Guitar Heroes

Commander James Tiberius Kirk, formerly captain, but still of the starship Enterprise reluctantly relinquished the captain's chair as the turbolift deposited Admiral Christopher Pike onto the bridge. He swallowed hard at the painful constricting of his throat as the daily reminder that he was no longer the captain of the legendary starship strode over to him to soak in the shift change briefing.

Guilt surfaced at the bitter thoughts and the younger man batted them back as best he could. He was unimaginably grateful to his mentor and father figure for standing up for him to Admiral Marcus, but this second in command thing was taking some getting used to. Kirk was used to calling his own shots and blazing his own trails. Pike's command style was much more restrained and Kirk was starting to feel suffocated by it. He needed to blow off some steam tonight.

His watch on the bridge had been uneventful. Awaiting new orders from Starfleet Command, Stafleet's flagship had been left to performing routine sensor sweeps of the surrounding space and allowing the various labs on board to investigate any potentially interesting space objects. A rogue planet had turned up and had kept the science division entertained for some time.

Finished briefing Admiral Pike, Kirk bounded for the turbolift, feeling as rogue as the planet they'd investigated earlier; wandering aimlessly through the corridors, restless, but having escaped the gravity of his superior. After a veritable tour of the Enterprise, the boyishly handsome first officer wondered onto the rec deck. He stopped just inside the doors and they hissed shut behind him as if to mock him in his boredom.

Movement across the room jerked Kirk's attention to the right. Lieutenants Sadara Lochlan and Kathleen Bradley were practicing some dance steps and taking turns leading, jogging Kirk's memory that they had been latin, ballroom, and swing dancing instructors before becoming commissioned Starfleet officers.

_Must be their way of staying sharp with it. If you don't use it, you lose it, just like my guitar playing. I'm probably rusty as hell…. I wonder why they don't teach a class?_

Perhaps he'd suggest it to them. But first…

Spying a guitar in the corner near them, Kirk felt inspiration strike and an insufferably mischievous grin spread across his face.

"What those girls need is music…," he snickered, picking up the guitar. He plucked at the strings a bit and played with it, getting used to it. He couldn't explain why, but certain things felt unfamiliar when they weren't yours, even if they were the same make and model. Feeling comfortable with it after a few minutes, Kirk settled on something to play.

The lieutenants paused their dance practice for a moment to glance at him and listen. Sadara's left eyebrow lifted in curiosity as Kirk flashed her his most charming smile. The Vulcan/Human hybrid returned the smile in that way that told him she knew what he was all about and he rolled his bright blue eyes at the realization that his reputation as a womanizer preceded him once again. The women went back to dancing, but they picked something that suited the song Kirk had been playing on the guitar.

"Those are off limits, you know that right?"

Kirk turned his head slightly to find Admiral Pike leaning over his shoulder, his gaze pointedly on the two women nearby.

"For you," Kirk replied with a smirk that touched eyes, lips, and voice as the upside to being demoted dawned on him with unbridled glee. "I'm not the captain anymore. I'm sure you remember that. And judging by the look in your eye, you may need to remind yourself more than me."

"Thing is I have self control," Pike teased.

Glancing back over at the women, Kirk snorted at his father figure. "Yeah? Wait until they bust out a Samba, then we'll see how much self control you have. You know… if you want to live vicariously through me, I can get it on with them and tell you how it was?"

Kirk laughed and put his arm up protectively, anticipating he might have to ward off a few playful swats from his mentor. It had been a revolting thing to say and Kirk hadn't meant it seriously, but sometimes teasing Pike about women was too much fun to resist.

"What am I going to do with you, James?" Pike mumbled, rubbing his eyes. As if commanding a starship wasn't its own full time job complete with overtime, he was practically a father to the young man sitting beside him. Children were something that Pike had considered only after giving up the stars, but he'd also imagined the possibility that by then he'd feel too old to embark on such a journey. Either outcome had been welcome to him. In a way though, life had given him the best of both worlds; out amongst the stars with haphazard, headstrong Jim Kirk to guide.

"And speaking of living vicariously…," Pike pointed to the guitar. "Give me that."

"What?!" Kirk snickered. "You are way too on the straight and narrow to know how to play the guitar."

"That's an order, James."

Reluctantly, Kirk gently handed the guitar over and a foreboding came over him like a winter chill. Pike had a bad habit of displaying unsuspected talents and Kirk was certain this was going to be one of those times.

"Let me show your rusty ass how to play this thing," Pike smirked and began playing.

With no guitar to play now, Kirk had no choice but to try to one up his captain. He began singing, rather well actually. It was enough to attract the attention of Lochlan and Bradley who gave up their dance practice and sat to listen.

Kirk grinned evilly up at Pike. Surely Pike wouldn't be fun enough to sing.

Wrong again. And it chafed. Fathers and father figures weren't supposed to be cool.

Admiral Christopher Pike, rock star.

And to add insult to injury, the two women joined them in the singing.

And that's how karaoke night on the starship Enterprise was born.


End file.
