That makes Jim's whole stance go stiff at once, eyes wide in concern more so than surprise.

"They're in the North Wing, which is inaccessible to us most of the time. Even when it was previously open, the orbs were contained within a powerful barrier; I tried touching it and got violently flung across the room." So, you know, that was fun. "You could always try to speak to one of them on a mission, but we don't tend to get a lot of time with an orb before we're dragged back to the station. Seconds, at most. I don't know that I would advise you to try... we don't know how dangerous or powerful they really are yet."

But he's also not going to tell Spock not to do it.