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He couldn't believe it, a dozen years as captain of the Enterprise, and command already wanted to make him an Admiral. He'd heard it was something about successfully encountering hundreds of alien races and keeping them allied with the Federation. The favorable outcomes of his various encounters with the Klingons and the Romulans were just icing on the cake. Starfleet Command was making James T. Kirk an admiral and he hated the idea. To him, it felt more like a demotion. He had to leave space and The Enterprise behind to spend the rest of his years doing paperwork.
Three more weeks before it became official, which also meant he had three more weeks to refuse the promotion. No one, not even Spock and Bones could see why he would want to refuse being an Admiral. He tried to explain how he felt, and neither of them really understood. That's why he found himself at the office door of Fleet Admiral Pike. Jim couldn't believe that it'd been four years since they'd seen each other. Jim had come into his own as a captain, Pike got promoted, and took Archer's Job as Chief of Operations. He had four stars on his shoulder boards, and even outranked Admiral Barnett.
Jim didn't have an appointment with Pike, and it was late. He couldn't even be sure Pike'd be in his office, especially because his yeoman had gone home already. There was nothing to do now but knock, and he did just that. For some reason, the wooden doors in this part of Starfleet Command seemed appropriate.
For the life of him, Pike couldn't figure out who was coming to see him this late. No one knew he was here. The offices closed two hours ago, and he was trying to finish up some paperwork so he could spend the weekend out at his ranch, "Come in."
When he looked up after hearing his visitor enter the room he wasn't surprised, "Jim. Have a seat." Pike's paperwork was forgotten, Jim had the same look on his face that he did when the Enterprise's first five year mission ended. He was unsure about the future, even though he had little reason to be.
Jim sat. Pike looked older than his sixty-five years. He supposed that's what happened when one was responsible for an entire fleet and the hundreds of thousands of lives that included. The way Pike looked at Jim though, that never changed. His eyes told Jim that Pike thought so much of him, placed so much faith in him and his abilities as a member of the fleet he commanded. Christopher Pike was one of the few people that never saw him as a complete screw up, a stark contrast to the attitude of his Uncle Frank. Ever since Pike picked Jim up off that table in Riverside, he couldn't help but think of the older man as the type of officer he wanted to be. After that first night, Pike never mentioned George Kirk or the Kelvin. He let him be his own person. Jim couldn't be more thankful.
"What brings you to Command so late?" Pike was concerned.
"I'm getting promoted." Jim sounded like he signed his own death warrant.
"I know. I signed the order last week."
"I hate the idea of being Admiral Kirk."
Pike knew exactly how he felt. It took him years to come to terms with the idea that he wasn't going up there anymore. He hated it. Starfleet, the organization he invested so much time in, so much of himself in took away what he loved about the job and gave him no say in the matter, "Feels like the end of everything, doesn't it?"
"Exactly, and I want to refuse the promotion." Jim finally found someone who understood.
"That's within your rights to do. I'm not going to force you to take it. I had that happen to me, and I resented every single person on the committee that approved it for years. But, I am going to tell you why I signed the order."
"And why is that?" Jim asked with a hint of the cocky boy he was fifteen years ago.
"I think Starfleet needs you here now. Twelve years of cadets have gone through the Academy wanting to be like James T. Kirk, the daredevil captain they've heard stories about. We've bred a crop of officers that embrace free thinking and who use their training as a springboard for solutions. The Maru's been changed not to make death the only solution, but one of many. The way they apply their knowledge is more important than simply having it."
Pike noticed the look Jim gave him, half self important cadet, half experienced captain who couldn't refute Pike's points no matter how much he may want to. Pike continued on, "You have twelve years as captain of the flagship under your belt. There's a lot they can learn directly from you that stories, reports, or the history books can't teach them."
"And that's supposed to make the endless hours of paperwork worth it?"
"Nothing makes all this paperwork worth it. Ninety-Percent of it is pointless anyway. But it is something that makes the title of Admiral less difficult to bear. It also affords some additional privileges. It's not bad."
Kirk regarded Pike with some suspicion, "You aren't just feeding me party line bullshit, are you?"
"No, I'm not."
Kirk nodded. As usual Pike gave him a different way of looking at everything. He always seemed to see the good in the rare situation that Jim found almost hopeless. He sat in the chair across from Pike's desk, staring at his hands. Pike's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "Anything else?"
"No, Sir. Thanks for the talk"
Pike nodded and went back to his paperwork as Jim left his office.