I apologize for the two week wait. I've been doing pretty well getting a chapter out every week or two on this one. Enjoy.
Jim felt his entire body freeze as he processed Spock's words. "Sh-she's . . . how? What happened?"
"Her shuttle on the way home had a malfunction that forced an emergency landing. She was the only casualty among the fifty passengers."
Jim pulled up his player menu and hastily looked up the world news. Sure enough, the announcement of the accident and the one casualty was on the headlines. "Spock …" Jim looked back at the elf. His face was perfectly blank staring off into the horizon. To anyone else, he would look deep in thought and not a complete wreck on the inside. After hearing why Spock was so overprotective, he could understand why his mother was so important to him. Amanda had been the only one to accept Spock for who he was growing up, and Spock could not help but blame himself for his mother almost getting killed when he was a child. "Spock …. I …" He didn't know what he could say to try to lessen such a loss.
"Death is inevitable, Jim. In the future we will all perish, some sooner rather than later." Spock looked down at his hands.
"But she was still your mom. It doesn't change the fact that it hurts." Jim offered.
"Indeed," he said quietly. "But it is more bearable than I predicted."
Jim frowned. "What do you mean bearable?"
"When I was a child, I tried to predict what I would do if my mother died. I however did not take into account you being here as I did not believe I would be capable of making a …."
"A friend?" Jim filled in.
Spock nodded. "Your presence helps, Jim." Spock finally looked up at him, sadness hidden in the depths of his eyes. "How did you know I was here? Were you not supposed to be at your learning institution today to meet with your academic board?"
"I got worried when you didn't reply. I just had a feeling you'd be in the game, so I checked." He left out the part where he had a terrible feeling that something was wrong in the first place. There was no way he could explain that, and he didn't really want to try.
"Thank you, Jim . . . for searching for me," he looked back at the horizon. "Your timing is impeccable as usual."
"That's me, saving the day at the last moment." He grinned.
"Indeed." Spock stood up, brushing off his clothes. "What did you wish to tell me?"
Jim froze, him mouth working uselessly. Then he forced a smile. "It's nothing Spock. Just wanted to tell you that my friends wanted to meet you this weekend, but we push it 'til later. No big deal."
"I find meeting your friends amendable."
Spock shifted, putting his hands behind his back.
"Whatever you want to say, say it."
Spock looked startled that Jim had caught him. "I was considering if I should ask if you would be amendable to helping me create a grave for my mother in ShiKahr. You have shown proficient skill in computers, and I believe my mother would appreciate your input on the design."
"Spock I . . . ." Jim shook his head. "I'd be honored."
For a moment, the corners of Spock's lips turned up, and Jim's breath caught, and his train of thought flew out the window. He had never seen Spock smile before.
"The honor would be mine, Jim. I look forward to working with you." Spock's small smile fell all too soon. "I should return to work."
"Wait, Spock."
Spock turned his attention to Jim, waiting for whatever he had to say.
Jim floundered. "Um…if you want…I could fly out to wherever you're at to help you with funeral arrangements. It wouldn't be a big deal."
Spock looked sad for a moment before once again blocking his emotions. "That will not be possible, Jim. The gesture is appreciated."
"Oh," the human deflated. "Maybe you can take some time off and visit me?"
Spock tensed. "Perhaps, one day it will be possible, but not now."
"It's fine. I was just asking. No big deal. I mean, it would be weird meeting people on the internet in real life. We've only known each other for a few months, and you want to take it slow, that's understandable. And I was just offering t-"
"Jim," Spock interrupted gently, making Jim stop mid sentence. "You are beginning to ramble."
The swordsman blushed. "Sorry."
"I find it oddly calming."
Jim smiled. "Glad I was of assistance."
A corner of Spock's lips twitched before he logged out, leaving Jim to watch the sunset.
The sun was beautiful as it sank behind the horizon, turning the clouds and sky various shades of pink, purple, and orange. It should have felt calming but…
"I'm in deep shit."
"Bones!" Jim yelled, stumbling through the door later that night.
"What is it now Jim and…why do you smell like you decided to swim inside a bottle of whiskey?"
He stumbled a few more times over his own feet, draping himself over his best friend. "I think I'm in real deep," the words came out heavily swirled and jumbled.
"Take it easy and sit down before you kill yourself. Does it look like I can hold you up?" The older man grumbled, guiding him to a sofa.
"Yeah, kind of. There are two of you," he giggled. He managed to fall onto the couch, somewhat dragging the doctor with him.
McCoy pried Jim's arms off him. "God damned octopus is what you are. Now tell me what happened."
"I think I like Spock," he sighed dramatically.
"Is that it? I figured that out like a month or two ago even if I tried to deny it afterwards."
"I can't like him. I'm straight! I never liked men. Never even looked at them. Then he had the nerve to come waltzing into my life with that adorable bowl cut and beautiful eyes and charm his way into my every waking thought." Jim flopped back into the couch.
McCoy blanched. "We are talking about the same Spock who gave you a two hour lecture on why you should use proper standard instead of colloquial right?"
"Yeah," Jim sighed. "He's hot when he gets all teachy. He should be a professor. I had a dream of him teaching a class." A pervy grin inched its way onto his face. "He took me on his desk when I kept flirting with Janice in class in a jealous rage."
"Too much information, Jim."
"See what I mean! I thought it was because I didn't have sex for a while, so I went out to pick up…uh I can't even remember her name, but the moment any woman she touches me, it feels wrong and every night I dream of him. What do I do Bones?" The last part came out as a whine.
Bones shook his head, muttering under his breath about babysitting. "So what if he's a guy. This isn't the 21st century. Secondly, keep your sex dreams to yourself. I ain't your god damned diary. Thirdly, tell him how you feel for god sakes. The worse he can do is turn you down, and if that happens, you just keep going."
"Hmmm, I guess," he drawled, closing his eyes. A yawn escaped him.
"Sleep it off. We'll sort this all out in the morning."
"Sure thing," he yawned again, beginning to drift. "It's just, sometimes I think I feel him and feel the urge to be with him. Isn't that weird?"
"It's called love, kid. You'll get used to it."
"Hope so. He's t'hy'la," he whispered before falling asleep.
"I grieve with thee, Spock."
Spock gave a ta'al in return. "Professor Sorik. I had not anticipated your visit."
"Because I had not announced that I would be seeking an audience with you." The elder Vulcan said, taking a seat. "Sarek has arranged her funeral?"
"Affirmative. As we will not be able to retrieve her body, we will hold the ceremony tonight without it."
"I see," he said, setting his PADD on the table.
Spock eyed the device and subconsciously straightened."You wished to speak to me about the project."
"Perceptive. Indeed, I wished to converse with you. It has been brought to my attention that you have spent excessive time in the simulation, creating and encouraging personal relations with the case study. In addition, your work has lost efficiency due to psychic and physical exhaustion, progressing to emotional decisions that have lead to you missing work. While the Tiberius side program has supplied interesting data and results, I do not believe it will benefit you to continue associating with him."
Spock felt his headache sharpen painfully at the man's words, almost crippling him. "I will cease the side project."
"Very well. I will inform─"
"But I will not cease association. Tiberius is indeed more than a case study. He is an acquaintance and a colleague with invaluable knowledge."
"Spock, it is not logical to─"Sorik's words seemed muted and all Spock could hear was his pounding head ache. It felt like his head was ready to rip apart at the seams. "Spock?"
The last thing Spock remembered was the professor running to his side as he fell.
Spock's first sight he was greeted with was his father leaning over him, his fingers pressed against his psy points. Their dark eyes met, and Sarek pulled his hands away, straightening his posture. "You have regained consciousness."
"Father?" Spock took in his surroundings, noting he was lying down in a healer's hut on a mat.
"Healer Serek has already examined you. He informed me that as soon as you rebuild your shields properly, you may return home. He also advises that you do not shield more than what is necessary. You have caused yourself much exhaustion and have strained your telepathy with overuse."
"Is this the reason I fell unconscious?" Spock inquired sitting up. Something was different. Where there once was a bond with T'Pring, there was something else resided in its place.
"You suffered from your pre-marital bond with T'Pring being cut unnaturally and without the assistance of a healer." Sarek watched his son intently.
Spock shook his head before he could stop the human gesture. "It is not possible. I feel a bond there. A strong one at that."
"It is the bond that caused your previous bond to dissolve. It seems that both bonds were present simultaneously, causing your frequent headaches. As you were blocking such a new bond, you were starving the physical and mental contact needed for it to mature properly, increasing the intensity of the pain whenever you were not with your bondmate." Sarek kept staring as if waiting for Spock to say something."
"If such a new bond was starved, then it would have dissipated within days," Spock replied.
Sarek's eyebrow twitched. "Meditation will be beneficial for you, my son. I have supplied the base of your shielding to keep your emotions in check while you take the time to rebuild them. You can analyze the new bond yourself and discover why the new bond created in the first place and was able to break a bond that had a better foundation and presence, and who the bond is to. The healer also recommends to either stabilize the new bond or to be rid of it as soon as possible."
"Why has this new bond come forward now?"
Sarek hesitated in answering, sadness flickering across his eyes. "The loss of your bond to your mother was likely the trigger. A steadying influence of a bondmate can fill the void and soothe the pain of loss."
Spock frowned. "The bond with T'Pring should have fulfilled that function."
"Your bond with T'Pring has always been weak. Steady, but weak. The bond you have…it was the better choice and the logical one."
"I do not understand."
"See the bond for yourself," Sarek said gently. "You will understand then."
Spock watched his father leave the hut. He looked tired. It was not unusual for bondmates to follow their lover in death. The statistics were one out of a hundred. The higher their compatibility, the higher the chance. He never knew how compatible his mother and father were, but he hoped his father would not follow that path.
Guilt settled into his stomach as he realized that Sarek must have been very concerned when he heard that he had collapsed. He should have taken better care of himself. Perhaps it was time to stop playing the game.
The healer had left incense burning. It was a special incense that helped induce meditation to those who had a shattered or fractured mind and could not obtain the state on their own.
Taking a seat on the meditation alcove provided, he closed his eyes and fell easily into the first layer of meditation, deconstructing the temporary shields his father had created for him to construct his own. He started with shielding his mind from the outside to keep his own thoughts from leaking out and from stray thoughts from coming in. As his father suggested, he did not attempt to create more shielding than the basics. The task was long and time consuming, proving how far he had pushed himself over the past months.
Once the shielding was done, he turned his attention to the state of his body, cataloguing his fatigue, stresses, and any abnormal bodily functions. He required rest and some sustenance, but overall he did not seem too injured. Finally, he turned his attention to the portion of his mind that held bonds.
He hesitantly reached out to the place that once held his bond with T'Pring. He had once associated the place with strained tolerance. It was often cold and uninviting, showing T'Pring's reluctance to allow Spock any access to her mind. When he was a child he often told himself it could have been worse. It could have been disdain he had felt from her or hate. The one time he had reached out towards the bond, it was only to find that she did not want the bond. And once they were teenagers, her feelings for another would trickle through to him, and he felt rejection. He wasn't good enough to keep the attention of the only Vulcan female who did not hate him.
Instead of the cold he had grown accustomed to over the years, there was warmth. A warmth that was inviting to his touch and enveloped his entire being, erasing his tension and easing his sorrow and recent loss. Spock pulled back, startled at its intensity. With uncertainty, he reached for it again.
He was prepared this time and not so easily overwhelmed, giving him the opportunity to examine it. The bond was indeed starved, damaged in several places, causing his physical discomfort and emotional influence from one another. If it continued on its present course, it could become irreparable and a proper marital bond would be impossible to obtain. The bond however was rooted deep into his psyche and seemed to pulse at his mental touch, reaching out to him as if desperate for his attention.
Despite its poor state, the bond was beautiful. It radiated security and love. A feeling of home. He followed the bond, searching for whoever was on the other side eager to find out who was to be his mate.
The feeling of the other mind was weak; Spock could feel the distance between them, and yet it was loud and unguarded, a trait of a mostly psynull species. While he could not feel the specifics of any thoughts or feelings due to the distance and struggling bond, he could still recognize the vibrant and passionate mind on the other end despite only feeling it only briefly twice before.
Withdrawing from his mediation, Spock sat in contemplative silence. Jim was to be his bondmate. Jim was t'hy'la.
Jim groaned as he opened his eyes. He had been running on the indoor track with McCoy when he suddenly collapsed, his head screaming in pain. Now he was laying in a biobed in medbay glaring at the bright lights, threatening to blind him.
"Welcome back to the living. You've been out for a good portion of the afternoon."
The only response Dr. McCoy received was another groan. "Your head still hurting?"
"A bit." Testing his limits, Jim carefully sat up. "Have any idea what happened?"
"Took some scans. I found a bit more brain activity than usual in the portions of your brain we associate with psychic activity that weren't there before, but nothing serious. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with you." It must have just been Jim, but he could have sworn the country doctor was upset with that fact.
"So…can I go?"
The doctor stared him down with a scowl as if implying that Jim put himself into sickbay just to annoy him somehow. "Only if you take it easy."
Jim fidgeted with the blanket, nodding eagerly. With his friend's go ahead, he jumped out of bed. He felt antsy like he had to be someplace.
"Hey Jim, did you want to talk about you know what?"
Jim shifted from foot to foot, eyeing the door. "I know what about what?"
"You know what I'm talking about," the older man snapped. He seemed more embarrassed about the subject the Jim. "The whole thing about liking Spock?"
Jim stood still long enough to blush. "I'll just wing it like I always do. My instincts never steered me wrong before."
"Except every bar fight and any other illegal stuff you did when you were in Iowa."
Jim shrugged.
"You alright, Jim? You're acting like someone dumped a bucket full of sand in your shorts."
"I'm fine," Jim said probably too quickly. "Look, I got to go. See you at home." He didn't wait for a reply. Something was pulling him to the game. It was strange in and of itself. He knew Spock would not be on until later that night, but he wanted to see Spock. Needed to see him. He could hear Bones' monologue in his head about how unhealthy this all was, yet he found he could not resist.
He went home and logged in immediately, not bothering to remove his shoes or get out of his work clothes.
Spock was waiting for him, sitting at the dining room table, staring up at him in surprise. "Fascinating."
"Hey, weren't expecting to see you here." Now that the object of his thoughts was only a few feet in front of him, the pull had disappeared and embarrassment came full force.
"I did not expect you would react if I called you through the bond," Spock whispered so quietly, Jim was sure he had misheard him.
"I had wished to spend my day with you. I have found your company helps given the current situation," Spock averted his eyes as if waiting for Jim to reject him. "I have come to understand that humans tend to take walks along the beach, go to dinner, and speak of one another's personal lives and goals in order to get to know one another."
The human bit his lips. It sounded like a date, but if he thought about it, those things had been what they were doing for the past few months. "Sounds like fun. Just give me a minute to feed I-Chaya and grab Istaya."
Spock nodded, watching the swordsman go upstairs.
Jim entered his room, holding out his arm for Istaya to perch on. The small baby dragon climbed onto his hand and quickly scurried up his arm to sit on his shoulder. It cooed softly and rubbed against Jim's cheek. If Istaya wasn't a baby, he'd leave him home, but the small creature needed a lot of attention.
After giving his sehlat, his meal, he browsed through his wardrobe. He decided on the Surakian armor and black leather pants. He left the gloves off this time. While he was sure he was attracted to Spock, he had doubts about the attraction being returned. If this wasn't a date, he had the excuse that the armor was the most powerful in his inventory and thus had a reason to wear it. If it was, then it was definitely the sexiest thing he owned. Putting one of his smaller swords onto his hip, he went back downstairs.
Spock had changed into his elven king outfit (at least that's what Jim called it), and surprisingly, also did not have his gloves equipped. "Shall we consume nourishment first or shall we walk along the coastline."
"The sun should be setting in Risa right? I heard it's a sight to see."
Spock nodded. "It is indeed aesthetically pleasing to most."
"Then let's go there. We can eat on the beach while we're at it, maybe even spar."
"I am amendable to the idea."
The trip to Risa was quick. Though neither had yet to be in the region, Jim convinced Spock to cheat a little and just have them teleport there by overriding the system. Spock put up little fight, giving in only after the second argument.
The beach was gorgeous. The water was a clear purple, the sand pure white and warm, and the rolling hills and flowers behind them was a sight that took one's breath away.
Spock set up their dinner, producing a blanket and a variety of food from his inventory.
Jim sat on the blanket watching him work. It was proficient like everything Spock did, making it seem more like an art or science experiment than just going through the motions.
Spock eventually joined him once he finished. As he sat down, his hand brushed against Jim's.
His breath hitched. Spock had never made contact with him like that before. All too quickly, the touch was gone. It had to have been a mistake. Spock never made contact with anyone unless it was necessary granted he had never seen Spock make a mistake before, but it was too weird for Spock to suddenly want to touch him.
"How are you and your dad doing?" Jim asked, desperate to fill the silence.
"It is a trying time for my father. He cannot stop his delicate duties simply because of my mother's death, and it is difficult for him though he does not show it." Spock picked up his tea.
Jim tried to imagine the stoic Sarek he met grieving. It was not as hard as he had thought it'd be. The man's eyes had softened when he had seen his wife, and Spock had told him that Sarek had loved Amanda enough to go against tradition. He wondered if Sarek blamed himself for her death for letting her return on a shuttle by herself. Wionna had blamed herself for George's death for several years.
"What does your dad do?"
"He is a diplomat. The best among my people and very skilled at his work." Jim sensed a bit of pride coming from Spock. And there was no hesitation from Spock this time answering his question.
"Any siblings?"
Spock tilted his head a bit, a sign he was thinking. "One. A half brother from my father's previous marriage before she died. He is significantly older than I, and I have only seen him four times in my lifetime. He would not conform to tradition, so he out casted himself. He is very fond of me however."
"What's his name?"
"Sybok," Spock answered.
Jim bit his lip, picking up some well seasoned mutton. Tearing off a small piece, he fed it to his dragon. "Why are you being so open today?"
Spock considered his answer carefully. "I found I want to know James more than I want to know about Tiberius. When we meet in real life, it is that persona who I will be engaging with, and I wish for you to know me in return."
Jim fought down a blush and focused his attention on his food, devouring it in what was most likely not the most appealing manner.
"Jim, you are not romantically involved? I do not believe any partner you choose would be happy with the amount of time you spend away from him or her."
The seemingly random question shocked Jim enough to start choking on his food, causing small bits to come flying from his mouth as he coughed. Not one of his finest moments.
"Are you alright, Jim?" Spock asked clearly concerned.
"Yeah, just threw me for a second." He coughed a few more times. "No, I'm not romantically involved."
"I do not understand. From my research you would be a desirable mate for someone. Certainly there are interests."
Spock's innocent questions had Jim full out blushing now. "It's not that no one's interested. It's just I'm more of a playboy, you know?"
"I do not know." Spock was staring at him intently, making Jim squirm under the attention.
"I've been the type of guy who never stays with one girl for too long and never been serious about any of it. I just wasn't interested in trying a real steady relationship," Jim muttered, tying to find some other large object to stuff in his mouth that wasn't his foot.
"You wish to try a committed relationship now?" Leave it to Spock to pick up subtext when he least expected him to.
"If it's with the right person," he replied, setting Istaya down next to the meat for easier access.
Spock never took his eyes off Jim.
"Soooo," Jim drawled out, jumping to his feet. "You know some fighting moves don't you? The move you pulled during the tournament was definitely not a move incorporated into the hunter classes fighting moves."
"Indeed. I was trained in a martial art created by my people before we turned to complete logic. Every child is trained in the art as a form of mental and physical discipline." Spock rose as well.
"It's funny you say that. They've been saying that about martial arts on Earth for years. Truthfully, I think it lacks on the "mental" discipline part."
"This art is much different than your earth martial arts. It requires exact muscle control, using power, strength, speed, and agility to the fullest extent." Spock walked into the sand.
"Isn't power and strength the same thing?"Jim followed.
"No. Assume I am three times stronger than you." Jim snorted, and Spock ignored him. "In this case, I can easily overpower you in a test of strength and easily bring you harm as a result. Power is ─" Spock knocked Jim's feet completely out from under him so they were no longer touching the ground, then while he was hovering in the air before gravity took over, Spock used his right hand to push against Jim's chest to force him down to the ground. While Spock hadn't used much strength behind either move, the power behind it subdued him without causing him too much pain or injury.
"If I had used strength, you would have made contact with the ground with a significant amount of force and possibly cause injury."
Jim looked up at him from the ground, grinning like a maniac. Scrambling back to his feet he declared, "You're going to teach me that."
"I am not certain your physiology will allow you to fully grasp the concepts of V'asumi." Spock stated taking a step back to give Jim his personal space.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the human frowned.
"I will however attempt to teach you if you would like," Spock said, ignoring his question. "I will go through the first series of motions beginners must learn. It strengthens mental discipline. Please watch vigilantly."
Spock stepped farther out onto the beach, rooting his feet into the sand. His movements were very similar to Tai Chi. They were slow and exaggerated, but so much more graceful than any human could possibly move and so much more precise.
There were 15 different moves and positions Spock demonstrated, and truthfully, Jim lost focused on the moves themselves and focused more on how Spock's body moved, the contracting and relaxing of his muscles, the way his body loosened as he went through the fundementals, and the way he would part his lips to take a slow and steady breath between them.
Jim had become so lost in his observations that he had not noticed when Spock stopped.
"It is your turn Jim."
Spock's voice was lower, and it brought the human out of his thoughts. "Right," he said, hurrying to take the first stance.
Spock assessed him, telling him to bend his legs more or to straighten his back a smidge. When the swordsman attempted to shift into the next shift, Spock told him to go back and do it again. After the third failed attempt, Spock moved behind Jim, sculpting his body to his and molded him into the correct stance. "You must focus. Your movements are too sharp. They must be controlled and smooth." Spock's mouth was right next to Jim's ear, his breath caressing his cheek as he spoke.
He guided Jim's body to the next position, moving fluidly and as one together. Once Jim settled into the next position, Spock trailed his fingers along the back of Jim's. The human shuddered at the touch, and Spock's fingers traveled to his palm, brushing the sensitive skin. Both men shuddered this time. Jim meant to question all this. He tilted his head to ask, but the action, made their lips make contact, and any thoughts left him as he pressed them together.
The kiss started off completely innocent. Jim was not sure if Spock really wanted it or was just humoring him, so he kept it simple, giving him a chance to back out.
Spock surprisingly was the one to take it farther, pulling him closer and nipping Jim's bottom lip. Any reservations left quickly dissolved and Jim quickly opened his mouth to allow Spock access.
The Vulcan faltered a bit as if unsure what to do until Jim's tongue flicked at Spock's lips, and Spock returned the favor by catching the human's tongue in his mouth until he let it go and let his own tongue explore. The kiss was clumsy and messy, but still passionate as Spock grew bolder and allowed his hands to travel down Jim's back and arms, feeling every scar beneath his sensitive finger tips, memorizing every one the same way he planned to memorize Jim's mouth.
Jim was the first to pull away, panting and flushed. The awkward angle had made it a bit uncomfortable for him. He looked into Spock's eyes, pupils blown wide with lust for him. It was in this time, he realized how limiting the game was. He could not take in Spock's real scent or taste and touch him for real, only what the game was programmed to give him.
"So does this mean we're together?" he asked, dreading that Spock had done it in the heat of the moment.
"Affirmative. I will have no one else but you, Jim." Spock looked completely unashamed at his declaration while Jim was having trouble accepting such devotion, blushing furiously.
"A little early to be making declarations of love isn't it?"
"Tonight was a "date" was it not? Has it been any different from our normal activities?"
Didn't Jim have this exact thought earlier? No, it wasn't different if he took away the all too short make out session. God, had they been dating the past two month without him realizing it? If being in Spock's arms didn't feel so right, he might have been a bit more worried.
"I take it you haven't made out with your bitch of a fiancée for a while. You're a bit rusty."
"She is no longer my fiancée. We have officially ended the engagement earlier today. As for "making out", I have never engaged in the activity with her or any others."
It took Jim a while to process the information, and Spock watched him with interest. It appeared that as smart as Jim was, if something was outside what he considered normal, it took a while to assimilate. He was more curious than ever to see how the human's thought process worked and what Jim considered to be outside of normal. A lot of those anomalies seemed to coincide with him. "Wait, back up. You've never kissed before?"
"Affirmative. My culture does not take such activities lightly. It is done only in the privacy of one's home and with his or her spouse or intended."
"So, you're kind of being a rebel right now." Spock said nothing to deny or confirm, making Jim laugh. "So I'm your first?"
Spock nodded, blushing lightly. "Was it displeasing?"
"Nah, you're a natural if that was your first time. I look forward to see how good you'll be in the future," he smirked. "And I get to see every step of the way."
"Indeed," Spock agreed. He agreed with the idea full heartedly. Closing his eyes, he could see the bond, growing stronger from the mental contact, drinking in every mental touch and caress. The lack of physical forms was making the process much slower than it should be, but there was not much he could do.
Their minds being so close like this from their touch through the game, Spock could feel Jim's mind reach out to him as his reached out in return. There was no more constant pain, only the ache to hold his t'hy'la in his arms for real. Could they make this work? There was no guarantee that Jim would want this bond or accept him when he found out he was not human, or if Vulcan will even allow contact with the humans. There were many variables, many that would make the chances of this working slim, and his pon farr was supposed to be about five years away. If Vulcan did decide to associate with the new race, would everything be ready for them to meet?
"What's on your mind?" Jim asked, gently.
"I was wondering how successful we will be in this endeavor. There is much I need to inform you of Jim. One is the reason why we cannot meet in person at this time. I wish to tell you, but I cannot."
Jim considered what to do, and finally he sighed. "My name is James Tiberius Kirk. I am a cadet at Starfleet Academy set to graduate this year. I'm set for a promotion as soon as I finish."
Spock looked confused, loosening his grip around Jim's waist so Jim could turn to face him.
"If you can't tell me everything Spock, I get it. You've been as honest and open as you can be since we met. You even gave me your full name and a video of your real self," he smirked at that. "I think it's about time I returned the favor."
"Jim…"
"I trust you Spock. Yeah, you hurt me a while back, but I'm told that shit happens, and we got to get over it, and I have. Eventually, I got to give you a reason to trust me back."
Spock's eyes warmed at him. Leaning forward, he left a soft kiss on Jim's lips. "I already trust you t'hy'la."
The elf pulled away and released Jim, then got to work cleaning whatever Istaya had not eaten, which ended up being very little. Jim helped by dumping a bottle of cold water on Spock, making the Vulcan chase him down the beach before getting pinned down playfully and coercing another make out session. Eventually, they both had to part, Spock to attend a lunch with his father, and Jim had to make dinner.
Before they parted, Spock held out two fingers. Jim recognized the gesture and returned it with his own two fingers. A pleasant buzz ran between them. "Goodnight, Jim."
"Goodnight, Spock."
"So I take it, the hobgoblin returned your feelings," McCoy asked, drinking from his glass of whiskey.
Jim nodded, fixing his uniform to inspection quality. One of the admirals wished to see him. "Yeah, it was…nice."
Bones looked up at the word nice, about to go into a tirade of how it could only be nice when he saw Jim's serene expression at the memory. Ah, he meant it in a good way. "Finally being an adult huh."
"Can it Bones, we don't even know if it will go past whatever it is we got going right now," he pulled down the top of his uniform. It was always so stuffy and uncomfortable.
The elder man snorted into his glass. "I give it a few more months before someone pops the question."
Jim glared at the man through the mirror. "Not funny."
"What? Commitment issues?" he laughed.
"No, that's you. I just don't want to get my hopes up that's all." Jim fiddled with his collar one last time.
Bones sighed, setting his glass down. "I don't have the slightest clue why I always forget how much you like this guy."
"It's surreal to me too." Jim looked at himself in the mirror one last time before nodding. "Alright, I'm off. See you later."
"Hey Jim before you go," Jim stopped to look over at his best friend. His joking demeanor was gone and his face was a hundred percent serious. "Keep on your toes. I don't like that an admiral is asking you for a private meeting."
"Relax, Bones. I'm a captain now. It's probably sensitive material or something."
He did not look convinced neither did he press the issue.
Jim found himself sitting in Admiral Marcus' office. It was clean and devoid of clutter unlike Pike's office. The admiral was reading over a file on his desk when he had come in and seated himself.
"Welcome, Son. How are you enjoying your promotion?" Marcus finally looked up from whatever he was reading to greet him.
"Not much has changed yet, sir. Still preparing for my service aboard the Farragaut."
"That's good. Very good." Marcus stood up from his desk and turned his back to Jim to face the window. "I always liked you Kirk. You're young and ambitious, and smart to boot. It's one of the reasons we allowed you to join the candidate program. Pike was eager to get some new blood into the ranks who could set Starfleet on its course for the future. That and your father was a great soldier. Obviously he passed some of those traits down to you."
Jim tensed, not liking where the conversation was going.
"Unfortunately you are young. Being promoted to captain will have its challenges since you were the only candidate to not have been an officer previously before applying."
"Are you offering to be my mentor sir?" Kirk asked, eying the man as he walked around the room.
"Not at all, Son. You may be inexperienced, but I think it's a good thing. I nominated you for the position which Pike supported."
Jim still felt ill at ease. "Why did you nominate me?"
"For many reasons really. The first is that you have a lot of potential to do great things. As I said, you're smart, you can think outside the box. The second reason is that I saw the Nero event footage."
"You play ShiKahr? " Jim felt an increasing urge to squirm.
"No, my daughter does. She was part of the event, so I watched the feed to understand her interest in the game. I picked you out right away. You have the type of personality that stands out." He chuckled.
"You're a leader, Kirk. You pulled together your crew before it divided and tore itself apart, and lead them and several other groups into the charge, directing them while you fought on the front lines. It was quite impressive. You make a brilliant strategist."
"Thank you, sir."
"You made a name for yourself in ShiKahr as the savior of Sol, and you had only been playing for a few weeks. Charisma like yours can be used to move and encourage people."
"I see. If you don't mind, sir, may we get to the point," he said as politely as he could manage.
Marcus let out a hearty laugh. "That's why I like you. Straight to the point." He picked up the PADD he had been reading and gave it to Jim to look over. "I also picked you because you seemed to be close to the creator of the game." The PADD showed several pictures of him and Spock together on quests.
"What does that have to do with anything?" The feel of unease was almost consuming now.
"We have reasons to believe that the technology for the game and the creators of it are not human."
Jim laughed, waiting for the admiral to join him, but he did not. "You're kidding."
Marcus leaned over Jim's shoulder and changed the file to a different set of pictures and captions. Most of the pictures were of devices he did not recognize. "These devices were found cleaning out Amanda Grayson's apartment. Upon further investigation, it appears that most of the materials they were comprised of were not from Earth. Upon taking biological samples from her, on the surface she has mostly a human physiology, but the cells appears have to been exposed to chemicals, atmosphere, and bacteria not common on earth or even the moon or Mars colonies. Our scientists believe she was only present on Earth for the past two years. The same time as when she anonymously began introducing the Dreamer Technology.
"Upon further research into the background for the device, there was no record of its testing or place of manufacturer until it was approved that it was deemed safe. All test samples and data provided to receive approval was also forged." Marcus paused to allow Jim to swallow this as he read over the content himself.
"Finally, this was on her personal PADD. It was heavily encrypted, but Cadet Chekov just managed to access the information."
There were several video files and pictures. Jim selected the first video file and opened it.
A picture of Spock appeared on the screen with his traditional bowl cut hair and warm brown eyes. His appearance was slightly different than the video Jim had received. He had a slight green tone to his skin that was mostly unnoticeable; his eyebrows were upswept, and his ears were pointed. He looked exactly like he did in the game, even the way he looked into the screen with fondness.
"Tonk'peh, Ko-mekh. Du ek'manak lasha." The entire conversation was held in the foreign language. Spock was relaxed as he spoke to Amanda, and he looked healthy unlike in his message if not a bit sad.
There were a few video files of Sarek who also had the ears and eyebrows and with the same stern demeanor as when Jim met him, and one file of a group of older elf people around a large semicircular table addressing her.
The photos were of mostly of red landscapes and buildings similar to the Fire Plains and the city of ShiKahr. There was one photo of Amanda sitting on the steps of a large silver building, dressed in various browns including her head scarf, looking up and smiling at Spock, who wore an ugly, hand knitted, grey sweater, raising an eyebrow at her. The picture was taken afar and there were other creatures that looked just like Spock with pointed ears and eyebrows with stoic faces. All who seemed to steer clear of the two at the center, making it seem like a more private moment despite the public setting.
Slowly, it was all sinking in. Why Spock kept referring to him as human, and what he meant about his research…and why Spock said it would not be possible for them to meet. What was Spock researching exactly?
"I am curious as to why this alien chose to get close to you. Since Ms. Grayson was in Starfleet, we have reason to think he knew you were a candidate. Ms. Grayson definitely knew since she came to your defense at the hearing."
"Are you suggesting I'm in league with them?" Jim said, voice cold.
"Not at all. We know you had no idea from your personal messages." Jim had to bite his tongue before he said anything he regretted. "But they are interested in you. You can get closer to this alien and find out what they want."
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Jim's voice remained steady though he was panicking inside.
"I want you to lure him here alone so we may investigate this further." Marcus returned to his desk, folding his hands.
"Investigate what? All they've done is given us a really cool and popular game."
Marcus' gray eyes darkened, and his face aged into one of a veteran. "No, they're studying us. You know it too, and they are too chicken to come face us themselves. They know all about us, but we know nothing of them. Believe it or not, this is another kind of war. Whoever has the most information has the advantage and they are winning by light years. They're up to something, and I think it has something to do with that technology."
Jim looked down at the photo of Spock. Had any of it been real? Did Spock even actually like him?
"On top of that we learned that they might be telepathic."
Jim looked up at that. "What do you mean?"
"I got from a reliable source that they are telepathic. Think about it Kirk. That alien could have been rummaging around your head influencing your thoughts to do his bidding. Or others for that fact. That seemingly harmless little device everyone is so crazy about stimulates and uses parts of the brain. It wouldn't be too farfetched for it to implant suggestions or steal thoughts or memories."
No it wasn't farfetched. Did he even really love Spock? "Is that why you nominated me? Because I was close to Spock and could be used to lure him here?"
Marcus laughed, leaning back in his chair. "A major reason, but I meant what I said. You're brilliant, and we need some young blood. You're promising."
"And who is this reliable source, if I may ask sir?"
Marcus looked amused. "I thought you would have figured it by now, Son."
Jim was not in the mood for games. Not when his first assignment as captain was to lure his new boyfriend into a trap.
Sensing that Kirk was not up for guessing, he smirked and answered his question. "It's Ms. Grayson herself."
Bet that threw some of you. So, I'll edit later. It's 12:30 and I got work at 6. . . . yeah. Jurassic World was good. Do recommend.
You know the drill comment and review!
BTW! The Vulcan translates into: Hello Mother. You have arrived safely.
