2258
Sitting in his quarters at Starfleet Academy, Spock patiently listened to the report that was being given via his communications terminal. This report had nothing to do with his ethics or linguistics courses; it was a homework assignment that was due the following day at a school back on Vulcan. As a final assignment for her classical science course, Saavik had done an impressive comparison of factors that led to the formation and current state of planets in multiple solar systems across the quadrant.
"Was it satisfactory?" she asked as she finished.
"You will undoubtedly earn excellent marks," Spock replied. Saavik had realized the potential that he had seen in her ten years earlier – and then some. Not only had she caught up to her peers in school, but she surpassed them in nearly every subject. She had even found some measure of acceptance among them. "Is this the last assignment that you must complete before graduation?" he asked.
"Almost. I have one more set of problems for Biochemistry. But I will finish that later. When are you coming back home?" she changed topics.
"The semester here at the Academy ends in four weeks and then I must have my grade reports finished before taking leave."
Saavik smiled slightly. "It will be enjoyable to see you again. Osu Sarek and Lady Amanda are excited, too." The couple had become her legal guardians soon after meeting her.
"My father does not become excited," Spock pointed out.
"No, but your mother does." He definitely couldn't argue with that. "Will you bring Nyota with you like you did on your last semester break?"
"I am uncertain."
"You should invite her to come," Saavik recommended.
"She may choose to visit her own family after her graduation," he explained.
"Oh...Are you going to go with her?"
Spock gave a small sigh of mock impatience. "If I had known ten years ago that once you learned to speak in complete sentences you would never cease speaking, I might have given more consideration as to whether it would be wise to tutor you."
His teasing earned him another little smile. "I suppose that you should be held responsible for what I have accomplished," she replied in kind. And she had accomplished quite a lot. Saavik was unsure if she would ever be able to properly thank him or his parents for everything they had done to help her over the years.
Spock didn't think he could receive sole credit for her progress over the years, but was pleased with his role nonetheless. He considered Saavik to be his first student, the one who had shown him how much satisfaction he received from teaching. And now she was on the verge of joining him on Earth. "If we do not speak again tomorrow evening, have a safe journey to Alderbaran III for the Academy entrance exam," he told her.
"Thank you. I'll send you a message once I return to Vulcan afterwards." She raised her hand before the camera, offering him a Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."
"Peace and long life, Saavikam."
A week later, Saavik was in the spaceport on Alderbaran III, about to board a transport ship back to Vulcan after completing her exam. "The ship should arrive in Shi'Kahr in six hours," she told Amanda as she spoke to her via a video terminal.
"I've got the schedule," the older woman replied. "Are you really going to make me wait until then to find out what happened?"
Saavik raised an eyebrow. "It would be illogical to tell you when Osu Sarek is not also present."
"I won't say a word to him," Amanda assured her. "And I promise to act surprised when you share the news."
"You would lie to him?"
Amanda sighed. "Oh, he and Spock have taught you well. It wouldn't truly be a lie… Please, darling, I've been thinking about you constantly all week."
The offer was tempting. A formal invitation to the Starfleet Academy Preparatory Program was stored on a data PADD that was tucked into Saavik's bag – she had passed the examination and was now one step closer to becoming a cadet. It was everything that she had worked for over the past several years and she knew how happy her guardian would be. Still, patience was a virtue, for both Vulcans and Humans.
"I will tell you both when I see you," Saavik declared.
Amanda smiled again. "You wouldn't make me wait if it was bad news," she decided. Saavik chose not to respond. "I'll be at the spaceport when you arrive – and I'll see if I can get Sarek out of his office, too. We'll have dinner together to celebrate."
The younger girl found herself fighting a smile of her own. Amanda's excitement over this accomplishent was possibly greater than her own. And later that evening, Saavik could have a video conference with Spock and tell him the news. He had spent the past two years preparing her for the Academy, sending her study tapes to review with information about different fields, vessels, and starbases. Sarek, of course, would have preferred that she show the same interest in the Vulcan Science Academy, but he knew that his son had corrupted her early on.
Saavik looked up as the video signal was momentarily interrupted by static. "I believe that this terminal is malfunctioning."
The signal quickly continued to deteriorate. "I'll let…go board…ship," Amanda's words barely came through. Saavik saw her guardian raise her hand to give the traditional splay-fingered gesture, but by that point the audio stream was gone. Before she had a chance to return the farewell, the connection was completely lost.
Not saying goodbye would be improper, and Saavik knew she still had some of her communications ration left. She attempted to call home once more from a different terminal, but an error message appeared: the subspace connection couldn't be established. Saavik stopped one of the spaceport's workers as he walked past her. "I think there is something wrong with the communications equipment," she told him. "My video call to Vulcan was interrupted and I cannot reestablish the link."
"I'll see if I can get a tech to look at it," he told her before continuing on his way.
Saavik glanced at the chronometer; it was almost time for her flight to leave, so she couldn't wait for repairs to be made. Lady Amanda would understand. She gathered her things and headed for where the transport vessel was waiting. The ship was still half-empty, so she had no trouble finding a seat by a window. She had loved stars and space for as long as she could remember and would never pass up a chance to take in a beautiful view.
Saavik settled back to wait for them to take off. She had enough time for a little meditation to ease some of the stress she'd been dealing with from the challenging examination. Many on Vulcan would probably consider her level of mental discipline to be inadequate, but she knew that she'd made remarkable progress since childhood. Once she'd centered herself, she started to sort through the things that she'd learned that week. Many of the pieces of information would undoubtedly be useful later in her studies. She had also formed several questions about the behavior of other species that she wanted to pose to Spock. Adolescent human males were especially intriguing; one of the other cadets had attempted to engage her in conversation many times. The other female student at the exam had seemed disgusted by him, but Saavik wasn't sure why. She'd often had trouble understanding his colloquialism-filled statements.
Attending the Academy will certainly improve my knowledge of English, she thought to herself.
Everyone onboard the ship looked up as the pilot stepped out of the cockpit. "Excuse me. I wanted to let everyone know that our departure will be delayed." A few murmurs could be heard in response. "We've received word of a distress call from Vulcan. We're currently unable to establish any communication with the planet, but we should have word soon from ships being sent to assist."
Saavik felt disquieted as she sat back in her seat. Apparently a malfunctioning terminal wasn't responsible for her call to Vulcan being disrupted. What could have gone wrong on her homeworld? There were multiple types of phenomena on the planet that may have caused a distress call to be issued – earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or severe electrical sand storms – but none of those would account for the subsequent loss of communication. Had something affected Shi'Kahr? Sarek would likely be downtown at this time of day, and she knew that Amanda had been at home. She silently wished that they could both reach safety, if their city was indeed affected. Why can't we leave? She wondered. They may need every available person to help. We shouldn't be just sitting here…
Time dragged on, minutes seeming like hours. There was no new information, and the pilot didn't re-emerge from the cockpit. Saavik pulled out her PADD and tried to connect to the data network in the spaceport to see if she could get any news about the situation, but there was nothing available beyond what she already knew.
As she went to put the PADD back in her bag, pain greater than anything she had ever experienced suddenly ripped through her skull. The PADD clattered to the floor as she pressed both palms against her temples in a futile effort to ward off the telepathic onslaught. A few screams echoed through the room, and she was unsure if one of them had been torn from her own throat. A moment later, the sensation faded, leaving a strange feeling of…utter hollowness in its wake.
Whatever just transpired was something incredibly terrible, she realized. Saavik had never been a particularly strong telepath, so to experience something of that magnitude…
An eternal handful of minutes later, the ship's pilot and co-pilot emerged from the cockpit. "Attention everyone," the pilot began. "We have received communications from-from…" He trailed off and left a horrible silence that indicated how bad the news had to be.
The co-pilot stepped forward, his voice clear and mostly-steady. "Our home has been destroyed," he managed to say. "Vulcan…Vulcan is no more."
Later, Saavik would be unsure whether more was said, or whether the ship really had been plunged into the silence that she heard in her mind. In any case, those words would be all that she remembered. She remained motionless for an immeasurable amount of time after the announcement, contemplating the moment when billions of people reached out to the rest of their race as they took their last breath. Had they wished for comfort? Or merely the knowledge that they were not alone?
Were Sarek and Amanda among those that had been lost? The Ambassador and his wife were the closest things she would ever have to parents. Had she now been orphaned twice in the same short lifetime? Was Spock now in the same plight? The thought made her feel ill, and she struggled to get a hold of her emotions.
"Excuse me," a quiet voice cut into her thoughts, and she looked to see one of the ship's crew standing beside her and holding a data PADD. "I need your name and city of residence."
A survivor's list, Saavik realized as she gave him the information that he had requested. "How many are there?" she asked, forcing her voice not to shake.
"I do not know. This is only from our ship. A complete list will be compiled once we have reached Earth."
"Earth?" she repeated, the word slowly sinking in. Her mind felt like quicksand. "We are going to go to Earth?"
The man nodded. "Yes, miss. We are getting final clearances and then we will depart. Is there something you require?"
Saavik shook her head. "No, thank you." He continued on to the next passenger.
Earth. Spock is on Earth. That knowledge gave her a small comfort. At least neither of them would be alone.
TBC...
