Chapter Text
Stardate: 9081.23
Demora Sulu daughter of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, Joanna McCoy daughter of Doctor Leonard McCoy, S’chn T’Gai Saavik the adopted daughter of S’chn T’Gai Spock and David Marcus son of Captain James T Kirk, were gathered inside their little treehouse, shaped like a petite starship. It was a modest but comfortable sanctuary for the four progeny of some of Starfleet’s most legendary officers.
Today, however, it was filled with tension—it was the second anniversary of the disappearance of their parents' ship, the infamous USS Enterprise. After Stardate 5928.5, neither the ship nor its crew were heard from again. Dr Coleman and Dr Lester had been up for questioning, as the admiralty had heard about the incident with Dr Lester, and the last logs of the crew ended not long after encountering them. Dr Coleman had insisted they were not aware of the Enterprise disappearance
The vessel was declared missing on Stardate 6107.6, and the USS Stargazer was sent out to search for it. However, the Stargazer was only permitted to travel so far before encountering ion storms and suffering heavy casualties, so they were forced to withdraw. The crew of the Enterprise were officially declared dead on Stardate 6418.66.
This weighed heavily on the teens minds. The treeship was usually a place of fun and relaxation, and the teens would spend hours discussing and reenacting the Enterprise's adventures. Now it felt like a command centre in crisis, with red alerts going off in each of their minds, as they each secretly refused to believe that their fathers were dead.
“Did you know there are myths about the Enterprise?” said Demora, breaking the silence. Of the four, Demora was the most positive—an attitude that had proved to be both an irritant and a joy.
“Yeah, along with the myths about the hidden city of Atlantis,” Joanna snarked.
“What myths?” asked David.
“Well, like, some people suggest it was devoured by a black hole. Others believe the Enterprise was ambushed and captured by the Romulans.There’s also a rumour that the ship got caught in a temporal rift, causing it to be lost in time. Some think a saboteur onboard might have caused it to vanish. Others speculate that the Enterprise accidentally crossed into a parallel universe and is now exploring unknown territories. A conspiracy theory claims Starfleet itself has hidden the Enterprise for a top-secret mission—like the USS Discovery. There are tales of the ship encountering a powerful being that took control of it. Some fear it was destroyed by an unknown and hostile alien species. A very dramatic rumour suggests the crew mutinied and took the ship to an undisclosed location. It’s also possible that a catastrophic technological failure caused the ship to vanish without a trace. Some El-Aurians even suggest the Enterprise was sucked into the Nexus—the mysterious energy ribbon that offers eternal bliss.”
David was almost falling asleep during this lengthy list.
“Where did you hear these rumours?” asked Saavik, who had been unusually quiet during most of the meeting.
“Mostly from classmates.”
“Ahh, classmates. Definitely a reliable source of information,” Joanna replied sarcastically.
Demora pulled a face at Joanna, wrinkling her nose and curling her lip.
“I’m afraid I actually have to agree with Jo there, Demo,” David admitted. He sighed and said wearily, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I accepted a while ago that I was never going to see my dad. Heck, I didn’t even know he existed until my mother told me when the Enterprise was first reported missing. I actually used to believe I was a clone!”
“You have a bellybutton, yet you thought you were a clone?” Joanna derided.
“I was nine!” David insisted.
Joanna sighed. “I must admit, I’m with you here. My mother wouldn’t even let me receive messages from Dad. When he was offered a position aboard the Enterprise, which he accepted, she accused him of abandoning us—and made me believe it too. So, nothing is new to me,” she said with another sigh.
“What do you think, Saavik?” asked Demora.
Saavik was filing her nails, remembering the last thing her carer, Spock, had told her:
“Saavik, logic will guide you, but do not underestimate the power of human intuition. Seek the truth in everything.”
“We must seek the truth,” she said mechanically.
Everyone stared at her as if she’d lost it. Joanna was certainly thinking it.
“How?” Demora asked daringly.
“We search for them ourselves.”
Everyone’s jaw dropped. Yep, Saavik had definitely lost it.
“And how do you expect us to do that? We’re not Starfleet officers!” Joanna interjected.
“We may not be officers, but we have the competence and resources of one. We owe it to our fathers to investigate this ourselves,” Saavik continued.
“And how do you expect us to travel?” countered Joanna.
“We board a shuttle, of course,” Saavik replied, as if it were obvious.
“I don’t think anyone would agree to take us to find our fathers, Saavik,” David pointed out gently.
“I never said we needed an escort, David.”
Now everyone was looking at her as if she’d just grown an extra head.
“Saavik, you can’t expect us to hijack a shuttlecraft by ourselves!” exclaimed Demora.
“Why ever not?”
“Are you insane, Saavik? We’re not even eligible to drive a hovercar yet, let alone a shuttlecraft! Well, I don’t know about you with your weird-ass Vulcan aging,” Joanna snarked.
“That is true—we are not legally allowed to use a vehicle. But as the human saying goes, ‘What they don’t know can’t hurt them.’ I’ve recently been researching shuttlecrafts and how to operate them, and I believe I might know how. In fact, I’ve managed to hire one, which we’ll need to board at 200 hours,” Saavik checked her holo-smartwatch, “—which will be in 1 hour and 28 minutes.”
“So you’re saying we don’t have a choice in this matter?” Joanna muttered.
“Well, I assume you want to know the status of your father, Joanna. If none of you are interested, I am adequate journeying alone,” Saavik stated with more tone, making her seriousness quite clear.
“No, Saavik, you shouldn’t go alone. She does have a point, you guys. The Federation has clearly made no effort to find them, so what choice do we have? They could be in trouble and need help! We can’t just sit here and do nothing—when they’d certainly go to the moon and back for us,” said Demora sombrely.
David nodded in agreement. “But wait, how did you even manage to hire a shuttle? Surely they would’ve wanted to know your age, and you—as a Vulcan—can’t lie!”
“The people who lent me the shuttle, like Joanna, do not understand Vulcan aging. I managed, without lying, to make them believe I was 37. I also used Tun Spock’s identity card, with my image morphed into it.”
“Saav, you are a dark horse!” chuckled David.
“I do not know what that means. Was that an insult or a compliment?” she asked warily.
“A compliment. You’d call someone that if they do things you wouldn’t expect of them. I would never insult you, Saavik.” David gave her a reassuring smile.
“Well then, thank you.”
David and Joanna sent messages to their mothers, and Demora to her other dad, telling them they were sleeping over on Vulcan with Saavik for a while. They packed their essential things and met back with Saavik, who was already standing by her shuttle.
The other teens looked on in shock and awe. It was no bigger than a classic Mini.
“This is what we’re gonna save our parents in?” sneered Joanna.
“I did not have enough credits for a larger model. In fact, I used up all my credits for this, so consider yourselves fortunate that I managed to purchase a shuttle we can all fit in comfortably. I’ve also been informed that it’s quite sturdy—and capable of towing the Enterprise if it’s stuck somewhere.”
“Are you sure you weren’t just ripped off, Saavik?” asked David warily.
“Positive. Vulcans are not gullible, David, and I did not buy this vehicle from a junkyard. It is, in fact, a new model.”
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”
The teens climbed aboard the ship and prepared to buckle up.
“Demora, would you be willing to assist me as co-pilot?” Saavik asked.
Demora’s eyes shone. “I would be so honoured!” The idea of working the helm like her father thrilled her—which was precisely Saavik’s intention.
“So, what do we do? Just sit at the back in silence like we don’t exist?” protested Joanna.
“No. I need you two to gather all the data you can find about the Enterprise’s last known location and mission. There are PADDS and a computer by the seats,” Saavik explained.
Joanna and David soon got to work, while Saavik and Demora took the helm and left Earth behind.
With a plan in place, the children of the Enterprise’s crew set off on their mission—determined to uncover the truth and bring their fathers home.