Unpleasant Updates [for Adia]

[smartass_captain]

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?

Comments

[smartass_captain]

Interested in a guy dying and coming back to life? Jim knows without looking that Spock has tensed considerably and is staring hard at the captain now. But what he's thinking is altogether different than what Jim is. His first officer is thinking of Jim's own death fixing the warp core. Time has eased the pain somewhat, but he knows it's a sore topic for all of them.

Especially Bones, Spock, and himself. Obviously.

But there's something else that is bothering Jim. Felix never, ever asked Jim how he was saved. It wasn't important to him. Only that he was alive now. So Felix wouldn't be asking because of Jim. Of this the captain is fairly certain. But there is a way of returning the dead to life--or at least motion-- in Tamriel.

Jim's eyes narrow.

"If he's so keen on trying to protect me, why would he try to kill me?"

To see if he could bring Jim back? But that's...

"I need to find Stratos." That's necromancy. And that is not something Felix has ever spoken about with anything more than disdain or wariness.

"Captain--"
"It's to do with magic, Spock. We're not going to solve this on our own. But Stratos will want to hear. Think you can take the con for me?"
"Of course, Captain." Spock flexes his hands into a fist and relaxes them a few times before getting to his feet. He turns to Adia and gives her a polite nod of his head before excusing himself.

"Shit." Jim scrubs a hand down his face. "I really hope I'm wrong about this..."

[chiron_survivor]

It struck a chord with Adia, too, for her own personal reasons. She wonders silently at the look that Spock is giving his captain, but Jim is already musing out loud Felix's motivations.

It's a rhetorical question, but she wouldn't have an answer for him, anyway. The closest thing she can come up with is that sometimes an overwhelming desire to protect a loved one can backfire horribly. Especially if you go about it in an underhanded way...

Oh, Felix. What did you do?

She doesn't know what conclusion Jim has come to, but she knows it's not good. She returns Spock's polite nod, then worriedly watches her friend. Did her information help? It doesn't really feel like helping, if it's only made Jim more upset.

"What do you think he's done?" she asks softly.

[smartass_captain]

"I don't know what he's done, but I think what he's trying to do is research a magical way to bring the dead back to life."

The words are heavy on his tongue. Accusatory. Jim wishes there was another way to read what's been going on. Hopes he's wrong. From everything he's heard about, there's no way this is going to end well.

"If something with that kind of skill has taken control of him..." Jim shakes his head. "I have to stop him before he does something there's no coming back from."

[chiron_survivor]

She blinks, but now that Jim's spelled it out for her, it does make an awful lot of sense. And although she knows little of the intricacies of magical ethics, it's obvious that bringing the dead to life is not a good thing in Felix's world.

And not a good thing for Felix, either. "Is that how magic works, where he's from? You think it's taken control of --"

No, no. Not magic. "Do you think a daedra could have possessed him?" she asks, remembering her conversation with the elder Caelus brother. "Stratos told me that Felix has always been interested in them, and some of them are very bad. They can fixate on the virtues of their victims." Which would explain Felix's obsession to protect Jim, and how it turned into a strangling.

Gently, she nudges Jim's arm. "You should call Stratos. I can talk to him, too, if you want me to pass on what Freddy said directly to him. It might give him a better idea of where Felix is."

[smartass_captain]

"That'd be my guess, too."

A deadra getting under Felix's skin. Into his head and taking control of him. The captain has seen the way the conjurer gets when he's trying to impart orders on his familiar or an Atronach. He lends his mind to other wills every time he summons. Is that why the school of magic is so frowned upon? Because of the fine line walked between a mage's mind and that which he's summoned?

Jim doesn't know. Philosophy can come later when he's not worried over Felix's life.

"I'm going to, yes. I'm also going to ask Harrowheart what he thinks. If anyone would know that sort of magic, it would be him."

[chiron_survivor]

Oh, that's right. Harrowheart is a necromancer of sorts. She has yet to witness his minion-creating abilities firsthand, but she heard about it from Blaze. None of it pleasant, fortunately. But Harrowheart is a good friend; she knows that he'll help Jim in whatever way he can.

"That's a good idea. I don't know anyone else with those kind of abilities." Never mind that Naugus tried to imply that Reynard dabbled in the necromantic arts. Ugh.

She wishes she knew more on the subject, if only so she can continue to help. At least she can empathize. Having someone you're in love with act suddenly erratic and then disappear? Been there, done that. "You know now that it wasn't him who tried to kill you," she says kindly, hoping for a silver lining. "Right? He still loves you very much. It's this daedra that's causing all the trouble."

[smartass_captain]

Jim nods, and it's now that the control bleeds out of his posture. The captain is a sleep deprived mess and more tired and full of emotional strife than anything else at this point.

"I really hope you're right."

[chiron_survivor]

Taking a slow sip of tea, she wishes that she had better words to comfort Jim. The trouble is, it doesn't matter if she's right about Felix. He's still missing, still in danger. She's been told on more than one occasion that Caspar loved her, it was his Cylon nature that pushed her away. It doesn't take away the pain of what happened, and the fear of what's yet to come.

But it feels awkward to sit there silently, drinking tea in a lovely, clean room on a lovely, clean ship, with Jim an exhausted mess and her not far behind. "Should I go?" she asks him in a tone that suggests that she'd be happy to do so, if that's what he wants. "You can try to get a little rest."

[smartass_captain]

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."

[chiron_survivor]

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?"

[smartass_captain]

"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."

[chiron_survivor]

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?"

[smartass_captain]

"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.

[chiron_survivor]

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.