Chapter three
Nyota had been chewing mint gum furiously on her way across the campus. The spearmint calmed her body, and the peppermint cleared her sinuses and her mind. She looked up to see Spock and Pike coming toward her. Pike was smiling, but Spock's look was something else. His stare was intense, and Nyota felt it was also inappropriate for the workplace.
Pike said, "Good morning, ensign. I want to welcome you again to the team. This week, we want you to review the specifications for the array used on the Enterprise. If you have any questions, speak with Mr. Spock."
Spock leaned forward and leered at her. Nyota rolled her eyes and wondered how he got away with such behavior.
"Thank you, sir." She scrolled through the manual PADD. "It looks straightforward." Nyota replied with a bright smile. She was shocked when Spock reared back.
"Are you ok, Mr. Spock?" she asked.
Spock was taken off guard. He placed his hand on his forehead and said, "I need some air." Then he left. Pike looked concerned. He turned to go, looked over his shoulder and said, "Let me know if you need anything."
Spock didn't know what hit him. All at once, he felt dazed, and then his mind cleared, and he felt serene. The effect was jarring. He took a deep breath. He could smell the honeysuckle planted across the campus. He looked around; the sights and sounds seemed much clearer.
Spock flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Spock, are you okay?" Pike said.
"No, I mean yes." He replied.
It was Pike's turn to flinch. Spock sounded totally different. His voice was always loud and deep in his responses, except with women he desired, then his voice was softer, but the edge was still there. There was something different. He sounded human.
Spock placed his hand on his head and sat down. "I will be okay, Chris. Just give me a few minutes to catch my breath."
Again, Spock sounded even more human in his speech.
"Right, if you need to take the rest of the day off, contact my assistant. I have an inspection to complete. I have Sulu keep an eye out." Pike said.
He knew Spock and Sulu were rivals of sorts, but Sulu was nearly as strong in physics as Spock. Nyota brought to the team a foundation in engineering, which was the application of physics, not to mention language skills.
Spock sat on a large bolder in the garden for most of the morning. It felt as though his mind was clearer with every breath he took. He pulled out his communicator and checked the time. It had been two hours since he felt faint. He remembered that he had not had breakfast and decided to go to the hub.
Nyota had been working for two hours. It was 1100, too early for lunch, but she needed a snack to take the edge off. She remembered the breakfast that told Sulu she was going to grab a cup of tea. She took off her jacket and walked down to the lounge to make a cup of tea. She boiled the water and fished the loose tea from her pocket, steeping it in a bowl before straining part of it in a cup.
"What is that?" Sulu said.
Nyota jumped and spilled some of the tea on the front of her uniform. Sulu rushed over.
"Here, let me help," he grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe her tunic. Nyota slapped his hand. "What do you think you are doing?" she snapped.
Sulu drew back his hand. His face was flushed. He didn't know what had gotten into him. There was something about Nyota that drove him nuts.
"Geez, Cadet, I was only trying to help," he said sheepishly.
"It is Ensign Uhura, she scoffed. "If I were just a cadet, you would be in big trouble."
Sulu's eyes bucked. She was right.
Nyota tossed back her tea. She poured the rest down the drain. She didn't dare store it or her food in that fridge. It felt like the academy was rife with predators.
"I am sorry," he said meekly as she turned to go.
Nyota turned around and took in the face of Sulu. He looked mortified.
"I will forgive you this time. Just keep your hands to yourself. This place is different. I wasn't raised like the women here." She said.
"No, that is unfair," she said. "I know a few ladies here in United America. I think it might just be an academy issue."
Sulu stared at her blankly. He was an undergrad at the academy and is now a graduate student. The climate has always been the same, even at his private school in San Francisco.
Nyota was on her way back to the lab. She saw Spock standing in front of a group of co-eds who worked in the lab. He was holding court. His tone was loud and brash. Nyota could see why Spock had his way with so many females. They were mesmerized by him.
She walked by, and he turned to speak to her. Then he collapsed against the wall.
"Forgive me," he said softly, then he went back to his desk.
Spock was pretty quiet for the rest of the week. Nyota took off early on Friday. She wanted to spend more time with Martha. On her way out, she looked at the herb book on her table. She hadn't looked at it all week. She was too busy studying the specs for the communications array. She pulled out the engineering manual and replaced it with the herb book. Then she placed a few spearmint sweeties in a bag in her pocket and shut the door.
Nyota was on her way to the station when she saw the girl from earlier in the week. She was standing at the transport station waiting for her train.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked the cadet.
She shook her head.
"It's so different here. I thought that women were treated like equals, but it is no different than back home." She said.
Nyota nodded. She pulled out her bag of sweets and offered one to the cadet. The cadet took it and smiled.
"I know what you mean. My mother was trying to marry me off, but I came here instead. Still, it feels like women aren't taken seriously." Nyota said.
"All the girls talk about at Warwick is how to be a captain's woman." The raven haried cadet added.
"My name is Nyota. I am going to spend the weekend with my mentor. Do you want to grab tea when I get back?" she asked.
"I am Marlena, sure." She pulled out her communicator, and they shaped access codes.
"There is my train. I will see you next week!" Nyota said. She waved and got on the train. She sat down and opened her book. The lights were dim in the tunnel, but when they reached the other side of the bay, she had made it to the section on mints. Nyota was shocked when she saw the contraindications. Peppermint was an intoxicant for Vulcans and other telepathic species like Deltans and Betazoids. Nyota put her last piece of gum in her mouth and chewed. It was a bad habit, but she loved the sensation of freshness in her sinuses. Then she read about spearmint.
By the time Nyota reached Martha's neighborhood, she had a few ideas of how to improve the climate at the academy. She also had an idea of how to handle Mr. Spock.