Chapter 8

Uhura sat at her station on the bridge, growing more and more embarrassed as she sat there. She turned in her chair toward the center seat on the bridge, usually occupied by the Captain. For a moment, she had forgotten he wasn't sitting there. Although she trusted the Captain when he said that her story would be regarded with strictest confidence, she felt as though everyone on the bridge knew what had happened, and were staring at her. She felt Spock's eyes on her from the command chair as he noticed her movement. Swallowing hard, trying not to show how she felt, she spoke quickly. "Sir, I'm receiving a coded transmission from Starfleet Command. It's very faint. I can't make out what it says."

"Boost your gain, Lieutenant." Spock said.

"I have, sir. Gain is at maximum."

"Transfer it to the science station, Lieutenant." He rose and moved to his normal station on the bridge. "Mr. Scott, inform Captain Kirk of the receipt of the message, and tell him we are working to capture it." Scott hit a button on the command chair.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk." The open channel spat static at him for a moment, then a familiar voice answered."McCoy here. The Captain is occupied at the moment." He was washing up at the sink in his quarters, having just been on a tour of one of the horticultural labs, where a huge, apparently ill plant had vomited a pollen like substance all over him. He had given McCoy carte blanche to answer any hails until he was finished.

"Dr. McCoy, we just received a message from Starfleet command, on the emergency channel. It was a coded message." Sticking his head out to hear the message, Kirk made eye contact with McCoy, and the meaning was clear.

"The Captain asks, did you apply command ciphers?"

"No. It's too faint. We couldn't pick it up. Uhura boosted her gain as high as it would go. Spock is working on it." Kirk nodded, satisfied that his First officer had a handle on it for now.

"Thank you, Mr. Scott. Keep us posted. McCoy out." McCoy switched off the comm. unit and looked at the Captain—who had just walked out of his cabin's bathroom pulling on a fresh green tunic top as he came—and waited for him to speak. He had called McCoy over from sickbay to talk about Lieutenant Uhura's revelation, and presumably to ask the doctor's opinion on her continued performance, but so far, he had just been beating around the bush, which was unusual for the Captain. If McCoy did not know Kirk better, he would think the Captain was uncomfortable on this unfamiliar ground.

"Captain, let's cut to the chase. You want to know if Lt. Uhura can be trusted to do her job."

"That's exactly what I want to know, Doctor."

"Well, I can give you a better answer as soon as I've examined her, but answer me this, how is she now different than she was yesterday at this time? You trusted her then, didn't you?"

"Yes, but at that time, I did not know that she had what was tantamount to a nervous breakdown. I want to be sure we are not going to be taken by surprise at a bad time. I have to think of the rest of the crew."

"The fact that she has not had a repeat episode since that time leads me to believe that she will be fine. I will make a full report as soon as I have examined her, later on today. I can tell you that she needs to feel your support. When we talked down in sickbay last night, she was afraid that you and Spock might see her differently after hearing her story, and I tried to reassure her. She would be crushed if she thought that were true. She showed you great loyalty, Jim. She needs to feel that you trust her now."

"I will try my best not to see her differently, but if this affects her efficiency, or if there is a chance that it could happen again at the wrong time, I have a responsibility, both to her and the rest of the crew, to relieve her of duty pending the outcome of a full psychiatric evaluation. Why haven't you examined her?"

"She wanted to go to work this morning, and I felt it was the best thing for her. Sometimes, work is a better healer than anything else. I plan to call her down in an hour or so and talk to her about it. She does not need to work a full shift today."

"Understood. Keep me posted, Bones." The comm. channel whistle sounded again at that moment. Kirk toggled the switch to open the channel.

"Kirk here."

"Uhura here, Captain. We have captured the message from Starfleet Command."

"What does it say?"

"It is eyes only, sir, over the emergency channel."

"All right. Pipe it down here, Lieutenant."

The little screen went black for a few seconds, then the blue Starfleet emblem came up, and sat there frozen for a few minutes. Kirk was about to call back up to the bridge to see what was happening, when the emblem was replaced by the face of a rather taciturn looking black man wearing an Admiral's rank on his sleeve. He began speaking but no sound came out of the built in speaker. Finally, the sound caught up to the face, and Kirk heard the gist of the message.

"…Commanding Starbase 12 to Captain James T. Kirk, currently commanding USS Enterprise. This is a warning. Repeat, this is a warning. Medical status upgraded to critical. All non-essential personnel confined to ship under regulations regarding Medical Emergencies. Quarantine conditions currently in effect on planet's surface. Emergency ships in route, requesting vaccination requirement protocols from Chief Medical Officer. Acknowledge." There was a bit of static, and Kirk thought they had lost the connection, but it came back a moment later. "…Commander, Starbase 12 out."

Frowning, the Captain opened a channel to the bridge again, and when Uhura answered, he said, "Lieutenant, acknowledge receipt of the message we just received. Then, call your relief to take your place and join me in my quarters. Ask Mr. Spock to join me also."

"Yes, sir." He heard her voice crack just the slightest bit as he moved to close the channel. Turning to McCoy, he said, "Did you know this Nilbud character?"

Nodding once, McCoy said, "By reputation only. He retired from active service the year before I started my service, and at that time, he was running the entire Starfleet HQ Medical facility, so it wasn't like I could just go up and shake hands with him. His reputation was well established throughout the universe, though."

"And?"

"And what, Jim? He was a class act. A very good albeit very eccentric man. In his lifetime, he had forgotten more than most psychiatrists have ever known about the human psyche. Besides that, he had the trust of every major race within the Federation and beyond. He was a brilliant doctor, and many of his cases are required reading for Academy Medical students

"All right, Doctor. I'll accept your analysis of the man, for now, at least. I want you to examine her. Determine whether she's fit to beam down to the planet with us. We may need her knowledge, both as a linguist, and her previous knowledge of the culture. Bones, I need to know that I am not putting her or anyone else in danger if I take her down there."

"Aye, Captain. You'll have your answers."

(0o0)

'Oh no', Uhura thought. 'Not again.' As she acknowledged the message, she glanced at Spock, so calm and Vulcan cool over at the science station, and for once, she envied him his composure. Looking up as though he sensed she was thinking about him, he met her eyes, and his asked a silent question, and commanded an answer. "Sir, the Captain wants us both in his quarters. I've called Lieutenant Palmer to the bridge." Spock nodded, as the turbolift doors opened and Lieutenant Palmer, assistant Communications Chief, stepped out onto the bridge. Uhura thought Palmer looked at her with sympathy as she took her place, and her insides contracted at the thought that her colleague might know what had happened last night. She rose to give her relief her seat, and found that Spock had moved up next to her.

"Shall we go, Lieutenant?" he asked quietly, those penetrating black eyes reaching way down into her soul as if to find the secrets hidden there. She nodded stiffly, and allowed him to lead her into the turbolift. When the doors had closed, and they were on their way, Spock spoke up. "Lieutenant, am I correct in assuming that you are bothered by the events of last evening—that you somehow see it as a failure on your part?"

"Yes, sir." She wanted to look at the floor between her boots, but something in the Vulcan's gaze held hers and she could not look away.

"I ask you to consider that even Vulcan youth, trained as they are in the benefits of logic, sometimes make decisions that lack judgment. This is not a failure so much as a part of the price we all pay for achieving wisdom."

"Thank you, Mister Spock. That is very kind of you to say." Uhura fully expected Spock to remind her that kindness was a human trait, but he didn't. Unsure whether it was because the turbolift reached their floor and slid to a stop at that moment, or because he was truly being kind to her, and therefore could not logically deny it, she did not know what else to say, so she simply stepped out of the lift behind him and followed him down the hall toward the Captain's quarters.

Kirk rose as they entered, and motioned them both to chairs on the other side of his desk. Dr. McCoy leaned against the wall behind the Captain's desk, looking on at the scene unfolding before him.

"Lieutenant, I have a few more questions for you." She simply nodded, and looked at him, waiting.

"What is the living situation down on the planet?"

"Lugubrians live in underground huts. Most outworlders don't even realize they are dwellings unless they know what to look for."

"What would we look for, Lieutenant?"

"A hole in the ground, fairly small, and almost perfectly round."

"Fascinating," Spock said. "Captain, that suggests a type of creature that is reptilian in nature."

"Confirm, Lieutenant?'

"No, sir. They are not reptilian. They are many things, but not reptilian."

"What are they, then?"

"Humanoid in appearance. Burrowers by nature. They live in large extended family groups. Like rabbits, but again, not. Captain, request permission to join landing party on this mission." Kirk thought for a moment, considering her request. What if it was too early? If all of these memories were too fresh? Then he heard the Doctor's voice in his head. She needs to feel your trust, too, Captain.

"Permission granted, Lieutenant, on the provision that McCoy clears you to come after his examination and tests. Cooperate fully with him, Miss Uhura."

"Aye sir."

"Bones?"

"Understood, Jim. Come on Ms. Uhura. Let's go down to sickbay and take a look at you."