The Prince

Chapter 5

Eight years later, Starfleet

Spock awoke next to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It was morning, and sunlight streamed through the windows in his bedroom. The room itself was large, with a window and a view of the student quad. He had been placed on the top floor- reserved for Commanders, and Captains. In fact, his apartment was more like a suite, with three rooms, a separate seating, dining and living area, as well as a full-service kitchen. And for the first time ever, as Spock took in his surroundings, he felt truly at peace.

The figure in the bed stirred next to him and Spock leaned closer to her. A brown face peeked up at him from the tangled white sheets she had buried herself in. Spock regarded her features silently, drawing the blankets up a little closer to her, his hand gently brushing her face. The sheets molded against her body, meeting against her figure. She was beautiful.

Outwardly, his facial expression held no change, but inwardly he felt warmth. Love, was the human word for it.

As he brushed the back of his hand softly against her features he remembered what life was like just eight short years ago…

II

Spock had arrived at Starfleet fresh off the transport. At check in his Vulcan clothes were removed and replaced with the starched, bright red uniform of a cadet. He was assigned a room and a roommate, much to his chagrin, and as soon as he had set his small bag of personals down, he was whisked off to the academic advisor's office. It was here he met the man he would later recount as his first real friend.

It had all been moving a bit too fast for Spock. It had only been two days since he left Vulcan and the breakneck speed at which humans traveled and worked and busied themselves had overwhelmed him. Earth was noisy, bustling, and full of energy and sounds, the complete opposite of the serenity of Vulcan. Not to mention the incident- Spock inwardly cringed at the thought then quickly brushed it out of his mind- with his father. Spock's mental shields were so taxed that when he wound up in Captain Pike's office, the Vulcan was more than a bit overwhelmed. He was near shut-down. The Captain, sensing Spock's distress (although the Vulcan didn't express it physically), immediately closed his office, and drew the blinds to block out the sun. His weary charge had taken refuge in a corner chair, his face now draped in the shadows of the candles Pike had lit.

Pike took a moment to study the figure in front of him. The Vulcan was on the taller side of the human height spectrum, he had to be well over six-feet-plus. His face was long and elegant and he certainly had the ears. They curved up, ending at a sharper point than most of the other Vulcans Pike had met. But that was not what he had first caught when the young cadet walked through his door. No. There was something different about this Vulcan…something almost…human.

He had read the cadet's file and knew he would be a great addition to Starfleet. Two Bachelor's degrees, one in Mechanical Engineering the other in Computer Information systems. Three Master's earned in Subatomic Theory, Particle Physics and Applicable Celestial Biology- all earned on Vulcan, at that. It was impressive. Many other Vulcans only had, at the most, four degrees. And this cadet was still in his 20's.

And another thing, Cadet Spock's aptitude tests. He had answered every question accurately. It was a perfect score. No one in Starfleet's history had done that. The boy was genius. Even in Vulcan standards. After all, Vulcan was basically the language of science in the known universe. So it made Captain Pike wonder why, if the cadet in front of him had achieved so much in so little time…why he had entered Starfleet. He knew better than to ask.

But there was more. The file said Spock held dual citizenship. That could only be for a handful of reasons: One, he was a diplomat- (which was obvious he wasn't because he wouldn't be sitting in Pike's office in a red cadet uniform); or two- One parent was Vulcan, the other terran.

There was only one such couple in the universe. Which meant…

Pike instantly sat upright just then as the realization dawned on him. He looked up at the cadet, who had been eying him intently. Captain Pike hadn't noticed the Vulcan looking at him; he had been so lost in thought. Now though, he had the opportunity to look into Spock's eyes. Human eyes. Brown eyes stared back at him under long lashes. Spock didn't move, but Pike could tell the Cadet was analyzing him- friend or foe- Pike thought ruefully. Better show him he is among friends. Pike stood up. The Vulcan did the same.

"Cadet Spock, welcome to Starfleet. I am Captain Christopher Pike. And I will be advising you through the course of your studies here. I see you possess a vast array of knowledge. I hope we have something to offer you. I know that you have much to offer us. Now, let's get to it"

Spock had been able to bypass all preliminary classes due to his multitude of degrees, and since he was already proficient at all of the science tracks he decided to study languages instead. Linguistics proved to be a cultural eye-opener. Spock felt, that in order to truly understand a language, a person had to understand the culture behind it. And that led to studies in history, xenosocial development and even xenopsychology. In between his studies, Spock had also been exploring Earth, the place of his mother's birth. He had visited the Pyramids of Egypt, seen the tombs of the Candices of Ethiopia. He had journeyed to Europe to view Stonehenge and to the excites of Paris. The rainforests of Brazil and Argentina. But, for all his travels, Spock didn't make friends. He didn't really care to. With the exception of Captain Pike, who Spock looked to as a mentor and friend, there were not others. His roommates had stopped asking him to go places with them after the first disastrous trip to the local pub, where, Spock had simply left after entering and observing the atmosphere. Spock recalled the words he had said:

"I do not understand the action of inebriating oneself to the point of physical duress. This is not conducive to personal health and therefore I must deem it illogical. Much like all the actions of the human race"

The people he had been with had stared at him in open-mouthed shock, and the atmosphere became very uncomfortable. Spock had only been making an observation, but it appeared he had offended his acquaintances. There were no more invites after that. But Spock didn't mind. He preferred the solitude of his own mind to the cacophony of theirs. Spending time alone also helped him build up his mental shields against the daily onslaught of disorganized human thought. Yet another reason why he chose xenolinguistics. The work areas were quiet. The cadets, more introspective and observant. It was… calming.

Spock still did much research in the sciences though. He was Captain Pike's laboratory assistant. During his third year he thought of a project that would combine all his skills together. It would be used to test student responses to high stress situations in deep space. It would be a computer simulation fully interactive and able to anticipate certain reactions…He didn't have a name for it yet.

When Spock broached the idea to Captain Pike the older gentleman was ecstatic. "Spock that's pure genius! That's exactly what we need." Pike slapped him on the back, and Spock hid a grimace. But he didn't really mind. Pike was a friend. And with that, Spock created the Kobyashi Maru.

It was that same year that Spock met Leila. Leila Kalomi.

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