"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us. But that's not who we are... When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain's Oath. Words I didn't appreciate at the time. But now I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were and who we must be again. And those words: Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

One Year Later

The Captain looked out the viewer in his briefing room, considering the strange solar system that lay before him. The past year had been an unending adventure through galaxies beyond his imagination. Only one fifth of the way into his mission, he had charted 12 unexplored solar systems, and encountered seventeen previously unknown species, four of which were also warp-capable, and were therefore deemed acceptable, by The Prime Directive, to establish direct communication. The galaxy seemed held more wonders with each passing day.

The system before him was home to a reclusive sentient species, called the Virosas. From his scans they seemed to be warp-capable, and indeed, common sense dictated as much, as they had spread themselves across the two habitable planets and four habitable moons in their solar system. During his encounter with the Hamids, he had learned of their existence, and their peculiar habit of very seldomly allowing outsiders to visit. Allegedly they were a Matriarchal society ruled entirely by a very small sect of their female population. These females were regarded as demi-gods within their culture, and were almost never seen by anyone other than their own kind. The Hamids had hinted at a long standing conflict between the ruling class and another species the Enterprise had encountered, the Zezians. But, upon meeting them they had not even mentioned this strange culture.

Regardless of what he had been told, Jim Kirk was determined to try to establish contact.

He turned back to his senior bridge officers, Sulu, Uhura, Marcus, and Spock. "Well", he said, "has anyone been able to piece together anything else, or are we just going to go in there and hope they don't shoot at us."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Captain," Marcus interjected. "My readings show weaponry that is quite advanced. Definitely, more so than our own. If they attacked, couldn't beat them in a fire-fight; we'd have to hope to outrun them."

It was more than she had said to him in a month. Carol Marcus was a singularly attractive woman, and Kirk had pursued her relentlessly, much to Spock's objection, from the moment she had signed up for the five year mission. To her credit, her resolve had held for the first couple of months, but after a life and death encounter with a group of rogue Romulans, which Jim had miraculously saved her from, it had broken - badly.

Kirk remembered her coming to his quarters once she had been discharged from sick bay. She had only meant to thank him with words and perhaps a cup of tea, but after looking deep into his beautifully bright blue eyes, seemingly earnest, trying to reassure her of her own well-being, she somehow wound up kissing him. Then allowing his hand to travel up her body to her breasts, then easing off her uniform, then his. It was somewhere between wearing underwear and fully naked that she found herself in his bed, running her hands through his gold-flecked hair, as his mouth worked furiously on her neck and breasts. His roughly pulled away her underwear and his own before she could even think about what they were doing. Lost in the in waves of pleasure she had found him at her entrance when he suddenly stopped, kissed her lips deeply, and looked into her eyes. "I know I'm the Captain," he said, "and Spock is definitely going to get his panties in a twist on why I am NOT supposed to be doing this, but . . . you're so beautiful, and smart, and I like you. I really like you. And I think we can keep this professional outside this room. Is this OK?" Of course she said yes.

That had been five months ago. Predictably, Spock had expressed his opinion that the Captain had not exercised his best judgement, but, Kirk honestly didn't care. For three months they carried on. Carol was exceptionally intelligent and kind, and one of the most beautiful, accomplished women he had ever been with. He would call her to his quarters all hours of the night, and they would stay awake into the morning enjoying each other's bodies. That all changed somewhere between month two and three. Though she was beautiful Kirk began to find their nonsexual moments to drag on. She could be kind of annoying. It was nothing she did directly; it was just that she consistently failed to hold his interest when it was time to slip back into clothes.

They deteriorated even further when Kirk began suggesting that she return to her room after the finished having sex; a perfectly reasonable suggestion in his mind, as the crew was getting suspicious, and as Captain, he really needed to be getting more sleep. Much to his dismay she became more and more emotionally needy, often wanting to talk to him instead of make love, and became frustrated when Kirk asked why she felt the need for constant reassurance. Kirk found himself calling her less and less, and she began following him around the ship, trying to "talk" to him, while he desperately tried to avoid her. The final straw came when she pounded on his door one night, in tears, demanding he address her.

"What did I do?", she tearfully asked.

"Nothing", Kirk replied, "this just . . . this isn't working for me right now...I'm sorry?"

She let out a small sob, and shook her hair out of her eyes, "You know what, Jim," she said "FUCK you!"

Those had been the last words she said to him, until that very moment.

Kirk looking at her questioningly. "So" he said, "they have bigger guns than anyone else in the galaxy but hide away in their moons? They doesn't seem to add up".

"I didn't say guns, Captain" she replied.

"Not guns then?"

"It's mostly defensive technology. Shields, torpedos that are launched from the planet's surface, bases in strategic locations. . . . It's almost like they are preparing for someone to attack them. They have given themselves every advantage on the defensive."

"The Zezians . . . I wonder . . . Spock, do you remember the Zezians ever even mentioning the Virosas?"

"No, Captain, they did not mention them."

"Captain", Lieutenant Uhura interjected, "I highly doubt they would. The Zezians expressed interest in joining the Federation. The Federation isn't exactly open to a species with a long standing history of conflict. I'm guessing they didn't disclose because of something unsavory on their end which might jeopardize our treaty."

"You didn't like them, I know - " Kirk said.

"No, I just got a weird feeling about them. They were just . . creepy. The way they stared at Dr. Marcus and I . . "

"I agree with the Lieutenant, Captain", Marcus added quickly, "they made me quite uneasy . . ."

Kirk practically rolled his eyes "OK, OK they're creepy. Fine. This isn't the matter at hand. What we need to do now, is figure out how to say hello to the Virosas without them blowing us to pieces for no reason."

"Do we absolutely need to?" Marcus said. "We have made contact with many other species, maybe we shouldn't bother them"

"What are you talking about Dr. Marcus? That's the whole point of being here. That's our five year mission", Kirk responded.

"What I just meant was. . . . What I meant was maybe some people don't want to be bothered."

"Bothered?" Kirk asked.

"You know, what? Here they are, minding their own business, not wanting any conflict, not wanting anyone to bother them, and here you go, just forcing yourself into their lives." Marcus began to get red in the face. " Maybe you should just leave them alone like they asked you to in the first place and not-"

"Dr. Marcus!" Spock interjected.

"Commander Spock . . . I'm . . . I'm"

"You are dismissed Dr. Marcus"

As she turned to leave, Spock redirected his impassive gaze onto Kirk, and Kirk could swear his friend was thinking "I told you so."

Sulu, who has been quiet during the encounter broke the silence by abruptly clearing his throat. " I have an idea Captain", he began. "I agree with Lieutenant Uhura that if they are reclusive, it's probably likely that they have reason to be. We need to show our cards. What if we sent them . . . sort of a welcome packet . . . information . . . about us?" The three remaining sets of eyes in the room turned to Sulu. "Nothing that could provide them with any sort of tactical advantage, but a basic, who we are, what we are doing, why we are interested in making contact sort of thing. Something to let them know we are friendly, without getting close enough to threaten them. We could transmit it from outside their solar system, then they could make the call on whether or not they want to make contact."

"The trouble is" Uhura began, "we have no idea how to communicate with them. There isn't a trace of their language anywhere."

"Send it in the Hamidian dialect" Kirk said. "I have a feeling the Virosas's have encountered them before. Mr. Spock, thoughts?"

"A logical plan of action, Captain. If you will permit me, I will vet Lt. Uhura's message once she has composed it."

"Great-Uhura?"

"It shouldn't take more than three hours Captain."

"Perfect -dimissed."

37 minutes later Uhura was looking for Spock. She found him in the mediation room, relaxing on one of his rare afternoons off.

"Lt. Uhura", he greeted her. "May I assist you with something?"

"Yes" she said. "Are you finished here, sir."

"It appears, so. I presume you have completed the welcome package ahead of schedule then?"

"Correct, Commander, shall provide you a briefing on the information while you walk back to your quarters? Kill two birds with one stone?"

"Excellent."

Together they strode out of the meditation room and down the white curved halls of the Enterprise. Spock walked half a step in front of the Uhura and listened to her efficiently surmise her transmission. He never once turned to look at her, but moved smoothly to his quarters. No one would have suspected it, but he was only half listening.

Uhura kept up and continued her prattle until they reached Spock's quarters. His touched the key pad and opened the door and she stepped swiftly inside.

"Lock" he said behind him as he joined her. "Kill two birds with one stone", he repeated her phrasing from a few minutes earlier.

Uhura turn to face him. She curled her hands around the back of his neck. She had given him their cue; an illogical colloquialism that he had failed to correct as nonsense. She wanted him, and he was saying yes.

"Nyota" he breathed.

Their mouths collided into a deep kiss, as her hands tangled themselves in his usually perfect silken hair. "It has been 9 days, 6 hours, and 14 minutes…"

"15 minutes" she said between kisses.

His hands knew what to do. They had been together for years, but every time felt new to both. Without hesitation his right hand slipped from her waist to her thigh, and began travelling up her uniform skirt. His fingers slipped between her legs and started massaging her clitorus gently. It had taken him years to be able to do that without losing control and unleashing his more savage Vulcan instincts on her. Not that she minded them.

Nyota moaned tantalizingly in Spock's ear and bit down on the lobe. He loved that. She could feel his excitement growing against her stomach. She abruptly turned around so that he could unzip her uniform, and she quickly shed it.

Nyota Uhura was a stunningly beautiful woman. She was lean, but not too thin with long legs, graceful curves along her neck and hips. Her breasts were small, but perfectly round and full. Her dark skin made the pale white of her bra and underwear stand out, and stray hairs from her normally perfect ponytail framed her pretty face. How exactly Spock had gotten so lucky, he was unsure, but he was permanently in awe of the gorgeous woman who habitually took her clothes off for him.

With increasing urgency, Nyota began to paw at his waist, and found the hem of his uniform shirt and pulled it over his head. Underneath was a tight black t-shirt that showcased the muscular chest no one suspected him of having. He removed his uniform trousers too, revealing tight boxer briefs, which she bought for him, which did not hide his full erection.

Nyota released him, ran across the room and jumped onto the bed laughing, knowing it would trigger his more aggressive Vulcan mating tendencies. She needed to be right here, right now. Agile as a panther, he jumped up onto his bed with her and pinned her on her back. He bit down on her shoulder, hard, to assert his dominance; she was his. She screamed in response and his lips found hers once more.

Nyota pulled Spock's shirt over his head, and scratched his muscular back. His mouth travelled from her lips down to her breast. Deftly, he reached around and unhooked her bra, freeing her breasts to be at the mercy of his hands and lips. He took her nipple in his mouth, eliciting a cry from her, while his other hand moved further down her body, underneath her panties.

"Yes!" she cried out, "Please Spock, go down on me! I want to come for you baby. I want to come right now. Make me come."

This was music to Spock's ears. She wanted him, she wanted him to make her come, she wanted him to have full access to her glorious body. All his. The Vulcan monster inside him purred with pleasure.

He was starting to lose control. Sensing her arousal he began to act on instinct. He pulled off her panties with his hands and moved back up her body to her face. In one quick movement he flipped her so that she was on top of him. It took everything he possessed not to plunge inside her immediately. Instead he used his superior strength to lift her effortlessly and position her such that her vagina was right above his face. His tongue slipped past her lips and found her clitorius and he began licking her with an aching slowness - like they had all night, and not merely two hours and seven minutes.

Nyota could hear herself panting, feel herself convulsing in response to Spock's tongue. She could feel her orgasm building as she grabbed Spock's headboard to steady herself. He had gotten quite good at this.

"Ah baby, I think- I think -Oh my God . . . " Spock reached up and lightly twisted her nipple. "Ahhugh!" she screamed. That usually sent her over the edge.

After the ten second recovery she leapt off at him, and tugged off his boxer briefs and started placing light kisses on the head of his penis.

"Nyota, we do not have time - I need you right now! I will have you right now!"

Aggressively, he pulled her back so that they were once again face to face and rolled on top of her, pushing against her, his body demanding entrance. He grabbed her wrists away from his body and pinned her to the bed. Looking into her eyes he slid himself inside her, causing both to breathe out in exultant relief.

He started to move and she arched her back like an alley cat in heat. Using one hand for support the other moved to her face and his mind forced entry into hers, just as his body had moments before.

She could feel everything. His body thrusting into hers, the pleasure he felt from the friction against her walls, and the pleasure he felt from feeling the pleasure she felt from having him penetrate her. It had taken some time to get used to, but now she couldn't imagine sex any other way. It was like they were one person.

She could also feel his possessiveness, his desire to impregnate her, his desire to keep her. She echoed it back through their connection as she began to feel her orgasm rise again. It was going to be a big one, she could tell.

He pulled her up into a sitting position and angled her body against his penis. The position as perfect; his hard penis pummeling her g-spot and his pelvic bone grinding her clitoris. She screamed again.

This one lasted a full minute and brought tears to her eyes. When she regained control over herself Spock stilled for a moment, then jack-hammered into her 16 times without warning, as he released.

He rolled both of them onto their side and looked into his girlfriend's eyes. Through their mental bond, he could feel the oxytocin flowing through her, intensifying her attachment to him. He affectionately kissed her nose, and enjoyed their shared happy glow. She smiled, "we really need to do this more than once every nine days" she said.

"I agree, " he whispered before dozing off.

As Spock slept, his head pillowed against her chest, Nyota reviewed the welcome message. She knew Spock hadn't been sleeping well for the past couple of months, and didn't want to deny him this cat nap when her message was perfectly acceptable already. In the year they had spent on Earth before departing for their five year mission, they had lived together like a normal couple. So while their sporadic sex life had never been an issue in the past, they were now accustomed to the luxury of sleeping in each other's arms. Spock, who generally played the part of a stoic Vulcun, was quite affectionate with her in private, quirky even. He loved to cuddle with her, bask in her scent, and give as many kisses as she would tolerate.

Here aboard the Enterprise things were different though. He was the First Officer, and she was a Lieutenant. They were unmarried, and he was her direct commanding officer. A few people knew of their relationship, the Captain included, but they couldn't exactly have sleepovers every night.

" Nyota" he murmured.

"Shhhh go back to sleep. You're exhausted, I can feel it."

He opened his eyes and leaned closer so her could see what she was reading on her PADD.

"Is this your welcome message?" he asked.

"Yes, remember I briefed you on it."

"I was not listening."

"I assumed as much. I just went over it again. I think it's ready, there's really not much to put in it; just a basic assurance that we are friendly, a little about the Federation, and our mission to explore new worlds."

"That sounds adequate" he yawned.

Nyota frowned, "Do you want to go over it?" she asked.

He snuggled back into her chest and closed his eyes once more. "I trust you", he said.