Chapter 5
A Few New Things
*
Mika stared suspiciously into the cloud of steam emanating from behind the bathroom door. She looked back at Uhura with a quizzical expression on her face. The caramel-colored woman laughed.
"Go on! It won't hurt you, I promise!"
Reluctantly, Mika shed her clothes and stepped, lame foot first, into the shower. She gasped happily as the hot water hit her.
"It's wonderful!" she called.
"I told you," Uhura said back. "Here's some shampoo. Wash your hair with it."
It was Mika's fourth day aboard the Enterprise and her first day out of the recovery room. She had been released by the doctor after some discussion over where she would stay.
Uhura would have gladly shared her quarters with the girl, but her rooms were full; Lt. Jesse Warner, a warp-drive technician and Uhura's longtime friend, was occupying the couch until she could procure her own room.
McCoy checked the crew roster several times, but the outcome was the same: there were simply no unoccupied quarters on board.
The Andorian diplomats were occupying the only guest wing, and would be doing so until they got to Starbase 12.
In the end a cot was set up for her in Spock's quarters. This satisfied everyone except the Andorians, who would have complained regardless of the situation.
Mika spent her first day of freedom with Uhura, who introduced her to one of the galaxy's greatest inventions - the shower.
Jesse Warner, sitting on the couch with a PADD in her hands, chuckled at the girl's exclamation of delight.
The Lt. was a lovely and talented young woman from San Francisco. She'd graduated top of her class at the Academy and now had the unique opportunity to work under Mr. Scott, the best engineer in the fleet. She had sandy hair and blue eyes that snapped with intelligence.
Uhura joined her friend on the couch.
"Well, what do you think about Mika? She's sweet, isn't she?"
A slightly obscene drinking song floated out of the shower room. Uhura blushed, and Jesse giggled.
"I think she needs to teach us that song!" she said, prompting Uhura to bean her over the head with a pillow.
*
Mika stood in the semi-darkness of Spock's quarters, feeling vaguely out-of- place.
Uhura had given her a tour of the ship, then shown her to the Vulcan's rooms.
Spock had greeted her arrival with a curt nod, then returned to his computer console, leaving the girl to her own devices.
She'd wandered around, admiring the strange statues and weaponry that decorated the rooms. Spock retired to his sleeping chamber, and she continued her investigation of his quarters.
She was gazing at a hologram of a Vulcan man and a Human woman holding a baby in their arms.
The couple were touching their first two fingers together in a solemn declaration of love while the dark-eyed infant looked on.
"Do you require anything?"
Mika whirled around, startled, to find Spock standing behind her. He was dressed in a flowing robe, his hands clasped behind his back, his face calm.
"N-n-no," she stammered, her eyes on the floor. "I am fine. Thank you, sir."
He nodded. "Very well. Have a pleasant sleep, Miss Atira."
"Mr. Spock, sir -" He turned at the door to his sleeping chamber.
Mika bowed slightly. "Thank you for letting me stay here. I won't be a nuisance, I promise."
The Vulcan raised an eyebrow, and his mouth quirked upward in what might have been a wry smile.
"Indeed," was all he said. "Goodnight." He turned on his heel and the door swished behind him.
*
When Spock awoke the next morning at precisely 6:15 he found himself alone in his quarters. The cot had been folded and placed in the closet along with the blanket the girl had used.
The mirror in his bathroom had been cleaned, and his desktops dusted. The statues lining the walls were also devoid of dust. Opening his drawers, he found that his uniforms had been pressed.
His boots had been shined. How could that be? He set them next to his bed last night. Surely he would have heard the girl come in his room?
He pondered this while pulling on his newly-blackened boots. Perhaps the child would not be a nuisance, after all.
*
"Memo. To Captain Kirk. The med...med...med-i-cine. Is...complet-y? Com-ple- tee... ...complete! The medicine is complete!"
Mika was walking with her uneven gait towards the turbolift with a PADD in her hands.
After cleaning her host's quarters, she had gone to help Dr. McCoy in the sickbay, and was now delivering a message to be signed by the Captain.
It was taking her awhile to get to the lift, however, because she couldn't help but read everything she saw. She was so absorbed in sounding out the Doctor's memo that she rounded a corner and ran smack into someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried.
Mr. Sulu retrieved her PADD from where it had gone flying and smiled apologetically.
"Here you go, miss. It was my fault, really." He studied her quizzically, from bare feet to unruly black hair.
"Hey, aren't you the new girl from Fortune?"
She nodded, and he stuck out his hand.
"Glad we finally ran into each other! I'm Sulu, the navigations officer."
Mika shook his hand. "I'm Atira Mikal."
"The pleasure's all mine. Say, are you doing anything this evening, miss?"
She shook her head.
Sulu grinned. "Why don't you come over to Rec. Room 5? A few of us are going to play da'al darts, and I bet you have a great arm. Everyone would love to meet you."
Mika straightened her borrowed tunic, then glanced up tentatively.
"I - I would enjoy that."
"Great! We'll start around seven. See you there!"
The young man trotted off down the corridor, leaving Mika with a nauseous mix of excitement and apprehension in her stomach.
** "Come on...Yes!!!" The room erupted in cheers as Sulu's dart hit the spinning target.
Chekov stopped the wheel, pouting, as Mika counted out the tokens.
"That's 17 for team one, 12 for team two. Uhura, you're up next."
The da'al darts game was in full swing. Except for the unlucky ensign who had intercepted one of Chekov's wild throws, everyone was enjoying themselves.
It turned out that Mika had quite a good aim, and she and Sulu made a good team.
A pile of credit-chips lay in the middle of the table, the prize for the game. The winning team would be determined by the next two throws.
Uhura's dart embedded itself in the outer circle of the wheel, earning five points.
It was silent as Mika picked up her dart. With a flip of her wrist she set it sailing into the center circle.
"We won!" Sulu hugged his partner, then swept the tokens toward them.
"What do you say, Miss Atira? Right down the middle?"
"I don't know. What are they?" Mika asked.
"Vhat are they! These are credit-chips," Chekov answered, sweeping unruly hair from his eyes. "You put them in the computer and they register as money."
"Oh. I suppose I would like some," Mika agreed.
"Well, you deserve it," Sulu said with a smile as he counted the tokens. "It was your good hand that won the game!"
Uhura flicked a dart across the table at her friend.
"Yeah, you're pretty good for someone who's never played before. Are you sure you weren't cheating?" she teased.
Jesse laughed from across the room. She was trying to write a report and visit with her friends simultaneously, and it wasn't working.
"Look at that innocent face!" she said, pointing at Mika with her stylus. "Is that the face of a cheater?"
"Vhat about me? I have an innocent face, also!" Chekov widened his eyes and pasted on a vaguely disturbing smile.
"Yeah, about as innocent as a shark," Sulu remarked as he elbowed his friend in the side.
***
Later that evening, Spock returned to his quarters to find Mika at the table with a book-tape. She was studying it intently and did not notice him. Entering his room, he found 15 credit-chips lying in a neat pile on his bed.
"Are these yours?" he asked her as he came out of the room, holding them in his palm.
Mika started, then looked up and shook her head. "I won at darts. That was my prize."
The Vulcan held the coins out to her. "Then they are yours."
She cocked her head to one side with a quizzical expression. "I have acquired money for you. Is this not right?"
"Mika, why would you give me what you won for yourself?" he asked.
"You are my master. If I acquire something of value, it is yours by law."
The Vulcan raised his eyebrows.
"Your master? The Federation does not allow slavery. You are free, by our law."
She furrowed her brow, uncomprehending.
"Free? I have no master?"
"You are your own master now," Spock stated.
"But you bought me- "
"I did so in order to bring you aboard the Enterprise for medical assistance. I could see no other way to do so without risking injury."
She stared with solemn eyes at him, then at his outstretched hand which held the coins. She pushed it away.
"Then those are yours, as restitution for what you paid."
The Vulcan shook his head. "No. Those were my wages, spent freely."
He took her hand in his own and poured the tokens into her cupped palm.
She stared at his back as he walked away. She could still feel his warm hand on hers.
Free.
A Few New Things
*
Mika stared suspiciously into the cloud of steam emanating from behind the bathroom door. She looked back at Uhura with a quizzical expression on her face. The caramel-colored woman laughed.
"Go on! It won't hurt you, I promise!"
Reluctantly, Mika shed her clothes and stepped, lame foot first, into the shower. She gasped happily as the hot water hit her.
"It's wonderful!" she called.
"I told you," Uhura said back. "Here's some shampoo. Wash your hair with it."
It was Mika's fourth day aboard the Enterprise and her first day out of the recovery room. She had been released by the doctor after some discussion over where she would stay.
Uhura would have gladly shared her quarters with the girl, but her rooms were full; Lt. Jesse Warner, a warp-drive technician and Uhura's longtime friend, was occupying the couch until she could procure her own room.
McCoy checked the crew roster several times, but the outcome was the same: there were simply no unoccupied quarters on board.
The Andorian diplomats were occupying the only guest wing, and would be doing so until they got to Starbase 12.
In the end a cot was set up for her in Spock's quarters. This satisfied everyone except the Andorians, who would have complained regardless of the situation.
Mika spent her first day of freedom with Uhura, who introduced her to one of the galaxy's greatest inventions - the shower.
Jesse Warner, sitting on the couch with a PADD in her hands, chuckled at the girl's exclamation of delight.
The Lt. was a lovely and talented young woman from San Francisco. She'd graduated top of her class at the Academy and now had the unique opportunity to work under Mr. Scott, the best engineer in the fleet. She had sandy hair and blue eyes that snapped with intelligence.
Uhura joined her friend on the couch.
"Well, what do you think about Mika? She's sweet, isn't she?"
A slightly obscene drinking song floated out of the shower room. Uhura blushed, and Jesse giggled.
"I think she needs to teach us that song!" she said, prompting Uhura to bean her over the head with a pillow.
*
Mika stood in the semi-darkness of Spock's quarters, feeling vaguely out-of- place.
Uhura had given her a tour of the ship, then shown her to the Vulcan's rooms.
Spock had greeted her arrival with a curt nod, then returned to his computer console, leaving the girl to her own devices.
She'd wandered around, admiring the strange statues and weaponry that decorated the rooms. Spock retired to his sleeping chamber, and she continued her investigation of his quarters.
She was gazing at a hologram of a Vulcan man and a Human woman holding a baby in their arms.
The couple were touching their first two fingers together in a solemn declaration of love while the dark-eyed infant looked on.
"Do you require anything?"
Mika whirled around, startled, to find Spock standing behind her. He was dressed in a flowing robe, his hands clasped behind his back, his face calm.
"N-n-no," she stammered, her eyes on the floor. "I am fine. Thank you, sir."
He nodded. "Very well. Have a pleasant sleep, Miss Atira."
"Mr. Spock, sir -" He turned at the door to his sleeping chamber.
Mika bowed slightly. "Thank you for letting me stay here. I won't be a nuisance, I promise."
The Vulcan raised an eyebrow, and his mouth quirked upward in what might have been a wry smile.
"Indeed," was all he said. "Goodnight." He turned on his heel and the door swished behind him.
*
When Spock awoke the next morning at precisely 6:15 he found himself alone in his quarters. The cot had been folded and placed in the closet along with the blanket the girl had used.
The mirror in his bathroom had been cleaned, and his desktops dusted. The statues lining the walls were also devoid of dust. Opening his drawers, he found that his uniforms had been pressed.
His boots had been shined. How could that be? He set them next to his bed last night. Surely he would have heard the girl come in his room?
He pondered this while pulling on his newly-blackened boots. Perhaps the child would not be a nuisance, after all.
*
"Memo. To Captain Kirk. The med...med...med-i-cine. Is...complet-y? Com-ple- tee... ...complete! The medicine is complete!"
Mika was walking with her uneven gait towards the turbolift with a PADD in her hands.
After cleaning her host's quarters, she had gone to help Dr. McCoy in the sickbay, and was now delivering a message to be signed by the Captain.
It was taking her awhile to get to the lift, however, because she couldn't help but read everything she saw. She was so absorbed in sounding out the Doctor's memo that she rounded a corner and ran smack into someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried.
Mr. Sulu retrieved her PADD from where it had gone flying and smiled apologetically.
"Here you go, miss. It was my fault, really." He studied her quizzically, from bare feet to unruly black hair.
"Hey, aren't you the new girl from Fortune?"
She nodded, and he stuck out his hand.
"Glad we finally ran into each other! I'm Sulu, the navigations officer."
Mika shook his hand. "I'm Atira Mikal."
"The pleasure's all mine. Say, are you doing anything this evening, miss?"
She shook her head.
Sulu grinned. "Why don't you come over to Rec. Room 5? A few of us are going to play da'al darts, and I bet you have a great arm. Everyone would love to meet you."
Mika straightened her borrowed tunic, then glanced up tentatively.
"I - I would enjoy that."
"Great! We'll start around seven. See you there!"
The young man trotted off down the corridor, leaving Mika with a nauseous mix of excitement and apprehension in her stomach.
** "Come on...Yes!!!" The room erupted in cheers as Sulu's dart hit the spinning target.
Chekov stopped the wheel, pouting, as Mika counted out the tokens.
"That's 17 for team one, 12 for team two. Uhura, you're up next."
The da'al darts game was in full swing. Except for the unlucky ensign who had intercepted one of Chekov's wild throws, everyone was enjoying themselves.
It turned out that Mika had quite a good aim, and she and Sulu made a good team.
A pile of credit-chips lay in the middle of the table, the prize for the game. The winning team would be determined by the next two throws.
Uhura's dart embedded itself in the outer circle of the wheel, earning five points.
It was silent as Mika picked up her dart. With a flip of her wrist she set it sailing into the center circle.
"We won!" Sulu hugged his partner, then swept the tokens toward them.
"What do you say, Miss Atira? Right down the middle?"
"I don't know. What are they?" Mika asked.
"Vhat are they! These are credit-chips," Chekov answered, sweeping unruly hair from his eyes. "You put them in the computer and they register as money."
"Oh. I suppose I would like some," Mika agreed.
"Well, you deserve it," Sulu said with a smile as he counted the tokens. "It was your good hand that won the game!"
Uhura flicked a dart across the table at her friend.
"Yeah, you're pretty good for someone who's never played before. Are you sure you weren't cheating?" she teased.
Jesse laughed from across the room. She was trying to write a report and visit with her friends simultaneously, and it wasn't working.
"Look at that innocent face!" she said, pointing at Mika with her stylus. "Is that the face of a cheater?"
"Vhat about me? I have an innocent face, also!" Chekov widened his eyes and pasted on a vaguely disturbing smile.
"Yeah, about as innocent as a shark," Sulu remarked as he elbowed his friend in the side.
***
Later that evening, Spock returned to his quarters to find Mika at the table with a book-tape. She was studying it intently and did not notice him. Entering his room, he found 15 credit-chips lying in a neat pile on his bed.
"Are these yours?" he asked her as he came out of the room, holding them in his palm.
Mika started, then looked up and shook her head. "I won at darts. That was my prize."
The Vulcan held the coins out to her. "Then they are yours."
She cocked her head to one side with a quizzical expression. "I have acquired money for you. Is this not right?"
"Mika, why would you give me what you won for yourself?" he asked.
"You are my master. If I acquire something of value, it is yours by law."
The Vulcan raised his eyebrows.
"Your master? The Federation does not allow slavery. You are free, by our law."
She furrowed her brow, uncomprehending.
"Free? I have no master?"
"You are your own master now," Spock stated.
"But you bought me- "
"I did so in order to bring you aboard the Enterprise for medical assistance. I could see no other way to do so without risking injury."
She stared with solemn eyes at him, then at his outstretched hand which held the coins. She pushed it away.
"Then those are yours, as restitution for what you paid."
The Vulcan shook his head. "No. Those were my wages, spent freely."
He took her hand in his own and poured the tokens into her cupped palm.
She stared at his back as he walked away. She could still feel his warm hand on hers.
Free.