The whole room lay in a sickly silence. Kirk, Scotty, and McCoy stood frozen, staring at Spock in utter shock.
"She's your bloody daughter?" Scotty whispered harshly.
"A daughter, Spock?" McCoy barked after Scotty, disdain in voice. "How can you possibly be telling me that-"
"Bones," Kirk interrupted strictly, "enough." McCoy's face was pink with emotion, but he stopped talking and returned to tending to Sòra. Spock stood over her, refusing to look anyone in the eye. The room was once again plunged into an uneasy silence.
"There's some, um, damage to her respiratory system, a cut of some sort on her left lung." McCoy said quietly; slowly. "Other than that, and some minor scratches, she seems perfectly fine- for a Vulcan, of course." The whole room looked down at her. She was breathing slowly, her purple dress rising with her jagged breaths. Now that Kirk could look at her up close, he was beginning to see Spock in her delicate features. Even as she was sleeping, her diagonal eyebrows were furrowed close to each other; much like her father's. She had short, straight, midnight black hair that swept along her pointed ears.
"Is there anything you can do for her?" Kirk asked, staring at Spock.
"I could give her a pain reliever, but her lungs are in a very delicate place, due to her Vulcan physiology. Her cut has to mend itself-if it can. I'll have to keep an eye on it." McCoy looked up at Spock awkwardly, and muttered, "I'm- I'm sorry, Spock." Spock nodded his head slightly, his face void of all emotion.
"Thank you, Doctor, but I'm sure she'll have no trouble recovering. We Vulcan's have a tolerance for pain."
"But, she's your daughter?" Kirk questioned.
"Yes, Captain." Spock replied, his eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly.
"Well, doesn't that mean she has human blood in her as well? Since her father is half-human?" Kirk's realization hit Spock hard. He felt humiliation in forgetting that very important fact, and terror in knowing that his daughter would experience pain he'd never known of before, all the while remaining the cool, nonchalant mask of logic.
"Doctor," he said quietly, "please give her the painkillers. She is quite young, and combined with her human side, she may not be able to control the pain-" As if on cue, Sòra winced as she began to awake. McCoy found a shot, and quickly gave it to Sòra, watching her fade back into slumber. Kirk turned back to Spock, and looked at him hardly.
"Spock," he said quietly, "how is this possible? Is she T'Pring's?" Spock sighed quietly, and turned to Kirk.
"It was fifteen years ago, when I was under the command of Captain Pike. He granted me what he called 'a well deserved shore leave to Vulcan.' We were at a nearby star base, so I left to visit family. While there, I met with T'Pring. She came up with the logical conclusion that, if I shouldn't return, we should have a child to carry on our line." Spock stopped abruptly, and looked over at Sòra. "I, however, was unaware our child was on Vítron."
"How can you logically have a child?" McCoy muttered, shaking his head. "A child is a symbol of love, not an instrument to protect property!" McCoy's emotional outburst was greeted with Spock's hand gripping McCoy's shirt tightly, twisting the fabric so forcefully that he ended up nose to nose with the unstable Vulcan. McCoy's eyes bulged as Kirk grabbed Spock's shoulder, coaxing him to let the doctor go. Kirk was well aware of the immense strength a Vulcan possessed, not to mention an emotionally unstable one who had just found his long-lost daughter. Spock let the blue material go, and stood for a moment, shame filling him like an unknown poison.
"I'm, sorry for that display, Doctor." Spock muttered, regaining his cool persona.
"No, no, it's fine," the Doctor replied with a wave of his hand, "it's nice to know you care."
"Why was she on that planet?" Kirk inquired, breaking the uncomfortable make-up between the two. His question wasn't directed towards anyone specific, but everyone in the room knew what he wondered. All four men became silent, puzzled for a moment, until a small voice answered Kirk's question.
"I was sent there." The men, who had turned their back on the seemingly sleeping girl, now turned back to her, as they realized she was the one who had spoken. She was sitting upright, her hands resting gracefully on her lap. Her bright green eyes were wide and mature, boring holes into all of them. Her piercing gaze washed over them all, lingering a bit on Spock before finally resting on Kirk. Kirk walked up to her, his eyes full of questions, but he settled on a simple one:
"What did you say?" She smirked at him, something rather uncommon for a Vulcan, but soon reverted to the logical face that Kirk knew all too well.
"I said I was sent there, and that I was." she claimed, rather nonchalantly, as if they were discussing the weather. The others made their way over to her as well, watching her like hawks. She looked around sick bay, absorbing everything she saw.
"Quite a nice ship, Captain, from what I can see." she said again, refocusing her attention on Kirk. "And once again, thank you," her voice lowered considerably, "for saving me." Kirk found himself smiling as the young Vulcan dropped her gaze.
"Don't mention it." he said causally, although his voice suddenly changed to a more serious tone, "Although, I would like to know what a young girl was doing on a doomed planet."
"Trust me, Captain, we did not know about the volcano until a few weeks ago." she insisted, staring at the gentlemen around her. "There were much worse things to worry about, anyway." she whispered. Sòra jerked her head up, and sighed. "I suppose then, I should tell you my story." she said calmly.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." McCoy stated stubbornly. "I gave you a sedative that should've kept you out for at least five hours. Not to mention you should be lying down, you suffered a serious injury to-" Sòra held up her hand, signaling McCoy to stop.
"That sedative was for humans, therefore issuing little effect on me. And I can assure you Doctor, I am fine. To feel pain is an emotion, and Vulcans do not practice emotion." Sòra explained calmly.
"My god, she is your daughter." McCoy muttered to Spock, rubbing his temples in frustration. Spock merely raised an eyebrow. Sòra turned back to the Captain and began her story.
"As you must already know, I am the daughter of the Vulcan T'Pring and," Sòra's voice faltered for only a moment before she finished; "Spock. When I was around eight, my mother informed me that she was released from her vow to Spock, therefore, releasing her from me. Around that time, offers were made to send me to our new colony- Vítron. Being the logical woman she was, my mother sent me. Since then, I have been living there with other children and what you humans call 'foster parents.'" Sòra stopped and waited for Kirk's inevitable questions. Someone beat him to the punch, though.
"Your mother sent 'cha out alone to a whole new planet?" came the incredulous cry of Scotty. "At that age?"
"It was the logical thing to do," Sòra explained, "I was no longer useful, so I was sent off." This time, it was McCoy's voice that sounded incredulous.
"No longer useful?" he cried, disgust and shock etched onto his face, "You were a child! What right did she have-"
"She had every right, Doctor." Spock's voice interrupted. "After I had released her, Sòra no longer became a concern of T'Pring's." Sòra shook her head in agreement, but Kirk noticed a flicker of pain on her face when Spock mentioned that she wasn't a concern. It was at that moment, however, that Kirk remembered something he'd been wondering earlier.
"How is it that you two knew each other? Knew who you were? As far as I know, Spock only went back to Vulcan once more due to the Pon Farr, and he never left our sight." he asked, thinking back to the incident in the transporter room.
"Well, before I left for Vítron, I asked my mother what Spock looked like, in case I ever met him. She found it illogical that I would, but she did in fact tell me." She looked over at Spock, who stared back. "Vulcan children also have this extraordinary way of telling who their parents are, something to do with glands of some sort." She waved her statement off and turned away from Spock, regaining eye contact with Kirk.
"Anyway, once we settled on Vítron, things ran smoothly for many years. Then, things started happening. It came." Despite her Vulcan heritage, Sòra shuddered. Kirk placed a hand on her arm, forcing her to look at him.
"What came?" Sòra looked at him for a moment, then sighed.
"A terrible disease. It ravaged us, killing the adults first, leaving the children to themselves. As one of the oldest, I quarantined the others into one of the radio and distress stations. They were young, and as a result, not in control of their emotions. It only took a whimper from one of them, and they all started crying. Then, one night, they ran out, in search of their parents." Sòra stopped as a lump in her throat formed. "I learned the previous morning that the disease was viral, and also easily contagious." she said, barely above a whisper. Everyone heard her, though. Kirk watched her through sad eyes, as did McCoy and Scotty. Spock simply stared, though no one would've known that below his logical exterior, deep in the recesses of his human mind, he was dying to hug his daughter; to comfort her. "I was then the only one left." she began again, this time with a simple voice. "That was a week ago. I noticed your ship on the radar just today, and the rest you know." she finished. Kirk took a moment, but finally said, "Do you know how the disease killed?" Sòra thought for a moment before responding.
"I did manage to find out that it caused unbearable pain to the respiratory system that ended with it being so torn and shredded that people finally just died. If I remember correctly, the first signs were breathing troubles and.." she trailed off, her mind trying to remember. "A cut!" she finally recalled, "Yes, that was it, a cut on the lungs that appeared on every victim." McCoy paled at her words, but no one else seemed to notice. Kirk nodded his head slightly, and looked back at her.
"Thank you. We'll leave you here to rest, but if you need anything, just call." he smiled. She bowed her head respectively, and laid back on the soft bed, refusing to let the pain she was feeling in her side show. Kirk ushered them all out of the room, and into the hallway. Scotty mumbled his respects and went back to his post, leaving Jim, Bones, and Spock together.
"Do you think this disease could be a problem?" Kirk asked Spock, a frown on his face. As the two continued their conversation on the new threat, McCoy watched them in shock.
"Are you two idiots?" he hissed, taking them both by surprise.
"Excuse me, Bones?" Jim said, an eyebrow raised and suspicion in his mind.
"Did you not hear what she said?" the Doctor continued, "A sign of that damned disease she was talking about was a cut on the lungs. A cut, Jim! I found a cut on her left lung earlier, which only means-"
"Which only means she has it." Spock finished, the slightest bit of concern washing over his eyes. Jim thought for a moment, staring at McCoy.
"Bones," he finally began, "I need you to find out everything you possibly can about this disease, whether it be from the computers or Sòra. We still don't know if this thing only affects Vulcans, and if it does, well," Jim's voice dropped, "she might just have a chance." Bones nodded slowly, and turned back into his office, prepared to save this girl. Kirk turned back to Spock, who stood slack-jawed and limp.
"Come on, Spock, there's nothing we can do here." he said quietly, and escorted the still dazed Vulcan back to the bridge, were Kirk plotted a course for the nearest star base. McCoy stumbled back into sick bay and was quickly greeted by an agitated Nurse Chapel, who had been listening to their conversation.
"Doctor, did you hear what Sòra said, earlier? About the cut? We need to-" her ramblings were cut short by McCoy's harsh voice.
"I know what she said," he scolded, "and so do the Captain and," he swallowed hardly, "Spock. Now, start searching the computers for diseases, requirements: Respiratory failure, laceration to the lungs, affecting Vulcans. Well?" he snapped, as Nurse Chapel jumped from her stupor and quickly went to work. McCoy walked over to the patients room, and leaned against the doorway, watching a sleeping Sòra.
"There'd better be a cure." McCoy whispered, staring at the girl who reminded him so much of a stubborn, thick-headed Vulcan who he'd grown to care for. He sighed and returned to Nurse Chapel and the computer, and began research of his own about the mysterious disease that threatened to claim another victim.