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Chapter One Stardate 2266.189 “Cutting it very close aren’t we Bones?” Jim wondered as he looked at McCoy who walked briskly inside the shuttle. A moment later the flight officer closed the shuttle door behind him and headed for the front of the shuttle. “I’m here aren’t I?” McCoy replied as he sat down beside Jim and buckled himself in. He could feel the shuttle begin to take off a few moments later. Lieutenant Sulu sat on his other side. The pilot leaned in closer to him. “Permission to speak freely Doctor?” he asked. McCoy nodded in agreement. “Congratulations to you both. Just know that if you hurt S’nell then I’ll kick your ass even though you do outrank me.” Lieutenant Sulu quietly threatened him. McCoy realized that Lieutenant Sulu must have noticed the two of them leave to talk and had probably seen the fond glances he and S’nell had shared after they had both rejoined the party. “Understood Mr Sulu. I’ll try to avoid that if I can.” McCoy stated. The pilot was the last man he wanted to fight, he admitted to himself. “Wait a minute. You and S’nell got together last night? You’re a couple now?” Jim said as he looked at him in dawning realization. “Yeah.” was all McCoy said. He smiled fondly as he remembered their kisses last night. “I’ve never slept with an Andorian before. Did she beat you badly?” Jim wondered. “Jim, that’s none of your business.” McCoy protested firmly. He knew that Jim wouldn’t understand why he and S’nell wanted to wait to have sex when his friend would sleep with women after very little acquaintance. Even when he and S’nell did decide to become more intimate McCoy didn’t intend to talk about the details with anyone, he resolved. “All right. I won’t ask for any more details. But if S’nell breaks your heart then she’ll regret it because she’ll have me to deal with.” Jim warned him. “Jim, don’t fight with S’nell. I don’t want to have to patch you up from a fight that you will lose.” McCoy told him. “Fine. I’m glad that you’re coming with us back into space Bones.” Jim changed the subject. “It’s just as well that I was ordered to come on this mission. After all, I don’t trust anyone else to look after your reckless ass.” McCoy stated. “Don’t worry Bones it will be fine. Besides, spending five more years in unexplored space will be fun.” Jim assured him. “Jim, how many times have you said that and then later discovered it wasn’t fine or fun?” McCoy wanted to know. “That’s a rhetorical question right?” Jim asked. McCoy rolled his eyes when he heard that. “Just stay away from alien women who want to sleep with you and alien creatures that want to eat you. If you can manage that then this five year mission will go more smoothly then the last one.” McCoy advised him. “I can’t make any promises Bones. Especially not about the women.” Jim responded. “That’s what I’m dreading.” McCoy stated. Before Jim could respond to that Commander Dh’lar laughed. McCoy looked at him. “What’s so amusing Commander Dh’lar?” he asked. “It is only that your banter with the Captain reminds me of my dialogue with my third wife at times. We often bicker but I personally think that is part of her charm. She enjoys our heated conversations and so I indulge her by arguing back.” Commander Dh’lar responded. “Will you miss your spouses Commander Dh’lar?” wondered Lieutenant Sulu. “The proper term for all spouses in a Denobulan marriage is a marriage group and yes I will Lieutenant Sulu. But I will do my best to stay in touch with my marriage group as much as possible. Denobulans are very social people so I’m going to do my best to get to know this crew very well.” Commander Dh’lar answered. “So that’s why you mingled so much at the going away party. I think you introduced yourself to everyone there.” Lieutenant Sulu observed. “Yes I did. More of this mingling as you call it will happen in the days and weeks ahead as I get to know the crew of the Enterprise A further.” Commander Dh’lar stated. “May I ask you a personal question Commander Dh’lar?” Jim wondered. “Go ahead Captain.” Commander Dh’lar stated. “What is it like to have a marriage group? I mean, how do you keep them all happy?” Jim asked. McCoy wondered the same thing. After all, Commander Dh’lar had three wives all of whom had three husbands. “It is complicated to be sure.” Commander Dh’lar responded. “Is it true that faithfulness is not required in a Denobulan marriage?” Jim questioned. “Yes. You see, Denobulan women are much more likely to initiate sex then the man outside of the mating season. So in order to keep our wives happy we have allowed them to seek other companionship in the bedroom. However much you dress it up in cultural mores sex is about hormones and the exchange of bodily fluids for pleasure and procreation. So why would I deny anyone a chance to indulge in such a desire even if they did not wish to do so with me?” Commander Dh’lar explained. McCoy had always thought sex was about the emotional as well as the physical so he didn’t quite agree with the Denobulan about that. But it did remind him of something he’d been taught at the Academy. “Speaking of sex you can get violent during your mating season don’t you?” McCoy demanded. “Yes I can Doctor McCoy. So I would recommend that you sedate and restrain me for that week and have someone else take over my duties.” Commander Dh’lar stated. “I’ll remember to do that Commander Dh’lar.” McCoy told him. Commander Dh’lar nodded then fell silent. The shuttle soon landed in the shuttle bay and then they all disembarked onto the Enterprise A. McCoy knew the quartermaster would ensure that his luggage would get transferred to his quarters. He had confirmed that his quarters were in the same location as when the Enterprise A had left Yorktown so he headed to the med bay. While most of the medical equipment in the med bay hadn’t changed much there was a brand new version of the bio bed. McCoy approached one and pressed the button that should have turned it on. But the screen above the bio bed instead remained black. McCoy looked around the room and soon saw Ensign Pajari, who was one of the medical technicians. He examined a medical scanner with Doctor Chapel who stood beside him. “Ensign Pajari, give me a tutorial about this bio bed now.” demanded McCoy. Ensign Pajari nodded to Doctor Chapel then walked over to McCoy. “They changed the automatic start routine on this model. Instead of a button now you have to apply a certain amount of pressure to the surface of the bed before the bio bed starts functioning automatically. If you sit or lie down on the bio bed then it will turn on.” Ensign Pajari stated. In order to demonstrate he sat on the bio bed. A moment later the computer console lit up and turned on. Both men looked at the display. “As you can see the information about the name of the patient, heart rate, breathing rate, metabolic rate, blood pressure, and the attending medical officer are all the same. Now let me explain these buttons. The first button displays an awake or resting state based on the vital signs and movement of the patient.” Ensign Pajari stated then pressed the first button. Another screen flashed on the console. “This second button is for the restraints. Ankle, wrist, and waist restraints are all automatic now. If there is a computer malfunction then you’ll have to use manual restraints. Those can be found in the compartment at the foot of the bio bed which is also the location of a pillow and blanket. That will certainly free up space in the cabinets.” he explained. “Do these bio beds operate on a continuous running manner like the old ones?” McCoy wanted to know. “The bio bed will remain on if it senses continuous pressure or movement on the surface. If not then it will turn off an hour after the last pressure or movement in an attempt to conserve power. If the pressure sensors malfunction then you can turn on the bio bed by pressing the third button then placing your palm print on the screen. In that case the bio bed will not shut off until you press this fourth button. Do you have any further questions Doctor McCoy?” Ensign Pajari stated. “Not right now Ensign Pajari.” he replied. Ensign Pajari nodded then walked over to Nurse White who had motioned him over to where he stood beside a blood analysis machine. McCoy opened the compartment at the foot of the bio bed, which did indeed contain restraints, a pillow, and a blanket. “Hello Doctor McCoy. I have the complete supply inventory and the personnel rooster for you to read and verify here.” stated Nurse Chang as he walked up to McCoy. McCoy nodded and then took the PADD the other man held out to him. McCoy scrolled relatively quickly through the inventory as he’d already read and approved the preliminary list a few days ago. He took a little more time to look at the personnel rooster. He was the attending doctor on alpha shift, Doctor Chapel was on beta shift, and Doctor Zima was on gamma shift. “Why did you put Nurse Robson on alpha shift with me?” wondered McCoy as he finished the paperwork and handed the PADD back to Nurse Chang. “Given that she’s new to the Enterprise I thought you might want to inspect her work. I’m sure Nurse Robson is competent. But it will take a while to figure out what her strengths and weaknesses as a nurse are.” Nurse Chang explained. “Fair enough. Submit these to Commander Dh’lar as soon as possible Nurse Chang.” McCoy told him. The other man nodded and walked out of the med bay to do so. McCoy looked at Doctor Chapel then gestured to his office. He turned and walked there as he was confident that she would follow him. Doctor Chapel did so. She stood on the other side of his desk once the door closed behind them. “Have a seat Doctor Chapel.” he invited her. She did so as he sat down as well. “So what brings you to the Enterprise A?” he wondered. “I liked working on a frontier planet but after a while I wanted a new challenge. So I returned to Earth and went back to school to become a doctor. In my option this is the best ship in the fleet so I was glad to be posted here. Permission to speak freely Doctor McCoy.” Doctor Chapel replied. “Go ahead Doctor Chapel.” he told her. “I won’t question your orders unless I think they are wrong. But if you could keep the yelling to a minimum that would be appreciated.” she frankly requested. “With all due respect that is as likely as an oasis in a desert Doctor Chapel.” he answered. “Then I’ll take what moments of calm I can get. Now shall we go over the crew’s latest physicals? I’ve read the updated files but we need to verify them for Starfleet Medical and it will take less time if we go through them together.” Doctor Chapel replied. McCoy nodded. Doctor Chapel moved her chair beside his. He turned on the computer console in his desk and they got down to work. He just hoped that this five year mission was somewhat less exciting then the first one had proven to be, McCoy thought. Though given what he knew about Jim he suspected that there would be plenty of surprises to come in the next five years.
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Chapter Two To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Leonard. Or would you prefer me to call you Doctor McCoy in these comms? I hope the first few days of the five year mission have gone as you wanted to. It seemed to me when I was aboard the ship that travelling was a mixture of the unexpected during away missions and the routine during your duty shift. What precisely do you want to talk to me about? I could tell you about my work of course. Though how interested you would be in the re-sequencing of the RNA of a recently discovered frog from Tellar Prime I am not certain. You are bound by a doctor patient oath of confidently with your patients so you can’t go into detail about your day either. How is the crew adapting to the new officers onboard? How are the new crew in the med bay adjusting to being under your command? Please respond when you can. Thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1807 hours UTC Stardate 2266.201 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hey S’nell. When we’re alone I’d prefer you to call me Leonard. But perhaps for these comms we can go with Doctor McCoy. Other then my mom, Donna, and you no one calls me Leonard. Dammit, I’m rambling aren’t I? I’m not good at keeping up with comms when I’m in space as my family knows. But I’ll try to respond within a reasonable amount of time to you. If I don’t it probably means that I’m having to be dragged to another planet by Jim or that we are in the midst of some crisis that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The further out from Federation space we travel, the more time it will take for our messages to reach each other as there are fewer subspace relay stations. So far everything on the ship is pretty quiet. The crew is adapting to Commander Dh’lar quite well. When he’s not on duty on the bridge he can be found in one of the recreation rooms talking to one of the crew or in the mess hall doing the same. His sociability is strange after years of Spock but I think it will be good for crew morale. As for Lieutenant M’Ress, she’s very focused. Everyone says she does her job well but I’m not sure how many friends she has made yet. Even the only other Caitain on board, Lieutenant Commander Umal hasn’t spent a lot of time with her. His second in command Lieutenant Gabor sure seems popular with the ladies. The new navigator Lieutenant Aiza seems serious but quiet. Ensign Chekov says he works hard. As for the new physicist on board, Lieutenant Anker, I’ve never actually met him so I can’t say much about him. The same is true of the new botanist Ensign Varga and the new transporter technician Petty Officer Lopez. As for the crew additions to the med bay, Nurse Robson is working out well. She’s very quick with paperwork which makes my new head nurse Nurse Chang very happy. I worked well with Nurse Chapel and I’m working even better with Doctor Chapel now. I’m glad that she transferred to the Enterprise A though I can tell she misses her husband Doctor Roger Korby. At least her and Jim won’t sleep together again, as they did on the way home after we defeated Nero. That was a mess and made her transfer off the Enterprise. I didn’t talk to Jim for days after that. At least after that debacle he didn’t try to sleep with any of my medical staff ever again. As for what I want to talk about, feel free to talk about your past or your work or your everyday life. I just want to get to know you better S’nell. If I find something really boring or I can’t understand it then I’ll say so. Otherwise feel free to talk about anything. I’m here to listen. Thinking of you too, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1910 hours UTC Stardate 2266.203
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Chapter Three To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. My apologies for not responding promptly to your last comm. A week ago the Bolian Ambassador visited our lab and asked us to work with the Embassy in San Francisco to work on a biosphere near the embassy. Apparently they first approached the Davis Center for Exobiology in San Francisco with the project. But they had no time for such a time consuming project and so they went to us instead. We are working with Bolian scientists who are all very outspoken. I’m coordinating the environmental controls of the biosphere which has taken extensive testing in order to properly replicate the atmosphere conditions of Bolarus Nine. I’m glad that the new crew seem to be integrating into the existing crew of the Enterprise A well. That will be important for crew morale. You haven’t complained about Kirk dragging you on an away mission yet but I suspect that will change soon enough. My evenings are spent reading scientific journals, taking fencing classes, sparring at the gym, and occasionally watching movies. I have also kept up my running with Nurse Dominique but we have moved that to the mornings as she works afternoons and I don’t start work until 0900 hours every morning. I’m staying in touch with Commander Spock who is still trying to teach me Vulcan meditative techniques. I’ll never be as dispassionate or controlled as a Vulcan, but I will admit that Vulcan meditation often relaxes me. I’m also in regular communication with Lieutenant Commander Uhura as we like to talk in Andorii. She always says that language has to be practised or it is forgotten. All the best, S’nell. Message sent 1921 hours UTC Stardate 2266.214 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A So you’re working with Bolians right now? I haven’t met many of them but outspoken would be the right word to describe the few Bolians I have met. Let me give you two pieces of advice when it comes to Bolians: First, don’t eat Bolian cuisine. Their food disagrees with the digestive system of almost all other species and I don’t want you to get food poisoning. Second, tell your Human colleagues not to sleep with any Bolians. Doing that gives you nausea and fatigue. Then again you’re an exobiologist so you know all that already. Speaking of sleeping around that’s what Jim did on our latest away mission. After we finished studying a black hole we came across a M class planet with a Humanoid species who call themselves the Kellacx. The Kellacx people are sea faring with cities built on top of the water as there is only ten percent of their planet that is land. They are about as tall as a Human but have orange skin and white hair. When we explained who we were and why we had come to their planet they seemed friendly enough. They said they would be willing to join the Federation if we honoured their customary means of sealing an agreement. In other words Jim had to spend the night with the daughter of the leader having sex. I scanned her to make sure she wouldn’t give him any diseases but she was clean. So the two of them went off to spend the night together. In the morning we left the planet with a preliminary letter of understanding sighed. A Starfleet diplomatic team will visit the Kellacx soon to finalize their entry into the Federation. Jim looked very relaxed when I did a post away mission checkup but I didn’t ask for details about his time with the daughter of the leader. He gave me far too much details about his sex life at the Academy. Fortunately now he says nothing and I don’t ask unless I have to for medical reasons. I’m glad that you are keeping busy and staying in touch with people from the Enterprise. I don’t want you to be lonely on Earth. As for what you said about Vulcan mediation it’s probably a good thing to be doing if it relaxes you. But don’t feel that you ever have to change your passionate nature around me. I like how outspoken you are S’nell. Thinking of you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1911 hours UTC Stardate 2266.218
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Chapter Four To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I’m more then willing to discuss your away missions if you can share details with me. I’ve stayed away from Bolian cuisine though I did attend a Bolian dance recital that was somewhat interesting. Baltimore doesn’t have as many alien restaurants or cultural events as San Francisco but there are small communities of several alien races that live in the city. I haven’t met any Vulcans though as the winters here can be cold. I love the snow and wind and have recently discovered ice skating. I don’t expect you like winter but then I would not like the heat and humidity of a summer in Georgia. Hope you are well, S’nell. Message sent 1821 hours UTC Stardate 2266.224 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. If you want me to talk more about away missions then I can do that. It doesn’t surprise me that Baltimore has a smaller alien population then San Francisco. As the head of Starfleet and many alien embassies that city has the highest alien population in the United States. But almost every major city on Earth has at least a few thousand aliens. I don’t know how many aliens have settled on Mars and other Human colonies though I suspect the percentage is much lower then Earth. As for the weather in Baltimore I knew you would like the winter. I’m not a big fan of cold weather myself but as long as I have warm enough clothes on then I can handle it. I’ve never been ice skating but perhaps you’ll have to teach me sometime. The heat and humidity of a Georgia summer can be intense and I know you wouldn’t like it. Not many people do but you get used to it after a while if you were raised there like I was. Not much is going on the ship at the moment except for us charting an emission nebula which means that the stellar cartographers on board are busy. But I think everyone else will be glad to see what is beyond this nebula. As for me I’m fine. I’m kept busy with my duty shifts, going to the weekly poker game that Lieutenant Sulu hosts, and sharing the occasional drink with Jim and Scotty. Thinking of you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1845 hours UTC Stardate 2266.231
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Chapter Five To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. Thanks for the scientific articles you sent me. I’ve read them and will send you my thoughts on them in anther comm. Otherwise I’d go over the data limit for this comm. I didn’t pick Baltimore to live in due to the alien population or the cold weather but rather because of the lab in which I work. The cold weather in the winter is an added bonus. I don’t go out much to many cultural events. I observe the three Andorian secular holidays and that is the extent of the special days that I adhere to. I’ve always found emission nebula to look very beautiful but I suspect that many on the ship joined Starfleet for adventure and excitement. New people and worlds are often more unpredictable and interesting then mapping stellar phenomena. Though if Starfleet didn’t do so then it would be left to the civilian navigators. I doubt they have the resources that Starfleet does. I didn’t know that you played poker. I’ve never been a fan of card games but then I prefer strategy more then chance when it comes to games. If luck will determine who wins then personally I think that is somewhat unfair. Though I am glad that you are mingling with the crew as I don’t want you to be lonely on the Enterprise. Thinking of you too, S’nell. Message sent 1817 hours UTC Stardate 2266.245 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hey S’nell. Thanks for your thoughts on those articles. You had a different perspective on the material while still being very concise. I’d like to talk with you again if we can find scientific articles that we both find interesting. I’m not lonely on this ship. I don’t socialize as much as Jim but I do think it’s important to mingle with the crew as you put it. They are not just my patients they are also my friends (or at least some of them are). We had just finished mapping the emission nebula when we received an encoded message from Starfleet Security. There was a major attack on a hotel on Cygnia Minor which is a Federation colony. The colony was founded by Humans but the alien population has increased significantly in the last few decades. That’s why Terra Prime attacked them. The Enterprise and the USS Reliant were the closest ships so we were both called in to deal with the aftermath to lend what aid we could. Starfleet Security is investigating. The engineers were being consulted on rebuilding the hotel while all of the medical staff were busy with helping to heal whomever we could. It will take some time for the colony to recover but I’m sure that they will. Thinking of you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1809 hours UTC Stardate 2266.253
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Chapter Six To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I heard about the attack on Cygnia Minor on the Federation News Service. You will not be surprised to learn that I abhor the ideas and attacks of Terra Prime. Xenophobia has no place in the Federation and should be eradicated elsewhere. But I’d rather talk about something else. Now that the Bolian biosphere is well underway my attention at work has turned to another project. Last week a group of scientists found a Risian lemur that was believed to be extinct in the wild. However the population that exists is very small. Unless we increase the gene pool there is still a good possibility of extinction. Fortunately with some genetic modification crossbreeding with Earth lemurs is possible. I am working with a biologist from Risa towards that end. He is supervising the actual mating process of the lemurs while I am trying to come up with a compound that will increase their litter size. There’s not much else going on in my life right now. How is the Enterprise and her crew? Have you made any interesting discoveries recently? Thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1954 hours UTC Stardate 2266.288 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hello S’nell. The Enterprise had a recent Tholian attack that shook us up pretty bad. Fortunately there were only two deaths. Even knowing that space is dangerous doesn’t mean that I don’t regret the loss of every crew member under my care. It’s sometimes hard to be a doctor to people you live and work with. Still it has its own rewards. I’m quite tired as I’ve just worked a double shift so I will say good night now. Thinking of you fondly, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 0136 hours UTC Stardate 2266.302
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Chapter Seven To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. Yesterday evening I went to hear a speaker who discussed the question of whether animals have sentience. I thought the very question somewhat absurd but the speaker did make some interesting points. Some of my coworkers believe passionately in animals rights so they were the ones who invited me to the talk. To be honest, I’ve never given the animals that I analyze and sometimes dissect much thought beyond their bodily systems and biochemistry. If I survey them in their natural habitat or captivity then I do try to ensure the minimum amount of harm while still ensuring that I have samples to analyze. If they are dead then that is no longer a consideration. I am sorry to hear about the death of two members of the Enterprise A crew. You have my condolences. I am certain you did all you could to try to save their lives but space is dangerous. Not all crew who serve aboard a ship make it back home. Thinking of you fondly as well, S’nell. Message sent 1911 hours UTC Stardate 2266.324 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. I’m not surprised that some of your coworkers are passionate about animal rights. But I’m also not surprised that you haven’t given as much thought to the idea as it is a very Human concept. Speaking of Human concepts we had a very interesting alien encounter a few days ago. Jim, Commander Dh’lar, and Ensign Young beamed down to a M class moon where the natives had just developed impulse engines. But as they hadn’t developed warp yet the Prime Directive had to be upheld. They encountered a group of women who told them that if they wished to know more about their society then they would have to attend a feast that evening. It turns out these aliens who have purple skin and are called the Nevari are a matriarchal society. Women have the power while men are reduced to servants and the ones who raise the children. I don’t know exactly how but somehow the away team offended the Nevari and ended up in a prison cell. It wouldn’t be the first time that an away mission has gone that way. So another all female away team of Lieutenant Elisa, Lieutenant M’Ress, Ensign Brooke, and Ensign Amsel beamed down to the moon. They were able to negotiate for the release of the first away team and then we went on our way. Fortunately no one was injured which made my job a lot easier. I swear that Jim enjoys the adrenaline rush of things going wrong because then he has to think on his feet. That’s about all I can think of to say for now. Thinking of you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1801 hours UTC Stardate 2266.347
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Chapter Eight To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. As you are aware I find the imbalance of power between genders interesting and quite alien. I knew some Humans disagreed with women having an equal place alongside men in your past but it seems that is mostly not the case any more. Or at least I haven’t seen it here on Earth. Such a power struggle never happened on Andoria, which is likely due to the fact that all four genders are needed to conceive a child and so all genders are considered equally important. The zhen carries the child until they are born but the genetic material for the child itself comes from the other three genders. So their contribution is equally vital. The idea of only having one parent raise a child is something utterly foreign to an Andorian and I am amazed by the number of Humans that consider that acceptable. But perhaps that is because fewer Humans marry their romantic partners and so there is a lower expectation of having support to help raise a child. Among the few Andorians that do not marry, they tend to stay together with their lovers unless there is a good reason to leave each other. Andorians are as passionate in their relationships as all other aspects of life. I wished to say Happy New Year in case you do celebrate that holiday. I suspect that 2267 will likely unfold in the same manner as the last year. Though I certainly have no way of saying that for certain. Is there a celebration of the new year on the Enterprise A? Because if so I would not be pleased to hear that you kissed someone at midnight. Only I get that pleasure. If that sounds possessive then so be it. I am your partner after all which means there are certain things that only I will be privy to. Thinking of you now and always, S’nell. Message sent 2052 hours UTC Stardate 2266.356 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy. Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. First off let me assure you that I would never kiss anyone else but you. I don’t want anyone else romantically. So you would prefer being called my partner rather then my girlfriend huh? I can live with that. I’ll try to remember not to call you by any endearments though I suspect sweetheart and darling will slip out on occasion. That’s the Southern gentleman in me. As for New Years on the Enterprise, Ensign Rand organized a small party in the recreation room but only about one hundred crew came. I was there as was most of the senior staff. Given the alien population on Earth and to a lesser extent Human colonies fewer Humans celebrate New Years now compared to when before the Federation was founded. We had a rather strange away mission the other day. The gamma shift bridge Captain is Lieutenant Anand. She encountered a race that was divided into two subspecies, one that had white skin and another that had dark skin. Otherwise they were identical. As far as I could tell the skin colour difference was due to a recessive gene. The darker skinned subspecies were more numerous then the white skinned ones and so the white skinned ones were living as servants to the dark skinned ones. They seemed to respect the lieutenant so when alpha shift came around she was included in the away mission. It wasn’t until we beamed down that we realized that the aliens, who called themselves the Wevani, wouldn’t even talk to everyone else in the away mission as they were all white. That was in contrast with Lieutenant Anand who is from India. So she had to negotiate a way for us to leave the planet without becoming the property of the aliens. They seemed to be fascinated with our hair which they did not possess. I’m glad that everyone returned safely to the ship. It was very disconnecting to be thought of as property. I know that there is no place on Earth that enslaves people anymore but it did remind me of the slaves that used to be in the South many centuries ago in the United States. Now I can better understand why there was a civil war over the subject of slavery. It’s Jim’s birthday today. Though we never celebrate it on the actual day as that’s the same day his dad George Kirk died. When I told him that once about three years into our first five year mission, he ironically said that I was Mister Sensitive. I’m not but I know Jim well enough to know that the subject of his parents is something to tread lightly around. So as usual we had a drink. On this occasion he asked how you were doing. I wasn’t really sure what to say other then that you were fine, as I really didn’t want to get into details about our relationship with Jim. I’m not ashamed of being with you; I just don’t want my love life to be fodder for the gossips on this ship. Most of the crew are professional but some of them I wouldn’t trust to keep a secret unless their life was at stake. So that’s how the last week has gone. I remember thinking when this five year mission started that I’d hoped it would be less exciting then the first five year mission of the Enterprise. Well that was a faint hope. Though at least we’ve had fewer fatalities of the crew so far. Always thinking of you too, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 2126 hours UTC Stardate 2267.03
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Chapter Nine To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. Lieutenant Anand sounds like a sensible woman so I’m glad that she was able to take charge of the situation and ensure everyone was returned safely to the Enterprise A. It seems some species will take even the superficial differences among themselves and use that to divide between those they consider superior and inferior. I can’t say that Andorians weren’t guilty of that when we first encountered Humans. After all, we called you pink skins. This is now quite an insult as it does not differentiate between the different cultures and skin tones of Humans. Captain Archer was white so that’s likely where General Shran got the name for him as the leader of his crew. As for being sensitive at least you have more tact then myself. There was a major error in calculations for one of my coworkers. Instead of pulling him aside privately and informing him of this I did so in the lab in front of several coworkers. He did not react well and stormed out. Then I was called to talk to my manager who informed me that if such an incident happened again then I would be sent to anger management classes. I told her that I can manage perfectly well if no one else makes stupid mistakes. She sent me home early for the rest of the day. I had little choice but to do as she wished. When you do talk to Kirk about our relationship, you can discuss everything you wish except for details about our intimacy. It was bad enough that Nurse Dominique asked about me about that soon after we became a couple. She noticed my good mood during the run I had with her the day after the Enterprise A had left on your mission and asked why. So I told her that the two of us had agreed to a romantic relationship and had kissed each other. When she pressed for more details by adding the word and I said that no further details would be forthcoming. Then she said that while I didn’t have to go into explicit details she was curious if your hands really were legendary or not. I asked her what she meant and Nurse Dominique said that she had heard from a reliable source that you had told some other officer on the Enterprise that. I’ll admit that I was curious as to the context of you making such a remark but instead I decided to change the subject to the upcoming elections for the prime minister of Earth. Politics is not a subject that interests me a great deal but at least Nurse Dominique accepted the change of subject. I doubt that she will ask about our love life again as I have found that Nurse Dominique is not the type of woman to gossip about personal matters with anyone. Thinking of you very fondly, S’nell. Message sent 1701 hours UTC Stardate 2267.11 To: Leonard McCoy. Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday whether or not you celebrate it. Not much else is happening except for some final revisions to the Bolian biosphere that will open in San Francisco later this year. Take care, S’nell. Message sent 0735 hours UTC Stardate 2267.20
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Chapter Ten To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Now that we are further from Federation space it takes longer for messages to reach us. Lieutenant M’Ress is working with Scotty to build new subspace relay stations that will reduce the time it takes for messages to travel from Federation space to here in unexplored space. But until they are built expect messages to take longer the further out we go from Earth. I don’t think you need anger management classes. Personally I appreciate that you speak your mind. But perhaps when it comes to pointing out the mistakes of others do so privately next time. A lot of people will take a critique of their work personally no matter the species. All of us make mistakes but none of us want others to be aware of this fact. On the other hand, I’m not really the person to talk to about how to critique others given how curt I can be with the medical officers and technicians in the med bay. Thanks for remembering my birthday, but like you I don’t make a big deal of it. My mom and sister might send me a message around this time and perhaps Joanna will. But as for gifts I don’t need them. That old tradition went out the window after World War 3 when there was no excess goods and people were just trying to survive. Now when you can order almost anything from a synthesizer why do you need your family and friends to give you anything? Though the exception are those Humans who still celebrate Christmas as my family does. As for what you said to Nurse Dominique I’m not surprised that as your friend she wanted details about our relationship. I’m glad you didn’t tell her anything and rest assured that I will never tell Jim or anyone else anything either. I think Jim’s accepted that. Though he did threaten to hurt you if you broke my heart. He shouldn’t be so protective of me but he knows how long it took for me to recover from my divorce. Not to mention more recent romances which have ended badly for me. When it comes to that legendary hands comment, it seems that I will never live that one down. I can’t talk about the mission itself the Enterprise was on as it was classified. But I can talk about the context of that remark. I could tell that Jim liked the female Starfleet officer that I was working with so I was flirting with her in order to get a rise out of him. It worked too, especially when I called her sweetheart and then told her the pregnant Gorn story. That happened when myself, Jim, Spock, and Lieutenant Sulu were on a planet delivering supplies to a Gorn colony. A female Gorn threatened Lieutenant Sulu and so he stunned the female with a phaser. It turned out that she was pregnant with octuplets and the phaser brought on her premature labour. So I was forced to do a c section on the female and deliver the babies. They were almost fully developed including their fangs. I don’t know how my fingers stayed attached to my hands to be honest. Fortunately we soon returned to the ship where my hands were tended to. Jim thought it was hilarious while I just brushed it off as an occupational hazard of being a doctor. Though if I never have to deliver Gorn babies again then I will be grateful. I wonder how their own doctors manage. It’s probably by putting on protective gloves first. Well, there’s not much else happening now on the ship except for us scanning an accretion disk of a neutron star which has the astrophysicists on board excited. Thinking of you fondly too, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1924 hours UTC Stardate 2267.31 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. Fortunately myself and the coworker who I had an argument with have reconciled and made an agreement to discuss any further mistakes privately much to the relief of my supervisor. I’m glad that Kirk won’t know every detail about our love life though I doubt that would interest him. I intend to continue to make you happy so there is no need for him or anyone else to threaten me. The Human need to do so when it comes to the romantic partners of friends or family is something I’ve never really understood. Surely if there are two (or more) consenting adults who enter into a romantic relationship then what happens in that relationship should stay between them? That is not to say that the families of a bond group do not have some say on Andoria of course. But as marriages are prearranged beforehand not many will challenge them provided that the bond group has children. Otherwise there is much more open criticism. I enjoyed your Gorn story. I can just picture you swearing as those babies bit your fingers and you tried to stay professional nonetheless. I can imagine that gloves would be required for delivering Gorn children and you are likely one of the few Human doctors to have done so. The fact that you put aside your own discomfort to see to a safe delivery just tells me how compassionate of a man you are. Not every doctor would help a Gorn given their species is not a member of the Federation. Over the last two weeks, my evenings not spent exercising have been filled with what could be called working dinners as a group of three of us from the lab finalize a scientific paper to be published next month in the Federation Exobiology Journal. My professional title is Master S’nellastina. So look for that if you wish to read about the evolution of creatures that originated in the sea but became land animals as the seas dried up. Specifically, we use the example of Rigel Four whose oceans used to be much larger then they are today. I look forward to your thoughts on the article. Thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 2138 hours UTC Stardate 2267.42
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Chapter Eleven To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. I look forward to reading that article in the Starfleet Exobiology Journal then discussing it with you. As for the Gorn female I just saw her as a patient and nothing more. I don’t know a lot about Gorn anatomy but I knew enough that I felt that I could help with her babies. I’m hardly about to refuse to help someone in medical distress if I can help it no matter the species and no matter if they belong to the Federation or not. Life is life no matter the species and I took an oath to try and heal to the upmost of my ability. But you’re right that some doctors just see the fearsome appearance of a species like the Gorn and hesitate to help them. Yesterday, the Enterprise entered the orbit of an M class planet with friendly aliens called Tallri who all live on one continent with a large ocean that surrounds it. That means there are a lot of beaches. So Jim decided it was time for shore leave here for the next two weeks. The senior staff get five days off while the junior crew get three days off. Jim and I were on the first rotation of crew and we quickly discovered that the Tallri know how to have a good time. They have luxurious resorts and their food is very fresh and flavourful. Even the booze tastes good though it is a little sweet for my personal taste. Jim and I were having a drink in a local bar and just relaxing when a local Tallri female came up to us and said hello by buying us both another drink. Jim thanked her and then introduced herself. He introduced me as Bones which the Tallri female first thought was a term of endearment. Jim had to hastily explain it was a nickname instead and that I had someone waiting for me back on Earth. She then asked if he had anyone for himself. Jim said that as a Captain he had to stay professional with his crew. The Talli female propositioned him and then the two of them left the bar before I could scan her to make sure Jim won’t need medical attention tomorrow. So far none of the crew who have been intimate with the natives here have needed treatment. As for me I finished my drink then went back to my quarters. I had a wonderful dream about the two of us that night. We were sitting in a field overlooking some mountains. We had just finished dinner and then I pulled you close to me and we watched the sunset. Afterwards I kissed you. Then we held each other close. Our bodies remained entwined as we fell asleep. In other words I miss you S’nell and I hope you feel the same way about me. I’d love to watch the sunset with you once we get back to Earth. Yours in every way, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1936 hours UTC Stardate 2267.56 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I’m glad that you and the rest of the crew are enjoying shore leave with the Tallri. It’s good that you get a chance to relax from your duties on occasion. I’m not surprised that an alien female would find you attractive or that you would not be interested in her. You are a faithful and loyal man to those you care about and I’m grateful for that. I miss you too and your dream sounds wonderful. Perhaps our first date when you are back on Earth could involve the two of us watching a sunset. I’ve never actually seen a sunset on Earth as most evenings I am busy when the sun goes down. But given that a sunset is seen as romantic I am curious as to why such a natural spectacle has became associated with Human romance. I would be interested to see for myself why this is the case. There is no else I would want by my side except you during such an event. Missing you in every way, S’nell. Message sent 1843 hours UTC Stardate 2267.61
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Chapter Twelve To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy. Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Of course I wouldn’t sleep around with anyone else. Who do you think I am, my ex wife Pamela? Sorry, that was uncalled for. I’m glad you know that I take our relationship seriously. I will always be faithful to you. You’re not my ex wife and the more time I spend getting to know you better the more I realize that. On our first date on Earth I’ll make sure that we watch a sunset together. Maybe over the harbour in Baltimore could work if you don’t mind me visiting where you are living. I’ve never been to Baltimore so you’ll have to show me around provided you let me do the same with you in San Francisco. To be honest, I have no idea if I will be on Earth or back in space once this mission ends. A large part of me wants to spend time on Earth with you and my family. Don’t tell Jim but I’m not getting any younger and I can’t keep going into space forever. That was Jim’s dream not mine. When I joined Starfleet it was in the hopes that I could continue to be a doctor. I also wanted to leave Earth and everything on it behind. But now that I’ve been in space for so long I just want to get back to Earth. Some days I enjoy the exploration of space travel but most days I can’t overlook the danger and disease that shadows us out here. I replied to your journal article in another message as I had quite a lot to say. Let me know what you think of my comments as I’m a doctor not an exobiologist. Missing you every day, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 0710 hours Stardate 2267.99 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. So other then watching a sunset what would this first date entail? As you know, I’m not fond of chocolates, flowers, or alcohol. Perhaps you could take me out for a meal as I don’t tend to dine at restaurants. I found out this week that my work with the endangered Risian lemur earlier this year has been nominated for the annual Federation Exobiology Award. While I am flattered to receive this notice of the importance of my work from the nomination committee, a part of me hopes that I don’t win the award. The credits would be nice and certainly the manager of the lab would be gratified if our of his employees won such a prestigious award. But I would hate to have to dress up and go to the gala. I dislike such social functions as usually the food and drink is the best thing about the night in question. How is the crew doing? Have you encountered any stellar phenomena or new aliens recently? Yours, S’nell. Message sent 1922 hours UTC Stardate 2267.121
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Chapter Thirteen To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy. Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Congratulations on the nomination for the Federation Exobiology Award. Commander Dh’lar said it’s an honour even to be nominated never mind win. You don’t need awards for me to know that you are doing important work for science. As for the date we plan to go on once I return to Earth, you’ll have to wait and see. I’m too tired to thick of anything romantic at the moment. Early this morning the Enterprise entered disputed territory. It turns out the space is claimed by two factions of a race called the Cevannar who are currently engaged in a civil war. We were about to leave the space as it’s a violation of the Prime Directive to interfere in the internal affairs of another alien race. Or at least we planned to when the Enterprise was surrounded and fired upon. We fought back but even so we ended up being boarded. Then the entire crew was taken to the cargo bay as prisoners. Apparently the group that had taken us over was losing but thought that the advanced weapons of the Enterprise would be useful in turning the tide of the war to their side. After the battle was won they would know enough about the ship in order not to need our assistance to run it. So at that point we would be thrown out of the airlock one by one. I must admit that I admired Jim’s manner. He looked the Cevannar rebel leader in the eyes, all four of them, and told him that this ship would not be used as a weapon to wage war on anyone. Then he initiated the self destruct sequence along with Commander Dh’lar and Scotty. That’s a five minute countdown which gave me plenty of time to think of you and my family back on Earth. I knew you’d miss me but I also knew that Jim had made the right decision in this case. We came out here to explore, not to allow the Enterprise to be used to fight a war. There was three minutes left on the countdown when the computer informed us there was a warp core breech in progress which made all the guards immediately race out the door of the cargo bay. A moment later we heard their cries in the corridor. I was curious as to what was going on but Commander Dh’lar stopped Jim from going outside when he realized that we were missing Lieutenant Commander Umal and Lieutenant Elisa. In all the confusion of the battle no one, neither the crew or the aliens, had thought to check that every single member of the crew was here in the cargo bay. With seventy seconds left on the countdown Lieutenant Commander Umal told us that the intruders were no longer on the Enterprise and that the Cevannar ships had gone to warp. Jim, Commander Dh’lar, and Scotty stopped the self detract much to everyone’s relief. Then we had to sit in the cargo bay for another two hours to allow the environmental control system to purge the gas that had rendered the aliens unconscious. You see, it turned out that Lieutenant Commander Umal and Lieutenant Elisa had been sharing a turbolift when the Enterprise had been fired upon. The phaser fire had caused the turbolift to stop but they had used the new feature of the emergency exit in the top of the turbolift to crawl out into the Jeffries tubes. Lieutenant Commander Umal had tapped into the security video feed and had quickly realized that the crew would be overtaken shortly by the intruders. So he and Lieutenant Elisa made their way to auxiliary control. They took over command functions then locked the doors. Lieutenant Elisa had scanned one of the Cevannar on their way to auxiliary control with a tricorder. That information helped her choose a gas that would render the aliens unconscious enough that they would appear to be dead to anyone but a doctor. But first they needed a diversion to draw the aliens away from guarding us in the cargo bay. When the self destruct didn’t work they decided to change some commands in the engineering subroutine and make the computer think the warp core was leaking plasma and would explode very soon. That ensured our guards left the cargo bay but it didn’t deter the aliens who were trying to unlock the doors of auxiliary control. So they both put on space suits and released the gas everywhere except the cargo bay. That incapacitated the Cevannar. Then Lieutenant Commander Umal hailed the lead ship. Once he had done so Lieutenant Commander Umal pretended that he had killed all the intruders and vowed he would do the same with any other aliens who tried to take over the Enterprise. He said that he had called for other Federation ships to come and defend this ship, but that he was prepared to show leniency if the alien ships agreed to allow us unimpeded access through the rest of their space from both sides. They agreed provided they could have their dead. So the Cevannar were transported back onto their ships which then went to warp. After the air was clean to breathe again Lieutenant Commander Umal and Lieutenant Elisa briefed all the senior staff in a meeting room about what had happened. Jim gave them both special commendations in their personnel file which I think everyone on this ship agrees with. I told Lieutenant Commander Umal to remind me to never play poker with him as his speech was one hell of a bluff. He smiled then said he thought it was rude to win any game against his superior officers unless they had ordered him to. By that point it was very late at night so Jim dismissed us all. Now that I’ve contracted you I’m going to say good night myself. Glad to be alive, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 2231 hours UTC Stardate 2267.143 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I’m very glad that you and the rest of the crew are all right. I would be devastated if you died and deeply saddened if Lieutenant Sulu and Lieutenant Commander Umal died. I heard about the Cevannar mission from Lieutenant Commander Umal himself as we have stayed in touch. But it was good to hear what you had to say about the subject. I agree that both Lieutenant Commander Umal and Lieutenant Elisa deserve that commendation. I heard from Lieutenant Sulu that Petty Officer Rand began a romantic relationship with Ensign Kita. I wish them the best but why anyone would want to conduct a romantic relationship in a fishbowl like the Enterprise I don’t know. I understand that the crew is one of the youngest in the fleet and so naturally they will wish to sleep together and have relationships. But to do so with no expectation of privacy is something I personally find intolerable. I’m sure not all romantic relationships last under such circumstances. I have a new paper just published in the latest edition of the Federation Exobiology Journal that I would be glad to discuss with you. Let me know if you are interested in discussing the subject after you read it. Thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1757 hours UTC Stardate 2267.174
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Chapter Fourteen To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. I haven’t heard from you in a while. How are you? I would be curious to know what you are doing as I know you only take weekends and Andorian holidays off work. My response to your latest journal article will be made in a message I’ll send tomorrow. Thinking of you too, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1937 hours UTC Stardate 2267.205 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Are you all right? Please talk to me darling. Sorry, I know you hate terms of endearment S’nell. But I haven’t heard for you for almost two months now and I know it only takes a month for a message to reach the Enterprise right now. Please respond as soon as you can or I’m going to comm Nurse Dominique and grill her until I know what’s going on. I know you can take care of yourself and that Earth is safe. But this prolonged silence from you is unusual and I want to know what’s happening. I hope I haven’t done anything to piss you off. But as far as I can tell I can’t think of anything. I’ve talked to both Lieutenant Sulu and Lieutenant Commander Umal. Neither of them has received a message recently from you either which they both say is unusual. In other words I’m not the only one who is concerned about you. I could go and talk to Lieutenant Commander Uhura or Spock but I’d rather not bother them if I have to as I know they are very busy. But I’ll do that if I don’t hear anything from you soon. Worried about you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1743 hours UTC Stardate 2267.236
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Chapter Fifteen To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I apologize for worrying you by not replying to my messages sooner but I can explain. When you contacted me in Tokyo I was at an exobiology conference. I attend these conferences every year in a different location around the world and I always have my PADD turned to receive only so that I can focus on the sessions and not my messages during the week long conference. I should have told you about these conferences before now but it didn’t seem relevant. I planned to contact you once I returned to Baltimore but that was before I saw how much work I had to catch up on. So I worked for ten straight days after the conference to catch up which included staying up late every night and eating less regularly then I do normally. As a result I collapsed of exhaustion and slept for twelve straight hours afterwards. One of the doctors at the lab, Doctor Donovan, was very annoyed with me. He examined my work record which showed that since I started working at that lab in 2266, I had only taken weekends and the three Andorian holidays off all year while I was entitled to two weeks of vacation by this point. He told me that I had to take at least a week off every year for my own physical and mental health. My supervisor Doctor Richardson agreed with him. So I went to Argentina for a vacation as it had many different habitats. I decided to set my PADD to receive only as I had done at the conference and told myself that I would check my messages after I returned to Baltimore. My vacation was very interesting and relaxing. I’m glad I went but I’m just as glad to be working again. I know you will likely be furious at me working too much and I can picture you swearing right now. Please don’t be too angry with me as I know you value your work yourself. But although you may define yourself as a doctor first and foremost I know there are other things in your life that are just as important. I know your relationship with Kirk and your daughter both matter a great deal to you. I think you also enjoy spending time with the crew from time to time. For me work is the most important thing in my life at the moment. I am grateful for the friendship of Nurse Dominique and Lieutenant Sulu and am glad to talk to several others on Earth and the Enterprise A from time to time. But I am not close to any of my friends the way you are with Kirk so I do not spend as much time with them as you do with Kirk. I’m not jealous of the amount of time you spend with him as I can see your friendship means a great deal to both of you and that you compliment each other well. I’m just making the comparison that I don’t have someone like you have Kirk in your life. I value our relationship and I appreciate the comms we have exchanged but thus far we are still getting to know each other. Given the fact that we are in a long distance relationship there is a necessary amount of space between us even if we both wished to spend more time together. I would never ask you to spend time away from your work as a doctor and I hope you would never ask me to stop working regularly. But you have my word that from now on I will take a vacation every year and try not to work into the night even after a conference. Please respond, S’nell. Message sent 1719 hours UTC Stardate 2267.260 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Dammit woman. I’m glad that you are all right, but please never worry me like that again. You’re damn right that I’m annoyed. I can understand you wanting to focus on an exobiology conference. But you should have at least told me you were attending one before you turned your PADD to reply only. Then when you come back you work so hard that you collapse? What was so damn important that you had to do that? Surely whatever work in your lab can wait until you’ve felt rested from the conference? I have to agree with this Doctor Donovan at your lab. You need to take more time off then just weekends and Andorian holidays. You also need a yearly vacation. I’ll make sure that from now on you take a yearly vacation no matter how busy you are with work. As for Jim and I, he’s my best friend so of course I like to spend time with him. But you’re right that I’m closer to Jim then anyone else on this ship. From the moment I met Jim on the shuttle I felt that he needed someone to take care of him. Perhaps that’s why we got so close to each other during our time at the Academy. I would never ask you to stop working unless your health didn’t permit it and I hope you would never ask the same of me. Our relationship might be a long distance one but it’s important to me too. I know enough about you by now to know that I want to continue this relationship once we get back to Earth. But I don’t want you to think that you have to choose between me and your career. Speaking of work, I’ve been busy with contacting an outbreak on the ship that came from an away team that hadn’t gotten medical check ups after they had returned from the away mission. They were damn fools as everyone knows that’s required medical protocol. That was certainly not how I wanted to spend this day and it took this long until all of the medical officers have gotten this under control. Commander Dh’lar has been helpful in finding a cure. Now that we have tested it it’s just a waiting game to make sure that all of the officers make a full recovery. It’s late at night here and so that can wait until tomorrow unless there is a medical emergency during gamma shift. Glad to hear from you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 2148 hours UTC Stardate 2267.302
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Chapter Sixteen To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. Perhaps we can both agree that work is both important to us but so is our romantic relationship and our friendships? I’d rather not argue with you if there is no need. I agree that we can both have a relationship and a career at the same time. I was sorry to hear about that outbreak and I hope that all of the officers have now made a full recovery. I suspect that you’ve implemented new protocols to make sure that all crew visit med bay after an away mission. Sometimes protocols are there for a good reason. There’s not much else I can think to say of right now. Thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1718 hours UTC Stardate 2267.334 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I have not heard from you in some time so I hope you are well. I also hope you are not still angry with me. I can understand your worry and frustration over my working too much. I will do less of that in the future by not ever working evenings and taking a yearly vacation. You don’t need to keep an eye on me when my supervisor and the three doctors at the lab are paying much more attention to my work hours now. Though I suspect you will regardless as Nurse Dominique said you tend to worry a lot. Speaking of work, we had a week away from the lab in what our supervisor Doctor Richardson called a group bonding exercise. In other words all the research assistants went to Minnesota to participate in ice fishing. Any fish we caught in the lake had to be released as everyone eats manufactured protein rather then protein from animals these days. I suppose you could get the real thing in a restaurant but then you are paying many credits for it. Essentially this ice fishing involved a lot of sitting around and talking done inside small and minimally heated shelters. I liked the cold but many of my colleagues didn’t. Still it was nice to get to know my coworkers better as I spend a good deal of my days over a microscope or other piece of technology doing the analysis of some creature rather then having conversations about things other then work among the group of us. Still thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1833 hours UTC Stardate 2268.04
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Chapter Seventeen To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. I’ve never gone fishing in any weather. I know myself well enough to know that I don’t have the patience to fish. But I’m glad you enjoyed yourself with your coworkers. Look, I don’t want to argue any more either. Rest assured I’m not still angry with you for overworking. Well, not much anyway. There have been times I’ve worked a lot and that certainly was one of the reasons that Pamela divorced me. Of course we can balance our relationship with our work and there is no need to choose between them. Jim, myself, and Ensign Meadows just had a somewhat harrowing away mission where we encountered a computer that was set up as a science experiment fifty years ago in order to measure the reactions of others to fearful stimuli. The idea was that a more effective drug could be found and then used to counteract anxiety and panic attacks. Unfortunately the creators of the machine died in some tragic accident which has left the computer to modify its own programming by luring in ships with a distress call. Then when a team beams down to investigate the computer measures their fear by showing them each their worst nightmares. Fortunately Commander Dh’lar beamed us back to the ship and we worked out a solution so that other ships know what they are getting into if they venture into this space. Even so I won’t be forgetting what I saw there anytime soon. I’ll be fine with some time but I think I’m going to have a drink with Jim tonight as neither of us want to be alone right now. Thinking of you too, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1844 hours UTC Stardate 2268.48 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. Your latest away mission sound sobering. I’m glad that you had Kirk to talk to. But if you want to talk to me as well about what that computer revealed to you then I will listen. Part of a romantic relationship is being able to talk openly with each other is it not? I am still in the midst of recovering from trying to do Nurse Dominique a favour. She sent me a comm on Friday with the news that her husband Alain had surprised her with a trip to Paris this weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. She was thrilled but asked if I could look after their dog Cosette. I agreed as I didn’t think that it would be that hard to look after the dog who is a white toy poodle. I can just imagine your smile right now as you realize how wrong I was. I was prepared for the feeding and the walking and I didn’t mind throwing a ball in a park for some time. But I was much less thrilled with Cosette shedding all over my black couch. Do you know how hard it is to get dog hair completely out of a leather surface? Then when I woke up early on Monday to return Cosette to her owners I discovered that she had crewed right through the soles of both of my work shoes. So I had to synthesize new shoes. This made me late to reach Nurse Dominique and thus late to get into work. When I got there Doctor Richardson told me that a group of scientists from Tellar Prime were waiting to meet with me to discuss my journal article about the Tellar frog I had discovered and possibly discuss a research project on Tellar Prime that I could assist them with. That meeting went until after my usual lunch hour so I didn’t eat again until dinner tonight. Now I’m rather tired so I think I will go to bed early tonight. After this experience I better understand your reluctance to have an Earth dog as a pet. Thinking of you fondly, S’nell. Message sent 1909 hours UTC Stardate 2268.90
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Chapter Eighteen To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hello S’nell. Dogs can be difficult to deal with sometimes. I remember the dog who I had during my marriage by the name of Henry. He was a lot of work though he made me smile from time to time as well. I hope he’s doing well with Pamela now. I received news this week which made me reflective. I had a brief summer fling between high school and Ole Miss with a Trill named Emory Dax. I learned she had died of an illness on Trill which made me think about my relationship with you. Don’t take this the wrong way but would you really listen to me if I talked about what that computer showed me as my biggest fear? Because my biggest fear turned out to be you dying of an incurable disease like my father did. I suspect you don’t want to hear that which is why I had little intention of telling you about it until Jim insisted that we be honest with each other. Since you really want honesty from me then here goes. S’nell, I think you are too occupied with your work which is the whole reason you collapsed and took that vacation to Argentina in the first place. You rarely talk about your past and never mention your family. Maybe those topics are uncomfortable for you. But they do make me wonder if you are hiding something from me. Do you still care about me after all this time spent apart from each other? Do you plan to go to Tellar Prime for a research project and then forget about me here on the Enterprise because you are so occupied with your work? You’d better contact me regularly because I sure won’t forget about you S’nell. Yours if you still want me, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 2045 hours UTC Stardate 2268.131 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, SS Ganymede, Cabin Forty Seven Hello Doctor McCoy. I am on my way to Tellar Prime for a research project that will last until the end of 2268. Rest assured that I will continue to keep in touch with you as I wish this relationship between us to continue. I care about you but my work is also important to me as well. As for the nature of my work on Tellar Prime, it will involve a detailed mapping of the ocean floor with robots and other highly specialized equipment. Such scientific discovery was done long ago on most other planets of the Federation. But there was considerable arguments on Tellar Prime about the cost of such a venture not to mention the equipment required and which scientists would be the ones to go on such an expedition. That delayed this expedition for quite some time. I think many Tellarites argue so much because they like to do anything to prove that they are right and their opponent is wrong. Argument between Tellarites could almost be considered a sport. In fact they have a yearly week long festival that is devoted to debate. I’m looking forward to the scientific analysis though I suspect my patience will be thoroughly tested by my Tellarite coworkers. Perhaps I will simply need to argue right back just so I can get some peace and quiet to actually study what we find. For your information, I will be staying in the capital city of Shirgat in quarters that have been arranged for me. From what I remember of Tellar Prime, the planet is cold. Though no planet could be as cold as Andoria, Rigel Ten was a close second. That is why Andorians didn’t mind being stationed there while other races might hesitate at the glacial conditions outside the colony. You clearly think that I’m hiding something because I have not talked with you about my family or my past before joining the crew of the Enterprise. But that is because I prefer to focus on the present instead of the past. In contrast to Humans who remember and document their past, Andorians erased the entire record of our past after the civil war of the seventeenth century was over because we wanted to make a new start that was not defined by the past. The Human idea that you can learn from the past to ensure that you don’t repeat it in the future seems to me to be of limited value. As far as I am concerned my family is in the past which is why I have not talked about them. If I tell you that my favourite childhood memory is of spending a week camping by a lake in the Mountains of Andoria when I was twelve what purpose does that serve? If I told you the family member I was closest to growing up was my zhavey, my zhen mother; that she made jewellery for a living and her name was Umali then all you possess is information that you can use against me. I know you wouldn’t do so but it is difficult to trust others when you don’t know the motivations behind why they want information from you. The idea of small talk in order to get to know someone better is something that I don’t have much stomach for. But I suppose I could learn to tolerate small talk if it was important to you. I am sorry to hear about the death of your past love. I’m aware that you no longer care for her but I’m certain the news was sad to hear nonetheless. Still yours, S’nell. Message sent 1917 hours UTC Stardate 2268.140
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Chapter Nineteen To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Tellar Prime, Shirgat From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. It’s good to hear from you after my last comm. I should never have accused you of hiding something from me because I know how honest you are. I suppose that your refusal to talk about your past or your family reminded me of the dying days of my marriage when Pamela lied to me in order for me not to find out about the man she was sleeping with and who she left me for. Your explanations about how Andorians don’t like to dwell on the past made sense to me. You’re right that telling me things about your past or your family isn’t the most important thing for our relationship. I only asked because I wanted to get to know you better. I would have thought you might have exchanged small talk with Nurse Dominique. Maybe it’s easier to talk to a woman then me. Pamela always said that I was awful at listening but then I mostly stopped talking to her about two years into our marriage. So in retrospect neither of us were great at communication in general. I’ll also admit that I was really hard on you about how much time you gave to your career because of my past with Doctor Dehner. You might have noticed how we interacted in the med bay that day as I was told later that you were a patient of Nurse Chang. Doctor Dehner and I dated for four months at the Academy in my second year. Unfortunately some relationships end badly and that happened with Doctor Dehner and I. Lieutenant Sulu recently acquired a plant that he has named Gertrude, much to the amusement of the botanists on board. I think some of them are wary of the botany lab being used as a private garden for other crew members. We have the arboretum for the use of the crew and guests to have some green space. There’s also a section of fruit, vegetables, and herbs exclusively for the chef in the arboretum. I think they might have hydroponics bays in the newer ships unless they can make synthesizer food taste better in the future. Yeah, in a pig’s eye. In other words I’ll probably be dead by the time that happens. Thanks for the condolences about Emory Dax. I don’t love her anymore but I certainly don’t want to hear about anyone I once knew dying. Glad to still be yours, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1816 hours UTC Stardate 2268.202 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Tellar Prime, Shirgat Hello Doctor McCoy. So Lieutenant Sulu is naming his plants now? I will have to tease him about becoming fond of his specimens as I did not think it was a common Human practice to name a planet. An animal, particularly a pet yes, but not a plant. Lieutenant Sulu would likely enjoy the plants we are discovering in this project. Remind me to tell him about the bioluminescent kelp we cataloged last week. I’ve been busy with studying the food habits of a crab we found yesterday. Thank you for explaining about your past with your ex wife and Doctor Dehner. I suspected that the two of you were previously involved but I also knew that you were unlikely to talk about it. But it does explain why you are so worried that I will get tired of you. Rest assured I do not make any decisions lightly. I am emotional and passionate but rarely spontaneous. So please do your best to get over your own insecurities about being a suitable long term romantic partner. I have no intention of leaving you like the rest of the women in the past have done. I’m not them and the more you get to know me the more I trust you will realize that. As for small talk with Nurse Dominique, we have discussed the weather on occasion. But she only asked about my family once. Given my curt response to her she has not asked about them again. Since then she hasn’t talked about my past and so I haven’t volunteered information about that. I suppose telling you could help you to better understand me but then again it would only help to explain who I used to be. Doesn’t everyone change and grow as they age? The person I am now is not the person you first met and I was a very different person during my time on Rigel Ten. Isn’t that the goal of the Federation though, to strive to better oneself? Or why else are we continuing to strive for improvement? Thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1759 hours UTC Stardate 2268.267
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Chapter Twenty To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Tellar Prime, Shirgat From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. It’s true enough that we change as we become older. I suppose with age comes some wisdom or at least a desire to try and become a better person. The man I was when I joined Starfleet just after my divorce is very different in some ways from who I am today. Four days ago, myself, Jim, and Lieutenant Commander Umal beamed down to an M class moon that was mostly steppe with the rest of the land being desert. The native people are called the Senelli, and it was clear to me that they were descended from horses. They have the head, ears and neck of a horse with hooves on their feet and six short fingers on their hands. They don’t have tails but they have long bushy hair that begins just above their eyebrows and runs all the way to the base of their spine which is thick enough to be like a mane on a horse. The women have no breasts but one large nipple in the centre of their torso while the men have no nipples at all. Their skin is in four different shades, namely white, grey, black, and brown, which is determined by genetics. They have brown blood and can run very fast. I noticed they all wore ankle length grey pants but no shirts. When we first saw them they approached us riding a cow like creature that had long and dangerous looking horns. They call this creature the kenexall. Apparently they are used primarily for transporting people on ceremonial occasions. The clear liquid from their udder is used to brew some sweet tea that we consumed as part of a greeting ceremony once we had arrived at the tent like dwelling of the leader. It sure was nice to sit down and talk instead of being chased by some dangerous creature that wanted to have us for lunch. The next day three of the Senelli came and toured the ship. The tour went well enough that the Senelli expressed interest in joining the Federation. I wish that was how all our away missions went out here but that’s not the case. I’m just glad that we didn’t have to host some diplomatic event for them as that would have meant getting out the dress uniform. I hate wearing that thing. I’m also glad that I didn’t have to ride one of the kenexell though I suspect it would have been more comfortable then the stamell I had to ride through the Altaxi desert. I’m a doctor, not someone who rides alien creatures unless I have to. Give me a hover car and I’ll drive that instead. But I’m not comfortable with controlling a creature with a mind of its own. The largest beast that I was planning to ride on was a year into our first five year mission. Unfortunately Jim stunned the creature and so we had to find another much more uncomfortable means of returning to the Enterprise. I can’t go into detail about that mission as it was later classified. But I will say that it was uncomfortable. I don’t like having to run away from danger like Jim does. Hope you are well, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1751 hours UTC Stardate 2268.338 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I’m not fond of social gatherings for any reason so I would have likely been as uncomfortable in that setting as well. I only had to wear the Starfleet dress uniform once before I resigned my commission. But I didn’t like the outfit because I felt the skirt was far too short. I think you look very handsome in the dress uniform though I understand you hate the tight collar of the jacket. I noticed you tried to adjust the collar both during the memorial service for the crew of the Omega Research Station and during my trial on the Kanar space station. I would be curious to know more about the knexall, particularly if they are indigenous to the Senelli home world. I find it interesting how many species in the galaxy have a cattle like creature either for food or drink, to plough fields, to carry heavy objects, or as transportation for people. Perhaps that is a case of evolution. If there was a need for the ecosystem to have a prey animal that had the possibility of being domesticated for Humanoid use then they could have evolved to take that place. Though I suspect that there are few cattle like creatures that are more stubborn then the Andorian bull. The farmers who take care of the bulls before they are slaughtered for meat are certainly individuals who have a great deal of patience. Hope you are well too, S’nell. Message sent 1744 hours UTC Stardate 2269.41
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Chapter Twenty One To S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hello S’nell. I’m a doctor, not a biologist. But your idea about cattle evolving on many different worlds because they have a specific function in the ecosystem seems plausible to me. You know, most people thought that I joined Starfleet because after the divorce I had nowhere else to go. That was the main reason but there was another reason. Six months before I sat down on that shuttle to the Academy I had a six year old patient named Jenny who wanted to be a Starfleet captain. Sadly she died in my care so she’ll never realize her dream. But it did get me thinking about Starfleet for the first time and so when I first stepped onto the Enterprise when it answered the distress call to Vulcan I thought about her. She thought that being a member of Starfleet meant we were not only explorers but heroes who also saved lives. While that might be true there are also times like just recently that are rather boring and monotonous. We have just spent the last few days mapping a large asteroid field as the ship flew around it. While that made the stellar cartographers and navigators excited everyone else was pretty damn bored especially Jim. He said it was just rocks and more rocks. As for me I’m glad to have some breathing room before the next crisis hits. I wasn’t too thrilled to be serving under Jim when we first set out on our first five year mission. But he has quickly grown into being a competent Captain. I think he is more comfortable with unexpected dangers now. Or perhaps he is somewhat less prone to being reckless. No, that’s not entirely true. But at least Jim takes at least one security officer with him on an away mission unless there is some good reason why he can’t do so. Missing you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1938 hours UTC Stardate 2269.78 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. It doesn’t surprise me that a child would have a romantic view of Starfleet. I think many people think that Starfleet officers are heroes for all they do. But you are right that exploration by its very nature is an encounter with the unknown. I’m glad that space is not all danger and darkness all of the time as you like to say. If your life was constantly in danger then how would you enjoy such a mission? Surely not all crews come across as much danger as the Enterprise. But then not all of the fleet is exploring uncharted space. I can envision a time in the future when more of the galaxy is mapped and so missions become more routine. You would like that but a man like Kirk would not. Like you I prefer stability and order. In my opinion adrenaline is somewhat overrated as a Human experience, with the exception of fighting. My work is pretty routine at the moment as well. I spent most of this week reading research proposals for new exobiology projects. Some ideas were very interesting while others were overly ambitious or were not feasible. My supervisor Doctor Richardson has handed me this task because she says that I always tell it like it is to paraphrase her. In other words I don’t mince words with the authors of the proposals in order to ensure that the budget of the lab is spent wisely. We are funded by the United States government but like many scientific agencies we do not have unlimited credits. So we can’t fund every project that is proposed. Missing you too, S’nell. Message sent 1756 hours UTC Stardate 2269.106
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Chapter Twenty Two To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Not much is happening on the ship at the moment other then us mapping a star system with binary stars and every kind of planet except for an M class one. It’s not that I expected we would be meeting aliens every week but I suspect that Jim would have liked that as he enjoys away missions. As long as I don’t have to go on an away mission regularly then I’m quite content with my life here on the Enterprise A. Thinking of you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1947 hours UTC Stardate 2269.200 To: Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I have recently returned from a vacation to northern Canada. If there was an exobiology lab nearby then I might be tempted to live there instead of Baltimore. I will send you pictures of the northern lights in another comm. I purchased a jade carving of a walrus which are abundant in certain areas of the coastal parts of Nunavut. I also went on a dog sled tour which was quite exhilarating. It’s impressive how well the dogs will respond to voice commands. They have been trained to run very fast for short distances or slower over long distances. Most people have replaced dogs with hover cars but there are still some people that keep them for tourist tours and also to compete in long distances races every year. I’m not surprised that Kirk wanted to meet aliens regularly during your five year mission. But given how vast space is it makes sense that some solar systems are uninhabited. Not every planet you explore is going to be capable of supporting Humanoid life. I’m glad that you don’t have the desire to get into dangerous situations like Kirk does. It makes me trust that there is a greater chance you will come back to Earth healthy and whole instead of dying in space. Thinking of you fondly, S’nell. Message sent 1819 hours UTC Stardate 2269.242
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Chapter Twenty Three To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: James Kirk, Captain, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. I’ll get to the point as you’re probably wondering why I would contact you. On the latest away mission Doctor McCoy was seriously injured after our team managed to anger the local natives called the Kellvaii. One of them fired some sort of projectile weapon at me. Before I could react Bones jumped in front of me and was hit in the chest. With all the great minds on this ship it’s only a matter of time before we find a cure for the poison that was in the weapon. I won’t let him die. I plan to give Bones a promotion to Commander once he wakes up for saving my life and I think Starfleet Command will agree with me. I know you’re not Bones’s next of kin, as that’s his mother. But I thought you should know in any case. He wouldn’t want you to worry but you’re his partner so you deserve to know. I’ve seen how much he means to you and I’m glad that Bones has someone to come home to once this mission is over. I’ll let you know when Bones wakes up. Message sent 2135 hours UTC Stardate 2269.294 To: James Kirk, Captain, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Kirk. Thank you for letting me know about Doctor McCoy’s injury. I used to think that you were the reckless one compared to Doctor McCoy but now I am not so certain. Though I am not surprised at his actions given the depth of your friendship. Doctor McCoy would do anything for you and I think you feel the same way about him. I’m glad that you have him as a friend and that you approve of our relationship. Rest assured that no matter what happens with my relationship with Doctor McCoy in the future, your friendship will him is something that will not change. At the moment I am not certain if I want to slap Doctor McCoy for being so dismissive of his own well being or kiss him for still being alive. Please let him know that I am thinking of him and I look forward to hearing from him once he feels better. But also make it clear that he should rest as long as he needs to as I suspect that he will be eager to return to his duties sooner then he should. Even though his dedication to his work is commendable, there are times rest is needed even if he would disagree. Message sent 2009 hours UTC Stardate 2269.355
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Chapter Twenty Four To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Once I woke up in the med bay Jim talked to me and told me that you knew some of what happened. Thanks for thinking of me. It’s been a long time since anyone outside my family has done that. Down on the planet I just reacted without thinking, which happens a lot when it comes to Jim. I knew the injury would be serious but I didn’t know how bad it would be until that projectile hit my chest. Fortunately my medical staff are the best in the fleet which is why I was able to make a full recovery. It’s not true that I don’t think of my self preservation out here. On the contrary I think about it a lot. I want to return to Earth to you and my family and have a future with all of you. But I also have a duty to see to the well being of this crew. Most of the time that means curing them of diseases but sometimes it means being more proactive. I certainly don’t think my life is less valuable then any other Starfleet officer, but we do need to look out for each other out here. In other words I don’t think a slap from you is deserved. Though I would certainly not say no to a kiss from you at any time. Missing you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1807 hours UTC Stardate 2270.61 To: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, European Alliance, Sweden, Gothenburg Hello Doctor McCoy. First allow me to congratulate you on the promotion to Commander. It is well deserved and I am glad to see that others are recognizing how valuable of an officer you are to Starfleet. I’m glad that you value your own life enough to want to reunite with me and your family when you return to Earth. I look forward to that day. Right now I am on my annual vacation. I greatly enjoy the parks and open spaces in Sweden, particularly in the northern region. I wished to stay in the famous ice hotel in Jukkasjarvi but the attraction is only open from December through April. You would likely complain of the fact that the temperature inside the structure is kept at minus 5 degrees Celsius and so would spend a great deal of your time in the hot tub. But I’d be sure to keep you nice and warm. I could certainly get used to sharing a bed with you and I hope you feel the same way about me. Missing you too, S’nell. Message sent 2104 hours UTC Stardate 2270.122
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Chapter Twenty Five To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A Hi S’nell. Of course I’d like to share a bed with you no matter the temperature of the room. I wouldn’t want to stay too long in that ice hotel you mentioned but perhaps I’ll take you there for a weekend some winter. The latest news on the ship is about the most recent away mission to a K class moon. Lieutenant Commander Umal, Ensign Wong, and Commander Dh’lar beamed down inside a pressure dome as the sensors indicated that there was a highly advanced alien civilization living there. According to the mission report the three of them were forced to fight for their lives against an alien opponent or they would die. It turned out that the fight wasn’t real. Instead the fight was a telepathic illusion that was sent to their minds by the aliens. It turned out it was a moral test by the aliens to determine if any other races were peaceful enough for the aliens to initiate first contact. We passed that test and so these aliens, a race called the Zehari, will enter talks to join the Federation. Still I suspect the experience will likely stay with the three men for some time to come. Thinking of you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1833 hours UTC Stardate 2270.183 To: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I have just returned yesterday from an exobiology conference in Russia. As a result I will respond to your message more fully once I have caught up with my work. Thank you for letting me know about the Zehari away mission. I will send a message to Lieutenant Commander Umal. Thinking of you too, S’nell. Message sent 1844 hours UTC Stardate 2270.244
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Chapter Twenty Six To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A Hello S’nell. The latest news on the ship is that the romantic relationship between Petty Officer Rand and Ensign Kita has ended amicably. I’m relieved to hear it as I would hate for their past relationship to impact on their present duties. Fortunately both of them are professional enough for that not to happen. As for other couples on this ship, Lieutenant Darwin and Lieutenant Aiza seem to be the most serious. They have been dating since about six months after we started this mission. I don’t know either of them well but I wonder if they will ask Jim to marry them. Jim performed one wedding on the first five year mission so at least he knows somewhat what to expect. Though I wouldn’t want to have a relationship conducted in the close confines of a starship or starbase. If something goes wrong then everyone learns about it fast. Gossip travels even faster then infectious disease on this ship and is sometimes even more damaging. Having a long distance relationship like ours is hard enough. Still missing you, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1736 hours UTC Stardate 2270.305 To: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I agree with your remarks in regards to romance abroad the Enterprise A. Every thing you do would be scrutinized by your fellow officers and you would have far less privacy then I personally would prefer. I wish Lieutenant Darwin and Lieutenant Aiza all the best. If Kirk does marry them I suspect that he will do a good job. As for our relationship I am content with it being long distance for now. Once you return to Earth, I would like to spend more time with you. But there is no rush. I would prefer to take our time in every aspect of our relationship. Missing you too, S’nell. Message sent 1846 hours UTC Stardate 2271.17
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Chapter Twenty Seven To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A Hello S’nell. Well, I was right. Lieutenant Darwin and Lieutenant Aiza are now engaged and they have asked Jim to marry them on Stardate 2271.100. They want to have it done before they get home as they told Jim they both consider the Enterprise crew to be another family. Apparently their own families back on Earth would organize a large celebration for them and that is not something either of them wanted. Jim agreed to marry them but I can tell he’s nervous about planning it. Fortunately he has the help of Ensign Rand and Doctor Chapel who have both volunteered to help organize the event. With those two women in charge the besotted couple will have a wonderful day even if we do get attacked by some menacing alien. As for our own relationship I’m fine with taking things slow. I am a Southern gentleman so I do romance slow and steady. You’d better prepare yourself to be swept off your feet S’nell (though not literally as that was a metaphor). Thinking of you fondly, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 1758 hours UTC Stardate 2271.81 To: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A From: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore Hello Doctor McCoy. I have just returned from a vacation to Mongolia. I enjoyed spending time in the Gobi Desert, though I can understand why many people prefer living in a city. I hope the wedding of Lieutenant Darwin and Lieutenant Aiza went well. I wish them congratulations. As for our own relationship I look forward to learning what your idea of romance is like. I certainly have no objections to proceeding with our relationship in a slow and steady manner. Being methodical has its rewards in many aspects of life. Also thinking of you, S’nell. Message sent 1926 hours UTC Stardate 2271.141 To: S’nellastina zh’Vecar, Earth, United States of America, Maryland, Baltimore From: Leonard McCoy, Commander, USS Enterprise A Hello S’nell. This is going to be my final message that I send to you from the Enterprise A. We now have a date to return to Earth. The Enterprise A will be at San Francisco Fleet Yards on Stardate 2271.185. I don’t know the exact time but we will likely dock during beta shift. As a member of the senior staff I expect to have three full days of debriefings about the mission at Starfleet Command. Then I’d like to meet you at my quarters in San Francisco so that we can spend the whole weekend together. Until I get my next posting my quarters will be close to the Starfleet Medical campus which is a few blocks from the Academy. I’ll comm you with the exact address of my quarters once I know it. I look forward to seeing you soon, Doctor McCoy. Message sent 2019 hours UTC Stardate 2271.181