Until We Meet Again
Most of New Vulcan's visitors left promptly after the ceremony, as Vulcans were not the most hospitable of hosts. All of the alien lifeforms present, while delighted to still have Vulcans considered an important part of political affairs, did not enjoy being on their planet as much as they might have warmer hosts. Everyone understood that the Vulcan logic did not take into consideration warmth, while they did however use manners in most situations. Amongst themselves, the other alien lifeforms decided that they would not petition New Vulcan to hold any other functions for any other accomplishments, not officially. By the third day of the diplomatic assignment, the Enterprise was one of very few non-Vulcan lifeforms remaining on New Vulcan.
Starfleet Command had given orders to Captain Kirk to drop Sybok off at a post while en route to the location of their next mission, which they would be venturing towards by New Vulcan's nightfall. In the meantime, Sybok remained in a cell in the brig, with a forcefield around the door guarded by security detail wearing soundproof helmets, set to buzz on the inside in the event that an emergency mode was entered on the rest of the ship – red alerts, etc.
Sybok had not tried to escape or fight with anyone since waking up in the cell. He merely awoke, looked at the humans around him and his environment and laughed at their attempts to keep him. The sound proof helmets would not help them if he desired to control them. He would simply crawl into their minds, which he needed no sense of their hearing to do. He chuckled at the idea of Spock trying to tell them this, and Kirk telling them to wear the ridiculous things, anyway. He thought of Styik...
The child was even better than he ever imagined. He should have known, with the knowledge of Taavik's practices in his little mind. Taavik had been training to be a Vulcan priestess when Sybok took her with him. Sybok and Taavik were bonded at any early age, but Sybok always kept her in his thoughts and connected with her when possible. He had decided early in life that he wished to know his bride better than the other Vulcans knew their own before marrying.
She had been with T'Pau, along with Spock's mate, T'Pring, who was merely a child at the time, when T'Pau was trying to speak logically to Sybok against his rebellious nature. T'Pau pointed out that just because Sybok's mother had brought shame upon herself with her actions of having a child out of wedlock did not mean that he should follow a far worse illogical path of rejecting Surak and embracing emotions. T'Pau had spoken for him to be admitted into the Vulcan learning system. Despite his conception, he was fully Vulcan, one of her own bloodline, and she perceived worthy of a proper Vulcan education. Sybok had been taught in the same manner as all other Vulcans, but constant torture from other Vulcan children easily separated his knowledge and his feelings.
His knowledge would grow and excel beyond many of those who spoke against him, but his feelings would swelter within, like a pot warming to a boil. By the time he was admitted into the Vulcan Science Academy, the pot was boiling, nearly out of control. Other students bothered him about his mother, about the fact that his mother had been cast out of Vulcan and he should have gone with her. Sybok thought that he had become able to control himself when bothered in this fashion, until one day, a comment was made that proved to him otherwise.
Sybok made a presentation, in front of a vast group of peers, completely void of emotional inflection in his voice or any facial expressions, as he had been trained by his father for many years to maintain himself. His work was flawless and his findings impressive to all, even the professor. Then, one of the other Vulcan males, when the floor became open for questions and comments, asked, "Did you learn these marvelous facts from your human whore mother, or the Vulcan whore who bore you?" The man's voice showed no sign of taunting, and in hindsight, Sybok sometimes thought that just maybe it did not even occur to the Vulcan the delicate nature of his usage of the words. To him, that word was accurately descriptive of the woman who had to help his father attempt to bring him up when he was accepted into school, and the one who had to leave him behind, after giving him life. But, the words meant so much more to Sybok, who had been delicately holding on to all of his Vulcan teachings.
On that day, Sybok went into a fury. The other Vulcans were not familiar with these facial expressions, with the pitch of tone his voice reached, or with the violence which he inflicted upon the male. Several of his peers attempted to intercede for the one being beaten senseless, but Sybok held most of them back with his mental capability. This was something which the others knew that they possibly possessed, and sometimes fought the urge to use, but never had dared or even seen it used so openly to support violence! Violence was against the teachings of Surak! This outburst was completely against everything that they stood for as Vulcans. When Sybok was able to calm himself, he stared at the bloodied, green covered student and said simply, "I researched the facts myself." He walked out of the classroom and away from the academy, knowing that he would be kicked out anyway, and he headed for the caves.
He spent several years living out of the caves, taking in those who were confused and conflicted about their issues with controlling their emotions and suppressing desires. Those who were having issues with the Vulcan way of life began to seek him out and listen to his denouncement of Surak and Vulcan knowledge. T'Pau was summoned by the elders to go to him and attempt to bring him back to the others, so that he might return to his path.
The woman had the two Vulcan females of the family with her and upon her arrival into Sybok's cave dwellings, he looked at them and asked, "Where is my father's wife?"
T'Pau answered, "It would not have been suitable for her to be here in such a delicate situation."
Sybok paraphrased ,"You mean, you did not want her emotions to be involved in a conversation against emotions."
T'Pau slightly bowed her head and said, "As you wish, Sybok. You realize that if you do not cease your current path and return to the path of Surak, then the elders will have no choice but to exile you from the planet, along with those who follow your illogical teachings."
Sybok spent most of that time looking at Taavik. It had been several years since he saw her, and she was even more beautiful to him than ever before, and now, he did not mind looking at her as such. He did not mind feeling for her in the presence of even T'Pau.
He said to the elder as he looked at his mate, "My friends and I are willing to leave, if that is what must be so - all of those who have rejected Surak's ways of logic and embraced the pleasures of emotion. All we really need is a way out of here, T'Pau."
"It shall be given." She said, flatly.
"I request to take my wife with me." Sybok added.
T'Pau looked at Taavik. Taavik showed no emotion whatsoever as she stared upon Sybok. T'Pau turned back to Sybok and informed him, "Taavik belongs to the order of Surak. She would not forsake her duties to remain bonded to one who is being exiled. The logical course of action would be for you to release her that she may find a suitable mate."
"Did you ask her?" Sybok asked T'Pau, still with his eyes piercing into Taavik.
They both looked at Taavik and she removed her shawl and handed it to T'Pau, saying, "My place is with my bond mate."
"I shall not perform a wedding for you." T'Pau told her earnestly.
"We will have a wedding in the land that we must flee to, to free ourselves of the oppression of your precious logic." Sybok informed her, and that was what they did.
Sybok laid down in the cell, staring at the wall from the floor. Spock decided to visit him before he went back to the surface of New Vulcan. Sybok felt Spock walk up to the doorway of the cell, but he did not acknowledge him.
Spock informed him in an even tone, "It seems only proper for me to tell you that Nyota and I have decided to adopt Styik, after your role as legal guardian of him is revoked by the Federation." Sybok did not respond. Instead, he sat up and seated himself in position to look at Spock. Spock looked the same as he always did – as though nothing had happened and as though nothing was going on.
Sybok finally responded with, "Styik will never allow you to be his father. He did not allow me and he will not allow you. The truth is, Styik is a terrible child. He is evil and hateful. He will put you and your wife against each other and he will always seem innocent. You will regret this decision. Styik hates you."
"Not more than he hates you. Styik and I will work through our past. He does not seem interested in working through the one he has with you. I am overtly curious about something... did you truly plan on investing time into having a wife whom you would have to force to think that she cares for you?" Spock questioned.
The interrogation brought a small smile to Sybok's face. He replied, with what seemed to be complete amusement, "It would not have mattered. She was not the area of significance. Of course, she was intriguing and I wanted her, but if she was someone else and served the same purpose, I still would have used her. Styik is the only thing left that I have of Taavik, besides memories. She would have walked through fire for me, and was there for me when no one else was... and when she needed me the most, I was not there. When Styik needed me, I was not there. I tried to make it up to him, to fix things between us, but he had her inside of him and she had grown to hate me for not being there. He grew to hate me, as well. He has blocked me out for so long to punish me. I was tired of being punished. I was tired of being shut out from him. I wanted to connect with him, and I believed that your wife could help me." He stood up and walked to the doorway, stopped at the forcefield, and said, "I know what it is like to have one's wife taken away and to be powerless against it. It was not my intention for you, but when Styik planted the idea, and I saw it as my only way to be in contact with the child who my wife loved enough to die for, I placed my concern for you out of my mind."
"And now you will be taken to a prison planet." Spock said with a hint of arrogance in his tone.
Sybok laughed and said, "It will be no worse than all of the years I spent on dead and gone Vulcan, nor any worse than all of the years that I have been without my wife. I have been imprisoned since I lost my wife, five years ago. Have you noticed the pattern, Spock? My mother was taken away from me, I was banished from my home, I lost my wife, I lost my son. Your mother was killed, your home destroyed, you have lost two children... Spock, you and I are not very different. We have had the same experiences, albeit they have come about in different ways. You did not lose your wife, so you have not yet known the real pain that I live with each day. I can take away anyone else's pain, and yet I am stuck with my own."
Spock sighed, almost having some sympathy for Sybok, but not able to do so fully, as Sybok had created this destiny for himself. Spock merely stated, "Sybok, although the things that we have experienced may seem similar to you, they do not make us the same. The choices that we make define who we are. You chose to be here. I simply came to tell you that you will not be seeing Styik again." Spock began to walk away.
"Spock!" Sybok called and Spock turned to look at him. Sybok shared the opinion, "You will never be able to look at that boy and see him as your child. He will always be a thing to you. To me, he is my wife's son. It is just like he is my own! I love Styik."
"You attacked him." Spock said, calmly, but with a fragment of anger in his tone.
Sybok tried to explain, "I was trying to subdue him so that I could get him out of there."
Spock now simply stated, "He is out now, and in good hands. So, if you were worried about his condition, you have nothing else to worry about. Goodbye, Sybok." Spock left the area and Sybok returned to laying on the floor.
He said out loud, in Vulcan, though no one was around to hear, "Until we meet again, Brother."
At the end of the night of the ceremony, Kirk, McCoy, Mwinyi, Ambassador Spock, Sarek, and Spock all sat at a round table in one of the Embassy ballrooms. Ashaki had been taken back to her room in the institution and Mwinyi was now intoxicated. Several of the other alien lifeforms had brought in their native alcohol and liquors for those at the gathering who would partake of it, despite the fact that Vulcans generally did not, and Kirk had been certain to obtain as much of it as he could for afterwards. He and Mwinyi were practically drinking by themselves, as McCoy had been nursing the same glass for nearly an hour and the Vulcans had merely been seated with them in conversation.
For the third time of the evening, Kirk lifted his glass into the air and made a toast. The first had been to "Our girl being found". The second had been to "Leaving this damned planet on tomorrow night", and this current toast was , "To my new godbaby and my new adopted godson!" Mwinyi seemed to throw him a glare at this particular toast and did not lift his glass to Kirk's, as he had done so on the past two – an action, or non-action, rather, which did not escape Spock's notice.
McCoy, however did lift his glass to Kirk's and decided to finish off the rest of this particular drink in one gulp before shaking his head and commenting, "I just still don't understand how you can go from insisting that this is the most dangerous kid in the universe and we have to get Uhura from his clutches to keeping him as your own child, and leaving him alone with her right now, in your quarters."
Spock simply explained, "With all of today's turmoil, the elders are eager to finally be rid of the child. He has established a great connection with Lt. Uhura and she would not have wished for him to be returned to the institution, even if he was wanted back. It was a logical decision for me to take on responsibility for him in the event that there was nowhere else for him to be taken proper care of." Mwinyi smacked his teeth at the statement, but Spock ignored it and continued speaking, "Besides, the child loves her very dearly, as he has shown me. I believe that without the stress of feeling imprisoned that I can help him to control his emotions and that she will assist him in receiving the positive emotions which he so longs for." Mwinyi seemed to be exaggeratedly rolling his eyes and heaving frustrated sighs from his mouth. Spock looked at his father in law and said, "I am concerned to know your thoughts on the matter, Dr. Uhura..."
Mwinyi stood up, knocked down his chair as he did, threw his glass across the room and screamed at Spock, "I am your damned father in law! Stop calling me Dr. Uhura!" Spock stared at the man, hoping that his lack of a response would not send him into further rage. Mwinyi seemed to take a moment to catch his breath as he folded his arms and staggered a bit, while merely standing. Then, he asked Spock, "What kind of a doctor convinces his wife to come into an asylum with him, and allows her to be driven madder than anyone else in it, by one of the children in his care? I should have stopped trying, then! I never should have had her here, in the first place, but it was so damned important to my career, to my name to establish psychiatric findings amongst Vulcans that I put my wife in danger and now she is staring at walls and laughing at nothing, screaming at nothing... There is nothing in her eyes when I try to look into them, and you take the creature that made that possible home with you and with my daughter and with my grandchild and you have the audacity to ask me my thoughts on it?" Mwinyi covered his face with both hands and began to cry.
Spock stood up, but decided against placing a hand on the man to console him. Instead, he merely stated, "I apologize for offending you, Mwinyi. I did not intend to seem insensitive about the tragedy in which you live."
Mwinyi wiped his eyes clear, waved a hand and nearly tripped over his toppled chair trying to move away from the table, as he announced, "I'm going home. Give me a bottle of something to take with me."
"I do not believe that you should have another drink." Spock stated.
"I do not believe I asked you that." Mwinyi stated, grabbing a bottle from the table, in front of Kirk and staggering towards the exit.
Kirk stood up and said, "I think Bones and I should make sure he gets home safely. It may be better for him to just have a couple of guys who know a thing or two about getting depressed, getting drunk... Come on, Bones." McCoy got up from the table and the two humans caught up with Dr. Uhura on his way tripping over the bare floor leading to the door.
Spock heard McCoy say, "I'm going to have to check on Janice before it gets too late."
Then Kirk replied, "I saw you leave my gathering with that hot Vulcan red head, so I don't really know what it is with this sudden interest in Yeoman Rand. Just to let you know, today was my confirmation that I don't want anymore couples on my ship." He threw Spock a smile and the three men made their way out of the door.
The last statement that Spock heard from the group, was McCoy admitting, "The funny thing is Janice became most interested in me after I met the red head Vulcan. A fine specimen..."
Now, as Spock sat alone with Sarek and Ambassador Spock, he felt himself stiffen a bit. Oddly enough, the time when most others would decide to relax, he reacted in the opposite way. He started the next conversation with the words, "I have heard no opinion from either of you of my decision as it relates to the child."
Sarek let out a short gust of air and said, "You presented logical reasons as to why you have made the decision. At this point, no other opinion is needed."
Spock looked to Ambassador Spock, who answered, "I am inclined to agree with our father on this subject."
Spock now let out an exhale of his own, but a much deeper one than that of his father. He intertwined his fingers on the table and said, "Although I may have presented logical reasons for my decision, ultimately, I did not use logic when making the choice. I merely did what my wife wished for me to do. I do not believe that we should keep the child. I will try to do everything that I need to do to help him to become a better Vulcan and a better being in general, but it was not my wish to take him in."
Ambassador Spock stated, "Yet, you believe that you can come to care for the child. You may even consider the child as your own someday."
"I will have my own. My own is growing within my wife right now. Styik was genuinely hurt when he put Mrs. Uhura in her condition. He had not meant to harm her at all, yet it still occurred. The wisest course of action would have been to keep the child as far away from my pregnant wife as possible. However, when he touched my hand to show me how he felt about her, it was akin to how I felt about Mother. The thought of separating them grieved me, considering his separation from his mother many months ago."
"You felt guilt." Ambassador Spock said. "You felt the guilt that you have been trying to shield from your wife since her mother's injury and you could not bear to take anything from neither her, nor the child knowing that in the same day, they had both lost their mothers as they knew them."
Spock tilted his head, slightly. He had not considered it that way, but it sounded accurate.
Now, Sarek informed him in a solemn tone, "Spock, taking the child into your home and accepting him as your own will not restore to him nor to your wife their mothers. What else would you have yourself to gain by this decision?"
"A sense of quietude, I presume. Keeping the condition of her mother hidden from her was quite a difficult task. However, it was Dr. Uhura's wishes not to share the information, as he believed it could harm Saada's development. I often wonder if I did not accidentally pass into her some of my own tension over the matter..."
"Spock, you are not responsible for your daughter's death. You are not responsible for your mother in law's condition, and you are not responsible for Styik's future. You do not have to take the child, but I believe as you have stated before that it would be beneficial to him if you did." Sarek said, openly.
"I wish to bring him with us on tomorrow when we gather for a farewell." Spock said.
Sarek's eyes hinted at something akin to amusement as he responded, "Spock, of course your son is welcome in my home."
"Mwinyi will not be so open to him." Spock stated. "It will hurt Nyota to see her father react in the way that may react to the boy."
"Mwinyi will pull himself together for his daughter's sake." Sarek assured him.
Nyota contacted Captain Kirk on his communicator to retrieve permission to come to the surface of the planet with the child and Chekov. Chekov would be allowed to accompany her for her safety while she retrieved Styik some necessary items. She managed to have time enough to obtain a few Vulcan children's outfits for the boy before they would be scheduled to go to Sarek's home. Before then, all the child had were gray asylum uniforms. She took him to get more dignified Vulcan attire, with Chekov assisting her. Chekov generally came along with her when she needed to go shopping or to hang out.
She was close enough with Janice and Christine to go with either of them, but Chekov had made a special mark on her heart and she considered him to be one of her dearest friends. Besides the fact that Christine still looked at Spock longingly when she thought that no one saw her and that Janice had her own romantic endeavors to see herself to, Chekov generally had different short lived relationships with pretty young ladies on the ship, but he had a special bond to Nyota. One of deep friendship, and they both enjoyed each other's company so much that she knew he would be the only person suitable enough on the ship to actually make a chore like Vulcan children's shopping a nice experience.
He remained in his uniform, while she came down in civilian clothing – African garments of red, violet, and gold, with a matching scarf draped around her head, and material covering everything but her face. She went into a place where the Vulcan dignitaries generally obtained most of their clothing. The Vulcan woman in the store was used to others coming in for them, as High Vulcans rarely did their own shopping for usage of more important things. She was a bit shocked, although she did not show it, to see two humans and a Vulcan child enter.
Nyota addressed the woman in High Vulcan dialect, announcing to her, "I am the wife of Spock, son of Sarek. This is our soon to be adopted son. I am in need of attire fitting for the boy." Now, the woman paused for a bit of time, and Nyota knew that it was an observation of shock. Every Vulcan on the planet knew her husband and knew that his wife was human, but they had never met her, nor seen her.
The woman quickly made her way to Nyota and began to collect several garments for the child, speaking as she did, "As I am informed that Spock has no offspring of his own, as of yet, I believe that I would be correct in presuming that you are not familiar with all of the articles of Vulcan children's attire, namely of those Vulcans in the elite families. The ones in the caves dress wholly different." Nyota knew that the woman was referring to the so called barbarians, and she was a bit relieved that the woman had the decency enough not to use the word. "These will be sufficient for the child. He must be one of the emotional ones, with this illogical haircut. I see it necessary to advise you to cut his hair. A child of his standing with hair growing in front of his view is uncalled for. His bangs cover both his eyebrows and his eyes in a manner that if he is to sweat or become wet in any possible way, the hair will stick him in his eyes."
"I will cut my hair." Styik said. The woman froze and looked at him. Vulcan children did not usually speak in public settings unless acknowledged as part of the conversation. He had not asked to become part of the conversation and be heard.
Nyota took his hand into hers and said, "Please, just gather a wardrobe for us. My husband is more than familiar with the customs of Vulcan dignitaries, having been raised by an Ambassador."
"Very well, Mistress -" It annoyed Nyota a bit that all of the Vulcans could say her own last name and she could not. Of course it was to be expected, as it was their native tongue, but she had never met a word that she could not tackle, and this one was proving especially difficult. Spock had informed her that it took his own mother many years to learn to pronounce their family name properly and that he was well into his boyhood by the time that she had. That gave her some sense of comfort. At least she was not the only one.
Nyota looked over at Chekov to see him studying a rack of tunics, muttering in Russian that this shop was ridiculous, that all of these outfits looked virtually the same and asking what the difference was between two particular tunics. It amused her as she made her way to the counter, behind the Vulcan woman. "Come on, Chekov. Don't let the tunics get to you." She joked. He laughed at himself a bit, not having realized that she could hear him complaining. He gathered the clothing for her and they made their way back to the Embassy.
She and Chekov sat at a small table in the room which had been prepared for her and Spock upon their arrival. She contacted Spock to let him know that they were in the room and he assured her that he would arrive shortly to meet with them. Styik prepared himself in the bathroom while Chekov and Nyota talked. Chekov started by saying, "Your new son is very smart. I showed him the principles of 3D chess last night and he has beat me every game since then. I believe that he likes me. We are going to be great friends."
She nodded in agreement and said, "I think he likes you more than he does Spock."
Chekov could not fight off a snorting laugh, which caused her to give him a look of surprise. Chekov explained, "If I may so say myself, Lt. Uhura, I happen to be more likable than the Commander. With his logical solutions and precise estimations and neutral positions... and his pointed ears and devil eyebrows..."
"OKAY!" She was annoyed by his words, "Thank you for such an accurate description of my husband, Chekov. You do realize that my children may most likely look the same way, as Vulcan genes are generally stronger than human genes, my children have a good chance of appearing more Vulcan, even though they'll be more human."
Chekov seemed to be thinking about something, now. He stated, "I wonder... a few of the Vulcan girls were looking at me earlier. I would possibly be interested in one of them, but I am curious about when you are together with one of them. As strange as a picture as it is in my head, I know because of the creation of babies that you and Commander Spock have a somewhat active..."
"Chekov-" This conversation was going nowhere that she wanted to discuss.
"I only mean to ask, when you are with Commander Spock, are his looks very distracting?"
"Chekov!" She snapped.
He tried to explain, "I am wondering in case I get lucky with a New Vulcan girl!"
Her response was thwarted by Styik's emergence from the bathroom. He had cut his hair into the traditional Vulcan haircut, as the store woman had advised, and Nyota had only just noticed how pronounced the slants of his eyebrows were – even more "devilish" than Spock's and other Vulcans she was familiar with. The haircut made Styik look even older, as though the gray streaks of his black hair had not been enough to do so. The haircut also made the emerald color in his eyes stand out and they seemed illuminated in the light of the room.
The all black Vulcan attire that he had chosen added even more to the appearance of maturity. He looked like a little man with an angel face, save the eyebrows, as he approached the table with his hands behind his back.
"Guardian Nyota, do you believe that my appearance is presentable enough for Guardian Spock and his family?"
Chekov made a worried face and said, "Oh no, he has turned into little Commander Spock."
Nyota threw him a warning look and he looked towards the sky, as though looking for something, but simply avoiding her glare. She looked back at Styik with soft eyes and said, "I believe that you are above and beyond the expectations of the family."
Spock entered the room and paused when he saw the young child standing with perfect posture beside Nyota. She smiled at Spock and Spock slightly bowed his head to acknowledge her. He looked at Chekov and said, "The captain has asked that you return to the ship now, Mr. Chekov. I shall handle Lt. Uhura and the child from this point."
"Yes, Commander." Chekov responded and left the room to go back to the pick up area for the transporter. Once alone with her husband and child, Nyota stood from the table and greeted Spock with a hug and a kiss. He tensed up in her hold, as he felt a bit uncomfortable showing such affections with the child present. Yesterday had been different. He had nearly lost her and had found her. Affection was virtually unavoidable in that circumstance, but today, he withdrew from her touch and asked, "Are you both prepared to visit my father's home?" Both Spock and Nyota looked at Styik, who the question was truly intended for.
The child responded, "There is no time like the present."
Spock lifted an eyebrow at him and Nyota said, "My mother said that when asked if she was ready to do something."
"I am familiar with the old Terran cliché." Spock replied. Nyota took Styik's hand with one of hers and locked her other arm in Spock's, as they walked through the Embassy. Styik tried to ignore the many glances that they were receiving. He knew that most of the looks were directed towards Nyota and not himself, as she was a human in between two Vulcans, connected with their hands. The other Vulcans knew who Spock was and that he had a human wife, and Styik deduced that they were just trying to observe her. It still made him nervous, until she squeezed his hand and he looked at her.
"It's alright, Child." She used the Vulcan word for "my child", instead of "a child", as she had when she first met him, but today, it meant so much more to him than it had on that day.
The walk to Sarek's home helped Styik to relax. He pulled his hand away from Nyota and clasped both of his hands in front of himself. Nyota placed her hand in Spock's hand, with their arms still intertwined. They walked in a straight, horizontal line the entire way to the mansion.
Nyota felt her eyes light up when she saw her father. She rushed to him and gave him a hug. He said, "Nyota, I am so sorry about what happened." She was unsure of whether he meant kidnapping her for Sybok or the condition that Styik put her mother in.
Either way, she answered, "It was out of your control, Baba." Mwinyi looked at Styik and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck, as well as on his arms stand up straight. Styik met with Dr. Uhura's stare head on, not the least bit nervous nor intimidated. The child bowed his head slightly at the man, then kept his eye contact with him. Mwinyi looked back to his daughter and said, "I will not be able to stay, I am afraid. I have much work to do. Perhaps another time we will have to gather. I must leave now." She knew that her eyes grew sad upon him. "I can hardly wait until we have that grandchild come to visit us. Perhaps some time we can all get together, you, your brothers and I and spend some time as a family..." He dropped his head and Nyota sighed, sadly. "Maybe one day, your mother can join us again." He gave her another brief hug and exited quickly, not bidding anyone else, not even Spock, farewell.
When he left, Styik said, "He is grieving."
Spock gave him a look and told him, "You do not need to make such observations out loud. You could upset your mother." Spock looked at Nyota, who simply smiled about the fact that he had just referred to her as Styik's mother.
Sarek hugged Nyota and told her that it was pleasant news that she nor the baby had been harmed at Sybok's hands. She gave him an exaggerated smacking kiss on the cheek, with a "mwah" sound. Sarek showed a look of genuine surprise at her gesture, which caused Styik to giggle silently. Nyota winked at the child when she noticed his reaction. Sarek straightened his clothing and his face simultaneously and said, "At any rate, we are fortunate that you are still with us, Nyota." Now, she smiled with the thought that she may start crying. Sarek called her "daughter" or by her last name, whether preceded by Lt. or Miss, but never did he call her by her first name.
It made her believe that he was genuinely glad that she was alright, even if he was not really showing it. She wiped a single tear and whispered, "Hormones," as her reason for allowing one to fall.
She, then looked at Ambassador Spock and she smiled warmly, but not too overtly happily at him. It was the kind of smile you gave a dear friend when they did something extra special, only he had not done anything, as far as he knew to deserve such a gift. She greeted him with a hug as well, and a softer kiss on the corner of his mouth – one, Spock noted, that she might have given him as a greeting. Styik smirked slightly at this, but straightened his expression when Spock's eyes feel upon his small face.
Ravalan was present. She was seated on a circular cushion chair with her legs underneath her body, staring at a computer screen. She did not acknowledge that anyone else was even in the house. Styik walked over to her and took a seat next to her. She turned slowly towards him, gazed at him for a moment, then turned her head away, stating, "You look so much like her... no wonder he would not let you go." He knew that she was referring to his mother.
He replied with, "You look like her too. No wonder he married you." Now, she glared at the boy, then she collected her computer and left the room to go back into her own chambers.
"Styik." Spock stated sternly. When the boy looked at him, Spock asked, "What did you do?"
"Responded to her greeting," Styik answered. Spock gave him a look that indicated that he knew there was more to it, and that he was not pleased. Styik tried to hide a smirk as he placed his head down and stared at his palms.
Sarek commented, "You seem to be fitting into the role of father quite well and easily, Spock." Spock looked at his father, and stated, "Nyota says that I am a quick study, however, I believe that much more credit is due to our Styik. He is trying victoriously to be a proper Vulcan child."
"He cut his hair himself." Nyota said with a smile. "He looks so mature."
"He is quite mature, despite his age." Ambassador Spock stated.
All of the others in the room turned to look at the boy. Styik felt their eyes upon him and he looked at them as well. Nyota went over to the chair to sit with him and placed him on her lap, saying, "I don't care how mature he is. Very soon, he is going to become my little boy." She kissed him on the cheek and he smiled about it, looking at Spock as he did. Spock placed his hands behind his back and suggested, "Shall the family eat a meal and share conversation before the three of us are to return to the ship to leave?"
Nyota got ready to prepare the food, but Spock insisted that she remain with his family and he went to do it himself. She sat at the table with Sarek, Styik, and Ambassador Spock, before the latter got up and excused himself to check and see if Spock needed assistance.
Spock looked at the elder as he entered the kitchen area, and stated, "I have everything under control, Ambassador."
Ambassador Spock nodded his head and said, "In that case, I shall not assist you. However, there is a matter which I believe should be discussed." Spock had an idea of what that matter would be – Nyota. The older Spock continued to say, "I think that an apology is in order for my behavior on the last time which you saw me in this room. You may have felt as though my reactions toward Miss Uhura were severely inappropriate."
Spock tilted his head slightly as he washed vegetables beneath the water of the faucet and he stated, "You behaved for more appropriately towards her than I did prior to our bonding. If I may ask you, how exactly did you manage to work beside her for all of those years without ever succumbing to indulgence?"
Ambassador Spock seemed to think deeply about his answer, and finally responded with, "The first reason must be that I was older by the time that I met her than you even are now. Had I met her at the age which you did, I believe that our relationship might have been entirely different. I am not certain that we would have reached the point which you have, but I am sure that it is likely we would have become something more than what we were. In my youth, I explored some options of experimentations with human women, but none of them were like her. The problems that such explorations brought about easily remedied my inclination towards indulgence years before I ever laid eyes upon Lt. Uhura. By the time that I finally did, although I rather enjoyed the sight of her, I had too much control over my emotions to ever allow her to dedicate herself to me. I knew that I would have been an incapable mate, never giving myself to her in the way which you now do, and she deserved more. She deserved... she deserves you."
Spock began to cut the vegetables into slices as he said, "You and I are the same being, just in two separate bodies."
"That would appear to make us two separate beings, Spock. I am the Vulcan that you might have become without her." Ambassador Spock replied, causing Spock's eyebrow to lift, as he had just described the Vulcan in the same way to Nyota just nights ago. The ambassador placed a hand on Spock's shoulder and said, "I am glad that she has come back to us. I realize that she is your wife, and not ours. She will lose her conflict of emotions as it relates to me as time goes by, especially after your child is born. She will see you as not only her husband, but the father of her child, as well. I will be a remnant of something that once happened to her and yet never did." He removed his hand from Spock's shoulder and went back into the other room.
Time had been spent with family, and now the new family beamed back aboard the Enterprise with their possessions from New Vulcan and settled into their quarters. Nyota thought to herself that soon they would have to either try to switch quarters or manage to reconstruct their own, for the three of them. In the meantime, Styik could rest on an air mattress that they owned. Upon boarding the ship, Spock changed into his duty uniform and reported to the bridge. Dr. McCoy had ordered Nyota to take a few days off to rest after her run in with Sybok. This did not bother her, as it gave her time to bond more with Styik.
She laid down in the bed and he laid next to her, trying to pretend that he was not nervous nor excited about the path ahead of him. She wrapped an arm around him and he turned on his side with his back facing her. The two of them fell asleep in the bed in exactly that position and were exactly in that position when Spock returned to the quarters after his shift was over. He looked at the air mattress inflated on the floor and thought to pick Styik up and place him on it, but then he realized that their additional covers were not clean. He simply joined them in the bed, wrapping his arms around Nyota as he lay behind her. His hand fell upon Styik's arm as he slept, and although no one was awake to notice, Styik placed his own hand on top of Spock's as they slept.
Five Months Later
Since arriving on the prison planet, Sybok had not made any attempts to do anything besides meditate, ponder his life and exercise. Suddenly, one night, as Sybok laid on the floor of his cell, staring at the ceiling when his cell door opened. He remained exactly where he was, and did not even look up at whomever had come into his cell. When the man with honey tone skin and long black dreadlocks walked into the cell and sat on the bed, Sybok glanced at him. The man smirked and said, "You really are a strange prisoner. Here I am, allowing you freedom and you merely sit there." Sybok did not recognize the accent with which the man spoke, but after a brief reading of him learned that he was from South Africa.
"Why would you be allowing me freedom?" Sybok asked, still not inclined to move. The man responded, "You and I have similar interests and I believe we could benefit each other a great deal. You are the brother of Federation first mate of the Starship Enterprise, the Vulcan Commander Spock, are you not?" Sybok now looked at the man, but remained where he was on the floor. "I have done my research about the matter. What if I were to tell you that my people were now in control of this entire planet and that you and all of the other prisoners are free?"
Sybok sat up, now and asked, "What interest do you have in my brother?"
"Your brother has something that I want. Likewise, I have been told that he has something that you want. A child, if I am not mistaken?"
Sybok stared at the man curiously as he read him, then said, "You are the war criminal Livingston Kurok."
"Ah, my reputation precedes me." Livingston said with a broad smile.
"What could Spock possibly have that you want?"
"The woman that I love." Livingston answered.
A smirk grew on Sybok's face, as he admitted, "I do not believe that my brother is aware that his wife is loved by a federation fugitive. that would not please him."
Livingston stood up and said, "If you love your brother, you can not sign up for this partnership. I plan on making him suffer greatly, both of them."
Sybok reached his hand out to shake Livingston's. And both men walked out of the prison cell.