Chapter Text
Jim Kirk woke with a splitting headache. He stared up at the ceiling in his quarters and groaned. Just how much had he had to drink the night before?
Honestly he couldn’t remember drinking anything. He’d come back from meeting with the council on Lara 10 and had dinner with Bones and Spock. That’s the last thing he thought he remembered.
He forced himself to get out of bed and went into the refresher. He frowned. The layout seemed a bit strange, not like the usual one. The toilet was on the right instead of the left. The shower was down a very short hall and the sink was shaped like a triangle instead of a rectangle.
Jim did his business, shaking his head and wondering if he was in the wrong quarters or something, then went out to the replicator to get some coffee.
“What the hell?”
The replicator didn’t look at all like it usually did and was labeled “the synthesizer”. He didn’t remember the Fleet changing its name. He made a mental note to ask Scotty about it later. Apparently he had to stick some kind of card into it just to get a coffee. He did so and turned to put on his uniform.
Now that he was wide awake, Jim realized his entire quarters looked different. Much smaller for one thing.
He went to the wall and punched the intercom. “Kirk to Spock.”
“Captain?”
“Spock, what…” He stopped, freezing in place. That voice was not quite—
“Captain?”
“Never mind. Kirk out.”
Jim walked to the closet and opened it. His gold command tunics were hung there but they looked…retro. That was the word for it. He pulled one from the hanger and stared at the gold braid stitched at the sleeves.
“It’s a joke,” he muttered. “Someone’s playing a joke. Okay, whatever.”
He pulled on the pants and tunic and put on his boots. They seemed to fit all right, he guessed, though maybe the pants were a bit shorter than usual.
A moment later, Jim stepped into the corridor outside his quarters. He turned around to make sure they really were his. Seemed to be, though he was quite confused. Nothing looked the same. He knew there would be some changes to the rebuilt Enterprise but nothing like this.
“Ah, there ye are, Captain.”
He turned as a middle-aged man wearing a red uniform shirt approached him. There was something familiar about him but Jim couldn’t quite place him.
“I wanted to talk to ye about the dilithium crystals.”
Jim stared, his heart suddenly hammering in his chest as he thought of a holo picture that Spock had shared with him after Altamid. The man before him was much younger but Jim was fairly sure of his identity.
“Mister Scott?”
He frowned. “Aye, Captain?”
Fuck.
And then around the corner came Ambassador Spock. Well, what the ambassador must have looked like when he was young, which was hot by the way, but never mind that.
“Spock?” Jim almost whispered.
“Yes, Captain.”
He swallowed heavily and leaned against the bulkhead.
“Captain, are you well?”
He stared at them. He felt faint. And then darkness took him.
****
He woke to a light shining in his eyes. He swiped his hand at it and it disappeared.
“The medbay?” he muttered.
“Medbay? Jim, you’re in sickbay. Apparently you passed out.”
Jim turned and gaped at the man standing next to him. He currently sat on the edge of a biobed. The man wore a short-sleeved blue medical shirt. And Jim was pretty damn sure he knew who he was.
“Bones?”
“Yeah. How do you feel, Jim?”
He moistened his lips. “Confused.”
“I don’t see any signs you hit your head. What are you confused about?”
“Do you…” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Do you know me?”
Bones, at least the Bones the ambassador had known, frowned. “Of course I know you. What the hell’s in your head now, Jim?”
“But…don’t I look different?”
Bones stared at him, as though considering the question. “You look a bit pale. But you did just recover from those injuries you suffered on EXO-III.”
“EXO-III,” he repeated faintly.
“Yeah, Ruk gave you quite a beating. All your injuries have healed, but I did recommend you get some rest. Which you ignored, of course.”
Jim nodded. “But, uh, otherwise, I look like Jim Kirk to you.”
“You’re worrying me, Jim.”
“Sorry. What…what color eyes do I have?”
“Blue,” Bones replied. “Just like mine.” He grinned. “Don’t you remember when we had that contest as to who had the bluest eyes on shore leave?”
“Sure,” Jim said. He remembered no such thing. He had seen from the ambassador’s memories and even that holo pic that the Kirk this Bones knew did not have blue eyes.
The door swished open and Spock entered the, uh, the sickbay, and came toward them.
“How is the captain?”
“He seems a little confused and out of it to be honest, Spock.”
“And the cause?”
“I’m not sure. I’m going to run more tests.” Bones looked at him. “Jim, I’m going to have to keep you here a bit longer.”
“What about the bridge?”
“Spock can handle things for the moment, can’t you, Spock?”
“Of course.” Spock seemed much more cool and stiff than when Jim had met this version of him. The older version. But his dark eyes stared at Jim, seeming to see right into his soul.
Jim wanted to ask him if he didn’t look different to him, but he didn’t know how to ask right then or if he even should. He’d seen what Spock shared with his Jim. Jim didn’t have that where he came from.
And yeah, his head began to pound even more.
“Keep me posted, Doctor.”
Spock was gone and Jim was left to deal with Bones, who now scanned Jim with a medical tricorder. Any moment he would declare Jim a fraud.
But he didn’t. Leaving Jim even more confused.