Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.

Special thanks to beta "Notes From the Classroom". She won a whole bunch of awards for her Spock/Uhura writings – I think if you check out "People Will Say" in my faves, you'll see why.

Chapter 4

T'Spock turned her head away from Uhura towards the window. She'd said too much. And Uhura's sudden somber silence made her think perhaps he understood.

The waitress arrived with their food and she watched silently with Uhura as she placed them on the table.

"So," said Uhura, a tightness between his brows dropping away, "Number One is your mentor?"

T'Spock wasn't accustomed to thinking of a change in topic as a kindness, but it struck her that this most definitely was.

"Yes," T'Spock said.

Her assistant was not touching his food. His elbows were on the table, his long tapered fingers steepled beneath his chin. He was just slightly taller than T'Spock. Unlike many of the male cadets, it was obvious that he didn't spend excessive time at the gym building up upper body strength at the expense of his core and lower body. He was perfectly proportioned in T'Spock's mind, long and lean, strong in the most functional way. The early morning sun was casting a beam across him that made his brown skin and eyes appear nearly orange, so different than the bright white light bulbs in her lab that gave him a chalky pallor.

"I see you in a new light this morning," she said, tilting her head.

Uhura blinked and straightened, moving his hands beneath the table, and T'Spock realized the ineptness of her non sequitur.

"As I see you," Uhura said.

There was an awkward pause. How much had he seen of her?

Uhura smiled and picked up a fork, "But don't worry, I won't let it negatively impact my efficiency in the lab."

It was a life raft if T'Spock had ever seen one. She grabbed hold with both hands. "I would not expect so," she said, picking up her own fork.

"Have to prove you wrong about that Romulan visitor," Uhura said.

T'Spock's eyes narrowed. "Might I remind you that the odds that that recording is anything more than a human prank are nearly one million to -"

"Everybody wins the lottery sometime," said Uhura. He put a piece of bacon in his mouth and smiled.

"-to one." T'Spock finished. "And the statement is illogical. Not everyone wins the lottery. Sometimes no one wins the lottery."

Swallowing his bacon, Uhura scowled and said, "Okay, slip of the tongue. Sometimes somebody wins the lottery, is that better?"

"It is factually accurate, yes."

Uhura speared another piece of bacon, his fork clanging on the plate.

She knew that the primary reason Uhura had become an assistant was to find the source of the odd 20th century transmission he had discovered. In it was what sounded like a Romulan saying "switching to subspace."

T'Spock had discovered that subspace chatter could be found in regular radio wave signals if one had a wide enough range of frequencies. At the time of Uhura's "Romulan" there were enough. However, before any sentient sounds could be heard in the subspace range, naturally occurring subspace noise—the "chatter" of the planets and the stars—had to be teased out. Unfortunately, each system's naturally occurring subspace noise was distinct, it's own particular language. Some variable existed which had yet to be discovered, so learning that language for now was a matter of time-consuming observation. This meant they could only decode one solar system at a time.

Raising an eyebrow, T'Spock said, "Might I further remind you, that we have not received orders for which system we will begin working on next. It would be far more advantageous for us to study a system in the neutral zone, or near a remote outpost, so that in event their subspace receivers died down they would be able to receive messages from Starfleet Command."

T'Spock took a bite of her own bacon. It was very good, salty, greasy, savory with just the right of crispness.

"Yeah, I'm working on that..." said Uhura gazing out the window.

Swallowing, T'Spock blinked. "Working on that?"

"I remind Commander Sharpton of our Romulan friend," said Uhura picking at the food on his plate with a fork. "You know, whenever I bump into her."

T'Spock resisted an urge to roll her eyes. "And then I'm sure you've convinced her you are quite mad. It would be quite illogical for Starfleet to decode a system where multiple subspace stations exist."

Uhura brightened. "But we are an illogical species!" He put another piece of bacon on his fork.

"So I have observed," said T'Spock.

"This is some fine fake piggy," he said eying the morsel on his fork. Smiling at her and meeting her eyes in a way that was strangely unsettling, Uhura popped the piece of bacon into his mouth.

x x x x

"Cadet," said T'Spock, as they neared the shuttles on the tarmac on the western side of the Enterprise's construction area, "This is where I leave you."

Noyoto drew to a halt and turned. It was now nearly 08:00. He was wired from lack of sleep, he felt like he could run a 5K easily, but at the edges of his consciousness there were the threads of deep exhaustion. As soon as he fell asleep he wouldn't be able to wake up if a supernova hit him.

"Sir..." He straightened. "Thank you."

T'Spock tilted her head.

"For the chance to go aboard the Enterprise," Noyoto said.

"You are welcome," said T'Spock.

He was probably a little punch drunk from exhaustion because he said, "And thanks for breaking and entering to get me there."

Noyoto was fairly certain that Vulcan ears did not move, and it may have been his sleep-deprived brain, but he swore he saw T'Spock's ears flatten ever so slightly like an annoyed cat.

"As we discussed, it was not breaking and entering," T'Spock said.

"It was just unorthodox," Noyoto said with a smile. He never would have imagined hopping over a fence with T'Spock the day before. But then he never would have thought her capable of getting into a bar room brawl either, eating bacon, joking, or what he was fairly certain was a moment back there in the cantina. She saw him in a new light. What did that mean? What other unorthodox activities was she capable of? Thoughts that he tried to suppress bubbled to the surface. She was still very delicious, even with the annoyed cat look, maybe especiallywith the annoyed cat look.

Straightening, T'Spock said, "I trust this unorthodox evening will not affect our working relationship."

Her flat tone hit him like a bucket of cold water. "Of course, not, Sir," he said. What was he thinking? She was a Vulcan.

Nodding curtly, she turned and headed towards the officers' shuttle.

With a sigh, Noyoto made his way to the shuttle for cadets.

"Uhura," called a familiar voice. Turning, he saw Sulu coming in his direction, two bags of gear over a shoulder. Swinging one around, Sulu threw it in his direction, "Catch."

Noyoto caught the soft projectile and the two stowed their bags and made their way onto the shuttle.

Noyoto was ruminating over T'Spock's non sequitur from earlier, "I see you in a new light," when Sulu said something.

"What?" said Noyoto.

"What was so important that you couldn't make it back to the barracks last night? And I've only asked it three times."

Rubbing his face, Noyoto said, "The Enterprise; had to test her UT. Sorry, man, no sleep."

Sulu huffed a laugh and said something that may have been, "That's awesome." They ducked to enter the shuttle. As they strapped themselves in between two cadets, Noyoto's comm chimed.

Flipping it open, Noyoto tilted his head and blinked in surprise. It was a message from Commander Sharpton, forwarded from T'Spock. The subject was "Research priorities for fall semester." In the body, before the forwarded section, T'Spock had commented, "Humans are illogical." Noyoto scanned down to Sharpton's message.

In light of the possible historical significance of certain transmissions recorded in the late 21st century, I have decided that the first solar system to be decoded should be Sol.

Grinning ear to ear, Noyoto tapped a reply to T'Spock with a thumb. Very illogical. I promise not to gloat, Sir.

Just as he pressed send a loud thump caught his attention.

"Ouch, that had to hurt," Sulu said.

Glancing up, Noyoto saw Jim Kirk, the local from the bar fight the night before. Noyoto's jaw dropped slightly. Standing under the first low beam of the shuttle's frame, Jim rubbed his head with one hand. Something red was clasped tightly in the other. He looked rougher and more unkempt than ever, dark circles were under his eyes, and his face was bruised and still bloody.

"Whoa," Sulu said, "they must be low on their recruiting quota."

Just then Kirk saw Noyoto. Saluting with a cocky smile he threw the red thing he was clutching in Noyoto's direction.

It took a moment for Noyoto to register that it was his coat. "Thanks, man," Noyoto said catching it. It smelled like cigarettes and alcohol and was horribly wrinkled. It was going to need a professional pressing. As Kirk got closer, Noyoto said, "You joining us?"

"Looks like it," said Kirk, settling in across the aisle and a few seats down.

Noyoto's brain was just digesting this response - when Giotto, the security officer who'd decked Kirk the night before, leaned out of his seat. "Are you alright? I am so sorry. I just got so carried away," Giotto said to the battered new recruit.

"I'm okay," Kirk said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"See, he's okay, Cupcake," said one of the other security track cadets.

"Your nickname stuck," said Giotto.

"Uh..." said Kirk.

Noyoto's eyes widened.

Smiling, Giotto said, "I like it...it'll confuse my enemies. When I was a kid we had this Rottweiler named Fluffy -"

He was interrupted by an attendant chasing a man in his midthirties down the aisle, "You will take a seat sir."

"I had a seat," the man protested.

"Definitely low on their quota," said Sulu under his breath.

Noyoto lay his head back as the man sat next to Jim. Closing his eyes he was vaguely aware of the guy going off on Kirk about various space diseases. Poor Kirk, he just seemed like a magnet for trouble and weirdness.

The last thing Noyoto heard as he slipped into unconsciousness was that old guy saying, "I think I may throw up on you."

A/N:

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