"I know that," Jim said, with a quiet certainty that put paid to any notion that he was mollifying Kirk or taking any of this lightly. "Of course they do. Sometimes, we're given no choice. And sometimes, our choices come back to haunt us." He thought back on the Farragut, his Farragut, and mistakes he hadn't been able to forgive himself. And how he'd put his ship and his crew in danger because he couldn't find that forgiveness.

He looked out at the water, glimmering brighter with every moment the sun rose higher. It was beautiful here, though nature had been tamed and Jim felt a little out of place.

"I don't know if you want to hear my thoughts about such things. Maybe you share them already, and maybe it'll just sound like I'm telling you what to do. What do you need from me?"