How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Quote #1
KIRK: Two and a half years as Chief of Starfleet Operations may have made me a stale, but I wouldn't exactly consider myself untried. They gave her back to me, Scotty.
James T. Kirk is a loyal Starfleet officer, so he'll do whatever the big brass tell him to do. That doesn't mean he has to like it. Since leaving the U.S.S. Enterprise, Kirk has been living the boring life of an office-bound Admiral, which explains his strong need to regain command of the ship. His ship.
Quote #2
DECKER: May I ask? Why?
KIRK: My experience, five years out there dealing with unknowns like this. My familiarity with the Enterprise, this crew.
DECKER: Admiral, this is an almost totally new Enterprise. You don't know her a tenth as well as I do.
As you might imagine, Decker is less than enthused when a washed up Admiral steals his spotlight. It must be a pretty big honor to captain a ship as legendary as the Enterprise, after all, and the dude must have worked hard to get selected for the post. Although we're psyched that Captain Kirk is back on the team, we sort of feel bad for Decker.
Quote #3
DECKER: I remember when you recommended me for this command. You told me how envious you were, and how much you hoped you'd find a way to get a starship command again.
Here's a shocker: Kirk and Decker have a past relationship. Kirk even helped him land the gig in the first place. Huh. This completely changes the way we understand Kirk's behavior. He might claim that he's only taking charge because he's the best person for the job, but there's more than a little ego involved in his decision.