9:00, The Urgent Meeting

Night fell over Starfleet like dark cloud of black smoke, pinpricked with stars. Bright lights in buildings become lanterns in the darkness. Traffic in starships had seared off with the night. It was almost peaceful to say, but the meeting with the Starfleet council would be anything, but peaceful.

Brystal strode after her mother who carried their datapads, entering the meeting room. Brystal held her head high up, back straighter than a toothpick once again. Her mother smiled across from her.

"This is probably the first time I'll see you in the captains chair. My Demi leading a whole starship," Ava smiled at Brystal.

"Mom!!" Brystal exclaimed in a whisper, slightly embarrassed, "I just hope I don't f-mess it up."

Her eyes were set dead straight into nothing like everybody's. Brystal looked to see her father was walking with..

"Jim." She whispered, the sudden ache in her heart. The honor she seemed to suddenly have of being a captain that once was Jim's glory, it seemed her father had chosen him as his first officer. She kept on walking until she reached an elevator, realizing she was stuck in an elevator with Spock.

It was an airway silence between the two. Brystal was still angry at Spock backstabbing her and Jim, but she didn't even know if Spock seemed to care. Then again, how was she to know when he was a Vulcan, an emotionless species. 

"Commander-" Spock began. 

"No, it's captain now. I was promoted, Jim was demoted, and you were reassigned." Brystal cut him off.

"It was fortunate that consequences were more severe." Spock stated, seeming ignorant to her.

"Oh, please!" Brystal said, sarcastically, "You backstabbed us. Such a friend you turned out to be."

"It was never my intention." Spock told her.

"Jim saved your life. You wrote a report, and now he lost the Enterprise because of you." Brystal stated, firmly. The doors of the elevator slid open, allowing them out. Brystal walked slowly behind him, keeping his same pace. Her anger was calm and maintained as she looked at the Vulcan.

"Captain, I see now I should have alerted you the fact I submitted the report," Spock said.

"Oh, you think? I know your compulsion to follow the rules, but here's something you should know. Breaking the rules sometimes is better than to let someone down or your crew. As far as I know you don't stab someone in the back after they just saved you." Brystal shot back at him.

"Vulcans cannot lie." Spock stated.

"I'm talking to the half-human of you," Brystal said, turning to look directly at him, "Don't you understand why he went back for you?"

"Mr. Spock? Guess you're with me. Frank Abbott, USS Bradbury." A tall, dark skinned, middle aged man came up to the two, "Captain Pike." Brystal felt her heart sting at those words.

"Captain Abbott." Brystal nodded her head. Spock began to wall off with Abbott.

Admiral Marcus sat down at the far end of the large oval table. The room was dimly lit by city lights, illuminated by tall datapad screens. Numerous people sat around the table, looking at their screens.

Admiral Callius seated himself on the other side of the room. His and Brystal's eyes met knowing that the situation was important. Even at a time like this he should've had his right hand man Issac by his side, but Issac had family matters.

Brystal found herself seated close to her father, but she was seated Jim. Jim didn't acknowledge her, which hurt her even more. Her mother sat across from her, noticing the look on her face. Admiral Marcus cleared his throat, beginning the meeting.

"Thank you for convening on such short notice. By now, some of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet archive. Now it's a damned hole in the ground with Forty-two men and women dead. One hour ago, I received a confession from the man who carried out this attack, saying he was being force by a man to do this, Commander John Harrison. He is a man of our own. And he has committed savagery. For unknown reasons, he has declared a one man army against Starfleet. And under no circumstances are we allowing him into Federation space. You're all here to represents the senior command of all the best vessels in the region. In the name of those who lost their lives, you will run this bastard down. This is a manhunt."

Brystal looked at the picture of John Harrison on her datapad screen, examining every detail about him. Icy blue eyes, dark black hair slicked back, and pale skin. She looked at the picture closely, seeing a large bag, looking to see Jim meet her eyes. Something was in that bag, and it couldn't be good.

They both looked to see Spock had the same look. Spock looked at the two before looking towards Admiral Marcus again. Brystal didn't notice her mothers slight shiver as she looked at the picture, memories swirling her.

"This man has showed willingness to kill innocent people, so the rules of engagement are simple. If you come across this man and fear of your life or of those live near you, you are authorized to use lethal weapons," Marcus stated.

"What's in the bag?" Jim whispered to her father. Her father rolled his eyes, annoyed of Jim already. She looked at her father intently, waiting for him to notice the same danger they did.

"Not now, James," Pike whispered back.

"It doesn't seem odd to you that he attacked an archive? It's like bombing a library." Jim whispered, catching Marcus's attention.

"Chris. Everything alright over there?" Marcus asked them.

"Yes, sir. Kirk is still acclimating to his new position as First Officer."

"You got something to say, kid, say it." Marcus ordered from Jim. Jim tightened his mouth, trying not to muster another word.

"My apologies, admiral." Kirk finally said, receiving a bewildered look from Brystal.

"Spit it out son," Marcus asked again, Brystal cleared her throat, sending looks towards her.

"What Mr. Kirk was asking Admiral Pike was what's in the bag. I also find it odd he's carrying such  a large bag that wouldn't be able to fit archive information, and also the fact, Why the archives?" Brystal spoke up.

"That information is public record, and if he really wanted to damage Starfleet it would just be the beginning." Jim said after her. All eyes were suddenly, bore onto them.

"The beginning of what, Mr. Kirk?" Marcus asked.

"It is peculiar Harrison would commandeer a jumpship without warp capabilities." Spock agreed. A bright beam of white light erupted in the room. Everyone stood up, quickly to see a ship in front of them.

Engine sounds whirring, lights beamed on the council. Brystal blinked her eyes, trying to see who was controlling the ship. She found herself staring into the eye of the criminal, John Harrison. The sound of cannons charging for fire became inevitable as gunfire came at the council.

"Brystal!" Her mother screamed, threw her down to the ground. Fire blasted the glass, sending shards everywhere. Screams started everywhere, people falling to the ground, hiding under tables for cover. The meeting was being reduced to rubble in seconds.

Brystal looked up, feeling a sudden sting in her neck. She rubbed her hand quickly on her neck, feeling trickle of blood hit her hand. She reached her hand, quickly picking up a large phaser rifle. Jim had also grabbed a phaser, and they both looked at each other.

"Cover me!" She yelled at him. She broke into a run, her legs pumping hard over to a part of the building that hadn't been hit yet. Jim ran after her, firing his gun at the ship. They looked over at each other, searching the room for Spock.

Spock was dragging injured Admirals away from the gunfire. Brystal knew they had to do something fast, they had to escape Harrison's attack. Security guards fell to the floor as they were hit by gunfire. Jim and Brystals were up against their wall, breathing hard from shock

"You need to get out of here!" Jim shouted at her.

"I can't leave them behind!" Brystal shouted back, "And I can't fucking leave you!" Jim looked at her upon realizing he couldn't argue with her.

"Do you see the anything we could use?!?" Jim shouted over the gunfire. Brystal looked around frantically, her eyes settling on a large shaped missal. Behind a still, and not shattered across the floor glass hiding behind it.

Brystal extended her arm, punching the glass, sending glass shards everywhere, "I found this!" Jim looked at her as she grabbed at the large missal into her hands. He rushed over quickly to help her. The metal hitting their hands as they looked to see the small ship still firing onto the Admirals. Brystal angered her expression, hard ending her grip on the heavy missal, oddly not too heavy.

"Ready?!?" Brystal asked Jim."

"Always." Jim shouted back. They heaved the missal straight towards the open windows, throwing the missal straight into the ships propeller at the bottom. Brystal felt a sense of triumph until she heard the zipping sound of rope whip past her head.

Her and Jim both turned simultaneously to see the rope holding the missal in against the wall was zipping last them. The walls of concrete cracked sending bars of metal shooting. They both swung their bodies out of the way, hearing the metal crunch inside the propellers of Harrison!s ship. 

Brystal looked up only to meet up with Harrison's icy blue eyes. A cold, unreadable stare across his face as white swirling light wrapped around her body. His ship tilted and heeled as it plunged downwards seconds later....he wasn't even in the spacecraft.

Those eyes. Where else had she seen them?

Brystal knew Jim was limping and he couldn't hide it well. Fire and smoke imploding as Harrison's ship crashed to the ground. Imploded glass all over the floor, crouching as she walked.

Callius and Issac Merlin were now both observing the damage. Issac had an arm over Callius, almost in a comforting way to his trainer. They watched as the autumn flames grow from outside.

She searched the room, seeing medical teams had started to arrive. Admirals been pulled up onto cots and hypos being hit into their necks. Her eyes locked onto Spock over her parents bodies.

"No...." She breathed, shuddering back a sharp pain of tears. She ran from Kirk, rushing to her parents side. Spock looked up at her in a sorrowful manner as she grabbed her parents hands. Her mother reached up with her other hand, fiddling with a loose strand of her daughters hair.

Brystal's fathers hand had already ran cold, and she began crying. His eyes were still open, frightened, and terrified with what had happened that night. She didn't seem to notice that Kirk or Spock were watching her cry over her parents.

"Brystal..." Her mother tried to speak, "Have I been forgiven yet? Thank god that I get see your face one last time."

"Shhh.....save your strength, please...." Brystal breathed, "I need you to stay with me." She couldn't control all the emotions she was feeling. She couldn't lose them, not now, not after she just got her mother back. Just not after when they became once more a family again. The family she needed to keep her going in this chaotic world.

"You by my side," Ava choked out, "One last time....."

"Please. You will live. It's too soon....too soon to say goodbye..." Brystal felt the tears sting her face as her heart began to burn holes. Her mother looked at her, smiling weakly, knowing nothing could be done.

"It's okay....You're here....I can die in peace...."Her mother shuddered as a sharp pain filled her body, "Don't forget.....Don't....." Her mothers eyes looked up at the ceiling, freezing directly in that spot. Brystal felt as if she stopped breathing, feeling her mothers blood grow cold in her hand, her eyes beginning to bring hot acid tears into her eyes.

"No....please......no...no!" Brystal begged her mothers dead body. Knowing there would be no response. Brystal felt a sharp pain in her whole body, causing her to crumple before Spock and Jim. Tears fell hard against her cheeks as she stared at her parents dead bodies. Jim caught her before she hit the ground, but she felt too numb even to feel his touch.

Crying was the only thing she could do.

2007 words