Chapter Eleven
New Year Surprises
Kirk Personal Log Stardate 57998.1
It's New Year's Eve and Chad still won't talk to either me or Quinn. I can't believe that he's jealous over our ranks. He'll be commissioned in the fall and we'll all be heading back to the Lexus. But Kathryn tells me that Chad is thinking of asking for an alternate assignment. I don't get it.
There is a party at Starfleet Command tonight and the three of us will be face to face. I hope to get through to Chad and find out exactly what is bothering him at the party. It won't be a very happy new year for me if Chad isn't speaking to me.
"Still nothing from Chad?" Quinn asked, setting a cup of hot coffee in front of Jim as he sat at the communications console going through the morning's messages.
"No," he sighed, closing his connection. "I wish he'd talk to us."
"He can't be jealous of our ranks," Quinn said. He'd said the same thing each time they'd talked about Chad. "It just doesn't make sense. He'll have his rank in the fall."
"Well he's upset with us about something," said Jim with another sigh.
"We'll have to make him talk to us tonight," said Quinn, blowing on his own cup of coffee. They'd both acquired a taste for it thanks to Kathryn.
"We can't just corner him at Starfleet Command," said Jim.
"Of course we can," Quinn said with a smirk. "We're both officers and he's a cadet. He can't refuse to talk to us when we're in uniform."
"That's low, Quinn," replied Jim.
"Well what else can we do?" asked his friend. "He won't talk to us any other way and I'd like to know what I did to make him mad at me."
"I know but ordering him to talk to us is an abuse of rank," said Jim.
"He won't tell," replied Quinn, the smirk back in place.
"Maybe," sighed Jim. He really hated that Chad wouldn't talk to him.
"At least he'll be talking if we order him to, Jim," said Quinn, silently watching Jim's eyes dance. He loved the color of those eyes.
"He'll be talking all right," sighed Jim. "We just might not like what he says."
"I have a feeling we're not going to like what he says anyway," Quinn pointed out.
"Whatever," sighed Jim, draining his cup and getting up to put it in the dishwasher. "I'm going to take a nap."
"All right," said Quinn, watching him walk out of the kitchen with a sigh.
He hated to see him so depressed. Chad had to talk to them and if ordering him to was what was required to make him talk and lift Jim's depression Quinn felt no qualms about it. He wouldn't stand for anyone making James Kirk feel bad. He was thinking about what to say to Chad when the computer alerted him that someone was at the door. He got up and opened the door to find the adult Icheb on the other side.
"Hello, Quinn," said Icheb. "Happy new year."
"Happy new year to you as well, Icheb," said Quinn, smiling. "Come on in. Jim's taking a nap."
"How do you guys like the apartment?" Icheb asked as he came inside and looked around the kitchen.
"We love the apartment," replied Quinn. "Being on our own is kind of strange though."
"After living in the dorms for so long I can understand that," said Icheb. "You're both coming to the party at Command right?"
"We are," he said. "Tell me, are we required to wear uniforms?"
"Dress uniforms," Icheb said with a nod of his head.
"Perfect," said Quinn, smiling at him.
"Perfect for what?"
"Well I've been wanting to wear my dress uniform," he lied, smiling wider as he thought about the fact that Chad would also be in the dress cadet uniform. That meant that he would be required to speak to any officer who talked to him.
"Do you both have dates for the party?" Icheb asked.
"We're fast paced men, Icheb," laughed Quinn. "Who has time to date?"
"Surely you've got your eye on someone at least," Icheb said, cocking his head to the side and looking at him hard.
"Oh I do," Quinn replied, thinking of how he'd love to wrap his arms around the body of James Kirk and smiling.
"Judging from the look on your face she must be quite a girl," Icheb said, smiling excitedly.
"Oh no," laughed Quinn. "You'll get no information from me. I'm not saying a word."
"I see," said Icheb, smiling wider. "She either doesn't know you like her or she's already taken."
"Something like that," sighed Quinn. "No more. I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Fine," laughed Icheb. "So how does it feel to be Lieutenant Commander Quinn?"
"About the same as it did to be Cadet Quinn actually," he said honestly. "I'm still going to school and nothing has changed. I think Jim feels the same way."
"Well all of that will change . . ."
"Yeah, in the fall," Quinn said, smiling. "I'm not complaining. Really I'm not. Just being here is amazing enough for me. I mean it isn't as amazing as the continuum but then that's completely overrated."
"So you don't miss the continuum at all?" Icheb asked.
"Of course I miss it," he said, thinking about the last adventure he'd embarked on as a member of the continuum. He thought that if he were still in the continuum he could have James Kirk. He'd only have to snap his fingers. Then with a shake of his head he realized that he wanted Jim to love him back. That wasn't the way to get him.
"Do you think if you called for your father he would come and take you back?" Icheb asked.
"The question is if I want my father to come and take me back," Quinn replied after a moment of thinking about Jim. "I don't think I would want that at all. Becoming human is actually the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Well at least you're not depressed over it," said Icheb. "I have to admit that when I learned that I was a clone I was a little shaken and depressed. All of my memories turned out to be false."
"Are you still upset about it?" Quinn asked.
"No," sighed Icheb. "I'm happy to be alive. Just looking at my teenaged counterpart makes me feel like I'm connected to this life."
"You know it was my father that made all of this happen," he said.
"Yes."
"So you don't have any reason to like my father either," Quinn mused.
"Well in one way I have him to thank for giving me life," countered Icheb. "On the other hand he did put Jim and Chad in a great deal of danger. So, no. I don't have any reason to like your father."
"Sometimes I think about all that happened and what's happened since and I get so mad at my father," Quinn said quietly. "Then I get all mixed up inside."
"I think being angry with your father for what he's done is actually pretty normal," said Icheb. "I know I would be angry at least."
* * *
"So how are you feeling today?" Kathryn asked Chad when he came into the kitchen after studying in his room.
"I'm all right," he said, joining her at the table. "Just tired of studying."
"You know you could go downstairs and see what the other boys are up to," she suggested, hoping that he would. This feud or whatever it was had gone on long enough.
"That isn't going to happen, Kathryn," he said. "I'm sorry but I have nothing to say to either of them."
"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" she asked.
"Because it's between the three of us," he said. "I'm sorry but that's all I can say about it."
"You know it might help to talk it out with someone," she said softly.
"It won't," he replied. "They should have come and talked to me a long time ago. The damage has been done, Kathryn."
She sighed as he got up to go back to his room. This was unhealthy for him. He had to talk to someone about it. Whatever it was had to be big but both Jim and Quinn were at a loss to explain what was going on. She believed that neither of them truly knew what the problem was. That was what compounded it in her mind. How could Chad be angry with them for something they didn't even know about?
* * *
"Well I got nowhere with Quinn," sighed Icheb when he met Kathryn at the deli down the street from the Phoenix Tower twenty minutes later. "He wanted to know about which uniform he was supposed to wear to the party mostly. Captain Kirk was taking a nap so I didn't get to talk to him. There is one thing that Quinn let slip though."
"What's that?" she asked, sitting forward. "Anything Icheb. It could be any little thing that Chad believes to be even bigger than what it really is."
"Quinn is interested in a girl that is either with someone else or doesn't know he's interested in her," he said. "When I asked questions about it he clammed up quickly."
"Why didn't I think of this?" she asked, smiling. "To think it could be something as simple as liking the same girl!"
"But that doesn't explain Chad's anger at the captain," argued Icheb. "Only Quinn."
"True," she said, sighing in defeat once again. "I want to know what is going on with my boys, Icheb. I want to know how to help them."
"I understand, Admiral," he said. "I would like to help them too. They're family to me."
"I know," she said, her face and demeanor softening with affection. "They mean a great deal to both of us."
"Yes," he said, smiling.
"Chad and Jim?" she asked, thinking about Quinn. "Or do you feel that way about all three of the boys?"
"I feel a special bond with Jim and Chad," he replied slowly. "I don't know Quinn anymore. We had fun together years ago, but Admiral he was never my focus at the academy. Jim and Chad were."
"Of course," she replied. "I have a unique bond with Quinn."
"I remember," he said, smiling.
She'd forgotten who he was for a moment, this adult that remembered her from his childhood. How strange that was. He was in his thirties and the boy she knew was in in his teens. They were the same person and yet they were not. It was strange to think that what she remembered from the delta as having only happened a matter of six to seven years ago this man remembered as happening over fifteen years ago. His memories were programs that were instilled in his mind on the holodeck of a version of her own ship by the two boys that she was so worried about. It was all very strange to her.
* * *
The afternoon sun was streaming through the windows, highlighting the smooth bare chest of James Kirk as he slept. The gentle rise and fall of his breathing made the toned muscles dance slowly as Quinn watched from his place in the doorway. Few ever got to see this side of his beauty. Quinn savored the sight and sighed silently as he pondered his plight. He was in love with him and it was getting harder and harder to keep silent about his feelings, his desires to touch him to hold him in his arms. It was torture to watch him sleep but Quinn couldn't stop himself.
He'd nearly told Icheb that he was in love with Jim. He'd nearly said the words. He sighed silently as he thought about how close he'd come to spilling his guts, telling him everything from the long nights spent longing to hold him and the torturous moments when he'd catch a glimpse of skin as Jim stretched or moved in just the right way.
If he was that close to talking to Icheb about the way he felt he knew that it was only a matter of time before he'd slip in front of Jim. He wasn't sure he could handle it if Jim reacted badly when he learned the truth. Quinn didn't think he could stand it if Jim turned his back on him and ended their friendship. It would be unbearable.
He went back to his own room and sighed as he sat at his computer console. He opened his logs and entered a new one as he pored his heart out about his unrequited love and his near inability to keep that information to himself. He had to talk to someone about this soon. He had to but he didn't know who to talk to.
* * *
"Hey!" cried Tom Paris when Jim opened the door. "You're transportation has arrived."
"Come on in Tom," Jim said, smiling. "Where's B'Elanna?"
"She's already there," he replied. "She went earlier with my parents."
"Ah," he said, smiling. "Happy new year."
"Right back at you," said Tom. "So why aren't you going with the Admiral and Chad?"
"Chad isn't speaking to me or Quinn right now," explained Jim. "We don't begin to know why but we've decided to force the issue tonight and find out."
Quinn came out of his bedroom dressed in his dress uniform and smiled at Tom. The three talked for a few moments before heading down to Tom's transport vehicle and off to Starfleet Command. Jim hoped that Chad wouldn't be too angry with them when they made him talk. He was mad enough at them already.
"So did you hear the news about our new assignment?" Tom asked as they rode along.
"No," said Jim. "You and B'Elanna?"
"Yeah," said Tom. "We'll be going to Alta Venus to help the scientists, agricultural specialists and engineers work on turning that planet back into a habitable one."
"What is it now?" asked Quinn.
"Well it was a mining planet but it was abandoned over a hundred years ago," said Tom. "There was a shift in the stars in that region and since the shift Alta Venus's atmosphere has changed just enough to make it more 'Class M'. As it was it barely qualified. There are now lakes, rivers and an ocean on the planet where there never were before. It rains from time to time and vegetation is growing along with trees and plants. They're thinking of selling real estate there as soon as it becomes viable."
"You're going to help them do what?" Jim asked, interested. He'd never heard of anything close to a project like this one.
"Well I'm be helping them clear out the mining center and turn it into something useful for both tourists and residents of the planet," he said. "We're both looking forward to it."
"When do you leave?" Quinn asked.
"In two weeks," he said. "We're both excited to actually be doing something again."
"Alta Venus is still in Federation territory though right?" asked Jim.
"Absolutely," said Tom. "It's located near the galactic barrier between the Milky Way and Andromeda."
"So it's the closest planet to the galactic border?" Quinn asked.
"No," said Tom. "There are fifteen planets in the system and Alta Venus is almost the furthest from the barrier. It's the fourth furthest planet from the Delphina Stars."
"How soon do they think it will be viable?" Jim asked.
"Right now it already is viable," said Tom. "It just isn't developed at all."
"So what you'll be doing is helping to develop the planet?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah," Tom said, smiling at them as they arrived at Starfleet Command. "I can't wait."
Inside, the banquet room had been transformed. Everything was white from the tablecloths to the huge floor to ceiling curtains that covered the stained glass windows. A sea of red, black and white moved through the crowd as officers and cadets circulated. Jim and Quinn made their way to a table and sat down to scan the crowd for Kathryn and Chad.
They saw Chad dancing with Sonya Kemperson and decided to wait. While they waited Kathryn made her way over to sit with them, bringing them both a glass of punch from one of the many refreshment tables. She smiled at them as she sat down.
"You both look dapper in your dress uniforms," she said.
"Thank you," said Quinn, smiling at her. "You look good in yours as well."
"Thank you," she replied. "So have you two had a chance to talk to Chad tonight?"
"We just arrived," said Jim. "We plan to try to talk to him a bit later though. He's busy now."
"Tom told us about the development of Alta Venus on the way here," said Quinn, changing the subject.
"I'd like to go there and have a look," said Jim, silently thanking Quinn for changing the subject so quickly.
"Well I'm sure that you could arrange passage during one of the upcoming breaks in the semester," she said fully aware that the subject had changed. She was also aware that the look in Quinn's eyes said the subject of Chad was off limits. "I'd like to see that planet myself. It's been quite a while for me. Voyager was sent to investigate the conditions of Alta Venus right before we were assigned to the mission that sent us to the delta."
"Maybe we'll all go together," said Quinn, watching Chad and Sonya dance.
"That sounds nice," she said. "I have to talk with Admiral Hammil for a few moments. Excuse me, gentlemen."
For most of the night they were busy with talking to Captains and Admirals about their new ranks. Jim kept a close eye on Chad's whereabouts as much as he could. Chad seemed to be deliberately staying away from any gathering that had either Jim or Quinn in it. It wasn't until 2330 that they finally managed to get a breath away from questions and followed Chad as he walked off the dance floor toward a refreshment table.
"What do you want?" Chad asked as they came to stand on either side of him. His tone wasn't cold but it wasn't inviting either.
"We want to get to the bottom of this," said Quinn.
"We'd like to know what you're angry with us about," said Jim. "Is it our ranks?"
"You would think that," spat Chad. "It has nothing to do with your ranks."
"Then tell us what we did so we can at least apologize," said Quinn.
"It isn't something that you did," said Chad. "It was something that you didn't do."
"What?" Quinn and Jim said in unison.
"Never mind," replied Chad, trying to walk by them.
"Hold it," said Quinn, stepping in front of him. "You can't walk away from us. We're all in uniform and we're both officers."
"That's really low," said Chad, his eyes narrowing.
"I know it is but if you would have talked to us instead of isolating yourself from us we wouldn't have had to resort to such low tactics," said Jim. "Tell me what's wrong."
"No," said Chad.
"I could order you to," said Quinn.
"You're a real bastard, Quinn," said Chad. "I hope you know that."
"Actually I'm a human," replied Quinn. "And I'm tired of watching you ignore us."
"Oh, been watching have you?" snapped Chad.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jim in exasperation. People were starting to gather in the center of the dance floor. He noticed them out of the corner of his eye. He also knew that signaled that it was nearly midnight.
"You two have been ignoring me since you were commissioned," said Chad. "If anyone is uptight about ranks it's the two of you."
"We haven't ignored you at all," said Quinn. "You're the one hiding from us."
"Hiding?" laughed Chad. "That's rich coming from you two. Look if you two wanted to be together you didn't have to hide it from me. Jim, you know I wouldn't judge you. I'm gay for crying out loud."
"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked nervously.
"The two of you," said Chad, pointing from Jim to Quinn. "I know that you're all involved in your relationship but you didn't have to ignore me to be together. It hurt you know?"
"Chad, I don't know what you think is . . ."
"Of come on!" cried Chad. "Don't tell me you aren't together. I can see the way you look at each other. It's all longing and lust. Don't deny it."
And then it was announced that the new year had finally come. It was now 2381.
THE LEXUS CHRONICLES