nexus_crossings | Family Matters

Family Matters

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!]

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"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."

He had mentioned that earlier, but it's entirely understandable that she's forgotten in the shock of learning that the terrorist in question is Khan, again. Jim spreads his hands a little in a helpless gesture. "I don't have much say in it. Starfleet's probably going to have to do something else, but that's for the courts to decide, and now they've got all the time they could ask for. Putting Khan in a conventional prison could give him a chance to escape and start his war all over again." He knows now that he doesn't need to tell her how horrible that would be.

She's been more than gracious in her careful questioning of him, so he does his best to return the favor. "Mind if I ask what happened?"

Finding out it was Khan and not some random terrorist was enough to make her forget that detail, and it's not relevant anyway. It doesn't matter when Khan is from so long as the where doesn't end up being the Nexus again.

She nods slowly in reluctant agreement. Better to limit his opportunity to escape, even if the concept of stasis remains foreign to her. "Our enemy... they're sentient robots, but in biological form. They're stronger than us, but not enough that... well, they're not on the same level as Khan. So far we haven't needed any, um... unconventional prisons."

It's only fair of him to ask. He's already told her so much... she's learned more about his personal life than the Jim she already considers a friend. She must have caught him at the right time. "I, uh... before the war started, I was very close to someone on my ship. He was a microbiologist, like me. A quiet guy. Serious, but he had a funny, very dry sense of humor once you got to know him."

A soft smile plays on her lips briefly. "He was so sweet to me... I was so happy. But. It turns out he was a-- a sleeper agent." She frowns and picks at the lid of her coffee cup. "It's... complicated, but I thought he had died until I ran into him again when we were under Occupation. He, um... he saved my life, but he wouldn't acknowledge that he knew me, either. He was so cold... and I wonder, sometimes, what sorts of things he's done during the war... if he's done anything that I can't forgive."

Biological robots? Now that's something he's never heard of, but he figures that she's probably not the person to ask on the technical details of how that's possible, nor is this perhaps the time for that. Instead he listens with a sympathetic ear. "That must have been a hell of a shock."

It's one thing that her world often doesn't share with others, even those that have space travel. It makes her own problems difficult to explain at times. She's grateful that Jim isn't getting hung up on the technical details.

"Yeah... you could say that." She barely manages a wry smile, and even that is only possible because she's had over two years to deal with the trauma. "Each, um... each biological robot model has many copies, so all during the Occupation I'd see his face, but I never learned which one was him." Her grip tightens slightly on her cup. "When I finally saw him again, all I could think to ask was what happened to the man I knew... he didn't give me an answer."

"That's horrible." Talk about a living nightmare. It'd be bad enough to have one person you thought you trusted who turned out to be working for the other side without having to deal with seeing that person's face at every turn.

"It was," she agrees. "It was a relief when Galactica rescued us and we were back on our ships again and out of their reach."

She sighs and reaches for her coffee, taking a long sip. Dwelling on the past was like picking at a scab. If she kept poking at it, she was never going to heal.

"It's not likely that I'll see him again, but if I do, it'd be... gosh, so much baggage. I don't know if I'm ready to forgive him, or if he even can be forgiven. His model was known for being cold and unfeeling. I can't reconcile that with the man I knew, but the longer this way goes on, the less I know about anything."

He can empathize with that, and nods as he listens. There is, however, something he still doesn't understand. "Why are your people at war with the, uh, robots?" She did mention that the conflict is being called the Cylon War, but he's not sure if that's the name of the species, or a location where the war was sparked, or some kind of technology at the heart of the war itself, so he doesn't want to make any assumptions.

She gives him a small, sheepish look before setting down her cup again. "Cylons were a line of robots used for military defense and dangerous labor. They had artificial intelligence, but no sentience... until about forty years ago. They rebelled. The war lasted less than a year until the Cylons retreated to outer space. That was the last anyone saw of them... until a little over two years ago when they returned."

Looks like there's some baggage on both sides. "Humans didn't give them biological forms, though. I don't know who's responsible for that. The Cylons never told us."

"Yeah, that sounds... complicated." It's the most diplomatic response he can think of, one that passes no judgment on either side. It's a very summarized version of events, only from one side's perspective, and he's an outsider to the whole thing. It's not his place to meddle in affairs he doesn't understand, especially when he hasn't been invited to do so.

Yes, very diplomatic, but that's why he's the captain of the starship. "They have every reason to hate us," she says quietly, "And after destroying the colonies, we have reason to hate them..."

It's exhausting. A cycle of hate that doesn't seem to have an end. "I hope there's nothing like that in your universe."

"I wish I could say we don't." It doesn't seem to matter whether humanity is more enlightened or advanced technologically, conflict is unfortunately still around. "The Federation isn't in any active wars right now, but we do have enemies."

Conflict seems to be a universal throughout the multiverse. Even in the Nexus -- especially in the Nexus. It frustrates her to no end. "What are the Federation's enemies like?"

"There's two big ones for the most part, the Romulans and the Klingons. We've got treaties with both to establish a Neutral Zone between their territory and ours, and in theory, we each stay on our own side of the border." In practice, not so much, naturally.

"They're both societies that do the whole... warrior honor code thing, though they're pretty different. The Klingons treat combat and conflict like it's some kind of religious experience - really ritualized, lots of emphasis on glory in battle, that sort of thing. The Romulans tend to be more diplomatic and politicized, and there's a lot more to do about loyalty and family honor than personal acclaim."

Edited 2017-07-16 00:04 (UTC)

She listens, fascinated. She's never met an alien in her universe, and Jim's world is full of them. "So... is that the source of the conflict? Did they once try to expand into Federation territory? What do they look like?" She blushes a little. "Sorry, I hope that's not an inappropriate question. I've never met an alien outside of the Nexus... in fact, I've had a few people call me an alien, because I'm from a planet other than Earth. I'm human, though. So far as I know."

He smiles a little, not disapproving of her curiosity. "It's all right. It's not like you're asking for 'fleet secrets or anything." And encouraging asking questions is something he's trying to cultivate in his own students at the moment, so he can hardly turn down the practice anyway.

"Klingons are humanoid but generally a little bigger than humans, with sharper teeth, and ridges on their foreheads, like this," he says, using his finger to trace a line from the bridge of his nose to the crown of his head, indicating how far the ridges go. "Romulans have pointed ears and green blood, but other than that, they're pretty much identical to humans on first glance. They're actually an ancient splinter faction from humanity's oldest allies, the Vulcans, so it can be hard to tell them apart."

She condensed her own people's war down enough for an outsider to understand, so he tries to do the same here. "We didn't encounter them at the same time, but territory's a big part of it, yeah. The Romulans were already conquering an empire, so explorers from Earth were seen as rivals vying for the same space. The Klingons were kind of doing the same thing, but they didn't care so much about the territory as they did trying to prove their, ah, might was superior to ours."

Edited 2017-07-16 01:33 (UTC)

She's surprised (and maybe a tiny bit disappointed) that Klingons and Romulans sound so similar in appearance to humans. "Green blood?" she repeats curiously. "Do you know the physiology behind that? And what are Vulcans like?"

His reader's digest version of the situation is sufficient, and she nods soberly. "How long has it been since there was a war?"

"Yeah, their blood is copper-based, instead of iron, like with humans." He figures he shouldn't have to explain that too much further, for someone with a medical background. "Vulcans value logic over emotion to the point where most people think they're stoic and arrogant, but they're one of the more accepting and understanding cultures we've met. They have this philosophy called Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations and it pretty much applies to everything." He debates whether or not to mention another quirk of Vulcan physiology, and figures it can never hurt to be prepared. "They're also touch-telepaths, so physical contact is never casual. Romulans aren't, but I don't know why. Maybe it's a discipline thing."

History's not one of Jim's stronger points, but the history of interstellar conflicts is one area where he paid close attention at the Academy. After all, it wouldn't do to be a captain and not know what's shaped your government's relationships with others. "The last official war between us and the Romulans ended in 2160, so it's been ninety-nine years. We've never declared war on the Klingons, it's more of a cold war kinda thing, even today. A lot of posturing and some skirmishes, but no coordinated military assaults."

"Fascinating," she says softly, and completely without irony. "Copper-based blood would entail a completely different protein for oxygen transport..." She nearly misses the rest of his explanation, although she finds that equally interesting. "What do they think about humans, then? We must seem all over the place compared to them..."

Ninety-nine years isn't so bad, but it sounds like it's not long enough to keep people from being nervous. "The colonies had a cold war of their own," she comments. "But after finding a common enemy, a lot of colonial rivalry has fallen by the wayside... I wouldn't recommend it as a solution, though."

"Oh yeah," he agrees, nodding. "We're young, impulsive, emotional, all that stuff. There are some pretty big cultural gaps between us, and some Vulcans think we're a little on the barbaric side. My first officer's a Vulcan, though, and we get along pretty well. He's the voice of reason on the bridge when I'm about to do something stupid." Jim doesn't think it's relevant to mention that Spock's genetically only half Vulcan. His friend and first officer is as culturally Vulcan as they come, after all, and that's what she's asking about.

He listens to her remark, agreeing with her conclusion. "I wouldn't prefer that either. The enemy of my enemy isn't always my friend, and once that common conflict is gone, any problems between you hasn't been solved, just put aside."

His initial description of a human through Vulcan eyes makes her laugh in spite of herself. "It must be so weird for them to see us cry or lose our temper." She tilts her head thoughtfully at the mention of his first officer. "I wonder... the other Jim I know says that his first officer knows about this place. You might run into him here. Do Vulcans ever look surprised? Or do they keep that emotion under wraps, too?"

It's an apt way to put it, and she nods thoughtfully. "I'm hoping that won't be the case for us. That when this war is finally over, it won't matter as much which colony you were born on."

It's good to have a lighter kind of topic to talk about, after the way this conversation initially started. "Sure, it's just a lot subtler than it is with us openly emotional humans," he answers. "Maybe it's just Spock, but I've spent enough time around him that I can usually get a pretty good read on him."

"I've already met a couple Spocks already," he muses, wondering how much different the other Jim's first officer might be. "Mine knows about this place too. This could get confusing really fast."

Jim listens to her analysis of her situation, and though he doesn't know the details, he can still hope for her to be right. "How many colonies were there?"

She thinks about people that she has known who are on the stoic side. Her sleeper agent friend comes to mind immediately but she hastily pushes him out of her thoughts. No need to go back down that conversational path. "That's usually how it goes. Do you have other aliens in the Federation? Or just Vulcans?"

"You're telling me," she says with a sheepish laugh. "But like you said, you know your first officer very well. It should help you identify him from the other ones."

"Twelve," she answers automatically. Her expression brightens. "There's a thirteenth colony called Earth that for the longest time we thought was only a myth. But we have proof now that it exists, and we're headed there."

"The Federation has hundreds of species over thousands of worlds," Jim says, and despite himself, he's a little proud of what his people have accomplished in the few short centuries they've been part of the galactic community. "Vulcans made first contact with us, and they founded the Federation with humans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites. We've met a lot more allies since then, and we're still spreading out."

He isn't quite as certain as she that he'll be able to tell his Spocks apart, but there's little point in worrying about it until it's relevant.

Twelve colonies isn't much, by his reckoning, but it's more than humans have in most of the universes he's encountered here. The name of the thirteenth, however, gets a surprised look from him. "Earth is - was - a myth where you're from?"

Hundreds! The number leaves her a little stunned, but in a good way. Jim's universe is full of so much life... "What are they like? The Andorians and the Tellarites, I mean. Are any of your alien allies, um... non-humanoid?" It would be kind of a weird coincidence otherwise.

She nods, a little pleased at his interest. "Yes. The history of humanity is that originally all twelve tribes lived on a planet called Kobol. There was some sort of cataclysmic event, and the tribes dispersed. But one tribe -- the thirteenth tribe -- left before anyone else and founded a colony called Earth. This was all in the Sacred Scrolls, which is a religious text, so naturally people didn't know if this was fact or merely an allegory." She smiles wryly. "You can imagine how shocked I was when I first came here and started meeting so many people from Earth."

Even now, the thought of Earth brings out a nearly child-like look of wonder on her face. "But now we have proof. Real proof! The thirteenth tribe is out there and we aren't alone."

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