Ohura in ST3

[Armored Saint]

But it still seems weird that Uhura's moment forced her to stay behind.

A way to avoid trouble for our dear Mr Adventure.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

She had to stay behind because Starfleet security is actually a bit better than portrayed in the movie. It was her job to scramble communications for as long as she could and to mask what was going on and then get the hell out of there before Starfleet security beamed in. It's a shame they didn't extend the scene to make it clearer how crucial she was.

Yeah. We're left just wondering why she couldn't have set an automatic transport for all of them including her, like happened just last film when Kirk and party beamed from Regula I to the Genesis Cave.

Really, tweaking her last line in the scene would have done it.

Spoiler: How I'd handle it

McCOY: I'm glad you're on our side.
KIRK: Can you handle that?
UHURA: Oh, I can handle 'Mister Adventure' alright. I'll mask your signals as long as I can and then make my way to the Vulcan embassy.
KIRK: Very good, Commander.
UHURA: Admiral, ...all my hopes.

I made an additional tweak regarding ''Mister Adventure," because if she's really going to be jamming signals and not partying with the guy, she should just leave him in the closet and let security get him out. Also, I traded in the spoiler about a rendezvous somewhere, for a better answer to why she didn't get turned in by "Mister Adventure" after dumping him. I felt an acknowledgement from Kirk to her ingenuity and bravery was appropriate, so I ended up splitting her last line into two.

 

[KarmicCurse]

It's a good scene for her, but her absence throughout almost the entire movie is more noticeable than if she had simply beamed up with everyone else, even if she wouldn't have had much else to say or do. Part of the pleasure of the movies is that we get to revisit an ensemble cast.