Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The USS Rising Sun was the newest ship of her class. It was fitted with the latest warp drive technology and the newly federation-approved jump drive — what was essentially a giant slingshot capable of throwing the ship across the fabric of time.

The crew of 512 were a mix of seasoned officers and new graduates. At the helm was Captain Kim Namjoon and his first officer, Lieutenant Commander Min Yoongi. This was their second five-year mission together and the prestige of being selected to lead the newest starship in the fleet wasn't taken lightly by either of them.

Their mission was business as usual. They would take advantage of the ship's latest technology to travel to the edge of the known galaxy and continue the Federation's pursuit to discover what lay beyond.

Even with the fastest warp drive in the fleet, the journey to said edge of the known galaxy was a slow one, two months in Earth time. In that window, the crew all got to know each other better, to begin the process of growing into a family that would need to rely and trust each other implicitly for the next few years.

Chief Engineering Officer Kim Taehyung had worked with most of his crew before and had no problems getting to know the couple of new faces, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed cadets eager to learn and please. They were using this initial down time doing a lot of research and prep for how to use the jump drive. The technology was extremely new and though vetted, most of it had been done in controlled environments and never with a ship of Rising Sun's size nor as big a distance as they would be attempting. This was the first time out in the wild and Taehyung didn't want anything to surprise his team. They were scheduled to perform an initial test with it once they reached their destination. Further from the center of the galaxy, there was more and more dead space that stretched for millions of light years. A good playground to jump around the spacetime continuum.

He met one of the medical officers for dinner. Park Jimin had graduated from Starfleet Academy in the same class as him and they had been stationed together ever since then. Taehyung was human, born and raised on-planet, a rarity these days. Jimin was from a different class M planet, looking almost the same as any other human being except everyone from his planet was drop dead gorgeous and could seduce any species in the blink of an eye. They slept together at the academy, of course. Just a few times to relieve the stress of courses and exams, when Taehyung had been staring at numbers for so long he didn't know up from down any longer.

"I'm going to catch Seokjin in the act one day," said Jimin right as he sat down. "I don't know why he bothers to put up an act, but I can see right through him."

Kim Seokjin was the Chief Medical Officer, also human but born and raised on one of Starfleet's space stations. Jimin, however, was convinced he couldn't be human with that kind of face. It had been two years since Seokjin and Jimin began working together and no matter what, Jimin refused to believe Seokjin didn't have non-human DNA.

"You've seen him naked," said Taehyung. At the end of the day, no one could hide an alien dick. And Seokjin's, while still impressive, was inarguably human.

"Some species have the ability to camouflage."

Taehyung knew Jimin wasn't going to let it go and changed the subject to ask if Jimin was going to join the soccer intramural tournament coming up. It was a less controversial topic and they moved on to chatting about work. They were joined in the middle of their conversation by one of the ship's pilots, a half-Android named Jeon Jungkook. He was young, but had been caught in a life-threatening accident during a training gone wrong. The recent advancements in android technology was the only thing that had saved his life. His favorite trick was to turn his fake eye red like the old classic Terminator movies.

"Hey, I figured out the thing with that other thing," said Jungkook as he plopped down next to them.

"Ah yes, of course, the thing with the other thing," said Taehyung.

Jungkook rolled his eyes, already scarfing down his food. His mouth was still half full when he spoke. "The quantum equation that we couldn't get to balance. We weren't factoring the changes to gravitational pull in the right spot." He swallowed. "I'm gonna run some models tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure it'll work."

"Pretty sure," said Jimin, pulling a face. "That instills confidence."

"If you want to figure out how to pilot the most advanced starship in the known galaxy through a timehole, be my guest," Jungkook said, unperturbed.

This time Jimin rolled his eyes and mocked Jungkook, stealing the cookie off Jungkook's tray for himself. It annoyed Jimin that Jungkook seemed to be the only person who never gave into his wiles. He often blamed it on Jungkook's android half, but Taehyung's seen Jungkook go googly-eyed plenty of times around Seokjin and his co-pilot, Jung Hoseok.

They ran into the latter on their way out. Hoseok called out to them and jogged up, slinging an arm around Jungkook whose ears went a bit pink. "Jungkook! My favorite little android pilot. When are we running more simulations?" The antennae on top of his head seemed to reach out for Jungkook too.

"Soon," said Jungkook before excitedly going on a tangent about the new simulation scenarios he just downloaded from the Starfleet network ("One of them goes through a plasma storm!"). Hoseok laughed and led Jungkook away with him with a smoothness Taehyung was a bit envious of and said as much to Jimin.

Jimin laughed as they left the mess hall. "What are you jealous of? It's not like you need it."

That was true, but Taehyung didn't think it would hurt either.

"Taehyung."

Both of them turned around at the familiar voice. "Captain," said Taehyung, while Jimin just gave a small smile. It was subtle, but he saw how Namjoon's gaze lingered on Jimin for a moment too long.

"I'd like to get an update on the jump test preparations tomorrow. Heard some of the equations were giving us trouble? I don't want us getting spliced out there or lost in limbo before we even start."

Taehyung nodded. "Jungkook's been making some promising progress. You can stop by whenever you're free."

"Good. Carry on."

"Captain," said Jimin, abandoning Taehyung as he joined Namjoon to wherever he was headed. "Have you eaten yet?"

Taehyung shook his head, smiling. Flirting with your commanding officer was most definitely not allowed per the Starfleet handbook, but Jimin was often an exception to many rules.

As a high-ranking officer, Taehyung had one of the larger quarters on the ship. It was decorated with lots of comforts from Earth: the blanket his grandmother hand-knit, hanging plants indigenous to the planet, and photos Taehyung had taken over the years framed on the walls. And in between his things: old, leather bound books, a framed certificate from the Vulcan Science Academy, a display case of what Taehyung often said was just a pile of rocks purely to see the indignation it caused.

Taehyung stepped into the en suite for a quick shower. When he came out, toweling his hair dry, the doors whooshed open again.

Lieutenant Commander Min Yoongi was unassuming in some ways, but intimidating in others. Contrary to many Vulcans, he was a bit shorter than even Taehyung and most didn't believe his genetic background until they saw the quintessentially Vulcan ears. The respect he held with the crew was different than Namjoon, who had a talent for boosting morale and motivating the crew to achieve their best, but Yoongi was someone who instilled trust moments after meeting. Taehyung was one of them.

Taehyung was also Yoongi's husband.

"You're back," said Taehyung, draping the towel around his neck. He met Yoongi halfway, who hummed in acknowledgement, and dropped a kiss to Yoongi's forehead, smiling when he saw Yoongi's eyes flutter shut. "How was the meeting with Starfleet Command?"

One of Yoongi's sacrifices as second-in-command was dealing with the bureaucratic side of things. "Business as usual. They are eager for the jump test results."

"No pressure, just the entire Federation waiting on us," said Taehyung, dragging the towel through his hair one more time before tossing it down the laundry chute. He went over to the vanity to brush it out so it wasn't impossible to deal with the next day. "Don't you think it's a little weird though?"

"Hm?" Yoongi changed into pajamas, always eager to get out of the clingy uniforms.

"How much Starfleet is focusing on the jump drive. I know it's the first time outside of a test environment, but they did test it. I thought ours was simply going to be some sort of warm up for the ship's health, but Command is focusing on it a little too much for that to be the case. Don't you think?"

"There is a lot of attention on it," said Yoongi, sitting on the bed. "But it is not abnormal given the newness of the technology."

"Well, I think it's weird," said Taehyung, joining Yoongi and immediately cuddling up to him, dropping his head onto Yoongi's shoulder. He felt Yoongi tense for a split second before relaxing. It took a long time when they first began dating for Taehyung to believe when Yoongi said he didn't mind the physical affection, that his body would probably always react defensively to it until his mind caught up to know it was Taehyung. It became easier to believe after Yoongi spent a night taking him apart until he barely knew up from down. "They know how long it will take for us to reach the test site. Why are they being so pushy asking for updates every other day?"

Yoongi hummed. "Those are valid points," he said, his breath soft against Taehyung's forehead. "I will see if I can obtain more information."

"You're the best," said Taehyung and kissed the corner of Yoongi's mouth. "Are you tired?"

Yoongi's eyebrow arched delicately. "As it is nearing time for us to retire, it would be logical that I am."

"But are you?" said Taehyung, punctuating his words by slipping his hand into Yoongi's. It was very subtle, but Taehyung could read Yoongi like no one else after years of being together, so he saw the way Yoongi's breath hitched. He thought Yoongi's hands were gorgeous and knew Yoongi had a thing for his too.

Watching Yoongi's face, Taehyung eased Yoongi's palm open and traced circles over it, pressing his thumb against the rise of flesh under Yoongi's. Then, gently, he brushed his index and middle fingers along Yoongi's at the same time he kissed Yoongi's cheek. He stroked Yoongi's fingers like that until Yoongi finally angled his head and allowed their lips to meet.

Yoongi always liked to complain about how insatiable Taehyung was, but when it mattered he was the one who led. Like now, pushing Taehyung onto his back and pressing his hands to the bed as their kiss went from chaste to filled with intent. Taehyung was so wrapped up in it he hardly noticed Yoongi stripping him of his pajamas until he was completely naked while Yoongi was still clothed.

Taehyung was adamant that Yoongi consumed tomes of explicit literature in between all the scientific publications he kept up with. If not, then it was actually more terrifying all the ways he was able to do things that left Taehyung speechless. He stared at the ceiling and listened to Yoongi move with minimal noise followed by the soft click of a bottle cap. He felt the touch of Yoongi's fingers, but shook his head and Yoongi kissed his temple as an answer.

Sometimes Taehyung liked it this way, with a bit of discomfort, just enough so he could really feel Yoongi fill him up. The care Yoongi still showed him eased that discomfort quickly and his body relaxed until he could feel Yoongi's hips pressed against him.

The softness of Yoongi's pajamas against the inside of Taehyung's thighs left his head spinning. The sliver of skin he could see above Yoongi's collar was already beginning to flush green. Yoongi held onto Taehyung's thighs and straightened so he could get enough leverage, thrusting at exactly the right angle to make Taehyung see stars. It was sexy in its own way, he supposed, to have a partner who could calculate the angle he needed to fuck Taehyung no matter what position they were in.

Yoongi was fully capable of prolonging things, teasing Taehyung until he was on the verge of tears, but not tonight. They both had to report to alpha shift again tomorrow. But not taking things slow drove Taehyung crazy for different reasons as the targeted assault on all the right buttons to push overwhelmed him and all he could do was take it.

Yoongi always waited for Taehyung to finish first. His stamina was a blessing and a curse, but more the former right now as Taehyung careened toward an orgasm that left him lightheaded and coasted on the aftershocks until he felt Yoongi spill inside him. He clung to Yoongi afterwards and Yoongi allowed it without complaint, knowing well by now that Taehyung always needed this physical comfort for a while.

By the time Taehyung crawled under the covers, he was yawning and smiled sleepily when Yoongi gave him a look which to anyone else would have seemed neutral but Taehyung could tell was exasperation.

"I see you are tired now," said Yoongi and told the computer to dim the lights. Taehyung curled up against his side and pressed his nose to the curve of Yoongi's neck.

"Mm, absolutely exhausted from all that strenuous activity I just did."

Yoongi took Taehyung's hand and held it against his chest. Taehyung moved it lower so he could feel Yoongi's heartbeat.

"I know we've barely started this mission, but what do you think about going to Xera for our annual leave?" It was one of the newer planets which just joined the Federation and the beaches were glorious, with pink sand and the ocean turquoise.

"We can consider it. My mother also expressed a need for me to return home soon."

"Really? Why?" Yoongi's mother was Vulcan while his father was from Earth. Usually it was his dad who missed seeing Yoongi and asked for visits. If his mother was making the request, there had to be a reason behind it.

"She did not say," said Yoongi. "Only that it was important, but not urgent."

"Well, all right," said Taehyung, pulling the blankets up higher. "I guess I haven't seen your parents since the wedding." That was over two Earth years ago.

"You would not be obligated to join me."

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to get away from your husband."

"No, that was not my implication. I merely mean that—"

Taehyung covered Yoongi's mouth, laughing softly. "I know what you meant. And if I go with you it's because I want to."

Yoongi smoothed his thumb over the back of Taehyung's hand. "We can discuss when leave approaches."

Taehyung nodded and leaned up for one more kiss before settling in to sleep, surrounded by the stillness and stars.

+

"I got it!"

Taehyung looked up from his station where the computer was still running through models. The ship had left port with a couple of recently discovered elements that held potential as energy sources and he was figuring out how they could be used on the next generation of starships.

Jungkook ran in, grinning and wide-eyed. "I have the final algorithm for the jump test!" He shoved his datapad under Taehyung's face. "You don't have to thank me, I'm a genius, I know."

Taehyung reviewed the results, confirming that it met all the requirements. "Good job," he said, shooting Jungkook a smile who stopped thrumming — literally — in excitement to blush. "Send me a copy. I'll include it in my report to the captain later."

Officer Jeon Jungkook to the bridge.

Jungkook's eyes widened and he took his datapad back to look at the time. "Shit, I'm late! Hoseok's gonna kill me." He spun around and ran out of the room as fast as he had come. "Bye! See you at dinner!"

A few of the other engineers chuckled and Taehyung smiled to himself, settling behind his station again.

Just another day in the office.

+

They were two stardates out from the test site. Namjoon called a meeting with all the commanding officers to review the plan.

"I don't know why I need to be here," said Seokjin before the meeting began. "If something goes wrong, even my amazing skills can't help. There's no surgery available for when your body splices into two different dimensions."

"No one will be spliced." Namjoon accepted the computer's request to connect Starfleet command. Holograms of the Admiral and his second-in-command were projected into the two empty seats.

"Captain," the Admiral said, lips pulled into a tight barely there smile. Taehyung had always found him cold and unfriendly, mostly because he never laughed at his jokes and anyone who didn't find him charming was suspicious. "Am I correct to hear that the jump test will finally be proceeding as expected?"

"Yes, Admiral," said Namjoon. "Our team has worked out the final calculations and the entire crew has already run through three successful simulations. There will be no surprises for the real thing."

"Good. We are all relying on the Rising Sun to exceed expectations."

Taehyung frowned a little. This was a pass/fail kind of test, so he didn't know what was meant by that. Despite Yoongi following through on his promise to find out more from Command, they hadn't budged on giving any more information. Their narrative this whole time had been that this would just be another standard live test like all the ones before it.

"Admiral," said Taehyung, catching Namjoon and Yoongi looking over at him out the corner of his eye. "My understanding is this will be a straight forward test. We will jump to just outside orbit of Yorktown base, confirm communication with Central, then jump back. Could you clarify what other expectations you have?"

The Admiral stared at Taehyung for a moment before answering. "Nothing ulterior, Lieutenant. What you just laid out is exactly what I expect."

Taehyung nodded, knowing he wasn't going to get any other answer. His suspicions were running even higher than before and he was impatient for the meeting to end so he could ask if the others got the same questionable vibe.

Once the connection died, Taehyung sighed heavily and started at Namjoon. "Don't tell me you actually believed that bullshit just now."

"Taehyung," said Yoongi, but Namjoon waved him off.

"Yoongi told me about your concerns," said Namjoon, folding his hands in front of him. "And I see what you mean."

"So you agree with me?"

Namjoon pressed his lip together. "I think there is something they're not telling us, yes."

"I'm going to take that as agreement," said Taehyung, smug. Across the table, Yoongi's brow went up, the one which Taehyung considered the equivalent of an eye roll.

"I want every team to triple check their tests and data," said Namjoon, looking around the room. "We're not moving forward with the jump test unless we can say with certainty it will be successful. If there's even a sliver of inconsistency or doubt, I'm calling it off."

The meeting adjourned and Taehyung waited for Yoongi in the corridor. "Are you going to tell me I'm worrying too much and causing trouble?"

"Have you ever known me to think that of you?" Yoongi said, allowing their knuckles to brush together as they walked. "You are concerned for the safety of the crew. I will not criticize you for such a thing."

Taehyung smiled and grabbed Yoongi's hand, threading their fingers together tightly. Yoongi made a short, flustered noise that Taehyung found absolutely adorable. "That's why I love you."

Yoongi's cheeks bloomed with green, like wild grass coming back to life after the winter.

"I will see you at dinner," said Yoongi, parting ways in the elevator bay. He would head up to the bridge while Taehyung returned down to the engineering bay.

Taehyung nodded and glanced around. They were more or less alone though one of the elevators was going to stop at their section soon. He leaned in quickly and kissed Yoongi, just on the corner of his mouth, but lingered as long as he dared. "See you at dinner," he said just as Yoongi's elevator arrived and he walked backwards with a knowing smile tugging at his lips.

+

The entire crew pushed through multiple shifts to run as many scenarios through the computer model over the next two days. Taehyung double-checked his team's work and had them check his.

Across all departments, nothing was out of the ordinary. The computer spit out all the right answers and in the end, there was nothing Namjoon had as reason to not run the jump test. Taehyung still couldn't shake his unease about it, but knew where Namjoon was coming from.

Taehyung joined everyone on the bridge as the final checks and calculations were done.

"Hoseok, how does she look?" said Namjoon, easing into the captain's chair.

"All systems green, sir," said Hoseok, monitoring the shields and engines. "The drive is in standby, reading for jump whenever you are."

"Jungkook?"

Next to Hoseok at the helm, Jungkook's fingers flew across the screen, checking their jump formula one more time. "All good, sir," he said, giving a little salute after.

"That's what I like to hear. Input coordinates for Yorktown." Namjoon pressed a button on his armrest to broadcast to the entire ship. "Attention all crew, blue alert. Prepare for jump." He nodded to Jungkook and Hoseok afterward. "At your mark, gentleman."

Taehyung stared into the black abyss in front of him, not even a single star in sight. For the first time, he felt claustrophobic and reached out for Yoongi's hand next to him before he realized he'd done it. He knew he was all but blasting his feelings at him, unable to control it when he was stressed out. If Yoongi was bothered by it, he didn't show it and instead squeezed back just as hard.

"Coordinates confirmed," said Jungkook, grinning at Hoseok who grinned back.

"Jump activation in five, four, three, two, one."

Hoseok and Jungkook both placed their palms on their stations for verification. The jump drive wouldn't activate without it. Hoseok pulled the lever and all of a sudden Taehyung felt like his insides were trying to get sucked out right through his skin. The vision of the infinite blackness in front of Taehyung warped and twisted slowly until it blinked out of view. He struggled to stay upright, the split-second of having his entire body pulled through time unsurprisingly difficult to deal with. When everything steadied again, he frowned.

Namjoon stood up slowly. "Where's Yorktown?" Instead of a bustling space station, there was nothing but the same endless void. "Why didn't we jump?"

Jungkook frowned and stared blankly through the forward windows before frantically running through his equation. "I — we did. Sir, the coordinates aren't the same."

"If they're not the same, then where are we?"

"I — I don't know, sir." The computer in front of Jungkook was a mess of gibberish.

"Figure it out, Ensign."

Jungkook's hands moved even faster.

"Sir, there's an unidentified starship in the vicinity," said Hoseok. "Radar says it's right in front of us, but…"

They all looked into the quiet silence of space, not a single thing in sight.

"...Stand by, red alert."

Taehyung's gaze snapped over to Namjoon who was back in his captain's chair, broadcasting to the entire ship to cover their stations, the alarms blaring.

"Captain," their communications officer, a pink-skinned alien named Baekhyun, said. There was unease thick in his usually chipper voice. "We're being hailed."

"On screen, please," said Namjoon.

The screen before them flickered, static running across the glass, and then everyone on the bridge froze when the image finally stabilized, some gasping in shock. Taehyung didn't even know how to react, feeling like he was having some out of body experience.

Because on screen was Namjoon's face.

"Captain." This person with Namjoon's face and Namjoon's voice smirked. "It is good to finally meet you."

"Who are you?" said Namjoon. "Show yourselves."

"That won't be necessary. I just wanted to have a little chat."

"All right. Where have you brought us?"

Not-Namjoon laughed. "Where have we brought you? We didn't do anything. You brought yourselves here."

"But you were waiting," said Namjoon and Taehyung was inclined to agree. To stumble upon a starship by pure chance was practically impossible.

"You catch on quickly, Captain," Not-Namjoon said. "Good to know I'm not an idiot even where you're from."

A sense of foreboding crept up on Taehyung. He recalled the case studies they reviewed at Starfleet Academy about the parallel universe the infamous USS Enterprise had first encountered centuries ago. Even though the science was sound, it still felt like legend because the idea that in another universe, another dimension, there existed an identical version of him and everyone he knew was difficult to swallow.

But here it was, literally staring them in the face.

Namjoon went to speak again, but Hoseok interrupted to say quietly, "Sir, I think someone is trying to override the energizer protocols."

"Taehyung, Yoongi," said Namjoon under his breath.

"We will go investigate," said Yoongi. Taehyung was already holding his hand over his phaser.

They left, though Taehyung knew they were being watched carefully by the other ship's captain on screen. Whatever they were about to walk into was a trap, but they had no other choice. They didn't speak on the way down, though Taehyung could tell Yoongi was positioning himself in the way first, shielding Taehyung a bit, as they approached the energizer bay.

It was too quiet with the flashing lights of the red alert the only movement. Taehyung held his phaser out, palms sweating. He had trained for this, of course, they all had, but having to deal with a real threat was few and far between.

A couple of men from security approached from the other side. Yoongi gave hand signals for them to hold just short of the door, listening for anything suspicious. There was nothing but more silence, so he gave the sign and they entered to find an empty room.

Taehyung went over to the energizer control panel to check that there hadn't been any tampering. He'd barely glanced down when an incoming transport initiated and in the blink of an eye, their two security personnel were stunned and fell unconscious to the ground. Yoongi yelled his name and Taehyung fumbled to raise his phaser.

If seeing someone with Namjoon's face was shocking enough, Taehyung didn't know what to say or think when he realized the individuals standing on the transport pad were near identical copies of him and Yoongi.

"Oh, look at this welcoming committee," Other Taehyung said, and Taehyung let out a shudder at hearing his own voice from his own face. "Cute. Isn't it cute, Suga?"

The Other Yoongi — Suga? — ignored the comment and approached without any fear even as Taehyung aimed his phaser directly at his head. Taehyung flinched though, his mind finding it difficult to process that he was pointing a weapon at Yoongi's face, even though he knew it wasn't him.

It was so disorienting. They looked exactly like them, except a little more rundown. His double's hair was longer, unkempt like he rolled out of bed and ran his hand through it in lieu of a comb. Suga had a long scar running down the side of his face. Taehyung tried to catalogue the other differences, catching an insignia sewn onto their uniforms but unable to make out what it said until Suga came close enough that he was right in front of Taehyung's phaser.

"Why act as if you will shoot when we all know you will not?" Suga said, though Taehyung still didn't lower his phaser. He glanced at the insignia on Suga's chest, the tiny neat lettering declaring Long Live the Terran Empire, a badge which he'd only read about and never once thought he would actually see. "Put it down. Taehyung."

"Do not say his name," said Yoongi and Suga rolled his eyes, showing annoyance that Taehyung's never seen his own Yoongi do.

"What shall I call him then? Boy?"

"You will say nothing but state your business trespassing on this ship."

"Look at that," Other Taehyung said, crossing his arms and looking amused somehow. "You have a backbone here too. And you were worried."

Their words implied they had indeed been expecting the Rising Sun to be here, though Taehyung still wasn't sure where 'here' was.

"There is no use in defending yourself," Suga said, nudging Taehyung's arm down himself. Taehyung could see the tension in Yoongi's jaw out the corner of his eye. "If you hurt us, we have an entire brigade just waiting to warp to our location and destroy you."

"What do you want from us?" said Taehyung, leaving the phaser lowered, but flipped it to kill mode. Suga smirked when he saw. "What did you do to bring us here?"

"I believe our captain already told yours, we did not bring you here. You somehow came here on your own."

Other Taehyung laughed suddenly and stepped off the transporter pad. "Oh, you don't know anything, do you?" He had a couple small scars on his right cheek and a larger one on his hand which disappeared up his sleeve. "What exactly do they teach you over there?" He came up next to Suga, propping an elbow on his shoulder much to Suga's annoyance and brought his other hand up to caress Taehyung cheek.

Taehyung jerked back, but not fast enough. Other Taehyung brought his face closer despite Yoongi's phaser trained steadily on him. They were close enough that Taehyung could see the specks in his eyes and for a chilling moment really thought he was seeing himself.

"You're even prettier than me, sunshine," Other Taehyung said, running his thumb along Taehyung's jaw. "Wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant Commander?"

Suga only had time to smirk before Yoongi shoved them both away.

"Oh, all right, possessive," said Other Taehyung, dragging a hand through his untamed hair. He pointed a thumb at Suga. "Can't say this one isn't the same."

"You have always been delusional, V," said Suga, sneering. The name felt awkward when Taehyung repeated it in his head.

There had been so many chances to shoot them, but for some reason Taehyung couldn't get his arms to lift to do so. He didn't know what Yoongi's reason was.

"Stop stalling and tell us why you have trespassed," said Yoongi. Taehyung stepped closer to him.

"Bold words for a starship harnessing an energy capable of propelling itself through time. You are in our territory, not the other way around." Suga touched Taehyung's face the way V did. Taehyung fought a wince. "You are carrying precious cargo which belongs to us."

"Impossible," said Taehyung. The truth had already been undeniable, that the most logical conclusion was that their ship had entered the mirror universe, one where all the crew of the Rising Sun instead served a less peaceful federation. But to hear it verbally confirmed was still discomforting. "We have never crossed paths before. Nothing on this ship could have ever belonged to you."

"No?" said Suga, dropping his hand. "How well would you like to test that theory?" His tone wasn't just for show. The confidence he had was real and Taehyung had a lot more questions about, well, everything.

Before he could ask, Namjoon burst in with more of the ship's security backing him. One look at the bodies stunned on the floor and how close they were to Taehyung and he was ordering them taken away. They didn't even look surprised and went without fuss, though V kept staring at Taehyung over his shoulder until he was dragged out of view.

"Are you all right?" said Namjoon, visually checking both Taehyung and Yoongi for harm, but they were fine. He called for medical to come and tend to the stunned security officers.

"Are we safe capturing them like that?" said Taehyung, recalling the threat of summoning backup. "Did you find out where we are?"

"Jungkook confirmed, but you probably already have an idea," said Namjoon, running a hand through his hair. He seemed haggard already.

"We have entered the same parallel universe as the USS Enterprise and Discovery did in Starfleet's archives," said Yoongi, calm as always. The only indication the interaction just now had him ruffled was the tight grip he had on Taehyung's hand. "Or, a mirrored reality, if you will. Our counterparts have followed a life trajectory based on a very different timeline."

Namjoon nodded, managing a wry laugh too. "I have suspicions this is what the Admiral had been hiding from us. What I have not figured out is why."

"They said we have precious cargo of theirs," said Taehyung.

"I received similar information from my...counterpart," said Namjoon, rubbing his jaw. "But I think their claim of having an army at their disposal is a bluff and that we haven't been alerted of further activity in the area is proof. Whatever it is they think is aboard this ship, it's critical to them."

"What is your evidence?" said Yoongi.

Namjoon smiled, a bit self-deprecating. "I know what hidden desperation looks like on my own face. They want me to come aboard."

"You cannot," said Yoongi, his face tensing which was the most outward concern Taehyung had seen from him. "We do not know what they want, what they are capable of doing."

Namjoon held up a hand. "I know. We have a few hours to figure something out. Do you think our new friends will help?"

"Perhaps," said Yoongi, looking to Taehyung for agreement. "They could have harmed us but did not. They need us alive for now."

Namjoon nodded. "I don't want to keep them in the brig. We need to earn their trust and get them to reveal what's really going on. I gave orders to security to strip them of weapons and inject trackers. Since they're, well, you…"

"Taehyung and I can handle them."

Taehyung didn't quite have Yoongi's confidence, but understood the situation.

"Good," said Namjoon, turning to leave. "They'll be escorted to one of the guest quarters on deck five. I want a status update as soon as you have it."

The silence when it was just Taehyung and Yoongi left in the transporter room seemed deafening afterward. Yoongi came over and cradled Taehyung's face, an extraordinarily open gesture considering they weren't in their quarters. "Are you all right?"

Taehyung smiled and nodded. "Nothing I couldn't handle," he said, tipping his head forward to rest against Yoongi's. "You?"

"I did not like seeing them threaten you."

Taehyung wrapped his arms around Yoongi's waist and hugged him tightly. "They weren't going to hurt me. They wanted a reaction from us."

Yoongi breathed in deep. He didn't hug back, but that was all right. The fact that he was allowing Taehyung to hold him like this, even if they were alone right now, was enough for Taehyung to know just how shook up he had been. "We should go," said Yoongi, stepping away hesitantly after a few moments. "We do not have much time."

Nodding, Taehyung squeezed Yoongi's hands, then put a respectable distance between them again. "We'll figure it out."

They made their way to deck five. The guest wing was cordoned off and there were security guards stationed outside one of the rooms. They acknowledged Taehyung and Yoongi when they arrived.

"Any issues?" Taehyung said, but the guard shook his head.

"None, sir, but please be careful."

Taehyung smiled. "We will, Soobin." He patted the guard's shoulder and gestured for them to open the doors.

Taehyung didn't think anything else could have shocked him more than discovering an alternate reality and meeting his counterparts, but he was proven wrong. The doors swished open and he stepped inside, faltering in the entryway when he saw the other versions of them on the bed, V in Suga's lap. They were kissing quite lewdly, tongues visible, and didn't stop until Yoongi cleared his throat.

"Oh, hello," said V, licking his lips as he glanced over his shoulder. He got up and approached them. "So thoughtful of you two to join us again." Unlike in the transporter room, he went to Yoongi this time and reached for his hand, but Yoongi stepped back. V frowned. "What's this? Are you two not fucking back in your world?"

"It is not your concern," said Yoongi.

Suga snorted and leaned back. "Did you fail to notice their rings? They do much more than fuck."

V glanced down at Yoongi's hand, then over at Taehyung's, his expression darkening for a second before he pasted on a forced smile. "How romantic."

"Do not overstep our hospitality," said Yoongi. "Tell us what you want. You have not overtaken our ship and the evidence suggests you do not have access to an armada at all. You are alone out here. Why?"

V rolled his eyes and went back to sit next to Suga. "Our information is not free."

"This is not a situation where you have the upper hand."

Suga smiled thinly. "You do not have the evidence to make such a definitive claim."

It was unnerving knowing that there was now someone who might have the ability to best Yoongi at his own logic. Taehyung fought to not show his concern, but he was worried. It was true that they didn't have evidence in either direction. They didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, but they couldn't rule out that the presence of their counterparts was just a distraction for something bigger. That was what Namjoon was working on right now to figure out.

It would be a better use of Yoongi to have him with Namjoon, but Taehyung suspected Namjoon knew Yoongi would have never allowed Taehyung to come here alone even if the risk of danger was low.

"What do you want then?" said Taehyung. "In exchange for information."

Suga's gaze slid over and he stared openly at Taehyung. "You were right," he said, speaking to V even though he was still looking at Taehyung. "He is prettier here."

He rose to his feet and approached Taehyung without hesitation or fear of what might happen to him, even when Yoongi clearly put his hand on his phaser.

"Calm down," said Suga, smirking. "Are you afraid I might hurt your precious husband? You should not have put your weakness on such obvious display. There are plenty of species out there who would be all too happy to take advantage."

"Others are not my concern right now," said Yoongi, pulling Taehyung back by the wrist.

Suga snorted. It was so startling to see such a range of emotion from someone who shared Yoongi's face. "If you are so worried I might hurt him, then let me ease your concern," he said, closing the distance between himself and Yoongi instead, stepping all the way into his personal space until their faces were mere inches apart. "Is this more acceptable, Lieutenant Commander?"

Taehyung had to appreciate Vulcan stoicism when Yoongi barely blinked. Only from years of knowing him could Taehyung see the tension in his jaw. But he wondered if Suga would be able to read Yoongi even better and didn't know how to feel about that possibility.

"Again," said Yoongi, as calm and even as ever. "State your business. Why did you come aboard this ship knowing you would be confined?"

"We have already provided the answer. You have something which belongs to us."

"Why did you not attack us in the transporter room and go in search of it? You had the upper hand." Suga stayed quiet and Yoongi tilted his head. "You do not know where it is. You may not even know what it is."

It was Suga's turn to show his displeasure, though the way the corners of his mouth tensed was much more obvious. However this alternate version of Yoongi grew up, it was not with the same discipline Yoongi had.

"What are you looking for?" said Taehyung. On many of their past missions, Taehyung had been the one the crew relied on to gain people's trust. He had an innate ability to convince others of his good intentions and could make friends across any species and race. He hoped that might still be true here and caught the eye of his counterpart. "You know how the Federation operates. We're a peace keeping ship. Tell us what you need and we will try our best to help."

Taehyung hadn't expected them to come around immediately and confess all, but he hadn't expected their expressions to sour so much either. Suga in particular, especially for a Vulcan, looked murderous. Yoongi's hand tightened on Taehyung's wrist.

"Peace? Help?" said Suga, spitting the words out as if they were poison. "You are pawns who know nothing of what your Federation does when no one is looking."

"Any ignorance you believe us to have will not be solved by further obscuring the truth," said Yoongi. "The crew of Rising Sun will always act without bias to the best of our ability."

"I see you are as sanctimonious as our history records make you out to be. Centuries later and you have not changed."

"But you don't have any other option, do you?" said Taehyung, drawing Suga's gaze again. "You don't want our help, but you need it."

When Suga didn't look like he was going to admit to it anytime this millennia, V came forward and put his hand on Suga's shoulder. "We don't have time," he said.

"We will invite your captain to board," said Yoongi. "There is no sense to this stand-off and if we have not harmed you then we will not harm him."

Yoongi didn't wait for acknowledgement and headed for the exit, pulling Taehyung with him. Only when they rounded the corner and were out of earshot from the security guarding the room did his steps slow. He wore an expression of deep concentration and Taehyung waited patiently, knowing that asking before Yoongi had finished thinking would only be a nuisance.

"We must go see Namjoon," said Yoongi finally and resumed a brisk pace. "Their comments about the Federation in addition to the concerns you brought up cannot be coincidence. There is truth in their words and I do not believe it was an accident which sent us here."

Namjoon was in his briefing room in what looked to be a frustrating conversation with Jungkook and Hoseok.

"Sir, the numbers are the source of truth. There was no miscalculation."

"Then why are we in a parallel universe, Ensign?"

"I don't know!" Jungkook looked like he was going to pop an electric panel. "We've run and rerun the models and they all say the same thing. That we should've jumped to Yorktown."

"The numbers do tell the truth," said Yoongi, making everyone look up. "But they are not the only factor. If the error is not in the calculation then it must be elsewhere."

Namjoon frowned. "What are you saying?"

"The jump drive itself could have been tampered with," said Hoseok slowly, the bridge of his nose wrinkling with worry. "You think that's a real possibility?"

"If we do not have evidence otherwise, we must treat it that way."

"How did your conversation with your friends go?" said Namjoon.

"They did not reveal much," said Yoongi, glancing at Taehyung. "But they revealed enough. Their reaction when Taehyung extended an offer to help was antagonistic and their opinion of the Federation is negative in a way which suggests their ire is personal, not engrained by rote memory."

Namjoon pressed his lips into a tight line. "Is that the direction we want to head in? That the Federation might be behind this? We have to tread very carefully here."

"We must go where the evidence leads us," said Yoongi. "Our conversation with Starfleet was the first warning."

Namjoon looked extremely unhappy, but still nodded. "We need to speak to their captain, but under our terms."

"Agreed. I believe our guests can be persuasive there."

"Good." Namjoon glanced at Taehyung, then looked at Jungkook and Hoseok. "I want you three to take that jump drive and anything that touches it apart. If someone's messed with it, I want to know exactly what they did." He turned back to Yoongi. "Let's go pay our new friends another visit."

Yoongi nodded and left with Namjoon immediately. Taehyung barely held back the urge to tell Yoongi to be careful. He trusted that Yoongi would be and didn't think Suga and V would suddenly cause harm, but in a time of crisis it was hard to be rational.

"Hyung?"

Taehyung snapped out of it and turned to Jungkook. "Right. Let's go, Ensign. We have work to do."

If Jungkook and Hoseok stayed a little closer to him than usual and if Jungkook slipped his hand into Taehyung's in the lift to Engineering, no one said a word about it.

+

In the end, Taehyung appreciated the task he and his team had been given. Poring through all the documentation on the jump drive required all of his focus and left no time to worry about where Yoongi was and what he might be doing.

In fact, the more they delved into the blueprints and logs from the initial build of the core, the more discrepancies they found which they never would have uncovered otherwise. The engineering crew had familiarised themselves on operation and maintenance of the new technology, the standard protocol. Data from the original assembly hadn't been relevant. But that was where the holes were. Dates which didn't match up to what they had been told, lines in the millions of rows of work logs which had clearly been manipulated after the fact.

Yoongi's theory had been right. Jungkook's algorithm was perfect, but it was never going to work when the jump drive itself was programmed at the lowest levels to override all input. The corrupt data was going to make it nearly impossible to reverse engineer. Nearly.

Jungkook wasn't the golden child on the crew for nothing.

"It's going to take a few days, but I think we can do it," said Jungkook, as serious as Taehyung had ever seen him as he scanned through hundreds of pages per minute. It was one benefit of his robotic eye. "I'm going to need Seokjin-hyung's help, though."

"Why do we need medical?" said Taehyung.

"The technology powering the jump drive in its raw form models a living organism more than anything else. Seokjin-hyung was the best in his class when it came to molecular xenobiology. We need someone who can understand and treat the energy source as if it's alive."

"He's not going to be happy about this," said Hoseok, amused.

"Tell him it's for me," said Jungkook with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what he's going to be unhappy about," said Hoseok, his antennae glowing pink as he laughed.

"Hyung!"

It made Taehyung feel better to see that Jungkook and Hoseok were still able to joke with each other. It gave him hope that there was a path forward, a path home.

"I'm going to brief the captain," said Taehyung, loading the relevant information onto a secured partition on the ship's drive. The settings would only allow him to access the information and it wouldn't be visible on the network at all. "Get Seokjin-hyung and bring him up to speed. When you have a plan of action, let me know."

Jungkook gave him a salute as he turned to leave.

"I get nervous when I see Taehyung so serious," Taehyung heard Hoseok say and he made himself keep walking before he could hear Jungkook's reply.

He didn't like having to be so on guard like this. It was such a foreign feeling when he would much rather be joking around with Jimin and Jungkook or flirting with Yoongi in public to see how much it would take to make his husband blush. Taehyung had moved up the ranks not because of his strong tactical ability, but because he was good at his job and at building a team. Yes, he had been trained in combat and battle strategy the way all of the crew had been, but ultimately the chances were supposed to be low that he would ever need them. Starfleet and the Federation were built on pillars of peacekeeping, research, and diplomacy. Taehyung was here because he wanted to explore, wanted to connect with the unknown at the edges of the universe, wanted to see with his own two eyes how his own existence was both miraculous and insignificant. He was not equipped in any sense of the word to go up against an alternate universe and the possibility that they had been betrayed by the very institution they have dedicated their lives to.

The Captain's briefing room was secured to top personnel only. Taehyung pressed his palm to the scanner and the doors opened with a hiss. He took two steps and stopped, caught off guard by the sight of Suga and V sitting there the way he and Yoongi usually would be, but also the addition of Namjoon's counterpart.

In fact, now that Taehyung had joined, everyone in the room had a twin.

"This is weird," said V and Taehyung hated that his natural response was to agree.

"Lieutenant," said Namjoon. "Do you have an update?"

"I — yes, sir," said Taehyung, but hesitated as he scanned over the room once more.

"You may speak freely," said Yoongi, gesturing for Taehyung to take the seat next to him. "We have come to a truce for now."

Taehyung looked to Namjoon who nodded for him to proceed. "Yes — we found evidence of tampering in the jump drive. Investigation is still ongoing, but the primary theory is that code at the root level overrode our initial inputs. We were sent here on purpose, sir."

The bridge of Namjoon's nose pinched in concern. He looked to Yoongi. "I suppose this all but confirms our suspicions about a group within the Federation being behind this."

Yoongi nodded and turned to Taehyung. "We have been informed that individuals in this universe have been mysteriously disappearing for some time. The only evidence left behind was discovered only recently in the form of very faint warping of dark matter near the quadrants those individuals were last seen. I will ask you to confirm my calculations to be sure, but after applying the Heilong multidimensional constant, the timings of the disappearances coincide with the Federation's test jump experiments."

Taehyung was unable to suppress his shock. "The Federation has been taking people from this universe? How? Why?"

"Those are supposed to be our lines," said V.

"The cargo you kept mentioning," said Taehyung.

"We have been developing technology to detect these dark matter disturbances," said Namjoon's duplicate. Taehyung spotted a tag on his uniform identifying him only as 'RM'. "Your ship was the first to trigger the alarm. Of course we assumed you were the culprit. The only reason we didn't ambush you was because we didn't know if the missing persons were on board."

"It would've been our pleasure otherwise to blow you to pieces," said V, mouthing a defensive 'what?' when Suga sighed next to him.

Namjoon dutifully ignored the comment and spoke to Taehyung again. "What are our options for getting back? Please tell me we have at least one option."

"Jungkook is already working on a plan with Seokjin. He needs to isolate the corrupt code and patch it, then calculate the trajectory home. The manuals don't cover jumping between dimensions."

Namjoon rubbed his temples and forced a smile. "Of course not."

"If the Federation sent us here, then we must be extra cautious about our return," said Yoongi. "Their plan is unlikely to involve abandoning a ship with such expensive technology on board."

Taehyung nodded. "I trust Jungkook not to miss anything, but I'll let him know to keep an eye out for anything suspicious related to bringing us back."

"You may trust him, but we do not," said Suga, speaking for the first time.

"What do you suggest then?" said Namjoon, even though he surely already knew. Taehyung figured they all knew.

"We bring our crew to work with yours," said RM. "Checks and balances — your universe is a big supporter, isn't it?"

The corner of Namjoon's mouth tightened. Taehyung had only seen that expression a handful of times over the years when missions with the landing crew went sideways. "I will allow it only under certain security measures. No weapons and all your crew must be accompanied at all times."

"Agreed."

Namjoon didn't look like he thought they would go along so easily. "Perfect. I suppose we will stand by to welcome your crew."

Taehyung didn't like the idea of more of them on their ship, but at the same time having more brain power wasn't unwelcome. What he despised the most, however, was knowing he and Yoongi would have to babysit Suga and V for even longer.

He told himself it was all for the greater good when V caught his eye over the table and smirked.

+

Seeing doubles of people Taehyung's known for ages didn't get less unnerving. Especially in this universe where some of the counterparts were almost completely different, like Hoseok whose double went by J-Hope, which Taehyung found misleading until he learned it was because his specialty was planting fear of the darkest sort into those who had been captured and removing their hope of ever making it out alive.

"I don't do it as much these days," J-Hope said with a forlorn sigh. "It's not like the good old days when the Enterprise first ended up here. Now it's all about pushing for due process and proof without a doubt of guilt. Who cares?"

Hoseok's antennae had turned a murky brown and he looked nauseous when told he had to chaperone J-Hope. His kind were touch empaths and many ended up in the medical field specifically to be able to help others. Taehyung couldn't fathom how Hoseok felt knowing there was a world where his species used their abilities to cause irreversible damage.

But others were easier to swallow, like Seokjin's double who oversaw their ship's morgue. It was a relief when he didn't speak of why they needed a chief officer for the dead.

Jimin's counterpart almost had Taehyung heaving up his breakfast. He was sent over not as part of the crew, but to keep RM company — as a pleasure slave. He didn't have a need for a fake name and waltzed onto the Rising Sun decorated in nothing but jewels. Taehyung had not been fast enough to stop their Jimin — who had been the only crew looking forward to their guests — from meeting the mirror version of himself and hadn't known what to do when he saw realization dawn on Jimin's face.

"You said slavery had been outlawed after humans had been forced into trade by the Klingons," said Taehyung to V, furious after seeing Jimin turn heel and run off.

"It has," said V as they watched mirror!Jimin kneel at RM's feet while he spoke with a suddenly flustered Namjoon. "Are you talking about Jimin? Don't be fooled. RM can be as cold and unforgiving as they come, but he'd never be allowed back on the ship and Jimin would probably castrate him if he hadn't called Jimin over."

On a second glance, Taehyung saw how RM's attention was drawn with just the gentlest touch from mirror!Jimin, that even Namjoon paused in his conversations at his slightest movement. It was suddenly easy to believe that the one with true power was also the one who willfully laid at another's feet, that those were not mutually exclusive things.

But the one who left Taehyung reeling the most was the last crew member to step onto the Rising Sun — JK, an exact duplicate of Jungkook except that he was still 100% human. Over time, Taehyung had become used to Jungkook's android quirks and it was like plunging into an ice bath to be reminded of how Jungkook once was. The Jungkook who had existed before the accident.

It didn't help that JK was a copy of Jungkook in every way, as if they didn't belong to two different timelines at all. JK was also a navigator and had a knack for untangling tricky calculations and didn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. He greeted his own captain with a bright "RM-hyung, this ship is so cool!" and asked where his double was and when he could see the jump drive up close.

In that moment, Taehyung understood somewhat the stories of people driven to hysteria, obsessed with trying to find a way to travel between parallel universes, desperately seeking the existence of what they once lost. Jungkook had never for a second resented the new body he'd been given because it had saved his life, but it had also changed him — how could it not? — and now and then Jungkook would have these moments where he grew quiet and distant and Taehyung knew he was slipping down the hole of wondering what could have been.

Here he was now, flesh and blood, the ghost of Jungkook's lost future.

Unlike the others, Jungkook wasn't around to meet the mirror version of himself. He was still down in Engineering neck deep in calculations and models. The whole point of this was for them to work together and Taehyung knew the faster they met the faster they would get to the bottom of things, but now he didn't know how Jungkook might react.

Yoongi was watching him from across the room, no doubt knowing exactly what was on Taehyung's mind. For as much as Yoongi refused to display emotion, he was always an expert at reading Taehyung's.

Namjoon led JK over to Taehyung and introduced him as the Chief Engineering Officer.

"Oh wow, you look a lot younger than V," said JK.

"Shut up, you brat," V said, standing up and marching over to stand next to Taehyung. "If anything, I look better."

JK laughed, his nose scrunching up the exact same way as Jungkook's did. "Whatever you say." He turned his attention back to Taehyung, who didn't know how to deal with such a light-hearted mood in the middle of such a tenuous situation. "Can I see what your team has worked on so far?"

"Yeah. Sure." Taehyung wished there was a reason he could make up that would allow Yoongi to go with him. He felt silly for wanting moral support, but it was hard to ignore the thought. He tamped down on the urge to seek out Yoongi even if it was just for a moment and turned to leave the transporter room, assuming JK would know to follow. He hadn't expected V to tag along too, but realized that their interactions from earlier didn't leave room for Taehyung to think about how V probably had the same posting as him on his own ship.

On their short trip down, JK kept marveling at the ship's technology and build. It was quickly becoming impossible to see him as a potential threat when he stared wide-eyed at the walls of the elevator and said, "Is this terratrobadite glass? That's so cool!"

Before they entered the engineering lab, Taehyung stopped short of the doors and turned around. "There's something you should probably know."

"You're all inept and haven't actually made any progress at all?" said V and JK elbowed him.

"Yeah?" said JK.

Taehyung took a deep breath slowly. "Our Jungkook, he doesn't look quite like you."

"Okay. You and V-hyung don't look exactly the same either."

Taehyung shook his head. "No, it's not like that," he said, but before he could continue the doors hissed open behind him.

"Hyung, there you are, the Captain told us you were on your w—"

Taehyung didn't turn to look at Jungkook, but caught the reaction on JK and V's faces. He chastised himself for being ridiculous. He was the commanding officer of this team and should act like it. "Ensign," he said, when Jungkook stepped closer, staring at his double who stared back at him. "I assume introductions won't really be needed. Our...guests will be assisting in the lab with their expertise."

It was JK who snapped out of it first and stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you. Or should I say me?" He laughed nervously.

Jungkook, who liked to be more casual in the lab and wear tees or tanks, reached out with his fully bionic arm and shook JK's human one. "Hi."

A part of Taehyung expected JK or V, at least, to make a comment, but no one did. He didn't know if it was better or worse that way. "Jungkook, what's the progress so far?"

"Huh?" Jungkook kept staring at JK for a couple seconds, then tore his eyes away. "Progr—oh, right. Yeah, I can show you." He headed back into the lab and they followed.

There were just under a dozen other crew members in the room helping to run tests and gather research. Taehyung could see them also stare between Jungkook and JK and barely bothered to spare a glance toward him and V. The two youngest seemed to ignore the attention well.

"I've isolated the area of code which is the culprit," said Jungkook, flicking through one of the many windows on the projection screen and zooming in on one which looked like thousands of lines of gibberish. "But as you can see, it's still a lot to sift through to find out what we need to fix. The override is baked into multiple places and if we're not careful the smallest change could make our situation much worse than it already is."

Taehyung didn't bother to ask what those scenarios were. Worse wasn't an option.

JK stepped closer and focused the screen on a few areas. "I see what you mean," he said, frowning. "Someone definitely knew what they were doing. This is nasty."

"Yoongi also suspected there might be a second override buried in there," said Taehyung. "It doesn't make sense to send the ship here only to abandon it."

"Yeah, I thought that too," said Jungkook. "A few of the other computers are running scans based on a few patterns which might trigger a return trip."

Taehyung smiled a little. Jungkook was always ahead of the curve.

"Which models are you running?" said JK, already poking around and pulling up other screens. "The Jarkon algorithm or X-Bjilzn?"

"What? No, I'm using the Zargian Transitory Notation approach."

"The what?"

"The most basic deterministic model that exists. Everyone knows it."

"So, the Jarkon method."

"I've literally never heard that word in my life."

V came over and Taehyung was surprised to see he was actually smiling. It was disarming. Like this, it was nearly impossible for Taehyung to convince himself that V was nothing like him. Jungkook and JK continued to bicker, but it was good-natured and to be honest, circumstances aside, it was rare that Jungkook ever met anyone who was able to keep up with him. The irony wasn't lost that one of the people who had the ability ended up being himself.

"They're exactly the same," said V, arms crossed. "Except for, well, you know."

Taehyung frowned. "Are you trying to make conversation?"

V rolled his eyes. "That was the order, wasn't it? To work together?" He turned to face Taehyung. "Are you hung up about earlier? If anything, I should be considering you held a phaser to Suga's head."

"You overrode our security and transported aboard without permission."

V shrugged. "You were the one trespassing across universal dimensions if we're going to play that game."

"Into an evil universe."

"Come on," said V, snorting. "Really? Look, I don't know what's in your history records, but whatever you know of this universe is already a hundred generations out of date. You still think we're a bunch of cold-blooded mass murderers, don't you? Or slave owners?" He paused and Taehyung couldn't argue against the accusation. "That was eons ago. I'm not saying it's utopia now, there's still a lot of bad actors out there, but whatever you think you know is wrong. We're trying to build unity, but it's slow and painful. I'm sure your precious Federation spoon feeds you bullshit about peace and respect, but ignores how violent the path is to get there and to keep it. You think those who want to keep oppressing or killing anyone who disagrees with them will just stop if we ask nicely? Sometimes the only resolution means we get blood on our hands, but societies like yours don't like hearing that. You want to think everyone can be saved. You want to sit on your high horse and claim every life is valuable. They aren't. Our captain believes in the end goal though, that giant dummy. Wants better for any species sympathetic to our cause. Shit, he's really going to be unbearable now after meeting your captain."

Taehyung couldn't refute any of that. Basing judgment off of indirect information was always dangerous, he knew. History, by nature, was biased. If the roles had been reversed, he knew he would have acted the same. Except possibly make out with Yoongi on the enemy's ship.

Now that there was a truce, Taehyung allowed himself to be curious about other things. "Are you and Suga also…?"

V raised an eyebrow. "Also what?"

"Together," said Taehyung, somewhat amused when he saw color rise in V's cheeks.

"We're just fucking."

That was something Taehyung knew to be a loaded answer no matter the universe or the millennia. Humans and Vulcans were two of the most emotionally charged species to have ever existed. Just fucking always meant something more, but Taehyung wasn't here to play psychologist or even friend.

"Come on," said Taehyung, more open to this sudden strange working arrangement than he was a few minutes ago. "Let me show you the jump drive itself."

"Finally, something useful."

Still, Taehyung caught V looking at his hand later, but said nothing.