Two years later
"Agent Kirk, what is your status?"
Jim's earpiece buzzed and he activated his comm unit in his wrist as he finished relieving an unconscious Pirate of his weapons.
"All guards secured and disarmed. Ready to enter the main cargo bay, sir," he reported.
"Very well. We'll beam them to the brig and you and Park go in. Be very cautious for extra guards and remember to be wary approaching the hostages."
"Yes, Sir," Jim replied, well aware of the need for delicate handling. He nodded to his partner, Lucas Park, and they destroyed the lock on the cargo bay door.
"You got the translator ready?" He asked Lucas. They'd need it to talk to the many species they would likely find.
"Yeah, Kirk, she's all set. Blast it open."
They drew their phasers and Jim blasted the lock. Clearing away the debris, they took up stations on either side of the doors and entered the cargo bay.
The stench inside was nauseating, like Jim remembered from his own voyages in the vowels of a slave ship, but he set his teeth and ignored it to focus on the frightened, chained, occupants. There was a staggering amount of them, crammed in like sardines and Jim saw that this group was mostly Orion, human, and Andorian: not as diverse as usual, which meant that these slavers cruised around picking people off of colonies.
He knelt beside a skinny couple who clung to each other, despite the chains.
"What are you going to do with us?" The man said fearfully.
"Lock your kidnappers in prison and get you out of this place and back where you came from," Jim answered, removing the manacles. "We're with the Federation Anti-trafficking force," he explained. "I'm telling the truth." He locked eyes with the man and held out his hand. "Jim Kirk at your service."
The name and the release from his chains seemed to change the man's mind.
"Becky!" He said to his partner, who was looking at Jim with wide green eyes. "It's Jim Kirk! He's come to rescue us! Can you believe it?"
"Yes, dear. It's a miracle! Thank you," she said to Jim as he unlocked her manacles. "You're the one that was missing for ten years, right?"
"Yes, I was." Jim confirmed.
"Where did they snatch you from?"
"Regis 9" Pete answered. "It's a research station that's badly under protected. They were going to take us to auction."
There was a shudder in his voice and Jim winced in sympathy.
"We're working in conjunction with the USS Enterprise and in a few minutes, you'll be beamed aboard. Please stay calm and patient and you'll be off of this nasty scow in a jiffy, Okay?"
"Alright, Mister Kirk."
Once the other prisoners saw Jim and Lucas methodically freeing people, they soon understood what was going on, even without the universal translator and began to chatter excitedly and willingly hold up their hands to be freed. It was a long process, even working as fast as possible and it was a good twenty minutes before Jim contacted the ship to tell them the report.
"Kirk to Enterprise."
"Enterprise here," Pike answered. "What's the story, agent?"
"We've got about eighty-five souls free and ready to be beamed up, Captain.
"Understood. Any urgent medical needs?"
"Mostly malnutrition. Some bruises, but we caught this one in time."
"Thank goodness. Stand by and Scott will beam them up in groups of eight."
"Aye, sir, will do. Kirk out."
The explanation of the process took longer than the actual beaming, but they managed to avoid stampedes and get everyone safely beamed up.
Finally, Jim and Lucas were beamed up, feeling satisfied with a job well done. They hadn't had a raid go this smoothly in months.
"Nice work, Park," He complimented his partner with a grin.
"Thanks, Kirk. That goes for you, too. You avoided busting your face up this time."
Jim nodded and chuckled. He'd come out of the last such adventure with a broken nose after a frustrated pirate had clocked him hard.
They'd face a debrief with Pike and and a much longer one with the bosses at the bureau, but Jim was confident they'd done both proud this time.
He met Spock in their quarters afterwards with a triumphant kiss-fingers meeting in the Vulcan style as well as lips.
"You are happy, k'diwa," Spock observed, "I assume your mission was a success?"
"Very much so, love. We saved eighty-seven people from the auction block today. That's a very good feeling."
"Indeed, but you are also exhausted. Come rest now, Jim. You can tell me more about your raid and I will lull you to sleep with science stories and perhaps some neuropressure."
That sounded good to Jim. Spock had magic hands when it came to relieving built up tension. (Yes, that way, too). He undressed and climbed into bed beside her, letting out a content sigh.
Despite his fears to the contrary, Jim had found he could enjoy bedroom activities. Spock had been very sweet to him on their honeymoon, knowing how important it was for him to take the lead. Jim almost wasn't sure how to handle himself when he wasn't being barked commands or teased until he was desperate, but he'd soon figured it out. No, they'd never be very adventurous, but they were both content, and that's what mattered.
"Roll over onto your side, James." Spock whispered. "Allow me to ease the tension in your back."
Jim obliged, though he hated to turn away from his beautiful wife, but he let out a groan of delight as her gentle touch undid the knots in his muscles.
"I see your scars have faded since I first saw them," she observed.
"Uh, yeah," Jim managed as he felt himself melt under her skilled hands. "Quite a bit. Bones had some highly sensitive dermal regenerator that he wanted to test on me, see what it could do with old scarring and I let him have at it. It really worked."
"Indeed. All but the deepest marks are merely faint lines now. I shudder to think of the force with which this blow was struck."
She traced a fingertip over an indented streak on his lower back.
"Wasn't a conventional whip," Jim admitted. "More like a group of knotted ropes with some metal in them. They quit using it because it caused such severe injury and the master's wife did not approve. She had some decency about her compared to her husband."
"I see," Spock replied, a wave of agitation passing through her at the thought of her Jim suffering pain from such a device.
"Don't stress over it, darling, it's all in the past," Jim said, turning back over to pull her close to him.
"She was the one who suggested I be given to your father as a present instead of re-sold, unwittingly setting in motion my entire life turning around," Jim added between kisses. "Ended up leading me to you, my adun'a."
"Hmmm," Spock pondered, shivering with pleasure from Jim's kisses and endearments. "I suppose I cannot loathe her for such reasons."
"But now, James, please recount your adventures conquering the slave ship today, before we both succumb to sleep."
"Sure," Jim smiled sleepily and began the tale, not letting go of his wife. "It was a basic cargo ship, with a false bottom to hide the illegal activity..."
As Jim captivated Spock with yet another rescue story, she felt tender pride in this man, who'd battled through so much in thirty years of life. She calculated that he'd now helped save 467 beings from the fate he'd endured and sparked a revolution across the Federation. But at the end of the day, he came home to her. Spock counted herself a blessed woman.
As for Jim, he still sometimes wondered what she'd seen in him, but he was glad she had. It was people like Spock, Amanda, Sarek, L'Ren, Bones, and Pike who'd changed his mindset from broken and worthless to determined survivor and activist.
Every time he'd released a trembling slave from their bonds, he felt like he was taking a hammer to the whole system, and it was incredibly satisfying. Right now, however, he was quite happy simply being Spock's man.