1/1/2259
Alyen and L'Naym's Quarters
5:30 PM

"And tomorrow we'll present our Esteem Gift to him," Alyen said.

After they'd arrived on the Saratoga, all of the new crewmen had been greeted by First Officer, Commander
Thelin, a tall and very imposing Andorian. He had briefed each of them and given them their new schedules
which each would begin the following day

The lifemates had then taken the time to explore their new home, greet their new fellow crewmembers
and settle into their assigned quarters.

Today the ship's new commanding officer, Captain James T Kirk, had come aboard. The Nlians had briefly
met him once at Starfleet HQ a few days before they were deployed and had seen him again in the shuttle
bay when he had first boarded and accepted command.

Both times had stuck out with them for some reason.

They had been familiar with him before hand of course. There probably wasn't a person in the Federation
who hadn't heard of James Tiberius Kirk, former Captain of the USS Enterprise. The Hero who saved Earth,
and the tragic victim of the Enterprise Incident.

They like everyone else had heard about and followed the trial and they like everyone else felt awful
about what had happened to the famous Captain.

But there was something more.

Alyen had recalled that time months ago while still in training when Arinze had taken him out to attend
a party. Arinze had parked his car near the Captain's flat. Alyen had looked at that flat and thought about
the man inside it. It had struck him that it wasn't just a famous Captain in that flat. It was a young man
not much older than him. A man who had been terribly hurt in the worse possible way: physically violated
and then betrayed and abandoned. A man who probably felt very alone.

When they had encountered the Captain for the first time at Starfleet HQ, both of them had looked into
his eyes and seen a Captain who was determined to start anew…and a man who had been badly hurt.

Yesterday they had both made an appointment to see the Captain. They planned to follow through with
the ancient Nlian custom of bestowing a Gift of Esteem to their new 'chieftain' as it where. They were both
scheduled to see him tomorrow at 1500 hours.

Alyen noticed that his lifemate was looking thoughtful.

"Beloved, I've been thinking…" she said. "When we speak to the Captain tomorrow…why don't we invite
him over for a Pledge Meal? That's also a tradition."

"Do you think we should?" Since enlisting in Starfleet they had quickly noticed that most senior officers
were quite formal towards even off duty subordinates. And the higher ranked they were the more formal
they seemed to become. "He might think it's inappropriate."

"He might. But then again he might not. From what I've heard, Captain Kirk is rather unconventional
and after all that he's been through, he might enjoy a home cooked meal in an informal setting."

Alyen nodded thoughtfully. "I thank you might be right, Beloved. When we met him at Starfleet Headquarters
I had a feeling that…that he could use all the friends he could get."

He nodded again firmly. "All right. When we see him tomorrow we'll invite him. If he says no we'll just present
his gift to him and then leave."