His quarters were cool, predictably. San Francisco was by no means a city of sweltering heat, even in the dead of summer when warmer temperatures rolled in from the Pacific. The occasional day of high eighties could make shore leave uncomfortable at best, considering he had acclimated to the inherently chillier atmosphere aboard the<em>U.S.S. Enterprise</em>.Growing up in Iowa had exposed James to the extremes of weather, so, thusly, he should have had no issues adapting to the minor shift between earth and space.<br/><br/>Still...a part of him wished they could keep his room a<em>little</em>warmer. He tugged at the sleeves of his black long sleeved shirt and just barely refrained from curling up in the chair he was seated in. The datapad nestled in his lap provided some iota of warmth, but just barely, and even then Kirk couldn't quite bring himself to focus on the information that Chekov and Sulu had given him. Numbers, words, codes, and coordinates danced across the screen, a briefing on their next mission that was undoubtedly something the captain should have been paying attention to.<br/><br/>“Computer,” he said suddenly. He rose from his chair and set the pad aside. “Scheduled meeting time?”<br/><br/>“<em>Ten minutes past.</em>”<br/><br/><em>Oh shit.</em>Frowning, Kirk hurried into the closet and snagged his first command shirt he could find just as his mind was wondering why he cared so much about lack of punctuality. It wasn't as if he was tarnishing a pristine record—good leader aside, his crew was well aware of his...peculiar habits, tardiness included. It must have been some kind of internalized conflict he wanted to rectify, the operative word being “wanted”. Whether or not that would come to pass, Kirk was uncertain, but he had more pressing matters to attend to.<br/><br/>Like getting to the bridge of the ship he commanded.<br/><br/>He was still stomping into his boots as he dashed out of his apartments. Cadets and lieutenants flattened themselves against walls when they caught sight of the golden shirt, murmuring their salutes, but James  barely gave pause to return the genuflect. His crew was loyal, certainly, but they weren't above teasing their captain for his flaws...particularly one Leonard McCoy and, on a much more serious level, Spock.<br/><br/>Spock was an enigma, simply put. Sure, their time together aboard the<em>Enterprise</em>had garnered him insight into the Vulcan that he had not had prior, but intuition alone was not enough to unravel the shroud of mystery surrounding his friend. Spock was a quiet creature, his expressions and emotions inherently closeted, much to Kirk's chagrin. There had been more than one occasion where James would have liked nothing more than to take Spock back to his quarters, but the Vulcan's methodical mind was as good as an explicit<em>no</em>from his friend's mouth.<br/><br/>It came as no surprise to the man when the doors of the lift opened that his crew in whole was waiting patiently for him. Spock was behind the smooth curve of the hand rail behind the captain's chair, apparently in discussion with or listening to Bones and Uhura nearby. Chekov and Sulu were seated at their designated posts. All rose when Kirk stepped onto the bridge, their thinly veiled amusement prompting James to narrow his brilliant blue eyes. A quick glance downward told him that, in his haste to dress, he had slipped his uniform on backwards, and with a growl he tugged it off and stepped down into the chamber.<br/><br/>“Status report?” he asked, voice muffled behind the fabric of his shirt.<br/><br/>“Scottie is still preparing the ship to retract mooring gear, captain,” Sulu answered. Chekov's fingers darted across the screen laid out before him, charting the warp vector, undoubtedly, to which Kirk nodded. Bones, Spock and Uhura had migrated down towards the piloting console.<br/><br/>“So, who's interested in briefing me about our mission?” Kirk began. At the raised brow on Bones' face he shook his head, a defensive look claiming his features. “Not that I don't know what we're doing. Just...testing you guys.”<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><em>OOC: We can talk in PMs or IMs about the mission. I know you mentioned something briefly, but I'm afraid I've forgotten -.-;;</em>