Author's Note: This story is lightly AU in its timeline, taking place after the first of the Star Trek Films. While it will follow the events of the second and third films, there are a few events that are not quite canon, one notable deviation being that the Romulan mission was one of the earliest but not the first mission that the (main characters) crew of the Enterprise participated in together. There is more to be seen and explained in the chapters to come.
Disclaimer: (Most of these) characters and worlds are not mine. etc. etc. etc.
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CHAPTER 1
Two Years Later (Present: Stardate 2258)
"A coffee, please," Adea smiled, taking in the view of the San Francisco from the office. It had been two years since she been in this headquarters and things couldn't have gone more according to plan: a success Bachelor's, the Adair fellowship, and a prestigious research position aboard the USS Constitution. Now here she was, standing in office of none other than-
"Vice-admiral Marcus," she greeted, standing at attention, "Sir, it is an honor."
"Please, Adea," He replied, taking his place behind the desk, "It's nice to finally put a face to the work. Besides, Carol won't shut up about you. I take it Cadet O'Ryan bringing you something?"
"Yes sir, " she nodded, smoothing the front of her uniform as she sat.
She had met Carol Marcus at the start of her studies, when they were assigned as roommates in the same cadet dorm. To say they were fast friends would be a lie. Equal parts determination and stubborn, they'd nearly killed each other in their first year living assignment. It wasn't until Porter's Romulan Negotiations term paper and late study nights in their living room that they had slowly become friends. While they bonded over a love of cheap wine and bad dating choices, it was the degree to which they understood each other that brought them closer: A desire to be acknowledged for their own success, distinct from a family who viewed good as never good enough; A glaring lack of friends from their perpetual studying, all in pursuit of academic success; The the polished perfection that hid the stress of maintaining a facade to everyone around them. For the first time in each of their lives, they were not alone, and they'd been inseparable ever since.
"Now I spend could hours going on about your research, how its helped our defense strategy, top of your class with honors," he stated, "I mean, I wouldn't expect any less of an Uhura."
No wonder Carol went by her mother's name. If Marcus noticed Adea's smile falter he didn't show it.
"Now let me get straight to the point," he continued, "I'm giving you top level clearance to join a one year mission in deep space. I need you to explore and observe the planets and species you encounter. For each I want you to report on their societies: government structure, scientific advancements, politics, defense capabilities, everything. I want a preliminary diplomacy strategy for each. I take it you're up for the assignment?"
"Sir, I-" her mind was racing.
Starfleet's high command was addressing her personally, about an assignment, in deep space. Top level clearance. Diplomacy. Off-world. She'd been off-world before for her fellowship, but not like this. In that assignment, she'd spent nearly two years buried in theory, fending off the weird advances from her research partner. No decisions of her own. Always mundane. Never uncharted. A coffee cup clinked down gently onto desk in front of her. She mumbled a thank you as the cadet left, her hands smoothing her uniform skirt again.
"Sir, it be an honor," she stated finally, her mind racing with questions. She'd already heard talk of new recruitments for the U.S.S. Bradbury's new assignment. Hell, she'd applied the moment she heard about it, "When would I start?"
"One week should be enough time to get your affairs in order," Marcus answered, leaning back to take a sip from his own coffee, "We'll send someone to handle the move from your flat. You can contact my assistant about the rest. Report to the launch dock next Wednesday morning at 0800 hours. Launch is at 1200."
"And the ship, sir?" she questioned, picking up her own coffee cup. Apparently the Bradbury's living quarters had just been refurbished. At least that what Carol had told her when they met for lunch last week. She snapped back to the room as someone knocked on the office door.
"Ah, perfect timing. Come in," Marcus answered, gesturing behind her.
Adea clinked her glass clumsily against the desk as the man answered, a droplet spilling on her skirt as she nearly swore out loud. Fucking hell.
She knew that damn drawl.
Five years earlier (Stardate 2253)
Adea welcomed the rush of cool air, letting the metallic door of the club clank shut. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail off her neck, walking slowly towards the the railing encircling the rooftop. She'd let her roommate Carol convince her that a night out would be a healthy break from her typical Friday night studying. While the club itself wasn't as bad as she'd imagined, the heels Carol lent her definitively were. When an impossibly talkative fourth year caught Carol's eyes, Adea had ceased the opportunity to step away, sneaking past the 'closed' sign in front of the stairwell to make her way onto the bar's summer terrace on the roof. She fiddled uncomfortably with the hem of her dress, struggling to pull it down further. Her dress was one of the many reasons she hated clubs. Too loud. Too hot. Too many people. Uncomfortable shoes. Dress hems that wouldn't stay put. Adea huffed loudly as she kicked off her heels, sagging heavily against the railing.
"You too?"
Adea jumped as she turned towards the voice, blushing violently as she caught sight of the man leaning against the bar counter.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he drawled earnestly, running a hand through his dark disheveled hair.
He walked towards her slowly, gesturing to the railing next to her, "May I?"
She nodded, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear as he leaned against the railing beside her. He was dressed casually in a dark green jacket, the front of his grey t-shirt tucked behind the silver buckle of his belt. Without her shoes, he stood nearly head taller than herself, the top of her head barely reaching his broad shoulders. Adea's cheeks ran hot as looked up, meeting his dark eyes.
"Enough fun for one evening?" he teased, flashing her a handsome lopsided smirk as he nodded towards her heels.
"You caught me," she mused quietly, nervously crossing her arms. Of course he had to be handsome.
"I'm not really one for crowded clubs," she admitted quickly, "Too loud. Too many people. Too many close talkers splashing their drinks on you. As bad as it sounds, I'd rather be home studying."
"A woman after my own heart," he smirked, a playful glint in his green eyes, "I'm Leonard."
"Adea," she replied, shaking his extended hand.
"Adea," he repeated slowly, smiling again, "It's beautiful name. Are you part of Starfleet?"
"What else?" she laughed, "I'm not sure there's much else near Fort Baker."
"Got a point there," he smirked, "So where are you stationed?"
"Oh," Adea replied slowly, a slow burn rising to her cheeks, "I'm still studying."
"Ah," he replied quickly, regretting his response as she took a nervous step back.
They sat in silence for moment as Adea stared out over the city, quietly tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked down towards her shoes, contemplating if she should return to find her roommate when he spoke up again.
"What do you study?" he asked suddenly, leaning towards her again.
"Xenopolitics and Exobiology," she replied slowly, watching his eyebrows knit in confusion, "Planetary and species classification. Federation diplomacy. New planet integration."
"And here I thought I was fancy for having studied medicine," he laughed, "They only take fifteen students a year for Xenopolitics."
"Yes. All for the prestigious honor of being chained to a library desk studying theory for three years," Adea admitted, "I almost did medicine."
"Is that so?" he mused, "And?"
"Not the biggest fan of blood" she laughed, staring out over the San Francisco skyline, "I think that makes for a lousy doctor."
"You get used it at some point," he shrugged, "I joined Starfleet and I hate flying in space."
"You hate flying?" she repeated slowly.
"Mm," he nodded, frowning, "Space is just a painful death waiting to happen."
"And you still joined?" she asked incredulously.
"Sometimes the great things in life come from doing the things that scare us," he replied, smiling back at her, "Like right now. Imagine where you'd be if you didn't ignore that closed sign. Inside screaming a question at someone you can't half hear over the music? Trying to dance in those heels that, if I'm frank with you, look more like a murder weapon than a shoe? Here is quiet. There's fresh air. Good conversation. A beautiful view of downtown San Francisco. Warm weather for October."
"You call this warm?" she mused, goosebumps forming on her arms as the wind blew.
"Are you cold?" he asked suddenly, pulling off his jacket.
Adea stared back at him, her heart beating loudly in her ears her eyes trailed down his chest, from the silver pendant around his neck to the tanned muscles of his forearms. Why couldn't he wrap those around her? She swallowed he extended his arm, her thoughts snapping back to the rooftop as he held his jacket out to her.
"Have my jacket, Adea," he offered.
"You don't have to do that," she replied quickly, biting her lip as he smiled at her, "It's not that cold yet."
"I'm just using your words," he repeated, his smirk turning down in a mock frown, "Please, take it."
"I made the mistake of going out without a jacket," she argued, smirking up at him defiantly.
"Well you also made the mistake of getting cold in front of a southern gentleman," he teased quietly, holding out his coat again, "I insist."
Adea let out a defeated exhale as she inclined her head. He swung the jacket around her shoulders, his hand brushing her cheek as he adjusted the collar. She blushed, her corners of her mouth twitching upwards into smile as she took in the warm scent of cologne from the jacket.
"Better isn't it?" he smirked, "Snug as a bug in a rug."
Adea's heart raced as she looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat as her phone buzzed suddenly in her purse. She flashed an apologetic smile, taking a shaky step back from him as she pulled it out, glancing down at the notifications from Carol on her screen.
CAROL! (11:24): whtre are youuuu?
CAROL! (11:46): ?
CAROL! (11:53): I would leave soon I'm slepy. Where are youuuuuu?
Adea exhaled loudly, returning her phone to her purse as she begin putting on her heels.
"Everything alright?" he asked, a wrinkle forming between his brows as he raised them in concern.
"Roommate," she replied, frowning at Carol's timing.
"Is she ok? " he asked softly,
"She's fine, I think," Adea sighed, "I have to go find her and make sure she gets home alright."
She reached up to remove his jacket, stopping as he reached forward, placing his hand over hers.
"Keep it for tonight," he insisted, brushing his thumb across her knuckles as he slowly removed his hand, "It'll still be cold out until you get home. How are you getting there?"
Adea glanced down as her phone buzzed several times, retrieving it from her purse again.
CAROL! (11:55): wheree?.
CAROL! (11:55): I thinj Im tipsy
"Taxi," she replied decidedly, putting away her phone away. She glanced towards the door to the rooftop, the thought of leaving stirring a faint pang of regret in her chest.
"So is this like a movie now?" Adea mused, turning back to him, "I am supposed to wait here every evening until you return for your jacket?"
"I wouldn't mind," he smirked, accompanying towards the door to the terrace, "But I think room 142 in the med school is a bit more practical, what with all those hours you need for Xenopolitics studies and all."
"I'll have to see," Adea quipped innocently, raising her eyebrows, "Now that I have it on, it is quite comfortable. Very warm. I'm not sure I want to give it back."
"Oh now you want it?" he drawled in a low voice.
"Very tempting," she teased, "But I guess I'll do the right thing and bring it back to 142."
He shook his head slowly, letting out a low laugh as he stared down at her. This girl was something else. He opened the door regretfully, gesturing for her enter first.
"Well, for when you can't hear me anymore inside," he continued smirking, following her into the stairwell, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Adea."
"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Leonard," Adea replied slowly, sending him a final smile before she descended the stairs, disappearing into crowd.
Present (Stardate 2258)
She focused hard on the desk in front of her, anything not to notice the man now seated next to her. The conversation blurred as Marcus elaborated on the mission and Adea wasn't sure if she felt closer to being sick or running out of the vice-admiral office. Marcus couldn't be serious. For the next year, she would be assigned to the USS Enterprise, as it conducted an observation mission on deep space. Her sister Nyota would be serving as chief communications officer, and she would be Adea's support for linguistic translation. Her tasks would consist of compiling information from the various disciplines, working closely with the director of the ship's lab, its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leonard fucking McCoy.
"I'll let the Doctor here update you on the specifics of the lab," the Vice-admiral concluded, the scrape of his chair yanking Adea's thoughts back to the room, "Glad you'll be joining us, Lieutenant Ele."
The room fell painfully silent as the door snapped shut behind him. If McCoy was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. She stared back at him, the cold weight in the pit of her stomach intensifying. She could have sworn he smirked at her reaction as he stood methodically, walking towards the window with his hands behind his back.
"Lee-"
"Vice-admiral Marcus gave you the general picture," he interrupted, pausing to distractly lift a book laying on the windowsill, "You'll report next Wednesday at 0800 hours. I'll see to it one of the ensigns finds time to give you a tour. It's a standard lab. First drafts of all science reports in the lab are turned in Wednesdays for review and are finalized on Fridays by noon."
"Lee, can we talk?"
He answered her question by pausing to flip through the first few pages of the book.
"The workings and schedule of the lab shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out," he baited, "Being an Uhura and all."
"Are you done now?" Adea snapped, as she stood. It took every ounce of her self control to ignore the burning urge that begged her to snatch the book from his hands and fling it across the room. Could he just look at her?
"That should be all," he drawled nonchalantly, clapping the book shut.
He had begun pacing to the door when he paused, turning towards her.
"Oh and Lieutenant Ele" he offered, his calm mask slipping as he came to a stop a few inches from her,"If you do decide to fuck off and leave the mission before it starts, please give us a heads up. You know, common courtesy and all."
As the words reached her, she could see it now: the anger, the hurt, the loathing burning in his eyes as he glared down at her. She wanted desperately to retort but the words caught in her throat, acutely aware of how close they now stood. His earlier indifference made her want to scream, but at least it had not cut like the way he looked at her now. The way he'd looked at her ever since.
"Lee, I-" she stuttered, but he was already gone, the door clacking shut behind him.
Confession Time:
1. This is the second of the rewritten chapters. It features better editing, a new section, and people who improperly dress themselves for clubs in fall!
2. Let me know what you think ! I am interested to hear what you think about the rewrite and the characters thus far. I am also interested to hear what you all would like to know. Rewrite of later chapters in still in progress ;)
3. Thank you readers for you interest and commentary thus far.
Live long and Prosper!
Case
