AN: You guys are little shits. I swear. If you weren't so adorable, if have put you all in a box and shifted you to China by now ¬_¬
There I was, thinking that I would have enough time to plan out this chapter at my own pace, check the grammar and spelling mistakes, do some research. I was content knowing it would take a few days for Chapter 4 to reach 200+ views.
When I went to bed last night, there were 18 views. Woke up this morning...223. Well, shit. Now I have to glare at a blank page for an hour. Grr. You know I love you really ;P
In front of him, Pike's face contorted to a look of annoyance and glared at the bars above the open topped vehicle.
"I really hope these things come with a roof..."
Spock considered it fortunate that they had made it to their hotel before the ominous rain clouds reached their position. As it was, they had barely made it through the hotel doors before a deep roll of thunder announced the storms arrival, followed almost immediately by a heavy curtain of rain.
Standing by the main reception desk, Pike turned towards the floor length windows, and swore softly in irritation. Spock turned slight to observe him with a raised eyebrow.
Whilst Pike was known exhibit often unpredictable behaviour when controlled by his emotions, Spock had never heard him use profanity.
Perhaps the heat of the Africa continent had effected the older man more than Spock had originally surmised?
Noticing his companion observing him, Pike turned and gave an apologetic glance.
"Sorry Spock. Never been a fan of rain. Miserable stuff" Pike sighed and turned back towards the waiting receptionist. Spock crossed the short distance between them and stood next to the other man.
"Forgive me Commander. I fail to see how the condensed moisture of the atmosphere could be considered emotionally negative"
Pike let out a small laugh and shook his head, holding his hand out for the small key the receptionist held out for him.
"Never mind. Just an old man and his ramblings"
Spock tilted his head but said nothing. He announced his name to the receptionist, and waiting for her to find his allocated room key.
Pike waited for him near the small bar, hidden slightly from the main hall of the hotel by a semi-transparent wall.
"Care to join me for a drink Spock? Might as well enjoy ourselves whilst we are here" Pike asked. Spock agreed to the suggestion, and the two men stepped into the empty bar. Spock made his way to a small corner seat in the furthest corner of the bar, a position he found favourable for the privacy it gave. He had much to discuss with the Commander.
Picking up the two drinks from the Bar, Pike momentarily glanced around the room. Spock raised a hand, revealing his position. Pike raised an eyebrow, but made no comment as he crossed the room.
Sitting down, he put a tall glass of creamy brown liquid in front of Spock.
"Something you want to discuss Spock?" Pike asked.
As an answer, Spock reached into his duffel bag and pulled out his PADD. He spent a short moment finding Bado's application form, before passing the portable device to Pike.
The man narrowed his eyes in question, but took the PADD without comment. He stared down at the data moving across the screen with evident confusion.
"Bado's application form?"
"I have reason to believe that the information displayed was illegally modified during the time I was interviewing Miss Uhura" Spock stated. Pike's eyebrows shot up.
"Modified? How?" He asked.
"The list of qualifications supplied had considerably lengthened, as had the listed voluntary employment within xenolinguistics"
"If it was anybody else, I would suggest you just hadn't read it right when you first got it. But..." Leaning back in his seat slightly, Pike let out a sigh. His finger moved across the screen, reading each page carefully. Spock knew that the Commander had also received and reviewed each application earlier that day. He did not doubt that he had read each file as carefully as he himself had.
"If your assumptions are right...then Mr Bado has committed a very serious offence" Pike said quietly. He placed the PADD on the table between them and picked up his drink, taking a very long and applicative drink from the glass. Spock said nothing, allowing the older man to collect his thoughts.
"What do you suggest we do?" He finally asked.
"I suggest we question the change in his application. Should he deny the accusations, the evidence should be taken to Star Fleet command directly" Spock said. Pike looked at him over the rim of his glass.
"And if he admits to them?"
"Then he will face trail and be disciplined accordingly"
"Hacking into Star Fleet is punishable by eighteen years in prison. On a very nasty planet. Are you sure you want to sentence the lad to a life in prison simply for changing his records in an attempt to impress you?" Pike asked. Spock tilted his head in question. He did not understand Pikes meaning.
"All crimes are punishable by sentence Commander. Are you suggesting I ignore the blatant invasion of Star Fleet private records?" Spock asked.
Pike let out a strange noise, and shook his head.
"Of course not. I was just asking to make sure you fully understood what would happen to Bado when you bought this to Star Fleets attention. If he did managed to hack into our private records, he does deserve to be punished. I just didn't think he'd go that far just to make sure he'd get a position at the academy. Particularly when there was nothing stopping him from applying next year"
"Before I would make any allegations I would of course need to require the correct amount of incriminating evidence" Spock said. Pike nodded and turned slightly to stare absently at the partially vacated bar.
Leaving him once more to his thoughts, Spock picked up his drink and took a small sip. On the few occasions he had drank with Commander Pike, he had been bought and recommended several different alcoholic beverages. As alcohol did not effect him the same was it did humans, Spock rarely drank. When he did, he preferred a beverage that had a distinctive taste. The strange pale brown liquid in his class looked...questionable.
Its taste however, was quite pleasing. Spock felt his face momentarily show his surprise as the smooth liquid met his taste buds. It tasted faintly of maize, and another ingredient he could not identify. He was not aware of Pike watching him with amusement.
"Chibuku" He said, sounding somewhat proud of himself. Spock looked up at him, eyebrow raised his question.
Pike laughed and pointed to the drink in Spock's hand.
"Barmaid told me its called 'Chibuku'. Apparently its quite poplar around these parts. I take it you like it?" He asked. Spock took another slightly larger sip of his drink then placed it back on the table. Sitting back in his seat.
"It has an usual taste" He agreed. Pike grinned and bent slightly to lift his own glass.
"You can say that you enjoy something you know. It wont remove that famous Vulcan stoicism" Pike laughed, then drank the rest of his own drink in two mouthfuls. He lifted the glass to observe the last remains of his drink sliding down the round container.
"A rare and enjoyable African find" He mused. He then tilted his head slightly and gave a small grin.
"Talking about rare and enjoyable African finds...That Uhura is quite something isn't she?" Pike said, the humour based increase of his octave told Spock he was 'teasing'. A human characteristic that he had never understood.
"She is a very intelligent woman" Spock agreed. Pike observed him quietly.
"That she is. She is also very easy on the eyes"
Spock frowned. Once again, he did not understand the Commanders meaning. Was he complimenting Uhura on her eye site? From her physical review she had been shown to have the highest standard of vision.
"I do not understand your meaning Commander" Pike rolled his eyes and allowed himself a smile at his friends expense.
"I meant she is beautiful Spock"
Spock said nothing, not being to sure how to respond. He did recall making the mental confirmation that Uhura was aesthetically pleasing when he had entered the conference room. He had made the observation as a comparison to how he had last seen her. Thinking about the wording of Pikes comment, he found himself slightly agreeing. She did posses a rather remarkable set of eyes. He had seen the intelligence in them as she spoke. Her passion for their spoken topic changing their colour slightly from a deep brown to a pleasing gold. He momentarily wondered if all humans portrayed this change when they spoke of something they were interested in.
Still unsure how to respond to Pikes comment, he settled for inclining his head slightly. Neither agreeing or disagreeing to the statement. Pike sighed and shook his head.
"Sometimes I worry about you Spock. But, back to the point, how are you going to get the evidence you need to prove Bado is guilty?"
Somewhat grateful for the subject change, Spock leant forwards slightly to pick up his drink. He observed the brown liquid for a moment before raising his line of site once more.
"I would need to assess exactly how and when Bado manipulated his way past the relevant security systems in order to change the information within the application"
Pike looked thoughtful.
"I can help you out a little with the 'when' part. He excused himself for a bathroom break when you were taking your time talking with the delightful Miss Uhura" He said. Spock chose to ignore the last part of his sentence.
"For how long was he absent?" He asked. Pike shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"About five minutes I guess"
"Did his behaviour seem any different when he returned?"
"Nothing more than usual"
"Please elaborate Commander" Pike frowned and leant his elbows on the edge of the table.
"Erratic. His behaviour during the time I spent talking to him was very erratic. He didn't get angry, or upset, but I did notice his posture become more...irritable when we spoke of the academy, or miss Uhura"
Spock frowned but made a mental note of the new information. Pike watched him for a moment, before lifting his head to glare at the ceiling lights above them.
"I hope this rain lets up by 1800. Might have to reschedule the meeting if it doesn't" He said, his voice showing his irritation. Spock opened his mouth to state that the change in the weather should not hinder Bado and Uhura's ability to arrive at the council hall, when a loud roll of thunder echoed from outside. Spock's enhanced hearing allowed him to hear the increased tempo of the rain.
Pikes assessment was right. Should the weather not improve, he would have to reschedule. He found himself slightly uncomfortable with the thought of Uhura having to expose herself to the increasing weather...
By 1745, the weather had worsened.
The bar they inhabited was empty, the previous occupants having left several hours ago for the safety of their rooms. Spock found their choice to be an ideal example of foolish human behaviour. Should the incident arise where they would be required to evacuate the hotel in favour of one of the more sturdy buildings in the area, the bar would be the most logical place to wait.
Pike had excused himself to his own room 15 minutes and 38 seconds ago. He would be returning shortly, having only left the bar in favour of a shower. He had claimed that being exposed the the heat earlier that day had left him feeling 'clammy' - a feeling Spock presumed meant he wish to remove the layer of sweat he had developed.
They had contacted both Uhura and Bado at 1600. Despite the weather, they had agreed to conduct the final meeting that day. Pike had told him he wished to return to San Francisco as early as possible the next morning, to return to supervising the construction of the newest Star Fleet ship. Spock had had the idle thought that the Commander simply wanted to leave the country in order to return to a climate he was more comfortable with.
Due the the severity of the weather, they had informed the two students that they should regroup with the two officials at the hotel. It would be a shorter distance to travel for each individual. He had suggested to Pike that transport should be sent to retrieve Miss Uhura, considering that she would be walking from her home.
Spock had not been present when Pike had made the video call to the two students - using an offered com-link in the main reception – but he had been close enough to hear Uhura refuse the offer of transport, saying that she had stayed in the immediate area since her interview that morning.
Pike had jokingly scolded her, stating that she could have accompanied them to their hotel if she had not intended on returning home. Spock had heard her answering laugh, and she had made small comment which he had not heard.
He had found himself agreeing to Pike's comment. He would have found her company agreeable during the eight hours they had had to wait at the hotel. Their conversation earlier that day had been insightful.
He had not stayed in the area when Pike had contacted Bado, choosing instead to retake his seat in the bar. When Pike had returned, they had discussed the progress of the Enterprise until 1730, when Pike had excused himself to take his shower.
Before he had left, he had told him that he had added an extra thirty minutes to the designated meeting time, to allow Uhura and Bado time to travel to the hotel.
As such, he did not hear the arrival of the first of the students until 1843. Shutting down his PADD, Spock stood and made his way to the entrance hall, noticing Pike emerging from the elevator as he did.
Bado was standing next the main doors, his body half way outside as he leant slightly to shake the water from the top of a black umbrella. He turned as the two officials approached him. He set the umbrella on the inside of the glass door, sending the receptionist an apologetic glance as water dripped onto the tile floor.
Pike crossed the distance between them and greeted Bado with the same politeness he had earlier that day.
"Mr Bado. God awful weather isn't it?" Pike said cheerfully in a way of greeting. Bado nodded and smiled.
"Unfortunately I'm used to it" He laughed.
"Did you happen to see Miss Uhura on your way here?" Pike asked. Bado's smiled stayed in place as he shook his head.
"No...I would have offered her a lift if I had. Its gotten a little dangerous on the roads" Bado said, he turned his head slightly to observe the dark clouds outside the glass doors, his facing showing what seemed to be genuine concern. Spock took note of this but said nothing.
He and Pike had previously agreed that they would not broach the subject of Bado's crime against Star Fleet until after he had informed Uhura of his decision. Pike had suggested that given Bado's mental state he would question the choice. To which he would be informed of their knowledge of the infringement, and then be informed that he was to be escorted to Star Fleet Head quarters to face trial.
This in mind, Pike escorted Bado into the bar, offering him a drink as they waited for Uhura to arrive. Still standing near the reception, Spock found himself looking carefully through the glass doors.