#so no one else was picturing Vulcans with entirely separate eyes???

[theshadowrealmitself]

So I just realized I may have completely misunderstood what they were saying when they were talking about Spock’s eyes

So you know how in aos they’re always going “he has such human eyes” “he has his mother’s eyes” etc?

Well, I thought what they were saying is that Vulcans have physically different eyes from Humans and we were just supposed to pretend that’s what the actors had (because like what are they gonna do? force all those poor child actors into contacts?), and that Spock looked almost physically identical to a Vulcan except for his startlingly Human eyes

So this whole time I’ve been making all Vulcans in my head look like they don’t have irises, that it’s just all black in that area the exact same shade as their pupil, because I figured that’s what would make Spock’s eyes look startling, right? If he’s the only person with colored irises?

It’s just starting to click for me that they just meant his eyes looked full of emotion instead of blank I’m so fucking stupid

[v-thinks-on]

The Motion Picture

Part 1 of Aging with Mistakes (sequel to A Crazy Little Thing Called Love) Next

“You treacherous-” Admiral James Kirk shouted. “You wanted my command all along! Was this your plan, strand me on Earth so you’d be next in line for a starship?” He pounded his fists on the table.

“Jim,” Spock protested, his voice hardly more than a whisper, “You know I have never desired command.”

“Liar! Stab me in the back first chance you get! Get out! I never want to see you again!” Jim roared.

Spock searched his former captain’s eyes for any trace of regret, but it seemed any affection Jim had once held had all burned away in desperation as months passed without hope of an active commission. There was nothing more Spock could say, so he obeyed his captain’s orders - he turned and left.

Jim waited by the door of Mr. Spock’s temporary quarters on the newly reconstructed Enterprise. He took a deep breath to steel himself and hit the buzzer. His heart hammered in his chest as the seconds dragged on. He wondered if maybe Spock was sleeping or meditating or wasn’t in - maybe he ought to drop by later. Or, given everything that had happened, maybe Spock didn’t want to talk to him at all. Jim certainly wouldn’t have wanted to speak to himself after everything he’d said when they last saw each other, more than two years ago.

Jim had almost convinced himself to leave again when he heard Spock answer from inside, “Enter.” His voice was flatter and deeper than it had been in all the time Jim knew him, but there was no doubt who it was.

The door slid open and Jim stepped inside, his chest twinging with nerves. Spock was back in Vulcan robes, seated on the bed with his legs crossed in front of him to meditate.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Jim said with an attempt at a smile. “It’s nothing urgent; I can come back later.” He turned to leave.

“The interruption is not an unwelcome one,” Spock replied, his voice still inhumanly stiff.

Jim turned back to face him with a nod. “Good, good.” He rubbed his hands together for something to do with them. “How are you doing? Recovering from the mind meld with V’ger?”

“My recovery is progressing as expected,” Spock replied. “To what do I owe this honor, Admiral?” His eyebrows rose as he spoke. The question couldn’t have been serious, but his lips remained pressed together in a thin line.

“Well,” Jim began, but he didn’t know where he was going. He took another deep breath to steady his nerves. “I owe you an apology.”

Spock quirked a skeptical eyebrow at him as though to ask, “Really?”

Jim smiled despite himself at the familiar gesture. “I know,” he said. His expression turned serious. “I was so desperate to get back into space I forgot everything else. When you were given a captaincy, I couldn’t see beyond my own jealousy. I don’t blame you for not wanting to see head or tail of me after all that. And by the time my head cooled enough for me to realize I’d made a mistake, you were already on Vulcan.”

Spock remained silent, watching the admiral impassively as he spoke.

“I want you to know,” Jim continued, “That you’re the most intelligent, most logical, most loyal man I know. You deserve a lot better than a prematurely aged admiral who’s too blind to see even that.”

Spock cocked his head to the side and considered Jim’s words. He seemed to take his time mulling them over.

Finally, Spock said, “I am pleased that you have seen the error of your ways. I have also learned from my mistake. In our years on the Enterprise together you showed me the value of human emotion and in the subsequent months on Earth you showed me the accompanying dangers. Your emotion was what made you great, but it also destroyed you. After seeing you in such a state, I concluded that emotion was not worth the risk and returned to Vulcan to spare myself your fate. I was wrong. Had I completed the Kolinahr, I would only have been left empty and meaningless like V’ger.”

A spark of raw hope lit up Jim’s tired eyes. “And what now? You know my feelings for you couldn’t change if I tried, and I don’t particularly want to try.”

Spock took Jim’s words in and seemed to consider them. Jim searched his eyes for some indication of what he was thinking, but maybe it had just been too long.

At long last, Spock said, his voice slow and hesitant, “I am no longer accustomed to expressing emotions as I once was. My time on Vulcan changed me as your time on Earth changed you. We will not be able to return to what we were.”

Jim frowned, but nodded in acknowledgement. “I know.” Still, his eyes shone with determination as he continued, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to create something new. I still need you; I always have and always will. I still want you by my side, if that’s where you want to be.” He hesitated. “And if we end up stuck back on Earth, well, the two of us have gotten out of worse situations, haven’t we, Mr. Spock?” He flashed Spock a smile.

Spock considered his words for a moment before he asked, “What if I am assigned a captaincy?”

Jim frowned. He answered, his expression set, “Then I’ll follow you out there somehow, on a ship of my own or as a senior advisor, whether it takes weeks or months or years, it doesn’t matter. I’ll join you out there.”

Spock nodded in assent. “In that case, I can conclude that it is only logical for me to remain by your side.”

Jim grinned at him, a wide open smile that almost made him look ten years younger, though the past two years had still left their indelible mark.

Jim was certain that he saw the corners of Spock’s lips curve upward in response. Slowly, Spock extended a hand toward Jim, his first two fingers out, inviting Jim to do the same.

Jim’s eyes widened in surprise and he was nearly shaking with relief as he extended his own hand to meet Spock’s.

The tips of their fingers gently brushed against each other. Jim almost felt a wave of warmth traveling up his arm. A shiver ran down his spine even though they were just barely touching. Spock’s eyes fell closed as he was immersed in human emotion. Spock was almost smiling by the time their fingers separated and he opened his eyes to meet Jim’s gaze.

Whatever came, they would face it together.

Note: Kirk and Spock’s story doesn’t end when The Original Series does. After rewatching the show, I watched all of the movies for the first time. It was a ride, to say the least, and I just had to fill in the gaps.

The biggest question I had after watching The Motion Picture was how it all happened. How did Kirk and Spock go from a happy couple to the estranged mess that they are at the beginning of the movie? I was especially perplexed by how Spock’s entire arc over the course of The Original Series of coming to accept his human side had been reversed so suddenly. Since Kirk’s decline after being made an admiral and stuck on Earth made a little more sense to me, that’s where I decided to start, and this is what I came up with.

[frolwriting]

A Whole New World: Skin Part 3

Hey guys!  So I might chapter dump this week because I’m on Spring Break.  I’m probably going to do that on my fan fiction profile with these stories.  I may update this as I update it on fan fiction.  You’ll get a lot more stories this week.  Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: ?

Episode: Skin

Warnings: Some cuss words, Monster Killing

_______________________________________________________________________

"Damn it." Sam said after a while. I could hear him trying to get free. I still can't get myself free. Dean has been trying to teach me, but I'm really terrible at it.

"That better be you, Sam, and not that freak of nature. Is Kate with you?" I heard Dean say from not to far away. When did he get here? Sam and I laughed.

"Yeah, it's me, and yeah, Kate is here too."

"Well, he's not stupid. He picked the handsome one." I was trying everything Dean had taught me, but I was not getting anywhere.

"Yeah, that's the thing. He didn't just look like you, he was you, or he was becoming you." I heard rope hit the ground.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked. I felt him come over and started working the ropes off of me.

"I don't know, it was like he was downloading your thoughts and memories."

"You mean, like the Vulcan mind meld?"

"Yeah, something like that. I mean, maybe that's why he doesn't just kill us." The ropes finally came off, and I pulled the bag off of my head. Dean went over to Sam and helped him get out of his ropes.

"Maybe he needs to keep us alive. Psychic connection."

"Hands. Yeah. Come on, we gotta go. He's probably at Rebecca's already." We hurried our way through the sewer and up to the alley. "Come on. We gotta find a phone, call the police." Sam said as he started walking down the street. Me and Dean hurried after him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean said as we caught up to Sam. "You're gonna put an APB out on me." Sam just shrugged.

"Sorry." Sam said. If he would do this to his own brother, what would he do to me? I'm not so sure I want to be around them anymore. Especially, since Sam doesn't really trust me right now.

"This way." Dean said as they took off running. I just barely kept up with them. I have been working out more since I began hunting with them. I go jogging in the morning most days, but that still doesn't make up for the fact that these guys are an entire foot taller than me. We stopped outside a store window that had a tv that was showing the news. Dean was currently all over the news because of that shapeshifter. Sam had called the police to get them to stop the shifter. I'm pretty sure Rebecca survives.

"An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding her in home." The reporter said. A really terrible sketch of Dean popped up on the screen. How was anyone supposed to find him?

"Man! That's not even a good picture." Sam looked around us.

"It's good enough." Sam said as he walked away.

"Man!" Dean said as we followed him to the alley. We were probably headed back down to the sewers.

"Come on." Sam said when Dean steps into a puddle. "They said attempted murder. At least we know-"

"I didn't kill her." Dean said.

"We'll check with Rebecca in the morning, see if she's all right." I said.

"All right, but first I want to find that handsome devil and kill the holy crap out of him." Dean said. We stopped walking though.

"We have no weapons, no silver bullets." I said realizing we had nothing.

"Kate, the guy's walking around with my face, okay, it's a little personal. I want to find him."

"Okay, where do we look?" Sam asked.

"Well, we could start with the sewers." Dean said.

"We have no weapons. He stole our guns. We need more." I said. "The car?" I asked.

"I'm betting he drove over to Rebecca's." Dean said.

"The news said he fled on foot. I bet it's still parked there." Sam said.

"The thought of him driving my car." I put a hand on his shoulder.

"All right, come on." I said as we started heading back to Rebecca's.

"It's killing me." Dean whined.

"Let it go." Sam said. After a while, we finally got to Rebecca's house. We walked around to the side of the house to find the Impala.

"Oh, there she is. Finally, something went right tonight." He almost took off running to his car, when we saw a police car pull up next to the Impala. "Oh, crap." We turned to find another police car parked a little ways away. "This way, this way." Dean said as we headed towards a fence.

"You two go. I'll hold them off." Sam said.

"What are you talking about? They'll catch you." Dean said.

"Look, they can't hold me. Just go and keep out of sight. Meet me at Rebecca's." Me and Dean nodded and climbed over the fence. "Dean, Kate." We stopped and turned back to Sam. "Don't go into the sewers alone. Don't separate from each other." We nodded and started walking away. "I mean it!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Dean said ignoring him.

"We need something to prove which one is you." I said as we headed to the Impala.

"Like what?" Dean asked.

"Cherokee Rose." That was the first thing to pop into my mind.

"Cherokee Rose?"

"Don't ask."

"What if the shapeshifter can still access my memory?"

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come down to that." I said as we got to the Impala. We grabbed some weapons from the trunk. I could tell Dean didn't like the idea that his brother was in trouble. "Sam's going to be fine." I said putting an extra gun with silver bullets in the back of my pants.

"We're going down into the sewers. We have to end this." Dean said. I nodded and headed back down into the sewers. We went looking for the place where we were, but we came across a different room filled with candles and chains. There was piles of skin and blood everywhere. It was disgusting. We were looking around, when we heard a noise come from somewhere else in the sewer. We followed the noise to find someone covered in a sheet. I removed the sheet to find Rebecca. Her hands and feet were bound. I pulled out the knife I had on me and started cutting her free.

"Are you okay, Rebecca?" I asked. Rebecca was looking at Dean absolutely terrified. "That wasn't Dean that hurt you. That was something totally different. You know how your brother was in two places at once?" Rebecca nodded. "The same thing happened to Dean." Rebecca just nodded. I helped her up, and we started walking out of the sewer.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"I was walking home, and everything just went white. Someone hit me over the head, and I would up here just in time to see that thing turns into me. I don't know, how is that even possible?"

"We've got to hurry. Sam went to see you." Dean said. We got to Rebecca's house to hear the shapeshifter talking to Sam. He must have captured him.

"Hey!" Dean said as we entered. The shifter was on top of Sam. I aimed my gun at the shifter and shot him in the heart. The shifter falls to the ground. To be honest, I was slightly surprised I managed to hit the thing much less kill it, but I was not about to tell the guys that.

"Sam!" Rebecca exclaimed as she ran over to him. Dean walked over to the shifter and found that it was wearing his necklace. Dean grabbed it. We stayed the night at Rebecca's and decided to head out in the morning. In the morning, me and Dean were standing by the car looking at a map.

"So where are we headed?" I asked.

"Not sure." He said as Sam walked over to us after talking to Rebecca. "So, what about your friend, Zack?"

"Cops are blaming this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder. They found the murder weapon in the guy's lair, Zack's clothes stained with her blood. Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Yeah, Becca says Zack will be release soon." Sam said happily. Dean rolled his eyes and got into the car. Me and Sam shook our heads and got in as well. We had been driving for a while in silence when Dean finally spoke up.

"Sorry, man."

"About what?" Sam asked.

"I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish could just be...Joe College."

"No, that's okay. You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in."

"Well, that's cause you're a freak."

"Yeah, thanks." I chuckled.

"Well, I'm a freak too. I'm right there with ya, all the way." Sam laughed this time.

"For the record, I'm also a freak. We're just a group of freaks."

"Yeah, that's the truth." We all laughed for a bit.

"You know, I got to say-I'm sorry I'm going to miss it."

"Miss what?" I asked.

"How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral." The two of them smiled at each other, but my smile went away as soon as he said that. Death plus the Winchesters equals nothing good. I'm going to miss these little moments when things go to crap. These are the good old days. I need to savor it. Maybe I'll stick with them for a little while longer.

[voyagerafod]

Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion: Part 4 of 4: Hotter Than Hell: Chapter Twelve

Janeway struggled to her feet, still feeling dazed from when she and the others had all slammed against the wall. She was grateful that the Cyberman ship’s inertial dampeners, or whatever their equivalent was, hadn’t failed or she and the others would be so much splattered mess. She looked around. Tom had already gotten up and was frantically trying to hail Voyager, even though he had to know it was no use. Vorik was helping Gilmore to her feet, while Lydia Anderson was checking the back of Jaffen’s head for injuries.     “Report,” she said.     “We’re near Earth,” Tom said, sounding dejected. “Just not our Earth.”     “Can we contact them?” she asked. A part of her hoped that perhaps the Earth of this reality, the one where the Cybermen had originated, would have something they could use to re-open the rift just long enough to get home. At least the fact that Voyager hadn’t replied when Tom tried to contact them meant that, presumably, the rest of her crew had made it home.     Tom glared at the image of the planet on the main monitor.     “No,” he said. “I was able to tap into the satellite network. The Earth of this universe is still in the early 21st century, though unlike us they didn’t have a Eugenics War. This Earth is more advanced in their 2014 than we were in ours, but not enough to do any good. They don’t even seem to have noticed us yet near as I can tell.”

    Tears began forming in Tom’s eyes. He punched the navigation console. “Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

    Janeway wished she had the words to help Tom, but she just didn’t. He had every right to be upset after all. Being separated from people you loved by over seventy thousand light years was one thing, but now there was an entire universe and hundreds of years separating him from his wife and newborn daughter, a child he’d spent mere days with.     She looked back at the others. She could see sadness beginning to take hold over Anderson and Gilmore already. Jaffen seemed fine, if a bit dizzy. Vorik was as implacably Vulcan as usual.

    Will we forget them too? she thought. Like we forgot about the Cybermen when they came to our universe? Or is it different for us now that we’re in their realm?

    “So. What do we do now, Kathy?” Jaffen said.     Janeway took a deep breath. She felt deep down like what she was about to say was a lie, but she needed to say something to give her people hope. Her crew, anyway. Jaffen would be happy wherever they were so long as he was with her. That was something she was glad for at least.

    “The barrier between our worlds has been breached more than once,” she said. “It can be done again. I don’t know how long it will take, but we will find a way. I’ve gotten my people home before, I can do it again. Hell, if we’re lucky, it won’t take us seven years this time.” She added a smile to that last line, surprising herself at how genuine it felt. This speech was as much for her as it was for the others.     “There is a man here, a time traveler, who helped Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise defeat the Borg/Cyberman alliance ten years ago,” she said, though Tom and Jaffen already knew that part. “If we can find him, I imagine he could get us home to our universe.”     “How do we find him though?” Marla Gilmore said.     “She’s right,” Tom said, slumped in his chair. “You heard what Seven said about him. He goes all over time and space, seemingly at random, in a ship smaller than one of our class 2 shuttles.”     Janeway thought about it for a moment. Tom was right about that, but she remembered something else from that briefing; about the kind of man the time traveler was. Everyone looked at her, patiently waiting for what she would say next.     “We make an impression,” she said. “Vorik, Gilmore, let’s get this ship in the best shape we can. Tom, go over this ship’s records. I want to know where the major hubs for information and trade are in this universe.”

    “Ma’am?” Tom said.     “It’s simple. We fix this ship up, we go around looking for sentients in need, and we help them,” Janeway said, now feeling genuinely hopeful instead of just trying to project it. This plan she was formulating had so many ways it could go wrong, but it was the best she had.

    Besides, she thought, is this really that much more difficult than some of the crap we went through in our own reality?

    Vorik raised an eyebrow. “With all due respect, I fail to see how that helps us return to our reality, Captain.”

    “This time traveler,” Janeway said, “this man who simply calls himself The Doctor, has been an enemy of the Cybermen for centuries. Sooner or later, word is going to get to him about a ship belonging to one of his oldest and most dangerous enemies going around doing good in the galaxy.”

    “And if I were in his place,” Anderson said, “that sure as hell would get my attention.”     “Exactly,” Janeway said.     Jaffen walked over to Janeway and casually put an arm around her waist.     “I gotta say,” he said, smiling, “I like this plan.”     “Can’t hurt to try, I suppose,” Tom said, sighing.     Janeway looked up at the monitor. It was almost eerie how the Earth here looked just like the one she called home. She wondered for a moment if maybe it would be so bad to settle here if The Doctor never came.

    No, she thought. I’m not ready to give up yet. Either we get to go back to our home, or we die here as heroes.

---

    B’Elanna Torres cradled her daughter in her arms as she looked at the picture of Tom on the table in Admiral Paris’ home. Physical pictures weren’t the norm amongst the people of the Federation anymore, not with digital photo frames that could easily hold hundreds, even thousands of pictures instead of just one having been available to humanity even in the time before Zefram Cochrane’s first warp flight. The practice had never gone away completely though, and with the fear that the Voyager crewmembers who were trapped on the Cyberman ship when it got pulled through the rift would be forgotten an ever-present reality, they went from a mere act of sentimentality to a necessity. The new project that Admiral Paris, Reg Barclay, Lewis Zimmerman, and others had started on Jupiter Station required physical copies of photos of the lost crew, any information they had on them written down on real paper. The computer records of them were not lost completely but were spotty, incomplete, and easy to miss unless you knew what to look for. Or even that there was something to look for.

    “Thank you for letting me stay here, Admiral,” B’Elanna said.     “Please,” the Admiral said. “No need to be so formal. I’m off-duty, and you’re my daughter-in-law. Call me Owen. Besides, you don’t exactly have a place of your own right now.”

    “That’s certainly true,” B’Elanna said. “I don’t even have a ship anymore.”     Owen Paris sighed. “You heard about that, huh?”     “I figured R&D would want a look at all that Delta Quadrant tech we brought back with us,” B’Elanna said, shifting on the couch slowly so as not to jostle the baby too much. “I don’t understand why they had to hide Voyager away though.”

    “That was Nechayev’s idea,” Owen said, sighing. “She has this idea in her head that the new technologies inside Voyager would be a prime target for the Federation’s enemies. She’s not one hundred percent wrong, I’m sure the Romulans would love to have a look at that slipstream drive, even if it is burned out. But Elena is, well, Elena. Just keeping Voyager in the Sol system isn’t secure enough for her, she has to move it to one of her,” Owen groaned before completing the sentence. “Black Sites as she calls them. I don’t know if she doesn’t know the history behind that phrase or just doesn’t care.”     B’Elanna nodded. “I knew that there was a chance, even with the pardon, that I might not get to serve on Voyager again, but that doesn’t make the mental image of a bunch of Intelligence types pawing at her warp drive any easier to stomach.”     “With your credentials, record, and reputation,” Owen said, “I don’t doubt that once your maternity leave is up that you’ll be in anything less than high demand. There are a lot of captains in Starfleet who would kill to have an engineer with your skills on their team.”

    “I don’t know,” B’Elanna said. “I might just try to join the team at Jupiter trying to figure out how to get Tom back from the other universe. If I didn’t have Miral, I’d be feeling so helpless right now.”     “I can see about that,” Owen said, surprising B’Elanna who just assumed that he would be against it, perhaps arguing that she was too close, too emotionally invested. “Fact is, having people there who have more cause to care than anyone about the people we lost in that rift is probably the best way to ensure that they aren’t forgotten. If my own science training wasn’t a few years out of date since becoming an Admiral I’d be there myself.”

    “Maybe we’ll go to Jupiter together then,” B’Elanna said. “It would certainly make it easier for you to spend time with your granddaughter.”     “Speaking of,” Owen said, motioning towards Miral, “May I? I haven’t actually had the chance to hold her since you got to San Francisco.”     “Of course,” B’Elanna said.

---

    Harry Kim stood outside the airlock to the U.S.S. Delaware, reluctant to go inside. He reached into his pocket and fiddled once again with the folded up paper photo he had of his best friend, what was his name? The one who was in another universe now, or something like that. Why was it so hard for him to remember the name of his own best friend?     “You understand, Lieutenant,” Lieutenant Ayala said coming up behind him “that the ship can’t take off from starbase with you standing in the connector.”     “Right, sorry,” Harry said. “I guess it just doesn’t entirely feel real. I guess I just assumed I’d be going back to Voyager once I returned to duty.”

    “I did too,” Ayala said. “But I guess R&D had other plans. The jerks.”     Harry chuckled. “Yeah. Jerks.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, Let’s do this. At least I’ll have somebody from the old crew here. That should make it easier to adjust.”     “More than one somebody,” Ayala said. “Didn’t you hear? Todd Mulcahey and Susan Brooks got assigned to the Delaware as well.”     “I didn’t know that actually,” Harry said. “I’ll make sure to say hello after I report to the Captain.” The two men made their way through the open airlock onto the Nova-class ship. Harry had to admit it was a bit odd being on one of this class again, considering his last experience with one was the Equinox, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He felt something in his pocket, not sure how it got there, but he figured he’d take it out later, once the Delaware was out of the Sol system.

    He went through the open airlock first, Ayala close behind. The two quickly made their way to the nearest turbolift and rode it to the bridge, only to find it almost unoccupied. The only person there was a short haired red-headed human woman. Only when she turned around and Harry saw the four pips on her collar did he realize that this was his new commanding officer, Captain Kilkenny.     “Ah,” she said, smiling. “Lieutenant Kim. Lieutenant Ayala. You’re early. I would’ve arranged for you to meet the rest of the senior staff if I’d known. Welcome aboard.”     “Captain,” Harry said, standing at attention. “I look forward to serving with you.”     “And I look forward to hearing some of your war stories,” the Captain said, practically radiating enthusiasm. “I mean, you two served aboard Voyager. You’re practically legends, and here I am, the one who’s going to be giving you orders.”     Harry blushed. He looked over at Ayala, impressed at the man’s ability to maintain his composure. Harry turned back to face the Captain, but something behind him caught his eye, something sitting on one of the arms of the captain’s chair.

Is that a plush cat? He thought.     The Captain realized he was looking at something behind her and turned around.     “Oh, I see you’ve spotted Desmond,” she said.     “Desmond?” Ayala said.

“My kitty,” Captain Kilkenny said casually, as though it should’ve been painfully obvious to him and Harry. “He’s been with me since my first assignment; the Kilimanjaro.” She sighed. “She probably would’ve been my first command if we hadn’t lost her to a Dominion sneak attack during the war. Could’ve been worse though. Out of 900 crew members 893 made it out alive.     “But enough about old war wounds,” she said, her smile suddenly coming back. “Command has cleared us for departure at 0900 hours.” She checked the PADD in her hand. “Both of your quarters are on Deck 3. Feel free to get some rest before we head out.”     “Aye, sir,” Harry said.     “Aye, Captain,” Ayala said.

---

    “A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Doctor,” Bruce Maddox said, extending his hand to The Doctor.     “Likewise, Commander,” The Doctor said, accepting the handshake offer politely.     “I was sorry to hear about what Starfleet Command decided to do with Voyager,” Maddox said. “Any plans, since you’re losing your sickbay?”

    The Doctor looked around, his gaze falling on the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance.     “Not really. I have been offered a teaching position at Starfleet Medical,” he said. “I may take it, but not this semester. Some of my Voyager crewmates have invited me to meet their families. I think they feel they owe me since I treated them during our time together, as if I ever would’ve not. I imagine their spouses, children, and what not wish to thank me for making sure their loved ones made it home. I appreciate the sentiment, but because of it I can’t help but think about all the people on Voyager I couldn’t save.”

    “I don’t think you need me to tell you even the best doctors Starfleet has can’t save everyone,” Maddox said.

    “I’m well aware of that,” The Doctor, “but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.”

    Maddox nodded, and turned to look at the bridge as well.     “I imagine that seeing the faces of your crewmates’ families might help. It won’t make the guilt go away, unless you decide to remove it from your program. But if Commander Data can learn to live with the downsides of having emotions, I doubt you will have any problems.”

    “I suppose you’re right,” The Doctor said. “In that case I probably should go then. My first invitation just for today is meet with Lieutenant Carey and his family. Perhaps I’ll see you some other time.”     “I wouldn’t mind that,” Maddox said. “I can read the Voyager logs anytime I like, but hearing about it from someone who was there is an experience no report can properly convey. If possible, I can even arrange for you and Data to meet. He’s mentioned that he finds your story inspiring.”

    The Doctor smiled. “I would very much love to meet with him. I’ll get in touch once I know I have some time to spare, and we’ll see what we can do.”

---

    Seven of Nine pulled her robe tight around her as the air grew colder. She looked at the night sky on the Ktarian homeworld and was amazed at how many stars you could see, even this close to a major metropolitan area. She watched as off in the distance at the spaceport the ship that had brought her and her family here, the Starfleet passenger courier Lois McKendrick, took off.     Naomi was on the other side of the city, spending time with her father and his parents. Icheb had, mere months after arriving in the Alpha Quadrant, earned early entry into Starfleet Academy. Samantha had fallen asleep on a small couch in the room they were sharing while they were here, until their leave was over. Or so she’d thought until she heard Sam walk up to her. She didn’t turn to look as Sam slipped her arms around Seven’s waist and rested her chin on Seven’s shoulder.     “Trouble sleeping?” Sam said.     “Not tired yet,” Seven said. “Just... thinking.”     “Still hoping we’ll see them again?”     Seven didn’t need to ask to which ‘them’ Sam was referring.     “The barrier between the universes has been breached before,” she said. “At least twice, and that’s just what I know of. Who’s to say-”     “It’s okay, babe,” Sam said. “I think we’ll see them again too. If I know Captain Janeway as well as I think I do, she’s probably already got a plan in motion.”

    Seven chuckled. “Probably an ill-advised plan with a low probability of success.”     “Yeah, well, those have worked out for her pretty well so far,” Sam said before kissing the back of Seven’s neck. “Now, if you aren’t going to come to bed, at least close the balcony doors. Ktarian cold winds can sneak up on you. And don’t forget we’re meeting my sister tomorrow.”

    “Okay,” Seven said, watching Sam as she went back inside. Seven turned and looked up at the stars one last time before doing so herself. Even if her crewmates never did return from the other universe, even if they hadn’t survived the breach, she would make sure that they wouldn’t be forgotten.

~The End~

Dedicated to my Dad, an OG Trekkie, for introducing me to Roddenberry’s vision.

My biggest regret was that he didn’t get to see how this story ended.