Disclaimer: Chapter 1
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"Fine Job Mr. Sulu, well done!" I heard Scotty compliment as I walked into the transporter room with Spock and Jim.
"Where are we, Scotty?" Jim asked as we passed him.
"Unbelievably sir, the ship is in position," he admitted.
"Whatever happens Mr. Sulu, if you feel you have a tactical advantage, fire on that ship. Even if we're still aboard. It's an order," Jim said as Spock made his way onto the pad, me following right behind him.
"Yes, sir," I heard vaguely from behind me as I looked up at Spock.
"Please be careful," I begged him quietly. My heart was racing with anxiety. "I can't lose you too."
Spock leaned in, placing his hand on the back of my neck, before he gently kissed my forehead.
I will be, Maeve, he told me through my mind before slowly pulling away.
You mean so much to me, I admitted as he leaned his forehead against mine.
Oh, how I wanted to kiss him. How I needed to kiss him.
But there was no time. I kissed his cheek softly before I turned and jogged back to where Scotty was sitting at the transporter.
"If there's any common sense to their ship design, I'll be puttin' ya in the cargo bay, shouldn't be a soul in sight."
"Energize," Jim said. And they were gone.
I ran all the way back to the bridge, hoping to keep track of the men as best as I could. Anxiety filled me past the brim as I hoped once again for Spock's safety.
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It felt like years before Spock and Jim were once again aboard the ship. They ran onto the bridge and went straight to the front of the room. I grinned in relief as my heartbeat slowed and I went back to working.
"Captain! The enemy ship is losing power-its shields are down!"
"Hail them now!" Nero's face made its way onto the screen and Jim spoke. "This is Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Your ship is compromised. You're too close to the singularity to survive without assistance which we are willing to provide."
There was silence for a moment before Spock turned to speak quietly with the captain.
"Captain, what are you doing?"
"We show them compassion - it may be the only way to earn peace with Romulus. It's logic, Spock! I thought you'd like that."
Spock shook his head, "no, not really. Not this time."
"I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony than accept assistance from you."
"You got it," Jim agreed, heading back to his chair as Nero's face was taken down from the screen. "Arm phasers, fire everything we've got."
"Yes, sir," Sulu agreed. Spock made his way to his spot next to me and I gave him a small smile before getting back to work.
"Sulu, let's go home!"
"Yes, sir!"
I froze when I realized we weren't going anywhere.
"Why aren't we at warp?"
"We are, sir!"
"Kirk to Engineering, get us out of here, Scotty!"
"You bet your arse, Captain!" It was a moment before we heard him once again. "Captain, we're caught in the gravity well, it's got us!"
In the following few minutes everything was a blur of anxiety, nerves, and fear. I tried to gather myself together and work, but my mind was slipping.
Until Spock brushed against my arm, calming me just before we were blasted away from the black hole, sending shock and relief through the entire crew. The happiness filled my body to the brim and I couldn't stop the giggle from erupting from my lips, sending a shock of happiness through Spock.
I turned to him and smiled.
And he smiled back.
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"Cadet O'Grady, I am certain that you are wondering why we have adjourned you here with us today."
"I am, sir."
"The board has ruled that although you are currently a Cadet, we wish to immediately promote you to the high honor of Commander upon your graduation from the Academy." shock and happiness shot through my entire being. "As your hard work has proven you to be more than worthy of the position, and we believe that because of this, you would be a valuable asset to Starfleet. Do you wish for the position?"
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," I finally choked out, the initial shock wearing off into excitement.
"Then we look forward to the promotion."
"Thank you, sir."
"You are dismissed."
I ran from the conference room, looking for Spock. I had to tell him. He'd be so proud of me! I searched for his mind, and quickly found him within one of the Starfleet Hangars. I sprinted as quickly as possible.
"Spock!" I called. "Spock, you'll never guess-"
I rounded the corner, only to be faced with an old man. An old man who felt like Spock, but an old man who, quite obviously, wasn't my Spock.
"A-apologies, sir, I thought you were-"
"Maeve O'Grady," the man greeted.
"Yes, sir."
"I am pleasantly surprised to see you here. Back in my reality, you decided to live on Vulcan with your mother and father as Earth's ambassador to Vulcan."
"You're the alternate Spock?" I asked, surprised. "I wasn't in Starfleet in your universe?"
He shook his head, "I am indeed Spock from the alternate reality. However, where I come from, you were only in Starfleet for a limited amount of time before becoming Ambassador at a very young age."
"Were we friends in your reality?" I asked after a moment as we began walking.
"You could say that," he agreed, a small smile on his face. "We were best friends."
Other Spock told me lots about the Other Me in the alternate universe as we walked. I noted the rose-colored emotion that swirled through him as we spoke of the Other Me. We had only spoken for maybe five minutes when we heard a voice call-"Father."
I turned quickly and Other Spock turned as well.
"I am not our father," Spock's face conveyed curiosity as he walked forward to meet us halfway. "There are so few Vulcans left, we cannot afford to ignore each other."
"Then why did you send Kirk aboard when you alone could have explained the truth?"
"Because you needed each other. I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together. Of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize."
"How did you persuade him to keep your secret?"
"He inferred that universe-ending paradoxes would ensue should he break his promise."
"You lied?"
"Oh, I... implied." I couldn't stop the small giggle before I covered my lips lightly noticing the two men looking at me with small, endearing smiles. I didn't miss the prominent rose-colored emotion swirling through either one of them.
"A gamble?" Spock asked quietly, turning back to him, and tearing his content gaze from me.
"An act of faith. One that I hope you will repeat in the future at Starfleet."
"In the face of extinction, it is only logical I resign my Starfleet commission and help rebuild our race." My heart sank at that. I suddenly felt ill. The smile that had been on my face disappeared. Spock was leaving?
"And yet you can be in two places at once. I urge you to remain in Starfleet. I have already located a suitable planet on which to establish a New Vulcan colony. Spock, in this case, do yourself a favor. Put aside logic. Do what feels right... Since my customary farewell would seem oddly self-serving, I will simply say... Good luck."
Spock held up his hand in the same Vulcan salute as Old Spock began to walk away. I felt his consideration on the words Old Spock had said.
I hoped beyond hope he would choose to remain in Starfleet.
"Maeve?" Spock called to me, snapping me out of my daze.
"Yes?" I asked him.
"What were you doing here?"
"I was... looking for you. I reached out to find your emotions and it led me here. I hadn't realized until I got here that he was not actually the Spock I knew. I just ended up talking to him."
"What did you talk about?"
"The me from the alternate universe. Apparently I was ambassador from Earth to Vulcan. However, he told me my spirit was much more free than the me he knew... Apparently she was a lot like you are. And I am a lot more like he is now. He told me that it was important for me to follow my heart. And that was when you came in."
There was silence as thought about my words. "Why were you looking for me?"
"Oh! Er-well... I was just called to a small meeting with the board," I admitted. "They told me that once graduate, they want to promote me to Commander because of my hard work and dedication to Starfleet!"
I felt his sudden happiness, making my heart leap and another giggle erupt from my lips.
"Congratulations, Maeve."
It was in that moment I realized just how much I wished to kiss this man.
And God, was it hard to resist.
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