Chapter 3: Thunderstruck

His gesture had to be precise. He had to concentrate on aiming and throwing while controlling his strength. Two bounces. Jim threw the ball. It bounced once on the ground, then a second time on the cover of a control panel and fell right next to Scotty's toolbox.

"Damn! "

Keenser retrieved the ball and Jim got up to switch places. Next to them, Scotty was checking the wiring in the conduits that led to the Jefferies tubes.

"The Mercedes-Benz, that was a classy car! "

Jim turned his head to Scotty with a frown as Keenser threw the ball back.

"What?! The Chevrolet Corvette was a marvel, much better than the Benz! " Jim watched the ball land in the box. "But that's not true! How do you Keenser, to win all the time?! "

Scotty commented as he got his head under another cover.

"Yeah he's a pain in the ass, he always wins at these games! But seriously, Captain, you can't say that about the Benz! That's like saying our Beauty is worse than a piece of garbage!

Jim threw the ball into Scotty's head. It was too light to do him any harm.

"How can you say such a horrible thing! "

Keenser retrieved the ball and threw it back to Jim, who repositioned himself to throw it.

"You know what was a real horror? The Beetle ! "

Jim aimed and threw. It missed again. Scotty stuck his head out and turned to the blond man.

"Oh no, Captain, I really can't let you say that! "

Keenser and the Captain switched places.

"And I really can't let you say that our Beauty is " Jim mimed the quotation marks with his hands "worse than a trash can"!

Scotty grimaced and stroked the wall of the ship.

"I'm sorry, Beauty, I was mean. "

Jim shook his head as he looked at Scotty. When he turned his head back to the toolbox, he grumbled as he saw Keenser succeed in his throw again. Scotty continued.

"Ferrari was making some nice beasts too. "

Jim took aim, thinking briefly.

"The 328 was pretty good. "

He shot. First bounce, second bounce. He let out a cry of joy as the ball landed in the toolbox.

"The 328 was pretty cool. But the Testarossa... that one's really pretty too! "

Jim nodded as he shifted his position again.

"How many are you up to?" asked Scotty.

The blond man made a face. He had scored four times. Keenser hadn't missed a single time, no matter where the box was placed. Jim had been at it for over an hour...Keenser must have been over a hundred points ahead...A shameful score for the Captain.

"Keenser had a compass in his eye," he grumbled as Keenser scored again.

He heard Scotty chuckle and crossed his arms, grumbling. He continued:

"Still, I have a soft spot for Chevrolets. I've always dreamed of buying one and fixing it up, but they're so rare... "

"A '69?" asked Scotty.

Jim smiled dreamily.

"A '67. I love those cars. "

Scotty raised his head in the air as he closed the last panel. Jim retrieved the bullet and positioned himself to shoot.

"Well, I know a couple of Tellarite brothers, well, they're peculiar guys and not very nice, but they've got a whole collection of old cars-"

"Captain. "

Jim froze in his tracks as he heard the firm voice of his second in command. Scotty gave him a pained grimace and he turned, caught in the act. He knew why Spock was there.

"Oh, Commander... I didn't think you'd be around. "

There was never anyone in the corridors leading to the warp drive and the Jefferies tubes. Jim had accompanied Scotty with Keenser because he had to check the wiring. And also because he was cleverly avoiding Bones, who was keen to give him another medical checkup. Again.

"Dr. McCoy is looking for you. He asked me to find you to give you a complete checkup and to check the healing of your last injury. "

Jim knew that feigning ignorance would not convince anyone. He sighed and turned to the toolbox, trying his last shot. The ball landed right behind the box. Jim grunted.

"Keenser, you're unstoppable. "

The little alien blinked before waving at him with his small hand. Jim returned his greeting as he joined Spock.

"See you later! "

Scotty greeted him and they walked down the various catwalks before reaching the turbolift.

"How did you find me?" he asked, curious.

"Dr. McCoy looked for you in your usual places. The upper deck, your quarters, the officers' mess, the lobby on deck 10, the officers' break room, the botanical walkways, the mess on deck 17, the break room on deck 17, and the large library. Not finding you, he instructed me to do so, since you were not responding to your communicator. On that note, you must always be reachable. "

Jim's eyes were wide with astonishment and he ignored the last remark.

"You two are tracking me? This is definitely where I spend most of my time! "

They exited the turbolift and crossed the corridor to the second turbolift.

"There's no point in tracking you down when we know you well enough. "

Jim felt himself blush suddenly. He turned his head away as he let Spock pass him so he wouldn't see his embarrassment. He was glad, that someone knew him well enough to know that. He didn't think anyone had noticed that he liked to go to the botanical walkways to relax, or to wander the lobby of deck 10, which was quite small, to admire the view of space through the ship's huge glass window. It was her favorite place.

"But... how did you know I was here? Nobody comes here. Well, except for Scotty for a little checkup. "

He caught up with Spock to observe his face. He looked slightly worried. They entered the other turbolift.

"I made a logical elimination of the most likely possibilities. "

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"There are 23 decks on this ship and I wasn't on them. At what point in your probabilities did you come to-"

He was jostled by an ensign as the turbolift doors opened.

"Oh, sorry Captain! "

Jim barely had time to react when he was already outside the turbolift and the doors were closing. When he turned around, Spock was already on his way to sickbay. Two minutes later, Bones came up to him:

"God, Jim! I've called you at least ten times on your personal communicator! What the hell were you doing?! You have to be reachable at all times! "

Jim rolled his eyes as he sat down on the table.

"Spock has already told me that. And just so you know, I left him in my quarters! Ouch! "

He glared at Bones, who had just injected him with a hypospray of some kind. Bones was always attacking him with damn hyposprays. The doctor grinned sadistically as he ran his tricorder over him.

"Well, your curves are coming back, but you're not in great shape yet. Take off your clothes so I can look at your scar. "

Jim rolled his eyes as he did so. He took off his yellow polo shirt and black T-shirt. Spock was still there. He narrowed his eyes as Bones looked at his ribs, his attention still on the Vulcan.

"There's no way you could have found me by mere probability. There was something else. Was it Scotty you were looking for? "

Spock turned his head toward him, but did not answer immediately. He thought before he answered. A Vulcan would never lie, but he would skirt around the truth. Jim loved that concept.

"I wasn't looking for Mr. Scott. "

Jim smiled broadly. Now he had something to titillate Spock, who didn't seem to want to tell him everything. Bones interjected:

"You were right, Jim, it's fine! You've got a little mark, but it'll go away. "

The blond man nodded vaguely while still smiling. Spock didn't have to say everything, because there had to be an element of fairness in his thinking. Impartiality meant human emotion. Jim loved to bring out that aspect that Spock was hiding.

"There was instinct in your thinking, wasn't there? "

He scrutinized Spock, certain of his deductions. The Vulcan merely tilted his head to the side.

"Fascinating. "

Jim widened his smile as he was sure that meant he was right.

"You can go," Bones said in an annoyed tone.

Jim snapped out of his contemplation as Bones threw his clothes in his face.

"Hey! "

"Get up, Romeo, I have work to do. "

Jim grabbed his shirt and began to put it on.

"I'm going back to the upper deck as well. "

Spock nodded at them and left. Jim put on his yellow polo shirt, grumbling about always having two to wear: damn space cold. Then he rearranged his hair and went downstairs.

"Thanks Bones. "Romeo?" "

The doctor shook his head as he put away some equipment.

"No, nothing. Anyway, I'm glad to see you're feeling better already. "

Jim gave him a sincere smile.

"Thanks, Len. "

Bones glared at him, but smiled anyway.

"You're a real shitty guy, you know that? "

Jim walked towards the exit and winked at him.

"That's probably why we get along so well, we're the same! "

He walked through the door just in time to avoid being hit by Bones' projectile.

Jim had scattered and left some of his work on the table in his quarters. He had dozens of drafts of his computer code. Once he was sure it worked, he would start running simulations. So he had brought the last of the drafts with him to the break room and was siphoning coffee. Bones often remarked that he must have more coffee than blood in his veins, at the rate he could drink several liters a day.

He sighed as he reread his notes. He didn't have much choice anyway. Whatever Bones had given him to sleep better was working: he felt less physical fatigue, but it didn't completely chase away his nightmares. It was still bearable, some nights. When he didn't see Spock, Bones, or the others die before his eyes. When his memories didn't come flooding back.

He would soon find out who his stalker was. Jim looked forward to the confrontation. Soon he would know who on the bridge blamed him for what happened. He wanted to settle this matter as soon as possible before he could resume his full command. And he also wanted to get his command back as soon as possible. This situation was making him anxious and becoming difficult to bear.

He stepped aside to look at the code he had scribbled down. He thought he was done. He had to check everything before he could enter it into the console and run the first simulations. Jim collected all his things and went to the library, where the consoles were isolated at the back of the room and available. He would be able to work in peace. He began entering the data. It was going to take him quite a while, but it was worth it. He motivated himself by telling himself that.

Jim had always had a talent for creating programs. His best work was the virus he had created to cheat on the Kobayashi Maru test. Well, no, it clearly wasn't his best work, but at least he had been recognized for it. He had started young, when he was interested in computers, after studying old mechanics. He still remembered the first lines of code he'd written in the sand of Iowa, before he left for Tarsus IV. It was pretty ridiculous, but at the time he had had limited access to computer consoles. Since then, he had kept some of his habs.

He loved writing programs, but transcribing them to a console had always been the most boring part of the world. The more complex it was, the longer it took. Sometimes it took him days to type it all out. Fortunately for him, his sequence was much shorter, but the task was still boring as hell.

At least tapping on the console to retype his code without error kept him focused to avoid typing errors. It made him forget why he was doing it and cleared his head a bit. Jim wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him, nor did he notice the time passing. He didn't even hear his communicator ring and was slow to react when it was called.

"Captain! How would you like to join us for dinner? "

Jim turned to Kera, a Bajoran who was on the same surveillance team as Caleb. He smiled at her.

"Thanks, that's okay. I'm going to work a little more. "

His stomach chose this moment to protest strongly. The silence was heavy as Kera crossed her arms, a victorious smile on her face.

"Do I really have to insist, Captain? "

Jim made a face and then stood up, resembling his belongings before.

"You win, I'm with you! "

Kera threw back her long brown braid and Jim followed the ensign. He hadn't eaten all day and he was getting really hungry, now that the thought had crossed his mind. He knew he had to be more careful with his meal intake.

"We don't see you in the mess hall on deck 10 very often. Do you usually go up to the officers' mess for lunch? "

The Bajoran had thrown him right back into the subject. Jim rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed.

"Let's just say that lately, I've been cutting back on meals a bit. With work... "

They walked out of the library to run into Caleb and Hedik, an alpha trill the other two were working with. Of all the trills Jim had met, this one was the most self-effacing and aloof he knew, and he had never seen any manifestation of his symbiote, nor heard its name as tradition dictated. Kera's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"You should be more careful, you know. "

Kera had taken the liberty of saying that in a reproachful tone. Jim didn't hold it against her. Hedik and Caleb walked past.

"More careful for what?" asked Caleb.

"To the food. Our Captain doesn't pay enough attention. "

Jim turned red with embarrassment. He knew he should be more careful and that it was his fault. But some things were hard to live with, and the few years he had lived as a pre-teen on Tarsus IV had scarred him forever. He changed the subject.

"And it's a pleasure to follow you! How was your day? "

Caleb shrugged.

"Nothing special, just routine. Felgor cut his hand on the gears when he was overhauling the water recyclers, but otherwise there's nothing special to report. "

Jim nodded as he mentally looked up who Felgor was. In order to be a better captain, he had made it a point to know his crew as well as possible. Felgor was a junior Andorian in the engineering branch.

"He should be fine, he has good regeneration abilities. The doctors will treat him well. "

Kera nodded her head in agreement. They entered the mess hall where people were already starting to gather for dinner.

Jim took the time to think about what he was going to eat as the others passed him by. He needed to eat as balanced a meal as possible so he wouldn't have any nutritional deficiencies that Bones would be happy to point out to him.

He took a high-fiber dish made up mostly of vegetables that grew in the ship's greenhouse, their fresh food from the beginning being months out of date. Jim sometimes found it hard to imagine that it had been months since they had left the starbase in orbit above Earth.

They sat down at one of the available tables, right next to the one where Carol was sitting, talking with Leyria, an Orion girl and, if Jim wasn't mistaken, the two izarites with them were Emily and Charlotte. But he wasn't sure which one it was, they looked very similar.

"Oh, Lieutenant Marcus! I'm glad to see you in the slums of the Enterprise!" said Caleb, who was sitting next to Jim at the edge of the table.

Carol, also seated at the end of the table, gave him an embarrassed smile.

"The messes are available to all, it seems to me. Besides, this one is nothing like the slums... "

Jim and Carol's eyes met. Jim preferred to bury his head in his dish, amused by Carol's embarrassment. He knew that Caleb was always making advances to her. She didn't reject him, but she didn't seem ready to follow through either. Sometimes when Jim talked to her, he thought that in another life, maybe he and Carol could have had a relationship. They had been interested in each other, that was clear, and they had told each other so. But neither of them had wanted to commit. Jim wasn't ready, and he was her Captain.

"-yeah, but the Captain has every right, right? Besides, if that were true, it wouldn't be called the "Officers' Mess"! Right, Captain? "

Jim missed his mouth when Caleb elbowed him in the arm. He wiped his face, confused, as he missed a whole bit of the conversation.

"Sorry, what was the question? "

Kera smiled back at him as she poured Hedik some water.

"If the messes are open to everyone, why is there specifically an "Officers' Mess"? "

Jim noticed that everyone was looking at him, including the ladies next door. Carol seemed as embarrassed by the question as he was. He smiled to regain some composure.

"The officers' mess is below the upper command decks and it's smaller. So it's usually the officers of the watch who eat there because it's closer. But we also see ensigns and cadets there. I often have lunch with Chekov and he's an ensign. "

Carol nodded her head in approval.

"And what does he do?" asked Charlotte, genuinely curious.

Jim thought to himself that he had just shot himself in the foot.

"He's our main navigator. But that's not the point! "

He felt himself losing credibility. Caleb frowned and then looked at both of them.

"And you, why are you eating here, if your habit is to eat at the other mess? "

Jim and Carol looked at each other again. Carol opened her mouth first and Jim took the opportunity to eat quickly.

"Well, because the environment here is less stressful, it's more spacious and pleasant to eat in," Carol said.

Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really feel the officers' mess is a stressful environment? "

Carol smiled broadly.

"At times, it is. It depends on the mood of the officers in general. "

Jim rubbed the back of his head, thinking of all the times the atmosphere could have been disturbing. He had some thoughts about his little arguments with Spock and his bickering with Bones. He hoped he wasn't a factor in that atmosphere.

"I was thinking of stopping at a starbase after the Nebula crossing. Just to take everyone's mind off things before we leave the Beta Quadrant. We need to look into it, so it's not official yet. "

Smiles appeared on faces. Everyone had family or friends to see. Jim turned his head back to Carol. This mess thing was bugging him.

"And right now, it's stressful? "

Carol shrugged.

"I can't tell, it's like a feeling... You should talk to the Commander. "

Jim frowned.

"The Commander? He's probably the one on the ship who knows the least about emotions and feelings. "

The words were out, but Jim didn't really believe them. He knew Spock well. Carol pursed her lips before insisting.

"Try it anyway. You might be surprised. "

Okay, Jim was more than a little intrigued. He put down his fork.

"I'll check it out. Thanks for telling me, Carol. "

He helped himself to some water as Caleb gave a charming smile, then resumed the conversation in a charming tone.

"And how was your day, girls? "

Kera rolled her eyes. Jim stood up.

"Duty calls. Have a good night, everyone, and thanks for the invitation! "

Caleb winked at her, the izarites sighed at Caleb, and the others were amused by the situation, except for the bajoran and the trill. Kera stood up, letting out a desperate sigh.

"I'll follow you, Captain. "

Hedik also stood up.

"Me too. "

Jim smiled, noticing that he could hear very little of the trill's voice. He moved to set down his tray when he felt vibrations.

Immediately, Jim knew something was wrong with his Beauty. Something was wrong. He looked up at the rest of the mess hall, where he met the concerned looks of those who had felt the vibrations. Jim moved to set down his tray. He had just enough time to drop it that this time, tremors shook the entire ship, generating shouts of surprise.

Jim grabbed his communicator as his eyes scanned the room for damage. A few trays and chairs had been knocked over. The moving furniture was a danger.

"Get away from the-"

There was a loud roar as the ship was violently struck on the side. It was so violent that they were all thrown through the mess hall. Jim had no time to react. He hit the counter where they were putting the trays.

For a moment, everything went black. When Jim's brain reconnected, the yellow alert was on, the alarm lights were on and the alarm bell was ringing throughout the ship. There was visible damage. The captain's heart raced as he tried to stand up despite his dizziness.

"Captain! "

Kera helped him to his feet. Jim looked for his communicator. He couldn't find it among the overturned trays and furniture. Several people were unconscious and on the floor. Carol, Caleb and the women with them were among them.

"Go help them! "

Jim sent Kera by the arm and headed for the exit.

He ran down the corridors, panicking at the thought of an attack. No, if it was an attack, Spock would have raised the red alert. He would have given the order to go to battle stations. He was thinking fast as he ran down the corridors, shaken by the other impacts against the deflectors. For in spite of everything, their deflectors were taking it.

Chekov's voice rang in his ears as he announced over the loudspeakers that they were entering an area of high turbulence. No kidding. The whole crew had already noticed. What the hell was that all about? His anxiety was mounting, and Jim tried hard to keep going despite the dizziness and nausea. Being shaken like that, he was going to end up vomiting. What were their inertial absorbers doing?

He entered the turbolift that took him to the upper deck. When the doors opened on the main bridge, he felt as if he had entered a veritable beehive. Signals were going off all over the place, everyone in communications was trying to reach other areas of the ship, navigators were giving directions, and it was all a huge hubbub. Spock was standing next to Sulu and Chekov and he seemed to be watching the monitors. Outside, Jim could clearly see the lightning all around them.

"Mr. Spock! What's going on? "

Jim struggled to reach his men and clung to Sulu's chair to stand right next to Spock.

"We are in the middle of a violent storm, Captain. "

Jim looked up at the lightning bolts coming out of the thick clouds, heading in all directions. Questions later. He had to think, and he couldn't get his thoughts in order.

"Calculate the evasive maneuvers, Chekov. "

The Russian nodded.

"It's in progress, Captain. "

"We estimate we'll be out of this storm within two minutes," Spock said.

Jim nodded, holding on tighter to Sulu's seat.

"How could this happen, Spock? "

The Vulcan was focused on the pilot's maneuvers.

"We had analyzed the phenomenon, but it seemed harmless. It would seem that things have changed. "

Jim was having trouble staying focused. The adrenaline wasn't helping him at all. He really wasn't feeling well.

"Captain. "

He turned his head toward Spock. The ship stopped vibrating at that moment and everything around the Enterprise was quiet again. His gaze turned outward.

"Jim. "

The blond frowned at the name. He turned to Spock, who gently grabbed his chin. Jim was so surprised that he had no reaction when Spock turned his head to the side.

"You must go to Doctor McCoy immediately. "

Jim turned his head back to Spock. He was captivated by the concern visible on the Vulcan's features. Well, the concern he thought he saw. Then the scene darkened for a moment. The next moment he was in the turbolift and the yellow alert was off.

"What's going on...? "

Spock was there. He held him upright by his hip and draped his arm over his shoulders. Jim firmed his standing as the commander held his hip firmly.

"You've been away. You have a serious head injury. Where have you been? "

That hand on his hip was bothering him. It wasn't unpleasant, but it felt too intimate from the Vulcan. A warm, firm hand holding him against a warm, firm body.

"Jim. "

He turned his head toward Spock as he led him out. Jim hadn't seen that they had exited the turbolift.

"Your hands are warm. "

Spock quickened his pace and he had trouble keeping up. He noticed the large number of people moving in the same direction as him.

"Captain, focus. Where were you? "

They entered the infirmary. Jim frowned.

"On the bridge with you? "

Spock raised his arm to call for someone.

"Doctor. "

Jim followed his gaze to see Bones.

"What's going on?" he asked as he came up.

"He's had a head injury. He's been having blackouts. "

Jim turned to Spock in outrage.

"Nonsense. "

Bones grabbed his chin and gently turned his head. Jim felt a sharp pain as the doctor's fingers ran through his hair.

"Bones, stop... "

The pain made him dizzy again and he was still nauseous.

"I also suspect memory problems. "

"Shit, he must have a head injury. He looks like he cracked his skull. Nurse! " Bones turned to them. "Sorry, I have more serious patients. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. "

The next moment, a cadet was there, examining Jim's head again. The pain was starting to get to him. The cadet pulled out his tricorder and examined him.

"Captain, look at me. "

Jim was unable to look at the cadet. He had the reflex to walk over to the furniture, pull out a medical bean and put the contents of his stomach back in. The effort made his head spin even more. He held on to the first thing he had to keep from collapsing. Spock's shoulder.

"Sorry...not feeling well. "

Jim wiped his mouth as he retrieved the towels the cadet handed him.

"You've lost a lot of blood. I need you to stay calm. I'll take care of your head. Are you dizzy too? "

Jim nodded. Spock helped him sit down on one of the examination tables. Jim's gaze then wandered to the rest of the sickbay. There was no panic, but there were a lot of injured people there. He was there for a wound in the back of the head. He'd been through worse, right?

"Jim, look at me. "

Bones, out of nowhere, had grabbed his head.

"Are you there yet? "

Spock and Bones looked at each other.

"You just had an absence. Jim, your head injury is serious. You may not have any internal injuries, but you need to get some rest 'cause of your blood loss. "

Jim touched the back of his head. When was the bandage put on? Bones turned to Spock.

"So you're sure you can handle him? "

Spock nodded.

"Your examinations reveal no sequelae or injuries that would require surgery. You recommend that he rest and Sickbay is in full operation. He will be better off resting in his quarters. "

"Don't let him out of your sight, Commander. The minor internal bleeding has been treated, but a fracture like this in the occiput should be more serious. I don't want to jinx it by getting ahead of myself, but so far he's been pretty lucky. "

Jim realized the gravity of the situation. He grabbed Bones' arm.

"Len... "

He couldn't say more. Bones put his hand on his shoulder.

"Get some rest, Jim. I'll see you soon. Spock will keep an eye on you. "

Jim nodded slightly and stood up. His balance was shaky, but immediately Spock grabbed him for support as they walked down the hall. He could still feel Spock's hand on his hip, the warmth of his body against his. That was the last thought Jim's brain registered.