Early life
Born to Dr. Carol Marcus and Starfleet officer, James T. Kirk. He grew up in a single-parent environment with his mother, immersed in a world of scientific research. David knew of Kirk, but never met him, because his mother effectively banned Kirk from his life; she felt they lived in two different worlds, and she wanted David in hers.
David's professional choices were heavily influenced by his mother's status, and by his early twenties, he had earned his doctorate and soon became a member of his mother's research team. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Project Genesis
In 2284, David began work on Project Genesis with his mother, stationed on Regula I. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) As they progressed, traces of his father showed in David; he was impatient for results and eager for solutions. This led him to employ protomatter, denounced by many scientists as hazardous and highly unstable. Nevertheless, it appeared to solve the problems. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
In 2285, David's closeted scientific world was interrupted when Khan Noonien Singh took control of Pavel Chekov and forced him to announce that he was taking Genesis away from Carol's team on orders from Kirk. This threat was part of Khan's ruse to lure Kirk to them, and it provided the volatile backdrop to the first meeting between father and son. He fled with his mother to the Genesis cave to hide their research from Starfleet. Khan could not find them, but Kirk arrived afterwards and knew to look for them there, beaming down.
This encounter actually began as more of a confrontation; David displayed the same eagerness for action as his father when he attacked the admiral with a knife, presuming that Kirk's intent was to take Genesis. Carol intervened, and it was after seeing her that Kirk guessed David was his son. David got a chance to see his father in a more positive light when Kirk battled it out with Khan. David remained on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, acting as advisor on the Genesis wave, and was impressed by his father's courage and abilities.
After this brush with death, David showed his compassion by trying to comfort the man he once despised, when Kirk was grieving over the death of Spock. David apologized to Kirk for misjudging him and added, "I'm proud, very proud, to be your son." (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
USS Grissom
Shortly afterward, David was assigned to the USS Grissom with Lt. Saavik to study the planet created in the Genesis explosion. At first, he was thrilled with the array of environments, but when he beamed down for a closer look, he found the planet in a state of environmental chaos, and recognized the cause as being the protomatter's instability.
David's naivete showed through when a group of Klingons arrived and demanded the Genesis Device. He honestly believed the Klingons wouldn't harm them because, as a planet-building device, it was an obvious failure. To the Klingons, however, Genesis was a powerful weapon, and a hostage was selected to die as proof of their serious intent.
As a d'k tahg knife was raised to Saavik's neck, David lunged toward the Klingon in a burst of courage which might have been expected of his father. However, he lacked Kirk's fighting prowess, and was killed with a single thrust of the three-bladed knife to his chest. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Saavik informed Kirk that David died "most bravely", saying he had saved her and Spock. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
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