The bridge was in chaos, not that Kirk expected anything less. The young new captain of the USS Constitution - now no longer Kirk’s first officer - stood in front of the captain’s chair, nervously at attention. In the tradition that Kirk had started as captain of the Enterprise, her first command was going to be at the helm of one of the finest ships in the fleet. It wasn’t an easy track, but if anyone could do it, she could.
Kirk managed to give her a reassuring smile over the heads of all the reporters crowded around them, and she flashed him a nervous grin in return.
She had her own cluster of reporters, but inevitably, the bulk had crowded around for a few words from the famous Captain Kirk, still a legend though it had been almost twenty years since he had returned from being presumed dead and reactivated his commission.
“Captain Kirk,” one of the reporters asked, holding up a recorder within a foot of his face, “Is it true that you’re retiring from the ‘fleet?”
“And so soon after Admiral Picard’s promotion,” another added, crowding even closer, as though to push to the front.
“Have you really turned down an admiralty?”
“Are the rumors true that you’re going to be taking over the Enterprise?”
Kirk attempted to wave them all to silence. “The new captain of the USS Constitution is more than up for the job.”
“But what about-” one of the reporters began to demand.
However, mercifully, the presiding admiral then called for order over the viewscreen.
For a moment all was quiet. The young captain hesitated - no longer than Kirk had on his first outing at the helm of the Enterprise all those years ago.
And yet, you performed admirably, Spock projected over their bond.
My contribution to this year’s Old Married Spirk Challenge @oldmarriedspirk: Time to Retire!
(A distant sequel to Generations and Nemesis.)