Chapter Text
James T. Kirk grinned to himself as he stood in front of the replicator, waiting patiently for his morning coffee. He was in a good mood today, something that both pleased and perplexed him. Usually he didn’t feel this energetic until after his coffee, however, he had a feeling about today. Something amazing was going to happen.
“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!”
Jim laughed as Bones appeared at his side, Spock closely behind him. “Morning, Bones. What’s all the fuss about?”
“You caught me by surprise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy to be awake.”
Jim raised an eyebrow and grabbed the mug that finally appeared from the replicator. “I’m always in a good mood when I wake up, Bones.” At the doctor’s look of disbelief, he turned to Spock for some help. “Right, Mr. Spock?”
Spock hesitated. “Captain, I’m afraid Doctor McCoy is right. You do seem rather…irritable in the morning.”
Jim narrowed his eyes as a smug look came across Bones’ face, making sure Spock knew that he felt betrayed. He took a long sip of his lukewarm coffee and sighed. “I guess you’re right, then. Spock, we should head to the bridge,” he inclined his head towards the turbo lift. “Care to join us, Bones?”
“No, I’d much rather spend my morning in peace.”
Jim huffed. “Suit yourself, old man. Come on, Spock, let’s give Bones the peace he desperately needs.” With an amused look and a dramatic pivot, the captain made his way to the turbo lift, his first officer directly behind him. When they entered the lift and started for the bridge, his grin returned.
“Captain? May I ask why you’re in such good spirits?” Spock asked, an extremely small amount of amusement in his voice.
The turbo lift doors opened to the bridge. Jim Kirk turned to his friend and gave him a half-hearted shrug. “I just have a feeling about today.”
Spock hummed slightly and took his place at the science station as Kirk all but jumped into the captain’s chair. “What do we got, morning crew?” he asked before picking at a thread on his golden uniform.
“Nothing yet, sir,” Uhura answered quickly, “no emergency frequencies, nothing from Starfleet…”
“Seems like my feeling was right,” Kirk mused, “today’s going to be a good day. Boring, but good.”
The universe seemed to disagree. As Jim began to sit straighter in his chair, his vision of the bridge began to fade. His entire body began to ache, like he’d just been beamed aboard by a malfunctioning transporter. He thought he could hear someone call his name, but it was distant. He could see Spock rush towards him, but it was in vain. A second later, he was gone, leaving the captain’s chair on the bridge completely empty.