Thank you for all the reviews and follows! I love you guys. Without readers, these words are just pixels lost in the vortex of the internet. In this chapter you get to find out some about Jim. Enjoy!

I wrote most of this chapter late at night, and I just read it over and it all seems to make sense, but I might just be biased against my own work.

Chapter Nine

Drinks and Words

According to the official statement released by Starfleet, James Kirk, son of the beloved George Kirk, martyr/hero of the U.S.S. Kelvin disaster, and famous baby born in space during the escape of the shuttles his father had died to save, was a major part of the Enterprise's victory over the Narada. He was also credited for the sending of the warnings that saved many lives on Vulcan and the Enterprise itself. Or so that was what the Starfleet officials told him they releases when they paid him a visit.

He woke up in the hospital on Earth after passing out on the bridge in the moment of victory. The angry chief medical officer apparently took this opportunity to give him sedatives to keep him down, forcing Jim to rest until he was satisfied. When he woke up Starfleet had been waiting, and before he could even entertain the idea to slip away they debriefed him about the incident. Jim shared his part in the story, only giving necessary details for Starfleet records.

He was not particularly found of the sense of déjà vu that went with these proceedings.

Starfleet had arranged for a place for him to stay while he was in the city. A bit of a 'thank you for saving our butts" gift, saving Jim the trouble of figuring that out for himself. It also gave him a place to base himself for a few days at the least while he made a game plan concerning what was next.

The whole Narada incident shook things up for him in so many ways he didn't know where to start. He was now homeless and jobless and on a planet he never thought he would step foot on again. The way things ended up were… interesting.

He was glad to be back on Earth. To take full advantage of this situation he decided to get a few things done that he had only dreamed about for the last couple of years. After a few quick stops in the hospital he first went to a store and purchased new clothes. The only clothes he had now were the ones he had been wearing the day before, and they were now worse for the ware.

He then went to the closest burger joint and tasted the sweet, sweet deliciousness that is beef from a REAL earth born-and-raised cow. Replicated Earth food couldn't hold a candle to this culinary masterpiece he now enjoyed. And earth-style food from the various colonies he visited just wasn't quite the same.

He then spent the afternoon, after dropping off his purchases in his temporary quarters, in downtown San Francisco, simply enjoying walking around the city in the good weather, sightseeing and people watching as he went.

Later that day Jim got the urge to get a drink. He chose a small pub at random, one that was near-ish his temporary apartment. It had looked friendly and inviting from the outside, and Jim was pleased it still looked that way once he got inside.

The place was not too crowded. Small groups of people sat here and there. A good number of them, Jim noticed, were from the Academy, which was not far off.

One thing surprised him. A familiar face sat alone at the bar, looking back at him with an equal amount of surprise.

"What are the chances?" The angry chief medical officer said aloud. He looked grumpy still, and Jim wondered if his face always looked that way.

"Hi." Jim said with a wave, tentative.

McCoy looked at him wordlessly for a moment, then beckoned Jim over, apparently having decided he didn't hate Jim as much as Jim thought he had. "Sit with me, why don't cha."

Jim did as he was told and sat beside him. He felt a little unsure, but he pushed that away quickly and fell into his favorite confident persona.

"We have never been properly introduced. My name's James T. Kirk. You can call be Jim."

"Jim." McCoy repeated, musing over his nickname. "My name's McCoy. Leonard McCoy. You can call me whatever you like, as long as it's within reason."

"Nice to meet you, McCoy." Jim reached out his hand and they shook. McCoy had a respectable handshake, firm and to the point.

Jim looked over the menu, glancing at the selection while McCoy flagged down the bartender.

The angry doctor ordered a whiskey while Jim opted for beer on tap. He was excited to have Earth beer. Real Earth beer! It has been far too long since he got his hands on the stuff.

They sat side by side wordlessly as they waited for their drinks. Jim was unsure what to say. He could tell by his companion's body language that the man wanted to say something, but was a bit hesitant. Jim had an idea what it was.

When their drinks came Jim first took a long draught from his beer.

Jim then broke the silence. "You know… if you have any questions for me, I don't mind answering them."

McCoy glanced briefly at him before clearing his throat and straightening up a bit. "I admit," He asked, "I'm curious. Everyone is wondering. Can you tell me how the hell you ended up on that ship?"

Jim smiled.

"The true story is a bit of a long story. It was a mixture of stupidity and luck." Jim answered, taking a long sip from his beer.

"Something tells me you and stupid go together like grits and cheese." McCoy remarked, looking Jim over. Jim's smile widened. He liked this doctor already.

"Never a dull day in the lives of the stupid." Jim said, earning a half grin from his companion.

"So?"

"Nero captured my ship earlier that day. I happened to be in the area while making a run when my sensors picked up the most peculiar phenomenon. Can you guess?"

"A lightning storm in space." McCoy answered.

Jim had more or less (it was more) obsessed with the lightning storm in space and the story behind the Kelvin disaster. It was all he had in connection to his father. A man whose last action was to save Jim and his mother by sacrificing himself. The only thing he would ever do for Jim. So it pained him to think that the offending ship got away and was never seen again. When he had nothing else to think about he would think about that ship and that phenomenon and dream about one day solving the mystery. Now that it was solved Jim wondered what he would obsess about next.

A worry of his was that it would be on this alternate life he might have had.

"Yes. So needless to say I was… curious. As you know I have a special interest in such phenomenons. I decided to check it out. I do know what I expected to find when I got there, and what I found was Nero on his ship, sitting at the very heart of the storm.

"They had a tractor beam locked onto another ship and were pulling it in slowly. It was the ship that had the red matter on it. They then sent out a second tractor beam to lock onto me before I could escape. The bastards almost blew up my ship while I was on it, but instead they took me aboard and made me their prisoner. Poor choice on their part

I realize now that the lightning storm was how they traveled through time. Nero and his monstrous ship came through all those years ago. Now the red matter came through and they could act on their plans of revenge that Nero had cooked up over the years of waiting."

"What exactly happened to make him so batshit crazy?" McCoy asked. Jim knew only a small handful of people knew exactly what had happened, to everyone else the whole incident was still somewhat of a mystery. As time passed more information would eventually be released as the officials got their facts straight. Jim happened to be one of the small handful of people that had a clue.

"Romulus was destroyed. In the future."

"Shit."

"Yeah. A star went super nova. The Federation sent a Vulcan science ship full of red matter to swallow the star before that happened, but the ship wasn't fast enough. The planet died before the red matter could be used. Spo… The Vulcan in the ship launched the red matter afterwards to contain the damage of the Supernova, but Nero and his ship attacked him, placing blame on him and the Federation for purposely not being fast enough." It would be best, Jim thought, to avoid bringing up the identity of the Vulcan. He was not sure how people would react to the fact that two Spocks were running around. Also there was the warning from Old Spock that there would be dire consequences should the two Spocks ever meet, which Jim was now doubting but not confident either way.

McCoy looked offended. "The Federation," he said, "would never purposely allow a planet to. Not even if they were the bloody Romulans or even Klingons."

"I know. Just not everyone in the galaxy agrees with you." Jim's face grew distant for a second as he thought about another time and another place. He continued, "Certainly Nero didn't. Because Nero attacked instead of getting out of the pull of the red matter, but his ship and the Vulcan ship were pulled in. Instead of being killed they were thrown through time. And that's how this whole mess started."

They sat in silence for a second, both men thinking about lost planets both here and in the future.

"I'm glad that bastard is dead." McCoy took a drink.

"We can at least thankful to him for one thing." Jim mused.

"Now what the hell is that?"

"He warned us years in advance of the star going super nova. Now that potential disaster can be avoided. And I imagine current relations with the Romulans might improve if the Federation plays their cards right."

McCoy thought that over as Jim took a few more sips of his own drink. It was still a little surreal being in a bar on EARTH of all planets. Jim was not sure if he would ever end up on this planet again.

"What happened to the Vulcan?" He asked.

"Hmm?"

"The one from the science ship?"

"They took him prisoner as well. The fact that he was Vulcan was why they targeted his planet first."

"Where is he now? Is he…"

"No. They marooned him on a planet so he could watch." McCoy's expression darkened and his grip tightened on his drink. "He's alright. I told Starfleet so they could send someone to rescue him. I left him in an outpost on the planet where Scotty came from."

"So you were on that planet, too?"

"Yes. But not until after Vulcan... you know. Pissed off the Romulans. Not enough to kill me right away, though. Once again, a poor decision on their part."

"How the hell did you get on the Enterprise from that planet?"

"Future mumbo-jumbo. A trans-warp equation that may or may not be classified. I wasn't told either way, so best be keeping that to yourself for now."

McCoy frowned, apparently not fully satisfied with that explanation. He took a moment to swirl his drink.

"So your ship was captured…" McCoy started, "What kind of ship was it?"

"A small one person transport ship." Jim answered. "I was a merchant of goods. A trader."

"Was?" McCoy inquired.

"Yeah. My ship was destroyed after Nero captured me. It wasn't worth keeping around, according to them. They weren't really planning on letting me live very long. Now I'm shipless and homeless. That ship was my home."

"My condolences."

"It's okay. It was a piece of crap ship anyways, but I loved it." Jim sighed. "I got to travel around to a lot of places with that hunk of junk."

"What's next for you? Since you're out of house and home and all."

"No clue." Jim shrugged. "I'll figure that out eventually... What is up with you? I'm answering an awful lot of questions asked by a man I know nothing about."

"What do you want to know?" McCoy looked somewhat surprised and yet amused.

"I don't know. What made you join Starfleet?"

It was McCoy's turn to sigh. "Went through a messy divorce. Wife essentially claimed the whole goddamn planet, so I figured space was where I would go."

"That's reasonable." Jim offered.

"I wish. I hate space. It's diseased and dangerous. One ill-placed crack in the hull of your ship and your blood boils in seconds. Go on the surface of the wrong planet and pick up a flu that makes your eyes bleed."

"You're an optimistic fellow." Jim laughed.

"I'm a realist. There is nothing glitzy and glamorous about space."

"I disagree. I only feel at home when I'm in space. It was where I was born, you know. And it's where I suppose I'll one day die."

McCoy frowned. "So… how exactly did you end up becoming a trader?"

Jim shrugged.

"You were declared missing. No one has seen you since you were a kid."

"I decided to go off on my own." Jim was casually avoiding McCoy's eye, instead favoring to play with his beer glass. "Needed a change of pace."

"Does it have anything to do with why your medical records are considered classified?" McCoy studied Jim for a reaction but got none. Jim just kept playing with his glass as if he didn't hear him. "I looked up your file, you know. You were my patient. All records of you stop just before you decided to get a 'change of pace'. I know it's a bit prying, but what happened?"

"Didn't have the best home life. I had spent a few years away from it all at a school, and found myself in a situation where I would either have to go back or make a run for it. I chose to run."

McCoy nodded in understanding. He had more questions, Jim knew, but thank god he didn't ask them. Instead he ordered another round of drinks.

The two talked for a while about mostly pointless things, with the more drinks under their belts the more pointless the conversation got. Never the less, they enjoyed themselves immensely.

Both men were used to being alone. Jim could tell McCoy didn't have many people he considered friends, one clue of which was him drinking alone in a bar. But he seemed to like Jim alright and Jim had the strangest feeling that if he hung around, McCoy and he might become friends.

The thought made Jim both excited and uncomfortable.

"You know…" Jim said, "Captain Pike and I met at the hospital. He said he wanted to meet with me in a few days to 'talk about my future'."

"You don't say?" McCoy remarked. "Think he's going to try to recruit you for Starfleet?"

"I don't know. If he does, I am not sure what I'll say. I haven't really seen myself joining Starfleet for a long time. In fact, I never really thought I'd ever go back to being Jim Kirk."

"Maybe this is a perfect opportunity to rethink your life." McCoy said. "Besides, he didn't say it was to recruit you, did he? Maybe he just want to yell at you for scratching up his ship."

"A lot of crazy shit happened that day. But crazy shit happens to me all the time."

"What the hell kind of work do you do as a trader?"

"I'm afraid if I tell you, I'll have to kill you." Jim joked, but a certain look in his eyes gave McCoy a shiver. "Did you know, by the way, Gorgons give live birth to multiple offspring at a time? And that baby gorgons are born with full sets of razor sharp teeth?"

"You don't say?"

"And it's not particularly wise to take a day long detour to chase a color-changing comet when you are supposed to meet with a certain warlike species concerning a delicate shipment of… herbal enhancers."

McCoy raised an eyebrow.

"And I swear to you I tried my best to be an honest trader, but there may or may not have been ten cases of Romulan Ale aboard my ship at the time of its destruction."

"Stop rattling my bones, boy." He warned.

Jim grinned. "Whatever you say, Bones."

End of Chapter

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger. Who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed."

-Albert Einstein