Jim Kirk was married to Miramanee for months, and got her pregnant and everything! Jim and Miramanee were obviously very happy with each other. Miramanee obviously loved Jim quite sincerely, and she was a super-decent lady. She was loyal to him to the last, even when her whole tribe turned against him! She courageously took her place at his side while he was being stoned, and this incredible act of devotion cost her her life. It was literally until death did them part. Doesn't that count as a great love!? If not, then what the heck does a gal have to do to rate!?
And why make such a big deal about Kirk's forced kiss with Uhura, when Kirk had a very happy interracial MARRIAGE with Miramanee? He was so ecstatically happy about his marriage to her that he hugged himself at one point out of sheer, pure, unalloyed JOY. I say THAT COUNTS FOR SOMETHING.
In The Paradise Syndrome, Kirk gets amnesia and while in that state meets and marries a tribal priestess who takes him for a God. They are required by tribal law to marry, since Kirk is soon declared medicine chief, for in this tribe the medicine chief and priestess always marry.
This leaves former medicine chief Salish out of the picture, which he resents, but Miramanee lets him know that she's OK about it. Well, he had to ask.
Miramanee bonded to Kir-ock the moment she met him. She acted very attracted to him, and wanted to marry him right away. Kir-ock had no complaints about this, in fact he thinks it's splendid. It's kind of cute the way he needs to be reassured that she really wants him. She mentions that he may choose another woman if he wishes, obviously wanting reassurance too. Oh, no, he likes her fine. Well, she likes him fine too! Once they are both sure, the marriage date is set.
They marry immediately, like neither one can stand to wait. Both Kir-ock and Miramanee seem genuinely attracted to each other, and before long we see that the spark between them has been fanned into a bonfire. They fall dizzily in love with each other. They are clearly delighted with each other, and the marriage seems to be a very happy one. It's certainly a fertile one, because she announces at one point that she has become pregnant. Naturally it's his kid. The paternity of the kid is unquestionable, because Miramanee is unquestionably interested only in her husband, Kir-ock. She's nuts about him! She never was nuts about Salish.
At one point Kir-ock realizes that he is deliriously happy with his life. He's so happy that he hugs himself with sheer delight. Life Is Good! There's only one cloud in his sky: it bugs him that he doesn't know anything about himself. He can't remember where he came from, or what he's really supposed to be doing. He gets clues in the form of disturbing dreams, but he doesn't know how to interpret them.
Nevertheless, he gets into the spirit of things and starts doing the God thing for his people, the best that he can. At one point we see him explaining the importance of building a sophisticated water system. He illustrates this lecture by sketching out a rough plan. Things are going to be better around here, thanks to Kir-ock, you betcha!
At the end of the episode things take a turn for the worse. Because Kir-ock can't figure out how to work the special magic that the tribe demands on cue like he is supposed to, the tribe (led by jealous Salish) start stoning him. Miramanee takes her place at his side and gets stoned too.
Just then, Spock and McCoy come to the rescue. The crisis is averted, in the nick of time, and Kirk's life is saved.
What if Miramanee had also been saved? What if her injuries turned out to be minor, and she lived? With the asteroid safely deflected, the whole tribe would now live. The planet was saved.
Now, with Spock's help, Kirk remembers who he is. Guess what: it turns out that the prophesy was TRUE! Kirk really was the one who was responsible for saving the world. It was his voice that unlocked the temple and made it possible to activate the asteroid-zapper.
So Kir-ock the God is now vindicated, and he remembers who he really is. He now has a very perplexing problem. He's got a wife, and a kid on the way. Furthermore, he loves his wife, and he loves his life with her. He's not going to find it easy to leave her: he's not that kind of guy!
Kirk did not deliberately mislead the woman. He took a vow of marriage in good faith. He was sincere. He honestly loves her, and he would not be OK about abandoning her... but he also would not be OK about taking her away from her idyllic life, either. A starship is no place to raise a kid.
Starfleet needs him, his comrades need him, but Miramanee needs him too, and she's family! Plus he's nuts about her. Plus he likes it there with her, a lot! Plus, now that his godlike powers are confirmed and the crisis has passed, he's at the top of the food chain around here: king of the world! Everybody who threw stones before is sorry now! They are lining up right now to kiss his ass and beg for his godly forgiveness!
I seriously don't think that Kirk would leave. Of course, if Starfleet required him to go he would follow orders, but only with a promise to Miramanee to return real soon - and he would keep that promise. He keeps his promises. And yes, his love for a person can be more important than his career. After all, he didn't mind risking his career for the sake of his friend Spock. A wife, and child... that trumps both friends and career, right?
If Miramanee had lived, Kirk would have stayed with her. To Kirk, it would be the only right thing to do. Plus, that choice does have its attractions. For one thing, he has a gorgeous wife who's crazy-nutty hot for him. He's got a kid on the way - not just A kid, her kid - he could do it right this time. It would not be like it was with Carol and David, he would have a chance to be a real father, and a real husband to a very enthusiastic wife!
Kirk could be a great leader for those people. He possesses all kinds of knowledge that will prove extremely useful to them. He knows CPR for example. He's already in a leadership position: he's starting out at the top. If he leaves her, he'll be leaving all of them. I don't know how many natives there are, but there could certainly be more than 430 of them. What about all of them? Kirk is a responsible guy, and this is a dream job. He's not going to casually shrug off this opportunity.
Probably what would happen is Kirk would return to the ship to radio home to Starfleet Command. He'd stay in orbit. He'd explain his situation and he would tell the whole story, both to SFC, and to his wife. He'd introduce Spock, McCoy, and maybe a couple of other people to his wife, his tribe, and everybody would get acquainted. Salish would be appropriately humbled by all of this and he would get in line.
Kirk wouldn't decide something that huge by himself: he'd talk it over with everybody. He'd accept advice from Spock, from McCoy, from his wife, even from the old chief. Everybody would have a chance to voice an opinion. Kirk would get his orders from Starfleet, and they'd probably offer him support and ask him what he wanted to do, which he would be expecting them to do.
He'd probably want to stay. He might decide to take an extended leave to think it over, but that leave would never end. He'd end up convincing his people to join the United Federation of Planets, and in no time a cosmopolitan spacedock would be constructed in the sky overhead. Kirk would be very savvy about how to squeeze the most possible from the UFP tit, without compromising his people's autonomy as a sovereign nation.
Kirk's marriage would be legally binding if no one disputes it, and nobody involved would. He wouldn't do that to her, he loves her! Besides, they have a baby on the way. What kind of low-life would abandon a pregnant woman? Not Kirk! The only reason he left Carol is because she wanted him to. She didn't want him hanging around, getting in her way, but Miramanee plainly doesn't mind having Kirk hanging around. In fact, she's counting on it!
The tribe needs UFP intervention, pronto! They've all been exposed to the weird disease Kirk carries that was mentioned in Mark of Gideon! Their little herbal cures are not going to be good enough! Good lord, they probably haven't a second to lose!
That tribe can't go back, they can only go forward. Their culture has been contaminated in more ways than one, and the fat is in the fire. James Kirk would stay, and he would do the right thing, because he's a stand-up guy. Plus, that Miramanee really is a hot little number.
Spock would be granted command of the Enterprise, but that's not the end of the rainbow for him. At the end of the five-year tour, he would take some time off to visit Kirk in Shangri-lah, (which is probably what Kirk would name the planet), and he'd become so enamored with the simple way of life there that he'd probably retire from the fleet (which as we know he'd probably do anyway) to establish a home for himself there.
Kirk would be ecstatic about this. He loves Spock! Plus, Spock could be really handy.
I predict within five years of first contact, Shangri-lah would be a full-blown member-state in the UFP, and under Kirk's leadership they would have established a modern-style democratic form of government. There'd be a spaceport overhead, and at least one tourist town for visitors. Kirk's kid would be a precocious little tyke who would be able to read and work simple sums by then, and there might even be another kid by then - a toddler, or a baby-in-arms. Spock might have hooked up with a native woman and started his own family, too. Maybe he's infertile, but they could adopt, or maybe she already has kids.
Spock would convince Kirk to set up a modern educational system, and he would probably like to spearhead the project himself. Of course Spock would be busily learning everything he could from the natives about their lore, and he'd make it a hobby to scientifically confirm or debunk their cherished beliefs. He'd probably also exhaust himself cataloging every freaking fact about them and the planet's flora and fauna. Oy! He'd be busy! But he likes to stay busy, so he'd be happy.
Kirk would be happy. Spock would be happy. Then McCoy would probably decide to settle there. Then he'd be happy. That's what I think would happen.
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