"Long range sensors detect a wessel approaching colony space at varp six, Keptin," Chekov called out from his station.

Kirk stiffened in the command chair. No supply ships were due to enter the colony space for the next several days. He hadn't received word of any authorized visitors scheduled to arrive.

"Ship's identity, Ensign?"

"Unknown, sir. Wessel will enter scanning range vithin ten minutes," the Russian responded. His attempts at maintaining a serious expression didn't hide the hint of anticipation lighting his features. It seemed even he had been getting bored with the status quo.

The captain turned to his science officer's temporary replacement. She, at least, was both nice to look at and had come with a personality already installed. "Ensign Datcher?"

"Confirmed, Captain," she told him.

The past five days on the Enterprise had been even quieter than he had come to expect their entire five-year mission might turn out to be. Even Sulu's enthusiastic accounts of having piloted the Uhz-Palikaya had waned as tedium set in again. Not much went on in the space around the colony planet. He suspected Ambassador Spock had chosen it as much for the inactivity as he had for its similarities to his destroyed homeworld and the moon which that world had lacked.

In less than ten minutes, they all might be on the receiving end of enough excitement to make up for the past two years. Kirk hoped it wouldn't be more than they were hoping for.


Since there was no one in the room to see him, Tabansi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. For all of his claims that his Second Star's family was his family, he was not sure he would truly welcome at this meeting. Yes, what needed to be said would probably impact Nyota's life more directly than it would the Vulcan people, but some things were only discussed within the confines of the family circle. That went trebly for Vulcans. And Tabansi was a Wakufunzi, not a S'chn T'gai.

Voices sounded from outside the room and Tabansi quickly composed himself. Perhaps his discomfort came more from having been the first to arrive, rather than any sense of not belonging, he decided. He rose to his feet as the door swung open to admit Ambassadors Sarek and Spock.

"Minister Wakufunzi," Sarek said by way of greeting. "I apologize for my delayed return. There were some matters that needed my attention before Spock and Nyota's arrival."

Tabansi nodded his acceptance that circumstances sometimes got in the way of intentions.

Spock was more forthcoming. "My father wished to be prepared should they decide to go forward with the bonding," he explained.

The Communications Minister looked sharply at Sarek. "Surely it would be presumptuous to expect them to decide so soon?"

"It would be," Sarek conceded. "Nevertheless, they have waited more than long enough for this. We do not know how long we will have my son with us. I merely wish to give them the opportunity if they request it."

Privately, Tabansi questioned the wisdom of this. Spock had already showed signs of feeling manipulated by nearly everyone around him. He was not sure having an elder on hand to perform the bonding ceremony just a day after the couple had met with the entity — another being that seemingly was encouraging the two to bond — was the best course to take. He said none of this, however.

The half-Vulcan sent him a knowing look. He, Tabansi realized, was probably thinking along the same lines.

The door opened again to reveal Nyota and Spock. Three pairs of eyes followed his hand as he placed it on her waist, urging her to precede him.

Then Sarek met the gaze of first the elder Spock and then Tabansi. The human would not have sworn to it, but he thought he saw satisfaction on the Vulcan face.

.

.

Spock knew they all had watched with interest as he had guided Nyota into his father's study. He suspected they had seen more in the simple gesture than he had intended to convey. He hoped they would not be too disappointed when they realized the truth.

Sarek began speaking as soon as they were all seated.

"T'Pau will arrive in thirty minutes," he told the group. "I have told her that we wish to discuss Spock and Nyota's meeting with the being before presenting our final reports to the full Council. I did not tell her everything it said."

Eyebrows raised around the room as everyone waited for him to continue.

"I believe she will be more amenable to offering us her support once she is aware of the entirety of your meeting," Sarek explained.

Nyota was the first to break the confused silence that followed.

"Support us in what, exactly?" she asked, caution shading her voice.

Sarek's placid expression did not alter, but Spock thought his father expected them all to know what he was referring to.

"Some members of the Council are not convinced that our current efforts towards building the communications grid will achieve any favorable result. All here have agreed with the conclusion that the entity was deliberating interfering with our equipment in order to draw Nyota here so that it could make contact with her," he said. "It wanted her here, among Vulcans on our colony because it does not consider her to be a complete being in the absence of Spock. As it was able to convey its wishes to both of them, if our theory is correct, there it no longer has reason to disrupt the network.

"Once T'Pau understands this, she will vote that we move forward with the building. Since the entity's inactivity is contingent on Nyota and Spock acting as one, she will be forced to rescind her objection to their bonding."

"Bonding?" Nyota choked out at the same moment Spock said, "I was under the impression that T'Pau wanted Nyota as my mate."

Sarek looked first at Nyota. "Yes, ko-fu," he told her. "I have secured the services of an elder if you and my son wish to proceed in that manner." He turned to Spock. "While it once was true that she was willing so see you joined to Nyota, her position on the matter changed after the destruction of our planet."

Spock nodded once. His father's words and actions were reasonable.

"We don't need the elder." Nyota's soft words were like a shout in the quiet study and like a punch in Spock's stomach.

He glanced around to see sympathetic looks on Tabansi's and his t'dahsu's faces. His father remained expressionless.

"The entity expects me to stay with Spock, and I will," she continued. "I'll resign my commission in three years when he leaves Starfleet and I'll petition for permission to live here on the colony. But he and I haven't discussed bonding."

The room was silent again after she finished speaking. None of the men knew what to say, it seemed.


"Captain, the unidentified ship is hailing us." Lieutenant, junior grade, Saunders broke the tense silence of the bridge. Jim was too grateful for the chance to do something to wince at the excruciatingly painful monotone.

"Open a channel, Mr. Saunders," he ordered. A moment later the strange ship hanging in the starry expanse on the forward viewscreen was replaced with the sight of an alien bridge and an unfamiliar face with slanted eyebrows and pointed ears. For the nine hundred eighty-seven thousandth time that week, Kirk found himself he had his first officer and his chief communications officer back on the ship. Surely both of them could tell a Vulcan from a Romulan.


The meeting with T'Pau was shorter than Uhura had been expecting. She hadn't responded to allusions of the ominous results of her future actions, but no one, Uhura suspected, believed that she was completely surprised to hear they knew she had plans of some sort. It was fascinating to see how quickly the old woman capitulated without seeming to give up any ground.

"I will support you in this," she told the gathering. "Minister Wakufunzi has brought with him sufficient supplies to break ground on a preliminary grid, and many of Savensu Uhura's students have progressed to point to offer adequate assistance for such a project. Rebuilding the communications network can begin as soon as the full Council vote is in."

Spock sat stiffly in his chair throughout the meeting, not speaking once, even though the story was half his to tell.

When T'Pau stood to take her leave, she stopped in front of the young half-Vulcan.

"Walk with me, Spock," she ordered and he compiled with no apparent hesitation.

.

.

He did not know what she wanted, and was not sure he wanted to find out. He was still reeling from Nyota's rejection of the elder who was prepared to perform the bonding ceremony whenever they were ready for it. Even in his darkest, coldest moments over the past several months, Spock had held on to the idea that his beloved wanted him, wanted to be with him, no matter what.

As long as she could have his full commitment, he had believed, she would give herself to him. Learning that this might not be the case hurt more than he was prepared to deal with. It was no use reminding himself that she had not rejected the idea outright — she had only said that it was not something that they had discussed — the fact that she had not leapt at the chance to become his adun'a was, under the circumstances, illogically painful.

"You have probably learned more about your life and the people who have tried to shape it than anyone should ever know," T'Pau was saying to him. Spock snapped out of his reflections to attend to her words. "If it were up to me, you would never have been allowed to become aware of these things. However, that decision was taken out of my hands.

"Now that you know, child, I hope you will use the knowledge wisely. The human in you wishes to rebel, to reject all that we have planned, even if it is not what your human heart desires.

"I believe they have an expression for such a thing — Do not cut off your nose to spite your face, Spock. There is no challenge for me in winning simply because you allow your anger to make you fail."

She swept away, leaving Spock alone with additional thoughts to weigh on his mind.


Captain's log, supplemental:

We were hailed by an unknown starship crewed entirely by a group from a colony previously unknown to the Vulcan High Council. Their captain has asked me to intercede on their behalf in their request to join in the rebuilding efforts. Captain Kuron claims that while his people are followers of Surak, their interpretations of his teachings varied enough from that of the majority that their ancestors left Vulcan more than eight hundred years ago in order to live their lives as they believed the ancient philosopher had directed them to do.

They chose to approach the Enterprise rather than contact the new colony directly because, as Kuron told me, "You are known to one among us, and she has assured us that you will prove a valuable ally."

Rather than ask how anyone from a colony that's been out of contact with the Federation for more than eight hundred years could possibly know me, I asked to meet this mystery woman.

At first, she was just another Vulcan face — and I've seen a lot of Vulcan faces lately — but after a moment or two of staring at this woman they call Ambassador T'Khio'ri began to look somewhat familiar.

I realized I had been excused for the totally involuntary "Oh shit!" when the ambassador responded with, "Oh, Jim, you haven't even had time to grow up yet!"

While we wait for instructions from the colony, I have invited the ambassador and some of the senior crew of her ship to the Enterprise. Her story should be an interesting one. She has only been with the colonists for twenty-four years, but tells me there are others who need to know her history before she can share it with me. I'm pretty sure I know who at least one of those "others" might be.

The High Council is in some kind of meeting and will probably take some time before they are able to advise us on how to proceed. If I can't get T'Khio'ri's story in that time, perhaps I will at least get to learn more about the colony she represents.

It will also be interesting to observe what they think of the Enterprise crew, as we're mostly Terrans, here. Most of what they know of humans has come from her.


T'Dun was already waiting in the antechamber to the Tvi-shal t'Honaya when Uhura, Tabansi and the S'chn T'gais arrived.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Uhura told the Vulcan woman.

T'Dun tipped her head to the side. "At times, humans attempt to use humor to diffuse uncomfortable situations," she observed. "Are you feeling ill at ease, Savensu? Are you concerned about the outcome of our audience with the Council?"

Uhura smiled at her student and friend. She hadn't been lying when she'd told the older Spock that T'Dun didn't find human behavior off-putting; indeed the young Vulcan seemed intrigued by it and determined to gain at least a basic understanding of what made Terrans tick. She didn't shy away from asking her teacher about what she was feeling.

"Yes and no," she replied, "I am ill at ease, but it has nothing to do with the Council. I am certain our reports, combined with our testimony, will convince them to allow us to move forward." She glanced back to where the men had assembled across the small room. "I am… somewhat discomfited by the way in which the men of my family have chosen to try to direct the course of my life."

T'Dun followed her gaze and then nodded in understanding.

"It is only logical for members of one's family to wish to assure one's well-being," she said. "Even among Vulcans, however, men do not always understand the wishes of women."

.

.

After both T'Dun and Sarek — as a reporting party, he had recused himself from the vote — had given their testimony before the Council, Nyota was called. Spock was pleased to the last one to speak before Minister Wakufunzi would present his feasibility report. His head was still full of both his beloved's and T'Pau's words. There had been no time for him to meditate on how he felt about either.

Before Nyota began speaking, Spock noticed the attendant who had led them in the Tvi-shal t'Honaya enter through a door behind the dais. She spoke quietly into Verdak's ear before exiting again.

Councilor Verdak turned to his fellow members, and, after a quick conference, addressed the testifiers and Ambassador Spock.

"This audience must be adjourned until a time to be determined at a later date," he announced. "The Enterprise has intercepted a ship claiming to have traveled from a colony established by people who left the homeworld eight hundred twenty-three years ago. They have requested that Ambassador Spock, Commander Spock and Lt. Uhura be present when their representatives meet with the High Council."

No one said anything, but the six people not sitting on the dais exchanged glances.

"Minister Wakufunzi, T'Dun," T'Pau addressed them, "you are excused. Savensu Uhura, Spock, Sarek and Ambassador Spock, you may remain here while we arrange transportation with Captain Kirk.


As soon as familiar tingling of the transporter faded, Kirk searched for Ambassador Spock. Just as he had expected the old man's eyes were riveted on Ambassador T'Khio'ri. Jim smiled to himself. This was going to be interesting. Sometimes, even babysitting visiting dignitaries had its merits.

.

.

Spock could not hold back a gasp when the visitors finished materializing just outside the Council Hall. Before he knew what his body intended, he was moving forward to the small woman who stood serenely at the head of the small party.

He stopped, three feet away from her and raked his eyes over her face. When her eyes, dark and warm beneath her slanting eyebrows met his, he gasped again.

"Spock," she said and stepped forward.

"T'Khio'ri," he murmured and held up his middle and index fingers for her to touch.


The moon was out again before they were able to leave Council Hall.

Almost everyone was satisfied with the work of the day. As T'Pau had predicted, Tabansi and Uhura had been granted permission to begin building the network. Their students still had much to learn — some would need extensive training — but enough of them had engineering backgrounds to facilitate a successful ground-breaking.

Kuron and T'Khio'ri would continue to negotiate terms with the Council over the next several days, but had received preliminary approval to bring their people to the colony planet. Their ways were somewhat different from the practices of the Vulcans who had not broken from the home planet, but as Sarek continued to say, change would be needed to ensure the survival of their people.

Uhura stared at the luminous orb from the single window in her quarters.

"What do you want?" she asked, although part of her was afraid to hear his answer.

"I want all of you, Nyota," he told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked, not ready to trust that he wouldn't change his mind, that he wouldn't come to regret his decision some time in the future.

"I am certain, beloved," he said, closing the gap between them. "I have known what I wanted for a long time. You are asking, perhaps, if I am certain that this is what I should do. It is."

"But what about 'rebuilding your race'?" she demanded, resisting twinned urges to back away and to wrap herself in the heat of his body. "What about my other… commitments? That won't change, Spock. What about T'Pau and your mother and everything everyone else did?"

"Ambassadors Spock and T'Khio'ri will provide children that carry any genes that I could have provided. My contribution is unnecessary," he said, his voice quiet and steady. "When I chose a life in Starfleet, I knew that there would be times when my life might be endangered. I understood, as fell in love with you, that you might face similar risks, and I accepted that. Being bint Wakufunzi means that you are better equipped to manage during difficult situations. I take comfort in that.

"You told me once, that it does not matter how we came to be, as the love we have for one another is real. Your assessment of the situation was correct, ashal-veh. Only my human propensity towards stubbornness prevented me from conceding the point." His lips twitched up at the tiny dig at humanity and she had to suppress a smile of her own.

"You also told me that I was seeking the approval of a people who had not accepted me as I was," he went on. "It was difficult for me to recognize the truth in this as such an illogical pursuit goes against the teachings by which I endeavored to live my life. However, I understand now that you were correct in this, as well."

Uhura bit her lip, still uncertain. She didn't point out that genetic diversity would be increased if every Vulcan had more than a single mate. These were things he already knew.

"You don't know that they'll bond now she's found him again," she said, not ready to bring up her true fears. "She might already have an adun back on her colony."

"She does not," he protested. "There is no one for T'Khio'ri but Spock. They will bond and they will have children because she has waited most of her life for him. It would be illogical for either of them to choose any other path."

The word "illogical" struck a nerve and suddenly she was brave enough for full honesty.

"Just because Spock is her 'happily ever after' doesn't mean that you're mine. How am I to know you'll still feel this way three years, ten years or fifty years from now?" she asked. "You hurt me, Spock! When you told me you were eventually going to walk away as if loving me didn't matter. As if my love didn't matter. For two years you let believe we were forever, and then you snatched it away! And then you had the nerve to get mad at me because I didn't tell you everything about me right away!"

"One hundred years from now, I will know that my place was and is with you, Nyota," he said gravely. "I regret hurting you, but I cannot undo what occurred in the past. I can only hope to do better in our future."

"Why should I believe you won't regret choosing me?" she demanded again, unsatisfied with his assurances. "What makes you so sure you're not going to wake up one day and realize that you were just going along with what everyone else wanted you to do, and that you don't want this after all? Am I supposed to just live my life waiting for that day?"

He smiled at her. It was the rare, open — full — smile that she suspected he had shared with few others. It was beautiful.

"You will have to trust me, beloved," he told her. "And you must have faith in my love for you."

She didn't resist when his arms came around her and held her against his heated body.

"I was once advised to do what felt right, Nyota," he murmured, his chin resting on the top of her head. "This feels right. You in my arms feels right. You feel right."

Her hands met at his back as she returned the embrace. He felt right.

"We'll see, okay?" she breathed into the fabric of his shirt. "We'll see."


A/N: Ambassador T'Khio'ri's story will be addressed in the coming sequel. One more chapter to go.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Star Trek. That honor belongs to Paramount.