> @exastrisnonnocere
Being stuck planet-side after so long in space had Jim jittery like nothing else. As much as he wanted to be stationed elsewhere, the admirals had made a damn good case for why he should stay in San Fransisco (aside from the occasional visit to Yorktown) while the Enterprise-A undergoes reconstruction. Jim’s found advantages to being here; after all, it’s much easy to diplomatically argue with the bean counters about why his sick bay needs to be bigger when he’s there in person to give them his best professional glare. Still -- Jim gets restless.
That restlessness so often turns into late nights spent at his temporary office in Starfleet HQ. Although, at this point, his office hardly feels temporary. He’s been in the place for nearly three years and has at least another six months to a year left to go before his ship is complete enough to finally justify a transfer back to Yorktown.
There’s plenty to do for a Starfleet captain who’s waiting on their ship to be finished. Jim’s such a micromanager that almost everything gets cleared through him first. That, in addition to the fact that they’re finally near enough to take off to justify recruitment, means that Jim’s got plenty to look through on his PADD. Most recently delivered would be Bones’s first wave of new medical recruits. Jim notes at first glance that there’s everything from a few top of their class residents seeking starship experience to doctors at the forefront of their fields. His CMO has certainly been busy accumulating options for Jim to look through; they have fifty new spots to fill. Jim starts with the doctors, figuring researching their work and getting familiar with their skillset is going to be what takes the most time in this whole process. He chooses a file at random, only to see the face of a long presumed dead friend pop onto screen.
Before Jim really knows what he’s doing he’s tossing his stuff into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, PADD in hand as he does some less than regulation things to get Silas’s current posting and address. Silas’s place isn’t too far from the Academy, but Jim wants to read over his file before arriving. He hails a cab, still in his formal uniform, and sets about attempting to learn what he can about Silas since he last saw the man. While he doesn’t glean too much from skimming, Jim learns enough to realize that not only is Silas alive, he’s been in active duty since Nero and had neglected to so much as send a post card Jim’s way. Jim’s never been good at ignoring the way something makes him feel, and the twist in his gut at that revelation about Silas makes him wish he could sit still long enough to practice some of Spock’s meditation techniques.
Being dressed in his uniform has some perks because the security is all too happy to let Jim into Silas’s building after he says he’s here on official Starfleet business. It’s not entirely a lie; Jim’s oh so curious about one of his CMO’s top picks. When Jim knocks on the door he finally takes a moment to check the time -- nearly two AM. For a moment the reality of what he’s doing catches up with him and Jim wonders if he should just abandon this whole stupid plan and comm Silas like a normal person.
Then he remembers their friendship was hardly ever normal, and Silas is opening up the door.
"You know, Dr. McCoy has done a lot to innovate surgery and starship medicine, but I didn’t know he made a habit of reviving people from the dead -- especially those who were apparently too obliterated by Nero to give me a damn comm!” Jim snapped, glaring at the man who he used to be so incredibly close with.