Jim, on the other hand, was very much done with this conversation. As much as he liked having heart to hearts, he knew he was only going to get frustrated and probably make things worse if it continued and if he actually told Sulu that he didn't believe a word of him just trying to follow protocol. If it looked like manipulation, and all that.

"No. Yeah. I mean, I get it." He didn't. But, you'd never be able to tell from his face, because it looked genuine enough. "Just know next time that you can come to me with anything, all right? It's what I'm here for." Personnel issues were, unfortunately, literally a part of the job description.