A/N: *Before you guys get to reading I just want to extend some comforting words to you guys regarding Anton Yelchin's tragic and sudden passing. I know it hit me really hard when it happened and I'm sure you guys must've been torn up about it too so I hope you all are doing ok. Let's remember him as the bright young man he was and all he did for Star Trek, his other films/projects, and in his own life.*

Hopefully this little update will cheer you guys up a bit, happy reading :) And sorry for the wait! (as usual, hehe)

This Time Know: A Star Trek Fanfiction

Written by Lady F.S.

Chapter Seven: Adventures in Communication

"Uhura...and, Spock?"

"Yes, Luka! It was a thing, we've been over this!"

Jim rubbed his eyes in exasperation while his Andorian companion sat next to him just as puzzled as he was ten minutes ago when he first had the story told to him. Fair enough, the captain had rattled through it fairly quickly and all in one breath to boot! It was almost 2am when Amira and Jim decided to call it a night on their impromptu detective shenanigans but the blonde needed a little more closure before he would be able to go to sleep so he had met up with Lieutenant Ademi during his first meal break of his shift and they had been trading theory for a good chunk of it, so much so that the linguistics officer had barely touched his food.

"Oh, that's right! I do remember now that you mention it...but Jim I don't understand, why-"

"Angel face, please. Just hush and listen to my words." Jim interrupted by putting a spoonful of potatoes into the unsuspecting Andorian's mouth.

Luka glared momentarily at his captain before reluctantly removing the spoon from his mouth and chewing the potatoes he had been so graciously given.

"For whatever reason, they're talking again and based off of what Amira told me I'm going to assume their discussing their relationship junk which means one of two things is gonna happen..."

Luka looked at him expectantly as his captain trailed off in his sentence and left an awkward silence hanging in the air between them. The lieutenant sighed as he could literally see the gears in Jim's head turning while he mulled over some unknown thoughts in that blonde haired head of his. Jim had come up to him all in a panic about something and was talking a mile a minute about investigations and Spock and 'god damn idiots' until Luka agreed to spend his meal break with him and have a coherent conversation about it.

"Why do I do this to myself?" He mumbled more to himself, not expecting Jim to being paying any attention to him anyways since he went silent.

"Do what?" The captain asked, attentive and curious about his companion's strange comment.

Luka tried his best not to appear flustered and only nonchalantly took a sip of his water and raised a brow at him. Like hell he was going to tell him the truth but he had to come up with something soon or else Jim would never let it go.

"Indulge your crackpot thought theories about Uhura and Commander Spock." He said with the intent to stir up the captain and successfully draw attention away from himself.

Jim rolled his eyes at the Andorian and groaned over dramatically as he put his head on the table and ruffled his hair out of exasperation.

"Luka don't question me on this, ok? I was there, Spock is my best friend, and I'd seen it multiple times. They were a thing."

Luka relaxed as the topic of conversation shifted back toward the previous subject and rolled right over his silly little outburst. He usually wasn't so careless about his thoughts but perhaps it was the lack of sleep and hellish lock down from earlier that had him at his wit's end and made him so careless in the first place. Nonetheless he couldn't afford for something like that to happen again so he steeled himself and returned his attention to the captain.

"If you're this insistent about it maybe I'll be a bit more inclined to believe you." He subsided while moving his food around on his plate.

Jim rolled his eyes at the blatant skepticism that still remained in his companion's tone but decided to ignore if only to make a more compelling argument and finish his story so he could get some shut eye. However, as he took a moment to gather his thoughts he noticed something strange about the Andorian's visage. He wasn't exactly himself and Kirk could tell by the way he held himself that he was more tense than he normally was. Normally concerning his friends, he would ask if something was wrong but Luka's Andorian heritage caused him to be a bit more guarded with his emotions so Jim decided to let it slide for now and continue on the path their conversation was already going.

"Listen here you periwinkle sass-lord," Luka scoffed and raised a brow at his far-fetched new nickname. "While I don't have any 'solid proof' I can guarantee you that after what Amira and I have found out together that something is definitely up."

Luka resists the urge to roll his eyes and tries to take the captain's concerns seriously even though the whole incident seemed rather trivial in his eyes. Who cares if Spock and Uhura get back together? He thought they seemed like a rather nice couple from what he witnessed while she was still aboard the ship. Who knows, maybe she and Spock can sort things out and reconcile their differences. Shouldn't Jim want that? These were all very good points so Luka decided to voice some of them.

"Jim, far be it from me to tell you what to do but,"

"Then don't." Jim interrupted snidely with clear suspicion furrowing his brow.

"But," Luka reiterated while trying to hold back a glare from the audacious attitude he's suddenly receiving. "What would be the harm in letting them reconcile? People make mistakes, maybe she's trying to atone for them and no offense but it's hardly your decision since it is Mr. Spock's love life."

It was silent for a moment or so and that made the Andorian very nervous because the captain is only ever quiet when he's thinking or harboring truly hurtful words in his thoughts. Luka maintained his composure and didn't squirm under his captain's emotionless facade. He did however flinch noticeably when Jim stood up from his seat all of a sudden, removed his empty tray from the table, and walked away from their table. Was he really so upset that Luka had gone against his own opinion? It concerned the communications officer greatly because Jim was never this tyrannical when it came to sharing opposing views. Then again, this was a sensitive subject and perhaps he had come to Luka for support and was reasonably irritated when he only found opposition.

The Andorian lieutenant kept his head down looking only at his unfinished meal so he didn't have to watch Jim's retreating back or the shoulders tensed with anger. Anger towards him. The thought made his stomach turn in the most nauseating way. Luka let out a large sigh and was about to attempt to finish his food when suddenly he felt someone's hand clamp down on his shoulder and a weight come down on the seat next to him. The flustered lieutenant turned shakily to see it was Jim with his P.A.D.D. in hand and on it what looked like an official Star Fleet document. At the top Luka caught sight of the header that read "Letter of Resignation" and immediately looked away.

"Jim I really don't think I have any business reading that." He voiced his concern timidly as the hand on his should tightened its grip by a fraction.

"Luka, please. I need someone to understand why I can't just let this go." Kirk appealed to him with a tired tone that made Luka's heart fall in his chest.

He nodded in defeat and let the blonde hand him the device and relaxed a little as the hand that had been squeezing his shoulder in desperation loosened it's grip and fell from its place. This wasn't just any resignation letter, it was Lieutenant Uhura's. She states the reason for leaving as personal and unprofessional and requested immediate transfer after their last docking. These were such hasty actions, Luka could only stare at the words in bewilderment when he realized she did all this just to separate herself from Spock.

"Oh, geez..." Luka said barely above a whisper.

"Tch, that's putting it lightly." Jim muttered as he rested his head on his arms on top of the table. "She didn't even say good bye to him after they had broken up."

Luka honestly didn't know what to say except for how much they could not have been aware of about the situation so maybe she had her own reasons for doing what she did but he felt like if he voiced this Jim just might put him in a head lock and he had to go back on duty in a little bit so he'd liked to avoid any conflict if possible.

"You're just trying to protect Spock, aren't you?" Jim nodded as he buried his head further into his arms and scooted closer to the Andorian.

"He's my best friend."

The young lieutenant swallowed lightly and tried to keep it together so he could be there for his friend but he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the maelstrom of conflicting emotions already brewing in his head.

"He was a wreck after the break up. Shit, you should've seen him after I told him about her resignation." He felt more than heard the single laugh that escaped his captain's chest as he remained slumped against him.

Luka steeled himself and put a hand on Kirk's back and managed to give it two good pats before hastily putting it back by his side. He was never good at comforting people and was told more often than not what horrible bedside manners he had but he wanted to at least try to be there for Jim. The man looked so tired and defeated which was something he had rarely seen before and it didn't suit him at all. Almost as if on cue Jim rose his head from the table and gave Luka an appreciative smile before pulling the Andorian closer towards him for a small one armed hug that would serve as his 'thanks'.

"I should probably try to get some shut eye before I have to go back on duty in six hours." Jim admitted as he stood up from the table. "Enjoy the rest of your meal, Luka."

Luka nodded and managed a half smile as he waved good bye to his Captain. "Good night, Captain."

Jim didn't bother to correct him because he was too tired to argue about anything at this point but it did nag at him in the back of his mind until he made it out of the cafeteria and further down the hall towards the lift when something else caught his attention. A small crowd of officers as well as two engineers were surrounding the doors to the lift and he couldn't help but wonder what the commotion was all about.

"What seems to be the problem, crew?" He commanded an answer more than asked, not in the mood at all to pussy foot around.

At once the officers turned and stood at attention when they realized this pajama clad, off-duty, crewman was their captain. One of the engineers spoke in place of the rest of them.

"All the lifts in this half of the ship seem to be malfunctioning, sir. Some crewmen seemed to be trapped in a few so we've made fixing them our top priority."

Jim remained silent for a moment before bringing a hand up to rub the dull ache that's slowly forming in his head. The crewmen watch nervously as his aggravation grows visibly more noticeable. These malfunctions better not become a trend or he is gonna lose his damned mind, or what's left of it at this point.

"Who's trapped in this one?" Jim inquired further.

The engineer hesitated before giving his answer. "Mr. Spock, sir."

"As well as another lieutenant, a communications officer I think." The other engineer piped up.

Jim almost felt his soul leave his body at her words and he gave her a look that could have nothing but dread in it.

"Did you say communications." The female engineer nodded carefully, no doubt frightened by his serious expression.

"Oh."

Ohhh, shit.


I just wanted a glass of water.

So far, Amira had been a part of two malfunctions after being assigned to the Enterprise. This would make the third. She didn't have many words to describe the situation she was currently in but if she had to sum up all of her many jumbled emotions into just a couple of words it would amount to just two.

"Cluster. Fuck."

"Excuse me?" A sudden objection from Commander Spock forced her to make the cruel realization that she had just said this out loud.

Despite both of them technically still being off duty, Amira still felt extremely obligated to remain subordinate in the presence of her superior who she had been trapped with for about...two painfully long hours. How many more times was she going to be forced to be stuck in a room with this guy? She honestly didn't know if her heart could take anymore of these freak accidents, this one had nearly given her a heart attack when it originally unfolded. This time was significantly worse because this time there was no Chekhov or Kirk to help ease the tension, no control panel to pretend to be adjusting to avoid eye contact, and no where to run. Just her and this equally unlucky Vulcan.

"If I'm not mistaken, one of those words is an obscenity-"

"Yes commander, and it's fuck." Amira found herself interrupting the first officer, so to not seem a complete fool she just rolled with it.

"Getting stuck next to you on the transport shuttle? Awkward. Getting trapped in a room and falling asleep on you in front of the captain? Tragic as fuck. Getting trapped with you in a room alone? My personal hell-scape. All of these things happening within 24 hours of each other? Cluster. Fuck."

It was silent for a moment and it crystallized in Amira's mind that there was now a very large possibility of her being discharged. Not only had she supplied a savage amount of sass to her superior but, she had said the word 'fuck' to him at least 4 times in the last two minutes and that alone could have easily given her a sizable amount of time in the brig. Having noted this, she was too delirious at the moment to be bothered by it at all and actually felt quite relieved. These were thoughts that had been plaguing her conscious this whole time and now that they had been said aloud it was like a certain weight that had been lifted.

"Yikes. Told you to leave her be, Spock." Captain Kirk's voice rung over the intercom of the lift.

And with that the weight was back and Amira slumped to the ground and groaned quietly to herself.

"What's that noise? Is that the lift?"

"No, it's Lieutenant Amira. She seems to be recoiling into herself on the floor to my far left." Spock confirmed as he kept his distance from the abnormal display.

There was light laughter and a mumbled 'hold on' from the captain's end before the line went completely silent. This left Spock to himself as Amira seemed to be otherwise occupying herself in what he could only assume to be madness due to the confinement. He felt as if he should say something, at least to get her to stop making that irritating noise, but what could he possibly say after her bizarre outburst about how uncomfortable he made her. To be honest, he wasn't half as bothered by the crude language she used as he was by the actual subject of the matter itself. He pondered the nature of their situation and attempted to carefully plot his next action. Amira suddenly ceased her groaning and let out a large sigh as she leaned back against the cool metal of the lift.

"When the captain gets back, I'm formally requesting a department transfer."

The lift was deathly quiet after that. How was Spock suppose to react to that? If anything he actually felt insulted by her statement. Was she so opposed to being on the bridge with him that she needed to be transferred out of their sector completely?

Then there was a pause in his thinking.

Why did he care if she transferred or not? More to the point, why would that insult him? It would only be logical for her to request this if being near him was going to be such a distress to her. This ship is at its best when her crew is attentive and working diligently, not whatever this lieutenant was at this moment.

"If you would like, I can also process department transfers." He finally said.

Amira merely stared at him with an emotion in her eyes that he couldn't really determine and this made him believe he might've made a mistake by offering this service to her. Before he could inquire any further about it they were once again interrupted.

"Who wants a department transfer?" Kirk asked in an incredulous tone.

"I do, Captain." Amira confirmed.

There was a pause.

"Denied."

Amira was about to protest when a look from the commander signaled that she should let the captain explain further before jumping into the fray once more.

"Amira, and you too Spock, whatever the hell is going on between you two needs to stop. I know it's been just this jumbled, insanely awkward-"

"Cluster fuck." Spock supplied.

Amira only let her jaw drop slightly as the obscenity escaped her commander's mouth and she barely registered the snort of amusement from Kirk before he took a moment to compose himself and continue.

"Yeah, that. The point is, it's only been one day and yeah there were a few mishaps but that doesn't mean you crumble. Amira, you're an officer of Star Fleet now. I know you're fresh out of the academy but you're on the Enterprise now and I need you to start acting like it. Do you understand?"

Amira considered his words for a moment while Spock watched her face carefully for her reaction. She stood up from the floor and for a brief second locked eyes with the curious Vulcan before crossing her arms defensively which cued him to do her the courtesy and direct his stare elsewhere.

"Yes, Captain." She finally said.

"Good. Spock, without going into any further detail I know Amira's being her is a touchy subject for you. You need to let go of what was and focus on what is. You have to be a professional and keep her on her feet instead of being the one to knock her on her ass all the time."

Amira chanced a small peek at her commander after hearing Kirk's words and she noticed his usually neutral facade was somewhat somber. She couldn't blame him, Kirk may have been a cheery guy but when he needed to he could be brutally honest as she had just found out. The lieutenant was hopeful that the Captain's words had maybe struck a chord in him as it had in her and they could finally move past this whole mess. Although, she still had many questions for both of them they could wait if it meant she could be able to effectively work with this man on the bridge instead of dreading his every move.

"I understand." Amira watched him carefully as he finally spoke.

"It would be optimal for this series of conflicts to finally be resolved instead of prolonging such foolishness."

Just like that, he seemed to have tossed the events of that last catastrophic 24 hours out the window and into cold space to let it die. She couldn't deduce much of anything from his facial expressions or his posture but he sounded very serious. Vulcans really were an incredible species. Being able to purge all emotion and having such rigid control of their outward appearance was such an astounding feat. She couldn't begin to imagine how much discipline must go into ingraining that into themselves so strictly.

"Excellent. Now hang in there, Scotty's on his way over here to see if he can crack this thing open."

Silence filled the air once more as the lieutenant and first officer sat there taking in everything that had just been said by the captain and each other. Amira mostly felt relieved that the air on this messy subject had been cleared and maybe tomorrow would be a fresh start like Chekhov had said. However, some questions still nagged in the back of her mind. She couldn't get her mind off of what her and Kirk had been investigating before she had gotten trapped in this elevator with Spock. This mystery woman must've been a hell of a character for someone as deeply rooted in the Vulcan tradition of impassiveness as Mr. Spock. All curiosity aside, the answers could wait because Amira was now more concerned with getting a decent amount of shut eye more than anything.

Spock however, was in a completely different mind frame. Although, the awkwardness between him and the young officer had been resolved he now had something else growing heavy on his mind. The mere presence of this woman had nearly compromised him and he could not have been more ashamed. The part that caused him distress was the fact that he couldn't even figure out why. Why had she had such an effect on him? Why did he feel so briefly appalled by her proposition to change departments? Why was he feeling anything of any sort at all?

The Vulcan could feel one of his rare head aches growing more and more prominent as he ruminated on these thoughts and he decided to implement some of his meditative techniques to try and remove these annoyances from his mind. All that mattered was that he and Amira had reached a resolution and they could finally work effectively on the bridge together and maintain a professional environment. This train of thought slowly began to set his mind at ease and allowed him to regain his mental composure. Hopefully, tomorrow would be kind to them and they could finally have a normal day on the bridge.

"Commander."

Spock was a second late in registering he had been spoken to but he made up for it with a quick response.

"Yes, lieutenant?"

"Let's try and avoid any major catastrophes tomorrow. If we can?"

Spock almost chuckled at her almost sarcastic tone and merely raised a brow at her.

"I should hope so. It is in fact, the main criteria for our jobs."

Amira laughed openly at his response and nodded, allowing herself to direct a half smile towards him. Spock mirrored her expression to a minor degree and was equally amused that she responded so positively to his statement. Aesthetically, he was able to appreciate the fact that she looked noticeably more appealing when smiling as opposed to the usual worrisome frown that had adorned her visage whenever she saw him. Hopefully after tonight, that too would change.

Now, if only they could get out of this infernal lift...

BOOM.

Another chapter done! Sorry about the delay folks summer had me suuuuper occupied haha

P.S. If you haven't already noticed there's a small sub plot developing with Kirk involved. My precious friend is in need of some KirkxMaleOC fics and he can't find hardly any at all so I'm helpin him out! ^^ His half andorian oc Luka is super precious and hella rad so I hope you guys don't mind that small story in the background. *Spock and Amira's story will still have center attention in the story and is still the main subject so dont get all in a twist!* and if Luka's side thing is still a deal breaker I'm sorry but it's still happenin v-v

See you guys next chapter! :D