It's part of the tragic tale that's being saved for later, but Jim can't see the harm in mentioning this part of it. He hasn't told Hunter the details yet either. "There was a Romulan ship attacking Vulcan with a mining drill platform that extended from orbit down into the upper atmosphere. The energy beam was scrambling our long-range communications and transporter tech, and the Romulan commander had demanded that Adm- Captain Pike," he corrects himself mid-word, "come over to their ship by shuttlecraft, so he dropped me, Sulu, and Olson halfway with explosives to disable the drill. Things... didn't go well and we had to improvise."

He drains his wine glass, and shakes his head in response to her question. "Fine by me."