trans_9 | Cut 'em out, ride 'em in. [Open]

Even captains need their moments of rest and relaxation. Kirk had retreated to the Sensoriums to try and catch his breath and ease some of the tension from the past few months. This ship was draining, sometimes in the extreme. Not for the first time he missed Enterprise. She had been his ship, for better or for worse and now that she was gone, he found he missed her more then ever. That didn't even account for the crew. Sulu, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Chekov - he wished he had them here right now. Their advice and support would meant quite a lot. As it was, Spock had recently arrived, but he seemed different somehow. Something he hadn't been able to put his finger on yet.

Kirk sighed to himself and finished saddling his (virtual) horse. The whole affair with Roxie Schreiber had gotten too far out of control. He'd reacted instead of letting himself think. He'd overstepped his boundaries. In one smooth motion, he slip up onto the horse, settling himself in the saddle. An apology to the crew at large was probably in order. They had a trust in him that he'd violated to a certain degree. He just wished that some of them returned that trust.

Giving up was out of the question, though. There was no such thing as a no-win situation. With a click of his tongue, Kirk flicked the reins and set the horse out into a steady trot. Ahead of him were rolling hills and blue skies. A beautiful day for a ride.

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"Eee?"

Chirp. Ear-twitch. Up comes his head and after a minute, his face tints with the faintest of blushes. It's probably no surprise but one hand/paw gives the stormy-sea-coated animal an affectionate skritch.

"Is Ty'Rekh. Rrrr-enne go-t leahrrrrn."

He learned. Sort of. His posture's still quite off and he's too high on the back. Saddle? Bridle? Tack? What means these? And his first days, oh Jim-Boy, he was inordinantly clumsy back then.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you? How have you been holding up?"

Kirk let his horse trot on a few more yards. The strange creature intrigued him, but it was odd. He didn't know him, despite the fact that Renne claimed to have spent quite some time in his presence.

"Eee....Rrrr-enne ah-live."

A chirp. It's not in English and he's got this animal trained, believe it or not, using exclusively Tahitian and Welsh commands. To which, when Ty'Rekh hears Mata'i, she picks up the pace a bit to keep up with Kirk's larger mount.

"Dahm-mit Djihm?"

"I think that's the most any of us can say."

He glanced out over the vista, mountains rising off in the distance, glistening with snow. Idaho was a beautiful state. He loved it here and he dimly wondered if he would ever see it again.

"Yes?"

"Haow yeu do it? Dahm-mit Djihm is noh hurrr-ted?"

Be careful, James T. This one is not afraid to be blunt. Or use cute if he has to. Amid speaking, the oddity slips his Ty'Rekh a very tiny peppermint treat.
Yeah, he dotes on his companions, can you tell?

"It's part of being a captain. You just let it roll off. You internalize it. You keep on moving, because no matter who you lose or what happens, there's still one hundred other souls depending on you and your decisions. If you stop to be hurt, you let them down. You fail everyone who looks to you to be the leader."

"Bu-t th-en, Kap-tin fahll daown."

He takes a moment of silence, seeming to reflect on something -- reflecting on a lot actually. His voice is low but somehow steady in his next words.

"Kingh-dom be los-t ahn-d noh strrron-g wi-th-out Kingh. Bu-t Kingh be los-t too, wi-th-out Kingh-dom. E-ben Kap-tin nee-d s-tone, stahn-d on."

That's a very philosophical way of saying "A clan is weak without its leader but a leader is lost without his clan." He's young but sometimes, Renne knows old words.

"Captain's aren't allowed to fall down. We put our lives and our beings into our ship and crew and we lead them, no matter what the personal cost. We overcome. We're explorers, fighters, diplomats. We do the hard work. I'll be fine."

He nodded down at the little creature. He was doing fairly decently, especially now that Spock was here. They'd have to play chess sometime.

"Wha-t hap-pen th-en, when ba-ck brrrreak?"

It's an extremely blunt question from him. A command of Ahi sends Ty'Rekh into a brief but full-on run. He's not running away from the Human. He's hoping the man might chew on that for a minute.

"I don't break."

Kirk's answer is simple and to the point.

Oh, that has him nearly skidding his mount to a halt. His tone isn't forceful. It's quite calm actually, even a little detached.

"Rrrr-enne say Shi-t Buhll."

"I can't break because I have my crew. I have Spock. I have Mister Kennedy. Master Chief. All of the others who make up this command crew. They won't let me and I won't let myself. We trust each other, even if the rest of the crew doesn't trust us. That might just be enough."

Kennedy.

The name gives him a bit of a start. He has to ask, mostly because he's only ever known one "Kennedy". Well, two but two of the same man.

"Ken-nuh-dee...Is 'Chee?"

And then Renne turns away, as if afraid to ask another question on his mind. His posture, while still bad on a mount, suggests something between pain for this Human and an eerie kind of misanthropy.

Kirk quirked a brow.

"You know Mister Kennedy. He's head of security aboard the ship."

"Is 'Chee? Ahrrr-cheee Ken-nuh-dee?"

It's as if there's the smallest fraction of hope in his eyes.

"No. Leon Kennedy. You've met him, haven't you?"

Kirk has no earthly idea who this Archie fellow is.

Oh... His ears drop.

"Noh. Rrrr-enne ohn-lee kno-w Dahm-mit Djihm. Ahn-d Bee. Ahn-d Gai-yiff ahn-d Wihn-Wihn."

Those are people mind you, he's met more'n once.

"Hmm. He's a good man. You should meet him someday."

Kirk glanced up again. How much longer would his peace of mind last?

"Eee. May-bee Rrrr-enne trrry."

Ty'Rekh walks again. This time, he issues a softer command, which tells her to pace Kirk and keep right beside him.

His head angles upward; his eyes swirling with the tiniest of stars in a dark blue/not-blue, undulating storm. A day he knows had come and gone. He'd learned a lot since then but remains keen on his instincts.
Thus, a webbed hand/paw extends slowly out and up.

"Rrrr-enne be Hea-lerrr. Rrrr-enne noh be worrr-th, bu-t if...If Dahm-mit Djihm wahn-t Eeerrr. Ohrrr hell-p."

Kirk smiled. "I appreciate the gesture..."

He reached down and took the the small paw gently in his own. "Thank you for your support... I could use it."

"Eee. Yeu noh be o-therrr Dahm-mit Djihm. May-bee...Rrr-enne trrry hee-rrre. Rrr-enne go-t goo-d Eeeerrrr if Dahm-mit Djihm wahn-t."

Chirp. His hand's kind of small compared to a human and the skin's like...basically warm peach fuzz. But be careful of the devilish little twinkle in his useless eyes.

"May-bee, paownce. Ki-ck Rrrraw-mahn buhtt. Rrraowrrr!"

Careful, Jim. He's unleashing the cute.

Cut 'em out, ride 'em in. [Open]

Re: Of Power and Other Profound Things

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