Giving the Tour [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

It has been a week or two since the Enterprise was in any kind of condition to entertain visitors. A supply run here, a survey mission there, nothing close to casual enough for Captain Kirk to justify setting aside a little time to have a guest aboard, his days taken up by the duties of command. And certainly not out in the middle of deep space, where an unexpected visitor would be more likely to be seen as a stowaway or intruder, no matter if the captain vouched for them or not.

But it has been six months since the crew's last chance for shore leave, so after the debriefings are complete, Starfleet Command gives the slightly weary crew a brief three days off while the ship's systems are inspected and recalibrated. And it's a perfect opportunity to make good on his offer from a while ago.

Jim sits at a shuttle terminal in downtown San Francisco, a gold-shirt in a small sea of red and blue, all Starfleet personnel waiting to be taken up to various starships in orbit or in Spacedock. He knows it might be a few minutes before Hunter arrives, and keeps himself busy reviewing reports on a padd, keeping an eye out for the distinctive tattoos of his invited guest.


[OOC: Image links to replace invalid links below:
Spacedock
USS Enterprise
Warp core
Officer's lounge]

Comments

[boldygoing]

Hey, you can never be too careful. They are in Spacedock, after all, and Jim doesn't really want to risk someone overhearing something they shouldn't. He's already having a hell of a time trying to keep his juvenile delinquency out of the media spotlight.

"Sure. It's been a while since I made one but I remember the recipe just fine. Have a seat."

The captain steals a last kiss before moving behind the bar, delving into the liquor cabinet and collecting the bottles he'll need to create the drink. "I used to bartend at this place in Vancouver," he says as he works, grabbing a highball glass from the other cabinet. It looks glass, but sounds different as it clinks against the smooth bar top. "It was just for a few weeks but I learned how to make just about anything."

[losthunter]

Hunter selects on of the bar stools to sit at, and smiles as he watches Jim work his magic behind the bar. "Did you have a lot of people wanting to express their problems to you?"

[boldygoing]

Jim's not quite as skilled as the barkeeps who make an entertaining show out of the act of creating a drink, but he has sure and steady hands as he pours, creating the gradual gradient of color in the glass. He chuckles a little at the question. "Sometimes. But most of the time, their problem was that they needed more shots," he says with a cheeky grin.

He slides the drink across the bar to Hunter with a practiced hand. "One Cardassian sunrise."

[losthunter]

"Thank you, sweetheart." Hunter catches the drink as it is slide across to him. He takes a sip, letting the flavors dance against his tongue.

"Ever get behind the bar for your crew?"

[boldygoing]

Jim was going to have a brandy, but now that he's made one Cardassian sunrise and he has the ingredients out, it only makes sense to make a second one for himself instead. "Not really. Bones and I have taken turns tracking down booze for a good nightcap, but he's more a hard liquor guy than mixed drinks, so it's usually bourbon or something."

[losthunter]

"You should make it a special event for your crew. They might enjoy seeing you behind the bar."

[boldygoing]

"Now that would be something to see," Jim says, laughing a little. "It's kind of funny... I actually first met a couple of my crew in a bar."

[losthunter]

"You had mentioned meeting one when he was drunk, and you were hungover." Hunter remembers.

[boldygoing]

Jim nods. "That was Bones, on the shuttle the morning after. We were the only two not in cadet red, and I was still covered in my own blood. We made a great pair."

[losthunter]

"Maybe I can meet him someday. And your Spock too."

[boldygoing]

"Knowing Spock, he's probably still on board," Jim says, rolling his eyes slightly, but he's smiling a little. "He says that shore leave is unnecessary for Vulcans and that he thinks work is relaxing. What a weirdo."

[losthunter]

"I can sort of relate. Sometimes, when I am at a canvas, I find it the most relaxing thing in the world. Time has no meaning. And nothing else seems to matter." Hunter chuckles lightly. "I have been known to work for hours, without remembering to eat. Or sleep."

[boldygoing]

Jim goes quiet, and looks down at his hands, busying himself with taking a drink from his glass. "I get the not sleeping part. But I don't think I'll ever get how people can forget to eat."

[losthunter]

"Did something happen in your life that had to do with famine, or something similar?" Hunter keeps his voice gentle. He is here to listen, if Jim wants to talk. And if he is not ready, he won't be upset.

[boldygoing]

Jim looks up sharply at the question. No one, no one, has ever asked him anything like that. Those that know the truth about Tarsus IV are in the minority, and Jim's involvement is classified, so even his closest friends have no idea he was there. But for some reason, it's a little easier to talk to Hunter about it, even if he is nowhere near ready to go into any amount of detail.

"I know what it's like to be hungry," he says, which might as well be a yes.

[losthunter]

Hunter is a very observant person. This wasn't the first time that Jim had a negative reaction when the subject of going hungry had been mentioned. He had reacted when Hunter had talked about the homeless. And he had reacted when Hunter mentioned that he sometimes missed a meal.

And he is glad that he feels like he can talk to Hunter about it. Even if a lot of detail is not mentioned right now. Hunter leans over the bar, to place his hand on Jim's arm.

"That must have been difficult for you."

[boldygoing]

"Still is," Jim says, and he doesn't want to pull away for fear Hunter will think he's rejecting him, but the memories still make his skin crawl. "I can't talk about it."

[losthunter]

"Then we won't." And Hunter will keep this fact in the back of his head, so he doesn't accidently upset Jim again.

He does run his thumb up to Jim's elbow.

[boldygoing]

"Thanks." Jim's voice is quiet, but there's an audible hint of appreciation that Hunter isn't pushing the subject. It's one reason why Jim has never said anything to Bones, even though as his personal physician, McCoy should have access to the captain's entire medical file, including the classified bits. He knows that the doctor's desire to fix anybody who's hurting might make him push a bit too much.

[losthunter]

Hunter lets the moment be quiet. As if respecting whatever past that Jim is unable to talk about.

Then he tips his glass curiously. "Tell me about some of the different Alien cultures that you have met, so far."

[boldygoing]

Jim's mood is a bit subdued, but he all but jumps at the chance to change the topic. "We haven't had a real first contact in a while, but after we're done here at Earth, we're supposed to go survey this planet called Nibiru, out in Beta Quadrant. It's got a pre-industrial species, so we're not supposed to contact them directly, but if there ends up being a good spot to watch 'em from a distance, Starfleet might open up a long-distance cultural study."

[losthunter]

"Are there stories about the first-time that humans had first contact?" Hunter is a little curious.

[boldygoing]

Great question to lighten Jim's mood a bit. "Oh yeah, absolutely. It wasn't long after the third World War, and humanity as a whole was in a bad spot, but this one man - Doctor Zephram Cochrane - decided to retrofit an old nuclear rocket to experiment with faster-than-light travel. A Vulcan ship just happened to be passing by when he did his first warp flight test; they'd surveyed Earth before but dismissed humans as too primitive, especially since we were usually bombing each other. A warp signature from Earth got their attention, and they realized that humanity had gotten its shit together and discovered warp, so they landed and introduced themselves to Cochrane. Must've been a hell of a shock for everyone in Bozeman."

[losthunter]

"And so it was the Vulcans who first made contact with us." Hunter has to chuckle lightly. He can understand how humans could be seen as 'primitive'.

[boldygoing]

"Yeah. When I called them humanity's oldest friends, I wasn't exaggerating." This time, anyway.

Jim smiles a little. "Vulcans live longer than humans, usually around two hundred years, but it's still kinda mind-boggling when I remember that the first Vulcan to say hi to a human was Spock's great-grandpa."