A Higher Standard

[madimpossibledreamer]

(At some point, Pike hijacked my original intentions for the fic.  Mostly by insisting on showing up more often than just that first chapter I'd planned.
As he's awesome, I didn't really protest.)
(Also, for the curious among you, that was the weirdest interview I've ever had.  Not that I've had many, but.  You know, it had weird parallels with Pike Recruiting Jim Except Without Pike Enjoying His Job.  Weird conversation more than interview.)
~Dreamer~

Main Points:
Star Trek (the 2009!movie verse) Cambion AU
Summary: Pike finally has some idea what's going on, but tracking down the Kelvin Baby is a little harder than even some of his away missions...
Word Count: 1701
Rating: Teen, probably

         It’s years after when Christopher has finally figured out his best guess.  Jim refuses to take any messages, so a Captain of Starfleet has to go to a disreputable bar to find the troubled son of a Starfleet hero.  He keeps on his uniform, as well as his sidearm, despite this is the sort of place that would be anti-authority figure.  Years of dealing with cadets and angry planet natives have prepared him for being able to deal with whatever objections they might have to his presence, often without force.  So far, his stern gaze is effective enough.  He reaches the table and politely asks the girl the kid is chatting up to leave.  When she seems reluctant, he narrows his eyes a little and she scrams.
         “You cost me action tonight, unless you’re offering.”  Despite his words, Jim doesn’t sound especially upset about it.
         “I don’t want to know your fantasies, kid, especially when I knew George.”  He throws out the tidbit and watches as the kid looks intrigued despite himself.
         “You didn’t mention that in your dissertation,” he responds.  It’s interesting that the kid looked him up, and a good sign if he wants to keep Jim Kirk’s confidence, but this is not where he wants to be having this conversation.
         “Well, I’m not just here for you.  I have work to do, so follow me.”  He stands up, sure that the kid’s going to follow just because every time he shows confidence like this, people follow him as the Captain.  The kid may dislike being normal like everyone else, but he has the sneaking suspicion curiosity is the way to pull him in.  Besides, if he’s probably hacking personnel files just to keep an eye on the one Starfleet Captain he supposedly only vaguely tolerates, he’s interested.  There’s no way a dropout like Kirk could get his hands on the dissertation without some kind of illegal activity.  Maybe he’d actually brought it up to see a reaction, but Pike just notes it and files it away, instead.
         They’re in the car for a bit before Jim points out, “This isn’t the way to the local Starfleet office.”
         “No, but I don’t want to tell them anything about you you don’t want them to know.  We’ll drive around.”  Jim looks shocked, but he shouldn’t be.  Then again, and the thought hurts him, maybe he hasn’t really had anyone think about him, first, in his entire life.  Aside from his birth, during which he wasn’t there to really experience that kind of care.   
         He suddenly drops his teenage angst and suddenly looks years younger, passing a hand over his face.  “I appreciate it.  I guess you want to actually talk about something instead of just the Fleet’s biggest cover-up.”
         His voice is a little bitter, but Christopher doesn’t blame him.  “You can trust our driver, too.”
         Phil turns a little in the driver’s seat and waves.  Jim laughs, and then turns serious again.  “Well, I trust him a lot more than most—nah, any doctors I know.  I’m not sure how you’re part of Starfleet and yet don’t trust them.  Aren’t you one of those big household names they love to talk about?”
         “Being a good Captain doesn’t mean playing all the Admirals’ idiot bureaucrat games.  I think one of the most important things I learned in the Academy was how to appease them and not cause an incident without losing my pride or the pride of my crew.”  He might as well be honest.  Jim probably doesn’t get a lot of that, either.
         “Well, that’s not what they say in the brochures.”  The kid looks thoughtful.  “Too bad.  It’d work so much better than the crap they try to foist on us.”
         It’s probably the most politic to avoid responding to that, which is how he deals with the world half the time.  “Our theory is a little odd, but it’s based on what little we actually know.  We think you might be a cambion.”  Pike’s trying his hardest to sound certain despite the sheer oddity of the situation.  Still, he’s probably encountered…well, not weirder, but maybe as weird things out there in the dark.  “In mythology, that’s the son of an incubus.”
         Jim blinks, face oddly blank.  “Are you saying George was an incubus?”
         “Actually, we believe that it took his shape, down to the very DNA,” Christopher corrects.  “There was a supposed ‘clerical error’ that recorded George Kirk as being in two places at once nine months before you were born.  The same kind of ‘clerical error’ that listed you as dead for seven days after you were born before you began breathing and your heart started beating.  You’re charismatic, which is something I’ve witnessed firsthand.  You can enter erotic dreams and need them as sustenance, if the last time we met was any indication.”  He can avoid saying the words; found that, when dealing with the kid, neither pretending Tarsus IV didn’t exist nor saying anything straight out was the correct approach.  “I assume the same is true of your extracurricular activities I’ve heard about here.”  At this, the kid smirks.  He ignores that.  “And I don’t know if you’d noticed, but according to the medical records, you heal faster if you have had sex.”
         “We’re going with superstition?”  His tone is…odd.  It’s not like he doesn’t believe it.  It’s more like he’s…insulted?
         Here it is, then.  This is crucial.  Mess it up, and he’s not likely to get a second chance, but he’s been performing under pressure and he feels some obligation to George as well as caring for his troublemaking son.  “It wouldn’t be the first alien species we’ve made first contact with without realizing it.  Witches were actually aliens, and we know how those got explained.”  That’s classified, but surprisingly Jim knows when not to blab about secrets, even if he personally disagrees about keeping it a secret in the first place.  As expected, it makes the kid sit up straighter in his seat, suddenly sharp and interested.  “That’s not the first story that’s made magic or demons out of other species.”  He takes a deep breath, meets blue eyes sharp as diamonds and just as remote.  “If you learn nothing else today, remember this: it’s not like being half human makes you any less than a person.  It just means that you don’t necessarily need to live up to a flawed hero.”  He’s seen the way everyone expects the son to live up to George and how violently the kid tried to escape that comparison.  He sets himself up as a failure, maybe, because that way people just get what they expect.  He’s seen exactly how stubborn Jim is, though.  That while George was brilliant and could work with whatever he was given, Jim would rebel and somehow manage to find a third option no matter how stubbornly the universe only offered two.  He could be amazing, but only if he learns that he doesn’t need to be a replacement.
         With just sheer shock on the kid’s face, he looks years younger.  “Flawed?” he stammers.  “But you—you wrote…”
         “He was a hero who saved hundreds of lives,” Pike nods.  “I don’t mean to diminish that.  As a Captain, I have to think about my fellow Captains and crew down to the last ensign.  If they manage to make me involved in the Academy, I’ll have at least three times that number of recruits to look after.”  Jim’s lips twist in sympathy.  It’s true that a ground assignment wouldn’t really be his first choice, but he loves learning new things and making a difference, and teaching at the Academy would help him achieve those goals too.  It would just be…less fun.  “Call me crazy, but I don’t think a man who died is necessarily an example to aspire to.  The whole reason I wrote that dissertation was to try to find an option that didn’t involve so much death.”
         “As usual, he’s taking credit for an idea I gave him,” Phil gripes, but he doesn’t have to be facing them for Christopher to know he’s smiling.  “I honestly think most students should go through at least helping out the Med Students.  I don’t think they emphasize the fact that Starfleet is a peacekeeping organization enough.”
         He can almost hear the gears in Jim’s head turning, can see the whirring speed of a computer in his eyes.  He’s suddenly back to the present.  “You didn’t tell my mom, did you?  I think it’d break her.”
         “If I tell Winona Kirk anything—and I try not to talk to her because as far as I can tell we’ve decided to ignore each other’s careers—I wouldn’t tell her that.  It’s not exactly rational, but we haven’t been on good terms since George’s death.”   Eyes narrow, but he doesn’t panic or throw up his hands.  “She blames Starfleet, and even more so if we knew him.  It doesn’t make sense, but grief often doesn’t.”
         “You don’t have to tell me that,” Jim mutters.  “Well, you gentlemen have given me a lot to think about, so if you could let me out…”
         “I believe this is your stop,” Phil replies and stops the car.  
         Jim glances at them and then smirks, slowly.  “Well, I have no idea about Mom, but if more of your fellow ‘Fleet were like you two, I might actually like Starfleet.  Given your whole speech you better not be a hypocrite and die.”  He hops out and salutes ironically before walking off.
         “Interesting kid,” Phil comments.  “He reminds me of you.”
         “He’s bright enough he knows it, too,” Christopher agrees.  “I wish I could be more involved, but…”
         “You’d draw Starfleet’s attention to him, and neither he nor his mother would thank you for it,” Boyce points out reasonably.  “You’re doing the best you can, Captain.  Even now you’re making a difference for the boy.  Just think of how much he’s changed from when you first met him.  He shows a remarkable resilience and capacity for change.”
         “I hope he doesn’t get himself killed before he fulfills his potential,” Pike grumbles, but he has a feeling Jim Kirk will surprise them all.