Let's Go Thataway!
Chapter One - All Aboard
Enterprise
Late July 2263
Spock
They entered the mess hall just as Kirk and McCoy came in from the other side of the corridor. All four got in line to check out what the 'improved' food might be like. Unfortunately, it didn't look any different than they remembered. There was considerable grousing from McCoy at the end on the line. Most of the mess hall was empty, as the majority of the crew would not be reporting for duty until tomorrow, so they had their pick of tables. They had barely settled down when Scotty walked in. Kirk waved his arms vigorously to attract his attention and he waved back and hurried through the line, joining them at the table with a tray stacked high with food. "I've been down in tha engine room all day an' I'm half starved."
Spock looked at him with interest. "And how are the improvements to the engine controls working out?"
"Just great!" Scotty's wide smile was contagious. "Ever'thin's just great! I have no complaints atall."
McCoy looked across the table at him. "You've been here all day? But this was still leave time, you idiot!"
Scotty looked a bit abashed. "Weel, ya see, there was this ...personal project...that I wanted ta get situated, so ta speak, before tha ship became real crowded like." He didn't look directly at anyone, most studiously avoiding Kirk's eyes.
"Ah! A personal project." McCoy's eyes danced. "I don't suppose you'd like to share this project?"
"No' at the current time. Perhaps in a few weeks."
"Weeks! Only weeks?"
"Weel, I will need to check ta see that the...process...is workin', ya know? That the, uh, apparatus is, um, functioning properly."
Everyone but Spock was laughing now, and his eyebrow was high on his forehead, while his eyes twinkled.
No one else had even checked on their newly refurbished labs yet, preferring to wait until officially back on duty in the morning. Even Spock was content to wait until then.
All the senior staff were to be checked in by 0800 tomorrow morning. The remainder of the returning staff would start checking in at 0815. New staff would check in at 1500. The first senior staff meeting would be the following morning, over breakfast in the captain's ready room, when the mission orders would be opened. Until then, none of them really knew what they would be doing for the next five years.
As they were leaving the mess hall, Jim stopped. He looked rather sheepish. "Sorry, folks, I just can't wait any longer. I have to see what they did to the bridge." Not surprisingly, the entire group wound up there. They looked around. There didn't really seem to be many obvious changes. There was new upholstery on the command chair. Jim settled down to break it in. Maybe they had lifted it just a bit higher? He stood up. "Spock, come sit in the command chair and tell me if it seems just a little different to you."
Spock stepped over and seated himself. He sat still for a moment and then moved his body in several different, fairly subtle ways, with a slight look of puzzlement on his face. Then it cleared. "Yes. They have elevated the chair approximately 2 centimeters. Also the seat cushion is 4.25 centimeters thicker than it was at the end of the mission. Most likely the original cushion had compressed slowly without our noticing."
Jim stared at him in astonishment. "How do you do that?"
Spock looked back at him. "How do you not do that?"
Behind them, the others were snickering. "Okay, you two, that's enough." Nyota leaned over the back of the chair and whispered something in Spock's ear, causing his eyebrow to rise.
The other men immediately jumped in with comments. "None of that now, this is the bridge."
Spock rose from the command chair and crossed to the science station. He stood looking down at it. "Jim, we have some new controls here. Nyota found them."
Everyone else crowded around to see what he was talking about. Scotty was the first who spoke up. "New long-range sensor controls?"
Spock turned his head over his shoulder to nod at Scotty. "Excellent guess. That is mine as well. It will be interesting to discover how they work tomorrow."
Jim was actually rubbing his hands together. "We are going to be able to see further, go faster, and stay out longer."
Scotty eyed him. "We canna go faster unless I say the engines can handle it."
"Yes, yes, Scotty, I know." But somehow, Scotty was not convinced that the captain really meant it. He foresaw many times when he would be complaining.