I am so, so, so sorry for not updating until now! Please forgive me! _ If it helps, I wrote twenty different drafts of this chapter before I was satisfied? (No, really, I have them all listed in my doc manager: Ch 11 Draft 1, 2, 3, etc. This was a freaking nightmare.) Thank you everyone who reviewed and favorited and followed even during the hiatus! You all are so sweet! :)
Anyway. This shows a different Kirk than before, a darker one, so it was intriguing to write. This is set post-Narada by about three weeks, when they're still limping back to Earth because, you know, they ejected their warp drive.
And so I present to you the longest chapter thus far, as well as a bit of a different perspective... hope you enjoy, Christina.
11. Fire
He doesn't think much of it at first.
A push here, a shove there... no big deal. He's put up with bullies his entire life without complaining, and he's definitely not about to start doing so as a commissioned officer on the best dang ship in the entire 'Fleet. Quadrant, even.
But lately, he can't help but notice that they're gradually upping the ante, growing bolder in the confidence that he won't snitch. For instead of pushes, he gets punches. Instead of bruises, he gets cuts. And instead of whispers, he gets taunts.
As for today?
Well... looking into their harm-seeking eyes, he's not getting a very good feeling about this encounter.
The one in the lead, a particularly snide Lieutenant who's his relief on the Bridge, sneers in greeting. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the most inexperienced crewman aboard the Enterprise. No wonder you failed to transport the First Officer's mother up!"
His target for the past month or so continues staring at him without giving any indication that he's understood or even heard the words of his nemesis.
The Lieutenant steps forward, raising an arm threateningly as his expression darkens. "Speak when you're spoken to, you disrespectful little twit!" When the target still fails to respond, he gnashes his teeth before snapping his fingers and smirking. "I think that means you need to be taught a lesson! Wouldn't you agree, fellas?"
His two constant companions, hailing from Engineering and Communications respectively, chortle in agreement and corner the victim, then each grab an arm and a leg so their prey is helpless to defend himself against the blows their leader rains on the poor kid.
And yet, their victim doesn't make a sound. Doesn't cry out, doesn't whimper, doesn't even mutter a venomous curse - three reactions he's had in the past. In fact, his expression remains disturbingly blank until the Lieutenant, outraged at not receiving any sort of response, uses a bit too much force after one too many blows to the young man's chest and there's an ominous crack. And even then, when the Beta shift officer stumbles back in shock, only the faintest hint of pain enters the kid's gray-green eyes.
"Frick, Alda," Jerome, the Communications officer, hisses. "What the heck did you do?"
Alda's eyes sweep the hallway like those of a cornered animal. "No time to find out. Shift change will happen soon - we can't let anybody see him like this."
Bryn then perks up. "Finally, janitor duty in Engineering becomes useful! There's a supply closet this way!" He takes off down the corridor, leaving Alda and Jerome to grit their teeth and drag the kid along.
They shove him unceremoniously into the closet, but still he refuses to make any sound until after they've laughed one last time at him, turned the light off and slammed the door, at long last leaving him be. Despite his pain, he feels his heart swell in pride for the way he conducted himself. Today, he won over the bullies. He refused to give them what they wanted.
For some time, he lays on the ground where they left him, basking in his personal glory and blinking rapidly (or so he thinks in his muddled state) in an effort to ward off the blackness encroaching on his vision for a little longer. Eventually, the sounds of footsteps and voices drift to him as if from a great distance.
The shift exchange, he thinks blearily, and lets his eyelids droop...
Then he curses as he realizes if he lays there much longer, he won't be able to force himself onto his feet at all. Not that that's his priority right now - eventually someone will find him, and then he'll be in trouble. Alda, Bryn, and Jerome said so. Because if he's discovered, then his condition will be linked with them, and they won't hesitate to make his life a miserable existence even if they're kicked off the ship.
Which they probably won't be, now that he thinks about it. After all, the three of them have moved up the ranks to Lieutenant status, and Alda wouldn't be his relief on the Bridge for nothing (never let it be said that James T. Kirk allows talent to go to waste), and Bryn wouldn't-
He inhales too rapidly and lets loose a stream of profanity at the stabbing pain in his torso, head, and... well, just about everywhere. Frick, he has to get up now or suffer the consequences... someone no doubt will have heard his cursing...
So, swearing (under his breath this time) in Russian with every slightest movement of his bruised and battered body, Pavel Andreievich Chekov slowly, painfully pulls himself to his feet again, letting slip a low groan with each twinge of his ribs. He pokes them gingerly, sighing in relief when he realizes they're not broken, only cracked.
That's when the door is suddenly flung wide open and the Navigator freezes. Because standing there is one James Tiberius Kirk, and he does not look happy at all.
"K-Keptin?" the boy whispers.
And then promptly collapses into the waiting arms of his superior officer, which he has to admit are very warm and comforting before he succumbs at long last to the waiting darkness, and all conscious thought flees.
Kirk pinches the bridge of his nose fiercely, earnestly wishing he'd stayed down in Sickbay to watch over his Navigator for a little longer. He can just feel a monster headache coming on.
"So," he concludes wearily, "you knew something was going on, maybe not what exactly, but you had extremely strong suspicions... and yet you didn't say a thing to me about it."
Scotty and Uhura exchange a somewhat apprehensive look - his temper irrationally flares up again - before his Communications Officer clears her throat and says hesitantly - wait, who is this person and what has she done with Uhura? - "Sir, we thought we were just going slightly stir-crazy after..." she makes a vague gesture with her hand. "...what Nero did." She winces. She's almost never this inarticulate with her words.
Then again, Kirk's almost never spitting mad like this.
Scotty nods emphatically to back her up. "An' we thought, Nero's mess has kept ye up fer weeks now, sir, so we didnae want ye ter worry about summat that most likely wouldnae even matter in the end."
"Oh, because this situation totally ended up 'not mattering,'" Kirk scoffs. Then he stiffens as he realizes something. "Wait a minute... do you mean to tell me that you discussed this with each other and STILL didn't tell me?!"
Scotty scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Er, aye, sir, but we-"
"Don't you 'but' me anything, Commander!" Kirk bellows, flames beginning to flicker in his eyes; the two department heads exchange another glance, because if Kirk's resorting to formality... "This entire mess could have been prevented if you'd just communicated with me about it! Maybe if you'd, oh I dunno, actually trusted me, you'd be increasing Enterprise's efficiency by near ten percent right now, Uhura would currently be communicating with Starfleet so that we don't end up stranded out here sixteen frickin' light years from Earth, and Chekov wouldn't be lying like a frickin' corpse down in Sickbay at the moment because of the bastards under your jurisdiction!" he snarls, glaring at the two of them before throwing his hands up and muttering to himself as he begins pacing the length of the room.
They nervously stand at attention while he fumes under his breath, still pacing. Suddenly, he stops and shakes his head slowly. "Look, I know you-" he jabs a finger toward Scotty- "think I'm way too young to be Captain of anything, let alone the Enterprise, and you-" he moves on to Uhura, who has the good grace to appear chagrined- "have always and still do think that I'm a dumb hick who has sex with farm animals, or something absolutely vile like that-" Scotty raises his eyebrows, and Uhura has never before wanted so badly to retract something she's said- "but gosh dang it, until Pike's deemed fit to return to active duty, I'm responsible for all five hundred and seventy-one lives aboard this ship, whether you like it or not!"
He pauses to collect himself somewhat, slowing down his breathing especially, before continuing, more quietly, "Look, I get that you don't respect me. Really, I do. But at the very least, you need to respect and look out for your fellow crew members, especially those who were working alongside you when everything went to heck."
He sighs and turns toward his blinking PADD, the raging firestorm in his eyes finally dimming to hot embers. "Dismissed."
Scotty swallows. "I'll, er, fetch the boys, then," he mutters, no trace of his customary enthusiasm to be seen as he hurriedly exits.
Once the Chief Engineer leaves, Kirk stares at Uhura, his mouth becoming a thin line as he does so. "Need something else, Lieutenant, or do you want me to repeat the message in a different language? Oh wait, no, there's no way I'd ever be able to do something like that; I'm only the dumbest lowlife hick from Iowa, after all," he snipes bitterly.
Uhura flinches. "Kir- Captain, it's not that we don't respect you. We just-"
"What, thought that I wouldn't set aside ten frickin' minutes of my time to listen to your concerns?" he cuts her off, advancing toward her, his eyes blazing again. "Thought that I'd actually encourage what those bastards did to Chekov? Thought that I'd cut you off, refuse to believe you even though not one but two of my department heads would have alerted me to this? WHAT?" he shouts, looming over her by this point.
She stands her ground somehow, though her lip is trembling. "Sir, p-please, we only wanted to-"
"Don't even try to lie to me, Lieutenant, you can't pull it off in the slightest," he hisses, a true wildfire raging in his eyes now. "You trusted a man you've known for all of three weeks over me, someone you've known for three years. So now you see how much you like it. Get out of here," he snarls, and she finds herself scrambling away involuntarily and all but slamming the door behind her as the unwelcome tears begin to flow.
After he frightens his Communications Officer away, and especially after he hears the choked-down sob just before she slams the door shut, Jim feels a twinge of guilt and sighs. It's not her fault that this situation reminds him entirely too much of his own childhood, after all.
Then he recalls her and Scotty's words and his resolve hardens again. He'll never admit it to anyone else, but it just about tore him up inside that she had such a low opinion of him that she didn't even consider telling him about her concerns an option. It hurt almost more than the fact that even Bones didn't back him up in front of Spock and Pike nearly three weeks ago.
Though really, those examples are just two of many demonstrating what he's suspected for years now.
He's on his own in the universe. Like he always has been, and always will be.
The door opens, revealing his prey, and he slips into his mask within seconds, smiling so brightly that it hurts. "Why, good afternoon, boys! Now, anyone fancy a guess as to what you're doing in here? First one to get it right won't be personally booted off the Enterprise!" he exclaims, winking roguishly at the end.
Alda, Bryn, and Jerome exchange glances which all translate to, We're sooooo screwed...
After the Incident, everyone agrees: whenever the Captain's electric-blue gaze blazes in fury, you'd best as heck stay on his good side, and if you're on his hit list, you'd better do everything in your frickin' power to get off it.
But if they think his fiery side is bad...
*Beethoven's 5th*
Heehee, so I think that's a nice lead-in to the next chapter. Kudos to anyone who can tell me the reference to an epic book series.
Also, what do you think of Kirk? Now you know what he's like when he's 1) emotionally stung, 2) reminded of his sordid past, and 3) extremely worried about someone he cares for. Yeah, not fun times. Which means you're totally excited for the next chapter, right? ;)