I haven't read exactly what this movie is about, but I do know it's something about the academy. Now, I read in another post that Abrams is sticking to canon, but is it going to be 100%? Because I thought according to the show some of the characters didn't actually meet until later in the series. Like Chekov, he wasn't in a number of episodes in TOS. Sulu wasn't there the very first episode either. I realize they all went to the academy together, but did they actually know each other?
Actually, they shouldn't have all gone to the academy together. Had that been the case, they would all have been approximately the same rank at any given time!
Now, it is possible (if highly contrived) that Lieutenant Kirk (7+ years in-service) might have had a few cadets (0 years of active service) assigned to his Command School training cruise (think Lieutenant Saavik, a commissioned officer but with a crew of cadets, in TWOK... same thing).
How the filmmaker puts these bits together... and how much screen-time and involvement each character gets... remains to be seen. It could be done in a way that "works" or it could be done in a way that makes those of us who care about both Star Trek and reality want to hurl.
We'll know in about a year, won't we?
The only things, in-canon, that we know are this:
Kirk was an Academy instructor as a lieutenant (probably as part of his command-training curriculum). He befriended a young cadet named Gary Mitchell after Mitchell decided that Kirk needed "lightening up." Mitchell steered a blond lab tech towards Kirk, as part of this, and Kirk almost married her (most folks assume that this is Carol Marcus).
Spock is approximately Kirk's age, possible a bit older, but wasn't promoted quite as rapidly. He joined Starfleet instead of attending the Vulcan Science Academy as his father wanted, and became essentially an outcast as a result... not welcome in either world. He first found a "home" under Chris Pike's command... and later served under Kirk.
It is indicated that Spock knows about Kirk's performance on the Kobayashi Maru from first-hand experience, and he clearly knows about Carol Marcus.
McCoy isn't "Starfleet" in the same sense that Kirk is. He's more in the "MASH" vein. We know that he was a civilian doctor prior to entering Starfleet, that he went through a really ugly divorce that left him a broken man, that euthanized his father to save him from suffering, only to see the disease CURED later on. We know that he and Kirk have history, and that history would seem to me to predate his joining Starfleet.
My best guess remains this:
Kirk and Spock are at the academy for their respective "advanced course" training at the same time and on the same cruise. Spock is slated to return to Enterprise, under Pike, after completion of his training. Kirk is scheduled to be assigned a first-officer's posting to a smaller ship.
Kirk isn't popular... he's considered a bit of a screw-up... talented but a bit of a "martinette" and not the man most likely to lead his troops into victorious battle. He's also just coming back from nearly being expelled for cheating on a test... so he's reconsidering his position on many things, but he's NOT looked upon favorably by, among others, Spock.
Both are assigned to their final training/qualification cruise on the ship commanded by Captain Robau. During the cruise, a crisis ensues, and the command staff is disabled or killed, leaving the "training cruise" crew to deal with the situation.
Kirk becomes the guy we know at this point, for the first time. He basically saves the day, with some conflict with Spock but with the beginnings of their friendship forming by the end.
During the crisis, Kirk meets Scotty (probably an engineer on the training ship), and McCoy (a civilian doctor involved in the crisis).
Enterprise eventually shows up to clean up the mess, after the crisis is resolved by Kirk. Enterprise is under th command of Pike.
This fits with everything Iv'e seen EXCEPT for the presence of the "second bananas." I would really have preferred not to see Chekov, Sulu, or Uhura at all in this film. Of course, as far as we know, none of them have more than 5 minutes of screen time... though we do have reason to believe that Sulu gets to play "Highlander" in one sequence.
