Family Matters

[boldygoing]

There's a starship captain in the Plaza, sitting at an outdoor cafe style table which bears a half-consumed cup of coffee and a glowing, transparent datapad. Jim Kirk is not in uniform, clad in well-worn civilian clothes, though given that his shirt says PROPERTY OF STARFLEET ACADEMY in faded text, he's probably not trying to be covert. He's fairly focused on the datapad, and one might assume that he's catching up on reports or requisition forms during his off-hours if not for the quietly contemplative look on his face.

And, of course, the fact that he's chosen to take a break here rather than anywhere near Starfleet property.

His thoughts don't remain a mystery for long, as this does tend to be the place to go for advice, no matter how small the matter. "How's your relationship with your family? Have you ever tried to reconnect after spending years apart?"

There's an empty chair on the other side of the table. Feel free to have a seat, if you'd like.



[OOC: Tags don't seem to work, but dupes are okay!]

Comments

Let the confusion begin

[sumarusfinest]

Well now.

Here's a surprise. It's unusual to see the captain out of uniform in the Plaza, and even more unusual to hear him speaking about family matters. Katsuya fusses with his tinted glasses a moment before hesitantly approaching the table. Excuse him for not taking that seat, but it's been a mutual understanding between the two that they don't get in each others way. The officer has no way of knowing this isn't the same James Kirk he has history with.

"Strained. Though I don't stop trying to reach out to those still living."

His arms are folded in front of him, expression closed off but not entirely cold. Very Severe Older Brother vibes, this one.

"...Why do you ask? Are yours attempting communication?"

[boldygoing]

Naturally, there's no recognition on Jim's face as he looks up at the other man. The aloof attitude doesn't really bother him; some people are just like that. And he apparently is open enough to conversation to respond voluntarily, so that's enough for Jim. "Yeah, my mom. I haven't seen her in person since I was... fourteen, I think."

[sumarusfinest]

That's.

More than a little strange, though given what Kirk says next it should hardly be surprising. He must be numb and a little shocked about dealing with his mother after so long. He taps his fingers against his arm while contemplating what to say.

In truth he had been expecting a rather short greeting from the starship captain. He's a bit thrown off by getting a serious response. His posture relaxes minutely, arms falling to his sides and one hand grasping at the back of the chair.

"Not even after..." Well. Hardly a topic for conversation among begrudging acquaintances who happen to have mutual friends. "I had assumed otherwise."

[boldygoing]

It's a strange enough response that his attention sharpens, giving the other man another look. No, definitely not anyone he knows, even if he is looking at Jim like he's got an extra head. He frowns in puzzlement. "Excuse me?"

[sumarusfinest]

"The Incident. Before you ended up here."

Katsuya is trying to be sensitive though he's starting to get some very Other Side vibes all of a sudden. For as rare an occasion as this is in the multiverse, this detective actually does have experiences with alternate versions of the same person. Though judging by the lack of yellow eyes, murderous intent, or magical aura it would appear this is no Shadow.

The possibility is slim yet not unheard of even outside of the Nexus.

"You have no idea who I am, do you." It's a statement rather than a question.

[chiron_survivor]

Here comes along someone else who seems to be familiar with Jim Kirk, based on the friendly smile she's giving him. That smile doesn't last, unfortunately, as his question makes her corners of her mouth turn down pensively. "I had a good relationship with them... they didn't survive the war, unfortunately." She fidgets with the lid of her coffee cup. "I always wish I had spent more time with them, especially my extended family... so I suppose if I were in that position, I'd try to reconnect, yes."

[boldygoing]

Jim returns her smile with a polite one of his own, though there's no recognition there. Her answer, of course, turns it into a more sympathetic one when she mentions she's lost people. "Sorry to hear that. What war was it?" By now he's gotten used to the idea that people here are from all sorts of universes and timelines, so he can't even begin to make a guess at the nature of this particular conflict.

He uses his foot to nudge the other chair away from the table a little in silent invitation to sit if she wants.

[chiron_survivor]

The question gives her pause. She's mentioned the conflict in her universe to him on a few occasions. "Um, the Cylon War. They destroyed the colonies, so there weren't many survivors aside from those of us who already on a ship..."

Considering how long she's been visiting the Nexus, it should be obvious to her that this isn't the Jim she knows. But it's easier for her to assume that he's tired, or distracted, or maybe he's decided that they aren't friends anymore and doesn't want to talk to her.

Okay, that's probably the social anxiety talking. He's nudging out a chair for her, that's a good sign that he wants her to stick around, right? She slips into the offered seat and places her cup on the table. "What about you? Are you close with your family?"

[boldygoing]

He can tell she's nervous or uncertain, though he can't imagine why. Maybe talking about this Cylon War is difficult for her, which is more than understandable. Whoever the aggressors were, it sounds damn near as bad as Vulcan. "That's rough. My condolences."

Jim sets the datapad down, tapping his fingers against the surface of the table as he considers how he wants to answer that. "Not really. I haven't seen most of them in years. My grandparents got back in touch with me when I enlisted, but I hadn't heard much from my mom until just recently. And God knows where my brother is these days."

[chiron_survivor]

"Thank you, Jim. I appreciate it." Okay, they've definitely had this conversation before. She steals a glance at him while she takes a sip of her coffee, but is distracted by his answer before she can dwell on it for long.

"That's a shame. I mean, I-- I don't know what your family is like. But to be so scattered..." She looks at him again from over the rim of her cup. "Were you not close growing up, either?"

[primelogic]

It causes an old Vulcan pain to see this younger version of his friend so distraught over a family that should have given him such support and life. The James Kirk he knows was close with his father, inspired and supported by him all through his early years and saw him become captain of the Enterprise.

The young man sitting at the table has had none of those things. In many ways, Spock is to blame for that. That and so much more about the changed worlds his younger self and their crew now call home.

The sorrow is immeasurable.

He hesitates to take a seat, watching the young captain Kirk from across the plaza at first. What can he say? What could he say? He had vowed not to meddle in their lives. And yet....to see his old friend clearly in turmoil...

[boldygoing]

That his question isn't immediately answered isn't a terribly big concern to Jim. He himself tends to hesitate to discuss personal issues too deeply with strangers, and he's new in this part of the Nexus, so there aren't any familiar faces around. Or so he assumes.

He suppresses a sigh as he scrolls through the message on the datapad again, rereading it as if it would reveal its secrets to him. Nope, same words as before, nothing's changed. Still thinking deeply, he lifts his eyes to watch the beings passing by, people-watching more out of reflex than any attempt to learn anything about them.

[primelogic]

Spock would not hold it against him if Jim assumed he was seeing things at a first glance. He hardly belongs in the world he's in now, and being here is even stranger still. The elderly Vulcan slowly makes his way over to the table when he thinks that Jim has spotted him.

"I confess I did not think to find you here."

[boldygoing]

The motion of someone approaching does grab his attention, and Jim blinks a couple of times before he really registers what he's seeing. It's Spock... but the old Spock. Here.

Well, that's different.

"Me either," he agrees, and becomes aware that he's staring at the elderly Vulcan, almost as rudely as he had in that moment on Delta Vega when the ambassador had introduced himself. Bad form, Jim. "You, uh, wanna sit down?" he offers, since that seems like the right move to make. Spock's got to be... what, a hundred and fifty-ish? Something like that.

[primelogic]

"Thank you, my friend."

It takes the elderly Vulcan longer than he'd like to take his seat. He is not as spry as he was even a few short years ago on said frozen planet. Age is catching up to him. He can feel it in his bones, and in every breath he takes. The cycle of all living things is no stranger to a man who has died before.

"What is troubling you, Jim?"

[rogueinladysclothing]

Jim in the Nexus isn't an uncommon thing at all these days. Amelia almost passes him by without thinking because his face is one she's so used to seeing and considering they're not really friends? It appears as if it's going to be another day of the rogue walking by without acknowledging him.

But that question is... unusual coming from him. When does Jim Kirk openly ask something so personal? And, as the rogue turns to face him and notices his clothes, when does he dress so informally? What happened to bring that about?

She walks over to him slowly, one eyebrow arched questioningly at him, stopping a few feet back from the empty chair across from him. Her clothes are completely old-fashioned: dark navy long-sleeved linen shirt and matching pants with silver emboidery down the seams under her leather underbust corset and knee-high leather boots. And then there's the matching weapons: a half dozen easily visible daggers and a slingshot dangling from her belt amidst a handful of leather pouches. Whatever her story is, it's not one from any recent version of Earth, that's for certain.

"Last I was home, things were going well between all of us, but there's not really much chance of checking in on that again now that I'm here." A beat as she crosses her arms in front of her chest and gives him an obvious once over in a very discerning way, the dark silver hairpin in her hair tinkling musically as she tilts her head to one side ever so slightly. "Is something the matter with yours that you ask after the families of others?"

[boldygoing]

Her approach does draw his attention, and he looks her over as though he's never seen her before. Which, of course, he hasn't. She certainly doesn't look contemporary, but Jim's run into plenty of people from other timelines that it's really not a surprise anymore at this stage.

Part of him wants to say something like when is it not? but that seems really quite rude, so he doesn't, instead shrugging a little. "My mom's spent most of my life avoiding me and now she suddenly wants to get to know me. I haven't figured out if I want to let her or not."

[rogueinladysclothing]

That's surprisingly earnest and forthcoming from Jim and confusion washes over Amelia's face in response. She'd never imagined Jim of all people admitting something like that, especially not to her.

"I didn't realize you were having trouble with your mother," she begins slowly, a frown tugging at her lips. She takes a deep breath, shifting her weight from one hip to the other as a way of giving herself another few seconds to think. If Jim's being open, maybe now is a time to ask questions he's otherwise reticent about? "Why would she do something like that to you? That seems a harsh thing for a mother to do to her son."

Dreams, the Jim she actually knows is going to be confused if she ever tries to talk to him about any of this later. Or if she even mentions it in passing one day. That's going to be awkward for everyone.

[boldygoing]

Her confused frown is answered with the same from him. "Why would you? That'd be one hell of a good guess from two sentences." Unless she's a mind-reader, but if she was, he wouldn't have had to say anything.

Well, he certainly can't fault her for not knowing the story that everyone else on his Earth knows, given both where they are and the era of her attire. "My dad died the same day I was born, and I look a lot like him." Jim shrugs, as if that explains it. For the most part, it does, as far as he knows. "I got sick of it and left when I was a teenager."

[rogueinladysclothing]

His response is more along the lines of what she's used to, but... "Because you've mentioned your family in passing before now?" What the hell is wrong with him today? He seems off, even for Jim Kirk, her one and only frenemy here in the Nexus (because of course she knows all of his mannerisms and how much they can piss her off by now).

"Oh." That's a hell of a weight she didn't know he carried. Her face softens into a sympathetic frown and she bows her head a little in respect. "That's a weight no one should have to carry. I'm... sorry you have to do so, and can understand why you're conflicted about speaking to your mother again."

Sympathy? From Amelia? This new Kirk might not understand the significance of it, but the rogue certainly does. It's not often she feels anything but pity for Jim when he ends up in a bad way, but this is completely different. Family is the one thing Amelia holds above all else in the multiverse and anyone having trouble with theirs - no matter how much she may not like them on a given day - will get her sympathy.

[tielle_mortevus]

Taking a seat next to him, she stares listlessly off towards the horizon, deep in thought.

"My family is... complicated... Though with the exception of death, I'd say its never too late to try to mend things. While my birth parents both died tragically while I was still young, I was able to reconnect with my mother and sister after centuries apart. The reunion was short lived though, I had to essentially make myself disappear for my daughter's safety, and winding up here with no way back certainly isn't helping things, but that's a story for another time."

She gives him a smile, leaning back in the chair.

"I take it you're trying to reconcile some family matters as well?"

[boldygoing]

That was quite an infodump, but he supposes he did literally ask for it. Jim watches her from the other side of the table, not quite smiling back, though that's less about politeness and more about the seriousness of the subject matter.

"That's right. My mom's spent most of my life away and now she's decided she wants to get to know me better."

[tielle_mortevus]

She lets out a pensive sigh, being all too familiar with his predicament. Having been in a similar situation herself, she can certainly relate.

"Perhaps giving her the chance to explain herself, getting an understanding of her sudden interest in the matter would help discern if letting her back into your life after all these years is the best choice to make. What's the alternative, completely cutting ties out of spite? There may be some harsh words, and it certainly won't be the most pleasant of reunions, but once the dust settles the path forward should be clear."

[boldygoing]

"I'm pretty sure I know her reasons," Jim says, shaking his head a little. "My dad died the same day I was born, and I grew up looking like him, so if that's not why she chose to be on deployment all the time I'd be shocked. I ended up leaving as a teen when I got sick of it. I enlisted four years ago and I almost died recently on a mission, so that might've been a wake-up call that she might lose me too, sooner or later."

[tielle_mortevus]

"It's unfortunate she avoided you simply because she couldn't cope with her own loss. Id hope that by now at least she's had the time to move on. At least it seems like she's interested in getting to know you now and hopefully make up for lost time, though the question at heart is if that's what you want."

She takes sip from her flask, letting her head lilt back, staring into the sky.

"Would rebuilding this relationship benefit you, give you something more to fight for? I take it you're some kind of soldier, or at least affiliated with some form of military? With that in mind, would having one more person worrying about you, knowing there is another person desperately clinging to the hope that you'll come home could your mind in any way when making split decisions, would that emotional attachment cause any kind of hesitation which could potentially get you killed when it comes down to it?"