Now: June 5, 2261(a), T'Khasi Vokaya
"I expected you to be more excited, t'dahsu," T'Khio'ri said, concern flickering across her face. "Soon, you will be back with your Spock."
Uhura offered her elder counterpart a wan smile. "I am excited, of course," she said, "but I'm a little disappointed, too. Part of me wants to stay here with you until…" Her eyes drifted longingly to the Vulcan's still-flat belly.
T'Khio'ri threw back her head and laughed heartily. Uhura had long ago adapted to seeing such free expressions on a Vulcan visage. The process had undoubtedly been made easier by the fact that the face was essentially her own.
"We still have nearly a year to go before this one makes his appearance. Do you really want to wait that long?" the Vulcan asked. "In that time, you and Spock can—"
"No!" the younger woman was quick to interject. "No. We'll wait until our mission is over before we do that. It's just… it's just I wonder what he'll look like. I wonder what he'll be like."
"I think you wonder about your own, as well." T'Khio'ri's look was knowing without being smug. "And perhaps about the two who we are not supposed to remember will come."
"Well, that too," Uhura admitted hesitantly. The entity had done them few favors in giving them glimpses of their possible futures.
"Stay there. I have something to show you." The Vulcan rose from her seat and disappeared into the sleeping chamber she shared with her mate.
She returned carrying a small holopic displayer. "These will give you a better idea of what to expect than this one will," she said, placing a hand on her midsection as she took her seat again.
Uhura reached over to take the proffered device.
The little cube slowly cycled through several three-dimensional images of herself, sometimes accompanied by Spock, more often without. Both wore uniforms she didn't recognize.
"But you two didn't become a couple until— Oh!" Uhura broke of as the next image loaded.
She saw herself, obviously pregnant, smiling at whoever was taking the holo, hands resting on her belly. Several similar images followed, each one showing an increasingly large bump.
Uhura chuckled softly as another tableau replaced the last of those. In this one, a simulacrum of Benjamin Uhura — tiny, but perfectly formed — stood at her side, one hand resting on her shoulder, the other completely engulfed in the grip of an impossibly beautiful infant.
"That's amazing. It looks just like Baba." She dialed up the resolution to get a better look at the miniature of her father. "Gods!" she breathed when the truth became apparent.
Eyes wide, she turned to her t'dahsu.
"How…?"
"Not long after Spock informed me of what he planned to do at the end our first mission," T'Khio'ri told her, "we received a summons. More accurately, Spock received a telepathic plea, and Captain Kirk agreed that we should heed the call."
x-x-x-x
Then: September 13, 2270(p), the Enterprise
"…the meaning of this Spock?" the captain was asking as the door whooshed open and Uhura stepped into the small meeting room. "Why can't you just tell me what's going on?"
"As his request pertains specifically to Lieutenant Uhura, it is only prudent that I wait for her arrival before saying anything further."
"Well, I'm here now," the woman in question announced. "What's going on?"
Spock spun his chair around to stare at her. Something about his assessing gaze sent a shiver of fear racing down her spine. She sank into her own chair the instant the back of her shaky knees touched the seat. Of course, he noticed her nervousness, and he nodded approvingly, though infinitesimally.
She glanced at Captain Kirk, raising her eyebrows in question, although she'd already guessed from the bits of conversation she'd overheard that he didn't know any more than she did. His exaggerated shrug sent her eyes reluctantly back to the Vulcan first officer.
Nine times out of ten, that raised brow would have been accompanied by a tiny uptick at the corners of his full lips — even though their friendship had been strained lately. Its absence told her she'd been right to worry.
"Lieutenant Uhura's presence has been requested on Phylos," Spock said without preamble.
Kirk shot to his feet, hands slamming down on the small conference table. "By whom?" he demanded.
Spock raised an eyebrow as he calmly regarded the captain. "Answering that question requires revealing certain information which you previously designated classified."
Slowly, the captain's expression cleared. The suspicious frown was replaced by thoughtful contemplation.
"You mean telling her about…?"
"Precisely, Captain."
Uhura's gaze flew back and forth between the two, but for all her knowledge of reading faces and body language, she couldn't begin to decipher their half-spoken, half-silent conversion.
"Five or…?" Kirk asked as he sank back into his seat.
"Two." Spock's face remained so impassive, only the repetitive motion of his thumb stroking his forefinger told her he was not comfortable with whatever it was that he needed to reveal.
The captain propped his elbows on the table and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyebrows, burying his fingers into his golden-brown hair. Obviously, he was just as disturbed as his first officer. Uhura felt another bead of trepidation form in her stomach. When he looked up again, however, he looked determined, his expression resigned but not at all hesitant.
"We'd better tell her everything, then," he said.
.
Twenty minutes later, her mind still mostly full of sentient plant life and twenty-foot-tall clones, Uhura tried to mull over the request Spock had relayed to her. Captain Kirk, while agreeing the mission was important, insisted that the decision about taking part was hers to make.
"He specifically requested me?" she asked Spock finally. "Why?"
"He is aware that no other crewmember is better equipped to handle this than you."
In spite of her continuing unease, Uhura's lips twitched at the reminder of another time she'd been persuaded to use her knowledge of communications technology in order to complete a difficult task. She hadn't gotten a chance to beard the giant in his den during that mission, either.
This time, she "knew" the being she'd be facing. That is, if what they had explained to her proved accurate, this clone held the original Spock's memories and mannerisms. It was a lot to take in at once, and she took her time making a decision.
"The thing I don't understand is, if it's so important that they contact these Jötunnians, why didn't Dr. Keniclius attempt it years ago?"
Instead of answering, Kirk shot his first officer a questioning look. "Mr. Spock? You're the one with all the answers today."
"Not so, Captain," he replied smoothly. "I was also curious about the hesitation, however. It seems that the original Keniclius, inspired by the Jötunnian commitment to a peaceful life and by their ability to enforce their philosophy in their sector through non-violent means, decided it would be necessary for his clones to also possess their size.
"The second Keniclius, however, was motivated to maintain the connection to the Jötunnians for another reason entirely: he developed an attachment to one of their females. Following her rejection of his suit, he made no effort to continue diplomatic relations with their people. And as the Phylosian infrastructure deteriorated, the successive clones would have been unable to reestablish contact even if they had been so inclined."
Spock folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. Neither the communications officer nor his captain said anything in response to what he had shared. He gazed from one to another, silently assessing their reactions.
"Hmph!" Uhura said when it became clear that he had no more to add. "I see. And is the current Keniclius prepared to deal with these people again? He doesn't intend to make trouble?"
"I do not know, Lieutenant," he answered honestly, "but Mr. Spock — the other Mr. Spock — does not believe there will be a problem."
Silence descended again until, after several tense minutes had passed, Kirk stood and said, "Look, Uhura, there's no need for you to decide right away. Think it over tonight and tomorrow—"
"That's all right, Captain," she interrupted, smiling softly. "I've already made my decision."
Kirks eyes widened, but he recovered quickly. "So soon?"
"Yes," she told him. "I'll do it."
His answering smile was gilded with his habitual charm, but there was an edge of concern in his tone. "Are you sure about this?"
She stood, as well and spoke with conviction. "Absolutely. From what the two of you have told me, Keniclius's thinking was terribly misguided before your last encounter with him. It seems contact with Mr. Spock's clone has tempered that, but even if they are successful in restoring the Phylosian race, the two of them must wish for other company, to see others similar to them."
Kirk's smile grew, and he nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking. I knew I could count on you, Lieutenant."
He moved towards the door, looking over his shoulder when he realized Spock had not followed him.
"I will join you shortly, Captain," Spock said.
Jim stared at him a moment, flicked a glance at the bewildered lieutenant, and then nodded. The door swished closed behind him, and Spock motioned for Uhura to take her seat again.
"Your expertise in communications engineering is not all he seeks," he informed her. "He needs your help, yes, but he also desires your company."
x-x-x-x
Now: June 5, 2261(a), T'Khasi Vokaya
"His creator — himself the fourth in a series of clones — called him 'Spock Two,'" T'Khio'ri said. "He preferred dahr-Spock. After meeting him, I allowed myself to hope again. So much so that the years my Spock spent at Gol, and the decades that followed that were easy enough to bear."
"But, you said…" Uhura trailed off, slow comprehension making it unnecessary for her to complete the thought.
"Vulcan love is strong, Nyota. Enduring," T'Khio'ri told her anyway. "You know that. Always in the back of my mind — even during the times I took other lovers — there was hope for Spock."
"But this clone, he wasn't Spock. Not really."
"Oh, but he was!" Smiling at her own secret memory, the Vulcan reached a hand towards her t'dahsu's face. "He was every centimeter — all six hundred nine point six of them! — Spock for the most part. But you're also right, in a way. The challenges of his life caused him to make different choices. That proved to be a good thing."
"Still…"
"She is correct, of course," Spock said as he walked into the room. In spite of her sensitive ears, Uhura hadn't heard him coming home. "I did not think so at the time, but I have had many decades to come to terms with my error." He sat down on his mate's other side and reached past her to take the holo-displayer from Uhura's hands. "Now, I can understand and appreciate his decision. Then, I saw only the danger and the possibility of future problems."
Returning the device to the young human, he wrapped both arms around T'Khio'ri. "At the time," he repeated, "I saw the situation in an entirely different light."
A/N: For the those not familiar with Star Trek: The Animated Series, Spock Two was introduced in the TAS episode, "The Infinite Vulcan." The Phylosians were a sentient plant species that (to me, anyway) looked like asparagus spears.
For those not familiar with Entanglement or Once and Future, T'Khio'ri is Prime!Uhura, "Vulcanized" by a mysterious entity while it was saving her life.
The Jötunnians are mostly mine, but are based on the jötunn of Norse myth.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, really.