#thinking about the vulcan/human pairs on star trek and how they can typically be 'cat - dog' pairs

[bumblingbabooshka]

Cat Command

[lurkch]

The Hoverbike Incident, Part 2

Fandom: Star Trek AOS Pairing: Spock x OC Summary: The adventures of teenage Spock, episode 1. Word Count: 2851 Warnings: I can’t think of any, but one person’s plot point is another person’s warning, potentially, so I can’t say for sure. Rating: ? Note: This has been sitting on my hard drive for several years, so now’s as good a time as any. Unbeta’d.

Tag List (Likes & Reblogs): @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @auduna-druitt @kingarthurscat   @trekkietrekkielovelove  @room-with-a-cat  @castiels-ass-butt-1967 @clumsy-writing-rdb  @fezesmakeseverythingbetter @storiesfromstarfleet  @deadlockedsculptures  Anyone else?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Over the next few days, Jules became more the person Spock was used to—that is to say loud, nosy, irritating and arousing. According to his mother, this was typical of Human teens. Not that she commented on the arousing part (Spock kept that particular complaint to himself).

Once his mother's flitter was out of sight, Spock began packing what he referred to as provisions and what Jules repeatedly called a picnic. He sent her back to her room twice before he was satisfied that she was suitably dressed for an excursion into the desert. The exercise would have been more satisfying if he had not had the distinct impression—garnered mostly from repeated eye rolling on her part—that she was simply humouring him because he was doing his 'Vulcan-thing.’

"Uh-uh. This bike," she said, leaning against Sarek's new beast as Spock headed to his own, somewhat battered and very ancient, hoverbike.

"That is my father's,” he said flatly. "This is mine."

"Don’t care,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “I want to ride this one." She ran her hand over the sleek chassis as she circled it admiringly.��

The bike was aesthetically pleasing in its aerodynamics and unmarred paint.

"You did not specify a particular hoverbike when we made our agreement and I do not agree to this amendment."

"Oooh, amendment," she said drawing out the word. "Practising to be a lawyer when you grow up?"

Spock took a deep breath and engaged in the Vulcan equivalent of counting to ten. He counted to twelve. "No. And we are taking my hoverbike or none at all."

"Oh c'mon. Wouldn't you rather ride this one? We'll be back before your mom. And your dad's not back for a week or something." She fluttered her lashes in what was meant to be a suggestive fashion—the gesture was not completely ineffective. "Aren't you … curious? In-trigued? Fa-sci-na-ted?"

He looked at her askance. She'd been the one to complain that he was overusing the word interesting and now she was mocking his attempts at other word choices.

She clambered onto Sarek's hoverbike, nearly toppling it before he caught it, and seated herself, examining the dash. No doubt searching for the ignition. Spock was satisfied that she would not find it since everything was labelled in Vulcan script.

"I'll keep your other little secret if we take this one."

"I have no other secrets." He made a quick mental list and came up with one or two things but as far as he was aware she didn't know about any of them.

She watched his face and grinned. "Hah, yes, you do." Changing tack, she appealed to his ego and then to his logic pointing out that Sarek's bike was much more suited to carrying a passenger than Spock's. 

That was true. It was one of the main reasons Sarek bought the new bike.

"We would need to be extremely careful not to marr the finish," he said, eyeing the gleaming machine.

"Oh, absolutely." Her tone was suddenly so serious that he could not be sure whether she was being sincere or whether she was mocking him again. Still. She had kept her word not to tell his mother about his excursion, for all the good it had done.

He would be lying if he said that the thought of testing the bike in Sarek's absence hadn't occurred to him.

"You cannot tell my mother."

"Lips sealed," she said, grinning. "Promise."

"Very well," he said, transferring their provisions to Sarek's bike—a process that was only marginally complicated by Jules bouncing excitedly in the driver's seat.

"I am driving," he said pointedly.

"Spoilsport." But she scooted backward onto the passenger seat readily enough.

With their helmets on the neighbours would have to look closely to notice it wasn't Sarek piloting the bike. Nevertheless, Spock immediately headed out over the desert to avoid prying eyes.

The bike handled much smoother than Spock's though a bystander could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Jules' hands looped around Spock's waist and her front pressed to his back made focus more difficult than Spock anticipated. The bike dipped and wobbled a few times more than strictly necessary.

"Where are we going?"

The bike dipped again but Spock quickly regained control.

"There is no need to shout. The helmet intercom is quite sensitive."

"Oh. Sorry," she said, lowering her voice almost too much. "Where are we going?"

"My cave. You will find it more comfortable to eat in the cooler temperature and we can be assured that no predators will be present."

"Oh, okay—wait, did you say predators?"

He winced at the sudden increased pressure around his waist as she tightened her grip.

"If you deprive me of oxygen you will be stranded," he said drily, pulling away but not daring to take a hand from the control column.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Her grip loosened marginally and he managed to take a deep breath, though not a full one.

"There are large and small predators in the desert. Most of them retire to dark, cool places during the hottest hours of the day. Like caves."

"Um, so what makes your cave so safe?"

"You will see."

Sarek’s bike was more efficient—and more stable at higher speeds. So much so that Spock was lulled into thinking they were travelling slower than they were. Jules rose somewhat in his estimation as she expressed admiration for the scenery and asked questions about the geology, flora, and fauna that they passed. He even deigned to circle around a sehlat cub that had wandered out of its den and into the heat so that she could get a closer look before its mother retrieved it.

He settled the bike at the base of sheer rock and disembarked. Not until he started retrieving their provisions did Jules remove her helmet to ask if, in fact, they were there yet.

"I don't see a cave," she said after she had surveyed their surroundings in every direction.

"Nevertheless, we are here."

Shrugging in acquiescence, she hopped off the hoverbike. Spock slung the pack containing their provisions over his shoulder and grabbed a handhold in the rock.

"You're shitting me," Jules said from the vicinity of his feet when he had ascended barely a metre.

Spock looked over his shoulder as best he could. "I am what?"

"I mean you're kidding me. Joking. Can't possibly be serious." When Spock didn't answer, she added, "I am not climbing that cliff."

Sighing, Spock jumped down from his perch. "Cliff is a misnomer. The cave is only 8.7 metres up."

Jules crossed her arms and stared at him. Spock sighed.

"There is a narrow foot path along the ledge, however the access point is 569 metres northwest."

"I don't know how to climb."

"You need only follow my movements."

Jules looked unconvinced.

"If I did not believe you were capable I would not suggest it."

"Fine, but if I die it's your fault."

Spock frowned but decided not to comment since she seemed inclined to attempt the ascent. While it normally took him less than two minutes to scale the wall, with a tentative Jules in tow it stretched to ten minutes.

Jules leaned against the rock face on the ledge and squuezed her eyes shut. "Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down."

Spock glanced at her curiously then set to work shifting the rock slab over the cave entrance. When he had moved it enough that they could squeeze through, he tossed the provisions inside and reached over and grabbed Jules’ leg intending to get her attention. She shrieked loud enough that he grazed his scalp on the cave opening. When they had both recovered their senses and stopped glaring at each other, he ushered her into the cave, sliding a smaller rock slab over the opening from within the cave to keep anyone or anything from following them in.

"Uh, are we eating in the dark?"

"A moment," Spock said, running his hands along the wall until he encountered a familiar nook. Retrieving the matches he had left there, he struck one against the wall and lit a candle sitting on a ledge. Leading her further into the cave he lit several more until a faint glow filled the space.

"Your eyes will become accustomed to the light."

Needing less ambient light, Spock set about checking the cave for signs of intruders since his last visit. Finding none, he unpacked their provisions onto a flat rock about knee height.

"This is kinda cool," Jules said, glancing around the cave. "Still not down with the entrance though."

"The ambient temperature is considerably cooler than outside, particularly if you venture further back."

Jules giggled and he looked over to see if something required his attention.

"When I said it was kinda cool I meant that your cave is, uh, nice. Not the temperature."

"Ah." He was learning rapidly that despite their many similarities, Standard and English were not, in fact, the same language. Jules either didn't or wouldn't speak Standard. "If you wish I will show you the modifications I have made."

The cave was not particularly large so it wasn't a long tour. There was the small area for eating where the ceiling was also high enough to stand up. A small beam of faint light fell through a small hole in the cave ceiling to allow fresh air in and stale air—or smoke from a cooking fire—out. Further back the ceiling sloped leaving a small semi-circular area equipped for sleeping.

"Whoa, you sleep out here? Isn't that, I don't know, dangerous?"

"Less so than travelling after dark," Spock said, heading back to the eating area.

Spock pulled over another flat rock. "You may sit if you wish."

"Thanks." Jules sat down and then after a moment decided to pull her feet up onto the rock as well. "Does Vulcan have spiders or scorpions or anything?"

"There is insect life in the desert, however nothing exactly analogous."

"Yeah, well, I'll just keep my feet up here anyway. Just in case."

"As you wish." Spock handed her the sandwich he had prepared himself and picked up his own.

"Where are you going to sit?"

"I am accustomed to caves," he said, crouching down across from her.

"So, your cave, huh? How did you manage that?"

He told her the story over lunch of how he had spent weeks searching the desert for an unoccupied cave. After several false starts he had decided on this one, lifting the rock slab into place by using his hoverbike as a crane.

"That's pretty cool."

Spock looked at her a moment. "Nice?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant." She grinned at him in the candlelight, "Is that how your hoverbike got all those dents?"

"Several," Spock admitted. "Sarek was not pleased."

"Is Sarek ever pleased?"

"With me?" Spock considered the question a moment. "Rarely, as of late."

"Yeah, well that's normal. I don't think my mother's been happy with me since I was four."

"What did you do?"

"I survived. My mistake, right?" Jules shrugged. "So, why exactly do you need a cave anyway? Is it like some Vulcan treehouse kinda deal?"

Seeing Spock's blank look, she explained the concept of a treehouse.

"I suppose it is analogous. It is peaceful to be alone."

"I guess so. Only if other people are being assholes though, otherwise it's just lonely."

They headed back to Shi'Kahr shortly after their lunch. At a loss for further conversational topics, Spock was eager to be off and Jules was missing the air conditioning of the house. There was also the small matter of returning Sarek's bike before it was missed.

Whether Jules had changed her seating position or whether Spock was simply more attuned to her presence, he found it more difficult to ignore her hands looped around his waist mere centimetres from his lok on the return trip.

The cooling air of the waning day mixed with the residual heat of the desert floor created contrasting thermal layers over the desert. Spock usually rode his hoverbike at either at its peak height or almost skimming the desert surface at these times to avoid the mixing of thermal layers that could cause a hover vehicle to dip or rise unexpectedly. Sarek's hoverbike, however, had a thermal current sensor.

Spock flicked on the display and watched the multi-colour graph of the thermal layers. If he timed it just right … the hoverbike dipped sharply on a cold current and then rose smoothly as it picked up a hot stream of air near the ground. Behind him Jules let out a startled yelp through the intercom and tightened her arms to a vise grip around his waist.

"What the hell was that?"

"Thermal currents. I was testing a theory."

"What theory?" Jules asked, sounding both suspicious yet grudgingly interested. Her grip around his waist loosened slightly as she remembered belatedly that suffocating the driver was unwise—especially when they were floating at this height.

"That it is possible to ride the thermal layers in a way that approximates the Terran sport of surfing." Since his statement only elicited static over the intercom, he added, "The surfboard in this case being the hoverbike."

"I know, I got that. I'm not an idiot," she muttered. "So you did that on purpose."

"Yes."

"A little warning, next time? Unless you want me to lose my lunch all over your back?"

"You do not object to another attempt?"

"As long as you know what you're doing." She scooted forward so that she was snug against him, her legs flanking his thighs and her breasts pressed to his back. He was so distracted by the shift in position that he almost missed her mumbling, "You do know what you're doing, right?"

They continued on, searching out promising thermal currents and becoming increasingly daring with each successful swoop toward the desert floor only to be buoyed at the last moment.

Had Spock been thinking clearly, he might have avoided the Arev Sef where multitudes of dunes made the thermal currents more complex and the uneven terrain made low-level hoverbike skimming unwise. Spock's thoughts, however, were divided between the thermal currents and the erection he was experiencing from having Jules plastered against his back—though part of that may have been attributable to the adrenaline rush of surfing. Her firm grip around his waist was now grazing the head of his lok (or maybe it was the other way around) with every jolt. He did not ask her to move her hands.

On the last thermal wave, Spock miscalculated the ground distance having silenced the collision sensor earlier since it sounded every time they swooped toward the ground anyway. They failed to clear a sand dune on the updraft, skittering over it just enough for the hoverbike to dig in and buck them both off before the bike rolled down the far side of the dune.

Spock lay in the sand dune where he had landed and assessed whether he had been injured. After a moment of cataloguing his body parts (all of which were thankfully still intact, including the one that had been protruding just prior to the mishap), he sat up and looked around. Jules was several metres away and not moving. By the time he scrambled to his feet and ran over to her, she had started to stir.

"Are you injured?" He asked anxiously, crouching down beside her.

"M'okay," she mumbled, sitting up and, after doing what Spock assumed was her own internal assessment, pushed herself to her knees and then stood up. "What happened?"

"We hit a dune."

"Oh." As she started following him over the dune, Spock noticed that she was limping.

"You are injured."

"It's just a sprain." She patted him on the arm. "It's nothing, really."

He helped her climb the dune, the shifting sand closing in around their footsteps. From the air the dunes had seemed small, but now that they were navigating them on foot they became large and looming.

Once they reached the top they could see a fair ways. Shi'Kahr was not yet in sight. If they were to reach it by dark they would need the hoverbike in working condition, particularly with Jules’ injury. For the moment Spock pushed away thoughts of trudging through the desert at night on foot though he did spare a quick glance to see if any predators had come out to investigate their scent.

"Uh-oh."

Spock looked over at Jules and followed her gaze to the base of the sand dune. Sarek's hoverbike lay on its side, a trail of gouges in the dune marking its path to the bottom. Spock's stomach sank as he saw that the rearview mirror was laying in the sand some distance up the dune from where the hoverbike rested. He wasn't certain in this light but he thought the windshield might be cracked as well. Life as he knew it might very well be over in the next 184.72 hours, more or less, depending on whether Sarek's transport was delayed.

A/N: I know crap all about physics, thermal currents or surfing. If you’d like to be tagged for any of my fics,sign up here.