Gardens in the Rain, chapter 10
Peering into the person-sized hole cut in the wall outside French's quarters, Kirk watched as Scotty's crew repaired the weakened areas in the ship's structure. Damn, but that was a close call last night. If the bomb had done this kind of damage from within the pressure vent disposal, just think what it would have done attached to the bulkhead.
He glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw Spock. Spock looked tired, no doubt about it. Kirk couldn't remember the last time he had seen noticeable fatigue on Spock's features, but it was certainly there now, etched clearly in the long vertical lines that emphasized the patrician angles of his face.
"Good news," Kirk said. "I talked to Scotty five minutes ago, and he's ahead of schedule. He thinks we'll be ready in another six hours."
"That is indeed good news. We just received a message from Captain Ames. They have begun long-range scanning but still cannot determine a reason for the Klingon activity. He estimates arrival at 2300 hours."
Kirk nodded. "If Scotty's right and we can withstand warp soon, we won't be far behind them."
"Correct. I will be most interested to discover what, if anything, lies at the coordinates of the Klingon's altered flight path."
"You and me both." Spock fell into step as Kirk started down the corridor. "No offense Spock, but you look like you could use some rest. Why don't you take a break for a while? Scotty is resting, and we can all meet back here when the repairs are complete."
Spock took a deep breath. "I would welcome the opportunity to meditate."
"Go ahead. Take advantage of this down time while you can."
"Might I suggest that you do the same? I anticipate that the coming days will be full."
"Yes, I'm planning on going to my quarters soon." Kirk stepped into the turbolift, accompanied by Spock. "Deck seven."
He waited for Spock to state his destination, but Spock was silent. After a moment, he looked at Spock and asked, "Where to?"
"The same."
Kirk grinned. "On your way to sickbay?"
"Yes. You, also?"
"Yes. I feel bad that I haven't had a chance to talk to Uhura since the blast. How is she doing?"
"According to Dr. McCoy, she is alert and out of pain. He may release her from sickbay late tomorrow."
"According to McCoy? Haven't you talked to her?"
"Briefly. We spoke when she regained consciousness, but she was groggy and confused. When I visited sickbay before my midday meal, she was asleep."
Kirk shook his head. "I wouldn't want to be you right now. It's nearly 1500 hours, and you haven't even had a decent conversation with her yet? She's not going to be happy with you, and I won't blame her."
Spock regarded him cautiously. "We will have more than enough time later."
"That's not the point, Spock. You almost lost her last night. Forever! No more 'laters,' no more 'tomorrows.' If you can treat today like it's just another day, well..." Kirk shook his head. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
Spock did not react, his face utterly still as Kirk looked into his eyes. Neither of them spoke, and finally Spock turned away, but not before Kirk saw a flicker of uncertainty cloud his careful non-expression. Bone weary, Kirk realized with a heavy chest that he had been unfair to his friend. Of course her near-death meant something to him. Hell, it meant more than something. It meant everything. He was just coping the only way he knew how.
The lift opened onto deck seven. As they stepped out, Kirk murmured, "Spock, just tell her."
Looking straight ahead, he said, "Tell her what, Admiral?"
"That you were afraid. That it shook you up."
Still facing ahead, Spock raised his chin. He didn't answer, but Kirk saw his jaw muscles tighten. So. Spock was going to deal with it by pretending it didn't happen. Kirk thought that was a mistake, but he'd already made his point. Spock might choose not to listen right now, but Kirk knew his words had been heard.
They entered sickbay to find Uhura sitting up in bed and Scott comfortably ensconced in the chair beside her. Kirk felt a huge, silly smile spread across his face at the sight, but he couldn't help it. Uhura was healthy, whole, and looking more like her old self once again. He'd known that she was on the road to recovery, but just seeing her lifted an oppressive weight off his shoulders. She looked up, and her features were transformed with pleasure. Of course, Kirk saw that her gaze rested not on himself but on the man with him, but that was all right. He was simply glad to see animation on that beautiful face again.
Kirk moved close. "Scotty! I thought that you were going to take a nap."
Scott looked at Uhura with affection in his eyes. "Aye, Admiral, but I just couldn't rest without having seen this lovely lass first."
"Well, I can understand that." Kirk rested his hand lightly on her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, Admiral. I can move around, and the cobwebs are gone from my skull."
Scotty beamed. "I was just telling Uhura about how glad we were when Dr. McCoy told us she would pull through." He reached for her hand. "We all had quite a scare."
Uhura glanced up at Spock with wide eyes, and Kirk caught his breath at the look that passed between them. Tell her, Spock! Tell her now, damn it! If Spock had intended to say something, however, he waited too long, for Scotty squeezed her hand, and she finally turned away.
"Lass, I want to apologize for not coming to see you sooner. I've been verra busy. That bomb was a nasty one. Did anyone tell you that it blew the cover of the pressure vent disposal clean off?"
She bit her lip. "Yes, I think so..."
"I told you that this morning, but you were not entirely coherent at the time," Spock said softly.
"I vaguely remember, but it's foggy and disjointed, like a dream. Did we also talk about the fact that no one else was injured?"
"That is correct."
"And luck?"
"Yes."
Once again, she gazed into Spock's eyes, and the private smile that whispered across her lips made Kirk decide that it was probably time for him to leave.
"Scotty." Kirk motioned toward the door. "You look exhausted. Come on, I'll walk with you. We need to get some sleep while we can."
Shaking his head stubbornly, Scotty said, "Thank ye, Admiral, but I'm not quite ready yet. You go on without me."
Uhura smiled sweetly. "Oh Scotty, I really appreciate your visit, but you do look tired. Why don't you go with Admiral Kirk? We can talk later."
"Nonsense." Scott patted her hand. "You've been cooped up in sickbay all day by yourself, and after what you've been through it's the least I can do. Don't say another word about it."
She looked up helplessly at Spock, but he had already taken a step back. "I am gratified to see that you are well, Commander. Enjoy your visit with Mr. Scott. I will return later."
She frowned. "But, Spock—"
Scotty pulled his chair closer. "Let me tell ye about how French managed to disable communications. Ye won't believe what she did!"
Drawing himself up stiffly as Uhura raised her eyebrows in entreaty, Spock nodded once and turned to leave. Her face fell, and Kirk resolved to kick his old friend in the ass if that's what it took to make him loosen up.
Shrugging, Kirk said, "I'll check in with you this evening, Commander. I'm so glad to see you looking better. You did give us a real fright, all of us."
She smiled wanly and nodded, so Kirk hurried to catch up with Spock.
...
Spock fastened the clasp at the front of his meditation robe as he walked slowly toward his ceremonial goblet. He would prepare tea, and perhaps by the time the tea was ready, he would be ready as well. Now, however, he was too unsettled to meditate.
He found that he was rather irritated with Admiral Kirk at the moment. Such an emotion was undignified and inappropriate—in short, entirely unsuitable—but nevertheless it existed. Kirk had suggested that his, Spock's, actions were somehow inadequate in sickbay, but what had the admiral expected of him? A distasteful emotional scene? Professions of devotion? Such behavior would have been indecorous even had the setting been private, and utterly scandalous displayed in front of others.
In addition, why should Kirk imply that Spock needed to actually voice his apprehension and, yes, fear of yesterday evening? Nyota was an insightful woman. She and he had been involved long enough that she understood him. Words were not necessary when one's actions demonstrated one's intent and beliefs. Indeed, Kirk had known Spock long enough to comprehend that fundamental tenet of Vulcan philosophy. Why he had seen the need to urge Spock to act otherwise was baffling. Of course Nyota was a human woman, with different requirements and desires. Did Kirk believe that Spock thought otherwise?
Closing his eyes, he lifted the fragrant tea and inhaled. He would find his calm center, he would meditate, and he would visit sickbay when able. A quiet talk with Nyota was overdue, but he would not steer the discussion toward the maudlin sentiments espoused by Admiral Kirk.
...
Uhura pushed the viewer away and flopped back against her pillow. Why did Dr. McCoy insist that she stay overnight in sickbay? She felt fine. This was torture! If she looked up at the chronometer, she knew that she'd see 2239 glowing in big red numbers. Sickbay was dim, McCoy was gone, Smithson was knocking around in the other room, everyone else was probably busy... This would be an ideal time to try to sleep, but she had done little more than sleep all day, and the thought of putting her head on the pillow was excruciating. She pulled the viewer back and paged idly through the ship bulletin board.
The outer door opened and she heard Smithson say, "Commander Spock! What are you doing still up and about? You aren't planning on staying up all night again, are you? Dr. McCoy is going to read you the riot act."
"Dr. McCoy knows that I can function effectively without sleep. Is Commander Uhura awake?"
Uhura chuckled at Smithson's snort when Spock changed the subject. Smithson was a female version of McCoy if she'd ever seen one—gruff and no-nonsense. Even though Spock was a master of the evasive statement, Smithson always saw right through him. She evidently decided to let him get away with it this time, because she said, "Last I checked, she was wide-awake and reading. Go on in."
"Thank you."
Uhura smiled when Spock walked into the room. "Hi, Spock. I felt the ship go into warp about twenty minutes ago. Been busy?"
"Yes, extremely. Mr. Scott encountered complications late in his repairs, and I have been following a line of research. Now that we are underway, my presence will not be required again until Lexington contacts us."
He stood by the bedside and studied her. His eyes were very dark—she could see tiny lines of strain around them—and he did not look away as he lifted his hand and extended two fingers for the ritual embrace. Quickly pressing her own hand to his, she swallowed, moved by the intensity of his expression. Suddenly, the mere touch of his fingers wasn't enough, and she longed to feel his arms around her, to hear him tell her about the awfulness of the last twenty-four hours and how terrifying it had been to think that he might lose her. Instead, though, he simply continued to scrutinize her face until he finally withdrew his hand and sat down.
"I apologize for the lateness of my visit. As you know, my earlier attempts to be alone with you were unsuccessful."
"Yes, I know," she said. "Sorry I couldn't get rid of Scotty this afternoon. He was so sweet to come by. I couldn't ask him to leave."
"I understand. You look well."
"I feel pretty good. There's still a little tenderness in my abdomen, but all in all I feel much better than I did when I first woke up this morning." She rested her hand on his knee. "Dr. McCoy told me that you were hit by shrapnel, too."
"My injuries were minor and easily repaired."
She squeezed his knee. "Well, I was really proud of the way you persevered until the bomb was in the chute, even though it could have gone off in your hands. I can't even think about what might have happened. It's just too terrible to contemplate."
"I merely did what was necessary. If you recall, you also stayed with your task despite my recommendation that you seek cover."
She grinned at the blatant disapproval in his tone. "I guess you're not the only one who can be stubborn."
Raising an eyebrow, he didn't comment, but she got the message loud and clear. Obviously. She laughed and patted his knee again before removing her hand.
"You will be interested to hear that Admiral Kirk and I have worked closely with your protege, Lieutenant Feinstein, to uncover some illuminating information about Crewman French."
"Oh, really? What is it?"
"Using a small scrap of paper found in her quarters, Feinstein traced her financial records to an unregulated account on Mars. The account had been opened under false identification and has a very high credit balance. He came to me with the information, and we proceeded on the assumption that this account was central to the investigation. We learned that the funds are from periodic transfers from an Orion account belonging to one Nolan Torsall."
"That doesn't sound much like an Orion name."
"It is not. Nolan Torsall is human. Although he has been investigated multiple times for criminal dealings, he has never been convicted. He divides his time between his residence in Hong Kong and his business office. Perhaps not coincidentally, Crewman French's Starfleet records show a lapse in service, during which time she also resided in Hong Kong."
"Wow."
He nodded. "The most startling fact is that Nolan Torsall is listed as one of the founders of the Nistras Three dilithium mine. He profited heavily from its sale to the Federation."
"What?" Uhura sat up straighter in the bed. "That's incredible! What do you think it means?"
"It is too soon to say. Obviously there is a connection, but we must conduct more research. We are en route to Nistras Three while the Lexington continues toward Epsilon Triana. I suspect that Captain Ames will find nothing at his destination, in which case it will become apparent that we were all duped. Including Crewman French, assuming that she believes her most recent statements to be true."
"That's a lot to swallow. The three of you learned all of this just since I last talked to you?"
"Yes. Once Feinstein found the account, the rest of the investigation fell neatly into place. He is quite skilled, by the way."
"I know he is. I wish that I could have been around to help as well. It's all so fascinating."
"There is undoubtedly still much to learn. I will be pleased to have your assistance whenever you are able to join us."
She nodded, but before she could reply the intercom wailed. "Kirk to Spock."
Coming to his feet, he walked over to the comm panel. "Spock here."
"The Lexington is approaching Epsilon Triana. I need you on the bridge."
"On my way. Spock out." He turned back toward Uhura. "It is time for you to rest. I will speak with you in the morning."
"Before you go, tell me where Torsall's business office is located."
He raised his eyebrow. "Nistras Three."
Smiling grimly, she nodded. He held her eyes for a moment longer, then turned and left.
Alone once again, she sighed and tugged on the viewer, but her eyes glazed over as she stared at it. Conspiracy? Fraud? Deception? Who knew what they had uncovered? She couldn't wait to get out of bed and help dig to the bottom of this.
End chapter 10