"You have a fine ship." After following him to the bridge and silently watching him make the announcement,
his counterpart was now accompanying him toward Engineering.
Being with him shouldn't be as bad as being around the others. He didn't turn his back on me, after all.
"I know," Kirk replied. "To quote my Chief Engineer: 'She may not look like much but she's got it where
it counts. But a ship's only as good as its crew."
You're not the only one proud of your crew.
"Mine might not have gotten the highest scores in the Academy but they've never given anything less than
their all. Most importantly they've always been there for each other. And me."
They stitched me back together after…
His double nodded. "Well, it definitely paid off. I have to admit I was surprised to see a Delphis class
so deep in space."
Obviously. I would have been too once upon a time. As far as I was concerned the bigger a ship was the better.
I was so arrogant and naïve.
"You're in good company. For a long time most people thought that a Delphis class was little more than
a glorified shuttlepod. I've spent the past two years proving them wrong."
"Well, I guess you convinced Starfleet if you made it all the way out here to the Campor System."
"That I did." He couldn't keep the pride from his voice. "The Saratoga is currently on a Five Year Mission."
His counterpart's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"An extended research survey," he clarified. "We set out last year. We're circumnavigating the entire Federation,
something that few ships have attempted and none as small as ours. We dock at the closest base or outpost
to refuel and shore leave every six months. We work both in known space and on the edges of unknown space."
He managed a smile. "And occasionally we peek over the edges."
His double grinned back. "If you're anything like me you've probably been peeking more than occasionally."
His grin. It's brighter, more cocky and so much more innocent.
"Guilty as charged. We've already made a few First Contacts. Ever since Nero, Starfleet's been stepping up
exploration of space big time and ships are being sent out in droves. They're finding new worlds and phenomena
every day. Someone needs to study them and no one's better at doing that than a Delphis class ship.
Big ships come in, discover a place and then move on. We come in and take a closer look and in the process
we make a lot more discoveries.
"This is the furthest we've been out so far. We'd just finished mapping a new area of space that the
USS Valiant discovered, when Starfleet contacted us and asked us to take a look at a strange anomaly
their remote sensors had picked up. They had a few misgivings about sending one of the smallest ships in
the Fleet to check it out, but we were the closest ship in the area."
His double smiled. "Same here."
Kirk took a deep breath. "And what where you doing out this deep in space, Captain Kirk?"
His double gave a proud smile of his own. "The Enterprise is currently on a Five Year Mission
of deep space exploration."
A Five Year Mission. What I would have killed to go on once. And on the Enterprise.
He recalled the first time he had seen the Flagship gleaming in the sunlight. He had fallen in love
with her from the start. Those first few months when he had commanded her had been the happiest
of his life and sailing the stars with her all that he had ever wanted.
I would still be sailing her now, if only…
"We set out last year too," his counterpart continued; "Although we've had a few delays and setbacks along
the way. We were finally getting firmly underway and were just passing the furthest subspace relays when
Starfleet told us to look at a weird anomaly."
He once again smiled. "We're doing what the Enterprise was meant to do…explore." He paused for
a moment. "And I can't imagine doing it without my crew at my back."
I could tell in the Briefing Room how much your crew means to you. You're close to them. Very close.
The way my original crew and I could have been.
The other Kirk's tone was now quiet. "You're right, a ship's only as good as its crew and mine's everything that
any Captain could ask."
Your crew. Your crew never turned your back on you. Betrayed you. Stabbed you and left you to bleed.
The knife twisted ever deeper.
His double gave a faint smile. "Is that where your Enterprise is now? Somewhere in deep space on a Five Year Mission?"
Of course he would assume that.
The knife twisted again.
"Not quite. She's currently on an extended patrol along the Federation's borders."
The other Kirk's eyebrows shot upward. "Patrol?"
"The Valiant is currently on a Five Year Mission now; she set out earlier this year. Starfleet's planning
on a second soon; they're going to send the Aurora, which is being constructed now. They're both going
to spearhead Starfleet's deep space exploration program."
The other Kirk frowned slightly. "They didn't want to send the Flagship?"
"The Enterprise isn't the Flagship anymore."
She's been in disgrace ever since the 'Incident.'.
"The USS Excalibur is. She was launched last year, I attended the ceremony. She mostly serves in diplomatic
and defensive capabilities. The official bearer of the Federation flag."
He could smell the puzzlement coming off of his counterpart.
And of course he's going to want to know what happened. And won't stop pushing until he get's an answer.
"If you don't mind my asking, who's Captain of the Enterprise here?"
"Jason Morrick. You know him?"
"Yeah, he was one of my teachers at the Academy. Strict but fair, always gets his point across.
I imagine he and this universe's Spock get along great, since he's a real stickler for regulations."
No doubt. The Spock I know has regulations in his veins. Concern and compassion however...
The other Kirk paused. "How long have you been in command of the Saratoga?"
I knew this was coming.
He took a breath. "Almost two years. I boarded her for the first time on 2259.0.1. A new start for a new year."
"But you were Captain of the Enterprise before?" his double pressed. "On the bridge I noticed you said I was
still the Captain."
Trust another me to notice that.
"You're right, I was. After Nero, Pike got promoted to Admiral and I got his ship."
The other Kirk didn't bother to hide his incredulity "You were handed the Flagship. And you left after less
than a year? Why?"
Why indeed.
He felt the knife twisting again.
"Did it have anything to do with Nibiru?" his counterpart asked.
I"Nibiru?"/I Kirk raised an eyebrow. "
No. I've never been there." He paused. "Were you on shore leave on Stardate 2258.72?
It was his double's turn to raise an eyebrow now. "Yeah, I was planet-side. Went to a bar, had a couple drinks.
Nothing big happened though."
Nothing happened. An ordinary, uneventful shore leave. He went down, had a few drinks, went back to the ship
and went on his merry way.
"I see," he said quietly
Nothing happened. If I hadn't walked into that particular bar, or those two men hadn't been there, or they'd
targeted someone else.
Everything would have been different. If only…
The knife was drawing blood
I was wrong. It's every bit as bad being around him as the others.
"I take it that something happened to you?" his double asked.
Something happened all right. Something that ripped my heart out and sent my life spiraling straight to Hell.
"Yes…" His voice was a near whisper. "It's the reason I left."
Once again his double was unable to contain his surprise. "Something happened during a shore leave
that made you decide to leave the Enterprise?"
The knife was plunging ever deeper and the pain was becoming searing.
"It's more like what happened afterwards, Captain" And I prefer not to discuss it right now."
"Captain?"
Both Kirks looked up to see two Nlians standing in the passageway watching them.