Character/Pairing: Uhura, Adam Braxton (OMC)

Rating: K

Summary: Uhura meets with the leader of the scouting party.

His voice was roughened, like he hadn't spent too much time using it. His clothes were baggy and faded, though neatly sewn in some places. But his face was open and friendly and his hand was offered in greeting.

She smiled hesitantly and lowered her phaser, 'I'm Lieutenant Uhura of the USS Enterprise.' She shook his hand. It was callused and he held hers for a moment longer than necessary.

'Yes, of course. Spock told me that Starfleet was investigating us.' He held up his hands, 'Well, here we are. For twenty years.' He gave a short laugh.

'Yes, Mr. Braxton. Here we are.' She cocked her head at him. 'Where are the others from your party?'

'Ahhh, they're nearby. I suppose you and Spock and Doctor McCoy would like to speak with me. Spock asked yesterday and of course, I obliged, but I'm at a loss as to why Starfleet is taking an interest in us now, especially when they abandoned us years ago.' He politely stared at her, not angry per se, but genuinely puzzled.

'I'm sorry Mr. Braxton, I wish I knew.' And she left it at that. She'd let Spock or the Captain tell him what was going on. 'What's your field?'

'I'm…. Was? A biologist. And yourself?'

'Communications.' She smiled, 'You know, this is a very beautiful planet.' She wished she'd read the report profiles on the scouting party more closely, but she plowed on with the small talk.

'Oh yes. In the early days, we were all quite taken with this place. A certain wild beauty to it. Of course, we probably should've paid better attention to what we were doing, but…' He shrugged. 'It was hard after we turned. Difficult to understand what was happening to us, to get organized, to not kill each other. We found out some things by accident, like this tree here. The bark is edible.' He pointed to the tree as if trying to change the subject.

'This one?' Uhura looked at it, 'They all kind of look the same, how can you tell which trees are edible and which ones aren't?'

'The leaves on this one have a particular edge to it. No other tree has it.' He peeled off some bark and handed her a small piece. 'Small bits, chew it thoroughly. Not exactly filling, but it'll do in a pinch.'

She took it from him and sniffed it. A faint hint of anise? It'd probably taste better steeped in hot water. Oh well.

He laughed, 'Don't worry, I won't poison you. I gave some of this to Spock that first morning. He's a vegetarian.'

Uhura laughed back, 'Yeah, I know. Vulcans are definitely vegetarian. Though I'm not sure if he still is.' She popped the bark into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Ok, it was chewy. But…not bad. She swallowed and pulled off another strip.

'There you go!' Braxton sobered a little, 'You know, when I first saw him, I got scared. I thought he was a Romulan. Didn't even occur to me that he'd be Vulcan. Stupid to assume that, but I never knew Vulcans joined Starfleet.'

'Oh yes, Spock was the first Vulcan to join Starfleet. Best First Officer in the 'fleet.' She smiled, the ice being broken, she relaxed somewhat and they chatted easily about technology improvements over the years.

They walked around the rock outcropping and Braxton showed her some other edible plants.

'See this ugly thing?' They were squatting next to a thick shrub and Braxton reached in and picked a dark green fruit. Or nut. She couldn't tell. 'It's got a hard shell, like a chestnut. But if you can break it? It's got a wonderful meat inside, like butter. Actually, kinda like an avocado.'

'Oh really? I love avocados!' She sniffed it, it was small enough, 'Can I crack it with my teeth?'

'You can try. But it is a hard nut to crack.' They laughed together at the stupid joke. 'Here, we can use rocks….'

They gathered more of the nuts and walked back to the outcropping. Uhura noticed dried out, half-eaten carcasses of some small animals. She sat far away from them. Braxton showed her how to crack the nuts against the rocks, but Uhura just used the butt of her phaser.

'Well, okay! That works too.' He took one half and gave her the other and scooped his out with a finger.

They continued their conversation and Uhura asked Braxton to tell her of how they first got infected and if they knew what infected them.

'Yeah, once things settled down, we compared notes and realized we were all turned by different things. We knew that there must've been a hallucinogen emitted by the plant we picked up. I mean….there was no way a place like this would have blueberry bushes or orchids or Christ, even cannabis sativa. The plant forms were just too personally tailored to our memories.'

'Were you able to find the plant again?'

'Hell, it could be staring me in the face right now and I probably wouldn't recognize it. No, I think once you've been turned it's somehow able to read the difference and so doesn't bother with you again. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't turned yet. Nearly all of us were in that first week.' He looked over at her, his nostrils flaring slightly.

'You can tell?'

'Yeah, you smell different.' He smiled. 'We tried looking for a cure, but over time…life goes on.' He shrugged again. 'We didn't have the right equipment, certainly no resources or help. In time, we had come to embrace ourselves and the change. And other things came up. Like children, and then grandchildren.'

'You have children? Grandchildren?' She tried not to sound too incredulous.

'Oh yes. They're all adults now.' His eyes shifted away and Uhura remembered the family feud Spock had mentioned. 'Another thing we learned is that it's definitely hereditary. We'd foolishly hoped that our children would be spared. They weren't.' He folded his arms.

'It must be hard living…such bisected lives. One at night and one during the day.' Her brow furrowed.

'Well, it's not quite like that. In the beginning it is. It's an incredibly overwhelming, intoxicating experience. Spock seems to be managing it quite well, which surprised me. Maybe because he has no emotions.'

She bit her tongue and let the Vulcan stereotype slide past her, 'What do you mean in the beginning? How does it change later?'

'You learn to master it to a degree. Some do it rather well.' And with that, Braxton shifted.