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[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

"Well...” Jim grinned into the bright summer sun, shielding his eyes with one hand. “What do you think?” 

Alright, so it wasn’t the famous crystal caverns of Delpha 5. But Kirk had fond memories of these types of excursions from early boyhood, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Spock get away without having a similar experience. 

And besides- happiest place on Earth! Can’t go wrong with that. 

Jim couldn’t wait to get his hands on a good corndog, or maybe even a fried Twinkie. Sure the noise and the lines weren’t ideal, but for god’s sake, it was Disneyland! Even a Vulcan couldn’t resist the... 

You know, actually-- 

You know, maybe... they should have booked a trip to the crystal caverns after all. Jim had been so excited to show Spock what it was like, how much fun it could be, and hadn’t even stopped to consider whether the Vulcan... would actually like any of it. 

Kirk sighed, as the hovering monorail wooshed back towards the hotel. “--Spock, if you don’t like it.... we can leave early, alright? Don’t stick it out for my sake.” 

[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

After all these years. After all the... tough spots they’d been in together. Spock really still could surprise him. 

Why, Jim had expected the man to tense up under the unnecessary scrutiny of that mean-looking student. After all, from the bits and pieces Kirk had heard about Spock’s time at the Academy, he gathered that the Vulcan hadn’t exactly been in a position to win any kind of student popularity contest. Surely, this... hostile interaction took him back to his own Academy days. 

And yet Spock was able to turn the situation around entirely! Use the question as a tool to promote his work, promote the meaning of their mission about the Enterprise. 

And it... well, it was incredible. 

Surging with confidence, Jim picked up the pace of the informal interview, not even bothering to glance down at the glowering brass in the front row. After all, this presentation wasn’t for them. It was for the students. And by god, the students deserved to know what life in the fleet was really like, from a couple of officers who’d really seen a helluva lot of both the good and the bad.

In fact, Kirk was getting so into the conversation at hand, that he hardly noticed a smartly-dressed Lieutenant clearing his throat from the wings. 

“...Sir? Uh... Captain Kirk, sir?” 

Jim spun around, not all together expecting this new presence on the stage. 

“Oh, uh- hello Lieutenant--” 

“Adam, sir. Joseph Adam.” 

“You’re not about to drag me offstage, are you Lieutenant?” Kirk cracked a smile, but the Lieutenant’s face remained morose. 

“Sir-- if I could take a second of your time.” 

Kirk scoffed. Out of all the-- “I’m in the middle of a lecture, Lieutenant, can it wait?” 

“No... sir.” 

Jim frowned, nodding to Spock. “If you could take a couple of questions, Spock. I... better see what this man wants.” 

If Kirk had been paying more attention, perhaps he would have noticed that the front two rows of the auditorium were almost entirely vacant. Perhaps he would have seen the Lieutenants pacing nervously near the exits at the back of the room. And perhaps, just perhaps, he would have noticed the distant clanging noises that appeared to be emanating from just outside the building. 

But then... 

Jim crossed his arms as he stepped offstage, “If this is some kind of joke--” 

“Sir- there’s... been an incident.” 

[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

Come on, Jim. You’ve got this. 

With one last glance at his First Officer, Kirk bit the bullet, walked across the stage, and took his place at the podium. 

The crowd was dead silent. Good god! A group of Vulcan Ambassadors would have more pep than this. 

The Captain looked down at his notes, and shakily read off the first prepared joke. 

“You know- the uh... last time I set foot on this stage, it was because I’d graduated by the skin of my teeth! They couldn’t wait to get me out the door! ” 

Aside from a smattering of stifled laughs coming from the back of the crowd, the place was as lifeless as ever. 

Oh boy. 

Kirk looked down to his speech notes- full of harmless little anecdotes and quips. And quickly, without thinking, he crumpled them up, and tossed them over his shoulder. 

“Alright, look. I’m-- no Abraham Lincoln. I’ve.... never had much of a knack for these types canned presentations. But I understand that many of you, if you’re anything like me, long to be out there- seeing the stars. Exploring-- learning.” 

“There’s... so much more out there than this. Earth, the Academy, your lives at home. Wherever you’ve come from, whatever you’ve known-- multiply it by.... a thousand. No- a hundred thousand! That’s how many different cultures, ways of living, are out there.” 

Jim pulled the mic from his stand and abandoned the podium all together, opting to sit on the front of the stage with his legs dangling down into the first row. 

“I... know I’m kind of going against precedent here, but instead of giving a speech, you know, I’d really-- uh, like to take your questions. Outside of information that’s classified by the ‘fleet, I’m an open book.” 

Glancing to the side of the stage, Kirk was hit by an immediate thought. “Oh! And Spock- Spock if you could come out here. We--- we, uh don’t need the slides anymore.” 

“My First Officer, Commander Spock is here today as well. First Vulcan in the fleet. A... wickedly intelligent guy. Spock, if you wouldn’t mind answering some student questions, I think you’d have a really good perspective to share as well.” 

[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

Jim could only be thankful that the Doctor was more than happy to lead the conversation as they ambled towards the lecture hall. Truth be told, he felt more than a little embarrassed about that introduction. Of course, it was an honest mistake-- Kowalski hadn’t meant anything by it. But this wasn’t the first time someone had mistaken Spock for Kirk’s... well, his-- 

Uh-- 

Right. 

Thankfully, Jim was pretty sure the whole conversation flew straight over Spock’s head. The Vulcan was a genius when it came to figures, facts-- but intimate relationships? Why, Spock was the type of man, who if you sat a girl on his lap, he’d bide his time cataloging the frequency of her heartbeats. Spock was funny like that. 

But hell, Jim knew he had to get the whole matter off his mind-- he had to get through this damn lecture in one piece. 

The Doctor ushered them into the auditorium, and -- ah--- 

Did this place get bigger since he last was here? 

The room was huge-- almost the size of a football field. His audience numbered in the thousands, hell, maybe even in the tens of thousands. A line of admirals sat at the front, nearest to the stage. And as they were ushered forward, Kirk could see the visible displeasure written on their faces. 

And there, second row- look it was Professor Johnston. Jim’s first year as a cadet, Johnston had loudly declared in front of an entire class that Kirk would never amount to anything more than a mindless grunt. 

Jim glanced back at his First Officer... with just a hint of stage fright. 

[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

It had been years. 

What– six, seven years at this point? 

To tell the truth, Jim couldn’t really remember the last time he had made a visit to Starfleet Academy. He’d been a student here once— and a lecturer too. But as soon as he got that (hard-won) transfer order, he was out the door faster than you could say ‘congratulations’. 

And he wasn’t planning on coming back today, not really— but he owed Dr. Kowalski a helluva favor after that time with the Andorians. And so, Jim Kirk found himself in the Academy’s hallowed halls once again, as a guest speaker on Starfleet’s exploratory programs. 

Now, the Captain was a man who knew his own strengths and weaknesses. In enemy crossfire, Kirk could give a speech to rival King Henry at St. Crispin’s day. But at a podium? Well, he really tended to bumble along– over-prepare. 

And that’s why Jim insisted that Spock come along. Help him out where he stumbled. The Vulcan was strongly suited for academia, and Kirk knew he could depend on the other man whenever his own words fell flat. 

“All right there, Spock?”  

The Captain reassuringly clapped his First Officer on the back as they beamed down to the surface. It was just an hour long presentation. What could possibly go wrong? 

[firstofficerhobgoblin]

Spock adjusted the hem of his sleeves down for the sixteenth time since he’d put on a freshly pressed uniform one hour and 6.261 minutes ago. He knew the action would prove to be mostly futile, as his arms, being proportionally .067 percent longer in comparison to his torso than even the most disproportionate humans, would always be a bit too long for the standard uniform sleeves and so he would always show 1.281 more centimeters of wrist than anyone else in the uniform. He knew the notion was foolish, but he could not help but be acutely aware of the way the bones of his wrist were exposed and he was consumed with the illogical impulse to cover the spiny juts of bone that stretched his sallow skin in subtly inhuman ways.

There was something about the return to the academy that always rattled his now-well-honed control. As the son of a human woman, of course, he knew he was subject to the sensory memory triggers that drove much of her species, and, as it were, the smells and sounds of a place so associated with the volatile years of his late adolescence could serve as an uncomfortable subconscious reminder of an uncomfortable time. But it felt more appropriate somehow to use the human turn if phrase; “there’s just something about the place.”

“I am always, as you like to say, All Right, Captain.” Spock eventually replied, switching the bag containing the Captain’s slides and notes to the opposite shoulder so he could walk closer, leaning precariously to keep himself away from a throng of loud, laughing students who flailed their arms about with no regard for who or what they may be touching. “However I still am not entirely sure of what my purpose in your lecture will be. You are a more than adequate speaker. I cannot imagine you needing my assistance in any significant way.”

[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

“I’m no good at formality--” Jim tugged the satin collar of his dress uniform for emphasis. 

He would’ve much preferred to give this lecture in a round-table setting. Someplace where the cadets could ask real and honest questions, free from the overly-strict eye of the officers who ran the place. 

But instead, the good Doctor had insisted on formalities. Jim was a burgeoning Starfleet hero after all. It was only proper to give him full honors- regardless of whether Kirk actually wanted them or not. 

“The moment we get back to the ship, I’m getting out of this damn shirt. They never make these things with enough stretch, that’s what I always--” 

But the Captain’s words died in his throat, as he noticed a short bespectacled man heading in their direction. 

“Doctor Kowalski- It’s good to see you again!” Kirk’s face bloomed into a warm smile. He really did like the man, even if the pomp and circumstance afforded to the occasion was... a bit much. “How’s Martha and the kids?” 

“Doing quite well, quite well indeed. Our oldest is about to graduate the eleventh grade.” The older man shook Jim’s hand warmly, before side-eyeing Spock questioningly. “Ah-- I see you have brought a companion. I didn’t know your partner was in the fleet as well, Jim.” 

“Oh!” Kirk barked out a nervous chuckle, “No, no. We’re... not like that. Commander Spock... is my First Officer aboard the Enterprise. I-- though the might be of assistance in explaining the nature our scientific endeavors.” 

“Yes, of course.” Kowalski nodded, raising a single eyebrow. “Well, we better get going. The lecture’s scheduled to begin in ten minutes in Aldrin Hall. It’s a bit of a walk I’m afraid!” 

“No trouble at all--” The ear-to-ear grin returned to the Captain’s face. “A walk outdoors will do us good!” 

[thiscallsforacaptain]

@firstofficerhobgoblin

It had been years. 

What-- six, seven years at this point? 

To tell the truth, Jim couldn’t really remember the last time he had made a visit to Starfleet Academy. He’d been a student here once--- and a lecturer too. But as soon as he got that (hard-won) transfer order, he was out the door faster than you could say ‘congratulations’. 

And he wasn’t planning on coming back today, not really--- but he owed Dr. Kowalski a helluva favor after that time with the Andorians. And so, Jim Kirk found himself in the Academy’s hallowed halls once again, as a guest speaker on Starfleet’s exploratory programs. 

Now, the Captain was a man who knew his own strengths and weaknesses. In enemy crossfire, Kirk could give a speech to rival King Henry at St. Crispin’s day. But at a podium? Well, he really tended to bumble along-- over-prepare. 

And that’s why Jim insisted that Spock come along. Help him out where he stumbled. The Vulcan was strongly suited for academia, and Kirk knew he could depend on the other man whenever his own words fell flat. 

“All right there, Spock?”  

The Captain reassuringly clapped his First Officer on the back as they beamed down to the surface. It was just an hour long presentation. What could possibly go wrong?