Not really for himself, though Spock had started teaching him. But the woman's form was undeniably familiar, even if the woman herself was not. And Jim, passing through on his way to a work out he had been neglecting slightly of late, found himself slowing to watch the graceful movements. In solo form, it somewhat resembled tai chi, though Jim was conscious that it was erroneous to make assumptions based on superficial cultural similarities.
Though Spock was accustomed to the occasional human stopping, observing, and even mimicking her regime, there was something distinctly familiar about the blonde who had paused just inside of her peripheral vision. As Spock completed the first set of the formal sequence, she halted in form and turned her head to regard the human. Under proper scrutiny, however, his familiarity was no more understandable. She had, in fact, no knowledge as to who this human was.
Jim stopped, smiling automatically, a sort of apology in his expression but not the sort that begged forgiveness because the transgression, in his eyes, was minimal.
"Sorry," he said. "I couldn't help but notice. That's ke-tarya, isn't it? But don't let me interrupt."
There was something familiar about her, something his brain was telling him that had yet to form into words.
"Curious," Spock commented and arched an eyebrow. Though she was speaking, he'd given her leave to continue and she did so without hesitation. As she fell into the second sequence, her eyebrow dropped again.
"You have been introduced to this specific martial combat form?" Spock prompted.
There was something so precise and familiar about her speech patterns that it disturbed him. Not negatively, but he was thrown a little off balance, into speculation about Vulcan speech in general and whether his ear just wasn't well trained enough to keep all of them from sounding like his first officer. But no--he knew himself better than that. Was he truly lovesick and stir crazy enough to think all raised eyebrows were identical?
"I have," he nodded. "But only very basically. I'm afraid my practical training has gotten in the way. I have a patient teacher, however." There was a slight pause as he remembered his manners. And, perhaps, made a decision to test a theory. "I'm James Kirk," he said. "Though I'm not the captain of this ship."
"James Kirk?" Spock repeated and that stopped her motions. The sequence came to a sharp conclusion and Spock turned to examine the human more thoroughly. Her head rotated precisely 2.4 degrees counterclockwise as she regarded him.
"Fascinating," she continued and righted her head before meeting his gaze again. "I am Spock. Though, similarly, not of this ship."
Jim's smile broadened. "I knew it," he said, but his air was more excited than triumphant. "I haven't seen you before, and it's a big ship, but I knew it."
Of course, he'd known it in a way that hadn't really allowed itself free reign in his consciousness, so now he studied the woman as Spock. It was... strange. Mostly in how it was not strange enough. She was not Spock-as-a-woman, in the sense that something Spockian had been shoehorned into a different body. It wasn't like looking at himself and seeing Janice Lester, or Henoch in Spock's body. This was Spock, or a Spock, who happened also to be a woman. Her manner, at least thus far, not identical but recognizable. Though he couldn't put his finger on what exactly the distinction meant.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "Though I'll settle for you just being curious. I take it you know another me?"
"Yes, after a fashion," Spock admitted evenly and folded her hands behind her back. It was an automatic reaction to her own Captain. She realized she'd made the action as it completed. It was worthy of later note.
"You are simultaneously similar and dissimilar to my own Captain." Spock paused briefly and blinked at James Kirk before her. "You have been basically trained in ke-tarya. Would I be correct in presuming that this training came from...another Spock?"
"You would," he said. "He's my First Officer and Science Officer." The rest of that could wait, he thought, until he could figure out how to tell her he was bonded with another, male version of herself. Vulcans were so private. He became conscious of the fact he was beaming at her and made an effort to tone it down. What was it with him and Spocks? he wondered. It wasn't as if he thought they were all one person. But his natural response to new, interesting beings seemed heightened when it came to them.
It wasn't like most people had a chance to analyze such a phenomenon.
"But if I'm right, you haven't been here long, and you must have a lot of questions. I'm happy to answer any I can. Though I am sorry to have interrupted--should I let you finish?"
"No, I may continue at a later time," Spock assured him placidly and arched a brow again. Was this the James Kirk the other Spock had referred to?
"I have been taking extensive scientific notes concerning the phenomenon of my appearance here. At some point, I should like to question you in order to augment those notes," Spock admitted casually. "However I am...taking a break from them, at the moment.
"I do have a personal query, though," Spock prefaced evenly, "Are you James T Kirk? Or, perhaps, you are aware of another?"
Spock said "taking a break" almost as if it were a foreign language, an idiomatic expression she had learned recently, and in a sense perhaps it was.
"I am," he said, his middle initial not exactly personal in his book. "But as far as I know, there are two others on board with the same designation. Have you heard of me?"
Now Jim's eyebrows rose slightly, though the expression was both softer and more fluid than Spock's habitually were.
"Ah," he said. "Yes, that would be me. You've met the one with the beard, then, have you? Your other counterpart--the one with whom I'm 'entangled'--isn't currently on this ship. I'm sure he'd be interested in meeting you." He paused, regarding her. "I take it you aren't. Entangled, I mean."
"Fascinating," Spock commented almost idly. "I would be most interested in meeting him, as well.
"As to entanglement," Spock continued evenly. "I am not, though I begin to suspect this has more to do with base biological differences than specific entities."
Spock considered that statement as it passed before her.
"Pardon me, I may have misspoken," Spock corrected, "I was speaking to the specific aspect of bonding not the euphemistic generalization of entanglement."
"Sorry--I didn't intend to pry," he said. "But since you know already, I will say that my relationship with the version of Spock from my world--" My Spock seemed somehow presumptuous, especially when talking to another one "--makes me naturally curious. Or maybe that's just me." He smiled at her again. "I've never met a female Spock before. Are the others where you're from--are the genders opposite ours in other cases, too?"
He felt far too curious for his own good. Curious and excited and having to remind himself that this was a stranger and a Vulcan and his natural inclination to demand all sorts of answers at once might well overwhelm her as he'd likely done Spock at first.
"A desire for knowledge is not something that should be apologized for," Spock stated placidly. "If your relationship with Spock has augmented this attribute, I am certain it is a point of pride on his part. Figuratively speaking, of course.
"As to your question: insofar as I have observed, the biological genders of all of my native reality's persons appear to have be alternated in this reality." Spock paused. "I find it most curious, the strange similarity and variations present despite gender alternation."
Not really for himself, though Spock had started teaching him. But the woman's form was undeniably familiar, even if the woman herself was not. And Jim, passing through on his way to a work out he had been neglecting slightly of late, found himself slowing to watch the graceful movements. In solo form, it somewhat resembled tai chi, though Jim was conscious that it was erroneous to make assumptions based on superficial cultural similarities.
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Most fascinating.
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"Sorry," he said. "I couldn't help but notice. That's ke-tarya, isn't it? But don't let me interrupt."
There was something familiar about her, something his brain was telling him that had yet to form into words.
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"You have been introduced to this specific martial combat form?" Spock prompted.
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"I have," he nodded. "But only very basically. I'm afraid my practical training has gotten in the way. I have a patient teacher, however." There was a slight pause as he remembered his manners. And, perhaps, made a decision to test a theory. "I'm James Kirk," he said. "Though I'm not the captain of this ship."
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"Fascinating," she continued and righted her head before meeting his gaze again. "I am Spock. Though, similarly, not of this ship."
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Of course, he'd known it in a way that hadn't really allowed itself free reign in his consciousness, so now he studied the woman as Spock. It was... strange. Mostly in how it was not strange enough. She was not Spock-as-a-woman, in the sense that something Spockian had been shoehorned into a different body. It wasn't like looking at himself and seeing Janice Lester, or Henoch in Spock's body. This was Spock, or a Spock, who happened also to be a woman. Her manner, at least thus far, not identical but recognizable. Though he couldn't put his finger on what exactly the distinction meant.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "Though I'll settle for you just being curious. I take it you know another me?"
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"You are simultaneously similar and dissimilar to my own Captain." Spock paused briefly and blinked at James Kirk before her. "You have been basically trained in ke-tarya. Would I be correct in presuming that this training came from...another Spock?"
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It wasn't like most people had a chance to analyze such a phenomenon.
"But if I'm right, you haven't been here long, and you must have a lot of questions. I'm happy to answer any I can. Though I am sorry to have interrupted--should I let you finish?"
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"I have been taking extensive scientific notes concerning the phenomenon of my appearance here. At some point, I should like to question you in order to augment those notes," Spock admitted casually. "However I am...taking a break from them, at the moment.
"I do have a personal query, though," Spock prefaced evenly, "Are you James T Kirk? Or, perhaps, you are aware of another?"
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"I am," he said, his middle initial not exactly personal in his book. "But as far as I know, there are two others on board with the same designation. Have you heard of me?"
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"I was informed of a James T. Kirk by a non-native variant of myself," Spock replied. "I was interested if it was you, to whom, he was referring.
"He indicated that one of our variants, another non-native, was entangled romantically with James T. Kirk and Leonard Horatio McCoy."
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"Ah," he said. "Yes, that would be me. You've met the one with the beard, then, have you? Your other counterpart--the one with whom I'm 'entangled'--isn't currently on this ship. I'm sure he'd be interested in meeting you." He paused, regarding her. "I take it you aren't. Entangled, I mean."
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"As to entanglement," Spock continued evenly. "I am not, though I begin to suspect this has more to do with base biological differences than specific entities."
Spock considered that statement as it passed before her.
"Pardon me, I may have misspoken," Spock corrected, "I was speaking to the specific aspect of bonding not the euphemistic generalization of entanglement."
Reply
"Sorry--I didn't intend to pry," he said. "But since you know already, I will say that my relationship with the version of Spock from my world--" My Spock seemed somehow presumptuous, especially when talking to another one "--makes me naturally curious. Or maybe that's just me." He smiled at her again. "I've never met a female Spock before. Are the others where you're from--are the genders opposite ours in other cases, too?"
He felt far too curious for his own good. Curious and excited and having to remind himself that this was a stranger and a Vulcan and his natural inclination to demand all sorts of answers at once might well overwhelm her as he'd likely done Spock at first.
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"As to your question: insofar as I have observed, the biological genders of all of my native reality's persons appear to have be alternated in this reality." Spock paused. "I find it most curious, the strange similarity and variations present despite gender alternation."
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