It had been an unusual trip on a different ship and with a slightly different crew but Kirk had felt a way he had not felt since he first became a captain after the Farragut. A feeling of needing not only to prove to others how good he was at his task but also to himself. He had proven to all on this trip why he was a good captain, how he had made it on his own to where he was, and that as the captain of a starship was where he belonged. He had shown that he could command a decent crew without being told of unwise decisions or that his actions were illogical and that he could set new records even with older ships. It was just going to be the thirty-eight standard days trip to take supplies to Dallon-25 but he would enjoy the change.
Oh, there had been that minor engine problem but the officer Mister Scoot had assigned to go with them had that under control as Kirk knew he would. Mister Scott was an exacting task master in his engineering division and officers did not last long there long if they failed to meet his standards and while they may never be the miracle worker he was they were miracle workers in training. It had not taken the rest of the senior crew he had with him long to adjust to the ship they were to use while the Enterprise was in for a slight refit and repairs but there had been an uneasy feeling. He accepted that the feeling of unity they had on the Enterprise would not exist here as while it was his crew this was not their ship. His ship.
Anger flashed through him. How dare the others even silently question, with their looks, why he had left that Vulcan behind. That Vulcan had defied his direct order, had physically assaulted him on the bridge in front of not only the bridge crew but also the Galvainian representatives, taken over the ship, and was back on Star Base Six awaiting a hearing. Kirk looked around at the others and nodded, they had seen it, they knew what had happened, they would testify at the hearing.
He realized how correct the Galvainian chief of security, Marshal Utoga, was. They had spent may hours talking about their careers and he had felt good to have met somebody who had a similar career as him, with Utoga being the youngest man ever in charge of security. Utoga had reminded him of how great it was to be a captain, to know that he could command without the help of anybody as long as his crew obeyed him. They had shared stories about their first voyages as leaders. Utoga had told him of how being men in power they had worked their way there and did not need to be pestered by officers offering their opinions, the opinions of the commanding officer is right. He had also failed to understand why one senior was both First Officer and Science Officer as he believed that two experts were better than one with a good knowledge of both fields. Utoga had also pointed out that he had given that Vulcan some leeway that he did not accept from others but those actions were against so many regulations he could not have kept that Vulcan on the Enterprise had he wanted to and he didn't want to. Too many times he had let that Vulcan get away with things that he should have reported him for. He had, for just a moment, that flicker of doubt about what to do but Utoga reminded him of his role and his position. That Vulcan's actions had endangered the ship and crew. His actions had damaged the ship. Not just the ship, his ship.
Even as he thought back over it he knew he had done the right thing, the only thing he could do. When they got back to Star Base Six he would let them know exactly what that Vulcan had done and he knew it would end the Vulcan's career but he could do nothing about it as there had been witnesses to the assault by a junior officer and his persistent refusal to release the computer had been more than he could take. It was pure insubordination and in front of the Galvainian delegation it reflected on his inability to command and that he would not stand for. That Vulcan had overstepped the line after what he had done and said.
The first few days it had been strange not to see that Vulcan at his station or standing just to his right but he found having an officer at his right side and another at the Science Station the way he had first captained. It felt like it had when he was first made a captain and had both a First Officer and a Chief Science Officer. He had become used to only having to ask that Vulcan for answers instead of having to listen to the debate between the First and the Science Officer but he knew he would get used to it, again. By the time they encountered any real emergency he was sure the crew would be able to work together. There was no doubt there was an element of friction but that was to be expected. He had no doubt that in time the bridge crew would be just as good, if not better, than it was, without that Vulcan being there to correct every error no matter how slight. Yes, they would see how much better it was without that Vulcan around.
In those quiet moments at night the first few nights he tried to think what could possibly have made that Vulcan react as he had. It had been a diplomatic trip with the Galvainian delegation and that Vulcan had been unusually wary of the delegation, especially the security officer and science officer. He would just sit watching them while he, himself, had engaged in interesting conversation with them. He had seen the raised eyebrow from time to time when he had told them something that Vulcan was clearly cautious about. He had even started to protest when he had offered to give them unlimited access to the ship.
Twice before the scene on the bridge that Vulcan had said to him that the ship felt wrong. Felt wrong? A Vulcan feeling things? He clearly was uncomfortable around the Galvainians for some reason, some reason he would not talk about, and was saying that the ship felt wrong. He'd ordered him to see McCoy and McCoy said there was nothing physically wrong with him but that something was bothering that Vulcan and maybe he should listen. He had every intention of doing that once they got the Galvainians to Star Base Six but before that happened that Vulcan had caused that scene.
They had been four days away from Star Base Six at warp five when Utoga asked to see what the ship was like at warp eight for even two minutes. He had seen no problem with that as they had shown other diplomats and delegations the same sort of thing but that Vulcan had protested saying, again, that the ship felt wrong and that it was unwise to travel any faster till a full diagnostics had been done. The Galvainian ships were about a tenth the size of the Enterprise and without all the advanced equipment but were rapidly getting to that state and he saw nothing wrong in showing them what the ship could do. It would have them there much earlier but it would be good public relations.
When he ordered Sulu to go to warp eight that Vulcan had said, "Do not do it, Mister Sulu. The Captain is putting the ship at risk." Sulu had looked between the two of them and had reached to comply when that Vulcan had spun around to his console and flicked a few switches.
Sulu tried to go to warp eight again and again then looked from him to that Vulcan and back to him,"It is not responding, not allowing me to get it above warp five. It has been locked from the Science Station."
He had turned and ordered that Vulcan to release it and that Vulcan had stood straight with his hands behind his back and said, "I will not do that, Sir."
It had stunned him that that Vulcan should be like that, so totally Vulcan so suddenly. He had repeated his order and that Vulcan had again said, "As I said, Captain, I will not do that, Sir."
He heard Utoga say, "What are you going to do, Kirk? You are his senior officer, you are the Captain of this ship. You became a Captain without him and his insubordination. Such insubordination cannot be allowed. Are you the Captain or not?"
The anger at the total insubordination surged through him and he had gripped that Vulcan's upper arms and shaken him, "Damn you, I am your Captain and I order you to unlock that system. There is nothing wrong with the ship otherwise Mister Scott would have told me. If you do not immediately unlock the system I will have you off this ship so fast when we get to Star Base Six it will go down in history."
That Vulcan had gripped his hands, removed them from his arms and pushed him into his chair and looked, really looked at him and into him then said, "Captain, I will not risk this ship, the lives of my fellow officers and most decidedly not your life just so you can show off, as Humans say, and act, again as Humans say, like a pompous jack ass. There is something wrong with the ship. I cannot understand nor say how I know but I do know there is something wrong, very wrong with the ship." He had been silent for a moment just looking at Kirk and Kirk could not understand the look and was shocked when that Vulcan had all but pushed him into his chair, "If you are to follow regulations, Sir, I will go to the brig and be prepared for whatever is decided to be my fate upon arrival at Star Base Six but I will not release the lock. I will not be the cause of the destruction of the ship, the deaths of my shipmates, and," he had paused and briefly closed his eyes then looked right back at him, "I will not be responsible for your death."
He could still feel the fury that filled him. Somehow he had pushed himself upright and blazed at that Vulcan, "You just crossed the line, Mister. I am the Captain of this ship and you are just another subordinate officer under my command. You have three time deliberately disobeyed my order and have man-handled me. I know my ship. There is nothing wrong with it. You can go to hell with all your for the good of the ship and crew! This is my ship and the sooner you are off it for good and out of my life. Go! Go to the brig. I don't want to ever see you or hear from you again. Go! Go on! Get off my bridge and stay the hell out of my life!"
That Vulcan had looked at him, there had been a slight change he could not describe as it was fleeting but somehow significant, then he had started to walk away, paused, turned and held up his hand in the Vulcan gesture looked at him and said, "May you live long and prosper, Captain Kirk." and lowered his hand, turned, and walked away. That had been the last time he saw him.
But that was then. They had left the Enterprise at Star Base Six and he had been ordered to take supplies to Dallon-25 while the Enterprise was thoroughly checked as the technical people, and only Mister Scott, seemed to believe the Vulcan. Scotty had stayed to supervise the examination of the ship and said he would send reports of any findings.
The other five senior officers had tried to get him to understand that that Vulcan had, as always, been thinking only of him, of them, and of the ship, but he could not forget that he had called him pompous jack ass and accused him of showing off. He just wanted to show Utoga what the Enterprise could do. He and Utoga had spent a lot of time together talking about their careers and Utoga had been amazed at how quickly he had made captain and then been given the Enterprise. They had discussed the worth of bridge crew and how he had become a captain without Vulcan help, how he had become a captain through his abilities and that of his entire bridge crew with two individuals as Science Officer and First Officer which simplified duties. Having the two had been different yet so like when he was first a captain. Utoga had been correct, he did not need that Vulcan to be a captain.
He was sure it Utoga had been there he would have given him a nod. It had been odd how easily they seemed to get along, how they seemed to understand each other. It was also obvious Utoga had studied his records as he knew so much about him, something he would have done. It had been slightly puzzling that Utoga had just vanished as he had. He had been so sure that they had had a connection, that they shared so much that they would stay in contact but as soon as they arrived at Starbase Six he had left without a farewell.