Personal Log

by

grenouille

Disclaimer: Sadly, all rights to this universe are the property of Paramount and, presumably, Gene's and Majel's estates. Oh yeah, and all of the many other industries who have benefitted from Star Trek. May The Great Bird of the Galaxy forgive me for beaming into his world and corrupting his characters.

A/N: I'd like to thank my good friend, Vern (aka Herman Tumbleweed), for all his efforts into knocking my Federation Standard into shape. Without said help, this would be much less readable. Don't forget to go look and see where his mind has wandered off to, as well.

The Chief Communications Officer

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura entered her quarters after another long and redundant debriefing session, glad that it was the last one. Stripping down to her undergarments as soon as the door slid closed behind her, she fell into the overstuffed chair in her quarters and closed her eyes in relaxation.

"Oh, God," she thought, "just out of the Academy and I'm a Department Head already. How the hell did that happen?" The beautiful, chocolate-skinned woman chuckled to herself. "As much as I hate to admit it, it's all because of that idiot, Kirk. If he hadn't gone all cowboy and chased after that crazy Romulan, we'd still be sitting in boring old classes, dreaming of excitement and adventure." Her expression darkened suddenly and the feelings of amusement disappeared as she considered, "No, we'd probably have joined those six billion Vulcans in the afterlife – and Nero would have wiped out a good portion of the Federation. Guess the farm-boy's good for something after all." Shaking these morbid thoughts out of her mind, she stood and headed toward the sonic shower in preparation for a good night's sleep, wishing that she hadn't agreed with Spock to hold off sleeping together until they headed planetside for what was certain to be their last shore-leave opportunity for a long while.

After the relaxing stimulation of the cleansing sound waves, Nyota remembered that she still had something she needed to do before retiring for the night. Not bothering to dress, she activated her computer console and began, "Computer; begin recording. Chief Communications Officer's Log, Stardate 2258.72. Finally finished the debriefing from our shakedown cruise today. Communications Department came out smelling like roses. Will receive our orders for our first full mission at the end of our week-long shore leave. Hope it's less exciting than the first mission under our new Captain. Computer; end recording." Sighing, she retrieved a glass of fruit juice from the food synthesizer in her quarters and returned to her desk, taking a seat in the comfortable chair.

"Computer; begin recording. Chief Communications Officer's Personal Log, Stardate 2258.72. I knew that someday I'd have to do these, but I thought that it would be a while before I made it that far up the food chain. Oh, well; better a shark than an Aldebaran shellmouth.

"In all honesty, I'm really looking forward to this mission. I got the ship I wanted, in spite of Spock's momentary stupidity, and as a result of this sudden command position, I'll have a front row seat to everything new we discover. I know that Spock was trying to protect me – protect us - but I did earn my place on this ship and, even better, we get to experience it all together. I just hope that the captain doesn't object to our relationship. Nah, he may be brash – and more than slightly perverted – but he does seem to be a decent enough guy." She picked up a brush and started to run it through her long, silky hair as she continued with her log entry.

"Actually, I think that most of my attitude towards him is still based on how we met. I mean," she chuckled, "how seriously can you take a guy who uses such cheesy lines to get into your pants, then immediately gets into a fight with a bar full of other cadets? Follow that up with three years of ever-more-obvious flirting culminating in finding him in his underwear with Gaila? Oh well, we'll just have to see what happens.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think that our chances of a successful mission have increased dramatically with Kirk in command. Sure, he's hot-headed and impulsive, but who knows what we'll find out there? That kind of attitude may be just what we need to survive." The young African stopped working on her hair just long enough to take a sip of her juice.

"He's definitely not stupid. Even while suffering from whatever Dr. McCoy was treating him for, he remembered what I was telling Gaila had happened to the Klingons and was able to figure out that we were being ambushed. I shudder to think what would have happened if Captain Pike hadn't taken him seriously – seriously enough to make him First Officer.

"Too bad he's such a perv." Nyota finished brushing her hair and set the brush down on the desk.

"Spock seems like he's willing to get to know him and work with him, especially after speaking with his older self. He wouldn't give me all of the details, but indicated that the old Spock was adamant that he do so. I don't really understand, but Spock's convinced enough to make the effort and that's good enough for me.

"McCoy is another one he's trying to get to know. I guess that the three of them were friends in the other timeline and the other Spock feels that it's important for my Spock to form these same bonds. I'm not entirely certain how I feel about it, but the older Spock did say that even though he and his Nyota were never more than good friends, he did approve of Spock's and my relationship, and he was impressed that my Spock was in touch with his emotions enough to do so. I'm pretty sure there's a compliment in there somewhere. It's so hard to tell with Vulcans, sometimes." After taking another drink of juice, she clasped her hands above her head and stretched her back muscles before wriggling into a more comfortable position.

"I really like the doctor. He's a gentle, caring man who obviously knows his field. While I hope that I never need his services, I'm glad he's here.

"Sulu's a good guy, too. He's quite talented, yet has such a dry, understated sense of humor… I'm sure that it will make the long distances we'll be travelling much more tolerable on the bridge as I find it unlikely that Kirk will keep us quiet like so many captains supposedly do – especially as he'll probably be the loudest one of all of us.

"Chekov kind of makes me nervous. He's so young and excitable and when he gets that way, his Standard is even harder to understand than it already is. Even though I do speak Russian, it's not one of my stronger languages and I doubt that anyone else here does. It would be a shame if, whenever there's an emergency, we had to use the Universal Translator just to talk to our navigator." Amused at the thought, she shook her head and laughed.

Nyota got up from her desk and lay sensuously across her bunk. "Spock has really changed since all of this happened. At first, he was so hard to reach as he dealt with the death of his mother and the destruction of his homeworld. I could see that he was struggling with unaccustomed emotions, but I really didn't know how to help him. I felt so useless. He never consciously tried to force me away, but I could feel the distance growing. It felt so good when he told me that he just appreciated my presence – it was the closest he's ever come to saying that he loves me.

"As much as I wouldn't want to wish what happened on anyone, I'm glad the other Spock showed up. Whatever they talked about, or did in that mind-meld thing, it seemed to help settle my Spock down and he's been more like his old self again, yet somehow… better. He's become more open and, dare I say it, even affectionate – still only in private, but that's okay. It's like he's… more in touch with himself and it's made me love him all the more.

"You wouldn't think it of a Vulcan, but he's always been a caring and attentive partner – and lover. I don't know if all Vulcans are that way or if it's his human side slipping out, but I've always loved it about him. Whatever he's been through has made him even more so. I can't wait for shore-leave so I can find out how else he's changed." A lusty gleam flashed in her dark eyes. "Too bad Risa's so far away," she mused.

"I really hope that Kirk won't be a stickler for regulations and interfere with our relationship. If anything, it will give him something to tease us about. In spite of his loud, arrogant attitude, I think he's really a caring sort of guy. As much as he was always trying to get some at the Academy, I really doubt he'd begrudge anyone truly finding love. Yes, he's young and hormonal like every other Human male his age but he's no one's fool. He's even lightened up on the flirting with me, even though he still keeps asking for my first name. Does he really think that I don't know that he's already pulled my records? All those requests are part of my department, after all." She shook her head in amusement at the young captain's antics. "Must be just a game with him. It's immature as hell, but I can live with it. Maybe we'll become friends as well. Computer; end recording."

The new lieutenant relaxed and started to drift off to sleep, thinking of her new life aboard the Federation's newest ship and her lover. Her sleep gradually became troubled as strange feelings began to invade her dreams. Sitting up, she tried to understand those feelings when she recalled something that Spock had mentioned about Vulcan couples being able to sense each other. Wondering if that was the case, she got up and pulled a sheer silk dress over her nude body and slipped into some comfortable shoes before she left her cabin, heading for Spock's.

She mused hopefully as she padded down the corridor, "Maybe I'll not be alone tonight after all…"