In the days before, T'Pol spent a majority — but not the entirety — of each day revising the history of Alpha quadrant as Spock had been taught. She carefully laid before him the underpinnings of the inexorable rush of time and events to the crises Spock found himself enmeshed in — crises his choice to heal the Vulcan rift accelerated towards cataclysmic endings for those who mattered to him.
As he had for uncounted days, Spock rose before her to gather fruits and plants from the garden for the daily meals. Despite her own culinary skills, T'Pol enjoyed his initiatives in her kitchen. Her first husband enjoyed preparing simple dishes from his mother's southern recipes; her second had real talent as did the entire clan. Carts, kiosks, food trucks and hole-in-the-wall eateries had been their first forays in extra-continental business and remained a substantial portion of the global holdings that made the clan formidable.
T'Pol's home had been cleverly built. The planet was tidally locked — one side always facing the unrelenting sun; it would have baked if not for the engineering underlining its comfort. Solar-powered motors controlled carefully placed mirrors and shades, allowing the house and garden to experience the transition of day to night to day again without being parched of frozen.
Today they took their meal on the patio. Spock noisily dragged seating and two small trays before her desired rising time; she decided today's meal of crepes, omelettes and gespar made the noise a minor inconvenience.
"Your grandmother often said 'as it was in the beginning'. T'Pau's excelled at quips she never explained. What we discuss today, she knew and taught your father. She also created a secrecy around it that Sarek struggles with to this day."
Spock readjusted in his chair. Dawn relinquished its role to early morning accompanied by the low whine of servos repositioning energy and optical panels to simulate axial planetary rotation.
"T'Pau traced the introduction of psionic capabilities in humanoids to Talosians. Use of nuclear technologies distributed radioactivity across their planet. As you might expect, infertility increased and reproductive productivity plummeted. The Talosians chose two paths: one scientist group moved into the caves to seek answers; another assembled their first non-nuclear starship to find compatible mates within Alpha quadrant."
The lunch hour arrived with no questions nor information passing between them. He rose to enter the house and returned with two heaping plates of fresh greens adorned with two neat squares of peanut butter-oatmeal sweets. When plates were emptied, cleaned and stored, he sat down with a question:
"Were psionics known among the targeted planets?"
"No. Writings on Betazed indicated the Talosians were uncertain of the ship's range, so they plotted an exponential flight route to the closest viable locations: from Talos to Betazed — "
He interrupted — "They skipped Setlik?"
"The planet was dead and uninhabited," T'Pol informed.
"That would complicate mating for population increase."
"And waste precious fuel. Their route took them to Betazed — where they left extensive records, Rigel II, Vulcan, Draken and —."
"Did it work?" he interrupted.
"Partially; Surak carried Talosian DNA. The last documented mates hailed from Remus — Romii, as it was known then. No evidence of Talosians on Romulus exists beyond disaffected Vulcans who made their way there. Romulan evolution lacks significant psionic DNA; but Remus' does. Remans exhibit significant psionic evolution even under occupation by Romulans."
"You deduce Remans reported Grayson's sibling announcement to the T'al Sh'iar."
"I have confirmed such."
Spock gathered himself to process raw truth: sometime barely preceding the schism, desperate Talosians tried to mate their way away from extinction. They failed (retreating to their caves and minds) but left behind wild psionic DNA. T'Pol's history lesson explained Betazed and Remus but not Earth; Talosians never seeded Nyota Uhura's home world.