ikols | open post | psls

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.

[ He sighs as if this is a great burden, to be dismissed, perking up a moment later as Spock invites Loki to follow him out. He wants to stay and listen to the conversation between Una and Chris but isn't entirely sure he will be able to lie about doing so, not to Chris's face after, so he joins Spock with only momentary reluctance. ]

[ As much as Chris genuinely likes Loki, he has a responsibility to his crew, and he and Una go back a long, long time. He's not going to lie to her, not blatantly, but he knows that the explanation they've been given still doesn't fully satisfy her. So, in the interest of their friendship and their working relationship both, he gives her the opportunity to grill him in peace.

By the time they return to the bridge, there's only a few minutes left in his shift and Chris looks ready to leave, far less relaxed and jovial than he did when he arrived to his shift earlier that day.

Still, while there's a noticeable tension between him and Una, the frostiness of before has melted somewhat, and he's confident that things will return to normal. Settling himself back in the chair, he glances around the bridge to see what everyone else is doing, pleased to notice Spock and Loki bent over his station together, murmuring about god knows what. At least they seem to be getting on alright. ]

... could cut out my heart and I'd be alright for five minutes, maybe ten.

[ Glancing up from where he is busy describing the Aesir for Spock's database update, Loki flashes a smile that he hopes is a cheering sight after whatever went on in the briefing room without him. He nods to the chair, then winks in appreciation.

He'll sit in it one day, that hasn't changed! ]

[ Chris just nods at Loki when their eyes meet, not really acknowledging the flirting but not really shooting it down either. It honestly seems like he just doesn't notice, preoccupied with his own thoughts, and it doesn't take long for him to drift his chair back to face the viewscreen in front of them, one elbow planted on the arm and his chin resting on his knuckles.

Before them, stars go flashing by in a blur of light as the ship travels at warp speed towards whatever nebula was decided to be an appropriate feeding ground for their friends. ]

[ Loki gets the impression that all is forgiven by Spock considering the wealth of information Loki dumps on him about a deified species and the Multiverse in general, the intense questioning never faltering so that Loki falls into a rhythm with him and keeps out of Chris's way during the journey. Once the nebula is reached the sharks rush over, only the largest taking his time until even he is a small dot swallowed up by the pretty pinks and oranges of stellar clouds. ]

It's like we took them to brunch.

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