Logic to Out Pace Any Fighting - August 16th
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 16
Title: Logic to Out Pace Any Fighting
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/Star Trek (2009)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Star Trek people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Buffy explains her circumstances
Notes: Part 5 of this Kelvin timeline Buffy story - Links Page
Seasons:Post Series/Post-Star Trek (2009)
Characters:Buffy, Spock, Kirk
Word Count: 2250
Buffy approached the old Spock slowly. They stood in the hanger bay where transports were working to repair Enterprise.
“You said you knew me,” she said without any preamble.
He sighed. “I know of you, Buffy Summers.”
“So I was always headed for Starfleet?” she asked.
His lips quirked up slightly. “Why do you think so?’
“Because you said Nero’s actions only moved up the timetable.”
“Given the tenets of Starfleet, would you have truly remained merely a citizen?”
She swallowed. He truly did seem to know about her. “Can I trust Kirk?”
“I imagine he is wondering the same.” Prime Spock replied.
“Should I just leave?” she asked softly. “Save them the trouble of writing me up and… disappear?”
“I believe Jim Kirk will keep your secret,” he acknowledged. “So long as you are honest with him.”
“Does that include….” She hesitated.
“Any lies will only make it harder.”
Buffy stared at the wizened face of Spock. “I think you and I could be good friends.”
“I would be honored.” He inclined his head.
She gave him the standard Vulcan hand gesture and spoke in Vulcan. “Dif-tor heh smusma.”
“Sochya eh dif,” Spock replied with his hand up.
Buffy smiled and turned away, walking slowly as she tried to bury her questions. It was easier when she recalled that whatever Prime Spock knew of her future had changed, drastically.
88888888
Kirk watched as Buffy spoke with Admiral Pike. They were both grinning, then she stood, shook his hand and walked away. He saw her smile slip as she approached his position.
“Captain,” she greeted evenly.
“Lieutenant.”
“How long until the ship is ready for launch?”
“Estimates are two more weeks.”
“I have not been removed from assignment.”
Kirk nodded once. “I promised you a chance to explain.”
“Care to get a drink?” she asked.
“Okay.”
“Eight, tonight?”
“Where?”
“Here,” she pulled out a card from her pocket and handed it over.
“I’ll see you then.”
88888888
Buffy paced her living room. For the first time in seventy years she would be exposing herself to others. A buzzing distracted her from her pacing. She took a deep breath and headed for the door. She pressed the button on the controls and the door slid open.
“Come in,” she said softly, stepping to the side.
“While I appreciate the invitation, I do not understand why you issued it.”
Buffy looked at the younger Spock carefully. She could see where time would change him into the old Vulcan from the other timeline. “I was hoping to enlist you as the voice of reason.”
The door buzzed again. She returned to open it. “Come in.”
Kirk looked nearly as unsure as she felt.
“I do not understand, Lieutenant,” Spock said, drawing Kirk’s attention.
“Not ‘lieutenant’,” she shook her head, “not right now.” She rubbed her face and waved them into the dining room. Spock took a seat she waved to. From the fridge she pulled out a six-pack of beer and set it on the table, near to where Kirk was sitting. Then she returned to the stove and grabbed a tea service. Gingerly she set it in front of Spock and proceeded to serve him a traditional Vulcan tea.
“This set is Vulcan in origin,” Spock said as he accepted the tea. “And very old.”
“A hundred and fifty years old,” she acknowledged. “It was a gift from Mith.”
“How did your family acquire it?”
“They did not. This was given to me by Mith when I completed my training.”
Kirk sighed and cracked a beer open. He took a long swallow as he watched them. Buffy went to the cupboard and opened it, standing on her toes until she was able to reach a dusty bottle.
“Ah,” she sighed as she returned her heels to the floor. She pulled out a glass and pour herself a finger of the liquor. She tossed it back, enjoying the deep burn as she swallowed. Refilling the glass, she carried it and the bottle to the table.
“I’m nearing three hundred years old, Spock,” she told him evenly. “I was born in 1981.”
“Where?” he asked curiously.
“Earth. Los Angeles, California. To a human mother and father.” She sighed. “Really long story.” She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally managed to say. “Earth had a hidden underbelly, one that less than two hundred people knew about at any one time prior to 2003. The supernatural world, demons and vampires and ghosts. And to corral these threats and keep them from destroying the world was a girl. She was the Slayer. When she fell, another rose. So it had been for seven millennia. Then I got the mantle and went to live on top of the Hellmouth. I saved the world…a lot. I was surrounded by people who weren’t ordinary either. Two of them were powerful witches, a few old demons…I died to save-” Buffy stopped, it hurt to think of it, to think of her sister. “I died to save the world. And five months later, my friends raised me from the dead. A year later, another near-miss with death, same powerful witch reversed it.”
Buffy could not look at them. So she focused on spinning her glass. “I don’t age. I don’t remain dead. Even an explosion… I regenerate completely.” She licked her lips, trying to keep going. “I fought in the War. A general. The last of magic, Slayers, demons, and witches disappeared after Chicago in 2053. All my friends were dead. So I hopped the first transport the Vulcans offered. I studied with the children and learned to control my emotions, even rid myself of some really bad memories. Or at least learned to suppress them better than alcohol did.” She grinned a little. “I was offered the chance to completed Kolinahr.”
“Did you?” Spock asked, making her look up.
“No. I got through about half of the structure before realizing that exploring my low-level telepathy and learning control were the most important things the Vulcans would teach me. I bowed out gracefully, thanking them for their guidance and patience. I spent my last days on Vulcan in prayer at the Temple of Amonak.”
“Where did you go?” Kirk asked softly.
“Here and there. Any outpost that would have me. Several years later…I reached a dark place,” she tapped her chest. “I hated the universe and everyone and everything in it.” She refilled her glass. “I found a barren planet, landed my shuttle and looked for a way to remain dead. Wasted a lot of time there.”
“How long were you there?”
“Years, my estimate is fifteen or so. Then there were Klingons. I was disrespectful, got stabbed in the heart for my insolence. When I came back to life, they were interested in finding out who could kill me the most times. I was a prisoner for…years. They fed me well, everyone who considered themselves any type of warrior was pitted against me. Until I was less of a prisoner and more of a champion. I earned a title and the sympathy of a House. He wagered for my freedom. He was an unusual Klingon, the Head of an unusual House. A thinker more than a fighter. His House was full of scientists and philosophers. Poets.”
“You resided in the House of jey’naS?” Spock asked.
“I’m a full member of the House of jey’naS,” she admitted. “For thirty years they were the closest thing to family I had.”
“Klingons?” Kirk verified.
“Yes.”
“So, you’re allied with the Klingons?”
“I never fought against the Federation or Terran or Vulcan. Most of our fights were internal. And my House was known for its oddities, not its battle prowess.”
“Do you still have Klingon friends?”
“A few,” she told him honestly, “but it’s been sixty years since I was with the Klingons.”
“And do they know you are with Starfleet?”
“No. I gave word to the Head of my House that if I left, I would cut ties. Since I’m Terran, one of stipulations the Council enforced to agree to let me go.”
“Just like that?” Kirk said skeptically.
“No. I had to fight for it, against a warrior of the Council’s choosing.”
Spock studied her, certain there was more to it as she stared into her half-empty glass. Instead he chose a different tack. “Why did you join Starfleet?”
“The Kelvin,” she replied immediately, looking at them both. Kirk popped the top on another beer. “I had to create a trail that would allow me to join Starfleet, that’s why I joined at twenty instead of immediately after.”
“And why are you telling us this?” Spock asked.
“Your…counterpart outed my identity to Kirk on Delta Vega. I…I knew that I would have explain to Kirk, but I felt I needed another voice. Some logic to outpace any fighting.”
Spock glanced between her and Kirk before nodding once.
“How can you pledge loyalty to Earth and the Federation when you have allies on Qo’nos?” Kirk demanded.
“Because I spent eighty years saving Earth. From itself and those who would conquer it.”
“But in a conflict with the Klingons how can we trust that you’l-”
Buffy stood suddenly, turning to lean against the stove. “Because the Council was cruel,” he voice broke slightly over the words. “The final battle was to the death.”
“That is not uncommon in Klingon culture,” Spock acknowledged.
“They pitted me against my…son,” she whispered.
“You had a Klingon child?”
“He was a war orphan from a disgraced lower House.” She kept her back to them, her shoulders stiff and her voice devoid of emotion. “I petitioned the Head of my House to raise him. He was a young child when he came into my care, barely more than four. I raised him as a Klingon is supposed to be. I taught him his weapons and I sparred with him, made sure he was ready for each Trial.” She shifted her feet. “When he was a man, he worked to get his House’s honor restored. It’s what the Council promised him if he thwarted me in battle. He fought hard, but I bested him.” She sighed. “But when I had him pinned, the Council told me only a deathblow would end the battle. I refused. He attacked again, angry and stupid. It was an accident…but I was released from the Empire.”
Buffy wiped at her face before turning around. She knew it would not completely hide remnants of tears, but she focused on tucking the incident safely away in her head. She leaned her hip against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. It was a defensive posture, but she felt too raw to school her reaction.
Spock studied her closely, Kirk was staring at his beer. None of them spoke.
Buffy watched as Spock’s hands formed a Vulcan contemplation pose. Kirk took a long pull of his beer. He finally looked up at her. She held his gaze and waited. It was only a moment until he looked away.
“He said you had Vulcan training,” Kirk noted. At Buffy’s frown. He clarified. “The other Spock. In the cave. He said that’s why you tolerated the mind meld.”
“In dealing with demons and witches, I gained some amount of telepathic power. It was not considered anything grand by Vulcan standards, but it was enough.” She directed a single, quiet thought at Spock.
He jumped slightly and stared at her in surprise.
“Sorry,” Buffy said as she sat down again. “It’s been a while since I used that.”
“I was merely unprepared.”
“What did she do?” Kirk asked.
“She attempted to communicate telepathically with me,” Spock informed him.
“I know you can,” Buffy said. “Your…emotions just about crippled me on the bridge.”
“Wait, you can feel his emotions?” Kirk asked.
Buffy looked at Spock, he gave her a small nod.
“One of the reasons Vulcans were so very violent and that they worked so hard to be ruled by logic is that a single fear or angry thought could be spread telepathically. While they keep as tight a lid on it as they can, on rare occasions they can bleed emotions onto others.” She made a vague gesture to her head. “Because of the mind meld I was already telepathically susceptible.”
Spock raised an eyebrow at Buffy. She tilted her head at him.
Kirk looked between them in confusion. Both maintained a stoic countenance. For several minutes this continued until Buffy smiled.
“What?” Kirk asked.
“Nothing,” Buffy replied, not quite looking at him.
“You have an interesting mind, Lieutenant Winters,” Spock stated.
She winced. “I’m still so regretting that name.”
“Why did you choose it?’ Kirk asked.
“They were what popped into mind when I created the birth certificate, I wasn’t thinking about living with it.” She grimaced. “Not that my name was all that great.”
“Speaking of, there is a matter that needs to be addressed,” Kirk reminded her.
“Of course.” She replied solemnly.
“Does her name change the results of her tests or accomplishments?” Spock countered softly.
Kirk looked her over carefully. “No. Nor does it change her willingness to join us on Nero’s ship.”
“Currently, Enterprise does not have a secondary tactical officer.”
Kirk frowned. “That would be rewarding her with a bridge position.”
Spock nodded. “There are, however, two weeks before the position has to be filled. In the interim, perhaps she can be given an assignment that is not as prestigious until you make your decision.”
Title: Logic to Out Pace Any Fighting
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/Star Trek (2009)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Star Trek people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Buffy explains her circumstances
Notes: Part 5 of this Kelvin timeline Buffy story - Links Page
Seasons:Post Series/Post-Star Trek (2009)
Characters:Buffy, Spock, Kirk
Word Count: 2250
Buffy approached the old Spock slowly. They stood in the hanger bay where transports were working to repair Enterprise.
“You said you knew me,” she said without any preamble.
He sighed. “I know of you, Buffy Summers.”
“So I was always headed for Starfleet?” she asked.
His lips quirked up slightly. “Why do you think so?’
“Because you said Nero’s actions only moved up the timetable.”
“Given the tenets of Starfleet, would you have truly remained merely a citizen?”
She swallowed. He truly did seem to know about her. “Can I trust Kirk?”
“I imagine he is wondering the same.” Prime Spock replied.
“Should I just leave?” she asked softly. “Save them the trouble of writing me up and… disappear?”
“I believe Jim Kirk will keep your secret,” he acknowledged. “So long as you are honest with him.”
“Does that include….” She hesitated.
“Any lies will only make it harder.”
Buffy stared at the wizened face of Spock. “I think you and I could be good friends.”
“I would be honored.” He inclined his head.
She gave him the standard Vulcan hand gesture and spoke in Vulcan. “Dif-tor heh smusma.”
“Sochya eh dif,” Spock replied with his hand up.
Buffy smiled and turned away, walking slowly as she tried to bury her questions. It was easier when she recalled that whatever Prime Spock knew of her future had changed, drastically.
88888888
Kirk watched as Buffy spoke with Admiral Pike. They were both grinning, then she stood, shook his hand and walked away. He saw her smile slip as she approached his position.
“Captain,” she greeted evenly.
“Lieutenant.”
“How long until the ship is ready for launch?”
“Estimates are two more weeks.”
“I have not been removed from assignment.”
Kirk nodded once. “I promised you a chance to explain.”
“Care to get a drink?” she asked.
“Okay.”
“Eight, tonight?”
“Where?”
“Here,” she pulled out a card from her pocket and handed it over.
“I’ll see you then.”
88888888
Buffy paced her living room. For the first time in seventy years she would be exposing herself to others. A buzzing distracted her from her pacing. She took a deep breath and headed for the door. She pressed the button on the controls and the door slid open.
“Come in,” she said softly, stepping to the side.
“While I appreciate the invitation, I do not understand why you issued it.”
Buffy looked at the younger Spock carefully. She could see where time would change him into the old Vulcan from the other timeline. “I was hoping to enlist you as the voice of reason.”
The door buzzed again. She returned to open it. “Come in.”
Kirk looked nearly as unsure as she felt.
“I do not understand, Lieutenant,” Spock said, drawing Kirk’s attention.
“Not ‘lieutenant’,” she shook her head, “not right now.” She rubbed her face and waved them into the dining room. Spock took a seat she waved to. From the fridge she pulled out a six-pack of beer and set it on the table, near to where Kirk was sitting. Then she returned to the stove and grabbed a tea service. Gingerly she set it in front of Spock and proceeded to serve him a traditional Vulcan tea.
“This set is Vulcan in origin,” Spock said as he accepted the tea. “And very old.”
“A hundred and fifty years old,” she acknowledged. “It was a gift from Mith.”
“How did your family acquire it?”
“They did not. This was given to me by Mith when I completed my training.”
Kirk sighed and cracked a beer open. He took a long swallow as he watched them. Buffy went to the cupboard and opened it, standing on her toes until she was able to reach a dusty bottle.
“Ah,” she sighed as she returned her heels to the floor. She pulled out a glass and pour herself a finger of the liquor. She tossed it back, enjoying the deep burn as she swallowed. Refilling the glass, she carried it and the bottle to the table.
“I’m nearing three hundred years old, Spock,” she told him evenly. “I was born in 1981.”
“Where?” he asked curiously.
“Earth. Los Angeles, California. To a human mother and father.” She sighed. “Really long story.” She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally managed to say. “Earth had a hidden underbelly, one that less than two hundred people knew about at any one time prior to 2003. The supernatural world, demons and vampires and ghosts. And to corral these threats and keep them from destroying the world was a girl. She was the Slayer. When she fell, another rose. So it had been for seven millennia. Then I got the mantle and went to live on top of the Hellmouth. I saved the world…a lot. I was surrounded by people who weren’t ordinary either. Two of them were powerful witches, a few old demons…I died to save-” Buffy stopped, it hurt to think of it, to think of her sister. “I died to save the world. And five months later, my friends raised me from the dead. A year later, another near-miss with death, same powerful witch reversed it.”
Buffy could not look at them. So she focused on spinning her glass. “I don’t age. I don’t remain dead. Even an explosion… I regenerate completely.” She licked her lips, trying to keep going. “I fought in the War. A general. The last of magic, Slayers, demons, and witches disappeared after Chicago in 2053. All my friends were dead. So I hopped the first transport the Vulcans offered. I studied with the children and learned to control my emotions, even rid myself of some really bad memories. Or at least learned to suppress them better than alcohol did.” She grinned a little. “I was offered the chance to completed Kolinahr.”
“Did you?” Spock asked, making her look up.
“No. I got through about half of the structure before realizing that exploring my low-level telepathy and learning control were the most important things the Vulcans would teach me. I bowed out gracefully, thanking them for their guidance and patience. I spent my last days on Vulcan in prayer at the Temple of Amonak.”
“Where did you go?” Kirk asked softly.
“Here and there. Any outpost that would have me. Several years later…I reached a dark place,” she tapped her chest. “I hated the universe and everyone and everything in it.” She refilled her glass. “I found a barren planet, landed my shuttle and looked for a way to remain dead. Wasted a lot of time there.”
“How long were you there?”
“Years, my estimate is fifteen or so. Then there were Klingons. I was disrespectful, got stabbed in the heart for my insolence. When I came back to life, they were interested in finding out who could kill me the most times. I was a prisoner for…years. They fed me well, everyone who considered themselves any type of warrior was pitted against me. Until I was less of a prisoner and more of a champion. I earned a title and the sympathy of a House. He wagered for my freedom. He was an unusual Klingon, the Head of an unusual House. A thinker more than a fighter. His House was full of scientists and philosophers. Poets.”
“You resided in the House of jey’naS?” Spock asked.
“I’m a full member of the House of jey’naS,” she admitted. “For thirty years they were the closest thing to family I had.”
“Klingons?” Kirk verified.
“Yes.”
“So, you’re allied with the Klingons?”
“I never fought against the Federation or Terran or Vulcan. Most of our fights were internal. And my House was known for its oddities, not its battle prowess.”
“Do you still have Klingon friends?”
“A few,” she told him honestly, “but it’s been sixty years since I was with the Klingons.”
“And do they know you are with Starfleet?”
“No. I gave word to the Head of my House that if I left, I would cut ties. Since I’m Terran, one of stipulations the Council enforced to agree to let me go.”
“Just like that?” Kirk said skeptically.
“No. I had to fight for it, against a warrior of the Council’s choosing.”
Spock studied her, certain there was more to it as she stared into her half-empty glass. Instead he chose a different tack. “Why did you join Starfleet?”
“The Kelvin,” she replied immediately, looking at them both. Kirk popped the top on another beer. “I had to create a trail that would allow me to join Starfleet, that’s why I joined at twenty instead of immediately after.”
“And why are you telling us this?” Spock asked.
“Your…counterpart outed my identity to Kirk on Delta Vega. I…I knew that I would have explain to Kirk, but I felt I needed another voice. Some logic to outpace any fighting.”
Spock glanced between her and Kirk before nodding once.
“How can you pledge loyalty to Earth and the Federation when you have allies on Qo’nos?” Kirk demanded.
“Because I spent eighty years saving Earth. From itself and those who would conquer it.”
“But in a conflict with the Klingons how can we trust that you’l-”
Buffy stood suddenly, turning to lean against the stove. “Because the Council was cruel,” he voice broke slightly over the words. “The final battle was to the death.”
“That is not uncommon in Klingon culture,” Spock acknowledged.
“They pitted me against my…son,” she whispered.
“You had a Klingon child?”
“He was a war orphan from a disgraced lower House.” She kept her back to them, her shoulders stiff and her voice devoid of emotion. “I petitioned the Head of my House to raise him. He was a young child when he came into my care, barely more than four. I raised him as a Klingon is supposed to be. I taught him his weapons and I sparred with him, made sure he was ready for each Trial.” She shifted her feet. “When he was a man, he worked to get his House’s honor restored. It’s what the Council promised him if he thwarted me in battle. He fought hard, but I bested him.” She sighed. “But when I had him pinned, the Council told me only a deathblow would end the battle. I refused. He attacked again, angry and stupid. It was an accident…but I was released from the Empire.”
Buffy wiped at her face before turning around. She knew it would not completely hide remnants of tears, but she focused on tucking the incident safely away in her head. She leaned her hip against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. It was a defensive posture, but she felt too raw to school her reaction.
Spock studied her closely, Kirk was staring at his beer. None of them spoke.
Buffy watched as Spock’s hands formed a Vulcan contemplation pose. Kirk took a long pull of his beer. He finally looked up at her. She held his gaze and waited. It was only a moment until he looked away.
“He said you had Vulcan training,” Kirk noted. At Buffy’s frown. He clarified. “The other Spock. In the cave. He said that’s why you tolerated the mind meld.”
“In dealing with demons and witches, I gained some amount of telepathic power. It was not considered anything grand by Vulcan standards, but it was enough.” She directed a single, quiet thought at Spock.
He jumped slightly and stared at her in surprise.
“Sorry,” Buffy said as she sat down again. “It’s been a while since I used that.”
“I was merely unprepared.”
“What did she do?” Kirk asked.
“She attempted to communicate telepathically with me,” Spock informed him.
“I know you can,” Buffy said. “Your…emotions just about crippled me on the bridge.”
“Wait, you can feel his emotions?” Kirk asked.
Buffy looked at Spock, he gave her a small nod.
“One of the reasons Vulcans were so very violent and that they worked so hard to be ruled by logic is that a single fear or angry thought could be spread telepathically. While they keep as tight a lid on it as they can, on rare occasions they can bleed emotions onto others.” She made a vague gesture to her head. “Because of the mind meld I was already telepathically susceptible.”
Spock raised an eyebrow at Buffy. She tilted her head at him.
Kirk looked between them in confusion. Both maintained a stoic countenance. For several minutes this continued until Buffy smiled.
“What?” Kirk asked.
“Nothing,” Buffy replied, not quite looking at him.
“You have an interesting mind, Lieutenant Winters,” Spock stated.
She winced. “I’m still so regretting that name.”
“Why did you choose it?’ Kirk asked.
“They were what popped into mind when I created the birth certificate, I wasn’t thinking about living with it.” She grimaced. “Not that my name was all that great.”
“Speaking of, there is a matter that needs to be addressed,” Kirk reminded her.
“Of course.” She replied solemnly.
“Does her name change the results of her tests or accomplishments?” Spock countered softly.
Kirk looked her over carefully. “No. Nor does it change her willingness to join us on Nero’s ship.”
“Currently, Enterprise does not have a secondary tactical officer.”
Kirk frowned. “That would be rewarding her with a bridge position.”
Spock nodded. “There are, however, two weeks before the position has to be filled. In the interim, perhaps she can be given an assignment that is not as prestigious until you make your decision.”