So what's Kirk up to after being pretty much responsible for the horrific, suffering-filled death of two people, one of whom was his ex-girlfriend and one of whom was his science officer who I'm sure he cared about just as much (HAH HAH)?
Kirk moved blindly through the corridor. He hardly saw the hurrying crew and dockyard technicians as they moved aside out of his way. He fought to clear his mind of the image of that distorted thing which had been a woman named Lori. Could he have saved her if he hadn't lost that split-second looking for the new pattern-booster switch?
It's good that Kirk is at least considering that maybe he's responsible for this tragedy, though maybe he should be focused less on how he couldn't find the controls and more on why he shoved the FREAKING TRANSPORTER CHIEF out of the way in the first place.
Also: "He hardly saw the hurrying crew and dockyard technicians as they moved aside out of his way." That's the Gene "Paid By the Word" Roddenberry we know and love!
Lori. She must have volunteered, last-minute.
Except we've been told time and again that admirals CAN'T volunteer for starship duty, right? She must have training in an extremely critical position.
Had she discovered they needed an officer trained in her zeno-psychspecialty?
Hah hah, OKAY.
Or had she come hoping for--what? His forgiveness? He hoped that hadn't been it, since she had done him no injury. That first year back on Earth he had needed exactly what she had been to him. She had realized that, too, and it had pleased her immensely to both heal and pleasure him so.
Do you ever wonder if the reason real Gene Roddenberry wrote science fiction is because he was secretly an alien who almost--but, critically, not quite--understood human relationships? Just an idea.
Even as these thoughts passed through Kirk's mind, the old habits of command were returning, demanding that he set aside personal agony. The effect of this on his vessel, on the mission? Sonak was the critical loss. He was the second best science officer in the Fleet. No, the best on active duty.
Kirk, I've been with you for 68 pages now and, I'm sorry, but you're not going to convince me that you really think Sonak is the critical loss. Sexy Times trump Science in Kirk's playbook every time.
On the other hand, maybe this is evidence of what Kirk's been saying all along. His acknowledgment that Sonak's death is more important than his personal loss probably means he really is a starship captain all the way and the fittest dude for this command.
Kirk looked up in confusion, then embarrassment--he had lost his way.
THE FITTEST DUDE FOR THIS COMMAND, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
With the crew exhausted already, concern over these transporter deaths could run through the ship like a shock wave. Despite all its safety back-ups, the transporter had malfunctioned badly. What other systems might fail? Would this shake confidence in the new design? Or confidence in him, now the new captain? Should he launch on schedule with the ship this unready? Decker had been right--she was not the Enterprise that Kirk had once known so intimately. [HIYO!] Would Decker's knowledge of her have prevented the accident?
Decker! He was standing there by the turbolift, watching curiously as Kirk approached. Had he seen his replacement having to ask the location of this turbolift shaft?
Wait a minute. Before all the ruckus with the transporter, Kirk said to Decker: "Report to the bridge, Commander. Immediately." And yet Decker not only hasn't gotten to the bridge yet, he's just hanging out by the elevators looking at stuff? Could it be that I am paying more attention to this book than its author did? (DEFINITELY.)
"We'll have to replace Commander Sonak," said Kirk. "But I'd still like a Vulcan there, if possible."
"None available, Captain." Did Decker know this for certain? Could he have checked on this already? "There's no one, in fact, who's fully rated on this design."
"You are, Mr. Decker," Kirk said. "I'm afraid you'll have to double as science officer."
Oooh, burn on you, Decker!
Now, on the original Star Trek series, Spock also filled both the role of science officer and first officer, so it's not without precedent in the Star Trek universe. But it's also completely ridiculous.
More believable is Commander Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He's the first officer and ONLY the first officer, because the first officer's time is filled with the TEN BAZILLION THINGS a first officer has to do. It's far too important a position to divide the attention of the person who holds it.
But, whatever, Kirk's ship, Kirk's rules.
Kirk moved on, feeling Decker's eyes on his back. Was the new exec waiting for him to fall on his face? Wouldn't he, Kirk, have been resentful if years ago someone had snatched away his first command? Kirk thought probably so.
Hah hah, yeah, Kirk. You PROBABLY would have been resentful about that.
Decker's resentment could begin to affect his performance as exec, possibly as science officer, too?
Whoa, now, Roddenberry! Now is not the time to start playing fast and loose with the rules of punctuation.
Was he being unfair to Decker?...He was a brilliant and responsible young officer. If Kirk was indeed the right captain for this mission, Decker would begin to see that. But he also knew that Nogura had manipulated him with almost ridiculous ease; and beyond that he knew that he had been out of the center seat for almost three years now. Could he again become that starship captain he used to be? Or could that be delusion too? Was it possible he had just been lucky?
Okay. A character who is plagued by self-doubt can make for very interesting storytelling. There's a great episode of M*A*S*H where Colonel Potter is worried he's losing his touch at surgery. I think there's some play about Danish people with a character who agonizes over how he should act that is pretty famous. I bet there are even other examples.
But in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Book) I'm just not buying it. We're supposed to believe that, beneath his captainly facade, Kirk is genuinely distressed that he might not be fit to command the Enterprise, but the moments of confidence and the moments of doubt never convincingly seem to come from the same person. Kirk's actions and most of his thoughts suggest he thinks he is pretty danged great and that's all there is to it. Then every so often we're treated to a passage where Kirk mulls over the fear that he's unqualified, but these passages never play like genuine concern, and they certainly have no measurable effect on Kirk's behavior; after each bout of soul searching, he goes on EXACTLY as before.
It's as though real Gene Roddenberry periodically remembered that Kirk is supposed to be worried about his fitness, so he bangs out a passage that's supposed to reflect that. But since Roddenberry never really doubts that Kirk is anything but the greatest captain, Kirk is never able to either.