Author's note: First I want to send my gratitude to my beta Aphrodite- you are amazing. Second I want to say special thank you's to New Chapter, TeaOli, Southern Scribe- you all really saved this fic when all I wanted to do was to take it down and burn it- your careful insights and understanding have been so greatly appreciated.
For my new readers- if you start here, you will be lost. Please go read "The Prince", "The Prince: Absolution", and "The Prince: Spock Prime's Story" before you start this one. If not, you may wonder what is happening here.
Please heed the "M" rating. If you are under 18 there are themes here you may not fully understand. I caution you. And, with all that said, I present to you the final chapter in The Prince Trilogy.
Disclaimer: I do not own, but I love.
The Prince: Ascension
Chapter 1
They had been in space now for four months. And in that time, they had seen nowhere near the action that had secured their positions aboard the Enterprise. Starfleet had wasted no time in re-building the fleet and had sent its flagship straight to the Romulan neutral zone.
After learning of Nero's attacks on Vulcan and on Earth, the Romulans sent an ambassadorial envoy to the Federation to dispense any thought or notion that their government was involved. In short, Nero had been a lone operative.
It was acceptable to the bureaucrats, as Nero had been from the future, but the Federation was still wary. Subsequently, the Enterprise and her young crew had been sent to the Neutral Zone- just in case.
Four months later, there had still been no activity. No attacks on the Federation outposts. The crew had settled into a routine of boredom.
Since there was nothing to do, that left plenty of time for internal reflection. And it was clear that the crew, though efficient in their professional capacity, was still dealing with the personal tragedies of the months before.
Such was the case with the ship's first officer and head communications officer.
It was not obvious to most of the crew. There were only five who knew about their relationship- or what was their relationship. The two people who had been in it, one Admiral, the ship's engineer and the Captain. With the exception of the Admiral, who was located light years away on Earth, and the Chief Engineer- who had believed himself drunk at the time and simply refused to believe what he had seen on the transporter pad- there really was no one aware.
Except for James T. Kirk. And he didn't like what he was seeing now.
He never asked Spock personal questions- he knew the Vulcan's propensity for privacy, and for the most part, he respected that.
But what he'd witnessed in the heat of battle four months ago was a completely separate reality from what he saw daily now.
If silence made a sound it would be screaming.
He had observed them quietly.
Watched as they danced around each other. Avoided contact. Spoke only when spoken to. They had both retreated, from each other and from everyone else. He didn't think the behavior unusual for his Vulcan first officer, but for the firebrand that was Uhura…
Her spark was gone.
As he shifted in the Captain's chair, he crossed his legs, and rested his chin on his hands, deep in thought.