Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Captain’s log. As of 0200 hours, the Bangtan has maintained a standard orbit around the planet of Culvast. We await further signal from the research party-”

“Hey, Cap, from 1 to 10, what would you rate Admiral Adamms?”

“Better yet, Captain, what would you rate Admiral Adamms as-”

“On their signal we shall be ready to beam them aboard. Also please note that Lieutenant Kim and Commander Park shall be dealt with accordingly.” A beep sounded out as soon as the log was closed. The Captain looked up towards his navigators, well one navigator in particular.

“Really, Taehyung? That’s an official log. Starfleet will listen to that.” At least the chief navigator had the conscience to look slightly guilty.

“Yeah, Taehyung. How unprofessional of you.” The Captain leaned back in his chair far enough that when he turned his head he was fully able to see his chief communications officer.

“Don’t encourage him, Jimin.”

“What? I was scolding him!” The younger one squealed. Taehyung chuckled under his breath. 

“Sure you were.” Namjoon rolls his eyes, shuffling in his seat until he was comfortable. All three of them soon went back to work. Taehyung was leaning back with his feet on the console, a holopad in his hand; no doubt he was reading the newest report on some sort of star system or navigation technique. Jimin could be heard filling the room with quiet hums as they worked on decoding a few messages they had received from nearby systems. Namjoon ran through multiple reports he had received that day from various crew members, as well as reports sent up from the researchers on the planet’s surface. Admittedly he wasn’t sure what most of the reports meant, but he forwarded those towards the science officers on board before they could give him a headache.

“ Ssaet isso tamtad das shiras soomki. ” A man said as he entered the bridge, the sound of the turbo lift doors hissing behind him. 

“Jimin?” Namjoon asked, turning his head to look at his first officer.

“He said that you smell bad.” Jimins says, not looking up from his control panel.

“No I didn’t. I said it cold as a fuck in here.” The Scalnacian retorts, sending a glare towards the pink haired First Officer. Namjoon raises his eyebrows at the passing Chief Science Officer.

“Since when did you learn cuss words?” He asks in surprise. Without sparing him a second glance, Yoongi begins pressing various buttons and switches at his station.

“Since Hoseok began speak in Federation Standard again.”

“Begun speaking.” Jimin corrects, still focused on their translations.

“ Sidas isam totsa ssisadas, socsa. ” He mumbles, his green slit eyes piercing through Jimin’s pink uniform top.

“Don’t worry, Captain. He knows curse words in Scalnacian as well!” Jimin chirps, finally looking up. When they meet Yoongi’s eyes, they simply smile, their eyes disappearing into crescent moons. Namjoon rolls his eyes, smirking slightly at his two chief officers’ bickering.

“As you were, Commanders.” He says, shaking his head.

An hour or two passes by in blissful, if not boring, silence. Taehyung begins tapping out a steady rhythm on his console, having set his holopad aside around half an hour ago. His eyes are focused on the viewscreen, wide and glazed over. Anyone not accustomed to the younger’s characteristics would assume he was completely zoned out, but Namjoon could recognize the wonder in his expression. Taehyung was simply taking in the beauty and mystery of space.

“Captain,” Jimin’s voice rings throughout the silent bridge. “The researchers on the planet’s surface are hailing.”

“Put them on, Commander.” Within seconds the stars on the viewscreen are replaced with two people clad in the jumpsuits of Starfleet scientists. The woman is short, the top of her head reaching the man’s chest. Both are middle aged, wrinkles faintly marking their skin.

“Hello, I am Captain Kim Namjoon of the Starship Bangtan. We have been sent by Starfleet to transport you, your team, and your research to the Starbase Finne.” He says, a smile gracing his face, dimples showing. The two researchers smile back at him. The man answers.

“It is a pleasure, Captain Kim. I am Joshua Simms, this is my wife, Amelia.”

“We are ready whenever you are, Captain. We have 7 to beam aboard, including us, as well as twenty-seven crates of equipment and research.”

“With your permission, the crates will be transported directly to the storage bay while you and your people will be transported to one of our transporter rooms.”

“Sounds perfect, Captain.” Joshua nods.

“Then I will welcome you and your crew aboard shortly.” With that Namjoon nods at his First Officer who shuts down the communication. “Lieutenant Kim, prepare a route to the Starbase Finne, warp 6.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain!” The Tirmun practically bounces in joy as he begins messing with the controls in front of him.

“Commander Jung, head down to the storage bay and begin getting the crates to their proper location within our science department.”

“Yes, sir.” Yoongi says, standing from his station and making his way to the turbo lift. The doors hiss close behind him. Namjoon presses one of the various buttons on the armrest of his chair.

“Bridge to Engineering.”

“Engineering, sir!” A bright voice responds. Namjoon can practically hear him bouncing off the walls. 

“Meet me in Transporter Room 3, Lieutenant Commander Jung, be prepared to beam aboard 7 lifeforms as well as their cargo.”

“Yes, sir, Captain, sir!” Hoseok yells back into his comm. With that Namjoon closes the comm link and stands from the Captain’s chair.

“Commander Park, you have the chair.”

“Have fun, Captain.” Jimin says, making themself comfortable in the Captain’s chair. Namjoon huffs out a laugh before entering the turbolift. When inside, he presses the comm unit on the wall. 

“Three security officers meet me outside of Transporter Room 3.” As the doors open, he walks out, nodding to various crewmembers who acknowledged him. After walking through multiple corridors and halls, he finally turns the final corner, seeing three red shirts standing outside the transporter room. As he gets closer, he smiles, recognizing the Chief of Security.

“Lieutenant Commander Jeon, Lieutenant Suh, Ensign Lewis.

“Captain.” They say in unison.

“When the researchers are aboard, you three shall escort them to sickbay for checkups and from there to their quarters. Understood?”

“Yes, Captain.” Jungkook says. When he walks into the transporter room he sees two engineers behind the control panel. He smiles as the Chief Engineer looks up at him.

“Well, Captain, fancy seeing you here!” Hoseok laughs, leaning against the controls..

“Lieutenant Commander,” He chuckles. “Are you ready to beam them aboard?”

“Locked and loaded, Captain.” He says, earning a sigh from the other engineer.

“On your command, Captain.” Lieutenant Sherman says, ignoring the pout being sent his way from his Chief Officer.

“Hey, no fun, Sherman, that’s my line. And besides you might as well make it more fun like… ‘on your mark, get set, go!’ or ‘your wish is my command!’ or-”

“Beam them aboard, Sherman.” Namjoon cuts off Hoseok, earning himself an exasperated sigh and what sounded like an insult, although it was in what sounded like Scalnacian so he couldn't be too sure. Sherman acknowledges the order, and activates the transporter. Before their eyes, in shimmering white rings of light, appear the 7 researchers. As soon as they are fully materialized and they have gotten their bearings, Namjoon steps up to the platform.

“Welcome aboard the Bangtan.” He says, pride in his voice. They all exchange pleasantries, introducing themselves and speaking briefly about their excitement to return home to the Starbase.

“I have three security officers outside of this room. They will escort you to the med bay where our Chief Medic will give you a once over. From there, provided you are in a healthy condition, you will be escorted to your rooms.”

“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Captain,” Nora, one of the young women in the research team, says, stepping off the platform and stopping directly in front of the Captain. She gently sets her hand on his arm. “Won’t you escort us to the Medbay? Maybe give us a tour on the way? I’m sure no one knows this ship like you do.” 

“Well actually, that would be me, Miss!” Namjoon had to put a hand over his mouth in order to hide the chuckle that fell past his lips at Hoseok’s outburst. Before the Chief Engineer could say anymore, however, Nora cut him off, pouting up at the Captain.

“Still, I have never met these security guards, how can I trust them?”

“You only just met me.”

“Well… yes. But I trust you, Captain. There is just something about you.” She grins up at him. Namjoon clears his throat, stepping back slightly from her. Not getting the hint, she steps forward to be in his space once again.

“Is she… flirting? Is this how humans flirt? Is this how I should talk to Yoongi?” Hoseok begins firing off questions, leaning over the console and resting all his weight on his folded arms. Nora’s face pales as Namjoon actually lets out a laugh this time. 

“Not all humans flirt the same, Hoseok,” He laughs, choosing to drop the formalities in his humour. “And trust me, Yoongi would not like his human flirting with him like this.” Hoseok only nods his head in understanding, pushing himself off the console.

“Speaking of Yoongi, I’m done for the day. Time to go annoy my Ashi ,” He cheers, walking behind the girl. Before leaving he turns back around and points at her.

“Good luck with your courting efforts!” And he’s out the door. Nora crosses her arms, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she steps back to join her party.

“I apologize for him,” Namjoon says, trying to regain his composure. “He has lived apart from humans for many years and is trying to make up for it.”

“And we apologize for her,” Amelia says, glaring lightly at the younger girl. “She seems to not be aware of what a wedding band means.” She says this pointing at Namjoon’s left hand, the same arm that Nora grabbed earlier. The girl’s eyes widened in disbelief, as she took in the obvious silver band wrapped around his ring finger.

“Ah, nothing to be forgiven. Now I regret that I must leave you now. I have duties I must attend to with Starfleet Command.” The group bid their goodbyes and make their way into the hall. As soon as the Captain introduces them to the gathered security team, he parts down the hall. The researchers follow down a different hallway, passing by numerous other crew members, most on their way to bed seeing as night shift was about to begin.

They make their way down a curving corridor when the Chief of Security stops, motioning towards a shining metal door. After confirming that this was indeed Medbay, they made their way in, glancing around at the many beds and monitors that lined the room. No one is currently occupying the beds and the only other person in the room is a nurse. Her face lights up as she notices them. Making her way over she bows slightly to the group, her long green hair falling slightly out of her bun.

“You must be the group of Starfleet researchers. Welcome aboard, I hope your stay is a positive one. Make yourselves comfortable. Doctor Kim is currently in his office, I will go get him.” And with that the woman turns on her heels and makes her way into a joining room. The seven of them slowly spread out, a few of them sitting down on beds, others standing next to them. One of the men, Steven, makes his way over to Nora, who was sitting on the bed closest to Dr. Kim’s office.

“Nice going, Nora. It’s not everyday you flirt with a married man.” The group chuckles, the mood light. She rolls her eyes, pushing Steven’s shoulder.

“Oh shut it, Steven, it is not my fault he’s so hot.” A few members groan. “What?! Is he not? Come on, did you see the same captain I did? His skin was so tan and his dimples so deep and come on did you see his legs? I bet his thighs could crush me! He could crush me anyday.”

“I have to say that I disagree with that assessment.” The researchers jump at the voice, turning to see a man standing directly in front of Nora. He was in the typical Medbay garb of black pants and boots, accompanied by a tight blue shirt. On top of it all he wore a long white coat, a Starfleet medical pin attached to the left breast of it. His hands were held behind his back, meaning his broad shoulders were pulled back, and his posture was straight. His black hair was pulled out of his face, showing off his forehead and ridiculously handsome face. And his Vulcan ears, of course.

“I do not believe that the Captain would be able to crush a human woman with his thighs. That would be simply impossible, seeing as how he is human. Unless the woman suffered from some sort of bone disease such as osteogenesis imperfecta. However, you do not have this condition, at least according to your Starfleet medical exam from two years ago. On the contrary, if by ‘his thighs could crush me’ you are trying to imply something sexual…” The Vulcan raises his eyebrow, what looks almost like a smirk playing on his lips. “I would have to say, based on extensive research, that the Captain could indeed ‘crush me anyday’.” The party gapes at his statement. Although he does not look nearly as phased, simply reaching into one of the pockets of his jacket to grab a tricorder. He walks up next to the bed that Nora is sitting on and begins scanning her with the device.

“Interesting. It seems I was right with my former hypothesis.”

“What?” Nora squeaks, she is nervous for what he is going to say next.

“You do not have brittle bones. Congratulations, you should be safe around the Captain.” There is a deafening silence in the room as he continues making his rounds and scanning everyone, apart from Steven who is clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. As he is looking over the data on the last person, Joshua, a voice speaks out of the comm unit on the wall.

“Bridge to Medbay.” The Vulcan walks over to the unit, still glancing at the holopad in his hand.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Have you finished the medical evaluations yet, Jin?”

“Yes, sir.” He says, setting the pad down on the desk next to him. “Everyone is healthy and cleared to retire to their rooms.”

“Send them on their way then, they must be tired after the long day they have had.”

“Of course, Captain.”

“Oh, and, Jin?”

“Captain?”

“That goes for you too. Head to our quarters, get some sleep tonight.”

“Captain, I-”

“Goodnight, Jin.” The Vulcan sighs as he looks up from the comm towards the researchers.

“You are all cleared. Security should still be waiting for you outside. Have a pleasant night.” The researchers slowly begin leaving the room one by one, when they are all out of sight, the Vulcan makes his way to his office, hangs up his jacket, and turns off the lights. Once he leaves Medbay, being wished first a goodnight by the nurse on call, it takes him five minutes and 23 seconds to reach his room. Upon typing in the code and stepping in, he can’t help but let his shoulder’s sag slightly. It had been a long day. A group of ensigns had gotten into some trouble in engineering, and the day before he had a dozen of his nurses come down with a cold, leaving him to deal with everything almost all on his own. 

He quickly strips down out of his clothes, tossing them gently into a hamper in the corner of the room. Rummaging through the closet he finds an old shirt from the Academy. It’s faded and hardly legible, but he has worn this shirt enough throughout the years to know exactly what it says. He slips it over his head, pausing slightly to register the softness of it on his skin. Soon, he goes into the bathroom, brushing his teeth, and, of course, peeing. Once he is done with his nightly routine, he stifles a yawn, slipping under the thick comforter on top of the bed. He closes his eyes and gently slips off into dreamland. Right before finally succumbing to sleep, however, he can feel the mattress dipping behind him and a warm arm wrapping around his waist. A quiet confession of love is whispered into his hair, and he is out like a light.

Chapter Text

Namjoon groaned as the door to his quarters closed behind him. Running a hand through his already manually tangled hair, he kicks off his boots, leaving them in the entrance way where he knows they don’t go. The words play through his head on repeat as he pours himself a glass of water.

Performance review .

Starfleet was sending an admiral to do a performance review . Had he been doing that poorly? Were his mission success rates down? He didn’t think so, but he would have to contact Jimin just to make sure. Had someone on his crew sent in a complaint against him? Shit . Who could it have been though? What did he do? Why were they coming in three days? Three?! That’s hardly enough time to prepare. If it was longer than that he could have figured out what he needed to fix before then, but only three days hardly gives him enough time to do that. I mean he mans a crew of 500 people, that’s a lot of complaints. How is he-

“Shit!” Namjoon swears as he notices the water pouring from his glass onto the counter top. He quickly sets the glass into the sink, reaching over to grab a towel. He makes quick work of the spill, tossing the rag back to its original resting place. Taking in a deep breath, he runs a hand over his face. The sound of the shower running is what finally catches his attention. Making his way past the bedroom, bed being perfectly made, he sees the bathroom door slightly ajar. Pushing it open fully, he slips in, taking a seat on the closed toilet.

“You are back from the meeting earlier than I would have expected.” His husband’s voice comes from behind the curtain. Namjoon grunts, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. “From the tone of that noise, I am assuming that it did not go particularly well.”

“They are sending an Admiral to give me a performance review, Jin.” He whines, knee bouncing.

“Is that all?” Namjoon huffs, narrowing his eyes at the faint outline of his husband.

“What do you mean ‘is that all’?”

“Performance reviews are standard procedure, Namjoon. If I felt surprise, I would be quite taken aback by how it took this long for one to happen.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbles. “But why now? I mean I must have done something wrong.”

“It is standard procedure.”

“Do you think that it’s because of the way I let the crew act? I mean I know I’m not as strict as other captains, but surely they can’t fault me for trying to create a-”

“Namjoon, you are being completely illogical about this. It is-”

“I swear to the god you don’t believe in, Jin, if you say it is standard procedure one more time!”

“You are shouting at me, Namjoon.” Said man shoots up from his slumped position.

“Well, this is serious! If they are coming for a specific reason and I don’t fix it by the time they get here I could lose my ship, Jin! I could lose everything!” He could hear a quiet sigh come from the other side of the curtain. After a short silence, Jin opened the curtain slightly to poke his head out.

“Join me.” He said, once again disappearing into the shower. With a huff, Najoon stood slowly removing his tight shirt over his head before quickly kicking off his pants and boxer briefs. He slipped past the curtain, closing it behind him. As soon as he turned around, Jin pulled him closer by the wrist, bringing their bodies together under the warm stream of water. The Vulcan’s hands rested on his chest, his fingers tracing Namjoon’s scars and freckles almost reverently. They slowly made their way up to his shoulders, grip gentle yet firm as he pulled him even closer, their bodies now molded together as one as Namjoon’s hands came to rest on Jin's waist.

“I am a Vulcan, Namjoon.” Jin starts, his voice barely above a whisper. “I am not good at expressing my emotions, and I am certainly not good at understanding why others do so or understanding the nuances in what they mean by them. However, you, my husband, are not like me. You are a human. A human that, no matter how logical you may often seem, still expresses emotions and must, therefore, have those emotions acknowledged and validated.

“I know that you are scared. I know that you struggle with the anxiety of having this entire crew’s future on your back. And most importantly, I know how absolutely terrified you are of disappointing them. I can see that in how hard you work to ensure their comfort and safety. I can see that in the amount of time you take on your off hours to spend time with our peers, and the amount of energy you put into learning the names and faces and cultures of every ensign that steps aboard this ship.” Jin pauses, looking Namjoon in his eyes.

“You, Kim Namjoon, are an amazing Captain. Yes, you have an amazing track record for missions, and yes, you have one of the lowest death rates for a Starfleet Captain, but most importantly, above all else, you care with your entire being. You are so utterly human in that way.” Jin chuckles, his stoic demeanor breaking as he smiles up at his husband.

“That is why I married you, and why I continue, even years later, to love you more than I thought even possible for a Vulcan.” Namjoon sniffles, turning his head to place a gentle kiss on Jin’s left hand.

“I love you too, Jin” The Vulcan lifts his hand to cup his cheek, turning his husband’s eyes towards him again; his thumb gently swipes under the Captain’s eye.

“When I say everything will be fine, I mean it because you are wonderful, my love.” Jin spun them slowly until Namjoon was directly under the water. His hands slowly dropped, dragging down his arms as they went. The Vulcan turned around, grabbing the curtain to open it. Before he could take a full step out, two strong arms wrapped around his middle, pulling him back against a hard chest. 

“Stay with me?” The question was whispered into his shoulder where Namjoon’s head was now buried. The Vulcan hummed, leaning back into the warmth enveloping him.

“Always.”

Chapter Text

Look, say what you want about Captain Kim Namjoon, but he is not stupid. Seeing as how he graduated in the top of his class with a PhD in advanced theoretical physics, a masters in astrophysics, and a bachelors in xenolinguistics, it would be an idiotic statement to say that he was an idiot. Because by all accounts, he isn’t one. He is smart, envied by many for being one of the youngest Starfleet captains in history, only being beaten by a 23 year old Tirmun, and he was given one of the best ships in the whole galaxy. The Bangtan was a sleek, maneuverable ship that sounded like a ghost and moved like one too. Not to mention she worked like a beauty thanks to his Chief Engineer that, let the record show, he hand picked for this mission against Starfleet’s original wishes. So no, Namjoon is not dumb. So how did he find himself here, sitting across from his First Officer, head in his hands, as he tries to understand how the hell he is supposed to make the Queen of Timnak like him?

“Ok, how about this: What do you first do when approaching Queen Shi?” Jimin asks, leaning back in their chair, cocking their head slightly causing pink locks to fall in their eyes.

“Uhhhh… Bow to her?”

“No, Namjoon! Don’t bow to a Timnakian, they take it as a sign of weakness! Try again.” They screech, running a hand through their hair in frustration. The two may or may not have been at this for an hour already, and let’s just say that Namjoon… Well he has yet to get much down.

“Shake her hand?”

“Namjoon, seriously? Are you even trying right now? You are, under no circumstances, allowed to touch the royalty on Timnak unless they touch you first! Come on, you have four months to learn all of this!”

“Jimin, I’m sorry! There is just so much to remember!” The Captain throws his hands into the air, growling slightly at the end of his sentence. When his hands finally come down to his sides, he slumps back into his chair, head lolling to face the ceiling.

“When first meeting the Queen all you do is hit your closed fist to your chest and nod your head. Not too deep, though. If you nod your head too deep then it will be taken as a bow, and also don’t hit your fist too hard or it will be seen as an aggression. Also try not to-”

“Bridge to Captain.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Namjoon mumbles, quickly reaching forward to hit the blinking button on the table. “Captain here, what is it, Taehyung?”

“Yoongi is pacing on the Bridge wondering where you are. He says it’s urgent.”

“Tell him I’ll be there in a second. You have no idea how much this means to me, Taehyung.” A chuckle can be heard before the device is shut off. Namjoon immediately stands, straightening out his uniform. Jimin stands as well, eyebrow raised, an unimpressed expression sitting on their normally cheerful cheeks.

“Don’t look at me like that, Jimin. I’ll figure it out, I have an entire four months to figure it out. That’s almost half a year.”

“Namjoon, my dear friend, my Captain, my smart, smart, Captain… You are hopeless.”

“Thanks, that really brought my confidence up. Now let’s go, Yoongi is probably running a hole into the carpet.” Both made their way out of the conference room and into the turbolift.

The Chief Science Officer aboard the Bangtan was a small, pale Scalnacian. His head barely reached the Captain’s shoulder, and his skin was ghostly white, matching with his fluffy white hair. His face went with his stature perfectly, too. Soft, round cheeks, a small button nose, and delicate, pink lips were a stark contrast to his sharp eyes. Namjoon thought his eyes looked exactly like a snake’s. Every time anyone looked into his bright green, slitted orbs, they couldn’t help but shiver. Honestly, though, that was the only thing intimidating about the man, besides his attitude of course. 

“Captain on the bridge!” an ensign shouted, alerting the crew as the turbolift doors opened to said man and his first officer. Yoongi quickly whips around, his eyes wide and mouth open. Right as Namjoon crosses the threshold into the room, Yoongi is off.

“Captain! We go to Scalnaco!” He yells, rushing around the Captain’s chair to stand directly in front of him. Namjoon’s chin is nearly touching his chest as he looks down at Yoongi. The elder is looking at him with desperation in his eyes, bouncing back and forth on his feet. 

“What? We are on route for Betazed right now, Commander, remember?” He questions, furrowing his eyebrows.

“ Ssa ! Ssa ! Change. Go to Scalnaco now.” Yoongi is now in Namjoon’s personal space, holding tightly onto the bottom of his shirt. Najoom scowls slightly at the thought of having to retuck it in. What? It can be a pain in the ass sometimes, ok?

“We can’t just change course, Yoongi. Starfleet wants us on Betazed, so unless there is an emergency-”

“ Ssa ! Emergency! Ashi and I go to Scalnaco. Emergency. SisaShoae.” Namjoon raises an eyebrow in confusion, turning his head to his right to get the attention of the First Officer.

“Jimin?”

“I’m not sure what SisaShoae is. Sorry, Captain. It must be some sort of cultural thing.” With that, the pink haired officer walked over to their station, relieved a lieutenant of their position, slipped an earpiece on, and got to work. Namjoon turns back around to Yoongi, who is still gripping onto him. Taking his communicator out of his pocket, he sighs, flipping it open.

“Captain to Lieutenant Commander Jung.” Within seconds a voice came through.

“Howdy ho, Captain! What can I do ya for?” The cheery voice of the Chief Engineer chimes. Namjoon can see Yoongi perk up.

“Report to the bridge, Hoseok. I have a feeling I’m going to need your help here.”

“Yes, sir, Captain, sir!” Namjoon chuckles as he puts his Comm back into his pocket. “So, explain to me what SitaShow is…” He cringes slightly at his pronunciation. He really needs to practice more…

“ SisaShoae ,” The Commander corrects, “Is… im… imp… takiss ?” His head whips around to look over at Jimin for help.

“Important.”

“ Ssa, important!” Looking back at the Captain, a frown is set on his face. “Big important!”

“Ok, but why is it very important, Yoongi?” He asks, gently pulling the Scalnacian’s hands away. He makes his way over to the Captain’s chair, sitting down. Yoongi follows behind him like a lost puppy.

“ SisaShoae is party for day of birth.”

“A birthday party? You want to turn us around for a birthday party, Yoongi?” 

“ Ssa .” Namjoon sighs. Yoongi is looking at him with frustration.

“I’m assuming that this birthday party is more important than I’m understanding.” Yoongi nods his head, seemingly excited that the Captain is finally understanding the gravity of the situation they are in.

“Yoongi, look-” The turbolift doors fly open.

“Captain!” 

“Hope!” Yoongi yells, sprinting past an ensign with holopads stacked in her arms, causing her to almost drop them all. Before anyone can blink the bridge is full of quickly spoken Scalnacian. Hoseok is looking intently down at Yoongi as the elder furiously speaks, waving his hands around passionately. Namjoon’s head spins at the stark contrast between the science officer’s native tongue and his Federation Standard. Namjoon’s admiration for him grows as he thinks about how hard he tries even though it must be so difficult. Federation wasn’t the easiest to learn after all. After about a minute of the two going back and forth, Hoseok lets out a loud screech. Everyone’s heads whip around to look at the engineer as he runs past Yoongi to the Captain’s chair.

“Captain! We have to get to Scalnaco now!” Hoseok is smiling wide. “We have a SisaShoae to get to!”

“For the last time, what the hell is a SisaShoae ?” He grunts. Hoseok's eyes widen in confusion before a look of understanding settles on his face.

“Oh, right. Sorry, Captain. Sometimes I forget that not everyone grew up on Scalnaco.”

“Well, what is it then?” Taehyung chimes from his console. “Yoongi says it is important?”

“Actually, it is one of the most important events for a Scalnacian.” He starts, slinging his arm around Yoongi’s shoulder. The elder grunts from the added weight. “Basically SisaShoae is a celebration of becoming bonded.”

“Yoongi said something about a birthday?” Jimin asks, now engaged in the conversation.

“Ya! So, after Ashis find each other, they celebrate their bonding on the first birthday to occur between them. For example, Yoongi and I. My birthday was two months after we bonded and Yoongi’s was three months, so on my birthday a giant party was held to celebrate our union. The event holds a lot of emotional meaning for Scalnacians. I mean like a lot. It’s kinda insane.” Hoseok takes a beat of silence, furrowing his brows down at Yoongi.

“Hey, stop doing that! I was just getting invested, and then you have to go and do that thing where you talk to each other in your heads.” Tae whines, leaning back in his chair. Yoongi snickers.

“Sorry,” Hoseok laughs. “As I was saying, it’s important. And considering that it is the SisaShoae of one of the Princes of Scalnaco… It is also even more important to us.” When he finishes, the Captain sighs. Namjoon stands from his chair, walking across the bridge to the door of his ready room.

“I’ll contact Command and see what I can do. No promises.”

“Thank you, Captain!” Yoongi smiles, his gums showing. Namjoon's lip quirks slightly. It is a natural reaction to the science officer’s smile at this point. He was just so precious sometimes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namjoon sighs as he smooths out the wrinkles in his gold dress uniform. He leans closer to the mirror, running his fingers through his messy hair. How the hell did it get so messy? He must have been running his hand through it more than he thought.

“Why are you so stressed, my husband?” Namjoon turns to face Jin, letting out another breath. Jin was dressed in traditional Vulcan formal wear, his high black collar and belted waist, paired with an elegant red and gold robe, made his silhouette look more immaculate to Namjoon than usual. When he looked up to take in his face, hair combed back to show his forehead, he saw Jin’s raised eyebrow.

“Why are you not?” Namjoon mumbled. The Vulcan hummed under his breath as he stepped closer, fingers working to straighten out the Captain’s command badge and military medals. Namjoon breathes in deeply, calming slightly down at his husband’s familiar smell.

“The Scalnacians are on friendly terms with the Federation. They hold no ill will towards us or this ship.” Jin says, stepping back slightly to begin fixing Namjoon’s hair. “Besides, we are not here on official Starfleet business. We are here for a celebration. Your worry is illogical, Namjoon.”

“We may not be on official business, but we still have to make a good impression. You do realize that we are the first group of Starfleet officers to be allowed into one of these celebrations, right? If I, as Captain, make a bad impression I could ruin everything that Starfleet has built with Scalnaco. Not to mention tha-'' Jin places a gentle kiss on his cheek, effectively shutting him up.

“They will love you, Namjoon. Now let's get down to the transporter room before Yoongi starts panicking.” Namjoon only nods, taking one last look into the mirror before making his way out of their room. Once they approach the transporter room doors, they hear chatter on the other side. Jin leads the way when Namjoon’s steps hesitate. The Vulcan nods his head at the engineer checking over the coordinates on the console. 

Standing on the pad, joking loudly with one another, are Taehyung and Jimin. Taehyung is dressed the same as Namjoon, minus the numerous medals on Namjoon’s chest. What Taehyung does have, however, is a golden band wrapped around his left forearm, a tradition on the Tirmax planets. Jimin is also in a traditional Starfleet uniform, though it is in the now-traditional Jimin pink. Where they were able to get so many pink uniforms, Namjoon had no idea. Their boots had a heel on them, making them closer to Taehyung's height. The golden bar next to their operations badge signified their rank of first officer. 

Jin walks over to them, followed closely by Namjoon. They all exchanged small talk for a short amount of time before the doors hissed opened, revealing a very flustered Jungkook. The Kilacton was not in his Starfleet uniform, but rather a ceremonial Kilaction garb. His high waisted pants were three quarter length and wide legged, leading to them flowing around his legs with every step. They were kept up with a long, golden, rope-like belt that was tied in a complicated knot at his hip. His feet were bare, but his ankles were adorned with golden bracelets, some beaded and others solid bands. He had no shirt on, but his muscular torso was covered in intricate designs. From what Namjoon could remember, each red paint mark represented a battle the Kilacton fought and won. His long black hair was tied back into a bun, leaving only curly bangs to cover his eyes. The young man seemed to be panicking until his eyes finally landed on the Captain. He quickly makes his way over to the transporter pad.

“You look like you just saw a ghost, Kookie.” Jimin laughs. Taehyung giggles when Jungkook flashes the two of them a glare.

“Lieutenant Kamaro saw me on my way here; She fucking followed me all the way from medbay to the turbolift. She kept touching my fucking chest and talking about my muscles, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t fucking like it.” The youngest rants, glaring at the ground. The Captain can’t help but chuckle when Jimin and Tae surround the boy, cooing at him. As Jungkook swats them away, threatening to add more markings to his chest, the doors open once more. 

Hoseok walked in. His legs were covered in a pair of black, silk pants. They hung low on his hips, showing the top of his v-line. His toned stomach was on display, only being slightly covered by a black, silk sash on his chest. The sash had intricately stitched gold designs, making it look like the night sky. His shoes were simple golden sandals that matched with the various gold jewelries running along his arms and fingers. 

“Hey, guys and Jimin!” Hoseok yells, his excitement clear on his face. He is bouncing on his feet, smiling wide. “Aren’t you guys so excited? I can’t wait to see mom and dad and isa and isat ! And I can’t wait for you guys to meet them! Oh these next three days are going to be so awesome!”

“ Isa and isat ?” Tae asks, finally ceasing his poking of Jungkook’s cheek.

“Scalnacian for mom and dad.” Jimin supplies, not ceasing his poking of Jungkook’s cheek.

“Ya, that’s what I call Suga’s parents.” They are all startled as Hoseok’s eyes widen and his hands fly up to his head. He starts patting around, ruffling up his hair, before sighing loudly. “Oh, that’s not good…” 

“What is wrong, Hoseok?” Jin questions, straightening up next to Namjoon. His eyebrow raises in the way typical of Vulcans. All of them stare at Hoseok as he flinches, his face contorting in pain.

“Oh, not good at all. He is really not happy with me!” Hoseok murmurs. “Look, Suga and I haven’t been back to Scalnaco since we joined Starfleet. He is just really nervous, and honestly me forgetting the most important part of my formal robes probably isn’t helping much.”

“Yoongi… Nervous? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Commander nervous before.” Taehyung chimes. 

“Bored, angry, annoyed, sure, but never nervous.” Jimin adds on, their bright laugh punctuating the sentence.

“Scalnacians are a race that is prone to the same emotional range as most beings; therefore, it would be illogical to presume he would not feel an emotion such as being nervous, especially for an occasion, such as this one, that holds great meaning to him and his people.” Jin states, fixing Namjoon’s hair again after said man had run his hand through it. The Captain smiles in appreciation at the Vulcan.

“Are you nervous whenever you meet with your parents, Jinnie?” Jimin asks, finally leaving Jungkook’s side to lean against Jin. He raises his eyebrow at them.

“Hypothetically, if I were to express such emotions, then yes, I would feel nervous. However, since I am a Vulcan, and we do not allow ourselves such feelings, no. I do not feel nervous when meeting with my mother and father.”

“I sure as hell feel nervous,” Namjoon grumbles. “Your mom is terrifying.” Everyone chuckles as the Captain runs his fingers through his hair once again. Seokjin lets out what could be considered a frustrated (although he would deny that) sigh before gently pulling Namjoon’s hand away from his head.

“Oh shit, here he comes!” Hoseok shouts, causing everyone to whip their heads towards him.

“How do you know tha-” Jungkook starts before he is interrupted by Taehyung pointing to his own head.

“Weird mind thing, remember?” 

“It’s not weird, it’s-” Hoseok is cut off by the doors hissing open. Everyone freezes from the image before them.

Yoongi was dressed in a flowing, white silk dress. The skirt of it trailed behind him, and the bottom of it had delicate golden jewels stitched into it, making it sparkle in the lights. The top was fighted. Long sleeves, a high collar, and a corseted waist made his small physique look absolutely gorgeous. The top too was covered in golden jewels and lace. On his back the strings of the corsets were tied into a small golden bow. Yoongi looked like the perfect image of a classic Earthen princess. Even more shocking though, was the golden crown resting on the top of his fluffy, white hair. It wrapped all the way around and had small pearl-like crystals adorning the tips of each gentle spike.

“Hello, my darling Ashi ! Fancy seeing you here!” Hoseok cheers, though anyone could hear the nervousness in his tone. Before they can blink, Yoongi is holding Hoseok’s ear, scolding him in Scalnacian. They all look to Jimin in order to gain any understanding about what’s being said.

“He was yelling at him for being irresponsible, but has since moved on to accusing him of trying to sabotage the whole celebration.” Jimin’s eyes light up as Hoseok begins speaking. “Now Hoseok is trying to defend himself and- Oh no! He just told him to calm down! I don’t know how he is gonna dig himself out of this one.” They laugh.

“Ok! Thank you for the commentary, Jimin!” Hoseok shouts, finally managing to get Yoongi’s hand away from his face. Jimin, Taehyung, and Namjoon all start chuckling at the two.

“Now then,” Hoseok sighs, turning back to face Yoongi, “Do you have it?” 

Yoongi huffs, glaring once more at him before raising his left hand. In it he was holding a replica of his own crown. The only difference was that it was completely black, even the crystals, which looked like they could be pieces of the galaxy broken off and placed there. Without hesitation, Hoseok bowed slightly, allowing Yoongi to place the crown on his head. After a little fiddling and fluffing of hair, Yoongi must have deemed his appearance acceptable, for he stepped back with a sigh and a small smile. 

“You look beautiful, Ashi .” Hoseok smiles.

“You look beauty, also.” The Scalnacian replies, before turning towards the others. His eyes sweep over them, taking in all of their formal outfits. Taehyung and Jungkook both shiver when his sharp, snake-like orbs pass over them. Namjoon has to suppress a shiver as well, he didn’t like how judgmental his Chief Science Officer looked in that moment.

“Fix hair.” Yoongi says bluntly as he walks up the steps towards the transporter, crossing his arms as he looks at the Captain. Hoseok trails behind, resting his hands on his Ashi’s waist. He kisses his neck before speaking.

“Seriously, Suga, calm down. There is no reason to be so nervous. Isa and isat are going to be so happy to see you again. So are mom and dad, and so are all of your siblings, especially Yuji. Everything is going to go perfect, Ashi .”

“But-”

“No. Deep breaths. These next few days should be filled with celebration and joy. Leave all that worry behind, Suga.” Everyone blinked in shock; they had never heard their Chief Engineer speak so seriously before. Yoongi’s shoulders visibly lowered as he let out a deep breath.

“Ready to beam down on your mark, Captain.” The engineer at the console chimes.

Namjoon stands on the far left with Jin standing just behind his right shoulder. Jimin stands next to Jin, no longer leaning on him, but holding his arm in their own. Next to them are Yoongi and Hoseok. Hoseok stands behind Yoongi, arms around his waist, causing the scientist’s skirt to bunch up. Next is Jungkook, staring directly at the couple in confusion. And finally is Taehyung, already looking at the Captain, giving him a thumbs up.

“All ready when you are, Captain!” He says. 

“Beam us down, Lieutenant.” And just as the white beams begin surrounding them, Jungkook turns to Taehyung.

“Is no one gonna ask about the fucking crowns?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As their feet touched the Scalnacian soil, one thing became very apparent to them all. Yoongi and Hoseok were not lying when they said that Scalnaco was hot and humid. Everyone besides the two that grew up on said planet could feel the effects of the weather immediately. They were all silent as they took in the planet around them. 

They had been transported to Scalnaco’s only transporter pad. It was a large, raised stone circle decorated with carved swirls that mimicked those embroidered on Yoongi and Hoseok’s clothing. Surrounding that platform on three sides were large, towering trees that reminded Namjoon of the pictures he had seen of the Amazon Rainforest. Directly in front of the however, where no trees were, they had an unobstructed view of the capital of Scalnaco. Vasca was the largest city on the planet's surface. The architecture was similar to that of ancient Rome, large marble pillars decorated in golds and silvers rose above the city street. People could be seen walking around, greeting each other and selling wares. On top of the hill though, to the left of the city, was a ginormous castle. It’s stone looked like that of the transport pad they stood on, covered in the same swirling patterns. Large towers with pointed peaks were hit by the sun, causing them to glitter like stars, even in the daytime.

“Wow…” Taehyung was the one to break the silence. The awe in his voice reflected the feelings of the rest of the party. “You grew up here?”

“Yeah,” Hoseok laughed, his eyes shown as well, taking in the sight of his home.

“Welcome to Scalnaco, visitors!” A cheery voice rang out in the clearing. They all looked down in front of the platform to see 13 seven-foot-tall Scalnacians all clad in armour and spears. Yoongi led the group down the platform, somehow not falling even as he raced down the stairs. Hoseok slowed slightly to speak to the group.

“They are a part of the Royal Guard.” He began. “They are the best fighters I have ever seen, I mean seriously they could take on you, Kookie.” Jungkook scoffed at that, cracking his knuckles.

“I’d like to see them try.” Hoseok smirked.

“Luckily for you, on the second day of the celebration they hold a tournament. I’m sure the Guard would love the challenge.” As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the Scalnacian who had spoken earlier walked forward, bowing ever so slightly.

“I am Prince Sann, Head of the Royal Guard, you may call me by my common name. Any friend of Hobi’s is a friend of mine.” He stands straight to more effectively look at the group. Sann towers over even the other guards surrounding them. He is dressed in the same armour; though, instead of a helmet a golden crown rests on top of his head. Like Yoongi he is pale with striking green eyes, but his hair is a deep black. What looks to be a permanent smile is gracing his face.

“Hobi?” Taehyung questions, cocking his head in curiosity at the man before them.

“My common name,” Hoseok states, stepping forward to stand directly across from the Prince. “It is great to see you again, Sann!” Both men then embrace each other, laughing as Sann lifts Hoseok, spinning him around. When he finally sets Hoseok back on the ground, he turns his smile to Yoongi, who is currently glaring at the man.

“ Sais so tastu shaoes ta. ” Jimin chokes on their spit at Sann’s words, causing Taehyung to leave Jungkook’s side to comfort the coughing officer. Yoongi rolls his eyes before hugging the prince as well. Sann chuckles before hugging the science officer back. The two stay that way for a second, whispering to each other.

“Brother?!” Jimin finally spits out once he recovers. Taehyung’s jaw drops, looking up at the now parting Scalnacians. Hoseok chuckles, walking over to brush a few wrinkles out of Yoongi’s gown.

“Wait, brother? Like Yoongi is your brother? As in Yoongi is a prince?” Taehyung starts with the rapid fire questions, running to stand next to Sann, looking up at him in shock. Jimin quickly joins, rattling off more questions right alongside Tae. Jungkook elbows Jin in his side.

“I knew we should have asked about the fucking crowns.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namjoon glances at Jin as the Vulcan sets a hand on his knee. He couldn't help his knee from bouncing, what could he say, he was very nervous. With all the lessons about how to treat Timnakian royalty, he had almost no time to research Scalnacian royalty. What if he terribly offended them? What if… Oh my God, what if he has done something in the past that offended Yoongi? Or offended Hoseok? I mean Hoseok was also a prince because of the whole bonding thing, right? What if the SisaShoae was actually a killing ceremony and he was the one they were killing? What if-

“Namjoon.” Jin’s monotone voice cut off his thoughts. The Vulcan’s hand was now squeezing his knee, his eyebrow raised. “Dinner time will arrive shortly. I suggest you pull yourself together.”

“Right, right, sorry.” Namjoon sighs, sitting up straighter. Looking around the room he notices that he really is the only one nervous. After a long walk through the city, the Guard led them to the castle. The inside was just as grand as the outside, high ceilings and ornate paintings. They were shown to a parlor-like room. It was large but homey, multiple plush red couches were placed in the room, stacked high with pillows and cushions. There were also many arm chairs, and the walls were lined with bookshelves. On the wall opposite the grand doors was a giant stained glass window depicting a battle between two opposing forces.

Namjoon and Jin were sitting on a loveseat, the door to their right. Jungkook had plopped himself down in a large armchair across from them, sinking down to what Jin thought must have been a very uncomfortable position. The youngest keeps grumbling about how big everything is, surely overwhelmed by the stark difference this place had to his own home planet. Jimin was racing around the numerous bookshelves, marveling at the ancient texts he was finding. Taehyung made himself comfortable in the corner of the room where a pile of blankets, pillows, and cushions were arranged like a nest. The navigator was infodumping to Jin about all the different constellations surrounding Scalnaco that he had read about. The Vulcan would hum in acknowledgment or ask questions every once in a while to confirm that he was still paying attention. Hoseok was leaning back in the corner of one of the couches facing the door, feet up on the ottoman in front of him. He was also listening in to Tae’s rant, but whenever Jimin would have a question about something he was reading, Hoseok would shift his attention to the other. Yoongi had left around an hour ago to go… do something. He had just kind of left and when everyone questioned Hoseok the man only said that he had business to attend to.

“Wait so you’re telling me that Yoongi is the first Royal in all of Scalnaco’s history to be born with Silisna ?” Jimin chimes, astonishment in their voice.

“In its recorded history at least.” Hoseok answers. “There very well may have been some before that, but it is a relatively rare condition so the chances are slim.”

“And what the hell is Silisna exactly?” Jungkook groans from his slumped position, head rolling away from the ceiling to stare at the two. Hoseok clears his throat sitting up a bit straighter.

“It is a rare condition, like I said. Most Scalnacians grow to be six to seven feet tall, sometimes even taller, like Sann, he’s 7’10”. Something like that. Scalnacians born with Silisna , however, are much shorter, like Yoongi, he is only 4’11”. They also have trouble picking up new things, kinda like Tirmuns if you want a comparison. A lot of them pick one speciality and stick with it for the rest of their lives. That’s why Yoongi is so good at all that science stuff, it’s all he ever focused on growing up. It's also why he is still struggling with Federation Standard after all these years. ”

“So height and intelligence is the only difference?” Tae asks, cutting himself off from his tangent after hearing his race mentioned.

“No, they also are much more susceptible to temperature. Obviously Scalnaco is a very warm planet, so if the temperature were to drop, Scalnacians bodies would begin shutting down.” Hoseok’s eyebrows furrow. “Those without the condition would react similarly to how I did if they were to board a starship, for example. Like I’m always colder than everyone else on board, but a long sleeve shirt and maybe a jacket would do enough to keep their systems functioning. Yoongi’s body, however, can’t handle that change in climate. His body can’t grow accustomed to new environments, so he has to do more to keep himself functioning.”

“So if Commander Jung’s body temperature drops he could die?” Jungkook straightens himself, eyes wide. Everyone is paying much closer attention to Hoseok’s words now.

“Well why do you think Yoongi wears that special jumpsuit? Starfleet designed it to keep his body temperature consistent, if it starts to drop, the suit gets hotter. It is a really impressive piece of technology actually. In fact-”

“Is that why he is in sick bay so often?” Jimin cuts Hoseok off. “Cause of the whole temperature thing?”

“Kind of? I don’t really know how that whole thing works.” Hoseok shrugs. “Those with Silisna are a lot more susceptible to sickness in general, I can’t imagine the climate change helps.”

“So he really is like a snake, huh?” Namjoon mumbles under his breath, leaning back and draping an arm around Jin’s shoulder.

“It does seem that the Scalnacian race models that of Earthen snakes. Both physiologically and physically.” Jin says, leaning into Namjoon slightly. The six men continue conversing for around ten more minutes before the doors of the parlor slam open. Yoongi is standing there, panting slightly as if he ran a mile. His eyes swept across the room before he cleared his throat.

“Dinner about to start. We go now.” He says, immediately turning around and walking down the hallway. They all quickly leave the room, following behind him. Hoseok jogs slightly to catch up, he grabs the Scalnacian’s hand, forcing him to slow slightly.

“How’d the meeting go?” He asks, swinging their arms back and forth. The other five are now much closer.

“Meeting?” Taehyung asks. Yoongi glances over his shoulder before looking back ahead and taking a right turn.

“Met brother’s Ashi . She nice. Taller than me.”

“Everyone’s taller than you, Suga.” Hoseok chuckles.

“Sann’s Ashi ?” Namjoon questions. Yoongi shakes his head. After a few seconds go by and it becomes clear that he’s not going to elaborate, Hoseok chooses to.

“Yoongi has five brothers,” He starts. “The youngest one, Yuji, is who the SisaShoae is being thrown for. Since Yoongi didn’t get to meet his Ashi when they first bonded, he did the official meeting now, before the celebration.” They all nod in understanding, Taehyung throwing two thumbs up. After a few more minutes they arrived in front of a grand set of doors, gold carvings spread over the wood. Two guards are stationed on either side. Yoongi stops in front of the doors and turns to face them.

“I sorry.” He says. They all look at him in confusion, even Jin’s brow raises.

“What for, Commander?” Jungkook asks, scratching his bare chest. Hoseok responds instead.

“For what is about to happen.” Yoongi turns around and nods to the guards. Within seconds they push open the doors to reveal a grand hall with a large wooden dining table in the center. 11 Scalnacians, all wearing crowns and clothing similar to Yoongi and Hoseok’s, stand around the table, conversing with one another. One of the guards clears his throat.

“ Sitka Sosha Agust si Sosha Hobi isota to tastsae soa .” All eyes snap to them as Yoongi and Hoseok walk into the hall.

“What did he say?” Namjoon whispers to Jimin who is a few steps ahead of him. Jimin whispers back over his shoulder.

“He announced the Princes and then announced us as the honored guests.” Namjoon nods, looking back out towards the room. The five of them stand shoulder to shoulder with one another, Yoongi and Hoseok off to the side of them, as they come to a stop near the table. A woman, who was nearly as tall as Prince Sann, and a man slightly shorter than her began making their way towards them. The woman was dressed in a gown similar to Yoongi’s although the fabric was an emerald green instead of white. Her white hair was set on top of her head in a set of complicated braids. The man was dressed like Hoseok, same color as well, but his sash was covered in, what Namjoon assumed, was military pins and awards. His large belly hung over the front of his silk pants, and his long black beard reached all the way to his belly button. Both of them had scowls on their faces; their crowns held even more gems and jewels than the rest of those present.

“Welcome to Scalnaco, visitors.” The man said, reflecting the way that Sann had greeted them earlier, although much more deadpan. “I am Tashi of the Family D, King of Scalnaco.” His voice thunders through the hall.

“And I am called Sonsa, Queen of Scalnaco. It is not often we get to interact with those of a different species.” The five of them tense at the Queen’s tone. All of their eyes snap to Namjoon. He gulps, steps forward, and shakily bows towards them.

“I am Captain Kim Namjoon of the Starship Bangtan. I am very honored that you are allowing us to take part in this Scalnacian tradition.” The Queen laughs at this, setting a hand on her bonded’s shoulder, he begins laughing as well.

“I’m sorry,” She says, clutching her stomach. “I can’t be so formal any more!” She immediately walks forward and pulls Namjoon into a tight hug. When she releases him she laughs once again at his look of confusion.

“Greetings, Captain Kim Namjoon! I was once General of our entire force, you know? I can’t wait to discuss strategy with you, friend!” King Tashi yells, clapping Namjoon on the back with a strong hand. Namjoon chokes on his spit.

“Tell me Captain Kim Namjoon,” Queen Sonsa says, looking over at the rest of the group. “Do you have a bonded among your party?” Namjoon’s eyes widen even more, looking over to Hoseok and Yoongi for help. Yoongi is looking at the ground trying to hide his smirk while Hoseok’s face holds a large smile.

“ Isa wants to meet your husband, boss.” He chuckles. Namjoon’s jaw remains open, eyes wide in surprise. His head whips back around to look at the King and Queen. Their faces are completely different now; the King has a large face-splitting smile, cheeks red with jolly, and the Queen’s eyes sparkle with happiness, a fond grin on her face. Namjoon is seriously experiencing whiplash right now.

“Wha- what?” King Tashi chuckles, walking over to Hoseok and pulling him into a side hug. The engineer happily returns it.

“On Scalnaco it is tradition to introduce your bonded as well as yourself.” The King says.

“My apologies! I had no idea. I didn’t mean to disrespect yo-”

“Relax, Captain Kim Namjoon!” Sonsa rests a hand on his shoulder. “You are among friends here.”

“Right. Right, still I-”

“I am Doctor Kim Seokjin,” The Vulcan cuts him off, stepping forward and placing a hand on Namjoon’s lower back. “I am what you would refer to as the Captain’s bonded.” The Queen squeals in delight, fists shaking in front of her face.

“Oh how exciting!” She yells, “The universe truly is magnificent, pairing together two beings of such different races! The logical Vulcan and the emotional human; it is like something straight out of the fairy tales from space!” 

“While I do not believe the universe itself had a part in our union, I will agree that I am quite fortunate to have married a human that is much more logical than those surrounding him. Although, it doesn’t seem that way now. I do assure you when sitting on the Captain’s chair, his mind is very formidable.” Namjoon whines in displeasure while the Queen squeals once again, stepping closer to the Vulcan.

“Friend Doctor Kim Seokjin, we must retire to my parlor after the feast together, I must hear more about your relationship and your thoughts on the universe!”

“I would be honored, Queen Sonsa.” Jin nods his head, glancing at Namjoon as the human takes his hand in his own.

“I’m Teahyung!” His black hair bounces as he jogs forward, beaming up at the 7’9” woman. She quickly reaches forwards, pulling the Tirmun into a bone crushing hug, which he happily returns.

“Welcome to Scalnaco, Taehyung!” Both smile at each other, the Queen ruffling Tae’s hair. The King breaks away from Hoseok and approaches the two.

“And what is your role aboard the Starship Bangtan, my boy?” He asks.

“Oh me? I’m the navigator! Best navigator in all of Starfleet!” His smile grows even larger as the two rulers begin praising him and his role, happy to answer all the questions presented to him about space and working aboard a starship. Feeling a presence behind him, he turns to see Jimin approaching them. The pink-haired alien smiles and slightly bows in respect.

“I am First Officer Jimin, but you may call me Jimin.”

“How amazing, a boy so young is First Officer! Starfleet truly is different from our own military!” The King chuckles. Jimin’s smile drops only slightly.

“I am not a boy, Tashi of the Family D. Although I do still appreciate the compliment.”

“A girl then?” The Queen chimes, tearing her attention from Tae’s hair. Said boy shuffles to stand closer to Jimin.

“Actually, I am neither boy or girl. Such distinctions don’t exist among my people.” The Queen’s eyebrows disappear under her hair; the King’s own face contorts in confusion.

“Neither?” Jimin only nods, shoulders growing tense.

“How wonderful!” The Queen shouts, hanging off of her bonded’s arm. “Neither boy nor girl! We have no such thing here on Scalnaco, the universe truly is such an amazing place full of mysteries and wonder!” Jimin’s shoulders drop, their easy smile returning to their face.

“I can confidently say I have seen no better universe than this one.” They chuckle.

“Indeed this universe is great,” The King laughs, pulling his arm from the Queen’s grasp to gesture. “Now then, I believe we have one more from your party to meet.” 

All eyes quickly turn towards the back of the group where Jungkook stands. He isn’t paying attention, choosing instead to take in their surroundings. The long wooden table covered in dishes and food and the large stained glass windows made his eyes twinkle in wonder. Not to mention the elegant outfits and ornate crowns of those still conversing further in the room, although Jungkook was confident that this was not like any ‘room’ he had ever seen before. Even the Village Hut on Kilacton was not this grand. If he thought that the Academy was something strange, this stupid planet was from a whole other universe of strange. I mean seriously, who needed a ceiling this high? And why was there a giant bird staring at him with its little beady eyes from the corner of said ceiling?

“What the fuck is that?” Pointing at the creature, he hears snickers coming from his side, probably Jimin or Tae.

“Jungkook, language!”

“Federation Standard.”

“No! No, I-” Namjoon cuts himself off by pinching the bridge of his nose, Jin stops him before he can run the hand through his hair. “I mean don’t use bad words.”

“But I want to know what the fuck it is.” He insists, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “It’s staring at me, and I don’t like its stupid fucking face.” The Captain only sighs in frustration.

“It is quite alright, Captain Kim Namjoon. And that is a titat , an avian creature that acts as a warning system for the palace. You’ll see them all over, their call alerts the Guard to danger. And I assure you, they aren’t intentionally staring at you, they are blind, you see.” The King explains, placing his hands on his hips. Jungkook’s eyes settle on the man for the first time. He could take him.

“Blind? How the fuck is it supposed to alert you to danger than. Seems like a stupid fucking system.” Jungkook could hear Namjoon grunt in despair behind him, but his sharp glare was now locked on the King, so he didn’t pay much mind to it. The King smiles.

“ Titats have been in the palace since the days of the Sea Warriors, and they do their job well. I’m afraid I do not fully know how they work, but they do, and that’s what matters most!” Tashi strokes his beard, tilting his head at the Kilacton who merely huffs in response, returning to his staring contest with the blind bird.

“Tell me, young one, what is your role aboard the Starship Bangtan?” The Queen asks, walking closer. His face sets in anger as his gaze snaps to her.

“ I have been through many Choosing Times, I am not a child!” He seethes, stepping closer to stand toe to toe with the Queen. The only thing that stops him is a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder.

“Young one is just a term of endearment,.” Hoseok says. Jungkook stills at the light tone in his voice. “It’s just like me calling you Kookie, Kookie.” 

“Oh.” His entire demeanor changes in an instant, shoulders dropping and face relaxing. “I’m the Chief of Security.” The Queen nods, concern dancing in her eyes.

“Don’t worry about him, isa . His own culture is very different from all of ours, he’s still adjusting.” Hoseok smiles at Jungkook when the younger one growls at him.

“I assume your markings are like my military medals here?” The King asks, motioning to his sash covered in gold pieces. Jungkook nods, glancing down at his paint-covered chest.

“Then you and isat have a lot to talk about, Kookie.” Hoseok leaves Jungkook’s side to hug the Queen. “I missed you.” He whispers.

After that little… incident, everything seemed to go very smoothly. Hoseok and Yoongi spoke quickly to Yoongi’s parents in Scalnacian and Jimin didn’t bother trying to translate the fast paced conversation. Soon they were introduced to the rest of the aliens in the room. Sann, who they found out was the second born son, was there, as well as his Ashi , a woman named Gausta with just as many military medals as her bonded. Yoongi’s eldest brother named Shi stood proud, a smirk prominent on his face. He didn’t have an Ashi,  just like the third brother, Satiga who was standing next to him. They were able to meet Yuji, the youngest,  and his Ashi , the two people that the celebration was being held for. And finally they were introduced to Tas, the fifth born, and his two Ashis , one male and one female. All three of them were loud and boisterous, making jokes and jabs at those in attendance. These were Yoongi’s brothers. These people who were loud and laughing and fun … were Yoongi’s brothers?

Hoseok fit in perfectly with the ruckus and chattering, slipping from one conversation to another fluidly. Sann, Shi, Namjoon, Gausta and Tashi were discussing Military strategies while Jungkook listened, only giving his input if he thought that something one of them had said was “fucking stupid”. Jin found himself surrounded by not only the Queen but also the other two young women in attendance, all of them gushing at everything he said (He wouldn’t admit that he was enjoying himself). Jimin, Taehyung, and Satiga ended up entertaining Tas and Yuji, the two youngest brothers.  Honestly, everything was going so much better than Yoongi thought it would, he could feel his nerves from earlier that day slipping away the longer he watched his two families interacting with each other. 

“Mom! Dad!” Hoseok’s yell caused the conversation to stall. Everyone watched Hoseok run towards the now open doors where two humans stood. The guard that was about to introduce them simply shrugged before leaving the room. 

“Hoseok!” The woman shouted, meeting the engineer halfway, the two of them colliding with one another in a tightly locked embrace. The woman was barely shorter than Hoseok with the same fluffy black hair, although her’s was braided much like the Queen’s. His mother’s dress was a dark red silk gown, much less form fitting than the dress worn by Yoongi. As they swayed side to side the fabric brushed the floor.

“It has been too long, son.” His father says, walking closer to the two. They part enough so that he may join the hug. The man is taller than Hoseok, with chesnaught hair and tanned skin. Instead of the Scalnacian silks, he is wearing an official Starfleet uniform, his science blue shirt crisp and unwrinkled. A shiny, metal science badge catches the light from the candles. The trio make their way back to the cluster of people Hoseok had just run from.

“Mom, Dad,” He starts, motioning to his crewmates, “These are my friends and coworkers! Friends and coworkers, these are my parents!” Introductions are made soon after, and it is finally decided that it is time to sit for dinner. 

The 20 chairs are quickly filled and the chattering in the room starts up once again. Boisterous laughing, quickly spoken Federation Standard, and loud Scalnacian yells ring throughout the dining hall alongside the sound of silverware on plates. Ancient war stories are swapped, jokes are told, and, most importantly, Namjoon can’t help the swell of pride that fills his chest. 

Yoongi looks content, even joyous, an emotion not often outwardly seen from the Scalnacian. Hoseok is bursting with energy as always, but he has those around him that are matching it, making him question himself less. Taehyung seems looser than usual; while the navigator has never been one for strictness, the Captain can definitely tell that the burden he often holds above himself has been lessened slightly. Jimin for their part looks right at home, conversing with all of those around them easily. What truly makes Namjoon content, though, is seeing Jungkook interacting with Yoongi’s youngest brother. When the two had been seated near each other, he couldn’t help but worry. As he watches Yuji teaching Jungkook what looks like the Scalnacian version of Patty Cake, however, he can’t help but smile. Even with all of the shit life had thrown at him, it was nice to see that, deep down, Jungkook still had some innocence left. 

“Try this.” Jin’s voice knocked him out of his thoughts. Namjoon gently grabbed the extended glass, tipping it back until the wine-like drink hit his throat. Setting it down on his left, he hums.

“I’m keeping this.” He smirks, turning his head to his husband. The Vulcan looks over his left shoulder, raising his eyebrow at the glass stolen from him.

“I figured you would do that,” he states, raising a new glass to his lips. “That is why I poured two.” Namjoon pouts slightly, resting his right hand on Jin’s thigh. One of his own quickly settles on top of Namjoon’s, squeezing slightly.

“You really think that little of me?”

“Based on irrefutable evidence, I would say that I think of you just the right amount.”

“Aw, love, you think of me?” Namjoon laughs, tilting his head. Jin noted how much he looked like a golden retriever.

“You should know that by now.” A slight smirk plays on his lips before it is quickly replaced by his usually blank expression. “I feel that now is an appropriate time to tell you that I told you so.” Namjoon scoffed, leaning into the back of his chair slightly.

“And what were you so right about now?” Jin brings his glass up once again, sipping down the liquid as he glances around at the wonderful chaos in the room.

“That everything would go perfectly fine.” Namjoon hums. He can hear Jimin’s giggles and Taehyung’s deep chuckles from one side of the table mixing with the low curses and mutterings coming from Jungkook on the other side. And if asked about it later, he could probably recite exactly what harrowing stories were being told by Hoseok and the small corrections that Yoongi was making about them. A small smile spreads across his lips.

“Yeah… Yeah, Jin. Guess you were right again.” 

Chapter Text

The metallic taste spread through his mouth, coating his tongue. A cough tears its way through his throat, sending the crimson blood out to stain his already ruined shirt; he cringed as his ribs protested the action. The laughing and jeering only grew louder as the woman next to him, his chief medical officer whom he had served along for eleven years, fell to the ground. The man kneeling behind her stood to his full height, using what remained of her uniform to wipe himself off; it too soon joined her on the dirt, doing little to hide her beaten body. A loud chant soon followed as a woman, one of their own, made her way through the crowd, bowl in hand. She struggled through, hands grabbing at her loose robes, scratching at her exposed skin. Once she finally breaks through, she kneels in front of the leader, the same man that had just violated and murdered his closest friend. The leader dipped his hand into the bowl, fingers returning coated in a thick, black paint. With practiced ease he added a mark on the left of his chest, it almost blended in perfectly with the already numerous amounts of black and red markings. As the woman retreats the chanting descends into enthusiastic screams, the man’s fist raising into the air, pumping several times before it falls back down to his side.

The setting sun casts a sinister glow across the village square, deep, sharp shadows create an atmosphere of fear that sends shivers down his spine. He supposes that it is only fitting. It is like the universe is giving him the perfect place to die. A sharp tug of his hair causes a low grunt to leave his lungs, the pain once again met by laughter. Crouching in front of him, hand gripping his scalp, face so close he could smell his foul breath, was the leader. The man had deep scars running along his face and chest, one going so deep that it looked like a valley had been carved in the man’s cheek. His long, wild hair was pulled back into a series of braids, falling over his shoulders. His rough, stubbled chin twitched slightly as a smirk grew across his face.

“ Botac cha ro. ” He sneers, a chorus of men behind him chanting the same thing. His head is roughly pushed down, causing his vision to blur in pain as his hair is released.

“ Gapca cho! ” The leader yells, stalking his way to the audience. They quickly dissipate, following in the direction of the various sized huts. The men continue their jeering, pushing at one another, some even getting into small fist fights of their own. A few of the women tasked with carrying the paint wisk around, avoiding the large crowd when they can. As the villagers disappear inside, only the sounds of muffled yells can be heard. Silence blankets the town center. 

A breath he had been holding finally escapes him. Slowly, he lifts his head up, wincing at the growing migraine. He takes stock of his body. He is sitting cross legged; His hands are still tied to the wooden stake behind him with rough rope. Calling it a wooden pole wouldn’t do it justice. He can feel the steady drops of blood hitting his shoulders and running across the back of his neck from the body of an ensign that had been strung up there around an hour ago, although he could only guess the time. Glancing around the dirt square, he sucks in a sharp breath. His crew. Fifteen of his best and brightest. They were strewn across the ground, blood caking the dust making it look more like mud. Sniffling, he shook his head, groaning when he saw stars. A crunch to his right caught his attention.

He slowly turned his head as his breathing picked up in pace. There stood a man- No. He was only a boy, maybe seventeen or eighteen years old. He, like the others, was wearing high waisted, three quarter length pants. They were extremely ratted, holes littering his knees and calves. A rope, like the one around his wrists, circled the young boy’s waist. His chest and arms were covered in markings as well, however, no black marks, only red ones could be made out against his tanned skin. The boy took another step forward, gently avoiding stepping on the body next to him. He held his breath as the boy crouched low, similarly positioned as how the chief was before. His eyes darted around, taking account of his surroundings before turning back to him, a deep but gentle voice echoing in the silent night.

“ To? ” He asks, tilting his head, his curly hair falling into his eyes. When he doesn’t respond the boy hums, glancing around him once again.

“Are you thirsty?” His eyes widened in surprise at the boy’s clear use of Federation Standard.

“Yo-” His words are cut off by a sharp cough racking through his body. When he recovers the boy reaches forward, setting the rim of a small bowl against his lips. Tilting his head back, fresh liquid pours down his throat. He chugs it down, some falling and dripping down his chin in his haste. As the boy removes the bowl, he clears his throat.

“You speak Federation Standard?” He tries, although quiet the words get through. The boy nods. “How… How do you know it?” He stutters, surprise coating his features. The boy’s eyebrows furrow, setting the bowl down next to his foot. When the two meet eyes, the older man shudders at the emotion swirling in them.

“You are not the first of your kind.” He says, nodding to the scattered bodies. “I have learned your language over that time.”

“What’s your name, kid?” The boy’s posture shifts, reaching forward to roughly grab his face. 

“I am not a fucking child!” He growls. He begins panicking as his nails start digging into his cheeks. “If you are afraid of what happened here tonight, then you would scream in terror at the Choosing Times that I have been through. Do not insult me, star explorer!” He gasps as his face is released, the younger one wipes his hand on the ground, replacing the blood under his nails with dirt.

“I’m sorry, ki- sir. I didn’t mean to offend you.” He let out a breath as the other grunted in response. “I’m Admiral Jeon Blake of the Starship Memory. Who are you?”

“Jungkook.” He states, glancing at the center hunt as the quiet noises rise slightly. “It was a mistake coming here, Admiral.”

“The Memory and our sister ship Focus were attacked by Romulans. We had no choice but to abandon ship. Two of our escaping crafts were shot down and we emergency landed here.” Jeon argues, leaning slightly to adjust his position. “Trust me, if we had any other choice, we would not have come to Kilacton.”

“Romulans?” Jungkook asked. Jeon was surprised by the genuine curiosity that covered his face. It made him look so young. Innocent.

“A very hostile alien race.” He says. “Since we are so far out in the neutral zone we weren’t expecting the attack…” Jeon shudders as a harsh gust of wind hits them.

“Neutral zone?” Looking up once again, he takes Jungkook’s expression in.

“You know, if you’re so curious about space, I could teach you all about it.” Jungkook’s eyes grew although the rest of his face stayed the same. “If you get me my communicator, I can contact the Focus. Once they track my location they would be able to beam us up. You could learn all about the galaxy while traveling it!” The Kilacton’s face fell as he looked away. He stood, stretching his legs. After what felt like a lifetime of silence, Jungkook turned back to Jeon.

“I am sorry that you were the leader of your people.” He said, looking down at the bruised, broken man. “Turlock saves the leader until the end for a reason.”

“Jungkook! Wait, Jungkook, please!” Jeon cries as he walks away, not even taking a second look back. “Jungkook!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bridge of the USS Focus was in complete disarray when the Captain entered it. Lights were flashing, orders were being thrown, information was being yelled into com systems and communicators. The cacophony of sound only grew as the Captain was noticed.

“Captain!” The first officer shouted from their position at the navigation helm.

“Status report, number one.”

“Yes, ma’am. It has been confirmed that the Romulans have retreated. The USS Yorkshire and Bennington reported that they jumped into warp just outside of Maxus XII. Starfleet ordered them to stay in the neutral zone for another three days. We have been ordered to do any emergency repairs that need to be done before immediately returning to the nearest Starbase, which is near the orbit of Sirus V.”

“Thank you, Commander. The majority of the crew of the Memory are all accounted for aboard both our ship as well as the Bennington. Has there been any word from the two missing vessels?”

“No ma’am. The tracking devices on their uniforms can’t be traced either, and none of their communicators are active.” The Captain nodded, reaching past the officer to press a button near their hand.

“Captain to engineering. Start emergency repairs. Contact me when we are able to steadily fly.” A confirmation is heard on the other end before the connection is cut off.

“Captain Jeon?” She jumps slightly as her first officer lays a hand on her arm. “We’ll find him.”

“Eight planets, Gomez. Eight separate planets he could be on, and because of the Prime Directive, we can’t even do a ground search on any of them. And that’s assuming they actually made it onto any of them. It has been nearly two days since the attack first started.” The Captain sighs, rubbing her eyes. The metal of the wedding band was cold against her sweaty face.

“Captain! Captain, It’s Admiral Jeon’s communicator, it’s active!” The communications officer yelled above the roar of the bridge.

“Quiet everyone! Play it, Lieutenant!” The bridge was blanketed in silence until a crackling voice was heard over the speakers.

“-is working? Hello? Doch chao bo tatcot... ” The last part is mumbled, but it is clearly not the Admiral. The Captain lets out a breath, fear washing over her.

“Hello. This is Captain Suza Jeon of the USS Focus. Who is this? Where is Admiral Jeon?” The entire bridge goes rigid as they wait for a response, as if even the slightest movement would somehow disconnect the secured line.

“The Focus?” Gomez looked to the Captain when the question was asked. The Captain’s brows furrowed at the almost hopeful tone.

“Yes, this is the Focus. I ask once again: Who am I speaking to?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeon's eyes blinked slowly open as he was shaken harshly. He yelled out in pain as his torso was twisted to the right. Rough hands worked behind him to untie the rope holding him in place as his vision focused on the sky above him. It was much later than when he had passed out, it looked to be early morning, the sun just peaking over the horizon. The dry air was pressing down on him, making every breath a struggle to take in. It was only once his hands were freed, did he register that someone was touching him.

“Get off me, fucker!” He mumbled, using the little strength he had in his numb right arm to try and push him away. He yelped in surprise as he was lifted fireman style onto his shoulders. His heavy limbs were nearly impossible to move, but that didn’t stop the admiral from trying to struggle his way out of the tight grip. “I said-”

“Shut the fuck up!” The man carrying him whispered. “You are going to alert the others.”

“Jungkook?” A hummed confirmation is what Jeon got in return, so he relaxed in the Kilacton’s grip. “What’s going on?”

“We’re leaving.” Jungkook says, stepping over the numerous bodies covering the ground. Before he could get any further, Jeon grunts and points to a glinting metal in a pool of dried blood on the ground. The kilaction grabs it before quickening his pace to get to the tree line, Jeon hisses as he bounces on the other’s shoulders.

“Where are we going?”

“The Focus will be in range at sunrise. I’m taking us to the breeding den. It’s a wide clearing that will be safe to wait in.” The admiral grunts, letting his head bounce with the hurried steps of the other. It’s a few minutes later when they break through into a large clearing, a small, wooden hut in the center. As soon as they step foot on the barren land, Jungkook sets him back on the ground. It takes a minute for Jeon’s vision to stop spinning, when it finally does, he notices Jungkook fidgeting with something in his hands.

“Is that my communicator?” He gasps. Jungkook raises an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Wait a second! You- you said the Focus was coming!” The Captain yells. “You contacted the Focus!”

“Yes.”

“You- wait… how did you figure out how to work it? Those are secure lines… how did you-”

“I just kept trying different things until it worked, now keep your voice down!” The Kilcaton grunted, using his left hand to push his hair out of his eyes.

“But how-” He was cut off by a gasp. Jungkook said something in his native language under his breath as both sets of eyes landed on a figure standing in the doorway of the hut. It was a small girl, probably only seven years old. Her eyes filled with tears as she took in the two men. Slowly, her hands went up to her shoulders, pushing the fabric off until the loose gown fell around her feet.

“ Tac bow. ” She said, eyes not leaving Jungkook’s frame. The Admiral’s eyes widen in panic as he begins walking towards the young girl.

“Jungkook, what’s going on?” He asks from his spot on the ground. The girl’s eyes shift to him briefly before returning to the approaching man. Jeon’s breath quickens as he remembers Jungkook’s words from earlier. He said breeding den . Shit he said fucking breeding den. “What do you think you are doing, Jungkook? Stay away from her, she's only a little girl!” He yells, trying to stand up only for his knees to buckle under him. He watches in horror as Jungkook reaches her. He kneels down so he is now eye level with the child. After a moment of silence, he reaches up to brush a piece of hair behind the girl’s ear; he reaches down and pulls the dirty white cloth back over the child's body, making sure it was secure in place before letting go. A small smile appears on his face.

“ Boca lat. Joka joka tac da chatta, baba. ” He says, patting her head when he says ‘ baba’ . The girl smiles back at him, patting him back on the head in the same way.

“ Botac cha ro, baba. ” She giggles, running back inside the hut, closing the door on her way in. The Admiral gapes at him as Jungkook makes his way back, dropping to sit next to him on the dirt.

“What the hell just happened?” Jungkook glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before looking away.

“She was trying to submit to me.”

“She’s a child.” The Admiral growled, “Don’t tell me you would take advantage of someone so helpless!” Jungkook’s head snapped to him, his eyes filled with anger, face set in a scowl.

“I have no black marks on my body!” He hisses, picking up a rock and throwing it into the tree line. Jeon shudders as he remembers Turlock’s painted body.

“Don’t tell me…” He mumbles, glancing back to the hut. The two sit in silence, watching the sky take on a golden hue.

“Is the galaxy like this place?” The young man asks, staring up at the rising sun. The admiral pauses for a moment, looking at his profile. On any other planet, in any other situation, this would be the face of an innocent child. His last time visiting the academy was a few years ago, yet he can so clearly remember seeing this face. Hundreds of them walking the halls, talking and laughing and so ready to learn.

“No, Jungkook.” He says, because he is talking to a child . “The rest of the galaxy is nothing like this.” A gentle beep is what breaks the silence between them. Jungkook slowly opens the communicator.

“Jungkook?” The Kilacton hums.

“Blake?” The Captain’s breath comes out in a sharp exhale as tears start gathering in his eyes.

“I’m here, Suza. I’m here.”

“It will be just one second, ok, honey? One second and then you’ll be out of there.”

“I can’t wait.” He chuckles, turning to face the young man sitting next to him. “You ready, Jungkook?” Even though his face is set in a neutral expression, his eyes are glimmering.

A loud yell followed by several others can be heard in the distance. Shouts of anger and confusion as the tribe finds the village square empty of their captive. The Admiral can’t help but let out a sob as he thumbs the bloodied medical pin in his palm. White rings of light circle around them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No.”

“But, Admiral!”

“I said no.” Jeon chuckles as he walks past another cadet, waving at them as they salute him. Jungkook growls, speeding up to be able to walk directly next to him.

“You said you had something important to tell me, I want to fucking know what.” The Kilacton whined, pulling at the collar of his uniform.

“But that would ruin the surprise, Jungkook!”

“Fuck you and your surprises.” He grumbles, shaking his head to move his bangs away from his eyes.The two of them take a sharp right turn, passing through an enclosed glass bridge that gives them the perfect view of the rest of the academy grounds. Jeon can still remember the first time he brought Jungkook to this bridge only a year ago. They continue on their journey, passing classroom after classroom, office after office, with only the occasional colored commentary from Jungkook. Finally they stop in front of his own office door.

“Do you remember all those months ago when I promised you the chance to travel the galaxy?” Jungkook nodded quickly, humming in confirmation. Jeon opened the door motioning for the Kilacton to follow him in. As the door shuts behind them a figure rises from one of the chairs sitting in front of his desk. The man wore a golden uniform, his shirt crisp and badge perfectly positioned on his chest. His blonde hair was pushed messily back from his forehead; there were dimples adorning his tan cheeks.

“Admiral Jeon, it is great to see you again.” He says, shaking the admiral’s hand. Jeon looks back at Jungkook, a bright smile gracing his face.

“ Lieutenant Commander Jeon Jungkook, meet Captain Kim Namjoon.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is really the best option for Admiral Rowen’s transport?” Namjoon said, adjusting himself in his seat. “It’s not that I’m trying to question your command, but Admiral Rowen is notoriously… unkind to alien races; and more than half of my commanding staff are non-humans.”

“Call it what it is, Captain. Rowen is incredibly speciesist, and as much as I wish I could direct another ship toward him, the Bangtan is the only one in the sector that is able to get him to Starbase Pluto in the timeframe needed.” Admiral Jeon sighed. Namjoon could see the wrinkles of his forehead through the screen. “It is imperative that his research gets there. Please believe me when I say I wish there was another way, Kim.”

Namjoon hummed, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling of his ready room. The faint sound of chatter from the bridge made its way through, breaking the silence that had descended upon the two men. The Captain glanced back down at the screen in front of him, Jeon’s eyebrow was raised, a look of waiting on his face. Namjoon scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Admiral, I believe you.”

“I’m glad!” Jeon smiled. “Now that that is handled, tell me, how is Jungkook?”

A chuckle left Namjoon’s chest before he could stop it, he ran a hand through his hair while shaking his head in disbelief.

“That bad?”

“He came down with a mild cold two weeks ago, it was bad enough that Jin confined him to medbay for a few days. During his stay he was so difficult that every single nurse except one told Jin that they would quit if they had to treat him one more time.”

“That boy is quite a handful, hm?” Jeon laughed, leaning closer to the screen.

“You only say that because you didn’t have to deal with a sick Kilacton.”

“You tell him I said to stop causing the med staff trouble. Okay, Kim?”

“Of course, sir. He’ll be glad to hear from you.”

“I know it. Well then, Captain, I’ve taken up too much of your time already! I’ll let Admiral Rowen know that you’re on your way. If he causes too much trouble, please contact Starfleet headquarters. Better yet, just contact me. God knows they won’t do anything about his behavior.”

“Aye, aye, Admiral.” They said their goodbyes, and Namjoon couldn’t help but let out a long groan as soon as the visual shut off. His head fell to the desk, a soft thud echoing in the room. It had to be Rowen. Fucking Admiral Rowen. The most notoriously speciesist admiral in all of Starfleet combined. And he just had to be going on his ship. His goddamn ship that was full. of. aliens. He slammed his head harder after each thought until a dull ache formed. Sitting up he rubbed the small red mark now present. A beep sounded to his right; he pushed the blinking red button perhaps a little too aggressively. Jimin’s voice came through clearly.

“Your presence is requested on the bridge, sir!”

“Acknowledged.” Namjoon took a second to compose himself, standing and smoothing out the wrinkles in his top. In only a few steps he was at the door, stepping through onto the bridge as soon as it slid open. His eyes traveled around, landing on the various officers at their stations working diligently. Well… almost all of them.

In the center of the bridge were six very tense officers. Taehyung was fully turned around in his chair, knee bouncing quickly. Jimin had positioned themself so they were leaning, arms crossed, against Taehyung’s station. Yoongi had his elbows on the railing in front of him, Hoseok standing next to him, rubbing small circles on his back. Jungkook was chewing slightly on his thumb, hips swaying side to side, bumping into Jin everytime he swung left. Jin, on his part, looked the most calm, although Namjoon supposed that was to be expected. His hands were behind his back, perfect posture, as his body gently rocked every time Jungkook made contact with him. The two were standing directly next to the Captain’s chair. Namjoon cleared his throat as their eyes landed on him.

“So? What’s the verdict then?” Hoseok was the first to speak, causing the chatter on the bridge to die down. Everyone was now waiting for Namjoon’s next words. Without moving from his spot in front of his ready room’s door, he spoke.

“We are to head to Outpost Delta. From there we will transport Admiral Rowen and his very important research to Starbase Pluto.” A chorus of groans and protests rang across the bridge, filling the air.

“I’m sorry, but we are the only ones available for this mission. Besides, it will only be three days.”
“That’s easy for you to say! Three days is a long time to be treated like a sub-species.” Taehyung crossed his arms as he spoke, leaning back into his chair. Yoongi hummed in agreement.

“I do not wish to anger any of you, but I must agree with Starfleet’s decision.” Jin spoke, eyes turned towards him. “The Bangtan is the most logical choice of transportation. Not only that, but, as the Captain stressed, the research that Admiral Rowen has done is incredibly important, and its arrival at Starbase Pluto is crucial for the development of the Curio vaccine.”

“What are you saying, Jin? That we should just stand around and wait to be treated like that old man’s personal punching bag?” Taehyung’s chuckle was humorless.

“I am simply saying that, for the betterment of the medical community, we must put aside our personal quarrels with one man.”

“Yoongi’s right,” Hoseok mumbles, stilling the motion of his hand. Yoongi grunted in disapproval. “What? You’re right, and if you aren’t going to say it out loud, I will for you. These orders aren’t fair. Starfleet is being intentionally ignorant.”

“They know. They do not care.” The Scalnacian’s statement sounded final, like he was ending the whole conversion. Even the normally talkative Jimin was quiet, a tense silence blanketing the bridge, everyone frozen. Jungkook was the only active one, his swaying being the only movement among the seven of them. His left hand shot up tugging gently at the end of his hair.

“Did you talk to Admiral Jeon?” He asked, his voice soft. Namjoon finally crossed the bridge, stopping to stand directly in front of them.

“I did, Jungkook. There is nothing he can do.” The Kilacton hummed, looking at Jin.

The only sound on the bridge was the beeping controls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Help me, Obiwan Kenobi! You’re my only hope!” Taehyung laughed as he spoke alongside the ancient Earthen film, slightly tipsy. He was currently sprawled out across Jungkook’s lap. His upper body nearly hung off the couch while his right leg was propped on the back of it, making it cross Jungkook’s upper body. Jimin giggled from the snack bin on the counter at the look of annoyance on Jungkook’s face.

“You look like you’re wearing a seatbelt, Kookie.”

“I’m keeping him safe, Jiminie!” Jungkook huffed when Tae shifted, his left knee digging into his side. The Kilacton leaned forward to grab the juice box off the coffee table; Taehyung let out a choked scream as he was knocked off the couch.

Jimin hurriedly made their way back to the couch, bags of chips and pretzels nearly spilling out of their arms. As they sat down they shimmied their hips in order to fit between Jungkook’s left side and the arm of the couch. Sock clad toes poked at Tae’s butt; he let out a yelp, shooting straight up.

“Watch yourself, Jiminie! I know where you sleep!”

“No offense, Tae, but you glaring at me while wearing heart boxers, a Peppa Pig shirt, and fluffy, striped socks really doesn’t inspire much fear. Where did you even find that shirt?” Their question was punctuated by another swift kick to Tae’s leg.

“Hey! Don’t disrespect the shirt! Peppa is a classic!”

“You literally found the centuries old show last week.”

“Ya and it’s great. The last season was a little iffy, you could tell they were running out of ideas. The grand finale was fantastic though!” As he spoke Taehyung pushed himself off the floor and back onto the couch, his legs flying up to rest on the coffee table.

“The last season !” Jimin shrieked, leaning forward so they could see the Tirmun without Jungkook blocking their view. “Taehyung, there are thirty-two seasons of Peppa Pig.”

“Yeah and I watched all of them!” 

“Taehyung, it's been a week! How in the hell did you watch every single episode? When was the last time you slept?”

“I slept through most of season twenty-six, admittedly. We had the nebula storm scare that morning, so I was pretty tired.”

“You also slept through season twelve’s finale.” Jungkook mumbled, chewing on the straw of his apple juice. He froze, the straw falling out of his mouth as he noticed Jimin’s death glare directed at him.

“And how would you know that, Jungkook?” The Kilacton shifted slightly.

“I was with him.”

Jimin exploded at that, using the pillow once behind their back to hit Taehyung over the back of the head. Chips now were spread across the floor as Jungkook struggled to hold back the communications officer hovering over his lap. Taehyung was doing nothing to help, choosing to laugh his ass off as he took every blow thrown at him.

“You absolute creature! Not only did you skip date night to watch Peppa the fucking Pig!” The pillow came dangerously close to Jungkook’s face. “But you were a bad influence on Kookie!”

“Jungkook was the one that suggested it!”

A pause.

Jungkook couldn’t stop the pillow that flew into his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Did you see Taehyung sneaking out of our room after his shift?” Hoseok asked, his right hand gently stroking across Yoongi’s back. The two of them were laying under their plush, black covers, lights dimmed. Yoongi was resting on Hoseok’s chest, fingers gliding across his skin. The heat of the room pressed down on the two, the familiar humidity of Scalnaco creating an atmosphere of pure peace and tranquility.

“ I was at the desk when he came in. He didn’t even see me. ”

“ What did he take? ” 

“ He stole our bottle of Scalnacian wine. ” Yoongi chuckled. Hoseok pressed his chin to his chest so he could look Yoongi in the eye.

“You mean the bottle of Scalnacian wine we kept in the desk drawer?” Yoongi only laughed in response, going back to drawing on his chest.

“That kid… I swear. He’s a genius when it comes to navigation, but…” Hoseok trailed off, his head lolling back to stare at the ceiling. 

When they had first boarded the Bangtan, their room had to be heavily modified. Hoseok had to adjust the climate system himself in order for Yoongi to be able to comfortably walk around without his jumpsuit on. While he did that, though, Yoongi worked on his own project. The painted swirls and marks that covered the area above their bed was an exact replica of the art present in their bedroom at home. The two had spent so much time memorizing the depiction of the sky the day they bonded that Yoongi had been able to complete it by memory alone.

No. That won’t work…

Hoseok’s eyebrows furrowed as Yoongi’s thoughts slipped into his head inadvertently. When they were so close and relaxed like this the mental barrier the two shared tended to slip without their control.

Two hundred and seven… multiplied by… yes! That’s it!

“I’m sorry, Are you doing math equations on my chest!?” Yoongi’s finger came to a sudden halt.

“ Oh gods, you were! I can’t believe you, Suga!”

“Would it help if I told you that I think I just figured out how to solve the Garian equation?” Hoseok’s eyes widened in shock.

“The theoretical theorem that, if ever solved, could change the very way we calculate quantum physics? That Garian equation?” Yoongi shifted so he was straddling Hoseok, the comforter falling to reveal the rest of his body. A smirk played on his face as he rolled his hips against Hoseok’s. The human groaned as his bonded leaned forward, growling into his ear.

“That Garian equation.” His hands flew to Yoongi’s hips, gripping tightly.

“ That might be the sexiest thing you’ve ever said. ”

“Round two?”

“Second sexiest then!” They both laugh as Hoseok flips the two of them over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am unable to properly describe the emotion I am currently feeling; however, I feel it is important to express to you that it is, in fact, completely negative.” Jin huffs as he pulls the faded shirt over his head, soft fabric causing his hair to become staticy. Namjoon hums from where he’s sitting at his desk. The Captain hadn’t yet had a chance to change out of his uniform, he had just gotten done discussing all the accommodations that were being made with Admiral Rowen. Since he had taken the call in their room, when Jin’s shift finished he was able to sit in on it. It just so happened that the moment he entered the room from his long, nearly twenty hour shift, was the exact same moment that Rowen decided to tell Namjoon his thoughts on the Chief Medical Officer.

“I don’t want that green-blooded robot that you call a doctor to even look at my research, that is what he said. As if a second pair of eyes has never done a scientist any good.” Namjoon sighed as Jin began pulling the comforter back. His shoulders were tense, and he kept shaking his head side to side as he mumbled. Namjoon ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that, Jin. I would have taken it in my ready room if I had known.” Said Vulcan snapped straight up, quickly turning to look at his husband.

“What I said earlier is true. I agree with StarFleet’s decision.”

“I know, baby.”

“The Curio vaccine is incredibly important.” Jin was pacing now, turning to stare at Namjoon at every point made.

“It is.”

“And it is up to us to push aside any personal feelings we may have for the benefit of all those that will be helped by said vaccine.”

“I agree with you, sweetheart.”

“Then why is it that, no matter how aware of these facts I may be, I feel like my chest is going to explode!” Silence fell over the room as Jin pushed a stack of holopadds off of the desk onto the floor. The two men stared into each other's eyes; Namjoon from where he sat in his chair and Jin from where he stood, leaning on the desk, arms supporting his weight. The Vulcan was breathing heavily, his normally sculpted mask had completely melted away, replaced by a deep scowl and furrowed brows.

“Am I listening, comforting, or giving advice?” Namjoon asks. When Vulcans are unable to keep a hold of their emotions, they can become extremely volatile. While it was never pleasant, Namjoon counted himself lucky that Jin trusted him enough to let his walls crumble when he was around. And as far as Jin’s meltdowns went, this was tame. Only a few cracked holopadds was a win in Namjoon’s book.

“Tell me why I’m feeling!” Namjoon grunted as he pushed out of his seat. Walking past his husband, he made his way to the bed, sitting just on the edge of it. The Vulcan’s eyes followed him. He quickly sat down right next to the human as soon as he was beckoned forward. When both men were comfortably positioned, shoulders barely brushing, Namjoon spoke.

“You are obviously upset. I would say you are angry at what he said.”

“Many people refer to me in such a way. I never lose my composure when compared to a machine. If that were the case then I would be in this unappealing state much more often than not.”

“Come on, Jin. We both know that that is not what I’m talking about. Don’t ignore the issue, it will only make you feel worse…”

“I am ignoring nothing.”

“What else did he say?”

“I do not have a problem with that.”

“Jin,” Namjoon sighed, knocking their shoulders together. “You’re being illogical.”

“...All he’s good for is looking at. That is what he said.”

All your good for is looking at, Vulcan

Jin shivers as the voice whispers in the back of mind, flashes of chains, blood, and dirt floors cloud his vision.

“I think that is probably why you lost control, Seokjin. Those are the same words that-”

“Do not say it.” Jin interrupted. After a tense moment of quiet, the human stood, now looking down at the other.

“I’m going to change for bed, okay?” A soft confirmation fell from Jin’s lips.

The room was blanketed in a thin silence, the sound of shifting clothes and soft sniffles filled the room. Namjoon went to the bathroom to change. Jin was in too fragile of a state to strip in front of right now. To be fair, Namjoon also shouldn’t be leaving him alone, but he really didn’t want to have to fall asleep in the stiff uniform that he’d been wearing all day. As he exited the bathroom in his sweatpants and tshirt, he noticed Jin had yet to move. He was still seated on the edge of the bed, rocking back and forth gently as he stared at the wall in front of him.

“Lights thirty percent.” The room slowly started descending into darkness as the lights began dimming. Namjoon grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the closet, setting them on the couch. Surprisingly only three of the holopadds had any visible damage; Namjoon separated them into two stacks onto the desk so he could take the broken ones to engineering in the morning. A look of sympathy flashes across his face when he turns again to face Jin. He makes his way to him, making sure to make his footsteps as noticeable as possible; his knees popped as he crouched down, looking up at his face. Namjoon was careful not to touch him.

“Seokjin? Can you hear me, Seokjin?” No pet names until he was fully back. That was one of their rules. He couldn’t be sure how much time passed in silence, but it was enough that he had to shift slightly to get rid of the ache forming in his joints. Jin blinked, shook his head, and looked down at Namjoon’s dimpled smile.

“There you are, baby.” His voice was a whisper. “Come on, let’s try to get some sleep, it’s gonna be a long day, yeah?” 

“Do not touch me.” The wobble in his voice was so slight that anyone who hadn’t spent years studying the Vulcan would have had trouble picking it up; luckily, Namjoon had spent all these years doing just that. As he stood, he kept his hands in view of Jin.

“Of course not. I’ll even sleep on the couch. Now come on.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namjoon groaned as he popped his back, trying to chase the stiffness that had formed. Hoseok chuckled from where he was sitting across from him at the table, setting his half eaten toast down.

“What?”

“Long night, Cap?” His eyes were full of mirth, sparkling in the mess hall’s lights.

“You could say that.” Namjoon’s statement sounded more like a question. Both men’s eyes fell onto Yoongi as he set his tray down next to Hoseok’s. He huffed in discomfort as he sat down, popping his back like Namjoon just had.

“Back killing me.” The Scalnacian mumbled. A puff of air blew from Hoseok’s nose as he reached to pick his toast back up.

“Sorry.” His mumble was met with a harsh elbow to the side by Yoongi.

“Do you have to be so loud? It’s so early.” Eyes shifted to the Tirmun, his voice muffled from where it was placed on the table. He was seated to Namjoon’s right. Jimin had sat across from Taehyung and was now running their hand through his brown locks.

“I told you that you shouldn’t have drank so much.” They scolded.

“I didn’t mean to drink the entire bottle!”

“You drank an entire bottle of Scalnacian wine?” Hoseok’s eyes were wide. “No wonder you’re hung over!”

“No one said anything about Scalnacian wine.” Taehyung pointed, but since his head was still on the table his finger was pointed at the wall rather than Hoseok.

“Why did Chewy not get a fucking medal at the end?”

“You can not seriously still be upset over this, Kookie. Let it go.” Jimin whined, grabbing his fork. Jungkook huffed from where he sat on Namjoon’s left.

“I like him though.”

“Why do ya like him, Kookie?” Hoseok asked.

“He reminds me of a sehlat .”

“What’s a sehlat ?” Taehyung asks as he slaps Jimin’s utensil away from his bacon.

“A sehlat is a large bear-like animal native to the planet Vulcan. They have six-inch fangs, despise climbing, and are particularly aggressive creatures. They are also a common pet among Vulcan children.” Everyone’s eyes turned to Jin as he sat to the left of Jungkook, coffee in hand.

“Jin showed me a picture of his from before he joined Starfleet. It looks just like Chewy. But on all fours. And meaner.”

“So it doesn’t look just like Chewy then?” Jimin laughs.

“ Bo baca kikco ta. ” The pink-haired officer laughs even harder as the Kilacton slips into his native language.

“Awwww! Gigo kat boract ga, baba ~” Jungkook’s nose scrunched up in displeasure.

“Don’t call me baba .”

“But you call Lizzie baba .” Jimin pouts, bottom lip pushed out.

“That’s- that’s not… Just don’t call me that.” He mumbled, shoving an apple slice into his mouth.

The conversation continued amicably from there. As they ate, the seven officers all laughed and joked with one another. Taehyung downed four cups of coffee, and Hoseok, in sympathy, gave him his own as well. A Scalnacian wine hangover was a different experience. Around an hour later, when everyone had fully finished their meals, Namjoon cleared his throat.

“Right, so, we should arrive at Outpost Delta in half an hour. For the next three days try to stick to your posts. Jin stay in medbay, Yoongi stay in the lab, I’ll come down if I need anything. Jungkook, I'll send you Rowen’s schedule, plan your movements around him. Jimin, Taehyung, you will be on the bridge with me, so it will be hard to avoid him. Just try to keep your heads down, ok?” All of the respective aliens nodded, murmurs of agreement and resolve.

“The most important thing is that none of you are alone with him, ok? I sent a message to all the other non-humans on board this morning. They are doing the simple buddy plan. Since you all are division heads that won’t work as well for you but…” Namjoon ran his fingers through his hair.

“Either Maive or I will be in engineering all week. Rowen doesn’t have clearance for the blueprint room, so we’ll keep it unlocked.” Hoseok added. 

“Alright then,” Namjoon glanced around the table one last time, “To your stations.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Tell me again why I have to be here.” Jimin’s face was unimpressed as they stood, arms crossed, next to the Captain. Their normally pink uniform top had been swapped for the typical red shirt.

“Because you are the First Officer of this ship, Jimin.” Namjoon sighed, fixing his sleeve. “And Rowen wanted to meet the First Officer; just in case something happens, and he has to work with you instead of me.”

“How optimistic of him.” The sarcasm in their voice was so thick that Namjoon could feel the eye roll in his soul.

“Play nice, Jimin.” A quiet, non-committing agreement passed the communication officer’s lips after the Captain’s words.

“The transporter is live, Cap.” Hoseok says, hand hovering over the slider. “On your command.”
“Beam him aboard, Hoseok.” The three officers wait in silence as the shimmering, white light appears. Within a few seconds, the light dissipates, and an old man wearing a crisp, blue admiral’s uniform fully materializes.

Admiral Rowen was an average looking man in his early 70s. He wasn’t particularly tall, but also wasn’t short enough to be considered short (especially not with their resident Chief of Science aboard). His short, wispy grey hair grew like a nest on top of his head; a pair of oval wire-framed glasses sat on his nose. A leather messenger’s bag stuffed with papers and holopadds was slung across his chest.

“Welcome aboard, Admiral Rowen. I am Captain Kim Namjoon, this is my First Officer,  and Chief of Communications, Commander Jimin.” The Admiral’s eyes fell on Jimin’s bubble gum colored hair for a moment too long before returning to Namjoon.

“Captain.” He mumbled. Namjoon groaned in his head, that’s the other thing Rowen was known for: mumbling every goddamn word.

“And who’s that?” He motioned over to Hoseok, barely even glancing at him.

“That is our Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Jung Hoseok, sir.” Hoseok nodded his head, greeting the admiral after Namjoon’s introduction. 

“Right then, take me to the science bay.” Namjoon’s shoulders stiffened slightly.

“Sir, wouldn't you rather rest. I’m sure that, with the recent work you’ve done, you must be tired. I would be happy to show you to-”

“I’m not some lazy, pig-faced Tellarite, Captain. I have work to do.” Namjon nodded his head.

“Understood, Admiral. Please, follow me. Commander Jimin, please report to the bridge, you have the chair until my return.”

“Yes, sir.” Jimin saluted before making a quick exit.

“Can’t believe you would give away the conn to someone like them.” He hears from behind him.

“I assure you, Admiral, Commander Jimin has a good head on their shoulders. They are my Number One for a reason.”

“Sure. Take me where I want to go.”

“Of course, sir.” Namjoon sighs as they make their way down the hallway. Of course this couldn’t go according to plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The light squeaking of the marker against the board fills the room alongside the soft muttering falling from the Chief’s lips. Whilst most of the officers present take the calming background noise as a chance to get ahead in their work, two are sitting at the station next to where the Scalnacian is, watching as he swiftly writes down numbers, letters, and scribbled notes. Lieutenant Tatum Swiftwater, an incredibly intelligent young woman, sits on her stool, rotating it side to side as she rebraids one side of her waist length, brown hair; next to her is Ensign Noah Mobey, a recently graduated technician who had only been assigned to the Bangtan a week prior. He sat straight on his stool, hands clasped in his lap.

“Are you sure that this is ok? Shouldn't we be… I don’t know? Actively working?” He stutters out under his breath, glancing at Tatum.

“Relax, newbie, we are working.” She chuckles, slipping the hair tie off her wrist. “You were hired as my research assistant, right?” The red head nods his head nervously.

“Well that’s what we are doing, assisting in resear- Hey!” A shout of protest leaves her lips as an eraser hits her forehead before falling to the floor.

“You are not assisting. You are sitting.” Yoongi’s eyebrow is raised at her. “Stop being bad influence.” Tatum scoffs.

“To be fair, you are letting me sit here. You are my boss, you know? Do something about it.” Noah’s face visibly pales at her challenge.

“Maybe- um… maybe we should find something to work on. You were saying something about a protein earlier?”

“Nah, newbie. Like I said, if he needed us to be doing something else, we would be.” Yoongi rolls his eyes before turning back to the board. Stepping back he looks at what he had written so far. The mumbles start up again as he goes back to revise a previous section.

Noah’s green eyes drift across the board and all of the information strung across it. If you would have told him a month ago that when he graduated he would be working under the Commander Jung Yoongi, he wouldn’t have believed you. He was a legend in the science division within the last few years, students and teachers alike telling stories about the cold genius of a man with sharp, piercing eyes. Based on the stories alone, Noah had been terrified when he got his assignment. And while he was only assigned to be a research assistant for a lieutenant, it was still a post on the Bangtan. The Bangtan where the Commander Jung was the Chief of Science.He had felt a sort of calm knowing that he, a mere ensign, probably wouldn’t have to interact with the terrifying man that was the Commander.

But that dream had been shattered when he boarded. Not only had the Captain personally greeted him in the transporter room (what the hell?!), but so had the woman he would be working under. It was Lieutenant Tatum Swiftwater. Now he had heard of her, who hadn’t? She graduated only two years before him, having breezed through the Academy in record time. She was smart, she was confident, and most worrisome of all, she worked as the Commander’s second hand.

“So, newbie?” Tatum started, elbowing him in the side.

“Yes, ma’am?” She laughed slightly at his formality. Even at her insistence that it was fine, he wouldn’t drop it.

“What do you think?”

“About what?” She points at the board.

“Do you recognize any of it?” Noah glances at the board again, trying to take in any of the information.

“That’s the Garian equation, right?” Tatum hummed in approval. “I thought it was impossible to solve.”

“That’s what everyone thought. That’s why we are sitting here, newbie. We are witnessing history. Commander Jung figured out how to solve it.” Noah looked back to Swiftwater, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the Commander.

“Ya but… Starfleet scientists have been trying to solve it for centuries.” Swiftwater hums, nodding her head. She looks at Noah, and as their eyes meet, she points to the Scalnacian.

“Trust me, Mobey, if Commander Jung says he can do it, he will. I have no doubt in that, and neither should you.” Noah nods at her commanding tone. He had only ever heard it before when she had scolded another ensign for not properly cleaning a test tube his second day. 

“Lieutenant, hand me eraser.” Yoongi’s voice broke through their exchange. Tatum bent down to grab the eraser, complaining about it the whole time, before finally tossing it back at the Scalnacian. He barely caught it.

“You lucky I need you.” He snaps, no real heat behind his words. Tatum sticks her tongue out.

“Don’t act like you don’t love me!” The two continue bickering back and forth, Yoongi occasionally slipping Scalnacian words, presumably insults, in. Noah watches in disbelief at the two supposed legends in front of him. After a brief glance aground at the officers still working in peace, he assumes this sort of scene must be more common than he thought. Their bickering continues even as the doors to Science Bay open. Noah elbows Swiftwater in the side as he sees the Captain walking in, a man in an Admiral’s uniform close behind.

“Hey, newbie, what the hell-” She cuts herself off as soon as she looks at what has the ensign's attention. She quickly stands and grabs Noah by the arm, saluting quickly to Yoongi, before pulling the technician over to a nearby workstation, thrusting a holopadd with information on a protein into his hands.

Yoongi slowly puts the cap back on his marker, setting it gently down on the table the two officers had just vacated. His eyes follow the Captain as he makes his way closer. Namjoon shoots him a sympathetic expression.

“Admiral Rowen, this is the head of our science division, Commander Jung Yoongi.” Yoongi bowed in greeting as Admiral Rowen looked him up and down. A scowl grew across his face when they made eye contact.

“Why are you wherin that ridipcouls junpsu?” The Scalnacian’s eyes widen slightly as he stares at the Admiral’s lips. He uncomfortably shifts where he is standing. The Admiral sighs in exasperation.

“Whaaa? You can’t speac Fedretion Stendird? Thout you were supost to be smart.” Yoongi’s eyebrows furrow. The language was already hard enough, add the Admiral’s slurred, quiet, and mumbled speech and it became nearly impossible for the Scalnacian to understand. Yoongi looks at Namjoon.

“ Can’t you tell him to speak up? I can’t understand him when he talks like that. ” The Captain sighs, running his hand through his hair. He closes his eyes, hoping for good fortune, and turns to the Admiral.

“Sir, Commander Jung is perfectly capable of understanding and speaking Federation Standard, it just isn’t his first language so it can be difficult at times. If you spoke a little more clearly than-”

“I’m not changing how I speak because the idiot can’t learn my language.” Namjoon is cut off by the Admiral’s response. By the shadow now present in Yoongi’s eyes, he assumed the Scalnacian was able to make out the jist of that pointed comment.

“Sir-”

“Hey, you.” The Admiral grabs Noah’s arm as he passes by on his way to grab a beaker. “Is that the Garian equation?” The ensign’s eyes widened as looks from the Admiral to his Commander. Yoongi just sighs, crossing his arms.

“Uh… yes, sir.” Rowen lets go with a scoff. 

“As if it could solve the Garian equation.” He says under his breath. He turns to face the Captain, completely ignoring the bewildered look on the ensign's face. “I changed my mind. I would much rather go to my room, where my work won’t be… contaminated.”

“Right, sir.” Namjoon follows Admiral Rowen out, glancing at Yoongi over his shoulder before fully exiting. Once the doors closed behind them, Yoongi looked around.

For the first time he noticed how still the Science Bay had gone. No one was working, instead they were all staring at him, looks of confusion and sympathy on their faces. Yoongi sighs.

“Get back to work.” At his order the room slowly returns to normal. He turns back to his board, uncapping the marker. Tatum slides up next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Boss?” 

Yoongi smirks as the squeaks of the marker on the board fill the space.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook sighs as he swivels in his chair, glancing once more at the monitors. Live feeds of an array of different corridors filter through, various officers of all different divisions walk through them. Some are holding holopadds or carrying boxes. Some are talking to each other. He sees one of his security officers doing their patrol. Leaning forward, Jungkook messes with the various controls in front of him until a few of the screens switch to multiple angels of the bridge.

Jimin is at their station, earpiece in and flicking switches occasionally, Jungkook scowls as he notices that they are wearing a different uniform than normal. Looking at a different monitor, he sees Taehyung. The Tirmun is staring out the viewscreen, only looking down to check his workstation, making sure they are still on track. Last night, before downing the Scalnacian wine, Taehyung had talked at Jungkook about all of the possible routes to Starbase Pluto. He had been trying to plot the quickest one possible, seeing if he could cut the three days even shorter. Jungkook’s eyes snap to another screen as the Captain walks out of his ready room, immediately plopping down into his chair, running a hand through his hair. Jungkook’s own fingers play with the hoop in his left ear.

“Anything interesting?” Jungkook grunts as he leans back in his seat. The woman that had just spoken sits down in the chair next to him, setting a juice box down in front of him as she sips from her own cup of coffee.

“Thank you.” The straw slides through the foil circle easily, and the Kilaction brings it to his lips, taking a sip.

“No problem.” The two sit in silence staring at the screens in front of them. A few officers stop by occasionally to report something or check into/out of their shift. As a man leaves his room, Jungkook leans forward, quickly zooming in on various hallways in order to more easily watch the man’s route.

“So, that’s him then? Admiral Rowen?”

“Yeah…” Jungkook says, slightly distracted by the man making his way to one of the turbo lifts.

“Where do you think he’s going?” Jungkook squints at the screen that shows the inside of the turbolift, trying to make out what floor he’s saying; unfortunately, Jungook still hadn’t mastered the art of lip reading, so they had to wait until he exited.

“Deck five.” Jungkook finally answered, pointing at the number painted on the outside of the turbolift door.

“You think he’s going to medbay?” Jungkook tilts his head, still watching the man’s journey on the screen in front of him. Deck five held officer’s quarters (all of the medstaff resided on this floor), Transporter Room 3, one holodeck, and Medbay. Rowen just left his room, and the likelihood of him wanting to use the transporter was extremely low, nearly zero. He also was walking with a purpose, squinting everytime one of the lights reflected into his eyes.

“Yeah, let them know, baba .”

“Yes, sir.” Lieutenant Elizabeth “Lizzie” Smith reached to her left, hitting a small button.

“Security to Medbay, security to Medbay.” Her calm, slow voice filled the room. 

Lizzie had been one of the first people that Jungkook met when he boarded the Bangtan, and he had been in disbelief. Not only was she short and plus size, the exact opposite of him, but she had been a woman. Now, Jungkook knew that there were women in Starfleet; he had seen them in the halls of the Academy and in the confines of The Focus for the short time he had been aboard. However, he had never thought that they would be in security. Women were weak, docile, they had to be- No. He had thought to himself. Here is different . Still, years of thinking one way is hard to change in a few months.

It had been a difficult first few weeks, not only because now he had the responsibility of an entire division on his shoulders, but also because of Lizzie. She was his number two, his second in command, if he couldn’t work, she gave the orders. He had struggled with that fact. Struggled with knowing that when he wasn’t around, she was taking care of what he, at the time, had considered his. Eventually though, after weeks of long stares, harsh reminders, and her calm, steady voice, Jungkook’s shell broke just enough.

He watches as she waits for a nurse or, preferably, Jin to answer. Her long blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun, strands falling into her face. The skirt of her uniform rides up just slightly, revealing her stocking clad thigh. Jungkook had been told that staring at women’s thighs and stomach was rude, improper, but women on the Bangtan were so different from his own planet. The ones he had grown up with were frail, skinny, their bones showed even after they had a feast. The wind would snap them in half. He liked looking at these women more though, liked seeing the faint stretch marks. He liked to know that she was eating, healthy. Especially after that shit with that fuckhead Jared.

“This is Medbay.” An older woman’s voice came through.

“Admiral Rowen may be on his way, a few minutes at most. We thought you would like the warning.” Lizzie responded, taking another sip of coffee.

“Ah, thank you, dear, I’ll be sure to let Dr. Kim know.”

“Of course.” The security room is once more filled with silence as the communication is cut.

“Staring is rude.” Jungkook’s brown eyes fly up to meet her own blue ones.

“There’s a rip.” Sure enough, there is a small run in the side of her tights, right where he is pointing. She hums quietly.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How was I supposed to have known the wire was live, huh?”

“I am a doctor, not an engineer. I could not tell you.” Jin responded, slipping his tricorder back into his lab coat’s pocket. The Vulcan grabs the handle of the medical cart next to him, pulling it closer. Off the top, he grabs a jar, opening it. After snapping on a pair of gloves, he scoops some of the gel out, spreading it across his fingers. All the while the ensign just won’t stop talking.

“I mean sure! It was lighting up and sending sparks everywheres, but Lieutenant Commander Maive grabbed it no problem!”

“Lieutenant Commander Maive is an alien with a natural insulation to electricity. Give me your hand, Ensign.”

“How was I supposed to have known he was an alien, huh? He's just going up and grabbing the sparking wires! He should have told me that- HEY!” The ensign tried to pull his hand out of Jin’s grasp. The CMO was spreading the thick gel substance on the second degree burn that laid across the ensign’s palm; he didn’t stop even as the younger protested.

“That stings!”

“That tends to happen when you are careless enough to grab a live wire.” He responds, grabbing the bandages sitting on the cart next to him, wrapping them around the ensign’s hand with an efficiency gained only after years of experience. The comm on the wall came to life, Lieutenant Smith’s familiar voice coming through.

“Nurse Edith, the comm please.” The stout, southern belle gave a quick “yes, sir” before making her way to the wall.

“This is Medbay.”

Jin made quick work of the used medical supplies, throwing his gloves in a nearby trash can before devoting all of his attention back to the ensign in front of him. Ensign Willium Herbert Jensen III presented as a typical prim and proper rich kid who has only gotten by through daddy’s money. He was a recent Academy graduate, boarding alongside a few others just last week; unlike Noah Mobey and Ayala Seck, who were both top of their class, Jesen truly did live up to the stereotype. It was all Daddy’s money with him. Jin raises his eyebrow at the Ensign for the hundredth time since he joined the crew.

“If I see you in Medbay again this week for anything other than serious, life or death, circumstances, you will be given a single ibuprofen and be told to return to your station. Is that understood?”

“Oh come on, doc!”

“I suggest you properly address your superiors before I decide you don’t need the ibuprofen either.” Before the ensign could retort, Nurse Edith came to stand next to Jin, the sixty-year-old’s hands were placed firmly on her hips. A look of annoyance flashed across her face.

“Security says the Admiral will be here any minute, figured they should warn us.” Jin hums, glancing back at the ensign before fully turning to his favorite nurse (not that he would ever admit that).

“Thank you, Nurse. I’ll be in my office doing some paperwork. Please see to it that Ensign Jesen gets properly discharged.”

“My pleasure, sir. Now, how’s that pain feeling, sweetie?”

Weaving through the moving bodies and medbeds was second nature to the Vulcan as he made his way to his office. He glanced at the few vital sensors that were running along the walls as he went, making sure to stop if anything seemed off. Eventually he was sat in front of his desk, holopadds and paper sorted into neat piles for him to go through. Just as he began reading through the top form, a performance review for their newest nurse, he heard Nurse Garic’s deep, rumbling voice coming from outside the door.

“Hello, Admiral Rowen. What can we do for you?”

Jin doesn’t hear the response, not that he particularly wants to. He sends a quick message using his communicator.

‘If possible, tell me once he has exited Medbay.’

Within only a few seconds, the device pings. He glances at Jungkook’s response.

‘I’ll keep an eye out.’

Jin sighs. This is going to be a long three days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namjoon was not a gambling man. He prided himself in the fact that every choice he made was a thought out, logical one. Something Jin often praised him for. However, in this very moment, Namjoon would bet his entire ship and himself that a pin being dropped down in engineering would be enough noise to startle the officers aboard the bridge. He has never, in his entirety of working in Starfleet, seen such a tense, visibly uncomfortable crew.

Admiral Rowen stood directly next to him, right arm resting on top of the Captain’s chair where Namjoon sat. The Admiral had been going on for a few minutes now about how important it was for them to get to their destination as soon as possible. Namjoon nearly groaned out loud as the impressiveness of his work was reiterated once again.

“How much longer then?” Namjoon pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching up his eyes to chase away the forming headache.

“Lt. Kim?” He sighed out. Taehyung stiffened slightly from where he sat in front of the Captain.

“About two days out, sir.” Hearing the Tirmun actually respond properly would normally have Namjoon in high spirits.

“That can’t be right, here let me see.” The Admiral walked forward, squinting at the display in front of Taehyung. Said man leaned as far to the right in his seat as he could while still looking natural.

“Trust me, Admiral, I have run every possible course. Taking into account celestial bodies, treaty zones, and the highest possible warp speed we can go while maintaining the purity of your samples,” Namjoon cringed slightly as a bit of contempt slipped into Taehyung’s voice. “This is the fastest we can get to the Starbase.”

“I don’t trust no dirt-loving Tirmun when it comes to space travel. You. How fast can we make it?” Luckily the Admiral turned before he would have seen Tae’s tongue sticking out at him. Ensign Seck smiled up at Rowen from where she sat.

“Lt. Kim is right, sir. We’ve been brainstorming all day! This is the best course of action.” Her smile only grew wider as the look of annoyance spread across his face.

“Fine then. I’ll be in my room, Kim.”

“Aye, sir.” Namjoon spoke, trying to hold in his chuckle as his two navigators both mocked the Admiral when his back turned to them. As the turbo door’s closed, Taehyung immediately started.

“Dirt-loving? I mean seriously? Where did he even get that from? I would be offended, but it is honestly just sad that he can’t even come up with a proper insult! I know he hates aliens, but he could at least do some basic research.”

“I know right?!” Ensign Seck joined in. “And did you hear his breathing? Who knew someone could breathe that wetly. I feel like I just walked through a nebula storm” Both navigators shivered for effect. Namjoon did let his chuckle out this time.

“Careful, you two.”

“I don’t think I have ever heard someone so full of themself speak in my entire life.” Jimin grumbles, pulling one of their earpieces out. “And I know me.”

“I also know you, and I agree.” Taehyung and Jimin continue bickering back and forth, Namjoon only interrupting occasionally when their comments get a little too unsafe for work. The whole bridge seems to have let out a collective sigh as the usual energy flows throughout the room. Jimin suddenly stops in the middle of their sentence, eyebrows furrowing as they hurry to place the second earpiece back in.

“Captain, it’s engineering.” Their voice is lined with worry.

“Put them up.”

Hoseok’s face fills the view screen and the piercing sound of alarms and shouting fills the bridge. His hair has been pushed back out his face, sweat gleaming on his skin; his red uniform was nowhere to be seen and only his usual long sleeve undershirt was on. The bridge watched as he yelled out orders, pointing to different places out of view. Lt. Commander Maive ran up, strands of black hair falling out of his messily thrown up bun, sticking to his forehead.

“Hoseok, nothing is working in section three, computer systems are down in four and five.”

“Shit.” They watch as Hoseok reaches past the camera to quickly mess with various flips and switches. “Seven is still up. Get there. I want a complete lockdown. Nothing gets in or out. Now!” Maive doesn’t even wait for the order to finish, sprinting out of frame; even more shouts can be heard in the distance. Hoseok’s eyes frantically dance across the controls and screens in front of him, hands flying from place to place.

“Two is down!” The engineer curses as the yell reaches his ears. Finally, he turns to look into the camera. The entire bridge holds their breaths.

“Captain, we have a problem.”

Chapter Text

“Emergency stations. Standby alert. Emergency stations. Standby alert.” Jimin’s voice rang throughout the halls of the ship, yellow lights blinking slowly, indicating the potentially devastating situation they could be in. Officers rush down hallways and into turbolifts, the bridge fills with noise as people begin shouting readings out and over one another.

Namjoon stands in his ready room, leaning against his desk, one hand on the surface and the other running through his hair. On the screen in front of him is Hoseok, shouting orders and trying to explain what was going on.

“All of our engines are shutting down, Captain. I can’t explain it. One minute everything is fine and the next we ar-”

“Sir, we are losing eight and thirteen!” Hoseok curses under his breath, eyes widening as panic washes over his face.

“Maive get to router three, shut it down. Now! Go! Sherman, Jones, Rylax! Stop worrying about one, take a group down to eighteen, we can’t lose life support systems! Jensen, what the hell do you think you’re d-” A loud pop is heard and the screen loses connection for a moment as sparks rain down around the engineer.

“Lt. Commander Jung? Jung? Hoseok?” Namjoon muttered under his breath we he got no reply. He looked out the wide open door of his ready room to see the bridge working fluidly with one another.

“Jimin! I want the rest of my chiefs in my ready room. Now!” The pink-haired officer doesn’t even respond before they are opening the ship wide communications again.

“Commander Jung, Lt. Commander Jeon, and Dr. Kim: report to the Captain’s ready room immediately. Repeat. Commander Jung, Lt. Commander Jeon, and Dr. Kim: report to the Captain’s ready room immediately.” 

Namjoon focuses back in on the screen as the picture takes form again. This time, instead of Hoseok, Ensign Mickey, a small, shy woman, took up the screen. Her face was smeared with oil and her glasses hung slightly crooked on her face. Her hair and uniform were completely unkempt.

“Cap’n? Cap'n can you ‘ear me?”

“Ensign, what the hell is going on down there?” Namjoon practically growls, frustration clear by the way he slams his hands on the table. Mickey jumps, but Namjoon will have to feel bad about that later.

“We aren’t sure, Cap’n. Sir just ran off to join da bulk of ‘em in da lower levels. At first it was just da engines, but now whole systems are going down! It’s like some sorta virus or somethin’ is reckin’ da operation.”

“What’s gone down so far, Ensign?” Mickey quickly starts messing with the screens in front of her, sparks and shouts sounding in the background.

“We’ve lost our warp capabilities, impulse engines are on their way out, replicator systems are down, teleportation capabilities are offline completely, and we are somehow losing auxiliary power.”

“Damn it, we are heading for a complete shut down.”

“Weapons systems down, Captain! Shields at 15%!” Namjoon’s head whips towards the bridge as he hears the on duty security officer. He looks back at Mickey, she is now frantically communicating with another officer. The Red Alert suddenly starts.

“Jimin-”

“Wasn't me, Captain, the ship’s internal sensors are going off!”

“Ensign, tell Lt. Commander Jung to do everything he can to keep life support up, I don’t care what power he has to redirect, got it?”

“Yes, Cap’n!”

“Captain, what’s happening?” Namjoon puts his back to the screen as Jin rushes into his office, Yoongi and Jungkook close on his heels. He motions them in, pushing past them to lean into the bridge.

“Jimin, Taehyung! With me!” The two officers respond quickly, their stations being filled as soon as they stand. Namjoon walks back to the center of his office, turning to look at the gathered officers.

“The ship is shutting down, and engineering has no idea why.”

“Hope thinks it some sort of virus.” Yoongi states, eyebrows furrowed as he focuses on his holopadd, fingers deftly moving across the screen.

“That’s what Ensign Mickey said. Do any of us have any clue how a virus got into our systems or where it came from?”

“It not biological as far as we can tell.” The Scalnacian finally looks up. “But our equipment have gone… not right.”

“Monitors in medbay are displaying inaccurate information, as well.”

“Navigation is also glitching.”

“I can’t get any external communications out. Contacting Starfleet is out of the question.”

“Jungkook, you were in security all day, did you notice anything that could have caused this?” Everyone turned to the Kilacton at the Captain’s question. Jungkook crossed his arms, shaking his head.

“Nothing unusual, sir.” Namjoon nodded, turning back to the screen behind him, lights were flickering in engineering, sparks falling from the ceiling as Mickey and another officer worked diligently.

“Ensign I need you to-”

“What the hell is going on?!” Namjoon lets out an audible groan as Admiral Rowen steps into the room. Before he can respond a thunderous crash is heard from engineering, a loud, piercing scream, and the two officers run out of frame, shouting. More yells and shouts are heard as the lights in engineering go out, the only lightsource becoming the blinking lights from the Red Alert. Another crash. Yoongi hisses in pain, a hand flying up to his temple.

“Jin, get medstaff to engineering. Assume triage will be necessary. Jungkook, I want security officers reviewing all security footage from the last three days. Jimin, keep trying to get in contact with command. Taehyung, I need you to keep us on a steady course for Starbase Pluto, it may be the best shot we’ve got. Yoongi, I want science bay to focus on securing the Curio vaccine samples. Admiral Rowen’s research is our second top priority. Yoongi, do you have that?”

“Second! What could be more important than-”

“Captain! Engineering just had a major spike in radiation!” A panicked yell on the bridge rose over the general cacophony of noise that had formed.

“Show me!” Namjoon shouted back as he ran out of the ready room. And just as his foot made it past the frame, the door slid shut with a loud thunk. Jungkook’s eyes widened as he immediately rushed forward.

“No no no no no.” He mumbled as he messed with the control panel next to the door. “Fuck.”

“Kookie?” Taehyung asked. Jungkook didn’t respond, but instead pulled out his communicator, opening it as he put his hand on the automatic door.

“ Baba , check the security systems.” The sound of rustling can be heard from the other side of the communicator before Lizzie’s voice comes through.

“Emergency shutdown protocols just turned on, sir. Nothing I’m doing is working. I’ve tried rebooting, but it won’t let me. We’ve been locked out of the system, sir.”

“Emergency shutdown protocols? What does that mean, then?” Rowen grumbled, shouldering past Jungkook. “I’ve had enough of this nonsense, I’m going to tell Kim just what I think about-” Rowen stopped as the door didn’t open. After multiple tries on the control panel failed, he slowly turned around.

“It means, sir, that we are stuck until the Captain or Chief of Security gives the okay to turn emergency shutdown protocols off.” Jimin states, leaning against Namjoon’s desk. “But by the sounds of it, Jungkook won’t be able to do that.”

Taehyung jumps slightly as the sound of static fills the room along with the Red Alert alarm. The screen is frozen on an image of the sparking engine room. Jimin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they grab their communicator. After examining it for a moment, fiddling with the different knobs and buttons, Jimin races around the desk, sitting in the chair behind it. They pull the display screen’s control panel closer to them, pressing various buttons before the screen completely goes black, static stopping.

“Communications are down.” They state, repositioning themselves slightly before looking more intently at what they were trying to do.

“What do you mean communications are down?” Rowen asks, pushing past Jungkook once again to stand, arms crossed, in front of Jimin.

“I mean that all internal communications are completely shut down. They aren’t working. And if they are down that means-” Jimin falls silent just as the room does too. There is no ambient noise, no speaking, no flashing lights, and no alarm. “Our alert system is next.” They sigh as they lean back in the chair, rubbing at their face in frustration.

“Commander Jung?” Everyone turns to look at Jin as he speaks. The Vulcan is looking at the window, where the addressed Scalnacian is standing, staring half-lidded out into space. His breathing hitches as his face twists in pain, shoulders raising to meet his ears. Jin rushes over just as the holopad falls out of his grip. Two steady hands stabilize him, keeping him upright as he sways with fatigue and uneasiness.

“Yoongi, can you hear me?” Jin asks, trying to get a good look at the Scalnacian’s eyes; no response comes.

“Yoongi, can you hear us? ” The small man jumps slightly when Jimin appears next to them, head lolling slightly to look at the pink-haired officer.

“Hobi.”

“ What about Hoseok?”

“ Ashi . Hope.” Jimin looks at Jin as Yoongi continues mumbling his bonded’s name under his breath.

“Jungkook, help me lay him down on the couch.” Without a second thought, the Kilaction walks across the room and scoops his elder up bridal style, carefully carrying him to the small couch in the corner of the room before gently setting him down. The Vulcan quickly kneels next to the science officer’s head, moving his bangs out of the way and softly placing the back of his hand on his forehead.

“Jimin, what is he saying?” Jimin scrunches their eyebrows as they step closer, trying to understand the mumbled words.

“It’s mostly unintelligible. He keeps saying different variations of Hoseok’s name, though.” Jimin shrugs and looks to Jin. “The word ‘stay’ keeps popping up, too.” Jin sighs before standing and walking over to one of the closets against the wall, opening it he pulls out a blanket and returns to lay it over Yoongi.

“What’s going on? Is everything ok?” Taehyung chimes in. Jin glances around the room briefly before sitting in the chair that’s alongside the couch.

“When they first boarded, Hoseok told me about this. It has happened before the other way around, so he wanted me to be prepared. Jimin we need communications back up, now. I need to contact medical staff.

“What’s wrong with, Yoongi?” Jin looks at Tae.

“Nothing is wrong with Yoongi. It is Hoseok we need to get medical attention to.”

“ Gical .” Jimin whispers, eyes going wide. “I read about this in a book, when we were on Scalnaco. Oh god.” Their hand covers their mouth as tears begin gathering in their eyes.

“What the hell is going on?!” Rowen’s protest causes everyone to turn to him. The old man is red in the face, hands curled into fists.

“Hoseok is dying,” Jin says calmly. “And Yoogni is the only thing keeping him alive.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namjoon takes a deep breath as he slowly sinks down into the captain’s chair. He leans forward, elbows on knees, hands folded in front of his mouth. Ok. Ok. Ship’s systems are going offline. Communications are dead. Radiation spike in engineering. For some reason lockdown protocols are in effect. Meaning he’s stuck in the bridge. And Hoseok’s stuck in engineering. And medstaff are stuck in medbay. And- fuck. Five aliens are stuck with Rowen in the room just next door. Namjoon groans.

“Captain, sir, not to add to the situation, but navigation systems are offline.” Ensign Seck stated. “She can now only be flown manually, sir.”

And they can only fly the ship manually. Great.

“Ok. Ensign Seck, I need you to try and keep us on course as best as you can, it’s going to be nearly impossible without the proper information that you need, so just try your best. Ensign Gre?” A tall, lanky man wearing a blue shirt turns to look at the captain.

“What are those radiation readings at?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the computers are going wild, we can’t get an accurate reading.”

Naturally.

Namjoon leans back into his chair, looking out into space with concentration. His fingers drum against the control panel on his arm rest.

“Ok.” He starts. “Ok, everybody, listen up. Anyone here know anything about power rerouting?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dust begins settling as the large metal plates and beams groan. The area is pitch black, the only light source comes from the blinking panel just out of reach. The soft, yellow light barely cuts through the thick fog. The fallen metal is stacked precariously, creating a small igloo ready to collapse at the slightest shift.

Lt. Commander Archie Maive coughs as the thick, smokey air fills his lungs. His long, black hair has almost completely fallen out of his hastily made bun, sticking to his forehead and the back of his neck. He groans as he sits up, rubble falling from his chest into his lap, bouncing on the sticky floor. A hiss of pain falls from his lips as he shifts his right leg. The debris from a collapsed Jefferies tube pinned his knee to the ground. Jagged metal stabbed into his ripped pants. Another groan from in front of him causes him to squint into the darkness. He could barely make out the outline of a man about 10 ft away.

“Hoseok?” His voice was scratchy, dust coating his lungs.

“It’s Sherman.” The figure says, voice too loud in the enclosed space. “Jensen is here, too.”

“Either of you hurt?”

“I’m bleeding. I think I got hit by some falling pipe or something.” Sherman’s speech was slightly slurred. “You, Maive?”

“Leg is definitely broken. Jensen?”

“I’m fine. Hoseok pushed me out of the way.”

“That’s ‘Sir’ to you, Ensign.” Sherman scolded.

“What?! Maive gets to call him Hoseok, why can’t I?”

“Guys!” Maive yells, “I really don’t think now is the time.” A suffocating silence falls over them. A few sparks fall from a small hole in the ceiling of the rubble pile, landing on Maive’s forearm. As his vision slowly adjusts to the dark, he can better make out the two men sitting across from him, some structural beams run through the center, slightly obstructing Sherman’s head. Maive places his hand on the ground in order to properly reposition himself, grunting at the effort. As he is wiping the wet substance on the floor from his hand onto his pants, Sherman speaks.

“Jensen, you said Sir pushed you out of the way?” The other made a noise of confirmation. “Then where is he?” A new kind of silence fell over them now. One so tense it could be cut by a knife. Jensen whipped out his comunicator.

“It’s not working!” He grunts in frustration, throwing the device. It flies in Maive’s direction, bouncing off a spike of metal and landing in the puddle next to his hand.

“Calm down, getting frustrated isn’t going to get us out of here.” Maive says, grabbing the device and moving it closer to his face. Sure enough, after trying to fiddle with the various buttons, it wasn’t working. He pauses as a sharp scent hits him.

“Communications must be down.” Sherman groans. “How the hell are we going to get out of this one?”

“Maybe Hoseok is on the otherside. He is probably getting help now. I’m guessing we won’t have to wait much lon-”

“Guys…” Maive cuts Jensen off, horror in his voice. He stares at the communicator, a sticky liquid coats it and his hands. It seeps into the fabric of his pants. The smell of iron is pronounced, even among the metal forest they are sitting in. With a gulp, Maive looks to his left, although hard to make out, he follows the trail. Sure enough, lying there, in a pool of blood, trapped under tons of steal and iron-

“Holy fuck.” Sherman whispers. Jensen’s hands fly up to his face, covering his mouth. Maive stares, eyes unmoving. Because lying there on his stomach, covered from his mid back, one arm pinned beneath him, occasionally illuminated by the soft yellow glow of the control panel next to him, is Jung Hoseok. And he’s not moving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is absolutely unacceptable.”

“It’s not like we planned on this happening.” Taehyung snarked, leaning back from where he sat ontop of Namjoon’s desk, moving a holopadd out of the way so he could place his hand down.

“Don’t speak to me like that, boy. I’m your superior. In every way.” Taehyung’s eyes narrowed at Rowen’s response. Before he could further retort, however, Jimin piped in.

“I don’t think fighting amongst ourselves will do any good right now given the current circumstances.” They raise their eyebrow, barely glancing at the Admiral and Leuitenant. After another failed attempt at rebooting the system, they sigh. “Well, that’s not going to work then.”

“So what do we do, Jimin?” Taehyung asks, turning his body slightly to properly look at them. Jimin simply shrugs their shoulders.

“Communications are down. Doors are locked. I don’t know what else to try.”

“We will simply wait here then, until Kim fixes whatever is happening on this ship.” Rowen mumbles out from the chair across from the desk.

“We can’t just sit here doing nothing!” Tae shouts, frustration coating his voice.

“You don’t have a say in this, you dirt-lovin-”

“I swear, if you finish that sentence I’ll-”

“Everyone shut up!” Three head’s whip to the right to where Jin, Yoongi, and Jungkook are. Jimin and Taehyung’s eyes are wide in disbelief. Jungkook is glaring at the three of them from where he stands, arms crossed. “Taehyung’s right, we have to do something, but that something isn’t arguing like a bunch of fucking children!”

“How dare you speak to your superior in that way!” Jungkook stalks over, grabbing the Admiral by the front of his shirt and hauling him to his feet.

“Jungkook!” Jimin yelps, standing from their chair as well.

“If you are our superior than start fucking acting like it.” Jungkook is angry now, chest heaving slightly. “All you’ve done for the past hour is complain about being trapped in here with us. You keep saying that you are superior to us. Who are the ones trying to get us out of here? Huh? Who are the ones trying to come up with any sort of plan?”

Jungkook lets go of the man’s top, pushing him harshly so he falls back into his chair. He walks around the desk pulling Jimin out of the way so he can pull the controls to himself.

“We tried shouting through the door, we tried accessing any sort of communications, we tried rebooting fifteen separate times.” He starts, grabbing the control panel and carrying it over to the door. A thud sounds as the casing of the door’s control panel hits the floor. Jungkook leans over it, pulling various wires and circuits out.

“Now we try getting into the ship’s main operating system. If we can do that, we might be able to transfer enough power into opening this one door.”

“Last time I checked, you weren’t an engineer, blood-thirsty brute.”

“You know, for a guy trapped in a room with five aliens, you sure are running your mouth a lot.”

“Taehyung, seriously.”

“No, Jimin! I’m tired of his bullshit! Jungkook’s right, he hasn’t done anything except complain since we got trapped! As far as we know, we are all fucked. Every single one of us! Yet still it’s “dirt-lover” this, “brute” that, he called you “thing” earlier, Jimin!”

“Shouting isn’t going to do anything to solve it, Taehyung!”

“Whose shouting now?!”

“You refuse to listen any other way!”

“Just because I’m not a people pleasing pushover-”

“What do you want me to do, Taehyung?! You want me to tell him to fuck off? He’s higher than me in rank! He’s my commanding officer. He could get any single one of us fired while barely having to raise a finger-”

“I want you to stop pretending you aren’t upset!”

“Oh, you really don’t wanna go there with me right now, Kim Taehyung.”

“Ooo, full name, looks like I’m really in trouble now-”

“You really wanna lecture me about pretending not to feel something? When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel upset without smothering it in alcohol, huh?! I mean really, Taehyung, an entire bottle of Scalnacian wine?! And what about two days before that? Eighteen vod-”

“You don’t know anything about-”

“You’re right, I don’t! Maybe if you would actually talk to me-”

“That’s enough!” Jin’s sharp tone cuts through the argument like a knife. The two are frozen where they stand, leaning across the desk, faces red with anger. “I am aware that this is a tense situation. I am aware that emotions are running high. And I am also aware that Admiral Rowen is not helping; however, that is no excuse to let whatever insecurities you have about your personal relationship get in the way.

“Hoseok is dying. Communications are down. Based on the way the stars are passing by, I would hypotheisize that navigation is too. We are stuck in this room. We need to focus our energy into getting out of here and onto the bridge. That is our only chance. For all we know, life support systems could go out at any moment. So, stop bickering and help Jungkook.”

“Who put you in charge, you green-blooded-”

“As Chief Medical Officer aboard the Bangtan, I have the ability to outrank any officer I see fit if in a time of medical emergency. At this very point in time, Admiral Rowen, I outrank you, so either help with that genius level IQ you claim to posses, or sit down and be quiet.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How’s it looking down there, Leuitenant?”

“We should be good to go on my end, Captain.”

“Everything is hooked up down here, too, sir!”

“Here as well.” Namjoon pulls himself out from underneath the communications console, wiping the sweat from his brow. Wires criss cross the bridge, running along the floor and walls. Various consoles have been ripped open, metal facings and circuits sitting in a pile by the viewscreen. Officers sit patiently at their stations, watching as six of them work with the Captain.

“Ok, let’s see if this works, yeah?” He says, clapping his hands together. He grabs hold of one of the levers on the communications panel. After a breath of hestitance, he pulls the level down. Immediately sparks blow from various panels along the walls. The light overhead flicker before completely shutting off, leaving them in semi-darkness, light from the stars outside being their saving grace. They all wait in anticipation as a communications officer rushes over, pulling an earpiece to her ear. They wait.

“I’m sorry, sir.” The entire bridge deflates. Namjoon runs a hand through his hair.

“Not your fault, Leuitenant.” The Captain retreats back to his chair, head hanging low as he rubs the back of his neck. “Seck?”

“I’m sorry, Captain, I have no idea whether or not we are still on course for the Starbase.” Namjoon sighs, leaning back and glancing around his crew.

“Ok. I’m open to suggestions. There are no stupid ideas right now.”

“Maybe it wasn’t enough power.”

“What do you mean, Ensign?” Namjoon turned to look Ensign Gre.

“Since communications are totally offline, maybe in order to reboot them, we need to use all of the power from another system. Turn one off to turn the other on?” Namjoon hummed, scratching his chin.

“Maybe, but then the problem would be figuring out what systems are still online. And if we chose a system that’s already failing, communications will just go offline again.”

“Perhaps we don’t need to reroute power.” The communications officer provides. “What if we can remotely shut off the original source of the shut down. If we can disconnect that, then we may be able to do a ship wide reboot.”

“The only problem is that without being able to contact engineering, we can’t know what the original source is.” Namjoon can’t help but feel the small swell of pride in his chest as his crew start bouncing theories and ideas off one another. Even in such a dire situation, they aren’t giving up.

A loud pop and the sliding of the ready room door makes the bridge crew jump. They watch, eyes wide, as Admiral Rowen runs through, followed by Jimin, Taehyung, Jin, and Jungkook, carrying an unconscious Yoogni. The ready room door snaps shut again, deadbolt going back into place. A shocked silence fills the room.

“Why the hell is it such a mess in here? And why are all the lights off?!” Rowen complains, plopping himself into the Captain’s chair a soon as Namjoon stands. The Captain rushes over to his senior officers.

“How did you get the door to open?” He questions them.

“Jungkook was able to divert all of the power from one of the systems into the door. It was already failing though, so we figured the door would shut again.” Jimin provides. Namjoon notices the way that Taehyung simply walks past Jimin, taking his seat at the navigation console; he tucks that away for later, there are more pressing issues.

“Holodecks are now officially offline.” The Kilacton says, following Jin’s instructions and placing Yoongi gently on a clear spot of flooring.

“Looks like you were right, Ensign.” Namjoon mumbles. “Taehyung, get us back on course for Starbase Pluto.”

“Ayala did a decent job. We are a little off but I can get us back easily enough.” The Tirmun responds after taking a critical look at the stars outside the viewscreen. Namjoon nods as he walks over and squats next to his husband. 

“What happened to Yoongi, Jin?”

“ Gical .” The Vulcan responds, looking into his husband’s eyes. “When one member of a bond is on the brink of death, another member of the bond may go into a coma-like state; this is due to their brain putting all its energy into keeping the other alive.”

“Wait… So you’re saying… Hoseok- He’s-”

“We need to get a medical team down to engineering, Namjoon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ That one looks like a butterfly.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve never seen one before, Ashi.”

“ Oh yeah.” Hoseok giggles, as Yoongi plucks off another bagi fruit from its vine. The Scalnacian places it against Hoseok’s lips. He hums in appreciation as the sweet flavor hits is taste buds.

“ Well if you look at that cloud, then you’ve seen a butterfly. You’re just gonna have to trust me here, Suga!” The two of them smile at each other as they sit on their balcony, the Scalnacian sun was high in the sky, creating the perfect backdrop as they dine on their fruit and wine. Hoseok’s eyes linger on Yoongi’s pale thighs, as he shifts on the plush love seat so that he is sitting on his feet. The slit of his short, black nightgown rides up, showing off the soft curve of his hip.

Hoseok sighs in appreciation, hand that sat around Yoongi’s shoulders moving to caress the shoulder strap of the silk fabric between his fingers. His own sleepwear is made of silk as well, soft shorts that hang low on his hips; Somehow, though, the man in front of him makes the fabric look rarer than the most precious jewels.

“You like?” Yoongi teases, falling more fully into Hoseok’s side. The human lets go of the strap to wrap his arm around his lover’s waist, his lips trail along his temple. Yoongi brings a glass to his lips, sipping at the wine inside.

“ That one looks like a titat.” Yoongi’s free hand points out at a cloud resting just along the horizon. When he doesn’t get a response he turns his head. Hoseok is staring directly at him, a sad smile on his face.

“ What’s wrong, Hope?” Hoseok sniffles slightly, taking the glass out of Yoongi’s hand and setting it on the table in front of him. When he leans back again, he doesn’t look Yoongi, but rather out at the sky.

“ I didn’t buy that lingerie for you until our one year anniversary aboard the Bangtan, Agust.”

“ What are you talking about?” Hoseok chuckles, a fond expression on his face as he takes in the scenery.

“ It’s all really convincing, you know. Almost had me fooled…” Yoongi’s eyebrows furrow as he straightens up. The smaller man slides onto the human’s lap, straddling his thighs.

“ We only just woke up, how much wine have you drank?” He giggles, hands cupping Hoseok’s jaw. His own hands set themselves on Yoongi’s hips, thumbs gently tracing shapes into his skin. With a long, deep sigh, Hoseok melts further into the couch, gaze finally meeting with Yoongi’s.

“ You’re much worse than I was, you know. It took you longer to figure it out.”

“Figure what out, Hope?” A smirk appears on Hoseok’s face, Yoongi’s eyebrow raises to match his expression.

“ That I’m dying.” Yoongi’s face goes blank as his hands fall from Hoseok’s face.

“ I thought this was the one you got me for your birthday.” Hoseok laughs at that, one of his hands sliding up to rest under the soft fabric.

“ No, that one was a little longer. And it has a tear now. Remember?”

“ Yeah, yeah… ” Yoongi mumbles. “ What else gave it away?”

“ I can’t hear you in my head which means…” Hoseok tilts his head, looking at him to answer.

“ That we are already in your head.” Hoseok nods at Yoongi’s response. The older scoffs. “ In my defense, this is the second time we’ve done this. You knew what to look for.”

“I didn’t realize it was a competition.” Yoongi’s smile returns lightly at that. He hums as he leans forward, forehead touching Hoseok’s. The two close their eyes.

“We should take a vacation after this ,” Yoongi starts, breathing in his bonded’s scent. “ Go back to Scalnaco. I’ll even bring this outfit. ”

“Oh, Suga…” Hoseok pushes Yoongi off him a bit, so that he can see his face. “ I think we both know that there isn’t going to be an ‘after this’. ”

“ Of course there will be! ” Yoogni protests, getting off of Hoseok’s lap. He walks away from the human, leaning against the balcony’s railing, breeze blowing at his hair gently. He hears Hoseok sigh behind him.

“ This isn’t like last time, Agust.”

“How!?”

“Because last time you were lying safe in a bed with Scalnaco’s best medical team tending to you. This time I’m somewhere deep within engineering being slowly crushed by tons of heavy machinery and metal while I bleed out.”

“Don’t talk like that!” The Scalnacian whips around to find the love of his life standing directly behind him, arms open. Instead of falling into a hug, he pounds his fist into Hoseok’s chest, leaving it there directly above his heart. His heart that was beating too slowly, under his skin that was too cold. “ Don’t.”

“Ashi…” Hoseok covers Yoongi’s hand with his own, using it to pull the man into a proper hug. “I need you to give Namjoon a message for me. Can you do that?”

“No! I’m not leaving you.” This time Yoongi is the one to push away, leaning back against the balcony.

“ Yoongi, I’m going to die anyways. If I’m going out, I wanna do so saving my ship and everyone on it.” Hoseok takes a step forward holding Yoongi’s elbows gently in his hands.

“ If I leave, you will die.”

“Maybe. Probably.” Hoseok smiles down at him. “ But you won’t.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimin physically jumps when the Scalnacian whose head had been resting on his lap shoots upright, breathing like he just ran a marathon. His frantic eyes search the room, Namjoon’s name slipping from his lips like a plea. The Captain runs over from where him and Jungkook had been fiddling with different things, trying to figure out which system they could take power from.

“Yoongi! Yoongi, what is it?”

“ Router seven. Shut router seven off. Hoseok, Maive, Sherman, and Jensen were on their way there when… when- ” The words barley made it past his lips. The Scalnacian’s breathing picks up, tears spill out of his eyes as a sob retches his body forward. Jin kneels down, gathering the sobbing man in his arms.

“Jimin, what did he say?”

“He said to shut off router seven!”

“Jungkook!” Namjoon ran to the other side of the bridge, joining the Kilacton, as soon as the words left Jimin’s mouth. “We need to find somewhere to reroute the power that won’t overload any of our other systems.”

“Unless we want to overload another system.” Jungkook mumbles, pulling a wire out of the wall. “If we transfer the power to the program running the lockdown procedure we could overload it. We wouldn’t have to wait for the shipwide reboot to get the doors unlocked.”

“And we can get to Hoseok faster. Good.” Namjoon adds, working alongside Jungkook. “Jimin, Taehyung, be ready to start rebooting your systems, communications are our top priority, navigation after that.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ready, sir.”

“Let’s hope this works.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three of them sit in complete silence, their breaths shallow and slow. Sherman had been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past who knows how long. A nasty concussion if Maive had to guess. He had been able to hold up the Jefferies tube debris long enough to slip his leg out without causing anymore rubble to fall., using his red shirt, he was able to create a turnicate in order to stop some of his own bleeding. Only his own though…

Jensen and Maive were sitting next to their Chief’s body, while Jensen has adverted his eyes to the ceiling already, Maive couldn’t help but stare. The two had tried moving some of the beams off of Hoseok, tried taking as much pressure off his body as possible, but they had to stop after removing one metal sheet when the entire structure around them fell slightly, raining sparks and causing their only light, the soft yellow flickering, to be smashed.

“We’re going to die here, aren’t we?” Jensen muttered, not looking at Maive.

“There’s still time.”

“We’re going to die here, and it’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.” Jensen was crying. Maive could hear it in his voice. The arrogant, self-centered, idiot of an ensign was actually crying.

“It’s not your fault, Jensen. It-”

“No! It is. Don’t you remember? We were going to router seven. Hoseok figured out the problem was with router seven.”

“Yeah? So? Router seven broke earlier today, it was the logical choice.” Maive’s eyebrows furrowed. He could have sworn it had been fixed. Hadn’t someone been charged with fixing it?

“Hoseok- Sir… He was mad about the live wire incident. No one likes coming down here, so when he found out router seven broke, he made me fix it. He said it was simple. That I couldn’t mess it up. But I got down here and I- I didn’t know how- how to fix it.” Maive’s eyes widen.

“I just pressed some random button and then called it good. I figured Sir would say something if it wasn’t fixed, but- but he’s been so stressed because of the Admiral showing up that- well I guess he didn’t catch it.” Jensen finally looks at Maive. “And everything crashed in on us, and Sir saved me. It should be me under there.”

“Oh, shut up.” They both turn in surprise to where Sherman is sitting, eyes closed. “Ya, you fucked up. And ya in a way this whole thing is your fault… But Sir isn’t gonna blame you for that. Might send you back to the academy with a strong choice of words but… No one here is like that kid.”

“What do you mean?”

“What he means,” Maive takes over, “is that while it’s a big, unexusable accident, you are sorry about it. So, Hoseok, the Captain, they may be mad, but they also know the difference between a bad action and a bad person.”

“You aren’t a bad person, kid. Annoying… but…” Sherman trail off with a chuckle.

“Admiral Rowen is a pretty bad person, huh?” Jensen shyly joked. Maive and Sherman burst out into muffled, tired laughter.

“Rowen can eat shit.” Sherman wheezes.

“What happened to respecting authority?” Maive asks.

“He called Commander Jung ‘it’! He’s like the smartest little alien I know, he doesn’t deserve that disrespect.”

“He is really little.” Jensen giggles, the other two joining in, their laughter echoing in the small space.

“I heard that his whole family is like a hundred feet tall!” Maive adds breathlessly. The bloodloss must be getting to him.

“No fucking way.” Sherman cackles.

“No no, it’s true. Scalnacians are like, super tall.”

“Commander Jimin to Lt. Commander Archie Maive. Maive do you copy? Maive do you copy?” The three of them jump as his communicator springs to life. He rushes to grab it from the spot he had placed it earlier, opening it immediately as it was in his hands.

“Commander Jimin, this is Maive.”

“Maive we have a medical team on the way down to engineering as we speak. Dr. Kim’s communicator is receiving this as well. Can you please tell us exactly where you are and what state the four of you are in.” Maive, finally, starts crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, you’re telling me the whole thing was an accident?” Admiral Jeon gawks from the other side of the screen.

“Yup.” Namjoon sighs, lounging in his chair. Although not as comfy as the one in his ready room, the chairs at Starbase Pluto were a welcomed comfort after everything they just went through.

“Jungkook’s plan worked. As soon as the doors opened, our med team was able to get down to engineering, lots of small injuries, first degree burns, some small concussions. Turns out the entire time we were up there, Ensign Mickey took charge and was able to keep our life supports going. That girl is something special.”

“I always send the good ones your way, don’t I?”

“Two hardly counts as ‘always’, sir.”

“No I think it does.” The two chuckle, Namjoon closes his eyes as he takes a moment to destress.

“And Hoseok?” Jeon asks, breaking the silence. Namjoon clears his throat, taking a moment to think before answering.

“We aren’t sure yet. He’s in intensive care right now. By all accounts he should be dead, but…”

“The power of love?” Jeon jokes, Namjoon tries to fight the smirk that spreads across his lips.

“I guess so.”

“And the Curio vaccine?”

“Yoongi had been able to send a message down to science bay before communications were cut. With Leiutenant Swiftwater and Ensign Mobey there, we had nothing to worry about.”

“I’m glad. I’m sure that made Admiral Rowen easier to deal with, knowing his research was safe.” A laugh escapes Namjoons mouth, shoulders shaking.

“I don’t think my crew is going to have to worry about him anymore.” Jeon’s eyebrow raised.

“After seeing Jungkook hotwire a door with what aquaites to a key board, seeing Taehyung navigate through space for an hour with no navigation system online, and be completely on course when it finally rebooted, and witnessing the Jimin get angry, I don’t think he has the guts to say anything.”

“You know, in his report of this incident,” Jeon says, pulling a holopad in front of him, “It says that he was assaulted by a Kilacton and his rank was blatantly ignored by a Vulcan.”

“Now, I never saw anything like that happen.” Namjoon smiles. Jeon laughs.

“I didn’t think so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well?”

“What do you want?” Admiral Rowen mumbles, shuffling around Starbase Pluto’s small research lab. Taehyung and Jimin stood at the doors, arms crossed and waiting.

“An apology.” Taehyung responds.

“For what?”

“For belittling us.” Jimin states.

“And being speciesist .”

“For calling Tae a dirt-lover.”

“For calling Jimin it.”

“Not to mention everything you said about Kookie and Yoongi.”

“Don’t get us started on Jin.”

“Like when you called him a green-blooded robot.”

“Or when you said that-”

“Alright! Alright! I’m sorry! Now get the hell outta my lab.” The old man had finally turned to look at the two aliens, eyes wide with anger and annoyance.

“Do you believe him Jimin?” Taehyung questions, looking at the pink-haired officer.

“I don’t think I do, Taehyung.”

“Well then what are we gonna do about it?” Taehyung raises his eyebrow. Jimin takes a moment to think before fully turning to face the old admiral.

“Fuck off.” And with four middle fingers between the two of them and a dramatic exit, they didn’t have to worry about Rowen coming aboard their ship again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gentle, steady beeping of the heart monitor grounded Yoongi where he sat. His fingers swirled across the cast decorating Hoseok’s right arm. Nurses and doctors walked through the small medbay, chatting and checking up on patients occasionally. All that is left to do is wait, that’s what they said.

Maive was lounging in the bed across from them, leg going through the regenorator. Sherman was laying next to him, bucket clutched tight to his chest as he fought the waves of nausea. Yoogni jumped as a man sat in the chair next to him. He wiped the tears from his face as he looked at Jin.

“I can not enter Gical again.” Yoongi sniffles. “Only can do one time a death.”

“He is not dead yet, Yoongi.”

“Yet.” The Scalnacian replies looking up at the ceiling.

“What does it feel like?”

“Like someone take my heart and put it in a grinder. When dying, you feel bond breaking. It is weak now. Quiet.” New tears begins spilling down his face as he looks back at Jin. “How can you all be so ok with the quiet?”

“My mind is loud enough on its own. I can not imagine having to share thoughts with Namjoon, of all people, as well.” Yoongi smiles slightly at Jin’s response.

“Hope… I don’t think he ever realize, but he very bad at not letting me hear him think. He so loud.” A small, barely visible, smile twitches at Jin’s lips. “Everytime he see me, he thinks the same thing, you know?”

“And what would that be?”

“ D-sha … she the goddess of beauty, lust… and everlasting love. He thank her every time he see me. Without fail.”

“He really does love you.” A laugh bubbles out of Yoongi, a hand going to cover his mouth. The laughs slowly turn into sobs as he rests his head on Hoseok’s bandage covered stomach.

“ Stay .”

Thank D-sha .

Yoongi’s eyes widen as he sits straight up.

“ You think I was gonna die without getting to see you in that nighty one last time?” Hoseok laughs. His voice is raspy, and he barely chokes the words out.

Jin is all too aware of the smile that takes over his face as he watches the Scalnacian scold and berate the human lying before him. Both of them are crying and laughing as nurses rush over. Jin exits the room in order to not be in the way. And as he reaches their temporary quarters, and listens to Namjoon interrogate Jungkook on exactly where he learned how to reroute power streams, Jin can’t help but let out a small laugh.

Chapter Text

Namjoon lets out a shaky breath as the soft breathing underneath him hitches, a high pitched whimper breaking through. He continues his steady pace, arms straining to keep him stable. He shudders when two strong thighs tighten around his hips, pulling him even closer.

“Namjoon…” The nearly silent whisper would have gone unheard if not for the fact that his face was buried in his lover’s shoulder, nose nuzzling at his neck. He pants, hot breath fanning over Jin’s skin. He could feel himself getting closer, the pressure building up more and more as Jin held him tighter, pulling him closer in until their bodies were one. 

“Namjoon…” He hears again, just as breathless as last time, but needier, more urgent. Jin’s arms fall from his back, bouncing slightly as they land. His left hand finds where Namjoon’s head meets the pillow, fingers entwining themselves, gentle but firm, into his blonde hair. Jin’s right arm stretches back, grabbing the pillow, knuckles white. Namjoon can hear him gasp, can practically hear the way the Vulcan bites his lip to avoid letting his voice be heard.

“Namjo-” Jin’s plea is cut short by the moan that rips through his throat, body arching up against Namjoon’s. The blonde takes the opportunity to wrap his left arm under Jin’s back, keeping him close.

“Joo- Joonie!” The Vulcan gasps, followed by a high pitched whine in the back of his throat.

“It’s ok- it’s- I’ve got you. I’ve got you, baby.” Namjoon babbles. The strained whines from underneath him continue, getting louder and more frantic. His name is being chanted like an incoherent prayer. A prayer that only he can understand. And fuck if he doesn’t understand exactly what it means. 

“Joon, I- I’m-“

“I know, baby. I know. Just a little longer- a little longer, ya? For me? Can you do that for me?” A low noise of protest comes from the back of his lover’s throat, the fingers in his hair gripping tighter.

“Joonie-” The pressure in his scalp disappears as Jin goes completely lax underneath him and- no… No, that's not right. That’s not how the prayer goes.

All at once, Namjoon sits straight up, hands falling on Jin’s knees where they rest on his ribs, as he falls back on his heels. He doesn’t pull all the way out, but as he stares down at his husband he seriously considers doing so. His thumbs trace gentle patterns into his skin as he takes in the glassy eyes of the Vulcan lying beneath him.

Jin’s chest is rising rapidly, hair framing his face where it sticks to skin with sweat. He’s staring at the ceiling, black, lustful eyes fixed on something far in the past. 

“Seokjin?” Namjoon calls softly, hand carefully running up and down his thigh. The Vulcan hums. His eyes close, eyelids fluttering shut as he shifts slightly in place.

“What can I do for you?” Jin takes a few deep breaths, considering his next words. Namjoon waits patiently, eyes never leaving his lover’s face.

“Tell me you love me.” Is the soft response he receives as black eyes meet his own. The soft green blush spread across Jin’s cheeks and ears and chest grows darker as Namjoon smiles. His dimples make a full appearance as he leans down, elbows resting next to Jin’s head. Their noses touch, bumping softly together as Namjoon cages him in; they both moan slightly at the movement as Namjoon shifts inside of Jin.

“I love you.” Namjoon mumbles, giving Jin an Eskimo kiss. 

“I love you.” He whispers, placing a small kiss on the tip of his nose.

“I love you.” He praises, placing two gentle kisses on the corner of Jin’s lips.

“I am sorry.” Jin’s lips bump against his own as he speaks. The two don’t even share their breath for a second before Namjoon responds.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“We had to stop.”

“We stop all the time.”

“Because of me.” Namjoon pulls away slightly to get a better view of Jin’s pinched face. The Vulcan huffs slightly in poorly managed frustration at the loss of contact.

“I don’t mind.”

“It is…annoying.” Namjoon can’t help but chuckle at the disgruntled look that flashes across the Vulcan’s face when he admits to the emotion. 

“Yeah?” He teases. Jin shoots him a small glare.

“Yes.”

“I don’t think it’s annoying.” Namjoon counters, lowering himself down again to rest more weight on the elder. Jin’s hands come up to cup his cheeks, pulling the younger one in to place a peck on his lips.

“I appreciate that.” He mumbles against his lips, slow, gentle kisses being shared between the two. Namjoon hums in contentment.

Namjoon pulls away then, he is met with a raised eyebrow as he moves to get up fully. Just before he slips out, Jin’s legs lock themselves fully around his waist. The Captain yelps slightly as he has to catch himself in order to not crush his husband.

“What are you doing?” Jin asks, eyebrow still raised.

“Getting up?”

“Why?”

“To get you a towel?”

“Why would I want a towel?” A confused huff leaves Namjoon’s lips.

“To clean you up.”

“We are not done.” It’s Namjoon’s turn now to raise an eyebrow. He looks skeptically over Jin’s face, trying to find even the smallest fleck of discomfort.

“Jin… don’t push yoursel-“ The human groans as the alien under him rolls his hip, grinding against him.

“I am currently giving you the most enthusiastic consent I could possibly give you in this moment.” Jin says. His arms wrap around Namjoon’s neck, pulling him into a passionate, searing kiss. As they pull apart, Jin fixes him with a half lidded expression. His eyes are shining with love and his voice is authoritative as he speaks once more.

“I trust you.” A gentle, angelic smile spreads across Namjoon’s face.

“Are you sure, baby?” Jin nods his head in affirmation

“I will stop you if I decide otherwise.”

“Promise?”

“Always.” Namjoon sighs then, a loving chuckle falling past his lips as he shakes his head.

“You are going to be the death of me.” A small, barely noticeable smirk crosses Jin’s lips.

“I do hope so.” He teases. Namjoon laughs as their lips meet, eyes slipping shut.

Chapter Text

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked down to his fidgeting hands, shuffling on his feet as the council of admirals, captains, and first officers stared him down.

“Do you know why you are here today, sir?”

“Captain! Shields at zero perce-”

“Weapons systems down, sir-”

“Get any survivors to the bridge now! They have a better shot up h-”

“Another hit like that and we are done f-”

“Warp technology is offline! No response from engineeri-”

“They were directly hit-”

“Somebody get me Starfleet now!”

“Yes, Sir!”

“I- I uh…” He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, ma’am but I- I don’t.” Admiral Sivalin looks to the man sitting to her left, glancing down at the piece of paper he slides towards her.

“We want to discuss with you what happened on the Salvation.”

“There is nothing we can do.”

“What do you mean? We are completely surrounded by Klingons! We are an immigaration vessel, we don’t have the firepower to get out of this!”

“I’m sorry, Salvation. From all of Starfleet, we thank you for your honorable service.”

“Wait-”

“I’m not - I’m not quite sure what you are- uh… talking about, ma’am.” Sivalin moves her eyes from the paper back to the young man standing in front of her, eyes narrowed.

“I think you do.”

…

…

…

“After all, you were the Salvation’s salvation.”

…

…

…

“Captain?”

“Weren’t you, Kim Taehyung?”

__________________________________________________________________________

Taehyung hissed as a live wire rained a burst of electricity down on him, the action causing the thick smoke and dust in the air to enter his lungs. His hacking joins the chorus.

“Captain?” The smog requires him to squint to even partially see through it. A security officer that had been flung from his station, is laying next to the Captain’s chair, weekly knocking it with his knuckles. 

Taehyung’s own breath stutters when a still, unbroken silence falls over the bridge. They all sit there, however many there are left, waiting for the pin to drop. They are shrouded in the settling haze of debris and the slowly blinking red lights. Slowly, the soft knocking fades out too.

Glancing around, he takes in the jumbled masses of bodies crowded against the view screen, limbs tangled together and shirt colors blending into one dark red mess, officers and civilians alike. Officers that had been buckled in place are laid out over their stations, some half fallen out of their chairs. Taehyung groans as he shifts in place, ribs screaming as he pulls himself to a sitting position using the railing he had been slammed against.

“Shhhhh!” The whispered shout comes from behind him, or at least he thinks so? His vision goes black for a few moments as he sways in place.

“Like they can hear us-”
“Shhhhhhhhh!”

“She’s right, you never know!”

“Do you think it’s over?”

“Shhhhh-”

“Everyone shut up!” Taehyung shouts, cursing as a spike of pain pierces his skull.

“Who died and made you king?” A gruff voice asks from somewhere across the bridge.

“The Captain apparently.”

“Fuck off, York.” Another added. Taehyung grunted as the bridge filled with arguments again. He squeezes his eyes shut, rolling his head back and sideways, knocking it against the metal bars. God he just wants to sleep. Just wants to ignore the iron tasting shit dripping into his eyes and mouth and take a long nap.

His head bobs down, exhaustion seeping into his bones. What were they all arguing about again? What was happening? Where even is he right now? What… What…

BRAAAAAAAAAUUUUUMMMMMMMM

Screams fill the bridge once more as it’s rocked by the attacking blast. Taehyung scrambles for purchase as he flies back, spine colliding with another set of railing, a limp body pummels into his chest before he is thrown sideways, tumbling down into the center of the room. With a thundering THWACK his head smacks against the Captain’s chair.

__________________________________________________________________________

“And then what? What happened next, Taehyung?” Sivalin presses after the Tirmun falls silent. He just plays with a stray string on his sleeve for a moment before shrugging.

“I- I’m not so sure.”

“Oh God! We are all going to die her-”

“If the Klingons keep attacki-”

“Don’t even say it-”

“We have to get out of here!”

“We are a bunch of farmers how-”

“I’m a botanist!”

“I’m only a farmer!”

“I joined Starfleet to study rare fruits, how am I-”

“You mean to tell me that you have no memory of what happened after that?”

“I…”

“Taehyung, do you or do you not-”

“Why don’t you ask the others?!” The frantic shout cuts the Admiral off. The room falls silent at his outburst. Taehyung bunches his sleeve up and wipes at his eyes, taking in shaking breaths. “Just ask them, okay? They’ll tell you everything.”

“We did ask them.” Admiral Jeon speaks with a gentle understanding in his voice, a stark difference to the woman to his right. “And all five said the same thing.”

“What?”

“That you are the only reason they survived.”

__________________________________________________________________________

  The shouting is probably what wakes him up again. Two? Seven? Four voices? Twenty-eight- ah fuck it who gives a shit- All the voices overlapping and clashing against eachother crowds into his ears.

‘“Holy-” He mumbles, right palm pressing against his temple, smacking it a little too hard as his limbs seem heavier, less under his control. The Captain’s chair is cold against his left shoulder and face from where he collapsed against it. A shaky breath barely fills his lungs, sides protesting the action all together. Taehyung’s entire body convulses as a bloody cough tears through his throat.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

“What do you suggest we do, huh?”

“Navigation is still online. We could-”

“What, fly right into the awaiting Klingon fleet? Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Jesus Christ, York! At least I-”

“Arguing is not helping!”

“Well then you tell that bitch-”

“Don’t even start, assh-”
“Do any of you know how to fly this thing?”
“We are Tirmun! What do you think?”

__________________________________________________________________________

“Taehyung,” Admiral Jeon asks, “Had you ever been on a Starship before?”

“No.”

“Then how did you do it?”

“I…”

__________________________________________________________________________

We are Tirmun! A giggle slips past Taehyung’s lips, a product of slight hysteria, most likely. It always had been such a funny sentiment to him- Tirmuns. Well not exactly Tirmuns themselves… No, no because he was one. Finding them silly would be finding himself silly.

What feels like a sledge hammer banging away at his head picks up in intensity as he tries rising, shifting just enough to get his legs under him. A slight rattle of the ship causes him to pause, another laugh escaping as his vision blurs, red lights and frantic faces merging together.

“We are going to die here!” A high pitched voice breaks through the cacophony of sounds flying around in his brain. He knew the voice. Maybe. Whose to really say? Maybe he didn’t. It could belong to anyone. It could also belong to no one at all!

“No shit, Yamma.” Yamma! That was her name! Hell yeah, Taehyung, still got it! A farmer, and a hell of a good one, at that. She also grew very good strawberries. Or was that York that grew strawberries? Actually, thinking about it, Yamma might be a botanist.

“Surely botanists can grow strawberries…” He ponders the earth shattering question as he uses the arm of the Captain’s chair to pull himself to his feet. He puts all of his weight on his left shoulder, and- OW! Oh yeah. Shoulder definitely not in the socket. Swaying as his vision swims in and out of blackness, he lets out a huff. “I mean I don’t see why they couldn’t grow them.”

That was the thing about Tirmuns that he did find silly after all. They should be able to plant strawberries! Wait… wait no- that wasn’t his point. What was his point again? Why was he thinking about strawberries? He grimaces in annoyance as he stumbles past the mass of Tirmuns circled around the navigation controls, nearly tripping over a body on the floor. Who put that there? Probably not a botanist.

He chuckles at himself as he pushes the limp body sitting in its chair. It falls with a thump , leaving plenty of room for Taehyung to make himself comfortable. Although hard to see because of the general lighting of the room- someone should really get that fixed- he couldn’t help but marvel at the millions and millions- ok that might be a small exaggeration- of buttons and switches and dials in front of him. Something landing on his shoulder, something that weighs an absolute ton and rocks his entire body side to side, knocks him out of his mini transcendence.

“What are you doing, Taehyung?” OH! It was a hand on his shoulder! He chuckles again, coughing slightly as something wet and sticky fills his mouth. He turns his eyes back to the controls before glancing to the view screen. Ohhhhh. So That’s where they were! Based on the position of the stars and… oh yes that planet there! And look! An asteroid belt, how lucky is that-

“Taehyung?” See this was what Taehyung loved. Looking at stars. It was stupid that there were only so many you could see from Tirmax IV. It got boring after a while, looking at the same 6,000 stars each night. Because you see, the stars were Taehyung’s strawberries. Aha! That’s what he was thinking about earlier! Any Tirmun should be able to plant strawberries. But they can’t. And that’s silly, but very useful at this moment.

Taehyung’s hands start drifting from control to control, flipping various switches, and even pushing down a few buttons. He thinks he might be able to hear protesting, he can maybe even feel the hand on his shoulder tightening.

You see, Tirmuns only can do one thing. And that’s just silly, isn’t it? Taehyung has always thought so. They find one thing when they are little, and get too attached to that to be able to learn how to do anything else. And because it’s a farming colony well… There are a lot of farmers. And botanists. Geologists. Some architects.

He glances at the view screen again, taking into account the… fifteen(?) enemy ships… and the gravity of that planet, which is definitely Morbian given the positioning of that asteroid belt and the coloration of the blood red moon revolving around it-

__________________________________________________________________________

“I’ve always hated dirt…”

“Oh, why is that?”

“...” Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, nose scrunching. “Well… It’s so boring, isn’t it?”

“I happen to think it’s quite interesting.” Jeon smiles, tilting his head. “Without dirt, we couldn’t cultivate our crops, couldn’t nourish ourselves. If you really think about it, dirt is what brings us life.” A small smile crosses Taehyung's lips and he glances up for only a brief moment.

“You sound like a Tirmun, Sir.” Admiral Jeon chuckles, leaning back in his seat.

“But not you?”

“No… not me.”

__________________________________________________________________________

As his fingers danced across the control panel with the grace of a dancer performing the only piece they have ever practiced, his vision blacks slightly once again. His motions pause for a brief moment and then-

BRAAAAAAAAAUUUUUMMMMMMMM

The seat belt- when did that get there?- barely holds him still, his head flying forwards, only to be cushioned by his arms. When he gets slammed back, the top of the chair hammers into his shoulder blades, a sharp hiss leaves him as everything goes silent to accompany the seering white pain.

He was always getting scraped up though. All the children would come home with knees covered in bruises and cuts, shoes stained green from the grass they would trample in all afternoon. In fact, it was one of those tumbles that led him here today. A trip over a rock. That led to a fall down a hill. That led to two bloody knees, a dislocated shoulder, and a young boy staring straight up. A head, cushioned by overgrown grass and weeds, that was positioned perfectly right for two sparkling, wide eyes to face straight out into the twinkling night sky.

My Strawberries.

He couldn’t be sure what happened first. Whether it was his vision returning or the sound of screams and shouts reaching his ears. But he does know that his hands are moving again. Reaching across to the slider that was slick and sticky, somehow at the same time.

One chance.

One chance to get the calculations right.

One chance to get past the Klingons.

One chance to get out of the system.

One chance to-

He pushes his arms forward, whole body moving with the motion as the thrusters engage to their maximum capacity. The image in the view screen goes blurry. This must be what heaven looks like. Stars streaking past, asteroids flying overhead. Planets passing by as if time and distance and space mean nothing at all. Just Taehyung and the Universe, existing in perfect tandem.

And as the stars stop, Taehyung drops.

__________________________________________________________________________

“Taehyung, you are aware that the maneuver you performed is considered next to impossible, even for a highly trained Starfleet officer?” Admiral Sivalin joins the conversation again as his story concludes. Her eyes are trained on him in disbelief. Taehyung’s eyes widen slightly before he shakes his head.

“It couldn’t have been that hard…”

“You should not even be standing before us right now.” She sets her pen gently down on the table, a look of frustration flashing across her face. “And you have the nerve to stand there and tell us that you have no idea how you accomplished that.”

“I’m sorry, I-”

“You really expect us to believe your story?”

“I don’t know what you want from me.”

“The truth!”

“I’m telling you the truth!” His yell triggers the headache that he had been holding back for the past hour. “I barely remember any of it! You could tell me that I made the whole thing up, that it was all some sick and twisted dream, and I would probably believe you! Can I please go now, I just want to take a nap.” His hand flies to his forehead to massage harshly at his temple.

“Thank you, Taehyung. You are free to leave.” Admiral Jeon smiles, waiting until the door is fully closed behind the rushing Tirmun to turn to the woman sitting next to him. His smile drops.

“Did you really need to be so aggressive, Sivalin? After everything he’s been through.”

“Do you have any idea what a valuable resource he could be, Jeon? If he’s telling the truth,” Her eyes sparkle as she motions to his Starfleet application papers. “Imagine what he’ll be able to do with proper training, what Starfleet could accomplish.”

“He’s a young man that just went through a life-altering traumatic event, Sivalin.” Jeon’s lips flatten, disapproval clear on his face.

“So? Give him the Draun Dilfi Award of Bravery and slap the title of hero on him.” She smirks, signing her name on the document in front of her. “Captain Skilpard?”

A middle aged man, handsome, with salt and pepper hair perfectly groomed and styled, smiles from his seat.
“Yes, ma’am?”

“You wouldn’t mind taking him on, would you?” The spark of excitement is clear on his face as he elbows at his first officer.

“We would be happy to have him aboard the Buzzard, ma’am! With me and Namjoon behind him, he’ll be a star in no time!” His first officer merely nods beside him, blushing slightly as the attention turns, partially, to him.

“I’m glad to hear it.” Sivalin chirps, turning her body fully to look at Jeon. “Don’t you worry, Jeon. I’ll handle everything. Everyone is dismissed!”

“That’s what I’m worried about…” He mutters under his breath. He watches as everyone exits the conference room, eyes lingering on the backs of Skilpard and Kim. He can’t help but ponder as he glances down at the file in front of him. With a sigh, he closes the folder. “Brady?”

“Yes, sir?” His right hand asks, looking up from his holopadd.

“Send all available files on the USS Buzzard and her commanding crew to my holopadd. I want everything by tonight.”

“Aye, sir.”

“And Brady?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Don’t let Sivalin or Skilpard know about this.”

“Of course, sir.”