A "Wee" bit of a problem
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and make no profit from their use.
I am sorry I took so long to update, but my father passed away and I have been consumed with grief and helping my mother. I managed to find some time yesterday and today to get this done. No guarantees when the next update will be, but hopefully not too long.
Chapter nine
Spock walked into Doctor McCoy's office. "You wanted to see me Doctor?"
"Yeah, Spock, take a seat"
"I prefer to remain standing."
"Alright," McCoy stood up to meet Spock's gaze. "A delicate situation has arisen on the ship Mr. Spock and I would like your input."
"Very well, Doctor."
"I have observed an ongoing conflict between two crewmembers. As far as I can tell, and according to other people who have noticed this conflict, it is being caused by one person. Other crewmembers have mentioned it to me, because they are becoming indignant on behalf of the injured party. I haven't said anything to either person because I wasn't sure if it was my place to interfere, but now it seems to be affecting the crew working with them."
"The solution is simple Doctor. You must talk to the instigator and help resolve the conflict before it escalates to the point of being irreconcilable, especially if it is affecting the smooth operation of this ship."
"Yeah, that's kind of what I thought."
"What is the problem Doctor? You are the most logical choice to speak to this person. Is there a conflict of interest? Would you like me to talk to the crewman instead?"
"No, Spock. You see, you are the person."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You are the person people are complaining tah me about Commander," McCoy emphasized, his accent growing with his agitation.
"I understood that Doctor, I simply could not believe it. Who is this person I seemingly have a conflict with?"
"The captain, Spock, and don't think I didn't notice there was a problem before Jim came back from Sestis IV. I just can't see how it relates to little Jimmy."
"Do you notice Doctor that you refer to the captain as if he were two separate people? Young Jimmy is our captain. He is just at a different stage in his life. The decisions he makes now will affect his behavior when he is an adult."
"What are you talkin' about Spock, what decisions?"
"Have you noticed Doctor, not once, has he asked to see his mother? He was upset momentarily when he thought she was ill, otherwise, it is as if she does not exist. Is this normal behavior for a five-year-old child? I believe he is setting up a pattern of behavior that will one day grievously affect his relationship with his mother."
"Hold on a minute here! Are you tellin' me that you are criticizin' a five-year-old's behavior for, what you perceive as, being indifferent? I am surprised at you Mr. Spock. You of all people know that you don't make a final analysis without all of the data. I suggest that you contact Winona Kirk and talk to her about her son, then come back and talk to me. Now, get the hell outta my office, Sir!"
Spock simply raised one eyebrow, turned and left the office with a contemplative look upon his face.
xxxx
Jimmy spent the rest of the afternoon quietly working on his project. His stomach had settled down and he was feeling fine. He was sitting in his chair, swinging his legs and humming. His drone was finally finished and he was about to put his plan into place. Deciding to do a test run, he took his small drone and set it in an open area of the engineering bay. Using his PADD to control the drone, he had it lift off and fly around the bay. The little drone hummed quietly as it passed its test with flying colors. Most of the crewmembers on duty cheered and clapped for their little captain, not realizing what he was intending to do with the drone.
Jimmy collected the drone, along with his PADD and quietly snuck out of the engineering bay.
He smiled to himself and giggled, 'Mr. Spot look out. Here I come.'
xxxx
Jimmy spent the rest of the afternoon quietly moving from place to place, with his drone covertly hovering along the corridors, and into different common rooms. The crewmen just smiled at the quietly playing child. No one realized that Jimmy had hooked up an audio/visual feed to his drone and was spying on everyone.
Finally, his quarry came into view. Mr. Spot and a pretty lieutenant came out of the mess hall together. Jimmy followed at a discreet distance, listening to their conversation and watching them on his PADD.
xx
"Spock, I can see that this is really bothering you. Why don't you just contact her? I could patch her through to the briefing room down the hall from your quarters, it would be empty right now," Nyota Uhura said, standing on her tiptoes and giving Spock a kiss.
"Thank you, Nyota, perhaps I should. Doctor McCoy was correct; I need to gather all data before making a final analysis."
"I understand. You have regrets about your mother and you don't want Jim to do the same thing. You're just trying to help. Besides, she has a right to know what has happened to her son."
"I am glad you understand, Nyota."
"Always. I'll connect you with Jim's mom as soon as I get back up to the bridge." She smiled and gave him a small wave as she entered the turbolift and the doors swished closed.
Spock walked off down the corridor, heading toward the briefing room.
xx
Jimmy was watching his PADD intently. 'Yuck! They kissed.' It was gross, but he figured he could use that. Spock probably wouldn't want himself plastered all over the net kissing a girl. The next words caught the boy's attention. 'Help Jim? Were they talking about him?' He turned the sound up a little and leaned toward the PADD. 'Jim's mom? They were going to call his mom?' His heart started beating faster. Jimmy knew he had to hear this conversation. He had not heard from his mom in months. He would have been happy just to see her face. He quickly sent his drone down the corridor, following at a distance. It slid into the room just behind Spock, high up by the ceiling. He stealthily sent it over to a high shelf and landed it. From this position, he could see most of the room. He then sank down to the floor of the corridor, his eyes locked onto the PADD in his hands.
xx
The door to the briefing room swished open and Spock strode into the room. Just as the door was closing, Spock thought he heard a humming noise. He stopped and turned toward the door, perusing it. Nothing was there. He briefly scanned the room and not seeing anything out of order, continued to the table and seated himself in front of the terminal. He spent the next few minutes deciding how to explain the situation to the captain's mother. Finally, Lieutenant Uhura's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Commander Spock, I have Lieutenant Kirk for you sir."
"Patch her through, Lieutenant Uhura."
"Yes, sir."
Whatever Spock had been expecting, this woman was not it. She looked to be in her late fifties. Her blond hair was shot through with silver streaks and was pulled back from her face severely. She seemed aged beyond her years. What stood out in her face, however, were her eyes. They were a steel gray and cold.
If Spock were being honest with himself, he had been expecting someone like his own mother, with her warm eyes, easy smile, soft-spoken voice and loving disposition. This woman was an unmitigated opposite.
"Lieutenant Kirk, I thank you for being able to speak to me on such short notice."
"Lieutenant Commander Spock, I took this call because I thought it was my son. Your communications officer did not specify to whom I would be speaking. Does my son have others returning his calls for him now?"
Spock was taken aback by the vitriol in her voice and found himself taking an instant dislike to the woman.
"No, madam. The captain does not permit others to handle his personal communications. I have contacted you, as a courtesy, to inform you of a mishap that has taken place aboard the Enterprise."
"Mishap? What kind of mishap?"
"Due to a transporter malfunction, your son has experienced an aging regression. He is now approximately five years old," Spock told her bluntly.
Winona Kirk just stared at Spock expectantly for a few moments, as if she was waiting for the punch line.
"Are you joking?"
"I assure you, this is no joke."
"Did he put you up to this? Is this his way of getting out of coming to the memorial?" By now, she was turning red in the face. "Well, you can tell him for me that it won't work!"
"Madam, Vulcans do not lie."
She looked contemplative. "Yes, I guess you're right, they don't lie. So, what do you want me to do about it?" Her eyes grew large in alarm, "You don't expect me to take him do you? I didn't want him when he was five years old, twenty-two years ago, I sure as hell don't want him now. He's Starfleet's problem."
"Lieutenant Kirk, I can see that I made an error in contacting you. Forgive me for assuming that you cared for your son." At the look of outrage on her face, Spock disconnected.
A sudden noise had Spock jumping from his seat and turning at the same time. A small, white object had fallen off a shelf. On closer inspection, the object revealed itself to be a small drone. Spock noted the audio/visual component attached to the underside of the drone, as he picked it up, and concluded that he was being spied upon. Knowing that whoever was controlling the drone must be nearby, he immediately ran into the corridor looking for the perpetrator. His eyes came to rest on an object at the end of the corridor. As he neared the object, it became obvious that it was a PADD. With a sinking feeling he picked it up and turned it over, the screen was cracked down the middle, as if someone had thrown it at something. He noticed a corresponding mark on the wall. Spock knew to whom the PADD belonged; it was covered on the back with stickers that proclaimed 'Captain Jimmy'.
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