The Start of a New Day
Spock kissed his wife on the neck, urgently. She enjoyed the feeling of his lips anywhere on her body and especially when he allowed need to prevail in his actions, but there was something else there, inside of him that bothered her. Spock was still worried. She could feel it as he trailed his kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. She touched his face and he allowed his eyes to meet hers as his mouth lingered about her neck plate. Highly worried and afraid...she gently took his face away from her body and asked, "What's wrong Spock?"
He took her and held her tightly, a thought passing through his mind, "I do not want to lose you." She startled at this thought and winced her face in pain as she felt his insecurity with everything happening flooding through him. Ambassador Spock was older, wiser, and had known some variation of her longer than he had. She did feel as connected to the older version of him as she did he himself. She had almost kissed him. Sybok was more passionate and more powerful than he. She had been under his control briefly, she had almost left with him.
She cupped Spock's face and asked, "What gives you the right to think this way? You were bonded to T'Pring when we got together, and I rose above that. When Doyle was trying to snatch you up, I was insecure with myself, but I took into consideration that you would not betray me. You went out with Christine, I took it in stride, despite the fact that it made me uncomfortable. The countless other women who have tried to contend with me since we have been on the ship, like they didn't know what my name was... and every time I walked it off, knowing that I had you and that no one could take you away from me."
Spock stared at her, removing the feelings from his face but not from his heart as he stated, "That was completely different as none of the women who have pursued me or shown interest have been capable of what a Vulcan male, like Sybok, is capable of. Sybok gave us a demonstration in simply suggesting that you leave with him, and you moved to do so. He could easily overpower you. You saw the power he held over his Vulcan wife, who is far more capable of mentally defending herself than you are..."
"Well kissing me all over is not going to help me to mentally defend myself if I am caught in such a position ever again." She joked.
Spock missed it and asked, "Do you wish for me not to proceed?"
"Now, why would I wish such a thing? You certainly should proceed. If I'm going to be snatched away by some other Vulcan, I want something extra special to remember you by." He threw a look at her, about to stress the importance of keeping her from such a position in which she might be obtained, then noticed the look on her face and identified her comment as having been a jest... it was not remotely humorous to him. He did not point this out as he resumed kissing her chest and moving his way down her body while pulling off his own shorts, multitasking it perfectly. "Get me out of this night gown." She said, softly, feeling her temperature already too hot for her own good.
During her pregnancies, it did not take much effort on Spock's part to get her all fired up, in fact, during those times, it did not take him hardly any effort. Sometimes she would simply wake up with desire to have him, her hormones raging out of control. When she had been pregnant with Saada, he had not wanted to have intercourse with her. He had provided her with friction, as he had during their days of courting and engagement (he had the necessary control within him to make certain that she had remained impenetrable until they became one, but only just enough control). In that time, he satisfied her by rubbing himself against her to create the stimuli necessary to her private area for a successful orgasm, but he seemed worried intercourse might disturb Saada's pregnancy. Seeing as how Saada's development was disturbed without it, Spock rationalized that he should just push such worries out of his mind, especially at a time like this...
Nyota wanted and needed him to be here for her. They needed each other, and he had never felt so threatened by the possibility of losing her before. He recalled his decision to have her put on the Farragut, three years ago and the thought always gave him a sense of dread, that he had handled her carelessly and could have been a contributing cause in her possible death. Since then, he knew that his decisions, as they related to her, needed to be the most logical, precise, and efficient decisions as possible. Now, she wanted him and it was logical to him to give himself to her, despite any doubts or worries. Because, if he denied her, there were far too many who would try to slither into his place. Other men were nothing to her, but he was intimidated by New Vulcan's passionate Vulcans, especially Sybok, their unofficial leader.
Spock removed the thin nightgown from her perfect body. He never believed in the concept of perfection, as it seemed completely illogical until he came to know her more and more. Illogical words began to settle themselves into his extensive vocabulary, words such as perfect, beautiful, romance, desire... all words that previously held no merit before his love for her came into view, but words that he now found himself grateful to have learned, grateful being added to the list, as well. Now, there was no way for him to separate his mind and heart from each other. All of him had become engulfed with his love for her and his need to keep her, and keep her as happy as he possibly could.
He kissed her chocolate tone nipples gently, then drew one into his mouth to suckle. The only pleasure that he received from the act was the satisfaction of stimulating her and the sensations reflected from within her body when his touch telepathy transmitted their emotions to and from each other. He flickered his tongue around the sensitive area, but she winced and reflexively covered them, "Too sensitive, right now." They were far more sensitive when she was pregnant. He nodded once. He certainly did not want irritation in their bed. He kissed her in between her breasts, covering his hands over her hands as hers remained shielding her nipples, which he could sense were hurting more now that he had molested them.
With his hands over hers over her breasts, he began to venture into her mind, to help alleviate the discomfort that he had caused her. After a successful task, he motioned his way down to her center, kissing her all along the path which led to paradise. She swiftly threw her legs around his shoulders, as this was one of her favorite things in the entire universe, and she had a belief that it was better between herself and him than it was for anyone else who ever did it. He once tried telling her that such a belief was illogical, but the anger it provoked from her caused him to never make any comments on her assessments of his above and allegedly beyond perfect sexual abilities or the potency of their sexual union ever again. Logic had no place in such intimate sharing, only passion, only love, only desire, only need...
Spock glided his tongue up and down the length of her slit, gently probing it inside of her and finally covering the entire area with his open mouth as his tongue ventured as deep within as he could manage. The act was one of Spock's favorite actions to perform, as it gave him an outlet for portraying his dedication. It made him feel as though, not only did she belong to him, but he served her. He thought of doing this for her long before he ever had the opportunity to do so, and from the first time that he had actually done, it; no other interactions between them proved as fulfilling, save reaching orgasm inside of her. Spock kissed her lower lips as passionately as he would her first pair and grazed the surface of her wet curves with his tongue. He did not like to waste any drop of her when he was allotted the opportunity to taste of her.
As he kissed her there, and licked the wonderful little spouts of his most preferred nectar which his kiss there produced, he embraced her legs as though they were her arms, stroking his fingers back and forth along the length of one of her outer thighs, and gently squeezing the inner thigh of the opposite leg. Whenever Nyota felt herself about to release, she began a writhing movement that excited Spock beyond any describable stimuli. He would venture deeper with his tongue, lick her nectar most vigorously, and look at her face intently. Nyota. He thought and she made eye contact with him. He enjoyed for her to have eye contact with him when she released.
The two of them gazed deeply into each others eyes, issuing into each other one another's emotional involvement in this act as it carried on for only moments later until she jolted with ecstasy of the sensibilities blessing her insides and flowing from her, into him. His proud, smiling eyes held her own passionately overdosed eyes as he allowed her juices to simply drip onto his tongue as he temporarily held it still. Then, he covered the entire area with his mouth again and hungrily began to suckle all which did not flow out quite fast enough for him. She now threw her head back and lay flat on the bed listening to his gentle slurping noises, (he would not let a single drop of her escape, if he could help it) and attempting to catch her breath.
Spock had a ritual of wiping his mouth his hand, after he completed this particular act, and licking her remains from his fingers. Her womanly elixir was the only substance that he ever licked from his hands. After he did so, he slid up her body and collected her into his arms, which she melted into as he did. Very tenderly, he slid himself inside of her. She allowed herself a small gasp which she felt make his manhood jump, slightly as he began to softly glide himself forward and back, cradling her in his arms as he did. She wrapped her arms and her legs around him, tightly and held him in the double embrace pouring all of the love that her heart had into his in tuned touch. He could feel it radiating from her. She could feel something coming from inside of him, hidden amongst his resounding love, some hints of ...guilt? She looked into his eyes as he realized that she had received it from him. He touched her face and allowed her to see what he had done the night before...
When he laid beside her and gathered her into his arms, he had penetrated her mind and read her dream. She herself had not even remembered the dream by the time that she woke up, but as she watched him watching her dream, she did remember it. Remembering the dream brought a wave of fear over her, followed by a wave of hurt. Why had Spock invaded her that way? Did he not trust her? His emotions quickly answered her question as they flowed into her. He had been worried about her. He had been concerned. He would not be able to rest until he could discover why both Sybok and Styik insisted on being inside of her mind... She leaned up to kiss him and thought, "Do not feel guilty, my love. I forgive you." She was very quick to forgive him when he passed his feelings into her.
He cradled her even closer to himself and whispered in her ear, something that she knew, but did not hear come from his mouth as often as she would like to, "I love you." He mostly thought the phrase when he shared it with her, and allowed her to read it from his mind, or he transferred the feeling mentally from his heart to her own, but there was something about when he actually opened his mouth and said it that always reached the very core of her, and upon hearing the words, a tremendous orgasm burst from her body and she trembled in his arms to the shocks it sent coursing through her.
She could not find her voice to respond at the moment, as every sound that emerged from her mouth for quite a moment after that were soft grunts of pleasure that were in control of all of her functioning capabilities. Spock followed after her, not too soon as he enjoyed feeling all of the contracts from her many jolts accompanied by all the warmth flowing from her body before he allowed himself to let go. When he did, everything that he had been thinking about and worrying himself with throughout the night flushed away.
The first few times they ever came together, Spock had found it practically impossible to pull himself together after ejaculating inside of her, but only the first few times. All of the times that followed, he would let out one moan or one grunt, gently collapse onto her breasts and quickly gather his composure. Today, he moaned a bit more than usual upon releasing, and his breath seemed a bit harder to catch as he laid on her. He even continued to tremble a for a bit past his orgasm period. She smiled brightly and he felt her self confidence flow into him. He smiled too, although she could only feel it against her skin; she could not see it. Just knowing that she had put it there was enough for her.
Janice Rand knocked on the door, fairly early. Spock and Nyota had been laying in each others arms, running their thoughts and feelings about the new baby into each other, tracing each others fingers with their own, and now Nyota groaned, knowing that this would be a business call. Spock climbed into his shorts and opened the door for her. Janice was not particularly uncomfortable with seeing Commander Spock in his shorts, as this was not the first time she had to visit his personal lodgings for business. She smiled at him and said, "Mr. Spock, the Captain has requested that you and Lt. Uhura get into your uniforms and come into the hall for diplomatic interactions with some of the other guest lifeforms at the breakfast banquet thrown by the Efrosians. Captain Kirk is asking that you meet with him outside of his room in one half of an hour."
Spock nodded once, then asked, "Why are you alone, Yeoman Rand?"
She laughed and said, "The barbarians don't really come near the Embassy, do they? With all of the other alien traffic moving through the building today, I guessed that I was safe."
Spock folded his arms and informed the woman, "We are not engaged in gambling, Yeoman. Please report to the Captain at once and see if he has any orders for you indicating that he supports your potentially dangerous decision to frolic the area freely, knowing that calamity might occur."
"Yes, Mr. Spock." Rand said softly, then turned to leave sighing and rolling her eyes because of the Commander's tone. She never could understand how he could be so mean and stay so cool about it? That was one of the reasons she had hated working in his office and now, she hated when she had to take orders for him, still. She did not understand how Uhura could peacefully remain by his side. As she thought about it, it was Uhura's fault that she ever worked for the Vulcan in the first place. She reminded herself to give her friend a piece of her mind about her beloved husband, later.
Spock shut the door and looked at Nyota, who was already gathering her uniform, and heading towards the lavatory. She apparently heard the order by the Captain, via his assistant. When they were in the shower together, she began helping him wash his back and she said, "You know, it hurts Janice's feelings when you speak to her in that way."
Spock's eyebrow lifted at the comment. It was curious that she would bring this subject up in this environment, but even more curious that he had no idea what "way" his wife was referring to . "Enlighten me on what way I have spoken to her." He suggested.
She handed the loofah to him and turned her back, as he turned to face her to wash her lovely back, as well, their connection so strong that they did not have to make suggestions of their next actions. Her mind momentarily flickered to the same type of interaction between herself and Ambassador Spock the previous night, but she allowed the thought to become jilted as she replied, "You speak to her like she is... less than intelligent." Spock felt his eyebrow lift again, and he opened his mouth to comment on his opinion of Yeoman Rand's level of intelligence, but Nyota looked over her shoulder at him and said, "Despite what you may think of her level of intelligence, Janice is a fine worker. I believed it when I was a reference for her for her to get into your office, at the academy, and you obviously believed it to have her assigned to Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk is pleased with her performance."
Spock now turned the water off as he observed, "Being an adequate secretarial assistant does not warrant a high level of intelligence."
"But not having as much as somebody else does not earn her that condescending tone that you use with her." Nyota placed her hands on her hips as she said it and watched Spock dry himself quickly, but efficiently.
He wrapped the towel around himself and grabbed another towel to wrap around her body as he admitted, "I am afraid that the tone which you are currently criticizing is the most logical tone that I can apply to Yeoman Rand's level of intelligence." Spock lifted her out of the shower and took more time and used more gentleness in drying Nyota than he had used with himself, but kept the level of efficiency in tact. He wrapped the towel around her, secured it onto her body and kissed her on the forehead. She knew that was the end of the conversation for him.
All dry now, she decided to let the conversation drop, but she would at least inform Janice later that she had tried, as she knew that Janice would speak to her about Spock's tone, instead of Spock. Everyone seemed to do that when he came across as arrogant or insensitive, they came to her, like she was a mind controlling agent or something.
Back in the bedroom, they began to dress each other. Nyota had began this little ritual of them washing and dressing each other, a couple of years ago, and it had felt so good when she introduced it that Spock rarely put up any type of resistance to it. She sat down and slid into her boots. Then, she stood up and began to brush her hair into a ponytail. As she made her ponytail, she said, "I can hardly wait to confirm to Chekov the pregnancy. He was with me yesterday morning when I had the meat, so I know that he had his suspicions..."
Spock suddenly cut her off with the words, "What was going through your mind when Sybok was entering it? I was unable to find that out from your dream. When he was manipulating you, did you see anything from him?"
She frowned, not wanting to discuss this, but honestly answered, "No, I did not. I think that he was taking something from me."
Spock continued, curiously, "When you interacted with Styik, and he placed the images in your head, the ones which you described as too fast to see... do you remember if he said anything?"
"Yes. He said..." She tried to remember the exact words he used as to not perjure herself, "I believe it was something along the lines of You will not forget. Why are you asking all of these questions?"
"I am trying to discover why Styik reached out to you." Spock answered.
Nyota looked at Spock and leaned against the bedpost as he tucked his pants legs into his boots. She said, "Maybe I should go visit him and talk to him."
"Dr. Uhura would never allow such a thing." Spock quickly said.
"Spock, can you do what Sybok can? Controlling others I mean?" She asked. He stood up after finishing with his boots and saw a look of concern in her face.
His answer became, "With a level of concentration, I can provide suggestions to others, telepathically." So yes, she thought. He can do it too. He added, "My level of telepathic prowess is not nearly on the level of Sybok's, however."
"Could you get my father to allow me to speak with Styik?" She asked.
Spock lifted an eyebrow at her. The fact that she would ask him such a thing bothered him greater than he could admit. What he did admit was, "Your father trusts me with his daughter's life and you are asking me to attempt to manipulate him into allowing you to do something that he would be thoroughly against. This appears to be an act of betrayal towards the man. Why is it so important to you to see this child?"
"He is heavy on my mind. I want to know why he reached out to me, too." She answered. "If your answer is no, then I understand, Spock. But, I am going to speak with that child again, one way or another." She began to walk towards the door, but Spock caught her hand.
She looked into his eyes and he frowned at the fact that she was telling the complete truth. She was determined to speak with that child, and he certainly would rather support her than stand against her at a time when his support was so necessary to her. This planet, his people, her pregnancy had all contributed to making her yearn for his allegiance. His love was enough for some things, right now, she required his love and his assistance, but her rationale was too far away from his.
He told her, "Nyota, I am not going to manipulate your father so that you can speak to a child who has already attacked you once. You may not deem it as an attack, but these dreams that he has planted into your mind are negatively affecting your stress levels. You do not need your stress levels negatively affected by anything right now." She knew that he meant because of her pregnancy, and she agreed that she did not need it. Where she disagreed was the part where he thought this to be an attack by the child. She felt that it was a cry for help, and having lost two children of her own, she did not have the heart to leave behind, or leave in the back of her mind a child crying out for help.
"I understand," she told Spock and withdrew her hand. They left the room to meet with Captain Kirk and the others.
At the breakfast banquet, Spock and Nyota barely interacted, as she had a habit of traveling the entire room for conversation in gatherings which numerous alien lifeforms were involved, just like his mother had, in her days. Spock did continue to keep her within viewing distance. When only Kirk and Spock were around each other for a moment, Kirk asked, "Is everything alright with you and the Lieutenant, Mr. Spock?" Spock glanced at the Captain, not sure of his motivations for asking him this.
If Captain Kirk was concerned about their job performances, or some work related issue that may arise from their relationship issues, he should answer the question. However, if he was merely prying into their personal matters, Spock saw no logical reason to provide him with any information. Spock and Kirk had become friends, best friends, in fact, if Spock had one besides his own heart and wife, Nyota. Some things, a Vulcan just did not discuss. Marriage complications were among those, although he had confided in Kirk before of his reluctance to impregnate Uhura again. He replied, "Lt. Uhura and myself will not allow any of our personal matters to complicate our performances nor our work ethic, Captain."
"Duly noted, but I'm asking this as a friend. She seems upset with you or something." Spock looked at Nyota greet an Efrosian male with a hug and he quickly checked himself so that he would not appear jealous in Kirk's sight. Spock had met the particular Efrosian a few times before. He had bright pink skin (like most Efrosians) and platinum blonde hair that fell past his shoulders, with a matching beard that was well kept, but hung quite low. His eyes were deep and nearly sparkly blue and Nyota had described him once as "adorable", which made Spock dislike his presence every since.
Nyota had met him at the academy during their brief break up, when she went to some gathering at a lounge called the Milky Way with Yeoman Rand, and now, each time they saw each other, they hugged and talked for what seemed entirely too long to Spock. Navid, that was his name - Spock knew that he wanted Nyota, although the Efrosian was very polite to him and always respectful of their relationship. Nyota pointed Spock out to Navid and Navid smiled and offered Spock the Vulcan salute, which Spock could not convince himself not to return, even though he did not want to. Nyota and Navid continued talking, Spock presumed, probably in Efrosian.
"Spock." Kirk said. Spock looked at him. Kirk asked, "You want me to steal her away from that creep?"
"That would be both illogical and unnecessary of me to request, Captain." Spock replied.
Kirk shrugged his shoulders and said, "She's your wife."
"Yes she is, Captain, and my concern." Spock answered. Kirk knew that was his cue to stay out of Spock's business.
Spock suddenly looked disturbed. Kirk turned to see Sarek, Ambassador Spock, and another Vulcan that Kirk was not familiar with, but recognized looked like Spock, with the exception of his long hair on both his head and on his face. "Excuse me, Captain." Spock said and made his way to Lt. Uhura. Kirk shook his head and headed for the entering Vulcans, as he had not seen Old Spock in a while.
Kirk smiled and said, "Ambassador Sarek, Ambassador Spock, and..."
Sybok held his hand out to shake Kirk's and introduced himself, "I am Sybok, Son of Sarek." Kirk looked clearly shocked. Sybok laughed and said, "I can see that my brother never told you about me. I am not surprised. He had not told his wife about me either..." Both Sarek and Ambassador Spock looked at Sybok, as though warning him to be silent. Sybok smiled at Kirk and said, "I certainly hope that you are more fun than these two. Shall we have drinks?" He placed his arm around Kirk's shoulders and walked off with him.
Kirk stared at him for a moment and asked, "What is your angle, Guy? I could clearly see that there is animosity between you and your so called family. You don't have to be cute with me. Why doesn't Spock like you?"
Sybok smirked and said, "Are you sure that you posed that question properly? If you were to ask Spock the same thing, he would point out the fact that "like" is a human sentiment that he hardly has usage for."
Kirk moved himself from beneath Sybok's arm and said, "You are speaking about a different Spock than I know. I have seen Spock express far deeper sentiments than like, Brother Sybok."
Sybok smirked and said, "So I have learned. This can be traced to his beautiful wife, correct?" Kirk looked at Spock standing closer to Uhura than he usually would in a public setting and staring at Sybok from his distance away.
Kirk looked back at Sybok and said, "Look, I know that she is very attractive." Sybok threw Kirk an amused look at his mild choice of words, and Kirk corrected himself, "OK, she is probably every man in the room's fantasy woman, but in reality, she is Spock's, and trust me, no one could come between them. When they married, both of their vows included, "Mine and mine alone". As ridiculous as the relationship seems sometimes, that woman is so intertwined with her Vulcan that ..." Sybok was not paying attention to Kirk. The Vulcan was too focused on Uhura, on what she was thinking at the time, on receiving everything that he possibly could from her mind. He vaguely heard Kirk continue speaking, "Look, you are still in the shock of seeing such a creature for the first time, you'll get over it when you've had more time to see them be unbreakable."
Sybok smiled and grabbed two drinks from a passing drink platter. He handed one to Kirk and said, "To looking challenges in the face, and knocking them on theirs, challenges." He lifted the glass and clicked it to Kirk's then turned around and disappeared into the crowd. Kirk noticed that he did not take a sip before leaving, but Kirk gulped his own drink down and set the glass on another traveling platter.
He made his way to Spock and asked, "What is up with your brother?" Now, Nyota and Navid both looked at him, as though familiar with the mentioned being and they both seemed uncomfortable.
Navid said promptly, "It has been a pleasure, Sweet Nyota. The brightest star I have come to know." Spock pursed his lips as he looked at the Efrosian who acknowledged him, "And it was insightful speaking with you again, Commander Spock." Spock nearly pointed out to him that they had barely said anything to each other, but he did not want to prolong the exit any further, "And Captain Kirk, I regret not having the chance to speak with you more at this time. Perhaps at the opening ceremony? All of you enjoy your day." He hugged Nyota again and walked away.
Uhura looked at Kirk and asked, "Is Sybok here?"
Kirk answered, "Yea that big creepy, hairy Vulcan barbarian is here. Where is Dr. McCoy and Yeoman Rand? I want us all together, all of a sudden."
"So he even gave you the creeps?" The lieutenant asked.
Kirk waved a hand and said, "He didn't so much give me the creeps as he did agitate the hell out of me, but he doesn't seem too... sane. He seems like a nut case. A nut case who loves a challenge, and that doesn't seem like a good situation." He opened his communicator and said, "Bones, come in."
"McCoy here, what is it, Jim?" Dr. McCoy's voice asked.
"Where are you?" Kirk asked him.
McCoy replied, "Janice and I are right across the room from you talking to Dr. Uhura, Dr. T'Priu, and... what was it again? Sybok? Sybok. Hey, Jim, did you know that Mr. Spock has a brother?"
"If you can see us, I need you and Rand to report over right away." Nyota could see Dr. McCoy and Yeoman Rand leaving the small group in the corner. She waved at her father and he gave her a confused look.
She guessed that he was probably wondering why she had not bothered to approach him, but she would tell him later that they were having a brief work meeting and hope that he did not ask Spock to affirm it. One of the main drawbacks of having such a Vulcan husband was the fact that he did not lie. Avoiding questions made things look suspicious, but he would do that instead of lying or instead of telling something that she did not want others to know.
Her father would definitely question her about this little huddle that herself, Spock, Yeoman Rand, Dr. McCoy, and Captain Kirk were currently in. Kirk looked at Spock and asked, "What is the deal with this brother of yours?"
Spock replied, "I am guessing that he was trying to assess all of you to find more information out to use against me."
Nyota looked worried as she said, "It makes me very uncomfortable that he has been able to now assess the three most important people in your life."
Kirk smirked slightly at the thought of Spock considering people important besides her, but if she had said it, it was so. Herself, Kirk and McCoy were the three most important people in Spock's life.
Spock continued to address the group about Sybok, explaining, "He once was a student of the greatest potential, but he rejected the ways of Surak. He chose an illogical path and gained many followers. He was banished from Vulcan, but now, with our race being so limited, we needed all of the Vulcans, including the ones that Vulcan once cast out. Sybok is one that they tend to follow, therefore my father and the other Ambassador made peace with him, to try to help rebuild our race. It was coming along as well as anyone intended until last night."
"What happened last night?" Dr. McCoy wondered.
Spock simply stated, "He met Lt. Uhura."
Kirk clapped his hands together and said, "That settles it. Helen of Troy is to return to the ship, immediately." When Lt. Uhura opened her mouth to debate about it, he said, "That's an order and while we're at it, Yeoman Rand is going back too. Mr. Spock, take the ladies out to an area where their transport will be a bit more inconspicuous. When you are clear, have Scotty beam them back to the ship and meet Bones and I back here."
"Yes, Captain." Spock said, relieved that his wife was being ordered back to the ship. The three of them began to walk towards the exit when Mwinyi cut them off.
Mwinyi looked confused at Nyota and asked, "Nyota, why did you not greet me today?" His eyes darted from her to Spock, and there was something in them that she did not really understand when they went to Spock.
She ignored it and explained, "I'm sorry, Baba. It's a long story that I'll have to try to share with you some other time. Right now, we have to go."
"Go where? The banquet will last for hours." He questioned.
Spock saw that Mwinyi had no plans of getting out of their way without a reasonable explanation. Spock now responded, "Certain dangers have arisen for these women. The Captain has ordered them to beam aboard the Enterprise immediately."
Mwinyi looked at his daughter and questioned, "Your trip is over? Your mother will be arriving later on today. Don't you wish to see her?"
Nyota was going to tell him that she did not have a choice, because she had orders, but Spock beat her to speaking with his own response, "Dr. Uhura, Lt. Uhura will have to see Mrs. Uhura at another time. For right now, she is safest aboard the ship."
Mwinyi shot a glare in Spock's direction which caused Nyota to flinch and the man asked, "May I at least have a chance to bid my daughter farewell?"
"You certainly may, Doctor, on the way to the ship." Spock urged Nyota to continue walking and Mwinyi walked next to her, with Spock directly behind them and Rand following behind Spock.
As they reached outside, Mwinyi said, "I want to take a brief walk with my daughter to properly tell her goodbye."
Spock placed his hands behind his back and apologized, "I am afraid that I can not allow this. The two women are to be beamed up, at once, Doctor." Nyota placed her hand on Spock's shoulder, to try to talk him down a bit, but he removed her hand, swiftly and told her, "Lt. Uhura, my orders from the Captain are clear."
She lifted both of her hand into the sky in resignation, but Mwinyi became quite indignant as he insisted, "Spock, I have treated you like a son. If you do not allow me to properly tell my daughter goodbye until we meet again, I can assure you that my relationship with you will be tarnished!"
Nyota was alarmed by her father's tone, expression and assurance, but Spock simply responded coolly, "Then, Dr. Uhura, allow me to apologize in advance for tarnishing our relationship." He opened his communicator and said, "Mr. Scott, come in..." Nyota was about to become angry with Spock when suddenly, Rand screamed. Spock turned to see three barbarians apprehending the young Yeoman.
"Aye, Mr. Spock?" Scotty responded through the communicator.
"Stand by," Spock ordered as he rushed to try to assist Rand with her captors. Nyota was safe with her father, for a moment, at least. Spock grabbed Janice's hands and one of the Vulcans wrestled him to the ground. These were quite bold to attack in daylight, right outside of the Embassy, but here they were.
Nyota had nearly ran to rescue Janice herself, but Mwinyi had grabbed her and said, "Spock can help her."
"There's three of them and one of him, you go help him, too." She urged.
Mwinyi informed her, "I am sorry to say that I am more concerned about you than I am about this girl. Spock can help her, you come with me." Spock fell to the ground with a Vulcan on top of him and Nyota called his name and tried to rush to his aide, now. Once again Mwinyi interceded, putting a restrictive hold on her to keep her from the fight.
"Baba, Spock is in trouble!" She yelled.
"You can not help him in your condition!" He insisted. She gave him a frightened look at his mention of her condition. "Sybok told me about your most recent pregnancy. You need to come with me, Nyota." He began to pull her away, but upon suddenly realizing now why he had been acting so oddly, she let out a terrified cry that grabbed Spock's attention from his current struggle. When he looked up, Mwinyi had thrown Nyota over his shoulder and was running away with her, reaching out towards Spock and screaming his name. Spock pulled himself from the ground and tried to chase after her, but one of the Vulcans stopped him, wrestling him back to the ground.
Spock elbowed the Vulcan and applied the neck pinch to him, causing him to drop almost immediately as the other two kept Rand in their clutches. Spock opened his communicator while running after Mwinyi and said in a slightly breathy, albeit calm voice, "Captain, a situation has occurred outside and assistance is greatly needed. Barbarian Vulcans have apprehended the Yeoman and run off with her."
"You are going after them, right?" Dr. McCoy called out from next to Jim.
Spock replied, "Negative. Lt. Uhura has also been apprehended and is being taken in the exact opposite direction."
"Well go after her!" Jim ordered, needlessly.
"Order already in progress, Captain." Spock answered, trying to run harder.
"Bones and I will retrieve Rand." The captain told him. That had been the purpose of his contacting them, but it would have been pointless to point this out.
Kirk and McCoy rushed out of the Embassy and saw the two Vulcans who held Rand. They rushed in her direction, but the Vulcans dropped her to the ground and kept going. Rand was screaming and crying, at the same time. She sat up and threw her arms around Dr. McCoy, "Oh, Doctor! It was awful!"
She cried onto his shoulder and he offered, "There, there. You're safe now."
Kirk urged, "Did you see where they took Lt. Uhura?"
Rand pointed a shaky finger in a certain direction and said, "Dr. Uhura rushed off with her that way."
Now, McCoy helped her to stand as Kirk asked, "Dr. Uhura? Why would he kidnap his own daughter?"
Rand snapped, "I don't know! All I know is that I want to get out of this place!" Dr. McCoy, straightened her hair a little and looked at Kirk.
Kirk opened his communicator and said, "Mr. Scott, lock in on these coordinates and beam up Yeoman Rand immediately. Have someone from medical meet her in the transporter room."
"Aye, Captain." Scotty replied.
Dr. McCoy rubbed Rand's shoulders, gently and assured her, "My people will have you better in no time." She nodded her head at him as she began to dematerialize. When she disappeared, Kirk pointed in the direction that she had pointed in and said, "He probably headed for the institution. It's that way." They both began to run and on the way, Kirk asked McCoy, "Why the hell would Dr. Uhura kidnap his own daughter from her husband when he's trying to get her to safety?"
"Well how am I supposed to know? Damn it, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a psychic! Nothing on this planet has made any sense to me since we got here." They reached the institution to see Spock, standing outside of it with his hands behind his back studying the doorway.
Kirk spoke first, in asking, "Did they go inside?"
Spock sighed at the ridiculousness of the question, but he answered it, "Yes they did, Captain." He continued to study the doorway. "This building is built extremely well. It is more like a fortress, than an institution. I am finding no way of entering the building while it is secured."
His voice was so calm that Kirk knew that he was trying extra hard to keep his composure. He didn't want to set him over the edge, but he said, "I am sure that Lt. Uhura and the baby will be safe, if she is with her father. But I don't understand why he took her."
Spock looked at him, "For you to know that information, I must presume that you were able to obtain Yeoman Rand. If they wanted to keep Rand, they would not have let you have her without a fight. You do not appear to have been in a fight. If that is so, my theory is correct, in concluding that Yeoman Rand's abduction was merely a distraction to take Lt. Uhura." Kirk heard Spock's voice waver ever so slightly when he said her name, but he would not react to the notice.
Instead, Kirk asked, "Why did Dr. Uhura take Lt. Uhura away from you?"
"My presumption is that Sybok mentally manipulated him into doing so." Spock answered.
Dr. McCoy became outraged as he asked, "What the hell kind of a being makes a man place his own pregnant daughter in danger by kidnapping her from her husband?"
"The kind of being that I'm gonna beat the hell out of when I get my hands on him." Jim said.
Spock looked at Kirk and informed him, "Captain, the typical Vulcan is three times as strong as a human."
"As the typical human," Kirk corrected.
Spock continued as though Kirk had not interjected, "And you were unable to defend yourself against the attack of a half Vulcan. In a test of physical strength, Sybok would terminate you very quickly, as he is stronger, even than a typical Vulcan. However, Sybok would not waste his physical strength on you, as he is even keener at mental capabilities than he is physical attributes. I appreciate your concern on the matter, however it would be unwise of you to attempt to battle Sybok." Spock touched the door, as though trying to feel something that could not be seen there. Kirk and McCoy simply watched.
"What the hell's he doing, Bones?" Kirk asked.
McCoy answered, "I believe that he is trying to assert his telepathy through the building, Jim."
Spock removed his hands from the door and said, "I know exactly where she is. I must speak with my father, right away." He walked off, with his hands behind his back, heading for the Embassy.
Kirk and McCoy fell into step with him and Kirk said, "You know, Spock, as two of the three people you care the most about, we would not see you any differently if you allowed yourself to show how you feel about all of this. Your pregnant wife being kidnapped by her father while under the control of your crazed brother are acceptable conditions for you to show emotion."
Spock commented, "While acceptable to you, Captain - I fail to see the reason as to why I would do such a thing when it would not bring me any closer to rescuing my wife." Kirk nodded his head and left the subject alone. The fact that Spock, while in duty mode had referred to Lt. Uhura as "my wife," was probably as deep a show of emotion as he was going to allow for the moment. Spock did not need any distractions from this situation.
Mwinyi set Nyota on her feet and she struggled to catch her breath. She screamed the entire way to the institution, struggling with her father and trying to free herself from his grip. The older man was in wonderful condition. She discovered a few years back that his health was actually in better condition than her own and apparently that fact had not changed. He smiled at her and said, "Follow me." She opened her communicator, but he gently snatched it away and threw it against a wall. "This way," he said and began to walk.
She hated to consider it, but she began to try to look for something to incapacitate him with, her own father! She shuddered at the thought, but her disgust with it did not take her focus off of what she needed to do. He was under another influence. She had to escape! Nothing that she could see would prove useful in taking him down and she did not have a phaser on herself. Mwinyi said, "Styik will be pleased to speak with you." Now, she halted and stared at the back of her father's head. He stopped as well and faced her, "You did wish to visit him, did you not? Sybok told me that you did."
"Baba, Sybok has control over your mind. You have a great mind. Fight him!" She advised, no she urged passionately.
Mwinyi merely smiled and commented, "Fighting Sybok only makes life harder. You have to give in to him to be able to achieve all of the happiness that he has in store for you. Come, now and speak with Styik."
"Before, you seemed to want me nowhere near the child." Nyota reminded him.
He simply replied, "Sybok has shown me that it will be beneficial. Styik is not going to hurt you like he has hurt so many others."
Now, she followed him, too curious in what was in store for a visit with the unique child to focus on escape at the moment. Mwinyi opened the door to the room where the young boy sat, not restrained to his chair this time and Nyota entered the room. When she entered the room, Mwinyi left them alone. Styik stood up and walked over to her, looking into her eyes as he did. She stared at the child for a while, then he spoke directly to her mind in saying, "Welcome, Friend. I have been waiting for you to visit me again."