When Jim was thirteen, he got his very first taste of outer space.
Five days after his hearing and he still can't wrap his head around the fact that he is going to get out of Riverside. Five days that have been spent without the company of Frank.
Overall, Jim has had a rather nice five days.
The morning of the sixth day brings a flurry of activity upon the Kirk house, filled with last-minute packing and planning. Finally, the two inhabitants rush out the door, pack up the car, and head off to the Shipyard.
To Jim, the Riverside Shipyard looks huge and imposing, filled with a cornucopia of different people (and aliens, too), rushing around trying to get to their shuttles. As he stares in awe at all the commotion, his mother has to all but drag him over to his shuttle, where Andrea stands, greeting the new (and even some returning) 'campers'. As a consequence of his wandering gaze, Jim very nearly walks right into his mom, not noticing when she stopped.
Noticing (finally) that she stopped, Jim turns to his mother to see that there are tears in her eyes as she stares down at him, and can only hope that she isn't having another 'episode'.
Thankfully, Winona Kirk is still seeing her son as she kneels down and pulls him into a tight hug, much like she had after many of his more dangerous and worrisome escapades. Still not entirely used to this type of support coming from his mother, Jim slowly raises his arms to return the embrace, deciding to simply enjoy the moment while it lasts.
"Oh, Jimmy," she whispers in his ear, "I'm going to miss you so much! I promise, Jimmy, I'll call you so often you'll get sick of me! Things will be better, I swear."
All Jim can do is nod in response, trying to keep himself from getting his hopes up too high at the thought of a future where his mother never saw ghosts and could stand to look at him for more than ten minutes at a time.
After a long, quiet moment, she finally pulls away, resting her hands on his shoulders to say, "I know this is supposed to be a punishment, but please, Jimmy, try to enjoy yourself, okay? You're going all the way off to another planet."
Smiling a little, Jim nods and says simply, "Bye, Mom, I'll miss you," before he grabs his bags and heads into the shuttle, turning his smile on Andrea as he passes her.
After he puts away his bags, Kirk begins to look for a free seat. The one he finds is right next to the window, and in a row that is, as of yet, empty. Not a minute later, a brunette boy, around Jim's age, sits down, introducing himself as he goes with an extended hand. "Hi, I'm Michael Daily, d'you mind if I sit here?"
"Of course not," Jim replies, taking the boy's hand. "I'm James T. Kirk. But everyone always calls me Jimmy."
Michael smiles at Jimmy, acknowledging, "Jimmy, then. Have you been to Camp Green Lake before? I don't remember seeing you around before."
"Nope, this is my first time. How long have you been going for?" Jim is curious; he didn't exactly believe Andrea when she told him that people actually decided to go back of their own volition.
"Well, the first time, it was for three months, and then I got to go home. But then I decided to come back, so here I am!"
Before Jim can continue the conversation, a voice reverberates throughout the ship. "Okay, folks, this is your Captain speaking. We have been cleared for takeoff and will be leaving for the spacedock momentarily. Please make sure your seatbelts remained fastened until you are instructed to do otherwise, and have a great flight."
With that warning, the shuttle lifts off and begins its ascent. As he looks out the window, Jim sees his mother, standing below him, waving as the shuttle rises. Hoping that she can still see him, Jim waves goodbye, and watches as the blond woman shrinks, until he can no longer distinguish her within the mob of specks gathered within the Shipyard.
As soon as she is out of sight, Jim turns his gaze upwards, watching, fascinated, as they rise towards the sun. The next time he looks down, Jim can see the curve of the Earth, and he can almost understand why his mom always runs away to space, despite the fact that it took her husband away from her. He can see all of North America out his window, and the planet below him is framed by distant stars, all shining brighter than he has ever seen them while he was actually on the planet.
"Amazing, isn't it?" a voice next to Jim asks, contemplative.
Without turning back to Michael, Jim nods as he lets out a dazzled, "Yeah."
The rest of the flight to the spacedock passes in relative silence, with Jim unable to tear his eyes away from the mystifying view and his companion playing games and reading on his PADD.
When the shuttle lands, all of the kids are ushered into the shuttlebay, where Andrea calls for everyone's attention. "Alright, guys, the flight to the colony is going to last about a week, so you'll all be assigned quarters – and allowed roommates. We are lucky enough to have the U.S.S Odyssey transporting us, so I want you all to be extra nice to the crew, okay? Once you've picked your bunkmate, find one of the counselors, and they'll assign the both of you a room. Chose wisely, and I'll see you all at dinner."
Not knowing anyone has its disadvantages, Jim decides. Looking around, he figures he might as well go with Michael, as long as the other boy doesn't have anyone else he would prefer.
Walking over to the boy he really only just met, Jim asks, with much more courage in his voice than he was actually feeling, "Hey, Michael, do you wanna be my roommate?"
He does not hold his breath until Michael finally answers, "Sure, we can room together." Of course he doesn't. That would be silly and childish and just plain not cool. Ten year olds did stuff like that. He is thirteen, that is much too old to be caught acting so immature.
"I should have known I'd find you here."
Jim turns from the window of the Observation Deck, smiling at Michael as the brunette joins him in the room. "I like it up here," he admitted quietly, "it's… peaceful."
Nodding, Michael adds, "Yeah, and the view's pretty spectacular, too."
For a few quiet, still moments, the two gaze upon the impressive panorama together, enjoying the calm silence and the view.
Finally, the silence breaks. "You missed dinner again, Jimmy. Andrea was worried."
Frowning, Jim begins, "It's not that –" then his eyes take in the clock reflected in the glass. "I guess I did… Sorry, I was thinking, and I lost track of time."
"It's okay, I did pretty much the same thing my first time on an actual starship, too. There's just nothing like it."
Jimmy nods in acknowledgment, allowing a content silence to pass between the two. He stares out at the myriad of stars, trying to guess which one they are headed towards. There are so many stars, though, it is hard to pick out just one.
At that moment, staring out at the stars, Jim is filled with a rush of emotion. He feels, deep in his soul, that this, space, was where he belongs. He knows it with such certainty that it scares him, a little.
But there is no denying it; in space, looking out at the stars, is the one place in his life that has actually felt like home.