It took Kirk a moment to remember. Command had thought it a good idea for crew to experience working on another ship and different forms of captaincy and they had sent nine crew members to the Manatanga for three months and had three from that sister starship patrolling a different quadrant. There had been some sort of encounter that the Manatange had had which had crippled the ship, severely injured the captain, and killed one of his officers and four from the Manatanga. Somehow the Manatanga had made it back to Command and was decommissioned from active duty but was used in cadet training. "Yes, here was an attack on the ship and one of my officers was killed in that." He remembered now how none of the eight who returned said much about what happened apart from they were attacked by an unknown enemy with an unknown weapon and a fellow officer had died.

"I was the Chief Medical Officer on the Manatanga and Twindell was First Officer."

"If memory serves we had officers on exchange with the Manatanga when it was attacked." Spock studied both Czacheck's and Twindell's faces as the memory of what happened at the time. "The officer from the Enterprise that was killed was Robert Cameron." As he looked from Czacheck to Twindell he remembered reading the full account of the incident and how it was Czacheck and Twindell who had managed to get the badly damaged ship back to Command as Captain Glen Blang had been seriously injured and was kept in a medically induced coma for twenty-eight weeks and then given a promotion and a permanent place on the board hearing any matters related to starships.

"Captain Glen Blang is now Admiral Blang." Kirk nodded as he looked at Spock, "I knew I had seen him somewhere. So he is able to keep the group you are with as a group of relieving officers and can personally vouch for you. I had heard what I thought were tales about that. From what I heard there are about ten such groups and they have proved very useful and practical."

"It was something that came about after the Manatanga." the two men looked at each other before Twindell continued, "When it was put to the Fleet Admiral and various others it was decided it was the best use of the groups who had proven to work so well under the circumstances we found ourselves in. There are ten groups of twenty to twenty-five officers on various ships and fifteen groups of the same on various stations and allied planets."

"As I remember on his death certificate you put he died of multiple injuries to his entire body during the initial attack. Each of the eight officers who returned to the Enterprise said that he died as he lived, thinking of others which sounded just like him." McCoy looked at Twindell rather than Czacheck, "You have a chance to know him? I got to know him from his frequent visits after helping a certain science officer with testing a partial hypothesis that science officer had or from a physical workout with more than one shipmate with their medical workouts after various encounters and instances instead of sleeping or at least resting himself."

Twindell nodded, "That was who I got to know. He would always help anybody on the ship and was keen to learn new things and different ways of doing things and when I asked him why he used to say that we were on the same team,"

McCoy nodded, "just not the same ship."

"Or something like that. He,"

Kirk was suddenly aware of how Czacheck was looking at him. 'You really did not know him, did you Kirk? I can recall that two of your other officers said they were sure you had sent him just to be rid of him for the duration of the three month exchange. Something about you not knowing where to really slot him in I believe was their term. You really did not see all the potential in him, all that he could have been to the Enterprise, did you? You sent him to us for Glen Blang to assess for you, right? For him to tell you what he would do with him? I remember Blang saying he thought of him as a most useful yet a most unusual officer and he said he seemed to suffer greatly from insatiable curiosity and a need to experience new things and to constantly learn and do new things."

Again McCoy nodded, "Yeah, that sounds like Robert Cameron."

While the others could see that Kirk still could not remember the officer Spock bowed his head for a moment then looked directly at Czacheck before looking at Twindell, "In the three years four months and ten days he was on the Enterprise I spent a combined total of one hundred and ninety-two standard days and fifty-one hours with him. He could be not only mentally challenging but also physically challenging. We were never informed of exactly how he died. All that is noted in his records is when and where he died."

"Spock!" both McCoy and Kirk said it in perfect harmony and looked at each other then at Spock both clearly not believing he could have asked what he just had.

"If you read our reports you would know we were attacked by some unknown entity with an unknown weapon that almost totally crippled us and left us to drift and die in space six days at warp nine from Outpost Thirty-seven B. We had an inoperable bridge, no power, our life support systems slowly closing down, and no communications system."

Kirk nodded as he looked from Twindell to Spock, "Yes, you were totally crippled and yet you managed to get back to Outpost Thirty-seven B. Your crew did an amazing job,"

"Yes, while most of the crew had been injured or at least badly stunned three of our and four of your officers had managed to get the six of us who were alive off the bridge and securing it, hare to the life support main room, and then to emergency power generation room is were we found him, them."

"Cameron." Spock said as he nodded. He remembered so many things that Cameron had helped him with, had done, that he was certain if he had been at all able to move he would have done something to help.

Twindell looked at him and nodded,"None of us had realized how badly he had been injured, all I thought was he had a broken arm, those with him thought he had cracked a few ribs. The six with him said he had just taken control and had them get all the others to safe and secure areas then had them follow him and he had them help him get life support back on-line to a level that would sustain us till we got more engineers in to properly repair it and then, then in the emergency power generation room they could see there was a major break in one of the main pipes. He told them, three at each end of the break, what to do when he said to do it. They got it also back on-line. When we got to them they, they, they," for the first time Twindell stopped and closed his eyes and shook his head.

"They got him out of that room but he had been in a position holding the pipe in such a way he inhaled fumes from the coolant and the rough metal at the break site had, had cut, cut," Czacheck had placed a hand on Twindell's arm when he hesitated and for a moment there was an understood silence before Czacheck nodded and spoke.

"There had been jagged parts of metal pipe he had straddled to hold the pipe so that the others could do a short-term weld. The way he charged into securing the pipe the way he had to hold it, saw those metal pieces slice open his chest and puncture one of his lungs. By the time we got to there they had him out of the room and two of your officers were trying to stop the flow of blood while the other one was caring for our three who had minor injuries and were badly shaken. He looked at Twindell and smiled as he said the ship is yours and when I asked if I could do anything for him he asked for my word," Czacheck looked right at Kirk and Kirk saw the pain in the man as though he were reliving that moment, "that if any of the crew of the Manatanga could ever help any of the crew of the Enterprise, especially Scotty, McCoy, Kirk and the bridge crew, they would as we were on different ships but on the same team. I, I gave him my word just as he sighed his last breath. Now I do not know if he heard me but when I told the crew what he had done and what I had done we all agreed that if we could ever help anybody from the Enterprise we would."

There was three minutes and twenty-six seconds of silence before Kirk spoke and Spock knew the others would hear the emotions in his voice, "So the different relief groups are,"

"They are all on different starships and other ships as well as outposts and planets to keep an eye on the crew of the Enterprise. We all know the sort of death that awaited us on the Manatanga if he had not done what he did. We are all aware that he did not stop the think that we are not his real shipmates, that we would have thought of him and the others as just temporary." Czacheck looked at the three of the Enterprise officers then at Twindell, "You know, he was the first officer I knew who knew what Manatanga meant in the old days. Took you a week to do the research and he knew that first day."

"From what I recall about Officer Cameron," Spock looked at Czacheck and nodded, "that is nor surprising as he would have done substantial research about the ship as soon as he knew he was selected to go. He had a most impressive if most unusual insatiable curiosity. No matter how trivial most would think of something he seemed to want to know more about it. While some of his many questions bordered on being frivolous on first appearance there was also depth and meaning behind them."

"Now wait just a minute," McCoy looked at Spock then at Czacheck, "he had that weird poem thing he would mutter at times. I am here and for right now This is my time and my place,

Czacheck nodded back, "Called who, what, where, when, how, Why, because it is my space. Now I don't know how he was on the Enterprise but he seemed to always respect the space of others and yet I also saw him simply reach out and physically touch other officers who just might have needed that very momentary contact to reassure them or refocus them at that moment. Not a word spoken, just that very light and momentary human to human or being to being reassuring physical contact."

"Now that you know what happened I hope you can be more assured when you are out there, where we go and where men like us belong, that there is not only your crew members looking out for you but two hundred and eighty-four others as well."

Kirk looked at Spock and grinned as he briefly looked at Twindell, "About ten months ago we engine problems and were told at Outpost Fifteen G that it would take eleven days to get what was needed and oddly our Chief Engineer had the part in four days."

"And there was that time on Claderria Four a year ago when we needed some new serum base for the treatment of that rare strain of glandular fever and Command said it would be at least a week and we had it two days later."

All three looked at Czacheck who nodded, "Word got out that the Enterprise had a need. I think most of us who were on the Manatanga on that day will have the occasional nightmare till we die of how we could all have died a very slow and most painful death that day with no way of ending it sooner. We will remember what he did for us and how all we can do in appreciation and to honor his request is to help out the crew of the Enterprise."

Still trying to understand it all and accept it Kirk looked at Czacheck, "But that was over three years ago. Why are you still doing it?"

It was easy to understand the look that Twindell and Czacheck exchanged before Czacheck shook his head, "What does a deathbed promise mean to you, Captain Kirk? Or even you given word? He gave us over three more years of living than we would have had, he spared us from one of the worst deaths officers like us can imagine, and all I could do for him was promise to look after who mattered to him, the crew of your ship. It was a deathbed promise, Kirk. He asked for my word and it was my given word that I would do it. The rest of the crew later gave me their word that they would also look out for the Enterprise and her crew." Czacheck nodded at each of them individually and started to stand. "If you will excuse us, gentlemen."

As Czacheck stood so did Spock and he looked at Twindell then Czacheck before looking back at Twindell, "I am pleased you are able to visit even briefly with your former captain and I thank you both again for what you did for myself and Captain Kirk. May you both live long and prosper."

"Same to you, Mister Spock, and thanks."

It was two point three nine minutes after Czcheck and Twindell had left that Kirk finally spoke more, the other two realized, to himself than to them, "I just wanted him off the ship and thought if I got another starship captain to evaluate him and tell me I was right in my judgement of him as an officer material I could get him off the ship permanently. I didn't see him as him, as an asset to the ship. I had heard from you two and Scotty how keen he was to learn and just did not want any disruption to the smooth way the ship was going. I never really heard you both say that he was bothersome or a trouble maker, Scotty had said he was a good keen lad, Uhura said he had great language skills, and both Sulu and Chekov said he had the ability to take over their positions any day but all I wanted was him off the ship as his eagerness annoyed me."

"Now I don't know about you, Spock, but that just does not sound the Jim Kirk I know."

For a moment Spock thought over what he was about to say and knew his friends would understand, "Jim could that have been because you saw in him what you were like at that age?"

"Spock, I was nothing like,"

"Do you remember which captain it was, Jim, who put on your record that, and I quote, Officer Kirk's real potential is there but buried under his almost relentless, bordering on obsessive, need to both learn and experience things in all the various departments on the ship. He has delusions of being the captain of a starship but that will only happen if he learns to curb and direct his enthusiasm and the sooner he learns that the sooner he just might reach that goal." Kirk looked at Spock and remembered only too well those days and that assessment on this file, "Could it not be that in a way you wanted him off the ship as he was so like you were?"

"Now I hate to agree with Spock, Jim, but apart from him not being so fond of chasing women as you and without really saying he wanted to be a captain, he was just like you once were, in case you'd forgotten." McCoy shook his head and smiled, "He told me more than once he never wanted to be a captain as that was too controlled by to many rules."

Objection and denial sprung to him as Kirk looked at his two friends then closed his eyes and nodded. Damn them! They were right. Robert Cameron had been just like him with those two exceptions and it infuriated him being reminded how that central chair and the role had aged him, how he was controlled by so many rules he felt were obsolete. He had sent him off the ship in the hopes of eventually being rid of him. Cameron's last thoughts had been for his ship and crew. His last thoughts had been those of a captain.

He stood and moved to stand between his two friend and said, "I think, my friends, we should get back to the ship and, as he would have said, get out there, meet new beings, find something new, and have fun."

"Jim," McCoy looked at his friend as they started to walk towards the transporter facilities, "don't you mean see what our orders are? And aren't you forgetting that medical you have to have?"

"Doctor, I believe if you heard what Jim said that IS what he means and I am certain that you would not allow him to forget that another doctor or doctors have to see him and I have no doubt you will go with him."

There was a moment when McCoy paused, about to launch into a tirade about how Spock was the one who did not understand Jim till he saw the grin on his friend's face and and saw a raised eyebrow on his other friend's face and knew that that living Vulcan computer was right. As he took two steps to get back in step with them both he also realized just how that blasted Vulcan knew how to get Kirk out of a dark mood and just how thankful he was for that.

***FIN***

A/N Thanks for reading, hope you liked/enjoyed it. Frantic five weeks coming up with international visitors as well as medical and family matters - thank goodness I have a 2yr old border collie to make sure I stop and enjoy a good play in the backyard, in the park and paddocks, along the river, and even the beach (she still believes she can herd seagulls). Be back after Easter. HAVE FUN!