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Kirk smiled, seated himself back in his chair and began to pour more ale from the bottle. Thelin watched him as he set down the bottle and stood up to hand over the glass. Even as Kirk felt these moments of uncertainty, he still carried himself in the manner of a person who would show no vulnerability-the manner of a leader.

“You’ll do fine as a father, Jim. In fact, I daresay you’re the closest thing to a father I’ve ever had.”

With the glass at his lips, Kirk nearly choked on a mouthful of the blue liquid. “Thelin, we’re practically the same age!” He wiped off his mouth with his sleeve.

“Age is irrelevant,” Thelin replied. “You’ve been a mentor; you’ve provided authority and discipline. We’ve known each other for twenty years, and in that time, I’ve grown more under your guidance than in all my years spent from birth to adulthood.”

Kirk waved him off. “That’s the alcohol talking.”

“Perhaps. But even if so, it nonetheless speaks the truth.”

Kirk shifted in his seat, his nonplussed expression shifting through several distinct phases as he attempted to reprocess the nature of the relationship they had shared all these years. “Well, Thelin, I’m…touched,” he finally said. “But…what about your own father? I don’t recall you ever sharing much about him. Is he still alive?”

Thelin stared into his drink. He considered trying to change the subject, but as the ale had somewhat dulled his inhibitions, he instead chose to relent and respond with frankness. “My charan yet lives, but traditionally he would not be actively involved in child-rearing. My thavan, however…I do not know. I’ve had no contact with him since I was very young.”

“I’m sorry,” Kirk said. “I hadn’t known.”

“Of course not. We would not normally speak of such things. Our privacy is sacrosanct.” He finished his drink, set down the empty glass, and continued. “My zhavey, I believe you know, is an Aenar from the northern provinces of Andor. My father met her while vacationing in the Weyzhiss Mountains, and she returned with him to Laibok. The sanctioning of marriage was less restrictive at that time, and interracial unions were never arranged at all. So, they found suitable partners on their own and bonded.

“They were something of a novelty at the time, with so few having intermarried with the Aenar. But then it was during my youth that the race riots began.”

Kirk nodded. “Yes, I remember hearing about the uprisings while I was living on Tarsus.”

“The government’s climate-change project had been a veritable disaster for the northern regions, and violent responses were met with more violence. My mother became a target of public scorn, and the rest of her bondmates lacked the courage to defend her. So the bonding was dissolved, and my zhavey was left to raise me on her own.” He sighed with resignation. “I wish I could report that things have markedly improved, but I do not believe it to be so.”

Kirk set down his own empty glass. “These racial problems,” he said. “Is that the reason you haven’t begun a family yourself?”

“Partly,” Thelin replied, trying to stem the flood of memories of Thali flowing into his mind. “Suffice it to say that Andorian courting and bonding rituals are…complicated.”

Kirk grinned and gave a friendly roll of his eyes as he stood and gathered the glasses from the table. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“It doesn’t really matter anymore,” Thelin said, forcing an air of confidence. “Starfleet has provided me with all the family I need.”

Kirk moved toward his kitchenette area, calling back over his shoulder to Thelin. “We’ve polished off the ale, I’m afraid. But the food synthesizer was just restocked. Anything you want, it’s on me.” Having quickly washed his hands, he turned back around. “The perks of being an admiral include delicacies, you know,” he said, winking. “Fresh Andorian redbat with tuber roots?”

Thelin opened his mouth to politely decline the offer when the doorbell suddenly chimed. Puzzled, Kirk looked at