exastris_scientia | retired open post // will still tag in if threads are ongoing!

[he waves a hand.]

Not what I'm here for. You could thank me for taking out the listening devices they planted. I won't be able to reprogram your door security to remove the hidden bypass, though. Not my area of expertise.

[joaquin is completely unruffled. if you call anyone, he can be gone in moments and you won't see him again until you least expect it.]

I came to talk.

[ He's real nonchalant about the fact that he just broke into a ranking starfleet officer's apartment like it's nothing. But then he tenses when he mentions listening devices. He looks around and his eyes land on the table with all the little bugs lined up in a row. He feels sick suddenly. Oh. Oh, god. ]

Section 31. [ It isn't a question. The door too? He---He'll have to look at it later. God, he's just going to find another place to stay. ]

Fine. Obviously you don't much care for them either. So talk before I call in Security I know I can trust.

[to be fair, it would've been much harder if 31 hadn't gotten there first.]

Got it in one. You're as sharp as ever.

[joaquin leans forward, propping his chin on the back of his hand, elbow on his knee. the smile melts off his face, leaving him completely stone-faced.]

Of course I don't. They're hurting people I care about.

[he sits back, then. despite being in his pajamas, chris--or jim, as he thinks of himself currently--is in a position of power, standing as he is. joaquin remains seated, it's a calculated position.]

Your first officer? You know who I am, that wouldn't end well. It'd end actually with quite a lot of yelling and possibly broken windows. Not usually something I'm completely against, but in this case I'd rather avoid it.

[he's sure the conclusion will come naturally enough. he's dropped enough hints, and from what you said in your sleep he's guessing chris isn't buried quite so far as marcus had hoped.]

Hurting people you---[ He takes a step back away from Joaquin. Jim's been on the receiving end of an ass-kicking from an augment once, he's not looking for a repeat. Dammit!

So why isn't he running? He should at least be trying for the door, but there's something about the other man that feels trustworthy and he doesn't understand it. It's like that strange moment in the brig on the Enterprise. A whispered mention. You don't remember. He'd backtracked, had he met Harrison--Khan--whoever before? He didn't look familiar, but maybe---Blue water. You'll break your neck.

He gets so caught up in that for a moment that it's hard to shake himself to the present, but he does. ]

You're an augment.

['i'm not the only one' probably won't go over too well. he already looks ready to bolt--best to save that for later.

he presses his hand to his chest.]

Joaquin. Shalom, Captain.

[he's hoping you remember sooner rather than later. he knows he doesn't have the patience to deal with this for long.]

[ Not precisely, no. Definitely be bolting if that came up. Jim watches carefully as he introduces himself, and nods. He decides to take the greeting literally, like an olive branch, and moves to sit in a chair not far from the couch. He's still facing him, still watching carefully---but he's not quite as tense. ]

What do you want?

To talk only.

[well, he also wants you to remember. to come back with him, to help him throw section 31 into chaos and rescue their kin. but that's going to be a hard sell.]

You said on the ship that I seemed familiar.

Okay, talk. Sure.

[ He nods when he mentions that, not sure how he feels about it currently. He's got a feeling this guy has cards up his sleeves he isn't showing yet. It's unnerving. ]

Yeah, I remember saying that.

[ Blue water. Coffee. Bubblegum. Computer parts strewn around like broken toys. He closes his eyes briefly to dismiss the sudden rush of images that he's not sure where they came from. ]

[his poker face is excellent except for when it isn't. like now, when the mask cracks to display the sheer hurt and weariness in his eyes. they're safe, currently, he might be able to speak candidly. hope that it doesn't drive his brother--who doesn't remember him--away.]

Mm. You were right, we have met before.

[how can he say this without everything blowing up in his face? he really wished kati or julian were here. they were far better at this than he was.]

I just don't know how to tell you how, where, or why you don't remember it.

You told me we hadn't. That I didn't know you.

[ So where? He can feel a headache coming on behind his eyes and he knows it's going to be a bad one. He's not sure what Joaquin is going for, but he's not moving. He's listening, and that's something, right?

Jim's trying to be diplomatic, but this is unnerving as hell. ]

Well, I'm still sitting here. So how about you try, and we go from there. You already found your way here, so I'm going to assume that Khan got a message out. Why he sent you to me is a little beyond me, but fine. I'll go with it.

[ Joaquin doesn't seem to hold any ill will towards him, but he can't speak for the others that might show up if he calls for help. He's got enough blood on his hands. ]

Jim Kirk doesn't know me, just like he didn't know Khan when you encountered him.

[he sighs, running a hamd through his curly hair and muttering in Hebrew I am not the best for this.]

I'm the only one of us that are both awake and free to come. I don't know who else might still be held captive. That, and I'm his second.

[ Jim opened his mouth in question, but then stopped. Wait, was he trying to say that he suddenly wasn't who he thought he was? That's insane. He shakes his head and then his eyes widen. His second in command? So much for luck.

He's starting to think the past few years were just a fluke. ]

Look, it's not that I don't appreciate the being brought back thing. I don't know what made him want to do that after he had that private chat with the Admiral, I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life, thanks, but---I don't know what you're getting at.

I don't know what you want from me. I'm Jim Kirk, and I don't you. I don't know him. I never did. [ A beat and a sound of frustration escapes him. ] He said it too. I think---he thought I couldn't hear him, but I did.

Khan said I didn't remember. Now I'm---having dreams I can't explain and remembering things that are impossible and I don't know why I am telling you this or I trust you to tell you this---but I am.

I do. It doesn't make sense.

[It could be worse. He could be Khan's second in command and out for blood. Khan's an excellent fighter, but there's a reason Joaquin had been his bodyguard, and it wasn't just to keep up appearances.]

Of course he brought you back. He wasn't going to let you die, just like he wasn't going to walk away from us.

[Joaquin wants to break something. He'd like for it to be Marcus's face, but Khan had already summarily taken care of that, and he wouldn't have denied their leader the kill anyway.]

I am not a patient man, and not one to keep secrets. You are not Jim Kirk. Not really. You are remembering who you are, and who we were to you.

[ It's probably for the best, currently, that he doesn't remember the fact that Joaquin was his bodyguard. That he doesn't remember his own hand in their methods. If he did, there'd probably be a little more panic on Jim's end, but he's also not an idiot.

If he is an augment, like them, there's no denying the blood on his hands. ]

Join the club, it isn't one of my strongest suits either. Why should I believe you?

[They had done what they needed to. It was what they were made for, and then it had been to protect their own.

They had no choice. They had tried to be better than the others, above the conflict that had embroiled their brothers and sisters, and look where that had gotten them.]

I stand to gain nothing by lying to you, and risk far more by coming to you like this. Isn't that enough to hear what I have to say?

[ He doesn't remember that. He remembers what the history books say, and his dreams are disorienting at the best of times. ]

I'm still listening. I said I would.

[He huffs, runs a hand through his hair.]

They woke four of us. Khan, myself, you, Julian. Khan they used for his mind. Me, they poked and prodded--I don't know what they were trying to take from me, but judging from the blood and tissue samples all I can think is trying to reverse-engineer the genetics used to make us.

[He hasn't mentioned Julian yet. He doesn't know where he is, he doesn't know if he's still alive, or if they pulled him apart to the bones like he was nothing more than a science experiment, and the thought makes him furious, so much so that he has to hiss a breath through his teeth.]

Neither of us know what 31 has done with Julian.

[ His brow furrows at the mention of Julian. Something---aches in his chest when he says the name. Like the name of an old friend not heard in a very long time. ]

I'm one of the ones that they decided to wake up, so---what? They wiped my memory? I don't have any augmented abilities, the only thing I've got, is a long list of allergies.

[Joaquin sees it, and his heart hurts. He knew how close the two of them were, and for Chris not to remember--it would be like him not remembering Khan, and he can't even imagine that.]

You were close.

[He murmurs softly.]

Think about that for a moment. Allergies are symptoms of an overactive immune system. Like an augmented immune system trying to reassert itself after being suppressed. Aside from that, we were all built for different purposes. Our abilities are similar, not the same. Some of us are stronger, some faster, some smarter. You were--are--smarter.

[ Blue water. Falling. His arm hurting. Why does he remember that when he mentions that he and Julian were close. Why---why does he remember bits and pieces of computer parts found thrown away by others but given as a gift in a room he doesn't remember?

His head is hurting again. Headaches have been a pretty regular thing for him these days. He closes his eyes briefly, focuses on breathing, and then opens them again. ]

Basic medical at the Academy wasn't one of my best subjects. So, uh, Khan bringing me back, the introduction of still augmented blood is getting rid of whatever damage they did to me, if we're following that line of thought.

[ He laughs a little helplessly. ] You've---you've got to have something other than this. Something ---some kind of proof. You can't expect me to take you at your word about this.

It's my best guess. I'm a soldier, not a medic. Julian or Kati would know for sure.

[He goes into his pocket, pulls out an encrypted PADD. He hasn't been able to get anywhere with it, the encryption so ridiculously far beyond him even if he wasn't a couple centuries behind the times, but he'd stolen it from the facility he'd been kept in on the way out, and he knew it held information--considering he'd stolen it from the project head who'd taken particular glee in excising his calf muscles he was pretty sure it was relevant.]

I haven't been able to touch this. Like I said: soldier. You're the one who can practically talk to computers.

I'm ---so going to regret this.

[ He motions for and then takes the PADD, then looks around---okay. They can't do this here. He's going to have to get dressed and go somewhere else to try and figure this out. ]

Let me grab my glasses and get dressed, and we'll go find somewhere to take a look at this, ok? No tricks, but I'm not stirring up a hornet's nest in my pajamas.

Life is regret. And bring a bag, just in case. I'm not leaving you if they come, but we'd be better off running.

[Joaquin waits, patient, for him to come back--and he wasn't kidding about the glasses, God, this was such a mess, they'd done so much to him, and Joaquin just wanted to find whoever was responsible and shake them until the secrets fell out so he could make it right.

(He didn't care so much about what happened to him. He was built for strength and loyalty, not self-preservation.)]

This is quite easily the stupidest thing I have ever done. And I've done a lot of stupid things.

[ Joaquin had shoved a hat over Jim's head, he'd made a face but left it alone. He was wearing his glasses, and it was cold enough to warrant the jacket and the rest of his outfit, even the bag. He was mostly doing this to humor Joaquin and keep him away from his ship and crew.

There was some other, undefinable emotion that he didn't want to think hard on. ]

Okay, so I routed through another shop nearby. Didn't really need to, but I wanted to make sure if anyone came looking, they'd look somewhere not where we are standing. For the record, they don't teach subterfuge and spy games at the Academy. So I don't really know what I'm doing outside of 20th century films. So, I hope that's something you're good at, cause--- [ The PADD chirped to life, and Jim got to work, focusing more on the information than his outside surroundings. ]---there's no going back now.

Mm, I'd say it was the time you broke your arm being a showoff and diving off a waterfall.

[Joaquin really has very little interest in attacking Jim's crew. They're not his, but they're Chris's, and therefore off limits in a way that they weren't to Khan.

Of course, the other didn't know that.

Joaquin shrugs.]

If they come, I'll keep them busy.

[He says with the confidence of someone who knows he can fight like a demon and the nonchalance of someone literally genetically coded to be cannon fodder.]

retired open post // will still tag in if threads are ongoing!

but at least he's cute.

that's not in his favor right at this moment

aw. :C

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)