"What is going to happen to us?" Uhura asked for umpteenth time. There was no one around but Kirk but at this point even he was too out of it to response to questions anymore. They might have been imprisoned for weeks or months now.
"I don't know. Maybe they will make sweet, beautiful love to you and murder me. Or vice versa," he said to her surprise, "They're just biding their time now."
"And this is alright with you?" she snapped, "Why aren't you formulating an escape plan?"
"I'm extremely open minded thank you," Kirk said, "Getting some from hot aliens wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."
"They hunted us like animals," Uhura responded, "I highly doubt they want to be intimate with us. I'm leaning towards your latter suggestion."
This snapped Kirk out of his fantasies and they began to formulate a plan. They both had a plastic phaser hidden in their packs. Plastic phasers were flimsy and meant to be only temporary. They were usually meant to be snuck past metal sensors. But they would use them anyway and make a run for it. If one of them made it back, they would send for help. Perhaps, they concluded, if they were quiet and quick, the plan might work.
Around noon, their cell door opened. Two Sullagi entered. One was armed with a lethal cross bow-like weapon and the other held a large bundle, some papers and a squirming baby. Kirk and Uhura glanced at one another for a brief second.
"Now!" Kirk shouted.
They both leapt up and shot at one of the aliens. Nothing happened. The two aliens stared at the prisoners seemingly impassive to this surprise action.
"Phaser recharges were on that list," Kirk said, "Right after fuel and before milk."
"I don't like milk so it's not all bad."
"I hope you enjoyed your time with Spock was good because it just may be the last you were with him."
"It might be anyway."
"I knew it. He broke up with you. Pointy eared bastard."
Uhura wanted to say something about this. They were only having a fight, that it wasn't anyone's fault and that they would go back to each other but she couldn't. She honestly didn't see this situation resolving itself. If she every even saw Spock again, she realized with a shock of fear, she might never be with him again. Instead she pulled Kirk to the ground and tried to look harmless for the Sullagi's sake.
The armed guard nodded to the other Sullagi and step out. The baby was released to explore the cell. The Sullagi (She looked female) laid her bundle down and then sat next to it. She pulled back the wraps of blanket and revealed a sleeping infant. Then she laid her papers down and pulled drawing utensils from a pouch around her waist. She took one long look at Uhura and Kirk and then began to draw.
"Why are you drawing us?" asked Kirk.
"It is my job," she said, not lifting her eyes from the paper, "I am a documenter. On Earth you call them historians."
"Do you enjoy drawing humans?" Uhura had found her voice.
"It's better than drawing our horrifyingly brutal historical murals," she replied, "Which would be my alternative. I draw many things though. But I like drawing so it is a good assignment for me."
"Is that how you learned English?" asked Kirk, "By drawing people?"
"Everyone in this village speaks every language that was even spoken," she told them, "They just liked to be tricky about it."
"How is that possible?" asked Uhura, "I know about 83% of all federation languages but there must be hundred no one has ever heard of or documented."
"We are one of a few species which demonstrates Lamarckian Evolution. That's what the researchers told us long ago," She said, "We pass on their mental superiority to their offspring. Everything they know is given on. He has the body of a child and the mind of a genius. He cannot speak but he knows much."
She was referring to her toddler who was trying to climb onto Kirk's head. Uhura began to grasp why this civilization but so much emphasis on breeding. They thought their genes were the best.
Then she did something surprising. She glanced over her shoulder, and when she saw no one was watching, she broke one of her tools. She made a great fuss over this and knocked on the door. Her companion looked in. They had a brief dialogue and the companion left with her tool in hand. She picked up her infant and knelt near Kirk and Uhura.
"While he is gone," she said, "You look at him. They told me you were scientists."
"I have medical training," Uhura said.
Kirk scoffed.
"I do! I took a class."
"Your experience is overwhelming," He said, "I'm sorry for having doubted you."
Uhura analyzed the child. She measured his pulse, looked into his eyes and ears, measured his reflexes, she even held his chest close to her ear to listen to his heart beat and breathing. She annoyed when all she could discern was, "This is a very sick child."
"I know this," the Sullagi said sadly, "His sister is so healthy and he is so sick." She pointed to the toddler, "They are twins."
But Uhura hasn't given her full observation. She wanted to say something else but her thoughts didn't fit. What she was thinking wasn't even in the realm of realistic and yet there it was. She held back not only because she was afraid of what they would say or do if they heard her thoughts but because it was too much to say without more consideration.
Compared to his sisters, the child was...off. Not sick but just not right. He was lazy, unresponsive and blank compared to his vibrant interactive sisters. But it wasn't in a bad way. In fact, compared to her concepts of Terran babies, he was perfectly fine.
Suddenly the door smashed open again. The companion had never left. He still held the woman's broken tool in his hand. "That is Anda's child is it not?"
The woman nodded.
"You betrayed your race. He was not a Sullagi."
"That is true," the woman said, "But you will not tell anyone."
"What makes you so certain?" the companion asked.
The woman moved in a flash. In a second, she had imbedded one of her utensils in the man's chest. He sunk to the ground. "I loved someone who I should not have had feeling for. I still loved him but it tore me up inside. I am sorry."
She let the body fall and then hastily grabbed her babies in her arms. "Come, I will help you."
*****
The immature Sullagi kept trying to lose Spock. But it wasn't fast enough or smart enough to do so. Every so often, they wasted precious seconds as Spock pulled the creature off a tree or yanked him from under a rock.
Finally it led him to a clearing. There in the center was a trapdoor. The Sullagi pointed at the door and grunted. Spock pulled on the handle and looked into the dark abyss. "This leads to your village?"
The creature nodded, "I stay here. I do not want to raise suspicion by coming through here with you." With that, he raced off.
Spock could have forced the creature to go but that would waste time. Uhura and Kirk were at the end of this tunnel. He had to take this risk.
A second before he was about to step forward, the very prisoners he was going after appeared.
"Spock!" Uhura rushed forward and embraced him. Kirk pulled them both into a group hug. Spock was too shocked to do anything.
"I saved them," Spock saw a Sullagi with two young children come out of the tunnel, "Now, I wish for you to give me a favor."
"Anything," Kirk said.
"Within reason of course," Spock added.
The woman held out her smaller baby, "He is obviously a half breed. Take him to earth so that I can tell the elders he died. "
"Exactly what happened while you were gone?" demanded Spock.
"She is a Sullagi and she was only supposed to mate and make more Sullagi but she went after something a little more exotic. If they see that the kid is an inferior being, it will be evidence she," Kirk gestured towards the woman, "Fraternized with others and they will put her and her child to death to keep their blood line pure."
"She explained this in the tunnel. It makes more sense if you heard it there," Uhura added.
"If they see he is not growing as fast as his sister and that he does not look like a Sullagi, all will know he is a hybrid. But if he's not here. There can be no doubt and there can be no evidence. He and my former lover will be safe. They will lay this matter to rest. I don't mind suspicion," the woman said.
"And you?" Spock asked, "What will they do to you?"
"I will not pretend like this isn't a selfish endeavor. I choose life for him, even if it is a life without me," the woman said, "They might put me to death."
"Alright," said Spock at last, "We will put him in the hands of the Federation. They will be able to study him and will care for him."
The woman's eyes were wet now, "Thank you. Go quickly before they see you are gone."
*****
Uhura felt the comfortingly familiar feeling of the beam. Her very atoms seem to shiver and then she was back in the control room.
"Nice work, Mr. Scott," said Kirk.
The engineer behind the control panel grinned, "Nice to have you back Captain. I trust your stay on Sigma Xi was not too harsh?"
"It was a brief but enjoyable sojourn." Kirk said.
Scott chuckled and turned off the transporter. Kirk looked at Uhura, "Can I call you Nyota now?"
"No."
"That's harsh but fair," Kirk looked at Spock who hadn't taken his eyes off Uhura since they had been reunited. Kirk went and took the baby from Spock. "Come on Scott. I need your help with something."
When they were gone, Spock stepped towards her, "Nyota, I will be tactful. I feel a need for control and just as I could not ask you to give up your intelligence or independence for me, you cannot ask me to give up that need."
"I think I understand now," she said, "You felt it was wrong to want me but you still did."
"Yes," he said, glad she understood, "I feel guilty for loving you, my dear. I was raised Vulcan and I was always taught to look down on emotions, especially given my heritage."
"So having feelings for me is hard for you?"
"Yes, but I would not forsake them for my own comfort."
"It's not rational but I enjoy the thought. It doesn't make your love any weaker or any less meaningful."
Nyota held out her hand. Spock took it. Nyota liked the feeling his hand in hers. It felt complete.
"I misunderstood you Nyota. I thought you were an emotional person who desired verbal confirmation of love. You are not. For you, I think and perhaps for all humans, actions speak louder than words."
"I accept you as you are Spock."
"I will always carry this doubt for you Nyota but I will always fight it for you as well."
That was all she wanted.