#v. discovery

[cxptxin-kirk]

> @quantumstarpaths

Jim's woken up in a lot of strange places that he doesn't remember getting to. Thanks to how often he ends up unconscious on away missions, the habit has been allowed to persists despite Jim's lack of binge drinking and reckless delinquent behavior. Still, waking up on a ship that's not his own, entirely unharmed and even tucked into bed, has got to be one of the strangest ways he's woken up.

The first thing Jim notices other than the fact that's uninjured is that the ship is quiet. It's obvious the ship is Starfleet, yet even when ships are docked they rarely power off so much that the ship doesn't purr. The silence sets Jim on edge, forcing him out of bed to start investigating the room with more urgency than he might've otherwise. Jim's investigation turns up nothing. Aside from the silence, the ship is perfectly up to Starfleet standards. The design is really the only clue Jim has that he's not just in an empty room on the Enterprise. He checks for his comm, only to find it gone. In fact everything Jim normally keeps tucked into his pockets is gone. It's not they're missing -- rather he never had his comm to begin with. The holster just isn't there.

Only when the room is turned upside down does Jim feel comfortable enough to take a step outside. The door slides open effortlessly, revealing a dim, empty corridor. Jim feels anxiety tighten in his stomach; the ship is clearly powered up, yet the silence persists. His fingers twitch for a phaser that isn't there. Taking a deep breath, Jim steadies himself and steps into the hallway. For a moment Jim glances left to right, deliberating on which way he should take to find something. If he can just find a console he could figure out what deck he's on and then maybe make his way towards the bridge.

A goal now in mind, Jim sets off towards the right. As he starts to move, a weird dizzy feeling washes over him. He stops for a moment, reaching up to rub his forehead, eyes sliding shut as he does. Jim attempts to will the sensation away, and when he opens his eyes again the surroundings have changed slightly. Jim feels like he's just stepped one foot to the left. Things are off, sure, but not in a way that he can really pinpoint.

As he glances around again, his eyes land on a figure. Pale, blond, and dressed in a Starfleet uniform that Jim's only seen in textbooks and museums. With no other ideas readily available, Jim decides to reach out to them. "Do you work on this ship?" Jim's voice is strong, confident, despite the strangeness of the situation.

[cxptxin-kirk]

@engineertilly​

Even with his rapid-fire brain, there’s plenty about the world that Jim doesn’t understand. At seventeen that’s hardly unexpected, but Jim prefers to believe there isn’t anything anyone can tell him that’ll still surprise him. Perhaps it’s the belief that he’s all-knowing and invincible that gives the universe motivation to fuck him over time and time again. In all the classic stories Jim reads it’s hubris that falls heroes, although, Jim can hardly be called a hero -- he’s more of a public menace than anything else. 

Hubris is hardly an explanation for why he wakes in someplace entirely new after hitting his head particularly hard. At first Jim thinks that maybe he got too drunk and ended up catching a shuttle all the way to San Fransisco; however, that’s soon proven false by the news headlines and the star date. A trip to San Fransisco would’ve taken him a day, maybe two. At the very least, a few hours would’ve passed since his memory blacked out. Instead, when Jim stumbles towards the city center, he realizes that -- at most -- fifteen minutes have passed since he fell and hit his head. 

The next couple of weeks are strange. Jim does research, nabbing a PADD from some unsuspecting pedestrian before making a home for himself in some internet cafe where he could get off the street for a bit. The world he entered is so similar to his own, including their very own Jim Kirk (this Jim Kirk does seem to be well on his way to becoming a hero). Somehow he jumped universes, as unbelievable as that feels, and he’s got no way of hopping back to his own timeline. During all this digging is when Jim realizes that his best bet is joining up with Starfleet. It’s not his first choice by any means, but getting home sounds a hell of a lot better than staying here. Living under his dad’s shadow was bad enough; living under his own sounded like hell on earth. He’ll need a fake identity and a change of clothes, sure, but that’s nothing that can’t be accomplished with a little bit of help. His research goals change then as he seeks out a (hopefully) kind-hearted cadet who’s bright enough to give him a hand. 

Jim’s research leads him to Cadet Sylvia Tilly, a brilliant first year student with a fast-track to a starship if she keeps up the good work. One shower and stolen cadet uniform later, and Jim’s ready to plead his case. He spots her during class turnover, minding her own business in a peaceful way that almost makes Jim regret interrupting with his bizarre request. 

He approaches with the PADD tucked under his arm, attempting to manifest the confidence that’d been faltering ever since he ended up in this other world. “Cadet Tilly?” Jim calls to her, taking measured steps to catch up. “I hate to bother you but, uh, do you have a minute?” The polite tone feels foreign on his tongue, but Jim will just be screwed if he manages to scare her off right now with his usual brashness. 

[cxptxin-kirk]

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