The stars can be very romantic.
Who: Kirk and Evie Frye What: Bookstore flirting When: Recently Where: a bookstore Status: complete
Evie had a little down time. She was making sure to take some now and then so she didn’t become completely enveloped in her work. Though she well knew she could get lost in her work if she let herself be. So today, she was out and about. She was in a bookshop looking through the world history section. She had one book tucked into her arm about the Victorian era, and now she was looking for something else. She doubted she’d find anything about the Brotherhood, but she was simply seeing what was there.
She picked up a book about the Italian Renaissance period. Considering Ezio was from that time period, she wanted to brush up on that part of history herself, not simply gain knowledge by osmosis or whatnot from her dreams.
Jim had a lot on his mind, and when he had a lot on his mind he often let himself get lost in a good book. So he was looking for something a little adventurous. Maybe with a dashing hero. The hero didn’t even have to be a man, dashing was dashing and Jim was open minded. He spotted an attractive woman and gave her a smile. “Interesting choice.”
Looking up, Evie smiled. “You could say I like learning about history.” It was the truth, she just had some other reasons she wanted to read these books. She wanted to compare her experiences in her dreams to how history here talked about the Victorian era. She also wanted to know more about the period of time Ezio was from.
“What’s your favorite time period?” Jim asked, sticking his hands in his pockets so he had a non-threatening profile. “I’ve always liked the ones where people sailed on tall ships.”
“I’ve always had a soft spot for the Victorian era. I also enjoy the Roman Empire era.” Evie stated. “Tall ships are beautiful. Have you seen any in person?”
“Yes. I’ve even sailed on one or two.” Jim pulled a hand out of his pocket and offered it. “Jim Kirk. Interesting gulf there, between those eras.”
“I have to admit, I’m a little jealous you got to sail on one,” she said with a smile before taking his hand and shaking it. “Evie Frye. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jim. And it is, I rather enjoy history. Military is exceptionally intriguing as well.” Evie managed to stop herself from going on a little ramble there about military history.
British women had the best accents, Jim decided. Really, really the best. He tilted his head, his smile not fading one bit. “Always had a bit of love for the Navy and Air Force. Mostly the sailing thing, but flying, and space are hard to beat too.”
“There is an appeal to being on a ship or flying an aircraft, but I was drawn to the Army when I enlisted. Suppose you could say I am my father’s daughter.” Evie said with a smile. “Though you mention space?”
He nodded. “Always been fascinated by it. Might have made it into the astronaut corps if I hadn’t had discipline issues when I was serving.” Kirk shrugged. It wasn’t a secret and he was regretful about it. He would have done a lot better in hindsight. Or if his dad had been alive like in his dreams.
“Ah, I am sorry you didn’t have that chance. Being an astronaut would certainly be an amazing experience.” Evie would find space travel to be breath-taking. Seeing Earth from space, seeing the Moon up close, really it would be an experience to remember.
It was. “It would be.” A wide grin appeared on Jim’s face. “So you’re army? Should I salute or drop and give you twenty laps?”
“You don’t need to salute. Though I wouldn’t mind you dropping and giving me twenty.” Evie teased with a smile. She brushed some hair behind her ear.
"No salute, got it." He laughed, enjoying the way she tucked her hair back. It was adorable. He couldn't help it. She was cute and seemed smart. Maybe a little oblivious if she didn't catch the added 'laps' to the drop and give her twenty thing. Might be for the best, that was a come on that was bad.
The laps comment had gone over her head, at least for the sexual connotation. She’d heard laps, but just translated it to a slip of the tongue and that he’d meant push ups. “I wasn’t a commanding officer. Besides, I’m not active duty any longer.”
Jim winked at her. “To be fair, I was really bad at the whole saluting thing.” He nodded his head towards her books. “So what’s appealing about that era?”
“Ah, that would explain it.” Any sexual innuendo there went right over her head. Apparently Yang was the only one she could really catch those with. “The Victorian era? It’s a bit hard to explain. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era, I suppose. Any time I read about Victorian England or watch documentaries about it, that is what feels like home to me.” She laughed softly. “Though that probably sounds a bit weird, especially coming from a woman and women back then had next to no rights like we do now.”
Though it had been explained with her dreams. She lived in that time period, and it explained why it had always felt like home to her.
“No, not weird at all. I … understand pretty heavily, actually.” Maybe not the past. But the future. Kirk belonged on the bridge of the Enterprise, a fact that frustrated him to no end. And what happened if he ever found his ship? He couldn’t crew her alone.
Evie looked at him, relieved that he understood. “Are you on that Valarnet site?” She asked. It was more subtle than simply asking if he dreamt of another life. And if he didn’t dream, then it simply sounded like she was talking about a simple website.
As if Valarnet was simply a website.
“I’m a card carrying member,” Jim replied. It was like a secret club, they needed a decoder ring and secret handshake. Maybe a hat. Some people really liked hats. Jim wasn’t one of them.
“That’s a plus, then I won’t sound crazy when I say that I dream of a life in Victorian England.” A dream in which Evie rather anticipated having a short lifespan in. Well, shorter than was typical of the time at any rate. The life of an Assassin was not a peaceful one, and she was not going to die the way her parents had. If she was going to die, she’d rather it happen while fighting Templars.
“That would explain the interest.” Jim laughed. “Is there anything in particular that you miss? I can tell you exactly what I miss from my own dreams. People, places, the adventure. Nothing beats the… final frontier.”
“I suppose people are something I miss, though my life is relatively the same both here and there.” Her parents were dead in both lives, having died the same way in both of them. Her brother was the same in both lives. “The final frontier? You mean space? Would that explain the astronaut thing?”
A slow grin formed on Jim’s face, and he nodded. “You could say that. I command a starship, with a crew of over four hundred. My first officer and CMO are my best friends, and there isn’t a man or woman on that crew I don’t know by name. At least not after the first week of them being on board.”
“That must be beyond amazing to be on a starship and travel through the stars. What is the experience like?” Evie asked curiously. She always liked learning about things, and there was just something intriguing about space travel.
“Breathtaking. Exploring nebulas and new worlds. Watching stars form. Meeting new life forms. You can’t imagine what’s out there. Many are humanoid, but many more are not. Some are pure energy.” And they were all so beautiful.
Evie smiled warmly, imagining that. Her dreams were far less amazing by comparison. Sure the Pieces of Eden held miraculous powers, but it was her duty to keep them from the Templars’ hands. She was embroiled in a centuries old shadow war that no one would ever know about. Scholars would not be talking of her feats of heroism decades down the line. But Jim, his dream life clearly got more attention and prestige for his journeys.
“Nothing would compare to seeing any of that. You’re making me jealous and wishing I dreamt of traveling the universe or something of the sort.”
“There’s a lot of wonder in this world too,” he pointed out, smiling at her. “More than most people think about. Every time we come back to Earth, there’s something to see. Though for me, I have to get back out there.”
His gaze went towards the ceiling. “I guess it’s where I belong. If I could I’d take a lot of people with me. See what’s out there.”
“There is, though after seeing stars being born, it must also be a bit mundane and limited returning to Earth.” Evie could understand the need to leave again. She gave him an understanding smile. As crazy as it seemed, she did miss being in the army and being in a war zone. She wanted to go back, but she wasn’t active duty anymore.
Though with her Assassin abilities coming through, she could do her own missions. Aleppo and Mosul were at the top of her list of places she wanted to get into to help people there.
“You have to come home.” Jim leaned against a bookshelf after coming a little closer. He folded his arms. “If you don’t, you start to lose perspective. It’s easy to get lost out there. Forget where you come from, forget why you’re there. Coming home again is like a splash of cold water.”
“I suppose it’s not unlike coming home after being in a warzone. If you spend too much time fighting, it can take you over completely. Though I do miss it. I prefer carrying out the actions to yield the results of my work off of the battlefield.” Evie was definitely the hands-on type.
He nodded again. “I get that. Knowing that what you’re doing has an immediate impact makes it easier to bear. Sometimes it doesn’t though.” He thought of the cold war with the Klingons, the time he’d had to arm one side of a war to counteract what the Klingons had done for the other side. He hadn’t slept well that night.
“No, it does not. Especially if things do not go according to plan.” Evie had watched people die because of an unexpected turn of events. She’d been lucky to come out of the battle unscathed, but it had still been difficult. “Though all the other times that things go smoothly do tend to make up for those times. Mostly, anyway.”
“The old saying of a strategy not surviving contact with the enemy is true, even two hundred and forty years in the future, as well as hundreds of years in the past.” It was a universal constant, at least that’s what he believed.
“I agree, sometimes no matter how well one has something planned, things always go wrong or change just enough to make things stop working.” Evie was one of those people who needed a well thought out plan before going into something, but even then things did not always go according to plan. There was always some type of X factor that was never accounted for.
Evie would be perfect on Jim’s crew. Smart, resourceful, knew what she was talking about. “A spanner in the works, happens every time.”
“Indeed it does. Still, the plan doesn’t always fail. A lot of the time it can survive so long as people use their ingenuity.” Evie could think on her feet, making a plan as she went and adjusting to the surroundings, but that wasn’t natural to her. She rarely worked like that.
He tapped the side of his head. “Creative problem solving. Sometimes it’s the only way to get out of a situation with you and your crew’s hide intact.” At least, as long as his crew was intact, Jim would be fine. He’d written far too many letters to families.
“It is. I do not do well making up a plan on the spot, but I can make do.” Evie smiled softly. “Sounds like you’ve been in plenty tight situations yourself. But you are correct, so long as you and your crew make it through, that is what’s important.”
“Everything from hostile warships to aliens that think they’re gods. I met Apollo. Kind of an asshole.” One of the more interesting thing in his dreams was parallel development. Though he also had too close a look at nazis for the current political climate to be comfortable.
“That’s quite the spread. Clearly you are never bored when hit with such variety!” Evie stated. Her dreams were less varied. The enemy was always the Templars. Her goal was to uphold the Creed and keep the Pieces of Eden out of the Templars’ grasp. She didn’t have grand tales to tell yet. Well, she’d had a brief run-in with Charles Dickens, but that was about it so far.
“It’s proven to be … interesting. And fun. If I ever get a chance, I’ll take you sometime. The stars can be very romantic.” It was a good pickup line. He liked it. Hopefully Evie liked it too.
Evie got that pick up line and she smiled. “Well, it’s hard to say no when you’re offering a girl the stars.” She wasn’t exactly certain where she and Yang stood, but she knew how she felt. “Though I don’t want to lead you on, I am interested in someone else.” But she could do a platonic trip to the stars, if that was still on the table.
Jim flowed with it easily enough, his smile not faltering. “Offer still stands, Evie. The stars are the stars, companionship doesn’t always have to include benefits.”
“Good because I would like to see them, if given the chance.” Evie said with a bright smile. She didn’t want to lead someone on when her attention was on someone else, so it was best to clear that up right away.
“When I get the chance, I’ll let you know.” Jim reached past Evie, pulling out a book and handing it to her. “Something tells me you’ll like this one.”
With a wink, he turned and headed down the aisle.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. Then when he handed her the book, she looked down at it. Turning it over, it had something to do with secret wars of history. Some covert missions were talked about, as well as some others that tended to be overlooked for the more popular ones. Evie lifted her head to thank him, but he was already gone. She just smiled and added the book to what she was going to buy.
This certainly was a good way to spend some downtime.