Destiny's Hand
Chapter 3: Trouble
They had been in space for a month when the Enterprise finally got a chance to rest, at a thriving trading space station. Spock had a special outing planned. He would have liked to present Nyota with his mother's ring, but it had vanished along with his whole world. But he had promised himself for his own sake as well as Nyota's that he would not dwell on what could have been and look forward to what he still had.
"Nyota, the Captain has stated that the crew may take turns down at the space station. I have a question. Some Earth customs involve the male partner surprising his future mate with a ring and others have the couple choosing the engagement ring together. Which custom do you follow?"
"You don't have to buy me a ring." Nyota insisted.
"Is it not customary for the prospective husband to purchase this form of jewelry?"
"It is an ancient custom when the man placed his mark of ownership on his bride as his property. It wasn't even until halfway through the 20th century that men started wearing wedding rings as well. I would like to think of our relationship as a partnership, yes?"
"Yes, an equal partnership is logical and the basis of Vulcan marriages as well."
"That means that we share in the economic cost of an engagement ring." She stopped, "Unless that would make you feel insulted some way by me paying for my own ring."
"On the contrary, sharing equally in a partnership is very logical. Why would a man not accept the help of a partner financially… is not your pride as contributor equally important?"
Nyota smiled, "You are so strange… and so wonderful." Spock was then rewarded by a large kiss that showed him just how wonderful she thought he was. They were both in great moods when they arrived at the bridge, reluctantly letting go of each other's hands to go to their stations.
James T. Kirk was currently planning an outing of his own with Dr. Marcus. Thanks to their demanding positions aboard the Enterprise they had only managed to have two official dates in the past month. An evening involving alcohol and Karaoke, and two weeks later a dinner that was interrupted by an epidemic of stomach flu among some of the older children that required Carol's attention. And now Kirk was determined that their short allotted time aboard the space station would be memorable.
When their shift was over, Kirk saw Spock and Uhura leaving together, "Lt. Uhura? Could I speak with you privately in my ready room?"
Uhura had a confused look on her face, but nodded, told Spock she'd meet him afterward, and followed Kirk off the bridge. "The reason I asked you here is, well, I am interested in Dr. Marcus… we have plans to go to the Space Station… but…"
"You have no idea what she'd like to do."
"Yeah. You're friends… what does she like?"
"You know that you could simply ask Carol what she would want to do."
"I know, but I want to be able to surprise her."
"Well, I know that Dr. Marcus loves animals, and this is the first time since she left for college that she's lived somewhere that allows pets. You could find out if there were any animals for sale on the Space Station that would make a good pet."
Kirk smiled, "Thanks, Uhura. So, you have any plans with Spock?"
"Yes." She said. She wasn't going to elaborate, but thought that being friendly couldn't hurt, "We are going to pick out an engagement ring, if anyone is selling Jewelry on the Space Station right now."
Kirk smiled, "Congrats… so you two are going with human customs."
"So far, we are going to try and merge our two customs."
The next morning Spock and Uhura were allotted three hours of leave. When they beamed onto the Space Station, they entered to a buzzing market filled with booths filled with wares and Starfleet personnel and their children enjoying their time away from their normal environment. It was clear that this rush of people was overwhelming the Space Station's employees, but there were smiles on all their faces that told Uhura that they didn't mind.
Spock and Nyota strolled their way around the circular hall that was the public part of the space station, and they found only one Jewelry store, Kukukachoo Jewelers. Spock could tell that the name make Nyota a little wary about finding any legitimate diamond engagement rings. When they walked in, the one person in the store was an Andorian wearing a human suit that was vintage early 21st century. "Welcome, to my little store, what can I offer to you, beautiful lady?"
Spock stood up straight, "We are interested in purchasing a ring with a diamond on it."
"An engagement, am I right? I've heard about that human tradition, the male declares his love by giving the female a diamond engagement ring. Congratulations, but I was unaware that Vulcans share in this custom."
"My mother was human, and my intended and I wish to blend our cultures. Now, we wish to see what you currently have available."
Meanwhile Kirk was getting ready to surprise Carol when Spock and Uhura returned. He had contacted the Space Station and found that they had a pet store which had a large selection of pets including some from earth. However, just as he was going to meet Carol, he got a page for him to go to Sickbay, "What now." He groaned to himself. With that he turned and headed to Sickbay.
"All right, what happened?" Kirk said.
"Well, these kids were playing 'Kingons and Romulans' and they fell down a crawlspace in engineering, and I've got lots of scrapes bruises, a broken wrist, and two broken legs, not all on the same kid though thank god, but I would suggest that you call their parents and increase security around restricted areas."
"But they'll be alright, right?" Kirk asked, worried about the children that were here because of him.
"Yeah they'll be find, they're mostly just scared of what they're parents will do when they come down."
"All right, Kirk to Ensign O'Toole, come down to sickbay." When she arrived he continued, "Some of the children got hurt while messing around in restricted areas. Would you please get their names, and contact their parents. I'm due to go down to the Space Station in a few hours. Bones said that he'll be finished treating the kids by then. Tell the parents of our trouble makers that I will speak with all of them at 1800 hours."
Ensign O'Toole, who was an administrative officer, nodded, "Yes sir."
Kirk walked out of Sickbay, and had enough time to talk with his head of security before meeting Dr. Carol Marcus. At 1300 hours Dr. Carol Marcus and Captain James T. Kirk were standing in the transporter room. He watched as Commander Spock and Lt. Uhura beamed back onto the ship, and the latter was sporting a diamond engagement ring. Kirk wondered how the search went but his mind quickly went back to his own plans.
"Enjoy your time, Captain," Spock said, "I will care for the ship."
"Until I get back, Commander," Kirk said, "Would you please work with the head of security about increasing security around restricted areas. A bunch of kids got hurt today because they were where they weren't supposed to be. I'm dealing with them and their parents when I get back, but we need to prevent a repeat of today's events."
"Indeed." Spock said.
Normally, Kirk would have stayed on the ship but he realized that the other officers on the ship allowed him to delegate and that he should be able to have a few hours to himself, and besides, Bones was still treating the kids, "Shall we, Carol, I have a surprise for you."
Ten minutes later they arrived at the pet store on the Space Station, and Carol's eyes widened showing the joy. "How did you know that I wanted to get a pet, wait, can I get a pet?"
"Yes, Starfleet allows pets that are 25 pounds or less aboard the Starfleet, but limits it to one pet per crewman."
"You're getting me a pet!" Carol's eyes looked at the storefront windows that displayed many different animals from many different worlds. Kirk had thought to get Carol a puppy or a kitten. At least those he was sure that they had the ability to sequence the proper food and would be sure that it would be safe. When they walked in, Kirk saw a puppy in one of the cages marked, "Dog, earth, the same dog that an Earth Admiral had 100 years ago." It looked like a beagle.
When they walked in the owner approached them, "Welcome, welcome, what can I offer you. I have pets from dozens of world. Zabrethan Xingers, those are from Katcha II," And he went on. Carol ohhed and ahhed and occasionally, yucked, at the animals. Right before the man got to the dog that Kirk thought would be perfect, the man announced, "And this is a Tribble…"
TBC…
A/N: A few reviewers wanted the tribbles to be in this version of the Star Trek verse, so here they are. It's getting late and I have school in the morning , so I'll just say, happy reviewing and I look forward to reading all of your lovely thoughts on the story!