staring off into space.
“And then Lartal ate a baby,” Kirk said, just to see if Bones was listening. “Just snatched it right up out of a baby carriage and wolfed it down.”
“Uh-huh,” Bones said. “Listen, Jim, I think I’m ready to get back on the horse. With Nadja.”
“Ah. I see.” Kirk sat up on his bed. “Well, first, I recommend you not use that expression when you tell her the same thing.”
“I’m serious, Jim. It’s taken me a long time to get over Jocelyn, but I think it’s time.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Bones. Got a first date all planned out?”
“We already kind of had one. We took her dog for a walk out along the Marin Headlands.”
Kirk chuckled—he’d done much the same thing today. “Listen, Bones, taking a dog for a walk is not romantic in the least. You need something with candles and wine and stars next time.”
“Yeah,” Bones said, like he had an idea. “Wait a minute. Did you just tell me that Varkolak doctor ate a baby? ”
“I was joking. But not about the other stuff.” Kirk leaned back wearily on his bed. “I’m not the right guy for this job, Bones. I don’t want to be this guy’s handler.”
“No—no. This is a golden opportunity for inter-species understanding, Jim. This is a big deal. You know how many Federation diplomats would love to have the chance you’ve got right now, to reach out to the Varkolak and find common ground?”
“Common ground? Bones, I’m lucky the man didn’t lift his leg at something.”
“Jim, you’re the right man for the job because the Varkolak picked you. That’s half the battle right there, getting them to trust one of us. God knows there aren’t enough of us who trust them. And if you don’t do it for the sake of interstellar relations, do it for your service record, Jim. Your record’s spotty enough as it is. You needa win here, a gold star to balance out all those black X s.”
“Thanks,” Kirk said, but he knew Bones was right.
“Look, the next time this Lartal wants to go out somewhere, share with him something you like to do. At least then you’ll have a good time. Maybe even stay out of trouble. If he even leaves campus again. The medical conference starts tomorrow, and he’ll be tied up with seminars all day and official receptions all night.”
“All right. Yeah. Thanks, Bones,” Kirk said, although he wondered again if Lartal really was the doctor he claimed to be. And if he wasn’t, what was he doing here?
CH.07.30
Opening Ceremonies
Uhura turned on the sonic shower and sighed in relief as the pulse vibrations massaged her, removing the sweat and grime from her morning workout in the Academy Sports Complex. She’d pushed herself extra hard this morning, and she knew she would pay for it later. Probably while she was standing on the dais with the linguistics team, helping to translate the Federation president’s remarks.
Stupid.
She’d told herself it was just to step up her regimen, but here in the privacy of her sonic shower stall, alone with nothing but her thoughts, she knew the truth of it. She’d worked herself to the point of exhaustion, trying to exorcise the demons that had kept her up all night. How could he be so blind? Couldn’t he see how she looked at him? How she acted around him? And how could she have been so stupid, falling in love with someone who had spent most of his life suppressing his emotions? Someone whodidn’t know how to return her love? It was easy to picture Spock in place of the punching bag when doing her Suus Mahna practice, but even that hadn’t been satisfying. Deep down she knew why: Spock hadn’t misled her. She’d misled herself. She’d read more into the commander’s offer of friendship than he’d meant. He was a Vulcan, damn it. All right, maybe half-Vulcan, but all Vulcan when it came to the choice of cold hard logic over emotion. She slapped a hand on the softly glowing wall of the sonic shower. How could she have been so
“And then Lartal ate a baby,” Kirk said, just to see if Bones was listening. “Just snatched it right up out of a baby carriage and wolfed it down.”
“Uh-huh,” Bones said. “Listen, Jim, I think I’m ready to get back on the horse. With Nadja.”
“Ah. I see.” Kirk sat up on his bed. “Well, first, I recommend you not use that expression when you tell her the same thing.”
“I’m serious, Jim. It’s taken me a long time to get over Jocelyn, but I think it’s time.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Bones. Got a first date all planned out?”
“We already kind of had one. We took her dog for a walk out along the Marin Headlands.”
Kirk chuckled—he’d done much the same thing today. “Listen, Bones, taking a dog for a walk is not romantic in the least. You need something with candles and wine and stars next time.”
“Yeah,” Bones said, like he had an idea. “Wait a minute. Did you just tell me that Varkolak doctor ate a baby? ”
“I was joking. But not about the other stuff.” Kirk leaned back wearily on his bed. “I’m not the right guy for this job, Bones. I don’t want to be this guy’s handler.”
“No—no. This is a golden opportunity for inter-species understanding, Jim. This is a big deal. You know how many Federation diplomats would love to have the chance you’ve got right now, to reach out to the Varkolak and find common ground?”
“Common ground? Bones, I’m lucky the man didn’t lift his leg at something.”
“Jim, you’re the right man for the job because the Varkolak picked you. That’s half the battle right there, getting them to trust one of us. God knows there aren’t enough of us who trust them. And if you don’t do it for the sake of interstellar relations, do it for your service record, Jim. Your record’s spotty enough as it is. You needa win here, a gold star to balance out all those black X s.”
“Thanks,” Kirk said, but he knew Bones was right.
“Look, the next time this Lartal wants to go out somewhere, share with him something you like to do. At least then you’ll have a good time. Maybe even stay out of trouble. If he even leaves campus again. The medical conference starts tomorrow, and he’ll be tied up with seminars all day and official receptions all night.”
“All right. Yeah. Thanks, Bones,” Kirk said, although he wondered again if Lartal really was the doctor he claimed to be. And if he wasn’t, what was he doing here?
CH.07.30
Opening Ceremonies
Uhura turned on the sonic shower and sighed in relief as the pulse vibrations massaged her, removing the sweat and grime from her morning workout in the Academy Sports Complex. She’d pushed herself extra hard this morning, and she knew she would pay for it later. Probably while she was standing on the dais with the linguistics team, helping to translate the Federation president’s remarks.
Stupid.
She’d told herself it was just to step up her regimen, but here in the privacy of her sonic shower stall, alone with nothing but her thoughts, she knew the truth of it. She’d worked herself to the point of exhaustion, trying to exorcise the demons that had kept her up all night. How could he be so blind? Couldn’t he see how she looked at him? How she acted around him? And how could she have been so stupid, falling in love with someone who had spent most of his life suppressing his emotions? Someone whodidn’t know how to return her love? It was easy to picture Spock in place of the punching bag when doing her Suus Mahna practice, but even that hadn’t been satisfying. Deep down she knew why: Spock hadn’t misled her. She’d misled herself. She’d read more into the commander’s offer of friendship than he’d meant. He was a Vulcan, damn it. All right, maybe half-Vulcan, but all Vulcan when it came to the choice of cold hard logic over emotion. She slapped a hand on the softly glowing wall of the sonic shower. How could she have been so
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