[video]

[jirk]

[Jim's sitting in his suite, wearing his command golds, looking serious as a heart attack. He's leaning forward, one hand braced against the armrest of his chair, the other fiddling with something on the console. Satisfied, he leans back more fully and nods once to the camera.]

Okay, let's get the introductions out of the way first. Name's Jim, Jim Kirk. Captain of the USS Enterprise. I serve in Starfleet in the year 2259 - Starfleet being a space-based armada focused on peaceful exploration and the discovery of new forms of life in the universe.

[There's a slight quirk to his brow, he coughs and then continues with all due charisma,]

I know there's people out there that've been here longer than I have, so I'm asking for your help - and the assistance of anyone willing. We know we're here to fight something, some of you know what and why. While I can understand the reasoning behind keeping that information to allies, I'd like to stress the fact that we're all in this together, regardless of worlds, races or creeds. This isn't something we can or should fight blind. So I'm proposing a broader alliance, a centralized repository of information, and the consideration of a unified front to face whatever's coming.

Additionally, I'm interested in the martial capabilities of the landed foreigners, any contingency plans that have been put in place to deal with the situations we're potentially facing here, and the sorts of scenarios that've been dealt with in the past.

[He exhales a little more sharply than necessary, and then he gives the camera a brief, two-fingered salute.]

Kirk out.



[and edited in after the fact, private to Kyle Rayner.]

We should talk.

Comments

video;

[jirk]

[but why though.]

That's-- [AWKWARD AS HELL.] -- good. That you're brave, I mean.

video;

[anomia]

[She huffs and folds her arms.] Don't compliment me if you don't mean it! That's rude!

[She's really not that naive. Seriously. Just enthusiastic about everything.]

video;

[jirk]

Whoa, back up. What gave you the idea I didn't mean it?

video;

[anomia]

[Relentlessly,] You had that look on your face that means you're humoring me.

[She doesn't actually seem that offended, though. Just like she has no brain to mouth filter whatsoever.]

video;

[jirk]

What? No I didn't!

[Actual Adult James Kirk. Arguing with a fourteen year old girl awwh yeah.]

Re: video;

[anomia]

[But is he winning the argument? That's the important question.]

Then what was it?

[jirk]

It wasn't anything. I'm just-- you're a little young.

[anomia]

[That gets her to stop and consider that.] Oh yeah. I do seem young to surface world standards, don't I?

It's not unusual where I'm from! I was raised this way. Conflict doesn't wait for you to get older. [Apparently all is forgiven and forgotten, from the cavalier way she says that.]

[jirk]

[And that kind of hits him right in an old wound, and he has to exhale off-comm before he can even flick it on to reply.]

No. Guess it doesn't.

[anomia]

Does that bother you? I don't think I could wait and let everyone else do all the hard things just because I'm too young. They shouldn't take it all on themselves.

[jirk]

[Jim flashes her a bright smile.]

Part of being an adult is looking out for everyone else, you know. It's not always about what you can do.

[anomia]

[This topic is actually somewhat close to her.]

But it's hard for them! [she insists.] My brother tried to protect me, but he was left doing it all alone. I'm not so weak that I need protection at someone else's expense.

[jirk]

[Jesus, he just. Stares for a minute. Excuse him he's going to get up and get a glass of water out of the kitchen to cover for the fact that he really needs a moment to breathe. He shouldn't be hearing this from a kid. Any kid.

He comes back, sits down, flicks the reply on.]

I didn't say you were weak. But having time to be a kid's important too.

[anomia]

[Raimei is completely oblivious to this, as usual, but moreso because to her, fighting as a child is normal, just as she'd said. It's a tragedy that no one in Nabari can afford to acknowledge.

She shakes her head.] I do plenty of that. It's important to do the things that you're fighting for, or you forget why you're fighting.

But how am I supposed to stand back while Raikou's... [She trails off, unable to find the words. She doesn't want to say that he'd been what amounts to an assassin, an enforcer for an enemy village, because he couldn't bear to put weight on her. Raimei doesn't want to make the conversation more personal than it already is. But she's also incapable of holding anything back, fundamentally so.]

[jirk]

I get it. You don't have to explain.

[Ugh, this conversation feels a little like getting kicked in the ribs by someone wearing steel-toed boots.]

[anomia]

[She's starting to notice that maybe something's off about his reactions still.]

Then what's with that look you keep having? [she persists.]

[jirk]

Huh?

[ABORT, ABORT.]

[anomia]

Don't try to cover up! I know that trick!

[Kouichi and Miharu do it on her all the time. ... Or Kouichi used to. Not thinking about the past tense there. Nope.]

[jirk]

[He laughs, but it's a little bewildered because help???]

I have no idea what you're even talking about, man.

[anomia]

Yes you do! You're not nearly as subtle as my... as a friend I had about it.

[Kouichi is a master at misdirection.]

[jirk]

I'm not trying to be subtle. You are seriously reaching.

[UGH TINY CHILD STOP.]

[anomia]

If you don't want to talk about it, you should just say so.

[jirk]

[UGGGH he just gently encrypts this conversation.]

You reminded me of my brother, that's all.

encryption of some number??

[anomia]

[That jerks her to a halt. She suddenly turns more reserved, openly trying to listen.]

Your... your brother? He's like me?

starfleet encryption

[jirk]

What? No. I -- no. He's nothing like you.

[He shakes his head.]

But he tried to stick up to me too. So I get it.