smartass_captain | Unpleasant Updates [for Adia]

Since Felix disappeared Jim has taken to staying out of his quarters as much as possible.

His favorite table in the observation deck has become his new hideout and on more than one occasion the place he sleeps. Though more and more frequently sleep is something that happens out of sheer necessity. Everyone who knows about the Nexus knows what's going on, so Jim's also found that he's rarely afforded time alone lately.

So when Adia texts Jim he's awake and halfway through his fifth mug of replicated coffee while he slogs through another set of inventory reports he has to sign off on before they reach the next Starbase for resupplying. Spock makes no qualm about Jim dropping everything to fumble for the device, merely catching the PADD the captain had set aside before it falls off of the table. If Jim is reacting in such a way, it is clearly his Nexus device, and possibly a message from one Mr. Caelus.

That does not seem to be the case.

Let me know when you're free so I can get all the details. I'll meet you in the Plaza and we can come back here, if that's alright?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jim's gaze jerks up again, fighting to keep himself in control and losing the battle with his exhaustion and emotional boilover.

"We're gonna help you and yours, Adia. That's a promise. You can tell someone you trust and get started working on logistics on your end. Even if I spend most of my time looking for Felix, know that Spock and my crew are going to be focused on you."

It's unimaginable that Jim would do anything other than run off to hunt down Felix, anyway. He should feel guilty about that. Instead, he sighs again.

"I should go and try to find Stratos. I can rest after that."

The reiteration of Jim's generosity leaves her speechless for a moment. "Thank you," she says finally, repeating herself from earlier. She could repeat herself a thousand times and it wouldn't be enough, so far as she's concerned. "I'll try my hardest to make sure things go smoothly on my end."

Starting with picking someone to tell. But she already knows the answer to that. If she can't trust Captain Agathon, she can't trust anyone. It's only a matter of how to tell him.

But worrying over that can wait. Right now, she's only concerned about Jim. "There's always someone staffing the Legion desk. I'm sure you'll get ahold of him soon. Or you could text him. Does his phone work when he's on his world?"

"Yeah. I'll head up that way now, and if he's not at the desk I'll ask to summon him. With Felix missing for a week before this all happened and since he was..."

Beat.

"And even longer since he was with me, I'm sure they'll give me priority if I tell them I've information about him for Stratos' ears."

If Stratos is not at the desk, she hopes for Jim's sake that whomever is there is speedy with his request. She doubts that Jim is ever in the mood for bureaucracy, but especially not now.

Not with Felix missing... that long? Really? Grieving over the lost thirteenth tribe has really messed with her sense of time.

"Good luck, Jim." She gives him what she hopes is an encouraging smile. "I'll, um... I'll finish up my tea, if that's all right? Can I PINpoint back to my ship from here?"

"You too."

Jim's smile is brief and strained, but it's there all the same for her. It takes him a moment to gather himself when he stands. Rearrange the pieces again until he looks more or less like the in control captain he knows he should be rather than the broken man who's been talking to Adia.

"Please do. I promise I'll be better company and offer a better tour next time. You should be able to PINpoint right back to your ship with no trouble. Text me if you need anything, okay?"

Jim's hand pats Adia's shoulder as he walks by her side of the table before he pulls out his own PINpoint and is gone a moment later and a tiny bip. The observation deck grows silent save for the ever present hum of the engines.

She watches the transformation and feels a secret amount of relief that she doesn't have to do the same. Jim has a very visible responsibility to his crew. And though Adia has willingly taken the fate of her Fleet on her own shoulders, to her friends and colleagues, she's a quiet microbiologist who is suffering as much as anybody else.

"Don't worry about it," she says sincerely. With all the planning that will likely have to happen to get the Fleet situated in Jim's universe, she has a feeling she'll be seeing a lot more of his ship. "I'll let you know, sure."

Her gaze returns to the view outside after Jim departs. A different space with foreign stars, but potentially her new home.

She savors the last of the tea before leaving herself.

Unpleasant Updates [for Adia]

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