.004 - video

[captain_jtkirk]

I don't think these things are malfunctioning at all but if it's just an excuse to roll call, then I'm Captain James T. Kirk. My friends call me Jim.

[He tips the communicator to the side, and there's Spock. Looking stoic as always.]

And that's Spock. Don't worry kids, he always looks like that. He won't bite.

Comments

[Private]

[logistical]

[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.]

[Private]

[talentedtongue]

[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.

[Private]

[logistical]

[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.

[Private]

[talentedtongue]

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.]

[Private]

[logistical]

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

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

[Private]

[talentedtongue]

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.]