Chapter Text
Jim closed his eyes for just a second.
T’leia is here, and Mitrani is just a few floors below. Sern has given his approval, and Jim can feel the warmth of Spock underneath his palm. He doesn’t need to go searching for support.
He opened his eyes and decided to go with it.
“So I suppose our theory on the Narada’s breaking of the Temporal Directive is correct?” He asked, straightening up on the chair.
Is there such a thing as a Temporal Directive? Probably. Vulcans have a subset code of ‘please do not go messing around the timestream if Starfleet and/or a science project accidentally sends your forward/back’, so, statistically, Starfleet is way more likely to have a full-blown set of directives if you time travel considering that they are at least 60% of the problem.
“Indeed,” The elder Spock inclined his head. “You appear to be handling it remarkably, Captain.”
“Thank y– wait, what?” Jim started to say before he registered that last word. “Captain?”
His eyebrows furrowed, strangely expressive in his facial features. “Are you not Captain of the USS Enterprise?”
Jim is not one for superstition, that is a human fallacy and extremely illogical. Yet he still practically threw himself out of the seat and gave a quick tug on his Spock so the other man got knocked down into the previously occupied seat. Captain of the Iria, he could take. They had a grand total of 16 minor incidents in the past decade, all of a diplomatic nature. Captain of a Starfleet Vessel? They averaged 16 major incidents a year.
“No!” He yelped, “Absolutely not! No! Don’t curse me like that!”
Spock, who was blinking rapidly at his new position of being sprawled in the captain’s chair, righted himself with a bewildered look at Jim.
“Fascinating,” Both of them said at the same time.
“What?” Lieutenant Uhura asked, “Too good for Starfleet?”
“More like I’ve been raised to stay away from Starfleet’s brand of crazy and assholishness,” He corrected. “Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll be returning to the Iria as soon as my temp role as XO is done here.”
The smile lines in old Spock’s face were definitely being put into action, even if his lips weren’t smiling. Why was he emoting so much? This is weird. This is so weird.
Why does T’pau look like she shared Jim’s sentiments? Jim should not be sharing similar opinions on Starfleet and its shenanigans with the prestigious spiritual and political leader the Lady T’pau of the House of Surak. Jim had used a made-up word (or so he presumed, most of his slang and swears came from Tom and Kevin) and so she should be displeased at his illogical behavior. This entire bridge was acting illogically. Why is Jim suddenly the voice of reason? This is not supposed to happen, he was raised to be human and illogical and stand out against a background of Vulcans and Jim thinks he may be having a mini panic attack.
Maybe.
Just. Roll with it, Jim. Just roll with it.
“Just… please… tell me you’re here to give us some information on how to beat this guy.” Jim pinched his nose and accidentally bumped his cannula out of place. “Please.”
“I carry much information from the future,” He stretched out a hand. “If you would allow me…”
Jim looked at the hand, then at his face, then back at the hand. Surely he isn’t suggesting a mind meld, right? Like, Jim may be human, but he also understands the implications and intimacy of a meld, and, uh, while he wouldn’t mind if it was an emergency and his Spock, who he knows , this is a stranger who is at least four times his age.
“I think talking would be faster than a translation connection like the mesukh’esta ,” Jim chirped, trying very, very hard for his smile to look natural and not the defensive one of someone who just got come on by some old guy. “Unless you were going for the ozh’esta , to which I need to inform you that you’re too old for me.”
And he fucking winked .
Jim. Jimmy. James. Why are you flirting back at the old guy who propositioned you in front of your aunt and T’pau? Why is he like this? Why is his defense mechanism flirting? Well, cause it works, but this is not the moment– !
Jim can see from the corner of his eye how T’leia’s cheek twitched. He vaguely wonders if she’s amused or if she’s going to throw him over her shoulder and drag him back to his dad for misbehaving.
“I can certainly observe the similarities between you and my own Jim,” Old Spock’s eyes were doing the soft, warm, crinkly thing. Jim was definitely weirded out by the overt emotion coming from a Surakkian Vulcan. “For all your differences.”
He’s cool, Jim has to say that he liked this guy. However, he is still going to inch ever so slightly back so he is behind the Captain’s chair. Spock can handle this.
And Spock did .
It was a beautiful thing to see, two Spocks discussing and coming up with tactical plans. Every piece of input from others was carefully considered and added, with statistics and science backing up every suggestion. And then they would both turn to Jim, as if waiting for his approval, and when he gave it, the two would immediately return to potentialities, and it warmed him.
Well, until he had to butt in with his own, slightly unhinged idea, and the way they took it in stride and suddenly changed everything to mold it to his idea, despite the look of visible horror Sybok made in the background, kinda troubled Jim.
Kinda.
Just roll with it, Jim. Just roll with it.
He’s pretty sure that should be the motto of Starfleet, ‘just roll with it’, would be way more realistic than all their lies and cover-ups and–
And Jim’s emotional compromisation may be pushing a bit to the brink. But he can’t do this here, and he definitely cannot do this now.
“I do believe we have a plan,” He announced instead.
“It’s crazy, and it might not work,” Sulu pointed out.
Jim shrugged, coming to stand next to his Spock. “And here I thought that was what Starfleet was about: faith, trust, and beating the odds.”
“I was under the impression that the mission of Starfleet is exploration and science,” T’pau spoke up, making the entire bridge go silent. “However, prior incidents do lend themselves to that misconception. I do believe this is what the children of my line have sought from this organization.”
Both Spocks, and, strangely enough, Sybok and Sarek, are very much refusing to look at T’pau.
Jim grinned up at her, “So what are we all waiting for?”