3

Morning was there before I knew it, and I slowly sat up to find that I had a headache and was extremely thirsty. The restrictions on alcohol onboard were suddenly starting to make a lot of sense. I changed into my uniform and was about to put my hair up how I usually wore it but in the interest of saving time decided to skip it and leave it down.
As I took the turbo, last night started to come together in my mind more fully. I recalled the late night of working, drinks with Scotty, then…

Oh God, that really happened last night.

The expression on Commander Spock's face when I ran right into him on the turbo lift was clear in my mind still. He was likely to be in the area where I conducted my research if he wasn't stationed on the bridge today. I could think of nothing more embarrassing than accidentally getting drunk and then having to share an awkward turbo lift ride with a sullen Commander Spock, except perhaps facing him the next morning. Did he know why I'd been acting so strange? If he had, surely he would have said something. He and I were familiar, but I wasn't sure we could call ourselves friends, so why would he not call me out on my transgressions like he would any other officer?

I tried to put the incident out of my mind and focus on the work at hand, but even as I worked it occupied some corner of my thoughts. And that was almost the most confusing part of it all, the question of why I couldn't just be happy I had gotten away with it. Why were Commander Spock's motives of any interest to me? Racking my brain was getting me nowhere but more irritated.

Near the end of my shift, when my work had slowed to a total halt largely due to lack of focus and motivation, I figured it was time to call it a day. Crew members weren't technically allowed to leave their shifts early, but because of my higher rank I consistently put in extra hours which made it possible to sneak out once in a while. I headed down the corridor trying to decide between joining Lieutenant Uhura in the general commons area where she usual was at this time or playing a game of chess with Helm Operator Sulu, that is if they weren't both preoccupied with the heavier than usual workload. I had finally made up my mind on a game or two of chess when I heard someone say my name just down the hall. I turned to find Captain James Kirk walking toward me.

I had known the captain since coming aboard and was fortunate enough to develop a friendship with him in that time. He liked to poke fun at our age difference since I was nearly ten years younger, but I could tell he valued our friendship as much as I did. I had been on several away missions with the Captain and Doctor McCoy as science officer when Commander Spock was otherwise engaged in work on the Enterprise, and the dynamic between the two was quite entertaining. They had obviously been friends for quite some time, and it had taken me a while to become comfortable working with them as both a new crew member and a younger science officer, but they'd been extremely generous towards me and I felt fortunate to consider them friends.

"Captain, you're looking for me?" I said with a smile. "That's never been a good thing."

The captain smirked and patted a hand on my shoulder as he reached me.

"Well lucky for me I'm just the messenger this time," he replied with a smile.

We continued walking down the corridor as we spoke.

"Who has you running errands?" I demanded jokingly. "If it's Doctor McCoy, I'll set him straight for you."

The Captain laughed a short chuckle and shook his head.

Jeez, we're even shortening our laughs to save time things are so hectic around here, I thought.

"Actually," he said in a somewhat regretful tone, "I just came by to pass on a message from Spock. I'm on my way down to the admirals' quarters to reaffirm our appreciation for their…assistance…on this mission."

The captain's struggle to find a non-insulting descriptor for the admirals was amusing, but my breathing stopped momentarily at the mention of Commander Spock. This had to be about the incident last night. What had he told the captain? Certainly if he had said anything, Captain Kirk wouldn't be acting so casual toward me, what with the arguably jaunty stepping and the friendly shoulder clapping.

I smiled politely at the captain and tried to hide my uneasiness.

"I can imagine those two have been all sorts of fun," I joked.

"Well when they're not pulling rank, they're regaling me with tales of their days as captains and how things were done in the old days. Much more efficiently, according to them."

I could honestly say I did love the Captain's sense of humor. And it didn't hurt that he was an amazing person I always just felt fortunate to be around. He had that kind of personality, you couldn't feel envy or malice toward him; he was just too damn well-rounded.

"Sounds like a real treat," I said. "You said something about Commander Spock?"

The captain nodded his head, as if he'd already forgotten what we were talking about. It was sort of comforting, at least, that he was going about it so casually. That had to count for something, right?

"Right, right, Spock's message," he said. "It was something along the lines of having you sign off on the engine output report. Some question or another, he seemed to feel you were the person to ask. I told him Scotty had the thing under control, but he was insistent. You know how Spock can be, efficient to the point of… Well anyways, you might just catch him on the bridge if you hurry."

I felt somewhat relieved that Commander Spock had clearly not mentioned anything to the captain, but still I felt a sense of anxiety creeping up on me at the thought of having to look him in the eye. I was lucky to get away without a reprimand last night, and all I wanted to do was avoid him until the air had cleared. But that was apparently not an option.

"Well thanks for the message," I said, starting to walk the other way down the corridor. "And good luck with your two new best friends."

The captain gave me a harried look and threw his hands up in a "what can you do" type of gesture.

I smiled as we went our separate ways. It was refreshing to see the captain wasn't letting the stress around the ship affect him too much, at least not outwardly. Still, I had my own stress to worry about. I just wanted to put this whole engine output report behind me and forget about it. There was enough to worry about right now without the added weight of a certain Vulcan's disapproval of my poorly timed exploits. And yet it still irked me, that I even felt such an odd sense of uneasiness about it. The sooner it was finished, the better.