Day 53: Lunch

[buryyourdemons]

There was little to be said of the daily business that went on. He allowed himself to be shuffled, mind embedded too deeply in things he shouldn't be dwelling on. The night was over, the shadows had vanished, and there was little more than bad memories to be left in their stead. This was logic, pure and simple, and should have been reassuring but

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[hes_deadjim]

Now what kind of smart-ass question was that? McCoy wanted the answer that told him the clearest and the one that was likely to make him not regret asking in the first place. Considering what Jim could get into, he didn't think that last one was possible.

Spock chose that moment to arrive. He had expected the Vulcan to beat him here, but it looked like Vulcan punctuality wasn't nearly as perfect as the rumors said. For a moment, McCoy looked at him long and hard. Spock looked the same, but after last night, McCoy was finding it harder to go accept it. This was the man who had been accused of turning on Jim and throttling him. The worst part was that Spock hadn't denied it at all. Hadn't even tried to.

Spock might look as tranquil as a lake, but that wasn't all that true, now was it? He had seen what a Vulcan could do when they lost control. Vulcans were physically much stronger than humans, and losing that restraint could easily result in killing someone if they weren't careful. And Spock had turned it on a crew member? On Jim?

He gave him a stiff nod in greeting, then turned back to Jim. That was easier. Jim was safer. If McCoy concentrated on the Captain, he could try to ignore that they had the very officer who tried to (apparently) kill Jim was within three feet of the man.

...Well. That answered what happened plainly.

As awful as the experience with their shadows had been last night, and he was thinking Jim's wasn't any picnic, McCoy could feel a smile coming on where it had no place being. The doctor managed to keep a straight face. How did you even react to something like that? Granted, it wasn't the first time there had been.... two of him running around, but those were different circumstances. There was something else about having an older Jim (a copy of the Jim he knew, McCoy wondered) taking a swing at a younger version. There wasn't any telling what else had happened or what it had said to him, but he had to admit,there was something just a little bit funny about the image. And if those bruises were something to go off of, the younger him had lost.

McCoy was finding that keeping that straight face was harder than it looked.

"So uh, 'you' pack quite a punch," he ventured helpfully.

[dual_worlds]

Spock took note of the curt nod from McCoy but did not necessarily think much of it. He trusted that the CMO would understand that, whatever had happened between him and Jim, they had obviously worked past it and reached an acceptable place in their working relationship.

Upon close inspection, it was difficult to miss the bruises that marked Kirk's face and arms. He had neglected to mention that his shadow attacked him while writing on the board, though it was also true that recounting those sorts of details could earn the suspicion of the staff. No matter -- they were perfectly capable of discussing that here and now. As instructed, Spock took the seat across from Kirk, setting his tray down in front of him.

"The creature imitating you was hostile, then," Spock said evenly before picking up his eating utensils and cutting into his "pizza". He had suspected there was a chance of such violence erupting from an encounter with their sentient shadows. Apparently, he had been correct in that regard. McCoy and himself were fortunate that their shadows had been content with verbally berating them. It may not have been a pleasant experience, but they did not have any injuries.

Unlike McCoy, however, Spock did not struggle to maintain a stoic expression. However, his eyebrows faintly drew closer together as he studied the captain with an unwavering expression.

"Were you the only individual it attacked?" The question was a simple one, but he had his reasons for asking.

[doneinthree]

Now what was that? Kirk didn't miss that curt nod from Bones, nor the hard stare that preceded it. Had something happened last night, or was there more to it? Honestly, he wouldn't be too surprised if Bones and Spock didn't get along - if Kirk had once thought that he and Spock were like tossing oil and water together (or oil and dynamite, given the outcome of their last "argument"), his own abrasiveness was still nothing compared to Bones and his perpetually disgruntled eyebrows. But Kirk and Spock had worked things out between them, and he'd expected by now his first officer and his doctor would've done so as well, if only because of the history between... well, the history between this McCoy and the other Spock.

He was probably reading too much into it: Spock seemed as unbothered as ever, and now Bones was looking at him with the sort of expression that said he was struggling very hard not to laugh. Kirk squinted at them both, saving most of his suspicious annoyance for Spock and Obvious Vulcan Statement #65 - that Bones wasn't as funny as he thought he was hardly registered as a surprise, but if Spock was making jokes at his expense now...

"Yeah, well, I took a swing at him first," Kirk grumbled, as if that made it any better. Okay, technically Shadow Kirk had easily deflected the blow, but Uhura wasn't here to set the record straight and his statement wasn't really a lie anyway. However, what he was omitting was why he'd been provoked, and Kirk paused for a second, mouth tightening to a thin line. As much as the shadow had resembled the other Kirk (and had made a point of saying how they weren't alike), he'd recognized who it was in the moment the shadow had advanced on him, pushing his buttons and getting into his personal space. Him. He'd done the exact same to Spock on the bridge. It had worked that time too - sound thrashing and all.

Definitely not elaborating on that part. Kirk's eyebrows quirked as he glanced at Spock, but he gave a little nod. "Uhura's fine. He spoke to her once or twice, but mostly had it in for me. He- it didn't seem like it was trying to kill me, though. It just... talked a lot." Yeah, that wasn't vague at all. "What about you two? What happened?"

[xenolingual]

Pizza. Of all the things. Greasy, bland, thin pizza. It wasn't that she disliked pizza in the general sense, but if she and the other crew members were going to be out late at night being chased down by shadow figures, it wasn't going to cut it as one of their three basic meals for the day. Not to mention the fact that her figure didn't look the way it did simply because she wished for it. No, it took a lot of effort to keep in shape, the kind of effort that wasn't encouraged at the hospital because heaven forbid any of the patients actually stay in top form, or-

Hm. It wasn't important. Or at least, getting frustrated over the fact wasn't going to make it any better.

Uhura took the tray of food with good grace (sort of) and was quick to find the Starfleet crew already seated together at one table. Or at least, she easily recognized the back of Spock's head, and Kirk's bruised face, but- Oh. Oh. The man sitting with them must have been Dr. McCoy. She could tell just from the look of slightly forced 'I'm not amused, I'm concerned' sincerity that he was directing at Kirk. She and the doctor hadn't been that close back home, but she did know the basic dynamic of his relationship with the captain that had built up since they started at Starfleet academy, and that was enough to make a safe assumption.

As badly as she wanted to make a 'how's your face?' comment to Jim, she refrained, instead putting on a polite smile. This was... surreal, definitely, but she wasn't going to let that deter her from using her manners. "Hello, gentleman." Alright sure, her uplifted tone could absolutely be blamed on her amusement with herself, and from the small fact that Spock (And McCoy too!) looked completely unharmed, while Kirk somehow found a way to get on his shadow's bad side. But he was technically fine! So she didn't have to feel so bad that said shadow managed to land a few punches.

"Dr. McCoy, I presume? I'm Lieutenant N--yota Uhura." Of course she wasn't looking at Kirk as she said her full name. Damn. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I only wish it were under different circumstances."

[hes_deadjim]

The only one that was hostile was you. You tried to kill Jim, the doctor thought darkly, eyes flickering towards Spock when he spoke. It was a knee jerk reaction. Spock had tried to talk to him last night, but by God, some little part was thinking it anyway. Maybe it was in the past but to his mind, it didn't make it any better. Jim seemed to get along with him just fine, which was odd, because even if Jim had forgiven Spock before, actually having a friend try to kill you, really mean it, was bound to leave something. Maybe Jim had somehow managed to forgive Spock for it, but McCoy wasn't going to be so quick to.

McCoy held his tongue and focused his attention back on Jim.

"Picking fist fights then. You know there's something called 'water off a duck's back'" he replied. Although Spock's shadow had digging up every little nasty thing about the commander, some of which McCoy was better off not knowing. And if that thing could test Spock's control, McCoy wasn't too surprised that Jim had ended up with some bruises.

When Kirk asked what happened to them last night, McCoy hesitated. He looked at Spock. Did he want to tell him what happened?

Thankfully the universe had some sense of timing. McCoy was saved from answering himself when a woman arrived. This must be their Uhura. She was younger than the woman he knew, wore her hair differently, but she still had the same air of professionalism about her.

"I wish it were too." He didn't like time travel, much less universe hopping in the first place, but the positive was getting to meet these other crew member. He looked her over, and true enough, she didn't seem injured. That was at least one good to come out of this meeting. "Pleased to meet you."

[dual_worlds]

From what Kirk was saying, it sounded as though the shadows from last night only attacked if provoked by violent action. Of course, it also sounded as though every shadow was different, depending on the individual, so some creatures were likely easier to anger than others. He and McCoy had been wise not to lash out first, unlike Kirk. Spock would have liked to have been able to say that it was unexpected for a starship captain to react in such a way, but Kirk had already proven that he was unlike others of his position.

When the captain asked to know what happened to them last night, Spock exchanged glances with McCoy. Neither of them were eager to give the details, yet inevitably one of them would have to speak. As Spock was the ranking officer between the two of them, he realized that was ultimately his responsibility.

Before he could answer Kirk's question, however, Nyota approached their table and promptly introduced herself to Dr. McCoy. Just as Kirk said, it appeared the shadow had not attacked her after all, if her apparent lack of injuries were any indication. Spock gave a nod, serving as both as an acknowledgment and a silent greeting.

"Please take a seat, Miss Uhura," he said.

[doneinthree]

Kirk snorted at the comment about 'water off a duck's back', but as far as reproaches went, it was pretty mild. Bones was getting too used to how he operated. "Someone should've told him that. It. My shadow. The other... whatever." Not Kirk. At least... not any Kirk but himself. The fact that most of the prisoners had apparently run into an unwanted visitor last night made it clear enough that it had been some kind of monster and not the other James Kirk in any way, but it still disturbed him, the particular form his shadow had chosen to take. The natural question to ask then was why... but he already knew the answer, didn't he?

The less he thought about it, the better; so even Kirk was briefly grateful for the distraction provided by Uhura's arrival. "Hey," he greeted, and busied himself with his pizza again. She'd been the witness to everything what had happened last night, and he wasn't sure if it had changed anything. After all, Uhura had known him for three years already - hell, she'd probably voiced some of the shadow's complaints herself - but no matter what her opinion of him, he knew she was too smart to dismiss him as just a womanizing, irresponsible attention-seeker.

For one, he wasn't so busy seeking attention that he didn't catch that glance between his science officers when he asked about their experience. Two shadows, neither of them apparently violent, but that was the limit of Kirk's knowledge. "We're just discussing the shadows. I covered what happened here-" He gestured to his less-than-pristine face. "-and Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy were about to tell us what they saw last night."

Although Kirk included both of their names, it was Spock he looked at then.

[xenolingual]

Uhura, despite catching Kirk's obvious distraction tactic in the form of gaining a sudden interest in his pizza, didn't miss a beat, and took the free seat closest to her. The events from the night before hadn't changed anything, as far as her opinions on Kirk anyway, because really... She knew the shadow was meant to voice all the insecurities one had buried deep in the back of their mind, but that didn't mean they held any actual weight. And she definitely wasn't going to let some evil spawn of Kirk's subconscious to sway her opinion, not when she had all that time before arriving at Landel's to form her own. If she was being honest, maybe that was sort of the first impression that he had given her when he started at school, but after sharing a few of the same classes with him, it was actually glaringly obvious that he shouldn't be underestimated as a Starfleet cadet, or in general.

Plus if anything, the fact that she witnessed Kirk intentionally provoke Spock into resorting to physical violence in order to take his position as Acting Captain probably had a more damaging effect on her opinion of him than anything the shadow had to say. Even if he did turn out to be a decent- Wait.

She had definitely just surpassed her Positive Opinions About Jim Kirk quota for the day, maybe even the week, so she tried to focus on the more important part of the night. Since Kirk already gave them a run-down of their evening, she decided it was best to just listen for now, giving her full attention to Spock and Dr. McCoy. Although, again, if she was being honest, about 80% of her focus was on Spock because- Well.

[dual_worlds]

Nyota's arrival had been a brief distraction, but now it was time to discuss what had transpired last night. Spock was keenly aware that most of the attention was focused on him. His expression did not waver -- rather, he grew more stoic as he spoke.

"There were two shadows who represented the doctor and myself," he began explaining after a brief pause. "Neither one of them appeared hostile, though they were inclined to follow whenever we attempted to leave their presence. Doctor McCoy's shadow did not have a full head. Mine, on the other hand, looked like a near identical copy to myself, save for its coloring."

Leaving his food untouched, he did not look away from his colleagues as he continued with his report. "McCoy's shadow had little to say, save for the words: 'we trusted him before, see where it got us now'." He sat straighter in his chair, squaring his shoulders. "As for my shadow, it made repeated references to what transpired on Vulcan, and alluded to the..." His mouth faintly tightened for a second as he considered his words. "...previous altercation between Captain Kirk and myself. Both shadows disappeared before shift ended."

There was more he could have said, but that was the concise summary of what happened last night.