Chapter Text
“This Saturday will mark the fourth year since the sudden death of Star MC983 resulting in the tragic destruction of Starbase Kcorlehs. As in previous years, Federation Bases across the galaxies will hold a memorial to honor the lives lost. Even today, scientists are left with no clues as to the cause of the unexpected and sudden death of Star MC983. On Earth,-”
Hyunwoo clicked the program off and finished the last dregs of coffee. Four years didn’t make it any easier to swallow. A nonsensical death toll that included his mother. An event that led to the birth of the U.S.S. Newton and many other newly minted Federation vessels.
He stood from the chair, stretching. It was going to be a rough week for many people, but there was work to be done as always.
“Captain’s Log, Stardate 54873.3. Our destination is the port of Akleron on Thalos IV. It is believed the stolen vaccination cargo from the U.S.S. Tera is being sold on the black market. Sources point to Akleron as a probable point of distribution. At this time our directive is to gather intel and report to Starfleet for further command. Chief Engineer Officer Jooheon will be updating systems aboard the U.S.S. Starglider and is expected to return tomorrow. Acting Chief Engineer in his absence is Lieutenant Matthew.”
Hyunwoo stepped out from the ready room and onto the command bridge, scanning the activity on his deck before taking his seat in the captain’s chair. He would never tire of this view: the helm and the great beyond. Since he was small boy zooming around the estate with a toy U.S.S. Enterprise, his dream of becoming a captain on a United Star Ship never once faltered. He spent his entire youth working towards a captaincy and knew exactly what was needed to get there. He wasn’t content to simply check off the requirements leading up to the title. He aimed for excellence, achieved the highest scores, won the most awards and shouldered the most responsibility. Always ten steps beyond his closest competitors, barring one who nipped at his heals the whole way, his rival, Park Hyungsik. A lifetime of hard, driven effort that culminated in commanding the U.S.S. Newton.
The Newton has been active for nearly two years. The initial proposal for the vessel was an experiment of sorts for Starfleet. While many new vessels had been built after the tragedy four years ago, the key crew and positions went to seniors among other well-established ships. The captain and crew of the Newton, conversely, was comprised wholly of new graduates from Starfleet. Students and cadets that had been put on a fast track due to the dire need for Starfleet personnel. It was a notion heavily ridiculed; a ship of untested crew and officers. His fellow graduates asked what possessed him to take the position when he could have had his pick. He was offered second in command aboard numerous prestigious United Star Ships that would have eventually led to inheriting the captaincy down the road. That was the way it was typically done. His career would have been set. Everyone seemed to think the Newton was a deathtrap for a captain’s career. Hyunwoo had his reasons for accepting the position, but more than anything, he knew in his gut that it was the beginning of something great. Additionally, he loved a challenge.
He had been right to follow that gut instinct. Only months after its christening, the USS Newton began to prove their merit.
The ship was tasked with a multitude of responsibilities, one being the advancement of science and academia. Fifty percent of the ship’s population is comprised of scientists or scholars. Himself and his council selected only the best the Academy had to offer over a two-month period of extensive interviews and checks. The brightest and most innovative minds in a plethora of fields including science, medical, engineering, technology, psychology, the arts, anthropology, history, economics, language, cuisine. Within months, they turned out findings and reports that left the ship’s critics eating their words.
The other fifty percent was devoted to the diplomatic side. Starfleet charged them with missions for peacekeeping, negotiations, aide and rescue. He, his commanding officers, council and soldiers carried out these orders. There was yet to be a mission they couldn’t complete satisfactorily. A ship of ‘kids’ was outperforming even the most recognized and revered of United Star Ships, not that it was a competition. He sometimes had to remind himself that smugness wasn’t a good look on anybody.
And then there was the covert facet of the Newton. A facet most of the ship was oblivious to. This task force was referred to as Unit X, a sect of Section 31, which consisted of himself, Commander Lee Hoseok, Lieutenant Chae Hyungwon, Dr. Im Changkyun plus a select few highly trained members. There was no other word for it: espionage. They gathered intel on persons, peoples, even other U.S.S. vessels and then acted accordingly. Their orders came from above, a few, high-ranking leaders of the United Federation of Planets. They would supply a name, government, group or ship deemed as a possible threat and Unit X would get to work. Most Star Ships consisted of crews with a traditional, decorated military background, like himself and Im Changkyun. Unit X was mostly comprised of former soldiers that came from the darker depths of the military, black-ops soldiers like Lee Hoseok and Chae Hyungwon. On a day to day basis, Unit X members blended into various departments on the ship, their day jobs. In only two years, a concerning number of nefarious plans and conspiracies had been thwarted and uncovered. The need for Newton’s secret task force, unfortunately, proven time and time again. They did it all and they did it well: infiltration, surveillance, hacking, interrogation, seduction, recruitment and when necessary, assassination. When sleep evaded him late into the night, he sometimes thought they did it too well.
He took great pride in the Newton. He brought the best onto the ship and expected the best from them in return. The crew more than delivered. Their reputation placed the Newton at the forefront of Starfleet, a shining example of excellence across the board. Invitations and requests came in from across the galaxies. Her scientists, doctors, and specialists on a near constant tour of conferences and seminars. Ambassadors and leaders requested the U.S.S. Newton specifically as a point of contact.
They were busy. Yet, the cafeteria was always full of laughter and animated conversations. The gymnasium courts loud with activity and games. He had been to ten weddings this year already. The crew lived well on the ship. As they were all new graduates when they stepped aboard, no one had a family of their own. They made their home and families aboard the ship. It was a beautiful place to live. Forty years from now, he’d most likely hand the reigns over to another young, eager captain. But, for now, she was his to command and her legacy only just beginning.
Hyungwon smoothly walked onto the command deck like he wasn’t seventeen minutes late.
“Mr. Chae, nice of you to finally join us. How many hours will this make? Twenty?” Hyunwoo inquired.
Hyungwon relieved Lieutenant Yeoreum from her station and slipped into his seat. She gave him a pitying smile. “Twenty-six, Captain.”
“I’ve been thinking. All these hours spent cultivating crops in the horticulture zone isn’t cutting it anymore. From now on, why don’t we subtract time from your leave instead? One hour for each minute late.”
Hyungwon’s face twisted, but he dutifully replied, “Yes, Captain.”
Hyunwoo smiled. He ran a tight ship. Orders were meant to be followed. It’s how they stayed safe and thriving. Thankfully, his orders were followed…for the most part; a certain frustrating doctor and a lanky pilot did come to mind. He leveled Hyungwon with a quelling stare.
--
Kihyun wearily entered his quarters, rubbing his neck. Hours spent over a microscope was killer, but followed by emergency surgery for Ambassador Thierry’s daughter? He was supposed to be off duty four hours ago and he was dead on his feet. The door slid closed behind him with a hiss. Discarding his boots in the front closet, he flipped on the power and stripped out of his uniform and underwear on the way to the closet. He pulled on a pair of silky pajama pants and tugged his favorite sweatshirt over his head. The fresh clothes felt cool against his skin. Bliss.
In the kitchen, he poured a glass of wine and grabbed the whole bottle at the last second before heading to the couch. Languidly stretching out over the leather cushions, he sighed and fished out the tablet from between the cushions. Time to catch up with the world of medicine. The U.S.S. Savior was doing brilliant things with Acanthobothrium zimmeri. He was honestly kind of jealous he hadn’t thought of using it that way first. He chastised himself. A win for medicine is a win for everyone.
One glass later, Kihyun switched the tablet off and stuffed it back into the cushions. Flipping onto his back, he stared at the ceiling. It mirrored dark, tumultuous clouds, fluttering with lightning. The night sky was too dark to see the rainfall, but he could hear it. Could almost smell the honeysuckle he knew to be below that sky. He’d set the hologram to the sky of his home town the first day on the ship.
His body was warm and pliant from the wine and he sunk further into the cushions. Minhyuk said he was a lightweight. In his defense, anyone would be labeled a lightweight next to Minhyuk. He breathed in contentment. This really was the life, he thought, looking around. He’d taken great care in decorating his quarters. The furniture was one of a kind. The shelves littered with rare books and pretty trinkets he collected from planets they visited. His vanity and shower neatly cluttered with the most expensive, luxurious products. Clothes and bedding made from the finest materials. After actually having money for the first time in his life, he had discovered a crippling weakness for extravagant things.
If someone had told Kihyun two years ago that he had expensive tastes, he would have died laughing. He came from a blue-collar family in an agricultural district. While they were certainly never in want for anything, there definitely wasn’t anything left over after the bills had been paid. It was a modest but happy life cut too short by the death of his parents. He still vividly remembered being pulled from class and driven to the hospital. They had gotten sick from GDDM exposure at work. A leak in the pipes. There was nothing the doctors could do for them. He spent their final days at their bedsides in the hospital, waiting for the inevitable. He was thirteen. His world collapsed.
Then government officials came and placed him in an orphanage close to the capitol. He wallowed in anger for months until bit by bit that anger transformed into fierce determination. Those doctors that couldn’t do anything? He was going to become a doctor that could. And that was exactly what he did. He spent every waking moment with a tablet in front of his eyes, absorbing every piece of information until he could quote the reports, textbooks, and trials back verbatim. The headmaster had him tested and was subsequently sent to a science school on a scholarship. He excelled and when he graduated, continued on to Starfleet Science Academy on another scholarship for medicine.
It was during his time as a graduate student that a treatment was developed by the U.S.S. Savior’s medical department for the same poison that had taken his parents. He was surprised to find that even though the spark for his crusade had been resolved, his love and passion for the medical field still flared bright. Brighter, even. He knew with absolute certainty that he needed to find a way onto the U.S.S. Newton, a fledgling star ship that was tasked with the procurement and analyses of microorganisms, lifeforms, elements and so forth from newly discovered planets. The Newton was also tasked with a multitude of other duties and missions from the Federation. However, that wasn’t his area. Half the ship belonged to science and academia and the other half to soldiers and diplomats. He never paid the other half any attention unless he was needed. When Kihyun left the ship, it was generally to present research, provide vaccinations to a village, or treat an outbreak somewhere. Thankfully, the amount of times he’s had to gallivant into dangerous situations with the likes of Captain Hyunwoo, Commander Lee or Lieutenant Chae could be counted on one hand. He was more than content to treat the crew and civilians on board and commit himself to research.
Out of the 638 Starfleet medical graduates that applied for Chief Medical Officer, he was chosen. Then, Lee Minhyuk, his best friend, his family, was selected for the science department. He remembered Minhyuk barging into their dorm announcing his acceptance as Chief Science Officer. They’d held each other, jumping up and down on the bed, popped champagne and celebrated into the morning.
Now, at twenty-four, he was the happiest he’d ever been. He was doing what he loved every day. He followed his own interests and led his own research. Over time, he even allowed his family to expand beyond Minhyuk. Life couldn’t be more perfect and with his leave officially underway, he had the next four days to do as he pleased. And he would, right after he completed his three hours of community service tomorrow morning. He poured another glass and grimaced. Honestly, who got detention at 24 years old? They even made him wear an orange apron. It brought to mind the inmates he used to see picking up trash on the highway back home. He wasn’t a criminal, he was a doctor, a damn good one at that. It’s not like it was his fault that man needed immediate attention as a hurricane of acid rain was approaching. ‘Return to the ship immediately. That’s an order.’ Really, Captain? Captain Son ought to know better by now. Regardless, he’s been paying for saving that man’s life for the past month.