Captain James Kirk looked around the room at the others there and realized that while he was the youngest there he was the one what had the most experience on a starship and as the captain of a flagship with first contact experience. Not one of the twelve senior officers there had personally been on a non-aligned plant for years, if ever. They had sent him out with the Enterprise to visit a planet they knew nothing current about with six cadets whose records at the Academy had been exceptional and who had expressed a desire to do advanced training and had, in fact, applied for consideration for command training although Kirk had noted how some of their instructors had questions about their suitability.
He had been called before them to give his opinion of the six cadets and he had done so in not uncertain terms. They were all looking at him and he knew they were waiting for more information, that was obvious from how they were looking at him, at the silence that filled the room.
Slowly and deliberately he looked at each one individually then said, "Of the six not one would be welcome to stay on my ship. They might know all the theory, all the rules and regulations, all the protocols, might all have passed all the physical and mental testing, and some might even know many other languages but not one of them was ready for that. They put themselves, my ship, my crew, and myself at risk. You, you put us all at risk for you knew a risk factor unknown to us. And for what?" again he looked at each one, "Those ten you sent in ahead for us to show those six how to recover had more to offer as officers than those six kids yet you put them at risk as well. I fail to see your reasoning."
"You do understand that we wanted them to see the very best in action, don't you?"
"You and your crew have a reputation many do not believe, that many aspire to but fall well short of. We wanted them to see what real command of such a ship is like. What it is like to be a part of the finest command crew."
"We were not to know there were hostiles there but you all knew there were."
"It was necessary to fully test those seeking command positions, Kirk. We were aware that there were a few small groups opposed to the Federation but they make up less than fifteen percent of the population so we were sure that you would not be in too much danger but possibly just enough to test the young ones. While what transpired was not what we had envisaged on any of our scenarios it did expose the cadets to the reality of what sometimes happens on first contact missions. We knew with your crew there was no real danger to the cadets."
Reason after reason was almost shouted at him but Kirk bit back his first thoughts with each reason and just sat still.
"Kirk, surely you remember your training. You were put in a position of risk."
He remembered his training and he had not been put in a situation anything like the young ones he had been given had been in. None of the senior crew had been taken hostage. They had not returned with several senior crew injured and one crewmember in a catatonic state. Their captain had not been called into a review like this as there had not been any engagement with hostiles as they had encountered.
"I remember." Kirk finally said when he was aware they were all looking at him. Only Captain Peter Glenn, the captain of the latest training ship, the U.S.S. Venture, gave him an understanding nod. He had left ten of his officers as those they were to retrieve on the planet. They had met a few times a few time and been in contact just before the test to confirm his men were on the planet. "I also remember that my first testing with risk was in a simulation at the Academy. I remember there was no real phaser fire, I remember that none of my fellow officers were injured. Yes, I remember my training."
"We will review your report and that of your First Officer over the next twenty-four standard hours and hold a total debriefing in thirty-six standard hours. Should either of you have questions then we will answer them if they are what you need to know. Please ensure your First Officer is with you tomorrow."
"While it was unusual for your First Office not to accompany you we do understand that he wanted to be present when the final assessment was made on one of your crew. That is what makes your command crew so special, Kirk, the way they do care about not just senior officers but the entire crew."