USS Enterprise, Space, Wednesday FT

[solarhippie]

It had taken some wrangling to make this happen: you couldn't really just up and visit someone on a spaceship whenever you decided you wanted to. Even if that someone happened to be the captain. But, Karolina was persistant! And Jim had leverage!

And so, today, Karolina Dean found herself aboard the Enterprise. There was a backpack filled with Earthside treats over her shoulder, and a look of poorly-concealed wonder on her face as she looked around where she'd been received. Everyone looked so official in their uniforms, it made her feel like she should be introducing herself as 'Counselor Dean' or something. Or at the very least wear something that wasn't a yellow hoodie with some light blue jeans.

She was as much in awe as she was feeling out of place. But, there was someone else on this ship who'd make her feel more at home. So, now she just needed to find Jim! Easy!

... She probably shouldn't go looking for Jim on her own, huh?

[ooc: NFB, and for that guy!]

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

"No wars.: Yet. Jim couldn't say that he'd never be a cause of one of those but hopefully not for awhile. "Let's take you to the command center first. Show you the heart of the ship."

[solarhippie]

"Ooh!"

She was going to be such a nerd about everything. Sorry-not-sorry in advance. That impressed noise came accompanied with a squeeze on his arm, too.

"Weren't we just in high school, and there weren't any command centers?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Feels like that sometimes," Jim agreed, leading through the winding corridors of the ship. "But then sometimes it feels like I've been away from that place for years."

[solarhippie]

Karolina kept looking around with all the curiosity in the world.

(And once, turned to look over her shoulder when someone really pretty walked by.)

"I'd ask if you ever miss it," she said, "but it looks like you wouldn't even have the time.

[pursuedthestars]

"I miss the people, not the place," Jim told her, waving his hand over a sensor near a door and leading her through. The command center was just beyond one more door and noise could be heard from behind said door.

"But, most of my friends have moved on by now so I don't really have any reason to go back."

[solarhippie]

"Sparkle's still there," Karolina shared. "I don't know anyone else anymore." A beat. "I mean, of course I'm trying to get to know new people."

But, anyway.

Their doors had sensors, and was this how it felt to be in a scifi movie? (Yes, okay, she was an alien herself but she was also LA-born and he was right, she'd never been on a ship like this before.)

[pursuedthestars]

"It's just one place for too long," Jim said, shaking his head. "Couldn't do it, I'd get bored."

He swiped a hand to open the final door that led out to the command center of the ship. A large viewscreen showing the black of space outside was the first thing most eyes fell on. There were people working at different stations and lots of activity happening all over.

[solarhippie]

"Oh wow," Karolina said quietly and with awe in her tone, as the door opened.

Her voice was hushed. She didn't even realize she was doing it - it just seemed to go with the view. She didn't want to interrupt or disturb what anyone was doing! "This is where you work?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, sometimes," Jim said, shrugging. "It's where the bulk of what I do happens. But, I do other things too . This is actually pretty quiet. It's a lot busier when we're hailing someone or running."

[solarhippie]

"But, still," Karolina replied, though if you'd asked her 'still what?' she might not have been able to put it to words.

"Xavin's ship was nothing like this."

[pursuedthestars]

"That's because my ship is always gonna be better," Jim said, ignoring a look from a nearby helmsman and leading her further into the room. His chair was empty, of course, and he took a second to pat the back of it.

"This is where I sit and do my thing," he told her. "Being awesome, doing awesome."

[solarhippie]

He'd grown up so much, but guess some things never changed. Karolina let out a snicker.

"Of course," she said. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Jim."

[pursuedthestars]

"You wanna take a seat, see what it feels like?" Jim offered, nodding. "Just don't give any orders. They might take it seriously and send us shooting off into space."

[solarhippie]

Her eyebrows climbed up. "I can?" she asked, thrilled like the nerd she was. "I thought maybe it was strictly captains only."

She also figured she was a special case, though.

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, it should be but if I'm the captain and I say it's okay, I'm overriding that," Jim decided. "Besides, it's not gonna do anything if you aren't a captain. It's not like hardwired to detect captains."

[solarhippie]

"Well, it'd be embarrassing for you if it thought I was a captain and preferred me," Karolina teased him, as she stepped up to the chair.

A second's hesitation, and she took a seat. Another second, and she actually leaned back instead of sitting with her back unnaturally stiff.

"Feels captainly."

[pursuedthestars]

"Pretty cool, right?" Jim asked, grinning. Jim thought so. "Feels like you own the world. Imagine sitting here while we're hitting warp."

[solarhippie]

"It must be amazing."

She was pretty impressed, yes. This wasn't the kind of life she'd ever wanted for herself, but still, she had to admit that there was a pull to it.

And that it felt like Earth wasn't the limit.

She looked up. "I'm so proud of you, Jim."

[pursuedthestars]

"Oh stop," Jim said, making a face. "Anyone can get where I am. Just gotta be stubborn and hard headed. And I'm that in spades."

[solarhippie]

"But not everyone's as stubborn and hard headed."

You couldn't stop her pride, Jim!

[pursuedthestars]

"True," Jim said after pretending to think about it for a second. He smirked and buffed his nails on his shirt. "You can pretty much control the ship from here. Give orders, direct ships, anything."

[solarhippie]

Karolina snickered and shook her head.

"Yeah, that's more like the Jim I know," she teased. "For a second, I thought you'd suddenly grown modest! Or that maybe you were a pod person or something."

She'd thought no such thing.

"Possibly a cyborg."

[pursuedthestars]

"No, but we have a few of those," Jim told her, shrugging. "Not, like here, but they're around. I've met a few. You wanna go see engineering? Where they beam us up and stuff?"

He could be technical and formal when it was needed but it wasn't right now.

[solarhippie]

Karolina definitely didn't need him to be formal and stuffy with terminology for her sake. For one, she liked having something of a grasp on what he was saying to her. She wasn't very up on the Starfleet lingo.

"Ooh," she said (again, yes, she knew), as she pushed herself up from his chair, after one last pat on the arm rest, "yes, please. Generally, I don't think engineering would be my thing --"

She was as liberal arts as they came, really.

"-- but that sounds actually interesting."

[pursuedthestars]

"What would be your thing?" Jim asked, already leading her out of the command center. "Just so I know where to go after engineering. "Wouldn't wanna take you somewhere and bore you."