Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.
Chapter One:
Stardate: 2258.135
Captain's log:
We're leaving that vast cloud of dust and stars that we call our galaxy. Until now, our mission has only consisted of space law regulation, contact with earth colonies and supply runs. But now a new task, to travel where no man has gone before…
)o(
"Mr Spock, you have the Conn." Jim announces, as his gets up from the Captain's chair and heads towards the turbo lift.
Spock gets up from his chair at the science station and moves towards the Captain's chair, watching the Captain closely as he does so. Jim had been Captain for little over a three month now and not once had he been late for his shift on the bridge or left early.
A friendship was slowly beginning to form between Spock and the Captain, which is excuse Spock gives himself, when he identifies the emotion is currently feeling as worry. After all it was not uncommon for friends to feel worry for each other, when one was not acting their normal selves. He was also the Captain, so it was Spock's duty as first officer to be concerned.
"Is everything well, Captain?" Spock questions, as Jim nears the turbo lift.
Sulu and Chekov who were both also on duty, tried to act as if they weren't listening, but they were fooling nobody. Not that Jim seemed to notice, as he continues to head towards the turbo lift. He pushes the button and waits for the lift.
Sulu and Jim had been friends ever since Jim had jumped off the platform above Vulcan to save him, even when such an action could have got him killed and Sulu wasn't sure he'd ever be able to pay Jim back for that, even though Jim insisted he owed him nothing.
As for Chekov, it was a serious case of hero worship mixed with pure awe and also the fact Chekov and Jim had known each other at the academy. Jim had also been the first person to take what he had to say seriously, even at the academy Jim had always listened to him and he had even gone so far as to use the plan Chekov had suggested when they were trying to save Earth from Nero!
Nobody had ever seemed to take him seriously, due to his young age. Some had even gone as far as to say he'd been too young to join Starfleet and shouldn't have been allowed to be assigned aboard the USS Enterprise, as head navigator no less.
A matter Jim had strongly disagreed with and who had refused to have anyone but Chekov as his head navigator. Jim respected Chekov in way nobody else had before and listened to everything Chekov had to say no matter what other people thought or muttered under their breath.
It also helped that Jim spoke Russian and could understand his accent perfectly.
When Chekov had asked Jim how he knew Russian, Jim had answered that the first astronauts to ever enter space and all those who had worked on the international space station, had to learn Russian and that it was a shame that nobody still bothered with it in this century, as Jim believed the Russian language to be quite beautiful.
Jim glances back a Spock. "Everything's fine, Mr Spock."
Spock inclines his head slightly and Jim offers him a brief smile before entering the turbo lift. Only a matter of minutes after Jim had left the bridge the doors to the turbo lift open once more and Dr McCoy steps out onto the bridge, PADD in hand.
"Where's Jim?" McCoy demands, when he sees it's not Jim in the Captain's chair but Spock instead.
"He left the bridge 3.4 minutes before your arrival, Doctor." Spock answers, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor.
"Of course he did," McCoy mutters darkly. "I swear, when I get my hands on that kid, I'll-"
"To harm the Captain in anyway would be mutiny, Doctor." Spock cuts McCoy off mid rant.
"Like that stopped you." McCoy snaps back.
Spock gives McCoy the Vulcan equivalent of a glare, which wasn't much more than an eyebrow raise and a slight twitch.
"At the time of my… Emotional compromise, the Captain was not the Captain." Spock answers slowly. "Nor was he an authorised member of the crew."
"Because that makes it so much better?" McCoy mumbles sarcastically.
)o(
Jim sat at his desk, reading through the reports he needed to sign off on.
He knew he was being childish, hiding in his quarters, but he didn't care. Right now he had more important things to be doing and worrying about. His shift had finished about an hour and a half ago, so he was officially working in his free time, Spock would be proud.
Sitting back in his chair, Jim shuts his eyes.
Where had that thought come from? Since when did Spock care about his actions? Since when did Spock care at all? Jim couldn't deny a friendship had begun to form between them, but for Spock to actually care? The universe would come to end before that ever happened, Jim was sure.
And it didn't matter what the other, older Spock had said.
Jim's comm suddenly buzzed on his desk and Jim opens his eyes and looks at it. Reaching forward and picking it up, Jim flips it open.
"Jim Kirk here." He answers automatically.
"Jim!" An overly cheerful voice greets him.
A smile crosses Jim's face. "Gary!"
"The one and only," Gary's voice sounds through the comm. "Now get your sorry fat ass down to rec room three, today is going to be the day I finally beat you at chess."
"I thought you loved me?" Jim asks jokingly.
"I do." Gary answers in kind.
"You wouldn't say those things if you did." Jim answers with a grin as he leaves his quarters and hopping into the thankfully empty turbo-lift at the end of the hallway and heading towards rec room three.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Gary mocks. "Did I hurt your feelings?"
"No worse," Jim replies. "You insulted my ass."
Gary's laughter echoes through the comm and Jim grins even wider, before snapping his comm shut and entering rec room three. Gary was sitting at a table on the far side of the room, doubled over in laughter. In front of him a game of three dimensional chess had been set up and was ready to play.
"It wasn't that funny, Gary." Jim greets his friend as he slides into the seat across from him.
Gary looks up at Jim and wipes tears of laughter from his eyes. "But it so was."
Jim rolls his eyes. "Black or white?"
"White." Gary answers.
"You really are trying for a win today, aren't you?" Jim grins.
"No," Gary answers. "It just you always play black and making you play white to try and get you out of your comfort zone hasn't worked, so why make it harder for myself?"
Jim shakes his head. "That was almost logical, maybe you should play Spock."
Gary snorts, as he moves his first piece. "I think I'll pass. I can't even beat you, the most illogical player in the universe, so how the hell will I be able to beat the all logical chess master at a game based purely on logic? Did I mention he's also a chess master?!"
Jim looks up at Gary as he picks up his first piece.
"Spock's a chess master?" He asks.
"Yeah, something like that… Might have even been grand master, thinking about it." Gary answers, eyeing up Jim's move. "I'm surprised you haven't asked him to play you."
"Like he would," Jim mutters. "I think he's still a little sore about the whole Kobayashi Marufiasco from back at the academy, not that it's possible to cheat at chess as far as I know."
"You'd find a way if you weren't so bloody good at it." Gary huffs.
)o(
"Checkmate." Jim grins. "Sorry Gary."
"I should have moved my rook," Gary mutters. "Rematch?"
"I'm tired of beating you, Gary," Jim jokes. "Why don't you play someone you can actually beat for a change?"
Gary shakes his head. "No, I have to beat you at least once before I die… Ask Spock to play with you, it be good to see someone finally knock you off your high horse when it comes to chess."
"I'm not being an arrogant know it all, Gary." Jim sighs. "No one has ever beaten me at chess. It's a fact!"
"I've finally worked it out, you won't play Spock because you're scared you'll lose!" Gary exclaims.
"Bridge to Captain Kirk." Spock's voice suddenly sounds over the intercom.
"Speak of the devil." Jim mutters.
Jim quickly gets to his feet and heads over to the intercom on the wall near the door to the rec room.
"Go ahead, Mr Spock." Jim answers Spock.
"Captain, we have intercepted a distress beacon of a most curious nature," Spock answers. "Your presence is required on the bridge."
"On my way." Jim replies, turning away from the intercom. "Gary, with me."
"What going on?" Gary asks, as he falls into step beside Jim as they walk along the hallway towards the turbo lift.
"We've picked up a distress beacon," Jim explains. "Sulu and Chekov are both pulling a double shift, they need relief… Just who I was looking for, Kelso with us."
"Aye, sir." Kelso replies, stepping into the turbo lift with Jim and Gary.
"I still can't get used to calling you 'sir'," Gary shakes his head. "It seemed like only days ago that we were at the academy together, fooling around and hanging out with the others…"
"Not to mention I was a year ahead of you." Kelso agrees.
"I remember," Jim grins. "Yet, as I recall, you asked me for help with your homework more than once."
"Anyone would think you've filled the crew with your friends." Gary snorts.
"I had like, eight friends at the academy," Jim points out. "That's hardly filling the crew."
"Oh come off it," Kelso replies. "You knew everyone!"
"I did," Jim agrees. "But that doesn't mean they were my friends."
"We're your friends, you say," Gary suddenly mutters, his voice gaining a bitter tone. "Yet we're still the back up to Sulu and the Russian whiz kid."
"They've earned their places, believe me," Jim glances at Gary his voice taking a sharp tone. "I didn't have you assigned to my crew, because you're my friends. I assigned you because I need the best of the best. Because when I'm on that bridge, I need the best and brightest crew possible… I need you on that bridge back up's or not."
The turbo lift doors slide open and Jim steps out on to the bridge before Gary has a chance to respond.
)o(
Hello, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. This is the first story in a series I plan to write, it's basically a rewrite of TOS episodes set in the AOS timeline, so it will be quite different from the original storyline in some ways and not in others. Until next time,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLife1997.