Lieutenant Commander Spock made his way through the halls of Starfleet Command Headquarters, reminding himself that worry was a human emotion, but anticipation of discomfort was a valid concern for a Vulcan. Spock valued privacy and routine above all else. For the last eleven years, his world serving under Captain Pike on the Enterprise had been the most stable he'd ever known. Pike was an excellent commander for a Vulcan officer; reserved, practical, with the belief that professional distance, not casual friendship, was the way to run a starship. For a young Vulcan still unsure of himself in a human-majority organization like Starfleet, Pike was more than he'd ever hoped for. Spock had been able to learn and rise through the science ranks without depending on the "networking" his human colleagues seemed to value so much; remaining away from the ship's social life. He'd never quite figured out how to breach the cultural barrier, and in truth, found he was somewhat unwelcome outside work hours. His life on the Enterprise was satisfying, if somewhat solitary, but it suited him well enough.

But now, with Captain Pike's promotion to Commodore and Fleet Commander, Spock was in the center watching everything change around him. Most of the crew was leaving with the captain, with new crewmembers joining once they reached Earth. Dr. Piper would be staying for the next year only, to help the transition go smoothly before retiring. The only other member of the senior staff who was staying on besides Spock himself was Mr. Scott in Engineering. To be disconcerted about this was illogical; Spock knew transfers were common, and the Enterprise had already completed two five-year missions under Captain Pike. It was time she received a refit and a new crew. However, Spock had hoped to follow his captain, and was almost dismayed to find he would not be receiving a promotion, but was expected to stay with the Enterprise's new captain in his old position of Science Officer. It wasn't that Spock wanted the promotion; Science Officer had been his goal, and rising through the ranks for no reason was illogical. But he was unsure how he would fit in with the new crew, after having reached such a comfortable level of professional distance with the old one. The thought of redoing the whole process was not something Spock looked forward to. Especially given the new captain's reputation. James T. Kirk was known to have the mysterious human force known as "charisma" that Spock had never been able to fully understand. He also had a reputation for being slightly informal, and capable of commanding great loyalty and affection on the parts of the crews who served under him. Someone who commanded on personal loyalty and affection was not likely to share the same reserved and stoic tendencies that Pike had cultivated. Spock fully expected the Enterprise to become an uncomfortable place for him after Kirk came aboard. To deny this was simply illogical.

However, he couldn't dwell on that now. With both Pike and Number One gone, it fell to Spock as ranking officer to go down to Earth to greet the new captain on behalf of the crew. Spock never liked dealing with Starfleet higher-ups; it was one of the few things he had in common with his fellow crewmembers. The addition of Captain Kirk, who was known to be an admiralty favorite, rising to the rank of captain at only age 31, only made the prospect less inviting. Spock simply wanted to fulfill his duties and return to the ship as soon as possible, try as he might to control it.

In Admiral McKinley's office in Starfleet Headquarters, Captain James T. Kirk paced the room, feeling nervous. The euphoria of becoming captain was starting to wear off and anxiety was taking its place; Kirk knew he was capable of running a starship, but this was the flagship. The Enterprise. Known to be home to the best officers and crew Starfleet had to offer, and Kirk hoped he would be worthy of them and of the ship.

"Jim, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," McKinley said genially. "Taking over the ship is the easy part; it's all routine and ceremony. The hard part doesn't start until you're out there."

"I know," Kirk said with a small smile. "I've never taken command of a starship in my own right though. I wish Gary had been able to get here sooner so we could take command together." Gary Mitchell, who Kirk had chosen as First Officer, would be arriving in a couple of days, once his ship came into spacedock. Kirk was used to commanding a crew who knew and liked him; this was becoming a little overly formal for him. Especially because he knew the current ranking officer on the Enterprise was from Vulcan; a people known for making formality and reserve an art form.

McKinley didn't say anything; Kirk gathered that Gary was less than popular with the Starfleet higher-ups, but he always had been, so Kirk wasn't worried. Gary was loyal, brave, a good officer, and Kirk's closest friend. Choosing him had been easy. The matter of the Enterprise's Vulcan science officer kept nagging at him though. He couldn't help being intrigued; why would a Vulcan choose to serve in Starfleet's nearly all-human military branch? "Do you know Lieutenant Commander Spock, Admiral?"

McKinley glanced up, "I've met him in passing a few times. His record is spotless, Pike's given him glowing reports since the moment he came onboard. Apparently people who know something about the sciences say he's got one of the best scientific minds of his generation anywhere."

"Yes, but Spock himself," Kirk continued. "I can read his records myself, in fact, I did. But what about him?"

McKinley thought for a minute, then said, "The people who've served with Spock all say a lot about duty and high standards, but none of them talk about him personally. I'd say he doesn't have that many personal or social dealings with them."

For eleven years? Kirk couldn't fathom that. Stuck on a starship with the same people for five years at a time; you had to get to know them and get along with at least a few, or you'd lose yourself to unbearable loneliness. Even for a Vulcan, that had to be impossible. He wasn't sure how he would get along with someone who intended to barely talk to him outside of professional concerns for five years. In his opinion, the close quarters of a starship made too much professional reserve difficult, if not downright unhealthy, to maintain.

Kirk's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, which then opened to reveal a tall, thin figure wearing a blue dress uniform. The new arrival was standing so straight at attention that Kirk didn't even need to see pointed ears to guess this was Lieutenant Commander Spock.

"Lieutenant Commander," McKinley said, standing up. "I take it you know this is your new captain, James T. Kirk."

"Yes, sir. Congratulations on your command, Captain," Spock said, looking his new commanding officer over. There was something in Kirk's eyes that Spock noticed right away, a fierce intelligence, knack for observation and strength that would serve him well as a captain. For his part, the captain stood there quietly, allowing Spock to set the tone for this first meeting, instead of insisting on taking the lead. For someone who had often been put into uncomfortable social situations by well-meaning but largely uninformed humans, this was impressive. Spock mentally added perception to his list of Kirk's qualities; seemingly a rare social skill outside of Vulcan.

"Commander," Kirk said quietly. "I'm glad to be onboard, and I'm looking forward to getting to know the rest of the crew and the ship." He made no move to shake hands, or any of the other human customs that required touch, Spock noted in the new captain's favor.

"The taking command ceremony will be in two standard hours, at 1500 hours," Spock said. "You may go up to the ship now and prepare. Your belongings have already been brought aboard."

"Well, it sounds like things are ready to go, Captain, Lieutenant Commander," McKinley said. "All that's left is to wish you good luck."

"Thank you, Admiral," Kirk said, shaking his hand. "I'll see you when we get back in five years." Excitement started to replace the nerves. He was really on his way.

He and Spock walked through, the hallways in silence for a few minutes before Kirk asked, "Can I ask you about the previous two five-year missions? What stuck out to you about them? What were the major events?"

Spock looked at Kirk oddly, "The Enterprise's missions are all recorded in the ship's logs, Captain."

Kirk smiled, "Yes, I know. I read them. I'm not trying just to make small talk. The logs tell me what happened, but there's a lot of things that can be learned from how a crew reacts to events, which ones stick out in their minds. Those are the things that make a ship, not just the events themselves."

Spock hesitated for an instant, "Perhaps I am not the best person to answer that question, sir. Mr. Scott-"

Kirk cut him off, "You're the ranking officer, you're part of this crew, and you're someone I'm going to be working with closely. I want to know what you think. Your opinions, observations, anything." Spock may have been a social outsider, but he was also part of the command crew and so was in a unique position to known what went on across large areas of the ship. Plus, between his record, McKinley's assessment of his social position and what Kirk had already observed, he guessed that Spock was extremely observant, as many social outsiders often are. Combined with the logical impartiality that came with his Vulcan heritage, Spock was perfectly placed to give Kirk the best information on this.

Spock was taken aback. So few people had ever asked his opinion on anything that wasn't directly connected to his work; let alone on something like this. Most humans would have simply assumed he had never been affected by any of the missions, misunderstanding Vulcan control of emotions as lack of emotions. He was starting to think that this Captain Kirk might be much different than what he'd heard about him. "I think most of the crew would state our missions in the Orion system to be the most difficult. Orion slavers are well known for their cruelty; seeing it in person is…unpleasant."

Kirk nodded; he'd read the reports but he was discovering how much tone of voice could convey; Spock's "unpleasant" seemed to carry almost the same weight as a human overcome with emotional strain.

"Many of those missions resulted in the deaths of crew members," Spock continued, "as well as several injuries. Captain Pike believed it was only luck that resulted in our successes." Now his tone of voice said "modesty" to Kirk, who knew the Enterprise had succeeded in freeing more Orion slaves than any other ship in the Fleet.

That wasn't all though; something else in Spock's tone made Kirk look up, "You don't believe in luck, Lieutenant Commander?"

Spock glanced over, "In my experience, dependence on random chance is illogical. There is just as much chance of success as failure. It is skill and knowledge that accounts for the difference."

"And logic?" Kirk asked, taking on a slight teasing tone.

"Of course, Captain," Spock answered, a slightly puzzled expression entering his eyes. "Some resourcefulness and creativity is also useful."

They'd reached the transporter, and from there made their way through the Enterprise's corridors until they reached Kirk's new quarters. He could hardly stop himself from running his fingers along every wall, stopping to examine everything he could. This is my ship. She's mine. He could hardly believe it and he thought he'd never loved anything so much in his life. It was only the reminder that Spock was walking next to him that kept him from giving in and acting like a child with a new toy.

On reaching his quarters, Kirk asked Spock inside to give him some quick instructions while he started unpacking. "I'm not requiring dress uniforms at the ceremony; they're so uncomfortable. This is a working starship, I want her working, not on ceremony."

"Aye, sir," Spock answered, knowing the crew would be grateful for that.

"Ahh, here it is," the captain said, pulling a Tri-D chess set from one of his bags. "Have to have a good spot for this, even if I never end up playing it. I don't suppose many people will want to play against their captain, and Gary doesn't play." For the first time, Kirk sounded dejected, expecting the isolation of command to mean he would have fewer friendships among the crew than he was used to.

Spock's gaze went from the chess set back to the captain. He could never account for why exactly he decided to say it, but he blurted out, "I play chess, if you need a partner, Captain." He'd never voluntarily offered to take part in any social interaction before; indeed he usually avoided it even if asked, and couldn't account for what was suddenly different. But Kirk gave him the first true smile of the day, and Spock couldn't find it in himself to wipe that bright grin off the captain's face.

"I'll be glad to play against you, Mr. Spock," Kirk said, before Spock exited quickly. Kirk smiled to himself as he unpacked the rest of his things. Gary would be coming aboard before long, he had his ship, and it looked like he and Lieutenant Commander Spock would be getting along far better than he'd thought. He couldn't have asked for a better start to his captaincy.