Chapter 2 – What Happened on Nibiru?
Her eyes were closed. With an air of practice and finesse, she brought one leg forward and raised the heel, putting all her weight on her back leg and bending both knees. She raised one hand over her head, flattened her palm and split the air in a straight line, and came to a slow stop in front of her stomach. Her other hand followed the same path to rest above the other hand. She was still for several beats, poised gracefully in her light stance. Then her fingers curled into fists and she pulled them into an 'X' shape in front of her chest. She slammed her front heel down, brought her back knee up and leapt into the air. While airborne, she lowered her knee and at the same time used her other leg to plant a vicious kick on an imaginary opponent. She landed like a feather, balanced on the tips of her toes, and rested her crossed wrists close to her hip in front of her groin.
"Wow."
She opened her eyes and relaxed her stance. "I take it you've never seen a Vulcan perform Ponn-ifla?"
"Nope," Blair said cheerfully, picking up a fighting rod from the rack. "It's actually pretty impressive." He fell silent and moved to the human-shaped bags and dropped into a ready stance. Zia watched as he battled the bag. It had a mechanical inside that allowed it to move its arms and body, which made it a worthy opponent. It also had its own rod, so it was kind of like fighting another being. Zia hadn't worked up the courage to fight one of the bags yet. While Ponn-ifla was a young discipline, she had a long way to go before she mastered it.
They stayed in the gym for forty more minutes. Blair rotated between intense cardio and sparring the bag, while Zia worked on Ponn-ifla.
They left the gym together and Blair handed his water bottle to Zia. She sipped twice and handed it back. "You're getting stronger," she commented.
He laughed dryly. "It used to take five minutes before I was winded. Now it takes forty minutes. I just want to get Tara's attention somehow."
"Keep this up and she'll be all over you." Zia grinned and pulled her hair from its ponytail. "She likes intelligent men."
"I still hold the naïve hope that she'll come back from her holidays and realise that we'd be good together," he said. "How awesome would it be if that actually happened?"
The sun beat down on them as they crossed the Quad and Blair stopped once to converse with his engineering professor about his progress throughout the term. By the time they reached the Cafeteria they were ravenous. The usual buffet wasn't there so they entered their recipes into the food replicators and ate those instead. It didn't taste the same as food made from scratch, but it had the same nutritional value.
"I can't wait to get my results." She took a huge bite of her t'mirak rice and Blair took a long drought of his tomato soup.
"You'll be the top in physics again," he replied. They were joined by two other men, friends of Blair, and the conversation continued, with each cadet debating on their results. Zia loved the feeling of belonging. No one shunned her anymore, but that might have to do with her participation aboard the Enterprise last year.
"More than eighty percent in physics and I'll be happy," Bishop declared.
"Warp Engineering is my weakest class," the other cadet said. "I just want sixty percent at least. We can't afford to fail one term of anything if we want to continue the course next year. The classes and subject matter are getting harder."
Having taken the night-shift, Zia excused herself and went straight to her room. While she didn't need as much sleep as other races, she always felt better after a long rest. More alert. She took a long shower, basked in the cool water, brushed her teeth and went to bed.
o.O.o
Most of the crew took shuttles down to Headquarters. Spock had no patience after this mission. Nibiru had been a fiasco. Kirk completely violated the Prime Directive to save his life. He was grateful to be alive, but Kirk's decision was highly illogical. His actions altered the native's natural evolutionary progression, an action that would have serious impacts on the crew.
For now, though, he wanted nothing more than to see Zia.
Spock stepped onto the Transporter pad and remained still while Scotty beamed him down to the Academy gates. It was dark. He reached out for Zia's mind, but felt only low activity. She was sleeping. He came across no one on his way to her dorm. It was strange having some degree of privacy after a month on the Enterprise. Something bubbled in his stomach, akin to anticipation, and he fought the sudden urge to run. He wasn't sure about these spontaneous feelings that came with Zia Abbott, if they were good or bad. He reached her room, entered the door combination and stepped inside. It was dark, as expected, and he saw the shape of Zia lying on her side. His stomach leapt when he saw that Tara's bed was empty.
He quietly took off his boots, long pants and long-sleeved blue shirt until he wore only in his loose black shorts. He stepped carefully up to her bed and pulled the sheet back. His breathing stopped.
She wore only a light-blue bra and panties. Awareness flooded his body and he forced it down, though his breath quickened. He couldn't afford to experience these emotions. Once he got his body under control, he slid into the bed behind her and pulled her close to him. The sensation of her bare skin against his was overwhelming, but he would keep under control when in such an intimate situation. He'd only slept in the same bed with her once before, when she was still plagued by nightmares, and even then, she'd elicited this strong a response from him.
Her hips wiggled and ground into his. He moaned and bit his lip. She'd pressed against the most intimate part of him. He got his breathing under control, closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair, focusing on the buzzing of her dreams that came with the mind-meld. That calmed him and allowed him to drift to sleep.
o.O.o
Wandering into consciousness slowly was quite pleasant. She lay on top of something extremely warm and comfortable, and steady beats thumped against hers, just under her lungs. She adjusted her position and settled down further. As she became more aware, she realised that she was lying on who could only be Spock. He was back! Who else would be lying with her in bed?
She slowly opened her eyes and found his sleeping face, suddenly becoming mindful of their intimacy right now. They were so very close together. She ran her eyes over the bed, seeing how he lay on his back, both arms out, and she sprawled on top of him. Sheets covered them from the waist down. It looked like something from a romance movie, funnily enough.
"Good morning," she whispered, kissing his cheek.
He grunted. "I see you have been sleeping well."
"Yeah," she agreed, snuggling further into him. I would love more mornings like this, she thought. "So how was your mission?"
"It was less than adequate," Spock sighed. "Captain Kirk disobeyed the Prime Directive and allowed the natives of Nibiru to see the Enterprise. Their natural evolution has been irrevocably altered."
"Why would he do that? He'd have to have a very good reason."
He was silent for several long seconds. "The planet was undergoing a volcanic eruption. I made the decision to insert a cold-fusion device into the centre of the volcano and was trapped inside when the distance between the Enterprise and me became too far. To save my life, Captain Kirk flew the ship in view of the natives."
Zia didn't have to say that she was glad Kirk had disobeyed the Prime Directive. She knew Spock could sense her relief, just as she could sense his. Since she was the only one he couldn't keep secrets from, she was the only one who knew of his liberation at being saved. He was grateful to Kirk, but his own disapproval kept it a secret. "Remind me to thank Kirk," she grinned. Spock rolled his eyes and pulled her over for a kiss. She savoured the softness of his lips and basked in the electricity that surged through her body. Just a kiss sent goose bumps running up her spine.
"I will do no such thing," he murmured. Something between them halted, then Spock fastened his arms around her and pulled her into him. They kissed hungrily, and she settled her legs on either side of his hips. His skin was everywhere, his lips intoxicating, and his hands roamed her body with startling intensity. She felt his need pressed against hers, and for the second time in their relationship, his hands slid beneath her panties.
Her head swam every time they kissed like this, and each time they did, it brought her closer to agreeing to the next step.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Why?" she muttered angrily, pulling away from Spock and slapping her alarm. He laid there, his hair mussed, totally confused.
"What is the matter?" he asked as he sat up.
"I've got work in an hour." She face-palmed. "Why today, of all days?" And why couldn't she go back to ten seconds before?
"Allow me to accompany you." He stood and stretched. She took a second to admire his masculine form before she stood and got ready for work. Spock waited outside, now fully-clothed, and held out his hand.
They held hands and left he campus behind. Instead of talking they enjoyed each other's presence and thought back to the days when they were just cadet and professor. Those times seemed amusing now. The sun had risen fully by the time they reached the restaurant.
"I'll see you later." She smiled and pecked his lips.
"I think I may stop for a meal before I write my report," he said. Humour sparkled in his eyes. Her smile widened, and she headed for the locker room. When she entered the restaurant, Spock had taken a seat and looked up as she approached him.
"Good morning, what can I get you?" she asked formally.
"Two gespar rolls and one landras blend, please," he requested without looking away.
"Ah, so you must be the boyfriend." They both turned and saw an Orion woman.
"Spock," Zia said, "this is Jamie, a fellow waitress. Jamie, this is Spock."
"I'm so pleased to meet you," Jamie gushed. "Pixie here has spoken nothing but praise about you."
"I trust she has," he said good-naturedly. Jamie turned to Zia, her face split by a huge grin.
"Keep him Pixie, he's gold," she ordered.
"Sure, Jamie," Zia chuckled. "Come on, we've got work to do." She went to the kitchen, relayed Spock's order and a few minutes later walked back to his table with his breakfast in hand.
"Why does she call you 'Pixie'?" Spock asked. Zia placed his breakfast down.
"A pixie is a creature from Earth mythology with delicate features and pointed ears," she sighed, "and Vulcans look a bit like pixies, so Jamie calls me Pixie."
Concern shadowed his face. "Am I to be subjected this name?"
"Oh no, you're much too macho." Zia before heading out to the rest of her tables to take orders.
o.O.o
He'd been an idiot for thinking that Kirk would tell the truth and jeopardise his command on the Enterprise. Now he'd been reassigned to another ship, and that wasn't something he'd particularly wanted.
The day after his arrival back on Earth he'd been called to Admiral Pike's office along with Kirk to discuss their mission reports. Kirk had lied, and now Spock was stuck as First Officer on the Bradbury. He wasn't going to complain out loud, but he had to get away from everyone for a day.
So, he opened Zia's door, marched in and wrapped his arms around her.
"Uh, what's up?" she asked in confusion.
"I have been transferred to another ship as First Officer," he informed her stiffly.
"Oh, Spock…" She sighed and ran her hands through his hair. He buried his face into her shoulder as sheer disappointment crashed down upon him. "Let's get out of here."
"A commendable idea," he told her, pulling away. "Let us go on a trip. I do enjoy visiting museums."
"As do I," Zia agreed. "Come on, let's go."