FIC: Divergence 7/?
Title: Divergence
Rating: Mature (violence, language, adult themes)
Pairing: pre-slash nu!K/S, kid!K/S
Cast: ensemble, plus Pike, W. Kirk, A. Grayson, and nu!versions of TOS random crew
Keywords: long multi-part fic, kid!Spock, kid!Kirk, time travel, badass!crew, epic friendship
Notes: as a fill for this plotty PROMPT from the kink meme.... I read TOS novels - yes I do, they help me write plotty fic and I used details here from Diane Duane and Josepha Sherman/Susan Shwartz ones, yes I am a geek. I also tried my best to capture the mood of the movie -- the action/adventured mixed with sweetness and angst and lots of humor through in -- so I made references to it. Previously I focused on kid!Kirk and kid!Spock quite a lot because Nero has them for months before the nu!crew dropped out of the temporal distortion.
BETA status - jademac2442 did a read-thru karmic_fic jumped in with help on the finicky stuff :)
back to: part one / part two / part three / part four / part five / part six /
The Narada: location unknown, year 2246
Spock bit into the savory fruit. Next to him, James was scooping up the lukewarm stew with his hand and slurping enthusiastically. Even by earth standards, it was impolite but he conceded that etiquette didn’t really matter when no one was watching. It had been days since they were beamed back to the ship. James was regaining his health and Spock had to admit he was relieved despite their lack of freedom. Nero had not seen them, but rather left their care to others, who showed occasionally bearing food and drink.
‘I used to hate them but I’d do anything for a spork right now.’ James said, displaying a mouthful of masticated flesh. ‘And don’t -‘ The other boy snapped with an amused grin, sticky finger pointed in Spock’s direction, ‘- say a thing about how it’s dangerous to barter my absolute obedience in return for instant gratification of an ultimately impractical and illogical desire.’
Spock felt a curl of revulsion at James’ open-mouth. ‘James, please refrain from simultaneous consumption and articulation.’
The human looked at him with confusion and then started to laugh from the back of his throat, making odd sounds modulated by the act of his chewing. It was gratifying to see James regain his cheerful countenance. Laughter, when it occurs in response to direct stimuli, is a sign of good health, or so Mother liked to say. Since their food was Romulan and therefore more suited for his Vulcan physiology, Spock was willing to admit his gratitude at having some method of ascertaining his friend's well being, however illogical.
‘And they say that Vulcans don’t have a sense of humor.’
‘We do not,’ Though Mother disagreed.
James grinned, ‘Oh so what - you’re not Vulcan?’ His blue eyes flicked to Spock’s ears, ‘Could’ve fooled me.’
But I am indeed not, Spock thought. He looked carefully at his friend and felt a slight hesitation on his part to announce his humanity. It had always been a source of disdain for Vulcans, and though it was not logical to harbor secrets regarding his own nature from a friend, Spock felt conflicted.
‘I am half-Vulcan. My mother is human.’
James gave him a surprised blink, hands freezing, ‘Really?’
He stiffened slightly, ‘Does this disturb you?’
‘No, not really, I dunno, I guess I just don’t care.’ The human said, sitting back and licking his fingers with relish - a most strange and distracting habit… ‘Vulcan genes are dominant aren’t they? I think I read that when I was skimming through my AR for Xenobiology.’
‘That is correct.’
James gave him a confused smile, ‘I don’t really see what the difference is, but it totally makes that whole you wanting to pick roses with your mom thing make a whole lot more sense. Seriously, Spock, you should have mentioned this earlier - it makes that a lot less embarrassing that’s for sure.’
Though Spock did not understand the correlation between wet-planet observatories, filial piety and acceptable peer behavior, he didn’t protest but rather filed it away as something he would ask Mother, if... no when he sees her again.
--------
Planetside: Vulcan, location outside of Sarek’s Estate, year 2246
‘My mother…’ Spock began in a soft voice; Uhura thought she detected a hint of tenderness in the way he enunciated the word, ‘…is well-known within the human diplomatic community based here on Vulcan. She has extended what you would call an “open invitation” for any of them to visit with her for three days each week cycle. Today is one such day.’
Uhura was surprised at this information, but then she chided herself - of course, Sarek was Vulcan’s representative to Earth, and like any political position, it wasn’t just about him; sometimes the whole family was involved.
‘Is that our angle?’
Spock nodded an affirmative, ‘The Department of Temporal Investigations has provided me with a special code they assigned to Admiral Chandra during this period, so if someone were to check the validity of our request, they will receive confirmation that it is indeed issued by Starfleet Command; I have already sent a message forewarning her of your arrival. ’
‘My arrival?’
‘Yes, you are to be a linguist working in the service of the Department of Xenoculture, and Lady Amanda is to assist you in acclimatizing to life here during your assignment on Vulcan.’ Spock stopped so suddenly that she almost walked into him; he gave her what was almost a friendly look, ‘To use the human vernacular, I believe my mother is going to "show you the ropes.".’
‘Okay.’ Uhura nodded - made sense, ‘So what will you be doing?’
Spock resumed their climb up the last flight of stairs to his family home, ‘I am to be a staff member of Vulcan’s subsection to the Department of Xenoculture, assigned oversee to your activities until such time as you’ve become familiar with the city.’
Very logical, Uhura thought, except for the part where Spock will be forced to just stand there, meters away from a mother he never had a chance to say goodbye to and lost under the worst of circumstances. Cruel and unusual punishment, she smiled bitterly, but before she could commiserate anymore on Spock’s behalf, the door swung open and there was a woman standing there smiling at them.
‘Hello, I saw you from the balcony.’ The unknown woman gestured up and to the side, ‘I thought I might as well answer the door before you had to knock.’
Uhura mustered up her best smile, ‘Lady Amanda, I believe.’
---------
Planet-side: Earth, Iowa, Riverside year 2246
‘So… what do you want to do now?’
Jim shrugged and kept walking towards the small town in the distance. He had no idea. They had a few more hours left until the automatic extraction protocols kicked in and the shuttle computers beamed them onboard - it seemed that Spock had miscalculated how much time they’d need to complete their away mission. He reached into his pocket and fiddled with the modified communicator - Jim frowned at the screen; it appeared they would be stuck here for awhile longer.
‘The shuttle’s currently out of range - we could still beam up but it certainly wouldn’t be under the radar… best to wait, besides, I’m feeling pretty hungry.’ And he wanted to stick around, ask some questions, find out how he died, if the Romulan bastard did it here, left a corpse for - dammit - Sam or Frank to find. Jim swallowed hard; thank goodness the others were all alive and fine - Uhura was cute as a button in her tennis shorts and Chekov wasn’t more than a blur of giggles and bouncy hair at the moment. God if they’d been gone too… ‘There’s a great pancake place around here - wanna go check it out?’
The pancake place had burnt down when he was sixteen and he’d always missed it.
‘Real food huh? I could use a bit of that.’
He smiled at Bones, expecting a roll of the eyes, ‘Because replicator food isn’t real huh?’ What he got was a worried piercing stare, like he was about to crack any minute. Jim rolled his eyes and mentally sighed, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, Bones.’
‘You sure about that?’ The doctor fixed him with a disgruntled glare, ‘Because I’m telling you Jim, I wouldn’t be half as cheery if I found out I got snuffed by some crazy mad-bad Romulan from the future-‘
He cracked a smile. Only Bones would be calling Nero the “mad-bad Romulan from the future” with a straight face.
‘-That boy was you - heck, he is you.’
Yeah but he wasn’t. Jim kept walking. That boy never got a first kiss. That boy never discovered the benefits of a hard drink. That boy never discovered sex, or how to fight with his fists, or got hypo-sprayed-phobia because of a cranky doctor, or chased a girl for her first name, or… Jim stopped and looked up at the sky. ‘I think I’ll have the pineapple triple stack with real maple syrup.’
Bones sighed, seemingly giving up his interrogation for the moment. ‘Expensive.’
The diner would be gone in three years time, ‘It’s worth it.’
--------
Planet-side: Vulcan, Sarek’s Estate, year 2246
Uhura shifted back to get more comfortable on the plush sofa and took the time to look around at all the artworks on the walls, a mix of figurative landscapes and abstract expressionism. Beside her, Spock sat stiffly on the edge in an uncomfortable pose that looked like he was preparing himself to stand up and run at any moment. She reached out with a hand, meaning to touch him on the shoulder.
Nyota, sweetheart, you know we don’t touch Vulcans…
Her father’s deep smooth baritone, from somewhere deep in her memory, shuddered through her. It had been when she was little, and there had been an inter-planetary symposium; her father had attended as one of the academics from the University of West Africa. There had been representatives and their families from the Vulcan Science Academy. She had wanted to play Mary Mack with one of the Vulcan girls who had the straightest black hair she’d ever seen.
Her hand returned to her lap.
‘I’m sorry to keep you waiting,’ Lady Amanda said as she breezed in, her movements elegantly spare as if she was a Vulcan herself, putting down a tray of tea and light snacks without a sound, ‘It seems that I’ve run out of some things, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had the time to-’
‘Oh really - no please, you’ve been more than generous, giving up your time like this, truly.’ She smiled when the older woman waved her gentle protest away and poured her a cup of tea. Uhura politely accepted the cup Amanda held out to her, ‘Oh thank you.’
Uhura took a sip and watched with her heart in her throat as Amanda leaned forwards, holding the tea out to Spock. There was a moment of tense silence where she thought that Spock would drop the cup, but he only stiffened and then withdrew, staring at nothing. She hoped that Amanda wouldn’t notice his weird behavior but thankfully, Spock’s mother was focused on her.
‘So how do you like Vulcan?’
‘Oh it’s -‘ Dry, hot, scorching and supposed to be gone, ‘-lovely! I’m from Africa, towards the West coast and um, well, I guess it reminds me a little bit of home, except for the dryness.’
Lady Amanda smiled, ‘That’s good, so many people come here and find it all very overwhelming as you can imagine - I myself came from Canada, and well, it took some getting used to.’
‘Yes, definitely.’ Uhura said, and almost wanted to throw herself through a wall.
For all her Starfleet training, no one had ever taught her how to make small talk and not scream from frustration at all the subterfuge. She liked things to be direct and clear. It was part of why she went with languages along with courses in encryption and decryption, intent on serving aboard a ship - she wouldn’t be able to handle all the secrets and drama that went on with linguists who strictly worked the diplomatic corps. It was part of why she had been attracted to Spock, and why she’d given him up.
‘Do you have family?’
‘It’s me, my dad, and mom.’ She said quickly, ‘What about you?’ She asked, because that’s what they were here about - Spock, or rather the Spock that was only 6.2 Vulcan years old, ‘Is it just you and Ambassador Sarek?’
Amanda’s face took on an overcast look, ‘No, no we have… a son.’
She nodded with a smile, ‘How old is he?’
’Fourteen, nearly-’ The older woman’s hand covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Swallowing almost painfully, Amanda waved a hand apologetically, unable to look at them.
Besides her, Spock shot up from the sofa, every single muscle in his body tense like it was about to snap. Without thinking, Uhura stood up and flung her arm out to prevent him from taking a step closer.
‘Seriyk, could you excuse us?’
Spock shot her a tightly controlled look of fury and desolation.
No, she mouthed silently, glaring hard, no Spock.
He narrowed his eyes at her, his lips curling and for a moment Uhura felt real fear. This Spock was the one who went into a rage and almost strangled Kirk, the one who’d been satisfied to see Nero burn, the one she’d been unable to face - all those secrets, all that emotion behind his cool façade. She swallowed, and felt a small shiver run down her spine. There was the sound of a sob; Spock’s eyes flickered to his mother and then back, his shoulders tensing even as his initial fury drained away. She averted her eyes from his imploring gaze and shook her head. No, cooler heads had to prevail. This was the logical action to take. This was… OUT - Uhura mouthed, jerking her thumb to the terrace doors, her mouth a thin determined line.
With one last look at the figure of his mother, Spock forcibly turned, stiffly marching to the balcony.
Uhura silently sighed in relief - one major Temporal Prime Directive breach prevented, several more coming up. Going around the coffee table and sitting silently next to Amanda, she pressed a napkin into the woman’s hand. A woman didn’t start crying when a visitor mentions her son unless something had happened. This was not good.
------
Planet-side: Earth, Iowa, Riverside year 2246
‘Ah… Jim?’
‘Hmm… what?’ Jim muttered, tapping at his communicator display with a frown. The signal was playing up for some reason.
‘Ah Jim I think you should know that -‘
‘Who THE HELL are you and what do you want!’
Hands smacked down on the table so hard that their empty plates and cutlery shifted to the left. Jim looked up startled by the figure looming over him, his communicator slipping from his hands and clattering loudly on the hard slick surface of the table. Around the diner, some people had stopped eating and were staring at them with interest. Oh just wonderful… way to keep a low profile…
Winona Kirk gave them both a cold glare, ‘I’ll have you know that I am a commissioned Starfleet officer and if you don’t start explaining why you’ve been asking around about Jimmy right now, the authorities and Starfleet will be here before you’ve had time to finish your coffee!’
‘Ma’am we’re not -’
She jabbed an angry finger in McCoy’s face, ‘Don’t you Ma’am me! I looked up the McPhee Clinic after you left and I sent them the captures I took of your face; the real Leonard McCoy-’ Her voice became a low hiss, ‘-is not even twenty and you’re hitting close to thirty! So shut the fuck up and tell me who you are and what the hell you want!’
They gave each other a look - yeah, this was going to be a tough one.
‘Fine, you wanna know? Sit down,’ He gestured for Bones to shift over.
She gave him a suspicious look but sat down. He could see from the gleam in her eye that it was a tactical decision - drawing attention was unwanted, and they could hardly try anything on her with a room full of witnesses.
‘Talk,’ Winona Kirk snapped. Or else, her dark tone implied.
‘What do you know about advanced theoretical physics - specifically, singularities, black holes the like?’
Bones shot him an anxious look. He placated him with a glance - I know what I’m doing, I’m the Captain, let me Captain dammit!
That got a startled frown, ‘What has this-?’
‘Please just answer the question - look, we work for Starfleet.’
She gave them both a skeptical look, ‘Starfleet, right… well I’m a biologist, not a damned physicist… well, I don’t know much but I know there’s been a lot of interest …’
Good enough he supposed; ‘Do you know about the DTI?’
Her eyebrows shot up, ‘The Department of Temporal Investigations?’ She narrowed her eyes and clasped her fingers in front of her, her piercing gaze flicking from Bones to him and then back again, ‘You with them?’
He nodded tersely, ‘We’re from the future-’ Bones covered his face and moaned Oh God into the palms of his hands, ‘- we’re hunting a wanted criminal who has come back in time in an attempt to affect future events. So yes, McCoy here is not the real McCoy in 2246.’
Winona glanced at the doctor with a startled blink. The doctor gave her a sheepish wave.
‘Look, Winona, it is imperative that we know-’ No it wasn’t; he just wanted to know, ‘-How did Jimmy die?’
She gave him an incredulous look, ‘What do you mean? How is that important?’
‘It’s just…’ Jim’s eyes roved the diner, seeking inspiration on what he could say without giving everything away; he lowered his voice and leaned closer, ‘It’s just, look, he wasn’t meant to die. In my timeline, Jimmy lives and he does something really, really important, that basically saved the Federation.’
Bones snorted and muttered unbelievable under his breath. Jim shot him a dirty look.
Winona Kirk sat back, frowning at him in disbelief before smiling tiredly, ‘My Jimmy -‘ She said slowly, and then chuckled, one of her hands coming up to cover her mouth, ‘My Jimmy, the kid who can’t even-’ Her eyes flicked out the windows as her voice went hoarse, ‘-who can’t even sit still in class for one day, he’s going to save the Federation…?’
Bones shot him a guilty look from across the table. Well, are you happy now?
Jim swallowed. He wanted more than anything to just jump across the table and put his arms around her waist and - God, and he’d been worried Spock would fuck this up? Reaching over he took out a few napkins and put them on the table in front of her. She nodded her thanks and quickly took them.
‘Look, we need to know, how did Jimmy-’
‘He didn’t,’ Winona said, clearing her throat and fixing him with her steady gaze, ‘He was just gone. Frank - Frank was asleep and - and he doesn’t remember much, but Jimmy was there, and it was fine, and then…’ She looked down onto her lap, a guilty expression on her face, ‘He was gone in the morning. We couldn’t find him. Jimmy’s a smart kid but sometimes he can be too smart for his own good… I don’t know I-‘
There was a heavy pause as she rubbed at her eyes, lips a thin drawn line as she visibly held back tears. ‘He used to say that he would come after me, get on a transport, and I… I never thought he’d do it.’ She met his eyes, and smiled without joy. ‘It’s been months and - and he’s been listed as Missing, Possibly Deceased… I don’t really expect to see him again, and neither should you.’
He shared a look with Bones, who looked like he was possibly about to jump out of his seat and start dancing and singing at the same time. ‘Wait a goddamn minute here, lady! Are you saying that Jimmy’s possibly alive?’
She averted her eyes, ‘Maybe. But there’s no point - the galaxy’s a big place, and -‘
‘And nothing - we know what we’re doing,’ He cut in, shooting her a grin, ‘If he’s out there alive somewhere, we’ll find him. We have a mission, and that includes preservation of the timeline by making sure your son lives.’
She tilted her head and gave him a skeptical look, ‘I still don’t quite believe you.’
He smiled; oh boy has he been on the other end of that look more times than he could count… ‘Just keep an eye out.’
She nodded, finally sitting back.
‘Oh shit!’ Winona cursed, suddenly jumping up and looking around frantically, ‘Starfleet - I told them about you two - they ordered me to distract you - they’re sending a security team here-‘
He shot up in his seat, ‘What?’
‘-they called me right after you left! The Earth-Defense system picked up a blind spot yesterday followed by a unknown signal registering on their planet-wide telemetry - they’ve been tracking it since early this morning, and finally triangulated it to Riverside! To my place! They asked and of course I told them about you and your strange questions and -’
Oh shit, oh shit. He patted himself down, trying to think of what it could be that they were tracking. He smacked his forehead. Oh of course! The subcutaneous trackers they injected themselves with for automatic beam up to the cloaked shuttle in orbit! Damn shuttle computers must have been pinging them!
‘Jim.’ Bones growled, glaring at him like it was his fault.
Winona Kirk whirled around and stared at him, jaw dropping, ‘Jim?’
Oh fuck shit and die.
The doors to the diner slammed open and a security team with phasers out and ready stormed the small eatery. Several people screamed and some even ducked under the table.
‘HALT! HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!’
That man had to be like Lieutenant Cupcake’s brother or something, Jim thought with dark humor. Winona was quickly escorted away by the team medic. She waved away their concerns; no they didn’t do a thing, they were just talking. There was a movement from the back, and the sea of metal-blue Academy uniforms parted.
OH this was just getting better and better!
‘This is Commander Christopher Pike. Surrender any weapons you have, you are now under arrest for espionage - I suggest you comply or we will use deadly force.’ Pike gave them both a steely look, summing them up with a quick once-over, ‘Take them away, Lieutenant.’
‘Aye-aye, sir.’
Jim winced as he was shoved face-first onto a nearby table, arms pulled out behind him. His CMO joined him a moment later with a grunt of indignation.
‘I wish I didn’t know you.’ Bones grumbled darkly as they were cuffed.
part eight
next: Winona crashes the investigation, Pike interrogates Kirk, who keeps insisting that he is from the future, while Spock and Uhura find out what happened to Spock's young counterpart...
feedback is <3
Rating: Mature (violence, language, adult themes)
Pairing: pre-slash nu!K/S, kid!K/S
Cast: ensemble, plus Pike, W. Kirk, A. Grayson, and nu!versions of TOS random crew
Keywords: long multi-part fic, kid!Spock, kid!Kirk, time travel, badass!crew, epic friendship
Notes: as a fill for this plotty PROMPT from the kink meme.... I read TOS novels - yes I do, they help me write plotty fic and I used details here from Diane Duane and Josepha Sherman/Susan Shwartz ones, yes I am a geek. I also tried my best to capture the mood of the movie -- the action/adventured mixed with sweetness and angst and lots of humor through in -- so I made references to it. Previously I focused on kid!Kirk and kid!Spock quite a lot because Nero has them for months before the nu!crew dropped out of the temporal distortion.
BETA status - jademac2442 did a read-thru karmic_fic jumped in with help on the finicky stuff :)
back to: part one / part two / part three / part four / part five / part six /
The Narada: location unknown, year 2246
Spock bit into the savory fruit. Next to him, James was scooping up the lukewarm stew with his hand and slurping enthusiastically. Even by earth standards, it was impolite but he conceded that etiquette didn’t really matter when no one was watching. It had been days since they were beamed back to the ship. James was regaining his health and Spock had to admit he was relieved despite their lack of freedom. Nero had not seen them, but rather left their care to others, who showed occasionally bearing food and drink.
‘I used to hate them but I’d do anything for a spork right now.’ James said, displaying a mouthful of masticated flesh. ‘And don’t -‘ The other boy snapped with an amused grin, sticky finger pointed in Spock’s direction, ‘- say a thing about how it’s dangerous to barter my absolute obedience in return for instant gratification of an ultimately impractical and illogical desire.’
Spock felt a curl of revulsion at James’ open-mouth. ‘James, please refrain from simultaneous consumption and articulation.’
The human looked at him with confusion and then started to laugh from the back of his throat, making odd sounds modulated by the act of his chewing. It was gratifying to see James regain his cheerful countenance. Laughter, when it occurs in response to direct stimuli, is a sign of good health, or so Mother liked to say. Since their food was Romulan and therefore more suited for his Vulcan physiology, Spock was willing to admit his gratitude at having some method of ascertaining his friend's well being, however illogical.
‘And they say that Vulcans don’t have a sense of humor.’
‘We do not,’ Though Mother disagreed.
James grinned, ‘Oh so what - you’re not Vulcan?’ His blue eyes flicked to Spock’s ears, ‘Could’ve fooled me.’
But I am indeed not, Spock thought. He looked carefully at his friend and felt a slight hesitation on his part to announce his humanity. It had always been a source of disdain for Vulcans, and though it was not logical to harbor secrets regarding his own nature from a friend, Spock felt conflicted.
‘I am half-Vulcan. My mother is human.’
James gave him a surprised blink, hands freezing, ‘Really?’
He stiffened slightly, ‘Does this disturb you?’
‘No, not really, I dunno, I guess I just don’t care.’ The human said, sitting back and licking his fingers with relish - a most strange and distracting habit… ‘Vulcan genes are dominant aren’t they? I think I read that when I was skimming through my AR for Xenobiology.’
‘That is correct.’
James gave him a confused smile, ‘I don’t really see what the difference is, but it totally makes that whole you wanting to pick roses with your mom thing make a whole lot more sense. Seriously, Spock, you should have mentioned this earlier - it makes that a lot less embarrassing that’s for sure.’
Though Spock did not understand the correlation between wet-planet observatories, filial piety and acceptable peer behavior, he didn’t protest but rather filed it away as something he would ask Mother, if... no when he sees her again.
--------
Planetside: Vulcan, location outside of Sarek’s Estate, year 2246
‘My mother…’ Spock began in a soft voice; Uhura thought she detected a hint of tenderness in the way he enunciated the word, ‘…is well-known within the human diplomatic community based here on Vulcan. She has extended what you would call an “open invitation” for any of them to visit with her for three days each week cycle. Today is one such day.’
Uhura was surprised at this information, but then she chided herself - of course, Sarek was Vulcan’s representative to Earth, and like any political position, it wasn’t just about him; sometimes the whole family was involved.
‘Is that our angle?’
Spock nodded an affirmative, ‘The Department of Temporal Investigations has provided me with a special code they assigned to Admiral Chandra during this period, so if someone were to check the validity of our request, they will receive confirmation that it is indeed issued by Starfleet Command; I have already sent a message forewarning her of your arrival. ’
‘My arrival?’
‘Yes, you are to be a linguist working in the service of the Department of Xenoculture, and Lady Amanda is to assist you in acclimatizing to life here during your assignment on Vulcan.’ Spock stopped so suddenly that she almost walked into him; he gave her what was almost a friendly look, ‘To use the human vernacular, I believe my mother is going to "show you the ropes.".’
‘Okay.’ Uhura nodded - made sense, ‘So what will you be doing?’
Spock resumed their climb up the last flight of stairs to his family home, ‘I am to be a staff member of Vulcan’s subsection to the Department of Xenoculture, assigned oversee to your activities until such time as you’ve become familiar with the city.’
Very logical, Uhura thought, except for the part where Spock will be forced to just stand there, meters away from a mother he never had a chance to say goodbye to and lost under the worst of circumstances. Cruel and unusual punishment, she smiled bitterly, but before she could commiserate anymore on Spock’s behalf, the door swung open and there was a woman standing there smiling at them.
‘Hello, I saw you from the balcony.’ The unknown woman gestured up and to the side, ‘I thought I might as well answer the door before you had to knock.’
Uhura mustered up her best smile, ‘Lady Amanda, I believe.’
---------
Planet-side: Earth, Iowa, Riverside year 2246
‘So… what do you want to do now?’
Jim shrugged and kept walking towards the small town in the distance. He had no idea. They had a few more hours left until the automatic extraction protocols kicked in and the shuttle computers beamed them onboard - it seemed that Spock had miscalculated how much time they’d need to complete their away mission. He reached into his pocket and fiddled with the modified communicator - Jim frowned at the screen; it appeared they would be stuck here for awhile longer.
‘The shuttle’s currently out of range - we could still beam up but it certainly wouldn’t be under the radar… best to wait, besides, I’m feeling pretty hungry.’ And he wanted to stick around, ask some questions, find out how he died, if the Romulan bastard did it here, left a corpse for - dammit - Sam or Frank to find. Jim swallowed hard; thank goodness the others were all alive and fine - Uhura was cute as a button in her tennis shorts and Chekov wasn’t more than a blur of giggles and bouncy hair at the moment. God if they’d been gone too… ‘There’s a great pancake place around here - wanna go check it out?’
The pancake place had burnt down when he was sixteen and he’d always missed it.
‘Real food huh? I could use a bit of that.’
He smiled at Bones, expecting a roll of the eyes, ‘Because replicator food isn’t real huh?’ What he got was a worried piercing stare, like he was about to crack any minute. Jim rolled his eyes and mentally sighed, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, Bones.’
‘You sure about that?’ The doctor fixed him with a disgruntled glare, ‘Because I’m telling you Jim, I wouldn’t be half as cheery if I found out I got snuffed by some crazy mad-bad Romulan from the future-‘
He cracked a smile. Only Bones would be calling Nero the “mad-bad Romulan from the future” with a straight face.
‘-That boy was you - heck, he is you.’
Yeah but he wasn’t. Jim kept walking. That boy never got a first kiss. That boy never discovered the benefits of a hard drink. That boy never discovered sex, or how to fight with his fists, or got hypo-sprayed-phobia because of a cranky doctor, or chased a girl for her first name, or… Jim stopped and looked up at the sky. ‘I think I’ll have the pineapple triple stack with real maple syrup.’
Bones sighed, seemingly giving up his interrogation for the moment. ‘Expensive.’
The diner would be gone in three years time, ‘It’s worth it.’
--------
Planet-side: Vulcan, Sarek’s Estate, year 2246
Uhura shifted back to get more comfortable on the plush sofa and took the time to look around at all the artworks on the walls, a mix of figurative landscapes and abstract expressionism. Beside her, Spock sat stiffly on the edge in an uncomfortable pose that looked like he was preparing himself to stand up and run at any moment. She reached out with a hand, meaning to touch him on the shoulder.
Nyota, sweetheart, you know we don’t touch Vulcans…
Her father’s deep smooth baritone, from somewhere deep in her memory, shuddered through her. It had been when she was little, and there had been an inter-planetary symposium; her father had attended as one of the academics from the University of West Africa. There had been representatives and their families from the Vulcan Science Academy. She had wanted to play Mary Mack with one of the Vulcan girls who had the straightest black hair she’d ever seen.
Her hand returned to her lap.
‘I’m sorry to keep you waiting,’ Lady Amanda said as she breezed in, her movements elegantly spare as if she was a Vulcan herself, putting down a tray of tea and light snacks without a sound, ‘It seems that I’ve run out of some things, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had the time to-’
‘Oh really - no please, you’ve been more than generous, giving up your time like this, truly.’ She smiled when the older woman waved her gentle protest away and poured her a cup of tea. Uhura politely accepted the cup Amanda held out to her, ‘Oh thank you.’
Uhura took a sip and watched with her heart in her throat as Amanda leaned forwards, holding the tea out to Spock. There was a moment of tense silence where she thought that Spock would drop the cup, but he only stiffened and then withdrew, staring at nothing. She hoped that Amanda wouldn’t notice his weird behavior but thankfully, Spock’s mother was focused on her.
‘So how do you like Vulcan?’
‘Oh it’s -‘ Dry, hot, scorching and supposed to be gone, ‘-lovely! I’m from Africa, towards the West coast and um, well, I guess it reminds me a little bit of home, except for the dryness.’
Lady Amanda smiled, ‘That’s good, so many people come here and find it all very overwhelming as you can imagine - I myself came from Canada, and well, it took some getting used to.’
‘Yes, definitely.’ Uhura said, and almost wanted to throw herself through a wall.
For all her Starfleet training, no one had ever taught her how to make small talk and not scream from frustration at all the subterfuge. She liked things to be direct and clear. It was part of why she went with languages along with courses in encryption and decryption, intent on serving aboard a ship - she wouldn’t be able to handle all the secrets and drama that went on with linguists who strictly worked the diplomatic corps. It was part of why she had been attracted to Spock, and why she’d given him up.
‘Do you have family?’
‘It’s me, my dad, and mom.’ She said quickly, ‘What about you?’ She asked, because that’s what they were here about - Spock, or rather the Spock that was only 6.2 Vulcan years old, ‘Is it just you and Ambassador Sarek?’
Amanda’s face took on an overcast look, ‘No, no we have… a son.’
She nodded with a smile, ‘How old is he?’
’Fourteen, nearly-’ The older woman’s hand covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Swallowing almost painfully, Amanda waved a hand apologetically, unable to look at them.
Besides her, Spock shot up from the sofa, every single muscle in his body tense like it was about to snap. Without thinking, Uhura stood up and flung her arm out to prevent him from taking a step closer.
‘Seriyk, could you excuse us?’
Spock shot her a tightly controlled look of fury and desolation.
No, she mouthed silently, glaring hard, no Spock.
He narrowed his eyes at her, his lips curling and for a moment Uhura felt real fear. This Spock was the one who went into a rage and almost strangled Kirk, the one who’d been satisfied to see Nero burn, the one she’d been unable to face - all those secrets, all that emotion behind his cool façade. She swallowed, and felt a small shiver run down her spine. There was the sound of a sob; Spock’s eyes flickered to his mother and then back, his shoulders tensing even as his initial fury drained away. She averted her eyes from his imploring gaze and shook her head. No, cooler heads had to prevail. This was the logical action to take. This was… OUT - Uhura mouthed, jerking her thumb to the terrace doors, her mouth a thin determined line.
With one last look at the figure of his mother, Spock forcibly turned, stiffly marching to the balcony.
Uhura silently sighed in relief - one major Temporal Prime Directive breach prevented, several more coming up. Going around the coffee table and sitting silently next to Amanda, she pressed a napkin into the woman’s hand. A woman didn’t start crying when a visitor mentions her son unless something had happened. This was not good.
------
Planet-side: Earth, Iowa, Riverside year 2246
‘Ah… Jim?’
‘Hmm… what?’ Jim muttered, tapping at his communicator display with a frown. The signal was playing up for some reason.
‘Ah Jim I think you should know that -‘
‘Who THE HELL are you and what do you want!’
Hands smacked down on the table so hard that their empty plates and cutlery shifted to the left. Jim looked up startled by the figure looming over him, his communicator slipping from his hands and clattering loudly on the hard slick surface of the table. Around the diner, some people had stopped eating and were staring at them with interest. Oh just wonderful… way to keep a low profile…
Winona Kirk gave them both a cold glare, ‘I’ll have you know that I am a commissioned Starfleet officer and if you don’t start explaining why you’ve been asking around about Jimmy right now, the authorities and Starfleet will be here before you’ve had time to finish your coffee!’
‘Ma’am we’re not -’
She jabbed an angry finger in McCoy’s face, ‘Don’t you Ma’am me! I looked up the McPhee Clinic after you left and I sent them the captures I took of your face; the real Leonard McCoy-’ Her voice became a low hiss, ‘-is not even twenty and you’re hitting close to thirty! So shut the fuck up and tell me who you are and what the hell you want!’
They gave each other a look - yeah, this was going to be a tough one.
‘Fine, you wanna know? Sit down,’ He gestured for Bones to shift over.
She gave him a suspicious look but sat down. He could see from the gleam in her eye that it was a tactical decision - drawing attention was unwanted, and they could hardly try anything on her with a room full of witnesses.
‘Talk,’ Winona Kirk snapped. Or else, her dark tone implied.
‘What do you know about advanced theoretical physics - specifically, singularities, black holes the like?’
Bones shot him an anxious look. He placated him with a glance - I know what I’m doing, I’m the Captain, let me Captain dammit!
That got a startled frown, ‘What has this-?’
‘Please just answer the question - look, we work for Starfleet.’
She gave them both a skeptical look, ‘Starfleet, right… well I’m a biologist, not a damned physicist… well, I don’t know much but I know there’s been a lot of interest …’
Good enough he supposed; ‘Do you know about the DTI?’
Her eyebrows shot up, ‘The Department of Temporal Investigations?’ She narrowed her eyes and clasped her fingers in front of her, her piercing gaze flicking from Bones to him and then back again, ‘You with them?’
He nodded tersely, ‘We’re from the future-’ Bones covered his face and moaned Oh God into the palms of his hands, ‘- we’re hunting a wanted criminal who has come back in time in an attempt to affect future events. So yes, McCoy here is not the real McCoy in 2246.’
Winona glanced at the doctor with a startled blink. The doctor gave her a sheepish wave.
‘Look, Winona, it is imperative that we know-’ No it wasn’t; he just wanted to know, ‘-How did Jimmy die?’
She gave him an incredulous look, ‘What do you mean? How is that important?’
‘It’s just…’ Jim’s eyes roved the diner, seeking inspiration on what he could say without giving everything away; he lowered his voice and leaned closer, ‘It’s just, look, he wasn’t meant to die. In my timeline, Jimmy lives and he does something really, really important, that basically saved the Federation.’
Bones snorted and muttered unbelievable under his breath. Jim shot him a dirty look.
Winona Kirk sat back, frowning at him in disbelief before smiling tiredly, ‘My Jimmy -‘ She said slowly, and then chuckled, one of her hands coming up to cover her mouth, ‘My Jimmy, the kid who can’t even-’ Her eyes flicked out the windows as her voice went hoarse, ‘-who can’t even sit still in class for one day, he’s going to save the Federation…?’
Bones shot him a guilty look from across the table. Well, are you happy now?
Jim swallowed. He wanted more than anything to just jump across the table and put his arms around her waist and - God, and he’d been worried Spock would fuck this up? Reaching over he took out a few napkins and put them on the table in front of her. She nodded her thanks and quickly took them.
‘Look, we need to know, how did Jimmy-’
‘He didn’t,’ Winona said, clearing her throat and fixing him with her steady gaze, ‘He was just gone. Frank - Frank was asleep and - and he doesn’t remember much, but Jimmy was there, and it was fine, and then…’ She looked down onto her lap, a guilty expression on her face, ‘He was gone in the morning. We couldn’t find him. Jimmy’s a smart kid but sometimes he can be too smart for his own good… I don’t know I-‘
There was a heavy pause as she rubbed at her eyes, lips a thin drawn line as she visibly held back tears. ‘He used to say that he would come after me, get on a transport, and I… I never thought he’d do it.’ She met his eyes, and smiled without joy. ‘It’s been months and - and he’s been listed as Missing, Possibly Deceased… I don’t really expect to see him again, and neither should you.’
He shared a look with Bones, who looked like he was possibly about to jump out of his seat and start dancing and singing at the same time. ‘Wait a goddamn minute here, lady! Are you saying that Jimmy’s possibly alive?’
She averted her eyes, ‘Maybe. But there’s no point - the galaxy’s a big place, and -‘
‘And nothing - we know what we’re doing,’ He cut in, shooting her a grin, ‘If he’s out there alive somewhere, we’ll find him. We have a mission, and that includes preservation of the timeline by making sure your son lives.’
She tilted her head and gave him a skeptical look, ‘I still don’t quite believe you.’
He smiled; oh boy has he been on the other end of that look more times than he could count… ‘Just keep an eye out.’
She nodded, finally sitting back.
‘Oh shit!’ Winona cursed, suddenly jumping up and looking around frantically, ‘Starfleet - I told them about you two - they ordered me to distract you - they’re sending a security team here-‘
He shot up in his seat, ‘What?’
‘-they called me right after you left! The Earth-Defense system picked up a blind spot yesterday followed by a unknown signal registering on their planet-wide telemetry - they’ve been tracking it since early this morning, and finally triangulated it to Riverside! To my place! They asked and of course I told them about you and your strange questions and -’
Oh shit, oh shit. He patted himself down, trying to think of what it could be that they were tracking. He smacked his forehead. Oh of course! The subcutaneous trackers they injected themselves with for automatic beam up to the cloaked shuttle in orbit! Damn shuttle computers must have been pinging them!
‘Jim.’ Bones growled, glaring at him like it was his fault.
Winona Kirk whirled around and stared at him, jaw dropping, ‘Jim?’
Oh fuck shit and die.
The doors to the diner slammed open and a security team with phasers out and ready stormed the small eatery. Several people screamed and some even ducked under the table.
‘HALT! HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!’
That man had to be like Lieutenant Cupcake’s brother or something, Jim thought with dark humor. Winona was quickly escorted away by the team medic. She waved away their concerns; no they didn’t do a thing, they were just talking. There was a movement from the back, and the sea of metal-blue Academy uniforms parted.
OH this was just getting better and better!
‘This is Commander Christopher Pike. Surrender any weapons you have, you are now under arrest for espionage - I suggest you comply or we will use deadly force.’ Pike gave them both a steely look, summing them up with a quick once-over, ‘Take them away, Lieutenant.’
‘Aye-aye, sir.’
Jim winced as he was shoved face-first onto a nearby table, arms pulled out behind him. His CMO joined him a moment later with a grunt of indignation.
‘I wish I didn’t know you.’ Bones grumbled darkly as they were cuffed.
part eight
next: Winona crashes the investigation, Pike interrogates Kirk, who keeps insisting that he is from the future, while Spock and Uhura find out what happened to Spock's young counterpart...
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