Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed so far! And now it's time for what we've come to see; social gaffes and potentially creepy natives!

You're not going out looking like that

We welcome you to Sangneen, Enterprise. We anticipate the return of Ambassador Siobhan and your representatives.

That was all that they had said, but it was to her! Her! All right, it wasn't as if Sangneen was a newly discovered world and she was the first off worlder ever to speak with them, which she certainly wasn't, but whoever had been at the other end had sounded impressed that she even knew their language, even if she might not have some of the accents down just yet. She wanted to get down there. She wanted to prove that she could say more than just a few greetings. She wanted to talk to people who had been raised speaking a language other than Standard, a language that might not be as ancient as Vulcan or as influential as English but was perfectly suited to its own purpose, lyrical and musical. She had heard that there were other dialects that had even never made it off the planet, like the millennia old tomes of the Sangni tongue that had gradually transmuted into the one that was now used on the planet today, and the words that were only used between teachers and pupils; and the language from when the Mineen had been slaves and had angrily, resentfully refused to speak the tongue of their masters, teaching the letters in secret and keeping their stories alive. She doubted she'd get a chance to learn that one, assuming there was anyone left who even spoke it, but perhaps she might be allowed to sit in on some lectures and get an idea of the grammar of learning.

She was so excited that she felt as if that solution for nausea hadn't done its job as well as it should have. She had suggested this to Spock earlier, but all that had gotten her was the Vulcan equivalent of disbelief that she could believe he would administer something to her without being certain of what it was or whether it would fulfil its purpose. After that she had just dropped it.

Ambassador Siobhan had obviously swallowed her pride, just as she herself had when faced with the logic of the one man she couldn't and did not want to refuse, and acquiesced to the attentions of the good doctor. Now she strode into the transporter room and past a staring Scotty, impeccably attired in her ambassadorial outfit, although the outfit itself was rather looser in style than was usual and she had thrown something very like an open kimono over the whole thing. Watching her in all her finery she couldn't help but feel rather gaudy in her bright red dress that didn't even reach her knees and her shiny black boots; next to this display of authority she knew very well she didn't look very serious or grownup, she looked like a child and a rather young one at that. The flowing style of the outfit and the amount that it covered also made her faintly worried; she knew that they'd be transporting into a section of the Federation embassy and not directly into the full environment of Sangneen, but she was beginning to feel that their uniforms wouldn't exactly be able to help them deal with the heat and humidity of the planet if they set so much as one foot outside the embassy's climate controlled walls.

Siobhan didn't look too pleased to see that Kirk was in the room too, standing on the other side of Spock – he knew when not to push her, considering what she'd gone through to 'help' him - and grinning like anything. "Coming to see me off, captain, or are you accompanying us as well?"

"The transmission Lieutenant Uhura received half an hour ago did say that they'd be perfectly willing to entertain the newest captain in Starfleet who also happened to be another of the saviours of the Federation. It'd be pretty insulting to the inhabitants of Sangneen if I refused."

She almost wished she hadn't told him that part; he looked so obnoxiously smug while saying it, and she still wasn't feeling generous towards him. She felt pretty flattered that Siobhan looked over at her, of all people, to roll her eyes at. At least she didn't seem to blame her for what had happened last night. She nodded slightly in reply. Yes, I know, he's an idiot; just be glad you don't have to put up with him for that long.

"Very well, though they obviously have no idea what they're letting themselves in for. I assume you've all been fully prepped on Sangneen custom, and even if you haven't once we get down there you'll be assigned a noble pair, as I said. I don't know which pair you'll get, but it'll most likely be the Princess Ienna and the Lord Etan; they're being trained for off world diplomatic service so you should all be good practice, and if you make any mistakes they won't mind." She seemed to rethink that last part. "Or at least not much, depending on what exactly it is that you hopefully won't do."

She moved over to stand in front of the three of them, clasping her hands and still managing to gesture with them. "Now, one last thing; when we get down there the Mineen who are present will greet you, but not the Sangni. They've learned that people who aren't expecting it don't always like it."

"Who wouldn't like someone with fangs sniffing their neck?"

Siobhan didn't look like she appreciated yet another wisecrack from her yellow jacketed nemesis, but she ignored him. "The Mineen greeting goes like this." She lifted her right hand to her neck, so that the back of her hand was pressed against her left side of her throat and her fingers spread outwards and forwards in what, she couldn't help noticing, looked very much like a state of defence, as if the ambassador were trying to keep the face of someone, or something, away from her jugular.

"Purely traditional now, of course," she went on, dropping her hand slightly.

Kirk looked over at her, and it was pretty obvious that he had been thinking something along the lines of her train of thought. "What did it mean back in the day, then?"

"Basically, captain, it was a gesture the newly freed Mineen adopted to assert that they actually had freedom. It started off as something of a defensive action towards any Sangnar that looked as if they were willing to push back the clock. 'You have no power over me', if you will."

"An unfortunate connotation for a gesture that is meant to symbolize welcome and trust." Spock looked a little queasy again, although anyone who didn't know him – and she told herself desperately that she wasn't one of that number – would not have guessed it. Nobody likes vampires. People want their blood to stay on the inside of their skin.

"True, Commander, but that's just the first part of it. The second part is this." Siobhan now lowered her arm so that it rested just over her left breast, her palm up and the fingers of the hand no longer like claws but curled and relaxed; altogether a much more welcoming gesture. "When greeting each other officially, a Sangnar waits until the Mineer has completed this gesture; only then can they approach and carry out their part of the greeting. For pairings and intermarriage there's a bit more, but this is all you'll need to know."

"Pardon me, ambassador," (she felt it couldn't hurt to show Siobhan the respect Kirk didn't seem that willing to give) "do we have to make this gesture? Since we aren't Mineen?"

Siobhan smiled at her, which no doubt annoyed Kirk to no end; a double bonus. "No, it doesn't extend to off worlders; a simple handshake will do, only remember, don't grip their lower arms. And whatever you think is best to do, Commander." She nodded to Spock and had stepped onto the transport platform before Spock even had time to raise an eyebrow. "Let's get down there, then. I've been on this ship long enough; I need to feel the ground beneath my feet again!"

"You're mad, you know, Lady Ambassador," Scotty – Kirk kept calling him that, and annoyingly enough it had stuck - called from the operating room. "Who needs solid ground, when you can have a lady like this all around you?"

Nyota missed what Siobhan said next as she was making sure she had all she required in her bag while stepping onto the transport at the same time, but whatever she had said made Scotty roar with laughter, and when she chanced a glance at Spock as he moved to stand beside her he looked at her and then quickly away as if he did not trust himself. Kirk hopped up last of all with that exasperating grin on full, shouting out something like 'Beam us down, Scotty!" Damn, he was such a child.

A child who could make her laugh, even if she didn't want to. She was smiling even as she felt the tingle of the transport begin. A rush, and a tingle – and then warmth.

She looked around her quickly, as all cadets are trained to do when beamed down to a possibly hostile environment, even though this was far from hostile. She got a quick view of a high ceiling of some sort of pale stone, different coloured stone upon the walls, a dark floor made of something that looked like marble, and a lot of light, and then there were the figures that Siobhan was already rushing towards. And they were…

She had seen a picture of a Sangnar before, a female, fairly young and quite pretty. She had admired her delicate colouring and platinum hair but had found her pale yellow near white skin, matched with her golden eyes, to be slightly…well, it would be stupid to think unearthly or other worldly, so…fey. She found that she liked that word, as a way of encompassing something both beautiful and dangerous. She had formed this opinion even before she had learned the species behind the face. She had seen a picture of a Mineer too, but that had certainly not instilled her with such a feeling of apprehension. Perhaps it was simply because, ashamed as she was to admit it, the Mineen looked more human in terms of skin colour and general appearance.

The first thing she noticed, really noticed, about the people standing before them, was that the Sangi had far thinner faces than she would have expected or had guessed from the single picture she had seen of their species; their cheeks were quite hollow when compared to the plumper faces of their companions. Of course, that was because they didn't have any molars. They didn't exactly need them, after all.

Siobhan had reached the two who stood side by side at the front of the group, and she watched as they went through the motions, clearly delighted to see each other. The female, quite a bit shorter than her companion, 'tested her scent' and then stood back as her counter part made his gesture, and then the rest of them were doing it as the three of them stood back, a bit over awed by this huge cluster greeting. But it was over fast and the attention soon turned to them; the first man and woman came forward holding out their hands and near beaming with welcome. She could see that the woman deliberately retracted her fangs as she made her way towards them, though, and even then if you weren't expecting it seeing those still sharp teeth in that attractive face could give you quite a shock. Spock took a near imperceptible step in front of her and she could hear Kirk draw in a hiss of breath even as he smiled in return. Nobody likes vampires; she couldn't help thinking that again and again.

If their hosts noticed their discomfort they were obviously used to it, or perhaps just polite. They both spoke at the same time in fair but slightly clipped Standard, acknowledging their valour and bidding them welcome to Sangneen. Unlike the circumstances of other joined pairs that she had heard of they didn't speak in evident sequence, and thank the lord they didn't finish each others sentences because that could get annoying really fast. They had an equal share; after the greeting the female had introduced them as Duren and Cerean – his name before hers, though it would be the other way around if he had been the one who had made the introductions, and without titles, which all accorded with what she knew. Duren went on to say that any crew member of the Enterprise was welcome to visit the embassy and the city in which it was situated, although he advised that anyone who came should stay in short parties when going out so that it would be easier for their guides.

And as he said the words 'guides' and he and Cerean parted to let the two through, she knew at once that they were not getting the Princess Ienna and the Lord Etan as their noble pair. Flowing sleeves and beaded corsets and embroidered slippers, the girls seemed to be dressed in the height of their planet's fashion and made her feel more childish than ever even if they seemed to be about the same age as her; she felt younger than they looked. And when they looked at her they quickly ran their tongues across their lips at exactly the same moment. That was frankly pretty eerie despite the mundane nature of the action, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when they started speaking.

"We are Demita and Taina." "Or Taina and Demita." "We do not mind what you call us." "It is the same either way." "We have heard much of you." "You are relatively well known on this planet." "We will be happy to guide you. "And to show you all that Sangneen has to offer."

It was the sort of rapid-fire switch between speakers that should, by all rights, sound mechanical, like the voice of the ship's computer, but they sounded perfectly cheerful handing over to each other after they had finished a sentence. Then there was a pause as they stared, expectantly, at a rather pleased though puzzled looking Kirk.

"Oooo…kay." Could you try to sound any less like a newly appointed Star Fleet captain, Kirk? "I wasn't aware that joined pairs could be of the same gender."

"Why not, captain?" "The third recorded bonding was between two females." "There is no barrier when it comes to sharing." "Any two may be joined."

They didn't seem to be in any hurry to say which of them was which, although it was pretty easy if you knew the naming customs of the planet. And, oh joy, it definitely seemed as if these two might be forever be finishing each other's sentences. It wasn't until their hosts had said their farewells and hustled Siobhan out of the great hall, for there were already apparently many things that required her attention, that they blinked – again at exactly the same time - and Demita opened her mouth again, and thankfully she kept speaking instead of letting her partner take over straight away.

"We are sorry. We forget that off worlders are made anxious when we do that. To be honest, even our family is slightly worried. They keep telling us that we do not need to switch with every sentence."

It was Taina's turn now. "We try to remember, but sometimes we forget until we remember again. It is hard to go against what now seems natural for us. Nevertheless, we will try not to do it in front of you. Attempt to think of it as one more eccentricity in a planet that seems full of them to your eyes."

"Hey, no problem."

"As long as they achieve their purpose, it does not matter to me what methods you use to explain."

"I understand."

The two looked pleased and they smiled. Demita…hadn't retracted her fangs. Perhaps she'd just forgotten. "Good! Now, we have been told to keep you entertained and to show you our planet in the times between the requirements of your presence by our elders; but if you are planning to step outside this embassy in those clothes then you are very much mistaken if you believe that we will let you."

"Why?" Kirk pulled at his sleeve and looked over at her and Spock, as if only wondering now about the nature of the uniforms. "These are standard outfits for Star Fleet; I shouldn't think we'd be breaking any dress codes."

"They break no codes, true, and are acceptable in appearance to a point; but they are designed for being worn in space, in climates to which you are accustomed, rather than to our own." The pair had separated, Demita moving to their left and Taina to their right, both of them folding their arms in what seemed the same instant and mirroring each other. Taina looked closer at Kirk's top and sighed, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Demita shake her head. She herself already felt gaudy enough but Kirk clearly didn't like being under this particular kind of scrutiny, and she could tell Spock was not impressed by this at all. "It will not do, captain, it will not do at all. If you went outside this building during the day wearing such things you would melt. Our planet can be treacherous in its heat and humidity. You will all need to dress accordingly."

"There are clothes that the embassy staff wear when they venture outside in order to fulfil their tasks or interact with our people; we will help you to choose from them so that you are respectably attired ."

"I thank you for your concern, but I see no need for such a venture. I am capable of withstanding high temperatures-"

Both of them cut him off with a raised hand. "High, dry temperatures. We do not know how you would fare out there, Commander Spock, but we do know that, if not attired properly, off worlders tend to collapse out in the high heat. And it would be no benefit to us if you collapsed while under our guidance."

He said nothing for a beat of her heart, two, and then his eye went to her. She could guess what he was thinking; that it was not logical to argue against something that could protect her from harm and discomfort. Then she saw the white of his eye and knew he was looking at Kirk. "I have no objections, captain, if you do not."

"I don't think this dress is really cut out for the heat, anyway," she added, just to get her own opinion in."

Kirk sighed, but the grin was back again. "I suppose it's time for a new wardrobe, then."

The pair showed them to their rooms; Spock and Kirk were right across the hall from her which was some comfort, and also out of ear shot, which was also something of a comfort. She was familiarizing herself with the plumbing in the ensuite bathroom, which showed that people on Sangneen were quite keen on baths and assumed that other species were too, when Taina came back in with an armful of clothes and volunteered to help her try them on. As they worked through the pile finding out what suited her and what didn't she tried out her vocabulary and Taina encouraged her or pointed out when she made a mistake; by the time they were on the last one they were joking in a mixture of Standard and Sangneen.

"Is Demita doing the same thing with the boys?" she asked, as her helper fastened the brooches that held the sleeves of the dress together on her arms.

"She has brought them clothes. She would not go so far as to help them attire themselves or to watch them do it, especially not Commander Spock; we know our limits."

That was good. She knew it was very like jealousy, but she felt that seeing Spock without the barriers of his uniform, or indeed any barrier at all, was a sight that she wanted to keep for herself. It was when he seemed so vulnerable and yet so powerful; a contradiction that made such perfect sense. Of course it was rather undermined by the fact that Spock was probably changing in front of Kirk. At least he was probably taking it more calmly than if she was changing in front of Kirk; she had a feeling that Spock, despite his denials, was quite jealous when it came to her body as well.

Something only just occurred to her now; Taina had spoken about the pair knowing their limits when it came to the men, particularly Spock. She looked over her shoulder at her, still intent on the brooches. "Pardon, Taina; what did you mean by that last statement?"

Taina finished her work and stood back with an appraising air, nodding a little before she answered. "We cannot treat Commander Spock with familiarity if we wished to, which we do not. He is already deep within another, that is you, and thus you both consider it a threat. If we had known we would have given you appropriate rooms, but perhaps it is better if you wish to remain in this state. Are you well, Lieutenant Uhura?"

"Yes. Yes, I am fine." Words, so often her tool, now seemed to have decided to take a holiday. She moved away from Taina, stepping up onto the dais that the bed was set on to give herself some advantage of height, however false it was. It was never easy when privacy was invaded. "I suppose…you smelled it?"

"You with he, and he with you," Taina replied, saying the phrase used to describe the Sangneen version of a relationship like theirs, however unacknowledged it might be. "We shared ourselves only this morning, so it was easier for us both to understand what it was that we scented. Off worlder smells are confusing to many, we are likely the only two who discerned it." She tilted her head to one side, still calm in the face of the indignation that was working up from her stomach. "And now I can tell, again by that sharing, that you are angry that we know and that I have spoken of it. Do you think that we have been spying upon you?"

"No. Yes. It does seem very like it." She didn't like being so bare, so open. She'd learned that being open was a danger with anyone but one person, and now this woman – these women had literally sniffed out their secret and were all but throwing it in her face.

"Lieutenant Uhura, my kind and my other's kind do not have the benefits of telepathy and its shields against unpleasantness. We cannot simply ignore our senses; that would defy the point of our sharing, it might even be potentially fatal. So yes, we could not help but scent you with he and he with you, but we would never speak of it without your permission. That is not our way."

That helped to calm the burning that had risen in her cheeks. She longed to have the same control over her reactions that he did. "I am sorry. It was rude of me to accuse you. I apologize."

"It is no trouble." Taina picked up a hair brush and proffered it to her. "Our mother on my other's side was one of those to greet the first visitors, mostly Terrans. The smell of their nervousness was enough to drive her near to distraction, and she unconsciously prepared to meet danger. They actually thought that she might feed from them, and then there was much trouble. You have all done a good job so far of trying not to be nervous. And, I think, so have we."

She couldn't deny that, and she could only hope that it would last.

Kirk barrelled through the door as she was considering if she should do anything with her hair and thinking at the same time how ridiculous it was to be worried about such a thing, followed by Spock with Demita bringing up the rear. The men were dressed in less grand versions of the welcoming outfits their male hosts had worn, light trousers underneath knee length, loose sleeved tunics barely pulled in at the waist with sashes, and rather amusingly they were the same colours as the uniforms that had been put aside for the moment. Now that she thought about it, most of the clothes Taina had brought for her were some shade of red, so perhaps the pair were making up for the fact that they were essentially obliged to dress in accordance with the planet's fashions. Even as Kirk was making some random comment about her new outfit Spock had marched across the room and stopped at the edge of the dais, giving her dress an appraising stare before meeting her eyes – it wasn't often that their heads were on a level. She liked the different shades of blue upon him, the deep Star Fleet tone broken up by the lighter sash and trousers.

"You both look pretty good."

"Thank you, lieutenant. You are also acceptable."

"That's good to know." She could see that the pair had moved to stand together again, and once again they licked their lips. She didn't know how she felt about the way their eyes went from her to Kirk to Spock and back again, and again, and again.

If you want an idea of what a Sangnar looks like think of Nuada or Nuala from the Golden Army, only with more hollow cheeks and without those rather odd scars over their noses. I can't help it; that character design stayed in my head. Mineen more closely resemble humans, although there are some differences in the shape of the nose, ears and hands; Mineen have only three fingers on each hand.

And seriously; those outfits on the old show and even in the new film don't look very suitable for running around in on a hot planet. They're all tight and clingy. Which is probably why we like them, but still…