Nyota
Spock had blocked her slightly within their bond, muting the connection, but she had felt him calm remarkably soon after his father had followed him off the bridge.
His rage had frightened her.
She had witnessed it before, but those expressions of Spock's anger had been under very different and specific circumstances. Vulcans were territorial of their mates. On the two previous occasions she had seen Spock lose his emotional control, she had been injured and threatened by another male. In those situations his response had been an instinctual one
His attack on Kirk had been different. Her husband had been aware that Kirk was provoking him intentionally, had even guessed that he hoped to prove him unfit for command pursuant to Starfleet Regulation 619, and yet he had let himself be taunted into a physical altercation.
He had almost wanted to fight, wanted an outlet for the intense rage she felt within him directed at Nero.
She tried to push her concerns for him from her mind to focus on her duties. Kirk had taken command and they were now making their way towards Earth to face Nero.
Kirk was wisely avoiding conversation with her. Nyota was coolly furious at him. Not only had he reduced her traumatised husband's control to tatters, he'd used her father to do it. Only her professionalism and the dire situation they were in was enabling her to maintain a civil demeanour around him. Kirk was therefore studiously avoiding eye contact with her and was instead arguing with Doctor McCoy and Lieutenant Sulu.
They were talking in circles trying to figure out a way to 'sneak' aboard the Narada. Kirk's plan remained idiotic and doomed to failure in her opinion. If he got them all killed she'd… she'd spend her last moments alive really pissed off at him.
She glanced around the bridge. Gaila was still working on the communications array. They'd replaced the overloaded circuitry that Sarek had helped them repair only to discover another issue in the power relay. The relay was awkwardly positioned deep inside the console and replacing it was most definitely a one person job best performed by someone with tiny hands. Gaila's boots and green legs were all that was visible from the communications console. Nyota turned her attention from her and continued her perusal of the bridge.
There were crew members everywhere frantically trying to bring the damaged Enterprise up to full battle stations as per their Acting Captain's orders. His ten minutes had long come and gone but they were getting closer to having shields and weapons operational and online.
The young Russian navigator Chekov had run off to make calculations on one of the tactical displays. He now excitedly dashed back towards them.
'Captain Kirk! Captain Kirk!' he called.
'Yes, Chekov. What is it?' Kirk distractedly replied pulling himself from his argument with Lieutenant Sulu.
'Based on the Narada's course from Vulcan...' the Ensign excitedly began, '…I have projected that Nero will travel pass Saturn.' Kirk had a blank look on his face. 'Like you said we need to stay invisible to Nero or he'll destroy us.' Kirk nodded, Sulu and McCoy began to look more interested and Kirk's mysterious engineer sidled up behind the group drying himself with a towel. 'If Mr. Scott can get us to warp factor 4 and if we drop out of warp behind one of Saturn's moons,' he paused and waved his stylus around, '…say Titan -the magnetic distortion from the planet's rings will make us invisible to Nero's sensors!'
Sulu, McCoy, Scott and Kirk were giving the young Ensign their full attention now and Nyota herself felt a twinge of hope. This was the first plausible sounding theory anyone had come up with.
'From there, as long as the drill is not activated we can beam aboard the enemy ship!' Chekov concluded proudly. Yes using the implausible transporter technique that Kirk and Scott had used to get aboard. Chekov's plan seemed... like it might actually work.
Kirk glanced at his engineer who gave nodded. 'Aye, that might work.' he confirmed.
Doctor McCoy didn't appear convinced however. Nyota wondered at that, out of the group he was undoubtedly the one with the weakest knowledge of Astrophysics. He'd proclaimed as much to her husband a few hours earlier with his 'I'm a physician not a physicist!' comment.
'Wait a minute kid, how old are you?' he asked sceptically.
'17, sir!' Ensign Chekov replied cheerfully.
Nyota smiled slightly at his exuberance.
The doctor sighed and shot a pointed look at Kirk. 'Oh good, he's 17.'
'Doctor. Mr. Chekov is correct.' Nyota's breath caught as Spock's deep voice broke across the bridge. The ensign in operations gold nearest the turbolift clutched his PADD and looked at Spock in transparent fear, almost like he might try and make a run for it. Clearly the man had witnessed Spock's violent outburst earlier.
Spock looked like his confident, unflappable, Vulcan self once more however. Unconsciously Nyota reached across their bond towards him, the warm affection that greeted her reassuring her immensely. He felt like her husband again. She took a step towards him, longing to wrap her arms around him, but she remembered herself and came to an awkward halt.
'I can confirm his telemetry.' he continued as Nyota tried to focus on what he was saying and keep the smile off her face. 'If Mr. Sulu is able to manoeuvre us into position, I can beam aboard Nero's ship, steal back the black hole device and if possible, bring back Captain Pike.'
'I won't allow you to do that Mr. Spock. ' Kirk replied quietly. Guiltily Nyota hoped.
'Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry.' Spock reminded Kirk. 'Our cultural similarities will make it easier for me to access the ship's computer to locate the device.' he paused, his voice changing slightly. 'Also my mother is human. Which makes Earth the only home I have left.'
Nyota could tell from the shuffling of the men around her that this had not been common knowledge to them.
After a pause Kirk added, predictably, 'Then I'm coming with you.'
Spock inclined his head and replied in that same almost amused tone of voice he'd used what felt like years earlier when Kirk had been sitting in the Captain's chair. 'I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it.' Yes. Her husband had Kirk down pat.
Kirk smiled. 'See? We are getting to know each other.' He emphasised his words by slapping Spock on the arm.
Spock's reaction to the overly familiar gesture was stilted and nonplussed confusion.
'Well? Spock? You coming or not?' Kirk called from the turbolift as if they were old buddies, as if he hadn't attempted to give her husband a mental breakdown less than an hour earlier talking smack about the massacre of his entire race. Nyota clenched her jaw and breathed out through her nose, trying to calm her anger at Kirk.
Spock's head tilted and Nyota didn't need to see his face to know there was a sceptical Vulcan eyebrow somewhere in the vicinity of his fringe.
'Um, Captain? I need to get us to warp factor 4 first.' Engineer Scott reminded Kirk, throwing the towel down on a nearby chair and jogging towards the turbolift.
'And I haven't plotted the course into the navigational computer yet sir.' Chekov added with his stylus in the air like a child asking a question in a classroom.
'And I have to actually get us to Titan before you can beam anywhere sir.' Sulu continued.
'And we'll need to confirm they haven't already dispatched the jamming device before we can beam you anywhere.' Nyota said, pointedly leaving off the 'sir'.
'And I need a drink.' McCoy finished wryly.
Kirk pouted. Actually pouted. Then sighed and made his way back from the turbolift and collapsed into the command chair.
Nyota shook her head at the acting Captain's enduring immaturity and crossed the bridge to see how Gaila was going before she gave into the urge to slap him.
'Gaila? How's the power relay coming along?' she asked.
If Spock and Kirk were going to be beamed onto the Romulan ship she wanted to remain in communication with them for as long possible.
'Annoyingly!' came the muffled, decidedly waspish response from beneath the console. Gaila's boots shifted and she wiggled out from under the console. 'Ten minutes maybe. The last power uplinks are so hard to connect!'
Nyota nodded. She was intimately familiar with them from her time tinkering with the console as Spock's TA. 'I know, why do you think I let you do the dirty work?'
Her friend sighed. 'I assumed it was because after only a single day, the power of out-ranking me had already gone to your head.'
'Ensign U'Aidat!' Nyota gasped in false admonishment.
Kirk, no doubt bored at having to sit still for a few minutes, chose that moment to look over in their direction. At the rather… acidic looks both she and Gaila gave him his eyes widened comically and he quickly looked away. Spock, who was quietly conferring with Chekov at the navigational console, looked up and caught the exchange. Judging from the mild interest she felt from him, it was apparent he would almost enjoy watching herself and Gaila taking out their mutual displeasure upon Kirk.
'I can't believe that ass is Acting Captain.' Gaila hissed in her native tongue.
'I agree whole heartedly Gaila. But I'm going to wait until after Nero's taken care of to give Kirk a piece of my mind.' Nyota replied. 'Or more accurately, a close up view of my manicure when I slap him right in his big fat mouth.'
'Count me in.' Gaila muttered darkly before disappearing once more under the console. Nyota spent a few minutes updating the burst messages she'd prepared to be sent to Starfleet earlier. She didn't mention their current plans however. If Nero was from the future, he might be able to break their encryption. The last thing Kirk and Spock needed was Nero getting a heads up on their intentions. Instead the burst messages contained all the pertinent information on Nero and the Narada and the threat they posed.
She skirted around the idea of what Kirk and her husband would soon be doing in her thoughts. Inspecting 'the plan' in any detail would most likely result in her attaching herself hysterically to Spock and refusing to allow him to depart. Through their bond she could tell Spock was going over possible scenarios in detail, calculating odds and strategies based upon his limited information. It was a struggle but she pulled herself from him so as not to cause distraction.
Instead she programmed two comm units to the priority bridge frequency for when, hopefully, they would have communications up again, but also sequenced them for emergency radio communication via the ship's intercom. The antiquated technology wouldn't work at any distance, the transmitters in the units were tiny, but could conceivably come in handy for communication between the two men or in the event that the Enterprise came into close combat with the Narada. Not that the Enterprise had any chance of winning such an engagement…
'Course plotted Captain!' Chekov informed Kirk.
Kirk slapped the intercom in his chair and a view of the Engineering deck appeared in the corner of the main viewscreen. 'Scotty!' Kirk called. 'Do we have warp 4 yet?'
'Aye Captain! She's prepped and ready to go.' the engineer replied.
'Mr Sulu!' Kirk instructed as he got to his feet. 'Let's do this.' Nyota glanced at Spock but he was calmly regarding the viewscreen.
'Aye Captain. Engaging warp, factor 4.' replied the helmsman as he worked over his controls. The stars in the viewscreen stretched.
She turned back to where Spock had been standing but he and Kirk were already headed to the turbolift. 'Mr Sulu, you have the con.' Kirk called over his shoulder.
'Aye Captain.' replied helmsman.
Nyota rose to her feet, comm units in hand. 'Gaila, I'll be back in a minute.'
There was a muffled noise from under the console that she accepted as acknowledgment before she quickly crossed the bridge to slide into the turbolift beside Spock and Kirk.
She addressed the Captain. She managed to keep her tone civil. 'Sir I have sequenced these to the priority bridge frequency, ship wide address is available under on the secondary frequency and Starfleet Command's direct emergency band is on the third.' she passed Kirk one of them as she explained. 'I've also programmed radio communication into them but the transmitters are weak, the Enterpise will need be in close range for us to pick it up. It might be useful if you need to separate on the ship however.'
Kirk seemed impressed. He attached the unit to his belt. 'Good work Lieutenant.'
Nyota ignored him, praise from him was meaningless to her.
She passed Spock his comm as Kirk headed out of the turbolift and towards the transporter room. She let her fingers brush against his as he took the device and focused her thoughts into words.
/Shall I accompany you to the transporter room?/
She wasn't sure he would wish her there, if he would allow her to say goodbye to him.
His dark eyes met hers for a moment and she heard his response as clearly as if he'd spoken, as clear and powerful as his thoughts were when his fingers were pressed to her psi points instead of her wrist.
/Come./
How he managed to make her heart skip a beat with a single syllable not even actually vocalised still amazed her. He stepped out of the lift and she followed a step behind as he and Kirk made their way to transporter room 2.
Kirk's engineer, Scott, who now that he was in uniform she saw was a Lieutenant Commander, sat at the transporter controls.
'How are we Scotty?' Kirk asked. He sounded bizarrely upbeat for a man about to depart on what was most likely a suicide mission.
'Unbelievably sir the ship is in position.' Scotty remarked cheerfully.
She heard Lieutenant Sulu's voice over the comm from the bridge and Kirk stopped at Scotty's side to address him over the intercom. Spock strode past him and onto the transporter pad. Nyota followed as if she was draw after him by a force as irresistible as gravity. He stopped in position and turned to face her.
She slowed, hesitating on the step in front of him. He would not wish her to hug him or kiss him or tell him she loved him – any of the things that she was dying to do, so she wrapped her right hand around her left arm behind her back in an awkward gesture to keep her hands to herself. Absurdly she felt foolish and shy in front of him.
His voice was soft, but drew her attention absolutely. 'K'diwa (beloved).'
His voice sent a lance of deep emotion shooting through her body like a lightning strike. Her feet had taken her up and into his waiting arms before the last syllable had even died on his lips. Spock's dark eyes held that possessive affection that only she seemed capable of inspiring in him. Ignoring Vulcan custom and professionalism for a moment, Nyota pressed her lips to his and curled her fingers tightly into his uniform. He accepted her kiss without complaint or his usual reserve. For a long, perfect moment he kissed her back, his lips burning warm against hers, and then he pulled away from her to lean his forehead against hers in a more Vulcan expression of physical affection. He formed words and whispered them against her lips in an echo of a kiss. 'T'nash-veh khrio'ri (my star).'
As always, Spock' very logical endearment for her - the literal translation of her name into his native tongue - made her smile and sent a warm tendril of affection through her. She tilted her face to his so she could kiss him again. He returned the gesture, his grip on her, one hand on her shoulder, the other at her hip, flexing as he pulled her closer. For a moment she forgot the danger he faced and the people around them and simply basked in his presence.
She was vaguely aware of footsteps as Kirk took his position on the pad opposite, but Spock was kissing her and frankly she didn't care. His head tilted to the side as he deepened the kiss for a moment and Nyota responded eagerly, letting him feel her love and desire for him freely.
All too soon Spock seemed to come at least partially to his senses however. He slid his hand up to cradle the back of neck and pulled out of their kiss. His other hand lifted from her hip to entwine with hers pressed against his chest. She felt the brush of his mind against hers and leant into him, letting him feel the enormity of her love for him. Her thoughts were jumbled, it was hard for her to form clear words within them and when she tried they skipped together as rushed and panicked as that first time she'd spoken to him without words.
/comebackcomebackyou-must-comeback/
He replied aloud, in standard and with utter conviction. 'I will be back.'
He made it a statement of fact and Kirk beside them a witness to it. She felt the underlying promise even as it slipped between their fingertips. He had calculated that the odds in their favour were slim but he was telling her they would succeed regardless.
Vulcan's didn't lie.
But she wasn't Vulcan - wasn't above making illogical statements, or in this case threats.
'You'd better be.' she said out loud, pulling back so she could look at him, try and burn his precious face into her fallible human memory. 'I'll be monitoring your frequency.'
'Thank you Nyota.' he replied, and she knew he wasn't referring to her statement about his comm frequency. She leant forward and pressed a final lingering kiss to his lips, letting her fingers slip from his to curl along his jaw. For a moment she paused, pressing against him, and then she gathered herself and turned to leave.
Kirk gave her a confused and decidedly awkward nod. She ignored him, didn't even acknowledge him let alone wish him luck, and headed straight for the door. She did not look back, she didn't need too. She carried Spock with her, in her heart. Parted and never parted. There was no need for goodbyes, he would be back, he'd told her as much. Vulcans didn't lie.
She was approaching the turbolift when she felt the strange pull in her heart as he transported and was suddenly halfway across the solar system. Her steps faltered, but she pushed her disorientation aside and continued down the corridor. He was still there, with her, the distance between them was irrelevant. Then one of the ship alerts sounded.
This time she did stop. She approached the nearest computer station and accessed the alert status, ignoring the crew rushing past her. She couldn't be certain from a general access console, but it looked like the Romulan jamming signal was back. Communications, not that they were operative on their end, were down again, as was the transporter. Spock and Kirk had gotten out just in time, but now they had no way back.
Well. There was nothing she could do from her end. Nyota took a deep breath and aimed for Vulcan calm. It didn't work. Instead she turned and bolted for the bridge skidding around the corners with dangerous speed and nearly colliding with a technician and two other random personnel. In the turbolift she tried the deep breaths once more. When the doors cycled she was able to restrain herself to a 'purposeful stride' as opposed to 'mad dash' as she crossed the bridge.
'Communication and transportation are inoperative.' she informed the crew. 'Sulu, please tell me the sensors are malfunctioning. Otherwise we won't be able to beam them back.' It was unlikely, but she felt better for asking the pointless question.
The Lieutenant cursed and slapped his hand against his console in anger. 'Kirk and Spock are on their own now.' he replied.
Nyota clenched her jaw, trying to calm her fear. She crossed the bridge and joined Gaila at the Communications console. Her Orion friend gave her a commiserating look.
'I finally got the power relay hooked up and was half way through recalibrating the receiver when we got blocked again.' she informed Nyota glumly.
Nyota sighed. 'At least with the changes to the power relay the circuits shouldn't be blown this time.' she pointed out.
'Yeah that's something I guess.' Gaila replied.
With communications down again, this time the issue not on their end, there was nothing to distract Nyota from the disturbing things she felt through her bond with Spock. He wasn't scared, but she felt sudden spikes of adrenaline and anxiety from him. Whatever was going on, it was obviously dangerous.
'Are you okay?' Gaila asked in Yrevish five minutes later.
'I'm fine. Just… worried.' she replied.
'Spock's a badass Ny. He'll be fine.' Gaila sounded perfectly confident. Her casual belief in Spock's abilities was actually comforting.
'Thanks Gaila.'
Her friend glanced around the bridge. 'I'm going to go down to the officer's lounge and get a coffee.'
Nyota raised her left eyebrow.
'Um, that is if that's okay? Lieutenant?' Gaila added as an afterthought.
Nyota smiled. 'Okay Ensign. Get me one while you're down there.'
Gaila gave her a small smile and headed to the turbolift.
A few minutes later Nyota looked up as the lift cycled open once more, but instead of her room-mate a frowning Doctor McCoy entered. He crossed the bridge and stood awkwardly near the Captain's chair. Although Kirk had left Sulu in command, in his and Spock's absence Lieutenant Commander McCoy was the ranking officer aboard (Lieutenant Commander Scott not being an active crew member), and according to regulations was supposed to provide assistance to the acting Commanding Officer. As far as Nyota understood, his presence was meant to lend the authority of superior rank to the junior officer in command. Basically he was to back up Sulu by pulling rank if need be. It was an arrangement he did not seem comfortable with.
He leant against the side of chair in studied nonchalance, but it spun, almost making him loose his balance and he nearly fell to the deck.
Sulu half turned from the helm and regarded him curiously. Chekov was immersed in whatever he was doing at the Navigation console and remained oblivious.
McCoy cleared his throat and turned suddenly to the nearest tactical display with far more interest than it warranted.
Nyota gasped as she felt a strange surge of nervous energy from Spock. She closed her eyes and sat frowning, reaching towards him, trying to get a sense of what was happening without distracting him. He wasn't injured or in immediate danger that she could tell…
Sighing she opened her eyes and found a steaming cup of coffee siting on the console near her. Seeing it she vaguely remembered Gaila talking. According to the nearest computer display she'd been lost in thought for 8 minutes. She glanced around for her Gaila. McCoy was standing stiffly near the command chair and she was leaning against the nearby tactical console and giving the doctor a full dose of Orion charm. The poor man shook his head as if dizzy.
Nyota stood and crossed to stand behind her. 'Ensign U'Aidat.' she said, her tone clearly communicating her displeasure.
Gaila turned and gave her an innocent smile. 'Lieutenant Uhura! I was just asking Lieutenant Commander McCoy about his commission.' she gave McCoy a sultry look and fluttered her eyelashes at him. 'He scored so highly on his second year aptitude tests that he got an early placement as a junior medical officer'
'Yes. Aptitude tests… early… placement' he was staring at Gaila with a confused expression on his face. 'You are very… green… Ensign.' The emphasis he placed on the word 'green' gave it a whole other meaning.
Gaila giggled.
Nyota grabbed her arm and dragged her away from McCoy.
'Gaila! I can't believe you! If you don't behave I'll have you escorted off the bridge!' she hissed at her in Yrevish.
Gaila pouted. 'He looked so nervous! I was just trying to help him relax.'
'He's our Chief Medical Officer, and ranking officer aboard! You can't do that!' Gaila's irresponsibility was incredible. 'He needs all his wits!'
Gaila sighed. 'Fine. I'll behave.'
Nyota opened her mouth to reply but instead found herself gasping. Spock was reaching towards her. Not in panic or fear…
'Ny? Are you okay?' Gaila asked all evidence of their argument replaced by concern.
Nyota spun away from her and bolted towards the nearest computer. Her fingers flew across the input console. 'Communication and transporter function is back sir!' she called to Sulu in excitement.
'Confirmed Lieute.. Capt… Sir!' Chekov exclaimed from his console.
Sulu ignored the ensign's struggle to find the correct way to refer to him and turned to look at Nyota from the helm. 'Can you lock onto Kirk and Spock's comm signatures Lieutenant?'
She and Gaila were already at the Communications console, Gaila finishing her earlier interrupted task recalibrating the receiver so they'd have full subspace communications and Nyota scanning the frequencies of the two communicators she'd given Kirk and Spock. She'd picked up both with intense relief and flagged them so the navigational and transporter systems would be able to track them.
'I've got them sir. Near Earth orbit.' She left the calculation of their precise co-ordinates to Chekov.
'Should we go after them?' McCoy inquired.
'No.' Nyota replied. Sulu shot her a slightly disapproving look at her outburst. 'Sorry sir, but I think Commander Spock's planning something…'
McCoy raised an eyebrow. 'You think?'
She reached towards him over their bond. He was definitely doing something… How could she explain that to Lieutenant Sulu though?
'Commander Spock's signature just jumped to co-ordinates 0.27 lightyears away on bearing 289 mark 12.' Chekov informed them from his console.
Spock reached to Nyota with a sudden sense of urgency.
'Go now! He's drawing the Narada away from Earth, he must have the ship Kirk talked about.' Nyota was aware that she was hardly following protocol but she had a terrible feeling Spock was suddenly in great danger.
'Plot a course Chekov.' Sulu said making no comment about her unprofessional demands.
'Done sir!' the ensign replied.
'Raise shields and arm phaser banks and photon torpedoes.' Sulu instructed as his fingers flew over his console. The crew manning the tactical console snapped into action.
'Aye sir.' Chekov responded frantically working at his own display.
Nyota accessed the ship's comm from her station. 'Transporter room!'
'Scott here.' came the response.
'Engaging warp 4.' Sulu informed the bridge. She felt the ship jump to warp.
'Lock onto Spock and Kirk's comm signatures.' she told Lieutenant Commander Scott . Technically she shouldn't be giving the engineer orders, but Sulu was busy at the helm.
'Way ahead of you Lieutenant.' was his reassuring response. 'Been tracking them since you flagged them.'
Less reassuring was what she was feeling from Spock. He's opened himself to her entirely and she knew he was in great danger. She tried to send him love and reassurance that the Enterprise was coming, but she couldn't order her thoughts. Nyota turned towards the viewscreen.
Chekov gave a countdown. 'Arriving at co-ordinates in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.'
The Narada filled the viewscreen like something from a nightmare. A tiny ship was flying in a defensive pattern away from it with a salvo of the Romulan ship's powerful torpedoes tracing after it.
'That's Spock!' she called pointing.
'Fire phasers!' Sulu yelled.
Nyota couldn't breathe. Lines of phaser fire shot out towards Spock and the pursuant torpedoes on an intercept course.
It was only a few seconds, but the time it took for the torpedoes to be taken out was harrowing.
The tiny ship shot out and away from the reaching hulk of the Romulan ship but to Nyota's dismay flipped to head back on a collision course.
She stood staring at the screen in growing horror. She could feel Spock counting down to a collision. He knew the Enterprise could transport him, but she sensed he had accepted possible death.
Although Spock' intention was obvious, Sulu still didn't give the order to transport Spock. She could hear an echo of Spock counting down to the collision. 9…8... 7… Communications were back online, Spock could contact the ship and request his transport. Why didn't he?. 6... 5...
She was about to order Scott to transport Spock, orders or not, when Kirk's voice echoed over the Priority bridge frequency. 'Now Enterprise!'
4... 3...
She leapt to her feet and started at a dead run for transporter room 2, McCoy was beside her. 'Medical team to Transporter Room 2!' he barked over the ship's intercom via the turbolift console. Spock's countdown concluded as the turbolift shot down through the ship.
2... 1...
She still felt him. He wasn't dead. Scott had locked onto him in time. The path through the white corridors to the transporter room seemed twice as long. Her boots slipped on the shiny black deck as she skidded around corners and the doctor overtook her. Two medical crew in white coats appeared from an adjoining corridor and fell into step beside him.
Spock had already stepped off the transporter pad when she burst into the room behind McCoy and the medics. Her eyes flicked over him head to toe. His hair was slightly mussed but he was unharmed. He wrapped an arm around her, let her give him a hurried and thankful embrace, but she knew he needed to head to the bridge. She restrained herself, pushed down at the nervous, exhilarated, relief flooding her andlet him step away from her. They headed towards the turbolift at a brisk walk as Kirk handed Captain Pike over to McCoy and his medics. Scott called something out behind them but she wasn't paying attention.
Kirk stepped into the lift after them, crowding the space, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of Spock's hand despite his presence.
Gratifyingly Spock did not try to pull his hand from hers. He allowed her the comfort of the connection, letting her bask in the shadow of his mind and the warm comfort of his strong grip until the lift cycled open onto the gleaming bridge. He squeezed her palm slightly, sent her a warm tendril of affection through his fingertips, then released her and strode to the centre of the bridge, Kirk at his side.
Nyota darted back to the communications console were Gaila was just re-establishing contact with Starfleet Command. The two women busied themselves sending out the burst transmissions and downloading the dispatches and communiqués they'd missed whilst they'd been out of contact with command.
Nero's face filled the viewscreen. Spock and Kirk faced him down with a single-minded assuredness that Nyota would never have considered possible mere hours earlier. Amazingly Kirk was the one who showed reason and restraint. Spock seemed unrepentant in a desire to see Nero destroyed. She didn't sense that same rage she'd felt earlier, but a calm and absolute conviction that the Romulan deserved death. It was a sentiment she and pretty much everyone on board shared, but not what she had expected to feel mirrored in her Vulcan husband.
Nero responded to Kirk's peaceful overtures with bile however and the acting captain seemed pleased to be able to destroy the Narada with a 'clear conscience' as it were.
The hulking tendrils of the Narada were consumed by the massive singularity Spock's crash had caused, the phaser and photon torpedoes the Enterprise bombarded it with merely speeding up the destruction. The grasping spines of the Romulan ship broke apart, almost making the Narada resemble an opening flower. Nyota stood and allowed herself to take pleasure in the sight.
The man who'd taken her father from her as collateral damage in the genocide of 6 billion innocents when he destroyed her husband's home world, the man who'd intended to do the same to her own home world, was dying a death of his own creation. It was… satisfying. Poetic. Nero had destroyed Vulcan with a black hole, and now a Vulcan had destroyed him in the same way.
And then the ship was pulled, trapped in the intense gravitational pull of the massive singularity. She felt Spock's mingled alarm and acceptance as he attempted to think of a method to break the hold of the black hole over the ship, but Scott proved his worth yet again as he ejected the warp core to try and free them.
Sulu's hands were flying over the controls as tried to pull them out of the singularity's gravity well. With the warp core ejected he was using only the impulse engines and thrusters. The noise and vibration caused by the straining systems reminded Nyota of the near catastrophic terrestrial launch of the Enterprise some months previously. She hoped the impulse engines had been brought up to full specification since then. Without a warp core the Enterprise was reliant on them. All such thoughts were cleared from her mind as the warp core detonated behind them.
Blue-green flame enveloped the ship, filling the viewscreen, Nyota held her breath along with the rest of the crew and then the entire ship jerked as the force of the detonation hit them like a kinetic wave.
They shot forward, free of the flames and the pull of the black hole.
For a few seconds no one spoke, everyone remained tense. When it became apparent they had been thrown free of the pull, there was much sighing, smiling and finally laughing.
Nyota felt a strange giddiness. A massive surge of adrenaline was surging through her body at the near brush with death. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she was shaking slightly. The smile that stretched across her face was irrepressible if slightly manic. She glanced over at Spock, he was nodding at Kirk, the closest thing to a smile she'd ever seen on his face that hadn't been directed at her.
She wondered if Kirk was aware of just how rare a gift it was to receive such a 'smile' from a Vulcan. Probably not. Ass.
Beside her Gaila was laughing and bouncing in her seat.
Nyota turned to join her, her own laughter bubbling out of her giddily. Her friend pulled her into an excited hug across the console and they ignored the frantic hails coming across a few dozen frequencies for a few moments.