Captain(s) on the bridge

[erudite_actor]

After everyone had left to get settled back in, Chris grabbed a snack from the replicator. He sprawled in a chair with an apple and some peanut butter, reading one of the books he'd borrowed from Jim's bookshelf. When he'd left off before, Odysseus and his men were just navigating past the island of the Sirens. Chris tried to apply himself to

Comments

[kirktastic]

Jim grinned as the door opened, gesturing with his head. "Come on, alot to do. Plus, I think I need to touch about every inch of the ship. I missed her." As much as it was a joke, there was a real, honest affection in his voice, as if the Enterprise was a living thing.

He was back in his command golds, and despite the odd color of his hair, he felt immensely better after a shower (...with Bones) and a quick bite from the replicator.

[erudite_actor]

The sight of Jim in his uniform was imposing. He wore it well, looking more comfortable in it than Chris had managed in the costume version. "Sure thing," Chris told him, grabbing his PADD and typing a quick note to Karl and Zach to let them know where he'd gone. That done, he fell in step next to Jim as they strode down the corridor, watching with a small grin as Jim acknowledged almost everyone they passed, pausing now and then to examine some part of the ship or another as they walked.

"I can tell," Chris replied. "I guess you'll have a lot of things to catch up on - are you sure you have time for this?"

[kirktastic]

"Until we're switched back, we're still considered off duty, but that doesn't mean I won't go up there in the morning and start doing the mountain of paper work that's waiting for me, probably digging myself out with help from a few people." Jim grinned, running his fingers along the wall. It felt good to be back here - clean air, the familiar temperatures, smells..

"So... will the three of you stay at all," Jim asked, frowning slightly, "or will you rush back to your time?"

[erudite_actor]

"I haven't really thought about it," Chris admitted. "We didn't really have a choice in the matter, coming here, so I guess I assumed somehow it would be the same, going back." Awkward start aside, he felt like he was just getting his feet under him, as if he'd just gotten away on vacation and got relaxed before he had to go back to work.

Chris frowned at the thought - he loved what he did, but the realization that he might feel that way was startling. Maybe he did need that break his sister had been nagging him about. "If we can... I can't speak for the others, obviously, but I think I'd like to stay for a while."

[kirktastic]

"I hope you do." Jim looked to Chris. "It's a trip, getting to meet the three of you. I'd like to get to know you before I possibly lose the chance to ever see you again. Maybe it's a little selfish, but I figure it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, getting to meet another me like this."

"But... if you three decide to go, Hart seems pretty readily capable of sending you." Jim knew Karl had a wife and kids, even if he thought neither Chris nor Zach did, but those factors plus their jobs could sway them all to go as soon as they were switched.

[erudite_actor]

Chris nodded. "I'd like to get to know you, too. I don't think that's selfish. If this is the only opportunity we'll have to be here, I want to make the most of it."

"What was it like when he brought you back?" he asked, curious. Hart had seemed confident he could get the three of them back on the ship and had succeeded, so Chris supposed it made sense that it could work in reverse. There was a lot to think about - his family and job, how it could all work out if at all. But if there was a way...

[kirktastic]

"Dizzying, very dizzying. Everything just sort of... rushed by. So loud it was silent." Jim shivered visibly. "Then suddenly, perfectly fine, we were there in the cargo bay. It was like being in warp drive outside of the ship or something. But... all in all, I could do it again."

[erudite_actor]

Judging by Jim's description and physical reaction, it hadn't been a pleasant experience. Chris filed that away to think about, too. Granted, getting home would be worth the discomfort, but it sounded like something not to be done lightly.

"Different than the transporters, then?" Chris asked. It was the only comparison he could think of, though he assumed it must be an entirely dissimilar experience to warrant that description from Jim.

[kirktastic]

"Transporters are transporters. You're there, then there's nothing, then you're there again." Jim shrugged; it was no big deal to him. "If you wanted to try being transported... easy to do from one pad to another."

[erudite_actor]

"Maybe another time," Chris replied. He knew it was a commonplace mode of travel here, but the description of nothing in the middle made him pause, wondering exactly what that nothing entailed. He supposed he could look it up, or ask for more details. Or just give it a try when he wasn't in overthinking mode, like today.

[kirktastic]

They entered a turbolift, Jim calling out for the bridge. He was excited to show off his beauty, and they were right in between shifts so he could have a few minutes of it being empty. He looked over at Chris and grinned. "Ready?"

The doors opened, and they stepped out onto the bridge.

[erudite_actor]

Chris followed him out of the turbolift, his eyes bright with interest. It was nearly identical to their bridge set, with the key difference that here, everything worked. He heard the quiet hum of the different systems running, the occasional beep from this or that console as he looked around. And there, in the center, was the captain's chair, just like on set.

Except he was fairly certain that this one was firmly attached to the deck. Chris stepped forward, running his hand gently over the back of the chair, then turned to give Jim a broad grin.

[kirktastic]

Jim gestured a little with his chin. "Go ahead." He was grinning with pride that shone clear on his face. His beautiful ship, his again.

[erudite_actor]

"Seriously?" Chris didn't wait for Jim to respond, but instead circled the chair and sat down, mindful of the controls. He examined it carefully, all but bouncing with glee but trying not to act like an idiot. "What do these do?"

He did not spin, but turned the chair in a slow and dignified manner so that Jim could see which of the buttons he was indicating.

[kirktastic]

Jim laughed at the expression on Chris' face, moving over and pointing at each control as he spoke. "Ship's comm, this'll give me readings here..." He tapped that one, pulling up information from engineering. "This is the ship's current engine output. This is actually a direct line to engineering and this one's to sickbay. This keypad lets me do my own commands to the ship or any of the stations here. This is forward view screen." He hit that one, shifting the screen to the rear view.

[erudite_actor]

Chris let his fingers ghost over the controls, careful not to activate anything but he couldn't resist touching them as he listened closely to Jim. He looked up when the view came up on the screen, a smile creeping across his face as he took in the enormity of it all. "Wow," he murmured softly.