The lift door 'hsshh'ed' open and Elle stepped onto the bridge.
"-absolutely not," Kirk said.
"You are the youngest captain in the Fleet, the flagship nonetheless, and you have the most fascinating missions to boot. This kind of positive PR writes itself, captain, and Star Fleet needs it."
"Then let it write itself," Kirk retorted. "There's no need for a documentary crew to follow working crewmembers around. We can do an interview over subspace or at our next starbase, we've done it before."
"We need something different," the admiral insisted. "People need to see that the gallant starship officers are humans, too."
Kirk scowled.
Elle sidled over to Spock, outside the camera range. "What's going on?" she whispered.
"Admiral Myers of Public Relations is attempting to convince the captain to allow a documentary crew film on the Enterprise," Spock murmured.
Elle blinked. "A documentary... like The Office?"
Spock rolled his eyes. "An actual production, documenting the roles of different crewmen and their respective experiences."
Elle grimaced. "Sounds like a bad idea."
"This is a bad idea," Kirk insisted. "Taking a group of untrained civilians on an active mission where they're going to be actively sticking their noses into our business endangers not only them but my own people."
"Don't you have a civilian mission consultant?" Admiral Myers asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That is different, not to mention classified," Kirk replied sharply.
"Classified? Aren't you testing civilian presence aboard starships for future implementation with families? That's a perfect bit."
The captain pressed his lips together tightly.
Admiral Myers looked amused. "The decision has already been made, captain. Don't worry. They've been trained in Fleet protocol and you will be able to limit their movements and exposure to the ship. They know what Star Fleet expects of them, captain."
"Understood," Kirk said, tone clipped.
"Excellent. You can rendezvous with them on Starbase 3. Details are in the comm packet." The admiral signed off.
Kirk sighed heavily and scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked over at Elle and gave her a small smile. "So what brings you to the bridge?" he asked.
"I just came up to say hi," Elle replied. "You guys are busy though, so I'll just-"
"No, hold on, stay a minute," Kirk reached out a hand. "What do you think of this whole thing?"
Elle grimaced. "I don't know. This wasn't an episode, though I wish it had been, that'd be hilarious." She cleared her throat. "Though, ahem, I'm sure it's going to be stressful in real life."
"Much more stressful than Klingons," Chekov agreed. "You can't shoot the press."
Everyone snickered.
-/\-
"Elle to Transporter Room 2."
Elle almost dropped her beaker. "They're here! Do I look okay?"
"I highly doubt they're going to come in filming," Ensign Mayarti said.
"But do I look okay?" Elle pressed, smoothing her blouse.
"You look fine. Cute, even, for standards of human."
"Okay, good, thank you, gotta go!" Elle bolted from the science lab.
She arrived in the transporter room in time to run her fingers through her hair and hide behind Kirk and Spock, just as the first of the documentary crew beamed aboard. One was clearly an assistant, with a bag full of PADDs and another bag full of equipment. The other was the cameraman, carrying a handheld camera over his shoulder and a visor readout over one eye.
Camera guy stepped down, gave a genial, "Hey," to the officers, and turned back to the dais, his camera poised and ready.
Kirk and Spock exchanged glances of dread and both officers put on their game faces.
A second later, the rest of the film crew beamed aboard. One of the men had a mic clipped to his shirt, and another man was holding a boom mic. The third was holding more equipment. The one with the mic shirt began to speak. "As you can see, we've just transported aboard Star Fleet's most famous vessel, the starship Enterprise. For the next few days we'll be getting the inside story of the crew and their daily lives. Speaking of," the man stepped off the dais and headed for Captain Kirk.
The camera man and the boom mic swiveled appropriately.
"The famous captain himself, James T. Kirk," the interviewer said, holding out a hand.
Kirk smiled charmingly and shook hands with him. "Welcome aboard," he said.
"Thank you captain." The three of them swiveled again. "And this is Mr. Spock, First Officer and Chief Science Officer." The man had enough sense not to offer his hand.
"Live long and prosper," Spock intoned, in his most Vulcan of Vulcan intonations.
He swiveled again to Elle, and there he faltered. "Who are you?" He raised a hand. "Cut, cut, hold on everybody, who are you?"
Elle blushed fiercely, her ears burning. "Elle Wilcott, civilian."
"Civilian?" The doc crew shared a glance. "What are you, my briefing only said anything about a mission consultant, not, not a kid."
Kirk released a slow, measured breath, the kind that meant photon torpedo barrages were in the near future. "Admiral Myers didn't mention that we're testing a civilian presence on starships in hopes of having families join working officers onboard?"
"No..." The man frowned down at Elle. "So what do you do?"
"School," Elle replied.
"Ah. That's gonna require some rewriting. Okay, we'll get on that tonight. In the meantime, you can stay in the shots, till we get your interview." The man shook his head briefly to clear it, and turned to the captain. "Sorry for the cold open, we didn't want to miss the beam-in. My name's Ryan. Ryan Daniels. This is my team, that's Oscar, Mike, Sam, Atesh. Atesh is my AD, he's the one that really runs the show, haha. Oscar and Mike are camera and mic, respectively, and yes, we've heard all the jokes. Sam is their assistant, so he gets to carry all the heavy stuff."
"Gentlemen," Kirk said, nodding. "If you'll come this way, I'll show you to your quarters and we can discuss your requirements for filming."
"Thank you, captain."
Spock went back to the bridge. Elle contemplated going back to science class, but Kik gave her a look that read, "Don't leave me alone with these psychos." Elle joined them in the lift.
"How old are you, kid?" Ryan asked her.
"Almost fifteen," Elle said.
"How long you been here?"
"Almost two years."
"You like it?"
"Yes."
"Good, good." Ryan turned to his AD. "Did you get all that?"
"Yup." Atesh waved a PADD.
They appreciated their guest quarters and set up to film the surroundings. Kirk pulled Elle aside. "I think you make them nervous," he whispered. "How do you feel about tailing them while they're here?"
Elle grinned. "That'd be hilarious," she whispered back.
"Good. That's your mission, then."
"I can do zat," Elle whispered, and giggled to herself.
Kirk gave her an odd look. "I don't know why you keep saying that."
"It's an inside joke," Elle told him.
"Quiet, please," Atesh told them, as Ryan started his spiel about 'guest quarters on the infamous Enterprise.'
From there, the captain took them on an abbreviated tour of the Enterprise, sans recording equipment. "Apologies, gentlemen, but operational security requires such measures," he said, managing to sound completely unapologetic.
"No problem, we've got good memories," Ryan said, waving a hand. "Can we mic you for sound?"
Mike moved in and clipped a microphone to the captain's collar before he could agree.
"...sure," Kirk said.
"Got that?" Ryan asked.
Mike gave him a thumbs-up.
"Excellent." He pointed at Elle. "You, don't you have somewhere else to be?"
"Nope," Elle said, smiling.
He sighed. "Okay. Captain, if you would?"
It only took an hour, and they ended back at the guest quarters. "I have to get back to the bridge," the captain said, unclipping the mic from his shirt, "but Miss Wilcott is available to act as your liason and guide. Have a look around the main rec deck, get something to eat, et cetera. Please forward Mr. Spock and myself your planned itinerary for interviews, shadow sessions, and so on. I'll remind you we hold veto on any of your plans."
"Thank you, captain, we'll get that to you by end of today," Ryan replied, nodding.
Kirk nodded sharply and made his escape.
Elle gave the civilians her best company smile. "Main rec deck, gentlemen? Today's dinner special is chicken teriyaki, the good kind, not the gross kind."
"What's the gross kind?" Oscar asked, as they followed her down the hall.
Elle made a face. "The kind that comes in little balls. These are the split chicken breasts."
"Aren't they all synthesized?" Oscar asked.
"Yeah, but it just tastes better," Elle replied. "And our chief of recreation, Lt. Tanzer, makes the teriyaki glaze from scratch."
Atesh took notes. "Does your chief of rec usually double as a chef?"
"No, we have actual crew that take KP duty, but he got his recipe from his mother's family on Earth, and the crew voted on whose was better."
"Fascinating," Atesh said. "What else does the crew vote on?"
"Which ice cream flavors to keep in rotation. Which fruits count as dessert." Elle pointed out one of the buffet signs. "Jicama is a side dish, not a dessert."
"Is this buffet up all the time?" Ryan asked.
"Nope. Just during the three major meal rushes, and then after Beta shift lets out, which is Last Supper."
The Anglo-christian-oriented ones shared a glance. "You're kidding, right?" Oscar asked.
Elle stifled a giggle. "Ever since we discovered the neo-Romans, no, I'm really not."
"The neo-Romans... that was the diaspora colony, yes?"
"Uh-huh."
They grabbed their food and Elle led them to a good people-watching spot. "From here you can watch the game."
"The basketball game?"
"Yeah. Or the ping-pong tournament." Elle ate her food and listened to them mutter furiously about 'interviewing schedules' and 'lab setups.'
"Miss Wilcott, do you know which labs are approved for civilian access?" Atesh asked.
"You'd have to ask Mr. Spock," Elle replied.
He made a note.
"Is there a place to set up for individual interviews?" Oscar asked. "A secondary conference room, an empty office out of the way?"
"There's a few," Elle said. "Put it on the list and Spock will let you know."
Ryan tilted his head and looked at her. "So you're not really a liason," he said.
Elle gave him a smile. "I'm telling you who has the information you need," she said. "I'm a minor, I can't give you access to anything."
"Good point," Ryan said. "Whose idea was it to put you on a starship?"
"Star Fleet's," Elle replied, deadpan.
"Where are your parents?"
She blinked at him and took a giant bite of rice, chewing pointedly.
"Right," he said. "We'll just wait for the official interview."
They finished eating and Lt. Harb Tanzer approached. "Can I help you gentlemen?" he asked, his smile placid but his eyes sharp.
"Can we film in here, just a general pan, pick up some background footage?" Ryan asked.
"If you're discreet, then sure," Harb replied. "I'll help you set up."
Elle played Minecraft while they filmed forty whole minutes of evening rec deck activity.
"And here we have the evening population of the starship's crew in their native habitat," Oscar said, slowly zooming in on a group of crewmen playing fizzbin. "They seem to have formed complex game rituals to stave off the boredom of daily routine..."
"Knock it off," Ryan groused. "These are just filler shots, I want the native background audio."
Elle hid a snicker in her sleeve. "Well, I'm going to bed," she said, closing her game console. "What time do you start tomorrow?"
"If our itinerary gets approved, 0600 tomorrow, an interview with Captain Kirk," Atesh said.
Elle grimaced. "I'm definitely going to bed then." She left them in Harb's capable hands.
-/\-
Elle got an alert at 0530. 'Doc itinerary approved, meet me 0600 conf room E deck 7, bring your snacks - JTK'
"Aye, aye, cap." She finished lacing her boots and stuffed her sweater pockets full of snack bars and protein cubes.
A quick breakfast, and she was at the right conference room on deck 7, just as the captain himself rolled up, immaculately dressed, hair styled to captainly perfection, his cheekbones highlighted like an Iowan summer morning. He glowed with health and perfection. "Good morning," he said, giving Elle a smile.
"You are a beautiful captain who don't need no man," Elle told him tiredly. "Go glow at the camera."
He laughed. "Not a morning person, kiddo?"
She lifted her full cup of coffee and scowled. "No."
The documentary crew was appropriately stunned by Captain Kirk at 100% Charming. They framed the chair in front of a small potted plant and a computer monitor with a nebula on it. "If you'd just sit there, captain, and we'll get a sound check."
Mike set up the microphone, checked it, he and Oscar synced their devices, and he gave Ryan a thumbs-up.
Elle sat in the remaining chair off-screen and sipped her coffee.
Ryan sat next to the camera and gave Captain Kirk a smile. "And here we are with the commanding officer of the ship, the youngest person to make captain in Star Fleet history, Captain James T. Kirk. What made you want to join Star Fleet, captain?"
"I wanted to explore the galaxy and discover new planets and new civilizations," Kirk replied. "My father and my grandfather were both Star Fleet, and as I got older, I knew that was what I wanted to do."
"Why the Enterprise?"
Kirk laughed. "Why not? I was offered the position by now-Commodore Pike, and I accepted. She's a beautiful lady, our Enterprise."
"True, very true. What is it like, to captain a starship?"
The captain's smile morphed into something small, his expression serious. "It's an incredible responsibility," he said. "Most days, it's an incredible joy. I couldn't ask for a better crew or a better ship, but it's one thing to know that you have the support of over four-hundred people, and another to know you are responsible for every single one of those lives."
"As a starship captain, you're very often in situations where you have many more lives to deal with," Ryan said. "How do you handle it?"
Kirk wrinkled his nose. "With dignity, I hope," he joked, and then sobered. "It's easy to get into the mindset of numbers, in the case of casualties or rescue efforts, missions gone wrong or skirmishes on the borders of disputed territories, weighing this many lives against that many lives, but each life counts. Each loss is mourned, whether of my crew or not. Out here, it's probable we will be the first aliens a civilization has ever seen, or the first they've seen with peaceful intentions. The Enterprise, we represent Star Fleet, we represent the Federation's ideals, and we do the best we can. When we're successful in our missions, it is because each of my crewmembers gives a hundred percent of their talent and their perseverance, which allows me to make the decisions I make and trust in my crew to back me up. I would never ask something of my crew that I would never do myself, and they know that. So when we pull off the impossible..." He smiled and shrugged. "What can I say?"
"What can you say, indeed?" Ryan asked, impressed against his will. "You are very aware of the impact you can make."
"I have to be," the captain said simply. "So does each captain out here on the frontiers."
"What's your favorite part about being captain?" Ryan asked.
It went on like that for a while, and Ryan guided Kirk into talking abut amusing anecdotes, "the time someone left coffee in a cubbyhole and stank out an entire section", so on.
"What would you tell someone thinking of joining Star Fleet?" Ryan asked, as the final question.
Kirk tilted his head, thought about it. "Make sure of your motivation," he said. "If you can't find joy in the thought of discovering new worlds and new civilizations, or even in the thought of learning to love whoever you'll be roommates with as a junior ensign, then think long and hard about it. No molecule in this universe is the same. That's what it's all about." He smiled again.
"Very Vulcan of you, captain," Ryan said.
Kirk's smile turned into a grin. "Considering I have a Vulcan first officer, it's not very surprising, is it?"
"Not at all. Thank you for your time, captain." Ryan held up a hand. "Cut. All right, thank you captain, we'll let you get on with your day. If you could send Commander Spock down?"
"Of course, Mr. Daniels," Kirk said courteously. He stole Elle's coffee on the way out. "S'bad for you, kiddo."
"Hey!"