Clara Oswald is going the long way round (alwaysbeenthere) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-05-16 21:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, clara oswald, james kirk |
Who: Clara and Jim
What: A trip on the Enterprise
When: Recently
Where: Space, the final frontier
Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete
“Captain’s log, stardate whatever,” Jim started, staring mournfully at the console on his chair. “I’ve finished the retrofit to allow the Enterprise to be crewed by no more than three people. It’s not optimum, but until I can get a crew, it’s the only way we can go outside the solar system safely.”
Taking a cruise around the neighborhood had been one thing. Even a test of the Warp Drive hadn’t been too concerning. But anything more than that? Jim had wanted as many failsafes as possible.
“I’m waiting for a friend to beam on board for this first trip to Alpha Centauri. Just a visit to the town over, so to speak. Part of me wants to go looking for Vulcan, or even Qo’nos. But I have to remind myself that that would only lead to disappointment.”
He tapped the log off, leaning his chin on his hand. It was fitting to take Clara with him for this first trip, he thought.
Clara had been more than happy to get Jim’s invite to visit Alpha Centauri. Okay, so it was entirely possible that she had done so with her TARDIS already but that was beside the point. This time they would be going on the Enterprise and hey, that was exciting. She loved the TARDIS, both of the ones in the area but that didn’t mean she couldn’t also travel on other spaceships as well. Please!
Using her Vortex Manipulator, Clara put in the coordinates and arrived on the Enterprise.
“Looking good, Captain Kirk.” Grinning, the brunette bound over to her friend - walking backwards as she took it all in. Okay so she’d actually been on board before, trips to the moon and all. But still, it was about the atmosphere and mood.
“Sure you don’t want to put on a uniform?” Jim asked, grinning at her. And trying not to imagine Isabela in one of those skirts.
“How about you take us out.”
“Mm, I’m good, thanks. Though I would look good in one.” Hey. Clara wasn’t going to be modest about that. She well knew that her in one of the Enterprise uniforms would be a good match. “Besides, what colour would it be?”
That was always important. But grinning, she went to the controls in order to do just that, take them out.
“You? Gold or Red. Sure you don’t want to borrow one for Bucky?” Hey, if he couldn’t have Clara he’d encourage her with the person she loved. Or whatever their status was. Didn’t matter, he’d still encourage her.
The Enterprise slowly turned, and began to move. Jim had the computer show them Earth retreating. “Once we’re out of the sun’s gravity well, engage warp.”
“I do look good in red.” Though she also knew that red shirts tended to be the ones who died. What, she knew her sci fi. And well...there was a certain irony to that given her current inability to die. “I’ll have to gage his interest without him noticing.”
It was no fun if he knew what she had in mind after all. But right, back to piloting the Enterprise. Luckily she knew how to read the signs and what meant what so she knew when they were out of the sun’s gravity well so she could engage the warp.
“I’m sure you’ll figure that out.” Jim leaned forward in anticipation. A display on his chair showed the lineing up of their course. No planets in the way, and once they were at warp the Oort cloud wouldn’t really be a problem. Three, two, one. “Engage.”
“I always do.” Because it was Clara and so she said as such with a smirk. And then once she was given the go? She engaged the warp and watched as everything changed. That was new for her since there wasn’t really anything like that on the TARDIS.
The stars around them warped, becoming streaks of light and color. Jim grinned as he watched it, as he felt the ship. They said you couldn’t really feel the ship at warp, outside of that first initial jump or any change in speeds, but he was attuned to his ship. And Jim could always feel her in motion.
He could also hear Scotty’s voice telling him she was purring like a kitten, and it made him sad. “I’d say that was a successful test. Put us at warp 10, it’ll be about a day to get there and the ship could handle it.”
There really was something about seeing the stars become streaks of light and color. It was a whole different feel. After all, the TARDIS just sort of...arrived wherever and whenever the coordinates were set for. So Clara missed this part of the space travel and it was all the more reason to take up the offer that Jim had given her on going to Alpha Centauri.
“I’d say so as well. But got it, captain.” Grinning, Clara put the ship at warp 10 and then pulled out her mobile to let Bucky know she’d be gone for a few days since space travel and that if needed, she could use her vortex manipulator to get back. Otherwise she’d see him when they were back. Though the grin turned to a smirk when she got the reply. While he didn’t straight up say that she should get a Starfleet dress….
“I think I’ll take you up on that Starfleet dress offer.”
He threw his head back and laughed as he got up from his chair. “We can hit up a replicator on the way back. Want to get lunch? The mess is finally fully automated.”
They should probably eat anyway and if anything happened the ship should give them early enough warning. Even if he did feel leery of leaving the bridge.
“Sounds like a plan. Both really.” Because eating was probably a good idea even if she didn’t actually need to eat. It was just one of those things that helped her feel normal. And with all the crazy they dealt with? Normal was appreciated.
Jim didn’t really forget about that, but he knew she liked to feel normal and he did his best to help her when he could. He couldn’t remember if she could still taste.
Once they had their meals, he took a seat next to a window and stared out it. “Do you think they’re out there? Vulcan? Gallifrey? Other planets like that?”
Luckily she did still have the sense of taste. That would make things all the worse if she didn’t. As it were, she just didn’t need to eat or anything and often could forget it when she wasn’t with someone who did need to eat. Or if some weird thing was going on and she got caught up in it.
Plate in hand, she paused at the question.
“I don’t know….” It was hard to say. She knew her dad probably wondered but he hadn’t said anything to her about it. And then if Gallifrey was out there…. Was it where it was before the Time War or locked in the other dimension, hidden away so the world thought it dead because of the locked point in time they’d saved it from?
He couldn’t imagine losing his sense of taste. Or any other senses, though taste would probably be the first thing he’d give up if he had to pick. “That’s a good answer. I keep thinking the same thing. I don’t know, and I don’t know if I want to know.”
“Sometimes that’s the only answer there is and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging when you don’t know something.” Which people often tended not to think. They always had to have the answer. “As for if I want to know? Well….I’m from Earth. That’s something more for my dad to answer on if he wants to know if it exists or not.” And that was also a complicated matter.
Jim nodded. It wasn’t like he was from Vulcan. If Spock ever showed up and wanted to go, he’d take him. “It’s not likely to, unless whatever magic or science makes the OC work the way it does manifests them for us.”
And he lifted his head a little as he thought about that, “... which is entirely possible. It gave me the Enterprise, and you the TARDIS. Shepard had her Citadel. What if it could generate a planet?”
Was there even that kind of power? Jim sometimes wondered if the county was sentient.
That would be terrifying if the county itself were sentient. Clara well knew that people joked about it but still. Terrifying. And she had seen some pretty terrifying things in her dreams as well. So that meant something.
“I mean… I wouldn’t say its out of the realm of possibility.” Very little was it seemed. The impossible had been normalized in a way. At least for those in the know.
“Nothing is impossible,” Jim agreed. He decided not to think about it any longer, though the nagging thought of Orange County being an entity was not one that would be easily forgotten now.
“You know, I should give you your own quarters.”
There were certain things that once thought of could never be forgotten. Orange County being a sentient entity was one such thing. Nightmare fuel really because what did that mean? How did it choose? No. Too many questions and brain breaking even for someone who dreamt of aliens and time travel.
As for getting her own quarters?
“I think that would definitely be a good idea.”
“You’re welcome aboard any time,” Jim promised. As far as he was concerned she was crew, and that made her family.
After he finished eating, he led Clara to the science section, so they could look at all the readouts as the ship flew away from Sol and towards Centauri. It had been taking readings all along, things that were well known to Jim but could prove enlightening to scientists on Earth. At least those in the OC willing to believe where the data came from.
So it wasn’t hard to fill the time as they got closer, at all.
It really wasn’t. There was always something to do and given everything available on the Enterprise? It was easy to spend the hours going over the details and then eating for Jim (and her to feel normal) and then just talking. While she was used to the instantaneous arrivals of the TARDIS so having to actually wait to arrive somewhere, it was its own adventure.
But now they were coming up on their destination so it was back to the controls to get out of warp and watch their arrival.
There were times an instant trip would be preferable. Jim could think of a dozen from his dreams. But for the most part? Jim liked the travel, the time to unwind and interact with his crew. Being in space in that way was a lot like being at sea, in the old days.
They entered another solar system, and the ship dropped out of warp. The light of three suns interplayed across the view screen. Proxima was dim, even as they passed it first.
“Looks like there are a half dozen planets. Mostly rocks. Proxima is basically if Jupiter had been big enough to be a star. But still.”
He grinned at Clara, “It’s beautiful.”
There certainly was something to it. Though there was always time to decompress on the TARDIS but in terms of travel? Being able to put in coordinates and arrive was nice. Though of course, then there was the Doctor who got bored when he had to live life in a linear fashion. So that was probably also rubbing off on her. Clara did appreciate the change though.
Instead she just watched the planets and the light.
“It is.”