Daughter of the Stars

Speak Your Thoughts

Stardate 2258.59

Two weeks have passed since Jim was officially made the Captain of the USS Enterprise. However, it was going to take roughly five to six months to completely repair the ship. She had suffered heavy damage from being fired upon by the Narada.

As a result of this, potential crew of the Enterprise were given shore leave until the repairs were completed.

Currently, Sala was sat in her apartment, staring out one of the windows. She was rolling her Vokaya amulet between the fingers of her left hand as she thought, her gaze not leaving the window.

The young woman was trying to figure out for sure what she was going to do about her future at Starfleet. She was urged by her elder counterpart to remain in Starfleet, but Sala was still conflicted about what to do.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock at her door. It could truthfully only be one of three people.

"Sala, it's Jim. You home?" Jim's voice called through the door.

Sala tore her gaze from the window, looking at the door for a moment before letting out a small breath and getting up from her seat. When she opened the door, she saw Jim and only Jim.

"To what do I owe the honor?" Sala asked.

"What? I can't just hang out with one my friends during shore leave?" Jim asked.

"That is not what I meant."

"I know. I'm just teasing you. Do you mind if I come in?"

"No, I do not," Sala said, taking a side step backwards to allow Jim into her apartment.

Jim walked into the young woman's apartment before taking a seat on the couch in her living room.

Sala shut the door before moving to take a seat on the adjacent love seat. An almost comfortable silence took the room and Sala reached for her Vokaya amulet, rolling it between her fingers once again. There were several things she wanted to ask Jim, but she needed to figure out what took priority and how to approach each topic.

"That looks nice," Jim said, pointing to the amulet Sala was toying with, "Is it new?"

"No," Sala said, looking at the amulet before continuing, "It was a gift from my father. He gave it to me when I first left Vulcan to become a member of Starfleet. I am almost always wearing it," Sala released the amulet, allowing it to fall against her chest as she looked to Jim, "You would not have been able to easily notice it as I typically have it under the shirt I am wearing."

"That so? Well, either way it looks good. What's the stone?"

"It is Vokaya. A mineral that is now exceptionally rare, seeing how it was only found on Vulcan," Sala said before her voice seemed to leave her.

"Oh, yeah," Jim paused for a moment, "I'm sorry about what happened."

"It is a tragic loss but the fault is not yours," Sala said, looking down for a moment.

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't feel bad. You're my friend, Sala. And like I said on the Enterprise when it happened, you can talk to me," Jim assured, moving a bit closer to Sala than he had previously been.

There was a silence in the room before Sala drew a sharper breath, deciding to ask for Jim's opinion.

"There is something I would like to discuss with you," Sala finally said.

"Well, shoot. What is it?" Jim asked, leaning back a bit to get comfortable while he listened.

"It is about my future in Starfleet. The Vulcan race is now endangered, as a result I feel obligated to leave Starfleet to help rebuild my race. However, my older counterpart advised me to stay in Starfleet, as she and Spock's older counterpart could take our places in helping to rebuild."

"W-wait, you met your future self?" Jim asked, lurching forward in his seat.

"Yes."

"And the world isn't ending or something?" Jim asked, stunned.

Sala let out a small sound of amusement before she spoke again, "Spock's older self did say how you 'inferred universe ending paradoxes would ensue' if you were to tell Spock or myself about the existence of our older versions."

Jim fell back into the couch in silence for a moment before letting out a laugh, "Wonder what they were up to, making me promise not to tell you two then letting you two know anyway."

"I may know the answer, but that is not what I have been thinking about as of late."

"Huh? Oh right," Jim said, being pulled out of his own thoughts, "So, you said you're thinking of leaving Starfleet, but the other you told you not to."

"Yes. What I wanted to ask is, what you thought I should do."

Jim was silent for what seemed to be ages. He had shifted in his seat several times and moved his hands from his lap, to his face, to being locked in front of him.

"Well, I would say for you to stay, but that's in part because you are a good friend of mine," Jim said, finally speaking, "I can see where you're coming from, what with being there when you came back from Vulcan's surface shortly before it was destroyed and everything. I can give you my opinion but I can't force you to do anything. But if you do stay, I can do my damnedest to make sure you're on the Enterprise with me," Jim paused before shifting to be facing Sala head on, "Let me ask you something, Sala. Why did you join Starfleet in the first place? What made you come here instead of staying on Vulcan?"

"I came to Starfleet because of what it stands for," Sala said before explaining further, "I was born due to medical intervention. This was called for because a Vulcan and a human wished to have a child together. I exist because of the ability to travel between star systems and different civilizations interacting together. It had seemed only logical that I selected a career path that is constructed on the idea of civilizations working together."

"Well then, the question is, what do you want to do? Work with other civilizations? Or help the Vulcans become Vulcans again?"

Sala's gaze fell to the floor as she thought over her friend's words. Then, something Jim had said reminded Sala of something she had not remembered in a while.

"'You are a daughter of the stars. You have a world of possibilities in front of you. You could learn to walk the stars, if you wanted to. The question is, what do you want to do?'" Sala said, quoting her mother from when she was younger.

"What?"

"What my mother said to me when I asked her what she thought I should do, when I was much younger than I am today," Sala said softly, looking back up to meet Jim's gaze.

Now remembering this from her past, and having the advice given to her by her older self, Sala reached her decision.

"So?" Jim gently prodded.

"You no longer need to look for a Cultural Relations Officer," Sala assured, "I shall anticipate working with you aboard the USS Enterprise."

Jim gave a light chuckle while a lopsided smile broke across his face.

"I look forward to it, too. But, that's a couple months away. What's say we find a few things to do before then?" Jim asked.

"What did you have in mind, Jim?" Sala asked, the lightest touch of playfulness in her voice.