5/6/2261
Captain's Ready Room
3:54 PM

"You wanted to see us, Captain?" Alyen asked as he and L'Naym entered. Both he and his lifemate
had received comms asking them to report to the Ready Room. Upon entering they found him by the
window staring out at the view.

Kirk turned to face them. "Have a seat, Crewmen." His eyes, as they always where when speaking
to them were warm, but in the nearly two years since they'd known him, the Nlians had learned to tell
when it was the Friend/Soul Brother speaking or the Captain.

It was the Captain now.

"Do you both remember that incident on Nerva Prime?" Kirk asked quietly once all where seated.

The Nlians nodded; they had never forgotten the incident. It had been the first time either of them had
disobeyed orders.

Ever since the tragedy of Vulcan, Starfleet had been expanding their exploration of deep space, as well
as the establishment of new colonies. Newly discovered, uninhabited M class worlds were always to be
examined with the possible potential for colonization in mind. After larger ships discovered them and
made the initial analysis, science vessels, such as the Saratoga and other Delphis class ships,
would come and conduct a lengthier follow up study, sometimes lasting weeks. If they were satisfied,
a long term research team would come and stay for up to year or longer.

A little more than a year previously, the Saratoga had been ordered to study Nerva Prime, a lush
M class planet that the Enterprise had discovered. The former Flagship had studied it for a few days
and after a cursory exam had listed it as a possible site for potential colonization in the future.

The Saratoga had been dispatched to do what it did best-take a closer look. Shortly after arriving
they had quickly learned that the planet was anything but safe. While conducting studies in the northern
continent, Lieutenant Commander Belzoni, the Saratoga's head biochemist had been attacked by parasites
and had onlysurvived through the skills of Dr McCoy.

Even worse, while studying the southern continent, an away team had encountered the planet's previously
unknown inhabitants. Apparently the indigenous population of Nerva went into a regular stasis-like period,
during which time their life signs appeared no different than the landscape. The Enterprise had arrived
during such a stasis period and the Saratoga arrived just as a Waking Period was about to begin.

The Nlians had been on the surface with the Captain, Chief of Security, Lieutenant Commander Hatcher
and relief Helmsman, Lieutenant Blackhawk. They had come across some newly awakened inhabitants
and had been immediately attacked.

The away team had been trapped and both Blackhawk and Hatcher had been injured. Kirk had commed
the Saratoga yelling for them to beam them up. He had been informed that atmospheric interference was
preventing the ship from beaming up the entire party- they could only beam up four. Kirk had then ordered
the team to be beamed aboard while he tried to escape on foot.

He had reckoned without two very determined Nlians.

*Flashback*

3/24/2260
Nerva Prime

"What the hell are you both doing!?" Kirk shouted. "I gave you both an order!"

Alyen's face was set in a scowl, an utterly alien expression. His voice was quiet but intense.
"To quote a Human saying; 'No way in hell!' You're our Soul Brother! We would no more abandon
you than we would each other!"

L'Naym's voice was no less intense. "We're not leaving here without you, Captain. You can court-martial
us when we get back but we're not leaving!"

Kirk cursed loudly. "Saratoga, beam up Hatcher and Blackhawk. Alyen, L'Nyam and I, will try to reach
cover on our own."

"But Captain…" the voice, Crewman Dalin's, protested.

"You obey my orders, Crewman." Kirk snarled. "Or I'll court martial you along with these two!"

*Flashback ends*

Saratoga Briefing Room

"Things are different now," Kirk continued. "You can't risk yourselves for me like that anymore, no matter
what we are to each other. It's no longer just the two of you now-you're going to be parents. You're going
to have a child who needs you and your child has to come first."

"We understand, Captain," Alyen said softly.

"Do you? I'm going to repeat to you now, what I told you then: If we are ever in a situation like that again…
If I tell you to go, you go and no arguing. If I tell you to run, you run even if it's without me. If I tell you to
abandon ship, you do it even if I'm still onboard."

He paused. "If you feel that you can't do this, say so now and I'll arrange for you both to be transferred.
You'd have no trouble getting another posting. Your conduct onboard this vessel has been exemplary
and your Department heads have nothing but praise for your work.

"We have no desire to be anywhere but here," L'Naym said. "You are our Captain. We Pledged ourselves to you."

"Yes, you Pledged yourselves to me and part of that Pledge was that you honor and obey me. You disobeyed
me then. I let it go because, A: I knew that you did it out of love and a desire to protect me. B: You didn't
endanger anyone except yourselves. And, a major C: I wouldn't have survived if you hadn't done what you did."

While the three of them were fleeing, the Nevans had apparently decided to ignore the smaller Nlians
and focus their attacks on him, the larger target. One of their spears had found his mark in his leg. It had
been laced with some type of poison, that had first caused intense pain, then partially paralyzed him and
then sent him into anaphylactic shock. His Soul Siblings had somehow managed to drag him to shelter
and simultaneously perform CPR and hold the Nervans off with phaser fire, until reinforcements had arrived.

Later he and McCoy had had a few words.

"They disobeyed a direct order, Bones. I can't just ignore that."

"You're lucky they disobeyed you, Jim. They saved your life."

"I'd be dead now if the two of you hadn't been there," he said quietly. "Your disobeying my orders turned out
to be the right decision…that time. A fact which I included in my report. But it could have been very different.
In ordinary circumstances, Crewmen, disobeying the orders of a superior officer has serious consequences.
And in ordinary circumstances disobeying the orders of a commanding officer is a court martial offense."

He leaned forward. "As Captain I need to know that I can rely on everyone on board this ship to obey orders.
To be where they are supposed to be and to go where they are ordered to go when they are ordered. Plus,
I'm responsible for your safety. And your child's."

His eyes now where both the Captain and the Soul Brother. "I'm going to repeat to you both what I told you
then. You are never to disobey my orders again. From now on if I tell you to go, you go. Do you understand
me, Crewman?"

The Nlians both silently reached out their hands. Just as silently he took them.

Three Souls touched.
The Joined Souls and the Soul they had touched.

*You are our Soul Brother, Jim. We know you and we know that you are doing this out of love.
You know us and you know that we will obey you. Captain.*

Kirk gently squeezed the Nlians' hands before releasing them. "Dismissed," he whispered.

After the Nlians left, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. Pike had been right; it was hard at times having
family members serve under him.

Sometimes it was very hard to be both a brother and a Captain.