Personal Logs of an Above Average Man: Act IV
ACCESS DENIED.
"Ow! Dammit!"
ACCESS DENIED.
Jim hissed as the console zapped his fingers for a second time, and he finally conceded that somehow, some way, Jaylah had turned the Enterprise against him. Or at the least, she had turned Cargo Bay 1 against him, and he couldn't seem to unseal the doors no matter what he did.
He knew that he probably could have called security, but his interest was distinctly personal, driven by the same instinct that would unwrap birthday presents and re-wrap them three days before the party just so he knew what he got. His pride - and the fact that he didn't have any actual security concerns regarding Jaylah's project - would not let him call for his chief of security.
Unfortunately, after the last fifteen minutes of trying to covertly rewire the console, he was beginning to realize he would have to concede the battle. Or, at the least, change tactics.
A yeoman walked down the corridor, spotting the captain as he tried to casually lounge against the bulkhead in such a way to disguise the mess he'd made of the console behind him.
"Yeoman…" He simply remarked, nodding at him while his fingers nervously tapped at the bulkhead over his head. To be fair, for a guy with a poker face, Jim was never very good at covering when he'd been caught.
He wasn't all that surprised that his yeoman regarded him with a nervous little smile before he passed on the other side of the corridor. Once he was past Jim, the yeoman's pace quickened until he disappeared quickly around the hall.
Jim straightened, clearing his throat once he was left alone in the corridor once more, then turned his attention back to the console. He'd give it one more try to rewire the doors and open them, and if that didn't work, he'd have to give up for the moment and find something else to do to occupy his time. He knew that returning to the bridge would only get him run off by his crew again the moment he asked too many questions.
Glancing down at the console, he took another look at the wires that he thought went to the security door panel override. Even though most of the technology was completely touchscreen-based, the security overrides also had the good ole-fashioned electric and hydraulic override. If the ship lost significant power, there were still ways to open all airlocks and jeffries tubes.
Jim wasn't about to try the jeffries tubes until he'd exhausted all other options.
He was fairly certain that the override he was trying to cross and activate responded to the door controls, but maybe he'd grabbed the wrong wire to trip the hydraulics. He untwisted the wires he'd previously connected, then went for a different combination.
About as careful as he had been before, he quickly twisted them together before a spark or two spat at him and the console flickered dramatically.
Jim took a step back, grinning proudly as he fully expected the large cargo bay doors to open for him as if welcoming a great king.
Instead, there was a high-pitched whine that made him wince and his teeth ache for a long moment. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He hissed as he rushed back over to the console. He must have tripped the comm line instead. He quickly reached for the wires, tempted to pull them completely clear of the console.
Thankfully, the whine disappeared the moment his fingers brushed the wires and seemingly jostled him into the perfect position.
The thrumming noise from his earlier conversation with Diana and Jaylah filtered over the now open comm line. He had somehow overridden the comm lines, so instead of requesting an open channel, he'd just created one.
"Please, sister, you must rest and drink something." Diana's voice sounded further away. Since internal ship comms were designed to amplify only after acceptance of an open line, it was possible he'd tricked the computer into thinking that it was just picking up ambient noise. It gave Jim the distinct, very sudden knowledge that he was eavesdropping.
If Jaylah took the water, he couldn't tell. When she replied, it was as if she'd never heard the request. "Why do you call me that? Sister? I do not have many human friends, but you are not the only one. James T… he also calls me sister." He had to bite back the involuntary chuckle when she said with obvious distaste: "But he says I am little."
Diana chuckled. "It is an honorific and endearment to my people. I come from a civilization on Earth, but we are a people comprised only of women. Well, we were when I was born on Themyscira. So, to show fealty and loyalty in battle, we call our peers sister. In Jim's case, it is similar. I knew he held affection for you, but he has made it clear to you that it is fraternal, that he sees you as family." Jim smiled a bit as he noted the soft, tender tone to her voice. She always seemed to know exactly what to say and how to say it, even when she thought she wasn't making any sense. "Does it bother you?"
There was a long moment of silence. Just as Jim reminded himself that he really didn't need to be listening in on their conversation, there was the sound of a small whining device over the comm line. He had to guess it was a hyperspanner or isolitic converter. Either way, the sound didn't last for long before Jaylah finished whatever task she had and finally replied.
"No." The word seemed almost foreign on her lips, as if she didn't know it felt in her mouth. "But, I do not expect it. I do not know what it is like to have family anymore."
"Neither do I, in many ways. I've spent almost as much time away from my people in recent years that I all but forgot how to find a family in the unknown. But, you find ways. People."
"That is why you do this for James T?" Jim found himself perking up like a puppy. This surprise really was about him?
Of course, Diana didn't feel like sharing with the class. Even if she didn't know he was listening, she instinctively knew to change the subject.
"I understand that you were alone on Altamid when the crew found you. And I imagine that you endured great hardships in the custody of the Orion Syndicate." Jim should have known that given the opportunity, Diana would want to help her open up. Seeing as how he knew Bones and Scotty couldn't seem to get her to say anything, he hoped she'd open up to someone who could show equal parts vulnerability and strength.
"... Yes. That I was alone. Yes. I saw… terrible things on the outpost. Things that…" Jaylah's voice quivered. "Things worse than what Krall did. Slaves being eaten. There were others that were beaten and had their spirit taken."
"Their spirit?"
Jaylah sighed, perceiving a slight. "I do not know when my words are wrong until someone says so. But, I do not know what is the right word for itza."
"It's all right. You don't have to explain anything to me. I just want you to feel that you can come to any of us, myself included. This is not a burden you should bear alone."
Jaylah hesitated for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was steady. "I want to belong, but… I never know if I do."
"You're part of the crew, Jaylah. I know we haven't spent much time together since you arrived, but, believe me when I say that I understand your confusion." Jim furrowed his brow as he strained to hear Diana as her voice faded to an even softer tone. "In truth, I have spent much of my life keep people at a distance. Emotionally. And much like you, when I found myself thrown into the culture of Earth, I felt alone and wishing that I had someone to keep me grounded. I had people asking me to be their family, but it was all so different…"
"That you think you can't fit." Jaylah finished for her. Again, it was quite clear that Diana was helping draw her concerns out of her quite effortlessly. "I remember my family. We were not… Federation people. We smuggled, we traded. And then we got stuck. And Krall killed my family. So, I was alone. And now, I never feel alone but I always feel alone, but the alone is different!" Her voice pitched a bit higher in frustration. "And they do not have the words for that kind of alone! There are words I cannot make because they have these - these -"
"Euphemisms." Diana finished for her, as if to help diffuse the burgeoning explosion that was Jaylah. "The standard Earth language uses references to common actions or native species to create extra meaning. But, it can be difficult to grasp when you do not share those experiences."
Jaylah seemed beyond relieved. "Yes! You know why their words are so strange!"
"Absolutely." She grinned. "Etiquette is worse. When I first came to their world, I was told my armor was not clothing because they had silly rules about covering the body." Jim chuckled softly as he recalled the department store and how mortified he and Etta had been. "And how was I supposed to know that when they asked me to try an outfit on, they didn't mean where I stood - "
"Shh." Jaylah's order cut through Diana's anecdote easily.
"What is it?" She asked.
Jim heard the spanner drop to the ground with a clank, followed by footsteps. He held his breath without thinking, straining to determine if Jaylah was doing something in particular, or hearing something in particular.
It grew so quiet, that he could hear a pin drop….
"Domoya utza! You are listening!" Jaylah's voice cut through the silence so effectively he thought his eardrum burst. "Stop trying to spy on the surprise, James T!"
Unable to stop himself, Jim tried to defend his actions and completely blew his cover. "It wasn't intentional, I swear, I didn't know this was the comm line - "
"No, James T! You are a rug!"
"How am I - you mean I lie like a rug?" Jim protested, unable to stop himself from getting a rise out of her.
"It is almost ready! But, now you wait until Diana wants you to see!"
He heard a couple of beeps as Jaylah clearly found a console in the cargo bay, then another squeal sound through the corridor before the line cut altogether.
Wincing, Jim reached up to poke at his ear a bit in the hopes of clearing the brand new ringing. He was fairly certain that if he didn't already have tinnitus, he was dangerously close to it now.
"Ah, to be fair, I deserved that…" He breathed in exasperation.
Something told him that if he tried anything else with that door console aside from putting it back together the way he found it, he wouldn't just have Jaylah breathing down his neck, he'd have Scotty throwing things at him. Resigned, he quickly reassembled the console back into the standard configuration and placed the screen back into its depression in the wall.
No sooner than he completed the work, his communicator chirped. He realized he probably needed to count himself lucky that he could still hear the particular decibel level of communicators, or he'd have Bones to answer to.
Jim pulled his communicator and flipped it open. "Kirk here."
"Cap'n. I'm in Stellar Cartography. We've finished restoring as much of the data logs in the lab as possible." He could tell from Scotty's voice that he wasn't happy with the outcome.
"I didn't mean you had to do it personally, Scotty." Jim said with a slight frown. He wasn't sure if that was an indication that things were worse.
"Aye, I know, but seein' as how Jaylah's power surge was partially my fault, I figured I should."
Jim smiled a bit at the admission, then recalled what he'd said in the first place. "Hey, what do you mean 'as much of'? How much of the logs were irretrievable?"
Scotty paused for a long moment before he replied. "We lost almost everythin' belonging to the Pre-Federation databanks. When we get back to Yorktown, I'll be able to run another download."
He frowned, the last of his mischievous mood gone, even if he hadn't slipped into melancholy or worry yet. It just didn't bode well. "All right, I'm on my way."
"What are we looking at?" Jim didn't bother with pleasantries as he entered the Stellar Cartography lab. Thoughts of Jaylah and Diana's mischief disappeared in the face of genuine, dangerous subterfuge. The sooner they could rule that out, the better.
Scotty stood straight, having been crouched over the console while he worked alongside Keenser. He turned to face the captain, expression a bit dour. "Gremlins, sir. I think we've got a few wee ghosts in the machine."
Jim arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest as he took a deep breath, reining in his temper. "If you could elaborate, Mister Scott."
The chief engineer nodded and tapped a button. The record that came up was that same old Pre-Federation entry on Kandor. "I believe this was the last file ye were reviewin'."
He nodded, surprised to see how much of it was still intact. "I thought you said you lost almost everything."
"Aye." Scotty propped a hand on his hip as they reviewed the record. "But, this, along with a handful of other records remained. Looks like when Jaylah sapped the power from auxiliary systems, she actually stopped the worms from finishin' what they started."
Jim scanned the data record. It still was largely redacted from some security restriction. But, they hadn't lost anything in the record. "Hang on, what worms?"
"Looks like the moment this record was accessed, a very nasty worm started to churn through our systems. If Jaylah hadn't dropped the power when she did, it's entirely possible this also would have been deleted." Scotty motioned to the display on the console at their waists. Jim could now see several red boxes that read [LOG MISSING] in bold type. "Lucky for us, Wee man -" He nodded to Keenser. " Stopped it and isolated the code. The best I can tell, it's all related to an government agency of the old United States: something called A.R.G.U.S."
"I've heard of that…" Jim muttered, although he struggled to remember why. It took him a long moment before he recalled his conversations with Diana. "They were an agency Diana worked with. I remember they filmed her fight with Medusa and Circe."
"Stands to reason they've got plenty of other intel on Diana's old gallery of rogues and ne'er-do-wells." Scotty said, a bit of a grumble to his voice. Jim didn't have to tell him what he'd been researching for him to put it together. "Ye were researching what else the Romulans might want outside of our holotechnology. Like the atmospheric barrier on Themyscira." He turned to look Jim in the eye. "You think it's related."
For a long moment, he debated not cluing in his chief engineer. But, if anyone was going to help him figure out how to retrieve the lost data, it would have to be Scotty. "Yes. I think the Romulans went to Themyscira because they saw the same thing we did: an atmospheric barrier that obscured lifesigns…."
"But not subspace relays." Scotty recalled. "They thought it was a Starfleet base."
"And I think someone's been feeding them potential new technology." Jim pointed to Kandor in the display. "First this, then on Delphi. Someone gave them our command codes. I sent my reports about the Nexus to Starfleet Headquarters before we actually set course. While we're doing that, someone figures out what Jaylah's been doing and kidnaps her?" He shook his head. "Someone's watching our every move, Scotty. I just can't figure out how. Half the admirals in my hearing were all new faces. I didn't even see Hackett there, the Admiral who has Vanessa in his custody." For a second, his stomach twisted into knots. "It's possible he's been cut out of the loop. Might explain why he can't contact Diana if suddenly he realizes he's not getting the full picture."
"What're we gonna do about it?" Scotty asked, clearly concerned.
That was a tougher question, and Jim knew it. "Keep any conversation about everything we just talked about out of your ship logs. I want you to talk to Spock and Bones. The three of you need to compile anything sensitive to Diana and any technology or medical data you think might have a military application that we've come across since the Enterprise-A left spacedock. I want to hear it all as soon as it's ready, off the record, and we'll assess where to go from there."
He hated giving those kinds of orders. He could continue to go through the records himself, but he knew his crew and their strengths. He needed to put the field experts on it. They'd see way more than Jim could.
Scotty seemed to understand that, too. "Aye, sir. We'll let you know as soon as we find something, Jim, but it might take a few days."
Jim shook his head, but his eyes remained fixed on a new line of text that had appeared on the Kandorian record.
ENCRYPTED BY ADMIRAL C... [DATA CORRUPTED]
"You have 72 hours, Mister Scott. Please make use of it." He finally said, taking a deep breath. He couldn't jump on the suspicion, but he had a feeling that only meant one thing:
Admiral Conner Kent.
Jim determined that if Jaylah stonewalled him again, this time, he really would get a security team. Sure, he didn't have any evidence outside the circumstantial, but Conner was practically Diana's nephew. He didn't even know what he would say, because everything he had was still just a theory. But, he needed to level with her somehow, and this personal project would just have to wait.
The afternoon had somehow flown by, as it was wont to do on a starship where the only internal clock he kept was set to no sunrise. He had begun to regret not eating while he'd had the opportunity, but he knew if he just ignored the hunger pangs, they'd go away eventually. He'd be ravenous in the morning, but there would be plenty to worry about then.
When he reached Cargo Bay 1, prepared to have to use his authority if necessary, he was more than surprised to see Diana and Jaylah waiting outside of it.
As his feet slowed to a halt in front of them, his gaze remained stalwartly focused on Diana for a long moment before he finally turned his attention back to his ensign, in her gold uniform and with a defiant smirk on her face.
"Ambassador, Ensign." Jim said by way of greeting, hands behind his back as he tried to gauge the change in situation. "The two of you done for the day? I was afraid I'd have to get Security this time."
"Yes," Jaylah replied with an expression that suggested that she was happy she knew something he didn't. "For tonight. I will continue tomorrow, but… after my shift."
"You're assuming I won't have you on doubles now." Jim said, smiling a bit. If he hadn't just come from the stellar cartography lab, knowing that there was every reason someone would hurt Jaylah to get to what was on the other side of those doors, made it tough for him to truly want to tease her.
"I'm sure that won't be necessary, Jim." When Diana spoke, his stomach twisted a bit more. He was sitting there with a bunch of clues and no clear way to put them all together, but the picture grew more and more disturbing. Yet, all he wanted to do was sit beside her and stare at the nebula, to feel all that worry drop off his shoulders for just a few moments.
But, he couldn't.
Inhaling deeply, he drew himself up a bit more, regarding Jaylah with a bit of forced scrutiny before he finally relented. "As long as I finally get to see what you've been working on all day, I'll consider it a worthwhile endeavor."
"It is, James T." Jaylah insisted with a grin. "Diana likes it. You will, too."
Quirking an eyebrow, he realized he didn't want to rain on anyone's parade, least of all Jaylah's. Putting aside his momentary concerns, he motioned towards the door. "Well, then, ladies, care to give me the tour?"
"I can only take credit for making the images. They are not mine to share." Jaylah pulled something free from her uniform and handed it to Diana. It was some sort of remote, but he could tell it wasn't standard Federation issue.
"Are you sure you don't want to show off your work, Jaylah? This was yours - " Diana gently protesting, a politely confused expression plain on her face.
The other woman simply shook her head and motioned to the door. When neither of them moved, Jaylah reached over to grab Jim's arm with one hand, and then did the same to Diana with the other.
"You go now. So you will stop being Alone." As the doors opened and Jim found himself staring into a location distinctly not like Cargo Bay 1, Jaylah gently pushed them forward and released them.
When the doors shut behind them, Jim was… speechless.
He knew, empirically, that Cargo Bay 1 was about three stories high and had storage containers packing that top level. It could store hundreds of cubic meters of cargo containers…
But, last time he checked, it could not store The Louvre and the entirety of Paris, France, back on earth.
Yet, that was what stood before him. The museum towered over them several meters away, the windows and columns lit in an artistic fashion to highlight the architectural marvel. To their left stood one of the smaller glass pyramids and to their right was the greater pyramid that he associated with the landmark.
He turned, momentarily forgetting himself, intent on questioning Jaylah on how she did it, and how his ship wasn't suddenly bleeding the exponential power needed for holo-technology. Instead of the cargo bay doors, however, he saw more of Paris.
Genuinely stunned and amused, he simply laughed a bit and turned back to the smaller pyramid. He took a few steps closer, then hesitantly reached out to touch the glass. It didn't feel quite like glass, but it felt solid. Like touching a force field.
"Jaylah thinks that with enough time, she may be able to build in a fully immersive and interactive environment. We started with Paris because there are already several fully rendered 3D maps in the Federation database." Diana's voice even sounded different. It was a strange, subtle change, but once they had entered the holographic simulation, Jaylah had changed the acoustics in the room to mimic the more open air courtyard. "But, for what I requested, I am still quite entranced."
"She changed the acoustics, it feels solid, and…" Jim turned to face Diana, still in wonder. "There's a breeze…" He glanced up, watching the stars twinkle above them in an artificial night sky. "This is… amazing." He said with an awed grin. "She's a genius, Diana. She's going to change the galaxy…" He muttered as he reminded himself that at the end of the day, this was the accomplishment of one of his own crew. If they had never found her on Altamid, would she ever have been able to fulfill her potential?
"Yes, she is." Diana replied, stepping closer to him. "And you and I will have the privilege to help her do so."
Jim tore his eyes away from the technological marvel around him, instead giving his sole focus on the simultaneously godly and yet human marvel before him. She was absolutely stunning. It didn't really surprise him that that Jaylah had learned a cinematic grasp of lighting, given her phenomenal skill with full refractive technology.
Even so, Diana took his breath away. That white shirt had been undone a button or two, her sleeves were rolled to the elbow, and she had taken her hair down long ago, but every ringlet and gentle wave seemed to fall exactly where it should.
The smile on her face was of genuine amusement, a grin that he'd only seen rarely. He, on the other hand, was more than a little dazed.
He hated to take that from her.
But, thinking about what Jaylah had accomplished in one day, how desperately others wanted it…
"Diana…" He began, not really sure what he would say or how he would say it. "I need to tell you something... "
She crossed the distance between them in moments, a clear destination in mind. She reached out, taking his hand gently and pulling him closer to her. "It can wait."
"I'm not sure it can - "
"Will it destroy the warp core? Right now?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Because, I'm sure your crew will let you know. And Nyota would have told me if something had come up."
Jim held a finger up as he opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a moment of thought, he asked, "She's in on this?"
"She is 'in' on the fact that I was working on a surprise for you and I asked that you not be disturbed once you were off-duty." With a free hand, she reached up to trace the command pin on his shirt. "We've spent so much time… I've spent so much time only asking time of you when you've chosen to put yourself off-duty. And I have used every opportunity to make that…" She tapped the pin again. "The reason why we cannot have the conversation I know we need to."
The night sky around them may have belonged to Paris, but he found himself thinking of Veld, of snowfall, of how warm she was, barely touching him but not quite close enough to satisfy his senses.
In just drawing closer to him, but not pressing against him, she was tantalizing his senses and utterly wrecking any sense of duty and focus he had.
He told himself that it was because they'd been doing this dance for months now and that he knew how she felt, so the waiting had truly become torture.
"Diana…" He wasn't sure if her name was a warning that his grip on the more serious matter outside those doors was slipping, or a prayer that she would give him permission to leave Starfleet outside.
"What did Sammy tell you when you spoke at length about all the things you still had to do while we watched others dance in that courtyard?" The question threw him even more, drawing back those hazy memories of Veld that he ferociously protected. But, that wasn't what completely and utterly distracted him. It was the fact that she had asked him about one of Steve's memories without any hesitation, and as if she fully knew that they were his memories, too.
He swallowed, throat suddenly dry as she looked up at him, that eyebrow still quirked defiantly. "If…" His voice had vanished again. Slightly mortified, he cleared his throat and tried to speak again. He noticed that it was a bit more gravelly and husky than he intended, but he was just happy he could speak. "If I remember correctly, he told me it could wait until tomorrow and handed me a beer." When she smiled and nodded, he realized he'd been backed into a corner. "That's your not-so-subtle way of saying that I should leave the rank outside. And normally, I'd be the first to agree with you, but - "
"Jim." She finally said, the smile fading. "Please. Just for tonight."
The last of his resolve crumbled in the wake of her plea.
He would tell her first thing in the morning.
Sighing, Jim rose his hands in surrender, taking a step back, hoping to clear his mind in the simulated night air. "Fine. Who am I to argue with the goddess of truth?"
Satisfied that she had officially won him over, Diana's grin returned. He half-expected the sun to rise behind her, but the fact that it remained the starry Paris night sky reminded him that they were in a simulation, not a fantasy. A simulation that she had asked Jaylah to craft for a reason.
"Good." She said, almost a little higher-pitched than he expected and perhaps even a little nervous. She was nervous. As much as Diana ever got nervous… "Because, I'd like to show you something."
Before he could ask her for clarification, she motioned for him to follow her as she walked towards the museum.
Dutifully, he followed after her. In the back of his mind, he knew they had to be walking down the length of the cargo bay, but it felt like he was stepping on concrete, walking through a historic landmark with a gentle breeze. It wasn't until he glanced up and noticed that a flag, the old French flag prior to the war, didn't move in the same breeze. It was static. Unnaturally so. Holograms were still stationary objects in this little play, but impressive ones nonetheless.
"I spent a long time in Man's World," Diana said as he caught up to her. She spoke calmly, with poise and focus that suggested she had spent some time crafting the words to follow. "And in that time, I was many things. Some good, some… more mundane. But, for much of it, I spent my time… alone."
The two of them came to a stop just past the glass features. He could see a small, eerily frozen crowd ahead. Their backs were to him.
"And I think that is what I was most afraid of when I returned home to Themyscira. When Kal came with me, he was mourning the loss of the only woman he had ever loved." Diana's voice grew thick for a moment. Concerned, Jim turned to face her and found that her eyes had gone glassy, warm with emotion. "I watched him for two hundred years on Themyscira, and in that time, he never opened his heart again. She was everything to him. And while I was Queen, I could understand that, because I had never let myself love in the same way as I did when I first met you." She blinked, a tear slipping down her cheek, curving towards the crook of her mouth. Jim began to reach for her, but she shook her head and kept herself at arms length.
"I need to tell you all of this, and it may not make much sense, even though I have considered it and rehearsed this as I have the speeches that drove my sisters to war and back." Diana's confidence shone through her words, even as her voice remained tight and thick from tears. "When you told me that you were Steve, I knew before you came from the Temple that I loved you. As Jim. And that profoundly frightened me, because I could only see myself like Kal. A lonely god amongst mortals. To love you, to ask you to stay with me... felt selfish."
Jim's heart ached for her, his fingers longed to brush those tears away. He had no way of knowing what she had planned to say, but to see her this upset was killing him.
But, she continued on.
"Almost losing you on Verex III reminded me that our time was already short, and it could be cut shorter. I already lost you once after just days…" She took a deep breath, eyes closing as a wistful smile graced her features. "And I treasured that love. To have it again, but to know it would be gone… "
"Diana, I understand what I'm signing up for," Jim tried to offer. "I want to give you whatever time I can - "
"When I lost Steve… you…" She opened her eyes and Jim saw a look of such intensity he thought his knees were going to go weak. She looked angry, but… profoundly sorrowful. "In that explosion, when I saw the sky light up with the pestilence of war… a war that Ares only heightened, he did not truly begin…." She shook her head. "I hated humanity. I hated Man's World. I hated and that surge ripped the godly power out of me and I unleashed it on the Germans. I nearly went down a path that I cannot return from, Jim." She wiped her tears away, voice steadying. "I loved people, but never the way I let myself love you. Love is both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. I went into hiding for a hundred years because I did not wish to fly so close to the sun so that my wings would burn. And all of this…" She motioned between them. "Brought it all back, even if I didn't know that was why I was so afraid."
"You're not like Ares…" He breathed. "Diana, you are nothing like your father or your brother - "
"But, I could have been." Diana said, taking a deep breath. "When I saw Ares on Khitomer, I found a very different god than I thought I would. He was bitter and tired. He had lost his daughter centuries ago." Her head shook slowly in something akin to disbelief. "And he was… strangely thankful that she was gone. Because it meant he didn't need to care about anyone else." She exhaled slowly, the emotional swell seemingly on the descent.
"And I realized how foolish I had been. I have never wanted to be a god. I have always wanted to just…. Be a good person. To love and live and cherish mortal lives because they deserve love. Everyone deserves love. To withhold that is the truly selfish task. And I love you." She met his gaze one last time."Jim, I want to experience as much of a life with you as I can... even if that time is short."
His heart thudded in his chest, as if to remind him he was still alive. If he'd known that she had been carrying all that baggage, he would have tried to help, but… how could he? She had clearly figured it out on her own, and he wasn't sure there would have been any way he could have done that for her.
"There is… a word in Jaylah's language. We spoke about it after…" Diana smiled a little, catching Jim's eye with a mischievous glint. "You eavesdropped."
"It was an accident…" He breathed, then realized what he was saying. "Although, I'm sure knowing I was trying to open the doors doesn't help, either."
She continued on, unfazed. "The word is Laiya. It took time for her to accurately describe it to me," Diana closed the distance between them and took his hand gently. With great care, she drew it to her chest and Jim's hand rested over her heart. He could feel her pulse beneath it. "But, it translates literally to Heart Alone. Contextually, it means a profound sense of being alone, being without the people that make your heart. Family, lovers…"
Jim rose an eyebrow. "Friends?"
Diana shook her head. "No. Her people do not see friendship the same as fealty. Her desire to call you family is something greater than friendship. And that is something I can understand." She smiled a bit. "There is a difference between missing friends and missing those who are a part of you, Jim. While Jaylah was on Altamid, then earth, she felt this way. Here, she feels her heart is full. She has family again. And that, too, I understand." She glanced around them, looking first at the pyramids, then over to the crowd in the distance. "I asked Jaylah to help me create my home the last time I had… family. Like this, like your crew. Because, I have kept everyone at arm's' length for so long…" She motioned with a nod of her head to the crowd. "They have all but been forgotten by your Federation. And soon, I may be the only one who knows them. But this way… so can you."
Diana's hand never left his. Instead, she curled her fingers around his and gently clasped his hand, leading him to the crowd. "This is not just Paris: It is Paris of 2017. It is the year that we formed the Justice League."
As Jim drew closer, he found himself recognizing the first figure, static and distinctly less grey. It was Kal… in the costume the records still had.
"Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. He was called Superman." They both knew that Jim recognized that much from the history books. But, the way Diana said it wasn't for their benefit. It was almost as if she was performing a ritual, to commit the title and the deeds of the man to the air around them, to the universe beyond. "While he was not the first to form the League, he stood in the light in a time when all of us worked in the darkness, even me." She motioned to the S on his chest, a crest that seemed almost too simple for the man that Jim had met. "The crest of the house of El. He gave us hope."
Diana motioned to a woman beside him. She stood tall and proud, but still seemed so petite beside Superman. In her business suit and some sort of old recording device pointed out, she looked as if she could conquer the world before breakfast. "And this was the love of his life: Lois Lane. Conner's mother. She could topple empires and build civilizations with the stroke of her pen. She was everything to him, and he was everything to her." Diana spared a glance over at Jim, catching his eye. "Spock and Nyota remind me of them in some ways. They felt no fear of the unknown."
Jim smiled softly, unable to stop himself. "Don't let Spock hear that, it'll go right to his head."
Diana chuckled, then continued walking with him. He took the opportunity to pull her a little closer so that her arm looped around his. As the two of them walked the courtyard, it was as if they were tourists reviewing great triumphs of human ingenuity. And they were.
"Bruce Wayne." The figure was dour, but there seemed to be a kindness behind those piercing eyes. "He felt so driven by the death of his parents in a city filled with crime that he turned himself into a symbol to fear, to enact justice. The Batman." She gently squeezed Jim's arm. "But, I saw kindness in him and a great suffering. He adopted many in his life, but eventually pushed them away. He was just as Laiya as I had been once."
The man beside him towered over Jim, broad as a barn, and covered in scale-like armor. "Arthur Curry. King Orin of Atlantis. He was not known for striking alliances, but he was fearless, and brave beyond measure." She nodded to the woman in similar scaling, only a sea green. "As was his wife, Mera."
The tour continued. As it did, Jim found himself utterly floored and flattered by the intimate trip through her life. Barry Allen, the Flash. Victor Stone, the Cyborg. To Jim, they had been myths and all but forgotten. To Diana, they had been family.
They had fought and bled beside her, and had tethered her brilliant star to the earth for one brief, shining moment.
"What you did…" Jim finally breathed as she finished describing Victor's accomplishments, his later creation of the Titans, a group of young heroes that would one day include Conner. "What you all did… is the stuff of legends. Your League saved earth from completely annihilating itself, and that sacrifice brought us all together to create a better world." He turned to look at her, only to find her watching the static figures again with her smile gone, replaced by barely contained… grief. "You miss them."
She took a deep breath. "Every day." She glanced over at him, then smiled. "But moreso, I long for what might have been. What they would say if they could see this world, see you. Kal remains sequestered on Themyscira, and I cannot share this with anyone else. I have no idea if Orin and Mera still live."
"Maybe, when we get back to earth…" Jim offered without thinking. "We can see Paris… than Atlantis. If you still remember how to get there."
Diana smiled. "I do. And I would very much like that, but…" She fully turned to face him. "Only if we go together. I have done so much alone, I forgot what it was like to have them. All of you, but especially you, Jim, had reminded me of that."
She still thought she needed to ask that of him? Jim didn't hold back this time. He reached out, cupping her face in his hands as he coaxed her closer. "Diana, I am never leaving you. This life or any other. I know one thing: I belong with you. We are better together. You make me a better friend, a better leader, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. And I am sure that no matter what, if we take this jump, we will land on our feet. Even if I have to scour the galaxy every lifetime looking for you. Even if you've moved on, if I just get to be near you. And I believe that with every fiber of my being." He chuckled a bit at the notion. "I've never loved anything more than being the captain of the Enterprise, but I would give it all up in a heartbeat if you asked me to. But, I know you won't. That makes me love you even more."
Their lips met. He wasn't sure who had closed the distance first, but this time, there was no hesitation, no frantic need. He kissed her with the same purpose and care that he had in Veld, that he had in her quarters, and how he would kiss her every day of his life if he could.
One of his hands drifted from her cheek down to the small of her back, pulling her closer so he could feel her against him.
When their lips finally parted, the two of them breathless and smiling, he couldn't help but get another word in. "There is nothing I won't do for you." Or to protect you… he thought.
Diana smiled warmly in a way that made him want to kiss it off of her lips. Before he could go back in for another one, however, she pulled something from her pocket. She tapped the button on the remote with her thumb, and the crowd of people disappeared. They were still in the courtyard, but now… he could hear music.
It was tinny, sounded like something out of an old phonograph from a lifetime ago, but still seemed to match the atmosphere.
"Then dance with me." She said softly as a voice began to filter through the courtyard in French.
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens…
Jim grinned and didn't bother to suppress the chuckle that bubbled up. Without hesitation, he took a hand in hers and steered her around the courtyard. "Fair warning, I know how to do more than just sway." He said softly as the music grew to its chorus.
Diana simply beamed at him. "So do I."
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
As he spun her around the courtyard, steering her around with far more gusto and class than the Iowa boy pretended to have, he pulled her close again and kissed her once more.
The two of them danced in the moonlight of a Paris from long ago, but not so far after all. The starship was still outside those doors, along with all the problems of tomorrow.
But for tonight, the two of them were not captain and queen.
They were just Jim and Diana.
Two lovers dancing close together, enjoying a blissful reprieve before the real world came crashing back.
Because that was the whole point of dancing, after all.
For as long as the music played, they were the only two people in the galaxy.
And he would make sure she felt that way well into the early hours of the morning.