Captain Christopher Richard Pike

"Confusion isn't something that anyone would want in a captain, even an acting one." Pike agreed with his bond mate. "How are you so sure he didn't mean what he said, but now is just trying to cover it up?"

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Jim spread his hands. "I can't be," he said. "But I believed him, when he said it. I believe there was a certain logic in who he sent, apart from issues of... expendability. Other than not sending a medic, I might have done the same myself. Though I would have gone. I believe that he had no deliberate intention of letting us die. He needs Jim. He needs what my Spock has provided him. I think he made a mistake. And while it's not comforting, I believe it was not intentional. And I'm attempting to convince him of the logic of not making every decision without the input of anyone else when untried."

He also believed that Pike himself compromised Spock's control over his mouth. But that was a touchier issue.

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If Jim had desired to bring that topic up, Pike would have agreed with him. "You are a far more trusting person then I am. Considering that in one fell swoop the young captain would have been made captain, had a reason to destroy his enemy, and removed or crippled many of the strangers he has on board his ship, I simply can't think that he might have other intentions."

It was quite true. The true captain would have been dead, along with Jim and his Spock, along with his bond mate which would have left him for dead or crippled as they, unfortunately, knew. Many strangers on board seemed to be followers of Jim as Captain, and the rest would have been so angry at Nero's actions that they would have allowed Spock to do what he wished as long as he was intelligent about it.

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"I am," Jim agreed. "And you're correct, of course, by a certain interpretation. But consider this: I believe that there is a connection between young Spock and the young captain. A connection Spock values. As he does the connection to my Spock's Vulcan which he's shared. He's aware of the loss to him, should we have been lost. Spock is extremely isolated. I believe he's attempting to prove something to himself, and to others, that he can succeed solely on his own. I think he's learning that he cannot."

He shrugged.

"That may be of little assurance to you. It's my feeling that he's trying. And that if I can influence him, my worry will be eased. Yours may not. But to be perfectly honest, my meeting convinced me that he's confused and inexperienced. Not malicious. And one of those is easier to alter with influence than the other."

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"Meaning you believe he is acting like a stubborn, foolish child." Pike gestured with the flat of his hand, "That we are supposed to accept as our captain, trust with our lives, while the Romulan sits on our metaphorical doorstep."

Spock, what do you think? Pike questioned through the bond. He could understand Jim's interpretation, even if he would not let on that he did.

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Jim paused. This was sliding into mutiny, which was not his intent.

"I do," he agreed. "But I believe it expedient to accept him as the captain of this ship and maintain my relationship with him, and the captain, in the hopes that my opinions and experience may be taken into account."

Kirk. Kirk did not agree with him. Christopher likely would agree with Kirk about blowing that ship from the sky. And Jim could hardly blame either of them. Even if he disagreed.

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Stubborn, foolish child - that seems accurate. But I believe James T. Kirk's assertion that there was also much to be lost. If his Spock is sharing something of his own Vulcan with the child-Spock who has none, that is significant.

Spock would not accept anyone as his captain but Christopher - and they would be returning home.

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Can you explain what you both mean by that? Sharing something of his own Vulcan? Pike tilted his head towards Jim, but was listening closely to his bond mate.

"Tell me something, Jim." Pike steepled his hands in front of his face, focusing on Jim with his eyes. "In this universe, if a Captain is found incompetant, don't they do something about it?"

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the cultural bonds of Vulan, shared between all its people. I do not have them. But the child-Spock would have had them torn from his mind when his planet was destroyed. It may well be possible that the elder has... shared his own sky between them somehow. If this is true, the younger is dependent on him to, in some degree, stave off the madness of isolation.

Spock studied his tea then looked at James T. Kirk from under his lashes. This man's Spock might be more accomplished than realized.

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Jim's eyebrows rose.

"Of course," he said. "Starfleet Command can relieve them, if they have questions about reports that have come to them. On board, the CMO has considerable power if he believes the captain is unfit for duty. There are also regulations allowing other command officers to take over, if the captain's decisions are demonstrably faulty, via a competency hearing."

He paused.

"That more or less requires the Captain and First Officer to be capable of objective analysis of the situation."

It was not Jim's considered opinion that they were, regardless of his opinion about their fitness for command.

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Spock finally spoke.

"If they are not? What then, James T. Kirk?"

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"Ultimately, Spock, it's up to Starfleet Command. There are checks and balances. The captain and other command crew send regular reports. It's up to Starfleet to determine whether they're operating to the level expected of them. If they don't, it must be reasoned either that they approve of command decisions or that there is some other corruption up the line. If no reports are sent, obviously that's a red flag as well."

He shrugged. Obviously, when worst came to worst, one did whatever one had to to save the ship, the crew. They weren't there yet.

"Either way, you and I have no official position whatsoever. This isn't our world. Or our Starfleet. And this crew has done nothing, yet, that I would consider actionable. I worry about Kirk and Spock's states of mind. That's all I'm willing to admit, at this time."

When McCoy and Spock had thought him too close to the vampire cloud issue, they'd confronted him, per regulation. He had resented it at the time, confident in the rightness of his actions. But it had been the right thing to do. Had this Bones logged any medical reports about Kirk's mental state, he wondered?

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The 'yet' that Jim inserted into his sentence was very interesting. Did the other captain assume it would come to that at some point? Pike certainly did, after witnessing just how they reacted during a crisis situation. They are like a bunch of children playing with their toys.

"If you're concerned about their state of mind, wouldn't it be less of you to keep those opinions to yourself and not be heard by those who can test?" Pike raised a brow in Jim's direction. "If even outsiders can see that there might be something wrong, it means there is most likely a seed of it."

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You have said it before - children playing at Starfleet. Do you want to show them how to play as adults? Is that your goal?

Spock will do as Christopher plans but... he does not dislike them all. It would be a shame to, for example, be at odds with this James T. Kirk.

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"I'll be frank with you," he said. "My primary interests here are in Spock's safety, and getting back home. But this world is similar to mine. Its people familiar. And I am willing to abide by their decisions until and unless they impact the safety of my own crew. It's not an easy position. But it's the one I've chosen. Thus far, I've seen kids too young for command, through no fault of their own. I'd rather see them succeed. Perhaps I'm arrogant to assume I can have some part in that. I was young when I became captain, as well. If I'd been reined in tight by Starfleet, I never would have learned. I hope that they'll find their way. Without official blights on their records."

He sat back, shrugging again.

"I wasn't ready at Jim's age. But I had a chance to fail and learn from my mistakes. If I can help him avoid the worst of the failure... I may speak to his McCoy about it. But he's likely to be fairly close to the situation, himself."

Like he, Spock and McCoy now were. Bonded. Inescapably. If he were Command, what would he do? Allow three top officers on the Enterprise to continue in an emotionally tangled command situation? Was there any objectivity anymore?

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For now my goal is to get us home. Pike said with a glance in his bond mate's direction.

"Those are strong words, Jim, but not ones that I can fully agree with. I see children playing when there are more competent officers around that could be dealing with these things with more knowledge, wisdom, and practice." He shook his head, "I'd rather follow you then the child in charge. Why would you sit back and watch them blunder about like this when things could be getting done?"

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Would you really follow his command?

Spock is surprised enough that it almost shows in his eyes. Christopher is not the following type.

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I would follow his over the child's. At least I can see that while Jim and I disagree on things, as I have a feeling he is much less the killing type, at least I can respect his command. I've seen little worth respecting so far in the child. Pike gave the smallest shrug, something that would have been ignored by anyone witnessing in their own universe, but spoke volumes between them.

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The shrug communicated quite clearly to Spock. He raised a brow, the slightest quirk.

Fascinating.

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"Because this isn't my world," Jim said quietly. "Officially, I have no authority here. Unofficially, my personal feeling is that this is their ship, their universe. It ceased to be mine at the point Nero appeared, splitting things off and giving that boy an entirely different life from mine. I wasn't part of what brought them to this point--who am I to dictate events now? That said, Christopher, I don't intend to see you stranded if there is a sure way back for you. I just don't see that our options have narrowed to... what you suggest."

But he was touched, oddly, by the suggestion. Even if it went against everything he believed in, even if it was largely manipulative, he did not think a man like Pike made such an offer lightly.

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Pike looked across the room to the blank wall, frowning with a gaze that seemed to go beyond the room they were in. "Something tells me that things will be changing in the future, though why I'm not sure." His lips quirked into the faintest of smirks, "Perhaps call it a captain's intuition."

He focused his gaze on Jim again, "who are you to dictate events? You are a starship captain, who knows that the lives of not only the ship's crew but dozens of outsiders from other universes are under a possible inept command. I'm not saying you should run out there and declare mutiny right this second, but sometimes the needs of the rest are greater then those of a few." He frowned with that final thought, wondering exactly where it had come from.

His eyes flickered over to Spock, I believe, sometimes, I have been around Vulcans too long.

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A flicker of humor.

You say that as though it is a bad thing.

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I do. It was so dry anyone who could have heard it would have thought he was serious, but through the bond amusement flared. Considering the single Vulcan he had been around for any real length of time was Spock, it was meant entirely as a joke.

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Jim watched Pike soberly for a moment. "They do," he agreed. "I'm not unsympthetic. But I also know that this Kirk and Spock want what I want, ultimately. We may currently disagree about how to get there. But we may not always. The captain has been through a very traumatic event, from which he is still recovering. I have every faith that he is up to the task."

It was a faith he felt he had to keep, for now, for his own peace of mind. But he would not be blind, even by his own choice.

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