The Stars Above Us

Chapter 2

"New kid's a jerk," Shannon whispered from Jim's left side.

"Yea, he just glared at me when I tried to talk to him this morning," Crista added.

"Some of the officers in medical said he spent all day in there yesterday just following Doctor Boyce around. It's creepy," Shannon added. Jim wanted to smack the kid, he just turned fifteen and he had no right to call anybody anything.

"Maybe he wants to be a doctor. His father was," Jim finally said to the two idiots she was sitting with.

"How do you know that?" Crista asked her.

"My dad. He said that Doctor McCoy was Miss Pippa's mentor," she sighed.

"That's no excuse for him to be mean," Crista said.

Jim shrugged, "His parents died and he got forced from his home to live somewhere he doesn't like with people he doesn't know and you expect him to be a ray of sunshine."

"Your parents died," Shannon pointed out. "You're not mean."

"I can be if I really wanted to be. To be fair, I didn't really know my parents. My dad died when I was a baby and my mom when I was four, Leonard, on the other hand, is twelve," she told them. "Let him be, okay." Jim grabbed her stuff and left the table.

"Why did you do that?" Leonard asked when she stepped into the corridor.

"Maybe I'm a sucker for lost causes," she shrugged.

"You think I'm a lost cause?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I think you're taking out your grief on everyone and it's not nice," Jim said. "For the moment, you're a lost cause because you don't get it. Despite what I told those idiots, I do understand. It's not just losing your family, it's wondering where you go after that. Who are you without them? It's something I've asked myself all the time. No one is saying to forget them, but you might want to find another way of coping. You want to be a jerk, fine, but you won't last very long in close quarters if you do."

"You're smarter than you look," Leonard told her after he looked at her for a long minute.

"I know, it's genetic. My parents were both geniuses," she smiled. "Look, I can still help you get used to this place but I'll only do it if you ask. And you have to promise not to snap at me like you did on your first day."

"Why would you help me?"

"Because dad and Miss Pippa asked me to," Jim answered honestly.

"Will you help me?" he asked. "I promise not to be too much of a jerk to you."

"See, that wasn't so bad. Yes, I'll help."

"You're a brat," Leonard chuckled.

"You have no idea."

"You don't have to hug the bulkhead, the viewport's not gonna suddenly open up and suck us out," she told him. Jim was giving Leonard a real tour of the ship on their day off of class and they ended up in the forward observation room.

"How do they keep the glass from breaking?" he asked.

"It's not glass. It's a transparent aluminum alloy, all the viewports are. The bridge has a command for them to go opaque if necessary," Jim said. Leonard seemed to like her answer and he stepped closer to her. She didn't push, she just watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"What is that? It's pretty," Leonard whispered.

"The Paulson Nebula. It's our assignment out here," she looked out at the purples and pinks. "We're near the trade route between Zeta Alpha two and Sentinel Minor four. The eggheads found a bunch of stuff out here. Dust clouds. Large rocks. Dilithium hydroxyls, magnesium, and chromium. It's pretty cool."

"How do you all this stuff?" he asked.

"I pay attention. The astrophysicists don't mind answering questions and, if you're quiet, sometimes they let you stay and watch what they're working on," Jim answered.

"Anyone I should stay clear of?" Leonard said as he sat in front of the viewport next to her.

"Becker. Chief engineer. Hates kids," she sighed. "Don't go anywhere near him without an adult and a reason or he'll flip."

"Sounds like you know from experience," the southerner quipped.

"I do. I like engineering. Building things or seeing how something works. Every time I go down there, he kicks me out and tells the Captain, who tells my dad. It's annoying," Jim told him. "Hey, you want to see the bridge?"

"Are we allowed?" he asked.

"We'll have to ask when we get there but it should be okay."

"Permission to come on the bridge, Captain," Jim said from the door.

"Permission granted, Miss Pike," Captain Dolman said from the command chair. Jim didn't bother correcting the name, there was no point. Jim walked Leonard around the bridge, pointing out all the consoles and introducing him to the people.

"Hey, dad. Before you say anything, I'm just showing Leonard around," she told the ship's second officer as they stood behind him at the tactical station.

"The bridge your last stop?" Chris asked.

"Yes, sir. It'll still take me a while but I have a general idea of where everything is," Leonard said.

"Well, nobody knows their way around like Jim. Not even Becker," her dad said.

"Too bad he doesn't realize that," Jim muttered.

"Can't win 'em all, kid."

"I know, dad," she sighed. "We should get out of here and let you all get back to work."

"I'll see you later. Behave," Chris said.

"We will," Jim said before looking at the captain. "Thank you for letting me give him the tour."

"Not a problem, Jamison."

"Jamison? Your name is Jamison?" Leonard asked as soon as they stepped into the turbolift.

"Hey, watch it, Leonard," she said. "I'm named after my grandfathers, James Davis and Tiberius Kirk. Jamison Tabitha Kirk. I don't love my name but it is my name."

"The captain called you 'Miss Pike'," he said.

"My adopted dad's last name is Pike. Both surnames are in my file," Jim answered. "I don't mind it but I prefer my birth name since I'm the only Kirk left."

"Got it."

"I don't like you," Leonard said when she got him back to his quarters.

Jim shrugged, "I'm not a fan of yours either. Unfortunately, dad and Miss Pippa are good friends so…"

"We're stuck with each other," he chuckled.

"I suppose there are worse things than being stuck with you. I should be dead… a few times over."

"Are you serious? You almost died?" Leonard asked.

"Yep. I told you where I was born. My mom was only in the shuttle because the ship she was on was attacked. My father died keeping an enemy ship away from taking out the evacuating shuttles and escape pods. Then, my mom and brother died in a fire at the family farm in Riverside. My stepdad was a drunk, burned the place down after my mom kicked him out. My brother helped me climb out my window and into a tree before he went back for mom. They both died at the hospital... I'm the only one who survived," she whispered the last part. Jim doesn't remember it all but she can still see Sam telling her exactly what to do like it happened yesterday.

"I'm sorry," he said. It was the first time since he got to the ship where his voice didn't have an edge to it. She could tell he was genuinely sorry.

"Thanks. I didn't fully understand when I was younger but when I finally asked, dad told me everything. It was hard to hear but I'm learning to deal with it. I guess that's why I understand you. I still have my bad days and I get moody or angry. My mom and dad and brother were good people. They never hurt anyone and it's… it's just not fair that they're gone," Jim said.

"I know. My folks were on their way home from Earthquake relief in some town in Alaska. My dad fixed people up and my mama was working clean-up. The shuttle crashed on the way back to Georgia," he sighed. "I don't know how to live without 'em."

"We just have to. It's not something we'll ever get over, we just have to learn to live with it. At least, that's what my shrink always says," she told him.

"Why am I not surprised you have a shrink?" Leonard asked.

"Just wait. I bet Miss Pippa is gonna make you talk to someone too."