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“Montgomery Scott” The woman extended her hand. McCoy’s question was answered even before he could ask. “Me parents wanted a lad, but they got a lass. The name they had picked out stuck though.”
The woman brushed her unruly hair back impatiently and added. “it’s Scotty fer short.”
“Pleased to meet you ma’am.” McCoy tipped the brim of the cap he was wearing at the woman, causing her to burst out in laughter.
“Yo’re a gentlemen that’s fer sure. “ She sighed a tad wistfully. “Out here in the black, no one’s got times for saying yer please and thank you’s, too busy shooting a body.”
McCoy wasn’t sure how to respond but Scotty had already started walking again. He followed behind trying not to stare. The cargo hold was dim, with catwalks trailing through, stacks of crates were hidden halfway out of sight in odd corners. He was more than willing to bet that the ship might make part of its money legally with passengers but the other half or more likely more of its profits had to come from illegal activity.
Still he didn’t care; he was only using the ship for a ride to the next port. Anything to get them away from the alliance to somewhere where they couldn’t be found. They had just passed under a set of catwalks when McCoy had the unsettling feeling that something was watching him. He glanced upwards and after spotting no one, resumed walking, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling.
He had barely taken a step forward, before he heard an odd sound like a cross between a growl and bitten off shout. Then someone had jumped down from one of the catwalks directly into his path. A young boy about boy of about ten or so. At least McCoy presumed that was his age if he was a human and not some odd small alien. He was baring his path with a knife clutched tightly in his hand, and a slightly crazed look in his eyes.
McCoy couldn’t help taking a few steps backward, his first thought was a Reaver had somehow infiltrated the ship. Scars crisscrossed the child’s face making a sick kind of lattice, chunks were missing and a thick ropy scar stretched across his neck to loop up to one corner of his mouth. His hair was thick, and curly, and hung down past his shoulders in matted clumps and in his face partially obscuring his eyes.
Scotty had turned around, and McCoy stepped forward distinctively attempting to protect her. He faltered as the boy snarled and moved closer until his knife was an inch from McCoy’s chest. Scotty appeared only slightly perturbed by the situation; in fact she seemed more annoyed than anything.
“Chekov, back off laddie.”
The boy, Chekov didn’t move initially and with a exasperated sigh, Scotty leaned forward grabbing the boy’s knife hand. He immediately twisted around at the touch appearing ready to attack her. But rather than appear scared, she glared at him. “He’s one of the passengers. Ye’ goin’ to scare off all the paying customers and then we’ll be on the drift?”
Chekov didn’t answer. Instead he stepped out of McCoy’s path without ever taking his eyes off the doctor or his hand off the knife. Scotty glanced back at McCoy offering no explanation of Chekov’s behaviour or his strange appearance. “We’ll drop ye stuff off at your cabin. The captain ‘ll want to meet ye before we leave out.”
The walk to the cabin was mostly uneventful, except Chekov trailed behind following after them like a puppy, or in the doctor’s opinion a rabid attack dog.
“This here’s doctor McCoy. He’s a doc back on Persephone.” Scotty was already speaking as she stepped over the threshold and into the cockpit. “Captain—“
She broke off as she noted the person sitting in the captains chair. McCoy caught a half a second of what looked like a bad porno before it clicked off and then found himself staring into the weirdly blue eyes of a boy who couldn’t have been more than fourteen at most. He had a shock of somewhat dishevelled blond hair and a skinny build that was all bones and angles.
“Jim—“
“Captain Kirk.” The boy corrected firmly, his eyes dancing with some sort of amusement at the situation.
Scotty scowled, “Laddie, does—“
“That’ll be enough Scotty, we leave atmo in twenty. Get the engines ready.”
Some sort of unspoken communication passed between Scotty and Kirk, but finally the engineer reluctantly sighed “Fine have ye’re fun.” before walking away. She passed by McCoy, and gave him a nod. “Nice meeting ye doc.”
Then Scotty was gone, leaving McCoy alone with Chekov who was still lingering silently in the background and Kirk who was regarding him like an interesting specimen. McCoy was already rethinking booking passage on the ship. The boy Chekov looked and acted like a young Reaver in training. The ship’s captain was apparently a boy barely out of diapers, and McCoy was willing to bet that the rest of the crew was probably not better off. Granted Scotty seemed okay but a small life pod of sanity didn’t make a difference in a ‘verse fully of crazy.
“You’re the captain?” McCoy couldn’t help asking.
Kirk hesitated just the barest hint of a second and then added. “Yep, Captain Kirk, James T. Kirk.” He rounded out the introduction a tad pompously.
McCoy could only stare incredulously at the teen wondering what he had got himself into. He was still contemplating whether it would be worse to stay on the planet and pick up another ship, while risking the alliance tracking them down or to take a chance, when Kirk interrupted his thoughts. “So Doc, what’s the deal with a core doc like you wanting to rough it in the black.”
McCoy shifted a tad uncomfortably, the kid’s eyes seemed to be staring through him as he waited for an answer, and McCoy was fairly certain that whatever he said a lie would be spotted easily by the boy . “He went for part of the truth. “There were some things I needed to get away from.”
“Hmm,” Kirk leaned forward slightly, sizing up the doctor. “You don’t strike me as being on the run.”
“I—“
Kirk cut him off before he could finish. “You seem like one of those alliance prods sent to find out information. Except, you’d stand out a mile away, Shiny clothes, and no fucking commonsense about the actual verse ‘sides what you learned in textbooks.” While Kirk was talking Chekov had slipped closer to him and McCoy imagined if he turned around he would find the boy a hairbreadth from his back and all too ready to use that knife. McCoy swallowed feeling a line of sweat drip down his back, Kirk for his part had a slight smirk on his face like he was enjoying the discomfiture he was causing. “So are you lyin’ to me doc, cause I think you are and I don’t like liars.” Kirk glanced past him and added almost as an afterthought. “And neither does Chekov.”
McCoy was really wishing he had chosen another ship. Alliance be damned, it was better to risk them then be gutted where he stood. It was obvious that most everybody on the vessel was damn crazy and somewhat homicidal. He had only one chance of avoiding being shot up space refuse and that was the truth.
“I left Persephone after a divorce. My wife got everything, lost my job, took the house, she owns half the damn planet now, all I got is my Bones. So figured I’d go out stare into the black and see what I saw.”
Kirk maintained the same smirking disbelief for a few more seconds, and McCoy could practically feel Chekov vibrating with the hope of a kill order. He was so screwed, then Kirk smiled. “Well, `that sounds like the truth. Welcome aboard. “
McCoy marginally relaxed, still wishing he could get off the ship. But he had a feeling any such request would only fuel their suspicion further. Instead he settled for asking in what he hoped was a friendly joking manner, though in fact he was dead serious. “So you’re the captain of-of—“ McCoy paused realizing he didn’t know the name of the ship.
“Serenity” Kirk corrected, now only paying him half attention as he consulted some readout on the controls in front of him.
“Aren’t you kind of young, you’re what fourteen? Don’t you have parents or--”
Kirk flipped around in his chair and McCoy immediately regretted his words as the boy spat out. “I’m fifteen and I don’t need anyone.” McCoy didn’t bother saying anything else, fearing anything he did say wouldn’t be taken kindly. Instead he shifted uncomfortably under the teen’s continued glare and shook his head and turned to leave. He almost walked into a man on his way out.
The man gave him a glance but didn’t pay him much mind as he yelled out. “Jim, fire her up, We’re leaving as soon as Spock gets back.”
McCoy turned wondering who the man, and was surprised to find Kirk obediently flipping switches and entering pre-flight sequences. The man passed McCoy and ruffled the Chekov hair slightly as he passed. McCoy was surprised that the action instead of resulting in a knife wound, elicited what sounded a growl from Chekov. And an affectionate growl at that…if a growl could be called affectionate.
Only then did the man finally turn to him. “You’re doctor McCoy. “ It wasn’t a question. “ I’m going to ask that you stay in crew quarters and the main living areas for the duration of this trip, Dong Ma?”
McCoy nodded. Pike added. “I got only a few rules on this ship but one of them is I’m the captain and what I say goes, you follow that and we’ll be shiny.”
“Wait you’re the captain?” McCoy all but sputtered out.
“Last time I checked it was my blood, sweat and tears that bought this here ship.”
McCoy gritted his teeth and looked past Pike. Kirk had turned away from the control panel and was staring directly at McCoy grinning innocently. Pike he tracked McCoy’s gaze, and something seemed to dawn on him. Pike gave a half glance at Chekov who was wearing a wicked grin that was rather awful to see on his scarred face, before turning to scowl at Kirk. “Jim.” That was all he needed to say. Kirk’s grin dropped off his face, and was quickly replaced by a contrite expression that didn’t quite get rid of the laughter in his eyes.
Pike shook his head and walked settled into one of the cockpit’s chairs. “Make sure the Cargo is secured in the cockpit and escort the doc back his cabin.”
Kirk looked like he wanted to argue but though better of it. He gestured for the doctor to start out and then followed him out the cockpit. Chekov, settled into Kirk’s newly vacated co-pilot chair and McCoy inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at the younger boy’s absence.
“So Bones still want to be on this ship.” Kirk glanced towards McCoy as he continued walking and flashed the doctor a wicked grin.
“That was pretty mean what you did back their kid” McCoy answered, choosing to keep his half-hearted desire to get off Serenity to himself.
Kirk chuckled. “Not really, I like you.”
McCoy couldn’t tell whether Kirk was joking or serious. “If that’s how you treat people you like , do I want to see what you do to people you hate.”
“Probably not” Kirk shrugged. “Though as a doc you’d probably mind the blood, guts and screaming less than most.”
McCoy was sure that comment wasn’t entirely a joke. There was something about the teen that foreboded a lot more than his lanky fifteen year old self suggested on initial impression. McCoy was willing to bet there was a story to tell and not a nice one either if someone actually managed to crack the enigma that was apparently Kirk. Another question sprang up in McCoy’s mind and against his better judgement he blurted it out. “What happened to that kid , Chekov. Why doesn’t he talk?”
Kirk didn’t speak instead. He stopped at a cabin and nodded. “There you go, I think this one is yours.” He started back down the corridor, and McCoy figured he wasn’t going to answer his question.
Abruptly Kirk turned around. “Bones, I’d stay away from him if I was you, he don’t like doctors.”
McCoy couldn’t stop himself, even though he knew it was a trap. “Why?”
“Why?...Because they cut out his tongue.” Kirk stared at him. McCoy held his gaze wandering just where the lie was and just how much shit this Kirk kid was full of.
Abruptly Kirk flashed another grin and raised his eyebrows. “I think we’re going to have fun doc.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good statement coming from you.”
“Didn’t say it was.” Kirk eyes flashed something dark then he was smiling again. He took a step backwards and said conversationally. “Shut your door at night…and your ventilation shaft…Chekov sleepwalks…and I do too.” Kirk laughed.
Then he had scampered up a ladder and disappeared from view leaving McCoy wondering just what he had gotten into.