AN: Hello again my little minions. :D A quick request, if you're going to leave me questions in a review, PLEASE sign into your account so I can reply. That, or ask me on my tumblr page ( tsubakii21 . tumblr . com)
I love replying to you all, but I cant do that if you leave an anonymous review :S
If I tried to answer you all in an authors note, Id take up 3 pages. O.o This is the last and only time i'm going to do this. Please don't think I'm being evil, I'm just trying to keep the story flowing without to many random breaks. :D
TiGeRzYi: Uhura's mother would think the President of the United Federations is an illiterate half-wit if he was completing against her daughter. She's just that kind of mum :D And your right, if Bado had applied for a position in computing, he would have been accepted without a doubt. But he didnt, he applied for xenolinguistics – a subject he obviously considered himself to be better in. Who knows what's going on inside that man's mind? He's not exactly stable is he? :P
As for how Im portraying Uhura...well, the poor thing is stressed. Think about it. Say you were in university, and one of your classmates was stealing your work, editing it to make you seem like an idiot. You would be angry, yes – but you would also be paranoid and scared. That constant fear of somebody watching you, knowing every move you are making. Add that onto everything else Uhura has been through...is it really surprising she's doubting herself and waiting for rescue?
She is trying. You will see a slight change in her in this chapter, she's going to face this head on. As for Spock rescuing her...well think of that as a little treat for you hardcore Spyota fans. ;3
As always, A HUGE thank you to the hyper ball of awesomeness that is genber0398. My fantabulous and awesome BETA tester. She's amazing, seriously. Just sits there and lets me throw chapters at her. xD
Medical Wing, Room 3a, 4 hours later.
Only two beds occupied room hospital room 3a.
It was not often used, as such the sensor cluster monitors adorning the wall behind the biobeds were outdated. They still served their purpose however, the screens alight with the rhythmic heartbeats of the room's occupants.
Two women lay quietly on those beds. They were awake, their eyes staring vacantly at the bright artificial lights that adorned the white ceiling. The door to their room was open, yet they were separated from curious eyes by a thin screen.
Outside the room, the medical wing was alive with noise. Over 75% of the cadets that had been inside the canteen were suffering from smoke inhalation. Thankfully, only 15% of those had exhibited any ill effects from the smoke. Whilst a small amount of toxins had been present in the air when the emergency crews had scanned the eatery, it was not fatal. Those poisoned would need only a small shot of a mild vaccine to fully recover.
Lying on her side with her back turned towards her roommate, Uhura lifted her hand to rub her eyes firmly. Due to the continued exposure to the smoke, she had burst nearly all the capillaries in her left eye. Now, the once white orb was stained red. Ruptured veins snaking in wild ribbons towards her retina.
It very much hurt.
She had been warned by the Doctor in charge of the medical wing to not rub her eyes at all. Shortly after being carried into the already bustling infirmary, an over zealous trainee had all but shoved a retinal scanner directly into her eyes. The device almost blinding her as a harsh flash of red light abused the sensitive organ. The trainee had then sprayed a healing agent directly into the left eye, at very close proximity.
Uhura recalled gasping in surprise and annoyance, her hand whipping out to bat the trainee away from her, before rising to cover the abused orb with her hand.
Spock had not looked at her since she had kissed him. Even though he held her in his arms, had stopped his determined march to the medical bay when her lungs screamed in protest at the sudden increase of fresh air – sending her into a painful couching fit. He had placed his hand on her back soothingly, told her to take deep breaths. He had not moved until her breathing settled, simply stood with her in his arms in the middle of campus grounds.
And all the while, he had not looked at her.
Then, she had been too exhausted to care. She had shamelessly clung to him, her face leaning against his chest over where his heart should be. She knew that Vulcan physiology was different than humans. His heart was above his liver, she had been able to feel the organ beating ever so slightly against her thigh.
When they had arrived in the medical wing (and she had been helpfully assaulted by the eager trainee) he had halted one of the nurses hurrying past them and asked for a bed to put her in. The nurse had absently waved her hand towards her current room and had quickly left.
Uhura had not noticed Galia lying in the second biobed, the green screen had obstructed that part of the room from her view. Spock had laid her carefully on the vacant bed, his hands warm as he rested her back against the mattress. Without saying a word, he had placed circular sensors upon each of her wrists (and one behind her left ear) and had stood – staring at the monitors above her bed, waiting for her vitals to register.
When they did, he stood watching those fluctuating lines and repetitive beeps for a long while. His arms held behind his back and posture straight, face as impassive as always. Uhura had watched him carefully from the corner of her eye. Her lungs had still burnt painfully. She felt weak, deflated.
If she had been able to scrape together her sense of humor, she would have laughed. This was the second time Spock had saved her life this year. Both times she had been left as dizzy and breathless as a schoolgirl with her first crush.
She had always tried to maintain the highest level of professionalism. Whether it be her appearance or her approach to her education, she made sure she was presentable.
And yet, here she was. Once more lying in a hospital bed, with a stoic Vulcan standing by her side. A Vulcan that was also her commanding officer. Whom she had acted highly inappropriately with and kissed when in full sight of other Star Fleet personnel.
She didn't know why she had done that. She had just been so thankful to be alive she had acted without thinking. She respected Spock. Trusted him. She felt closer to him than she did to her other lecturers. This she had decided was because of the circumstances in which they had met. Human's tended to become attached to those who save their lives...yet the urge to kiss him had startled her.
So she had done it. Acted upon impulse. She had been so tired and relieved at that moment that she hadn't cared how inappropriate her actions were.
Her mind was in too much of a state to really think about it. Kissing him had been a foolish and possible career damaging move.
But right now...she couldn't find the energy to care.
Once Spock had determined that her health was acceptable, he had bid her farewell and left the room with an order to gain plenty of bed rest.
That had been nearly three hours ago.
Since then, Uhura had been forced to change into a loose blue flannel gown by the overly helpful trainee, the screen pulled around her bed to offer privacy. The doctor had blessed both her and Galia with his presence, injecting them both with a hypospray to regulate the amount of oxygen in their bodies. Due to the amount of time she had spent inside the canteen, Uhura was the only cadet in the academy who had inhaled a potentially fatal amount of poison from the smoke. She required three full doses of the vaccine, each administered to her jugular. This resulted in a large bruise forming, which was incredibly tender.
Sighing, Uhura rolled herself onto her back, one arm falling across her eyes.
She shouldn't be here.
Since she had sent of her application to the academy, she had been hit by a car, nearly plummeted to her death, pissed somebody off to the extent they were trying to sabotage her name, broken Star Fleet property, risked the lives of hundreds of cadets, and was directly responsible for the death of a classmate.
Her heart pulled painfully, and she felt her eyes beginning to tear – her throat constricting as she tried to hold them back. That was the worst part of all this.
That nameless student who had laid on her lap and died. She didn't want to think about him...about his parents, his family. The life he could have lived. It was her fault...all her fault.
Death played a dominant role in the federation. Cadets were trained how to kill, to defend themselves. Violence was the very last resort...if negotiations and trading attempts failed during a crisis, it was only then that attacking with harmful intent was authorized.
But, it was a criminal offence to use that on one of your own. Your crew, your classmates.
It had been an honest accident. Yet Uhura had every intention of turning herself in to campus security. As soon as she was well enough, she would ask to be transferred to the academy's holding cells.
This was a mistake she was not going to walk away from.
Even though she tried, Uhura could not silence the sob that emerged from her lips. She moved her arm to place her hand firmly over her mouth, rolling onto her side once more. She heard Gaila's head turn towards her.
"Ny?" She rasped. Uhura said nothing. Curling her body into a ball as her sobs shook her frame. There was the sound of blankets being thrown off a body, and soft feet padded across the short distance between the two beds.
Gaila's hand landed on her shoulder.
"Ny? Are you okay?" She whispered. Uhura buried her face deeper into the pillow, trying desperately to hide her tears. Above her, Gaila sighed and Uhura's bed dipped slightly as the other woman sat down. A green hand brushed absently along her hair.
"It wasn't your fault Ny. It really wasn't" Gaila said softly. Uhura hiccupped slightly and lifted her head.
"Someone died Galia" Uhura said, her voice strained.
"I know. But that wasn't your fault. He tripped over something and broke his neck. It was just a horrible accident"
Uhura turned slightly so she could see Galia's face. Her friend looked as exhausted as she felt.
"How do you know that?" Uhura asked.
"I overheard one of the doctors earlier. He said that cadet had brittle bones of something. I'm not sure..."
"He wouldn't have fallen if I hadn't broken that damn machine. I should have just ran to get help...activated the fire alarm...done something. But I just stood there like an idiot" Uhura said, her sentence deepening into a growl.
Gaila's weight shifted slightly, before a long finger pressed painfully against the bruise on her neck.
"Ow! Why did you-?" Uhura gasped, turning until she lay almost on her back. Gaila's expression stunned her into silence.
"That was not your fault! I'm a computer programmer Nyota, I know when a machine has been tampered with" Gaila snapped. Uhura blinked in confusion. Tampered with? Did she mean that someone had already broken the replicator before she used it?
The tightness around her heart lifted slightly.
"What do you mean?" She asked carefully. Gaila tilted her head and glared un-deservingly at Uhura's blanket.
"I mean I was watching. Even from where I was sitting I could see the circuit switching. As soon as you pressed the automatic reset, somebody else – or something else - was controlling it. So if you dare say 'its my fault' in that self pitying voice, I'm jabbing you in the neck again" Galia warned, her index finger held out threateningly.
Uhura pushed herself into a seated position, eyeing the finger warily.
"How can you be sure it wasn't me?" She asked. Gaila sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Do you really want me to launch into a detailed explanation about replicator malfunctions?" Galia whined, her eyebrows furrowing together.
"Yes" Uhura replied firmly. She needed to know.
Gaila let out a groan, but turned to sit more comfortably on Uhura's bed.
"Okay...have you even seen a replicator malfunction before?" The Orion woman asked. Uhura shook her head.
"Well, when something goes wrong with its internal programming, it doesn't automatically try to reset. If it were simply broken, it would have tried to replicate your drink. Probably pop out a freaky looking cup with holes in it. Only then will it advertise there is an error. Nothing happened when you made your order. It didn't even try to, do you understand?" Gaila asked. Uhura nodded slowly.
"Sort of..."
"By the time I realized something was wrong, you had already pressed your thumb against the rest button. I can't explain how...but I think somehow, someone programmed it to recognize you. It was working fine for everybody else. What if what happened was deliberate Ny. So if you want to start pointing fingers at who's responsible, start with me. I knew something was wrong and I didn't say anything" Gaila said firmly. Uhura looked up at her with wide eyes.
Was it possible that she was not responsible? Uhura frowned, thinking deeply. A surge of anger washed through her, her fist clenching against her bedding. She was still going to own up for breaking the replicator - regardless of the events that followed, she had still broken Star Fleet property.
She felt like slapping herself. Repeatedly. Was she really that naïve to think that her problems would go away if she turned herself in to the authorities? Somebody had tried to kill her. Her own refusal to try and find the culprit had resulted in the death of a fellow classmate.
She was stronger than this...her mind was the greatest weapon she had. But what has she done to protect herself? Nothing. Simply turned her head and pretended that her problems didn't exist. She had curled into a ball and expected someone to save her. Yes...she had been too physically drained to really do anything, but she could have crawled out of the canteen. Tried to find a power extinguisher. Done anything but cry in self pity!
Gaila was looking at her in concern. Uhura forced herself to release a long calming sigh, her fingers loosening from their tight grasp around the sheets. Her eyes closing for a short moment, before slowly opening.
"Uh...feeling better?" Gaila asked carefully. Uhura gave the smallest of smiles, before raising her arms up to pull the other woman into a tight hug. Gaila let out a squeak in surprise.
"Sorry Lia. I haven't been the most positive of people lately have I?" Uhura smiled. Gaila's arms slid around her back, strengthening the embrace.
"You've been a nightmare" The woman replied tonelessly. Uhura laughed lightly, pulling herself out of the hug.
"Sorry...I'm going to sort this out. I promise" Gaila pulled a face and raise one hand to brush her hair over her shoulder. She paused, and lifted a large clump of the red curls, her nose wrinkling in disgust.
"You can pay me back by cutting my hair for me. Singed is not a good look you know"
Uhura smiled and shook her head.
"Thank you Gaila. I really mean that" She said. Gaila gave her a brilliant smile.
"What are best friends for? But you know...if anything happens with this, I mean an investigation being launched, I'll stand up for you. I'll throw so much computer nonsense at them, they'll be talking in binary for weeks" Gaila giggled, wiggling her eyebrows dramatically. Uhura shook her head in amusement.
"It may just come to that. I'm going to turn myself in as soon as they discharge me" Uhura said firmly. Gaila blinked.
"Turn yourself in? But you haven't done anything wrong!" She gasped.
"I broke Star Fleet property"
"No, you touched Star Fleet property and it exploded because some weirdo rigged it. Can't be blamed for that" Gaila insisted.
"It's the same thing. But I'm going to report everything that has been happening too. My work being plagiarized, everything that happened in Kenya with Bado. I shouldn't have kept it to myself for so long, particularly as I was doing nothing about it..." Uhura sighed. Gaila let out a puff of annoyance, lifting herself up so she could fold her leg beneath her body and sit more comfortably.
"What else could you have done? When you found out about someone modifying your work – you nearly worked yourself into a coma running across campus with your PADD. You solved that problem. As for Mr. Creepy, well no one could have predicted that. I know you mentioned before that you didn't think it was him, but there's no one else to blame. The guy has a screw loose Ny. Plain and simple"
"Anyone I know?" A voice asked from the doorway. The two women turned as one, Gaila smiling brightly as an older dark haired man stepped into view.
"Len!" The Orion woman stood up, hopping slightly one foot. The doctor, Len, grinned. Uhura knew him. He was always one step behind Kirk, his right hand man so to speak.
"Sit" He ordered, gesturing towards Galia's empty bed. The woman happily complied, flopping down onto the mattress. As he crossed the room, McCoy glanced at Uhura.
"Feeling any better?" He asked. Uhura smiled weakly and nodded.
"I am now" She replied. McCoy grunted in response, before stopping next to Gaila and running a medical scanner slowly over her sitting form.
"Your vitals have improved. If you're lucky, you'll be out of here by tonight" He said. Gaila smiled happily, her legs moving lazily as they dangled off the side of the bed.
"What about Uhura?" She asked. McCoy glanced over his shoulder towards the other woman.
"She'll have to stay over night. Doctor Piri's orders" Uhura said nothing at this, as it was expected.
"Can I stay too? Or do you need the bed for someone else?" Gaila asked. McCoy raised an eyebrow at her.
"You want to stay in hospital?" He scoffed.
"I want to stay with Uhura" Gaila replied. McCoy hummed and shrugged his shoulders, before crossing the room and repeating his examination on the other woman.
"Can't imagine why, but...do what you want. Everyone is a little busy to really notice" He said, frowning slightly at the tricorder in his hand.
"You need another shot. There's still too much carbon monoxide in your blood...unfortunately that means another hypospray in the neck" McCoy sighed, looking only slightly apologetic. Uhura pulled a face but titled her head nonetheless, flinching when the cold device pressed firmly against bruised skin.
Spock felt conflicted.
His face felt warm, strange. The parts of his skin where her lips had touched had the most peculiar of sensations. A sort of static pressure that refused to diminish even when he moved his own fingers over the effected area.
His heart rate had increased to twenty five percent its normal rhythm, pushing against the bottom of his ribcage insistently.
It was the first time in his life Spock could honestly state he had been truly shocked. He had been unsure how to respond. Taking Uhura to the infirmary as quickly as possible seemed to be the most logical choice. Her physical health was still an issue.
Once he had been satisfied Uhura was in no immediate danger, he had left. Pushing her and her inappropriate act momentarily from his mind. For now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
He had returned to the canteen, intending to offer his assistance with retrieving the deceased cadet. By the time he had arrived however, the male had already been removed and taken to the seldom used campus mortuary. Two medical officials had competed a basic autopsy. From what Spock could decipher between transmitter communications, the male cadet had sustained a fatal neck injury – which had resulted in an immediate death.
It had simply been an unfortunate accident.
There would be a detailed investigation launched as soon as all Star Fleet personnel had been declared safe and out of danger. It seemed likely that Cadet Uhura would not be held accountable for the man's death.
He could not be certain if she would be cleared of all charges however. This was his primary objective for returning to the canteen.
He needed to investigate the replicator, or what was left it. From Cadet Galia's jumbled comments earlier that day, it was probable that the incident in the canteen had been premeditated. If this were the case, Spock would take over the investigation himself. Star Fleet security had been breached. As the individual who had designed and updated all of the campus security protocols and necessary firewalls – he too would be required to face a tribunal.
Spock was unsure as to why he felt so adamant about clearing Uhura's name. He had simply deducted from the small amount of information he had regarding the replicator incident, that her actions were not the direct source of the explosion. If he were to use Commander Pike's vocabulary, he would perhaps call it a 'gut instinct'. Which was implausible...His organs did not have intuitive abilities.
Frowning slightly, Spock momentarily slowed his pace to allow two men dressed in the pale grey uniforms of the maintenance crew to pass him.
The hallway that adjured from the canteen had been cleared of all unnecessary personnel. All traces of the smoke had been removed by the emergency ventilators. Now, the canteen was left in a rather forlorn state. Overturned tables and chairs littered the floor. Many distorted and melted into misshaped puddles of plastic from the heat.
When Spock stepped into the room, he noted that the replicator had not yet been removed from the wall. Or rather, the outer casing had not. The inner shell was lying nearly six feet away, barely recognizable.
"Ah! Commander Spock!" A deep voice from behind him caught his attention. Turning, Spock observed three men crouched next to an unidentifiable pile of plastic. One was a security official, this deduced from his regulation uniform. The other two were the same two maintenance crewmembers that had passed him in the hallway.
"Gentlemen" Spock greeted politely, crossing the short distance to stand next to the three men.
"I was just about to send for you sir" The security officer said.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
The man nodded, and pointed towards the strange plastic pile by his feet.
"I was wondering if you could identify this sir. I have an idea but..." The man's sentence trailed off into a concerned expression. Spock's eyebrow twitched up in curiosity, before he lowered himself into a crouch.
He knew instantly what the object before him was, yet it took him three seconds to register the word within his mind. It was not that he could not formulate the correct descriptive name for the object, he could think of several. It was just the last thing he would have expected to see upon Star Fleet grounds.
What lay melted into the ground in front of him, were the remains of an explosive. A bomb.
The primary compound used to initiate the blast had been vaporized, but much of its outer casing was still intact. The device was primitive, bound together with tape around a small computerized device. Spock calculated that the explosive used was Composition C, or as it was know in the common tongue – C4. This type of explosive had not been used since the late twenty third century. Yet it was still available for purchase given its simplicity to make. The three men were waiting expectantly for his analysis.
"This is an explosive" He stated easily. He heard the varied intakes of breath and in one case – a rather colorful curse, but his mind was already thinking carefully.
The presence of the explosive proved beyond a doubt that Uhura was not responsible for the damage inside the canteen. It did bring forth somewhat disturbing concerns however. Someone had tried to kill Nyota Uhura. Disrupting her academic record was one thing, attempting to take her life was another.
Spock stood up slowly, a frown firmly cemented on his face. He needed to contact Commander Pike immediately. There was only one person who would have a vendetta against Uhura. The plastic packaging at his feet acted as a giant beacon towards the culprit.
Bado was in San Fransico, of this Spock had no doubt.
(AN: Another 'not much happening chapter' Just trying to pull the story together :P)