#Star Trek fanfic au

[orangesunsets12]

Leonard McCoy's Past -Fanfic Premise

Here's the plot of a new Leonard McCoy fanfic I've started to write. If anyone has any questions/further curiosities please feel free to send an ask or reply! I love this AU but struggle to find motivation when I have time, but I love to talk about it! Maybe sharing it online will encourage me to force myself to write about it more often lol. Enjoy!

Leonard and his father, David, are living on Earth, (Leonard is about 15), when Dr. David McCoy is tasked to heal a Vulcan who is really sick. Unfortunately, the Vulcan passes away, and the Vulcan's mate becomes enraged, tossing away all emotional restraint, and seeks revenge on David for being unable to save his mate. He kidnaps Leonard, and, in an effort to break the boy as well as his father, commits many forced mind melds on a helpless Leonard.

Leonard is found months later, having endured too many forced mind melds, leading him to have a fractured mind. He's unresponsive to any words, any comforting touch, and gives no sign of having any part of him left. Emotionless. Traumatized. Broken. Yet, he hasn't succumbed to complete madness, like many say should've happened after only a few mind melds, and David finds hope in it.

David contacts all of the doctors he knows who might be able to help, including Dr. Boyce, and eventually the leaders of Vulcan are made aware of the situation.

Leonard is taken to Vulcan, and goes through a long recovery process. With healing comes pain, and he soon begins to feel emotions again, yet also experiences hallucinations, nightmares, and an insanity that scares him. His mind doesn't feel like his own.

No one gives up on him, and Leonard finds himself growing close to the people who help him. He becomes close to Amanda, finding comfort in her motherly kindness, and respects Sarek, who has also decided to do whatever he can to heal the young human. Amanda introduces Leonard to common Vulcan games, like Kal-Toh, and often tells him stories of her son, even when Leonard didn't seem to listen. Sarek guides the healers, and even conducts his own healing mind melds, spending much time struggling to heal what was broken.

And David stays with his son every day, promising him that things will get better. He comforts Leonard when he begins to display signs of insanity, and holds him as Leonard screams from a nightmare. He watches his son grow up under the care of Vulcans, and becomes so proud at how his son is hanging on, yet still terrified that it wouldn't be enough. Would his son eventually be able to live in a society again? Would he live on Vulcan his whole life, or eventually continue a life on Earth?

Leonard slowly edges closer to the person he was before, piecing together the parts of his mind that were broken, regaining the memories that were ripped from him. Yet he still struggles. He still hears the evil Vulcan in his head, telling him what to do, that he can't trust anyone. It's a constant battle, and it takes him years until he can live a semi-normal life.

Eventually, he gets better. He's able to attend school, he's able to live a normal life without a totally fractured mind. Yet it's always felt weak, and nightmares often plagued him. He often has to visit Vulcan for occasional healing mind melds, to keep his mind from breaking apart once more.

Leonard becomes a doctor, like his father. He defies the pain and trauma that defined him as a child, and continues to heal others, controlling his mind when it tried to break, and uses emotions to cover up the fear that he would lose his mind again.

He meets Jim, but chooses to keep the information of his past to himself, too afraid to appear weak. He meets Spock, and is fearful at first, because all Vulcans scare him before he gets to know them. Yet, after the destruction of Vulcan, Leonard soon finds friendship with Spock, as both mourn the planet, and those on it. It's through Amanda's gift of a Kal-Toh set that Spock hears Leonard's history of mind-melds, and the two learn to trust each other like brothers.

Jim will learn of the forced mind melds eventually, but that reveal will be a lot messier.

This got a lot longer than I planned...but those are a lot of the plot points I want to for sure touch on. I love talking about this AU, so if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask them! Thanks for reading my ideas/rant!

[meonea]

“They walked quietly down the corridors of the Enterprise. Only the noise of their bumpy steps distracting them from certain thoughts and certain fears”.

(I’m obsessed)

[swingsetindecember]

scott and logan as a pairing is just chef's kiss because you have the team loner who is a soft dad and then you have the team leader who has to be strict dad because he needs to keep everyone safe. like they both care so much in such diametric ways that makes me feral. like scott is so self sacrificing that he needs logan to save him because he will literally martyr himself for the team. and logan will also just martyr himself but will be like, because the team doesn't need me. and ahhhh they need to make out and take care of each other. and i am not even talking about how logan steals scott's motorcycle and things. like he will be like scott is a nerd but also love all of scott's nerdy stuff. god, i love them. like i just want soft scenes with them. scott needs someone who won't die and logan needs someone who won't leave. and ahhh, let me scream about them

[purpleenma]

Like Yin and Yang

My gift to @donsdrawn for the Mcspirk Gift Exchange 2024 inspired by their awesome ongoing fic Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking.

In this AOS AU Jim and Spock are rival models that have a huge crush on Bones, the professional photographer that usually takes their pictures. This is their first time working together and trying to be professional about it.

I also needed to do this extra doodle, the silly compelled me xD

AO3 art post

[marlynnofmany]

Vulcans vs magic?

...Vulcans studying magic?

...

Vulcans meeting elves.

(you can tell them apart by accent, height, and ear angle)

I can see Vulcans being either extremely resistant to the idea of magic (since no that's not how reality works; you can't just say a rhyme and cause something to happen), or extremely good at it.

Once they crack the key to how a person's focused intent can indeed change reality, they'll be unstoppable.

[celestialvoyeur]

💛💙SPIRK FIC REC💙💛

The weather channel AOS AU you didn't know you needed to read!

There are two teams of meteorologists at the Federation Weather Network: Spock's team, which spends its time in the lab building sophisticated climate models, and Jim Kirk's team, which seems to always be filming live from the middle of a tornado.

Every so often an AU just really speaks to me, and this was one of them. It's just really well written and I loved the characterisations. It doesn't sound like it should work but it totally did! Really, REALLY, enjoyed it 🥰 

[spirk-trek]

i wrote this fic for @novice-crow's adorable creature!spock design!!! i adore him so much i just had to write something. this is a short little chapter but i plan to write more because... idk it's whimsical!!! i love whimsy!!

anyway PLEASE go look at creature spock if you haven't already

[misanthropologymajor]

to boldly go...

this is so based on my current tng watch and crippling addiction to cod fanfic of all things

Science Officer!f! Reader x Bridge Crew! 141

Star Trek: TNG AU (pt. 1?)

Human! Price- Captain of the Enterprise 

Human!Gaz- helmsman/operations officer (liutenant)

Klingon!Ghost- security-officer-turned-first-officer (lieutenant commander)

Betazoid!Soap- new security officer (lieutenant)

Half Vulcan!Reader- sciences officer (lieutenant junior-grade), [giving them various nicknames because (y/n) feels clunky]

wc: 4k

warnings: rearrangement of rank (Starfleet doesn't have enlisted officers & the equivalent ranks would not be bridge officers), reader is the youngest but the other ages aren't mentioned, abduction, Ghost was raised by humans in a Worf-analogue-situation, (Ghost's parents were killed in a Romulan attack), slowburn, no smut, written before i started playing mwii

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before!

As the turbo-lift doors opened, the familiar sounds of the Bridge Crew's squabbles filled the ears of the newest Chief Science Officer.

"Cap', 're you sure that MacTavish can actually read the Ferengi from this distance? I wouldn't put it past 'im to just wanna stir sumthin' up."

"Ghost, ye know damn well I wouldn' lie abou' somethin' like that."

Quietly walking to her station behind the caption's chair, the half-Vulcan began scanning the readings of the Ferengi ship. The Ferengi ship was peculiarly small and old-fashioned- at least a century old.

"Gaz, can you take us closer? One third Impulse, please." At Gaz's affirmation, Captain Price stood from his chair and walked towards the monitor at the front of the bridge. "Junior-grade, how many life signs can you read."

She startled, looking up from the inlaid monitor. "Only two, sir. It's a small ship, though there should be room for around thirty crew." Her gaze followed Price's to the front monitor, where she saw the short loop of Ferengi video broadcast. Both Ferengi men's large ears and prominent brow ridges glistened with sweat.

Gaz looked up from his controls. "Captain, the broadcast isn't coming from this ship."

"The distress beacon is, though. And the ship is definitely Ferengi." Ghost looked over Soap's shoulder to the security console.

"Price, be careful. We're getting close to the neutral zone." Gaz indicated to his monitor.

Price returned to the captain's seat, centered in the bridge. "Soap, keep scanning for other vessels. Ghost, hail the Ferengi ship."

"Price, they aren't receiving our hailing frequencies."

"Is anyone else thinking of Earthen anglerfish right about now?" the half-Vulcan mumbled. Then, louder- "They're down to just one life sign, Captain Price."

"They don' have shields up, Cap'n," Soap called from the security station. "I don't feel anything from the ship, either."

“Ghost, prepare an away team and get some protective gear. We’ll keep track and be ready to beam you back, but we need to know what’s happenin’ with that ship.”

“Gaz an’ the kid with me. Go get a compact medikit in case there’re any survivors, an' Gaz can tell us why it may 'ave stopped.”

As Gaz stood from his chair, the science officer rushed towards the turbo-lift, heading briskly down to the medbay. Swiftly getting the required supplies, she headed towards the transporter room, meeting with Gaz and Ghost.

"Three to beam to the co-ords Soap sent down." Ghost led the trio to the transporter bay, phaser in hand.

As they faded into shimmering white light, all three prepared themselves for the unknown of a seemingly empty Ferengi shuttle on the border of the Neutral Zone.

Following the briefest moment, they came back into awareness. Ghost was the first to reach full cognizance, the other two shortly following. The most immediately apparent thing was that the ship had not been abandoned by normal means. The cockpit was in disarray, and a trail of a mixture of unknown substances ended abruptly in the doorway.

At Ghost's indication of safety, the Vulcan activated the scientific tricorder to scan the trail. As the analysis loaded, she noted from the corner of their eye that both Gaz and Ghost tensed. Ghost's mask made the sudden lack of motion vividly unsettling. The tricorder loaded with a small chirp, indicating the presence of Ferengi and Romulan DNA. Abruptly, the shuttle lit up.

The ship began moving closer to the Neutral Zone. Soap's voice echoed from their communicators, "Wha' the hell are ye doin'? The Neutral Zone is right fuckin' there!"

"We're not trying to, Soap. I'm looking at the controls now." Gaz rushed to the lit-up console.

"Ghost, there's evidence Romulans here. We should get out of here, sir."

As the First Officer acknowledged the Science Officer, more words echoed from their communicator badges.

"Transport to away team, we've lost your location. There's some sort of interference." Tensions became palpable as the situation quickly devolved. Gaz frantically tried to turn the ship back towards the Enterprise. Ghost and the scientist worked on figuring out what left a Ferengi shuttle lost at the edge of the Neutral Zone.

Price's voice echoed through the ship, "Hold on, Away Team, reeling you in with our tractor beam." The ship jolted with the connection of the tractor beam, easing back towards Federation Territory.

Gaz began hitting the console, clearly frustrated by the lack of response from the equipment. "Ghost an' Cap, this shuttle isn't bein' controlled by this panel. This has gotta be a trap."

As two Humans, a Betazoid, a Klingon, and a half-Vulcan attempted to return the away team to the Enterprise, they were faced with a Romulan Warbird removing its cloaking device directly next to the Ferengi shuttle.

The Ferengi Shuttle was swiftly drawn in by the Warbird's tractor beam, half the distance from and twice the size of the Enterprise.

The science officer tapped the communicator on: "Sirs, this is not standard Romulan battle practices. Deception, yes, but blatant disregard for the Algeron Treaty? In just about two hundred years of conflict, they've never done anything like this."

"When did you become an expert on Romulan politics, Junior-grade?"

"Not the time, Garrick," Ghost aimed his phaser at the door between the away team and the interior of the Romulan ship. The other two quickly followed suit.

As the interior of the Ferengi ship dimmed, the shuttle bay door of the Romulan Warbird opened up. The ship slowed into the bay, and the environmental system hissed. Gaz was the first to feel it, and Ghost was the last.

As Ghost fought to keep his eyes open, he heard the half-Vulcan mutter about "anesthizine."

Gaz woke in a cell, his phaser and communicator on the manned desk beyond the forcefields. A few cells across the circular brig, he could see the Ferengi from the broadcast in a shared cell, and to their right was Ghost. "Ghost, can you hear me? Are you able to see any way out?"

"Damn Romulans cuffed me an' took my fuckin' mask. The door out of the cells is to your left, the kid's to your right."

"I can hear you, Ghost," she frowned. "They have our comms and phasers, and there's no way they've kept us in Federation Territory. Cap's gonna need to get approval from Admiral Laswell to follow us."

"Soap won't like that," Gaz said, standing from the cot to get a better view of the space. "Junior-grade, you said this wasn't normal for Romulans. Do you think we're working with an extremist group?"

"Definitely. I was awake when they were cuffing Ghost. They weren't in standard issue Romulan Star Empire Uniforms, and there's some wacky mods to this Warbird."

Ghost cut in, "At least they wan' us alive. We'd be long gone if they didn't think we could do sumthin' for 'em."

"'Specially with their views on Klingons and Vulcans. Nasty blokes."

"Thanks for reminding us, Gaz." She pressed her hand to the force field, searching for the weak point she knew wasn't there. As they searched, the brig doors opened with a hiss.

Three Romulans walked in, bearing phaser rifles. The centered one spoke: "I had hoped the Federation would be stupid enough to send a ship into our territory. Imagine my delight when that little ship sends me some a Klivan, a Hevam, and a Yyiyao wrapped in a nice little bow." (Romulan derogatory terms for Klingon, Human, Vulcan)

"Oh, what a shock: the Rihansu is racist. Where the hell are we?" (Vulcan [and Romulan] for Romulan)

"Hold your tongue, Yyiyao. I haven't killed you yet, but my mercy has limits. You don't even know why you're here yet!"

"Who the hell are you?" Ghost stood up abruptly, startling the non-speaking Romulans.

"Now, the Klivan is asking the right question! Who am I? And why would I capture two Feh'rengsu, a Kilvan, a Hevam, and a Yyiyao?

They call me Commander Makarov, and I will free my people from the barriers of the Neutral Zone and the Federation altogether."

"And you think that will happen by kidnapping a First Officer, Flight Control Officer, and a Science Officer?" Gaz sat on the cot in the corner.

"I'm not that foolish. You're nothing more than bait, tempting your precious Federation into breaking its own rules."

"You can't seriously think our Captain is stupid enough to follow us withou' givin' proper notice?" Ghost questioned.

"Oh, Klivan. He's already following us," Makarov grinned.

"I still don't get why you're tellin' us this." Gaz laid further into the cot.

"Either he's gloating or he's trying to get something out of us, be that intel or our charming personalities." The half-Vulcan wrung her hands, silently pleading for the Enterprise to be careful and give the correct notice.

The Ferengi began tittering with each other, briefly pulling the attention from the Starfleet officers.

"You three were victims of circumstance. But these two-" Makarov sneered. "These two will not try to swindle the sword of the Romulan Empire again."

Makarov's men turned off the barrier to the Ferengi cell. Each grabbed one Ferengi man and dragged them out of the brig. Makarov left the brig, questions hanging in the air.

"What a total dick."

"Thought you were supposed to be too logical for needless profanity."

"My Vulcan father lost the debate that determined what planet I was raised on. Before the Acadamy, I went to an Earthen public school, Gaz."

"Fuckin' hell you two, not the time," Ghost chastised. "Gotta work out what that bastard wants from us."

"Could be they want to kickstart a war against the Federation, relations have been easing in the past few-" Gaz cut himself off as the doors opened.

Makarov stepped through into the brig. "How lucky was I to have Captain Jonathan Price's crew, led by the Ghost, stumble on the ship I hadn't gotten around to destroying yet."

"What've the Captain or I got to do with you?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember us, Klivan! Not after our grand impact on your childhood."

Ghost closed his eyes and took a deep breath, setting his jaw.

"Now you remember me. I'll fill your underlings in. I was just an Uhlan, aboard the Perseus. A Klingon traitor sent us the codes to Khitomer's security system. Your Ghost was the only survivor."

Ghost's history was not frequently discussed on the ship, but his presence as a Klingon in Starfleet command made it clear that his life was full of unusual circumstances.

"And on top of that, your Captain is the one who convinced my previous Commander, that ryakna, to abandon the honor of our great Empire."

"The Cap's peace negotiations under Laswell? Not letting another Federation ship blow you all up for your secret base in the Neutral Zone? That's what this is about?" Gaz looked incredulous.

"He should have defended the great Romulan Empire! Why should we listen to rules set by your Federation." Makarov sneered. "The might of our great fleet could have destroyed all the Federation sent after us."

As Makarov continued on about the power of the Romulan Empire, the science officer tuned out. She focused instead on attempting to work out a method for contacting Captain Price from what was likely at least an astronomical unit away. She'd already ruled out the possibility of accessing their communicator unit, cobbling a communicator out of their tricorder, and breaching access on the communicator of the Warbird.

"But what sweet revenge, taking the sole Klivan survivor and two other crew from that peacenik, your Captain Price. How poetic that you will start the empirical expansion my people have been deprived of. I will return for you when your Federation breaks their own rules."

As Makarov left the brig, a quiet tension fell over the officers.

Gaz was the first to break the silence. "Do you think the Cap would be mad enough to follow after without getting Laswell up to speed?"

"Will the Romulan contacts deem this an acceptable reaction from Price in the case that he is this mad?" They buried their face in their hands.

"It doesn't matter what Price does, so long as we get the fuck off this damn ship."

"Ghost, what he said about your parents-"

"Doesn't matter."

"I know it doesn't, but I just want you to know you're allowed to be angry about this even if you don't remember it."

"Interesting take, coming from the Vulcan," Gaz interrupted.

"Half Vulcan. Born and raised on Earth."

"Neither of you are helpin'. Migh' as well just wait for Price 'f you're gonna keep gettin' distracted." Ghost pressed his hands against the force field of his cell. As each officer sought out their cells' unlikely flaws, they listened for any sounds around them.

After what could have been anywhere between ten minutes and an hour of searching, a set of footsteps approached them.

"Your Captain has demanded proof of life from us. Your scientist is coming with me." A Romulan with a jagged scar running down his face entered the brig. He approached the center cell and bound their hands, escorting them out of the brig.

The half-Vulcan yanked her arm from the Romulan's hold. "I can walk myself." She then ignored Gaz's protests, hoping that they were unnecessary.

Following a long walk, she was escorted onto a dark bridge. The Enterprise Bridge was displayed on the large monitor in front of the room. Price was in his Captain's chair, Soap above and behind him at the security panel. Both sets of eyes gently lightened at their Junior-grade, visibly unharmed and still slightly fighting their escort.

"See, Captain, unharmed. The other two are in the same condition, but I couldn't just release all of them, you see." Makarov brushed his hand across her face, earning three sets of glares.

"Lieutenant, are you, Gaz, and Ghost okay?" Price ignored Makarov's assurance.

Before she could begin her sentence, Makarov grasped her by her chin. As she wrenched herself from his hands, he spoke. "You've seen she's alive. My patience wears thin."

Even with the distance, she could see Soap's knuckles grip his console. "We're not followin' ye into the fuckin' Neutral Zone without word from her. S'bad enough ye didn' let our First Officer up."

"When I got grabbed to come up, Gaz and Ghost were okay. I wouldn't trust-" Makarov's hand clamped over her mouth, cutting her off. She had to fight the urge to bite the bastard.

"I didn't bring her up here to give away all of my surprises. Return her to the brig." Makarov looked over his shoulder to the scarred Romulan, who had brought her up.

She fought damn near the entire way back down, leading to another Romulan joining her escort. While she knew it would be fruitless, doing nothing felt more wrong. She felt like she'd wasted any opportunity to formulate a plan with the Captain, and hadn't fought against their captor enough to be respectable. Would Soap judge her, or, worse, would Price?

She shook the thought from her mind just as she returned to the brig. They moved her to the cell previously occupied by the Ferengi, where she was now unable to see Ghost and considerably farther from Gaz. They left her hands bound, and one sat at the guard station.

Unwilling to risk giving intel to the guard, all three sat in relative silence once she confirmed that Price had been in contact.

Gaz was humming an old Earthen song she couldn't quite place. Every so often, she would sigh dramatically. Ghost was the only one to remain entirely silent.

After about an hour, the guard received three trays at the door and delivered one to each occupied cell. Each tray contained an unappetizing green biscuit and a small cup of a grey drink. She and Gaz each took a half-hearted bite; Ghost refused to even look at the tray.

The half-Vulcan stood from the tray without taking a second bite. Instead, she chose to lay in the cot and nap—what was the worst that could happen?

It seemed that the worst that could happen was the ship going into a red alert, their guard leaving them trapped as he went to a battle station. The emergency lights flashed, and she could understand almost every other word of a Romulan emergency alert.

The alert seemed to indicate that they were under attack not by the Federation but by another Romulan vessel. She rubbed her bleary eyes and stood up.

"Just our luck— someone's attacking, and it's not Price." She smacked at the force field holding her in the cell. She could hear Ghost attacking his barrier as well and could see Gaz beginning to do the same.

"How do you know it's not Cap?" Gaz paused his attack.

"The emergency alert specified something about a T'liss, a bird-of-prey. They'd have said ih'calear if they'd translated the Enterprise's class."

"Since when do you know Romulan?" Ghost's voice echoed from the cell to her right.

"It's really not too far of a leap from Vuhlkansu, Commander. I took a couple classes in it at the Academy."

The alarm continued to go off, and the half-Vulcan did her best not to fret. From the size difference alone, a bird-of-prey against a warbird shouldn't have even been a blip in the radar. She strained to hear about a d'deridex, another warbird, but the alert kept repeating that the combat was against a T'liss class vessel.

What would a separate Romulan general do if one found them in this brig? Would they seek to continue the relative peace with the Federation by releasing them back to the Enterprise, or would they decide that the three weren't worth their lives and kill them, or worse, send them to a Romulan prison?

"Junior-grade, I can feel you worrying through the damn wall. Price or Laswell'll come, stop your fuckin' panickin'." She snapped out of her anxious spiral, mumbling a bit of gratitude to her commanding officer.

It took nearly an hour before the alert stopped its loop. It took a further forty minutes for anyone to check the brig. None of them expected the familiar Romulan to be the one to walk through the door, followed by their previous guard.

"Nikolai, you were the bird-of-prey?" Gaz beamed. The negotiations between Nikolai, Price, and Laswell predated the half-Vulcan's time as a bridge officer, but she had seen him on the screen, briefly, as she'd taken some data from the bridge.

"Best ship I could get with little notice from Laswell. Heard my old sublieutenant was causing issues."

"Thought you'd finally gotten out of military work, Nik. How'd you get even a lil' thing like that?"

"I have friends everywhere, Ghost."

The scarred guard reluctantly opened each cell door and unbound the wrists of the Klingon and the half-Vulcan. Ghost didn't respond, but she rubbed her wrists before introducing herself to Nikolai. Ghost grabbed all of the confiscated equipment, taking it for his crew.

"Good to meet you. Let's get you all back to the Enterprise, where you belong." He escorted the trio to the vehicle bay, where a bird-of-prey waited. Nikolai took control of the ship and navigated it towards the Federation edge of the Neutral Zone.

"Why would Makarov release us to you?" The half-Vulcan couldn't keep from questioning.

"The daeus would never have approved of Makarov's methods. The only way his plan worked was if it flew under the radar that he had blatantly disregarded the treaty in a way that was so obvious to the Federation." Ghost cut in for Nikolai.

"Basically. Definitely helped that after I retired from military, I started working for a Senator who wants peace with your Federation."

The return to the border of the Neutral Zone felt much shorter despite taking nearly twice the time. They flew with easy conversations with Nikolai, who admonished any crew who even thought about engaging in distasteful behavior towards their guests.

As they neared the Enterprise, Gaz couldn't convince Nikolai to come aboard and visit with Price. While Ghost stayed out of the enticement, the science officer leaned on and encouraged Gaz.

"We've done enough stretching of Algeron Treaty. Your Enterprise nearly got a light-year in to the Neutral Zone before getting the sense to contact me."

The trio gave Nikolai their fond farewells, and Soap came over their communicators to organize their transport onto the Enterprise. After they shimmered onto the transporter pad, Soap and Price ushered all three to the medical bay.

After being medically cleared and cleaning up, the bridge crew sat down for dinner in the Captain's quarters. Price had yet to emerge with his contribution to the otherwise replicated meal.

"How did you know to get Nikolai involved?" Gaz sat across from Soap.

"Mate, d'you ken that Vulcans are telepathically inclined? Our scientist thought so loudly abou' Makarov's plan that I could hear it from the Enterprise. Turned our ass around and Laswell got in contact with Nik." Soap leaned to his left and ruffled her hair.

Pointed ears warming, she pushed Soap's hand away. "MacTavish, maybe you've just got massive range on your crazy Betazoid telepathy."

Soap persisted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Hen, I'd have heard the Lt. or Gaz if it was just that. You were loud an' clear from a light year away."

Price's door opened to the Captain, holding three bottles of wine. "I thought we all deserved somethin' a little stronger than synthehol after the shit we dealt with."

Ghost nodded from his position across from the half-Vulcan as Price took his seat between them at the head of the table. Price opened the wines, handing them out to each officer to fill their cup with their selected beverage.

The bridge crew ate with light chatter, deliberately avoiding the topic of the overly-Empirical Commander. There would be plenty of time to discuss the ambitious Romulan in the coming days.

The half-Vulcan struggled to ignore the touchy nature of the Betazoid to her left and the Captain's comforting touches on her hand. She focused on her meal and the First Officer across from her, not wanting the Betazoid to sense her flushed discomfort.

Ghost had never fully removed his mask in front of her before. She tried not to think about how ruggedly attractive he was, letting loose with his friends and her. Was she a friend now? Her line of thinking left her confused and slightly flustered, though she hoped it indicated that he at least thought of her as a friend. "Junior-grade, you've picked your drink up and sat it back down without taking a sip three times now. You can relax, luvvie."

Never in a million years would she have anticipated the First Officer using a pet name for her. She could have sworn her pointed ears were so warm that they were steaming, a flush spreading across her entire head. She choked on the sip she took to hide her embarrassment.

Soap patted her back to help her cough as Gaz gently admonished Ghost. "Our girl doesn't need that shit from you, Ghost." Ghost just laughed, seemingly in on the joke.

A stern "Boys!" from Price seemed to end the joke that the half-Vulcan was trapped outside of. The other three sat up straighter for the briefest of moments, playing into a joke.

After a more collective evening of conversation, the bridge crew each returned to their quarters. The half-Vulcan donned her sleep clothes and lay in bed, questioning the day's events. Her thoughts drifted between her Romulan abduction, the unaccounted-for Ferengi, and the dinner—what had Price meant when he called her "their girl?"

As the day drifted out, she imagined what strange new worlds they may encounter the next day.

Star Trek Guide (probably a little inaccurate, there's so much star trek in the world):

Klingons: humanoid warrior species with pronounced forehead ridges that go to about the coronal suture of the human skull. they often have long dark hair and distinctive facial hair- in essentially perpetual conflict with Romulans for the majority of the 23rd and 24th centuries

Betazoids: humanoid species with no physical differences from humans except for pure black irises. they have telepathy in both concrete thoughts and emotions

Vulcans: humanoid species that pride themselves on logic above all else. Many are capable of a form of telepathy known as a mind meld, which is part of the intimate life of Vulcans. They are closely related to Romulans. Both Vulcans and Romulans have upturned eyebrows and pointed ears. prior to 370 AD, Vulcans were very warlike. A philosopher at the time led the transformation of society from violence to logic (Spock is a notable half-human-half-Vulcan)

Romulans: humanoid species that prioritizes conquest, in conflict with the Federation and Klingons. as Vulcan evolved from violence to peace, some dissented and left the planet to settle on the other two planets in that star system. Romulans were born from the dissenting Vulcans and indigenous populations of the settled planets. Some Romulans also have brow ridges in a "V" on their foreheads, although others are indistinguishable from Vulcans.

Ferengi: humanoid species that prioritizes profit above all else, and are notorious for their misogyny.. typically hairless, with large skulls, disproportionately large ears and brow ridges, orange skin, blue fingernails, and sharp teeth. (yk what no matter how accurately you describe the Ferengi, it's difficult to picture them without a picture)

[pilots-and-protons]

Had a crazy idea the other day, when I was thinking about how Tom Paris is one of the only main crewmembers who didn't have some kind of Borg stuff happen to him (other than the Doctor, of course).

Obviously Seven is already borg, but Chakotay briefly experienced the mini-collective in "Unity", Neelix and Harry were both cured by Borg nanoprobes (plus Harry had started to be assimilated by the Borg children), and of course Janeway, Tuvok, and B'Elanna were briefly assimilated too.

But because I'm me, I started pondering about "Threshold" and the fascinating potential of Tom being everywhere in the universe simultaneously, but how it all "slipped away" when he tried to remember - to process it after the fact. Because surely, a human brain simply can't comprehend something of that magnitude.

But what if it all was still there - just inaccessible, in a way. I imagine it would be like trying to run a game on a computer that isn't powerful enough - the basic game can download (barely), but if you actually tried to play it, nothing would properly load or function. What if everything Tom experienced at Warp 10 was in there somewhere, but just too vast and incomprehensible for him to access?

And then what if a Borg drone tried to assimilate him?

I like to imagine a scenario where Tom gets caught on an away mission during some Borg fiasco - but when those tubules go into his neck, when the drone links into Tom's mind to bring him into the collective, that Borg gets the surprise of a lifetime. Suddenly it's not one human brain unable to access this vast expanse of experience and memories - it's millions of species, working like one giant super-processor, and suddenly that "inaccessible" part of Tom's mind comes flooding out.

It would be like sending a feedback-loop through a machine to short-circuit it. Suddenly every Borg on the ship (maybe even others close enough within the collective hivemind), are flooded with more information and memories than they can possibly process at one time, coming from a singular source. Every cybernetic implant in the drone who initiated the assimilation overloads, and it collapses in an unresponsive heap.

Of course, Tom would hardly be much better off. It's like his brain exploded, first forced to try and comprehend the expansive collective of the hivemind, then flooded by memories and experiences he thought were all lost. Everything he saw, everywhere he was - all mixed in with the terrified screams of thousands of voices being overwhelmed and dying. When the drone collapses, Tom follows suit - his poor human brain unable to comprehend it all and shutting down to save itself.

When the others find him, he's unconscious, blood oozing from his nose and the injection sites in his neck. He's pale and clammy, but not the ashen color of a freshly-made Borg. The drone is lying beside him, dead - yet signs of struggle are clearly minimal. No one is sure what actually happened.

Tuvok and whoever else are in the away team are all completely perplexed. One moment they were trying to fend off the Borg in other parts of the Cube, then they heard Tom's screams echo through the ship and suddenly one by one, every drone seemed to fritz out and collapse. B'Elanna and Harry try checking the Borg systems, but they can't understand what they're seeing. All they can tell is that it looks like something burnt out every system, spreading from the inside out - both in the ship and the drones themselves like some kind of cascade failure.

Taking their chance to escape, the away team beams back to Voyager, with Tom sent straight to sickbay. When the Doctor gets ahold of him, he's shocked to see that the assimilation process had been started - but something had halted it. Nanoprobes have to be removed from Tom's body, but the interlink node that should have connected him to the collective is completely burned out even before the Doctor removes it. After surgery to remove the Borg tech and to repair some damage done to Tom's brain, they have to wait for him to wake up.

In the meantime, the other senior staff share what they know and what knowledge they gained from the Borg cube. B'Elanna and Seven come to the conclusion that there was some kind of cascade failure, and that the interconnectedness of the Borg meant that when it hit one, it hit all the rest. Janeway is excited by the prospect - that the Borg's greatest strength, their hivemind, could become their downfall if they can only figure out how to recreate what happened. Seven takes what scans she can from the Cube's systems before they depart, but it will take time to reconstruct all the damaged and fragmented data.

Of course, when Tom wakes up in Sickbay, he's initially pretty disoriented. He doesn't remember exactly what happened, too confused by the voices from the collective, and once more unable to comprehend the Warp 10 experiences. He explains that he remembers feeling the injection tubules piercing his skin, feeling terror and disgust at the idea of losing himself as a Borg, but then it's like... static in his brain. Just a faint memory of pressure and pain that he can't understand. When the Doctor assures him that there's no longer anything physically wrong with him, Tuvok suggests that perhaps a mind-meld will be able to help them. Tom's memories may be fragmented due to his injuries and the trauma of the experience, but Tuvok may be able to parse out what happened with the Borg.

The Doctor is, as usual, skeptical of the dangers of such a thing - especially so soon after Tom's recovery. But when he hears what the others experienced and why Janeway wants to know what happened, Tom agrees to the meld anyways.

Meanwhile, I also like to think that this strange occurrence was felt by the Borg Queen. Due to the time it would likely take for information to reach the center of the collective, I imagine only the drones closest to the away team's Cube would have been destroyed or otherwise incapacitated. Because of this, the Queen would have some knowledge of what happened - gleaned from fragments of the dying drones' collective consciousnesses. Mostly, she just felt hundreds of drones inexplicably ceasing to function and knew that, at the heart of it, somehow the crew of Voyager were involved. So she sends out a sort of scouting party, to find the ruined cube and to gather more information. Whatever had created this unknown threat - it has to be eliminated.

Back on Voyager, the meld doesn't exactly go as planned. Tuvok had melded with Tom once before after the Banean incident - but this was entirely different. He sees, experiences the sensations, as Tom is captured and the tubules are injected. But then everything becomes... almost incomprehensible. There is pain, fear - and the voice of the collective, their multi-faceted mantra of "resistance is futile, prepare to be assimilated". But intercut with this is something else entirely - space, a shuttlecraft, a feeling of inexplicable freedom. Then Earth, Starfleet headquarters, and a Klingon battle cruiser - voices from the Romulan high counsel, and the inside of an abandoned Cardassian station. Even more flood his mind - some arguing Kazon, though it seems to be a sect unfamiliar to them, a planet unknown to Federation star charts, creatures and places and people that Tuvok has no point of reference for. The images and sensations keep overlapping and coming faster, more intense, until Tuvok can also feel the screams of the Borg, feels the pain pain pain - and he has to force himself to sever the link before his own mind is drawn asunder.

In Sickbay, he stumbles back, caught by Janeway and Chakotay. Tuvok is surprised by the toll such a meld had on him, and even more so at the blood dripping from his own nose. Janeway kindly brings him a tissue and asks if he is alright. The Doctor is hovering, going back and forth between scanning Tuvok and Tom - the latter of which is only just coming around. He eventually asks what happened, trying to sit up but being overcome by a wave of dizziness. The Doctor insists he lie down, and for once Tom doesn't argue. He does admit, however, that partway through the meld it was like his mind just hit a wall and he must have passed out. He doesn't really remember anything.

After much fussing and a few hyposprays, the Doctor tells them that both Tom and Tuvok will be alright - but that they both need to rest for at least the next twenty-four hours. Whatever happened put a great deal of strain on their bodies both physically and mentally, and he once more chides Vulcans on their "recklessness in playing with the humanoid brain". He also give Tom a mild sedative to ensure that he doesn't try to overexert himself.

While Tom sleeps, Tuvok takes the time to meditate and regain his bearings. Afterwards, Janeway brings him some tea in her ready room and asks if he can try to explain what he saw. Tuvok says that the experience was quite disturbing, but that after familiarizing himself with Tom's records, he has begun to come up with a plausible hypothesis. He says that many of the things he saw in Tom's memories shouldn't have been possible - such as the unfamiliar Kazon sect, and the various worlds and humanoids that they have no record of. When Janeway asks if this could have come from the Borg, Tuvok says that it is unlikely - each person's perception leaves a sort of imprint on their own memories, like an artist's signature or the codes used to denote a federation signal in a communique. While the thoughts of the collective were briefly present in Tom's mind, as soon as he became linked to it, these other memories exploded out. The only explanation Tuvok can offer forth is that Tom's brain retained some encoding of his experiences with transwarp flight, which were previously too vast for him to consciously comprehend. The capacity of the humanoid brain to process information must have expanded exponentially with the aid of the collective, and these experiences were once again accessible. However, the onslaught was too much for even the Borg to handle, which completely overloaded their inorganic systems.

He expresses that it seems, Tom unintentionally became a living, breathing Trojan Horse for the collective - without anyone being aware of it. The supposed "weapon" that Janeway was hoping for is, unfortunately Tom Paris himself.

[helluvatrek]

Me and @kermit-the-fag-official made some dumb ships so here’s the fanfic💀

Their fic: https://www.tumblr.com/kermit-the-fag-official/769167417183207424

Tuvix x Lizard Janeway

Chapter 1:Bro is lowkey wild for that

Chakotay was extremely enraged as he watched Tuvix step off the transporter pad. “GRRRRR!!!” he exclaimed. “First, our helmsman and captain become lizards, and now our security officer and lunch lady became one person!!!.”

“Erm…ackshully,” Tuvix said, “Neelix is not a female, and he does a lot more than prepare lunch.”

Chakotay hissed. “I DID NOT ASK FOR YOUR OPINION.” He proceeded to throw Tuvix against the wall.

“Not nice, man.” Tuvix said. “I was like, just born. Can’t you cut me a break?”

“NOOOOO!!!! GRRRRRR!!!!”

Kes nonchalantly entered the transporter room. She looked at Tuvix and started blushing. He’s such a rizzler, She thought.

“ARGGHHH YOU STUPID FURRY!!!” Chakotay yelled at Tuvix.

“Erm, what the sigma are you doing?” Kes asked.

Chakotay turned around and realized she was there. He started blushing kawaii like a schoolgirl in an anime. “Erm, I was just chatting with my new friend.”

Kes looked at him in disbelief. “Bro stfu you’re not an alpha. Also The Doctor asked me to take ermmmm….Neebok to sick bay.”

“Erm…ackshully, my name is Tuvix; a combination of the names of my fathers.”

“Wait,” Kes said. “TUVOK AND NEELIX ARE MARRIED!? AND THEY HAVE A CHILD!?”

“Um no,” Tuvix exclaimed in a rather annoyed tone. “I am a unique person with the combined DNA, knowledge, and memories of Tuvok and Neelix. I call them my fathers because they did create me using their DNA, so it would only be logical to do so.”

“Just put the fries in the bag, bro.” Kes said, “It’s time to go to sick bay.”

Chapter 2: wtf moment💀

As soon as the turbo lift doors closed Kes started moaning violently and Tuvix was lowkey a traumatized mf at this point. “Hrrrnnbhhhfggggggg.” Kes mumbled. “Finally, someone lowkey chill as Tuvok, and as much skibidi rizz as my alpha Neelix.”

“Erm,” said Tuvix, “I’ll have you know that I have only been living for about twenty minutes and I am too young to lose my virginity.”

Kes looked at Tuvix in a sarcastic way. “Bro lowkey forgot I’m one year old. Imagine, could never be me.”

Tuvix was concerned. “So you’re telling me you’re not a virgin?”

“Erm, I thought you said you have the combined memories of Tuvok and Neelix.” Kes bombastic side eyed.

��Well, about that…..ermmmmm I’m just a forgetful person.”

Kes didn’t care so she continued moaning violently. I need to get him pregnant. She thought.

Finally, the turbo lift doors opened and B’elanna Torres was standing outside.

“Oh, skibidi!” Kes said in a frustrated tone indeed. “I forgot to halt the doors. No wonder it was hard to looksmaxx.”

B’elanna nonchalantly looked at Kes, then at Tuvix. “Who tf are you!?” She asked him.

“I’m Tuvix.” he said.

“Bruh.” B’elanna exclaimed and then she proceeded to enter the turbo lift.

“Whoa buddy, who do think you are?” Kes said in a preppy ahh way. She pushed her.

“Chat, aren’t you going to sick bay with this beta?” B’elannna growled. “Cuz sick bays on this deck, y’know.”

Kes hissed. “HOW DARE YOU CALL MY ALPHA SIGMA DISCORD KITTEN A BETA!!!!” B’elanna rolled her eyes and yeeted Tuvix and Kes into sick bay. B’elanna barked at them to make sure they didn’t come back into the turbo lift.

Chapter 3: Tuvix meets lizard Janeway

Tuvix was rather annoyed indeed that Kes kept touching him. Not as annoyed as The Doctor when he entered the room.

“Oh,” said Kes, “Hi, doctor.” Tuvix could see her blushing like Chakotay did earlier. Bruh, he thought. Why is blud like this? “This is my alpha, Tuvix. Tuvok and Neelix got in a transporter accident.”

“Argghhh,” said The Doctor. “No one ever tells me what’s going on around here.”

Suddenly, Tuvix’s ears bled. “ERMMM!!!! WHAT IN THE ACKSHULLY IS THAT SONG!?”

The Doctor was super pissed. “I’ll have you know that this is my favorite song.” He said angrily. He sang, “FROM THE SCREEN TO THE RING TO THE PEN TO THE KING WHERES MY CROWN THATS MY BLING ALWAYS DRAMA WHEN I RING!!!!!”

“Bro actually thought he ate.” Tom Paris said while laying on the bio beds. He still had some lizard characteristics, such as the tail, so it was really hard for him to mew without having to change his gyatt position every 5 seconds. Janeway was there too, and as Tuvix looked at her, he realized he was blushing in the same way Kes and Chakotay were.

“Hey you beta!” Janeway called to The Doctor. “Who is this mf?”

The Doctor sighed. “Tuvok and Neelix got combined bruh.”

“Bro…that sucks.”

“REAL!” The Doctor exclaimed. “He doesn’t even like my music taste!”

Janeway mewed. “Blud no KSI song is a bop wtf man.”

Tuvix tried not to giggle, because Janeway was so rizzful.

“So, when are we gonna get Tuvok and Neelix back?” Janeway asked The Doctor.

“Soon,” he said, with a huge smirk on his face.

“NOOOOO!!!!” Tuvix cried. “PLEASE GIVE ME A CHANCE TO PROVE MYSELF AN ALPHA MALE!!!!”

Janeway looked at Tuvix, and she realized he had kind of a jawline. “Have you been mewing lately?” She asked.

“No?”

“Bruh never mind.”

Chapter 4: THE EPIC EDGING BATTLE pt 1: Tom Paris is moaning

“HES MY EDGER!!” Kes screamed angrily. “HOW DARE YOU TRY TO RIZZ HIM UP!!!” Janeway was very angry so she yeeted Kes with her lizard tail.

“GRRRRRRRR!!” Kes exclaimed. “SKIBIDI TOILET AHH TAIL!!”

Janeway lowkey didn’t really care cause she was just a chill guy who lowkey didn’t really care.

The Doctor looked at Tom Paris.

Tom Paris moaned, “If you don’t hawk tuah, then I won’t talk tuah.”

The Doctor sighed and then proceeded to spit on that thang.

“Ugggghhhh,” Paris mogged. “Now glaze my lizard toes.”

The Doctor looked at how dry and sad his toes were. “Only if it gives you aura.”

Meanwhile, Tuvix was watching Janeway and Kes fight. “THATS IT!” Janeway announced. “I CHALLENGE YOU…..TO AN EPIC EDGING BATTLE!!!”

The Doctor gasped. “Did I hear what I thought I heard?” He smiled. “Ah, I remember the first edging battle on this ship.”

Kes rolled her eyes.

The Doctor continued, “It was when we first lost our aura-“

“GRRRRRR!!!!” Janeway screamed. “SILENCE!!!” Tuvix watched quietly as Janeway and Kes edged violently. Kes moaned….Janeway moaned….they both moaned…. The Doctor was still getting Tom Paris oiled up. Tuvix was still worried about his aura points.

“Gyatttttt.” Said Tom.

“Bruh,” said The Doctor.

“Shush.”

“Okay…..Alpha.” Tom moaned freakily.

Suddenly someone yelled, “SKIBIDI TOILET!!! ENSIGN KIM IS PREGNANT!!”

Chapter 5: THE EPIC EDGING BATTLE pt 2: Ensign Kim is pregnant

“But how?” The Doctor asked. “He can’t be pregnant, he’s a man.”

B’elanna explained, “So you know that Quinn guy? Well it turns he and Harry Kim secretly fell in love and so Quinn used his magic aura points to make him pregnant.”

Harry Kim was furious. “Doctor, B’elanna is lying. Chakotay is the father.”

The Doctor lowkey didn’t really care, because he was still in the middle of massaging Tom’s lizard toes.

“Bruh,” Tom said to Kim, “YOU MOG SOMEONE ELSE, HUH?! YOU STUPID BETA! THATS IT, WERE NOT RIZZING NO MORE!!!”

Kim looked at him awkwardly, “Erm, we were never dating, what the sigma are you talking about? Also, why is The Doctor getting you oiled up?”

Tom was cooked.

Meanwhile, Janeway and Kes were still doing their epic edging battle. Janeway was edging so fast barely anyone could identify her aura. Kes got blinded by the light of her mewing. “NOOOO!!!” Said Kes, “AHHHHHH!!!” Janeway’s streak of edging light was so powerful that it lowkey ate and left no crumbs. Kes died.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!” B’elanna cried, “MY UWU COTTAGE CORE DISCORD KITTEN!!!!”

Harry smirked. “Maybe you shouldn’t have lied to The Doctor about who the father to my child is!!!”

“The gacha heat is wild.” Tuvix exclaimed.

“SHUT UP, TUVIX!!!! NO ONE LIKES YOU!!!” B’elanna yelled angrily.

Tuvix lost so much aura that he never won a dress to impress game ever again.

Chapter 6: Tuvix gets unalived I think

“Golly gee,” Janeway announced. “Looks like I won the epic edging battle.”

Tuvix blushed. “Now we can get 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂.”

The Doctor sighed. “Well, sorry to burst yer bubble, but I have just found a way to bring Tuvok and Neelix back. And also to make you lizard folk human again.”

“GRRRRRRR!!!!” said Janeway.

Tuvix knew what he had to do because queen never cry. “WAIT! THEY DONT LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU!!!!!!”

The Doctor side eyed bro. “Chat, I barely know you.”

Tuvix was lowkey cooked. He looked at the dead body of Kes. “Erm, shouldn’t we have a funeral for bro or smth?”

B’elanna blushed kawaii just thinking about her. Tom Paris started hitting the griddy. Harry was in labor. The Doctor was rewriting his program subroutines to emit the perfect jawline.

Tuvix sighed. No one cares about me. “Do it,” he said sadly, “Kill me. I deserve it. I’m a mistake.” He said to The Doctor.

“Just put the fries in the bag bro.”

Bro did the transporter thing and now Tuvok and Neelix are mewing again. The Doctor also cured Janeway and Tom’s incurable beta disease somehow.

“Erm, hi Mr. Vulcan, I mean…alpha male…I’m your discord kitten, right?” Neelix said in his gacha life male anime protagonist ahh voice.

“No, wtf-“ Tuvok was cut off as he heard Harry moan violently.

“Oh my sigma!” B’elanna exclaimed. “It’s a lizard baby!!”

“That’s enough sick bay for today.” Tom said as he proceeded to leave.

“We can be a polycule right?” Janeway and Tuvok asked Neelix.

“Sure skibidi slicers.”

THE END😤😤😤

[talshiargirlfriend]

Spy-ay-ay-ay continues to eat my brain. @candiedsumire and @deadheaddaisy I know, I have left you hanging. I promise we’ll get back to the “present day” morning after soon, but first I thought we needed some backstory vibes (that sounds suspiciously like plot talk… 😒)

Set slightly before the gala:

Trip frowned at the control panel in concentration and then several things happened all at once.

There was a high-pitched whine he couldn’t quite place just as a blur of movement flashed through his peripheral vision and he hit the ground hard with a loud thud.

T’Pol had him pinned to the floor as she scanned the area for potential danger and damage.

That was an impressive reaction, even for a Vulcan, and it wasn’t the first time she had responded to a situation so… vehemently. A seed of suspicion was beginning to take root in his mind.

“Are you all right?” she asked him, lightly touching the side of his face and inspecting him for injury.

The other members of the team looked on with expressions ranging from mild surprise to outright shock.

Rostov reached for a fire extinguisher to deal with the sparks from the overloaded panel as Kelly hit the alarm.

“I’m fine.”

Truthfully, he was a little dazed, but he was not about to say so. It had very little to do with shock or the impact with the floor and a whole lot to do with the way her body was pressed against his - for such a slight-looking woman, she was solid - and the intent way her eyes were searching his face in concern. So no, he was not going to admit that. Not for access to all the engineering schematics in the Vulcan Archive.

She pursed her lips and straightened up a bit.

The suspicion began to blossom, painting a dubious expression on his face. “You…”

“We will discuss this later,” T’Pol said abruptly, standing up and offering him a hand in assistance.

He opened his mouth, but she continued in a low voice. “After we have evacuated the laboratory and assessed the situation.”

Fair enough. He accepted her hand and stood up, dusting himself off.

“Later,” he confirmed, meeting her eye seriously.

Later turned out to be after another two days and as many incidents.

“Ok, so what’s your deal?” Trip asked when he managed to get her on her own again.

“I don’t understand the question.” T’Pol said blandly.

Sure, maybe she didn’t, or maybe she wanted to annoy and frustrate him until he gave up. He cut to the chase. “You worked in security before you got here? Or intelligence? Maybe you still do?”

She hesitated, looking at him intently before answering. “Prior to seeking this assignment I was attached to the Ministry of Security as an intelligence agent.”

He nodded. There was heavy security surrounding the project. It wasn’t all that surprising the Vulcans would want one of their own keeping an eye on things from the inside. After all, not everyone on Earth - or within Starfleet - was thrilled with sharing technology and working this closely with their allies from another world. Despite their ongoing cultural revolution, the same could probably be said of Vulcan.

T’Pol unknowingly echoed his thoughts. “Our commitment to honouring Surak’s teachings has led my people to value increased cooperation with Earth as a valued ally. However, there remain those opposed to any sharing of technology, those who view this project and all close ties with your planet as a threat to Vulcan’s sovereignty and future interests.”

She paused. “There are concerns about the safety of key members of the Technology Integration Team. I was asked to assess the credibility of those concerns.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Do you think there’s a chance Matt’s heart attack wasn’t just caused by stress?”

She spoke plainly. “I do.”

As horrifying as that was to contemplate, it was nice to have his own fears validated. His shoulders slumped. “Me too. I mean, sure, this is an important project - monumental, even, and leading it is a lot of responsibility, but he’s healthier than a horse … something just seems off. You never really know what’s going on in someone’s head, but I have never met a man with a better work-life balance than Captain Jefferies. We finish early every Friday so he can watch his youngest kid play baseball!”

Worry for Captain Jefferies and the rest of the team gnawed at him.

“Commander… you are also a key member of the team.”

He nodded vaguely.

She paused and when he said nothing, she added, “In light of recent events I have been tasked with … monitoring you in particular.”

He frowned as he picked up her meaning. “What? They assigned you to be my bodyguard? Gonna stay within two meters of me at all times?” Trip snarked.

T’Pol just looked at him.

“Wait, seriously?”

“It was suggested I seduce you to position myself optimally to deal with any developing threats.”

He choked on a breath and stared at her. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

T’Pol clasped her hands behind her back, giving away nothing.

The devil on his shoulder gave him a poke. “And you’re sure this isn’t a roundabout way of inviting me into your bed?” Trip asked with a teasing smirk.

She bristled. “Quite sure, Commander.”

He grinned and raised a placating hand. “All right, SubCommander, stand down. I’m only joking. But I still don’t understand. You weren’t originally sent here by V’Shar?”

She gave a faint shake of her head.

“Then how did you get assigned to the project?”

T’Pol raised her chin in defiance. “I expressed my interest and was awarded a position on this team on merit.”

“Oh no, I know. You really know your stuff. But I mean, there’s been a lot of advancement in warp theory and sensor design and well, everything, the last few years. So I guess I’m asking how do you know your stuff?”

“I have followed the scientific developments with great interest, reading papers, viewing seminars, and even attending conferences when the opportunity arose.”

Trip stared at her, incredulous. “I’m sorry. Let me get this straight. You’re telling me you’ve kept current on warp field theory developments, as a hobby, in your free time from being a spy?”

T’Pol blinked and responded seriously, “It is a fascinating field of study.”

He gave a slow shake of his head. “You’re really something else.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Well, it’s sure not an insult,” he said with a half smile and was rewarded when her lips ticked up slightly in response.

T’Pol looked down and canted her head in the way he was beginning to understand signalled vulnerability.

“I was sufficiently motivated. I find scientific inquiry and developing its practical applications a more fulfilling and sustainable career path than remaining in intelligence work.”

He nodded. “All right. So I’ve got myself a pretty little shadow for a while. Let’s get back to work.”

“You are handling this situation with surprising equanimity, Commander.”

“Well, I figure l’ll have time to freak out later… and I think it’s time we were on a first-name basis, T’Pol.”

[rizz-penguin]

it didn't autocorrect it for some reason ???

[arttsuka]

marine biologist spock: "I could not fathom how you arrive here at my doorstep given the long distance between this facility and the ocean."

mer! kirk: "a lot of flopping. and wriggling and squirming and slithering too, to be precise"

mer! mccoy: "dammit, kirk! i'm a merman, not a walking catfish!"

Walking catfish Mccoy...

[adiraofthetals]

I HAD to do one of Scooby doo so here:

[byebyelullabye]

THE LEDGERTONS AND THEIR TWITTER PROFILES

(currently in the middle of putting this on ao3, in the meantime enjoy the twitterscape)

(Made with all images from Pinterest)

LEDGERTON FANS OR LEDGERHEADS ON TWITTER THROUGH THE YEARS:

[lenin-it-to-win-it]

rip spock you wouldve slayed the high school policy debate circuit like no other