Chapter 2

A/N: This is kind of a mash-up of TOS and 2009. I happen to like Vulcan, but Spyota is cool too.

Four days later and the Enterprise was at Starbase 12. No one had mentioned the mission and the Padd was locked. That morning, she got up early, dressed in a very snug uniform and went to the mess hall to load up on food. Her days were long and she rarely had time for lunch. She also did not have time for a social life. The console was far more complicated than she realized and it was taking her a bit longer to master it.

Nyota was not looking for a career-building assignment. However, bridge officers received more compensation and the Alpha crew made the most. They took most of the risks and made most of the decisions. Nyota's language skills had enabled her to become a bridge officer, but her technical skills were going to keep her in the role. What good was a multi-lingual specialist if she could not operate the controls?

When her shift ended, Nyota went down to the Starbase. She walked by the bar. It was a hotspot that was full of junior officers from various starships. Nyota had no interest in joining them, but Janice was right in the middle of it all with the new nurse Christine Chapel. She was a bigger gossip than Janice. Nyota kept walking to the commissary to pick up her uniform requisition and a few sundry items. Pike usually provided meal service at lunch in the ready room briefings which helped her save a few credits. Nyota returned to the ship and she was called back to the bridge.

"Sorry, Lt. Uhura. I know your shift is over, but we are near our first stop and I need your feedback on the briefing materials." Pike said.

Nyota looked at Kirk first. She was given the padd, but she wasn't given access to the full briefing. Much of it was redacted. One area was marked classified.

"From what I could discern from the unclassified section of the briefing…" she began.

"Say that again," Pike looked at Kirk, who had a smirk on his face.

"Much of the briefing materials were redacted." She said.

"Did you inform Lt. Kirk?" Pike asked.

"I did not. Part of the briefing was marked classified. I was a Beta shift officer and I did not have Level One security status." She replied.

Pike folded his hands. They could not get to P'Jem fast enough. Then there was the diplomatic issue of retrieving his desired first officer. It seemed that Kirk thought he could sabotage the negotiations and retain his role as XO. However, Pike was planning to have the best officers on this mission. Kirk did not have the technical skills and Alden did not have the language skills.

Pike held out his hand. Nyota handed him the Padd. He keyed in his security code and the screen flashed green. You are good to go Lt. Uhura. Next time you are having issues with security issues, contact me directly. Pike stared a Kirk as he said it. Sulu looked at Nyota and nodded.

"Well, it seems we are going to be here while Lt. Uhura reads the briefing." Sulu rolled his eyes and scowled at Kirk. He had a date that evening.

Nyota felt very guilty, but she said nothing. She didn't even eat. She just read as fast as she could. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the location of their first stop. It was P'Jem, the Vulcan monastery. There was only one reason they would stop there. Spock had left Starfleet six years earlier to pursue the Kolinahr because his mate chose another seven years earlier. It was the second time Spock was left unable to mate. Nyota caught Sulu's eyes. Only he knew about her former issues with Spock. He had chosen Kolinahr over mating with a human. They had helped him recover from the fever through meditation, but he had to sacrifice his career with Starfleet in order to enlist their aid.

Nyota quickly scanned the briefing and was able to provide feedback, but she would have to review it again before they met the Vulcan officials. Spock had participated in the Fullara Ceremony to purge his emotions and memories. It was the only way he could overcome the blood fever. If he returned to Starfleet, he would have to have his memory engrams restored and that would be a risk to his psychological well-being. Spock would also become susceptible to Pon Farr again. This was especially troubling because it had been six years since his last Pon Farr and their mission would last one year.

The only individuals who could authorize Spock's reinstatement were Lady Amanda, Sarek's wife. Amanda's husband, Sarek was on the missing ship they were seeking. However, Amanda was not Vulcan and T'Pau would not address the matter because it was a conflict of interest. It was a tricky situation. Pike was hoping that Nyota would be able to negotiate on Amanda's behalf. He also held an inkling of hope that Spock might remember Sulu or Nyota. They had always been close in their younger days on the Enterprise.

The briefing meeting ended. Nyota grabbed a tray and returned to her quarters. She fell asleep reviewing the briefing for a second time. She woke up to her alarm. She took special care to get dressed. It was her first dress uniform and it was a little snug, despite the fact that she had lost a pound during the first week of the tour. It would take at least twenty-nine more pounds for Uhura to get back to the figure she had in her youth.

Nyota's hand trembled as she pressed the turbo-lift button. She hadn't seen Spock in six years and although he rejected the idea of bonding with a human, she still loved him. It wasn't that she wasn't enough. Spock was never enough for his father. Sarek wanted Spock's offspring to be Vulcan. When that did not pan out, and Spock could not find another Vulcan mate. He chose not to mate at all. This would mean the end of the line of the S'chn T'gai Clan, which was why Sarek went in search of his son Sybok, a V'tosh ka'tur.

Nyota entered the transporter room. Pike, Kirk, McCoy and Sulu were waiting for her. She exhaled and cast a knowing look at Sulu. Spock entered the P'Jem Monastery to forget her. Using Nyota to recall Spock to Starfleet might prove to be a fatal mistake.