captain_jtkirk | .004

[You worry about the people you love. It's a human thing. You even worry about the people you mildly like and tolerate.]

You're both employees?

[Real question: how close is Jim to doing something stupid and/or illegal? She doesn't want to think about the other Spock right now. They'll get to that, if there's time. She's also still looking for any sort of concrete information on her end.]

I can't find any mention of a correctional facility by that name, ship or otherwise. What species is running it?

[But she softens her tone, too, watches him while she types. It's like a word hug. It's an odd expression of intimacy, but sometimes she finds she doesn't mind it.]

Indeed we are.

[Don't think he didn't catch that unspoken question, but honestly, he just wants to talk to her and not think about being stuck here with just Jim for company.]

The owner and pilot is a being known only as 'The Admiral'. I have reason to believe it is an incredibly advanced artificial intelligence, the species that made it is unknown to me.

[She's taking notes, cause apparently that's what you do when your boyfriend and... friendish type thing? are stuck in a temporal distortion on a prison ship where they are actually not incarcerated but still apparently stuck. Lovely, comforting notes.]

Advanced enough to create an alternate dimension that exists outside the temporal chain of causality of our own?

[She doesn't think Spock would have put in a vote of confidence for his doppelganger if he didn't believe it, if he thought there was any chance she and the rest of the crew might be in danger.]

Yes, as well as alter our own timeline. I am reliably informed that the wages, although... [amazing] improbable in theory, have been made a reality.

[He can bring Vulcan back. It's enough to make him try out the Barge, at least.]

And what wages have you been promised?

[The heart of the matter, as it were. Because, when he says it like that, it sounds voluntary.]

The continued safety of our ship and crew.

[He almost wanted to change it. Almost. But duty comes first, he can always make another for ~~sentimental~~ personal reasons.]

They can deliver on that? How?

[Still worried, still not wanting him in a dangerous situation, but... well, she's a curious person by nature. She needs to pick things apart and study them. Their relationship is the proof of that.]

I am not yet certain. [He can't help being a science officer sometimes, he really can't.] My current preoccupation is with analysing all the different technology aboard.

So you don't know how, but you're certain they can.

[Spock's certainty is good enough for her. She assumes that the rewards can alter small things, along long stretches of time, and she thinks automatically of Gaila.

Asking for a planet doesn't even occur to her, because she's sure that, were it possible, Spock would have asked for Vulcan.]

The Spock on this ship. Is he another version of you? Will you be returned to the point in time when you struck your bargain?

I am certain. We are already aware that there are phenomena that can alter the timeline, this is merely another.

[He would have, but it would have been for sentimental reasons. Sometimes that's the bad thing about growing up in the society he did, you toss out the good with the bad when it comes to sentiment.]

I will be returned to the precise point in time from whence I left. If you are from further down the timeline, I request you not divulge any information.

[Sulu already did and while he can accept that, he doesn't think he'll be able to stop himself from asking if he sees she's been hurt by something that happens.]

[She nods her head once.]

Of course. When you're returned, will you remember the time you spent away? Is there any way I can determine which of us is further along by observing the you that's still here?

[Or, you know, they could trade stardates. But that would be easy, and then the logical thing would be to stop talking for fear of saying something one of them shouldn't. And this... feels strange. She just saw him, but he appears to have not seen her in quite a while. She doesn't want to deprive him of a link to their life on Enterprise. Perhaps to a reminder of what he's working to keep safe?

She's not sure if he'd call her assumption of her own importance in this equation arrogance or common sense. That actually makes her smile.]

[To him, it's common sense. He is not quite used to that yet, but it is.]

Mr. Sulu informs me that it is you who is further down the timeline. I have not been briefed on the Enterprise's current mission or the circumstances surrounding it.

[Whatever she chooses to tell him (or not), he will trust her discretion.]

I think it's entirely possible that someone up the chain of command just wanted to get Kirk away from the cameras and reporters at the press conferences. Not that I don't appreciate it. My cheeks were beginning to hurt.

[The brave heroes. Pride of the Federation. It had soured in her stomach, after a while. Kids, almost every one of them. Scared and desperate, in the right wrong place at the not quite worst time. They weren't necessarily heroes because they were the best. They were heroes because they were the only ones left. She doesn't see that as a victory.

But it's easier to handle, here, in space. It's easier to pretend that there's a fleet out there somewhere, that they aren't quite as alone as she feels.]

But I think we can both agree on the prudence of no details.

[Call her on this, and she will not be happy, but she reaches out and lays two fingertips against the screen, on the edge of Spock's cheek.]

[He nods. She has always understood perfectly - always. It is... relieving, and his shoulders shift subtly, as though a weight has been lifted from them.]

We can.

[Very briefly, he rests two of his own fingers where hers are, on the screen, before his arm falls to his side.]

[It's brief, and all she can feel under her fingertips is the smooth surface of the screen. But that isn't the point, is it? They can look at each other and speak volumes. Physical contact is secondary. For someone like Uhura, it took a long time to learn that, to learn how precious such a connection could be.]

You do realize that this leaves us in the extremely rare situation of you bearing the burden of conversation?

[See? They're fine. Totally fine. They will talk and she will lightly tease and he will do everything to maintain his straight face, and they will be fine.

Her hand drops, but the smile stays.]

Tell me about The Barge.

[He tilts his head to the side, and smiles, in his own way.]

It is a most fascinating vessel. There are cultures from the far future, as well as the distant past. I have not yet been able to meet all the passengers.

It sounds exciting. Aren't you worried about contaminating the timeline yourself when you get back?

[It sounds like a very real risk. She's sure that Spock has the discipline to refrain from conversing with anyone who poses a danger in that regard, but surely not everyone on board is so careful. They took Kirk, after all.]

[It is a very real risk and Sulu just proved why :c]

I have taken steps to ensure this will not be the case.

Of course you have.

[Coming from anyone else, it might sound doubting, sarcastic, but Uhura means it. Her faith in Spock, while not unshakable, has areas of extreme certainty just as vast as the areas of doubt. The things she believes he can do, she believes absolutely.]

Are you getting along with the people around you? It's been a long time since you've had to socialize on your own.

[She knows Kirk is there. He doesn't count. He has all the subtlety of a photon torpedo.]

.004 - video

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