New Vulcan Generations

by NeshaTriumphs1

Set three years after Illogical Progression not a required read for this fic, however , Spock and Nyota, as husband and wife embark upon a new adventure together - parenthood. But, will things from their pasts and their surroundings make things easier or harder for them to take this journey together?

15. A Ram In The Bush

A Ram In The Bush

Tirza awoke with a start, in the late of night and quickly got out of bed to get dressed in her hooded robe and garments. She had been sensing the need to visit with the elder, T'Pau, for some guidance as it related to the mission which she had been given. However, now speaking to the elder had become urgent, as the issue had become so heavy on her mind that she could not sleep. This was not a common occurrence. Counsel was now necessary, and she knew that T'Pau did not sleep often. The elder spent most if her time in meditation and in counseling other Vulcans. Tirza grabbed herself a lantern and set off through the dark of the night to T'Pau's cave lair.

The journey was unsafe; Tirza knew it. Several Vulcan women had gone missing while out by themselves, and she felt nervous when she passed by a group of illogical Vulcan men on the way. She tried not to look into any of their faces, as she did not wish to seem suggestive of illogical behavior, but she noticed that as she passed, they began to follow her, anyway. Were it three or four men, she may have been able to defend herself, but there were seven of them. She still ignored them until she was surrounded by them. One of them said to another, loudly enough, and purposefully, it seemed, "She appears to be a logical Vulcan, but I doubt it. It certainly was not logical of her to venture into these caves alone."

Tirza ignored the comment and attempted to walk past the Vulcan who said it, but he placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her and she paused to stare at him. He informed her, "I have not been able to touch a woman in quite some time. With Vulcans endangered, we often get lonely in these caves, waiting on brides and hoping for love." Tirza removed his hands from her and pushed him aside. "Wait, wait, wait... we must become better acquainted," he said as she tried to move past him.

"Negative." She responded, but he began to become aggressive with her. She nearly dropped her lantern as he insisted upon grabbing her by the robes. "Stop it." She said. She was afraid, but she did not allow it to show. "My venture into the caves is necessary. I must visit elder T'Pau. Please stand aside."

Another of the men said, "You certainly appear to be statuesque by the light of your lantern. We shall know in the morning exactly how beautiful you are."

Tirza's heart leaped in her side, but she answered calmly, "I have no intention of seeing you in the morning."

"That is an ironic statement, as we have no intention of allowing you to leave." Now, she pulled away and tried to run, but one of them grabbed her by the robes and threw her down to the ground. Her lantern broke and began to burn. She felt her robes being ripped away. The beasts! The savages! She screamed, now, trying to fight them off. There were seven. It was impossible. Her strength did not match that of seven Vulcans.

"NO!" She hardly recognized her own voice screaming as she tried to keep herself from being violated. One of them was getting close to having her. She wanted to take a swing at him, but some of them were holding her immobile. She shut her eyes, and went into her own mind. Why had she broken? She should not have screamed. Handle it with silence, she told herself. She stopped fighting. Fighting was futile. However, within moments there was a roar and the Vulcan on top of her was thrown across the sand. The other Vulcans began to make noises and there seemed to be a fight.

Tirza gathered her robes to herself and squinted to see someone fighting off her aggressors. She could not tell who it was, but she took the time that the Vulcans were fighting to get up and attempt to flee the area. She could not see very well and her mind had become so bothered that her sense of direction was off. After a while, she realized that she did not know where she was running to. She stopped and collected her thoughts. She considered the direction which she had run from and tried to predict in which direction T'Pau's cave was in. The Vulcans were running off. All but one of them remained near the small fire caused by her shattered lantern. He appeared to be searching the darkness.

Her logic told her that he was not one of her attackers, but the one who had rescued her. She wondered if it was wise to reveal herself to him. He seemed to be searching for her. Tirza walked slowly towards the Vulcan and as she neared him noticed that she did recognize him. It was Ambassador Spock. She sped up and went to him. "Ambassador Spock?" She stated, and was surprised how curious she sounded to see him. He was breathing hard and she touched his face. "Oh, you have a break in your skin."

"It will heal." He stated. "Why are you out here by yourself?"

"I need to speak with T'Pau, of a most urgent matter."

"I, myself am headed to see T'Pau."

"We must get your wounds tended to as soon as we get there." Tirza said. She touched his shoulder and said, "Thank you for assisting me." Ambassador Spock removed her hand from him and began to walk towards T'Pau's cave, carrying the lantern which he had brought with him to the caves. Tirza walked next to him, but tried not to get too close, nor too far away. She realized that she was still a bit shaken up by what had taken place, but she felt safer with him there.

Upon entering the cave, there were candles lit all around the cave, to light the path to T'Pau's area. They walked a number of steps in silence, until she finally asked, "Is Elder T'Pau expecting you, Ambassador Spock?"

"I am not scheduled to visit with her. I assure you that I will not take up much of her time." Ambassador Spock answered. Tirza pulled her hood closer around her face and looked at the ground as she realized that Ambassador Spock was having his Pon Farr. She had the thought that he must have been, the way that he attacked her attackers, but they had run off before he could fight the fever out of his system. By the light of his lantern, she could vaguely see his face, but the distress across his features was evident.

When they reached T'Pau's chamber, Tirza rushed to T'Pau's cabinet and said, "I must get materials to tend to Ambassador Spock's wounds. I must admit that there was some difficulty in my getting here. I am in urgent need of counsel, and I am afraid that I made the mistake of traveling here alone. Ambassador Spock arrived at the right time to help me." Ambassador Spock looked at Tirza and she accidentally smiled slightly at him. T'Pau noticed it, but did not respond to it.

Instead the elder said, "Be seated, Spock." He obeyed the woman. She added, "Tirza will tend to your wounds." Tirza placed a cauldron on the area which T'Pau used to light her fires and lit the fire. She poured water into the cauldron, which T'Pau collected from a small underground spring which flowed into a small well, within her cave. T'Pau and Ambassador were having a private, mental conversation as Tirza readied the items to help him. When the water was boiled, Tirza poured some of it into a small tub and brought a tray of supplies over to Ambassador Spock.

"Do you have any wounds that are beneath your robes?" She asked, plainly. He stood to remove the top portion of his garments for her to reach the places which he had been struck. When the Vulcan was dressed in only the bottom portion of his garments, Tirza began to try to clean the wounds on his chest and abdomen. The green fluid was still seeping from the areas where the skin had been broken, and he had to admit that the hot water felt better against the stinging, slightly. The presence of Tirza made it difficult for him to focus. She was too lovely and standing too close. The fact that she was touching him did not help, but he kept himself centered. He was still in control of himself.

T'Pau watched the way that Tirza handled the old Spock, the care that she took with him and the gentleness that she used in making certain that he was appeased. As Tirza worked on the wounds, she also used her powers of persuasion to attempt to alleviate his pain mentally, as she realized that he may not be able to effectively do so on his own, not at this point in time. T'Pau respected the younger woman, a great deal and upon seeing her interact with Ambassador Spock, realized that she had come to and would further still come to respect her even more. T'Pau was seated on a large cushion, across from Tirza. There were several candles all over the entire region and cushions all around. Tirza did not glance at his face. Pon Farr, being as sensitive and embarrassing of a situation as it was, caused Vulcans not to make eye contact with each other when they noticed the effects setting in.

As Tirza went to put away the items and Ambassador Spock put on his complete clothing again, T'Pau then said, "Spock, I believe that I may have found a bond mate for you, at last. On last night, Tirza made the decision to honor the breaking of her bond from Vulrak. Tirza, are you in search of your next bond mate?"

Tirza nearly dropped the items on the tray, but quickly caught herself to answer, "I have not yet began searching, Elder T'Pau. My purpose for seeking counsel is of another grave matter, Mistress."

T'Pau responded, "I understand; however, Spock is in need of a bond mate and you have accepted your separation from Vulrak in enough time to be bonded with Spock."

Tirza tried not to seem apprehensive as she asked, "How am I to be certain that Ambassador Spock would even have me as his mate?" She dared a glance at him and he nodded once, to T'Pau. Tirza looked at T'Pau again and asked, "And you would have one who is tainted bonded into your house, Elder T'Pau?"

T'Pau stated, "Spock is half human. The emotions that other Vulcans see as tainting within you, he knows within himself as a part of his make up. He will not judge them in you, and you will not in him, yet, the two of you shall be able to help each other back to logic in the event that one of your logic fails,(just as was done tonight), and you will help each other deal with passion in the event that passion prevails (just as you shall do, if you are to become his bond mate. Spock sees the logic in this matching and he agrees to it."

"If these facts are indeed facts, then the matching is acceptable." Tirza answered. She placed the items away and came to be seated on a pillow in front of T'Pau. Tirza had only come in to have T'Pau help her to come to a logical and wise decision about the matters of which she had been invited into with T'Pring.

"Contaminated," "tainted," "ruined," they were words that the other Vulcans used to describe her for years. Hearing them so frequently had been one of the main reasons that she took her educational degrees to other planets for work. She needed breaks from them. It would not have been logical for her to react to the words, as Vulcans are trained not to do so, but she could not deny that each time someone used one, as though it was a common description, it deeply cut her. It was a reflection of how she saw herself. Just as her skin was dark and her eyes were black, she thought, just as she had those characteristics, surely she was also tainted.

To her, it was not even logical that Ambassador Spock would consider her as a mate. Fortunately, she was under T'Pau's guidance each time she struggled with a decision, and the woman had helped her to attain herself an acceptable and accepting mate. Ambassador Spock could have obtained virtually any woman on New Vulcan which he thought a logical choice for himself, and yet, he had agreed to her. She felt extreme pressure of becoming his partner, but she knew that it not only was logical, but necessary and that it could possibly even be fulfilling. He had just helped her out of a situation that she could not help herself out of, and now, she would be allowed the chance to help him in return. It was so logical that it placed her mind at ease about her reason for showing up.

When T'Pau asked, "Now, my child, what is it that vexes your mind to cause you to visit me on this night?"

Tirza simply placed her hands on her lap and said, "I apologize for this illogical statement: But perhaps the reason that my mind was urged out on tonight was so that I may have the opportunity to help Ambassador Spock."

Styik awoke to the sound of a transmission coming in on his computer. He got up and opened the line to see Chekov on the screen. He gasped and cheered, "Pavel!"

Chekov smiled at him and said, "You are now nine Terran years old. Have you been collecting any pretty little Vulcan girls?"

"No. How have you been, Pavel? I haven't heard from you in weeks." Styik said, sounding sadder than he had intended. Chekov certainly noticed and his face showed that it made him sad that he had not contacted the child, too.

He explained, "It has been very difficult to get out a transmission. But, I was fortunate enough to be able to get one out to you on this day. I wanted to contact you last week, for your birth celebration. Was there a celebration?"

Styik said, "Mother and I went to Grandfather Mwinyi's home for a gathering at which they prepared a cake and sang, then it became a place for others to meet me and seemingly observe me with curiosity."

"How is school?" Chekov asked.

Styik replied, "It's shit."

"Hey! Do not speak that way!" Chekov said it in a serious voice, but wore a smile.

"Now, that you have gotten your honest "I've told him not to speak that way" out of your system, I hate school. I hate every last being that I have met there. I hate every last instructor that I have come across, and the best part of the entire day is being inside of the learning bowl and exiting it with higher scores than all of those... enemies. They are my enemies, Pavel." Styik said it as though deep in thought.

Chekov attempted to change the subject. "How are your parents?"

Styik shrugged and said, "The same, except living in this place is so much more miserable than being on the ship that it causes them problems sometimes, like that other Spock, the old one... he makes Father uncomfortable. I don't like it."

Chekov said, "He is not an enemy. Remember that. He is Commander Spock, of another time."

"He is having some kind of health issues. Everyone is very quiet about it, but Mother is worried, and my guard is even reacting. She never reacts to anything. She is a bitch." Styik said.

"Hey! Do not speak that way!" Chekov repeated.

Styik smiled and observed, "I like the way that you only do that on transmissions, and hardly ever in real life. You do realize that I know that you do it just to say that you did it when I used "that language"."

Chekov said, "I do it because I don't want your mother to ever intercept a transmission and ask me why I allowed you to speak that way.""I want to come back home to the ship. I hate New Vulcan." Styik said. He had not whined to his parents about this issue, because he knew that the choice had been necessary, but he could tell Chekov. Chekov would listen.

Chekov tried to be optimistic, "But, it is a better learning experience. At least you do not become bored after you've learned everything."

"Something bad is happening in this place. I don't know what it is, but I know that it's something, and everyone seems to be trying to keep me out of it." Styik said.

"You have enough to think about with school than to worry about things that they can handle. Hey, listen, I am sending you a recording, to your computer. Everyone that you know on the ship wished you a happy birthday. I apologize that I could not make contact with you earlier, but Captain Kirk told me to send you his love when I finally get through to you."

Styik smirked and replied, "Tell Jim that I miss him, and Scotty. Call him a bastard for me, when you tell him."

Chekov laughed and shook his head, then said, "Wait, don't talk like that!" Now they both laughed and Chekov sighed. "I really hope that you all are back home soon."

"Not more than me." Styik said as Chekov ended the transmission.

Styik went into his parents' room and excitedly announced, "I just heard from Pavel!" Spock was awake and dressing in his robes, but Nyota stirred in her sleep.

Spock glanced at her, then told Styik, "Your mother is still resting. It is a good thing that you have heard from Mr. Chekov, but you must remember to gain permission to enter the room, alright?"

Styik nodded once, then went on to say, "He wished me a happy birthday. I told him about the gathering at Grandfather Mwinyi's house. Jim sends me his love."

Spock nodded his head and said, "It is a positive occurrence that you had had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Chekov. It seems to have helped your emotional levels."

"I have been having bad dreams. I have dreams that something bad is going to happen to her." Styik said, looking at Nyota as she slept.

Spock tried to hide his alarm at this thought. He himself had been worried about Nyota lately, as well. "It is probably your brain creating possible futures for her." He decided. It was a logical conclusion.

"I believe that it is, but the problem is that every possible future seems to be negative." Styik stated.

"I hope that meditation will help you today." Spock replied with a partial smile.

They began their usual routine. By the time it was time for Nyota to arise and exercise, she groaned and sat up, sleepily. Spock looked at her as he prepared himself for work. She smiled slightly at him and he found the sight of her with her hair in a mop all over her head rather amusing. She pushed it from her face and said, "I think that you were too much for me last night. I am too drained to get up for my first day of work." Styik peeked his head in from the nursery, to show her that he was present, and she blushed and said, "Hey!"

He entered the room with the baby and said, "I spoke to Pavel this morning."

A bright and excited smile broke across her face. "What's he up to?" She asked.

"He said that they've been having problems getting transmissions out." Styik answered. Spock and Nyota both exchanged glances at this strange news, but Styik continued talking, "but he wished me a happy birthday and just asked me all about life here. He misses us and wants us to come back soon."

"Soon can not come soon enough." Nyota commented.

She gathered the baby to feed him and Styik left the room to prepare himself for school. He had several hours before he needed to be there, but he prepared himself early and spent time in the room with his mother and Sytar. It felt weird not sleeping as closely to them as he had when they were in the confines of the ship. When he went into his own room, Nyota looked at Spock and asked, "What do you think is the situation with the transmissions from the ship?"

"It could be a number of things. I have no sufficient evidence to form a theory." Spock answered, truthfully.

"Styik has been worried about something bad happening lately." She said.

"Has Styik spoken with you on this matter?" Spock asked.

Nyota answered, "He doesn't have to tell me. When he comes up to me and lays his head on my chest to listen to my heartbeat and see that I am still alive, that is indication enough that he is worried that I may die."

"That is an unwarranted worry. He will recover from it." Spock stated. It was the truth. The likelihood of Nyota dying for no apparent reason was practically nonexistent.

"Is my worry about Ambassador Spock the same?" She asked.

"Now, that is an issue that warrants concern. He has two days, sixteen hours and forty three minutes to make a decision, before it is simply too late." Spock told her. She sighed and shook her head. She did not know what to think. He needed to mate. It was so important that he did so, and so far, the only available woman was T'Pring. She hated that fact, but Ambassador Spock needed someone. Nyota could not bear the thought of a dying Spock, even if he was not her Spock.

T'Pring passed by Spock as she headed towards the bedroom carrying a tray, "Good morning, Sir Spock." She said.

He stopped and bowed to her, "Good morning, T'Pring."

He looked at the tray which she held in her hands and she said, "It is breakfast for the Mistress, prepared by Lady Ravalan. Lady Ravalan believed that the Mistress may need her breakfast served to her on today." Spock did not react to the embarrassment which he felt stirring inside of him, and T'Pring did not either, of course. Instead, she bowed again and said, "I shall meet with you after Young Styik is in school. The most interesting news has been reported from the prison planet, Torvon III."

Spock tilted his head and asked, "What news has been reported from Torvon III?"

T'Pring plainly stated, "Torvon III has been occupied by outside forces and taken as the first planet of a fledgling empire in which science is being worshiped as though a deity. The leader of the new planet has been interrupting many frequencies in an effort to let the galaxy, and other galaxies know of his intentions, and just recently was able to penetrate the frequencies here to present his news. A human is responsible, of course."

"And what of the prisoners?" Spock asked, his voice not betraying his nervousness.

"It was not reported, but the scientist over the planet is the infamous Livingston Kurok. He apparently wishes to gain all power through science and has somehow managed to take the planet over. Starfleet is going to try to communicate with him, however, this human is clearly absolutely mad. I must admit, I have been interested in his superior cloning capabilities, and his research on perpetual happiness. Although it is illogical to strive to achieve perpetual happiness, the results of his studies have been interesting. I will speak more in depth about the issue at breakfast."

Spock informed her, "T'Pring, I will not have breakfast on today, nor will I have lunch. It is my wish that you remain posted near the school today, for Styik's safety. Do not leave him at the school."

"Yes, Sir." She replied.

Spock walked hurriedly down the hall, to get to the Embassy. T'Pring delivered the breakfast to Nyota. Nyota was changing Sytar's diaper when she entered the room. Styik was in the room, laying on his stomach and reading from his PADD. T'Pring set the tray on the nightstand and looked at Nyota. Nyota looked at her, as well, and forced a smile. T'Pring looked at Styik and asked, "Are you well this morning, Young Styik?"

"Yes." He answered, simply. She bowed slightly and left the room without bothering to speak to Nyota. She knew that the woman did not like her, and it seemed illogical and pointless to engage in polite interactions with her.

Nyota called, "T'Pring." The Vulcan stopped and looked at her Mistress. Nyota told her, "I understand that you do not think that I belong here. I even understand that you do not like me, and before you go on a tangent about how not liking something is not a part of your nature, just let me say this, whatever you think about me has nothing to do with the fact that I am the Mistress of this house and I expect your respect. If you see me in this room, I expect you to acknowledge me."

T'Pring nodded once and said, "Yes, Mistress. I apologize. It shall not happen again." T'Pring exited the room.

Vulrak looked at T'Pring and asked, "What did you just do?"

"I delivered the breakfast." T'Pring answered.

Vulrak replied, "I meant as it relates to Sir Spock. What were you speaking of?"

"Developments in scientific news." She answered plainly, seeming a bit confused by his interrogation.

"Livingston Kurok has taken over the prison planet, Torvon III, is that what you said?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered.

"And you are aware that Sir Spock's brother, Sybok was imprisoned on Torvon III, after kidnapping the Lady Uhura. Surely, this news would bring an alarm to Sir Spock, that a madman is now running the planet that his brother is imprisoned on. What if Sybok should gain mind control over Kurok? He could escape and return to this place."

"I am aware of possibilities, Vulrak. Is there something that you intend to point out to me which qualifies my sharing of the information as a mistake?" She asked, because of the way that he had come at her with the questions.

"No. It's just the way in which you delivered the news, T'Pring." He stated. She frowned at him. She sometimes hated the V'tosh ka'tur. Did they truly not understand why it was completely foolish to refuse logic and embrace emotional responses and activities? Because, sometimes, they seemed to do it to be purposefully difficult.

She answered, "Vulrak, do not insult Sir Spock. He is a Vulcan of logic, despite his selection in wife and adopted child. He has no need for the human tact which you are implying I did not use." She headed down the hallway, herself and disappeared from his sight.

After breakfast, Nyota dressed herself in the Vulcan robes which she had selected for her first day of work. She felt strangely leaving Sytar when she was so worried about what could happen. She just was not as comfortable with the servants as she was with the people on her starship. Once she was dressed, she and Vulrak went to the Embassy. Ambassador Spock met up with her when they arrived, to guide her to where she would be working and give her a brief run-through of the expectations of her. He let her know that he would not be present long, as he needed to return to the caves for important matters. She did not question it as he began to explain her duties to her.

Nyota was to supervise the handle of incoming transmissions flow. She would intercept certain transmissions, listen in on some of the transmissions, and to overall just be certain that no suspicious transmissions were being allowed in or out, and to make sure that the flow remained efficient. She stared at him and asked, "With all of the Vulcans on this planet, I was chosen to supervise?"

Ambassador Spock responded, "As you have just been given a summary of a supervision position, it is obvious that you have been chosen to supervise." She suppressed a smile. At least his logic had not failed him. He looked dreadful, to her, with his hands shaking and his face distorted. He looked like a different creature, but the same. He would remain there for a while to see that she could handle the work flow, then he would go back to the caves and shut himself away from everyone again.

Vulrak stood outside of the particular transmissions center that Nyota was beginning her shift inside of, and he saw Tirza leaving a transmission conference room down the hall. Tirza looked absolutely beautiful. She had pulled the top of her hair up into a ponytail and allowed herself a silky tendril to hang on either side of her face, and the back of her hair to hang freely. As usual, she wore all black, but the dress that she had was actually form fitting, instead of her usual non suggestive Vulcan attire. He approached her as she entered something into the keypad on the outside of the room door.

"Tirza..." He began.

She cut him off to say, "We have nothing to discuss. Do not touch me and move along." She turned from the door and walked away, but he followed her.

He began by saying, "I want to apologize for..."

But she cut him off with, "Noted. I do not have time for this discussion. My day is fully scheduled with transmission conferences. Do not bother me." She warned, still not looking at him.

"There is something important that we need to discuss. I want you to move into the mansion. Things are too dangerous for you to live alone." He said.

Now, she stopped and looked at him. She tilted her head slightly and said, "I am going to move into the mansion."

Vulrak looked completely confused at her response. She had said it, not as though accepting something that he had just said to her, but as though it had been discussed already and she decided before he ever came to her.

"When did you decide this?" He asked, a bit suspiciously.

"That is personal." Was her response.

"I am your husband." He tried to point out.

But, she corrected him with, "No, you are not. You relieved me of my bond years ago. Since you did not deem it logical to resume that bond, I have chosen to take up a bond with another. I have been advised by the High Priestess T'Pau and she has given me one of her own, that I may share a bond as well as produce sons for New Vulcan."

Vulrak became angry, but kept his demeanor calm. He had expected this to happen years ago. He had expected her to move on many times, but it still came as a shock that it was actually happening.

"Please explain." He stated.

She explained, "I have explained to you that I am being bonded and I am moving into the mansion. Use your logic beyond that point, Vulrak. I have much to do today. I have less than three days to complete the bonding ceremony, therefore I must have my schedule cleared as soon as I can." She began to walk away and Vulrak grabbed her arm. "Do not touch..." Before she could finish the sentence, Ambassador Spock grabbed Vulrak's arm and removed his hand from Tirza.

Vulrak stared at Ambassador Spock for a moment, then looked at Tirza. Her eyes showed that the scene was frightening to her. Vulrak backed away from them, knowing that with the elder in his Pon Farr, and so close to his time of need, it would not be wise to provoke him any further. Vulrak stated, "I certainly hope that he makes you happy. I know that I never could." He saw Tirza touch Ambassador Spock's hand and he knew that she was trying to help alleviate his anger. That was something that Tirza used to do for him, try to take away his pain with her priestess' touch telepathy. It was one of the reasons she had not been able to become a priestess.

After a brief exchange, Tirza abruptly walked away from Ambassador Spock. Ambassador Spock returned to the room which Nyota was working inside of. He paused at Vulrak and said, "You have touched her against her will for the last last time, Vulrak."

Vulrak kept his face serene as he said, "I realize that I was not an appropriate mate for her. She needs her logic, just as much as I need passion. Her bonding to you is logical. I will respect your bond."

"You would be wise to do so, Young Vulrak." Ambassador Spock said, before going into the room.

Vulrak opened his communicator and contacted Spock. "Were you aware that Ambassador Spock had chosen a bond mate?"

Spock quickly said, "I was not aware, however, this is positive news. Now, he will not perish."

"Professor Tirza is going to be Ambassador Spock's bond mate." Vulrak said.

There was a long pause, then Spock answered, "It is not a selection that I considered for him, however, it is completely logical. They are a compatible bond from logic to passion. They both are passionate in their obedience to Surak's teachings. Both of them have been educators. Both of them have taken interest in the kolinahr, and both failed it. It is more logical than any other decision, even that of T'Pring, which he openly rejected. I thank you for passing this news along to me."

"Your T'Pau advised her into it." Vulrak said.

Spock replied, "T'Pau is very wise."

"I do not like it." Vulrak finally stated.

Now, Spock was annoyed that Vulrak would begin to speak like this. Spock told him, "What you like at this point, Vulrak is irrelevant. If you do not mind, I have work to do."

Vulrak said, "Yes, Sir. I apologize for bothering you with petty issues."

"Please do not do it again." Spock responded and ended the conversation.

When Tirza returned to the same conference room, she entered her pass code into the door. Apparently, she had reserved this particular room for the day. That made Vulrak suspicious, because her occupation should not warrant her having the entire day needed on transmission conferences. However, he realized that he probably was just trying to find a reason to bother her, after having learned that she was finally moving on. He sighed, frustrated with himself. It was good that she was moving on, why was he so upset? Besides, it was not like she and Ambassador Spock would have what they had. He had showed her passion, taught her to love, showed her what those meant and how they felt. Her connection to the elder would be one of duty, and Tirza lived for duty.

Vulrak had agreed with all of the others that he had not benefited her. He caused her to fail at becoming a priestess. He had himself banished, and she was left on Vulcan as a single mother, which made the other honorable Vulcans keep their distance from her. Most honorable Vulcans would not bond with a woman who had been bonded and left with a child, not unless the father had died and it was completely logical that his widow be bonded with. Certainly, no Vulcan on the old Vulcan found it logical to bond with a woman contaminated by an emotional Vulcan. Ambassador Spock was such a logical choice for Tirza to move on with that Vulrak found himself wondering how it had never come about before.

Ambassador Spock eventually emerged from the transmission center, and left without acknowledging Vulrak again. He needed to head to the caves. He had already prepared all that he needed for the away time that would be required to deal with his delicate situation, and now, he needed to get as far away from others as possible. He had wanted to kill Vulrak earlier. He had nearly killed the Vulcans of passion the night before. When he first saw them, attacking Tirza, he could see who she was, and he did not want her harmed, but more importantly, he was excited about a chance to attack someone, to let out the aggression building up violently inside of him due to his ever growing blood fever. he had wanted to kill someone and felt that doing so would have brought him peace. When the attackers realized who and what was attacking them, not some Vulcan trying to defend a Vulcan woman, not some Vulcan trying to fight for possession over the woman himself, but a Vulcan nearing the last stages of his Pon Farr, they retreated. He had not had the opportunity to do what was needed. Now, he needed Tirza.

Ambassador Spock had to admit that as a child, he had what humans might describe as his "first crush" on Tirza. She was one of the priestess' apprentices who assisted in the children's courses on meditation. Most Vulcan children did not need these courses, but for the select few, these courses were available. Spock had not thought that he needed them, as Sarek taught him exactly how to meditate. But, being half human, the educational center required the course of him. Tirza would assist the boy, who was only three years younger than herself, and he would listen dutiful to every word that flowed from her entrancing lips...

But as time passed and logic became more stable within him, he had forgotten what the crush even felt like. He had repressed the fact that he ever had felt any type of related emotion. He had not thought about the woman in that capacity in any of the time that he knew her, aside from the attraction he had for her as a child. But, when he saw Vulrak's hand on her arm, he became territorial. They had not yet been bonded, but she was already promised to him. Vulrak was overstepping his boundaries, boundaries that Ambassador Spock knew he had overstepped with Tirza before, many years ago. Those boundaries had been considered her ruin, and Ambassador would not have him touch her again, much less ruin her. She was his, now, and Vulrak had better understood it.

Thinking that way made the elder Spock know that his logic was failing him. He would need to go into the cave that T'Pau had set up for he and Tirza and he would wait there until they were ready for the ceremony on the next day. Vulrak watched him walk down the hall, feeling slightly bad for him, because he knew how painful and terrible Pon Farr could be, but simultaneously feeling hateful towards him, because he knew that the elder had obtained not only the most beautiful Vulcan available, but one who was an expert at appeasing pain and an artist at achieving passion. Vulrak folded his arms. Being angry about it would not change anything. It was done. It needed to be done... It did not become any easier to accept, telling himself this.

One of the Vulcans in the group under Uhura's supervision noticed an anomaly in the frequencies transmitted to a particular room in the Embassy and she called Nyota's attention to it. "Lt Uhura, please take a look at this." The Vulcan woman said plainly, speaking in Vulcan, of course. Uhura walked over to the workstation and watched the frequencies. "I am not completely certain as to the meaning of this anomaly." The Vulcan said.

Uhura gave an order, "Tap into the transmission and let me hear it."

The Vulcan touched the screen in several places and said, "It is blocked, Lieutenant."

Uhura asked, "Is the transmission blocked from this site, or is the block incoming?"

The Vulcan touched the screen a few more times, twisted a small knob, listened for a moment, then answered, "It is difficult to trace, Lieutenant."

Uhura touched the ear piece on her head and said, "Computer, connect me to transmission conference room 0726." She waited for the computer to confirm the connection, then said, "Occupant of transmission conference room 0726, please respond to communications."

"This is transmission conference room 0726." Tirza's voice said from the conference room intercom system, into Uhura's ear.

"Identify yourself." Uhura ordered

"I am Professor Tirza, identification number..." Nyota realized at the mention of her name that this was Vulrak's wife, or ex wife, whatever. It was a woman that was important to someone who was fairly important to her, but that could not affect her judgment. There was something suspicious about this transmission, and it was Uhura's job to find out what was going on. Uhura pulled up the information on her computer and said, "I see here that you have reserved this particular room for the duration of the day. There are strange readings on your frequency. If you have nothing to hide, Professor Tirza, I ask that you unblock incoming transmission, please."

"I am not blocking incoming transmission Lt. Uhura." The woman said. "If the transmission is blocked, it must be some other source. I am simply setting up some activities for an off planet educational summit which I will not be able to attend in the upcoming week."

As she was speaking, Uhura was heading to the room in which she was seated. Uhura attempted to open the door, but it was locked.

"Unlock the door." Uhura ordered.

When the door opened, Tirza found herself face to face with the woman that she knew may be her competition for the rest of her life. Vulrak stood right behind Uhura as Uhura questioned, "For what reason is this door locked?"

Tirza glanced at Vulrak, hoping that he would not point out anything in her tone, as she was about to try to venture a face to face lie. Lying was so out of her character that she found great difficulty in doing so, undetected. Vulrak would definitely know. Still, she looked directly at Uhura and said, "I was unaware that locking the door was not allowed. My apologies, Lieutenant, as I simply did not wish to be disturbed in my work. Will this take very long? I must complete my work today. I am getting married tonight."

Uhura quickly glanced at Vulrak and saw a flicker of anger on his face. She looked back at Tirza and said, "Congratulations, but the system in this entire room will have to be reviewed before we can allow you to continue, starting with your current transmission. Generally, locking the door is permitted, however, there is a delicate situation with incoming transmissions, and unfortunately, you have been caught in the crossfire of us trying to get things sorted out."

Tirza looked at the Efrosian on the screen and spoke to him in Federation standard, "I apologize for the inconvenience. There have been glitches in our transmissions system here. I deeply regret that I may not be allowed to get my work done in the portion of time that you have wished it of me, Professor Xiolo. However, I assure you that I will be certain to complete the work when I can, as well as finish our conversation."

The alien said, "Very well, Professor Tirza. May your marriage be a long and fruitful one." He ended the transmission.

Uhura contacted investigation personnel and Spock to give them a brief description of all that had taken place. Then, Tirza looked at Uhura and asked, "Am I to remain here until the investigation is complete?"

"That is not my call." Uhura said as several Embassy personnel entered the room and began to look into the equipment. Tirza walked out of the room and Spock came down the hall to meet her.

Spock announced, "I have just been alerted to suspicious activity on a transmission. I had the computer system to run all of the necessary checks. We could not trace the location of mentioned transmission, nor record the transmission, nor could we unblock the transmission. What was the location which the transmission came from and what was the nature of the content of the conversation?" He asked.

"Educational purposes, Sir Spock, or at this point am I to refer to you as Commander?" Tirza asked. She felt panicked, but was grateful for all of her Vulcan training. She would have to step her skills up if she wished to fool Spock.

Spock said, "What you refer to me as is irrelevant. Where was the transmission coming from?"

She answered calmly, "Efros Delta. I was speaking with Professor Xiolo, the present charge of the Intergalactic Educational Association over the educational summit which I was to be helping organize and host, but urgent matters have taken precedence over it. Since it was a prior engagement, I wished to handle all of it before my leave with Ambassador Spock." Nyota heard herself gasp, but no one reacted to it. Almost no one. She saw a slight flicker in Spock's eyes.

Spock told Vulrak, "Bring her in front of the council. She must be searched to indicate that she is not hiding something suspicious from us before she can be released."

Tirza interjected, soundly, "Spock, if you will allow me to leave, I shall return to be searched after my leave. The council can sometimes take days to complete a search thoroughly, and I simply do not have days to spare before my intended mate has need of me."

"I can not allow it." Spock stated.

"Then, I must challenge your decision to an immediate vote. It will be a long process and may still result in my being searched before I am allowed to leave; however, do you not believe that it is more logical to allow me to leave and to help Ambassador Spock, then return for my searching, or do you think that it is logical for me to be searched, without provocation, other than the fact that the system is malfunctioning, severely, and risk the life of one of our most important Vulcans as a result?"

Vulrak nodded, "She is correct, Sir Spock. There is not enough to hold her here and risk losing Ambassador Spock. If she were to take you into a debate on the matter, they most likely would grant her leave based on what little evidence we have discovered against her, her nearly flawless past record, and the fact that she is needed to preserve not only one of the founding fathers of New Vulcan, but the discoverer."

Spock nodded once and said, "You may leave." Tirza nodded once, too now, then quickly hurried off.

After she left, Nyota said, "I do not trust her."

"Her behavior was atypical of her, however, the coincidences of the malfunctioning of nearly every system in the room in which she was operating are not likely coincidental." Spock said.

Vulrak reminded them, "Ambassador Spock needs her, for now. We can deal with what she was or was not doing in there, later."

Spock looked at Uhura and commanded, "Make contact with Efros Delta about the summit and this specific transmission. Have Professor Xiolo give you a complete report of this transmission and submit a copy of it into our records."

She nodded once, not reacting to his pronunciation of the word "records". Now, she was not only back to work, but it seemed like she was back in action. She replied, "Yes sir." and rushed back to her work computer to follow the order.

Tirza left the Embassy and immediately flipped open her communicator, "T'Pring, we must meet."

Tirza walked to the early learning educational center and entered the facility. She went into a female lavatory and walked into one of the stalls. Moments later, she heard the door open and the stall next to her became occupied. Tirza began the mental exchange, "My transmissions have been intercepted by Lt. Uhura. I only just managed to escape the Embassy without being searched. I believed that there was someone set in place to ensure that these transmissions would not be detected."

"Please, restrain yourself, Tirza." Tirza tried, as she knew that in this exchange, although not actually touching, T'Pring would be able to feel a little of her feeling on the issue. This could be deemed as a failure on her part, and failure would result in her demise. She was not particularly concerned about dying, as she was about the fact that Ambassador Spock's life was in held in the results of their bonding.

She replied, "I was simply allowing you to know that a problem has occurred and it was not by my own fault or mistakes. I will not be able to complete my assignment in the time previously given to me. I have a personal matter to tend to."

"Tirza..." T'Pring felt her own face grow hot. She did not want Tirza to let her down again. She once looked up to Tirza, once had utmost respect for her and all that she stood for.

Tirza insisted, "It is most urgent, T'Pring. I am not avoiding my duties. I have every intention of facing whatever it is that you will have me deal with, but I have a ceremony to attend."

T'Pring knew now that her face might have revealed some type of emotion if she were not Vulcan, as the statement immediately startled her. The only time that Vulcans attended an important ceremony was when being bonded and married. She retorted to Tirza, "A ceremony. You are being bonded again. Please tell me that you will not be rejoining Vulrak."

Tirza sighed, audibly. She had not yet gotten fully back to her center since her brush with extreme trauma and fear the night before, and shielding her emotions was a difficult task. She told T'Pring, "This matter is extremely personal, T'Pring."

T'Pring was not ready to let go of the logic of Tirza again. She needed her for this mission. New Vulcan needed her. There was too much more at stake than the first time that Tirza allowed herself to be a fool behind illogical emotions. T'Pring said, "I understand that, but you should not..."

"It is Ambassador Spock." Tirza said.

T'Pring did not respond for a while, but when she did, she merely stated, "A wise choice. I will cover for you." She left the stall and the room. Tirza peeked out, as well. She looked at herself in the mirror, and saw herself for the first time, in a long time, not as someone tainted, but as a Vulcan woman – one who was going to be acknowledged for doing something truly great, or terrible. She walked up to the mirror and said, "You have duties. Duties, Tirza." She nodded once at her reflection and left the ladies room.