Starfleet Chronicles - Leonard McCoy

Prologue

Jade Winona Kirk was highly annoyed at her brother as she weaved through the dive bar he was in, trying to locate him. He'd missed their birthday dinner with their mother, and she knew that only meant one thing. He hated their birthday because it reminded him of the worst day of all their lives. Being Jim's twin wasn't easy on a regular day, but on their birthday, it was worse. She got to the bar right when a Starfleet cadet decked her brother in the face, making her blood boil. She didn't ask questions; the two of them never did in situations like this. It didn't matter who was on the receiving end, they always looked out for each other. She tapped the guy who had punched her brother on the shoulder, and when he turned around to see her, his guard dropping, she expertly landed a right hook to his jaw. She heard her brother giggle at the sight before making another smart remark. "Oh, you've done it now; my baby sis is an even better fighter than me."

Jade dodged an oncoming fist and landed a fist in her attacker's gut. When the tall brunette bent over, losing his breath, she elbowed the side of his head. She kept weaving through the onslaught of drunk cadets while her very inebriated brother was getting his ass handed to him. She saw a girl with caramel skin and long black hair yelling at her fellow cadets to stop, but they ignored her. Jade shot her a grin as she landed a knee into another attacker's gut. "Thanks for trying!" The girl grimaced and shrugged, not knowing what to do with the situation. Just as she was rushing up to the brunette she'd decked earlier, he was beating the crap out of her brother, and a deafening whistle sounded. Everyone stopped and saw an older gentleman in a black Starfleet uniform. The cadets immediately stood at attention, but the man didn't look impressed. He glared at them and barked, "Outside, all of you! Now!" They immediately started to disperse, allowing Jade to walk over to her brother, who was lying on his back on a table. Her brother grinned at the man, and before she could shush him, he said, "You can whistle really loud, you know that?" Jade couldn't stifle the snicker that bubbled out of her, and she saw the man trying and failing to stop his grin.

With his help, they were able to sit Jim down in a chair at the table he'd just been lying on. Jade pulled up a chair to sit beside him as the officer approached the bar. She fought off tears as she saw how beaten up he was. She hated how sad Jim got on a day that should have been a celebration. She was sad, too; they never got to meet their father, and their mother was never on the planet. She'd left them with nannies at first and then with their asshole of a stepfather. Jim always stood up for her when he tried to give her a hard time, and it was because of Jim and their dad that she learned to fight as well as she did. She sighed as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jimmy, what am I going to do with you?" He hung his head slightly and glanced at her with a sad expression. "Shit, Winnie, I'm sorry I got you into a fight today of all days." She smiled softly at the nickname and shook her head at him. She couldn't say anything as the officer walked over with three glasses of beer and several napkins. He dispersed the drinks between them and handed the napkins to Jim. The officer addressed Jade as he tried to stem the bleeding from his nose. "That was some fighting you did there, kid. You don't have a scratch on you aside from your hands. Much better than your brother here."

Jade couldn't stop the peal of laughter that left her at the officer's statement. Jim glared at her but didn't speak. She'd always been the better fighter of the two. Both of them had tested off the charts, genius level even, but neither had the motivation to join the organization that took both of their parents from them. As they began to sip their drinks, the officer broke the silence as the workers started to clean up the bar around them. "You know, I couldn't believe it when the bartender told me who the two of you are." He said matter of factly. She heard Jim scoff as he lifted his drink to his lips. "Who are we, Captain Pike?" Jade's eyes widened when she realized she'd been joking with one of Starfleet's most decorated Captains. He chuckled and shook his head, unfazed by Jim's attitude. "Your father's kids." He said simply. Neither she nor Jim responded to that, and Jim turned to the bartender and asked for another drink. Captain Pike wasn't fazed as he looked between the two of them. "For my dissertation, I was assigned the U.S.S Kelvin," he explained. "Something I admired about your dad, he didn't believe in no-win scenarios." Jim scoffed again and lowered his head to pull the tissues out of his nose. "He sure learned his lesson." He stated bitterly.

Jade's mouth dropped open in disgust at what he'd said. "Watch your mouth, Jim!" Jim glanced over at her and winced but then glared at the Captain. Captain Pike gave her a sympathetic look before continuing. "Well, it depends on how you define winning. You two are here, aren't you?" James didn't respond, nor did Jade; neither knew what point he was trying to reach. Pike sighed and looked away slightly as he spoke again. "You know that instinct to leap without looking; that was his nature, too. And in my opinion, it's something Starfleet's lost." Jade looked down at her hands and felt Jim grab onto one of them and squeeze. He scoffed with a slight chuckle again before he finally snapped.

"Why are you talking to us, man?" Pike looked between the two of them and nodded. "Cause I looked up both your files while your sister was helping you, where you were drooling on the floor. Your aptitude tests are off the charts, both of you. So, what is it? Do you like being the only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest? And you, Jade, do you like always cleaning up after him because of it? You're both so smart and so much better than this." Jim rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Maybe we love it." He sassed.

It was Pike's turn to scoff as he looked away, Jim was still holding onto her hand, so she gave him the reassuring squeeze this time. Pike watched the nonverbal communication between the two and tried again. "So, your dad dies. You can settle for a less-than-ordinary life. Or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special? Enlist in Starfleet. Both of you." Jade's mouth dropped open, and they didn't say anything. Enlist in Starfleet, was he insane? Starfleet killed their father and caused their mother to basically abandon them. The only people Jim and Jade had were each other. Jim laughed darkly as he looked over at her and shook his head. "Enlist? You guys must be way down on your recruiting quota for the month." Pike wasn't fazed by Jim's attitude; he spoke directly to Jim than for a moment before moving to her. "If you're half the man your father was, Jim, Starfleet could use you. Jade, you have the potential to be one of the best officers Starfleet has seen with your test scores and fighting skills. You can be an officer in four years. Jim, you can have your own ship in eight. You understand what the federation is, don't you? It's important. It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada." Jim cut him off, squeezing your hand once more before letting go. "Are we done?" Pike glanced between the two of you and nodded. "I'm done."

Pike stood up, placed credits on the table to pay for the drinks, and grabbed his coat. He looked back at the two of them, needing to get his point across. "Riverside Shipyard. Shuttle for new recruits leaves tomorrow, 0800. Now, your father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's. And both of yours. I dare you to do better." After making this statement, he left, leaving them to ponder what he said about their father. Jim leaned forward on the table and held up the tiny starship saltshaker from the table. He stood up abruptly and held out his hand to her. "Let's get out of here, Winnie; we still have a few minutes left of our birthday to celebrate." They walked out together after waving goodbye to the bartender. Jade had taken a cab to the bar, knowing her idiot brother had driven his bike. When they got to it, she held out her hand, waiting. He chuckled and dropped them into her waiting palm. He hated riding passenger on the bike, but he knew he wasn't sober enough to drive. When they got home to the tiny apartment they shared, they sat down on the couch, lost in their thoughts. After a few minutes, Jim looked over at his twin and sighed. "Winnie...I think we should do it." Jade scoffed and jerked her head to glare at her brother. "Jim, you're drunk, go and sleep it off." He shook his head and leaned forward on his knees, running his hand through his hair. "That's not it, I promise it's not. He made sense to me, as much as I hate that. We're both wasting our lives on this stupid planet. I'm holding you back, and I hate that, so let's work our asses off and get onto the same ship. I'm not saying we do this to make Mom proud because who cares about that? She sure as shit doesn't care about us or what we do. We do this for ourselves, each other, and Dad."
Jade stared at her brother and contemplated what he was saying. It was true that neither of them had the best life on earth. She was so worried about Jim most of the time that she didn't live her own life. Lord knew she never dated because Jim would scare them off, and she was too worried about what crazy mess he would get himself into next. He wasn't looking at her, but she knew he needed this opportunity. "Jimmy, if you want to join Starfleet...if that's something you feel called to do, then do it." Jim sat back and looked at her, worry marring his bruising face. "Winnie, I can't leave you here, and I definitely can't get through that academy without you. No, I'm not talking about the work, but I'll need my sister." Jade rolled her eyes, leaned back, and shook her head. "Jim, I have absolutely no interest in joining the military. Especially the damn organization that basically made us orphans." Jim sighed and stood up, stretching and facing her. "What else are you going to do with your life? Yes, I made fun of Pike when he suggested it, but after hearing what our...what he did, I think we need this. Both of us need this, Winnie. Just think about it. I'm going to go and get a few hours of sleep; I hope to see you in the morning."Jade was furious with her brother for making her feel guilty. Sure, she understood that enlisting was their best and only chance to make something of their lives. They could literally go into space and explore, but he'd used their parents. She also couldn't let Jim go by himself because she'd only worry the whole time he was there, and she wasn't.

Because of this train of thought, she found herself on the back of Jim's bike, heading toward the shipyard. The sun wasn't entirely out as they made their way across the open plains, and there was nothing of note to view other than the ships in the distance. Jim slowed down as they made their way through the busy shipyard, following signs to the shuttle bays. They were finalizing their lift-off when they arrived, and Pike stood at the entrance. She saw him hide a smile when he saw the two of them. Neither brought anything with them except the clothes on their backs because, apparently, Starfleet would provide everything else. As Jim parked and they got off the bike, a man walked by with a hard hat in his hand. "Nice ride, man." He complimented him. Jim smiled and threw him the keys, and said, "It's yours." Jade giggled as Jim walked confidently up to where Pike was standing. "Four years?" He said cockily. "We'll do it in three." Jade bit her lip to keep from laughing at the expression on Pike's face. She followed Jim onto the shuttle and began looking for a seat. When she heard a bang, she turned and saw that Jim had hit his head on the low beam. She snorted, causing him to glare at her. When he saw the jerks that started the fight with him in the bar, he mock saluted them and said, "At ease, Gentlemen."

They quickly found their seats and began trying to get buckled. Jade was busy figuring out where the other half of the snap was when she heard him try to turn his charm on. "Never did get that first name." She turned and saw the girl who had tried to get the cadets to stop fighting; she was silently laughing at her brother. Jade leaned forward and extended her hand. "Please ignore my brother; I usually do. I'm Jade Kirk." A genuine smile blossomed on the girl's face as she leaned forward and accepted her handshake. "Uhura, it's nice to meet you. I honestly can't believe he's your brother, is he older?" Jade snickered at the comment and nodded. "He sure is, by a full three minutes." This caused Uhura to laugh, but they were stopped from conversing more when they heard a commotion coming from the bathroom.

An officer was escorting a slightly older gentleman into the main area. "You need a doctor." She said sternly to him. He began to immediately protest and rant, which she found funny. "I told you people, I don't need a doctor, dammit, I am a doctor!" She continued as if he hadn't spoken and motioned to the seats. "You need to get back to your seat." He scoffed and shrugged her off him. "I had one in the bathroom with no windows. I suffer from aviophobia. It means fear of dying in something that flies." She completely ignored him and raised her voice at him. "Sir, for your own safety, sit down, or else I'll make you sit down!" He nodded and said a small fine as he took the open seat on the other side of Jim.

"That was uncalled for," Jade muttered to herself. She didn't understand why the officer was so rude when he was clearly afraid. The man looked up at her and locked eyes briefly, causing a shiver to run down her spine. He looked down quickly and began to buckle himself. Jade sat up straight when Captain Pike's voice came on the intercom to announce takeoff. Jade giggled loudly when the man leaned over to Jim and told him he may throw up on him. Her laugh caused him to smile briefly at her and Uhura to chuckle as well. Jim, however, looked distinctly unsettled by his admission. "You know, I think these things are pretty safe," Jim said calmly, trying not to agitate the man further.

He scoffed and shook his head as he finished buckling. "Don't pander to me, kid," he said firmly. "One tiny crack in the hull and or blood boils in thirteen seconds. A solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait til you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles. See if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence." Jade couldn't help the snort that escaped as she heard what the doctor said to her brother. Jim flashed her a playful grin before glancing back at the man sitting beside him. "Well, I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space." The man shrugged and began opening a flask he had in his hands. "Yeah, well, I got nowhere else to go," the doctor stated plainly. "The ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones." Jade made eye contact with Uhura across from her, and both had to look away immediately to stop from giggling. She watched as the older man held out the flask to her brother, which her idiot brother gladly accepted. "Jim Kirk, this is my sister, Jade." She made eye contact with the doctor at the sound of her name. He looked between the two of them and nodded. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy."

With that, the shuttle began to shake, and Jade inhaled sharply, reaching out for Jim's hand. Uhura smiled at the sweet display when Jim took her hand without hesitation and squeezed it to reassure her. "We're fine, Winnie; we'll be there before you know it. I know this isn't what you wanted, but I'm grateful that you came with me." Jade smiled, trying to push her nerves away as she looked up at her brother's face. "Of course, I came with you, Jimmy; who else is going to keep you out of trouble for the next four years?" Jim chuckled and shook his head. "I thought we agreed on three?"