nexus_sages | (no subject)

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James T. Kirk absolutely loves marketplaces.

It's not necessarily because he's looking for anything, per se, although he does often keep an eye out for interesting books to add to his collection, or maybe a bottle of some kind of exotic alcohol, or some kind of pointless alien gizmo with which to annoy Spock with its purposeless existence. No, he just loves the sheer diversity each bazaar brings to the table.

No two markets have ever been alike, in his experience. Sure, it's not quite as exciting and mysterious as exploring deep space, but it's something of a microcosm of the same, all sorts of goods and cultures thrown into close quarters, and one never knows what one might find just down the street.

His shipboard gold uniform may stand out a bit in the crowd as he meanders along, a faint smile on his face as he leans in to examine someone's wares on display, just enjoying being out and about in the fresh air.

[OOC: Retconning Jim eating bacon in this thread. Hadn't fully considered some of the elements in his backstory at the time.]

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He tries not to laugh at the question. If it was catcalling, that would be the one of the weirdest lines he's ever heard. "Genuine, absolutely. I've seen turkeys with smaller drumsticks than that thing."

Nakra. They're good--the stall's right back there.

*She nods back in the direction of the grills; it's hard to miss.*

Avoid the mix-meat wraps unless you have a taste for long pork, but the nakra are very good.

*She looks him over thoughtfully.*

New arrival?

Nakra. He's never heard of it, but commits the word to memory. The mention of 'long pork' gives him momentary pause, as well, but not the kind where he doesn't know what she's referring to. "Uh, good to know."

He makes a face at her question, a somewhat self-deprecating grin. "What, am I that obvious?"

*Her manner softens; maybe it's the Kirk charm, or maybe she's reached a not-unfavorable conclusion about him.*

You've got a little bit of the look of a tourist about you--although not about the people, which is interesting. At a guess, I'd say you're human, but you must be from somewhere more cosmopolitan than most Facets.

He's not familiar with the term 'Facet,' either, but he can take a guess, judging by what he read in the brochure near the Sign when he first got here. "I guess the word 'tourist' works," he agrees, smiling. "I grew up in the United Federation of Planets," he adds, wondering if she will recognize the name of the republic. So far, he hasn't met anyone here who has, which is far more shocking to him than the diversity of the crowd.

Oh? That sounds like it might be similar to the Galactic Federation where I'm from.

*She shifts her nakra to one hand, extending the other.*

Samus Aran. Bounty hunter.

"Could be," Jim agrees, nodding. The name's similar, with similar implications, and she's familiar with humans - though he did also notice the implication that she's familiar with non-humans that look human, and while he's aware of species like that, they're not terribly common. Humanoid is much more common, obviously.

He is loving the fact that most people he's met so far are familiar with handshakes, though, and reciprocates the gesture, shaking her hand firmly but not trying to prove how manly he is by squeezing the heck out of it. "Captain James T. Kirk, USS Enterprise. I go by 'Jim.'" He doesn't raise an eyebrow at her job title, though. If she's that open about it, it must be a legal career where she's from, and not all bounty hunters are outlaws, anyway. "Nice to meet you, Samus."

Likewise.

*Samus' grip is likewise merciful. There's strength to spare in her hand, to be sure, but it's controlled. His introduction gives her a thoughtful moment's pause. Her head tilts ever-so-slightly to the side, birdlike, in inquiry.*

The James Kirk famous for re-programming a no-win simulation so he could win it?

His polite, friendly smile swiftly transforms to one of genuine surprised delight. "Oh, you've heard of me." Maybe their Federations are closer than he thought they were.

Through the Nexus. Some version of you, at least.

*Her lips draw up in a bit of a wry smirk.*

You have quite the reputation to live up to.

"Don't I know it," he mutters, though he's probably not referring to the same thing she is. Even so, it's nice to be recognized, though he can't quite tell if she admires his creative solution to the Kobayashi Maru or thinks he's an arrogant son of a bitch. Not that both can't be true, let's be honest.

"Well if other versions of me made the same choice, I guess they can't be all bad either."

*Her expression isn't giving a hint in that regard yet, either.*

So how did you get here? Not more digital legerdemain, I'm guessing?

"Not quite," he says with a small smile. How would someone cheat their way into a place like this, anyway? "Apparently random doors can lead here, I've read. Which explains how I ended up here instead of Conference Room One."

That can happen. How panicked is your crew, right now, that you've disappeared unexpectedly?

Welp. He hadn't really thought about that too much until just now. Not really. "If they know I'm gone, a lot. Someone here's said that doesn't always happen, that time can stop while you're gone sometimes, so here's hoping. Otherwise I don't even know how the hell to explain this without sounding nuts."

*Does she enjoy dropping a little worry into Jim's lap? Maybe a bit.*

How would you explain anything strange?

He shrugs a little, uncertainly. "Depends on how believable it is. There's a world of difference between 'I met Spock from the future' and 'I opened a door and went to Narnia.'"

Oh, you've been to Narnia already? You should be careful--it can be hard enough finding the way back to your own door, but getting lost in another Facet...

*She shakes her head, then returns to the subject at hand.*

Do things tend to be more believable with proof? And, while you're thinking on that, how many of your people do you think are ready for pandimensional thinking?

He was being facetious, but finding out that Narnia is around here somewhere honestly comes as no surprise at this point. "Noted."

"Proof tends to be pretty helpful when you're in charge of a boatload of scientists," he says with a wry grin. "But seriously, I kinda hope I don't have to explain it, because dealing with one alternate reality was enough trouble."

*That gets a raised brow.*

You've dealt with other Facets before?

Jim just nods a bit. "Yeah, future Spock wasn't the only one to come back in time, and the other guy changed a lot." His tone is deceptively casual, mostly because every time he starts seriously reflecting on that Romulan bastard and the future that Jim could have had, he still gets fairly upset. It's the stupidest fucking thing, really.

*She gives a sympathetic wince.*

Time travel. My sympathies. I'd ask what happened, but...

*She trails off, letting some things remain unsaid.*

"Probably for the best," Jim agrees, grimacing slightly. "It's a long story." And not a pleasant one, naturally.

The hard ones always are, and you've seen death recently. What's your preferred remedy?

"Still trying to figure that out," he admits, not wondering how she'd know how rough they've had it. Anyone familiar with his universe, his timeline, would find it obvious. "I used to go get really wasted and find someone to fight over something stupid and trivial, but I'm a captain now, so it doesn't really work." There's a somewhat self-deprecating smile attached to that statement.