(no subject)
James T. Kirk, it is the judgment of this Council that you be reduced in rank to Captain…and that as a consequence of your new rank, you be given the duties for which you have repeatedly demonstrated unswerving ability: the command of a starship.
Captain James T. Kirk truly did not expect the events of the day. He thought he would get honorable discharge, his pension, and his last goodbyes to life in the Fleet, after which he would be offered a consultancy in the President’s office. A decent ending, if still an ending. That he would get to be a captain again? He never imagined it was possible. And that he would get a new Enterprise? No, it wasn’t his Enterprise. The smells and sounds were not the same. That chair was too new. But implicit in the name was the honor. An honor he would rather have not earned the way he did, but one he could live with. Now and forever, he was captain of the Enterprise. There were worse fates.
But the day brought other surprises. Gillian…he didn’t think she would be at the hearing. Jim told Antonia she didn’t have to come, after all. It was just a formality. And then they change his life again and instead of his lover there was another woman. A woman he could not deny feeling attracted to. A woman he even flirted with. (“I don’t have your phone number”? What ever made him say that out loud?) His big moment, and he had to call Antonia to tell her what happened. And that he would be late for supper since they were showing him his new ship. She tried to be happy. No, she was happy. For him. But he didn’t think she wanted to hear about his ship.
How would he handle that? He was at a loss at the moment for ideas. But that would wait a little while. Right now, he was on a starship again, his crew at their stations, the engines pushing to Warp 5 on a quick spin around the neighborhood, out to AlphaCent and back.
__________
“How’s she handle, Mister Sulu?”
“Like a dream, Captain. Though I’m finding some of the Ops datastream a bit sluggish.
“I can confirm that, Keptin.” Jim tried not to smile to broadly as being called “Keptin” again. He missed it. “I think the main CPU might need a good deal of fine-tuning. And some of the other readouts show glitches as well.”
“It goes with bein’ a new ship, gentlemen,” Scotty piped in from his new engine room. “I’ve seen it before. And if they’re askin' us to do the shakedown cruise, we’re all goin' to see it a lot.”
“You’d rather they get someone else to do it, Mister Scott,” Jim asked.
“Not on yer life, Captain.” A new challenge for the old engineer, no doubt.
“Mister Uhura, patch us through to AlphaCent Flight Control. Arrange for an orbit at Cent-VII. Oh, and see if you can get through to Dulcimer’s Bistro in Cochranetown. I think we’ve earned a decent meal.”
"Yes, Sir," Uhura said with a big smile. "And is the captain buying?"
"No, I think this one is on Bones."
"What are you talking about, Jim?" The good doctor, who had been sitting at an empty station and staying quiet, made his presence known.
"Six months ago you bet me that at least the two of us would end up in prison. I think I took that bet."
"You weren't serious. I wasn't serious!" Bones was on his feet, but he knew he wouldn't win.
"Dulcimer's isn't that pricey. And I'm sure you can afford it on a ship's surgeon's salary."
"I should have retired again when I had the chance."
Spock stood silently at his station, observing. Humans, it seemed, still fascinated him.
The ship made orbit around 2 pm local time in Cochranetown, impulse engines handling perfectly. "My friends, I will meet you in the transporter room in 10 minutes." Jim rose, told the turbolift to the ship's observation deck, and stared at the starscape. He was home.
Captain James T. Kirk truly did not expect the events of the day. He thought he would get honorable discharge, his pension, and his last goodbyes to life in the Fleet, after which he would be offered a consultancy in the President’s office. A decent ending, if still an ending. That he would get to be a captain again? He never imagined it was possible. And that he would get a new Enterprise? No, it wasn’t his Enterprise. The smells and sounds were not the same. That chair was too new. But implicit in the name was the honor. An honor he would rather have not earned the way he did, but one he could live with. Now and forever, he was captain of the Enterprise. There were worse fates.
But the day brought other surprises. Gillian…he didn’t think she would be at the hearing. Jim told Antonia she didn’t have to come, after all. It was just a formality. And then they change his life again and instead of his lover there was another woman. A woman he could not deny feeling attracted to. A woman he even flirted with. (“I don’t have your phone number”? What ever made him say that out loud?) His big moment, and he had to call Antonia to tell her what happened. And that he would be late for supper since they were showing him his new ship. She tried to be happy. No, she was happy. For him. But he didn’t think she wanted to hear about his ship.
How would he handle that? He was at a loss at the moment for ideas. But that would wait a little while. Right now, he was on a starship again, his crew at their stations, the engines pushing to Warp 5 on a quick spin around the neighborhood, out to AlphaCent and back.
__________
“How’s she handle, Mister Sulu?”
“Like a dream, Captain. Though I’m finding some of the Ops datastream a bit sluggish.
“I can confirm that, Keptin.” Jim tried not to smile to broadly as being called “Keptin” again. He missed it. “I think the main CPU might need a good deal of fine-tuning. And some of the other readouts show glitches as well.”
“It goes with bein’ a new ship, gentlemen,” Scotty piped in from his new engine room. “I’ve seen it before. And if they’re askin' us to do the shakedown cruise, we’re all goin' to see it a lot.”
“You’d rather they get someone else to do it, Mister Scott,” Jim asked.
“Not on yer life, Captain.” A new challenge for the old engineer, no doubt.
“Mister Uhura, patch us through to AlphaCent Flight Control. Arrange for an orbit at Cent-VII. Oh, and see if you can get through to Dulcimer’s Bistro in Cochranetown. I think we’ve earned a decent meal.”
"Yes, Sir," Uhura said with a big smile. "And is the captain buying?"
"No, I think this one is on Bones."
"What are you talking about, Jim?" The good doctor, who had been sitting at an empty station and staying quiet, made his presence known.
"Six months ago you bet me that at least the two of us would end up in prison. I think I took that bet."
"You weren't serious. I wasn't serious!" Bones was on his feet, but he knew he wouldn't win.
"Dulcimer's isn't that pricey. And I'm sure you can afford it on a ship's surgeon's salary."
"I should have retired again when I had the chance."
Spock stood silently at his station, observing. Humans, it seemed, still fascinated him.
The ship made orbit around 2 pm local time in Cochranetown, impulse engines handling perfectly. "My friends, I will meet you in the transporter room in 10 minutes." Jim rose, told the turbolift to the ship's observation deck, and stared at the starscape. He was home.