nexus_sages | (no subject)

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Jim Kirk enters the Nexus in a mild daze, still a little stunned at the news he's just received from Command. He doesn't look like he's shaved for a few weeks, but his black Starfleet Academy instructor's uniform is clean and his hair is neatly combed, so it's not like he's been letting himself go or anything.

He gets a cup of coffee on autopilot, before finding a seat to really think over what the hell just happened, a look of hopeful disbelief on his face, like he's been told something that's too good to be true.

"Have you ever had a dream job you never expected to get?" he asks after several minutes, looking up. "For those that haven't, if you knew you wouldn't be home for a couple years, what would you not leave without?"

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"Not so much in stride, just that it isn't really used on purpose anymore," he explains further, scratching at his cheek. How to even begin to explain phasers? "These days, shrapnel injuries usually only happen if your ship is under attack, and enemy fire hits something near where you're standing. Most combat's done with energy weapons now."

"Ah? Some of my colleagues might call that a purer contest," he observes. "What say you?"

"Depends on what you mean by that," Jim replies, with a questioning look. It's hard to answer a question when you're not entirely sure what you're being asked, and it's nice to get an idea of what implications that might carry, if any, before he gives his thoughts. "You mean as far as fairness?"

"Not fairness, no," the scholar explains. "Some mages disdain all matters material, and favor spells and contests of pure ephemera."

Ah, that makes more sense. Jim leans back in his seat, contemplating that for a moment as he sips at his coffee. "The way I see it, locking yourself into one kind of strategy makes you predictable, and your more clever enemies are gonna notice and plan appropriately. There's nothing wrong with specializing, but adaptability and creativity's just as important."

Shade-Seeker's pointy teeth peek out again in another grin, this one a little proud and a little fierce. "I am inclined to agree."

Jim smiles too, not at all put off by the fanged grin. "It's kind of true for all sorts of skills, too, not just combat. War drives innovation, but so does having lots of free time during peace. And new isn't always better, either. It's good to learn old stuff along with the new, because you never know what you're gonna need."

The hooded head bobs in agreement. "You have wisdom, Jim Kirk, may it serve you well."

"Thank you. I sure hope so." Jim doesn't think of himself as particularly wise, but he's learning, just like all living things do. Or should do, anyway. Some of his wisdom's come at a high cost, but he'll be damned if he lets those lessons go to waste.

"How are things going on your end?" he asks, since it's been a little while. "Your critics still kicking up a fuss?"

Shade-Seeker chuckles. "They are in less of a position to do so. I am not the greatest master of any art but one, and that one is not held high, but I have proven to be multidisciplinarian enough to stand farther forward in the current crisis than any of my critics dare. As one philosopher put it, 'I do not fear the knife in my back, for those who would place it must approach me first.'"

"That's an interesting saying," Jim muses, turning that thought over in his mind a couple times. "Earth's got an old saying that's sort of the opposite. 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' Most people interpret that to mean you should keep an eye on them, so their movements don't surprise you, but it does seem like that's a good way to get backstabbed. Or frontstabbed."

"Our worlds have that saying in common," Shade-Seeker muses. "It is a balanced risk, to be sure, and I cannot say it has no merit. Where would you prefer to keep your enemies? Close? Or distant?"

Jim's actual first thought is 'I'd rather my enemies just be dead,' but that isn't really in the spirit of the conversation, so he pushes that answer aside and reaches for a different one. "I guess that depends on whether or not you even know who your enemy is. A traitor can do a lot of damage from the inside if you don't see it coming." Unfortunately, he speaks from personal experience there.

Shade-Seeker nods soberly. "This, I know too well. But the perfect defense against traitors... that is a lonely way, indeed, and the cost is crucially high."

Absolutely no argument from Jim. "Next best thing is safety in numbers... surround yourself with enough allies, and you've got all the more people to come to your defense. It's not perfect, but it's better than trying to go it alone."

That prompts another nod, this one firm agreement. "Far better to have friends. And in truth, Perfect Defenses are a puzzle taught to some mages when they are apprentices--not true spells, but exercises of the mind for weighing cost and consequence."

Oh, this time he can almost hear the capital letters on 'Perfect Defenses,' now that he knows it's an actual thing and not just an apt descriptor. "So it's a type of training for critical thinking? Learning to find the balance between ethics and logic, that sort of thing."

"Indeed. Or in their case, the balance between what is gained and what is lost--to defend perfectly against one form of attack is to become more vulnerable in other ways, and some Perfect Defenses directly contradict."

"That sounds really interesting," Jim says, completely honest. "Any chance you could get me some reading material? I'm teaching a Tactics course at the Academy right now, while I'm waiting for the Enterprise to finish her repairs. Something like that would be right up my alley."

"Certainly. I have not such a book with me at present, but I shall bring one on my next visit for you," he promises. "How are you liking the chance to teach?"

A friendship founded on books certainly isn't a bad kind of friendship to have, and Jim nods in agreement. They're already off to such a good start.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," he admits. There'd certainly been a significant amount of self-doubt, before he'd started. "I did have to devote a class to 'ask Captain Kirk tons of questions' to get that all out of the way, but everyone seems pretty engaged and eager to learn. I don't know if it's because of who I am or because of the subject matter, but if it means they're learning, I guess it doesn't matter."

Shade-Seeker might call a friendship founded on books one of the best sorts of friendship, but he has a definite pro-book bias.

"Perhaps I should try that, when I teach--a session of open questions at the outset. Every assertion must establish credence, after all. If I may ask, what manner of tactics do you teach?"

Jim is totally comfortable with answering Shade-Seeker's questions, at least about Academy training. "Mostly starship-based combat," he explains. "It's more than just the technical specs of each ship, it's also knowing and understanding the psychology of your opponent and how they're likely to react, and how to counter an opponent doing the same to you. It's mostly for cadets in the command track, but it's open to the other divisions too. And if I get time at the end of the semester, I'm hoping to do a short study on how to adapt the techniques they've learned to hand-to-hand and diplomacy."

"The School of the Tightening Circles," the scholar muses, nodding a little. "A fine lesson plan; I hope you have the opportunity to expand the study as you intend."

"School of the Tightening Circles?" Jim repeats curiously. "Is that some kind of interdisciplinary thing?"