A Pragmatic Theory of Truth - 19/25
Jul. 7th, 2010 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leandraholmesTitle: A Pragmatic Theory of Truth
Chapter: 19 of 25 (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18)
Word count: 2971 (~ 55,000 in total)
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
petbubble and leandralocke
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG - NC-17
Summary: One and a half years before the destruction of Vulcan, Spock meets an extraordinary young cadet during a lecture at Starfleet Academy. Their initial encounter is brief but intense, and affects both of them in ways they could never have imagined.
Authors' notes Thanks toblueeyed_secret for beta-reading.
This is our first multi-chapter Spock/Uhura fic, but it has been completed for a while. We are currently already working on follow-ups, so there's no need to worry that this might never be completed. We're just editing it chapter by chapter and having it beta-read now and should post a new chapter every few days.
The story is also online at Fanfiction.net
Leaving the classroom at lunchtime, she headed towards the main exit doors of the Linguistics building, hurrying to grab some lunch before her next class. A sudden beeping came from her PADD and Nyota was initially a little confused as she read the message.
Please look left at door three.
Approaching the third classroom, she slowed her pace a little and had a quick corner-of-the-eye peek in through the open door. Spock was there by the main desk, a PADD in his hand, standing facing the door, as though he was waiting for a student to arrive. She saw the index finger of the hand that held his PADD raise a little in the only level of greeting he would allow himself in such a situation, and as she turned her gaze fully forwards again she found herself smiling.
Spock knew her schedule better than she did sometimes, and she knew there was a good chance she would catch sight of him again before her next class. When he’d first started showing up in her peripheral vision she’d been worried that someone would notice and comment, but he’d assured her that to some extent he had always been near her at some point during the day, she just hadn’t noticed before.
They were both obviously still following rules one and two, but as they spent more time together they had developed a set of almost innocuous gestures to greet each other with. Hers included playing with one of her earrings; a habit she had explained away initially to Gaila as study stress and nerves. She knew that Gaila knew what she was really up to, but luckily the Orion was still keeping quiet about the whole situation, even after her “pep talk” with Spock. Nyota had been horrified when she’d found out about it, especially when she realized that Gaila had shown Spock that message.
Leaving the building and heading down the steps towards the cafeteria, she lowered her eyes to her PADD to send Spock a quick message, and was suddenly bumped by someone. Looking up, a frown on her face, she smiled as she saw the young face in front of her do exactly the same.
“Oh excuse me miss! Excuse me! I'm am so sorry,” the young boy who couldn't be much older than sixteen or seventeen years said quickly, speaking in what sounded like a very strong Russian accent. He smiled a little, a shy, insecure smirk, making a non-committal gesture with his hand. “I have not been looking, sorry,” he said, making his H's sound like a Klingon capital 'H', similar to the Germanic 'Ch' sound.
“No need to apologize, I’m as much in the wrong as you are,” she replied apologetically. She gestured a little with her PADD: “Too distracted by this thing to notice where I was going.”
“Ah.” He smiled some more and nodded a couple of times, as if he couldn't quite figure out what to say now. Then he finally opened his mouth. “Eeh, excuse me, Miss...?”
“Uhura, but there’s no need for the ‘Miss’,” she finished for him, smiling as she realized she knew who he was. She’d heard some of the instructors talk about a young whizkid from Europe; Russia was it? Apparently he was the wunderkind of Starfleet, and was excelling in his technical classes. “You’re...Chesko; no – Chekov! Right?”
The boy's eyes lit up and a deep flush crept into his cheeks. “Yes. Yes!” he replied, stretching his vowels as he practically beamed at her. “I am Chekov. Pavel Andreievich, Miss... ahh... Uhura, sorry. Uhura.” Then he seemed to realize how unusual her guess had been and scratched his head for a short moment. “How come you know me?”
Nyota wondered whether to tell him that the instructors were proclaiming him the best technical student any of them could remember and bit her lip considering him. However she got the impression that Chekov - Pavel Andreievich was a decent kid and unlikely to let the fact that people were talking so positively about him go to his head.
“A few of my instructors have been talking about a certain cadet with a special aptitude for Starfleet technology. I don’t have much of a tech brain myself, but it’s good to finally put a face to the name, Chekov,” she replied, unable to help herself from smiling broadly at him. As she held her hand out to shake his, she dropped her PADD which clattered onto the floor between them. “Damnit. Sorry – I’m always doing this,” she apologized as she bent to pick it up.
Apparently, however, Chekov had the same idea in mind, and before she could even react to the fast movement of him bending down as well, their heads bumped together, causing them both to express their surprise and moderate pain quite noisily.
“Aahh! I'm so sorry, sorry!” he quickly said, rubbing his forehead. He had retrieved her PADD, though, and handed it back to her, his face now quite red but still showing a shy smile.
As she received the PADD from the young Russian, Nyota knew that she could expect at least some light bruising where their heads had collided, and rubbed the spot gingerly with her spare hand. “No. No – don’t apologize. I think we’re as bad as each other really, don’t you?” She found herself liking Chekov, his smile and enthusiasm infectious, though she wondered why she hadn’t seen him round before, and asked him about this.
That shy, modest smile appeared on his features again before he answered. “I only transferred here from Moscow Military and Science Academy. And now I have to register for the exams that I want to take this semester, but I could not find the office of... eeh...” He took a look at his own PADD, his brow furrowing. “Dean... Kuwanach?”
Blinking it took her a few seconds to mentally translate the name. “Dean Kah-va-nah...,” she pronounced slowly before continuing: “...has her office in the Admin building to your left, and her office is on the third floor. You were headed to the Linguistics building, Chekov. Thinking of taking some new courses perhaps?”
Part of her wanted to take his hand and lead him across the quadrant to the Dean’s office, in case he fell or got lost. Shaking her head and chuckling a little, she wondered what Gaila would make of the fresh-faced man, and almost choked at the image that entered her mind.
He shook his head, although the smile never fully left his lips. “No, no languages, although I still have to improve my English.” So far, his English had been flawless, though, except for the really strong accent. “I only take Stellar Cartography, Transporter Theory, Temporal and Statistical Mechanics and Advanced Subspace Geometry this semester,” he said and smiled a bit more brightly as he saw her furrowed brow. “I have prepared for them in Russia already and only have to write a term paper and take the final exam,” he explained. “Then next year, I will take Advanced Theoretical Physics, Advanced Relativistic Mechanics, Ad – Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't want to bore you.”
She found that Chekov’s enthusiasm was rubbing off on her, and she actually did want to talk to him more about his studies, life in Russia and what his plans were after graduating. She tapped her PADD quickly to see if she could arrange some time to meet with him later. Then she realized what time it was... “Oh no, Chekov. You’ve missed Dean Kavanagh for the morning – she’ll be on her lunch for the 40 minutes. I don’t suppose... Would you like to join me for a coffee?” she asked him. “You’d be doing me a favor if you let me practice my Russian with you, although I know just a few phrases. And you can head over to the Dean’s office afterwards.”
“That would be very nice,” he said, actually making each 'th' sound like a 'z' or 's', and he seemed to have a problem with his 'v' too. “How long have you studied here?” he asked as they walked towards the cafeteria. She could see that he was taking in the sight of the campus in what only could be described as awe, his gaze constantly straying from the path, looking at both the buildings in their proximity and the ones that could be seen of the San Francisco skyline in the distance.
She remembered experiencing the same feeling of awe and amazement when she had first arrived at the Academy, near enough three years ago, and felt a little sad that those feelings had worn off. Maybe she just needed to see the sights of the city again...possibly with someone special. "This is my third year. One more, that monster of a dissertation to complete and the dreaded Kobayashi Maru simulation - then I'm up there," she nodded upwards, towards the light clouds that were scattered over the mainly blue sky. "How about you Chekov? What are your plans?"
“I want to be a navigator,” he said as they walked on, nearly at the entrance of the cafeteria where they could already see cadets and Academy personnel filing in and out. “I have wanted to work on a starship ever since I was a small boy. That is why my parents sent me to the academy in Moskwa... Moscow. They teach most of the same courses there as here, but I still have to take all the advanced courses and retake a few exams. But I hope I will be finished next year.” He said all that without any trace of arrogance or superiority even though his level of knowledge clearly was way above that of an average cadet, let alone of his age, if she hadn't completely misjudged it. “What is your major?” He actually pronounced it 'Mah-yohr', which made her smile, though she managed to contain the giggle she felt threaten to bubble out.
“Xenolinguistics. That’s why I want to practice the few words of Russian I know with you – some of the glottal sounds are strangely similar to Klingon, you know? And if I want to be assigned to the Enterprise when I graduate, I need to have as broad a subject knowledge as possible,” Nyota realized she was babbling slightly, but Chekov was nodding as though he understood her enthusiasm.
“The Enterprise? Ah, the best ship of Starfleet. Maybe I can be her navigator one day,” he replied, smiling almost dreamily.
Nyota laughed at the wistfulness in his tone, pleased to know that someone else had fallen under the spell of the Enterprise.
They continued to chat as they walked through the doors into the cafeteria. Nyota heard a sharp whistle and looked up to see Gaila waving at her from across the room, gesturing to a seat at her table. Waving back she shook her head a little, indicating that she was with Chekov, then laughed softly as she saw Gaila’s eyes widen. Oh, she would need to have a word with the Orion to keep her away from the young Russian. There were just some welcomes that new arrivals to the Academy didn’t need.
Chekov smiled a little shyly at Gaila but then turned his gaze to the small tray he had picked up as they were helping themselves to coffee and a snack. He remained quiet until they were seated at one of the tables by the large windows, overlooking the bay. “It is really nice here,” he said, and looked a little lost, as if he didn't know how else to continue their conversation.
She recognized the slightly shell-shocked expression on his face – one that a lot of first time students showed. “It’s a gorgeous campus and a great city, Chekov. But let me guess – and feel free to interrupt me if you don’t agree with anything. You’ve been here for a few days, and so far the only places you’ve seen are the library, the labs and classrooms and your dorm?” she asked, blowing on her coffee to cool it a little before drinking it. Raising her eyebrow, she continued: “So you haven’t met many students, and you’re probably feeling a little…overwhelmed by the place?”
He blushed slightly and scratched his head. “Ah yes, I have been here three days. And there is much I had to do, and I am also studying for a few of the exams already”, he explained. “But yes, it is a little... ah... overwhelming. But in a good way!” he quickly added, smiling again. “And it is good I met you.” A slightly deeper blush, accompanied by a grin, however, crept onto his features as he stirred his still steaming hot coffee. “But... ah, I did not mean it that – Well, it is nice to talk to somebody. My room mate is never at home, and if he is, he talks Italian most of the time and I hardly understand him.”
Laughing over the rim of her coffee cup, Nyota took another sip of the coffee, savouring the roasted beans. That was one thing the Academy food replicators got right – unlike their attempts at tea. “So, what courses are you doing next semester then? Have you covered the basic requirements already?”
Chekov nodded, taking a sip of his coffee and wincing slightly. Apparently he didn't like too hot drinks. “Yes, I have taken all basic physics and engineering courses in Russia already. I just have to do the advanced ones next year. Ah, and I'm taking Interspecies Protocol and Interspecies Ethics, too.”
At the mention of the last course name, Nyota felt her eyebrows raise involuntarily. That was one of the subjects Spock had been asked to take on next semester, and both of them had been pleased that she’d already taken it. Things were awkward enough now in the class he instructed her in, though she knew…well hoped…that things would settle down as they got used to the situation. Their relationship was still so new and it took a lot of effort on her part, at least, to remain professional around him. To maintain that impression of instructor and student, especially around a particularly over-observant Orion. Particularly since whenever she saw him in class all she thought about were his hands, his lips, the noises he made...
Calm down! Think about something else...what's Chekov just been talking about?
“Interspecies Ethics? I know the instructor you’ll have – Commander Spock. He teaches my phonology class. You know he’s Vulcan?” she spoke, realizing that she could feel her cheeks warming as she spoke and thought about Spock. Blowing on the coffee again she continued: “Wow this coffee’s really hot huh? Someone must’ve been fiddling with the machine controls again. You know they do one-off seminars in the Ethics class – I could maybe pop over and join you. … If you like, of course?”
It seemed that she had lost him at 'Vulcan', as he now stared at her with widened eyes, mouth slightly open, before he shook his head slightly and smiled. “A Vulcan? Really? I didn't even know that,” he said, visibly amazed... and even somewhat nervous. “And yes, I would like that... only if you have the time and want to. So, ah... that Commander Spock, is he a good instructor? I mean – sorry, of course he is. But is it very difficult to follow his classes for humans?”
She paused, wondering whether Spock’s classes were difficult to follow. She had no problems, even…before, but then again he taught a subject that she was passionate about so she doubted she would have problems in class even if it was taught by a Klingon. However she knew that although Spock tended to have a slightly dry manner and presentation, the majority of his subject matter was aimed first at ensuring his students understood and then pushing them so that they could apply the knowledge they’d been taught. “Well, he pushes you, which you’d expect with any good instructor, and he does have quite high standards, but I don’t think someone as smart as I’ve heard you are will have any problems following the classes,” she replied, a reassuring smile on her face. “You’ll be fine – I’m sure.”
“Thank you,” he replied modestly. “I hope you're right. And I – Ah!” He suddenly exclaimed, followed by a mumbled Russian expression that sounded very much like a curse. “I forgot, I have to call my mother. It is late evening now in Moscow, and I promised I would call,” he explained, gathering his things and sipping on his still very hot coffee. “So sorry, but I have to go. But it was really nice to meet you, Uhura. I hope we meet again soon,” he said politely, that innocent and very friendly smile on his features as he extended his right hand.
As she shook his hand, Nyota smiled and nodded. “It was great to meet you too, Chekov, and I hope I see you around in the future. Good luck with the studies – Oh! Don’t forget about the Dean, either!” She watched as he almost ran out of the cafeteria, weaving skillfully between cadets and staff, all the while managing to hold onto his coffee cup.
Laughing to herself, she sat again, rolling her eyes at Gaila who was approaching with a huge predatory grin on her face. She knew what kind questions she was about to be asked, and was grateful that she didn’t have that long before her next class began. As the Orion drew near and took a breath to begin her barrage of, no doubt, Russian-cadet-related questions, Nyota wondered what kind of future the youngest cadet she had met to date would have in Starfleet, and hoped she would bump into him again sometime.
~ TBC ~
Chapter 20
Chapter: 19 of 25 (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18)
Word count: 2971 (~ 55,000 in total)
Authors:
petbubble and leandralockeGenre: Romance
Rating: PG - NC-17
Summary: One and a half years before the destruction of Vulcan, Spock meets an extraordinary young cadet during a lecture at Starfleet Academy. Their initial encounter is brief but intense, and affects both of them in ways they could never have imagined.
Authors' notes Thanks to
blueeyed_secret for beta-reading. This is our first multi-chapter Spock/Uhura fic, but it has been completed for a while. We are currently already working on follow-ups, so there's no need to worry that this might never be completed. We're just editing it chapter by chapter and having it beta-read now and should post a new chapter every few days.
The story is also online at Fanfiction.net
Leaving the classroom at lunchtime, she headed towards the main exit doors of the Linguistics building, hurrying to grab some lunch before her next class. A sudden beeping came from her PADD and Nyota was initially a little confused as she read the message.
Please look left at door three.
Approaching the third classroom, she slowed her pace a little and had a quick corner-of-the-eye peek in through the open door. Spock was there by the main desk, a PADD in his hand, standing facing the door, as though he was waiting for a student to arrive. She saw the index finger of the hand that held his PADD raise a little in the only level of greeting he would allow himself in such a situation, and as she turned her gaze fully forwards again she found herself smiling.
Spock knew her schedule better than she did sometimes, and she knew there was a good chance she would catch sight of him again before her next class. When he’d first started showing up in her peripheral vision she’d been worried that someone would notice and comment, but he’d assured her that to some extent he had always been near her at some point during the day, she just hadn’t noticed before.
They were both obviously still following rules one and two, but as they spent more time together they had developed a set of almost innocuous gestures to greet each other with. Hers included playing with one of her earrings; a habit she had explained away initially to Gaila as study stress and nerves. She knew that Gaila knew what she was really up to, but luckily the Orion was still keeping quiet about the whole situation, even after her “pep talk” with Spock. Nyota had been horrified when she’d found out about it, especially when she realized that Gaila had shown Spock that message.
Leaving the building and heading down the steps towards the cafeteria, she lowered her eyes to her PADD to send Spock a quick message, and was suddenly bumped by someone. Looking up, a frown on her face, she smiled as she saw the young face in front of her do exactly the same.
“Oh excuse me miss! Excuse me! I'm am so sorry,” the young boy who couldn't be much older than sixteen or seventeen years said quickly, speaking in what sounded like a very strong Russian accent. He smiled a little, a shy, insecure smirk, making a non-committal gesture with his hand. “I have not been looking, sorry,” he said, making his H's sound like a Klingon capital 'H', similar to the Germanic 'Ch' sound.
“No need to apologize, I’m as much in the wrong as you are,” she replied apologetically. She gestured a little with her PADD: “Too distracted by this thing to notice where I was going.”
“Ah.” He smiled some more and nodded a couple of times, as if he couldn't quite figure out what to say now. Then he finally opened his mouth. “Eeh, excuse me, Miss...?”
“Uhura, but there’s no need for the ‘Miss’,” she finished for him, smiling as she realized she knew who he was. She’d heard some of the instructors talk about a young whizkid from Europe; Russia was it? Apparently he was the wunderkind of Starfleet, and was excelling in his technical classes. “You’re...Chesko; no – Chekov! Right?”
The boy's eyes lit up and a deep flush crept into his cheeks. “Yes. Yes!” he replied, stretching his vowels as he practically beamed at her. “I am Chekov. Pavel Andreievich, Miss... ahh... Uhura, sorry. Uhura.” Then he seemed to realize how unusual her guess had been and scratched his head for a short moment. “How come you know me?”
Nyota wondered whether to tell him that the instructors were proclaiming him the best technical student any of them could remember and bit her lip considering him. However she got the impression that Chekov - Pavel Andreievich was a decent kid and unlikely to let the fact that people were talking so positively about him go to his head.
“A few of my instructors have been talking about a certain cadet with a special aptitude for Starfleet technology. I don’t have much of a tech brain myself, but it’s good to finally put a face to the name, Chekov,” she replied, unable to help herself from smiling broadly at him. As she held her hand out to shake his, she dropped her PADD which clattered onto the floor between them. “Damnit. Sorry – I’m always doing this,” she apologized as she bent to pick it up.
Apparently, however, Chekov had the same idea in mind, and before she could even react to the fast movement of him bending down as well, their heads bumped together, causing them both to express their surprise and moderate pain quite noisily.
“Aahh! I'm so sorry, sorry!” he quickly said, rubbing his forehead. He had retrieved her PADD, though, and handed it back to her, his face now quite red but still showing a shy smile.
As she received the PADD from the young Russian, Nyota knew that she could expect at least some light bruising where their heads had collided, and rubbed the spot gingerly with her spare hand. “No. No – don’t apologize. I think we’re as bad as each other really, don’t you?” She found herself liking Chekov, his smile and enthusiasm infectious, though she wondered why she hadn’t seen him round before, and asked him about this.
That shy, modest smile appeared on his features again before he answered. “I only transferred here from Moscow Military and Science Academy. And now I have to register for the exams that I want to take this semester, but I could not find the office of... eeh...” He took a look at his own PADD, his brow furrowing. “Dean... Kuwanach?”
Blinking it took her a few seconds to mentally translate the name. “Dean Kah-va-nah...,” she pronounced slowly before continuing: “...has her office in the Admin building to your left, and her office is on the third floor. You were headed to the Linguistics building, Chekov. Thinking of taking some new courses perhaps?”
Part of her wanted to take his hand and lead him across the quadrant to the Dean’s office, in case he fell or got lost. Shaking her head and chuckling a little, she wondered what Gaila would make of the fresh-faced man, and almost choked at the image that entered her mind.
He shook his head, although the smile never fully left his lips. “No, no languages, although I still have to improve my English.” So far, his English had been flawless, though, except for the really strong accent. “I only take Stellar Cartography, Transporter Theory, Temporal and Statistical Mechanics and Advanced Subspace Geometry this semester,” he said and smiled a bit more brightly as he saw her furrowed brow. “I have prepared for them in Russia already and only have to write a term paper and take the final exam,” he explained. “Then next year, I will take Advanced Theoretical Physics, Advanced Relativistic Mechanics, Ad – Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't want to bore you.”
She found that Chekov’s enthusiasm was rubbing off on her, and she actually did want to talk to him more about his studies, life in Russia and what his plans were after graduating. She tapped her PADD quickly to see if she could arrange some time to meet with him later. Then she realized what time it was... “Oh no, Chekov. You’ve missed Dean Kavanagh for the morning – she’ll be on her lunch for the 40 minutes. I don’t suppose... Would you like to join me for a coffee?” she asked him. “You’d be doing me a favor if you let me practice my Russian with you, although I know just a few phrases. And you can head over to the Dean’s office afterwards.”
“That would be very nice,” he said, actually making each 'th' sound like a 'z' or 's', and he seemed to have a problem with his 'v' too. “How long have you studied here?” he asked as they walked towards the cafeteria. She could see that he was taking in the sight of the campus in what only could be described as awe, his gaze constantly straying from the path, looking at both the buildings in their proximity and the ones that could be seen of the San Francisco skyline in the distance.
She remembered experiencing the same feeling of awe and amazement when she had first arrived at the Academy, near enough three years ago, and felt a little sad that those feelings had worn off. Maybe she just needed to see the sights of the city again...possibly with someone special. "This is my third year. One more, that monster of a dissertation to complete and the dreaded Kobayashi Maru simulation - then I'm up there," she nodded upwards, towards the light clouds that were scattered over the mainly blue sky. "How about you Chekov? What are your plans?"
“I want to be a navigator,” he said as they walked on, nearly at the entrance of the cafeteria where they could already see cadets and Academy personnel filing in and out. “I have wanted to work on a starship ever since I was a small boy. That is why my parents sent me to the academy in Moskwa... Moscow. They teach most of the same courses there as here, but I still have to take all the advanced courses and retake a few exams. But I hope I will be finished next year.” He said all that without any trace of arrogance or superiority even though his level of knowledge clearly was way above that of an average cadet, let alone of his age, if she hadn't completely misjudged it. “What is your major?” He actually pronounced it 'Mah-yohr', which made her smile, though she managed to contain the giggle she felt threaten to bubble out.
“Xenolinguistics. That’s why I want to practice the few words of Russian I know with you – some of the glottal sounds are strangely similar to Klingon, you know? And if I want to be assigned to the Enterprise when I graduate, I need to have as broad a subject knowledge as possible,” Nyota realized she was babbling slightly, but Chekov was nodding as though he understood her enthusiasm.
“The Enterprise? Ah, the best ship of Starfleet. Maybe I can be her navigator one day,” he replied, smiling almost dreamily.
Nyota laughed at the wistfulness in his tone, pleased to know that someone else had fallen under the spell of the Enterprise.
They continued to chat as they walked through the doors into the cafeteria. Nyota heard a sharp whistle and looked up to see Gaila waving at her from across the room, gesturing to a seat at her table. Waving back she shook her head a little, indicating that she was with Chekov, then laughed softly as she saw Gaila’s eyes widen. Oh, she would need to have a word with the Orion to keep her away from the young Russian. There were just some welcomes that new arrivals to the Academy didn’t need.
Chekov smiled a little shyly at Gaila but then turned his gaze to the small tray he had picked up as they were helping themselves to coffee and a snack. He remained quiet until they were seated at one of the tables by the large windows, overlooking the bay. “It is really nice here,” he said, and looked a little lost, as if he didn't know how else to continue their conversation.
She recognized the slightly shell-shocked expression on his face – one that a lot of first time students showed. “It’s a gorgeous campus and a great city, Chekov. But let me guess – and feel free to interrupt me if you don’t agree with anything. You’ve been here for a few days, and so far the only places you’ve seen are the library, the labs and classrooms and your dorm?” she asked, blowing on her coffee to cool it a little before drinking it. Raising her eyebrow, she continued: “So you haven’t met many students, and you’re probably feeling a little…overwhelmed by the place?”
He blushed slightly and scratched his head. “Ah yes, I have been here three days. And there is much I had to do, and I am also studying for a few of the exams already”, he explained. “But yes, it is a little... ah... overwhelming. But in a good way!” he quickly added, smiling again. “And it is good I met you.” A slightly deeper blush, accompanied by a grin, however, crept onto his features as he stirred his still steaming hot coffee. “But... ah, I did not mean it that – Well, it is nice to talk to somebody. My room mate is never at home, and if he is, he talks Italian most of the time and I hardly understand him.”
Laughing over the rim of her coffee cup, Nyota took another sip of the coffee, savouring the roasted beans. That was one thing the Academy food replicators got right – unlike their attempts at tea. “So, what courses are you doing next semester then? Have you covered the basic requirements already?”
Chekov nodded, taking a sip of his coffee and wincing slightly. Apparently he didn't like too hot drinks. “Yes, I have taken all basic physics and engineering courses in Russia already. I just have to do the advanced ones next year. Ah, and I'm taking Interspecies Protocol and Interspecies Ethics, too.”
At the mention of the last course name, Nyota felt her eyebrows raise involuntarily. That was one of the subjects Spock had been asked to take on next semester, and both of them had been pleased that she’d already taken it. Things were awkward enough now in the class he instructed her in, though she knew…well hoped…that things would settle down as they got used to the situation. Their relationship was still so new and it took a lot of effort on her part, at least, to remain professional around him. To maintain that impression of instructor and student, especially around a particularly over-observant Orion. Particularly since whenever she saw him in class all she thought about were his hands, his lips, the noises he made...
Calm down! Think about something else...what's Chekov just been talking about?
“Interspecies Ethics? I know the instructor you’ll have – Commander Spock. He teaches my phonology class. You know he’s Vulcan?” she spoke, realizing that she could feel her cheeks warming as she spoke and thought about Spock. Blowing on the coffee again she continued: “Wow this coffee’s really hot huh? Someone must’ve been fiddling with the machine controls again. You know they do one-off seminars in the Ethics class – I could maybe pop over and join you. … If you like, of course?”
It seemed that she had lost him at 'Vulcan', as he now stared at her with widened eyes, mouth slightly open, before he shook his head slightly and smiled. “A Vulcan? Really? I didn't even know that,” he said, visibly amazed... and even somewhat nervous. “And yes, I would like that... only if you have the time and want to. So, ah... that Commander Spock, is he a good instructor? I mean – sorry, of course he is. But is it very difficult to follow his classes for humans?”
She paused, wondering whether Spock’s classes were difficult to follow. She had no problems, even…before, but then again he taught a subject that she was passionate about so she doubted she would have problems in class even if it was taught by a Klingon. However she knew that although Spock tended to have a slightly dry manner and presentation, the majority of his subject matter was aimed first at ensuring his students understood and then pushing them so that they could apply the knowledge they’d been taught. “Well, he pushes you, which you’d expect with any good instructor, and he does have quite high standards, but I don’t think someone as smart as I’ve heard you are will have any problems following the classes,” she replied, a reassuring smile on her face. “You’ll be fine – I’m sure.”
“Thank you,” he replied modestly. “I hope you're right. And I – Ah!” He suddenly exclaimed, followed by a mumbled Russian expression that sounded very much like a curse. “I forgot, I have to call my mother. It is late evening now in Moscow, and I promised I would call,” he explained, gathering his things and sipping on his still very hot coffee. “So sorry, but I have to go. But it was really nice to meet you, Uhura. I hope we meet again soon,” he said politely, that innocent and very friendly smile on his features as he extended his right hand.
As she shook his hand, Nyota smiled and nodded. “It was great to meet you too, Chekov, and I hope I see you around in the future. Good luck with the studies – Oh! Don’t forget about the Dean, either!” She watched as he almost ran out of the cafeteria, weaving skillfully between cadets and staff, all the while managing to hold onto his coffee cup.
Laughing to herself, she sat again, rolling her eyes at Gaila who was approaching with a huge predatory grin on her face. She knew what kind questions she was about to be asked, and was grateful that she didn’t have that long before her next class began. As the Orion drew near and took a breath to begin her barrage of, no doubt, Russian-cadet-related questions, Nyota wondered what kind of future the youngest cadet she had met to date would have in Starfleet, and hoped she would bump into him again sometime.
~ TBC ~
Chapter 20
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Date: 2010-07-07 11:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-07 11:51 am (UTC)