Big Reveals [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

Jim has been in Starfleet Medical for eight weeks before he's finally released. Which is not to say he's been cleared for duty, mind you. But he's recovered enough not to need that kind of constant medical supervision, able to take the rest of his treatment as outpatient. He has physical therapy three times a week, exercises to do at home, and of course Doctor McCoy is still keeping an eagle eye on his diet, something that annoys Jim to no end.

Of course, that's nothing compared to finding out that his Starfleet-assigned apartment is buried under the crashed bulk of the USS Vengeance.

Jim doesn't really give a shit about the apartment itself. Yeah, it was kind of nice to have his own place, but it's never been home. It was just a place to stay whenever the Enterprise was in port. And though it was more decorated than his quarters onboard the ship, it was all meaningless knickknacks, nothing with any real sentimental value.

No, he's more pissed about the fact that nobody told him until a month after he woke up from the coma.

He understands why, of course. McCoy gave him the whole spiel about stress being bad for his recovery, about not needing to worry himself about things he couldn't do anything about, that by the time this happened Jim was already dead, but it's a heavy blow to realize that the loss of life was far, far greater than he'd realized. Tens of thousands died or lost their homes. Yet Jim Kirk lives, when he has no right to be breathing, let alone leaving the hospital.

And it's hard not to be in a foul mood when he realizes that the only place he has to stay on Earth is in Iowa, at the old neglected Kirk homestead. At least it's not likely to be bugged by Section 31, and Jim spends two entire days sweeping the place for surveillance devices, and another three to get the house in order, before he's reassured enough to have visitors.


[OOC: Image links to replace broken ones below:
23rd century Iowa
Mind meld position]

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[boldygoing]

Jim smiles a little in gratitude, though his thoughts are now turning towards the Enterprise, his beloved lady, lying wounded in drydock. Just as her captain had lain wounded in Starfleet Medical, they both still have a long way to go before they're ready to go back out again. "Thanks. It might be a while, but I'll let you know."

[losthunter]

Hunter can guess where Jim's thoughts are turning right now. He wants to ask about the Enterprise repairs, but has not voiced it yet since he figures that much of the work being done on the ship might be classified. And he would rather not make the others uncomfortable with the fact they can't tell him anything.

"I just wish I could help, somehow." He reaches over to clasp Jim's hand in his own.

[boldygoing]

"Not all help is physical," McCoy says, possibly the most philosophical thing he's said all day.

Jim gives Hunter's hand a little squeeze, still smiling slightly. "You are, trust me."

[losthunter]

Both men's reassurances does make Hunter feel better. He smiles fondly at Jim, stroking his thumb over top Jim's hand, returning that squeeze.

"Thanks." His admiration for the Captain is displayed clearly on his face. No mind meld needed.

[boldygoing]

"I'm going to see her later," Jim says, going back to eating his soup.

McCoy scowls at him in disapproval. "Oh, is that why you have that deathtrap parked outside?"

[losthunter]

"Are you talking about the... hoverbike?" Hunter smiles. A large, gleeful smile.

[boldygoing]

"It's not the same one I had before, but yeah," Jim says with a nod. "If you want to bring yours over, we can go together."

"Captain, I do not believe that the posture needed to drive such a vehicle will be beneficial to your recovery," Spock says, frowning very slightly.

Jim rolls his eyes a little. "I'll be fine, Spock. It's not like it's a long-distance trip."

[losthunter]

"That would be awesome..." Hunter loves riding his bike. He loves the idea of going on a day trip with Jim even more.

He can see that there are a few crew members who don't think this is a great idea. And offers his only recommendation. "Maybe we could switch out the seat to something bigger, with more support, just for the time being?"

[boldygoing]

"It's not the seat so much as the leaning forward part," Jim explains, but levels a somewhat stern captainly look at Spock. And McCoy, who matches it with a scowl of his own. "I'll turn on all the safety features. Promise."

"Jim..." McCoy sighs a little, frustrated.

A look of understanding flickers across Jim's face, but the stubbornness doesn't budge an inch. "You can't keep me in a bubble, Bones. It's not being reckless. It's life. And if anything does happen to me, I'm not going to be riding alone," he adds, looking over at Hunter.

[losthunter]

Hunter nods slightly, when Jim looks at him. He knows that the others are worried about losing their captain again.

"Recovery has to be a little bit more than just physical. There has to be an emotional commitment too." Hunter speaks softly. Trying not to be that 'busy-body' who doesn't have the right to voice his opinion.

He glances around the room, the place where Jim has negative feelings attached to it. "You have to make the connections that are important to you. And for Jim, that is the Enterprise."

"And you all know that I would do anything to help him. Right now, I believe with all my heart, this bike ride would be a benefit for him. For us both."

[boldygoing]

Uhura glances over at Spock, who nods slightly, before she turns her attention back to Hunter. "You'll keep him from doing anything too stupid, right?"

[losthunter]

Hunter is glad that he didn't have to voice his feelings for Jim out loud. He is glad that Spock knows. And that he is communicating that fact to Uhura.

But it is already a delicate enough situation between him and Jim, that it really doesn't need to be voiced to more people than necessary.

"As much as I can..." Hunter gives Jim a playful look.

[boldygoing]

Jim gives him a fondly exasperated look right back. "Would it help if I swore an oath not to drive the bike into the quarry too?"

"Well now that you mention it..." McCoy says. He doesn't look happy about his friend's plans, but in the end, Jim is in fact a grown-ass man who can make his own dumb decisions. "You've got my comm frequency, right Hunter? I don't care if all he does is skin a knee; I wanna know about it."

[losthunter]

"I was able to incorporate your comm frequency into my PINpoint." Hunter pauses, then clarifies, "The Nexus communication device that I carry."

[boldygoing]

Jim is rather glad he doesn't have to push too hard on this particular point. His mood has improved a bit with the company, and his crew's quite reasonable responses to the news that not only is magic a real actual thing, but that Jim has been hopping universes in his spare time (and sometimes on duty). But had McCoy not conceded, it's quite likely that Jim's mood wouldn't last.

He's had his life controlled by others a little too long. Not just in that he's a Starfleet officer, but also all the medical hoopla he's been through these past two months, not to mention the part where no one wanted to let him prepare for the fact that he can't go home to his destroyed apartment, instead leaving him nowhere to live but the house he's hated since he was little. He needs a little space, something he can choose to do for himself without someone mother henning him to death.

And he's quite grateful that Humter has his back here.

"Perhaps it would be of reassurance to message Doctor McCoy once your journey has completed without incident," Spock suggests reasonably. He directs this not only to Jim, but Hunter as well.

[losthunter]

"I will take a Selfie of us at the end of the journey, and send it to him." Hunter offers. Do they still take 'selfies' in the future?

"And I can't wait to see your bike." He tells Jim.

[boldygoing]

McCoy looks somewhat baffled by the term, but Uhura - the linguistics expert in the group - understands after a moment's thought. "I'd think that would be proof enough that you're both in one piece."

Jim smiles a little at Hunter. "Can't wait to see yours, either. Make sure you're fueled up before you bring it over, if it still burns fossil fuels."

[losthunter]

"Right..." Hunter has to laugh, not even thinking that something as common-place as gas would not be available to him.

"Thanks for reminding me. We would not want to get stranded... and I stopped playing the 'out-of-gas' card when I left high school."

[boldygoing]

Spock looks mildly intrigued, if disapproving, at the notion of a vehicle that requires such primitive fuel sources. "Have your vehicle manufacturers not researched more efficient forms of propulsion? I understand that burning such fuels was the primary pollutant throughout Earth's twentieth century." His disapproval is scientific only, with no judgment on Hunter himself.

[losthunter]

"There are some places that offer biodiesel, vegetable oil, or electric models of vehicles... but they are not widely used or sold yet." Hunter doesn't feel that he is being judged. And just explains a little bit more of his own take on things.

"There is still that industrial competition between automobile manufacturers, that they are more concerned with their bottom line over spending money to invest in vehicles that use alternate fuels."

"And right now, in my world, it is Big Oil companies that pave the streets. While there are people who protest pipelines and the use of fossil fuels... the majority of people in North America are still consumers of those fossil fuels."

[boldygoing]

"I did say your economy is weird, right?" Jim says to Hunter, amused. He wants to ask how far Hunter's gas-burner will go on a full tank, but with McCoy sitting right here listening, he knows it'll just come across like he's planning some kind of epic road trip across Iowa instead of just a jaunt over to the shipyards.

Which, you know, he is, so it's a fair assumption. But he hardly wants McCoy to know that or he'll stop him.

[losthunter]

"I definitely prefer the Barter system used in the Nexus." Hunter agrees.

He senses that Jim might just want an epic road trip. Get away for a little bit. So he plays the distraction card.

"If you would like to see an actual paper bill from 2017... I got a few $20s in my wallet."

[boldygoing]

Spock is on the very edge of launching into a verbal dissertation on the merits of barter versus fiat currency, so McCoy practically trips over himself to cut the Vulcan off before he can get going, otherwise they'll be here forever. "Is that a lot?"

[losthunter]

"A $20? No. It is in the middle of the bills actually printed by the Mint, the others being the $1, $2, $5, $10, $50 and $100."

"Most people are using Debit or Credit cards these days."

"A $20 could buy you a decent meal at an average restaurant. And it is considered more than what an average worker would make in an hour. But it is not going to be enough to purchase groceries, or pay for energy or electricity."

[boldygoing]

The idea of having to pay for the basics of what a person needs to live is so foreign to them all. Jim knows a little more about it than the others, but even he finds it a bit barbaric. "In this century, Earth's resources are shared with everyone," he explains to Hunter, helping to give some context to the perturbed looks on everyone else's faces. "Nobody on this planet dies just because they don't have enough money for whatever they need to live."

Of course, Hunter knows that Jim knows what real hunger is like. But the captain chose his words carefully. After all, Tarsus IV is not Earth. And judging by the lack of reactions from his crew, no one else seems to know there's anything out of the ordinary about the situation.

"I'd like to see this bill," Uhura says, leaning forward in interest. She's never been much of a historian, but given the chance to hold a relatively new example of ancient, archaic currency, she can't pass it up.