Ch 28: The Future

Spock, Prime, Sarek, and T'Maire waited until the rest of the colony had filed out of the building before leaving themselves. It took the colony a considerable amount of time to calm themselves down enough to leave the building and go back to their lives. It was still somewhat amazing to see an emotional response of that intensity from ten thousand Vulcans, but given all they had been through, it was at the very least excusable.

The four walked in silence, observing the sight around them. It was amazing. The meeting seemed to act as a dissolving agent for the walls Vulcans had held around their hearts for hundreds of years. Though they weren't completely human in their actions and responses to one another, it seemed that some were less afraid to smile or laugh or frown openly. There was no way of knowing if this openness would continue on after that day or not, but it was still quite a sight to see.

"Did you see them?" T'Maire said after they arrived at Sarek's house and stepped inside. "I've never in my entire life seen Vulcans act so openly happy like that!"

"You are indeed correct," Sarek said. "This day marks a brand new age for our people, a day where Vulcans begin to come to terms with their emotions and find a proper balance for them and logic. Truly this is a monumental occasion."

He turned to his son and gave a knowing look, accompanied with the slightest of smiles. "Would you not agree Spock?"

Spock returned the smile to his father and nodded. "Indeed I would father. As Mr. Scott would say, 'this is exciting'."

T'Maire laughed lightly. "Something about you saying 'exciting' just doesn't sound right Spockie."

Spock grimaced. "If you would allow me to be a bit more emotional than I personally prefer, I would like to tell you how much I hate being called 'Spockie'. It is most possibly the vilest, most puerile nickname that you could ever have chosen for me. That name makes me feel as if I am a small pet being beckoned by its owner. If you call me Spockie again, I am 88.329 percent certain that I will scream."

Everyone in the room looked at Spock in mute surprise. Ever prepared with a witty response, T'Maire came back with, "What, should I call you Spockula instead?"

Spock gave T'Maire a dirty look and said, "If it were not for the fact that I do not wish to lose my position in Starfleet and spend an immeasurable amount of time in solitary confinement, it would be highly likely that you would not be alive to return back to Star Base 215 as I would strangle you to death."

Spock's attempt at a snarky response to T'Maire caused her to laugh uncontrollably. This only made Spock glare darkly at her in response, but inevitably, he couldn't help but crack a smile. T'Maire stood up straight and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she was able to catch her breath, she said, "Spock, you have got to be the only person in the universe who could be so damned funny when they're being completely and deadly serious!"

T'Maire continued laughing as the others merely looked on in amusement. Her laughter was interrupted by an unexpected knock on the door. Everyone looked at the door and then looked at each other. "Who could that be?" T'Maire asked.

"I am uncertain," Sarek said. "I am not expecting any visitors today."

Sarek glided across the floor to the door and opened it. Behind the door stood T'Pau, grim faced, rigid, and regal as always. She didn't wait for Sarek to welcome her into his home; as soon as the door had opened she made her way inside. Anyone else would take such an entrance into their home as an insult, but knowing that T'Pau's presence meant something of great importance, neither Sarek nor T'Maire said anything in protest.

All who stood before her held their tongue as they waited for her to speak. After surveying those before her, she said, "Sarek. Spock. I must speak with you both in private."

Blunt and to the point. T'Pau never did care for niceties when she had something to talk about. She was also very adamant about discussing important matters only before those that were directly involved.

Sarek and Spock exchanged glances and nodded at the priestess turned head of the High Council. Sarek moved forward and led them to the guest bedroom where Spock was sleeping. Closing the door behind him after allowing Spock and T'Pau to enter before him, he turned to T'Pau and said, "What business do you have with us T'Pau?"

"I do hope you do not take me for a fool Sarek," she said coldly. "I have known you and your son for many years. Neither of you would so brazenly challenge the teachings of Surak without ulterior motives. I demand to know the true meaning behind your request to speak before the council on the colony's behalf."

Spock froze in place at T'Pau's request. He looked at his father who in turned looked at him. Taking a deep breath, Spock said, "I am not truly bonded with T'Maire."

T'Pau's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"The bond that T'Maire and I share is no more than a bond between good friends. We are in no way actually engaged to each other. I had already forged a life bond with someone else before we performed the engagement ceremony."

"Why am I not surprised?" T'Pau said angrily. "I assume the one you have chosen is human?"

In a low voice, Spock answered. "Yes. He is also my captain."

T'Pau gasped softly. She snapped her head toward Sarek and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You knew this all along. You facilitated this, this falsehood before the entire High Council! I will have your position for this!"

"You speak irrationally T'Pau," Sarek said darkly yet calmly. "I assure you I knew not of Spock's engagement to another until five months ago. The manner in which I discovered the truth was…unfortunate for us both."

"But you must have known that their bond was not legitimate!"

"I admit that my choice in T'Maire as a mate for Spock was based on the premise of falsifying a bond between them to allow them both to choose their own mate," Sarek confessed. Glancing at his son with a twinkle in his eye, he added. "In all things concerning my son, it seems my judgment slips drastically."

T'Pau fumed. "Had I discovered this treachery before, the meeting would never have taken place!"

"On the contrary," Spock countered, "I believe it would have. Though our personal reasons were less than honorable, the concerns of our people would still have existed. The fact that the meeting took place at all prevented civil unrest and inevitably a civil war. Harmony amongst those you lead is far more important than the actions of a handful of Vulcans. After all, you yourself said the needs of the many outweigh those of the few or the one."

Somehow T'Pau found it in herself to calm herself down. Though she looked like a tea kettle about to boil over and spew hot water everywhere, she spoke evenly. "Your point has been made young Spock. This treachery will not leave this room, of that you have my word. But know this the both of you. If ever such a scheme is devised again, you would be wise not to carry it out."

Glaring at Spock, T'Pau added. "You will bring your captain here tomorrow to make your engagement legal by Vulcan law. Immediately afterwards you two will be wed." She ignored the shocked look on Spock's face as she continued. "You will also make arrangements to adopt a child, as we will not allow a child of New Vulcan to be born without a mother. These rules are absolute, so do not attempt to weasel your way out of them."

"What if I offered to birth their child?"

The three of them turned their head toward the voice of T'Maire, who was leaning against the doorway with a smug smile on her face. T'Pau's stare harden at the Vulcan woman who was a disgrace to their race. Half-blooded as he was, Spock was still a much better example of what it meant to be a Vulcan than T'Maire ever was.

"What did you say?" T'Pau growled.

Enjoying the look on T'Pau's face, she pushed herself off of the doorway and walked toward the wizen-faced Vulcan. "You heard me," she said in a playful tone. "What if I offered to birth their child?"

"It is possible," Sarek said, redirecting T'Pau's searing gaze from T'Maire to himself. "The DNA from both Captain Kirk and Spock could easily be combined and injected into one of T'Maire's eggs in her body. Though the child will be the product of two males and a female, it is entirely possible that the child will be born healthy. Furthermore, the child will be born a half-Vulcan just as his father was rather than one quarter Vulcan."

"I'm stationed on a Star Base," T'Maire added. "It's much safer for a child to be born and raised there than to send a child to live aboard a Constitution class Federation ship which frequently finds itself in danger. This not only gives Kirk and Spock time to prepare for such a drastic life change before the child is born, but allows them to start their own family safely with someone they trust. I'm sure it'd also make Starfleet happy to know that their prized ship will be run by those who aren't preoccupied with the welfare of their child."

"We would prefer that any child born to a Vulcan be educated in the Vulcan way from birth," T'Pau sneered.

"I'm sure you would," T'Maire shot back. "But in case you weren't paying attention to what happened during the meeting, our colony is preparing to rewrite the rules. The days of Surak are steadily coming to an end T'Pau. Pretty soon we'll be seeing Vulcans smiling at each other and showing affection to those they love."

"Such is the path of destruction!"

"Such is the path of the future," Spock said. Whether it was T'Maire's presence or his desire to see his race change for the better, his courage seemed to know no bounds. "Our race has become stagnant T'Pau. Like it or not, in order for our race to rebuild and thrive as we once did, we will need to take a lesson from the humans and embrace our emotions. If we do not then we will inevitably become extinct. A little less control would actually do us all more benefit than harm."

T'Pau glared at him and then at Sarek. "Curse the both of you for your inclination towards humans. It has sullied your logic!"

"Last I checked snobbery didn't constitute as logic," T'Maire said. "If you want to blame someone for this, blame the High Council. They were the ones who assigned Sarek to become the Vulcan ambassador to Earth."

"Such an appointment would not have taken place if we would have known he would be seduced by a human whore!"

If Sarek had not been standing near Spock, T'Pau would have likely be struck down and beaten to death. It took all his strength to hold Spock in place. The look in Spock's eyes could have destroyed the very planet they were on just as easily as Nero had destroyed Vulcan. Unfortunately for Spock, T'Pau took the fierce anger that she had stirred up in Spock as an opening to prod further at old wounds.

She pointed a gnarled finger at him and said, "This is the very thing you wish on our people! Uncontrollable rage that will spiral out of control and destroy us all! We are better off without emotions! Your human heritage has made you a liability to the entire Vulcan race! You are a loose cannon, a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time! Your joining Starfleet was the best choice you ever could have made, as your impurity would have corrupted us all had you remained on Vulcan! Just from being here for five months you have completely derailed hundreds of years of logical thinking and restraint!"

"What good has our restraint done for us?" Spock hissed. "All it has done is delusion us into thinking that our greatest strength is ignoring what is in our hearts! We are cold even to those we love, and for what?"

"For the preservation of our people! What could be more important than that?"

"Our people's happiness!"

T'Pau's words stopped in her throat. Spock knew that her silence meant that she was digesting what he said. He took her brief silence as an opportunity to strengthen his argument.

"My entire life has been dedicated to becoming the Vulcan ideal. Since I was born I have been voluntarily ignoring my own feelings so that I can think and act logically. I have abandoned my true self just so I could fit in with the world I was born into. Despite it all, my scores, my behavior, my constant pursuit of logic and self-control, I was constantly ridiculed and tortured by everyone, even the High Council themselves.

"Your supposedly perfect world is filled with hatred for any thing that is not Vulcan. Even if one looks and acts like a Vulcan, if their blood is not pure, you treat them like an outcast. What is so logical about bigotry? If we are so great, why are we so unwilling to accept anyone different from us? Why even bother going out into space to explore and conduct relations with other races? Why not just sit here on this planet and fester in our self-righteousness?

"You say emotions will be the end of our people. I disagree. I feel that our close-mindedness will be what wipes us off the face of the universe. If you think me wrong, then prove it."

No words came from T'Pau's mouth for quite some time after Spock finished speaking. It was easy to see that she was still processing all that he said in her mind. She finally said after taking a deep breath, "Have Captain Kirk present tomorrow by high noon. If he is even a minute late, there shall be no wedding held for the two of you, not tomorrow or any day thereafter. We are willing to accept your marriage to the human, but only if you abide by our wishes. I would hope this would be the proof that you need."

She walked passed him and stopped at the door. She turned her head to the side and added, "You should consider leaving Starfleet and coming back home to your people Spock. You should be the one to lead us all into this new age you speak so adamantly of."

Sarek released his son and watched as he turned to the old Vulcan woman that stood in the doorway. Staring at her with a furrowed brow, Spock said, "What do you mean by that?"

T'Pau turned back around and faced Spock with an unusually fatigued look on her face. "Fight you as I may, you are correct about the Vulcan race," T'Pau said. "I wish for the words you speak to be untrue, but I cannot change their meaning any more than I can change the color of the sky. The ways of our people are indeed outdated. In light of current events, it is time that the Vulcan race follows a new set of teachings to reflect this new age we are entering. There is no easy way to transition to a life of harmony as opposed to the life of extremity we have led for so long, even before Surak.

"We cannot live without emotions, nor can we live without logic. However, out of all of us, you are the only one who has attempted to balance the two. You of all people would be the best choice to show us all how to do so."

"T'Pau," Spock said, his face wracked with emotion, "I wish I could say that I know how to balance the two well enough to share my wisdom with others, but I fear I am as of yet still unable to balance my two opposing sides. I may be much further down the path than other Vulcans, but I still have much to learn about myself."

"Then you would do well to hurry your life mate to New Vulcan so that you two may be wed," she said with the slightest of smiles. "If I am assuming correctly, he has been the source of your self-discovery."

Wordlessly, Spock nodded. T'Pau shook her head and let her smile grow just enough so that it was more noticeable. "Then a life with him by your side will help you along your way. When the time is right, I pray that you will come back to New Vulcan and educate us all in how to properly balance emotion with logic. Until tomorrow Spock, I shall take my leave."

She gave the Vulcan salute and left the room, not waiting for the three Vulcans to return the salute to her. Left alone in the room, Spock faced his father and his childhood friend. T'Maire smiled at him and said, "Well, looks like we better hop in my ship and go pick up your fiancé if you want him here in time. There's no way the Enterprise can make it here before high noon tomorrow."

"You are correct," Spock said with a smile. "I would not want to miss the look on his face when I tell him the good news."

"Married?!? Tomorrow?!?"

It was a good thing that Kirk's jaw was soundly attached to his head, because if it were not, it was likely that it would be rolling somewhere around his feet. Spock chose not to hide the wide grin that split his face in two. Just as he suspected, the look on Kirk's face was worth a thousand words. Behind him, T'Maire unsuccessfully stifled a giggle.

As soon as they set out for the Enterprise from New Vulcan, they chose a moon to meet somewhere in the middle of the distance between the colony and the ship's position at the time. Kirk was pleasantly surprised to see both Spock and T'Maire, but knowing that they had good news made it all worth it. They immediately went to Kirk's room after their arrival to talk in private.

Naturally, Kirk was thrilled at the news that the High Council was removing the redwood tree from their collective asses and allowing the remaining Vulcans to choose their own mates. It was doubly thrilling to find out they were allowing Kirk and Spock to get married despite their interracial pairing. The only thing that was jarring was the quickness in which they'd be required to be wed.

"Jesus, that's not very much notice for me," Kirk said. "I don't even think I'll have time for a bachelor party at this rate!"

Spock raised an eyebrow at Kirk. "A bachelor party?"

"Oh, right, you're not familiar with Earth marriage rituals," Kirk smirked. "A bachelor party is usually thrown before a wedding to give the groom one last chance to enjoy his life as a single man and prepare him to embrace his future life as a married man. It tends to be a night filled with alcohol and debauchery, but it's usually lots of fun."

"I see," Spock said. "I apologize that there will not be enough time for that."

"Hey!" T'Maire interjected. "Why not plan an Earth celebration for the wedding at a later date?"

Both Kirk and Spock gave T'Maire a curious look at her suggestion. She elaborated, "Look, it's great that the only way your marriage can be completely official is to have it held before the Vulcan High Council, but just because you have to rush into that doesn't mean you can't enjoy an Earth styled wedding as well! That way you can take your time planning all the fun stuff and make sure that everyone on the ship and in Starfleet can participate too, not to mention your family Jim!"

Kirk took a moment to think about the possibility of planning an Earth wedding of that size. It would take a lot of work; more than likely he'd need both Uhura's help and his mother's help to get everything put together for it. However, doing things that way would ensure that their marriage was enjoyable and memorable, not just for their friends, family, and colleagues, but also for themselves.

Smiling, Kirk said, "You know what T'Maire? That's a great idea! What do you think Spock?"

Spock nodded in approval. "The plan is quite logical. I have wanted to learn more about human mating rituals beyond bedroom habits. Having a human wedding would do much to assist me in that task. Additionally, it sounds as though it will be a pleasurable activity for all involved."

Kirk put an arm around Spock and hugged him. "That's the spirit! This will be great!"

"There is one additional concern that we should talk about before becoming overly elated Jim," Spock said. He removed Kirk's arm from around him and gave him a serious look. Kirk became a bit nervous at the change he sensed in Spock. Though he was outwardly calm, he could feel the jitteriness that was deep inside of him.

"The moment we are joined by Vulcan standards, we will be expected to…" He hesitated to finish his sentence. This wasn't something he was ready to announce, but it had to be said now. "We will be expected to start a family."

This was a moment that would have called for Kirk to faint had this been some cheesy TV sitcom from the late 20th century. Instead his mouth resumed its former position which would have allowed about a hundred flies to fly into had a swarm been nearby. His eyes had also not doubled, but tripled in size. T'Maire raised an eyebrow at Kirk and wondered how the human face could possibly become so disproportionate without lasting consequences. Kirk knew that his face would hurt the next day and prayed his mom was wrong about his face freezing like that.

Sighing, Spock closed his fiance's mouth for him, since it was obvious he wasn't going to close it himself anytime soon. "I am aware that the news is alarming," he said, "however these are the terms in which the entire colony will be allowed to choose their mates on their own. If these conditions are not met, all current engagement arrangements will be forever binding and any other marital unions will not be recognized."

Kirk closed his eyes tightly and reopened them. After several rapid blinks he said, "So basically as soon as we say I do, we start thinking of baby names?"

"Precisely," Spock responded. "Technically we are required to adopt a Vulcan orphan, but T'Maire has so graciously volunteered herself to become the surrogate mother for our child."

T'Maire smirked at the look Kirk gave her and said, "Don't look at me like that! We all know you and Spock aren't ready to start a family. I mean you're in the middle of a five year mission! Considering I'm on a Starfleet star base, I could easily birth a child and allow you guys to finish things up before tending to the youngster."

"Well, yeah, but…are you really willing to do that for us?"

She crossed her arms. "Do you think I'd offer this to just anyone? I could always let you two be stuck raising someone else's kid."

"No," Kirk said, raising his hands. "If you're willing to birth our child, then by all means do!"

He dropped his hands and exhaled. Looking at Spock, he said, "So, looks like you and I have some packing to do, huh?"

"Negative," Spock said. "There are special Vulcan robes for a bride and groom to be worn. In this case, there would of course be two distinguishing groom's robes. We will board T'Maire's ship and return to New Vulcan to have you fitted for one."

"You mean I got to wear some of that super heavy Vulcan attire you guys wear in over a hundred degree heat?" Spock nodded. Sighing, Kirk said, "Well, at least I won't need to be injected with tri-ox on this planet. If I had to worry about breathing and not sweating my balls off during an alien marriage ritual, I'd probably develop a serious case of cold feet."

Kirk couldn't have been more nervous if he were standing in front of an execution squad. The elegant mustard yellow Vulcan robe that he wore felt more like a straight jacket than formal wear. Every five minutes he pulled at the collar even though the robe fit loosely around his neck. The weather on Vulcan could be compared to a late spring day in California, but by the way Kirk was sweating on would think he was standing in the Sahara Desert.

Considerably less nervous but still a bit shaky was Spock, who stood next to Kirk in a matching Vulcan robe in deep blue. Without even touching Kirk he could feel the nervousness radiating off of him, which only added to his own anxiety. He understood fully why Kirk was so nervous, but he couldn't have him performing the ceremony in his condition.

Jim, please try to calm down.

I'm trying, I'm trying! Kirk cried mentally. I'm just a little freaked out. What if I do something wrong? What if they suddenly change their minds about letting us get married? What if…

Spock cut Kirk off. All will be well my love. Do not dwell so much on 'what ifs'. You will only set yourself up for an error.

That'd be a lot easier if we didn't have such a huge audience!

For reasons that were left unexplained by the Council, their engagement and wedding were being held publicly before the colony. Though the entire colony was not in attendance, there was indeed a vast majority of them present. Spock had been blocking their presence out as much as possible, but he was having a great difficulty doing so now that Kirk had pointed them out.

I am aware of the added stress of a large audience attending the ceremony Jim. However it is important that you try to remain calm in spite of that. Do not forget that you are not the only one who feels your nervousness.

Kirk took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. You're right. I forgot you can feel my emotions through our bond. I'm sorry. I'll try and calm down.

Spock gave an approving nod as the gnawing nervousness eased some. The High Council filed into the room and took their seats above them. T'Pau as always was seated in the middle. She looked down at the two men and almost laughed at their nervousness. So, they managed to get him here in time, she thought. Proof that they are indeed meant to be.

Her voice rang out from her seat and echoed throughout the building. "Captain James Tiberius Kirk and Xtmprszntwlfd S'chn T'gai Spock, you have come to us to legalize the life bond you have forged on your own."

Kirk's eyebrows rose on his forehead at the sound of Spock's full name. He resisted the urge to turn his head and aim a flustered look of surprise at him, but cast a look at him through his peripheral vision. Ever so faintly, the corner of Spock's mouth perked up in a hint of a smirk.

Returning his attention to the Council, Kirk said, "Yes ma'am, we have."

T'Pau gazed at Kirk and spoke, "Though it is usually our custom that a life bond be forged before the Council, we will make a special exception for the two of you. Considering that Spock's pon farr was prematurely triggered, your marriage has already been unofficially concreted, as only one's life mate can quell its effects. This is the first time in Vulcan history that two men have been legally joined together, and seeing as this is also an interracial marriage between two Starfleet officers, we shall allow your bond to be officially documented in our logs."

Bowing his head out of respect and thankfulness, he said, "You have our thanks."

From their left, a man in dark robes stepped onto the floor, a large metallic diamond with many small bells in his hand. Standing tall, he shook the diamond, releasing the clinks and jingles of the bells into the air for all to hear. Kirk was the only one who looked lost; all Vulcans in attendance knew exactly what was next to come.

Sarek and T'Maire rose from their seats in the crowd and walked over to Kirk and Spock on the floor. T'Pau rose from her seat and descended the stairs behind the platform the Council sat on. To either side of them, priestess came forward and laid cushions down before Kirk and Spock's feet. T'Pau walked in front of the two and motioned for them to kneel on the cushions. Spock moved to the side of the cushion in front of him and lowered himself onto it. Following his lead, Kirk also moved to the side of his cushion and kneeled on it so that his feet pointed straight out behind him and the rest of his body was upright.

T'Pau took a brief moment to study the faces of the two youths before her and smothered a smirk. Clearing her throat, she spoke to the entire colony. "What you are about to witness has been passed down from the days of old. We gather today to join these two men in holy matrimony. Their minds and their souls shall burn as one for all time."

Wordlessly, T'Pau motioned for the two to join hands in the traditional Vulcan way. Spock extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand out toward Kirk. Kirk raised his shaky hand and slowly extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand as well. When their fingers touched, it was as if an electric shock ran through both of their bodies. Though visible only to T'Pau, the two men both shuddered, Kirk more noticeably that Spock.

Clasping her hands together in front of her, she let the two men continue the ceremony from there, knowing that Spock was aware of what steps to take. Spock ran his finger tips up and over Kirk's, trailing them down his hand and bringing them back around to the front. When he did, a wave of love surged through him and into Kirk.

Kirk blinked in shock at the feeling this simple movement of Spock's fingers had created. So this is what a true Vulcan marriage feels like… he thought to himself, guarding his thoughts from Spock. He looked deep into the Vulcan's eyes and felt as though he were seeing Spock's very soul.

Shakily, Kirk mirrored the movement of his fingers up and over Spock's fingers and around his hand so that their fingers touched once more. This time, a wave of love surged from him into Spock. Spock's eyes closed momentarily then opened again. His eyes shined with moisture, which sent an indescribable pang of emotion through to Kirk's heart. Kirk's own eyes grew moist as the tenderness of the moment sank in.

T'Pau motioned them to stand back up. When the two had risen to their feet and stepped over their cushions, their fingers still pressed together. T'Pau raised her hands and spoke some words in Vulcan. As she spoke the words, the colony before her bowed their heads respectively and closed their eyes. When their head rose once more, she then reverted back to Starfleet Common English and said, "From this day forth, Captain James Tiberius Kirk and Xtmprszntwlfd S'chn T'gai Spock are joined in holy matrimony. May their marriage be long and prosperous."

Kirk had expected the crowd of Vulcans to simply acknowledge their marriage and then quietly file out, but he was pleasantly startled by the uproar of applause that erupted. Each Vulcan in attendance, including the High Council, stood to their feet and extended their happiness for the new couple. Kirk and Spock turned to the crowd and bowed deeply. Still keeping their fingers together, they then turned to the Council and bowed even deeper.

When they stood up straight, they faced each other and smiled widely. It had been an unexpectedly long and arduous path that led them to that beautiful moment in time, but the trip down the road had been well worth it. Through their trials and tribulations, they proved that theirs was a true love that would stand the test of time. This was their shining moment, one that marked the true start of their lives.