Captain's First LOL [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

With the restrictions on his food intake finally lifted, and with months to go until the Enterprise is ready to fly again, Jim Kirk has had all the more reasons to visit the Nexus and explore, particularly the markets. Whether it's finding interesting otherworldly seedlings for Sulu, tracking down a source of authentic Vulcan kreyla for Spock, or bringing home volumes of Russian literature for Chekov, there's always something to bring back for somebody.

Jim's been warned about LOLs before. Both through the brochure he picked up the first time he arrived here, and by some Nexus veterans, namely Hunter and Samus. But in the months since he's been visiting the multiverse, he's still never seen the phenomenon, not even once.

And so it's easy to forget for a moment that he has to be cautious.

He's discovered a Jewish cafe on one corner of the commercial district that's offering free samples to passersby, and it's been ages since he's had real, hand-made vorschmack on rye. So he doesn't think twice before accepting one of the samples on offer, and there's nothing to indicate that there's anything in it other than the usual bread, fish, and other typical ingredients he'd expect. At least, not until the woman running the sample cart asks him how he likes it.

Jim fully intends on simply complimenting her on the flavor of the food, but what comes out instead is, "It's good but not as good as my Grandma Ruth used to make." He blinks in confusion. "I don't know why I just said that. I wasn't going to tell you that." And again... he says more than he intended.

"Oh dear," the woman says, looking mournfully at the sample tray. "I used the wrong seasoning again. Sorry about that." And then she whisks the tray away, vanishing into the depths of the cafe with no explanation or any indication that she plans to return.

And only now does Jim remember the warnings he was given.

"Oh shit. This is not good." He doesn't know what the hell it's done to him, aside from making him chattier than he intended to be, but he doesn't want to go home like this. Especially not when he can't be certain there won't be more coming. And there's only one person he knows he can go to for help.

Jim calls up the coordinates for Hunter's apartment, hurrying to get his ass over there, muttering to himself under his breath.

Comments

[losthunter]

"There are a few questions..." Hunter admits. "But I would rather ask them when you have a choice on your answer. I really don't want you being forced to reveal more things that are classified..."

"And some of my more playful questions might not result in the answer I would hope for." He chuckles.

[boldygoing]

"Yeah that's a safe bet," Jim agrees. "If I start talking dirty I might not stop anyway."

[losthunter]

"And that is the tempting part... you are pretty sexy when you talk dirty. And half of me wonders if there is anything you might desire that might not occur to me."

"It is the small logical part of me that advises caution. Truthfulness when it comes to intimacy sometimes can have drawbacks."

[boldygoing]

"I don't know what I'll say either so I'm purposefully trying not to think of it right now so if we could change the subject before I start just straight-up quoting classic literature to fill up my head instead that'd be great."

[losthunter]

Hunter nods. That is another conversation they can have, at a different time.

"Why not talk about classic literature? Do you have a favorite book? Author?"

[boldygoing]

Jim's pretty glad that Hunter is proving to be fluent in 'rambling run-on sentences,' since he's been falling into them every so often. "Good choice. I don't have a favorite author exactly but my favorite story when I was a kid was always Treasure Island."

[losthunter]

"Yah? What was it about Treasure Island that you enjoyed?"

[boldygoing]

Jim gives him a lightly amused look. "It's about a kid named Jim, living a boring life in the middle of nowhere, whose dad is dead and he's got nothing going for him, and then he gets to go on an adventure. Saying that it was relatable is kind of an understatement."

[losthunter]

"And both Jims got to explore life on a ship." Hunter chuckles.

[boldygoing]

"Yeah." Jim's smile lessens a little. "I wasn't as big a fan of adventure stories after Tarsus, since my own first time leaving home was a nightmare, so I didn't read it again for years."

[losthunter]

"What did you think of the pirates? And the treasure that they hunted?" Hunter wisely tries to redirects Jim's thoughts back onto the book.

[bed]

[boldygoing]

Hunter's tactic works, for now. "Silver was the most manipulative son of a bitch I'd ever heard of and I could never make up my mind if I liked him or not. The rest of the pirates weren't anything special and I thought they cared way too much about some shiny bits of metal. I learned more about old Earth economies later and it made more sense in context, but I still think the whole idea of hoarding money is kind of dumb. Especially if you're burying it on a deserted island."

[losthunter]

"And there were people caught up in the fantasy who believe the money was real, since Kidd was based off a real pirate. And tried to determine what real island would have that left-behind treasure."

He wants to ask if Jim ever played pirate as a child, but decided to keep that question until later.

"One of my favorite pirate movies have a lot of themes based off buried treasure. And adventures on the sea."

[boldygoing]

"Anything I would've heard of?" Jim asks, sipping from his wine. "I assume you don't mean the Dread Pirate Roberts."

[losthunter]

"I don't know..." Hunter goes over to his movie case. There he pulls out a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and hands the DVD case to Jim.

"This one turned into a franchise. There are five movies in total, to date."

"And there is no Dread Pirate Roberts in any of the films."

[boldygoing]

Jim takes the case and looks it over with mild interest. The cover art gives no spoilers, and Jim mutters, "Hello, good-looking," when he sees Will and Elizabeth on the cover. "I don't remember seeing this before. I'm interested in watching it but maybe we should save it for sometime when I'm not going to end up talking through the movie."

[losthunter]

"That is a good idea, especially since I do have four out of the five that have been released on DVD. We can make it a movie watching marathon."

"Dress up as pirates. Arrr!"

[boldygoing]

Jim can't help a little laugh at Hunter's enthusiasm. "Is that a thing that people do in your century, dressing up to match the movie? I thought that was mostly a Halloween thing."

[losthunter]

"It is a thing. Especially for the franchises that people are fans of. Franchises like Star Wars and Pirates of the Carribbean are among those that people love to get interactive with."

"We even have Sci-Fi conventions, where people go all out."

[boldygoing]

"I don't think we have those back home. If we do I've never noticed."

[losthunter]

"I should take you to one sometime."

[boldygoing]

"Apparently we should take each other to a lot of things," Jim says, smiling slightly. "I don't know if we'll have time for them all but it gives us something to look forward to. I'm still hoping the Enterprise gets the five-year mission assignment. Starfleet has never done one that long before and I don't know if I deserve it over more experienced captains but I just have to wait and see now."

[losthunter]

"A five-year mission assignment? What would it include?"

[boldygoing]

"Mostly exploration of uncharted space. There's so much out there that we don't know about, phenomena that no one in the Federation's ever seen, cultures we've never recorded or contacted, and the potential for new discoveries and knowledge is practically endless. I'm sure we'll come across our share of dangers but if we let that stop us, we're in the wrong business." Jim has a lot of thoughts on this, and a memory that isn't his tickles at the back of his mind, his own voice in an impassioned speech on the importance of risk. "They used to say that if man could fly, he'd have wings, but he did fly. He discovered he had to." And now that Jim's started quoting, he can't quite seem to stop, the words like an eerie déjà vu to his ears. "Do you wish that the first Apollo mission hadn't reached the moon, or that we hadn't gone on to Mars and then to the nearest star? That's like saying that you wish you still operated with scalpels and sewed up your patients with catgut like your great-great-great-great grandfather used to. I'm in command. I could order this, but I'm not because Doctor McCoy is right in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with life and intelligence as fantastically advanced as this, but I must point out that the possibilities - the potential for knowledge and advancement - is equally great. Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about. That's why we're aboard her."

He finally stops, looking a little confused and mildly embarrassed. "Sorry, I think that was one of Ambassador Spock's memories." He's pretty sure he already told Hunter he gets fragments of odd memories from the mind-meld he had with the old Vulcan a year ago, so it shouldn't be a big surprise.

[losthunter]

Hunter listens patiently has Jim starts quoting the impassioned speech. And nods in understanding when Jim apologizes for it.

"I think I will always be a little concerned about you, when the mission is officially assigned. But that comes naturally with the fact that I love you, and part of that is being concerned."

"But I know it is an opportunity that you have been waiting for. And I will be happy when it officially is announced."