Standing there alone,
The ship is waiting
Captain James T Kirk hugged his mother one last time.
"Be safe, Jim." She whispered in his ear as they let go.
"It's a routine mission, mom, I'll be fine." Jim looked down into her eyes and smiled.
She touched his face and smiled back, then nodded signifying he should go.
He looked into her proud face one more time and turned to board the shuttle that would take him to the space station where the USS Enterprise was docked.
The shuttle was a tiny slice of hell, should you have claustrophobia. Even if you didn't, if still wasn't fantastic. Everyone was held closely together in the tiny space; all sweating and breathing. It was generally a memorable experience; for all the wrong reasons.
Kirk tried his best to ignore the excessively sweating Lieutenant next to him and focus on the greater task at hand.
The entire goal of this mission was to assist Camarshia VI, whose population was presently undergoing a plague. The Camarshians were not friends of the Federation, but they had top secret weapons information from other planets in their disliked ranks that they were willing to trade to Starfleet for medical assistance.
Starfleet figured that they were taking a calculated risk in helping the Camarshians, as the benefits for Starfleet itself would far outweigh the medical costs. Kirk knew that he was doing the right thing for Starfleet and, if you went by common Religious views, he was doing the right thing for the Camarshians as well. But there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that was saying: this is a bad idea.
The shuttle's pilot's voice came over the intercom. "Fasten your seat belts, we will be lifting of in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"
The shuttle left the ground and Jim looked out the window watching space approach the miniscule vessel.
Despite his nagging fear and worry; he was excited. Going into space always excited him. The thrill of diving into the unknown with his best people by his side was exhilarating.
There was a jolt to the shuttle as they broke through the atmosphere and entered silence. The darkness was awe-inspiring, the silence frightening. That was one thing James Kirk was secretly apprehensive about in space: the silence. Other than that the entirety of the new frontier was fascinating, as his right hand man, Mr. Spock, would say.
He watched the massive space station approach. The shuttle was set to land directly on the Enterprise and dispatch its occupants there. The crewmembers on the shuttle watched in awe as the hatch of the Enterprise opened and the shuttle slid easily into the hanger. The doors closed loudly behind them and the shuttle landed. The atmosphere in the hanger was returned to normal so the passengers could exit the shuttle and hurry off to their stations.
Captain Kirk straightened his golden uniform and headed for the bridge.
