Fic: Two Summers, 1-10
Heart clenches.
It’s one of those days.
“No, I disagree,” Nyota shakes her head. “The diplomatic situation is tight as it is. We shouldn’t risk offending them by going against their requests.”
“We can’t afford to go into that kind of hostile territory without phasers. That’s just asking for something to happen,” Sulu argues right back.
“Nothing will get off the ground if we show them that we don’t trust them. A measure of faith could go a long way, give us a better bargain-”
“I’m fine with the idea of getting a crappier deal. We’re not going there unarmed.”
“Do you really understand how delicate the situation is right now? One of your security guys violated a major cultural taboo-we’re lucky that they didn’t execute him.”
“It was an accident. Accidents happen. I’ve already reprimanded him, given him an assignment to read up on the different funeral ceremonies of this sector. Don’t hold that over his head, and don’t use that as an excuse to just walk blindly into a trap.”
“Your paranoia about these people is totally unwarranted. They were friendly up until that point, which is understandable because they thought we were deliberately insulting them and thumbing our nose at their culture-”
“I don’t understand how every time something like this happens, we’re automatically in the wrong-”
“We have a greater responsibility towards upholding a standard because we’re representatives of the Federation, we’re technologically more advanced than most of the civilizations we visit-”
“We don’t actually need this planet for anything. We could go to any other planet for the same resources and not jump through these loops and bend over backwards to accommodate every single little thing about their culture-”
“So you’re suggesting that we just go in and take what we want just because we can? Do it the Klingon way?”
“No, I’m saying that if the cultural demands are unreasonable and incompatible with our safety, then it’s necessary to ignore them.”
And on and on.
He and Spock used to fight like this. Now it’s mostly Uhura and Sulu who butt heads. Jim will make the executive decision when this argument they’ve got going winds down but for now, he loses himself in the back and forth.
Heart clenches.
He watches and listens, suddenly jealous. No one challenges him like that anymore. There are some days when Uhura seems to channel Spock and for a few glorious minutes he’s arguing again with a point of a view so totally different from his own. But where Spock never backed down and was so absolutely confident that he was right, Uhura’s been a diplomat for too long to keep opposing Jim. She modifies her position, offers a compromise, resolves the conflict.
Spock-he enjoyed arguing with his captain just for the pure thrill of it. He enjoyed winning, forcing Jim to see his point of view and concede. It’s like chess or sparring. In the heat of the argument, they were equally matched in every way, mirror images representing two fundamentally different sides of the universe. Combined, they created the infinite diversity of the universe.
Bones still needles him, but it’s not the same. Bones argues with his heart, not with his head. He keeps Jim human, but the doctor’s worldview boils down to this: life is sacred. Jim agrees, but there’s only so much you can say when the other person’s argument and trump card are one and the same. Spock has a whole arsenal of arguments. There were nuances and degrees, shades of grey. He could take Jim off guard, he could surprise him.
That’s the thrill of the challenge.
And it’s gone. He’s not sure he’ll ever find a mind like that again.
Heart clenches.
In these arguments that Sulu and Uhura have, Jim thinks he ends up going 50/50. Half the time he sides with one, other times it’s the other. Spock would know better. He’d keep track, just like he kept track of their chess games. He’d probably tell Jim that there were a lot of times when Jim came up with a third option, like he’s thinking of doing right now. A lot of their chess games ended in draws.
“You know that both of you are right,” Jim interrupts. The argument has been going in circles now. “Your priorities are just different.”
Sulu and Uhura look at each other. They’ve heard this speech from him before, so he skips it.
“Commander Uhura, how likely do you think it is that they’ll search us for weapons?”
Uhura narrows her eyes. She can guess where this is going.
“That’s not the point, captain. The point is that we should be open and honest with them and carrying concealed weapons violates that trust.”
“That’s the point of concealed weapons. They’ll never know we violated that trust in the first place.”
“It’s an unfair disadvantage-”
“And we’ll be at an even bigger disadvantage going into this unarmed. Commander Sulu is right-it was an honest accident and I don’t think we should be penalized that severely for it, especially given the instability of the region. So I’m asking you again, how likely do you think it is that they’ll search us?”
“They’ll search us, but not full body. Maybe do some sort of scan with a metal detector.”
“Metal detector. So any concealed weapon would be a moot point anyway.”
“Not if we assert our right to have them on us,” Sulu replied.
“You want to force their hand?”
“I want to force the issue.”
“Not a good idea. They won’t have any reason to believe that we’re peaceful and actually want normal diplomatic relations with them. But there’s more than one way to arm ourselves. Sulu, tell Giotto that I want a team of security officers especially proficient in hand-to-hand, and maybe a few security people set up around the perimeter of the building, undercover. Uhura, outfit everyone with communicator badges and notify the transporter room that they’re to monitor our positions at all times, in case we need an emergency beam up.”
“Aye sir.”
“Understood, captain.”
“Anything else we need to discuss?”
“I don’t think so. The terms of the treaty that Starfleet wants are pretty clear.”
“Think you can manage it, commander.”
“I think you’ll manage it, captain. You defused the situation with the security officer, after all.”
If Spock were here, he’d have handled with much more skill and finesse. Spock always knew exactly what to say and how to say it.
Heart clenches.
“Just did what needed to be done. We’ll be fine.”
Uhura and Sulu stand before him, waiting.
He doesn’t know what to make of the fact that it takes two people to fill Spock’s place as his First Officer, and that neither of them can ever fill it completely. Jim’s getting used to them, but it’s like a shoe that fits all wrong.
“Dismissed.”
They leave.
Spock always stayed.