Myriad Universes 02_ Echoes and Refractions - Keith R. A. DeCandido [19]
Within the confines of one of the tiny caverns they quickly set up a makeshift camp. The air was still reasonably warm, so no fire was necessary. They consumed a few rations as David’s tricorder lay on the ground next to them, periodically flashing various warnings about the geological instability of the planet, as well as the presence of additional life-forms in the vicinity-presumably in the midst of an extensive search for the two members of the Grissom crew who were still unaccounted for.
David studied Saavik’s dimly lit face as she sat staring off into the night sky, her half-Vulcan countenance only partly masking the apprehension she clearly felt. His own emotions were a jumble of remorse for his own negligence and dread from the hopelessness they now faced. In spite of this, he felt a strange compulsion to laugh, and did so, albeit halfheartedly. “How ironic is it that I took this assignment because I wanted to impress my father?”
“Starfleet Admiral James Kirk,” Saavik said matter-of-factly. “I had surmised from your biographical profile in the mission briefing that the two of you were not particularly close.”
David shrugged. “I barely know him at all,” he admitted.
“Then why do you place such importance upon his acceptance of you?”
David considered this. “Good question. Growing up, it was just my mother and me. We had each other; I never thought we needed anyone else. And from what I knew of him, well…” He laughed. “I didn’t think I even wanted to know him.”
“Based upon reputation alone,” Saavik interjected, “he does seem to possess the trait that I believe humans call 'cocky.’”
“Bingo,” David said, smiling. “But that was before I saw him in command of his bridge…before we had our first real talk. And now I wonder what my 'cocky’ father might have been able to teach me about leadership, had I ever made the effort to include him in my life.”
Again Saavik looked pensively off into the distance. “I cannot compare your upbringing with my own. At Gamma Eri, I was mentored by a scientist named Salok. He did an acceptable job of raising us to learn and appreciate the Vulcan disciplines, but he was not…nurturing…and certainly not tolerant of my emotional instability. Only Sarek seemed to understand.”
“You and the ambassador remained close?”
“He was able to come to the station only about once per year, but I awaited his visits with eager anticipation. He always took a special interest in my development. He…cared about me, I suppose in a way that a father would care for his own child.”
David watched her as she spoke, sitting forlornly within their dark, barren surroundings. She had never known maternal affection; he had never experienced the benefit of his father’s commanding presence. Each of them was somehow incomplete, and he felt that he wanted to hold her-that together, somehow, they could both become whole.
“So then, I assume that Sarek was never married?” David wondered aloud.
“He was, but that was many years ago,” she explained wistfully. “He has not remarried since his wife died in a shuttle accident, two decades before you and I were born.” She turned to face David with a mischievous expression. “Curiously enough, she was a human woman. I presume he found her emotionalism to be…enlightening.”
“Well, geez, what a missed opportunity!” David joked. “You read my profile, you knew my mother was single…Why didn’t we try to get the two