She hadn't wanted to go out again. getting Kirk back and settled and reasonably informed had been draining. Gaila, though... that was enough to get her back out into the night. She'd taken the time to call a cab, because she was tired and still buzzed, and because she needed to get to her quickly. If anything happened to her before Uhura could get there, she'd never be able to forgive herself. She had to get her someplace safe. She had to take care of her.
A car ride of just a couple of minutes, and Uhura jumped out of the cab, with instructions to leave the meter running, and headed into the sex shop. "Gaila?" She looked around, her eyes sliding almost dazedly over the huge array of offerings and looking for that flash of emerald green and deep red.
The Orion had been rather impressed with the sheer selection of tidbits and bits and bobs that this store carried, some of them she'd only heard of in passing and never seen herself. Most impressive. She had been enthusiastically chatting with the shop clerk about restraints when she'd heard the ever lovely voice of her roomie. Gaila excused herself with a smile and a little wink, promising to come back later.
"Ny?" She poked her head around one of the shelves. "Hi, over here."
Uhura hadn't actually known how she was going to react to seeing Gaila again. Her mind had just glossed right over it, unable to handle the thought. Now she was here, and Uhura felt her eyes stinging with unshed moisture. "Gaila." She crossed to her friend quickly, high heels clicking on the shop floor, and threw her arms around her neck, hugging her tightly and burying her nose in her hair, breathing in deeply.
"Whoa!" Gaila curled her arms around her friend's waist, ever glad of physical contact but instantly concerned, giving her a tight squeeze. "What's wrong, sweetie?" She questioned, putting a hand to the back of Uhura's head and lightly stroking her hair. "Ny? Are you hurt? Did something happen?" She gently forced the other woman away from her, looking her over for any sign of injury.
Uhura's eyes were glassy, and she had a lump in her throat. She had a sweater of Gaila's, on the Enterprise, set aside when Uhura had numbly packed her things into boxes and sealed them up. It had lost the scent of her soap and shampoo months ago. Uhura had tried to remember it, but she realized now that she'd been remembering it wrong. All wrong.
Uhura took a shaky breath and shrugged out of her trench coat, leaving her in the same tight jeans and low cut top she'd put on to go out, back when tonight had been about getting tipsy and feeling powerful and wanted, even if only by strangers. "Here. Put this on." She held it out, pretending that her voice hadn't cracked. Gaila was too pretty, her skirt too short, her figure too tempting. The city was dangerous until it was understood, and Gaila did not understand.
The Orion woman was getting more and more concerned by the moment. This wasn't like Uhura at all, she was always so calm and collected and sensible. Uhura was always the sensible one to Gaila's general immaturity and playfulness. "Why?" She questioned even as she pulled the coat on and started to button it. The shortness of her uniform had never been an issue before, she'd always liked the attention and the majority of her friends has just resigned themselves to it.
"Nyota." She pressed her painted lips together disapprovingly, looking her up and down. "What's happening here?"
Uhura sniffed and took a deep breath, hands moving over the buttons of the coat to have something to do and shaking only a little. "I'm going to start by saying that this is not a joke, all right? It's not a joke, so just listen and think about it. You've been taken by a semi-sentient city built at the nexus of all realities and running on the power of sin. We have no way of getting home. It's dangerous here. Primitive. We have to be careful. I have a cab waiting, and I'm going to take you somewhere safe and then you can ask me all the questions you want."
With the coat buttoned and Gaila reasonably covered, Uhura took her hand, unwilling to let her go for fear she might vanish again, end up back on that ship speeding toward doom with no time to escape and she'd lose her all over again.
Power of sin. That was peculiar. Did Nyota mean that people had to do bad things to keep this place running or that it came from some weird alien religion that they all had to follow. "Is this a cult?" She asked, somewhat warily. There had been cults on Orion and it'd always been hard to find virgins for the sacrifices, but Gaila had kept her good distance, religions were not something that Gaila could comprehend. They seemed nice enough with all the incense and shiny things, but the rules were never something she'd been good at following.
She twined her fingers with Uhura's giving them a little squeeze. She looked worried.
Worried was an understatement. "It's not a cult," Uhura said gently, leading Gaila out of the store with their joined hands and into the backseat of the waiting cab. "A cult would be easier to handle than what we have going on here." She gave the address of Delta's mansion to the driver, who already knew the way since it was where he'd picked her up.
Gaila peered out of the window, trying to get a feel for the city from what she could see. It almost looked like any downtown or run down area in any city on Earth. "Bete Noire?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder towards her friend, giving her hand a little squeeze. "Doesn't look so bad." Not compared to what people had been telling her though her PADD.
"Just because it doesn't look bad doesn't mean it's not. I've been here a while. It's dangerous. It's very, very dangerous." She squeezed her hand right back, though. After a moment, she scooted closer, pressed against Gaila's side, head turned in against her shoulder. She'd forgotten this smell. How could she have possibly forgotten?
Gaila rested her own forehead against the crown of her best friend's head, Ny was acting funny and it was putting the Orion woman on edge but it was the least she could do to calm her down. "Not that bad if you're here." She offered quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her dark hair. Affection was an easy thing for Gaila and she saw no reason not to share it with her very best friend.
Gaila meant well, but that simple statement caused a lump to settle heavily in Uhura's throat, choking off her words. She squeezed her hand tighter and took a few shaky breaths. "I'm so glad to see you," she finally managed to get out. For the longest time she'd believed that this was the last place she'd wish anyone to be stuck. Now she knew better. This wasn't the last place. Dead was the last place. This was better.
"Silly Ny, was it that bad on the Enterprise without me? You know you could have just commed me, I was planning on doing it anyway once we got out of warp." The Orion woman nuzzled her cheek against her top of best friend's head, glad of the warmth she was sharing, it was much too cool in the cab for Gaila's tastes. "Couldn't have been that bad surely? I was surprised when somebody told me that you'd been transferred."
"It was horrible." Uhura wasn't talking about changing ships. It hadn't even entered her mind at the time. Hadn't occurred to her that she was taking herself away from Gaila. Because it wasn't a permanent posting. They knew that. It was just the first step in her planned career. Except then it had been, because they were all that was left, because a terrified and confused people had needed a beacon to turn to, and Starfleet had had their crew to offer, young and beautiful and brave. Uhura's new 'family' minus one of the most important parts. Because she hadn't thought to ask.
The cab stopped in front of the mansion, and Uhura paid and got out of the car, refusing to let go of Gaila's hand the entire time.
A car ride of just a couple of minutes, and Uhura jumped out of the cab, with instructions to leave the meter running, and headed into the sex shop. "Gaila?" She looked around, her eyes sliding almost dazedly over the huge array of offerings and looking for that flash of emerald green and deep red.
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"Ny?" She poked her head around one of the shelves. "Hi, over here."
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Uhura took a shaky breath and shrugged out of her trench coat, leaving her in the same tight jeans and low cut top she'd put on to go out, back when tonight had been about getting tipsy and feeling powerful and wanted, even if only by strangers. "Here. Put this on." She held it out, pretending that her voice hadn't cracked. Gaila was too pretty, her skirt too short, her figure too tempting. The city was dangerous until it was understood, and Gaila did not understand.
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"Nyota." She pressed her painted lips together disapprovingly, looking her up and down. "What's happening here?"
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With the coat buttoned and Gaila reasonably covered, Uhura took her hand, unwilling to let her go for fear she might vanish again, end up back on that ship speeding toward doom with no time to escape and she'd lose her all over again.
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She twined her fingers with Uhura's giving them a little squeeze. She looked worried.
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The cab stopped in front of the mansion, and Uhura paid and got out of the car, refusing to let go of Gaila's hand the entire time.
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