'Meat' 'n Greet

[meatbabies]

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home

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[nothefarragut]

There was nothing to tug, nothing to straighten, nothing but the oddly pulsing plantsuit that covered her like a second skin.  Walking into the observation deck, she had to stop for a moment to take it all in.  Her eyes were riveted to the view of the Bleed for a long while despite the noise of people greeting other people, the blend of voices a hum.  She could pick voices out selectively, and listened with all the intensity she put to her own job, hoping for another familiar voice besides that of McCoy.

Family and loved ones were supposed to be here, weren't they?  Or maybe not here but back in that endless cavern of pods that had yet to wake from stasis.  The rising panic of it all tried to surface again and Uhura pushed it down.  All the what ifs and oh Gods and the frightening wave upon wave of uncertainty.  She stopped where she was and stood there, breathing in the slightly humid air, isolating sounds (there was a high whistling sound of air blowing, a rumble that might have been the engines--she assumed they were engines, a

[nerve_pincher]

Spock had calculated the odds of someone he knew being awakened. The odds were not in his favor.

Still, he found himself on the observation deck with many others, standing well back away from the crowd, avoiding contact, his hands clasped behind his back. Whether someone he knew appeared or not, he might be able to lend aid, or answer questions.

He saw her before she saw him, and, though no one around him would've noticed, his breath caught in his throat momentarily on sight of her. Rarely was Spock rendered speechless, but it took a moment for his mind to resume its usual processes.

Spock assessed the situation from his vantage point. She was distressed, he could tell, though she retained the outward calm he so admired.

It was only when he could tell that she had collected herself that he approached.

"Lieutenant," he said, his demeanor as professional as ever.

[nothefarragut]

Spock.

Spock. Her eyes searched his face, took in the plantsuit, knew that he was real and there right in front of her. He was real. She was silent for a long while though her eyes burned fiercely and she wanted to simply cry. But she did not.

"Commander," she said quietly, her voice only a little tight as her hair swung heavily against her shoulders. Uhura had never, in her life, been so relieved to see his face. It just might have outweighed the moment he had appeared on the transporter pad back aboard the Enterprise with Kirk and Pike. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but she didn't.

She did, however, smile.

[nerve_pincher]

It only took one look, and Spock knew that this was the Lieutenant Uhura from his own timeline. The knowledge was... gratifying.

"I trust you are not injured? The experience of awakening can be highly disconcerting." There would be time, later, for less formal greetings. No doubt, right now, she would require information.

[nothefarragut]

"I'm fine." That was a lie, she wasn't. Physically, maybe, but otherwise? Not so much. "What is our current situation and has there been any word from Star--" But there wasn't a Starfleet, was there? She drew in a sharp breath and closed her eyes once more.

"Tell me," she said a moment later.

[nerve_pincher]

Spock nodded slightly. He understood. To some extent, everyone on the ship was in the same position.

"Thus far, there has been no evidence to contradict the information provided to us by Stacy, as the ship is known to the crew. She is a sentient life form," he elaborated.

"James Kirk is the elected Captain of the ship, but he is from the other timeline, as opposed to our own. Thus far, he and I have been the only awakened from our universe."

[nothefarragut]

Uhura nodded once, her hands linked in front of her and tightening. She blinked a few times and let the information settle.

"Doctor McCoy, also from our timeline, is here as well, somewhere," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he were trying to find a place that serves alcohol." While she spoke, she was thinking. Thinking about everything.

And her eyes never strayed far from his face.

[nerve_pincher]

Spock, too, was watching her closely. Taking in every detail, the way her mouth tightened, the tension in her muscles, her carefully-controlled movements.

"Captain Kirk will be glad to hear of Doctor McCoy's arrival. If you would like, I can show you to the crew quarters. They offer significantly more privacy, and quiet." A place away from the large crowd, might allow her to relax and take some rest, should she need it. It was clear to Spock that she was feeling overwhelmed.

[nothefarragut]

"I'm sure Kirk will be. It," Uhura hesitated ever so slightly, "is loud." It was more than loud for her, maybe more so than most people, and she was beginning to need that quiet. The dull throb of an incoming headache from all the stimuli was the equivalent of a warning shot across the bow.

"Please," she said, and her fingers just barely grazed his arm.

[nerve_pincher]

Spock gave a curt nod, and wasted no time in leading the way toward the exit, to the rest of the ship.

[nothefarragut]

She looked for the source of the voice and had to do a bit of a double-take. It was blue and unfamiliar and had it just said--

"What?" she asked, startled.

[nothefarragut]

"I am Lieutenant Uhura from the Federation starship Enterprise," Uhura said very carefully dropping to a knee. "I don't think I know you, though. Dammit Jim, however, sounds about right."

[nothefarragut]

Uhura let him sniff and was still very, very confused as she listened. Romulan butt? Pock-- Oh, God. Spock. And Kirk. And herself.

"Nero?" she asked, tilting her head just a little. "We defeated Nero a few months ago, but I'm not sure I saw you there."