Where No One Has Gone Before Pt. 04

"True. There's going to be some major changes in personnel assignments as well. I was informed last night that Captain Hawkins will be getting a promotion and a new assignment."

"Oh? Who's taking her place?" A few moments later, his face changed as he realized what I meant. "You? Are you taking her place?"

"I don't think anyone could take her place, but yeah, I'm getting promoted to the center chair. And I'll need a First Officer. Someone who knows the ship like I do. Someone I can trust. Think you're up to being my Number One, Jim?" As I watched, his face brightened up.

"You mean... you want me to be your Executive Officer?" Jim asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I know you've already completed your online Introductory Command Course and have started the intermediate level. I'm impressed."

"Thank you, sir," Jim said quietly.

"I just have one... small... concern," I added.

"You mean, my lack of a companion," Jim stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, that," I told him.

"Well, don't tell anyone, but I have hooked up a few times with some of the other lieutenant commanders on board, and we have what you might call a 'friends-with-benefits' arrangement. Nothing permanent."

"Well, that's something you won't be able to do once you're promoted. You know the rules about fraternization, especially with command-level officers."

"I understand, sir," Jim said. "Truth is, most of the time, I'd rather be alone. Plus, I haven't met anyone I could really get very close to. Not even my ex-wife in the best of times. Maybe that's why she cheated on me."

"I understand you went through a nasty divorce."

"Yes, I came home from a mission and found Diane in bed with another man. I nearly lost it," Jim said quietly.

"Believe me, Jim, I know how that feels."

"Trust me, Commander, if there was an airlock available, I probably would've tossed them both out," Jim responded, reminding me of the incident with Bull Travers, which by now had become something of a legend in the Corps. "No offense, Commander, but I really do have to report to my station."

"Alright, Jim. But I'd like to discuss this with you further. Perhaps you can come by my quarters after you get off and we can talk about it with Kyra."

"I'd like that, Commander," Jim said, his cheerful attitude returning.

"Good. I'll see you then. In the meantime, I'll let Captain Hawkins know so she can get your promotion in the works."

"Thank you, Commander. I won't let you down," Jim said.

"I know you won't, Jim," I told him. We shook hands, and I watched as he strode to his console, where he relieved the lieutenant patiently waiting for him. Leesa gave me a look from her command chair, and I simply nodded my head. After ten years, we had reached the point where we could communicate without any spoken words. She understood my nod, and I felt confident she would push Jim's promotion.

I caught up with Kyra in the galley at lunchtime and filled her in on my meeting

with Jim. She seemed receptive to my idea.

"I think that would be a good idea," Kyra said. "Plus, it'll give him a chance to check out his new quarters. If you want, I'll arrange to have dinner brought up and we can share a meal."

"Good idea," I told her.

"I'll reach out to Jim and see what he would like, and we can go from there," Kyra said.

"Thanks, I appreciate that. And please let him know the dress is casual. No need for a full dress event. Anything new in your world?"

"Not really. Just putting together my final reports on the crew's performance. To tell you the truth, I'm amazed at just how stable this crew really is after spending five years on this ship."

"And we all have you to thank for that," I told her. I wasn't patronizing her just to make her feel better. I honestly felt that Kyra's loving attention to the emotional needs of the crew was a major contributing factor to our success. Kyra didn't know it, but in addition to her promotion, Leesa recommended her for a Meritorious Service Medal, and I felt she deserved it.

"You're just trying to make me feel better," Kyra protested.

"Maybe a little. But I mean every word. I don't know where we'd be without you."

"Thank you for that," Kyra replied.

"Well, I have a meeting over in Engineering. I'll probably be there most of the afternoon. Are you going to invite Jim?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of that," Kyra said. "I'll also arrange dinner for 1800 hours."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate that." We kissed and went our separate ways. As predicted, my meeting with the Engineering staff lasted for much of the afternoon as we pored over the list of tasks that had to be accomplished before the refit. I returned to my stateroom to find Kyra preparing the table for dinner.

"Our meals should be here soon," she told me. "Jonathan put together some prime rib with green beans and mashed potatoes. I hope that's okay."

"Jonathan's prime rib is perfect," I told her. Just then, the chime sounded, and I opened the hatch to find Jim. "Jim, glad you could make it. Please come in. Dinner is on the way up. I hope prime rib is okay."

"That sounds wonderful, sir," Jim said.

"Please, when it's just us, call me Bill," I told him.

"Yes, sir. Uh, Bill," Jim said, not used to the familiarity. "So, is this going to be my new home?" he asked, looking around the stateroom.

"Yes. I hope you like it. It's worked out well for the two of us, so there should be lots of room for you."

"I'm sure there will be. I may do some remodeling, if that's okay," Jim said.

"Of course," I told him. "Just run it through the Facilities Team, and it should be okay." A crew member from the galley arrived with our meal, and I watched as he wheeled the cart inside, then placed the meals on the table where Kyra directed. It hit me that I would probably be doing this more often, as Leesa did.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" the crew member asked with a slight British accent.

"No, that will be all. Thank you," I said.

"My pleasure, sir. Just ring the galley when you're finished and I'll collect everything for you. Bon appétit."

"Thank you," I responded. The crew member smiled and left our quarters. We took our seats and enjoyed our meals, engaging in light conversation as we ate.

"I sure am going to miss the Master Chief's cooking," Jim said when he finished.

"I am too," Kyra responded.

"I'm sure whoever replaces him will be just as good, but I agree. I'm going to miss his cooking," I chimed in.

"So, Bill, what would you like to know? As much as I enjoy breaking bread with you and your lovely wife, I'm sure you have some questions for me," Jim said. Right to the point - one of the things I liked about the man.

"I'd like to get to know you a bit better - as a man and an officer," I told him, echoing the sentiments Leesa expressed on my first day on Enterprise. "I'm quite familiar with your record, and I'm impressed with your work these last five years, but that doesn't say much about the person if you know what I mean."

"Actually, I do," Jim said. "There's not really much to say. I graduated at the top of my high school class, entered the Academy, graduated at the top of that class, got married, then got divorced. Went to Operations school and graduated at the top of that class as well."

"That's all in your record, Jim, but I'd like to know about you," I said. "You mentioned you came home from a mission and caught your wife cheating on you. Can you tell us what happened?"

"You know how it is, Bill. You're out in space for weeks or months at a time. That's hard on a marriage. I guess Diane just felt she needed someone to be with her all the time. With me gone so much, she drifted away."

"Into the arms of another man," Kyra interjected.

"Yes," Jim said quietly.

"How did you feel about that?" I asked.

"How do you think? I was pissed. Beyond pissed, actually. I almost ripped the bastard's head off - excuse my language," he added, looking at Kyra.

"That's okay," Kyra said. "I've heard lots worse."

"I guess it had been coming for a while. Diane and I began drifting apart long before that happened. I've always felt, I don't know, somewhat different from other people. Dad had my IQ tested when I was just a kid. They said I was a genius, so Dad enrolled me in Mensa. Growing up, I always felt... a bit superior... to others. Intellectually, anyway."

"I'm sure that didn't make you a lot of friends," I joked. He laughed and shook his head.

"No, it didn't," Jim said. "Dad took me aside one day, and suggested I learn how to interact better with others. Thing is, I always felt better when I was by myself. Never really felt the need to 'interact' with anyone else. It's as though I never really met anyone I felt was on the same level as me," Jim said.

"The Academy helped me a lot in that regard," he added. "I always got the best grades, always scored the highest in all the competitions. Thing is, I didn't even have to work that hard to do it. I used to get a kick out of watching the others struggle just to get halfway decent grades."

"That changed when you met Diane, though, didn't it?" Kyra asked.

"Yes, as I've already told you before. It did. At least for a while. And I had one other advantage." Kyra raised her eyebrows at that. Apparently, she already knew.

"It's alright, Jim," she said. "You can speak freely here. Nothing you say will go beyond these walls." Now I WAS curious, and I looked at Jim before saying anything.

"Yes, Jim. Please feel free to say whatever you need," I urged.

"It's a bit... embarrassing. And personal," Jim said quietly, glancing at Kyra.

"It can't be that bad," I said, looking back from Jim to Kyra.

"Well... Alright. All my life, I've had a somewhat higher... libido... than most guys my age. And it seems I was also given the... equipment... to match," Jim said, his face turning red. "Thing is, it's gotten me into more trouble than I care to remember. Dad used to warn me about that, said I needed to learn to think with my big brain if you know what I mean." I chuckled at that.

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean," I said. Jim chuckled in response.

"When I first met Diane, I thought I had finally met my equal, in more ways than one. We had a whirlwind romance, then got married. I thought things were going great. We had even started talking about having children. Then I came home and found her with... him. Do you know what that feels like? To have your heart ripped out like that?"

I remembered how I felt when I caught my first wife, Tabitha, with Bull Travers, my superior officer. I recalled the rage and the humiliation I experienced.

"Actually, Jim, I do know how that feels," I answered, glancing at Kyra. "In fact, Kyra helped me a lot after all that happened. So tell me, how did you handle it?"

"At first, I went a little nuts," Jim said. I understood that all too well. "I wanted to kill them both. Obviously, I didn't, or I wouldn't be here. I did meet up with the guy Diane cheated on me with, and we got into it. He took the first swing. I put him down rather quickly. He left me alone after that. I filed for divorce, and Diane didn't fight it. She did tell me one thing I found interesting, though."

"What's that?" I asked.

"She told me that I was too big and too... horny... for her to handle. Can you believe that?"

"That does sound a bit... unusual. What happened then?" I asked.

"I got assigned to Ops School and you know the rest. I remembered what my father said, and set about learning to control my... urges. I've dedicated myself to controlling my emotions and I'm no longer driven by my libido."

"But you haven't exactly been celibate, have you?" Kyra asked.

"No. I've been with two women since this mission began," Jim said. "That's two. In the space of five years."

"Your profile says no one in the National DNA Registry showed up as a possible companion. Did anyone ever explain why?" Kyra asked.

"No, Kyra. No one ever explained the reason for that. And it's just as well, since I prefer to live alone."

"What are the odds of that, Kyra? That out of hundreds of millions of people, not one single person would come up as a compatible match using your test?" I asked.

"I would put the odds against it at pretty close to astronomical," Kyra answered.

"I don't understand. You've never mentioned this to me before. I had no idea my choice of living arrangements would cause such a problem, Bill," Jim said. "Perhaps it would be better if you chose a First Officer with more conventional... desires."

"No, Jim," I said. "I've worked with you closely these last five years. You're a damn good officer, and the best fit for this job. Besides, your promotion is already in the works. We've never discussed this before because it wasn't necessary, and it's not a deal-breaker by any stretch of the imagination. I just want to understand it, that's all."

"Alright," Jim

said.

"I have an idea," Kyra said. "I don't know why it didn't occur to me before."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I've been following an experimental test designed to supplement the profiling technique I developed. It was intended to provide a visual depiction of what the test subject would consider the ideal mate. It hasn't been approved for widespread use yet, but the initial tests have proven to be quite... interesting," Kyra said.

"How accurate is this testing?" I asked.

"From the papers and videos I've seen on the project so far, the accuracy rate is over 85 percent."

"That's impressive," I said. "What are you suggesting?"

"We have the necessary equipment on board. I just need the software and the specifications to configure it. If you're interested, Jim, I could run this test on you. Maybe we can at least get a look at what your mind would consider the ideal mate. What do you think?"

"It sounds... interesting," Jim said. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"How long would it take for you to set this up?" I asked Kyra.

"I've already been in touch with Dr. Molinas, the researcher heading up the project. I could have him send me the specifications and the parameters of the procedure. I expect I could have it ready to go in a couple days or so," Kyra said.

"Let's do it," Jim said. "If nothing else, it'll help advance science. That's what we're out here for anyway, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," I said. "Alright, Kyra. Go ahead and set it up. Let me know when you're ready." We talked for a bit longer and ended the evening happily. Jim shook my hand as he headed for the hatch.

"Listen, Bill, I want to apologize for my tone earlier," he said.

"Nothing to apologize for, Jim. We touched on a very personal subject for you, so I don't blame you for getting your back up a bit," I said as we shook hands.

"Does that mean I still have the job?" he asked.

"Of course, if you still want it."

"You know I do."

"Alright then. It's settled. See you on the bridge bright and early tomorrow morning." We said our goodbyes and I watched him walk to his stateroom next door. I turned to face Kyra after closing the hatch.

"I called the galley, they're sending someone up to collect everything," my wife said.

"Thank you. That went... well," I told her.

"Yes it did. Better than I thought it would," Kyra replied. A few minutes later, the crew member who brought the food to our quarters arrived and gathered the cart. We thanked him for everything and went to bed, holding each other close.

Three days later, Kyra called me from her office and asked me to come to speak with her. Leesa nodded her approval, and I left the bridge.

"What's up?" I asked when I entered my wife's office.

"I heard back from Dr. Molinas," Kyra said. "He sent me everything I need to get set up. I already got Leesa's approval and Dr. Simmons is preparing a space for the procedure."

"Okay," I said, a bit confused as to why she felt the need to call me to her office. "Is there something else?"

"Yes, and that's why I called you down. Dr. Molinas did a deep investigation into Jim's DNA. He also looked into Jim's heritage. As you know, genetic science has advanced considerably over the last century."

"I'm aware of that," I told her. "So, what did Dr. Molinas find?"

"He discovered that Jim's heritage is pretty much what you might expect. He's part English, Dutch, German, French, and Native American. But there's about eight percent of his DNA that can't be identified or traced to any known nationality or ethnicity."

"Is this related to the anomalies you mentioned earlier?" I asked.

"Yes, but Dr. Molinas found something very interesting about those anomalies," Kyra teased.

"Oh? What?"

"He said they appear more plant-like than human," Kyra said. "And there does not appear to be anything cataloged on Earth that matches it."

"Plant? How is that possible?" I asked, shocked.

"According to Dr. Molinas, humans share a lot of genetic traits and DNA with plants. Believe it or not, we share about 50 percent of our DNA with bananas. And about 99 percent of our DNA can be found in lettuce. It appears the difference is in how those strands of DNA are sequenced and used. I don't understand it all myself, but it seems Jim shares part of his DNA with a species of plant no one has ever documented before."

"Thanks for that bit of trivia, dear. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat another banana or salad ever again without feeling like a cannibal," I joked, causing Kyra to chuckle. "You said these anomalies were even stronger in Jim's grandfather, right?"

"Yes," Kyra said.

"But no one knows who his biological father was, right?"

"Correct again, my dear Sherlock," Kyra joked back in a fake British accent.

"Do you think these anomalies might explain Jim's advanced intellect?"

"And his admitted high libido... It's entirely possible," Kyra stated.

"Interesting. Does Jim know about all this?"

"He's aware of the anomalies, but I don't think he's aware of... this," Kyra said. "I had planned to mention it to him after the test."

"When is the test?" I asked.

"If Dr. Simmons get everything set up today, I'd like to do it early tomorrow. The test itself will take three hours to complete, and he'll be put into an induced sleep," Kyra said.

"Alright. Let me know, please. I'd like to be here with him."

"Of course," Kyra said. I went about my business and briefed Jim and Leesa on the test, saying nothing about the DNA results. Kyra contacted me a couple of hours later to inform me everything was ready. I passed that on and arranged for Lt. Rios to man the Operations console until Jim could return.

"Is everything alright with the Commander?" the lieutenant asked.

"Yes, we're just running some tests, but he'll be gone for about three to four hours," I said.

"No problem, sir," Rios said. "I'll be happy to fill in for Cmdr. Decker."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate that," I said. After Leesa's briefing the following morning, I accompanied Jim to the sick bay and met Kyra and Dr. Simmons. Jim entered the small room and changed into the open-back hospital gown. After climbing under the covers, Dr. Simmons and a nurse attached electrodes to his head and chest as Kyra prepared the equipment.

Dr. Simmons placed a wave generator on Jim's head and turned it on. Kyra wanted Jim asleep for the test, but she didn't want any standard sedatives used for the process. Jim was asleep within a couple of minutes, and the test began.

I paced back and forth for the next three hours as Kyra worked the computer that collected the data from Jim's mind. She and Dr. Simmons kept a close eye on the monitors that displayed Jim's vital statistics - heartbeat, blood pressure, and so on.

"Please sit down, dear. You're driving me nuts," Kyra eventually said. I sat next to her, exasperated.

"Sorry," I said.

"It's alright. Jim's fine. We're just collecting data right now, and we're almost done," Kyra explained. Eventually, the testing ended. Dr. Simmons and a nurse went into the small room and disconnected the electrodes from Jim's body as he slowly returned to the real world. He sat up on the bed and yawned, stretching his arms.