oOo

"Spock! What do you want, money? Power?"

The Vulcan turned away, apparently ignoring Kirk's attempts at bribery. This universe really is screwed up, Uhura thought. "Fascinating," she thought she heard Spock murmur as he headed out of the Brig. The four of them subsided as the doors slid shut behind him.

Once Spock was gone, Kirk rounded on Uhura. "McCoy told me you convinced him to keep Moreau in Sickbay," he growled, grabbing her by the arm and thrusting her back against the far wall of the cell Spock had thrown them all into only moments before. "He admitted that he lied to help you get to me."

Uhura didn't bother pointing out that she'd already admitted putting Moreau in Sickbay. "Yes, I saw a way to use this to my advantage, so what?" She was defiant, even in the brig, even backed against the wall by Kirk. She gave him glare for glare, ignoring the threatening posture, the anger on his face. She knew why he was taking his anger out on her; Spock's reaction to Kirk's threats, his blustering, and finally, his bribery. The Vulcan remained impassive in the face of all three. He was out of reach, but Uhura was here. At least McCoy hadn't given everything away... "You tried to use this 'accident' to your advantage, too. And it's not like I'm the only one, here or back home."

"What do you mean?" Kirk demanded, diverted by her unexpected defiance.

Uhura straightened, sensing an advantage. "Do you think your duplicate's stayed out of your quarters while we've been here? Do you think Marlena Moreau hasn't shared her body with him, shown him all your secrets?"

It was a shot in the dark, but Uhura could tell by the sudden stiffening of Kirk's spine that she'd struck a nerve. "I never did anything to hurt you." Uhura lowered her voice to a confidential murmur as she sought to press her sudden advantage. "I was just trying to get ahead, same as everyone else. I wasn't planning to betray you. I just wanted to be with you. I still do." She waited, to see if her words had any effect.

Kirk's eyes were narrowed in concentration, and he removed his iron grip from her wrist almost as an afterthought. "For all we know, the real Spock threw the intruders into the brig the moment they set foot on the ship," he murmured, indecisive for the first time.

"We fooled these idiots for over twenty-four hours," Uhura argued. "Who's to say what's been happening while we've been trapped here? If their Kirk is as good an actor as you, they might have pulled it off." A little judicious flattery never hurt. "If Marlena had been his woman here, you wouldn't have hesitated to sleep with her. If he's anything like you under that soft Federation exterior, he'd have been cunning enough to do the same in our universe. To worm any secrets you two shared out of her." Another shot in the dark, another hit. Kirk's frown deepened, to Uhura's private joy. If Kirk was hesitating, then there really were secrets to be found out.

And if she had anything to say about it, she'd be in possession of those secrets and Marlena Moreau would be nothing but a memory.

"Captain, did ye sleep with her?"

The interruption came from Scott. Uhura stiffened but didn't turn to face him; she didn't dare take her attention away from Kirk. Not now.

But he was distracted by the unexpected question; eyes narrowed distrustfully, he glared over Uhura's shoulder at the engineer. "Who, Uhura? Why? What business is it of yours?"

"None," Scott replied with an indifferent shrug. "But ye should know, there's a chance her implant went the way of her uniform, if ye know what I mean."

He had everyone's attention now; Uhura's head snapped around and she stared at him, furious for bringing up the subject now, of all times. How dare he--? But as she stared at him, her anger cooled. Why not now? At least he was sticking to her version of things, not giving her intentions away.

Where her anger melted, however, Kirk's was stoked to a raging boil. "What do you mean?" he growled, stalking toward Scott, dragging Uhura along almost as an afterthought. He whirled to face McCoy. "Is that true? What do you know about it?"

McCoy backed up a step, arms raised defensively. "Nothing, I swear! It wasn't something I thought to check for!" He shot a sullen look at Scott, ignoring Uhura completely. All to the good, as far as she was concerned. She was just grateful he hadn't caved in and told the captain about her scheming. Which only meant he wanted a hold over her, since he hadn't gotten very far with Chapel. Fine, as long as her own plans weren't completely ruined...

All discussion was cut short by the unexpected return of Spock, accompanied by a pair of additional security guards and a shaken looking Nurse Chapel. She held a medical tricorder and some other equipment Uhura didn't recognize, but she knew an interrogation when she was about to be subjected to one. "No truth drugs for me, I'm pregnant," she spat out, backing up behind Kirk, confident he would protect her. Well, not so much her as his child. There was a slight chance she wasn't actually pregnant, but the odds were well in her favor.

Spock merely cocked an eyebrow, but Chapel paled, and her hand shook slightly as she fumbled open the medical pouch and removed a scanner. "We don't use truth drugs," she said, her voice much steadier than her hands. "But I can't confirm your condition through the forcefield. Step to the front, please." As Uhura hesitated, she added: "You won't be harmed. I give my word." She glanced at Spock, who nodded slightly and gestured the security guards back a step.

Uhura looked at them mistrustingly; hadn't she just made this woman believe she'd slept with her would-be lover? In her own universe, she knew she'd be in for some pretty significant revenge. But, she reminded herself, this wasn't her own universe. She stepped forward confidently, nodding as Kirk muttered a quick question. Are you sure you can trust the bitch? To do as she said? Absolutely.

The forcefield dropped; as expected, the security guards focused their weapons on the men as Uhura walked up to Chapel. The forcefield was raised again behind her, and she spared a second to smirk over her shoulder at her trapped crewmates. Then her attention returned to the enemies in front of her. Ironically, her instincts told her she could trust them more than the men behind her. Even Kirk. No, especially Kirk. "Well? Am I lying?"

Her tone was insolent, and she knew it, but there was no point in trying to be other than herself now. It was a relief, really, to know that she could stop pretending to be someone she wasn't. Not that a little deception wasn't useful now and then, but to be constantly "on" was wearying.

Chapel ignored her, concentrating on her scans. She looked up at Spock and nodded. "The scans also confirm she's not from our universe, sir. Her quantum signature is significantly different, although she's identical to our Uhura in every other way. Physically," she qualified with a disapproving tightening of her lips.

"Don't worry, sugar, it's not Spock's," Uhura cooed.

Chapel's hand shot out; Uhura waited for the blow to land, but Spock was faster. He grasped Chapel's wrist, lowered her hand, then nodded at the guards. "Return her to the holding cell." Uhura turned her back on them contemptuously as she sauntered back into the cell, stopping only when she reached Kirk's side.

"You got him in our universe, you know," she said, smiling at the furious flush that reddened the other woman's otherwise pale features. "He's got you tucked away on Vulcan, raising his son, living under his mother's roof to protect you from his wife."

"So now you know how the other half lives," McCoy drawled. Twisting the knife further.

"That will be enough." Spock's voice was mild, but Uhura heard the unspoken threat and unwillingly subsided. This Chapel was such an easy target... "Miss Chapel, it is my opinion you are not as recovered from your ordeal as you claimed." Her chin came up defiantly, but she didn't say anything as Spock continued. "You have confirmed my suspicions regarding our 'guests.' You are dismissed."

Chapel continued to keep her gaze locked on his face for a beat, then turned abruptly away. "Yes, sir," she said through clenched teeth. She walked out, stiff-legged, shooting one furious glare over her shoulder before the doors hissed shut behind her.

Spock returned his attention to the captives. "In order for us to return you to your proper place and presumably retrieve our own crewmembers, we need to ascertain the exact conditions that brought you here in the first place. Mr. Scott."

"Aye?" Scott's voice was as insolent as Uhura's had been.

"I would like to you to tell me what you have determined, in order to corroborate my own theories."

"Figure it out yerself," Scott sneered, crossing his arms stubbornly and turning away.

Another one of those damned raised eyebrows. They were just as annoying here as back home, Uhura decided. "If you are requesting a mind meld, that is certainly a possibility."

Scott blanched at the threat, and Uhura moved uneasily away from him. Closer to Kirk. Who actually put a protective arm around her. They'd all witnessed forced melds on more than one occasion. Spock was a master at ripping through an unwilling mind to find exactly what he needed. Whether or not the person survived the interrogation was purely a matter of whether Spock--or Kirk--wanted them to.

"It is to your own advantage to share this information with me," Spock continued calmly. If he noted their reactions, there was no way to tell from either his expression or his voice.

"How do we know you won't just use it to get your own crew back and leave us stranded?" Kirk burst out.

"Because if my theory is correct, we cannot retrieve our crew without returning you. The First Law of Thermodynamics would seem to dictate that."

"The total quantity of energy in the universe remains constant," Scott agreed, grudgingly to Uhura's ears. "The principle of the conservation of energy. Ye're right. Ye have to send us back t'our universe in order to get them back here."

"Logically, it would be in both our interests to cooperate."

"No."

Everyone turned to stare at Kirk. "No deal," he said. "Not unless there's something in it for us. We won't cooperate unless we get something out of it."

"Something other than a return to your native universe?" This time the eyebrow stayed put. Uhura saw it as an ominous sign. "I do not understand."

"You want them back, but who's to say we want to leave?" Kirk was belligerent. "Maybe we'd rather stay here. Sure," he added, nodding at his incredulous crew. "Why go back there, where we can all expect to be stabbed in the back one day? Why not stay here instead?" His face turned crafty. "We could make it worth your while."

Uhura almost rolled her eyes, but kept herself under control. Bribery hadn't worked the first time Kirk tried it; what made him think it would work now?

Spock was silent, then stepped back. Away from the holding cell. "Very well. If you do not wish to cooperate, I will be forced to rely strictly upon my own conclusions. When the time comes, you will be escorted to the transporters and returned to your own universe." He left, Kirk shouting after him angrily, Scott yelling as well, McCoy raising his voice to join the others.

"Ye couldn't let it go," Scott snarled. "If ye've cooked it for us..."

"And what exactly could you have told him?" Kirk snarled back. The two men were inches apart, fists clenched. "Spock's ten times the scientist you are," he sneered.

"It's as much an engineerin' issue as anythin' else," Scott countered through stiff lips. "If he gets somethin' wrong because you made him decide not to speak to us, we could end up stuck here forever. Or worse."

"He'll be back." Just like that, the anger was gone. Kirk rocked back on his heels, grinning cheekily. "He's bluffing."

"Vulcans don't bluff," Uhura blurted, then bit her lip in vexation. Antagonizing Kirk was not part of her plan.

Kirk shrugged. "Maybe they don't. Maybe they just tell us that so we don't know when they're doing it."

"Maybe it doesn't make a damned bit of difference," McCoy put in. "Pretty soon the whole crew will know we don't belong here. From what I've seen, there's not a chance in hell of swingin' any of them over to our side even if we did want to stay here. Which I, for one, don't." He plopped onto the bunk and leaned back, arms crossed, a frown creasing his forehead. "Let Spock work it out, put that brain of his to use." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Now that we know this place exists, what's to keep us from coming back whenever we want?"

That gave them all pause. Even Kirk smiled as he mulled the possibilities. He glanced over his shoulder at the remaining security guards standing one on either side of the doors. He gave them a cheeky salute before dragging Uhura over and half-pushing her to sit next to McCoy on the bunk. "Good point, Doc," he said, lowering his voice. "We'll just sit tight, let Spock figure out how to send us home, and work out a plan for our return."

Uhura could tell he was already spinning out scenarios in his mind, and she took a moment to admire his ability to find the advantage in any situation. It was how he'd managed to rise to the top so quickly; that, and a few judiciously arranged "accidents" involving his nominal superiors. You've made the right choice, Nyota, she thought with satisfaction as she squirmed her way into a more comfortable position on the bunk. James Kirk and this baby are gonna get you everything you ever wanted.