Starfleet Chronicles - Leonard McCoy

Chapter One

Three Years Later

Jade was walking along the courtyard with Uhura when she spotted her brother and McCoy a few yards away. She'd just finished the Kobayashi Maru simulation and had been very pleased with her results. Commander Spock had told her he'd been impressed with her cool-headed approach to the situation. She'd managed to rescue several of the victims before ultimately being destroyed. She'd initially been upset at the failure, but Spock had explained what the simulation was for. Jade had no interest in becoming a Captain like her brother. She shined in engineering and couldn't wait to get onto an actual starship so she could work with real nacelles. She'd been working extra hard and was on track to graduate a year early. Captain Pike had stayed in contact with her to track her progress, and he'd been surprised by her field of study. He had assumed she'd go into tactical or navigation, but she had a high aptitude for fixing things, and engineering was her calling. When she saw her brother, she could immediately see he was plotting something.

Poor McCoy looked exasperated. He had become fast friends with Jim, and because Jim and Jade were so close, he was also her friend. Nyota nudged her, and when she turned to look at her, she found her friend smirking at her. "When will you tell the good doctor you have feelings for him?" Jade's eyes widened at her words, and blushed profusely. It was true that Jade did find him attractive, but she wasn't interested in a romance, especially not one with her brother's best friend. Nyota didn't give her a chance to answer but giggled as she wandered off. Jim and McCoy separated, and Jim made a beeline for her. He grabbed her hand and began walking them towards the mess hall.

"Winnie! I was just going to look for you; I need your help." Jade narrowed her eyes at her brother; she knew he was up to something. "Jim, I have to study for a big exam about the propulsion systems." Jim waved her comment away with a sigh and turned to face her. "Like you don't know the manuals from memory at this point. Listen, I'm retaking the test tomorrow morning, and I want you at the helm with Bones. Uhura will also be there, and I need my sister there for moral support." Jade's mouth dropped open at his words; he was truly insane. "Jim, are you deranged?" she shrieked. "You're seriously going to take the Kobayashi Maru for a third time?" He chuckled at her outrage and shrugged. "I hate no-win scenarios, and the test shouldn't be unbeatable. How did your test go this morning? I can't believe you didn't ask for me." Jade groaned and turned to face her brother fully.

"Jim, I love you, but you're crazy! The test is designed so that no one wins. Incidentally, Commander Spock told me I was in the top three percent of those who took it. I got pretty far, and he said he was impressed." Jim scrunched up his nose and shook his head. "Who the hell is this Spock guy? Tests shouldn't be unbeatable, Winnie! That's not a real test if you ask me. Please say you'll be there in the morning." Jade rolled her eyes at him but knew she'd do what he requested. When she nodded her head, he jumped up and whooped before hugging her. "Best sister ever! I'll see you in the morning; I'm going to go study." Jade scoffed as she watched him run off and muttered to herself. "Study my ass." She heard a deep chuckle come from behind her, and when she turned, she found McCoy standing there. Her pulse quickened at seeing him; she thought he'd left the area already. He moved over to stand next to her, still chuckling.

"I said the same thing when he told me he was going to study," he explained. "I take it he roped you into this fiasco tomorrow morning?" Jade felt herself blush slightly and giggled at the words as she made eye contact. "Doesn't Jim always rope me into his ridiculous schemes?" This caused the doctor to laugh once more and nod. "That's true," he began, "I actually feel bad that you're related. I mean, for twins, you're really nothing alike. He's reckless and way overconfident. You're reserved and extremely driven, well, unless someone starts a fight. I still can't get over that you took on four grown men and kicked all their asses. Seriously, why aren't you on the tactical path?" Jade's mouth opened up slightly at his words. She honestly hadn't realized he'd paid so much attention to her. She shrugged and looked at her feet when she responded, "I like fixing things, and engineering is fascinating." He nodded with a small smile and waved at her. "Well, I'll see you in the morning for this fantastic failure." This caused her to giggle as she waved goodbye to him, butterflies in her stomach.

The following day, she was there before her brother, but McCoy and Uhura were already there. She walked over to Uhura with a smile, but the girl was seriously annoyed. Jade touched her shoulder and raised her eyebrow at her friend. Uhura rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Your stupid brother is determined to piss me off, Jade." Jade couldn't help the giggle that escaped as she bit her lip to stifle it. "Oh no, what did he do now?" she asked her distraught friend. Uhura huffed and crossed her arms as she explained that she'd found her brother in her dorm, mostly naked, with her roommate, Gaila. Jade scrunched up her nose and shook her head. Her brother was such a man whore; it was embarrassing to share the same last name with him sometimes. Before she could comment, Jim strolled in. He looked too laid back for what he was about to do, which concerned her slightly. They all took their places; she was sitting at the helm with Doctor McCoy. He gave her a soft smile in greeting, and she felt her cheeks warm up as she smiled back. The simulation began, and she forgot about him to focus on her task.

Uhura turned around in her seat to address Jim with a smug smile on her face. "We are receiving a distress signal from the U.S.S Kobayashi Maru. The ship has lost power and is stranded. Starfleet Command has ordered us to rescue them." Jim began to turn around to face the front after listening to Uhura, but not before showing himself. "Starfleet Command has ordered us to rescue them, 'Captain.'" Jade shook her head and saw McCoy roll his eyes, which caused her to stifle a giggle. He made eye contact with her and smirked before looking back at his panel. "Two Klingon vessels have entered the Neutral Zone," McCoy began. "They are locking weapons on us." Together, she and the doctor worked the panel seamlessly, but Jim just said, "That's okay." Jade frowned as she turned her head to face her brother. "That's okay?" she asked, confused at how glib he was being. He smirked at her and shrugged. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

McCoy scoffed before looking at his panel and moving on. "Three more Klingon warbirds decloaking and targeting our ship." He turned around and motioned towards the screen. "I don't suppose this is a problem either?" he asked, irritated. Jade interrupted him and addressed him. "They're firing, Captain." She watched incredulously as her brother just leaned back and addressed Uhura. "Alert Medical Bay to prepare to receive all crew members from the damaged ship." Uhura had a more difficult time hiding her irritation than the rest of them when she responded, "And how do you expect us to rescue them when we're surrounded by Klingons, Captain?" He smirked, not bothering to look at her, and said, "Alert Medical." The red alert alarm sounded, and McCoy scoffed as he kept going with his part. "Our ship is being hit. Shields are at 60%." Jim pulled out an apple and said, "I understand." Before taking a bite. Having enough, Jade turned around and pointed.

"Well, should we, I don't know, fire back?" Jim gave her a cocky look and said no as he kept eating his apple. McCoy looked over at her and shook his head. "Of course not," he muttered with a scoff. Jade continued going over the panel numbers when the screen began to flicker and then turned off. She shared a look with McCoy, who looked just as confused as she was before the screens lit up and turned on again. Jim just smirked and asked for Photons to be armed. She did as requested, but she was even more confused than she was before. McCoy turned to look at him, clearly losing his battle with his irritation. "Jim, their shields are still up." He kept his cocky smirk on his face when he said, "Are they?" and continued eating his apple. Jade looked down at her screen and scoffed, "What the hell?" she asked softly to herself as McCoy confirmed they weren't up.

Jim sat forward in his seat and took on his commanding voice, something she hated to hear. "Fire on all enemy ships, one photon each. Let's not waste ammunition." Pursing her lips to stop herself from responding to his baiting, she did as he said. "Target locked and acquired on all warbirds. Firing." Jade watched in absolute shock as the ships blew up on the screen. There was absolutely no way that he beat this test; no one did. She felt someone pat her back, and she turned to see McCoy give her a sympathetic look. She turned back to her panel and said with gritted teeth, "All ships destroyed, Captain." He smirked at her and said, "Begin rescue of the stranded crew." He stood up and circled the room, showboating for all.

"So, we've managed to eliminate all enemy ships," he explained, "No one on board was injured, and the successful rescue of the Kobayashi Maru Crew is underway." Jade scowled at his audacity. She didn't know how he cheated, but it was clear he did, and he was flaunting it. She watched Commander Spock walk up to the glass, his look unreadable. She said goodbye to her friends and brother and exited the simulation room in a huff. She hadn't gotten very far when she heard her name. "Cadet Kirk, may I have a word, please?" She turned to see the Commander approaching her. "Of course, Commander." He nodded and motioned for her to follow him. They walked away from the crowd and ended up under one of the large canopy trees she loved to sit under. She waited for Spock to begin and was shocked when she heard his question. "Forgive me for asking this, but were you aware that your brother was going to cheat and install a sub-routine in the program? Given your reputation and aptitude, I do not see this as something you would do. However, I have to ask logically, given that the other Cadet, Kirk, is your twin. I understand that twins share a powerful bond more than normal siblings." Her mouth dropped open at his question that he would even think she was capable of something like that.

"With all due respect, Commander, if you're aware of my past scores and reputation, then logically, it's offensive that you would even ask such a question. Yes, my brother and I are close because we are all the family each other has. That being said, my entire life has always been cleaning up after whatever mischief he gets himself into. I don't condone what he did, especially with how extensively I personally studied and worked for that simulation myself." Spock bowed slightly when she was finished in acknowledgment of her statement. "Forgive me, Cadet, I meant no offense. I did not believe you would do something like this, but I had to ask because of your familial bond." Once he was finished, he said goodbye to her and walked away, leaving her stunned and highly offended. She watched as Uhura looked between the two before she ran over to her. "Jade, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Jade pursed her lips and gathered her bag so she could get to her dorm. She stopped and looked at Uhura, trying not to take her anger out on her. "Your boyfriend is an ass, Ny." Getting back to her dorm, Jade studies for her upcoming exam and tries to get some sleep. Waking up the following day, Jade saw a message on her PADD. "Cadet Jade W. Kirk. Your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing of one James T. Kirk. Please arrive at the presentation theatre at 1430."