#i need my una spock interactions

[kfrentzen]

I had to

[mai-komagata]

i mean we can't get away from kirk in snw

If we are supposing the "main" main characters in this ensemble show are like uhura, spock, la'an, and pike (im basing this on a-plots + prevalence in b plots), then you need to show spock and kirk becoming friends if this keeps going -- not like "oh we drink some times" buddies but like "im fucking ashamed about how much my friendship means to me if im forced to confess this under the influence of space pollen" and that is like 1 year into their 5 year mission.

Like he's taken a year to be like "confiding my its complicated relationship with my friend" level friendship with uhura. Like if you are wondering why they keep bringing kirk in its because SNW just builds on every thing even casually mentioned in TOS and well, this isn't a casually mentioned plot point. And yes, kirk hasn't interacted much with spock, yet. But if that is not the eventual purpose it should have stopped in s1e10. But they need to build him as plausibly hanging out there b/c Spock doesn't like, *seek out* people. La'an went through a journey in this season with him (and that is important for her character! And very well done!), but I'm guessing they specifically chose *him* because it gives him a foothold. Same reason they have Sam on the ship. There will be a limit to Spock's character development if Kirk isn't visiting on occasion in the next few seasons. Just like you couldn't have a Pike show without having Una around -- she is his emotional support officer. And yeah, i love all the other characters, too. I really wish we had more than 10 episodes a season. But that means there are some characters with more a-plots than others. And as long as our main characters are the ones I listed, yeah kirk will be around. But Kirk in of himself is not an a-plot or b-plot character. He is a vehicle for storytelling for the other main characters -- Pike and La'an and Uhura so far (i.e. the other main characters that aren't Spock). but ultimately the camera doesn't follow him -- he isn't himself a pov character. That is why I'm not worried about him but why he needs to be there sometimes (but not always, because he isn't integral for like... Chapel, Una's or M'benga's story. No reason to have them in their episodes).

[icepixie]

SNW 2x07

Spoilers

THAT WAS THE BEST THING EVER OMG OMG OMG

I rarely rewatch episodes but I might watch this SEVERAL times.

I have no coherent thoughts, so have some reactions:

The animated bit at the beginning was rather transparently set-up for the episode, but I was not expecting the Orion scientist thing to play such a large part in the narrative, so good on them.

The Lower Decks uniform looks fantastic in person. The next live action series needs to use it. (Live action Lower Decks miniseries, y/y??) Although it looked like Mariner kept pulling her shirt down, so maybe it wasn't as practical as it was good-looking.

YESSSSSSS THEY ANIMATED THE CREDITS!

Oh man, Boimler is the perfect character to come back in time like this. Not only does he enjoy it the most but he's so terrible at keeping his mouth shut it can only cause more complications.

OH MY GOD, Boimler is how Spock/Chapel gets nuked before TOS time? DUDE.

(I feel for you, Spock/Chapel shippers. And I feel bad for Christine, even though I want her out of that relationship.)

(But that said, Spock's attempts at smiling and laughing are super creepy and I hope that ends soon. Since they're meant to be creepy, hopefully they will.)

On a related note, why the hell is Boimler being allowed to walk around the ship? Why wasn't he put in a locked room until they figured out how to get him back to the future? And why was he allowed to just wander ON THE BRIDGE, where he was able to screw up the Orion interaction??? (I mean, well, I guess he had to be allowed there to make it so Tendi was alive...so I guess Tendi wasn't supposed to be there before this time travel trip? Nice.)

Hehehehe, all the bridge officers standing in a line not looking while Boims rejiggers the sensors.

Heheh, tiny Marinler moment when she basically leaps into his arms from the portal. And of course she would be trying to save him only to use up the last of the blorbonium. I liked that, although I also wish she'd been able to be in the episode as long as Boimler was.

Awww, Pelia's advice to Boimler is so good for him to hear.

"Do they sound weird to you?"/"Yeah, all slow and soft." Bwahahaha.

Hahaha, Mariner fangirling Uhura. And Uhura being like, "fuck, I'm famous? Goddamit, I can't take the pressure!" Hee!

Oh thank god, Pike, you finally confined them to quarters. (For two seconds. And they didn't even go.) I was waiting for the blorbonium as a part of the NX-01's hull to become relevant! Heh, and Mariner was the one who paid attention because Boimler was distracted by grapplers.

Heh, everyone notices Mariner is...not exactly model Starfleet officer material.

OF COURSE THEY TRY TO STEAL A SHUTTLE. OF COURSE THEY DO.

Awwwwwww, Una gets to be the poster girl for recruitment! That's gotta be so gratifying after the trial. Such a nice moment for her (and for us). I wonder if Boims and Mariner even knew she was court-martialed, or did Starfleet cover it up and paper it over with making Una the face of recruitment?

But on that note, I was expecting events to be wiped clean from the SNW characters' memories, 'cause there's a looooooot of timeline pollution here. La'an must be horrified. (Especially since this is the second episode in a row to remind her of her own time travel experience.)

Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome are preternaturally good at capturing their animated selves' movements and translating them to live action. Maybe Quaid a little more than Newsome, but I think that's because animated Boimler's movements are slightly more realistic than Mariner's. She tends to do more arm motions or whatever that aren't quite possible in real life.

YES YES YES THE SNW CHARACTERS GOT ANIMATED YESSSSSS! And it's because of the Orion alcohol! They dropped acid and turned into cartoons! (Fringe did this and it was also a blast.)

You guys, I am SO. THRILLED. with this episode. A thousand sins from earlier episodes are forgiven.

[westworldparty19]

Strange New Worlds is so crazy. (I’ve always been a non believer in Pike and this episode feels like vindication). So they bring a war criminal turned peace negotiator on board and Pike forces the veterans to interact with him with seemingly no regard for their feelings…I thought Pike was the

sweetie captain who loves his wittle crew 👉👈

Anyway so we have Spock who is really excited? To talk to this war criminal. Spock. Who’s sister STARTED THE KLINGON WAR?! Right!! That was the whole point of Disco? Michael started the Klingon war. So all of Spock’s “friends” and his “girlfriend” are personally traumatized by a war caused by his literal sister and he like doesn’t stop to think about it at all? No one does? Why put Spock, Una, and Pike in Disco if they’re never ever gonna make a connection at all??

This show is so weird!! And not in a good way! The characters are all over the place so so traumatized but they never actually deal with the trauma!!!

M’benga seemingly getting away with murder….come on. Personally have complicated feelings about saying someone deserves to die but like this was just so crazy. The only push back he gets is Pike saying “come one bro you can talk to me? Did you do it? It’s okay if you did?” WHAT! You can’t just murder people!! I know Pike says something like that but in the most milquetoast way possible and then the episode just ends?

What was the point of this episode? Murder is okay if you have a good reason, also your friends will help you and you won’t face any consequences? Wait I didn’t even touch on that M’benga is also a war criminal….I think I would be more okay with this if he turned himself in or felt any remorse or if any character had anything of substance to say to him.

Compare M’benga to La’an in the Khan situation. (I equally hated that scenario but) She’s like following her moral code and is shown having complicated feelings about her decision. I’m trying to be nice by comparing the show to itself but honestly both episodes were so messy and have no actual moral that it’s hard.

So let’s compare to any number of TOS episodes where Kirk is faced with the choice to murder an enemy, or to let them face the consequences of their actions. Kirk could kill Karidian but chooses not to and when he learns that someone else is trying to kill him he actively goes out of his way to save him. Kirk could kill the Romulans in Balance of Terror but instead offers them rescue, he could kill the Gorn captain but offers mercy, could kill Khan but offers him a new life, I could go on. Of course basically none of these solutions work out for the antagonist of the episode but they are punished by consequences of their own actions and in spite of Kirk’s humanity.

Maybe this episode was to say that war irrevocably changes a person. But who doesn’t already know that? What new story or perspective is being shown? I feel like a great way to show progress for his character would be to stab the guy and then save him. Right?! He lets his base, traumatized instincts win but then snaps out of it and realigns himself to his current goal of saving lives. Maybe it’s different in Starfleet but healers take an oath!!

And if we want to compare this to something more tonally similar than there are DS9 episodes that explore this situation much better. I’ve only seen up to season 4 so I’m sure I’m missing a bunch and I’ve only seen the episodes once so if I’m wrong please feel free to gently correct. But there’s an episode where Kira and Gul Dukat get stuck in danger together. I believe they are each faced with the opportunity to abandon each other in danger but even though they were enemies during the war and are still opponents, they save the other. Kira’s sense of what is morally correct overrules her need for revenge. I know there’s a war crimes episode that I haven’t seen yet lol.

Anyway. This season is such a mess. The highs are high but they are few and far between and the lows are so low. I think my biggest problem is that none of the characters have a moral backbone or any real principles that follow from episode to episode. The thing about episodic tv is if you want it to be episodic you have to keep the characters pretty consistent. Or if you want it to be serialized and have characters change, then they need to learn and grow episode to episode or at least arc to arc.

I think La’an should have been more heavily featured in the episode. I think a convo of her and Ortegas on one side and Spock and Uhura on the other would be a good way to actual explore the concepts they were trying to? La’an and Spock both have tangential experience (La’an being a victim of alien war crimes and Spock’s sister starting the war) and Ortegas has direct combat experience and Uhura has none. Uhura can get to be a little naive with Spock backing her with pursuit of knowledge reasonings. La’an and Ortegas can push back on trauma grounds. Spock and La’an can come to some kind of resolution and Uhura and Ortegas come closer to understanding the other side.

I did love that Chapel got a plot that didn’t really involve Spock.

Ok I’m done for now.

[lenievi]

How about Spock for the character bingo

this looks so negative... "hitting a wasps nest" :D

"they work better as a part of a dynamic" if he's allowed to argue back and is challenged (which is probably why in SNW I only truly like his interactions with T'Pring, La'an, and Uhura; his interactions with others isn't really that compelling to me (don't misunderstand, I like Spock/Chapel, but it's not a compelling dynamic). His interactions with Pike are like those with Kirk, and I don't find them interesting in SNW because there's no challenge for either of them (in Discovery they worked because Spock wasn't the main character and you only saw the surface glimpses); I don't find 80% of his interactions with Kirk interesting either - that doesn't mean I dislike those interactions, it just means that I find them uncompelling and therefore don't feel the need to think about them and usually forget them (idk what it says about me when I rewatch TOS quite a lot, but I could only list maybe 10 scenes between Spock and Kirk that live in my head rent free, primarily just one and that is the argument in Deadly Years though lol)

But Spock and McCoy, Michael, Sarek, T'Pring, (disco!Una) = <3 <3 <3

[send a character]

[im-all-out-of-ideas]

star trek: strange new worlds s2 ep1

so i had a blast. yes, there were problems, but they were overwhelmingly overshadowed by the positives experience. this was the does of 23rd century trek i needed after the year wait, and i gotta cherish it while it lasts because there will be a WAY LONGER WAIT for s3 with the writers strike.

my favorite part of the episode were absolutely the klingons. the 90s look is back and better than ever with influences from discovery and a shocking amount of variety compared to actual 90s klingons considering how prominent they used to be. the makeup and costuming were even better than the trailer led me to believe we'd get.

the plot was basically what you might expect for a 90s season premiere: very broad implications for the galactic stage with not nearly enough elaboration. so it's exactly the same mental experience as a TNG klingon politics episode but not a two-parter. the real draw is in the crew and how they interact with the given plot.

the best part of the episode was spock. he's as emotional as he should be for a vulcan that is younger and inexperienced and who has removed some of the inhibitions and is recovering from that. the spock and chapel story gives that much more weight to their later years under kirk's command. and his following of the logic to order the destruction of the false flag and his immediate regret and grief over the apparent ordering of chapel and m'benga's deaths is the peak highlight of the episode. hats off to peck.

smaller positives are Pelia, and Carol Kane is as hilarious as her fans have declared. the Lanthanite idea seems to be their attempt at a Guinan, right down to the timing of her appearance in the series, but Pelia is instilled with so much personality that i just want to see more of this kooky immortal.

also loved that "crossfield" ship. it's CLEARLY a mid-23rd century luna-class made from mishmash parts, but i digress. its good to see more tos ship configurations and not constitution-class ships at different scales. more farraguts, less sombras.

m'benga finally has a dramatic character plot outside of his daughter, and a doctor suffering from having taken part in an interstellar war is a perfectly logical place to take him. same with chapel but to a lesser extent. i do think this will be retreaded territory by the time bashir comes back but it's all the better as a tos era story.

ortegas is fun as always, can't wait for her episode to finally come. uhura is growing into her role as comms officer. la'an drinks with the best of them and seems a little less guarded than before. i hate to see how she eventually departs from the enterprise by the time kirk takes command.

now pike and una have to hear about what the kids did with the station wagon when they were left unsupervised for literally 3 days lmaooo

[scentofdriedflowers]

ok let's start SNW episode 2

wait I need already a second, that little Una's backstory

dishonorable dismissal????! how dare y- the fuuck 'they are greatful for your service', yeah but we will kick you to the curb because we're scared of you and your people, fucking starfleet, Una is one of the best starfleet officer ever you don't dishonorably dismiss her just 'cause you're racist.

this is a good deal, wHaT??! where??!!!

who the hell is this himbo subpar lawyer? did he just pass the space-bar test??! give her a damn good one! Pike hurry up with the ivy league lawyer, she's trapped in the worse law&order episode ever right now!! oooh the lawyer is an illyrian, hell yeah now we're talking!! I already love her!

ooooh what happened between this Neera and Una?! interestiiiing, *please let her be an ex girlfriend*

this whole interaction between them have me like 👀 👀 what on illyrian earth happened between them?!

now I want a full story of Neera and Una 300k thanks

'I'll tell the opposing counsel their deal is rejected' HELL YEAH

'that plea deal was her best shot,' oh no honey Neera is her best shot, gurl watch and learn, fight the laws that are unjust.

20 YEARS?? the fuck?! look, Neera has the best bluff face in the universe or she got it, her face is like 'bring it on bitches I'm ready, instead Una is like 'wha 👁️👄👁️'

'are you being funny? you were never funny' sdfghjkjfdfghjkjhgfdfghjk fun's funeral old friend knows it too 😂 I love these two together I need to know more about their backstory gimmeeee

I love La'an silently seething, frothing at her mouth about to snap if she can't find the one who snitched on her Una! she's like

WHeRE IS iT??!! that asshole...

jesus Batel is kind of a horrible counselor tho technically speaking, why you screaming that loud 'objection' gurl?! I can hear youuu, she needs to binge watch some law and order and take notes.

look at all these pompous people act so affronted when being called out as racist lol I love Neera she demolished them lol

'an affinity for gilbert and sullivan musicals' I fucking knew it Spock would said that sdfghjklkjhfdsdfghjk

I like the fact that Batel wants to fail tho lol I give you that gurl (lol when she was forgetting to object) I like you better

oh sweet La'an 🥹 'Counselor, I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Una' 😭😭 Una is family 😭❤

excuse me but Neera and La'an exchange was absolutely amazing and important, La'an needed to hear that, I love Neera. And La'an utter relief of finding out she was not the one who unintentionally caused Una's identity leak was wow such a good scene my poor bb was so scared to have been the one 😭

Una backstory is heartbreaking and you could see that she wanted to explain it to Neera too and apologizing and she did, Neera's voice was breaking a bit too. These two give me emotions I love their interactions so much.

lol that admiral calling her toxic was funny, because she's literally the opposite of toxic as an illyrian since she can heal herself and others by exposure lol

Batel reading that starfleet code that practically saved Una and laughing and be like, I lost!

Damn I love Neera and how she speaks, I was like omg she is asking for asylum and bitch it's working, she saved Una and made a damn good point

*whistle* 'First Officer on deck'

I'm sorry but that prolonged hand holding 👀 *cough cough* I wanna know more here, I need Neera back ASAP I love her so much already

her little moment with La'an I cry 'welcome home, it wasn't the same without you' 🥹 these two that are not huggers or extroverts find their way of telling each other how they feel, they're family.

commander Chin Riley is back bitches!! the brain cell holder is back everything is gonna be ok

after all these roller-coaster emotions I propose an Enterprise Bingo match again just to raise the spirits and have F U N

[rabnerd28]

Una is NOT a Space Mom

Sorry if I’m annoying to everyone else but I'm really sick of so many fans trying to make every member of the Enterprise crew fit into the box of being Pike and Una's kids. It's really annoying and really demeaning to the whole ass adult characters who are exactly one rank below Una. Especially when Una never acts motherly to any member of the crew. Yes, Pike has pure dad energy in a lot of scenes, but I can think of maybe one scene where Una might be interpreted as being motherly, but it’s really not motherly because the scene I’m thinking of is the one where she talks to La’an about her being Illyrian. And that’s easily an argument that happens between friends. Una doesn’t give off mother energy to any of the crew, yet everyone is trying to force her to be a mom and match Pike’s dad energy.

It’s not the case at all with her character. She’s not motherly to M’Benga, they’re most likely the same age, nor to Hemmer or Spock. The women of the crew, she’s not that way with Chapel, and even though Uhura is a cadet on her ship, they don’t interact much and the one major time they did was so that Una could talk to her about finding a possible cure to the light disease. Ortegas and her probably have a minute of shared screen time between them before “The Elysian Kingdom” where the characters they played were exes (yes the “predatory lesbian trope” posts, we’ve all heard of them), but they don’t have a major interaction outside of that episode. So how does anyone get “Una is Ortegas’ mom” from the relationship we’ve never see on screen?

Now La’an and Una is where I think most people draw their “Una as Mom” ideas from. Since Una saved La’an when the Gorn sent her into space on a raft many might get the idea that La’an was a child when this happened, or that Una has a generational age difference with La’an. But we don’t actually know how old either of them were when this happened. Una had to be at minimum 20/21 since Starfleet Academy has a four year training program and the minimum age for a human to get in is 16 years (at least by the time TNG roles around). Now La’an could have easily been a child during this but in “Spock Amok” Una says that she can never picture La’an as a child. My guess is that La’an was at least a teenager (14-19) when she was rescued by Una. The thing is, we don’t know what happened in between that time. How much of a role Una played in La’an’s life after she rescued her. Could it have been motherly? It’s not off the table, but none of their other scenes together indicate that there’s no other interpretation of their relationship. It’s also easily interpreted that they have a bond that isn’t “mother/daughter” and was less familial. Does Una care about La’an and support her? Yes, but she doesn't need to be a mother figure in order to do that.

Am I saying every person is wrong for wanting Una in a motherly role? No, but the people who insist that it’s the only interpretation for her interactions with any member of the crew need to stop. Other people are reading different things with these characters that have only just begun to have grounds covered. You’re interpretation of Una’s relationships aren’t the only ones and you need to stop saying “gross” any time anyone has a different interpretation.

She’s not the actual mom to characters who are whole adults that can take care of themselves.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

I‘m  Always Curious Part Thirty Six

Previous Part | Next Part |  Masterlist Notes: I hope everyone’s having a good week 💕 ALSO @captain-andorable drew AMAZING fanart of Chapters 35 and 18, big thank you to them!! They’re amazing, y’all, go check them out!!!

Warnings: Cursing, a lil fluff, a lil angst. Y’all know me. (Still 😅) Summary: The briefing the Pike had given around the Hutton had made three facts incredibly clear: 1. The crew of the Hutton was terrified— for what reasons, we had yet to ascertain. 2. The landing party would be minimal— Pike, Una, Spock, Thira, Watson, and myself. 3. He did not want me going with them.

“Hey Pal, we’re heading over to pick up the S.S. Hutton. We got these files, but I’m not recognizing the language. The root looks Andorii. Feel like taking a crack at ‘em?” I asked, leaning over the seat of my old station.

“For sure, send ‘em over!” Paledore grinned, “We’re warping there now?” I nodded, “They’re dead in the water, transmissions are coming in static-y as all hell, and half of the crew is stranded down on Catalpa.” Paledore cringed. “I know,” I nodded, “I’m beaming down with the away team once we drop out of warp, I’ll have my communicator with me. Patch through with anything you work out.” “Will do!” I gave him a quick nod of thanks before heading for the turbolift. We had about an hour until we arrived at Catalpa. -- The briefing the Pike had given around the Hutton had made three facts incredibly clear: 1. The crew of the Hutton was terrified— for what reasons, we had yet to ascertain. 

2. The landing party would be minimal— Pike, Una, Spock, Thira, Watson, and myself: people that the Captain knew could quickly size up situations, cover our bases, follow orders when needed (but that were capable of going against Pike’s orders if we knew that it would be conducive to the safest outcome for the missions— something that Pike himself would do.)  3. He did not want me going with them. Only the primary points of the first two facts had been stated. We all knew Pike trusted us as his crew— he knew our strengths and weaknesses; he knew that we were willing to weigh the risks and put ahead the needs of the many for the needs of the few, or the one, in the case of risky away missions. The look that Pike had cast me as he’d dismissed us had told me all that I’d needed to know about his feelings regarding my beaming down with them. In my past few months on the Enterprise, Christopher had kept the kid gloves off, even going so far as sending me on away missions where he was not present. But when he’d nod me on my way, there was always a  ittle twist to his mouth, a little furrow to his brow. But he was being good. We were being good. We were still sparring– on a far more regular basis than we had been in my previous stint on the Enterprise. We shared the odd meal together— typically with at least Una or Spock present; it was rare that it was just the two of us. When it was, though, I had to stop myself from letting my looks linger, or from allowing myself to think too long about the feeling of his ankle or calf brushing against mine under the table. I didn’t let my eyes settle on the secretive, sweet little smiles that he would cast me before taking a drink from his glass, or the odd blink-and-I’d-miss-it wink. The minor proximity was enough to turn my insides to goo. It was embarrassing— and I was sure that he knew what effect he was having. Neither of us had taken any other steps toward fully rekindling the relationship we’d had before, but we were spending more time in each other's company than we had even when we’d briefly been together. His evening-ending murmurs of sweetheart hadn’t stopped, either. I didn’t want them going anywhere. But that concerned, displeased little look had been on Christopher’s face as I’d left the ready room to inform Paledore of our most recent assignment. 

-- 

“Dooooor,” I dragged out, voice hardly above a mumble as I rifled through the box from the storage unit that they’d kept my things in while I’d been away from the Enterprise. “Do I even want to know what you’re looking for?” I smiled at Una’s question, hardly looking away from my task. “I … Had this one notebook from the Academy, with translations and um— fuck,” I muttered, pulling a couple of other notebooks out and dropping them onto my desk, even as Una walked over to me, folding her arms over her chest, “It was from my Esoteric Excavated Xenolinguisitic elective— some of the uh… Some of the runes that were transmitted from the Hutton look so familiar, but I can’t—” “You do know that if you just put all of these notes on a PADD like a normal person, you wouldn’t be giving yourself a thousand-and-one paper cuts for the sake of a hunch? There’s a reason that this is no longer the prevailing method of note-taking and note-keeping.” I could hear Una’s condemning furrowed brow. “I do know that, thank you, mother,” I grumbled, straightening up and planting my hands on my hips as I looked over strewn stacks of notebooks on the desk, and the upturned stack that remained in the box. There were a few other items still inside as well— a sprig of Vulcan mint in a sealed box that Spock had brought back for me from Koutov’s conservatory, some Larilian coins from my first stint on the planet, a wilted flower that I’d picked from a patch of wildflowers back in Sandblossom. “... Why haven't you unpacked this stuff?” Una frowned, leaning against the desk. I considered it for a moment as I sat down in my desk chair, waving my hand in permission as she cast me a questioning glance before she reached into poke through the contents. “I don’t know. When I got back aboard, when… When I got into this room, and saw my stuff— Some of my stuff,” I shook my head, “It was like… It was like I was looking through someone else’s things. I’m not who I was the last time I was here. And that’s not a bad thing, it’s just… There’s a lot of history in there, a lot of good stuff.” “...And you feel that removing it from the box now will change its meaning?” I didn’t meet Una’s gaze, just eyed where she held the small container of Vulcan mint. “Something like that. Stupid, huh?” “Not the word I’d use.” “But the sentiment is on the right track?” Una made a thoughtful little noise in the back of her throat as she lowered the mint back into the box. “You are changed,” She agreed, “To disregard what has happened to you in your time away from the ship would be a disservice to what you’ve gone through. But consider,” She turned to face me again, crossing her arms, “The things that made those memories good then, who made them good, are still a part of you.” My stomach twisted, and I lowered my eyes. Thoughts of Sandblossom and Una’s profile under the low brim of a stetson, Spock’s arched little brow as he passed me the sprig after the incident on Koutov, the memory of being in Christopher’s arms, his generous smiles and warm gazes on Sepheron were things that had all kept me going on Somonia, and during the war. “I suppose,” I conceded quietly. “...And I do still see glimmers of who you were in the time before Somonia, and the war, sometimes,” Una tacked on softly. I glanced up at her curiously, and I found her smiling. She added, “There’s a lightness to you, an excitement— particularly when we’re hailed by a ship that speaks an obscure language, or you’re able to beam down and interact with a civilization that speaks something other than Basic or Klingon.” “Well. It’s what I was trained to do,” I sniffed. “Dork.” Una straightened up. “Tell you something else,” She added as she walked away, “I see it when you’re with him, too.” She didn’t need to clarify— the look that she threw me over her shoulder told me everything that I needed to know. “We drop out of warp in twenty minutes,” She warned before leaving my room, the door sliding shut behind her. Tag list: @angels-pie ; @fantasticcopeaglepasta  ; @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo ; @how-am-i-serpose-to-know ; @onlyhereforthefandomandgiggles ; @inmyowncorner  ; @tardis-23  ; @paintballkid711 ; @katrynec ; @hypnobananaangelfish ; @elen-aranel ; @blueeyesatnight ; @hotchswifey ; @carbonated-beverage​

[fiadorable]

74 Great Things in Memento Mori

Strange New Worlds season one episode four... it's the Gorn 😱

Strange New Worlds | Children of the Comet | Ghosts of Illyria Part 1 & Part 2 | Memento Mori | Spock Amok | Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach | Serene Squall | The Elysian Kingdom | All Those Who Wander | A Quality of Mercy

La'An's memento box has her memorial pin from the Puget Sound, her cadet badge, her diploma from graduating Starfleet Academy, two bracelets (I think), a shiny rock, a plastic yellow cassette looking thing, a ring holding a blue marble, a starfish, and a stylus

Pike's Starfleet Remembrance Day speech

La'An has the messiest quarters we've seen so far and I am here for it (It's still not that messy but she's got clothes thrown about on her bed and couch and it's the only place that looks lived in)

Grumpy Hemmer and Ray of Sunshine Uhura are always a win

Uhura comparing linguistics to engineering and Hemmer being impressed despite himself and despite assurances to the contrary

Big sister Una making sure little sister La'An is okay on this day of remembrance

The tension as they arrive at Finibus Three and try to figure out what's going on is really well done

Everyone changes into their commando gear for the away mission which I like. We don't really get a good look at it until Serene Squall, but I dig the light combat armor

The music in this episode is fantastic and keeps putting me on edge

Pike immediately beaming the away team up when the hidden ship appears

Pike's puzzled face

Jealous of how Number One had that fantastic pony tail for the away mission and now has her hair back down without any sign it had been up

Number One and La'An troubleshooting!

I like Fig and that is a shame because that means she's toast

La'An actually does a good job with Fig here - I like that she isn't dismissed as just another kid who can't help

Pike listening to his security chief immediately and trying to raise shields

Pike's soft "Oh, no." oh my god it gets me every time

The Gorn ship's movements make me want to throw up, but good job highlighting how different they are from "normal" ships we usually see Starfleet interacting with

Number One trying to snap La'An out of her PTSD to get her to move and then grabbing her when she sees she's frozen

Okay, the transport tube was not near sickbay that I could see from earlier, so that means Una probably dragged La'An's unconscious body from where they were up to Sickbay while dealing with severe abdominal trauma and notifying Pike that La'An suspects its the Gorn… holy shirtballs the women in this series are so tough

Number One not telling La'An how badly she's injured so that the younger officer isn't worried about her while advising the captain

La'An forgetting her place while trying to convince Pike they can't fight the Gorn and then rallying to deliver her evidence in a clear, succinct manner that convinces him she's right

Ortegas asking a valid question about the nearby black hole and Pike being like "One problem at a time" 😂

Bridge troubleshooting!

Ortegas mouthing off as her defense mechanism and Pike just being like, Really, Erica? but not calling her on it because, again, defense mechanism

Uhura moving that huge container off of Hemmer 💪🏼

Ready room troubleshooting!

Should have been deeply worried the first time I saw this and heard M'Benga say Una was on her way in to Sickbay when we last saw her right outside Sickbay using the bulkhead to prop her self up and a significant amount of time seems to have passed

Chapel replying "Aces" when asked how her sewing is 😂

"We have only one photon torpedo?" You need the Voyager torpedo bay that respawns them when it's most dramatically appropriate

La'An's speech about the Gorn is chilling

Pike pep talk for what's left of the senior staff

Pike giving La'An a lesson on how to be a first officer and then guiding her through it the rest of the episode

La'An's arc this season is really beautiful and probably my favorite

Hemmer and Uhura troubleshooting!

Hemmer claiming he hates teams but then guiding Uhura through what sounds to be a very complex engineering thing in a way that she is able to quickly understand and work with in a short amount of time

Spock reinventing radar

oh my god i was so nervous when they first saw the gorn on the radar

Pike nodding to La'An to keep Ortegas in check when she started to panic

Dropping the photon torpedo on the Gorn ship is such a cool sequence

The Gorn mothership is terrifying, like if the Borg lost their love of geometry and let a little chaos into their order

"That is not what I suggested" 🤣

Every time someone says a Really Bad Thing on the bridge Pike says Fantastic, Let's Do It

A starship should NOT make those sounds - extreme kudos to M'Benga for keeping a steady hand as he stitches up Una

The submarine dive sequence is so compelling, I am captivated every time I watch

Chief Kyle's friend saving him, sacrificing his own life

Pike and Spock's conversation about valuing life after hearing about the casualty on Deck 22

Pike looking like he's gonna throw up when Spock says the Gorn ship has been destroyed so they won't have to fight hand to hand or be taken prisoner and then turning around with the command mask back on

Chapel encouraging another nurse

Chapel being a fucking weirdo with that comment about sepsis and Number One giving her the same look she gave Hemmer in the last episode and M'Benga just being like what am I going to do with you 😂

Number One ordering them to give Ensign Christina the plasma instead of her 🥺 and M'Benga's respect for her growing

La'An and Spock suicide misison road trip

You're right, Spock, the Gorn light show communication is fascinating

"The mind meld is not a shortcut for dealing with mental trauma" You're right and you should say it, Spock

Spock asking La'An if she wants to stop when he can feel her mind resisting

La'An's brother sacrificing himself for her, ultimately saving her life and by extension the lives of everyone on the Enterprise years later

Vulcan mindmelds go both ways, I forgot about that - nice crossover with Discovery there

They both look like they've been through the ringer after that meld (and they have) but yikes

"…Our mind meld reminded me of risks taken and their value to those that survive"

Hemmer wanted to be a botanist… I bet his quarters are filled with plants

"Space really wants us dead"

"Hemmer, you and cadet have access to EV suits?" "We do sir, though I hesitate to ask why" 😂😂😂

"Erica, if anyone can surf a wave on a black hole it's you"

Hemmer committing the air filter to the cosmos

Hemmer comforting Uhura when she's scared out of her mind

"To fix what is broken" is such a beautiful, simple purpose. I love it so much. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Pike's speech as they get ready to execute the Pike Maneuver

Forcefields around the biobeds in sickbay!

Holy forking shirtballs surfing the black hole sequence

The engineers at dry dock hate Pike for bringing the Enterprise back like this oh my god it looks like they've been through a shredder

The absolute devastation on Pike's face when he thinks Hemmer and Uhura died when the bay was vented and then his relief when Uhura is able to respond. I love the depth of feeling we get with Pike, it's really great that they make a point to show us that he feels things deeply

Seriously how is the ship even flying at this point 😂

Okay okay okay, we need to talk about M'Benga giving Una his blood/plasma/whatever because we learned in the last episode that mixing human and Illyrian blood is expressly forbidden. While I think the rule is meant to be more no putting Illyrian blood into human blood, it is still a risk for him to do it. When rules and laws are made on the basis of prejudice there often isn't room for niceties in the ways they are enforced. This is the moment they become friends.

La'An wearing her remembrance day pin 😭

[kfrentzen]

Una basically giving Spock the “don’t do anything stupid” look 

[speedygal]

Part 5

There were faces that Burnham didn’t recognize in the halls of the  Enterprise.  She had known a few officers transferred to the Enterprise before the mission to Pahvo. Each time Saru and Burnham tried to see similarities with the lower ranked Constitution officers with any they had known in their service on the Shenzhou, they came up rather empty on the matter. There were few Vulcans on the Enterprise, surprisingly, rather than a large assortment of species on the Enterprise that consisted of mostly humans. Compared to the Enterprise, the Discovery was more diverse in terms of aliens serving.  Saru observed the technology was just as advanced as the Discovery when it came to the panels except they lacked screens. There were intercomns littering the walls every so often.  Some of the officers wore uniforms that had skirts with black sloppy neck lines, panty hose, and black boots. 

“Is that a new uniform?” Saru replied.

“Those?” Una replied. “Yes.”

“That would have been regarded as unprofessional to leave a woman without pants in uniform,” Saru said.

 “It is a preference to be in the skirt,” she gestured toward herself as it became apparent. She looked around  the hall as they came closer to engineering. She came to a stop. “Your chief of engineering best look over with Commander De’chewi---”

“Commander Una!” a young man with brown hair with two strange creatures placed against his side. He was dripping in strange dark green material that seemed sticky to his sides and bubbling. “I canne keep these critters in my quarters,” the scotsman handed the  squirming but squeaking creatures into the first officer’s arms as they hiccuped.

“Mr Scott---”

“They got in tae my brandy,” Scott said, as drool came out of their sucker like mouths trailing down Una’s shirt. “They got in tae my brandy. And drank all of it.”

“All of it?” Una inquired.

“Aye,” Scott said.

“And this is the side effect?” Una asked.

“My quarters look worse than I dae,” Scot admitted.

“Any more side effects?” Una said.

“Nae,” Scott replied.

“Go to Doctor Boyce for examination,” Una requested. “You made the right decision coming to me.”

“I was searching for the captain,” Scott said. “Actually. But will do.”

Scott walked away with a smile from the group.

Boyce appeared on the transporter padd then looked around quite startled. The contrasted between the times were very great but very severe. There were officers in engineering reds manning the station that could be transporter chiefs. A young man came through the door with a well trimmed beard and hands linked behind his back in security reds. He had a sparkle in his eye that radiated with youth and optimism. The kind of thing that Boyce had seen in young officers when strolling randomly down the corridor of the Enterprise.  Acting captain Nathanial Stemmel seemed to be in good spirits.

“Doctor Boyce,” Stemmel said. “Glad to have you here.”

“More than you know,” Boyce said, looking around. “This is a very strange transporter room. Felt like I was. . .”

“Being moved from one placed to another in the matter of seconds?”

“It felt different than what I am used to,” Boyce said. “It wasn’t my atoms being moved.”

“In a way it wasn’t your atoms being moved, doctor,” came the chief with short locks of hair. “It’s more smooth moving you as a whole. No lagging time necessarily when transporting people but there is  difficulty when they are coming in on one beam holding on to each other so we have to separate them on their own stations,” he gestured toward the transporter pad. “Sometimes, disconnecting them is a real hassle during the unbeaming process and not everyone is lucky to come back with all their limbs.”

Boyce raised his brows.

“I find that hard to believe coming from a starfleet officer decades ahead of us in everything,” Boyce said. “It is nice to know that someone wants to have some similarities pointed out between the transporters,” he turned toward the acting captain. “Take me to the patient.”

Stemmel looked over toward the chief then gave him a appreciated nod.

“This way, Doctor,” Stemmel said. “You might want to brace yourself for this.”

“How different could it be?” Boyce asked, with a laugh.

Stemmel paused, one hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Can you handle being in a ship that has halls capable of turning off when no one is using them?” Stemmel asked.

Boyce looked toward the door then back toward Stemmel.

“I have been running around in space for years,” Boyce said. “Give me your best shot.”

Stemmel let go of Boyce’s shoulder then walked  through the shoulder.

“Welcome to the future, Doctor Boyce,” Stemmel said.

Boyce walked out to be greeted by corridors that had strange designs that were dark and foreboding threatening to squeeze in on him. He looked up to see a  long window that continued down the corridor giving a good view of space. It was unlike the Enterprise in every way. He found his bearings then walked on shaking off the shock walking alongside the captain as he gazed around observing even more windows. They walked side by side in the cool hallway. Iit reminded Boyce of a rigid, strict authoritarian alien civilization that he had been fortunate to have been held captive while the captain and the commander got out of the problem in one piece while he couldn’t as his signal bounced right back to the surface when a sudden abnormality intervened in the beaming sending him into their hands.

The time that he had spent with Pike replicating the feel of the same room this time without shackles. Spending their off duty together making new memories over the old ones that were better. He came to a stop beside the man then turned int he direction of the automatically opened doors then walked right in to find a large sick bay that was square but wide and less cramped than the one that he was familiar to. It was coated in gray and touch screens. There was two officers in patient outfits laid on two biobeds.  The biobeds on the Enterprise were more in number. The sheer difference made him wish to return back to the familiar confines of his office that was set across from the door that lead into the bio room. Separate from the glasses of medicine and kept in their rightful place. Purposely left out from the range of patients. He could see the light gray primary color and the dark blue secondary theme.

There was no hidden door that could be opened and lead into another half of the bioroom that showed countless biobeds ready to be occupied in times of emergencies. He cringed at the the thought of patients laying on the floor waiting to be treated had the halls become too long to hold the impatient patients. He moved toward the man surrounded by a glowing blue forcefield with crystal shapes. He glared toward the dark woman, Pam (Once Pollard),  the doctor who Saluuk had informed him was overseeing his care, who typed on the flat screen keypad. Boyce moved toward the side of the man.  He looked up toward the screen then moved over to the recently added touch screen checking the man’s scans. The man’s eyes remained open rather than being closed,  His eyes seemed cloudy but full of stars, galaxies, and what seemed to be planets if Boyce looked in too deep. It was nothing like he had seen in his career.

“Which one of you is Doctor Pam?” Boyce asked.

“I am Doctor  Pam,” Pam said.

“How did he get in to this state?” Boyce asked.

“He jumped into the mycelium network one too many times,” Pam said.

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand sixty three,” came another doctor. with folded arms “If anyone says one hundred thirty-three, they are lying and they want to believe it so bad.”

Quite the sacrifice had to be made in order to get the technology from the Klingons. Pike was still perplexed. Not often did something leave him full of questions long after a informative meeting had concluded. The Klingons hadn’t been recorded to have those yet. It was currently seen as a abomination as a warrior for the time being to use the technology of their enemy to cheat in battle. Pike had  a feeling their thoughts on the natter were bound to change an see it as a excellent device to surprise their enemy. The mere thought of it made him recoil in his mind. It would be a living nightmare knowing from one day to the next if the Klingons were  around them just waiting to make their move. The causalities would do a number on Pike. The thick cloud of depression would be worse than the one he had during the Talos IV incident.

“So many .   . . differences. . . “

“His name is Paul Herman. I am his partner, Hugh Coober,” Hugh said.  “We were going to the Kasselian Opera after the last jump.”

“Seems like he needs a mind meld to yank him out,” Boyce said. “Or at least some form of telepathy.”

There was silence in the room before Pam cleared her throat.

“What makes you say that?”

“Direct contact to his mind would be acting as a tether him to this reality,” Boyce said. “Soon as that temporary link is established, bringing him down would be easy as talking to him and encourage him to follow the thread home.” Boyce looked toward the mumbling man who wore a look of awe. He felt sympathy for the young man. Trapped somewhere and somehow unable to interact with anyone he knew but surrounded by miracles and new scenery. He looked toward the doctors. “You have a Vulcan aboard this ship,” he eyed Pam. “Right?”

Vulcans was joining the fleet at this stage.  Lieutenant Spock was the first then so did a couple of Vulcans joined starfleet academy shortly after his graduation and pass with flying colors. They were slowly growing in numbers but the not often aspect made it obvious as few ensign Vulcans could be spotted were quickly promoted to Lieutenants within a eyes reach. They were seen as hard working logical beings who refused shore leave and left thorough reports.  Despite their service, Vulcans were climbing the ranks to a crawl compared to the loyal Andorians climbing faster than they did. It was a shame that most members were reluctant to join the federation when it was so small and growing so much that it held a majority of humans with minority of alien individuals.  There were human like members but they were not entirely human sprawled through different posts.

And if it were so different between their universes, then Vulcans had to be filling many ranks in the Fleet and thousands of starships. Most Vulcans preferred their meager science academy and private Vulcan primary filled vessels that went out doing science in their little sections of space.  Boyce watched the two officers share a glance then return their attention on to him. For some reason, Boyce had a feeling that the changes so drastic that what he thought couldn’t have been true and quite extremely rare for a Vulcan to join the fleet.

Pam shook her head. 

“No,” Pam said. “We have officers with high ESP ratings.”

“Such as?” Boyce said.

“Malasia De Rainford,” Pam said.

The camera panned out to reveal the name on the Discovery was being changed while surrounded by Constitution classes. The Discovery’s name was changed from the hull from space. It changed from USS Discovery to USS Triumph before the eyes of Captain Pike sitting in the chair before the view screen. He seemed to be hopeful regarding the future glancing off toward his  yeoman Colt standing beside his chair with linked arms behind her back and tidied orange hair then looked back off into  his question facing the view screen in a content manner. Just how did the Klingons acquire cloaking technology so soon?

[icepixie]

SNW 2x01

Spoilers ✨

Not bad. Definitely a more interesting episodic plot than almost anything in season one. Maybe they've finally found their legs.

Sad we got only two minutes of Una and Pike, but I liked what we got. "You cannot resign. The loss to Enterprise would be unimaginable. ...To me." (I'm reading it as "loss to me would be unimaginable," not "I can't imagine the loss to Enterprise." Because of course I am.) Hopefully more next week.

Everybody looked friggin' amazing in their undercover gear. A-plus costuming. Christine especially looked fantastic. Very D&D chic.

The special effects feel so different than what I mentally associate with Star Trek, even the later series that used CGI. I think it has something to do with the "camera" angles they're using to show said special effects, like spiraling down Starbase 1 at the beginning. I recall prior series doing more of things just moving around onscreen while the camera stayed in one place. (I could totally be misremembering, though.) I like it a lot; it feels very cinematic. It clashes a smidge with the set design, which is much more old school/almost 70s and 80s sci-fi movie (especially the predominantly white corridors, all the angles rather than softer curves), but that's fine.

M'Benga and his actor were outstanding here and he's secretly becoming my favorite character. "Nice guy must do violence" is old as the hills, but I liked that they acknowledged that he would take any other choice besides what they do, and he chooses it deliberately. So often that trope comes out of left field because the nice guy gets too emotional or whatever. I also really, really like his and Chapel's father-daughter-type relationship.

But Pelia. PELIA. BEST ADDITION TO THE SHOW. PERFECTION. I still miss Hemmer and wish we could have them both, but goddamn I love her character already. We needed something to lighten up this episode and she did that well. The concept of these Lanthians living undiscovered among humans until quite recently is interesting and I would like to see how that went down when they were discovered.

On the downside: Spock/Chapel is grating in just about every way possible. There is just no there there for me. Logically, I get it--Christine I'm sure has some kind of alien kink and half-breeds are even more entertaining, Spock released his emotions or whatever last season and I think it involved Chapel (don't care enough to check). But it's kind of like Archer and T'Pol, something in the interaction between them just screams "nope" despite how the PTB are writing it.

I honestly don't understand why I find Spock's journey towards feeling things so off-putting. This should be something I like. B'Elanna's human/Klingon stuff was cool. Troi's human/Betazoid stuff was cool. Why is this not? Is it because the thing he's struggling to accept is feeling emotions and I just don't really give a shit about that? Or is it that Spock is by far the character we already know the most about and any time spent on him is time we could be spending on any other character?

...Sorry, Spock-lovers. A little of him goes a long way for me.

On to the next episode. Next week. Like the heathens we were when watching network television, ugh. I don't absolutely hate spacing them out, especially when there are so few, but I definitely prefer being able to go at my own pace.

[lenievi]

snw #8 (rewatch) - I’m getting closer to being able to watch s2 lol

- Una and M’Benga’s friendship has so much potential, I hope they show more of it

- also idk why are they acting as if there was only one doctor on the ship. In Discovery, we never even met their CMO. And in TOS, they had at least three doctors. 

- ok, the episode is more amusing when you don’t expect a normal Star Trek episode and are also familiar with the characters more

- and again I ask why was Spock not able to block it with his telepathic training? Unless he just like... wanted an escape or something (yes, they needed Spock to not remember, but when you have two characters with telepathic abilities where one gets influenced and one not, it makes you question it)

- but like they show us what a fun character Hemmer could be and what his personality is and then... they kill him off in the next episode... just to have some Uhura angst (not that Uhura angst is bad, mind you) and to have something snap in Spock...

- the ending between M’Benga and Una is so nice. (I assume they’re just gonna ignore them, more or less, in season 2 lol since I never get the interactions I want *looking at Una and Spock, but also Pike and M’Benga*)

ranking (based on my personal enjoyment): 5 - 3 - 1 - 7 - 2 - 4 - 8 - 6

[scentofdriedflowers]

I liked the episode but not my favorite, it was big on the ethical meaning plot jfc a bit heavy! That kid!! But crew relationship speaking, this episode was a little meh, not much interactions between the crew. Very little Una and me is sad😥, happy to see her sitting on the captain chair twice tho😎, 0 scenes with her and La'an me super sad (last episode was a bliss they had to skip this one lol!). They had so much FUN last episode that they got back at terrifying people in this one lol, when Spock told Una that they couldn't speak to the captain or beam down to the planet he was liiittle bit afraid of her reaction😂, loved it!👌

And what I really liked was La'an in 'teaching' mode with Uhura, she's a bit rough but that's La'an, not surprised and I liked it (she said Una terrify people but she doesn't joke either😂), at the end tho Uhura rocked as always and La'an praised her and acknowledged her result and made her take the credit, that's a good teacher, and most importantly.... she let her skip lesson number 7😂 lol! Loved the moment 'my promising cadet just busted your ass basically'. Also liked the b plot with m'benga I love that man, he's such a sweet soul.

But give us more interactions with the crew!!! For example this could have been a great opportunity for Una-Spock scenes since Pike was always away!! Or to know more about Lt Mitchell she was back on the bridge! or Hemmer where is Hemmer?!!! Ugh this show needs more than 10 episodes per season!

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

I’m Always Curious Part Eighteen

Previous Part | Next Part |  Masterlist Notes: Not beta-read. Happy New Year’s Eve 🥳 Warnings: Cursing? A Compromising Situation™? Smooches™ Summary:  Una gave me a look, one that I often received when we were not alone - she smiled solely with her eyes. Spock had managed to perfect the same technique. I had yet to accomplish it. If I was smiling, it was with my entire face; it was hard for me to hide when I was giddy.

“It’s gonna be fine, Pal,” I smiled a little bit, watching Ensign Paledore straighten his uniform. He was one of the newest additions to the Enterprise, but he was already proving invaluable to the work that we did as a Communications team. He’d taken on a lot of the day to day tasks that I’d been handling under Thaleh, freeing up more of my time to work with the bridge crew when needed (real work, not like when Thaleh was on leave and I went to the Captain’s ready room to ‘discuss a report’). 

Paledore was a fairly fresh-faced kid off of Earth - New Orleans to be exact. He had a fairly thick accent most of the time, but he often managed to couch it when he was speaking another language. He was getting ready to beam down with the away team to translate for Captain Pike at a meeting on Sogaliv.

“You’re sure you can’t beam down with us? Just in case?” Paledore asked as he straightened his uniform - again. I smiled a little. “Look, I know that beaming down to a new planet is… Intimidating. But you know why you’re going down there, and you’ll be in good hands. The team won’t let anything happen to you.” “What if I translate something wrong? Or--” “Your mother is Sogalivian, Pal, you speak it as well as Federation Standard,” I reminded him with a chuckle. “Is there anything I should know? About Pike, I mean,” Paledore asked. I frowned, thinking for a moment. “Just… Don’t treat him like he’s on a pedestal. Tell him what he needs to know and don’t dance around the facts, even if you don’t think it’s what he wants to hear. Couching an unpleasantry in a smile and a quick turn of phrase won’t give the Captain what he needs to see that a job is done right.” Paledore took a deep breath and nodded. “Do the nerves ever go away?” He asked. I smiled. “They haven’t completely, for me, but they’ve become… Less.” Paledore and I turned our heads as Thaleh rounded the corner into our station. “Ready, ensign?” Thaleh asked, raising a brow. Paledore cast me one more look before turning back to Thaleh and giving her a bright smile, “Ready.” 

--  If I’d had to go by anything regarding Paledore’s performance on Sogaliv, I would’ve gone by his grin. Luckily for me, I’d also gotten his write-up of the mission, as well as a peak at Una’s. Paledore had not only performed exceptionally well, but he’d managed to smooth over a century-old mistranslation between the Federation and the planet of Sogaliv. Something told me Paledore wouldn’t be so wary of beaming down in the future. “What was the word that was mistranslated?” I asked Una later at dinner. She thought for a moment as she took a sip of her drink. “Sarchelois?” She sounded it out slowly, ‘SAHR-chel-wah’. I frowned. “Bordering,” I translated. “The word apparently has about five more meanings than that in Sogalivian, though that is the most common, and so the one used when the Sogalivian contract was being written up with the Federation.” “Yikes,” I nodded a little, “Explains why Pal was smiling so widely when he got back, though.” “He didn’t tell you?” “No, I think he was too happy to speak. Should wear off in a day or two.” Una chuckled. “I remember when you were like that, all of… Four months ago.” I scoffed. “Come on, it’s been longer.” “Six months,” Una corrected herself. I rolled my eyes as she pressed on, “I remember the look on your face when Thaleh told you that you’d be beaming down to Uthea C-4. I thought your head was going to explode.” “Okay, I don’t get to interact with primary pre-warp texts often, if at all. It’s exciting!” Una gave me a look, one that I often received when we were not alone - she smiled solely with her eyes. Spock had managed to perfect the same technique. I had yet to accomplish it. If I was smiling, it was with my entire face; it was hard for me to hide when I was giddy. “Fine,” I turned back to my food, “Make fun of me for still liking my job.” “Do you, then?” I frowned. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Una didn’t answer that, just shrugged her shoulders. I knew better. There was something on her mind, I just didn’t know what. 

--

“You’re sure you can handle it?” I asked, walking backward into the gym, the Captain following me, “You’ve had a pretty long day, sir, negotiations and all. Wouldn’t want you to lose just ‘cause you’re tired.” Chris simply arched a brow at me. “Do you remember what I said a couple of days ago about not getting cocky, lieutenant?” “Vaguely.” “Right before you wound up on the mat?” “Mm, you mean right before I pulled those punches for your benefit, yes,” I turned to face forward, “It’s all coming back to me now.” “Best two of three again?” Chris asked as we set our things onto the bench beside the mats. “That's all you can handle?” I asked. Chris glanced around before he stepped a lower closer to me, murmuring, “You have no idea what I can handle, lieutenant.” “Then you’ll have to show me, Captain,” I retorted, grinning as his eyes grew dark. 

--

An hour and a half later, Chris and I were sweating, sore, and our scores were tied. “Alright,” Chris held his hand out to me to help me up, “I think we ought to call it for the night.” I hated to admit it, but he was right. “Alright,” I sighed heavily, letting go of his hand. Even as we reached for our things, I noticed Chris standing closer than he typically did, his arm brushing against mine. Maybe I wouldn't have been wary of it before, but now that Chris and I were… Well, I didn’t know what we were, exactly, but now that we were it, I found myself more aware of how much contact he and I were making, and how many other people were around. As we passed down the hall together, I absently noted where we are, and I huffed a soft laugh. “What is it?” He asked. “No, nothing.” “You’re laughing over nothing? I refuse to believe that,” Chris’ shoulder bumped mine. I glanced up at him before I shrugged. “This was where I was when I… I heard what I thought I heard, that’s all.” Realization crossed Chris’ features, and he nodded a little, murmuring, “I see.” We continued to the turbolift in silence for a moment. Then, “What exactly did you hear?” “I told you what it was.” “No, you told me about what you heard.” He lowered his voice, tipping his head toward mine, “It must’ve been moderately suggestive if you assumed that I was with someone.” “She said your name, is all.” “That’s it?” Chris stopped walking, and I groaned, stopping a few paces away and turning to face him. “Can we…?” I nodded over my shoulder. “Nu-uh. That’s all it took and that’s where your mind went?” “You make me sound so suspicious,” I laughed, “It was how she said it.” “How’d she say it?” I opened my mouth, then hesitated and shook my head. Chris’ eyes lit up. Oh, god, I knew that look now. I was in trouble. “Come on,” I added, taking a couple of steps back toward the turbolift. “How’d she say it?” He repeated. “I can’t!” I laughed, full of nervous energy, vaguely gesturing to the hall around us. Chris’ eyes did a sweep of the area before he waved me toward him. I took a couple of steps, still shaking my head, then watched as he opened the door beside him. “What--” “C’mere,” He waved me closer, “Quickly.” I huffed, hurrying to join him and ducking under his arm-- Into a maintenance closet. It was dim; the walls were lined with shelves full of supplies. “Are you kidding?” I asked flatly, leaning against the shelf behind me as Chris squeezed in across from me. There was little room between the two of us. “Well someone wouldn’t answer me in the hallway,” Chris retorted as he rested his hands on the shelves behind me. “I’m only going to repeat myself one more time, lieutenant,” he added, his voice lowering to the murmur it had briefly been in the gym, “How did she say it?” I bit my lip. This was embarrassing. God, why did I even say anything? “Well… She giggled-- Which I refuse to demonstrate,” I raised a hand, poking my finger into his chest; he clearly wasn't intimidated by my resolve, his smile just widened, “And then she… Kinda sighed your name, I guess.” “I’m going to need you to demonstrate that, if not the giggle.” I felt my face heating up. “I-- I can’t,” I mumbled, embarrassed, “Not with you looking at me.” Chris hummed, thoughtful. Then one of his hands lowered from the shelf and settled on my hip, gently turning me away from him to face the shelves. I felt him crowd closer, his broad chest pressing against my back as his lips brushed the shell of my ear. He murmured, “How about now?” I shivered and closed my eyes, nodding a little. “I’m waiting, lieutenant,” he warned. I felt like my head was going to pop. “Oh, Chris,” I winced as I sighed in my best approximation. His hand tightened on my hip. “Just like that?” He murmured. I nodded, humming the affirmative. I sounded as stupidly breathy as I had on Koutov, but I had no tea to blame this time. “Say it again,” He ordered. I bit my lip again to stifle a whine. There was an edge of his authoritative Captain tone to the way he’d spoken. I steeled myself, taking a deep breath. “Oh, Chris-- Oh!” I gasped softly as he began to lay kisses down the side of my neck; the hand that had settled on my hip slid around my front, drawing me back against his chest. “I see what you mean,” He murmured between kisses, “That...Would sound...Exceptionally compromising.” I nodded a little, raising a hand to reach back and slid it into his hair. He groaned against my skin. “You understand why I didn’t wanna-- In the hallway?” I mumbled. Chris hummed against my neck and I squirmed, unable to help myself. His arm tightened around me, stilling me. “We should get out of here,” He turned his head, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I don’t know,” I turned to face him, leaning back against the shelf again, “I know I was a little unimpressed at first but I… Think I could get used to this.” Chris chuckled, leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. I sighed, looping my arms around his neck. “We need to,” he insisted as he leaned away again, even as I leaned up, kissing his cheek and jaw and wherever I could reach, “I want to take my time with you, and you deserve better than a maintenance closet.”  I felt myself warm at that and I dragged Chris down for another kiss. “I’ll make sure the coast is clear. Safer if I check,” I sighed. Chris nodded, stepping back into what little room he could to let me open the door. I poked my head out, checking both ways and listening for incoming footsteps before I stepped into the hall, waving for Chris to follow. I was already halfway down the hall by the time he stepped out of the closet. He caught up to me at the turbolift. “My quarters?” He asked softly, watching me. And fuck, I wanted to, but I couldn’t. “I have to speak with Thaleh early about Pal’s training program,” I grimaced, “I’m sorry.” Chris shook his head, murmuring, “It’s alright.” We stepped onto the turbolift, and I couldn’t help but look at him - at the slight flush on his cheeks (which could easily be passed off as the result of our time spent at the gym) or the hair that I’d pushed out of place. But Chris was looking, too. It seemed that neither of us could contain our smiles. “I’ll see you later,” I said as I stepped off of the turbolift, “Goodnight, Captain.” “Goodnight, lieutenant.” Tag list: @angels-pie​  ; @fantasticcopeaglepasta​