Life at Starfleet Academy had grown on Leonard McCoy, the class load was a dream compared to med-school. He would make it to Medical Officer in three years even working five shifts a week at Starfleet Medical. His record as a practicing physician was exemplary. Starfleet was bending over backwards to accommodate him. After the stress of the last year it was welcome. His wife had managed to alienate him from his friends and family. He had been persecuted for putting his profession before her. He had spent all his free time with his daughter Elouise. His bitch of a wife had found a politically and socially adept new beau and then used his influence to destroy all Leonard held dear. Starfleet was a new start. He did not have to worry about anyone else anymore. He could see his daughter one weekend a month, here in San Francisco. He tried to keep positive and as a first year he had to earn passes off base. It meant no access to drink. Better for his health overall. He worried about the more technical and physical aspects of training but he would not blow this. New life, new friends and outer space by the time Elouise was at junior high. God, He was doomed.

It was mid morning and Leonard went back to his room only to notice a couple of bags next to the spare bed. After four weeks here, he had a roomie. It was then that a tall, slim young man exited the bathroom only wearing a towel.

"Hi there, Bones. I promise to tidy up. I just got here. I was in Barracks at Paulo Alto, got transferred back this morning."

Bones? Then McCoy connected the shuttle journey and his long diatribe about his wife, ex-wife, taking everything except his bones in their divorce settlement to the kid sat next to him. "It was Jim, wasn't it." The older man shuddering at the thought of the shuttle journey from Riverside to San Francisco. He also remembered an earlier encounter with a shocked young man with plasma burns at the Riverside Clinic where McCoy had picked up temporary work. The Kid was a contractor at Starfleet Riverside, who had been injured. Another worker, Jim's friend, had died.

Jim Kirk was pulling on clothes with no embarrassment, even though he was in full view of a practical stranger in the room, but just returning from barracks would explain that.

"Yeah, Jim Kirk. Command Track/Engineering cadet." The blond guy smirked and held out his hand.

With a firm shake of their hands, the doctor replied with "Leonard McCoy, Medical Cadet."

"Cool, I saw you were being mentored by Dr. Leago. He was my physician when I lived with my dad. He did my medical personally when I enlisted. Great doctor, saved my life two years ago, I got Dendrassian fever. I know people don't get Dendrassian fever with the vaccine and all, but I lived on a colony in my teens and missed my shots. I seriously poorly for a couple of months afterwards. It wiped me out completely." Jim was busy putting his stuff away as he talked. "You should read my medical file, its interesting, to say the least." At that Kirk's pad bleeped incessantly. "Gotta run, I have an appointment with my mentor about coursework and stuff. See you later."

With that Leonard McCoy became Bones.

...

According to the Starfleet literature, Admiral Jonathan Archer sat on the High Command in an advisory capacity only. Officially it was an honourary position. For those in the know, Jon Archer was still very much a working Admiral with a remit ensuring Federation Security, he oversaw Black Ops and Dirty Dealing, while looking like a kind, wise old man.

Jim Kirk was shown straight through to the Admiral's spacious corner office, with its panoramic views over the Pacific and the Space Port in the distance.

Jon Archer sat down and pointed to his wall cabinet "Help yourself to Bourbon, Jim. Its going to be a long meeting."

"Sure thing, Handsome" Jim went straight to the bar and poured two glasses. He handed one to the Old man before sitting on the left hand of the three seats in front of the Admiral's desk. "This meeting is not strictly kosher, is it?"

"No." stated the Admiral simply. At this a pad was thrown at Jim who deftly caught it and began to read. The young man then drank the liquor in his hand and went for a fill up.

The article Jim read had been a technical paper produced by the late and very insane Doctor Ven Drask detailing his very classified work on shield modulations to allow for cloaking of objects. In the last forty years, he had been the closest to getting the technology to work in Federation ships but there were major problems. The shield generators worked too hot, outside of operational parameters and all accepted safety protocals. The field modulations between phasing caused the most problems. Migraines, strokes and induced psychosis were the known side affects. The good Dr. Drask had poisoned his fellow scientists in a fit of paranoia. His two assistants had died. Two subsequent projects had failed when serious injuries had marred the project.

"You think outside of the box, Jim. You proved that with your work on plasma fields." Archer looked at Jim closely, knowing he would be well within his rights to refuse this project.

Jim snorted. Then the cadet read his proposed course schedule and then laughed. "You want me to teach Advanced Warp Theory and Mechanics?" The final year compulsory course for future chief engineers.

"Says the guy who practically rewrote the subject courtesy of your work at Iowa. We reengineered both the Farragut and Enterprise based on your thesis. So you get to teach it, subject to all of the students signing the confidentiality security agreement." Archer continued with " All the ships in the fleet are scheduled for re-modifications either by reprogramming within current engineering parameters of rebuilds where practical. It won't just be cadets on your course for the next three years. All serving Engineers will be taking it"

The Admiral was not telling Jim anything he did not already know. The Enterprise is going to be at least 20% faster and with greater shield capabilities and was now only six months behind schedule due to upgrade and redesigns. "OK..OK.. I get to teach... but this doctorate proposal is not something Berkley will agree to."

"I have that covered. Your PhD thesis will be through the Vulcan Academy of Sciences. The first ships to be shielded will be Vulcan not Starfleet, if of course you get it to work."

"Is it an automatic fail if I don't?" queried the young man.

"No, do your best. If you can't get it to work with our technology, well we cannot in all good faith subject our crews to the risk that faced by our counterparts under the Klingon Empire."

Jim scrutinized the old man over that enigmatic statement, "Can I read the intelligence reports about those findings?"

"Sure, if you do the project." Admiral Archer finished his drink, knowing the young genius would take the bait. This was a serious amount of work for a full time doctoral student, never mind one undertaking a cadet's course load as well. Luckily Jon knew Jim would pass the practical, science and engineering courses without needing to go to lectures. Law, languages and ethics were another easy A for Jim. The kid had not been wrong in stating command fast track in three years not five years and a PhD. If anyone could handle it Jim Kirk could.

Archer having won the research outline then carried on "I've talked to all the course tutors about your individual requirements. Most fist year courses, just do the final exam or the project and hand it in. You'll need to timetable in one seminar at most. You have an out on the second semester ethics course as a survivor of Tarsus, you won't need to do those sims and Lt. Commander Spock has already passed you for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Vulcan Language and Culture."

"Oh that means I can take Klingon." Kirk went through his schedule on his pad, blocking out time where needed.

"That was not the idea, but take Klingon as extra credit if you want. I want you to meet a couple of people, they should be here in about 5." Archer got up and went to the window to stare at the space port.

"Thanks for the Bourbon, now they'll know I've been drinking." Kirk finished his drink and washed up both his and Archer's empty glasses.

"They're used to me, so they won't mind. Seren is a Vulcan scientist who has had dealings with the Klingon Empire. He knows the most about their ships capabilities but not much about cloaking systems. He will be your liaison at the Vulcan Academy of Sciences. My other guest is Commander Niall McCalley, he's black ops and has an interest in this tech. If you need dubious stuff he'll get it".

Kirk stared at Archer, "So I'm not allowed to use my contacts."

"Only if McCalley approves."

"Sure thing, Boss. If I'm doing this for the Vulcans. I'm going to have to know their plasma relay schematics."

"Thats where Seren comes in. When you need to know, he'll let you know. Work on the theory then get it to work in the lab, then a shuttle then maybe something larger."

"Lab?" inquired Kirk.

"Basement of the Cochrane Building Lab 003. Reprogamme the security protocols. I want no one from Starfleet to be able to have a sniff in there."