Hi, I'm back and so are you. Great! I said I would give a list of everyone who has reviewed and so here it is. Thank you to Fabian Hunter, SneverusSnapers, startrekgirl.m, and Lordoftheghostking28. I have twelve reviews. That's not many guys! Please review; it makes me very happy inside.

Also, Vader Kersfees was as close as I could find to a Father Christmas figure in Africa. Uhura is not African American, she comes from the United States of Africa.

Lastly, if you have any recommendations at all that you would like to see in my story, please, please, please review or PM me. I'm always looking to make it better.

Here's another chapter of Panem et Circenses. Enjoy! –SpockSnapeStephen

The four sat in a room as the last of the visitors came through the engraved metal door. Nurse Chapel was the very last, sobbing into her hands as Peacekeepers led her away after she threw her arms around Doctor McCoy and planted a kiss on a bewildered Spock's cheek.

"Good luck," she whispered hoarsely through tears to the contestants.

As Nurse Chapel was leaving, Kerra walked in with two armed Peacekeepers.

"Normally if you were in a district, we'd ship you off on a train to the Capitol. Since you're already here, District Two's mentors and tributes have been brought over on a bullet train this morning. You will pair up with them until the Games begin. They'll, how do you say, show you the ropes. As for the time being, expect cameras!" Kerra said cheerily. She pushed the double doors open and let the videos hook on the tributes before heading through the sea of people.

Light bulbs flashed and microphones were shoved in the faces of the new tributes and their mentors.

"Captain! How do you feel about your friends being chosen for the Games?"
"Mr. Spock! Can you tell us why you're so green?"
"Nyota! Can we call you Nyota? We-"
Kerra just kept pushing through the crowd of reporters and eager citizens.

"Out of my way. No comment. No comment! I said, out of my way!" Eventually Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Uhura, and Kerra got to the spiraling glass Training Center Spock had seen from the train. In the lobby, four others awaited.

0o0o

The three crewmen and one crewwoman had already seen the mentors from District Two in the "Welcome to Panem" video.

Uhura shivered as she remembered seeing Aloysius' scars for the first time and how Sulu had to leave. Despite Aloysius' fairly medium size, Uhura was more scared of him than Enobaria. At least, she thought that until she saw the woman's purposely filed teeth and their golden, metallic caps. Enobaria was more frightening than anyone had a right to be.

The first tribute Uhura met introduced herself as Iolite Bloodstone.

"But call me Io," the teenager said, flashing perfect teeth. Io had a deep red, almost burgundy, head of hair. She had cornflower-y eyes, a mixture of blue and purple, but unlike Flint's they were light, in color and in attitude.

Uhura barely noticed the male tribute, Peridot Sard, a short, thin boy with shaggy black hair and amber eyes like a wolf. He looked to be only a year younger than Io, maybe sixteen.

"My name is Captain Kirk. I'm Lieutenant Uhura's mentor along with my chief medical officer Doctor McCoy. He will be mentoring Mr. Spock, my first officer."
"All wrapped up in this aren't you Captain?" Peridot commented quietly.

"Ah, yes. Yes, I suppose you could say that," the captain replied uneasily and awkwardly. Uhura felt uncomfortable as well; the boy was staring at her intensely. Though the lieutenant didn't know it, at that moment, everyone felt threatened by the teen. Even Mr. Spock.

"Well!" Kerra broke the silence, "Shall we get started? We've got lots to do!"

0o0o

Apparently, the first thing to do was watch the rest of the Reapings. Spock made note of every tribute that was Reaped but a few, he noted, were especially threatening. The District Four male, Dorian Iron, was tall and thick like he worked out all day every day, though that was prohibited. District Eight's tributes, Sherman Walker and Calico Baily, were both underground gang members.

"Tsk, tsk," Kerra tsked, "It's a wonder the Peacekeepers actually got some of their kind," she said the word 'kind' nastily, "to the Reapings. Every time the government tries to catch them, the gang's just slipped away." Kerra looked around instinctively.

"That's not to say that the Peacekeepers are incapable of their job or anything!" she added loudly, nervously and hit play.

Nero Mollica, District Five. District Nine, Demeter Kerns. And the ever-chilling Peridot Sard. Out of the corner of his eye, Spock saw Uhura noting each person but with sadness in her eyes, picking out the people who would be something Spock had learned was "bloodbath fodder." The children like Kavi Mae from District Three; a petite girl with electric blue eyes and a huddled posture. Or Channer Latham, the other District Three tribute. People like Cedar Weist, who'd already announced they had no plans to live. And Spock had to agree. Very few of the tributes were well-fed and looked any good for a fight.

Spock had been thinking a lot about being a tribute in the Games. He was not afraid, but he was a pacifist at heart. In most situations there was a better alternative to killing. But the Games are not 'most situations,' one side of him argued. There was really nothing to decide; Spock and Uhura had to make it back to the Enterprise. There was a point where Spock would have to decide what choice he was going to make but right now was not that time. Now was the time to prepare to have the best chance of getting back to the ship, the captain, and (though Spock didn't like to admit he'd miss the man) Doctor McCoy.

Spock had also noticed Lieutenant Uhura's reluctance to face the fact that they would have to battle and probably kill children. That was not a good attitude for a tribute to go into the Games with. Spock would have to speak to her.

"Right," Kerra said, popping out the video tapes, "In a few minutes you'll meet your prep team. District Two, follow me! District Enterprise, they'll be right in. Any questions? Excellent!" Spock had a thought that no, it really wasn't excellent at all.

0o0o

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura stood in the middle of a cool blue room. There were all sorts of beauty tools that looked more like torture devices than products to make you look pretty. Some of them even felt like torture.

Uhura thought she was good at taking care of herself. She ate healthy, took showers every day, took care of her hair, and exercised but when Les and Jeni swarmed her with comments like "Your hair. It's… It's… *sigh*" and "Oh the humanity!" it was pretty hard to feel good about your habits.

The two of them (the Capitol could only spare two stylists) were finally just swirling about her, checking for any flaws they had left to perfect. Deciding Uhura was finally good enough, they retreated out of the room to make way for her stylist. While waiting, Uhura thought about the mini-meeting the four crewmembers had. Spock had told her off for worrying about the other tributes. She knew that she shouldn't be rooting for her competitors but the sight of all the small, defenseless children nearly tore her to pieces. Kirk had stuck up for her a bit but Uhura knew he and the doctor were feeling horrible. They would both rather be in the Games than have to watch their friends enter.

Uhura's musings were interrupted by a man entering the room. He was short and fat with plump cheeks and sparkling eyes. If he'd had a beard, he'd be Vader Kersfees, Uhura thought.

"Hello," the man said in a pleasant voice, "My name is Jove. I'm your stylist. Please excuse me while I find a good look for you." Jove waddled around the somewhat bemused lieutenant. Uhura was expecting some malicious grinch but instead here was a happy human full of life and joy.

"Alright," he said snapping his fingers, "I've got it!"
Uhura stood still, unknowingly holding her breath slightly.

"Have you ever wanted to be a galaxy?"