A Kestrel for a Star (Star Trek fanfiction)

Chapter 1

Bombarding you with chapters guys . . . uh sorry about typos and errors :S my bad . . .

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*Eleven Years Later*

"Will there be food?"

"Yes."

"What about stars? Will I see stars?"

"It will be daytime on the planet."

"Will there be aliens?!"

Ambassador Wallace Stibbons, now fair of hair and with wise old eyes and creases on his face, looked down at the child sat next to him who was frantically trying to make herself tall enough to see out of the shuttlecrafts windows which proved slightly too high for her to get a good view of the outside environment. She was struggling to see the stars and planets that were racing by.

"Kestrel, stop fidgeting, you're pulling your safety harness!" Wallace snapped slightly too harshly. He winced at the child who looked up at him with round brown eyes. As she had grown, her eyes had become flecked with silver which shone as if they were captured stars in her eyes. She had also grown a mass of wavy brown hair which she always threatened to cut short because of how much the length irritated her, especially when she had a tantrum and loose strands caught in her eyelashes. Her father had instructed Wallace to give her a name that reflected strength and grace: Kestrel. Sometimes she reminded him of one. Although the clumsy child lacked grace at the moment, her strength and stubbornness made him recall a kestrel's persistence in a hunt.

"I just want to see what is happening." She grumbled moodily, crossing her strong arms across her chest and slumping further in the seat she was occupying.

"Well, you'll see plenty when we land," Wallace said tiredly.

If it had been up to him, Kestrel would have remained on Earth, with his wife. But as usual, his wife had sprung on him her plans to visit her sister who was off planet and she would be unable to look after the child they had adopted eleven years ago.

"Approaching Vulcan now sir, landing in seven minutes." The shuttle's pilot said over his shoulder to the Ambassador who nodded sharply.

He turned to the child who had begun biting the nails on her left hand, humming lowly under her breath and using her right hand to pick at a safety warning sticker that had been placed under the window she couldn't see out of. 

He sighed, straightening his robes, ready for their arrival, before turning to the child again, "What did I tell you about when we land?" He asked, trying to sound stern.

Kestrel looked up at her adoptive father and sighed. She always felt like she was in the way, being pushed aside when formal assignments came along or when the Federation needed him. She became excited when she realised she would be tagging along this time, only to be told that she must remain silent at all times, even when spoken to. She wondered if her father was worried she would say the wrong thing.

"I have to stay quiet unless spoken too. At no point in time will I do anything that may draw attention to myself. I am to sit quietly outside the council chambers and wait until the proceedings are over, then leave quietly with you." She recited, not keeping the tone of boredom out of her voice as she did so. The idea of being cooped up in a waiting room until Wallace was done with his business with the Vulcan high Council sounded as dull as if she had stayed at home.

Wallace nodded in response to the child then gripped his seat as they landed, the shuttle bouncing about slightly before settling down on the reddish rock soil that covered most of the planet Vulcan.