Years ago, an elite group of soldiers were sent to the most inhospitable place in the known galaxies. Not a single person made it back to Earth.
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Commander James Tiberius Kirk walked between tents, sand flying up under his feet. Beside him, his friend Dr Leonard 'Bones' McCoy grumbled about one thing or another. Sweat soaked through their thin black shirts, the material clinging to them uncomfortably. They'd arrived planetside only two days ago. A maximum of one week was provided for the soldiers to acclimatise. Which had sounded like plenty of time during the debrief.
Jim had been on Orion when the republic gained their independence. He'd fought in the lush forests and freezing mountainsides. He'd done a tour on Delta. He'd fought Klingons on the edge of their Empire. And of course, there was the time on Tarsus. The event which inspired his dream to fight in the elite Starfleet forces.
Now he'd finally made it. He was a proud member of Section 31 and his first assignment? Vulcan.
It was known as the most inhospitable place in the known galaxies. Hotter than hell, more dangerous than anything or anywhere Humans had ventured before.
Their mission was simple recon. Because Vulcans had shown themselves to be so… volatile, there was almost nothing known about them. Any normal measures Starfleet would take, such as observation drones and subspace hacking, were useless. The planet's security was incredible.
Which told them two things with an extent of certainty.
One, Vulcans were smart. More than likely, they outclassed any alien species they'd come across before.
Two, they weren't friendly. Not in the slightest.
Which meant that the higher ups wanted people like Jim, trained in silence and death, to keep tabs on them. Apparently, being as technologically superior as they were, if they were to set their sights on Earth, everything would be lost.
Personally, Jim was pretty sure that if they wanted to conquer the galaxy, Vulcans already would have. They clearly had no interest in outsiders. Why not just leave them be?
Either way, it was an exciting mission. Since the first time Jim had heard of Vulcan, let alone Vulcans themselves, he'd been eager to be selected. If he could learn something from any experience, he was betting this would be it. Vulcan drew Jim in, like a moth to a flame. He wasn't sure why but he knew this was what he meant to be doing. This was where he was meant to be.
"This is disgusting." Bones complained, trying in vain to brush the sand off his uniform. Jim just laughed and shook his head. He'd long given up trying to dislodge the stuff. It stuck like glue. And there was always more.
"Commander, Doctor, pleased you could finally make it." Captain Pike stood to the side of the path. The tent behind him was open, inside a number of their team was waiting. Like usual, Jim and Bones were bringing up the rear.
They entered the tent, saluting Number One, and made their way to sit between Hikaru Sulu and Dr M'Benga. Their lingual expert, Nyota Uhura and their tech, Pavel Chekov were talking in the seats behind them. If it wasn't in Russian, Pavel's home language, Jim would definitely have listened in. As it was, he decided to throw his watch at Bones. Upsetting the grump where he couldn't hypo him back was Jim's main purpose in life.
"Listen up. Today team Beta scouted this area," Number One brought up a geological map of the local area, "and found traces of settlement. From what we've gathered, it's a thoroughfare. One used frequently."
Jim looked at the pictures Pavel had taken. It was clear what the teen had found but something felt off. His intuition was tingling. James Kirk always listened to his gut. Right now, it was telling him that they were missing something.
The rest of the meeting went by in a blur, Jim's mind focused on that one image. He startled when Pike's hand rested on his shoulder.
"Care to share your thoughts, kid?" Pike asked, "I've known you since you were born, Jim. There's little you can hide from me."
"It's just that picture." Jim grabbed Pike's PADD, swiping through its security and locating the image in a heartbeat. "There's something I-"
It came to him instantly. It wasn't what they couldn't see but what they could.
"There's food on the table." Jim murmured, zooming in. Now that he'd noticed it, there was no way he could ignore the clothes lying strewn across the floor. The child's toy just outside the door. The occupants had clearly left in a rush.
Food was precious and hard to come by on a planet like Vulcan. Which indicated that they'd been fleeing and that they hadn't been gone for long. The local predators would be quick to clean up everything left behind.
"We need to move camp, Pike." Jim said, looking up at the elder man.
After Tarsus, Pike had been both father figure and mentor. Jim would do anything to protect his team. They were family. Pike most especially.
"You want to move everything now?" He clarified as Jim jumped up and pulled out his communicator. His fingers flew across the screen, message typed out and sent in mere seconds.
"Look. They left in a hurry. Why? I don't know but it can't be good." Jim picked up his own PADD and sent the photos to himself. There was still something off and he'd get to the bottom of it. Later. Right now he had to help Bones, M'Benga and Chapel pack up Medical.
He threw Pike his PADD and walked out the door, hurrying down the line of tents.
Already there was action, the camp bustling with movement. The 'security' personnel, as Jim liked to joke, were packing things back in boxes, loading up the small hovercrafts they'd been able to sneak planetside.
If they thought it was hard getting down onto Vulcan, Jim had no idea how Montgomery Scott was going to get them back on the Reliant. At least, not in time for their rendezvous. The man was a genius but that was asking for miracles.
He jogged past the Tech tent, home of Scotty and Pavel. Who, with the help of Nyota, were busy packing all kinds of devices. Jim could clearly see each of their phasers. He was glad. They weren't taking this as a joke or drill. If they continued to follow Jim's orders throughout the mission, they'd make it out alive.
Finally, Jim walked through the entrance of the Medical tent, its contents in Bones fuelled pandemonium. Which was exactly what Jim was expecting. The doctor was brilliant and a natural leader, hence his position as Chief Medical Officer, but lords. He could scare anyone with only the slightest provocation. Which was why Jim was here. He drew the fire and shielded everyone else enough to get their jobs done.
"Damn it Jim! Couldn't you order a full scale evacuation yesterday? You know. Before we unpacked and calibrated the instruments?" The doctor ranted. Jim ignored him, as per usual, and lent a hand to whomever needed it.
Their medical gear was top of the range equipment. It was built to be durable and most importantly, light.
Within two hours, the entire camp was packed and on the move.
Pike and Number One had agreed that they would travel as far as possible towards the mountain range in the distance. It was only roughly one hundred kilometres away. Hopefully there would be a more permanent settlement nearby. If they were lucky, they'd be able to complete their mission without worry. If not, they'd all be dead.
James Kirk had never been lucky. Not even close.
Prince Sybok sat by his brother's side. Spock was sick and no one could figure out why. It was much too early for his first Pon Farr. Sybok had only had his first cycle two years before. There was plenty of time before his younger brother had to choose his mate.
Healers had yet to even think of a reason why the younger Prince was unwell. They were supposed to be the best on Vulcan and yet, each day his brother continued to grow weaker.
Spock had always been an odd child. He was talented, as a Prince should be, sure. But there was a look he would sometimes get. Like he was far away. He told fantastical tales of neighbouring worlds and aliens Vulcans had long ago decided were beneath them.
And when he was six, Spock begun to talk and write in different languages. Experts were brought in to analyse his work. They agreed that Spock knew things he shouldn't.
Having no rational explanations, their father had turned to the gods for answers. Alveria, the goddess of creation and souls, had answered their pleas. But her words were only for Spock's ears. He alone knew why he'd gained such knowledge.
Whatever the reason, he'd spent everyday since looking into the sky in clear expectation. As such, King Sarek had upped their security. It had been an auspicious move. Just before Spock got sick, they'd shot down more than ten unknown spy drones.
Right now, they were about to head out. The surveillance system had picked up unknown life forms in the desert. The first team had wrangled their sehlats the day before and warned the people living in the immediate area. They'd bought back one hundred and six people who'd chosen to flee their homes.
"I'm going out, okay Spock?" Sybok said, mostly for his own benefit. If Spock really needed him, he'd use their bond.
Spock was the strongest telepath on Vulcan. If he was better, Spock would be the one leading the search. Nothing could hide from him. He was one of the reasons their kingdom was so powerful.
"Your majesty, we need to leave now." Stonn said quietly, his eyes focused on Spock. It reminded Spock that he wasn't the only one affected by Spock's absence. Despite not being friends as children, Spock had proven himself to Stonn, and most of their clan, within the last few years.
"On my way." Sybok ran his fingers through Spock's dark hair and followed Stonn out of the room. They'd be back soon enough and it wasn't like Spock's condition was going to change anytime soon.
Sybok shrugged on his under armour. By his side, Stonn saddled T'zal, Sybok's sehlat. T'Pring was tapping her foot impatiently. She was forbidden from joining today and was not very impressed about it. However not even Stonn was arguing her case.
"T'Pring, you are three months pregnant." Sybok said as he mounted T'zal. "You can not expect us to allow you to join us today. We are facing an unknown enemy."
While he had known that his words would offer her no comfort, he had hoped. T'Pring had always been more than they could handle. She listened to Sybok because he was crown prince. She listened to Stonn because she loved him. She listened to Spock because she respected power.
"I will stay to guard Spock." T'Pring stated proudly, daring anyone to say any differently. "The gods know the security here isn't qualified."
And there she goes, insulting half the clan and staff. How Stonn and Spock put up with her was beyond Sybok. Perhaps she wasn't as poisonous as she looked? Or, more likely, she was worth the bite. Somehow.
"We ride." Sybok yelled, his lirpa raised to the sky. Outside the sky darkened, wind picking up sand and stone.
They set a fast pace, sehlats happy to be running at their full sped. They'd drop back to a more sedate pace just after passing through the outer gates. Their group looked impressive. Fifty of the best warriors riding out. That was the point. It made people feel more calm, safe.
Sybok took one last glance at Spock's window before it was lost behind impenetrable stone walls. The last thing he saw was a little girl sitting on his window frame, white hair blowing in the breeze.
Their company rode for two hours before they came across anything suspicious.
It was something Solon had happened to see, lying face down in the sand. The design was unfamiliar, the protective case shattered in places. It was fairly easy to work, the power button obvious despite its alien origin.
Foreign words spat themselves across the screen. Letters Sybok had seen before.
Password.
How odd. This species, Humans, were quite strange. They were also Spock's favourite imaginary, goddess given friends.
"We take the outworlders alive." Sybok announced. When Spock woke up, he'd have something to be excited about. Humans who existed outside of his head.
"Solon, T'ren find their trail. I want this threat nullified before Sarek gets back."
At Sybok's order, the two trackers fanned out and found the track almost immediately. It seemed like the Humans were heading up into the mountains. Not the best place to be. Especially at night. The le'matyas would be out before long.
"How did they travel such a great distance in so little time?" Stonn asked from his position beside Sybok. It was an interesting question.
"Alien technology. From the marks left behind, some form of hover vehicle." Sybok murmured. While it was true that they'd had the same technology for thousands of years, Vulcans had mostly shunned it. At least, where it came to fighting. Travelling between the cities on sehlat was not the smartest option. It was when most people chose to teleport.
"At least there can not be many of them." Stonn replied as they began riding up the foot hills. They were too close to ShiKahr for Sybok's comfort.
Not too far away, a le'matya howled. It seemed that the predators had begun the hunt.
"Shit!" Jim swore, watching the thing that landed in front of them. It was huge. In the half light of dusk, he wasn't sure if it looked more like a giant cat or some sort of reptile.
"How fascinating." Carol Marcus muttered and Jim decided that scientists weren't his thing.
Jim grabbed his phaser and shot. The beast fell to the ground and everyone sighed in relief. The phaser had been set to kill and yet, Jim couldn't make out a clear wound. There should have been a hole the size of Jim's head right through the monster. Yet there was nothing.
Behind them, something roared. The lizard-cat monster ended its game of pretend and lumbered to its feet with a snarl.
Great. For the first time, Jim's instincts had been wrong. He'd felt that this was the way they had to go. And he'd just gotten them stuck between monster A and monster B.
Something flew over their heads. Jim looked around to see more of them, lining the rock walls above. They looked like giant sabre toothed bears. Each one was growling and baring their impressing teeth.
And sitting atop them, as one might a horse, were humanoid figures. Vulcans, Jim's mind supplied. They were beautiful. Their skin shone faintly green, their ears were pointed like the elves of old folk tales. Light reflected in their eyes, turning them white. Like a cat. Now that was fascinating.
The Vulcan in front of Jim stood up on his bear monster and spun a deadly looking weapon. The club end smashed the lizard cat in the side of the head. Mere seconds later, the blade sliced through it's unprotected neck.
The entire fight was over in under twenty seconds.
"You are the enemy of Vulcan. As Prince, I am taking you back to ShiKahr where you will face trial." The Vulcan in front of them said.
Jim sat down in confusion. He'd understood it. A language no one had come across before. Not even Nyota knew it. This mission was getting weirder and weirder. Maybe he shouldn't have jumped at the opportunity to come here.
"What did he say?" Someone asked behind him. The language barrier would be a real problem, if they really were to stand trial.
"We're going to their city to be trialled." Jim answered, mind somewhere else.
This whole trip, everything had been familiar. The sand, the sky, the mountain ranges. Even the monster creatures. In fact, Jim was pretty sure he'd drawn one of those in third grade. Only, it'd been missing half it's left tooth.
Yes. He had. He'd even named it I'Chaya and they'd gone on adventures through the cornfields together. He'd even scratched the image into the cave walls on Tarsus. I'Chaya was supposed to protect him.
"They should hope Prince Spock wakes up." Another Vulcan said as his mount jumped down beside the Prince.
Spock. That was familiar. It felt right.
"Spock. Stonn. T'Pring." Jim murmured, not noticing the shift in everyone around him. He met the Prince's black eyes. "Sybok?"
A blade was immediately under his chin, the one he believed was Stonn, holding it there. Prince Sybok was watching him carefully.
But then again, so was everyone else.
Jim could practically feel the burn of Bones' eyes. The weight of Pike's stare. He had a lot of explaining to do. Most of which, he didn't have a rational explanation for.
"It appears we have intercepted Spock's guest." Prince Sybok announced and the mood changed dramatically. The hostile air they'd been holding themselves with was released. Obviously Spock was well respected.
"Mind explaining all that?" Bones growled as they were led through the mountain pass.
"I can't Bones." Jim pleaded with his best friend, well aware of all the listening ears. " It's not that I don't trust you or whatever. I just don't know."
"Pfft. As if. You recognise them. You speak their language. Even lead us right to their stronghold." Bones listed off on his fingers. Jim knew it looked bad. He knew that words like traitor were swirling around in everyone's brains. Not a single member of their team was unaware that Jim had been borderline desperate to be accepted on this mission.
But no one said anything more as they were marched through the mountain. It was freezing. Two days of travelling had left them tired and weak. They really were in the worst possible shape for this to have happened.
The solid rock wall to their right suddenly groaned. It slid open and none of their group could hide their surprise. If this was what all Vulcan cities looked like, they'd never have even found one on their own.
The architecture was awe inspiring. The buildings hung down from the overhang like wasps nests he'd seen on Earth. And the sheer scale… It was an entire city built within the mountain's core. In all of his years of service, Jim had travelled a lot. He'd been to more than a few alien planets. But he'd never encountered anything like this.
"Bring them to the palace." Sybok ordered as he split off from the main group and rode towards the innermost building complex.
"Damn it Jim! What're they going to do with us?" Bones asked. It was difficult to say. The palace could mean dungeons or guest rooms.
"I think we're being treated like uninvited guests." Jim said, "Watched, questioned but not outright attacked. Or killed."
At least, that's what he was hoping. He had a feeling that all their answers lay with Spock. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. His weird familiarity with the missing Vulcan Prince.
Either way, Jim was really hoping he'd see Spock soon.
Spock opened his eyes. No light filtered in through the windows. Night then. He briefly wondered how long he'd been out this time. The black outs were getting more and more frequent. Spock could only assume that his t'hy'la was close. Alveria had warned him that this would happen.
"Spock? I'm back." Sybok whispered as he opened the door.
Spock blinked at his brother's unusual behaviour. Not that Sybok wasn't normally unusual. This was just different. Sybok was a cheerful, curious, energetic sort of person. Him being quiet usually spelt trouble for Spock.
"S-sybok." Spock's throat felt like it'd been rubbed raw with sand. He licked his lips to try again, a glass of water appearing under his nose. He was grateful for the offer. It felt as if he'd been asleep for days.
"Two weeks and three days." Sybok corrected, sitting down on the edge of Spock's bed. He ran his fingers through Spock's bangs, mind searching Spock's own.
He willingly gave his brother the reassurance he needed. The unexplained blackouts were scaring Sybok.
"There's a visitor waiting for you." Sybok said with a sigh.
Spock perked up at that. His t'hy'la. His Jim?
Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Spock blinked back white spots which clouded his vision. Sybok pushed him back onto the bed, pulling the covers over him like their mother used to.
"Wait here, I'll bring him up." Sybok left and Spock let his excitement sink in. He'd waited his entire life to meet Jim.
"I'Chaya!" Spock called, the elderly sehlat padding to his bedside. He tapped the bed twice, inviting him up onto the bed. Sarek had long ago forbidden Spock's pet from sleeping with him. But Sarek was currently away. What he didn't know, couldn't hurt.
"He's finally come, I'Chaya." Spock said, rubbing at the spot behind the sehlat's ear. The ball of fur began to purr, wriggling himself further into Spock's talented fingers.
Up until the time when he was sixteen, Spock had been in almost constant contact with Jim. He'd told the younger boy stories, whispered secrets, let himself feel the mind of his other half. And Jim had responded.
Somehow, the Human showed Spock his home planet, Earth. The brilliance of abundant water, the feel of snow. Up until Jim left Earth, there wasn't a day that they went without each other. And then Jim pulled away more and more. It was like he'd learnt to block Spock out.
One day all Spock had felt from the bond was pain and fear and hunger. It continued, ripping through Spock's shields until he could barely function. He took it on as best he could, knowing Jim would not survive if he didn't.
When it became too much, when he could no longer protect Jim, his precious t'hy'la from the worst of it, he collapsed.
Six mind healers. It'd taken six mind healers to syphon off the psychic attack until Spock could function again.
But when he awoke, the bond was dormant. His Jim was blocked from him. He'd failed.
Years passed before the slightest sparks of awareness floated through. Each one left Spock with a fierce headache. The bond was unhealthy, mangled and diseased. Unbroken and rotting without the constant nourishment they used to provide.
And then Spock began to loose consciousness. Little sections of time at first. A second here. A minute there. Each time it got longer and longer. Sybok noticed, Sarek noticed. It wasn't until he had an episode -as they'd begun to call them- in front of T'Pring, that Spock acknowledged something was wrong with him.
No one had been able to figure it out. And Spock wasn't about to share what Alveria had said.
Jim would come and together they'd fix their bond.
"Spock? I have James Kirk with me." Sybok blocked the doorway. "May we enter?"
Anticipation crackled along Spock's skin like a live wire. It bled into their familial bond, softening Sybok's demeanour.
"You may." Spock croaked.
And then Jim was there.
His hair was a darker blonde than Spock remembered. His eyes even more blue. He smiled form his place in the doorway, uncertain. Spock wanted to comfort him. To hold him and never let go. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this man was his. And forever would be.
"T'hy'la." Spock breathed. Jim's eyes softened and Sybok looked relieved.
"It's been a while." Jim said, moving into the room. I'Chaya noticed his presence and lifted his head. "Nice to finally meet you."
Jim stopped beside his bed. Without much thought for his brother, Spock pulled his mate down onto his lap.
There they rested. Forehead to forehead. Souls entwined.
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The rendezvous date came and went, not a single soldier showing up. No messages made its way out of Vulcan's atmosphere.
Starfleet HQ pronounced the mission a failure. The planet Vulcan was given a black class rating. No further missions were announced.
Somewhere, many light years from Earth, a Human smiled. He tucked himself into his bondmate's body and settled down happily to watch the stars.
Pre-reform AU for the win. That's 11 days down, people.
I'm going to bed.
:)
Disclaimer: Still don't own.