Kirk's One True Love Is...

[Yeoman Randi]

Other, and by "Other" I mean the Enterprise. Fetish or not, nobody and nothing meant more to him than that ship.

This!

 

[Anika Hanson]

Edith Keeler

 

[Maab of the Ten Tribes]

Ruth! His ass looked all googly eyed when he saw her in Shore Leave.

 

[maneth]

Other, meaning Enterprise. That's why his relationships with women were all so short.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

In TOS, unlike in TMP, Kirk's affection for the Enterprise seems more tied to his sense of duty and dedication to the "star service", much like his literary antecedent. Horatio Hornblower longs for the sea, a sense of duty and purpose, which is usually expressed in terms of his affection for his ship regardless of name. Doesn't matter to him if it is the Hotspur or Lydia or Sutherland. It is what the ship connotes for men like him--adventure and service.

Kirk isn't so much in love with the Enterprise as he is in love with his career. Therefore, the Enterprise represents the pinnacle of his achievement. After all, in TOS, we are often told that it takes a rare breed of men to command a starship.

Later, this affection is transmuted into a "love affair" in the Trek films.

 

[EEE]

The Big E, pure and simple. "Never lose you."

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

The Big E, pure and simple. "Never lose you."

Oh, I'd forgotten about that cheesy scene from "And the Children Shall Lead" and the not-quite-as-cheesy-but-still-cheesy scene from "The Naked Time", where Kirk says, "No beach to walk on."

 

[Captain Robert April]

"Now I know why they call these ships 'she.' I give... she takes. She won't let live my life. I've got to live hers."