Kirk sat in the command chair, running his fingers across the smooth metal, deep in thought. It wasn't unheard-of for an admiral to take command of a starship, and he was Admiral Kirk, after all. But still...it felt odd to be sitting in that chair, and not being called "Captain." That, and the fact that the face in the mirror didn't match the rank. It certainly felt strange to be so young again, but it was a pleasant experience.
Kirk thought back to his Academy days. Back then, he had been a rather odd cadet. His intelligence and mental computations were slightly above standard human normality for his age, and he was without question the youngest cadet ever in Starfleet history. Those qualities, combined with a serious attitude, had made him a prime target for upperclassmen like Finnegan. He had obviously never expected Kirk to become an Admiral.
Kirk smiled slightly. If only Finnegan were here right now, I'd show him my rank and punch his lights out, Kirk thought to himself. Along with the rest of his goons.
"Admiral?" Uhura's voice cut through his memories. He looked over at her, a questioning look on his face. "We're recieving a priority message from Starfleet," Uhura continued.
"Dammit," Kirk cursed under his breath. "All right, put it on screen."
"Yes, sir."
The viewscreen fizzled, and static lines ran across it. A panel erupted in sparks, and a jumpy image appeared on the viewscreen. Colored splotches riddled the screen, moving around and making it impossible to use.
"Will somebody fix that?" he yelled to the tech crews. They hurried to tweak the settings, and cleared the image up somewhat. The person on the other end was none other than Admiral Cartwright.
Kirk gave him a polite nod. "Admiral. What can I do for you?"
Cartwright skipped the pleasantries. "There's a hostage situation on Nimbus III, forced by a radical group called the Army of Light."
"Hold on just a minute. Nimbus III? The planet of galactic peace?" Kirk asked incredulously. "Why would anyone take hostages there?"
"We don't know, James. But either way, they must be released. The Enterprise is to be taken to Nimbus III, and your orders are to free those hostages and avoid a conflict if necessary."
Kirk looked around at the half-assembled ship, then gave a withering look to Cartwright. "I doubt we'll be going anywhere for a while. The Enterprise is in pieces, and not all our crewmen are on board yet. Surely there is some other ship nearby that can handle the situation."
"Other ships, yes, but no experienced commanders. Especially none with your rank. Starfleet needs James Kirk on this assignment."
Kirk muttered, "Oh, please, no," and rolled his eyes, discreetly enough that Cartrwright wouldn't notice. He sighed heavily. "All right then, I guess we'll be underway as soon as Commander Scott finishes working with the warp engines. Enterprise out." He signaled for Uhura to cut the transmission, and then leaned back in his chair. "Damn."
As he spoke that last word, the turbolift doors opened and a cranky old doctor stepped onto the bridge. "What's the matter, Jim?" McCoy asked. "As if I didn't know." He eyed the turbolift doors, which weren't closing, and stepped down to his place at Kirk's elbow.
The young admiral sighed. "Nimbus III has a hostage situation, and my oh-so-legendary status has us chasing an entire army in a half-assembled ship. I can't believe how damn foolish Starfleet Command has been getting."
McCoy grumbled for a moment in agreement. "Well, I suppose that means I should try to get Sickbay into a workable condition. I swear, that whole deck must have been put together by chimpanzees..."
Kirk grinned. "It was. Starfleet did it, remember?"
McCoy chuckled. "Jeez, you must really be mad at them right now."
Kirk shrugged. "You might say that. By the way, do you know where David is? I need to know whether he wants to come along."
"Last time I saw him, he was with Spock in the Science Lab." He hesitated for a moment. "Jim...it's incredible, isn't it? All this while, I thought you had barely any living relatives. How come you never told us about him?"
Kirk sighed, saddened. "She didn't want me to. She didn't want him following me across the galaxy, and possibly getting killed. She never even let me visit him. All these years, I've wondered where he was and if he knew I was his father. And when we finally met again, he was trying to kill me. Not exactly the welcome I'd hoped for. But he hadn't known. And at first, I didn't realize it was him. The last time I saw him, he was just a baby. He's changed so much over the past fifteen years...and I wasn't ever there when he needed me. His first word, his first step...I've missed it all."
McCoy didn't even have to ask who 'she' was. "Jim, Carol was just doing what was best for David. A life with you would have been-"
Kirk was suddenly furious. "Dangerous? Unsafe? Trust me, that would be a lot better than living your whole life and never seeing your father. How the hell should you know what's best for a boy like him? I know. I know better than anyone. Because all my life, my father was away in space. He would only visit about once a year, for a few days at a time, and he never sent subspace messages back home for me or Sam. We had to sit in Iowa, on the farm, waiting for him to return. Waiting for him to come home for good, so I could have a father again. But then the day came..." He growled, and his fingers tightened around the armrests of the chair, slightly denting the metal. "David should not have had to go through the same thing. After my father...disappeared, I vowed I would never turn out to be like him. And here I am, doing the same thing. I know what it's like, so don't you tell me what's best for him." He stormed off the bridge, leaving a bewildered crew behind.
McCoy was shocked speechless, and for a few minutes he just stood there, staring at the turbolift doors. "Whoops," he finally muttered. "Dammit, how the hell could I have forgotten?"
Just then, the lights went off and power surges started going through the navigation console. Scotty swore and banged his fist on the engineering panel. "Damn thing. I think I need a vacation."
~~~~~~~
Kirk silently fumed as he walked toward the Science Lab. How dare McCoy question a child's upbringing like that! Had he completely forgotten about George Kirk and his son, Jimmy, and the way he had been raised? Had he forgotten how important family is?
He paused in front of the Lab doors and took a moment to calm himself. Come on James, you know it wasn't Bones' fault, he reminded himself. He wasn't raised that way, and probably forgot that you were. Dammit, he's a doctor, not a Vulcan. Kirk barely hid a smile when he realized what he was thinking, then continued into the Lab.
"David?" he called as he stepped into the well-lit room. Various monitors beeped, and lights flashed dimly. David looked up from his computer terminal as the admiral entered, and glanced over at Spock before standing up.
"Yes sir?" David asked.
Both had agreed that calling Kirk 'Dad' would sound way too strange, not only to themselves, but to the crew as well. So they were staying mostly on a first-name basis. And even though David was not part of Starfleet, he referred to Kirk with the respect he deserved as an admiral.
"Bad news, David. Shore leave's been cancelled, and Starfleet Command is ordering us out on a mission," Kirk said.
"But the ship doesn't even work right yet, does it?" David asked.
"No, not yet, but Scotty's working on it as fast as he can. David...you can stay on Earth, if you want to, we're not forcing you to come..." Kirk deliberately left that opening.
David smiled faintly. "With all due respect, admiral, I'd like to come along." He dropped out of the formal language. "What about Mom?"
"As far as I know, Carol has decided to sit out on this one," Kirk said. "You know her, always wanting to 'play it safe' and not go running off with me on some damn fool idealistic crusade." He turned to Spock. "Captain Spock, are you coming with us?"
"Of course, Admiral. My place is at your side. I will never abandon it," the Vulcan replied smoothly. "I have been, and always will be, your friend."
"All right gentlemen, let's get moving," Kirk said, turning on his heel and heading for the doors. "We launch in one hour. David, consider this to be your 'shakedown cruise' on the Enterprise, along with the ship."
David laughed. "Yes, sir!"