boldygoing | [IC] Voicemail

When Jim checks in with Spock, the Vulcan will inform him that a gift was left in his care, address to Jim. It also had a note that read:

Together you can find understanding... hopefully this will help

Inside the gift is a hand-made chess set, with each of the marble statues crafted to look like regal Cats for the white pieces, and regal Dogs for the black pieces.

Edited 2017-12-13 05:46 (UTC)

Jim has not gotten gifts for a while now, so finding the unique little chess set left in Spock's hands is a surprise. "Was this Hunter's idea?" he asks Spock, as he looks over the carved pieces.

Spock, as always, doesn't give much away with his face or body language. "It is. I have not played the two-dimensional version for some time. Would you indulge me for a game?"

Jim thinks of the three-dimensional set at the apartment, still frozen halfway through a game, waiting for white to make his move. A conversation interrupted, uncertainty left hanging over the board, and in the spaces between. A bad note to leave on, not knowing when it might resume again. Or if it will at all.

Maybe a new start, with a new board... "Yeah, I'd like that."

On the second night of Hanukkah, Jim receives another PINpoint delivery from Hunter.

A small origami eagle appears in front of him. The eagle soars around the air for a moment, before it lands. Like the penguin, the eagle bows, and unfolds, revealing a note behind.

In the hands of he who you would raise a glass with, you will find a different kind of insight Delivered by sarcasm and humor so wry.

Edited 2017-12-13 22:39 (UTC)

Just like before, Jim had planned on a quiet evening, and the arrival of the little paper creature comes as a mild surprise. He holds out a hand when it swoops in for a landing, unfolding itself on his palm, and he slightly regrets the loss of the unique little creation.

But the riddle occupies his attention soon enough, raising his eyebrows at the little poem. Raising a glass could be a couple people, but there's only one person with sarcasm and wry wit that comes to mind. "Bones," he says out loud, thoughtfully. It's gotta be.

When Jim checks with Bones, he will learn that Hunter has left another gift for Jim in the care of McCoy. Just like the night before. The gift is addressed to Jim, and there is another small note.

There will be many things to celebrate on your journey. Hopefully this will help you to share the highs and the lows

The large gift contains a whiskey dispenser. The large dispenser includes enough whiskey to last a few months. And inside the dispenser is a hand-made wooden Enterprise. The wood chosen for the Starfleet ship will help enrich the taste of the whiskey.

This gift is even more unexpected than the chess set. It's not the first time Hunter has handcrafted a copy of the Enterprise, but this one seems smoother than the first, more practiced. And paired with whiskey? It honestly would never have occurred to Jim.

"Jim, I still don't know what to think about all this Nexus stuff, but your boyfriend is all right," McCoy declares as they sample the gift, sharing a glass in the privacy of the doctor's apartment across town. "He's got good taste."

It's not the first time someone has called Hunter his boyfriend, but this time, Jim feels little urge to refute the term. He may not know what to make of all this, but... there's a small warm glow in the pit of his stomach, and he's pretty sure it has nothing to do with the drink.

On the third night of Hanukkah, Jim receives yet another PINpoint delivery from Hunter. There is no other information with the little origami beaver that shows up. The beaver waddles across the table, before bowing at Jim, and unfolding like the other animals that had come before him.

The note reads:
In the hands of she who speaks with confidence and calmness, You will find a new way to look at the world, Delivered by intelligence and beauty.

This time, Jim is expecting his little paper visitor, and it arrives right on schedule, half an hour after the candles have been lit. As he reads tonight's riddle, it occurs to him that Hunter is putting in a surprising, unexpected amount of effort to help with a holiday he doesn't even celebrate, and a small pang of guilt gnaws at him as he realizes he hasn't even gotten Hunter anything for Christmas.

Well... he'll have some time to fix that problem. For the time being, the answer to the riddle is obviously Uhura, and she's probably waiting for him.

The answer to the riddle was Uhura. And a gift was left in her care, just like one had been left for McCoy, and before him Spock. Again, there is a note with the gift.

Always look at all the angles. You will be surprised what you can discover

Inside the gift are Hebrew Boggle cubes. The cubes are hand-crafted. They come with a Boggle board, with instruction on how to play, and they also come with a Scrabble board, with instructions on how to use the cubes to play a multi-dimensional game.

Edited 2017-12-15 01:46 (UTC)

Jim has never played Boggle before, and neither has Uhura, so the instructions are absolutely appreciated. His skill in reading Hebrew is quite a bit rusty, but he supposes maybe this'll be good practice.

It's kind of strange, hanging out with her, off-duty. But that's not a bad thing. They've come a long way from the friendly yet somewhat antagonistic relationship they'd had as cadets, and without the immediate trappings of rank to hold them separate, it's kind of relaxing.

They play a couple of games to get the feel of it, Uhura winning more often than not, but it helps to have something else to occupy himself with, and it's a decent challenge while he gets the hang of the rules. By the time Jim heads home for the night, he's already giving thought to what he might be able to get for Hunter in return.

Now that Jim has figured out what Hunter was doing... he won't be surprised by the arrival of a fourth origami animal being sent via PINpoint on the fourth night of Hanukkah. This time it is a delicate angelfish that arrives. It swims through the air, before giving a delicate bow towards Jim, and unfolding into the note.

In the hands of he who navigates the stars, You will find a mixture of history and fiction, Delivered by dedication and loyalty.

Edited 2017-12-16 00:18 (UTC)

Jim is looking forward to his little visitor tonight, making sure the paper fish doesn't swim too close to the candle flames before it can deliver its message. The person this riddle is pointing him towards this time is even easier than the previous nights', though he still has to guess at what gift might be awaiting him at the other end of this trip.

"Okay, Chekov," Jim says to himself as he sets out to find the young navigator, "what'd Hunter give you this time?"

A gift is waiting with Chekov for Jim to open. There is another note waiting for him too.

Hopefully this will give you a lot of reading material for the journey ahead

Inside the gift is a set of books written by Russian authors.

Chekov is delighted, both to see his captain again, and because of Hunter's choice of gift. He may not know the man quite as well as some of the other crew, but he was more than happy to help be a part of Hunter's holiday plans to bring the captain a little cheer.

"Your partner has wery good taste," he tells Jim, admiring the matching set of famous novels. "Everyone knows the best authors come from Russia. It's where the novel was first inwented, you know."

Jim is pretty sure that's not true, but far be it from him to step on Chekov's regional pride by pointing that out. "Then I hope you're bringing some of your own along. I might need some recommendations once I'm done with these." Not entirely true either, but he knows how much the young navigator likes to help, and seeing his face light up like that makes it worth it.

On the fifth night of Hanukkah, Jim receives another origami animal. This time it is a beautiful crane that greets him. The delicate animal struts across the table, before bowing with its wings, and unfolding into a note.

In the hands of he who is quick on his feet, You will plant a new start for your crew, Delivered by leadership and sass.

Edited 2017-12-17 00:30 (UTC)

Wow. That is one elaborate crane. Jim has only ever seen the classic, basic version, so it's a bit of a surprise to see one so beautifully detailed.

Tonight's riddle needs a little more thought. Scotty has proven to be up to the sort of mad sprints that the job sometimes requires, but he's not exactly in shape for anything much longer than that. Nor is he really in leadership, despite his place in the chain of command. The belly of the ship is where he's the happiest.

So it must be someone on the bridge. Doesn't Sulu do botany as a side hobby? And he's certainly sassy. Fencing means you have to be light on your feet as well. Looks like he's checking in with the helmsman tonight, and this time he doesn't have far to go, since Sulu also lives in San Francisco.

Jim has figured out yet another riddle. Sulu does indeed have a gift addressed to Jim at his residence. Hunter had gone out of his way to find out where each crew member had lived, so that he could make the gift deliveries. And explain about how the gift was not to be opened before Jim showed up. All the crew members were thrilled to help him.

Anything for their captain.

Another gift accompanies the gift tonight too. Remember to plant the seeds of hope and adventure for your entire crew

The gift is hand-blown botany jars. Each of the botany containers contains a different herbs and a few contain flowers, so that they could be grown and flourished in a proper botany garden.

Edited 2017-12-17 03:11 (UTC)

"It's a clever idea, sir," Sulu tells him as they identify the plants one by one, using the helmsman's personal tricorder. "All these plants are pretty hardy ones, and they're all perennials. We shouldn't have any trouble growing them onboard the Enterprise."

Jim smiles a little, looking over one of the little jars, and the sprig of lavender growing inside. "Yeah, he's thoughtful that way."

On the sixth night of Hanukkah, an origami barn owl arrives via Jim's PINpoint. It flies around the immediate space, before swooping down and landing. The owl bows at Jim, and unfolds into another note.

In the hands of he watches the heart of your ship, You will find that time is never ending, Delivered by dedication and innovation.

The answer to this one is very obvious to Jim. Of course it's Scotty, 'he who watches the heart of his ship.' He hasn't spent much time around the engineer since their last mission, although he has been reaching out a little lately, on his older counterpart's advice. It's been slow going, reconditioning himself to that part of the ship, always mindful of the presence of the warp core. But meeting Scotty in a more social setting... that's not as bad.

"Time is never ending," he mutters to himself as he heads out to meet the Scotsman, wondering what that might mean.

There is in fact a gift waiting with Scotty for Jim's arrival. Like the other gifts, it is wrapped simply, with a small note.

Time is what you make it. And I know you will make the most of it

Inside the gift is a hand-made perpetual-motion calendar that he would be able to hang somewhere in the ship.

Edited 2017-12-18 02:13 (UTC)

"Yer lad is wise beyond his years," Scotty tells Jim, when the present is revealed. There's a somber note in the air between them, a reminder that the captain's time in this world is a precious gift, not to be taken for granted. They both know how close this last time was.

"Yeah," Jim agrees, turning the calendar over in his hands, deep in thought. Thinking about opportunities, and second chances.

And where he's going to put this in his quarters, when he's able to go back home. Not the apartment. His real home, made of durasteel and transparent aluminum and stardust.

On the seventh night of Hanukkah, a small and elaborate origami swan greets Jim tonight. It floats in the air, delicately. Then bows its head at Jim, unfolding into another note for him to solve.

In the hands of she who sees the world as an endless possibility, You will find a way to express all your thoughts, Delivered by intelligence and boldness.

So far, all of the gifts that Hunter has arranged have been held safe by Jim's crew, his closest friends and most loyal officers. All people that Hunter would have met during the captain's time at Starfleet Medical, and has gotten to know at least a little better since. But with only two nights left, and no more officers to hold gifts, Jim doesn't think that Hunter would repeat the same people. Who will the origami lead him to tonight?

When the note arrives, he takes his time contemplating it. The only other women from this Earth that Hunter has met are some of Jim's relatives, and he really hopes it's not his mother. She doesn't see the world as an endless possibility, as far as he knows, so he feels fairly confident in ruling her out as tonight's gift guardian.

So who is it?

Intelligence and boldness... Gryffindors are bold, right? Jim seems to remember Hermione saying something about that, when he'd asked about the Houses. He doesn't want to just show up without any warning though, especially since she's had uninvited guests in recent days, so he shoots off a quick message as he prepares to head out.

It's Jim. Mind if I drop in?

Edited 2017-12-19 00:52 (UTC)

I was actually expecting a visit from you today. Come on over. I have some tea made!

Looks like the riddle was hinting that Hermione was included in safe-keeping a gift.

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Second Night gift

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Third Night gift

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Fourth Night gift

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Fifth Night gift

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Sixth Night gift

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Seventh Night gift

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