#i didn’t include christine because she’s not a bridge officer

[curator-on-ao3]

Okay, so we all know that in “The Cage,” Pike said:

So let’s also remember …

Una

is

in

charge

of

personnel.

[obscure-reference-girl]

Masks &  Misunderstandings Chapter 3

Pairing: Pavel Chekov/Leonard McCoy

Warnings: Swearing (because it’s Bones),

Word Count: 2558

Summary: Leonard thought that a nightclub where you had to wear a mask was  idiotic, but he humored Jim and accompanied him to the club during shore  leave anyway. After Jim fucked off into the crowd of dancing bodies  without so much as a ‘never you mind’, Leonard went looking for him and  found something unexpected. Meet unexpected: sexy, young, blonde...and  if he reminded him a bit too much of a certain Russian navigator he  wasn't going to linger on that thought.

Chapter Summary: Leonard pines over Pavel, wonders why Sulu is pissed at him (golly gee I wonder), and gets an unexpected call from home.

Author’s note: Thank you so much to everyone joining me on this wild ride!

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45899593/chapters/115963387

The day before his two-week STI test Leonard woke in a cold-sweat with an erection. He had spent the previous two weeks resolutely trying NOT to think about the night at the club. He was managing fairly well if you didn’t include when he was sickbay worrying about his two-week STI test…and whenever Jim was around pestering him, trying to figure out who the mystery man could have been…or whenever he woke up with a raging erection. In other words, he was failing miserably. To make matters worse, the mystery man in his dreams now often bore the face of a certain navigator. This only added to the guilt he felt over the fact that he was masturbating more than he had since high school. Jim wasn’t helping either.

When Jim wasn’t bothering Leonard, he was teasing Chekov about his own shore leave escapade making the young man blush the most enticing shade of pink. A flush that only served to remind Leonard of the flush of pale skin beneath his hands as we worked them over the mystery man’s body. Christine was obviously trying to not say anything, but she kept giving Leonard meaningful glances that obviously meant she thought he needed to talk. To top it off, Spock kept shooting him knowing looks that left no doubt in his mind that Jim had told the hobgoblin everything. Jim just couldn’t resist spilling his guts to his first officer regardless of whether he was even asked.

Leonard had also noticed that Lieutenant Sulu seemed to be avoiding him. They weren’t particularly close, but they has always been friendly. He couldn’t remember doing anything to piss-off the pilot, but Sulu kept glaring at Leonard from across the rec room. A few days previously he had even gotten up and left the table he was sitting at in the mess when Leonard sat down to join him. He made some excuse about being done and needing to get back to the bridge, but he had hardly started on his chicken marsala. Len would ask Chekov what was going on with his best friend if it weren’t for the fact that Leonard couldn’t look at him without thinking about the mystery man and how amazing the sex had been.

It really had been amazing too, and yet it had still left Leonard wanting more. He wanted to know what the man’s mouth tasted like, if he had freckles on his nose and cheekbones to match the ones dusting his shoulders. And Fuck, it wasn’t just the physical side of things either. He wanted to know what the man’s laugh sounded like, what his expression would be when Leonard learned exactly where to touch and caress to draw out those delectable gasps. There was a reason that Leonard didn’t do casual sex, he was a god-damned romantic. Logically, he knew that there was no reason for him to be pining over someone he didn’t even know. For all he knew, he would hate the guy if he actually got to know him. He was a doctor. He knew that what felt like a genuine connection was just dopamine and oxytocin and his neurotransmitters being stupid. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if he had done things differently, if he hadn’t seemed to lose all sense. What could have happened? God damn it. He felt ridiculous.

***

Leonard had never quite realized just how much time he spent around Pavel Chekov. You wouldn’t think that a thirty-three year old doctor and a nineteen year old bridge officer would find themselves thrown together particularly often, but it seemed like he couldn’t get away from him. To be fair, Leonard imagined that he spent more time on the bridge than the average CMO. The alpha shift bridge crew was heinously accident prone. He was forever reminding Jim and Spock that they did, in fact, need to eat. And Jim liked to have Len deliver his daily briefings while he sat at command as an excuse to see his best friend. As chief navigator Chekov was included in all senior officer briefings and it seemed like in his off time Chekov was always in medbay doing some equipment update that he’d dreamed up with Scotty. It also didn’t help that they were friends, or at least shared a group of friends. Len always found himself sitting next to Chekov at meals with the other alpha shift crew or sitting across from him at the card table in the rec room - Chekov was shockingly good at Texas hold ‘em and damn if Leonard didn’t find that attractive.

Leonard found himself listening to Chekov babble on about warp cores, dwarf stars, and constellations, things that normally held no interest for Len, but he was suddenly fascinated by whenever it was Chekov explaining it. Similarly, Chekov obliged him by listening to Len carry on about the latest developments in vaccine design and organ regeneration. The kid may not have been a medical officer, but he was a genius. Of course, Jim was also a genius, but he didn’t care a whit about medicine.

The real problem wasn’t that Chekov’s presence had Leonard’s mind in a tail spin of flashbacks to the best sex of his life. Len was learning to live with that. The real problem was that Leonard found himself enjoying spending time with Chekov a little too much.

***

After work, Leonard tried to beg off socialization and escape to his room, but somehow found himself in the rec room playing cards with Scotty, Sulu, and Uhura while Jim and Chekov took turns playing chess with Spock. He was trying to focus on his hand and not the way Pavel’s thumb was pressed against his pillowy lower lip as he chewed on the edge of the nail. Len was about to see Sulu’s call when the communications panel on the wall behind him beeped. He pressed the button and was greeted by the voice of ensign Kelly. Kelly was Uhura’s communications protégé and apparently currently stationed at the comms.

“Hi Dr. McCoy, sorry to interrupt. The computer said you were in the rec room,” Kelly said.

“It’s fine Kelly. What is it?”

“Communication from earth for you sir. Origin Atlanta, Georgia.” Leonard felt his breath leave his lungs. That could only mean one thing, a communication from his parents and daughter. He wasn’t expecting a call which meant that his mind instantly started spinning with all of the injuries his daughter Joanna could have sustained at the farm or on the playground at school.

“Don’t worry sir, it says non-emergent,” Kelly added and Len felt his chest relax. Joanna was his entire world. When his ex-wife Jocelyn left him, she took every last damn thing Leonard had to his name, but she hadn’t gotten Joanna. That was the one thing he had fought tooth and nail over. Though to be honest, Jocelyn had never been the maternal type. She remained in Joanna’s life in a transient capacity, but mostly she was too busy traveling and making her weird-ass art out of interplanetary metals. She certainly had the money to do whatever she damn well pleased with what she had sold their house for. Len and Joanna had moved home to his parent’s farm, but he hadn’t handled being the divorced loser who had to move home very well. He had been drinking too much and decided that Joanna deserved better so he said fuck it and enlisted in Starfleet.

Joanna had lived with her grandparents since Leonard joined up. It had been easier when he was at the academy. He had been able to see her most weekends and didn’t have to miss any school plays or daddy-daughter dances. Things had been considerably more difficult since the Nerada incident and joining the crew of the Enterprise. He saved his leave for whenever they were close enough to earth to make it down to visit her. They also had a standing weekly call during which they ate dinner as a family and Joanna would update him on school, her horse, and any little thing that came to mind. He soaked up every detail, nothing too small or mundane.

           “Should I put it through to the rec room view screen Sir?” Kelly asked. Obviously Leonard had hesitated a little too long, lost in thought.

           “Sure thing.” He said. “Thanks Kelly.”

          Leonard swung chair around fully so that he was seated right in front of the viewscreen and pressed a few buttons to accept the transmission. His parents swam into focus on the screen and he was greeted by his father’s crinkly eyes and his mother’s warm smile.

“Hey Len!” His dad greeted. “I know you and Jo have a call scheduled in a few days, but she just couldn’t wait to tell you-“ He was interrupted by Joanna bouncing onto the screen.

“Hi Daddy,” She exclaimed. Her infectious smile made Len forget about all of his troubles. “I won first place in the science fair!”

“Really, Jo? That’s amazing.” He could practically feel himself glowing with pride. “Your experiment on the effectiveness of dermal regeneration on different species must have been amazing! I knew it would be! You’re always amazing!” She blushed. “I’m glad that Pawpaw was able to get those synthetic skin polymers for you.” His father was a retired surgeon at Atlanta general and still had connections in the research department.

“Actually daddy-“ she began, biting her lip.

“Is that JoJo?” Jim asked brightly as he came to lean over Len’s shoulder.

“Uncle Jim!” She chirped. The captain had been Uncle Jim to Joanna ever since their first break at Starfleet academy when Jim had gone home to visit with Leonard. Joanna had been four years old and unbearably cute. She had ‘Uncah Jim’ wrapped around her finger in about five seconds flat. Leonard and Jocelyn had both been only children so it really was great for her to have more family.

“I was just telling Daddy that I won the science fair!” Joanna informed him.

“That’s great Jo! Hear that guys,” he asked, turning to the others, “Joanna won her science fair!”

Uhura and Sulu gave a cheer and Scotty gave an ‘O’course ya did Lassy!’ The senior crew of the enterprise had become like her extended family.

“It is Joanna?” Chekov asked brightly, sliding into the empty seat next to Leonard. Joanna’s eyes lit up.

“Guess what Pavel, guess what?” Suddenly everyone else in the room ceased to matter. Joanna adored Pavel Chekov. He was energetic and listened to her with genuine interest. She was also fascinated by his job guiding the ship.

“What,” Pavel asked eagerly.

“Our navigational chart of the Andromeda system won!”

“Your what,” Leonard asked in confusion. The last time he had spoken to Joanna he was sure she was planning on dermal regeneration.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you Daddy,” She explained, “After our last call when you had an emergency in sickbay, Pavel and I started talking about the constellations of the Andromeda system and how subspace variations affect their use in navigational charting. I really loved our idea about dermal regeneration, but I wanted to try something new so Pavel’s been helping me with my project!” Len had forgotten about that. The last time he had been talking to Joanna had also been in the rec room. She had wanted to talk with ‘Auntie ‘Hura’ for  a school report on a woman she admired so Leonard had taken the call in the rec room where they could all have a chat. He had been called to sickbay for an emergency and hadn’t been able to make it back before Joanna had been dragged off to bed by his parents. He supposed Chekov must have been there. He knew that Joanna liked Pavel, but he hadn’t realized that she had started to think of him as a part of her little Starfleet family.

“Oh, I-I didn’t realize you knew Lieutenant Chekov quite so well,” He replied dumbly.

“I’m sorry Leonard, I didn’t think to tell you,” Chekov whispered to Len.

“No, no it’s fine,” He said, “I’m just surprised. But that’s great!”

Honestly he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about Chekov becoming more entwined with his family. Of course there was a large part of him that loved it, went all warm and gooey at the thought. But then there was the other part of him that could only think about how much more difficult it would be to ignore his feelings for the younger man.

“Pavel has been wonderful helping Joanna,” Leonard’s mom joined in. Of course he was. Pavel was wonderful with everything. The fact that he was so good with Joanna only made Len fall a little deeper.

“The judges were really impressed with the addition of the sub-space oscillations to the vector equation,” Joanna continued explaining. Leonard just smiled and shook his head in defeat. He was smart of course, but his girl had a mind for physics and space science that she certainly didn’t get from him. It was a good thing that she had Uncle Jim-and apparently Chekov-to help her in that regard.

“Of course they were Joanna,” Pavel exclaimed, “Your ideas were brilliant.” Joanna beamed in response. God Leonard hoped she wasn’t developing a crush on Chekov. That was the last thing he needed. ‘No honey I don’t think that Pavel should be your boyfriend. I was thinking more like your stepfather,’ was not a conversation he ever wanted to have. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he should have a few years until he had worry about Johanna and boys before returning his attention to the conversation.

“I’m real proud of you JoJo.” Len said warmly.

“Thanks Daddy! I know that you don’t have much extra transmission time on the ship so I’ll let you go now. I just really, really wanted to tell you.”

“I’m glad you did JoJo,” He replied sincerely. “Thanks for the call Mom, Pops,” he added.

“Bye Daddy, I love you!” Joanna chirped.

“Bye sweet pea. I love you too!” He reached forward and ended the call.  Jim returned to his chess game with Spock and the rest of them returned to their cards. Chekov hadn’t moved the chair next to Len so he turned to him and quirked an eyebrow.

“You trying to get my kid interested in space?” He asked with mock disdain.

“You know she already is, Len,” Chekov said with a laugh. “You can blame that one on Jim, not me.”

“Hey, don’t go throwing me under the bus!” Jim hollered from the nearby table.

“It’s true Jim,” Leonard said. “Until ‘Uncah Jim’ came along she wanted to be a ballerina, not a damn starship captain.”

“Your girl’s got drive Len,” Sulu pointed out. “She’ll probably outrank all of us someday.”

“Thanks for helping Jo with her project Pav,” Leonard said turning to the younger man with a warm smile. He knew he looked like a damn fool, but he couldn’t help the rush of affection he felt.  He did his best to return his attention to the game at hand and continue riding the wave of happiness that had blocked out what was coming the next day.

[chernobog13]

HAPPY STAR TREK DAY!

(although if you live in Canada, “Star Trek” day was two days ago, because the show was broadcast there first)

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise.  Premiering on the NBC network at 8:30 pm, the country encountered most of the crew of the USS Enterprise for the first time in the episode The Man Trap.

Although it was the first episode broadcast, The Man Trap was actually the sixth episode produces.  However, it was a good choice as a premier because it  included most of the main cast as well as many of the elements that would become staples of the series.

First and foremost being the USS Enterprise, a ship unlike any other ever seen.

Ah, the old NCC-1701!  She is a thing of beauty!

The episode, of course, opens with the familiar voice over “Captain’s log,” which was a wonderful storytelling device for setting the narrative.  But even though we hear Captain Kirk’s voice first (although we don’t know his name yet), Spock is the first major character we see.  The log entry informs us that Spock has been left in charge onboard the Enterprise.

We also get our first glimpse of Lt. Uhura, seated at the navigator’s station.  It won’t be until a little later that we learn that she is the communications officer for the ship.  But this quick scene establishes that the Enterprise’s crew is very diverse (an alien and a Black female both on the bridge), which raised more than a few eyebrows back in 1966.

Next we get our first view of the transporter effect.  There is no explanation given as to what is happening, other than Kirk’s voiceover stating that he and Dr. McCoy are “beaming down” to the planet’s surface.  Star Trek, especially in the early days, decided the audience would be able to figure out what was happening.

Then we get out first look at Captain James Kirk and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy.  The scene immediately establishes the friendship between the two, with Kirk’s gentle teasing of his ship’s doctor.  Also note, this is the shortest you’ll see Kirk’s hair in the entire series.  He’s got a proper military cut here; by the end of the third season he almost looks like a hippie.

There’s also a great bit later on, when Kirk and McCoy are speaking to each other on the ship via viewscreen.  McCoy tells Kirk he’s having trouble sleeping.  Kirk’s reply: “Try taking one of those red pills you gave me last week.  You’ll sleep!”

Throughout the episode we’ve seen Kirk as the tough, no-nonsense, by-the-book captain who commands the respect of the people he leads.  But these bits with McCoy show his humorous, human side that makes him a great character.  I truly miss first season Kirk, especially the first part of the season, because that’s my favorite version of him. 

Peppered throughout the episode are shots establishing many of the other characters  who will become regulars on the series.    Here we have Yeoman Janice Rand, who we learn is the captain’s yeoman and quite popular among the male crew members.

Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand only appeared in eight episodes spread across the first half of the season.  

Rand delivers the tray of food at the botany lab, where we meet Sulu for the first time.

Since this is the first time the audience see Lieutenant Sulu, it would be understandable if it was assumed that he was just a botanist.  Actually, Sulu had a few different positions in the first season (he was a physicist in the second pilot Where No man Has Gone Before, which would be broadcast 2 weeks after The Man Trap).

Surprisingly, Lieutenant Uhura seemed to get the most screen time of all the secondary characters. (not that I’m complaining; Nichelle Nichols is absolutely gorgeous!).  Earlier on the bridge she was flirting with Spock (with Spock subtly tugging on his shirt collar, indicating his discomfort), and then chastising him for his apparent lack of concern when he learned that a member of the landing party is dead.  Here she is being the queen that she is, teaching two other crew members proper turbolift etiquette: you let the person in the lift get out before you get in (same goes for elevators, just in case you didn’t know).

Two other recurring characters, Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and Nurse Christine Chapel, are the only two not seen in this episode.  Scotty’s voice, though is heard on the communicator responding to Kirk from the transporter room. As for Nurse Chapel, she was not introduced until The Naked Time, which was the next episode (#7) produced, but the fourth to air.

One thing which I didn’t notice until I rewatched this episode just now (or maybe I did notice, but just forgot) is that Kirk is carrying a phaser almost the whole show, even while on the bridge.

Sharp-eyed viewers may also spot various crew members in older uniforms, like those worn in the two pilots, The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Some people may call these continuity errors, or chalk it up to the wardrobe department recycling costumes for the extras.  But anyone who’s been in the military knows there’s always a transition period when new uniforms are introduced.  For example, my Basic Training class was the absolute last in the Army to be issued the old olive drab green fatigues.  The next class was issued the new woodland camouflage BDUs that became the standard for the next ten years.  I was given six months to purchase a full set of BDUs (you read that right: I had to buy them with my own money).  However, unless BDUs were specifically designated as the uniform of the day I was able to wear the o.d.green fatigues for another two years until they were phased out completely. I imagine these crew members are in a similar situation.

A few more Star Trek “firsts” from The Man Trap:

Kirk (or any crew member) using the communicator.  Kirk is on his communicator a lot this episode.

The Enterprise on red alert.

A gun - or, more correctly, phaser - battle.  Here we see Professor Crater armed with an “old style” phaser, but really just them same type that was used in the two pilots.

The very first phaser shot, as Professor Crater snipes at Kirk and Spock.

Kirk firing his phaser.  Don’t worry, it’s set on “stun.”

Professor Crater getting struck by phaser fire.  Don’t worry, it was set on “stun.”  He’s going to talk like he’s drunk for the next few minutes.

Kirk and Spock planetside, establishing that the two highest ranking officers will beam down alone to handle a dangerous situation.  It’s not like they have an entire Security Department on board the ship.

The very first meeting in the Briefing Room.

The crew at various stations on the bridge, although Uhura and Sulu are not at their usual posts, which just shows that this crew is highly competent and can handle multiple duties.  Oh, and two of them happen to be women, and tow are people of color.

Sulu chiming in on the meeting via viewscreen.

And then, because it was a science fiction television show in the 1960s, the network insisted there be a monster.  So we got the salt vampire, the shape-changing creature that had been killing all sorts of people by sucking the salt out of their bodies.  Not too scary by today’s standards, but I wouldn’t want to run into it in a dark alley.

The first time we get to see Kirk make that face as he screams in pain.

And the first time we see a dead monster/alien on the Enterprise.

The, finally, the what will become familiar denouement with everyone on the bridge as Kirk gives the order for the Enterprise to break orbit and proceed to its next assignment.  Notice that Sulu has finally managed to make it to the helmsman’s station.

Headed off into space for another adventure next week!

1966 was a great year.  It gave us Ultra Q. Ultraman, Ambassador Magma (aka The Space Giants), The New Adventures of Superman animated series, the Slurpee and, of course, Star Trek.

55 years later Star Trek is more popular than ever, with several new television series available, and another feature film in the works.  Here’s hoping for another 55 years of exploring the galaxy!

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Cream and Two Sugars- A McChapel fic

~~

Sickbay was quiet, something he would never say aloud due to the infamous rule of "Never say it's quiet because it soon won't be". They'd done all the physicals, the check-ups and the shots, in fact, he was quite surprised at how quickly they could get work done with a day away from emergencies and a crew that would cooperate. 

Leonard was trying to get some work done, trying being the opulent word. Christine had just come back from the labs, where she'd been working on some project just to keep up her skills from the long lost days of her scientific career. 

Her hair was up today, he could see the lack of tension in her neck. She was behind him now and whistling a tune to herself as she wrote up her findings. 

He tried to look back at his PADD to read the report but the words muddled together into the same scribbled nonsense. She stood up behind him and grabbed his mug, her perfume swirled around his head. He gulped.

"Len," She was the only one allowed to call him that. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, but without all that cream and sugar shit you put in yours," 

"I have my tastes and you have yours,"

He scoffed, "Taste's one thing, masking that taste is another,"

The mugs clicked in her hand as she placed them under the duel-stream coffee maker inset into the wall. She started to hum just as she replied, "Just because you have to consume everything as bitter as your soul, doesn't mean I do,"

With that he shot up, discarding the stylus onto his desk as he rushed across the room to her side. He heard her breath catch in her throat as his warming cologne, her floral perfume and the steaming coffee scents all mixed. 

Christine had held his interest for a few months now and he had a sneaking suspicion that she did too. He knew there was a possibility she didn't, that her heart still belonged somewhat to Spock. But now the first officer was wholeheartedly in love with the Captain he thought he might have a chance.

"I think we both know my soul ain't as bitter as my coffee," He made sure his words stroked the exposed skin of her neck.

"I don't know, there's little evidence to say otherwise," 

He feigned shock, "Little evidence, have you ever seen me being kind to a child, or one o'those ensigns barely out of the Academy. I think you'll find that I am a very considerate and gentle person-"

She started to prepare her coffee when he turned her around to look deeply in her blue eyes. They gulped in unison and smiled. Both of them knew they were being silly, all these comments and the severe lack of personal space between them.

"Well, you could've had me fooled,"

She leant in and closed her arms around his chest, taking his scent in with deep breaths. He returned her embrace but held back slightly, wanting to nuzzle and kiss her neck, rub circles into her back and hold her tight enough to never let her go. 

"Come on Leonard, show me this gentle side of yourself you're so proud of," She said.

She pulled her head back and saw him pull away when she leant in to kiss him. That fiery thrill in her stomach dissipating immediately. Had she been wrong? Maybe she'd missed the signs or let her infatuation mask reality?

"Leonard, did I read this wrong?" 

He stood a few steps away when she reached for him. His own fire turned sour, almost purple as guilt became the fuel.

"No, I-"

"No? Then why are you pushing me away? We both want this, what's stopping us?"

He didn't reply. All she got was a look of despair, a sad longing in his eyes. She'd waited for Roger to show her she was truly worthy of devotion but he couldn't. His research was his devotion, never her. Spock had caught her eye and her will but he too had a reason, although a much more valid and understandable reason, not to return her feelings. She couldn't be rejected again, not after she'd been given a whiff of Leonard's splendorous love.

"Is it Starfleet? Because I don't care about them, I've always told you that. They may have trained me as a nurse but they can't control who I share my affections with," She still got no reply. "Perhaps because you're my boss? Well we both know that you've never treated me as your subordinate, everyone is in this sickbay is equally as needed and equally as busy, that's what you always say,"

He shook his head and clenched his hands. His body tensed, he was holding himself back. 

"Then what? I know the looks we've shared mean something, the jokes and he touches. So if you're not going to do something about it then I deserve to get a reason why!"

And with that, he exploded, "Because I'm ten years your senior! I've had time to live and screw up and train and have kids and be married and get divorced and chase the possibilities and you're just getting to the good part,"

"You're getting to the part where you might start experimenting with people differently, you know what you like but you want to know how you like it. You're right in the sweet spot of having all the opportunities to get promoted and train to get whatever role you choose. None of that should include settling with a crotchety old coot who doesn't know if he's gonna stay in Starfleet or go home or go somewhere else entirely." 

He stepped into her body again and took a moment to caress her face. She shuddered under his hand, letting herself relax and close his eyes, listen to the sounds of his voice. 

"I can't offer you stability, I can't offer you a willingness to go off gallivanting to who knows where. I've felt trapped in a relationship before and I don't want you to realise when you're my age that you wasted your time on a crush that got too deep when you could've been out realising who you are,"

She held onto his hand and moved it from her face. They looked away from themselves, distracting themselves withdrawing abstract shapes on the backs of their palms. A rushing blush flooded her cheeks, and his too when she checked.

Why couldn't he accept that she wanted him? Was he that lacking in self-confidence or had someone taught him wrongly over years of disagreements?

"How do you know what I'll want in ten years? And why do you get to say what I should do in my thirties," She knocked his forehead with hers and lowered her volume so only he could hear it. "I've done my experimenting, I've had my major bad relationship and my heartbreaking unrequited love. Can't we have this?"

Their hands broke apart as she ran her hands over his chest. He was lean, not too muscular and not too thin. His scrubs were smooth over her hands as she lifted their heads and prepared their lips to kiss.

"Why can't we have this? Who told us we couldn't?"

"No one,"

Their eyes locked and everything internally stopped, dropping to the floor as her head floated just within her grasp for her to pull herself back together so she could truly enjoy this. 

"Then why don't we give it a try, Len," They chuckled lowly at the nickname. "Why don't we try?"

She closed the gap and everything snapped back into place again. Her thoughts flew out of her head. His hands drew across her waist, running through the few loose hairs falling out of her bun and holding her still with a single grip.

They broke but dove back in. She'd never had something like this before. It wasn't passionate, she didn't have the urge to rip their clothes off and truly discover each other right there in the empty sickbay. Instead, it was home. It was warm blankets and old holofilms, family recipes and days spent in bed as snow fell outside.

He hummed as she pulled away to lay her head on his shoulder and lazily stroke the creases in his undershirt. They stood breathless for a moment before she whispered.

"How about we have a proper date?"

"Sounds like a good idea, how about twenty hundred hours in the mess hall on deck eight?"

"Deck eight? But no one goes there,"

He gave her that charming smile and her stomach swooped. "Exactly, no one goes there,"

They met in the middle again and fell into a routine. Her tongue flashed against his bottom lip just as he broke off and twisted his head to plunge in again. His hands grabbed a hunk of her dress in one hand as they bent slightly and bumped into the counter.

"Ehem, doctor,"

They turned with a gasp to see the Captain and the First Officer at the door to sickbay. Jim had that goofy smile on his face and Spock simply raised an eyebrow.

"I was going to say were you listening to Uhura's announcements, but you clearly were occupied," He made a signal for Bones to follow him. "We have a possible concussion on the bridge, come along,"

Leonard gave a wave to Christine and rubbed his face a few times in a failed attempt to hide the raging red flush on his face. She merely laughed and sipped her coffee as he left sickbay.

"Captain, did you get McCoy? Chekov says he's feeling drowsy," Uhura's voice said through Jim's communicator.

"Yes, we have him now, on our way up, Lieutenant,"

"Where was he Captain, I was beginning to think my transmissions weren't going through,"

"Oh not to worry, Lieutenant, Doctor McCoy was just having a meeting with his nurse," He said with a grin just as he collapsed to the floor after tripping over Leonard's outstretched foot.

"Oh sorry Captain, did I trip you up?" He said, changing his tone from joking to serious when he added. "And how about we start acting professionally, you know, how we're meant to?"

Spock gave one of his ghosts of a smile and stated simply, "That seems like far too great of a task for you Doctor, considering how you were just acting with Nurse Chapel,"

Leonard made a mental note to add more security on his office door just as he stepped onto the bridge and caught as woozy Chekov in his arms.

So, I wrote this in one night after having a day of major McChapel feels. Also, Christine is born in 2237 in TOS? I always thought she was closer to Bones' age but I guess not. I hope you enjoyed this, tell me if you did!

[jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets]

Lost in Translation

Title: Lost in Translation

Fandom: Star Trek

Pairing: Mckirk

Rating: i have recently been advised that i should use the “citrus scale” so... Lemon (eventually)

Tags: minor character death, hurt, little bit of self destruction, stranded, possible smut down the line

Summary:

    “Attention citizens. This is the crew of the Enterprise asking for your aid. On Stardate 2264.78 a shuttle manned by our captain and fourteen cadets was ambushed by an unknown source and chased out of sight of our ship and into open space. Those cadets as well as our captain, James Tiberius Kirk, are still missing. We are asking anyone with any information on their whereabouts, or regarding the attack, to please contact the Enterprise immediately. Our family would appreciate any assistance you can give.” 

AO3 Link

Masterlist

Special Thanks: wanted to give a huge shout out to my girl Katie, AKA @goingknowherewastaken for being a huge inspiration for this fic as well as for being a huge help (especially when it comes to putting up with my frantic ramblings lol) you're awesome boo <3

A/N: So this is a work in progress but it’s basically finished and I’ve been making great headway with this recently, so this will be the first fic I’ve ever finished! Woohoo!! And I'm thinking that I’ll probably stick to a Sunday post schedule.

    Also a little note for y’all to keep in mind while reading. I have tagged this fic “possible eventual smut” and that’s because right now I don’t have any planned buuuuut… I'm going to leave that option up to you guys! Between the readers here and AO3, if you're still with me by the end of this fic, leave a comment and let me know if you would be interested in an epilogue or end scene with smut. I’ll post a reminder at the end, but keep it in mind while reading.

    And if anyone is interested in being tagged for future posts for this fic or any others I may post, please let me know and I’ll add you to the list! Thanks for reading <3

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Chapter 5

    Leonard slammed a fist on his desk and ran the other hand down his face, ending the comm. He couldn’t take much more of this. If someone didn’t find Jim soon he was going to have some kind of nervous break down, in fact, he was surprised he hadn’t had one already.

    He decided to take himself up on that drink and left his office, not even giving a wave to anyone at the nurse’s station as he stalked past. He was on his way to his room when that old saying popped violently into his head, playing over and over again, “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone,” and hell if that weren’t true.

    He’d known Jim Kirk since the day he sat next to him on the shuttle in Riverside, and he’d be the last to admit that there had been something between them right from the get go, but now he wished he had. He’d spent years trying to convince himself that what he felt for the kid wasn’t anything more then friendship, but after a few close calls he started to realize that maybe he couldn’t keep up that charade for much longer. Now Jim was missing, and every emotion that he had tried for all those years to push down and ignore, because ain’t no way the kid would have feelings for a grumpy old man like him, came quickly flooding back to him, pushing him into a sort of self destructive spiral.

    It started slow. The first few nights Jim was missing he had spent them locked up in his room, trying to quell the frequent panic attacks that were suddenly plaguing him. Thoughts and visions filled his head of Jim dying in so many different ways. Jim floating in space, mangled in the shuttle crash, by infection, by dehydration or starvation… alone. The thoughts quickened his heart and tightened his chest, but no matter what he did he couldn’t vanquish the thought of Jim dying alone and without knowing what he should have told him years ago.

    He had hoped that throwing himself fully into the rescue efforts for Jim and the cadets would maybe help deter these thoughts, but it only made them worse. Each day he would join Spock, Nyota, and a few other members of their crew in mapping out different routes and possible locations. Only, when Leonard started seeing for himself what kinds of planets Jim could have landed on, he was sure one of his panic attacks would turn into a heart attack. As he stood motionless and silent in the ready room off the bridge, looking at pictures and listening to Spock talk about different planets along the shuttles possible routes, “volcanic planet,” “made up of 87.65% water,” “host to a race of hostile inhabitants,” and more, Leonard could hardly contain his very high, and quickly rising, level of anxiety.

    He managed to hide it fairly well during these meetings with Jim's rescue crew. Holding the emotions inside and saving his attacks for when he was in the privacy of his own room, alone, where he could drown his fears in a glass of bourbon. And that’s where it quickly went down hill, and fast. What started off as his usual one or two glasses a night, turned into three, then four, and eventually he found that even the entire bottle couldn’t stop the scenes from running through his mind.

    Now, eighteen days into searching for Jim and again coming up empty handed, he found himself sitting on his couch, having already emptied bottle number one, and half way through bottle number two. And even that didn’t seem to be enough tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Lieutenants log, Stardate 2264.96. It has been eighteen days and still no sign of the captain or our missing cadets. I have sent out alerts in all areas of the quadrant in all native languages as well as several foreign ones, and still no one has reported seeing our missing shuttle or crew members...”

    Nyota sighed, running a hand down her face. She had been on the bridge for she didn’t know how long, composing alerts and translating them into as many languages as she knew in an attempt to find Jim, or at the very least have someone come forward with some information that could lead them in the right direction. At this point they were grasping at straws and practically guessing when it came to searching planets. They might as well have closed their eyes and thrown a dart at a map. They had no idea where the shuttle had even gone, and no one in this entire quadrant seemed to know either.

    She ended her comm and turned back to the screen where she was working on her latest translation. The bridge had been quiet all shift, everyone solely focused on finding their missing captain and crew.

    She heard the rush of air as the turbo lift doors opened and closed, and heard the footsteps as they walked steadily across the bridge and stopped behind her. Though she didn’t turn around and instead continued her work.

    A gentle hand touched her shoulder, an attempt to gain her attention. “Lieutenant,” the steady voice of their acting captain broke through the silence, “have you been here for both shifts?”

    She turned to face Spock, realizing now that the bridge crew behind him were not the faces her usual shift crew. Quickly turning back to her screen and looking at the time she sighed and slumped back in her chair, “Yeah, I guess I have.”

    Spock leaned over her slightly, looking at the screen, “Are you sending out another alert about the captain and the cadets?”

    “Yes.”

    “How many have you sent out?”

    “Not including the thirteen native languages of this quadrant…” she thought for a moment, “this will be the eighth.”

    “What language?”

    “This one’s in Klingon.”

    “May I?” She gestured to the screen and pushed her chair to the side so Spock could better view the message. He leaned fully forwards and began reading the text, “Attention Klingon citizens in the Omarian quadrant. This is the crew of the Enterprise asking for your help. On Stardate 2264.78 a shuttle manned by our captain and fourteen cadets was ambushed by an unknown source and chased out of sight of our ship. Those cadets as well as our captain, James Tiberius Kirk, are still missing. We are asking anyone with any information on their whereabouts, or regarding the attack, to please contact the Enterprise immediately. Our family would appreciate any assistance you can give.”

    When he finished reading the passage, he backed away and turned to her, hands folded behind his back, “Do you think the Klingons would help us if they did hold information pertinent to the captain’s rescue?”

    She shrugged, “It’s worth a shot at this point. So far everything else has been a bust.”

    “You do have a point, Lieutenant.” She nodded in response and Spock watched as her head slowly began to fall into her chest. He placed his hand on her shoulder again, jolting her from her half asleep state, “Come, Lieutenant, you must rest. If any information is discovered I will contact you immediately.”

    “No,” she said as she stood from the chair and Spock began gently guiding her towards the lift, “Spock, I have a few more languages I wanted to translate that message into. Just-”

    “Nyota,” he stopped her with a hard look, “we will be no help to Jim, the missing cadets, or the rest of the crew if we are not well rested. Get some rest and we can continue the translations tomorrow.”

    “Yeah,” she nodded, getting into the lift, “you're right. I’ll be here tomorrow morning to continue the translations.”

    Spock gave a nod as the doors closed and she ordered the lift to her deck. In seconds the lift doors opened again and she slowly made way to her room. She was just about there when a familiar blonde head of hair came towards her from down the hall.

    “Christine, what are you doing up so late?”

    “Emergency surgery on one of the engineering crew,” she huffed a breath and rubbed her already red eyes, “I was actually already off shift and in bed when M’benga called me in to help.”

    “Doesn’t doctor McCoy usually take the reigns on these kinds of things?” She quirked a brow and crossed her arms, “At the very least he's usually present during the surgery.”

    “That’s just the thing,” she shrugged, “no ones been able to get him on comms. He left the sickbay around noon without telling anyone and no ones heard from him all day.”

    “That’s odd.”

    Christine rubbed a hand up her arm, shifting slightly closer to whisper to Nyota, “I'm worried about him, Ny,” she stepped back, not sure if she should disclose this next bit of information to a lieutenant, but she needed to tell someone and she didn’t think that someone should be Spock, considering his track record with Leonard, “I keep finding empty bottles of alcohol all over his office, he's leaving shift early, I don’t think he's done a surgery or even an exam on anyone in weeks, he won’t talk to anyone, spends most of his time in his office gaping at those maps. I know this all has to do with Jim going missing, and believe me we are all feeling the loss right now, but I'm afraid he's spiralling into something he won’t be able to pull himself out of and soon it might… it might get really bad if someone doesn’t pull him out.”

    “You’re right,” she nodded, “what's his room number? I’ll check on him.”

    Christine pulled up the padd in her hand and tapped away for a second before looking back to Nyota, “Room, 226.”

    “Ok, I'm on my way,” she turned to head back to the lift before calling out, “I’ll comm you when I’ve got him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

    Nyota arrived at room 226, the room of her good friend Doctor Leonard McCoy. She knocked and waited, looking around the deserted hallway. It was long past midnight and the ship was eerily quite as she waited. When she heard no answer or rousing from the other side she knocked again, this time shouting, “Leonard, I know you’re in there, please let me in. I know this change in you is because of Jim but we can talk it out, just open the door. People are worried about you.”

    Still no one answered and she would admit that she was starting to get worried too. She took another look around the halls, making sure she was still alone, before quickly hacking into the lock pad beside Len’s door and breaking in.

    She entered to the room in complete darkness. She closed the door behind her and called out for Len but again there was no answer. She ordered the computer to turn the lights on and gasped when she was finally able to see. And what she was met with was a room full of countless empty bottles, a passed out doctor on the floor in front of the couch, and a bottle of half empty bourbon slowly leaking in his hand.

    She ran over to him, turning him over and taking his face in her hands shaking him gently, “Leonard, wake up!”

    When all she got in response was a groan and a still unconscious Leonard, she grabbed her comm and called Christine.

    “Uhora!” Christine���s voice came through the comm, “Did you talk to Leonard?”

    “Not exactly,” she grunted as she hauled the limp doctor off the floor and slung his arm over her shoulder, “meet me back in sickbay, find an empty room and prep a bed for me. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

    Before anything else could be said she ended the call and began dragging Leonard across the room and slowly down the hall. He was no help to her at all, only grunting in protest at the upright position and occasionally shuffling his feet and throwing them both off balance. And after what seemed like a life time they finally made it to the lift that would take them to Christine.

    When she had first laid eyes on Leonard lying lifeless on the floor, her first thought was to call Spock. He was after all, their acting captain in Jim's stead, but when rethinking that strategy she decided against it. Spock and the doctor did not have the best past and she could only imagine the fight that would ensue when Spock found out that his chief medical officer had nearly drank himself into a coma. And with Jim being gone and tensions already on the rise, she was sure it would most likely end in a blood bath. Instead she decided it best to keep this incident quiet and leave Len in the trustworthy hands of nurse Chapel.

    When the lift door opened Christine was already there waiting for them, eyes blowing wide upon seeing the limp state of Leonard hanging off uhora’s shoulder. She quickly ran inside the lift taking up Len’s other side and lead them all to the room she had prepped in the far back of the sick bay.

    They landed Leonard on the bed and shaded the windows before closing the door, leaving the three alone.

    “What happened?!” Christine instantly began scanning Leonard, checking all vitals while waiting for an explanation.

    Uhora sighed, running a hand through her hair before answering, “Jim still missing has clearly put a strain on all of us in many different ways. I found him passed out in his room surrounded by empty bourbon bottles. I can’t even begin to guess how many bottles he drank before he passed out.”

    Chapel ran a scanner over him, eyes on her padd. “He’s lucky you found him and not someone else.”

    “Those were my thoughts exactly,” she nodded, “I thought about calling Spock for help but I thought maybe it would be best to keep this quiet.”

    “You’re probably right.” She pulled the scanner away, placing it back in her pocket and put the padd on the bedside table before turning to Uhora, “He’ll be fine. Nothing I can’t fix with a few good hypos.”

    Uhora smirked, crossing her arms and standing, “I’ll be back in the morning to talk to him when he’s more himself, so don’t let him leave this room until I get here.” Chapel nodded, “And you should get some sleep too, Christine. Don’t let this fool keep you up all night.”

    “I will. Good night, Nyota.”

    “Good night.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

    For the first time in a long time Leonard woke up to a blinding headache. His eyes were so heavy and sore they didn’t even want to open, and sitting up was definitely not going to happen right now.

    He ran a shaking hand down his face trying to remember what happened. He remembered making it to his room, then soon after receiving a comm from Spock informing him that the mission had yet again been a failure, and they would have to move on to another planet to search for Jim. Next thing, he had a bottle of bourbon in his hand and the rest is a haze.

    Though he didn’t remember what happened he was sure he could put two and two together and figure it out, but how he had ended up in the sickbay would remain a mystery.

    As he rifled through his jumbled thoughts for an answer the door opened, letting in a little too much light for his over sensitive eyes, and he shot a hand up to cover them.

    “Oh, is that too bright for you?” A woman's voice hit his ears and he groaned in response, “I'm sorry, let me just open it a little more then. Or how about I do you one better. Computer, lights one hundred percent!”

    As more light flooded the room Leonard hissed and rolled onto his side, which was a horrible idea as he felt his stomach lurch with the motion. Though he was far too stubborn to blow his stomach contents, and also not willing to stand to run to the bathroom, and forced himself to get over the sudden wave of nausea.

    He let out one more groan as his stomach screamed at him, along with his liver, and he slit his eyes open just enough to see a familiar figure standing before him, arms crossed. “Uhora. What are you doing here? And why am I here?”

    “You don’t remember?” She spat, walking closer to him, “I had to drag your dumb ass here after I found you passed out on your floor last night! I had to pull Chapel out of her room after she already worked a double and assisted on an emergency surgery because you were nowhere to be found, just so she could save your sorry hide from dying of alcohol poisoning!”

    Yep, it was just as he had suspected. He clutched his stomach as another wave of nausea hit him and he looked up at her, “Look, Uhora, I-”

    She raised a hand to stop him, “I don’t even want to hear your lame excuse Leonard. I had every intention of coming in here this morning and being as sympathetic as I could, but I couldn’t do it. I know your situation is slightly different then the rest of us, but you're not the only one who’s effected by Jim's absence!”

    His brows furrowed and he pulled himself up in the bed to sit up slightly, “What do you mean my situation is different?”

    She met his confused eyes with ones filled with pity. “Leonard, I know how you feel about Jim, I think everyone knows.”

    “How I feel about him?”

    She moved to sit on the edge of the bed facing him, all sternness replaced with the sympathy she spoke of before as she placed a hand on his shoulder, “The two of you were made for each other. I’ve seen the way you look at him, and how he looks at you, I’ve seen the way you act around each other and I know it’s more then merely friendship between you. But Leonard, you have got to pull yourself together. Jim is out there somewhere, along with fourteen other cadets who all need our help. No doubt when we find them they are going to need their chief medical officer in top condition to patch them up, and Jim is surely going to need his Bones just the same way.” He laid his head heavily back on the bed, letting it all sink in as she continued, “If you love him as much as I know you do, you'll sober up and get ready for when we do find him. And when he does get back, you should probably do something about that unspoken bond between the two of you. If this is anything to learn from, it’s that our lives are too dangerous and unpredictable to wait until it’s too late.”

    She gave his arm a pat and left him alone to wallow in her words. He sighed, thinking over what she had said and decided that as always, Uhora was right… about everything.

    He rolled to his side again and searched the room for his comm finding it on top of his shoes beside the bed. He grabbed it and rolled to his back, holding the comm in front of his face, before taking a deep breath and speaking as calmly as he could. “CMO’s log, stardate 2264.97. It’s… it’s day nineteen now in our search for the captain, and I won’t lie… I am struggling with his absence. After some much needed words of wisdom from Lieutenant Uhora I’ve come to realize some things, or rather finally come to fully accept them. All I’ve got to say is we better find you soon, Jim, and we better find you alive, cuz I’ve got a lot to say to you kid… a whole hell of a lot.”

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A/N: A very Leonard heavy chapter XD And I hope y’all are still enjoying this despite the horrible things I do to our boys, but I promise there are some good times ahead! As always let me know if you would like to be tagged, and thanks for reading <3 Tags: @goingknowherewastaken @bi-e-ne @weresilver-in-space @medicatemedrmccoy @reading-in-moonlight @resistance-is-futile81 @0dannyphantom0 @haveyouseenmymind @jimboy-mccoy @flaminglupine

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Star Trek: Discovery - will we meet more characters from The Cage?

'The Cage' was the first episode of STAR TREK.  The pilot, that Gene Roddenberry made to sell the show.  It starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike, with Majel Barrett (Gene's wife) as 'Number One', the pilot and first officer, and Leonard Nimoy as the Science Officer, Mr Spock.

The network liked it, but asked Gene to make a couple of changes.  Get rid of the pointy-eared, satanic looking character, and the female in command (because it was unrealistic).

Instead, Gene changed everything... except for Spock, who he kept, but made him Half-Human.  Majel Barrett was recast into the recurring character of Nurse Christine Chapel... and we were given a new commanding officer - James T Kirk, played by William Shatner, as well as the recognisable crew of Uhura, Scotty, McCoy and Sulu.  Chekov wouldn't be added until the show's second season.

'The Cage' went unaired, although the footage was used to make up the two-part episode 'The Menagerie', which saw Sean Kenney recast as a now-crippled Pike.

Otherwise, the pilot was largely forgotten.  When JJ Abrams made STAR TREK (the 2009 movie), an older Pike - played by Bruce Greenwood - was brought in as a mentor to wayward James Kirk.  The character was then killed off in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.  Those films are set in an alternative timeline though, Pike and co aren't referenced in the prime timeline... until STAR TREK: DISCOVERY came along.

Season two is warping towards us for a 2019 premier, and it's going to give 'The Cage' a whole new lease of life.  Captain Pike is back, in the prime timeline, now played by Anson Mount (Marvel's INHUMANS), set to be a major player in the story, and main cast member, as he takes command of the USS Discovery.  Mount, in turn, announced that we'd be meeting 'Number One' again, now played by X-MEN star Rebecca Romijn.  The trailer that made it's debut an SDCC showed that some of the plot would definitely revolved around Mr Spock... and sure enough, this week found out Ethan Peck had been cast in the iconic role.

As stated, Mount will be a main player.  Expect his name to on the credits (will he get the 'and' credit, Jason Isaacs received last season?).  I should imagine Rebecca Romijn will bookend the storyline.  As Pike takes command of the Discovery, 'Number One' will likely stay in command of The USS Enterprise, and I reckon will only be in two, maybe three episodes.  As for Peck's Spock?  That's hard to say.  I doubt he'll be main cast, I'd be surprised if we find Peck's name on the titles, but I would say he'll get more action than Number One.

So, that's the big three for 'The Cage', but they weren't the only characters in that pilot.  Will we get to see more characters brought to life?  Who could we see?

JOSE TYLER

Lt. Jose Tyler was played by Peter Duryea.  He was the ship's Navigation Officer, sitting towards the front of the bridge, next to the Helm Officer.  We don't know yet if we'll get to see the bridge of the USS Enterprise, but if we do, it's certainly possible we might get a glimpse of Tyler.  In fact, of the supporting cast, his position on the ship, I think Tyler's the most likely to be seen.  He doesn't necessarily need to speak, so just someone that looks like him would be nice. (Although a speaking part would be nicer)

DR. PHIL BOYCE

As Spock is the focus of the storyline for season two, it's possible they might need to see his medical records... and they'll have to go through Boyce for that!  John Hoyt played the chief medical officer and probably got more screen time that Spock in the pilot.    It would certainly be a nice inclusion, but probably less likely that Tyler. 

J M COLT

Played by Laurel Goodwin, Colt was Pike's Yeoman.  He was often snapping at her, despite her just doing her job.  She had a sizable role in 'The Cage' but is probably the least likely to appear in DISCOVERY, as the only series to include a Captain's Yeoman' was THE ORIGINAL SERIES.  The character could always be retooled into another function though, possible the Communication's officer?  Just a suggestion.

I would attempt to guess at potential casting for these roles, but I doubt I'd be anywhere close. Whilst I had cited Mount as a potential (and favourite) choice for Pike, I hadn't thought of Romijn for Number One, and I didn't even know Peck existed.   Those a big important roles too, I wouldn't have a clue for the supporting roles.

I do hope these character's get a nod, but right now, I'm excited to see what STAR TREK: DISCOVERY has for Pike, Spock and the criminally underused Number One.

[janeykath318]

Kiss, Marry, Kill: Kirk x Reader

It all started as a joke: someone in the security department had done the Kiss, Marry, Kill, game with certain co workers and it had started to spread, even down to Medbay, where various nurses could be heard debating the merits of Scotty, Uhura, and even Chekov. The Captain ended up overhearing while he was getting patched up one day and you knew you were all doomed. 

"So, Nurse Y/L/N, how am I faring on the lists down here? Did I make it on a lot of people's Kiss list?" "I hate to break it to you, captain," you told him, mirth dancing in your eyes, "you're actually leading in the Kill category. Dr. McCoy in particular was very vocal in his choice." "Of course he would," Kirk sighed, rolling his far too pretty eyes. "I did think some of you liked me better than that." He made a sad puppy face that was next to impossible to resist, especially for you who secretly had it bad for him. "Maybe if you wouldn't be in here so much, we wouldn't be so sick of you, captain," you said mischievously. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know." "So, if I stayed perfectly healthy, you'd respect me more?" He asked, half teasingly. "Possibly," you hinted. "Maybe acting less like a child when you're getting hypos would help too. Just a tip." You winked at him and walked out to get the doctor, leaving Jim staring after you, torn between being insulted and in love. The next few days, the Kiss, Marry, Kill theme seemed to really spread over the ship. In fact, someone in the bridge crew announced there would be a contest for people to submit their Kiss, Marry, Kill choices, (among the single officers) along with written out reasons to be judged by Uhura and Sulu. Those with the best reasoning for their picks would get to have dinner with the officer of their dreams. You rolled your eyes and wondered just how desperate the Captain was to be liked. "No way am I doing this!" You declared. It's  utter childish nonsense!" "Oh, c'mon, Y/N, I thought you'd jump at the chance to go out with that corn-fed menace of a Captain you have a crush on," teased Dr. McCoy, hearing your rant. "Oh, puh-leeze," you snorted. "I don't have a crush on him. Just because I made one comment about his eyes once, does not mean I'm all lovey-dovey, lovestruck over him. Heck, even YOU admit he has gorgeous eyes, and you certainly have no romantic feelings for him." "Oh, there's a very big difference, Y/N. You haven't seen yourself when he comes in here. You're practically bowling over the other nurses to get to him." "I do not," you sulked. "Do I, Christine?" "Well......" she tried to hedge, and you put your hands on your hips, outraged at the lack of support. You pretended to utterly ignore the whole contest, but the endless chatter about Jim vs. Scotty vs. Leonard drove you up the wall, especially the guys in medical who talked about him like he was a piece of meat, ripe for the tasting. You hoped they were all horrible writers. Jim deserved better! At last, you got an idea. It would probably not win the contest, but it would make you feel better. You sat down after shift and started writing. Kiss, Marry, Kill, by Y/N Y/L/N Kiss: James T. Kirk Reason: 1. To shut him up when he drones on and on about the wonders of space 2. Those lips are too perfect 3. My gut tells me he's really good at it. Marry: James T. Kirk Reason: Because I worship the ground he walks on and he might be less of a reckless fool if he had a spouse to remind him how much he has to live for and how loved and needed he is.  I’d love to pick that genius brain. Also: captain's quarters come with real water showers, a big plus. Kill: (Hypothetically, of course) James T. Kirk Reason: He's a aggravation to the nth degree. Examples include: Frequent Injuries, extreme stubbornness, Those ridiculous stupid smiles he gives that could cause dangerous heart arrhythmia, his bluer than blue eyes that cause people to lose their concentration when he looks at them, and the terrible dad jokes he cracks that he thinks are so funny and laughs so hard at. Despite being pleased at managing to refrain from mentioning Jim's other positive attributes (that ass!), you wavered back and forth before you finally sent in your entry. You'd kind of bared your heart, after all. However, Sulu and Uhura were both very good at respecting people's privacy and they wouldn't spill your secrets. Besides, the chances of you winning were very low, if not impossible, given that you'd used the same name for every slot. At last, however, you hit send, and went to bed very relieved. You'd almost forgotten about the whole thing by the time the winners were announced three weeks later and when you got a message declaring "Congratulations, Lieutenant Y/L/N, you were selected as a winner in our shipwide contest. Your entry was chosen as the best among those who put Captain James T. Kirk in the Kiss or Marry options." You stopped reading right then and there and began mentally freaking out. You'd only entered as a joke and a fun way to relieve your feelings. Guess they'd taken you seriously. Could you back out without looking like an idiot? Surely, the runner up would be more than happy to take your place. During lunch the next day, the winners were announced over the intercom by Sulu. You didn't know where to look when your name was read and all your friends turned to stare at you. (Thankfully, McCoy had other things to worry about, since someone had won dinner with him.) "Congratulations, Y/N!" Christine said, a pleased grin on her face. "I'll gladly offer my services to help you get ready for your date with the Captain." Your face felt like it was burning up, more so when you saw Jim Kirk ambling over to your table. "Hi, Captain," you muttered, wishing you could sink through the floor. "Nurse Y/L/N! This is a happy coincidence!" Kirk exclaimed, walking up to you, with that disgustingly contagious smile on his face. "How so?" You managed, even more nervous in his presence. "I've been trying to get up the courage to ask you out anyway." "Me?!!" You squeaked. "Of course you. You do know you're my favorite nurse, right?" "No......" you said slowly, processing this information. Jim liked you? Really? Surely it was too good to be true! "Yes, you are," he said firmly. "So, Are you going to claim your prize?" There went that cheeky expression again. "Insufferable egoist," Len muttered, rolling his eyes. "Of course she is!" Christine said for you. "Name the date, place and time, and she'll be there." While you were spluttering, they determined the dinner would take place in the small observation deck the next Friday at 1900 hours. "Great!" Jim exclaimed, "We'll see you then! Have a nice day, Y/N." "Traitor!" You hissed weakly to Christine, but the butterflies of anticipation dancing in your gut said differently. "Trust me, you'll thank me later. I wouldn't have done this If I didn't think he really cares about you," she told you. She did come through on her promise to help you prepare for the big date, and before you knew it, you were all dolled up in a green dress and cute updo style Christine saw in a magazine and thought would look perfect on you. "There! You look stunning!" She said at last, stepping back and inspecting you carefully. You smiled and gulped. "Let's hope the Captain thinks so, too." "Oh, he will," she assured you. "Now, shoo, have a good time!" More nervous than you'd ever been, you made your way to the agreed upon room, where Jim was waiting for you. Having rarely seen him in anything besides his uniform or a hospital gown, you were taken aback by the sight of him in a blue dress shirt and tie. "Wow!" You breathed. He cleaned up GOOD. "Wow, yourself," Jim returned. "You look amazing." "Thanks," you said, face warm with the compliment. "This was really nice of you to play along, but What if Cupcake had won?" Jim laughed. "I'd still hang out with him, but He's only likely to put me on the Kill list. Trust me, I'm not his type AT ALL." As the two of you devoured the food, which was very tasty, he asked you about what you'd written. "I actually didn't think I'd be considered eligible," you told him, "given how I made cases for why I'd want to kiss, marry, AND kill you. Somehow, it was rather cathartic." "I seem to inspire that reaction a lot," Jim said ruefully, buttering a roll. "Glad you came, though. So, tell me, what's life like working in Bones's domain? I hear he can be a bear at times." "Oh, he can," you confirmed. "You just have to use common sense and know how to placate him. He's a good boss, but he doesn't suffer fools." "That's very true," Jim said. "He's said several times that next to Chapel, you're the best nurse on Alpha shift." "He said that?" You asked, flustered again. "Yes, he did," Jim said. "And I think you're pretty awesome too--both as a nurse and a person." "Wow, You really are a smooth talker," you said, raising an eyebrow. "Let's see if you're still saying that once you've got to know me and my quirks some more." "Does this mean you're willing to go on more dates?" He asked, looking hopeful. "As long as this one ends as well as it started, definitely." "What do you say to this?" He asked, pulling the cover off of a plate containing two lovely slices of chocolate cake with caramel filling peeking out. "Poke cake?" You gasped. The man had done his research--this was your absolute favorite indulgence. The white frosting on top covered the caramel glaze that oozed down through holes poked in the cake and made it deliciously gooey and decadent. "Indeed. Made special by real people: not replicators." Jim looked extremely pleased with himself, eyes darting back and forth between you and the cake. Picking up Jim's hand, you kissed it dramatically. "My hero!" You explained in a staged breathy sigh. "That'll do the trick all right. The shyness disappeared along with the cake and you and Jim ended up laughing and talking and flirting until a late hour. "So, see you again soon?" He asked, when he walked you to your door. "Of course. Hopefully NOT in sickbay, though." You poked him meaningfully in the chest, then leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Jim." "Goodnight, Y/N" he replied staring after you with what Christine would have called "heart eyes."

@whatif-animagineblog @yourtropegirl @kirkaholic123 @southernbellestatues

@kaitymccoy123

[investmart007]

A final bow for 'Miss Val,' UCLA's Kondos Field to retire

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/a-final-bow-for-miss-val-uclas-kondos-field-to-retire/172946/

A final bow for 'Miss Val,' UCLA's Kondos Field to retire

Valorie Kondos Field nearly quit while she was behind. Nearly. Her first year as the women’s gymnastics coach at UCLA in 1991 didn’t go as planned. Neither did the second. Frustrated, she found herself preparing to tell senior associate athletic director Judith Holland that Holland’s unusual move to hire a head coach with no background in the sport had backfired — Kondos Field grew up dancing and spent eight years as an assistant coach with the Bruins focusing strictly on choreography.

On her way to Holland’s office, Kondos Field stopped at a student bookstore. On one of the shelves she stumbled across legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden’s definition of success, which he described as “peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

“I must’ve read it 20 times and a light bulb went off,” Kondos Field said. “I couldn’t fake being a gymnastics coach because I didn’t know anything about gymnastics. I had to be true to me. Who is me? I know what it’s like to work through pain. I know what it’s like to set a goal and prepare mentally, emotionally and physically. When I was standing in the wings (before dancing), I was calm and confident.

Isn’t that what I’m needing to do with these gymnasts?” Wooden’s words gave her a vision she has carried through nearly three decades of sustained excellence.

By 1997, the Bruins were NCAA champions. Six more national titles have followed during Kondos Field’s tenure, one which will come to an end next spring. She is retiring following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season to focus on outside projects that range from producing an urban version of the Nutcracker ballet to helping develop a sequel to the gymnastics movie “Full Out” that will be based on the life of former Bruin Christine Peng-Peng Lee.

“There’s just so much on my plate,” said the 59-year-old Kondos Field, who is releasing a self-help book in early October. “It’s time to take the scary plunge and do it without the life preserver.”

Kondos Field actually made the decision to step away in 2019 two years ago. The hard part was not telling anyone. She kept the circle small “knowing I could always back out.” One of the few she let in was then-sophomore Katelyn Ohashi, who was in the midst of the difficult transition from elite gymnastics to the collegiate level.

“We were talking about living life joyfully, that it’s a choice,” Kondos Field said. “I knew me trusting her with this secret would mean a lot to her. She didn’t tell a soul. It was a badge of honor for her.”

And an insight into an approach that has worked so well for more than a generation. The woman known simply as “Miss Val” lets her assistants handle the gymnastics side of things. She handles the dance portion of their routines and the elusive pursuit of life balance inside and outside the gym.

In the process she’s created a program that’s become a haven for high-profile gymnasts trying to navigate the difficult transition from competing internationally — where the focus is on individual development — to a true team environment. The list of current or former Bruins with Olympic medals tucked away somewhere is long and distinguished and would be even longer if current Olympic champion Simone Biles hadn’t opted to turn professional after committing to UCLA.

Kondos Field insists there is no secret. Her message to recruits is largely the same regardless of pedigree: come here and let’s have a good time.

“The competing and winning part (of elite gymnastics), the whole thing has gotten turned upside down because of money, because of winning,” she said. “Can we flip this back the other way?”

It’s a mantra that resonates far beyond the competition floor.

“Val embodies everything you look for in a head coach: she builds genuine relationships with her student-athletes,” UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said. “She’s a tremendous mentor.”

Ohashi considers her journey as proof. She reached out to Kondos Field when her elite career ended due mostly to health issues.

Ohashi arrived at UCLA trying to reconcile the difficult end to her Olympic dream while rediscovering her love for the sport. Kondos Field gently helped nudge Ohashi forward.

“When you’re a gymnast, you’re supposed to fit these standards, fall in line,” Ohashi said. “Most gymnasts or elite gymnasts, I feel like they don’t have a lot of personality. They give cookie-cutter answers.

She pushes us to go out of that boundary and speak our truth.”

An ethos that has helped Kondos Field guide the Bruins with style to a 516-120-3 record. Kondos Field regularly develops routines packed with moves pulled right from the latest music videos, an approach designed to embrace the “artistic” side of artistic gymnastics while also drawing spectators to Pauley Pavilion.

“In order to thrive, we have to put butts in seats,” she said. “We’ve got to win and got to be entertaining.”

Asked why she chose to reveal her plans before the season instead of after, and Kondos Field pointed to a meet next March that will serve as a homecoming of sorts for the hundreds of women she has coached through the years, “even the ones ticked off at me.”

Then the season will end — possibly with an eighth national crown — and Kondos Field, who survived a bout with breast cancer in 2015, will get on with her life’s work.

She’s been an outspoken critic of USA Gymnastics in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal surrounding disgraced former national team doctor Larry Nassar — whose hundreds of victims include current UCLA volunteer assistant coach and 2011 world champion Jordyn Wieber and current Bruins/Olympic gold medalists Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian. But Kondos Field has no intention thrusting herself into consideration to become the embattled organization’s next president.

Still, she has every intention to remain connected to the sport she has grown to love and help bridge the painful gulfs that have emerged in Nassar’s wake.

“We’ve lost our royalty, we’ve lost our history,” she said. “We’ve lost our family. We need to reconnect and need to get back together.”

A mission that will continue long after Kondos Field steps away from the program she built, one whose unique approach mirrors that of its unique leader.

“UCLA gymnastics sticks out,” she said. “I’m not saying better. Just different.”

By Associated Press

[vennomax]

Digital Africa: Young African girls turn to coding

New Post has been published on http://www.vennomax.com/education/digital-africa-young-african-girls-turn-to-coding/

Digital Africa: Young African girls turn to coding

At Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Angela Koranteng was an accomplished student with a special dream. At a time when few women were breaking the gender barrier in male-dominated studies, Ms. Koranteng had her heart set on health sciences—but instead of treating patients, she wanted to be an engineer and build hospitals.

After a round of courses in computer programming, civil engineering and coding, Ms. Koranteng today has earned a degree and a title: professional African coder.

Coding is what makes it possible to create computer software, apps and websites. Your browser, your operating system, the apps on your phone, Facebook, and websites—they’re all made with code. Coding can be learned at a university or boot camp.

Because boys are exposed to technical matters in childhood and girls are not, few young African women imagine themselves on a career track in engineering.

Not just a man’s field

In college, “I learned everything from scratch, whereas the boys already knew the basics,” Ms. Koranteng told Africa Renewal in an interview. That disadvantage ensured that “my contributions [in class] were deemed less intelligent than those of my male counterparts.”

Even Ms. Koranteng’s father was not sure that a path in coding was good for her. “He didn’t know that coding would become one of the most in-demand skills across industries,” she explained.

Today Ms. Koranteng works with a group called STEMbees, a Ghana-based nonprofit organization she helped to found, which mentors young women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Ms. Koranteng hopes that more girls in STEM will help bridge the gender gap in computing.

Unfortunately, training in STEM still attracts fewer women students than training in teaching, law, medicine or business.

Karen Spärck Jones, a professor of computers and information at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory in the UK, once said that “computing is too important to be left to men.”

But even in the most developed countries, the computer field is disproportionately dominated by men. In 2013 in the US, only 26% of computing professionals were female—down considerably from 35% in 1990 and virtually the same as in 1960. While the percentage of women in engineering has risen since 1990, the progress has been modest—from 9% in 1990 to 12% in 2013.

A 2012 US Department of Labor survey reported that women in the US comprised 30% of web developers, 25% of programmers, 37% of database administrators, 20% of software developers, and a little over 10% of information security analysts. Women also held less than 20% of chief information officer positions at Fortune 250 companies, and among the Fortune 100 tech companies, only four women held chief executive officer positions. At tech giants like Google, over 70% of technical employees were men.

Lacking reliable data, Ms. Koranteng presumes Africa’s situation to be far worse than that of the US. In the bustling Computer Village in Lagos, Nigeria, for example, it is mostly young men developing apps or engaging in other computing work, Caleb Ibhasabemon, who monitors technology trends and plans to start a computer hardware sales company, told Africa Renewal in an interview.

Despite the growth of Internet usage in Africa over the last decade, about 10% of the continent has access to the Internet, according to a 2017 report by Internet World Stats, an organization that monitors global Internet usage. Low Internet diffusion on the continent is certain to impede efforts by Africans, especially girls, to become coding professionals.

Marian Tesfamichael, a young Ghanaian who has been coding in Toronto, Canada, is one of the few success stories. Her undergraduate studies were in computer science and mathematics, and her graduate studies in computer science. She is a web developer and data manager at the University of Toronto.

Ms. Tesfamichael says her gender and ethnicity might have slowed her progress within the industry; many at companies she’s worked for didn’t believe she could be good at the job. However, at the moment things are looking up for her.

A Lagos-based tech company Andela is training engineering teams, including coders, to fill the gap in tech talent in Africa. “We have nearly 30% of women out of more than 600 developers based in Lagos, Nairobi and Kampala,” says Christine Magee, Andela’s director of communications.

Another success story is Ghana’s Ethel Cofie, whom Forbes business magazine calls one of the top five women affecting IT on the continent. She is the founder and CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting, a company that provides IT and software services for businesses.

Technology and GDP growth

Ms. Cofie studied computer science during the dot-com period (1995 to 2001) and took advantage of Africa’s emerging market to invest in technology, according to reports by the BBC and CNN. To promote diversity in the computer programming industry, particularly to “encourage African girls to get involved,” she founded Women in Tech Africa.

Many budding female techies from around the continent consider Ms. Cofie a role model.

“Computer programming is one of the world’s most in-demand skills,” and African girls must seize the opportunity, says Ms. Cofie.

Similar sentiments have been voiced at the World Economic Forum (WEF), a Geneva-based nonprofit that meets annually and bills itself as committed to public-private cooperation.

Information technology helps create new businesses in digital marketing, data sciences, and mobile money ecosystems, among others. In 2017, revenues for information technology products and services are forecast to reach $2.4 trillion, a 3.5% increase over 2016, reports International Data Corporation (IDC), which provides market intelligence for information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC adds that the figure could be $2.6 trillion by 2020.

Statistics by WEF also show that a 10% increase in broadband penetration can lead to a 1.4% increase in GDP growth in emerging markets. The GDP growth numbers can be seen in countries adopting mobile money or other technologies that facilitate financial transactions, for example.

Already top tech companies such as Facebook and Google are providing technical and financial support to institutions creating opportunities for African girls learning how to code.

AWELE Academy, a leadership and technology institution based in Lagos, is one of the schools receiving external support for its attempts to close the coding gap in Africa. But it can accept only 20 students at a time—a feeble effort at best.

Technology institutions are working to increase awareness about computer programming through local conferences where girls meet role models to discuss career prospects.

Gender equality enthusiasts are optimistic that the increase in women coders will help close the gender wage inequality gap in Africa. The next few years could witness more African women falling in love with coding, earning decent wages and transforming their countries’ economies, predicts Ms. Tesfamichael.

[epacer]

Classmates

Bob McElroy, Class of 1973

Homeless Campground In San Diego Providing Lifeline For 40 Children

It has been two weeks since the opening of a temporary city-sanctioned campground for 200 homeless people near downtown San Diego. One thing that was not quite expected is the dozens of children who have moved in. For now, the large, fenced-in stretch of black pavement covered in colorful tents and canopies is the best option they have for a home.

“They feed us, they give us clothes, they give us shoes,” said Azaura Anjos, 10, smiling as she proudly described her new community, where she lives with her parents, aunt and six siblings.

At 4-and-a-half-feet tall with brown, shoulder-length hair and luminous brown eyes, Anjos recalled sleeping in a downtown park before moving to the homeless transitional camp.

“It wasn’t very comfortable because we would lay in the grass, but then we would have to move off the grass and onto concrete because the … sprinklers would come on,” Anjos described. “But the lights at the park never turned off. So we all put our heads under the blankets.”

Anjos said from the moment she moved into her new green, six-person tent she has felt cared for.

“They don't treat us like we're in a bad situation, and I don’t act like we’re in a bad situation or think we’re in a bad situation,” said Anjos. “I think we’re actually in a house, ‘cause that’s how they treat us.”

The campsite holds nearly 150 tents, along with showers and toilets, hand-washing stations and shuttle transportation. Meals and snacks are provided, and health workers and housing navigators are also onsite.

One of the most popular amenities is a play area with toys and games for kids. That is because, of the 200 people who live at the camp, almost a quarter are children.

“They’re safe. That’s the key,” said Bob McElroy, CEO of the Alpha Project, the nonprofit managing the camp.

“We had no idea that we’d have 40 kids and ten families or so, but we’re making it happen,” said McElroy, sitting in a metal chair at the camp, surrounded by six children who seemed to understand he is the one providing their lifeline.

“Inside that door?” a toddler boy asks McElroy, pointing to the Alpha Project's mobile office.

“What’s inside that door? McElroy responds to the little boy. “Oh, I don’t go in there cause those people try to make me work, and I’d rather be out here with you,” he chuckled.

McElroy, who has worked to help homeless people for 30 years, said the children have given him a renewed purpose.

“They’re dolls,” he said. “Living in not the best case scenario, but they’re safe, they have access to health care. We’ve got some decent meals in here.”

Bob McElroy, CEO of the Alpha Project, talks to children at the homeless transitional camp near downtown San Diego, Oct. 17, 2017.

Overall, the camp is running smoothly, McElroy said, crediting his staff of 30 who work around the clock taking care of people and keeping resources flowing.

But challenges are ongoing, he said, including transporting 200 people to downtown and getting kids to school and back.

“But when I come down and hang out with the kids, it keeps me showing up,” he said.

Children are not the typical face of San Diego’s homeless population. They are rarely seen panhandling or pushing overstuffed carts. But a count taken in January found 976 homeless children in the county, with 169 sleeping without shelter.

Christine Wade, 31, and her six children ages 2 to 14, who have been struggling with homelessness for several years, moved into the camp the morning it opened.

“It was a beautiful moment,” Wade said, tears streaming down her cheek as she sat inside her tent surrounded by her children. “Because being out there’s too hard. So when they came to get us it was like a moment of finally.”

Wade, a San Diego native who grew up in the East County, said her children are sleeping fairly well and getting their daily routine down, which includes school and preschool.

“I’m grateful for everything that we get,” Wade said, “because I didn’t think I was going to get help ever. I thought I was just going to continue to try to make it on my own.”

Wade’s sentiment of gratitude is shared by many at the camp. Parents said they are pulling together to help one another.

“It’s nice for the kids to be able to talk to other kids and the parents to be able to talk to other parents,” said Abbra Towe, 35, whose family also moved into the camp on opening day.

Towe and her two daughters, ages 5 and 7, sleep in one tent while her husband sleeps in his own tent in a section with other men.

“We are in a better place than on the streets,” Towe said. “But there’s still people with issues. And it can be concerning.”

During the first few days, Towe, who is a certified lifeguard, was worried about how this experience would impact her children. But not so much anymore.

“These children, they are going to change the world,” Towe said, choking back tears. “They are learning right now what I’m learning at 35. And they’re smart and strong, and that’s what they’re going to get out of it.”

Little Azaura Anjos has been writing about her camp experience and interviewing people she meets.

“She was born in Philadelphia. She has blue eyes. She only sings for fun,” said Anjos, enthusiastically reading from her journal she carries with her.

Anjos will likely live at the campground a couple more months until her family can transition into the city’s bridge shelter tents, scheduled to open in December. Or better yet, a place with a front door and walls.

Anjos said she will always remember the friends she made and the time she lived amid rows of tents.

“How grateful I am, and how well they took care of me,” Anjos said. “And how well they took care of my family.” *Reposted article from KPBS by Susan Murphy of October 24, 2017

[curator-on-ao3]

Sorry it's me again! 😬

Do you think Una has been sidelined in her own series? She should have been right infront of major scenes as the First Officer. But in almost half of the episodes we see Pike and Una separated barring a few scenes of them having a dinner or a drink in his quarters.

The show feels more like a Spock-Pike show where Spock is the First Officer given how much screentime he gets right alongside Pike. Which is good, I like Ethan!! But in all other Star Trek fleet the Captain and First Officer are pretty tight and share a lot of scenes displaying their bond.

I'd love to see Pike Una share an adventure together. To see how they help each other in their away missions, on ground, what makes them a team not just on the bridge but elsewhere.

Sorry for the rant again. I just feel like the show is direction-less a bit. It doesn't know what to do with their leads.

Hi! ❤️

I’ll start with the disclaimer that I’m biased on this. I could watch an entire episode of Una reading a book, turning a page every so often, and sighing a bit just before the credits roll and I’d be all, “Brava! A masterpiece! Better than The Inner Light!”

With that in mind …

Season one, I definitely think Una was sidelined. Yes, the series opens with her voiceover, but she’s barely in the episode (I know there were plans for more, including an entire bridge set for the Archer built around her in the command chair, but that didn’t happen), then she’s barely in The Elysian Kingdom, All Those Who Wander, and A Quality of Mercy. (I’m on the fence for The Serene Squall.) We did have Ghosts of Illyria, of course, and I’m very happy for that focus episode.

Now, we have an interesting bookending here with Una’s presence critically important for the first and last episodes of season one, both of which rely on Pike searching for her. And that’s nice and all, but can a gal get some screen time? I was so concerned about this that I actually wondered if Rebecca Romjin having last billing (which, for those unfamiliar, can signify greater celebrity than other actors, a reduced role, or both) meant this was purposeful and the series was built to have less Una.

Then season two’s start sidelined her again. However, I feel like her small parts in The Broken Circle and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow make sense given the intense focus and line work needed in Ad Astra Per Aspera. My beloathed Among The Lotus Eaters seemed to forget her once she began to feel effects from the radiation she … canonically isn’t supposed to be affected by? (Look, I’m a Trekkie. Just throw me a Chapel line to Una like, “I don’t understand how this radiation is overriding your immune system,” and I’m happy. But the writers need to bother with such things.) Because Una, like Erica, can fly the ship? But Una is at least featured in that episode, including in command and as both a friend and XO to Pike, as she is in other season two episodes.

Bottom line: Over the two seasons, my take is Una is what a first officer should be in that we see her in personal and professional closeness with Pike — and she’s the connective tissue of the entire ship with a unique friendship not only with Pike but also with La’an, Joseph, and Spock (considering the Q&A Short Trek), plus a … complicated set of emotions with Pelia. Una stood up for Joseph, Christine, and Erica when Pike wasn’t cognizant enough of their pain in Under the Cloak of War. Una was there for La’an and La’an’s fears and heartbreak in Subspace Rhapsody. Una helped inspire Boimler (and who knows how many others) to join Starfleet via Those Old Scientists canon (and I love, love, love everything about Una and Pike agreeing that communicators are better than combadges). Considering Neera, Una even has a critically important friendship off the ship.

Do I want more? Hell, yeah. Because, despite all this, I agree that the vibes are Pike and Spock as central. And while part of me knows that Spock is too huge of a character in this franchise to not be prominent … I want more respect for Pike and as much Una as possible. I’d love what you say — an adventure for Chris and Una (arguable whether we kind of got that with others along for the ride in The Serene Squall) and just more of the two of them together. Give me allll of the “there was only one couch” scene in Charades, and then some. (I wish the early scene when the ensign says a derogatory remark about Illyrians in front of Una and Pike immediately shuts. that. shit. down hadn’t been cut from Ghosts of Illyria.)

(Note: I do agree with you that the show lacks direction and doesn’t know what to do with its leads. My examples here may make things seem better than they are.)

So, yeah, I think Una was sidelined in season one, but season two was an improvement, so hopefully that bodes well.

What do others think about this?

[bettercallselly-blog]

Hi everyone! The Leftovers Episode Three is finally out and here I am, trying to put things together as always. This episode was special and beautiful, completely different from all the others. It almost felt like I was watching a movie about the amazing character of Kevin Garvey Senior. We didn’t know much about him from Seasons One and Two: he is Kevin’s father, he’s a former police chief and he stopped working when he started hearing voices. He spent an indefinite number of years in a mental institution, and he finally got better when he stopped fighting the voices and started doing what they told him to do. The last thing we knew about him was that he decided to move to Australia as the voices recommended. I could not wait to know more about him and this episode is just what we needed to understand what kind of person he is and what’s the meaning of his journey. Apparently, he’s not hearing voices anymore and the last thing they told him was to move to Australia, without telling him exactly where to go or why. So he arrived in Sydney, bought a ticket for Verdi at the Opera House – that’s the second time we hear about Verdi in the serie, it’s impossibile to forget about the amazing episode International Assassin with Nabucco always in the background – and waited for some signs to come. The first signs he received was a hippie with a red headband who asked him if he wanted to talk to God.

“Son.. i’m fucked up on this s*it they call God’s tongue…”

“Then you’ve gotta talk in God’s tongue”, that’s what he told him. We already knew that “God’s tongue” is an high-end hallucinogen, used by K.G. Senior to communicate with Kevin through the Hotel’s television (International Assassin – s02e08). So… Do we have to take it for granted that Kevin is really God? Or that’s just a coincidence? But the odd part is yet to come, because K.G. Senior doesn’t remember a thing about that. He claimed he woke up two weeks later in a hotel room in Perth on the opposite coast of Australia and now he clearly has no memory of Kevin being in an identical hotel room. He doesn’t remember helping him with his situation, or telling him to take “his target” to the well. The only thing he remembers is his room with “a smoldering mattress and a bunch of white dudes lying around in war paint” and – and that’s the funny part – seeing a chicken in the television.

Apparently, on October 14th a small Australian town lost its entire population of 14 people, including the animals. The only living thing that didn’t depart was an egg, from which a few days later a chicken came out. Then people started talking about this chicken, claiming it could help people find what they were looking for. And that’s were K.G. Senior’s story really begins: he obviously went to see Tony, the chicken, and asked him to give him a purpose. Tony started pecking on an audio tape – the audio recorder was a present to Kevin from his mother, a month before she died – with a really weird and explanatory recording of Kevin and his father trying to stop the rain by singing a song. This moment brought two things to my mind:

 Kevin, trying to escape the Other Place by singing “Homeward Bound”, to prove his love for his family.

The National Geographic (may 1972) article about “The spider that lives underwater”. The song goes

“The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout – Down came the rain and washed the spider out – Out came the sun and dried up all the rain – And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again”.

That’s an obvious reference to the National Geographic article and to something that Christine mumbled right before giving birth to Lily in Season One

“The are spiders underwater”

Anyway, according to the recording the song seems to work and we hear the rain stop.

“On the seventh-year anniversary of the Sudden Departure, I believe the rains will come, and with them a great flood. I have to sing to make it stop”

That’s probably what gave K.G. Senior the idea to use music to stop the Apocalypse: his plan is to go all along the Australian Songline, learn all the songs from every sacred site and sing them in order to stop the world from ending.

At this point in the story he needs one last song to complete his mission. He looks for an aboriginal man called Christopher Sunday, who owns the last song he needs. He tells him his whole story, about his journey to Australia, about young Kevin and his mother and he asks him to teach him his song. This is probably the longest (and weirdest and most beautiful) monologue of the entire serie – with Verdi again in the background: K.G. Senior cries for the first time, remembering how little Kevin coped with his mother’s death… At the end of it, Chris agrees to give his song to K.G. Senior, in exchange for his help in fixing some water leaks on the ceiling. While doing that, he falls from the roof and lands right on Chris, killing him.

He ends up wandering alone in the desert, where he gets bitten by a snake. This scene is very significant because once again we are in front of a spirit animal (he claims his totem is a bush snake). Also, he gets bitten by the snake on his left arm, in the exact same spot as the cave woman from Season Two opening scene was bitten (and that’s also the same spot of Nora’s tattoo).

Anyway, the snake poison makes him sick, he collapses next to a wooden cross and he wakes up in the same house we saw in Episode Two last scene. We discover someone has taken care of him, and has given him some medications. Right out of the house some people are building a big ark, so maybe they’re waiting for a great flood too. That’s where he finds out that Chris has died, and that therefore he won’t be able to teach him the last song he needs. He goes back inside, takes some random medications from a cabinet and finds a photo album in the refrigerator, showing the life of a young woman, her husband and their five adopted children. He falls asleep watching the pictures and he wakes up a few hours later. That’s where everything starts to make sense again: the four ladies from last episode are right outside his door and they’re drowning the “other Kevin”. They hit the poor K.G.Sr with a dart, and he wakes up next day. Grace, the blonde lady from last week’s episode, is looking at him waiting for him to wake up. She tells him her heartbreaking story, of how she assumed that her children had departed and found their bones two years later next to her house. She had a strong faith in God and strongly believed that the Departure was really the Rapture and her children had been chosen by God to ascend to heaven with him. She’s now devoured by guilt and she’s desperately trying to make sense of her tragic story. That’s why she thought K.G. Senior was an angel, sent by God to give her a message: he was standing on the exact same spot where her children died, with a page from “The Book Of Kevin” in his hands. She thought that God was asking her to find this police officer named Kevin, the only man on earth who couldn’t die and who was able to help her talk to her children for the last time. She didn’t expect her beliefs to cause someone’s death, again, and now she’s broken. That’s why the last scene is so beautifully powerful. Grace is crying because she thinks God has forsaken her and it takes just one sentence to fix her broken heart:

“You just got the wrong Kevin”.

The world is not over. God is still there with her, and she has a purpose again. It seems that these two people are going to help each other achieving their destinies..

I really loved this episode in a special way. Kevin Garvey Senior is an amazing and strong human being. He sacrificed everything he had in order to save the world and help his son, even though he seems to think that he himself, not Kevin, is the only man alive who can prevent the Apocalypse, and that Kevin is just a part in his own story.

Interesting facts:

– The National Geographic is back!! – “I don’t want him in Australia”. That’s what K.G.Sr says about Kevin. Why doesn’t he want him to go to Australia? I guess we’ll find out in the next episode! – We finally found out something about Kevin’s mother.. Apparently she died of cancer when he was 8. – K.G. started hearing voices five minutes after the Departure… Was he the very first man having a connection with dead people? – K.G. Senior leaning on Kevin’s old recorder to protect it from the rain reminded me of Nora bent over Lily on the bridge (s02e10) – In Season One K.G.Sr didn’t care about killing the deer. Now he apologizes to a snake, before killing him. His trip to Australia has changed him so much, now he even has a spirit animal, a totem. – Matt seems to be sick again. :( – Grace’s last name is Playford, which is also the last name of Thomas Playford, leader of the Millerite movement in Australia!! – Christoper Sunday is played by David Gulpilil, who was in a 1977 movie called “The Last Wave” where we meet a character named David Burton (just like our Leftovers character, who came back from the dead and found himself in a cave in Perth after being in the Hotel). The movie also talk about a flood that might end the world. – The man on fire says “They didn’t take me”. Is he talking about the LADR radiation “treatment”? This scene is also a reference from the movie “Walkabout”, also starring David Gulpilil. (Thanks Jim Kathan for finding this news)

– Australia is the beautiful new setting for the story, so full of magic because of the aboriginal rituals and traditions, their painted bodies, and the sacred paths called The Songline. The wide evocative landscapes are often forbidden to strangers because traditional Aboriginal people regard all land as sacred, and the songs must be continually sung in order to keep the land “alive”. We are even shown a picture of Uluru, the main sacred rock of Australian aboriginal people, in the photo album that K.G.Sr finds in Grace’s refrigerator.

  The Leftovers – RECENSIONE 03×03 “Crazy Whitefella Thinking” Hi everyone! The Leftovers Episode Three is finally out and here I am, trying to put things together as always.

[xdivinexchaosx]

When is it no longer opinion but fact?

I got into a debate with a girl I went to school with today online… Opinion is relative, and most of my statements are indeed fact, not personal opinion. It’s not my opinion it’s raining when I’m standing in a downpour. It’s fact. I literally don’t have the time to fact check you on everything you said. There are so many things inaccurate with what you just said (also fact). But let’s give this a go, cause I’d hate to just leave you uninformed so heres just the short list. 

You can claim Trump isn’t racist, but his words and statements are often racist, not sure how you draw the line between racists words from one person repeatedly, and them being a racist. Fact: (http://www.realtruenews.org/single-post/2016/08/18/FACT-CHECK-Is-Trump-Racist) There were literally so many videos, websites, polls, and references I couldn’t decide, I liked this one because it also provided links to other sources. Look them up for yourself. In terms of “groping a woman” you literally just defended by saying it was 10 years ago. So… he’s 70 years old, it’s okay for a 60 year old man to grab or kiss a woman without her consent? Here’s the video, his own words for a refresher: (http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/trump-brags-groping-women-vulgar-remarks-caught-tape-42662787)  and these aren’t just words, these are him talking about his behavior, things he actually did. “I just kiss. I don’t even wait… Grab them by the pussy.” And of course, never to disappoint there is many more gross, lewd and mean comments about women both audio/video as well as tweets from him, not the media. Your response for this behavior is it “is minimal to some of the stuff I have heard from men,” so because you’ve heard meaner, grosser, and greater level of inappropriate comments these are excusable? I don’t condone any unwanted, cruel or malicious comments. That’s harassment, and is not okay, no matter how high a level of inappropriate. Christine, we’re not talking about the Clintons, we’re talking about Trump (and don’t bring them into this because you assume I support the clintons), and if we’re talking about rape, lets see, didn’t Trump get accused of the rape of a 13 year old girl? Yes he did (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-rape-case_us_581a31a5e4b0c43e6c1d9834) and she is still suing him. No, I don’t support victim blaming (reference my statement earlier of not condoning mean comments) but we’re not talking about simply talking badly about them, we’re talking about, again, condoning, accepting or making excuses for the behavior of a person who is actually accused of doing them, that you yourself support. Moving right along, you brought up one of my favorite topics, “His win was a landslide, if all these people felt so strongly against Trump, why did they not vote and let their voices be heard? That’s a way to get your voice heard, to exercise your right to vote.” We did, the nation did, the American people did speak, and they didn’t pick Trump (http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/president). Here, I did the math, just incase you didn’t want to.That is 2,864,974 MORE people for the other candidate, thats 2,864,974 more than Donald Trump. That is almost 3 million people more, and I didn’t even include the votes for other parties, thats even MORE people who didn’t pick him. They, we the people did speak. The electoral college won him the office, not the people. Do you know how the electoral college works? You seem to be confused on the voting numbers and how he actually got into office. Now, conservatives love to speak down about protestors and damage. I don’t like the damage either, if I’m being honest. I’m much more peaceful, but sometimes it just has to happen, you know how this country was started, you know how the progress of this nation has leaped forward?  By literally fighting and tearing down the power’s hold on things.The Boston tea party- guess what Britain, we’re not standing for your shit anymore. Which lead to a war, because Americans were tired of being oppressed by the royal regime. The Civil war, was fought over many things but is often attributed to the end of slavery. Which then lead, through a number of instances to the many movements throughout time, the women movement, the civil rights movement, the sexual revolution and most recently the gay rights and equal rights movement. And here were are again. And you know what all these things have in common, besides wanting equality and freedom? Some shit just had to get broken. And, since you’re so keen on lacking proper information about your chosen leader, let me help you out again, Trump supporters have been involved with violence (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anti-muslim-hate-trump-supporters_us_57fbcd79e4b0e655eab66379) and here’s a video, there’s actually lots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC0eRPIsBbQ) now I’m not saying the opposite hasn’t happened, because I know it has, there’s video of those too. But not many support it like Trump does here he is with his own words again, “Knock the crap out of them… I promise you I will pay for the legal fees.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzYv5foyAS8) Where is that mending bridges and mending the divide, Christine? Where? And this train just keeps plugging along, we now reach Obamacare, which is actually the affordable care act, and I don’t know your personal body issues, I don’t know your health, your doctor, your income or the plan you selected and/or were eligible. There are so many variables, I can’t make comment and again I’m not sure what part you played in getting to that number. But I rather have some then none, and I know many of my friends would, again not opinion, fact. They need their meds to live. Fact. They needed that doctor visit, to check on their baby. Fact. They needed that cancer screening. Fact. So you can opinion all you like with people’s lives, I can’t. I’m worried about more than myself… The march, Trump doesn’t agree with the march? I wonder why that is? Who actually opposes equality? Who opposes your right to chose? And I mean for anything not just sexual health and concerns, I mean for all aspects of your body. And the march, literally the largest march, gathering, protest (whatever you’d like to call it) in our country’s history and possibly the world, because the world literally also stood with us. The number is still coming in but over 3 million people in the United States alone rallied yesterday in the name of women, equality and love. There were no arrest, no vandalism, it was possibly the most peaceful and largest human gathering of protest on Earth, in history. And if that alone, isn’t a little scary that the election of the man you support literally brought the world together in such an event is staggering. And don’t for one second try to give him claim that he did that, he gets to play his part because the world is afraid of him in this powerful position of president…. “I was offended by certain things bill Clinton did but did I burn buildings or lash out at others for it?” No, I don’t think you did because you were between the ages of what, 5 and 13? I don’t think either of the Clintons are perfect, and I am fully aware of their faults (again don’t assume I’m their fan, let alone leader of their fan club, I’m not)… “I have been judged, bullied, lost friends and family all because I have a different opinion than others.” There is a big difference between being being called out on/made fun/bullied based off opinion than that of your very being. You ever stop and wonder why they distanced themselves from you? Could it be because the person you support (Trump) makes them (your friends and family) feel unsupported so by default (since you support him) you must not support them? And it is true, you can’t okay your friends and family, say you support them and then condemn their friends, partners and relations to the whims of everyone else by the simple fact of, “well, I don’t know them.” Because in someone else’s house, your friend/relative/loved one is the person they don’t know. I am gay, thats never been a secret. That’s not a choice, that’s not an option. It’s a FACT. There are other species on this planet with homosexuality in them, 1,500 roughly, humans too. It’s not my opinion, it’s FACT. It’s often religious, and (claimed to be) moral questioners that deny and fight that. There is a difference between someone bothered you liking oranges over someone not liking your very existence. Something tells me you weren’t told you deserved to be murdered, beaten up, to go to hell for you having the audacity for showing up to school that day. And for years, not just a conversation, not just a small group. Years. Years of people who know nothing about me except I happen to like dudes saying the most heinous, vile and hateful things because I exist. Not because I like oranges, not because I voted for a certain candidate, because I just want to be left alone and be equal. Because I want to just go about my day un-assaulted. No one makes laws, religious bible print outs, laws, bills, propositions and the like that limit, deny or strip the rights away for you to like Trump or to like baked goods. Fact, 28 states are fighting over anti-LGBTQ legislation over 200 bills are being proposed to deny rights and various other forms of protections and equality, and thats just in the past two years, lets not speculate on the future and I can’t even tell you how many laws have come and gone in the past (http://www.hrc.org/blog/anti-lgbt-bills-introduced-in-28-states). Now tell me one law that restricts your right to like Trump, or not even Trump, anything else, over your beliefs and feelings. So lets clarify again once more, these aren’t feelings I speak but facts. I know the cause and effect, I know the cost and not only to myself but to the people of this country and to the world. America doesn’t need to be great again, America is great. I know I’m part of the solution, I know I’m part of the inclusion, while your leader divides, I’m over here fighting for women, gays, trans, people of color of all nationalities and countries all around the world for their chance, their rights and their equality. I march with my brothers and sisters, I will march today, tomorrow and the next. I will protests, I will speak out because that is America. We are built of discourse and disobedience, we’re also built of every race, creed, color, religion and orientation. And I wont thumbs up someone who questions that.