Chapter Text
Captain Michael Wheeler was widely considered one of Starfleet’s rising stars. He’d received top marks in the academy, and several commendations in the course of his service, not to mention a glowing recommendation from his time as a first officer. Now he’d been made a captain, and was on the verge of receiving his first starship command at the almost unheard-of youthful age of 30.
So it was incredible how he managed to feel like a nervous cadet again as he tapped the buzzer on the door in front of him.
“Come!” said a booming voice from within.
Mike stepped forward, the door sliding open automatically to allow him access. He’d entered an office, large but spartan, with only the furnishings needed for functionality. One of those furnishings was a broad wooden desk, and behind that desk was the hulking form of Admiral Hopper.
“Captain Wheeler,” he said by way of greeting. Indicating a chair in front of his desk, he added, “Sit.”
Just like him to phrase an invitation as a command. Mike had encountered Admiral Hopper several times in his years with Starfleet, and yet he’d never managed to overcome how intimidating he found the man to be. Hopper made him feel like a teenage boy whenever they were in the same room together. “Sir,” he responded politely, sitting in the offered chair.
Hopper offered him a courteous but perfunctory smile through his bushy moustache, eyes remaining enigmatic. “I wanted to discuss crew assignments for the Hawkins with you before you take her on her maiden voyage.”
Mike swallowed. “Was there a problem with my requests, sir?”
“Problem?” Hopper lifted an eyebrow. “No. No problem. In fact, your senior staff uniformly leaped at the assignments when they were offered.” He lifted a datapad that had been sitting in front of him, scrolling carelessly through its contents. “I notice that most of them graduated the same year that you did. Academy friends?”
Mike nodded. “Yes, sir. We’ve kept in touch in the years since, too.”
Hopper gave a thoughtful humph . “Well, that makes sense. If you’ve already got a rapport with your officers, that’ll make the job that much easier. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how important it is to have people around that you can trust.” He leaned forward on his desk, propping his weight on his elbows. “In point of fact, that brings me to want I wanted to discuss with you: trust .”
It took all of Mike’s restraint not to lean back away from Hopper. “I don’t follow you, sir.”
“Hm,” said Hopper with a slight chuckle, as though he’d said something funny. He lifted the datapad again, pulled up a file on it, then slid it across the desk to Mike. “You will be receiving one additional assignment to your staff beyond who you requested,” he said.
Mike took the pad. It was currently displaying a Starfleet personnel file. “Eleven… Hopper…?” he read aloud. The first name was confusing, but the second was alarming. “Related, I take it?” he asked, a sense of dread settling into his stomach.
“My daughter,” explained Hopper. “Although I’ve only known of her existence for a few years. It’s a long and complicated story.”
“Well, I--”
“I met her mother during my starship days,” continued Hopper. “She was Tymbrimi--I don’t suppose you’re familiar?” Mike shook his head negative. “Not many are. They’re an insular species--not xenophobic, mind you, just their psychology is different enough that relating to the rest of the galaxy can be difficult.”
“And you, ah…” Mike wasn’t sure how to finish the query.
“Call it a whirlwind romance,” said Hopper, moustache twitching into a wry grin. “Of course, I had to move on, and didn’t think much on it beyond the odd nostalgic reminiscence. Imagine my surprise, then, when five years ago a young woman turned up on my doorstep claiming to be my daughter.”
“That… must have been a shock.”
“Understatement, Captain Wheeler. Nonetheless, she was telling the truth, so I’ve tried my best to do right by her.”
“I see.” Mike’s eyes flicked down to the datapad. “Why ‘Eleven’?”
Hopper shrugged. “It’s how she introduced herself to me. I gather it’s the literal translation of her Tymbrimi name. She won’t explain more than that--says it’d be too hard for me to understand. Most people just call her El.”
Mike frowned down at her file. Special Liaison Lieutenant Eleven Hopper . Even with the backstory, it still brought up a lot of question marks. “Permission to speak freely, sir?” he asked, lifting his gaze back up to Hopper.
“Granted,” Hopper grunted.
“Why, exactly, are you assigning her to my ship?”
Hopper’s eyes twinkled, as though he approved of the question. “I’ve done my best to ease my daughter into life in the Federation, Captain Wheeler. But she spent the first twenty-four years of her life in an incredibly insular culture. She’s itching to get out there and see the galaxy for what it is, and I will no longer stand in her way.”
Mike’s lips pursed. “If you’ll forgive my saying so, sir… this is sounding dangerously close to nepotism.”
“I can see how it would,” replied Hopper. “But all I did was help her find opportunities. She seized them on her own, and she’s earned her place in Starfleet just as surely as anybody else on your ship. Furthermore, her Tymbrimi heritage has gifted her with certain… abilities, that I believe will be useful to you and your ship. You can trust me on that.” His gaze grew more intense. “Ah. There’s that word again: trust .”
Mike swallowed.
“To be clear, Captain Wheeler, I am not asking for any special treatment for my daughter. I am merely trying to impress upon you that she will be on board your ship, which means that I am trusting you with her welfare. Do you understand me?”
What exactly was he implying with that? “What I understand, sir,” Mike replied stiffly, “is that your daughter will be a member of my crew. I have a duty to my crew, one that I take very seriously.” All fear now forgotten, he met Hopper’s gaze square on. “I will be looking out for your daughter’s welfare because I will be looking out for the welfare of every single person on the Hawkins . If you doubt that, then you doubt my integrity as a Starfleet officer. Do you understand me ?”
To his surprise, Hopper’s eyes were gleaming as he finished talking. Was that a test? Did I just pass? “Well, that’s all that I can fairly ask of you, Captain,” said Hopper. “Dismissed.”
Mike acknowledged with an incline of his head, then rose from the chair and exited Hopper’s office. He only made it a few feet down the hallway, however, before he suddenly found himself needing to lean against the wall.
Jesus, did I just tell off Admiral Hopper?!
- - -
Mike’s shock didn’t last long, however, steadily getting displaced by a growing sense of elation as he strode towards the docks of Starbase 715. Not even Admiral Hopper’s strange revelations could change the fact that this moment was the one that his life had been building towards ever since he’d signed up for Starfleet Academy. Every cadet, he was sure, harbored a private fantasy of sitting in the command chair of a starship--and now, that fantasy was about to become his reality.
The doors to the docks were up ahead. In front of them was standing a dark-skinned man in a smartly maintained Starfleet uniform, the red paneling marking him as a command officer. “Captain,” the man said in greeting as Mike approached.
Mike smiled at him. “We’re off-duty, Lucas.”
Lucas smiled back at him, a broad toothy grin that Mike remembered all too well. “Mike,” he amended. The two men stepped together into a tight embrace that ended with a mutual affectionate slap on each other’s backs.
“Look at you,” said Mike, looking down at his friend’s uniform. “Those commander’s pips look good on you.”
“Not as good as those captain’s pips look on you,” responded Lucas. “It’ll be an honor to be your first officer.”
“The honor’s mine,” said Mike. “Honestly, even if you weren’t my old friend, I probably would’ve picked you on your record alone.”
Lucas laughed. “Now that is a compliment, coming from you of all people.”
“ Guuuuuuuuuys! ” The cry rang through the hallway, and Lucas and Mike turned toward its source to see a curly-haired figure in a blue science uniform barreling towards them at high speed. They only had a moment to brace themselves before the figure plowed into them and wrapped them both into a bear hug. “Holy shit, it is so good to see you guys again!” exclaimed Dustin.
“Language,” chided Mike.
“What happened to being off-duty?” Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Decorum is 24/7,” replied Mike, though his attempt to keep a straight face as he looked back at Lucas failed miserably, and the two dissolved into laughter as they returned Dustin’s hug.
“Am I interrupting something here?” said a wry voice.
The three men turned. “Well, well, well,” said Lucas in an equally wry voice. “As I live and breathe--Maxine Mayfield!”
The interloper--a woman with a mane of searingly red hair wearing a gold operations uniform--tried her best to glare at him, though the effect was ruined by the smile that was creeping across their face. “That’s Security Chief Mayfield to you on-duty, and Max off-duty,” she said. “Only my mother calls me Maxine, and then only when I’m in a good mood. You know that, Lucas Sinclair.”
“Of course I do. How else would I know how to get you riled up?”
Max stepped forward to give Lucas a playful cuff on the shoulder, but it quickly turned into an embrace, followed by her embracing Mike and Dustin in turn. “Look at us, back together again,” she said. “And I suppose we have you to thank for it, Captain Wheeler .”
Mike grinned at her. “You can’t blame me for wanting the best crew I could possibly have, can you?”
She snorted. “I suppose Will’s already on board?”
“Oh, they’ve got to be running him ragged already,” Dustin said. “Shakedown, final checks, all of that jazz.”
“Meaning he’s probably happy as a Bolian partygoer,” added Lucas.
“That makes all of us, then,” Max said. “Shall we?”
“Ah,” said Mike, suddenly looking down the length of the hallway. “Not quite all of us, actually.”
The other three looked at him quizzically, then turned to follow his gaze down the hall. A lone figure was advancing towards them with a purposeful stride, dragging a rolling suitcase behind her.
Even without knowing that she was half-Tymbrimi, or Admiral Hopper’s daughter, Mike would’ve easily picked out Eleven Hopper in a crowd. There was something in her bearing that marked her as different. Maybe it was the way her even gaze took in everything around her with equal interest. Maybe it was the way that she seemed to flow through the space around her, as though she knew her place in it utterly. Maybe it was the fact that she was walking through a Starfleet base in a plain tunic and slacks. Somehow, Mike doubted it was just that last one.
“Captain Wheeler,” she said as she drew up to the group, nodding at him in greeting.
“Lieutenant Hopper,” he replied, nodding back. “You’re out of uniform.”
She didn’t even blink. “We’re currently off-duty and thus not required to be in uniform,” she replied evenly.
Mike drew in an exasperated breath. “True, but Starfleet tradition--”
“--is all well and good, but not grounds for you to reprimand me,” El interrupted, tone unchanged. “I will change into my uniform once I have settled aboard the ship. Will that satisfy you?”
“Yes,” replied Mike with a sigh, then added, “You’re right. My apologies.”
“Accepted,” said El. She gave him a smile that was slight but genuine. “I’m sure that preparing for your first command has you quite excited. Shall we board?”
“Who--?” Dustin began to whisper as El brushed past them.
“Later,” Mike murmured back. Together, the five of them moved toward the docks doors, which slid slowly open with a ceremonious rumble. As they parted, they revealed the slight form of Will Byers waiting behind them.
Mike grinned. “Well hello, Will.”
Excitement shone out of Will’s face as he looked at his friends gathered before him. “Mike! Everyone! You--” A flicker of confusion crossed his face as he noticed El, but he recovered quickly. “--you finally made it!”
“Wouldn’t miss this for the galaxy,” Mike said. He and his friends stepped forward and one by one greeted Will with a hug or a friendly clap on the arm, save for El, who simply gave him another of her small nods.
“Well,” said Will, once the excitement had died down slightly. “I’m willing to bet that you’re all eager to see her?”
“Quit holding out on us, Byers,” replied Max.
“That’d be a yes, then.” Will grinned at them. “Step right this way.”
The group moved over to a window overlooking the cavernous interior of the docks. As long as he had been readying himself for this moment, Mike was still taken off guard by the emotion that filled his breast when he saw the starship docked below. An oval disc of a main hull sat framed by two warp nacelles slung underneath, and a triangular auxiliary structure mounted above. The ship sat serenely as smaller craft buzzed around it, performing last-minute outer hull checks.
“ Nebula -class, NCC-1983. Better known as the USS Hawkins ,” said Will.
They all gazed down at it for a long moment, entranced. Finally, Dustin broke the silence. “It’s--”
“--pretty,” El murmured.
Mike gave her a bemused sideways glance. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Really pretty.” That was an understatement; he thought that the Hawkins was the most beautiful starship that he had ever laid eyes on.
Of course, he might have been a bit biased on that point.
“All right, crew,” he said, stepping back from the window. “As much as I’m sure that we could stand here and stare at her all day, I’m sure it’ll be even better to get on board her. Who’s with me?” A cheer went up from the rest of the group in response; even El flashed a brilliant, excited smile. “All right. All crew aboard!” They turned and took off along the dock’s walkway, and for a moment they were once again a gaggle of excited cadets, ready to embark on their great Starfleet adventure.
- - -
“Captain on the bridge!” Lucas called as he walked through the doors. Mike followed a step and a half behind him, smiling internally as he saw the crew on the bridge leap up from their seats and stand at attention.
“As you were,” he said. Most of the crew returned to the tasks they had been engaged in; however, one young woman with brown skin and dark hair stepped away from the helm and towards him.
“Captain Wheeler?” she asked. She stuck her hand out towards him. “Lieutenant junior grade--”
“--Kali Prasad,” Mike finished, giving her a smile as he shook her hand. “Yes, I was certain to read up on my helm officer before I came aboard. It’s a pleasure to have you, Lieutenant.”
Kali beamed at him. “It’s my pleasure to be here, sir.” With that, she turned around and returned to her post.
Mike spared a glance around the bridge. It wasn’t the largest that he’d ever seen, but it was comfortable; it felt right to him. Max had made her way over to the tactical station and was examining its controls with an expression of giddy bliss. Lucas had taken a standing post leaning against the side of one of the secondary control boards, and raised his eyebrows significantly as he and Mike briefly caught each other’s gazes. Dustin and Will had already split off from the rest of them--Will returning to tend to business in Engineering, while Mike was sure that Dustin was currently going through the ship’s laboratory like a toddler in a candy store. That left… Mike’s eye fell on the operations console, which was standing conspicuously empty.
The door on the opposite end of the bridge from where Mike had entered whispered open, and El strode in. As promised, she had changed out of her plain civilian clothes and into her uniform--gold for operations. “Captain,” she said in greeting.
“Lieutenant Hopper,” Mike replied. “I’m to understand that you’ll be filling the role of operations officer for the time being?”
“For as long as you find me capable, sir,” she said with a nod.
She doesn’t sound like she thinks that’s in question. The thought stirred a trace of amusement in Mike. “Very well. To your post, then.” El turned fluidly and set herself down at the operations console. Kali looked up from what she was doing to offer her new neighbor a smile, which El returned to her in the small-but-warm fashion that Mike was starting to suspect was going to be typical of her. At least it looks like they’ll get along .
Mike turned back to Lucas, who was gazing at El with an expression of deep skepticism. When he noticed Mike looking, though, he shook his head as if ridding himself of whatever he was thinking, and reached out to pat the back of the chair he was standing next to.
The chair.
It stood in the exact center of the bridge, raised two steps up from the lower half of the bridge on a small dais protruding from the rear platform. It was deceptively plain in design, but it still set Mike’s heart racing as he slowly walked toward it.
“You know you’ve sat in the chair before, right?” Lucas said as he approached.
“Yeah, as first officer,” replied Mike. “This is different.”
“If you say so,” Lucas said, but he was smiling. In fact, everyone was smiling, Mike realized--Max from her position at the rear wall, Kali and El both looking over their shoulders from their consoles, all of the crew on the bridge who had suddenly stopped what they were doing. Everyone’s eyes were on Mike.
Ignoring the sudden twisting in his stomach, Mike stepped up the two steps to the captain’s chair and settled himself into it with what he hoped was appropriate gravity.
This is it .
Mike pressed a button on the chair’s arm to activate its built-in comm. “Mr. Byers, how are we looking in Engineering?”
“ If you’ll pardon the expression, Captain, we’re ship-shape, ” responded Will’s voice. “ Everything’s ready to go on your command .”
“Thank you, Mr. Byers.” Mike switched channels. “Mr. Henderson, we’re about to launch, so please lock down whatever it is you’re playing with.”
“ I have no idea what you’re talking about, ” Dustin said. Something clattered in the background.
“Right,” said Mike, unable to suppress a grin. “You’ve got one minute.” He changed over to an open comm, broadcasting through the entire ship. “Crew of the USS Hawkins , this is Captain Michael Wheeler,” he said. “I want to take a moment to thank you all for being here for the maiden voyage of this ship. We may all come from wildly different places, and we may all have taken wildly different paths to get here--” he found himself suddenly locking gazes with El “--but I have faith in your ability to come together as a crew and get the job done. And I will strive, in turn, to be equal to the faith that you place in me as your captain.” El was still holding his gaze as he closed the comm; he raised his eyebrows at her slightly, and with one last small smile she turned back to her console.
“Well, that’s enough for ceremony,” said Mike, turning his attention to the viewscreen. “Ms. Prasad, take us out of dock--nice and easy.”
“Aye, sir,” replied Kali. She touched a control on her screen, and Mike felt a deep, humming vibration beneath his feet as the Hawkins ’ engines came to life. On the viewscreen, the interior of the dock began to slowly slide past them. A hush had fallen over the bridge, everybody’s gazes locked on the patch of space at the far end of the dock as it grew larger and larger.
Then at last they reached it, and a cheer went up as they pulled free of the docks, sliding into the space beyond Starbase 715.
“The Hawkins is away,” said Mike, not caring about the huge, stupid grin plastered over his face. “Mr. Sinclair, what’s our first assignment?”
Lucas looked slyly over at him, though he was wearing a similar grin. “Patrol through the Levy system, and a handful of surrounding systems.”
“Starting us off easy? Well, I suppose I can live with that for now.” Mike leaned back in his chair. “Ms. Prasad, lay in a course for the Levy system, warp 4.”
“Course laid in, sir.”
“Engage!”
The ship thrummed as the warp core powered up, sending the Hawkins off on its first mission.