losthunter | Thorn in the Garden of Life

"No." Jim shakes his head. "He might not even be on Earth, or somewhere where they get Federation news. We were close enough that I don't think he would've stayed away, if he knew what had happened."

The other possibility is that Sam is dead. Jim would rather not assume that until he knows for sure, though.

"Maybe that is something you could look into, before you leave on your mission. Just see if he is okay?" Hunter suggests.

"I don't even know where to start. The galaxy is a big place. It is very easy to disappear if you don't want to be found." Jim looks back at the canvas; he smudged the comet a little when he went into the flashback, and he starts to fix it, painting over the smudged layer.

"That worries me about Austin. If he will try to disappear now..." Hunter returns to his piece. He is working on re-creating the protestors who were outside City Hall. Just trying to capture their emotions and their concerns.

Jim glances over at Hunter. "At least the cops know what he looks like. They're looking for him, and he won't be able to get the watch off anyway. He'll turn up eventually." He might not be the most reassuring person to be around right now, but maybe he can help a little, in any way he can.

"I sent a message to my father, that Austin should be placed on a Most Wanted List, just in case he wants to leave the state."

Hunter wants to address what happened. But it is like walking on eggshells right now. He never knows what might trigger a flashback.

"My dad... he is a Senator candidate. That is why there were Secret Service there."

Jim doesn't know either. He knows what things can set him on edge under ordinary circumstances, and sometimes what can cause actual PTSD-style flashbacks. But this is something beyond anything he's experienced before.

"Is that some kind of special police?" he asks, just as cautiously. Cops and Jim Kirk have rarely been a good combination.

"In a fashion. Secret Service protect the lives of political candidates. So they are affiliated with the national FBI organization, allowing them to carry out their duties no matter what State they might be in."

Oh, good. Politics. Something that he has very few experiences with, besides the governor that he is trying not to think about. "So they're probably going to take his safety pretty seriously."

The comet still looks a little messy, but Jim decides to call it good, turning his attention to adding details to the landscape beneath the starry sky.

"That is my goal. Especially since Austin was aiming to attack him..."

Hunter pauses for a moment. "Until today... I had no idea that my dad was even running for political office."

Slowly, under Jim's brush, the darkened figures of two boys take shape in the tall grass, lying on their backs to look up at the stars. "Does that bother you?" He's not sure why it would, if Hunter and his dad don't get along, but Jim is hardly the poster child for knowing what normal family relationships are supposed to be like.

"He was always the type that wanted the spotlight. A political career seems like the next step for him..." Hunter paused.

"I just don't like some of his opinions, that he might implement as law."

"How much power does a Senator have in this century?" Jim's not terribly familiar with the details of twenty-first century US politics, and though this may be treading close to dangerous territory, he can't help wanting to understand the context. "He has to be elected, right?"

"Basically, every law that would impact the entire nation has to be approved by Senate first. And one of those is the contested transgender rights bill." Hunter explained. "And yes, he has to be elected. The Senate election for the State is a year away. But he is already in campaign mode."

"It's not unilateral power though, right? He has to get other people to agree to do that?"

"He does. But sometimes with a charismatic personality, and judging on some of those opinions are shared right now by our President..."

Hunter shrugs. "I just hope he can learn to open his mind to new opportunities."

Right, Jim remembers Hunter telling him a little about the country's current leader. "Sounds like a political shitstorm waiting to happen. Hopefully the people who disagree with those close-minded ideas are more numerous."

"One can hope..."

"But one good thing is that Senators like my dad take attacks against them very seriously." Hunter still feels like he wants to hit Austin.

Jim starts to say, "Any kind of attack should be taken seriously," before another unwanted memory is abruptly brought to the surface.

The sound of the engines descending behind him draws his attention as the room floods with red emergency lights, and he stands, turning around to face the threat. The jumpship hovers in front of the window, its phaser cannons taking aim at the officers inside.

At him.

"Clear the room!" Jim shouts, as heavy phaser fire fills the air, energy bolts sizzling past his head, showering him in shattered glass. He dives under a table, shielding his head with his hands as the screams of his fellow officers ring out in his ears, above the sounds of weapons fire.

The table topples over and he takes refuge behind it, a poor shield against the volatile energy lashing out and striking nearly every person in the room. He doesn't know where Spock is, or Pike, but there's no time to worry about that. The threat has to be stopped.

He catches a break in the fire and dashes out into the corridor, scooping up a dropped phaser rifle from the downed security team. When did they even get here? Jim hadn't noticed, but now that he's armed, he moves to get an angle on the jumpship, and the man inside it. John Harrison.

He has to be stopped.

Hunter knows immediately that another memory flashback has stolen Jim away from him. And it seems to be a bad memory.

He pauses uncertainly, when Jim dives for the floor. He is shielding his head from an unseen attack. And then he moves, like he is taking cover. The result of the action ends him in the living room.

Hunter circles Jim, just to make sure that he is not endangering himself.

Then Jim makes a break for it, dashing towards the balcony exit. Luckily, Hermione has created a similar Protego shield on both doors, so Jim can't leave the apartment involuntarily. Hunter notices that Jim has picked up a large paintbrush, which might feel like a phaser in his hands.

At least he can't shoot anyone.

"Jim?" Hunter really doesn't want to lock Jim in the shower, unless absolutely necessary. "Jim, listen to my voice. Break free of the memory sweetheart..."

It's utter chaos.

Jim shatters the glass in the corridor with one well-placed shot, and pumps several rounds into the jumpship. The emergency vehicle shrugs off every shot, and Harrison doesn't even seem to notice. A mere fly to a predator on the hunt, easily ignored in favor of more tantalizing prey.

There's noise in his ears, but he can't listen, can't focus on anything other than stopping this maniac before he kills every single person in the building. He tears open the emergency unit in the wall, tying the fire hose around the phaser rifle and chucking it into the jumpship's engine. The engine whines as it sucks in the hose, and pulls in the entire unit, ramming it wholesale right through the air intake. A huge cough of black smoke immediately explodes from the jumpship, and it begins falling from the sky, a white swirl of energy signaling Harrison's escape.

Jim watches until the man is gone, the vehicle still plummeting for the plaza below, before he turns back towards the conference room. Bodies are everywhere, some still groaning or writhing in pain, others still and silent. Behind a pillar, half-shielded from the origin of the attack, Spock kneels over a bloodied body in an admiral's uniform.

Jim comes back to himself as abruptly as he left, the adrenaline and grief as sharp as they were the day it happened.

Hunter curses when Jim doesn't break free of the memory right away. And he starts to really worry when Jim tries to tear open the balcony door itself.

"Fuck..." He doesn't even know if he can lead Jim to the shower staff.

And then he has to dodge, when Jim mimics tying something to his 'paintbrush', and then throws it across the room.

"Jim?" Hunter asks again. "Can you hear me?"

"Fuck..." Jim drops to his knees, much as he did the day that this happened, and presses his hands against his eyes, as if it could block out the memories. "This curse sucks." It's a massive understatement, and not quite enough to let him look like he's okay. This shit hurts, gouging deep every time a bad memory comes to the surface, like sliding a knife in between his ribs.

Hunter cautiously moves towards Jim. He feels close to tears himself, hating seeing Jim like this. And when he gets close enough, he places his hand on Jim' shoulder, to show his support.

"I'm so sorry Jim. I hate that you have to go through this."

The hand on his shoulder is so much like what Jim did to Spock, that day. Not in comfort, but needing the support and stability of his first officer and friend so he wouldn't fall apart. This time, it's Jim on the receiving end of it, and he doesn't know if Hunter is taking the same support from the touch as he had.

"It was Daystrom this time," he says, trying to keep his voice from shaking. The place where Admiral Pike died.

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