seperis | reboot: war games 12/12

Commander Spock

Jim steadily refuses visitors when asked; Nyota bypasses this difficulty by ceasing to ask him, a circumstance that Jim blames on Spock for lack of a convenient target. On the fifth day after Jim's awakening, Cadet T'Prina is waiting outside Jim's closed door. Newly released from Starfleet Medical, she's impeccably correct in her red cadet dress uniform, oddly unfamiliar compared to the blue science uniform she had worn during her internship on the Enterprise; though recovered, she still shows the loss of weight from the two weeks she'd been comatose, and if he looks carefully, a new hollowness around the serious brown eyes.

"Commander," she says, getting to her feet; before she can salute, Spock waves her back to her seat. At his glance at the door, she continues, "I accompanied Ambassador Spock to visit Captain Kirk. He said there was very little likelihood of an invitation while the Captain was still confined to Medical, and that the correct approach would be to come without invitation." She pauses. "I found his arguments logical."

With a final glance at the closed door, Spock takes the seat beside her. "You look well, Cadet."

"I am well, Commander," she answers. "Torren assists me in my exercises and T'Sora has offered us her home to more easily facilitate healing until the term begins."

"It is three months until the fall semester," Spock answers. "You and Torren do not wish to return home until then?"

T'Prina's back stiffens slightly. "Torren's family does not--approve of his choice of profession and the path he intends to follow. He feels it is counterproductive to argue and will remain here."

If he had not known her so well, he would not have seen, or recognized, the brief flash of what might be guilt. "That was not their only objection."

"No." T'Prina's gaze fixes on the reception desk. "As Torren has not yet had his Time, they--wished for Torren to break his bond with me to pursue a more suitable attachment."

That, he had not anticipated. While it is not unheard-of, it is unusual for a bonded couple to separate, even before their Time, when it can be most effectively achieved. "Your families have been friends for many generations. Your bonding was planned from the time of your birth."

"They discovered that I had organized the petition to delay implementation of the exception to the Grayson Test for the colony," T'Prina answers, voice expressionless. "During the discussion that followed, they did not accept my logic, and as I am the last of my clan, I do not bring anything to Torren and his clan. They found these circumstances unacceptable."

"How did they discover it?" Even Admiral Pike had not known who was responsible.

T'Prina lifts her head, chin raising with a faint hint of defiance. "I told them."

"I see." In retrospect, Spock is not surprised; he might have projected this outcome.

"I told them that while I had withdrawn my objection before the Council, that did not change my intention to challenge it before the Elders and demand that the Colony be permitted to vote on a measure that is antithetical to all we are. I must thank you, Commander, for the subtlety of your negotiations with Ambassador Sarek. I assume you knew I would wish to pursue other avenues and assured I would have the opportunity to do so if I could not argue before the Federation."

"I anticipated you would find an alternate path to your goal, Cadet. This is the one I thought you would most likely follow."

She nods sharply, turning away. Spock waits, sensing the disorder of her thoughts.

"They asked me," she says slowly, "why I would take the side of outsiders and permit mixed blood to contaminate our people, when my family had always supported the separation of inferior species. I could not think of an answer other than the one cthia demanded of me; they did not find it acceptable."

Spock begins to question her further when the door opens; almost immediately, T'Prina rises to her feet, hands clasped formally behind her back. "Ambassador. Is Captain Kirk willing to entertain visitors?"

"Oh shut up," Jim snaps from inside. "You'll just sit there and be stoic and Vulcan until everyone feels bad for you and they cut my pudding ration again."

The Ambassador does not smile, but there's a faint sense of amusement as he steps back. "That would be a 'yes', Cadet."

Spock follows her inside, taking the chair by Jim's bed where he had left his datapad. Jim is faintly flushed and more animated than Spock has seen him since he had awakened. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Jim is reading over a datapad with a new selection of data solids on the mattress before him. Sighing, he scowls at Spock. "Don't start. Did you all forget I'm only a few days from death?"

"Repetition can make even horror mundane," the Ambassador says as he closes the door. T'Prina stands stiffly at the foot of the bed, watching Jim as he sets aside the datapad and looks at her with narrowed eyes.

"You," he says to T'Prina, "are a pain in the ass."

"I believe you promised me a court martial, Captain Kirk," T'Prina answers. "While you are on medical leave and cannot handle the formalities personally, I believe Commander Spock can convene one at your convenience."

Jim leans back against the pillows. "What is it with Vulcans and their obsession with court martials anyway?"

Wisely, T'Prina does not answer, but she takes a careful step toward the bed, removing a datapad from the pocket of her uniform. "In that case, Captain, I have a request."

Expression turning curious, Jim leans forward, taking the datapad and glancing at the screen before stilling. Blinking at T'Prina once, he begins to read it carefully. When he looks up again, there's something on his face that Spock hasn't seen since before the Begammon station, before what they had discovered at the Colony, before once again, the most cynical parts of Jim are proved correct despite all that Admiral Pike had taught him to want to believe.

"Why?" he says finally, fingers white around the edges of the datapad.

T'Prina straightens more, as if she had been waiting for that question. "Once," she says, "I met a man who told me I could captain a starship. It seemed logical to discover if he was correct. I understand that you cannot be my advisor, as you are not a member of Starfleet Academy faculty, but you once told me a story of a man you met in a bar. When I approached him with my request, he gave his consent."

Jim nods, eyes dark.

"When he asked me that question, I told him what cthia demanded; that I wish to follow in the footsteps of two of Starfleet's greatest officers."

As if he had just awakened, Jim looks back down at the datapad, scrolling slowly through the declaration of change of track, to the recommendation letters from Admiral Pike, from Spock himself, her class schedule, pausing with a frown. "Richards has you for Command 101--yes, Spock, I know what it's actually called, don't even." Handing her back the datapad, he nods. "He's boring. Take a good book; you'll need it."

"I understand you will be teaching the introductory command course on the Enterprise," T'Prina says, tucking the datapad into her tunic.

Jim glares at Spock. "So I've been told."

"I understand you have not yet had the opportunity to prepare materials for the course. I would like to offer myself as an audience when you begin to do so."

"I'm not that great an instructor," Jim starts, warily.

T'Prina shakes her head, one hip pressing gently against the edge of Jim's bed. "Yes, you are." Glancing toward the door, she continues, "I believe we should discuss the details over the midday meal. Ambassador Spock had the foresight to ask to serve us all here, if that is acceptable, Captain Kirk."

Jim shakes his head, a smile curling up the corner of his mouth, and for a moment, Spock can see how young Jim truly is still, hidden as it has become beneath the Starfleet officer and the Enterprise Captain. "Tell Torren he can come in now," Jim says, crossing his arms over his chest in imagined disdain. "He's not like you; he has manners. He's upstairs with Sorin, isn't he?"

T'Prina nods, going to the door; as she begins to open it, Jim continues, "By the way, quick note for the future, kiddo. Torren didn't make a choice. That implies there was a possibility he would have picked anything that wasn't you. Be a little more logical, would you? Because obviously, that wasn't happening."

T'Prina stiffens, startled. "How did you--"

"I know everything. And if I don't, I find out. Go get your boyfriend--fine, bondmate, Vulcans are weird, you know that?--and tell him he can have five minutes with my codepicker so he can build you one. I've seen him drooling over it--well, as much as Vulcans drool over anything technical and shiny. He's a good engineer; I think he can figure it out. And hurry up; I'm starving."

Looking a little bemused, T'Prina leaves, shutting the door behind her. Ambassador Spock looks at Jim with a faint, private smile, and Spock thinks that perhaps, he does not resent it. "I must return to Rayiyah," he says, one hand resting on the bed near Jim's hip. "But T'Sora and I will join you and Commander Spock for dinner."

Jim scowls, glancing down at his medical scrubs with a pained expression. "Do I have a choice?"

"No, you do not." With a nod at Spock, the Ambassador leaves as well, and Spock finds himself alone with Jim. After a moment, Jim sighs, turning to look at Spock. "Okay, so I didn't see that coming, but I bet you did."

"I did."

Jim's eyes narrowed. "This is that thing Vulcans do so they look inscrutable and all-knowing. I swear to God your people invented that when you met us, just because it was funny to see humans twitch." After a moment, however, he smiles, slow and mischievous.

Spock stills. "Do you need--"

Pushing the data solids away, Jim braces a hand on the edge of the bed and leans over, kissing him lightly. When he draws back with a smug smile, Spock touches his mouth. "Jim?"

"Just, you know." Jim stares narrowly at the window behind Spock. "For picking me."

Ah. Spock sets down his datapad and stands up; surprised, Jim moves over as Spock sits on the edge of the bed. Tracing a line between the psi-points on his face, he feels Jim shiver. "That would imply that there was a possibility I would have chosen anything else, t'hy'la. There was not."

Jim licks his lips, giving the door a brief, speculative glance, then one strong hand cups Spock's jaw. "I love you, you know." Before he can answer, Jim kisses him, and this time, it is neither quick nor light. "Wanna make out until they get back?" Jim breathes before swallowing his potential objection.

Spock is not sure he can remember what his objection would have been.

Spock is not surprised to find Nyota waiting for him outside of Starfleet Medical at noon the next day; Jim's sudden and inexplicable desire for a few hours of privacy to meditate wouldn't have been believable at any time. Jim had given up trying to convince Spock with a pillow tossed at his head, shouting, "Spock, get out and interact with people not in the medical profession or subject to the medical profession for a few hours. I swear I will not cry into my pillow that you don't love me anymore if you don't spend your every waking hour watching me breathe, mmkay? Go away."

"I'm the second line of defense," Nyota says, taking his arm and leading him toward the doors that open onto the main grounds. "I'm not allowed to bring you back until after dinner. Captain's orders."

"He implied as much." The second pillow had been as accurately aimed as the first had been, which Spock supposes is proof of Jim's quickly returning strength. "I am not certain--"

Nyota rolls her eyes. "Leonard is meeting him after lunch, just in case this is actually Jim's special code for intensive brooding; he can handle it. Now, there's a lecture on dialect evolution in response to cultural isolation this afternoon by Dr. Tai Nagu," she continues. "I studied linguistic drift in non-hominid species with Tai before I was accepted to Starfleet Academy and we've kept in touch."

"She has returned from Deneb?"

"She got bored on sabbatical and Starfleet jumped at the opportunity," Nyota answers. "There's a reception after the lecture we've both been invited to attend as well."

"I look forward to the introduction," Spock answers; Dr. Nagu had upset many parts of linguistic theory during her study of sentient species whose language development had evolved without a verbal component; communication was based entirely on subtle changes in physiology that could combine external color, body temperature, scent, taste, tactile contact, and physical movement. Starfleet Academy's linguistic department boasted no less than two of her former students, both of whom had studied under her for most of their academic career. "I haven't had the opportunity to review her most recent paper--"

"Don't worry," Nyota answers as they arrive at the station to wait for the next public transport into the city. Spock mentally reviews the schedule. "I brought a copy that you can review while we eat. Or--"

"You could ask me, Commander Spock."

Startled, Spock glances at Nyota long enough to see her grin, then turns his attention to Dr. Nagu, her round, unwrinkled face broken by a wide smile as she nods a greeting. The two faint scars on each cheek were given to her by the L'T:k'm, a non-hominid, ungendered species with a faint resemblance to Terran tapeworms, the traditional blue tinting bright against skin so dark it was nearly black. Each scar recognized a level of scholarship achieved; four proclaimed her as a High Scholar among the various family groups that made up the planet's population, a distinction that few even among the L'T:k'm had ever reached. Due to her frequent work among species with varying hygiene requirements that could be dramatically different from those required of a human being, she'd long adopted the habit of shaving her head; during her sabbatical on earth, however, she had permitted it to grow several inches, trimmed to emphasize her high forehead and sharp brown eyes.

"Dr. Nagu," Spock says, controlling his eagerness with some effort. "It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"I can say the same, Commander Spock," she answers with a graceful inclination of her head. "Nyota contacted me when the Enterprise docked, and I thought this would be as good a time as any to take up Starfleet on their invitation to give a lecture."

"I look forward to your expansion of linguistic drift in olfactory communication patterns," Spock answers as the transport arrives. "Your theory is currently under review for integration into the universal communicator's core programming."

"So it is, though not with Amanda's unusual aptitude in programming non-verbal language interpretation into the core matrix," Dr. Nagu says as the transport doors close, smile fading as she shifts from Standard to formal Vulcan. "I grieve with thee, Commander Spock. She was both an invaluable colleague as well as a close personal friend for several years. Both the linguistic community and the Federation are infinitely less for her loss."

Spock nods, controlling the habitual slice of pain. "Her papers and research were given into my custody and released to all interested institutions. I would be pleased to offer you a private copy as well to assist you in your continuing research." Spock hesitates before continuing. "I also possess all of her private correspondence."

Dr. Nagu looks away for a moment. "The conditions required for my research often made saving private correspondence impossible, even that of treasured friends. I don't have the right to ask you--"

"You do not need to ask."

When Dr. Nagu looks at him again, only the brightness of her eyes betray her feelings. "Thank you, Commander."

"One does not thank logic. She spoke of you with great admiration and affection; I understand you spent two seasons as a guest lecturer at Vulcan Science Academy during my first year as an instructor at Starfleet Academy."

"Your parents invited me to live with them during my residence," Dr. Nagu answers, following the change of subject gracefully. "My Vulcan was rather rusty; your mother took care of that in the first week." Smiling, she mocks a shiver. "It was like four years of undergrad in four days. And that was before she thought I needed to improve my command of the desert clans' dialects."

"How did she acquire your instruction?" Spock asks, curious. "My mother spent six months with the clans when I was a child, but they initially were not pleased with her presence."

"The really old fashioned way: straight from the source. Five days in the desert, complete with tents in the sand, since we went during their hunting season." Her smile widens. "Bet she didn't tell you about that, did she?"

"No, she did not include that in her correspondence."

"There's a reason for that," Dr. Nagu answers, pleased. "I'll share over dinner. Nyota, honey, you should hear this too; your paper on the limits on then-current configuration of the universal translator's matrix set it off."

Appalled, Nyota looks at Spock. "You sent your mother a paper I wrote when I was a first year?"

Spock opens his mouth to reply just as the transport comes to a stop. "I believe we have arrived," he says in relief. "Nyota, Dr. Nagu--"

"Don't worry, we'll pick this up at the restaurant," Nyota answers, eyes narrowing briefly before threading her arm through Dr. Nagu's. "I really want to hear about this."

The lecture and reception pass with surprising speed, followed by an invitation by Dr. Nagu to join her and Admiral Pike for dinner, along with several of Spock's former students eager for the opportunity to meet the most revolutionary xenolinguist in Federation history. It's nearly midnight by the time Spock walks Nyota to her quarters; stiffening, he wonders how time could pass so easily without thinking of Jim.

"Don't even," Nyota says abruptly as her door opens. "Tell me you didn't have a good time."

Spock hesitates.

"Right. So go see Jim, go to bed, and tell him all about it tomorrow." Crossing her arms, Nyota leans against the doorway with a slight smile. "Leonard and I are coming by for lunch, so request enough for all of us. Tomorrow evening, you and I are going with Scotty and Torren to the forum on experimental engine modeling before meeting T'Prina for dinner while Admiral Pike and Chekov update Jim on Starfleet gossip. We all get that Jim doesn't want anyone to see him while he's still under medical care; he's going to have to get over it. It's not good for either of you to isolate yourselves, or for him to use you as a barrier to normal interaction with other people, and we've let it go on long enough."

"I think you are correct," Spock answers after a moment of thought; Jim's sleeping mind murmurs contentedly in the back of his mind. "It was an enjoyable evening, Nyota."

"Thanks for coming," she says lightly, turning away. "Noon, Spock! Don't let him pretend to fall asleep again, either."

The medical center is silent as Spock lets himself in, crossing to the far doors that lead to patients who no longer require constant monitoring or are soon to be released. The first floor room is larger than the one Jim had occupied in intensive care, modeling a generic bedroom with a limited replicator to encourage Jim to continue to regain the weight he had lost.

The bed is pushed against the wall, however, and even in sleep, Jim left a space open in obvious expectation. Jim wakes briefly when Spock joins him, murmuring, "Bones said I have to start playing with the other kids more." Yawning, Jim settles against his shoulder.

"You had an enjoyable day?"

Surprised pleasure colors Jim's thoughts with the faint memories of an afternoon in the patient gardens with Dr. McCoy, Cadet T'Prina, and Torren, followed by a nap before Lieutenant Sulu and his parents, both long-time colleagues and friends of Jim's older brother, Dr. Sam Kirk, had joined him and Ambassador Spock and T'Sora for a late dinner in the hospital mess. They let me wear pants. Total highlight of my day. You?

Spock shows him an abbreviated version of the day, silently promising a more thorough description tomorrow. Nagu? Awesome. I always wanted to meet her. She knew your mom, huh?

Yes. Spock brushes back Jim's hair from his eyes, knowing Jim desperately wants a haircut, but finding the increased length oddly attractive. Perhaps she might join us for dinner this week. I understand she has agreed to a series of lectures for the next two weeks in response to the popularity of the one she conducted this evening. She has expressed her desire to make your acquaintance, if you are so inclined.

Jim hesitates, eyes slitting open, pride warring with curiosity before he nods. "Yeah," he says finally. "Just--get me a uniform? I'm not meeting Dr. Nagu in pajamas."

"You realize she is six decades your senior and prefers female partners," Spock says in amusement. "It must also be noted that you are unavailable for the foreseeable future."

Jim smirks, eyes drifting shut. Yeah, well, no harm in looking. I have a thing for linguists, you know. Settling into sleep, Jim murmurs, "Well, these days, just one of them."

Despite the close of the official inquiry into the actions of the Enterprise, Starfleet continues to call in various members of the crew for interviews almost at random. Following the information chain Lieutenant Uhura had developed for the enlisted crewmembers (though it had been created for the purpose of shortcutting the restrictions of the chain of command on Jim's order, to give junior officers and non-commissioned crew a less complicated and intimidating means of contacting their superiors), the names of the crewmen singled out and a summary of each interview are reported regularly, which Uhura organizes, summarizes, and reports to both Jim and Spock.

Dr. Valdez, after consultation with Healer Sorin and Dr. McCoy, had reluctantly agreed that Jim's condition had improved enough for him to be interviewed by Starfleet Security. To Spock's bemusement, Admiral Komack's new duties required his participation in all aspects of the questioning, where his famous lack of subtlety was employed to Jim's benefit.

The Sunseed Project that Rayiyah had developed by chance was of extreme interest to all divisions of Starfleet; after Ambassador Spock had arrived and settled himself and his wife in accommodations adjacent to Starfleet Medical, he had quickly established Vulcan authority over Rayiyah, which had done a great deal to convince Rayiyah that he was not in immediate danger of either execution or extradition to the Romulan Empire.

"Speaking of," Jim says, trying to ignore the vegetable portion of his meal entirely, "why haven't we been contacted by the Empire to return their people? Their spy network can't possibly be incompetent enough to miss this. Not like that little border skirmish was sublte."

Nyota ably removes the cherry cobbler that one of the nurses had brought him from the more extensive Academy messhall, pointing at the dish of braised asparagus and artichokes when Jim objects. "Finish that first," she says, fishing a fat cherry from the bowl and eating it when Jim scowls. "And they might have. Doesn't mean that we'd know about it."

"Official contact from the Romulan Empire is a matter of public record," Spock answers, as Jim quickly and without enjoyment tries to finish his bowl before Nyota can make significant inroads in the cobbler. "And I agree; while they might have indeed initiated private contact with Starfleet, they would not lose the opportunity that Rayiyah's presence would offer them to accuse us of either abduction--"

"Hey!" Jim says, swallowing hastily at Nyota's frown for his poor manners. "Speaking as one of the abducted--"

"--or subornation of a Romulan citizen," Spock continues as if Jim had not spoken. "They would be within their rights by the terms of our armistice to demand at least an interview with Rayiyah, which we would be required to provide, either to assure his voluntary defection or to accuse him of treason against the Empire."

"Those files we took from Rayiyah's databases might be a big motivator to shut up," Jim answers, pushing aside the empty dish and taking back his dessert. "How much has been translated so far?"

"With Rayiyah and Ambassador Spock's assistance, we have thirty percent in rough translation; the finer points could take years, but it's pretty interesting reading material as it stands. If someone tipped them off, it might be enough to keep them quiet for a while." Jim offers Nyota another cherry in appreciation. "Thanks. In any case, the Syndicate's making up for it in sheer volume; every major corporation represented on the Syndicate's board is protesting they have no idea what the Federation is talking about. All but one." Popping the cherry into her mouth, she raises her eyebrows. "Due to an unfortunate navigational error in one of their cruisers, the company headquarters and most of the city were destroyed, killing every employee of record."

Dr. McCoy looks up from reading a datapad in the corner, expression grim. "Quite a navigational error."

"Quite," Nyota answers softly. "They're also demanding the return of their ship--"

"My ship," Jim says through a mouthful of pie, pointing his spoon at Spock. "I don't care what Starfleet says; I stole it fair and square. Not that there's much of it left besides databanks and spacedust."

"What on earth would you do with a slaver ship?" Dr. McCoy demands, putting down the datapad.

"The question is, what couldn't I do with a slaver ship, and that's not much. However, I don’t want the Enterprise to get jealous, so I'm willing to let Starfleet Engineering have those databanks. God knows those transporter configurations are warp years ahead of us for mass human transport." Chasing down the last bits of cherry, Jim sets the bowl aside and surveys the room. "You know, we're all on leave, I'm critically ill, and yet we still have staff meetings. But with food. I like that development. Remind me to institute that when we ship out."

"Seconded," Dr. McCoy volunteers, standing up with a groan. "And with that, I have rounds, then a lovely evening at a very boring--"

Nyota clears her throat.

"--experimental performance by a troupe of multi-species dancers who are reinterpreting Swan Lake as a pre-Reformation Vulcan battle. Which is what happens when you major in liberal arts." Smirking at Nyota, Dr. McCoy stops at Jim's bed, giving the monitors a cursory examination. "Looking good, Jim. I'll drop by Valdez's office before I leave and see if we can break you out tomorrow."

"Marry me."

"Yeah, no, I heard what happens to challengers at koon-ut kal-if-fee, thanks." With a nod at Spock and another smile at Nyota, Dr. McCoy leaves, shouting for a nurse before the door closes behind him.

Reluctantly, Nyota gets up from her seat at the foot of Jim's bed. "I'd better go as well. I'm supervising the update of the Enterprise communications array--"

Jim winces visibly; that never ends well, at least for the engineers when Nyota sees what they have perpetrated on her board.

"--and I want to get some work done on the universal translator matrix before dinner." Leaning a hip against the bed, Nyota gives Jim a flat look. "Speaking of, you aren't permitted to backseat repair the Enterprise after that incident with Commodore Atkins and the dilithium crystal mix-up, as you know very well, so decide where you want to take leave and I'll make the arrangements."

Jim leans back into his pillow, uncrossing his legs with a sigh. "Just because I'm on medical leave and can't do anything fun doesn't mean the rest of you have to--"

"Yeah, shut up. We're all going, so get over it." Pushing off the bed, she glances at Spock on her way to the door. "Don't forget we have dinner with Scotty and his staff tomorrow night to go over the updates to engineering, and we need to clear the rest of our personnel requests after that. I want this done before we leave; there's no way I'm working on vacation."

"Sometimes," Jim says to no one in particular, "I really wonder why you all keep me around."

"Because you're pretty," Nyota says with a smirk. "See you tomorrow, Jim."

When the door is closed behind her, Jim holds out a hand. "Give me the blueprints of the refit cycle now. If she thought to warn me off, it's got to be bad."

Resigned, Spock takes out the solid, which Jim adds to his datapad. "I am sure it is not as extensive as the unfortunate changes Commodore Atkins authorized."

"Yeah, that's what they always say." Settling himself against the pillows, Jim looks at Spock over the edge of the datapad. "You feel like beaming up and making sure they're not replacing my chair again?"

Spock glances out the window; he had hoped to verify the changes made to the ship's core memory today. "Admiral Pike had scheduled to meet with us today--"

Jim blows out a breath in frustration. "Current changes in regulations approved during the last Admiral's meeting, I remember. Which you already memorized. Just go; no reason both of us have to be bored to homicide for three hours."

"You are certain?"

Jim looks at him incredulously. "Let's remember why I'm barred from the ship again? Protect my goddamn chair." Jim grins as he picks up the datapad again and waves Spock toward the door. "Have fun for me. God knows I won't be having any."

Dr. Melody Huang

The first faint sense of alarm is so mild that Spock almost ignores it as he attempts to make sense of the updates to the science station, as they seem to follow no known logical pattern, almost as if to discourage its use by any species possessing a developed cerebral cortex and opposable thumbs. As the distressingly enthusiastic engineer explains the benefits of the new interface, a sudden wave of sharply focused anger takes his entire attention.

"Please have your supervisor report to me with a complete explanation of the reason for these changes," Spock says, cutting the ensign off mid-sentence. "You are dismissed, Lieutenant Singh."

Ignoring the ensign's startled expression, Spock approaches Nyota at communications, currently stripped down to bare wiring and data solids. "Can we communicate with Starfleet yet?"

"Nope." To his bemusement, she seems to be grinding her teeth from her position on the floor, the new board broken down into its component parts. Looking up, she frowns at whatever she observes on his face. "Dammit, is it urgent? The board is a mess, and I don't know when I'll get it working again. Have they brought back the shuttlecraft yet?"

"No," Spock answers as Nyota gets to her feet, looking helplessly at the communications board. "Do not trouble yourself--"

"What's wrong?"

Spock hesitates. "He seemed--angry."

"He's meeting with Admiral Pike, isn't he? He's getting the annual regulations lecture." Before Spock can answer, Nyota grabs a passing crewman. "Find me whoever worked on this board and tell them I want it back to how it was pre-insane refit within the hour, got it? Go."

The crewman departs with unsurprising swiftness, bypassing the turbolift for the access panel to the Jefferies tubes. Nyota closes her eyes, hands clenched into fists. "They took down the turbolifts again. Goddammit."

"You are probably correct," Spock admits; Jim's mind has settled into sleep, which is surprising, considering the excess anger. "He has fallen asleep."

"Still." Kicking the communications panel in frustration, she steps over it, surveying the partially deconstructed bridge before sighing. "Let's get out of here before I snap and order them all into the brig. If we leave now, we can check on Jim before dinner with time to make sure he eats more than cake."

"The turbolifts are down," Spock observes, gazing at the Jefferies tubes.

"I can climb," Nyota answers grimly. "Emergency transporters in auxiliary are always online. Ten levels--hmm. My best time at the Academy was fourteen minutes. Yours?"

"Eight minutes and forty six point three nine eight seconds."

Nyota raises her eyebrows in challenge. "Let's see if we can beat that."

The sleeping murmur of Jim's mind continues to occupy Spock's attention; it is illogical, but after the events of the previous weeks, Spock supposes it is natural he would be unusually sensitive to Jim's condition. As they reach the level of auxiliary control ("Ten minutes. Not too bad," Nyota remarks, pleased. "And in the dark, even. Remind me to yell at someone about emergency lights."), Nyota glances around the quiet corridors in relief. "I'm learning to love silence. This way."

It's a short walk to the emergency transporter. Nyota goes to the controls, satisfied they haven't been updated yet, then brings the system online and starts the power cycle. "One minute," she says as Spock steps onto the platform. "I was thinking about South America, or maybe Risa if we can get Valdez to approve Jim going off-planet," she says, leaning both elbows on the control panel. "Somewhere tropical. What do you think?"

"Our last leave involved a great deal of snow," Spock answers after a moment of thought. "It was--challenging."

"Right. Don't let Jim pick vacations, ever. I should have guessed." Glancing at the readings, Nyota sighs. "I always wanted to learn to--okay, what the hell?" Pulling back, she taps a sequence into the board, frown deepening. "The power drained and started cycling again."

"Let me see." Joining her, Spock pulls the diagnostic record. "The system was reset."

"Uhura to--" Nyota cuts herself off with a murmured profanity that Spock pretends not to hear. "Communications are down. All right, what the hell?"

"It is not unusual," Spock says, kneeling to remove the board access panel. "I did not think to retrieve my tool kit--:

"I did." Crouching beside him, she pulls a small leather case from her boot, unrolling it on the floor between them. "It was designed for the communication board so I could do emergency repairs on the bridge without shutting down, but it should work for the transporter board in a pinch."

"They are sufficient." Spock picks up a small cutter while studying the power relays. Jim's mind has settled into a surprisingly deep sleep, the low murmuring almost impossible to discern. "Rerouting power to--" Spock stops abruptly; Jim's presence dissolves into no more than a faint spark. "Jim."

Uhura's fingers close over his wrist, pulling the cutter away. "What?"

"He is in a coma," Spock says numbly. "I do not understand; there was no sign of cortical degradation when--"

"Right. You need me to do that?" Nyota's voice demands his attention; with an effort, Spock focuses on her face.

"No." Turning back to the open panel, Spock quickly makes the changes. "Monitor the board and tell me if the cycle completes without draining."

"I'm on it." Getting to her feet, her knee presses comfortingly against his shoulder. "Twenty percent and rising."

The cycle seems unusually slow, though Spock is aware it is his own perception of time that is skewed. At this distance, there is no way to contact Jim, and without knowledge of his condition, it would be unwise to attempt it. Despite that, it is a physical effort not to try.

"It's stable. Get on the platform. This only goes into the transporter room in the station, but we'll get an emergency beam to the Medical Center. They may have information there if they couldn't contact us here." Reaching down, she rolls up her toolkit, shoving it in her boot. "Hurry."

Spock takes his place on the platform as Nyota enters the commands, joining him just the familiar humming begins. Almost immediately, the interior of the space station forms around them, a surprised looking technician approaching the transporter pad.

"How did you--"

"You," Nyota says sharply, "find out who the hell disabled emergency transport and send them straight to Pike. Auxiliary is never disabled when there are lifesigns on board. Where's Commodore Atkins?"

"She's--that way," the technician answers faintly, pointing toward the doors. "In the command center--"

"As you were. Uhura to Communication, have any messages been received for Commander Spock?" Preceding him out the door, she listens to her communicator. "Contact Starfleet Medical and get the current status of Captain James Kirk from Dr. McCoy. Tell him to do a physical check immediately and contact us with the results. Uhura out." Pocketing her communicator, she hesitates before turning left. "No reports from Starfleet Medical," she tells him breathlessly. "He still out of it?"

"Yes."

"You said he was angry and then went to sleep," she says as she counts doors. "Here we are. Spock?"

Spock gives her a nod, taking a breath as she enters her code and waits for them to be given permission to enter. Within a few seconds, the doors open, permitting them entrance into the small, crowded command center of the station.

"Commander Spock, Lieutenant Uhura," Commodore Atkins says with cool dignity, looking at them with unconcealed displeasure. "Is there a problem?"

"There are several, Commodore," Spock answers. "We currently require emergency transport to the Medical Center."

"We verified that no messages have been received from Starfleet, Commander Spock," Commodore Atkins answers coolly. "Your message, Lieutenant Uhura, is being relayed to Starfleet and will be forwarded to Medical--"

"Would you permit me to contact Medical directly? The relay will take time I am not sure--"

"If there was a problem," Commodore Atkins answers, "I am sure you would have been contacted. Regulations require all messages pass through Starfleet Communications. You are welcome to wait for a response in the mess."

"Commodore," Spock answers, keeping his voice even with an effort, "despite the lack of communication, Captain Kirk's condition has deteriorated rapidly. I require--"

"Commander Spock," Commodore Atkins says with a condescending smile, "I understand you are worried due to Captain Kirk's recent injuries. If it was an emergency, I assure you, we would have been told. I'll contact you in the mess when we receive a response. Mr. Renfield, please escort the Commander and Lieutenant to the mess hall." Her smile fades as Ensign Renfield joins them. "Please take advantage of our hospitality while you wait."

Spock reaches for Nyota's wrist, aware she is dangerously close to insubordination. "I thank you, Commodore," Spock answers tonelessly. "I will be sure to mention your cooperation to Admiral Pike." Turning toward the door with Lieutenant Renfield in close proximity, Spock feels Nyota carefully forming a mental image of the condition that Commodore Atkins had been discovered in after the dilithium incident.

In retrospect, Spock rather thinks that Jim's actions were justified.

It's nearly an hour before an ensign comes for them; to Spock's surprise, they're led directly to the transporter room. "Admiral Pike authorized a direct transport to Starfleet Medical," he explains as they take their position on the pad. Commodore Atkins is unsurprisingly absent. "Energize."

Dr. McCoy, Dr. Valdez, and three members of Starfleet Security are waiting for them at the transporter pad in the Medical Center. "Jim's gone," Dr. McCoy says without preamble, falling into step with them. "We're doing a room by room search, but so far, no one remembers anything."

"Has it been established when he was taken?" Spock asks as they emerge into the reception area, where Admiral Pike and several other members of security have commandeered the main desk. "Admiral."

"Commander. I got a message canceling my meeting with Jim before I left my office." Pike looks at him grimly. "That's the last I heard from him."

Spock thinks back to the first sign of distress. "Jim first exhibited distress two hours and ten minutes ago, followed by anger one minute later. Then his mind abruptly entered fourth stage sleep," he says, aware of a lieutenant making notes beside him. "It was forty-five minutes after that that he entered a comatose state."

"That would be consistent with sedation followed by administration of a medically induced coma," Dr. McCoy offers, looking over Jim's last readings. "I'm not ruling out a traumatic brain event, but it's unlikely he'd go straight to fourth stage sleep by natural means that fast. Nothing the monitors recorded for the last two days show any kind of instability in his brain function."

"According to staff, no one saw anyone enter or leave the room after Spock left," Uhura says, taking the datapad Admiral Pike offers. "So we're talking a beam-out?"

Remembering Jim's codepicker, Spock leaves the reception area, ignoring Admiral Pike's inquiry. Studying the bed, covers shoved to the foot, Spock turns one of the monitors, finding the faint scratches of the panel being removed. Carefully, he pries it open and takes out Jim's codepicker.

When he returns, Nyota's expression crumples. "The codepicker is still in the room," Spock says, hand clenched around it. "If Jim had meant to leave--"

"He would have taken it, yeah." Admiral Pike looks at security. "Verify the shielding that blocks direct beam-out from patient rooms hasn't been tampered with. I know you checked; do it again." Turning back to Spock, Admiral Pike blows out a breath. "We verified with external security footage that Jim didn't take the window. For that matter--"

"Jim wouldn't leave without telling one of us," Nyota answers, looking up from the datapad and meeting Admiral Pike's skeptical look. Dr. McCoy nods agreement, then reaches for his communicator as it pings, turning away from the group. "We know him, Admiral. If he wanted to get out, he would have asked one of us to cover for him. And we would have."

"I'll defer to your judgment, then," Admiral Pike answers. "Chekov and Sulu are leading security in a floor by floor search; we're verifying no other patients have gone missing."

"Healer Sorin verified that all the patients from the colony are accounted for," Dr. McCoy says, closing his communicator. "He regrets he can't help us search, but he says they're extremely agitated and projecting a little strongly, so they've been moved to the fifth floor until everything calms down. The entire floor is a Faraday cage," Dr. McCoy explains to Admiral Pike. "Blocks telepathy. With the searches going on, their shields aren't holding up too well."

"Understood. Inform him we'll alert him when it's calmed down a little." The head of Starfleet campus security leans over, murmuring something that Spock can't quite hear. "Tell them Starfleet's in lockdown until I say it's not. No one in, no one out. That does include admirals; tell anyone who objects to talk to Komack and see how far they get."

"Technician Rayiyah--" Spock begins as the sense of Admiral Pike's words penetrate; he is surprised that it did not occur to him before.

"Ambassador Spock and three security officers are with him and his colleagues, and they're reporting every fifteen minutes," Admiral Pike answers, looking between them thoughtfully. "Cadet T'Prina and Torren were at the Vulcan Consulate, and Ambassador Sarek informed me that appropriate measures have been taken to protect them. And until we know more, the Enterprise senior staff are being assigned a security detail."

"We need to get caught up," Nyota says abruptly. "Is there a room nearby?"

Admiral Pike waves over his assistant. "Find them a room. Spock…" he pauses, shaking his head. "We'll find him."

"I'll get you up to speed," Dr. McCoy offers as Nyota's fingers close around Spock's wrist. Blankly, Spock follows them to the indicated room, aware of security following them. "Tell Chekov and Sulu to come in when they're done. Hey, just Evans, okay?" he hears Nyota say. "We need some privacy."

"Lieutenant--"

"Evans, bring your second, but that's it." Abruptly her voice drops. "Commander Spock is in shock. Clear it with Pike if you have to. Now out."

As the doors close, Spock takes a seat at the wide table, looking around; apparently, they've commandeered the first floor break room. Nyota and McCoy seat themselves on either side of him. "Any change?" Nyota asks softly as Evans circles the room, looking grim and determined by turn. "Any--"

"No. There has been no change." Spock looks up. "I believe--my judgment is impaired at this time."

"I know; that's my job." Sitting back, she motions Evans to take a seat. "Okay, anything we're missing?"

"No." Evans shifts restlessly. "I was off-duty when Dr. McCoy discovered Captain Kirk was missing and called my first team to report here immediately. Pike cleared us and we did a sweep of the entire building. I verified the shielding personally, Lieutenant. There's no way anyone could have direct beamed out of a patient room, not without making a mess of the system in the process and not without leaving something."

"Anything is possible," Spock says. "But it is unlikely, yes."

"There was a forty-five minute gap between when we sent the message and Dr. McCoy received it," Nyota says flatly. "And you said about forty-five minutes between deep sleep and when he went into a coma. He was angry before that, but up until then--"

"Jim did not exhibit any strong emotion," Spock answers, unable to make himself concentrate on anything but the thin awareness of Jim, distant and untouchable again. The conversation of his crewmates continues around him as Spock closes his eyes, trying to find his center; every time, he's brushed away, almost deliberately, his attention broken. "There was no sign of a struggle." It takes an enormous effort to say. "If he had been transported, the blankets--"

"Would have gone with him," Nyota says slowly. "They were at the foot of the bed; he got up. Someone came by and he went with them voluntarily."

"No one saw them leave," Dr. McCoy says, lifting his head from his hands, hair disordered. "Look, just trust me on this, Jim's under constant surveillance, and I do mean constant with his little trick of running outside to play when he feels like it. I set up the monitors myself; I know every damn time he leaves that room and where he goes. He didn't get his shoes or his clothes or the codepicker; he didn't think he was leaving the hospital."

Abruptly, Spock feels something change; like vertigo, the room shivers, and Spock opens his mouth, but the words lock in his throat. Blinking, he looks at Nyota, who reaches for him, brown eyes wide. "Jim."

Getting clumsily to his feet, he would have fallen if Nyota had not caught him. "Where?"

Close. He looks at the door, wondering if he can walk even those few steps. "He is--"

At the sound of raised voices outside the door, Dr. McCoy stands up, but Evans beats him, giving them all a long look that reminds them as head of security, he has every intention of assuring they don't lose another member of the Enterprise command staff--again. The door opens just as he reaches it, a frantic looking ensign who blurts out "Commander Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, he's--Captain Kirk's back."

The reception room is in a state of controlled chaos, but with Nyota and Dr. McCoy beside him, Spock is able to navigate the length of it without any clear idea of having done so. Within Jim's small room, several doctors and nurses are hovering over the no longer empty bed, and Spock catches a glimpse of Jim's face, faintly flushed and from a glance at the monitors, in normal REM sleep.

"Move it," Dr. McCoy growls, pushing through the bodies surrounding Jim by sheer will. Dr. Valdez looks up, then nods a quick permission, letting him through. Blinking, Spock hesitates, following an odd blur that seems to shimmer at the corner of his eye. Healer Sorin and a familiar woman in nurse's scrubs are approaching the main doors, their pace slow; when she stumbles, he sees Sorin catch her, one arm circling her narrow waist. As she lifts her head, Spock glimpses the thin, hollow face, pale golden skin, and a glimpse of wide, glazed blue eyes. Melody?

Sorin stops, turning slightly to look at him. For a moment, the room seems to silence around them. The man's face is impassive for a long moment, then the narrow lips quirk in a strange, unfamiliar smile.

I am impressed, Commander Spock. I see I was correct in assuring your absence. I believe I owe you and Captain Kirk a debt of gratitude. See to your bondmate for now. The rest will come in time.

"…Spock. Spock?" Nyota's voice drags him back, and Spock blinks, looking at the empty space for a moment before turning toward her. "Spock. Are you okay?"

"Yes." Looking back, Spock shakes himself, following the insistent pressure of her hand. Dr. McCoy is waiting, and Spock listens patiently as Dr. Valdez assures them that Captain Kirk is sleeping normally, that his bloodstream shows signs of a complicated solution that was used to induce a chemical coma in severely injured patients, that there are signs of new regeneration in the occipital lobe--

"Regeneration," Spock says, looking at Dr. McCoy. "Someone operated on him?"

"They went in where we did when we did Sorin's regeneration trick," Dr. McCoy says grimly. "No damage far as I can see. Looks like--" Dr. McCoy hesitates, as if he's fighting a thought that will not remain still. "It was expert, whoever did it; they knew exactly where to look and what to do."

Spock thinks of Sorin; the thought doesn't linger, almost aggressively shoved out of his mind as Dr. McCoy shows him the familiar scans. "He's been passively reading since he went into normal sleep; his psi-centers are active and all over the map. We're moving him upstairs into a Faraday room until he wakes up. Just in case."

"Yes," Spock says, giving his consent. As Dr. McCoy and Dr. Valdez begin to direct the medical staff, Spock permits Lieutenant Uhura to lead him back to Admiral Pike. "Admiral--"

"No idea," Admiral Pike says viciously, looking between three separate datapads while nervous looking security members try to be inconspicuous. "Dr. Valdez was talking to me, turned around to ask one of the nurses something, and took off for the room. Jim was just there, like he never left. Valdez said he was just entering normal sleep when they found him." Admiral Pike stops, turning to the comm. "I want every log of everything that's happened for the last four hours now. I don't care if it's logging a rat in the basement, everything's suspect and I want to see it all. Now."

"Yes, sir," the voice over the comm says nervously.

Turning back to them, Admiral Pike sighs. "This isn't over yet. I think it would be better--"

"We'll stay with Captain Kirk," Nyota says firmly. "Evans and his team can handle security."

Looking relieved, Admiral Pike nods. "I'll talk to Valdez and get that floor cleared--"

"In the room," Nyota clarifies, looking surprised. "What, do you think someone isn't going to be keeping him in sight for the foreseeable future? This is twice. There are four suites on that floor for families--we'll take one of those."

Admiral Pike looks at one of his aides. "Tell Valdez," he says, waving him toward the swarm of medical personnel. "We'll need to question you both--all of you," the Admiral says, almost apologetically. "As soon as--"

"We would prefer to do it here," Nyota answers. "At your convenience, sir," she adds belatedly. "Could you inform Cadet T'Prina and Ambassador Spock--"

"We're on it." Admiral Pike looks at Spock for a moment. "And I get the feeling if I don't give you permission to get up there, you'll be doing it without. Go."

Spock nods jerkily, unable to hide his relief; Jim's sleeping presence is beginning to exhibit stress. "Thank you, Admiral," he manages, echoed by Nyota. As they approach the turbolift, Ensign Harrison materializes behind them.

"Lieutenant Evans and two of his team are already with the Captain," he says, moving by them to activate the turbolift. "I'm supposed to make sure you two don't vanish into the ether before you can get to the room."

"At another time," Nyota says a little ruefully as Harrison lets them inside the turbolift, "that would be paranoid."

Harrison nods grimly as the doors close. "Not anymore."

It is fourteen hours before Jim awakens; blinking, he meets Spock's eyes, head dropping back on the pillow. "I am so. Tired. Of being drugged. You have no idea."

"I must admit," Spock answers softly, in respect for the other occupants of the room who are currently sleeping, "that it seems to be excessive." After a moment, Spock realizes he's staring at Jim and straightens. "Your readings are normal; you do not seem to have been injured."

"No surprise." Slowly, Jim sits up, looking around the room for a moment. "He got away, didn't he?"

Spock frowns; the strange vertigo returns, and he feels his fingers clutching at the mattress, straining through the thin material as he remembers, as clearly as if he were living the moment again, Sorin and the woman--and Melody leave the hospital. "It was Healer Sorin."

Jim nods tiredly. "Yeah." Then, "Don't call security yet."

Spock had had no intention of doing so; Healer Sorin would not have left anything to chance. There is nothing to be gained by requiring Jim to answer questions yet.

Jim hesitates, not looking at him. "Just--I need a few minutes before they start asking questions. You saw him? He was worried--as much as Sorin worries about anything, I guess. He said you were--" Jim's forehead creases in thought. "That it was harder with Vulcans, and especially with you."

Remembering how Sorin and Melody had vanished, how easily he'd forgotten that he had seen them at all, Spock has to wonder what hard must mean to him. "I saw them both," Spock answers quietly. "He was able to awaken Melody."

Jim breathes out, lying back again. "Yeah. That was pretty much the goal. At least it wasn't for nothing."

"He required your assistance."

Jim nods, eyes shutting tight. "He--he figured it out when you were able to pull me out," Jim breathes. "It was the familiarity. And he wasn't--wasn't familiar, not like she needed. But I was. At least, I am now. He used me to get her out. She recognized me after he transferred the cells." Jim shudders. "It's--it's complicated."

"You should rest," Spock says, reaching out. At the touch of his fingers, however, Jim flinches, jerking away, blue eyes wide and for the first time in all their time together, afraid; Spock stills, chest tight.

"Not you," Jim says, catching his hand before he can pull away. "Sorry, just--the last time someone came near my face, it was really unpleasant."

Through the bond, Spock can feel Jim's residual panic, and follows it to the source. After only a brief hesitation, Jim nods, and Spock finds the memory; blurry without a meld to clarify it with context, but it's enough. "He forced you to meld with him, to reach her."

Jim nods tiredly. "He said he could--could light the path or something, but I was the only one who could find her. She would know me, and I could get her out." Jim looks away. "She was unstable; she'd been there too long. When he realized--" Jim's mouth tightens, tensing, and Spock tries to pull away. "No, don't--don't go. I can do this."

"You do not have to."

Jim shakes his head. "Yeah, I do. Just--" Licking his lips, Jim tries again. "She--I don't know what to call it, but I couldn't get away. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She wanted me to stay. For a second--" Jim sucks in a breath, the monitors reflecting the abrupt increase of heart rate and blood pressure; carefully, Spock eases between Jim and the memories, feeling his consent as he dampens the remembered fear, until it's almost as if it were something that had happened to someone else entirely.

"Thanks," Jim breathes, starting to relax. "The regeneration worked on her like the other patients; she was strong. Sorin--Sorin got me away and they--" Jim shivers. "He bonded with her, to keep her here, and she let me go. I felt--she wasn't sane anymore. He didn't care. He just wanted her."

Spock nods, feeling Jim's breathing fall into rhythm with his own.

"Then he--the next thing I knew, I woke up here with you." Jim's head turns on the pillow. "You said he was an Adept and trained in the mind disciplines. I really feel like you should elaborate on what exactly that means. We walked through the reception room and I didn't even--I didn't even ask why. I didn't even wonder why no one seemed to notice, even when I walked right into one of the nurses."

Spock breathes out. "It is not something we ever speak of," Spock answers quietly. "The techniques he utilized--they are forbidden to those who do not devote their lives to pure logic. When he left Gol, he should not have been able to--"

Spock stops, letting the meaning of what Sorin had done wash over him. The Acolytes could not have known he left Gol still possessing that knowledge. Those that failed, that found the pursuit of pure logic beyond them, were never permitted to carry with them the training forbidden to Vulcans.

"Shit." Jim's fingers slip through his, tightening. "He's been fucking with us since we met him, hasn't he?"

Spock thinks of Sorin, so easily taking over the care of his brother's former bondmate without question "You did not suspect this, nor have the others, which has been to my benefit."; the regeneration technique approved so easily despite its experimental nature "My presentation to the other healers was thorough; I was able to convince them of the logic of my arguments."; that no one had ever guessed his motives for caring for Melody despite the evidence that in retrospect should have been simple for any who saw them to discover "Have to say, if it weren't Sorin, I'd wonder a little about the coincidence.". The ease in which he had insinuated himself into assisting Jim with his shields, so he could observe their bond "The study of your bond with Commander Spock during the course of instruction could help me discover a new path in assisting Melody."; their medical records released in full; adding himself as Jim's mindhealer so he would have consent to touch Jim's mind; and his guidance in assisting Spock in reaching Jim after those long days that his mind had been lost to them…

"I am always thorough, Commander."

And he thinks of Dr. McCoy "The galaxy turns on the existence of that girl as far as he's concerned."

"Yes," Spock says numbly, holding Jim's eyes. "He has."

Jim breathes out, squeezing Spock's fingers once before sitting up. "We should call Pike and get this over with." Beneath it, Spock hears the unspoken, Get us out of here, just--anywhere else. I don't care where.

Spock nods, letting go of Jim's hand and reaching for the comm. "Nyota will make arrangements immediately."

Good. As Spock opens a secure channel to Admiral Pike, Jim closes his eyes.

Epilogue

Okay, hi, I stayed up crazy late, cough, cough, this morning, reading the whole thing in one gulp. I am a twit, but it was so worth it. Can I just say, I am so disturbed by Healer Sorin's actions? I was actually starting to really like him despite my deep distrust of him in the beginning. He didn't need to assault Jim, Jim practically invited him to ask them, Jim, and Spock, for anything they needed to help Melody. I don't know if JIm can forgive him, I don't know if he should since what he did was essentially rape. It's bad enough that he manipulated them all, but that last. On the other hand it would be better for Jim if he could heal, and forgive him. I am intensely curious as to what happens to Sorin. Can he heal Melody's madness? What about her son? And that travesty of a bond, Sorin's weak brother is in, eww, the universe herself will move to correct that wrongness. Someone dies, I know it. Shivers.

As for T'prina, she is so awesome, she kicks major a**, and she is going to be all over the Grayson laws like hot cheese. I love the regency comparison and how every one needs to thinks they need to rescue Kirk, and they do but if he wasn't busy rescuing himself it would never work. Oh man, Starfleet needs to get it's head out of it's a** but I notice they make a decent attempt even as they cover up their previous pitiful efforts. Sighs, politics. This story is magnificent on so many levels. I loved the scenes with Kirk entranced with Ambassador Spock's baby girl, grins, and I love that she, only a few weeks? old totally didn't want to give him up. I wonder was that her primitive psi ability picking up JIm's beautiful mind or is she too young for that? I immediately thought how the two of them, young Spock and JIm, could have a baby of their own in a uterine replicator, somewhat later in their careers. They have got to have the tech for it by now, really, grins wickedly. I love meeting the spouses, and more mixed couples, I was totally wishing to see all the young vulcans in Starfleet give the elders' whatfor, and threatening to succede if they didn't stop their selfish bigotry.

I totally wanted to see Mitchell's threesome with the vulcan mixed couple, whoot, hot, and that underneath he, and Kirk are too much alike, to really like each other but that is where the respect rests. I think you illustrated that wonderfully. I also would love to see what comes of the Enterprise's training programs, and the demands for similar things in the Academy, and I love the whole almost cultish following the two of them are amassing among the Vulcan students. What a force to be reckoned with, and ooh, the blond Vulcan, I love that bit of genetic diversity, and am intensely curious how much of it was preserved. Oh, yes, when I heard in the movie that only ten thousand vulcans remained, it always struck me, that that number is below the level of viable sustainability as a race unless they deliberately breed out in the first generation, boggles, didn't anyone else notice? That would really piss off the vulcan elders if they have the stones to admit what they need to do to survive, snorts, and is that the real motivation behind trying to repeal the Grayson laws. They want the foreign DNA, just not the foreigners, and their cultures attached to it. What a selfish, fear driven reaction. I did wonder if the brief notes you posted on Kirk, and Spock getting used to the bond had been cut for content, or are worked into another story. I can't find the place you posted it before, and am somewhat frazzled, and a little sleepy, laughs. This is a wonderful epic, will give me many, many more hours of pleasure as I see myself rereading it many times, as I have it's predecessor. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this wonderful, wonderful saga, and how much I look forward to any, and all sequels in this universe. :-D -SB

This is possibly among the most awesome feedback like, ever.

Sorin-- yes, I enjoyed writing him a lot. I get werid about OCs I develop thsi much, so I was glad I was able to go through with his entire plan.

I was thinking on genetic diversity for the vulcan population. They are at or just below viability.

Thanks for the lovely and thorough feedback. I'm so glad you enjoyed it this much!

Heh, smiles, you, and this story deserve it. Grins, and that was only off the top of my head with no sleep. I figure with something this long and involved you deserved at least an attempt to have feedback to match the effort involved. Of course I just didn't have the energy to go through all twelve parts and leave a comment for each.

I, also wanted to mention that I loved the Torren character, how his work was pivotal, it was so cute that he was nervous to meet Kirk, and Kirk didn't have a clue. The way his family was impacting T'prina's decision by actually helping her stiffen her upper lip in reference to the Grayson laws, just because they were such dicks about it. Plus, Sarek, shakes head, he came around but I was kinda curious about the background of some of this with him, he swings between being a twit and being supportive so fast I'm not sure I'm following his reasoning, or I am when he's helping Spock, but is he really that clueless when his son is not right in his face? Anyway, I loved, loved bossy Yoeman Rand who should be captain of her own ship, along with Sexy Gaila, grins, can't you just see these ladies kicking a** and taking names? The intricacy nvolved in this story was just awesome, shakes head in admiration. Smiles prettily, now I want to encourage sequels, cheers, whoot! -SB

Ok so this is where I got a little lost even after my 3rd read-thru. (MY THIRD! I can't decide if I'm embarassed or what. My life is totally on hold until I can disengage from this fic.)

So Healer Sorin is a lying liar who lies and I'm trying to figure out his role in all of this. I tend towards conspiracy theories so my immediate reaction after finding out that Sorin can bend people's minds with the Force ("These are NOT the droids you're looking for."), and he's been in contact even with the High Council, is to think that maybe Sorin is the root of all evil. Or illogic, I guess, seeing as he's so emotionally compromised.

Could you clarify the timeline? Vulcan declares that they're going to ignore the Grayson rule in order to propagate the species. Cue rash of Vulcan divorces that end in catatonic ex-bondmates who are not Vulcan. Then, Sorin is summoned back to Vulcan? Or was Sorin already in Vulcan before Council decided to go ahead and ask for exception to the Grayson Rule (with a little help, maybe? A nudge? Maybe this was his way to have Melody, but didn't realize how badly the divorce would fuck her mind up?)

Second call for clarification: we only hear from Sorin (lying liar who lies) that he had met Melody only once, when he was asked by his brother to bond the two of them. I mean, I guess I could accept that Sorin fell in love with her mind when he was delving deep to connect his brother and her, but it seems like there's more to the story than that. Had Sorin met Melody before the bonding? Did he drop out of Kholinar school after meeting her at the bonding ceremony? I feel like I need to slow down my re-read because I'm SURE this was answered in the fic, but I keep missing it because I read too fast.

Ok so then, Sorin breaks all sorts of ethical rules in order to heal Melody (with all the other folks as the guinea pigs for experimental treatments, how convenient.) He finds Kirk and Spock and realizes that Jim is the key (isn't he always?) to getting Melody to wake up. Why wouldn't Sorin's mind be recognized at all? I mean, he was the one who did the original bonding between Melody and his brother. Is it because Jim is human, has some psi-talent AND has a functioning bond that Melody would recognize Jim? But why would that be? As i understood it (ok science and maths is not my strong point), ALL human/vulcan bonding would create some kind of regeneration in the human brain that makes the human more psi-sensitive/psi-able, as this will facilitate easier bonding/communication between the bondmates. So couldn't some other brain chunk from another human/vulcan couple work for Melody? What makes Jim's special brains so extra-special?

WAUGH. I have a million more questions and I want to force my friends to read this fic so we can discuss but they are so not into fandom at all and it makes me so sad because this fic is too exciting and fun. Not being able to discuss it with them makes me so D-:

I really like you. Like a lot. Really awesome here.

Vulcan declares that they're going to ignore the Grayson rule in order to propagate the species. Cue rash of Vulcan divorces that end in catatonic ex-bondmates who are not Vulcan. Then, Sorin is summoned back to Vulcan?

Sorin showed up after the rash of Vulcan divorces BUT before the rash of bad bonds. It was revenge for Melody, but also to stop further bad divorces from vulnerable psi-sensitive parnters. And it worked. By the time Jim got there, there were no other victims.

That's not explicit text, by the way--I am surprised you noticed the timeline that closely though, and that Sarah Clemens mentioned Sorin had offered to help with other bondings of broken couples. I didn't add it in explicitly because there was no way to get it across. Sorin certainly wouldn't admit that he knew before he started that the bondings, due to the damage, would not go well.

...I'm seriously impressed.

I mean, I guess I could accept that Sorin fell in love with her mind when he was delving deep to connect his brother and her, but it seems like there's more to the story than that. Had Sorin met Melody before the bonding? Did he drop out of Kholinar school after meeting her at the bonding ceremony?

Sorin is really young, and he participated in bonding his brother and Melody when he was still in his mid-teens as a kolinahru. He could not--and didn't want to--sacrifice his feelings for her for perfection, so he left Gol and went back to school, then left Vulcan when she and his brother returned. He was being honorable up to the time his brother destroyed Melody. Then he was very, very Vulcanly pissed, both by what was done to Melody and what his people were doing to vulnerable bondmates. That's why he supports the new law; he doesn't think Vulcans should be permitted to marry into races they can destroy like this. He didn't cause the law, but he did support it a lot, publicly and privately, which was part of why it was able to get through to the Federation Council.

Why wouldn't Sorin's mind be recognized at all? I mean, he was the one who did the original bonding between Melody and his brother. Is it because Jim is human, has some psi-talent AND has a functioning bond that Melody would recognize Jim?

Regeneration used a bondmate's brain matter, which was recognizable to the person as well as to induce physical neuron regeneration. Melody had to use Sorin's, since her former bondmate's wasnt' sufficient. While it healed the damage, it wasn't familiar to her Self, I guess is the word, separate from teh physical damage. Jim was human and with his brain matter, which being human was familiar to her instinctively, and because he was a human with psi-sensitivity like her, he could reach her. Theoretically, one of the other healed patients could have helped if they were human, but they weren't--well, really all completely recovered yet.

Her other problem that Sorin stated as well was that she'd been very young when she bonded--she'd just finished medical school--and her mind was used to having another. Once Jim was able to find her and reach her, Sorin bonded with her to give her mind familiarity. Then she could come out of it. Not entirely sane, but Sorin is a really, really powerful Adept.

So I think I love you with the intensity of a thousand burning suns - this cleared up so much. And I'm extra happy because I am no longer conflicted about Sorin. I was looking at him the way Jim was when he was retracing his steps when he got lost in Chicago. In my brain, I'd cast him as the evil bad guy and I was getting so frustated that the Evil Suit wasn't fitting him at all. I'd painted him to be this utterly cold, ultra-logical Vulcan bent towards racial purity...who was in love with a human. What now?

That's what I get for starting off reading fics and immediately throwing characters in the "evil" and "good guys" columns. ANd I think this is why I keep re-reading your work: you take what would be a typical cliche and turn it on it's head and then mold it into a fully dimensional PERSON. (see: Komack. How could I not love him and his hardcore, deadpan contempt for Admiral Sex Toy Collector and Admiral Working with the Orions on the Side? Fucking LOVED that.) BTW: why does Gaila have extra clearance even though she's only a lieutenant?

Thanks for clearing up the science bits - that gave me quite a bit of trouble.

Will we EVER find out what happened in Rigel that nobody is supposed to talk about but had some kind of regulation named after it?

Oh no, Sorin was built from teh beginning to be conflicted because of his motives being very, very focused, specifically, on Melody. They're kind of the classic intense world-ending romance where anything is sacrificed for love etc, but I reset it in a world where teh consequences of it were experienced by the characters the readers were using as POV. So he's totally cold and ultra-logical and one step from a true kolinahru--he did achieve it, and when he met her, he gave it up. Everything in his life after was built due to her or for her or because of her. You got it right. Not evil, per se, but a very logical choice to act outside of ethics and accepted morality.

I seriously love how much you thought about him. Seriously.

Gaila got clearance as an Orion that knew the Orions, being born in the slave camps, being brilliant, and being able to watch/report on Avis, and being one of the only Orions in Starfleet (since missing scenes suggest there's at least one other one). So she'd have insider knowledge on the society, the people, and how Orions think, and how to break their encryption since she'd think like an Orion.

Rigel--Romulan ale, everyone got very drunk, and Spock and Uhura did karaoke for three hours in a Rigellian bar for half the crew. It was beautiful and McCoy has the recordings.

Ok, see, I didn't notice Sorin as being conflicted until after he talked to Spock and Jim, although it seemed apparent from early on that he cared for Melody, and had probably left Gol to follow in her footsteps, as it were, especially as he had attempted to gain custody of her son, too.

It just struck me as unnecessary that he should have to abduct Jim to perform the surgery, when it was clear he could do so with proven safety. The drama could have come from what happened during, when Melody's mind reacted so badly, against his expectations. I wanted Sorin to stay on the good guy/potential future ally list, and now he can't. :(

ETA: I totally missed the timeline with Sorin and the bad bondings. *shakes head* I had no idea that he was responsible. Well, that makes me feel a little better about how shocked I was at the end. /ETA

But aside from that, I just love this story so much. I want someone to film this, with Kirk being a wiseass and Spock being a smartass, and Uhura being kickass, and T'Prina disapproving until she becomes a pirate!

edited at: Date: 2010-02-26 01:06 am (UTC)

Also, Sorin is (in at least one way) the Vulcan John Crichton!

Did I miss where he threw up a lot? *g*

Heh. I was responding to Jenn's first paragraph there. She hasn't seen all of FS, so I preferred cryptic to exact. ;D

Oh, this is terribly interesting. I adored this story, but one question I wanted to ask was about consent and reciprocation because, well, how did Melody feel about Sorin? I mean, she doesn't have a choice about being with him at the end of the story, granted, since the bonding is a fait accompli and fundamentally necessary but I feel for her hugely. She's the one character in the story who never gets to speak for herself: she has neither voice nor choice. I think it's interesting that you have Kirk and Spock discuss Vulcan marriage to off-worlders - the chattel conversation - and then illustrate it so literally. Melody is literally passed between family members. Did she even like Sorin, before?

I can't express how much I loved this story, but that's the one thing that I felt needed a coda. Well, I say 'the one thing'; what I mean is if I ever meet you I'm going to fling my arms around you in admiration and joy and from sheer glee, and innocently enquire whether you intend to continue in this universe because it, and you, are incredible.

Yes, it's definitely supposed to be questionable--that's why I label it as an obsessive romance in all the wrong ways. There was no way Melody could give consent to a bonding with Sorin, and since she only met him once, I'm not sure she knew enough about Sorin to like him. It's also one of the reasons for Sorin's actions with Jim; there's no way Jim could consent, all else being equal, because Sorin's plan of action included a bonding without consent in the mix.

So he's totally cold and ultra-logical and one step from a true kolinahru--he did achieve it, and when he met her, he gave it up.

And again, this is why I love your writing: it forces me to think beyond my comfort zone. I love fanfic, but I have to say that it makes me lazy when it comes to sussing out characters. I KNOW how Kirk and Spock are supposed to act, but when original characters are mixed in, I tend to take the easy way out and categorize. Sorin was giving me heartburn because I knew I was missing something - he was a shade of murky grey that I wasn't entirely prepared for. I think he might be my favorite character in this fic, if only because trying to figure him out was so fucking hard.

*deep sigh* Ok. I think I'm good now. I can finally take a breath and stop obsessing about my illogical love for Sorin.

Oh, yay for more on Sorin! Love his motive for supporting the change in the law. I adore perspectives that make perfect sense while disagreeing with the main characters. Feeling kinda of bad because I only know Melody as the object of his love at this point (tries feminist guilt as a means of getting more of their story since I still can't think of a good bribe).

I do wonder if the fact that they both ended up in similar careers, as healers dealing with the after-effects fo catastrophe, came from Melody rather than Sorin. Because Melody is passive, is the recipient of the action, the... well, the narrative influence sort of assumes that she was all along, even though there's no reason to assume that, no evidence for it.

Plus, a young human who'd been to medical school would in many ways be more defined -be more adult- than a young Vulcan who'd had an extremely structured life to that point. She was already a doctor. Even if she hadn't specialized yet, it's likely that the things that would make her pick that specialty already existed. It seems entirely plausible that his direction in life was caused by that exposure to her.

Also, it fits in with that whole obsessive love thing-- that even though he could never have her, his life would be shaped around her, would be a gift from and for her even if she never knew it.

Vulcans, they really don't do anything half way.

Also, it fits in with that whole obsessive love thing-- that even though he could never have her, his life would be shaped around her, would be a gift from and for her even if she never knew it.

Yes. *g* That's exactly what he did with his life and for that reason.

My take on Vulcans? They're not naturally logical, that's a product of cultural conditioning. What they are, naturally, is binary. Yes/No, Black/White, Us/Them, Love/Violence, In/Out. It lends itself well to being conditioned to logic. It fits in with the way they are logical, and the ways they're not-- especially with the us/them.

(And then they would possibly view humans, who are generally powered by at least two directly conflicting impulses at any one time, as existing in a state of functional insanity. Evolutionary drive to conserve genes at war with the drive to bring in new genes! Attraction/repulsion to danger!)

Bottom line is, forget Spock and Kirk playing chess. What I really want to see is them playing Go or Othello.

(And then they would possibly view humans, who are generally powered by at least two directly conflicting impulses at any one time, as existing in a state of functional insanity. Evolutionary drive to conserve genes at war with the drive to bring in new genes! Attraction/repulsion to danger!)

There was a story--pro, I think--that actually mentioned how Vulcans viewed humans in their conflicting opposing impulses as insanity. It was surreal.

Actually, I was intrigued by 4D chess as introduced by Diane Duane using time as a factor in the decision making process; from the description of the principles, it goes from strategy/anticipation to basically a character study of your opponent when they can make all their moves before the game begins.

...And now I really want to see Vulcans stumble across a game of Mornington Crescent. Or Calvinball. Or even just make WTF? faces at the tendency of certain subtypes of humanity to make real rules for imaginary games.

(Incidentally, my explanation for the tendency of people in Star Trek to refer to a lotof 20th century stuff, or be 20th century hobbyists, is just because that's when recordable media kicked off. It's as early as you can go, while still being able to -theoretically- find out all the stuff you want.)

I suppose the difference could be that for humans, "stable" is actually a state of dynamic equilibrium. It's not that every thing's sorted out and in the right amounts, it's just that everything is compensating for everything else.

Oh, and now I'm left really wanting to read academic books set in fictional universes, comparing historical, pre-empirical science, medicine on Vulcan and on Earth. There are so many references in historical medicine to view health as a function of correct balance-- balance of ying & yang, balance of the humours, etc. I wonder if, on Vulcan, the pre-empirical science "historical medicine" was much more... hm. "All of this thing, which is only negative, must be eliminated."

Do you have a link to this story? I realize I'm asking out of the blue, 4 months later. <flutters eyelashes>

Not entirely sane, but Sorin is a really, really powerful Adept.

...and now, it appears, he has a not entirely sane human for company.

I love this storyline more and more. It is kinda hidden in the face of GALACTIC CRISIS OMG and slavery and kidnappings and evil Vulcans, but that is some depth of story. Aaaaawesome.

I think I can understand Sorin's character better in the sense that he is neither good, nor bad. Just really insane and obsessively in love- in the really bad way. He's an interesting character. Just like how Jim and Spock are a lot deeper than they seem, Sorin is definitely a lot deeper than he seems.

But is it romance? Is it love? Or just obsession? Does she love him? Does she even know him? I feel there are consent issues all over the place where he is concerned, and the biggest one for me is he bonded with her when there is no way she can give consent, and from now on, mad or not she is going to love him. I am terrified of him

No, it's not with consent at all. That's one of the reasons that Sorin couldn't ask Jim for assistance and have him agree when one of the things Sorin would be doing was bonding with her.

It is supposed to be questionable, because it's that kind of obsessive romance.

I don't think the bond can make you love someone-- it sticks you together, it makes you *know* someone, but that's not the same as love.

"They asked me," she says slowly, "why I would take the side of outsiders and permit mixed blood to contaminate our people, when my family had always supported the separation of inferior species"

Hm, this I am not buying. Have Vulcans ever referred to anyone as inferior species in the sense of contaminating the bloodlines? The only thing I remember is TOS Spock logically stating that human physical abilities (and perhaps intellect) were inferior to theirs. Which is true. But this hits me as of lack of respect towards other species, and I have trouble assimilating that. I had a little trouble assimilating Sarek's actions in one of the earlier chapters, but I chalked it up to their race being almost extinct, and that can screw with anyone. Am I missing something here? Did further canon beyond TOS establish Vulcans as racist?

Mind you, I haven't finished yet, so maybe you have surprises.

Reading on...

edited at: Date: 2010-02-27 07:55 am (UTC)

Spock's World the novel's plot was Vulcan seceding from the Federation for anti-human prejudice. It was *extremely* good.

Ah. So that's where it comes from. OK, I can buy that. I guess I'm too idealistic...

Now I have to read that book. I hear lots of good stuff about it.

Also, heh, go Sorin. Pursuing his own agenda among all this chaos. Niiiiice going, mr Adept :D

I thought that many of the Vulcans as shown in Enterprise were pretty damned racist. Hell, I think many of them thought of humans as little above animals at that point, what with the talk of 'living with that smell' and other such cracks. When most of them thought nine weeks was an appallingly long time to spend with humans...yeah, I'm totally going with racist, there.

From what I saw, in the two (?) hundred years between Archer and Kirk, there were the visionaries who could see humans and Vulcans working together well, those who were forced to work with humans because of their duty (and then ended up understanding and liking those humans due to exposure to them), and the rest of the population, who was a little bit grossed out by the stinky, crazy, wildly emotional new guys on the block.

I'd assume some of that sentiment would have survived to Spock's time, though by TNG, I think it's pretty much wiped out completely.

Um, just my two cents. *g*

I haven't seen Enterprise. That's the last one, yes? How did the show refer to the creation of the Federation itself and the founding races? I always thought Vulcans were the REALLY smart ones. Even WISE ones. I am missing a bunch of shows, though.

Yep, yep, Enterprise is the last one, and it takes place about one generation after First Contact, and it is about the founding of the Federation.

So the answer to the 'creation of the Federation' question is about five seasons worth of episodes' long, but it's basically that the new, shiny humans acted as the buffer for the old warring races in the quadrant, and since humans at that time had just come out of a devastating third World War (a la the situation in the movie First Contact), they were really, really determined to gain peace.

Their efforts were helped in that the messy human divisions were mainly hidden away on Earth because Starfleet only had one ship for a long, long time, and that was the Enterprise, so the other races pretty much viewed humanity through the lense of good, trustworthy Captain Archer. He pretty much acted a mediator (ie babysitter) to make the other races come together in times of great peril--or the other races used humans as the command structure they could trust. (As in, if the Vulcans and Andorians went to war together against a common threat, no way would a Vulcan ship take orders from a Andorian commander and vice versa because they just didn't trust each other, but if the orders came from the 'unbiased' human command/communications crew, that was okay, then.) Eventually they were in great peril enough that they thought to make those arrangements permanent, and thus the Federation was born. I think this also explains why the Starfleet command structure is mostly human with 'aliens' in very influential advisory capacities, and why the Klingon's think the Federation is a human club, but I might just be reaching there. *g*

As to the Vulcans, in the beginning of the series, they are really smart, but they're also tremendously arrogant, and they operate under a corrupted version of Surek's teachings. (They lost his original writings, and they only regain them during ENT. For instance, at first they believe that mind-melding and those who do it are incredibly distasteful, mainly because they've lost the technique for how to do it properly--it usually results in insanity. Anything more advanced then a mind-meld? Way beyond them.) They've taken sophistry to extremes, and they use their logic to justify pretty much anything they want, and they're not very ethical at all. They lie, and they lie all the time, and they're totally okay with that. They've also pretty much convinced themselves they're the best species in the galaxy.

The "wise" Vulcans we recognize in TOS and TNG are actually a cult in the ENT time, completely reviled for their pacifism and their wholehearted devotion to ethics over practicality, but when Surek's old writings are discovered in full, complete form, Vulcan society undergoes a massive overhaul. They end their military High Command, disarm/dissemble their ships, their government entirely changes, and this is pretty much when they throw in with Starfleet, as they themselves decide to go the more pacifist route.

Um, yeah, that's the gist of it. *g*

Whoa.

Thank you for the backstory, it makes things a lot clearer. Somehow I thought they regained their senses earlier - that is how it sounds from when Spock tells it, about how his race used to be violent and primitive. I didn't know the bit about losing Surak's teachings.

So they changed, ya? Pretty quickly, from what you wrote, and that speaks of advancement. Major advancement.

But I get how they could easily revert in the face of total destruction. I also get how they could potentially elevate themselves, embrace Surak's teachings and proceed, still wise, instead of reverting. Oh, well. Genocide ain't easy on a race.

This also makes me want to watch Enterprise now. Except I really don't like the Quantum Leap guy :(

Yeah, Archer's not my favorite character, but the people around him aren't bad. I really like Trip, his first officer, for one. *g*

We see glimpses of Surak's world in ENT--mainly how it ends, and the Vulcans of ENT aren't like that. They've got a firm hold of their emotions, but it's like they went in entirely the wrong direction--logic without any form of empathy, where things like superior minds and bodies actually means superior people to them. It is implied that Surak did his thing and Vulcan went well for a time afterwards, but over the millenia between Surak and the ENT time period, they'd drifted away from the true practice of Surak's teachings. (I'm not sure how long ago Surak lived, but he's pretty much myth to them at that point, to the extent that they believe that things that Archer and crew find to be historical are at first not believed to even exist, that they're just stories.) They Vulcans of this time believe they're following Surak, but without his original writings, they're mistaken--which is why when they actually do find them, society changes.

And yeah, the change was FAST. Very abrupt. I could see a lot of the old rich families being...displeased...about that. *g*

Brilliant, oh fantastic! So glad to have Jim awake and well and himself. Lovely, unexpected twist with Soren and Melody, didn't see that coming.

I have a question about the Andorians. How do they fit in? In the begining you have them wanting to stop funding to Vulcans, is it just old history speaking or is Kirk right, there is something else involved?

I love your story, and I'm on my second reading, but I don't get the mentioning of the Andorians in the beginning. Is it just to show the fault lines starting to crack in the Federation, or is it related to plot?

Not like that little border skirmish was sublte." - "subtle."

***

"Oh shut up," Jim snaps from inside. "You'll just sit there and be stoic and Vulcan until everyone feels bad for you and they cut my pudding ration again." - Heeheheh.

Awwwww, lovingly railroaded from all sides. ^_^

Dr. Nagu, her round, unwrinkled face broken by a wide smile as she nods a greeting. The two faint scars on each cheek were given to her by the L'T:k'm, a non-hominid, ungendered species with a faint resemblance to Terran tapeworms, the traditional blue tinting bright against skin so dark it was nearly black. Each scar recognized a level of scholarship achieved; four proclaimed her as a High Scholar among the various family groups that made up the planet's population, a distinction that few even among the L'T:k'm had ever reached. - Awesome detail, but not overwhelming.

"You realize she is six decades your senior and prefers female partners," Spock says in amusement. "It must also be noted that you are unavailable for the foreseeable future." - Also awesome. ^___^

"My ship," Jim says through a mouthful of pie, pointing his spoon at Spock. "I don't care what Starfleet says; I stole it fair and square. Not that there's much of it left besides databanks and spacedust." - Oh, piratical Jim. <3

"Sometimes," Jim says to no one in particular, "I really wonder why you all keep me around."
"Because you're pretty," Nyota says with a smirk. "See you tomorrow, Jim." - *laughs*

The first faint sense of alarm is so mild that Spock almost ignores it as he attempts to make sense of the updates to the science station, as they seem to follow no known logical pattern, almost as if to discourage its use by any species possessing a developed cerebral cortex and opposable thumbs. - Poor Spock...

*hisses at Atkins*

Holy crap, Sorin.

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