Don&#39;t believe in no-win scenarios

Bones. This is serious. Time to quit eyeing his injured boyfriend and try to charm the healer. Smile a little more. Everyone needs a healer on their side.

Everyone really needs their boyfriend’s closest companions on their side, for that matter, so he’d really best hop to it.

“A pleasure, sir.” He bows a little. There’s no pretense in either the address or the gesture: he’s an Imperial and these courtesies are as natural as breathing to him. The sheer familiarity of them helps him recover some poise. “The captain-Jim’s spoken of you a great deal - and it’s certainly a relief to find him in such capable hands. After all, there’s… quite a limit to the assistance I can render with my training.”

Wait did Jim just call him a medical specialist? All right, it’s not entirely untrue, he’s definitely better at that than the destructive end of things. And he trusts Jim to know the best thing to say in the face of the fierce scrutiny he’s getting. From what Jim’s said before he thinks that’s… normal? Probably.

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McCoy pinches the brow of his nose. Deep breaths, Bones. Deep breaths.

"You know, on the one hand, I want to be mad at you, Captain, for seeking treatment from someone other than me." Could he be in better hands then these? This country doc doesn't think so. "On the other hand, taking care of you properly probably requires two people at least. Maybe we should get a whole medical team on standby."

Sometimes he gets so mad he'd like to slap Jim to sleep and then slap till he wakes up again. Fer cryin' out loud ...

He's less mad at Felix. He can't be disappointed by him, after all, because he doesn't know him. And it's because he doesn't know him, that he doesn't trust him, but ... since Jim seems taken with the guy, he at least tries not to be outright mean.

"Leonard McCoy." He says, taking a breath and trying to summon some false cheer. It's not all that convincing. He's a doctor, not a thespian. "Did you give him anything recently? I'd hate to find out our combined efforts caused an adverse reaction of some kind by seeing him hemorrhage all over this fine couch."

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"Well, it's kind of hard when I'm on a different planet than you to seek your treatment, Bones."

Wait, Bones doesn't know he's been frequenting the Nexus, he's surely not going to be pleased that Jim's been exploring other worlds all by himself. Well, not ALL by himself. Felix and Ghost Puppy were there too! They should tell Bones about the time they got Jim kidnap--well, maybe not. How about the time they almsot drow--uhm.

They have a lot of fun together.

"Nah, just a dermal regenerator. His work differently than ours do, but I can one hundred percent guarantee I'm not allergic to 'em." He has a sample size large enough to be significant backing him up there. That's not something to be proud of, Jim. "Relax Felix it's fine. How're you holding up?"

He hasn't forgotten how much of a drain those magics take on the Imperial.

"It's about time you two met anyway, really. Kind of surprised it didn't happen earlier." Considering how many times he's brought Felix on the ship....

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Felix is watching the doctor pretty closely. He can see the effort McCoy is making to stay calm and polite - and he can understand whatever irritation lurks behind it. He's just more concerned with getting around it safely until he has a better read of the man.

"Right." What Jim said. He shakes his head emphatically, keen to assure Bones that he has a free hand here. "No potions or other medicines at all, yet. Most of what I did was to check that he was still breathing and then check he was going to stay that way." A thought which shouldn't really prompt an affectionate smile toward the captain, but Felix is still feeling that wave of relief from earlier.

Jim's question is also met with reassurance. "Oh, I'm fine. Starting to get some more energy at my disposal, though it won't be needed now." He wonders what Bones is actually going to do though. Everything in Jim's world works so differently to his own that he can't guess what the healing must look like,

His curious pondering is interrupted by the need to hold back a grin at Jim's last remark. He coughs, murmurs, "Well, we weren't exactly taking tours of the ship..."

Jim's quarters tend to be the primary stop. Not that he's complaining.

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And it's not as if Bone's spends a lot of time in Jim's cabin. The health concerns of the persons on the USS Enterprise take a whole team of people to help manage them and Bones is in charge of it all. It's a lot of responsibility and it could be argued that he gets too emotional to be a great doctor. That he gets too invested to be objective. A true clinician would be critical of his methods.

But dammit what was the point of being a Doctor if you didn't care about the people you were treating? A nihilist is something he could never be. Would never allow himself to be.

"I can see that you being here has had a therapeutic effect of it's own." He says finally, after a moment of swimming in his own thoughts. That's ... probably the closet you'll get to thanks from him right now, Felix.

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Bones hardly spends any time in his own cabin. Jim knows he checks the medbay first, Bones' office second, and then maybe his quarters. In that order. At all times. Which has definitely helped avoid the good doctor on their frequent excursions onto the ship.

Still, he didn't expect Bones to completely miss the part where Jim's bringing strangers form other worlds onto the ship. Jim must be hurting pretty badly. He checks himself over and sighs. His head is still throbbing but it's less of a 'splitting his skull in half' kind of way so he can't really complain.

"Relax Bones. He's fine. As long as you don't toss around your 'cheating at scrabble' medical jargon he's pretty knowledgeable about our world too." Giving Felix another wink. Because whose fault is that? Certainly not Jim's, nope. If moving didn't hurt so damn much, he'd clap Bones on the shoulder. As it is he just tilts his head so he can look up at Felix. Smiles like the doof he is.

"He's real nice once you get to know him, I promise." Knows it'll take more than gruff bedside manner to upset Felix, but still.

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Felix doesn’t expect Bones to trust him too quickly. These two have known each other for years – he’d certainly be taking his time eyeing up this foreign newcomer, in the doctor’s place. That said, his grudging acceptance-for-now is more than enough for the Imperial to relax and perk up. He is being ~~Tolerated~~ Helpful!

“I try to be of service,” he says cheerfully, shrugging a little. Aside from Bones’s polite restraint, it’s hard to stay nervous when Jim keeps smiling at him like that. It’s hard to remember what to be nervous about when Jim smiles.

It’s also impossible not to grin back, though instead of answering Jim’s last remark he looks back up at Bones. “So... I take it he’s going to be fine after all?”

Because of course he’s not going to pass up the chance to ask, now he has it. The question’s still been nagging him and he- he wants to be sure.

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How did the doctor treating his patient suddenly become the third wheel in this ... well it's not really a room is it, so much as a couch in a big open forum.

It's the eyes they're making at each other, he figures. They look at each other the way Spock and Uhura do when they think no one is looking. Protective streak, in full force with Bones as it is right now, he can't say he often sees Jim as happy as he does right now. And he can't deny that it's better to see that look in his eyes then the one's he sees more often.

"I predict a full recovery." He says with a thoughtful frown. This question, is probably more directed at Felix because considering Jim's state when they dragged him out here, McCoy doesn't really expect him to know ... "as far as you both know, there aren't anymore people in that arena, right?"

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What look?

Jim isn't making a look. Jim Kirk is incapable of looking smitten. Except he totally is. This isn't bedroom eyes, but something else entirely. And he's less able to hide it with the splitting headache he has, too. But since Bones isn't saying anything ~~for now, Jim, for now~~ Jim thinks he's getting away with the worst kept secret ever.

"I told you I'd be fine." That's not to say he isn't an infuriating smug bastard with Felix either, because he so is. It's a voice that has had Bones throw things at him back at the Academy and one he should know better than to use around his CMO and best friend.

His attention shifts--wobbles more like-- back to Bones at the last comment, smile evaporating form his face.

"Oh..shit. Yeah, who else was drugged and forced t'be in there....I didn't even think of that. Didn't see anyone else when I was in my cell."

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Felix, for his part, loves it when Jim's maddeningly smug. That assurance of his gets an amused snort- even if that's at least half Felix letting out a relieved breath.

"Thank you," he murmurs to Bones, quietly grateful to hear it from someone who really does know. But then it's his turn to offer some reassurance.

"I can't speak to who else might have been drugged - I wasn't looking for anyone else when I was in there. Perhaps not many - they were accepting plenty of volunteers as combatants from what I saw." He shrugs. "Either way, I doubt we need to worry. The main, ah... 'rescue party' seemed very thorough. Though if you want to go back and make certain, we can."

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Bones makes an almost flippant shrug.

"I tend to leave those kinds of decisions in the hands of my captain and since his head isn't in state that much more altered than usual, I trust him to make the right decision."

Not to mention Bones has very little information on what they were dealing with in there. Were he forced to make the call himself ... he'd probably bring down as many security personnel as The Enterprise could spare and do a cautious sweep of the arena - if for no other reason that to make sure that no one got trapped or left behind.

Maybe he'd even consult with the green blooded one first. Then, at least, he'd know that together they could come up with a somewhat logical course of action.

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"....I can't go, huh." It's a rhetorical question but Jim struggles to get up all the same just to test the waters and--no. No he cannot get up without being in all kinds of nausea and dizzying pain. Jim leans back against the couch, sweat beading on his forehead.

"I can't go. But...we. Someone should make sure no one's left trapped." His gaze moves from Bones to Felix, and Jim tries to shift into his Captain face. Tries to look in command and prepared, instead of concussed and sore.

"Felix. You know the location. Y..you think you and Bones could check?" He'd feel better if neither one of them went alone, despite Felix's assessment that the place was cleared out.

((I'm prepared to tackle this however you two want. I can make NPCs and you guys can bond, or we can wrap up the thread as is pretty soon here.))

Edited Date: 2016-06-12 06:48 pm (UTC)

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"And leave you?" Felix drops onto the couch beside Jim: he may be assuming the captain's face now, but Felix (and doubtless Bones) saw how pale he turned just there. "If I take my familiar we can make it quick, but..." But he's not happy with the idea of abandoning Jim. Maybe he'll leave Ghostpuppy on guard anyway.

(( A rescue mission with Bones would be awesome, but I'm happy to proceed whichever way! ))

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Members of Starfleet are guided by the prime directives. That's what you learn at the academy. In truth, Bones has found by being a part of Jim Kirk's crew and seeing the effects that other men in the same rank have had on their team ... the Captain shapes his or her crew more than any rule one could pull up on a datapad.

And maybe that's why, though he doesn't particularly like the idea of leaving Jim behind either, McCoy knows that they need to make that sweep for survivors and others left behind. Leaving people behind is not something Jim does. Nor does the crew of the Enterprise. Not when they can help, anyway.

"He'll be alright until we get back." Leonard says, when he finally speaks up again. His tone softened in order to offer some comfort to Felix. "His vitals are stable and frankly, he's been through much worse."

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"I'm in the middle of the Plaza. The AV field should be in effect." Jim manages to shrug and sound in control even when he isn't. Especially when he isn't. It's part of what makes Jim himself. He shoots a sideways glance to Bones.

"Anti-violence field. Some kind of collision dampening system. No clue how it works, just that it does. Most of the time. Safest place in the Nexus is where I'm at right now." That's why the injured were brought here for triage.

Jim reaches to his side for his phaser, intending to hand it off to Felix. But it's not there. That's right, Jim didn't make it to his weapon before he'd been down for the count.

"You've got your phaser right Bones?" Jim hardly needs to ask, but he does anyway. Then back to Felix. "No lethal force unless it's them or you. Okay?" He looks at the pair of them and then nods once.

"I'll be here."

Edited Date: 2016-06-17 07:25 pm (UTC)

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"Hmm." Not that Felix doesn't appreciate the reassurance, Bones. But from the wry look he gives Jim, he really doesn't trust that the captain couldn't find more trouble. Even nearly immobilized as he is. Still, if this is what Jim wants, Felix certainly won't leave the doctor to go searching without help.

"As you wish," he says with a small shrug, to the insistence on non-lethal force. It's bemusing that Jim is so concerned for the people who put him in this state, even though the conjurer generally considers unnecessary violence uncouth. Still, he's more than well-prepared enough to work around that requirement.

"Don't make us come looking for you," he warns Jim affectionately before he gets up. He bows slightly to Bones, ready to lead the way back toward the Nexus's Underbelly. "If you're ready, doctor."

Time to impress his boyfriend's best friend. Oh, and rescue some hapless kidnapping victims along the way.

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"They have some kind of technology that prevents violence around here?" He says shrugging out of the medkit shoulder bag he brought with him. The doc is going to set it beside Jim for now. It's too bulky to carry around the whole thing, but he will grab and pocket the medical tri-coder.

"What we really need to do is get the best minds in the fleet down here, have them reverse-engineer it and cloak the whole damn galaxy in one."

And the phaser? He's getting that out of bag. No need to remind him to set for stun, Captain, he's already double checking it as you speak. Not that he ever seems to set it on anything else, it never hurts to make sure. To use the kill or disintegrate setting seems ... barbaric and a little bit hypocritical coming from a man devoted to healing.

"Let's get this over with," Bones says, staring at the arena as if it's very existence offends him. "Do you have a means to light our way, Felix?"

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"Oh, I doubt it's technology," Felix remarks breezily. The assumption that some sort of machine must be responsible for things is kind of endearing. Even if he's aware that his own assumptions are equally based on what he's used to. "But I do wish we could mimic it sometimes."

Between Bones and his phaser device, and Felix's blades (plus reinforcements), they're prepared for trouble of most kinds. The conjurer's feeling pretty confident about their odds as they approach the wrecked and apparently deserted arena. Most of the area's denizens seem to have fled the righteous wrath of angered Nexus-goers during the rescue attempt, so for now the Underbelly looks rather less seedy and more just... shabby. Wilted.

"Certainly," he answers the doctor. And here comes the first demonstration of those 'psionics' Jim talked about: with a brief gesture Felix calls a brightly shining orb of white light from thin air. He tosses it upward, where it bobs gently above their heads. "Just give me a moment and I'll get our tracker, too."

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No one would ever confuse Bones for a natural fighter. He's never been able to get at home in a scrap the way that Jim could. He's tall, though, athletically built and he takes care of himself well enough. That goes a long way. Not to mention he's armed with a phaser. All you have to do is be a decent shot and the rest will take care of itself.

That's what he tells himself, anyway.

Also, conjuring light out of thin air is really ... something. He's not sure what, exactly, but it's something. "How much studying did you have to do before you could summon light?"

He should be slightly more focused on the task at hand, perhaps, but as a man of science, he really needed to ask. Besides, his for now partner mentioned needing a moment anyway.

Edited Date: 2016-06-18 05:33 pm (UTC)

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"Not that much, in the scheme of things. Light spells are fairly simple if you have the aptitude." Felix flashes him a smile. "To tell the truth, it's hard to remember exactly how long it took: I was only a child then."

His hand is cupped again, though instead of a bright light the orb that's summoned is dark and purple, the air around his hand rippling noticeably. This one is tossed to the ground, where it swells and spins and then dissipates with a snap, leaving behind the ghostly form of a wolf. It lifts its head to sniff the air, quite natural-looking aside from being silvery-blue and nearly transparent. Bones draws its attention though, and it pads a couple of steps closer to sniff at this new arrival, ears pricked.

"You don't need to worry," Felix assures the doctor. He waves the familiar off into the darkened arena, just in case. "It's entirely harmless to anyone friendly. And it has a fantastic nose, of course. We'll soon find anyone in here."

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"Well ain't that handy ..." for you. Though he's trying to be nice so he doesn't complete the thought. Best not to let Felix know the seemingly bottomless depths of his sarcasm just yet. Besides he does seem likeable enough and Jim trusts him, the latter especially a feather in his magical cap. His friend does seem to be right more often than not when he evaluates a person.

Been a while since Bones has been around a canine, but he seems to have familiar memories of one because that highly developed aura of cynicism seems to be waning. "Hey there fella." He says, as he offers his hand for the sniffing. The one that isn't occupied by a phaser, that is. He's got fond memories of family dogs running around on fescue and bluegrass lawns - both from childhood in Georgia and even during being married to Pamela. It was never the dog that was driving him crazy after all ...

They should follow the wolfish nose, right? That's what Leonard's going to start doing anyway unless Felix tells him not to. "So you were here in the arena while Jim was fighting?"

Edited Date: 2016-06-18 08:24 pm (UTC)

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"Very often," Felix agrees innocently. There are aspects of magic that are indeed very convenient, and easy... provided you have the right talent and training and connections. But Felix isn't rubbing the perks in, at least not intentionally. As far as he's concerned they make him handy for other people to keep around, and he'll happily ensure his friends also get to enjoy the benefits.

He's quietly pleased by the warm reception his familiar gets, too. It doesn't work on everyone, but having a furry companion of sorts breaks down a lot of walls.

Plus, he trusts its judgment of people much as Bones might trust Jim's. And the wolf seems quite relaxed as it sniffs at the doctor's hand, tail wagging and ears lowering for a minute. There's a brief impression of strange smells clinging to the other man, a little sharp and a little bitter, but whatever those are the wolf is clear that this man isn't a threat. It's happy to run ahead into the dark.

Felix follows along with Bones, keeping his hands free as they head through the atrium. The excited mob seems to have torn most of the doors from their hinges, even broken some of the walls and door frames. Discarded fliers litter the floor beneath them, rustling underfoot. The wolf seems interested in heading to the arena itself, so that's where they'll be going. Into the smashed up spectator area.

"I was watching from the seats, yes." He's not sure if that's a loaded question, so he hastens to add, "I'd just learned where he was when they brought him out to fight."

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As Bone's takes in the look of the area, the place sort of puzzles him. It looks like it was built with the same care that most of the rest of the architecture he's observed in the Nexus was. As if the place was designed to house entertainment of sorts. The building was being maintained until some kind of mob came through and busted the place up ... and boy is it busted.

Doors taken down. Walls damaged. Tech that the Doc both does and doesn't recognize torn out of place and strewn about the concourse. Discarded weapons. It looks like a war party rolled through here.

Was this place dedicated to housing these fights? All the victims seemed to have been surprised to have been kidnapped, which makes Bones thinks that it wasn't.

"It seems like you weren't the only one surprised by the event." Leonard points out. "Lots of people I've talked to so far seem to imply the event was well organized, if a bit surprising."

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That's one thing Felix is going to take away from this: when you piss off the Nexus mob, they don't pull their punches. Now the chaos has passed and he's not fixated on getting Jim out, he can appreciate the damage left in their wake.

"They were smart enough to make all their arrangements quietly before they advertised anything," Felix agrees. "And to take care where they advertised. If my furry friend and I hadn't been tracking Jim I'm not sure I would have caught wind of the fights." Okay, he probably would. But not through the same avenues.

He can't help but make a disdainful noise as he looks around the cheap seats, the torn barriers around the ring. There's nothing shoddy about the architecture, per se, but it's not what he thinks of as an arena. "They obviously weren't thinking beyond the first profit, though. Small loss, anyway. It's not much of an arena."

The familiar pauses, nose pointed down toward the combat sands as it sniffs the air and growls a little. Then it barks sharply, startling a couple of figures on the opposite side from where they're scavenging in the debris. They decide to make a quick exit through the other doors, their backpacks already bulging with the loot they have.

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