Kirk

x

Jaylah glared at the man sitting next to her at the bar. She had not invited him to sit when he came to speak to her, but he had. He was a human with dark hair and eyes, and a thick beard. He called himself Derrick, and she did not like him one bit.

"So, where are you from?" He asked.

"Not here." Jaylah answered shortly, hoping rudeness would discourage him.

"Me either." He laughed, "I'm from Earth. Dublin, specifically."

Jaylah just stared blankly at him.

He was undeterred. "I work on the Dauntless, we brought in supplies for the reconstruction of the Enterprise."

That was a little more interesting, but Jaylah refused to react. She wanted this Derrick man to leave her alone with her whiskey while she waited. He waited for a moment to let her speak. When she didn't, he pressed on.

"You know, I've never seen anyone like you before. Do you mind if I ask what species you are?"

"I mind." Jaylah answered.

"Fair enough. What brought you to Yorktown?" Derrick asked.

Jaylah glared at him, her patience wearing thin. "What do you want?"

That finally surprised him. He paused and his eyes got wide. Then he recovered, and he laughed again. She wished he would stop laughing. And smiling. And talking.

"I just want to get to know you better." He answered.

"I do not want to know you better." Jaylah stated.

Derrick laughed again. "Is all of your species this blunt?"

Jaylah frowned. "Why will you not leave?"

Derrick sighed heavily. "Why don't you want to talk to me?"

Jaylah gritted her teeth, and stood up with the intention of slamming Derrick's head into the bar. Just as she was raising her hand to do just that, James T walked up from behind Derrick, and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Hey there, I see you've been keeping my friend here company while she waited!" James T said with a disarming grin.

"What?" Derrick asked, turning to face him. "Captain Kirk!"

James T nodded. "That's right. I appreciate you waiting with her, but I'm here now, so…" James T trailed off while Derrick stared at him.

"I'm sorry," Derrick stammered, "she didn't say she was waiting for anyone."

Jaylah frowned deeply at them both. "I did not tell you anything."

"You could have told me you had a date." Derrick accused.

"Okay!" James T interrupted, with a decidedly less friendly look on his face. "I think it's time you went on your way."

Derrick glared at her, nodding. "Yeah. I think so, too."

Derrick walked away muttering to himself. Jaylah didn't hear much of it beyond "waste of time".

James T looked at her carefully. "Looked like things were about to get violent, there."

"Because they were." Jaylah glared after Derrick until he sat down at a table with other people.

"I'm glad I got here when I did then." James T said as he took the seat Derrick had just left.

"I am not. I wanted to hurt him." Jaylah snapped, sitting back down and crossing her arms over her chest.

James T chuckled, ordering a drink. "I don't doubt it."

"He would not leave." Jaylah explained, draining her whiskey and motioning for another.

"He was trying to hit on you, poorly." James T explained.

Jaylah turned to him sharply. "He could not hit me if he tried a hundred times."

James T shook his head, "No, hit on you. He was flirting with you. Expressing an interest."

Jaylah frowned. "I told him I did not want to speak to him."

"Yeah," James T sighed, sipping from his drink, "that's when he should have backed off."

"Then why didn't he?" Jaylah demanded.

James T shrugged. "Some men are stupid. Others are just dicks."

Jaylah hesitated. "Is a dick not a part of your anatomy?"

James T laughed. "It is, but we also call people who are jerks, dicks too."

"It is one of those words that mean many things, then." Jaylah stated.

"Yeah." James T agreed.

"Derrick is a big dick." Jaylah stated, accepting her new drink from the bartender.

James T smiled at her. "Ah well. He's out of the way now."

Jaylah nodded. "You were late."

"Says the woman that's done nothing but complain about how much we care about punctuality." James T joked.

Jaylah shrugged. "I am adapting."

"Doing a great job of it, too." He remarked.

Jaylah saw a red haired woman at the other end of the bar staring at them. James T followed her gaze, and then offered the woman a friendly nod before turning back to Jaylah.

"Why is she staring at us?" Jaylah asked, looking away from the woman who was beginning to blush.

"I think she's trying to figure out whether we're on a date or not." He answered.

Jaylah laughed.

"What?" James T asked, "It's not that ridiculous, is it?"

Jaylah stifled her laughter. "Yes."

"What? Why?" James T scoffed, offended.

"Humans are too pink." Jaylah answered simply.

James T laughed. "Not all humans are pink."

"Yes," Jaylah agreed, "I remember the images of Krall from before he crashed. He was not pink at all."

"So you don't like pink, then. No wonder that guy never stood a chance."

Jaylah huffed. "If his personality was better, then maybe."

"Oh, so does that mean my personality isn't good enough?" James T asked, mocking smile on his lips.

Jaylah couldn't help but smile. She shook her head. "We are family James T. Do humans date family?"

His mocking smile melted into a genuine one, and he shook his head. "That's definitely something we don't do."

"Thought so." Jaylah said, leaning onto her elbows.

"So what do you look for in a partner, anyway?" James T asked, mirroring her position.

Jaylah shrugged. "I don't know. I never thought about it before."

"What about now? We already know you don't like pink skin or bad personalities."

Jaylah giggled. "I think I would like someone strong."

"Strong, not pink, and a good personality. That's a good foundation." James T chuckled.

"And you?" Jaylah asked. "What do you like?"

Jame T pursed his lips and scratched his chin. "Well, I'm totally cool with pink skin."

Jaylah laughed. "Then you should go talk to that woman. Her skin is very pink."

"Yeah, and she's gorgeous too." James T agreed. "But we're hanging out."

Jaylah smiled happily. "Doctor Bones said you always chase the tails."

James T chuckled. "Chase tail. It means-"

"I know what it is. Doctor Bones told me." Jaylah interrupted his

"Yeah, well, maybe you're just better company than Bones is."

Jaylah laughed loudly, drawing attention form the other patrons of the bar. She'd had just enough whiskey already to not care overly much. "I will have to tell him you said that!"

"Go ahead!" James T laughed with her.

"So," James T said, as their laughter calmed down, "you're heading out in a couple days."

Jaylah nodded. "I am."

"Excited?" James T asked, leaning closed to her.

"A little excited and a little scared." Jaylah answered honestly.

"I'd be worried if you weren't." James T stated.

"I am glad not to worry you." Jaylah said, taking a sip of her whiskey, and looked around the bar.

"What are you looking for?" James T asked, following her gaze.

"I am looking for someone that isn't pink." Jaylah said, only half joking.

James T laughed beside her. "Yeah? Well, there's an Andorian in the corner. He's definitely not pink. There's a Vulcan in that group on the couches, or is she still too pink?"

"Vulcans are not pink, James T. They are a little green sometimes, but not pink." Jaylah answered. "But I think a Vulcan would not be interested in spending the night with me so much."

"Whoa-ho, are you being serious right now?" James T asked her. "How much did you drink before I got here?"

Jaylah shrugged. "Less than I did last week with you and Doctor Bones, and yes I'm being serious."

"Well, okay then." James T looked around the bar one more time. "Well, I'd say your best best is the Andorian, then."

Jaylah looked over at the Andorian in the corner. "He is alone. What if he doesn't want company?"

"You have to read body language." James T explained. "He's alone in the corner, yes, but he isn't closed off and he's nodding at anybody that walks by. He probably came here with a friend that bailed on him."

"Hm." Jaylah hummed. "He looks acceptable."

"So why don't you go say hi?" James T asked.

Jaylah shrugged, and turned back around to look only at James T. "I would not know what to say."

"Well if I were you, I'd start with 'hello'." James T suggested.

Jaylah smiled. "Yes, and then what?"

"Well, you just let the conversation flow. It's that easy." James T said, gesturing with his hands.

Jaylah laughed. "Conversation does not flow so easily for me."

"Our conversation is flowing right now." He pointed out, tilting his head toward her.

"That is different." Jaylah stated.

"How so?" He asked.

Jaylah frowned, trying to think of the word. "We are friends. I know you will not laugh at me for saying something strange."

"I'm sure he wouldn't laugh at you, either." James T said.

"Commander Mendez laughed at me last week because I did not know what was up." Jaylah pointed out, taking another drink.

"Did she?" James T frowned. "I'll let Commodore Paris know about that."

"She will get in trouble?" Jaylah asked, the spiteful part of her pleased at the thought.

"We're trained to be tolerant of other cultures. It's probably the most important part of our job. Commander Mendez clearly forgot that fact." James T said, not really answering her question.

"It did not feel the same as when you or Doctor Bones laugh when I say things." Jaylah said with a frown.

James T nodded, understanding. "It's because there's a difference between laughing with someone and laughing at them."

"Commander Mendez was laughing at me." Jaylah said.

"Yeah." James T answered, even though what she'd said wasn't a question.

Jaylah nodded. "I did not hit her."

"I bet you wanted to, though." James T smiled fondly at her.

"Very much."

"Well," he said, "then I'm very proud that you didn't."

"That was why I didn't." Jaylah shrugged, looking away from him. She cared very much what he thought of her, but it was embarrassing to say it out loud.

There was a moment of quiet between them, when she thought he realized she was embarrassed, before he spoke again.

"You know, I think he would probably appreciate your lack of knowledge in human colloquialisms. You two could probably complain about how much they don't make sense."

Jaylah laughed. "They don't make any sense."

"There you go!" James T grinned at her. "That conversation would flow amazingly."

Jaylah rolled her eyes. "Maybe I am not looking for conversation with him."

"Well, if you tell him that, then he definitely won't laugh at you." He joked.

"Not if he is anything like James T, the tail chaser." Jaylah joked back at him.

"Exactly." He laughed.

Jaylah looked back over at the Andorian, contemplating. Everything she has heard about sex, both from her parents and from her new friends, indicated it was a very fun experience. She knew she wanted to try it, especially with all of her friends nearby just in case it wasn't actually so fun. The Andorian was very handsome.

"So you think he will not laugh at me?" Jaylah asked, looking over at the Andorian, who seemed to have noticed her gaze. He met her eyes with a friendly smile. She blushed and turned away.

Having seen the interaction, James T shook his head. "No, I don't think he'll laugh at you at all."

Jaylah chewed the inside of her cheek, sighing heavily. "I wish I was brave like you."

"Jaylah, you're one of the bravest people I know." James T said seriously.

She shook her head. "Every brave thing I have done has only been because I had no other options."

"That's not true. You didn't have to help us save the crew from Krall's base of operations." James T answered.

"I was very afraid the whole time." Jaylah frowned at him.

"You still did it." He pointed out.

"I still did it." Jaylah reluctantly agreed.

"Being brave doesn't mean not being afraid. It means doing things that scare you, like taking us to Krall's lair, or talking to tall, sexy Andorian men."

Jaylah laughed. "He is sexy."

"You should talk to him. Two people who find each other sexy should always have at least a conversation with each other." He encouraged.

"Alright, James T." Jayla said, finishing off her whiskey. "I will speak to the Andorian, and you will go speak to the red haired woman."

"Will I?" He asked with a grin.

Jaylah nodded. "Yes, she won't stop staring at you."

"Alright, let's do it. You ready?"

Jayla nodded. "I am."

"Okay. If you change your mind at any time, you just say so and leave. It's okay to do that."

Jaylah nodded. "I promise."

She got up, and walked over to the Andorian man in the corner. He smiled happily at her as she approached.

"Hello." She said as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Hi." He smiled. "Take a seat."

Jaylah sat down next to him. "I am Jaylah."

"Tihl." The man offered.

Jaylah looked over to see James T leaning close to the red haired woman, and whispering something in her ear that made her giggle. She felt a surge of envy within her for how easy it seemed to be for him.

She turned back to Tihl. "Human colloquialisms make no sense."

Tihl laughed, his antennae twitching. "Not at all."

"Why do they ask what is up? Can they not just look up?" Jaylah asked, still genuinely confused.

"Right? Why can't they just say hello, like normal people?"

She looked back over at James T one more time. He met her eyes, and nodded smiling at her. She returned it and turned back to Tihl. Maybe he was right. Maybe it really was that simple.