AN: I like names, so I made up a middle one for Nyota. Spock's name meaning is semi-canon. From a book I think.

*Spock*

Spock was in his quarters working on some calculations for the long range sensor array improvements he was designing when Cadet Uhura responded to his communication.

From the importance she obviously placed upon her studies, he had assumed the Cadet would have accessed her results as soon as they became available the previous evening, but was unsurprised that she had waited until a more socially acceptable time by human standards to contact him.

He took a moment to ensure he was properly attired and groomed to engage in visual communication before accepting the incoming transmission. He rerouted it through the personal computer he was currently working on rather than the large console built into the wall of his quarters. The loading screen flicked for a few seconds then was replaced by Cadet Uhura herself. For a second Spock stared awkwardly, polite greeting frozen on his lips.

Although it was entirely illogical, he had expected her to be wearing her red cadet's uniform with her hair tied back as she had appeared every day on campus. Instead she was wearing a pale green garment suited to the warm African climate with her long hair loose over her shoulders. A thick gold necklace in the form of a torc sat upon her collarbones. It contrasted in a very pleasing manner against her dark skin. Spock was reminded of the only other time he had seen the cadet dressed casually. The white dress she had worn months earlier when she had confronted him at the gymnasium.

The effect of that ensemble had been quite different to that of her current garb. She appeared perfectly calm and poised with none of the impassioned wildness she had exuded on the previous occasion in question. For one, the smooth brown skin above the bodice of her dress was not glistening with slight perspiration or heaving with rapid inhalation. Spock realised he was staring at an inappropriate part of his student's anatomy and had been doing so for 3.2 seconds.

He quickly glanced up to meet her gaze, hoping she would not notice the green flush of embarrassment he felt heating his face. To his relief she was staring at his robe with great interest and appeared to have missed his impolite inspection of her person.

'Cadet Uhura. I trust you were satisfied with your results this semester?' It was a sign of his distraction in that he used the tone of voice he usually reserved for his mother and the few colleagues at Starfleet he had cultivated something approximating human friendships with.

She smiled at the implied humour. 'Yes Lieutenant Commander. My results were satisfactory in all of my courses.'

Spock nodded. If Uhura's work in Phonology reflected her dedication in her other studies her grades would have been exemplary. He toyed with the idea of repeating this thought to her in a complimentary manner, but it seemed excessive. He had already made several such unnecessary comments about her work.

'As to your request, I assume you wish access to the source of military terms utilized in my exam Sir?'

Spock was pleased. She had not, as he had feared she might with typical human pride, assumed it was her personal knowledge he sort, but rather access to whatever research or materials she had used to study. 'Indeed Cadet. I have done some research since I graded your assessment and resources seem to be thinly spread and poorly documented. Your assistance would be the most expedient manner for me to improve the course vocabularies.'

The Cadet nodded in agreement. 'Yes sir.' Her shoulders shifted slightly and she looked down away from him and she obviously typed something in to her console. 'I am forwarding my research to you now.' She typed for a few moments longer then her attention returned to him. After a few seconds delay Spock's console received the transmission. He opened it on a separate screen and glanced over the short dictionaries. 'You compiled similar vocabularies in Andorian and Tellarite Cadet?'

'Yes Sir. I wished to address the shortcomings of my level of fluency.'

'Admirable Cadet Uhura.'

For a minute he was silent as he scanned over the content of the files. Each entry contained a recording of the correct pronunciation and a reputable reference. It would be a simple task to check the validity of each of the terms. A few hours work perhaps.

'This must have taken a great deal of time to compile Cadet. Might I enquire as to your research methods?'

'Actually I cheated.'

Spock tilted his head in confusion. Cheating usually implied copying or plagiarising the work of others, in the context of their conversation he did not understand her meaning. 'Please clarify cadet.'

She smiled shyly. 'Well, I was able to compile my original extended vocabulary lists based upon my father's vocabulary. Although he is currently based planetside, he has served in many different parts of the galaxy.' From her words Spock deduced her father was a member of Starfleet. 'He has an excellent memory and an interest in languages. During his tours he compiled personal dictionaries based off his first hand experiences. I then simply had to check that his translations and pronunciations were accurate.' She frowned slightly, 'You will see that some terms I was unable to validate. I have sent you the complete versions including those phrases since I assume with your expertise you will be able to confirm or disapprove them where I could not.'

Whatever he had expected, it was not this. 'Fascinating. Would your father be willing to discuss this matter with me Cadet?'

'I'm sure he would be thrilled. He enjoys such discussion.' The cadet turned away from the screen to look to her side. 'In fact I think he is listening in on our conversation from the next room.'

Spock was unsure how he felt about that. Listening into someone else's personal communications was considered rude by both Vulcan and Terran custom. Or at least both his parents had taken offense at it when he was a child. A deep man's voice echoed out from somewhere unseen near the cadet. 'Nyota! Do not say such things to your instructor! I am merely enjoying my evening chai in my dining room which happens to be near my living room which contains my comm console. If you wished for privacy you should have used the console in your rooms.' A logical enough observation despite the emotional manner in which it was delivered.

Judging from cadet Uhura's grin, Spock surmised she and her father were teasing on another. She returned her attention to the console screen. 'Please excuse my father Lieutenant Commander. If you have time I am sure he would be happy to finish his morning chai in front of his comm console in conversation with you.'

Spock was not sure how to respond. 'I have no wish to disturb Mr Uhura. I can contact him at a more convenient-'

Before he could finish an enormous man appeared behind the cadet. Spock was taken aback a little. He felt his left eyebrow rise in surprise. The man towered over cadet Uhura, who was tall for a human female, and had the sort of massive heavily muscled build that simply did not exist on his homeworld. Whilst Vulcans were on average taller than humans, they tended to be lean and did not develop the sort of muscularity human males could cultivate.

When he sat beside the cadet the man's head barely fit in the visual range of the communicator. Spock estimated he was perhaps 209 centimetres tall. He was in extremely good physical condition for a human of middle years. The line of his broad shoulders was square and his posture straight. He was holding a small floral teacup which stood out at great odds against the massive hand in which it was held. Despite his brutish build, his face reflected the same quiet intelligence and curiosity as his daughter. 'It is no bother Lieutenant Commander. As Nyota says, I enjoy such discussion. I would happy to offer you what small assistance I may.'

Spock blinked. The Cadet's father was speaking fluent, if informal, Vulcan. He had a stronger accent than the cadet, but it his pronunciation was still very clear for a human. Before he could respond cadet Uhura spoke. 'Lieutenant Commander Spock, this is my father, Commander Zuberi Uhura.' Spock was pleased she had given him the appropriate form of address in her introduction.

He met the Commander's eyes and responded to his earlier statement. 'That would be most satisfactory Commander Uhura. Your insight could prove most helpful.'

When Spock ended the transmission 58 minutes later he was pleasantly surprised not only at how informative his discussion with Cadet Uhura's father had been, but how… pleasant… he had been to converse with. He reminded him a little of Captain Pike in the odd mix of authority and casual friendliness he seemed to possess. And like the Captain, he did not seem at all put off by Spock's Vulcan mannerisms.

When Cadet Uhura had excused herself after he and Commander Uhura had been talking for some 17.8 minutes, Spock had barely noticed.

He prepared himself some lunch and spent the afternoon working through Cadet Uhura's notes and adding some of his own.

*Nyota*

Nyota wasn't sure how she felt exactly when she came downstairs early one morning a week later and discovered her Phonology instructor in deep conversation with her father over the comm.

It was Zuberi Uhura's RTO and instead of the uniform she usually saw him in, he was wearing his favoured bathrobe - a silk kimono decorated with cranes and flowers which he had bought on a holiday in Osaka. Her father could be a man of flamboyant tastes at times. Beneath it he wore an old pair of checked pyjamas. It was an incongruous look on her massive father. The fact that he was doing a rather accurate impression of an impassioned Klingon - presumably for the benefit of Lieutenant Commander Spock who was watching intently from the comm screen did not help.

Nyota recognised the story her father was telling, it was one of his more amusing anecdotes involving a Klingon prisoner who after a suffering a serious concussion attempted to woo the ship's doctor before locking himself in a supply locker, culminating in three hours of loud Klingon mating calls echoing through the lower decks.

To her shock, as her father started howling in his interpretation of the Klingon's mating calls, the lips of Vulcan on the comm screen twitched slightly and his eyes widened in mirth. She felt something like jealously. She'd spent a year in his class and spoken to him many times during that time, and two conversations with him and her father had already gotten him to drop that cool Vulcan façade she never saw past. She shifted in the doorway and her movement drew his attention. Her eyes met his and she found herself smiling at him and shaking her head at her father's antics.

'I can see where you inherited your superior language skills Cadet Uhura. Commander Uhura's ability to mimic the speech patterns of non-humans is truly remarkable. If I were to close my eyes I would be 98.7% sure that a Klingon male was attempting to court me via comm call.'

She was unsure if she started laughing at his joke or at her joy at being treated with such unusual familiarity.

Zuberi directed a smug look at his daughter. 'Now who is eavesdropping on private comm calls Nyota? Lieutenant Commander Spock and I are discussing very important matters.'

Nyota raised her hands in surrender. 'Forgive me father, I was merely going to drink my morning coffee when I heard my father talking to my Lieutenant Commander. I see now I am disturbing a very personal conversation.' She switched to Klingon. 'May your marriage be blessed with many strong sons.'

Zuberi laughed shortly and Spock looked about as shocked as Vulcan could - as if he was not completely sure if she was serious or not. She waved at them both and left the room.

*Spock*

Spock spoke to Commander Zuberi Uhura on a further two occasions during the last month of the holidays. He found that his conversations with the Commander tended to get off subject quite quickly. He was an entertaining person to converse with, he seemed to have an interesting or humorous anecdote for any situation. He did not speak to Cadet Uhura however, her notes being more than sufficient for him to complete extending the vocabularies for his next group of students.

When he received his finalised class schedule he felt a flicker of some emotion – disappointment or relief? – when he realised that whilst she was in two of his courses, she was not in any of his tutorial or laboratory groups. He would only see her in the large lecture classes where it was unlikely he would have to engage in any personal conversation with her.

He deemed it appropriate given his interactions with her and her father to acknowledge her when he saw her on campus, usually offering a curt nod of recognition, but otherwise took pains to avoid her. Although he had come to believe he had misinterpreted her behaviour that evening at the Academy pool, he was painfully aware that he had experienced emotional and physical responses to her presence that were both illogical and inappropriate. He did not wish to misinterpret innocent human friendliness or polite interest as anything more. Given the havoc she had wreaked upon his peace with a few niceties spoken in Vulcan and a white dress, he deemed it wise to avoid all situations in which she would have opportunity to test his control. Namely everything.

His plan worked well for the first six weeks of term until Professor Voss, head of the linguistic department, stopped by his office and casually threw Spock's plan into disarray.

Professor Voss seemed in a good mood as he handed Spock the top most of a stack of data PADDs he balanced in his arms. 'Greetings Spock! I have assigned the Teaching Aides for this semester and I think you will be pleased with your cadet. You can be… difficult… to work with, you went through three Cadets last year I believe?'

'Cadet Browning remained as my aide until his graduation.' Spock responded somewhat defensively. He knew his Vulcan honesty often came off as rudeness and had made concerted effort to improve his relations with his aides during his years at the Academy. He had gone through six during his first semester.

'Yes Spock, five months. A new record for you I believe?' Professor Voss' antennae were waving in a manner Spock had come to recognise as amusement.

'Five months and 18 days.' He could not give a more precise measurement as the graduation ceremony for Cadets ran by a very loose timetable and he had not been in personal attendance.

'Yes. Very good. Anyway, I think you will find your new aide much more suited to your temperament.'

Spock did not like the way that sounded. It made him sound like a poorly behaved child.

'Three other professors all requested her as an aide, even Professor Michaels, and she's only had the cadet in her class for a month!'

Spock suddenly knew who the Cadet Professor Voss referred to. An unpleasant mix of dread and excitement flooded over him. Before he could stop himself he had blurted out 'You refer to Cadet Uhura?'

Professor Voss tilted his head to the side in surprise. 'Why yes. I saw you awarded her extra credit for her second assessment and listed her in the credits for the latest updates to the Starfleet Klingon and Romulan dictionaries. I was expecting you to request her as an aide actually.'

Spock was silent for a long moment. He knew he should dissuade Professor Voss, convince him to assign Cadet Uhura to another teacher, but he wasn't sure how to go about articulating that desire in a professional manner. And a large, apparently masochistic, part of him was excited at being in her presence again. He was quite proud of himself when he opened his mouth and responded 'Cadet Uhura has demonstrated admirable aptitude in all her studies. I have no desire to dissuade such a promising cadet from a career in Starfleet.' A small truth that deflected from his true concern.

Voss looked confused. 'What do you mean Spock?'

'Four of my aides have elected to abandon their studies at the Academy Professor Voss. Whilst I am sure Cadet Uhura would be a most capable teacher's aide, she would undoubtedly be more suited to one of the other Professors.'

The Andorian looked absolutely shocked. Spock quickly went over what he had just said. It all seemed perfectly straight forward. 'You are worried that your Vulcan charm will lose Starfleet a promising officer?'

Spock nodded. Sarcastic though it was, that was as a succinct explanation as any.

To his surprise Professor Voss laughed. 'Oh Spock! There is hope for you yet! Two years ago that wouldn't have even crossed your mind! You would have requested the most promising Cadet and if they'd dropped out considered it a good thing you'd weeded out weakness from Starfleet.'

He did indeed recall making a similar statement during his first year teaching.

'I am glad you agree Professor. I think it would be wise if you were to select an aide for me from those that specifically requested a posting in Phonology or Interspecies-Ethics rather than the general admissions.'

'So that you don't end up with a Cadet who's not expecting to work with you?'

'Precisely.'

Voss frowned. 'I don't like it, Starfleet Officers need to respect all the races of the federation equally, and apart from a distinct lack of humour, Vulcan's are one of the more pleasant races in the federation. Any cadet who can't handle that doesn't deserve to graduate.' He paused. 'But since it's you making the request I'll take it under advisement.' He shuffled through the stack of datapads and passed Spock one. 'This cadet requested the Phonology posting specifically, and is in your classes so must be aware of your reputation. I am sure they are prepared to work with a grumpy Vulcan.'

Spock focused on the relief at not being assigned Cadet Uhura and ignored the disappointment he also felt mixed with it. He responded to the Andorian distractedly. 'I am not 'grumpy' as you put it Professor Voss, I am merely logical.'

Professor Voss smiled. 'Yes of course. Well, I've got to hand out the rest of these postings, Good evening Lieutenant Commander.'

Spock didn't bother looking at the PADD until he was walking back to his quarters for the evening. He was mildly curious at the student who might have requested the position of his teaching aide specifically. He could think of no likely candidate. Perhaps Cadet U'Aidat? She was very attentive during lectures and often stopped him in between classes to ask him questions pertaining to course material, and on occasion, inquire if he required sustenance. Of course when he opened the PADD, despite the power of his reaction – he paused in the middle of the walkway and forgot to breath for several heartbeats – he wasn't surprised.

Cadet Uhura, Nyota Chausiku.

He found himself wondering how her name was pronounced in her native Swahili and its meaning. He'd never made a study of that particular terran language. Humans attached specific, often archaic meaning to their names. His own mother's name was Latin in origin and meant 'Worthy of love'. Quite an illogical and overly sentimental thing to name a child. He dismissed all such speculation from his mind.

Several hours later he found himself at his computer console looking up Swahili naming traditions however. It appeared in place of family names humans of the cadet's culture had originally given their children a secondary name that specified the manner of their birth. This seemed a logical means of additional identification to Spock. Some were quite humorous, however, even to a Vulcan.

Most families had adopted surnames for practical reasons centuries previously, but those traditional descriptive names were still popular. Cadet Uhura's name was a peculiar mix of logical and illogical. Her given name translated to 'Star' which was completely illogical. She was a human, not a luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. Her second name meant 'born at night' which whilst a reasonable statement in of itself, combined with her first name gave her a name of clearly calculated poetry- 'Star born at night'. Her surname, absurdly, appeared to mean 'freedom'.

Her name translated into standard was literally 'Star born at night freedom'. He shook his head to himself, pleased he had been named according to Vulcan custom. His name had meaning, but not an obvious literal meaning in his everyday tongue. Spock was the name of an ancient Vulcan philosopher and meant 'Uniter', but in an ancient form of Vulcan no longer spoken. It seemed exceedingly distracting to have such a literal name as Cadet Uhura. It was more a phrase or a line of a poem than anything else. He would find such a name highly distracting. Perhaps this was why she used the Swahili of her name and not the English translation.

Curiosity satisfied he dismissed the cadet and her illogical name from his thoughts.