Liar, Murderer, Smuggler: Teaser

Commodore Paris's office had arguably the best view of the central plaza on the Yorktown. From this vantage point, Jim watched people below as they went from one location to another. It was hard to believe that a year ago, the starbase had nearly destroyed, and just a few months ago, Jim had been in this very same office wondering if he'd ever get a chance to fly the new Enterprise or if she'd be languishing in construction forever.

"My apologies if I kept you waiting, Captain Kirk." Commodore Paris sounded, as always, placid and soothing, even as she came into her own office late for their meeting.

"No apology necessary, Commodore." Jim said, flashing her a polite smile as he turned away from the bay window. "I know I wasn't exactly in your agenda for the foreseeable future, but I appreciate you taking the time to see me."

The Commodore smiled in return as she made her way over to him, taking his outstretched hand for a quick handshake before she headed to her desk. "Your report regarding the Romulan warbird and the… " From the way her head gently tilted from side to side while she took a seat suggested she was trying to recall Jim's own words. "... 'God-like entity Apollo' has made quite the wave at Starfleet Command and the Federation at large. I know you and Ambassador Prince expected to meet with Admiral Kent, but he's been recalled back to San Francisco to deal with the crisis."

Jim hadn't heard precisely why Conner had been recalled, but he assumed the admiral had plenty of reasons. He also had suspected that the Romulan warbird's presence so far from the Neutral Zone would have had political repercussions, but he tried not to think too much about those sorts of things. He was much happier to just get the job done and go back to exploring.

"It's just their typical saber-rattling, isn't it?" He asked, almost off-handedly. "They were the ones far out of their territory. And they weren't destroyed by us, but by a neutral sovereign entity. They can't be holding us responsible for that." He didn't envy Admiral Kent if that was the atmosphere he was walking into. For a brief moment, he was vividly reminded of several instances where he'd had to slip into raucous War Council meetings in London. Those might have been hazy memories, but he had a feeling the same feeling of nearly comical dread applied to Kent walking into the Federation council room.

"They will try to, which is why the Admiral returned and took your report with him." She leaned back in her chair, motioning for Jim to take a seat across from her. He only obliged her when she made it clear she wasn't going to talk up to him. Commodore's prerogative, he thought as he did so. "You've been on quite the adventure. I'm pleased that Doctor McCoy has given you medical clearance, but I admit this tale of… dueling neural patterns and temporal anomalies will most assuredly keep the Science Division busy for decades."

Jim cracked a more amused smile. "Well, you know me. I don't do things by half-measures. I just hope I haven't made things more tense with the Romulan Empire." Jim's stomach turned a little sourly. With the last four days spent repairing the ship, working with Bones and Spock and filing reports, he'd had very little time to speak with Diana and he was still trying to sort through the way his time as Steve colored his life.

Romulans were the reason he'd lost his father. The memories of Ulysses Trevor were a balm on that wound, but nothing could ever really make it heal. He didn't want a war, but he wasn't entirely too keen on watching the Federation supplicate themselves for peace. He had hoped they could find something in the middle.

"The Romulans will do what they have always done. They will find new ways to continue the conflict that they have sought, and we will find ways to stop them." Commodore Paris was so calm and off the cuff, it was easy to see why she'd been career Starfleet. It was very clear that she enjoyed the guidance aspect of leadership. He hoped he could be that kind of influence for his crew.

"Well, as you know, if you need me or my crew, you have us for anything."

She smiled a bit, regarding him for a long moment before she finally spoke. "What can I do for you, Captain? As much as I have enjoyed our talks, and in fact, I've missed having you come by to ask me how your ship is doing, I know this wasn't just a social call."

Jim chuckled and leaned forward a bit in his chair. She was definitely one of the few authority figures he felt any sense of friendship with since Chris had died. And he appreciated that she was more than comfortable stating the same before moving right back to business as usual. "You're right, it's not. I was actually going to ask the Admiral if he had any news on my new crewmembers."

"Oh? Is there something particular you need?" The Commodore asked, interest piqued.

"As I'm sure you're aware, I'm still down a navigator for my primary bridge crew and a number of engineers. I know a few of them were about to graduate, but, I was especially looking forward to my navigator. She's always been set for my ship. I was expecting to receive the transfer orders by now. "

The Commodore's smile slowly faded as she considered the request. "That's strange. I received word from the Academy weeks ago that this year's graduates were already assigned and shipping out. Do you have the dossiers? I'll reach out to my contacts and let you know what I find."

Jim tapped a few buttons on his arm data padd unit, watching the display change as it transferred his crew dossiers to the Commodore's terminal. "Done. I appreciate anything you can do."

"Of course, captain. Is there anything else?" She smiled. "I hate to rush you out, but I still have a meeting with the Council to keep."

Jim stood as she did, hands at his side, giving her his full attention. "No, ma'am, that's all. Thank you for your time, and I'll let you get back to it." With a curt nod, he turned on his heel to leave.

He made it about halfway to the door before she stopped him. "One last thing, Jim." He paused as she dropped rank. The Commodore almost never did that. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. "How are things with the Ambassador? I understand the second neural pattern was close to her. Your logs made it sound as if things might be tense."

His expression shifted to warm amusement as he turned back to her for a moment. "Ambassador Prince is a dream to have on board, Commodore. I can assure you I will do nothing to jeopardize her presence. In fact, I promised I would catch up with her after our meeting."

The Commodore's eyebrow quirked as she barely contained her mirth. "Well, then, I won't keep you. But, my comm line and my door are always open to you."

"I know." He said. "Thank you again."

This time, she didn't stop him as he made his way out the door and down the turbolift.

When he reached the main street outside the Starfleet Command building, he found Diana exactly where he'd asked to meet her, but she hardly seemed aware of him. Whatever was on her mind had left her deep in thought and she hadn't noticed him leave the building. To be fair, they hadn't had a chance to really talk since he'd last seen her, partly from medical orders to rest.

Jim took the opportunity to (for once) sneak up on the ever-present Amazon…

Only to have her turn around to face him, clearly aware he'd been making his way to her, annoyed and pointing to her communicator.

"What is the point of such devices if even after two hundred years, you still cannot reach the person you need to?" She lamented.

Jim frowned a bit, sympathetic. "Admiral Hackett's not returning your hails?" He asked. He was trying desperately not to be perturbed that an admiral across the Alpha Quadrant was giving Diana the runaround. It wouldn't help him to push his luck with the Commodore. Not yet, anyway.

"No, and it's been weeks since he sent me a report on Vanessa." The two of them had barely spoken the last week. After his confession - for lack of a better word - and their subsequent moment of intimacy, he had been thrown into ship business and she had taken the time to reach out to Hackett. Apparently, she'd been so focused on him that she'd just assumed everything was running smoothly until the Admiral didn't send her a follow-up as he'd promised. "Something is wrong. I can feel it. I just don't know what it is."

Now that Jim had the benefit of remembering Diana in her youth, he found it highly amusing that she was still just as impatient with the unnecessary red tape of bureaucracy. But, he was smart enough not to say anything to that effect. Instead, Jim reached over and gently took her by the elbow with one hand and took her communicator with the other, clapping it closed. He deftly began to steer them towards a side street.

"I'm sure the Admiral just hasn't had a chance to reach out, or doesn't want to report anything that isn't substantial." He said, only handing her the communicator when she shot him a slightly annoyed look that suggested she'd put it away. "For now, we have a few days here on Yorktown while I find out about my crew. I have a few more favors with the Commodore, but you don't need to rush."

Diana glanced over at him. "You are bordering on patronizing."

"I'm not trying to be. I'm trying to be pragmatic." He said with a rakish grin. "A skill that utterly mystifies Bones and unsettles Spock, because he said I'm not suited to it."

"He might have a point," She fired back, although he'd managed to pull a smile out of her with that. "You are not what I would consider sensible."

"Well, I'm lucky I have you here to deal with my 'complex personality.'" He quipped, never more thrilled to have an entirely new sense of familiarity with Diana that he could use to jibe and tease her to his heart's content. At his core, Jim preferred to be the playful, boundless wit that he'd been in the Academy. It had mellowed over the years, but Diana did a masterful job of making him want to go back to it. She looked a bit stunned. Not the reaction he'd been going for, but he didn't let it stop him. "Now, I believe I still owe you ice cream, and that shop isn't too far - "

"Cap'n!" Scotty's voice seemed to come out of nowhere. A quick glance around from the duo revealed that he was behind them, sprinting at breakneck speed. "Captain!" He wheezed as he finally skidded to a halt in front of them, doubled over and panting.

"Scotty, what's wrong?" Jim immediately reached over to help him stand straight, but his eyes were back towards the docking bay. His first thought was that something was wrong with his ship. "Did something happen during repairs?" He thought through the trajectory of where Scotty had come from and realized that didn't play out. "Wait a minute, where were you? I thought you were getting a drink with Bones - "

"We've got…" Scotty wheezed, then coughed so hard from gasping for air that he sounded like he might vomit. "Got to help her… I dinnae… dinnae know how…" Immediately, Diana was at his side, rubbing his back and reminding him to breathe.

"Help who, Mister Scott?" Jim hoped throwing a bit of formality at his Chief Engineer would calm him down.

It seemed to do just that. Scotty stood straight, then nodded at Diana when he was finally able to breathe before he turned to his captain.

"I just got the call… I'm her emergency contact." Scotty seemed utterly stricken. "Och, the lass is missin'! They tried to reach me weeks ago but I must have missed it after Althea!"

"Who are you talking about, Scotty?" Diana asked, thoroughly confused. "Who is missing?"

Unfortunately, Jim knew exactly who he was referring to. And now, he understood why he'd never received her transfer orders.

His navigator. their friend, was in trouble.

"Jaylah." Both engineer and captain replied.

He had hoped to keep her arrival on the Enterprise a surprise for his engineer, but judging by Scotty's reaction, there was a good chance she wouldn't make it to the ship at all.