"Did something happen between you two?" Nyota asked abruptly.
We were reviewing some texts on Terran jazz music. I professed an interest in learning to play jazz music, so Nyota 'raided' the databases and brought a pile of datapads to my room. Most of the articles suggested mastery of classical forms of music, honing technical ability, listening to jazz music, and then simply practicing.
"To whom are you referring, Nyota?"
"You and the captain. Did something happen between you two?"
I had not told her of the actions of the captain's other half. Between me and the captain, we had not broached the subject at all. Dr. McCoy casually mentioned it once, to remind us that he had not forgotten, but neither of us responded to the comment.
"Nothing transpired. Why do you suspect it?"
Perhaps that came out a little too innocently. Nyota raised her eyebrows.
"He's been really... nice to you is all. You've said some things on the bridge that from anyone else, would have been considered callous, but he just says 'thank you for your input, Mr. Spock' and leaves it at that. Usually he argues right back."
I gave her a sideways glance.
"What happened," Nyota crossed her arms.
"The captain was not himself. You cannot hold him completely responsible for his actions. I do not."
"Spock, just tell me and I'll decide whether I'll hold him accountable."
I had my doubts. Our command crew has become a unit, working together fluidly. I did not want to damage this newfound harmony by causing Nyota to revert to her former hostility towards the captain.
"Promise me first that you will continue performing admirably."
She frowned at my choice of words.
"Nyota, promise me that you will not be deliberately antagonistic towards the captain."
"Spock, you're scaring me—"
"I do not want this to cause discord or inefficiency."
"Fine, I promise that I'll try. That's the best I can give you."
I nodded. "It is sufficient."
Instead of starting my narrative, I stared at my hands.
"Spock?" she prompted softly. Nyota took a seat beside me, almost touching me.
I felt small ripples of worry, a desire to comfort, an underlying reassurance.
"I believe you were deep in REM sleep at this time. The ordeal took place during gamma shift when, due to a malfunction, the transporter materialized the captain in two versions. One, which I will refer to as the captain, was intelligent, compassionate, civilized, moral, but also indecisive. The other, which I will refer to as Jim, was cunning, vicious, cruel, selfish, and governed at his core by instinct.
"There was considerable confusion, since Jim materialized first and the captain shortly afterwards. Jim was shrewd enough to realize that he should act in the manner expected of him. Much, but not all, of his intuition is derived from his instinct, and so he was able to imitate the captain's normal behavior. I did not notice anything particularly out of order. When the transporter room notified us of the malfunction, he even made the decision to send down a shuttle crew to retrieve those stranded on the planet."
"Wait—if the other Kirk's the one who's compassionate, how did Jim care enough to be concerned about his crew?"
"The decision was not made out of consideration for the crew's lives. It was a calculated maneuver—he knew that Lt. Sulu is the best pilot on the Enterprise and therefore useful to him. The others were of no consequence."
"How do you know this?"
"I have given the matter much thought. I was somewhat alarmed by the fact that Jim was able to perpetrate his charade for a prolonged period, and that I did not recognize that something was amiss. May I continue?"
She nodded.
"Dr. McCoy later told me that the captain immediately went to Sickbay, following standard protocol. They engaged in conversation. When the doctor questioned as to why he did not report to the bridge, the captain replied that 'Spock has it under control, or he'll comm me.' Dr. McCoy informed the captain that he needed to attend to some matters, so the captain left for his quarters.
"We may attribute Jim for the captain's restlessness. Shortly after the shuttle was deployed, he left the bridge and went to the Sickbay. There, he gained information that a counterpart existed as well as a flask of Saurian brandy. Jim went to Yeoman Rand's quarters. As far as we can reconstruct from the yeoman's accounts, he flirted with her, convinced her to imbibe a considerable amount of alcohol, then attempted to rape her in her inebriated state. Fortunately, she was cognizant enough to ask for help.
"The security videos show that when Ensign Fisher responded to Yeoman Rand's calls for help, Jim attacked him like a feral animal. I happened to on Deck E and used the nerve pinch to incapacitate Jim. From there, I took him and Yeoman Rand to Sickbay.
"Dr. McCoy was absent from the Sickbay when we arrived. After he finished his duties, he had gone to the captain's quarters, presumably to join him in relaxing and drinking some brandy. It was when we commed Dr. McCoy that we discovered that there were two versions of James T. Kirk."
"Spock," Nyota interrupted. "Most of this I already know. The captain briefed us on it, though not in quite this much detail. But I talked to Janice about it; I even helped her fill out her transfer forms and personally sent them to Starfleet. What did he do to you?"
I was silent before beginning.
"As a Vulcan, I have complete control over my body, the function of the internal organs, my thoughts. I do not have the same degree of control over my emotions, which is why it is better to suppress my emotion, rather than express it, as humans do.
"The captain does not control his emotions per se, but he has an amazing ability to direct them. This attribute was present in both the captain and Jim. However, they put that ability to widely different uses. The captain's manifested as empathy, mercy, and compassion. Jim used it to emotionally manipulate Yeoman Rand and camouflage his duplicitous nature.
"I experienced first-hand the extent of that duplicity. Jim was able—I do not know how—to project his emotions and make me feel what I had wanted to feel, what he wanted me to feel. He took advantage of my enhanced telepathic capabilities—again, I do not know how he did this—and one moment I was lured in by his promise of" we could be so close "companionship and the next, he opened the gates to his wild anger and frenzied desire to consume life, to have absolute power over another."
My hands were shaking. Nyota made a movement to embrace me, but I hastily retreated from the contact.
"I do not blame him, and neither must you," I urged her. "I do not believe that James Kirk is aware of the extent of Jim's actions. I theorize that when the captain was split in two, more of his subconscious was able to surface and express itself. Now that he has been reintegrated, that knowledge has been submerged once more.
"However, as you noticed, he is making amends, even without knowing consciously why he is doing so and for what reason. I am satisfied with that. Besides," I said, before Nyota could protest. "I now have the rare opportunity to 'take him down a peg.'"
My attempt at humor was not well received.