InsaneJournal

It was, thankfully, not the early morning, because as it turned out Tony was the most hung over he’d been since Karaoke night. He was glad he didn’t have a shift that day, all things considered. Not that he would have drank so heavily the night before a work day. Tony knew how to party hard, but is work ethic was sound. Especially when people’s lives were in his hands.

He was still nervous as to why the Admiral wanted to meet him. Tails hadn’t been forthcoming, and authority made him want to hide behind something. Unless he was the one in charge, of course. But everyone usually agreed that that was an epically bad idea.

Tony managed to make his way to the Rec Room right on time. It was a good place to go for a more private chat at that time of day, when no one was really around. Pike was already waiting for him with those promised cups of coffee, and he gave the Admiral a salute before he took his seat.

“Afternoon, Sir.” Is all he could manage to squeak out.

Pike had gotten there early, as was his habit and settled down with his cup of coffee. A pot sat on the table because he had the feeling one cup wouldn't be enough. He didn't know Stark, but he knew his type - genius level intellect and potential for trouble.

"No need to salute me." There might have been a bit of a smirk accompanying the statement. Pike might have the ability to make cadets piss themselves with nothing more than a look, but he also had a sense of humor.

He poured Tony a cup of coffee and pushed it towards him. "So, Tony. Tell me a little bit about yourself."

Pike had read the file, but given the recommendations he'd gotten about the man in front of him, he wanted to know more.


"UHm..." Tony replied, blinking his eyes a few times. He took a seat and also took the cup of coffee in his hands, glad for something to keep them busy. "So normally I love talking about myself, but I think you know how nervous you make people. I'll try not to gild the lily too much. I'm a genius, I'm a little eccentric. Built my first engine when I was young, graduated MIT with two degrees at eighteen. Recently became an expert in gamma radiation overnight. I pick up on things quickly, I think that makes Bones happy."

Tony was already a bundle of nervous energy, the coffee probably wasn't the best idea, but he took a sip anyway. It helped take the fuzz off of... just about everything. "Dad didn't know what to do with me. He died early and I took over the company, kind of... I don't know. Upgraded it. Advanced robotics, smarter weapons. Then I ended up being blown up in Afghanistan, kidnapped. Has a way of changing your perspective, and we took Stark Industries off the military contract market. Started doing other stuff. Science, Medical Research. Oh, and I built a flying exosuit and became a superhero."

That was a good enough summary to start, he thought. There were details, like extra kidnappings and almost dying, but he still wasn't sure why Pike wanted the information.

While Tony babbled, Pike merely sipped his coffee, arching an eyebrow occasionally. He didn't think his reputation was enough to inspire this type of nervousness, but well, he'd seen it before. "So why are you in medical instead of engineering? It seems your background and our technology would be a good combination."

"That's... actually a good question. But the answer is basically that Bones asked for another pair of hands or two one day. Med Bay's pretty busy with all these new passengers. I've done some work with the research side, my company does a lot of medical work now. Used to be military contracts. So I asked to join on a lark, and he said yes."

He took a long sip of his coffee and drummed the fingers of his other hand against the table for a few seconds before adding, "My girlfriend once got injected with a chemical compound that took up residence in a kind of - like a hole in the brain's neural network. Turned her into a... self repairing rage machine, on fire from the inside out. I fixed her. Turns out I'm pretty good with this kind of stuff. I mean - they're not letting me do surgery or prescribe anything anytime soon. But I can handle a dermal regenerator and a hypospray easy enough. And we get some strange biology in here. Problems that need solving. Like Darth Vader's suit."

"But the truth is I wish I could do both. I've been studying up on Engineering in my free time." Sometimes he felt out of place where he was, it was no small wonder that others thought so too. "And I kind of miss my workshop. It felt pretty good getting to play around with prosthetics and engineer a new arm for our... questionable new friend."

Pike had some idea of how busy medbay was, both from looking over the reports and from spending quite a few days there himself. Although if he had anything to say about it, he hoped to spend as little time as possible in medbay at the future. Something Tony said piqued his interest.

"You've done some work with neural regeneration?" It was a selfish question based on the damage he'd sustained during the Narada. Most of the damage had been healed, but there were some lingering effects.

"Depending what Dr. McCoy needs of you, it might be possible for you to do a little of both. If you intend to pursue a career in Starfleet, of course you'll need to choose between science and engineering, but you might also be able to consult now and then, depending."

"Yes, sir, I have. Before I ended up here we'd managed to track down a lot of the technology the Mandarin - that would be the bad guy that injected her - was using. Full access to the brain, real time picture displays. I've already been thinking about ways to use that to access memories and replay them. The serum she was injected with was incomplete, though. I was able to adjust the chemistry, plug in the missing pieces, and formulate a cure." He fiddled with his coffee cup, nodding his head at Pike as he spoke.

He raised his eyebrows as Pike mentioned actually pursuing a Starfleet career, and when he was done speaking Tony interjected, "Starfleet's on the table? Like, really real Starfleet? With the pips on my collar and everything?"

Pike considered. McCoy had saved his life after the damage the centaurian slug had wreaked on his system, but he wondered if Tony's background could be useful in his case.

"Pips are for commissioned officers only," Pike explained, not wishing to dash Tony's hopes right away, but wanting to be honest. "I believe non-commissioned positions are available after a suitable period of training. Is that something you'd be interested in? "

"Well that makes sense. And I can see where Travelers trying to be commissioned officers would be a no go." Tony admitted, while taking another sip of his coffee. They were an unknown quantity, a wild card, and there was a chance that they couldn't even be trusted. Then there was the fact that some of them ended up disappearing. "That's probably an 'I went to the Academy' thing, too. Those slots are pretty competitive."

But he nodded his head. His hopes hadn't been that high to begin with, and it was nice to get a chance to think about a future. "No idea how long I'm stuck here. It's been a few months now, and I'm thinking - better to plan for the future, right? Make a home here. And I'd rather do that as a member of Starfleet. If I can figure out a focus, anyway. I mean, I wasn't a team player all the time back home. I wasn't much of a joiner. But you gotta respect what this organization can do."

Respecting the organization. That phrase left a bit of a sour taste in his mouth given Marcus' betrayal. He took a sip of his coffee. "Well, there would be some resentment, I'm sure. And Academy route isn't for everyone."

Truth be told, he wasn't sure how Stark would do at the Academy. It was harder for those who came in older. "Nothing is a given here. Not even my presence." Something Pike was acutely aware of. "I just want to make sure that your skills are being used."

He also wanted to make sure that Tony wasn't bored. Pike was all too aware of what trouble geniuses could get into. "There's a lot you could do within science - not just medical."

It was a good thing to check on, because Tony was definitely struggling with just that very thing. "The whole universe is already messed up just with us being here. We add a few variables, other people getting picked over for slots? I'm agreeing. And no, I don't think me and the Academy would work out. Too old for that, I'm not ashamed to say it. Even if it was an option. I'm okay with the fact that it's not. Plenty of security reasons for that, too."

Something almost like this but different was already happening in his universe. What did you do with people who didn't strictly belong? Aliens, gods, people with powers. Even he was considered questionable. And that's where the Accords came in, he figured. "Back in my universe, right about the present day - though I came from earlier - they're having people like us sign stuff and register. Those guys might get special opportunities, but no one's giving all of them a security clearance."

"So yeah." Tony nodded, looking the most serious he ever got, "I get it. But I wish I could keep busier, I'm not gonna lie. I had a lot more autonomy back home, and while I'm thinking I had a little too much of it there, I'd like a little more of it here. Just... working on some projects of my own. What other kind of Sciences could I get into, do you think?"

"Well, I'm not about to start handing out security clearances left and right. Had to make quite the argument just to get my own clearance reinstated."

Pike pondered Tony's question as he took another sip of his coffee. This wasn't his Enterprise, but he'd been briefed on most of her missions and projects. "The Enterprise is on a deep space mission, there's any number of potential for research projects. Which you need to be approved by the chief science officer , naturally, but your background might be applicable to some of Starfleet's interests. "

He considered other options. "Consulting with engineering would go through Mister Scott and there might be some other work on medical research with Dr. McCoy." He was thinking about his own case to be specific, but he'd need to talk to McCoy about that first. "What do you need to stay busy?"

"Hmm." Tony leaned forward a bit, both hands pressed around his coffee mug as he thought through the various options. "I'd like to work with Mister Scott about setting up a formal place for a workshop. This era is far beyond mine technologically speaking - even medical technology has gone leaps and bounds. I want to pick up studying some of the things I'd started working on, accessing the brain with the devices I'd picked up - I'd have to create them again. I had an AI I used to work with who powered some of my stuff - well, not a full AI, because that's dangerous. This one had lots of safeties but it basically adapted enough to anticipate my needs ahead of time. I'd want to recode something like that again - you guys can give it a once over to make sure it's not a threat, but it would mainly be the software component of something else I'd like to make."

His hands expanded off the mug to either side. "I used to have a kind of exosuit. I'd like to build it again, research the newer power sources available, get her flight in space worthy. I want to cross section today's modern medical research with the new challenges we're getting in here all the time. And I liked getting to make Darth Vader's prosthetic. I'd like to look into what my kind of technology can do with yours when it comes to that stuff. But I have no idea what physical category that puts me in."

This young man was like Kirk and Spock put together in some ways and Pike wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. There would need to be supervision, for sure. Intellect like that shouldn't go unrestrained. "Science and engineering often work together but you should talk to Mister Scott and Mister Spock. They might be able to advise you as to the particulars of each division."

Chris gave Tony a questioning look. "But this isn't just about research for yourself. If you want to work for starfleet it's not about making a name for yourself or doing whatever strikes your fancy. If you want to work with starfleet, then starfleet comes first. All these projects of yours… they get put aside and the needs of starfleet come first. Even if that means starfleet needs you to spend your time tightening bolts instead of developing a new exosuit. Can you do that? Can you put aside your ego, your ambition, your drive and put starfleet first?"

There it was. The Admiral Voice. Tony's eyebrows raised attentively as Pike spoke, his fingers drumming even more nervously against his coffee mug. Some small part of him - the part that was learning to have regrets - actually regretted the amount of partying he'd done the night before.

Mainly because this was a topic that required a lot of thought. Tony looked back on the events of the last few months, and placed his hands against the table. "Some of these projects, I want to hope, could lead to innovation that everyone in the Federation could benefit from. I mean - I don't KNOW if they would, I'm not going to make promises and I'm trying not to be too cocky. Cocky gets you into trouble. If I understand Starfleet, it's a lot about the discovery and the team work, and I doubt I'd be doing all this alone. But-."

Tony squinted, "I've seen where ego and ambition take a person. I'm a flawed man. I can't say I'll never have ambition again. But put Starfleet first? Put down my side project to do what was needed? Side projects are side projects. If I put that uniform on, Starfleet is the job." The rambling sounded as much as if he was trying to convince himself as Pike, but it was a big deal. "It is. I do take work very seriously. That's one thing anyone back where I'm from would agree on."

"I've seen men - good men - become consumed by their dreams and ambitions to the detriment of others. I won't have that on your ship. From what I've heard of you, you have skill and talent. I don't intend to let that go to waste while you're aboard the Enterprise, but I also won't have you following something down a rabbit hole 'because it seemed like a good idea at the time.'" Pike did the airquotes before taking a sip of coffee and continuing.

"I don't support doing things just because you can. Now, if your experience with exosuits can help improve starfleet's space and combat suits then great. But travelers disappear as quickly as they appear so whatever you do we need records, we need people to be able to continue your work. I'm not going to sign off on just giving you free reign to do whatever you want."

"No, I think that's understandable." Tony replied, thoughtfully. "I'm not from this time period - it happens in my future - but free reign to do whatever I wanted lead to some bad developments. No one here wants to avoid that more than me. I'd need to see Starfleet's existing suits before I could say what improvements I could make to them with my own schematics, but I feel confident I could do something, even if that's a spare time project. And yes - I agree. Records, working with a someone else so they can continue whatever. That all sounds reasonable."

He took a long sip of his coffee, still looking thoughtful, before adding. "If you don't think it's in Starfleet's best interests for me to join in that way, maybe I could just be some kind of civilian consultant. Still with the oversight, though. Yes, oversight. Lots of that, you're not wrong. More than anything I want to feel challenged, and useful. I'm willing to pursue that in any way that you think is best. I'm just not a guy that likes a lot of time with idle hands."

"The decision's not up to me, Mister Stark. I imagine I probably have veto power but the first part is up to you. The rest is up to the head of the division." But at least it seemed Tony's energy could be channeled into means that would be productive for Starfleet. "Although joining Starfleet, even as a traveler - means following orders - often no questions asked. Can you do that?"

"The honest answer is that I don't know." Tony replied, after taking another few moments to think. Could he just blindly follow orders? He remembered a time he'd told Steve he wasn't dancing to anyone's fife. But he'd still joined the Avengers. He'd still followed Rogers' lead when it was needed. "Most of my life, I haven't had to. I've followed someone else's in a pinch, but that's not what you're asking. Can I reliably do it, day in and day out. I don't know. I do take McCoy's orders working in the med bay, but it's different. I'm not actually a member of Starfleet. There's more leeway there."

He squinted a bit, and then asked, "Can I think about it? This is a big decision. It'll be no good for anyone if I make the wrong one."

Pike drained his cup of coffee and gave a short nod. "Of course. Take as much time as you need. And if you need something to keep you busy in the meantime, I'm sure Mister Scott will be happy for your help on a part time basis."