[Open] Observations

[mirroredcommand]

After his departure from the gym, Pike silently made his way up towards where he knew the observation deck was on his own Enterprise. He ignored the looks he was given as he walked in calm measured steps, but listened carefully to the murmurs when they believed him to have passed.

It was interesting how lax the security was, or someone had finally decided that he was allowed to walk the ship and had informed security of it. It was swiftly decided that the former seemed more likely considering the universe. Pike was fine with it, for now, if for no other reason then it allowed him to make it up to the deck without being bothered along the way.

There were only two other people on the deck when he appeared. They were sitting on a sofa, tucked up against each other, looking up at the stars. Lovers, presumably. Pike gave them a wide berth in the large area and walked with silent, almost formal steps up to the clear, thick material that separated himself from the cold silence of space.

The system did not immediately leap to mind a name from memory as he gazed out across constellations and planets. There was a planet nearby, something close enough to look as large as the full moon did from Earth. He watched its topography for several minutes, attempting to discern, but could not place it.

Pike glanced behind himself, noting the arrangement of furniture for the room. The little differences were the ones that stood out to him the most, such as the design of the furniture. They were designed to be immensely comfortable but were of such a condition that they were mass produced. He walked over and gathered one, turning it to face directly outward, and settled his body into the soft cushioning.

He let his thoughts drift without concern for some time, listening to the silence of the room and grateful for it. It allowed him to concentrate on raising his mental shields, carefully, to leave him alone in his mind. Never separated from Spock, could never be, but a clear mental silence that would allow him to think.

There was a brief swish, and Pike glanced over in time to watch the couple leave the room, leaving him alone. There was a part of him that relaxed further, the part on constant watch for assassins. It was a curious side-effect of this universe, that he found himself able to actually relaxed. It felt rather like being within the boundaries of his Mojave home, which was protected by the latest in technology programmed to himself alone. Not only that, but the pack of creatures unlike anything Earth had ever seen. They were discovered very late in a long-passed five year mission, and despite orders, he had taken two of them with him.

Pike smirked as he thought of the two. They were canine in shape but reptilian as well, fierce as a wolverine with the loyalty of a dog. The two young pups had bonded to him as if they had been given birth from him, and now their own pups did the same as well. The only person that could be near the hounds without being torn apart was Spock.

What would happen if he was unable to return home? They lived on his large acreage as a pack, a den dug into the ground, without his aid. Perhaps they would continue to breed and spread.

A frown crossed his features as Pike realized what he was thinking. They would return back to their universe, they had to. He would not abandon his ship, which with the nanoprobes infesting its circuitry, was truly abandoned behind measure. Though... Scotty was still on the ship, and provided the man was not drunk beyond the ability to see, he was a genius. Perhaps, given enough time, he would discover the problem and be able to find a way to re-program the nanoprobes to respond to himself or another. Maybe, but it was a long shot.

The more time he spent in this universe, the larger the chance that there would be no ship to return to. While never fully helpless, the Enterprise would be in a grave danger without a captain at her helm and without a ship that would respond to another's command. A part of him wanted to call Spock foolish for having endangered the ship so, but another part of him countered that easily by understanding exactly why Spock had done so.

Spock. In his mind, Pike replayed the scene down in the gym as well as the one from previous in the day. Spock was reacting in almost a humble sort of fashion under the glare of the young nurse. Changing, Pike's mind told him. They were both changing. Not quickly in many ways, as Pike had known what Spock's reaction to being touched unknowingly would be, but more swiftly then he would have guessed in others. Spock was not the type to so easily follow another person's commands, unless that other person happened to be McCoy, whom Spock was still very wary of, and even then Pike would have been hesitant to say so.

Would they continue to change, more and more each day, while in this universe? Was it an effect of the universe itself or one that came from having changed between two universes? The idea of that happening was off-putting, to say the least. Would he become like this weak-minded fools that currently ran the ship he was on? He thought of the child-Captain, and mentally winced at the mere thought of it. He knew that his hand was often harsh in his methods, and it had to be if he wanted to not only command some of the most brilliant and dangerous people in Starfleet's command but to remain alive to do so, but he planned his missions well. People like Chapel were welcomed additions to any mission, as she was a fierce fighter as well as a medic. Because she was a medic, people would often underestimate her.

The woman had an affection for blood, so anyone who would underestimate her was soon to discover.

He even found small changes occurring in himself, found himself restraining his natural urge to not only threaten, but allow things to happen. Thinking again over the small incident in the gym, it startled him to realize that previously he would have allowed the person foolish enough to try and touch Spock do so. The pain would have been their warning never to do it again. Instead, he had seen it coming, and had stopped it. Was this universe making him grow soft? He had thought similar things after Jim and his Spock had been there in their small cell-room, playing a physical and verbal game of chess.

A thought that had only brief occurred there cropped up again. What if it was true that they could not return? What would be their place? His methods, he was quite sure, were too different from this universe's to be allowed to be captain of one of their ships, but then again, their methods seemed incredibly idiotic to his eyes thus far. He would not want to captain a ship under such methods. There were other things they could do, but the small, simple idea that he would be forced to chose something new after so many long years of being in command...

I'm too old for such things. Pike mused to himself, smirking at his faint reflection in the material in front of him. It was a joke to himself as he never really thought of himself as old.

No matter what, he would continue to return to his universe. Pike could not help but wonder, though, how different he, and Spock, would become before he returned there.

Comments

[original-fine.livejournal.com]

[[OOC - Lovely! I enjoyed this.]]

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Thank you kindly! I am hoping someone might want to interact as well as I wanted to 'put to paper', so to speak, some of Pike's thoughts.]

[original-fine.livejournal.com]

[[OOC - I can't really do anything with Jim until I figure out what's going on with the Spock situation, but I do hope someone does come along!]]

[gold-ambition.livejournal.com]

Jim Kirk was restless (http://gold-ambition.livejournal.com/1502.html).

It was not an uncommon state for him, nor was his impulsiveness anything unusual. Thus far, his exploration of this ship had been unchallenged, his uniform effectively camouflaging him and his face familiar enough that his somewhat smug smile garnered only momentary speculation.

The observation deck was, perhaps, an odd place for him to go, if one considered his goal an examination of the ship's operation and potential weaknesses. But he was not immune to the draw of the stars, and it did not hurt to survey all he could of the unfamiliar ship that nevertheless followed a very similar plan to his own.

He saw no one, but knew instinctively he was not alone. His eyes scanned the room, ignoring for the moment the stars hung still and brilliant in front of him.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

There was another swish of the door, and Pike pulled himself with only a slight reluctance from his musings to turn his gaze in the direction of the door. He smiled only the smallest touch at the sight of James T. Kirk, and relaxed hesitantly.

He was surprised as he realized he had relaxed, and wondered what it was about the man that caused him not to take immediate necessary defense as all others did. He watched Jim take in the sight of the deck.

"Kirk." He called out, giving away his position. It was instinct more then thought to stand up and face the other human in the room, therefore putting the solid wall of clear material behind him. The lighting in the room was dim, in particular at its edges, so that the stars would be the main focus of the large window panels. The dim lighting put him mostly in shadow.

[gold-ambition.livejournal.com]

Kirk's start at Pike's voice was mostly internal, his instincts kicking in at the totally unexpected familiarity.

Pike?

For a moment, disbelief and rage gripped him. He'd killed Pike himself, taking his ship and his crew and never looking back. It had been one of his finest hours. And hearing him again, that ominous silhouette limned by the untwinkling stars, set off alarm bells immediately.

But it was a moment--this could not be Pike. Not announcing himself, not greeting as... no, not a friend, but perhaps a colleague? Of the counterpart, not the young, missing captain.

"Pike," he said, inclining his head noncommittally.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

"It seems rare to find us without our corresponding Vulcans." Pike said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He stepped forward, but only enough to gesture at one of the other chairs. Jim had been a pleasant enough company before, perhaps the only person he would have welcomed to interrupt his thoughts.

[gold-ambition.livejournal.com]

The sensible thing to do would have been to excuse himself and not risk exposure.

Jim stepped forward.

"I'm afraid you've mistaken me," he said amiably, a boyish smile on his face. "I mean... I seem to find myself somewhat lost. I thought you were Captain Pike for a moment. I forgot I'm not home. I'm James Kirk, but I'm told there are several of us here."

There was another moment of confusion, however, as stepping forward gave Kirk a clear view of Pike's uniform. His Pike? Here? And free... Marlena's information had been, it seemed, insufficient.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike's brows lifted immediately, and internally, every bit of his mind registered defense. Externally only the smile fell from his lips. He studied this James T. Kirk, but could find no discernible difference between the one he knew and this one.

"I am Captain Pike." Pike rumbled, unmoving from his position. The golden sash around his waist stood out vividly from the otherwise black materials. "But I believe not the one you know."

[just-uhura.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Even though he's 'evil', I love Mirror Pike and I love this.]

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

[OOC: According to Spock, they are not 'evil', only misunderstood. Thank you kindly, though! I adored your Uhura's reactions to him not only in the brig but in the gym as well.]

[original-fine.livejournal.com]

[OOC - *grin* Maybe that's what the '' are for. You know. *airquotes* Evil *airquotes*

Anyway, thirded, but you know that.

[rn-chapel.livejournal.com]

[[OOC: Seconded. ♥]]

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Thank you! I should add, you and m!Spock have been making me smile for days now! I love it!]

[rn-chapel.livejournal.com]

[[OOC: Yay! I was so glad we got a chance to have our characters interact a little bit, too.]]

[mirror-brightly.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Fourth'd, really hard.]

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Thank you! I absolutely adore your postings with Ayel and the Narada, I hope to see much, much more!]

[ephram-green.livejournal.com]

[OOC - Oh, this is an awesome post! ♥ ]

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Thank you kindly!]

[ephram-green.livejournal.com]

[OOC - I love when villains have complex internal monologue. ♥ moar]

[ephram-green.livejournal.com]

It was late. So late, it was probably early again, yet Ephram couldn't find sleep. The sounds of the ship were still too new and too intrusive on his subconscious to allow decent sleep. He accessed the computer in his guest quarters and found himself led to the Observation Deck. Watching the stars always did calm him.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike's head turned slightly at the sound of the doors to the deck opening, and he briefly studied the man who entered. A younger man, something told him, despite the shock of brilliant white hair that was the stranger's mane. He was acutely aware that his back was to this stranger, thus when he returned to face forward again, he kept his eye on the other's reflection in the material before him.

[ephram-green.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I hadn't expected anyone here. Hello." His voice was pitched quiet, in response to the late hour and emptiness of the room. This man was somewhat older than Ephram himself, and dressed in unusual clothing, he noted. First impressions being what they were, Ephram filed this unknown man in his mental category of displaced until he knew otherwise.

Watching his own reflection in the viewing port material, Ephram wandered closer to the stars glinting there. "I forget how beautiful space is, sometimes," he murmured, only half expecting an answer.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike felt no need to respond to such a thing, and let his gaze focus behind the clear glass to space beyond. If the stranger mentioned that as his first offer of conversation, it not only meant he was looking for a response, but it meant someone who did not spend a lot of time in space but had been there previously.

He folded his hands once again, wondering if the man truly wanted a conversation for some reason or another or if he had come up the Observation Deck for another reason.

[OOC: What kind of clothing does Ephram happen to be wearing? A Starfleet uniform, something casual, or something else? Thank you!]

[ephram-green.livejournal.com]

Content with no verbal response to his bland statement - though he hadn't made it for no reason but as a tiny offering of information - Ephram stood a respectful distance and kept his gaze on the stars. Keeping the man in his peripheral vision, just in case, he pondered. The man resembled Admiral Pike, but the dress, and...to Ephram's latest knowledge the Admiral was now dependent on a wheelchair. Another mark for the category of displaced.

"Sir," he said, half-turning toward the seated man, "you resemble someone I know. Do you have a brother?"


[OOC - He's in civilian clothing. (http://tinypic.com/m/5zi5qa/3) :D ]

[Edit: html FAIL D: ]