Joshua awoke with a start, the beautiful woman's hand stroking his chest. The blonde froze as her eyes narrowed slightly. "Did that wake you?" She asked. Kirk nodded slightly. "And trust me, it takes very little to wake me," He mumbled before smiling. "I can't believe I fell asleep with someone in bed. That hasn't happened in a long time." "Why?" Peenk asked. "I have a hard time sleeping when someone is in bed with me," After a couple of seconds he shrugged. "Well, actually, all my people are like that," Kirk then smiled. "Even a couple as notoriously randy as my parents sleep in separate beds." "Liar!" Peenk said as she sat upright. "Never lie to me! I will never tolerate a liar!" "I don't know what," Kirk began, but the woman cut him off by thrusting a finger in his face. "The Force tells me you are lying!" The woman growled at Joshua. "The Force tells you?" "Yes," Peenk said as she stared at Kirk. "Why would you lie about this?" "Because I have trouble sleeping with someone in my bed because of the things I experienced as a prisoner of war," Kirk told her as he looks away for a moment. "Normally, my people have the ability to seal away memories. Bad memories, or things that need to be kept from prying minds." "Prying minds?" Peenk asked. "Do you mean telepaths?" "Yes," Kirk then sat up and faced the blonde. "But the thing is, the things that happened to me were so horrorific that the barriers became unstable and collapsed. My doctor, Ita Sa Min, got together with a neuro-programmer and created a new program. And it saved my life." "Saved your life?" Peenk then peered into Joshua's eyes. "In what way?" "The memories of what happened at Teros 6 were so nightmarish," Kirk shook his head slowly before continuing. "That I tried to kill myself five times." "I'm sorry," Peenk said as she gently placed her hand to Kirk's face. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories." "There are no painful memories," Joshua stated simply. "As long as the barriers are up, it's like they don't exist. But moments of high stress will cause the barriers to collapse. That's why I left Special Forces." "Something happened?" "It was when an Orion crime family kidnapped the child of a Nirilese computer security expert," Again Joshua slowly shook his head. "The Nirilese are genetically compelled to protect their young children. They can do nothing else. And this crime family used this to force him to transfer funds in two Federation bank accounts. Accounts that held money confiscated from them in a drug bust. Well, after he did what they commanded, they told him he worked for them now, and if he wanted his son to stay alive, he would do what they said. That's when Special Forces was called in." "Wouldn't that be a law enforcement matter?" Peenk asked. "If it was any other people, yes," Joshua said. "But Niril was now ready to go to war with Orion. And they are a rather merciless foe. Especially if you harm their children. The Romulans learned that lesson when they invaded them. Half a million troops landed on Niril. And six months later, twenty thousand left alive. So that is why we went in." "Did you rescue him?" Peenk asked as she leaned forward. "No!" Kirk said as anger flared up inside him. "When we arrived on planet, we found the man's son had been killed a week before. They had no intention of ever returning him to his family. And that is when the barriers came down and I went on a rampage." "What did you do?" Peenk leaned back, frightened of the anger coming from Joshua. "I hunted down and killed every member of the leadership of that particular family," Kirk said as he closed his eyes. Peenk was surprised when the man's anger swiftly faded. He then opened his eyes. "I started with the Matriarch and worked my way down. At the end of the night, when the rest of the assault force found me, I was surrounded by fifty eight dead Orions. And I was pinning a note to the body of the Matriarch." "What did the note say?" "This is the price of a single child," Kirk replied in an emotionless voice. "The price will double for the next. And double again. And they never tried that again." "What happened to you?" Asked as she placed a hand on Kirk's knee. "Did you get in trouble?" "No," He said as he smiled. "The Nirilese considered the case closed. And the Families on Orion were too scared to raise a fuss over it. But that was when I knew I had to leave active duty and enter the reserves." "And what duties do you have in the reserves?" "I engage in training SpecOps candidates," Kirk then grinned. "Which consists of lectures and pep talks." Joshua then scanned about the compartment they were in. Clothes and personal items lay scattered about the deck. "Would you like me to clean this mess up? You know, as any good cabinboy should." "If you did that," Peenk said as she tapped a finger to the tip of his nose. "You would find yourself being hunted down by a very angry Cerinian. Cerinians love clutter, and they hate when you mess with it." "What do their cities look like?" Kirk asked, shaking his head at the mess. "They're immaculate," Peenk told him. "It's just their homes that are messy. From the poorest to the most powerful. They all live like this." "And that pile of sticks and leaves means they sleep in a nest?" Joshua asked as he stared at the pile in the corner. "Yes." "Then why the bunk?" The man asked Peenk. "Because I will not make love in a nest!" She said, gruffly. "My skin is much too sensitive for that!" "So the two of you are a couple?" Joshua asked nervously. "Is this going to cause any problems." "First of all," Peenk said, patting Kirk on his chest. "Cerinians are incapable of jealousy. It's an alien concept to them. Secondly, she's been waiting for you for thirty years. So be prepared for the ride of your life!" "Well," The man said smuggly. "I didn't know that my fame had spread this far. And that my fans were lining up before I was born." "Hey, cabinboy!" The blonde said quickly, cutting him off. "Do not be arrogant! That's my job!" "Sorry, Captain," He said as he grinned once more. "But like I said, I'm only twenty-nine." "Well, it's hasn't been thirty years yet," She said before she pausing a few seconds. "It'll be thirty years in fourty-one days." "I turn thirty in fourty-one days," Kirk told her. Peenk stared at him for several seconds. "You were born on that day?" The woman asked, her happiness gone. "What day?" Kirk asked, confused. "The day Palpatine issued Standing Order 66!" She blurted out. "What is that?" Kirk asked as he stared at the blonde in confusion. "You don't know what the Force is," Peenk began as she shook her head incredulously. "You don't know about one of the most important events in the history of the galaxy! Are you from another galaxy?" "Well it's like this," He began as he sat up. "Yes. A galaxy seventy-four million lightyears away." "Kinna never mentioned you were from another galaxy," She said as she leaned against the bulkhead. "Just your name, Joshua William Augustus Patrick Kirk." "I very seldom ever tell anyone my full name," Joshua muttered to Peenk. "And it's interesting that it's someone named Kinna that knows it. Her last name wouldn't be Banka by any chance, would it?" "Well it's like this," Peenk replied with a smile as she leaned forward. "Yes it is. Though her real name is Pehn Orell." "Really?" He asked before laughing. "Do you find that name funny?" Peenk demanded angrily. "Yes!" Joshua sputtered. "I know a woman named Kinna Banka! She's the mother of two of my great-grandfathers sons, James and Samuel!" "You're related to Gath Pok?" "What?" Kirk asked, a mix of shock and joy radiating strongly from him. But he quickly quelled the emotions as he leaned forward and stared at her. "How do you know that name?" "He saved Kinna's life," Peenk said slowly. "As well as the lives of hundreds of other Jedi. He did it by altering their appearance."