No Alternative to Love

Chapter 3. Various Meetings.

Lazarus lowered himself slowly into the steamy water and sighed as his long flanks sank into the tub. He was relieved to finally rest his exhausted body in a hot tub of sudsy water. It seemed like years since he had had a proper bath, and it didn't take the evil grimaces of a girl to tell him that he looked and smelled like something dragged out of a swamp. He slid his body deeper into the water until only his face was exposed, his legs dangling from the sides of the tub. He knew that it would take more baths and as many showers to be pronounced completely clean, not only to the woman who was occupying his mind, but also to himself. Actually, he had more important things to think about than Lene or his personal hygiene.

He counted himself as clever, being able to outwit Star Fleet. But he still had a strange feeling that someone was watching his every move…that somehow he was being shadowed through time. How that was possible, he didn't know, but it was something to ponder. He thought about giving up time traveling. He still had an official job. He had been given a top secret clearance and this non-descript room at the Academy to use when he needed to do extra research, and for times like these, when he needed to rest from his work.

His mind went back to the events of that day. While the cadet he had met was definitely doing illegal things with time, she seemed to be only at the initial stages of her experiments. He seriously doubted that she would give him away, because that would cause her problems as well. But did she have any idea of what she was doing? He was an experienced physicist, and she was apparently an engineer, remembering the sleek design of that bird-thing which he had quickly examined in his ship. He wished that he had taken a closer look at it, and cursed his dazzled, school-boy eyes at distracting him from something very important.

He put a hand on his beard, and considered shaving it off. He would definitely have to take another look at her creation. Anything messing with the time fabric had to be examined. It was his duty even though he was on contract with Star Fleet and not a military officer. He was sure that she would be experimenting with it again. Inspite of how she had acted towards him and what she had said, he was certain that she would be at the same location. He turned his attention back to the matter currently at hand...scrubbing and making himself presentable.

Nyota Uhura sat studying in her dorm room. It was getting pretty late as she tiredly stretched her arms and legs from the cramped positions that they had acquired while sitting at her desk. She yawned and looked over at the place opposite hers that was now occupied by Charlene Masters, and sadly remembered her other roommate, Gaila. They were so different. Char was more to her taste in roommates: quiet, dedicated, brilliant. Gaila was unpredictable, but had provided her with a fulfilling friendship. Her eyes slowly welled up with tears. She missed her friend deeply.

It had only been three months since they had gotten back to the Academy. The Enterprise was still undergoing repairs, and until she was repaired, it was business as usual…being a cadet at Star Fleet Academy. Many of her fellow cadets, including herself, who had served on the Enterprise's maiden voyage, felt like seasoned veterans, and were now forced to go through the boring motions of completing class assignments which weren't really applicable anymore. They had already proven that they were officers in Star Fleet, capable of performing competently under any conditions. Nyota had kept in contact with most of her new shipmates, especially the bridge crew. She had gotten to know Chekov, who had decided to stay on at the Academy instead of returning to Russia, and had run into Sulu on occasion.

She stretched again and smiled as her eyes drifted to a small picture that she had of Spock. He was on an away mission doing surveys on the planet which was to be the new home of the Vulcans. His father had asked Spock to accompany him, and he immediately obliged, knowing that his father needed companionship after the loss of Amanda. They both needed each other, even though they wouldn't openly admit it. Spock had been gone a month, and she sorely missed him. She had just spoken to him, and he said he would be delayed another month. She sighed. The door bell chimed.

'Come', she said, somewhat soberly. She had hoped that it would be Charlene, but Charlene wouldn't have rung. She turned towards the door and gaped at the figure standing in her doorway.

'May I enter', said the figure.

'Spock!' she mouthed silently. 'Of course, come in', she said flustered, as the older version of her lover walked into the room. She stood up not knowing quite what to do.

He just smiled as he stood and faced her.

'Nyota Uhura,' he said, smiling and shaking his head in wonder. Then his face took on a more serious look, remembering the business as to why he was there.

'I assume that this is not a casual visit?' she asked, noting the sudden seriousness in his eyes.

'You assume correctly. I hope you have time. This will require a detailed explanation'.

Charlene wanted to go back to her room immediately, but decided to go to the Engineering building instead. She really wanted to get Bird cleaned up. And since it was late afternoon and the weekend, not many cadets frequented the laboratory; she knew that she would have the opportunity to clean Bird without much observation. And even if she were to run into inquisitive cadets, they would not know the true function of her experiment. No sense in taking any unnecessary chances, though.

She was able to get to the lab unobserved. It was empty as she had presumed. She placed her things at a station, retrieved some supplies, and got to work. She took out Bird carefully, piece-by-piece. She took a cloth and wiped the residue off each section and part. Then, she delicately maneuvered its wingtips and struts back into position. With little puffs, she carefully blew away the stray, microscopic dust particles from Bird, with a special filtering machine. Then, she lightly pounded its side panels with a delicate hammer until the dents disappeared. Finally, she re-assembled Bird, and taking a soft cloth, rubbed and polished until it shone new. She was standing, admiring her work, and rubbing Bird fondly when she felt a finger brush lightly against the back of her neck. She nearly jumped out her skin as familiar laughter threatened to choke in joviality.

'Lee…you!' she yelled, turning around looking for a target to belt.

Lee Kelso, still laughing madly, nimbly ducked her fist, jumping easily away.

'What are you doing here so late!' he said, positioning himself between her and a table to avoid a blow.

'I might ask you the same thing,' she said. She smiled at him then. She really liked Lee. He was so fun. She saw that she wouldn't be able to hit him, so she turned back and started disassembling Bird.

'I was just finishing some work.'

'Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day!'

'Sorry, but I took another PADD with me today. I was in the desert flying Bird. I told you that I would be flying the entire weekend, didn't I?'

'I know what you said, but I thought maybe you would have made a little time for me,' he said pouting, giving her his saddest look.

'Oh, you! We'll see each other on Monday for sure, and then we can plan something for the middle of next week, okay?' she said, giving Lee a conciliatory smile.

'Well…now that you're here. Want to grab something to eat with me?' Lee said, looking at her hopefully.

Charlene wanted to go back to her dorm room for a needed shower, but she didn't want to hurt Lee's feelings.

'That sounds great,' she said, realizing belately that she was indeed hungry, since that pig Lazarus had eaten her sandwich. 'Just let me finish taking apart my bird here…and I'll be with you.'

'What does your bird have that I don't…,' he mumbled, tapping it lightly on the nose. Charlene just shrugged and smiled at him as he walked away to complete some business of his own.

Twenty minutes later, they were making their way to the mess hall, Lee jabbering away about the latest project he was involved in. Charlene really liked it when Lee talked so absent-mindedly about everything and anything. She didn't feel that she had to fully concentrate on the conversation. Nodding and smiling from time to time at his stories, seemed to please Lee immensely. It helped to know that he liked her. She had even considered finally giving him some serious reciprocal signals, but she still wasn't sure of whether to start a relationship with somebody she worked so closely with.

They entered the mess hall, got their food, and found a relatively empty table. The hall was beginning to slowly fill up since it was 18:00 when most of the cadets and some officers converged to eat. They took their seats, and as she was hungry, she immediately started eating as Lee told her about the latest goings-on. The man seemed to have his nose in everything, as he startled her with certain revelations about some instructors.

Suddenly, he looked at the buffet line and waved. Charlene had her back to the line, but heard Lee say, 'Hey, Mitch, Jim! Saved places just for you!' Gary Mitchell looked up from the buffet that he was just leaving, smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. Both men walked over to the table, and Mitchell sat down next to Lee, and Jim, whom she hadn't really noticed, sat down with his thigh uncomfortably close to hers.

She glanced sideways, obviously annoyed, and was greeted by a cheeky, playful grin.

'Whattya been up to, Lee?' Mitchell asked genially, slapping him playfully on the back.

'Nothing, compared to our hero here. Hey, Jim?' said Lee, 'been saving any galaxies lately?'

'Not with my ship in dock!' Kirk said, as Charlene looked again sideways at him.

He gave her his best grin, realizing that she had finally recognized him, and decided to play his advantage.

'Hi, beautiful! We've never officially met. The name's James Kirk, and yours?'

'Masters.'

'Masters, is that your first name or your last name,' said Kirk, remembering another conversation.

Lee cleared his throat. 'Jim, do you have to accost every female at the Academy?'

'Accost? Accost? I was just attempting meaningful conversation.'

Mitchell chuckled, amused at the entire situation.

Charlene, having finished her meal, rose to leave the table. She was quite familiar with Star Fleet's new hero, Jim Kirk, and also his efforts to 'make himself known' to every woman in the cadet wing. Grateful for having Nyota as a roommate and having inside information on him, she quietly excused herself.

Jim looked disappointed, and sniffed quickly under his armpits, while looking at the retreating back of Charlene Masters wondering where he had gone wrong.

'See you, Char…tell Nyota I said, 'Hi!',' Mitchell yelled after her.

Aha. Now Jim understood. Nyota's roommate. That explained a lot. Great!

'Write you later, Lee. Bye Mitch, Jim,' she said, carefully balancing her tray in one hand and waving with the other.

'Hands off, Kirk. She's mine.' Lee gave Kirk a warning glance.

'Don't worry, Lee. As long as she's Nyota's roommate, I don't have a chance anyway.'

Charlene retrieved her carry-all which she had left at the entrance and walked briskly out of the mess hall. Off to her right, a pair of penetrating eyes gazed coolly at her as she made her way back down the walkway in the direction of the dorms. She breathed in the fresh cool air of the approaching night. She looked up and noticed that stars were beginning to peek out behind the parting clouds.

'Fancy seeing you so soon after our meeting in the desert,' a voice sounded behind her, making her jump.

She turned slightly, recognizing the voice. She had to do a double-take, and her eyes widened in wonder. She could hardly believe the transformation, but it was him! He grinned slightly, enduring her scrutiny without a flush. He definitely looked different cleaned up and without his beard. She even smelled a hint of spice in the air around him. She didn't know why, but for the first time, she regarded this stranger not only as an annoying object, but also as a man.

'Yes. But, I'd figured that it would have taken you a lot longer to get cleaned up!'

'So you noticed! I'm making progress!' he said, putting an eloquent hand across his heart.

'Actually, my olfactory nerves told me more about your previous condition more than my sight,' she said, continuing to walk towards her room.

'Thanks,' Lazarus said more to himself than to Charlene.

'What kind of name is Lazarus anyway?' Charlene asked, surprising him.

Lazarus stopped and gestured that they sit on a bench which was somewhat secluded from the walkway. Charlene agreed not wanting to lead Lazarus back to her room anyway, and increasingly curious as to what he wanted.

'Well, are you going to answer my question or not?' she asked, when they were seated, and he had paused a minute without saying anything.

'Ok, we can begin with small talk.'

'Begin? I don't plan on delving in any deeper conversations with you, if that's what you're implying'.

'Yes, I was implying that,' he countered, looking seriously into her eyes. His look was beginning to unnerve her. He seemed to be looking directly into her soul.

'My parents were missionaries. Do you know what a missionary is?' he asked, and continued not waiting for an answer. 'There are hardly any on Earth these days, but I had to be the son of the hundred people or so people left on Earth who still believe in the cult of Jesus Christ.'

Charlene looked at Lazarus shocked. 'You've got to be kidding!'

'No, I'm not. My mother gave birth to me in a desert tent. I almost died when I was born, but somehow, they were able to save me from the jaws of death without modern medicine. A miracle, my parents called it. I was brought back to life…just like in the Bible…you know what that is? Well, there's a story about a guy named Lazarus in it who was raised from the dead, hence my name.'

'Why are you following me?' Charlene said, swiftly changing the subject, trying to catch Lazarus off guard.

Clever, he thought. Now straight to the real point.

'I'm interested in what you were doing in the desert', Lazarus said.

'What if I told you it was none of your business.'

'I'll be making it my business then. I must.'

'Good luck in extracting any information,' Charlene said, rolling her eyes, not revealing how afraid she really was.

'I don't think you know what you are dealing with'.

'I know what I'm doing, Lazarus, and I don't need to be lectured by you!' Charlene said, adding a bit of heat to her voice.

Lazarus looked at her quizzically for a minute more. 'As you wish', he said, getting up abruptly leaving her by herself.

She made her way back to her room, carefully looking over her shoulder from time to time, making sure she wasn't being followed. When she reached the dormitory, Nyota was waiting. She had been studying by the look of things.

'Hi, Nyota', Charlene said, as she walked in with her carryall.

'Hi, Char. I expected you back a bit earlier.'

Charlene shrugged. 'I did too, but I ran into Lee and we decided to have dinner at the mess hall together.'

'Lee sends you his greetings,' Charlene said, then added mischievously, 'and so does Jim Kirk.'

Nyota turned looking surprised and alarmed. 'Not really!' Charlene teased, 'But I did see him, and thanks for the advice. He is quite alluring.'

Charlene walked over to her desk, and took Bird out and began re-assembling it on her desk.

Nyota groaned. 'Do you have to put that, there. You know that its eyes freak me out. Why did you have to make them look so life-like?'

'I did a pretty good job, didn't I?' Charlene said, looking proudly at her creation.

'What did you do with it all day?' Nyota asked, wondering why it looked so clean. 'I thought you said you were going to fly that creepy thing today?'

'Now, now. No insults. My bird has feelings,' she said, patting Bird on its head, then continuing her work. 'I did fly Bird this morning, and I cleaned it up at Engineering after I got back. That's where I met, Lee.'

'Oh. How's Lee doing, by the way?'

'He's okay. It's amazing the information that man has about everyone around here.'

'He likes you, Char, why don't you give him a chance?'

'I know, Nyota,' she said pausing, holding a piece of Bird's side, 'but I don't think that it's the best idea to have a romance with someone you work closely with. That is, I mean…well, you and Commander Spock are different...your relationship is really special.'

Nyota smiled. 'Well, I think that you need a distraction. You're never going to have time for anybody working on that creepy bird. What's it supposed to do anyway?'

'Since when do you really care?' Charlene said, looking up and wondering a bit at her roommate's inquisitiveness.

Nyota backed off immediately. 'Just wondering, because it's so spooky looking. I wondered if its eyes were trying to spy out something. They really do seem to look around sometimes, Char,' said Nyota, making a scary grimace.

Charlene laughed, momentarily distracted. 'No, my bird is not a surveillance camera. It's a bit more sophisticated than that.'

She grabbed a towel, and threw it at Nyota, who caught it on the side of her head. 'Cover them when you get undressed if you're worried that it's lusting after you,' Charlene said amusingly.

Charlene grabbed some accessories and headed towards the bathroom. Nyota humphed, but Charlene was already out of earshot. She was actually relieved, because Spock had asked her to try to find out more about what Charlene had been doing in the desert. It was quite difficult, because Nyota had really never shown a deep interest in what her roommate was doing, respecting her privacy. Knowing that Char would be occupied for awhile, she followed another of Spock's suggestions, and took the opportunity to take a closer look at her experiment. She really did detest the bird. She walked towards it, looking at it from all angles. She didn't want to touch it, and she couldn't see any other purpose for the thing other than testing aerodynamics. What more was there to learn? Spock would have to ask Charlene himself.

'Char?', she said, noticing that the water hadn't been turned on yet.

'What,' was the muffled reply.

'I'm going out with a couple of friends tonight. I won't be back until late.'

'Okay', said the muted voice, as the water in the shower started.

'Also, you had a visitor earlier. He said he would try back later tonight.'

Charlene wanted to question Nyota about that last sentence, but Nyota seemed to be already headed out. Well, she wouldn't open the door if it were him. That problem solved, she succumbed to the water.

Charlene stepped out of the shower, wiping away the tiny droplets of water that still dotted her skin. Then she sat down on her bed and luxuriously applied lotion to her arms and legs, enjoying the feeling of being clean and free of sand. She put on some relaxing clothes, and prepared to record her researches from that day.

She looked at 'Bird' and smiled. She then looked at Bird's eyes, and laughed silently at Nyota's expense. Yes, they did look life-like, but they weren't scary. Nyota, Nyota. She looked at Bird wondering where it had gone, and how it had intercepted Lazarus' ship. Lying on her back, she keyed in some information into her PADD.

Suddenly, she got a strange feeling, and looked up at Bird. She felt that something was staring at her, but there was nothing amiss. She rubbed her eyes. She was tired. She lay back again and started to doze. She thought she would find some relaxation, but she dreamt that Bird was staring at her. She opened her eyes suddenly, feeling as though she was being watched, but again, nothing. Bird's eyes were fixed. She suddenly felt like this was some sort of weird game. She began feeling queasy.

She closed her eyes, and she felt observed.

She opened her eyes, nothing.

She turned away, then turned back quickly towards Bird. Nothing.

Again, she looked away, then looked back swiftly…the eyes were staring at her! She drew her blanket back, looking around madly for something to dash Bird to bits!

She shrank back in terror when it opened its mouth and began to speak.

Hope you liked this chapter everyone! I really enjoyed writing it! Please take time to leave a review. Doesn't have to be elaborate. It's the wonderful thoughts that count. Thanks!