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Jim followed the sounds of cheering into the cafeteria area. What greeted him is the sight of every table and chair pushed up against the edges of the room and a wide variety of officers and crewmembers from almost every station of the USS Enterprise, gathered at the centre playing a game.
“No! Sulu, how could you miss that throw? It was right there in front of you,” came the normally dulcet voice of Arlene Wong from the Sciences division. Now, however, she was yelling at his poor lieutenant out of pure annoyance and frustration.
And, looking at the state of their game, Jim fully understood why. They were playing kubb and Sulu and Wong’s team was pathetically behind, having only one wooden block left on their side, while their opponents from the Operations division had a full five as well as the two out of four others Sulu and Wong had to throw over the middle line. Cupcake and Ensign Brackett looked mightily satisfied with themselves from the opposite side of the playing pitch.
From the sidelines, he could see credits already exchanging hands between onlookers.
With a huff and shake of his head, he walked further into the room and watched the brutal ending of the game. Cupcake had the first throw, easily hitting the last block on their opponent’s back line. Wong let out a loud groan as Cupcake and Brackett cheered and high fived. Then, Brackett threw one of her batons, just barely missing the king piece in the middle of the playing pitch. Her next baton hit it straight on and knocked it over.
“Yes! Great throwing, Brackett. Fantastic hit,” Cupcake said, easily picking Brackett up and spinning her around in a circle. On the other end, Wong rolled her eyes, and threw a playful sneer at her opponents, while Sulu just laughed it off.
Jim couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped him at the sight. Moments like these truly were what kept the crew as close-knit as they were.
“Captain,” greeted Spock from his left, and Jim jumped a bit, having not even noticed the other had entered behind him. He nodded his own hello at Spock, trying to calm his heart down from the shock.
“Commander,” he said. “Enjoying the game?”
Spock tilted his head at him, before glancing back at the playing area. “Breach of protocol of playing in the cafeteria aside, I find myself interested in the rules of this peculiar game.”
Jim let out another huff, shaking his head. Typical Spock.
“The rules? It’s easy, each team has five wooden blocks that they must stand and throw behind. First you knock your opponents blocks down with the six batons. If you succeed, they throw the block over to your half of the pitch, which they must then first topple, before they can continue throwing after your blocks again. And if your opponent has any pieces on your half of the pitch, you can throw from that piece. Once a team has knocked down all of their opponents’ pieces, they can throw the batons at the king in the middle,” he explains, still keeping an eye on the game that is now being tidied up and readied for another play.
Peripherally, he sees Spock nod along, as well as a few other non-human crewmembers who focus on the game with renewed interest.
Jim’s mouth tilts up in a smirk, and he turns his head fully towards Spock. “Fancy a game?” he asks, watching that competitive spark ignite in his first officer’s eyes.
Without saying a word, Spock merely deigns him with an answering nod. They both make their way to the game pitch, where new teams are being made, and end up on opposite sides.
With the first throw, Jim topples the piece right at Spock’s feet, and watches the Vulcan’s nostrils flare up.
Needless to say, when the game is over, James T. Kirk is the proud winner and Spock immediately demands a rematch.