ikols | open post | psls

[ The visual that is eventually able to be produced for Chris is from one of the sensors on the saucer; it shows an excellent view of the giant space shark and a not-so-great view of Loki, focused mostly on his boots and the hem of his cloak.

It does, miraculously, provide an excellent audio feed, helped by the fact that there's no delay from the Universal Translator.

The entire bridge gets to tune in to hear Loki proclaiming in a ringing voice that he is he who is Silvertongue and Moon-King! Tell me, he adds, and there's a brief murmur of confusion among the crew all avidly watching what's going on up on the view screen, staring into the many-toothed mouth of the shark and speculating among themselves about just what, exactly, is going the fuck on.

There's a long beat of silence, and Chris has just enough time to look over at the communications desk in confusion before Loki's voice starts up again.

Oh, ummm. Yeah, I'm kind of dating someone? Not dating! Seeing. Casually! We haven't ... worked that out yet.

Spock says something about scanner arrays and never-before-seen readings from his attempts to categorize what it is that's floating in front of them, but Chris can't focus. What the hell did that thing ask that had Loki offering up that kind of response? ]

[ My children must eat. New children would provide cosmic flesh. ]

I understand where you're coming from, I do, I have children of my own, but the whole cannibalism thing is a bit Greek for me. What if I were to lead you, with this ship, to a place where your offspring could feed in peace? Grow strong and hale?

[ The shark swishes its tail and draws closer, and if it could narrow its eyes it would.

... Very well, Loki of Asgard. Lead us to our hunting grounds. We shall not lose sight or scent of this vessel. ]

Excellent! [ He claps his hands, taking a step back as the shark eases away. ] Would you mind staying behind the ship while we fly? So as not to hurt you or your children in any way. I will let you know when we arrive at these new hunting grounds, which I definitely know where to find.

[ The whole shoal of sharks turn and take their place behind The Enterprise, and Loki gives them a salute as he shouts, Be back soon with an update! When he teleports back onto the bridge he brings with him a below-freezing waft of air and the stench of ozone, clean and thin like a mint up the sinuses after a cold glass of water. He swivels to face Chris in his chair, inhaling to start warming himself up as he breathes again. ]

How much of that did you catch?

Edited (fu phone correct) 2022-06-25 22:11 (UTC)

[ Chris always forgets that, while Loki looks like he could be a cadet barely old enough to drink alcohol legally in a bar off-campus, he's actually much older that that. I have children of my own. Does he? How many? With whom?

Some people might say they know each other quite well. In some respects, they really do. In others... Loki is little more than a stranger to him. It's jarring to realize that all over again.

Still, it's gratifying to listen to the one-sided negotiations, if only because it means the worst of his anxieties are assuaged, hearing Loki's relieved voice as he shuffles even further out of range of the camera. If he can ramble on like that, he's probably fine. The fact that he can ramble on like that without an atmospheric suit on is still somewhat mind-boggling, but Chris has been slowly being exposed to all the bizarre things Loki is capable of doing, and with each new addition, they start to seem less strange.

He disappears from the view screen and pops into view in almost the same instant, a blast of freezing-cold air coming with him as well as that sharp, wintry scent Chris has gotten so used to.

A murmur of surprise ripples across the bridge, but Chris doesn't even blink. ]

Everything after "I'm dating someone" but nothing from their side.

Right. Yes, he's telepathic, that's why.

[ Does he look a little nervous? Maybe. Could be the giant shark floating behind the ship that's making Loki swallow the lump in his throat ... or the way Chris is harder to read when he's in captain-mode. Loki addresses the whole bridge, not just him, because it feels a bit like he has an audience and owes them something of an explanation. ]

We need to find a nebula brimming with energy, the sharks exist by consuming it. They sensed a great deal of power on this vessel and travelled here because if it.

All things concerned, their father was quite reasonable.

[ In Captain Mode, as Loki puts it, Chris does his best to think first and act later, something that goes somewhat contrary to his personal nature. It means he does a lot of frowning, gives a lot of assessing looks, and usually stays silent until he's gathered his thoughts.

It means he lets Loki finish what it is he's saying to the assembled crew on the bridge, that same considering frown on his face, and then after another moment more he nods just once. ]

Ortegas, you heard the man. Find us a nebula where we can drop off those sharks.

[ A sentence he never thought he'd say. His life is full of those, really, and yet they surprise him every time regardless.

Pushing up to his feet, he smooths down his uniform front and looks back at Loki. ]

Spock, Number One, with me. La'an, you have the conn. [ His expression softens a little, a hint of a smile gentling the forbidding line of his mouth as he cocks his head a little to one side, his fingers twitching like he wants to reach out but suppresses the urge because of their avid audience. ] I think we're going to need a bit of a history lesson about our friends. Loki, if you wouldn't mind...

If I were you, [ added to Ortegas, who looks him up and down without ceremony, ] I would start moving the ship now. Sharks can't stay still for long.

[ Loki shares Chris's look, offering a lopsided smile as they both now navigate the truth of his identity being in the open. All the way to the ready room he wonders how to distil the Aesir down into a bitesize blurb, taking a seat at the table where he folds his hands. ]

I'm not sure where to start. [ It's admitted with an honest laugh, itching under his horns. ] What else do you need to know?

[ Una has been giving him significant looks the entire ride down to the ready room, looks Chris has been determinedly ignoring. It's just her sincere and steadfast commitment to protocol that has her refusing to say anything to him until they assemble themselves around the table, though Chris can see her sharing equally significant looks with Spock.

Apparently, the fact that he wasn't surprised to see Loki burst onto the bridge in uniform and then magic himself into his current outfit hadn't gone unnoticed. Among other things.

Spock and Una arrange themselves on one side of the table, a united front as they stare across the wooden surface at Loki. Chris, sat at the head in his usual seat, shifts his feet until his boots are bumping up against Loki's beneath the table, a small measure of comfort he can offer while still maintaining his air of professionalism. ]

Why they suddenly appeared when we've never seen them before now might be a good place to start, [ he offers, as gently as possible. ] What could be done to avoid drawing their attention in the future, how we can defeat them, the usual things.

[ He opens his mouth to reply, closing it as he rethinks what he wants to say. Under the table his ankles hook around Chris's. ]

Starsharks, or space sharks, are cleaners of the cosmos, they devour dead gods and other energy-laden flesh. Dead sentience can take many forms. The sharks are largely low-level intelligence but the larger they grow the more they have sentience, that was why I spoke to the big guy.

[ Clearing his throat, he adds, ] But I have Alltongue, so I can speak to anything with a developed language.

[ He spreads his hands. ]

They're just ... animals, for the most part. I suppose you could blow them up but that seems like overkill when you could dump them in a nebula teaming with energy for them to soak up.

[ Wouldn't that simply be putting off the danger to a later date? asks Spock, his straight brows furrowing slightly. If they grow larger as they eat, and the larger they grow the more sentient they become, it stands to reason that one day someone will come up against them again, only this time they will be more difficult to engage with.

Chris tilts his head a little, as if acknowledging a point scored in a fencing match. ]

He's got a point, Loki. Aren't we just making them someone else's problem, later?

[ Una continues to stare, her blue eyes hard and suspicious. Chris knows she takes her job very seriously, that as First Officer it's part of her duties to be aware of crew manifests, that she feels responsible for everyone on this ship much in the same way Chris himself does. That Loki could be here under her nose without her noticing is both a blow to her ego as well as a threat to the security of the ship. ]

I suppose it depends if you want to exterminate them while they're too simple to fight back properly.

[ He pulls a face that says Seems like a dick move, but your choice. He can feel the daggers coming from Una, glancing to Spock and then Chris. ]

I did give their father my word I would help.

[ Chris holds out a quelling hand, not quite reaching out to touch Loki but nearly. ]

Nobody's doing any exterminating, relax. [ Not the Enterprise, not the sharks. Everyone is going to have a perfectly normal day doing perfectly normal things and none of those things are going to involve slaughtering anyone or anything. ] Of course we'll help.

[ So what brought them to the Enterprise? asks Una, sounding very much like she already knows the answer but wants it to be confirmed anyway. ]

Earlier today I tore a rift in reality while traversing the Multiverse, [ a whole lot of information there to make Spock's eyes sparkle with fascination, less so Una's, ] and I landed in Christopher's quarters. I am an interdimensional being, you see. The captain was kind enough to agree to keep my presence quiet until I could return home later, but it appears my sudden scent in your reality has enticed these sharks from the far reaches of your universe. Or they ... may have followed me through from mine. Impossible to tell, really.

[ He lies calmly to hide his relationship with Chris, weaving in the truth about the beasts along the way. ]

They eat gods, and I am one.

[ Loki's quick little story isn't even remotely true, except in all the ways that it really is.

At least Una and Spock know about Zero Point, have had experience with time-travel, understand the kind of intense energy fluctuations that can result from such an event, as well as the far-flung ripple of consequences that are impossible to predict in the moment.

To Chris's profound relief, he can see Una's hackles lowering. Slightly, but still. The hungry gleam to Spock's eyes bodes poorly for Chris's downtime, but he's less worried about Spock hounding Loki for information than he is about Una potentially trying to throw him in the brig for trespassing on their ship.

He jostles Loki's foot beneath the table, giving him a little smile that he hopes feels as reassuring as he means it to. ]

Nobody's getting eaten, either.

[ A god? is the obvious follow up question, skepticism heavy in each syllable, which Chris can understand but also finds a little bit ironic, considering it wasn't that long ago that they had to deal with M'hanit and the Shepherds and that entire preordained fiasco. Who's to say a god isn't real after all that? ]

I believe him. [ Chris has had the most experience with Loki's abilities, after all, and he can fully believe that a society might revere someone like him as a god, ageless and omnipotent. What a lonely existence for him, though, kept at such a remove from the people around him. Chris is almost glad he didn't fully understand, that he still doesn't really fully understand, everything about him. It makes him much more...human. ]

[ He preens a little without moving or really changing how he's sitting when Chris says he believes him, it simply feels good to hear him backing Loki up. His legs lean toward him as he nods to Una. ]

On Earth in my reality there were Norsemen who believed in the Aesir; the gods of the Vikings, in essence. Books were written about us and over time heralded as myths, the Eddas. I come from Asgard, the Golden Realm, but we aren't the only deities in residence. The Greek pantheon is real, as is the Egyptian, all of the gods that mortals have imagined are very much alive. Every creation myth is true, and yet not. One of my friends is a Muslim girl who doesn't believe in the religion that grew up around me, and another is a Jewish witch. I admit that I've never met one of the monotheistic gods but they tend to like to keep it that way for the mystique.

I am Loki Laufeyson, he who is Moon-King, Trickster, Mistress of Strategies, Wanderer, free and unfettered. My purview is to be the God of Lies, Stories, and Mischief. No reality can hold me, no box contains me for long.

[ He smiles brightly. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you all.

[ Perhaps Chris should make more of an effort to school his expression as Loki speaks; even he can feel the fond and indulgent smile creasing his face as the monologue goes on and on, feeling charmed despite himself.

He can't help it, though. Loki is terribly charming — yes, he's biased, he knows — and what he's saying isn't so far outside the realm of possibility.

Maybe it's growing up being taught not just about other religions as concepts, but about other religions as if from the inside of them, every granule of their history, their myths, their beliefs and their rituals. Chris has always had a very tolerant acceptance of religion even though he himself does not prescribe to any particular one, and he finds the formal cadence of speech used when discussing them comforting in a way.

It reminds him of home.

Una crosses her arms and leans back in her chair, shifting her eyes from Loki to Chris and then back again. If you're the god of lies, how are we supposed to believe whatever you tell us? she asks in a mild and terribly reasonable tone, one that still doesn't stop Chris from giving her a pointed look. ]

Una. I believe him.

[ He shoots Chris a slanted smile as if to say you're cute but not helping, then gives Una a frank expression. ]

I'm not a compulsive liar. And, not to be rude, but if I was lying you wouldn't even notice.

[ When Loki turns his head to give him a quelling look of his own, Chris just winks at him.

Things feel like they're going well. They could certainly be going worse, but he's explained jinxes enough to Spock that he's not going to say anything about that just yet. It just feels like maybe they're going to get through this without any major calamities, especially if Erica can locate an appropriate nebula in which to deposit all the sharks they've collected.

That is not a very reassuring response, Spock points out, which has Chris chuckling. ]

It's fine. We're all friends here, in the interest of getting anything actually done, we're just going to have to work off the assumption that we're all telling the truth and just go from there.

[ Well. Most of the truth. Chris doesn't particularly feel the need to explain why he was late for his shift or how long he's actually known Loki. Or how well they know each other, too. ]

Loki. Let's say we're able to drop the sharks off at an appropriate nebula and we're allowed to sail away unaccompanied. How can we be sure they won't just come back?

[ His bright expression falls a little, wry when he admits, ] Because I'll go home.

[ He doesn't look at Chris then, instead letting his answer be for the others with whom it's easier to be sensible. Responsible. ]

They're only following you because of me, your ship isn't their usual prey. I'll go home after we set them free in the nebula.

[ His leg brushes against Chris's, out of sight. ]

The big one said he hadn't smelled a god in a long time, it's likely they have changed their diet and simply came after me since I'm a super sugary treat by comparison.

[ The absolute worst part, Chris is realizing, is that he had started to let himself believe that this could continue. Only a day in to him knowing Loki was on his ship and he'd already gotten used to the idea, started assuming that Loki would return to his quarters, would pop up randomly during the day, would be within reach.

It's a ridiculous notion. He knows that. Loki isn't part of Starfleet, isn't even a member of a Federation planet, and now, apparently, has started drawing dangerous creatures right to their doorstep simply with his presence alone.

He can't stay. Of course he can't. And yet... ]

We'll collect all the data we can. So that if they show up again, we'll be better prepared. [ That was mostly for Spock's benefit, dropping a little tidbit of instruction down in his lap and knowing that even a vague hint like that will be enough to keep Spock occupied for hours, days. Chris is just grateful his voice came out perfectly even, as if it doesn't matter to him one way or the other, as if this is just another diplomatic milk-run in a long line of them, one more annoying but inevitable part of their jobs that just has to be done.

He presses his knee closer to Loki's. ]

What will you all do if I turn up again?

[ He asks it on the heels of Chris's question, mischief in his tone. His gaze flickers from one to the next, then to Chris. ]

I'm rather a little more dangerous than sharks, in all honesty. I'm a reality warper. [ He shrugs at Una as he shifts his attention. ] For a while this morning I masqueraded as one of your crew to learn more about you while I was working on a way home. I'm sorry, I jimmy-rigged four of your replicators to give nothing but bug stew on F- and P-decks, I was going to do it to G-deck before I realised you have your intensive care unit there. I also made a lot of people think they were seeing random animals at their work-stations.

[ His voice softens with the gentle weight of his apology, quietly earnest. ]

I think one of the ensigns cried at the sight of a bear. I didn't know he had a phobia.

[ Chris can't help himself: he sighs, leaning back in his chair and lifting a hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose.

Technically there was an apology in there, somewhere. It feels a little bit overshadowed by all the other admissions, though, especially the bit about the bug stew. ]

Why.

[ That does explain the bear thing, though, and a lot more neatly than "maybe there's been another contagion breach releasing some hallucinogenic spores and the entire ship will need to go through decontamination protocols again." ]

It was fun, of course. Everyone was so annoyed, it was hilarious! Except for the bear thing, I felt a bit bad about that. I didn't want to scare anyone, I'm not a monster.

[ Loki looks at Chris, giving a one-shouldered shrug. ]

But I am the God of Mischief.

Mm. I wonder why everyone was so annoyed when their food was made of bugs or an animal was harassing them at work.

[ Loki looks guileless and sweet when he looks over at Chris, who is not swayed in the least. ]

Could you maybe focus more on the God of Stories part and less on the God of Mischief, please? That would be very helpful.

I mean, sure. Which part of reality would you like me to change, Captain?

[ He asks it like the little shit he is, acting guileless as if it isn't a huge deal. ]

The part where I'm having this conversation.

[ He chuckles, shaking his head, and claps his hands on the arms of his chair as he pushes away from the table, clearly signaling the end of this discussion. ] Right. Well. Let's go see what Erica's found for us and our new friends. Loki, why don't you go with Spock, I'm sure he's got a million more questions for you. [ Loki will probably behave himself in the company of someone genuinely fascinated by him; Chris hopes they'll get on well enough that it will be seen less like babysitting and more like an opportunity for them to nerd out together. ]

Number One, a word.

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