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Enterprise Asides Part 7 - The Legacy
Demora Sulu never got nervous, but when she heard that Captain James Kirk would be visiting the Enterprise , she suddenly started worrying about things that she had never once considered. The turbolift suddenly felt very very small. Her post aboard the Enterprise had been won by harsh competition against some of the greatest pilots in Starfleet, and though many believed she had gotten the post through nepotistic means, she knew that wasn’t true. In fact, she remembered specifically telling her father, Hikaru Sulu, not to make any calls or call in any favours. She was a great pilot, and she knew she could convince Captain Harriman that she would be an asset to this crew on her own. In the end, she had gotten what she deserved, and she had never doubted her ability to do her job.
But then she learned of Kirk’s visit, and suddenly, she felt like the tiny girl twelve years previously who had been introduced to the captain who had served with her father for decades on two ships called Enterprise. He’d been like a legendary Hercules figure from some lost mythology. And now, though she knew he was as human as anyone else, she couldn’t fight the need to show her best self to her father’s dear friend.
“Captain,” she said, striding onto the bridge of the Enterprise --her Enterprise --and toward the captain’s chair.
“Yes, Ensign, what is it?” Captain John Harriman was shockingly young, but seemed capable enough. Demora ignored the rumours that he’d only gotten the position as a result of pressure from his influential parents who were both very high up in the Federation hierarchy. Her impression of him so far was of a level-headed, thoughtful man. Perhaps not as much of a risk-taker as previous captains, but he had a great capacity for empathy and caution, and Demora was glad to see Starfleet moving away from its more militaristic trappings, now that peace with the Klingons had reached a stable plateau in the few years following the Khitomer Accords. This was not the time to defend or attack. This was a new era of Starfleet, one of a return to peaceful exploration, and it would need a different kind of captain.
“I was just wondering on the status of the delegation.”
Harriman smiled. “Delegation, Ensign?”
“Captains Kirk and Scott, and Commander Chekov.”
“They’re not dignitaries, Ensign. They’re Starfleet officers like you and I.”
“Aren’t you at all nervous?”
He leaned forward. “To tell the truth, I’m absolutely terrified, but I figured I’d put on a brave front for the crew.”
Demora relaxed, glad not to be alone in her anxiety. “I’ll keep your secret safe with me, sir.”
“Thank you, Ensign.” A little louder, he said, “The commissioning ceremony is going to commence in an hour. Anyone who wishes to observe from the conference room is free to do so. This ship is ready as she’ll ever be, until we get the last of our equipment and personnel on Tuesday. I thank you for all your hard work.”
Demora went to her station for some last-minute checks on the helm systems, but the captain’s comment suddenly had her thinking about the state of the Enterprise . Was now really the best time for a high-profile visit? The ship was incomplete. Why was Starfleet rushing the commissioning ceremony? Why not wait?
She stopped the questions in their tracks, feeling foolish. Their maiden voyage was a Sol system journey, little more than a publicity stunt, but still, the idea of Captain Kirk visiting the ship in this state seemed wildly inappropriate.
But then she recalled her father’s story of the early days of the Enterprise A , the successor to the ship Kirk had destroyed eight years previously. Apparently, when that ship was called into service to aid in the hostage crisis on Nimbus III, the ship was barely operational. Her father had even said that the mobile devices that were synched up to the ship’s computer kept failing, but she assumed that was an exaggeration. But still, she liked knowing that the Enterprise B , though absent a few key components, at least ran smoothly, its computer a far cry from the older model used in the first two Enterprise models. The moment passed, and suddenly Demora felt much more grounded.
This was a good ship, and Captain Kirk would be proud of what they were doing, carrying on the legacy of Starfleet’s flagship. Once everything was taken care of, some of the senior staff shuffled into the conference room which gave a good view of spacedock. After several minutes of waiting, the navigator suddenly pointed to something. “There it is!”
Demora crowded forward and squinted at the small object, little more than a speck, tumbling end over end towards them. A few seconds later, she was able to focus on it and smiled. A bottle of champagne. She had heard rumors that Starfleet wanted to break out the old tradition for this ship, a fitting symbol of tradition. They had a hefty legacy to uphold, and Demora found herself suddenly giddy at what lay ahead.
*****
As the Enterprise pulled back into spacedock, broken and scorched following its run-in with the mysterious energy ribbon, Demora felt like an ancient sailor, beset with superstition and fear of a terrifying unknown. She knew, logically, that the ship couldn’t be cursed, but it felt that way to her, now. A brief maiden voyage to impress the reporters, and what had come of it? Over three hundred refugees killed, the new ship shattered, and James T. Kirk dead.
She looked at Captain Harriman, noting how utterly devastated he looked. He gave her a wan smile and she returned to piloting the ship back to spacedock, but she couldn’t help but feel like everything had changed. He had been so willing to give up command to Kirk. Demora knew Kirk’s reputation following his years after he was promoted to admiral. He’d taken command of the refit Enterprise from Captain Decker, who had then been lost in some sort of classified accident. And then, during a training cruise, her father had told her how Captain Spock had handed command to Kirk when Khan had returned.
But in this instance, Kirk had given command back to Harriman only seconds later, insisting that the ship’s captain stay on the bridge. She made a mental note to tell her father that. She knew he’d appreciate hearing it.
She vacillated between feeling pity towards her captain and feeling angry at him for failing to act sooner. It had taken Kirk’s insistence that the ships could be rescued before he’d done anything. And even then, it was Captain Scott who had devised a means of escaping the ribbon. None of her own crew had done anything. Demora herself had gotten them away, but even so, she felt horrifically guilty that she hadn’t gotten them away fast enough.
But this was a starship, not a shuttle. She had done everything correctly, and she had never frozen up. None of her crewmates had. None except the captain.
She didn’t want to judge him. None of them had been expecting this. None of them were prepared. But when faced with an emergency, they had all done their jobs. And Captain Harriman had hesitated.
Demora knew she needed to speak with her father. He had such a serene approach to everything. She hated that she had such awful news to tell him about Kirk, but she needed his reassurance that this crew could survive this tragedy. Even without hearing his voice, she knew exactly what he’d bring up. They had rescued forty-seven El-Aurian refugees. Those people were alive because of this ship. But even so, more than three hundred had been lost.
Her thoughts continued their unproductive feedback loop, obsessing over events she couldn’t change, until she blocked them all out to the best of her knowledge and focused on the task at hand.
Spacedock was just ahead. Anticipating her captain’s order, she readied the engines for the shift to thruster power.
They were home, and they were alive, and soon the ship would launch again, and she could be optimistic and eager for the future of this ship again. But for now, she couldn’t shake the nagging terrible feeling. She knew it wasn’t true, but what if it was.
What if this ship was cursed?