Thanks to everyone who read and to LauraCynthia, FrankieHS, She-Elf23, and sunsethill for reviewing.
"Sorry," Jim said quietly, shifting away as the crowd began to pour out of the tightly-packed transit shuttle.
"An apology is unnecessary." Jim had been mistaken and if any seats had ever been installed in the shuttle they had been removed at some point prior to their boarding, but while Spock did not find the need to hold increased mental shielding in a press of people desirable, that did not negate his ability to do so. The fact that they'd managed to secure a corner location with Jim blocking him from the majority of the strangers had been of some assistance; even when he was heavily shielding the captain's mind was familiar. The lack of an appropriate sound-dampening system had been more of an impediment upon his concentration then the physical contact.
Their positioning meant that they were among the last to step down out of the shuttle and be ushered towards a work board by several people in brightly-colored vests, but however obviously temporary the setup, the neat listing of jobs to be done and volunteer skills required was a very sensible method of organization.
"It appears that they require persons with engineering familiarity to assist in the repair of a number of anti-gravity units," Spock noted, scanning the list. "They will be set up in one of the temporary shelters." Presumably meaning the open-sided tents off to one side, although given what seemed to be now temperate weather he was uncertain why the coverings were necessary.
Jim grinned. "Is that a hint that I should be signing up for that and not something on the roof?"
"I am quite certain I said nothing of the sort."
"Uh-huh."
"Although I might point out that Dr. McCoy would be quite irate if he were to discover that you spent excessive time on a ladder during your convalescence."
"Which, knowing Bones, means any time. Isn't using my CMO against me kind of mutinous?"
A perfectly logical concern for the health of one's captain met precisely no qualifications of the term, but one of the vested men began to speak before Spock could do more than raise an eyebrow.
The majority of what the man had to say was simply a repeat of what should have been understood by anyone who'd read the board, but no harm would come in ensuring that the parameters of the operation were clear. And it was entirely reasonable of them to designate both work and safety supervisors for each task listed.
"If I agree to be good and stay on solid ground, can you help out with the roofing part?" Jim asked when the man stopped speaking and people began to file forward towards the sign-up PADDs. "I know it's probably not the best use of your talents, but if the anti-grav pallets aren't working for whatever reason they're going to have to haul at least some of the shingles up by hand, and those get damn heavy."
"That is reasonable." 'Heavy' by human standards would not be by his, and as the majority of the other jobs listed related to masonry work and classroom cleanup, he was less certain than Jim that it would not in fact be where his assistance was the most impactful.
"Thanks."
Spock nodded, and they joined the queue of personnel adding their names under the various job headings.
Once they had, Spock was directed to a group collecting around one of the tall ladders while Jim was sent in the opposite direction, and after confirming that they would rendezvous prior to boarding the return shuttle, they separated.
Jim had been correct and he did receive a stare from one of the men by the ladder, but again he was towards the back of the group, and the majority were focused on the supervisor who was clearly eager to begin. The instructions were not difficult: those physically capable would carry the first bundles of shingles up manually, and then those familiar with the components would assemble a pulley system to lift the rest. It was an acceptable arrangement that would allow the majority of the group to begin the actual work of roof repair while the rest kept them adequately supplied, although personally Spock would have assembled the pulley system earlier.
When the man ceased speaking, Spock moved to examine the packs of shingles that they were to carry. No doubt a human would consider the largest of these heavy, but his concern was primarily with their length and the somewhat awkward structuring of the attached straps, and he concluded after some examination that while he was physically capable of carrying three, two would significantly lessen any concerns with regards to offsetting his center of balance while on the ladder. He slung the first over his shoulder, tightening it down as best he could, and had just added the second when someone was abruptly beside him and attempting to pull it away.
"Don't hurt yourself! You don't need to carry all of that!"
Based upon her vest she was one of their supervisors, but regardless he removed himself from her grip and reached for the second set of straps to tighten as well. "I will not be injured, and I find this balance preferable."
"That's a w—hey, you're a Vulcan."
It was a statement that required no response, although he was slightly uncertain as to why that had become noticeable only after the load he was carrying.
"What's a Vulcan doing here?" one of the other volunteers demanded.
He turned. "If you are referring to this specific location, I am preparing to assist in the repair of this structure's roof. If you are referring to this region, or indeed Earth as a whole, I am a member of Starfleet, and as our ship is currently docked planetside for repairs and the crew on leave, my captain invited me to visit."
"Hell of a way to avoid saying that you're Jimmy Kirk's friend, kid," an older man said with a laugh. "I saw you two come in with that last transport."
Spock tilted his head. "I was not attempting to avoid such a declaration."
"Well, around these parts you might as well just lead with that. It'll save you time."
"I appreciate the information."
"Where did he go, anyway?" the man asked.
While it was a known fact that Jim had been injured during Khan's attack, the extent of said injuries had for obvious reasons been greatly downplayed, and Spock was not in the habit of providing details as to the medical status of his crewmates regardless. "His engineering skills make him of more use to the group repairing the damaged anti-gravity units than providing physical labor."
"Forget engineering skills, if he can get those things working he's a damn wizard," one of the other volunteers, a woman with cropped hair and coveralls in a particularly vivid shade of green said with a snort. "We keep telling them that we need new ones, but they keep insisting that it's not in the budget. But hey, we can just put our backs into it. Ours and a whole class of six year olds, a group well known for being able to move heavy objects."
They were not, but as several others in the group laughed in response, he accepted that it was a typically illogical human joke. And he did appreciate that her words had taken away at least a third of the attention that had fallen upon him, particularly as the primary supervisor joined them and encouraged them to begin their assigned task only moments later.
There were no further objections to the dual packs that he was carrying, and Spock ascended to the roof with an appropriate margin for safety between himself and the woman who had started up before him. At the top he was directed to the correct location to drop off his burden, and after confirming that he understood the—exceedingly simplistic to the point where he was unsure where confusion could be possible—diagrams included in the bundle was sent to one of the marked sections where the old shingles had already been stripped away.
While the majority of those on the roof were working in pairs or small groups, he had no particular objection to solitary working conditions, and it was of no difficulty to fall into a rhythm. Additional bundles of shingles were brought to him as he ran low, but halfway through the third he found himself short of nails as well, and he set his hammer aside and went to locate another box.
"Out already?" the man by the pulley yelled as Spock, who was refraining from shouting over the air kicked up by another approaching shuttle, indicated the empty container.
The answer was, of course, obvious, but the man didn't seem to expect a response as he dug around in a bag by his feet and then passed over another sealed box. "As long as you're up, would you m—" He was cut off by a particularly loud rumble as the shuttle set down and then gave a shake of his head as another group of humans began to exit. "Sorry, would you mind passing out extra shingle bundles to anyone who's running low as long as you're up?"
Spock dipped his head. "I would not."
It was not a difficult task, but when he returned to his section afterwards he was not entirely pleased to find two unfamiliar men sitting by his remaining unsecured shingles.
Sitting and accomplishing nothing despite the fact that one of them was now tossing Spock's temporarily-discarded hammer between his hands, since the box of nails that Spock had gone to fetch was still in his pocket and neither had taken the initiative to retrieve another. But perhaps if they had just come in on the shuttle they had not yet familiarized themselves with the process. "Excuse me," he said, approaching to stand in front of them. "I require access to this section to continue work."
Both men stared up at him. He judged them to be roughly contemporaries of both himself and the captain, but despite the fact that that meant that they were well into adulthood, they appeared unnecessarily confused by what should have been obvious.
"Hey, uh, you're a Vulcan," the one without the hammer finally said.
A statement that still did not require a response, but as they continued to stare at him, he decided that something of the sort would be required to advance the conversation. "Clearly."
"We're here to give you a hand," the other one declared, pushing himself to his feet and shoving a hand in Spock's direction. "I'm Tom Patts, and that's Jerry Ellman."
"I am Spock." He declined the handshake for obvious reasons, holding his hand up in a much more appropriate salute. "Your assistance is acceptable." Unnecessary, and he would have been entirely satisfied without it, but as all of the other sections now had multiple people at work, it was only logical for them to attempt to fill what appeared to be a gap.
They exchanged glances and then Ellman stood as well, dumping the remaining shingles out of what had been a neatly-stacked bundle and onto the roof in a distinctly haphazard heap that overlapped a portion of the area where it would be necessary to secure the next layer. After which Patts attempted to kick them into place, leaving even the few that had landed in the vicinity of where they should have been at an irregular level of overlap and numerous degrees off the line that should be followed per the diagrammed instructions.
"I believe it will be most efficient if I lay the shingles and the two of you secure them," Spock said. He turned to Ellman. "That will require you to acquire a second hammer." The statement should not have been necessary, but given what he had just seen, he judged it best to have all expectations clarified.
His words got another set of stares, but the division of labor that he had described would allow him to ensure that the shingles were correctly placed per the diagrams. And while neither Ellman nor Patts would have the same strength that he did, rendering them less effective individually, as a pair they should have no difficulty keeping pace.
"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess," Ellman finally said, and while two of them seemed unnecessary to fetch a single additional hammer, Spock took advantage of their short absence to re-stack the now-loose shingles in a more accessible manner.
Even with Spock carefully laying the shingles out before allowing them to begin to nail them down, the pair were still less accurate than he would have preferred, but the roof was being covered, and they were not overly noticeably less accurate than some of the other human groups he had observed during his refilling of various bundles of shingles. He did however make a note to account for their deficiency in the following layers.
"We heard that you came in with Jim Kirk," Patts said, 7.3 minutes after they had begun to work.
Spock had neither knowledge nor interest in what they might have heard, especially since in this instance there was no inaccuracy to be corrected, and as such he remained focused on the task in front of him.
"Is that correct?" Patts asked after a minute.
"Yes." He glanced over to where the man had paused in his task. "Do you require assistance?"
"Oh. No, we've got it."
"So how do you know Jim?" Ellman asked after another three minutes.
"We serve together. I am the first officer onboard the Enterprise." He judged it probable to near unity that they were aware of Jim's position and was uncertain as to why his statement required another exchange of looks between them. At this rate even with three of them now working this section, the efficiency with which shingles were being laid was noticeably decreased.
"I still can't believe Starfleet was hard up enough to give him a ship," Patts said after an additional minute.
While Starfleet had certainly lost a terrible number of qualified officers during Nero's attack, that sounded oddly disparaging, and Spock tilted his head. "Clarify your statement."
A scoff. "Come on, he's a fuck up. Everyone here knows it. Hell, his own mother couldn't even be bothered to stick around. You must know it, too, if you serve with him."
Spock adjusted the shingle in front of him very precisely. "I assure you that I do not know any such thing, and I find your comments entirely inappropriate."
"Please," Ellman said, sneering. "If it wasn't for his daddy no one would even know his name. He's sure as hell nothing special."
While Jim's lineage was not entirely unrelated to his posting—it was one of the reasons that Admiral Pike had asked Spock to consider requesting re-assignment onboard the Enterprise as first officer: Starfleet needed someone like Jim on the flagship after all of the tragedy that the Narada had wrought, but while Jim's instincts were unmatched in a crisis, he needed someone with actual experience to model the functional operation of a Federation starship the rest of the time—if Jim had not demonstrated the necessary skills, he would not have been in a position to be awarded such regardless.
"Given that George Kirk died onboard the Kelvin on January 4, 2233, it defies all logic to credit him with James Kirk's actions more than twenty-five years later," Spock informed the two men. "In addition, as you seem exceedingly poorly informed on the subject, I would direct your attention to the events of last year. Without Captain Kirk's decisive actions, there is every possibility that your planet would no longer exist."
"And what would you know about it?" Patts asked, dropping his hammer to stand and shift into what humans would term Spock's personal space to glare down at him.
Spock stood as well, raising an eyebrow. "I would expect such an answer to be entirely obvious, but again, you seem exceedingly poorly informed."
Patts' jaw worked, and after a moment of consideration Spock gestured to the unsecured shingles at their feet.
"You have now had a noticeably detrimental impact upon my productivity, and thus I request that you remove yourself from my presence. I am certain that the volunteer coordinator is capable of finding you another task to which you might apply your...skills." He glanced at Ellman. "You may do the same."
"I—" Ellman blinked and stood as well. "You can't do that! Just because you came with that f—"
"At present I have done nothing beyond state the mathematically obvious," Spock interrupted. "But as I am also disinclined to tolerate further comments denigrating my commanding officer, I strongly advise you to accede to my request."
According to Jim he could be 'kind of freaking terrifying sometimes,' and while Spock found the description distinctly lacking in pertinent information, particularly since despite noting it Jim had never appeared particularly affected, in this case it seemed to encourage the pair to leave promptly.
Well, Patts did slam his shoulder into Spock's, an act of violence that Spock could have easily avoided but determined almost immediately wasn't worth the effort given the mass difference between them. Judging from Patts' hiss of pain and the curses that followed the collision, he was uninformed about a number of things.
It was perhaps fortunate that the two of them had been removed from their attempts to 'help' on short order, Spock decided, and he was able to correct for the square of shingles secured in a misaligned manner in only 4.2 minutes. After which he settled back into his earlier rhythm, at least until a familiar figure dropped down beside him.
"What the hell? Why are you doing all of this by yourself?" Jim demanded. "There are people all over up here, surely they could have found someone to give you a hand!"
"Assistance was temporarily provided, but I found it unsatisfactory." Spock finished securing his current shingle and turned. "This is not solid ground, Captain."
"Technically true, but I got here without falling off any ladders, didn't I?"
"As I did not observe you, I cannot possibly comment upon the accuracy of that statement."
Jim groaned. "I'm fine. Anyway, we finished as many of the anti-gravs as we had parts for, and all that's left otherwise is this and classroom cleanup. And there are already so many people packed inside that they're starting to do more harm than good. I think Ms. Gant is going to start throwing PADDs at people if they don't stop trying to rearrange her cubby wall without her okay." He tilted his head. "Seriously, though, did something happen?"
"Your query lacks specificity."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Did someone say or do something intended to insult or offend you? And don't even start with me about illogical emotions, I'm not asking if you were either of those things. Just if they intended it."
"Without additional data I cannot speak to anyone's specific intentions."
"Humor me and try."
Jim was still staring at him expectantly, and after a moment he elaborated. Slightly. "I did not find their choice of conversational topics appropriate. Also, they decreased my efficiency by over thirty-nine percent, and what work they did complete was of a distinctly inferior quality."
"Right," Jim said after a minute. "Well, I've got an idea, if you think we can manage. Margie says that the shuttle should be back in about half an hour with pizza. Since you didn't sound interested earlier, and the restaurant they ordered from is one of the ones that I'm kind of suspicious of anyway, if we can finish up before it arrives, we can be on it when it leaves. I'm sure we won't be the only ones, but I don't figure it'll be that crowded since most people will stick around for the free food. We can head back to the house, get cleaned up, and maybe start that rematch we talked about over dinner?"
Spock tilted his head, surveying the remaining space to be shingled before the joining point with the next section. "Your plan is satisfactory. If you are familiar with the laying of shingles, which given your previous statements I assume to be true, I estimate that we will finish in approximately twenty-one minutes."
Jim grinned. "Yeah, I know how to lay shingles. Considering that the design hasn't changed much in the last couple hundred years, other than getting sturdier in everything short of tornado-force winds, they're pretty well idiot-proof."
The behavior of both Ellman and Patts contradicted that assessment, but Spock only nodded and declined to allow the captain to remove the hammer from his hand. "It will be most efficient if you lay them out and I secure them."
Finishing in fact took slightly more than twenty-three minutes, with the joining of the final layer of shingles to the next finished section requiring slightly more effort than Spock had expected, but regardless the two of them were ready and waiting to board the shuttle as soon as the stacks of pizza were removed to the waiting tables.
"Are you sure you don't want to hang around and eat?" one of the volunteer leads asked. "We really appreciate all you've been doing this afternoon."
"Unfortunately we've already got other plans for tonight," Jim said, waving her off. "But we were happy to help, and thanks for the offer."
Spock was neither happy nor unhappy about their participation in the repairs, of course, but Jim's words did get a nod of approval from the woman, and while Jim was correct and they were not the only ones on the shuttle, there were only seven others leaving early which allowed everyone involved a more than acceptable margin of space.
"So I'm going to ask one more time, and if you tell me you don't want to talk about it I won't ask again, but what did they say to you?" Jim asked when they once again exited the shuttle and began the walk back towards the house. "Whoever 'they' were. Because I can see a few people there being insensitive, but deliberately nasty would be kind of weird, and the couple town assholes who might be exceptions to that aren't usually the volunteer sort."
"I simply found their disrespectful comments unacceptable," Spock said after a moment. In retrospect nothing that they had said was in any way relevant, of course, neither was even a member of Starfleet never mind someone whose opinion could possibly affect Jim's career, but he was still disinclined to repeat any specific phrases.
"Disrespectful with regards to...?" Jim's forehead creased.
Spock looked at him and then almost expressed open surprise when Jim abruptly broke into a grin.
"Is that all? I was afraid they were being nasty to you."
"You find such behavior with regards to yourself acceptable?"
He shrugged. "I mean it's kind of annoying, no lie, but I grew up here which means that everyone in town pretty well had a front row seat to the shit I got up to. Most of which wasn't...I wouldn't have recruited me out of that bar fight, let's put it that way. So it doesn't surprise me that there are some people who still have a less-than-flattering opinion of me regardless of what's happened since."
Spock saw no reason to excuse such behavior, but Jim seemed to have dismissed the matter upon learning where their words had been directed, and after a moment he decided to do the same. Provided that he was not forced to interact with that pair—or anyone expressing a similar opinion—again. "A query: what, precisely determines what version of your name you are addressed by at any given point?"
"Huh?"
"I am aware that except in formal situations where you use James you prefer Jim, but a number of people today addressed you as Jimmy instead."
"Oh." He shrugged. "Jimmy's a kid's nickname, or at least it usually is, and that's pretty much when I used it. When I came back from," he waved a hand vaguely and Spock nodded, "I stopped and started to introduce myself as Jim, and people who know me from afterwards or spent more time around me after that mostly use that, but a lot of people who knew me before still say Jimmy. It's not like I hate it or I won't answer to it or whatever, I would just never introduce myself like that these days. And yeah, James is for formal situations." He grinned. "Or if I'm in seriously deep trouble, which tends to work out the same."
"Indeed." In Spock's opinion the multiple forms of address beyond an appropriate rank or title were also needlessly complicated, but that was frequently not an inaccurate description of humanity as a whole.
Hunger had begun to set in by the time they reached the house, but cleaning and changing were not particularly time-consuming tasks, and he was on his way back to the kitchen when his PADD chimed. He detoured immediately to retrieve it. He had not been expecting any real-time communications during his visit, but it was possible that Nyota had had an open window in her schedule, and—"Father?"