Hi guys!! Hopefully this chapter is a little more interesting than the last one :D Just gotta build up the tension, right?? Hehe, okay so the bad guy is Jim's step father. Yes, I know its been done hundreds of times already but I can't help myself; I like to stick with the classics :p Hope you all like it!!
Jim walked to the front of the room slowly, the feeling of several eyes on him making his movements measured and cautious. The room was much cooler than the outer hallway and sunlight streamed in through the large paneled windows that wrapped around the walls. A row of desks sat at the front of the room, each one occupied by one member of the Review Board, three women, two men. Unlike his trial, this room was empty even though he had to walk through a hallway made of stadium seating on either side. As Jim got a little closer to the front of the room, he felt his stomach do a lazy flip as his eyes came to rest on a haggard, sixth member of the Review Board. Next to the last desk, Emissary McNeil was slouched in a wheelchair, looking like he was ready to completely pass out at any moment. He was pale, his hair disheveled and hastily combed into place, but his dark eyes watched Jim sharply as he came into the room.
Great…The guy who gets shot under my watch gets to make a guest appearance at the Review. Absolutely wonderful…Jim thought miserably, stepping a little closer to the front desk and stopping. McNeil's eyes raked him up and down as if trying to decide what to make of the younger man. Before getting aboard the ship, he'd heard rumors of Starfleet's newest and youngest captain but he'd never met him in person. Maybe the rumors were correct.
A middle aged woman with graying brown hair pulled into a tight bun at the base of her neck sat at the middle desk. She looked like a librarian thrown into a courtroom. "Ah, Mr. Kirk." She said absently, looking up and shuffling through a few papers on her desk, pulling out his file. The dossier was filled to the brim with papers that outlined everything from Jim's past and present performance to how many times he'd been plucked from a bar fight while at the academy.
Jim winced inwardly. God…not the file…It was a well known fact that the academy kept everything in the computer system but having a hard copy was essential to a Review Board. Possibly used for necessary purposes or possibly for dramatic effect; Jim wasn't sure but it made him feel worse.
The woman slipped on a pair of glasses and began reading through the most recent file, the one that had been delivered immediately after the ship had docked. "Mr. Kirk, it says here that yesterday evening, at roughly 1800 hours, the conference that Emissary McNeil was attending was interrupted by several men carrying weapons. Before the threat could be resolved completely, McNeil was injured by one of the men after you took a shot at him." She placed the file back on the table and fixed her gaze on the young man before her. "Would you care to elaborate on anything?" She asked, her voice taking on a tense patience of a mother scolding a child.
Jim took a breath and cleared his throat, stepping forward just slightly. "Yes Ma'am…" He glanced between her and the other members of the Board, his eyes falling on McNeil last. "Myself and few members of my crew were in the room with Emissary McNeil when the conflict began. McNeil was taken hostage and the man was threatening to shoot him if we tried to assist him in any way. I thought I had a clear shot so I took it." He cleared his throat again and shifted his weight between his feet. "The man was startled and ended up shooting the Emissary in the leg before he was detained." Even though it had been an honest mistake, it still sounded bad out in the open.
The woman nodded and looked through the file once more. "And why did you insist on taking the shot if you knew the Emissary could be injured in the process?"
Jim looked at the floor for a second. "Ma'am, the man with the gun was going to shoot McNeil regardless of what we did; I was sure of it. I knew that if we gave him the opportunity he would have killed the Emissary with no questions asked." He glanced to McNeil who was still regarding Jim with a cautious stare. "Instead of risking a fatal shot, I attempted to lessen the damage."
There was a brief silence in the room before the woman turned her attention to McNeil. "Emissary McNeil, do you have anything you wish to add?"
The Emissary sat up a little straighter and cleared his throat, leveling his gaze on Jim. "Young man, what you did at the conference was reckless and could have made the situation much worse than it already was."
Jim grit his teeth, one fist clenching at his side. That bastard! I saved his life and he's telling me I could have made it worse?!
McNeil continued to regard him but his gaze softened slightly. "However, given the situation at hand, you acted bravely and ultimately saved my life." He offered Jim a weak smile and turned to the Review Board. "This young Captain is bold, brash, and entirely too reckless for his own good, but he was a hero at that conference and I owe him my life."
Jim blinked in stunned silence. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or insulted.
The woman in the middle nodded and looked back at Jim's file. "Mr. Kirk. While your actions were risky and dangerous, I believe you did make the right decision under the circumstances and I must commend you on your performance." She signed something on the bottom of the print out and looked at the other members of the Board. "Does anyone have any objections?" Another silence followed her question and the woman smiled; Jim liked it much better when she was smiling. "Carry on, Captain." She said, tucking the papers back inside and closing the file.
Jim nodded and turned to the Emissary. "Mr. McNeil-" He started but the older man waved his hand to prevent him from continuing.
"I owe you my life Mr. Kirk." He said, smiling softly as he spoke. "But just remember that sometimes you won't have control of the situation. Sometimes you may not have your crew members there to help you. Are you prepared for a moment like that?"
Jim was silent for a moment as he contemplated the question. He personally didn't believe in no-win situations like most of the other cadets did but that didn't mean he would never encounter one. With a slow nod, he returned his gaze to McNeil. "Yes sir."
McNeil nodded in return. "Good." He winced a little as he shifted his position, his leg wrapped from the hip down. "Try to stay out of trouble." He said as one of the members of the Board approached him and carefully wheeled him toward the door.
Jim waited until the Emissary had disappeared through the back door before nodding respectfully to the remaining members of the Review Board and walking back toward the door he'd entered from.
OOOOO
"I trust the Review went well?" Spock asked once Jim stepped back into the hallway.
The younger man flashed him a bright smile and nodded to the man standing by the door. "Textbook." He answered, walking back through the hallway toward the doors.
The first officer walked in stride next to his captain, not speaking for several minutes. He'd heard everything from the hallway, even though he tried to block out the words, so he knew exactly what had taken place in the meeting.
"McNeil said I was too reckless for my own good." Jim said after a few minutes of silent walking. He didn't appeared troubled by the description but he was definitely wrestling with something internally.
"Perhaps he wasn't too far from the truth." Spock offered at his side, rounding a corner and easily missing as late cadet who was rushing through the hallway.
"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side." Jim grumbled, pretending to pout. They stepped into a wide commons area, the afternoon sun shining high and bright above them. Cadets and civilians alike were spread out across the lawn, benches and tables set up beneath a few of the larger trees. There was break between classes right now so many of the students were taking advantage of the mild weather and sitting outside in the open to study.
"I am not picking 'sides' I am merely stating that Emissary McNeil may have had a point in his initial assumption."
Jim sighed heavily and looked out across the lawn. "God…you're as bad as Bones…"
"I do not think Dr. McCoy is necessarily bad. A little irritable at times, yes, but not bad."
This got a laugh out of Jim. He shook his head, still chuckling to himself. "Not bad as in-" He stopped himself and shook his head. He really didn't feel like going into the differences in definitions right now. "Let's get back the ship so we can get the repairs underway. We have another mission in three days."
The rounded another corner, passing through a covered atrium where a number of tables had been set up in the shade. Most were filled, a few emptying out as the break got a little closer to ending. The atrium was open to civilians as well, just like the commons, so a varied mix of socializing was going on in at many of the tables.
Jim and Spock passed through the area quietly, side-stepping a few cadets that passed by them. "You know, I bet Scotty is ready to throttle the next person who offers to help him in the engine room." Jim smirked as they walked, picturing their chief engineer in a feral mood due to the overly helpful crew.
"I don't see why he would turn away help that is offered to him. The repairs could be completed in half the time if he were to allow assistance."
"Yeah, but you don't know how Scotty gets with the ship. He's very particular about the way things-"
"Well, well, well…look what blew in with the space trash." A deep, gravely voice drawled as Jim passed.
The younger man stopped so suddenly it took Spock a minute to realize he was walking alone. When he noticed the absence of his captain, he turned and saw Jim standing in front of a table occupied by one man, his eyes focused on a crumpled newspaper in front of him.
The man looked up, a slow smile stretching across his mouth. "Seems you've made quite a name for yourself." He said, taking a drag on the cigarette hanging from his mouth before stubbing it out in an empty ashtray. He had dark hair and even darker eyes; cold and calculating. His smile was predatorily and he looked around the room carefully as he spoke, sizing up the people around him. Everything about the man looked like a wolf that had skipped one too many meals: dangerous and ruthless.
Jim returned the smile, maintaining a calm outward expression, but his back was rigid and the muscles in one side of his jaw were clenched. "Nice to see you too, Frank." He said, glancing around the room as if he expected to see someone else. When his searched proved useless, he returned his gaze to the older man and smiled again. "What brings you here?"
The man shrugged half-heartedly and stood, taking the paper with him. He had a least a foot on Jim and arms rippled with muscle as he shook the newspaper just enough that it folded out. "Just catching up on the news." He replied quietly, a dangerous smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. "Read about the McNeil incident…" The man shook his head slowly and chuckled. "I knew it wouldn't take you long to fuck up again."
Having been left out of the conversation for about as long as he could stand it, Spock stepped forward to the aid of his captain. "Excuse me, but it would behoove you to show a little more respect in the presence of a Starfleet Captain."
The man, Frank, looked him up and down carefully, his dark eyes narrowing sharply. "Who the hell is this guy? Your bodyguard?"
"I am not his-"
"This is Spock, my First Officer." Jim cut in before Spock could continue, glancing between the two men quickly as if he were trying to prevent an inevitable confrontation.
Frank's eyes narrowed again and he plucked another cigarette from a pack in his pocket. He lit it absently and took a slow drag on it before continuing. "Vulcan, huh? Heard your planet exploded not too long ago. That's gotta suck."
Spock felt a twinge of rage at the man's callousness but he suppressed it quickly before the emotion could make itself known. "Pardon me, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced." He said in a sharp, clipped tone, his voice still holding onto the cautious detachment he'd had when Nero first introduced himself.
Jim took a breath beside him, his easy-going demeanor faltering just slightly. "Spock this is Frank, my-"
"Step-father." Frank interjected.
"Ex-Step-Father." The younger man corrected quickly, his blue eyes darkening ever so slightly as he spoke.
Frank sneered and then grinned another cold smile. "Yeah, ex." The word sounded like a verbal dagger and he spit it out as if it were. He leveled his gaze with Jim once more and took another drag on his cigarette. "We need to talk, Jim." He said, turning slightly to face the First Officer. "Alone."
"Anything you wish to discuss with the Captain can be said in my presence." Spock responded coolly, taking a small step forward to place himself between Jim and the older man. True, he may not be entirely certain of the younger man's new role in Starfleet and may even be doubtful of it, but he was not about to let someone insult his Captain while he was standing there.
Frank looked like he wanted to say something else but Jim beat him to it. "It's alright Spock," He said calmly, placing a hand on his First Officer's shoulder. "Frank was just leaving." His gaze leveled with the older man. "Weren't you?"
There was a tense silence, a stand-off to see who would break first. Finally, Frank chuckled darkly in the back of his throat and flicked his cigarette to the ground. "Yeah, I guess I was." He grabbed the newspaper and shoved it into Jim's chest, causing him to stumble back a step. "Here, think of it as a souvenir." He smirked at Spock's glare and tossed a half-hearted wave over his shoulder as he walked away. "See you around, Jim." He called before he disappeared completely behind an atrium wall.
For a long moment, neither man moved. The population in the atrium was slowly dissipating and several of the occupants had to walk around them in order to get by. Finally, Jim let out a long breath and dropped the paper back onto the table, squeezing the bridge of his nose tightly.
"Captain-"
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Jim said, smiling once more in his easy, carefree way. His expression was calm but the underlying tension was obvious.
"Captain, that man…" Spock found himself unable to complete whatever sentence he was about to say. It was odd, usually he was able to control himself around most humans, but that man had tugged and pulled at every emotional string the Vulcan had learned to keep dormant. He knew there was much more to Jim's relationship with the man, something he didn't want to talk about, and that just made it worse. It made him anxious, on edge, and he didn't enjoy that feeling at all. He had a sudden protective urge with the younger man, also odd considering he hardly ever felt that way about anyone other than Nyota. With a deep sigh, he turned his attention back to Jim. "Captain," He began once more, carefully suppressing all of the emotional turmoil that was trying to resurface. "Another meeting with that man is highly discouraged."
Jim was silent for another minute, his eyes focused on the commons area behind them. There were millions of thoughts running through his mind, memories and flashbacks he's fought hard to forget. And just like that, the walls had come crumbling down all over again. He smiled back at the Vulcan, keeping his expression forcefully neutral; just another mask in his wardrobe. "Don't worry, I'm not too keen on the idea of meeting up with him again anytime soon." He rolled his shoulder back and stood a little straighter, taking a deep breath. "Hey Spock, think you can do me a favor?"
The First Officer blinked in confusion but nodded slightly. "Anything, Captain."
"Go back to the Enterprise and tell the crew to take the rest of the afternoon off. That last mission was hard on everyone and I'm sure they need rest." He kept smiling but his voice sounded resigned, much older than it had a second before.
Spock hesitated for a split second. "Are you sure, Captain?"
Jim smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. And would you stop calling me Captain? Call me Jim, we're friends right?"
Another hesitation. "Yes…Jim." It felt odd using such informalities with the younger man but if that's what made him happy then he couldn't argue. "I will alert the crew."
"Good." Jim seemed to visibly relax at the news.
"May I inquire as to your intentions?"
Jim smirked and clapped a hand on Spock's shoulder. "I have a few more stops to make before I'm done for the day." The edge still clung to his voice but it wasn't nearly as noticeable. He smiled again and took a step back. "Tell the crew to be back on the ship first thing tomorrow morning so we can finish the repairs." And with that, Jim turned and walked out into the commons, heading back toward the main offices of the academy and leaving behind his stunned First Officer.
Yay villain introduction!! Hehe, okay from this point on things are going to get bad and once they start down that steep slope...well, there's very little I can do to stop it O.o Hope you liked it!!
