Chapter 25

by Starsinger

Back to Earth. I need to minimize my trips back and forth to the Enterprise. Much as I love her, the story will end in the "present". Just keep telling yourself that Starsinger. Don't own them.

Jim woke up very comfortably, and a combination of hot and cold. He and T'Nara had fallen asleep late the night before, and despite the attempts of the attaché, Charles Geiger, to keep the residence at Vulcan norm, T'Nara apparently thought it was cold. She not only hogged all the covers, she wore three pairs of flannel pajamas, two pairs of socks, and all of the blankets before snuggling up to Jim. T'Nara was not a snuggler. Charles was prepared for his guests though, he had thoroughly stocked the hallway closet with a lot of blankets. When Jim ventured to the bathroom at 1 am, they were all gone. Jim shrugged, T'Nara's higher body temperature meant he was plenty warm, even if he couldn't actually see her. She had buried herself under the covers sometime during the night.

Jim extracted himself from the bed and grabbed some of his Earth clothes to go take a shower. An honest to goodness shower with real water. There were definite advantages to living on a water world. He ran into T'Prin on the way to the shower. She was wrapped up in a jacket, "How can you stand it being so cold?" she asked.

"This?" Jim asked. "This isn't cold. It's barely 14°C out there. Walking home knee deep in snow, that's cold!"

T'Prin stared at him, "Snow? You actually dealt with snow?"

"I'm from Iowa, it gets cold there. It's called winter, I'm sure you've heard of it," Jim finished before opening the door.

Jim barely heard her mutter, "This isn't winter?" before closing the door behind him. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it was barely fall.

The group met down in the kitchen where a cook served them an appropriate breakfast. Everyone, even Jim, wore jackets. Jim also wore a knit cap Amanda had given to him and inside his jacket he carried a letter from Amanda to Spock if he encountered the Vulcan. He was fairly certain that he could drop it off somewhere to be delivered if he didn't.

A car picked them up. Today they were touring Starfleet Academy and Federation Headquarters. It was a crisp and surprisingly clear Saturday morning in San Francisco as the car dropped them off in front of the Commandant's building on campus. Instead of an aide standing there to escort them, Captain Pike stood there waiting for them. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Starfleet Academy!" he said to them, giving them a charming smile. Only Jim returned the smile. The rest stood there shivering. "Okay, let's go inside and we'll get you something hot to drink, like hot chocolate." Pike turned to go inside. Jim hurried up to him, speaking in a low, intense manner. Chris looked at him startled, "Well, that explains what happened to Cadet Spock last year. Okay, we'll go with hot tea, decaffeinated."

T'Prin looked most relieved while everyone else looked puzzled. Pike, naturally started with his office, making sure hot beverages were served. "As you can tell, this is the Academy itself, at least the staff part. Cadets come through these hallowed halls and we try our best to teach them what they'll need to be a functioning officer within Starfleet. Yes, Ma'am?" he asked as T'Pring raised a hand.

"Are all Starfleet personnel officers?" she asked.

"No, most are actually enlisted. They still receive an education, it's just much shorter. They go into a 'boot camp' to get them in shape for the physical side of their jobs. That lasts about six weeks. Then, they have an actual educational section, depending on what their aptitude tests are, and that lasts three to six months. It's very similar to the American system that was used up until the nuclear war of the late 21st century." Chris smiled again as they finished their drinks, "Now, if you'll follow me."

Chris showed them the dormitories, the classrooms for different disciplines, the shuttle simulator, the transporter, the shuttle bay, the cafeteria and various other domestic places, including an obstacle course, that the cadets used. They were standing on the green ready to head for Federation Headquarters when a Vulcan in Cadet reds walked toward them. "Spock," Jim heard T'Pring say. T'Pring moved behind Jim, almost as if she were afraid of confronting him. Spock didn't even to notice as he started to pass the group.

Jim stepped forward, "Excuse me, are you Spock?" The Vulcan stopped as if noticing the group for the first time. He nodded. "My name is Jim Kirk, I'm staying with your parents on Vulcan." Spock drew back, surprised by Kirk's manner. Jim extended an envelope to him, "Your mother, Amanda, asked me to give this to you."

Spock looked back at the human who made no move to touch him, "Thank you, Mr. Kirk." He nodded his head and left. Jim turned back to the group as they waited for him.

"What did you give him?" Pike finally asked.

"It was a letter from his mother, Amanda Grayson," Jim replied.

Pike nodded before they headed into the next building, "You're lucky, the Council isn't in session, so we'll be able to see the council room." The room was long and fairly wide. Two large boxes with seat sat on both sides of the room from the door, while a dais with a platform stood front and center at the other end. The emblem of the Federation behind it. A woman stood behind it, organizing some papers. She looked up and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Celia Dickinson, I'm the current Federation President, welcome!" she motioned them to sit in one of the boxes. "I know you've all heard about what goes on in this room, and now you've actually seen it. While debates and votes are held here, much of the actual politicking takes place outside. We each have offices here, and many take advantage of being able to get much of our work taken care of before we reach these chambers." She went on to explain what generally happened during each meeting. Then more questions were asked by the students.

"The next several days you'll be meeting with various ambassadors and getting a feel for what they do. I wish you good fortune in your chosen professions," she left them with those words.

The group filed out, back into the cold as Jim shook his head. He suddenly heard his name being called, "Jimmy!"

Jim came face-to-face with an old "friend", Seamus Finnegan. He was not only not prepared, but not exactly happy as the two rivals squared off once again.

I have plans for Mr. Finnegan and the Enterprise. Don't worry, Jim will do what he does best!