Isolated Unity [Going Dark, End]

[smartass_captain]

Of the four hundred and thirty-six souls that left Yorktown on board the Enterprise, only a little over two hundred are still alive. Jim read the mission logs from where he was sitting in Yorktown's General hospital having just finished his evals like every member of his crew had to do in the wake of the attempted assault on the base. The guilt that normally gouges and sticks to Jim's insides is still there, but it is not as loud as it usually is.

He will have to write letters of course. Letters to the families of the deceased that explain their loved ones reason for never returning home. The structure of it already coming to mind while he sits and reads over the preliminary reports from Bones, Spock, Scotty, Sulu, and Uhura. Chekov's Jim knows already as he was with Jim throughout most of the events. And while this prospect saddens him he also feels a sense of pride rippling underneath his skin when he spies any of his people in the halls of this place.

Alive.

How close did they all come to destruction? Not only them, but Yorktown as well? Jim knows the answer better than anyone. It is not nothing that he and what remains of his crew have accomplished here today. The captain does not think those who were lost would want any of them to forget that. They are heroes every one of them. Especially those who did not make it back.

Still, Jim's relieved at Bones inviting him out for a drink. He's heard by now that Ambassador Spock has been listed as deceased, has turned down the promotion for Vice Admiral here in Yorktown. It seems amusing now that he'd been considering the posting at all. For the first time in months Jim dons a set of jeans, a simple teeshirt, and a leather jacket. All new, obviously, since his own possessions were destroyed with the Enterprise.

"They're going to be giving us the new ship in development. Scotty's trying to talk them into naming it the Enterprise-A. Make it feel more like home." It's a tired smile, but a genuine one. Jim chuckles at the way Bones recoils at the word 'home'. He's not fooling anyone.

"You're telling me you didn't even try to get our time shortened out there?" Bones grouses and grumps and Jim's smile widens. It lights up his tired face.

"Reduced? Bones, we know our way through the nebula now. Think of what we'll be able to find out there!"

"I hate this and I hate you."

"It's going to be so much fun." A beat and Jim realizes they're close to the fleet warehouse where he knows the new ship is under construction. He knows there's no bars down this way. "Where are we going anyway? I thought you said we were going out for a couple of drinks."

"Well..." Jim turns because the guilt in Leonard's voice is palpable. "I know you said not to mention it to anyone, but..."

""Happy Birthday Captain!!"" A chorus of greetings roots Jim to the spot and he finds himself struggling as he stares at the sea of faces. What day is...oh. Oh. Jim swallows, but the tremors don't start. Not when he looks out and sees the faces of his crew--his family--smiling back at him. As grateful that he's alive and here as he is of them. It's a strange feeling. No one mentions Remembrance day, no one asks him anything. They raise their drinks and offer him one. This must be how it feels to be valued. When he looks back at Loeonard, it's not with hatred. it's with shocked gratitude for something he hadn't even known he needed.

His eyes wet when he raises his glass. No matter what the occasion he still feels it necessary to toast to those who aren't with them. To honor their friends no longer here. Out across the room is a large window showing off the construction of Starfleet's newest ship.

Jim's ship, soon.

His mind drifts as he watches the construction to his friends across the dimensional gate in the Nexus. He's missed Christmas and New Years by now. Knowing the date, his counterpart is sure to be hiding away somewhere safe and alone. Felix will probably still be at the Imperial Capital sleeping off the days of revelry and drinking the New Year brings.

"Neither one of you had your PINpoints on you when the ship was attacked, did you." He knows the answer before he asks but Jim breaks his gaze out the window to look at either side of him to Bones and Spock anyway.

"We did not, Captain. Though it would have likely helped if we'd had access to it." Spock sets his glass down on one of the nearby tables in case Jim needs support.

"No, Jim. I'm sorry." Bones drops his own gaze to his glass. Jim won't be able to go back, now. The decision on whether or not to leave the Nexus for good seems to have been made for all of them but it'll hit Jim the hardest. Every trinket Felix had given him, every scrap of paper for that foolhardy plan to smuggle Felix into their world and bring him on board for good....all of that is gone now.

The rest of the crew gathers around and Jim says nothing more about the Nexus. He congratulates Jaylah on her acceptance into Starfleet Academy, an easy favor to call in considering everything that's transpired here. Besides, her technical acumen despite no formal education is impressive. He has no doubt she'll make a fine engineer in a few years. He accepts a hug from Demora Sulu when she and her father come to join Hikaru at the celebration. She's getting so big now.

When they leave, Jim stops to set down a full glass of champagne next to a holographic display of a planned memorial to the Enterprise crew who gave their lives in the line of duty protecting Yorktown. His smile slips off his face as the door to his temporary quarters slips shut, eyes sharp as he strides directly over to the communications terminal.

It's a long shot but Jim's not about to give up on the Nexus yet. He punches in his clearance to get an outside channel and sends a brief message to his farmhouse back on Earth in Iowa. There's no details given, only Jim's contact frequency while he's stationed in Yorktown. A secure line at that. If anyone can find that, they'll call him. And if they don't know what it is, he's certain the other Jim Kirk will.

All he can do now is wait.

Comments

[conjuredskies]

Having found the message at last - and promptly run off to demand help decoding it without also bringing a copy of it - it's mere minutes before Felix reappears on the front lawn. He's not alone this time.

He spares a glance for Jim's - twin? counterpart? The man standing beside him. Then hurries up a path barely visible beneath the snow. A lonely set of footprints already lead up that white carpet toward the door; Felix duplicates it, breath foggy in the cold and boots crunching beneath him. The key's in his hand by the time he gets there, and the moment he unlocks the door it vanishes back into a pocket. He steps in and holds the door open for Jim automatically before he remembers.

It isn't him, he tells himself. Makes himself look expressionless as he shuts the door and follows the man through to the communications terminal. He won't understand or recognize anything of what he's going to see in there. He won't know enough to flinch nor to judge it.

He's not the real one. It doesn't matter what he thinks.

Even so, hopefully Jim isn't too alarmed when he sees the state of the living room. Couch pushed back, rug thrown atop it. The floor inscribed with a circle within a circle, runes and lines marked in a mixture of charcoal and permanent marker. The fist-sized crystals positioned around the circle. The smell of blood in the air. Best not look in the kitchen and see the red smears around the sink - although there's quite a collection of alcohol assembled on the counter and Jim might want that by the time he finds it.

"Try not to tread on anything. The message is on the computer," Felix says helpfully. Casually. There's nothing here that needs to be explained.

[boldygoing]

From the outside, the house looks pretty much exactly like Jim expects it to. There are no weird additions, no strange paint jobs, nothing that would visually indicate that it's not the same house he spent several months at this past year. But once he enters behind Felix...

...what. The fuck.

It's not just the clearly magical shit going on in the middle of the living room, although he raises an eyebrow or two at that too. It's a surprise, though not quite enough to make him do more than just pause a moment or two. He's seen weirder. The smell of blood is fucking alarming, though, but Felix doesn't look or act injured and there isn't a slaughtered goat or whatever in the middle of that circle, so he's gonna table the Questions he has brewing and sidestep the whole assembly as asked. It can wait.

Besides, he's also distracted by the fact that the interior of the house barely resembles the one he knows at all. None of the furniture is the same. None. The wall paintings and knickknacks are all different, with a handful of exceptions, and even the flooring seems off a bit. It's like somebody gutted the place entirely and filled it with something new, something that doesn't fit with his mother's taste in decor. There's a lingering musty smell beneath the sharper, brighter smell of blood that tells him no one's lived here in a while, either.

Fortunately, most of the appliances are where they should be, and Jim finds the wall unit right where he remembers it, navigating the system with ease of habit. Sure enough, there's one message in the buffer, and just as promised, it's nothing more than a long string of numbers.

Unfamiliar numbers, but that doesn't mean he doesn't recognize the pattern. "It's not a code," he says out loud, more to himself than to Felix, although he's not gonna complain if the mage is listening in. "It's a communication frequency... maybe a private line?" But he doesn't recognize the prefix. Just where the hell is it coming from? There's no indication of who sent it, either, making Jim wary of just straight-up calling it right away to find out. If they're wrong, and it's not the other captain or someone who knows about the Nexus, then having James T. Kirk pop up on a call from Earth could draw all the wrong sorts of attention.

It's damn tempting to use the computer to search for the Enterprise in the news, suspecting that whatever happened to her, it was noisy and spectacular enough that surely the Federation would have caught wind of it by now. But... no. Jim may have a reputation as a risk-taker, and it isn't unearned, but fucking with the timeline... that makes Pandora's Box look like a stubbed toe in comparison. No, he knows better than to give in to that particular temptation. Not unless he has no other choice.

Ignoring the tantalizing opportunity to fuck things up even worse, Jim turns his attention to tracing the frequency. It's not from a starship, or a civilian device. It's from Yorktown, and that's so far from what he was expecting that it takes him a moment to let it really sink in. Yorktown. Way the hell out in the black, in the same direction that the five-year mission is supposed to take the Enterprise. And now it doesn't seem that implausible that this is from the other captain.

Before he can change his mind, he punches in the frequency, prepared to cut the frequency if anyone else picks up on the other end.

[smartass_captain]

Jim's comm terminal beeps.

The captain jerks upright from where he'd been dozing at his desk, digging the heel of his palm into each of his heavily shadowed eyes before getting up and hurrying over to the terminal. Habitually dragging a hand through his hair to make sure it's in some semblance of order before adjusting the vidscreen. Patches the line through.

He's not surprised in the least to see himself on the other side of the screen.

"Good to see you, Jim."

The relief of seeing a face he knows from the Nexus makes him sigh with days of pent up breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Feels like he's deflated away to nothing when its over. He twitches his lips into a humorless smile.

"Don't check the news, whatever you do."

[boldygoing]

It's almost a staggering relief to see that familiar handsome face appear on the viewscreen, the same one he sees in the mirror every morning, and Jim lets out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Sure, Felix's brother had said that the other captain was alive, but hearing that and truly believing it are two different things. "Good to see you too. You've got some people pretty freaked out."

He gives his counterpart a brief visual once-over, the parts he can see, anyway. No missing limbs and the dark circles under his eyes are nothing new but... is that a black eye? It's hard to tell, even for someone who knows that face as well as Jim Kirk does, but it looks like he's had a round or two with dermal regen too, very faint marks scattered across his cheek and forehead that will no doubt be completely gone in a day or two. All signs point to something incredibly recent and violent, but despite all that, and the obvious exhaustion, he looks... surprisingly okay? Not just physically, either.

"It was tempting, but I'm not completely stupid," he answers, rather than start asking questions he probably shouldn't get the answers to. "I probably know too much already."

[smartass_captain]

Oh, boy. Jim is beat to hell. Whoever he fought with, it was pretty brutal and not at all in Jim's favor for most of it. Even after some time with the derma-generators he still looks like he's been beaten by a brick wall several times.

"You checked the door."

This time Jim's frown is immediate, tension settling back into his posture. What did he see? What would it have even looked like? He hopes no one tried to use it or they'd be dead. But the younger captain doesn't look like he's about to deliver that kind of news, so he furrows his eyebrows in clear confusion.

"Probably. But I've done everything I can to make sure that's all you have to hear. I can't hide all of it from you. All you need to know is that...something happened to the ship. And I lost my PINpoint because of it. I've been stuck here ever since we were able to touch base at Yorktown. I was prepared to stay out of the Nexus indefinitely if that's what it took to keep from adversely altering your timeline."

Thankfully, it hadn't come to that. But how did Jim get to the house in Iowa? He hasn't shared those coordinates with more than a couple of people.

"Is...did Felix send you? Is he okay?"

[conjuredskies]

Felix has been hovering behind the Other Jim since he caught that murmur about a frequency - in Earth contexts, he's learned what that word means. Catching a glimpse of himself in a mirror distracted him for a few seconds with pulling his hood up over his head, the need to tuck every last strand of hair beneath it. When he finally spots what Jim is doing he almost protests out loud: Do you have any idea who's on the other end? Do you know what you're doing?) But no Jim waits for permission and any thoughts of interfering are cut short the moment that voice answers from the machine.

For a long minute he's frozen in place, listening to a surreal conversation. Two identical voices greeting each other across an impossible gulf. Is it him? Is he real? Will he want to see me? Does it matter...?

Then Jim asks about him and he's lunging forward, all but forgetting the other Jim is there too as he tries to get a look at the screen. Beneath his hood the conjurer's eyes are wide with hope and lingering fear, shadowed with sleeplessness. It's not a look Jim will appreciate on him, but at least there's a living color to his skin.

"I'm here. Are you hurt? Where are you? I want to know what in Talos's name happened." He didn't follow that stuff about timelines and hiding things from yourself and frankly he doesn't give a damn. Explain yourself right now, Jim Kirk.

[boldygoing]

"I figured that part out myself," Jim agrees, and it's tougher than he expected to accept that he's not getting any more details about what happened to the Enterprise. But he knows better than a lot of people just how badly one person can fuck up a timeline, and if he has to wait three years to get his answer, well, that's a small price to pay. Enough damage has been done already. If this disaster doesn't end up happening, then he can ask, but not before.

He can't say he's surprised that his counterpart was ready to shut out the Nexus if it came to that, but shit, it does bother him that such a thing might've been necessary. Life's never been fair to Jim Kirk, why should it start now? But it's too late to cover it up, so now they're left with the question of what to do next. "We'll have to figure out how to get a new PINpoint to you. I'll see what I can come up with." Maybe hidden in some kind of courier package, although getting it on any shipments headed towards Yorktown is gonna be tough if he can't show his face. And unless he wants to draw even more attention, there'll have to be more to it than just one PINpoint, something that won't look suspicious. Something to puzzle out later.

"Yeah, but he's been, uh, redecorating your liv-" Oof. Jim's answer is cut off as Felix shoves himself in front of the transmitter. Rude, but shit, it's understandable. The captain takes a step back, folding his arms across his chest, well aware that until the reassurances are over - and maybe not even then - neither of the other men are probably gonna have eyes for anyone else.

[smartass_captain]

"Redecorating? What's that supposed to mea...oh. Felix."

If the sigh he'd given seeing his counterpart left him feeling like nothing, then it was all refilled by the breath he inhales seeing Felix's face again. Wide eyed and fearful, doesn't look like he's slept in weeks. He looks like shit, but Jim's never been more happy to see the conjurer's face.

Guilt and pain twist in his chest. He reaches one hand up to touch gently at the screen.

"Hey." His voice is so soft. Apologetic and quiet. "You're supposed to be celebrating the new year, remember? I'm the one who's sour around this time. Not you."

It's not quite a joke, but it's all Jim has at the moment. Anything to make Felix stop looking so scared. It's him. Jim's alive and here on the other side of the terminal. Light years away in a little snow globe of civilization twirling way out in the black.

"I can't give you the details right now, Felix. But I'm on a starbase called Yorktown and I'll be alright."

[conjuredskies]

Felix has his hands gripping either side of the screen where it's set into the wall. He can barely process Jim's words through the buzzing in his ears, briefly searching his captain's face for signs of injury. They do sink in after a second, and the only answer he can give is a sound of denial, a fierce shake of his head. Celebrating? Jim couldn't possibly believe that, could he?

"I was afraid I'd really lost you this time," he manages breathlessly, and there's a tremor in his voice no matter how hard he's trying to sound calm. All that high-strung tension inside him is winding down in uneven starts and judders, showing in each hitch of his breath, every white-knuckled clench of his fingers on the com terminal's frame. He's there. He's right there. He's found and safe and all that's left is to get him home.

"What are you going to do?" Is he coming back to Earth? Wait, can he? Felix doesn't even know how he could go back except by starship, and a ship goes where the fleet tells it. Jim only ever brought him here by using a PINpoint to cheat. "How do I reach you?"

Ael asked us to skip her over this round

[smartass_captain]

You nearly did. Jim doesn't say it, but it's there all the same in the healing injuries scattered across his face. In the way he leans his head forward as though he could rest it against Felix's across time and space on the other side of the terminal.

"I knew you'd come looking for me." A lie. Jim is never that certain about good things happening to him. But he certainly hoped Felix would or someone would eventually. "That's why I left the message at the house."

"My younger companion is right. I need a PINpoint or someone who has one to come out to Yorktown. Unfortunately, I don't have the coordinates for Yorktown or this would be a fuck of a lot easier. Officially...." Jim glances at something over Felix's shoulder before meeting the conjurer's gaze again. "That's something you and I will have to discuss in private. Above all else, the Jim Kirk you're with now can't find out about what's happened here and we both know that."

np!

[conjuredskies]

Felix nods emphatically. As if there isn't a part of him wondering, How could he trust you so much? This is the fifth time you've failed him. How could he count on you coming for him?

He almost closes his eyes for a second, trying to force the thought out of his head. He can't do this now. He needs to focus on Jim. On the obvious task before him.

Jim's reminder of the man behind him prompts a glance over Felix's shoulder. He'd almost forgotten. There's a frown on his face as he listens: Jim really does trust this one. Hides things from him, but Felix knows that tune. 'I trust you but I will not burden you with this knowledge.' He doesn't get why he's hearing it now but he can follow along. For as long as it doesn't keep him from his Jim.

"That's easily solved. I'll come to you." It's the obvious solution. He doesn't care what he has to do; he's the only one who can go. He pulls away from the screen at last, looking between the Jims. His suspicion of the other seems to have been set aside, but it still takes him a moment before he meets the bearded's man's eye and asks, "Can he- can you help us?"

Sneaking this in here because it fits. Go go Ael!

[smartass_captain]

"..Felix..."

When the conjurer stands aside and looks back at the bearded captain, Jim's expression falters a bit as he catches sight of the state his living room is in.

"What uh...what is all of that?" Suddenly the other's comments about redecorating are making a lot more sense.

[boldygoing]

The proof that this captain trusts the other just as much is in the lack of prying, insistent questions despite all the evidence that something horrible has happened to the beloved ship, and probably a good number of her crew besides. Jim Kirk is not the type of man who accepts 'I can't tell you' as an answer, especially not something as serious as this. Not knowing what happened is already eating at him, but the risks are far too high, and he damn well knows it. Time is not to be fucked with, and one false step could make everything so much worse.

He opens his mouth to answer Felix's question, ready to offer what help he can, but then the voice filters out through the comms and... oh, yes, that. "You know, I've been wondering that, myself."

[conjuredskies]

"What?" Felix was hanging on the answer to his question, there. He looks between them, nonplussed until he follows the direction of their twin gazes. "The circle? I was working on finding you before the message arrived. I only needed it because this plane is so useless for magic." Hence why Jim hasn't seen him use it before - well, that, and Jim's never seen him use that kind of magic before.

"I'll clean it up, of course," he adds, a twinge of conscientiousness breaking through now that the urgent need for all the mess has passed.

[smartass_captain]

"For scrying?" Does Stratos know you're doing this? Are you telling me the truth? Questions wheedle at Jim but he bites them back. He needs to put his trust in Felix. What happened last fall is in the past now and Felix has learned from it. Jim has to believe that because no one else will. Has to put his faith in Felix when all others doubt.

Above all else, Jim knows what kind of man Felix Caelus is at his core. Has seen it firsthand himself.

"I appreciate the effort, but I tried to make things simple for you. Sorry I didn't get the message here in time to spare the effort." If Felix tried to reach him right around when the ship went down...yeah he must have been very worried for quite some time then. "I'm not sure there's enough magic in this world to open a portal to Yorktown from Earth, Felix. We might have to do things by this world's rules. Thoughts, Jim?"

[boldygoing]

Somehow, it hadn't really occurred to Jim that magic might somehow be scarce in his universe. Hunter hasn't had any problems... but then again, all he's really done is animating origami paper, not trying to do magical subspace scans or teleportation or whatever. There's something else there, too; he can see it in the lines of the other's face, hear an ever-so-slightly wrong note in his voice, if only for a brief moment.

But Felix has offered to clean up the, uh, creative mess, and there's more pressing issues to solve, so Jim turns the bulk of his attention towards the problem at hand. "Yorktown is still getting regular resupplies, right? Or at least courier ships? I could put together a kind of care package, for you and the... crew." God, he hasn't even asked how many of them made it. He can't. But... some of them have to have made it. There's no way the other captain would be this composed otherwise, right?

"I'd just send a PINpoint by itself, but that's gonna draw the wrong kinds of attention," he continues, more for Felix's sake than his counterpart's. "Is there anything else you need? Or things that people are missing?"

[conjuredskies]

Felix nods at Jim's question, though there's something about the way his gaze flickers away, back at the circle... well, scrying was Plan A. That's the truth. He opens his mouth to tell Jim that he would have found> the magic to reach him, in this world or another- then frowns and keeps the thought to himself.

He's not sure if he's happy with the plan being proposed, either. "It hardly matters, if the rest of the package is merely camouflage. But how long would this take?"

[smartass_captain]

"We've dealt with--forget it. Yes. They're not preventing resupplies, couriers, or public transport to or from Yorktown at this time."

With Krall and his associates taken out there's no longer a threat being posed to Yorktown other than the rebuilding efforts his attack has left on the station. It's not insignificant but there is no additional heightened security risk. No subspace chatter or whisperings among non Federation peoples that would indicate Krall was working with an enemy of Starfleet.

Not that he can tell Jim any of that. Classified, he reminds himself. If he thinks of it in that sort of term it's a lot easier not to slip up. Jim's used to handling classified information. He can handle this.

"Actually, if you can get your hands on some spiced tea I think Spock would really appreciate it right now. Things have been rough for all of us. Bones is fine--he's called Joanna every night since...since." Though Jim's confidence wavers when Felix asks. There's no way to sugarcoat this.

"Weeks. As fast as space travel has been made, I'm pretty far away from Earth right now."

[boldygoing]

"No reason it would have to only be camouflage." It doesn't really matter that they aren't his crew, not really, and sitting around twiddling his thumbs isn't really Jim Kirk's style. Anything that he can do to actually help, no matter how small, is an opportunity to reach for.

He closes his eyes for a brief moment at the mention of those names. Spock, Bones... both alive, and okay enough. It's shaky ground, probably, for him to know that they survived, with no guarantee that his timeline will even remotely follow the same path as the other. But for the other Jim's sake, at least, he's glad that they made it.

And here's the part nobody will like. "There's no faster way to do it conventionally," he adds to the other's answer. "But it'd be reliable enough to get the job done. I don't have PINpoint coordinates for Yorktown either, and I'm not sure it's even possible to adapt transporter coordinates to use instead. There is that transwarp beaming equation," he says thoughtfully, looking back at the screen. "But Starfleet's got it locked up tight. I'm not sure I could get my hands on it."

[conjuredskies]

The way Felix's eyes just narrowed, he does not consider answer good enough, Jim(s). "How tightly? Locks needn't mean much if we don't play by the rules of this realm. And- failing that, I'm sure I could do better. I'd need some help, but I could..."

He's not really talking to the screen any more. He's turned to eye up the circle, wondering just how fast he could re-purpose it for Plan B, or maybe C. Either is risky, but possibly more to people who aren't him and Jim, so... remember not to mention that to the other two here...

Just... um, younger Jim might want to squirt him with a water bottle or something.

[smartass_captain]

"I could ask Scotty but I'm really not sure I want to risk Starfleet finding out any of what's going on here. I certainly don't want to risk my chief engineer's job because I was too impatient to wait for a goddamn shuttle."

Though Felix's shift in tone has Jim cutting himself off quickly and watching Felix carefully from the terminal.

"Felix..." He doesn't like the sound of that. Or the look of that. Or the any of that, really. But he reminds himself to trust and takes a deep breath. "What would 'doing better' entail?"

[boldygoing]

"It'll be in one of Command's databases, but I don't know which one, and chances are really good I'd get caught trying to find it. It'd be a hell of a risk just to save time." As much as he and probably everyone else would like to have the other captain back in the Nexus ASAP, nothing Jim has heard makes it sound like there's an urgent danger. Like it's a matter of life or death. Whatever crisis engulfed the Enterprise and her crew, it's apparently over, and rushing to deliver a PINpoint isn't going to change that outcome. A few weeks is a long wait, sure, but it'd be safe.

He's not sure he likes that look on Felix's face, like he's trying to figure out how to get into even worse trouble. Jim frowns, especially when he hears that cautious voice from the comm, from someone who knows this guy way better than the ten minutes Jim has spent with him. Without access to much magic, what is this idea the mage is contemplating? "Whatever we do, we can't draw any attention."

[conjuredskies]

Jim is right to worry. But on the upside, here is the difference between Felix now and the Felix of three months ago: he notices that tone in Jim's voice. He even hesitates before looking back around.

"It means I can call on help from outside this realm," he says carefully. "From someone with the power to find and reach you. It doesn't have to draw attention to us," he adds with a glance at the other Jim. That said, he can't make any honest guarantees either. And yes, this is absolutely getting into 'Things Stratos was afraid of' territory.

[smartass_captain]

"So. Conjuring. You want to make contact with one of your deadra? I thought they couldn't interfere with the mortal world directly? And how would they know how to get to me quicker? They're not of this plane, right?"

Just because Jim can't do magic doesn't mean he hasn't been listening. Reading. Learning about it every chance he gets. It's a part of Felix's life and therefor worth investing time and energy into learning.

"Even if you could invite one of them over here, such help would come at a price, wouldn't it? I already owe your friend Sam for...y'know...all of that before." A vague gesture goes here. Jim's wary about this, but at the same time relieved in hearing the caution in Felix's voice. Something that wasn't there before. "I don't want you to hurt yourself or get into a debt on my behalf, Felix."

[boldygoing]

Jim frowns, not entirely understanding what they're talking about. Some of it, he can figure from context, but the rest of it he's pretty clueless on. "This isn't some kinda 'deal with the devil' stuff, is it?" he asks, looking over at Felix.

[conjuredskies]

Felix hesitates again, not only because his Jim is raising at least one valid and pressing point, but also because he'd forgotten that the captain might remember his own encounter with a daedra lord. Albeit one in disguise. It's the Jim standing in the room with him who gets answered first, however reassuring it may or may not be.

"Define 'devil'," he says, shrugging a little and trying to act like it's nothing worth getting into. "Daedra Lords are powerful beings from outside the mortal plane. They can't act directly on my world, but yours doesn't have any opposing gods. There's no reason to think it has the same... uh, protections."

He looks back at the screen before he adds, "And... Sam already knows you. I'm... hoping that will make it easy for him to find you. But there would be some price. I don't know for certain what."

Although thinking about what Sam might ask does spark a tiny idea that maybe he doesn't want to draw Sam's attention to Jim for a second time.

[smartass_captain]

All Jim's memories of that evening in the snowy mountains are hazy at best. He remembers the fire, roaring and intense. The laughter and warmth that seeped into his bones and made him want to forget about everything else. Jim remembers a man who had his brother's smile slinging an arm around his shoulders and handing him a drink. Several, probably.

The stories and revelry Jim only remembers vaguely but he clearly remembers Sam telling Jim he'd known Felix before the captain had. As if he had a claim on Felix's life. It had reminded him why he was there, what his purpose was. What he wanted. It was by that being's design that Jim was able to rescue Felix's soul from the clutches of the Runeblades. It was by a creature with skin as dark as ebony and a smile sharper than a blade who haunts the captain's dreams that they were able to succeed at all in rescuing Felix.

To ask upon him again...Jim doesn't know how to feel about that.

"Felix, I don't know your benefactor the way you do. If you think it's safe, wise. I'll trust you. But I don't know how to repay him for what he's already given me, let alone something more. And I don't want my counterpart to be involved if that's the route we're taking. He doesn't need to get drug into dealings with higher beings from another world."

Of that Jim is certain. The other has gotten mixed up more than he should have already, though Jim's eternally grateful he had. Lord only knows what Felix would have gotten into without his younger companion's help.

"Might want to prepare the care package all the same, in case this doesn't work." There's a lot of things the younger captain might want to do right now, actually. "I seriously owe you one for this, Jim. Thank you."

Sneaking this in first

[conjuredskies]

Felix is shaking his head as soon as Jim mentions his counterpart. No, of course he can't involve an outsider - he wouldn't involve either of them given the choice. Certainly not this outsider: he can imagine the ideas Sanguine might come up with given two of Jim.

He can't just sit here and wait for some courier to bring Jim back to him. He can't do nothing again.

But Jim is already safe. Jim really doesn't need his help. Is Felix going to risk his lover's well-being on the mercy of Sanguine just to have a token hand in his rescue?

"Go ahead with the package, then," he says finally. He turns away, staring at the mess he's made. "I'll... clean up."

[boldygoing]

The more he hears, the less he likes. There's something that's not being said, context that Jim is sorely lacking, and he's not sure he has either the right or the vocabulary to pry deeper. Something clearly happened with this daedra guy - Sam, really? - something bad enough that they're still feeling the repercussions, bad enough that they're immediately rejecting the idea of letting him have anything to do with it, yet compelling enough that they're both contemplating doing it at all.

It can't be something they have protect as strongly as the timeline. Not if Tamriel is involved. "Sounds like there's a story there," he says, though mostly expecting that he's not going to get it. If not... well, maybe something to ask about again over chess. It's more of a relief than he thought it'd be to even be considering the game again, their last match still frozen in time in his San Francisco apartment. Waiting for both players to return.

Jim nods at his counterpart's thanks. "Here's hoping it's a favor I won't have to call in anytime soon." For both their sakes, really. It's been an eventful year, and this one doesn't seem to have gotten off to a much better start. Please, Universe, give Jim Kirk a break for once. "I'll get the package heading your way as soon as I can. Is this gonna stay the best way to reach you until then?"

[smartass_captain]

Jim relaxes when Felix turns away. He doesn't quite sigh in relief but he's a lot more comfortable with the idea of his counterpart sending a PINpoint to him than he is consulting daedric princes. For as much as Jim tries to understand magic, there's a part of him that still has a difficult time putting his trust into such things. More than that, the price of Sam's help is something Jim's not unaware of.

"This will be the best way to get ahold of me. I'll give you both my schedule for the time being. You can call me here anytime. If I'm here, I'll answer."

He tries to sound reassuring to Felix as well as confident for Jim's sake. None of them likes the wait, but this is probably for the best for everyone involved.

"You can tell everyone in the Nexus I'm alive. I'll be back as soon as I can."

[conjuredskies]

Felix doesn't spare the other Jim so much as a glance at his remark. It's not a story that would make any of them happier for the telling, and his captain may trust this mirror image of his, but Felix isn't interested in sharing his secrets. Not this one, at least. He does admit to himself that he owes this stranger something for the help he's giving them.

For now he looks back at the screen. His expression is shadowed by his hood, but his eyes find Jim's and there's something pleading in them. No, he won't be running off to consult with daedra, but... don't leave him in the dark again.

"I will call," he promises quietly. He doubts he'll be able to sleep if he doesn't.