"...amazing, how... just how different all that is, even if we ended up in the same place." Kirk closed his eyes, bringing up a leg so he could wrap an arm around it. "I hated Starfleet for what I thought they failed to do. Sam... Sam I lost before Tarsus. He ran away from home when I was eleven.. didn't see him again until he appeared on this ship.

Being smart in school meant I got laid. A lot."