January, 2286 - USS Enterprise, on the eve of The Ghidoran Apocalypse

"Captain's Personal Log. I have confirmed my decision. In September of this year, when Enterprise completes this fourth five-year mission—I will at long last take that dreaded desk job. Perhaps if it had been forced down my throat, back in 71', I would feel differently. But in a sign of things to come, Heicharo Nogura was in effect, overruled by the growing center of power at Admiralty Hall. They wanted, and they kept me, off of Earth. There, they were hiding their plans--plans which are still largely unknown to us. Some say their underlings are still planning a coup. I hope not. With such bigots in control of Earth, the UFP could well dissolve in fire. I thank God that while I hold the rank of Admiral, it is a title I have never used nor allowed to be used in my presence. Fifteen years ago, it was merely a political consideration, to show my opposition to what I foolishly saw as the Hall's slight xenphobia. Now? I'm seen as a prophet, or the harbinger of one. Well, I don't know any archangels. I'm just a man, and a proud father. Maybe a husband, soon?"

Checking the chronometer, Jim saw that it was still not time to head to the transporter room. But it soon would be.

"Admiralty Hall and Section 31 are gone, now. I never thought I'd be thankful for terrorists. If--in fact it was terrorists. Lets just say I have my suspicions, and leave it at that. That bombing has left a large, gaping hole in the Command Structure. One that I now wish to fill. I am coming to the hard conclusion that the desire of people like myself to stay out in the field benefited animals like those at The Hall. We who eschewed what we saw as narrow ambition may have kept those monsters in power by our absence and failure to act. S31 may have provided us with vital information and the wherewithal to make the dirty deals even a democracy needs to make. But on the day TJ Durant supposedly committed suicide, I stopped seeing the neccesity. That he was investigating Peter's kidnapping at the time told me almost everything else."

"Why do I so casually call those who dwelt in Admiralty Hall for villains? Because that is what they were. There is a young lady on board who refuses to go swimming on Suitless Saturday. She later confided in me how she was taken to the hall and forced to strip for Admiral Bunson. Half the crew jumps at that woman's name. She ran across campus wearing only her pants. She is a -healthy- young lady, and her hands would not provide much cover. She told me this story mainly because of the freshman cadet who literally gave her the shirt off his back."

Jim looked over at a picture of Peter and Saavik, taken not long after their bonding.

"I was not at all surprised to learn that cadet's last name happens to be my own. But harassing cadets was, surprisingly, the very least of their crimes. When I saw the ruins of the Hall---there were pentagrams in an underground chamber. Bones found DNA traces--that matched those of missing infants. So, while they were running our ships sometimes literally into the ground with asinine orders and assignments--- they were involved in demonic rituals. But for me, as horrible as these things are, I owed The Hall for two more atrocities that make me truly hate them."

The Picture said - 'Christmas, 2267'

An older woman and a young boy posed in front of a Tannenbaum in Bethlehem. They looked happy, despite her history of abuse, which had ended that same year by bizarre means.

"They ordered my Mother's death, or the death of the kind woman who had replaced her. Then they took my son from me. They made him cry, wondering why the great hero didn't rescue his heir from the pit of Hell. Did Bunson lay her slimy body on top of his? Did Cartwright and his beefy fists slam into those haunted eyes? Did those who wore a practiced veneer of respectability force him to endure the same tortures my sweet Saavik did? The answer to that is an almost certain yes. So the Order has been able to savage both the children of my heart. Thank God Carol never let me acknowledge David. That would have been too much, if he had been hurt. I would have cracked."

From his safe, Kirk then withdrew a playful shot of an ebon Venus. He smiled.

"To say Uhura kept me from cracking is like saying Spock was my helper. With us always off of Earth and with virtually no time between five-year missions, the on-and-off love affair we've had has become a lifeline. Instead of just waiting for delayed refits while thwarting Orion-Kzinti-Romulan plot No. 317 -- I was making love to an extraordinary woman I frankly do not deserve. If Command had ever shown signs of any common sense--she and every one of the geniuses I call my Bridge Crew would be fifteen years into their own Captaincies. At least, that's what I've always thought. Of late, I've also been thinking that Nyta and I should stop having nights that 'don't count'. Maybe in exchange for one day that does. If I am in position and if she wants a ship as a brideswealth, she's got it."

He finished his thoughts, for it was nearly time.

"I love space. Exploration is my life. But its been twenty years, all of it nearly non-stop. Beyond that, I must go to the realm of enshrined bureaucracy and expunge the legacy of The Hall. I have a very nepotistic dream, you see. If he proves himself to be the very best--and I think he already has---I want to leave this ship with another Captain named Kirk--in about ten years. I'm nepotistic, not stupid. That said--I want my son to one day succeed me as Captain of The Enterprise. Forgive me, Sam, but I will soon break my promise, and let him know his father is alive. At my core, Command is my second dream for Peter. The first, as always, is that he and that daughter of mine at last find happiness together- -and that Spock can somehow be a part of that. Saavik wants him in her life. Whatever pain is driving him, it cannot be permitted to hurt her any longer.

"Bones says my decision to leave the Enterprise is wrong-headed, and that I will be needed and missed sorely. But the Enterprise survived losing Spock. It will survive my departure. My only real concern is how to break all this to Will Decker. He's a damned good XO, but he's simply not ready for the center seat. This time, I make the call. Under Captain Sulu, the Enterprise will craft a new legend. I care for all these people. My dreams and wants don't always meet up. Heh. I may have to have three new Enterprises built, just to make everyone happy. But joke or not, I will be in that kind of position, where such decisions are made. And I will try like hell not to lose sight of who I was, and what that all meant."

"As to Bones' concern about my being needed, I say this : If The AntiChrist shows up, breathing fire and taking souls, then all bets are off. Otherwise, its time I worked at making the structure of Starfleet Command liveable again. Call it my second best destiny, if you must. But no one's tricking me, or feeding me a line. No threats, and no 'need' that exists in the mind of The Information Ministry. Just my desire to give future Captains the feeling that orders are coming from sane, cognizant people, not out-of-touch ladder jumpers. Now I must go. The son I had by my brother Sam's wife, and the daughter adopted in my brother Spock's name, are coming aboard. The Children Of The Enterprise are grown up, and are coming home. I am delighted to have them both. Now, they are safe, they can choose to remarry, in defiance of T'Pau's decree of annulment. Maybe, just maybe our little fairy-tale finally gets that happy ending. End Personal Log Recording."

With that, a James Kirk who couldn't know how wrong he was left for the transporter room. He stood there and awaited the young people whose burden was nothing less than the fate of life itself. They were his children. They were The Children Of The Enterprise. They were the next generation of greatness. Together, the generations would face down nothing less than The Ancient Destroyer. The captain and crew Of The USS Enterprise were quite ready. But so was King Ghidorah. Before Jim's hoped-for happy ending lay nothing less than The Battle Of Armageddon.