Title: Roleplay.
Author: Linstock
Code: Spock/Uhura
Rating: PG
Type: Adventure, romance
Summary: During a late night drinking session the command crew share their first job experiences... little does Uhura know that hers will be called upon to save the ship.
Au: This was written as part of Where No Woman's "Uhura is Awesome" challenge. The prompts was, "Uhura spent a year working as a dominatrix before entering the academy. (command: it comes naturally to her. Also leather.)"
This story stand alone, but comes after the incidents described in my story "the Wedding" which tells the story of Spock and Uhura's unusual marriage.
Huge thanks to my beta Atana71 whose kind and constructive support was all that stoped me binning this. The errors are all my own (and I really don't mind if you point them out.)
"A potato!" exclaimed McCoy choking on his drink, "you mean to tell me that your first real paid job was as a potato!"
"It was a genuine fresh baked Iowa potato," replied Kirk slowly and carefully and with as much dignity as a man on his seventh glass can muster.
McCoy, Kirk, Uhura and Spock were the last ones left in the common room. All the others had faded away as the evening had wound down. Kirk guessed that there would be a few sore heads amongst the crew in the morning. What the hell, they had earned it; they had more than earned it. It had been a rough few months; exploration, action, adventure and romance were all very draining.
Although Spock had not said anything he was clearly wearing his sightly bewildered "I will never understand humans" expression and Kirk felt more explanation was called for.
"I was working in advertising," stated Kirk.
McCoy snorted loudly.
"I would dress up in a potato suit…"
"A genuine fresh baked Iowa potato suit," added McCoy chuckling.
"Exashack-ly," replied Kirk, "and encourage people to frequent the diningest...esta...establi...the place that employed me and who specialised in genuine fresh baked Iowa potatoes with an array of healthy but luscious toppings."
"I thought that they had automatons for that sort of foolishness," said McCoy.
"People are better, vastly superior; the personal interact…shon with the potential patrons is 'portant. I learned a lot of valuable lessons."
"Such as?" prompted McCoy.
"Such as never run in a potato suit, it's amazingly hard to get up if you fall, and, never share your suit with a friend, getting in is fun but getting out…" Kirk shook his head sadly.
"Well they are certainly valuable lessons," drawled McCoy.
Kirks sat up straighter and said, "No really, I learned a lot about talking to all kinds of people and I learned a lot about the assumptions people make due to the role you are playing. " He nodded solemnly, then his face split into his cheeky boyish grin.
Uhura looked over at her new husband and could almost see his thoughts as he tried, and failed to make any sense of what he was hearing. She reached over and gently patted his arm. "Don't even try," she whispered. He nodded.
"What about you Spock," said Kirk, "what was your first real foray into the world of adult paid employment?"
Spock replied, "I worked in a brokerage company owned by my mother's uncle."
"Ooh." McCoy rubbed his hands together in mock excitement, "how exciting."
"Indeed doctor," replied Spock, oblivious of the sarcasm, "It was quite fascinating. I developed several computer modelling algorithms that help predict the movement of stock based on 1,289 contributing factors such as past performance, company output, employee psychoanalysis and environmental changes. The firm still uses it today. They are currently rated number 2 in the interstellar finance guild, second only to Fignar and Ginush of Ferengi. They were keen for me to say on, but I declined."
"And what were the valuable lessons you learned?" asked Kirk. "Don't play the market; you could loose your shirt?"
"On the contrary, I learned about the application of probability and risk in a financial setting. The mathematics …"
"Just don't tell me you amassed a fortune," said Kirk talking over Spock and looking slightly pained.
Spock raised an eyebrow and appeared to be considering the Captains statement. "Accumulation of wealth was not my primary motivation, although it can be a useful indicator of success in that field. I did indeed amass what I think you would call 'a tidy sum' and I still maintain a rewarding portfolio of shares and investments."
"Figures," sighed McCoy bitterly. "I worked at a vets."
"You were a vet?" asked Uhura.
"No darling, I was a veterinary assistant, or as my name tag said, 'LEN, VET ASS'. I cleaned out pens, shaved reluctant animals, got snarled at, bitten, peed on and generally hated by a wide range of unappealing, smelly, bad natured and basically unlovable creatures. It was excellent training for being a doctor. I learned my bedside manner being a vet ass."
"Explains a lot," muttered Kirk. Then he turned to Uhura, "OK your turn, fess up. What was it?"
"I worked in human services," replied Uhura primly.
"Oh nonnonno," said Kirk wagging a finger, "No you don't. I know you lieutenant and you are lying."
Uhura looked outraged.
"Save the indignant look for someone who believes it," said Kirk. "I…Know...You." He turned to Spock and said, "You should take note of this, when your lovely new wife tells a whopper, she looks up to the right, tilts her head and, if it is a really big whopper, touches her left ear with her hand." Kirk nodded emphatically.
"I do not!" exclaimed Uhura looking up slightly, turning her head and starting to raise her left hand before she could stop herself.
"Ha!" exclaimed Kirk shaking his finger at her and almost bouncing in his seat, "You're busted. Come on, spill. What was the job?"
Uhura looked a little hunted; she glanced over at her husband who just looked calmly back. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and said, "Dominatrix."
Silence.
McCoy said carefully, "Would you mind repeating that. I thought you said…"
"Dominatrix," repeated Uhura loudly and clearly.
Silence again.
Kirk shifted in his chair and his face was moving like a person chewing a particularly sticky toffee as he tried to assimilate this information.
"You were a prostitute?" asked McCoy in a rough whisper.
"No doctor I was not. I was a dominatrix. There is a lot of difference."
"Okay," said McCoy slowly and with obvious disbelief.
Kirk was still silent but he was starting to leer.
"This is why I never mention it," said Uhura angrily gesturing at the both of them, "people jump to the wrong conclusions."
Kirks voice was a little husky when he said, "Oh really? We are talking tight leather clothes, high heals, whips and restraints?"
Uhura gave one curt nod.
"Don't think the conclusions are all that wrong, darlin'," said McCoy.
"Yes they are. I worked in a well run and reputable dungeon called..."
Kirk's snort of derision interrupted her.
"Look… being a domme is about theatre."
"And sex," added Kirk.
"Theatre, " said Uhura emphatically. "I played a role. The clients came with script in mind, this is their fantasy. After negotiation their fantasy is played out. It is voluntary and consensual. No one does anything they do not want to do."
"But I bet they want to do plenty," said Kirk waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Actually Captain, you would be surprised. There is often very little body contact or even touching involved. Domination and submission is about control; relinquishing it...submitting to it...embracing it. It is a release from reality and having to have the answers and deal with all the pressures in life. Some of my clients were often CEO's of companies, heads of government and top military personnel. They would fantasise a scenario where they would be able to temporarily relinquish all their responsibility, in a safe confidential environment... "
"Chains and whips are safe?" queried Kirk incredulously.
"Everyone in the dungeon was well trained. We had to be, you can do a lot of damage tying someone incorrectly for example. We all had special skills, the girl who did the medical scenarios was a nurse and she was very skilled with a catheter." McCoy goggled and Uhura continued doggedly. "The job was interesting, the Grand Mistress made sure we only had clients who fitted our capabilities, it was well paid, and in the slow times the dungeon mistress was happy for us to study. We used the whipping room mostly because of the benches."
"Naturally," said Kirk as if the conversation was the most natural thing in the world, "Very understandable. What was your speciality?"
"There are lots of different styles of domme, for example there is the medical, the mother figure, the harsh teacher is popular and the bitch goddess."
"And you were?" prompted Kirk almost disinterestedly, although he suspected he would die of curiosity if he didn't get an answer to this question.
"Bitch goddess," mumbled Uhura.
"WHAT?" gaped McCoy, trying desperately to associate the word "Bitch" with the Uhura he knew.
Kirk was making explain more gestures.
"I wore wear a costume and used my voice, language and presence to create an aura of entitlement and power. The fantasies were mainly about longing and servitude, that sort of thing. I rarely even touched a client. "
McCoy said, "It's all a bit sordid. Don't these people need help?"
"No. I told you they were successful people with busy lives who have a different way of coping and different needs. They are not sick. "
"What about the sex? Don't tell me there isn't any sex involved." said Kirk.
"Of course there was sex involved; tension, denial and longing. And remember what is sexual to one person may not be to another. Sometimes sex was negotiated but that was up to each individual domme. I never had sex with clients."
"Okay," said Kirk in obvious disbelief.
Uhura's patience was obvious wearing thin as she said, "A lot of women who claim to be a dominatrix are prostitutes who dress in leather and used a bit of light bondage to spice things up. The majority of people's experience with so called 'domination' is sex play with a girlfriend who has a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and some stiletto heals." Uhura noticed Kirk was looking decidedly uncomfortable. "This is about as close to real domination as a kid's water pistol is to a phaser. The real thing is mostly mental, sure there are costumes, contrived situations and yes... occasionally pain, but the core is in the mind. And I'll tell you want I learned… how to read people, find their vulnerabilities and project a persona that allowed me to control them and I learned about the assumptions people make due to the role you are playing." She glared at the captain and then the doctor.
Kirk squinted at Uhura and obviously decided not to push his luck any further. He snapped his head quickly to look at Spock. "You have been very quiet Mr Spock. Did you know about this?"
Spock did not reply and his expression was impassive.
"Well, what do you think about your wife's early employment history?"
Kirk and McCoy both chimed in when Spock replied…"I have no comment on the matter."
"You're getting predictable Mr Spock," said McCoy with a laugh.
"And I think its time for bed." said Uhura rising and extending her hand to Spock. Spock rose with that languid unconscious grace characteristic of him and took Uhura's hand, briefly pressing his fingers against hers. She smiled at him warmly.
Kirk and McCoy watched the couple leave, still hand in hand.
"They were doing that communicating thing again," said Kirk frowning thoughtfully.
"I don't think I will ever get used to it or to them being a couple," muttered McCoy.
Kirk now gazing deeply into his glass replied, "I have no comment on the matter."
TBC
