When You Wish Upon A Star
Chapter Twenty one
The Grand Tour
When Spock and Nyota entered Amanda's office. She rose and went to take Nyota's hands.
"So glad to see you my dear. I insisted that Spock abduct you. He can now give you the grand tour of this place. When you two come back 'the end day meal' will be ready."
Amanda shooed them off and returned to her desk. Even without an eidetic memory it was always difficult for her to erase any mental picture of Spock and Nyota together. Sighing she said aloud, "Later, may it be so."
Spock and Nyota stood in the hallway outside of Amanda's office and he led her to what could be best described as a impressive Vulcan museum. Displayed were works of art, carvings, crafts, a hologram displaying different sites from Vulcan. A display of weapons were displayed on the wall with dates of their use. A booth with audio booth that allowed a person to be seated and listen to Vulcan's history. Another area was set off for an individual to listen to a selection of Vulcan music. Spock seated Nyota and placed a listening devise at her ear. Although the listening device was set for most humanoids hearing and could be adjusted, Spock was able to hear the selections and appreciated Nyota smile, her head bobs as her foot topped. Once the music stopped she looked up at him and he waited for her comment.
"That was beautiful. I did not recognize any of those compositions."
"That is because they were all modern original compositions," was his explanation.
It was not modesty that kept him from revealing that he was the composer. It was the fact that any emotional response from her at that point would have certainly unnerved him.
With his hand at the small of her bank he guided her to the library. On one of the office doors that dotted the perimeter of this spacious area was a plaque that displayed the name Ne'lan (Cadet) Nyota Uhura. He opened the door and inside found a fairly large office with a desk, office chair, com unit, stasis unit, and a couch. Nyota's eyes were wide, and her hand went to her throat,
"This is mine?"
Spock deadpanned, "Unless the sign indicates that the wooden door is your personal property, I would assume your question should be a statement."
Spinning around with arms outstretched she smiled and said, "My first office."
Spock explained that all messages to Vulcan go through a special security detail and she would be provided with a coded identification card with an embedded chip that would allow her to enter the Embassy and use the office equipment here. The library was also at her disposal, the bound books and electronic copies which numbered in the hundreds of thousands had selections from every member of the Federation.
Nyota seated herself at her desk and looked up at Spock and said,
"Thank you."
Spock responded, "I believe all this is the work of my mother."
Shaking her head and spreading her hands in a wide sweep, Nyota said, "Not for all this, but for being my friend and…." She stopped speaking in mid-sentence.
Spock felt himself grow warm and cleared his throat and said, "Shall we proceed with the tour."
She nodded. The tour included a view of the kitchen, the garden, the Embassy pool. Which by the way was never used by anyone in the staff. They had determined that its use was totally illogical. After one was cleansed further use of water on the body, which would make it necessary to again cleansed the body made no sense at all. As Spock and Nyota exited the pool facilities they stood before an elevator and she questioned,
"There are other floor in this building?"
"Yes, the below floors are used for storage and the upper floors are sleeping quarters. To the right are the quest rooms, the middle area is used by the staff and at the left are my family personal rooms, which because of security measures are usually not viewed by outsiders. Would you like to see the guest rooms?"
Ushering her into the lift which was voice activated he said "Guest quarters" and when the door opened there was a long hallway with ten doors on either side. Spock opened the first door and a luxurious room was displayed.
He explained, "Many of these rooms are used by members of the Federation when they visit Terran and we have furnished them to make them comfortable during their stay here on Terra. These are far more secure than a hotel."
With that comment a creative idea was born. He would make sure that one of these rooms would be furnished and decorated to make Nyota 'feel at home' if ever she were to spend the night under this roof.
Going completely against what was normal he asked, "Would you like to see the family quarters?"
"If it is permissible, I don't want to make trouble."
"This is my home Nyota. You are my guest, I have that liberty.
They returned to the main floor and walked to the end of a hall, opening a large door a private elevator was revealed. Spock keyed in his private code and then used a key to open the door. They entered the elevator and swiftly made it to the next floor. When the door opened, a beautifully furnished, grand setting room was before them. Spock then pointed to the left and stated, "Those are my rooms."
Then to the right, "Those rooms are my parents."
He then felt the nudge of his mother's consciousness-"End day meal awaits you two."
Spock turned to Nyota and said, "My mother advises the meal is ready."
"Oh! How do you know?"
With a nod Spock used his index finger and pointed to his temple, "Private com line."
`0`0`0`0`0`0`0`
When they returned to the main floor Amanda greeted them and put her arms through Nyota's bent elbow,
"The cooks have went out of their way to provide an exceptional meal. Patting the younger woman hand she said,
"We will try not to scandalized ourselves by speaking during the meal. We must be as silent as a tomb."
She then put her her extremely serious face and lead her guest into the Embassy dining room.
One thing was definitely correct. The meal was outstanding. It was sort a fusion menu, vegetarian fare from several ethnic groups. She even discovered they had cooked plantain, one of her favorite dishes from her home.
Once the dishes were cleared away they left the dining room and Amanda escorted them to the private elevator and they entered the private family apartment. As they entered that secluded area Amanda exhaled and said,
"Now we can 'let our hair down.'
Spock tilted his head to the right to process that statement and Nyota laughed softly and said,
"You might have noticed the lip pursing activity that I frequently had to adapt every time I was tempted to say something. Amanda this must have taken some time to get use to."
"You are right my dear, but in the privacy of our home or apartments this is not practiced. As my husband would say on any number of occasion,
'Human chatter during meals likely leads to the very human problem of indigestion. A thing unheard of among Vulcans'".
"Please take a seat, my dear. Spock, what has happened to your manners?"
Amanda knew her son had been skirting on the perimeters of logic for this entire visit. She saw confusion in his eyes every time she had entrenched Nyota even more into this side of his existence. See knew he questioned why? She was indeed up to something and contrary to her original warnings, by her actions she was showing a not so subtle approval of Nyota.
Amanda sat next to Nyota on one of the couches and said,
Would you like something to drink, juice, water, coffee, tea?
Their guest requested tea and Spock arose, and excused himself. Within a short period of time he returned with a tray, teapot, and cups.
Observing him as he walked toward them Amanda said,
"I have trained him very well, he rarely spills a drop."
Once the tray was settled on one of the low tables, Amanda addressed her guest,
"This is a Kenyan blend of tea my son has lately become quite fond of. Please add whatever your taste craves-cream, milk, raw sugar, honey…Amanda poured.
As soon as Amanda had finished her cup she went to her quarters and returned with a red attaché, opened it and pulled out several folders.
"At times I like to print out hard copies of certain research information."
Waving said papers in the air, she said,
"Nyota, These are examples of early English, Ancient Vulcan text, and Romulan poems. What I found so interesting is the common themes that are evident in all three. You will be surprise when you read them."
Spock, who had already read these research papers felt himself flush. These were all poems with the central theme of love, fulfilled and also unrequited. There his mother goes again. It was almost like she was testing the tensile strength of any resolve the two of them had. It was at that point it dawned on him. This was how his mother tested their resolve, their promise to wait. All of this was orchestrated with that in mind. If they could survive her maneuverings they could easily survive Star Fleet's scrutiny. Nodding his head with the realization of that fact he saw his mother mirror his action as she smiled at him. No, she was not his enemy, but his greatest support. Tapping Nyota's hand she said,
"Let's go put these on your desk."
Turning to her son she said, "We will meet you in the lobby."
As the two women left his presence, Spock did the equivalent of a human sigh. He thought to himself how fortunate he was. He could never imagine a disagreement between Nyota and his mother. The mutual respect was too deep. His mother would be an excellent mother-in-law to his Nyota.
Once they entered Nyota's office Amanda closed the door and said,
"I specifically picked this office because of its lack of security devices. The reason for that choice is that the staff can be notorious gossips. Enough said, Nyota the mutual devotion you and my son share must not leak out. Words might be exchanged in this room but that is all. Three and one half years will not seem long if you two are committed to one another. Although Spock father and I had to undergo a similar test, though not as long remember if it appears long, like an infant, small tokens can keep it alive. I approve of a twenty three year old male and a twenty one year old female forming an attachment. Until that time work hard to achieve the academic goals that were in place prior to this commitment. And yes dear Nyota, I will love being your mother-in-law.
Nyota turned and said, "We will not betray your trust dear Amanda."
`0`0`0`0`0`0`0`
Spock paced the floor as he awaited his mother and Nyota's return. When they made their appearance they were laughing and talking. Again, that uncharacteristic sigh was observed.
"My dear, you are spending the night here, or did I forget to tell or ask you? The Embassy car will carry Nyota safely back to the Academy."
Just as she said that the car pulled up to the front door. She had orchestrated this also. Spock knew he was in for a long conversation and perhaps he welcomed it. That was what he had wanted when he embarked on this trip to see his mother.
Nyota's voice brought him back to reality,
"Amanda, Thank you so much for everything. I look forward to our collaboration. How long will you be here on Terra?"
"Sarek informed me today, that my absence has become very uncomfortable for him. I think he can last at tops, two more days. Then I will make my swift exit."
The two women embraced and Spock stood with his hands behind his back as Nyota said, "Spock I will see you in class tomorrow. Thank you for bringing me here. The 'grand tour' was wonderful.
He saw the flash of color from her garment as she exited and the driver assisted her into the car. He waited at the door until the headlights became obscured by the vehicles turn into traffic and his mother took his arm and they returned to their suite.