Part 14

Generation Gap

Jim and Spock Prime

Jim rubbed his temple as he left the conference. He hadn't been sure what to expect, but he surely didn't expect the bureaucracy to run amok. They had drilled him with a bunch of asinine questions! Why is his birth date different, his history and everything they knew about him on record was different from Jimmy's? He could not believe what he was hearing! And then to top it all off, they had told him that officially they could not consider him to be James T. Kirk.

He had stared at the monitor dumbfounded. Finally they had requested a full DNA and retina scan as well as other tests in order to compare his medical history with the one on file for his counterpart. Jim felt that it had been a total waste of time.

Jimmy looked at him sympathetically as they headed towards the turbo lift.

"Well that was special." he commented. Jim grunted and didn't reply.

"We might as well head to the medical bay and get it out of the way" Jimmy ventured pushing the button to the lift.

Jim didn't respond, his lips pressed together as it was taking all of his energy to contain his frustration. He was tired of all this. One more day....twenty four hours from now he should be on his way. He would concentrate on that.

They rode the lift in silence and walked to the medical bay the same way.

Bones was treating a crew member, therefore they waited in his office.

"Are you speaking to me ever again?" Jimmy asked smiling at his discontented counterpart.

"I'll say goodbye to you before I'm beamed down to Zardonia" Jim said dryly.

Jimmy slapped him on the back "Now, it's not that bad!"

Jim resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stretched instead.

The door of the office opened and a young crew member stuck his head in. "Sorry, I was looking for the doc" the young red shirt exclaimed. He paused spotting Jim.

"Gosh, I am glad to see you sir!" he said entering the room uninvited. "I was hoping to ask you a few questions." He was breathing hard with excitement, the words spilling out of his mouth so fast that Jim could hardly understand what he was saying. "The thought of me being in another universe just blows my mind. Two of me! Wow!"

Jim did not reply, but just stared at him. Jimmy resisted the urge to giggle.

The young man Jamison shut the door behind him. His eyes gleamed with a youthful excitement that caused Jim to half expect him to start jumping up and down. The young man grabbed his hand and began pumping it up and down.

He continued on not noticing Jim's silence. "I'm Josh Jamison from security. Uh, do you know me in your world? Do I look the same? I'm not dead am I?" he rambled on "because we tend to lose a few of us guys on each mission when we visit a planet and maybe you could give us a heads up. Am I still alive or what? Now if I'm dead, maybe you could tell me what I did wrong and I could avoid doing it here!"

Kirk stared at the boy who looked to be no older than eighteen who was smiling broadly. He turned to Jimmy. "Please go get Bones. Get him right now or I'm walking out of here!"

The elder Spock stood on the bridge of the Excelsior with mixed feelings. Yes, he had long since abandoned feeding into some human's perceptions whom he came in contact with that he had no feelings. Sometimes he wished he didn't have them as many humans once thought about Vulcans. That myth was shattered when their homeland was destroyed. Everyone they came in contact with could now detect their grief and pain over their loss of home and kin.

Spock thought about Jim. Jim, his friend, was alive. While it was true that he had the young Kirk, it was not the same. They did not have the same memories, the same experiences. He longed to be reunited with the James Kirk of his past.

"We are approaching Zardonia" the captain said looking at Spock.

"Indeed" he replied. "I will prepare to beam aboard the Enterprise. Please contact them and let them know of our arrival."

He walked off of the bridge and headed towards the transporter room.

Young Spock walked into the transporter room. "How are things coming along?" he asked Scotty.

"There coming, Mr. Spock" Scotty replied.

"The other Spock is beaming over from the Excelsior. I have informed them of our situation with our transporter. They have offered any assistance that you may need."

"Aye," Scotty replied. "I think though, we will be fine. Everything is set for tomorrow."

"Very good." Spock replied.

"Bridge to Mr. Spock" The voice was Uhura's.

"Spock here" he said pushing the button on the intercom.

"Ambassador Spock from the Excelsior is requesting permission to beam aboard."

"Permission granted" Spock replied.

He looked and saw his elder counterpart arriving on the pad. Spock pushed the button again.

"Inform the Excelsior that he has arrived safely, Spock out"

He turned and greeted his older self, raising his hand in the Vulcan sign.

"Greetings, Ambassador" he said walking over to him. The elder Spock nodded and departed the pad with his hands behind his back.

"Greetings to you, Spock. Where is the man James Kirk?"

"He is with the captain in their quarters at the moment." young Spock replied as the two of them left the transporter room.

They rode the lift in silence and young Spock studied his counterpart wondering what he was thinking. The thought of him meeting his old friend who most likely had already expired before he came to their universe was fascinating to him. This Spock had once told him that Jim was like a brother to him. He wondered how his counterpart would respond.

They arrived at the captain's quarters and Spock beckoned for the elder Spock to walk in before him. He watched as Jim Kirk looked up at both of them. Kirk's eyes grew wide as he looked back and forth between them. He stood up facing the elder Spock.

Young Spock studied his counterpart who stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the elder Kirk. It seemed for a moment that time stood still as he studied him.

"Jim" he whispered.

Young Spock tried not to respond to what he heard. Was that obvious emotion he detected in his counterpart's voice?

Then the elder Spock did something that totally shocked his young self. He walked over to Jim and pulled him in his arms embracing him tightly.

Jimmy and Bones escorted Jim back to their quarters after the tests were done.

"Well Jim" Bones said "I know this must have been a pain in the ass, but you know how Starfleet is, unless they are different in your universe."

Jim glanced at Bones who was grinning. "No, they are the same in both universes." he replied as the walked in the quarters.

"So what else is in store for me today?" Jim asked "I'd like to know about my torture in advance, please."

"Only pleasant things." Jimmy replied "Have a seat. I am about to make up for your bad experiences."

"I doubt that" Jim said sitting down. "And where was Spock? I though you said that he was going to be at that grilling from Starfleet?"

The buzzer sounded on the door and Jimmy responded "Come"

Jim looked up to see Spock and an older Vulcan walk in. Now what? he thought. There was something familiar about the older vulcan that caught his attention. His eyes widened as he recognized Spock. It was his Spock, but older. He looked at young Spock whose face was like stone and then back to the older version who had a slight smile...did he say smile? on his face.

He stood up facing the elder Spock.

"Jim!" he said his voice full of emotion that stunned Kirk for a moment.

Spock then walked over to him and pulled him in his arms embracing him. "It is you, old friend" he whispered.

Jim pulled back looking in his eyes. He now could understand somewhat how the crew felt when they first saw him. "Yes, Spock. It is me." was all he could say. Even though this Spock was aged and wrinkled, he would know his friend anywhere.

Bones cleared his throat. Jimmy walked over to the elder Spock. "Ambassador, it is good to see you again."

Spock released Jim and turned to the captain. "It is good to see you, captain" he said "It is also good to see my old friend, the Jim Kirk that shares my memories. I appreciate this opportunity you have given us, you and my young counterpart."

"Captain, the young Spock said clearly uncomfortable "If my assistance is no longer needed, I will return to the bridge." Young Spock could not understand what would cause the other Spock to put on such a display. He was still struggling to keep his own emotions in check and this Spock displayed his openly. He knew of no circumstance in which he would do such a thing and it was very disturbing to him. He would have to try to get his elder self alone and talk to him about it.

Jimmy studied him a moment. "Very well, Spock." he replied "I will accompany you. We will let these two talk. Come on, Bones." he said nodding towards the door.

Bones got up and patted Jim on the shoulder. "See you later." He then looked at the elder Spock and nodded. "Good day, sir"

Jim looked surprised. "I've never known Bones to be so cordial to you."

"This Bones does not know me, Jim" Spock replied. "It was logical for him to respond as he did."

They watched them until the door closed, leaving the two alone.

Jim sat down in a nearby chair watching Spock. Many questions ran through his mind to ask him. Some things he did not want to know, his mind still trying to grasp all that had happened since he had arrived here.

"Spock, I don't know what to say. Obviously I must have been dead when you came to this universe." he said staring at his hands.

"Everyone we were close to on the Enterprise, Jim if that's what you're asking." he replied. "You know that Vulcans live much longer lives than humans."

"Yes" Jim replied "but I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to know about my death. All I want to know is if I remained faithful to my ship and crew. Did I go out leaving things better than they were before I passed?"

Spock looked at him in the eye. "You did all that and more, Jim. Your dying was not in vain."

Jim sighed.

"I too have experienced death, but you and the good doctor were responsible for bringing me back to life." Spock confessed. "Do not dwell on what has yet to happen. Continue down the path you have always traveled."

"I can't help but wonder if there is something I could do to correct some of my mistakes...something you could tell me to help me, Spock." Jim said looking sad. He had many regrets. If only there was some way to correct those regrets.

Spock shook his head. "That would not be wise, captain." he said "Destiny can be altered with just one well meaning incident of change. I can offer you no advice other than for you to do what you know is right. We already know of one alternative universe. Do not create another with our meeting here today."

Jim looked at Spock a moment and hesitated. "Can I ask you one thing, Spock?"

Spock nodded noticing his vulnerability. "Yes, Jim"

"Will I ever have a family? Will I ever find someone? Every time I care about someone, something seems to happen to destroy my efforts to have a decent relationship."

"Jim, I will only say that yes, you will have a son. I will speak no more about it other than to say that the Enterprise was always your priority."

Jim didn't reply, thinking on what Spock had said.

"Well I guess there are the makings of another reality in my universe now." Jim said studying Spock.

"It seems that my young counterpart has been successful in instigating a relationship between you and Uhura in my universe. They have now bonded, but have not had an official ceremony yet."

Kirk watched Spock as the surprise on his face was obvious. "Young Kirk did this?" he asked.

"Yes, does that disturb you?" Kirk asked smiling.

"No, I always admired the lieutenant. She approached me early in our first commission on the Enterprise. I was attracted to her, but was reluctant to get involved with another crew member. It just did not seem to be the logical thing to do. Knowing my mindset back then, my curiosity has me wondering how he accomplished such a feat. What did he do to change my mind?" Spock pondered.

"Well that's his story and I'm going to let him tell it. You will have to ask him that yourself" Kirk said laughing.

"Indeed I will." Spock replied.