Commodore

Chapter 7: Affection

"I'm relieving you of your duty, brother."

Spock turned around, frowning up at his sister. Rev folded her hands behind her back, rocking back on her heels. She was anxious to get to work; she'd slept a full ten hours last night, having gone to bed directly after dinner and waking up into her breakfast time. She'd grabbed biscuit on the way to the bridge.

With a few taps to his board to show her his work, Rev nodded in understanding and sat down in his chair.

They soared through the stars that morning, and Rev studied more deeply into the rock-beings she'd been shot by. She still wore a bandage around her waist; the blood had lessened a bit but she'd have to check up with McCoy soon.

The scar on her back twinged as well; that was, obviously, an emotional thing, obviously not real pain, just the emotional trauma of the event still engrained in her mind, brought to the surface every once in awhile. She ignored this, she'd gotten used to this a long time ago.

Lunchtime came around quickly, and she was starving. In the lunchroom, Rev sat down with her classic Vulcan-specialized food, Plomeek Soup and a cup of tea. She flipped through one of her novels; it had been a long time since she'd had time to read.

"What are you reading, Rev?"

She looked up; Kirk was standing in front of her, a tray in hand holding a cheeseburger and baked beans. Rev placed her book down next to her own tray, taking another sip of her soup.

"A classic Vulcan novel, Captain," she said. "What you would call... science fiction, I think. It tells the story of a Vulcan who--"

"I don't need to know, I don't need to know." He plopped his tray down in front of her and sat down. "Don't you have a checkup in a few minutes? Don't want to open your wound again."

Rev checked the clock.

"Yes, I'm afraid you are correct."

She stood up, nodding to him kindly, and took her tray.

One week later, Rev sat in front of doctor McCoy, black undershirt folded up to show her stomach, the green-stained bandage slowly being peeled away by the doctor himself. He inspected the wound, prodding it with his tools, cleaning it out, and she winced, forcing it down.

"This looks... interesting," he said, wiping the wound with an alcoholic-based antibiotic cream. "I don't really know if this is an infection or not, given I'm not great with Vulcan anatomy... I believe it just barely missed your heart."

"You would be correct, doctor," Rev said faintly, blinking through the pain. "Half an inch."

McCoy frowned at her, moving to get another roll of bandage from a drawer.

"How is it," Rev contemplated, tilting her head. "That after all this time, you know the anatomy of every alien except Vulcans?"

"Easy." McCoy grinned; Rev lifted her arms so he wrapped her stomach around with bandage. "I don't try."

After finishing his inspection, McCoy re-bandaged her wound and told her to wait there, while he retrieved something from the back and treated another patient. Rev pulled her shirt back down over the new bandage and leaned back, brushing her long black hair over her shoulder, sighing as she fell onto her back.

She heard the door whizz, and looked up to see Kirk in the doorway. Narrowing her eyes, she suspiciously sat up on her bed.

"Did you want something, sir?"

Kirk, a mischievous look in his eye, walked forwards and sat down on the bed across from her. She shifted in her seat so she was facing him, and looked down at her lap, then back up. Kirk looked fascinated.

"Jim?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Rev tilted her head, a bit thrown off; she understood the concept of a kiss, but had never experienced it before.

"Sure," she said eventually. "But... of course... only because I'd like to study human culture--"

"Of course you do," Kirk said, grinning, and leaned forward and placed his hands on both sides of Rev's hips and leaned so their noses were nearly touching. She remained unemotional, but raised an eyebrow in question. He seemed to study her for a few moments, before closing the few inches between them and pressed his mouth to hers. It wasn't a compassionate kiss, nor was it passionate; just a simple kiss. Rev didn't know what to do.

Something shattered, and Kirk didn't move; he seemed unphased. McCoy had walked into the room, and dropped his tray with all his tools onto the floor, staring at them, frozen.

"Jim--" he stuttered. "You-- Rev--"

Kirk leaned back a bit, smiling at a slightly vacant Rev. She was a bit wavered, her logic jumbled.

"What did you do, Captain...?"

Kirk ignored him.

"And?"

Rev tilted her head, her head still jumbled. The only thing that came to her mind was, "Fascinating." The right side of her mouth quirked up in her signature half-smile, and she jumped off the bed, nodded at the doctor, leaned down to pick up her medicine, and left the room.

"Oh, and Rev?"

"Jim?"

"While I am taking my phisical, you have the conn."

"Yes, sir."

Rev entered the bridge, relieving her brother of duty. She sat down in the captain's chair, instinctively pulling her legs underneath her like in her old Commander days, and leaned on her hand, staring at the stars in front of her.

They were mapping stars today, a simple procedure when charting new territory. It was unlikely she would have anything to do today, except sign a few crewmen off duty. The crew seemed to like her in the captain's chair, as her former crewmen did when she was a captain herself. Commodore, however, not so much. She would try very hard never to do that to anyone again.

"Commander Rev," came a voice Rev could only describe as sass as Kirk walked through the door and around her chair. "You are relieved of your commanding duties."

Rev looked up at him as he leaned on the arm of the chair.

"I rather like this seat," she said. The bridge crew seemed confused by this response; was it almost emotion? She could see Kirk's smile.

"I do not doubt that, Commander, but, for now, I am going to need you to move."

Raising a single eyebrow, Rev smiled a bit and tilted her head, heaving herself from the chair. She didn't miss the stares; they were unmistakable looks of did she flirt with James T Kirk?