Fic: As Morning Shows the Day, [part 20]

[jade_dragoness]

Title: As Morning Shows the Day [Part 20]
Author: J.D. aka jade_dragoness
Rating: PG-13, for language. Gen
Pairing: K/S pre-slash/friendship
Status: WIP
Spoilers: Star Trek XI
Warning: Dangerous & Near Fatal Levels of Cuteness
Summary: Based on the switched version of the prompt: A de-aged fic where Spock has to take care of a kid-Kirk; preferably Kirk only listens to Spock, and freaks out when he's not around. (Or, you know, switched). Written for the st_xi_kink meme, found here.
Word Count: 4,170 for this part [total so far: 107,060]
Disclaimer: Never ever will be mine. *sadness*
A/N: Sorry about the long wait! RL life has gotten busy on me and that’s why this chapter is shorter than usual. D= But thank you to everyone that’s been reading and waiting!
As always, feedback is hugely welcomed. Also, please feel free to point out any errors I missed.
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[“The childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day” - John Milton ]
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[Part One], [Part Two], [Part Three], [Part Four], [Part Five], [Part Six], [Part Seven], [Part Eight], [Part Nine], [Part Ten], [Part Eleven], [Part Twelve], [Part Thirteen], [Part Fourteen], [Part Fifteen], [Part Sixteen], [Part Seventeen], [Part Eighteen], [Part Nineteen]

Spock stayed by Jim‘s side occasionally shooting him a look as Jim began stretching out his arms as they walked along the hallways.

Normally, Jim would have waited to warm up at the gym but he didn’t have much patience at the moment and he wanted to cut down the time without risking getting yelled at by Bones for pulling a muscle by skipping the stretching completely.

Once, they entered the gymnasium, Jim found Spock a place to sit that was out of the way up against a bulkhead and fully clear of any exercising equipment while still leaving him within eyesight. Then Jim went to find a free heavy bag.

He nodded in acknowledgement to those of his crew that said hello. Mostly, everyone was focused on their own workouts, or were busy talking with their workout partner. Off in the furthest corner of the gym on a large mat, a group of tactical specialist where running through hand-to-hand training. If Jim had been in a better state of mind he would have joined them. Later, he told himself.

Jim stretched out his arms again then his neck, back and shoulders until he was satisfied he‘d done enough. Then he clenched his gloved hands into fists and began punching. Jabbing hard, alternating fists but barely making the bag move. The bag was set up to take a beating from beings with stronger than human strength. Even Spock would have had to exert himself to move it.

Jim kept it up. Fast and hard punching until sweat began beading on his brow and his hands began to ache even under the protection of the gloves. He only stopped when a sweat landed in his eyes, blinding him for a moment.

He took a step back, breathing hard. He wiped at his eyes with forearm but all that did was smear it around so Jim pulled the bottom of his shirt up to wipe his brow clear. The cotton quickly absorbed the sweat. As an added bonus, the cool air of the gym against the skin of his chest and abdomen felt good.

Hell, he felt good. The tension and anger had simmered down to nearly nothing. Jim felt less like he was going to lose it. Fighting always made him feel better. Even if he was only fighting against an inanimate object that couldn’t hit back. Jim looked over to where Spock was sitting and gave the kid a grin.

Even from across the span of the gym, Jim could see the slight darkening of Spock’s cheeks and he had to stifle a laugh. Even disconcerting as he found the kid’s crush on him, seeing Spock blush was still one of the best things ever to come out of his de-aging.

“What in the hell do you think you‘re doing?!”

Jim jumped what felt like ten feet into the air at Bones’ angry shout.

Everyone paused and turned to stare at the doctor who was standing at the entrance to the gym, his face dark with fury. Quite a few people took involuntary steps back.

Jim didn’t blame them. He kind of wanted to run himself. Jim swallowed down hard. “Hey, Bones,” he said, as cautiously and innocently as he could. He was not going to panic. It wasn’t like Bones would actually kill him. Make me suffer so I’d wish I was never born, on the other hand… yeah. He can do that.

McCoy stalked in. “Don‘t you ‘hey Bones’ me, James Tiberius Kirk!”

All three names, damn. I am in trouble, Jim thought with a wince. Not even his mother pulled all three names on him when she got mad. He looked over to see Spock arching an eyebrow at him. Jim nodded and Spock stood up to join them. “How did you even know I was here?” he asked, knowing it was a stupid question but wanting something to distract his best friend.

McCoy ignored the question. “You do know the meaning of light duties? In case you need reminding I‘ll explain it to you using small words since they‘re apparently the only ones you understand!” growled McCoy, pointing a finger at Jim‘s chest. “Light duties, as in you don‘t go around pushing your body to the goddamn limit especially without clearing it with your doctor first!”

“You said I‘m nearly ready to be released into fully active duty,” Jim pointed out, leaning back a little from the finger.

“The key word being ‘nearly’,” said McCoy, losing a little of that anger yet still managing to look intimidating angry.

“I feel fine, Bones,” said Jim, reassuringly.

“I have not seen Jim react with pain, or similar manner that would warrant medical attention,” added Spock calmly, as he stood by Jim’s side.

“Neither of you is a doctor,” snapped McCoy, his eyes narrowing. “I‘m going have to run scans just to make sure you haven‘t-”

Ah, hell, Jim thought.

“Bridge to Captain Kirk. Bridge to Captain Kirk.” Came Uhura’s voice through the intership communications systems.

“Saved by the bell,” muttered Jim, as he hurried over to the nearest com-unit. “Kirk here, Lieutenant.”

“Captain Kirk, we‘ve received a message from Starfleet Command. Priority one,” said Uhura, when Jim got a window open to her.

Jim stiffened. That meant that whatever was going on was damned serious. Jim frowned. “What was the message?”

“It is for a conference call directly from Admiral Pike, captain,” said Uhura, calmly. But Jim could see the slight concern in her eyes that she kept professionally out of her voice. “He‘s on line for direct communication.”

Fuck. This can‘t be good.

“Call together the senior officers to the conference room on Deck 6. Everyone is to be there in five minutes,” said Jim.

“Yes, Captain,” said Uhura.

“Kirk out,” said Jim, as he switched off the com. Then he turned to where Bones and Spock were waiting for him. The scowl on his best friend’s face was still dark and unrelenting. “You‘ll have to yell at me later,” said Jim, cutting off whatever McCoy was planning on saying. “The Enterprise just received a priority call from Admiral Pike.”

That news didn’t make McCoy any happier. “Great,” he said sarcastically. “Just great.”

“Get moving, Bones. We’re meeting in the conference room on Deck 6,” said Jim, as he headed out the door, himself.

“We‘re not done,” said McCoy, firmly as he followed. “I‘m getting your ass in my medical bay as soon as this is done to make sure that you didn‘t damage something. With your luck you‘ll have actually popped those microsutures I put in you to hold your insides together.”

Jim nodded, not bothering to put up a fight about it. He was more concerned about the call from Pike. Anyway, Bones had that look in his eyes that meant that nothing, absolutely nothing would stand in him getting his way.

Spock stayed at Jim’s side and within minutes they were heading for the right deck.

To Jim’s delight, Rand was waiting for him right in front of the conference room, holding in her arms a fresh uniform and a towel.

“Yeoman, I owe you a raise or maybe a fruit basket,” said Jim, as he grabbed the towel that she held out. He quickly wiped his face and every last trace of sweat from his hair. He grabbed the uniform next and pulled it over his work out clothes.

He couldn’t do anything about how he smelled but at least he could look presentable before the admiral. He ran hand through his hair to try to flatten it out and make it somewhat suitable before Rand handed him a comb.

“Oh yeah, definitely a raise,” continued Jim, running the comb through his hair.

“I’ll take the raise and the fruit basket, sir,” she said, amusement in her cool voice.

Jim had just finished getting his hair to look less like he’d just gone through a wind tunnel when Scotty turned up, followed by Lieutenant Hernandez, Bones, Uhura, Sulu and Cupcake.

“After this meeting, you and I have got to talk, Cupcake,” said Jim.

He just rolled his eyes. “The name is Freeman, Moonbeam.”

“Whatever you say, Cupcake,” said Jim. Cupcake just snorted and went into the conference room.

Spock raised an eyebrow at this exchange.

“One of these days, Jim, you‘re going to push that man too far,” said McCoy. “It‘s not exactly a good idea to piss off your chief tactical officer. He‘s the one that comes in to pull your ass out of the fire.”

“We have an understanding,” said Jim dismissively. Before he followed his officers through the doors he turned to Spock. “I‘m afraid that you can‘t come in, Spock. You‘re not cleared yet since you‘re still eleven years old,” he said regretfully.

“I am 13 years, 1 week and 8 hours old,” corrected Spock.

Jim blinked then stared at him, startled. A teenager? He’s a freaking teenager? “What happened to twelve?” asked Jim, his voice a little more plaintive than he would have liked.

“I have aged beyond that year,” said Spock, calmly.

Jim wondered what the hell had triggered such an huge age jump in him. “Okay, so you‘re thirteen, I‘m afraid that it‘s not old enough. Sorry Spock,” Jim added when the boy’s expression went blanker. “If I think you need to know, I‘ll fill you in. Rand if you could…”

“I‘ll keep an eye on him, sir,” said Rand, with a crisp nod.

“I am not of the age in which I require adult supervision,” said Spock, his mouth flat.

“Yeah,” said Jim, “but I‘d feel better if you stuck with Rand.”

“Very well, Jim,” said Spock. He nodded at Rand in acceptance of her guardianship.

“I‘ll see you soon, Spock,” said Jim. He felt a tug of regret at the sight of the stiffer spine of Spock’s back as the boy followed Rand down the corridor. Yet, he had no choice. He had no idea of the contents of Pike’s call. Better that he keep Spock out of it until he had all the facts.

He walked in and sat at the head of the conference table. Jim nodded to Uhura to set up the connection. She pressed a few keys on the computer and the larger screen of the monitor glowed to life. The screen showed the symbol for Starfleet for a moment before switching over to Pike.

Admiral Christopher Pike looked good, Jim thought. Even better than he had the last time Jim had seen him in person when the Enterprise had left the docking station after having an official ceremony for a ‘maiden’ voyage. Considering that the ship had never had it before the day of Vulcan’s destruction, the Public Relations department of Starfleet Command had set out to give her a great party. It had all been about boosting the morale of the entire Federation. Sending off the heroes of Enterprise with Jim as the captain was good publicity. At least, that was how it had been explained to Jim after he’d complained for the tenth time about having to deal with all the pomp when he really just wanted to sit on his chair and order the ship out into uncharted space.

Admiral Pike had been at that send off too but he certainly hadn’t been sporting the new wheelchair he was sitting in. It was nothing like the chair he’d been riding when he’d gotten out of Starfleet Medical or even the last time he‘d gotten in contact with the Enteprise. It was bright with chrome, and carved dark wood gleamed at the sides and it looked like it could go up to a hundred miles an hour with the engine that Jim could see peeking a little over the desk.

“Nice wheels, Admiral,” said Jim, with a wolf whistle. Pike was still improving even after all these months and every time Jim saw him, he looked that much healthier. Though not necessarily happier. Jim made it a point of trying to get him to smile when they talked.

At his right side, Bones groaned into his hand.

Jim ignored him.

The somber expression that Pike had been wearing slipped away as a bright smile curled up the corners of his mouth and even his eyes sparkled for a moment.

Jim mentally gave himself a pat on the back.

“Captain Kirk,” said Admiral Pike. “I‘m glad to see that you are in better health as well as learning that your mission to the Cromtic system was a success, but I’m afraid that you’ll have to cut your visit short.”

Jim frowned, his mind racing quickly.

“We can‘t leave yet!” said McCoy, startling Jim with the fierceness of his protest. “We still have got to put together that aging machine for Spock.”

“He‘s right, Admiral,” said Jim, quietly. “Lieutenant Keenser is still getting the components together. He and his team are working as fast as they can to get them produced with the help of the Cromticians. Getting the aging machine together won‘t even be done until they’re back on the ship.”

“I‘ve read the reports and I‘m know that time is critical,” said Pike, just as quietly though his face was grim. “But I‘m afraid there‘s a situation that you need to be aware of. The Starfleet Intelligence team that was dispatched to Space Base 23 has been killed. In fact, the entire base as destroyed with an estimated casualty count in the hundreds.”

Sharply indrawn breaths came from various people around the table. Scotty began swearing, his voice low but intense with feeling.

Jim swallowed down hard before he asked harshly, “What happened?”

“According to the last report Intelligence team was able to send out, they found a greater connection between the Base Commander Fox and the Orions then was first suspected,” said Pike. “In fact, they thought that the base commander was in the Orions payroll. The Intelligence team was getting close to finding out the exact nature of that connection. The explosion occurred shortly after.”

“What in the hell could warrant the destruction of an entire Space Base?” asked McCoy, still aghast at idea.

“One of the theories postulated was that the damaged nacelle part that you got wasn‘t a coincide, that was deliberately planted onto the Enterprise by Fox to damage the ship,” said Pike.

Scotty’s swearing became louder and switched to a different language altogether. Not even Uhura’s scolding look made him subside.

“They wanted to get a hold of the Enterprise,” Jim said, interrupting Scotty. Everyone at the table turned to look at him.

“That‘s what we think too,” agreed Pike.

“The Enterprise has got the latest technology of the Federation,” Jim reminded his officers. “If the Orions could cripple the ship enough to get aboard her they would have access to most of it. Even with the security measures in place, if they had enough time they would be able to crack through the passwords, and firewalls.”

“Or they could just sell the whole ship to anyone willing to pay for her,” said Sulu, with a frown.

“They wouldn‘t get her without a fight,” protested Freeman, with a scowl at this perceived insult to his professional abilities.

“Aye, they could,” denied Scotty, finally breaking off his blue streak. “If the damage was deliberate than they could ’ave calculated it to destroy the warp engine and knock out the life-support. Then all that those bastards would ‘ave need to do was sit tight and wait for us to die before grabbin‘ our lady.”

“Jesus,” whispered McCoy.

Jim agreed with him then a horrible thought occurred to him. “Uhura, issue an alert to the bridge. Have them scan for ion trails in the system other than our own. If the Orions were waiting for our ship to be damaged then they could be nearby waiting for it.”

“Aye, Captain,” said Uhura, instantly calling the bridge.

“I should be up on the bridge, sir,” said Hernandez, getting to his feet in his urgency. “I can calibrate the sensors to a higher degree of sensitivity than normal. Mr. Spock showed me how.”

“Go,” ordered Jim with a sharp nod and Hernandez left quickly.

“What about Base Commander Fox?” asked Sulu to Pike. “Did he survive the destruction of the base?”

“If he did I am goin‘ to wrin‘ his neck,” snarled Scotty.

“Breathe, Mr. Scott,” said Jim, his own fists tight under the cover of the table. He kept his expression calm even if that was the last thing he was feeling.

“We have no information if he was able to get off the base in time,” admitted Pike. “In fact, Starfleet Intelligence isn‘t even certain if he or the Orions were the ones that set off that bomb. Or even if the explosion wasn‘t related at all to the investigation.”

“Not likely,” said Jim, dryly. Pike quirked his mouth in agreement.

“There‘s also a fourth option,” said Uhura, as soon as she finished talking to the bridge. “Orion culture does place a strong emphasis on wealth and power. If they are doing this in order to get the technology of the Enterprise then they will have a buyer in place. The buyer could be the one that pushed for such an extreme reaction to being discovered. An Orion would consider such loss of life to be a waste.” Her mouth twisted. “After all, everyone that died could have been sold as a slave.”

“That is a good analysis, Lieutenant,” said Pike. “And one, no doubt, which will be backed up by the Orion cultural specialists. But that still leaves us with not knowing who could be their buyer. Intelligence is sending out agents to pick up more information from the Orions. Until then, you have on your ship the only piece of evidence that ties the Orions to the space base, Fox and possibly the explosion.”

“And it‘s going to make us that more of a target,” said Jim.

“Which is why your orders are head to the Starbase 42,” said Pike. “There‘s a team from Intelligence heading there right now. They‘ll take the Orion part from you for further analysis. Hopefully, they‘ll be able to find a way to trace how it got into our space. It‘s the only lead we have.”

Scotty frowned hard. “Does Starbase 42 'ave the resources to outfit the ship with a new power conduit part? The one we 'ave will not 'old up for long.”

“Even less so if we end up having to fight,” said Sulu. “We‘re already crippled in how fast the ship can travel. Combat maneuvers may be too much.”

“The starbase is in the system of the planet Cygnet XIV. They have the faculties for starship maintenance,” said Pike. “They‘re a trust-worthy people. And we‘ve sent alert to nearby ships should you call for assistance. They‘ll be there as fast as they can.”

Which could still be too late, Jim thought, grimly. Space battles sometimes happened too quickly to get assistance from the rest of the fleet.

“It‘ll add a couple more days of travel compared to the original plan,” said Sulu, as he pulled out a PADD. He was frowning at it. “The course that we‘d originally plotted would have taken us to a much closer starbase. Starbase 42 is deeper into Federation territory. It‘s also a lot closer to Orion space.”

“Is it a good idea to get closer to them if they‘re trying to get the Enterprise?” asked McCoy, as he leaned over Sulu‘s shoulder to stare at his readouts. “That’s crazy! It‘s practically asking for them to come and get us!”

“Exactly what we‘re hoping for, Doctor McCoy,” said Pike.

There was a startled moment of silence from everyone at the table.

“You want us to draw the Orions out?” asked Jim, thoughtfully.

“Or at the very least we want to use your presence to put pressure on them,” said Pike. “It will make it easier for the Intelligence team to discover what is going on. If they happen to come after you then getting answers becomes that much easier.”

Jim was intrigued by the idea. “We could make the ship a deliberate target.”

His officers turned to look at him.

“What do you have in mind, Captain?” asked Pike, leaning forward.

“I doubt that the Orions know we‘ve caught the damaged part,” explained Jim, “and they sure as hell couldn‘t have predicted that Scotty would be able to put together a temporary replacement. So, if they are monitoring us we can use that against them. They’ll expect an explosion from the ship at any time, and for us to be very damaged when it happens. And if they come after us when we just appear to be crippled…”

“We can take them down,” said Freeman, eagerly.

“They won‘t know why we‘ll be stopping by Starbase 42,” said Sulu.

“The messages we sent out to the ships before how likely is it that they would have intercepted them?” Jim asked Uhura.

“The warnings about getting parts from Space Base 23 went along the standard channels but they were encrypted with the latest Starfleet codes,” answered Uhura. “It’s highly unlikely they’ll have access to the decryption codes. The switch only occurred last week.”

“Scotty? How realistic of an explosion can we make that will fool anyone that comes around?” asked Jim.

“It will be simple enough,” said Scotty. “Especially if we can pick up a few things from the starbase or the planet.”

“Make a shopping list, Scotty and I‘ll get it for you,” said Jim.

“Good,” said Pike. “How quickly can you leave the Cromtic system?”

“Within a couple hours, Admiral,” said Jim, with a look at Scotty. Scotty nodded in agreement.

“What about Spock‘s aging machine?” asked Uhura, worried.

“I can concentrate on 'elping Keenser when he returns to the ship, lass,” said Scotty. “There should not be that much of a loss in production, no more than a couple days.”

“Keenser‘s made a point of getting copies of all the schematics,” said Jim, remembering the fact from the reports. “So if there‘s an error somewhere you can refer to them.”

“And I‘m also available if there was a mistranslation,” Uhura told Scotty.

Scotty nodded and turned to Jim, “Any planet with the ability to provide maintenance to a starship will ‘ave the technology to produce any components for the machine, so they should be of ‘elp.”

“And we can always call the Cromticians, if we need to,” Jim reminded them.

“Yes, sir,” said Uhura, her shoulders relaxing.

“Get a plan together and send us the report,” said Pike. “Be safe, Enterprise. Pike, out.” The large monitor switched over to the Starfleet insignia before fading to black.

“Sulu, I want you at the pilot seat when we head out,” said Jim. Sulu nodded. “Scotty, do you think you can leave the ship and go down to the plane to help Lieutenant Keenser?”

“Aye, Captain,” said Scotty, standing up and heading out. Eager to get the job done.

“I’ll need a plan of defense and attack if we end up getting boarded, Cupcake,” said Jim, drumming his fingers against the tabletop. He wished sharply that Spock was back to normal to give him his input about the situation.

“Yes, sir,” said Freeman, for once not grumbling against his nickname.

“Bones,” Jim began.

“I know - get the medical bay ready. Teach your grandmother to suck eggs,” said McCoy, and he also headed out. “Take a shower before you come down to the medical bay. You stink.”

Jim grinned before he turned to Uhura. “Lieutenant, I‘ll need you to keep an ear open to hear if there‘s an chatter about the Orions or any word about Fox. I don‘t think that the bastard’s dead.”

“Cockroaches don‘t die easily,” agreed Uhura, as she got up.

The entire conference room emptied out until only Cupcake and Jim were left.

“You wanted to talk to me?” asked Freeman.

Jim nodded, his expression sober. “I know about the attacks against the crew on the space base.”

“Hrm,” said Freeman. “I wondered how long it would take you to find out.”

Jim gave him an annoyed look. “Never mind that. What I want to do is to start implementing greater training in hand to hand fighting for the crew. Other than the security department none of the other crew have much training beyond that what was required at the Academy.”

Freeman smiled. “Good. Some of the crew have already asked for more training but getting more of them to come for additional training would better.”

“Perfect,” said Jim. “You can add my name to the list of instructors for the classes.”

“Commander Spock would be better,” said Freeman, smirking. “He kicks your ass.”

“You‘re dismissed, Cupcake,” grumbled Jim.

“Aye, aye, Moonbeam,” said Freeman, as he left the grin still on his face.

Jim sulked before he stood up to head to his quarters. He wanted to take a shower before he tracked down where Rand had taken Spock because Bones was right. He stank to high heaven.

TBC in [Part 21]

a/n: So, plot kind of took over this chapter.
Sorry also for the shorter than usual chapter. But I wanted to post more fic.