Chapter 13 - Dress Uniforms


James T. Kirk returned to his quarters in time to shower and change before what would undoubtedly be very boring bridge duty. At least it wouldn't be too long since everyone was on half-shifts to allow maximum opportunity for scheduling leave at prime hours. And he was feeling considerably better. After a poor start to his leave (to say the least), he had found the gaming parlor and luck at the tables had lead to luck with the ladies. Spock was not the only one who could draw a fan club, he thought.

Yikes. Where had that come from? If he was seriously feeling like he had compete with Spock on that field, he was still in worse shape than he thought.

Well, the run in with Spock's 'sister' had certainly battered his ego, but he did not believe in no-win situations and he was not defeated. Spock could call it masochism if he wanted to, but as far as Jim was concerned Selina was just going to be more of a challenge than usual. She might be a tougher nut to crack than the next few days would allow, but at the very minimum he was going to get that wet t-shirt story.

As he was slipping on a clean shirt, his console beeped. "In-coming message from Admiral Pike," the computer chirped.

"Receive."

Pike's face appeared on the screen. "How's my ship, Captain?"

"Scotty tells me she'll be good as new within a week, sir."

"Very good. As it turns out, the Klingons may have done us a favor forcing you to that starbase. The Aolians and Trubese are meeting there for a trade conference. They've been conducting a vendetta against each other through a trade war for generations, but they both have resources the Federation would like access to. If we can get them to see reason and cooperate with each other, we might even be able to move them toward Federation membership. But of course a few other parties are interested in allying with them too. Having some senior officers from the fleet Flagship present at the opening reception tomorrow night might help give a bit more weight to the Federation team there."

"Yes sir." So much for having any fun tomorrow night.

"It probably won't be as bad as that. You should be there, and they are interested in Federation medical technology, so bring your CMO. And Spock, of course."

Yeah, because Spock was just the perfect person to bring to a social occasion.

Pike read his expression. "Don't let that Vulcan introvert fool you. He has his father's instincts for diplomacy. If you get into a tight spot, look to him."

Great. Spock was supposed to be his example - this just kept getting worse. "Anyone else sir? Uhura maybe?"

The admiral thought for a few moments. "No. I think the three of you should be enough to show the flag."

Pike looked like he wanted to say something else, but hesitated.

"Sir?"

"Just one more thing, son. This a diplomatic mission. Keep your hands to yourself."

"Understood, sir."

"Pike out."

Kirk sighed. It wasn't his fault no one had told him until 2nd year that Academy social events were meant more for developing skills for this sort of thing and not so much for, well, socializing. He wondered how long it would take to live that down.

Well, time to get out the dress gold. At least he looked good in it. Maybe he'd be able to sort of casually wander down to the lounge after the reception...

.


Nyota arrived at Selina's room at 10:30 and was admitted to find Selina hanging out a dress. It was a stunning outfit - a strapless black top with flowing split pants and a loosely woven cinnamon gold mesh forming a sort of shawl.

"It's lovely," Nyota remarked.

"Part of the uniform," Selina replied with an ironic half-smile.

"Sure nicer than my uniform."

"But not nearly as comfortable." She smiled playfully. "Maybe we could switch places and I'll wear your dress uniform tonight?"

Nyota shrugged. "You could borrow it if you want. I'm not using it."

"You are not going to be at the reception tonight?"

"Spock, McCoy and the Captain were all told to go. Spock is less than thrilled at the prospect." Nyota grinned, but Selina did not look at all pleased.

"I am going to have to have a word with Admiral Pike," she said half to herself.

"It's alright. I'm not particularly interested in going and I don't want you to pull any strings for me."

"I am not the sort to play fairy godmother." She was suddenly very serious. "You should be going because you would be an asset and I strongly suspect that you were only not included on the list because Adm. Pike cannot believe..."

She stopped herself mid-rant. "I'm sorry. This morning should be pleasure before business. I will deal with this later."

"No. What is it Adm. Pike can't believe?" If this could affect her career, she needed to know.

Selina seemed to search for words and then shook her head and chuckled. "Christopher Pike cannot believe that we could be happily engaging in a shopping expedition together. He has never quite grasped the nature of my relationship with Spock, but I will bet he knows the nature of yours." Her mouth quirked sideways. "He and Spock are extraordinarily loyal to each other, so he made an emotional rather than a logical decision about your attendance."

She was clearly both amused and annoyed, yet she sounded so Vulcan in that analysis that Nyota laughed. "If he thought we were going to get into some sort of cat fight, it wasn't really such an illogical decision."

"Men." Selina rolled her eyes. "One virtue of Vulcans is that they do not assume that females will be more emotional and/or less professional than males. I still cannot accustom myself to such assumptions among humans."

"Now you could really pass for Spock's sister," Nyota teased.

"Old habits." She shrugged. "But I believe the shops opened 30 minutes ago. Do like to just wander or you prefer having an objective?"

"Wandering is fine. But I do have an item to return."

Selina eyed the label on the package and raised her eyebrows. "I'm guessing he did not see the logic in it," she said dryly.

Nyota blushed. "Not so much."

She smiled. "Just don't ask me to help you pick out a replacement. That is an area of his psyche that I really have no interest in considering."


AN: Yes, I agree 100% with Selina's opinion of that particular human assumption.

More shopping and girl bonding coming up. And to those wondering if Selina will choose Kirk or Mccoy, why assume she will choose either?