Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Star Trek, Paramount, or Viacom. I am only referencing the Star Trek 2009 movie and the accompanying audio book for the purpose of this fanfic and showing my appreciation for it.

A/N: This fanfic starts in Iowa, before Nyota Uhura leaves for Starfleet, following the plot of the movie.

The purpose of this story is to more fully intergrate the main characters. But it will be mainly about Spock and Nyota. Have patience while I work this out.

My Spock (if only he really was mine) will be infused with a mental cheekyness of my first posting. "The Logical Connection". I hope I can successfully maintain that.

I was not happy with the rushed feel of that story so I may incorporate some of it into this story. Especially the dialog between the two.

Pardon me in advance for any grammatical errors or misspelling. If it gets to be a problem, I will employ the services of a beta reader. If anyone would like to volunteer, please, let me know.

Those Who Would Be Among the Stars

IOWA Stardate 2255:

The Mardon Military base was solely for the purpose of recruitment and deployment. Its massive size allowed for the effective movement of equipment from the smallest component to the entirety of a starship. As for manpower, hundreds of potential recruits and personnel could be shuttled to and from the various installations around the world. In particular, those that were gifted, with aspirations to be among the stars, were sent from this place, to Starfleet Academy in San Francisco.

The goal of many on their way to Starfleet was the object that dominated the horizon over the rolling hills and lowlying vegetation of the terrain. One could not help from being awestruck at seeing the ship called the U.S.S. Enterprise under construction in the shipyard.

Throughout the day, builders and engineers buzzed about its titanium hull--disc-shaped at the top with a propulsion nacelle on either side. The steam that rose beneath it made it look as though it was no longer tethered to the ground but was already among the clouds. At night, against the clear, starry, Iowan sky, one could envision her on her maiden voyage. And because the cool air was always filled with dust and grit, the ship was encased in an etheral-like screen that made the ship look as though it was surrounded in a Nebulas cloud and the lights that illuminated it, as star clusters. She was a beautiful sight to behold even in this unfinished state. Only a lucky few would make the wonderous flagship their home.

***

Tonight, Nyota Uhura was determined to relax and have a couple of drinks with a few of her fellow cadets. She wished that she didn't have to wear her conspicuous, red Starfleet uniform. Anytime cadets ventured offbase to the nearby town of Storm Lake, they were required to wear them. The tunic and skirt did cling to all the right places on her slim frame and where the garment ended it showed the smoothness of her brown skin. The length of the skirt accentuated her long legs as well as the regulation black boots, she wore. To the attention from males and on occasion from females and alien species, she was no shrinking violet. She was once called an African Violet when some guy found out she was from the United States of Africa. The attention was sometimes welcomed but oft-times it was distracting.

She tugged at the hem of her skirt, in a vain attempt to cover more of her thighs, as she sat down on a seat in the hoverbus.

The hoverbus was packed, with every seat filled and some unfortunates having to stand. Her crowd tried to sit as close to one another. She had positioned herself by the window and shared a seat with Cadet Jing. Once the hoverbus was underway, everyone for the most part was orderly as military training dictated. Their murmurs were barely audible over the engine. But the closer to the gate the bus approached, the quieter the bus got. There seem to be a collective holding of breath, causing Uhura to do the same. Seconds after the bus cleared the threshold of the base, mass rowdyness ensued.

It was a special night. This was the last night some of these cadets will be at MMB. Uhura, too, was caught up in the exuberance. However, she was not going to allow herself to get wasted. She never drank that much anyway. The plan was to down one strong drink to start with then nurse a milder one the rest of the night. She would have to rebuff guys that would try to buy her drinks. Her mind was on a mission to remain clearheaded, say goodbye to some of her friends and catch the shuttle out of Iowa, in the morning.

Tomorrow, at 0800 hours she would have to report to Moore shuttle for her flight to Starfleet. Her duffle-bag as already packed and ready to go, by her bunk.

Uhura felt more excited than nervous. It was unlike what she felt leaving home to arrive at MMB. Her mother had kept crying and hugging her before she had to get on the plane, telling her that if she wasn't happy with her decision, she could always come back home. Her father, on the other hand, tried to mask his worry but his eyes always betrayed him. He gave her a quick hug and passed her a handful of credits. "Here, Star, you may need more money for any little odds and ends." She had grown perceptive to seeing through her father's reserve by reading his eyes. Through those orbs, she had seen a wide range of emotions but now they were just shaded with sadness. "Don't worry for me, Mama, Baba." "I will be okay." she said to try to reassure them as she flung her satchel over one shoulder and looked back at them over the other. They would still worry but they would have to get used to her journeying from one place to another.

She was excited to be going to San Francisco. The place would offer unlimited possibilities. The city was renowned for its classical music. She was looking forward to some proper vegetarian food. "Oooh! There will be take out." She missed take out. All of which was not far from Starfleet. Hopefully, she would have the time to enjoy some of it when she was not buried in her classwork.

By the time she finished her mental musings and occasionally staring out the window at the dimly-lit expanse of the roadside, the hoverbus pulled up in front of the bar appropriately named the ShipYard on the outskirts of Storm Lake. Because it was the first stop on the military hoverbus line, the spot became a favorite place to hang out for the cadets from MMB.

The area around the front door always smelled of sick and urine. Uhura pinched close her nose with her thumb and forefinger and walked gingerly into the vestibule. She gave the soles of her boots a vigorous swipe across the floor mats.

Inside the ShipYard, the music pulsed loudly. Her group chose a table, thankfully, far from the speaker system but near enough to be in close proximity to the bar.

The ShipYard was miraculously well appointed for a place that was always in threat of a full-blown bar fight. All monies that poured in from the nearby base made all its reincarnations possible.

Ra, you lost." "You're first on deck to order the drinks," said cadet Sterling as he slid some credits across the table to her. Uhura took the drink orders and the money and headed to the bar. As she swept past the tables, she said her hellos to a few people she knew. Her long black hair swayed to and fro behind her, animating her movements.

She wasn't long at the bar when she was approached. "That's a lot of drinks for one woman." The guy leaned forward so that he could be seen past the enormous head of the Sengi male that sat between them. He made his first move to buy her drink but she countered by indicating that she was buying her own drink. She could tell he was a local. There was no doubt of his blond-haired good looks and that he knew it. In his blue eyes there was a wildness and determination. What wasn't clouded by the booze. If he could channel that in some other means, he might just account for something. She clearly showed her annoyance.

James T. Kirk was a little buzzed but that did not affect his radar. He had noticed the female cadet when she had stepped up to the bar. She was beautiful. When he had finished inspecting all her attributes, he opened the conversation by commenting on her drink order. He tried to offer to pay for her drink and only had gotten her last name when he had given her, his.

Undaunted, he moved up beside her at the bar. Instinctively, he leaned on the bar and slightly shifted his posture so that he threw his hips forward. He gave her no doubt of his intentions.

Since it was obvious that she was a cadet from Starfleet, he used that to further the conversation. "So you're a cadet. You're studying. What is your focus?"

"Xenolinquistics. You have no idea what that means, do you?" She said it with the intention of her words to be cutting.

He measured his response to not only to impress her but also to inject a sexual connotation into their conversation.

"The study of alien languages, morphology, phonology, syntax..." "It means you have a talented tongue?" He looked in her eyes then to her mouth.

He let his mind wander a bit as he imagined the movement of her tongue as alien words slipped freely from them. Then he would let his mouth press onto hers as she was engaged in a sexually-induced moan. Stifling it, his tongue would then sink deeper into her wanting mouth. Thus pleasing her and himself with his prowess.

A smug grin spread onto this face when he saw that she was amused and appeared to be flirting with him although her response was toward his possible proclivity with farm animals.

He was getting through to her when a mountain in a cadet's uniform walk up and addressed her.

"This townie is not bothering you, right?" She gave her affirmative but assured the cadet that she could handle Kirk. Kirk could not help himself from replying to her in a way of continuing the seduction, ignoring the fact that the other cadet would be privy to it.

His voice was low and smoky with words dripping with sex. "You can handle me and that's an invitation."

This time the larger man addressed Kirk directly, with a bit of forewarning to his tone. "You better mind your manners."

Kirk didn't.

"Relax, Cupcake, it was a joke." He knew it wasn't.

Now the male cadet was on full boil and clapped onto the arm of Kirk's jacket, spinning him around to face the cadet's full wrath. By this time four other cadets joined him.

"FarmBoy." The cadet glared down at him. "Maybe you can't count but there is one of you and five of us." He pointed to his compatriots.

Not knowing whether Kirk felt he had a death wish or it was just plain stupidity, he was quick with a retort, to further enrage the cadet.

"If you get more men, then it will be an even fight." He lightly patted the side of the cadet's face.

It was now that Kirk wished he could have taken back what he had said or had the ability to stop time. The cadet's fist landed at the side of Kirk's jaw causing Kirk to spin around the other way.

"Guys stop!" He heard Uhura yell to the other cadets. But he wasn't banking on her being able to halt the action that was enfolding. It did alert everyone in the bar that a fight was imminent. They began to watch attentively and were at the ready to move out of the way of the flying objects or bodies.

Being survival-hardened, Kirk turned around to survey the situation. He was not beneath eye-gouging, giving a well-placed kick to the groin, biting, or making an advantageous use of a bottle or a chair.

Cupcake lunged at him again. This time, Kirk dished out some payback, causing Cupcake to fly over a table. He was amazed at the amount of lift the guy had for one so big. "What a lightweight," he thought.

The second cadet struck at him but Kirk blocked both blows and returned a punch.

The third cadet, on the other hand, outmatched him. This cadet delivered a kick and then a blow followed. The force caused Kirk to grab onto anything in his way to keep himself on his feet. Delightfully, it caused him to grope Uhura's chest with both of his hands. He looked at her with a goofy and pleased expression on his face. She expelled him quickly with both hands, pushing him, unintentionally back into harm's way, to be struck by the second cadet. The third cadet grabbed onto Kirk's arms to try to constraint him while the fourth cadet kicked at him. When the fourth cadet was in mid swing, when Kirk shifted his body so that the third cadet was the recipient of the blow. With a bottle within reach, Kirk grabbed the bottle and smashed it over the head of the fourth cadet. Shards of glass flew through the air.

"Enough." He heard again from Uhura with obvious distress in her voice. He was concerned that she was too dangerously close to the swinging of fists.

He could not shake the third cadet. The guy hit him solidly, causing him to fall to the floor. The cadet was not going to relinquish his advantage. He lifted Kirk by his jacket and planted him onto a tabletop so hard that it almost knocked the wind out of him. The glass from the floor clung to his face. The cadet inflicted punishing blows to Kirk's face, blooding the cadet's fist. He was about to deliver the final blow to render Kirk unconscious or into the next world when the shrill of a three note whistle pierced the air through the bar. The cadet released him like he was a rag doll.

Time did stop. Everyone froze in their spot and everything momentarily was silenced. Kirk lamented on how he could have used this intervention from a higher power, a few minutes ago. All eyes were drawn to a distinquished, older man with an air of no nonsense, in a smoky gray uniform, who entered the space.

Kirk continued to lie across the table. The pain throughout his body would not allow him to move. So he continued to view the man from upside down. His head was beginning to pound, now that the alcohol and adrenaline were leaving his system.

"Outside. All of you." "Now," were the words that came from the man, Kirk knew was used to giving orders and having them done expeditiously. There were some "Yes sirs" when the flurry of those in red, swiftly left.

The sternness on the senior officer's face changed to keen interest when he cocked his head to one side then the other to look down at Kirk. "Are you alright, son?" His fatherly concern finally prompted Kirk to lift his sore body from the indignity of lying across the top of the table.

He resettled a chair at the table and sat down. The officer remained behind when the bar had emptied, talking to the proprietor of the ShipYard to smooth over the situation involving his cadets. When he was done, he took a chair for himself and sat down opposite Kirk.

Kirk's mouth was dry except for the salty taste of his own blood and sweat. He lifted his hand to inspect it then held up an empty glass to indicate to somebody behind the bar that he wanted another drink. "Bud, please."

No bones were broken or any loss of teeth. He had weathered such punishment from early age and on so he knew the drill all too well. Apply ice, then heat and dermal mend to all of his cuts. His life had become all too familiar.

The officer pointed this out by lecturing him on his lack of focus and that he could do better.

"Your aptitude tests are off the charts, so what is it? You like being the only genius level repeat offender in the mid-west?"

This was not how Kirk would have thought he would have been spending his evening, being subjected to an impromptu recruiting pitch, in the company of an older man who was bringing up old ghosts, namely his father, George Kirk.

His father, an officer at Starfleet and Acting Captain of the starship the U.S.S. Kelvin had died after an altercation with an unknown entity just moments after Kirk's birth, thus saving him and his mother as well as 800 other members of the crew. Not having known his father, his father loomed large and did not ever seem real to him.

Though he had been hit in the gut several times during the course of his physical encounter with the cadets and being shot down by the pretty cadet, that pain was nothing compared to what this officer, who had introduced himself as Captain Christopher Pike, was inflicting.

He did not like being compared to his dead father. It brought up all his shortcomings, most of which had been pointed out at him at nauseum by that bastard that married his mother.

Pike wanted him to join Starfleet because of the shared Kirk name. This was not the usual recruiting inducement by getting a free education or seeing the world. No, Pike dared him to do better than his father.

Without deference to the man's age or rank, Kirk cut him off by asking him if he was done.

Pike had gotten up to leave but before he did he told Kirk that a new recruits shuttle was leaving the Riverside shipyard at 0800 hours in the morning.

***

Captain Pike was relieved to see Kirk ride up beside the shuttle on his hoverbike. All the kid needed was some structure and some discipline. Maybe a kick in the backside once in a while, too.

He sat down in the flight chair of the shuttle and strapped himself in. Before he tapped in the flight plan on the console, he ran his hand through his coarse, graying hair. Though there were ever-deepening lines mapping his face, Pike could not mask the youthful twinkle in his eyes.

His mission had a very successful outcome with his recruitment of Kirk and being pleased with the progress with the Enterprise. The work on her was ontime and on budget. He would still have to make several trips back to the Riverside shipyard for more progress reports.

Starfleet had made the Enterprise his baby and he was going to be a proud papa.

When she was near completion, he would have to bring his tentative bridge crew and engineering with him so they can get to know her.

Of the one thing he was certain, was whom he wanted as his Number One. A Vulcan, correction, half-Vulcan named Lt. Commander Spock. The kid was unexpectedly, a recruiter's wet dream. He had passed up the chance to attend the Vulcan Science Academy to attend Starfleet. He far exceeded expectations, breaking records to boot. He had graduated with honors and was on the fast track to being a Commander and no doubt, Captain.

But there were two integral skill sets the humanoid lacked. One was that he held too steadfast onto rules and regulations, probably due to his strict Vulcan upbringing. It hindered his ability to react quickly to what he considered illogical.

That is where Kirk comes in. He would have to throw the two together. Maybe they could learn from each other. When Pike recalled seeing the boy lying as a heap on a bar table, he knew instinctively how they would get on. "They are going to hate each other." He laughed in his head when he envisioned the two meeting for the first time. He would have to wait for the right time.

The other skill, although not apparent at first to its importance, was the need for first class interpersonal skills with the study of the subtleties of alien and human idioms.

In the future, as Captain, Spock may need to comfort a dying crew-mate or break the tension between two warring factions. Spock, currently lack this polish.

Pike may have to get Spock a tutor if the tutor can warm up to that cool Vulcan facade of his. Maybe he will employ Lieutenant Hawkins to the task since they may be working together on the Enterprise.

But as Pike readied tor take off his thoughts took a more worried path. He sighed heavily. Other than recruitment, there was retainment. Spock was being pressured by Ambassador Sarek, his Vulcan father, to mend bridges between the two and return to Vulcan, to attend the Science Academy. With a little persuasion from his human mother, Amanda Grayson, he just may cave.

Starfleet was already throwing everything they could to keep the Vulcan engaged. They assigned him to program the test simulator with the working title of Kobayashi Maru. Pike believed it would also help if there were more Vulcans at Starfleet but Starfleet was dragging its feet in bureaucratic red tape. They believed, as well as the Vulcan Council, to take a wait and see attitude.

He had invested a lot in the kid but he was also emotionally attached to him, in a fatherly way. Spock needed something to bond him here to Starfleet. Pike would crawl over broken glass or break some rules to keep him here. He hoped the Enterprise would be enough of an incentive. If not, he will find out what would.

"Oh Gawd!" It's the farmBoy," Nyota thought when she saw the guy from the night before, on the shuttle. She had forgotten his name but she could remember that he was hellbent on discovering her first name. He must have some other talent than picking up women and getting into an occasional bar fight. He was going to Starfleet.

She grinned at him as he sat down, and was thankful that there were no free seats beside her. "Damn! Why did I have to smile at him like that." The last thing she needed was to be chatted up during the whole flight. It wasn't that she was expressing an interest. It was that when she saw him, she had to suppress herself from wanting to laugh that the guy had the balls to call Cadet Patterson, 'Cupcake'. Now every time she will see Patterson, she will think of him now as 'Cupcake'. This guy, who when he had boarded the shuttle saluted mockingly at the guys who had given him a pounding the night before, was cocky and fearless. An obvious trait needed at Starfleet. But not for her.

On the other hand, she was thinking differently about the man, co-pilot Rodriquez dragged forcefully out of the relief module. Lieutenant Rodriquez let him know with no uncertain terms that she would make him sit down if he did not do so. He complied but still showed much irritation.

Though his flaring eyes and ferocious mouth were his most dominant features, he possessed a ruddy handsomeness and dark hair that appealed to her. She waited for the moment for his face to settle to check him out better. That didn't come. He must have felt he was being studied because for a nano second he interrupted his tirade to look in her direction. Blessed with quick reflexes, she dropped her eyes within a hair's breath of a Corellian fairy, before their eyes could meet. His face return to resembling that of a Tytec land mine field when addressing the farmboy, he sat beside. She figured that any little comment would set off little explosions of kick-ass fury to that visage. For a split second, she felt sorry for the native Iowan, to be sitting next to him. Only just.

She liked the slightly older and ascerbically-natured man already. A smile formed on her lips. For her tastes, she liked a man that was strong, mature and wrapped inside of an enigma.

Doctor Leonard McCoy could feel the sense of panic rush through his blood stream. He did not like being in a confined space, sharing the air with so many that he hadn't first done a complete medical workup on. Being a doctor had made him a raging hypochondriac. Suddenly, he felt very itchy and wanted to lose his cookies. He had already thrown up, in the john, the pills he had taken to relieve his fear of flying. He was not happy that his ex-wife had reduced him to his current state of poverty.

The bile was bubbling up in belly. He made the possibility its final destination known to the guy sitting just right of him. "I might just throw up on you."

The younger guy tried to calm him down but unknowingly to the kid, venting was McCoy's remedy.

It was not appealing to Kirk to have his first introduction to the Starfleet Academy to be with a lapful of sick. He was hoping the man was not good to his word on this instance.

The guy reminded Kirk of the many gin-soaked personalities he had befriended, over the years in bars. But instead of a mid-west accent, he detected a definite southern accent. Kirk was feeling more at home already.

In a clipped voice, Pike spoke over the comm system. "Good morning, everyone." "I am your pilot, Captain Pike." "Secure all loose articles in the storage compartments above you and fasten your seat belts securely. We will be taking off shortly"

The engine of the shuttle idled for a few minutes before there was a wheesh-whoosh sound indicating lift off. It made a quick ascent upwards into the air.

Pike was on the comm again. "Folks, if you look out the port side, that is the left side for those who do not know, you will see the hull of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The soon-to-be addition to the Federation's Constitution-class starships." He tilted the shuttle slightly so the ship could be seen through the shuttle's port-holes.

Kirk hoped this maneuver would not cause the man he would now call 'Bones' to lose control over his bodily functions. Kirk also, cursed to himself that from his seat he could only see a small snippet of the ship.

He then made a silent promise to himself. " Baby, the next time I see you, I will be inside you." Why was he was such a hounddog? He really needed to stop doing that. But that would be difficult almost like not breathing.

A/N: Please review if you like, but no pressure. Just enjoy. If you do, let me know if I am doing an okay job.