tushanshu | Text; Don't judge.

Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic, and all.

[Yes he did just quote Clarke, because deep down Jim Kirk is kind of a lit nerd.]

'Collection' and 'explain'.

Oh yeah? Try me. I've seen a lot of weird stuff in my time.

Collection, got that one now. Oh, explanation and explain. I get it now! Thank you.

So you can't even tell if it's magic or not either? [At least, that's how she's reading that quote as.]

I'll have to switch to video for that. And you may want to get something to eat, it could take a while.

You're doing great. Keep it up.

-- No, no. I know it's technology. It's a quote from an old writer on my world.

Switch away.

[But he does take her advice since, well, it's nearly lunch time.]

[Now's a good time for her to try out that fish jerky she's been drying out. On the chewy side, but otherwise good.]

All right Jim. Here we go.

[She'll even try to not be chewing too loudly while talking.]

My world has Four Nations. The Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Sometimes people are born with the gift to bend.

That is they can manipulate the element of the nation they were born in. So a firebender would be from the Fire Nation and an earthbender would be from the Earth Kingdom.

[Korra actually smiled at this part, whenever she gave that example it was always with Mako and Bolin in mind.]

Now the Avatar is actually the spirit of the planet in physical, human form and exists to maintain balance in the world. Mostly when it comes to bending since the Avatar is the only one who can bend more than one element. All four actually, and learning them can be a pain.

[Time for another stick of jerky.]

When the Avatar dies, their spirit gets reincarnated to a bender from the next nation in the cycle. Earth, Fire, Air, and Water is the order it goes in. I was born in the Southern Water Tribe, which means the last Avatar was an Air Nomad. Each time the Avatar is born, they have to learn the elements and fulfill their role as protector of the people.

There's also the Avatar's connection to the Spirit World, but I haven't had much experience with that part yet. [She is just seventeen after all. Not a spiritual prodigy like SOME OTHER Avatars were.]

Oh. And I can also talk to the spirits of the past Avatars, but that's kind of a new thing for me.

[She points to her half eaten stick of jerky.]

You should try this. Best idea I've ever had.

[His expression is attentive as she talks, and when she finishes he opens his mouth. Closes it.

Opens it again, carefully.

You know what? It's not any weirder than the touch-telepathy of the Vulcans, or the psi-abilities that Mitchell had before-- everything. It's definitely not weirder than pink jellyfish monsters that could envelop people's heads.

Like. Not even remotely on the same tier of 'what the actual fuck', there.]

Huh.

[Yep, that's all he's got. The ever-eloquent James T Kirk, ladies and gentlemen.]

So it's kind of a Dalai Lama thing. Cool.

[-- and the jerky draws his eye.]

Hey, I never turn down food.

[She's actually impressed there wasn't any questions. A first, and a relief. Some questions became way too complicated, even a couple that she didn't have an answer for.]

Um, dollies are something else on my world. What's a Lama?

[Avatar dollies sounded weird. Cute. But weird.]

Good! You can be my guinea pig. [A smile creeps across her lips.] Apparently I don't have the same tastes as others, so you can tell me if this is tasty enough for everyone else.

Edited (Um, yeah. No courier new in video...) 2013-07-08 00:58 (UTC)

No, it's-- uh. It's a title, 'Dalai Lama'. [He stresses the individual syllables a tiny bit, just to make the distinction clearer.] He or she is the spiritual leader of an Earth-based religion, Tibetan Buddhism? Don't-- [he waves a hand] don't ask me to explain, I'm not really the religious type. Basically he's said to be reincarnated.

[OR... SOMETHING...]

Oh come on, how bad can it be?

Ooooh. That’s his title, okay. [That small distinction really helped. Though Korra did think dolly lamas sounded cute, even though she had no idea what it would look like. She opened her mouth to ask for a detailed explanation about the similarities and difference between the Avatar and the Dalai Lama, but closed it when Jim insisted to be spared.] Reincarnated spiritual leader. Got it. [Actually, that raised about a few hundred more questions, but Korra just sat on those to spring on someone else.]

Have you tried sea prunes? [Asked as flatly as possible, assured what the answer would be. Everyone has, they’re everywhere and apparently taste awful. A cheap, plentiful food source for Korra though.]

I didn’t season the jerky with them if you have. [She felt the need to add that in. Scaring off a potential taste tester would be bad.]

When would you like to try some? [As dried meat, it would keep for a long time. Perfect for rationing out fish that normally go bad after a couple of days if not frozen.]

Nope, but I have had Andorian wedding stew, which purportedly knocks about thirty percent of everyone who tries it unconscious, and that didn't kill me.

[He sounds probably more proud of this than anyone should be. Ever. But that's okay, he's Jim Kirk. He's got more pride than all the lions in-- wherever lions are these days.]

Whenever? It's not like there's a list of pressing social engagements on my agenda.

Wow, no, nothing like that. But if you want to try sea prune stew, you can! I made a fresh batch the other day. [Possibly finding someone who doesn’t think sea prunes are Satan’s turds dropped in the ocean and were actually quite tasty was a victory to Korra. After all, two water tribes can’t be wrong, right?]

Don’t worry, it’s not a wedding thing, just a Water Tribe dish. Hm, maybe dipping the jerky in the stew…

[Saving that experiment for later, Korra gave Jim a thumbs up.]

Glad to hear you’re not popular either! [That didn’t sound quite right actually, but Korra rolled along anyway.] What sector are you in? Unless you want to head over to mine at ME-2B.

[And then as an afterthought:] You’re not secretly some kind of ’creepy’ guy, are you? Because you seem like a nice captain, and I don’t want this to turn out bad.

[Bad meaning pummel and physically throw outside.]

[Anything else he might have said is shot completely out of the water at Cora asking him if he's a 'creepy guy'. He screws up his face in a look of extreme distaste.]

What? No!

Oh good! Then yeah, we can totally do this right now. Can I see your captain thingy?

[A few beats before she realizes that might need some clarification.]

Like how some have hats or medals, I mean. Would you mind bringing that?

[Not that she's doubting him, her tone is just full of curiosity over it.]

['Captain thingy' oh my god this girl is going to be the actual death of him. Jim rubs a hand over his face and tries very hard not to grin.]

We're not really... my dress uniform's back home. See this shirt?

[He plucks at one shoulder, lifting the yellow fabric up slightly.]

This is a colour that indicates the command track in the 'Fleet.

So you guys are all color coordinated. Huh. I like just wearing what I want. [Thankful she didn't have to deal with that, having to look at someone's shirt just to see what rank they were seemed like something she'd get tired of real quick. But now she just had to ask.] What does blue mean then?

[For some reason she expecting some kind of futuristic-y signification of rank. Maybe a holographic set of medals or disappearing/reappearing tattoos.]

The colours represent divisions, not ranks. Command track is one of those divisions, the others are science/medical and engineering/security, it's--

[Excuse you, Korra, your lack of being-impressedness is seriously harshing his groove.]

ME-2B, right?

[That sudden question pre-empted Korra’s semi-unflattering follow up and it showed the way her mouth was slightly parted, words stumbling on her tongue before getting into the air.]

Yeah, I’ll leave it unlocked.

[That was her cue to actually started cleaning up the bowl, cup, and notes she had sprawled across her desk from spending the last coupe of hours on the network.]

[AND SO HE JUST HEADS OVER THERE because it's bound to be easier than trying to explain everything on cameras. Jim hates this whole culture of not just talking to people face-to-face. It's not like the Federation doesn't use their fair share of long distance messaging, but when you're in the same city it just seems lazy. Useful! But lazy.

So he actually prefers talking to people straight-up, which is why he's perfectly cheerful by the time he gets to Korra's place and knocks on her door.]

[There’s actually a fairly long pause after he knocks. After a few moments of silence, Korra’s voice can be heard from within, albeit muffled.]

Just a second!

[Then the door swings open to show Korra standing there with a cup filled with ice-slushed floating fruit and straw, the other (wrong) hand giving an incorrect salute.]

Captain on board. [She chuckles and sidesteps to let him in, offering the cup to him.]

That is what they say, right? [There wasn’t too much she knew about militaristic procedures. After all, General Iroh was the first person she ever met with that kind of background and the way they met didn’t allow for her to really ask him any questions.]

[Jim grins, salutes her back (properly, as much showing her the right technique as returning the gesture) and steps inside, taking that cup with a faintly raised eye. Where the hell did she get ice this time of year? He didn't think the freezers were cold enough to produce it.]

'On deck'. We say 'on deck'. Or 'on the bridge'. It kind of depends on where you are. So what is it they say about Avatars?

Wow, I was that off? [Korra took mental note of it, she had every intention of greeting him again like that when he least expected, which he probably got often so ‘never’ might apply. Teasing is one of the strongest Avatar traits.

She returned his look at the cup with sly smirk, but said nothing. If anything Korra was content to let him come to his conclusions later.]

Hmm, it usually goes along the lines “Hey Avatar Korra” or “It’s the Avatar, get her!”, take your pick. [The word Avatar in her little example is wrought with sarcasm. The latter she says with a ‘What can you do? shrug.]

No salute though. Unless you count fighting stances as one. Have a seat.

[Grabbing her own half-full cup from the desk as well as a clear bag filled with fish jerky, Korra looked to see where Jim would sit.]

[Well okay then. He kicked his boots off by the door and ambled inside, flinging himself down on her couch with the bravado of someone who may as well own the place.]

That a problem? People picking fights with you, I mean.

[He takes a drink of that -- whatever it is -- and raises both eyebrows appreciably. It's actually pretty good!]

Guess so. Seems to come with the territory of being the Avatar. I mean in only six months in Republic City I had revolutionsts threatening the city, trying to get a sneak attack on me, a power hungry councilman kidnap me, the leader of those revolutionists kidnap my friend, knock me out, have me hunted down, and even took my bending away.

[Her mouth turns to a line of a smile on only one side of her face.]

So yeah, just a bit of a problem.

[Grabbing a chair to a small dining table, Korra dragged it over to sit at the end of the coffee table in front the couch and not to far from Jim. She set down her cup on it and took out a strip of fish jerky, putting it between her teeth before tossing the bag to Jim.]

Gotta say, I really like "on bridge" a lot better.

Edited (Too many LIKES Korra, this isn't Facebook, omg.) 2013-07-13 23:12 (UTC)

['That's rough, buddy'.

No really, he has no idea what to say to that, so he just sort of grimaces, runs a hand over his face.]

Six months, huh? Do I even want to know what life's like normally?

[Not that he hasn't done a lot since he became captain, but... it's different for him, he's Starfleet. Even if she's the 'Avatar', Korra's still just a kid. What, seventeen, tops? And Jim likes her. That's important.

He shakes his head briefly, and brightens again at the further discussion of ship-wide terminology.]

Well, a bridge is a specific part of the ship. 'Deck' is more generic. The bridge is where the captain, pilot, first officer, navigator-- basically the entire command crew are during flight and combat.

Normally? [Asked with a wry grin.] Normally at the South Pole I'd be in the compound, training like I have been since I was four. [Korra took a bite from the jerky, salty with some pepper and a hint of lemon.] Really feels like a prison sometimes, but it's all to keep the Avatar safe. [The last four words are said with actual finger quotes and a roll of her eyes.]

And that's where the steering wheel and stuff is, right? I knew bridge sounded familiar, but really I just assumed that was the ramp they used to board people with. So if all the commanding people are there, where is everyone else?

Since you were four.

[That's echoed with a faint sense of incredulity because that sounds ridiculous and not even remotely awesome, what the hell!]

Uh-- [STILL KIND OF DISTRACTED BY THAT 'FOUR' THING.] Yeah, something like that. We don't actually have... steering wheels or anything, it's all pneumatic -- [flounder] -- no steering wheels. But otherwise yeah. Everybody else is all over the rest of the ship, down in Engineering - that's where the warp core is - or in the med bay. There's a million functions a ship needs to run smoothly, we've got a crew of over a thousand people.

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