Chapter 3 – Everything Takes a Turn for the Worse
Zia thought she looked decent in her maroon cadet uniform, black purse and boots, her hair tied up in a bun. However, she did feel conspicuous due to her slanted eyebrows and pointed ears. Even Spock didn't understand why Vulcans were such an interest to humans and other races.
She glanced to her left and couldn't help but admire how handsome he was in his Starfleet Officer's uniform. He looked every bit the regal man that he was. There's no way I could have ensnared such a wonderful man, she thought. A smirk played around his lips and she was tempted to smack him playfully, but that wasn't their style.
They reached the Museum of Intergalactic Artefacts and climbed the front steps. "I've only been here once before," she told him, "and I didn't get to see everything. There's just so much stuff to look at."
"As it includes artefacts from many different races, it is logical to have much space for it all to reside," Spock promptly answered.
"Have you been here before?"
"Only twice before and it was to meet with others."
"Oh, so you've taken tons of girls on dates to this very museum?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I did not imply that, I merely meant…" he trailed off. "You are not being serious."
"No," she laughed. "Come on, there are a thousand exhibits there calling my name."
They received a lot of weird looks from other people at the museum. It wasn't often that two Vulcans, one in an Officer's uniform and the other a cadet, walked around together, as it was stereotyped that their race stayed on their home planet for their whole life. Zia was sick and tired of the sideways glances she received. Sometimes they were downright hostile.
They stayed at the museum for the next four hours. There were artefacts from countless different planets, and none from Vulcan, surprisingly. Spock informed Zia that all Vulcan artefacts on Earth or any other planet had been reclaimed and taken to New Vulcan to assist in 'culturing' the race more. It made sense, since they'd lost important historical records in places like the Katrik Ark.
It was dark when they left. They strolled along the harbour, the sea breeze ruffling their hair, and Spock to lead her to a small harbour café. Her heart raced when Spock pulled a chair out for her, and he took his seat opposite her and they glanced at the menu.
A waiter approached, PADD in hand. "Do you wish to place an order?" he asked.
"Yes please," Zia said warmly. "Could I please have a potato salad, terellian pheasant and one N'gaan?"
"And may I please have Leola root stew and one Chateau Cleon?" Spock handed over both of their menus.
"Your meals shall be served shortly," the waiter explained. "Do you wish for a dessert menu after you have eaten dinner?"
They exchanged a look. "That will not be necessary," Spock replied. The waiter left, and they stared out at the ocean. It was quite a beautiful view, especially since the light from the surrounding buildings cast shimmering reflections over the water. Their food arrived, and they ate leisurely.
"What do you think will happen to Kirk?" Zia asked.
"He has been sent back to the Academy," Spock informed her. "If he had not lied we would not be in this predicament. He should surely know of the Vulcan aversion of lying. Even you are uncomfortable with the prospect of telling an outright lie."
"That's true," she agreed as she cut up her pheasant.
"It is frustrating," he admitted.
"That's understandable, seeing as you were punished for telling the truth. You were in danger, and Kirk saved your life. Granted, he influenced the evolution of Nibiru, but it's better than letting them all die. You had the power to save an entire race of people and you took it. I'm sure your superiors wouldn't want that blood on their hands."
He pursed his lips. "I do not understand how they are closed-minded about the entire issue. We saved countless lives yesterday. The only complication is allowing the natives to see us, and that makes the entire operation more difficult. If the Enterprise had not been seen, then we would not be in this predicament." He sipped his stew. "It was not right to expose the natives to technology beyond their understanding, and yet it was not right to let them die."
"Well, it was either disobey a rule, or save a few thousand lives. There's really no question about it. On the plus side, your life was saved too!" She smiled, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
"I do not believe my life is more important that the few thousand I saved." He shook his head.
"It's more important to me," she said softly and held her hand over the table. He took it and squeezed gently. They ate the rest of their meal in silence and he paid once they were finished.
Now they continued to walk along the harbour and the salty breeze wafted over their heads. Spock's hair looked somewhat roguish when it was mussed, Zia thought. She respected the position he had been in on Nibiru and hoped that he would one day return to the Enterprise. The Starship was where he was happy, and he loved the people there.
Spock's communicator, tucked in his pocket, beeped incessantly. He answered it, all business-like. "Yes Admiral, right away." He closed the communicator. "An emergency assembly is being held for Captain's and First Officer's. I must attend."
"It's a good thing we're not that far away." She nodded as they left the harbour. "You hurry to that meeting. I can find my own way back to the Academy."
He kissed her lightly and left at a jog. She watched him go, his mask slipping back into place, but she still felt the trust in that moment they'd shared.
o.O.o
"Pixie, you're not getting paid for this work," Jamie told her.
"I know." Zia wiped another glass. "I want to do it. I have time to kill before he's done. Hey presto, here I am!"
Jamie shook her head and dumped another tray of washed glasses on the counter. The restaurant had closed a short time ago and the waitresses were still cleaning up. Zia had volunteered her time to wipe up glasses while the others cleaned the rest of the space.
"Did you have fun with him?" Jamie asked. She picked up a cloth and helped Zia wipe glasses.
"Yeah, we went to the museum, walked along the harbour and had dinner. Then he had to race off to that meeting." She shrugged.
A thoughtful expression crossed Jamie's face. "You know, I've always wondered what it's like to do it with a Vulcan. What's it like?"
Zia choked on air. "Oh no, it's nothing like that!"
"Wait, you guys are pure?!"
"We haven't… um… gone that far yet." She flushed and tried not to think about that morning. "Could you, um, not ask about it again? Vulcan's are really private."
The Orion rolled her eyes. "I won't pry anymore," she assured the Vulcan, "as long as you promise to go shopping with me tomorrow. I need some retail therapy."
"Okay, yeah, sure, let's do that." Zia relaxed at that.
Two hours later, Zia shouldered her purse and left the restaurant. Even in her cadet uniform it was a warm night. It was probably about midnight. Hopefully Spock's meeting was going as well as an emergency meeting could.
She took a short-cut through a smaller alleyway and chills ran up her spine. The familiar sensation of being followed. She'd felt it quite a few times as a child on her way home from school. This time it was different, a more… nerve-wracking sensation.
She listened and heard two sets of footsteps not far behind, almost perfectly in time with hers to mask the sound. She trained her ears for any other footsteps, but those were the only ones so far. The sounds of a busy street ahead reached her, and she sped up. The people behind her sped up too.
So close… She burst onto the busy street and dived into the crowd, the chills gone. However, she kept her eyes and ears out for anything suspicious.
Pain…
A kaleidoscope of colour and emotions pierced her mind. She fell to her knees and pressed her hands to her forehead. Fear… pain… shock…
A voice echoed, but it was outside her head. "Are you okay?"
The kaleidoscope went as soon as it came, and she found herself crouched on the ground surrounded by a ring of concerned-looking people. "Yeah." She nodded and lowered her hands.
"Your nose is bleeding," someone said.
Zia touched her nose and cursed. "I'll be okay," she assured the group. "Thanks anyway." She stood, smiled, and her head pounded as she darted to the Academy.
o.O.o
The next morning, her head throbbed, and her gut ached. Last year when Spock lost control she'd had a nosebleed, and now it had happened again. It couldn't be a coincidence. She pulled on shorts and a t-shirt and hobbled down to the Infirmary, one hand curled around her gut and the other clutching her head. Someone always manned the Infirmary for safety reasons.
"What happened to you?" the lone staff-member asked when she hobbled through the door. Zia sighed with relief that he was in the Infirmary and collapsed onto one of the beds. He rushed over to her and placed his hands on her forehead. Yeto was a second-year cadet at Starfleet Medical Academy, and he was also a Betazoid. Every time Zia went to the Infirmary for a vaccination he was the one who administered it. In a way, he was her doctor. Mainly because he was the only medical cadet willing to tend to a Vulcan.
"I'm not sure what's going on," she mumbled. "Last night I was walking back to my dorm when something happened that made Spock feel emotional pain. It gave me a splitting headache and a nosebleed. It's happened once before, last year, but since it's happened again I'm worried."
"You should be." He finished his telepathic scan. "I'm detecting something erratic in your neural pathways. I'm going to need you to submit to a blood test and a brain scan. Why didn't you go to the Infirmary last time this happened?"
"I had more on my mind, then." She sat up. "It was just after Vulcan had been destroyed."
"That's fair enough," Yeto nodded. He inserted a needle into her shoulder and took a 10ml blood sample. "Okay, I performed your last medical examination six months ago and gave a clean bill of health. Since then, you've been here twice for vaccinations. Am I right?"
"Yes."
Yeto put the blood sample under a scanner. "Whatever's happening is probably recent. And…" he hesitated, "there's something else you should know."
"What?"
"I could only detect your brain activity. I couldn't find Spock's. It's like he's gone quiet. The connection is still there, but there's no information being relayed from either of you to the other. One possibility is that he mind-melded with someone else or experienced such trauma that it overwhelmed him to the point that his brain shut down your connection to preserve its safety."
"Wait, so there's a blockage in our mind-meld?" Her eyes widened, and he smiled thinly.
"That's one way to put it. I know you're not experienced enough to take down his mental barriers."
"But… we had such a nice time yesterday…" Sudden tears sprung to her eyes and she wiped them away. "He can't shut me out!"
Yeto held out his hand. "Come on, I need you to do a brain scan for me. It'll give me a better idea of what's going on up there."
She took his hand obediently and he led her over to the scanner, where she lay down while he scanned her brain. Once he was done she sat on one of the beds and swung her legs absently. The click-clack of the keyboard sounded much louder in the silent Infirmary.
"I know what's wrong," Yeto finally announced. "There are actually two different issues, and I'm not sure what's worse."
Knowing him, he would tell her the absolute, blunt, truth. Betazoids were like that. They always told the truth and were a telepathic and empathic race. These traits made Yeto an excellent doctor, but at times he said things a patient didn't want to hear.
"So, what's wrong?" Just get it over with.
Yeto looked almost apologetic. "With the first issue, in your blood sample I detected a rise in estrogen levels."
"What does that mean?" Her confusion grew.
He swallowed. "The gut pains you are experiencing are a prerequisite to your first menstrual cycle, which will begin in one hour and forty-two minutes."
"What? You mean…" Oh god no. The fertilisation station was open.
"Yeah, you can have kids as of one hour and forty-two minutes. But that's not all."
What else could there be? She was glad she was lying down otherwise her legs would have given away. "What else could there possibly be?"
"The scan showed several blood vessel ruptures in your brain and this caused the bleeding nose. I conclude it's from extreme trauma. This, uh, this trauma is pretty… severe. Your brain simply can't handle the pressure. If this happens much more, it'll eventually shut down."
'No, this can't be possible. Tell me he's lying! Spock don't shut me out!' "What are you saying? That I'll die if Spock gets angry?"
"Pretty much, yeah." He looked like he'd rather eat nails. "The first time this happened your brain healed itself, so it wasn't detected on any examinations. However, the previous ruptures were just opened again and haven't healed yet. The more this happens, the bigger the ruptures will get until the damage is permanent." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
No, no, no, no, no. "Is there anything I can take?"
"There's Lexorin." He perked up at the possibility of doing something and rummaged around one of the medical cabinets. "It'll help in the short-term for about a year until your body becomes immune to its effects. This will strengthen your body to allow it to cope with the mental pressures. Take one shot every month and it'll alleviate the symptoms."
"Is there anything for the long-term?" she asked desperately. This couldn't be happening. No, there was no way.
"There is one thing, but you won't like it." Yeto looked just as desperate as her.
Zia met his gaze. "Tell me." He sucked in a deep breath.
"Break the mind-meld."