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Author's Note: Coda to the Season 2 episode "The Deadly Years"

Many thanks to Djinn for the beta.
A Ship's Captain
By Rocky

McCoy pushed the bottle of Saurian brandy closer to Kirk. "Drink up, Jim."

"Doctor's orders?" Kirk asked wryly.

"You deserve it after what you went through today."

The captain didn't argue. He poured himself another shot and swallowed. "Why is it," he said, addressing the empty glass, "that every paper-pushing VIP bureaucrat we happen to be transporting feels entitled to take command of the ship during a crisis? What makes them think they can handle it, let alone do a better job than the captain or first officer?"

"In this particular case, the captain as well as the top officers were incapacitated," McCoy pointed out.

"Then go further down the chain of command," Kirk snapped. He rose from his seat and began to pace the narrow confines of his quarters. "A green ensign on his first tour would have known better than to order the ship into the Romulan Neutral Zone, as Commodore Stocker did."

"He thought he was doing the right thing--take the shortest route to reach Starbase Ten's medical facilities as soon as possible."

"The sheer idiocy of that act--" Kirk broke off and looked as though he were about to slam his hand into the metal room divider in frustration. "And it was totally unnecessary. As it turned out, reaching the starbase wasn't crucial to finding a cure."

McCoy shrugged. "But we--and Stocker--didn't know that at the time."

"I can't believe you're defending his actions!" Kirk said heatedly. "Are you saying you agreed with him?"

"No, I'm not," McCoy said immediately. "Violating the Neutral Zone was a damn foolish decision to make, nor should he have been the one making it in the first place." He paused. "But Stocker was the ranking officer, and therefore, according to the regs--"

"Rank without experience is meaningless," Kirk said, unmollified. "Worse than meaningless, because it confers authority in the absence of competence." He slumped into his chair and closed his eyes wearily, the events of the past day apparently catching up with him at last.

McCoy watched him for a few moments. "Experience is a relative term," he said at last, breaking the silence.

Kirk's eyes opened at once. "What do you mean?"

McCoy picked his words carefully. "Not all of these admirals or ambassadors have been desk jockeys throughout their careers. Some of them were field commanders once."

"Not Stocker."

"No, not Stocker. But I'm speaking hypothetically now." McCoy hesitated. "Jim, I think what's eating you is not that it was some 'desk jockey' as you put it, but that anyone would have the temerity to try to relieve you of command. Even someone with experience."

Kirk gave him a sharp look. "We're talking about qualifications, Bones? Then tell me how much the memories of a long-ago field command would help. Other than knowing enough to stay the hell away from the Romulans, of course."

"I'm sure many Admirals still think a former command--even from decades ago--counts for something." McCoy leaned forward. "Think about it, Jim--during a ship-wide emergency these officers probably expect to revert to type, call on their past experience to handle the present situation."

Kirk smiled, but it was not a pleasant expression. "Once a starship captain, always a starship captain?"

"Something like that."

"But that's bull. Unless you're current, used to making snap decisions that can affect the lives of others, you're not going to be very effective. The bridge of a starship is very different from a cushy office back at HQ. Times--and people--change, no matter what they once were." Kirk shook his head emphatically. "And I'd never let anyone try to recapture past glories with my ship."

McCoy reached for the bottle and poured himself his first drink of the evening. "And what about you, Jim?"

"What about me?"

The brandy burned as it went down. "Can you say you wouldn't do the same thing under similar circumstances, somewhere down the line? Where you'd take command away from some 'youngster' if you felt the situation warranted it?"

Kirk didn't even hesitate. "No."

"How can you be so sure?" McCoy asked curiously.

"Because that would imply I'd given up my own command at some point. Become one of the bureaucrats." Kirk set his glass down on the table. It rang with a note of finality. "And that's something I would never consider."

"You might not be given a choice," McCoy couldn't help saying.

"Believe me, Bones, that's not going to happen." Kirk chuckled. "In fact, I want you to shoot me if I ever so much as hint that I'm going to give all this up."

McCoy didn't laugh. "I'll hold you to it, Captain. One day."
FINIS

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