Sunset ^beta

Later, when La'an untangled the memories of their rescue, Una was the part she remembered best.

Una, standing tall and bright, like a beacon for all that Starfleet stood for. For the second time in La'an's life, she helped bring La'an home safe from the Gorn.

The rest of it— their time as captives, the fighting, getting everyone back onto the ship— was all hazy, right up until La'an awoke in the Enterprise's sickbay.

The sickbay was packed to overflowing with the colonists and remaining members of the Cayuga they'd been able to rescue— presumably the ones who hadn't needed immediate medical attention were elsewhere, although La'an wasn't sure how many of those there had been.

She was just glad there had been anyone left to rescue. That there had been a rescue at all. She'd wanted to believe, like her crewmates had, that the Enterprise would come for them. She had believed that they would try, but Pike and the others would do everything they could, but La'an knew all too well how little that could mean when up against the Gorn.

And yet, once again Pike and Una had pulled off the impossible.

When La'an sat up and began to move off her cot, a familiar figure hurried over to her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Chapel?" La'an was so surprised, she momentarily forgot that she'd been attempting to leave sickbay. "I thought you were on the Cayuga when—"

"I got lucky," Chapel said with a shrug. Then, "Don't tell me you were trying to sneak out. You were half dead when Una brought you in here."

"Well, I'm fine now," La'an said. In truth she was still somewhat stiff and sore, but she was no longer in serious danger. There were plenty of others who clearly needed more help than she did.

After a quick scan, Chapel agreed with her. As La'an headed toward the sickbay exit, Chapel called after her. "La'an!"

La'an turned back toward Chapel.

"It's good to see you," Chapel said.

La'an smiled. "It's good to see you, too."

It was early in the morning by the ship's clock when La'an made her way to one of the observation decks. There was no one else up there at this time— likely most of the crew were still working overtime, with everyone they'd been able to rescue from the Gorn on board.

As she looked out the windows, she ouldn't help but be mesmerized by the way it looked like the Enterprise was sitting still, suspended in space.

She knew, intellectually, that the Enterprise was speeding through Federation space at top speed, that there were hundreds of populated worlds orbiting around the stars she could only just see, with thousands of ships just like the one she was standing on flying between them, and that it was only the vast distance between them that made it seem like they weren't moving. But as she as she stared out into the vastness of space, it felt almost like she was alone in the universe.

A set of footsteps broke the illusion.

"Hey." Una stood next to La'an at the windows, looking out at the pinpricks of starlight with her. "What brings you out here?"

"Just clearing my head." La'an looked at Una. "What about you?"

"Looking for you," Una said. "I hadn't seen you since we found you."

La'an had wanted to seek Una out, had wanted to see her face again, but at the same time, she hadn't felt composed enough to do so. Una was one of her closest friends, her mentor, her twice-over savior, her— well. La'an didn't even know where to begin explaining what else.

"I don't remember much of that, to be honest," La'an said in response to Una. "Just that you were there. Again." La'an smiled a little.

"I thought you were dead," Una said. "When I saw you…"

La'an wordlessly reached out and placed her hand on Una's arm.

"The others we rescued said they wouldn't have lasted that long without you," Una added.

"That's not— Ortegas and Kirk, and— and everyone from the Cayuga, they all did just as much or more than me," La'an said, uncharacteristically flustered.

"I'm just telling you what everyone else said," Una said, warmth suffusing her voice. She laid one of her hands over La'an's, where it was still resting on Una's arm.

Una's eyes met La'an's, and any remaining feelings of aloneness vanished. That was a particular magic Una could work when no one else could.

"La'an—" Una began, before cutting herself off. Instead of continuing, she leaned forward and kissed La'an— a light brush of the lips, followed by a longer one. She pulled away, just for the space of a breath, and that wouldn't do. La'an pulled Una back to her, this time kissing her back.

La'an had never truly believed this could happen, outside of her own most secret imaginings, but now that they were here— her fingers digging into the fabric of Una's uniform, Una's arms winding around La'an and pulling her closer— she refused to let this moment slip by.

Brushes with death were all-too-common in Starfleet, but this one had felt different. Obviously it had felt different to Una, too, if the way she was clinging to La'an was any indication.

She pressed a kiss to the pulse point in Una's throat, careful even now not to leave a mark where it would be visible in regulation uniforms. It was hard, though, not to dig her teeth in when she heard the noise Una made.

It was another noise, though, which made her and Una spring apart— the sound of one of the doors to the observation deck sliding open, followed by someone squeaking out an apology and hurrying away.

La'an straightened out her clothes and smoothed down her braids. "We should probably go somewhere more private."

"Yes," Una agreed. "Although… it's not as if anyone will believe them. I once heard the two of us are where fun goes to die, you know."

La'an laughed.