nexus_crossings | Family Matters

"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?"

He probably doesn't look much different from the Jim she knows, if at all, given that nothing about him physically has stood out to her so far. The more important details that aren't there are any signs of recent head injuries or anything else that might cause amnesia; he looks fairly healthy and not LOLed in the least.

Jim, in turn, is distracted by the fact that she knows his name. It's not the first time something like this has happened to him; lots of strangers know him by reputation if not by appearance, but usually not here. But her response puts that our of mind for a moment. "With Sam? We were, but he ran away when we were kids."

He takes a sip of his own coffee and grimaces a little. It's cooled a bit since he last had some, and he sets it aside. "Sorry if this is rude, but how do you know me?"

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. Is that why you don't know where he is?"

The cup is halfway to her mouth again when he asks his question. "Uh... you, um. You answered one of my questions once. And then we talked some more at Viatorus's engagement party..." She trails off, watching him in confusion. She does in fact notice that he seems to be uninjured and unLOLed. Which means...

She blushes and sets down her coffee cup. "Sorry, um... you don't know me, do you? I'm friends with... another you. A you from another universe." She grimaces at her word choice. "That happens around here sometimes."

He nods in response to her question, although he doesn't look terribly broken up about it. Maybe a tad bitter. "Yeah, exactly."

Jim returns the confused look at first, until the penny drops. "Really? First time for me, but I guess that's just par for the course around here." He offers his hand to her across the table. Thus far, most of the humanoids he's met here have been okay with introductory handshakes, so he gambles on this being all right here. "Jim Kirk. Apparently you already know that," he adds, with a faintly amused smile.

"Has he kept in touch with anyone in your family?" It feels a little like prying to ask, but she never had siblings. This sort of family dynamic is unfamiliar to her. "It's not easy to get in touch with people who don't want to be found."

He may not be the Jim that she knows, but the Captain Kirk charm goes a long way at easing her past her embarrassment. She smiles and reaches across the table to shake his hand. "Adia Costas. It's nice to meet you. Sorry for the confusion, you... wow, you look and sound just like him. Do you also pilot a ship called the Enterprise?"

Jim shrugs, not minding the questions. He brought it up in the first place, after all, so he's got to deal with the curiosity of others if he wants to hear their opinions. Doesn't mean he's going to tell everything to perfect strangers, of course, but the more obvious Kirk family drama is relatively well-known back home, so it's not like he's revealing any deep dark secrets. No, those stay locked away where they belong, away from the eyes and ears of others. "Not that I've heard. He could be dead, for all I know." Though as nonchalant as he is about it, Jim truly hopes that isn't the case. "If he wants to get in touch, he knows where to find me."

And of course he has to nod in agreement with her second point as well. "Yeah, I can speak from personal experience on that one too. It's part of why I haven't tried to track him down."

He's glad to see her relaxing a bit after the mix-up; now that he knows there's another Jim somewhere around, it's a lot more understandable that he might need to take steps to reduce future confusion, though how one does that when you're dealing with infinite combinations of universes, Jim has no idea. In any case, things seem to be cleared up in this instance. "Don't worry about it. Nice to meet you, Adia." He leans back in his chair a little, now that they've made belated proper introductions. "That's my ship, yeah. At least on paper, she still is... she's in dry dock at the moment for repairs."

That's mildly distressing to hear, although Adia tries not to show it. Jim's family obviously has some issues, if a family member is running away and a mother can't be bothered to keep in touch for long stretches of time. "Not even with your mom? That's rough..."

However, she can't help hoping for the best. She offers him an encouraging smile. "He might need more time to get over whatever caused him to run away in the first place. Then maybe he'll reach out."

He's got his work cut out for him: Jim has a lot of friends in the Nexus. But Adia doesn't seem to be letting that interfere with getting to know him. "Is that why you're here instead? What happened to her?"

"Maybe," Jim agrees. "I spent a few years doing the same thing. Picked up some useful skills, got in lots of trouble, so not much different from Starfleet I guess. Except the discipline."

It's possibly too bad that Jim doesn't have any glaringly obvious scars or other visual markers to hint that he's not the same Captain Kirk that everyone else seems to know, but he's sure he'll figure out something, or else get used to people expecting him to remember things that he wasn't there for. In any case, Adia seems pleasant enough company, and finding out that she's got the wrong Jim doesn't seem to have scared her off, so he definitely doesn't mind getting to know her better too. "Kind of, in a roundabout sort of way. She was damaged in combat against another ship, badly enough that repairs and upgrades are going to take months. Since the ship's grounded, a lot of my crew have been temporarily reassigned to ground posts in the meantime. I'm guest-teaching Tactics at the Academy." He lifts the datapad a little, its glass-like surface covered in text. "I thought this looked like a nice place to grade papers."

Now that's a side of the Captain she hasn't heard from the Jim she knows. "You sound like my opposite," she admits with a soft laugh. "But my ship is a lot smaller than yours. Maybe I should have gotten into more trouble as a teenager."

She takes a sip of coffee as he explains what happened to the Enterprise. At least there, he's not identical to his alternate. So far as she knows, her friend's ship is currently in space. That's a cumbersome way to tell the two apart, however. "Ah, I see. Is, um... is the Federation at war with someone currently?" She brightens a little at his comment about grading. "The Nexus is great for that sort of thing. Plenty of coffee and none of your students can interrupt you."

Now that's something he hadn't suspected, and he looks up at her in interest. He's run into so many people from older centuries here that she's possibly the first one he's met that's hinted at more advanced technology. "What's your ship called?"

Her question prompts an iffy sort of facial expression out of him. "Not officially. This was a one-time sort of thing. I hope. A terrorist from the twentieth century. It's kind of a long story, and some of it's classified." It doesn't really matter to him that any intel he gives out here is unlikely to make it back home; there's always a chance, and he doesn't feel it's worth risking it.

Especially since he made a shit-ton of mistakes in the process. People died. He's still not really over it.

Grading papers is a much more innocent topic to discuss, though even that is also marred a little by his personal problems. "Yeah, that's what I figured too. Doesn't stop the messages, but at least it's not in person."

"The Chiron." She smiles, pleased that he appreciates something they have in common. "It's a research vessel. I'm a microbiologist, we study infectious diseases... although since the war started, our role has shifted more to keeping the Fleet healthy than pure research."

Not everyone has acclimated to the change, but there is a sparkle of pride in her eyes when she explains. She has enjoyed helping others in a more immediate way.

Classified that information may be, it sounds vaguely familiar to her. Her gaze drifts over towards the Industrial District, its skyline of warehouses jagged and under repair. Something caused a great deal of destruction not too long ago. "That's terrible... what happened to the terrorist? Was he -- ah, or she -- were they caught?"

Her smile returns, wry this time. "At least you still get the messages. I'm more or less out of contact when I'm here."

"So it's something of a hospital ship at the moment." Though it's probably not the best circumstances they could be under, Jim approves of efforts to help others, and while he's not personally fond of being in the hands of doctors, he also appreciates their necessity.

Her hesitation makes him think this must bring up some kind of bad memories for her. He never for a moment suspects it's Khan. "He was, yeah. Eventually. He did a lot of damage before my first officer... took him in." It occurs to him that she might actually know Spock, and he wonders if the other Jim has introduced his crew to this place. If it's possible he's going to run into another Spock, or Bones, or Uhura. As if two captains wasn't confusing enough.

Jim smiles a little at her comment. "I usually am too, but apparently this place has a mind of its own with this sorta thing. It's not just my students," he admits. "It's personal messages too." Which goes a little toward explaining the timing of his question.

"Sort of. We don't have the space to take on patients, but we can do any necessary lab work. Some of us have been traveling to other ships to help out the medical staff there." Something of a perk if you like to travel.

Adia has bad memories to spare -- living through a genocidal war will do that to you -- but her mind stays on Khan and the recent Nexus invasion. He's the only enemy of Jim's she knows about. "So he's... in prison, then?" She doesn't know what he means by his first officer taking him in. She's never met Spock or the rest of Jim's crew. A shame, really, she'd probably get along well with Bones.

"I still don't know how that works. I've seen people use cell phones here, but I can't access any of research remotely." She blinks at his additional comment. "Oh... oh? You got a message from your mother while you were here?"

He mentally revises his assumptions about her ship - and the fleet she mentioned, at that. Either the ships are faster or spatially closer together than Starfleet tends to run its ships. Makes sense if there's a war on, though. "I'm glad that's an option, then."

Jim nods, a little uneasy with the topic, himself. "Yeah. I wasn't able to be there for the trial or anything, but as far as I know, Khan isn't getting out again anytime soon." Assuming they can trust the very few people who know where the Augments' cryotubes are being held, but he's not going to say so out loud.

"I don't know how it works either," he admits. "I've also seen actual magic here so I'm mostly not trying too hard to figure it out." And he nods in response to her question. "She's been deployed on Columbia but she's coming back to Earth in two weeks, and since my apartment building got taken out by the last terrorist attack, I've been staying at our old house in Iowa, so I can't really avoid seeing her again." He's still not sure if he wants to.

She'd be happy to talk shop, but as a civilian, she only knows so much. Her view is strictly from the porthole of her quarters or the window of a transport vessel. "Every little bit helps," she agrees. "But I wish we could more."

Her relief upon hearing that the terrorist is locked away is short-lived when Jim reveals his name. There is a look on her face of pale worry that she cannot hide behind her cup of coffee. Shakily, she sets it down. "I, um... I don't know if anyone has told you this yet, but we had a Khan here, not that long ago. He disabled the AV field and went on a murdering spree looking for -- well, for his universe's version of you." She leans forward, her gaze intent despite the way her voice quavers. "And you're sure the Khan you know is locked away for good? There's no way of him getting out?"

The last thing the Nexus needs is another Khan hellbent on revenge.

"We don't have magic where I'm from... I kind of like that about the Nexus, though. It reminds me that I'm somewhere special." That's another blink -- she might have been making an assumption or two of Jim's mother. "She's also in Starfleet? That... sounds a little awkward, if you two don't talk."

Consider his attention firmly grabbed, Adia. He stares at her for a moment, unable to process that, until incomprehension gives way to dread. Up until this point, it hasn't even crossed his mind that there might be a Khan or two on the loose, let alone one that could circumvent the anti-violence field to such a drastic degree. He wants to ask if this is some kind of really tasteless joke, but he can read the truth on her face. "He's in stasis," he says, already running through contingency plans in his head, ideas to run past Spock, to make damn sure that Khan is going to stay where they put him. "It can't hurt to take extra precautions..." He wants to ask how the hell the other Khan got out, but it seems like that might not be the right line of questioning right now, especially not of someone who clearly has her own trauma to deal with. Jim shifts uncomfortably in his chair, feeling the phantom ache in his back and muscles from his own healed injuries, only a few months ago.

After that, it's oddly mundane to be worrying about family problems. He fidgets with his coffee cup, needing something to do with his hands. Depending on her assumptions, she still might not be wrong. "How so?"

She hates delivering bad news. She wants to look away and drop the subject, but she doesn't, not even when doubt briefly passes across his face. This is important. "Stasis... what does that mean? He's unconscious?" That's not a style of containment that she's familiar with. But if it keeps him from hurting anyone...

Once she sees how seriously he's taking the news, she relaxes her shoulders slightly and lowers her gaze. "Sorry... it's not something you probably wanted to hear." She struggles with her own fears of Cylons in the Nexus. She can easily imagine how he feels. "He only became truly dangerous after he acquired some sort of magic artifact..."

His question brings her gaze up once more. "Well, if you're both in the same organization, there's a chance of having to work together... or is Starfleet so huge that it never came up?"

"He's been cryogenically frozen," Jim clarifies. "He can't wake up without someone thawing him out, and they'd need the right sequence to do it without killing him." He's certainly taking this very seriously, and he shakes his head. "You don't have to apologize. You're right, it isn't something I wanted - or expected - to hear. But I'd rather be forewarned. This artifact... do you know what happened to it?"

Her question about Starfleet is a valid one, certainly. "It hasn't yet, but it could happen. I've only been out of the Academy for a little over a year, so we haven't crossed paths before now." And of course, now that he's thinking about that possibility, there's another thing that might be awkward. "I outrank her, too."

It's something she's only heard of in science fiction stories, but she knows the technology in Jim's world is more advanced than hers. She'll have to accept his answer for what it is and hope no one decides to defrost Khan. "It stopped working once he died. I don't know what happened to it... You should talk to Blaze about it, she was there. She's a robot -- tall, dressed in armor. She patrols the Nexus and keeps an eye on things."

She lets out a quiet sigh and reaches for her cup. "It was the most destruction I've seen outside my own world. Khan was... furious. Relentless. And he had several soldiers with him, too."

The fact that he outranks his own mother surprises her, but it make sense that it would only add to the awkwardness between them. "Can I ask what happened? Was she a bad parent? Is that why you fell out of touch?"

He makes a mental note of that. Armored robot on patrol, got it. Whoever he's got to talk to, he's certain he's not the only one with a vested interest in keeping this artifact out of another Khan's hands.

The news that Khan had others with him is also a concerning one, and Jim frowns deeply. "Soldiers like him?" If so, no wonder Khan made such an impression on the people here. Dealing with just one Augment was hell, and there are seventy-three of them in total.

How to even begin to explain the mess that is Jim Kirk's home life? Might as well start with the part that literally everyone on his Earth knows. "My dad died the same day I was born. I guess looking at me's always been a reminder that I'm here and he's not, so once I was old enough to go to school, she took as many off-world assignments as Starfleet would give her, and left Sam and me on Earth." It's disappointing in retrospect to look back at the stupid things he did in his youth, as if he's suddenly world-wise at twenty-six, but a lot has changed in the last few years. "I acted out for attention and got in trouble a lot, and that just made things worse."

Adia makes a mental note as well, to let Blaze know that she's likely be approached by an alternate of Jim's. She'd like to avoid any further confusion.

"Yes, about a dozen of them. They didn't do as much structural damage as he did, but they had weapons... I didn't see any of them, though. I stayed in the Plaza and helped the injured."

Her eyes widen in sympathy at the news. The Jim she knows must never have told her. "Oh, Jim... I'm so sorry... that must have been hard for your mom, but she shouldn't have abandoned you like that." That's not what a family does. She can't imagine one of her parents losing the other and then taking it out on her. "But," she adds hopefully, "Maybe she realizes that she was wrong, and that's why she got in touch with you."

A dozen is better than seventy-plus, but still way too many. "Sorry to hear that. I can't imagine." He can, in truth, but he'd prefer not to dwell on that. "We've got his people locked up the same way Khan is, back home, all accounted for. They won't be able to get out any more than he can." He hopes that'll be at least some comfort.

Having grown up in a society where the shadow of his father's sacrifice has hung over him literally since the day he was born, it's still something of a novelty to run into people who've never heard the story. But he's slowly getting used to it. "Maybe," he concedes. "It's not entirely her fault; I ran off when I was a teenager. And she did send me messages once I enlisted and showed up in the public eye again. It's just... awkward." It's her word, but it's an apt one, so he uses it again.

It very nearly overwhelmed the Nexus, but thankfully the usual group of heroes gifted Nexus residents were able to put a stop to it. Knowing that his augmented soldiers are also on ice makes her feel a little better. "This... this will probably sound barbaric to you, but why weren't they executed for their crimes instead?" It doesn't sound like an alternative that she wishes for, but she looks curious.

"Yeah," she agrees quietly. Her thoughts turn to her own mother. She'd give anything to see her again, to talk to her one more time. "But... sometimes you have to push past that awkwardness, if you want to start healing."

There's two ways he can take that, and he considers his answer carefully. "If you mean back in the twentieth century, I don't know. If you mean once they were found more recently, it isn't legal or right to kill helpless prisoners." He's not going to say that the head of Starfleet thought they might be useful, because that's part of what his superiors have deemed classified. No matter how much he despises what Admiral Marcus did.

As much as he doesn't like talking about his family issues, it's better than talking about Khan. "There's a lot to forgive and forget on both sides." He knows damn well he's not blameless in this, even if most of his shithead attitude came from the completely excusable immaturity of being an actual child at the time.

"Twentieth century?" She repeats cluelessly. "He was from your Earth's past?" How strange. She really knew nothing about Khan other than the fact that he hated Jim. "So... okay, but putting them in stasis is legal?" It doesn't seem much different than the death penalty, except of the possibility to reverse it. "Leonis -- my home colony -- outlawed the death penalty over a hundred years ago, but treason was a Colonial crime, punishable by death. On our ships, we... we don't have the means to contain dangerous criminals. Anyone murdering civilians gets sent out of an airlock."

For the record, she doesn't look particularly happy about that. She'd rather justice was served in a more humane fashion. But with the remnants of humanity living in such tight quarters, the emphasis must be put on protecting the defenseless.

She smiles faintly. "It probably helps a little, going into it with an attitude like that instead of a chip on your shoulder." Shifting in her seat, she admits sheepishly, "I was, um... I never had any issues like that with my parents, but there is someone who... well, if he reached out to me, I'd have to do the same thing."

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