nexus_crossings | In which Shelby brings an unexpected guest.

Current Mood: bored

In which Shelby brings an unexpected guest.

It had been a while since Shelby had visited the Nexus, and in that time, many things had changed. She had made the decision to stay at Team Penske despite getting a very good offer from Chip Ganassi Racing, unable to walk away from the teammates and crew members that she considered family after they had supported her through the majority of her career. She had reunited with her strategist Shane Worthington, and the two of them had made a pact that they were going to make her giving up her dream job worth it. Unfortunately the 2022 season had not yielded the success that they wanted.

While Shelby had won a race, her other teammates had won more. And though she was leading the championship standings by virtue of consistently finishing in the Top 5, that still felt disappointing when she'd had years where she had won three or four events and dominated. There were only four races left in the season and she felt like she hadn't reached her full potential. She was also adjusting to changes off-track with rumors about where she might be driving in 2023 and having to balance a personal life. After almost a decade of friendship and over a year of circling each other, she and her ex-strategist Peter Fowler had finally entered into a romantic relationship. While Shelby loved Peter deeply, the transition hadn't been easy and she wasn't used to having to think about her home life during the racing season. She also had no idea that he had bought an engagement ring in Toronto.

Add all that up and she wasn't surprised the Nexus thought she needed a getaway once they had finished the Indianapolis race and things had relatively settled back to normal. What did surprise her was that Peter had gone through the door with her. That had never happened before, but one second they'd been headed for the garage to try and distract themselves by working on her Cobra, and now here they were. Peter was the most down to earth person she knew, so Shelby's first reaction was to turn around and see exactly how perplexed he was. He was just staring at her like he thought she was going to say something, and so she just grabbed him by the waist to get his 6'2" self out of the way.

"Okay, how does anybody else feel about surprises?" she quipped, wondering who was around right now and what they were going to say when she introduced them to her boyfriend.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It was my first, best destiny," he answers, the corners of his mouth turned up in the sort of smile one gives when there's a secret in-joke at play. "Helped write the books on a good deal of first contact protocols, and last I'd heard, my mission logs were still popular reading at Starfleet HQ. I won't lie and say I don't miss it, but gallivanting around the galaxy is for the young, and I quite like having some peace and quiet with my husband in our twilight years."

"And what about yourself?" he asks, smoothly redirecting the questions back to her with the ease of someone who's handled diplomatic functions for decades. "What's your calling in life?"

"I'm an IndyCar driver." Shelby says it with no small amount of pride. This is a woman who not only insists on wearing one of her three Indianapolis 500 rings everywhere, but she has the racing series' logo tattooed on the inside of her right wrist. She lives and breathes for the sport. "I drive the No. 2 Chevrolet for Team Penske." She also has a tendency to forget when she's talking to people who aren't also in the business and don't know that means she drives for the top team.

A nod back toward her boyfriend, who has the better part of a foot of height on her. "Peter is the strategist for my teammate's No. 3 car. He calls the races, so I guess you could call him the captain of his team, in a sense." She worked with a different strategist who was much more difficult, but that was a whole other long story. "What we do probably isn't as cool as a starship, though," she adds with a laugh.

It's safe to say from the look on his face that he doesn't really know what she's talking about, although the words 'car' and 'races' give him the general idea of it. Even so, he listens politely and attentively.

"Well, that explains why walls might be an unwelcome surprise," he says with mild amusement. "The way I see it, 'coolness' isn't really the best thing to base your career on. You find something you enjoy doing, or that you find value in doing for others."

"Oh, I love what I do. I was just saying it's not anything that's quite that world-affecting." Shelby chuckles. She has perspective on her career. She may be one of the best drivers in the country but she understands it's not saving lives or doing anything that has some major effect. "There's nothing that takes my breath away like a good race. Plus, I grew up in the business, so there's a lot of history that makes it special. Just between the two of us, I've known Peter for the better part of a decade."

"It's actually about a decade." Leave it to Peter Fowler to know the specific time stamp given that it's his job to know every fact and figure. "I remember thinking your father might shoot me. Working with your driver's father is a particularly uncomfortable situation." Even though Shelby's dad had always liked him, that didn't take away the intimidation factor. "But I imagine you form similarly close bonds on a ship's crew, right?" he added. "Spending that much time in a relatively close space."

"Of course," he agrees easily. "We spent five years together on our first mission, and many years after that. For a time, we were as close as family, and I miss them dearly."

It's sad to think that he missed out on the rest of their lives, but there's little he can do about that. At least he hasn't missed out on one particular life, a small miracle of the Nexus of his very own.

"My husband was my first officer," he adds, raising his eyebrows knowingly. "Even before we were involved, he was one of my best friends."

"That sounds really sweet." Shelby's even blushing a little because she's looking back at her boyfriend, who settles a hand on her back knowingly. "Peter and I go back to when I was barely starting out," she says by way of explanation. "We were friends for a long time before we finally got together. In fact, I almost lost him once."

"You never lost me." He shook his head. "We might have been apart, but there was never anybody else."

She'll have to ask him about that later. "We've been through a lot," she says by way of explanation. "But I feel like that all has strengthened our relationship now as we've sort of re-learned each other. To have so many shared experiences. Does that hold true for you? That it's just easier to understand when the person you're talking to has been on the same journey you have?"

"Of course," Kirk replies, as if there could be any other answer. "There are few better ways to understand someone than to walk at their side. Even if that's just having shared interests," he adds with a smile. "But the bonds that are forged through enduring hardships together are powerful indeed."

"I'm grateful we have few of those in our lives now, of course." His smile broadens slightly.

"I can imagine!" Shelby says with a soft laugh. While she firmly believes the hardships she went through years ago made her a better person and a better driver, she also would never want to repeat them. She's glad for the stability she has in her life now. And in a way, she's lucky, because she had friends who welcomed her back when they might not have had a reason to.

"How long were you serving?" she asks. "I started my career when I was ten, but my line of work is definitely not typical!"

"Forty-one years, give or take. At the time I was promoted to starship captain, I was the youngest in Starfleet history at thirty-one. Not quite as young as ten," he says, giving her an amused sort of smile. "But I do hope you weren't driving by then."

"I was, actually." Shelby laughs. "I was even what we consider a late starter in my line of work. It's very common for kids to take up go-karts as young as five and then start working their way up through karting ranks. But if you mean actual cars, no, I couldn't do that until I had an actual driver's license. My first serious professional gig was in college."

"I didn't start until after college," Peter chimes in with a shrug. "But it's also not nearly as competitive to get my job as it is yours."

"You can also do your job way after 40." Shelby points out. "The downside of starting young is it's also a young man or woman's game," she adds by way of explanation. "Not that we have to quit. I have friends in their early 40s who are still racing. But there is always a new crop of teenagers or twentysomethings waiting to take our seats. Is there that same kind of turnover in your line of work?"

Unsure what a gokart is or how it differs from an 'actual car,' he listens politely anyway, attempting to put it together from context clues. Something suitable for a child to drive, but possibly not a toy? It seems incredible that an Earth society would allow children to pilot dangerous vehicles as a sport as early as ten years old though. Growing up in the country is one thing. A structured sport is another.

Kirk makes a thoughtful sound as he considers how to answer, a smile tugging at his lips. Her curiosity is open and honestly refreshing in a lot of ways, yet she's still willing to balance her questions with his own. Were she not a racing driver, she might try her hand at diplomacy, he thinks.

"Of a sort," he agrees. "Promotions shake up the fleet periodically. Captains give up their ships to be admirals, and everyone moves up the ladder, making room for Academy graduates and training cadets. Experienced personnel can move to new ships, or even get a command of their own. My helmsman of many years made captain when he left the Enterprise," he adds, unmistakable pride in his voice. "Captain Hikaru Sulu of Excelsior, top of her line for her time." He gives her a small smile, raising his eyebrows. "I did a stint as admiral myself, but it didn't stick."

"I get that feeling," Shelby says, because she does. She's had the foresight to be thinking about her post-racing career for years now, aware that her current position wasn't going to last forever. She had originally set a deadline for herself to retire at 40 so she could get married and start a family. However, as she was now moving closer to that deadline, a new voice was creeping in that said she wasn't ready to give up her ship yet either.

She shoves her hands in her pockets. "My role model when I was younger, she started as a driver and then moved up to owning her own race team. I was lucky enough to drive for her for a little while. But I don't think I'd want to follow her career path. I don't want to be mired down in all the business decisions that come with ownership. I want to stay involved in the actual racing. If someone offers me the opportunity, that is. Nothing is guaranteed."

A small smile. "I wouldn't give it up for the world, though. Or the multiverse. I'm sure you feel the same about your career."

Her frank confession of not wanting to follow her mentor's career path gets a soft, surprised laugh out of him. "If I'm honest, that's why admiralship didn't agree with me either," he tells her. "Not that I owned anything, but I was never the sort to thrive piloting a desk. Admirals are important to the structure of Starfleet, as is the experienced teaching the young, but I was always at home among the stars, not stuck planetside where my only adventure was paperwork."

A faint smile lingers on his lips as he looks at her, considering, lightly tapping his fingers against the cover of his book. "My advice is to cherish it while you can. And find other things you love to do that can fill the gap once it's gone. A love of books," he adds, thumping the novel in his hand a little more solidly in demonstration, "or riding horses, something that can keep you busy. Remembering the good old days is important, but so is moving forward. It's easier to start now, instead of waiting until you don't know what to do with yourself anymore."

"That's the plan." Shelby nods in agreement. "An acquaintance of mine works as a driver coach. That's what I'd like to do, actual hands-on work with the next generation, and my current contract allows for a one-year tryout in the position once I retire. I'd like to leave the sport better than I found it."

A small chuckle as she nudges her boyfriend. "He can keep doing what he does until he's retirement-aged. There's no age limit on being the smart guy in the room."

That got a laugh out of him. "One of," he corrects. "I'm pretty sure at least Tim is smarter than me. But he has a point, we should start thinking more about our future. We're both in our mid-30s now."

"I don't just mean your career, although that's important too," Kirk agrees pleasantly, giving them a small nod. "Even when I was serving aboard a starship, there was plenty of time for hobbies and recreation. It's essential on long voyages; we're not meant to be in a work mindset twenty-four hours a day, no matter how enjoyable it is. And it becomes more true the older you get."

"Of course, you have a long way to go yet," he adds with a smile. "But you won't regret laying that groundwork now."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

In which Shelby brings an unexpected guest.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject