#in my head I think I could be in starfleet but then I think about the events in an average episode of star trek and it’s like.

[wrinkleintime]

enterprise text posts: featuring starfleet’s most reluctant astronaut, hoshi <3

[appavevo]

i’m pretty well removed from the “trauma” of my childhood that whenever stuff like that happens again it’s interesting to see how quickly i go to my coping habits and it’s okay oh yea! that’s why i’m like that

[ddejavvu]

hiiii! i was wondering if maybe you could do spencer reid meeting readers dad and he's scared asf bc the dad is huge, scary-looking, and super intimidating but then the dad ends up being a total nerd just like reid? thank you, have a good day!

my dad is a nerd this spoke to me <3

--

It doesn't matter how much time Spencer spends around Morgan; he's still uneasy around people whose arms are thicker than his head. Meeting your dad goes just about as well as you'd thought it would, with a stutter and a stammer here and there from Spencer, and some very red cheeks.

"It's lovely to meet- meet you, sir." Spencer manages to clear his throat enough to say the words, and the stoic nod your dad sends back doesn't calm his nerves.

"Spencer," Your dad recites his name from the stories you'd told him, firmly shaking his hand that you're relieved Spencer offered, "Y/N speaks very highly of you."

"I do," You gush, rushing forwards to loop your arm around Spencer's and lead him into the house before his knees buckle from anxiety, "Come on, Spence, my mom's in the backyard waiting for us."

Spencer's keen eyes pick up on the little grey tablet displayed on the edge of your dad's desk as you pass his home office, and when you pass through the kitchen, he ducks his head to whisper against your ear.

"Is that a PADD? Like- from Star Trek?"

"Oh!" You brighten, having forgotten the love both your dad and your boyfriend share for the franchise, "Yeah! Dad," You call, where he's locking the door behind you, "Spencer likes your Trekkie stuff."

It successfully breaks through your father's rather intimidating exterior, and his unapproachable expression brightens into a kind smile.

"Son, I didn't know you liked Star Trek," The man beams, and you feel the way Spencer's tense muscles loosen at your dad's jovial tone, "That should have been the first thing Y/N told me about you."

"Pardon me," You groan teasingly, "I wanted you to know his name first."

"Not important," Your dad cracks, stopping by the door to his office and beckoning Spencer forwards, "Y/N, go get your mom and tell her Spencer's here. I don't often get the chance to show off my memorabilia, I'm not gonna waste it now."

"Oh, dad," You groan, but Spencer's all-too-enticed by the promise of a replica of Commander La Forge's VISOR, and follows the man without a second thought.

"Mom," You call, stepping through the back door and finding her kneeling beside a bed of tulips, "Spencer's here, but I don't think you'll see him for the next ten years."

Her brows furrow, and you supply, "He's in dad's office. He asked about the PADD."

"Oh, that man," She groans, rising to her feet and brushing dirt off of her gardening gloves, "Honey, go in there, save him!"

"It's okay," You laugh, smearing away a speck of dirt that's stuck to her arm, "He likes it, mom. He's a big fan."

"You be careful," She instructs, brow furrowed as she takes your hand, "If those two start watching the shows together, your dad is going to see him more than you do."

"I won't lose him!" You promise with a giggle, leading her inside, "But we should stop Dad before he tries showing Spencer his Starfleet uniforms; I want to have lunch before it gets dark."

[isagrimorie]

Because the whole Tuvix wank is rearing its head every week on Trek forums, I finally decided to rewatch this episode. I mostly avoided it because I am So Tired of the wank and how it's been relitigated for YEARS.

I was over it when it first popped up and I was even more over it with the way it's used as a bludgeon to promote 'psycho Janeway'.

But what's left out in the discussions is Kes's part in all of this, from the jump, Kes was troubled with the merging of Neelix and Tuvok, and anytime Tuvix tried to make advances, she just kept getting more uncomfortable.

(When Tuvix unconsciously touched Kes's shoulder, it looked like she had to consciously not flinch.)

To Tuvix's credit, he did give Kes space and respected her wishes but she was not happy with the whole merge because her relationship with Neelix and Tuvok is different.

We don't see the other people grieve but we see Kes's grief and confusion, which was shared by Janeway. But also, the moment the EMH had a solution to separate the two people in Tuvix, Harry jumped at the chance.

And he's already spent weeks with Tuvix.

The irony is that Janeway was coming around to thinking of Tuvix as an individual but the cure presented itself, but also as the Ship's Captain she has an obligation to care for her crew and absent or not that meant advocating for the two voices who couldn't speak up: Tuvok and Neelix.

Kes was the deciding factor. Kes made her plea to separate Neelix and Tuvok.

Kes was the biggest reason why Janeway decided to separate Tuvok from Neelix.

It was such a cop-out from the Doctor that he refused to do the procedure he made and pioneered. And forced Janeway to execute it instead.

Janeway is clearly not happy about the decision and she's caught between a rock and a hard place.

In Nothing Human Janeway verbalizes it.

"Any consequences of this decision will be my responsibility. Dismissed."

Janeway's constantly put into a wheelhouse of trolley problems, as the only high-ranking Starfleet officer, she is the final authority. In Nothing Human everyone is locked in an endless debate about the morality of using the Cardassians' methods to save B'Elanna's life. Meanwhile, the clock was running down to zero and B'Elanna could have died more.

(Honestly, the story should have been more B'Elanna, Doctor, and Janeway-centric than it was. Nothing Human is a weird episode. Especially since Seven was barely in it and seems to be the Acting Chief Engineer -- amusingly enough because the writers thought they killed Joe Carey between s2 and 3. Alas, poor Vorik, he's not getting any promotions either).

TLDR: Janeway is constantly living through what the Doctor of Doctor Who is living through. Or as the 12th Doctor once said: "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose."

[scootingaround12]

So I’ve been on kinda a Star Trek lower decks kick lately and one idea I’ve come across that won’t leave me alone is that Brad Boimlers is an augmented human.

Like maybe one or more of his parents had health issues/problems that they really didn’t want passed down to their child/ would make it so that child wouldn’t survive to adulthood.

But they were still desperate for a biological child of their own so ended up going to some shady doctor/scientist who said that they would rewrite the baby’s genetic code enough so that it wouldn’t have the health issues but still be there’s genetically.

In order to do this they basically had to create DNA that self replicated and healed as the baby lived so that none of the health conditions would kill him. It was partly successful, while Brad is very frail and displays a lot of the health issues and allergies of his parent/s he’s still able to mostly be healthy.

An unforeseen side effect of this was purple hair and that when enough adrenaline is pumping and the body feels like it has to go into survival mode the self healing DNA kicks into overdrive and he’s somehow able to survive experiences that would kill most others.

Seriously he’s come back from death/near death like 3 times and off the top of my head survived falling off a mountain with a local stating he’s the first she’s seen live afterwards in a current episode.

Also this is absolutely me looking way to deeply into a joke but I’m on a roll so hear we go: Mariner makes a comment that no Brad isn’t aging in reverse he just doesn’t get enough vitamins, what if due to his DNA constantly having to repair itself it basically leaches important vitamins and minerals from his body resulting in Brad being underweight and scrawny he also has problem digesting certain foods so has a hard time getting nutrients from that. He definitely should be on some kind of medical grade supplements but he’s delt with it his entire life and to him it’s normal (his parents were not risking taking him to a doctor more than they had to in fear they might find something out).

The whole but about him dying his hair could be him being paranoid about Starfleet listening to logs and him trying to cover his tracks if his hairs ever brought up. Also another person mentioned his admiration of Una to me and watching the episode it honestly felt deliberate with how clearly he hero worships her along with mentioning how he joined star fleet because of her, Una who’s Illyrian species known for it’s genetic modifications.

I’m thinking that Brad is a genetically modified human and starfleet as a strict no augmented humans allowed rule due to past experiences and worries they have about their unstable DNA.

Brad however has always dreamed of being in starfleet so despite the risks joins claiming to be just a regular human who some less than great genetics.

Honestly I think it could also be a really interesting way to show the not so nice and downright prejudice aspects of starfleet as a whole.

Especially if Brad is ever found out, since not only would he be kicked out he’d most likely be arrested for lying to starfleet about being an augmented human.

Starfleet is in no way prepared for the fury that is mariner, Tendi and Rutherford along with the entire cerritos crew coming for them.

[captainsophiestark]

Irregular Heartbeat

Bones McCoy x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober, and for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Star Trek

Day Eighteen Prompt: "You always have a plan."

Summary: Bones's SO has a Valentine's Day surprise planned for him that's fit for the CMO of the Enterprise.

Word Count: 1,295

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Jim!"

My best friend, Jim Kirk, whirled around at the sound of my voice, one eyebrow raised. He was incredibly used to me and my shenanigans, so he didn't even look phased as I charged towards him while he waited for the machine to fill his cup with caf.

"I need you to distract Bones for, like, half an hour. Preferably today. And within the next hour," I said, only slightly breathless as I reached him.

"So... you want me to go distract Bones as soon as I get my caf?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Jim grinned at me. "You know I'm in. But care to tell me why?"

"I've got a Valentine's Day suprirse I want to put together for him. It's the first time we've been a couple for the holiday, and I want to do something special."

"And I take it you already have a plan?" I gave Jim a withering look and he just laughed. "Of course. You always have a plan."

"Damn right I do. Now come on, take that caf to go and get out of here. I've got things to do today."

"Alright, alright, I'm going. But next time you pull me away from a rare break to help you with something, it better be for a prank. Not a date."

I grinned. "I think I can commit to that deal."

Jim smirked back at me, then raised his cup of caf in mock salute as he strode out of the cafeteria, off to distract Bones. I paused, letting him get a little bit ahead of me so there was no chance of running into him or my boyfriend on their way out of medical, then quickly made my way through the familiar hallways of the Enterprise.

Luckily for me, when I made it to sickbay (after one brief stop in my quarters), it was almost completely empty. Jim must've been doing as I'd asked in getting Bones out of here, and now, I had exactly the window I needed to pull off my Valentine's Day surprise.

I made my way to one of the heart rate monitors and popped open the back panel, then got to work breaking it the way I wanted to break it. Althought Starfleet Engineering hadn't covered exactly this kind of change to equipment on a starship, it had been a thorough enough course that I had the skills regardless.

Once I finished, I tested my handiwork, then grinned and made everything look like it had before I'd showed up. Finally, I snuck the bouquet of fresh roses I'd managed to secure on our last shore leave out of my bag, tucking them behind the pillows of the bed. I paused to take one last look at my setup, then took off out of sickbay with a grin. Not a moment later, I heard Jim's voice echoing loudly down the corridor, clearly trying to give me a heads up about his return with Bones.

I hid around the corner while Bones and Jim said their goodbyes, then waited for Jim's footsteps to fade in the opposite direction before turning the corner and reentering sickbay.

"Hey," I said, a small smile on my face as I found Bones just outside his office. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He'd had a slight frown on his face when he'd first turned around, but it dissolved the moment he saw me.

"Hey yourself. Happy Valentine's Day." He took a few steps closer to me, a faint smile growing on his face as he approached. "What brings you in? I wasn't expecting to get to see you until tonight."

"Actually... I'm feeling a little rough. I was hoping you could check me out."

Bones narrowed his eyes. "...Is this a bad pickup line?"

"What? No!"

He held up his hands in surrender, then gently stepped forward and took my elbow.

"Alright. Valentine's Day and all, I had to check. Let's get you on a bed."

"And you're talking to me about bad pickup lines?"

Bones snorted, and I grinned. I didn't wait for him to direct me to a bed, and instead I headed straight for the one I'd just finished modifying. Bones didn't even bat an eye at my decision, instead following me over and carefully getting me hooked up to the various monitoring machines.

"Do you want to tell me about your symptoms?" he asked as he worked. I sighed.

"I don't know, I just haven't been feeling well. A little lighthearted, a little fluttering in my chest."

I expected Bones to make another bad pickup line comment, but clearly, he'd switched into doctor mode. He just hummed as he continued to work.

"And what's been your food and water to caffeine ratio so far today?"

I grunted. "Food, water, and no caffeine so far, thank you very much."

Bones just gave me a look, which I couldn't really argue. Too much caffeine and not enough other, better fuel had been the cause of me not feeling good before, and we both knew it.

"Well, let's see what we can see here, hm?"

I barely managed to fight back a giddy smile as Bones turned to look at the monitor read out, including the heart rate monitor. What he found, instead of the normally reading beeping line, was the green line tracing the shape of a (non-anatomical) heart. I snuck my hand behind my pillow to retrieve the roses while Bones blinked at the display in shock.

"My god... what is..." He glanced from the monitor to me, then got halfway through turning back to the monitor before stopping to stay on me and my roses. His wide eyes and slightly-open mouth were instantly replaced with a squint and a frown. "What did you do to this monitor?"

"I made it cute for Valentine's Day!" I replied. I held out the roses to him, but before I could get through another word, he'd crossed his arms and fixed me with a glare.

"I thought something was seriously wrong, either with you or with my highly-sophisticated medical equipment, which is essential to the health and safety of this crew. What if we'd had an emergency situaiton before you could fix this, or even tell me about it?"

I sighed.

"I hear you, baby, but come on. I made sure the odds of that were crazy low, it's one monitor, and I made the whole thing easy to fix."

"Easy enough that a non-engineer who didn't know the machine had been tampered with could fix it?"

"Yes."

Bones raised an eyebrow, so I sighed, and used my free hand to give the machine a nice hard whack. Theoretically, the same one a stressed and confused medical professional would give it in the heat of the moment.

It beeped, then the readout changed back to the normal, boring heart monitor readout. I turned back to Bones with a look.

He sighed. "Fine. But you still scared me when I saw that coming up as a readout of your heart beat."

"Just take the roses and get M'benga to cover the end of your shift. This is just the first Valentine's surprise of the day."

Despite himself, a smile clawed its way onto my boyfriend's face. I grinned back at him. I knew he couldn't hold out here much longer.

"Alright, fine," he said, taking the roses out of my hand and leaning in to give me a kiss. I leaned up and into it, bringing one hand up to rest at the nape of his neck. After a long, sweet moment, he pulled back. "I'm all yours until dinner tonight."

"What happens at dinner tonight?"

"Then it's my turn to take over with the Valentine's planning. I put together a nice dinner for the both of us, and as a bonus, it won't give either of us a heart attack."

I laughed and leaned up to kiss him again.

"Sounds perfect to me."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21

[bulkyphrase]

Avengers in Space - a fic rec list

I love the Avengers and I love outer space, and these are a few of my favorite stories that combine the two.

What do you mean we left Clint on Mars? by sara_holmes (@captn-sara-holmes) (WinterHawk, Teen And Up Audiences, 24,537 words)

Summary: “What do you mean we left Clint on Mars?” Cap’s incredulous voice cuts through the stunned silence of the cockpit, loud and shocked. He’s standing there with his cowl in hand, gaping at the holo-screen at the front of the jet. Next to him, Tony is standing with his hands on his head, mouth hanging open in a similar fashion. Over on the other side of the cockpit is Jane, who has both palms clapped across her mouth like she’s trying to hold back hysterical giggles. For his part, Bucky is just staring at the screen like he can’t quite believe what’s going on.

Straight on till Morning by @sineala (Stony, Explicit, 109,848 words)

Summary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he'd never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony's own design. What's more, the Avenger's captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive... and very, very attractive. But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own -- and the truth could change everything. Also available as a podfic read by M_Samro (@msamro)

More below the cut!

A Far Better Thing I Do by @brighteyedjill (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,333 words)

Summary: A mysterious man with no paper trail was involved in a bloody attack on a meeting of Starfleet admirals. James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise have tracked him to the Klingon home wold, Kronos, where they have threatened to unleash the experimental torpedoes Admiral Marcus sent with them unless the man surrenders. That man, Steve Rogers, has other ideas.

Into That Good Night by Nonymos (Stucky, Explicit, 73,540 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit. But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

Wandering Stars by @sabrecmc (Stony, Explicit, 24,470 words)

Summary: Alien Steve/Astronaut Tony (oviposition)

Cold Space, Warm Welcome by Annie D (@no-gorms) (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 15,572 words)

Summary: Tony’s spent a couple of years flying around the galaxy in his best friend Rhodey’s spaceship the Iron Advance, doing what could perhaps be counted as ‘hero’ work. Among their allies is Steve Rogers, captain of his own crew, with whom Tony has a… potentially friendly relationship. When Steve’s ship is irreparably damaged, Rhodey takes him and his whole crew onto the Iron Advance to recover. Tony’s not at all nervous about this, because so what if this is the first time Steve will see him without the Iron Man armor?

Space Between by NachoDiablo (Samsteve, Teen And Up Audiences, 9,157 words)

Summary: Sam has a quiet life on a newly inhabited planet. He spends his days tending the garden plots and avoiding his past. But right before an impending storm, a fugitive crash lands in his space and upsets his solitude.

The Truth When Captains Meet by Kimra (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 2,303 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers wakes up on an alien’s space ship being carried bridal style by Carol Danvers. As far as first meetings go, it’s memorable.

Brisingr by @ironychan (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 155,649 words)

Summary: When Jane Foster discovers an object on a course for the inner solar system, it looks like a job for the Avengers. But when what looked like a comet turns out to be a refugee ship from another galaxy, it's not clear whose job this is anymore. Tony Stark and the Vision find they have an uncomfortable amount in common with the creatures called the Brisings, while Jane learns that the aliens are being followed by something they thought they'd left behind five million years ago. Set post-AOU, pre-CW.

Liberate Tutemet Ex Inferis (Save yourself from hell) by Terrenis, with art by @kaiwrites (James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Explicit, 55,989 words)

Summary: In the Year 2060, Stark Aeronautics and Space Administration's prestige project, the “Event Horizon”, was on its maiden voyage with the newly developed Arc Reactor Gravity Drive, only to disappear beyond Neptune’s orbit without a trace. Now, seven years later, a transmission from the eighth planet is received, along with a very disturbing audio record. Tony Stark, who not only wants to redeem his reputation, but also needs to know what happened on the ship, goes on a mission with the enhanced Inhuman ragtag crew of the Singularity to salvage his baby. Little do they know that this is literally going to be a trip to hell… Or that totally unnecessary Event Horizon AU that no one asked for. But I’m going to write it anyway.

Catch a Falling Star by tsukinofaerii (Stony, Explicit, 42,741 words)

Summary: When Tony was sixteen, he got to meet his hero, Captain Steve Rogers, the Empire's not-literally-golden boy from the Continuity Wars. When he was twenty-seven, the aforementioned Captain turned Pirate picked him up at the outer edges of space. It would have been a good time to appreciate the abundant nudity that came from spending too much time with space colonists, but Tony had bigger worries than even Rogers' amazing hip-to-shoulder ratio. Something was sending the star-encircling computers that power the galaxy into a tailspin, and it was going to take a lot more than luck and skill to clean the mess up.

Luminosity by CSHfic, VSfic (Stony, Mature, 60,922 words)

Summary: The Avengers organize a two month mission to investigate an anomaly in space that appears to be engulfing planets, Steve is worried about leaving Tony alone, and Hawkeye is just worried about being left behind. But then something goes wrong. Steve drags himself out of the wreckage of their ship, on a planet that shouldn’t exist, the Avengers are missing, Iron Man is torn to scraps, and Tony has a lot of explaining to do. Or, in which Steve has no clue that Tony is Iron Man, and it takes crash-landing on an alien planet for him to find out.

Gravitational Pull by @antigrav-vector (Stony, Explicit, 29,718 words)

Summary: A strange temple floating in space is discovered, and Steve and Tony are the logical choices to go investigate. What they find is going to make or break their relationship...

Inquiries into Orbital Dynamics (The Mission Controllers' Remix) by Muccamukk (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,591 words)

Summary: When a mysterious object appears in orbit around the Moon, NASA teams up with the Avengers to investigate it. This is NASA's story. Inspired by Gravitational Pull

everybody needs a reason why they run by napricot (Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Explicit, 77,888 words)

Summary: Pepper doesn’t often regret the improbable circumstances and choices that brought her, Tony, and Jim to the SGC and then to Atlantis. After all, being an intergalactic explorer is way cooler than being the right hand woman of Stark Industries’ heir Tony Stark. But when strangers show up during her Gate team’s milk run of a trading mission, she’s got a bad feeling she knows better than to ignore. Which is how Pepper’s Gate team ends up picking up a stray in the form of a metal-armed runner with a mysterious past and learning about a dangerous new sect of Wraith worshippers called Hydrans. But the Atlanteans aren’t the only ones interested in the Hydrans: there are stories spreading throughout the Pegasus Galaxy about the Nomad and the Widows, three maybe-heroes who have set their sights on the Hydrans and the Wraith. Meanwhile, Tony’s trying to figure out if there’s something more to Atlantis’s helpful new hospitality-oriented subroutines, and Master Sergeant Sam Wilson is trying to have just one offworld mission where shit doesn’t get weird.

a war could be our only hope by @aceofwands (Stony, Explicit, 62,817 words)

Summary: Steve emerges in the future, where the Federation is fighting a war against the totalitarian Dominion. Traumatised from his experience with the Borg, Tony already has enough trouble coping without Steve's return bringing up unexpected feelings.

[gallavichsreddie1128]

The Protective and The Oblivious (Q)

Description: Q likes Y/N but she is oblivious until he is over protective of her.

Word Count:828

Request: How about a continuation of your overprotective fics? Q comes across the reader for the first time and finds her intriguing. After some time he continues to grow attached while she remains oblivious. Maybe he sees her getting harassed by a male crewmember and he goes feral. Thank you!!

Y/N watched from her spot on the bridge as Q teased Picard. She wasn’t sure what he was doing here but he sure loved to tease the captain. He loved to tease everyone, except for her. Picard found it strange as did she. She wasn’t sure why the god never was mean to her. Riker, on the other hand, always smirked when it got brought up.

It was like he knew something she did not. She didn’t understand what made her so different from the others. “And hello to my favorite human.” Q flirted as he walked up the ramp to her. She smiled at him and he got really close to her. “Back off Q.” Picard said to him but the god didn’t listen. “My my my it has been awhile since I have seen you.” He says and she thinks back to the last time.

It has been awhile. “Q.” Picard growled. Q looked at the captain, “Now Picard you cannot expect me not to get friendly when I will be staying on this ship for a week.” A week? She thought. She giggled at the thought of him messing with the captain for a whole week.

He looked down at her in surprise. She giggled. “Something making you giggle, cupcake?” He asked her and her face went red. Riker smirked at the interaction but Picard was more than pissed. He was not ready for a week with the god. 

Q didn’t care for privacy at all. Especially with the captain and Y/N. While Picard would yell and scream at him, Y/N would giggle and explain what she was doing. The look in Q’s eyes as he watched the woman talk about the new book she was reading was of pure lust and love.

Though she had no idea that he was looking at her like that. He had to admit, her obliviousness was cute but it was also kind of annoying. He was trying so hard to make it obvious that he was into her but she never caught on. “You are the most adorable human I’ve ever come across.” He said and that still flew over her head as flirting.

He wished that she would just see that he was hopelessly in love with her. “Q, I am sleepy.” She told him as she yawned. He snapped his fingers and she in a pair of fluffy PJ’s. She gasped and looked down. “Q these are so cute.” She gushed and rubbed her arms and legs feeling the fabric.

He smiled at that and watched at how amused she was. “Do you need a big fluffy blanket?” He asked and she nodded. He didn’t make a blanket appear like she thought he would. He got on the bed and laid beside her before opening his arms to her. She had a confused look but just shrugged and laid in his arms. It was better than a big fluffy blanket. 

The next morning when she woke Q was not there. She felt herself fill up with disappointment but then she smiled as she thought of where he could be and who he could be annoying. She looked at the time and decided to get ready for her shift. On the bridge she was training a new ensign that arrived on the ship 3 days ago.

He was very tall but short with words. He didn’t say much and seemed to be bored and not interested in anything she had to say. It got to the point where during the shift she had made a small mistake and the ensign blew up on her. Her eyes widened as the guy yelled at her and called her stupid.

Before anyone could say anything Q appeared and he looked angry. Y/N watched as he got in the ensign’s face and threatened him. “Yell at her again your tongue will be ripped away and you will no longer use words.” He growled. The ensign looked scared as he backed away from Q but Q followed. Y/N watched as Q made the guy cry but she didn’t feel bad. The guy was very rude and obviously not for starfleet.

She watched as he ran off the bridge. Q turned around and looked at the girl he was so fond of. She didn’t have the look of fear in her eyes but the look of gratefulness? “Thank you, but you did not have to do that.” She said to him. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I will always protect you.” He said softly and she stared up at him with shock.

Did Q have feelings for her? “Yes and I have for a while now.” She looked at him as he answered the question she thought. “Thank you for finally noticing.” Before she could answer his lips were on hers and she was thankfully that he had been over protective of her and she caught on.

[v-o-i-d-e-d]

I've been binging romcoms with my younger sister and we just finished "To all the boys I have loved before" and now I can't get the idea out of my head: reader writing letters for different starfleet members without intending to send them and suddenly the letters are gone and being sent to their unintended targets (lol, probably Jim did it not knowing that they were not supposed to be read or something). Problem is: our favorite vulcan will too be receiving quite a love letter. Idk, I just thought it was cute, you can ignore if it's too silly ^\\\^

This was such a cute request and I love rom-com-type situations so I ran wild. Also, I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get out I have been busy with school and other annoying responsibilities! I hope you enjoy it!

Title: Message in a Bottle

Pairing: Spock x Kirk!reader

Warnings- none!

Word Count: 4047 my hand slipped

            Lieutenant (Y/N) Kirk had been having a totally normal day. She completed her duties on the bridge as normal and had just finished eating dinner with her brother Jim. Now as she headed back to her room, she could not wait to shower, crawl into bed, and enjoy the next few hours of sleep before she had to get up and do everything again. When she entered her room the automated door hissed closed and she was finally completely alone. She took a deep breath and turned the lights in the room on. She almost immediately noticed something that completely ruined her peace.

 Earlier that morning, (Y/N) was clearing out her storage closet and had sat a white box full of envelopes on her dining room table so that she would remember to find a new place for them. That box was no longer on the table. Now, one might think why is a missing box of envelopes a big deal? Well, they aren’t. It’s the fact that the envelopes were all properly addressed and full of letters to people she knew that she never intended to send. A few sappy ‘thank you’s to old teachers, a couple to her higher-ups including Captain Christopher Pike – the man who told the Kirk siblings to enroll in Star Fleet Academy. These letters would be slightly embarrassing if they got out but nothing (Y/N) couldn’t handle. After all, everything she wrote in them was true and she appreciates everything those people have done for her. There was only one letter in that whole box that worried (Y/N)—her love letter – a detailed love letter – to one Commander Spock. She cursed herself for writing and keeping a love letter in the first place though she didn’t anticipate the whole box would disappear. She tried to think back to earlier to see if she could remember if she moved it, but when she left her room after lunch it was still on the table and she hadn’t returned since.

            “This can’t be happening. It didn’t just sprout legs and walk away!” She said to herself. (Y/N) ran a hand down her face and thought hard. She paused, “No fucking way.” She exited her room at a jog and progressively got faster as she headed toward her brother’s room. She slid to a stop in front of the white door of the captain's quarters and rapidly slammed her fist against it.

            “James, open the door right now!”

The door slid open revealing a perplexed – and slightly afraid – Jim Kirk. He knew he had done something wrong for her to be angry enough to come to his room calling him by his full name. Of course, he had no idea what he had done but he decided it was best to try to start off ahead.

            “Look, I know you’re upset about-“

            “Did you move the white box on my dining room table when you were in my room earlier?”

            “Wait, what? That’s what you’re mad about?” Jim scrunched his face up and scratched the top of his head. (Y/N)’s eyes widened and she briefly looked around the corridor before shoving Jim back into his room and following him in. The door shut with a hiss and (Y/N) closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. When she opened her eyes Jim was staring at her with a confused expression and his hands crossed over his chest.

            “Please, for the love of god, tell me you didn’t mail those letters,” (Y/N) said as calmly as she possibly could. Silence followed her question and she already knew the answer.

            “Well –“

            “Oh. My. God.”

            “There was a box of addressed envelopes on the table so I thought you needed them mailed!”

            “Jim! Why would you mail someone else's letters? Isn’t that, like, illegal or something?” (Y/N) was absolutely freaking out and, for the life of him, Jim couldn’t understand why.

            “I was trying to be nice! I knew you had a long day today and I wanted to take something off your plate! Excuse me for being a good brother,” Jim rolled his eyes at his sister and threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

            “Well, jackass, a good brother would have asked before just taking a box from his sister’s room and now there is a love letter headed to your second in command!”

A long pause followed her statement. Jim blinked once. Twice. Then a prolonged third blink.

            “What?” Jim had no idea what to say. (Y/N) groaned and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She began to pace in the entryway and ramble about how dumb she was to write it in the first place and how she should have burned the letters when she had the chance. Jim finally shook his head to rouse himself out of his stunned silence.

            “Why the hell would you write a love letter…to Spock? Or to anyone for that matter what is this 1812?” Jim chuckled at his own joke but covered it with a cough when (Y/N) glared at him.

            “I don’t know! I like writing letters and I just started writing one day and it turned into a full blown sappy confession that I had planned to keep hidden till the day I died! Now it’s headed off to the last person in the universe who I wanted to see it.”

            “Well, maybe this isn’t so bad.”

            “I want you to stop talking.”

            “No, I’m serious maybe this is what you two need to stop dancing around the obvious!” Jim gestured vaguely with his hands as (Y/N) ceased her pacing. She sighed and shook her head.

            “Jim, we’ve been over this: Spock does not feel that way about me. And that’s fine!” (Y/N) and her brother had had many conversations about this subject. Always with Jim insisting that the feelings were mutual and (Y/N) denying that Spock would ever even look at her in that way. I’m his best friend’s little sister and his subordinate, she thought, He’s way too professional for that.

            Before Jim could respond, both of their communicators chimed. They were being called back to the bridge for an emergency. They briefly held eye contact before rushing toward the door. As they jogged toward the bridge, (Y/N) continued the conversation.

            “Okay did you just mail them today?”

            “Why are we still talking about this?”

            “Because I want to know how long I have to transfer to another part of the fucking galaxy to avoid embarrassment,” They turned a corner and the lights flickered before flashing red. The ship shuttered and Jim and (Y/N) struggled to regain footing.

            “Is it bad that I’m hoping whatever just happened happened to happen to the mail room?”

            “Yes. And that was way too many uses of the word ‘happened’.”

Six hours and several shots fired later, the trouble was averted. A rogue Klingon battalion had decided to attack the Enterprise while it was stationary and almost destroyed the engines but quick thinking from Jim, (Y/N), Spock, and Sulu had saved the day. (Y/N) was officially beyond exhausted. She was so tired, in fact, that she forgot about the whole letter situation and went straight to bed after the whole debacle was over.

Day 1 of waiting:

She slept blissfully and woke up rested and ready for the day. She had gotten dressed and ready and made her way back to the bridge. Unfortunately, her blissful restfulness was cut short when she laid eyes on a certain Commander and remembered the imminent embarrassment that was bound to ruin her life at some point this week.

            “Good morning, Lieutenant Kirk. You look rested.” Spock greeted her with a nod as he fell in step with her toward the bridge elevator.

            “Uh, yeah, good morning,” (Y/N) managed to only stutter once and she quickly cleared her throat. She shouldn’t be freaking out. They walked together to the bridge all the time. Of course, normally Jim is with them but still, casual meetings with Spock were not entirely out of the ordinary. As they walked, silence filled the space between the two and, to (Y/N), it was suffocating. Something on her face must have given away the fact that something was wrong.

            “Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant?” Spock asked. His face was neutral but he side eyed (Y/N) intensely. Briefly, (Y/N) met his heavy gaze before looking straight ahead.

            “Yup, feeling absolutely terrific!” She couldn’t even believe herself. Spock raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak again but, luckily for (Y/N), he was interrupted.

            “Lieutenant Kirk.” It was Scotty. God bless him! (Y/N) thought.

            “What’s up, Scotty?” Was that the formal way to address him? No. But (Y/N) just wanted to get out of speaking with Spock one-on-one.

            “I need to speak to you. There are some issues with a few of the privates stationed in the engine room and I could use your help to resolve the issue before I throw some people out of the airlock!” His accent was strong with annoyance and (Y/N) couldn’t help but chuckle.

            “Sure thing,” She turned to Spock who had paused beside her, “You go on to the bridge, I’ll be in the engine room if you need me in the meantime.” Without waiting for an answer, (Y/N) hurried toward the engine room leaving Scotty to trail behind.

Day 2 of waiting:

            It was only the second day, and Spock had already caught on to the fact that (Y/N) was avoiding him. (Y/N) knew it was not going to be easy to allude him while also keeping it a secret that she was doing it on purpose, after all – Spock isn’t an idiot and (Y/N) is anything but subtle. Spock and (Y/N) had a routine and of course in an effort to not speak to him (Y/N) had changed it so that she was usually off the bridge when Spock was there and vice versa.

            “Lieutenant Kirk you are needed on the bridge,” Chekov’s thick accent crackled through (Y/N)’s communicator and she sighed. She knew Spock would be there which is why she was currently in the engine room recalibrating the warp drive. It was busy work that she normally wouldn’t do but anything to avoid the impending embarrassment.

            “On my way.”

            When she arrived, Spock immediately shifted his gaze from his work to her. (Y/N) briefly met his gaze before walking toward her brother who was seated in his chair with his legs thrown over the armrest. She rolled her eyes.

            “What do you want, Jim?”

            “That’s no way to address your captain, Lieutenant,” Jim had a smug smile on his face – as usual – and it took everything in (Y/N) not to smack him on the back of his head.

            “Tell me what you want or I’m leaving. I was working, unlike some people,” She scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned into her hip.

            “Okay, I am sending you and Spock on a mission,” Jim’s smirk got wider as he noticed his sister’s eye twitch in annoyance. “The planet we’re coming up on is supposed to be abandoned but there should be evidence of a previous civilization. I figured with your archeological knowledge and Spock’s general smart-assery you two would fit the job perfectly.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath in through her nose as she glared at Jim. She sneaked a glance at Spock.

He was listening in on the conversation – an action he deemed logical since it also pertained to him. His eyes were focused on the screen in front of him but he could see (Y/N) from the corner of his eye. He noticed her normally relaxed state was exchanged for tensed shoulders and a glowering expression. Whatever had been going on yesterday had most certainly carried into today. He thought. (Y/N) Kirk was one of his closest friends just as James Kirk was. Though many things that the younger Kirk did were illogical and not well thought out, she knew how to get the results she wanted and always figured out a way for everyone to be happy or at least safe. Spock enjoyed her company even more than he enjoyed her brother’s. She was smart, kind, and usually quiet if it was just the two of them. She was a challenging chess opponent and someone dear to his heart. Not that he would say that to her.

(Y/N) sighed, “Okay. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be in the atmosphere at around 12 o’clock Earth time so you’ve got plenty of time to research and prepare. Why don’t you and Spock take the rest of the day for whatever nerd stuff you need to do,” Jim waved his sister off before getting up and leaving the bridge. (Y/N) glared at his back as he left before begrudgingly walking over to Spock.

“Hey, Spock,” she said. Her eyes were focused on the ground rather than up at the Vulcan who was looking at her intently. (Y/N) took a breath in through her nose before finally lifting her gaze to meet Spock’s, “Let’s go get some lunch and we can talk about the mission.”

Before the Vulcan had the chance to respond, (Y/N) quickly turned on her hell and started walking toward the elevator. Spock easily caught up to her before the doors closed and as the elevator began to descend, Spock spoke up.

“(Y/N), are you feeling ill?” Spock dropped the formalities and asked straight out. (Y/N) lifted an eyebrow and looked at her Commander with a curious gaze.

“No, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” This was a stupid question, (Y/N) realized. Her behavior was at best erratic and clearly intentional so it was only logical for Spock to know something was wrong. She did breathe an internal sigh of relief knowing that Spock hadn’t received the letter, otherwise, she was sure he would have confronted her by now – mutual feelings or not.

“You’ve been acting strange for the last couple of days. I want to be sure that your behavior will not negatively affect your performance on this mission.”

(Y/N) fought the urge to roll her eyes as the elevator doors hissed open. Of course. She thought. He’s only worried about this dumb mission my dumb brother is sending us on to torture me.

“I am also worried about your well-being, Lieutenant.” Spock’s surprising sentiment almost made (Y/N) trip on her own foot. She cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders as they turned the corner of the hallway.

“I promise, I’m okay. Just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Ah, yes, the letter.”

(Y/N) swore her heart stopped right there in the hallway. She hesitantly looked at Spock, trying her best to keep her expression as neutral as his. She didn't know how to respond I could play dumb, she mused, but he’s too smart for that to work. The man knows my handwriting so it would be impossible for me to deny that I wrote it. She took a deep breath through her nose, Fuck it.

“Yeah, actually that is what’s on my mind. And honestly, I had hoped I could just ignore the problem but I should have known that wouldn’t work with you.” (Y/N) rambled.

“Why would this be a problem?” Spock tilted his head slightly and furrowed his eyebrows, something that (Y/N) found impossible endearing.

“It could ruin things! In so many ways!” By now, (Y/N) was pacing the hallway and Spock was more confused than ever. “You’re my superior officer and I just sent a love letter to you! Of course, I wouldn’t be dumb enough to send it that would be my genius brother. But I was dumb enough to leave the box out and allow him into my room! But I mean, who mails other people’s letters without asking? What was he even thinking?”

“(Y/N) –“

“I’m so sorry! I seriously didn’t mean to tell you like this and if I’m honest, I didn’t intend on telling you at all! My feelings were supposed to be kept to myself! Well, to myself and Jim but he’s a nosey bastard who obviously can’t mind his business! I don't know why I tell him anything and honestly, I wish he’d just – “

“(Y/N).” Spock, tired of listening to her pointlessly rambling on about how annoying her brother is – a fact he knew to be true – grabbed her gently by the shoulder to get her to stop pacing. Now that she wasn’t speaking and instead was staring up at him like a kicked puppy waiting to be scolded his mind went blank. Spock was officially at a loss for words. “I was talking about the letter of promotion Admiral Pike sent you. About the head of engineering position.”

She wanted to disappear. Perhaps if she willed it hard enough, she could fade from existence on the spot. For once, it was running her own mouth that got her in trouble instead of her brother’s. (Y/N) tried to read Spock’s expression but couldn’t and that sent even more anxiety straight to her gut.

“Oh.” That was all she managed to say. She quickly regained her wits, “Then just forget everything I said and we can just go back to normal!” She let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a cry and started to walk in the direction of the cafeteria. However, Spock hadn’t let go of her shoulder and as she walked away his grip slipped from her shoulder down to her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wait.” That was all he managed to say. His mind was still reeling trying to decipher her quick words. A love letter. He thought. She loves me? He couldn’t believe it. “You love me?”

Despite her distraught state, she had to admit she had never seen Spock looking so dumbfounded, as if what she said was something he had never thought of in any scenario. His hand still held hers firmly and he gently pulled her back towards him. “You love me.” He said again, though this time it seemed as though he was finally understanding the situation.

“Okay, Spock, you’re starting to sound like a broken record, and the record is titled Hurting (Y/N)’s Feelings.” She chuckled only to keep herself from bursting into tears out of sheer embarrassment. This was the moment she was dreading. The absolute end of a friendship and a lifetime of shame. I’ll have to go into exile. Maybe I’ll ask Scotty to throw me out of the airlock. She thought. Just as she was about to speak again, Spock dropped her hand turned on his heel, and headed back in the direction they came from. That was when the damn broke and (Y/N)’s eyes welled up with hot tears. Blinking rapidly, she haphazardly looked around the hallway to make sure no one saw her before jetting away in the direction of her room.

“You left her in the hallway?” Jim was on the verge of shouting. He was absolutely flabbergasted at Spock’s behavior. Spock rolled his eyes.

“I was unsure of what I was supposed to do.”

“So you decided to leave my baby sister in the hallway, by herself, after basically confessing her undying love for you.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Trust me, I am not.” Jim ran a hand through his hair and huffed out an annoyed sigh. He paced back and forth, a habit that Spock noticed the siblings share, before looking back at his second in command. “Okay, you have to go after her.”

Spock knew this. It was obviously the most logical course of action. There was only one problem: “What am I supposed to say to her?”

“Apologize for rudely walking away, first off. Then – and this is just a spitball idea – tell her you feel the same!”

Jim was actually convinced that Spock’s brain had short-circuited. Spock wasn’t firing on all cylinders because if he was, he would understand the logical thing to do. Secretly, Jim was happy this situation happened. He had been trying to the Spock and his sister together for months now but he found the process to be similar to cutting a tree down with a blunt axe.

“Beginning a relationship with Lieutenant Kirk would violate –“

“Not if she accepts the promotion.”

“She’d still be my subordinate!”

“Only in the same way Scotty is our subordinate! He only has to listen to us sometimes.”

“That is not how the ranking system works.”

“Who cares?” Jim was tired of arguing with Spock over something that seemed so obvious. Spock felt the same way. “Listen, if you don’t want to tell her you have feelings for her I can’t make you. What I can tell you is that no matter what you do the sentence needs to start with I’m sorry and end with something nice. Turn off the Vulcan side for a change, not everything you do has to be completely logical. Sometimes we just need to do things that we want.”

It must have been a strange sight. The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise stood stiffly in front of (Y/N)’s quarters. He was still trying to figure out what exact words he needed to say and he had taken to scratching at his cuticles out of nervousness. I should not just be standing here. He thought. Shaking his head and finally lifting his clenched fist, he knocked twice. Panic briefly set into his veins as he realized he was actually going to have to talk to (Y/N). A cold shiver ran up his spine as the door’s airlock hissed open and revealed (Y/N) on the other side. He could tell she had been crying, though the tears seemed to be mostly dry by now. Her red-rimmed eyes lightly glared up at him and she crossed her arms tightly over her body.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was scratchy and her words were punctuated by a sniffle. Spock felt an ache deep in his gut from knowing he had made her feel this way.

“I-“ He paused. Once again he was speechless but he was determined to make this right. “I apologized for the way I behaved. Leaving you there after such an important moment was not the right thing to do and I am sorry for hurting you.” Even as he did his best to keep his tone even he couldn’t help the slight waver in his voice.

“It’s alright, Spock. Honest. I’ll be okay and ready for the mission tomorrow. Like I said we can just go back to normal and forget about it.” She was offering him an out. He knew he could easily just take it and go but part of him, a large part of him refused to give up that easily.

“No.”

“What?”

“I do not wish to return to normal.”

“Oh.” (Y/N) believed this to be the final moment of friendship. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore. “Um, okay. I guess you can just do the mission alone or ask my brother to –“

“You misunderstand. I do not want to return to normal because I reciprocate your feelings of affection.”

Oh. (Y/N) thought. A moment of silence passed between them. Spock watched (Y/N)’s face for any sign of emotion but she seemed frozen. He wouldn’t lie, she thought. Vulcans don’t lie. “You do?” her voice was quieter than she intended, almost a whisper.

Spock took her hand in his larger one. “Of course I do. I believe an adequate way to put it would be you have bewitched me, body and soul.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help the giggle, “So you do listen when I talk about Jane Austin. I thought you found romance novels illogical.”

“Everything about you is illogical, but that is one of the many things I find alluring about you.” They both smiled. (Y/N) had only seen Spock actually smile a few times and each time it was like new life had filled her lungs but this time it was even better knowing that the smile was put there solely for her. And this time, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing that smile even if she tried.

[louthestarspeaker]

it's almost 1am here's my essay about Dal and captainhood <333

I hath promised a Dal essay and I hath delivered… 

I've had this in the drafts for so long, but I just rewatched season two and it really allowed me to solidify a lot of my thoughts.

One of things that really strikes me about Dal's character and his relationship to command is that being in charge is a place of safety for him. He's had to be self-reliant and self-sufficient pretty much his whole life until the Protostar. It's something that was engraved into him since he was small, that the only person Dal could really depend on was himself.

And because he was never around anyone who actually cared about him until the Protostar, that was the right thing to do. This need to be in charge, to be in control really, is a learned survival skill. "I can tell you from experience, people in authority lie."

But in season two, his circumstances have changed (for the better!), and that's not the right thing to do anymore. Ultimately, to me, Dal's season two character arc is about vulnerability and trust. He's been in survival mode for so, so long, and now we watch him learn to heal.

You start with this boy who's spent the grand majority of his life alone or with people who are exploiting him, and the story takes him by the hand and tells him "now that you're safe, now that you have people who care about you, you can't live like that anymore."

All throughout season one he learns trust. Trust in his crew, in Hologram Janeway, in the Federation and in Starfleet as institutions that can and will help him and his newfound family. But as a captain,when he was guiding his crew through active crisis after crisis, trust looked like open doors. It looked like laying out all the variables and problems on a table so they could figure a way out together. 

Trust looks very different on the Voyager-A. It asks him to have faith in what he's not seeing, what he's not being told. He has to believe that they have his best interests at heart, that he's not trusting his family to something that will try to hurt them. 

Captainhood isn't just bossing people around for Dal. It's the responsibility of holding the lives of the people he loves in his hands. He trusts his own hands. He has the best interest of his crew at heart. 

To ask Dal to relinquish control, is to ask him to place the lives of himself and his family into someone else's hands. Which, historically, has not gone great for them. It prods directly at his trauma, asks him to take undo and ignore the survival instincts that kept them alive for so long. Is it any wonder he has trouble with that?

Dal's not going around crawling through Jeffries Tubes because he's a brat or because he thinks he's entitled to know everything. He's a traumatized kid whose self-sufficiency, independence, and ability to make his own decisions were once, for a very long time, the literal line between life and death for him and his crew.

And even if he trusts Starfleet and Janeway in his head on a logical level (which I absolutely believe he does), there's still this instinct that's written into him. It's a process to learn how and when to turn that off, and that's what we see especially throughout the first half of season two. 

This really culminates in the cafeteria scene after they return with the Protostar and Chakotay, when Dal advocates for the Starfleet temporal management guys to figure out a way to get the Protostar back to Tars Lamora. Dal was able to see that his hands weren't the best ones for the job, and trust Gwyn's life to someone else. That's huge for him. He trusts not just a person, but a branch of an institution he's never interacted with before, with one of the people that mean the very most to him. And Dal's able to give up that control, to place himself and his crew in that position of potential vulnerability, because he's finally started to feel it in his bones that he's safe here.

[very-bad-poetry-captain]

TOS book review McCoy edition – Dreams of the Raven

I joked that one day I’d write a book review based on specific McCoy questions… A McCoy meter if you will. Well, I decided to do it! Not to be taken too seriously except that my love for McCoy (and his suffering) is no joke. Contains some spoilers for the book.

Title: Dreams of the Raven Author: Carmen Carter. Year published: 1987

To summarize the book in two sentences:

McCoy loses his memory in the middle of a mission and thinks he’s in his early twenties again. This is fun for exactly no one. 

Official plot summary:

A merchant ship’s frantic SOS sends the Enterprise speeding to the rescue! But the starship’s mission of mercy soon becomes a desperate struggle for survival against a nightmarish enemy Captain Kirk can neither identify nor understand, an enemy he must defeat without the aid of one of his most trusted officers. For the Leonard McCoy Kirk knew is gone. In his place stands a stranger – a man with no memory of his Starfleet career, his family, his friend or the one thing James T. Kirk needs most of all… his dreams.

This book is for you if you:

would love to study McCoy under a microscope

enjoy exciting mystery plots

have a strong stomach (trigger warning for gore/body horror/autopsy scenes)

The ultimate McCoy questionnaire (below the read-more):

Is McCoy in it? McCoy is the main character and the main problem and somehow also the solution.

Is McCoy in it a lot? So much. But it’s mostly the amnesiac McCoy that no one likes mean. Somehow the “young” McCoy gets it in his head that the “old” McCoy should die for his crimes (that is, being human enough to have made mistakes throughout life) and it’s up to the young McCoy to quit Starfleet and start his life over. I’d say half the book revolves around this plot (to my great amusement).

Does he get to be concerned over whatever angst has befallen Kirk lately? It’s the opposite around – Kirk gets to worry himself sick over McCoy :3 The young McCoy doesn’t even remember who Kirk is. Kirk is extremely upset by this (yay!) and really wants his bestie back. Quote from Kirk (barely controlled rage): “It’s your duty as a doctor, as my ship’s surgeon… […] Somewhere inside of you is a man who would stop at nothing to save a friend’s life, to save any life, no matter what the personal cost. It was that quality that made him the best medical officer in Star Fleet. If you don’t have that same passion for the value of life, you’ll never be half the doctor he was. Or half the man.”

Does he get to have silly little arguments with Spock?                  Yes, of course, Spock can’t resist him. They were literally arguing when McCoy got knocked over and lost his memories. After that everyone is sad and depressed because young McCoy refuses to argue with Spock.

Is he the damsel in distress?                    Well, he’s in a lot of distress, that’s for sure. But he gets some action scenes at the end… More like he’s treating himself like a damsel in distress to the detriment of everyone around him. At least we can assume that Spock carried a bleeding McCoy through the ship to Sickbay, since Spock was with him when he hit his head and Kirk reminisces later over Spock being covered in blood… And everyone is very worried about him.

Does he suffer, preferably a lot? Physical and/or psychological torment                          He suffers a lot initially… Then he makes everyone else suffer for a change. Why would you do this, McCoy? Just hurt everyone you love? I just wish he’d remembered it afterwards so he could suffer from guilt, too. That would have been delicious. The book starts off with shore leave being cancelled, and then a lot of the crew get hurt and several die. McCoy comes out of hours upon hours of surgery with trembling hands and a lot of angst. He does fun things like staring at pictures of dead aliens, reading an e-mail from his ex-wife and getting drunk before dropping into bed. Then, of course, after too little sleep he knocks his head so hard he loses his memories and wakes up in Sickbay (and he truly is the worst patient ever). The young McCoy is tormented by not remembering half of medical school, hearing about all the terrible mistakes the old McCoy has done throughout life, and seeing wrinkles on his face in the mirror. Also he’s pretty useless as an officer and can’t remember having ever done surgery on a living being before. Quote from young McCoy: “Since when does Star Fleet hire doctors with an instinct for self-annihilation? No wonder I became chief medical officer. Promotion due to a high rate of casualties.” <-Words from a man whose colleagues knew he’d volunteer to beam into a dangerous situation. If only he knew how much danger he’d volunteered for in the twenty-five years he’s forgotten…

Does he get to whine and complain and be right about it? Even better is he wrong about it?                        He whines A LOT and he is extremely WRONG about it. It’s a miracle no one grabs him by the collar and shakes him around.

Does he get to throw some of that southern charm around?                         Yeah, on the wrong person. Terrible. And extremely fascinating. The young doctor in charge of getting his memories back is no match for young McCoy’s advances, and honestly, who can blame her? Who needs workplace professionalism when you can get your heart broken by sleeping with your boss while his memories are gone. And poor Spock catches them kissing… I’m pretty sure this is why no one tells McCoy what happened afterwards when his memories return. Too awkward.

Does he get to do some medical malpractice?                         Yes, actually, if you count incapacitating aliens as medical malpractice. But mainly he gets to forget everything he ever learned and get it back just in time to take over from the sucky doctor no one likes to save the day. Heroic. (But why is the second most senior doctor on the ship an asshole no one likes? They should have put Chapel in charge or something… I mean obviously it’s because then everyone gets to commiserate over how McCoy is a much better CMO and boss, but still. I have questions.)

Does Spock call him illogical or similar?                         Spock COMPLIMENTS him. What is the world coming to? Better yet – young McCoy calls Spock “sir” and is super polite to him and Spock hates it. And Spock gets the dubious honor of training an amnesiac McCoy for landing party duty. Literally just drills McCoy on protocol for hours so he won’t die. Quote from young McCoy: “Diana must have been pulling my leg about fighting with Spock. I’d rather wrassle a Bengal tiger than cross that man.”

Is he forcibly put through his arch nemesis the transporter? Or the dress uniform? Quote from young McCoy: “You put human beings in that unholy device?”

Does Kirk call him handsome (joke or not this happens more than you'd think)? Not really :/

Bonus points if his accent is pronounced and his speech is full of befuddling southern expressions which make Spock question McCoy's sanity (and me wondering if I need a dictionary) I think they could have had more fun with young McCoy having an accent. But the book does get bonus points for young McCoy’s last memory being that he was thrown off a horse at a ranch (apparently a great way to relax from medical school is riding half-wild young horses? And this from a man who is afraid of transporters…) and therefore gets to have a I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore… kind of moment.

Criticisms/things I’d change:

Much like in The search for Spock, there’s a serious lack of McCoy/Spock closure at the end of the book. Also, I’d remove the weird romance young McCoy has with the other doctor on the Enterprise that he conveniently forgets about when his memories return. Plus, even though the title literally includes the word dreams there are barely any dreams in the book. They could have spent a little bit more time showing him sweating and moaning from nightmares… alas we were robbed.

Highlights:

The reason McCoy’s memories return (not gonna spoil it). The way Spock and Jim obviously miss him a lot. The mission plot which is really interesting. A very good, slightly insane book! Definitely a recommended read!

Final McCoy meter: 9/10 would read again

[marvelouslytrekking]

A Much Needed Nap

Pairing: Leonard/reader Summary: The exhaustion from multiple crisis made a relaxing night very needed. Even if it meant forgetting something important. Word Count: 1037 A/N: It's been awhile but I was in need of something soft and could use a nap myself so this all but wrote itself. Hope you enjoy.

You knew that when you had enlisted in Starfleet that rest would not be something you would be all that familiar with, however, you hadn’t expected it to feel just so never ending. You knew it was the curse of getting assigned to the flagship, an assignment you would not give up for anything, expect right now, maybe a nice long nap would have you trading in your rank without much of a second thought.

You tried very hard to keep yourself balanced, however part of that balance was making sure you spent time with your friends, but between the back to back disasters and then the mandatory fun the captain would set up to help everyone “decompress” you felt like you have had no time to just relax, unless you were asleep but even that was limited. 

So when Uhura had asked you to get drinks with her after your shift, you didn’t even feel bad for turning her down, you must have looked like you needed the break because she didn’t even ask a second time. She was good at respecting boundaries, but she also liked to try and convince you to join her in shenanigans, so her not trying to entice you, even slightly, was a sign that you looked as exhausted as you felt. 

You sighed happily as you slipped into lounge clothes, you couldn’t even think of the last time these sweats had made an appearance. You plopped yourself on the couch and pressed play on the first movie that came up on your padd. You heard your doorbell go off and you groaned, you hadn’t even made it 10 minutes into the movie. Maybe Nyota had changed her mind and was going to try and force you out with her. 

“Come in” You shouted, too lazy to move to see exactly who it was. You barely even turned your head to look at who you had just let enter your space. 

“From the look of it, I am going to assume you’ve forgotten of our planned date.” You heard a gruff voice say from your doorway, a slight chuckle in his voice. 

“Oh my god!” You sat up rather quickly to look up and see Leonard with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a rather nice looking outfit on. You had been so busy the last few weeks, you and Leonard had barely had time to even see each other in passing. You had finally synced calendars and made plans to have a nice sit down date, one that was more than a 5 minute lunch, or 15 conversation before you both passed out in one of your beds. “It completely slipped my mind, I am so so sorry Len. If you give me like 10 minutes, I can be ready.”

You stood up and walked over to him, reaching up to pull him into a kiss, “The flowers are lovely” You toyed with one of the leaves, smiling at how much thought he had put into getting them for you. 

“You’re fine, you look exhausted,” He frowned slightly when he took in just how true that statement was.

“And here I was about to say how handsome you looked, and you’re saying I look terrible” You huffed. 

“Now don’t put words in my mouth, I said you look tired, not terrible.” He glared at you, “How could I possibly think you look terrible when you look so adorable in my sweatshirt.”

You tried and failed to hold back the smile at his comment, “I don’t remember this being yours.”

“Probably cause you stole it forever ago.” 

“Well anyway, just make yourself comfortable, and I will get changed.” You told him, “though don’t even ask, you’re not getting this hoodie back.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” He smiled, “But no need to change, we can just stay in. Looks like you just started a movie, and I would hate to make you not finish that, plus i could use a nice calm evening too”

“Are you sure? I feel terrible about ruining plans that you clearly took time to make.” You frowned. 

“It really wasn’t anything crazy, we can rain check it until you have had more sleep.” He told you, sincerity in his voice. 

“Thank you, Len.” You smiled, pulling him into a hug. He didn’t hesitate wrapping his arms tightly around you, staying like that for a while, just happy to be in each other's arms. 

“How about, I get these beautiful flowers in a vase, you go change into something more comfy and we can just curl up on the couch, eat some shitty replicator food and watch the dumb movie I had started,”

“Sounds perfect” He planted a kiss on your forehead before passing the flowers off to you and heading in your room to find some of his clothes to change into. 

You had finished putting the flowers in a vase and placing them neatly on your counter before finding some food to replicate when Len came out with a few extra pillows and blankets from your room. Upon seeing how cozy he was about to make the couch, you had no doubt you would be finding yourself asleep soon but you were just happy to have some time to spend with Len quietly. 

As you set the food down on the coffee table, Leonard had gotten himself and the pillows and such situated. You then found yourself getting settled curled up against his chest. You each grabbed a bowl of food and ate in comforting silence as the movie neither of you were paying all that much attention to played in the background. Once you were done eating and the dishes were set aside, you felt Leonard lightly playing with your hair, a gentle kiss here or there placed on your hairline. It wasn’t much longer before you felt yourself slipping into a deep sleep. 

Before fully succumbing to the sleep that was gripping at you, you found yourself mutter a soft, barely audible, “Love you so much Len,”

“I love you too dear” Softly, with so much care behind the normally gruff voice was the last thing you registered before you were fully asleep.

[satureja13]

Rubyn took the Boys over to talk about diplomacy, protocols, first contact - and all the other stuff you need to know when you're about to head off to space as a freshman Starfleet Cadet.

She also she explains the uniform colors and the roles they represent: - red indicating command and helm - gold for engineering, security, and operations - and blue for science and medical

Rubyn: "I didn't decide this lightly. You might agree that security is the most important, so I assigned Jack and Jeb, the two strongest, for this. They are also both great at engineering. Not less important is medical, and since Vlad and Kiyoshi are exceptional healers, this was quite obvious too. Leaves Sai and Ji Ho for command and helm. You'll have to work in shifts. Space does not know day and night, nor weekends. Two of you have always to be on duty at the bridge - at any time."

When she ended, they discussed some other matters about their missions. Sai asked if there are any wormholes they could use to catch up with Tiny Can - after they rescued B.D. He already has a lead of several weeks by now...

Rubyn: "I don't think he and whoever accompanies him went in a beeline through space. And even if, they had to stop somewhere. And they might even have reached their destination. The X-Wing only has a certain range where he could have dropped them off. And even though space is vast and seems endless out there, there are not as many inhabited planets as one might think. So rather than blindly chasing him, I'd suggest you investigate and find traces of them. Doing this, Albalehy's crew also found their lost member - even though he vanished in a transporter beam. You are a clever bunch, you'll find a way, I'm sure. And you can contact us anytime if you're facing a deadlock, hm?"

In the evening, their heads are about to explode from all the input. Vlad and Ji Ho went over to the cantina after dinner. Ji Ho still keeping his distance. They are still not comfortable around each other... Kiyoshi and Jack were already sitting on the bench. Doing their mates, just mates stuff - or whatever... Vlad and Jack didn't talk to each other at all after the Star Trek incident ö.Ö

Vlad looked briefly in Jack's direction - and Jack briefly looked back... Kiyoshi: "Talk to him, Ji Ho and I will wait inside." Jack: "I feel so bad for lying to him." Kiyoshi nudged Jack: "Tell him, hm?"

When Jack stood up and approached Vlad, he wasn't prepared and hissed. After their last quarrel, when Vlad tried to cut the Bond with Ji Ho and bond with Morgan instead, they hadn't talked for weeks!

Kiyoshi: "Let's go inside, Ji Ho." Ji Ho smiled. It was hard for him to see - and feel through the Bond - how much it hurts Vlad that Jack didn't tell him that he's a Trekkie. So he's glad Jack made the first step.

Jack: "I'm sorry I lied to you."

Jack took a deep breath in before he started to talk: "There's always so much going on around us. I didn't want you to think I'm not always by your side - and you hated Star Trek so much. I didn't want to be a traitor." Vlad: "It hurt more that you thought you needed to hide it from me. As if I weren't always with you and all the crazy stuff that's going on with you... I'm sorry that I wasn't able to make you trust me with this. I'll do better."

Jack: "Look how mature we are! That Therapy Game was so worth it, huh? I really thought you'd strangle and shake me until I came to my senses ö.ö" Vlad laughed: "I was close ^^'" Jack was happy they'd solved it so quickly - thanks to Tiny Can- and pulled Vlad in a hug: "I promise I wont keep any secrets from you anymore." Vlad: "And I promise I'll become more approachable so you don't have to be afraid to tell me anything." Jack felt he had Vlad pinned just where he wanted him for quite a while and he took his chance: "So, is this I'll-become-more-approachable approach a Jack thing or does that count for Ji Ho too?" Vlad tightened his grip around Jack for a second, this little rascal! Vlad: "I'll do my best to become more approachable for him too. Happy now?" Now Jack tightened his grip around Vlad - for much longer than a second: "I love you." Vlad, a bit breathless because Super Soldier Jack squeezed all the air out of his lungs: "I know. Now let go of me."

'Riding with the wind

When I'm sad she comes to me With a thousand smiles She gives to me free

"It's alright", she says It's alright Take anything you want from me (Take anything) Anything

Fly on, little wing'

Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix

Outtakes

As much as he might love Star Trek - it seems Jack wants some proper space suits too instead of pyjamas ^^'

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: starts ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-29

[spockfallsinlove]

spirk prompt request: a moment on the bridge or at dinner with the bridge crew where Spock says something off handedly (like maybe Jim mentions having misplaced something and without hesitating Spock tells him it's on his nightstand) that subtly reveals to everyone the level of intimacy between Spock and Jim, with a focus on everyone's reactions. thank you!!

"It's not like I tried to provoke a potential galactic war!" Jim protests as he spears a piece of fried chicken off his plate. "It was a woefully inadequate translation."

"But somehow, those kinds of things only seem to happen to you," Bones shoots back. He glares at Jim's plate. "And I told you to have the chicken."

"I am having the chicken."

"The grilled one, you intentionally obtuse man. Your blood pressure—" Bones starts, face already red with an impending lecture on Jim's health.

"So Spock," Jim cuts in, turning to his First Officer. "How did things fare on the bridge while I was away?"

"Quiet, Captain," Spock says with a dainty swipe of napkin across his lips. "I believe Uhura has some interesting communications she picked up while we were stationed," he adds, nodding to her. (She's sitting across from Jim, also having the fried chicken, but no one's yelling at her about it.)

"It's just a few snatches I managed to translate," Uhura says, handing a PADD to Jim over the plates. "And you should really have asked me to do the translations for this mission. Starfleet HQ means well, but they do tend to hire linguists fresh out of the academy."

"I'll never stray again," Jim promises, setting the PADD down in front of him. He pulls up the document in question and begins to read Uhura's notes. Spock, next to him, bends his head down as well, their temples nearly touching as he reads in tandem. The rest of the bridge crew turns back to their usual lunchtime chatter, the hum of the mess room buzzing around Spock and Jim as they read.

"I can't make any sense of this," Jim murmurs.

Spock nods. "Further analysis will be required."

"Could make a great bedtime story," Jim says, grinning at his First Officer. "Better than that math nonsense you always insist on reading to me."

Bones, across from Jim, drops his fork onto the plate midair. His wide eyes dart between Jim and Spock. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't get me started," Jim emphatically sighs, leaning back in the chair and waving off Spock's attempt to speak, pitching his voice even louder. "No, don't try to defend yourself, mister. Every night I put up with that nonsense. No one needs to read twenty different arguments on the Pythagorean theorem, much less talk about it, while the poor sap next to you who understands none of it is just trying to sleep and—What?" Jim finally looks at Spock, who has a panicked look on his face. "What's wrong, Spock?"

He realizes too late that the mess room has gone quiet. At least twenty pairs of eyes are staring him down. Uhura has a hand over her mouth, a huge smile hidden behind it. Sulu's jaw has dropped. Bones looks redder in the face than he ever has. Scotty is very intentionally not giving anybody, much less his senior officers, eye contact.

"Oh," Jim says, stupidly, and a little belatedly. He turns to Spock, giving him a bashful grin. "I think this means that you've won the bet, my dear."

There's a smile dancing behind Spock's eyes. He pushes his knee into Jim's under the table; a small but powerful gesture as far as Vulcan standards are concerned. "Two weeks," he says, soft and low. "You have kept the secret longer than I expected."

Jim shrugs, rolling his eyes at himself, before going back to eating. At least he wouldn't have to work so hard mincing his words anymore. "Well, go ahead," he says to the twenty pairs of eyes on him, waving a hand. "Have at it."

Another blissfully peaceful, silent moment passes before the mess hall breaks into a cacophony of cheers, exclamations, and one Southern-tinged horrified wail rising above the rest.

[ohpike-mycaptain]

Shore Leave

Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x Reader

Prompt: "Could you... hold my hand?"

Word Count: ~650

"Lieutenant?" Captain Pike questions when he catches you peeking around the corridor of the space port where the Enterprise is currently docked. "Is everything alright?" His voice is thick with amusement.

"Captain! Hi!" You wince when you hear how strained your voice sounds and it's almost an octave higher than usual. Great. Totally not suspicious. "I… uh…" Your thoughts trail off when you finally get a good look at him.

It's been a while since you've seen him dressed so casually. The henley he's wearing clings in all the right places and his blue eyes sparkle with a hint of mischief even as his posture straightens slightly in response to your nervousness. "I have seen you stare down the wrong end of a phaser without blinking, lieutenant. What part of shore leave could possibly have scared you?"

"I'm not scared. It's just…" You let out a sigh, trying not to get defensive because of some light-hearted teasing.

"It's just… what?" He says the last word in a hushed tone like you're about to confess some big secret as he steps closer to you.

"This is my home colony, sir, and my family came to welcome me back…" You try to look anywhere but at his face.

"We're off duty, you know you can call me Chris. And that sounds like a good thing. Or do you not like your family…?" He leans around the corner, not sure what, or who, exactly he's looking for. 

"No, they're fine." You wave off his initial assumption. "They've never really been thrilled that I joined Starfleet, but it's not a big issue. Or at least, I didn't think so…"

Chris focuses back on you and tilts his head slightly, prompting you to continue.

"I figured they would try to convince me to stay and finally 'settle down' but apparently they brought my ex to help." You rub your temple, trying to soothe the headache you can feel starting. "I don't know why I can't make them understand that I'm happy where I am. I love exploring space, and I love the family I've found aboard the Enterprise even more." You blush and look away. You didn't mean to admit all of that.

Your heart skips a beat when warm hands settle on your shoulders and your attention snaps back to the captain as he starts to speak. "Would it help if I went with you to meet them?"

"You don't have to do that, Chris. I'm sure you have plans for your leave already." Energy sparks through your nerves as he slides his hands from your shoulders to your arms.

"I'd be happy to help if I can. I don't want to lose one of my favorite lieutenants. And you can pay me back by showing me around." He grins and your stomach flutters. "Now, I'll defer to your expertise, how do you want us to handle this?"

You consider your options. What would show your parents that you're happy in a way they will understand? "Could you… hold my hand? And maybe not mention our ranks?"

He smirks. "Oh, I can do better than that." Chris slides an arm around your waist, pulling you protectively into his side. "How is this?"

"Perfect." You reply quietly, taking a moment to cherish the embrace, wishing it wasn't just an act. "Thank you for this, Chris."

He ushers you around the corner and starts down the corridor. "Just point me in the right direction." He glances down at you and grins, the mischief returning to his eyes. "Depending on how this goes I might need your local expertise for the remainder of our shore leave."

You blush at the implication of spending your entire stay with Chris instead of your family. "I think I'd like that."

He laughs, head tilted back and you curl into his side. Maybe this shore leave won't be as bad as you thought.

[tinycoded360]

Future Ghost Chapter 1

Note: I decided to post the first chapter so people can decide if they like it or not (Granted, I think my writing gets better in the future chapters; I got too excited and started rushing the idea. XD)

Danny materialized in the middle of a bustling spaceport, his body tingling from the effects of Desiree's magic. Danny was lucky he wasn’t in his ghost form, otherwise he’d stick out like a sore thumb. He ducked behind some cargo containers. He blinked in confusion at the strange ships and alien races surrounding him.

"Where am I?" he muttered, turning in a circle. The architecture and technology looked far more advanced than anything in Amity Park. A nearby display screen caught his eye - stardate 2266.8. "The future?!" Danny gasped. Desiree had sent him centuries into the future with his flippant wish for a 'space adventure.' He was stranded, centuries away from his family and friends.

"Congratulations, Danny Fenton," Desiree's voice echoed in his head, accompanied by her sinister laugh. "You wished for a space adventure, and so it shall be!"

Panic surged through him, followed by an odd sense of exhilaration. If he couldn't return home, perhaps he could make the best of it here. And maybe Clockwork would take pity on him and help him back. Or maybe he could gather enough resources to create a ghost portal, get access to the zone, and demand Clockwork to help him get home. But Danny felt no need to rush. After all, with time travel, he could just pop back in at the correct time, maybe moments after he made that wish. For now Danny wanted to go to space.

Danny was excited by what he saw after exploring his new time period and observing the future humans. There were actual aliens walking about! Danny had an idea of what he wanted to do.

Danny turned invisible and intangible, phasing into a computer terminal. His technopathic powers made quick work of creating a fake ID for "Danny Fenton, 18, Human." A few more keystrokes planted his credentials into Starfleet's database. Even though he was only fifteen, he created a fake ID, fudging his age to appear eighteen so that he could become an ensign in Starfleet Academy. The fear of being discovered ate at him, but his desire for adventure pushed him forward. And he would finally be able to live his dream. He’d be in space in no time!

Moments later, Danny walked confidently up to a recruitment station in a cadet's uniform.

"Ensign Danny Fenton reporting for duty," he announced with a grin. He was Starfleet's newest engineering crewman on the USS Enterprise. At least he could see the galaxy while he figured out how to get back home.

Danny took a deep breath as he stepped onto the transporter pad, his Starfleet-issued duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was beaming aboard the Enterprise for the first time.

As the transporter beam enveloped him, Danny felt a spike of anxiety. He was about to live among humans 24/7 with no privacy. Concealing his ghost powers would be a constant challenge. Materializing in the Enterprise's transporter room, Danny was greeted by a stern-looking Vulcan officer.

"Welcome aboard, Ensign Fenton," the officer said in a monotone voice. "I am Commander Spock. Please follow me to engineering."

Danny nodded, gripping the strap of his bag tightly. He was glad he saw some other aliens before Mr. Spock. He had time to get his awe under control, but he still felt giddy at meeting a new alien. He tried his best to hide his awe and stop staring. As he followed Spock through the pristine white corridors, Danny took in everything with wide eyes. Crew members of various species walked briskly about their duties, not sparing the new ensign a second glance.

The ship hummed with energy, almost like a living being. Danny could feel the thrum of the warp core reverberating through the decks.

Arriving at main engineering, Spock introduced Danny to Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer.

"Nice to meet ye, laddie!" the jovial Scot said, pumping Danny's hand enthusiastically. "Let's get ye settled in, shall we?"

Over the next few hours, Scotty showed Danny around engineering, familiarizing him with the Enterprise's systems. Danny committed everything to memory, knowing he'd have to prove himself useful. By the end of the day, Danny was exhausted but excited. He was looking forward to his time here. Even though he was a C student back home, he was smart and able to make sense of the future technology. Danny was smart. He just didn't have time to study or do homework with all the ghost-fighting back home. But now it felt like he could take a break from all that.

Chapter 2