Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive ^{Beam me up, Scotty.}

Vice Admiral Hunter watches as Chandra takes command of her new ship. She exhales as the crew—her hand-picked command crew—snaps to attention as she opens the PADD to read her commission.

As she starts to read herself in, to take command of her first starship, Hunter recalls those clear gray eyes staring at her from a much younger and smaller face, one held in her arms after her father had given her to Hunter.

His grief at being placed in an impossible situation apparent.

No. Not actually impossible, she thinks acerbically. Just politically difficult.

Hunter shoves those thoughts away. She can only think of her first child, one that she had taken responsibility for in her own despair at being told that she couldn’t have children of her own.

Only to prove the doctors wrong three years later. Surprising herself that she had that much love to give to both her girls.

Something that no one else who knew her had been surprised by. Especially Jim Kirk.

Hunter starts at the applause as Chandra finishes. She sees Chandra mouth words in Deltos.

She smiles. “No, daughter-of-choice,” she whispers in the same language. “It’s me who is so grateful.”