This is a disclaimer.
interlude, or, five phrases of the other Kirk's that come back to haunt Jim.
(security alert)
"One of these days someone is going to have to explain to me the exact fault in the design of my girl that allows so many intruders to gain entrance to a brand new Constitution Class Federation Starship which happens to be the flagship of the entire fucking fleet," Jim explodes after Uhura gives the alarm. "This is my goddamn starship, not a Swiss cheese!"
*********
(prime directive)
Jim understands all about the prime directive. He's spent his whole life being poked and prodded by people who think they know what's best for him. What he needs to do with his life. How he should act, and talk, and live. He understands it, and he respects it, and he believes in it. Who was it that said revolutions couldn't be exported?
But there's non-interference, and there's sitting passively by and watching a whole world die a slow and terrible death in the name of peace and tranquility, and suddenly the prime directive doesn't seem so logical anymore.
"They're me," he says to Spock by way of explanation, and maybe his First gets it and maybe he doesn't. "They're me, back in that bar. And I'm – I'm daring them to do better."
*********
(landing party)
Someone needs to draw up a chart of all the times they've been ambushed and kidnapped on an away mission and cross-reference it with the names of the people on the landing party to see if there's anyone on the ship who has some exceptionally bad karma to work off in this life. And that someone is Jim.
It's his captainly duty, or something, and besides, there's nothing else to do right now. The bridge is so quiet he can hear Spock's eyebrows move, and Jim curls his body away from his First Officer a little and applies himself to the serious task of finding out whose fault it is, in karmic terms, that they keep getting kidnapped.
A few minutes later, he drops the datapad in disgust.
Figures.
*********
(Kirk to Enterprise)
"This is his fault, you know," Jim says. "I worked it out. Bad karma. He did something. And now it's reflecting on me. Karmically speaking."
McCoy has no idea who Jim is talking about, but considering how hot his skin is and the way his body keeps twisting and how much blood is coating his hands at the moment, McCoy is just glad that Jim is still talking. About anything.
"I'm not sure 'karmically' is an actual word, Jim," he says.
Jim glares at him with fever bright eyes. "Is so. I just invented it."
He passes out when McCoy finally gets the bullet – the bullet, of all things, how pathetic and retro – out of his side, and when Scotty finally manages to make contact with them after another hour of hiding and waiting out the storm above their heads, the only thing McCoy can say is "Beam Kirk to the Enterprise. Now."
*********
(steady as she goes)
Sulu has no idea why Jim says it, and quite frankly it drives him nuts. How else is he supposed to fly her but steady, for crying out loud? She's the Enterprise. What, does Jim seriously think he's going to start doing loop-the-loops, like that time they were on shore leave and took up that ancient little plane of Admiral Pike's and there was that…
… yeah, OK. So maybe Jim has a point.