera Crynn had given herself time alone to readjust to life after her ordeal with Khan, Marcus, and then losing three of the closest people in her life. Of course, that time had only been over an expanse of a week, but she saw it as enough. After a couple good cries, a day or two of getting drunk and watching trashy romcoms, and absolutely avoiding everyone at all costs, the mechanic threw herself back into her work. Her latest, and subsequently largest, project consisted of rebuilding the USS Enterprise, making it bigger and better than any other ship in Starfleet's arsenal.
Most of the time, she worked alone, carving up plans and making blueprints for a new and improved ship. Over the few days she'd embarked on her project, Vera stayed long hours in the darkest crevices of an empty hanger, one dedicated solely to her new Enterprise. Early mornings bled into late nights, with the woman refusing to do anything but focus on her baby.
Because of her dedication, Vera was already exhausted less than a week in, but she knew it would be worth it, as the harder she worked earlier on, the quicker the ship would be built, and the faster she could return to what she considered her new normal, a life aboard her ship with her crew.
"THANKS again for watching him, Darce. I don't know what I'd do without you," Vera sighed, sharing a last few words with her old friend before it was time for her to be off.
Word had come from McCoy that morning that Kirk was supposed to wake from his medically-induced coma that very day, and he had insisted that both Vera and Spock, as First and Second Officer of the Enterprise, should be among the first to see their friend. Vera was practically bouncing with excitement from the moment her PADD delivered the message, bursting back into her room, where Spock had been staying the night, and woke him (rather violently, she would admit, but there was too much going on for her to care). Dressing themselves in a hurry, the now-couple had taken the extra step of dropping Nath off at Darcy Simmons and Leonard McCoy's shared home before they went to Kirk.
