"She should have been an Admiral at least ten years before me." They weren't even going to make her a Captain until after the Narada incident. Pike fought for her promotion in his first meeting as an Admiral. They were always slow to promote women to Captains of ships. Sure, there were plenty in planet-side positions, just not out in space.

"I think," Pike began before taking another drink, "that you joined on a dare. I counted on the fact that you couldn't resist it." He was quiet for another minute, while he thought about the best way to phrase what he wanted to say next. "But if that's all this was, I don't think you'd be here sitting on my back porch much less still in the Fleet. Do you still believe it could be the organization that your father believed in?"

Pike had to come to terms with the answer to that question himself, after he'd heard what happened to Marcus, Khan, and everything else. Ultimately, he decided that it was. Starfleet was needed, especially as a peace keeping force in the galaxy.