Peter took the book and weighed it in his hands, bemused. "Wasn't this my Uncle's?"
The older man clasped his hands before his dark robe. "Yes. However, it was also my gift to him. Therefore, in a way, it could be considered a gift from both of us."
Peter opened the cover, to see a dedication in elegant handwritten Vulcan script, and was grateful for his inability to read the language for once. He wouldn't be able to resist scanning it with a translator later, but for now he let it stand as a familial gesture of trust and honor.
"Thank you, Uncle Spock." Peter ventured gently, using the familial honorific in a surge of affection. He glanced at the man who had generously begun acting as his father figure when his last blood relative had died, but could detect no emotion, despite the extravagant gift.
"You are welcome. Congratulations on receiving your doctorate, Peter."
"I assume you'll be returning to Vulcan shortly?"
"Yes, the studies of the Romulan sun's anomalies are most disturbing. I believe there is a chance the star could be entering an unstable phase, however my colleagues are not prepared to come to the same conclusion."
"You're worried."
"If I am correct, Romulus will have to be evacuated. They will perceive such a recommendation as a military threat."
The younger man shrugs. "There are always alternatives."
For the first time during this visit he sees a twinkle brighten his 'uncle's' eyes. "Spoken like a true Kirk."
Later, at home, he scans the elegant curls of the handwritten script inside the book's cover.
He enters the command prompt for document translation and in a moment it appears on his screen: T'Hy'la.