Getting to Know You

Chapter Twenty : Tell Her About It

Nyota

It was finals week. Monday morning was the Interspecies Ethics exam. As expected, it was challenging, but she knew she had done extremely well on it. She had poked her head into his office later just to be sure they were meeting in the gym. He had seemed surprised that she even asked, and she had stifled her mirth at his calm assertion that they would always meet in the gym on Monday afternoon for suus mahna. Apparently he enjoyed those sessions as much as she did. And, after all, they were an Academy sanctioned experiment in interspecies cooperation.

She changed into her tank and shorts and headed across the gym. She saw him placing the music player on the bench. Oh, good, they were going to dance a duet. This would be the first time since Oxford. She had been afraid that he wasn't going to do that any more, and been sad about it. Now she stood beside him, so excited she was having trouble not bouncing.

"I feel that you are ready to attempt the duet form of the third kata, Cadet."

It was so much nicer when he called her Nyota, but they were hardly alone here.

"We shall start with the first kata, continue immediately with the reversed roles, then move on to the second, reverse the roles for it, then into the third. This will be a much longer exercise than you are used to. Are you prepared?"

"I am, sir."

He looked at her bright eyes. Yes, she was eagerly anticipating this. He was glad that he had overcome his doubts and brought the music player with him. He pressed the buttons to start the music, and assumed the waiting stance in front of her. When the chime sounded, they began to move.It was difficult not to remember that night in Oxford - the image of her in that green dress and gold belt wanted to impose itself in front of his eyes. He must concentrate on the here and now - it would not do at all to miss a step and injure her.

They circled each other, moved in unison, then in counterpoint. The drum beats kept them moving in the perfect cadence. She was enjoying this so much. When they reversed the roles for the first kata, she concentrated more, they had not danced this version so often, then they were into the second kata, then the reversed roles for that one, which they had only danced twice. At last they moved into the opening of the third kata. This one was more difficult than the first two, but by now she was lost in the flowing movements, floating in a state approaching meditation, moving almost by instinct.

When the final chime sounded, they bowed to each other, and then straightened. They stood looking into each other's eyes for a moment. This was the last session they would have this year.

"We will resume our lessons when you return to the Academy in the fall, Cadet." There was no hesitation, no question in his voice. It was a statement of fact.

Oh, wonderful. It would be so hard to wait over the summer for the lessons to resume.

Spock

He watched her cross the gym, heading for the locker room. He gathered up the music player and turned to head to the free weights. There before him stood Captain Pike, a broad smile on his face.

"I see our little experiment in interspecies cooperation is going well, Spock."

"Yes, sir, quite well. She is a gifted student in this, as in all areas."

"You won't mind continuing with the lessons again next year, then? The Commandant is eager to see this continue, he is quite taken with the idea - I think he now believes that it was his own idea."

"I had not considered halting the lessons, sir."

If Pike hadn't known better, he would have thought that was irritation on Spock's face. "Good, then, continue with your weights. How much are you lifting now?" The two men crossed the gym, conversing.

****

He had not thought to assure her that she was welcome in his office on this Tuesday afternoon, as always. Perhaps she would not come. It had been an oversight, one which would not happen again. He continued to grade exams. He would put them aside when she arrived. He would not entertain the possibility that she would not arrive. But he heaved a small sigh of relief when he heard her footsteps in the hall. He piled up the exams and moved them aside as she entered his office, a small container in her hand.

Nyota

She glanced up and down the hall as she neared his office. There was no one around. She almost paused as she came to his doorway - what if he was not expecting her. But she realized that he was clearing things off his desk, like he always did when she arrived. She quickly entered the room and seated herself across from him. She put the small container on his desk. "I have some of Mama's tea blend left. I won't need to take it home with me - I thought you might like to have it."

That was definitely his 'smile' face - eyebrows lifted, lips slightly quirked up. She was so glad she had thought of this. Now she would be able to think of him opening her little tea container and making tea all summer.

"Thank you so much, Cadet."

Well, guess they were going to be formal in his office, even if there wasn't anyone within ear shot. That was probably safer, anyway. Not a good habit to get into to be informal with an instructor where anyone might hear.

He steepled his hands in front on him on his desk. He seemed to be considering something. He took a breath, let it out. Whatever it was, he was having difficulty with it - she had learned enough of his mannerisms by now to realize that. After a moment or two, he lifted his eyes to hers. "Cadet, there is something I would like to discuss with you. Please consider it carefully and give me your answer on Thursday evening at your final array construction session."

He paused again while she waited to see what this was about. "The department has been 'on me' to acquire an aide for some time. I find that the grading of the constant stream of papers is wearing on me. Next fall I will need to devote a considerable amount of time to the new message array. Therefore I am going to take advantage of the department's urging and hire an aide. I cannot think of any student I have had who would be more qualified for this position than you. I would like you to consider this. Please do not reply now - I wish you to consider your course load next fall, as well as your professed desire to have a shift on the message array, in making up your mind. This is not something you should decide in a moment."

She was stunned. This was not anything she had anticipated. Almost she assured him that she did not need any time to make her decision, but stopped herself in time. He wanted her to take the time to consider all the facets of her decision and would be affronted if she did not. Therefore she would wait until Thursday evening. And she would take the time to consider everything and make a list of the things that contributed to her decision. He was always pleased when she made logical explanations of things for him. She nodded slightly to him. "I will consider it, Commander. It is quite an honor just to receive the offer, whether I accept it or not." It was hard to keep the excitement out of her voice, but she thought she had managed it well.

Were those traces of emotions flitting across his face? Maybe he really had wanted her to just jump in and give him her decision? No, that was not possible. He was always so logical. She would give no clue as to what her answer would be until Thursday evening. She might even wait until the very end of the evening to tell him.

Spock

Although he had been very specific to her about taking time to make a considered decision, he was irrationally irritated that she did not immediately give him an affirmative reply. She must accept. He could not conceive of sharing his small office space with anyone else. With a great deal more difficulty than he had anticipated, he suppressed his irritation and disappointment with her failure to override his instructions and give him an immediate answer. It was illogical of him to be disappointed when she was doing exactly what had been requested of her.

He managed to ask several questions about her activities in this final week of the semester. She still had two finals to take, and the last array construction session, and then she would begin packing to return home for the long summer leave. He was heartened when she repeated her desire to participate in the array tuning, promising to arrive back on campus within a day or two of his notification that it was ready for that activity. All too soon, she rose and left his office, citing the need to study for those remaining finals.

****

Thursday evening finally arrived. He knew she had finished all her finals. He also knew that her marks this semester were exceptional. He had had no qualms whatsoever in accessing her records, something that he would not share with her. She was the only cadet who arrived this evening. The others either had already finished their finals or needed the study time. None of the others had been as dedicated or accomplished as she had been throughout the semester. It had been time well spent, not just for accomplishing the construction of the delicate assemblies, but in learning more about her and helping her with her language studies. It would not be the same in the coming weeks, without her presence at the next bench as he worked.

She said nothing about her decision. As the session wore on and she talked of many other subjects, he began to despair. Surely if she meant to accept, she would have stated so at the beginning. By the time she was packing up her tools, he was beginning to feel illogically sullen. This was not something he had foreseen. He had been anticipating the hours they would spend together in his office.

She took the final assembly that she had completed, brought it and laid it on his workbench. She stood there, quietly, waiting for him to look at her. After a moment, he sighed quietly, steeled himself for her rejection and lifted his eyes to hers. And was met by a blinding smile.

"Commander Spock, sir, I would be very pleased to accept the position as your aide. I have considered this very carefully and believe that it would enhance my record to have this experience. I do wish to present an exemplary record so that I may meet my wish to serve aboard the Enterprise. I have considered my course load for the next year, as well as the other activities which I will be participating in and am sure that I will be able to handle the additional work."

Such a thorough analysis. She had done exactly as requested of her, logically and thoroughly. He was elated. His irritation and depression lifted immediately. He was not aware that his eyes shone back at her, that his lips quirked up at the corners. He was aware that he was happy.

"Cadet, it is quite dark outside. I shall escort you back to your quarters."

__________________

Author's note: This is the completion of this story. There will be a sequel, covering Nyota's final year at the Academy. The title will be 'A New Day Coming'. (And it will have M-rated chapters in it.)

I would also like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story, marked it as a favorite, or set a story alert. It's so very nice to know that you are enjoying what I have written.