Making Good on IOUs [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

True to his word, about five days after Jim's first venture into the Nexus, he finds the time to send a message to Hunter's PINpoint via his own version of the gizmo, an attachment he's hardwired into his standard-issue communicator.

Hey handsome. Enterprise in port for minor repairs. You free this evening? -Cpt. JTK

He sure hopes so. It's been a long day, and he'd love the chance to relax with a friend. Bones and Spock are both busy with personal business, but that's just fine with him, since he owes the friendly neighborhood artist a night at a bar someplace.


[[OOC: Image link to replace broken one below: Jim's civilian outfit]

Comments

[boldygoing]

"Sort of. The inertial dampeners take care of any g-force but the engines have a kind of rumbly vibration when we're underway. It's different if we're at warp or on impulse, but I'm not sure i could describe how they're different." Jim doesn't think it's terribly uneasy, but he can tell Hunter is a bit nervous, so he is more than willing to fill the silence. "I'm so used to it now that I can't get to sleep when I'm groundside sometimes."

[losthunter]

"It must be sort of like, when you are vacationing by the ocean and you get used to the sounds of the waves... and then you return home, and can't sleep without that sound."

[boldygoing]

"Close enough," Jim agrees with a grin. "Starfleet assigned me an apartment in downtown San Fran but I'm never there, so that doesn't really help either. It doesn't feel like home, not like the Enterprise does."

[losthunter]

"It is very important to have a place that feels like home. My connected Nexus-New York apartment gives me that feeling."

[boldygoing]

Jim's about at the bottom of his Romulan ale, so he flags down the waitress to get a glass of water and a Cardassian sunrise. He's not done drinking, but the ale is pretty knock-you-on-your-ass potent and he can already tell if he doesn't do the responsible thing and rehydrate, he's going to have one killer hangover tomorrow.

"So what made you pick New York?" he asks curiously, once the young lady's disappeared again into the crowd.

[losthunter]

"I was born and raised in New York City." Hunter explains. "I had the opportunity to travel the country, but there was something just calling me back to the Big Apple."

[boldygoing]

"So you've always been a city boy." It's certainly not a bad thing. Jim just doesn't share that particular background. "I did a lot of roaming around too, before Starfleet."

[losthunter]

"What sort of places did you visit?" It would be interesting, to hear some of Jim's favorite places on Earth to visit, especially if he has traveled space itself.

[boldygoing]

"Oh, all over the place. New Orleans, Nashville, Toronto, Yosemite... I even spent a winter in Vegas once. I didn't go back to Iowa for about eight years."

[losthunter]

"Is Vegas still the lively Sin-capital of the States, that I know it as?"

[boldygoing]

Jim chuckles a little. "If by that you mean it's full of tourists who want to get married by Elvis impersonators, then yeah."

[losthunter]

"That, and gambling, and strip shows, and quickie Wedding Chapels." Hunter laughs slightly.

[boldygoing]

"Gambling no, strip shows yes. Talk about easy entertainment."

[losthunter]

"I can picture you being bold enough to swing on a pole, dancing."

[boldygoing]

Jim laughs a little, smiling. "It's a great core workout. You should try it sometime. Probably way better for you than bar fights, which is how I spent the other half of my time."

[losthunter]

"I should totally add that suggestion into my current workout schedule." Hunter chuckles slightly.

"Bar fights? Sounds like you still had a lot to prove to yourself."

[boldygoing]

"Yeah, I did. My head was pretty messed up back then." And now here he sits, captain of Starfleet's flagship. It still boggles his mind sometimes.

[losthunter]

"I lived on the streets for a year or so. Trying to find myself."

[boldygoing]

'On the streets' sounds a bit more serious than just roaming on a perpetual angry roadtrip, like Jim did, and he frowns a little. "What was that like?"

[losthunter]

"Hard." Hunter strokes his finger along Jim's arm to ease what might be a difficult conversation. "One had to basically struggle for basic living rights, such like food, sanctuary, safety."

"I met a lot of good people there. They inspired one of my art exhibits."

[boldygoing]

Jim's body goes tense at the mention of struggling for food, though if Hunter wasn't literally in such close physical contact, he might never notice because it doesn't show on the captain's face. "Well," he says, carefully keeping his voice as even and steady as he can manage, "I'm glad you knew them, then. You still keep in touch?"

[losthunter]

"Yes. I recently acquired a Trust Fund, and turned it around into a foundation to help those who are still struggling to find their own paths."

"We built a multi-purpose building. It includes a food bank. A computer lab. Resume and work experience resources. Counsellors. A clothing bank."

"Our goal is to basically help those who want support to gain independence and pride in that they are the ones who are making all the steps needed to give them a better future."

[boldygoing]

"Sounds like a noble goal," Jim says, trying to force himself to relax. Tarsus IV was thirteen years ago, but there's no escaping its lasting impression on him.

[losthunter]

Hunter takes both of Jim's hands in his. He can sense that Jim is very tense right now. And doesn't know if this is the best time to go into anything deeper, but still wants to show his support.

"I try to help, where I can."

[boldygoing]

If Jim knew that Hunter has really noticed how bothered he is, he'd appreciate the lack of questions. But he doesn't realize that's what the handholding is about, so he just musters up a smile and squeezes Hunter's hands a bit. "Gotta admit, your economy is weird to me."