Placing Safeguards

[madimpossibledreamer]

I may have taken some inspiration for McCoy’s internal grumbling about transporters from a reddit thread about what transporters would feel like to which someone responded ‘Easy there, Bones’. Some lines (from Sarek and Kirk) taken from Journey to Babel.

Main Points:
Star Trek (the 2009!movie verse) Cambion AU (New Genesis)
Summary: McCoy, Kirk, and the rest of the landing party take a tour of Regula and the Genesis Project.
Word Count: 2706
Rating: Teen

 

        Kirk is still wearing the fancy outfit he was complaining about, but he doesn’t show a sign of the discomfort as he strides into the transporter room to meet the team—mostly blue (probably science), including a couple Vulcans, who quiet on their arrival. McCoy’s pretty sure it’s out of respect, not fear, which he sure hadn’t quite managed in all the time he’d been stationed on Vega Colony. The man might not like playing the political games, but it’s clear he’s good at them, without being so distant he can’t have a close-knit relationship with his crew. “I hope accommodations have been satisfactory thus far, Ambassador Sarek.”
        Seems like Spock isn’t the only Ambassador around here. “Your service honors us, Captain.”
        “Thank you.” Kirk turns to the man in engineering reds manning the transporter. “Are we still having the leak down in Engineering, Mr. Scott?”
        The man Leonard only vaguely remembers having met before winces. McCoy is trying not to look at it or think about being atomized, despite how difficult a proposition that is; his imagination is too good, damn it. “Much as I wish we weren’t. We’ve managed to trace it down to the coolant system, but we fix one leak and find three more. Keenser’s taking a good look now.”
        “The coolant system. That wouldn’t happen to be the same one that you got intimately familiar with last year?” Given Kirk’s other pastimes, Leonard wouldn’t be too surprised if the man studied the diagram or wandered around the ship on his off-time. He reminds McCoy of one of those old fashioned ship captains on the sea, and given his ridiculous bent toward nostalgia, maybe that’s even partly the point. That being said...McCoy isn’t entirely sure he wants to know what that phrasing was about.
        “Aye, sir, and what a view of the Enterprise. Too bad I was too busy drowning to enjoy it.” Scott is too busy stuck daydreaming to notice McCoy’s glower.
        Also to his credit, Kirk either senses the atmosphere or realizes how inappropriate the conversation has gotten on his own. “...I get that this is my fault for starting us off down this metaphor, which is why I should probably step in and point out that we shouldn’t talk like that about her. Not when she can’t reciprocate.”
        And, like the rest of the crew, Scott immediately swaps into a professional demeanor. Despite all of McCoy’s previous assumptions and grumbling at his staff, he’d been wrong (like that was anything new). They’re all young, promoted beyond where they should be, true, but it’s not like they’re a bunch of cadets getting ideas above their station. They’d been forged in fire. Honestly, they probably had seen more action than McCoy has. “Point taken. We must but love from afar. Ready to send you down, Captain.”
        Leonard grimaces when they all walk up there and he’s left standing reluctantly behind. But he’d signed up for this. The expectant look in Kirk’s blue eyes when he turns says that he’d understand if Leonard chickens out, that he only has hopes, not expectations, but McCoy has made up his mind to at least try, as uncomfortable at it makes him stepping outside of a little thing called a comfort zone. So he glowers further and marches up to stand right next to the Captain, because suddenly he has something to prove, and the approving smile is, well. He might understand why some of the crew members might want the man’s approval, now. Not that the Captain is just a pretty face. He has a brain and care and love for his ship and crew, which has its own way of inspiring loyalty. McCoy wasn’t wholly wrong, though—the pretty face almost certainly helps.
        Theoretically, he’s aware of how transporters work. He’s seen the statistics on how safe they are. Knowing the odds doesn’t seem to always agree with reality, though, when the whole damn galaxy seems to want to make a mockery of every certainty man has. He realizes he’s been making a fool of himself somewhere around when he realizes Kirk has been patiently reassuring him while carefully propping him up that yes, his bones are actually all still there, and despite the numb tingling feeling he has an acrid aftertaste in his mouth.
        “Are you back with us, Dr. McCoy?” the Captain pauses to ask, noticing that he’s calming down. Something about the way he’s moving. Has to be. Overachiever probably actually paid attention on the required medical courses for command track, too, rather than just doing the bare minimum to scrape by, and thus can actually be counted on for basic first aid and the like.
        “Wish I wasn’t,” he manages, voice sounding more gravelly than ever. He’d let go of his death grip if he wasn’t fairly certain he’d end up in a heap on the floor if he did, which would be even more humiliating. He glances at the pretty young blonde in a lab coat and winces—if anything, she looks ready to start a fight, not that she doesn’t have a right to be, what with the complete circus they’ve brought with them.
        It’s like Kirk reads the humiliation and anger effortlessly, because he instantly moves on to the business, not fussing over Leonard. “Dr. Marcus, sorry about the delay. We’d be more than happy to have the official tour after we change—thank you, Yeoman Szabó. Is there somewhere close by where we can get into something a little more presentable?” Well, that solves that little mystery neatly. He’d asked the yeoman for a change of clothes. He’d joked about planning to murder their formal uniforms, but it hadn’t actually been too much of a joke at the end of the day, had it? Not when he’d just happened to put them in a position they could carry it out. 
        One of the other scientists jumps to accommodate, which doesn’t seem to impress Dr. Marcus any further. That’s the kind of disdain that can only come from an ex, is his first thought, before he remembers he’d not too long ago made the same sort of assumptions about whether Captain Kirk even is capable of taking something seriously before he’d even met the man. It’s still a little humiliating being led along, managed like cattle, even if he’s not being held upright anymore. He’d been more out of practice handling transporters than he’d thought—not that he’d done much to remedy that. Why face down a phobia when he had every intention to stay with his feet firmly planted on the ground where man belongs? His brain starts jabbering all the usual existential questions about whether or not transporters count as medically assisted suicide and replacement by a doppelganger. Just because the body replaces its cells on a regular basis doesn’t mean doing so all at once isn’t ten kinds of unnatural, and he’s still not sure they always assemble everything in the correct way. He firmly ignores the urge to voice those thoughts aloud, on account of the fact that he’s already done enough damage to this visit. It’s only occurring to him now that this is the kind of moment that could actually matter, and Kirk’s reputation to half the galaxy still is far from great. And that’s before he sees where they’re expected to go.
        “It’s not much better than a supply closet, but it’ll work,” they’re told before the door is closed. There’s enough room they’re not elbowing each other, but that’s practically the only upside. It’s still rank, cramped, difficult to maneuver, and there’s every chance Kirk’s just going to tip over what looks like an actual old-fashioned mop and bucket in the back corner and have to change his pants again anyway.
        “You didn’t have to invite me along,” he mentions quietly, even if anyone standing outside can probably hear them.
        Kirk is still cheerier than he ought to be, in the situation. “No, true, you’re absolutely right. I didn’t. Honestly, if they’d had cameras or reporters like they were planning, I wouldn’t have. We just happened to make better time than they expected.” Entirely on purpose, McCoy’s sure, given what else he’s seen of Kirk’s planning abilities. They both shuffle around a little. 
        “This is salvageable. Sure, Dr. Marcus is pissed, but honestly I don’t think there’s a single thing I could’ve done to make her happy about this.” He pauses and then adds, “That’s me ready. You?”
        Leonard sneaks a peek and he’s actually facing the wall like a gentleman, making some final adjustments to hair and uniform by feel alone. Who knew? “Nearly. I don’t move like I used to.” He’s got a million questions as he pulls the medical blue over his head, but where to start, that’s the real issue. Questions Kirk can actually answer—though he gets the feeling the man would be perfectly willing to wade into a discussion on metaphysics, even if there’s no real answers to be found. “Is she an ex?”
        “Guess so. Not that I remember.” Leonard instantly recognizes the reference that Kirk is trying to make, awe at the ease with which this crew slips into practices that would be common for spies while also being more than a little irritated on Kirk’s behalf. This is the woman, huh? Where she goes and gets her audacity from, he’d like to know. More than just playing god, she’d gone and rearranged a man’s whole world without his say-so, if not from the original drunken encounter than from keeping it from him for years.
        “Excuse me?” their guide asks from outside. “I got some water if you think that’d help.”
        “Door’s open,” Leonard calls, because he gets the feeling the last thing the Captain is gonna do is speak for him. His nana didn’t bring him up badly enough he doesn’t thank the man, though, a sentiment Kirk echoes with another charming smile. 
        It’s hard to tell whether the scientist is starstruck or just plain lovestruck, but either way he fumbles his words a bit as he points and indicates he’ll be in the next room when they’re ready. The water’s helping enough that Leonard’s feeling more his usual self as he watches Kirk kick their uniforms into an undignified mound behind the bucket with those Starfleet regulation boots.
        He’d heard enough from other people, but he’d rather hear from the man himself. “I’m serious. Why’d you ask me to come?”
        From the glance, it looks like Kirk knows he’s not letting this go, not for a second. “I need you,” he answers simply. And the thing that pleases and terrifies McCoy all at once is that it’s not just a line, some empty flattery he’s throwing at McCoy’s feet, not with the way he says it. “Spock and I, we’re for this project. Sure, Spock and the other Vulcans are going to look for the flaws when we get underway, they’re as objective as a being can get and I especially trust Spock, but this is for New Vulcan, so I’m not expecting any of them to do their usual due diligence. I figured I could count on you for counterarguments. The project’s still moving forward, and it’s not your area, but if you have ideas on how to make sure this thing doesn’t get misused, I’m all for hearing them.”
        He sweeps his hand toward the door, silently asking if Leonard’s ready to brave the world outside, and he finds that he is, actually. “I get the feeling that won’t make me too popular around here.”
        He doesn’t have to look at Kirk to hear the smile in his voice. “Somehow, I don’t think you were ever itching to enter a popularity contest in the first place.”
        Kirk does actually draw the scientist—Palmieri—into a discussion about the project, and it turns out he’s a biologist, instrumental in choosing the exact range of flora targeted by the genetic restructuring, meaning McCoy’s not completely out of his depth, here, so soon enough he’s actually having another actual talk with someone outside of being on duty. It’s probably the most he’s talked in years. It’s hard to tell if his throat is hoarse because of that, or just simply the alcohol and its aftermath.
        “If you’re both ready to proceed?” Dr. Marcus interrupts, but Kirk just nods, not outwardly troubled by any of it. 
        “I figured a phobia was worth bringing Dr. McCoy with us, sorry about that. This is your show,” he acknowledges gently. Kind of him not to mention the alcohol, even though that’s probably pretty obvious. “I’ve seen the project proposal, though where you were in the process was less clear in the briefing.” 
        Dr. Marcus allows herself one final glare before she turns and starts leading them. “Due to the needs of the Vulcans, our project was fast-tracked. We’re already on Stage Two, and have just completed our second successful test, which I will now show you.”
        “That’s quick,” Kirk mutters to himself. Funny, Leonard was thinking the same thing.
        Well, if he’s been brought on to be a nosy, annoying bastard, he sure can oblige. “There wasn’t time for a pre-print covering success rate?”
        She...doesn’t bristle. If anything, she looks a little scared. “There were...concerns, when I gave my proposal, that this technology could be misused, so while I would usually publish open-access, in this case I agreed that Genesis should be considered classified.” Well, good, that increases McCoy’s opinion of her intelligence slightly, at least. “As for success, we have managed a 97% actual yield, which isn’t too far off our theoretical yield. I’d believed in my project, of course, but I don’t usually see this kind of success in the field.”
        McCoy has to acknowledge that. “Reality rarely matches up to the theoretical.” He lets her bask in the accomplishment for a moment before he moves on to his next point of interest. “How do you determine which planets are targets for this device?” It’s nanites, has to be, though if they’re trying to maintain some illusion of secrecy, it’s probably better not to talk about that directly. 
        “We do biological surveys and triple-check the results before using Genesis. It’s important to make sure that there’s no pre-existing life. We’ve already participated in too many mass extinctions as a species. We don’t need to add another to the list.” And she is attempting to be responsible...but that doesn’t mean that it’s absolutely impossible for it to be misused.
        “You didn’t happen to incorporate a final check, something in the device itself to prevent its use if instruments on-board detect life? If anyone half-asses their checks, say, a century from now, there goes a species, and we’d never even know.” 
        She bristles slightly and one of the other scientists, whose name McCoy hasn’t caught, bursts out, “So you’re calling us lazy or incompetent?”
        Dr. Marcus shivers and holds out a hand, though. “He just said ‘a century from now’, if this technology gets more widely adopted, we need to keep that in mind. With your permission, Ambassador, postponing deployment until we have added the necessary safety features might be a good idea.”
        Sarek nods. “Humans and technology alike are not without error. It is only logical that such a mechanism should be added. We would be able to assist you.”
        The other scientist doesn’t seem too keen on the idea, but Dr. Marcus just nods, and her word is law, on the little rock and the planet orbiting it. “We would welcome the help, Ambassador.” And then she pauses, turning with a little smug smile, and maybe her being a match for Kirk isn’t so wild an idea after all. “Well, ladies, gentlemen, assorted lifeforms, I would like to present to you...Genesis.” She opens the doors, and McCoy finds his cynicism vanish in the face of what can, with no exaggeration, be called a miracle. He lets out a long, low whistle. Kirk is actually stunned speechless for probably the first time in his life, the others exclaim behind them, and even the Vulcans are too busy being impressed in their own stoic way to judge any of them for being emotional.