Mary Poppins is Practically Perfect in Every Way (prac_perfect) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-09-23 15:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, james kirk, mary poppins |
Who: Kirk & Mary
What: Space Exploration
When: Pre-deaged plot
Where: On the Enterprise
Rating: Low
Status: Complete
Even as Mary met him at their point of contact, she still couldn’t quite believe what she was about to do. Part of her worried that this young man was tricking her into a date, but her curiosity got the best of her and she could only hope his intentions were pure. She felt rather silly, waiting at the agreed upon location, wondering if it could be even worse and if there was a possibility she could be stood up.
It was kind of like tricking her into a date, only Jim didn’t trick people into dates. But if she wanted to think it was a date, he’d be okay with that too. And his intentions could best be described as complicated. Jim Kirk was all about enthusiastic consent, but he was just as happy making a new lady friend without the lady friend part.
He smiled as he spotted her. “Mary?”
She looked up at the sound of her name, smiling and holding her hand out to him. “Yes! Mr. Kirk? It’s a pleasure!” She couldn’t help but beam in excitement. “I cannot begin to thank you enough for this opportunity!” She glanced around, knowing he had mentioned needing to take a shuttle to get to the actual ship. “Is this where you keep your transport to your ship?”
“Just call me Jim.” He offered her his hand in greeting, smiling with all his charm. Or maybe he was just reacting to her brilliance. “Normally we’d beam up. Matter to energy and back again. But I thought you’d like to see the ship from the outside first.”
“Beam up? Remarkable!” Mary couldn’t believe that that was a possibility, although she appreciated the thought Jim had put into her first adventure into outer space. “Yes, I would quite like to see what your actual ship looks like!” She was practically bouncing in her anticipation, ready to board and be on their way. She was trying not to think what the actual take off would be like, instead allowing her excitement to build.
Jim nodded, and gestured towards a building. “It’s on the roof. If you’d like to follow me.” He flashed her a smile, and held the door for her. Luckily, the elevator worked to the top floor, and from there it was a short flight of stairs to the roof, where the shuttle named Galileo awaited.
Mary smiled back in thanks, stepping through the door to wait for him to take the lead. “How do you get away with the shuttle on the roof?” She inquired, following him towards the elevator. “Surely someone would see it!”
“Most people refuse to believe what they see,” Jim explained. “And there’s been enough misinformation spread that they might think it’s part of a movie.”
He also thought there was some kind of energy involved, that made people just not see.
The door to the shuttle opened, and Jim led her inside. “Pick a seat, but the view up front is best.”
Mary shook her head, unbelieving that that could be the case, but she had just had this conversation with Audrey! How could she have gone a year without noticing these strange occurrences? But it didn’t matter now as she pulled herself from her own confusion, stepping into a whole different sort of wonder. She only had a second hesitation before she took him up on the offer and sat the seat next to him in front.
“So, you know how to drive this from your dreams?” The idea that someone could learn something quite out of this world seemed fantastic and like something from a science-fiction movie. Mary was completely in awe.
There was no obvious seatbelt, and it wouldn’t be needed outside an emergency. “I was in the air force for a time, but I remember all my drea, training.”
The shuttle lifted off with a hum, only the slightest tug before the Inertial Dampeners kicked in, and then they might as well have been standing still despite the fact that he took the shuttle around so she could see the coast and the ocean as the curve of the earth grew more obvious.
While she may have been one for safety, she found it was thrown to the back of her mind as they soared over the sea and up into outer space. It was the most magnificent thing she had ever witnessed that she didn’t even realize there was little effect in how she felt. “Extraordinary,” she whispered, feeling like a child with their hands and nose pressed up against the glass. She turned to look at Kirk, the most genuine smile on her face.
“This is amazing!”
Jim took them on a very specific route up. Avoiding the space station and passing a ship with the name Normandy emblazoned on the side. Blue and white, it vaguely resembled a delta-wing aircraft. The shuttle continued past it towards a larger ship in orbit nearby. This one was white, with cylindrical nacelles on struts attached to a hull. An elegant neck led from the hull to a saucer.
The shuttle looped around the Enterprise once, then came in towards the clamshell bay doors on the back of the main hull.
Mary had taken the Normandy to be their destination and was surprised when they continued past it. “Is that your ship as well?” she asked, glancing at her navigator for the day. All other questions seemed to halt when they pulled up to the Enterprise, Mary’s mouth dropping slightly open.
“Beautiful.”
“Belongs to a friend. The Normandy is a pure military ship from a much more violent version of the galaxy. The Enterprise is basically an armed exploration vessel.” He smiled along with her. “I always love this part.”
The doors closed, the bay pressurizing quickly. He got up and held out his arm. “Would you like the tour?”
Mary couldn’t help but feel impressed about this whole adventure. What had started as a bit of uncertainty had turned into a truly once in a lifetime chance! Or maybe it wasn’t once in a lifetime...not with the dreams Jim had. She smiled as he offered her arm and she gladly took it.
“I would be delighted! Show me everything!” She knew there was probably little she would be able to understand, but she was still excited to see everything on the ship and what it did.
“Wonderful.” The door opened, and Jim led her onto the shuttle bay. “We’ll start with main engineering and work our way up to the bridge.”
He led her to the turbo lift, a smooth ride that took them sideways. The doors swished open.
Everything was done so quickly and quietly here! By the time Mary was realizing how much they had already moved about the ship, she was being whisked somewhere else again! It was eerily quiet, but she guessed they were the only two on board.
“Are you able to run this on your own? Do you happen to have a crew?” She didn’t know how that could be possible, save from anyone dreaming of being in the same spacecraft!
The engine room was two levels accessed via a ladder, as well as a moveable platform for any crew members unable to use a ladder. Jim led her to the platform to show off the engines and dilithium crystal matrix. “She should have a crew of nearly four hundred and thirty. I’ve modified the ship’s computer to allow basic operation and limited travel, since I’m alone here.”
He felt immeasurably sad as he admitted that. He was alone here. Wistfully, he said. “A ship is nothing without her crew. And so is a captain without his.”
Mary caught the tone in his voice and looked over at him. She was surprised to hear such honest truth in something and couldn’t help but put her hand on his arm in comfort. “I’m so sorry Jim. Perhaps that’s the curse of these dreams. We have the stars and more, but it’s at a limited cost.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “At least you have the dreams and memories to remind you of the great adventures you’ve had!” At least, the one’s she was sure he did.
“Many adventures,” he agreed. Two lifetimes worth. But it hurt that he couldn’t share them. Without his crew (certain individuals in particular), the Enterprise felt lesser. Jim felt lesser.
If Bones or Spock ever showed up, he’d literally kiss them.
When the tone didn’t change, Mary thought it would be a good time for a distraction. “Very well then.” She turned to face him, her hands held in front of her. “What is your favorite place in the whole ship? And, if I may be so bold, ask you to show them to me?” A smile spread across her face as she looked up at him. The ship seemed huge and she wasn’t sure if they would actually be able to see all of it! At least in one day. So she would rather have him share his favorite parts about it first.
“I have several.” He grinned at her. “I promised you a tour, and first we should see the observation deck.” Jim gestured around the engine room. “This is the heart of the ship. After I show you the deck, I’ll take you to the bridge, which is the brains of the ship. And then if you’d like, I’ll serve dinner.”