Jim looked up at the clock again, cursing his luck. He'd been waiting in Admiral Archer's office for the last 20 minutes, after his afternoon dash through the city. Living in the Embassy was great but it still left much to be desired. Like the travel time. Or the inability to entertain guests. It was still an official Vulcan diplomatic building. He and Spock mostly stuck to their bedrooms, the kitchen or lounge. Sarek depended on them to show visiting diplomats around the city and uphold the Vulcan image.

Jim smirked at the thought. Growing up, he'd never thought he would end up on Earth trafficking dignitaries and acting like a 'good Vulcan'. Not that people expected him to. Most of their guests left finding his attempts amusing. A Caitian Ambassador had even said that he was 'perfectly charming and Ambassador Sarek was lucky to have him'. Clearly people liked the juxtaposition between Spock's emotionless façade and Jim's exuberance. It was refreshing, after so many years on Vulcan where nothing he did was good enough. He just didn't fit into the Vulcan mould. You know, being Human and all that.

Leg bouncing in nervous anticipation, Jim tried to focus on his breathing. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't more than a little anxious about this meeting. The last time they'd spoken, Archer seemed like an alright guy. And Jim had read up a little on his achievements. It was hard not to be a little starstruck. The man was Captain of the original starship Enterprise and, if rumours were to be believed, another was being designed in his honour. To celebrate over 100 years in the service, or something. Regardless, Jim really wanted to see her. One of his engineering TAs, Scotty, had been throwing round hints in their tutorial. If she really was being constructed in the Kirk Shipyard, he was so there. Jim would face all of Riverside and the old family farm for a chance to swoon over her. A new flagship.

"James Kirk, Admiral Archer will see you now." The man behind the desk smiled and gestured to the door before turning back to whatever mundane paperwork he'd been busily filling out for the last half an hour.

Jim pushed open the door and stepped inside, sitting in one of the two high backed grey chairs. The room was sparsely furnished, just a desk and three surprisingly comfortable chairs. There were a few pictures on the walls. Mostly of beagles. One, rather old snapshot of Archer's command crew, T'Pol sticking out like a sore thumb. Now, she was a Vulcan Jim could look up to. Nice lady, too. Smart, strong, a service record that made Jim drool. Who wouldn't be in awe of her?

"Afternoon cadet. Want to hazard a guess as to why you're in here?" Archer asked, eyes still focused on the PADD in front of him.

"Ah, not really. Sir?" Jim cursed himself for making it a question. If Archer wanted to play cat and mouse, he could. Jim just wanted to be out of here, relatively pain free.

"Did you know your name has a red flag attached to it? No? Well, someone's been accessing your files." Archer finally looked up at Jim. Sharp green eyes pierced through him. It was enough to make anyone tense and Jim was already pretty highly strung. He was just about bouncing in his seat.

"Is this a bad thing, sir? Something I should be worried about?" Jim chewed on his lower lip, trying to come up with a reason for someone to be interested in him. He got straight A's, had a few friends in each of his classes, knew everyone in medical... There was nothing particularly important or different about him. Except their side project but Archer was more than aware of that.

"Think back to when you were ten. I personally recall reading something about a bomb." Archer prompted. Oh. Yeah. Jim remembered that night. He would never forget that night. Even after all these years, he still had the occasional nightmare.

"I rewired my respirator into a bomb." Jim supplied, breathing a little uneasy.

It had been a diplomatic mission. There was dinner, a ball, general schmoozing and the children had all been corralled into one room. Supposedly to play games and make friends for the future of the Federation or something. Jim was sitting alone, hands clutching a special machine to help him breathe. He'd seen something moving outside and gone to investigate. Spock had seen him and followed, aware that Jim was probably going to get himself into some sort of dangerous situation. They'd heard the sound of breaking glass behind them, Spock reaching out and tugging him behind a pillar at the last second. They'd watched as the aliens walked up behind the group of women looking after them and shot them down. Children had been screaming and the mercenaries were about to just slaughter them all. So Jim had opened up the respirator, swapped a few wires around and thrown it as hard as possible.

The blast had killed six people. Most of the children had been physically and emotionally scarred. Talks ceased and Jim's actions were hushed up. Of course they'd be in his sealed file.

"Calm down, son." Archer spoke gently, hand reaching across the desk and landing in Jim's hair, ruffling it a bit.

"You're a good kid. What you did was very brave. Not just anyone would be able to make that call." Jim relaxed, if only slightly. He'd never been praised for his actions before. Too many angry parents. Amanda had thanked him but, he and Spock hadn't been in immediate danger. If it wasn't for Spock shielding Jim, he wouldn't have gotten hurt at all.

"Why would someone be looking into...that?" Jim asked. He didn't get it.

"I think the real question is," Archer said, "What are they planning to do?" He looked troubled. He clearly had some idea of what was going on. That really didn't bode well for Jim. The bad feeling he'd had since they'd been given the Kobayashi Maru to play with was back with a vengeance.

"Sir, is there any chance this is going to get dangerous?" Jim questioned. Mind already churning through possibilities and contingency plans. He had to make sure Spock was safe. And his friends, his mother.

"I think it already might be." Archer got up from his desk and walked to the windows, staring out across the harbour. The water was choppy, the sky an ominous grey.

"Well, I think that's enough melodrama." Archer turned and smiled. "I called you here to offer my congratulations."

"Huh?" It was not one of Jim's most eloquent moments. Apparently Archer's moods were more mercurial than Jim's own. It was a shame he'd changed track. Clearly, he'd worked hard to create the ambience.

"You've been accepted as part of Captain Sisco's crew. In just over three weeks, you'll be heading out to one of our newest colonies." Archer said, sliding back into his chair and tapping away at his PADD. Jim's beeped in his bag, signalling a new message.

"All the information you'll need is in that memo." Archer smiled as Jim bounced up and down. He was just so excited.

"Which colony is it?" he asked, unable to stop bouncing around like a puppy. Maybe that's why Archer seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for him. Jim reminded him of his prized beagles.

"Tarsus Four."

Only twelve chapters in and the plot has begun! What a record. ;)