Uhura watched intently as Moreau stepped into quarters she had so recently shared with Kirk. Spock had ordered her to move into other quarters "for the time being," which Uhura knew meant until Spock himself moved in and decided what to do with her. She'd taken it meekly enough, Uhura noted with scorn. The monitoring device had alerted her to the other woman's presence when she went to retrieve her belongings. It was the perfect time to see exactly what secret she was about to reveal to Spock.
It was a disappointing first ten minutes as Moreau moved in and out of the monitoring device's range, packing her belongings into a random assortment of bags and boxes. Gradually, Uhura noticed that the other woman's attention kept drifting to a wall plaque, until finally she abandoned her packing and went to stand directly in front of it.
She pressed in several spots, and Uhura leaned closer, trying for a closer look. She would review the scans later for more detail, but she wanted to see exactly what the other woman was doing. Uhura arched an eyebrow as the panel raised, revealing what looked like a standard issue monitor. Surely that couldn't be Kirk's secret; Uhura had plenty of such devices herself. She returned her attention to Moreau as she fiddled with a set of dials. The view screen showed Spock on the Bridge, sitting in Kirk's chair like he had a right to it. Then the view changed, showing Kirk in the Brig. Uhura ground her teeth. Kirk was there because of something Moreau and that other Kirk must have done, there was no other explanation for Spock's sudden betrayal. Before she could open her mouth to curse them, however, she realized Moreau's finger was toying with a second button, one she hadn't gone near before.
"One touch, and away you go," Moreau whispered. "One push of the button, and no more James Kirk. That would make Spock's mission so much easier."
Mission? Spock had some kind of mission? Intrigued, Uhura leaned closer as Moreau continued to speak aloud to herself. Or to the monitor on the wall. "I never imagined I'd find myself in this position, Jim." Ah, speaking to absent lovers. How nauseating. "I never thought it would end like this." She laughed, a bitter sound. "Hell, I never imagined how it would end. Realistically, I guess you'd never be able to let me go. Not out of love, but because of this." She tapped the screen again as the miniature Kirk shifted restlessly onto his side. He was lying on the hard bench that was all the furniture the cell held. "Because I was there when you discovered it, and I helped you get it away from that scientist and onto the ship. With a touch of a button, anyone you want is dead. Vanished into nothingness."
Uhura's heart was pounding so loudly she almost didn't hear Moreau's next, regretful words. "And now, I'm about to tell someone else about it. I'm going to commit the unforgivable sin, and once I've done that..." Her voice trailed off and she turned away from the monitor without closing it. "No sense hiding it anymore. I don't know if Spock will have the courage to use it, but if he's going to do what the other James Kirk wanted him to do, if he's going to make changes in our universe, then he's probably going to have to eliminate a lot of obstacles. And I'm going to be there to help him."
As she left the room, Moreau whispered, "I'm sorry."
Her mind racing, Uhura turned the monitor from active to passive mode. Spock's shift would be over in a few hours, and then Moreau would reveal Kirk's secret weapon. An alien device that could quietly and efficiently remove any obstacles on Spock's newfound path to power.
She rose to her feet, not quite pacing but unable to sit still as she contemplated the ramifications of the weapon Moreau had unwittingly revealed to her. This technology could have propelled Kirk to the very top, even to the Emperor's throne. And now Spock had it, and some kind of mission of change mandated to him by the mirror James Kirk. Would the Empire, for the first time in its history, be ruled by a member of a former slave race? Incredible as it might be, Spock appeared poised for just such a move.
Then again, why not somebody else instead of Spock? Moreau was the only one outside of Kirk who had access to or knowledge of the technology. At least, as far as they knew. Uhura needed time to figure out how to best use this to her advantage, but time was a luxury she could not afford. Not in this situation. Sometimes patience was the way to go, but sometimes you had to grab for the glory. And she'd be damned if she'd allow a Vulcan and the Captain's former slut to take something she herself hungered for.
"I can't do this alone." She spoke aloud as she sat on the edge of her bed. As soon as Moreau showed Spock the device, any advantage Uhura had would be gone. The obvious solution was to steal it and somehow get Kirk out of the Brig and off the ship.
She considered and discarded McCoy and Scott as possible allies in this endeavor. In spite of their earlier cooperation, she was still too unsure of them to risk something this big. Kirk, at least, not only knew how to use the device, but also had the ruthlessness to do so. And he was known to reward loyalty. Uhura had aspirations, but trying to unseat the Emperor single-handedly, even with a secret weapon, wasn't one of them. If she worked things right, then she could become the powerful force behind the throne, especially since she was carrying Kirk's child. She glanced down at her stomach, still flat and beautiful. Temporarily giving up her figure would be well worth it. All she had to do now was convince Kirk of the truth; that he was, indeed, the child's father, and that she'd lied to protect them both.
In spite of the considerable risks, Uhura knew this was her best option. Although she'd been doing a great deal of thinking on her feet lately, she knew her strength was in long-term planning. Her gut was telling her this was the best way to get what she wanted, to salvage the plans she'd already put into motion.
"The first thing I have to do is get the guards away from Kirk's cabin and replace the weapon with something else," Uhura mused as she returned to her own monitor.