Kirk woke to the smell of coffee and found that McCoy was not only already awake, he had managed to shower and get dressed without waking Kirk. Stretching cat-like, Kirk smiled as McCoy offered him one of the cups of coffee. The temperature was perfect, hot but not too hot, which meant it didn't last very long.
Passing back the empty cup, Kirk headed for the shower himself.
"I need to meet with Scotty. Take care of whatever you need to in Sickbay while I'm doing that, then meet me in our private area for lunch. You can pick out what we eat."
One of McCoy's brows canted slightly. Kirk didn't allow McCoy to choose the menu often because of what he termed as the doctor's unnatural obsession with vegetables. Something was up. The question was what.
Shrugging to himself, McCoy ordered up a breakfast so that it would be waiting for Kirk when he emerged from the shower, then headed for Sickbay.
Finding the room empty when he emerged from his shower was something Kirk expected. What he didn't expect was to be met by the mingled aromas of coffee, pancakes and bacon. The apple compote on top of the pancakes pushed the breakfast over the top enough that Kirk was immediately suspicious that someone other than McCoy had left it, so he scanned everything twice before he was satisfied that it was safe to eat. Once satisfied though, he ate with gusto before pushing away from the table and getting ready to meet with Scott.
As usual, Scott wasn't hard to find. He was rarely found far from the heart of his Lady. He saw Kirk and came away from the main panel, wiping his hands off.
"All sensors have been recalibrated and we're going through the rechecks now, Captain. She's better than the day she first left the docks."
Kirk looked around, feeling much of the same pride in their vessel as he nodded.
"We're leaving out tomorrow then."
"We'll be ready, Sir. Anything else?"
Kirk's eyes narrowed in thought before he spoke.
"We're going to have a passenger - Kalara. I'll get you an image of her. You see here anywhere near Engineering without me by her side? Kill her."
Scott hesitated to see if Kirk was serious. When it was obvious that the Captain was very serious, Scott straightened and gave a sharp nod.
"Once I have her image, I'll show it to all my lads. She'll not get far if she comes here."
"Excellent. Carry on, Mister Scott."
"Aye, Sir."
Despite his words, Kirk didn't leave immediately. Instead, he took a slow tour of Engineering. The thrum of the power coursing through the ship managed to simultaneously soothe and excite him like nothing else could. The engineers took their cues from Scott and only paid enough attention to the Captain to get out of his way.
In the end, he remains roaming the area until it was time to meet McCoy for lunch. There was a collective deep breath taken by the Engineering staff once the doors closed behind their Captain.
Kirk paid very little attention to the crew who were scrambling to make sure they were out of his way as he headed to meet McCoy. When the door to their private area opened, he stopped and took a deep, appreciative breath. Moving to the table, he saw that his nose hadn't lied - a bacon cheeseburger with the works. There was even a pile of perfectly crispy French fries to accompany it. As with the breakfast, his mouth watered, but he was immediately suspicious. To McCoy's great amusement.
"It's real. Scan it and then sit down and eat it while it's still hot."
The first bite got an almost obscene moan from Kirk as he savored the flavor. He had no idea how McCoy had managed it, but everything on his plate was the genuine article - not a single item was synthesized. McCoy saw the question in Kirk's eyes and simply held up a hand.
"Eat now. It would be a shame to waste this and there was be plenty of time for questions after we eat."
Finding no fault with that reasoning, Kirk gave in and thoroughly enjoyed not one, but two bacon cheeseburgers. Smirking, McCoy ate his own burgers - his having considerably more of what Kirk called salad on them. Once the burgers and every last fry had been devoured, Kirk sat back, giving a very satisfied sigh. His questioning of McCoy was only one word.
"How?"
Laughing, McCoy reached for a bottle and poured them both an after-dinner drink.
"One thing you might not realize, but to be an effective CMO in the Empire, you need more than doctoring skills. You need a network of black market operatives that you can get the supplies you need from that the supply branch of Imperial Medical won't send."
Kirk paused with his drink halfway to his mouth.
"Won't send? Why the hell not?"
"Not enough money to be made from it. Only ships with the Emperor onboard have any hopes of being fully stocked. The supplies I get at starbases? That's stuff that I trade to get what I really need. That or I barter services."
McCoy gave a shrug.
"I didn't create the system nor am I in any position to alter it, so I've learned to play the game to make sure the Enterprise is provisioned to the best of my abilities. I was lucky that part of Puri becoming my mentor back at the Academy included him introducing me to a few key players."
Eyes narrowed in contemplation, Kirk stared at the liquid in his glass.
"So . . . the Empire buys the supplies. Those in charge of the supplies sell them to the black market and the black market sells us the supplies that should have been ours in the first place at an exorbitant fee?"
"It can get a bit more complex than that, but you have the basics down, Jim."
The scowl on Kirk's face deepened.
"We'll be changing that."
Lifting his own glass in salute, McCoy smiled.
"I look forward to that. For now? Don't let this ruin the mood that a good meal provided. That would make me feel like all the effort I went through to get it was for nothing."
Taking a deep breath, Kirk forced himself to compartmentalize the problem. It was a problem for another day and McCoy was right. It would be a shame to allow it to ruin what had been the best meal he'd had since they'd left Earth.
"Point taken, Bones. Besides, I want to discuss Commander Paris with you."
No one who only knew McCoy casually could imagine how attentive a listener he could be. He sipped his drink and said not a single word while Kirk told him, in great detail. all about the meeting.
"well? What do you think?"
The silence extended as McCoy gave the matter more thought before speaking.
"I think that, somehow or other, she or a spy in her employ managed to overhear some of the talk between you and Pike. I also think that she's letting you know that she's not opposed to your plans if you're serious about them. Furthermore, I think she's indicating that she might be willing to back us when the time comes."
Holding his glass out to be refilled, Kirk gave a slow nod of agreement.
"Why else bother mentioning that she was unhappy with the way the Emperor is dealing with her problems. She'd make a good ally."
"She'd also make a nasty enemy. Giving the option, I'd rather have her on our side."
This time, it was Kirk who saluted with his glass.
"Same here, Bones. To one more worthwhile ally in our camp."
"I'll drink to that."
Captain's log - Stardate 2262.38
I checked in with Scotty. We'll be departing Yorktown tomorrow.
I took Bones to our private space and told him about my vague conversation with Commander Paris and asked him what he thought it meant. He said it sounded to him like some of my talks with Pike were overheard despite our precautions. Also, if we're serious, she's unhappy enough that she might be willing to jump ship and join us.
Commander Paris is a lot like Uhura - she got where she is by ability. She'd be a worthwhile ally.
