Kirk had for the most part been unable to affect how his status as a playing piece on the ever-evolving board changed over time. Now far removed from his former life as a starship captain, his role as chief of Starfleet Operations included sending other starship commanders to push outward the boundaries of both territory and knowledge, dispatching them as explorers and defenders of Federation security. Meanwhile, Kirk’s lengthy career and hard-won experience, and even the notoriety that had come his way over the years, had seen to it he now was “too important” or “too valuable” to risk being
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