Application for star_trek

[original_fine]

Name/Alias: Kris
Personal Journal: my_daroga
E-mail: ASK
AIM/MSN/Plurk/Other IM: original_fine

Character Name: James T. Kirk
Source: Star Trek: The Original Series, near the end of the five year mission
Race: Human
OU/AU: OU
Preferred Rank: I'm assuming Kirk's will have to be considered a somewhat unusual circumstance, so I'm willing to either bow to mod rule or let it play out in game, depending on what the XI!Kirk situation is.
Position: Tactial, helm, or diplomacy

Personality: At first glance, Jim Kirk is the quintessential macho hero: strong, blandly attractive, a lauded captain of the exploratory and peacekeeping Starfleet organization. He makes decisions quickly, is good in a fight, and seems able to have any woman (and some men) fall under his charismatic spell in seconds flat. What is less obvious is that he takes his responsibility very seriously, and underlying the man of action is one of compassion. A man of both action and thought, he is ultimately a very adaptable, flexible person within the confines of his moral beliefs.

As a captain, Kirk listens to his subordinates and welcomes their input and debate. He maintains most of his crew at arm's length, while cultivating a familiarity that has resulted in a degree of loyalty which means they would do anything for him because they want to, not because he outranks them. While gregarious and open, he can be short-tempered under duress, but always apologizes. He can be overly familiar, but does not cross personal lines of conduct he has set for himself. In fact, he is a lonely man, having found that his first responsibility is to the ship and the crew, and that this does not mix with romance.

As demonstrated throughout his dealings with other races and the unknown, Kirk has a genuine compassion for all living things, a boundless curiosity about life, and a rigid belief in right and wrong. He has, to some extent, internalized the values of the Federation to the point where he no longer separates them from his own--leading, at times, to overstepping his duties (if not outright re-interpreting them) as its representative. This is demonstrated in instances where he violates Starfleet's non-interference directive in order to put right a situation according to his own interpretation. Justice is, however, always tempered with mercy, and second chances are always an option. While diplomacy is not his chosen field, Kirk would nearly always prefer to talk out a conflict than fight; on numerous occasions, he curbs his more violent instincts in order to determine that the threat can be neutralized another way. He often discovers that the perceived threat is not one at all, and has been known to make speeches to the effect that Man, while containing natural inclinations to violence, has the reason and compassion to act otherwise. He firmly believes that we as a society have evolved beyond such conflict, and that a mark of our civilization is that we need not resort to our baser instincts. That being said, he seems to revel in the opportunity to fight, and prefers close, unarmed combat to remote methods or sophisticated weaponry. In this way he illustrates his vision of mankind perfectly: containing simultaneously the ability and instinct to fight, and the capability of settling differences more compassionately. And above all, maintaining a personal involvement.

Though compassionate and understanding, the above also illustrates that Kirk is not without arrogance. While accepting input from others (and usually able to admit when he's wrong), he is quite capable of asserting his vision as the correct one, sometimes in ways which seem naive or pedantic. When encountering other cultures, for example, he does not hesitate to remove sources of authoritarian rule from power, without necessarily considering the mess he may leave behind or the authoritarian quality of his own interference. Though he can be understanding of cultural differences, he is also certain about the "right" way for a society to evolve, and if the differences are fundamentally opposed to his values, he steps in and overturns them. An example would be in the episode "The Apple," in which he learns an idyllic, Edenic society is being kept from evolving by a computer they revere as a god, he destroys their god and leaves them to fend for themselves. Notably, similar scenarios unfold multiple times over his career.

Ultimately, however, Kirk is a good man. What makes him a rich personality beyond his heroic status is the blend of playfulness, flirtation, compassion, and authority, rendering him complex without being contradictory. He can be said to be playful in his work, and serious about his play, devoted beyond all else to his mission and those he commands but not above lightening the mood without taking his job lightly. It is this quality which can make him either compelling or infuriating to those around him, as he cultivates a sense of community and familiarity without sacrificing control. With both men and women he is expressive, touchy, and warm, though his is the sort of energy which takes over a room--it is possible to find it utterly charismatic or, resisting it, find him overbearing.

History: James T. Kirk @ Memory Alpha

Powers/Abilities/Unique Items: Jim's abilities are nothing above human levels, but he does have extensive training and experience in combat, tactics, diplomacy, and starship operations. He's adept at hand-to-hand and weapons. He has a strong grasp of history and scientific concepts.

Communicator Sample: This is James T. Kirk, of the USS Enterprise. But not that James T. Kirk. Not your James T. Kirk.

I am not the captain of this ship. In fact, I don't know what rank I would hold in this world. But I know that I am here, and that I can help. And that I can do more good here than back at headquarters, being studied for signs of space-time anomolies.

I do realize this presents some potential confusion, which is why I'm making this announcement. Just remember: if it looks like your captain, but an older, wiser, more maturely handsome variety, then it's me. I look forward to meeting all of you, and entertaining countless queries about whether your counterparts have lost their hair yet.

Prose Sample: They were taking her away from him. At thirty-six, his life was over.

He was being dramatic, and he knew it, but it was the first time in two decades Jim Kirk had not known what he wanted. All he'd ever sought was the Enterprise, before he even knew that was his goal. And these five years had been everything he'd ever dreamed. The pain had been worth it, the price paid for being the man he'd always hoped. For making a home for himself among the stars. For doing what he felt was right and good.

And now that home was being broken up, the family he had built, eschewing so many chances at the traditional sort, scattered by bureaucracy. James T. Kirk, he found when he got home--to Earth, that is--was too valuable a commodity. A media darling, created during his absence, a perfect storm of valor and looks and they could shove him in front of a camera and behind a desk and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

It was the first time he felt he couldn't win.

Intellectually, he knew the feeling would pass. That he would pick himself up, dust himself off, and go on. Find a way. He'd just failed to figure out that next step in time, and it was taking him a little longer than usual. Maybe he needed to be alone. Anywhere but the holovids, bright lights and men and women pressing for his attention when he'd done nothing but his duty and his desire. It hadn't been for them. And that was the kicker--he hadn't done it for glory, but he had done it for himself.

He wasn't sure, now, how he'd gotten here. He'd teleported, so he thought, to some remote place where he could be alone and think. Where the temptation to lose himself in the pleasures command had denied him did not call quite so strongly. But this road was unfamiliar, the sky darkening as he went doggedly on. Nothing behind or before but he knew he was going the right way. At least, he knew he needed to keep going.

When the city appeared, it seemed almost inevitable.

He stopped at the first corner, gazing around him. He felt stone cold sober, but the place seemed like another world. No place on Earth looked like this, not anymore. Litter was scattered about the pavement, harried people huddled in doorways or scuttled past. The unsettled feeling in his gut was understandable, under the circumstances.

Jim turned around, seeking exit, but the city had closed around him somehow, or he'd been walking longer than he'd thought. He could see no end. Reaching for his communicator, he found nothing, and remembered too late that he wasn't in uniform. In his hand, however, was a padd, blinking dimly at him. But it refused to call up his location, or show him anything he recognized.

He kept walking, because it was clearly a bad idea to look as out of place as he had to, here.

He'd worked for, and gotten, everything he'd ever wanted. So he'd told himself.