Chapter 25- One of Us, One of Them
Once word spread that Peter was something like his old self, the mood lightened considerably onboard. It was replaced, however, with a sense of grim determination when Jim let slip that he was currently in need of guardianship because he wasn't completely able to look after himself and Sylar had an axe the size of the Alpha Quadrant to grind with him. But he had a solution: after speaking with Noah he learned of an apparently effective mode of business that he employed in his super secret company that was accustomed to dealing with situations just as this. 'One of us, one of them' he called it and Jim was walking the ship taking volunteers.
The first person he ran into just so happened to be a recently replaced Uhura and he almost couldn't believe the irony. "Uhura," he called with a sly smile, "I have a special assignment that may just be to your liking."
Uhura turned and her long hair swished across her body like a whip. "If you are still curious about my lingual talents, you can forget it." She coldly smiled. "I'm not interested."
Jim looked wounded. That night in the bar felt like several lifetimes ago and he couldn't believe that she would still hold his drunken slurred comment against him. Besides, he had enough respect for Spock, and quite possibly a bit of fear, to not hit on his woman. Had it been Bones, however…. "No, no." he protested with a disgusted look on his face. He had the moral upper ohand here and he was going to make the most of it. "Look, that is over. And if you are still secretly carrying a torch for me, I have to tell you it won't happen. You know…protocol and…stuff." He waved his hand dismissively. "But, this little project just might add fuel to another fire you have going. I smelled smoke on the bridge earlier today." He gave a wicked grin as his eyes sparkled mischievously.
Uhura looked around quickly and strode up to him to give him a hard glare. "What are you talking about?!" She growled.
Jim almost salivated at his ability to get such a reaction from her. It was a rare treat and he planned on savoring every moment. "C'mon! Everybody on the bridge saw it." He laughed. "Even Spock. Tough competition for him, I have to say. Mind melding is cool and all, but Peter is like a Swiss Army knife of awesome tricks. Who could resist a shiny, new toy? Well, how would you like a chance to get up close and personal with your crush?"
"You are sick." She hissed.
"But right." Jim smiled knowingly. "Noah thinks it would be a good idea if we could help watch him along with another evolved human to protect him from Sylar." Uhura looked at him questioningly and he added, "Long story. Anyway, all you have to do is hang out in his room with some of the toxin Bones replicated in the event you need to stab Sylar with it."
She straightened and folded her arms. "And who would I be working with?"
Jim's smile faltered a bit. "I believe Nathan has volunteered to go first." He admitted. It was no secret Uhura didn't entirely trust the elder Petrelli, but Jim thought perhaps if she watched him and had a chance to talk to him, she might give him the benefit of the doubt that he deserved.
"Aye, Captain." She said with a sense of resigned fate. "I will report to his quarters as soon as possible."
Peter leaned against the wall of the shower in his quarters and let the hot water run down the back of his neck and over his shoulders. He had never been so miserable in his life- or at least recently. He knew deep down that tricking Sylar was wrong: it was dishonest and by doing so he was setting off a time bomb. There was no question that what he did was unavoidable, it was absolutely necessary to prevent him from getting time travel at all cost. With that last piece of the puzzle, Sylar would truly be unstoppable- free to peruse the pages of history as though it were an IKEA catalog from which he could order whatever ability he desired. Lives would be ruined, history permanently altered and he wouldn't give a damn about who he hurt or the consequences of his actions. Peter felt as though he were damned either way.
He hated lying to people. Maybe Nathan and Noah were comfortable with willful misinformation, but he preferred to be honest with people. It was the only way he could live with himself and be comfortable in his own skin. He felt that others had the basic right to have all the facts, but what made him feel particularly bad was that Sylar had a track record a mile long of people who had lied to him. While he may not have chosen the same path, Peter felt he owed him better; he didn't want to be just another statistic. He had worked incredibly hard to gain a small measure of credibility with him and he had just thrown that all away.
But what really stung was the knowledge that for once in his life, Sylar had actually faithfully fulfilled his end of the deal without resorting to any kind of trickery. It was almost as if Peter could feel his trepidation in being so careful not to cause any more damage while he was working when he had the perfect opportunity to forever alter him. If only just for a moment, he saw the man that he knew Sylar could be; the watchmaker had resurfaced briefly and it was Peter who had reneged. It was a shabby way to treat the man who for all intents and purposes had healed him and given him back his life. Even as the water slid over his body he was left feeling filthier than ever and no amount of scrubbing could cleanse his soul.
Outside, Uhura sat tensely in the extra chair that had been provided staring across the bed icily at Nathan who was fidgeting with the hypo he had been provided with. This had been going on ever since her arrival and shortly after Peter had disappeared for his marathon shower. Nathan had never known Peter to take so long and he debated barging in and dragging him out dripping wet just to take a break from the ice queen. He had no idea what her boggle was, but he was married long enough to know 'the look' when he saw it- the one that meant you were sleeping on the couch or perhaps you may even come home to find all of your worldly possessions in a flaming heap on the front lawn. He cringed when he got that look from his wife, but to get it from a woman he didn't even know was just plain disturbing.
"So…" She said slowly, "you are Peter's brother."
Nathan smiled quickly to mask his discomfort. If he was good at anything, he could small talk with the best of them and he summoned up his politician skills to smooth things over. "Yeah, that's right." He confirmed. "So, you work on the ship?"
"I do." She nodded curtly. "Not used to women being in command?"
He laughed easily and shook his head. "Whoa, whoa. Who said anything about that? If you must know, I have worked for many fine women commanders in the Navy and many of my colleagues in the Senate are women. They fight just as hard for their districts as the men do."
"You were in the Navy?" She asked hesitantly sitting up straighter. She never imagined him serving his country in the very organization that Starfleet was modeled on. His general smarminess seemed incompatible with the rigorous moral standards of a soldier.
"I did." He smiled grandly. It was one of the few things he had done in his life that he could actually be proud of. "I was a pilot and flew missions during the Bosnian war."
"You were a pilot of an airplane? Sulu would love to know that. He would talk your ear off about it." She chuckled. "So then you took a job making laws in the government?"
"I tried." He demurred. "But it is a lot harder than it sounds, it is really more like herding cats. That was what I wanted to do, but it seems I spent more of my time brokering closed door deals than on the floor casting votes. That was how the system worked. You want a bill passed and need my vote? You will have to sign on to my proposal or sponsor my amendment. The longer I spent there the more I realized that it was all just a big game. No one gave a damn about the good of the people, it was all about 'what have you done for me lately?'"
The more he talked, the more Uhura became genuinely interested in his life. She had no idea that he cared about anyone but himself, but it seemed like he really did want to do good by others. "So then, did you have something to do with the extinction?" She asked quietly.
"Excuse me?" He asked cocking his head with a polite smile. "Extinction of what?"
"Who is more like it." She replied tersely. She had almost fallen for his charm, but now he was going to play dumb? "Your own kind. Did you have something to do with their disappearance? Because I can tell you that before Hiro and the others came a few days ago, there were no evolved humans. You were all a legend, some superstitious myth. Did you do it? Were you the one responsible?" She persisted.
He was momentarily stunned by her directness, but he thought about it and honestly said, "I don't know. Probably." He held her gaze without flinching because for once in his life he chose to give a straight answer and he was sticking to it.
She let out a sharp sigh and shook her head in disbelief. "Probably? What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that I left that future and I don't know what I would have done if I stayed." He answered calmly. "Officially my name was on the orders, but I didn't give them. I deliberately kept out of the loop so I could protect Peter and Claire for as long as I could. I couldn't stop them." His eyes were almost pleading for her to believe him. "There was nothing I could do to prevent the program from going forward. You don't understand what I had to do to save my own family. I was ready to die back there to save Pete from being captured because I knew that they would kill him and it was only a matter of time before they found out that I was one of them too. Was I responsible? Maybe, but it was nothing I ever wanted."
"And so the future has changed because you left?" She asked hopefully. "Just like it did when…" She immediately stopped in her tracks when she realized her slip, but Nathan was all over it like a shark that smelled blood in the water.
He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in his chair. "Just like what?"
The door to Jim's quarters beeped and he gave a lazy yell for the person to enter. He was a bit surprised to see Spock, but by his extremely rigid stance he knew he wasn't dropping by for a game of poker or a shot of Romulan Ale. Either this was all business or he was really agitated about something and was trying his best to overcompensate with protocol. He was no psychoanalyst, but he didn't need to be Freud to see through the Vulcan's defense mechanisms. "What's on your mind, Spock?" He asked casually.
"I have been informed that a new post has been approved to protect Peter from Sylar until such a time when he is able to fully use is powers for defense." He spouted standing so straight it made Jim's spine hurt just to look at him. "I have not been asked to fill this duty, so I am requesting I be assigned to my rotation unless there is cause for my removal from the service."
Jim paused for a moment so his lagging brain could decipher the code of irritated Vulcan speak before coyly asking, "If I assign you, will you nerve pinch him?"
Spock appeared genuinely startled and quietly inquired, "Why would I use such aggression when it is unwarranted?"
"Is it?" Jim smiled. "Spock, it's ok to admit that Uhura pissed you off a little today. Just say it; you are a little jealous of Peter because he momentarily caught her eye. It's normal and dare I say necessary. Otherwise she may think that you don't care."
"It would be illogical for me to hold Peter responsible for her actions or wishes." He retorted. "As far as I know, he has done nothing to encourage or reciprocate her feelings. If she indeed has romantic inclinations for him and no longer wishes to court, I will of course respect her decision."
"And that's it?!" Jim cried with a wide smile. "No, no, no. This is one of those times when you have to let the human side of yourself drive for awhile. If she is worth keeping, she is worth fighting for."
Spock gave his captain a perplexed look. "Do you suggest I engage in a physical altercation with Peter? No matter the strength of my convictions, Captain, logic would dictate that he be the clear victor due to his numerous abilities that I would be wildly unsuccessful in counteracting."
"Not literally." Jim sighed. "Show her that you do give a damn if she looks at other men. Surprise her. Giver her flowers or candy or write a poem, anything you can to show her that you are still very much in the game."
"I appreciate your advice on this matter." He nodded solemnly. "Although I was not aware that this was a game in which I am compelled to participate in."
"Well, you do." Jim said emphatically. "Ask Bones how the game ends when you stop playing. It is never over, Spock. Never. You don't win until you die, those are the rules."
"Fascinating."
Nathan sat heavy in his chair like he had been struck by lightning. Uhura had just told him of the future she had read about and he tried hard to wipe the image of Peter's bruised body floating face down in the river out of his mind. He never would have done such a thing…never. He would have given his own life rather than harm his brother, but what could have happened to him? For him to show signs of torture would mean that his healing ability wasn't working just as it hadn't in sickbay and he knew that a gunshot wound to the head would have killed him even if it was working. It could have only meant that the government knew his secret and killed Peter in an effort to keep him quiet and then blamed it on him to get rid of him. And had he not left, it probably would have worked.
Peter casually strolled out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. "You know, Nathan, this isn't really necessary. I…oh! Hello." He said sheepishly as he noticed Uhura for the first time. "Sorry, I…um." He stammered looking around for his clothes.
"No, I'm sorry. I should have…I will wait outside until you are decent." She nodded with determination as she hurried to the door.
"Way to go, Pete. You scared her off. Quite an accomplishment, believe me I know." Nathan smirked at his embarrassed brother.
"Shut up." He responded giving him a sour look. "Why didn't you tell me she was here?"
"I was busy getting my ass chewed." He sighed. "I guess Noah thought the one of us, one of them thing was such a great idea we should all do it again. She is going to be the 'one of them' for the time being."
"This is insane." Peter groused. "Really, I'm not made of glass and I don't really know her."
"I don't think you want to." He groaned. "But no need in arguing with her. You won't win."
"Whatever. Just do me a favor and don't stare at me while I am sleeping. That is seriously creepy." He sighed falling into bed.
Nathan gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I won't stare if you don't snore."