Chapter Three
Kirk's Personal Log Stardate 57328.9
In one hour we will be back at Starfleet Command in the banquet room and I will be reunited with the entire crew of my ship. I'm eager to see those that I haven't connected with already, but I am nervous about the honors Admiral Janeway has been telling us about. I don't believe that we deserve any honors. We did nothing other than survive on the ship. It was mostly the knowledge of the crew that got us through. I may have been in command but it was still their hard work and faith in me that got us to where we currently are.
Chad feels almost the same way, though he insists that I really deserve to be honored. He calls himself a coward for being frightened by his time in Andromeda. I continually remind him that I was just as terrified as he was, but he chooses not to believe me. We struck a deal this morning. If he will stand up and accept whatever honor Starfleet bestows upon him I will do the same.
Icheb and Tom have come every day to tutor us on what we will need to take our places in the academy tomorrow. Admiral Janeway keeps telling me that I have nothing to worry about. Chad seems to think we'll do fine. Even Quinn, my hesitant friend, believes that we'll do great. I just can't convince myself that I will do as well as they think I will. It's one thing to sit in a captain's chair and another to learn what it means to be a captain.
*
"Stop fidgeting and relax," said Kathryn as Jim kept fingering the collar of his cadet uniform right where pips would have been if he'd been wearing the uniform from Lexus.
"I'm just nervous," he replied. "I'll be all right."
In truth he'd never missed his parents more in his life than he did right then. He would have given anything to have them with him when he accepted whatever honors Starfleet had decided to bestow upon him. He would have liked to have made them proud. He knew he must have looked down as he thought about it because Kathryn put her arm around his shoulders.
"You're thinking about your family aren't you?" she asked in a voice just above a whisper.
"How'd you know?" he asked, loving her for knowing him so well already.
"Because I would be thinking of mine if I were in your shoes about now," she replied, squeezing him.
"I just wish I could have made them proud at least once," he said softly.
"Oh, I imagine you've made them proud countless times without realizing it," she said. "Trust me."
She let go of him and then went to talk to Chad. Jim noticed that she took the same approach with Chad as she had with him and he smiled. She was definitely good at boosting morale. He hoped that when he finally sat in the captain's chair again that he was half as good at raising the crew's spirits as she was with his own.
"All right," she said suddenly, patting Quinn on the shoulder. "It's time to go."
They were all silent all the way to the command campus. When they arrived Jim saw all of the people standing around the entrance and talking with one another. He could see several members of the crew and he smiled. He would finally see them all. He and Chad shared a smile before they followed Kathryn and Quinn up the steps to the entrance. He almost forgot to be nervous as he saw Alex Munro and Austin Chang coming toward him.
"Captain Kirk," said Alex with a huge smile on his face. "Nice to see you again."
"It's just Jim now, Alex," he replied with a smile of his own. "But it's great to see the two of you again."
"You'll always be Captain Kirk to us," said Austin, reaching out to shake his hand.
He saw Juliet and Telsia heading toward them and alerted the men. Alex and Telsia embraced while Juliet hugged Chad and then came to hug Jim. He hugged her back and then wondered if that was actually acceptable for a captain to hug his councilor. Then he caught himself. He wasn't a captain any longer. He was a cadet now.
"It's good to finally see you again, Captain," said Juliet when she let go of him. He didn't bother to correct her, but he did see Kathryn watching them with an amused smile on her face.
"It's good to see you too, Juliet," he said. "I hear that you're heading for Vulcan in the morning."
"Yes," she replied. "They've accepted my application to study at the temple. I'm very excited."
"I've been wondering what everyone is doing now that we're off the ship," he said, looking around as the rest of the crew came over. Chell and the adult Icheb were headed toward the growing group.
"Well most of us have been assigned to various starships," said Austin. "I think Alex is holding out until you graduate though." He clapped Alex on the shoulder and they started laughing.
"Of course I am," replied Alex, looking at Jim seriously. "I couldn't imagine serving under any other captain."
"Rest assured that there'll always be a place for you on any ship I'm on, Alex," Jim replied, touched that the man who had at first thought of him as too young and scared was now saying that he wanted to serve with him again.
"Annika and Axum are already inside," said Icheb as he and Chell got to them. "We were sent to tell everyone to come inside."
He followed Icheb and Chell to the entrance, noticing the huge Federation Flags. There was a flag for each planet in the Federation. Jim stared at them all in wonder for a moment before Chell nudged him lightly. He smiled at him and they went inside the building. Jim realized that he'd never been inside this particular building in all of the time he'd spent being shuffled around from place to place at Starfleet Command. He wondered what the other three buildings he hadn't been inside were like.
They formed three lines and headed for the security check points at each of the four doors that opened into the banquet hall. A thumb print was required to pass the check point and Jim wondered why all of the security was necessary. Surely no one wanted to hurt any of them. He decided not to question it as he stepped up and placed his right thumb on the pad.
"Cadet James Randal Kirk, Starfleet Academy, Junior Grade," said the voice of the computer and the pad thrummed under his thumb.
"Welcome, Mr. Kirk," said the security officer.
"Thank you," he replied as he stepped through the opened door.
He stood just inside the door until his friends came through. Kathryn told him to follow Alex to the right table and that she had to sit with the other Admirals when he asked about her. Quinn followed them to the table set aside for the crew of the Lexus. He was accepted by everyone even though he really wasn't a member of the crew.
There were so many tables that Jim couldn't begin to count them all. They were each covered with a white cloth and there were place cards at every seat. He noticed when they got to their table that everyone was seated in the order that they would have been on the bridge of the ship. Alex sat on his right with Juliet on his left. Chad sat further down the table with Ensign Miller. There was a very long table at the front of the room where the Admirals were seated. He saw Kathryn sit beside Admiral Paris. She smiled at him when she caught him watching.
Plates of food were placed in front of them and they talked while they ate. Jim didn't even register what was on his plate. He couldn't believe he was eating when his stomach was so jittery. He focused on what Alex was saying to keep the food from projected back out of his turbulent stomach. He only hoped that if he had to make any sort of speech his stomach would cooperate. The last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself.
"I see your room mate over there," said Alex, nodding toward a table where the teenaged Icheb, Reginald Barclay, a man and woman he didn't know and Jonathan and Anthony Barclay were seated. Icheb looked less than comfortable.
"He's been tutoring me on my pre session assignments," he told Alex. "We're getting to be pretty good friends I guess."
"You guess?" Alex inquired. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well with the teenaged Icheb it's hard to know where you stand," replied Jim. "He's not exactly overly emotional or anything close. He reminds me of Annika when she's angry or nervous."
"Ah," laughed Alex. "I guess that would make it difficult to gage your friendship status."
"We're going to have plenty of time to get to know each other," said Jim. "I'm sure I'll figure him out in time."
As the plates were taken away and the wine glasses were topped off, Admiral Paris stood and went to the podium. He tapped the microphone to get everyone's attention and Jim felt his stomach roll again. He silently willed it to be still as the Admiral began to speak.
"Ladies, gentlemen, cadets and Starfleet Officers," he began, "I'd like to take this time to welcome you to the celebratory banquet in honor of the USS Lexus and her crew. Tonight we're here to honor those men and women who served on the most advanced ship in the fleet."
There was a round of applause as Admiral Paris smiled at Jim and his friends. Jim wondered what everyone was thinking about his being honored. He had pretended to be a captain and basically lied to everyone. Sure it was necessary for his survival but that didn't make it right. He was getting more and more nervous.
"It has been my honor to spend time with each member of the crew of Lexus, and I must say that I'm very impressed with each and every member of the crew," he continued. "I was most impressed with the ship's acting Captain, James Kirk. When Q first informed us that the Lexus was coming and where she had come from he clearly thought it was funny that the ship was being commanded by a teenager. I have to admit that this information made several of us at Starfleet Command very nervous.
"Since meeting with and getting to know Mr. Kirk I have become convinced that the ship and her crew were in quite capable hands. James Kirk did the best that he could with the limited knowledge of Starfleet Regulation that he possessed. For that Starfleet has decided to honor him. There has never before been an award such as the one I'm about to bestow upon Mr. Kirk. Until now there was never a reason for such an award. Now there is. I'm proud to present James Randal Kirk with this award for the first Starfleet Cadet to command a starship under extreme duress. James, if you would please come up here," he said, smiling at Jim.
There was more applause as he got up and made his way to stand beside Admiral Paris. He shook the Admiral's hand and accepted the plaque as even more applause was heard. He had no idea what to say to the crowd as he moved to stand in front of the microphone. He only hoped that he wouldn't make a complete fool of himself.
"I don't really know what to say," he began. "One day we were acting out scenarios on Voyager's holodeck and the next we were in Andromeda and finding out that our ship was no longer a holographic representation. Chad and I knew that we had to continue on as there was no way out of our situation. We both decided that getting home was the only thing to do, though we thought it would take a lot longer than it did. I can only say that this award means a great deal to me, but I accept it on behalf of not only myself but the entire crew as well."
He held the plaque up in front of him and smiled. "To Lexus!"
"To Lexus!" the crew responded as the others applauded again.
He received six different awards that night. Chad received four of his own. Several members of the crew were awarded as well. The biggest shock of the evening was the award presented to Jim by the crew. Alex and the adult Icheb walked up to the podium and smiled at everyone, making Jim wonder what was going on.
"We've all had time to think about our situations and where we came from," began Alex as he smiled at Jim. "We know that without our captain and our helmsman we wouldn't be here. There are now two of almost every one of us on this world or in starships all over the galaxy. At first we didn't know what to think of that."
"We decided that life was a gift," Icheb continued when Alex stopped. "It was given to us by a being that no one completely understands but it was Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Dodds that began the process. For that reason, along with getting us home to live our lives, we, the crew of the Federation Starship Lexus, got together to create an award of our own. It is with great admiration and appreciation that we present this award to James R. Kirk, the youngest Captain in Starfleet history."
Jim was stunned for a moment after that. He didn't know what to say or do. In one act the entire crew had let him and Chad know that they didn't hold any harsh feelings about how they came into existence. They'd also acknowledged that Jim and Chad had done what needed to be done and that they weren't angry with them for lying to them about who they really were. He was humbled and shocked even though he'd been told several times that the crew held no hard feelings. He stood on shaking legs and walked up to his two crew mates and accepted the plaque that Alex handed him with a smile. He stepped up to the podium once again and cleared his throat as his two friends took their leave and headed for their seats.
"It makes me very happy to hear the sentiments expressed by my former crew mates," he said, trying to look at each member of the crew one at a time. "Our time on Lexus brought us closer together than most crews ever even dream of becoming. We shared things that bonded us together in ways that I don't even understand yet. What I do know is that every man and woman who served on that ship with me has become my family.
"When Chad and I were found on the cryo ship by the crew of Voyager we were out of our time," he continued. "We knew almost no one and it was terrifying for both of us. Then we were in Andromeda with all of you. Even now I think of that ship as my home and I miss her. I miss the closeness I felt with the members of the crew; my family." He held up the plaque. "Thank you for honoring me. I will remember this for the rest of my life."
After the awards ceremony they were allowed to mingle with the men and women who had gathered. Both Jim and Chad were sought out by Captains and First Officers who had questions about various parts of their "adventure". Jim was thankful that Alex and Icheb were always with him. It seemed to him that Telsia and Juliet were always with Chad. Neither of them were without company any time any of the officers came to chat with them.
He was surprised by how much the other guests had learned about their trip through Andromeda. He'd had to answer a few questions about the Arminians and twice he'd had to insist that though they are a cybernetic life form they are not Borg. He was happy when Kathryn came for him and interrupted his conversation about the Borg with Captain Armstrong.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Captain," she said with a smile for Jim. "The boys have a big day ahead of them tomorrow and it's getting late."
"Of course, Admiral," replied the dark haired captain. "Mr. Kirk it was a pleasure meeting you."
"The pleasure was mine, Captain," he said, smiling.
They gathered Chad and Quinn and made their way to the transport vehicle, saying goodnight to people along the way. Jim was happy with how the evening had gone. The crew really was his family now. He just hoped that with members of the crew scattered across the galaxy they'd still be able to keep in touch.
"I trust that each of you had a good time tonight," said Kathryn as they got inside the transport.
"I had a very good time tonight," replied Jim with a smile.
"I had a good time," said Chad. "Some of the conversations were a little exasperating though."
"Why is that?" asked Kathryn.
"Well I talked to pilots who wanted to know exactly how I knew how to fly a starship," he said. "Then I had to explain that the Conn was designed specifically so that I'd know how to fly the ship. They wanted specifics but I wasn't sure how much I was supposed to tell them. Being vague is tiring."
"You did fine, I'm sure," she said, smiling at him. "The ship is marvelous. I believe they're still holding tours of the ship at the academy. I'm sure that one or more of your classes will take that tour."
Jim found the idea of touring Lexus both strange and inviting. He thought it would be nice to see his home once again. Chad was thinking pretty much along the same lines while Quinn could actually care less. He had to get used to Earth and being mortal. Seeing a starship again was nothing special for him.
Jim was surprised at how well he fell asleep that night. He'd have thought that nerves would keep him awake but he was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. His dreams weren't completely unpleasant. They were filled with times he'd spent on the ship. He was smiling when he woke up the next morning. The smile faltered when he remembered that the three of them would be moving to the academy in a few hours. After a quick shower he joined his friends at the breakfast table.
"Good morning, Jim," said Kathryn as she placed a plate with a delicious looking omelet in front of him. "Sleep well?"
"Yes actually," he replied, smiling at her.
"Good," she replied. "Unfortunately I don't think your roommates had such a good night."
"I slept all right," interjected Chad. "Just didn't dream very good dreams."
"I slept fine," said Quinn. "It was waking up that was hard. I had no idea how wonderful sleep could be until I was mortal."
Kathryn smiled at him after that. Jim and Chad had no idea how to comment on what he'd said so they just started to eat. Jim wondered what life at the academy was going to be like as he ate. He thought of actually living in the same room with the teenaged Icheb. With his lack of emotion Jim wasn't sure how they would get along while living together. They'd done all right while he was tutoring Jim but what would it be like to live with someone who showed no emotion at all?
After they'd eaten Kathryn cleared the table while they got their travel cases from the bedroom. Jim was still amazed at how much he could fit in the small case that looked no bigger than a small portable television from his time. He'd gotten all five uniforms, three pairs of pants, enough socks for one pair every single day for a month and underwear to go with it all. Plus there were pictures from the ship and his awards from the previous night.
"These are the new stasis cases," Kathryn said as she watched Jim and Chad look at them with shock on their faces. "All of the things that you put inside them are now in the form that they would be in if they were being transported by a transporter."
"They'll be put back together in the right pieces right?" Chad asked as he eyed his stasis case warily.
"Yes," she laughed. "They've been properly tested. Starfleet has been using these for about a year now."
"Just so long as my underwear aren't full of holes," Chad said with a smirk as he closed his stasis case. The other laughed at him.
They're laughter was short lived as they all stood facing Kathryn with their stasis cases in their hands. The time to join their fellow cadets at the academy had come and they were each more nervous than ever. Kathryn noticed and smiled at them.
"You'll each be just fine," she assured them. "You've got all of your pre session assignments turned in. I have it on good authority that you've each done remarkably well on them. You've met your roommates and you know where everything is."
"None of that is the problem," said Jim, smiling weakly at her. "We'll be fine though."
"Of course you will," she said. "We'd better get going though."
They were each silent as the transport vehicle made its way to the Academy Campus. Jim wasn't looking forward to his first day at all. He believed that he and the teenaged Icheb were friends but it was hard to tell. He wished that he and Chad could room together. At least Chad's roommate seemed friendly enough. Quinn's seemed arrogant. Jim wondered how Quinn would fare with Anthony Barclay.
When they arrived they were all thankful that their roommates were not in their rooms. Jim unpacked his clothes, hung his medals and plaques on his side of the room and joined Chad in his room. They were joined only moments later by Quinn.
"So what do you want to do?" Chad was asking Jim when Quinn came into the room.
"Well we don't have a class until tomorrow morning," replied Jim. "I suppose we could go to the holosuites."
"You have to reserve time on the suites," Quinn informed. "It has to be approved by Admiral Kissant twenty-four hours in advance."
"Well that's out," sighed Chad as he sat on the edge of his bed. "What about tracking down Annika?"
"She's teaching this morning," said Quinn.
"But classes don't start until tomorrow," said Jim.
"For cadets they start tomorrow," informed Quinn. "Command Cadets started last week."
"Command Cadets?" Chad asked.
"Command School is only available to graduates of the academy," replied Quinn. "It's all in the main data pad."
"I only read parts of it," sighed Chad.
"Guess we should read the whole thing," said Jim. "Maybe we'd know as much about Starfleet Academy as Quinn."
"I doubt it," Quinn replied with a smirk. "But it couldn't hurt."
"It's nearly lunch time," said Chad. "We could just head for the mess hall."
"Let's go," said Jim, turning toward the door.
They talked about their classes as they walked through the halls. Chad would be in Tactical Analysis. Jim would be in Interspecies Ethics while Quinn would be attending Temporal Mechanics. Jim and Chad were both interested in what that class was like. Quinn promised to tell them all about it as they approached Icheb and Anthony Barclay.
"Watch where you're going Borg boy," Anthony said gruffly as he shoved Icheb against the wall.
"You were the one who bumped into me," replied Icheb. Jim thought it was a defiant statment but there was no inflection in Icheb's voice to show it.
"You think that you're special because you know so much," said Anthony. "Just remember that I know where your cortical node is located. One hard punch and it's lights out permantly, Droid."
Jim watched the echange in silence for a moment. Other cadets had come to watch as well. When Anthony shoved Icheb again Jim couldn't just watch anymore. He walked up and stood between them, looing up at the six foot upperclassman.
"Why don't you just leave him alone?" he asked. "Don't you have anything better to do than show your ingorance?"
"Well if it isn't Captain Kirk and his little reject friends," Anthony replied sarcastically. "Careful, Captain. You don't have a crew to protect you at the Academy."
"I've faced worse than you," said Jim. "I might take a few hits but I'm sure I could get a few in along the way."
"You think you're so special because of your medals and plaques," sneered Anthony. "Just remember that here you're a cadet. You don't order people around anymore."
"Is there a problem, Cadets?" asked a deep voice from behind Jim, startling them all. They turned to face the six foot tall, dark haired Admiral Kissant. He was the youngest Admiral in Starfleet with dark eyes, broad shoulders and chiseled features.
"No, Admiral," replied Anthony Barclay.
"I didn't think so," said Admiral Kissant, looking at Anthony hard. "You boys go on into the mess hall while I have a chat with Mr. Barclay."
"Yes, Admiral," said Jim and Icheb at the same time.
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