Chapter 2: The Friendship-Registration Ceremony
They exited the privacy cubicle and found Bonsu and the city clerk—a small blonde woman—in the large main room. Bonsu smiled as they approached. "Are you ready?"
"We are," Kirk said.
They were led to a small alcove decorated with a variety of symbols that neither of them recognized, then the clerk brought over two fist-sized rocks and handed one to Kirk and one to Spock, both of whom took the rocks and examined them curiously. The rocks were heavy for their size and made of a very hard, very dense material.
Bonsu said to the clerk, "These men are not from Jamorkee, so we'll need to explain the ceremony to them." He turned to Kirk and Spock. "The rock symbolizes the solidity and steadfastness of a primary friendship. Each of you hands his rock to the other, thus promising each to be a steadfast friend to the other."
Kirk bowed slightly to Spock and held out his rock, which Spock received gravely in his left hand. The Vulcan inclined his head with regal dignity and presented the rock in his right hand to Kirk, who accepted it with practiced solemnity, having undergone a multitude of foreign ceremonies on a number of alien planets.
Bonsu said, "You can put your rocks there," gesturing to the small table beside them, and the two men did so.
The clerk brought over two heavy wool blankets and handed one each to Kirk and Spock, who accepted them without comment.
Bonsu said, "The blanket represents the warmth of a primary friendship, which will keep your hearts warm for all of your days. Wrap your blanket around yourself to warm it up and think about the warmth you hold in your heart for your friend, then give the warmed blanket to your friend as a symbol of the warmth he can always find in you."
Kirk wrapped one end of the blanket around himself, then slung the other end over his shoulder with a rakish air. Spock wrapped himself carefully in his blanket, which hung so evenly over his shoulders that there was less than a millimeter of difference between the lengths of each end.
After a few seconds, Kirk shrugged out of his blanket, so Spock removed his as well. Spock walked behind Kirk and enfolded him in the warm blanket, resting his hands briefly on the wool-clad shoulders and squeezing them lightly, then returned to his place. Kirk approached Spock from the front; he reached up and wrapped his own blanket around the Vulcan's shoulders, then slid his hands down Spock's arms and clasped one hand around each bicep while he looked into Spock's eyes and smiled with all of the warmth in his heart.
Bonsu smiled and clapped his hands, then said, "At this point in the ceremony, you talk about what each of you appreciates about the other. This should be heartfelt and in your own words but reasonably brief—most celebrants say around three paragraphs each."
Spock raised an eyebrow on hearing the word "heartfelt" but did not otherwise object to the proceedings. Kirk winced at what their duty had forced on his reticent Vulcan friend and wondered what Spock would consider to be appropriate here. He didn't want to say a lot more than Spock was comfortable with, but he didn't want to shortchange him when it came time to talk about his good qualities, either. Thinking that perhaps it would be best if he followed the Vulcan's lead in this particular stage of the ceremony, he motioned to Spock to go first.
Spock's eyebrow, already raised, climbed even higher at being told to go first, but he did not demur. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked Kirk in the eye. "A shortage of time precludes my enumerating your virtues in great enough detail to do them full justice. I will summarize."
He stopped looking Kirk in the eye and looked slightly above Kirk's face, seeming uncomfortable with what he was about to say and yet warmly determined to say it. "Your character encompasses all of the virtues that we associate with the finest qualities of the Federation: the broad-minded inclusiveness, the care and consideration for the rights and welfare of all sentient creatures, the determination to live up to our highest ideals and to continue to strive for an ever-elusive perfection."
Spock swallowed and continued. "In addition, you have all of the virtues of a superlative starship commander: you are controlled and decisive in a crisis, yet you are personable enough when off duty to garner the affection and loyalty of every member of your crew. You have moments of intuitive brilliance that no Vulcan can match, and you possess a seemingly instinctive ability to elicit the absolute best performance of which every crew member is capable. Furthermore, you have qualities of self-control and determination that I had believed to be impossible in a human until I encountered your example."
Spock took a deep breath and forced himself to look Kirk in the eyes once more. "It is a great privilege to serve under you and an even greater privilege to call you friend. I once admitted to you that I was ashamed of the feelings of friendship you elicited in me, but no longer. They are, and always shall be, a highlight of my existence."
Kirk felt almost as stunned as if he'd been hit by a phaser. He knew that Spock valued him, but he'd never had it all laid out for him before, and he'd certainly never heard the Vulcan call any feeling a highlight of his existence. But Spock had said that it would be disrespectful and dishonest to fail to participate seriously in the friendship-registration ceremony, and Spock, as always, was rising to the occasion with dignity and grace.
Kirk usually considered himself quite the orator, but he wasn't sure he could tell Spock how deeply he valued him without giving away the one secret he meant to keep. He would have to tread carefully here.
Kirk cleared his throat. "My friend, you're a far better representative of those Federation ideals than I could ever be. When the Gorns blew up the outpost on Cestus III, you tried to get me to talk to the Gorns, to find out the reason behind their attack, but I allowed my anger to run away with me and got us into an entirely unnecessary contest with the Gorn captain."
He grimaced. "And on Janus VI, I accepted Vanderberg's assessment of the situation and ordered the Horta killed. You countermanded my order and directed that she be captured, not killed, and as it turned out, you were right. The Horta was a sentient creature, one we'd have been wrong to kill, but we never would have known that if not for you."
Kirk looked up into Spock's eyes and held them. "No matter where we are, no matter what's happening, you always stand for the highest ideals. I trust your conscience even over my own, and I've been toying with the idea of making it an official position, of naming you the Enterprise Conscience."
Kirk smiled. "But that's not all. Your knowledge has saved the day more times than I can count, your sense of humor brightens my mood when the going gets tough, and your support has kept me going at times when things felt too big to handle alone. The fact is, your friendship has taken the loneliest job in Starfleet and made it one that fills my heart; I can never thank you enough for that."
Kirk shook his head. "It's easy for a starship captain to turn into a little tin dictator, but I never will, because I have you watching over me. I'll never become a Matt Decker or a Ron Tracey, because of your unswerving dedication. And I know I don't have to hang on to command even when I'm sick or injured, because I know my ship is in good hands when she's in yours."
Kirk paused, aware that he'd been talking too much about the first officer and not enough about the friend, for fear that he'd give himself away. He decided to let out a little more of his feelings and once again looked up into Spock's eyes, making sure the Vulcan truly heard what he was about to say. "I'd trust you with my very soul, because I know what's in your soul, and Spock, your soul ... is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Bonsu dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, then smiled brightly and nodded at the clerk.
The clerk brought over two brightly colored balloons and handed the blue one to Kirk and the yellow one to Spock. Bonsu said, "But friendship is not only warmth and appreciation and not only obligation, it's also FUN!"
Kirk smiled at Spock, bowed slightly, and handed him the blue balloon. Spock regarded the balloon with a quirked brow, as if not certain what use this item might be, then inclined his head gravely and presented Kirk with the yellow balloon. Kirk took it with a smile and rubbed a finger over the balloon's side so that it made a loud squeaking sound. Spock looked aghast, but this was clearly the right thing to do, because Bonsu smiled and said, "Yes!"
The clerk bowed to them both, and they bowed back. Bonsu said, "Congratulations, you're now registered as primary friends! Come and sign the paperwork."
They walked over to the clerk's desk and filled out the form she gave them. She took the form from them, then handed each of them a small card with the details of their registration. Kirk took the card, annoyed for the hundredth time that Starfleet uniforms didn't include pockets, then watched as Spock slipped the card into the end of his sleeve. He wasn't sure he could retain his card in such a fashion, but he didn't want to start a diplomatic incident by losing it, so he ended up tucking it into the waistband of his trousers.
Bonsu smiled broadly at them and said, "It was a pleasure to witness your registration; you are clearly primary friends; it has been a very long time since I've seen a joining with so much love in it." He gave each of them a slight bow of congratulations, then said, "And now, gentleman, let us repair to the Residence, where the First Minister awaits us."
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