Fic: "Crossfire" (19/19)
Title: "Crossfire, Part 19"
Author: Mijan
Series: ST: XI
Character/Pairing(s): Kirk&McCoy, Pike, Scotty
Rating: PG-13
Author’s Notes: This story is part of the Academy-era story arc, which includes “Convergence” and “And All the King’s Men.” “Crossfire” is a direct sequel. Several things in this story will not make sense unless you’ve read AAtKM first.
Summary: Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy are on top of the world at the academy until it all comes crashing down around them. Trapped in their own mystery of politics, sabotage, and possible murder, it quickly becomes impossible to know who to trust. Worse, Jim might still be a target. With a dangerous criminal on the loose and Academy leadership not doing enough, Jim and Bones have to get their lives back together and find out what happened... before it happens again.
*********
CROSSFIRE, Part 19
“Hey Jim!”
It was 0500 hours, and with the help of two full canteens of very strong coffee, Leonard burst cheerfully into Jim’s room, delighted with the prospect of finally getting his chance at payback. Granted, it was evil enough that they’d scheduled his flight test this early, but with his clinic schedule, it couldn’t be avoided. Besides, it gave him the perfect excuse to awaken Jim Kirk at o’dark-thirty. It was something he’d been looking forward to doing for a long time. Injecting as much false, over-exaggerated cheer into his voice as possible, he rapped his knuckles on the wall. “Come on, Jim, rise’n’shine. Big day today! Lights.”
The lights in Jim’s dorm room came on to reveal... an empty bed. Leonard stopped short and frowned. The bed was slept in, unmade. A quick look around revealed that only one of Jim’s two pairs of boots was sitting by the door, and his parka, which he often draped over the back of his chair, was also gone. The kid was nowhere to be found.
It was almost impossible to squash his own disappointment. Even if he hadn’t been able to wake Jim up as unceremoniously as possible, he’d still wanted the kid to watch his flight test. They’d worked together on this for weeks. Sure, Jim had decided to put off his Assistant Flight Instructor test until the beginning of the spring semester, but he could have watched. He would have wanted to see it.
At least, Leonard was pretty sure Jim would have wanted to see it.
Other than their flight trainings together, he’d barely seen Jim over the last few weeks. Jim had been really busy with his flight team, and his accelerated course load was catching up with him. There hadn’t been much free time. Of course, Leonard couldn’t put all the blame for that on Jim. He’d been pretty busy, too.
Looking once more around the small, empty room, Leonard sighed and shook his head. “Lights off.” Then he turned and walked out the door.
Outside Jim’s dorm, the winds of mid-December were biting and cold in the pre-dawn hours. The skies were clear above him though, and the stars managed to pierce the haze of the city lights like small pinpricks of ice. He shrugged up the hood of his winter uniform parka and hurried off down the path towards the hangar.
The path wove through the old eucalyptus groves. Despite the bitter winds, even at this time of year, there was still the faint astringent smell of the eucalyptus leaves that blanketed the ground and rattled in the wind. It was oddly soothing. Enormously tall trees, with their smooth trunks, dwarfing everything around him. They muffled the wind, and made it feel like a world apart.
It only served to increase the odd, detached feeling that was starting to pervade Leonard’s consciousness.
It was rough enough that he was on his way to his flight test. Yes, he was ready. No, he wasn’t fractionally as terrified as he’d once been of flying. But this time, he was really in the hot seat. He’d known that he would be... but in his mind, whenever he’d imagined the day of his flight test, Jim was there to watch and cheer him on.
He sighed, breathing in the bitter chill and eucalyptus scent through his frost-nipped nose, then tucked his face deeper into his hood.
It wasn’t so bad. He’d pass his test, send Jim a gloating ‘look what I did’ message, and then they’d meet for dinner and drinks. It was a Friday. As far as he knew, Jim had the evening free. They hadn’t had one of their Friday excursions in a few weeks - not since Jim had caught his roommate and everything had come crashing down and... yeah. That. So maybe it was high time they hit one of the local bars. Celebrate a bit.
The path opened up at the bottom of the hill, and the bright lights of the hangar greeted him. He swiped his ID badge at the security checkpoint, and hurried into the building. It wasn’t as warm as the dorms or classroom buildings, but it was warm enough to take off the heavy parka. Folding it over his arm, he made his way across the plascrete floor, boots clacking heavy and hollow as he walked. He rounded the corner to the bay where they kept the trainee shuttles.
The course’s flight instructor, Captain Sullivan, waved to him from beside the shuttlecraft that he’d be piloting shortly. Leonard had decided that he liked the guy. As the flight portion of the course had progressed, he'd shown a reliable measure of sympathy for the plight of the oldest and most aviophobic student in his class.
Leonard waved back and picked up to a light jog until he was in front of the Captain. “If I fail, sir,” he said with a self-deprecating grin, “I’ll blame it on the ungodly hour.”
Captain Sullivan chuckled lightly. “I don’t think you’ll need that, McCoy. You’ve been doing just fine over the past few weeks. Lieutenant Scott reported that you excelled on the exam for the engineering portion of the class. And your last couple of flights went very well.”
Leonard nodded, dropping his parka neatly on a bench by the wall. “That’s reassuring to know.” Seeing as Scott was supposed to be his in-flight evaluator today, it was good to know that he’d expressed his confidence to the Flight Instructor. “Is Lieutenant Scott already in the shuttle?”
An odd look crossed Captain Sullivan’s face. “Actually, no.”
Leonard came up short and frowned. “Is he on his way?” A quick glance over at the chrono confirmed that he’d arrived just on time. At this hour of the morning, it was fully possible that Scott was running late.
“Well, with the engine competition over, the transporter technology section of the engineering department has been taking up more of his time. He’s actually taking an advanced theory class himself. Couple of big projects they’re working on, and -” Sullivan laughed lightly. “The Lieutenant has some very interesting ideas about transporter technology. Don’t know if they’ll work, but he’s gonna have fun trying.”
Leonard couldn’t help it - he shuddered. “Great. Transporters. The only thing in Starfleet worse than shuttles. Why anyone would want to have their molecules taken apart down to their energy patterns and beamed across the vacuum of space is beyond me.”
“It’s not so bad, McCoy. You seem to have conquered shuttle flight. I’m sure you’ll do just fine with transporters.”
Leonard grimaced. “One step at a time, sir.” He sighed and shook his head. “So, if Lieutenant Scott isn’t the instructor in the shuttle with me, are you going up?”
“No, McCoy. The head instructor always supervises and evaluates from the ground. But don’t worry. We found a decent substitute.”
“Oh?”
“New guy. Passed his Assistant Flight Instructor exam last week. But he’s not bad.”
Leonard couldn’t help it. He rolled his eyes and barely held back the groan. “Great. Just what I need. He’s probably younger than me, too, right?”
Captain Sullivan laughed. “Yep. One of those wet-behind-the-ears cadets you love to grumble about. But don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
“Whatever you say, sir. So where is he?”
“In the shuttle, actually,” Sullivan said with a smile. “Got here before I did. The kid’s really thorough. Insisted on doing a complete level three diagnostic before letting you go up.”
At that, Leonard raised an eyebrow. “Well, at least he’s not reckless.” He tilted his head towards the shuttle hatch. “I guess there’s no reason to delay any longer.”
“None whatsoever. I’ll head up to the control tower.” He stuck out his hand. “Good luck, Cadet.”
Leonard shook it briefly. “Thank you, sir.”
Without any further hesitation, Captain Sullivan turned on his heel and strode off across the bay towards the turbolift to the control tower. Leonard watched him go for a moment before turning back to the shuttle’s external controls. “Here goes nothing.” He keyed in his entry code, and stood back as the hatch opened. Ducked his head, and climbed into the shuttlecraft.
“Bones!”
Leonard stopped short, one foot still outside the shuttlecraft. “What... what the... Jim?”
“Good to see you made it,” Jim said with a wide grin. He was sitting in the copilot’s spot, one arm looped over the back of the seat casually, as if there was no other place in the universe he could possibly be. “I was wondering if there was enough coffee on the planet to actually get you out of bed at this hour.”
Slowly unfreezing himself, Leonard finished climbing into the shuttlecraft and sat down in the pilot’s seat, not even trying to hide the look of unadulterated disbelief he was sure was smacked all over his face. “Yeah... I’m awake, but... Jim? How the hell did you do it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
For a moment, Jim almost looked sheepish. “Doctor Rodriguez... he’s a good guy, actually, Bones, so thank you for sending me to him... he said that he felt I was ready to test about a week ago, if I wanted to. He talked to Captain Tanner, and I tested on Monday. I didn’t want to tell you in case I didn’t make it. But...” His mouth twisted pensively. “I asked you once... not to go up into the black without me. But that’s a promise I made to you, too. That I’d be here for you. I had to do it.”
“You did it, Jim,” Leonard said, almost reverently. “You really did.”
His grin returned. “I did, didn’t I? And when I passed, I decided that I wanted to surprise you.”
“I’m surprised,” Leonard replied, still feeling somewhat gobsmacked. “I’m definitely surprised.”
“Pleased, I hope?”
There was a hint of vulnerability in that question. Almost anyone else would have missed it, but Leonard knew better. “Yeah, kid. I’m pleased. I’m proud of you, too. I really am.”
Jim’s face lit up. “Thanks, Bones.” Then his grin took on a devious quality. “But how about you make me proud now, huh? Ready to fly, old man?”
“I’ll old-man you, you cheeky brat,” Leonard grumbled, reaching over to the console and initiating the basic system’s check.
“Hey, no name-calling the instructor,” Jim said with a wink as he pulled his harness over his head.
“You wouldn’t have it any other way, and you know it.” He looked over at Jim, who was double-checking the fastenings on his harness.
So much had changed since the shuttle crash. This was a more subdued, more cautious, more thoughtful Jim than he’d known at the beginning of the year. This was also a Jim who had learned patience on some new level. But at the end of the day, he was still Jim Kirk, with the mischievous streak that couldn’t be stopped, and the brains to back up his seemingly wild and reckless antics. And despite the fact that Leonard knew it was going to give him a few more gray hairs than he’d have otherwise, it was good to have the kid around.
“Hey, Bones? Are you okay?”
Leonard shook his head, clearing it. “What? Yeah, kid. Why?”
“You were staring.”
“Just thinking, Jim.” He let himself smile.
“Well, save your thinking for the flying. Captain Sullivan just transmitted your flight plan.” He grinned slyly. “I’d say ‘good luck,’ but who needs luck when you’ve got me?”
Leonard snorted. “Arrogant egomaniac.”
“There you go with the name-calling again. I’m gonna start docking points, and we haven’t even powered up the engines.”
“And a reckless space-cowboy, too.”
Jim laughed. “Don’t you know it. But for now, we’ve got a mission.” He reached over and clapped Leonard just a touch too hard on the shoulder. “Come on, Bones. Buckle up!”
Leonard rolled his eyes and fastened his harness.
As the engines surged to life underneath him and control panels began processing his commands, he felt something he’d never felt in a shuttlecraft before - anticipation. Almost excitement. He was almost looking forward to watching the Earth drop away from him, witnessing the blackness as the atmosphere thinned, watching the sun break over the horizon as he completed his orbit of the planet. It was an alien sensation, to feel anything other than nervousness at best, terror at worst, in light of an impending flight. But this was different.
Glancing to the side, he looked at Jim’s determined profile as the kid cross-checked and verified his work. This was a person he trusted with his life, and who trusted him in return. He’d go anywhere with the kid. And as he’d promised, he wouldn’t go anywhere without Jim, either. Yeah, this was different.
And different was good.
“Cross-checks complete,” Leonard said. “All systems ready.”
“Confirmed. All systems ready.” Jim looked at him, eyes shining with excitement. “Let’s take her up.”
*********
~FIN~
Author: Mijan
Series: ST: XI
Character/Pairing(s): Kirk&McCoy, Pike, Scotty
Rating: PG-13
Author’s Notes: This story is part of the Academy-era story arc, which includes “Convergence” and “And All the King’s Men.” “Crossfire” is a direct sequel. Several things in this story will not make sense unless you’ve read AAtKM first.
Summary: Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy are on top of the world at the academy until it all comes crashing down around them. Trapped in their own mystery of politics, sabotage, and possible murder, it quickly becomes impossible to know who to trust. Worse, Jim might still be a target. With a dangerous criminal on the loose and Academy leadership not doing enough, Jim and Bones have to get their lives back together and find out what happened... before it happens again.
*********
CROSSFIRE, Part 19
“Hey Jim!”
It was 0500 hours, and with the help of two full canteens of very strong coffee, Leonard burst cheerfully into Jim’s room, delighted with the prospect of finally getting his chance at payback. Granted, it was evil enough that they’d scheduled his flight test this early, but with his clinic schedule, it couldn’t be avoided. Besides, it gave him the perfect excuse to awaken Jim Kirk at o’dark-thirty. It was something he’d been looking forward to doing for a long time. Injecting as much false, over-exaggerated cheer into his voice as possible, he rapped his knuckles on the wall. “Come on, Jim, rise’n’shine. Big day today! Lights.”
The lights in Jim’s dorm room came on to reveal... an empty bed. Leonard stopped short and frowned. The bed was slept in, unmade. A quick look around revealed that only one of Jim’s two pairs of boots was sitting by the door, and his parka, which he often draped over the back of his chair, was also gone. The kid was nowhere to be found.
It was almost impossible to squash his own disappointment. Even if he hadn’t been able to wake Jim up as unceremoniously as possible, he’d still wanted the kid to watch his flight test. They’d worked together on this for weeks. Sure, Jim had decided to put off his Assistant Flight Instructor test until the beginning of the spring semester, but he could have watched. He would have wanted to see it.
At least, Leonard was pretty sure Jim would have wanted to see it.
Other than their flight trainings together, he’d barely seen Jim over the last few weeks. Jim had been really busy with his flight team, and his accelerated course load was catching up with him. There hadn’t been much free time. Of course, Leonard couldn’t put all the blame for that on Jim. He’d been pretty busy, too.
Looking once more around the small, empty room, Leonard sighed and shook his head. “Lights off.” Then he turned and walked out the door.
Outside Jim’s dorm, the winds of mid-December were biting and cold in the pre-dawn hours. The skies were clear above him though, and the stars managed to pierce the haze of the city lights like small pinpricks of ice. He shrugged up the hood of his winter uniform parka and hurried off down the path towards the hangar.
The path wove through the old eucalyptus groves. Despite the bitter winds, even at this time of year, there was still the faint astringent smell of the eucalyptus leaves that blanketed the ground and rattled in the wind. It was oddly soothing. Enormously tall trees, with their smooth trunks, dwarfing everything around him. They muffled the wind, and made it feel like a world apart.
It only served to increase the odd, detached feeling that was starting to pervade Leonard’s consciousness.
It was rough enough that he was on his way to his flight test. Yes, he was ready. No, he wasn’t fractionally as terrified as he’d once been of flying. But this time, he was really in the hot seat. He’d known that he would be... but in his mind, whenever he’d imagined the day of his flight test, Jim was there to watch and cheer him on.
He sighed, breathing in the bitter chill and eucalyptus scent through his frost-nipped nose, then tucked his face deeper into his hood.
It wasn’t so bad. He’d pass his test, send Jim a gloating ‘look what I did’ message, and then they’d meet for dinner and drinks. It was a Friday. As far as he knew, Jim had the evening free. They hadn’t had one of their Friday excursions in a few weeks - not since Jim had caught his roommate and everything had come crashing down and... yeah. That. So maybe it was high time they hit one of the local bars. Celebrate a bit.
The path opened up at the bottom of the hill, and the bright lights of the hangar greeted him. He swiped his ID badge at the security checkpoint, and hurried into the building. It wasn’t as warm as the dorms or classroom buildings, but it was warm enough to take off the heavy parka. Folding it over his arm, he made his way across the plascrete floor, boots clacking heavy and hollow as he walked. He rounded the corner to the bay where they kept the trainee shuttles.
The course’s flight instructor, Captain Sullivan, waved to him from beside the shuttlecraft that he’d be piloting shortly. Leonard had decided that he liked the guy. As the flight portion of the course had progressed, he'd shown a reliable measure of sympathy for the plight of the oldest and most aviophobic student in his class.
Leonard waved back and picked up to a light jog until he was in front of the Captain. “If I fail, sir,” he said with a self-deprecating grin, “I’ll blame it on the ungodly hour.”
Captain Sullivan chuckled lightly. “I don’t think you’ll need that, McCoy. You’ve been doing just fine over the past few weeks. Lieutenant Scott reported that you excelled on the exam for the engineering portion of the class. And your last couple of flights went very well.”
Leonard nodded, dropping his parka neatly on a bench by the wall. “That’s reassuring to know.” Seeing as Scott was supposed to be his in-flight evaluator today, it was good to know that he’d expressed his confidence to the Flight Instructor. “Is Lieutenant Scott already in the shuttle?”
An odd look crossed Captain Sullivan’s face. “Actually, no.”
Leonard came up short and frowned. “Is he on his way?” A quick glance over at the chrono confirmed that he’d arrived just on time. At this hour of the morning, it was fully possible that Scott was running late.
“Well, with the engine competition over, the transporter technology section of the engineering department has been taking up more of his time. He’s actually taking an advanced theory class himself. Couple of big projects they’re working on, and -” Sullivan laughed lightly. “The Lieutenant has some very interesting ideas about transporter technology. Don’t know if they’ll work, but he’s gonna have fun trying.”
Leonard couldn’t help it - he shuddered. “Great. Transporters. The only thing in Starfleet worse than shuttles. Why anyone would want to have their molecules taken apart down to their energy patterns and beamed across the vacuum of space is beyond me.”
“It’s not so bad, McCoy. You seem to have conquered shuttle flight. I’m sure you’ll do just fine with transporters.”
Leonard grimaced. “One step at a time, sir.” He sighed and shook his head. “So, if Lieutenant Scott isn’t the instructor in the shuttle with me, are you going up?”
“No, McCoy. The head instructor always supervises and evaluates from the ground. But don’t worry. We found a decent substitute.”
“Oh?”
“New guy. Passed his Assistant Flight Instructor exam last week. But he’s not bad.”
Leonard couldn’t help it. He rolled his eyes and barely held back the groan. “Great. Just what I need. He’s probably younger than me, too, right?”
Captain Sullivan laughed. “Yep. One of those wet-behind-the-ears cadets you love to grumble about. But don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
“Whatever you say, sir. So where is he?”
“In the shuttle, actually,” Sullivan said with a smile. “Got here before I did. The kid’s really thorough. Insisted on doing a complete level three diagnostic before letting you go up.”
At that, Leonard raised an eyebrow. “Well, at least he’s not reckless.” He tilted his head towards the shuttle hatch. “I guess there’s no reason to delay any longer.”
“None whatsoever. I’ll head up to the control tower.” He stuck out his hand. “Good luck, Cadet.”
Leonard shook it briefly. “Thank you, sir.”
Without any further hesitation, Captain Sullivan turned on his heel and strode off across the bay towards the turbolift to the control tower. Leonard watched him go for a moment before turning back to the shuttle’s external controls. “Here goes nothing.” He keyed in his entry code, and stood back as the hatch opened. Ducked his head, and climbed into the shuttlecraft.
“Bones!”
Leonard stopped short, one foot still outside the shuttlecraft. “What... what the... Jim?”
“Good to see you made it,” Jim said with a wide grin. He was sitting in the copilot’s spot, one arm looped over the back of the seat casually, as if there was no other place in the universe he could possibly be. “I was wondering if there was enough coffee on the planet to actually get you out of bed at this hour.”
Slowly unfreezing himself, Leonard finished climbing into the shuttlecraft and sat down in the pilot’s seat, not even trying to hide the look of unadulterated disbelief he was sure was smacked all over his face. “Yeah... I’m awake, but... Jim? How the hell did you do it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
For a moment, Jim almost looked sheepish. “Doctor Rodriguez... he’s a good guy, actually, Bones, so thank you for sending me to him... he said that he felt I was ready to test about a week ago, if I wanted to. He talked to Captain Tanner, and I tested on Monday. I didn’t want to tell you in case I didn’t make it. But...” His mouth twisted pensively. “I asked you once... not to go up into the black without me. But that’s a promise I made to you, too. That I’d be here for you. I had to do it.”
“You did it, Jim,” Leonard said, almost reverently. “You really did.”
His grin returned. “I did, didn’t I? And when I passed, I decided that I wanted to surprise you.”
“I’m surprised,” Leonard replied, still feeling somewhat gobsmacked. “I’m definitely surprised.”
“Pleased, I hope?”
There was a hint of vulnerability in that question. Almost anyone else would have missed it, but Leonard knew better. “Yeah, kid. I’m pleased. I’m proud of you, too. I really am.”
Jim’s face lit up. “Thanks, Bones.” Then his grin took on a devious quality. “But how about you make me proud now, huh? Ready to fly, old man?”
“I’ll old-man you, you cheeky brat,” Leonard grumbled, reaching over to the console and initiating the basic system’s check.
“Hey, no name-calling the instructor,” Jim said with a wink as he pulled his harness over his head.
“You wouldn’t have it any other way, and you know it.” He looked over at Jim, who was double-checking the fastenings on his harness.
So much had changed since the shuttle crash. This was a more subdued, more cautious, more thoughtful Jim than he’d known at the beginning of the year. This was also a Jim who had learned patience on some new level. But at the end of the day, he was still Jim Kirk, with the mischievous streak that couldn’t be stopped, and the brains to back up his seemingly wild and reckless antics. And despite the fact that Leonard knew it was going to give him a few more gray hairs than he’d have otherwise, it was good to have the kid around.
“Hey, Bones? Are you okay?”
Leonard shook his head, clearing it. “What? Yeah, kid. Why?”
“You were staring.”
“Just thinking, Jim.” He let himself smile.
“Well, save your thinking for the flying. Captain Sullivan just transmitted your flight plan.” He grinned slyly. “I’d say ‘good luck,’ but who needs luck when you’ve got me?”
Leonard snorted. “Arrogant egomaniac.”
“There you go with the name-calling again. I’m gonna start docking points, and we haven’t even powered up the engines.”
“And a reckless space-cowboy, too.”
Jim laughed. “Don’t you know it. But for now, we’ve got a mission.” He reached over and clapped Leonard just a touch too hard on the shoulder. “Come on, Bones. Buckle up!”
Leonard rolled his eyes and fastened his harness.
As the engines surged to life underneath him and control panels began processing his commands, he felt something he’d never felt in a shuttlecraft before - anticipation. Almost excitement. He was almost looking forward to watching the Earth drop away from him, witnessing the blackness as the atmosphere thinned, watching the sun break over the horizon as he completed his orbit of the planet. It was an alien sensation, to feel anything other than nervousness at best, terror at worst, in light of an impending flight. But this was different.
Glancing to the side, he looked at Jim’s determined profile as the kid cross-checked and verified his work. This was a person he trusted with his life, and who trusted him in return. He’d go anywhere with the kid. And as he’d promised, he wouldn’t go anywhere without Jim, either. Yeah, this was different.
And different was good.
“Cross-checks complete,” Leonard said. “All systems ready.”
“Confirmed. All systems ready.” Jim looked at him, eyes shining with excitement. “Let’s take her up.”
*********
~FIN~